#wyoming mentioned

[potatocrispsodainsane]

So, Wyoming is already pretty Red but... Please can they not do this type of junk.

Bill SF0037 - Enhanced concealed carry in school zones.

Yes, you read that right, currently on the floor is a bill to let people at the age to get a concealed carry license can also get an Enhanced concealed carry license. This requires a background check and training with weapons. At 21, or 18 if a Sheriff approves, is when they can get the normal concealed carry license. Thankfully this makes it so only kids who talk to the sheriff can bring guns into school but this pretty much lets teachers have guns if they take training. 18 anyone, even without police approval, can get the enhanced carry license. The license allows you to bring a gun into any area, completely removing no gun zones, this includes large crowds, schools, hospitals, etc.

To be honest I do not trust this, it does have a background check on it and mandatory training but since there's not too much to do here I bet most people would be willing.

If you want to see if the bill changed or if I failed my reading comprehension quiz, here's the link to the bill: https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2025/SF0037

[potatocrispsodainsane]

Bonus fun fact, you can fit 715 people in the latter of the two suburbs if you give it the same population density as a random town(barely) in Wyoming.

That's almost 1,000, and they have a private air strip and only like 3 actual farms. I even think there's a castle there from the maps. According to the census there's not even one person without a house there or below the poverty line. It barely even goes below -40° (or -40°) there, ain't that neat?

Fun fact, you could fit 100k people in one suburb of Cincinnati by increasing the density to match a different suburb of Cincinnati

Bellevue, KY

The City of the village of Indian Hill, it's actual name

If you put the population density of Bellevue into Indian Hill, you could fit 115k people, and Bellevue isn't Insanely dense, it's mostly SFH and has a giant parking lot and some forested areas still

[be-an-echo]

happy (belated) valentine's day!

[catfindr]

[misery-has-no-company-now]

For angst purposes (and loosely based on Nevada Joins the Table) -

Gov has a lot of control over these states; far more than any other. The higher the percentage of federal land in the state, the more control he has over that state.

Nevada practically has to agree to everything Gov wants. He barely has any choice in his life anymore. Gov practically owns him.

The top 5 states (Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Alaska, and Oregon) can actually easily be summoned by Gov just by him saying "(State), come here." All the 10 can be summoned by Gov actually but the lower 5 (Wyoming, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico) are tougher to call like that since they have more power to refuse but the upper 5? No choice. Whatever they doing, it doesn't matter. They are forced to stop it and appear in front of Gov. Nevada and Utah have on multiple occasions been called in the dead of night when they were fast asleep (yes Nevada needs his beauty sleep) to 'see' Gov and they had to go. In front of the other states, Gov just pretends that with the exception of Nevada, he cannot summon any of these other states without Florida's help. But when no one else is there, he uses the power he holds over them thanks to the federal land he occupies in these states freely as he pleases.

Gov also uses this to his advantage by forcing these five to agree with him on whatever he says doing the meetings, much to their (and everyone else who knows') anger.

They spend many a night crying in each other's arms due to the helplessness that engulfs them daily. Sometimes there's also bitterness towards and resentment against the other states who are 'more free' than them. But it's not like they can do anything about it anyway, though the other states sometimes try to help them by convincing or forcing Gov to not do something he wanted to towards them/make them do something he wished for.

Since some of the states on this list were amongst the last few ones to be admitted to the union (like Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Alaska), they didn't realise for quite a long time that Gov's power over them was not normal, and that most of the other states had a lot more control over their land and themselves. Nevada and Oregon are kind of older in terms of statehood (so is California but he's not in the top 5 so didn't feel the effects this much) and thus they knew from the start that this was not right; but obviously again there was nothing they could do. It just hurt them more since they were aware of the freedom they were denied.

Literally all these states are in the west. Except Washington and Montana (and I guess Hawaii too but she doesn't consider herself as in the west since she joined the meeting of misfits so...yeah), all the western states are in this list and highly under Gov's control (maybe that's why the west decided to take turns in being the leader, because none of them wanted to be around him for longer than they needed to be, and that's why Washington went first). Gov finds it more convenient and easier to deal with have meetings with the west and all the western states (including the other two) are kind of scared of him and his power even if not all of them show it.

Since New Mexico and Wyoming are my go-to angst states (aka the ones I apparently love hurting the most), even though they have more control due to a smaller percentage of their state being federal land and Gov technically should have less power over them, he has hurt them and threatened them so much (like with atomic bombs in New Mexico's case, implying/outright announcing that he might take away their statehood and make them a territory under his charge again to both of them, then in Wyoming's case reminding him how much the others forget that he is a state - and now Gov is one of the few who remembers their existence, etc.) that he exerts a lot more authority over the two of them too.

All of this is largely why the West is so messed up :( [in their heads, I mean]. That's all I have for now but feel free to add on. Unfortunately for these states, I consider the west the best for angst (:

[itstimeforstarwars]

I can't tell if tumblr is trying to give me targeted ads but doesn't know how or if it's giving everyone ads about new nevada dui laws and Pennsylvania county-level politics at the same time.

[autisticer]

Batfam as things my friends have said:

Tim: “I’m either gay, gay, double gay, or depressed!”

Damian: “you’re all gonna die for my amusement.”

Dick: “the power of love will always save you!”

Jason: “not from domestic terrorism!”

Jason: “They didn’t give me a straw. Or a spoon! This is more of a tragedy than me dying!”

Damian: “I’m glad to know I hurt that person so much!”

Dick: “I’m proud of the fact that I’m a man whore.”

Tim, claiming Damian isn’t human: “This is not mud, it is a philosophical debate”

Jason, about Dick: “you should see how he STANDS! STANDS LIKE A HOE!”

Dick: “I don’t regret killing the joker.”

Dick: “I DONT! I DONT ! REGRET IT HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD!”

Duke: “I would piss on hitler 100%”

Steph: “We should make the crispy fried skeleton donut.”

Steph: “We should make it cry blood.”

Duke: “I WOULD piss on hitler! Non-sexually!”

All of the kids, seeing Bruce do something stupid for the first time: “I had respect for you, and you threw it under your car, ran over it, and let it rot on the cement”

Cass: “If I can hear chewing while wearing industrial strength ear plugs, they’re not gonna save me from hatsune miku”

[uhyeahnoabsolutelynot]

a good choice they made for the show was making joel’s greatest strength not the fact that he’s some kind of combat genius or is incredibly streetwise or übercapable, or even that he’s a great shot (although he is), but that he’s superhumanely persistent. when he picks a task, he will slog through it until it’s done. when he comes up on a barrier, he will find a way around it. his plans usually don’t end up working out the way he wants, but he just does not stop

it’s a great character thing that really serves to humanize him, because even when his other skills fail him or his expertise comes up short, you get to see him have to figure out how to deal with that

it also makes for really interesting interactions with the character(s) of the week, watching other types of people react to and deal with his approach to life. and of course especially with ellie; the two of them are like. a dictionary definition of unstoppable force v. immovable object, i’m obsessed with it

[ham-and-cheese-studios]

Sketch of a small town

Nestled in the beautiful rockies, a little town

The kind ya drive through for the sights

Take the backroads to pastures a plenty

See horses gallop, cows graze, and more

But walk the main street itself, won't you?

It's just like it is in the country songs, right?

Wholesome values and kind folks too?

How about I asked what if you were wrong?

Rainbows are an acceptable sight in the sky

But never on a flag or a tee shirt you wear

Houses are lit at night by blue bulbs for BLM

But not the abbreviation you're thinking

Don't worry, they're not racist they'll say

As they treat non-whites like animals

Don't worry, they're not sexist they'll say

As they beat and treat women like toys

The "good ol boys" aren't that good at all

Raping the air with their loud big trucks

To compensate for their diminutive dicks

Which they can't seem to wrap up

They weren't taught about that rubber

Only the kind that's on their rides.

Doesn't matter since filth begets filth

The cycle of alcoholism and meth persists

The clean cut lds folk aren't any different

You can buy your way into heaven

Just have a dozen kids and be submissive

They'll knock on your doors forever

Either way, most will get on their knees

For two reasons that might seem obvious

To pray to the God that threatens doom

Or to deepthroat Trump's fragile ego

The only native they care about here

Is the one on the football player's helmets

The same ones who fuck at 17 cause of God

Or their only glimpse of sex ed was porn

Keep your pets inside or they'll be shot

Few spay their own, why I don't know

Handle cats like they're bags of shit

Walk unleashed, dangerous dogs, why not?

Sorry, I'm getting angry and pretentious

When you live here for so long, you rot

People stay here maybe for family

Or because it's like a prison to them

The real reason they're drive through towns

Is because that's all you need to do

Drive through this miserable shithole

Unless you need gas or a place to piss.

[correctrvbquotes]

Tex: Can it. Tell me where Omega is and don't play dumb with me. 

Wyoming: Hardly. I do believe our dear Omega is currently killing all your friends in that miserable canyon. 

Tex: What? Why? 

Wyoming: I might have mentioned you were there. He's quite keen to make your acquaintance again. 

Tex: But you saw me at the snow fortress! 

Wyoming: Tex may I remind you I still have a contract on some of those people at Blood Gulch. I figured why not kill eight birds with one stone, eh? 

Tex: Well, you just signed his death warrant. 

Wyoming: Afraid not my dear. You see he's already moved on to someone else, and you'll have no way of telling who. 

Tex: Who did he jump in to? 

Wyoming: Huh, hmhmhm, that dear Tex is between me and Omega. Oh, but you'll find out soon enough. 

Tex: You know what? You don't have to tell me. All I have to do is pummel you senseless, rip off your helmet, and access your communication logs. I'll know exactly where he is. 

Wyoming: Uh, hm. I see. Well in that case, perhaps I shall tell you. 

Tex: Nah, I like my way better.

Tex knocks out Wyoming

[rcdiostcrs]

wyoming, doing science homework: they downgraded pluto! wyoming: [huff] what would interplanet janet say? rowan: disrespectfully, what is a pluto & who is this janet?

[schisms]

somth they don’t tell you about utah (and why would they but i digress). the sun is literally out until at least 9pm

[quaranmine]

as an inexperienced yet interested in environmental science person i love seeing your exploration of wildfires and the environmental impacts/issues/causes of them and i am learning stuff through it too! i think its really cool and i love the firewatch au as well you put so much thought into it

Hello, fellow inexperienced environmental science person! I'm not terribly experienced myself (I'm only 22 lol) but I've got my undergraduate degree and about 2 years of professional experience in the industry at this point. Which doesn't mean I'm an expert by any means at all, just that I now feel generally comfortable enough to research and present information to an audience because I have experience in some adjacent topics. There's a certain point where your knowledge in environmental topics and academic education starts to intersect and help you analyze different issues even if they aren't specific to your job. I find all of this stuff really interesting! In my organization, it's relatively easy to shift jobs from one area to another, so it would be really funny if in a few years all my research in this topic led me to a wildfire/smoke related job.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you find it cool to learn this stuff. So do I :)

[that-fema-corps-blog]

Day 271

April 30, 2023

We set out at 7:00 again. We saw some pronghorn on the outskirts of the town. These antelope-like animals’ closest surviving relatives are the giraffe and okapi.

We stopped at the University of Wyoming to visit Matthew Shepard’s memorial. He was murdered in 1998 for being gay. The defendants (unsuccessfully) tried using the gay panic defense, and the two perpetrators were convicted of murder. The memorial itself is a simple outdoor bench. Visitors had left flowers, stuffed animals, and other items.

The landscape gradually became more mountainous, with great swaths of plains visible for miles in all directions:

We made a pit stop partway through Wyoming and met gas station cashier worker, who greeted everyone who passed by yelling at them. I have no idea what he said. Other teammates informed us that he was friendly and was capable of speaking in a less painful volume when getting then checked out. But he still yelled at everyone entering/exiting the store. Hm.

We made another short stop by Point of Rocks. There we spotted some prairie dogs (too far away to photograph).

The terrain became snowier as we approached Utah:

I saw a person parachuting or hang-gliding as we approached Salt Lake City. We stopped for lunch in the city, then visited Great Salt Lake Park. There were hundreds of dead eared grebes and some gulls washed ashore. Turns out this is normal for the area?

He said so far this winter, they’ve counted 15,000 to 20,000 dead wild birds. “These are actually birds that died probably in September,” Luft said. The salty waters keep them from decomposing. Luft said that’s typical. What sets this year apart “is actually the first time that I’ve seen Eared Grebes die from avian influenza. We typically got them succumbing to avian cholera.”

We drove across the salt flats, then checked into our hotel and got dinner. We headed back to the salt flats to watch the sunset, took the van off-roading, and got stuck… We spent an hour or two trying to get it out to no avail.

We called for help, and the other nearby FEMA Corps team came to try and get us out. We tried wedging an old sofa cushion under the wheel, jacking up the van, pouring oatmeal around to absorb the water, and pushing the van together. Nothing worked. We asked campers for help. No one had anything. Visited the gas station. Still nothing. We eventually gave up, transferred our stuff over to another AmeriCorps van, and called a tow truck at around 22:00. 45 minutes and $400 later, and it was free!

[catfindr]

[punkshort]

Thank you Anon for this request!

A Deeper Purpose

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader one-shot

Summary: Living in Jackson during the apocalypse doesn't do anything to curb your desire to have a child. The problem is, most of the men in town are unavailable... except for one.

Warnings: smut (18+ MDNI), unprotected piv sex, breeding kink (given the request, obv), language, friends to lovers, mentions of anxiety, infertility, pregnancy, angst, pining, alcohol

WC: 3.4K

dividers by @saradika-graphics

When you first asked him, he thought you were crazy.

He stared at you in complete disbelief, his gaze flickering down to the drink in your hand, trying to recall how many you had to propose something so insane. But it was only one.

"Are you fuckin' serious?"

"Mhmm," you said confidently. "I've thought about it for a long time. I want a baby and the men in this town are either taken or have the mental fortitude of a child," you joked nervously. "You're neither of those things. Besides... I trust you."

His eyes softened for a moment and he dropped his gaze to the table. You had known Joel for the better part of five years, and while at first he was brash and gruff, throughout countless patrols and fights against infected where you had to have each other's backs, you had grown rather close. Neither of you ever crossed the line past friendship, and you had never even thought about it until recently when your anxiety was keeping you up late at night, wondering if you would ever find a man and settle down to start a family.

It was a luxury in this life, to be sure. The population of Jackson wasn't very large, but in five years you had come to get a good read on most of its citizens. And you kept coming back to the same conclusion: the man for you was not there.

So after much thought and self-reflection, you worked up enough courage to get a drink with Joel after your route and ask him if he would be willing to give you a baby.

You followed up by telling him you would be solely responsible, that you would do all the work and he could be as involved in the child's life as much as he wanted to be, if at all, while he sat there dumbstruck.

Now he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck nervously as he weighed your proposal.

"Can I think 'bout it?" he finally asked.

"Oh, god, of course!" you exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise that he was considering it at all. "However much time you need."

But that was almost a month ago. Each day that passed you became more anxious, more impatient, and it was beginning to sour your mood.

On that particular day you were checking out the park rangers outpost hidden deep within the Wyoming forest. The building was up within the trees, providing the park rangers in the past a bird's eye view of the forest, and now it gives Jackson the same.

Joel was scribbling something in the log book while you strolled aimlessly around the cabin, opening and shutting drawers loudly, already knowing what was in them but just looking for something to do.

"Somethin' on your mind?" he mumbled over his shoulder, his focus still on the book.

"No," you said defensively, but when you angrily began to struggle with a window that refused to open, it became clear you were lying.

"Here, lemme help," he offered, dropping the pencil and walking to your side of the room.

"I'm fine, I don't need your help," you snapped, though you obviously did.

His hands gripped your shoulders and forcibly moved you out of the way before he took hold of the window and gave it a quick jerk, loosening the window in it's frame and finally allowing fresh air in.

He smirked at you and you rolled your eyes before breezing past him.

"This attitude 'bout the window or 'bout what you asked me?" he challenged, stopping you dead in your tracks. Slowly, you spun around, unsure what to say.

"The window," you finally answered, then shifted your weight and shrugged. "Okay, maybe a little of both."

"Mhmm," he said, advancing toward you. "Thought so."

"Well... have you thought about it or are you just trying to come up with a nice way to say no?"

He frowned and propped his hands on his hips. "Now why d'you think it's a no?"

"Because you haven't said a single word about it in a month," you told him like the answer was obvious.

"Well maybe the answer's yes but I don't know how to casually bring up into polite conversation that I'm ready to knock up my goddamn friend!" he argued.

You stared at him, jaw hanging open in disbelief.

"Wait, really?" you whispered.

He nodded and scrubbed his palms over his face. "Yeah, I mean... if you still wanna or... whatever," he grumbled.

The first time was bad, to put it mildly. Your kisses were all teeth, chins and noses bumped together awkwardly. You had hoped once you got down to it that it would have gotten better, but you were wrong. Your rhythms were all off, you hit your head on the end table, and Joel nearly fell off the couch at one point. Needless to say, you didn't come. It was a miracle he did by the end of it.

Afterwards, you both sat there, catching your breaths and wondering if you made a huge mistake.

No, it wasn't a mistake. It was always a means to an end. Ultimately, it didn't really matter if the sex was good or not, the end result would be the same.

Still...

"I'm not usually that bad," you finally said, breaking the thick silence. He groaned and tipped his head back to rest on the couch.

"Me either. I swear, I ain't lyin'. I never usually..." he trailed off, rubbing his chin, deep in thought. "We'll try again. Back home. In a bed. That's the problem. It's gotta be, right?"

"Yeah," you nodded, not fully believing him but at that point, what could it hurt?

The next time was the following day at your home. It was a little better than the first time, but not by much.

"It doesn't matter, Joel," you assured him, tugging your blanket over your chest.

"Matters to me," he said defensively. "I'm too in my head or somethin'. It's still weird, don't you think?"

"Yeah, it's weird," you agreed.

"It's too planned out. Maybe it's gotta be more natural. More... spontaneous."

"Yeah," you agreed.

A couple evenings later one of the other men on patrol was having a bonfire at his home and invited a handful of others, you and Joel included.

Ten or so people sat around a roaring fire, tossing back whiskey and playing cards or swapping war stories. The alcohol made you feel warm and relaxed, your limbs as loose as your tongue when you joked around with the others, joining in on the teasing when a seasoned patrolman admitted to shooting off a crossbow at a leaf that fell just a little too loudly in the woods.

Then you felt a hand on the small of your back and you turned, your eyes glassy and face warm from the booze and the laughs. Joel stood beside you looking just as at ease as you and he gave you a knowing look.

For once, you were on the same page. Neither of you said a word.

You made your excuses, said your goodbyes, and slipped into the night. It was quiet, the rest of the town asleep, so it was easy to hear Joel's voice carry over the wind a few minutes later when he announced his departure, your heart skipping an excited beat in your chest.

He didn't hurry to catch up with you and you were glad. It helped. The anticipation built up on the walk home, and for the first time you felt a warmth bloom between your legs. Your fingers shakily worked your front door when you heard his steps growing closer, the crunching of gravel growing louder and louder until your door swung open and the squeak of old wood under his boots as he walked up your stairs echoed in your ears.

You didn't bother to turn the lights on. His hands were on your waist instantly, kicking the door closed behind him as his mouth crashed against yours with a groan. All you could hear was your shared breath and the rustling of fabric, each of you working to strip the other of their clothes as quickly as possible.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the spontaneity of it. Whatever it was, it was better. Oh, so much better.

Somehow you had made it to your bed and you had never been more grateful to have a small ranch home in your life. When he first pushed inside, you moaned and arched your back off the mattress and his teeth gently grazed your collarbone, sending a wave of goosebumps over your skin. Instantly, you found a rhythm. Your hips rolled to meet his at the perfect time, his hands squeezed and pinched your breasts while his tongue invaded your mouth, only sliding down to cup your ass when he sensed it was becoming too much.

"More," you moaned into his mouth, heels digging into the backs of his thighs. He alternated between snapping and grinding his hips, the mix of sensations quickly bringing you over the edge.

You could feel the excitement in his body when he finally made you come. Like he was reenergized and focused, like he had finally accomplished what he set out to do.

"Come for me, Joel," you whispered in his ear before nipping at his earlobe. You could tell he was close by the way his muscles tensed and the deep groans emanating from his chest.

"Yeah? Want me to come in this tight little pussy?" he growled, the dirty talk sending a jolt of surprise through you. Before, he had been so quiet. This was new.

"Yeah," you whispered back, "want you to fuck a baby in me. I want everyone to see what you did to me."

He groaned so loudly you wondered if it could be heard from outside. His teeth sunk down into your shoulder when he came, muffled words being spoken into your skin as he shot thick ropes of his seed deep into your womb, only slowing when his legs began to shake and he collapsed on top of you with a huff.

"Fuck," he gasped, still trying to catch his breath on top of you. "That was..." he trailed off with a chuckle and you felt him swallow tightly. "That was much better."

"Yeah," you whispered, your eyes sliding shut as your fingers gently raked through his hair. You didn't even realize you were doing it or how intimate it seemed considering your arrangement, but he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he leaned into it a bit as he waited for his heartrate to slow.

Once he collected himself, he propped himself up on his hands and slowly eased out of you with a hiss.

"Can you hand me-"

"Yeah," he said, already knowing you were asking for the small, firm pillow you used last time to prop your hips up, and gave it to you. With a groan, he got to his feet and went to your bathroom while you tucked your knees against your chest, hoping you were getting the angle right.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he handed you a wet washcloth to use when you were done, then began to dress.

He glanced at your face, then your hips propped up in the air.

"You need anythin' else?"

"No, I think this'll do," you joked, and he chuckled before he stood.

"Alright then. See you tomorrow?"

"Yep," you said with a smile, then watched him as he left your bedroom and listened while he slid his boots back on and quietly shut the door behind him, leaving you all alone.

"Fuck, it better work this time," you muttered as you bounced up and down on Joel's lap, your hands digging into his shoulders for support as you slid up and down on his cock. His hands held your waist, guiding you while you rode him on his couch, his eyes transfixed on where you were connected.

"Gotta relax. I told you, it ain't gonna work if you stress yourself out," he replied, eyes still glued to the way his cock emerged from your clutch even wetter than before.

"It's been six months, Joel," you whined, but he shushed you by slanting his mouth over yours. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't mind when you came to him each month with a look of dejection when your efforts inevitably failed. He felt bad for you, don't get him wrong, but he had grown very fond of the one week every month you found yourself wrapped around his cock.

His thumb found your clit and he felt you tense and your mind went blank. Perfect.

"'S'right," he murmured, watching your face go slack, "just turn off that pretty little head of yours for a minute and lemme take care of you."

You nodded, eyes sliding shut as your hips began to work faster, rolling and grinding down on him until your nails dug into his skin and you cried out his name. Fuck, he loved hearing that. It didn't take much more for him to come, his hands gripping your sides so tight, he was afraid he might leave bruises as he thrusted up into you, giving you every last drop of his release.

"Goddamn," he whispered, head falling back onto the couch as he panted for air.

"Shit," you gasped, voice a little cracked. "Shoulda finished with me laying down. It's gonna leak out when -"

Without a word, he wrapped his arms around you and, still plugging you with his cock, twisted around so you were laying flat on the couch and he was hovering above you.

"Better?"

"Much," you giggled, playing with a stray curl over his ear. You gazed warmly at one another, neither of you saying a word as your pulse slowed and his cock softened.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Joel," you whispered, your eyes drifting all over his face, taking in every little detail.

He nodded and swallowed then forced himself to look away. If he didn't, he was worried you would see too much.

He slid out of you and grabbed a pillow, handing it to you blindly before standing and strolling to his bathroom. After he cleaned up, he leaned over his sink, hands curled around the cracked vanity, and stared at his reflection in the mirror with a pit in his stomach.

How did he let this happen?

He should have known. The morning before you came over, he had a bad feeling. Like something had shifted in the air, something had changed without his permission and it left an empty feeling in his chest.

The overly excited knock on his door as he sipped his coffee almost made him want to pretend he wasn't home, that you weren't about to bounce into his kitchen holding two white sticks with a huge grin plastered across your face. But he didn't, and you did.

Either he really sold his reaction to your news well or you were too elated to notice his heart being ripped from his chest.

It was over. You were pregnant, and you no longer needed him. You would no longer come by every month and keep his bed warm. You would no longer share breakfast with him or talk to him about the books you were reading. He would go back to being utterly and completely alone.

It took a good month or two, but he adjusted back to his normal life. You still did patrol runs with him, which he protested, but when you finally began to show around five months, you agreed to stop and found a different job in town, instead.

That made his chest crack back open. Now he hardly ever saw you. It was bad enough he didn't get to be with you, taste you, fuck you anymore, but now he didn't even get to hear your voice. Occasionally he would see you in the dining hall or in the street and you would always talk to him, but it wasn't the same. Meanwhile, you walked around Jackson with his child growing in your belly, your shirts straining against the swell of your womb, the life he put inside you blooming before everyone's eyes. And all he wanted to do was claim you, right there in the center of town for everyone to see. For everyone to look in awe at what the two of you had created together.

One evening he was sitting alone in front of his fire, sipping whiskey and staring blankly into the flames. He had a decent life, considering the circumstances. So why couldn't he just be happy?

Then a rap came at his door. Urgent and loud. He placed his tumbler down and quickly went to open it, surprised to find you waiting on the other side.

"Hey," you said breathlessly, one hand over your round stomach. His eyes dropped down to take you in before he met your gaze again.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," you replied with a look on your face that told him you didn't realize he would obviously panic about your wellbeing at this point in your pregnancy. "Sorry, I just - can I come in?"

"Yeah, 'course," he said, stepping aside to open the door wider. You toed off your boots and shrugged off your jacket, allowing him to take it from you and hang it up before you wandered into his living room. Your eyes fell on his abandoned glass and you smiled.

"I miss drinking," you said longingly. He grinned and, leaving the whiskey where it was so as not to tempt you, sat on the couch.

"What're you doin' here so late? Is the baby okay?"

"Yeah," you nodded, tearing your eyes away from the glass and sitting down near him on the sofa. "Baby's good. I just was thinking about you and I wanted to see you."

He perked up at that, he couldn't help himself. "Oh, yeah?"

You grinned and bit your lip shyly before looking away. "I miss you, I guess."

A smile spread wide across his face. "Aw, how sweet."

You swatted an arm out to smack him on the shoulder and he laughed, his heart finally feeling like it was mending a bit.

"Jerk," you muttered, and he laughed again.

"I missed you, too," he finally admitted, his cheeks rosy from the fire and the whiskey as he gazed at you, the reflection from the flames making your skin glow. Maybe it was that pregnancy glow that everyone used to talk about. Or maybe you always glowed and he just never allowed himself to notice until it was too late.

He watched your throat work, swallowing dryly while your fingers fidgeted in your lap and he realized you were nervous.

"What if I told you I missed you as more than just friends?" you whispered, your eyes pinned to the floor, unwilling or unable to meet his gaze.

His breath caught in his throat. Surely, he must have misheard you. But then you finally turned to look at him, tears welling in your eyes, and his heart lurched in his chest.

"What if I told you I'm in love with you?" he bravely whispered back.

Your eyebrows pinched together and your face crumpled before you reached forward, curling your arms around his neck and pulling him close, your lips pressing together earnestly before opening your mouth and letting his tongue lick behind your teeth.

He wasn't sure how you both made it upstairs and into his bed. He couldn't remember peeling your clothes off, one by one, revealing more and more of your changing body to him for the first time. But he did remember seeing your bare, swollen belly underneath him while his hand slowly slid across your skin in wonder. And then he felt it. A little flutter. A little jolt. And he looked up at you in surprise.

"She's kicking," you explained, and his eyes fell back to your stomach.

"She?"

You nodded, placing your hand over his lovingly. "I think it's a girl."

He smiled as tears began to cloud his vision, then bent forward to press a kiss against your stomach, letting his lips linger so hopefully his unborn daughter could feel him there and feel the love he had for her.

You had to pull him away by his shoulders, the both of you laughing softly, unable to believe how much things had changed in just a year.

Because not only were you a couple months away from finally being a mother, but you also realized you were very, very wrong all those months ago.

The man for you was, in fact, right there all along.

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