#when he kissed her she KNEW there was no one else for her

[sinofwriting]

Present - Pierre Gasly

Words: 681 Summary: Pierre has some thoughts about her buying herself a necklace.

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She claps her hands together as she looks at her phone. The device perfectly angled to capture her, the kitchen counter where an unopened box was, and Pierre who was lounging on the couch answering some emails.

“So, in honor of hitting two hundred and fifty thousand followers and my birthday happening in a few weeks, I decided to get myself a present.” Her eyes are alight with excitement and she bounces a bit, fingers itching to open the box. Meanwhile, Pierre’s head jerks up, eyes wide as he stares at his girlfriend.

“I was a little nervous about getting this.” She starts to say as her fingers open the box. “But y’know it’s like a combined gift for myself and I’ve been really good at not touching my savings for the past few months, so I didn’t feel too bad about dipping in.”

Pierre makes a strangled sound.

Lifting her present out of the box, she presents it to the camera before opening the box. “Isn't it gorgeous?” She moves it a bit closer before continuing to talk.

“This from Cartier, it’s the Galanterie de Cartier necklace, which is nearly thirty thousand dollars and this is only my second time seeing it in person and I’m just even more in love with it. I’ve been looking at this necklace for a few years now and while I love my pink Les Berlingots de Cartier necklace.” As she says it, she gestures to the necklace she’s currently wearing. “It was time to give it a nice little sibling in the Cartier family.”

“Mon bébé,” Pierre starts, finally able to speak. “You didn’t actually buy that did you?”

She turns to face him with a confused look. “Yeah, I did.”

“With your money?”

“Yeah, with my money.”

He covers his face for a second. “Baby, I leave my card for you all the time to get things for yourself. You should have used my card, it's what it’s meant for.”

“I didn’t need to, it was a gift for myself.”

“Your gift for yourself, is something I’m supposed to pay for.” He argues, nearly pouting. “I was also going to buy that for you for your birthday. I was planning on going to the store tomorrow.”

Her face softens at his admission. While her buying it had been a present to herself, she also knew it would rile her boyfriend up and she didn’t often share things like this with her fans as they were more there for her talking about books, but she had thought it’d be a fun little thing to film, to let his and her fans see.

“You knew I wanted this?”

“Of course, I do. You’ve shown me pictures before and talked about it. I know you also like the 1895 necklace that Cartier does, but not just any 1895 necklace, only the one from that collection. You want that birthstone bracelet from Tiffany’s and a large collection of collectors edition books when we finally have a house and you can have your own library and reading place. I know everything you want.”

Her heart melts at his words. Pierre was sweeter than most people gave him credit for and he often showed that side of himself to her, but she had no idea how much he paid attention to things she wanted.

“C’mere.” She murmurs, setting her necklace on the counter, arms outstretched.

He easily swings his body over the back of the couch and grabs at her hips as soon as she’s in arms reach before kissing her.

“Is this close enough for you?” He asks when they break away to breathe.

Her teeth find her bottom lip as she shakes her head slowly. “I think you can get closer.”

Pierre smirks at the response, capturing her lips in another kiss as he moves one of his legs between hers. “How about you stop recording for tiktok and we record something else?”

A laugh leaves her at his words, but she’s already reaching for her phone. “Only if I get to be on top.”

“Deal.”

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Calming the Emperor God

Geta x wife! reader

warning : hurt/comfort, kissing, cuddling, mention of murder and sickness

Summary : Rome seemed to turn on their rulers, what Caracalla compensated with more Colosseum fighting Geta had to face reality as much as he thought he was divine, he alone couldn't control everything. The demand of his head was only the beginning as the emperor sought advice and care in the arms of his wife.

info : A work for Geta I just wanted to give him a long hug, enjoy reading ;)

masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marriage, when you were a ruler of a empire, it was important to have a wife after your appointment, someone you loved or not, someone who could give you an heir.

He had even less regard for his father than his brother, a man driven by empathy and kindness as well as hope, a weak man whose only great deed was to father him and Caracalla with his mother, nothing else. That was the only reason for his damned father's last acts, a marriage.

A marriage three years ago, on his twentieth name day, he took her as his wife, a young lady of his own age from a noble house of the united kingdoms under Rome.

He hadn't thought much of her then, but when he looked at the sitautioon now, she was more than just his love, she was his shield, the judgement of the people and a light that all kinds of people looked up to so that the people wouldn't rise up in revolt.

She was a pillar at his side who could lead Rome, advise Caracalla and be there for him at the same time…the only thing that had not been created in all this time was an heir.

An inheritance that in theory the two emperors had in each other, but with each passing day Geta saw how bad things were for Caracalla, ,,The Holy Roman Empire will belong to the world, but three deaths would mean its end" he had said shortly after their wedding, at first still indifferent to her, even disgusted by her failure to conceive and paranoid that she would betray him.

But none of this mattered when he saw how gentle she was with his brother, how good she was at managing the senate and how understanding she was towards him every day.

,,My doubts were never about you, my husband, a marriage of the dead is beyond our influence and your circumstance worries me more than my own" she had admitted when she realised how bad things were for the emperors.

Who ruled a world empire, how easy she had had it, several siblings, no illnesses, her parents a long life and security, everything Geta and his brother didn't have.

Both had hardly received any training in warfare, politically she hardly knew what to do and they had no connection to the people.

From the moment they were born, they had already come too close to the sun and would never raise their wings again. She was a woman, a princess, aware of her role as a mother, but if she couldn't even be that, she would do anything to support her husband.

Taking her eyes from the marble floor that lay cold beneath her sandals, she looked back at her husband Geta presenting new proposals for the military, improvements and enhancements to a Senate that seemed barely interested.

They were strategies and proposals for which Geta had spent hours and nights in the library with her, he was trying so hard for his people, or at least for the world for now, the dream of a Rome that covered the world, it wasn't fair that the senate consisted only of fake snakes, but you couldn't kill them either.

No one is interested but us she thought and sat down again on Geta's throne when she heard a giggle next to her.

Caracalla was once again more than just bored by all this and began to play with his fingers, seeing that Geta gave her a quick glance and an unsaid ‘thank you darling’ seemed to come from his eyes, she rose to take care of Caracalla.

As much as the presence of both emperors was required, Caracalla was disturbed by the introduction of the laws the blond was probably about to rise herself, she put her hand on his shoulder, ,,We should leave Geta alone, how about a game?" she asked in a whisper and saw the grin widen. Already sending Caracalla forward.

She bowed to Geta who had paused in his speech, allowing everyone a brief moment to think, ,,I'm already longing for your liberating kiss of my sorrows" he murmured to her before placing a kiss on her cheek, a face with a ‘divine’ countenance looking back at her before she withdrew from the senate.

Once again, her god had to try to cope on his own, an event that occurred weekly and took its toll on him, for what was an emperor without preparation since childhood?

He was nothing.

Footsteps followed Caracalla, who was already pulling out his favourite figurines from a wicker basket, ,,The conquest of Rome with the crucifixions of the Christians!" he announced and she clapped as he told her everything in meticulous detail.

Not a game in the sense, but something amusing for him, especially when he could stab the little figures and she had to make the death noises that he always found extremely sweet, ,,Your memories are unfathomable and fascinating," she said and tapped him on the forehead.

He could hardly remember what was served for dinner yesterday, but he seemed to know such a battle going back hundreds of years completely by heart, it was the madness you couldn't control.

But that didn't matter because, apart from the battle, they played together with Dundus and in the afternoon she had to sing Caracalla a lullaby because otherwise he wouldn't go to bed, otherwise he would only cause more ‘problems’ like a small child.

One thing that hardly bothered her anymore she knew it would give Geta less to worry about and she had a few more hours of peace and quiet in which to organise her own things, ,,Sleep well little king" she whispered as she closed the door to his room and with a sigh made her way back to her own room.

Knowing that the meeting in the senate would take a long time she returned to her art of the gods, knowing that only they could help her and her family Appolo I pray to you for healing and beauty over my brother-in-law Caracalla and husband Geta she heard her own praying voice in front of her altar to Appolon the model for Geta.

In all the golden clothes he wore, even the make-up was dedicated to the god, but the gods seemed to have abandoned the brothers since the birth and not given her a blessing.

She spent the next few hours embroidering, writing and reading books, hoping to get advice from former emperors on how to cultivate fields to increase yields, which were getting lower and lower.

This was bad for the population of Rome, the army and the imperial family itself, who had to cope with all this without falling into the madness that Caracalla was making worse and worse.

The goblet of water next to her was refilled every now and then and the lamps and torches in her room were turned on by the servants when the sun had long since reached the horizon, she knew that the discussion in the Senate had to come to an end.

She was about to roll back the parchment and place it on the table when someone knocked on her door.

,,Yes?” she said, but instead of her beloved she only found a servant who bowed and replied, ,,Emperor Geta wishes to see you, he insists that you dine with him. His brother Emperor Caracalla has already been taken care of” the message read.

She sent the servant away with a wave of her hand and rose herself more hastily than she had intended and immediately headed for his chamber, which was only a corridor away.

So Caracalla is sleeping well it flashed through her mind casually as she realized that he had probably taken care of him as well. Geta was once again doing a lot more than he was supposed to, another reason why she loved him so much.

Stopping in front of the large double wooden door, the guards bowed before they opened the door for her and she was finally back with him, ,,Geta dearest I see you again,” she said happily and automatically went to the table where she had expected him to be for dinner but he wasn't there.

Turning around as she heard a sniffle she saw a golden curly head standing on the balcony, he was overlooking the city but ewa san his posture made her falter ,,Geta? Is everything alright?” she asked as she stepped out into the cool night and stood behind him, her fingers carefully resting against his back.

He was tense, trembling slightly but whether it was from the cold or the excitement she couldn't tell, ,,No one...none of these philistines listened, it led to nothing,” he finally said slowly as he turned to face her, the moon shining above him, the cold god watching over God's representation on earth.

The make-up on his face smudged, the golden light clothes wrinkled and not smooth and his blond hair completely disheveled. He did not have the madness of his brother, but as the sole ruler of an empire, such a burden lay heavily on him alone. ,,My husband, you know I couldn't be prouder, don't you?” she asked the superfluous question but knew he needed it.

The next moment he turned to her with a sigh and grasped her hands, she could see the watery eyes even in the faint moonlight, ,,The feelings are the same...but an emperor without his senate only with enemies and no support as it seems...is neither god nor man he is nothing” he finally spoke the truth and embraced her a little more strongly, slightly painfully and yet seeking help.

She understood him, understood him from the bottom of her heart, a pain, a helplessness she knew only too well.

Putting her hand on his cheek and looking at him for a moment, he entangled her in a kiss, she felt his hand at her side running over her hip, ,,Love you” she heard the murmured words as they broke away, as this wonderful fallen god looked at her so full of grace and love.

Her heart was bound with his as the brass rings made a soft muffled sound as their hands met again, the small smile on the god's lips as he looked at his love.

,,You are the most important thing to me and to Caracalla and I as your beloved swear to you that this will not be the end,” she assured him and saw the love that showed in the darkly painted eyes.

She saw him look away at Rome, the city behind him, his home and the empire that belonged to him, saw the nod, heard the intake of breath as he pulled her into another kiss. he may be destitute but he would never lose his family, his love, Geta knew that.

,,We'll show them together," he promised and led her next to him, leaving his hand linked with hers and seeming to promise her not only Rome, but the whole world, because together the imperial family of Rome would be able to do anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@potatoesenpaii , @thatnerdliv , @scorpiongirlsthings , @pxnx-kk

@the-a-word-2214 , @peakygirl1919 , @k-yurieee

[muwapsturniolo]

“I-it was just a thought…”

✗ Nothing but fluff, swearing, mentions of smoking but not weed or nicotine, a sprained wrist, and that's about it.

cred to @bernardsbendystraws for dividers.

also, shout out to both @bernardsbendystraws and @quinnysnursery for being dog lovers

Puka was an eccentric dog from the time you had gotten her. She had more human characteristics and mannerisms rather than the ones a dog would usually have.

She huffed at the smallest inconvenience, loved to sleep, and she just so happened to make the same faces as you would when things get weird. However, your favorite trait of hers was how friendly she was.

She wasn't the type to bark and growl at people, never biting or chasing anyone - She was playful and full of love.

So it made sense when every morning after breakfast, she would sit patiently but excitedly by the door, her tail wagging as she held the white harness in her mouth.

She loved being outside, rolling in the grass, chasing squirrels, and most importantly,

Sitting on the pathway and happily barking at the people passing by.

It was her routine.

It seemed as if everyone enjoyed it, always smiling and waving at both you and Puka, sometimes even stopping to have a small conversation.

Most people would find it annoying or tedious, but you fell into the routine happily.

However, there was one specific person Puka would go haywire for. You didn't know his name, hell you couldn't even tell him apart from his triplet brothers - But Puka knew.

She'd yip happily, damn near dragging you off the porch as she tried to get to him every time he stepped foot outside. There were times when she refused to go inside until she saw him, causing you to be late on multiple occasions.

Just like everyone else, the guy enjoyed it. He'd wave to her, laughing as she barked happily. On some occasions he would briefly look at you as well, sending you a small smile before climbing in his car and leaving.

Eventually, the small smiles turned into waves, the waves then turning into the both of you shouting across the street to make small talk.

"Morning! How's it going?"

"Pretty good!"

They were brief interactions, but you found yourself looking forward to them much like Puka.

Little did you know, he looked forward to them as well.

There was a specific day when Puka was beyond hyper. She had knocked a vase over, made you fall twice, and even tore up the bag of dog food sitting in the corner. You ended up taking her outside, going to the dog park down the street to hopefully blow off some energy. It seemed like it worked, her movements slower and more calm than how it was this morning.

However, that changed as soon as you turned onto the corner of your street. She had barked loudly, scaring you and making you drop your phone. As you went to grab it and scold her at the same time, she bolted forward.

A small yelp escaped your mouth as your body fell forward. You tried to break your fall by extending your arms outward, but that didn't help - You definitely messed up your wrist.

You sit there in pain, cradling your wrist to your chest. It's only a brief second before you realize Puka has run off. You quickly stand up, stumbling as you whip your head around to locate the mini golden doodle.

"Jesus Christ! Puka where ar-" You cut yourself off when you see the guy laying in the grass of his front yard, tangled in Pukas leash as she assaults him with dog kisses.

You quickly run over, apologies falling out your mouth as you use one hand to grab Puka by the leash. "I'm so so sorry! One minute, I was walking home, and then she barks, and before I knew it, she's running like a damn track star towards the fin- Are you alright?"

She blinks softly, her brows creasing as she frowns.

"Huh?"

He chuckles and stands to his feet, brushing off the grass from his pants. "I asked if you're alright. your wrist doesn't look that good." She follows his finger and looks down at her aching wrists. He's right, it doesn't look good. it's swollen and a bit red, you could even some bruising forming.

"Oh...Oh! umm- I think I'm ok? I'm just going to ice it when I get inside." She waves him off, not wanting to make it a big deal.

"I'm no doctor, but I do think you should get that checked out."

"Ok yeah, valid point. I'll do that tomorrow, I'm right-handed and since my right hand is messed up, I can't drive without crashing so I'll probably have my friend ta- I'll take you."

The two of them stare at each other in shock.

The guy shocked that he offered a cute stranger with an even cuter dog a ride to the ER, and her shocked that he was nice enough to even offer.

Trying to play it cool, she clears her throat. "I would accept but, I don't even know your name...Nor do you know mine. Stranger danger as my mom would say, although my grandma says strangers are just friends we don't know yet."

He chuckles at her words and flicks his hair out of his eyes, "Well, your grandma seems to be more open-minded. Although, I don't agree with her sentiment, but it's helpful today. "

He outstretches his hand and gives her a soft smile, "I'm Matt, and although my brothers and I have labeled you Golden girl - The show?" He finds his heart beating a bit quicker than normal as she scrunches her nose and tilts her head.

She looked like a puppy.

"The show? I didn't know that was a show."

"So why label me Golden girl?"

"Because you own a golden doodle and you're always wearing gold so...Golden girl."

She hums softly, the nickname vibing well with her.

"Well, my name is Y/n, but Golden Girl works well too." He smiles and goes to shake her hand, only to stop when he realizes he can't

"Right, hurt wrist. let's get you to the ER."

"Wait! What about Puka?"

His own brows furrow in confusion until he understands she's talking about the dog, "Oh! Uhh..." He looks down at the dog who is panting and wagging her tail happily.

"She can come too, I'm sure the doctors wouldn't mind bringing her in."

With that, the two climb into the car, Matt helping her get adjusted and even buckling her seat belt.

It was a short drive to the ER, the two walking in and telling the nurse at the desk what was going on. Soon Y/n is whisked away behind the double doors, leaving Matt and Puka in the waiting room.

"You know Puka, I've had a small crush on your mom for a while... She's pretty. I just didn't have the courage to walk across the street and talk to her." The dog stares at Matt with a childlike gleam in its eyes.

Matt laughs softly and pets her, "but you knew that, didn't you?" Matt swears he heard the dog snicker, but his attention is brought toward Y/n walking through the doors. She has a folder with paper in her hands, as well as a brace on her wrist.

"Not broken, but it is sprained! Doc says no heavy lifting and to let it rest. Is it bad I'm upset it wasn't broken? I wanted the bright green cast."

Matt stands up from the chair and chuckles, "You're something else Golden girl. Come on, let's go." They walk out of the ER and climb back into the car.

The drive back was full of chatter, the both of them comfortable enough to hold an actual conversation. Soon they are back in their neighborhood, the car parked in Matt's driveway.

"Thanks for the ride, and thanks for not being rude to me or Puka."

Matt shrugs, "No reason to be rude to a cute dog and an even cuter owner." Y/n quickly looks away, loving the compliment but not knowing how to respond.

"I uhh-" Matt clears his throat and eyes Puka who is looking at him with pleading eyes. He swallows harshly before continuing.

"I-I was wondering if you maybe wanted to hang out sometime? W-we could grab food o-or take Puka out..." He trails off awkwardly.

Y/n's eyes widen in surprise, her heartbeat quickening.

"L-like a date?" She questions softly.

He nods and rubs the back of his neck. She was hard to read and he didn't know if her shock was good or bad.

"Y-yeah like a date....I-it was just a thought though so I-it's no big deal if you say no! Like you said, stranger danger an - Yeah."

He stops his rambling as she answers his question.

"Y-yeah?" She nods and gives a comforting smile.

"Yeah... I'll go on a date with you."

It was like the ending of an old-time romantic comedy, the two puppy lovers standing at the end of the driveway smiling at each other,

Ready to take on what could be.

[stormz369]

☕💖 Can I Get Your Number? ☕💖 Ch 29

Jason Todd x (f)Chubby!Reader

written with a female reader in mind, first person pov, no use of Y/N, NSFW, MDNI, let me know if there's anything else I should tag this with!

warnings/labels: poor parenting discussed, Talia may or may not be ooc (if she is, fear not! I have received 2 separate permits, and have been told I may do as I please!), mild cussing, fluff, angst, a smidge of fear

wc: 2.4k

Chapter Selection

“... Babe, I know you've described Damian's mom as a ‘real piece of work', and Bruce told me a bit about how she raised him before he came here, so I do know she's not what I would consider a good mom. But that doesn’t explain why her visiting means we can't go to the manor?”

Jason sighed, setting his phone aside. He cupped my cheeks, purring my name; “darling, light of my life. I mean this in the best possible way. … You cannot be trusted to keep your cool with her.”

I blinked several times, frowning; “what on earth does that mean?!”

“You are … passionate. You love fiercely, and I love that about you. Seriously, I don't want you to think this is a bad thing; the way you love us makes me feel so safe, and I know Damian agrees. But … you've already yelled at one of his teachers, his principal, and Bruce. You will not be able to hold your tongue with Talia. And holding our tongues is necessary with her. … If she believes living at Wayne Manor is making Damian weak, she will take him away 'for his own good’.”

“How on earth would I make her think he's weak?”

“Talia is the type of person who believes attachment makes us weak. The things we care about can be used against us, the people we love are the people who will hurt us the worst. She believes it's better to be feared than loved. She's why he's so good at masking his feelings. Why he doesn't always understand his own feelings; his early education did not include processing and recognizing emotions. But she's … incredibly astute. She's analytical, and brilliant, and terrifying, and … she's his mother; she taught him everything he knew before he came here, and now she can read him without trying, even when he tries to hide his feelings from her. So if she sees how you two are around each other, even if neither of you so much as acknowledge each other, she'll know how you feel about him, and how he feels about you, and we'll probably never see him again.”

I growled softly, clenching my jaw. “… Bitch…”

He chuckled softly, holding me close. “I know. Which is why we have to keep our distance. … She doesn't visit often, and when she does she never stays long. She'll probably be here for a week at most, stalking the kid to make sure he's not slipping, and once she's gone I’m certain he'll show up on our doorstep.”

I sighed softly. “... Ok. … If you see him between now and then you have to find a way to tell him that I’m missing him and I love him very much, ok?”

He groaned softly. “Aw, come on, babe. The Red Hood can't lean in to give Robin a hug during patrol!”

“I'm not asking you to hug him - don't hug him! Just make sure he knows that I'm thinking about him. Please?” I pouted, snuggling against his chest; “for me?”

“Ughhhhh …. Fine. For you.” He sighed, running his fingers down my spine.

I grinned, snuggling against him happily. “Thank you~”

“Yeah, yeah …” he chuckled, kissing my temple. We sat on the floor, curled against each other, for a long while before Jason finally moved us to the bed to get some sleep.

Jay quickly started moving his things into my place. I gave him my spare key and made space in the closet. When I got home from the next girls night some of his clothes were hung up next to mine. The next day there was one of those cheap plastic dressers next to my nice wood one, and sitting on top of it was Jason's cologne, a book, and his deodorant. His shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel joined mine on the side of the tub. We bought more towels and a new set of sheets.

All these little changes made me giddy; his things slotting into position next to mine just felt so right, and I would get used to the weapons that were suddenly stashed all over the apartment. We had a thorough gun-safety presentation that night, and he showed me where everything was. On the next gym-and-range day, we finished training with an exercise where he would, entirely at random, shout “intruder” and time how long it took me to have a weapon trained on him. My best time was two seconds; he had expected me to go for the gun in the drawer, not the knife block in front of me on the counter.

Soon I started packing Jason a lunch for patrol. Mostly because I wanted to take care of him in some way, but a part of me also hoped he'd run into Damian out there and share the cookies I made. He rolled his eyes at me the first time I pressed the insulated bag into his hands, but accepted it anyway. I sent him off with a kiss and a wave, and settled in to wait for him to come home. Hours later I fell asleep on the couch, and when I woke up it was 4:30am and he was unlocking the door. The exhaustion rolled off him as I pulled him into a tight hug, and we collapsed into bed. When I woke up for real around 11 the lunch bag was sitting on the kitchen counter, empty and clean. I grinned, filling it again that night, and Jason didn't offer so much as a token resistance before taking it.

A week and a half passed before he ran into Robin on patrol. Jason assured me that he had passed along my message, Damian was perfectly healthy and definitely missed me too, and he had even been forced to share the brownies I'd packed. I beamed, kissing his cheek in thanks, and we curled up in bed.

The next day, we started looking at houses online. We obviously only looked at what was available in Red Hood's territory; on top of him wanting to stay close to his patrol area, it was on the opposite side of Gotham from the well manicured lawns of Bruce's gated neighborhood and thus the perfect place to set up my clinic. Whether our home or the cave was closer, the bats would never be more than 30 minutes away from medical care. Jason took note of a few addresses he wanted to go check out, promising to swing by during patrol to see if they were securable.

“No reason to arrange a showing if I'm not gonna be able to make it safe for you.” He kissed my forehead, wrapping an arm around my waist. I chuckled softly, leaning against him. I was pretty sure he was the one who would need the most security measures to feel safe in our new home, but I wasn't going to argue. The way he lit up when providing for me was too precious a sight; if I complimented his cooking he turned pink and mumbled it was nothing. I thanked him for switching over the laundry and he sighed happily, nodding. When he saw progress in my training he beamed. And when he came home safe in the early hours of the morning, all anxiety and stress melted off of him the second he was in my arms.

In a lot of ways, life was starting to feel incredibly normal. We were like the picturesque 1950’s family I'd been taught to simultaneously idealize and vilify; until the spring semester at GU started I was free to spend my time how I pleased, and with Damian's mother still in town, that mostly meant finding new ways to feel like I was giving Jason as much as he gave me. I made sure he always had enough treats in his lunches, in case Damian was out too. When Jason returned from patrol I inspected him for any small wounds my first aid knowledge would fix. I doted on him every chance I got, and he doted right back. It was wonderful, truly.

But when he left for work, and I was alone with my thoughts, the stillness in the apartment quickly became overwhelming. At first Damian's sudden absence from my life had been annoying but acceptable. But after the first couple days it started to feel like a rabid dog was using my heart as a chew toy. Why was his mother still here? What was she doing? What was she saying to him? He had been making such incredible progress; he smiled more, he initiated hugs, he accepted them more readily. He was painstakingly tearing down the walls around his feelings brick by brick. It was a difficult process, and he was being so brave, I couldn’t be prouder! But what was she doing to those walls while I was kept away?

It had been two weeks, and I was starting to wonder if she planned to stay for the holidays. I didn't want her to stay for the holidays! I had plans, and I couldn't do my plans if I couldn't go to the manor! Being barred from Wayne Manor meant no Damian, but it also meant no Steph, no Dick, no Tim, none of them! We had decided it would be best if it looked like I was just Jason's girlfriend; as far as Talia knew he was indifferent to the family, if that. So I had to appear indifferent at best as well.

I was still able to go to girls' night, because that was being held at Barbara's home. There was no reason to believe Talia would know or care about that. But I missed training with everyone. I missed finding new ways to tease Tim. I missed Dick's good natured laugh. God help me, I even missed Bruce! He pissed me off, but he was still kind to me for the most part, and he was a good trainer. I wanted things to get better with him, for Jason and Damian's sake. I wanted him to be the dad they deserved, the dad Dick believed he wanted to be. I was pretty sure he had it locked away inside him, he just needed … something. What exactly that was, I wasn't sure; maybe to see how happy Damian was with simple childhood experiences? Or to see the peace on Jason's face when we cooked together. Or maybe he needed to experience some of that for himself. But whatever he needed, I was sure he wasn't getting it, and until Talia al Ghul left I wouldn't find out.

I tried to busy myself with crafting and baking. With the winter holidays on the horizon I really should have started on presents around Halloween, especially considering how many people I was making gifts for this year. But better late than never, so I used the time alone to get started. Jason would be gone for hours, I had plenty of time. Or, I would have if not for the knock at the door.

I jumped, looking up incredulously. I wasn't expecting guests, especially this late at night. Anyone I wanted here had my phone number, and no one had called or texted. I grabbed my phone, just to be sure, but I was right - no unread texts, no missed calls. A moment later there was another knock, this one more insistent.

I grabbed one of Jason's guns and my phone, ready to call him with the push of a button, and looked through the peephole. A beautiful woman was standing at the door, an unamused look on her face. Her clothes were too elegant for this neighborhood, she definitely didn't just wander to the wrong door. I sighed, a sinking sensation in my gut as I cracked the door open just enough to reveal my face.

“... Hello?” I frowned.

She raised an eyebrow; “... is hospitality well and truly dead in this country, or are you going to invite me in?”

“At eleven o'clock at night, in this neighborhood, with an uninvited stranger on the doorstep? It’s dead. Now, would you like to introduce yourself, or should I shut the door?”

She tsked; “I am Talia al Ghul. Why have you been spending time with my son?”

I silently cursed, but forced my expression to remain bored and distrusting; “... Your son?”

“Damian …” she sighed, “I believe he's using his father's last name now, Wayne.”

“Oh, Jason's brother? He's not here.”

“Obviously not.” She snapped; “are you going to let me in?”

“Why? He's not here.”

“I know he's not here! I want to know why you've been spending so much time with him.”

“I dunno about ‘much’. I've met him.”

“You are his emergency contact at that paltry excuse for a school he is enrolled at.”

“Oh, is that what you're so upset about?” I shrugged; “'m just doing a favor for Jay by doing a favor for his dad.”

“... Elaborate.”

“Mr. Wayne is a busy man, I am not a terribly busy woman. Emergency contact at the school was a simple enough thing to take off his plate. Kinda thing that seems bigger than it actually is. He now associates me with his life being ever so slightly easier. He already associates me with Jason, ergo he now associates Jason with his life being slightly easier.”

She frowned deeply. “You are emotionally manipulating Bruce into … what, being kinder to his second son?”

“... I suppose so, yeah. Didn't really think about it that way. 'Manipulation' makes it sound so much more convoluted and … effort-full. All I did was sign a piece of paper.”

Her expression morphed into a small smirk; a very Damian-like expression. “... And you are Jason's … girlfriend?”

“Yep.”

“... Hm.” She nodded once. “... Very well then.”

“... Okaaay. … So are you like, sticking around or somethin'? Do you want to be the emergency contact now?”

“No, there is no reason for that…” she pursed her lips; “establishment to have my phone number.”

I shrugged again. “Alright… Anything else?”

“... No, I suppose not.”

“Kay. I'm goin' back to bed then. Goodbye.” I shut the door, locking it, and looked through the peephole again. She glowered at my door, seemingly considering something, and finally left.

I watched her walk away until she was entirely out of sight, then slowly retreated to the couch to text Jay.

Me: Everything is fine, do not panic; but I just met Talia. 11:20pm

Jason: I'm coming home. Don't open the door to anyone. 11:35pm

Me: 👍❤️ 11:36pm

Next ->

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[lilcawdy]

Poison and Lavender

Lucanis x Crow!Rook

Here's a small appetizer of what I'm working on in response to my headcanon, this is my first time posting a fic ever so any feedback is appreciated!

(my she/her elf Crow Rook that I have not named yet)

“Bitter and sweet, right? Like a kiss goodbye?” Rook couldn’t help but tease him, “So. What would a first kiss be?”

Lucanis was used to light teasing and flirting from clients, it helped with business. But this felt different. It wasn’t familiar; it was new and before he knew what he was saying, it was already too late. 

“Honey and lavender cream. Sweet, intriguing…” Mierda. That was too obvious. He heard Spite’s low laugh in the back of his mind. It was his fault after all. Lucanis thought back to the first time he met Rook back in the Ossuary, the first sweet and intriguing voice he had heard since being imprisoned, and the scent to match according to Spite.

Flashback:

Nothing. What else was there? He had thought it all - revenge, tactics, recipes. And now? Nothing. Lucanis sat patiently in his crystal prison, eyes closed, waiting for something. Or nothing he wasn’t sure. Even Spite was quiet for once, that damn demon. 

“Smells like…”

Well, that didn’t last long.

“Poison. And Lavender” 

Poison? The lavender didn’t confuse him much - maybe one of the Venatori guards was trying a new perfume, but why poison? Then he felt it, the magic stopped. He heard voices, and for once him and Spite agreed on something: it was an opening, and it was time.

“I’m guessing you’re the reason we’re here.”

That voice. Mierda, that damn voice. It wasn’t harsh or filled with malice of any kind. It was… sweet? There was no poison in her voice.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” 

He searched the elf up and down, noticing the leather and knives similar to his own. Was she a Crow? 

It was when she moved closer that he realized what Spite had meant. He could smell the Lavender of course, it was such a strong and heavenly scent. But there was something else, something hidden, that he picked up thanks to his possession. Honey. Oh this one was smart, she was using poisonous honey and covering the scent with Lavender.

“My name’s Rook. House de Riva. I’m here to bring you home.” 

Lucanis never would have guessed that he was already there the moment she spoke. Her voice had become his home.

[inquisimer]

Loving the rook and viago dynamic, chefs kiss 🤌.

If your taking requests, I love the idea of rook slowly becoming more angry or snappy after the regret prison. Thought the "I've been taking care of myself for a long time and don't need your help" prompt would be perfect for an angry rook to their bro. viago

YESSSS I love them so much, Crow Dad makes me [screeches unintelligibly]. And yes, I always take prompts, thank you for this one!! It had me looking at Arlow & Viago's relationship through a different lens, which was great 💜

Arlow de Riva & Viago de Riva | 680 words | endgame spoilers, referenced major character death

-

Arlow’s fingers slipped against her armor’s leather straps again and she huffed, frustrated. It was a buckle, it shouldn’t be so damn hard—

“Need a hand?”

She stiffened, fist clenching around the strap instead. “No. I’ve got it.”

Viago stepped into the meditation chamber anyway, the door shutting with a deafening click behind him. The blackout curtains over the windows kept the room dark, save for a few clusters of candles that flickered over the sharp, familiar planes of his face. Arlow stared pointedly down, cursing under her breath when the strap slipped from her grasp again.

“Yes, clearly,” Viago said dryly. He leaned against the buffet at the back of her couch and folded his arms. “The offer stands, if at any point you’d like to be less stubborn about it.”

Arlow ignored him. She wasn’t going to tell him that dregs of Solas’ Fade prison lingered on her, a numbness in her fingers and toes, a persistent chill that no fire or blanket could ward off, an unmistakable sense of being watched and judged and found wanting. He didn’t get to kick her out of the nest and expect things to be the same once she’d found her wings; she’d gotten this far and she would get through this, too.

Her fingers slipped once more. “Cazza,” she muttered.

“Arlow—“

“No, Viago,” she snapped. “I just need to—“ She pinched the strap between her nails this time and pulled it through the buckle. It left a little half-moon indentation in the purple leather, but it was fastened and it would fade. Much like she assumed the bitter coating on her teeth when she looked at Viago would fade… eventually.

She knew he was proud of her. She knew that he cared, in that closed-off, brusque way of his. But her heart was only getting about two-thirds of the way to letting him back in, because Solas’ trap finally had her dwelling on the way this contract started.

If Viago were caught in a prison of his own regrets, would he see her, leaving with Varric? She’d told Lucanis that she knew he didn’t have a choice, with the other Talons out for blood. And she did believe that. But the job had finally scraped her too raw for that to be anything other than a cold comfort.

He could have saved her. And someone else might have tripped into Varric’s crosshairs—someone who might have saved him. And Davrin. And Bellara.

Guilt and regret crept up her throat. They curled around her neck and trailed after her like a smoky shadow she just couldn’t shake. So she clung to the anger instead and let it shield her from the breakdown they threatened.

“Did you need something?” she asked, pulling on her gloves and flexing her fingers. “I should go check on my team.”

“Look at me.” His stern, quiet voice brokered no argument; it never had. Reluctantly, Arlow put the wardrobe at her back and did as he ordered. Her eyes were steely and the hard line of her jaw invited no comfort—not that she expected he would have offered, anyway.

His own expression was as inscrutable as always, almost foreboding in the odd shadows cast by the half-melted candles. For a moment, Arlow had the sense of how everyone else must see the Fifth Talon—terse, unyielding, the quiet threat of an expert assassin without any of the care that she was accustomed to.

It almost chilled her enough to make her relent. Almost—but her hands were still numb, and her heart still hurt. She still needed the anger, or she was going to get someone else killed.

“No, I—“ Viago cleared his throat. “No. You should go.”

Before we say something we both regret, Arlow thought. She knew what it would be for her. As he glanced away—he never looked away first—she wondered what he was afraid of letting slip. And she wondered, as she gave him her back, if he, too, felt the painful echo of watching her walk away.

She left.

[princess-of-purple-prose]

[ID copied from alt: Cinderella Stephanie Burt The trans story is the heroine has to be trans because nobody else in the capital shares her size. The prince must roam from house to house, from mansion to cottage to townhome, trying to find the one girl who came to the winter solstice ball in glass slippers (they must have hurt like hell by the end of the night, even rightly sized) with heels at least 11/2" high, and (more important) in ladies’ 131/2. But the longer trans story is the prince was already kissing and sharing secrets with his footman: raised as a boy, the prince’s favorite footman was really a girl named Cindy, but only the prince knew her chosen name. They could never marry: the kingdom wouldn’t accept it. So he told her. And he wouldn’t want anyone else. So when the king insisted he choose, at that ball, a bride, the prince arranged for Cindy to show up, splendid in tiara and heels, all starry like Andromeda viewed from a moonless mountaintop. When (the plan went) the king asked the prince the next day “Who was that girl you spend the night with?” he’d tell the king to scour the town for Cindy, the one who got away. Except that Cindy didn’t get away: instead she arranged— of course, of course, unbeknownst to him— to pop out from a family friend’s garage, then pop the question. And the prince said, “Yes, I’ve changed my mind; we’re not going to hide anymore.” That’s the version we give the cis, and it’s lovely, but the truth is almost nobody gets it right: the trans story is that the prince herself is the trans girl in the story, and like so many of us, she spent day after day— before the party, after the party, maybe instead of attending the party—crossing the town, ringing doorbells, trawling message boards, scouring yard sales and barging into shopfronts right before closing to talk to the tired clerks, never giving up her search for the one, the terrific, the just-right shoe. End ID]

from we are mermaids by stephanie burt (graywolf press, 2022)

[n0ahsebastians]

you can be all i got...

this is a little bit of a softer fic. i wanted to save the smut/sexual content for some other things i'm planning to write hehe

this was a request from someone so this is dedicated to that person <3

i hope you all enjoy this one, it's just pure fluff and softness <3

It was happening again. She was feeling worthless about herself, about this relationship. It happened every few months. At least it used to. It was more common now, with him being gone on tour and the band blowing up over the last couple years. She was in her head, her thoughts were scaring her. She really wanted this to work. It was working, or at least she had hoped it was. 

He was coming home tonight. It was their last show of the year and she was so excited to finally see him again. She was off work for the day, trying to keep herself busy from the awful thoughts floating through her head. What would she say to him? How was she supposed to tell him she was feeling awful about their relationship again? How was she supposed to explain to him that her friends talked about them as if she wasn’t in the room? She told him once and he told her to ignore them, that it meant nothing to him. She was important to him, more important than people talking stupidly about their relationship. It was childish honestly.

The front door opened while she was busy cleaning the dishes and she didn’t hear him come in. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle. She nearly dropped the dishes in the sink.

“Jesus Christ,” she gasped, feeling her heart nearly plummet out of her chest. He chuckled, pressing his face into the nape of her neck. 

“Hi baby.”

“You scared me.” She had soap on her hands but rested them over his as he swayed them back and forth. 

“Sorry,” he kissed her cheek and then the top of her head. She closed her eyes, feeling his warmth against the back of her neck, the weight of him against her back comforting her. She could feel his lips against her temple, his breathing slow and calm as he held her. 

“I missed you so much,” she whispered, reaching for a towel to dry her hands. She turned in his grasp to face him, looking up at his so tired eyes and the dark circles that accumulated underneath him. She wanted to kiss away the lines in his forehead and take away all his tiredness. Everything that was bothering him, or maybe everything that was bothering her. 

“Missed you more.” He kissed her softly, pressing her gently against the counter, his hands around her waist. He could feel the tears falling against her cheeks gently. He pulled away from her, resting their foreheads together. 

“What’s wrong, love?”

She wanted to tell him but she didn’t want him to think she was being ridiculous. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt this way about them. To the public eye, and even to their friends, she had always been “the older woman”. 

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just…I’m happy you’re home.” 

“Something else’s wrong,” he whispers, rubbing his thumbs along her cheekbones. She wouldn’t look at him, she couldn’t. It’s not that she felt any shame in them being together, she never had. But looking at him right now, in this very moment, seemed like it would just break her. 

“Will you look at me please?” 

No, she thought, I can’t look at you, it hurts too much. 

But she did. She looked into his eyes again, those eyes that were always so full of love and adoration for her. For their relationship, for everything that she was. She loved him, she did. But it was eating away at her, the thoughts of him leaving her, the thoughts of him thinking this wasn’t working anymore. 

“Talk to me,” he rested his forehead against hers again, listening to her soft breathing and feeling the warmth of her body against his. 

“I’m just…people are talking again, you know? About us.”

“So?”

Noah never felt the same way as everyone else did about them. When they first met, the band was just starting out, just making a break for themselves. He knew even then she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She wasn’t even much older than him; 6 years was nothing to him. To her it was a constant battle she was fighting everyday. 

“That doesn’t bother you?” 

“Why should it? They’re all assholes anyways.”

He was right of course. That didn’t change how she felt about any of it however. The reassurance was there but the thoughts wouldn’t leave.

“How can I make you understand that I don’t give a shit what all those people think about us? What your friends think? I don’t care. I really don’t. I love you, nothing’s going to change that. I’ve always loved you.” 

She wrapped her hands around his wrists, sniffling at his words. He was so sweet, the kindest person she had ever been with, probably ever in her life. She was so tired of feeling this way but it was hard. It was hard to put the thoughts aside even when he was saying how much he loved her and cared about them.

“Noah…”

“I love you. I need you to hear me right now, okay? I need you to listen to what I’m saying.” 

She nodded slowly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. 

“You’re the love of my life. I don’t care if people think you’re too old for me, that doesn’t fucking matter to me, okay? You’re everything to me, I love you. I knew I loved you when I saw you planning our shows with Matt at the venues and I knew I loved you when you told me your favorite movie was ‘10 Things’. I loved you the first time we kissed and when you told me your favorite song of ours was ‘Careful What You Wish For’.”

“That’s a lot of times to realize you love someone,” she chuckled and looked down at the floor again. 

“Those were all the times I fell in love with you over and over again. Everything I saw you doing, saying, telling my friends, I knew I loved you every time. And it made me fall in love with you even more.”

She was crying now. She loved this man so much. She loved absolutely everything about him and more. 

“I love you,” she whispered, reaching up to cup his cheeks in her hands. 

“I love you so much, you have no idea.”

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, his lips soft against hers. He held her close as if she might disappear in his very grasp. Nothing else seemed to matter to either of them at that very moment in time, just the two of them in the four walls of their shared home. 

“I have something for you,” he says against her lips, giving her a small peck before reaching into his jacket pocket. A small box was retrieved and her lips parted at the sight of it. She didn’t want to look too much into it, but if it was what she thought…

“Noah…are you…?”

“I told you you mean everything to me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.” 

He opened the box. A silver band with a small diamond nestled on top was inside. She felt her breath shudder, the diamond reflecting off the kitchen light above them. It was so simple but so beautiful. Almost a reflection of their relationship. Simple yet beautiful. 

“Marry me,” he voice shakes as he says the words, the words he’d been planning to ask for weeks. It was all he could think about during the last few weeks of the tour. 

“Are…are you s-serious?” she whispers, her hands shaking as she reaches for the small box. 

“Yes, so serious.” 

She laughs gently and it’s music to his ears. He’s in love with her, so deeply in love with her. He could not think of a better woman to spend his life with. It was her, it’s always been her.

“Yes,” she breathes, not even realizing she’d said the word. She’d say yes in a million universes to this man if she could. 

“Yeah?”

“Yes, of course, yes, I’ll…fucking marry you, Noah.” 

Their kiss is deep, saying a thousand more things than words ever could. It’s the words she wished she could say to all those fucking people ever doubted their relationship, all those people who ever said he would leave her for someone younger. It was everything he had told her to reassure her and more. It was everything. 

“I love you so much, baby,” he whispered, kissing her cheeks, her nose, her chin, everywhere that he could to make sure she knew how loved she was by him. 

“I love you, this is…wow.”

He placed the small band on her ring finger, watching the way it slid perfectly along the digit. 

“I measured one of your rings before I left,” he admitted, interlocking their fingers together to feel the band against his own skin.

“You did?”

“Mhm.”

“How long have you been planning this for?”

“A few weeks, maybe like…two months.”

Her eyebrows nearly shot up into her hairline. 

“You’ve been planning to ask me to marry you for two months?”

He shrugged, the corner of his lips moving up into a smirk. 

“You’re something else, Sebastian, you know that?”

“You love me.”

She did. “Yeah…yeah I do.”

[annaphoenix1994]

Vague History

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter

»»-------¤-------««

With alien dryness irritating her eyes, Kiera slowly sat up in the bed, slowly realizing that it was now dusk. Have I been asleep that long? 

Seeing that Simon wasn't next to her, she began to wonder what had happened between the time Malcolm had come to the ranch and when she had gotten home, remembering that she was distraught about one of the many war stories she had told her father, except this one was the worst. Sighing, she forced herself to exit the bed, her mouth dry and her stomach growling for something to be inside of it. 

Almost as soon as she made it to the bedroom door, Simon was walking her direction with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a can of Dr. Pepper in the other. Oh, babe, you're speaking a love language doing that, she smiled to herself. "Since when do you eat popcorn?"  

"I asked you if you wanted some when I got up, love," He replied, his brows furrowing at her confusion. "I asked if you wanted anything when I got up and you said popcorn and one of these. Figured I'd put on a movie while you were sleeping." 

"Oh." She said, looking to the floor as her mind swarmed for an answer as to when she asked him for popcorn. 

"Do you not remember?"

She shook her head and rolled her shoulders in search of relief, sighing as Simon set the bowl of popcorn on the foot of the bed as well as the can of soda, frowning at the bags under her eyes and how red they stayed from her time of shedding tears. "Are you alright, love?" He asked, cupping her cheeks and locking his eyes with hers. He knew immediately that she was still dwelling on the past, wishing he hadn't asked if she was okay knowing that she would think about the struggles she was battling within her own head. 

"Y-Yeah," She replied, nodding her head that was still nestled in his hands. "How long was I asleep?"

"A good few hours. You needed it and more," He assured her. "I've been up for an hour." 

"Shit," She grumbled, shaking her head. "I should go down and feed the horses-"

"Don't worry about it. I did it." 

"You did? You? Mister I don't like horses?" She breathed a giggle. 

"Never said I didn't like them," He grinned. "I just don't like how they make my, you know, feel after I get off." 

"Well, I wouldn't know what that feels like, but thank you." 

"You're welcome, love. I need the experience." 

"Why?" 

"Because if I'm in your life, so is your livestock," He shrugged. "I'm here for all of it, sweetheart." 

He watched her blush, noticing how she leaned closer to him to press her head against his chest, inhaling his warm and inviting scent - something she was eager to wake up to for the rest of her life. His arms wrapped around her, kissing the top of her head as her grip on him was of something that reminded him of reassurance. He knew she was hurt in the worst way possible. 

Her state of mind. 

Which he was all-too familiar with. 

"What time is it?" He heard her mumble into his chest, enjoying his warmth too much to lean back and check the time herself. 

"A quarter past nine, love." He replied, his thumb rubbing the small of her back. She nodded, forcing herself to pull back to go to the bathroom and proceed with her usual routine. 

"I'm going to freshen up." 

"I figured that's what you were doing." 

She turned to look at him from the bathroom, a toothbrush in her hand and a confused look on her face, "What else would I be doing?" 

A sly smirk splayed across his face, "Well, considering you didn't know where you were when I woke you up, I figured you were thinking the bed was in there." 

She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she watched him lay on his side of the bed, his arm behind his head as he crossed his ankles. "Might have to eventually get a new bed. Your feet are about to drape off the end of it." She poked. 

"No, it's because you have thirty pillows on here." He replied, turning on the television. 

"Can't help it. Especially when it feels like I'm sleeping on a rock." She retorted, referring to his muscled chest. 

"That's why you sleep up against me every night, yeah?" 

"Because if I don't, you'll be upset." 

"Keep telling yourself that, love," He chuckled, putting a piece of popcorn in his mouth. "I just won't cuddle you anymore if that's the case-"

"No," He watched her pout, thinking it was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. "I was just playing." 

"So was I," He smirked. "Or was I?" 

He knew he was helping distract her from her haunting thoughts, hoping it was helping as he did the same thing with Johnny when he was nervous while being isolated at times during a mission, always being the one to tell jokes over the comm to help keep him from feeling truly alone. 

He browsed around on her Netflix account, not finding anything of interest until he felt Kiera's presence closing in on him, feeling her move to where she was on top of him before going to nestle herself into his side, the smell of fresh mint on her breath and coconut dry shampoo in her hair. 

Naturally, her palm rested on his chest, ignoring the smell of popcorn but unable to resist the urge to drink the Dr. Pepper he had brought for her, waiting a few moments before sitting up to reach for it on the side table and moving to sit indian-style on the bed. "What're we watching?" 

"You tell me, love. I don't watch movies." He sighed, the remote resting on his stomach as he looked at the back of her head before glancing down to her back, imagining how well her skin was healing from the grafts. 

"Don't put that decision in my hands," She giggled. "I like watching scary movies. What about you?" 

"Don't ever recall watching one," He shrugged. "I told you - I don't watch movies." 

"Never seen a scary movie?" She smirked, looking over her shoulder. 

"No."

"Too scared?" 

He scoffed, placing his hand on the small of her back, "I can handle being in an active warzone being shot at and bombs going off, but watching a scary movie is where I draw the line." He retorted in a sarcastic tone.

"I know of something that does scare you." 

"Well, please tell me so I can know when I should hide under the bed." 

She smiled, setting the can of Dr. Pepper aside before nestling herself against his side, the familiar warmth of her mint-tinted breath drawing his face to look at her. "You were scared of loving me." 

He sighed, pulling her closer to his chest as he broke his gaze to look up at the ceiling, his eyes dazing in thought. "No I wasn't." 

"Mhm." She teased.

"I was afraid of losing you." 

His words caught her attention, Simon feeling her head straighten to look at him, knowing that the conversation was not teasing like it was prior. 

This was serious. 

"Why?" 

"I've experienced plenty of loss in my life, Kiera, but I've never been in love," He sighed, the thoughts of his mother, brother and nephew entering his mind, wishing they were still around for her to meet, knowing his mother would absolutely adore Kiera. Briefly, he thought about how Kiera would interact with his nephew, eager to see her motherly instincts. "I couldn't help the way I felt when you and I got close, but I wanted to push you away." 

She hummed in question. 

"Because everybody I kept close to me was taken." his breathing shuddered, having a sense that she was about to ask why, but to his surprise, she didn't.

Which was one thing he was appreciative about - her patience with him. 

"I'm sorry." She frowned, the pads of her fingers feathering against his sternum, soon feeling his hand covering hers. 

"Nothing to be sorry about, love. It's not your fault as to why my life is so fucked up." 

She didn't reply, truly having nothing to say as she knew her reply would spark nothing but a negative comment back. "I don't think your life is fucked up, Simon." 

"Believe me, it is," He sighed, bringing her palm up to his lips. "But you've kept me distracted from it. Although I'm reminded of it every night when I try to sleep." 

"I understand that." She replied, recalling her own nightmares. 

"I know." 

Her brows furrowed, "Do... Do I keep you up?"

"Sometimes," He replied. "But it doesn't bother me. I'm surprised I don't keep you up, but considering you sleep like a rock, I'm not surprised." 

She giggled, "Well, I'm sorry if I keep you up." 

"It's nothing to worry about," He sighed. "Are you going to pick a movie or not?" He poked. 

"I just might." 

She ended up picking "The Conjuring", the movie being one that genuinely freaked her out, but she wasn't going to let Simon know that, although she could tell that he was weirded out by the doll in the beginning, stating that he'd "sling it through the wall" if he ever got a doll like that as a gift. 

She couldn't blame him.

Her palm stayed on his chest, rubbing soothing circles against his shirt as he would be the one to drop a piece of popcorn in her mouth every now and then, enjoying her soothing touch as he felt the absence of it was enough to send him into emotional overdrive. If you only knew how much head over heels I am for you, love, he would think every time she made a comment about a particular scene in the movie, occasionally feeling her jump at random scenes. 

Once the popcorn was gone, leaving nothing but leftover kernels in the bottom of the bowl, Simon kept his mind busy by toying with her hand, his thumb rubbing her ring finger like he always did, except it was her opposite hand that splayed on his chest. 

Instead of focusing his attention to the movie, his eyes stayed fixated on the scars on her knuckles and the top of her hand, his finger grazing over them gently, wondering the story behind them. 

"That one was from a knife fight." She answered him, taking notice of how his fingers grazed her skin, keeping her eyes towards the television. 

"Hope he lost." 

She chuckled, "Oh, he did. Him and his buddy, too." 

He joined her in a laugh, tracing his finger over the next scar that was on the outside of her wrist. "That one was from another fight. Fell in some glass." 

"Ruthless," He sighed, looking over at her to place a warm kiss to her forehead, noticing a faint scar on her hairline. "How'd you get this one?" 

"My face met with a wall. Not my idea," She shook her head. "Thought that fucker had me, but I got my way out of it." She continued, running her hand across his chest, feeling the scar on his left pectoral he had already told her about, tracing it with her finger before her hand traveled to his side, feeling an abnormal dip that was invisible to the eye, but foreign to the touch. "What happened to get this one?" 

He sighed, covering her hand over his ribcage and moving it back to lay on his chest, "Another time, love." 

Truly, he didn't want to recall how he had matching indentions on either side of his ribcage, nearly wincing at the thought as he swore it was the worst pain he ever had to endure. 

"I-I'm sorry." She frowned, curling her fingers into her palm, afraid to continue.

"It's okay, that's a story for another day," He assured her, keeping his haunting thoughts at bay before giving her his full attention to distract himself. "How long is left of this movie?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I'd say an hour," She sighed. "Although I probably won't make it 'til the end of the movie." 

"You need to rest," He said blankly. "We can always turn it off-"

"It's whatever you decide. Not like you're going to make it through to the end of the movie anyway with how heavy those eyelids look." 

»»-------¤-------««

Malcolm sat on his leather sofa, enjoying a glass of Wild Turkey as his enraged mind was desperate to distract his adrenaline from earlier. Loosening the bolo tie from around his neck, he began to wonder where he took his wrong turn in life, causing him to not only lose his marriage as well as rights to see his child, but also getting himself into yet another line of fire after coming home from the failed mission in Mexico. 

Unlike Kiera, Malcolm liked to rethink the times he had in battle, a smirk toying on his face as he would replay his best kills in his mind, taking pride in it.

Even though some of those kills were with ally forces. 

Licking his lips free of leftover bourbon, he peered down to his ringing phone, sighing at the caller ID before answering. "Yeah?" 

"It's been a few days, Malcolm," Shepherd scolded over the phone, a weight in his voice - clear that he was aggravated. "What's going on?" 

"Things like this take time, General. But it's not going easy, that's for sure." 

"What do you mean?" 

Malcolm sighed, "She found out I flew the plane, General. That's what I mean." 

A brief pause. 

"I need you to clarify." 

"I don't know how much clearer I can get," Malcolm scoffed. "She found out the plane was yours and that I flew it. She paid me a visit at my office the other day." 

"I'm afraid this is a problem that needs to be taken care of rather quickly," Shepherd grit. "I'm going to send you someone. And when he gets there, you two take care of it. Got me?" 

"Affirmative, but it's not going to be easy-"

"That's why I called you in the first place, Lieutenant," Shepherd corrected. "Do it like how I used to do in the service: send a message to the enemy, get them angry enough to come after you, then you demolish them at once." 

"Sounds tactical." Malcolm scoffed, knowing Shepherd's words were easier said than done. 

"It is tactical, son," Shepherd shouted. "I'm keeping this in your hands. Remember who you work for." He reminded, the words bringing realization to Malcolm that he couldn't just say no and back out due to Shepherd's blackmail on the Lieutenant, both of them being equally guilty in their career of war crimes, Malcolm's most recent being participating in the slaughter of the citizens of Las Almas on that rainy night, the thought chilling him to the bone every time it crossed his mind. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Good. Now that we're on the same page, do as I suggest. Send a message. Have her so mad and tearing at the seams to get to you, then take her out. It's that simple." 

It's really not, Malcolm thought, knowing exactly who he was about to fight against. I don't know who I dread fighting more: her or that boyfriend looming over her.

"I'll get to it first thing in the morning." 

"As soon as possible would be preferable, son. We don't have much time." 

Don't fucking call me that, Malcolm grimaced. "Who are you even sending me?" 

Shepherd breathed a laugh, "You'll see. Be sure to hit her where it hurts. Put some thought into this, Lieutenant. I've got your back." 

We'll see about that. 

[mc-lukanette]

Marinette and Luka both knew they had a problem. It'd begun when they'd started dating and only escalated from there.

Neither had really noticed anything in the beginning, nor did anyone else. Those outside of their relationship were busy dealing with the shock that the two had even gotten together in the first place. Granted, some surprise was understandable as, unlike other matters that were given spotlights for all to see, they had been developing their bond in the privacy of each other's company, where no one could tell them how to feel or think.

Once the others had accepted that reality, then came the realization that the two were not as simple as they initially thought. They saw the hyperactive Marinette calm simply by standing next to Luka, they saw the laid-back Luka break into a run whenever he heard that Marinette had arrived, they saw the clumsy Marinette only trip and fall purposefully as a teasing excuse to be held by her boyfriend, and they saw the quiet Luka laugh loud enough to scare off nearby pigeons.

They did everything together, or at least tried their absolute hardest to. Marinette would bring Luka sandwiches made with fresh bread from the bakery, as opposed to the quicker and unhealthier meals he would've grabbed thoughtlessly when he was busy with a song and didn't see a need when it was only him eating. Luka, meanwhile, would come up with lullabies for when Marinette was tired but unable to sleep, often leading to the two napping blissfully on the couch side-by-side.

It was because of such things that no one expected anything wrong. They could chalk it all up to Marinette being well-rested and Luka being well-fed, which was how it went for a while. They would catch the two sitting on a couch, on a bed, on anything they could find that had enough room for the both of them, cozying up to each other as they got into their creative processes. Luka would play his guitar and write new music as it came to him, whereas Marinette would sit and sketch or sew depending on her mood, both unquestionably productive.

The problem? Now they were too productive.

It wasn't uncommon for friends to spot the two in positions that they were sure must be uncomfortable, such as Luka balancing Marinette and his guitar on his lap while they both created away for their next project. Marinette occasionally traded out one sketchpad for another if it was more convenient, allowing her to rest it on Luka's guitar so he could play while she had a surface to draw on. Their friends made faces at them, but they seemed wholly oblivious to it.

Even during sleepovers where one couldn't go home due to how dark it was outside (after stalling for long enough to reach that point), sleep wasn't always a viable option. One or both of them would squirm with a restless mind and reach for the nearest paper or instrument to get in an hour more of output.

That, of course, gave Luka more of a reason to play Marinette a lullaby later so they could nap together, effectively generating an endless sickeningly sweet cycle of creating, napping, eating, and sleeping together. It was enough to make even the more romantic couples feel single.

One might think there would be burnouts or times where neither could do anything, but those were remedied as fast as they came or, more accurately, as soon as the other noticed. When Luka reached such a point, fingers lingering on the strings without the ability to play, Marinette would kiss his face, or whisper sweet nothings into his ear, or tell him how amazing it sounded so far, and he would be at it again with renewed spirits. When it was Marinette who struggled, her pencil mindlessly scribbling more than drawing, he would walk her through it and whisper suggestions or his own thoughts into her ear, even awful ones, which gave her enough to bounce off of or a clearer path to go down.

It wasn't uncommon to find Luka at the entrance to the bakery, or Marinette going across the gangplank to the Liberty, a skip in their step and a fresh new idea to drop on the other. There were at least a handful of occasions where they'd met halfway unexpectedly on their way to visit the other, which led to them plopping down in the nearest cafe to talk rather than delay by going to either's home.

Some weeks, they would have stacks of papers lined up from everything they'd done and would discuss them over the weekend. One particular incident led to a makeout session that knocked the stacks over and sent them flying. Sketches mixed with songsheets, colors mixed with blacks and whites, and neither could be bothered to care as their work fluttered over one another and spread out onto the floor.

Marinette and Luka both knew they had a problem. They just had no interest in finding a solution.

[valiwrites]

if u wouldn’t mind I love ur Joao fics can u do one where he’s so down bad for her, like princess treatment and everything and how even his family knows he so in love and that this his HIS ONE like he finally found love (I’m sry I’m so specific)💋

the one

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ - joao felix

masterlist

summary: João is head over heels for you, and everyone knows it—especially his family, who tease him about how smitten he is. From pampering you endlessly to confessing under the stars that you’re his “one,” João makes it clear he’s found his forever in you.

João wasn’t exactly subtle when he was in love. He had a quiet nature, yes, but when it came to you? Every wall he’d ever built seemed to crumble. He wasn’t just in love—he was down bad, and everyone around him knew it.

You didn’t notice it at first. To you, João was sweet and attentive, always there when you needed him and constantly finding ways to make you feel special. You figured he was just naturally thoughtful. But then his brother Hugo pulled you aside one afternoon, a mischievous smirk tugging at his lips.

“You realize he’s obsessed with you, right?” Hugo said, leaning casually against the kitchen counter.

You blinked, taken aback. “Obsessed?”

“Completely,” Hugo confirmed, gesturing dramatically. “The guy can’t stop talking about you. It’s been months of 'Y/N likes this’ and ‘Y/N said that.’ He’s hopeless.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “He’s not that bad.”

Hugo just raised a brow. “You haven’t seen the way he looks at you, then. Trust me—this isn’t some fling for him. You’re the one.”

The one.

The words stayed with you long after Hugo left the room.

That evening, João came home from training, his hair damp from a post-practice shower. The moment he stepped through the door, his eyes searched for you. When he spotted you curled up on the couch, his entire face lit up.

“There you are,” he said softly, crossing the room in just a few strides.

“Hi,” you replied, smiling as he leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead.

“You okay?” he asked, settling next to you and immediately pulling you into his arms. “You look... thoughtful.”

You hesitated for a moment, wondering if you should bring up what Hugo said. But when you looked at João, his brown eyes so full of quiet adoration, you couldn’t stop yourself.

“Hugo said you’re obsessed with me,” you teased, watching his reaction closely.

João’s ears turned pink almost instantly, but he didn’t deny it. Instead, he ducked his head, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” you admitted, your voice softening. “It’s just... true?”

João laughed, low and warm, and pulled you even closer. “I can’t help it,” he said, his tone as earnest as ever. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

The weight of his words hit you like a gentle wave, warm and steady. He said it so simply, like it was the most obvious truth in the world.

The thing about João was that he didn’t just say he loved you—he showed it.

On days when you were feeling overwhelmed, João would swoop in like your personal knight in shining armor. He’d run you a bath, light your favorite candles, and bring you snacks without you even asking.

When you walked into the room, he stood up. When you spoke, he listened with his full attention, as though nothing else mattered.

“Do you want me to carry that?” he asked one day, reaching for the grocery bags in your hands.

“João, I can handle it,” you said, though you didn’t resist when he gently plucked them from your grasp.

“I know you can,” he said, flashing you a boyish grin. “But I want to.”

He opened doors for you, remembered the little things you said in passing, and looked at you like you hung the stars in the sky.

And then there was the way his family treated you.

João’s mother was the first to pull you aside, her expression soft as she spoke. “You know,” she said in Portuguese, “I’ve never seen him like this before. João... he’s always been loving, but with you? He’s different. Happier.”

Her words warmed you from the inside out.

Hugo, on the other hand, couldn’t stop teasing João.

“She’s got you wrapped around her finger,” Hugo said one evening, elbowing João in the ribs as you walked into the kitchen.

João just shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. “Good.”

Hugo groaned dramatically. “You’re so soft.”

“I don’t care,” João replied, his gaze fixed on you as you laughed at something his mom said. “She’s worth it.”

One evening, as the two of you sat outside under the stars, João turned to you with a serious expression.

“I need to tell you something,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“What is it?” you asked, suddenly nervous.

João reached for your hand, his thumb brushing over your knuckles. “I’ve thought about this a lot,” he began, his words slow and careful. “About us. And I just... I need you to know how much you mean to me.”

You squeezed his hand, your heart pounding in your chest.

“I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone the way I love you,” he continued, his voice steady despite the vulnerability in his eyes. “You’re it for me, Y/N. You’re my one.”

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes, and you didn’t even try to stop them. “João,” you whispered, your voice trembling.

He smiled, soft and full of hope. “You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know.”

But you did have something to say. Leaning in, you pressed your forehead to his and whispered, “I love you, too.”

João’s breath hitched, and for a moment, it felt like the world stood still. Then he pulled you into his arms, holding you like you were the most precious thing in the universe.

And in that moment, you knew you were home.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

[spiderb00]

Teach me - Megan Skiendiel

Megan Skiendiel X Reader  Synopsis - You've always liked football, so your girlfriend surprises you with the Rams game.  Genre – Fluff  a/n - I don't know MUCH about football, but I think my basic knowledge saved me here. Enjoy. <3  (request)

Sitting and watching the Rams game was relaxing, after days of work you just wanted to sit back and relax. Usually, this was one of the times when Megan wasn't with you, most of the time she would be out with the Kats, or doing something else while you were watching the game.

Today, however, the girl had sat next to you, and asked you to explain in detail how a game worked. You were confused, Megan had never had any interest in games or anything involving sports. But of course you explained everything she wanted to know, after all, all this just gave you more time with your girlfriend.

"So they basically kill each other?" Megan said, looking at the guy lying on the ground.

"They don't kill each other, they just have to stop the other team from scoring points." You said, eyes glued to the television.

"I never asked why you like these games so much..." Megan said, leaning on the couch and laying snuggled against your chest.

"I used to watch a lot when I was little. My family always liked sports, so we always got together to watch the games" You said, putting your left arm around your girlfriend, stroking her back, making the whole environment feel cozy and warm.

"Oh, what is he doing now?" Megan said, pointing to the screen, where the player was positioning himself.

"Ah, he's Kicker, he is responsible for field goals, extra points and kickoffs. He's very important to the team." You said, calmly explaining to the girl who was clearly confused by all the terms.

"Look, not that I'm complaining, but why did you take any interest in all this? You've never seemed this interested before." You said, giggling.

"Well, me and the girls were kind of invited to watch the Rams game, so I kind of wanted to understand at least a little bit..." The red-haired girl said with an embarrassed smile.

"Oh my god, Meg, this is amazing, baby. You're going to love it, it's really cool to be in a stadium, the energy kind of gets to you." You say, happy for your girlfriend.

"Well then I think you'll also like to know that I can bring a date, and I want to bring you." Megan says with a smile on her face. Your face lit up, Megan knew how much this meant to you, and she was happy she could make you feel special.

"No way, babe! Oh my god I love you so, so, so much." You said, as you spread kisses all over the girl's face.

Megan just laughed, the tickling that the kisses made on her face made her heart warm. After exchanging kisses, Megan looked at you smiling.

"Do you know who else will be there?" Megan asked, a teasing smile on her face.

"Sophia's girlfriend?" You asked, your excitement growing even more as you waited for the answer.

"Sophia's girlfriend." Megan stated with a smile on her face, it was really cool to her that you all were friends.

Even though Sophia's girlfriend is a little older than you (you're 19 and she's 21), you've always gotten along really well.

Oh my god, I love that girl, I HAVE TO CALL HER!!!" You said, forgetting about the game temporarily and going to grab your phone to call your friend.

In the end it seems that Manon was right.

The energy in the stadium was uplifting, having Megan by your side made everything better, and being in the presence of the girls definitely made you feel like the little girl watching the game with her family.

Everything seemed perfect, and when the game started, you made sure to watch everything alongside your girlfriend, commenting on everything and answering every question that crossed her mind.

"Thank you for bringing me here." You say into the shorter girl's ear.

Megan, who was clinging to your bicep, lifted her head from your shoulder to look into your eyes.

"You deserve, baby. I love you." The red-haired girl said, standing on her tiptoes and reaching his lips.

bending over a little to get more comfortable, you gave the younger girl another kiss on the lips, that moment was perfect, and every day you knew you fell even more in love with the girl.

I think you've noticed that I love making references to "Fam out", but you can't blame me, I'm kind of obsessed with them

[lucycore]

Joker vs Batman

How it would be dating one of them, kinda a comparison. I won't specify on 1 Batman and Joker, just in general as a character from the universe.

☁️Fluffy fluff fluff ☁️ (If u want a smut version let me know! (I will do it anyway, u guys know me))

_

First the Joker: 🃏

How u met: Well...Not like you'd imagine..You randomly crossed paths, frightened by seeing him cuz you hated him and didn't feel safe at all in your own city. You caught his attention with your eyes full of fear, he thought you're easy to manipulate and fear would benefit him. So he kidnapped you, held you captivity to turn you into his puppet that he could use for his plans, wishes, missions and such.

Later in time you developed the Stockholm syndrome and kinda fell attached to him. When that happened he freed you from captivity cuz he knew you wouldn't try to escape anymore.

Lets see..Toxic asf

Manipulative

Allows you to cuddle him but tries to quickly push you off

What he does tho is give you love if he needs something.

Very narcissist (I know what I'm talking about I have a dad like that)

Let me explain: He cuddles, kisses you, a lot of gifts, words of affection and such only if he needs you for something.

Which is a popular way narcissists use to manipulate and get you to do whatever they want.

Kinda abusive at time, especially if things don't go as planned for him or if you talk back

Shit I don't envy you at all being with him

Tho later in time he develops kind of an attachment

He never felt that before, he would try to drink it away, talk it away, ignore it or even curse at it but nothing helps

He falls in love on his own psychopathic way but hey, at least he won't treat you like his puppet anymore.

He lets you cuddle and kiss him and doesn't rush to push you off. He somewhere enjoys it

He for the first time feels something. Like warmness whenever you're with him.

He puts you second, even before batman. Obviously for the Joker he is his own number 1 but after that you.

And who knows, maybe he will change his mind and put you first. Let's wait and see.

Batman to Joker: "Let her go, stop using her as a puppet and take me. I'm right here."

Joker: *laughs at him* "Oh but she doesn't want to go. She chose her side."

Batman to you: "So he manipulated you to believe he really loves you, huh? He doesn't. He is just using you for his personal gain."

Joker: "Wrong. I would burn the world for one of her tears"

Now the Batman 🦇:

How you met: I'll give you 2 options. First one being: You were invented to one of his parties and when he saw you he couldn't take his eyes off of you and just had to hit you up, or else he wouldn't forgive himself for missing such an opportunity. Your outfit, hair, make up and body did it to him pretty hard.

Second option: Joker and the bat had a fight again and while you were trying to run home, he hit you with a hard object which was meant to fly in Jokers direction but that maniac used you as a shield, not caring for your innocence in that fight or that it might have killed you. The bat quickly rushed to you not caring about the Joker escaping. He would usually just call an ambulance or so and continue his fight but he couldn't let you be like that. Something about you warmed his heart. He picked you up, brought you to his apartment and waited for the ambulance. Poor guy felt so bad.

Okay so now that we have this settled let's continue with the headcanons.

Shit that guy is romantic asf

Charming, warm hearted and carrying

Would buy you everything you want no matter how expensive

You're his top 1 priority

Would do everything to keep you save

Tho one day the Joker kidnapped you to use you for his plans and against the bat to blackmail him or so.

That was like a death wish from that clown

Batman couldn't handle his anger and did everything to save you and keep you save

He swore to never let it happen again to you

He loves your cuddles and kisses and does it for hours in bed

He would love you as his housewife, cooking for him, taking care of him, stitching him up when needed and just do everything to make him relax after his batman things.

You to the bat: "How much do I mean to you, Bruce?"

Bat: "A lot but you already know."

You: "Define "a lot". "

Bat: "I would give you the whole world"

—

Yes this one didn't save..I was fr sitting there like: *the image of joker*

[cyripticchronicler]

The Things Unseen - Part 2

Pairing: Remus Lupin x Reader

Summary: Words were powerful and Remus knew it well. After weeks of sending meaningful poems to each other, you're finally ready to talk to the man who’s saved you in person.

TW: Reader has bad mental health, kissing, Remus also having bad mental health

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to post, I got back into my Sims phase. Luckily, Happy Feet got me out of my writing slump (Yippiee). Thank you @amatoanima and @mayuwolfstar for asking to be tagged. Your support means a lot <3

Part One

Masterlist

You had been pacing so much that you were scared you were going to burn a hole in the worn carpet. “I shouldn’t do this. This is so dumb,” Your hands shake at your side as you fiddle with the parchment in your hand.

Lily, who's been watching you with an amused eye as you freak out, stands up from her spot on your bed and rests her hands on your shoulders, successfully preventing you from moving. You had told her everything; the letters, your not-so-little crush on Remus and how he’d been helping you. After a momentary shock, she helped you write the letter you’re going to give him.

Said letter now rests in your hand, scrunched tightly in your fist and you debate whether or not you should rip it up. You don't; you want him to know that you know - you want to form a connection with the man who has helped you in so many ways.

I see the lines between the lines,

The words you wove, so well-disguised.

A gentle hand, a softer heart—

How long have you been cast as “part”?

Your words have lingered, light and near,

Yet now they’re clear—I know you’re here.

You leave these notes in shadowed halls,

Your voice a whisper, your steps a call.

So meet me where the willow bends,

By moon’s first light, when evening ends.

Let masks fall off, let secrets end,

And let me greet the poet, friend.

“Don’t stress, it’ll all be okay,” Lily mutters, taking the parchment from your hands and tucking it into a random book on your nightstand. “If he’s been sending you these notes then it’s obvious he wants to talk to you! Just give it a go.” You stare at her for a moment and chew your lip in contemplation.

She pressures you with another look and you roll your eyes, yanking the book from her grip and hurrying downstairs to go to the library.

⋆˙⟡🪶─ .✦📜⊹₊ ݁.

The library bustles with students, despite it being the weekend. The room is thick with tension, the upcoming OWL making everyone stressed.

You hope Remus is here; you can’t imagine him being anywhere else because he only visits Hogsmeade when with friends. James is with Lily and Sirius is in detention, leaving Remus alone and hopefully in the library.

You scan the well-lit room, eyes narrowing as they land on the man you’ve been looking for. He sits at a table in the corner, head down and shoulders hunched while he works.

His hand furiously scribbles in a notepad while he reads from the textbook beside it- seemingly doing schoolwork. Your stomach twists anxiously, creating a sickening dizziness that travels up your throat.

You begin to shake your arms out beside you in an attempt to rid yourself of your nerves, but after receiving a cruel, judging look from a random person walking by, you fist your hands together and wrap your arms around your stomach.

With your nails scratching at any skin they can reach, your feet move and create slow, shaking steps toward Remus. He’s clueless-too caught up in school work to notice your shaking body getting closer.

It’s only when you reach the table, thighs hitting the rounded edge, do you speak. “Hey.” Your voice is a desperate whisper and is too quiet to snap Remus out of his working headspace as he shows no acknowledgement of you standing there.

You take a deep breath and speak louder. “Hey.” You cringe at the loudness of your voice, having talked too loud and captured the attention of the students at the next table.

Remus finally looks up from his book, his calm eyes and posture turning into one of panic as he recognises it's you. The way he sputters and the red flames on his cheeks is adorable and you can’t help but melt, shoulders slumping slightly.

After seconds of awkward silence and Remus opening and closing his mouth like a fish, he finally pauses and takes a deep breath, recollecting himself. “Hi,” he finally mutters, voice breathless.

It’s flattering, how much you seem to affect him. He’s never acted like this around you before- yet again, you’ve never randomly visited him before. However, you decide to blame his shortness of breath on a potential panic attack due to him not understanding the work he was doing. Sure. That seems probable.

Smiling through your awkwardness, your shaking hand slowly reaches into the bag slung on your shoulder and pulls out a worn book. His shimmering, caramel eyes track the book that’s clasped tightly in your grip. You're too scared to give it to him. Too scared to see what happens next because what’s been happening has been good. So good.

He gulps- a nervous tic that you don’t miss. His nervousness gives you enough courage to finally speak again. “I-,” you shake your head, hair falling in front of your face and shielding your pink cheeks, “I want you to have this. The, uh, note is on the first page and in case you don’t understand what I’m trying to say-not that I’m calling you dumb or anything, you’re literally smarter than me-“ you swear lightly under your breath, annoyed at your rambling. You carelessly drop the book on the table and rub a hand down your face.

“I’m inviting you to hang out with me. By the weeping willow-“

“When evening ends. After dinner?” Too preoccupied with trying to get out of the embarrassing hole you dug yourself, you failed to notice Remus pick up the book and read the note. You nod quietly.

He now sits there with a goofy sort of smile and a lighter pink to his cheeks. He seems calmer, and more relaxed. You don’t know if you should be scared or not; you can barely handle a shy Remus, how will you deal with a confident one?

“I’ll be there. Of course, I will.” He smiles brightly, glowing with glee. “Don’t feel like you need to hang out with me because I wrote you poems- I purely wrote them to cheer you up. I had no expectations for what would come out of it, besides your happiness.”

“I want to get to know you better, Remus. You’ve helped me a lot more than you could have ever possibly imagined. Let me thank you and maybe learn more about your shadows and scars.”

You find confidence in the sparkle that shimmers in his warm eyes and use it to throw a wink his way before hurrying to the door. You pray you don’t trip over your own two feet because, if the goosebumps appearing on your back are any indication, you get the feeling Remus is watching you leave.

⋆˙⟡🪶─ .✦📜⊹₊ ݁.

Is it embarrassing to admit that you rushed through dinner? And by rushed you mean, you gave your tongue third-degree burns from how hot the food was and choked from the amount of food you were shoving down your throat.

The only reason why you slowed down was because Remus was watching you from further down the table all night. Every time you tried to sneak a peek at him, he was already looking at you. And every time it caused you to blush fiercely and seek out your drink because your mouth suddenly got dry.

He’s never had such an effect on you before. Sure, you couldn’t look him in the eye or hold a long conversation with him, but now you’re so unbelievably infatuated with him and the way he cares for you without being asked to. He knows your deepest secrets and your vulnerabilities, and it scares you.

Standing up from your spot at the long, wooden table, the hall still rings with the loud voices of students, but you want nothing more than to leave. You don’t bother waiting for dessert, even if the cupcakes look scrumptious. Instead, you begin to head towards the whomping willow. It's earlier than you and Remus planned but you’re prepared to wait.

Rabbits frolic through fields and the hiding sun paints you a warm, orange glow as you walk, eyes trained on everything and anything. The school grounds are quiet due to dinner still being on, though you spot some stragglers on your way.

You let the short walk calm you down. The chill air sends goosebumps down your arms yet you welcome the feeling as you're feeling dangerously hot. By the time your eyes land on the twirly roots of the tree, your heart rate has slowed down and you’re able to pull more air into your lungs.

Making sure you don’t get too close to the murderous tree, you take a seat on the ground and draw your legs up to your chest. Silence envelopes you, not even the crickets keeping you company tonight.

Your surroundings don’t stay silent for long as the sound of leaves shuffling fills the stillness not five minutes later. You hurry to stand up, unsure if the intruder is Remus since it’s earlier than you specified.

You quite literally jump when you realise it is Remus, his scarred figure emerging from behind a tree. He chuckles at the scared look on your face, his voice of honey reaching your ears. “Sorry if I scared you. And if I showed up too early,” he walks over to you before plopping himself down on the ground in front of you, careful not to drop the cupcakes in his hands.

You follow his lead and sit across from him, legs crisscrossed with your knees gently touching his. “It’s okay, I just didn’t expect you to be here this early.” He tilts his head and smiles, brown eyes a shade of gold in the fading sunlight. “I saw you leave the hall early and I wanted to see you as soon as possible so I left early, too.” Unaware of the blush that coats your cheeks, he gently places a cupcake in your hand. “You also missed dessert-which was insane, might I add, so I brought you your favourite.”

“Thank you, Remus. You didn’t have to.” His eyes are genuine and kind, staring right back into yours. “But I wanted to.” To hide the squeal that’s begging to break out of your throat, you take a bite of the cupcake in your hand, trying to not devour it like you would if you were alone.

He takes a bite of his own cupcake, humming in enthusiasm. For a couple of seconds, it’s just silence as you both eat your cupcakes. Due to the silence, your mind races, your eyebrows furrowing when a question pops into your head. His eyebrows lift in question at your furrowed brows and you finish your cupcake before answering.

“How did you know cupcakes were my favourite?” Gone was the confident Remus you were eating cupcakes with, replaced with a more bashful one. He shyly licks the icing off of his finger before scratching his eyebrow and avoiding your eyes.

“I-uh-“ he takes a deep breath and clears his throat. “I’ve always been…interested in you? You’re quiet, always there for others and seemingly always happy. You have this way of captivating others, including me, and I just wanted to learn everything I could about you. In other words, I’ve been charmed with you for years now.” By the end of his speech, his words are a mere whisper and you wouldn’t have heard them if everything else weren’t so quiet.

He takes your silence, born from shock at the thought he liked you back, as one to be worried about and panics, forcing himself to look into your eyes and scoot away in case he makes you uncomfortable. “I’m sorry. I know I’m creepy and a loser-“

“You scare the shit out of me,” you state honestly. His eyes flash with pain, laced with apology and he opens his mouth again -presumably to apologise-but you interrupt him before he can.

“You scare me because you know me so well,” he looks up, eyes still wary but now filled with hope, “when you gave me that first poem I was distancing myself from everyone. I was skipping classes because I was so tired. I missed out on dinner and breakfast because I had no appetite. And I thought I was okay, just stressed.” You fidget with a hair tie on your wrist, twisting and pulling. “You know me better than I know myself and it’s so scary.”

He pulls your hand away from your wrist and clasps it into his own. His grip is warm and gentle, loose enough to give you enough room to pull it away, but tight enough for you to feel the ridges of his scars in your palm.

“You scare me, too.” He states honestly, pulling at your hand so you finally look up at him. His jaw is clenched, a stray hair falling in front of his eye. He looks so handsome.

“Yeah?”

“Merlin yes,” he scoffs a laugh, “you have so much power over me. I would fall to my knees in front of you if you asked. I want to tell you about my past, and how I got these scars. I want to tell you my problems and my dreams. I want to open up to you, more than I have anyone else. And that scares me.”

You’re left breathless, heart in your throat as you try to battle away tears. “I want you to open up to me.” You mutter that first thing that comes to mind, unsure of what to say but wanting to say something.

He smiles sadly, “I’m not sure you’d like me much if I told you everything, though.” You shake your head immediately and tighten your grip on his hand. “There’s nothing you could say to me that would make me like you less.”

He nods his head at your words and lays down on his back. Before you could even blink, he’s pulling you down with him, your head resting on his chest and listening to his heart. By now the sun is gone, replaced by thousands of glittering stars that shimmer in your eyes.

“There’s this man, Fenir Greyback, and when I was four…” you cling to every word he says, knowing that whatever he says to you won’t change what you thought about him.

⋆˙⟡🪶─ .✦📜⊹₊ ݁.

Remus’ voice is raw from hours of speaking once he’s finished pouring his heart out. He holds his breath, ready for you to stand up and walk away at any moment.

He feels you pull away from him and has to bite back a pained cry. He knew you’d leave. That the truth would disgust you. Push you away-

The feeling of your warm and gentle lips on his has his thoughts racing away. A gentle palm moves to cup your cheek, calloused thumb stroking the soft skin ever so gently. Your quiet groan has him deepening the kiss, tongue mixing with yours.

You pull away ever so slightly, resting your forehead on his and opening your eyes. “I told you. I could never like you less.” His throat bobs with a mix of emotions. “Well then I guess we have each other now, don’t we?”

You smile. “I guess we do. Thank you.”

“What for, love?” You can feel his smile against your heated cheek as he rubs the side of his nose against your cheekbone lovingly. “For giving me those poems. They helped. A lot.”

“I guess that means I have to keep writing them for you, huh?”

“I’d like nothing more. I’ll make sure to write back.” You kiss him again, ready to get lost in his warm lips and kind hands. He’s yours and you are his.

[seenoversundown]

For Death Or Glory : Epilogue

Jake Kiszka x Charlotte (Fem OC)

Warnings: 18+ Smut (you know the drill) Fluff, Romantic Themes, Drinking / Alcohol (once more- it’s a bar) Pining, Harmless Bullying, Swearing, Wholesome Family Fun (which is crazy to say considering what’s coming next)

Smut Warnings: Kissing, Oral Sex, Hands going places, Penetrative Sex | they’re both switches - do with that what you will

Word Count: 10.6k

Summary: It’s the bar’s second anniversary and a certain couple’s first.

Author's Note: I bet you thought we were done here 😉 You already know that I couldn’t let this end that easily! I knew from the start that I would have an epilogue for you, but as I was working on it, I had a thought— luckily for you.. I wrote it in. If you notice the word count, this is astronomically long compared to the rest of the story; I decided to add basically a second chapter once I had the idea. (If you need to pause, there’s a definitive break that you could absolutely stop at! I’ll add a couple ***’s so you know when)

Consider the second half like a bonus chapter if you will 🥰

Anyway this is getting long, I love this story, these two, and you guys for loving them with me. I hope you giggle and kick your feet over this monster of a chapter 🖤 this is definitely not the last you’ll be seeing of these two, but for now, let’s just enjoy this together 🥹

Forever - Noah Kahan "I won’t be alone for the rest of my life, I’ll build a boat for when the river gets high."

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One year later.. 

“That’s okay; just drive safe, honey.” 

I tucked my phone back into my pocket, grabbed a few stray glasses, and rounded the corner behind the bar. Thankful that the bar isn’t busy at the moment, even though I know we’re mere seconds away from the chaos that’ll ensue. 

Deciding to keep the tradition, the bar is only open until eleven tonight because of the holiday. All of our regulars will still make it a point to stop by tonight since it’s the floating anniversary of the official opening. I know there’s an actual date that we opened, but letting it change with the holiday every year is more fun to me. 

It’s nice getting to spend a few hours just working with Josh while everyone else is wrapping up work or getting ready for tomorrow. It is funnier that they’ll all show up tonight, even though we’re about to spend the next two days together. 

“What happened?” Josh asks, leaning against the bar. 

I look over at him as I’m setting all the glasses into the dirty bin, telling him, “Oh, she’s fine,” and letting out a small laugh. “She hit traffic, but she’s almost here– just feels bad she’s ‘late.’ You know how Char is.” 

He chuckles to himself, “Oh, that silly girl must have forgotten that everybody and their cousin is driving today.” 

“I told her that I didn’t care when she got here anyway,” I tell him, giggling at the thought of her stressing over the time. “We have the whole weekend together; I’m not going to complain that she’s twenty minutes behind.” 

Josh just smiles back at me for a second before breathing out, “It’s sweet that she still wants to soak up all the time she can with you, though.” 

“I hit the jackpot with her for sure,” I let out quietly, checking the fridges to make sure everything was good. “Are you good for a minute? I just need to answer a few emails real quick.” 

He shoos me away to my office, where I’ve sat to do a few admin things before it gets busy or Charlotte shows up. I mindlessly read through a few emails that can wait until after the holiday weekend but then start writing back to the more important ones. I know that I could realistically do these after she’s here but the last thing I ever want to do is be this level of distracted from her. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it’s that I love my job, but I love her more. 

I fell in love with Charlotte within three weeks, and she’s only proven to me that it was the greatest thing I could have let myself do. Despite the fact that we don’t live very close to each other, the days we aren’t physically together fly by. It still lets her have some independence, even though I would have asked her to move in the day we started dating. I’m so used to the chaos that I don’t think she could ever bother me. 

Not that I have the most experience with relationships, but I would say that she is probably the most incredible girlfriend that exists. I still feel like I’m dreaming most days; the only downside is when she’s upset, and I can’t get to her fast enough. Not exactly proud of the few times that I’ve almost left the bar because she sounded a little too sad saying she missed me on the phone. 

“Hi baby,” Char’s voice rings through my office. 

“There she is,” slips out as I whip my head over to her. Quickly standing up, reaching for her hands as I got closer, I said, “I missed you.” 

“I swear nobody knows how to drive today,” she tells me in between kisses. “Literally, everybody just kept slowing down even though nothing was happening!” 

Chuckling at her, it’s precious when she’s worked up like this. Kissing her forehead gently before telling her, “Breathe honey, it’s over. You made it.”  

 “I know– you’re right,” She breathes out before quietly asking, “You’re sure your parents don’t mind me being here for Thanksgiving?”

“I think my mom would explode if you didn’t,” I told her. “Plus, I wouldn’t want you to spend the weekend alone.”

“I still don’t know what possessed my parents to plan a vacation during the holidays, but” she rolls her eyes with a laugh but squeezes my hands when she tells me, “I’m much happier to spend them with you.”

Kissing her a few more times before saying, “I’m just excited to have you here all weekend.” 

Pulling her out into the bar, sitting in the booth that the rest of the family will stake claim over later. She sat across from me, telling me about her day since we were both fairly busy and hadn’t gotten to talk much throughout the day. 

“Oh!” She pipes up. “I found this, and I thought you might enjoy it.” She hands me a folder with random paperwork, and I just look at her with my eyebrow raised. She giggles quietly, “Look at the corners, babe.” 

I start reading all her little notes. This is what she was doing the whole time. Every page with the margins filled with little intrusive thoughts she must have been having; ‘hands, hands, hands,’ ‘pretty mouth,’ ‘he’s so cute I could cry.’ Random hearts surrounded some of them, with my name written out in cursive every few pages, like a girl in elementary school.  

Thinking of all the times I would glance over at her, she would just be scribbling things down with a little smirk on her face. Or the way she would tuck pages away when she saw me coming over. 

My heart swelled, seeing that she had been secretly feeling the same way. It always felt like there was something more than ‘friends with benefits,’ but I was so afraid to get my hopes up. I chuckle to myself,  breathing out, “I love you so much.” 

Met with silence– we haven’t actually said that to each other yet. Not that I didn’t want to, but we both just nervously danced around it. My eyes darted up to her, realizing what I said. 

Her eyes are wide, “.. Jake.” I close the folder and set it in front of us. Shit. You’ve made it a whole year without letting it slip; that’s impressive enough, right? 

“Char,” I start; it probably is about time I finally told her. “It sounds insane, but I’ve basically loved you since the day you walked in.” 

She slowly blinked at me, “What do you mean? How?” 

It truly feels like I have to just come clean with it at this point, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you after you left that day; something about you just stuck with me.” 

“I felt like I ruined your whole day. You definitely seemed like you were panicking?” 

“Oh, I was,” I laugh. “But I thought about you every day until you came back.” 

“But—” she hesitates, looking down at the table for a second. “I cried in front of you, literally the second time we actually saw each other.” 

I nod at her, “Oh, I know.” 

“And I lied to you..” 

“Hun,” I start, grabbing her hand. “I would do it all over again a million times if it meant I got you at the end of it.”

She just stares at me, and I watch her eyes as tears creep in. She looks up, trying to fight the inevitable.

I reach up, knocking the little tears off her cheeks like always, before telling her, “You don’t have to say it back. Don’t feel like you have to. I’ll gladly wait until–” 

She cuts me off with a quiet, “I love you.” 

The sound of it practically knocks the wind out of me; I knew from the beginning that she would probably take a while to say it in general or even just say it back because she was so hesitant about her feelings. I never wanted to pressure her into it, even though a year ago, with us standing out in the snow, I knew I was in love with her. 

I slide out of my seat, take two steps to be next to her, squat down, and grab both of her hands. 

“Can I say something to you? I don’t expect anything from you after,” I ask, looking up at her.  

“Of course.” 

I look at her for a split second before I finally let it out, “I’m so, so in love with you, Charlotte. I’ve been waiting for you to feel comfortable saying it because I never want to overwhelm you or push you away. I can’t imagine life without you at this point; you mean everything to me, honey.”

Her eyes are so soft, and her lip quivers a little as she looks back at me. She whispers, “You’re gonna make me cry.” She leans down to me, leaving a few gentle kisses on my lips. 

“And you are far more than I could have ever dreamt of,” She says with a little sniff as she fights back the tears. “I’ve never known a love like yours. Some days I still don’t believe you’re real and that I’m lucky enough that you keep me around even when I’m such a pain in your ass.” 

“You’re my favorite pain in the ass, though,” I tell her, kissing her knuckles gently. My heart is pounding as she’s telling me the sweetest things; it feels unbelievable that she feels the same way. 

Her little giggle blesses my ears before she keeps going, her voice still breaking as she tells me, “I hate that you had to be let down so many times, but I’m so glad that every girl fumbled you, so now, I get you to myself.”

“I’ll be yours for as long as you’ll keep me,” I whisper to her, watching as her chin quivers. She let out a small ‘oh’ as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. Rubbing her legs for a second until she pulls me into a hug. 

I kiss the side of her head before mumbling, “Happy anniversary, hun.”  Leaning back and carefully wiping the tears from under her eyes, trying not to mess up her makeup. Quietly cooing, “Oh, my beautiful girl.”

“Baby, shhhh,” she laughs, looking up to try and avoid more tears. 

I chuckle to myself, letting out, “Oh, I’m sorry. I meant, my absolute knockout—“

Her laugh cuts me off, which I would let happen any day—anything to see her smile. 

I feel a tap on my back, bringing me back to real life. I turned, and honestly, I should have known. 

“Hi, sweetheart,” my mom’s voice rings through the bar. Josh got it from somewhere. Her arms wrapped me in a hug, rocking me back and forth. 

“I’m excited to see you too,” I laugh. She pulls back, brushing the hair out of my face like she always does, just staring at me for a second. 

Her eyes soften as we look at each other; she looks like she wants to say something but holds it back. That’s weird. Gently moving me to the side, her excited voice is back, “Don’t think I didn’t see you!” Charlotte quickly stands up, also getting pulled into a hug. 

“Mmmm, my other sweetheart,” she says, Char’s giggling as she gets the same treatment from my mom. “I missed you two.” 

My parents immediately loved her when they met. Whether it was because they were so excited that I finally found someone or because Char is an incredible girl, who knows? Mom was especially over the moon about her when she discovered that they both enjoy baking and reading. 

I was nervous at the idea of them meeting her, especially when we had barely even figured out what we were doing. But, the moment we walked into the house where they were staying, it went away. We took turns grabbing each other's hands for comfort because it was all still so fresh. It probably seems wild to introduce someone to your parents two days into the relationship, but I’ve never been so sure about someone. 

My dad’s arm slides around my shoulders, pulling me into him for a second. 

“Hey bud,” his voice is way calmer. “I see you’ve lost them.” He chuckles. I glance over as the two of them are fully in conversation, to the point that my mom has stolen my seat. 

“Looks that way, huh?” I laugh, hugging him back. Nodding towards the bar, I ask, “Want a drink?”

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My dad kept us entertained for a bit as he sipped his drink, telling us about the trip to get here. They seem to have the worst luck with flying. I take the chance to slip out from behind the bar, and I sneak off into my office, pulling out my phone, but I quickly get distracted when I hear my mom’s voice. 

“How are you doing sweets?”

I look over at her; she’s leaning against the door frame, her eyebrows raised. I tell her, “Curious about what you didn’t say to me earlier if we’re being honest.”

“You saw that, huh?” She scrunches her nose at me. I move closer to her so she won’t have to be loud. Her hand taps my chest a couple of times, letting out, “I forget how observant you are.” 

“Mhm,” I hum back. “So, spill. What is it?”

She lets out a little sigh, “I’m not gonna be able to get through this.” Her eyes welled up almost instantly, “Being in love looks good on you, Sweetheart.”

“Oh?”

She grabs one of my hands and tells me, “I can just see how happy you are when you’re with her.” A tear sneaks out as she looks at me. “I’m just so glad you found someone who loves you the way you deserve.”

Squeezing my hand a few times, “You’ve always been the sweetest of the three of you.” She pauses to look up, trying to stop the tears. “I knew how badly you just wanted to find someone.” 

“Mom,” I whisper, wiping her face off gently. 

“I'm sorry—I'm just so proud of you. Between the bar and taking care of her, I just feel so lucky to watch the young man that you’ve become.”

My arms wrap around her, rubbing her back a little before mumbling, “Love you.” 

“Love you, too.” She whispers before asking, “Why are you hiding in here?”

I lean back, smiling as I tell her, “Wanted to see if something got delivered.” 

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As I’m helping run some drinks to people for Josh, I hear Against The Wind by Bob Seger playing throughout the bar. Dropping the fresh drinks off to the table, I turn around to see one of Chuck’s friends about to sit at the bar with an empty seat next to him. He must be waiting for him. 

He’s an older gentleman; he definitely looks like he would have been a sailor of sorts. The idea hits me— where is my girlfriend? I think to myself, chuckling at what’s going to happen. 

“Char- honey,” I yell to her as I walk over to the table; she’s sitting with Quinn, Willa, and Sam- the usual, but Mom is with them tonight. 

Her eyes light up as I get closer, looking up at me, oh god,  I’m such an ass. She lets out a quiet “Hi.” 

Sliding into the booth next to her, my arm pulling her close to me. I point to the man, whispering to her, “Remember how I told you about the Old Port Pirate?” 

“Shut up,” her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “Babe, you actually weren’t lying?” 

I just shake my head, “Do you hear what’s playing right now?”

Looking at me with wide eyes, her jaw drops when she realizes, “Oh my god, it’s Bob.” 

She’s so cute, wow. I quietly laugh before letting out, “And you didn’t believe me.” Shaking my head subtly, she will probably kill me if she finds out that he isn’t actually the pirate. 

She leans close, kissing my cheek; the feeling of her lips on me still makes my heart skip. Her face lingers close to mine for a second, and she quietly says, “I’m sorry, baby. I won’t doubt you anymore.” 

She can never find out. 

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Glancing around the table, my mom has Sam and Willa entirely focused on whatever she’s telling them about, and Quinn has disappeared to the bar to talk to Josh. I steal a sip of Char’s drink, realizing it’s practically just water at this point, but before I get up, I have to tease her a little bit. If she thought I didn’t catch some of the little things she wrote down, she is sorely mistaken. 

“So, I did see in your little notes that you think my ass is,” I pause to clear my throat dramatically, “Cute enough to take a bite out of?”

“The heart wants what it wants,” she breathes out, a soft smile forming. Her hand reached up to fix a piece of my hair that was flopped to the wrong side. 

I lean in closer to her, whispering, “If you wanted to eat my ass, honey— all you had to do was ask.”

She barks out a laugh, whisper-yelling, “JACOB, WE’RE IN PUBLIC.” Her eyes darted over towards my mom and back to me. 

“All I'm saying is communication is important in a relationship, and you already know I won’t say no to you,” I tell her, shooting her a wink as I stand up from the booth. “I’ll get you a fresh drink.” 

“Wait—“ Her hand catches mine before I can grab her glass, tugging me to her. She gently kisses me, holding my jaw and wiping my lip off after. If she only knew, I literally couldn’t be bothered if she left any sort of lipstick, gloss, whatever on me—but it’s adorable that she does it, so I’ll never tell her. She quietly lets out, “I love you, baby.” 

“Mmm, I don’t think I'll ever get tired of hearing that,” I mumble against her lips, kissing her once more before telling her, “I love you.”

I wander behind the bar to grab her some water; she’s been alternating all night, so she “doesn’t feel like dying” tomorrow. Before I can bring it back to her, Mel grabs it from me. 

“I’m basically done for the night; I can deliver it for you,” she laughs out. 

Glancing over at the time, it is nearly closing time already. I look back over at her, “You can be free. I’ll let Danny go too if you guys want to get home.” 

“You’re the best,” she shoots me a little smile, dropping off Char’s water and immediately sliding into the booth with everyone. 

I start picking up a little after Josh, which is fine because he has been hustling around for a bit now. But I feel his presence behind me as I’m wiping down some glasses to put back. 

“Meant to tell you– I grabbed our mail earlier..” Josh mumbles to me. Quietly, he asks, “Did you buy a ring?”

“Mhm,” I hum back, turning to him. 

He glances over at Char before asking, “Is it..?”

I just nod, watching his eyes light up. 

Immediately, he tears up, letting out a quiet, “Oh my god—“ 

“Don’t cry,” I giggle. “I don’t know when it’ll happen; I just wanted to be ready. “

His hands landed on my arms, whispering, “I’m so happy for you.” 

“Thank you,” I whisper back. 

He just stares at me for a second, “She really is a good one.” 

I look over at her as she hugs our Mom for probably the hundredth time today. Sitting with all our closest friends and family like she’s been here forever. They really took her in so quickly, which, given the situation when we met, was the most incredible thing they could have done. My eyes shift back to Josh, smiling as I tell him, “I think I’ll keep her around.” 

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After saying our goodnights to the entire family practically, Char sat in her typical spot at the bar. Even after a year, nothing has changed with how we function. Whenever she comes down here for the weekends, she’ll just sit at the end of the bar if I have to close and pester me the entire time. And I would never ask for anything else. 

“Will you make my drink?” She asks, batting her eyelashes at me. Like, I would say no. 

“Well,” I glanced over at her, cocking an eyebrow. “You’re in luck; I’m the only option.”

Quickly mixing everything together for her, I bring it over. Carefully setting it in front of her, but not without leaning over the bar to give her a quick kiss. 

“The service here is exceptional,” she tells me, laced with a slight laugh. 

My eyebrows raise as I tell her, “You’re the only one getting that level of customer service.” 

“I’ve seen the way you talk to Eleanor,” she taunts. 

My eyes roll at her comment; I point at her as I whisper-yell, “DON'T START WITH ME.” Unable to keep the smirk hidden away. 

“I’m not jealous! She was here first,” she says, holding her hands up while giggling away. 

“You shouldn’t be jealous.” 

“Oh, I’m not at all,” she tells me matter-of-factly. Casually sipping her drink as she looked me up and down.  

“Good,” I laugh out, folding my arms across my chest as I watch her. “What’s with that look?”

She waves her hand, making me move closer to her. She so casually whispers, “Just— I love that I’m watching you mix drinks and be silly, but you'll also make it hard to walk tomorrow.” 

My head drops, taking a deep breath. This girl's favorite hobby is making me sweat, I swear. “Jesus Christ,” I laugh out. Pulling my wrist up to check my watch, “What time do we close?” 

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“Wait right here,” I tell her, quickly walking into my room to grab the gift I got her. Pulling the little bag from my closet and the flowers that I had sitting in water on my nightstand, I make my way back to her, mumbling, “These are for you.”

She pouts her lip, looking at me, “Jacob, you’re so sweet.” 

Kissing me before she looks in the bag, a little smile lacing her lips as she realizes. Pulling out the book she’s been eyeing every time we go to the store, with a few little things that I found at her favorite thrift store down here. 

“You’re too much,” she lets out quietly, setting everything back in the bag. “Thank you.”

I lean against the counter, and I look at her, quietly letting out, “Josh went to Quinn’s for the night so we could have the apartment to ourselves.” 

“Well,” She says, her hands sliding up my chest as she leans into me. “Isn’t that just sweet of him?” 

I hum back, letting my arms drape around her hips, “Mhmm.” 

“Get to show my baby how much I love him,” she breathes out. Her lips pressed into my throat quickly. 

I looked up for a second before asking her, “What has gotten into you?” 

“Hopefully, you in a minute,” the sultry tone of her voice made my knees weak. 

“Holy shit, hun,” I breathe out. “A bit needy, are we?” 

She nods, quickly kissing my jaw before letting out,  “I’m sorry, you’re just sooo—” She leans back, the look in her eyes making my heart race. 

“Is that right?” I pop my eyebrow at her, watching the goosebumps flood her skin. 

“Mhm,” she hums back. Pulling her lip in with her teeth gently before telling me, “Hot enough that I’d eat your ass or whatever.” 

My head falls back as I laugh, not expecting her to bring that up. Managing to tell her, “I love you so much.” 

“Mmmm, we really should have started saying that sooner,” she pauses to laugh for a second. “Hearing you say that makes you even hotter.” 

My hands slide to the backs of her thighs, picking her up and setting her on the counter. Moving in between her legs, but her skirt made it difficult to get close.  

“What about when I do this?” I ask quietly, pushing her skirt up so it sits around her hips. Her jaw drops slightly as she looks at me. I can see the way her breathing is already a little heavy. I lean down, kissing her legs, covered with her tights. Gently, I work my way up her thigh until I notice that I can see right through them as I get closer to her hips. I push her legs a little further apart– did she not..? 

I can’t stop myself from smiling against her. My hands slide up her legs, lightly letting my fingers rub over her clit through her tights as I look up at her.  

“You tryin’ to kill me?” I breathe out. “No panties?”

I watch the pink come up in her cheeks as she bites her lip.  

“Lay back for me,” I whisper between kisses against her hip. 

As she leans back on the counter, I hold her hips, pulling her to the edge, grabbing at the waistband of her tights, pulling them down her legs quickly. I kiss the inside of her ankle slowly, leaving wet kisses up her thighs until I get too close. Resting my lips against her pubic bone, I slowly smile against her skin, knowing it’ll drive her crazy. 

“Jake, please,” she whines. Didn’t take long at all. 

I ask quietly, “What do you want?” 

Pressing my lips against her clit gently and then just hovering, letting my breath hit her. 

“Mmm,” she hums out.  

“Oh, you want this?” I taunt her, flattening my tongue against her clit. Lapping at it a few times, pulling a loud moan out of her. My hands still hold her hips as my tongue is practically spelling her name, listening to the sweet sounds that pour out of her. I wrap my lips around her clit for a second, lightly sucking in. 

“Baby, oh my god,” she moans out. 

I hum into her, sliding my hand up to her chin, glancing up at her, tapping her lip a few times until she opens her mouth. I slide my middle and ring finger in, and she wraps her lips around them. Swirling her tongue around them as she moans from the way my mouth is moving.

One of her hands knitted themselves into my hair, and the other held my arm. I carefully pull my hand back from her when she lets out a louder moan, slipping them right into her. ‘Yes’ and ‘Fuck’ litter the air as I push them into her a few times.   

She props herself up, and I stand, leaning in to kiss her and start to pump my fingers faster inside her. She’s holding the back of my neck like it’s her lifeline. Adjusting my arm so my palm is flat against her clit, I curl my fingers up into that spot. 

“Jake, oh my god,” She moans into my mouth

I look at her for a second before whispering, “Soak my fingers, honey.” 

Immediately feel her hands grip my shirt, and the moans start falling out of her mouth. I can hear how wet she is and the way she’s starting to tense up on me. Leaning down, dragging my tongue along her, feeling her heartbeat. Looking back up at her as she breathes heavily, god, she is beautiful. 

“Jake.. baby.. oh.. oh my god, baby..” she mumbles under her breath as she gets closer. Her voice rises as she lets out a loud “Jacob.” That’s my favorite sound. 

Standing back up, her eyes flutter shut as she relaxes against me.  Her face is lying on my shoulder. 

“Come back to me, honey,” I whisper in her ear before kissing her cheek. 

She sits back as I pull my hand from her, “I wanna see something,” she whispers, grabbing my hand that was just inside her. Tugging it up, muttering a quiet  “Open.” 

Sliding my fingers into my own mouth, swirling my tongue around them, tasting her on me. I can feel my cock twitch. I don’t know what she’s doing to me, but it’s working. Her jaw dropped at the sight, and I let out a little groan just to really rile her up. 

“God, you’re so sexy, babe.” 

I can feel my face warm, giggling at her compliment. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way she treats me.

“Come on,” I tell her, holding my hands out to help her down. As soon as her feet hit the floor, she swung me around. 

“Not so quick, handsome,” She giggles, pushing me gently against the counter. She unbuttons my pants quickly and tugs them down just enough. Her hand pulled my cock from my boxers and slid it into her mouth in one smooth motion.   

My hands gently held her head as she moved further down the length of it. Fighting every urge to let my hips thrust into her. The moment her nose barely grazed my stomach, my head fell back. How is she mine? When it starts to feel a little too good, I lightly tap her shoulders. Holding my hands out to help her up, I make her trade spots with me again, her back against my chest as I tuck my face into her. 

 “Can you bend over for me?” I whisper into her ear.  “Need to feel you.” 

She eagerly leans onto the counter; I drop down, licking a wide stripe up the center of her one more time, with my hands hooking around her hips so I can grab her ass. Leaving a little kiss against her before standing back up.  

I slip into her, letting out a little groan as I do. Even after a year, it still blows my mind how good she feels. Slowly rocking my hips into her, my grip on her hips tightening with every thrust. My hand slipped down, grabbing at her and pulling her back to me quickly. 

She moans quietly, “Baby, you feel so good.” 

My heart pounds at the sound. I start moving faster, fucking her harder. Listening to all her little sounds as I do. Without thought, my hand moves from her hip, coming down against her asscheek with a loud crack. The moan that came out of her practically made my mouth water but also made my face heat up, and grinned as I leaned down, kissing between her shoulder blades.

“You like that?” I mumble against her. 

Letting out a small “Yes.” 

“Mmm,” I hum out. “My sweet girl.” Slowing my hips down, tapping her sides gently. 

I mutter, “Come with me,” as I’m pulling her into the bedroom. 

I unzipped her skirt so it fell to the floor as she unbuttoned my shirt, pushing it off my shoulders. Her hands moved to push my pants down as I grabbed the bottom of her sweater, pulling it over her head. She pushes me back towards the end of my bed, gently pushing me to sit down. 

She unclasps her bra, letting it slide down her arms until her tits are on full display. “Fuck me, you’re so hot,” I let out as I watch her toss the bra onto the floor. 

She crawls into my lap and slips my cock back into her. Her lips pressed into me as she sat down. Rolling her hips against mine as we made out. My hands just run all over her, taking her in as she makes herself feel good.   

When I feel her start to move up, my hands move to hold just under her ass. Helping lift her up, watching her tits bounce as she rides me. 

Her hands hold onto my shoulders for support; as she leans in close to my ear, she mumbles, “Baby, your cock is sooo-” My hips jerk up as she tells me, making her moan at the feeling.  

My hands still holding tight onto her ass as she rides me. I just take her in as she writhes against me, my grip on her tightening a little. Her eyes meet mine quickly, the way her pupils dilate as she stares at me. 

Her sweet voice whispered, “Do it again.” 

My eyebrows pull together until her hand reaches down, tapping my wrist a few times, with a devious little smirk on her lips. OH. 

She rolls her hips against me a few times when I pull my hand back, bringing it back down against her quickly. The sound mixed with the moan she let out— I could get used to that. 

She moans out, “Fuck me, Jake.” 

One of my arms wraps around her waist, holding her close to me as I stand up. I lay her down against my pillows, still sitting between her legs; I lean over, grabbing a condom quietly. I know I won’t last long at this point, so I lean down and start dancing my tongue around her clit. Listening to her moans get higher pitched, her hands grabbing at my hair as she gets close. I plunge my fingers back into her, looking up at her when I say, “Tell me how good it is, honey.” 

Her jaw drops, and the grip on my hair is strong as I work her through her orgasm; the sound of her voice as she comes makes me weak.  

Sitting up on my knees, keeping one hand lightly rubbing her thigh, stroking myself a few times. I slide the condom on as she comes down, just watching her for a minute until she looks back at me. 

I slip back into her, leaning down and kissing her slowly. Feeling the way her breathing is still heavy, she lets out a happy little “mmm” against me. 

Starting to move my hips, I just look down at her. That’s my girl, my gorgeous girl. My heart starts to race as I take her in when I let out a quiet “I love you.” 

Her hands grab my face, pulling me into her. She kisses my top lip gently, the tip of my nose, and lingers her lips against my forehead when she whispers back, “I love you, baby.” 

We stay in this slow pace, littering kisses all over. Her hands basically touch any part of me that she can reach, as if she just wants to feel closer. Cradling her head in my hands, I just stare at her as my hips gently rock into her. 

God— she’s mine, I think to myself. She’s genuinely the most beautiful person I’ve ever known, and I get to have all of her for myself. My hips start to move faster at the thought. 

Leaning down close to her, I tuck my face into her neck, breathing her in. My pace picks up again; she’s mine. The thought makes me smile against her skin. 

“Fuck—mmm…” I groan; I can feel my orgasm starting to build. Snapping my hips into her a little harder,  “mine” slips out, and my eyes go wide. 

Until she whispers back, “Yes baby, I’m all yours.” My heart pounds at the fact she’s encouraging it. 

“Say it again,” I tell her, my voice a little louder. 

“I’m yours,” she breathes out in a moan. 

My eyes roll back a little at the sound, fuck.  

“Come on, Jake, show me how much you love me,” she tells me. My breathing starts to pick up, letting out little whimpers when I exhale. 

She keeps going; her voice is making everything so much more intense. Whispering, “I know you’re close; let me have it.” 

Feeling her legs wrap around me, Fuck— she’s so hot. She holds my face gently, moving me so her lips are just hardly hovering over my ear when she lets out, “Come, baby,” in the sexiest tone I’ve ever heard. 

My orgasm hits me like a freight train, moaning out, “Char—“ 

A minute goes by; she’s just running her hand through my hair, letting me cuddle into her. One of her hands slid down to just gently scratch my back; this is heaven. 

“Feel good, babe?” She asks quietly. 

I just hum back, “Mmmm.. mhm.” 

I can feel her kiss the side of my head a few times, so I lazily kiss her neck. Slowly but surely, I prop myself up to look at her. 

“Come with me?” 

She giggles, moving the hair out of my face. “Where are we going?” 

“I just want to shower real quick,” I tell her, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. My voice gets quiet when I let out, “But.. I want you to be there.” 

She leans up, kissing my cheek, “Okay.” 

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We both stand there in the shower, letting the warm water hit us. I’m just trying to prevent her from getting her hair wet so she can worry about it in the morning. But being able just to hold her for a few extra minutes was perfect. 

She leaned back and looked at me. Her voice was quiet, “Do you want to know when I realized I loved you?” 

“Of course,” I say with a small laugh. 

She smiles at me, her arms sliding around my neck, “Well, you know the one night that we went out together?” 

I laugh before saying, “Hun, we’ve done that a lot in the past year.”

“Oh, true,” she starts, giggling. “When we went on the unspoken date— we were still pretending we didn’t like each other that much.” 

“Yes, absolutely,” I laugh with her this time. “I was incredibly obsessed with you at that point, but yes, continue.”

Her face got a little red at my comment, but she finally told me, “When you were singing to me and making me dance with you— all I could think was how I could spend forever watching you just be happy like that.” 

“Forever’s a long time,” I whisper, my eyebrows raised at her with a little smile. 

She leans in close, whispering back, “Not long enough with you.” 

She is my wife; I’ll make sure of it. 

After spending a couple of minutes struggling to breathe while we made out, we were finally crawling back into bed. We lay there talking for a bit before she started to fall asleep. 

I can’t help but kiss the top of her head as she drifts off, mumbling into her, “I love you so much.” 

She looks up at me, her eyelids heavy, mumbling back, “I love you.” 

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Thanksgiving Day

Listening to the shower run and the random splashes from her washing her hair, I sneak into Josh’s room. Grabbing the package and quickly opening it. The small velvet box creaks as I open it. An oval cut diamond sparkles back at me, little clusters of diamonds sit on either side, and a dainty gold band. I hope she likes it. 

I’ve spent the last year watching her when we’re at stores where there’s jewelry or the occasional glance when I see her scrolling on her phone. She’s never been pushy about anything happening; granted, we just told each other, ‘I love you.’ But she is my little romantic lady, and I’ve watched her zoom in on ring posts, figuring out the things she likes.  I can’t wait to call her my wife one day. 

I wander back into my room, tucking it behind a few things on the shelf in my closet. Knowing she’s too small to get to it and chuckling to myself at the thought of her trying. 

The water shuts off, so I make my way to the bathroom to be a menace. Slowly opening the door, peeking in as she’s wrapping herself up with the towel. 

“Shit— I missed it.”

“Sorry, babes,” she sighs. “Gotta move quicker next time.” 

“I’ll wait,” I giggle. Watching her rub various products into her face. She keeps peeking over at me as I just lean against the counter. She’s so fucking beautiful. 

“Are you really just going to watch me get ready?” She asks through a laugh. 

I just nod at her, “What else could I be doing?” 

She steps over to me, giving me a kiss with a little grin on her face. 

“I’ll make you a deal.” 

My eyebrow pops up instantly, “I’m listening.”

“If you bring me a fresh cup of coffee, I’ll drop the towel,” she tells me with a little wink. 

My eyes widen at the proposition, and no words come out as I scramble to the kitchen to make her more coffee. I’ve never set up the coffee pot faster. 

Practically prancing back to the bathroom with coffee for both of us, holding hers out to her. I’m sure I look like a kid on Christmas, but when your girlfriend is as gorgeous as mine, it’s hard not to be excited. 

She takes it from me, sipping on it quickly, “Mmm.. thank you.” She tilts her head back with her lips already in a cute little pout, waiting for a kiss. I set my mug on the counter, cupping her jaw before kissing her. I feel the towel hit my feet, and the smile that creeps onto my face makes it hard to keep kissing her. 

“Have I told you that you’re the best?” I giggle against her lips. Backing up a little to take her in, I still get butterflies whenever I look at her. She looks at me through the mirror, my smirk selling me out before I can even ask her, “What if we just ditched my family and you stay like this instead?” 

“I think you’d like that a little too much,” she laughs as I wiggle my eyebrows at her. “Plus, your mom would never let you hear the end of it.”

“She already loves you. You don’t have to be on her side, you know?” 

“I’m just trying to save you from another sex lecture from her, baby,” she tells me, a shitty little smirk on her lips. I never should have told her about what my mom said; she’s teased me ever since because almost nothing is worse than to have your mom, of all people, talk to you about your sex life, especially as an adult.  

“Speaking of,” I start, knowing she’s going to yell at me for what I’m about to say. But it’s a little too fun to get her going. Fighting a smirk as I tell her, “If we sleep there, you’re gonna need to control yourself. I know it might be hard for you—“ 

“Excuse me?” She cuts me off. “You’re going to look at me right now and tell me that I have no self-control?” 

I let out a loud laugh as she stared at me. 

“Jake, be so serious,” trying to hold in her laugh, she rolls her eyes at me as she clips her hair up out of her way. 

“You’re right,” I tell her. “But, honey,” I move closer to her, sliding my hands around her waist, “How am I supposed to have self-control when you look like this?” Pressing a kiss into her shoulder. Letting my hands wander up, cupping her breasts and letting my thumbs run over her nipples lightly. 

Her head leans back against me, “Babe, you’re proving my point,” she whispers. She turns her face, kissing my cheek before looking back into the mirror to finish putting her makeup on. “Let me finish getting ready, and I’ll take care of you later, promise.” 

My eyes shoot up, and my hands drop to her hips. I hold them as I meet her stare in the mirror. I can see the red creep into my cheeks as she winks at me. 

“Char—“

“You’ll just have to stay quiet for me,” she says, immediately followed by her little giggle. 

My head drops back because I know I’m blushing hard at this point, “Oh, shut up.” I slap her ass as I move back to my spot, grabbing my coffee and sipping on it as she laughs at me. 

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After watching her eyes light up when she picks out what she wants me to wear. She insisted that we coordinate at least since it’s really the first holiday we’re spending together, and my mom is notorious for taking pictures of everyone throughout the day. 

She always looks good, but I can’t stop staring at her as we walk down to the car. In an oversized cream sweater with her tights and boots, she looks precious, especially so when she’s got her hand wrapped around my arm as we walk—opening her door for her and letting her get comfortable. I toss our bag into the back seat as I make my rounds to the driver’s side. 

Instinctually, I just hand my phone to her so she can pick music. It’s adorable how she tries to find songs that we both like, even though I don’t think I would question anything she puts on. 

Reaching over, she quickly slips her hand into mine. Spending the rest of the drive listening to whatever she picks and the little giggles that come out of her as she scrolls through things on her phone.

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“You ready for the chaos?” I whisper as I throw the car in park. 

She’s gotten more used to spending time with everyone, but adding my parents in is a different beast entirely. They all mean well; it’s just a lot of people with loud personalities.

She leans over to kiss me, whispering, “It’ll be fun.” 

I grab our stuff from the backseat, and as she comes around, I hold my hand out for her. Carefully walking up the dirt driveway, my parents are always choosing different Airbnbs to stay in, and this one is just in the woods this time. As we get up to the door, I turn around to look at her. 

“One more,” I mumble, leaning in to kiss her again. Her little smile against me made everything better. Knocking on the door behind me as I left a few small pecks on her lips. Hearing someone walking towards us, I pull away from her. The last thing I’m going to do is mildly embarrass her right away. 

“LOTTIE,” Quinn’s voice made me jump. 

They squeal and hug as if they don’t see each other almost every day, if not at least talking. They’ve become incredibly close over the past year, which probably doesn’t help that we’re all in the apartment often enough. 

“Which of my babies is that?” My mom’s voice carries from a different room. Waiting for her to come in, knowing exactly what’s going to happen. “Oh my goodness! Don’t you look so cute!” She pulls Char into a hug, and here we go. 

“Thank you,” Char’s sweet giggle laced it. “It already smells amazing in here.” 

“Oh, you’ll have to come see what I’m baking– actually, I may have you help me if you want,” Mom tells her, her eyebrows raised, knowing that Char isn’t going to say no to baking. 

“Ooooo! Yes, please!” 

We’ve been here for two minutes, and I’ve already lost her to my mom. This may be record timing. 

“Hi, Sweetheart, I didn’t forget about you,” Mom coos as she comes over to me, glancing at my outfit. “She dressed you, didn’t she?” 

I just nod, hugging her. Mumbling to her, “Where should I put our bag?” 

“Whichever room you want,” she tells me, “I’m just so happy you’re gonna stay the night.” Her hand patted my chest a few times.

I smile at her, “Of course.” She just looks at me, tucking my hair behind my ear before turning back to steal Char away. 

Wandering down the hall and choosing one of the rooms to throw our stuff in. Feeling a little insane as I just smile to myself, but every time we do something for the first time like this, it’s like I’m falling in love with her all over again.  

“Well, well, well,” Josh’s voice rings from behind me. 

I whip my head around, “Surprised you’re not out there with everyone?” 

“I was kicked out of the kitchen,” he tells me. “Apparently, they don’t agree with my ‘creative decisions’ or something.” Rolling his eyes as he folds his arms over his chest. “So, I’m going to force you to hang out with me instead.” 

“Ahh,” I let out, laughing quietly. “Just like when we were kids.” 

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We found ourselves sitting in the living room with our dad as the parade was starting on TV. Just catching up with him until we hear the front door open, knowing that it must be Sam. Listening to our mom holler through the house, “Is that my baby boy?” 

Josh and I look at each other from across the couch. He rolls his eyes, and I can’t fight the laugh that comes out. 

“I saw that,” our dad mumbles, a small smirk creeping onto his face. 

Josh, being who he is, shrugs dramatically and, with a sarcastic tone, lets out, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Both of us giggled like children again. 

“You two aren’t as slick as you think,” he laughs. Groaning as he stands up from the couch, he gives my shoulder a squeeze as he walks past. 

It only takes a couple of minutes before he comes back to join us again, with Sam in tow this time. Sam plopping down near me, which is probably for the best at the rate this morning is going. Josh would probably be pestering him instantly. Our dad fell back into the spot he already had claimed. 

Spending the holiday all together was always nice, mostly because none of us were working, and we obviously didn’t get to see our parents all that often. Typically, Josh would get roped into helping our mom, but I think she’s really living her best life with Quinn, Willa, and Char in there instead. She’s always been outnumbered by us, so now we’ve all been told to keep out. 

Getting to spend time with our dad as an adult has been way more fun. He was usually the one in charge of telling us to ‘knock it off’ as kids and having to separate us when we were fighting. But now, we just get to enjoy hanging out with him and seeing him laugh at the stories we tell rather than have to lecture us. 

In the midst of a story from him, Quinn walks in, setting a tray of little snacks for us on the coffee table, pointing out one of them to Josh, but I couldn’t hear what they said because Char slid her hand over my chest from behind the couch. 

“Thought you might want this,” she says, handing me a hot cup of coffee. My head tilted back against the couch to see her as I carefully stole the mug from her. 

I just stare at her for a second, taking in how adorable she looks today, before mumbling back, “Thank you, hun.” She leans down, kissing my forehead before padding back off into the kitchen. My self-control really is low because I absolutely watched her walk away until she was completely out of sight. 

“You good over there, bud?” My dad taps my arm, bringing me back to reality as he chuckles to himself. 

My face heats up a little, but I just sip my coffee to try to hide it. 

“They’re always like that,” Sam chimes in, making a disgusted face at me. I flip him off as I take another sip of my coffee. 

“Samantha, I know you’re not talking,” Quinn says, making the rest of us laugh. “Don’t forget, I can hear you and Wills talking when you’re at our apartment.” 

His jaw drops slightly, just staring back at them. 

“Should I give examples?”

“Nope! I’d rather you didn’t!” 

Josh chimes in, “I personally think it’s cute how she has Jake wrapped around her finger.”

Our dad laughs as soon as it comes out, which makes me laugh. He isn’t wrong. Quinn kissed Josh’s cheek before prancing back off to the kitchen. 

“Hard not to be,” I mumble into my coffee mug. All I can think of is how she’s just the type of love I need in my life. She’s this incredibly independent woman, so confident in her career, and wildly intelligent— she blows my mind every day. But then she’ll come home to me on the weekends and melt into me, just wanting to be loved and so sweet. Or if I go to her and the bar has been overwhelming, she’s so gentle and takes care of me. 

The sound of Sam and Josh cackling brings me back while my dads mutters, “Oh, give him a break.” Probably good that I didn’t hear it. 

We all sat around as Dad updated us on how life outside of New England was. Telling us about all the little places they’ve found, their favorite restaurants, and the few friends they’ve finally made. 

“That’s great, Dad,” Sam chimes in. It feels like we’re all kids again, just hanging out with him; the thought alone makes my heart swell a little.

“You guys should come visit during the winter,” he tells us. “Get out of the cold for a few days.” 

I look over to him, “I’m sure we can plan something.” 

Hearing a fit of laughter coming from the other room, we all look at each other in silence. 

“That’s a scary sound,” Dad groans quietly, and we all giggle. “Everyone knows a secret about one of us now.” 

“Don’t say that.”

“Oh god.”

“No, no, no.”

He throws his head back in laughter, “Figured you boys would have learned at this point. Your mother loves to share secrets with anybody who will listen.” 

“Shit,” I let out under my breath. This isn’t the first time she’s been around Charlotte, but I’m usually right next to her, so the secrets have been kept to a minimum. I’m definitely fucked. 

Quickly distracted by the sound of little feet walking through the room, Iris runs straight over to Josh when she rounds the corner of the couch. He scoops her up in a hug, her little laugh making all of us smile. 

“I should have known that’s where she was going,” Danny’s voice cuts through the laughter, joining Josh and Iris on the other side of the couch. 

My dad has always loved him, well— both of my parents do. But he has an open invitation to every holiday that my parents decide to host. I think they like that he has Mel and Iris now, especially since none of their actual children are going to be giving them grandkids anytime soon. 

They’re mid-conversation when Sam abruptly jumps up, walks to the hall, and yells, “Mom! Santa is almost here!” Coming back to the couch, our dad shot him a wink.  

“Thank you, Sammy,” Mom lets out loudly as she scurries into the room, leaning on the back of the couch behind Dad. Everyone follows her in; Willa is plopping down next to Sam, and Quinn is sitting on the floor below Josh. There she is.

“Hey you,” I whisper as Char sneaks over to me, tucking herself close to me as we watch Mel tell Iris to look for Santa. My arm tugged her as close as I could because I knew I was only getting her for a couple of minutes. 

“Is this a thing?” She whispers in my ear. 

I nod, turning my face to whisper back. “My mom always makes sure that she comes in to watch Santa show up because we would get so excited when we were little. So now, we always make sure to get her before, and she always cries when he shows up.” 

Her little smile when she lets out a little “aw” before looking over to my parents. My mom’s arms are slung around my dad’s neck, and he has one hand covering hers. Her eyes already teared up at just the glimpse of Santa and Mrs Claus, but the tears finally fell when Iris jumped out of Josh’s arms, pointing to the TV. 

“Oh, what a sweet little thing,” Mom lets out quietly. 

I pull Char’s legs over mine, keeping my hand on her thigh. I want to just keep her to myself now. The urge to keep her trapped only got worse when she leaned her head against me. 

Before I knew it, chaos ensued yet again. My mom stole my girlfriend from me, not before I snuck about eighteen “one more” kisses on her— despite being told to get a room. 

Somehow, we all got roped into a game, or a handful of rounds, of hide and seek with Iris, proving that we are still just children. 

All of us laugh as we run around this house, trying to find places to hide that aren’t too hard for her to figure out. The only downside was dependent on who she found first. Unfortunately, Sam only plays to win, so if she found him first, we were all screwed; he would be holding her on his hip as he did all the leg work for her, making a scene when he’d find us, which made her belly laugh every time.  

We spent a few hours entertaining her when my mom finally announced that the food was basically ready. I wander into the kitchen to grab a drink, but I am sidetracked when I sneak behind Charlotte, sliding my arms around her. 

“Hi, baby,” she giggles quietly. 

I snuggle my face into her neck for a second, whispering, “I’ve missed you all day.” 

“I’ll be all yours soon enough.” 

I press a kiss to her cheek before letting go, asking, “What do you want to drink? I’ll bring it in there for you.” 

A collective ‘aw’ rings through the room, and I can feel my face heat up a little. At least they think it’s cute; I’ve just been bullied all day. I poured some of the wine from the fridge into her and grabbed a glass for myself. Going out of my way to give her a kiss, feeling her grab my ass as I turn to join the rest of the boys. I whipped my head to look at her, and she just smirked at me. She subtly blew me a kiss. She’s lucky she’s cute. 

Everyone slowly joins the table, taking turns grabbing food. There are at least fourteen conversations happening at once, but somehow, it’s not overwhelming. Char is sitting to my left, my hand finding comfort on her leg every so often. The conversations varied throughout the meal from everybody focused on Mom telling a story, likely about us as kids or just tapering off into a million different ones. Feeling her hand grab mine once she was done eating, she just mindlessly played with the rings I had on as we sat there. 

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After dinner was done, Mom insisted that none of the kids help with dishes but get into comfy clothes so we could watch Christmas movies together. We all say our goodbyes to Danny, Mel, and Iris since they have more families to visit. 

 I lay on our bed, watching her change into my sweatshirt and some leggings. She looks up at me, giggling as she pulls on some fuzzy socks, “they’re extra comfy,” she told me when she packed them this morning. 

“You ready, honey?” I ask as she sits on the bed with me. 

She lays back, throws her leg over my hips, and plants a kiss on me. Letting out a quiet “Almost.” She snuggles herself into me for a minute, which I won’t complain about. My hand squeezed her thigh a few times. 

“Comfortable?” 

She nods her head against me, “I’ve barely seen you today. Feels weird.” 

“I’m glad you had fun with my mom, at least.” 

She lets out a little laugh, propping herself up on her elbow before telling me, “She told me a little secret about you.” 

“Did she?” 

Her smile is wide as she stares at me, “Mhmm,” she hums. 

“Why do I feel like I know what it is..?” I mumble, squinting my eyes at her. 

Her sweet little laugh sneaks out, “Well.. something about you always crying over having to wash your pirate jammies?” Of course.

“Come on, if we don’t get up now, I’m never gonna go,” I tell her, patting her butt a couple of times. Why does she have to tell everybody that? 

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed!” She hangs on me as I sit up. “It's cute, baby!” 

“Yeah, yeah,” I roll my eyes at her, fighting a smile. “I’m sure she’s ready to spill all my secrets to you.” 

Her lips land on my cheek as she giggles at me, her hand holding the other side of my face. She whispers, “I’ll tell you my secrets later if you want.” 

Jesus Christ. I can feel my heart rate pick up, quickly spitting out, “Alright, you. Let’s go.” 

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We make our way out to the living room, claiming the corner of the couch that I’d been in all morning. I give her the actual corner of the couch and just pull the coffee table closer so I can prop my feet up on there. 

It’s not long before everybody else is coming in and getting comfortable. Sam and Willa steal the other corner since his legs are too long to be banished to the end of the couch. My parents sat between us, mom closer to me. 

Josh and Quinn curl up together at Char’s feet, just propping cushions up so they don’t squish her. Dad shuts off the big lights, just letting the little lamps try to light up this room. 

My mom changed it to The Grinch, and the tradition continued as we all curled up with our own blankets.

I feel Char adjust so she’s cuddled up on my chest, my arm wrapped around her to keep her close. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head without thought. My mom’s hand grazes mine, making me look over at her. She holds my hand for a second as we just stare at each other, giving my hand a few squeezes before she leans into Dad. 

And there we all sat, laughing at the movie like we do every year. Finally, feeling complete as the love of my life giggles against me while I’m surrounded by my family. It feels like nothing could get better at the moment until she tilts her head up, kisses my cheek, and whispers, “I love you.” 

I glance down at her, giving her a quiet kiss, hoping to not out us to the rest of the room. She just stares up at me, the green of her eyes hardly visible in the dim glow of the TV. But the butterflies still erupt inside me when she looks at me like that. I can’t believe I get to spend forever with her. Slowly blinking at her, I just take her in.

Finally, whispering back, “I love you, honey.” 

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Chapter Twenty-Five

FDOG Master Post | Masterlist | Playlist

Sam & Willa : Sparrow Of The Dawn

Josh & Quinn : Amongst The Stars

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Taglist:

@gvfsstardust @myleftsock @dont-go-home-without-me @literal-dead-leaf

@lizzys-sunflower @mackalah @klarxtr @edgingthedarkness @writingcold

@takenbythemadness @earthgrlsreasy @peaceloveunitygvf

@josh-iamyour-mama @anythingforjtk

@broken0mens @whereiskeara @gvf-luna @katuschka @threadofstars @i-love-gvf

@jazzyfigz @smoking-jakelane @gretavanfan @scoreofinfantryvines

@demonrat444 @hollyco @ourlovesdesire

@musicspeaks @wrldabomination @chloeshell1219

@becinabubblegvf @sanguinebats @lallisonl

@nicoleghost18 @lightmy-love @myownparadise96 @cheersdannyx2

@musicislove3389

[dedeinthewild]

paul aron x reader, bestfriends to lovers

~ “Remind me never to travel with you again,”

The second-to-last race of the season awaited them in Qatar, a land where sand reigned supreme and the heat was unrelenting. After two months of downtime, filled with travels far and wide, it was finally time to get back on the road.

Staying put for long wasn’t something Paul and ___ did often, especially when they had a passport ready to use and suitcases always half-packed.

After a few weeks at home spent at family dinners and waking up late—she wouldn’t stir until he returned from his morning run and began making breakfast—they had hopped on the first of many planes.

Their first destination was Spain. In October, it was still warm and pleasant. They rented a car without much of a plan, updating their itinerary on her laptop whenever they stopped for gas.

Paul drove, and drove, and drove some more, while she handled the music, took photos, and rambled on about anything that came to mind. She knew he was just like her in that way. In two weeks, with only their return flight and each other as constants, they explored the entire southern coast of Spain, along the Costa del Sol.

They lived on water, paella, and thread bracelets they couldn’t resist buying from roadside stalls and souvenir shops.

Even Paul, the Estonian, managed to get a bit of a tan during their half-day beach stops, where he would always lie back with his T-shirt folded under his head.

“You should put on some sunscreen,” she warned him.

“I did,” he lied blatantly, hands tucked behind his neck.

“You did not,” she said, narrowing her eyes as he opened one of his to meet her gaze with that playful look he reserved just for her.

“I did not,” he admitted with a smirk.

They were so carefree, chatting as they strolled through picturesque towns and nodding along to Spanish dialects they didn’t understand. He would watch her as she looked around, camera in hand and her old backpack slung over one shoulder, a bandana wrapped around the strap.

The sun had kissed her nose, leaving it slightly red, and her freckles were more visible now, something you’d otherwise notice only up close.

Traveling with her was something else entirely. Sure, Paul loved being with Karl—losing luggage and playing pranks on him mid-flight—but nothing compared to being with her.

She was a completely different person when they traveled, far from the ambivert he knew. She was open, ready to embrace every moment, legs tucked under her on the car seat, her hair often braided, and always smiling.

And if there was one thing he loved most about her, it was her smile.

“Got everything?” she asked, hands on her hips, standing outside the Airbnb where they’d spent the last two nights. “Passport, passes, and IDs?”

Paul checked his pockets, rifled through the documents, and nodded, doing one last sweep of the small apartment to make sure they hadn’t left anything behind.

“All set,” he confirmed, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. “Wanna stop downstairs for breakfast?”

Downstairs was Málaga’s best café, renowned for its dreamy lattes and the most delicious pastries they’d tasted on this trip.

“Will you kill me if I say yes?”

“I would’ve killed you if you said no,” Paul replied with a grin, grabbing the car keys and pocketing them before helping her with her suitcase and heading down the stairs to the street.

“Karl said his flight leaves Tallinn in ten,” the Estonian said, showing her his phone.

She nodded, listening, as they entered the café and ordered their usual. She paid with her phone while Paul checked their flight tickets and team emails.

They settled into their favorite corner seat, near the window where they could watch people pass by, and savored their breakfast before driving to the airport to return the car.

“You feeling alright?” Paul asked as they stood on the escalator leading to their gate. He glanced at her while tying his hoodie around his suitcase.

“As alright as I can be before a flight,” she replied.

It wasn’t a secret that she was afraid of flying, and Paul knew this well. During turbulence, she often buried her face into his shoulder, clutching his arm for comfort.

“We’ll be fine, as always,” he reassured her with a slight smile.

Those might have been famous last words because, after a smooth flight, hell awaited them.

As always, they had settled into their usual seats, Paul refusing to let her sit anywhere but by the window, even though she preferred the aisle. He always took the middle seat to keep strangers at bay.

The flight had been uneventful—a shared playlist on their AirPods, a few moments of sleep, and some playful photos that would inevitably make it into a photo dump.

But once they landed and joined the passport control line, smiling and chatting, two customs officers approached them.

“Could you please step aside?”

The officers escorted them away from the queue into a small room.

They’d been detained.

“So, what brings you to Qatar?” one of the officers asked, arms crossed, his holstered gun visible at his hip. He placed their suitcases on a table for inspection.

“I’m a driver, and she’s my photographer,” Paul replied, mirroring the man’s stance with a sigh.

“Can we have all your documents?” the officer asked. ___ handed over their passports, flight tickets on her phone, and the media passes for the race weekend.

“You’re coming from Spain, and your flight was randomly selected for a passenger inspection,” the less intimidating officer explained, asking for permission to open their suitcases.

“What were you doing in Spain?” they asked.

“Road-tripping. We were on a break from the racing season and decided to travel,” she replied calmly, hiding the natural nervousness anyone would feel in that situation.

“May I open your suitcases?”

The taller officer motioned for Paul to sit, likely cautious about his imposing height. She, on the other hand, appeared calm and cooperative, hands in her pockets and glasses slipping slightly down her nose.

The agents emptied their bags and left to verify their tickets, passports, and passes, leaving them alone in the room.

“What’s Karl saying?” she asked, slumping into her seat, running her hands through her hair after letting it down.

“He said the team’s working on getting us out of here,” Paul replied, arms crossed, his cheeks slightly flushed.

“Calm down, Paul. It’s okay,” she said, checking the time on her phone.

“I just don’t get it. Maybe someone else is trafficking drugs, and they’re keeping us here,” he fumed, one hand on his knee and the other supporting his head, frustration evident.

An hour passed. A bottle of water. Another hour.

“My back hurts,” the driver groaned, standing to stretch, revealing a sliver of skin at the base of his back.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have gone to Spain,” she teased, tying her hair into a ponytail to cope with the heat.

“And why’s that?” he asked, yawning.

“We’ve been away for two weeks, and you’re exhausted.”

“It’s not the trip; it’s those damn agents,” he muttered.

She smiled, noticing the cluster of bracelets around his wrist as he paced the room, lost in thought.

“Make it a meme?” she suggested, holding up her phone, and watched as he pulled out his own and joined her on the bench.

Another hour and a half. A packet of peanuts.

Paul was busy folding the peanut wrapper into a paper plane while she took a call from her mom, who was worried they hadn’t arrived in Qatar yet. When she hung up, Paul handed her the paper plane, smiling, his blue eyes locked onto hers.

“Remind me never to travel with you again,” she joked, standing between his knees.

“You have so much fun with me,” he teased, leaning back to get a better look at her.

“You drive like Dominic Toretto, got mistaken for a trafficker… shall I go on?”

“I’m good-looking, funny, educated. I always treat you—”

“And you have an enormous ego. Almost forgot that one,” she laughed.

Two hours later, after being interrogated again to cross-check their story with Airbnb bookings and team contacts, the agents finally returned with their documents.

They were both half-asleep and achy from the plastic chairs, but they leapt to their feet as soon as they saw the officers.

“You’re free to go. Welcome to Lusail,” the less intimidating agent said.

“All thanks to me,” she whispered outside, rolling her eyes as Paul flexed his biceps, acting smug.

She pretended to bite him, laughing as he chuckled and stretched one last time before slinging an arm around her shoulders.

“The longest day of my life,” he muttered.

“You know what they told me while I was alone?” she asked, amused.

Paul nodded, spotting Karl waving at them in the distance.

“They thought I was a legit photographer, and you were forcing me to help you get into the country.”

Paul burst out laughing, dragging his suitcase along, his exhaustion overshadowed by the absurdity of the day.

“To me, it’s the opposite way around,” he said.

She gave him a playful punch in the side as Karl waved more dramatically, trying to catch their attention.

They really were a mischievous pair. But no one fit together as well as they did.

~ not a request, but when it comes to paul I'd write anything :)