#we’re adopting one or two more because we just want more cats

[oysters-aint-for-me]

prince gizmo is learning to love

[wildemaven]

bloom : two | joel miller

-> pairing: joel miller x florist f!reader

-> wc: 4024

-> content warning: lots if fluff and mutual pining, ellie being ellie (terrifying at times), talks of divorce and failed relationships, mention of food, reader is a single mom (adoption) and has zero physical descriptions

-> a/n: excited to share this! everyone is meeting and things are happening. big thank you to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for being a gem and listening to me stress over this and reading through this and correcting all my mistakes— she’s truly the best!

one / series masterlist / playlist

Sarah keeps asking questions. 

She always has, ever since the day she could form coherent sentences. Always wanting to know more, seeking out more information to feel informed and ready for her next move. 

So it comes as no surprise that she’s asked him the same question about five different times in the span of 24 hours.

“So, where are we going again?” Sarah’s question floats through the cab in between munching on the tart green grapes she brought along to snack on. 

“That flower shop. That one you always comment on when we drive by— Wilder Floral. I got your flowers from them.” Joel glances over to where Sarah is sitting in the passenger seat. 

“Hmm. Oh yes, the place you haven’t been able to stop raving about for the last week. Remind me why we are getting flowers?” Popping another grape into her mouth. 

“For Nana. Why you askin’ so many questions? I already told ya all of this.”

“Just tryin’ to get a better understanding as to why we’re goin’ to buy Nana flowers. Her birthday isn’t for another 6 months, and there’s no occasion that would require flowers that I know of.”

“Why you goin’ so hard in your ole man? Can’t I buy my mom flowers, just because.”

“Never said you couldn’t. Just askin’ that’s all.” Her exposed hands in front of her show no ill intent was intended. 

“Alright, ‘nough interrogating me. We’re here— hey, let’s keep all this talk about me not shuttin’ up about this place here in the truck, ‘kay?” Joel says as he pulls his truck up alongside the curb in front of the floral shop. 

“Sure, Dad.” She says before hopping out onto the sidewalk and closing the door behind her. 

The bell rings as he pushes the door open, allowing Sarah to walk in, following right behind her. The shop hasn’t changed much in a week's time. There’s new arrangements in the case, some similar to ones he looked over last week, some different. There’s buckets of flowers of all shapes and shades lining the ground near the workbench— trimmings scattered across the top must mean they’re being prepped for use in new arrangements. 

Joel continues to scan the space, in hopes to land on a familiar face who has overwhelmed his every thought for the better part of the last week. 

“Look what the cat dragged back in.” A voice pulls his attention to the side of the entrance, a spot he hadn’t looked over yet. 

“Ellie. It’s good to see you too.” Joel gruffs, shoving his hands in his pockets, wanting to feel less exposed to her cynicism. 

“Couldn’t stay away long, could ya?” Ellie snarks, leaning into the broom handle she has in her grip. 

“Um, guess not. This is Sarah, my daughter I was tellin’ ya bout last week.” Joel gestures to where Sarah is standing next to him. 

“Hey, aren’t you the girl that plays guitar at school?” Sarah asks, thinking she knew she had recognized Ellie from somewhere, then placed her as the girl who sits on the brick wall at lunch with her acoustic guitar, singing an array of classic ballads. 

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t think anyone ever really paid attention though.” Ellie seems to have shrunk down a little, a twinge of self consciousness washing over her. 

“I thought you looked familiar! Dad, this is the girl I was telling you about the other week, the girl who was singing The Sun Always Shines on T.V.” Sarah reminds Joel. “My dad has been singing that song to me since I was a baby.”

“No shit?” Ellie looks at Joel briefly, studying him, as if trying to imagine how he’d look and sound. 

“Yeah, you’re really good. I always stop and listen when you play.” 

Joel watches how Ellie absorbs the information, the slight grin that she tries to hide as she looks at the pile of dust and flower clippings she had been sweeping before they had walked in.

“Thanks.” Ellie huffs out, the compliment unexpected since no one at school ever seems to notice her playing, she doesn’t mind, but she’s grateful there’s at least one person enjoying when she does. 

“Small world. Anyway, we were in the neighborhood and wanted to get some flowers and thought we’d stop in to get some for her Nana.” Joel breaks the silence, pulling Sarah in front of him, his hands on her shoulders to keep a barrier between him and Ellie’s sharp words. Sarah gives her a meek smile and wave. 

“Makes sense, seeing as how we’re a flower shop.” A burst of air snaps from the gum Ellie is gnawing at, her sarcasm fully intact and back in action, her brows shooting up at the obvious reasoning for Joel and Sarah’s visit for flowers. 

“Is your mom around by chance?” He asks, peeking in the direction of the doorway that leads to the back room.

His hold on Sarah’s shoulders tightens slightly when she tries to wiggle herself away from his grip, hoping she could free herself from the awkwardness that’s started to simmer. 

“Well, seeing as how she owns the place, what do you think old man?” And she’s back, Ellie’s brutal response has Joel speechless. Sarah ducks her head to hide her snickering at her dad being called an ‘old man.’

“Ellie!” Your voice booms through the shop, catching the tailend of what Ellie had said to Joel. 

Joel turns to see you frozen in place. You look mortified by Ellie’s bluntness, your grip tight around the buckle of florals you have in your arms. 

“What?” Ellie rolls her eyes as she looks over to you. 

“Knock it off! Don’t be rude— especially to the customers.” You say as you make your way to your workbench, your calculated steps indicating the contents of the bucket are heavier than they look. 

“But it’s not just any customer, it’s Mister I’m sliding into third base Joel.” Ellie snarks, looking at Joel with the biggest shit-eating grin he’s ever seen. “Besides, I’m just kidding! Geez— no need to get your undies twisted.”

Sarah pretends to take in the store, avoiding the back and forth taking place around her, biting back the laughter that’s been building in her chest. 

Joel takes this as his cue to leave Sarah with Ellie, deciding she’s far less likely to be hit with a barrage of sarcastic remarks based on how well Ellie took her compliment about her singing and guitar playing. 

“Here let me help you with that.” Joel says as he jogs over towards you, his arms reaching out for the bucket ready to take on the load himself. 

“Oh! You don’t have to do that—“ You start to tell him, but he’s already grabbing the bucket from you, placing it alongside the other ones you already carried out prior to their arrival. “Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.” The way you’re looking at him has his heart rate ticking up a few beats, feeling fidgety as he tightens his hands into a fist then releases, trying to release the nervous energy that is flowing through him. “How’s the finger doin’? No other  injuries I hope.”

“No other injuries and the finger healed up nicely. Thanks to a wonderful stranger coming to my rescue.” You hold up the finger in question. No bandage. No sign of where the rose thorn had embedded itself into your skin. “It was probably the kiss— you know, that made it better and all.”

Joel reaches out, his hand wrapping gently around your wrist, needing to inspect the injury site for himself. He places your hand in his, his thumb tracking up your exposed palm and the length of your finger, smoothing over the area he had the privilege to be up close and personal with a week ago. He likes the way your skin feels under his touch, silk like and warm, even with how much you work with them. He has to rein in his fiery thoughts, wanting to know how every inch of you would feel. 

“Always does the trick.” His voice teeters on a nice balance of gentle and rough. 

Joel looks up from where he’s still holding you. Your eyes already fixed on him, beaming and bright, giving your smile a run for its money. He’s not quite sure what convinces him to do it for a second time, but finds he doesn’t really care either when he places a kiss on the pulse point of your wrist. He  lets his lips linger for a moment, catching the brief gasp you let out and the way he can feel your pulse quicken as the milliseconds tick on.

“I-I didn’t think I’d see you so soon. A very welcomed surprise to my busy week.” Your voice soothes something within him, seeping into his heart and filling the cracks he struggled to keep from breaking entirely. 

“Sarah and I were in the area and thought we’d stop in again— as promised. Need to get some flowers for Nana— my mom, her grandma.” 

“Well, I appreciate you stopping in. What’s the occasion?” You ask as Joel gently releases your hand, you pull your clippers from your well worn canvas apron, placing them next to your other tools. 

“Uhh, no real reason. Just ‘cause.” But what he really wants to say is ‘Just ‘cause I needed to see you again, and this seemed like the best way to do it.’

He’s not sure what it is, but he felt it the last time he was here too. This blooming effervescent attraction to you. Infatuated by your mere presence in such a short time. He usually runs in the opposite direction when feelings and commitment start to unveil themselves, but something about you has him running straight for the things that scare him the most— wanting to know if you feel it too.

When Joel thinks back on his dating history, post divorce, he can’t remember a time where he actively went out of his way to see someone. It could have been because there hasn’t really been anyone serious since he and Sarah’s mom divorced. There've been a lot of blind dates set up by friends and his brother Tommy, none of them making it to a second date or really establishing themselves as relationships. He’s met a few women that he thought had potential for a future with, one he had even considered proposing to after a year of dating, but it ended when she decided marriage and a kid wasn’t something she saw in her life at that moment. Joel put dating on the back burner, focused on getting his construction company off the ground and Sarah being his main priority as far as he was concerned. 

Then Joel walked into your shop last week, and everything he thought he would never have or deserve was gone. And now he finds himself searching for any reason to walk through that front door of your little flower shop, just so he can see the way your face lights up. 

“That’s so sweet of you! I’m sure she’ll love Just Cause flowers— everyone always does. I have these new arrangements I just put together if you want to give her one of these??” Pointing to the several arrangements in glass vases that you had been working on all morning. “These protea are my favorite to work with. Their petals are kind of velvety and they’re perfect long after the rest of the arrangement has expired, she can dry them and have them forever. They are kind of cool flowers too, they’re adapted to survive wildfires because their stem contains buds that will produce new growth after fires. And they’re one of the oldest living flowers on the planet, so that makes them double cool.” 

Joel studies you as you continue to share random floral facts with him, adjusting and readjusting the arrangement in front of you. Each flower placed with intention, pausing from time to time to take a slight step back, your head tilting to the side as you look over everything as a whole, then back to arranging and rearranging. 

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to ramble like that.” You say as you look to where Joel is leaning one hip into your workbench, as he hangs on every word you're saying. 

“No, don't be sorry. I like it.”

There’s an ease that flows nicely between you. Joel wants to pick your brain, find out what makes you happy, the things that make you sad— all the things in between. He wants to talk to you for hours on end, or not talk at all and just listen— to anything and everything you have to say. 

“Like what?” 

“Listenin’ to you talk. I like it— a lot actually. And the little facts too. Shows how much you love what you do to learn special details like that. You could be tellin’ me about how mushrooms could start a zombie apocalypse, and I’d find it interesting— terrifying, but interesting.” Joel hopes you can hear that he genuinely means it.  

“Well, I won’t tell you how that possibility is more likely to happen than you think based on the research that’s been done over the years.” You both laugh at how ridiculous sounding a mushroom zombie apocalypse would be. 

“They seem to be getting along nicely.” Your chin pointing over to where Ellie and Sarah are giggling to themselves at the front part of the shop. 

“Sarah’s a pretty easy goin’ kid. Gets along with pretty much everyone she meets, even Ellie it seems.” Joel looks over his shoulder at the girls. 

You both share bits about each of them. Their differences, similarities and all the fun little quirks they’ve both had since they were babies. 

Joel asks about Ellie’s singing, and you tell him how she taught herself by checking out books at the library to help her master the chords and beginner songs. Joel tells you how he used to play growing up and that he doesn’t play as much as he would like to now, but sometimes Sarah can twist his arm enough to dust off his guitar and strum out a few songs at the end of barbecues or random summer evenings. 

He tells you about Sarah’s latest soccer game, how she’s an all-star player and usually helps carry the team to victory throughout the season. You tell him how Ellie had been on the track team briefly, she was a sprinter, but was kicked off the team for punching a runner from another school because she had elbowed Ellie during the 400m race, causing her to trip and lose. 

An hour passed before you both don’t realize you’ve been caught up talking about your kids. 

*

“She’s like head over heels in love with your dad. She literally jumps when the front door dings, hoping it’s him again. It’s gross.” Ellie tells Sarah, looking over to where you and Joel are, completely wrapped up in a moment together. 

“Hmm. We stopped in to get my Nana flowers.“ Sarah repeats what Joel had told Ellie earlier. 

“Your dad mentioned that when you came in.” 

“Yeah, well she’s been on vacation for a month and won’t be back for another month. So I don’t think we are here just getting my Nana flowers.” Sarah takes a glance over now to see you and Joel laughing. “I think it’s safe to say my dad is just as head over heels for your mom, too.” 

*

“Well, we’ll get outta your hair. Promised Sarah we’d stop on our way home at The Picnic, get some lunch and ice cream.” Hating that he can’t stay, knowing that he can’t hog all your time— but maybe one day.

“Oh I’ve always wanted to go there. I’ve heard so many great things about all their food trucks. Ellie and I will have to check it out sometime. She’s on a Chef Boyardee kick right now, as one would be when they’re a preteen. Would be nice to mix it up for her though.”

If it wasn’t too forward with it only being his second time meeting you, Joel would ask if you and Ellie wanted to join them. He would even chance the gutsiness and ask you out, spend the evening getting to know you better until both your stomachs and hearts were full. Ellie’s words hit him, “she needs to be wined and dined before you even think about kissing her.”

“Nothin’ wrong with some canned ravioli— lived on that shit in college. But yeah, you both would enjoy it. Definitely take her.” He decides gutsiness isn’t winning today, or it’s his fear of being on the receiving end of Ellie’s wrath that has him wanting to do it the right way, just not today. 

“I hope Nana loves these. And feels special getting just ‘cause flowers.” You hand Joel the ceramic container filled with different shades of pinks and greens in varying heights, shapes and textures. 

“I’m sure she’ll love ‘em no doubt. How much do I owe you?” He gives the flowers a look over, not in an analyzing manner, but admiring the way you manage to take these flowers and effortlessly pair them all together and create something special. 

“You’re in luck! I’m running a special today!.” 

“A special?” Joel is frozen in confusion. 

“Yes! Free to customers that go by the name of Joel.” You say sweetly, he catches the way you bite at your bottom lip after you say his name. 

“‘N what are you gonna do when another Joel walks in wantin’ some of your pretty flowers?” 

“Well, there’s limits of course. And it’s only valid for one Joel.” You wink at him, prompting his stomach to flip and knot up. He needs to ask you out!

“No, I can’t let you do that again. Let me pay this time, please.” He insists, setting the arrangement down on the counter he pulls his wallet from his back pocket, flipping through the large bills stashed inside. “How much?” 

“Joel— my shop, my rules. There’s no arguing— just take the flowers.” 

“Hi! I’m Sarah. Thank you so much for the flowers, my dad and I haven’t been able to stop talking about them. I have been bugging my dad to bring me here, it’s so pretty.” Sarah tells you as she stands next to Joel, arms crossed over the counter. 

“You are so welcome. So glad you’re enjoying them.” Even with this brief interaction, you decided Sarah is one of the sweetest teenagers you’ve ever met— Ellie wouldn’t even take offense if you told her such, she would most likely shrug and agree. 

“Hey, Dad. Are you almost ready to go? I’m starting to get hungry.” Sarah asks, turning to look up at him. 

“Right— sorry, babygirl. We got caught up talkin’ and now I’m tryin’ to convince her to let me pay, but she’s insistin’ we just take the flowers.” 

“Sounds like you shouldn’t argue with her. Just say thank you and take the flowers.” Sarah grabs the arrangement and snags Joel’s keys that are dangling from the front pocket of his jeans then starts to head for the door. “I’ll meet you in the truck dad. It was nice meeting you!”

You wave goodbye to her and watch as she stops on her way out to tell Ellie bye, telling her she’ll see her around at school, the bell dings and the door slowly closes as she walks out. She settles herself into Joel’s truck, its engine roaring to life soon after, signaling Joel to say his farewells and head finally head out. 

“I guess I’ll see you around then.” Joel slowly walks backwards, prolonging his departure from you. 

“I’ll see you around Joel. Hopefully sooner than later.” You wave to him then you’re straight back into work mode, moving buckets of flowers to be cleaned and prepped for your next round of arrangements. 

Joel’s hand settles on the door, but releases it and turns back to where Ellie is finishing up her sweeping through the shop, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he interrupts her. 

“If you take a picture it’ll last longer. Although, might be a little weird with you bein’ an old man and all.” Ellie is quick on her feet. Joel hopes that’s the last of her intimidation tactics. 

“Hey, umm— don’t say anything to your mom ‘bout this, but sometime this week why don’t you take her out to eat somewhere. Give her a break from cookin’ and what not.” He holds a double folded $100 bill between his middle and pointer finger, encouraging Ellie to take it from him. 

“This feels like some sort of thing my mom should've warned me about. We’re not a charity case, we don’t need your money.” She continues sweeping, grabbing leaves and a few days worth of dust bunnies that have collected under display tables. 

“It’s not— I don’t think you’re a charity case. I just— I wanted to— umm.” Joel releases a deep sigh. He’s flustered, stumbling over his words trying to figure out what he is wanting to say. 

“You wanted to ask my mom out, but you’re too much of a chickenshit. So you’re conning me into taking her out instead. Thinking that maybe I’ll soften up to you a bit.” 

“Yeah, pretty much all of that.” Joel huffs out a laugh, shaking his head at how easily she was able to read him. 

“I’ll tell ya what— I’ll take her somewhere, but I keep half.” Ellie bargains with him, making sure she still has the upper hand.

“Half?” 

“Kids gotta make a livin’ somehow.”

Joel thinks it over, actually contemplates the pros and cons of being worked over by Ellie. Each positive gained him an in with Ellie, not really a guarantee, but he’s hopeful that maybe she would consider downgrading her verbal assaults a notch or two. The only negative Joel  can come up with is… Ellie keeps the money and he has to come at this from a different angle, one he’s not really sure about yet. 

“Okay, okay. You keep half, but take her somewhere nice-nice.” He holds the bill again out to her, she snatches it quickly and shoves it in her back pocket. 

“Yeah, yeah old man. Under one condition. Next time you come in here acting like you’re buying flowers just so you can see her— you ask her out yourself. None of this middle man BS.” 

“You gotta deal, kid.” He holds his hand out to her, and they shake on it. A truce cementing the fact that he agrees to not being a chickenshit— something he’s not sure he’s ever been called before. “Maybe go easy on the old man part a bit.”

“See ya around ol— Joel.”

“See ya later, Ellie.” 

*

The driver door slams shut as Joel settles into the seat. The cold air already flowing through the cab, Sarah singing along to The Clash with the flowers secure in her lap. Joel fastens his seatbelt and shifts the truck into drive, his thumb drumming along to the beat as he drives away. 

“So, you got a crush on the cute flower lady?” Sarah asks, her infectious smile extending from ear to ear. 

“What? I— what makes you think that?” He looks over to her, his brows slightly raised at her suggesting he likes you— he does, he just didn’t realize it would be two teenagers picking up on it. . 

“For starters, Nana’s been on vacation for a month, and she won’t be back for a while. But also the way you look at her, it’s so obvious.” She plays with the petals of the flowers, waiting for Joel’s response. 

“Anyone ever told ya you’re a smart kid?” He shakes his head and laughs. 

“Yeah, you do all the time Dad. So, are you gonna ask her out?” 

“I’m afraid if I don’t, Ellie’s gonna have a hit-man out for me.” He’s joking, but also not. “Yeah, I’m gonna ask her out.”

[adventuringblind]

Drive With You Forever

Chapter Five: Cats, Cluelessness, and difficult communication

Max Verstappen x Reader x Charles Leclerc x Lando Norris

Chapter Summary: a brief interlude in the off-season before 2020, Sebastian adopts Charles, Max struggles to communicate his feelings, and the reader makes a new friend 👀

Warnings: mentions of SH, reader over does it again, seizure like episode, Lando is awkward, Charles is awkward, Max can't do feeling well yet, jos verstappen

Notes: ah yes, the gang is all here now. I have more action coming in the next part. Maybe also some fluffy stuff. I've been trying to get some blurbs done for what isn't shown in the long chapters because I've had to cut down on some things. I would love to give y'all some content of our duo, trio, or quartet doing something specific.

Previous <-

Masterlist

The end of the season means a bit of a break for the drivers. A chance to spend some time with their families. For her, it means spending time with Sebastian and Hanna in Germany.

The trio had wanted to officially introduce themselves. They knew, but the three barely got a chance to interact all together. It would be nice to catch up anyways.

They are all sat at the dining room table. Even the littles wanted to join in on the conversation. Mostly they spout of randomness as they listen but it’s still endearing to everyone.

The three are sat in a row. Charles far left, the female in the middle and Max on the right if her.

“So I’m curious, who gets the middle of the bed?” Seb laughs at his own question. Hanna playfully hits his shoulder. Charles and Max both look at her. She just rolls her eyes as they both start laughing.

“Are you three moving in together?” Hanna asks this time. Genuine curiosity, unlike her husband.

Charles almost chokes. He hadn’t thought about it.

He’s thankful he’s not the first to answer. “Are you saying you want me out?” It’s a playful question from the girl. She’s smiling like an idiot at the banter.

“Of course not. You’re welcome here forever.”

Max swallows his food then joins the conversation. “We were actually planning on moving some things to my apartment since we’re here.” Now Charles feels out of place. Was he not asked yet for a reason? They hadn’t been together long so it would make sense. “Charles lives in Monaco already so I figured his things would be easier to move.” Max explains.

Now he’s confused. Something Max can clearly see. They make eye contact for a moment and Charles is left a mess. “Unless you don’t want to anymore?”

Charles is shaking his head no at lightning speed. He definitely wants to. He’s tired of living alone and throwing himself pity parties over breaks. Plus, he learns he sleeps better when he's not alone.

~

Moving feels more sentimental to her this time. She had more stuff than when she was fifteen.

Sbeastion offered to let them fly private with him to help move her stuff to Monaco. She wanted to, but it was unnecessary. Most of her belongings that she needs fits into an extra suitcase.

Max and Charles both kept asking her if she had anything else. It was getting on her nerves a bit.

Hanna and Seb had done the same thing when she first came to Germay. Though she had less then. Hanna had taken her to get some new clothes because her t-shirts all had holes in them.

Flights were weird. The first class has two seats for each row, meaning that one of them got to sit somewhere else. They often played musical chairs on the plane because of this.

She'd always had an affinity for even numbers.

It was an interesting dynamic they had created. Charles and Max are barely a month apart, and she's just turned nineteen. They get to do things she can't yet. But she's gentle and knows exactly what they need and is far to gentle for what she's been through.

Charles felt that he was playing catch up with the other two. He was new to this and still new to them. He, however, was the best at communication between the three.

Max, having grown up in an interesting family setting, is aggressive and protective. His communication skills are lacking, but he would do anything to keep his significant others out of harms way.

Today was one of those days that Max was struggling communication wise. It had started after an intense phone call where the other two were attempting (and failing) at deciphering dutch.

She'd offered to sit next to him if he needed consoling, but he decided to sit further away from the two. Leaving them to figure out what happened.

This had brought the thoughts of even numbers. If they were flying with four of them, Max wouldn't be able to mope alone.

"Do you think it was Jos?" Charles asked. His eyes had been on the Dutch for most of the flight.

"I would assume so given that he was speaking Dutch, and he doesn't do that with many people."

Both sigh. Jos had been on Max's ass about moving up into a championship title. Che was ready to have some words, either him, next time they were together, and Charles was going to start making a point to celebrate every placement in a race.

It didn't take long to get to Max's apartment. It's not the most luxurious, but it's comfortable. He's planning to get something worthy of the three of them after he gets a title.

Max had successfully locked himself away in his bedroom. The other two left to figure out what he needs. Maybe it is just a time thing?

"Is he usually like this after a call with Jos?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "It depends on if he's praising or berating."

"Can we help him?" Charles is eyeing the closed door and her. His brain working out every way to get him to open up.

She smirks. There always one thing that cheered up Max.

~

Max was choking back tears. He felt weak. Like he was never going to he enough.

He felt bad for stomping off the way he did, but he didn't want his partners to see him like this.

He hears the soft rape of knuckles against the door. "Mon Amour? Can we please come in?"

He grunts, but the Monegasque takes it as approval.

Charles peeks his head in. His gentle steps are coming closer to Max. He doesn't look up. He just keeps his head buried in his pillow.

Charles doesn't say anything, which he appreciates. Just sits down on the edge and lets Max's body dip towards his. Then he's running his fingers through Max's hair.

It's not long before another set of footsteps are padding into the room. These ones softer then Charles, telling Max it's y/n.

She's successfully moved both Jimmy and Sassy into the room from their hiding spots and is holding his favorite movie. She sneaks in and closes the door behind her.

They spend the next couple of hours lying in bed with the cats and watching their movie.

Max feels himself calming down. They don't talk about anything. Aside from occasionally copying the lines from the movie they've watched far to many time.

It's after that he feels like he can say something. His mind finally grounded back to reality. "I'm sorry for shutting you both out. I was just... agitated, I guess."

The Monegasque has his fingers back in his hair in an instant. "It's okay, you needed space. Do you want to talk about it now?"

The youngest places sassy on his chest as a way to comfort him. Her hands intertwine with his.

"Just frustrated that my dad thinks I'm not trying. He started spouting that I'll never get anywhere at this rate."

"That a lie. Jos is obviously lacking brain cells." The youngest pipes. "I can throw him into a wall if you want?"

The idea actually makes him smile.

~

Charles was the next to move things in. Though it was mildly awkward explaining to his family why he was moving somewhere else.

Turns out he can't keep a secret. His family is accepting. Pascale welcomes both into her home. She takes a particular liking to the quiet girl who is still always between the two older boys.

His stuff takes up more of the apartment than hers. The contrast of red and blue is now showing everywhere.

"If Charles is red, Max is blue, and I'm always in the middle, does that make me purple?" She spouts while unpacking a box of ferrari shirts.

Max spits out the water he was drinking. Charles starts wheezing. And she is laughing at her own comment.

"Where did you come up with that, Chéri?"

"Just a thought I've been sitting on since we started dating."

"You're not wrong, though." Max is wiping his mouth clean from the water.

~

It's weird going places together. Not errands and things, but social gatherings. Charles has asked to keep things private for now. He's not fond of the questions people have about the nuances of their relationship.

They came and left separately. Usually, depending on who wanted to leave first, the other would wait about fifteen minutes.

A few months into the break, Lando Norris decides to call Max and invite him and his lover to a party. He does the same for Charles a minute after he hangs up with Max.

The three of you have to hold in your laughter as Charles tries to get through the phone call listening to the same details.

Despite what Lando said, this was not the type of party any of you are used to by now. At least not Charles and Max. She'd been to few and got overwhelmed by it all pretty quickly. Sometimes, she'd use it as an excuse to get the boys out of the apartment so she could have the cats to herself and play around with her powers.

Charles and Max both hate it when she does it alone. They've found her on the floor passed out on multiple occasions. She doesn't care, though. The visions and nightmares of her father were more reason to keep going.

Regardless, this party is small. Just a few drivers who had been in town or live in Monaco are here with their partners.

Kika and Pierre, George and Carmen, Alex and Lily, Carlos is here along with Daniel. Charles is seated in a solitary chair. The couches have been taken. Daniel and Lando on either side of him.

It feels nice and intimate in a way. She hadn't seen many drivers just get together to hang out like this.

Charles is ever the gentleman and offers her the chair, which she takes. Him and Max are now making themselves comfortable on the floor in front of her.

They're eating, drinking, laughing, and sharing stories from the past. It's nice and relaxing.

She taps Max's shoulder, alerting him that she's going for water and asking both boys if they need anything to which they reply no.

She spots Lando in his kitchen getting a drink. It's not an alcoholic one, just juice that looks like it could be alcohol.

She turns on his tap for water, and Lando jumps out of his skin. His eyes rapidly look between her and his cup.

"I like to mix my alcohol with juice...?" His voice sounds unsure. Does he think it's not okay to just have juice?

"Juice is a good choice, in my opinion. Alcohol is strong and feels funny sometimes."

Lando visibly relaxs. "Promise you won't tell anyone? They laugh at me sometimes when I do this."

"I promise."

~

Lando was around more after the party. He seemed comfortable around her and Max. He'd opened up about his anxiety to them and played far to many games with Max.

What they were not expecting was for Lando to show up at their apartment door at three o'clock in the morning. His breathing uneven body shaking like a leaf.

She knew what this was. She'd had plenty of panic attacks.

She guides him inside to the couch and is trying to asses the situation. Get his breathing to calm down so he doesn't hyperventilate.

It takes ten minutes until he's calm.

"Did something happen?"

"Just a nightmare, and I couldn't calm down after."

"Did you walk here?"

He nods his head yes. Exhaustion flooding his eyes.

"Is Max asleep?" He asks.

"Should be. He sleeps like a rock most of the time." They both giggle. Lando is now able to relax in a calm environment.

They are interrupted by two sets of footsteps. Charles and Max come barreling into the living room. Panic on their faces one minute and embarrassment the next. Lando staring at the with the utmost confusion.

The older boys are shirtless and in sweats. Max's arm protectively outstretched in front of Charles.

"...oops."

~

Lando is not stupid. He may be the youngest on the grid currently, but he's not stupid.

He saw how the three of them looked at each other. Charles definitely touched them both far more than what friends do.

Originally, he thought he was crazy for watching them. Yet he couldn't help but be intrigued. How they all interacted. How they just flowed together.

Now he sits on their couch. Max looks like he's guarding Charles and y/n. The Dutch has yet to sit down and is leaning against the wall. Charles is sitting across from him with the females head in this lap. His fingers running through her hair.

It's a terrible feeling. Like he's left out of whatever this is. Three of his best friends spend all their time together, and he's just here. Young and naïve Lando.

"Did you have a feeling this would happen, Mijn liefje?" Asks Max from his perch on the wall. She shakes her head no in response.

Lando had heard about her knack for predicting future outcomes. He'd heard rumors about magic and tarot cards, but she'd never said anything to him.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here in the extra bedroom, and I can't take you home in the morning."

"That sounds nice, thank you."

~

She woke up exhausted. She felt guilty for not having warned Max and Charles. Her mind to far gone that they were mad at her. She spent her night trying to get any glimpse of their future but didn't get anything useful.

She hid herself away in the master bathroom. The wet towel and the floor her new best friend.

She could smell breakfeast. Max is cooking for all of them. They learned quickly not to let Charles cook. Lest they all die.

She was in bed with them this morning. Only crawling out from their hold when she felt them stir.

Every question puts her further into the fog. Was she going to lose them? Are they upset with her? Is Lando okay with them? Would he tell people?

It's too much for her head.

She goes for another attempt. She knows she's overdoing it. The further she goes with less time in-between brings her closer to the edge of her body going numb.

Nausea creeps into her stomach, but she sees them. Further down the line. Happy and four.

Four? This could be shocking, and yet somehow, she already knew. Her mind just needs a but of confirmation that it's possible.

The nausea gets stronger. Her nose is bleeding heavily. She pushed it past the limit.

They won't mind, though.

~

Max is making breakfast and quietly humming to himself. Charles has his hands on his hips, the two of them swaying back and forth to the tune.

"Do you think I should go check on her?" Charles mumbles into his shoulder.

"She may want space after last night, she was taken off guard and might need to peocess." He explains, then turns his attention back to the pan.

"I'm worried, though. She was crying last night after Lando went to bed, and I don't think she slept."

Lando slides around the corner. His face lighting up at the smell of food. "Can I... can I have some?"

Max laughs at the Brit's excitment. "Of course. I made enough for all of us."

Lando sits himself on top on the counter. Watching the Dutch and Monegasque lean into each other. He takes notice that someone is missing. "Is y/n okay?"

Both boys sigh with heavy concern. "She had a rough night." Explains Charles. His body is fighting the urge to go get her. "I can't take it anymore, I'm going to check on her."

Charles leaves Max and Lando in the kitchen. His legs taking long strides back to the bedroom.

"So you guys all sleep together? Not like sexually- I guess - I mean at night to sleep."

Max smiles at the Brit. His curiosity was nothing he didn't expect. "Yeah, we pile into the same bed at night. All of us sleep better that way."

Lando hums. His palm rubs his face with anxiety. "Would you ever add a fourth?-'m asking for a friend..."

Max already knows. Somehow, someway, he already knows where this is going. "Depends. It took months of discussion before Charles joined us. But I'm sure if the right person came along, we'd be open to it." Max turns around to face Lando and shoots him a reassuring smile.

Lando's cheek tint pink, and Max knows exactly what he wants.

~

Charles leclerc is usually someone who panics. This time was no exception.

He'd seen plenty after his six months of being together with his partners. Particularly how the femal among them is prone to violent behaviors against herself. He's seen all of her powers now and how they affect her if she uses them too much. He's been there to help soothe her after night terrors while Max fetches her water.

He was glad she opened up to him about her past more. He knew the generally what had gone on but no details, nothing like what he knew now.

The prospect of her father coming back for her at some point is what drover her to the breaking point on most days.

Now, Charles is faced with a locked door and the sounds of thrashing from the other side. He'd tried picking the lock, something him and Max both learned to do after instances like this, but his hands are far too shaky to maneuver the pins.

So he does the only other logical thing and breaks the door down. Only enough that he can lean it somewhere and not let it fall on her, but it felt cool to kick it in.

Charles has seen a lot of things, but this is completely new. Her muscles are tensing at a rapid speed, and her eyes are rolled back into her head. Her breathing movements are unatrual.

"Max!"

It takes ten seconds, and he's there. His body and mind reacting to the situation. He's trying to hold her in his arms. Attempting to wake her up from whatever trance she's in.

Max hisses through his teeth when he touches her. Her skin in his searing his hands. Yet, he pushes through.

Charles feels helpless. "What can I do?"

"This has happened before. She must have forced a vision. She'll come out of it, we just need to make sure she dosen't die in the process."

The two boys are then lifting her body of the floor. Charles now carries her to the bed while Max runs around grabbing things. Mostly ice to cool her down. Charles rambles on to her about nothing and everything. Max said they should talk to her, giver her some to help bring her back.

Both of them forgot they left Lando in the kitchen. The Brit left to finish making breakfast in light of their emergency. Again, they are shocked to see his pale face watching the scene unfold before him.

"Can I help?" Is all he can manage.

"Do you want to trade places with me? I think the liquid benadryl might help."

Lando is taking over for Max tentatively. He takes the ice pack from the Dutch and places it on her forehead.

Lando can see the sweat and tears mixed with fresh blood. It's scary, and he's nervous. Why are they not taking her to a hospital?

Normally, she's the one calming him down. She always knows exactly what he needs to hear. He's not been in this position, and it scares him to see her like this.

He slides one hand down to her bicep. His fingers tap out the melody to her favorite song. A trick she used on him to bring him back to earth when he got in his head.

About halfway through, she's sucking in a breath, her body sitting straight upwards. Her eyes are no longer stuck to the inside of her head. She's still sweating like mad, and her body is twitching, but she's awake.

She's breathing heavily. Dry heaving and coughing into herself. Her hands are quick to find Charles and grasp at him, searching for the familiar comfort.

Lando watches her intently. Her sobs are painful. They sound broken, like whatever she's just been through was some sort of of torcher.

"Chéri, can I set you with Lando for a moment? I need to tell Max you're awake." Charles whispers gently. Lando takes note of how he's cradling her. His hands on the back of her head and under her legs to support her weight.

She barely nods her approval. Her body is slid close to Lando, who embraces her. Attempting to replicate what Charles was doing. He finds himself tapping the same melody on her knees.

"Was that you tapping? When I was asleep?" She chokes.

"Yeah, could you feel it."

She nods her head against his body. "You brought me back, thank you."

Lando lets his body relax into hers, knowing he at least did one thing right today.

~

Next ->

Tags: @styles-sunflower @purplephantomwolf @boiohboii @reblog-princess-blog @jjsprobablywrong @ipabloramos @jayda12 @faithm120601

(comment if you want to be added)

[elizabethemerald]

Summoning the Cat: Part 2

Danny and Selina reunite in the Batcave, despite Bruce’s wishes to the contrary. A very anxious Jazz accompanies him.  

Despite Jason and Dick insisting that Danny was safe in the Batplane with them, Selina still couldn’t force herself to relax. She paced the cave for a few more hours while they flew back across the country to Gotham. When Alfred came down into the cave to prep the medical bay she joined him, more for something to do with her hands than because she actually knew all that much about medicine. To her endless annoyance Bruce followed her around as if she was suddenly going to go off and start killing people. No wonder Jason couldn’t stand to be near the Big Bad Bat anymore. 

Tim and Damian had both come back down to the cave at some point to check in before they left for Wayne Industries and school respectively. Cass and Steph were again sleeping together on the couch in the bat cave. Except rather than cutely cuddled together, Stephanie was fully sprawled across the couch, face down and drooling into the fabric. Cassandra was sleeping on top of her girlfriend like one of Selina’s cats. It really was too bad Bruce found her first, she would have made an excellent cat burglar under Selina’s tutelage. 

The distant roar of a jet engine once again startled the two girls awake. Steph tried to flail Cass off who just ended up perched on the back of the couch, again looking uncannily like a cat while Steph ended up in an undignified puddle on the ground. The Batplane slowly taxied into the cave before it came to rest, the metal groaning and popping as it settled.

Selina waited impatiently for the ramp to descend, eager for her first glimpse of her son again. Finally she could see him, tiredly leaning on the red headed girl who must be his adopted sister. They had a shared blanket wrapped around both of their shoulders and would have stumbled down the ramp had Jason, still in his Red Hood helmet not steadied them. 

She took a step to run forward to embrace her son, but hesitated. She didn’t give a shit about Bruce’s overabundance of caution. What held her back was the look of fear on the girl’s face. She was pale and had deep dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was starting to grow wild and frizzy as if she hadn’t been taking proper care of it and had been running her fingers through for the past several hours. More than anything she looked like she was on the edge of a panic attack. She kept glancing around, her eyes tracking Bruce and the girls. Stopping on Selina before quickly glancing away. Trying to find the exit of the cave and cataloging weapons and threats. 

Instead of dashing forward like she wanted, she took a simple step forward, drawing both of the kids’ eyes to her. She gave them both a wide smile, and opened up her arms and posture a little. She did everything she could to make herself see like she wasn’t a threat, that the children were welcome. 

“Hello again Danny.” Selina gave her son a warm look before turning to the girl. “And you must be his sister. My name is Selina Kyle. I believe I’m Danny’s birth mother.” 

Danny gave her a tired smile in return, obviously despite sleeping on the plane he still had a lot of sleep he needed to catch up on. He pulled away from his sister’s lingering hand and after a moment of hesitation stepped into Selina’s welcoming embrace. He held her gently at first, like he wasn’t certain he should or that he was afraid she would disappear, then he gave her a proper squeeze, and she tried to hug him back with just as much strength. He leaned back from her to look at her face, seemingly examining her just as she had done to him, trying to find the similarities between the two of them. 

“H-hi, Mrs. Kyle. I feel- I can feel you. That we have a connection. I can feel that we’re family.” He seemed to be puzzling out what he was thinking as he was speaking, and Selina realized it was all probably just as new for him as it was for her. Then he seemed to shake himself and gestured back toward his sister. “This is my sister, Jazz! She’s the one who's taken care of me up to this point.” 

Selina turned to Jazz and gave her the same warm smile she had given her son. She opened her arms to allow the girl to choose whether she wanted a hug or not. Even more hesitantly than before, Jazz stepped into the hug. Selina could feel the girl flinch in her arms, so she kept her hug gentle, and allowed her to pull back when she seemed to have enough, though Selina kept her arms on the girl’s shoulders. 

“Thank you so much for taking care of my son for so long. Thank you for keeping him safe until I could find him again.” Selina said softly, her words only for Jazz. Despite her soft tone the girl still flinched slightly, but managed to plaster on a pleasant looking smile. 

“Of course Mrs. Kyle. I’m just glad that Danny is happy and safe. That’s all that’s important to me.” 

“Please you two, both of you can call me Selina. And either way I’m not married.” She turned to shoot a coy look at Bruce, but instead sneered when she saw his stern, disapproving look. Honestly, what was he expecting to accomplish with a look like that? It wasn’t like he constantly disapproved of her every action or anything. The looks lost their impact long ago. 

“Catwoman.” Bruce growled, taking her look as permission to approach. He was still wearing his silly little cowl. “Perhaps, to confirm your parentage, we can perform a blood test to see if you and the boy match?” 

Selina was about to make another dismissive comment about his paranoia, when both of the kids reacted. Danny flinched back violently while Jazz stepped fully in front of her brother. Both of them looked like they were on the edge of fleeing for their lives. Certainly Batman growling and stalking closer were scary, but their reactions were far more than she had expected. She mentally played the conversation back and she realized what the problem was. The blood test. Plasmius had said Danny’s parents had experimented on him. She would not allow Bruce to make the children’s first experience in Gotham to be him throwing their trauma back in their face. She immediately steps in between Jazz and Bruce, facing the Bat. 

“Get out of the way Catwoman.” Bruce growled, reaching beneath his cape for some piece of equipment from his belt. “You’re behaving irrationally. They are controlling you.” 

She could hear the kids behind her breathing faster and faster. They were moments away from either a panic attack or sprinting out of the cave. She didn’t want to try and find two ghostly kids in Gotham if they did run, especially not with the Bat also searching for them. Bruce takes another step into her space, his arm is moving to bring up whatever bat themed weapon he’s about to use against her to try and subdue her and her children and she reacts on instinct. 

The first slap across his face, while surprising, didn't do much more than sting. The following knee to the ribs she gave him was enough to force him back a step. Before she could follow up another fist came from the sidelines and knocked Bruce straight to the ground. Red Hood stood over the bat glaring down at him. 

“Stay down old man.” Hood’s heavily modulated voice echoed around the cave. “You’re scaring the kids.” 

Selina stepped back to comfort the two kids who still looked like they were a moment away from pulling a disappearing act. Jazz was still protectively standing in front of Danny who looked like he had started dissociating. Steph and Cass were both glaring at Bruce and Dick had pulled his escrima. Jason’s chest was rising and falling quickly as he tried to control his anger before he tried to kill Bruce. And the man himself looked up from the floor at all of them. 

“Don’t ever threaten my kids again.” Selina snarled at Bruce and began to usher the children away. 

“I’ll drive you and the kids to your penthouse, Selina.” Jason said, finally overcoming his anger enough to speak, though his posture was still tense as he led them out of the cave. 

It felt like only a few seconds had passed before Selina was unlocking the front door of her penthouse condominium to let the kids in. Jason left them at the front door saying he needed to blow off some steam, by which he probably meant blow something up. Jazz alternated between trying to protectively shelter her brother and anxiously worrying her hands. Danny had finally come back to himself a little and was looking around the rooms with an awed look on his face. 

Selina was only half way into her tour when there was a knock at her front door. Jazz again tensed, but Selina knew that if the Bat wanted to come for her he wouldn’t come by the front door. And sure enough at the door was Cass, Steph and Dick, all now in the civies. Cass had Selina’s catsuit and the icy armor Danny had made for her in her hands. Steph had a couple of bags of groceries containing what looked like an entire snack aisle and Dick had several sodas and a small cake. 

“We wanted to throw a small welcome party!” Steph said with a smile while her girlfriend leaned over her shoulder. Cass also had a small smile on her face as she looked curiously at the kids. 

“Sorry about Bruce. I’ve had my share of fights with him. Either he’ll come around eventually or Alfred will order him not to engage with any of you.” Dick explained as Selina welcomed them into her home. “And Steph is right! Welcome home Alan- I mean Danny!” 

Selina smiled at the mischievous trio. She was certain that Damian, Barbara and Timothy would be by later to welcome the new family members. And Jason once he was done blowing up warehouses belonging to Black Mask or Penguin. Even Jazz and Danny seemed to relax and look happier at the welcome wagon that had just rolled up. It was good to have her kids home. 

[strstab]

𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝟐 𝐛𝐞 - 𝐣.𝐦

summary ; a cat follows you and jj home from the store so you and the pogues adopt it

pairing ; jjmaybank x fem!reader

notes ; fluff + certified cat lover jj

a/n ; as a cat lover & owner, i am a strong believer in the “you don’t choose the cat, the cat chooses you” saying. so here’s my take on that 🎀

ALSO SOOOOO SO SO SORRY FOR BEING LIKE DEAD LOL. school is drowning me right now and i was sick last week 🥲. from now on i’m going to try and be more consistent, hopefully i’ll get a schedule for this but yeah. also this is a fixed up draft, so the first half of it is super old.

you walked out of the store with a box of pizza in your hands, your boyfriend following behind you, shoving his wallet into his pocket.

“do i seriously have to walk home holding this shit like a waitress? y’know i quit that job a while ago,” you rolled your eyes at your boyfriend who insisted on not getting a bag because they were charging for it.

“i mean, you don’t have to hold it like that..”

“how else am i gonna to hold it? on my head?” you sassed, looking both ways before crossing the street.

“no, just use the two hands the gods gave you” he grabbed the box from you. he felt like there was someone behind you guys, but from the corners of his eyes there was nothing in sight.

once you got onto the side walk he turned his head and saw nothing. well, besides the white colored cat that leaped onto the cement.

you guys continued to walk in a comfortable silence back to the chateau, where your friends were waiting for the large box of half cheese half meat lovers pizza. jj still suffered from the paranoia.

you pulled out your phone and started texting kie, telling her you’d be there in a bit. you turned your head at a loud, familiar groan and gave a confused look. ‘the fuck..’

“baby i feel like there’s something following us, but there’s literally nothing!” he whined. your eyes glanced behind him and saw nothing.

“it’s fine, j. i mean, we’re almost home anyways,” you shrugged his paranoia off and continued walking.

jj frowned and gave one last look behind him. that cat was still there. was it following him? maybe it was the food that he held in his hand that attracted it.

he attempted to shoo the cat away but it kept walking towards him so he sped walked to catch up to you. “i think the cats following us,” he muttered.

“cat? what cat?” you looked around and spotted the white furred cat he was talking about. you let out an ‘awh’ and crouched down to the cats level.

“hi baby,” you held your hand out so the cat would come and sniff it.

“baby? i thought i was your baby!” jj frowned at the thought of a cat of all things replacing him. he watched as the cat approached you and rubbed its nose on your finger.

it started to rub its full body against your leg as you made kissy noises at it. he heard soft purring coming from the cat below him and lifted a brow. god he just wanted to go home and eat this pizza.

“hi precious, where are your owners?” you asked as if the cat would answer in full sentences. you scratched below it’s chin and saw no collar.

“it’s probably a stray” jj said. most likely. no collar and it looked famished. all skinny and it continued to meow whenever jj spoke. it definitely knew that there was food inside the box, or, it didn’t like him

you hummed in response and guilt flooded you. you couldn’t just leave the cat, it looked famished. “can we keep it?”

jj shrugged and bent down next to you “how hard could taking care of a cat be?” the cat moved towards jj and nudged the box of pizza that was in his hold.

he opened the box and placed a slice of meat covered pizza in front of the cat. ‘meat can’t be bad for it… right?’ he thought. the cat nibbled on the warm pizza and you watched it in complete awe.

“so can we keep it?” you turned to your boyfriend with jutted lips and pitiful eyes. how could he say no?

the only thing that stopped him from saying yes was the fact that maybe the cat already had an owner. a bad one? maybe, but still an owner nonetheless. the cat hadn’t been fed in what seemed like days, and it’s white fur faded into a dirt like brown at the bottom. maybe it had an owner and maybe it needed saving from them. like him.

he stared at the cat as it finished the crust of the pizza. who would it hurt? “if it follows us the rest of the way, why not,”

you smiled big and hugged him. you always wanted a pet to keep you company. he stood up and hugged you back, struggling to keep the pizza from falling. when you pulled back, the cat was admiring you guys. jj looked down at his phone and notified you that the pogues were complaining at how slow you guys were being.

you motioned for the cat to follow you and it did. past the empty streets and softly swaying trees, it’s paws tapped the concrete of the sidewalk back to the chateau. every 2 minutes you’d turn your head to make sure it was still following.

jj suggested you pick it up, but if it didn’t want to come home you wouldn’t force it to.

you stopped before crossing the street and the cat rubbed itself between your legs. you looked down and it’s big blue blue eyes stared at you. they looked kind of like the eyes who belonged to the blonde who stood left of you.

funny thing; when it came to sidewalks, jj always stood closest to the road. he claimed that it was ‘safer’, how? no idea. but as long as it made him feel better, you wouldn’t resist it.

walking up to the front door of the chateau, the cat still stood behind you guys. you unlocked the door and heard cheering come from the kitchen.

“about damn time!” yelled cleo, standing up and making her way to jj to grab the box. you grinned and walked further into the house, jj (and the cat) following behind you.

john b stood and grabbed paper plates as pope caught a glance at something behind you.

“why is there a cat behind you guys?”

“oh! it followed us, it’s a stray. can we keep it?” you totally forgot about the cat for a minute, hunger filling your thoughts.

pope shrugged and gave a look to kiara. she just stood and smiled at the cat, not wanting to make a move incase it scratched her.

john b said something incoherent, pizza in his mouth.

“is that a yes?” jj asked with high hopes and john b gave a thumbs up. he smiled and slipped his arm around your waist.

the cat walked around the kitchen of the chateau, taking in its surroundings and watching the pogues cure their hunger. you took a slice of pizza into your mouth and chewed on it.

jj left you to take a seat on the couch with his pizza and the cat jumped next to him, placing itself on his lap.

“babe did we ever check the.. y’know..” he asked, trying to see if he could get a glimpse of its genitals.

you shook your head as kiara came behind you. “it won’t bite, right?” she carefully picked up the cat and checked it’s lower area.

“it’s a girl,” she put it back onto jj’s lap and he began to stroke her fur. kie did the same, already in love with the cat.

moments later, quiet conversation filled the living room the pogues were in. smell of pizza and beer roamed the air and your new pet was snuggled into popes side. your head laid in cleo’s lap, legs atop of kie’s thighs as your attention was brought to jj.

“can i have sock?” he asked with his arms out.

“sock?”

“yeah, the cat, duh.”

pope stared at him like he was crazy. “sock? what kind of name is sock?” he asked in disbelief. you didn’t even come together as a group to decide.

“i mean, she’s dirty on the bottom… like a sock.” jj defended.

“sock it is,” john b shrugged. you rolled your eyes, not in the mood to argue. jj picked up ‘sock’ and kissed her nose like she had him in a trance. so beyond this point in time, you’d have to take care of a live being. but how hard could it be?

everyone was pleased with the presence of your new cat. maybe it wasn’t wearing crocs while smoking a joint, but it seemed like it was meant to be.

hi guys… long time no see 😞

so yeah, sorry this seems like it was made with no effort but i needed something out. i’ll make it up to y’all i promise, i have baking with jj and shopping with the girls coming up so i look forward to being able to post that for you guys.

also a master list was recommended so after like 2 more posts i’ll create it so it’s easier to navigate through my page 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

but like always, requests are always open and uhmmhnhmh thanks 😋

— enjoy whatever time of day it is !! 🎀

[formulaforza]

puppy-- m.schumacher

pairing: mick schumacher x reader word count: 680

“Oh, look at this one!” You grinned at your phone screen, turning it to show Mick, grinning at him. On the screen, a picture of a puppy that was up for adoption at your local shelter. You’d been looking, trying to convince Mick that the two of you needed to get a dog together, to get Angie a playmate, for months now. He’s completely against it, but, you know he’s wrapped around your finger. It’s only a matter of time before you break him. 

He doesn’t even look at the screen, dramatically covers it and turns it back to you. “We are not getting another dog.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Angie needs a sibling.” You say, and the dog’s ears perk up from the end of the couch at her name. “She told me.”

He laughs, cocks his head to the side. “Did she, now?”

You cross you arms over your chest, reaffirm your statement with confidence. “She did.” He nods, pets her. “When you were in the shower earlier.” You say, return your attention to the website, try to find a dog he’ll think it cuter, one he won’t be able to resist. 

“Oh, well if Angie told you.”

You head shoots up from the screen to him. “Really?”

He smiles like he’s going to say yes, even nods, but then his face drops. “No.”

You roll your eyes, and he chuckles. “Fine.”

You trick him into just looking a few weeks later. Run errands with me, please, you asked him that morning, and he agreed, figured he be spending the day twiddling his thumbs and walking the line of honesty and cruelty while sitting in the boyfriend chairs at your favorite stores. Maybe, he thought, if he was really lucky, you’d take him to the grocery store and he’d get to have a say in the snacks in the house this week. 

“We have to stop at the pet store,” You told him. “Ange needs more food.” You’d seen on the shelter’s social media page that they were hosting an event at the pet store in hopes of getting some of their dogs and cats adopted this weekend. Mick, was clueless, didn’t even notice the sign at the front of the building, didn’t put the pieces together until he heard the little yelps of puppies and was being dragged to the play pens by you. 

“I just want to look.” You said, knew there was no way you weren’t leaving the store without one of these sweet dogs. There’s no such thing as just looking, it’s a ponzy scheme created to manipulate your partner into falling in love with an animal, and it works every time. 

It’s not ten minutes later and Mick is in love with a puppy–a golden retriever mixed with a super mutt, probably. Very fitting, very cute. “We’re just looking.” He says when he catches you smiling, giddy, because you’re looking at your new dog. You nod, pretend, just like he does, that you don’t know the truth. 

A couple hundred dollars worth of toys and food and a collar and a bed and all the other necessities–luxuries–a new puppy needs are being purchased by the end of the hour, along with the little golden puppy. “I think we should name him Gary.” You say, holding the dog, kissing his little nose. “Gary and Angie.”

“Absolutely not.” He says, takes the receipt from the cashier and sticks it in one of the many bags. “We are not naming our dog Gary.”

“Do you hear that Gary?” You say, voice half and octave higher, baby talking the dog. “Dad doesn’t like your name.”

“Your name isn’t Gary, Gary.” He tells the dog. 

“But he just called you that, didn’t he?” You giggle, follow behind Mick to the car and half-ass helping him put the bags in the car because Gary is already falling asleep in your arms and you don’t dare wake him. 

“I’m never just looking at anything with you, ever again.” He says in the car.

“I think we should just look at engagement rings.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not trying to get my foster cats adopted?

So for some background, I (21 m) have worked at a cat rescue for a while. We’re pretty small and thus Always in need of fosters. I was hesitant to foster for a few practical reasons even though I’ve really missed living with cats, but then we found my two fosters. They were kittens, and really antisocial-so much so that my boss even thought they were feral at first. From the jump I had hope for them, and slowly worked with them at work until they (begrudgingly) let us handle them. Over a month went by and we still hadn’t found a foster for them, so finally i volunteered to take them home and set everything up for them.

Since then, they’ve made a LOT of progress-playing with me, letting me pet them, cuddling in bed with me at night, etc. they’re even getting better with other people, and definitely have a better chance of being able to meet potential adopters and adjust to new people and a new home. Problem is, I’ve gotten pretty attached. Especially because i was going through a REALLY difficult time just after i started fostering them, and taking care of them and helping them grow was one of the only things that kept me going. I’m also worried that after bonding with me they’ll be scared and re-traumatized being suddenly moved into a new home with new people. They feel like children to me.

If I could adopt them right now, I would-but there are 2 material problems. First is that I’m still living at home, and my mom agreed to let me foster but is Vehemently against the idea of me having my own cat. I’m planning to move out this year so this is temporary, but it will be at least 6-8 months until I’m settled in my own place (which I already know I’ll be able to have cats in). Second is that my current job is my only job, and it doesn’t pay enough or give me enough hours that I can cover vet costs on my own. Food and litter and other expenses are fine, but my job covers the vet care as long as I’m fostering and wouldn’t once I adopt. Again, temporary as I’m looking for a second job anyway, but I’m not sure when I’ll actually Have one and don’t want to adopt until I’m certain I can provide for them. It isn’t completely accurate to say I’m not trying at All to get them adopted-I put some great pictures of them on our website and wrote their bios myself, and I post about them on my socials all the time (which fosters are encouraged to do), but I know I could be doing more to promote them. I also selfishly am glad that they have as many issues as they do (being really nervous with new people + they have a Big problem with scent marking in new environments) because I know that when adopters do come to meet them I can bring up these issues and they’ll be less likely to go through with it-I’m not trying to actively dissuade anyone, but I am reluctant to let them go and hoping they’ll stay with me until I can adopt them, which is definitely incentivizing me to do less than I could. I take good care of them but I’m still a little worried that I’m the AH here if my reluctance is playing a part in preventing them from going home with someone who will have more money and more physical space for them right Now and who is already settled and ready to adopt a pet.

AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[meteor752]

Episode 6 and 7 thoughts

This will now be a regular thing

Also im writing this as I go

Episode 6

So Izzy thought Ed was Roach. Huh. Does he and Roach talk regularly? <- Coming from a Rizzy shipper

“Do weeeee?” Fang I love you

Oh my god, Frenchie and Jim coming to Ed and Stede like they’re kids asking if their cousins can sleep over

The crew going shoppiiiiiiiiing!!!

Frenchie’s lil dancey dance added many years to my life

Ed being nice and giving kids mon- oh never mind, oh that’s a knife okay. Ed never have kids please

“Don’t pirate kids” well listen okay I don’t have HBO Max it’s the only way I can watch this show

MY QUEEN

Wee John you’re so beautiful and amazing and we don’t deserve you

Jim’s lil mustache, like yeah me too <- Non-Binary person

Stede looks so happy about seeing Wee John!! He’s so proud of his son!

Izzy is gorgeous. I’m actually so happy to see him explore more sides of himself, and to find things he can indulge in. This whole season has really just been Izzy’s big therapy arc

His hair makes him look a bit like Cinderella’s evil stepmother though

Oh he can sing too! Izzy!!! <- A person who did not like Izzy in season one

Wee John X Izzy? Roach X Fang?

YO THE

POLYCULE DANCING?!

Ed protecting Stede….just, immediately putting him behind himself…I just…

I rewatched that clip five times

“Because I only hang out with cool pirates” Stede’s face!!! He’s just like Oh Snapppp

Despite it all, Stede and Ed are still the cutest couple that has ever graced the TV screen. Like hell yeah, make fun of people together!

Ed keeps being protective…..okay I need a moment…

Roach you’re a lunatic and I love you

“Whatever this is it’s just gonna turn me on” Izzy you’re a shining star

Also I just now noticed that Black Pete and Lucius aren’t there. I’m guessing they eloped somewhere and are currently taking care of their adopted cat

Nope okay, literally the second I unpaused there they are. That’s the worst timing

Hell yeah my dudes, I hope you broke whatever bed you used

“I’m just doing it for the lolz” Yeah that’s sounds like something someone from the 1700s would say

I know this is a pirate ship but why do they just have so many knives and swords laying about

Who is this fanged torture queen, and how do I acquire her number?

Stede remains best employer, while Aziraphale is the best landlord. Can these two people just run the world please and thank you

Hell Cat Maggie is my soulmate

I feel like there needs to be a pirate workers union

The crew of the revenge is the best found family of all time

Stede Bonnet can rival Steven Universe in reforming villains, like he’s just such a genuinely nice dude

“Alright gang! Let’s talk profit sharing”

Oh protective Stede, alright let’s go mate defend your mans

Okay but why is Stede kinda 👀 in this scene

Oh Stede, love…

OH THEY FAWHKING

That French? Izzy speaks french?

I want to see that man get dicked down

I guess the revenge now has a pet goat

Episode 7

Okay Ed is a soft boy again, aight

NO NOT THE LEATHER JACKET

The anime toast in mouth thing. He’s officially been baby girl for a long while, but we’re really solidifying it

OH THEY FUCKED

Isn’t there an anime where a mob boss becomes a house wife? Yeah that’s Ed

Oh we’re telling him about the mermaid fantasy, okay

Izzy what the fuck, you’re amazing

“He’s jealous” my darling

The polycule is going strong, and I love the absolute lack of jealousy. This is the best representation I have ever had

Oh they’re going on a date! That’s so sweet actually

It’s really sweet that they’re talking about their time apart

Stede’s famous now? Good for him!

I need to stop falling in love with every pirate lady In this show. That being said, I hope we see more of the fangirl lady

I’m reinforcing my claim that Stede and Ed are cuter than anything that has ever been on screen

OH MY GOD SWEDE

The Söt Och Saftig, my love. Also this far in and this is the first time the character “The Swede” actually says something in Swedish

Scammer Frenchie is back in business, love that

Jim and Archie trying to get their boyfriend set up is very sweet actually

The character development of Izzy going from wanting Ed to remain “Blackbeard” to him saying if being a softie makes him happy then he should do that, like I get it now, I know why you all love this man

OH MY FUCKING GOD STEDE

Can’t believe Stede is an official Slut now

Open communication? Like genuine conversation about their relationship, and the pace they’re taking it? Ed being honest that he’s not ready for the steps they’re taking in their relationship?

What is this argument

I live for Lucius and Black Pete’s nicknames for each other

“I’ve only known you for a few hours Bonnet, but I’d fucking die for ya” Same random dude. Same

Izzy🥹

Zheng and Olu are really cute actually

Oh my god the polycule will end my fucking life

DONT BRING ED INTO THIS ZHENG

“That was really mean” YOU TELL HER STEAK KNIFE

Protective Jim my beloved

Oh my god

Roach and Fang friendship?

Roach is the queen of self care

[infjinthecity]

An Introvert And Her Cat

I imported my cat from Australia to China. When I took the job, I told my employers that if I couldn’t get Jonas safely into the country, then I wouldn’t take the job. We go together, Jonas and I. If you look at the header for my blog, you'll see an animated version of the little guy there too. I put him in the header because this is just as much his journey as it is mine.

He is a purebred Siamese and he'll be 7 in January, but before you judge me for buying a cat rather than adopting, I didn’t buy him. I agreed to look after him for a relative for a while and he moved into my house at just eight months old. Obviously, since he's still with me, he never left. He’s a special little guy. He’s tiny and pretty janky. He had all his teeth, except two, removed at the age of three because he was born with bad teeth and developed periodontal disease after about a year and a half of his life. He was the runt of his litter, but he really is very small, even for the runt. And, he’s got a really problematic relationship with food. Even when he moved in with me at just eight months old, he was the fussiest animal I’d ever met. Now that he has no teeth, he’s shocking when it comes to food. And whenever he experiences ANYTHING in life, he stops eating. I call these ‘hunger strikes’. If he’s stressed, he doesn’t eat. Depressed? Good luck. If we move house, he freaks out and won't touch anything. A vet in the United States told me that all of his health issues, his food problems, and his size are probably the result of inbreeding. So, Jonas is a lesson to all: do not get your cats from a breeding house. They were obviously not careful enough with his bloodlines and now my baby has all these problems, and he's the one that suffers, you know?

I had to leave him with my mother when I first came to China. I didn’t have a place to live when I got here so I couldn’t bring him with me when I initially got here. Then, there was all kinds of drama trying to work out when I would be able to go home and pick him up, and in the end, he had to stay with my mum for two months. Apparently, that was too long, and my mum said he got really depressed, like he thought I’d abandoned him. He tried to attach himself to Mum instead, but she kept him at arm’s length because she knew it would be even more traumatic to lose her as well when he finally got here.

He arrived exactly one week ago today and it’s been an up and down week. He was so excited to see me when we got him home but he was still very wary of his surroundings. He didn’t eat anything that first night but by the next day my mum, who brought him to China and was still in the country, managed to get him to eat some KFC. He ate a little bit, but not too much. We tried to move him back to his usual food after that over the course of the week with varying degrees of success. My mum left to go home two days ago and he’s gone back into a cycle of discontent. I did manage to get him to eat a whole piece of KFC last night, but this is definitely not a long term solution.

To everyone reaching out to me on socials with advice on how to prompt him to eat, I’m trying all the things you’re suggesting. I’m hoping he settles down in a couple of days and just goes back to being my baby Jonas. He’s been through so much change, and he’s a very very sensitive little soul so it’s probably just going to take him some time. Jonas not eating is not a new thing, but KFC has always done the trick in the past and it’s just not working it’s magic this time around.

But now that he’s here, he cannot go back to Australia. My country has an import ban on live animals from China. Don’t ask me why. The United States has all the same pet diseases that China does, and I was allowed to import him from the United States into Australia (with a mandatory quarantine), but from China is just a hard no. So we’re either here in China now for the longer term (until he dies), or if we decide we really want to go back to Australia, we’ll move to another country for a year, which will satisfy the Australian Government, and they’ll let him in then. But this is the third country Jonas has lived in and clearly he doesn’t like moving, so I’m hoping that I can pitch up here for the longer term so I don’t have to uproot him again. But, the world is in quite a state right now and you never know what is going to happen in the future, so I’m in the business of saying never say never right now.

Moving a pet around the world is horrendously expensive and when I tell people how much money I’ve spent on Jonas’ travels, they nearly fall over. But he’s my Jonas, you know? I made a promise to him that I would take care of him forever and give him the best life I could, and that means we go together – always. So, if I can’t take Jonas somewhere with me, I just don’t go – end of story.

My house has felt very much like a hotel in the last two months because he hasn't been here, and it’s been so nice to go home and snuggle with him every day this week. I am sure you’ll see Jonas on this blog a lot. I can’t seem to shut up about how much I love him!

Till next time, peace!

[lumiambrose]

Blue lock matchup for @143---ily

I ship you with...

Yo Hiyori

not gonna lie this match up was tough. reading through your info reminded me of myself so much and that literally made everything 10 times harder.

BUT WE PULLED THROUGH.

so val and hiyori… (he’s so underrated ugh)

hiyori’s such a sweet guy honestly (we’re ignoring the fact he’s a self-proclaimed ultra sadist ok). deep down he’s such a sweet romantic and while he might struggle, he’ll try his best to show you.

at the beginning there was definitely a barrier between you two. don’t get me wrong, you get along great. but mans needs some time before he will properly open up to you. 

he’s not the best at expressing love, it’ll take him a while to get used to your presence and an even greater time to trust you. but once you show him you truly care about him and him as a person, he’s completely in love with you.

hiyori reminds me of a cat. he’s a soft and calm presence to be around. not too clingy. but not distant either. just right.

he’s a very attentive lover and within a couple weeks of dating he developed a sixth sense for you. 

while i don’t think he’s too hot on physical touch, he’ll always cave for you if you initiate something although i believe his love languages are quality time and acts of service (maybe a bit of gift giving too).

that manga series or figure you’ve been eyeing? he’ll buy it for you. learns about the vnl and your favorite teams/players so he can fangirl with you when you watch volleyball matches together. and he always has a playlist of silly cat videos that the two of you watch together on a lazy morning, intertwined with each other in bed.

he will always make sure you have a pretty bouquet of flowers at home. (whenever he’s away he’ll take one flower with him just in case so he can order more)

now i know i said he doesn’t like physical touch, but he makes an exception when you’re sitting on his lap while he’s gaming. he adores your presence and you get to cuddle him so it’s basically a win-win.

but i must say, he loves it just as much when you’re playing video games with him.

you two initially bonded over gaming. you met at an arcade and he joined you for a game that required two players. it was mainly casual talk here and there which eventually lead to talking about your favorite games. from there, it was locked in for you two.

he knows he was whipped for you when he just sat there listening to you going on and on about your favorite games and how you just set a new highscore/personal best with such a warm smile.

yapper x listener dynamic between you two is so strong and i fucking love it.

(he can and does talk just as much, but after a while he simply learnt that your voice is his favorite sound)

he started playing rhythm games because of you. he was infatuated by your reaction speed to the teeny tiny notes dancing across the screen and decided to try it out for himself.

much to my dismay, he’s a natural talent, learning to keep up with your skills in no time.

and when you two play shooters together, you’re basically unstoppable. hiyori is definitely cracked at shooters but if you don’t want to support or lay back, he’ll be the best support player in the damn world.

just like in football, hiyori will set you up for some game changing plays.

ultimately, your opponents are fucked.

he absolutely shares your love for cats and cats love him. his calm presence is basically a magnet for them, so expect to take at least 1 to 2 breaks whenever you two go out together to pet the random little cat that came up to him.

your phones are filled with photos of those stray/random cats.

ultimately what lead you two to adopt cats of your own. you’ll probably have 2 to 3 which gives you plenty of company for when hiyori is busy or away. when he isn’t, he’s a very good cat dad. 

will also let them sit on his lap while gaming. (will push them off for you though)

and finally, his favorite place to kiss you is on the back of your neck. its convenient for when he’s spooning you and he sees it as an intimate action that he call pull off without too much struggle.

[the-lonelybarricade]

Did you say elriel one shot, LB? I may be too late in giving a prompt, but what if Feyre set up Azriel and Elain on a date because she loves to meddle in modern au? Feel free to ignore this. I just wrote the first thing that came to mind. 😊

Thank you for the prompt Mel!!! I know that you're asleep right now, but I hope this feels like a nice surprise when you wake up! <3

As a contribution to @elainweekofficial and LB officially dipping her toes into the Elriel waters, here's a short fun little one-shot!

Summary: House sitting Feyre's cat doesn't go exactly how Elain is planning

CW: None! Besides Prick the cat returning to cause mayhem

Words: 2.5k

Read on AO3

-

Elain’s heels clicked against the uneven cobblestone outside of Feyre and Rhysand’s townhouse. She regretted wearing them—had forgotten how easily they caught on the pavement outside her sister’s home, threatening to trip her while she was focused on the impressive feat of juggling her sister’s keys, two armfuls of groceries, and the phone she had pressed between her shoulder and ear.

“Gray,” she said, trying hard to maintain her patience, though an unintentional sharpness still edged her voice. She was having a difficult time getting the necessary key into her occupied hands. “I already told you I’m not coming over.”

“Why?”

“Because, for starters, I’m busy sitting Feyre’s cat,” Elain explained patiently. Again. “And more importantly—” She swore as fumbled the keys, watching them clatter to the pavement. Her irritation surged, getting the better of her in the form of a harsh sigh and a hissed, “Because we’re broken up, Graysen!”

The phone line became quiet, not that Elain paid much attention as she tediously squatted down, balancing precariously on each heel, trying not to drop the incredibly heavy groceries as she hooked the keyring between a finger and slowly rose back to her full height.

Graysen, who was oblivious to what she’d just accomplished, finally said, “This is why I want you to come over so we can talk about it, El.”

She huffed through her nose. Graysen’s version of talk about it usually consisted of taking off her clothes and occupying her mouth so that she didn’t have a chance to tell him what a bastard he was for sleeping with his secretary. She had no interest in talking about it.

Elain let herself focus on pushing the key through the lock, turning until she felt the mechanism click. Graysen could wait.

“Elain?”

Not that he was terribly good at it.

The front door pushed open to a carpeted entryway. Despite Graysen’s growing impatience, she felt her heart lift at the sight of the familiar wood paneled walls, lovingly framed with Feyre’s portraits of her husband and their friends. She loved coming here and being reminded of the love that existed in Feyre’s life—even if Elain was having trouble finding it in her own.

“I should get going, Graysen,” she said. Her arms were aching from the sustained weight of the groceries. Desperate to set them down, she headed into the kitchen, scanning the hallways as she went in search of the kitten Feyre had recently adopted.

“It’s just a cat, Elain. They can take care of themselves.”

She spied the cat in question lounging in a sunspot atop the marble counter. His sleepy face raised up at her approach, blinking bleary eyes towards her as she set the groceries—finally—on the counter.

“Prick,” she cooed, holding a hand out in greeting to the small black cat.

“Excuse me?”

Elain rolled her eyes. “Not you, Gray. That’s what Feyre named her cat.”

“She named it Prick?”

With no patience for the judgment in his tone, Elain scooped up the cat in one arm, cradling to her chest as she snapped, “Maybe she named him after you.”

She headed towards the living room, intending to set the cat down, hang up with Graysen, and watch reruns of old sitcoms until the heavy knot in her chest loosened. Except, as Elain stepped back into the hallway, all of four things happened.

Elain screamed.

The naked man standing in the hallway shouted in surprise and dropped his towel.

Prick startled and raked his sharp claws across Elain’s arm as he scrambled to escape her hold.

And Elain’s phone clambered to the ground, taking her awareness of Graysen and any of his complaints along with it.

For a moment, she and the naked man could only stare at each other through wide eyes. It was a consolation that the naked man seemed equally as surprised to see her, unless this was all some odd, elaborate, and terribly ineffective murder tactic.

“Hi,” she squeaked. “I’m, uh, Elain Archeron.”

She knew it would be polite to turn away, since he obviously hadn’t intended to flash her with his naked body. And truthfully, that was what Elain tried to do. But she made the mistake of looking from his beautiful face to the body beneath it. It was an understatement to say he cut an imposing figure. All rich golden brown skin stretched over taut, carefully honed muscle that was still wet and glimmering from his shower. When her eyes fell to his sculpted chest and the corded abdomen beneath it, she told herself she should stop, but still her traitorous eyes slanted downwards, to the defined vee of his hips and wisps of dark coarse hair that led…

Elain swallowed, her tongue suddenly thick, her mouth suddenly dry.

“Hi Elain,” he said, not nearly as flustered as she imagined someone would be in his situation. He had most definitely noticed her unsubtle ogling, and he hadn’t bothered yet to reach for the towel. Her cheeks flushed, but she was in no hurry to complain about it. “I’m Azriel.”

“Azriel,” she breathed, wracking her mind for why that sounded familiar. The sight of him had turned everything else to static, she couldn’t even remember why she’d been coming this direction in the first place. “Are you, uh. Are you one of Rhysand’s friends?”

“I’m his brother.”

“Oh.”

Elain did remember him. From Rhysand’s wedding party. She had thought he was a security guard until she’d seen him standing next to Rhys at the altar. He had given a speech, though by that point in the night she had been too drunk, and too naively smitten with Graysen, to remember much else about him.

“Do you often walk around your brother’s house naked?”

He raised a dark brow, something dangerous about the look he offered her. “That depends,” he said. “Are you often here to watch?”

The way his eyes flickered, just briefly, to the appendage hanging between his legs was just as condemning as if he’d gestured with his hands. Saying, I saw you looking. There was no denying that she had been. Even still, she hadn’t turned away from him, and could still see it growing in her peripheral vision.

There was nothing casual in the way she needed to clear her throat before speaking. “I’m here to watch the cat.”

Although god knows where he ran off to.

Azrie’s lip twitched. “What a coincidence. I’m here to watch the cat as well.”

Typical. Utterly typical of Feyre to hear of Elain’s breakup and decide to meddle, no sooner than a week after it had happened. All good intentions with scarcely any tact. Her sigh was exasperated, taking with it the earlier affection she’d felt for her younger sister and her husband, with his stupidly attractive—and if she had to guess, single—brother. Who was watching her though dark hazel eyes, lips quirked in just enough of a smile that Elain knew that he knew he was hot.

“Well,” she said. The strain in her voice convinced her to finally avert her eyes, not willing to boost his ego any further. “The cat doesn’t need both of us to watch it, and you look like you’ve made yourself at home, so maybe I should just—“

“You’re bleeding,” he interrupted.

Elain frowned, glancing down to her arm. She had felt the sting from the cat’s scratches but she hadn’t realized they’d broken skin. A hand clasped her wrist, turning her forearm upwards. Azriel leaned forward and she could feel the fresh heat of his shower still drifting off his skin. Gods, she could smell the soap he had used, the scent of cedarwood suddenly cloying in the small space between them.

He gave a low whistle. “Guess the cat earns its name. Come on, you’re going to want to wash this.”

“I’m a big girl,” Elain said, snatching her hand away, uncertain why she was deciding to be so haughty with him. Besides that he refused to put his towel back on. She rubbed her wrists in an effort to banish the residual heat of his touch, grumbling, “I think I can manage to put a bandaid on my own cuts.”

“Do you know where they are?”

No, but she took it by the smirk working its way onto his mouth that he did. Rather than answer, Elain turned back into the kitchen, prepared to find them herself. A moment later, she heard footsteps following after her.

“Not there,” he said as she opened a cabinet. Elain slammed it shut, then opened another. “Not there, either.”

She whirled, nearly slamming face first into his naked chest. He was, at least, wearing the towel again, however precariously it was tied at his hip. She had to tip her chin upwards to scowl at him. “Do you even care about helping? Or are you just here to be a pest in my ear?”

Rather than respond, Azriel reached over her head to flip open a cabinet, wordlessly retrieving a small first aid kit.

“Go on,” he said, nodding to the kitchen sink. “Show me what a big girl you are.”

“Ass,” she muttered.

“Come again?”

“I said Az.” She turned on the tap, giving the water a moment to heat. “That’s your nickname right?”

“I don’t think that’s what you called me.”

Elain ventured a glance towards his face, trying to gauge if she’d offended him. He wasn’t smiling, but there was a certain lightness, almost laughter, dancing in the honeyed flecks of his irises.

Their eyes met. Held. Her breath felt shorter than it had been a moment ago. “You must be hearing things.”

“Must be,” he agreed.

His voice rumbled in the back of his throat, deep and rich and dark, like the spoken equivalent of ground coffee. It caused her pulse to quicken just the same, and she might as well have down an entire cup, for how much more alert she felt. Aware of her every breath, of his.

Eventually, Elain decided that thrusting her bleeding arm under the running water would be preferable to participating any moment longer in their silent staring contest, where the rising tension had become the world’s most smothering consolation prize. She bit her lip, trying not to hiss at the sting with Azriel watching her so intently, a number of taunts likely prepared for the moment she let her discomfort show.

Elain still winced when she added a small bit of soap, and found herself funneling each stinging pass of her fingers towards her growing frustration with Azriel. She couldn’t help feeling that if he wasn’t standing over her shoulder, making such a big deal out of this moment, then it wouldn’t hurt as much because she wouldn’t be so focused on not feeling pain. Besides, it was his fault for scaring her while she was holding a cat in the first place.

“What’s this?” Azriel’s attention snared on the bags of groceries she’d set on the counter. He walked over, sparing her from his attention as he nosily peeked into both of the paper bags.

“None of your business.”

“It is if it’s leaking onto the counter,” he responded coolly.

A scarred hand lifted the top of the bag to reveal the puddle of melted ice cream that had leaked through the paper. Elain turned off the tap with an aggrieved sigh. She’d forgotten she’d bought things that needed to go in the freezer.

“They were groceries,” she snapped, fumbling for the box of bandaids. It felt childish to even be using them. “I thought I was spending the weekend here.”

“Nothing’s stopping you.”

“The naked man standing in this kitchen says otherwise,” Elain sniped. “It’s fine,” She added, more to herself than him. She peeled back the protective plastic on the bandage before rubbing it over the cut with more concentration than was necessary. “I can stay with a friend.”

“You don’t have anywhere to stay?”

“No!” Elain knew he didn’t deserve the way she spat the word, or how she slammed the box of bandaids back to the counter. But she worried if she didn’t shout, then she might cry. “Because I just moved out of my ex’s house and my sister told me I could stay here while she and Rhys are away.”

“That’s fine,” Az said, holding up his hands. His voice was soothing, rather than angry, and Elain immediately felt guilty for lashing out at him. “I didn’t know you would be here, either. Clearly Prick is in good hands, so I can go.”

He turned away without giving her a chance to argue, or thank him. Elain swallowed back her guilt. Really, Feyre should have been the one on the receiving end of her rage, and it was unfair to take it out on Azriel, who had been equally a victim of her scheming. Even if he had taken his sweet time putting that towel back on.

Once she heard the soft click of a door being shut, Elain went back into the hallway to retrieve her phone. It thankfully hadn’t suffered any damage in the fall, though she did have a number of confused, vaguely hostile, messages from Graysen demanding to know what happened and who she was with.

She ignored them when she saw that a message from Feyre had also come in.

Hey!! Ellie I’m so sorry, there was a slight miscommunication between me and Rhys. I knew he wouldn’t mind if you stayed at the house while we were away so I didn’t bother telling him. Buuuuut turns out he’d done the same thing not telling ME that HIS brother is staying at the house. Azriel’s apartment is getting fumigated so Rhys promised him he could stay. You don’t mind sharing, do you?? Gosh, you’re probably already there. I would have warned you if I’d known!

Fumigated. Elain slumped defeatedly back into the kitchen, mulling this new information over while she tried to salvage the groceries that hadn’t been ruined by the ice cream mess.

Azriel returned soon after, dressed in black jeans and a navy tee that brought out the cooler colors in his eyes. He offered Elain a polite smile. “Nice meeting you again.”

And he wasn’t even going to tell her.

“Wait,” she said, reaching for his arm. He stopped, eyes falling immediately to where she touched him. The contact suddenly felt scalding, but Elain resisted the urge to let go. “I just got a text from Feyre. She told me that your house is being fumigated. I’m—I’m sorry, for losing my temper earlier. I’m happy for us both to stay, if you don’t mind either.”

The look Azriel offered her made Elain want to dash out that door. She knew there would be no surviving a weekend with him. There was hardly surviving an hour.

“I don’t mind,” he said, that devilish half smirk returning to his lips. “Could be a fun weekend, afterall.”

[nev-valkyriesdottir]

*over letter sent on heavy paper with a wax seal because it’s a good excuse to show off fantasy-land skills*

Dear Mumma,

I went to go see Nonna Gigi for you, Zia Vera gave me a lift over. She’s super sweet, I see why you love her so much. We made pasta for dinner and then watched Snow White together. She adopted a cat last week named Meg, because she doesn’t have the heart to call her Peggy. It’s a dark brown tabby with a heart of gold, and didn’t even try to go after Inej and Jesper, and she let me hold her while she made us tea.

Jonny and Amma are doing well, though they miss you. Jonny has clung to me nonstop since I got home, and Zia Peggy had been over nearly every day to visit, and sometimes Athena comes to help me watch Jonny.

Our date went really well, by the way. We went out to this French cafe by Central Park and then for a walk where all the cherry blossoms were blooming, she braided them all through my hair. Some people stared and it made her nervous, though, so we left. I didn’t mind at all, though, and we went back to her room and put on pajamas and I helped re-dye her hair and then we snuggled, it felt so nice. I know you’re really protective of me, but you don’t need to worry about her, really. She feels safe in the way you and Amma and Zia Vera do — like nothing can hurt me when I’m with her. I glow around her almost every time we’re in the same room, it’s amazing. My eyes, too, and you know how rarely they glow. She gave me the rings you gave her and I just about cried — I can’t describe how much it meant and felt. I don’t know if we’ll ever get married, or even how long we’ll last. But I feel like we’re going to last a long time. And I can imagine a future. One that’s together.

My garden is thriving, and I’ve started making a window box for you and Amma’s room, with all the plants I know you like — let me know if you have any requests. Oh, and Amma spent all afternoon making pasta a bit ago. Mumma, she spent all day hand-making it because she wanted to. I don’t think she could’ve known this before hand, but she just happened to make the dish my Mamma made for us when we got sick or just in the winter when it was cold. It’s my comfort food, and it tasted just like it. Well, different. For one, Amma likes spices more than Mamma did, and I’m okay with that. It’s like a continuation of an old tradition. Anyways, I must go, Jonny wants to help me harvest the tomatoes I sped up for a good fresh sauce. I love you very very much and can’t wait to see you.

Much love, your daughter,

@iyla-difransisco

P.S. just reply by text, I love letters because I grew up with them but text is completely fine<3

Dear Iyla,

If you must know I do fancy hand written letters too which is why I decided to answer you with one. I sadly don't have any wax to cell the letter with me but if I did I would have used it.

I'm overjoyed to say the least. I'm very glad you got stop spend some times with Grandma Gigi. And I'm also very glad to hear that she got the cat! She has been hesitating between two cats lately, and by the description you gave me, she's chose the one I wanted! But please make sure she rests too. I'm very glad you had fun during your time together though.

I'm very glad to read that everyone is doing fine. But please if anything is going wrong tell me the truth okay? Not that I doubt you, I believe your words, but I just wanted to make sure. On my side everything is good. I don't really appreciate everyone at the school, I mostly don't like the straight boys that asked me on dates already multiples times but what can I do about that. Speaking of date, it does seems like I did worry for nothing. But I'll let you know that I had to make the line clear just so they know. And I'm very glad you liked the rings! Those were my parents and they really mean a lot to me. By the way, I'll show them your letter when I comeback saying that you see a future together, it's adorable.

Glad to hear that our house is still good. The garden is probably the most beautiful place in house so. And I've been wanting a window box for a while now! So thank my dear favorite daughter. Now this part got me quite surprised. But I'm really glad your Amma could make you comfort food, especially as it's pasta. You'll have to keep some for the moment I come back. And I'm also really glad to see that your unexpected leave of the house only made your bound with your brother stronger. Though it would be great not to do it again because I can't support the crying all night, please never leave him like that again. Anyways, I'm so sad I can't be with you all right now. I misses you guys so much, and I miss holding you or singing lullabies for Jonny or cuddling with your Amma in bed. My bed feels so lonely it's unbearable. I have to go see what is in the package Aunt Peggy sent me before starting class but remember; I love you mire than the multiverse itself.

With love, from your favorite mother, Me, Nevaeh (Romanoff)-Danvers ;)

[scorchedpawswcrp]

hihi! ^^ i wanted to ask if there will be adopt to join characters in this server? and also what sorts of leadership positions there will be? thank you 💖!! super excited!

There will be indeed!

Actually, the 2 adopts we’re confirmed to have right now are both in leadership positions, so the second question is very fitting! :D

Of course, we’ll expand a lot more on both group’s leadership style when we make a proper post about them, but for now we’ll share the basic!

The Metal Scrappers are led by 3 leaders - They’re called “Headmasters”. Because of the way their group is divided in a few jobs (namely Healers, Crafters and Explorers), each job has the cat who overlooks the work and make sure things are going well! They’re not super strict with hierarchy, but of course the Headmasters are the ones to make big decisions together. The Scrappers don’t really a have a second in command (or “deputy”) position, with the next Headmaster being voted on by the group. Usually, the Headmaster is free to pick someone to train if they wish, though the choice is ultimately left to the majority.

The Wayfinders have one leader - Their title is referred to as the “Northern Star”. They’re usually just called the Leader usually, the terms being used interchangeably. The Northern Star is responsible for all major decisions and guiding the group in their travels, hence their title. Each leader has two cats to aid them in the work they do, serving as second in command (or “deputies”) under them. These cats are called the Navigators, helping the leader choose the best routes to travel as well as looking after the group when the leader can’t. The Navigators are chosen by the Northern Star, and the individual to become leader is usually one of the two.

So far, the two adopts will be one of the Headmasters (the Crafter Headmaster more specifically), as well as the Wayfinder’s Nothern Star!

We’re happy to elaborate further if needed!

[only4dagossip]

History is a selective thing. Usually the stories we’re familiar with are the ones we want to believe, or maybe the sad reality is we haven’t been taught any other alternative from the “mainstream” schools of thought.Case in point is the history of music, and specifically, for this analysis, classic and modern rock. As a white person born and raised in Canada, I’ve grown up believing that Janis Joplin wrote all of her biggest hits, as did the Beatles, Elvis Presley and any other big artist from the ’60s and ’70s.

That’s not to say I’m naive to the songwriting process — I know that most songs have multiple collaborators — but what isn’t clear in pop culture history is how many songs were written by Black people and only made “famous” by white artists.In the majority of cases, it turns out most Black songwriters of those eras barely made a dime off of their creative work, while the white musicians found radio airtime, fame, money, and notoriety for generations using the exact same song.

Many Black creators died penniless and nameless, without any credit for the music they brought to the world.Have you ever heard of Big Mama Thornton? Otis Blackwell? Luther Dixon? Richard M. Jones? Lorraine Ellison? Chances are, unless you’re steeped in Black history or Black music knowledge, you haven’t. Thornton wrote Ball n’ Chain, one of Joplin’s hits, and originally recorded Presley’s Hound Dog in 1952, among her many contributions to the genre. She gained some recognition for her Hound Dog performance, but saw very little, if any, profit from it.

The song’s origins as a female empowerment tune disappeared after Presley’s version was released. Blackwell wrote Presley hits All Shook Up, Don’t Be Cruel and Return to Sender, as well as the future Jerry Lee Lewis hit Great Balls of Fire. Dixon composed 16 Candles (which was reinvigorated when the movie of the same name was released in 1984, covered by white trio The Stray Cats on the soundtrack), along with other tunes like Boys and Baby It’s You, both later recorded by the Beatles. Jones and Ellison wrote two other Joplin classics, Trouble in Mind and Try (Just a Little Bit Harder), respectively. (Not to pick on Joplin specifically, but the majority of her tunes were written by Black people, with a few exceptions like the self-penned Down on Me, Move Over and Mercedes Benz.) And this is just a taste. Ideally, the songs would be presented as written with credit for their origins completely transparent, but unfortunately in a lot of cases, the songs were adjusted to be more “palatable” for a white audience.

And worse still, it usually worked — countless songs written by Black folks reached No. 1, purchased and listened to by white folks. It was absolutely a different time, there’s no arguing that. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for a Black musician to be selected by a record company to come in and write some songs, then be given some paltry payment as the agents turned around and gave the song to a white musician.

This was how things worked, for far too long. In modern speak, it’s referred to as “cultural appropriation,” the unacknowledged adoption of customs, practices and ideas of one group of people by members of another and typically more dominant group of people. “Over the years, you see in the 1920s and 1930s, Black music was very underground, very benign, marginalized,” said Lisa Tomlinson, a cultural critic, formerly of York University and now a lecturer/professor at the University of the West Indies. “It was seen as sleazy. In a lot of cases, when this music becomes mainstream, it becomes disassociated from Black experience and Black context. We talk about cultural appropriation… we reduce it to just borrowing, or sampling, another reductionist term. ‘Borrowing’ or ‘sampling’ sound like nice words, because they sound like an equal exchange.

“Big Mama Thornton did not have lawyers. She didn’t have a distribution network that can say to record stores, ‘You’ve gotta pull Elvis’ song, or else we’re not going to service the rest of our catalogue to you.’ She’s left with breadcrumbs,” said Eric Alper, music expert, correspondent and PR manager. While some Black outliers found immense success — B.B. King, Hendrix, Aretha Franklin among them — it was a hard, uphill battle for most, and ultimately, as Alper attests, at that time it’s how music was done.

“It’s really impossible to go back and say, ‘Wow, this person really, truly ripped it off, because you can’t place the context of what happened in 1940 into. “[The Black musicians would] end up broke and poor, especially in the case of the jazz and swing eras,” she said. “There’s a narrative around Black singers like Billie Holiday, it usually revolves around their drug addiction and how it prevented them from going further in their careers and that’s why they died broke. That wasn’t true a lot of the time: sometimes they weren’t paid for songs they’d written that were sung over by white artists. Their narratives were sanitized, which helped disguise the fact she was exploited.” One of Holiday’s biggest hits, Strange Fruit, famously uses the haunting metaphor for lynched and hanged Black people.

The opening verse clearly illustrates the symbolism: Southern trees bear strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze/Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees In what can only be described as a complete disconnect from the meaning of the lyrics — and an outright dismissal of the gravity of the song — in 2005, the song was remixed (by Black electronic artist Tricky) on a club album, The Verve Remixed.

A song that should be untouchable was redone so people could dance along to it at a club. American jazz trombonist, composer and educator Ron Westray, who’s lived the often-harsh reality himself as a Black musician from the south, confirms the insidiousness of the music industry, and says this “whitewashing” is still happening today. “It’s the transfer of the value of the artistry to other individuals,” said Westray. “This is the music industry. It’s not because we’re Black, it’s because the system is white. It’s a question of what knowledge is passed down.

“Listening to rock radio, no matter where I am in the world, the only Black artist I ever really hear is Jimi Hendrix, maybe Lenny Kravitz,” said Taylor. “When you get into modern rock, there are even fewer Black people represented unless Bob Marley gets played at 4/20, which is frankly a little insulting,” he said, referring to April 20th “pot day” celebrations. “It’s just really weird to embrace a stereotype like that and think it’s OK.” Indeed, it’s hard to name mainstream Black rock musicians — try for yourself. Aside from Lenny Kravitz, Darius Rucker of Hootie & the Blowfish, William DuVall of Alice in Chains, Tracy Chapman and Ben Harper, it’s a very white, very male landscape.

There are barely any Black women on rock music stages, and if they are, they’re often relegated behind the scenes. “It was amazing that these classic rock artists were so inspired by this music, but it’s a shame that people don’t know who they are, and it’s a shame that those artists didn’t get what was, in large part, rightfully theirs,” said Taylor. “What they deserved on a monetary level… since we can’t do that now, then perhaps it’s a good and wonderful thing to give credit where credit is due, from a recognition standpoint.” This is not to say that you should stop listening to the classic rock you know and love.

It’s to push forward an understanding of where it came from, its origins, its roots. To truly appreciate something, we need to grasp where it all began. So next time you pop on some tunes, why not look up the original songwriter and develop a whole new appreciation for the birth of the genre? It’s a part of music history many rock fans choose to ignore. So let’s stop ignoring.

damn this was so good to read and so educational thank you💗

i remember a video from the 60s i think where a black singer performed live for the first time and you could see the disappointment and disgust in the audience faces (all white) when he came out to perform and was black

they had it very hard to be successful

[hamsamwich23]

Unreality Mortimer cries over a goddamn milkshake

One shot for @silent-bull you fuckin f o o l/j/affectionate/p

This thing is fucking 3008 words I am sobbing

Please consider reblogging if you like!!!

Rain poured down from the dark and cloudy sky above at a fast and seemingly endless rate. It could be heard faintly as it pounded against the roof of the lonely white car, as it continued on it’s way.

Mortimer’s head was leaned up against the car door  as he stared outside the window, watching the rain fall through the glass that was already being pelted with droplets of water. Nothing particularly interesting was outside, but  he enjoyed listening to the comforting sounds of the rain outside, watching the rain itself made him feel…calm. Relaxed. 

He didn’t have to worry about keeping his eyes on the road either. He wasn’t the one driving today..

His father was. 

Well. His new father anyways. Adoptive father was a better way to put it since, unfortunately by default, Owen would always be his “biological” parent…

However

It sure as hell did not mean he would ever think of him as a father. 

He never acted like a true parent anyways… In fact..Whisper, his father now, had been more caring towards himself and the other puppets in the span of a few months than Owen had been in the full seven years they were trapped with him. Right up until Owen…

“We’re almost there” The taller cat man spoke, breaking the silence, and pulling Mortimer away from his thoughts. 

Until he had….

Until Mortimer…

He couldn’t take it anymore..

“Ah, that’s good. How much longer?”

“Just a few more minutes. I will let you know when we arrive”

Mortimer nodded, returning his attention to the window. 

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the window. Listening to the sound of the rain outside..

This whole thing felt a little…strange to him. Maybe it was because he had never really done anything like this. Owen never would have wanted to do anything like this with him..

He wasn’t complaining now though. This was much nicer. With Whisper around, he had much less to worry about. He felt safe around him..

—--

The two arrived at their destination about ten minutes later. The rain had not stopped, but it had at least lightened up. 

They got out of the car and closed the doors behind them. Whisper opened up an umbrella he had brought along while Mortimer simply pulled his sweater hood over his head and ears. It felt a little out of sorts for him to be wearing a casual hoodie instead of his usual fancy jacket that he always wore, however it wouldn’t protect him from the cold rain. And he didn’t want it to get wet anyways. It was a necessary, and quite comfortable alternative.

From the looks of it, Whisper had taken him to an out of place diner. The outside of the building looked a bit small, and had an older timed theme to it. When they entered it, it wasn’t big, but it wasn’t too crowded either. It had a cozy feeling too it. But it also looked quite lonely, as they were the only ones here. Aside from the employees. 

But that worked out for him perfectly. He didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of eating or even hanging out in a crowded area, especially since people could potentially recognize him…

Just his father and himself being here was much better. 

The two sat themselves in a booth closer to the back of the diner. Whisper ordered the food before seating himself across from Mortimer. The two were now simply waiting for their food to be brought out. 

“This place is…nice” Mortimer said softly, as he looked around from where he was sitting. 

“It is. It’s very quiet too. Nice and peaceful” Whisper commented, as he opened up a book and began to read. It was a book about plants, which wasn’t surprising in the least. He must have brought it along to read during the waiting process. 

“I noticed that. It is very nice..but why exactly is it so quiet?”  

Whisper simply shrugged his shoulders. “I suppose it's because this place just became less popular overtime”  “Really? …I wonder why..Did something bad happen?”

“Not to my knowledge. These sorts of things just happen. As time goes on, people begin to discover new things to do, more places to go..and older places like this get left behind. People still come here from time to time, but I suppose most prefer the modern day dinery.” 

“I see…its a shame a place like this has been left behind.” 

“It is very unfortunate…I worry this place may be closing up soon. But right now there is not much we can do except enjoy it while we can. I know you’ve never been to anywhere like this, I figured it would be a nice experience.” 

“Hmm…” 

Mortimer leaned himself back into the booth and looked outside the window, watching the rain outside. He wondered how the ones running this place managed to keep it so nice and clean..It appeared old, but it was still in good condition…

Unlike the warehouse, which was getting closer and closer to falling apart. 

He doubted it would be too long before everything came crashing down on him

Once again, everything would fall..and he couldn’t stop it… 

They would have to be prepared to leave at any time..they all knew this..

None of them liked to think of what would happen after this point..Whisper already promised he would help them..but even so…

He..

He shouldn’t be worrying about this right now

He was supposed to be enjoying the day out with his father. Not panicking about something that hasn’t happened yet. 

They knew what to do, they would be fine when that day had to come..right? 

“Mortimer, get ready. They’re bringing our food here now”

Mortimers ears twitched as he quickly looked back at Whisper. “Ah, yes i’m sorry” 

“Don’t be sorry. I’m just letting you know”

“Thank you..”

Mortimer looked over as a waitress with a mask over her face came over with two trays. 

Mortimer had allowed Whisper to order for him since he had little experience with public diners or restaurants…or food, for that matter.

The waitress set down the trays in front of them. Whisper had ordered himself a sandwich and a cup of hot coffee. Mortimer was given a small pizza, all for himself..and some sort of thick liquid in a tall, fancy cup… 

He carefully picked up the mystery drink, bringing it to his face and sniffing at it. It was cold, and it smelled..nice actually. Rather sweet. It smelled like cream and chocolate. 

“Father…whats this?” 

“Hm? Thats a milkshake. It’s ice cream blended into a drink .I noticed you seemed to favor sweet things, so I thought you would enjoy it.”

“Ah..I see..I’ve never had something like..this before.”

“Hmm. Do you still want it then? If you don’t want it I can always get you something else to drink”

“Nonono! Its fine” Mortimer exclaimed, shaking his head. “I just didn’t recognize it is all! I will drink it..”

Whisper nodded, setting his book down and eating his own food.

Mortimer held the ice cold drink in his hands, inspecting it again as if it was some sort of ancient artifact before he placed the provided straw into the cup. Sighing softly, he gently bit down on the top of the draw, taking a sip of the cold, creamy liquid…

Immediately, his eyes lit up, growing wide, as he drank more and more from the cup. 

This..

This was…

Amazing.

The smooth, creamy texture..the rich taste of chocolate ice cream…the lovely additions of the whipped cream and candies…it was so…

Perfect.

He closed his eyes and leaned more into the booth cushions… this drink made him feel cold..but it was just..amazing… 

So..this is what he had been missing out on…

“Mortimer..are you alright?”

Mortimer set his half-drunk milkshake down and looked up at Whisper. “Ah..yes, yes i’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Mortimer..you’re crying”

He paused, slowly raising his hand up to his face…hot tears were falling from his eyes…Whisper was right..he WAS crying..but why? There was no way this thing was so good it could make him cry like this, right?

Then again

“Oh..fuck, yes I suppose I am” Mortimer chuckled softly, wiping the tears away from his face with his hoodie sleeve. “I’m sorry about that” 

“is it..that good?” 

“Yes..well, yeah. That and…well.. My father would never allow me to do anything like this…it’s just…Nice, to finally enjoy at least..something, you know?”

Whisper stared at him, silently, before nodding and returning to his food. “I understand how you feel... Enjoy your meal, Mortimer”

Mortimer nodded. He would most definitely enjoy it.

__________________________

Even with that one moment where he had been unknowingly crying, their time at the diner was going very well. Mortimer and Whisper spent their time talking about whatever they felt like speaking about as they ate their food. Mortimer found himself talking much more than he normally did on a daily basis….opening up more, little by little as they talked.. 

Normally he disliked himself speaking, but this was..nice. Very nice…

He felt safe here with Whisper. Safe to speak, safe to eat around him..it was like he could genuinely tell him anything..It was such an overwhelmingly comforting feeling.. One he never felt around Owen once.

He was..happy. 

About an hour later they were ready to get going. Whisper paid for their order while Mortimer took care of cleaning up the mess they left, throwing out the garbage on the table. He was aware that it was technically the workers' jobs to deal with it, however he felt it would make their jobs easier if they had less to clean up. “Is this everything?”

“For the most part, yes.” Whisper looked over the table to make sure they hadn’t missed anything, before picking up Mortimer’s half drank milkshake. “Mortimer, do you want the rest of this?” 

“Ah yes, of course I do. I was saving it so I could take it with me on the ride back” he hummed, carefully taking the cup from Whisper. 

“It’s three dollars Mortimer. I don’t mind”

“Hmmm, I understand. But it’s probably melted down by now. I could buy you another full one if you would like.”

“Oh no, it’s alright. I don’t want to make you spend more than you already have-”

Mortimer just shook his head. “I appreciate it, but I’m fine with what I have here” he said, as he began making his way to the front counter to grab a disposable cup for the remainder of his half melted drink. 

Whisper shrugged lightly. “If you say so. But if you change your mind i can get you one before we go”

“I feel…bad though. Especially since I still have some left right here. I’ll decline. But perhaps another ti-”

Mortimer was suddenly cut off by a scream. 

His own scream

He felt something slam down on the end of his tail. He panicked, and struggled to pull his tail free from whatever was putting pressure on it, but when he did he was knocked off balance. He slipped and let out a loud yell as he harshly fell to the ground. His entire left side taking the hit caused by the impact.

Mortimer trembled as he sat himself up until he was kneeling on the floor. Holding his arm and wincing at his own touch. “Jeez…”

“Mortimer! Are you alright??” Whisper’s voice, which was usually monotone, was louder than it normally was as he rushed on over to his adopted son. He got down on the floor beside Mortimer and checked his arm. 

Mortimer flinched. “Yeah, i’m fine, just..everything is sore, and I think I dropped..”

He paused as that tiny realization set in

The drink in his hand was no longer there. It was gone….He definitely dropped it during the fall… which, would mean it was..

He looked around, almost frantically, and sure enough there it was. The decorative cup rolling slightly around on the floor, and the sticky, melted remains of the milkshake splattered all over the marble floor and leaking from the cup. Right in front of him. 

He didn’t realize it right away, but he was crying again. But it wasn’t from shock or joy as it had been earlier. 

He was crying because…

Well

He didn’t know why he was crying this time. 

Was it a late reaction to the pain? To the throbbing he felt in his entire arm and side? It wasn’t broken but the pain was more than capable of bringing someone to tears.

Or was it because of the drink that was now all over the floor? Both leaving him with nothing left of his new favored beverage for the ride home…And the fact that he had caused a mess. Even if it wasn’t intentional, he still ruined things. He ruined the floor and he probably nearly broke the cup. The floor was going to be sticky and gross now due to his mistake…

Maybe…Maybe it was both the pain and the incident. 

It was making him feel…overwhelmed.

He WAS overwhelmed. His body was shaking and there were all sorts of panicked thoughts racing in his mind.. 

“Mortimer…are you sure you’re alright?”

_________________________  

Mortimer stared down at his trembling hands and shook his head.

“No…I don’t think I am”

Mortimer yawned and rubbed his eyes as he walked out of the front doors of the diner. He had stayed behind to clean up the mess he had made, while Whisper explained the situation to the staff before he went out to go wait inside the car. 

Mortimer felt it was the least he could do. 

He didn’t mean for it to happen, it had been an accident. A short series of unfortunate events. No one could have predicted that at that very moment he would end up tripping on his own tail. The employees weren’t even mad about it, they understood and were happy he cleaned it up for them. 

But he still felt…guilty. Ashamed, even.Especially for crying over a spilt drink. Although it could have definitely been from being overwhelmed, and falling on the floor….And the fact that he lost his newfound favorite drink to a dumb mistake…

It had been the best thing he ever tasted….aside from iced tea. 

He sighed as he made his way back to where Whisper’s car was parked. He could see him reading the book he brought along through the car windows. He opened the door on the opposite side and climbed into the passenger seat. “I’m here”

Whisper looked up and set his book down beside him. “Ah, there you are. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, I cleaned up the mess for them so they wouldn’t have to..”

Whisper placed a gentle hand on the top of Mortimers head, patting gently. “That was kind of you Mortimer. Good job.”

Mortimer nodded and glanced down at the floor. “It would be rude not to help though, after all I caused the mess. They shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“Do you still feel bad about what happened?”

Mortimer looked away from him.“....yes, I do”

Whisper just kept patting him on the head, trying to comfort him. “Don’t beat yourself up about this, Mortimer. Please. It was an accident. Things do happen. You didn’t do it to be malicious, and you even helped fix things afterwards.”

“I know, I know. I just..I can’t stop myself from feeling like I fucked up. I know it wasn’t….fully my fault, but it feels like it was”

“Mortimer..I understand how you feel, but I promise, you did not fuck anything up. Its alright now.” 

Whisper then placed something into Mortimers hands. It was..cold. 

He looked back at his hands. He was now holding a styrofoam carry out cup with a straw already inserted into the hole on the top of the lid. And it was absolutely cold to the touch.

“I replaced your drink for you while you were cleaning up inside of the diner. It’s the same flavor and has everything included, just like the one I ordered you earlier.”

Mortimer stared down at the cup in his hands and smiled softly. “Thank you, Father” “It’s not a problem. Like I said, I don’t mind at all.” “I know, but…still. I appreciate all of this…I really do”

“I’m happy to be here for you. All of you. It’s an honor, and I hope things can remain like this”

“So do I..”

Whisper hummed as he started up the car. “We can come back here again another time. But for now, we should get home. It’s been a long day, and with the way those clouds ahead of us look, I think that heavy rain will return shortly here. It’s best to get home before it starts.”

“Right, of course. Let’s get back home”

Whisper nodded and began driving. Pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road that lead them to this nice place. 

Whisper had been right about the rain coming back. It wasn’t pouring down as much as it had been before, but it was certainly starting up fast. It wouldn’t be long before it became heavier and louder. 

But it didn’t bother either of them. They left just in time, and would be getting home shortly, ensuring their safety. They would be able to relax soon enough.

Mortimer stared outside of the window, watching the raindrops slide down the glass as he drank the fresh, cold milkshake Whisper had gotten for him… 

Despite the incident that happened earlier, that left him feeling awful and ashamed of himself for making a mistake that he saw as foolish, and despite the remaining soreness in his left arm and shoulder from falling onto the ground earlier…

Today was good. 

[laughatdanger]

Baby Girl - BinChan (Skz/Stray Kids)

TW: None. Pure floof. 🥰

Summary: Chan and Changbin’s daughter’s (OC. Yes, I’m sorry. 😔) adoption!!

A/N: Lmk if you want me to make a copy of this, replacing Eun-jae with Y/N. Also, I have no idea how adoptions work, and I totally just winged it. I may also do a male version, if requested. Also also, they live in Australia, and are married.😊 And as for Berry…. Let’s just pretend that she’s still a puppy because I didn’t want to pretend she’s dead now- 😭 All translations are also off of Google Translate ☠️

***

“Can we hold her now?” Chan asked the woman. They had just finished signing the adoption papers and were quite eager to hold the child. Changbin and Chan were currently looking to adopt a baby, and they absolutely fell in love with one of them. She was an infant, barely 5 months old. The couple didn’t know what it was about her, but something just drew them in. 

The woman nodded, handing the baby over to Chan. The man took the child in his arms, cradling her. “Oh, oh” He whispered. Changbin had his arm wrapped around Chan’s waist, and was looking at the baby in his husbands’ arms. 

“Annyeong (hello/hi/hey), little Eun-jae~” Changbin whispered to the baby, waving with his free hand. The baby was looking at the two, eliciting a small chuckle from the baby girl. Both of the men smiled in joy, hearing their daughter laugh. Changbin held his daughters tiny hand, hooking his index finger under her small, soft fingers. “She’s so small,” He smiled, his finger being tightly held by Eun-jae’s. 

“Well, you are all set to go.” The lady said. “Here is her bag, the instructions on how to use the formula are there, and the car seat is waiting for you at the front office. Have a great day, guys.” She smiled and walked away from BinChan, leaving them in the room alone. 

“Look… Our baby girl,” Chan said, tearing up slightly. 

Changbin wrapped his muscular arms around them both and pressed a kiss to Chan’s cheek. “Our little family.” 

“We’re missing Berry, though.”

“Yes. We’re missing Berry.” Changbin paused. “And Jeongin, Minho, Hyunjin, Felix, Seungmin, and Jisung.”

Chan didn’t know wether to laugh or not. 

“You forgot about your first six children, huh?”

Chan still didn’t know wether to laugh or not. 

“That’s a yes.”

“I thought they were more like little brothers-”

***

“YAHHH! I’M AN UNCLEEEE!!!” Jisung shouted next to Minho on the video-call, pumping his fists in the air. BinChan decided to call them first, then Seungin, and have Hyunlix visit seeing as they were a fifteen minute drive away. 

“You didn’t listen to my advice and just keep Berry as your baby.” Minho directed to Chan. Chan just rolled his eyes. “Or even better; you could have gotten a cat.” Minho said over Jisung still celebrating in the background. 

“Neomu gwiyeobda!! (She’s so cute)” Jisung said, his smile still big. He looked at Minho and rolled his eyes. “You’re unbelievable.” 

“Minho-hyung, your cats are my favorite pets.” Changbin said, holding Eun-jae’s hand and waving at Minho-samchon. 

“....Neon joheun appaga doel geoya. (You’re going to be good dads.)” Minho said, a vague smile appearing on his face. 

“You’re approval is much appreciated, Minho.” Chan snickered, holding the camera on his phone to face Changbin and Eun-jae.

“I still say you should get a cat.” Minho picked up Dori and held her up to the camera.

Silence passed for a moment, Eun-jae entranced by the cat on the screen. The cat mewed, and Eun-jae burst into giggles. Jisung was adored by the laughter and squealed. 

“NEOMU GWIYEOBDAAA!! (She’s so cute) EEEEEP!!” 

Minho smirked. “You should get my niece a cat.” 

Chan and Changbin were flabbergasted. 

“And you should get Jisung a kid.” Changbin said, cradling little Eun-jae, puffing his cheeks up at her.

“YAH, MINHO! Listen to hyung and get me a kid.”

“.....I’ll consider it.”

***

“Chan-hyung, a baby broke into your house-” Seungmin said, eyes wide. 

“What?!” Jeongin shrieked from somewhere in their house.

“Meet little Eun-jae!” BinChan said in unison. Eun-jae smiled her toothless smile and waved her hands around.

“YOU HAVE A BABY-” Jeongin shrieked again.

“Aiya, jinjeonghada (calm down), Jeongin-”

“SHE IS SO CUTE-”

“She is, but breathe-”

Jeongin finally frowned. “I’m not the maknae anymore…” Add in the fake sniffle and the pleading eyes because that definitely happened. 

“Nope,” Seungmin snickered. “Annyeong, Eunnie!” He waved his hand and smiled. 

“Those are your uncles, Eunnie,” Chan said, taking her little hand in his. 

“Okay, but she is ADORABLE-” Jeongin started again. 

“Would she be our niece or… or our ‘sister’-” Jeongin asked, looking at Chan and Changbin through the screen. 

“......”

“......”

“That’s gross.” Seungmin muttered. “If we’re Chan’s hypothetical ‘kids,’ that would make us siblings… And we’re da-”

“Uncles. You are her uncles.” Chan interjected before Seungmin can make any other weird comments. 

“Now I feel really old-” Seungmin said, putting a hand on his lower back. 

“Not as old as grandfather over there-” Jeongin joked, snickering. 

Chan sighed. “You know what? Whatever.”

Changbin smiled. “You’re still just as handsome, Channie-jagiya (baby).”

“Ew- Stop flirting in front of me.” Seungmin said, fake gagging. 

“STOP FLIRTING IN FRONT OF THE BABY-” Jeongin joked. “Teach her how you taught me, Chan-hyung.” Jeongin was laughing now. 

“You’re still Baby-Bread.”

Jeongin stopped laughing.

“....I’m done.”

***

“Oh, she’s so tiny-” Felix said, holding Eunjae in his arms. Hyunjin had his arms wrapped around his husband and leaned his head against Felix’s. 

“I want one nowwww-” You can bet that Drama Llama was giving Felix puppy eyes after this. 

“Me too- oh,” Eun-jae had grabbed Felix’s hand that was rested on her tiny torso and brought it up to the side of her face and snuggled in, babbling.

Binchan was watching from a few feet away in a similar position to Hyunlix. 

“Why do I feel like they’d try to steal her?” Chan asked, leaning into Changbin slightly.

“They would.” Changbin stated, trying to get a picture of the couple holding the baby. 

“Who’s name is she taking?” Hyunjin asked. 

“Seo.” Felix said, puffing his cheeks at the baby and listening to her giggles. 

“...You’re not even her dad, Felix.” Chan said.

“....Seo sounds better. How does Bahng Eun-jae flow?” 

“Terribly.” Hyunjin answered, taking Eun-jae from Felix. “Hi,” He made various babbling sounds and pressed a tiny kiss to her forehead. She giggled and played with Hyunjin’s necklace.

Chan and Changbin looked at each other. “Seo does sound better….” 

Changbin looked at Chan. “My last name’s better than yours~”

“That’s not-”

“Yes it is.” Hyunjin and Felix said, still absorbed in the baby. 

Berry came up by Chan and sat next to him. “Hi Berry,” He kneeled down and pet his puppy dog. “So, do you feel old now that I have a kid?” Chan asked Hyunlix.

Hyunjin completely ignored Chan… or maybe he didn’t hear him. Who knows with him?

“Mm, no? Not necessarily. I don’t, like… I don’t feel like old is the right word.”

“Mature, maybe?”

“Yeah, mature. 

“Hyunjinnie is just going to spoil and spoil youuuu-” Hyunjin continued talking to Eun-jae, and she was just babbling along. “Yeah? Awe, so beautiful, little Eunnieeee-”

“.....” BinChan watched Hyunjin and exchanged glances. Felix was watching and also exchanged a glance with the couple. 

“We should adopt…” Felix muttered. 

“Yeah, or else Hyunjin is going to steal Eun-jae.” Changbin said.