#we already had dinner with them last night and coffee/breakfast with them this morning

[naomiknight-17]

Mom is making spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner and has invited me to join but I do not want to

This is a problem

[short-honey-badger]

Casual

Inspired by Chappell Roan's Casual

Pairings: Shanks x Reader x Shamrock

Warnings! Gaslighting and Yandere Behavior. Smut, Cunnilingus. Breeding kink and pregnancy.

Masterlist for Shamrock and Shanks-> HERE

You had been firm during the start of your relationship with the Figarland Twins that it was to be casual. Your door opened for wild and raunchy sex, and that was to be it. However, the twins weren't too keen on that agreement and had discarded that idea as soon as it was brought up. You fit so well with the two of them, so why would they just want something casual? They would have all of you, and that would be that.

It started off with them staying over one night. You were too tired and wrung out to shoo them out of your apartment. They had shared a look of victory and curled around you, making sure that you were comfortable between them before falling asleep. Shamrock had woken first, with the idea of making breakfast only to be kicked out of your apartment with his brother when he got back from the bakery down the block.

However, that one night seemed to be the catalyst they needed.

They began to stay over more often, and you would kick them out later and later until you simply stopped doing it at all. Shanks would find you during your work hours, a bright smile on his face and your favorite coffee in hand. You were furious at first, annoyed that the men who you'd let into your home had invaded your work, but even that, eventually, faded away. Replaced with a fond look whenever you see the redhead waiting for you during lunch.

You would come home to them already inside your apartment, Shamrock making the kitchen his home as he cooked dinner, always mindful of your favorites. Shanks would take your coat and lead you to the couch, crouching by your side and rubbing your sore ankles from having to wear heels most of the day. His touch would become heavy, wanting, and his lips would find the inside of your thigh, skirt tucked up around your hips and a devious tongue seeking out your weeping slit.

The twins made sure to pamper you, to whisper sweet nothings in your ear, to assure you that they were the only ones you would ever need. Shamrock would lean over the couch, long hair ticking your ear, his lips insistent upon your throat as he left behind marks that claimed you as theirs.

“You love it when we touch you like this, don't you darling? How could you ever live without us?”

You would whine and try to deny him, but then Shanks would distract you, lips wrapping around your throbbing clit and sucking harshly. Shamrock would grin against your throat, eyes heavy-lidded with desire. He would cup your cheek, turning you his way so that he could press his lips to your own, drinking down the sound of your low sounds of pleasure.

Whenever you came to your senses, you would try to kick them out, face red and temper high after Shanks had made you late to work that morning. Shamrock would stand behind you, big hands on your shoulders, and Shanks would be in front of you, his single hand on your hip, fingers curling around your hip, eyes big and pitiful.

“You don't mean that, baby. You shouldn't have to work anyway, you know we'd take care of you.”

It would take a while, but they would wear you down, hands gentle but demanding of your attention, pressed in on either side by lean, muscled bodies. You would sigh and make them promise you that they would never make you late again, but that promise would never last.

Time would pass, and eventually, they would press and press you to move in with them. They lived in a townhouse with plenty of room, bigger and nicer than the apartment you lived in. You would protest each time, arguing that they lived too far away for you to comfortably travel to work. Shanks and Shamrock would back off, sharing an exasperated look, knowing that they would try again once you calmed down.

But when your apartment, situated on the bottom floor, suddenly flooded and you had nowhere else to go, why, they were giddy when you rang them, tears in your throat while you asked to stay with them until you could find somewhere else to go. They would move you and your meager belongings into their home that very night, and that is where you would stay.

They pushed away any attempt or idea of you moving out, bodies curled around you, making you miss the open house that you had planned to visit. You would scoff and snip at them, but in the end, you would concede like always. Even if you somehow moved away, the twins would make sure you ended up back with them anyway.

“You'll miss us too much, baby. How could you ever want to leave us?”

“Aren't you happy with us, darling? Who else could fuck you like we do?”

But then you began to miss work again, and that same old argument would start right back up. You had worked hard to get to where you are now, so how could you just give it all up? Shanks would whine at you, and Shamrock would point out that while you should be proud, you had them to take care of everything now. He would point out that they already paid for everything, utilities, food, anything that you paid even the slightest attention to. You did not need to work.

It all came to a head when you were let go, as suddenly as your apartment flooded, your boss was calling you into their office and telling you to pack your desk. You had called the twins, crying and in a panic, and they were there, sharing a knowing look over your head as they cuddled you close and promised to take care of everything.

Like with moving out, they shot down any attempt for you to get another job. Your interviews never went well, either ghosted or never a call back, but the twins were there each time, assuring you that there was nothing wrong with you, that you were amazing and could have anything you ever wanted, all you needed to do was ask.

Eventually, you would get used to not having to go to work and would spend your hours tucked away between two redheads, eyes closed and legs open for greedy mouths and demanding hands. You were nothing without them, could do nothing without them. The Figarland Twins are your world, so how could you deny them when the topic of marriage came about?

“Marry us, sweetheart. Let's make this official, yeah?”

“The Figarland name suits you well, my love. Just say yes, and we'll take care of it all.”

Weeks later, you walk down the aisle to two men dressed in dark suits. It's a small ceremony, with only their father and Shanks’ closest friends attending. Afterward, they would sweep you away for a month-long honeymoon, just the three of them and a small cottage tucked away on their private beach. They would fuck you, wild and animalistic, stuffing you full of hot cum and making sure that none went to waste.

Shamrock would twine his hand with yours, rings clinking together and making something dark within him snarl with satisfaction. He would press into you from behind, cock bullying into your sore cunt, lips pressed against the side of your neck. Shanks would stroke your sweaty brow, a kind smile on his face, though his eyes burned with an obsession he had kept hidden from you until now.

“You're so pretty like this, sweetheart. Gonna make you a momma, and Sham and I will be the best daddies in the world.”

“Our child will be beautiful, just like our sweet wife. Look at her, Shanks. Isn’t she perfect?”

You would come away from the honeymoon pregnant and exhausted, two men bracketing you in from both sides. They would dote on you even more through the rough months of your pregnancy, even when you snapped and snarled them, only to whine for them over the slightest of hurt feelings. They loved it, they loved you, and nothing would ever take you away from them.

@sanjisleggy @mit-suri @nocturnalrorobin @forever-a-night-owl @sordidmusings @shamrock-is-a-daddy @mfreedomstuff

[sofiawritesstuff]

Platonic

part 8

summary: When Lando's "playboy" image is setting a bad reputation for him. He's turns to the person he trust most in this world for help.

pairing: landonorris x bestfriend!reader

warnings: suggestive

You woke up after an amazing night sleep once again, next to Lando.

Sliding out of bed, you carefully detangled yourself from his arms . You turned when you heard him mumble something in his sleep, making you smile.

You quickly got ready, putting on a comfortable outfit for breakfast, a meeting and the flight tonight. As you were both you leave, getting your stuff together you felt a familiar pair of arms around your waist.

You turned to face him, placing a soft on his lips "I didn't want to wake you" he laughs nuzzling his head into your neck

"Couldn't fall back asleep with the cold space next to me" he smiled, kissing you again, this time letting it linger "You're going to make me late" you laugh trying to pull away

"It's Kika, she'll understand"

You kiss him one more time before grabbing your bag "I will be back soon, enjoy your morning and try get packed"

"Have fun Princess"

You close the door behind you, walking down the steps and out the apartment building. Thankfully it was only a short five minute walk to meet Kika.

When you arrived Kika was already sat at table waiting for you "Good morning, am I late?" you ask sitting you bag down "No you're right on time, Pierre dropped me off when he was heading out. Here's your coffee" she smiles handing you, your drink

"Thank you, are you up to anything today?"

"Going to the gym with Pierre and then going home for a date night before I fly back home tomorrow for a shoot. What about you? Going back the apartment to tell your boyfriend you're in love with him?"

You roll your eyes taking a sip of your drink "Don't get me started" you scoff "What did he do? He's not hard to attack, we can team up" she jokes resting her hands on the table

"As much as I appreciate you for being willing to attack Lando, it's not him. It's Zak. Last night we went for dinner and Zak immediately jumped on it saying he was going to get cameras, Lando said no and hung up the phone on him. He was so frustrated with him, we have a meeting with him later"

"I've never liked that guy, but I do have one question"

"Yeah?"

"What the fuck happened between you and Lando? Last time i checked you were too scared to tell him how you felt now you're going out for dinner with him wanting no camera's there"

"Max, Lando and I's friend came over, Lando and I bunked up and we've had a few kisses, it feels so normal. We haven't exactly spoke about it but I think if we're going at the pace we are, it could possibly turn into a relationship"

Kika smiles nodding “I’m happy for you, really happy. Did you guys get flight’s back home?”

“Yeah, we’re leaving after the meeting, I can’t wait to see his family again. We’re staying with them for a few days”

“Does his family know what’s going on between you two?”

“Nope and when Lando tells them I don’t think they’ll react well. They’ve been hoping for us to get together since we were 14 and when they find out what’s going on is PR”

“But it’s not really PR, everything is real. Right?”

“Yeah, it is”

—

When you arrive back home, you return to see Lando running around the place “What have you lost?” you ask, dropping your bag onto the sofa “My charger, hi baby. How was breakfast” he quickly kisses you before returning to his hunt

“It was good, have you checked if you’ve packed it already?”

“Shit, now i remember packing it” he stops walking towards you, how was your date with Kika?” he asks wrapping his arms around you waist

“Good, have you got your laptop set up for your meeting with Zak?”

“Our meeting baby, our. Yeah it’s set up, Actually we have to get online now, are you ready for this”

“No, the last thing I want to be doing the day after you winning is having a chat with Zak”

Lando nods his head in agreement, sighing walking over to the kitchen counter where his laptop was sat, pulling a chair close to him for you to sit.

“Hey guys, how are you?” Zak asks once connected “Yeah we’re great, how are you?” Lando answers “Good to hear, now I’m not giving you guys into trouble but we need you guys out in public more. We’ve got some photos up on fan pages, gossip pages and news outlets but we need more. What are your guys plans this week?”

You sigh, rolling your eyes off camera. Lando looks at you taking your hand

“We’re heading home, this lovely lady has a meeting in the office tomorrow and we are going to see my parents for a few days-“

“Great” Zak interrupts “We will get photographers at the airport tonight, keep me updated where you are guys”

The call ends suddenly, you walk away from the table annoyed heading to the bedroom “Baby, come on. It won’t be that bad”

“No Lando. Im sick of this. It is hard enough being photographed just for being your friend. Now that I’m your “girlfriend” I am being photographed going to an airport. It’s not even been a week, and as Zak said there’s barely any photographs it’s hell already. I hate this” you rant, sitting on the bed

“I know, I hate it too. But it’s three months like this at least, that’s what the contract said. I’m sorry it’s like this. I promise once this is over you’ll never need to see my face again” he wraps his arm around your shoulder

“You know I would never want that, I just don’t want our lives and time together to be decided by a piece of paper”

“Me either Princess, I love what we have going on so much” he leans in “Me too Baby” you kiss him laying down

He moves on top of you, slowly deepening this kiss, humming as you pulled him closer by the shirt “You are so beautiful” he says between kisses, taking off your shirt

He takes his shirt off throwing it on the ground “Lan” you breath “Don’t stop”

He grabs your arms, pinning them above your head as he kisses down your neck.

He stop when his phone rings louding, groaning as he answers “What do you want Max?”

“I was kinda in the middle of something” he answers Max’s question, pulling you close to him. You kiss his chest, leaning your head on him slowly feeling your eyes close

“Look mate i’m gonna” he looks down at you, now asleep nuzzling in closer to him “I’ll call you back later” he whispers hanging up the phone

“I’m so in love with you” he says once he hears your soft breathing

part 9

TAGS

@harrysdimple05 @ironmaiden1313 @charli123456789 @alltoomaples @jule239 @panicsinvirgo @cmleitora @blueberry64857959 @imboredway2much @landoslutmeout @obxstiles @morenofilm @formula1mount @dreamercrowd @brekkers-whore @sialexia @bokutos-babyowl @wobblymug @merchelsea @lexiecamposv @lunamelona @nightlockcornucopia

[addieyaps]

coffee - leah williamson

summary: inspired by the song ‘coffee’ by chappell roan.

warnings: angst, slightly suggestive content.

1.8k words.

leah williamson x reader.

Life looked a lot different these days. It seemed so long ago since the last time you’d genuinely smiled, since the last time you’d said you were fine and had actually meant it.

It’d been three months since you and your girlfriend of two years, Leah Williamson, had broken up, and yet it felt like you’d lived a lifetime without her. You were still awfully aware of the cold, empty spot beside you when you woke in the mornings, the absence of Leah’s presence at the dining table worsening that shard of grief you felt in your gut. That was your sanctuary, the place where you used to talk about your days and share secrets and stories and giggle about the most ridiculous things. Every day you went into the kitchen, still hoping to see Leah already up and dressed in her Arsenal training kit, pouting when you’d walked in on her making breakfast for you when she’d wanted to surprise you in bed. You’d leave for work every day and found you were still startled to see that her coat was not hanging next to yours on its usual peg, the framed pictures of the two of you no longer hanging on the walls.

It was as if there’d never been any trace of another person residing in this house with you, but the memories were still engrained in your mind, and the pain was unlike anything you’d experienced before.

‘Can't meet you for dinner at the Italian place

It's where I met your family, some words were exchanged

I'd suggest the jazz bar on MaryAnn Street but

You'd buy me a drink and we know where that leads, so’

Getting out of the house didn’t help, especially when everywhere you went you were reminded of the places you’d visited together, the memories you’d made. As you turned the corner, your eyes fell on the small Italian restaurant where you’d met Leah’s family for the first time. You remembered how anxious you were that night, how desperate you were to make a good impression. You’d stood in the mirror, staring at your reflection and debating whether or not you needed to change again when Leah had entered the bedroom, snaking her arms around your waist and planting a trail of kisses on your neck and shoulder.

“You look gorgeous,” she’d said, resting her chin on your shoulder and grinning at you in the mirror. You immediately felt yourself relax a little, a smile creeping its way onto your face. Leah had always been good at reassuring you, able to calm your racing heart and spiralling thoughts in a way no one else could. She’d insisted that her family were going to love you, and she’d been right. They’d been so warm and welcoming from the moment you entered the restaurant, and you eased into conversation with them as if you’d known them for years.

And how could they not love you when it was evident how much Leah adored you? She couldn’t take her eyes off you and insisted on holding your hand the entire evening, running her thumb soothingly over your skin, the gesture bringing a smile to your lips.

‘I'll meet you for coffee 'cause if we have wine

You'll say that you want me, I know that's a lie

If I didn't love you, it would be fine

I'll meet you for coffee, only for coffee

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your place.’

A month after you and Leah had split, you’d unintentionally ran into each other at a mutual friend’s party. You’d intended to try and ignore her, knowing talking to her and hearing her voice and seeing her smile would just make things a million times harder. You’d overestimated your own willpower, though, soon finding yourself in Leah’s company once again.

She asked if you wanted to go back to hers for a drink, and like a fool you’d said ‘yes’. A couple of glasses of wine later, and you two were making out on Leah’s sofa, tangled up in each other’s arms. “I still want you, you know?” Leah had whispered, her hands trailing down to undo the buttons on your jeans.

“Then why did you leave?” You asked breathlessly.

Leah paused, her eyes shooting upwards to meet your gaze. “y/n…” She sighed. You studied her face, noticing the sadness in her eyes. How had you not noticed it sooner, how broken she was? You’d been so caught up in your own pain and despair that you’d failed to consider how she was holding up.

Leah pulled away, and immediately you missed her being close to you, not realising just how much you’d craved her touch. “I think it’s best if you leave,” Leah said, looking at anything but you, “before we do something we both regret.”

‘You said let's do the park 'cause I love the park

That may be true but god forbid it gets dark

Here come the excuses that fuel the illusions

But I'd rather feel something than nothing at all, so’

You’d wasted no time in calling an Uber for yourself, fleeing from Leah’s apartment and trying desperately not to let the tears flow in the back of the car. It just wasn’t fair — how could she do this to you?! You’d been naive enough to think that you and Leah were for forever, that you’d end up getting married and growing old together, content in each other’s company until the end of time.

A few days after the party, you saw Leah again. This time the pair of you crossed paths in the park where you were walking your neighbour’s dog. You tried to act like you hadn’t seen Leah, staring straight ahead and picking up the pace, but Leah caught up to you easily enough, her hand circling around your wrist and bringing you to a halt. You whipped your head around. “Leave me alone,” you told her. You’d wanted to act tough, but your voice faltered, and it sounded like you were pleading more than you were telling.

You snatched your wrist from her grasp and started to walk away, but still Leah followed you. “y/n, wait!” She called. “I just wanted to apologise —”

“For what?” You demanded. “For your actions the other night? Or for breaking my heart?”

Leah’s eyes brimmed with tears that she quickly blinked away. Her gaze fell to the ground, unable to look at you and the mixture of heartbreak and anger displayed on your face. “Both…I’m so sorry, y/n.” And then she turned and walked away without another word, leaving you with another emotion you hadn’t yet experienced in your heartache — anger.

‘I'll meet you for coffee 'cause if we have wine

You'll say that you're sorry, I know that's a lie

If I didn't trust you, it would be fine

I'll meet you for coffee, only for coffee

Nowhere else is safe, every place leads back to your-’

Back to the present day, and you were walking through the familiar streets, trying not to think about how the smell of freshly baked bread wafting from the bakery reminded you of the many mornings you and Leah shared croissants and coffee before you dropped her off at training. The city was alive with the sound of laughter and clinking glasses from nearby restaurants. You paid no attention to it, lost in thought with your bag of groceries in hand.

That was when you turned the corner and suddenly collided with someone.

“Oh, I am so sorry!” You exclaimed, looking up to apologise. When you saw who you’d had the misfortune of bumping into, your breath caught in your throat. “Leah?” You said, your voice a mix of surprise and disbelief.

“Y/n?” Leah’s eyes widened, a flicker of something — sadness, perhaps — passing through them. For a second the pair of you just stood there staring at each other, you feeling as though you’d forgotten how to breathe, Leah awkwardly scratching the back of her neck, and both of you unable to form a sentence.

“How have you been?” Leah asked eventually.

“I’ve been…good,” the lie rolled off your tongue easily enough, you had grown accustomed to it by now, after all, “busy with work and everything. What about you?”

“Same here…busy but good. Got a game coming up this weekend.” Leah met your gaze. “I’d love it if you could make it.”

“Leah —”

“Sorry, no…that was silly of me. Um…” Leah shook her head and sighed. “How about we go get some coffee? There’s a little cafe just down the street, you know the one where we had our first date?”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” You asked, your voice gentler now.

“Probably not…but I’ve missed you, y/n.”

You contemplated her offer, every part of you desperately wanting to say yes. Realistically, though, you had to weigh up the potential consequences that might arise from agreeing to have coffee with Leah, remembering how much harder it was for you after you’d found yourself in Leah’s arms once again the night of your friend’s party. Seeing her again was just a reminder of everything you wanted, but everything you could not have. You had to say no.

‘We've done this before

And I don't need it anymore’

“We can’t, Leah,” you said eventually. Your heart broke at the sight of the sullen look on Leah’s face. “I mean you remember what happened last time —”

“It’s just coffee, y/n.”

“I know. But I don’t know if I can trust myself not to get too attached. I can’t let myself go there, Leah. Not again.” Your voice conveyed the ache you felt in your heart, the weeks of emotional turmoil you’d had to endure as you tried your best to carry on as if nothing had happened, as if you weren’t grieving what could have been. “Losing you is the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

Leah didn’t say anything. She knew deep down that you were right, and she knew that she deserved this rejection, that she only had herself to blame for the pain she’d put you through. She gave you a sad smile — God you missed how warm it used to be — and nodded her head. “I understand…”

You stepped forwards and kissed her cheek. “Take care of yourself, Leah.”

“You too, Y/N.”

It took every ounce of strength you had to walk away, to leave her there and not completely crumble. And as you crossed the street, you realised it was likely you’d never get over Leah. No matter how much time would pass, you’d probably never cease to question what could have been if things had been different, if you’d only fought harder to make things work.

‘So let's not do coffee, let's not even try

It’s better we leave it and give it some time

If I didn't love you, it would be fine

'Cause If we do coffee, it's never just coffee

It's never just coffee.’

[twstfanblog]

*~Period Drama~* Wednesday

WordCount: 7.2K Warnings: She/They OC Pronouns Enjoy! Start, Saturday (Octavinelle), Sunday (Heartslabyul), Monday (Savanaclaw), Monday pt2 (Diasomnia pt.1), Tuesday (Diasomnia pt2), Wednesday (Here), Thursday (Scarabia), Friday (Ignihyde)

~Taglist~

@twistedcece @deltrea @krenenbaker @koebishrimpuwu @cat100200 @emyluwinter @obsessionswithfandoms @ady-hilborn @lucid-stories @girl-nahh-two @itz-hydrodeptus-foxy7 @chyluna @riddlesimps @death-the-jo @a-twistedheartslonging @qixlin @chaosistheonlyway @welcome-to-my-horde @abell2029cluster @kirans-wonderland @coffee-or-hot-cocoa @the-ace-reader @iamsoconfusedallofthetime @chroniccorvus @marvelous-maxi @prolonged-eyecontact @lozplayer @jabberwocky-warrior @thateldribitch @bun-lapin @mel1rose @ladyraeka @ladyzsgolla @kimdourden @noncreativepage-blog @girl-nahh-two @shironakuronatasa @colombia-chan @roseapov @anunholyabomination @koebi-channnn @noises-of-nothing @creatorbiaze

The Diasomnia crew left before Yuu even finished their breakfast on Wednesday. Crewel was not happy seeing Malleus clinging to them when he came to deliver their dinner last night, but the potions teacher didn't say anything past a scoff and an eye roll. Like the past few days, the bicolored man had scolded them for their life choices, then shoved a pattern book at them and asked for their preferences.

Morning came and an Octavinelle student showed up with his arms shaking full of take-out orders for Yuu and the four Diasomnia students. Breakfast was a calm affair, only for Malleus to stand once he finished his food. He pressed a kiss to Yuu's forehead and gave a small blessing, wishing them a pleasant rest of their day before moving to leave the room.

Lilia called out to him, raising an eyebrow, “Where are you off to? We still have a good hour before we need to go back to Diasomnia to prepare for classes. I'd think you'd want to continue your duty as the royal heating pad…” he chuckled lightly, ignoring Sebek's angered snort.

“I'm aware and I had planned on it. But, I was going to make a stop in Octavinelle to speak with Azul while there was still time.”

…

Yuu fully turned around in their seat, raising an eyebrow at the smiling fae, “About what?”

Malleus only tilted his head in a conscious effort to appear cuter, “You are aware that I adore you, correct Yuu?”

“Malleus, that's my fucking- Don't- don't fucking bully Azul into agreeing with you.”

“I would never. I simply wish to speak to him civilly until we come to an agreement on certain matters…”

Lilia looks up from his meal, already seeing what the younger fae was planning, “Malleus…”

“In fact, I'll bring Jamil with me. He should be a part of this conversation, too.”

“Malleus-”

The horned fae had then disappeared in a flurry of green light. Lilia was quick to order Sebek and Silver to search the two dorms that Malleus was headed for while he started his search in Diasomnia; Malleus could be in either dorm. Each of them giving Yuu a rushed farewell before running out of Ramshackle, hopeful they'd find Malleus before he started his ‘conversation’ with the two Sophomores.

Even Grim had left a few hours later, playfully stating one of them had to ‘pick up the slack’ since Yuu wasn't allowed to attend class. Now that they were alone again, Yuu could physically feel their mood declining. There were options, as there always were. Several friends that they could text throughout the day to keep their mind off of things. Cater, of course, but he was a Junior and Yuu could never really tell how serious he was about his schoolwork. Ace and Deuce were a choice, but Crewel might actually give them concussions if he caught them texting during homeroom. (They were filed under maybe. They can all suffer in Ramshackle together if the Adeuce duo got concussed). They briefly thought of adding Lilia to that list then decided against it, along with Azul, Jamil, Silver, and Sebek; they'd no doubt have their hands full of talking Malleus down.

Idia was most likely in his room, dual-screening his classes and whatever RPG-MMO or anime he had started recently. Maybe he could answer them on why Ortho had been radio silent since they saw him on Saturday…

But, in the end, laziness won and Yuu returned to the nest Malleus had so lovingly crafted for them. It was warm and cozy, but definitely too big for just themselves; left too much space for their thoughts, mental conversations that told them of the multiple things they needed to do yet physically deemed too daunting at the moment. There were dishes to do that were never finished from Saturday; they definitely needed a shower, or at least to wash their face properly. Sighing, they just curled up in their too-big nest and closed their eyes. A nap fixes everything after all.

Three sharp knocks wake them up. Blinking in mild confusion before another three sharp knocks echo in the downstairs rooms. Yuu grabs their phone from outside the nest and looks at the time, only a few minutes past noon. Crewel must be bringing them lunch. But then they remembered Crewel had a horrible habit of thinking he was too good to knock on doors, simply opening and slamming them so hard he had no doubt gotten a door knob stuck in drywall before.

So who the hell-

The door opens, the sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floors flanked by more muted footsteps after the door was shut again. Yuu looked up from their phone to see Vil walk into the entryway of the lounge, hands filled with a cloth-wrapped package and a shiny hydro flask complete with a teal straw. From the side of the archway, Yuu could see Epel and Rook poking their heads in with expressions of wariness and glee respectfully.

“Oh, so you are awake. I knocked and you deliberately ignored me.” The actor rolled his eyes, walking further into the room and placing the package and hydro flask at the edge of the nest as faux offerings, “I took the liberty to make you lunch to reflect your body's needs. I expect you to eat it all.”

Yuu looked at the packaged meal, no doubt filled with Vil's horrible idea of a ‘balanced’ meal; AKA, unseasoned. They blink, looking up to the Junior, “I just woke up.”

Vil's expression grows more exasperated, the corner of his lip curling over his almost unnoticeable fangs in a mild sneer, “It's past noon…”

“Wow, Vil. You're so good at telling time. That's an amazing skill you got there…” Yuu's tone was flat, eyes slowly blinking as they kept focus on Vil's displeased face, “Did you train to read clocks or like-”

“Alright, that's enough out of you-” 

“Mon vieille amour! It's been so long since I've seen your visage.” Rook rushed in, kneeling in front of Yuu's prone form before they could actually gode Vil into a scuffle, “I've been in a state of heartbreak since Crewel placed the visitor ban on your home. Though my woes eased and soul sang when I noticed you were still accepting guests regardless! Is company an aid or a sacrifice during your plight?”

Yuu looks to Rook, making sure the Florian could see them blinking one eye at a time; a common way Yuu could silently tell Rook to ‘Shut up’, “...Could be better…could be better…”

Vil's brows creased, his annoyed expression moving to confusion, “That…is not answering the question…”

“What are you, a fucking lawyer?” Yuu rubs their eyes, “I just woke up, give me a minute.”

“Honestly-”

“Isit true y're bleeding out yur butt?” Epel called out from the entryway, ducking back when Vil quickly snapped to glare over his shoulder at the Freshmen

“Epel!”

“A-ah wanna know!”

Yuu finally propped themselves up, leaning weight on their elbows as they looked at Epel in confusion, “Why the fuck would I be bleeding out my ass?”

“That's what Deuce said!”

“Why is Deuce saying I'm bleeding out my ass!?”

Epel shrugs, his face just as bewildered as Yuu's, “Ah don' know!? He said Riddle said sum shit about it-”

“Epel.”

The Freshmen shut his mouth, looking away from Vil's no doubt glacial glare and tapping his pointer fingers together before he clears his throat. Epel spoke carefully, his accent being lost in his conscious effort to not swear, “Um…Deuce read some of Riddle's notes? I don't think he read them right, but then again I don't really…know where you're bleeding from…”

Yuu scoffs, “It's not my ass, I'll tell you that much…”

Rook perks up, eyes wide as his hands cover his mouth in a show of surprise, “Mon Dieu! I had hoped I had misheard Monsieur Crewel. Are you truly bleeding from such an area, mon vieille amour…?”

“Ye…” 

Vil gave them a concerned glance, opening his mouth only to whip around to glare at Epel's soft mutter of ‘gross’. Once he was properly scolded into silence, Vil looked back to Yuu, “Are you feeling alright? I heard from Crewel that he wasn't going to give you any more pain potions. Which is valid, so many potions in such a short amount of time isn't healthy for the body. But that does leave you without proper pain relief…”

“Lowkey, it’s so fucking weird you and Crewel hang out as like puh-seudo equals. Like, just admit you're both part of a fucked up clone project to destroy teenage boys through fashion and aggressively sharp eyeliner.”

Vil's look of concern quickly fell, glaring down his nose at the equally stone-faced Freshmen,  “Oh, are we fighting? Is that what you decided is going to happen? I come to you civilly, with food and concern, and you decide we're going to have a petty argument as my thanks? Understandable. You are a child.”

“How's it feel to fight a child and lose? Because you are, you're losing.”

“It feels like listening to you prattle on is clogging my pores…”

“Oh my Seven, you have pores?” Yuu gasps, mockingly covering their mouth as they whisper to Rook, “Embarrassing.”

“What do you MEAN-”

Epel and Rook share a look, letting the two continue their back-and-forth ‘bickering’. To the outside view, the two seemed to actually be arguing. But Epel knew Yuu and Rook knew Vil. Yuu was a bully at their core, but the way they poked at Vil was much softer than the people they truly verbally attacked. And Rook knew his queen was an icon of polite rebuffs, elegant insults with a smile, though that wasn't always his preferred method. Vil felt the need to chew people out as any stressed individual would. Yuu was simply a worthy opponent of wordplay, their bond closer than either wanted to admit. The two Film Research members did enjoy each other's company, they wouldn't keep spending time with each other if they didn't. If they found joy in verbally slapping at each other and critiquing bad movies until they were a fine paste, who were they to judge them…?

Truly, ‘Sibling Core’ as Cater once joked (only to be promptly cursed by Vil to trip every third step until he took back his statement).

“You're like an egg…that was cracked in the carton and just got a sticky film all over the other eggs, so you don’t wanna touch them.”

Vil tilted his head back to let out a single caw of a laugh before glaring back down at Yuu, “Oh, I'm a residue now? You're one to talk, you greasy onion. You look a mess, your hair is even more of a bird's nest than normal, and I can see the state of your skin from here. You clearly haven't been using the skincare routine I gifted you…” 

…

Yuu opened and then closed their mouth, a repeated action that made Vil raise a single eyebrow. The star already had another comeback locked and loaded, but he could be patient for Yuu to think up a response. He had to be fair after all…

But the comeback never came. Instead, Yuu started to blink rapidly, a look of frustration blooming on their face before they simply bowed their head and let out a single sniffle. Then another sniffle became a choked-back sob, as they fully curled into themselves to hide from view.

Rook straightened himself beside the nest, already reaching out to comfort Yuu, “Oh, mon-” only to be shoved out of the way as Vil dropped to his knees to grab at Yuu's shoulders.

“Are you crying!? No, I'm being completely serious, are you actually crying?” When the response was another wet-sounding sniffle and whimper, he climbed into the nest, a look of panicked determination slowly overtaking his face, “Do-don't cry. Come on, let me- is it the cramps? Here, this yoga pose should help ease the pain. Let me get you into it.”

Vil worked quickly but gently, managing to put Yuu into a sitting position with their knees bent and the soles of their feet pressed together. He crawled deeper into the nest, placing himself behind them and wrapping his arms around their middle when the crying Freshmen tried to fold back in on themselves.

“No! You're going to hurt yourself, you are not that flexible. Is this helping? I have other poses that should help. Please, stop crying. We can watch one of your horrifically scarring children's movies if you stop.”

Epel had retreated back to the entryway, gripping onto the wood and looking at Yuu in confused terror, “What's happenin’!? What ya do!?”

Vil glared at Epel, shaking his head, “Don't you blame this on me- Yuu, don't tell Crewel I made you cry.”

Yuu sniffled, trying to lie limply in Vil's hold, but the Junior kept them upright, “I'm sorry, I don't wanna cry anymore…”

Rook had pulled himself from the floor, gently cupping Yuu's cheek as he gazed at them in worry, “Mon petite! What has caused such sorrow? Truly, mon roi’s words weren't so harsh…?”

“I just…I feel bad. I haven't really felt good and it makes it hard to do things. I gotta list of chores I haven't done because I've been on the edge of hysteria for the past few days. I haven't showered since Saturday because I just wanna sleep and standing is annoying. Vil, I was gonna call you Monday, I promise. But then I went to school and everything was annoying and then I threw up and I forgot-”

Yuu's ramble slowly turned into more tearful crying. Vil was only mildly elated, as his words seemed to simply be a trigger instead of the cause. The issue now was that they didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. And the last thing Vil wanted was for the Freshmen to manage to cry themselves sick during his visit. Crewel would never let him hear the end of it…

Vil reached out of the nest, grabbing the thermos and trying to place the straw into Yuu's wailing mouth, “Here, have some smoothie. Get a healthy liquid in your body-”

“I don't want your fucking green juice, Vil!”

Everyone subtly leaned away from Yuu, eyes wide at the raw anger they suddenly displayed. Vil still pressed the cool flask to the Freshmen’s face. Both to demand they drink the smoothie and to help cool the flushing of Yuu's cheeks.

“It's not my blend. I used nothing but fruit in this! Strawberries, peaches, and mangos!” And a hearty handful of spinach, because lord forbid this child eat an uncooked leafy green. But he wasn't going to tell them that, “It's a treat, since you've been so ill…”

Yuu cast a disbelieving look at Vil, face pinched together before they finally took a sip from the flask's straw. At the promised taste of nothing but fruit, they took another gulp. Taking the flask from Vil, they weakly say, “It's good…thank you…”

Just as the Pomefiore trio thought they were in the clear, Yuu took in a shuddering breath that quickly turned back to a tearful muttering, “Sorry. I'm serious, I'm trying to stop crying.”

Epel called out from the archway, finally stepping fully into the room now that Vil was half-grappling with Yuu, “What ya even cryin’ ‘bout? Ah know Vil's smoothies can suck but they ain’t always that bad…”

Vil muttered briefly for Epel to stop blaming him for Yuu's crying fits. Yuu had taken another pause to gulp at the chilly fruit smoothie, taking the offered wrap Rook had handed them from the now-opened lunchbox.

“Dude, I've been a fucking train wreck for the past half week. This shit is normally over by now and I'm still dropping clots.”

Rook and Vil share a mildly horrified look at the mention of clots. Why are clots involved in this? Are clots supposed to be involved?

“I'm reaching new mental and emotional ATLs at, like, random intervals. I've got a sink full of dishes that I don't wanna do and I don't wanna ask anyone to do. I gotta shower, that's just a fucking fact; I don't wanna shower because while I'll feel great afterwards, that's a whole mental race just to get into the shower for some reason. And I'm also upset because I've gotta do so much laundry once this shit is over because I've been bleeding all over the nice things you guys have given me for the past four days-”

“Okay, okay.” Vil quickly shushed Yuu, guiding the chicken wrap from the lunch into their mouth in an effort to stop their hysterical spiral. Once Yuu was chewing the food, he snapped his fingers and called his other dorm members to attention, “Epel, go to Crewel and get the surprise. Whatever he has ready, simply package it and bring it back here. Rook, go to Pomefiore and bring me my spa kit.”

Epel nodded, turning around and rushing out of the room to race back to the school with nothing said other than ‘I'm on it’. Rook smiles, kneeling on one knee and bowing with a hand over his heart.

“Which kit would you prefer, mon roi?”

“The big one.” Vil looked to the Freshman in his arms, sighing softly before turning back to Rook, “And stop by Sam's to get them another treat…” He smiles at Yuu, tilting his head in a questioning manner, “Would you like a treat, dear little onion?”

“...” Yuu sniffled, “I want a chocolate bar…”

Vil nodded, petting Yuu's head, “Get them a dark chocolate bar-”

“I want a milk chocolate bar…”

“Dark chocolate is healthier, onion…”

Yuu sniffles, voice breaking at random intervals as they start to cry again, “I want a milk chocolate bar-”

“Fine. Oh my Seven- Rook, get them a milk chocolate candy bar and my large spa kit from my room.”

“Oui!” With a chuckle and tip of his hat, Rook turned to exit the room, “Please, no fighting while alone, you both fight dirty when no one is looking. Je reviens!” He waves as he disappears around the corner.

With Rook gone, Vil sighed. Mildly resigning himself to the act of cuddling his pseudo-sister until the others return. Gently carding his hand through their hair, he couldn't fight the grimace his face pulls at feeling its texture.

“Lord, your hair is greasy…”

Yuu looks at him, face almost pathetic with tears in their eyes, “Vil-”

“I'm going to fix it! It's fine! Shhhhh, eat your wrap. It was strangely hard to make food for you…”

Yuu takes another bite of the wrap, speaking around their full mouth, “I can see why. It actually tastes good, that must of been hard for you to do.”

Vil scoffs, petting Yuu's head as he glared off to the side and mumbled under his breath, “You are so lucky you're in pain…”

Epel was mildly surprised he managed to beat Rook back to Ramshackle. With an oblong box tucked under his arm, he entered the dorm, stopping briefly in the entry hall as he heard music. Closing the door behind him, he walked further in; the sound of the upbeat music getting louder and accompanied by soft groans.

“Hello?” Epel peeked into the lounge, his confused face fading seeing Vil lead a very unwilling-looking Yuu in the middle of exercise. 

Vil's voice cut through the music, jacket off as he gracefully did knee lifts to the beat of the music, “ -One and two, and one and two, and- knees up, onion! No wonder you feel awful, you've done nothing but laze around for days straight.”

Yuu groans, but picks their knees up higher in the standing knee lifts Vil had bullied them into doing, “Fuck you! I've been in pain for the past few days! I'm allowed to be lazy!”

The Junior rolls his eyes, his only show of solidarity being that he was exercising alongside Yuu, “Please. You've become so lazy in a matter of days that your own body is deteriorating; You could normally do this easily; I'm not letting you whine and pout your way out of keeping yourself healthy.”

Yuu glared over to Vil, shaking their head slowly yet keeping in pace with his knee lifts, “I swear to the Seven, I'm gonna find your fucking Eros Era white suede jacket you hide from me and I’m gonna fucking bleed all over it.”

Vil glared back with a matching intensity, “You stay away from my white clothing, you little-”

“Ah'm back!” Epel quickly yelled out, holding the box in the air, “Ah got the goods!”

“Oh, perfect timing, the infant was getting on my nerves…” Vil was quick to stop the music, handing a panting Yuu the hydro flask before walking over to Epel. He clicked his tongue, seeing Crewel had taken the time to wrap the box before giving it to Epel, “How many did he finish?”

“Hm…” Epel looked down at the box, a matte black gift box and a bright teal ribbon tied into a bow. Thinking back, he tried to remember just how many colorful pieces of cloth he saw Crewel throw into the box, “Ah think…around nine? Maybe ten? There were a lot of patterns…”

“Good enough…” Vil sighed, but took the box from Epel's hands, calling out to Yuu chugging from the hydro flask, “Yuu! Come here, we have a gift for you in this trying time.”

“If you give me more health shit, I will actually start swinging…”

“Just open the box.”

Yuu rolls their eyes at Vil's annoyed pout, snatching the box away from him. Once the box was untied, they opened it and looked inside in confusion, “What are these? Fabric samples?” 

They reach into the box, pulling out one of the ‘samples’ only to see it had already been cut and stitched into the shape of boyshort panties. They almost put the underwear back into the box, a mix of annoyance and frustration at seeing the cute patterns. What use was underwear to them right now? They would just ruin it by bleeding through it…

Then they notice the black fabric taking up the entire inner lining of the panties. Yuu raised an eyebrow, rubbing their thumb against the foreign feeling material, “What…is this?”

Vil smiled, watching as Yuu slowly realized what they were holding, “These took quite some doing; Crewel has been working on these articles since Saturday, I believe. He had to consult with Ms. Oster on what materials would respond best to the blood absorption potion, since gauze would certainly be unpleasant against such a delicate area…”

Yuu's eyes seemed to widen, glittering as they looked through the box at the adorable patterns, “He made me period panties!? Holy shit, I love this!” They squealed, moving to rush off to put their new underwear on, “I'm gonna wear them right now!”

Before Yuu could rush past Epel, Vil gripped the back of their shirt and yanked them back, “Oh no, you're not. You're going to get into the shower and scrub up. Then we're going to wait until Rook is back with my spa kit, and then you're going in the tub.”

“Does the mold in the air give you hyper bitch powers? Is that why you act like a total mom anytime you're in here?”

 “Wait, there's still mold…?” Epel mumbled under his breath, looking at the corners of the room in concern,

Vil scoffed, snatching the box and underwear from Yuu's hands, pointing to the stairs, “Just get in the shower before you start growing mold.”

Yuu mumbles in a high-pitched tone, mocking Vil as they walk up the stairs.

Rook had luckily appeared only a few minutes after Yuu had exited the shower. Though firmly scrubbed down and ready for a long soak, Vil had spent the past five minutes critiquing Yuu's unwashed hair. The annoyed Freshmen stating Vil was the one who said he was going to ‘fix it’.

What Yuu wasn't expecting was the size of Vil's ‘big’ spa kit. They had assumed it would at best be a briefcase filled with a few high-quality bottles of bubble bath and skin care. Instead, Rook walked back into the lounge wheeling behind him what Yuu could only think was the biggest rolling suitcase they had ever seen in their life. It was dark indigo, gold trimmed and hard shelled, a small lock keeping it closed.

Rook sighed, pulling the suitcase to stand in front of him, “Mon roi, apologies. I would have been back sooner, but you had changed the passcode to access your more…extensive kits…” He looks to Yuu, pulling a large candy bar from his breast pocket, “And your treat, mon petite!”

Yuu smiled, taking the candy from Rook and pocketing it in their fuzzy robe, “Oh, sick, thank you, Rook. Also, what the fuck is that?” They pointed to the hard plastic carrier, looking questioningly as Vil walked forward. They raise an eyebrow, watching Vil pull a key from a chain around his neck and unlock the suitcase, “Oh, damn; is this it? Is that the launch codes?”

“Shush. Now pick a fragrance; some of these oils do NOT mix nicely together…”

“Uh…floral?” Yuu watches as Vil rolls his eyes, opening the suitcase.

The case had small bottles upon bottles of various liquids strapped to the lid. In the bottom half, Vil folded out multi-shelved displays holding more secure glass and gold-trimmed vials. The bottom of the suitcase holding large a sealed container of glittery white powder.

Both Epel and Yuu blinked in wonder as Vil seemed to build out an entire pantry’s worth of shelves from the suitcase. Rook stood behind them smiling. The other Junior adoring their expressions, fondly thinking back to the first time he watched Vil unpack one of his kits. He still used that conditioner recipe…

“Honestly, the most basic…It's fine, I can work with that…” Vil looks through the multiple shelves, grabbing vials from labeled sections. He snaps his fingers, conjuring an ornate bottle and filling it halfway with the powder. Opening the vials, he delicately dripped small amounts into the bottle, “Jasmine…Vanilla…and…” he smiles, grabbing one more vial, “And Lavender!” Vil grabbed a few other vials, adding them in before capping the bottle.

With a flick of his wrist, magic courses through the glass and mixes the contents perfectly. Vil smiles as he presents the ombred soap to Yuu, “There we are. One floral scented bubble bath to promote muscle relaxation, moisturize, and just a bit of skin protection.” 

Yuu and Epel ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’, the two Freshmen looking at the bottle in wonder as the colors inside seemed to shift. Vil clicks his tongue and flicks Epel’s fingers away when he reaches for a vial inside the case, moving to close it before either underclassmen could shove their hands inside. 

“Just go get in the tub. You've eaten, exercised, and showered off the days of grime. Now you can simply relax and let the warm water fully heal you.”

Yuu was already half up the stairs, smiling at the swirling colored soap in hand, “Don't gotta tell me twice…”

Ramshackle was a big building. It was hard to see at times with how massive the other official dorms were, but Ramshackle was an insanely big home for two people alone. A fact that was discovered during the VDC. There were many a locked room in Ramshackle; a fact Crowley seemed to find no issue with and only produced random keys to open the doors for them when he wanted to.

But, luckily for Yuu, during the VDC, Rook had ‘revealed’ his love of kicking down doors. So, of course, Yuu let him kick to his heart's desire. And surprisingly, one room had been a massive bathroom with a small pool-sized indoor onsen that sat in a raised stone platform, the area seemingly themed after a jungle grotto. Kalim had concluded it was a group bath, noting that behind the brittle vines were changing rooms and there was a clogged drain in the center of the room. Vil had been elated to see it, and after a thorough cleaning, the group had taken to after practice soaks in the warm waters.

But now, it was simply Yuu's favorite bathtub.

They sighed contentedly, the bottle of bubble bath already half gone. Flora scented color-changing bubbles blanketed them. A small towel draped over their face, they had no plans to leave the tub for the next four days if the water stayed toasty.

Hearing a knock on the door, they sighed, “Come in, I guess…”

Vil opened the door, asking if they were decent before entering. When Yuu consented, he stepped into the room, his arms filled with a basket holding several bottles and more towels.

“Honestly, you would waste the water to fill this tub up, just for yourself.”

Removing the towel from their face, Yuu flipped Vil off but didn't move as the Junior knelt beside them, “Leave me alone. It's my tub anyway. I'll waste the water if I want.” They sank lower into the tub, ignoring Vil gently tugging on their hair to bring them to the edge.

“Come here, I'm washing your hair.”

“I already washed it.”

Vil tugged harder, fully jerking Yuu's head around as he glared. Their hair was an offensive texture, mildly wet, yet still clearly greasy. “You did not. Now stop being a brat and rest your head against the edge.”

Yuu groaned loudly, letting Vil place one of the towels around their neck before tilting their head back. Vil poured water over their hair, thoroughly soaking it before applying the first of many products he had brought up. 

Vil sighed, working the shampoo into Yuu's hair and scalp, muttering under his breath, “I swear, I have no idea what this ailment is, but you've managed to deteriorate in a matter of days. And you went to classes in this state? Your motives don't add up if you were trying to keep this all a secret.”

“Are you here to just nag me and have the option to drown me if I talk back?” Yuu had deadpanned, blinking lazily at the ceiling. They tilted their head back further to look at Vil when he sighed heavily.

“I was very…concerned. Well connected you are, you seem to forget you are a teenage girl who's been displaced in a completely new world with no actual support system past your schoolmates. There was no telling what had happened to you when I didn't hear back…” Vil poured more water into Yuu's hair, rinsing the suds and applying a second lather. “I take my care for you very seriously.”

Yuu huffed, rolling their eyes but keeping still as Vil cleaned their hair, “Yeah, is that why you made me exercise?”

“Yes.” Vil scoffed, rinsing Yuu's hair again and looking over his assortment before picking up a new bottle and wide-tooth comb, “Annoying as you may be, you are one of the Freshmen I've chosen to take under my wing. And as such, I will help you reach your full potential.”

“By force?”

“If it comes to it, we both know in an actual fight I would win…” Vil hummed working the product through Yuu's hair, “I know whatever is happening is painful for you, and that is tragic on its own. But lazing around was doing you no good in the long run. If anything it was making things worse since you barely had the energy to move.”

Yuu rolls their eyes, “Well, yeah…this shit hurts. I don't wanna move or do anything…”

“But once you did, you felt more energized, didn’t you?” At Yuu's silence, he smirked in triumph, “Call me mean all you like, but I expect you to treat yourself properly at all times. That means eating healthy, exercising, and pampering yourself as needed. Since you are in pain and quarantined, I will pamper you myself today.”

“...” Yuu tilts their head back again, smiling at Vil who smiles back, “Thanks…” Yuu moves to fully relax in the tub while Vil massages the product into their hair.

Only a few moments passed before Yuu's eyes blinked open. The products smelled familiar yet still foreign, “Wait, what stuff are you using?”

Vil didn't answer, contentedly working more of the coconut-scented product into Yuu's hair. 

Managing a glance to the basket, their eyes caught a familiar bottle that made them groan and attempt to escape Vil's grasp, “GOD DAMN IT, VIL!”

“I will drown you, stop fighting me-DON'T YOU SPLASH ME!”

Yuu scowled, glaring at an all too pleased Vil as he sat in the nest beside them, applying a green-tinted face mask to his cheeks. Their once straight hair had been restored into its natural state of fluffy 4A curls, “You just can’t let shit fucking be.”

“The very fact you willingly heat damage your hair to keep it straight is a crime I should kill you for.” Vil gently cupped a handful of curls in his hand, smiling as he bounced them lightly, “Your natural hair is gorgeous, you should wear it like this more often.”

“I should shave your head.”

“I should-”

Epel spoke from his spot beside Yuu, hair pinned back as he wore his own face mask, “Can y’all not fight when Ah'm like two inches away from ya?”

Vil huffed, rolling his eyes but releasing Yuu's hair, “We're not fighting.”

“Y’all are two cherry pits away from actually swinging on each other…”

Yuu snorted, whispering loudly to Vil so that Epel could still hear, “He's traumatized because me and Sebek bumped into him when we had a disagreement at a sleepover once-”

Epel glared, punching at Yuu's thigh, “You two rolled onta me while ah was sleepin’ and fought on top of me until Jack pulled ya off!”

Yuu whined, forcibly trying to kick Epel away from them as the other Freshmen started to punch at them repeatedly, “Vil! Epel hit me!”

Vil hummed, checking his nails and barely acknowledging the two squabbling next to him, “Epel, don't hit Yuu. She's already leaking blood.”

Epel groaned and made a series of grossed-out noises before trying to escape Yuu's range by rolling to the other side of the nest.

Yuu hummed and lifted their sleep shirt, looking at their new brightly patterned underwear, “Leaking isn't a problem anymore. These bad boys are iron clad; I don't even feel damp.”

“Put your shirt down.” Vil groaned, quickly pulling Yuu's shirt down to cover their underwear properly. Rolling his eyes as Yuu flashed their panties one more time before he stood, “I'm going to make myself a snack for the movie.”

“Rook is making us snacks for the movie.”

“No, Rook is making you both snacks. I'm making myself a snack that isn't an unhealthy mess drowned in mayo and salt.”

The Junior walked away, waving over his shoulder, “Don't fight, and please, Epe,l don't eat the mask.”

Epel gave a noncommittal noise, already swiping a finger across his face and mumbling as he put the digit in his mouth, “Don' eat the mask; don' make a face mask from bananas and avocados…”

Silence passes over the room, Yuu clicking through their laptop files to make sure their movie of choice was downloaded and prepped for viewing. Epel would glance over to his friend before looking away. Before long, he finally huffed and angled his body to face them directly.

“So…y’re bleeding out yur butt-”

“Not my ass, but go on.”

Epel scoffed, rolling over to his back to stare at the ceiling, “So y’re bleeding…and that's…normal?”

“Ye.”

“...” Epel's face pinches, his mind connecting the information yet still refusing it, “That sounds awful.”

Yuu chuckled, moving to lay down beside on their stomach, “Yeah, it fucking sucks. I wanna like…curl up and cry but also fistfight the sun.”

“It sounds like a curse. Like a really fucked up ole fae curse that they'd do to a cheater or somethin’. Make'em just leak blood for days…”

“...” Yuu's smile widened, “Could you imagine?” At Epel's confused expression, they continued, “If you could, like…learn to cast this as a curse, who would you cast it on?”

“...” Epel hummed, brows creasing before he snapped his fingers, “Crewel.”

“Oh my god? WHY!?”

Epel giggled, “Ah mean, if it'll be anythin’ like yurs, we'd get a week off from lessons because he'd rather be in a ditch somewhere.”

Yuu snorted, “No way, Crewel is tougher than me. He'd keep coming to classes and take his blood rage out on us.”

“Damn…true…”He nudges Yuu with his knee, raising an eyebrow, “Who would you curse?”

“...I mean if we're being correct, I would have started to sync up with the vaginas I spend the most time with. So…that'd actually be you and Vil.”

“No.”

“Yes. Could you imagine? All three of us synced up and trying to stay alive?”

“Ah would actually take ma’self out.”

“Wow.”

“The very idea of blood leakin’ outta me for days is so fuckin’ distressin’. But pair that with you and Vil? Ah couldn't survive…”

Yuu snorts, rolling their eyes and turning back to the laptop, “Weak bitch.”

Epel swings his arm to punch Yuu's thigh again, “If ya could pick though, who'd it be?”

“Oh, Leona.”

Epel had to set up as he gagged, his laugh choking him, “Why!?”

“He already acts like he's got PMS. I wanna see if he just, like…slips into a coma-stop punching me!”

They laughed and giggled, shoving and smacking each other as they chose more of their friends they would ‘curse’.

Rook had appeared midway through Epel and Yuu recreating a WWE SmackDown match. His blunt bangs pulled from his face by one of Yuu’s sparkly, fuzzy scrunchies.

“Ah! Such grace, such brutality. A duality of kin by spirit rather than blood. Marvelous, 100 points!”

Yuu spoke calmly, keeping Epel in a full nelson while the other Freshmen swore under his breath and squirmed, “Oh, hey Rook, did you need something?”

“Oui, mon petite amour. I wish to show you a new skill to aid you in this trying time. I will need you to release Monsieur Pommette to do so…”

Sighing, Yuu released Epel from their grasp and let him breathe, “Did you leave Vil in my kitchen? With my poor defenseless seasonings?”

Rook's only reply was to pat Yuu on the head and sit beside them, “May I touch your body, mon petite?”

“Rook, I'm begging you to learn how to speak to people in, like…some semblance of the average human being.”

Rook smiles, holding his hands out in silent command to place their body in his grasp.

Yuu sighs, elbowing a grumbling Epel beside them, “Can you make sure Vil doesn't actually throw out my seasonings he deems ‘unnecessary'?”

Epel grumbles a bit more but stands to walk into the kitchen. Once the other Freshmen was gone, Yuu placed both of their hands into Rook's waiting ones, “Okay. What are you showing me?”

Humming, Rook looked over their hands, his thumbs gently pressing into their palms periodically, “Is Acupuncture a practice in your world?”

“Yeah, it's the Eastern practice where you use needles on pressure points. Never had it done though, the idea of needles in my face was freaky.”

“Tres bien! It's similar then. I have always wondered if your body carried the same pressure points as ours, though I wasn't sure we were close enough to test such a theory. Be it physically or relationship-wise.”

Rook grabs one of Yuu's hands in both of his own; one to cradle Yuu's palm gently, and the other making firm small circles between their thumb and pointer finger.

“Yeah… 40-year marriage or not, I would not trust you near me with a pack of needles…”

Rook chuckles, fingers not stopping as they massage the point, “Luckily for me, these methods do not require needles. Though I do hope you will let me try one day.”

“Fuck no. You and needles are not something I wanna be in a room with- Oh…oh…”

“Ah! Is it taking effect?”

Yuu touched their head, blinking in mild astonishment, “My headache isn't so bad anymore.”

“This is one of the few points I shall teach you! It is called Large Intestine 6, it can alleviate headaches. Though do be careful, you can bruise yourself with these methods.”

Rook then spent the next few minutes showing Yuu the functions of various pressure points to ease their period symptoms. He even gleefully showed them other points where pressure would cause pain and momentary complete bodily paralysis.

Rook hummed as he gently thumbed the skin on the back of Yuu's neck, “For maximum effect, I would recommend applying pressure via an elbow jab.”

“I can't wait to stun Vil's arm the next time he tries to pull my ear while scolding me.”

“Please, do not. He will know I taught you this and backhand both of us into next week.”

Vil spoke as he and Epel walked back into the room, each carrying loaded trays, “Taught them what?”

“How to properly hold their head in a sitting position, mon roi!” Rook’s hand moved gently, firmly grasping the base of Yuu's skull and puppeteering their head to a more correct posture, “There we go! Now she may sit with her spine straight.”

Vil hummed, setting the large tray of snacks in front of the nest and looking Yuu over with a critical eye, “...I suppose it will have to do for now. This is a ‘Relax Day’ after all…”

Epel handed Yuu and Rook tall glasses of fruit smoothie, sitting beside Yuu and looking over their laptop, “Is the movie ready?”

Yuu took a moment, simply enjoying the taste of strawberries, mangos, and the hint of tart orange juice. With a few clicks, the TV came to life, mirroring their laptop screen, “Yep! Epel, the master remote should have a button for the lights.”

Soon, everyone was cozy in the nest, snacks close with a chilled beverage in hand.

Vil raised an eyebrow, already judging the movie by the overly cartoony opening, “And this movie is for…children?”

“Ye…I think…it was an 80’s movie. So ‘For Kids’ normally just meant no titties or swear words.”

Epel’s face quickly soured, glaring at Yuu, “Ah swear ta the Seven, if this anything like that Oz movie-”

Yuu giggled, shushing Epel, “Making you guys watch 'Return to Oz’ * was for my own sick pleasure. This won't be like that, I promise.”

Rook sighed, “I should hope not. Monsieur Pommette could not sleep for days…”

Waving them off, Yuu kept their eyes glued to the screen as the movie’s opening twist was revealed, “Don't worry. ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ is the perfect relax day movie.”

The Pomefiore boys all sat huddled around Yuu, eyes wide in terror as they watched the villain stalk closer and closer to the detective.

“When I killed ya brother! I talked! Just! Like! THIIIIIIIIIIIS!”

Vil whispered harshly to Yuu, mildly afraid to take his eyes off the screen, “This movie is for children?”

“Yeah. The 80’s were wild…”

*Lowkey I wanted to put The Wiz instead but I remembered that movie being delightful besides the single scene in the subway. Return to Oz, however, keeps getting purged from my memory every time I watch it for good reason.

[ficsbyabby]

Mornings After a Mission

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x female!Reader

Warnings: nothing, could be interpreted as implied smut but it doesn't have to be

Words: 1194

a/n: This is for @omgrachwrites 1k follower celebration! I chose the prompt "Stop moving and let me braid your hair!" Check it out; this girl rules! And thanks for the love on the last post!!

Russian is google translate, so my apologies. Feel free to leave a correction if this is wrong!

милый= darling

дорогой= sweetheart

It was the morning after a mission. You had gotten back late last night, and with the debriefing and how gross you felt, you hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Nat. You had recently started dating, and while you weren't to the point of sleeping together, you usually talked to her before bed and gave her a kiss. Stretching (and wincing when you realized how sore you were), you got up in search of Nat and maybe, breakfast.

In the kitchen of the common floor, Nat was feeling guilty. The mission had been rough. You had gotten hit pretty good by a couple of agents, and she had been busy trying to get to the hard drive, so she hadn't been able to check on you. She knew you were tough; it wasn't about that. Nat wasn't used to this feeling, the way she felt about you. She had fallen head over heels for the newest avenger, this girl fresh out of the SHIELD academy, the one who bounced on the balls of her feet when shown a new weapon. You were pure, something Nat wasn't used to. So here she was, attempting to make your favorite breakfast, planning out a day with you.

You shuffled into the kitchen, yawning. You were so focused on getting coffee that you hadn't noticed your girlfriend standing at the stove. What you did notice was your coffee, made the way you liked, set in your favorite mug, already on the counter. Looking up, you grinned.

"Nat! Thank you, my saviour!" you gushed dramatically.

"You're welcome, I wasn't able to check on you last night, милый, so I'm making up for it." she replied, snorting a little at your theatrics.

"There isn't anything to make up for! I didn't come to see you either! And check up on me? I'm a big girl, I'm fine!"

"Too bad, I'm spending the day with you. We're doing the dorky couple stuff, movie, dinner, whatever you want." Nat answered, ignoring your protest at her checking up on you.

"Whatever I want? I've got some thinking to do." you considered your options.

"Whatever you want, дорогой."

"Okay, first I want you to not burn the tower down trying to make... that." you told her, scrunching your nose up at the smell of burning.

Natasha whipped around, groaning at the burnt mess she had created. Scraping away what was meant to be a nice breakfast, she was grateful for her forethought to have a backup. Slipping away to her room (the greatest hiding spot, no one went into her room), she returned quickly, proudly holding a box of donuts from that little place down the road from the tower. You smiled and took your favorite from the box, happily eating.

"Donuts! Thanks, Red!" Tony exclaimed, walking in, much too peppy for this early and going for the box.

"Nope!" Nat answered, swiping it before Tony could get it, "These are for y/n."

"Come on! This is my tower, share the donuts!" he argued, a pout forming on his face.

Grinning at the exchange, you passed Tony a donut. Though Nat groaned outwardly at the action, inside, she was beaming. This was why she loved you. You were so kind to everyone. She expected this to happen, which was why there were more donuts stashed away. She retrieved them and set them on the counter as more avengers filled the common room. After a few minutes of quiet, filled with the sounds of eating and the occasional groan, Tony suddenly spoke up.

"So why does y/n get donuts? We were all on that mission!"

"Because y/n's her girl, that's what you do." Steve answered.

"That's right! We're spending the day together doing that coupley stuff so don't you dare call me down to the lab because you accidentally blew yourself up! Call dum-E.," you told Tony.

"Ooh, Red and y/n/n are going to be gross today. Thanks for the warning." Tony snarked back. "And I certainly will not call Dum-E. I like the building intact.

Nat shook her head, a fond smile on her lips. The rest of breakfast was filled with similar exchanges. You and Tony could go head to head for hours. You were the only one on the team that could match Tony without ending up in a snit for hours afterward, a trait Natasha and the rest of the team admired.

Soon the group dispersed. With a day off, the team had the freedom to do whatever they pleased. When you and Nat were the only ones left, you both started on cleaning up. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, you started talking.

"So let's definitely watch a movie. Maybe one of those silly rom-coms, and then we can go out for lunch. That can be your choice because I am not deciding everything we do. After that, we'll change into pajamas and do absolutely nothing. Take-out for dinner in one of our rooms if we want to be alone, or we can see what the rest of the team is doing."

"Sounds good, дорогой. But for lunch let's just go for a walk until we spot something that we want. Just a nice casual day." Nat replied.

"Awesome!"

With a plan in place, you finished cleaning up the mess that the Avengers tended to leave when eating and made your way to the movie room. Snuggled up next to Nat, you put on some cheesy movie and relaxed. An hour into it, you got bored; after all, you were used to being busy. You brightened up as you got an idea.

"Tasha, can I braid your hair? My hands need to do something." you whined at her.

This was a pretty big request. Natasha was quite proud of her hair. It was always perfect, something you were quite jealous of. You expected her to say no, for her to take your hands and lay back, but Natasha Romanoff was full of surprises.

"Okay."

Natasha shifted a little so you could reach her hair. You thanked her repeatedly as you got to work making the perfect Dutch braid. Nat sat still for a few minutes, watching as the man on the screen made some declaration to a girl who was not interested. Soon though, she reached a hand behind her and stroked whatever part of you she could reach. Soon that progressed to her snuggling closer. Finally, she turned her head to try and kiss you.

"Nat stop moving and let me braid your hair!" you complained, but your laughter and smile betrayed you.

Utilizing her skills, she wiggled out of your hold without pulling her hair and grabbed you. Pulling you close, she started kissing you, anywhere she could reach. You soon did the same. The two of you were delighted, close to each other, until...

"Oh come on! When I said you guys were being gross, I meant, like being cheesy and giving me cavities. Cavities not nausea!" Tony exclaimed, interrupting your moment.

Nat stuck her middle finger at him, pulling you up off the couch and into her bedroom.

You never did finish that braid.

[girliism]

LAST CHRISTMAS.

pairing: tashi duncan x reader

summary: in which tashi goes back home for christmas.

note: childhood friends that fell out to lovers, it’s 2013, use of y/n, tashi sexuality confrontation, ugly sweater party, me yearning to experience my childhood christmas again is manifested in light shows and tree mazes, semi proof read but only the beginning, word count idk i wrote this on tumblr but it’s kinda long (sorry), divider by @ issysh3ll

-

it’s cold. that’s the first thing tashi thinks when she steps out of her car and onto the snowy driveway of her childhood home. she hasn’t spent a christmas here since she left for college, but all the decorations are the same. save for the mini tree that her younger self would personally decorate. that was missing.

—

“tashi!” her mother greeted her at the front door. “we’re so happy to have you back this year.” it’s warm now, with the heat coming from inside the house and her mothers arms wrapped around her. she felt at home.

“we’re so glad you decided to come.”

“you’ve been gone so long.”

“how was the drive?”

“oh, tash we missed you last year.”

her family spoke all at once to her as her mother placed another plate of food in front of her. “you must be hungry from the drive.” she had said.

tashi answered their questions with a smile, just glad none of them had asked about art yet.

“so, where’s my future son in law? will he be joining us later?” she felt the eyes of her mom, dad, and little brothers staring her down. tashi harshly swallowed the food in her mouth before placing her fork down. she knew what they were expecting to hear, and it was not…

“we decided to call off the engagement.”

no one said anything, they just looked at her, processing what she had said. “good, i always knew he was a douche.” her little brother said, breaking the silence. “nico!” her mom let out a groan, smacking him on the head. she watched her scold him for the comment he made. he sent her a wink and tashi gave him a nod, silently thanking him for taking the focus off her and the bomb she just dropped.

—

tashi tucked herself into her old bed. her room hadn’t changed a bit, the same poster still littered her walls, fairy lights she put up at thirteen still working to make her room feel a little less dark.

her dad and brothers were gone by the time she woke up, only her mother sat in the kitchen writing what she assumed was a christmas dinner menu.

“morning.”

“good morning honey, how was your sleep.” tashi made her way to the coffee maker.

“good.”

her mom watched her move about the kitchen. filling up her cup with coffee, opening the cabinet to grab a bowl and some cereal then to the fridge for some milk. after assembling her breakfast tashi could still feel her mothers eyes on her. tashi slowly brought her graze from her bowl to her mom.

they had a silent staring match. tashi could tell her mom was holding back from asking her about what she said last night.

tashi rolled her eyes. “ok, go on, ask.” tashi’s mom shook her head turning her attention back to her menu pretending not to know what she was talking about. “i don’t know what you’re referring too.” another eye roll. “mom.” her mom let out a sigh taking off her glasses. “ok, fine. what happened? you two were perfectly in love the last time i saw you, and now you’re no longer together?”

she understood her mother’s confusion. on paper her and art were perfectly in love but behind closed doors tashi felt like she was trying to keep up with art’s affection for her. it also didn’t help that she made an unforgivable mistake in atlanta that still eats her up inside two years later.

“the engagement itself was already kinda rushed and after awhile it stopped feeling….right. i guess.” in the beginning tashi was happy to be engaged but then the more she thought about it the more out of control she felt, like she was suffocating. the title of future mrs. art donaldson reaching out and choking her.

tashi shrugged playing with the now soggy cereal in her bowl. “it was a clean break up. art was upset, i mean who wouldn’t be. but he uh… wants me to keep coaching him so i guess he doesn’t completely hate me.” she let out a sighed laugh. “oh, tash.” her mom placed her hand on top of tashi’s fidgeting one. “the two of you are so young anyway. and hey, if it ever starts feeling right again there’s still time.” tashi gave her mom a sad forced smile.

the air around them had turned all depressing and sad until her mom cleared her throat. “on a happier note. dad put an order out for a mini tree that’s waiting to be picked up. usually we’d go get and decorate it ourselves, but you’re here now and we thought maybe you could revive this old tradition?” her mom poked lightly at her cheeks with a small smile.

“yeah, i’d like that.”

—

tashi left her mom to go shopping while she made her way to tree shop across the street.

the smell of pine from the array of christmas trees took her back to when she was younger. running through the maze of giant trees with her brothers while her parents bought the tree.

“tashi?”

a voice calls her name. a voice she hasn’t heard in over seven years.

tashi turned around to be faced with you.

you had been coming back from helping a family load a tree into their car where you saw a tall figure standing near the entrance. you were going to pass her off as just another costumer but the way she was standing always with perfect posture felt too familiar.

“tashi, wow. i thought that was you. what are you doing back home?”

“y/n, hey.” after all these years your name felt for so foreign on her tongue. “i’m just back for the holidays.” tashi hadn’t prepared for this interaction. which she probably should have since this is your families christmas tree farm she’s shopping at.

you smile at her. you had stopped expecting tashi to come back after the first two years you spent knocking on the duncan’s door, not so discreetly asking if tashi was home. but she was here now and you had really missed her, even after everything.

tashi cleared her throat. “so, your dad still making you work.” you huffed a little laugh. “yeah, expect now he actually has to pay me.” having a family business that thrived during christmas ment spending your winter break freezing your ass off in a little christmas tree outfit, or twirling a sign, to now helping sell actual trees.

“it really isn’t that bad-”

“tashi duncan is that you?” a loud voice cut you off, turning your focus from each other and onto the person it belonged too. your dad.

“yes, sir it’s me.” tashi made her way towards him. “how have you been?” your dad immediately pulled her in for a hug, catching her off guard. “how have i been? no, how have you been? gosh it’s been years. you know, y/n complains constantly about how we had lost you to the superficial california life.” he let out a full belly laugh. tashi’s eyes flicked towards where you were standing, cheeks showcasing a slightly blush that’s could either be from the cold or embarrassment.

your dad turned to look at you. “y/n, why don’t you go and get tashi her tree while we catch up.” the man gave you no room to argue back, with an eye roll you stomped your way through the snow.

when you come back, your dad and tashi were laughing like a pair of old friends. topbled over clutching their stomach, you could hear their mixed laughter from the few feet away that you were.

“i got the tree.”

you and tashi carried the tree across the street to her car yourselves. her at one end you at the other. you could see her breath in the the cold air whenever she huffed.

the back door to her car is slammed shut after the tree is mounted onto the top of her roof.

“well, it was really nice seeing you again tashi.” the smile you gave her was tight lipped. “don’t be a stranger.”

tashi watched you walk away and it was giving her a sick sense of deja vu.

“y/n.”

you stopped and turned around.

“did you wanna help me decorate this tomorrow?”

it was a childish ask, helping decorate a tree but tashi was desperate. desperate to keep talking to you, desperate to try and mend the one good thing she once had.

“i don’t have anything better to do.”

numbers were exchanged and goodbyes were said. you made your way back across the street leaving tashi at her car.

“hey, was that y/n?” tashi’s mom came back with groceries in her hand. her voice snapping tashi out of her head. “huh? oh, yeah it was.” her mom opened the car door, dropping the bags inside. “hm, she was always a nice girl.”

—

you sat in your car outside tashi house, your thumbs anxiously drumming on the steering wheel. you eyed your watch a couple times until the hands read 12:00 before stepping out into the cold.

even in the day time the duncan’s lavishly decorated house looked amazing. candy cane sticks stuck out of the ground lining the driveway all the way up to the porch.

three knocks were delivered onto the door. you waited, staring down at the brown mat when the door opened.

“give me just one minute i’ll be right out.” tashi told you, disappearing back into her house.

you’ve done this a million times in your youth. waiting outside on the porch swing for tashi so the two of you can go play. old habits must die hard, because here you were falling into easy motion of swaying back and forth. the wood creaking every so often while you waited.

tashi finally stepped out in a white north face coat with matching gloves. she was carrying a big box full of christmas tree decorations, a wide smile on her face.

you silently wrapped the tree with light while tashi kneeled over the box rifling through the balls of ornaments, picking whatever caught her eye.

you cleared your throat. “so, what’s life like for you nowadays.”

tashi hummed, thinking back on her day to day. she’d wake up unbelievable early, train with art, take a break to answer emails and check schedules, another training session with art, have dinner together, then do it all over again tomorrow.

“to be honest, really fucking boring.” you both laughed.

“what, not having fun planing your wedding?” you cringed at how your words came out a lot snarky then intended.

tashi sighed, standing up and walked over to you with four ornaments in her hand. she passed two to you. “that’s actually not happening anymore.” she spoke softly, dropping one of the shiny plastic balls onto the tree.

“oh.” you bit at your lip and mumbled. “sorry.” tashi just shrugged.

“at least now you don’t have to send me a pity invite.” you joked, trying to lighten the mood. which seemed to work because tashi shot you the look she always gave when you would distract her. that unimpressed, slightly amused look that had you biting back a smile.

“shut up. you would have gotten a real invite.”

you gasped overly dramatic placing a hand over your heart. “are you saying i was really on the guest list?”

“of course you were.” tashi scoffed. “you’re supposed to my maid honor. remember.” she nudged your shoulder.

like most girls, you and tashi spent a lot of time planning your weddings. tashi’s wedding would be first then yours the day after because having a wedding on the same day was cliche in tashi’s eyes. though you wanted the wedding to take place on the same day for a totally different reason.

“i also remember you wanting a pink wedding dress. does that still stand?” tashi let out a loud laugh, shaking her head. “god no!”

the rest of the decorating went on like that. light laughs and joking until if was time to put on the star.

you passed the star off to tashi but she pushed back into your hands. “you put it on.” she insisted. you shook your head. “it’s your tree, you should but the star on.” tashi sigh obnoxiously, putting her hands on your shoulder. “exactly, it’s my tree meaning my rules and i want you to put it on.”

she was looking you right in the eyes and it was making your beat a little faster than normal. never being able to deny tashi, you place the star right on the head of the tree. “pretty.” tashi muttered, looking at the newly decorated tree while you looked at her. “yeah, pretty.”

tashi walked you to your car. “so, are you coming tomorrow?” tomorrow. the duncan’s annual christmas eve ugly sweater party. “yeah, i’ll be the one in the ugly sweater.” tashi laughed again and this was probably the most she’s laughed in the past year. “i’ll keep a look out.” you nodded and got in your car.

—

“do you think i should have brought more wine?”

“mom.”

“honey, one bottle is more than enough.”

“i should’ve brought the rosé”

you rolled your eyes as you mom argues with herself over which alcoholic beverage she should have brought.

the front door to the duncan house opened. tashi parents greeted yours then pointed you in the direction of the kitchen where tashi was.

inside the house was warm from the fireplace burning and the amount of bodies in it. christmas music played throughout the home and you followed the smell of gingerbread to find tashi hunched over a freshly baked try.

“nice sweater.” you said loudly over all the music and talking.

tashi playfully rolled her eyes at you. she knew her sweater her wasn’t nice it was incredibly cheesy, santa playing tennis. typical. “not as nice as yours.” she pointed out, handing you a glass of eggnog.

“doesn’t get as nice as santa on a stripper pole, does it.” you took a sip of the obviously spiked drink. tashi shook her head smiling and you couldn’t help but smile as well.

the party went on as it does every year. very intense games of charades are played, the team with you and tashi winning multiple times. the adults getting way to hyped on the spiked eggnog causing a very unserious but very heated discussion on what christmas movie is truly the best.

“you wanna get out of here.” you jumped at the sound of tashi’s voice echoing through your ears. you look up at where she was standing above you nodding her head to the back door she started walking towards.

you slowly slipped out your chair, grabbing your shoes from the front door and making your way to the kitchen, slipping out the doors to find tashi waiting for you.

snow covered the entire ground and in the distance sat the treehouse tashi’s dad built her years ago. it was still standing, looking in perfectly good shape. you eyed the treehouse then tashi, nudging her shoulder.

“last one there is a rotten egg.” you stated. tashi gave you a competitive look wasting no time bursting out in a sprint to the treehouse. you immediately chased after her, the cold wind blowing against your face. you won by a landslide, climbing up the ladder and into the house.

“wow.” you muttered to yourself. not a single thing had changed. the same bean bags and drawings filled the tiny space. tashi finally pulled herself up with a slight struggle. she rested her back against one of the walls, her head thrown back and eyes closed as she tried to steady her breath.

you placed yourself next to her watching as her hands massage over her knee. her knee. you knew what happened, everyone knew what had happened.

“does it hurt?” you spoke softly. “sometimes. only if i push myself to far.” you chewed on your bottom lip, a nervous habit you had yet to kick. “i wanted to call you know… when it happened.” tashi scoffed. “yeah, well you didn’t.” you flinched, her words were harsh.

“i know, and i’m sorry for not being there for you. i just—we hadn’t talked since that day.” you sighed, eyes locking with tashi’s brown ones. “i just figured i was the last person you wanted to see.” tashi moved her hand from her knee and slotted your hands together, fingers interlocking. her face was so close to your, noses nearly touching, you could smell the peppermint candy cane she was eating earlier on her breath.

“i wanted you there. god, i wanted you there so badly. probably would have felt less alone.” you squeezed her hand. “i’m here now.”

tashi would probably—definitely hate herself for doing this later but right now it felt right to inch her face closer to yours. you slowly mirroring her movements. your lips so close to touching, eyes closed… then a loud knock rang though the treehouse before the latch in the floor opened causing you and tashi to rip away from each other.

a head of brown curls popped through. “tash, mom’s looking for you, time to say goodbye to guest.” her little brother looked over to you. “hey, y/n.”

“hi, nico.”

the two siblings left the treehouse but you stayed for a while until the cold got unbearable.

“it was such a lovely party, thank you again for having us.” your mother and tashi’s hugged while your dads made plans to get beers together soon. you zipped yourself into your coat, making you way over to tashi.

“bye, tash.” you whispered. she gave you a short wave and closed lip smile. and you and your parents were out the door.

—

it was christmas morning and tashi hadn’t got out of bed yet. all night and all this morning she replayed in her mind what happened, or rather almost happened in the treehouse. what if her brother never interrupted, would she really have kissed you? her train of thought was stopped when her phone pinged with a message from you.

[from: y/n]

good morning, merry christmas.

tashi closed her phone, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. she couldn’t respond to you, not yet. not while her was swimming with things she thought she got over.

making her way down the stairs, she could hear laughter coming from the kitchen and elf playing in the background from the living room tv.

“there she is. thought we were gonna have to have breakfast without you.” her mother placed a hand on her cheek and passed her a plate. the both of them moving to join everyone else in the living room.

seating here watching her family open presents, laugh and crack jokes had tashi questioning herself. why had she taken so long to come home?

every year you town sets up a light display where you come drive through and see all the decorations. and every year you and tashi would have your parents drive through the past all the displays before meeting up in the middle where hot chocolate was for a dollar was served.

you didn’t even know if tashi was coming, but you still stood outside the hot chocolate stand with a tiny wrapped present in your hand. then a black suv that you knew belonged to the duncan family pulled up and exited the vehicle, tashi being the last.

she wearing that same north face coat and you made you way to her.

“hey, did you get my message?” tashi hummed. “i did, merry christmas.”

you nodded, taking a deep breath holding out the present you had in your hand for her to take. tashi’s eyes widened as she took the box from you. “oh, you didn’t have to get me anything-” you stopped her. “it’s fine, i technically didn’t get this for christmas. it was the supposed to be the gift i gave you after you won the us open juniors.”

tashi’s heart fell at that. us open juniors. the open she met art and patrick at. the open she practically forbade you from coming to.

—

“ok, so we’re all set. i’ve made the playlist to last us the whole plane ride.”

tashi slammed the truck of her parents car shut before walking over to you. “about that… um, do you mind if you miss this on?”

you stopped what you were doing. “why?”

tashi shrugged, playing with a lose thread on her shirt. “it’s just, i really need to focus and you being there would throw me off.” you rolled you eyes. “i’ve been to every single one of your games, tash. how is this one different?”

tashi really didn’t wanna fight right now she just need you to listen to her. “it just is, ok.”

you narrowed your eyes. “is this about what happened last night? is that why you’re being all weird?” tashi’s head immediately snapped up to look at you. “no!” yes. the kiss that happened the night before had really messed with tashi’s head, a lot more then she could handle. “last night was nothing, it doesn’t have to do with anything. you just distracted me and i can’t afford distractions.”

you scoffed, not having the energy to argue with her. “whatever, tashi. good luck at game.” you walked away from her.

—

that memory played like a movie in tashi’s mind as she looked down at the box in her hand.

“anyways, it’s probably pathetic that i kept it after all these years but i thought you should have it.” you didn’t notice the tears had started to well in tashi’s eyes until she looked up at you. “tash?”

“i’m sorry.” her voice cracked. “i’m sorry for shutting you out like that.” you shook you head with widen eyes. “it’s fine, it’s ok. i’ve gotten over it, really.” you tried to reassure her.

“but it’s not ok. i was mean to you, i basically cut you out of my life because i was scared. scared of what that kiss ment. scared of what would happen after.” she took a deep breath. “i was scared of myself and fucking terrified of my parents. and i took it out on you. you, the only person to this day that makes my stomach feel all weird and my insides warm. so many times i wanted to call you or reach out to you but i kinda thought you hated me-” tashi’s rambling was cut short by your lips on hers. your lips that were warm despite the freezing cold.

for that moment where yours and tashi’s lips moved as one everything felt right, like the last seven years had been leading up to this moment.

tashi broke the kiss to look you in the eye. “sorry for being a bitch to you.” she apologized again, prompting you to roll your eyes. “just so you know i could never hate you.” you bumped your nose on hers. tashi let out a huffed laugh, bringing one of her hands up to your cheek to pull you in for another kiss not caring that you were standing were anyone could see because right now it was just you and her.

—

[plotbunnysyndrome]

More Than Honour

Chapter 32: Love Letters and Other Accidents

Anthony Bridgerton x fem!reader

Introduction: It began, as many minor disasters do in large country estates, with far too much time, far too little supervision, and at least one dramatic sibling armed with ink. A letter was written — extravagantly, anonymously, and with absolutely no sense of scale. Written as a joke, delivered by mistake, and read by exactly the wrong person.  In most households, the misdelivery of a letter might cause mild inconvenience. In the Bridgerton household, it causes existential panic. Widespread confusion, emotional misfires, and one girl trying very hard not to lose her composure while plotting dinner conversation like a spy. In unrelated news, Gregory and Benedict are not allowed near ink for the rest of the season.

The morning sun had no mercy.

It spilled through the Aubrey Hall breakfast room like an overzealous guest, illuminating every groan, wince, and questionable decision made the night before.

Colin shuffled in first, sunglasses on indoors, clutching a carafe of orange juice like it was a religious artifact. “If anyone speaks above a whisper,” he muttered, “I will bite them.”

Eloise followed, hair aggressively braided to hide the chaos of her hangover. “That was not wine. That was witchcraft.”

“I told you,” Benedict said, dragging his feet behind her, “that Lucien’s bottle of brandy had a death wish.”

Daphne, already seated with a perfectly arranged plate of fruit and a suspiciously smug look, sipped her tea. “I feel fine.”

Simon, beside her, deadpan: “She drank water between each glass. Like a monster.”

Then—storm clouds.

A pair of furious younger siblings exploded into the room like a comedic wrath of God.

Hyacinth, arms folded, eyebrow raised, voice sharp. “Excuse me. Is this the breakfast for people who deliberately excluded minors from emotional carnage and poor decisions?”

Gregory, trailing behind, flailing. “You left us out. Of drinking games. And a secret terrace party. AND BENEDICT READ SHAKESPEARE TO A FOOT.”

Benedict, sitting down slowly: “...I wasn’t proud of that moment.”

“You weren’t there, Hyacinth,” Eloise croaked, forehead on the table. “You didn’t see Colin try to waltz with a tree.”

Colin, not lifting his head from his folded arms: “The tree asked me first.”

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes. “I would have thrived.”

Gregory collapsed into a chair. “Did anyone at least duel?”

Simon, expression perfectly deadpan: “Verbally. Through poetry. And disappointment.”

Anthony entered next, late, composed, and wearing the expression of a man who had almost avoided being dragged into emotional warfare but was pulled into it anyway like a stubborn shipwreck.

Hyacinth spotted him instantly. “Ah, the brooder has arrived.”

Anthony poured coffee without comment.

Daphne grinned. “He laughed last night.”

Everyone looked at her.

Anthony sighed. “We were all drunk.”

“You laughed,” Benedict echoed, like he’d spotted a unicorn. “Like… a real laugh. With teeth.”

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes. “This is why we should be invited. History was made.”

From the hallway, the sound of two more arrivals.

You and Lucien walked in together, mid-conversation. You looked half-hungover, half-luminous, hair a bit tousled from sleep, eyes bright with mischief and exhaustion.

Lucien looked insufferably composed.

“Good morning,” he greeted, with just enough smugness to be slapped.

“Absolutely not,” Eloise mumbled into her toast.

Daphne’s eyes sparkled. “You two look well rested.”

You arched an eyebrow. “I can assure you, we were not.”

Anthony choked slightly on his coffee.

Hyacinth looked between the two of you, narrowed her eyes dramatically, then shoved a piece of toast in her mouth like it was popcorn and said, “Do go on.”

Lucien smirked and took the only empty seat left — next to Anthony.

You, traitorous creature that you are, sat beside Hyacinth, leaned into her, and whispered, “We did nothing scandalous.”

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes again. “That’s even worse. Because now I know something happened. You had a DRINKING GAME,” she hissed. “WITHOUT US.”

“You’re children,” Simon muttered.

Gregory gestured grandly. “I am fifteen years old. In many cultures, I would be married by now.”

Eloise peeked from under her cucumber slices. “In many cultures, you would also be beaten with a stick for trying to flirt with Lady Danbury’s niece last year.”

“That was one time!”

“And a terrible time,” Benedict groaned, massaging his temples. “I still have secondhand trauma.”

Lucien, ever smooth, sipped his coffee. “It was for your own good,” he said lightly. “Alcohol and Hyacinth is a combination no society is ready for.”

Hyacinth narrowed her eyes. “One day you will regret excluding me.”

“Is that a promise?” Daphne asked, grinning.

Hyacinth held up her fork like a dagger. “It is a prophecy.”

Gregory, sipping juice like it was wine, said, “I want a recount of every event I missed. Chronologically. With footnotes.”

Simon leaned across the table. “Did you not climb through the dumbwaiter last night?”

“I was locked out,” Gregory said, indignant. “And abandoned.”

Hyacinth raised her glass of juice. “To justice.”

Anthony groaned. “To silence.”

Lucien raised his teacup. “To encore performances.”

Colin, face still in his arms: “To someone removing the sun from the sky, permanently.”

You couldn’t help it. You laughed. Genuinely. Loudly. And just a little bit guiltily.

There was a lull in the laughter as Violet entered.

Poised. Regal. Entirely too awake for someone over forty who raised eight children.

She paused just inside the room, one eyebrow raised, surveying the scene like a general taking stock of casualties.

“Oh good,” she said brightly. “You’re all alive.”

A collective groan.

She moved to the head of the table, picked up a scone, and gestured vaguely at Colin’s collapsed form. “How is he still horizontal?”

“Guilt,” Eloise muttered. “And gin.”

“I’m never drinking again,” Colin whimpered from the depths of his cushion prison.

“You say that every time,” Violet replied, breaking her scone in half.

She glanced around. “I trust the adults-only escapades did not end with any broken bones, ruined reputations, or unplanned engagements?”

Anthony muttered, “Not for lack of effort.”

“Good,” Violet replied smoothly. “Then you’ll all be perfectly ready for tomorrow evening.”

There was a beat of silence.

A slow shift.

The words landed.

Tomorrow.

The Hearts and Flowers Ball.

You felt it first — that strange, queasy drop in the stomach. Not from the alcohol. From the weight of things left unsaid.

Simon sat up straighter. Daphne’s fingers stilled around her teacup. Lucien didn’t move, but his expression softened. Anthony’s jaw shifted.

Violet, noticing the shift, gave a serene little smile and stood.

“Do remember,” she said, brushing a crumb from her skirt, “we may host the event, but once the ton arrives… the show must begin.”

And then, like a queen bestowing a final warning, she swept from the room.

Silence lingered.

Then—

“Will there be weapons?” Hyacinth asked suddenly.

Every head turned.

“I mean,” she continued innocently, “if it’s a real Bridgerton event—shouldn’t there be, like…emotional dueling? Swordplay? Flaming scandal? I’d like to prepare.”

Gregory raised a glass. “To chaos.”

Benedict saluted with a butter knife.

And just like that, the mood cracked open again — laughter rolling over tension like a tide trying to delay the inevitable.

But the stillness remained, somewhere underneath.

Because tomorrow?

Tomorrow, the world will be watching.

Late Afternoon, Aubrey Hall Gardens

The garden behind Aubrey Hall was caught in that golden lull between hours — when sunlight felt slower, shadows stretched languidly across the gravel paths, and the roses looked like they were eavesdropping on secrets.

Lucien was walking beside you.

Not in the way men did when they were trying to impress.

No.

In the way men walked beside old friends, or favorite books, or unspoken prayers.

The two of you had wandered away from the main house after a midday meal that involved Colin attempting to teach Newton to fetch a scone (he failed), and Hyacinth challenging Gregory to a duel using butter knives (she won).

Lucien glanced at you, a playful smirk tugging at his lips. "You know, if we keep walking in circles, people might think we're lost."

You chuckled, nudging him lightly. "Perhaps we are. Lost in thought, maybe."

He raised an eyebrow, feigning offense. "Are you suggesting I'm not a man of profound contemplation?"

"Profoundly mischievous, perhaps," you teased, your eyes twinkling.

Lucien laughed, the sound rich and warm. "Guilty as charged."

As you continued your walk, the comfortable silence between you spoke volumes, a testament to the growing bond forged amidst the chaos of the past days.

Meanwhile, in the Drawing Room

Gregory lounged on the settee, a quill twirling between his fingers, eyes gleaming with mischief. Benedict sat opposite him, a parchment spread out on the table, ink bottle at the ready.

"I still think this is a terrible idea," Benedict remarked, though the amused glint in his eyes betrayed his words.

"Nonsense," Gregory replied, dipping the quill into the ink. "Eloise has been far too serious lately. A little levity will do her good."

Benedict sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Alright, let's hear it."

Gregory cleared his throat dramatically and began to dictate:

"My Dearest—"

"To say your presence lingers is to imply that it ever left me."

"There is no hour in the day where your name does not sit in the quiet of my chest, tucked behind every breath like a secret begging to be discovered."

Benedict raised an eyebrow. "You're laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?"

Gregory grinned. "That's the point. It's supposed to be over-the-top romantic. She'll read it aloud and realize it's a jest."

Benedict chuckled, shaking his head. "Very well. Let's finish it."

They continued crafting the letter, each line more dramatic than the last, until finally, Gregory signed it with a flourish:

"Yours. Always. In thought, if not in name."

He folded the parchment carefully, sealing it with wax. "Now, to deliver it."

In the Corridor…

A young footman, Thomas, passed by, and Gregory called out to him.

"Thomas! Could you do me a favor and deliver this letter to Miss Eloise's room?"

Thomas nodded, taking the letter. "Of course, Master Gregory."

As Thomas made his way upstairs, he paused, uncertain. The hallway was dimly lit, and the doors to the guest rooms looked remarkably similar. He hesitated before slipping the letter under the door to the left, unaware that he had chosen the wrong room.

Back at the garden…

The world had narrowed to this — gravel crunching beneath your boots, the slow flick of breeze through wisteria, Lucien occasionally tapping your shoulder with a leaf and claiming he’d “knighted” you.

“Sir Y/N of Minor Emotional Inconveniences,” he declared as he tucked a daisy behind your ear. “Defender of fainting debutantes and slayer of awkward silences.”

You swatted him. “You’re drunk on fresh air. It’s unsettling.”

Lucien just grinned, unbothered. “Or maybe I’m finally being myself.”

There it was — the unguarded charm. The mischief. The maddening ability to tilt the world slightly off-axis just by existing in it.

You nudged his shoulder. “You’ve been good for me, you know.”

Lucien blinked.

“Truly,” you said, more softly now. “You’ve made me laugh when I forgot I still could. You’ve reminded me that I don’t have to survive all of this with silence and stoicism. Sometimes... I can just be.”

He smiled then. Really smiled.

You didn’t say anything else, because it didn’t need saying.

And somewhere deep in your chest, beneath the lingering sun and the daisy behind your ear, bloomed something soft. Something you hadn’t dared name.

Not yet.

The walk ended just before the sun began its slow descent. You touched his hand lightly at the door to your corridor, offered a parting glance laced with warmth, and slipped inside.

Still smiling.

Which is why the letter on your pillow caught you off guard.

Folded with precision. Sealed with wax. 

You frowned.

Curious, you picked it up, noting the lack of a name on the front. Breaking the seal, you unfolded the parchment and began to read:

“My Dearest—

To say your presence lingers is to imply that it ever left me.

There is no hour in the day where your name does not sit in the quiet of my chest, tucked behind every breath like a secret begging to be discovered.

You are the thunder in a world of whispers. You are the place my gaze always lands—even when I try to look away.

I cannot sleep for fear I will dream of you and be forced to wake without you. I cannot speak your name without tasting regret that it is not followed by mine.

If love is real, it would arrive not gently, but like a flame that refused to be extinguished. That is what you are to me — fire, even in the dark.

Tell me—do you feel it too? That hush before we speak. That pause where the world holds its breath. That treacherous, delicious edge between what we want and what we dare?

If you do…say nothing. Just meet me in silence.

Yours. Always. In thought, if not in name.”

With each line, your heart pounded louder. The words were deeply romantic, echoing sentiments that felt all too familiar. One phrase, in particular, caught your breath:

“If love is real, it would arrive not gently, but like a flame that refused to be extinguished.”

You closed your eyes, that memory clawing at you.

Anthony.

The only other person you’d ever said that to. Whispered it once, reckless and private, during a rare, honest moment in the Bridgerton town estate library. So many months ago. Before the mess. Before Lucien.

Could this letter be from him?

A whirlwind of emotions surged within you—confusion, hope, fear. The possibility that Anthony harbored feelings for you, feelings he had kept hidden, was both exhilarating and terrifying.

The letter trembled slightly in your fingers.

It wasn’t fear, exactly.

It was the ache of possibility.

You sat at the edge of your bed, the pale parchment held like something sacred, something dangerous. The ink was elegant. Anonymous. The wording—flamboyant, theatrical, almost laughable in its excess—and yet…

A turn of words that felt like him.

Could it be him?

But Anthony wasn’t exactly the poetic type. And he certainly wasn’t the “anonymous confession” sort.

Unless…

Last night.

The drinking game.

The things he said. The look on his face when he surrendered his glass. When he didn’t fight the silence.

He was drunk. He had sung to you once when he was drunk.

Could this letter be another one of those slips?

You folded the page carefully, your thoughts a tangle of panic and fragile hope.

Unless… it wasn’t him.

The only other possibility—the only man who had the access, the drama, the sheer nerve—was Lucien.

But he’d been with you all afternoon. Every second accounted for.

Unless… he had someone deliver it. A scheme within a scheme.

He was sneaky like that.

You pressed your hand to your temple.

You’d have to ask. At dinner. But subtly.

Lucien couldn’t know you suspected Anthony—not if it was Anthony.

And if it wasn’t?

Well.

You weren’t ready for the answer either way.

Dinner — The Great Hall

You entered the dining room like a woman possessed.

Not that anyone would know.

Your posture was perfect. Your smile polite. But inside, your mind still burned with the letter, with that damn phrase, and the weight of who it could have come from.

You took your place at the long table, beside Lucien, across and diagonal from Anthony.

He didn’t meet your eyes at first.

But you kept glancing at him anyway, checking for any sign—any twitch of guilt, any tell.

He finally looked up—and caught you watching.

His brow furrowed slightly. Not with annoyance.

With confusion.

Alarm.

"Why does she keep looking at me tonight?"

"Did I accidentally say something last night? Did I confess something while drunk? No… I don’t think I did."

"THEN WHY DOES SHE KEEP LOOKING AT ME?!"

Lucien, beside you, leaned in slightly, voice low enough to escape all other ears.

"Angel," he murmured, soft and curious, "you’ve been staring into the void all evening. Have I done something terribly right?"

You blinked.

Right.

This was your chance.

Casual. Natural. Inconspicuous.

You turned to him, tilting your head slightly, letting your voice carry that same teasing warmth.

“Lord Blackbourne...do you think love letters are a good way to say what someone feels?”

Lucien paused, smile tugging at his lips, eyes dancing with something unreadable.

“Oh, Angel,” he said softly, voice like a secret, “where is the fun in that?”

You raised an eyebrow.

He leaned just a touch closer, his tone velvet.

“I much prefer declaring my love in person. So I can see the reaction. Feel it.” A pause, then with the slow grin of a man who always knows how close he is to danger. “But if you want one…I could write you a letter.”

Your breath caught—not from the flirtation, but the confirmation.

He hadn’t written it.

Then it had to be—

You turned your gaze, slowly, back across the table.

And then you laughed—too quickly, too nervously.

“I was just curious,” you said, trying to wave it off. “Not asking for one in particular.”

Lucien gave a slow, satisfied nod, turning back to his food.

And you?

You knew.

It had to be Anthony.

You glanced at him again. 

He was already watching you.

There was no anger there. No smugness. Just that raw, searching look — the one that had undone you more than once.

And for the first time in a long time, he didn’t look away.

He held your gaze.

Steady.

Searching.

Almost…wondering.

“Why is she still looking at me? What does she know?”

You blinked, looked down at your plate.

Your heart was beating entirely too fast.

Meanwhile—On the other side of the table.

Benedict took a sip of his wine, leaning back in his chair, posture relaxed.

Gregory nudged him under the table, eyes wide with anticipation.

“Did you see her face all through dinner?” Gregory whispered. “Do you think it worked?”

Benedict raised an eyebrow. “What worked?”

Gregory rolled his eyes. “The letter.”

Eloise, sitting on the other side of Gregory, turned sharply. “What letter?”

Gregory blinked.

Benedict froze mid-sip.

“The one we wrote,” Gregory said slowly, as if she should already know. “You were supposed to get it this afternoon, and we were expecting you to read it out loud. For laughs. Remember?”

Eloise frowned. “I didn’t receive any letter.”

Gregory paled.

Benedict groaned. “Well… shit.”

Gregory turned even paler. “Then… where did it go?”

Benedict winced and shrugged.

Taglist: @bollzinurmouth @drewstarkeysrightarm @thorins-queen-of-erebor @yearninglustfully @khaleesibeach @ifilwtmfc

[toasttt11]

early

December 4, 2023

Allison tossed her hoodie over her head as she waited outside the Vancouver airport for a uber.

Jack and Luke had gotten into Vancouver last and headed to Quinn’s apartment where Ellen and Jim were already there getting there the day before. 
Allison had taken a red eye flight last night from Boston and slept the entire flight, she landed in Vancouver at seven in the morning.

Allison has been to Vancouver many times before and knows her way around so she had the uber drop her off about a block from Quinn’s apartment in front of a small cafe and she went in and ordered breakfast for her family.

She texted her Dad she was as getting breakfast as she waited for the order to be done.

Allison picked up the large bag and tray of drinks and set the bag on top of her small suitcase and started the two minute walk to Quinn’s apartment.

She was let in by the front desk who knows her by now and she headed up to Quinn’s floor and the door opened and Jim smiled seeing his daughter and he hugged her being mindful of the tray of drinks.

Jim grabbed her suitcase for her setting it against the wall and picked up the bag heading into the kitchen with Allison.

“How was the flight Alls?” Jim asked her softly giving her another side hug, it’s been to long since he has seen his daughter, Ellen has made a few trips to Boston already but he hasn’t been able to.

“Good Dad.” Allison leaned her head down on the top of his head closing her eyes for a second enjoying being back with her Dad.

“Allie.” Ellen beamed as she walked into the kitchen and Allison perked up smiling at her Mom.

“Hi Mom.” Allison smiled as Ellen hugged her and she melted into her Mom’s arms.

Ellen rubbed her back gently and hugging her youngest.

Allison let go of her Mom picking up her coffee and sat down at the barstool waiting for her brothers to all get up and out of their beds.

Allison glanced up seeing Luke, Jack and Quinn all walking down the hallway to the kitchen.

“Moose!” Allison quickly stood up and Luke rushed right over to her and they quickly hugged. The last few months has been the longest they have ever been away from each other and it was something neither of them ever wanted to do.

“Goose.” Luke breathed out relieved he’s missed his sister.

“Always the favorite.” Quinn mused fondly making Jack give him a pout.

“Do we get a hug too?” Jack teased after the two have been hugging for a few moments.

“Maybe.” Allison shrugged as she pulled away and gave Jack a grin as she hugged Quinn first making Jack huff.

Allison and Quinn shared a soft hug and she pulled away and Jack finally got his hug.

They all ended up seeing around the kitchen eating breakfast and talking about upcoming plans with Allison’s birthday, the NHL break, Allison going to the WJC and the next Canucks at Devils game in a month.

She was gonna be is Sweden by the time the boys were on break so she managed to convince her parents to stay in Michigan and see the boys and they can come to Sweden after.

Allison spent most of the day just getting time with her family and relaxing, playing video and board games.

“Alright go get ready for dinner.” Ellen grinned mischievously at Allison, her grin identical to Allison.

“Dinner?” Allison said confused not knowing they were going out to dinner.

“It’s a surprise. I left an outfit on the bed for you.” Ellen smiled not giving any explanation.

Allison looked confused but listened and headed to the guest room she always used and saw a simple black dress with a pair of pink strap back heels and matching pink dangling earrings.

Allison shook her head fondly and put on the outfit her Mom got and put down light make up on.

She looked up hearing a knock on the door and saw Luke standing there in a more dressy outfit.

“No hat?” Allison gasped sarcastically.

“Ha ha.” Luke did his silly voice and he walked down sitting on the bed giving her a look and she started fixing his curls so they looked a bit better.

“Alright you’re good.” Allison said and stepped back grabbing her purse and she reluctantly tossed on a black leather jacket and walked out with Luke seeing everyone else ready to go.

“Alright where are we going?” Allison finally asked once they were all in the car and Quinn was driving them.

“It’s a surprise.” Jack teased his baby sister who gave him an annoyed look.

“You’ll find out in a few minutes dear.” Ellen teased softly making Allison sigh.

Allison raised an eyebrow as she got out for the car and saw they were at a fancy restaurant, she walked in with her family.

They headed to a back room and she let chucked in disbelief seeing the room was a little bit decorated for a birthday and with pink decorations.

“Really?” Allison asked.

“We won’t get to see you on your birthday so a little something early this year.” Ellen said softly, “It was your brothers ideas.”

Allison raised an eyebrow and looked at the three, “Thank you.” Jack gave her a bright grin, Quinn a soft nod with a smile and Luke smiled at her shrugging softly.

Allison sat down in between Luke and Jack and Quinn right in front of her.

It was a perfect night and of course they all sung her happy birthday making her laugh.

December 5, 2023

Allison sat alone in the front of suite as her parents was talking with some family on the suite and she was sitting waiting for the game.

It was weird that she was watching all three of her brothers playing and she hoped one day she would be down there on the ice too. If everything went right she would be getting drafted this summer.

Allison smiled a bit seeing her brothers taking a photo on the ice together before the game started.

It was a close game and all three of her brothers for points in the game, Devils ended up winning in the last few minutes.

Allison waited with her parents for them to come outside, she was heading back to Boston tomorrow for a few more days before she headed out to Michigan for practices before WJC.

“Nico!” Allison grinned seeing Nico walking out first.

“Hey Gansli!” Nico smiled widely and they shared a soft hug and started catching up.

“Good luck with the tournament.” Nico said softly as he waved bye to Allison and her parents.

Luke came out first and hugged Allison before Jack could making Jack roll his eyes and just hug both of them making Allison squirm.

Quinn chuckled shaking his head seeing Jack and Luke squishing her and pulled Allison away and hugged her instead.

Allison groaned but let Quinn hug her.

It was a short trip to Vancouver and she missed a few classes but it was worth it for the time she got with her family.

[aquz]

babysitter . . . # one

☆ ortho has a temporarily new babysitter and idia has to walk him there every morning before school. idia isn't a fan of clichés but... who knew the babysitter was so cute?

☆ gender neutral reader, reader is kind of a shut-in yet is good with kids, strangers to crushes with idia shroud featuring ortho ! magicless au !

idia groans as he drags his feet down the stairs, clutching onto the railing as to not fall down. sure, he knew what he was getting into by staying up all night playing a new video game he was obsessed with as well as studying for an upcoming mock exam, but he still doesn't feel exactly... awake this morning.

his eyes sleepily gaze towards the kitchen, where he could recall hearing his mothers voice. they're usually never in the kitchen... that's where the housekeeper is supposed to be. in fact, where is she? idia couldn't smell the fresh coffee she brewed normally, or the smell of his favorite breakfast... toaster waffles.

he slumped into the kitchen and sees his entire family getting themselves ready with breakfast. ortho sits at the island in the middle of the kitchen and dining area, the latter only being used for at-home business and fancy friends-only dinners. "where's the housekeeper?" idia groggily asked, swinging open the freezer to dig around, looking for his waffles.

"ah, you're awake, idia!" his mothers sweet voice cooed, idia could already feel what little stamina points he had left, drain completely. "she had to leave late last night due to a family emergency... so it's just going to be you and ortho home for a while!" she said, gliding her feet across the floor to put her warm hands into idia's face. he gave her a deadpan look, closing the freezer when he finally grabbed the box of waffles.

"that being said..." his father began, catching idia's attention over his mom cooing at him like he was a baby. "you have to attend school in person, no? we found a temporary babysitter who is in need of a little extra spending money. they live close enough to here as well as being around your age, so your mother and i decided they were a good choice."

idia deadpanned harder than before, if that was even possible. his shoulders slumped as he felt a headache begin to form. "eh? a new babysitter? so, like, ortho has to stay at someone else's house? with a stranger?" he asked slowly. "yes, that!" his mother answered with such enthusiasm that idia almost stormed back upstairs. too much energy for one morning. "you have to drop him off before you head to school! luckily, they live on the route you normally take! i'll text you the address!" she added.

idia shook his head and put the waffles back in the freezer, feeling too sick to eat. he has to drop ortho off HIMSELF!? what do his parents take him for!? he has zero charisma points and negative socialization experience! does he just... knock on the door and run away while ortho stands there like a framed ding-dong-ditcher? what if you try talking to him? ugh! now he's so nervous he can't even eat his favorite breakfast.

ortho, on the other hand, had been too excited to listen in on the conversation. he was scarfing down his breakfast of cereal like his life depended on it. at least SOMEONE had yet to annoy idia. ortho was dressed in an oddly nice outfit, a short-sleeved dress shirt and some dress shorts along with his normal sneakers and knee-high socks. "what's with the outfit?" idia managed to mumble, walking past his parents to get to his little brother.

"i wanted to impress the new babysitter!" he smile, mouth full of cereal. "but isn't that material, like, super uncomfortable? it's summer... dress outfits are hardly comfortable to wear in this heat." idia said, leaning on the counter to talk to the younger boy. "yeah, yeah, i know! i'll gladly wear it, if it means i get to impress them!" he replied before jumping off his stool. idia's mother laughed at his eagerness as he ran to find his bag.

"what a lovely child he is.." she sighed happily, which idia hung his head to, in response. how come HE was never called lovely? with an eye roll hidden by the hair blocking his down-cast face, he went to find his own shoes and bag.

ortho held tightly onto the straps of his backpack, a serious face present as if he was attending his first day of military boot camp. "loosen up, ortho, they aren't going to scold you for being happy." 'i hope..' idia thought. ortho smiled and laughed childishly, looking up at his brother despite the unforgiving sun casting harmfully bright rays down on them. 'it's still too early..' idia thought, wiping sweat from his brow. "i know, but i need to calm down, so i don't wear myself out before we can play together!" ortho responded.

idia nodded quietly and looked up, seeing the address he was sent by his mother. no cars were in the driveway, nor were there any lights on in the house minus the living room light. 'is this... the right house?' idia gulped as he took ortho's hand and guided him up the steps onto the porch. he rung the doorbell and kept himself from fainting on the spot. what if it was the wrong house and some creep opened the door instead? what if it was a trap?

the door opened slowly as a teenager, idia assumed, peered through the crack, smiling once they saw him. the door swung open the rest of the way. "hi! you must be ortho and..." the teenager stuck their tongue out a little on concentration. "idia, right? your parents told me you were dropping him off." they said, idia remaining still as if they couldn't see him if he didn't move. "ah- um..." ortho laughed at his shy brother. "yes, that's us! excuse my brother, he's just super duper nervous! he also has to take a mock exam soon, so he's definitely not happy."

"oh, is that so? well i assume you're off to school, then? i won't keep you here any longer, so i'll take ortho and you're free to go!" the other teen said, moving so ortho could get through the doorway. idia kept his mouth opening and closing like a fish. they weren't too overly energetic for this early in the morning, nor were they necessarily scary... hell, they weren't even that overbearing! they were just... so gorgeous. idia was expecting someone totally different - maybe a stuck-up cheerleader or a total nerd but THEM? they weren't the cliche he was expecting.

though, he didn't wanna talk any more than he had already today. with a quick nod, he turned on his heel and briskly walked away from the new babysitter's house, leaving them a giggling mess in the doorway, ortho close behind. "is he always that anti-social, or did i scare him off?" they asked ortho, turning around with a silly grin. "hard telling... but i think you might've spooked him!" ortho returned the grin. "i like you, babysitter!"

authors note? hope this was an interesting first chapter ~ i wrote it a few days ago ! i have nine chapters planned (and that's all, the series will end at the ninth chapter) so i hope it'll be interesting enough ! this is my first series / non-one shot in a while so let's hope it goes well...

[bitchinbarzal]

Mama Sways New Boyfriend

It started innocently enough.

Kenny came barreling through the front door after practice, cheeks flushed, braid falling apart under her beanie. She dropped her hockey bag in the hallway (just barely missing Carter’s exersaucer) and marched straight into the kitchen where Mama stood, sipping iced coffee and enjoying three minutes of silence.

“Mom,” Kenny said, very seriously. “You should marry Coach Ryan.”

Mama blinked. “I’m sorry—what?”

“He’s so nice,” Blaire chimed in from the kitchen island, where she was giving her bunny a bath in a cereal bowl. “And he told Kenny her shot was powerful.”

“He’s got a cool whistle,” Kenny added. “And sneakers that match his hoodie. And he has a dog. A golden retriever.”

Mama stared at her child. “All great things. But I’m already married.”

Kenny frowned, unconvinced. “No, you’re not. You’re just married to Daddy.”

“…Correct.”

“That doesn’t count!” Blaire said, deeply offended. “He’s our dad. That’s not the same as being a boyfriend.”

“I mean,” Mama said slowly, “he is my husband. We’ve been together since college. You exist because of him.”

Kenny tilted her head. “But have you ever even gone on a date?”

Mama opened her mouth. Then closed it. “We went to dinner last week.”

“That was Olive Garden.”

“It still counts.”

“You brought Carter,” Blaire pointed out. “She pooped in the car and we had to come home early.”

Mama sighed. “Okay. That… that is a fair critique.”

Kenny leaned on the counter, confident now. “I think Coach Ryan would take you somewhere fancy. Like Cheesecake Factory.”

Jeremy walked into betrayal.

He came in through the mudroom with a bag of groceries in one arm and a cup carrier in the other, still in his Bruins hoodie, hair damp from practice.

“Hey, ladies,” he said, smiling at his girls. “What’d I miss?”

Silence.

Kenny looked at Blaire. Blaire looked at Carter, who was gnawing on a toy giraffe. Then both older girls turned to their father.

“Daddy,” Blaire said solemnly. “We need to talk.”

“Oh God,” Jeremy muttered. “What happened?”

Mama took the coffees from him with a kiss on the cheek. “You’re not gonna like it.”

Kenny folded her arms. “We’re setting Mama up with Coach Ryan.”

Jeremy froze. “I—what?”

“You’re just… Daddy,” Kenny said, like it was obvious. “She needs, like, a real boyfriend.”

“I married her.”

“But you don’t do boyfriend stuff,” Blaire pointed out. “Like flowers and kissing.”

“I kiss her all the time!” Jeremy cried. “I literally kissed her when I walked in the door!”

“That doesn’t count if it’s in front of your children,” Kenny said with the wisdom of a judgmental old woman.

Jeremy looked at Mama, betrayed. “Are you in on this?!”

“I tried to defend our Olive Garden date,” she said, sipping her coffee. “Didn’t go well.”

Jeremy ran a hand down his face. “I need to win my wife back.”

The next morning, Jeremy came to breakfast in a button-down.

Kenny squinted at him over her cereal. “Why are you dressed like you’re going to a wedding?”

“I have a date,” he said casually.

“With who?” Blaire gasped.

Jeremy looked across the table at Mama and winked. “With your mother.”

Kenny choked on her milk.

Over the next week, Jeremy went all out.

• He brought home flowers. Twice.

• Left a note in Mama’s coat pocket that said “Do you like me? Check yes or no.” (She checked yes. And drew a heart.)

• Took her out for dinner and didn’t invite a single child.

• Let Carter drool on his shirt so Mama could nap.

• Wore cologne to pick the girls up from ballet.

“Who are you?” Kenny asked suspiciously one afternoon.

“I’m trying to prove to your mother that I’m more than just ‘Daddy,’” Jeremy said seriously.

Kenny narrowed her eyes. “…Respect.”

Eventually, the guilt hit.

One night, Kenny snuck into Mama and Daddy’s room, blinking up at them in the soft light.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t know you and Daddy were in love love. I thought he was just… your roommate with good hugs.”

Mama laughed and pulled her into bed between them. “He’s a lot more than that.”

Blaire climbed in next, dragging her bunny. “Daddy’s my favorite boyfriend.”

Jeremy smiled, pulling them all close. “I think I can live with that.”

[faghubby]

NOT ALL BUSINESS

I packed Stacy's suitcase. She wouldn't have time, besides I was used to taking on untraditional roles. Four years ago after Stacy gave birth to our daughter. Lucy. We found ourselves in a odd situation. Stacy's career was on the rise. While mine was well non existent. The company I was working for closed. So after some discussion I chose to stay home be a stay at home Dad. This turned out to be the best idea ever. It allowed Stacy to focus on her career and she rose quickly. A year ago that meant a some travel. Just a few days a month.

"Paul, you are the best" Stacy told me. When she saw I had already taken care of everything. She took me to bed. I kept myself in great shape. No reason to let myself become a fat househusband. I used to joke. Stacy looked better then before we had Lucy. Our lovemaking was pretty normal I guess. Consisted of two positions. Missionary and if adventurous a leg on my shoulder. With me usually preforming oral on her. While I settled for the once a year blowjob on my birthday. Tonight started no differently. We went right to missionary. But I finished quicker then usual.

"OH baby" I will be away for three days" Stacy pouted. "Help me" she rolled her eyes toward her nightstand. We had played with her vibrator before. I made a face but grabbed it. I teased her first with the toy. I couldn't help ignore that it was much bigger then my 5 inches. I slid it inland she moaned. It was thicker then I was as well. But slid in easily.

"Lick my clit" she moaned in my ear. She hardly ever spoke like this. Without thinking I slid down and did just that. I instantly tasted myself. I lifted my head quickly. But Stacy pulled my head back down.

"Don't stop" she moaned. I licked her clit again ignoring the taste. Stacy loved it she went wild. Shoving my head down hard. I never seen her cum so forceful before. She laid there trying to catch her breath. She just held me against her breast. As we fell asleep. When I woke Stacy was already gone. We talked everyday of course. This trip was three days. She accompanied her boss.

"Last night was special" she told me. The first night as we said goodnight. She always spoke about dinner time when she traveled sometimes she had late meetings. And didn't want to miss our time. If I fell asleep.

Stacy plane got delayed and she didn't get in till late coming home. I was already asleep. I was still half asleep when Stacy guided my head between.her legs. I didn't resist just licked and sucked. It was off bit I figured from travel and hadn't showered. Stacy went crazy pulling my hair and crying out I was soon fully awake. Unfortunately so was Lucy being woken by her mothers cries.

"Sorry baby I just needed that" she told me. I wiped my face and went to get Lucy back to bed. Stacy was sound asleep. I picked uo my phone and watched some porn as I jerked off. Before returning to bed. In the morning I got made breakfast. Stacy running late grabbed coffee and kissed me goodbye before heading to the office. Lucy had half day nursery school. I took that time to unpack Stacy. I found Stacy's underwear, was that dried cum? I thought as I hand washed them. The ones from last night were still damp. Four pairs of panties all with traces of cum in them. Stacy was having an affair? I found myself excited by this. Over the years it had become a fantasy I often found myself masterbating to. But it was just that a fantasy.

I arranged for my mother to take Lucy for the night. And waited for Stacy to come home. She arrived on time.

"Where's Lucy?" She asked I had not thought about her not seeing her for three days. And felt bad.

"Are you having an affair?" I asked.

"Yes, why?" Stacy replied calmly.

"What?" I was stunned by her response I expected denial or at least remorse.

'Don't act surprised. Why do you think you always pack my sexiest lingerie when I take a trip? You been hoping I was" Stacy told me.

"And last night when you sucked my bosses cum out of my pussy? Tell me that you didn't want that as well. You showed me you did when you ate yours" she continued.

Stacy stepped close.

"I been fucking Greg for a year now. Ever since that first business trip." She told me. Greg was her boss. He was at least 15 years older then her I thought. She reached into my pants and stroked me. I was rock hard.

"He is so much bigger then you are" she whispered in my ear. "I am so glad you know" she stripped me. I stood before her naked. She knelt and took me in her mouth I lasted only a minute. She stood and kissed me. I tasted the salty taste on her lips I tried to pull away. But she insisted and kissed me. Feeding me my own cum.

"I love you and don't want to lose you. But it turns me on so much knowing you are home waiting for me. When I am with him" she told me. Stacy was still fully dressed as she pulled me naked into bed. She held me again in her arms my head against her chest. She told me everything. In detail. How he Greg had seduced her ever so gently. How he fucked her made her feel lime a total slut. She had given him her ass. And always sucked his cock. I cried knowing she wouldn't do these things for me.

"It's different he makes me, he makes me want to please him" she told me. "He loves how you always pack sexy things for me to wear for him. I tell him I usually wear simple cotton bras and panties for you don't i"

"Does it hurt, you know anal? " I asked.

"At first, why would you like to try" she asked. I just blushed.

"You can fuck my ass if you like, or eat it for that matter" she laughed. She shifted and pulled up her dress exposing her ass.

"Try it" she teased I moved and she pulled her panties down she laid onnher side opening up her ass.

"Eat my ass" she told me. I licked and kissed her ass. Then drove my tounge into her hole. She moaned but giggled as I ate her ass. As it amused her. After a few minutes she had me stop.

"So we are clear about Greg then, you can pretend you don't know. Or embrace it either way its not going to stop" she assured me. I stayed naked the rest of the night. She got off on it.

Stacy often would text me "private meeting" when she was going to be late because she was getting fucked. She loved when I would clean her after those meeting as well. She did learn to be at least alittle quieter when I did. As a special treat once a month or so Lucy would spend a night at my moms and I would spend it naked listening to all of her sexual encounters. I never have fucked her ass. But enjoy eating it often. Our weekly sex session may change on occasion now. The first one after I discovered the affair she just chose to jive me a handjob, but she prefers me to make my mess in her and lick it clean now.

Stacy is pregnant again. And we are both pretty sure it isn't mine. We couldn't be happier.

[ghostgorlsworld]

Johnny Boy (Part 7)

Werewolf! Johnny x reader

part one is here

Once upon a time, you would've done anything for John Mctavish. He had been your older brother's cool best friend, and you were always desperate for him to see you as more--until one fateful night that ends up with you pregnant and him...gone. Fast forward six years and you've made a good life for yourself with your daughter Emma, with Johnny none the wiser. Until he decides to knock on your door.

Notes--Johnny is showing his true colors so the story is definitely getting a little darker.

You woke up hungover and embarrassed. 

You were old enough to know better and a mother for Christ’s sake–by all means too old to be making idiotic decisions that could shake the life you had spent over half a decade building. You could hardly remember what had led up to Johnny doing…the thing that he did, but you were sure you didn’t exactly put up a fight.

Tommy walked Emma back to your house shortly after seven, dressed for work. He pulled the makings of breakfast from the fridge, grumbling some nonsense about two full-grown wolf-soldiers eating him out of house and home. You were trying very hard not to do your walk of shame, refusing to look at the chair or the leftover pizza in the fridge. Emma, of course, was none the wiser, curling up in your lap to nuzzle at your face. 

“Did you have fun?” You asked, inspecting her for signs staying up too late. 

Emma nodded, beginning a long play-by-play of the previous night’s events, including a humorous addition of her forcing Simon to teach her card games. “We had ice cream after dinner,” she said, whispering it so Tommy wouldn’t hear. “Uncle Tom told me not to tell you.” 

Emma couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. You laughed and tickled her sensitive feet.

You couldn’t believe you had been so weak to let Johnny back in again. You couldn’t trust him, no matter what he said about his reasons for disappearing, and adding sex to the equation could only make things even worse.

“Johnny was out late last night,” Tommy said casually, cracking an egg into a pan. “He left after Emma went to bed.”

You couldn’t help but glance at the chair, trying very hard not to remember Johnny’s voice, wrecked and commanding, or his hands, or his tongue-

“I had an early night,” you said. “Charlie called for a raincheck.”

“Mm,” Tom said. “Scrambled?” You nodded, not missing Emma’s curious look. She really was too smart for her own good. 

The weekend passed uneventfully–you avoided Johnny by packing up Emma and spending a day in the city, finishing up your Christmas shopping in the shiny shops and taking Emma ice skating in the square. He called you once, but you quickly put Emma on the phone, your stomach aching just at the thought of talking to him.

Emma picked out a pair of red and white striped socks and a box of legos as a gift for her father. She was pleased with her choices, and you tried your very best to smile when she displayed them to you.

Johnny wasn’t even going to be around for Christmas, and that was something you needed to discuss with him. Your little girl couldn’t survive off of no letters or calls–after all, it nearly killed you. 

Monday comes with the first real snowfall of the year. You dressed in warm layers, sweaters and soft scarves, Emma’s face pink under the winter jacket you had strapped her in. 

Charlie was sitting by your desk at work, two cups of coffee in hand and your favorite pastry in front of your chair. He smiled as you unwound the scarf from your neck, looking appropriately guilty and embarrassed. “I wanted to apologize,” he said, passing you the coffee. “I…it was a dick move. I had a few already and confused the days–I er, I tried to call you in the morning when I had come to my senses but you didn’t answer.”

Honestly, you had forgotten about it completely. You raised a brow at the man. “I took Emma to the city for Christmas shopping. We were busy.” Charlie nodded. “Yeah, of course, it’s the holidays. I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry, I feel like I’ve fucked things up.”

You searched around for anger, or even mild irritation, but it was gone, used up entirely by Johnny. “It’s alright, Charlie, thanks for the coffee.” Charlie smiled again, relieved. You took a seat at your desk and listened to him chatter about drama with Chris and Jan at the copying machine. 

You watched his hands. They were good hands–man hands, if you will, pale hair on his knuckles and a silver ring on his thumb. Johnny’s hands were wide and thick with dark hair, his nail beds always worn raw from the shift from stubby human nails to sharp claws. 

Why were you comparing? What was wrong with you?

Why couldn’t you just let sleeping dogs lie?

Charlie claimed your attention once more, following you to the carts of books that needed shelves. “I was wondering…I know I’ve acted like a right bastard, but I was thinking I could make it up to you. How does dinner tomorrow sound? I’ll make the food and supply the wine, you just bring yourself.”

You wanted to say no. That meant that you would have to see if Julienne would keep Emma for a few more hours, not to mention your attraction to Charlie had taken a nose-dive when he ditched you the first time. If only your body held all men accountable–your issue with Johnny would be solved overnight.

That was the thing that made you consider it. Johnny. He was your kryptonite, your achilles heel, and you needed to burn his touch off your skin.

“Alright,” you said. “If I can get a sitter for the bear.” “Deal,” Charlie said, grinning. He kissed your cheek gently, mouth warm and chapped.

Johnny texted the next morning, asking if he could take you and Emma out to lunch on your break. He offered to drop her off at Juliene’s house as well, saving you the walk.

You needed to rip the bandaid off. He wasn’t going to stay away forever, and it didn’t matter he had eaten you out while you were very sad and very drunk, you couldn’t keep him away from Emma. 

“Em, do you want to see Johnny today?” You asked, hoping against hope she would shake her head.

Instead, your darling girl perked up, ears twitching as she nodded eagerly. The full moon was coming quickly, so her behavior was…off, her eyes growing brighter by the day. Johnny used to refuse to be around you on the week of the full moon. He disappeared from your house and would show back up a few days later, looking exhausted and on edge, twitching if you tried to touch him.

You sighed. 

Where should we meet you? 

Johnny’s reply was lightning quick. You still like Angelo’s?

Angelo’s was a sandwich shop you used to frequent with Johnny, you hadn’t been in ages. That’s fine.

Johnny texted back something enthusiastic and barely legible.

Julienne had agreed to watch Emma for a couple more hours without irritation, saying she could use the money for a fancy new garden gadget she had been eyeing. You planned on grabbing it for her for Christmas, a token of your appreciation for her help with Emma.

You were going to give Charlie one last chance, if this dinner didn’t pan out you would find some other patsy to take you out every other weekend. 

Johnny was going to be gone soon, after all, and Emma is unpredictable with these things. She could take it as easily as she took the death of her grandfather, or it could be…catastrophic. 

You eyed your phone, forcing yourself to do the hard thing that neither of you wanted to face. 

I was hoping you would talk to Emma about you leaving soon.

There. You said it. You tossed your phone on the bed and finished getting dressed, herding Emma to school before you forced yourself to look at his response.

Of course, hen, we’ll talk about it. 

Work went by quickly in your haze of anxiety. What would he say to Emma?

What would he say to you?

You didn’t expect him to be waiting at Emma’s school. He was leaning against his truck, all twinkly blue eyes and a sharp smile that reminded you that he left for you. Because he couldn’t control himself. 

Johnny was trying to be good. You see it now, you remembered the way he used to follow you home after school, walking close behind you like he thought someone was going to steal you away. He wouldn’t share food with anyone, not even Tom, but if you asked he would always tear whatever it was in half and put it on your plate. 

Johnny and Tom had been playing video games in the living room when you left for your first date. You were sixteen and he had just hit twenty one, and he had looked at poor Dan Hilton like he wanted to rip out his guts and serve them up with eggs.

You had chalked it up to brotherly feelings, or the simple fact that Johnny has never liked to share. 

To see it for what it was felt…odd. You had heard about wolves claiming human spouses, putting a bite on their throat like a wedding band and never, ever letting go.

“Hey,” you said tiredly. 

Johnny straightened–he wanted a hug, you could see it in the way his hands twitched. “I figured I would give the two of ye a ride, yeah? It’s fuckin’ freezin’ today.” “Alright,” you said, glancing at your phone. The bell should be ringing any minute, and Johnny’s attention would be on Emma and not you. His attention was dangerous, it made you stupid and reckless.

“I heard you’ve got a hot date tonight,” Johnny said, going straight for the jugular.  

You stiffened. “That’s none of your business.” “Ach, lass, you wound me.”

“Johnny, the other night…it was a mistake. I was drunk and lonely and you were there.” You didn’t think it was possible to hurt Johnny, but you did. It flashed across his eyes, his jaw tightening into a straight line. 

You felt your stomach twist–god you were handling this all wrong-

He took a step, tilting your chin up with the pad of his rough finger. He wanted you to look at him, to watch his pupils swallow up the bright blue of his eyes. “I’m not a good man, kitty. Hell, I’m not even a man, not really. I know I’ve hurt you, and I’ll repent every fuckin’ day for it, but if you let him touch you, I’ll gut him like a goddamn fish.” “How dare you-” you began, but Johnny gripped your chin then, pressing the tips of his claws into your skin lightly. “You want me,” Johnny said, his gaze hazy and wild as it dropped to your mouth. “Even now. I should bite you right here, make it real fucking simple for you.”

There it was–the wolf that he had hidden from you for so long, the killer wearing the skin of your brother’s best friend. You forced yourself to hold his stare, feeling the sharp prick of his claws on the delicate skin of your throat. 

“I want a proper husband, John,” you said softly. “I want a real father for my child, someone who will be there for the birthdays and graduations and holidays. I want someone to sleep beside me every night, someone that doesn’t make me do this alone.”

You knew you were driving a knife right between his ribs–you knew how badly this would hurt him. Johnny had spent his childhood not being right for his mother, not being human enough, gentle enough. 

His eyes were so bright and so lost. 

“I’ve been alone for six years, John. I don’t ever want Emma to know what that feels like.”

Johnny was silent, his breath coming fast and rough. “I’ll never let another man have you,” he rasped. “You’re mine. Both of you.” 

He pressed closer, nuzzling your jaw with a low growl. “I’ll be a good mate, hen, I suppose it’s only right that I prove myself before we have our next pup.”

“No!” You hissed, pushing him away. “Enough, Johnny. You’ll be gone soon and I’ll have to deal with the fallout as per fucking usual.”

Your words weren’t working–they were working him up instead, like Emma when she watched the neighbor’s squirrels chase each other in the trees. His heart thudded like a drum under your palm. 

“You’re making a scene, kitty,” he said slyly, tilting his head like he wanted nothing more than to give chase. “Now hush, we’ll talk about this later. Emma shouldn’t see Mum and Dad argue.” You opened your mouth to argue, so furious you could hardly think.  

“Mum?” Emma sang, bouncing out of the school. “Oh, Johnny!” She ran to him, the little traitor. Johnny smiled, his sharp edges softening as he swung her up into his arms. “Ach, my girl’s getting heavy,” he teased, nuzzling her face. She mimicked his movements, her smile bright and happy–they were scenting each other. 

You looked away. “C’mon you two,” you said, forcing your tone to lighten. “I only have an hour for lunch.”

You barely touch your food, your stomach twisting and turning in furious knots. A sandwich, your old favorite, sits in front of you, courtesy of Johnny.

The audacity of men. You were the one who had spent countless nights bouncing up and down the hallway with Emma in your arms, exhausted and sore, your breasts swollen and aching from her sharp teeth–yet, Johnny was quickly a new favorite. They were the same, after all, the same species, the same aggressive, needy temperament.

Johnny wiped a bit of mustard from Emma’s cheek, humming at her irritated whine. She was close to her shift, and her skin was sensitive. “Dinna fash, baby, it’s the moon,” he crooned, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of her head. “I woke up this morning w’my skin crawling.”

That was another bump in the road. Emma’s shifts had gotten harder and harder over the years, more anger, more pain, and the internet had barely any information about early childhood shifts. Jack hadn’t been concerned, saying Johnny had the same issues at that age–the only difference was that Johnny was a feral little thing that used to sneak out during the full moon and pick off the strays of London. Emma couldn’t bring herself to squash an ant, much less devour a cat or dog–but then Johnny hadn’t had much human influence, at least, not until you and Tommy. 

“Emma, tell your Ma that if she doesn’t eat, we’ll have to feed her ourselves,” Johnny said. He was smiling, but his eyes were sharp. 

Emma sniffed at your sandwich. “You didn’t have breakfast either, Mum,” she said accusingly. “You always tell me food is good for your brain.”

You cocked an eyebrow at her. “Maybe I’m not hungry.”

“Eat, kitty,” Johnny said, his tone rougher as if you were one of his soldiers. “You look dead on yer feet.” You took a bite, just to appease them. You could still feel the small, stinging cuts his claws had scraped on your jaw. 

[chosaraki]

Baek Family.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

-Special Mother's Day scenario

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

.

.

.

.

A sweet mother, a little awkward, but full of strength and heart. A day of celebration, surprise and the kind of love that is felt in small gestures.

"For the woman who keeps us whole"

.

.

The morning arrived with the shy singing of the birds and a ray of sun sneaking through the curtain.

But, strangely...

No one woke you up.

No coffee being accidentally spilled.

Without your son jumping on the bed.

Without Sang Baek complaining about the smell of the "too sweet" shampoo.

Just the silence.

And you were surprised.

Until you hear muffled footsteps and whispers outside the door.

- Slowly, Dad! You're crushing the flower!

- I'm holding it with two hands. Come on, kid.

- Shhhh! Go wake her up!

You pretended to sleep. A little smile was born on his lips even before the door opened.

And then...

- SURPRISE!

Your son came in with a bouquet of flowers from the field all crooked, a tray with breakfast (and crumbs already scattered), and a handmade card, with colorful scribbles and words written in large letters:

"For the most beautiful and warrior mom in the universe."

- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Behind him, Sang Baek appeared, with an apron tied crooked at the waist and his hair all misaligned - but with a discreet, proud and... vulnerable smile.

- Is this... everything for me? - you murmured, already moved.

His son jumped on the bed, put the tray on his lap carefully and handed the card with both hands.

- Dad and I made coffee! He burned the first toast, but I chose the flowers!

- Hey. - Sang Baek interrupted. - I also made the juice.

- It's a box, mom.

You laughed, with already watery eyes. Sang Baek sat next to you, putting his arm around your waist, pulling you close.

- Today there are no dishes for you to wash.

Not even scolding.

No complaint for forgetting the umbrella.

Today you are queen.

- The best mother in the whole world! - the little one completed, hugging her belly.

You ran your hand through the hair of both of them.

- You are already my whole world every day.

Sang Baek looked you in the eyes and said, lower, more seriously:

- You saved my life.

And it made sense to her.

- I just... love you.

- And we love you!

You laughed, pulling the two into a collective hug. In the midst of messy blankets, bread with a taste of love and crooked flowers with the smell of garden, you noticed:

Being a mother... that was it.

Sweet chaos.

Raw love.

Silent gratitude.

And, deep down, a voice that echoed just for you:

"You are home."

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

(Mother's Day doesn't end when the sun goes down...)

The house was in a comfortable silence. The son had already settled down to sleep, after playing until the last second and promising that he would dream of "fairies and dinosaurs" in the same setting.

But that night, the energy was different.

As the hours went by, you and Sang Baek finally managed to be alone. The simple and quiet dinner was followed by low laughs while you got ready for the night, your heart calm and full of warmth.

In the living room, you were on the couch, with a cozy blanket over your shoulders, your look soft and tired, but with a lightness in the air. Sang Baek appeared with two glasses of red wine - always his favorite - and a relaxed expression, but still keeping that touch of attention when the focus was on you.

He sat next to you, putting an arm over your shoulders and pulling you closer.

- Happy Mother's Day, amazing woman. - he murmured, his blue eyes shining, without the hardness he used to have.

You smiled, leaning your head against his chest.

- I still can't believe I'm a mother... - you sighed, but not with regret. It was a feeling of joy, almost of admiration.

- I didn't know it was going to be so transformative.

Sang Baek stroked his hair, with the other hand gently holding the wine glass.

- I didn't know it would be so difficult, but also so good. - he said with a soft smile.

For a moment, you were silent, just enjoying each other's company. The sound of Sang Baek's quiet breathing, the comfort of wine and the warmth of his presence. He wasn't the kind of man who was easily vulnerable, but he always seemed to find a way to be with you.

The night continued slowly, with the words becoming rarer. The soft light of the candle illuminated the environment, creating an intimate and serene atmosphere. Sang Baek approached, touching his face gently with his fingers, as if at any moment he could get lost in the touch.

- I'm grateful for you. Every day... - he said with a sincerity that you couldn't ignore.

Your heart accelerated. You closed your eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of those words.

- I'm also grateful for you. For everything we did together... - you answered, almost in a whisper.

That's when he leaned into a soft kiss, a slow kiss that seemed to fill all the voids of that day.

- Now... let's make this day end the way it deserves. - Sang Baek spoke with a soft and provocative tone, but at the same time genuine.

He got up, reached out to you, and you accepted, getting up next to you.

- I love you. - he said, his eyes fixing on yours, no hurry, no pressure.

- I love you too. And the best of all... is knowing that we are a family. - you whispered back.

As you walked to the room, time seemed to slow down, and you knew that, despite all the chaos that life sometimes brings, there was nothing more perfect than what you built together.

———————————🌹————————————

[meazalykov]

redirection II

esmee brugts x barcaplayer!R

last chapter: redirection I

next chapter: redirection III

walking into my apartment, i shut the door and place my black nike sports bag on the bench in the foyer. there was a light breeze in the kitchen because i left the balcony doors open when i left home this morning.

i didn't want to do anything right now since i had a busy morning. i had to wake up at 6am, eat breakfast, get to ciutat at 8am, complete paperwork and contracts, do medical tests, take pictures for my first day, and have my first training practice with the team.

the excitement in my body wouldn't go away though. barcelona is the best club in the world currently, i had high hopes for this season and just want to contribute to the team.

turning on my phone that was in my back pocket, the time read 1:23pm. well, in europe it's 13:23. however, it would take me a while to get used to that as an american.

i saw a few texts from a phone number i didn't recognize too.

hi y/n!

what time are you free later?

we should go to la selva. it's a restaurant in the city. i haven't been there before but ingrid recommended it :)

i blushed as i remembered the conversation with esmee earlier. i appreciated the idea of going out to eat with her, i want to build bonds with my new teammates the same way i had with my old teammates back in washington.

considering that i've met her today, i couldn't say that i had a crush on her (yet). that would be too fast. however, i thought about her on the drive back to my apartment. i'm excited to spend time with a new friend and teammate.

y/n: esmee!!!!

y/n: i'm free around 17:00/5pm. i have to do some things for my apartment and i'll be ready.

y/n: i just looked up the location to la selva restaurant. it's not too far from my apartment. it's a 6-minute walk from me :)

i added esmee's phone number into my phone as "esmee :)" before i clicked off of imessage to go on instagram. clicking on my notifications, i saw "esmeebrugts followed you 5d" meaning that she followed me five days ago.

going on her profile, i see that some of my friends back in america follow her and she follows a couple of them back. everyone kind of knows each other in this sport so i am not surprised.

i don't go on instagram when i am not posting, so i felt bad when i saw that she followed five days ago. i followed her back immediately.

s/n went back to america earlier with our mom and i miss her already. we walked on the barceloneta beach before dinner last night, celebrating my new life in spain. she took pictures of me and i feel happy enough to post them on instagram.

(pretend this is you in the pictures)

y/n.l/n

barcelona, catalunya, españa

liked by esmeebrugts, sscofff, and 41,375 others

loving barcelona already 🌞💙

comments

y/nhive THE PRETTIEST

ingrid_engen So cool 😍

malpugh obsessed with you 🥹

woso21 when she scores in her debut I will be there

leahwilliamsfan8967 ME TOO!

randomuser267 Golden girl '23 ❓

janafernandez3 🥰

trinity_rodman 🔥🔥🔥

-

when i told esmee that i had to do things for my apartment before the dinner, i wasn't lying. throughout the past week i've been decorating my apartment so it felt like home. i know it will take a while to get used to this place, since i am across the atlantic ocean in a new country away from my old home.

three hours had passed and i've finished completing everything for my apartment. i picked up my phone from the coffee table and the time read 4:12pm/16:12. i saw i've received 5 text messages from different people:

esmee :) 2hrs ago: la selva isn't far from me as well, see you at 17:00!

trinity r 2hrs ago: heyy girl! how's barcelona?

emily f 2hrs ago: sent 2 tiktok attachments you at camp 😭💀

unknown number: hi its ingrid!

the first person i texted back is ingrid, i gave her my number before she left training earlier with mapi. i changed her contact name to just "ingrid e".

y/n: hi ingrid!

i texted trinity back as well, saying that barcelona is great and asked her how she's doing back in washington. i reacted to esmee's message with a like and emily's with the "haha" reaction.

i had about 45 minutes until i had to meet esmee at la selva, so i quickly went into my bedroom and changed into a different outfit than what i had on this morning.

deciding to do my usual hairstyle (imagine whatever you want, reader <3), i placed on a bit of brow gel, concealer, mascara, blush, and lip balm as part of my makeup routine. i constantly checked the time on my phone, making sure that i am not late to meeting esmee. i promise this obsession over the time just isn't due to my interest in her; with friends i'll try not to disrespect their time by being late to an event.

after putting on my outfit (photo above^), I checked the time and it's finally 4:45/16:45. i grabbed my purse, put on my sandals, made sure to lock my apartment door, and followed my phone gps towards la selva.

stepping outside, the warm weather with the nice breeze made me smile. my white oversized button-up shirt flowed with the soft breeze. usually, my social anxiety would plague my thoughts about hanging out with someone new in my life. i used to feel shaky and hesitant about these situations. however, i promised myself that i would be more open with others once i came to spain.

i turned the corner away from my street, heading to walk straight for about a quarter of a mile. suddenly, i saw a group of girls. one girl had box braids with a nice orange sundress on. another girl was a redhead with freckles, wearing a pair of jean shorts with a green shirt. the third girl, who was closest to a restaurant door they were standing out of, was a brunette and wore a 22/23 barcelona kit with a pair of light-washed jeans. these girls were a few years younger than me, if i had to guess.

when the girl in the barcelona shirt saw me walk by her, she gasped before coming up behind me and tapping me on the shoulder. i didn't walk past her to ignore her, i figured that since i'm new to barcelona i wouldn't be recognizable yet.

"are you y/n l/n? you look so pretty in person. sorry i- um- wow i am such a fan of your talent." the shy girl spoke with a spanish accent. i smiled at her as her two friends stood behind her, looking at me with admiration too.

"thank you so much! i appreciate your kind words." i responded.

the girl pulled out her blue-cased iphone to give to her friend, "can i take a picture with you?" she asked. i responded yes kindly.

after taking pics with the three girls, i continued to walk to the restaurant. turning onto the street where la selva was, i heard my imessage notification go off in my back pocket.

i clicked on my lock button to see that i received a text message from esmee. the time is currently 4:57/16:57. the restaurant is in view from where i am walking so i wasn't late.

esmee: i am here! i got us a table already so i am inside.

y/n: i am right outside. heading in now :)

as i approached the restaurant, i stopped and took a deep breath as my nerves started to increase in unfamiliarity. my social anxiety won't ruin this potential friendship i want to have.

i smiled in awe when entering the steakhouse. the place has beautiful lighting, nice vinery, and was pretty spacious. there was nobody up front at the hostess station, so i continued to walk into the restaurant to find esmee.

as i turned the corner, i saw the dutch girl sitting. she had her familiar braids with her back facing towards me. she's looking down towards her lap so i know she is on her phone.

if i knew her well enough, i would've scared her from behind. a "boo!" could've been funny. oh well, next time i will.

"esmee!!!" i said, going to sit down in the seat across from hers. the chairs in the restaurant were hanging from the roof, the whole area was pretty.

"y/n hey!" esmee clicked off of her phone and placed it upward on the table. i placed my bag in the chair beside my left leg before i fully acknowledged esmee's appearance.

i cannot deny it. i found her attractive since seeing her at training this morning. she had this shy and sweet aura to her. don't get me started on her adorable smile…

she wore a black nike hoodie and had on a nice gold necklace. i can't see her pants from below the table, but i believe i saw black cargos when walking towards her from behind.

"i'm sorry i am a little late, a fan recognized me and asked me for a photograph." i giggled. i knew i didn't have to apologize because it was exactly 5:00/17:00 when i arrived, i just hoped that she didn't wait long.

"it's totally okay! i just sat down when i saw your message about you being outside." esmee responded. the dutch accent when she speaks english is pulling me in, emotionally, as i look at her with a smile.

be cool, y/n. i thought to myself.

"okay that's good. i didn't want to keep you waiting." i commented.

"you're fine, no worries… so i see a fan recognized you already." esmee said with her recognizable smile.

i laughed lightly and was going to respond until a waitress came up to our table.

"hi, i'm maria, i will be your server tonight. can i get you started with any drinks?" the brunette, who had french braids in her hair, smiled at us.

i looked at esmee, seeing if she wanted to answer what she wanted first. she nodded her head at me, offering for me to go first. we nearly laughed before i said to maria, "i'll just take a water." esmee wanted the same thing and maria smirked at us before walking away.

"yeah, a fan did recognize me. she had on a pedri shirt and stared at me walking by her before she stopped me for a picture. she had her friends with her and they were so kind." i said.

esmee nodded her head, "that's good. i'm glad they were kind to you."

"same, the last thing i need for the end of my first week in spain is a mean person coming at me." i shook my head at the possible thought.

"have you had any fan interactions here since tuesday?" i asked esmee. it's monday today so esmee arrived in barcelona before i did.

"i had a few actually. a few oranje fans saw me and asked for a picture. i went to mexico with the team for a friendly on thursday and was able to meet more fans there too." esmee commented. the barcelona team had a friendly in mexico against club america from what i saw on their instagram pages. my contract wasn't signed until a few days ago, when they came back to barcelona, so i wasn't able to go.

"you're so lucky! how was mexico?" i smiled.

esmee looked up, thinking about her few days for the club america friendly, before looking back at me with a smile.

"mexico was fun. we didn't walk around or do much. however, i saw an old teammate from psv that plays at club america so that was nice. uh… it was nerve-wracking too." esmee said.

"i understand, it was your first time playing with the team. friendly or not. being nervous and excited is normal." i validated her feelings.

"that's true. i did good in mexico so the worry was for nothing." esmee lightly laughed as i looked at her with a blush.

maria came by with our waters and asked what we wanted to eat. realizing that we spent most of our time talking instead of looking at the menu, we asked for a few extra minutes. the waitress accepted it and smiled before walking away, giving us time.

esmee and i looked through the menus deciding what we wanted. most of the menu was in spanish, so we had to flip to the english part of the menu. while looking through the menu, esmee and i didn't talk. the silence between us wasn't awkward since there was a nice jazz song playing throughout the restaurant.

"have you ever had salmon?" i asked esmee. the girl looked at me with a smile before nodding. i smiled back before saying, "i never had salmon before. the salmon with pineapple and avocado sounds good though."

"you never had salmon before? you should try it, it's good." esmee said as she looked back at her menu.

"okay, i'll try that." i closed the menu and placed it in front of me on the table. esmee looked at the menu for a couple of more seconds before closing it as well, "i'm going to get the same thing." she smiled.

"copy cat." i joked.

"i am not copying you… you just have good taste." esmee rolled her eyes playfully which made me laugh.

"i'm just kidding es. you can copy me as much as you want to without me feeling annoyed." i smiled before freaking out internally, "oh my god, i hope she didn't take that as flirting. i don't want to freak her out already." i thought. my face still had a smile and esmee lightly laughed so i dropped the thought.

after maria came back and we ordered our food, esmee and i took the opportunity to talk a lot more. we discussed our soccer/futbol journey before coming to barcelona, our families, our upcoming game with madrid cff, and our love for video games. we have a lot in common.

the dutch girl never mentioned having a girlfriend while she talked about the people close in her life, i took note of that.

maria came back with our food around 45 minutes after we ordered. esmee and i didn't talk much as we had our food but it's okay. again, the silence wasn't painful or awkward to me. other conversations from people around us and the light music kept my mind occupied.

i didn't want to stare at esmee, since that would be weird for our first time hanging out, but she looked so pretty. sometimes when i looked at her, she already looked at me with a shy smile. this made me blush, she noticed it but didn't say anything.

the check came back and the price wasn't expensive at all. esmee and i forgot to ask if we could split the check but we didn't want to bother Maria who is helping with other tables.

"I can pay for it!" I said as I placed my silver credit card on top of the receipt on the table.

esmee shook her head no as she placed her credit card on top of the receipt, handing me my card back.

"I offered to take you here so it's on me." the dutch said. she wasn't lying but i didn't want to make her feel obligated to pay for my food when i can.

"yeah but-"

"y/n, it's okay." esmee spoke softly before Maria took her card and walked away. I blushed knowing that I couldn't debate with the girl.

"okay but next time I am paying."

"there's going to be a next time?" esmee teased, her eyes filled with admiration.

"oh absolutely!" I said enjoying her company.

Next Chapter: Redirection III

a/n: long chapter, hope you enjoyed :)

[mystoryfortheaudienceoftheworld]

Day 2

First, thank you for the people who “hearted” and responded to my “I’m back on tumblr” post. Feeling the love already and happy to see it still exists here! 💛

Secondly, today has been so busy at work that I haven’t had a chance to post yet and I really don’t want to let this fall off again. I want to stick to it for the accountability and the releases of all the thoughts of Michelle….well maybe most of them anyways. lol

So, this morning I did stop and get a Starbucks coffee (coffee will never be off limit to my trying to eat more from home - tho I don’t exclusively buy it). However I did cave and buy some egg white bites for breakfast. Personally, I would like to blame Mother Nature for starting the day after I decided to start this weight loss/eat healthy journey. What a time to come in! But really it’s egg white bites - could have been worse and it’s Day 2 - so owning it and moving on.

I would also like to give another shout out to the best husband ever @hrstories1234 who packed my lunch/snacks this morning (on his day off) because I was too tired to do it last night. Swear I am going to work on that!

Here is what I have eaten so far (obligatory photos at the bottom 😜)

Breakfast: SB coffee (Pecan Crunch Oat milk Latte) & egg white bites

Snack: Blueberry overnight oats and SWEET NOTE FROM HUBBY!

Lunch: Lean Cuisine cheese pizza and avocado salad, coke (maybe didn’t need that coke but I was crashing)

So far today is going well - except my water intake has been zip. Goal is to down at least three bottles by the end of the day.

We are planning to make spaghetti for dinner with a salad. So I set myself a goal to be aware of my spaghetti portion - cause I could go to town if I don’t think about it.