#when me and my friend bought this fancy tea and brought some along to the park that was great 🥺

[loveletter2you]

Top 5 foods / drinks to bring on a picnic?

lemonade or iced tea... OR arnold palmer 

homemade cookies :-)

pasta salad

potato salad

hot tea in a thermos

[quillsanddaydreams]

puzzle dates

regulus black x reader

—author’s note: I adored writing this. Like a lot. Requested by an anon who wanted some Regulus fluff with a potter!reader. @scvrllet my dearest, gave in prompts for it and a message by @nuttytani darling inspired it. So what happens when you meet Regulus, your friend years after hogwarts? Happy reading ;)

—warning(s): mentions of food and drink. gender neutral!reader (pronouns aren’t used). reader is James's sibling but it's hardly there.

—word count: 1,546

It was raining heavily. You had been out for about an hour, getting groceries for the week. Whispering a spell, making sure no one was viewing in your direction, you watched your wand transform into an umbrella and hurried away from the shop. Stalking towards your house, you tried to make sure not to let your bags get wet. You didn’t notice the man standing in your way.

“Ah, shit—” you began, not looking up far too busy to check whether or not something fell. “I’m so sorry sir, I didn’t notice where I was going—”

“Potter?”

You gazed up meeting someone you hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Regulus.”

For a minute you two just stared at each other. He had changed. The thin, gaunt boy you saw as a child was replaced by a handsome man with the same striking eyes you used to know so well. You shook yourself.

“What— what are you doing here?” you said gesturing towards the damped hair and drenched clothes. Extending your umbrella over his head you continued, “You’ll get sick.”

“Worried about me, are you Potter?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Why don’t you think the soaked-to-the-bone look works for me?”

You chuckled.

“You didn’t answer my question,”

“Ah, I was here on ministry business but I guess I won’t be able to get it done now,” he said slowly looking around. “Was trying to find a place I could apparate safely. Too many muggles around.”

You furrowed your eyebrows noticing your surroundings again.

“Come with me,” you suggested. “My apartment is nearby and you could dry off before leaving.”

Regulus looked like he wanted to refuse but you cut him off.

“You’ll only ruin your health here, come with me— also it’s been a long while since we talked,” you pointed out and Regulus looked at you curiously. His mouth quirked upwards and he nodded. The two of you moved to the quaint three-story building, climbing up the stairs before reaching your door. You muttered in some spells before hearing a click.

“Don’t trust muggle locks?” Regulus said smugly as you rolled your eyes.

Waving your wand, you started up the fire; the warmth tickling your skin. Regulus took to drying himself off— murmuring incantations. You took to keeping the bags in the kitchen, putting up a kettle for some tea. Taking off your scarf, you sighed and sneaked a glance at Regulus who was now standing awkwardly looking around the house.

“You know you can sit, right?” you asked him. Shaking his head a little, he went to sit down in front of the fireplace. You took out some cups and an assortment of tea bags placing them in a tray along with some cookies you had bought the same day. Regulus smiled as you came in.

“Which one will you have?” you inquired as he gently took the cup from your hand. “Ah, still can’t have tea made by anyone else?”

Regulus threw you a grin.

“It’s a disastrous habit.”

The two of you sat in silence for a while, the tea pleasantly hot against your throat. Rain thrummed at the roof, the noise filling up the place.

“So—”

“How—”

You laughed. Indicating at him to continue, you raised the cup to your lips again.

“So what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been managing dad’s business. Since James joined a quidditch team, there was no one to help so I stood up. I quite like it, it gives me enough room to be creative;” you said softly. “How about you? Tell me something other than your ministry job.”

“Well I tried my hand at painting,” Regulus said after thinking for a while. “Remember how you used to tell me to try it?”

“You had the most gorgeous handwriting and the diagrams you made were always so perfect. Could you blame me?”

Regulus rolled his eyes, smiling as dimples formed on his cheeks. He looked beautiful like that. Curls of hair falling over his forehead, relaxed and carefree. You missed it.

“What?” he asked his cheeks a rosy color. You shrugged.

“Nothing, it’s good to see you after all this time,” you said, ignoring how your stomach tickled. “Remember how we promised to stay in touch?”

“Oh yes,” Regulus said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Right after your brother glared at me and threatened to hex me if I don’t stop talking to you.”

You snickered.

“You know he is quite the idiot,” you countered. “And my parents would’ve been proud if I brought you home.”

Regulus raised an eyebrow.

“Brought me home, huh?” he said as you bit your tongue, looking away. “Did you fancy me, love?”

You narrowed your eyes at him, trying and failing to keep a straight face. It was something about the way he called you love that made you feel like a teenager with a crush again.

“The point is,” you pressed. “The point is that it never mattered what James did or said. He couldn’t do anything to keep us from being friends.”

“Yeah, friends.” Regulus breathed. You almost missed it.

The room fell silent again and you could hear the pitter-patter of the rain. Regulus picked up a cookie before speaking again.

“Do you still like doing puzzles?” he said as your eyes lit up.

“Yes, I do,” you said, reminding yourself of all the times the two of you spent together. “I never quite got over it after all the hours we spent together. Sirius used to mutter ‘mental’ whenever he saw us working over one. Especially since we always took up the one which seemed impossible to do.”

Regulus grinned, nodding.

“I don’t think he ever had the patience for it.”

“You know;” you said pondering. “I have bought a puzzle recently. Would you like to do it with me? For old time’s sake.”

“And here I thought it’s because you enjoy my company,” he said with a smug expression. Your heartbeat erratically and you found yourself hating how he still affected you.

“So that’s a yes?” you said, overlooking his jab. Regulus clicked his tongue accepting.

You got up slowly taking out the box you had bought a few days earlier. It was a fiery phoenix, looking at you intently. Regulus rubbed his hands and sat down on the floor beside you. He gasped a little when you put the box down.

“You know, I bought the exact same one about a week ago,” he said, helping you open the pack. “It’s missing a piece.”

You furrowed your eyebrows and Regulus shrugged.

“Should I bring another one? I have—”

“No no let’s do this one, it was fun.”

Folding your legs, you sat down beside him, your arms touching. Starting from the corner the two of you put together pieces. A sense of calm eloped you. The house and everything with it seemed to blur away. Just you, him, and the puzzle remained. It was different from your memories though, neither of you were children anymore. The adoration you had for him somehow hit harder now. Your hand touched his several times and you beamed at him as the puzzle came together.

“Aha!” you exclaimed putting the last piece in its place. It looked pretty. You looked over at Regulus, who was holding a stray piece in his hand, oblivious to what you said.

“Reg? Earth to Reg?” you called out as he finally looked over at you.

“I’m pretty sure you’re my soulmate,” he said as you felt your ears heat up.

“What—”

“This,” he said, indicating the odd puzzle piece. “This is the exact piece my set was missing.”

You snorted trying to deflect how your chest was filled with butterflies.

“Oh? And that makes us soulmates?” you asked, amusedly. “Since when did you believe in soulmates even?”

Regulus had the decency to blush.

“Well didn’t you always say our lives were a big puzzle?” he started. “Right now, you have a portion of mine.”

You didn’t know whether to laugh at the cheesiness or pull him close at the very same moment.

“You’re a dork!” you said poking his head with your finger. The boy smiled but it was strained. His demeanor changed. You could practically see his walls building up. Did you say something wrong?

“Reg,” you said urgently. He hummed in response. “Was that soulmate thing a joke or you meant it? Even if a little?”

Regulus avoided your eyes.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, yes it does.”

“Yeah well then I like you,” he said, looking down. “Always have. But I know you don’t and…”

You put a finger to his lips, stopping him.

“I do,” you said as his stormy grey eyes landed on your own. He cradled your cheek, leaning in tentatively, glancing at your lips. You heaved a sigh as his mouth finally met yours. Grabbing his collar, you kissed him softly. When you pulled back, you had a smile on your face.

“Now that wasn’t how I was expecting the day to go at all,” you commented, delighted. Regulus held your hand kissing the knuckles.

“We’re going to have more of these puzzle dates, aren’t we, love?” he said as you rested your head against his shoulder, interlinking your fingers with his.

“We are.”

—as for the taglist: I don’t make taglists, I have a blog @from-my-quill ​ ​ which is updated whenever I post fanfiction. You could have the notifications on for it and it will work just like me tagging you

⟨⟨REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK ARE APPRECIATED⟩⟩

[catxsnow]

NERVOUS J.T.

Request: Hello! I would love a fluffy Jason x reader where he goes and buys a engagement ring and says 'I'm rly nervous what if she says no I'm not good enough for her' and dick says BOI JUST DO IT and he does and fluff and crying (from both reader and Jason?!!! :000).

Warning: fluff

A/N: I’m losing followers + Raptors won tonight so HA suck it Celtics 

Word Count: 1.8k

Jason and Dick didn't always see eye to eye. They had their fights and disagreements. Neither of them could be in a room for too long together before one was storming out in rage and frustration. At the end of the day, they were brothers, as much as they didn't always want to be.

So, when Jason showed up at Dick's apartment, out of the blue and in civvies, he was more confused than anything. Jason didn't just come by to have coffee and a chat, he came by for business and that was it. Nonetheless, Dick invited him into his home and offered him a drink.

The couch shook as Jason bounced his leg up and down nervously. It was rare to see him like this - he always exuded confidence. Dick handed him the mug of hot tea and sat on the chair across from him. Without evening having to ask, Jason started to spill why he was so antsy.

"It's (Y/N)."

"Are they okay?" Dick asked, suddenly concerned. He had been the one to introduce you to Jason all those years ago. The two of you clicked instantly and it hadn't taken long for him to fall in love with you. You and Jason had been through lots - running with the Outlaws, fighting along side the Great Batman, the two of you have even been to hell and back

No matter what it was, you were always at Jason's side - and he at yours. Dick had never seen such a perfect couple together, he didn't know what Jason would be like if he didn't have you. As the two of you grew, so did your relationship. You became a more mature couple, not just the young, reckless kids you used to be.

Crime fighting was no longer the priority, it was each other. Jason was always going to keep you safe, whether it was day to day life or stopping crime. You had each other's backs constantly. Now, it was time to make that a little more permanent.

Jason rustled his hand in his pocket to find the small velvet box that he had picked up several weeks ago. To be honest, he had impulsively bought it. Now, he was unsure of what to do with it and nervous as hell about what you would think of it.

"Holy shit, man," Dick's eyes widened as he looked at the beautiful engagement ring inside the box. He grabbed the ring from his brother to look at it better. If he knew you well enough - which he did - Dick knew that you were going to absolutely love this. It was exactly your style. "This is amazing!"

"You think they'll like it?" Jason nervously asked. He had not once brought up the idea of marrying you. For years, you thought that he was just content on how your relationship was - not that you thought any differently. Marriage never seemed like an option for either you, your lives were far too busy.

Jason hadn't thought about it for a long time. He didn't think that he needed to marry you to prove his love to you. But, as he passed that jewelry store, all he could think about would be how stunning you would look walking down the isle. As soon as that image popped into his head, he knew he needed to make it a reality.

"I think they'll love it," Dick confirmed. He handed the ring back over to Jason, who tossed the box around in his hands. The first Robin could tell that he wasn't quite convinced by his answer. "You don't think so?"

"I don't know," Jason admitted. "We've been together for so long, but what if that's just because it's easier this way. What if they don't actually love me? What if they say no? I don't want to lose them just because I want to take this extra step."

"You're not going to lose (Y/N), Jaybird," Dick assured. There was no one more perfect for Jason, than you. Everyone knew that, the second that they saw you guys together they assumed that you had already been married. Hell, half the time you acted like it. "They love you, more than anything. Besides, (Y/N) is the best thing to have ever happened to you, there's no way you'll give up on that love so easily."

"Has (Y/N) ever talked to you about a wedding?" Jason asked. He knew that you were friends with Dick for a long time, if there was anyone that would hear about your secrets, it was him. As much as he didn't like you being friends with his older brother, there were times that he was thankful for it.

"No," Dick shook his head. You had never even toyed with the idea of marriage, or maybe you had just kept your thoughts silent. Either way, neither of the men had a clue about what you thought of it. "They're happy with you no matter what. Propose to them, they'll be excited. I know it."

"I hope you're right, Dick."

><

In all your time that you had known Jason, he had never seemed nervous to you.

Jason was always confident in everything he did - or at least showed that he was. Whether it was beating the ever living hell out of someone or flirting with you, he showed that he knew exactly what he was doing. That was one of the things you loved about him - he was confident.

In all your time that you had known him, Jason proved every day how much he loved you. Whether it was making you breakfast in the morning, buying you flowers out of the blue, or being the hidden romantic that he likes to be. There has never been a time that you doubted his love for you.

For the first time in a long time, Jason had offered to take you on a date. The two of you got dressed up all fancy and headed to some expensive restaurant that you weren't sure you could afford. It was a pleasant surprise to see Jason dressed up in a suit. He looked handsome, but when didn't he?

Throughout the entire night, Jason wavered been the utmost adoration for you, and a state of anxiety. You could see this struggle within him, and upon asking why, he didn't give you a straight answer. Jason often shrugged off his feelings, even when it came to you. It wasn't a surprise when he did it again.

In the end, you had a delicious meal, and an excellent time with Jason, even though you were still worried about him. You hadn't noticed, but Jason continuously shifted the small velvet box in his pocket. That was the reason he had been so nervous.

Jason had full intentions to ask you while you were having your dinner. He had chickened out at every opportunity that he had gotten. Now, the two of you were walking hand in hand as the sun set in the sky. Your home wasn't far away, and instead of hailing a ride, you decided to walk. Any peaceful time spent with Jason was well worth anything.

"You've been acting off all night, Jay," You brought up, again. Jason's hand tightened around yours for a brief moment. "Are you sure you're okay? Bruce isn't getting to you again is he? I'll got talk to him, he doesn't scare me, you know." Yes he did.

Jason chuckled at you, just another thing that he loved about you. You were always willing to protect him against all odds. "No, I haven't talked to Bruce in months," Jason assured you. He stuck his hand in his pocket once more, the heat of the box burning through his skin. "I love you."

"I love you, too," you reached up to kiss him. Jason smiled into the kiss before pulling away. His smile quickly turned into a frown. This had only made you more nervous about what was going through his head at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just," Jason stuttered over his words. Seeing him nervous like this, it wasn't something you were used to. "I love you, more than anything in this world. And I know that this life that I'm trapped in isn't ideal, and I'm sorry for dragging you in it. But, I wouldn't change anything if it meant I got to have you for the rest of my life.

"You mean everything to me, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the person that drives me to be better, to come come home every night. You're the reason that I smile and laugh. I guess what I'm trying to say is... (Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me?"

Jason pulled out the box from his pocket. Just as he was nontraditional in every sense possible, he was with this as well. Instead of getting on a knee, Jason held the opened box towards you, an obvious tremble in his hands. He was far too nervous to move from his spot and get down to the ground.

Tears stung your eyes, never had you imagined Jason would want to get married. You always assumed that he was happy with your relationship and never needing to conform to society's wish of marriage. You were content with that, but marriage was always something you wanted, only with him.

All the words you wanted to say were stuck in your throat. You wanted to scream to the world that you were going to marry the man you loved. You wanted everyone to know just how lucky you were. Instead, all you could manage was a head nod and a massive grin on your face. Jason's nerves finally broke.

He matched the grin that you had and wrapped you in his arms. Without any effort at all, Jason hoisted you off the ground and spun you around. As soon as your feet touch the cement, your lips were on his. he had been beyond excited that you were just as happy as he was about this step.

Jason plucked the ring from the box and smoothly slid it on your finger. It suited you just perfectly - as much as he didn't want to admit it, Dick was right. Jason wiped the tears streaming down your face, followed by wiping his own.

"I love you, Jason," You kissed him once more. Jason no longer cared that you were in the middle of the sidewalk. People walking by as you were completely engrossed with each other. He couldn't bare the thought of letting you go, feared that your acceptance of his proposal was nothing but his imagination.

"Dick was right," Jason chuckled. You raised an eyebrow at him, confused as to why he was bringing up his brother at a moment like this. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

[fanfictionfansmiction]

Good Enough

Requested by the lovely @ravenclawprinxcess who asked for a fic about Bolin from Legend of Korra cheering up a sad reader! I really enjoy doing requests so please feel free to send them in :) I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading

Word Count: 1828

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Things felt wrong from the moment you had woken up. The rain drumming down on your ceiling and a bitterness that hung in the air. When you had left your room, you had immediately regretted it. An all too familiar sadness fogged your brain, perhaps it was a good day to stay indoors wrapped up in bed pretending that the world outside was all but a bad dream. That would have been a great remedy if it weren’t for your shift at the noodle bar today. It didn’t even matter that the shift was short you knew it was going to drag by. The silence of the kitchen dragged you even further into you foul mood.

Bolin had just come into the kitchen as your eyes were getting teary from the thought of having to deal with the world today. Unaware of the shift in your mood he came up behind you and wrapped his large arms around your waist placing a gentle kiss on your neck humming contently as he did. Swaying the two of you side to side in the same way he did every morning. You turned around and wrapped your arms around him nuzzling you faces into his neck. At first, he didn’t question it until your breathing began to become ragged and he could feel your tears wetting his shirt. He held you tighter and only planned to let go when you did.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked quietly into your hair. You only shook you head in response. “That’s okay.” He adds soothingly rubbing your back. If it was possible you would have stayed in his arms all day and he would have let you. When you pulled away you saw the wet patch you had left on his clean shirt. Which made you feel even worse.

“Sorry Bolin I’ve ruined your shirt.” You say with a whimper. He shakes his head and then wipes a tear away from your face. More worried about you with your blood shot eyes and splotchy cheeks.

“It’s fine I didn’t really like it anyway. Hey, I don’t think you should go to work today, I’ll swing by and let them know you aren’t feeling up for it. I’ll bring you back some food, and we can spend the entire day in together. Between you and me I’ve been waiting for a duvet day with you for months.” He says with concern.

“Don’t you have team Avatar stuff to do today?” You ask with a sniffle looking away.

“I know they’ll be completely lost without me, but they’ll just have to manage someone more important needs me more today.”

“Not afraid they’ll replace you with Wu.” You say with a small laugh.

“If they do, I’m blaming it on you.” He replies with a joking tone.

Your manager doesn’t ask Bolin too many questions which he’s thankful for. He doesn’t quite know how to tell her what’ wrong with you because he doesn’t think that you know yourself. But he has a plan on how to cheer you up. Placing an order for all you favourite items on the menu where you work, popping into the shop next door to pick up some bath oils and your favourite tea that you had ran out of. It was all coming together; your manager had even told Bolin that you could have the week off. With a bag full of goodies that always cheered you up Bolin intended on making his way back to you immediately but before he could his friends spotted him.

“See I told you he wasn’t dead.” Korra says placing her hands on her hips.

“I didn’t say he was dead I just said we should presume he’s dead and that I would be the perfect replacement.” Wu retorted.

“Did you forget that we were supposed to meet up today?” Mako asks.

“No, I didn’t forget big brother, but something came up and I’m needed elsewhere.” Bolin answers looking at his friends feeling a little guilty that he hadn’t told them he wouldn’t be meeting them today.

“So, your girlfriend is more important than official Avatar business? I would never abandon you like that Korra.” Wu says in a teasing tone.

“Don’t listen to him,” Asami says, “Is everything alright?” she asks.

With a sigh Bolin answers, “I’m not sure to be honest, she’s been really off this past week and I’m really worried about her. I was just at the noodle bar telling her boss she wouldn’t be in.”

“While also ordering everything off the menu?” Korra sarcastically asks him, peeking into the paper bag.

“I just want to make her feel better and eating always makes me feel better.” Bolin shrugs scratching the back of his neck. “I also got her some other stuff I know she likes.” He says pointing out the extra goodies he’d picked up. “But I don’t know what’s wrong, so I don’t know how to fix it.”

Asami sighs looking at her friend before saying, “You can’t fix whatever’s wrong Bolin just be there for her. That’s what Korra does for me when I get down.” She snakes her arm around Korra’s waist which causes them both to blush as they rest their heads together.

“Yeah, Asami was there for me when I was really low, and she didn’t try to fix anything but all I really needed was her there for me.”

Bolin then looked towards his brother and Wu in case either of them had any relationship advice to pass on but they both shrugged. “Neither of us have had a healthy relationship, listen to the ladies.” Wu adds.

“Thank you, I’ll see you soon.” Bolin says making his way back to you.

When he got back to the apartment, you’d made your way back to bed and found yourself crying at the lonely Blue Jay that perked outside your window. Instead of going to you straight away he decided to plate up the food he had ordered as well as he could. He boiled a kettle of water for a pot of tea. He brought all of it into the bedroom on a tray and looked at you with a warm encouraging smile.

“Hey babe, what’re you looking at?” He asks as he set down the tray in front of you.

“That bird is all alone its so sad.” You whine, just then the bird is joined by another one and they fly away together.

“See it’s not all bad.” He says sitting next to you on the bed stroking your hair. You look up at him with puffy eyes and a snotty nose. He pulls a tissue from the tray and blows your nose for you which makes you laugh at the silliness of the action. “I got you your favourite.” He says gesturing to the tray, the sight of it makes your eyes widen.

“Thank you, Bo.” You say kissing his cheek. “You didn’t have to do all this.” You grab the cup of tea and breathe it in deeply, “You got my tea.” Your voice cracks.

“And I’ve a few other things for you but first let’s enjoy the feast.” He stretches out to lay next to you and you cuddle into his chest popping a dumpling into your mouth.

“God, I love you.”

“Are you talking to me or the dumpling?” He asks.

“Would you like the truth or what you want to hear?” You laugh. His worry minimising a little at the sound.

“You were right Wu was looking to replace me.” Bolin tells you.

“He wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Bolin looks down at you and his face softens as he places a kiss on your forehead. You look up and grin at him even though your mouth is full of food and your face still puffy from the tears. He thinks about how much he loves you and for a moment he thinks he’s going to cry but you offer him the last of your favourite dumpling.

“I love you and this dumpling so much.” He says.

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The two of you take a nap after eating that much food. You snuggle into Bolin’s chest and he feels his heart explode. Knowing that after your night of restless sleep you really needed some more sleep. He rubs small circles along you back and you hum contently at the action. Bolin wakes up before you and he just takes you in, the soft rise and fall of your chest. The twitch of your nose and way you mumble to yourself. He really feels like the luckiest person in the world to be laying with you both with bellies full of food, the love that the two of you share in the apartment that you furnished together.

He slips out of the bed to get the second part of his plan to help you feel better and the small whine you let out after he’s gone almost pulls him back to your side. He sees you stretch out your arm and brush along the empty space he left. He goes to run you a bath and adds the fancy bath oils you always stare at when the two of you shop. Bolin get’s a little carried away with the romantic bath idea lighting all the candles he can find the apartment even stealing a rose from bouquet he’d bought you earlier in the week and adds some of the petals to the water. Playing the record you’d been after for weeks. And as he debates leaving you a trail of rose petals to follow, he sees that you’ve been standing in the doorway watching him with a sad smile on your face.

“Do you not like it?” he asks with concern, looking between you and the bath worried that he’s overstepped some sort of boundary.

“I love Bo, but I don’t deserve all this. I don’t deserve you.” You cry dropping your face into your hands. Before you know it, he’s right in front of you holding you face in his warm large hands lifting your face to look at him. An intensity takes over his face and you feel yourself wanting to be pulled closer to him.

“Are you crazy?” He asks in a murmur. Searching your face intensely with his glittering green eyes.

“No, but you’re too good for me.” You answer quietly.

“Why would you ever think that.” He breathes bringing your forehead to rest against his. “You are everything to me. If you ever feel like that again, please tell me. So, I can list all the reasons why you’re wrong.” He kisses you with an urgency he usually reserves. Your hands find your way to his strong back and his stay warming your face.

“You know I love it when you prove me wrong.” You say after you break apart. Both of you left breathless in the flickering light of the candles.

[cuddlepilefics]

We can tell

Fandom: Stray Kids

Sickie: Jeongin

Caregivers: Stray Kids

 No one's POV.:

Jeongin knew he could always rely on his hyungs. The were all quite protective of the youngest and would baby him at all times, despite Jeongin trying to push them away. Often times the attention became too much for him. Did they really not trust him for to things on his own? Sure, he appreciated their help when he asked for it but he was an adult too, who should be able to face most of his problems alone. It always got worse, when Jeongin was sick. In no time, the entire group would be pining over him and baby him. It always made the maknae feel guilty because he wasn't even feeling too bad but his friends would do everything for him. Want a drink? Don't move, I got it! Though he would be perfectly able to get stuff for himself, his hyungs would get it for him and he felt bad about his hyings unnecessarily going out of their way for him.

That's why at some point, Jeongin decided to not tell his hyungs when he felt unwell anymore. He'd go ask them for help or Medici ne when he knew it was getting to bad and he needed help but in the main time, he would handle himself. That was also exactly his plan when his throat started to hurt during his vocal lesson. He had probably only strained it a bit anyway. He'd make himself some tea when he got home and it should go away soon. Luckily, the vocal lesson was the last part of his schedule for the day and he could go straight home afterwards. Until his phone dinged with a message that is. Hyunjin had texted and asked if he wanted to join Changbin, Felix and him to get some ice cream. Jeongin contemplated it but decided the cold fruit wouldn’t do his throat any good and that he'd rather have some warm tea. He quickly typed and apology, feeling bad that he had to cancel on his friends. Then he header back to the dorm, happy that his workday was over.

As expected Changbin, Hyunjin and Felix weren't there when he got back. Neither were Chan and Jisung, who had texted the groupchat earlier, statong they'd stay at the studio late. Minho was probably in his room, while Seungmin stood in the kitchen. “Hey, what’s you making, hyung?”, Jeongin smiled, ingnoring the pain in that came with speaking. Seungmin continued to stir in the pit infront of him, turning to him with a smile: “I’m making some hot chocolate to drink while watching a movie. Want some too? You sound like your lesson was intense.” The maknae nodded, it was easy with Seungmin, the other vocalist had been in the same situation multiple times before. It was probably something that just came with their job. While the older finished up their drinks, Jeongin got two cups out and sat them on the counter before raiding their cupboards for marshmallows. He didn't find any so when Seungmin added some cream on top, the younger just added some colorful sprinkles. Jeongin decided to just join his friend with his movie since he didn't have much else to do and he wouldn't have to talk.

What he didn’t expect though was the fatigue that suddenly set in and with the help of the soothing warm drink, he was out before even making it to the middle of the movie. When Seungmin woke him up for dinner, Jeongin needed a second to recognize his surroundings. What he noticed first was the headache thumping behind his temples and the quilt Spread over his legs. They usually kept it over the back of the couch but it seemed like Seungmin had tucker him in after he nodded off. “Hey, the others bought home take out. We got you soup because I thought it'd be easiest on your throat”, the older explained. Jeongin scratched his head awkwardly, mumbling: “You didn’t have to go out of your way for me. My throat will be fine tomorrow.” – “Innie, I've strained my voice in lessons multiple times. We both know how much it sucks and just because it will be better tomorrow doesn’t mean we want you to suffer today. Besides, that was barely any trouble. Come on, let's eat. The others are waiting”, Seungmin smiled.

Despite his nap earlier, Jeongin felt tired and went to bed soon after dinner. His roommate Jisung didn't comment on it but he also turned his bedside lamp off and put in his headphones. The maknae was really grateful for it because his head was still hurting and he couldn't wait to get some rest. Sadly, rest didn’tcome as easy as he had hoped, instead he kept tossing and turning, frequently waking up drenched in sweat from another nightmare. Usually, the maknae wasn’t one to have nightmares and most of the times, he got them when he had a fever. Knowing this, Jeongin got up in the early morning hours and took his temperatur. Sure enough, he was running a mild fever. It wasn’t bad enough to concert him, he was just upset that he couldn’t rest properly. Especially now, that his headache had increased. Sighing to himself, Jeongin took some medicine for his headache and winced at how scratchy his throat felt. He knew he didn’t just push himself too hard the previous day, he was most definitely coming down with something. It would be okay though, he could take care of himself.

Jeongin groaned when jisung's phone blasted ‘fancy you'. Sure, he liked twice but it was way too early to blast any music at that volume. He grabbed his pillow and threw it at Jisung to get him to shut his alarm off. It took a while but eventually it stopped and the maknae almost went back to sleep. He was already drifting off again, when Chan popped his head into the room to make sure they were up, leaving Jeongin no choice but to get out of bed. He shivered as soon as the blanket was gone and decided to wear a hoodie with a t-shirt underneath. They were going to the studio for some recording today and he didn’t want to be cold there. Jisung left their room first, giving Jeongin the chance to try out his voice. He knew it hurt but he didn’t expect to sound this bad. Not even straining himself during practice ever left him this hoarse. How would he be able to hide this from his group. Sure, he'd just try not to talk but eventually he'd have to. Plus, how was he going to record? They'd know then at the latest.

The others greeted him sleepily, when Jeongin joined them for breakfast. He just gave them a smile in return, so they thought he was still tired. Chan pushed a plate in front of him and ruffled the maknae’s hair affectionately. It all went well and Jeongin remained silent throughout their meal till Hyunjin addressed him directly. When the younger just shrugged in response, he frowned: “Yah, talk to your hyung!” The youngest just lowered his head in shame before Seungmin spoke up: “Jinnie, leave him be. He strained his voice yesterday and probably wants to rest it, so he can give his best later. Right Innie?” – ‘Thanks, hyung’, he mouthed with a smile, glad that one of them understood. “Aish. Next time maybe shoot us a text as a warning. We got a bit worried when you just kept quiet”, Chan chuckled, “If you don’t feel up to recording, let us know, okay?” Jeongin nodded and continued eating. Afterwards, he went through his morning routine and applied a good amount of concealer to cover the dark circles under his eyes. He also snuck some more painkillers into his pocket to take later and found a bag of cough drops at the back of his closet, which he quickly shoved into his backpack. Maybe, just maybe, they’d fix his voice enough for him to sing later. He was absolutely dreading the moment he had to record, fearing he wouldn’t be able to but his wishful thinking motivated him to push on.

Jeongin slept through the entire drive to the studio. Initially, he had fallen with his head against the window but it looked highly uncomfortable, so his seatmate Changbin carefully moved the youngest’s head onto his shoulder. While doing so, he clearly noticed the difference between the temperature of Jeongin’s skin and his own. Making sure the maknae really was a sleep, he whispered: “Guys, Innie has a fever.” Chan immediately leaned over to feel the youngest’s forehead for himself, his face dropping when he had to realize his dongsaeng was hiding something from them. Now that it was confirmed that Jeongin was sick, Changbin refused to wake him when they arrived. Instead, he carried him up to the study and laid him down on the couch there. The members either piled onto the other couch or sat on the floor, so their dongsaeng could rest. They weren’t planning on confronting him when he woke up, they’d rather Jeongin admitted it himself, so they continued to work, recording their parts while shooting the youngest concerned glances every now and then.

It had been almost an hour, when Jeongin sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked around confused, trying to figure out where he was. “You fell asleep in the car, so Changbin carried you to the studio. We thought some extra sleep wouldn’t hurt, since you’re not due to record until later”, Felix chuckled at the younger’s dazed look. Minho sat down on the couch next to Jeongin, a plastic cup in his hands, as he smiled: “I brought a large thermos bottle of tea, I thought it might help your throat some.” Jeongin bit his lip looking sad all of a sudden. Then he pulled his phone out and typed: ‘I really appreciate it hyung but seriously I’m fine. You wouldn’t have needed to bother doing that.’ He already felt guilty enough that Changbin had had to carry his lazy ass all the way up here, when he could have walked by himself perfectly fine. “Well, what if I wanted to?”, Minho asked and pressed the plastic cup into his dongsaeng’s hand. The youngest immediately wrapped both hands around it to warm, only noticing now how cold he felt. He gave Minho a shy and grateful smile before taking a careful sip, trying not to burn his mouth.

Minho had added a generous amount of honey and Jeongin almost sighed at how soothing it felt going down his throat. He didn’t want to admit it but he was quite happy that the dancer had gone out of his way to bring this along. Sadly, once the cup was empty, he didn’t have anything to warm him anymore and the chills were slowly starting back up. How could he possibly feel this cold, considering the layers he had put on? Pretending to go to the bathroom, the maknae snuck away to take another dose of painkillers. They were supposed to also lower his temperature, so maybe he’d feel a bit warmer if his fever went down a bit. At the same time, his hyungs knew he was lying about needing the bathroom, they were suspicious as to what he was really doing, hoping he didn’t feel sick to his stomach too, but they didn’t want to follow and pressure him too much. Should he be gone for too long, one of them would go look for him. “Is it just me or did you notice Jeongin shivering too?”, Jisung asked thoughtfully. Seungmin shook his head, stating: “Not just you, I think his fever is giving him chills.” They didn’t manage to speculate much further because right that moment, Jeongin returned.

‘Aish, what am I going to do with that little rebel? It would be so easy if he could just give in to the truth, so we could take care of him’, Chan sighed, rubbing his temples. He could still see the youngest shaking, though he tried so hard to conceal it. Then the leader had an idea. He got up and grabbed his coat, wrapping it around Jeongin’s shoulders. The he tried to muster as much of a lighthearted smile as he could and hummed: “Innie, it’s your turn soon, so you should probably start warming up. That way we can also hear how your voice is doing.” The vocalist was fast to regain his composure but the split second of horror, that flashed across his face, didn’t go unnoticed by Chan. Jeongin cleared his throat, trying to keep a straight face despite the pain, and tried to hum a little tune, they often used to warm up. Apart from him, there was complete silence in the room, everyone waiting for the moment of truth and cringing in sympathy at how raspy his usually clear voice sounded. Chan was the first to react when Jeongin suddenly broke into tears, pulling him into a hug. It wasn’t even the pain getting to him. It was his frustration about not being able to record that day and therefore holding his group back. His frustration about showing his hyungs that he wasn’t doing his best today and thereby making them worry about him.

“It hurts that bad?”, Seungmin asked in shock. Jeongin shook his head, while the oldest rubbed his back. He croaked: “I-I’m sorry, now I’m holding all of you back again. I’m just so – so f-frustrated w-with myself.” He didn’t even know why he got so worked up about it because he really wasn’t this emotional, maybe the fever got to him more than he wanted to admit. Chan clicked his tongue, leaning closer to Jeongin’s ear, and whispered softly: “Why do you always think you’re holding us back? You can just record another day. If you keep forcing yourself now, you might even damage your voice. That’s not worth it.” The younger sniffled and nodded into Chan’s neck. “Most of us are done already, so why don’t you go home with them and rest a bit? You don’t need to hang around here, especially since I’m sure, your bed is more comfortable than that couch and we wouldn’t want you cold getting worse”, the leader mused. Jeongin pulled away shocked, frowning: “How do you know?” – “Innie, we can tell when you’re sick”, Chan chuckled and helped his dongsaeng to put his coat on properly, so Minho, Felix and Seungmin could take him home. Being producers, Chan and Changbin had to stay back at the studio to finish up with Hyunjin and Jisung but they’d all join them at the dorm in another hour or two.

Jeongin had stopped crying but remained quiet on their way to the car. While settling in, Minho poured him some more tea before shoving the thermos back into his backpack. “Why didn’t you tell us you were sick, Innie? Or should I say, why did you try so hard to hide it from us?”, Minho asked hesitantly. The youngest bit his lip, selecting his words carefully: “You’re always there for me, all of you. You worry so much. I can take care of myself but y’all keep babying me and I feel guilty when you worry and do things for me that I can do myself. You don’t have to go out of your way for me and every time you do, I feel like a burden. I don’t want to be a burden. I took medicine and sucked on cough drops, went to bed early. I really did take care of myself.” When he started to get worked up again, Felix side-hugged him, causing him to shut up. “Well, it is our job as your hyungs to worry about you, there’s no way around it. You should know, as Chan said, we can tell when something’s up and if you don’t talk to us, we’ll most likely assume something a lot worse than what is actually going on. If you really want us to worry less, be honest with us, so we can see what we’re dealing with. Second, how dare you consider yourself a burden? You’re our baby and of course, we’ll always be there for you”, Minho frowned. Felix nodded and continued: “You might not understand the way we feel about you but we really love doing things for you, so please, please, please don’t feel guilty about it. For you it might seem like a bother going out of our ways but we really want to do all of that.” – “And, we don’t doubt that you can take care of yourself, probably better than half of this group. The thing is though, you don’t have to. If you really want to be more independent, that’s fine. We’ll try to hold ourselves back but just know, we’ll be there, not because we have to but because we want to”, Seungmin added. By now, Jeongin was almost tearing up again, touched by his hyungs’ words. He took a deep breath to calm himself, inhaling a faint whiff of Chan’s scent from the coat he was wearing. They really did care about him like brothers.

Already in a better mood after their talk, they made their way to the dorm, where Minho announced: “Let’s get a read on that fever and if it’s not too high, why don’t you take a nice warm bath. You’re still shivering.” They kicked off their shoes and Minho took him to the bathroom, watching as Jeongin took his temperature himself. It was moderate but not too high, so Minho started a warm bath while Jeongin went to pick out some comfortable clothes for himself. On his way back to the bathroom, he was stopped by Seungmin. “Hey, we thought it’d be fun to do a movie marathon if you feel up to it? And I wanted to ask if you’d prefer tea or hot chocolate like yesterday”, the second youngest asked. A wide smile spread on Jeongin’s face and he shyly requested: “Hot chocolate would be nice but you really don’t have to. I liked it when we watched the movie yesterday.” – “I’ll make hot chocolate for all of us, don’t worry about it”, Seungmin giggled and ruffled his only dongsaeng’s hair. Jeongin was just about to enter the bathroom with the pile of clothes in his hands when Felix came sliding on his fuzzy socks, panting: “Wait, wait, wait, I found this really cute pink bathbomb in my bag of toiletries and I want you to have it.” The maknae blushed, resembling the shade of the bathbomb itself, and thanked the Aussie before finally returning to the bathroom.

The tub was already filled and Minho told him to enjoy, before leaving to give his dongsaeng some privacy. He helped Felix set up pillows, blankets and some additional beanbags, so every member would find a spot when they returned from the studio. The living room was already smelling comfortingly sweet from the chocolate Seungmin was melting for their drinks. Maybe their dongsaeng wasn’t feeling all that awful but that didn’t mean that they didn’t want do make him as comfortable as possible and cuddle him all better. Plus, who’d say no to some quality time with their cute maknae? A group movie marathon really sounded like heaven right now and the only thing that could make it even better was the hot chocolate Seungmin prepare, decorating it with cute colorful sprinkles just like Jeongin liked it.

[everybodyscupoftea]

the art of making a move at a kegger

jj x reader

word count: 2877

warnings: drinking, cursing, and towards the end almost sexual content but not actually

synopsis: harboring feelings for jj + getting drunk doesn’t always equal the smoothest of times but it all works out in the end

requested by @maybebanks​ really hope you like it!

JJ wasn’t on your radar until he slept through three quizzes in a row during your 8:00 a.m. English freshman year. He sat across from you, and you thought he was pretty cute, even when he started showing up wearing Pike letters. Which coincidentally is when he started falling asleep during quizzes.

One morning, when the professor left the room and you were packing your backpack, you heard JJ clear his throat. You glanced up, unsure if it was for you or not, and caught him smiling at you sheepishly.

“Hey,” he mumbled, running a hand through his unruly hair, “I was wondering if you had the readings for Thursday, I lost the syllabus.”

You pulled out your planner, “Yeah, it’s Act 3 of Hamlet and a part from the textbook on dramatic irony, pages 176-179.”

He quickly jotted it down on the corner of his notebook and smiled tiredly at you, “Thanks so much, I can’t keep failing these fucking quizzes, my grade is cheeks right now.”

“Is everything okay?” you cautiously asked, you didn’t want to push but you were a little concerned about the cute boy.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again, “Hazing shit, they’re making the new pledges stay up. I haven’t slept a full night in two weeks.”

“That’s, uh,” you weren’t really sure what to say, “not okay?” You settled on.

With a shrug, he tugged his backpack up and pushed in his chair, “Yeah, well, I guess it comes with being a legacy.” And then he was gone.

After that first interaction, you and JJ chatted every so often. Sometimes you’d let him cheat off your quizzes because they were pointless anyway and sometimes, you’d ask your professor to repeat one of the questions so he could get a second chance to answer if he was running late.

The last day of the semester he brought you coffee, “I just wanted to thank you for everything this semester, and I was hoping I could get your number so we can keep in touch.”

The next semester you had two classes together, much to your shock. When the two of you started to hang out outside of class to study for statistics, you learned some stuff about him. He was from the Outer Banks and he had a rough childhood. He was also receiving the Pell Grant so school was totally paid for, his only expense was the frat.

You also learned that the two of you were the same major and had to take all of the same courses, so the two of you decided to try and register for some of the same classes. It didn’t always work out, you had priority scheduling as a note taker for at least one class every semester and sometimes when JJ went to schedule, your section was already full. But sometimes it did work out.

Either way, the two of you always studied together. You used to go back and forth between apartments, one week was yours and one was JJ’s, until he moved into the frat house and no work was meant to be done in those walls. That atmosphere was conducive to parties only, something else JJ loved.

One afternoon, fall of your sophomore year, JJ balled up a piece of paper and threw it at you. It bounced off your forehead landed in your open coffee cup, and you looked up and glared at him, “Was that necessary?”

He gave you an innocent look, “Do you have plans next weekend?”

“I mean, we have a test the next Monday so I’ll probably be studying.”

JJ took the last sip of his coffee, “I have a formal and I need a date, wanna go?”

“Not particularly,” you responded with a shrug.

“No strings attached,” JJ told you, “promise. My friend from home, Kie, normally comes with me, but she has her own shit to do, and me and you get along. If you don’t go, I’ll have to take a stranger and then I’ll be bored.”

You’d been to some of the parties his frat threw, you knew he wouldn’t really be bored all night, he just didn’t want to have to actually work to get a date. Not that he’d have to work hard, his good looks would pretty much guarantee him a date. But you were a little intrigued, so you agreed.

“Great,” he told you, clapping his hands, “let me know what color your dress is and I’ll get a matching tie.”

“Fancy,” you told him with a smile.

“Kie loves matching, she’ll be proud,” JJ responded, and it made you really curious about Kie and the rest of his friends, but you didn’t ask.

Eventually you would get to meet them. JJ invited you to go home with him for spring break and he showed you around the Outer Banks, took you surfing, and threw a party that almost rivaled the ones his frat normally threw. Meeting his friends was nice, but really getting to know JJ was nicer. That’s when you started to complicate the ‘no strings attached’ deal, you felt yourself catching feelings.

By the time senior year rolled around, you were the most tired you’ve ever been. School was hard, having a job while doing school was harder and your social life was suffering. You still hung out with JJ a lot, mostly to study or to unwind and just watch TV, but he was really the only person you spent time with on a regular basis other than your coworkers.

Late on a Saturday afternoon, you were already in your pajamas, studying for an anatomy test, when there was a knock at your apartment door. Startled, you wrapped the blanket you were sitting under tightly around your shoulders and cautiously walked to the door. Peering through the peephole, you saw JJ standing there, looking at something on his phone.

You threw the door open, “What are you doing here?”

He looked up and smiled, “I’m here to kidnap you.”

“What?” you asked blankly, not really in the mood.

JJ pushed his way past you and sat on a barstool before answering, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how miserable you’ve been lately. When’s the last time you went out?”

And, God, when was the last time you’d done something fun? You sighed, “Fuck, I don’t know, like maybe a month ago when we went to that basketball game.”

With a hum, JJ stood up, “Get dressed, Pike’s throwing a kegger tonight.”

You didn’t even think twice before tossing the blanket onto the couch and going to your closet to find something to wear. JJ turned the TV on while you got fully dressed, minus makeup. Peeking your head out, you caught JJ’s attention, “Can I do my makeup at the house?”

He nodded, “Yeah. You almost ready because I’ve gotta pick up the keg soon?”

“Let’s go.”

JJ locked the door behind you and the two of you walked to his truck. The music blasted as soon as he cranked it up and he turned it down with a sheepish smile, “My bad, the song playing when I got here was a banger.”

Plugging your phone in, you put on the collaborative playlist you and JJ made together. He turned it back up a little and peeled out of the parking lot to the nearest liquor store where his frat normally got their kegs.

You bought cups at the convenience store next door while JJ loaded the keg into his truck, and a few pods because you were low and JJ was almost always out. JJ was leaning against the truck when you met him back in the shared parking lot, and he handed you a Twisted Tea, “For accompanying me on this adventure, madam.”

“Thank you, kind sir,” you responded, cracking it open and took a deep sip before climbing back into the truck to head to the frat house.

JJ left you to finish getting ready while he helped everyone set up for the party. You joined him eventually, having finished your first drink, and helped lock all bedroom doors and put all valuables away.

By the time people started arriving you were happily tipsy, hanging onto JJ while he talked to some of his friends, sipping beer slowly out of your assigned cup at the house. You were over there enough that you’d claimed one of your own and all the other guys that lived there respected it for the most part.

The party started to pick up and one of JJ’s frat brothers called you over to attempt a keg stand. You’d always wanted to try but never had, so you handed JJ your cup and kicked your feet up, trusting the two guys were ready to catch you. They did and someone put the spout into your mouth.

A crowd gathered around you and started counting loudly. You made it all the way to a minute before kicking to be let down. Slowly the two guys lowered your feet and your vision swam while beer bubbled in your throat. You almost choked but managed to swallow while everyone cheered around you. JJ wrapped an arm around your shoulder, “Not bad for a first time!”

He topped your cup off and guided you away. You cleared your throat, “Thought I was gonna puke for a second there.”

“You turned a little green when you first came down, how you feeling now though?”

“Feeling fantastic,” you told him earnestly, swaying in place.

JJ chuckled, grabbing your shoulders, “You got plans tomorrow?”

“Anatomy.”

“So that’s a no, I won’t cut you off then.”

“Don’t cut me off, please,” you told him seriously, trying to focus on his face.

He gave you a little two finger salute, “Aye aye madam.”

You lost track of how many drinks you had as the night went on. Sometime during the night, JJ disappeared and came back with something besides beer for you which was really nice and you thanked him with a kiss on the cheek. He just laughed and squeezed your shoulder before going off to talk to someone else.

When the party started winding down, you attempted to find the Uber app on your phone to call a ride home. JJ tapped your shoulder, startling you, and in your clumsy, intoxicated state, you dropped your phone. It slid out of your eyesight and you glared at him, “Pick it up, J.”

“What are you doing?” he asked, amused.

“Goin home, party’s over.”

“Why don’t you just stay here?”

“Can’t make it up the stairs,” you told him seriously.

JJ raised his eyebrows, “You live on the second floor of your apartment building, at least here you have me to help you up the stairs.”

He had you there. So, you nodded and he took you to the kitchen for a clean cup. JJ filled it with water and made you drink two before leading you to the stairs. You lifted your foot to put it on the first step and almost fell over. JJ reached out but you shushed him, as if his silence would help you focus more on not falling over.

On the second try, you managed to climb up one step and immediately shuffled close to the wall so you could lean your whole body against it for balance while attempting to climb. It was a really slow process, but you were too stubborn to ask for help, and JJ knew better than to try to help you when you were feeling stubborn.

JJ stayed one step below you to help in case you started to fall backwards. Eventually you made it all the way up and immediately forgot which door led to his room. Huffing a laugh, JJ grabbed your wrist and led you to the second one on the left.

You sat down on the bed and went pretty much boneless at the comfort of finally not being on your feet.

“Fucks sake, dude,” JJ muttered, pushing you up into a sitting position.

“No,” you whined, fighting to lay back down.

It wasn’t hard for JJ to keep you sitting up, “You’re going to be so pissed if you wake up in your clothes with makeup on, you need to change and get ready for bed.”

He was right again, but you didn’t have the comprehension level to remember how to do that so you shrugged in response. JJ sighed and helped you kick your shoes off before going to get you a change of clothes from his drawers. You somehow managed to get your shirt off and your shorts unbuttoned, but he had to help you get the new shirt on and change shorts.

The guy JJ shared a bathroom with’s girlfriend left makeup wipes and JJ helped you get all your makeup off. You kept making faces to be difficult because you liked the furrow between his eyebrows as he tried to focus on being gentle.

“I will intentionally poke you in the eyeball if you do not stop,” he warned.

Pouting, you poked his cheek, “Don’t bully me, I’m drunk.”

He threw the wipe away and looked at you exasperatedly, “Brush your teeth, your breath smells like a liquor store.”

Giggling, you grabbed your spare toothbrush from the drawer next to his and sloppily started brushing your teeth. JJ was standing behind you and leaning on you, trapping you between the counter and his body so you didn’t fall over or sway.

The bright bathroom lights plus the water were clearing your brain a little, but you were still gone and not really able to focus on anything for more than a few seconds at a time. You leaned back to feel his chest moving as he brushed his teeth and giggled at the feeling.

JJ sighed again and gently nudged you out of the way to spit and rinse in the sink and you followed suit, having forgotten to do so yourself. You followed him out of the bathroom and grabbed his hand as he led you back to his room.

From what you could remember, JJ slept on the left, so you climbed into the right side of his bed and stretched out comfortably. He crawled in behind you a few minutes later, and you turned around to look at him. He had a small smile on his face as he looked back at you and reached up to push a piece of hair that had fallen in your eyes out of the way.

Suddenly, you were overcome by the urge that you’d been fighting for over a year and you leaned forward to kiss him. He froze and you almost regretted it until he started kissing you back.

You stayed like that for what felt like hours but could’ve only been minutes until he rolled the two of you over so you were on your back and he was hovering over you. Your lips were only separated for a few seconds before he was kissing you again, more deeply than before.

Sighing into the kiss, you brought a hand up to his head and ran your fingers through his hair. He groaned lightly at the feeling and you felt a hand creeping up your thigh. Before it could get too far, you nudged his shoulders back to catch your breath. He kept stroking your thigh and you shifted, “Hey, can we wait maybe?”

“Wait for what?” JJ asked you, confused.

“To fuck,” you told him bluntly.

JJ huffed out a surprised laugh, “Oh, uh, yeah definitely.”

You grinned at him sheepishly, “Sorry, you’re my best friend and if we’re going to do this, I want to be sober and you know, really ready.”

“Right, yeah, I totally get it,” he reassured you, dropping back down next to you.

You sighed as he wrapped his arm around you again. Lifting your head, you let it rest on one of his biceps and drank in his facial features. He held onto one of your hands and played with your fingers, not looking at you directly.

“I’m sorry,” you told him, feeling a little uncertain.

JJ looked at you, furrow back between his eyebrows but a little different than before, “I’m the one who should be saying sorry.”

“What?” you asked, feeling the urge to press the wrinkle until it went away.

“For forcing myself onto you,” JJ mumbled.

Suddenly it felt like you couldn’t keep up with the conversation, “Wait what?”

He wouldn’t meet your eyes again, so you lifted his chin until the two of you were almost nose to nose. JJ shut his eyes, “You’re really drunk, I shouldn’t have ever returned the kiss because you might regret it in the morning.”

“No, I really do like you JJ, I just,” you paused, trying to find the right words, “I just want it to be special, I guess,” you trailed off, hoping it made sense.

JJ smiled gently and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, “We can talk about it tomorrow, yeah?”

With a giant yawn, you nodded and the last thing you remember is him running a hand through your hair and tangling your legs together.

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome to Backwater ch.12 (spicyhoney)

Summary:  Stretch has some wheels now and he has directions, now he only needs to start down the path!

Read ‘Down the Garden Path’ on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Stretch’s good mood lasted right about as long as it took to get back to the store. Not that he replaced it with a bad mood, nah, he was still pretty darn cheerful. But now that paybacks were done, it was time to put on his working hat, so to speak. To begin with, his new bike needed a thorough checking over; a skeleton could not travel on wheels alone, not unless he went back for roller skates. He needed to make sure the rest of the bike would get him to where he needed to go, too.

There was a ramshackle garage squatting behind the store, the siding a grungier match to the building up front and the cracked windows too filthy to peer inside. The roll-up door was rusted shut, but the side door was unlocked. Stretch opened it a crack and dared to look inside, braced for anything. Bats, rats, creepy crawlies, who the hell knew what grew inside the sheds in a town with possibly man-eating corn.

If there were any beasties, crawly or otherwise, they stayed hidden behind the wispy cobwebs or in their holes. What he did find was a lot of junk, piled in heaps, spilling out of bins and stacked on shelves. There was enough crap that if Red wanted, he could start a side business as a resale shop and give Miss Maggie some competition, mysterious message from the oracle not included, although tetanus was still on the table.

As curious as some of the objects were, and damn, he could stir up some trouble on the /whatisthisthing reddit with all this, now was not the time for distractions from the main questline, not when victory was in sight.

It didn’t take too much rummaging to find a bike pump and a small metal toolbox that for a wonder, actually had tools in it. He carried both back into the sunshine where the patient was waiting and got to work.

Stretch was never going to earn a paycheck as a handyman, but he did know a little about bicycles. Chara had one and so did their friends and he’d gotten suckered into helping with maintenance a few times by a set of big brown eyes pleading their case. Even had his own bike back home, though it hadn’t been used in a long time. A nice little ten speed with glittery orange paint and a thick padded seat to make up for his lack of pillowy booty surrounding his tailbone. Once upon a time, that bike got pretty decent amount of use, but that fairytale wasn’t one he wanted to get into right now.

This old rattletrap had exactly two speeds; go and stop. The tires were a little bald, but luckily, they took air without issue. The chain was rusty, but it responded readily to some WD-40 lubing and a little foreplay, the tramp. He checked all the bolts and sprockets, wiped off the seat and the little wire basket, and for good measure, gave the horn a good squeeze, setting off a hoarse ‘awooga’ into the still afternoon. Height was a bit of an issue, Stretch wasn’t ever gonna earn the nickname ‘short stuff’, not unless the next fairytale he stumbled into was Jack and the Beanstalk, but he managed to get the seat up enough that he wouldn’t jam himself in the chin with a knee.

Once he was done, he wheeled the bike out to the road and gave it a test drive, tooling up and down the main road. It worked fine, the tires crunching over the gravel, and when he gave the horn a honk as he sailed past Mama’s, he could see people looking through the windows at him, some of them raising their hands in a wave.

He turned around past the sheriff’s and headed back, pedaling slowly. The inkling of an idea was taking hold at the back of his mind, winding its way in like paint dripping down a wall and puddling in his brain pan. Yeah, the bike was fine and all, but he’d been ‘fine’ pedaling along back in Ebott, hadn’t he. Taking little rides in the traditional manner on his shiny, fancy bike that he hadn’t bought and didn’t use the other nine speeds on.

Well, he wasn’t in Ebott anymore, and maybe fine wasn’t good enough. All things could use a little improvement, right, even bikes.

Decision made, he headed back to the shed. He didn’t know if any of this crap was Red’s (and seriously, what was that thing with the handles and the springs, it looked like an eggbeater on steroids) or if it’d been here when he moved in, but it was all covered with enough dust that there probably wasn’t anyone around to mourn the loss. The rolling door responded to a tickle and grope of WD-40 as well as the bike chain had and Stretch ran it up, forging his way through the trash jungle. He managed to clear out enough space to haul out the bulky item he’d noticed early partially hidden under a drop cloth and got to work.

By the time he was nearly done, he was sweaty and filthy, but about ready to celebrate his triumph and thank the Academy. He’d shed his t-shirt, using it instead as a rag to wipe his forehead and if anyone spotting him as they walked down the sidewalk had a problem with his bare bones, no one made a fuss about it like they would have back in Ebott. There was a whole Karen Brigade back there worried about nudity and Monsters, seriously, those people would force a moldsmal into some boxer shorts if they had a chance.

He glanced up at the bang of the side door closing to see Red and the dog headed his way. Red was carrying a brimming glass of iced sweet tea as he limped along. He cursed with colorful flair as the dog danced its way in front of him, making him slop tea over his fingers as he tried not to trip himself with his own cane. He aimed a halfhearted kick at the dog that missed by a mile. The dog only barked gleefully, darting over to Stretch, tongue at the ready for a taste test to verify Stretch was as yummy today as he’d been last night.

Stretch only laughed and tried to hold the dog back in a feeble effort to avoid those eager licks. “easy, pal, you saw me a couple hours ago!”

“he probably don’t remember, mutt has a brain the size of a peanut,” Red growled. He handed it over the tea wordlessly, giving the newly-redesigned bike a once-over as Stretch gulped it down gratefully.

“what the hell are you up to out here?” Red asked. He paused by the remains of the push lawnmower that was laid open like an autopsy, poking it absently with his cane, “and what happened here?

“i…uh…may have borrowed the engine,” Stretch admitted sheepishly.

“borrowed,” Red snorted. “uh huh. seen this kind of borrowing before, usually turns into keepsies right quick.”

“i can put it back—” Stretch started uncertainly. Red waved him off, watching in bemusement as the dog took advantage of the distraction to lick right into Stretch’s mouth and left him sputtering in disgust.

“nah, ain’t used the damn thing in ages,” Red said. “i pay a local kid to mow these days. may as well donate the innards before it gets buried.”

No surprise there. Even after last night's stormy weather tantrum, the ground had dried right up again in the morning sunshine. The mud puddles all dried into cracked divots and whatever grass was left was a charming shade of dead. Walking across it was like taking a stroll through a giant bowl of shredded wheat,

Red wandered back to the bike, his browbone slowly rising as he examined it. “you get that from old madge?” he asked neutrally.

Stretch closed his sockets briefly to block him out. The glass in his hand was down to rapidly melting ice cubes and dripping with condensation. He pressed to cool surface to his forehead, letting the cold wetness soothe him as he said, "okay, what. what's wrong with it.”

Red gave him a startled look, “huh?"

“no, i mean it,” Stretch said insistently. “don’t blow smoke up my ass, what's wrong? do purchases from her come with a darker, deeper price unknown? is all her shit haunted? does riding it commit my soul to the forces of evil? if I rub it does a genie come out, what?” He waved a hand at the possibly monster bike and not the kind of Monster listed on his personal I.D. “tell me now, don’t play sphinx with me, not today.”

Red snorted loudly and pulled out a little cylinder from his pocket. He shook out a toothpick and stuck it between his teeth. “nah, but it might break on ya two miles down the road.” His grin turned wolfish. “getting a little paranoid, dontcha think, city boy?”

“no,” Stretch said, shortly.

Red only chuckled. “only thing wrong with that bike is what you frankensteined onto it. hope that thing actually runs or blowing smoke up your ass is gonna be the least of your problems.”

“it’ll run.” Okay, so he was about 95% sure it was gonna run. Maybe 90%. The engine he’d scavenged from the old lawnmower was strapped to the package carrier on the back of the bike, hooked up to the back wheel with a few extra gears and chain he’d dug out of the garage and he’d jerry-rigged a sort of throttle to the handlebars. It wasn’t pretty, but he was sure it would run without blowing up. Pretty sure.

Sure enough to give it a try, anyway.

“uh huh,” Red rolled the toothpick to the other corner of his mouth with his tongue, neat trick around those sharky teeth of his. “where ya think your headed on that death trap, anyway?”

Yeah, okay, that brought him up short. Aside from warning him off of any booty calls, (not that Stretch was looking for any shape of booty and sure as hell wasn’t taking any calls), Red had been pretty mum when it came to opinions about him hanging out with Edge. Stretch wasn’t under any illusions that Red was unaware of the happenings in town and not only because Edge probably damn well called him so they could keep their mystery woo woos on the same frequency. Red seemed like he knew all the local gossip, hell, he was probably the unofficial town bookie, who knew what he got up to on those weekend poker games?

But Edge was Red’s baby brother and as a big brother himself, Stretch was pretty sure he’d have some mighty strong opinions on Blue inviting someone like him out for pie, much less inviting them home to meet the family. No prospects, nothing ahead of him in life. Hell, he wasn’t even wearing underwear.

And anyway, like he had any right to any fucking opinions about Blue’s life after the way he left—nope, not going there right now.

So, yeah, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to admit he was going to see Edge, except how he really didn’t. He didn’t want to see any disappointment on Red’s face or distaste or…or whatever ‘dis’ might sprout up and if Red told him to leave his bro alone, told him not to go, Stretch wouldn’t, he would never, he owed Red so much, owed him in ways Red didn’t even know about, but—but—

His mental waffling took far too long, and Red was unfortunately just as clever as Stretch feared or maybe it was the simple fact that the options of where someone could go in this town on a motorized bicycle was a pretty short list. One corner of Red’s mouth curled up in a half-smile. “headed out to the farm, huh.”

Stretch struggled with an answer and didn’t manage anything better than the obvious, “i think so?” he said meekly, “i mean, edge sort of invited me. not invited invited, it’s not like a date, not that i wouldn’t date him, except you know, i wouldn’t because it’s a bad idea right now like you said, but he said i should meet his roommate and that I’d have to go to his house to do it and—" Stretch broke off to gasp for breath and his ‘fuck, please kill me to shut me up’ was left unspoken.

“okay, okay, ease down on the gas there. you must think i'm missing my wits on top of my foot.” Red snorted. “go wherever you want, kid, don’t make me no nevermind.” The dog was settled into Stretch’s lap, sound asleep and drooling enthusiastically, and Red leaned over to give him a pat, then struggled back up to give Stretch a similar one on top of his skull. He glanced at the bike again and asked speculatively, “’bout how fast you figure this hunk a junk can go?”

“not sure,” Stretch admitted, “not too fast. maybe twelve miles an hour?”

“that a fact,” Red spat the toothpick into the dust and sucked loudly on his teeth. “hang on a mo’.” He limped through the open garage door and the sound of brisk rummaging echoed out. When he came back, grinning triumphantly, it was a bicycle helmet in hand. It was leopard-spotted, only that hideous pink-and-purple shade never graced any beast Stretch ever heard about. Perched on the top of the helmet were a pair of slightly bedraggled plastic cat ears and Stretch took it as solemnly as if he’d been handed Excalibur itself. Beggar vs chooser? Not him.

Red stuck his hands in his pockets, his cane hooked over his elbow as he rocked unsteadily on his heels, “well c’mon, then, start ’er up. i can’t stand out here forever, someone’s gotta mind the store.”

“oh!” Stretch gave the back door a guilty look, “shouldn’t you head in, someone might loot the register or something.”

“no one steals from my shop.” Coolly assured and yeah, Stretch believed it, and not only because the townsfolk were good people.

Stretch pushed the dog off his lap, ignoring its pitiful whine, and went to the bike. Here was the moment of truth. He gave the primer button a few pushes, then yanked the pull cord as hard as he could. It didn’t catch the first time, or the second, but on the third it sputtered a few times, coughed out a cloud of black smoke, then caught, puttered evenly along.

“see!” Stretch said triumphantly, speaking loudly to be heard over the blatting noise. “it didn’t blow up!”

“don’t know if that’s as reassuring as you seem to think, kid,” Red called back, but his grin was easy, “you know how to get there?”

Stretch cut the engine. He snagged his dirty t-shirt and made a fruitless attempt at wiping the grease off his hands. “down the exchange for about a mile, hang a left, don’t stray from the path.”

“s’right,” Red nodded, “you leave soon, you'll get there right around suppertime and that’s always a good time to show up on my bro’s doorstep.”

“thanks, red,” Stretch said gratefully, “thank you.”

“don't thank me yet. and kid?” Red’s crimson gaze seemed to bore into him, “whatever you see or hear, don't you leave that path."

Well, Stretch should’ve known he wasn’t getting out of here without at least a vaguely cryptic warning.

“i won’t, promise.”

Red nodded and started the slow trudge back to the store. The dog roused himself enough to follow along, tail wagging happily. Red paused at the door and called back, “tell the kid i said hi.”

“i will, but didn’t you just see edge this morning?” Stretch asked curiously.

“didn’t mean him.” Before he could ask, Red was gone back inside with a bang of the screen door, taking both dog and answers with him.

Welp, chasing after him was pointless and anyway, that question would be answered as soon as he got to Edge’s place, which it seemed he now had Red’s unofficial approval to visit. Stretch couldn’t help grinning and he hugged himself tightly, managing to smear even more grease on his bones.

Yeah, okay, he needed at least five minutes for a quick wash up before he headed out or the woods would be the least of his worries. Edge and his roomie would kick him and his stank right back out to the road before he could make it to the porch.

Stretch left the bike and his mess where it was, promising himself guiltily to handle the junk cleanup tomorrow as he headed in to wash and change, and he did not spend an extra minute considering what t-shirt would make the best first impression for the unknown roommate.

He really didn’t.

~~*~~

The first thing Stretch figured out as he started on his journey was that it was honestly a nice day for a ride. Overhead the sky was an endless blue with only a few careless puffy clouds that had no interest in interfering with the affairs of the sun. The blowing wind wasn’t afraid though, it chased away the heat, and that combined with the blatting engine made it impossible to hear much of anything.

Not that there was much to hear. He stayed off the actual road, keeping to the wayside so as not to distract any of the cars as he puttered his way along.

The directions weren’t exactly complex, only one turn that he knew of, right into the woods. Stretch found it easily enough, the paved road vanishing into dust and gravel that led into the trees.

That was where he paused, easing off the throttle and putting his feet down as he looked at the entrance.

It was only trees, their tall, sturdy trunks reaching up towards the sky and the wide, green spread of their leafy branches casting the path in shadows. There were a pair of tire ruts in the path which meant someone drove it regularly and not just Edge’s motorcycle.

Only trees, that was all. Right, just like it’d only been corn, and Stretch didn’t move, sitting there with the engine blatting cheerily and the blue sky watching over him as he waited here on the cusp of…what? Fate? Or fatality?

There was only one way to find out.

Behind him, a couple trucks zoomed on past on their way down the exchange, either heedless of his inner turmoil or foolishly assuming he knew what he was doing and honestly, he wasn’t sure he’d known what he was doing for years now.

His concerns weren’t all simply about traveling in these woods, either, despite them being the same ones Red warned him away from and no less than two people went off with the cryptic about not straying from the path. No, there was also the fact he was gonna be meeting Edge’s unknown roommate to ask questions about some of the mysteries of this place and he’d be lying if he didn’t attribute a nervous butterfly or two to that.

The blat of a horn nearly sent him leaping right out of his shorts and when he jerked around, barely catching his balance before both he and the bike spilled into the dust, he saw a group of Humans in the back of a pickup truck waving at him and probably laughing at his helmet.

He waved back, unable to help a sheepish grin, and then turned back to the path. The trees only rustled softly in the light breeze, branches lightly swaying. It didn’t seem scary and hell, he knew scary. Scary was the first time he stepped out into the sunlight after a lifetime beneath a mountain and scary was another first step, much more recently, this time onto a Greyhound bus.

“fuck it,” Stretch said, aloud. He goosed the throttle, the bike lurching forward into the woods, and the trees swallowed him up.

Only not really, not even close. Stretch really didn’t know what he’d really been expecting. That maybe he’d come across a little gal in a red hood with a picnic basket for grandma heading down the path? Or he’d stumble over some kids with a nasty stepmother backstory on a stroll, scattering breadcrumbs along the way?

Neither of those things came true. (Although if Edge and his roommate lived in a gingerbread house, he was done. He was turning his putt-putt mobile around and heading right out of this fairy tale, tout suite, and into another story. Maybe he’d see if Red’s swashbuckler needed a first mate.)

There was nothing out of the ordinary, not even the creepy vibes that the corn had given him. The woods seemed no different than wandering through the city park in Ebott.

It was a lot cooler here in the woods, not only from the speed breeze. The heavy branches were also shielding him from the overpowering heat of the sun overhead, shading him in cooling green. There were squirrels and birds darting around overhead, unperturbed by his puttering little engine-that-could, and once a deer even crossed the road in front of him, pausing to stare unafraid with large liquid eyes before heading back into the scrubby underbrush.

Hell, if he was honest, Stretch was almost disappointed. Not that he’d wanted anything to happen, he didn’t exactly relish the idea of Red having to make that search party to find his dumb ass.

But after all those warnings, he’d sort of expected something to happen, a little trouble of some kind to be peeking out from behind the trees. Then again, he’d heeded those warnings, hadn’t he, it was always the disobedient types who got turned into frogs or had flower petals spill from their mouths when they talked, wasn’t it. His interest in adventure was definitely on the other side of the scale over his desire not to spit slugs or something, so he was erring on the side of not borrowing trouble.

His disappointment in the woods vanished completely though as he came up on what Red had so quaintly referred to as ‘the farm’.

The dinky path rounded a curve, the trees opening up into a clearing, and Stretch could only stare, dumbly easing down on the throttle until the bike slowed to a stop.

Well, it looked like all his expectations were taking a trip through the funhouse today, now didn’t it.

After seeing Red’s place, he hadn’t really been thinking much about the state of Edge’s homestead, what was there to consider, anyway? It was a cabin in the woods…on a farm…okay, so his logic was a little thin, he hadn’t prepped his anticipation very well on the journey. But whatever he’d imagined paled in comparison to reality.

The actual house looked like a log cabin, sure, but one that took a nibble from Alice’s ‘eat me’ cake. It was huge, with large windows shuttered in green beneath a wide, gabled roof trimmed in scrolling eaves, and a covered porch lined with cozy rocking chairs circling the first floor. Flat stones made a winding walkway that led to the front door and there were flowers lining the path in a riot of brilliant, ankle-high colors. Smoke was curling from the rooftop despite the overall warmth of the day and it scented the air with the welcoming aroma of woodsmoke.

The overall effect was one of one of invitation and Stretch was immediately suspicious of it; not a gingerbread house, no, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a witch inside.

Then the door opened and all the doubts flitting through Stretch’s mind dissolved into impossible static. He could only stare numbly at the person that darted down the path towards him, their hair bouncing beneath their chin as they scampered down the path because it was…it was impossible.

A young human, maybe only a couple years younger than him, and they looked so much like Chara it was downright disturbing, the resemblance taking a detour from possible siblings right into uncanny valley. So much like Chara, only, Chara was just a kid, a kid, and this person who couldn’t be Chara, could not be, but looked as if they’d aged like fine wine since he’d last seen them. Or maybe curdled like old milk.

“Hello, Stretch,” they said, warmly, those familiar eyes shining, and their smile was as bright as the sun that was hidden behind the trees, “Welcome to our home.”

~~*~~

tbc

[upthenorthmountain]

Heartwood - Chapter 2

Chapter 1

I need to make a fic page, will try and do that today, but do I want to draw a picture? Hmm

Anyway here’s chapter two!

Chapter 2

No one noticed when Anna got home, and no one noticed that she didn’t eat any dinner. She went up to her bare, sterile room and she lay on the bed, looking at the ceiling. If anyone came in they would only see my head and my hair, she thought, all in white as I am, on these white sheets. She looked down at herself and pulled her hands up into her sleeves. If I were to die right now then they would just have to carry me out, straighten the counterpane, and everything in the world would keep going the same as it always has. They’d have to tell Elsa, of course, otherwise she might not realise I wasn’t here any more.

A year. One more summer, one more autumn, one more winter, then maybe a slice of spring. And that was all.

She wondered what would happen when she told Elsa.

She’d drag her back to the doctor, that’s what would happen. She’d ask a thousand questions, and she’d insist on that referral, and they’d go to the city; and there would be so many doctors, and so many more white rooms like this one. Anna would be poked and prodded and half her blood would be run through machines; and they’d cut her open and poke around in there as well, and post her into MRI machines and goodness knew what. A year to live, and that’s how she’d spend it.

Maybe...maybe she didn’t have to tell Elsa straight away.

Maybe she didn’t have to tell her at all.

Anna slept very little that night. By the time the sun finally rose, the sunrise filling the white room with some colour for once, she’d made up her mind. On the stroke of 9am, she rang the doctor’s office, and said she’d like to cancel her appointment for next week, please. No, she didn’t want to reschedule. Yes, she’d call back if she changed her mind. Thank you.

And then she went out. It seemed like a good day to buy a red dress.

-----

The dress was perfect. It was a rich, deep, cranberry red; it was fitted at the top with a skirt that swirled beautifully; it showed a little more cleavage than Anna was used to, but still fairly respectable - other people she knew showed a lot more, certainly. None of her shoes went with it, of course. It needed sparkly shoes. Fortunately, the shop sold those too, and a matching necklace.

Anna’s daring didn’t quite extend to wearing the dress at home. She quailed a little at Elsa seeing it, and wasn’t sure she wouldn’t end up changing, and then when she got home the dress - and shoes, and necklace - would have disappeared. But she had a charity tea this afternoon, and her outfit was perfectly appropriate. Elsa wouldn’t be there, and no one else would think anything of it.

She changed quickly in the Ladies in the reception of the hotel, and on a whim, brushed her hair down too. Her hair waved naturally, and usually had to be pulled back to keep it neat - but today she didn’t feel like looking neat. She pinned a little of it back from her face and peered at herself in the mirror. She hadn’t brought any make-up, and her freckles were showing something awful - but nothing she could do about it now.

The tea was taking place in the main ballroom. Anna gave her ticket to the staff member at the door, took a deep breath, and went in.

-----

She did get a few odd glances. She suspected a few acquaintances didn’t recognise her immediately. Anna took a drink and said a few hellos, then she stood to one side and looked around.

It suddenly struck her how pointless this all was. No one wants to be here, she thought. They’d all rather be at home or on the golf course or conducting their tedious extra-marital affairs, but it’s for charity so here they are. Imagine how much better the charity would do if they all just donated the same amount but no one had to book the room or buy the drink or arrange for the tiny food. Anna snagged what she suspected was some kind of deconstructed cucumber sandwich from a tray. It was actually quite good. If this is an afternoon tea, though, surely there should be cake?

She took another miniscule sandwich and wandered over to the staff member who seemed to be overseeing the waiting staff. “Excuse me,” she asked him, “Is there any cake?”

“Cake?”

“Mm. It’s not a criticism, I was just wondering. These are very good, by the way.”

“Thank you. There will be a selection of fancy cakes and meringues served after the speech from the charity representative.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” Anna paused. Did she want to listen to a speech? Was that really how she wanted to spend her hours on Earth, that were apparently very precious?

“D’you think I could get a cake to go?” she said. “I have to leave now. Medical reasons.”

The man hesitated, then he shrugged and disappeared towards the kitchen. Anna surveyed the room again - there was no one here she actually, actively wanted to talk to - and thought about what she could do instead. She could go anywhere. The thought was thrilling but also a little terrifying.

She remembered meeting Mrs Davies yesterday. Mrs Davies - Lillian - had been her Science teacher, back when she had gone to the local secondary school (her father hadn’t really approved of private education, he thought it gave the wrong mindset. Her sister did approve of it, or maybe she just approved of paying money to make Anna someone else’s problem, so she’d done her A-levels at a boarding school where she’d known no one and no one wanted to be friends with the girl who cried all the time). Mrs Davies - Lillian - had been an excellent teacher, friendly and enthusiastic and full of a passion for Science and nature. Anna was not at all surprised to find her spending her retirement engaging in a little light environmental protest. She’d also been Anna’s Girl Guide leader, and taken her camping a couple of times when she was twelve or thirteen. Oh, she’d love to see her again, and have a proper chat.

She knew exactly where Bennett’s Field was. She remembered, when she was a little girl, walking down there with her father. The footpath ran down the side of the field, and then skirted the edge of the woods. You had to stay on the footpath as far as the old oak tree, because the land on either side belonged to someone else, but the corner of the field and a small patch of the woods belonged to her father.

The memory stopped her short. Yes. It belonged to him. At some point when the farmland had been chopped up and parts of it sold, a small amount of the field and a corner of the woods had been bundled in with some other land her father had bought to develop. She thought so, anyway. She couldn’t see how it would have been sold, unless the developers of the field had bought it - there was no reason anyone would have told Anna about that.

She ducked out of the room and leant against the corridor wall. Imagine if it was still theirs - she would gladly, happily let the protestors stay on their corner of the field, make whatever observations they needed to in their corner of the woods. How did she find out? 

Anna knew where her lawyer’s office was. She’d heard her parents’ wills being read there, and she’d been there on a handful of other occasions since she came of age, to sign odd documents and make her own will at Elsa’s insistence. It was only four’o’clock. She ran down outside and found a taxi.

-----

Mr Owens was very obliging, and agreed to see her, despite the short notice. Anna suspected he might have some sympathies with the bats; very soon the pair of them were looking at the map, and Anna was thrilled to see that she was correct.

“I think someone used to live there, many years ago,” Mr Owens said. “Although there’s no building there now, and you’d never get planning permission - the only access is along the public footpath, no utilities. So it’s not worth anything.”

“I don’t want to live there,” Anna said, though she did, a little. “But I could camp there if I wanted, couldn’t I?”

“Yes, of course.”

“With some friends, maybe.”

“If you liked. Of course, if the wood does become a Site of Special Scientific Interest, that would affect you, too.”

“That would be alright.” Anna traced the outline of the little patch of land on the map. “And if they build on the rest of the field?”

“Then they might give you access, but maybe not. They tried to buy this land, as you know,” he said.

“I didn’t, no.”

“Your sister didn’t tell you? They weren’t willing to pay what she was asking. To be quite honest, I advised her to take whatever she could get, they were the only people who might have given you anything for it. Like I said, it’s worthless.”

“Unless you’re a bat,” Anna said absently. Had Elsa been being greedy, or had she just not wanted to sell?

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

“Can I have a copy of this map, please?”

“You can take that one, if you like. Was there anything else?”

“No, that was all. Thank you so much for seeing me.”

“No problem at all, Miss Rendell. I’m glad I could help.”

-----

“I might go away for a few days,” Anna announced over breakfast the next morning.

Elsa looked up from her paper. “Really?” she said. 

“Mmhm.”

“To where? With whom?”

“Um, you know I used to be in Guides? My old Guide leader invited me to go camping with her and some friends.” Anna buttered her toast without looking up. “I’ll have to get some camping things but there’s that shop on the retail park, isn’t there? I’ll run over there this morning.”

“Camping?” Elsa looked horrified. “Why would you want to do that?”

Anna shrugged. “Felt like it. You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Elsa pulled a face. “I don’t think you’ll enjoy that at all, Anna. Camping! In a tent?”

“If I remember right, that’s how it goes.” Anna looked up. “If I don’t like it, I’ll come back. It’s not far.”

“How long for?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have my phone.”

“And where will you charge it?”

“I’ll get a solar charger.”

“And where exactly are you going?”

“Um. Bennett’s Field.”

Elsa dropped her paper. “Not that - Anna! You know they’re squatting illegally. That’s not camping, it’s a protest. What will you do if the police get involved?”

“Mm. But, if they moved over a bit to the north - and I was there - it wouldn’t be illegal, as such, would it.”

Elsa was quiet for a while, watching her sister’s face. Then she said, “I didn’t know you knew about that land.”

“Dad told me.  A long time ago.”

“You don’t have to actually stay with them. You could just give them permission, if that’s what you want. And stay here.”

“I think I’d like to go, thanks.”

Elsa looked at her again, for a long moment, then she picked up her newspaper. “As you wish.”

Anna took a big bite of her toast. That had been easier than she expected.

[hey-sunshines]

Preference for them proposing? Also if you don’t mind I would love if you could include Tim, Curly, Angela and Cherry. It’s alright if you don’t want to write the lesbian relationships, I get some peeps aren’t comfy with that. Happy pride tho!

OOOOO I’ve been thinking about this for awhile so thank you for giving me a reason to post this!

As far as the lesbian relationships, I don’t mind writing for them at all! All for all kinds of love! But for full disclosure, I am a straight CIS gendered female and I’ve only been in a relationship with a man, so if there is some nuances that I don’t get/understand, please let me know. I want to learn about the LGBT+ so I can support them fully!

Darry: He would propose with his mom’s ring. Of course, Soda and Pony wanted it too, but Soda and Pony came to the same conclusion that after all of the years that Darry gave up his own live to take care of his brothers (like going to post-secondary or having any real life of his own), it was the only way that Soda and Pony could really pay him back. I don’t think he would date that much the first year or two after his parents died, as he’s so worried about getting things right with taking care of his brothers and doesn’t want them taken away. He is also nervous about finding someone to understand his situation. He probably wouldn’t want to get married until Pony is off at university at least. Since he didn’t have to save up for a ring, he saved up a little for the wedding itself and for a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. He always tried his best to give you nice things/take you out to nice meals, but money was tight and it didn’t happen often. But he was going to make this night special and make you feel like the Queen you are in his eyes. He wears a nice suit, picks up a bouquet of your favourite flowers and goes to pick you up at  your place. He is so shy and jumpy the whole dinner, although he knows  you’ll say yes (getting married was something you two have talked about before, because Darry likes a game plan/hates surprises) he’s still nervous to ask. You know he’s off his game, but you can’t  pinpoint what’s wrong and you know he’ll tell you when he’s ready. The whole dinner goes smoothly, with candles and flowers on the table. Right before the dessert arrives, Darry gets down on one knee. He gives this speech about how much he loves you and how you’ve made him a better person, especially over the last few years, and how he wants to spend the rest of his life growing  together. He struggles to get through parts of it because he’s stuttering/rushing through parts of it because he’s so nervous.

Soda: Soda wouldn’t wait as long to get into the dating game as Darry (although he does take some time after Sandy), but he does wait until Pony is done school to propose, as he makes it when he says he wants help Darry out with the bills. He was not as well planned out as Darry. He still wants/tries to make it romantic, but Darry is the type of person to plan things out and Soda is not. He goes and buys as best of a ring as he can afford and proposes that same night. He takes you to the place that you first met, he picks some flowers from a field near by and when he gets on one knee, he talks about wanting to go on adventures with you for the rest of his life.

Pony: I always imagine he meets someone while away at university/college and that he proposes at graduation/the graduation party that the gang. He wants to make both of your special days even more special and wants to share the moment with the people he loves most in the world. He spends a lot of time picking out a ring and planning the perfect proposal. He talks to your best friend to find out the type of rings/jewelry you like, so that he can get something that you like. He writes out a long speech of what he wants proposes. He practices with Soda and Darry for months because he is a little cinnamon bun who wants to make the proposal as perfect and as romantic as possible. (I can just see Darry and Soda rolling their eyes by the end of the month because they’re so tired of hearing him practice). Darry and Soda go all out decorating the place to make it look nice, telling the rest of the gang and you that it’s for the graduation party, but it’s really for the proposal. They even convince the gang to look presentable, because “this is a graduation party, you idiots, I know you haven’t been to one before, but look like you have.” Darry helps Pony look his best beforehand, helping him with his tie and such and Soda gets the camera ready, because he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to put the proposal picture on the wall next to Pony’s graduation pictures. It ends up going just who Pony plans it and he gets his whole speech out perfectly, despite Two-bit and Dally heckling a little towards the end of his very long speech.

Two Bit: He ends up getting his younger sister to help him pick out the ring, because he isn’t the best at jewelry. He takes you to see a funny movie on a Saturday night. He isn’t drunk by the end of the night like he usually is, because he wants to make the night special and remember this moment for the rest of his life. He makes promises to you to improve when it comes to drinking and makes jokes all the way throughout his proposal. But when he actually got to asking you the question, he’s the serious he’s ever been.

Steve: He tries to act cool and nonchalant about the whole thing, but really he is soooo nervous. Soda had to hype him up before he goes out to propose to you. He tries to make the proposal very personal, talking about all his happiest memories with you leading up to proposing to you. He got Soda to help print off a bunch of pictures from throughout your relationship so that he could frame them and put them around the room for when he proposes. 

Dallas: He proposes with one of his own rings, as he wants you to wear a piece of him always. yes it’s more manly ring, but it meant a lot to him and to you. He doesn’t make a big deal about the proposal, as he’s not as into romance as some of the others are. It’s not that he doesn’t want to make it special, but romance and gushy stuff doesn’t come naturally. He proposed in bed after sex and cuddling together. Think My Big Fat Greek Wedding style. He barries his face in the blankets after asking because he’s blushing so hard and doesn’t want you to see. He’s so excited when you say yes, that he doesn’t  let you go all night. 

Johnny: He’s so sweet and a little cinnamon bun. He takes the day off work and decorates the apartment with fairy lights and tea candles and flowers and flower petals. He makes you a nice dinner. He cleans himself up, slicks back his hair, and puts on his nicest cloths. He’s so nervous when you get home and see the decorations. You gush over it, but also start asking if you forgot something (”is it our anniversary? “is it one of our birthday”). But he just kept saying that he just wanted to make you feel special. When he finally got to asking you, he stutters and kept saying he doesn’t deserve you, but he loves you and wants to do everything he can to deserve you. You have to tell him multiple times that he does deserve you and you’re lucky to have him.

Tim: Like Dallas, he gives you one of his rings and doesn’t make a huge deal about it. He talks about it with his brother and sister for a little bit beforehand though because he is nervous. He takes you for a drive out to hill to watch the sunset and ask you while sitting in the car watching the sunset.

Curly. He hadn’t planned it and he hadn’t bought a ring, although he did genuinely want to marry you . You two were arguing. You were pushing him to take your relationship the next level/for him to take your relationship more seriously because you two had been dating for like 5 or 6 years and were tired of not moving forward. He finally yelled out “fine, lets get married” at which point there’s like 30 seconds of silence. You two go together the next day to get the ring.

Angela: She bought a basic ring, as neither of you were flashy people. She wasn’t sure when she would propose, so she carried the ring with her for awhile, just in case the perfect moment came up. Eventually it did, when the two of you were star gazing and the conversation turned to the future and you were talking about all the things you wanted to do. When you asked her what she wanted to do, she said, “I don’t know exactly what but I do know that I wanted to do it with you” bringing out the ring and proposing to you.

Cherry: Because she’s from a wealthier family, she had bought a really nice ring and teken you for a nice weekend vacation resort. THe day is planned out perfectly with romantic events, such as boat rides and swimming. It is topped off with a sunset horseback ride along a trail that ended on top of a large hill/small mountain. She brought a picnic dinner with flowers and the works (well as much as she can fit on a horse if that makes sense). She finally asks you after you two have finished eating and watching the sunset, cuddling up on the blanket together. 

[hms-chill]

The Long Way

A nice fun Liam/Spencer fic, because these boys deserve the world.

Summary: (Alternately  titled “SOMEONE GIVE LIAM A HUG” or “Stronk Farm Boyfriends”)Liam’s  just finishing up vet school, and he’s a month shy of achieving the  thing he’s been working for since he was a kid. When he gets called out  to a farm to witness a calf birth and notices something wrong,  under-researched, and curable, it’s the perfect thing to treat and  document so he can write a paper that will jump-start his career. Of  course, the fact that the calf is owned by a cute dairy farmer doesn’t  hurt, either.

Chapter one // Chapter 5 // On AO3

Chapter 6

As he drives home, Liam tries his best to process what exactly just happened. He hadn't planned to tell Spencer about needing meds; that's the kind of thing that usually gets him worried looks at best and requests to 'borrow' some at worst. But Spencer hadn't been weird about it, and that in itself feels weird. He would have known how to deal with the jokes, or the concern, but treating ADHD like it's something completely normal isn't something that Liam's used to. He's even less used to people helping him deal with it, and he's still processing that as he pulls into his parking spot and starts to move everything Spencer's sent him home with into his apartment. It takes two trips to get the various bags and boxes and baskets up, and Liam puts away milk and vegetables and dinner leftovers before he finally acknowledges the two care packages set on his kitchen floor.

He's not sure how to feel about them, and he has no idea what to expect. Some of his friends get care packages, but he's never gotten one. Spencer's feels like the safer place to start, so he settles on the floor and opens it first to find it packed full of goodies. There's a mug, and a hand lotion with a note that it's the one Spencer swears by for long days on the farm, and a little candle. The note on it says this says it relieves stress and I don't know how much I believe it, but you need all the help you can get, which is enough to startle a bit of a laugh out of Liam. There are matches in the box, too, and snack mixes and other treats packed between things, and it's so thoughtful that Liam has to just take a minute and look at it all. He can imagine Spencer putting this together, adding notes about how drinking coffee out of a mug might help Liam slow down in the morning or writing out exactly what's in the snack mix. Everything is so carefully done, and just knowing that Spencer would take the time to do something like this for him, just because he watched a few movies, is surreal.

The other care package is still there, so Liam forges ahead, opening it before he lets himself become overwhelmed by Spencer's. There's a card on top from Spencer's parents, thanking him for doing the chores and keeping Spencer healthy, and it's got their numbers on the bottom in case Liam ever needs them. He can't imagine calling them, given that parents don't tend to like him and people he needs help from often like him even less, but it's nice to know that they're an option if he's ever truly desperate. It's thoughtful that they offered, and everything else in the box is thoughtful, too. There are homemade cookies with instructions on how to heat them up so they're gooey again, and a nice water bottle with a note that they worry he's only drinking coffee because Spencer never drank enough water in school. There's a framed picture of Annie and a set of command strips to hang it, because they've been in enough apartments owned by boys his age to know that he probably hasn't decorated on his own, and enough snacks and baked goods to last him weeks (complete with instructions on how to freeze and reheat some of it), and a few pasta and sauce options because they know he doesn't have much time to cook. It's thoughtful in a way that feels refined, like it's a variant on a care package they'd have sent Spencer in school, and even that simple fact threatens to overwhelm Liam. Knowing that they think of him as even a bit like Spencer feels like a huge honor, and the fact that they'd both put something like this together without ever meeting him makes him wonder if maybe, they wouldn't dislike him as much as other parents have.

He texts Spencer his thanks, asking him to pass it on to his parents, and puts the food away in a bit of a daze. It doesn't quite sink in until he's looking around for a place to put the picture of Annie, which feels much too fancy for his apartment, but when it does, he has to sit down. Three different people put time, money, and energy into making him feel special. Just because he hung out with Spencer for a week, eating his food and watching some movies. It seems impossible; he'd known that there were people like this but could never have imagined he'd meet them.

There's nothing to do but find a place on his desk for the candle, and one above it for Annie's picture, and go to bed still trying to believe that people care about him enough to send him things. The care packages are still there as he falls asleep, and they're still there when he wakes up in the morning. They haven't faded with his dreams or disappeared overnight like some sort of magic.

The good coffee Spencer bought him is still in his cupboard, right above the mug he drinks it out of as he texts Spencer another thank you. Spencer tells him to take his time and relax with his coffee before he comes out to the farm, so Liam tries his best. He's got a library book on its second renewal sitting on his desk, so he picks that up while he has toast from Spencer's parents for breakfast. It feels like he's cheating somehow, like he's not really serious about school if he's willing to take a break like this. It feels like he can't really want to be a vet if he's going to spend his mornings reading for fun, so he sets the book aside and flips open a textbook instead.

It opens directly to a page about the importance of rest. He reads almost a full paragraph about how important it is to let animals rest between tricks, how a dog who's constantly working will learn to hate the work and their owner, before he closes the book with a deep breath. He's going to be working all day at the farm; he can take a break for breakfast.

When he's finished eating breakfast, washing his dishes, and reading a chapter of his book, he texts Spencer and packs up. He almost forgets the picnic basket, and he wonders if he should put something in it as he heads down to his car, but knowing Liam spent money on him might just make Spencer feel guilty at this point. He'll have to do something later; when he's taken his test and is doing better financially he'll have to throw Spencer a big thank you dinner. For now, he loads the picnic basket and his bag into the car, then settles in the front, turning his music up and rolling the windows down. The drive to the farm is familiar now, and with the wind in his hair and music in his ears, Liam can almost forget how stressed he is.

He knows that carrying all the shit he's dealing with isn't healthy. He's seen the stress studies on people and animals alike, and he's felt the impacts as much as any test subject. He knows the exhaustion, the headaches and the muscle tension. He knows the sleepless nights and racing heart that come with looming deadlines, and he knows the constant worry that he's simply not good enough to face whatever comes next. By this point, he could probably be used in a study like the ones he's read as an example of the consequences of long term stress. But the only way out is through, and the only thing worse than dealing with it on his own would be pushing it off onto someone else. He doesn't need guilt piled on. So he does what he can to find moments like this, when his music's loud and the wind blows through his hair to carry his fears out the window. When he finds these moments, he does his best to savor them, to sing along and let the weight of the world fall off his shoulders for a bit.

As he pulls up to the farm, rattling over the cattle gate with a grin, he expects the stress to come back. He expects it to all crash down onto him again as he parks the car, stopping his music and climbing out. As soon as he settles his bag over his shoulders, he expects the stress to come with it, but somehow, everything feels lighter here. It just feels better not to be stuck in a shitty apartment, especially on a day like this. It's gorgeous out, and maybe, if he can find a nice spot in reach of Spencer's Wi-Fi, he'll be able to study outside.

He's just starting toward the house when he hears his name, and he turns to see Spencer coming out of the barn with a grin.

"Thought I heard your car. How're you doing?"

“I’m better. I’m... I'm a lot better than last night. I’m sorry about all that.”

“Hey, no apology necessary. You just needed a hand, and I’m glad I could help out. I was thinking we could get you set up on the porch for today if you want? My mama brought some iced tea, so we can get you a glass, and there’s a nice table where I used to do my homework and a view of the pasture from there. It's not a fancy office or anything, but I thought maybe you'd prefer it.”

"Definitely better than an office," Liam says, not even trying to hide his grin. Spencer grins, too, and leads the way through the house to a wide back porch. He shows Liam the table and vanishes, reappearing with iced tea and some cookies just as Liam’s getting settled. At the cookies, Liam rolls his eyes with a smile. “Dude, you’re spoiling me.”

Spencer just laughs. “Look, I love Mama, but I don’t think she’s realized I don’t have roommates anymore. She packages cookie plates like there’s a family of ten living here; I just need your help eating them.”

“Did you used to have roommates?” Liam asks. He should be studying, but if he starts studying then Spencer might leave, and he doesn't want Spencer to go just yet. Spencer nods in answer to his question.

“I had a bunch in college. I haven’t out here, though there’s certainly room for it. But not many people want to rent this far from the university and the downtown area, and I feel like it would be weird renting to just anyone. I'm living here, and it's my childhood home and all; I don't know. It would feel sort of uncomfortable.”

Liam nods, and Spencer turns to go inside, leaving Liam to buckle down on his studying. Spencer comes and goes, refilling his iced tea and making sure Liam knows he’s nearby in case he needs to be quizzed or anything. Eventually, he brings out two full plates and asks, “is now an okay time for a lunch break, or should I leave you to it? You can tell me to go away if you want.”

“Now’s good,” Liam says, shifting things to make room as he looks up at Spencer with a grin. “Thank you so much for this, really, I... I don’t know if I could have spent another day like yesterday. My apartment isn't exactly the best place to be right now; my neighbors smoke just... so much weed, and it's just in general sort of... this is a better place for sure."

“It’s honestly not a problem. I like having someone else out here; even if we don’t talk or even interact much it’s nice to be around someone. I... I didn’t really notice until Annie, but it can get lonely out here. I don't know; maybe I should look into getting a roommate instead of dragging people out to visit me.”

Liam almost says he’s looking for a place to live next year, but he bites it back and focuses on his food instead. He can’t ask Spencer for something like that, not with his budget. Any room or space Spencer's looking to rent out would be worth so much more than what Liam could afford. Spencer might say yes anyway, but it would be out of pity, and as much as he loves it out here, Liam can’t spend a year as a pity tenant. Instead, he just ignores the comment and the conversation shifts. They talk about work and cows and movies in theaters that they both sort of know neither of them are going to make it to. Liam thanks Spencer at least three times, and each time, Spencer thanks him in return, for coming out and keeping him company.

By the third time, Spencer sets down his utensils and looks Liam in the eye, so seriously that Liam mirrors him, swallowing the food in his mouth automatically as he gets ready for Spencer to be upset. But Spencer just says, “I like spending time with you. You’re my friend, and you’re fun to hang out with. I... I don’t know who convinced you otherwise, or if you convinced yourself, but I’m being completely honest when I say that I like you. You don’t have to apologize for being part of my life, especially not when I’m the one who invited you in. And you don’t have to constantly thank me, either. It’s... you’re not some kind of problem I have to deal with or anything like that; I’m glad to spend time with you. I... I guess what I’m getting at is that I like you, like... as a person. Honestly.”

Liam’s bright red as he looks back at his food and mumbles a thank you, which feels counter intuitive to what Spencer’s just said about thanking him, but it feels like the only appropriate response. He wants to apologize, but that feels wrong, too, so instead he just says, “I’m... like I said, I’m... I’m sort of new to things like this, but, um, I... I appreciate you.”

Spencer smiles, bumping his knee against Liam’s under the table. “Hey, I appreciate you, too. I... if you have to keep studying tell me, but I was hoping to take the horses out for a long ride today, and you absolutely don’t have to, but if you want to come, I’d like the company. You don’t have to, though! I don’t want to pull you away from something more important.”

“Maybe... how long would it take? And could you wait to see how I feel about things later? I think I could come, but I... it would be a good reward when I'm done for the day, if you don’t mind waiting. I just know if I went now, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about how much I still have to work on.”

"That sounds good; it might be cooler later anyway. We can wait and see, and then just go as long as you have time for."

“I’d like that,” Liam says, and they talk about where they’ll go as they bring the dishes inside, Liam rinsing them off as Spencer loads the dishwasher. Liam’s just starting on some of the bigger dishes, arguing with Spencer that he should be allowed to do the hand washing since Spencer got the food ready, when the doorbell rings. Spencer goes to get it, calling back to Liam that he should leave the dishes where they are. Liam ignores him at first, but when he hears Spencer invite someone in, he finishes up and starts back out to the porch to be out of the way.

He’s not fast enough. Before he can get out, Spencer’s leading two women into the kitchen, talking with them easily.

"Liam, these are my neighbors, Cat and Addy. Cat, Addy, this is Liam. He's... he's the friend I told you about who looked after me when I wasn't feeling good last week."

“Liam, it’s so good to meet you,” Addie says, coming to shake his hand with a grin. “Spencer’s told us how much you helped him out.”

“If you can get this kid to stay on bed rest for that long, you must be some kind of miracle worker,” Cat says, ruffling Spencer’s hair.

“It was nothing. I just hung out here at night, took care of the morning chores, nothing big. I used to live by a place like this and I'd help my neighbors, so it's not like it was anything too new or hard. Honestly, I’ve sort of missed it.”

"Wait, Addy, don't we have a little something for Liam?" Cat asks, and Addy nods.

"We do! It's in the gator we brought over; y'all stay put."

"I don't--" Liam protests, but she's already gone, saying something about how Spencer can come with her if he wants to see something. Cat doesn't seem the type to negotiate what he does or doesn't deserve or need, but still, he says, "Spencer and his parents both already thanked me; I don't need anything else. It wasn't a big deal, really."

“Well, we heard about everything you did, and Spencer mentioned you don’t really have family in the area, so we just wanted you to know that if you need anything, anything at all, you can call us. Addy’s little package has our contract info in it, just in case.”

“Thank you, I... you didn’t have to, really. I’m okay.” When Liam looks up again, Spencer’s leaving the room and Cat is a bit closer. She hesitates for a minute, then puts a hand on his arm, making sure she has his attention.

“I... I haven’t had any biological family since the ‘80s, but Spencer’s parents and Addy made me their family. So if there’s anything we can do to make it feel like you’ve got a family of your own, let me know, alright?”

Liam just nods, trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. Spencer and Addy come back in together, and Cat takes a step back with a smile as Addy hands Liam a box that he wouldn’t exactly describe as little. He’s not sure how big care packages are supposed to be; this marks his third ever. Still, it seems like a lot, but Addy won’t let him complain or return any of it. Liam tells her that Spencer and his parents have already thanked him, but Addy points out that they would have been doing the morning chores if he hadn’t, and Cat threatens to sneak the gift into his car if he won’t accept it. Only once he’s agreed to keep it, thanking them over and over, does Spencer suggest they let him study. That kicks off a round of questions about his test, followed by well wishes and another round of thank yous. Then there are reassurances that they’re glad to have met and other pleasantries before Liam is settling back out on the porch to try and process everything as he gets back to work.

His mind keeps sticking on his conversation with Cat. Somehow, she seems to know more about him than he'd told even Spencer. That should probably scare him, to know someone can read him that easily, but it doesn't. Instead, he realizes that it might make him willing to ask her for help. Of all the people who've offered him help in the past twenty four hours, she's certainly the one he'd be most likely to accept it from. He wonders briefly when the last time he would have asked for guidance or help from a 'real adult' was, and he shifts his focus to work instead of trying to think about that. If he's honest with himself, he's not entirely sure he wants to know the answer.

Aside from Cat and Addy’s visit, the afternoon follows the same pattern as the morning. Spencer’s in and out while Liam studies, offering to help and refilling snacks and iced tea as needed. Liam gets in a good amount of studying, and when the words feel like they’re running together and is brain is too tired to think anymore, he doesn't push himself. Instead, he closes his book and texts Spencer to ask if he’s ready to ride.

They get the horses tacked up easily enough, Liam following Spencer’s lead as they finish up and leave the barn. Spencer urges his horse faster, through a trot and into a canter, and Liam does the same, adjusting as he learns her gate and gets used to being in the saddle again. When they get to an open field, he can tell she wants to go, so he lets her gallop ahead, looking back over his shoulder as Spencer laughs and urges his horse to join them. They race across the field, laughing and egging each other on until they reach a little stream where the horses slow and stop to drink, settling down while the boys on their backs catch their breath. Spencer grins at him, face flushed and hair blown back by the wind, looking almost carefree for the first time since Liam carried him in from the barn.

“Why do I ever do this alone? It’s so much more fun with you; you should just come out every week and exercise them with me." He seems to realize what he's asked a minute later and adds, "I mean, if you want; you don’t have to obviously. But I could get you dinner; we could maybe do picnics, at least until it gets cold.”

“That sounds like a good deal to me,” Liam says, grinning back. “I haven’t ridden in a bit, but it’s like riding a bike. Only the bike is alive, and a lot bigger.”

Spencer laughs, and Liam can’t help his smile. This Spencer, the one who’s not worried or overworked, is so, so incredible. There has to be a way to help him stay like this. He’s happy, and after a moment, Liam realizes he’s happy, too. Maybe if they do rides like this every Sunday, it’ll be a start toward a happier Spencer. He knows coming out here regularly will make him happier, and as they start up into the woods, talking and laughing, he can’t help but hope that having company will do the same for his friend.

As they ride through the back of the ranch and it feels like everything else falls away, Liam can't help but hope that Spencer gets to relax like this more often. At the very least, hopefully he'll be able to find these moments more regularly. He seems comfortable and unstressed, and he keeps crediting it to having company, which feels good. Maybe, even once he gets sick of Liam being around, he'll have learned that having company for weekly rides makes him happy. He can invite Addy or Cat or one of his friends out to ride with him, and really, just knowing that Spencer has moments like these, where his smiles come easily and he's as relaxed as he can be on the back of a horse, would be enough to make Liam happy to have known him.

On AO3

Notes:

The picture of Annie hanging over Liam's desk is brought to you by the picture of a highland cow hanging over my desk. Annie's not a highland, because they're in Texas and it's too hot, but they're both cows so close enough.

Also, I think the issue with these two is that they both assume they're a minor character in the other's story when they are in fact the love interest. Like you know how Liam was very much a piece of character development in RWRB? I think that's how he sees himself in Spencer's life, too.

--

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[ficsandcatsandficsandcats]

Can you please write something for the Punk!AU where Jaskier is touring with the band, and the reader FaceTimes him, because she missed seeing his gorgeous face, and Sam has said her first word, which happens to be Dadda/Daddy, in which Jaskier cries into emotional tears, about how he misses his wife and daughter, and how proud he is of Sam saying her first word.

Fandom: The WitcherPairing: Punk!Jaskier x ReaderWord Count: 1,571Rating: GTaglist: @heroics-and-heartbreak @whatevermonkey @mynamesoundslikesherlock @magic-multicolored-miracle @writingstudent @mlleecrivaine @coffee-and-stories @ultracolorfulnerdcollection @astouract @your-not-invisible-to-me @kemmastan @mycat-is-mylove @amirahiddleston a/n: Got me fucked up in my feelings tonight, fam. I only hope I can return the favor with this humble fic

Your fingers drummed along the countertop as you checked the time in New York for the fifth time that hour. Vicious Mockery should be wrapping up their setlist soon and when they got to the hotel Jaskier said he’d facetime you. You’d nearly texted him the news but you wanted him to hear it from you if he couldn’t be there himself. Sam had begun to sleep through the night and you glanced at the little monitor screen to make sure she was still out. You couldn’t believe that it had already been a year and a half since she was born but somedays it felt like there was never a time before her. She’d changed your lives and even covered in mushed pears you wouldn’t have it any other way. You briefly realized you should change before Jaskier called and had just pulled off the soiled t-shirt when your phone lit up. You swiped in answer without another thought and then there was Jaskier’s face, still a little sweaty, some of his eyeliner blurring. You jokingly called this is “sexy racoon” look.

“Oh hello,” he said, eyes widening in surprise. That was when you remembered that you were only wearing your bra.

“Is that Y/N?” you heard Aev call and then the screen was pressed against his chest protectively and you heard him mutter something about wanting to talk with her alone.

“LOVE YOU Y/N!” you heard Aevryn yell. The next time the screen was pulled back you could recognize the tour bus, specifically his little nook where you’d spend many wonderful hours. Your heart ached with missing him.

“How is everything?” he asked, “How are you? How’s Mitka?”

“It’s going alright. We miss you,” you said. You struggled with whether or not to mention that he was missed, trying not to guilt him but needing him to know how much he meant to you. He rested his fingertips against the phone screen and you followed suit.

“I miss you both more than I could ever say,” he said. “Tell me every little thing that happened today. Is Sam still protesting everything green and vegetable?”

“I managed to get her to eat some peas…” you began, “That fancy stuff Valdo bought she just devours.” Jaskier harrumphed but begrudgingly admitted he was happy to hear she was getting nutrients. You chatted a bit more about general things and then you took a deep breath.

“Something kind of big did happen today,” you said. Jaskier’s face immediately crumpled in worry.

“What? What is it?” he asked anxiously. He struggled with the fear that something would happen to you and Sam while he was away, much more than he let on, you suspected.

“She said her first word!” you exclaimed. Jaskier’s face softened, the pale blue eyes growing glossy.

“Really?” he breathed, proud and pained at the same time.

“Yes,” you said nodding.

“What was it? Oh gods… don’t tell me it was Uncle Valdo,” he said, face growing serious. You laughed and brushed back a tear.

“No, silly. It was Dada,” you answered. His face lit up and then utterly fell apart, a sob choking out as his shoulders began to shake.

“Oh, babe, no,” you stroked the phone screen helplessly, wishing more than anything that you could hold him. But if you could, he would’ve been there to hear it himself and these would be happy tears.

“I’m sorry,” he cried, “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“Jaskier, hey, listen,” you implored, “Babe shhh it’s ok.”

“No it’s not,” he argued, eyes a total smudged, dark blur, “I should’ve been there. I shouldn’t have done the tour.”

“We can’t put our lives on hold. You did the right thing.”

“It doesn’t feel like it. I mean, what else am I going to miss?” he asked. It was a conversation you’d had in the months leading up to her birth and for a bit after she was born you’d been lost in the safe little cocoon of your family as Jaskier took his paternity leave. Technically he could’ve waited as long as he wanted to go back but if they wanted to keep getting people buying tickets they had to have a presence.

“But sweetheart, just think about it. I know you’re scared about not being here for those moments but her first word was Dada. Because you’re such a big part of her life and she already loves you so much that she talks about you even when you aren’t here. You’re a good dad, Jaskier. She is so lucky to have you,” you said, touching on another anxiety that plagued him, one he spoke about a bit more openly. He nodded but you could tell he didn’t quite believe it.

“I play her clips of your shows before bed. And the videos you recorded, of course, but she likes the shows the best. She gets so excited,” you said. He smiled, wiping his face.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you replied.

“Can I see her?”

You silently moved upstairs and crept into her room. She had one of Jaskier’s shirts clutched in her little hands like a security blanket and you brought the camera in close so he could make out the long, thick eyelashes and chestnut curls and chubby little cheeks and fists. She was growing fast but she was still your baby, just for a bit more. You sat in the rocker next to her bed and kept the camera switched to her.

“She’s so beautiful,” he whispered.

“She really is,” you agreed, still in awe that you’d made something so incredible.

“Like her mother,” he said warmly. You chuckled quietly.

“She’s the spitting image of her father,” you teased.

“There’s so much of you in her, Y/N,” he insisted, “She’s lucky to have you, too.”

“Stop you’re going to make me cry again,” you joked, though you wiped away a stray tear. You tried to stifle the yawn but Jaskier noted it.

“You should get some sleep,” he said.

“I guess,” you replied reluctantly.

“Take me into bed with you and I’ll sing you to sleep,” he offered.

“You have things to do too,” you said, though you hoped he’d insist.

“They’ll survive just fine without me,” he said. You gave him one last glimpse of her and then you got ready as he told you about their day and how the show had gone. When you crawled into bed you pulled his pillow into your arms and snuggled down under the covers.

“You comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Thank you for telling me, Y/N,” he said.

“Of course,” you answered, “Now, if you are taking requests, I’d like Peppermint Tea.”

He smiled and began to sing a quiet, acapella version of the song he’d used to propose. It took about one minute before you were snoring softly. He kept watching you for a bit until he felt creepy about watching you sleep and hung up. As soon as he did there was a knock at the dividing door.

“Yeah?”

Geralt stepped through the divider hesitantly.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

“Geralt Rivia asking to come into his own tour bus, will wonders never cease?” Jaskier joked. He was trying hard to put on a brave face but he knew Geralt could see through it. The man sat across from him quietly and nodded at the phone still in Jaskier’s hand.

“Everything ok?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jaskier said, and then, “Sam said her first word.”

“No shit?”

“Yeah.”

“What was it? Uncle Geralt?”

“Dada.”

Geralt smiled and nodded approvingly.

“That seems right. The second one can be Uncle Geralt.”

“Geralt do you think I’m a bad father?”

The question poured out before he could stop himself and to his credit, Geralt didn’t miss a beat before answering.

“No.”

“But I wasn’t there,” Jaskier insisted.

“Jaskier, you’re a good dad.”

“My dad wasn’t there for mine. Hell, I doubt he even knows what it was,” he continued.

“Jaskier, Sam adores you. She’s a bright kid and she’s well-loved and cared for and that’s in big part to you and Y/N. You can’t be there very minute but you are there. And you know her. And you want to be there and that’s more than a bad dad could say,” Geralt argued.

Jaskier nodded, trying to take his friend’s words to heart. One of the perks of having Geralt as a friend was he would always tell it to you straight.

“Honestly if I get to be a dad someday I hope I’m half as good at it as you are,” Geralt admitted.

“Oh c’mon, Geralt, you’re going to be the best dad,” Jaskier argued.

“Well the difference is we’ve seen you do it and have the proof. No clue what it’s gonna be like for me. Kids are scared of me sometimes,” Geralt said.

“Sam isn’t.”

“Well she’s your kid,” he said shrugging.

“Yeah, and your kid will be your kid. And Yennefer’s, which means they’ll probably be fearless and leading a small country before their fourth birthday,” Jaskier joked. Geralt smirked, amused by the thought and not entirely against it. The two men looked at each other with warm, tired smiles.

“It’s still weird you’re a dad,” Geralt said.

“For me too.”

“It suits you, though. And you’re good at it.”

Geralt said it in a tone that would not be argued with and this time when Jaskier smiled he meant it.

[a-simple-imagine]

Three Hearts

Synopsis: It’s Y/N birthday and she doesn’t really feel like celebrating but that doesn’t stop Tony and Pepper from doing something a little special though.

Pairing: Tony Stark x fem!reader x Pepper Potts

Words: 1.6k+

A/N - I always write something for my birthday and this one is quite close to home for me. Happy birthday to me... I guess

Warning- Talks of depression.

It's weird that once you're brought into the world you're kind of just stuck and expected to be grateful. There are probably millions of people who don't appreciate such a gift. You never exactly asked for it and often you found yourself wishing you could return it but each year you complete yet another trip around the sun. You weren't always this bitter towards your birthday; you're not quite sure when it all changed. Happiness could be considered such a fickle thing. You now resent the day in question and along with it comes sadness. They say birthday depression is a very real thing, you're not sure if that's true or not but you like to think it is. There is obviously more to it than just being sad when the big day comes around. There are many factors that can contribute; the passage of time, feelings of failure, stress, etc. All you know is that each year you experience a wave of unbearable sadness and that's not something you wish to relish in so why bother celebrating at all?

Time moves forward into the early hours of the morning. You're lying between two people who would give you the entire world if you simply asked for it. They're both sleeping soundly but the same can't be said for you. You've been staring at the ceiling for what feels like hours, thoughts swirling around your head. The only sound in the room the soft snoring of your boyfriend. Pepper was usually pretty quiet when she slept.

"Happy birthday to you," You mumble out loud. Acknowledging the fact you were now a year older. Nobody else was gonna sing happy birthday so why not do it yourself and get it out the way? This was actually the first time you were spending your birthday with Pepper and Tony. You hadn't told them it was your birthday because you didn't want them making a fuss. You couldn't handle a big party or a fancy dinner. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear me." You fall onto your side, shuffling a little closer to Tony. He was warm and comforting. You slip your arms around the man, pressing up against him as he groans softly. You wonder if he'll wake up but he doesn't "Happy birthday... to you." A gentle whisper against his skin and you place a chaste kiss against the back of his neck before nuzzling against him.

It's still early when your eyes flutter open. Tony and Pepper rush around the room, pulling on items of clothes and trying to talk in hushed whispers. A strained groan slips from your throat as you push yourself up. Rubbing your tired eyes as you watch them. You decide to wait up until they leave for work. As soon as they're gone it doesn't take long for you to drift back off into unconsciousness. Luckily you have the day off so why not spend some time wasting away in bed. When you do finally slip out from under the comfort of the duvet it's because your stomach is growling for something to eat. The air has a particular chill to it as you head for the kitchen. Some would consider it sad that you often spend your birthday alone and maybe they're right but this happened pretty much every year now.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, you enjoy a bowl of cheerios in complete silence. Occasionally checking your phone, you're surprised you actually receive any birthday wishes considering how early it is but you get one or two. They're from people who consider themselves friends but they're more like strangers. There are very few people you have ever actually considered friends but even they're long gone from your life. You contemplate how you would like to spend the day. Staying inside seemed like the most obvious choice but if you spend another day off just lying in bed, Pepper was gonna make you talk about your feelings again. You could go shopping but you didn't exactly have a lot of money to burn. You decide to just get dressed and head out the door; it doesn't really matter what you do as long as you get out and be at least kind of semi-social. You don't do anything particularly exciting. You grab lunch at a small cafe downtown after a short walk and you also pick up some snacks for later. Nobody seems to acknowledge you unless they have to. Your phone hasn't had a notification for hours. The desire to receive birthday wishes outweighs the hatred you have for your birthday. It worse when it feels like nobody remembers or cares. You hate this side of you. This strange desire to be liked when you continue to isolate yourself. You're almost certain you're not the only person who craves attention on their birthday otherwise why would people make posts on Facebook or Instagram? It's so people don't have an excuse to forget. You haven't posted anything so you're not surprised by how little people have been messaging you. It's pretty much like this every day except Tony must be bored because he keeps sending messages to the group chat. You and pepper have been reading them but neither of you has responded.

Pushing through the front door, you're pulled in by the crushing silence. It's hard to ignore. This house was way too big for this kind of silence. After putting away your things, you settle down on the couch to watch a movie. It's a particular favourite of yours but it doesn't seem to hold your attention quite like it normally does; it's just not that interesting. Tony and Pepper arrive home together which is actually pretty weird for them. Tony sits down in the armchair while Pepper just breezes past you.

"Hey,"

"Hi," You reply, glancing towards him and then back to the screen. "how was work?"

"Same old boring crap," he mutters following it up with a hearty chuckle. You give him a small smile before falling quiet. Pepper comes along and joins a little while later, she's changed out of her suit into some sweats. She hands you a hot mug of tea as she sits down next to you on the couch. You take a sip of tea, the warmth spilling through your body. "What were you doing?"

"Just putting stuff away, nothing to worry your pretty little head about," Reaching over, she places her hand softly against your thigh. You don't question her words. "I couldn't stop thinking about you today."

"Oh," You're cautious of her words. Why had you been on her mind more than normal?"And why is that?"

"You just seemed upset this morning."

"How could you tell? Shes always grumpy in the morning," Tony teases, a soft sigh slips past your lips. You fall into a comfortable silence as you watch the movie except for when Tony decides to ask for a bowl of popcorn you prepared but hardly ate. When it finally ends, you try to duck out as quick as possible. You can almost sense the weird conversation that was about to happen. Brushing off some crumbs you charge past Pepper who grabs your wrist along the way. She had surprisingly quick reflexes and a weirdly tight grip. You look back to Pepper who stares back with such gentle eyes.

"You can always talk to us, you know?"

"I know." You reply, nodding a little. "Please let go of me."

"...Sorry," She sighs, releasing you from her grip. Her fingertips glide gently across your skin and you flash her a smile before walking away.

"Oh and Y/N?"

"Yeah Pep?" You call back.

"Happy birthday," You come to an abrupt stop, turning slowly on your heel. You had heard her correctly, right?

"Happy birthday," Tony repeats. His lips curling into a smug smile.

"You knew?"

"Of course," Tony shrugs, somehow looking even smugger than before. "Why wouldn't I know something like that about a person I love?"

"You... love me?" You question slowly. He's never said that to you before. Neither of them had. You had wanted to say it to them but you were worried they wouldn't say it back.

"We love you," Pepper corrected him. "Don't feel like you have to say it back but we wanted you to know how much you mean to us."

You can't help but smile a little as you stare at both of them. "Thanks... I... I love you two, too."

Leaving them alone, you disappear into the bedroom. You wait for a moment half expecting the two of them to come trailing after you but they don't. You think nothing of it. They would come to bed when they were ready. You change and get ready for bed. Sat on the edge of the bed, you place a glass of water on the bedside table and that's when you notice it. A small box left under the dim light of the lamp. It's tiffany blue and tied with a white bow. Your brow crinkles a little. That definitely hadn't been there this morning. Taking the box, you twist the label to reveal five specific words scribbled across it.

We're glad you were born

You roll your eyes but a smile settles on your lips. You open up the box and inside sits a necklace made of silver. It was beautiful. The chain connected by three interconnected hearts adorned with diamonds. They really just casually bought you a diamond necklace? It was definitely their style. It cost more than you could ever possibly afford on your own. You imagine Pepper picked it out because Tony was notoriously bad at getting gifts or so you've been told. You run your finger slowly over the hearts. Pepper and Tony had come into your life so abruptly but you couldn't imagine your life without them. A lot of people would consider your relationship weird but it worked for you. Maybe it was enough to just have these two people in your life. Nobody else mattered because right now they were the only ones who brought a sense of joy to an otherwise depressing day.

[whump-it]

Augine and Callum.  A Collection Box AU.

This is an au with @broken-horn and featuring their OC Augine, who takes no crap from Hayden and rescues pets who need her help! 

CWs for this.  Hayden is sick and tired of Callum and has decided that he will have to kill him, so there is mention of this but it doesn’t happen thanks to the wonderful Augine who is not going to stand for this!

Tagging @pepperonyscience If anyone would like to be added then please let me know!

Hayden had left Callum in the basement. Snivelling and wretched and useless.  The noises were background to him, easily set to one side as he climbed back up the stairs, shutting and bolting the door behind him.  It stopped the sniffing and whinging behind its weight.  He almost ignored the pinging of his phone in his pocket as he marched into the living room, almost too cross to bother.  With a sigh he pulled it out and tapped in his pin code.  He had better things to do with his time.  He had the world’s most useless, most wretched Donor to get rid of.

How are you?  Been up to much?  And how’s that boy of yours?

Augine.  It was from Augine.  It was a distraction but not an unwelcome one at least.  And it at least gave hhim a moment to compose himself.  To not rush anything.  He prided himself on his efficieny.  His forethought.  He’d be damned if he let that stupid, slow little basement wretch get the better of him now, at the very end.  He fired off a reply, fuelled by frustration and anger and sheer disbelief at the incompetence of his basement wretch.

He's slow, stupid, useless. They should've put THAT on his file. Let's just put it this way. He's about to reach the end of his list.

When the reply pinged up on Augines phone, she was smiling, just slightly, just hopefully.  Ready to hear all the good things that were happening.  Ready to hear that Hayden was no longer disappointed with Callum.  That their differences were aired out and maybe, just maybe, the violence that simmered between them, entirely enacted out on Hayden’s side only might have simmered itself down to nothing.  She worried about it.  She wanted good news.

Thumbing her phone, the screen lit up and brought with it exactly what she didn’t want to see.  Her reply was swift.  No thought.  Just type.  Just send.  Just get there.

Fuck the list. You best have tea and a living pet when I get there, you hear?

She was practically already on the road by the time she hit send.

The phone pinged back almost as soon as it hit the couch. Hayden narrowed his eyes at it. Glared at it. Considered taking out his frustration on it upon Callum.  A means to an end at any rate given that his time had run out.  Forget the list.  He had to go.  Growling out, he picked the phone up and thumbed in his passcode, his smile an uptick of malice at the edge of his mouth.  Tea and a live pet.  She aways did have a funny way of showing her concern.  He typed out a quick answer and sent it.

Tea? Sure, little basement idiot can make himself useful one more time I guess.

He knew the way that Augine drove, particularly if someone or something had got under her skin.  Trust his pet to annoy her.  It was exactly the sort of thing that his stupid and slow basement creature was capable and he wasn’t even in the same house as her.  He unlatched the basement door catch and stamped his way down the stairs, slowly clapping as he went.  When he go to the bottom step he stood and watched, as Callum cringed away from him, crying openly.  Sobbing piteously. 

“This is embarrasing,” Hayden said, making Callum flinch as he moved to stand next to him twsisting his fingers into the curls that had grown too long, using them to haul Callum to his feet.  “I have a friend who has a fancy for some tea and to see you alive.  We can make that happen without it being a total disaster can’t we?  Because despite you being a complete disappointment, she still wants to see you.”  He shook Callum by the hair.

“Y...ye...yes Master Hayden, aghh....it...it...yes I’m sorry yes.”

“Good!”  He let go of Callum’s hair and grasped at his neck, around the back, and used it as leverage to shove Callum towards the steps that led up to the main house.  “You’re making the tea.  I trust that you can do that without ruining it somehow.”

“I can Master Hayden I promise you,” Callum spoke quickly, desperate to reassure his Master that he could be good and do better.  “I won’t let you down.”

“First time for everything,” Master Hayden sneered at him.  “Go on then, get up and get going.  I’ll let you have your wrists in front once you’re up there.”  He turned from his stupid little wretched creature, not wanting to look at him for longer than he needed to, and stalked back up the stairs, sighing at how long it would take for him to follow along behind him. 

Hayden paced the house while Callum snivelled and made too much noise in the kitchen.  Every sound was like nails down a blackboard, setting his teeth on edge.  The sooner this tea was done, the sooner that Augine had seen stupid wretch once more, the sooner this could all be done with.  He was keeping one ear out for the sound of her car which he knew would be rocketing his way up the drive at a speed that it shouldn’t be doing.  That, at least, made him genuinely smile.  Despite his mood, he was looking forward to seeing his old friend.  His smile grew when he heard it finally.

Augine had pulled in almost the instant the kettle had whistled, parked haphazardly and half on his lawn.  He called over his shoulder to Callum at the quick rapping on the door.

"I'll get it, you stupid slow idiot. She'll be stood out there until tomorrow if I send you.”  He didn’t even bother to stay in ear shot long enough to hear any whinging apologies.  He had heard more than enough whinging apologies.  His silly creature couldn’t even say sorry in a way that wasn’t infuriating. 

“Augine,” he said pleasantly as he swung the door open.  He was starting to bend towards her in order to kiss her on the cheek and welcome her in when she pushed past him and in to the hallway, speaking as she went.

"He best be packed and ready to go by the time I've had my tea and signed the check."

“Hello to you too,” he said, as he closed the door and followed her towards the back of the house.  In the living room, Augine was shucking off her coat and settling down on the couch, while Callum was knelt next to the couch shaking and trying to be invisible, the tea that he had served sat on a tray on the coffee table, steam rising gently from the spout of the teapot. Hayden stood in the doorway and looked at Augine in disbelief.

"Excuse me?” he said.  “You've got your drink. He's still alive. That's all you asked for in your message. What exactly do you mean packed?"

She sat down with an eyeroll at him, pouring herself a cup of tea as she spoke.

"I'm making an impromptu addendum to the end of your list,” she said, calm and even, not a waver in either her hands or her voice.  “Hmm...does two thousand sound enough?  I doubt you want much for him if you're on the verge of being done with him in a more violent manner than my interjection."

"Two thousand?”  Master Hayden said, stepping around her feet to sit in his usual place next to Callum.  “You know these things come free right?"  He kicked at Callum as he spoke, and Augine’s jaw twisted at the kick.  "This one's barely worth two, let alone two thousand. It's useless. You're not exactly getting a bargain."

He reached over and twisted his fingers in Callum's hair, pulling down to force his gaze up.

"Hey, little wretch, My friend thinks you're worth two grand."  Shoving Callum away, he looked at Augine again.  "Why do you care so much?"

"Well, with your insufferably high standards, you're going to need some money for a worthy replacement." The words came out from over her cup like she was a snake spitting venom.  "I'm not about to deal with you whining you're lonely after killing another failure that you caused with those damn white and red and blue and black days. You call him slow and make him slower." Her teacup shook slightly in her hand, alhough she kept her volume low, dangerously low.

Hayden turned his attention away from Callum, leaving him trying to stay silent through his pain.  Trying to make sense of what he was hearing.  Trying not to flinch at the idea that anyone would talk to his Master the way that his lady was. 

"He's here because his face was right. All he had to do was what he was told. Stupid thing can't even bleed right."  He looked back at Callum, scoffing at his shaking and shivering form.  "Take him if you like. But I want three thousand."

Augine rolled her eyes, but set down her now empty cup to pick up her coat and take out a chequebook from a pocket, along with a slim little gold pen.  She filled out the cheque and ripped it out quickly but efficiently.  Perfectly.  Not a tear or crease that shoudn’t have been there.  She held it out.

"Here's your money. Three thousand for the boy."

Hayden watched as she filled out the check, one eyebrow cocked at what he saw as complete nonsense. Once she'd signed off and held it out, he plucked it from her fingers.

"I don't understand you Augine," he said. "But if you're happy to part with thousands for this lump of pointless then be my guest. I'll cash it tomorrow, won't keep you waiting."  He turned to Callum, hands up in false surrender.  "Guess I can't touch you now wretch. You should at least show your gratitude that I'm not killing you right now."

"Th... thank... thank you Master Hayden for letting me live. I'm I'm v... very very grateful."  Callum forecd the words past the white noise of blind panic that was clouding his every thought.  Donated, Selected.  Tortured and nearly killed.  Sold then bought.  And who by?  Who was Augine?  He had no idea what was expected of him anymore and it terrified him beyond rational thought.

"I have earned twice that in less time than this. I won't notice the absence of a few thousand, Hayden." Augine stood, puttig her coat on and pocketing her chequebook and pen, then turned her gaze to focus on Callum.

"Alright, come along, Callum, “ she said.

Callum looked up barely, just enough to see her stood above him. He didn't know if eye contact was allowed. Didn't know if he should crawl or walk or go on his knees. Didn't understand what was happening to him.

"Umm...y... yes miss. How should I...I mean I'm not thinking I promise. I just...how is best for me to...umm if it's ok to ask? I don't know how you want me to move?"

"You can walk with me, Callum,” she said, voice gentle now that her attention isn't on Hayden.  She bent to unbuckle the cuffs around his ankles and his wrists, giving them their first taste of real freedom in so long that he felt as good as naked without them.  He swallowed and let out a small sob at the feel of his bare skin.  Augine looked at him for a long moment then stood and beckoned him up with her. 

“Come along then, you don’t need to look at Hayden,” she said as she left the living room and went down the hall to the front door, then out with Callum once he had caught up, leading him over to her car.  "In the passenger seat, alright?"

Callum walked slowly, unused to being unfettered. Unused to being allowed out. The birds and the insects and even the air seemed too loud. Too heavy. He crouched in on himself, trying to be small.  Trying to be what was right in the vacuum absence of rules.  At the car he stopped.  Blinked.

Crumpled.

"I...I...I... not me... I'm not thinking... but...i....qu..." He broke off, breathing hard and heavy.  No rules.  No rules.  Too much freedom or maybe no freedom but how could he know when no one had actually told him.

Augine gently exhaled, stepping back over to him, a gentle hand going to Callum's shoulder to guide him back, the other opening the car door once it wouldn't hit Callum.

"I know it's strange dear," she said as she gently guided him into the seat, nothing more than soft touches and words to settle him, her own steady hands helping his secure the seat belt and close the door before she stepped around to the driver side and slipped in with a discreet finger raise towards the house, knowing that Hayden would be watching them.  As the car started to move, he realised. As they drove further down the drive he knew it couldn't be kept inside. He didn't have permission. He didn't have rules.

He wanted rules.

But he wanted his teddy more. He'd break all the potential unknown new rules, take any punishment. He needed his teddy.  Unbidden and without conscious permission he yelled out.  Howled and cried.

"I need my teddy! I can't go without my teddy and Master Hayden will find it and hurt it I know he will pleasepleaseplease! Anything I'll do anything please!"  Augine blinked, but did not show a a single sign of upset. She merely spun the car around and drove back, stopping delieratlhy on the lawn this time.

"You stay here, alright?”   Augine said, giving him a warm smile and opening her door.  “I'll be right back with your teddy."  She gave him the words, the kindness, before stepping back up to front door and knocking loudly.  When Hayden opened it, she stayed outside.

"You forgot to pack him up.  He informed me he has a teddy.  Go get it and bring it here."  Hayden laughed. Hard. Cruel. A bark of amusement at Callum's expense.

"That thing? Yeah sure I'll go get it."  Augine stood and tapped her foot, waiting as Hayden disappeared from view into the basement.  For the smallest of moments she considered shutting th door and latching it before just driving away.  But she knew, she just knew, that Callum would be devastated by such an action.  And it wasn’t her style.  Not what she wanted to actually do.  Eventually he came back, a matted and filthy teddy caught between the pinch of his finger and thumb. He held it out to Augine and smiled.

"One teddy, just for you two. Here's the thing though. He thinks I don't know about it. He thinks it was left there by mistake and he adores this teddy. He hides it from me. It's his entire world. But guess what. I put it there. Do you know something? I did it so that no matter what happens to me, he'll always remember me. That soft teddy of his? All that lovely softness? It makes him think. Of. Me."

Augine simply took it in one hand, smiled, and said "Not for long."

She slid back into her car and handed it to Callum, then drove off again.

[texastheband]

Super Shar

Interview by Simon Gage, Photography by Wayne Maser Taken from Marie Claire UK - December 2001

She's one of the most successful women in British music, but Sharleen Spiteri refuses to let fame go to her head. And she doesn't mince her words about people who do. Here, the Texas singer gives Simon Gage the lowdown on babies, relationships and having Madonna and Guy round for tea. Photographs by Wayne Maser.

'And you need white wine vinegar, which is weird, but it's the secret ingredient,' says Sharleen Spiteri as she jams another slice of toast into her mouth and peers through the steam from a mug of tea big enough to soak your feet in. She's sitting in the television room of the huge house near London's Regent's Park she shares with her boyfriend, Ashley Heath, editorial director of The Face, explaining a pavlova recipe. (She doesn't mention she is making it for Tom Ford, designer for Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent.) The dustbins outside are full of carrier bags from Alexander McQueen - an old mate of hers from way back - and the kitchen is big enough to drive a Jeep around, but it's a homely home, not a stupidly luxurious swank pad. Although goodness knows, it could be. The house is fairly new to Sharleen - bought with the cash she's earned since Texas's resurrection with the White On Blonde album in 1997 made her a multi-millionaire - but it already looks lived in, with books and candles everywhere, a huge Aga and comfy settees. Her mum and dad are down from Glasgow to help her redecorate. Obviously, she could afford to employ a team of painters - she is one of the wealthiest women in the UK, with recent rich lists placing her higher than Posh but she sees this as a nice way of spending more time with her parents. 'And I get a lot of satisfaction from it.' she adds. 'We've been taking thousands of books off the shelves so we can paint. It's one of those jobs where you end up going, "Why the fuck did I start this?", but they're all back now and it looks fantastic.' Sharleen, 33, may be one of the most successful women in British music -the Greatest Hits album is six times platinum and counting but she is not going to let that stop her getting on with painting her shelves and sloping into cafes for junk food. She may have no time for the Mariah Careys of this world - they fell out last year - but to the women in the second-hand clothes shop we stop off at in Camden on our way to Marks & Spencer for bread, Sharleen's probably the nicest customer they'll have all day. The thing with Sharleen is she doesn't do the superstar thing and has a great talent for not being spotted. It's not like she's in disguise or anything - her hair is tied in a makeshift knot, she's wearing 'great label, but low-impact' clothes and she keeps her head up, talking non-stop in her recognisable Glasgow drawl. She even gives me a body-popping run-through of a Missy Elliott video in the middle of a road without anyone batting an eyelid, then goes on to say how shocked she was when a paparazzo tried to take a picture of her nipping out for milk. Shocked not in a 'How dare you?' way, but in a 'Why would you?' way. But that's Shar all over. She still doesn't quite get what all the fuss is about.

So we hear you're about to take two years off. SS: So people keep telling me. I'm not rushing to do the next record. I think people need a little break and so do I. Johnny [McElhone] and I are still writing [songs], but sometimes it's difficult to know where you want to go musically so we had to take a break. Two years is ample time to have a baby. I knew you were going to say that. Even my friends are phoning up and saying, 'Do you want to come to this party?' and if I go no, they ask, 'Are you pregnant?' and I'm like, 'Piss off!' If it happens, it happens. Hell, I ain't getting any younger. You're doing alright, aren't you? Is there anything you still want and can't have? No. I don't think having something you want has got anything to do with being a millionaire [laughs], but you can say that when you're loaded. I've never been happier. I can come and go, see my mates, have them round to the house and just have a laugh. Did you always dream of being a popstar? I never dreamed of being a popstar What defines a popstar? Someone who sings for a living and everyone screams at them. What defines a musician? Someone who does that but no one screams. So, what am I? You're a popstar. Yeah, but am I the same as people like Hear'say? I don't have a group of producers and writers who are writing songs for me and getting records ready so I can walk in and do my vocal. I don't sell newspapers, I sell records. Those popstars who sell newspapers don't sell albums.

Now you've made it, do things still impress you? Like when Alan Rickman phones to say he wants to be in your video? It's funny because [since the In Demand video], women come up to me and go,'Oh, what is Alan Rickman like?' He's lovely, we're mates. There's no bullshit to him. When we were doing the video, he told me he was up for a part in Harry Potter and I was like, 'Oh, my God! I love Harry Potter' When he got it, he phoned and said, 'Do you want to come down to the set?' I was like, 'You're damn right I do.' I took my niece and two nephews. It was so cool. You were supposed to be in Moulin Rouge, weren't you? What part? The Nicole Kidman part, but it would have meant spending a year filming in Australia. Now it's released, don't you think, 'That could have been me'? No. When I say no, it's no. I didn't ever see me doing that part. I was doing The Hush [Texas's fifth album] and that was more important than doing a movie.

What about when Madonna phones to ask you to dinner, does that impress you? My first meeting was at her house, so it's different from being in a popstar environment. It's pretty funny walking in the door and she's like, 'Hi, I'm Madonna.' You're a bit like, 'Yeah, I know that.' But isn't she just like all those popstars with the producers and the writers standing by? I honestly think she takes the music thing very seriously. We played with her and that wasn't a show where you just walk on and go, 'Let's see what happens.' It was very slick. Were you scared of her? Absolutely not. She's very bright - you don't get that amount of success without being bright. And what is Guy Ritchie like? Guy's nice. He's very real. But he gets criticised for being fake. Everyone reinvents themselves. It's bullshit when people go, 'That's not your background and you can't act like that.' I couldn't care less where Guy comes from. You're either nice or you're not. I don't need your family history to be in your company. Have they been to your house yet? No. It's just a case of getting it together. How would you be able to relax? Why wouldn't you? I don't understand. 'Oh my God, Madonna's coming round, I'll have to get the house repainted.' For fuck's sake. The night we went over, it was me, Stella [McCartney], Ash [Ashley Heath], Guy, Madonna, Guy's dad and his wife, and it was dead relaxed, like any dinner.

‘I don’t do cleavage, Cleavage is overrated’ - Sharleen

Did you see Madonna in concert? No. I was really busy. Was she upset? I'm sure she couldn't have given a flying fuck. So if you're not worried about meeting Madonna, what do you worry about? I'm really worried about my niece, because she's being bullied at school. I get angry more than I worry. I'm really bad at biting my tongue. I've seen people's jaws drop in a 'I can't believe she just said that' way. So you don't dream of having a body like Geri? Everyone would like it, but I wouldn't want to do the work. I couldn't bear having to think about it every time I want to eat. That's not living. I think she looks like a very ill girl. I'm just like, 'Get over it.' Would you ever do the bikini thing for a magazine? I don't need to. Some people might find the need to have a photo of them retouched, but I can't think of anything worse than going home after your boyfriend sees you on a magazine cover with your arse up to here and tits ping, ping, and then you go in and it's reality, gravity. Don't get me wrong, I really care that it's a nice picture. If I go into a studio and there's a stylist going, 'We really think...', I'm like, 'No, this is what I'm wearing because this is the way I look.' You have a big female following, don't you? A woman liking me is the biggest compliment you can pay me. After the Elvis video, so many women said, 'Well done, you're so brave.' Why brave? Because it wasn't you in a sexy little dress. I'm so bored with tits and arse. Did you know you were above Kylie and Madonna as the act most requested at Gay Pride this year? I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'Bring it on, the queen has got her crown back.' You've got a big lesbian following. Have you ever been tempted? No. I love women, but I don't fancy them. I look at women and think, 'Man, she's gorgeous.' I'd like to look like Angelina Jolie. I think she's so sexy. I love her big lips and her kooky character, and I find her madness appealing. I don't think she acts it. How does your boyfriend cope with you being a superstar? A lot of men would find that hard. Ashley's not that type. He's a very confident person, always has been. That's what attracted me to him.

When I walk into the East London photo studio about a week later, the first voice I hear is Sharleen's. She's in the middle of telling the team of internationally celebrated photographers, stylists and make-up artists some off-colour stories. The photographer reckons he doesn't know Texas's music, so someone puts on the Greatest Hits, to which Sharleen lip-syncs like a drag queen, throwing in some comedy Mariah Carey moves. As she changes from her white T-shirt into a variety of top-drawer designer togs, most of which she's brought along herself, the only thing that stays the same is her attitude. Halfway through doing a glamorous shot laid out on the floor, she asks if we can see her balls up her skirt, then she comes out in a top with a plunging neckline, pulling the sides together because, 'I don't do cleavage. Cleavage is over-rated.' Are you still big mates with Chris Evans? SS: I haven't spoken to him since he got married, but I really believe that he and Billie are in love. I met her at a funeral with Chris. Everyone is going on about Billie and Chris and you think, 'OK, so Chris has fallen in love again,' because Chris does that. When I met him with Billie, I thought, 'Oh, this is different.' I don't know her, but she was very relaxed in his company, and he was in hers, and I don't see Chris like that very much. I thought she was a really nice girl. I was quite taken aback. But you forget how young she is. What age is she? Nineteen. I never knew she was that Young. Age makes no difference to me. At that age, I was writing I Don't Want A Lover. I still stand by the lyric. Did you go to Madonna's wedding? No. There were only 60 people invited. If Madonna had invited me to her wedding, I would have wondered why. She's only known me a year. Are you going to invite her to your wedding? Who says I'm getting married? [Laughing] That was the cheesiest way of asking me I've ever heard. So ... ? Probably... I don't know how you decide. I always find it horrible when people talk about it. You're big on monogamy, aren't you? I'm a romantic. I think I'm a realist, to be honest with you. Is monogamy a big deal to me? Fuck, yes. If it lasts a week or lasts the rest of your life. So you won't put up with any running around? No. That's like [split sound] material. It's not good. Would you end it even for a minor indiscretion? Yeah. Why would you have a boyfriend? You might as well just be shagging people. Don't you ever fancy a meaningless shag? No. A shag is the ultimate closeness you can get to me, mentally and physically. When I'm having sex, that's completely me. It has to be really special. That's the way I am. You don't think there are different sorts of sex? You're talking like a man; 'I shagged her and it didn't mean anything.' How do you know it didn't to the other person? I think there are lots of girls who kid on that they don't care, but I don't believe women are like that. But I'm not interested in other people's sex lives. I love having a laugh and a great conversation, but you've seen me with my girlfriends and we're like, 'You dirty devil' and laugh like other women. We talk about sex, but not our sex lives. It's an urban myth that women talk about what they do in bed. So what are your thoughts on Posh? Every time I've met Victoria, she's been a sweetheart. Everyone goes on about her, but you still pick up the paper to see what she's up to. She seems pretty normal. Well, not in the sense that I'm normal, but I think she's actually quite normal in her heart.

See the photoshoot: here Read the scans: here Text originally posted on texasindemand.com

[darkestwolfx]

Run for the Hills

Goodness I should have written this long ago and I really don't know why I didn't! I am so pleased this prompt appeared because it has finally, finally spurred me on to write it. It's another character I don't usually write solo for – not that I know why, I think just because I haven't as opposed to any issues with writing the character.

Anyway, I would kill for a backstory series on all this you know, but hey, I'll just keep making it up to my pleasure until they choose to see so fit as to give me one.

20: Run for the Hills

Summary: He'd honestly thought it a saying, and little more. He was re-evaluating that now.

Words: 1805

Spoilers: Potential references to 'The Hexpert' [S1E20], 'Designated Driver' [S1E22]. Mentions 'Signals: Part One' [S3E14]. Nothing major.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

'e ad hoften thought habout hall this running haround: driving ha fancy car hand looking the part…

It was him. There was no denying that.

FAB One and the beautiful, kind young Lady (okay, and the mutt), he drove around were proof of all he know was.

Chauffeur, Butler, Protector.

Yes, he was all of those things thanks to Lord Creighton-Ward's faith in him.

No hone 'ad hever 'ad faith like that hin 'im.

Not even those who were always meant to have his back, those who he ran with had never had that much belief.

Safecracker, illusive thief, criminal mastermind…

Okay, well, maybe he hadn't quite made the records for the last one, but they were the things he had been, the things he thought he had left behind, so to speak.

They never left him. He couldn't forget all the things which had made up his checkered past, which formed his skill set, and had led him to this ultimate point.

This point hof faith.

Lord Creighton-Ward gave him a chance and he took it. He was already something and someone, but maybe this gave him a chance to be more than that.

*********

He'd been thinking that in the sense of… well, some kind of retribution for his past failings and run-ins with the law.

He hadn't been thinking in the sense of an ex-astronaut who his Lordship seemed to be quite friendly with.

"Parker, this is Mr Jeff Tracy."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Tracy, Sir."

"Oh, you don't need the 'Sir', Parker."

"hOh… right you hare, Sir."

When he accepted Lord Creighton-Ward's offer;

"What would hI be doing, M'Lord?"

"Just driving my daughter around, Parker. Looking out for her."

"hOh, hI can do that, Your Lordship. hI hused to be hour get-haway driver."

"Did you now?"

"Yes, Your Lordship, hand might hI say, hI was halmost has good has that, has hI was hat cracking the safes."

"Well, then I'm sure I couldn't be hiring better hands."

…He had, well, assumed it was a one-person sort of job. One person to mind that was.

But since the arrival of Jeff Tracy, it seemed more had come his way.

Much more.

Crikey ho' Riley… what 'ad 'e signed 'imself hup for?

Lord Creighton-Ward gave Mr Jeff Tracy Sir, quite ha lot hof funding for some project hor hanother.

That was what Parker worked out early on, from being stood in the room or sat in the driver's seat.

********* 

The American visited the residence quite often too.

And one day, he brought his eldest son with him for the trip.

"Ah, Parker, you remember Jeff."

A polite nod to show the answer was the haffirmative.

"This is Jeff's eldest boy. Mr Scott Tracy."

The boy seemed very confident too, holding out a hand like he was ready for a handshake. Parker obliged, after a polite bow, of course.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Scott, Sir."

"Oh no, Parker, he's definitely not a Sir."

"hOh… right you hare, Mr Jeff Tracy Sir."

He'd gone promptly to serve the tea, missing the very bright-eyed glances shared between the two men.

********* 

It was the right choice.

hAccepting his Lordship's offer.

Of course it was the right choice.

Lord Creighton-Ward rather thought so too.

********* 

"Tea, M'Lady?"

"Tea, Parker."

The young Lady Penelope, heir to his Lordship, wasn't quite one for all that sitting still at gala's and charity balls. Parker thought she was a sight worse than him, and he at least wasn't supposed to be a.. huhem… 'igh born.

She set him off half the time.

Her Father didn't seem to particularly mind either, Parker noticed. He'd spare her a cursory glance, non-interruptive to whatever or whomever he was conversing with, see he was already prepared to follow along dutifully behind her, and return to whatever he was occupied with.

Parker wondered for many years whether that was strange or just a trait of the 'igh born.

He never realised, nor had time to be told by his Lordship, that it was only because he was going to be there that the man could take his eyes off his daughter for more than two seconds.

His Lordship would rather have liked to tell him that.

********* 

Mr Jeff Tracy Sir continued to visit often.

The young Lady Penelope was rather liking getting to know his sons too. Parker supposed it made sense.

"hAh 'ello hagain, Mr Tracy Sir."

"Yes, hello Parker. Lovely weather today."

"Makes ha change from the rain, Mr Tracy Sir. hOh, there's three hof you."

"Yes, Parker, this is another of my sons. John Tracy."

"Nice to make your hacquaintance, Mr John Sir."

"Oh, I'm not-"

"And 'ello hagain to you, Mr Scott Sir."

"-a Sir."

*********

Parker had often thought of the old saying… Run for the hills.

Maybe that's what he should be doing, and doing now. Running whilst there was still some kind of chance.

He didn't. Lord Creighton-Ward had chosen him, and put his faith in him.

He owed the man a certain amount of loyalty for that.

And he'd promised to protect the man's daughter.

Even if that seemed to come with an additional family who he somehow ended up playing butler for too.

*********

FAB One had been a replacement for FAB Zero when petrol began to die out.

Lord Creighton-Ward had intended to get a black car this time around, much sleeker and more stylish, but her young ladyship had kicked up a fuss… a rather polite fuss, but a fuss nevertheless.

"Everyone has black cars."

"It's the nature of high society, dear. Chauffeurs drive the cars, the cars blend in."

"The last car did not."

"No, well, that was a favour I was testing for a friend, you see. But it is not viable to have another pink car dear."

"But I think something pink to carry on the tradition would look most fine, Father. Don't you think so too, Parker?"

"hOh… hI hum… well, yes, M'Lady."

"See Father, Parker agrees with me, and since he'll be the one driving it, I think it's only fair if we make sure it is pink."

"Yes, Penelope dear, whatever you say."

"hI ham sorry, Your Lordship. hI didn't know what helse hI could say to 'er."

"That is quite alright, Parker. She's right, after all. Why not have another pink car."

FAB One could also be black though, there was a rather handy switch for it.

Yes, Parker very much liked the new 'get-haway' car, 'is Lordship 'ad bought 'im.

*********

FAB Zero had lived in the garage for many years.

Many, many years until Parker and Scott crossed paths again. He'd been doing a spot of… spring cleaning, when Mr Jeff Tracy Sir had turned up with the boy, His Lordship and young Lady Penelope in tow.

"Good morning Parker."

"Good morning, Mr Tracy Sir."

"Yes, well… Apparently it's okay for you to take the day to teach Scott here how to drive."

"Me, Mr Tracy Sir?"

"Yes Parker, you." His Lordship agreed. "Who better."

"Can Parker teach me how to drive?"

"You don't need to drive, dear, that's why you have Parker."

"Hmm, but one of these days-"

The conversation faded away as did the figures until Parker was left very much halone with the eldest Tracy boy. He'd lost count now as to how many of them there were. It was so much easier with just her Ladyship to look after on a daily basis.

"So, how do I drive?"

And he thought her Ladyship moved fast. hOh to be young...

"This car looks awesome. Oh, why's there a button there? Dad's doesn't have one of those-"

It wasn't usual custom, but he grabbed the young man's hand before it could even reach the little impress.

"hI wouldn't touch that, hif hI were you."

"What does it do?"

"Well, Mr Scott Sir, maybe hone hof these days hI'll show you, but for now your father 'as hasked me to teach you to drive."

"So teach me! I'm ready."

"No, Mr Scott Sir. You're sitting hin the wrong car."

"The wrong car?"

"hOnly hI 'ave the 'onour hof driving FAB One."

"So what am I meant to drive."

"hI'm glad you hasked."

*********

"Parker?"

"Yes, M'Lady?"

"I'd like you to meet Sherbet."

"hOh, hI hused to love Sherbets… hOh."

"He's my new companion. He'll go with us wherever we go."

"hEven hin the car, M'Lady?"

"Of course. I wouldn't expect him to walk alongside us on the road, would I now?"

He sighed.

"No, M'Lady."

*********

"You will look after Penelope, won't you?"

"hOf course hI will, Your Lordship."

He wasn't going to dare tell the man that she was perfectly capable of looking after herself.

Or that 'e might 'ave let slip ha few hold tricks to 'er.

*********

They were saying goodbye to Mr Jeff Tracy Sir.

He'd just come for tea in the wake and told them some very interesting information.

It had made Her Ladyship rather happy anyhow.

"Well Parker, that does make things more exciting."

"Certainly, M'Lady. hI'm sure Mr Scott Sir, hand Mr John Sir, hand Mr Virgil Sir will hall be very pleased to see you hat the hIsland."

"Yes, quite, um… Parker?"

"Yes, M'Lady?"

"You do know the boys aren't Mr Tracy's yet."

"hAre they not, M'Lady?"

"No, no, no. They still have Jeff. They're Master Tracy's."

"hOh… hI see. Well, M'Lady, hI'm sure Master Scott Sir, hand Master John Sir, hand Master Virgil Sir will hall be-"

He never realised how much Lady Penelope loved the little mistakes he made with his terminology or his speech. And she never told him – too much – for fear that she would correct her source of entertainment too much.

No, she rather liked this character her Father had found for her.

Parker never told her that he rather liked her too.

*********

The little bell rang, somehow clear and shrill through the house.

Blimey! 'e no longer knew 'ow that was possible.

Back up he went. hAgain.

Master Gordon was a bound to be ringing for something.

He was in this for the long haul, certainly until that leg repaired itself.

hOh… He'd have a five in six chance of it being any of the other Tracy siblings, and he was including Kayo.

But of all the ones Her Ladyship had to take a shining too… it had to be the blonde currently laid up with a stack of injuries, one heck of an attitude and a little annoying bell.

"Parker!"

The bell rang again.

"Parker!"

"Coming! Master Gordon Sir. hOh…"

*********

Maybe he really should have run for those hills when he had the chance.

He'd honestly thought it a saying, and little more. He was re-evaluating that now. hAgain.

But of course, it didn't change a thing.

hAgain.

[saizoswifey]

Helloooo. I'm not even sure if you're taking requests at the moment but if you are can I ask for some smutty headcanons for our loveable and slightly scary Nobuyuki? Or Ieyasu? Or maybe both? hehehe 🙈♥

 The thirst for this soft Yandere is real! And I love it so much! Alright, my friends! Here we go, thank you for the requests and sorry it has taken me a while to get to this one~  

Just warning this is…the longest one yet lol.

{Nobuyuki} {N//SFW HCs}

The first time you have sex, the entire scenario had been manipulated and crafted and designed by Nobuyuki himself, with you none the wiser. 

When he felt you were ready, cleverly, he began to pull away from you. He began to work later into the evenings, he would be curt in the halls as you passed each other, and he no longer touched you or held you when you lay together in bed. All while knowing this would drive you to concern over his affections for you, and lead you to miss the comfort of his touch.

He wanted to drive  you to be the one to reveal your desire to have sex and beg him to take the next step

When you finally brought it up, and the fact that you were worried he might have had a change of heart about you and didn’t desire you in the same way you desired him, he feigned shock and heartache. 

“It would seem I’ve been rather neglectful of you and your feelings. And in turn, given you the impression I did not desire more intimate relations with you when that is quite the opposite…I’m ashamed, can you ever forgive me?” 

And of course, after making up he’ll be ever the gentleman, feigning hesitancy and asking if you are quite sure you are ready to know him in that way. And after your miscommunication, you will be eager to assure him of your ready-ness. 

Sex with Nobuyuki started off as nothing super fancy or intense. He didn’t want to scare you off, and thought it better to ease you into it.

Lots of slow, deep kisses, his hands caressing you gently between your legs. Exploring all the ways to make you wet. He’s careful and calculated, applying varying pressure and watching how you respond. Finally dipping a finger inside of you and reminding you with a calm soft voice that you have nothing to worry about, just relax your body and let him take care of you. 

Despite the desire to come inside of you, he holds off for a while for your sake. He wants to get you pregnant but not enough to do it before you’re settled in your lives together. 

Until then, he does find it pleasant to pull out and finish himself on your thighs or ass or down your throat.

He’ll “accidentally” come on your face or tits other times

“Oops. How dreadful of me…hold still, dear one,” with his thumb he wipes at the thick white come splattered across your nose and cheek and lashes, but there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looks down at you. And in the middle of cleaning you up, his hands stop to grip your face in place so he can kiss you deeply, forcing his tongue deep into your mouth with a fierce hunger. “Mmn, however, I must confess seeing your usually sweet and innocent face such a mess is…extremely erotic.” 

Favorite sex position: 

Gives him the best view of your breasts and pussy, easy access to caress your skin and stimulate your clit and he can see himself penetrating you

Sex gets kinkier and kinkier the longer you are together and the more he feels comfortable that you won’t be scared off 

He’ll play between your legs for a moment and then push your thighs apart, sitting back from the bedding and asking if he can see you touch yourself. 

“Please, I only wish to see what makes you feel good. If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll touch myself as well. Haha, don’t be shy.”

The first time he ate you out he had been simply kissing you while finger fucking you. His face trailed down your torso and he asked, while rubbing your clit, if he might be granted permission to taste you down there as well. His wet luscious lips and the way he sucked and lapped at your clit and folds had your consciousness bright white and floating out of your body. He was relentless and clearly enjoying himself, and the way you buried your fingers in his thick fluffy head of hair and pushed up into his face made him hum in delight. 

“Do you like this? You’re so wet, and you’re making some incredible faces when I…suck…here…Mmn, your moan is rather sexy…as much as I’m enjoying teasing you like this, I don’t think I can hold back much longer”

Nobuyuki has a very high sex drive hidden behind a genial smile. He is CONSTANTLY watching you lustfully, he’s just extremely good at hiding it. 

He can’t help but stare at your hips as you serve tea in the main hall and the way your hands wrap around the cups. The nape of your neck makes his mouth practically water. And he hasn’t been paying any mind to the words you’re speaking as you find him in the corridor, because he’s too busy watching your lips move and imagining them trailing down his torso in quiet moonlight before the tip of his cock presses through them to be enveloped by the warm wet of your tongue 

Several times he has dropped something on purpose, just to be able to watch you bend over and pick it up. 

“Accidentally” spills his tea on you while you’re serving him in his room. 

“Dear oh dear, sometimes I don’t know how I manage to dress myself in the morning with these clumsy hands of mine. You’re not hurt, are you? Here, allow me to help.”

He’ll towel off your breasts with care, lift the layers of your kimono to expose your thighs. 

“Pardon me, we must make sure you haven’t been burned, after all.”

He runs the cloth up your thighs higher and higher, kneading the plushness with his fingers and before you know it he’s removing your obi to get you out of those wet clothes so you don’t catch a cold. Trailing kisses over the injured flesh, murmuring of how you taste of tea now, until his luscious lips brush up against your pussy and his tongue draws up slowly to part your folds 

Very instructive in bed. He enjoys telling you what to do, and how to do it. He is amazing at giving praise and encouraging you to endure whatever it is he’s doing to you. 

He loves you on your knees in front of him. Where he can put his hands in your hair or cup your face and run a thumb along your cheek which is stretched by the tip of his cock as he thrusts into your mouth. 

“Ahh…that’s good, darling. You’ve learned to take me so well in this mouth of yours But can you take me deeper?” he presses his cock farther into your throat, hips snapping more furiously. “Mmmn–yeahh, yeah use your tongue like that, I’m c-close. Keep sucking just like that. Drink it all up like a good girl.”

Extremely possessive and jealous. If he feels as though someone (Saizo, Yukimura etc) is stealing your affections and attention from him you best believe he’s fabricating some sort of task for you to do that will keep you busy in his room until he can sort it out. (By any means necessary). Meanwhile, he’ll be extra clingy and turbulent in the bedroom. 

He regularly marks you during sex

On your breasts and hips and thighs, he’ll latch his lips and suck and lap at the bruises he creates with delight 

 But he does so in visible places when he is feeling insecure. He’ll leave a scattering of red petals across your neck and chest and then send you out the next day on errands in town or to do your daily chores in the castle. He doesn’t care who sees 

“Are you alright? Your neck…” Yukimura asks you at breakfast

“Haha,” Nobuyuki chuckles, pretending to be a bit shy, “It’s alright, Yukimura. I must have gotten carried away last night, that’s all”

LOVES to whisper the naughtiest raunchiest shit in your ear in public and smile, walking away as if he did nothing at all. He’ll pull you aside in the middle of your dusting or delivering letters and speak in a soft low voice meant only for your ears

“Don’t work too hard, today. You look especially beautiful with your hair done up with the pin I bought for you, and I’ve been thinking of pulling it back in my hands and running my tongue down that intoxicating chin and neck of yours since breakfast. Would you like that, dear one? Are you getting wet at the thought of me pressing you into the floor, ripping this beautiful fabric from your body and stuffing it in your mouth as I have my way with you? Hmm, you are, aren’t you… I can see in your eyes you’re begging for it. How did I end up with such a naughty woman for a wife? Oh, don’t fret…as soon as dinner is over I’m going to fill every inch of you and fuck you until you pass out in my arms.” 

Nobuyuki definitely been gifted, much to his dismay, goods such as erotic books and lubes and oils and libido driving teas and potions and ROPES that won’t leave marks from Saizo. Yukimura is always curious to see what Saizo has given Nobuyuki for his birthdays and as your wedding/anniversary presents WHY WON’T ANYONE SHOW HIM WHAT WAS IN THE BOXES (Yukkins bls you DONT wanna know)

Not that he doesn’t use some of it….of course 

You never have to worry about someone walking in on you both fucking, Jinpachi is ever vigilant and no one has caught wind of what goes on behind closed doors aside from Saizo occasionally walking by the bedroom and offering to “help by looking over sick MC and administering medicine” though he knows she isn’t sick she’s just fucked out of her mind

When you’re both ready to try for kids, be prepared for Nobuyuki to fuck you several times a day/night. 

It’s rare for him to go a single round. It’s his duty as a man and future leader of Sanada to produce an heir, after all 

The fact that it turns him on is just a bonus 

Nothing makes him shiver quite as much as the feeling of spilling himself inside of your clenching walls. He likes to hold your hand sometimes when he comes in you, kiss you deeply and grunt into your mouth as he fills you with come. 

He’ll flip you over and raise your ass into the air in an effort to keep his come inside of you until he’s ready to fuck you again, kiss down your back and pull out so he can see for himself the milky white semen. 

“Stay just like that, my lovely, strong, and beautiful wife. Feel what I’ve left inside of you. Ah…what’s this? Hm. That’s not good…You’ve spilled some, can you feel it dripping down your thigh? Haha,” Nobuyuki swipes at your thigh with his hand, bringing the wetness up to stroke your sensitive pussy, making you shake. His voice is soft and full of love, despite his scolding, and before you know it the tip of his cock is once again pressed to enter you. “Don’t worry, darling. You’re doing wonderfully. I’m already on the verge of filling you up again…I have no doubt you’ll be with child soon,” he pushes inside you with a sharp thrust.

Doesn’t mind playing with you in inappropriate places or pulling you aside to fuck you in the middle of your chores. 

Dusting the corridor right before dinner prep? A hand will pop out from a dark unused room to cover your mouth and muffle your screams while lips kiss a frenzy on your neck and cheeks. Dragging you inside. His familiar scent followed by that low honeyed voice telling you to remain calm will give Nobuyuki’s identity away, and keep you from panicking when you feel his large hand slip inside your collar to grope your breast and tweak your nipples. His hard length pressing against you from behind. 

“Shh, don’t be frightened, dear one. It’s just me. However, I’m afraid you won’t be making it in time to start dinner preparations…” 

He’s got EXTREMELY nimble fingers from years and years of sewing, and he can have you unravel as easily as a bolt of fine cloth at his touch without breaking the slightest sweat. It’s his go-to when he needs to recoup between rounds. He can get you off or bring you to the brink of orgasm and down again in moments with his fingers alone. He enjoys toying with you. Pressing in different spots fast and slow while sucking your breasts and relishing the way you writhe and moan for him   

If it’s late in the evening and he’s been buried in paperwork only to finally realize its past dark and you are hard at work organizing letters but exhausted and lonely looking he’ll pull you into his lap and cradle you in his arms, running fingers through your hair. Before long his lips are at your neck and his hands have become to roam, stroking your sides and thighs and breasts.

“Nn-Nobuyuki…we shouldn’t…here,”

“Shh, quiet.”

He’ll slip one of his expensive writing brushes between your teeth. Bunching the fabric to urgently pull your hem up above your hips and expose you to his fingers and his hard cock pressing from underneath you

His favorite body parts on you would be your neck and thighs 

If he had to choose between breasts and ass he would choose ass. He also prefers girls that are a bit thicker. He lives for the slapping sound as he pounds into you and it just feels good and healthy to have some soft plush cushion to grip in his hands 

He loves hearing you moan for him but he likes to keep his sex acts entirely discreet. He would hate for people to hear you because not only does he want to keep everything about you for himself, he doesn’t want people to know his business. Ever. So expect to be gagged often with wads of soft cloth or his hand over your mouth to muffle your voice.  

Nobuyuki’s biggest turn-ons are:

 The back of his neck. He loves when you stroke there softly with your fingertips in between playing with his hair. Quickest way to get him to shiver and melt. If he’s working and you come up from behind to hug him and plant kisses there, be prepared to get yanked underneath him in a millisecond.  

The little things you do that show you genuinely care for him. Darning his clothes, working hard at his side, showing a genuine interest in the Sanada and his work. He loooves to see you fitting in at the castle and smiling and having fun joking with Yukimura and the others. 

You, pregnant 

Whispering in his ear when he is inside you. Tell him you love him. Tell him you want him to savor your body, that he can do anything he wishes to you. Say you belong to him, body and soul, and his jaw will clench with the effort to not come right then and there 

Playing games with him in the bedroom. You are the esteemed Lord and Lady Sanada everywhere else, so its a huge turn on when he can come back to his chambers and really let loose with you. Be flirty and interesting. Tie yourself up and wait for him to come to bed and oh no, you’re a scared captive of the powerful Lord Sanada unable to escape from your restraints and helpless against whatever he might wish to do with you. Beg him to make you come but he’s not allowed to use his hands. 

Have secrets. He’s someone who thrives on the secret and shady. He would adore having little secret sayings or signals you guys can share even if its in front of others that lets you both know you’re thinking of one another, such as a special way you wear your hair or a specific pin you use, to a phrase like “I heard the most magnificent birds this afternoon” which meant you were longing for the other yet you could say it even in the main hall as casual as can be and no one else would understand. Wake up one morning and tell him your mouth is his for the day, he owns it, and can call you for a kiss or anything he liked with your mouth at any moment that day.

He loves doting on you. Let him do it. Let him take care of you. He’s used to taking care of those he loves, and seeing as he feels sometimes it’s all he can do, it gives him great satisfaction. He loves you dearly and would move the earth for you were it possible. Let him drape you in fine colorful fabrics, let him wake up from a late night of sex and dress you himself. Wait for him wearing nothing but the fine jewels he’s recently purchased for you. Demand some exotic dessert or fruit and share it with him in bed, naked. 

On that note, because of his tendency to take control of everything (and the pure enjoyment he gets out of power) he is a dom in the bedroom

Well-groomed down below. And everywhere else, he always smells pleasant and takes pride in caring for his looks. 

A rather sizeable cock with a very slight upwards curve. He’s also got a really plump ass and his hip bones are hypnotic. You can basically convince him to say yes to anything while your lips are worshipping at the skin of his bare hips

He would never hurt you, but sometimes he gets so possessive and intense that it can be a bit scary. He ALWAYS has eyes (Jinpachi) on you If you go somewhere without telling him first (like to meet a new male grocer in town etc) and the guy has been hitting on you or Nobuyuki thinks you’ve been spending a suspicious amount of time with him, expect a hurricane of emotions to hit you like a ton of bricks

Usually, he can control himself, hide his anxiety under the mask of a smile or frown and ask you to please let him know where you are because he was quite worried

But other times. He’ll interrogate you, serious face but calm-voiced, what you were doing and why and where without informing him. If you knew how dangerous it was to be around some strange man who clearly has less than honorable intentions with his beloved. You’re confined to the room for the next few days, the other maids can handle your share of work for a short while. He’ll get up close to you, hold your face and look in your eyes

“You know I only do these things because I love you…don’t you? You’re the most precious thing in my life,” he pulls you close by your waist, ripping your obi from you with frightening speed and burying his face in your neck. “You’re mine…” he kisses a frenzy from your neck to your chest, where his hands are yanking at your collar to expose your breasts. “I’ll stop at nothing to keep you safe and here with me.”

And nothing can help whoever has caught the brunt of his anger when he’s in an unforgiving mood, or if they touched you or came on to you in any sort of forward way. He can, will, and has razed homes and businesses to send a message. And a single command to Jinpachi and they will disappear, and it would be no different to Nobuyuki than asking if breakfast was ready. Anyone who dare hurt or steal his dear one will be stepping into their own grave.

Jerks off a normal amount but less so since you two became intimate. He does have a few of your personal items he’s stolen (you thought you lost them) that he keeps hidden for himself. They smell like you or remind him of you and every now and then he’ll stroke himself with the item in his other hand. Or simply to the thought of you 

Likes PDA and doesn’t have a problem with it, in the correct setting. He’ll gladly hold your hand walking through town, and he likes to pull you close and drape an arm around you for feasts where everyone is drinking and dancing and having fun. Plus, in Nobuyuki’s eyes its great fun to kiss you on the cheek or a quick one on the lips and watch his brother short circuit or fawn over what a lovely couple you both make 

Has some mommy issues, and he’d never admit it, but it turns him on greatly when you take care of him when he is sick. Usually, when he is under the weather he just pushed through and pretended he was fine. He doesn’t like to show himself vulnerable or weak. Jinpachi would help him out if he was very very ill. But you’re so soft and kind and sweet, bringing him broth and porridge and spoon feeding him. Changing out his washcloths and sitting by his side. This feeling of comfort and warmth was something he thought he had lost long ago, and his heart was so full he was desperate to recover and spend what energy he had into ravishing you and giving back that love. 

You’re not allowed to treat anyone else when they’re sick. Conveniently you always have some mountain of work to do and a team of maids is already taking care of the invalid. 

On that motherly note, it really gets him going when he sees you with children or teaching chibi sasuke something new. It reminds him that he picked the right woman to be at his side, and it makes him all the more eager to get a family going with you 

Has CRAZY floof sex hair. Like. Every single time even if its a quickie. Somehow the floof just poofs more and parts are going every which way, which embarrasses him greatly. But if it’s you there smiling and giggling and fixing it for him, well, that’s alright with him. 

Really enjoys soft, happy, romantic sex. Waking up earlier than normal with you and the sun is shining brightly and its peaceful. The scent of spring flowers thick in the air and a few quick good morning kisses turn into deep slow makeout sessions. You both have bed head and a bit of sleep still heavy in your eyes but he thinks you’re beautiful, whispering such as he rolls on top of you, the tip of his cock entering you and the thrusting of his hips so sultry and drawn out that you can’t help but moan and cling to him 

He’s talkative during sex, and usually only moans when he is close to coming. Its a deep and breathy drawn out moan, right from his chest 

He is fantastic with aftercare. He likes to stay joined for some time after coming, and will advise you to stay still and relax so he can clean you up himself after he finally pulls out. With a soft cloth, he takes pleasure in looking you over as if you were a little doll and wiping you down carefully. 

If you’ve been trying for a baby he’ll kiss your stomach then your lips and say an encouraging prayer that this time is the time. He’ll hold you from behind, clasping your hand in his, and talk about baby names and how Yukimura will be so annoyingly overjoyed to train if it’s a boy, and how beautiful they will be looking like their mother if it’s a girl, and how spoiled

Going to sleep still naked is very common because he likes to feel your warmth as much as he can and Jinpachi is always guarding the door. 

Likes to hum while he holds you in his arms and puts you to sleep, it’s usually melodies his mother used to hum to him and its surprisingly relaxing to have your body exhausted from sex and then feel the vibration from his chest on your back and his warmth radiating through you and the sweet sound of his voice

Also gets incredibly open after sex. These are usually the times he reveals his true self and feelings, the things he keeps hidden almost always. He’ll talk to you about his mother sometimes, and his struggles to fit in his role. He also enjoys listening to you talk and unburden yourself on him

Loves to watch you sleep. It’s one of his greatest joys knowing that he alone is the one privileged enough to see you in such a vulnerable state. Leave everything to him, depending on how rough or how many rounds the night before, your schedule of work for the following day will be fixed accordingly.