#yep already got it planed in my head.

[monpetitchattriste]

Here me out on this one Quest for Camelot Miraculous Au.

It would have the same plot as the movie with a few minor changes.

[snowysosturn]

Fire & Desire - Matt Sturniolo Part 12

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Pairing: Y/n x Matt Sturniolo

Summary: Y/n has always clashed with Matt. Despite working for Chris’s clothing brand and being close with Nick, her relationship with Matt has always been tense at best. While being forced to be around each other more, their animosity turns into something deeper. Can they overcome their differences, or will their fiery emotions tear them apart?

Warnings: angst, tension, arguments, mentions of alcohol, being intoxicated

I sat cross legged at the small vanity in my room, blending out the last bit of highlighter on my cheekbones. My outfit I had planned to wear was already laid out on the bed behind me, ready for the evening ahead. My hair was half done, still tied back loosely as I finished off my makeup. It felt nice to have a little time to myself to unwind and prepare, especially after the long day of travelling.

I was in the middle of putting eyeliner in my waterline when I heard a knock at the door. "Come in" I called out, not looking away from the mirror as I focused on not poking my eye.

The door creaked open, and I glanced at the reflection to see Matt stepping in, a glass in his hand. "Vodka lemonade" he said, his voice still carrying the unmistakable slur of someone who had had a little too much to drink.

I turned fully to face him, raising an eyebrow. "You remembered what I drink?"

He shrugged, his grin lopsided but genuine. "Of course. Hard to forget when its the only thing you drink"

I rolled my eyes, taking the glass from him. "Thanks, I guess" I said, swirling the liquid before taking a sip. The moment it hit my tongue, I winced, coughing slightly. "Oh my god Matt! All I can taste is vodka!"

He laughed, leaning against the doorframe like it was holding him upright. "Yeah well, you’ve got some catching up to do. Consider it motivation."

I shook my head, setting the glass down on the vanity. "It’s almost like you’re trying to kill me" I teased, but there wasn’t any bite to my words.

He gave me a wink, nearly stumbling in the process, and we both laughed. For a moment, it was like we never hated each other. It was weird. Today, we’d actually been nice to each other. From the plane to downstairs to now, it was almost like we’d turned a corner. Or maybe the alcohol had simply dulled his usual sarcasm.

Matt straightened up and glanced around my room, his eyes landing on the green crochet outfit on the bed. "That what you’re wearing tonight?" he asked, nodding toward it.

"Yep" I said, turning back to the mirror to finish my eye makeup. "I’m just hoping it comes to get the way I have it in my head."

"Bet it’ll look good" he said, his tone softer than I expected. When I glanced back at him, he was already heading out the door. "Hurry up though. Dinner waits for no one, especially when you’re as drunk as I am."

"I’ll be down soon" I replied, watching as he gave me a lazy wave and disappeared into the hallway. After Matt left my room, I set the vodka lemonade on the dresser, deciding to pace myself as I continued getting ready. As I stood back to admire the final look, I adjusted my halterneck top, making sure everything sat just right. 

I slipped on my nude heels, grabbed a small clutch, and downed half of the vodka lemonade Matt had brought up. The burn of vodka was strong, but he wasn’t wrong, I did have catching up to do if I wanted to match their buzz. By the time I walked down to the foyer, everyone was gathered there.

“You took long enough” Nick teased with a grin as I joined them.

“Beauty takes time, Nicholas” I shot back, earning a laugh from the group.

We stepped out of the villa together, the warm evening breeze carrying the faint scent of sea salt. The walk to the restaurant wasn’t far, but navigating the uneven path in heels was proving to be a challenge. After a few steps, I stumbled slightly on a dip in the road.

“You alright?” Matt asked, catching up to me.

“Yeah, these heels and this road aren’t exactly the best of friends, a bit like us” I muttered, half laughing at myself.

Without saying a word, he offered his arm. I hesitated for a moment before looping my hand through it.

“Don’t make it weird” he said, smirking down at me.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it” I replied with a sarcastic smile, though I appreciated the gesture.

We arrived at the restaurant, a cozy spot with string lights draped across the patio. As we approached our reserved table, I heard Nick let out a quiet yell.

“What are you guys doing here?!” he exclaimed, his voice a mix of shock and excitement.

I looked up to see a couple seated at our table, their parents. Their mom stood up with a wide smile, pulling Nick into a hug.

“We’ve been in Hawaii for the last few days” she said warmly. “We wanted to surprise you!”

Their dad chimed in, “But don’t worry, we’re staying on the opposite side of the island. We’re not here to crash your whole trip.”

Nick let out a laugh, still processing the surprise. Chris and Matt looked equally stunned but pleased to see them. 

The waiter approached to seat us, and we quickly rearranged our tables, one table with four seats and one table with three. I glanced at Matt, who caught my eye with an amused look.

“This should be fun” he said.

“Let’s just hope they don’t figure out how drunk you three are” I whispered back, earning a small chuckle from him.

We settled into our seats, Nate sat across from me, Matt was next to him, and Chris was beside me, while Nick took one of the seats at the table with his parents.

Chris leaned forward toward his parents while pointing at me,  his tone casual yet proud as he introduced me to his parents. “This is Y/n” he said. “She works with me for Fresh Love. We’ve been working hard on the new drop, couldn’t do it without her!.”

I smiled politely, but before I could say anything, Nick chimed in from the other table, his grin as wide as ever. “And she’s also my best friend” he added, his playful tone leaving no room for debate.

Their mom smiled warmly, nodding in approval, but the moment didn’t last long. Nick dove into conversation with his parents, leaving the four of us at our table to converse with each other.

Nate glanced up at Matt and Chris, his lips curling into a smirk. “Actually, I never asked how’d Vegas treat you two? Looked like you guys were.. occupied” he said, his words almost like he was implying something.

Chris chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “Occupied is one way to put it. Christina practically glued herself to Matt” he teased, earning a scoff from Matt.

Hearing another woman’s name left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had no reason to feel jealous, and yet, the idea of Matt being drooled over by someone else stirred something in me that I couldn’t quite place. It was irrational, and I knew it, so I kept my thoughts to myself, silently picking at the edge of my napkin.

Nick’s voice broke the conversation as he turned to Chris. “Hey, wanna head outside for some pictures real quick before we order?”

Chris nodded, standing up and following Nick without hesitation, leaving just me, Matt, and Nate at the table.

There was a brief moment of silence before their mom, who I assume was half listening to our earlier conversation, leaned over with a smile. “So Nate, do you have anyone special in your life right now?”

Nate chuckled, shaking his head. “No, not at all” he replied, his tone light.

Matt, of course, couldn’t resist. “Harsh one.” He snickered under his breath, looking directly at me.

I raised an eyebrow at him, confused by his comment. Before I could even ask what he meant, Matt took things further. He smirked and leaned back in his chair, his voice loud and clear. “Y/n and Nate went on a date last week, you know that?”

My heart sank, my face flushing red as all eyes seemed to land on me.

“What?” I stammered, but Nate jumped in before I could say anything more.

“It wasn’t like that at all” he said firmly, shaking his head. “We just grabbed dinner as friends.”

Matt wasn’t ready to let it go, though. “Oh, come on, Y/n” he teased, his voice making a mockery out of me. “Why so quiet? Feeling the sting of public rejection?”

My stomach twisted in humiliation. I could feel my face burning as I desperately avoided eye contact with anyone at the table. The old Matt was back just like that.

“Matt, stop being so rude” their mom interjected sharply, her tone firm. She turned back to her husband, trying to steer the conversation away from Matt’s antics.

“Yeah c’mon man we’re just friends” Nate tried to make it clear.

But Matt wasn’t done. His next words hit like a punch to the gut. “Oof, imagine just being a quick fuck and then friendzoned.”

The air left my lungs. The humiliation was overwhelming, and I could feel the sting of tears forming in my eyes. None of what he said was true, but the damage was done.

“I.. I’m actually not feeling the best right now.. I think it's the heat.. excuse me” I said quickly, my voice cracking as I stood up. I turned to their parents, forcing a polite smile through the lump in my throat. “But it was lovely to meet you.”

Without waiting for a response, I walked away from the table, the tears streaming down my face before I even reached the door.

As I pushed through the entrance, I nearly ran into Nick and Chris, who were heading back inside.

“Y/n?” Chris asked, his expression immediately shifting to concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel well” I mumbled, not stopping to explain. Before either of them could say another word, I kept walking, desperate to escape the restaurant, the humiliation, and, most of all, Matt.

I still felt the heat on my face, not from the warm Hawaiian night, but from the lingering embarrassment curling in my stomach. I really hoped his parents didn’t hear him say that. I was halfway down the quiet street when I heard the sound of running footsteps behind me.

“Y/n, wait!”

I clenched my jaw, picking up my pace, but Matt was faster, jogging until he caught up beside me. “Come on, don’t be like that” he said, slightly out of breath. “I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.”

I stopped abruptly, whipping around to face him. “Oh, really? Because bringing up that in front of your parents sure didn’t make me feel like the star of the evening.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his usual cocky demeanor fading. “I wasn’t thinking. I was just messing around, you know how I am-”

I let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah, I do. That’s the problem.” I turned back around, ready to keep walking, but he stepped in front of me, blocking my path.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” His voice was softer now, the arrogance stripped away. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

I folded my arms, giving him a glare. “And yet it did.”

He exhaled heavily, clearly frustrated, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let him smooth this over with some half assed apology.

“Y/n” he tried again, “I just-”

“I don’t care, Matt.” My voice was cold, firm. “You always do this. Say something without thinking, then act like it’s not a big deal when it is. I don’t need an apology. I just need you to stop.”

He stared at me for a moment, as if trying to figure out a way to fix this, but I wasn’t interested in hearing it. So I stepped around him and walked away, leaving him standing in the middle of the dimly lit street, finally at a loss for words.

He didn’t follow me this time. Maybe he finally got the message, or maybe he knew pushing it any further would only make things worse. Either way, I didn’t care. My chest still burned from embarrassment, and my head was buzzing with frustration as I made my way back toward the villa.

I reached the villa, slamming the door behind me before kicking off my heels and making my way to the room. The relief of being alone and actually having a bedroom door for privacy was short lived because not even five minutes later, there was a knock.

I sighed, already knowing who it was. “Go away, Matt.”

“Just let me in for a second” he called through the door. “Please.”

I rolled my eyes, but something in his voice made me hesitate. It wasn’t his usual cocky tone. It sounded.. tired. Frustrated, even.

Against my better judgment, I walked to the door and swung it open. “You’ve got sixty seconds.”

Matt stepped inside, his jaw tight, hands shoved in his pockets like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. “Look” he started, pausing for a second before meeting my eyes. “I was a dick. I know that.”

I folded my arms. “Great self awareness. Anything else?”

He let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “I don’t know why I said it. Maybe I was trying to be funny, or maybe I was just being an idiot, probably both. But I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”

I scoffed. “You said I was a quick fuck that got friendzoned, Matt. How else was that supposed to come out?”

He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“But you said it” I shot back, my voice rising. “In front of your parents, no less. Do you even think before you speak, or do you just say the first thing that pops into your head?”

“I-” He stopped, exhaling slowly. “I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t think you’d care so much.”

I blinked at him, stunned. “Care? Are you serious? You embarrassed me, Matt. You made me look like some desperate fool who got used and thrown away. Why wouldn’t I care?”

Matt’s jaw clenched, his eyes flickering with something I couldn’t quite place, frustration, maybe, or something worse. I could tell he wanted to argue, to push back, but I wasn’t going to let him.

“You know what pisses me off the most?” I continued, folding my arms. “It’s not just what you said, it’s that you acted like you knew everything. Like you had some inside joke at my expense. And for what? A laugh?”

Matt exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “It wasn’t like that-”

“Then what was it like?” I challenged, my voice rising. “Because you made it sound like I was some easy target for Nate. And for the record, nothing ever even happened between us.”

Matt’s brows furrowed, his lips parting slightly in surprise. “What?”

“You heard me.” I snapped. “That night? Seven Minutes in Heaven? We didn’t even kiss. We sat there and talked, thought we’d mess with everyone's heads. And when we went out when you were in Vegas, and we made it clear we were just friends. There was nothing more to it.”

Matt blinked, like the idea had never even crossed his mind. “So you-”

“I never hooked up with Nate.” I interrupted, my tone sharp. “Not then. Not ever. So whatever picture you had in your head, whatever assumptions you made, they were wrong.”

He was quiet for a second, his hands still shoved in his pockets. “I didn’t know that.”

“No, you didn’t” I said bitterly. “Because you never asked. You just assumed.”

I could see it sinking in, the weight of his words finally hitting him, but I didn’t feel the satisfaction I thought I would. I just felt tired.

Matt let out a slow breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was an asshole.”

“Yeah” I said, my voice flat. “You were.”

He glanced at me, like he wanted to say more, but I was done.

“I don’t have the energy for this” I muttered, stepping back toward the door. “I’m done, Matt. I don’t care how sorry you are. Just leave me alone. It’s best if we just stay out of each other's way for the rest of the trip.”

His jaw tensed, but this time, he didn’t fight it. He just nodded.

“Alright” he said quietly. “Goodnight, Y/n.”

I didn’t reply. I just closed the door, locking it this time.

a/n : everything is .. not changing?

taglist : @mattybearnard @sturn-33 @ncm9696 @yourfavsturniologirl @crazy4jewel @sodakid1234 @stupendoustreewinner @lovealwayssturniolos @matthewsturniolosss @m4ttsmunch @loveexxx @ilusa @starkeyszn @wonnieeluvvr @dylnblue @valxrieq @maggot3647 @cigarettecemetary @ribread03 @chrisstvrns @bandasaruswrx @noplaceissafeanymore @amexiass @witchofthehour @mattssgf @jetaimevous @v33angel  @ivysturnss @urmom69lol @ashlishes @watercolorskyy @sturnioloshottiekay @amelia-sturniolo3 @imjusthereforthesturniolosmut @pvssychicken @alizestvrnss @chrisstxrnsaxe @sophand4n4 @vickytaa @marrykisskilled @bxtchboy69 @yourfavsturniologirl @julisturn @sydneyylainn @sophia-77n @trevorsgodmother @sturnslutz @yourmother29 @girl24cherry @astronea @pinkdyit

[piratefishmama]

Fake it Till you Make It | Part 13

“Buckley residence”

“Melissa, my second favourite Buckley! Hi, it’s Steve, is Robin there?”

“Oh Steve! Yes, yes one moment, I’ll just—weren’t you on holiday with your parents aaaand—?” he’d been calling Eddie his ‘partner’ for the week leading up to the big holiday. Never dropping any names, but given he’d found a sort of second home at the Buckleys… they were relentless in finding out who he was dating.

Since it’d never be Robin.

He wasn’t falling for it, no matter how deep they’d been into flower power back in the day. If he came out, Robin would end up coming out in solidarity and he knew she wasn’t ready yet so—“Yep, calling from Chicago airport, bit of a time sensitive call” he wasn’t giving it up.

“Oop, I’ll grab her—” there was a scuffle on the line then a quick “ROBIN, STEVE’S ON THE PHONE” another quick scuffle later and suddenly

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane right now, Dingus?”

“I’m in Chicago! Just checkin in on my baaaaaby, how’s my little bun today? Any morning sickness yet?”

“Robin!!”

“Mom get off the phone!!”

“Hahaha I’m kidding Melissa! Can I talk to Robbie alone though?”

“Unbelievable, you kids are turning me grey.”

“You’re as beautiful as ever though!” The other line clicked off, and Robin’s snickering laughter was all that remained. “One day she’s gonna stay on just to call my bluff.”

“But that is not today, again, aren’t you supposed to be on a plane? What’s up?”

“…Okay so, hypothetically, if you were fake dating someone you… I dunno… maybe, sorta… click really well with, can laugh with, and maybe sorta like a little, would you—”

“Steven Leopold Harrington do you have a crush on your boyfriend?”

“Fake, fake boyfriend, Robbie, fake. And that isn’t my middle name.”

“You’re not DENYING it! It's not even been a DAY yet, Steve!”

“No, I’m not—well… I’d call it more an interest than a crush, but that’s why I’m calling you, what would you do?”

“Pine uselessly for years, you know this.”

“Got it, pine uselessly” He could do that. He was doing that already, sort of. He’d watched in squinty eyed rage while a newsstand cashier with a nose ring flirted with his fake boyfriend while he grabbed a drink to down during the wait between flights. It didn’t go anywhere, Eddie barely even noticed, but Steve noticed. Steve noticed everything. “You really should ask Vi—”

“NO. Listen Steve, as the kids would say, you have found an ‘ultimate cheat code’ to asking your crush out, listen closely now, don’t want you to miss it… you’re already dating him!”

“It’s fake though!” Luckily his parents were off showing Eddie a cool mural they found last time they flew through. No chance of them hearing him.

“So?! Just act like it’s real! It’s like a test, you have a week to see if you’re actually growing ooey gooeys for this guy, and at the end of it, you’ll know if you wanna keep him.” Brilliant in theory but one small hiccup

“What if he doesn’t want me at the end of the week?” The fact that he hadn’t had a solid date in forever before the scheme looming over his head and heart like a dark cloud of suffering.

“I will eat my own shoe. Trust me dingus, trust me. He’ll want you, just work that mysterious Harrington Charm I’ve heard so much about. You’re already half-way there, you get to kiss him already.”

“…Okay, it’s gotta be the real stinker shoe though, you know the one.”

“The skunk one?!”

“Yep. The skunk one.”

“But we were gonna use that on—” Kevin, they were gonna hide it in Kevin’s office after he refused every holiday request Robin put in for a month after she, very politely, shot him and his advances down, why they still had it was… a mystery. They kept forgetting to get rid of it. “Fine, the skunk one. I will eat the skunk shoe, that is how confident I am that Eddie will want you, now please go and spend time with your way cooler than you boyfriend before your parents turn him into a normie.”

“Miss you already.”

“Miss you more”

“Miss you most.”

“Hang up.”

“No you han—” she hung up, and Steve couldn’t help but laugh about it knowing that undoubtedly. She’d be laughing on her end too.

The second flight was much easier to get Eddie onto. In fact, after they spent the hour between flights milling around the terminal, Eddie led him down the gangway, hand in hand, demanding he hurry up or “they’ll leave without us, my precious little harlot!!” there was no rush, they were actually first in line at the gate in front of his own parents, whom Eddie beat to the front of the queue, dragging Steve with him, still ribbing him for the mile high club thing.

He was not going to live that down any time soon.

The flight, in theory would give him a lot of time to think though. Nine hours. In seats that were too far apart. His parents in the middle of the cabin in a semi-enclosed pod-like structure comprised of two seats and a desk between them which they both shared to work on some paperwork, and he and Eddie on opposite sides of the plane.

Which sucked. Because he couldn’t hold Eddie’s hand.

He couldn’t make sure Eddie was okay, and that alone really dug into his time to think about things, because his brain was quite stuck on the fact that Eddie was alone on the other side of the cabin likely going through it as the second flight excitement could only last so long, and that just wasn’t okay.

Eddie couldn’t even do anything to pass the time, he’d packed all but one of his notebooks in his checked luggage, Steve was pretty damn sure he'd go insane if he had to just sit there with nothing to do for a whole nine hours.

So, they teamed up. From opposite sides of the cabin, because somehow Eddie just understood what Steve wanted him to do without having to be told.

It took them a joint effort all of one hour into the flight to puppy-dog eye his parents into switching seats with them.

This allowed them to pick at each other’s ‘gourmet’ meals, Eddie stealing several of his steak fries, and Steve stealing both the last bite of his steak, and two of his orange slices, it allowed Eddie to ramble on about the D&D campaign he was plotting to send the kids through when they got back, allowed Steve to subtly plant the idea into Eddie's mind that maybe... maybe he might be interested in seeing what that looked like.

Maybe they could hold the first session at his place when his parents went away again. Plenty of room! He could watch for once, instead of ribbing Dustin for it and purposefully never getting the name of the game right.

All leading to them both settling in their reclining seats, wrapped up in blankets, facing each other's smiling faces, and falling into an incredibly easy food-coma slumber for the remainder of their flight.

Both wishing the seats were just... a little closer.

Part 15

[imtryingbuck]

Thirty Five

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader

Summary: Bucky comes from a well respected family, he falls in love with a girl who prefers the simple things in life. Follow their journey through the years.

Word count: 5,082

Warnings: angst, heavy use of pet names. Swearing. Fluff. Mentions of miscarriage. Cheating mentioned. Divorced mentioned. Car crash/death mention very briefly. Hit and run.

A/N: No description of reader other than she has curly hair.

Masterlist   Series Masterlist

“Georgia get here right now”

“Nooo”

Y/n sat on the soft couch laughing at hearing Bucky chase their four year old daughter around trying desperately to get her to put her shoes on. His little princess as he affectionately calls her had better ideas. To run.

“Bunny please help control your daughter”

“Oh she’s just my daughter now is she?”

“Yep” popping the ‘p’ Bucky pops his head around the door “please Bun she’s too fast, I really don’t know how she moves so fast”

“And you really think I’m going to be able to catch her with this” gesturing to her large bump “in the way”

Georgia Maria Grace Winnie Barnes. The apple of their eyes, the little spitfire with so much energy coursing through her tiny little body. Named after George as she was born on her granddads birthday, George cried and felt honoured that not only was she being named after him but she decided it was time to arrive on his birthday.

Her middle names were after her three grandmas.

Y/n found out she was pregnant again for the third time, she was scared to be honest. Two years after Georgia was born she had gotten pregnant again, at nearly three months along she had woken up to really bad cramping scared and alone as Bucky was on a business trip she rang Winnie who rushed over as quickly as she could. By the time Winnie had arrived it was too late. Y/n had sadly lost the baby.

Winnie rang Bucky his heart broke when he could hear the cries of his wife in the background, telling Steve that he needed to take care of the meeting he got on the first plane back.

It took both of them months to come to terms with the loss of their baby.

With this pregnancy Bucky handled business from inside their home, he refused to go anywhere wanting to be close by. In a way Bucky became slightly overbearing as he wouldn’t let Y/n do anything on her own, he did everything for her, looked after Georgia with little help and looked after the house. Y/n knew it was because he cared and was scared of losing the baby so she didn’t complain.

Eight months along it wasn’t going to be too long until she gave birth.

“Please pretty mama”

“You’re going to have to help me up Ducky” helping her stand he thanked her and gave her a kiss. “Georgie moo come and get your shoes on or you’re not going to see Billy and Tommy”

“Noooo” Georgia screamed shortly followed by her footsteps pattering the lamented flooring. “Wan’ see Tommy and Billy mommy”

“Well let dada put your shoes on then and we can go and see them”

Doing as her mommy said she let her dada put her shoes on. As soon as the laces were tied she ran off again, this time going to the front door.

“You ready to go Bun?”

“Yep, lets go”

Pulling up to Wanda's and Vis’s home Georgia was already trying to get out of her car seat, begging her dad to hurry up.

“Hey wifey” Wanda's soft voice greeted Y/n. “In the backyard Butterfly” her nickname for Georgia. Knowing where the twins were she ran through the house and out to the backyard where Wanda’s and Vis’ children were.

“Hey hubby. Nat here?”

“Yeah, just give you a heads up her and Clint have already had an argument.”

“Great, who won?”

“Neither really, it was Laura who put a stop to it”

Natasha and Clint got married less than a year after Bucky, Steve and Sam had met them. Everything was perfect and they seemed to have a perfect marriage that was until Clint got a new job and that’s where everything started to become strained.

Coming home late at night sometimes stinking of whiskey, he became cold and distant with Nat, secretive with his phone. He preferred to spend most of his time at the office instead of being at home and trying to create a family just like they both had planned.

Y/n had lost count of how many times Nat would ring her late at night drunk and crying, slurring and stumbling over her words. Wanda the same. Nat wasn’t stupid by any means but she refused to believe what she already knew. What everyone knew.

Clint was having an affair.

The final straw that broke the camels back as the saying goes is when Clint didn’t arrive to the high end restaurant Nat had booked a table for them at. To celebrate their wedding anniversary. Nat rang Y/n knowing she was with Wanda at the time crying and begging for them to come to hers so she could pack her things. Told them she couldn’t do it anymore. The two best friends showed up as quickly as they could, nearly two hours of being there all three of them froze when they heard the front door open and close.

The silence was deadly when Clint came up to the bedroom after seeing the suitcases and bags packed in the living room. He asked what was going off, looked at Y/n and Wanda and told them to leave, Nat told them not to move so they didn’t. Wanda’s and Y/n’s eyes burnt a hole in the side of Clint’s neck, where a hickey was. He denied Nat’s accusations, telling her that she was overreacting. Told her that she was just being dramatic and that the long hours were for them, it was for their future.

Y/n was fed up with seeing Natasha struggle, having to hear her cries it broke her heart. The truth only came out when Y/n started laughing, fed up with how someone she considered one of her best friends could stand there and lie to his wife – her best friend all while he had a hickey on his neck. Pointing to the side of his neck he sighed in defeat.

Though he claimed they never did anything, he actually swore on his life and when he didn’t drop down dead like Y/n always thought would happen if you did that and you was lying, she believed him. He did admit that he had fallen in love with someone else, that the night of his anniversary that had marked seven years of marriage he was with this other woman, he had made out with her, he swore that he didn’t do anything else. Said he couldn’t because he had a wife. He had confessed to telling this other woman everything about him and his marriage with Natasha.

For Nat it was worse than if he had just said ‘yes I’ve been sleeping with someone else’ as he was emotionally connected to this other woman. The next day with Y/n and Wanda by her side she filed for divorce.

It was a slow and very messy process. Natasha wanting more money just out of spite, Clint wanting the house… so he could move the other woman in. It took nearly two years for the divorce to be finalised, in that time Clint had proposed to the other woman and already had one kid. When Y/n met Laura she really wanted to hate her, she did for the fact that she took Clint away from Natasha. But Laura had to be really nice didn’t she making it really hard on Y/n to hate the woman.

Three years after their divorce Clint and Natasha was always at loggerheads sometimes about the most stupidest of things, always trying to outdo the other despite Clint being ‘happily’ married to Laura and Natasha ‘happily’ dating Bruce. A man that she had met one night, great guy incredibly shy.

“Laura stopped them? I’m surprised she said anything”

“So was I but apparently it was upsetting the baby”

Oh yeah, Laura was pregnant with their third kid.

Laughing and shaking her head she linked arms with Wanda as Bucky trailed behind them. All their friends were outside, the kids all playing together. Y/n had just greeted Steve and Peggy – his girlfriend, nice woman, made Steve happy. Sam and Maria – his fiancée, like Peggy she was nice and she made Sam happy. Nat and Bruce.

“Y/n? Oh my god it is you”

Turning around at the sound of her name her jaw dropped. Literally.

“Pietro?”

“Yeah it’s me. Gosh you’re still as beautiful as ever”

“Pie I’m a married woman” Y/n laughed.

“So am I-wait-I’m married-I’m a married man”

“No, no, no you’re now a married woman, you said so yourself.”

“God you haven’t changed have you?”

“Nope. How are you?”

Catching up with Pietro after not seeing him in over ten years, the last time they saw each other was for Wanda and his parents funeral, car crash. Wanda took it exceptionally hard, Vis rang Y/n one night asking if Wanda was with her when he heard that she wasn’t he started to panic. It took the group splitting up to look for her, Y/n and Nat found Wanda on the beach drowning her sorrows with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

“Mommy-mommy look” Georgia gained her moms attention as she ran over to her.

“What is it sweetie?”

“Hand” holding out her hand for her daughter her eyes widened when Georgia put a large spider in the palm of her hand.

“Sweetie where did you get this from?”

“Tommy tried to hurt it”

“Oh, lets get him back to his home, yeah?”

Georgia nodded as tears started to gather in her eyes, Bucky always said that she took after Y/n when it came to protecting animals, and creepy crawlies. Yes even at thirty six he still called them that. When Georgia was two she waddled in to the kitchen making Winnie and Bucky scream so loudly it made Y/n jump up and went running to the kitchen, bumping into things as she went. Entering the kitchen she came to a halt when Georgia’s tiny beautiful face, her bright baby blue round eyes looking up at her mommy, her cheeks being puffed out by her wide smile, with one hand she pushed back the same untameable hair that she got from Y/n. “Doggy” she giggled as she raised her tiny chubby arm up.

It was indeed not a doggy but a grass snake. A two year old Georgia was holding up a snake as her grandma stood in the corner of the kitchen shaking and her father well… he was standing on top of the kitchen island… holding a rolling pin.

“Okay” Pietro helped Y/n stand, thanking him she held her hand out for Georgia to take and she led her to the far end of the garden.

“Here you go baby, put him on the grass and he’ll find his way home”

“Okay. Look mommy he going home”

“He sure is bubba”

“My friend” Georgia squealed as she watched the spider walk up the fence.

Yeah she was definitely Y/n’s daughter.

“Hey Y/n/n can I ask a huge mega favour from you and Bucky, please?”

“Sure Wands, what’s up?”

“Can you both look after the twins this weekend? Vis has a work trip and ever the gentlemen he has said I could come along…so…yes or double yes?”

“If I say yes do I only get one of them?”

“Which one would you prefer?”

“Billy.”

“Wow okay you answered that pretty quick”

“It was wasn’t it? But anyway of course we’ll take the twins for ever and ever an-“

“She’s not taking our kids forever Wan” Y/n laughs as Vis cuts her off in the background.

“I’m sorry wifey its only for this weekend, Vis is being mardy”

“Shoot. Bring them around when you want-hold on there’s a knock at the door.” Struggling to stand she waddles to the front door, opening she rolls her eyes.

“Really Wanda?”

“Oh hi didn’t expect to see you here, long time no see huh. Anyway here are your godsons, boys be good for Auntie and I’ll see you both on Sunday. Love you all”

Shaking her head at her best friend, she goes to tell the boys to come in when she glances down they’re not there but behind her.

“Where is Georgia?” Tommy asks as he looks around.

“Gone to see her grandma and granddad, they’ll be back soon don’t worry”

Though the twins were a year older Tommy and Georgia were best friends. Tommy was the loud one out of the twins, the one that liked to explore and play in the mud, the one that got all the attention. It was one of the reasons Georgia got on well with him as she was just the same. Billy was the quieter one, preferred to have his head in his comics, his latest fascination was with a group of super heroes that were called The Avengers. People had a tendency of overlooking Billy because of how quiet he always was but not Y/n, Billy made her cry once when he told her that she was his favourite. Whenever he wanted a new comic book she always happily took him to the comic book store that opened on Maple Drive, always happy to spend time with her favourite godson. Don’t judge her for having favourites.

“Can I play in her play room?”

“Okay but don’t break anything!” she shouts as he started running when she said ‘okay’ “What about you Billiam, what do you want to do?”

“My names Billy Auntie not Billiam” the five year old whined with a small shy smile on his lips.

“That’s what Billy’s short for monkey, didn’t you know?”

“No it isn’t”

“It is Bilbo I’d never lie to you. So what do you want to do?”

“Ca-can we look at the photos some more please?”

The last time the twins were around Tommy and Georgia was keeping Bucky busy by destroying things and Billy was curled up in Y/n’s side as they went through the many photo albums she had.

“Of course my sweet Billiam, but you’ll have to get them, bottom shelve remember?”

“I remember Auntie”

Sitting down on the couch she watches Billy pull out two of the photo albums from the top of the pile and brings them over, handing them to her he climbs on the couch next to her.

“Who’s that?” Billy asked when he saw a black and white photo of Y/n’s mama, proudly telling him who she was his face contorted in confusion “But grandma Maria is your mom and that’s not her” the boys were just months old when Maria passed away but grew up hearing stories about her, they started to call her grandma as well.

“Well sweetheart I’m adopted”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m not really grandma Maria and granddad Howard’s daughter but they became my parents when they signed some papers”

“Where did your mom go?”

“She’s with grandma Maria and your grandparents”

“Oh. Look auntie its Georgia” he points at a picture, she laughed.

“That isn’t Georgia bub, its me” it was the only photo she had of herself when she was Georgia’s age, and even then she was sporting a black eye in the photograph.

“No it isn’t, its Georgia”

“It isn’t I swear I’m not lying to you”

“It looks like her and not you”

“She does look like me when I was younger doesn’t see?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty though”

Rude. Wait…what?

There was a bet going to see whether or not Tommy and Georgia would date when they got older, everyone thinks that they would as they are so similar to each other and always spend every chance they got with each other.

But Billy, the sly little fox might be the one who takes Georgia’s heart.

“Do you think she’s pretty bubba?”

“I do” his cheeks turn a shade of bright red “But she’s friends with Tommy not me”

“She’s your friend too Billy”

Just as he’s about to reply the front door opens and Georgia’s voice echoes throughout the house. “Honey I’m home” she giggles, it’s what Bucky always says when he returns home from work or meeting the guys.

“Hi Billy” she waves when she sees him “hi baby” she then says coming over to Y/n her hands going straight to her mommy’s belly.

“H-h-hi G-Geor-“

How on earth did she miss that? Billy always became a stuttering mess whenever Georgia was around...

“Georgia your back, come play” Tommy interrupts his twin, before Y/n can say anything Georgia runs over to Tommy and they both run out of the room.

“Hey pretty mama, hey kiddo” Bucky greets his wife and godson.

“Hi Uncle Bucky” Billy replies quietly, he slides the photo album off Y/n’s stomach closing it carefully before climbing off the couch and puts the photo album back.

The next day Y/n and Bucky treated the kids to a day out, the sun shined brightly in the clear blue sky as Bucky pushed Georgia and Tommy on the swings. Y/n sat with Billy on a bench, she had told him that he could play too but he opted to stay with her, feeling guilty at Billy’s glum expression she told got Bucky’s attention.

“Ducky, I’m nipping to the store do you want anything?”

“A bottle of water please Bun”

“Okay, I’m taking Billy with me. Come on Billy Bob, I’m kidnapping you”

“What that mean?”

“Never mind”

Holding his hand she walks across the road and up the street, he went to turn into the store that he knew sold water and frowned when Y/n told him ‘not just yet’. Further up the street was a new comic book store, she had seen it a few days back when she was driving to pick up Georgia from Howards, she made a mental note to make sure she took Billy there next time she had him.

The way Billy’s face lit up when he saw the sign warmed her heart, giving him a nod he let go of her hand and ran up to the window. “Look auntie look!”

In the store was large cardboard cut-out of the Avengers, Billy’s new favourite super heroes. “Want to take a photo with them?”

“Really?”

“Of course, and if you take a silly photo with me you can get two new comics, how does that sound?”

“YOU’RE THE BEST AUNTIE!”

“I know, I know. Come on then”

Letting him push open the door – with some help from her – he ran straight up to the super heroes, staring at them in awe. “Billy give me your super hero pose then” taking out her phone she took multiple photos of him standing next to each hero. The worker Ron came over and pushed them all together so Billy could have a group photo, Y/n asked Ron if he could take a photo of the pair of them he nodded happily.

“Right Bilbo silly faces now”

“Okay”

Billy stuck his tongue out and pulled out his ears whilst Y/n stuck out her tongue too and crossed her eyes.

“Thank you so much”

“No need to thank me Miss, it’s nice to see kids enjoy comics” and with that Ron walked back over to the checkout.

“Right Billiam since you did the silly photo with me, you can pick out two new comics”

“Thank you. Thank you”

Billy went straight to the Avengers section and picked out one before running all over the store to find his next comic. Hand in hand with his pick he came bouncing over to where Y/n was stood waiting as she sent all the photos in the group chat the group was in.

“I picked”

“Are you happy with your choices?”

“Yep”

“Okay sweet boy lets go and pay”

Standing behind a man who was being served Y/n noticed Billy’s eyes going to the second comic he had picked out to behind the counter and back again. “Bill what’s up?”

“T-they have new Avengers comic” pointing to behind the counter “bu-but I want this one” showing her New X-Men Volume 3: New Worlds comic he had picked.

“I thought you picked out an Avengers one?”

“Last one, that ones new”

“Oh, which one do you want more?”

“I don’t know…I get these” he stands on his tippy toes to place them on the counter as it was their turn to be served. Billy was always like that, he wouldn’t be screaming and having a tantrum if he wasn’t able to get all three not like Tommy, one time in a store with Wanda he threw himself on the ground because he wasn’t allowed to get two chocolate bars, Billy even told him that he could have his but that wasn’t good enough for Tommy. In the end he got his own way and got two chocolate bars, whilst Billy only got the one, then Tommy stole his.

Ron handed the plastic bag over to Billy who thanked him, he walked over to the Avengers cut out to say goodbye, just before putting her card in the machine she asked Ron for the new comic. She was going to surprise him. Paying and saying her thanks she walked over to Billy.

“Come on bubba”

“Thank you auntie Y/n”

“Don’t thank me just yet” Once out of the store Billy went to hold Y/n’s hand but something was in his way. “Oh what must that be?”

“I-I-It-AVENGERS!” his scream startled an old couple that was walking past.

“Am I the best or am I the best?”

“BEST AUNTIE EVER! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU”

“Bilbo sweetie calm down” she laughed at his reaction, the way he held the comic in his shaking hands “Hold my hand so we can get uncle Bucky his water and when we get back to mine you can read them”

Hand in hand they went to the store getting Bucky his drink, one for her and one for each of the kids, Billy talking enthusiastically about his new comics, she paid and they left. Looking over the road she saw Bucky standing by the bench her and Billy had previously occupied, tapping his watch his eyebrow flicked up, Billy had seen the gesture and held up his bag containing his prizes with a huge smile on his lips. Bucky laughed and shook his head fondly.

Looking both ways twice seeing no cars around before crossing, a loud screeching sound pierced her ears. It all happened in slow motion.

Turning her head to the right she saw a grey car speeding towards them, not thinking she pushed Billy in front making him tripping over and landing in the space between two parked cars. She had no time to move herself.

She heard Bucky yelling her name, the word laced with fear and panic

The impact was hard enough to send her tumbling over the roof of the speeding car. Landing on her back in the middle of the road her eyes desperately trying to find Billy, she breathed a breath of relief when she saw him with two elderly women, one of them on the phone the other keeping Billy’s face buried in her stomach.

“B-Bunny-baby keep those eyes open-Bunny don’t go to sleep-an ambulance is on its way-bab-baby no no keep your fucking eyes open Y/n! I mean it-Bun you c-can’t leave me”

Y/n could hear her Ducky pleading with her to stay awake and she tried, she really did but she was so tired.

So, so, so tired.

Her eyes burned as she opened them, her body ached everywhere, the memories of what happened came back in snippets. Taking Billy to the comic book store and going to get drinks for everyone, the grey car, said grey car hitting them. Billy bleeding. Billy was bleeding.

Shooting straight up she groaned in pain. Billy was bleeding. The blood on his little legs.

“Bun lay back down baby-Steve get the doctor-Bunny lie bac-“

“B-Bil-Billy” she croaked out.

“He’s fine baby, I promise just lay back down sweet girl”

“W-where’s Billy?”

“He’s just outside with Wanda and Vis. He’s okay I promise”

“He was r-ran over, blood Ducky, h-he was bleeding”

“Y/n, Billy wasn’t ran over baby. You was.”

Oh. As long as her godson was okay it was fi-

“T-the baby Bucky”

“He’s okay too Bunny, perfect honestly”

“He? Ducky…we ha-have a son?”

“We do Bun, he’s okay, Billy’s okay, you’re going to be okay. Please lie down baby”

They have a son. They decided not to know what the gender was as they didn’t with Georgia, hearing that they had a son and that he was okay, perfect as Bucky said made her listen to Bucky when he told her to lie down.

“Wh-where is he?”

“ma, dad and your dad is with him, he’s small Bun but doctors said that he’s perfectly healthy.”

“Georgia?”

“Outside with everyone. Don’t worry about anything okay? Just relax”

The doctor came in after Bucky had finished telling her to relax, he went over the extent of her injuries but she wasn’t real listening her mind on her baby boy that she hasn’t even met yet. She did hear the doctor tell her that she was very lucky to be alive, with her injuries, having to have an emergency C-section done in the back of the ambulance, the loss of blood, she was very lucky.

Hit and run.

She had missed the birth of her son because some idiot was speeding and he didn’t have the decency to stop just to check if she was okay. When the police had caught the driver he was unlicensed, drunk and high.

She missed the birth of her son because an idiot didn’t know right from wrong.

With her body throbbing despite the pain meds she drifted in and out of sleep, when Howard got word that she was awake he came barrelling through the door panting heavily. He held his daughter in his arms and cried, the thought of having to bury his daughter made his chest squeeze tightly. And it was a good job he was with George and Tony at the time he got that phone call as his legs collapsed underneath him.

She had fallen asleep in her dads arms and when she woke again he had gone back to see his only grandson. One by one everyone came into the room but under strict orders by the doctor that it could only be one at a time.

Bucky went to get Georgia who squealed at seeing her mommy for the first time in what felt like forever to the both of them. “Mommy, mommy”

“Hi baby, oh how I’ve missed you!” Georgia practically jumped out of Bucky’s arms and started to climb all over Y/n.

“Princess be careful” Bucky lightly scolded as he saw Y/n flinching at the four year old climbing over her.

“Mommy” is all she said. Taking her moms face in her tiny hands she placed kissed all over her mommys face. She’s seen Bucky do it plenty of times so of course she copies him.

“Did you miss me baby?”

“Miss you, miss you”

Georgia finally settles on Y/n’s chest and slowly falls asleep, Winnie came in an hour later so she could take Georgia home, not forgetting to give her sleeping daughter-in-law a kiss on her forehead.

When Wanda came in she burst into another fit of tears, she hadn’t stopped crying from the moment she had heard that her best friend had been ran over and not only that but she had saved her son.

“Y/n/n I-I will never be able to repay you f-for saving Billy” she stuttered, holding her best friends hand.

“D-don’t be silly Wands, he’s my godson”

“Billy wants to see his favourite auntie, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course I want to see him”

A few minutes after Wanda left the door came back open revealing her godson, he stumbled when he saw the bruises and cuts on his auntie. Bucky noticed and got up and knelt down in front of him.

“She’s okay buddy”

“R-really?”

“Yes bud, auntie Y/n is super strong-“

“Li-like an Avenger?”

“Exactly like an Avenger, do you want to come over?” Billy nodded but made no attempt to move forward “want me to pick you up bud?” nodding once again Bucky picked his godson up and placed him on his hip.

“There’s my Billiam, how are you baby?”

“I-I-I’m sorry a-auntie Y-Y/n-“

“Hey-hey none of that, it isn’t your fault sweetheart. You did nothing wrong.”

“I-I saw the baby auntie”

“You did? Is he cute?”

“No” Billy giggled causing Y/n and Bucky to join in.

“Have you read any of your comics?”

“N-no”

“Well climb in and read to me then monkey” Bucky gently places the five year old next to his wife and pulls the blanket over him and nips out of the room to grab the bag containing the comic, when Billy tells him which one he wanted Bucky took it out and handed it over to him.

Three pages in and Billy taps his uncle Bucky on his knee, pointing and quietly giggling at seeing his auntie Y/n asleep.

Two days after waking up for the first time after the accident the doctors gave Y/n permission to go down to where her baby was, Bucky helped her in to the wheelchair and started going the route he had become familiar with over the six days since the accident had happened, the one where he nearly lost his wife and baby.

“Are you ready Bunny?” he asked as he came to a stop outside the door.

“I’m ready Ducky”

The nurse opens the door and Y/n’s wheeled in, seeing her dad and parents-in-laws standing there with smiles on their faces.

And there he was. Their beautiful baby boy, small like Bucky said but looked so strong. His hair curly and the same shade of brown as Bucky’s. It was as if he sensed his parents he opened his eyes and turned to face them.

His eyes blue as the ocean and as wide just like Georgia’s were.

“Oh Ducky he’s precious”

“He is indeed Bunny, our precious little boy”

“Have you two got a name for the little fella?” Winnie asks wondering what her grandson was to be called.

Y/n looked up at Bucky who smiled down at her, nodding. Though they didn’t know the gender that had already picked out names.

“Jamie Howard Anthony Barnes”

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[roosterforme]

A Love You Don't Find Everyday Part 22 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: As the honeymoon begins, Bradley's credit cards are begging for mercy. But when you both consider the private pool, private deck, and private outdoor shower that you will have access to, he helps you see that it's worth every cent. Then he continues his mission of trying to knock up his wife.

Warnings: Fluff, smut, and swearing

Length: 4000 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my masterlist for more!

Bradley stood on the curb with the luggage while you hugged Jake. The two of you were laughing about some inside joke that he didn't understand while you rubbed Jake's shoulder. He would never fully comprehend the two of you.

"Any chance I can have my wife now?" Bradley asked, hands planted on his hips. He was so anxious to get you alone again. Yesterday and last night had been a dream come true, and now he was more than ready to get to Hawaii.

You and Jake both turned to look at him. "I'm coming, Roo." You kissed Jake's cheek and thanked him for dropping you off at the airport, and then you were in Bradley's arms. 

"Call me when you land in ten days, and I'll come pick you up," Jake drawled. 

"Thanks," Bradley muttered, fist bumping Jake as you looked up at him. 

"Let's go," you whispered, and Bradley kissed the tip of your nose. He followed you into the airport, and when you went to check the bags, he pointed to the luggage you were pulling along. 

"Is that all the goodies?" he asked, looking at the suitcase. 

You laughed and bit your lip. "Are you referring to the lingerie?"

"Mmhmm," he hummed, already mentally scrolling back through the photos you sent to him the day you tried everything on. 

"Yep. And there are some other special items in there as well."

When Bradley set that suitcase on the scale, he asked the airline worker, "Is there any way you can one hundred percent guarantee this bag makes it to Honolulu? It's very important."

You were holding his hand and shaking with silent laughter, and somehow Bradley managed to get the guy to put a PRIORITY tag on the suitcase. 

"I still can't believe you, Roo," you whispered when you were settling into the window seat in first class while Bradley took the aisle seat. "You got a priority tag for my underwear."

He leaned in close and kissed your lips. "Listen, my main goal for the next ten days is spending every minute with you. I love you. Everything about you. But I also happen to know how sexy you look in all that stuff, so it's definitely a priority for me."

Bradley watched you preen. He thought about you all the time, could get hard for you in an instant. Literally couldn't get enough of you. But he needed to make sure he always told you so, because the smug look on your face made him almost giddy knowing what he was in store for this week.

As the plane started to taxi the runway, you laced your fingers with his and looked out the window. "Have you ever wanted to fly a commercial jet?" you asked him as the plane gained altitude and the city grew smaller beneath you. 

"Nah, the controls are too bulky, and I don't even like having one backseater let alone a hundred or more. I'll stick to my Super Hornet."

You were quiet for a while, gently stroking Bradley's palm with your fingers while you rested your head on his shoulder. He was so content, he was nearly falling asleep as you softly asked him, "Feel like joining the Mile High Club with me?"

Bradley was wide awake now.

But you were biting your lip a little nervously. "Well, you're probably already in the Club, but you wanna come help me get my membership?" 

He leaned in closer to you and asked, "What makes you think I'm in the Mile High Club?"

"You're a pilot. And you've traveled all over the place. I just figured it would have been something you checked off your bucket list pretty early."

"I'm not in the Mile High Club, Baby Girl. Who would I have even done that with?"

You shrugged. "Maybe one of your ex girlfriends?"

He shook his head. "You know I only had two of those. And I never even flew anywhere with either of them."

Your lips parted as you smiled at him. "Oh my god, Roo. Please, let me pop your commercial lavatory cherry." Your eyes lit up with desire and excitement and need. 

"Let's go, Sweetheart." Bradley stood and took you by the hand, and the two of you squeezed into the tiny bathroom together. He was smashing you into the sink just to be able to get the door closed, and you were giggling now.

"This is tiny!" you gasped, turning to face the mirror and pulling down your leggings for him.

Bradley unzipped his jeans and pulled out his hardening cock. "You better be quiet, Sweetheart. It's already fucking obvious what we're doing in here. The guy in 3B gave me the head nod in approval when we walked past," Bradley told you, stroking himself as you wiggled your ass back against him. 

"He did not," you whispered, still giggling. 

"He really fucking did. And the woman in 2D looked appalled. Now bend over."

You did as you were told, bracing your hands on the sink and nearly face planting into the mirror when Bradley thrust into you. "Roo!"

"Hang on tight, Baby Girl. Gotta make this quick," he told you, grabbing your hips, and wrapping his fingers around you so he knew he was touching your tattoo. 

"You're never quick," you told him, grabbing onto the paper towel dispenser for support. "That's why I married you." 

Bradley's sharp thrusts had you whining softly as he filled you over and over again. His ass hit the wall every time he withdrew from you, so he kept to shallow movements. 

"I'll be quick now," he promised, looking at your gorgeous face in the mirror as you smiled at him. "And if I don't get you off in this fucking tiny room, I'll take care of you twice later at the hotel."

"Okay," you agreed, and Bradley fucked you as you whined his name and smiled, and soon he was filling your pussy to the brim with his cum. 

He thought for a second that if he managed to get you pregnant on the honeymoon, he might like to claim it happened right here. On an airplane. As you both checked an item off your bucket lists together.

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

You fell asleep on Bradley for the rest of the flight. You had no idea which hotel Bradley had booked, and every time you asked him, he wasn't giving you any extra information. 

"You'll like it, Baby Girl. Promise." That was all you could get out of him. Maybe you should have been more involved with this aspect of planning. Because after you gathered your luggage at baggage claim in Honolulu, Bradley led you out to a limousine with a driver holding a sign that said Bradshaw. Once you were inside, Bradley popped a bottle of champagne while the driver took a rustic, winding road that had the most beautiful views of the ocean.

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?" you asked Bradley, holding a champagne flute in one hand and stroking his cheek between kisses with the other. 

"Nope," he replied, pulling you onto his lap. "We'll be there soon, and then you can see for yourself. But for now, I just want to kiss you before you're mad at me."

You nibbled on his lips before pausing. "Why would I be mad at you?"

But then you understood, because you drove into an absolutely beautiful hotel complex, right past a sign that said Four Seasons Resort Waikiki. 

"What did you do?" you asked Bradley, suddenly in shock.

He tried to kiss along your neck as you pulled away from him. "I just booked our perfect honeymoon. You told me I could, Sweetheart. I picked the Four Seasons for us."

You gaped at him as you passed the most beautiful hotel accomodations you had ever seen. "The Four Seasons? How much money are we spending on this, Bradley?"

"Don't worry about it," he said, still reaching for you. And now you were worrying even more. 

"I told you to stick to a budget!"

He licked his lips nervously. "You never said what the budget was."

You laughed nervously as the limousine pulled up to the lobby. "Just tell me this... will we be able to pay our mortgage next month?"

"Of course," he replied with a grin. "I just wanted you to be happy, Sweetheart. Now think of all the money I saved by giving you my mom's ring instead of buying  a new one."

"I love this ring, and I didn't want a new one," you promised as he kissed your finger.

"And our perfect parking lot wedding budget was tiny," he added. "Would have cost four times that much if we went with a different venue."

"Okay," you said, finally agreeing with him. "You're probably right. So we can really afford this?"

"Yes, my love. Now let's go check in."

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

Bradley had two maxed out credit cards, and he was going to suggest that you and he skip Christmas presents this year. But the look on your face when you and he strolled through the hotel lobby was worth every penny spent on the lingerie and the wedding and the honeymoon. And getting to spend ten days alone with you in paradise made it even better.

"This is beautiful," you whispered, pausing to look at an arrangement of hibiscus flowers as Bradley took out his credit card and ID. 

"Just wait until you see our room," he told you, lacing his fingers with yours. "Private deck. Private pool. Private outdoor shower. I will be fucking you everywhere."

You looked up at him as he stroked your lips with his thumb. When you licked along his thumbnail before taking the digit between your lips, Bradley groaned. 

"Okay," you whispered. "You're right. This place was worth every penny."

He nodded as he handed his credit card over the counter. And thank goodness you didn't freak out when you heard the clerk read off the total price of the room before he said, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw! If you need anything else in your villa, don't hesitate to ask. Here are the keys to your golf cart and a map."

"Golf cart?" you asked, taking the keys in your hand. You were both led out to your own cart complete with a plaque on the side with Bradshaw engraved on it. 

"The resort is several acres large, and you're staying at the north end in a private villa. Enjoy your honeymoon!"

And then you were alone together amidst the most beautiful vegetation Bradley had ever seen in his life. But you still stood out, even dressed in your leggings and little crop top with the hoodie over it that you wore on the flight. He kissed you before making sure all of your luggage had been loaded onto the back of the cart. Then he nudged the suitcase filled with your lingerie and said, "Got the most important stuff. Now, do you want to go find one of the restaurants and get dinner?"

You eased into the driver's seat and patted the spot next to you. "I was thinking...why don't we just order room service tonight and explore the resort tomorrow?"

You were nibbling on your lip, and when Bradley climbed in next to you with the map, you started stroking his thigh instead of the seat. "You're so smart," he whispered, pressing a kiss to your neck as you started the cart and pulled away from the lobby area. "Are you on the room service menu? You're all I want to eat."

You laughed as Bradley helped you navigate through the lush, tropical landscape, past pools and along a beach trail. It was gorgeous, and in about an hour, the sun would be setting over the water. 

"It's right up here, Sweetheart. Villa number seven." It was secluded, tucked back amongst shrubs with colorful flowers and palm trees, and there was a little parking spot for the golf cart. 

"This whole thing is for us?" you asked, hopping out and heading up the path to the door. Bradley followed behind you with the key, and opened the door. 

"It's all for us, Baby Girl." You took his hand and led him through the expansive living room area and past the opulent bathroom, directly to the king sized bed that was overlooking a wall of windows and a view of the sun dipping lower over the ocean.

"Okay," you whispered, releasing his hand to stand by the windows and look outside. "You did good, Roo. Are you hungry for room service?" Bradley smirked as you unzipped your hoodie and tossed it on the dresser. 

He stayed frozen on the far side of the bed, just watching you. "I'm hungry for you. My wife."

With a smirk of your own, you removed your shirt, and Bradley's cock was at full attention for you. He ran his palm down the front of his jeans as you wiggled out of your leggings. "Fuck," he grunted. The sight of you in your matching black bra and underwear was making him harder, especially since he knew his cum had soaked that pretty lace fabric after he fucked you on the flight. "You're perfect."

"You sure we shouldn't order dinner first?" you asked, unhooking your bra and letting it fall to the floor. You pressed your tits together, and Bradley had to unzip his jeans for some relief. 

When you slid your panties down your legs and stepped out of them, he growled, "Show me that pussy." Obediently and with wide eyes, you turned to face him fully. He knew how you smelled and how you tasted. He knew how velvety soft you felt, and he loved the way you groomed your hair into a neat strip. As you shifted your weight from one hip to the other, his eyes landed on your tattoo, and he reached into his jeans to stroke himself. 

"That pussy is mine now, and I want it," he demanded, and your lips fell open on the prettiest whimper he ever heard. "Bring it over to me, Sweetheart. We have a legally binding contract now."

"Bradley," you whispered, taking slow, seductive steps in his direction. Your nipples were hard peaks, and your pupils were blown wide. He knew how turned on your were as you licked your lips and squeezed your thighs together. He was just as turned on by you. 

He reached out and ran his knuckles along your tattoo and across the soft skin below your belly button. "Whose pussy is it, Baby Girl? Who does it belong to now?"

You let your head tip back as he stroked one long, rough finger along your slit. "It's yours, Daddy."

"That's right, Mrs. Bradshaw. Now get in bed."

Bradley watched you scramble up onto the middle of the bed on your knees while he undressed. Your body was illuminated by the setting sun as you ran your hands along your chest and belly, your thighs spread wide for him. Bradley crawled across the bed on all fours until his lips met your belly button and trailed lower as you moaned his name. 

"You smell like me. Like my cum," he groaned, pressing his nose to your clit as your fingers ran through his hair. When he swiped his tongue along your slit, eliciting a sharp gasp from you, he said, "You taste like me, too." Bradley held you in place on your knees and licked at your clit, tasting his own release from several hours ago, and getting so hard, he was ready to rut against the bed. 

"Mmm," you moaned, fingers tightening in his hair as he lapped at you. "You taste good, Roo."

He smiled against you, placing a soft kiss to your tattoo before he straightened up on his knees and kissed your shoulder, neck and lips. He pulled you against him so his hard cock was pressing into your belly, and he wrapped his hands around your waist. He licked your bottom lip. "You like it when I cum in your mouth."

"I love it," you whispered, kissing him as he eased you down onto your back with your head against the pillows. He knelt between your thighs and spread your legs wide. He ran his middle finger lazily up and down over your swollen clit. You looked so pretty like this, the fading sunlight catching on your ring as you ran your hand along the valley between your tits. 

You whimpered as he slipped his middle finger inside you and continued stroking you with his thumb. "You wanna taste my cum now, don't you?"

"Please?" you whispered. 

"No," he replied, laying between your legs and dipping his face down. He took your clit between his lips, sucking gently until you were yanking on his hair and whining. He fucked you with his fingers and looked up at your body. God, he wanted you pregnant in the worst way. He figured you were probably ovulating now, but all the unprotected sex you'd been having was making him wild for you. "This pussy was made for my cum, Baby Girl."

"Oh, God, Bradley," you groaned, grinding up against his face. You were splayed so nice and wide for him, as he got you so wet, you were dripping onto the bedding. 

"I'm gonna fuck you so good," he growled. "Be so good to my wife."

You were grinding up against his face, feet braced as your lower back came off the bed. Your needy whining was so loud, Bradley's cock was throbbing. As you got louder with every breath you took, he sucked on you with less and less pressure until you were crying out. Bradley lapped at you as you came for him, gushing into his mouth as you nearly tore his hair out. 

"Fuck," he growled, his mustache damp as you pulled him up to your mouth. Bradley let you lick his face clean as you rubbed your wet core against him until he was bucking. Your lazy smile and languid movements after your orgasm made him wild. 

"I love getting your mustache wet, Roo," you whispered, swiping your tongue along his facial hair one more time before you giggled. 

He nipped at your lips. "I love this pussy."

Bradley watched your head tip back as he pushed his cock inside you, inch by inch until you were full. He reached for your left hand and kissed your ring as he fucked you nice and slow. 

"Roo," you gasped, smiling up at him as he ran his lips all over your palm and fingers. 

"This ring is so everyone knows your mine," he told you, and you bit your lip through your hazy expression as he fucked you a little harder. "But my cum is just for you. Just for you to feel. So know how much I love you."

"Bradley!" you gasped, eyes wide as he fucked you hard and ran his needy hand along your bounching tits. He pinned your left hand above your head with his right hand, and really let you have it. "Oh!" you screamed as he fucked you so hard, he was cumming after just a few seconds. "Oh!"

He was panting against the front of your neck, running his lips along your tits as he kept fucking his cum into you. Bradley licked at the sheen of sweat on your chest. "I love you." 

You kissed the top of his head and whispered, "I love you too, Roo. So much." And when he sat up, exhausted, and withdrew himself from your gorgeous body, he was treated to the sight of you swiping your fingers through his cum as it seeped out of you. He watched intently as you brought your fingers to your lips and moaned at how good you tasted together. You swirled your fingers through your dripping pussy again, moaning as you sucked yourself clean.

Bradley leaned down and kissed you. "You're filthy and perfect and everything I want."

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

Thirty minutes later, you and Bradley were wrapped up in fluffy robes eating lobster tails on the deck in the dusk glow. You were perched on his lap, taking the last bite of your food before pressing your lips to his cheek. "Can we open a bottle of champagne?" you asked, letting your lips drift along his scars. 

"We can do anything you want."

You smiled and wrapped your arms around his neck as he took the empty plate from your hands. "Anything?"

"Anything, Sweetheart. For the next nine days."

"I want to drink champagne with you in the bathtub while we complain that our tub at home is nicer."

Bradley laughed. "I love that. What else?"

"I want to kiss you all night."

"Sounds perfect," he told you, standing up and keeping a grip on you while you squeaked. "What else?" He started to carry you inside to the bathroom where he filled the tub with water and bubbles. Then he untied the sash on your robe as you shrugged out of it.

"I just want to love you."

He nodded and took his own robe off and pulled you close. "Please."

Bradley popped a bottle of champagne from the refrigerator, and you laughed as it started overflowing into the tub. When he climbed in before he grabbed the champagne flutes, you held him in place when he tried to climb back out. "Let's just drink it from the bottle again," you whispered. Somehow you preferred this anyway. You'd done it so many times with him, it felt more intimate. 

So you curled your legs up and settled back against his chest as he took a long sip from the bottle. When he handed it to you, he whispered, "Thank you for marrying me this year, Baby Girl. I would have waited if you wanted to, but I like this a lot better."

You pressed the bottle to your lips and took a sip, swallowing the bubbles as you thought about how you had inadvertently made him question whether or not you still wanted to marry him a few months ago. You bumped his shoulder with the bottle, scrambling to wrap your arm around his neck as you turned to face him. 

"Everything okay?" he asked, welcoming you into his embrace as always, making sure you knew he loved having you there like usual. 

"Yes," you promised, setting the bottle down and kissing him. "I love you so much. And I'm happy we didn't wait until next year." You kissed him as he wrapped you up in his arms, and you traced his tattoo with your thumb as the water grew colder. 

"Let's go to bed," he said, coaxing you into a fluffy towel.

A few minutes later, you started to fall asleep on Bradley's shoulder as the sound of the ocean drifted in through the open windows. His fingers stroked along your back and side as he whispered to you everything he wanted to do with you for the rest of your lives. And it just made sense, because somehow you wanted everything he wanted. You supposed you always had. 

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

The priority tag on the luggage was brilliant thinking, Roo. Thank you @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls for everything.

PART 23

@mak-32

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

@swthxrry

@chassy21

@yaboid19

@solacestyles

@avoirlecoupdefoudre

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@o-the-o-grim-o-reaper-o

@hecate-steps-on-me

@xoxabs88xox

[moonlight0934]

Persuasion

Bruce types, his eyes burning. He knows that he should have given up on his work and gone to bed hours ago. Especially with Tim sitting in the corner, working on cold cases. He hasn’t even stopped to make Tim go home like he normally would, but he just wants to be done with it so badly. At least done with enough that he won’t have to get up quite so early later this morning. He glances at the clock in the corner of the screen.

Shit, it’s three a.m. already.

“Tim, you should go home.”

Tim hums without even looking up. Bruce pinches his nose, forcing himself not to roll his eyes at the kid across the room from him who is far too similar to Bruce for his own good. Bruce stands up, stretching.

“Tim, did you hear me?”

Tim hums again, even though he’s obviously not paying attention.

“Tim!”

Tim looks up.

“Yeah, Bruce?”

“You need to go home. It’s late.”

“Can I crash here tonight?”

It’s not the first time Tim has asked Bruce that, but Bruce is always tempted to say no. He knows that Alfred will be angry if he makes Tim go back to his empty house, or make him risk sneaking in if his parents are there. Especially since it’s so late.

“Fine, you can. You’re still sleeping on the couch though.”

Tim nods, and stands up. He stretches, his joints popping. Bruce winces slightly as he grabs his stuff to go up the stairs with him. He heads straight to bed, turning his phone and JL communicator off. He falls asleep almost immediately because of how absolutely exhausted he is. He wakes up a few hours later feeling sore and still so tired.

Why am I awake? I haven’t been asleep long enough.

Then he realizes that there’s a small hand shaking his arm.

Jason?

He’s half-way through asking if Jason had a nightmare when he realizes that it’s Tim standing beside his bed.

“Bruce.”

“What do you want?”

“Someone named Clark is calling the house phone. Is Superman calling you?”

“How do you know that?”

“I’m smart.”

“Did you answer, or did he leave a message?”

“He left two messages, and then I answered. He said that he wanted to talk to you, but your phone was going straight to voicemail. He tried to make it seem like it was something normal, but since I figured that it was Superman, I also figured that it was something to do with Batman.”

“Get out. I’ll be down in a second.”

Tim nods, and runs out. Bruce pulls on a hoodie, and follows Tim down the stairs. Tim is on the phone, smiling.

“What are you doing?”

“Making him uncomfortable by making small talk without divulging anything about myself. I haven’t even told him my name. He’s unnerved, probably because I’m in your house.”

Bruce takes the phone.

“What do you want, Clarke?”

“We need your help. There’s an alien that’s trashing Central right now, and it’s calling for all hands on deck.”

“I can’t. Robin is at my house right now, and I can’t just leave him here.”

“Bring him for all I care. We just really need your intelligence for this. Wait, was I talking to Robin while actively trying not to die?”

“Yep.”

“He’s suited for you, isn’t he? Anyway, I won’t call you for a week if you come down here.”

“Alfred isn’t here to watch Robin, I seriously can’t just leave him.”

“I’m serious too, just bring him. It’ll be fine. He seems smart, so he could even be helpful.”

“Fine, but you’re not calling or talking to me for a week and a half.”

“Sure thing. I got him to come, and he’s bringing his newest kid. I told you I’m persuasive,” Clark yells.

Bruce hangs up.

“I hate my life. Ok, come on. We’re suiting up, and heading down to Central in the plane.”

Tim nods.

“Am I going to meet the Justice League?”

“Yes, unfortunately. There’s an alien that they can’t figure out how to deal with. They’re idiots.”

“I assume you have to play babysitter and save them a lot,” Tim says as he follows Bruce down to the cave.

“Yep.”

Tim snickers. They both get suited up, and fly over to Central. Most of the Justice League is there, flying around this giant blob alien. Bruce lands the plane, and walks out.

“Ok, stay safe, and try not to talk to any of the Justice League members. They haven’t met you, and they’re easily distracted.”

“Oh, that is not how I thought that was going to go. So I can go near them, but I can’t talk to them?”

“Exactly. Just stay safe, ok?”

“I will be super careful with the giant alien blob. It’s like the blue thing off of Monster Vs. Aliens.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but ok.”

Bruce grapples over to Clark, leaving Tim by the plane. A wad of alien goo flies towards them immediately, but Bruce just ducks out of the way.

“What’s the situation?” he asks, sounding annoyed and tired.

Clark opens his mouth to respond, but then Tim lands next to them.

“B.”

“What Robin?”

“I figured out the monster’s weakness.”

“Hi, Robin. It’s nice to meet you,” Clark says.

Tim looks at him, cocking his head to the side.

“I’m not allowed to talk to you. Anyway-”

“Robin, what is it?”

“Water. It screamed and started to dissolve when I threw water at it.”

“Why were you doing that?”

Tim just stares at Bruce until Bruce turns back to Clark.

“Well, you heard him. Try to throw a lot of water at it, and see what happens.”

Clark nods, and flies away to tell the others.

“Why were you throwing water at it?”

“I didn’t mean to actually. I was drinking some water by the plane while trying to figure out what I needed to do. Then it started spitting goo at me, and I dropped my water. It spilled everywhere, including on the goo that had already hit the ground. It was hilarious.”

Bruce nods, too tired to care. He grapples over to where the League is congregating.

“Ok, we tried it, and it worked. So, now we have to figure out how to get it over to the water, or we can fill that giant crater with water. We’d have to work on distracting it at the same time, then we’d have to lure it over there,” Clark says.

“Where did this thing even come from?” Barry asks.

“I don’t know. This is your city. Anyway, we can figure that out later,” Hal replies, folding his arms.

“Lantern, fill up the crater. Superman, Flash, you’re with me,” Bruce says, then walks past them.

It’s not a hard process to keep the thing chasing them, and it falls right into the crater when they lead it over there. It’s completely dissolved within three minutes. Bruce turns to say something to Clark when he sees Robin fly past. It looks like something tossed him, and slams into the wall of a building a few feet away.

“Robin!” Bruce yells, taking off towards him.

There’s still no visible threat. Tim’s head is bleeding heavily, and he doesn’t focus on Bruce when Bruce sits him up.

“Robin, status report.”

Tim just blinks lethargically.

“Mh, he hit his head pretty hard.”

“Who is that?” Hal demands.

“That’s Bat’s new Robin. He’s the one who figured out the water,” Clark says.

“Ooooh, you hit Bat’s kid,” Barry says.

Bruce turns around so quickly.

“You did this?”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t even aware you had a new sidekick. He just popped up out of nowhere, and scared me.”

“What are you? A toddler?”

Bruce picks Tim up.

“I’m taking him home. We’re going to be talking about this at the next meeting. Also, you are not “persuading me” into taking him anywhere near you guys again,” Bruce growls, cradling Tim against his chest.

He still doesn’t get much of a response from Tim, so he sits Tim right next to him. He watches him the entire flight home. Leslie is waiting when he gets there, and she checks Tim over. Bruce leaves him there, and goes to his room. He can’t stand to wait around like he’s done so many times before. So, he waits in his room until Leslie comes up to tell him that Tim will be fine.

“Ok, good. Thank you, Leslie.”

Leslie nods, and walks back out. Bruce puts his head in his hands.

I can’t believe that I let my teammates hurt my partner. What would I have even done if he hadn’t been ok?

Bruce spends the rest of the night overthinking with his anxiety overcoming all of his rational thoughts.

[cocoathekoala]

Hello everyone! This is the first fanfic that I’ve written in like 7 years so I'm a little rusty. This fanfic is just a simple one. I’m trying to write more and I would appreciate any feedback and/or help. If you have any sort of storyline you would like me to write I will do that!! Every week I will run a poll on what I should write. Reader's choice is what I’m deciding to call it. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy it! <3

997 words and about 2 days of writing

Surprise!! Angel and David fanfic. (Angel pov)

Angel returns home after 2 weeks of being gone while visiting family.

I'm anxious and lost in thought on my flight back to Dahlia. During my entire trip, I just kept wishing David was there with me but he couldn’t escape from work. “3 hours,” I thought as I looked at the clock on my phone. “3 hours until I’m back in his arms again,” I thought with a smile. Those 3 hours felt like 16. I just wanted to be with him again and my back hurt from those horrible plane seats. As soon as the plane landed, I got out of it as fast as possible. I sprint over to the baggage carousel. I get there and don’t see him..yet.

The baggage carousel turns on and bags start flooding out. I check my phone, anxiously to see if he texted me that he was there. Nothing. I sigh and continue to scan around the airport. I see my bag before I see him. I grab my bag off the carousel and turn around. I feel my heart do a backflip and there I see him. Flowers in hand, leather jacket, a smile on his face. I immediately let go of my bag, ran, and jumped into his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist, threw my arms over his shoulder, and hugged him as hard as I could. “HI” I yelled loudly. He laughed, wrapped his arms around my waist, and hugged me back. “Hi angel,” he said, setting me down. “These are for you,” he hands me the flowers and then plants a deep and passionate kiss on my lips. “Thank you! They’re beautiful.” I say as I kiss him back.

It’s around 4:30 in the afternoon, in the middle of spring when the flowers on the hills of Dahlia bloom just right. The windows are down in the truck and it's about an hour's drive back from the airport to the house. Fleetwood Mac is playing and the smell of spring flowers is everywhere. The best part is that I’m sitting next to the man I’m going to call my husband in a few months, singing Gypsy. The sun is just bright enough that we have to wear sunglasses. I can’t stop staring at him. “How did I get so lucky,” I think to myself. “You staring at me, weirdo?” he says. I chuckle, “I missed you so much.” I say placing a quick kiss on his cheek, knowing he won’t take his eyes off the road. “I missed you like hell, angel,” he says back, taking his hand off the wheel, squeezing my leg, and putting his hand back on the wheel. I let out a sigh and stuck my hand out the window, taking in the scenery. “What should we do tonight?” I ask, still looking out the window. There's silence for a moment. “We will figure that out when we get home, just enjoy the ride. The flowers are the most beautiful this time of year,” he says, turning down the radio. I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes smelling the aroma of flowers and David’s cologne.

As we pull into the driveway I open my eyes and look at the clock. 5:30 the clock reads. “We’re home already?” I say looking at the house. David chuckles as he opens his door and hops out, “Yep. You fell asleep.” I unbuckle my seatbelt and also hop out of the truck grabbing my things. “Here let me take that,” David says as he grabs my suitcase. “Thanks, Davey,” I say as I plant another kiss on his lips. “You’re welcome. Let's head inside.” He says kissing me back. We walk up to the door and as David is unlocking it I feel like I can hear whispering and moving around coming from inside the house. “Are there people here?” I ask looking up at him. He opens the door without saying anything. “You go first,” he says motioning his arm to inside the house. I look at him confused, “Did he not hear me or is he ignoring the question?” I think to myself. I shrug and walk inside.

As I walk inside I turn on the light and people jump out from what seems like everywhere. “Surprise! Welcome home!!!” everyone yells out. “Oh everybody is here!” I say looking around. There’s a sign above the TV that reads ‘Welcome home!’ a little overwhelmed by the love I’m receiving I can’t help but start to tear up. “Thanks, guys.” I force out, my voice cracking. “What’s wrong?” Tank looks at me concerned. “Oh, nothing! I’m fine. Sorry, I’ll be right back.” I walk to the bathroom wiping tears off my face. I walk into the bathroom and take a deep breath. I hear soft footsteps coming up to the door. “Angel? You okay baby..?” he knocks softly on the door. “I open it. “Yeah, I'm okay, Davey. Just a little overwhelmed.” I smile softly. He walks into the bathroom closing the door behind him. “What's going on?” He says bringing me into a hug. “You know, for those two weeks I didn't feel a single ounce of love until I got to call you,” I look up at him, “all they do is fucking fight. With me, with each other. Everybody is always fighting. It’s overwhelming to come home to so much love when I don't feel it with people who I'm supposed to call my family.” I sigh and back up. “It’s nice to be in a place where I know that I’m wanted.” David sighs, “Everybody in this house will always want you, even when it feels like no one could.” I start to tear up again, “thank you.” I kiss him. “Now there are a bunch of people out there waiting to party,” I say taking a deep breath and walking over to the door. “I’m ready when you are, Angel.” David says. “I’m ready.” I smile and open the door.

[juchily]

isekai fix-it au part 1

A/n: switches from third to first person, all gender friendly (no pronouns) but presumed fem because reader joins the team, other than that all people friendly (unless you don't like Chappell Roan's music and hate the idea of being born in Chicago to the point you won't read something where its just like that...), angst at the end, a lot of existential philosophical thoughts

Sorry, but if *I* got sent into the 1990s I would literally steal Femininomenon because that shit is gasssss this is the only pop song I can have on repeat forever not even Joyride compares i fear

One second reader was in their home town of Chicago at the Lollapalooza Chappell Roan set, circa, and next thing they know they're in an oddly highly populated mall listening to the low hum Madonna through upheld speakers

Odd, very much odd. What's odder, they think they might have just seen their favorite sapphic cannibalistic TV show protags

The spritz of water coming from the water fountain in front of them lowers with the pressure of the nice looking decoration and, yep, that looks like the shaggy bleached wolf-cut of Natalie "something catholic middle name" Scatorccio

Oh my fucking god. That's defiantly the constantly mewing face of Sophie Thatcher. *Wow*. They quickly ask themselves in their noggin, 'what harm would it be if I *just* asked if they were friends of dorothy...?' feeling the silent creep of desperation creep up in their warming with flush hands

oh God, they must be staring—

wait they have so many questions, first of all, what's going on?! Is this real? Would real mean canon compliant? What's even going on, are they dreaming? Are they hallucinating? Is life a simulation and it got fucked up to finally failed and Yellowjackets is reality??? To much thoughts, too little time— if this is in any way real, do this mean Lottie 's hallucination was based off of this?

They can't confirm at all since they have half the head to look away, what could be worse than to have the very real looking Yellowjackets look at *you* as if you're a weird starer and not an omniscient not-god?

You smell some fresh ass Auntie Anne's and your stomach rumbles from the shitty concert food you bagged in... your world (would be the term I guess) but then you think more about it and realize your money and pocket change are probably dated for a date that has yet to happen which will definitely bring up some questions and problems with getting the pretzels.

After the initial excitement they sort of wander around Wiskayok, it's far different than Chicago, although you figure that's because it's in the northern part of New Jersey, the south side is probably the more Chicago-ee part

Really it was just a bunch of walking, you explored the very much fictional but now real Wiskayok, and really it left you with a lot of time to ponder (read: overthink)

By nightfall you were, yes you guessed right, still in this damn town, and you were starting to get worried about not returning home, because you don't know what's going on, but if we humour the situation as an isekai, does time work the same? If you spend a day here does it equal two years in your world?

You could feel yourself getting a headache at the thought(s), you she already wandered around the overwhelmingly small town and checked out the school at a reasonable distance, you think you spotted the trailer park where Van and Nat live

You settle in the library for a bit, thinking 'fuck it, I don't have anything better to do, maybe I can get some sort of idea about what's really going on', and next thing you know you're looking at a calendar reading February 3rd, 1997. Yeah, very much not 2024...

But this peaks your interest, obviously the crash hasn't happened since you saw the girls together eating Chinese food at the mall, but you're here about four or five months before the plane crashed. And a little seedling sprouts in your little head

But still, nighttime fully arised and you were locked out of the library. And you don't exactly know where to go, it's not like you have a place to go. So you find a nice bench near a fairly shaggy side of the town— cracked, chipped sidewalks, weeds growing out of the sides and heeps of uneven dirt and stray cigarette butts littering the crevice where the sidewalk and the grass (if you could even call it that) meet, and you can distantly see the trailer park about a block or two down to the left– huddling up in a bean against the shitty metal arm

Hey bright side, at least you're sleeping on a bench during an age where they didn't sleep proof/devoid benches of their damn purpose

Of course unbeknownst to you in your shitty but albeit deep sleep, a certain red head on her way home in her worn green pickup truck driving home from a hookup with a certain curly haired girl noticed you, just a glance and yeah, okay young homeless person on that bench

When you woke up, you found yourself with a sore back met with pollen straight to the nose. Very much not your time

Okay... Well there's no way this is real right?

And so for two more days you wandered around town, slept on the bench, scrambled quick scraps of food either from the local food bank, one of the various churches, or by doing an odd job for a diner

And then it sort of settled in on you. Is this *permanent?* Uh... What the fuck are you supposed to do? This feels *very* real

You don't really know what else to do, at some point you happen to take a walk and pass by the school right when soccer practice is happening, and you have to say that no TV screen could compare to the sight

I mean, you didn't really have much going for you back 'home' so to say, no partner, no job, no hobbies you actually stuck to, no sports, nada zilch zam, it was school, go home, and sleep. That was your routine

So with a sign you figured if this might be long term you should try and conjure up a fake identity and apply to the school, which wouldn't be the easiest thing to do, but what's the harm in it? At least then you have something to do

About a dozen and a half library books later and a few very interesting conversations you were applying to Wiskayok Public School under the guisse of being a foreign exchange student (God bless your basic French and/or Spanish skills), telling them that your papers had yet to come in and switch to the American database (suspend your disbelief, damnit)

And so you found yourself taking Calculus again despite having that in the real world during your first semester, so you did well

But anyways, you had a class with aforementioned redhead. So Van was most interested when the homeless person is suddenly in the school, more so that they're a foreign exchange student

Even more weird, apparently Taissa (her hookup who Van of course is starting to have more than just hookup feelings for), saw the same damn homeless person with a pile of books at the library. Soccer, survival, psychology, health and wellness, the Dutch Famine of WW2 for some reason? So wow, they must have so many hobbies!

More interestingly so was when this same person (still sleeping on that bench as far as Van is sure) is applying for tryouts on the team. Late. Like, months late. But, with a hot headed attitude and determination, and surprisingly quick thinking skills with both their head and feet, they managed to impress the coach.

States comes around and for *some* reason this homeless person (to Van that is, no one else knows they're technically homeless) is... bombing? No one wants to accuse them of intentionally trying to make the team lose (besides maybe Tai...) but like... They slide tackled Jackie when she had the ball?

And sure one of the opposing team were close too, maybe they just overshot trying to go for the opposing player, but they've seen you play better than that.

Things happen and at some point you get benched by Coach Martinez and you have the absolutely worse panic attack of your life, you don't know what to do, you planned to just make the team lose states so that they never board the plane in the first place

But what are you supposed to do benched? And so you can't bring yourself to watch on the bench, walking to the locker rooms with tunnel vision and a bp that borderlines the beginning of hypertension.

You slide down against your locker that's in the corner of the room, knees to your chest and arms wrapping around your head as you try to stabilize your breath and shaky thoughts.

What now, what do you do? This is permanent is it not? Are you ever going home?

Your heart is beating up your spine, you can feel it in your chest, your throat, your head and it feels like your skull will split in two and you just want to scream and shout because what can you do now?

Do you go on that plane? Do you suffer too? What do you do? What can you do what can you do what can you do?

You put this pressure on yourself in the first place and yet you can't relieve it. Tears of frustration and horror fill your eyes and your body shakes with silent, utmost quiet sobs that make no sound but shake your shoulders.

And you hear the cheering outside and you know the Yellowjackets won.

Maybe you should have just busted Jackie's kneecaps so she couldn't play

But then maybe Shauna would have taken over and made the winning goal.

Or Taissa would have tackled a player on the opposing team and stolen the ball and made a pass to Nat so she could make the winning goal.

To many questions, too many variables, infinite situations. It's not something a finite being can predict or control.

You wipe your eyes, pulling your way out of the locker rooms to sneak away before they come into the locker room.

@kings-paintbrush @rougeclasslover @acidthecorvid

[supercorpkid]

Ace Reporter - part 3

Supergirl, Kara Danvers x Reader, Lena Luthor x Reader

Word Count: 2350

Part 1, Part 2

Your editor is thrilled with the situation you just got yourself into. Flying to Kaznia to find Lex's secrets, with another Luthor and a CatCo reporter is like a dream come true. To him. 

To you, this is probably high on the list of your worst nightmares. Anything Lex Luthor related would easily be up on your list, but with Kara's words hanging over your head since you last saw her, this situation is easily number one.

‘I'd make out in a closet too if you were my Lois’, keeps haunting you in your sleep. How dare she say something like that? It's not even like you were being nice to her all this time. Polite, maybe. Sometimes not even that. What would make Kara think that in a week or so of you being polite at best, you had any interest in making out with her?

Or is it a tactic to throw you off your game? You two are getting on a plane to fucking Kaznia with Lena Luthor. Maybe she is trying to destabilize you, so she can ask the best questions. Yes, this should be it. But you won’t fall for that. 

Kara Danvers will not distract you!

“Lena, hey!” She waves at Lena like two best friends would and you furrow your brows at the interaction. “Look who I brought with me! The best investigative journalist in the business!”

Kara turns to you and flashes the brightest smile you’ve ever seen, capable of lighting up the whole world. You bite your lip to keep you from smiling too.

Yep. You’re screwed.

"You remember Y/N, right?"

And then Lena comes closer, a big smile on her face as well, showing you her hand. “We’ve met. I’m familiar with her approach.” She raises an eyebrow at you while you shake her hand strongly. “Flattery and flirting.”

“Flirting?” Kara mumbles under her breath, shocked.

“It’s not usual, mostly circumstantial depending on who I'm interviewing." You match Lena's smirk. 

"See, I am flattered." Lena smiles, pointing to the private jet, and you follow her leaving a dumbfounded Kara Danvers behind.

"Are you coming, Danvers?" You add a little smirk, and watch her cheeks going a dark shade of red. You don't understand why you're flirting with both women, and enjoying it so much. But you're finding it hard to stop.

Kara Danvers is a good reporter. Knows her facts and asks the right questions. Her little notes are already worth the front page of the stupid magazine she works for. And yet, you find it hard to admit she deserves all the prizes in the world just for being herself. Strip her out of all her journalist qualities and she would still deserve all the prizes and all the best. There's also something else you've been thinking about stripping her out from.

You would rather die than tell her that.

Lena Luthor is a good… What is Lena's job description, anyway? CEO? Scientist? Hottest woman alive? She is good at everything. Creating a plane that flies itself, transforming her brother's evil company into something for good, having one of the sharpest minds you've ever seen. Those are some of the things that she can do, while looking extremely hot.

You might die if you can't tell her that.

But you're at a job. You can't go around thinking about Kara's muscular arms, and Lena's perfect eyes. Can't picture yourself with one or the other, or even between both sometimes. No matter how many times you find yourself in that exact position.

And it's weird, because you're quick to find that not only they have a good work relationship but they are also best friends. Lena goes to game nights and dinner dates with Kara and her friends. Has worked alongside Kara's sister and Supergirl (What? Nice!) several times to help save the world. They are all extremely connected, and you're the odd one out.

Usually you'd hate that feeling. But while you're at a job you actually enjoy that. You like that they are somewhat careless to talk about their everyday life and how much intel that gives you.

At least you were enjoying it, until the plane got hit with a lightning strike and you let out an embarrassing shriek in shock.

"Don't worry, it's just a lightning storm." But Lena's chuckle is not one that makes you calmer, instead, it makes you more nervous when you look out the window.

"Is lightning usually purple?" Kara asks the question right out your lips.

The airplane loses power. A bad sign. Really bad one. Especially when it starts dropping a few meters high, and Lena runs to the cockpit saying she is going to land the plane.

"We need to make an emergency landing, and I need an extra pair of hands." Lena yells from up front and you're up on your feet before Kara even has a chance to think about it. If you're going to die, you're going to fight for your life first, and not depend on other people to save you.

"We need to get the power back on." Lena points to the electric wires. "I have to believe you know how to hotwire something."

"What, do I look too much like a bad girl?" You snark, but your hands are already making quick work on the wires, and Lena celebrates with an excited 'yes!' when you get the engine back on.

"Bad girl or not, I believe you're my savior." Lena smiles, but it soon turns into a frown when she realizes she is going to have to land the plane. "Go check on Kara while I land this."

"On it." You get up from your place next to Lena, and go back to where Kara was seated. "Danvers?"

She emerges from the bathroom, looking flustered. "I wouldn't have eaten all that sushi if I knew this was going to happen. God, I hate flying." 

You hold back a laugh and the wish to say, she shouldn't have eaten all that sushi anyway. Lena safely lands the plane and appears next to you in a blink.

"That lightning wasn't natural, someone brought us down on purpose." 

Shocking. You're in Kaznia to find out Lex's secrets and someone tries to take down your airplane. Yeah, truly shocking.

You might have ruined the element of surprise, but there's nothing you can do now, except to go in and try to gather as much information as possible. You three make your way inside a military facility. 

Lena sounds completely shocked he would have an army behind him, you and Kara do nothing but share a look, not surprised and not comfortable in this place.

DEO, test subject, cloning, aliens, desert facility. They throw out words that mean something to them, but to you this is all pretty much new. You're not stupid though, you're quick to understand what Lex Luthor was trying to do by gathering aliens and trying to harvest their powers.

But obviously all this information wouldn't just be lying around with no one to guard them. You're lost and confused and definitely way out of place here. Lena realizes someone named Eve was working with Lex behind her back, and she can clone herself! Like, how is this real life, and why are you tangled in this web when it has literally nothing to do with you at all?

And yet, you're here in fucking Kaznia, running from a psychopath and trying to protect your physical integrity while Lena uses a electric shock thing to fight the clones off and Kara uses her fist. Oh, and to top it all off, there's also a loud alarm saying the whole place is going to explode in a few minutes. Great. Just great.

Again, how did you end up here?

You duck from a fist almost a second too late, but luckily Eve hits the wall behind you, and you can't help but yell.

"Shit! I don't get paid enough for this!" You say, while Lena knocks the clone you were supposed to be fighting out of the way. What the fuck is happening here, and why do the both of them know how to defend and fight and you look extremely stupid running and yelling for your life?

When you suggested you and Kara found out something about Lex, this entire situation never once crossed your mind.

Another clone comes at you while Lena is distracted and Kara is knocking one down. Ok, then. You turn your hands into fists, ready to fight. Before you have the chance to even move, she punches your face and you stumble back, hitting the wall. Ouch, and also, goddamn it! 

Kara is holding the clone by the collar of her jumpsuit, and tossing her away from you the very next second. How did she show up in front of you so fast? 

She touches your face gently, one eye blinking a tear of worrisome away. "You ok?"

There's a sharp pain on your face. You are not ok! Why the fucking hell are you getting punch here, just to find out Lex Luthor's fucking secrets just so Lena can give you a fucking ass quote about her brother, so you can come back home? This is not worth it!

"Find the way out. Get out of here." Kara instructs, after you slightly nod at her. 

Even though you are dying to do what she just said, you are stubborn enough to not let Kara Danvers get all the credit for this crusade.

"No! I'm in this until the end!"

But then a new clone comes running at you and Kara has to defend you once again.

"I'm not letting you get hurt for an article." She growls, impatient. "Get to safety, please. We're in this together. I'm not going to keep anything away from you. You have to trust me."

You squeeze your eyes shut, indecision crossing your mind. How can she ask you that? You don't trust her! You don't believe she is not going to keep something from you just so she can have the upper hand in this. But then again, why would she be protecting you with so much intent? Why would Kara Danvers shed a tear for your pain?

"Go, Y/N!" Lena yells from the other side as well. "We're right behind you! Find the way out, we don't have much time."

Your feet finally detach from the ground and you run out of there, trying to find the exit with the loud alarm clogging up your every move and your thoughts. 

Splitting up was probably the stupidest idea ever, though. Is not like you can fight the evil Eve's clone by yourself if you are met with one. You're still shocked Kara was able to fight so many with nothing but her hands.  

Actually, somehow, deep down, you're not shocked. Girl has those rock solid biceps, insatiable hunger, and behind that sweet dweeb face she looks so… so… Strong. Powerful. Super.

“Sometimes I think you have a secret.”

You hear your own voice, replaying a conversation you once had with her.

Kara Danvers just seems to think that clues and information fall on her lap.

But what if they don't fall on her lap because she is good at it. What if she just sees more than anyone?

Kara: What's up with Y/N?

Clark: Best reporter I know. Great at finding people's secrets.

What if Clark saying you're great at finding other people's secrets wasn't a compliment? What if Kara Danvers not wanting to work with you had nothing to do with sharing the byline but you finding out her secret, the one you're so sure she has?

You stop in front of a door, eyes inadvertently zooming in inside. It's a bedroom. There's a bed, a nightstand, and the awful green wallpaper is peeling off in several places but none of that catches your attention. What grabs your attention is the absurd amount of pictures on the walls. Most of them are of Kara and Lena together, but Kara is in every single one of them. Why is this? Who would have such a weird obsession with that nerdy dork?

Your eyes travel fast between all the pictures. The alarm is going off loudly in the background, mixed with distant voices and there's this somber atmosphere embracing you, making you just want to get the hell out of this creepy room.

But your eyes keep going, scamming the room for everything it has. Until your stomach drops. Blood runs cold. There are two pictures right next to each other that make your heart beat so fast, you can feel it up in your throat.  

Kara Danvers in one, hands on her waist. That nerdy looking face, glasses, crinkle, thin lips, that just makes you wanna punch it sometimes. And then kiss her right after to make it all better. It's an inexplicable feeling, really. 

And right next to it, there's one of Supergirl. Hands on her waist. Looking all mighty and powerful and strong. Looking like a freaking goddess, and yet. The feeling is the same. The same need of kissing her face with an uppercut, and then, well, a real kiss.

It's really embarrassing how obvious it is. And you know how shocked you're supposed to be right now, but you're not. Not even the slightest.

Kara Danvers is Supergirl. 

The loud alarm and countdown in a foreign language disappear in the background and even though you’re sure it’s still there, you can’t hear a thing. Your head spins out of control because you knew that. Knew there was a secret, knew there was more to Kara than stupid cardigans and dweeb face. You absolutely knew that.

And then, like clockwork:

"You are exactly like Clark. Disappears, comes back all disheveled…"

"Clark told me his cousin works for CatCo. Her name is Kara Danvers."

Clark Kent is Superman.

Fuck. Shit. Fucking shit. 

These certainly weren't the secrets you thought you'd stumble upon while in Kaznia.

[aalanahh0]

Birthday trip.

˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚

˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚

warnings : i ran out of wordplay but nothing

A\N : was orginally gonna be smut but i remember how terrible i was at writing it soo...

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

YOU CAME home to you and your boyfriend’s apartment from work, tired as usual and you were all ready to just flop on your bed and stay there until your legs couldn’t work anymore.

“Niko, I’m home !”

You yelled tiredly, expecting loud steps coming your way and large arms wrapped around you, but these fulfilments needed by you were absent.

“Niko ?”

You furrowed your brows as you went to your bedroom, seeing no one there. Pulling your phone out of your back pocket, you decide to call him, before getting cut off by the entry door opening, speeding to the living room, you see Niko with freshly brought suitcases.

“You know we already have suitcases, right ? Besides, what do you need these for ?”

“We’re going to Dubai.”

He said with a smile on his face as you hit the best laugh you ever had in a while.

“Um, what ? First of all, where did you find tickets ? And secondly, I’ll be working anyways so..”

“I already called your boss about that, no worries.”

“But-“

He cut you off by placing his index finger on your lips and shushed you.

“You have worked enough, little girl. You haven’t even got time to see me recently, and I miss you.”

He tapped your nose.

“Aww..Well you could’ve just said that from the start. Anyways, when are we going ?”

You said, heading towards the kitchen.

“Today.”

You swore you could’ve cracked your neck and died by how fast you turned your head.

“Ho, what ?”

“Yep, so better pack up now, we leave at 10.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

You and Niko boarded off the plane and left the airport, feeling the heat of the sun and Abu Dhabi on your skin.

“Oh my days, it’s so hot here.”

You giggled, seeing Niko air out his shirt. You called a cab, placed your suitcases in the trunk, got in the cab, drove and got dropped off at the hotel Niko reserved. You came out of it with shock on your face, from the beauty and size of the hotel.

“Oh wow, it’s big..”

“What ? Didn’t expect this size ?”

(NO I FEEL SO DIRTY WRITING THATTT)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The whole trip was so fun and romantic, you thanked Niko for this little break from work as you sat on a random spot at the beach, watching the sunset as it was your last day here.

"You know, I really needed this so, thank you."

"I mean, I could tell you were tired from the death of your face everytime you came home."

You both laughed and ended that with a sigh.

"But really, thank you. I love you."

I smiled and looked over Niko to see him already staring at me.

"No worries. Happy birthday, darling, I love you too."

He leaned in to kiss me as I placed my hand on his cheek.

˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚.˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚

A\N : TOOK ME A LONG FUCKING TIMEEE but I'm so mad at myself my stories are so short 😭😭😭🥲 any advice pliz ??(kinda sorta desperate)

[russellsppttemplates]

Idk if my request came through but I thought about a fic where any driver enters airplane dad mode when he and the reader and their kids go on vacation? 🥰

(Hii! I'm so happy to see that you still follow me, and I say this because I have your dad!driver idea in my inbox still because I wanted to do a series but realistically I don't think I'll do it, but I kept it just in case! I swear I wasn't ignoring it! (And sometimes I looked at it and thought "yep, this person is no longer here for it!". Also, the other one did come through, I just had it in my draft and I was so sure I had posted it already, my apologies!)

"Do you have everything?", Charles asked, "yes, the bags are in the car, the kids are ready, but are you sure you should leave now?", you questioned, "I agree that we need to be in the airport earlier, but maybe not his early", you tried to reason, "the airport is not that far way either".

"Better safe than sorry, we might get traffic", your husband reasoned back, grabbing his wallet, "C'mon, off we go so I can close the water in case something goes wrong and we get a flood when we come back", Charles urged, "mama, is everything alright? Papa is a bit... rushed today", Hervé pointed out, grabbing his backpack, "yes, he's worried we won't make it on time to the airport, but I think we're fine", you noted, "but we will do as he says, yes? No need to rush him some more", you smiled at his attentiveness.

Arriving at the airport, it wasn't busy so checking the luggage in was fine and rather quick, Charles ushering you to the lounge so everyone could use the toilet once again, "Amélie, don't you need the bathroom?", her father asked her, "I already went at home, papa. I don't need it yet", she simply said, carrying on and playing with her notebook, "okay. Where are all the passports?", he asked for what felt like the millionth time, making you open your small bag and show them, "let me keep them, okay? Maybe it's better since we have these grabby hands here and we don't know what his curiosity might get out of him", your husband playfully teased Thomas, who you were holding on your hip, kissing his head before looking at the other two kids, "Papa seems to have forgotten that I usually travel to race weekends with you kids on my own, and we do just fine", you to your youngest tapping his nose and getting a sweet giggle out of him.

"C'mon, guys, the gate is opening now! Here, I'll take this", your husband announced the second the number appeared on the screen, grabbing the small piece of luggage you kept with you in case something happened to your bags and you couldn't get to them right away when you got to your destination, so it contained a change of clothes for everyone, basic toiletries and chargers.

"Papa, wait! My legs can't keep up with you!", Amélie yelped, seeing her father walking faster than what she could, "mine too!", Hervé complained, "it's not like the plane is leaving without us", your eldest said, breaking you out of your serious expression and giggle, "your papa is in airport mode, my loves, I'm afraid we can't do much", you said, walking alongside them so they felt secure enough.

"Is everyone strapped in okay?", Charles checked once you were all on the plane, "yes, papa. Now sit here next to me, you don't need to be worried. We're on the plane, see?", Amélie said, cuddling up to him as soon as he sat down, "I know amour, I just wanted to make sure we got here on time", he smiled, kissing the top of her head and smiling when he saw that Thomas was napping on your chest, "papa, you were running through the airport, it would be impossible to not be here on time", Hervé forwarded. Looking at you for some back up, you shrugged your shoulders, "they're right, you're an airport dad, mon amour".

(Thank you for submitting an ask 🤍)

[hockeynoses]

fix me up along the line (Ste/ddie snz fic)

Summary: Another Ste/ddie snz fic! (Will I ever stop? Only time will tell.) Inspired by @sneezeshame's post here. Steve is traveling for work and is super sick. He calls Eddie from his hotel room. Future fic.

Rating: Other than snz stuff, this could be rated PG. I thought about making Eddie have the kink here, but I didn't. 1k.

Warnings: Mess. Implied future contagion.

Notes: The title is a line from the full version of the ancient song Hello My Baby. I've loved that song ever since I saw that frog singing it. 💖

-

Eddie fiddles with the strings on his guitar, killing time while he waits to hear from Steve. He’d promised he’d call Eddie once he got settled at the hotel up in Seattle; some conference his fancy job was making him travel for. Eddie had just gotten back to their house in LA from a gig that kept him away for the weekend. Their schedules caused them to just miss each other, Eddie arriving home the afternoon Steve left.

The shrill ring of the phone pulls him from his thoughts. Finally!

“Hey!”

“Hey babe.”

“You made it! Wait, you did make it, right?”

“Yep, checked idn a bidt ago,” Steve says. Eddie hears what he thinks is a squeaky, congested sniffle. “I’b godda have a shower soon and thedn head down for dinner.”

“Nice. How was the flight?” Eddie asks.

“Idt was… haah… hold odn… ihhh … hih’YEEHIISSHHH’oo!”

Eddie hears a wet, spraying sneeze explode on the other end of the line and blinks in shock. It sounds like Steve had time to twist away from the phone and has now set it down in an attempt to find some tissues.

“Shiiihh- ugh. SNF. Shidt.” An ill-sounding noseblow gurgles down the line, and concern pierces through Eddie.

“You feelin’ alright, sweetheart?”

“I’ve just beed sneezing all day,” Steve groans. “And I thigk the plane gave mbe a headache.” He follows that up with a few desperate, soupy sniffles, trying to stop his nose from running freely. “The cabidn pressure was bmessing with bmy sinuses and I couldn’t stob sneeziiii-hih… Hiiiih-ZZSSHHESSH’iue!”

“It sounds like you’re sick, babe.” He knows how stubborn Steve can be on the rare times he does get sick. Steve was already stressed about this trip, and Eddie doesn’t want him to overexert himself if he really is feeling that poorly.

“I dod’t… huh… I dod’t have tibe to be …haah… het’GGKSSHHH’uh! Hep’TIISHHH! Ughh. To be sigg.” Judging from the sound of those, Steve was just letting them fly, sneezing openly and spraying his hotel room with everything he had. The scrape of several tissues being pulled from a box fills the air, followed by a long, crackling blow.

“I hate to break it to you, but I think you might be. You sound awful already.” Eddie cups the receiver to his face with both hands. There’s a tug in his heart and he wants nothing more than for Steve to be back home so he can take care of him. He’d force him to stay in bed and would wait on him hand and foot, bringing him anything he asked for. “Did this just start today?”

“Dno…” Another sickly sniffle. “I’ve felt rudn down for a couble of days. Then last night I started sdeezing and I-iiihhh huh’KKSSSHH’IUE!” An exhausted sigh. “I didn’t gedt mbuch sleep.” He pulls a handful of tissues out, one after the other, and buries his face in them. “I thigk the pressure on the plane mbade it worse and then ihhh- HEH’TSSCHUH! Idt’s jusdt so damp here.” He clears his throat, his voice starting to go a little ragged. “I got caught ind the rain tryigg to hail a cab, which pro-ahh-bably didn’t h-he-hih’AEEISSHHah! SNF. Helb.”

“Poor thing. I wish I was there with you.”

“Probably best thadt… thadt you-ooo… huh’NGGSSHHiggh! Guh. Thadt you aren’t.” Eddie doesn’t think he’s imagining things when he hears the sheer mess of that one, thick and telling. “I thigk I’b pretty condagious. Huh… hih’YEIISHH’IUE!”

The line crackles as Steve sneezes uncovered, directly onto the receiver; the wet, viscous mess of it contaminating everything. Eddie flinches back on instinct. Steve sounds so cold-ridden and contagious that Eddie almost believes he could catch it over the phone, halfway across the country.

Steve moans, “SNF. Oh god. I’b so sorry. I cadn’t stob.”

“Steve… you sound really, really sick. Are you sure you should be going out like that?” Steve’s too busy abusing another tissue with a drenching noseblow to respond, so Eddie adds hopefully, “You should just come home.”

“Cadn’t. The bmanagement team specifically chose bme to represent the compady at the conference, and if I – if I – hih’kgxshht! Ugh. ‘Scuse bme. If I wandt the promotion I have to keeb bmy shit together. Ha-k’ISH’IGSHH’uh!”

“I don’t think anyone’s going to appreciate you getting them sick.” Eddie says, appealing to Steve’s vanity in a last-ditch effort. Everyone who comes within ten feet of him is going to be at risk of catching this thing. He’s going to be shaking so many hands, sharing so many meals, sitting in so many crowded conference rooms…

“I dod’t really have mbuch of aahh…Ha’AEESHHH’IUE! SNF. Mbuch of a choice.” Another miserable blow travels down the line, straight into Eddie’s ear.

There’s a beat of silence where Steve must be dazed after such a heavy noseblow, trying to catch his breath. Eddie can hear his open-mouthed, congested panting crackle over the phone receiver. If they don’t sanitize every inch of that place after he leaves, whoever stays there next is going to be in for a world of misery.

“I still wish there was something I could do,” Eddie says. “You sure you don’t need some food delivered? Or a care package? I can check if a delivery service would go to the pharmacy-”

“Eddie,” Steve says, and Eddie hears the smile in his voice despite everything. “You’re sweedt, but I’b good.”

“Okay…” Eddie’s still going to see about that pharmacy, just try and stop him. “You’ll let me know if it gets any worse? I could always fly up there and come rescue you.”

Steve chuckles, which turns into the beginnings of a cough. “I’ll be finde, really. Jusdt have to power through a few…heh…days…heh’RRIISHHH’IUE!” Another careless, wet sneeze bursts from him, dousing the phone in droplets, making Eddie wince again.

“May God bless your soul,” Eddie says, with exaggerated sincerity. Steve is too distracted to thank him.

“Ugh, whadt a bmess,” he says, pulling more tissues from his dwindling supply. “I’ve godda get these under condtrol.” His words are muffled into the bundle of tissues before he releases a long, squelching blow.

“Good luck with that.”

“Thaggs,” Steve responds, matching his sarcastic tone. He swallows around his burning throat. “Well, I’ve godda gedt in the shower and gedt cleaned up before dinner.”

“Alright, I’ll let you go.” Eddie has to stop himself from pouting. “But call me before you go to bed, yeah?”

“Assumbing I don’t gedt back and immediately pass oudt. Hih-kxxngt!” Steve says, smothering another sneeze in his full, slimy tissues.

Eddie huffs a laugh. “Okay. Take care of yourself, sweetheart.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The last thing Eddie hears is Steve’s breath hitching before the clunk of the contaminated phone being placed back into its holder cuts off the call. Eddie immediately starts looking into getting a care package from the pharmacy delivered…maybe some soup, too. Steve’s gonna need it.

[tooneys-russo]

The Secrets We Keep

Plot: Ella and her twin Camden make the side for the Under 17 Jordan World Cup for England, there Alessia falls for Camden but she could never tell anyone outside of the camp.

Chapter 1

There wasn’t much of a difference between the two Toone twins, they were both just as fiery as one another, but Camden was certainly a solo rider whereas Ella needed people around her. Both of the Toone twins were in the Manchester City academy and got a call up for the under 15 England team, Ella bonded with Alessia Russo and Camden got close with Lotte Wubben-Moy, the four of them always around each other. They all made it in the Under 17 World Cup side traveling to Jordan. Alessia arrived at the airport with her parents and her boyfriend Tom, they had been together a few  months and looked like a typical teen couple, they were cuddled up after check in when everyone was getting snacks. Camden rolled her eyes  as Ella joined the pair, she just joined Lotte at the store picking out a book. When they went to board the plane, Tom and Alessia shared a kiss. 

The four girls all sat together on the flight, Camden had packed a full bag of activities unable to sleep on any plane flights. After  three hours Lotte and Ella were both asleep leaving Camden and Alessia awake, the brunette grabbed out her PSP and the blonde stared at her. “You brought video games to the World Cup?” Camden nodded. “Yep, it will keep me occupied and it means I don’t have to talk to people.” Alessia rolled her eyes. “Oh yes because talking to me would be horrific.” Camden smirked and looked at Alessia. “I mean if you were the only person left to talk to then maybe I would have a five minute chat to you.” Alessia hit her gently. “Dick.” It was another few minutes of silence until Camden looked over and saw the blonde watching her play. “You want to play a video game too? I brought my Nintendo DS as well.” Alessia laughed softly. “Of course you did.” Camden reached into her backpack and handed the metallic blue device, handing it to the blonde. The two played their respective consoles, both girls glancing at the other. 

Alessia soon yawned and handed Camden back her device after an hour. “Thank you Cammie.” Camden blushed at the nickname, luckily the plane cabin was nice and dark. There was a weight on her shoulder as Alessia rested her head on Camden’s shoulder and was soon asleep. Camden couldn’t focus on her game with the blonde using her as a pillow, she soon joined the blonde falling asleep resting her head against the striker’s. The girls were woken by giggling, Ella and Lotte had taken a few pictures of them asleep, the two girls blushing as they looked at each other. 

Their room assignments were pretty typical, Lotte and Camden were in one room and their neighbours were Alessia and Ella. It was going to be a phenomenal experience, Lotte and Camden were sitting in the team lounge looking through a guidebook for Jordan. “I want to go to Petra.” Camden said excitedly as Alessia and Ella walked in. “Looking at tourist trips already?” Ella sat next to Camden and took the book. “What is that?” Camden gave Ella a run down of Petra. “Oh that sounds incredible.” Alessia smiled wide. “We will have a look at it in a few days when we have the day off. You are more than welcome to come with us.” Camden smiled. “Ellie is coming too.” The girls looked through and began planning their day off. 

Their first training session was hard, the girls were jet lagged and were struggling with the heat. Camden was a defender and was paired with Alessia in the drills, they were both physical and both were pulling at each other. Alessia pressed herself into Camden during one of the drills and the defender put her hands on Alessia’s hips, trying to focus on the drill itself. Before she knew it the ball was whipped into the box and Camden felt a hot pain on her face and immediately hit the ground. Alessia’s head had hit straight into Camden’s nose, leading to a bloody nose that made everything more dramatic than it was. “Oh my god Camden!” Alessia dropped to her knees and held Camden’s face in her hands. “I am so sorry! It was an accident, are you okay?” Alessia examined Camden as the medics ran over. “Nah it was my fault, I lost concentration.” She pinched her nose as the medics inspected her. Alessia stayed and put her hand on Camden’s knee as they checked over her. 

The medics stopped the blood and Alessia had made the decision to follow Camden while she was getting treated, there was blood on the defender’s shirt and Alessia examined Camden’s face. “Russo just relax. It happens, you are a tad taller than me so I am more impressed that I jumped that high.” Alessia sighed and pulled at Camden’s shirt. “Your shirt though Cammie.” Camden shrugged. “Makes me look tough. Might get me a girlfriend if I look badass.” Alessia laughed at Camden’s comment. “Oh yeah, total badass. Girls will be all over you.” Alessia wrapped her arm around Camden and they went back onto the field. 

After training the girls had a shower and met for dinner. Niamh came over and sat with Camden asking about her injury, a few of the other girls also came over and asked the girl how she was going. Alessia kept her eyes on Camden watching the interaction. Niamh invited Camden and then the rest of the table to watch a movie after dinner, which they were all more than happy to accept. As they all entered the theater Alessia sat with Ella and Lotte, Camden was lead by Niamh to another couch where they sat together, Alessia rolled her eyes and turned to Ella. “Is Niamh serious? It was just a blood nose she doesn’t need to check on her all night.” Ella smirked. “Don’t think Niamh is concerned about her nose, I think she is more focused on Camden in general.” Alessia sighed. “Yeah well she has been in a bunch of camps, she could have gotten to know her then.” Ella nudged the blonde. “Be careful Less, someone would think that you were a little jealous.” Alessia crossed her arms across her chest. “Not jealous.” 

Ella had always had a feeling that Alessia had a crush on Camden, it wouldn’t be the worst thing having the two date, but she knew that they were both too stubborn and nervous to ever admit it. They put on Bend It Like Beckham, Niamh was too close to Camden for Alessia’s liking, Camden put her arm around Niamh making her cuddle in a little. Alessia stood up and walked out of the theater and up to her room, Ella sighed and leant back on the chair sharing a knowing look with Lotte. The two followed Alessia back to the hotel room. “Less you okay?” Ella called out as she entered the room. “Yeah I am fine. Just seen that movie a bunch of times. Didn’t want to see it again.” She laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “Nothing to do with Niamh cuddling up with Camden? Maybe you have a little crush?” Ella sat on the end of the bed and Alessia turned so her back was facing Ella, she began crying and Ella and Lotte just cuddled the blonde until she fell asleep. Alessia would never admit to herself that she had feelings for another girl, even if those feelings had been bubbling for over a year. 

Camden walked Niamh back to her room, she kissed Niamh on her cheek gently wishing her goodnight. When Camden walked into her room she noticed that Lotte wasn’t there, she went to Ella’s room and knocked on the door. The Arsenal academy player opened the door, “Hey you weren’t in our room, everything okay?” Lotte nodded. “Yeah Less is just homesick.” Camden’s face dropped thinking about Alessia being upset, she walked past Lotte and saw Alessia asleep in the bed, Ella rubbing her back as she slept. “She okay?” Camden’s eyes didn’t move from the sleeping blonde. “Yeah Cam, she just misses home.” Camden sat in the chair by the table in the room and watched Alessia. There was silence between the three girls for about an hour, Ella was soon asleep on her own bed along with Lotte but Camden remained in the chair. Alessia woke up some time later and rubbed her eyes, she saw who she thought was Ella sitting in the chair and gasped. “Ella?” Camden smiled and shook her head. “Wrong one. Ella said you were homesick.” She slowly walked over to the bed and sat next to Alessia. “You okay? Our parents should be here before the first game. We will get to see them after that.” Alessia nodded and looked down. “Yeah, just homesick. How was the movie?” Camden shrugged. “Yeah you know, it’s a classic.” Alessia pulled her knees to her chest. “You seemed cuddled up, quite happy with Niamh.” Camden gently rubbed Alessia’s back. “I think she has a crush on me, she is sweet just not for me I don't think.” Alessia leant into Camden’s hand. “Why?” Camden sighed. “Dunno I just didn’t feel anything.”  Alessia nodded. “Want to come to mine and Lotte’s room? We can put on a movie or play video games or both. Whatever you want and need Less.” 

The blonde followed the defender into the other bedroom, it was incredibly neat and organised just like the two girls residing in it. It was the opposite of Alessia and Ella’s even though they had only been there a couple days. Camden motioned for Alessia to sit on her bed and grabbed out her video games, handing the DS to Alessia and sitting next to her. She picked a random movie and smiled at the blonde. “Hopefully this can take your mind off it.” They played for an hour until Camden yawned. “You need to sleep Cammie.” She shrugged. “Yeah and so do you.” Alessia nodded. “Yeah I do.” The two looked at each other, their eyes locked. Camden looked down. “I will sleep in Lotte’s bed.” Alessia grabbed her hand. “No.” She said quickly. “Can um, you sleep with me I am just so homesick.” Camden nodded and laid down with the blonde, she rubbed Alessia’s arm as she began to fall asleep. Camden cuddled into the girl who made her heart race and fell asleep soon after. 

Lotte and Ella woke up to Alessia not in her own bed and headed into Lotte and Camden’s room. They saw the striker and the defender cuddled up in the bed, Camden was holding Alessia close, spooning her. Ella rubbed Camden’s back to wake her. “Hey, you two need to start getting ready. We have breakfast and then another session.” Camden rubbed her eyes and got up from Alessia, she nodded and grabbed some clothes then headed to the bathroom. Once they heard the water running they woke up Alessia. “I see you had a great sleep last night.” Ella smirked and Lotte laughed. “We played some video games and we fell asleep. Simple as that.” Alessia stood up with a blush painting her cheeks. “You are wasting your time with Tom, just tell Camden how you feel.” Alessia sighed. “You and Camden are in Manchester, I am in London. It wouldn’t work.”

They headed to their training, Alessia and Camden had barely spoken at breakfast, Niamh sat with Camden but the twin’s eyes continued to glance at Alessia who would return the look every now and then. During training Alessia and Camden were paired again. “I promise not to give you a blood nose.” Alessia smiled. “Don’t worry, I will pay attention to your big head this time.” Alessia gasped and pushed Camden as she laughed. They were both impressive in the drills and even worked well together in the small sided game they played together in. They had an unspoken understanding of where each of them would be for the ball and the goal. After the training they showered, Alessia kept glancing at Camden as they headed to the game room. There was a pool table at the far end of the room, Camden and Lotte set up a game as Alessia and Ella came in. They split into teams Ella and Alessia up against Camden and Lotte. Alessia was shocking at pool, Ella was getting frustrated. “Alessia come on!” Camden laughed and got behind Alessia. “Hey, I can help you.” She held Alessia’s hips and pressed her body up against the blonde. She showed Alessia how to hold the cue, the two other girls shared a knowing look as Alessia bit her lip. She hit the ball perfectly and turned to Camden who was incredibly close to her. They stared at each other for a minute, Lotte cleared her throat and Camden stepped back quickly tripping over herself but steadying before she fell to the ground. “Um thanks.” Alessia said quickly and Camden nodded. The two girls didn’t look at each other for the rest of the pool game, with Camden and Lotte winning quite easily.

They headed back to their rooms and Camden laid back, covering her face. “Scale of 1 to 10 how big is your crush on Alessia?” Lotte smirked and sat on her own bed. “Is it that obvious?” Camden said into her hands. “You stare at her, glare at her boyfriend and spend as much time with her as you can without making it clear to everyone that you are desperate to be near her.” Camden groaned loud. “FUCK!” 

Ella got into bed as Alessia got dressed for bed. “You need to either tell Camden you like her, tell her you aren’t interested or dump Tom.” Alessia laid down and stared at the ceiling. “I know.” She turned out the light and kept staring at the ceiling. 

The following day a group of the girls headed on a tour of Petra. On the bus Ella and Lotte made a plan to sit next to each other forcing Alessia and Camden next to each other. It was around a two hour trip, Ella and Lotte were excited to see the two in close proximity for two hours. Alessia sat next to Camden and smiled at each other, Camden automatically handed the Nintendo DS to Alesia who began playing. Alessia leans against Camden to try and get more comfortable, she turns so that her back is against Camden’s arm and her legs hang in the aisle. Camden later turns so that she can put her back against the window, her legs on either side of Alessia and the blonde leans against her chest. Soon Camden put her game away and wrapped her arms around her waist and put her chin on her shoulder. Alessia smiled wide as she felt Camden on her shoulder and holding her tightly. Ella and Lotte took sneaky pictures of the two while giggling at the two cuddled up. “This level is hard Cammie.” Alessia pouted, Camden put her hands over Alessia’s and helped her with the level. 

Once they arrived at Petra the two girls had to separate from their cuddling, but they were so distracted by one another and didn’t even notice that Ella and Lotte weren’t with them. They took pictures and listened to the tour guide, Alessia tripped and grabbed onto Camden’s hand. “Hey you okay?” Camden steadied the blonde and she nodded. “Yeah, just clumsy.” They held hands for a moment then let them go. They walked towards the back, they took pictures together of the landmarks around them. There were some of the other girls whispering about the two of them being so close and away from everyone. Camden gave Alessia some facts about Petra and the blonde listened intently. The two were enthralled in each other and sat next to each other again on the bus, Alessia in between Camden’s legs on the bus ride back. They looked through their pictures together and took some more on the bus. 

Their first game was against North Korea, the girls sit in their changing rooms getting their last chat before they were heading out onto the field. Alessia grabbed onto Camden’s hand before they lined up. “Good luck Cammie, I know how amazing you are going to be.” Camden blushed and bit her lip. “You too Less. You are so phenomenal.” They smiled and lined up. It was an intense game, it was incredibly physical and they were 2-1 up at half time and were behind up until the 94th minute when Camden crossed a ball into the 18 yard box where Alessia jumped up and headed the ball into the goal. Alessia ran straight to Camden who jumped straight onto her and hugged her tightly. The rest of the team joined in on the celebrations. Alessia and Camden relished holding each other, even if the other girls were there as well. After the game Alessia hugged Camden again outside the changeroom. “What a ball Cammie! You are incredible!” Camden hugged Alessia back tightly. “You are the incredible one, what a goal!” The two stared at each other, Alessia leant in and kissed Camden quickly. Before Camden was able to process what had happened, Alessia was gone. 

At dinner that night Alessia scanned the room to see if Camden was there just to avoid sitting with her, Camden had never made it to dinner she had just gone straight to her room. Ella and Lotte sat with Alessia who just stared at her food. “You okay Less?” Ella looked at the blonde girl with some concern. “Yeah, just tired I guess.” Lotte and Ella looked at each other. “You and Cam are both stuffed, she went straight to our room.” Alessia looked up at Lotte. “She isn’t eating?” Lotte shook her head. Alessia got up and grabbed one of the cakes from the buffet and headed up to Camden and Lotte’s room. She stood outside the bedroom composing herself before she knocked on the door. “Ella I am not hungry I just -” The door opened and Camden stood there in a pair of shorts and an old Manchester United shirt. “You weren’t at dinner. Ella said you were tired so I brought you some cake.” Alessia handed over the cake wrapped in a napkin. Camden smiled softly at the gesture and took it, she stood aside allowing the blonde to enter. “I kissed you.” Alessia said after a moment of silence between the two. “I’m aware, I was kind of there.” Camden looked down, not moving from the now closed door, Alessia sat down on the bed. “I don’t know why I did it. Well I do. But I don’t know why I did it this time.” Camden looked at Alessia confused. “Alessia, what are you talking about?” Camden walked over to the blonde and sat in the chair across from where Alessia was sitting. “I have wanted to kiss you before. But I just bury it and pretend I don’t. I couldn’t this time. I had to, it was killing me.” Alessia let a tear fall from her eyes, Camden wiped it from her cheek. “It’s okay. I have wanted to kiss you for a while too. But that boyfriend of yours makes it a little tough.” Alessia hadn’t even thought about Tom the whole time. “I am only with him because my parents like him. I don’t know what they would do if they knew.” Camden sighed and put her hands on Alessia’s shoulders. “Look, I don’t want you worrying about that. We are away from them at the moment, it is just us here.” Camden lifted Alessia’s chin so she could look into her blue eyes. Alessia stared into Camden’s eyes, she leant in and kissed her softly to begin with then deepened it after a moment. Camden matched the blonde striker’s passion and put her hand on the back of Alessia’s neck. They pulled apart, both of them keeping their eyes closed as they caught their breath. 

“I am sorry I ran off before.” Alessia looked down, Camden smiled. “Don’t be. It was a really good kiss, plus you just made up for it.” Alessia smiled and grabbed Camden’s shirt, pulling her on top of her on the bed. The two girls laughed as they kissed deeply. Camden moved a piece of hair from Alessia’s face and tucked it behind her ear. “You are so beautiful.” Camden smiled wide at the girl below her. The two talked for a few hours before they fell asleep in each others arms in Camden’s bed. Ella and Lotte walked into the room to see if the girls were okay, once they saw they were more than okay they decided to sleep in Ella and Alessia’s room so the girl would have some privacy. 

The rest of the tournament had the same routine, the girls would have breakfast together, either train or have games then wind down together. The whole time Camden and Alessia were like the perfect couple, most of the girls on the camp knew exactly what was going on between the two of them. They were constantly together and cuddled up, they made sure not to do anything around the parents so that Alessia wouldn’t have to have an awkward conversation. 

Their last night was what everyone was looking forward to, everyone went to dinner and then for their last walk in Jordan. Alessia and Camden were holding hands as they walked through a garden, they took pictures together making sure they had memories of the time they had together. They shared kisses and whispered sweet nothings to each other, they were in their own world enjoying every second together. 

As the team got onto their flight home after their defeat to the eventual tournament winners North Korea, Alessia ensured that she sat next to Camden. The two watched movies together and when the other girls fell asleep they took their chance to make out, it was a five hour flight but they wished it were longer. They knew that once the plane landed they would have to go back to their old life, meaning that Alessia would go back to Tom and Camden would head back to Manchester. Both girls were close to tears as the plane landed, everyone got off the plane but Alessia and Camden just stayed in their seats holding onto their last moments together. Camden made the first move to stand up closely followed by Alessia, “I don’t want to get off the plane, Cammie.” Camden sighed and put on her backpack. “Me either, but we have to. The real world awaits. Maybe one day we can actually be together, for real.” Alessia pulled Camden close for one final passionate kiss, once they walked off the plane they were back to being just friends. Camden’s heart broke as Alessia hugged Tom once she got off the plane and saw her family again. Camden didn’t look over at the happy reunion, she kept her head down and went to baggage claim. 

The two girls parted ways until the next time they would see each other, who knew when that would be.

[whositmcwhatsit]

Summary: Like a lot of girls, Chancy Crawford had once been able to call herself one of Elvis's girlfriends, but that was long time ago. Now, she called herself his friend, or his 'cousin' if any of his girlfriends asked. It was just easier that way. And their relationship was all about being comfortable and easy. Until she gets asked to come and join a tour that seems endless and cursed.

Previous chapters

Chapter 5: Forgive me?

At the hotel, Chancy felt herself easing into the routine. The room was already set up by the advance crew. She stood beside Elvis while one of the Colonel’s people outlined the itinerary for that evening. Apparently, the Governor was coming to the show and wanted to meet him beforehand. There was also a couple of long-time members of a fan club who would be backstage.

Joe managed to usher the outsiders out by arriving with dinner courtesy of some all-night diner that the local police had recommended. Chancy picked at the burger- far too overcooked for her taste- as Elvis and several of the guys tucked in with gusto. Jerry was there, sitting in the armchair adjacent to the sofa, and she could feel the weight of his gaze. Whether it was fixed on her or Elvis, she wasn’t sure because she didn’t dare return it.

“You not hungry, baby?” Chancy shook her head and gave Elvis the same fake smile she had been hiding behind for most of the night. She offered him the rest of her burger and her fries. “Hell, I shouldn’t…” Even as he was speaking, he picked up her burger and took a large bite out of it.

The guys started to disperse as soon as everyone finished eating and Chancy helped Joe tidy up after them while Elvis used the bathroom.

“We got the appointment with the doctor at 4.15,” Joe said as they threw wrappers into the paper sack. “So I’ll be up to get you at about 3.30. How is it feeling now anyway?”

“Oh, just a little achy,” she shrugged. “Thanks for arranging the doctor and the x-ray and everything.”

“No problem.” His grin was always quick and bright. “It’s my job, the road manager needs a healthy crew.”

“Is that what I am?”

“Of course. You help keep the show on the road, right?”

“I don’t know how much I help with that.”

“You do, of course you do,” Joe replied smoothly, shaking his head in admonishment. The bathroom door opened and Elvis came out in his pyjamas and robe. “Anyway, I’ll see you at 3.30.”

“Call the room around 2.30,” Elvis said. Chancy fought a little irritation at the lack of a request, or a please.

“Yep, not a problem. You want me to let Ricky-“

“No, I need a break from that horny little bastard,” Elvis replied, rolling his eyes. “Cha-Cha’ll wake me up, won’t you, baby?”

The sudden responsibility filled her with horror, but they were both looking at her like it was nothing, so she could only shrug and nod.

“Okay, so I’ll call at two thirty, pick up at three thirty. Good night all!” They called their good nights, despite dawn not being far away, and suddenly the room seemed very still and quiet.

“You gonna get ready for bed?” Elvis asked softly at her shoulder when she couldn’t find anything else to fuss over. “It’s getting pretty late…”

“Oh, yeah. You don’t have to wait for me though, honey. You need to rest- I had that nap on the plane, remember.” His gaze weighed tons, she was barely able to keep her head upright from the pressure, and she could feel him prodding and poking at the borders of her mind, trying to force his way in.

“Go get changed,” he said quietly. It was clear from his voice that he was speaking through clenched teeth.

Someone had already unpacked all of their things in the bathroom. She didn’t know who or how. Her toothbrush was laid out next to Elvis’, her washbag and make up bag all arranged on the counter. It seemed so ordinary and domestic. 

She glanced up into the mirror as she squeezed the toothpaste out onto her brush and, for a second, didn’t recognise the woman staring back. She looked haunted, hunted, ready to make a run for it.

It was a relief to wash off all the make-up. She didn’t tend to wear much during the day when she was home and the layers she was wearing now were reserved for special occasions and nights out. Her skin felt oily and yet somehow dried out, like it was begging for relief from the onslaught. A little like how she was feeling in general. Her hair, well, her hair was never very happy with her.

Finally, when she had no more excuses, she came out of the bathroom and into the muted light of the bedroom. Elvis was in bed waiting, and he threw back the corner of the blankets in invitation as she approached, a small smile on his face.

Before she had even settled herself onto the mattress, he was presenting her with a pill held between his finger and thumb.

“Here, baby, take this,” he instructed, like it was perfectly normal for him to administer her medication, part boyfriend, part pharmacist. He looked a little put out when she drew back slightly.

“What is it?”

“Just something to help you sleep. It won’t hurt you.”

“I’m okay, darlin’, I don’t think I need it.” She tried to smile like her refusal was nothing, but he was frowning intently at her.

“It’s like you said though, honey, you’ve already had a nap. This’ll get you good and sleepy straight away and then we’ll fall asleep together at the same time. That way I know you’re safe and sound with me where I can protect you.”

The idea of Elvis being able to protect himself let alone her when he was deep in his usual sleep coma was laughable, but she could tell that he wasn’t about to let it drop. Since the plane, he had been looking at her a little more intently as if he was aware of her growing ambivalence.

Feeling perturbed, but knowing that she would not be able to escape without causing another outburst, Chancy opened her mouth and let him place the pill onto her tongue.

“Good girl,” he murmured as she took a sip of the water he offered her. “You know I always know what’s best for you.” He followed up the water with his lips, pressing her back against the pillows. She sank pliantly, her good hand clasping his shoulder.

“I’m gonna take care of you so good that you’ll know that this is right,” he murmured. “By God, there ain’t nothing more right than this.” He moved down on his side so that his head was beside hers on her pillow and he slid his legs either side of one of hers, entangling them. “See how good we fit together?”

His words were already slurring and though she had no doubt he intended to be emphatic, his tone was actually more imploring. She laid her hand on the side of his face, stroking the contour of his cheekbone with her thumb as he smiled slightly at the touch. 

“Shhh, baby,” she whispered. It was harder to talk than she remembered, her tongue felt thick. “Go to sleep for Cha-Cha.” She jolted slightly as he tightened his grip around her, squeezing her to him so close that she was no longer sure where either of them began or ended.

Fall 1954

Chancy crossed the lawn arm-in-arm with a girl from her English class. It was Friday and they were discussing their plans for the evening ahead. Barb inhaled, and Chancy already knew her friend was going to start in again about going on a double date with Vince’s cousin that night.

“C’mon, Chance, please? I’ll owe you a huge favour. Vince said that he’s a real catch with the girls back home. Think about it, a true-blue looker in uniform. And he flies a fighter jet, so you know he knows how to manoeuvre his hands.”

“You know I can’t!” Chancy giggled, as Barb yanked her arm up and down like she was trying to pump her into submission.

“Why not? You gotta sit at home and wait to see if one of your neighbours gets a phone call for you?” Barb tried to soften her caustic words with a smile even though they both knew they were often true.

“No, the boys are playing at a dance tonight, at a high school, and it’s not too far away.”

“So you’re going along?”

“Well…” In truth, Elvis hadn’t asked her.

“Chance-”

A loud, sharp whistle pierced the pleasant ambient hum of the afternoon and they, along with half the kids on the lawn, turned in search of the source. A grin spread across Chancy’s face as she registered the truck, even more when a long, lean figure leaned out the window, beckoning her.

“Oh well,” Barb sighed in resignation. “I guess I can try Jeanie. Hey, you want me to wait for you?”

Chancy shook her hand and waved her hand behind her as she hurriedly crossed the sidewalk towards the truck. She leant against the open window and revelled in the sight of her boyfriend grinning at her, his arm hanging from the steering wheel.

“Hey, pretty girl, wanna go for a ride?”

Chancy wondered if her stomach would ever stop flipping when she saw those hooded eyes and that shy smile. She was weak, a prisoner, but an enraptured one.

“Sorry, fella,” she replied, forcing her face to stop grinning mindlessly. “I don’t think my boyfriend’d like it.” He pouted and tilted his head.

“Aw, c’mon, baby, not even a teeny, widdle one? No-one’ll know. Your boyfriend the jealous type or somethin’?”

“Yup,” she returned, stepping back and swinging her linked hands slightly. “And he’s big too. Built like a gorilla, an’ covered in hair.”  

“Heck, you better get in here ‘fore he catches us then!” He leant across and opened the door, barely waiting for her to step up before he was dragging her across the bench seat.

“Hmmm,” he murmured. His full, warm lips were a gift. “I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

Chancy smiled and didn’t tell him that she had been doing the same; that she had probably failed her Math quiz because she had been thinking about how he had said goodnight to her outside her door the night before.

“Wait, what are you doing here?” she said instead, though her tone was warm. “Didn’t you get in enough trouble last week?”

Chancy had lost track of the times that Elvis’ boss had taken him aside and given him a stern talking to for veering off his delivery route to come see her, pick her up from school or for letting Chancy accompany him while he worked. Each time, Elvis would apologise and promise it would never happen again.

“I just made a delivery to a site near here,” he returned, looking overly innocent. “I swear it! And I thought I’d swing by and see if my sweet lil darlin’ needed a ride home. Gotta make sure she ain’t getting into another fellow’s car, don’t I.”

Chancy sighed and folded her arms, not wanting to go back through the horrible fight they had last week when Elvis had found out that a boy called Virgil from History class had dropped her at home because it was raining. He would have preferred her to be soaked through and then wrung out with pneumonia rather than accept a ride from another boy, even if she was not the only passenger in the car.

“Don’t pout,” he said, smushing his lips into her cheek and giving her lip-smacking kisses as he pulled her arms away from her waist. “I know I promised I weren’t gonna bring that up again.”

“Really, though, honey, you can’t keep getting into trouble over me. What if they fire you?”

“They won’t fire me, Cha-Cha! I do my work, I write out the paperwork good and I help out without complaining, even when I get all dirty and it damn near ruins my clothes. Besides, the way things are going with Scotty and Bill, we none of us’ll be needing our day jobs much longer.”

“You really think so?”

“I really knows so,” he returned, poking his tongue out at her playfully. “Big things are gonna happen, baby, I can feel it.”

Big things didn’t necessarily mean good things, Chancy reflected, and the foreboding cramp in her stomach seemed to agree with her. As much as she wanted Elvis to succeed, because she loved him desperately and knew how important his music was to him, she hated the thought of not being able to see him after work, and of those lonely weekends when he was away stretching into the weekdays.  

Giving her one last noisy, wet kiss on the cheek, he started up the engine and pulled out into the traffic. When he was driving, she had more freedom to stare at him without him noticing, appreciating the way he watched the road so carefully, a little crease between his brows as he negotiated the traffic, his long fingers tapping rhythm to the music only he could hear.

“Hey, uh, you know, if we do come across anyone from work, you should probably duck down though, just in case,” he said, giving her a sideways look. She sighed and nodded.

Without looking, he reached across and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him like they were on a date rather than cruising around town in his work truck.

“I think the first thing I’m gonna do when I make it, after I pay off the bills and get Mama and Daddy a present, is buy you a ring,” he said casually, his eyebrow twitch belying his calm expression. “How’d you feel about diamonds, sweetheart?”

“I like diamonds,” she nodded, playing along. “They’re supposedly my birth stone.”

“Is that right? Huh. What’s mine?”

“Garnet,” she answered, far too quickly to pretend she hadn’t already looked it up. The smile that lit up his face as he noted that made her embarrassment almost worth it.

“Maybe we could find a ring that has both,” he said, shrugging and quickly extricating his arm so that he could shift gears. ”Me ‘n’ you together.”

“Forever,” she finished with a shy smile. He replaced his arm around her, squeezing her to him, and she gave him a playful nudge, not wanting his dirty overalls rubbing over her clothes. Though it was a hardship she’d endure for the warmth of him seeping through her skin.

“You gonna get all dressed up for me tonight, baby?” he asked, glancing at her as she rubbed at a dusty smudge on the shoulder of her blouse.

“For what?” she asked. She wasn’t going to make it easy on him, not when he hadn’t even asked her to come.

“For what,” he echoed in a high-pitched voice. “You forget about our show tonight?!”

“No, but I wasn’t invited so I didn’t realise I was going.”

“Cha-Cha, I don’t need to invite you!” he retorted. “You should want to be there!”

“I do, Elvis, but if you don’t invite me then I don’t know that you want me there!” She could hear her voice getting higher, turning her into a cartoon character that could be laughed at and dismissed, and her face flushed with anger. He didn’t reply, his gaze fixed on the road ahead and his jaw set. All of a sudden, getting to watch him drive wasn’t as much as fun.

“Damn, there’s Mr Tipler, get down, Cha-Cha!” She was already dropping as he pressed his hand on the back of her neck, holding her head against his thigh. She adjusted her cheek against a crease in his pants and held her breath. A couple of minutes passed.

“Is he still there?” she asked, trying to turn her face against the heavy weight of his hand.

“Mmm hmm.” He sounded muffled and his hand flexed against her neck as she stretched it, trying to move her head along his leg to get more air. Another couple of minutes.

“Elvis, is he-” His hand was shaking. No, his whole body was shaking, convulsing almost with the force of his silent laughter. Mortification flooded through her as she realised that she was the source of his glee.

Rigid with fury, she slapped his hand away, swatting at herself in the process. She rose and slid back along the seat, her back smacking into the passenger door. Elvis reached out to her, but he was laughing too hard to apologise, or say much of anything at all, which infuriated her more.

“You tricked me!” she cried, hurt and embarrassed. “Now, why you gotta be so mean?”

“Baby, I- I was just playing!”

She smacked away his hand and he hastily pulled over, the truck bouncing against the kerb as he misjudged the distance, eyes barely watching what he was doing. A woman in a dark blue shirt-waist dress and matching cardigan jumped back from the edge of the sidewalk and gave them a dirty look.

Elvis grabbed Chancy by the waist as she opened the truck door and tried to scramble out.

“Baby, baby, no!” He was still laughing! “C’mon, I was just kidding around!”

Chancy slapped at his arm, finding that it helped make her feel a little better. When he grappled with her, pulling her back against him, she slapped a little harder. As he tried to turn her towards him, she raised her arm again and his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist.

“No more, Cha-Cha,” he said firmly. Something in his eyes made her lower her hand, though she still didn’t yield to his grip.

“Look, I really thought I saw Mr Tipler,” he promised, his eyes shining with unspent mirth. “But then having your face in my lap like that-” A tinge of pink spread across his cheeks, emphasising the blue in his eyes. “-It just felt so good.” She inhaled sharply as he dove forward and pressed his face into the groove where her legs met beneath her skirt. She had no idea that people did such things to each other or why it felt so good. When he started shaking his head from side to side, her stomach clenched so hard she thought she might throw up or pass out.

“See how good it feels?” he asked shyly, his blush a deeper, dark red now and his hair falling from its very structured, carefully constructed style. She couldn’t look at him as she nodded brusquely.

“Forgive me?” he asked lightly, sitting up and cradling her cheek with his hand. “For all of it? I shoulda invited you, Cha-Cha. I thought I did, I swear.” Her face had already started to soften, it had no choice. “’Course I want my little baby out there in the audience looking up at me with her pretty little eyes-“ He pressed his lips softly against each of her brows. “And her pretty little nose…” He pecked the tip of her nose. “And her soft, pretty little mouth.”

Oh, his kisses. She felt him melt and become boneless in her arms as his lips kneaded hers, leading her by example as she sighed and succumbed to his wheedling. Every time she felt him sigh, she fell a little further in love with him, always dropping deeper into this never-ending hole.

A sharp tap on the window made them both start, teeth clashing, and they scrambled back from each other. A police officer was standing on the sidewalk, an ironic twist to his lips. He nodded his head slightly, telling them to move along. Elvis swallowed loudly and lifted his hand in acknowledgement as Chancy straightened her skirt over her legs and tried to smooth her hair back into its ponytail.  

Back on the road, Elvis reached over and clasped her hand, squeezing it in a question. She squeezed it right back, because of course she forgave him, for the mean trick and the forgotten invitation. She forgave that, and everything that he would ever do, she imagined. That was the depth and breadth of her love for him. Didn’t mean that she wouldn’t make him suffer a little bit first though.

Outside her apartment building he left her after a brief, chaste kiss, mindful both of watchful eyes that would report straight back to her grandmother and that he should have been back from his delivery long before now. He told her that Scotty’s wife would be picking her up, which reassured her that he had apparently had it all planned, seemingly thinking that he had invited her.

A few hours later, she was waiting at the window when the glow of headlights lit up the flowery curtains she had made in Home Ec the year before. A second later, the horn blared. Chancy grimaced, knowing that Grandma would be complaining that all her friends in the building would think she was raising some loose woman the way that no one ever knocked on the door like respectful folk who were raised right.

The flinch in Grandma’s face as she skipped down the stairs in her tight new dress was all the confirmation she needed that she looked good. She clung to the bannister as she slipped on her heels, checking with her what time Mr Presley was picking her up. Usually, whenever she and Elvis would go out on a date, the Presleys would sweetly invite Grandma over for the evening to make sure she wasn’t lonely by herself. She got along well with Elvis’ grandmother and his mother, but had some reservations about his father which she expressed by saying nothing much about him at all.

Bobbie Moore smiled at her as she slid into the backseat and sweetly complimented her dress and hair, before going back to her conversation with Evelyn Black. The ladies were both older than her and had known each other longer. Chancy felt a little apart from them in the way that Elvis was a little apart from the band, except she didn’t have the benefit of being of any use to the women the way that Elvis, with his talent and front man good looks, was to the men.

“Oh,” Bobbie said over her shoulder during a lull in conversation, “Elvis told me to mention that he asked me to give you this ride last week. He said he set everything up but forgot to actually ask you to come to the show?”

“That’s what he says,” Chancy agreed with a closed-mouth smile.

“I’d be impressed he arranged anything,” Bobbie smiled. “He’s always going off at a hundred miles an hour, it’s a wonder he can get anything done. I swear Scotty has to wrangle him like a cross between a child and an excitable spaniel.”

The two women giggled in the front, but Chancy couldn’t quite muster a polite smile, it felt like a betrayal. Bobbie evidently noticed and quickly made a comment about how much he seemed to care for her.

The high school didn’t look much different from her own, same array of multi-paned windows across the front and pillars at the main entrance. Same yellowing lawn out front with worn tracks showing the most efficient footpaths to the external doors.

They melted into the throng of teenagers moving in waves towards the building, the air filled with the scent of aftershave, perfume and hormones. Chancy let the older women do the talking as they tried to find their men, feeling very young and strangely at home amongst the teenagers calling to their friends and talking loudly so that everyone could see how much fun they were having.

“Oh, thank God,” said Scotty when he caught sight of them coming down the corridor they had been directed to. “Tell me you brought the extra strings?” Bobbie rolled her eyes at the other women and fished a brown paper bag out of her purse.

“How’d you break a string before you even go on?” she asked, following him to the empty classroom they had been given as a dressing room.

“Not me,” Scotty muttered.

Chancy’s eyes fell on Elvis pacing at the back of the room, his back to them as he stared out the blackened windows at the lawn below. He glanced down at the floor, ran his hand down the back of his neck and then strode off in another direction for a few steps, before spinning and returning. It made Chancy’s blood bubble in sympathy at the anxiety he was exuding.

“Hi,” she murmured, weaving between the desks. He glanced up, eyes wide and mouth open in a way that made her heart clench, before smiling faintly.

“Hi.” He seemed paralysed in his loop and it wasn’t until she reached his side that he grabbed hold of her like she was his life preserver.

“You break a string?” she asked gently, trying to keep his attention on the room and not the swathes of people moving closer outside.

“Broke three. My fingers were shakin’ so bad I had to play that much harder to make a noise and, well, you see how that went.” She flattened his hand between hers, trying to press her faith in his ability into him, soothe him, but he couldn’t accept it. After a couple of seconds, he had to be on the move again too.

“The atmosphere is really good out there,” she told him. “They seem like a good crowd, they’re gonna love you.”

“Don’t-” He winced and stopped. “I got this pain up in my throat, Cha-Cha. What if I get up there and my voice is all but gone? I keep having that same dream over and over again, that I open my mouth and nothing comes out and everyone starts yellin’ and hollerin’. You know how sometimes some of my dreams come true and they happen-”

“It ain’t gonna happen,” she told him.

“But how d’you know?”

“Because I keep having a dream too. That I’m sitting in the audience at a show and we’re in some enormous auditorium, bigger than anything in Memphis, and you are on stage singing. Everyone in the audience is just crazy about you, cheering and clapping like you’re Frank Sinatra and Perry Como combined. And there’s little ole me sitting at the back, thinking about how I used to know you.”

The corner of his mouth lifted and he pulled her into his side to kiss her temple. She could see his skin glistening with sweat already and feel his body trembling.

“What do you think of the suit? It’s new.” She eyed the black jacket with pink lapels and cuffs and the baggy, pleated black pants with a pink stripe at the sides. Even his shoes had a small pink buckle.

“It’s real flashy,” she smiled. “It looks good on you.”

“Yeah, well,” he ducked his head, shaking his legs to adjust his pants leg, “I gotta wear something that gets their attention, you know. Especially after they hear me.” She wrapped her fingers around his arm, trying to hold him still.

“You look real handsome,” she said emphatically, her cheeks throbbing. “I’m gonna have to keep an eye on all those girls.”

They turned as Scotty called over. Even without looking at him, Chancy felt the electricity fizzling through Elvis, it made her own skin tingle. She squeezed his bicep hastily before rushing to join Bobbie and Evelyn as they tried to find their way through the labyrinthine halls to the school auditorium.

The auditorium had been covered in streamers and glittery decorations. There was a harvest theme with straw bales for seating and a big, painted, slightly blue moon that twinkled in the stage lighting. She wondered if that was how the boys had been booked, because of their name, and their record ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ so high in the country charts. She knew how those girls on the committees loved a theme.

Some high school kids who thought they were The Crewcuts were just leaving the stage after a mediocre cover of ‘Earth Angel’ and there was polite applause rippling about the space. Chancy clutched her hands together, imagining Elvis in the wings vibrating with adrenaline.

A young man, obviously popular from the catcalls and cheers from the audience, strode up to the microphone to introduce the group, calling them a ‘big up and coming act from the city that’s been driving the kids crazy’. There was a healthy level of applause and cheering as Elvis bounded out in his usual loose-limbed way, Scotty and Bill following. For a second, Elvis stood poised behind the microphone, looking up at the ceiling. Chancy glanced up, wondering what had caught his eye, but there was nothing but ceiling tiles.  

“Well, have you heard the news, there’s good rockin’ tonight!”

It echoed around the hall like a siren. Chancy watched the looks on the faces of the kids as they started, they squinted, they frowned at the young man on the stage. There was a kind of pulse that was emanating from the stage and you could clearly see it rippling through the kids, who quickly began drifting closer, packing themselves together like they were drawn together by magnets.

By the time they got to Scotty’s first solo, some of the girls had begun to giggle and cry out, clutching at each other as if they couldn’t quite understand what was happening to them. The applause at the end was stronger and accompanied by a thick hum of murmuring. Chancy surveyed them with a small smile, bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

With ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’ it was the same thing all over again, since this song sounded so country that it threw the kids that thought they understood what they were watching. The girls got bolder and Chancy noted, ice beneath her skin, Elvis’ eyes darting down to the foot of the stage where they were congregating, his lip lifting into a gleeful sneer. But then she saw him as they did, this dangerous rockabilly rebel standing astride the stage above their heads, glistening like a god, and deigning to notice them. That look of adoration they were giving him, that unfocused want that was rising like steam from them, it just made him more beautiful, more otherworldly. They didn’t get to have him, because he was hers. 

It was like a feedback loop, the more Elvis sang, crooned, and at one point growled, the more the girls shrieked and giggled. The more his legs shook and his baggy pants fluttered about his groin, the more the crowd bounced. It was always more, more, more. Chancy had seen it first, that vein of magic in him, and she felt vindicated now watching the realisation dawn in so many other eyes.

“Every time we see them it’s always a little wilder,” Bobbie remarked, gaze still on the stage. She definitely wasn’t looking at him like he was a cross between a child and an excitable spaniel now.

Chancy hesitated and then made up her mind, skipping towards the stage and ensconcing herself in the back of the close knit throng. She put her fingers to her lips and gave a whistle, joining in and adding to the chorus of screams that made Elvis’ smile spread wider as he bounced joyfully to the rhythm.

When he whirled off stage after the fourth number, half of the audience emptied out too. Chancy shot a look of astonishment at the other two, and they exchanged a glance before hurriedly following the tide.

Out in the parking lot, they found Bill and Scotty packing up while Elvis was held fast at the side of the car by a crowd of girls. He was scribbling autographs, hastily trying to keep up with demand and beaming. Some of the girls had little brownie cameras and Chancy snorted when she watched his smile drop into a sullen scowl as soon as they started to pose, doing his best James Dean impression. 

Eventually, she drifted over to Scotty and Bill and their wives where they all muttered about who was going to be the one to break up the communion so that they could go and get something to eat.

After a while, Bill told the girls to head off to the diner because he was going to round up their errant singer and meet them there. As she settled herself in the back seat, Chancy watched Bill sail into the throng, a grin on his face as he reached over and mussed up Elvis’ hair. She winced and was glad that she wasn’t going to be around to see the outcome of that.

At the all-night diner back in Memphis, Chancy had already eaten a plate of fries by the time the bell tinkled and the boys entered in a bubble of loud talking and recklessly flailing limbs. Elvis’ hair was now falling over his face and he had Bill in a headlock, while Scotty was smiling faintly with that look in his face that he sometimes got, like he’d just like five minutes of peace and quiet away from the zoo.

“Where’s my food, woman?” Elvis demanded in a deep voice as he stared at her empty plate. Standing behind her, he grabbed at the front of her throat with his hands in a pincer. “Why, you good for nothin’-” She reached back and smacked the side of his thigh to get him to behave.

Bobbie rose with a sigh to go over to the counter to order more food, leaving the chair next to her empty. Elvis slid into it before she had even fully risen, goosing her a little. Chancy glared at him, even as he shrugged innocently, and Scotty raised unimpressed eyebrows. Forcefully ignoring their annoyance, he sat, his leg jiggling outrageously and making the table vibrate so hard that the salt and pepper shakers clinked against the napkin dispenser.

Chancy reached over and tried to rearrange his sweat soaked hair, but he batted away her assistance, pulling a comb from his shirt pocket and miraculously finding a shiny surface to use as a mirror like he had a built-in radar.

Once he was satisfied, he put away the comb and grabbed her hand off the table, examining her nails and fingers like he was about to be tested on them.

“See something interesting?” she asked.

“It’s just I’m so damned hungry,” he mumbled. “And they look so delicious…” He yanked them towards his mouth and she shrieked, writhing in his grip. He managed to get a sharp nip at the knuckle of her middle finger before she wrenched herself away.

“Behave yourself!” she hissed, but unable to stop grinning as she looked over to the counter.

“Baby, I can’t help it, I’m all keyed up. I wanna… I- Well, I don’t know what I wanna do, but whatever it is, I wanna do it bad!” His eyebrows quirked as his overly wide eyes zeroed in on her neck and he dove forward just as Bobbie returned with food.

Somehow, he managed to swerve at the last minute and he fell upon his burger and fries like a starving man. Bill, who was only just behind Elvis in the amount of mischievous energy he was exuding, tried reaching over to grab one of Elvis’ fries and got himself an elbow in the groin for his trouble.

The food settled them a little and they were able to analyse and reflect on the show as Chancy and the wives gave feedback, talking about what they saw in the crowd, the reactions of the girls and what was being said about them in the restrooms.

“We need to get some more photos, we’re nearly out,” Scotty told the other two men. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have more copies of our record. I had two people tell me that they couldn’t get it from the record store.”

“Goddamn it,” Elvis muttered, shoving fries sideways into his mouth. “What we gotta do, pay these chumps to put our damn record in their stores? Isn’t this why Sam’s always travelling around, trying to talk these… these fools into using their brains.” Chancy slid her hand onto his thigh and rubbed it comfortingly beneath the table.

“They don’t know what to do with it,” Bill shrugged. “It’s too hot and original for their tiny little minds to comprehend.

“Sam’s focusing on the next one,” Scotty reminded them. “We’re only as good as our latest record and he’s been all over the South pushing it with all his contacts.”

“Fat lot of good that does if no one can buy it,” Elvis snapped. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by the sound of himself wailing out, ‘Well, that’s all right, mama…” They turned to the jukebox where Bill gave them a ‘ta da’ gesture and a grin.

“You know, that’s him,” Bill told the disinterested cook behind the counter, who eyed them with yellowing, cloudy eyes. “Don’t s’pose we can pay our bill with an autographed picture? Up and coming star right here, I heard it on good authority from a high school kid all dressed up in his daddy’s suit tonight.”

Elvis threw one of Scotty’s fries at him and ducked down, unable to disguise how his face and neck had coloured up. He leant in, nudging Chancy’s shoulder, trying to hide in the crook of her neck.

After their food, they split up, Scotty, Bill and their wives took Bobbie’s car, while Elvis and Chancy were in the Lincoln. She prayed they would make it back, her dress was not cut for pushing cars.

Elvis was still twitchy, but he had quietened down, back to being regularly fidgety and nervous rather than like he was about to take off into outer space. He tapped his fingers along with the radio, even when the reception cut out and it was just static. Chancy dozed next to him, starting every time he swatted her thigh to wake her up.

When they reached the door of her apartment, Chancy hesitated. Despite how late it was, she didn’t feel it was time to say goodnight. She had barely had him to herself for more than a minute all night.

“You know,” she began, watching him touch the brass numbers on her door, scuff his shoe against the worn tile and shake his leg slightly, all the while tap tapping away on his thigh with his fingertips.

She tried again: “You know, Grandma is probably fast asleep by now. If we’re quiet…” His eyes snapped to hers and she would have betrayed her grandmother’s trust a thousand times over for the wave of joy that passed through her body.

“Yeah, I-I-I should probably check and make sure everything is on the up and up for you ladies. I mean, you can’t be too careful, could be monsters under your bed, spiders in your bathtub... What kind of man would I be if I let my woman face all these dangers alone?”

“You coulda just said yes, you know,” she returned, shaking her head. He nuzzled her in answer, forcing her to try not to squeal as she oh-so-carefully unlocked the door.

Clutching each other’s hand like nervous burglars, they crept through the tiny kitchen and into the narrow hall. Chancy paused at her grandmother’s door, but heard nothing.

It felt borderline criminal closing her own door, hiding them from sight. Whenever Elvis visited, ‘Grammy’ as he called her, insisted on being able to see them at all times.

“He’s a nice boy,” she had told Chancy after she recovered from the flashy clothes and the truck driver’s haircut. “A real nice, polite boy, but there’s something else about him, some touch of mischief that I just wanna keep my eye on.”

Eyes adjusting to the moonlit shadows, Chancy watched him cautiously approach her bed and pick up the framed photo on her nightstand. Not the one of him that Mr Neal had arranged to be done for publicity and that Elvis had given her a copy of with a secret message scrawled on the back. No, he picked up the blurry, worn picture of a man in a white suit with his arms around a dark-haired, shapely woman. Their faces were almost as featureless and white as milk with wear and Chancy’s faded memories could no longer fill in the blanks.

Elvis replaced the frame reverently and then turned back to her. The moonlight glowed in his eyes and smile. He bent down and checked under her bed for monsters.

“All clear!” he informed her in an exaggerated whisper. Then his eye caught something else that he reached down and swiped up. Chancy’s cheeks flushed.

Grandma was old fashioned and thought that music and movies were sent by the devil to distract impressionable minds from the Lord. She allowed Chancy to go to the movie theatre on dates and to own a few records, but there was strict accounting going on, weighing the devil’s distraction against church and bible study.

“What you got this hidden down here for?” Elvis asked, looking confused. He flicked through the movie magazine as if looking for clues, but returned to the front cover where Eddie Fisher was posing politely with a telephone as if he had just been interrupted taking a call. “Eddie Fisher?!” He raised an eyebrow like he was teasing her, but he wasn’t smiling. She rushed over and tried to snatch the magazine from his unyielding hands.

“Grandma don’t like me having movie magazines,” she whispered in a rush. “Elvis, give it back!”

“How long has this thing with Fisher been going on, huh? Does Debbie know?”

“Ha, ha.” Elvis was glaring at the picture, studying it like he was sizing up his competition. “Really now, I am not gaga over Eddie Fisher. The only boy I have eyes for is a much better singer, and dreamier too.”

“Oh god, who now?! Wait, you are talking about me, right?”

She shoved him as he grinned smugly, but he grabbed her hands and pulled her down with him onto the bed. They were entwined and kissing as easily and as quickly as gravity.

Elvis’ body, its hard planes and soft curves, still felt like foreign territory no matter how many times and how many ways she ran her hands over it. Even his dark blue eyes, when they devoured her with that fierce hunger, sometimes seemed like they belonged to a stranger. It was exciting and terrifying all at once. When he told her, as he did over and over, that he loved her, she understood that he meant it and still didn’t believe him at all.

Straddling his lap as she knelt on the bed, she shifted her weight to get leverage and then ground down onto him, eliciting that helpless boyish moan from him that always got her in the gut.

Too late, she pushed her palm against his mouth, breathlessly whispering for him to be quiet. He groaned a hot, muffled protest as she rolled her hips again and she could feel him, hard and eager beneath the pleats of his pants. He grabbed her hand in his, pulling it away from his mouth as he pressed his soft lips into her palm.

“Wait, baby, wait. We gotta stop… We should stop,” he whispered. He was right of course, but it didn’t mean that she wanted to hear him or listen. She kneaded her lips against the flickering of his pulse in his throat, smelling the faint remnants of his cologne, soap and the haze of his Vaseline hair oil. It was a heady mix of ‘Elvis’, the best smell in the world.

“Hey!” he snapped, hoarse but still quiet. “You ain’t being fair! You’ll get me all heated and worked up and then you’ll tell me to stop. And one day I ain’t gonna be able to stop!”

Chancy shivered and wished, through clenched teeth, that today would be that day. Her grandmother was wrong, that glint of mischief that she saw in Elvis was just a tiny reflection of what radiated from Chancy herself.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, forcing herself to stay still in his lap, fighting the urge to swivel her hips and press into him. “Forgive me?” He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth, and squashed her cheeks between his palms.

“You drive me crazy, you cruel baby, but I forgive you. I’ll always forgive ya.”

“Not always,” she refuted. “How about if I went off with another boy?” He was quiet for a moment and, even more unnerving, still.

“No, you’re right,” he said in a small, uncomfortable voice. “God, why’d you even put that in my head?”

Chancy knew why, because she always needed to push the limits, see how far love and acceptance would stretch until they snapped, and they always snapped.

“I don’t know, it was stupid. And it’ll never happen.” She clasped her fingers together at the back of his neck and turned his head so that they were looking directly into each other’s eyes. “I would never do that, because I love you more than anything else in the world.” His small smile made his cheekbones curve in a delicious way.

“More than Eddie Fisher?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Eddie who?”

“Eddie who better be right!” He squeezed the back of her neck as he kissed her with a dramatic, almost aggressive flourish, and then shoved her sideways off his lap and onto the bed. It creaked so loud that it should have woken up half the building, and they froze, staring at each other with wide eyes.

They waited a full, endless minute for sounds of movement or a light being turned on in the hall. When it didn’t come, they dissolved, giggling as they curled up together on the mattress.

At first, Elvis spooned her, the cradle of his hips fitting perfectly against the curve of her backside and his arm pillowing her neck. She could feel the bulge of him poking her in her butt cheek and it took all her willpower not to push back. After he had complained in a whisper about her hair tickling his nose, and had ground his groin apparently involuntarily against her, he huffed out a soft ‘Goddamnit’ and almost threw himself onto his other side, his back to her. She only had a second to miss the warmth before he was reaching back and tugging her arm, pulling her against him.

“You have to leave before Grandma wakes up,” she said directly into his ear, grinning as he shuddered and pressed in her hand that he was holding to his chest. “Elvis, y’hear? I mean it.”

“I hear ya, I hear ya.” She forced herself to relax, listening to his breathing as she simultaneously felt it against her hand. His heart was a steady, reassuring thump.

After a while, she pressed a little closer to him and whispered:

“Imagine being able to sleep like this every night.” Her heart felt swollen and tight with love for him, so much so that just thinking of forever made her eyes sting with hopeful tears. “Elvis?” She tried to loosen her grip on him in order to prop herself up, but he wouldn’t release her, just murmured and squeezed tighter.

Just imagine, forever.

Chancy woke in a start, feeling the panic before she even came to. Morning. Grandma. Elvis!

She tried to sit up, but the hands encircling her waist were determined, and all their focus was on holding her in place. She was so busy trying to free herself that she didn’t notice what else was going on until a warm, throaty moan tickled her ear. She froze.

Elvis was like a wall of heat behind her, making her clothes damp and creased as he pressed and rubbed against her. Her stomach clenched and roiled with panic and desire and she tilted her hips, catching his groin as he rolled into her.

“Baby, you awake?” he whispered hoarsely, adjusting his grip on her, grabbing at her hipbone so tightly that she knew it would leave bruises.

“What time is it?” she mumbled, squinting at the curtains, trying to determine whether the halo around them came from the moon or the sun.

“I-I don’t know. God, baby, I-I need you so bad. Can- can I?” 

Chancy was not certain what he was asking, but just his tone made her skin ripple with goosebumps. She turned in his arms and found that looking up into his face was a revelation. His cheeks were deep pink and his lips looked swollen and red, hanging open as he stared at her; thick lashes drooping over his half-open eyes. She had never seen him with messy hair, he spent so long fussing over it, combing it if even one tendril fell out of place, but now it fell over his forehead and stuck up in spikes at the side and he didn’t seem to care.

Chancy gasped as he ducked down and kissed her, fiercely mashing his lips against hers. She didn’t recognise this boy, this shaking, dishevelled man writhing in her bed and wrinkling her sheets. His long-fingered hand slid down her blouse, unfastening the tiny buttons with an ease that shouldn’t have been possible. He pulled her against him, the button on his shirt pocket scraping her nipple even through her cotton bra, but his hands didn’t stay at her back for long, scrambling down to fuss over the folds of her skirt, tugging it up.

“Elvis, honey, wait!” she gasped when he finally released her mouth to catch his own breath. “We can’t, we-“

“We can,” he murmured, unravelling the material wrapped around her legs. “Baby, we should. I-I-It’s time, it’s time.” She was trying to push down her skirt even as he was lifting it, tangling his legs with hers.

“You said we should wait,” she pleaded, quickly losing her fighting spirit as he nuzzled and breathed hot and heavy against her neck. “For when we’re married.”

“We’re gonna be together forever,” he insisted. “We already know it.” She giggled; his words were slurred and mumbled like he couldn’t quite think straight and his addled mind was pouring out syllables, hoping some of them would be useful.

It made her feel powerful to have brought him to this level of mindlessness. No one else, not the girls that screamed at the foot of the stage, not the beautiful singers that sometimes toured with him, or the experienced girls with their heavy make-up and tight, revealing clothing that somehow made it backstage and always knew which motel he was staying in. No, no one else, just Chancy.

“Okay,” she whispered, cupping his face. “Okay.” He stared at her intently, looking almost lost, before he seemed to register what she had said and gave a little nod.

In one fluid movement, he was on top of her, the weight of him pressing her into the mattress. The bed creaked ominously and Chancy froze, not least because Elvis was leaning on her hair.

“Ow, Elvis, you’re-”

“What? Oh, sorry.” He lifted his hand, not realising the hand he now had all his weight on was also on top of her hair.

“Oh my- Oh God, Elvis, my hair!” He hastily drew back onto his knees, straddling her and looking sheepish.

Realising that it was all going terrible wrong, she stared back at him, flooded with disappointment and consternation. There was a beat before they both broke, sniggering and blushing at their awkwardness.

“Oh damn,” he grinned bashfully into his palm, running his tongue over his teeth. “Great job, Elvis. Real smooth.”

Chancy ran her hand up his thigh, her fingers trembling over the taut muscle.

“Honey, we could still-“ she began, even as he shook his head.

“No, no, you were right what you said, baby, we should wait. It’ll be better if we wait. Special.”

“Maybe I’ll get my haircut for the wedding,” she mused dryly, trying not to focus on the disappointment settling in her stomach.

“Don’t you dare!” He leaned forward, practically on all fours over her, and wrapped her dark hair around his finger. “I show up at the church and don’t see all these curls, I’m outta there!”

“You think I won’t have someone there ready to lock the door as soon as you show up?” she teased, reaching up to smooth back the hair above his ear.

“Hmm, cruel woman,” he murmured, eyes dropping to her lips and telegraphing his thoughts. “You think you don’t already have me locked up? I- I can’t think of nothing else but you, baby.”

“Aw, that sounds just awful,” she smirked, stretching up to catch his lips. “Forgive me?”

“Always,” he mumbled into her mouth.

Spring 1973

The phone was ringing. Chancy threw out a hand to grab at the receiver, but her hand only waved about in the air because she wasn’t in her own bed. She opened her eyes, waiting for her vision to unblur. The phone stopped ringing and immediately began again.

“Hello?”

“Thank Christ! I was beginning to wonder if you were alive!”

“Joe?”

“Yeah! Two thirty wake-up call, remember? Least it was fifteen minutes ago.”

“Sorry, Elvis gave me a pill.” She wiped her hand down her face; it felt numb, foreign.

“Okay. Get up.”

“What?”

“You need to get out of bed. If you don’t, you’ll go straight back to sleep the minute you hang up.” 

She lifted the receiver from her ear and peered into it as if Joe would be able to discern that she was not exactly in a situation when she could leap out of bed. Elvis’ head was tucked under her chin and his arms were wrapped around her. Even her feet were entangled with his legs.

“Uh, okay.” Then she was glad that he was not able to see through the receiver, because she had to slither and writhe to free herself, tumbling onto the floor with zero grace. “I’m out of bed.”

“Good. I’ll be there to get you in forty-five minutes.”

“Wait, what do I do about Elvis?”

“How d’you mean?”

“How do I wake him up?”

“Hit him. Hard, but don’t leave a mark, ‘specially not on the face.”

“Helpful, thanks,” she said to the dial tone.

Chancy started off light, shaking him, but it barely registered. So, then she patted him, getting progressively harder until she was hitting his shoulder with a closed fist.

“Oh, Lord,” she murmured. The clock now said two fifty-five and she hadn’t even started dressing. She tapped his cheek and, finally, his face flickered. Emboldened, she did it again, but there was no reaction this time. Out of options, she slapped him with her fingers, hard enough to make a noise. His face creased up and he squinted at her through dark, slitted eyes.

“Why are you hitting me?” he asked, or at least that was the vague sound that came out with some half-enunciated words.

“Oh, wakey wakey!” she trilled. “Time to wake up, sweetheart!”

He let his hand drop onto his face and grunted as he tried to pull himself up into a seated position, managing about halfway. Chancy waited anxiously to make sure the red mark on his cheek would fade away.

By three fifteen, she was dressed and washed, though not exactly looking her glamorous best. She had pulled her hair into a loose bun and just darkened her eyes to try and look more awake. It wasn’t like hospitals had a dress code.

“You slapped me round my face!” Elvis said accusingly as she emerged from the bathroom. He was still sitting up in bed, though he seemed closer to consciousness than not.

“No, you must have been dreaming,” she replied quickly. The mark was gone now and she had a new appreciation for Ricky’s skills.

“That ain’t something I’d dream about,” he returned, throwing back the covers. He eased himself up carefully and she paused, wondering if she should go to his side to make sure he didn’t lose his balance or stumble. She tried to seem casual as he fumbled and felt his way to the bathroom door.

“Um, baby? Joe’ll be here in a bit. You want me to get you anything before I go?”

“Go? I’m coming with you,” he replied, frowning at her as though she was speaking a different language.

Chancy’s reaction to that was complicated. She was touched that he wanted to, but knew there was no way that he would be ready to leave the room in fifteen minutes. Then there was the logistics of it. How could Elvis Presley walk into a hospital in the middle of nowhere and not cause chaos and mayhem? What seemed like a simple trip to the doctor had suddenly turned into a production.

“That’s really sweet, honey, but you don’t have to do that,” she said, crossing the room to him. His intense gaze followed her, so that by the time she was in front of him, she was feeling a little warm.

“It ain’t a negotiation,” he returned, his mouth stumbling over the syllables. “You ain‘t going without me.”

Joe knocked at exactly three thirty, but seemed completely unsurprised and unperturbed when she said that they had to wait for Elvis.

“I always allow a cushion of at least twenty minutes when I give him a time,” he revealed with a grin.

“You knew he was coming?” Chancy asked.

“Sure. I think it’s pretty obvious by now that he doesn’t want to be anywhere you’re not.”

Chancy’s stomach clenched with apprehension at that observation. It gave her too little power and too much responsibility. She was an idiot in relationships, and she bumped into people’s feelings blindly and repeatedly. Nowadays, she liked her freedom too much and suffocated under the expectations of others. She was too much like her father, who had broken so many hearts without even knowing. Now here she was being presented with the most fragile heart of all. No, not presented, tossed it without warning, and she knew her butter fingers were going to fumble it no matter how carefully she tried to cradle it.

They were exactly twenty minutes behind schedule when Elvis emerged from the bathroom clad in black, the jacket of his karate gi showing underneath his coat, and wearing dark tinted sunglasses. While she was dressed to do a chore, he looked like he was prepared to go on TV, which was the way he always looked when he left the confines of his room. She had long ago stopped musing on how irritating and time-consuming that must be for him, to know that he always had to look his best even if he was just going to a doctor’s appointment.

“Morning, Boss, how you doing?” Joe asked, rising to open the door for them as Elvis came to Chancy’s side.

“Well, my day started with being belted round the face, so I’m hopin’ it’ll improve,” he returned, shooting Chancy a sideways look. He seemed more confused and amused than annoyed, but Chancy could still feel her cheeks heating.

“I still say you dreamed that,” she said.

“And I still say you’re full of shit,” he returned, sliding his fingers between hers. He hissed softly, swearing under his breath.

“What is it?” He grimaced and lifted their clasped hands so that she could see the back of his. His knuckles were grazed and split, and the skin around them was swollen dark from where he had been punching the wall the night before. “Oh, baby.”

She tried to release his hand, but his fingers tightened around hers, so she raised their hands to her lips and pressed them lightly against the sore area.

“Well, at least we’re heading to the right place!” Joe observed. She wondered if he was really as unflappable as he made out and, if so, what kind of craziness had he seen to make him so.

It felt a little like heading for a show. They rode the service elevator down to the kitchens and made their way out of the rear entrance of the hotel where a car was waiting for them with a driver and Red sitting in the passenger seat. Two or three people were waiting at the entrance of the car park and, as they emerged from the building, Chancy heard them yelling:

“He’s here! He’s here!” 

“No, he ain’t,” Elvis mumbled under his breath, before raising a hand and waving to them as they got into the car.

“What would you do,” Chancy asked out of curiosity, “if you went somewhere and no one blinked an eye like you were just a regular person?”

“It happens,” he returned, a defensive edge to his voice like he thought she was making fun of him somehow. “It’s not like I expect it all the time.”

“The worst times are when we think it’s okay, but then one person notices he’s there and raises the alarm,” Red interjected, half turned in his seat. “Happened once when we went to a karate tournament. Whispers started going round, people started getting out of their seats to ask for autographs and what have you. And I’m sitting there sweating bullets thinking I gotta keep him safe in a place filled with fucking karate masters.”

“Remember that theatre in Florida when we were there shooting that movie?” Joe put in. “We went to see a show one night and during the intermission, we got swarmed and the fire marshal had to shut the whole place down. Called it a health and safety hazard.”

“The point is I don’t go out looking for it,” Elvis insisted to her, as if they hadn’t spoken. “It’s not like I need it for my ego or anything like that.”

“Okay,” she murmured softly, nodding to show that she understood, because he seemed very intent on making that clear to her.

“Hey, remember when we thought we got away with it in Hawaii?” Red laughed, breaking the slightly awkward silence. “Went to a restaurant and no one blinked an eye. Order our food, nothing. Ate and hung out without a murmur. Then, when we got up to leave the entire restaurant damn near gave us a standing ovation. That was weird as shit!”

“Have you guys ever asked someone for their autograph or got starstruck meeting someone?” she asked the other two men, since Elvis was staring out of the window and chewing on his thumbnail, not exactly inviting conversation. She wondered if she had prodded a sore spot with her question and if so, how to soothe his hurt feelings.

“Don’t know about starstruck… You start to realise pretty quickly that famous people are pretty much just people,” Joe mused.

“Some can be complete asses, right, E?” Red remarked. “Remember Brando?” Elvis blinked and pulled a face like he smelt something disgusting.

“Aw, don’t remind me about that sonovabitch. Broke my damn heart.” He looked down at her, his eyes warm and intimate again, reassuring her. “You remember how much I dug that cat- We must have seen his movies fifty times a piece. Knew all the lines.”

“’Well, what d’ya do? I mean, do you just ride around or do you go on some sort of picnic or something?’” Chancy recited in a breathy voice, making her eyes wide. His smile grew and he poked his tongue between his teeth.

“’A picnic? Man, you are too square…’” He dipped down, pressing his nose to hers. “Anyway, we met him one time. I think in 1958?” He raised an eyebrow at Joe, who nodded in confirmation. “And he was just the rudest, most condescending motherfucker. Acting like he was hot shit and we were hillbilly hicks ruining his day. I swore to myself I weren’t ever gonna be like that.” 

“Well, who was the nicest star you ever met?”

“Tom Jones was pretty friendly right from the off,” Red reflected.

“Sammy Davis Jr is a cool guy,” Joe shrugged. She looked to Elvis, but he shrugged and demurred, saying most people were okay. There was something about the offhand way he said it that let her know there was something he wasn’t saying.

“You cannot think of one non-beautiful non-female celebrity right now, can you,” she teased. He licked his lips sheepishly and grinned.

“My mind went blank,” he admitted, running his tongue over his teeth. “I panicked!”

“You goof! Okay, including the beautiful ladies, who was the nicest?”

“This ain’t a trick, is it? Already been slapped once today…”

“Don’t do it, man,” Red murmured under his breath. She raised an eyebrow and faked a scowl.

“Well,” he sighed as he arched his back and adjusted his belt buckle, “Sophia Loren was real sweet and Ann-Margret’s a darling; Nancy Sinatra… Oh! Cary Grant! He’s a nice guy.”

“Congratulations, you thought of one man,” she laughed. He nuzzled into the side of her head as if testing her word, checking she wasn’t mad. She rubbed his thigh in answer. 

The car took a sharp right turn down a wide alleyway and pulled up behind a store that was most certainly not a hospital.

“What’s going on? You taking me to the vet instead?” she quipped, confused by Elvis’ little smirk as they all climbed out.

“I just gotta make a quick stop,” he replied, reaching for her hand again.

Red banged on the worn security door and a small window opened, before the door was thrown open. A small, slight, older man in a suit beamed at them, ushering them into the dark interior.

When Chancy’s eyes adjusted, she registered that they were in a jewellery store. An older woman in what looked like her best dress was standing by the register also beaming like she had won an award, which all store owners must have felt whenever Elvis Presley walked in.

“Hello, Mr Presley, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to our store,” the man said, sounding adorably nervous as he shook Elvis’ hand. “My name’s Len and this is my wife Phyliss.”

“It’s good to be here, sir,” Elvis replied, head on a swivel. “You got some fine pieces.” He stepped back to take Phyllis’ hand and give her a peck on the cheek. “Hi, dear. We can’t stay long, because we got an appointment, but I think I’ll be back here next time we’re out this way.”

Len nodded and gestured to the counter where he had laid out a black velvet cover on top of which lay a dazzling selection of gold and sparkling diamonds. Elvis stepped up, squinting as he removed his sunglasses, his fingers immediately reaching to touch.

“Cha-Cha, c’mere, baby,” he murmured. Holding out a hand without looking. “What d’you think? Anything that catches your eye?”

“Of course, it’s all really pretty,” she nodded, nonplussed.

“Okay, looks like we’ll just be taking all of it,” Elvis told Len, gesturing for them to ring it up.

“What, no!” she exclaimed in a panic. Vernon Presley would have her shot! Elvis laughed gleefully like a little kid and swept his hand along the treasures.

“Then pick something, you silly girl! You ain’t quite woken up yet, have you, honey.” She frowned at him and then down at the array, her fingers hovering over a ring with a large sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

“Are you sure?” she asked. He looked confused for a minute, then his face softened, and he reached up and rubbed the skin between her brows, smoothing her frown.

“What calls to you?” he asked quietly, intimately, like they weren’t being watched by a handful of people. She searched his face, looking into his murky blue eyes, trying to understand what she was saying to him if she did as he asked, what she was forgiving, and what she was promising.

“I told you I’d buy you diamonds,” he murmured, giving her a wink. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she was assailed by guilt and shame for immediately wondering how she was being manipulated instead of appreciating the gesture for what it was.

“You’ve already kept that promise several times over,” she replied, thinking of the expensive gifts and surprises he had bestowed upon her over the years.

“And I’m gonna keep on keepin’ it.” She was about to lay her hand upon the sapphire when something else caught her eye, not on the velvet, but in the cabinet below.

“Does it have to be one of these?” she asked. He rolled his eyes and muttered about awkward women.

“Why, what you seen, honey?”

She pointed at the glass at the small, tasteful oval garnet stone haloed by diamonds. Len immediately crouched down behind the counter and drew out the pillow it was sitting on. Chancy smiled at it, feeling Elvis’ eyes burning into her face as she tried it on. It was a little big for her ring finger on her right hand, but it fit the middle finger perfectly.

“We’ll take this, please, Sir,” Elvis murmured, before leaning across the counter and snatching up three or four other rings like he was collecting seashells at the beach. He caught her look and shrugged bashfully. “What? You can’t just buy one ring, your other fingers’ll get jealous.”

Well, that explained a lot, Chancy reflected. Elvis turned down the offer to wrap up the other rings, asking for the boxes to be put in a bag, but insisting on holding them in his hand.

Before she could turn to follow Red and Joe, he grabbed her good hand and turned her back, sliding a ring onto as many fingers as he could.

“Elvis, I can’t, I-“ She stopped herself, catching the uncertainty as it flickered on his face. “Baby, they are so beautiful, it’s a little overwhelming. Thank you!”

He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her into him a little too long for a thank you hug. She relaxed, stroking his back and feeling him swallow against her shoulder. She could hear what he was asking, the way he always used to in his playful little baby voice. She gripped him as tight as she could in answer. 

_____________________________________________________________

AN: A huge thank you to my alpha reader @thatbanditqueen, who makes all things better.

Shout out to the wonderful authors/LE detectives and prolific nighttime messagers @be-my-ally, @ellie-24, @vintageshanny, @missmaywemeetagain, and @from-memphis-with-love

A huge thanks to @lookingforrainbows for the baby elvis pic avalanche, you're a treasure!

@richardslady121, @dkayfixates, @c-rosenn, @fallinlovewithurlove, @notstefaniepresley, @heartbrake-hotel , @freudianslumber, @bbrtt777, @18lkpeters, @18lkpeters, @prompted-wordsmith, @literally-just-elvis-fics, @eliseinmemphis

[danco110]

“Say, Kimiko,” mused the viashino, while tinkering with his hoverboard.

The nearby faerie glanced up from her own equipment - a sleek golden jetpack. “Sayyyy, Kenneth,” she drawled sarcastically.

“You have wings, right? Like, the ones you were born with?”

“Yep.” Kimiko gave her cerulean wings a flap for emphasis.

“So, what made you want to make that…jetpack, you called it?”

“I dunno. You’ve got legs. Why do you like your board so much?”

“That’s…huh…Touché, I guess.” Kenneth absentmindedly flicked his tail back and forth as he spoke. “Is your thing also like mine, in that you’re doing it…on your own?”

“As in, am I stealing material and wasting on-the-clock lab time behind Niv-Mizzet’s back? Yes.”

“Er. Hey. Okay, the lab time, sure. But I supply most of my own metal.”

“Sure, me too. No shortage of it to scavenge after Gruul reclamations. But there’s really only one place to get mana batteries small enough to fit in our stuff, yknow?”

“Yeah, I know, right?”

Kenneth gave a sympathetic nod. Kimiko returned the gesture, and the two quickly turned their attention back to their respective gear. A comfortable silence fell over the room for a time before Kimiko spoke up once more:

“It makes flying easier.”

“Huh?”

“You know, easier to get around. Gives my wings a boost. City blocks aren’t exactly sized with faeries in mind.”

“I know how you feel…er, kinda, not really. But with all the guilds’ giants and angels and…Parhelions duking it out, and with me being in a guild myself, I’d rather be able to make a quick exit if I have to. And since I can’t fly like you can, I have to settle for exiting…horizontally? Instead of vertically.

“You could always just get a jetpack like mine.”

“Oh no. I’m afraid of heights.”

Kimiko suppressed a smirk, while equipping her jetpack and taking flight above Kenneth’s head. “Maybe not, then.”

[Headcanon: Izzet scientists often…repurpose spare bits and pieces of tech for their passion projects. Management knows about this, and it’s technically against the rules, but they let it slide - both Ral, and even Niv-Mizzet, when he was the guildmaster!

Also, I may have already said this, but I just love writing, like, background conversations? Nothing life-threatening, nothing too dramatic, just little bits and pieces to make the planes feel more…lived-in.]

[imaginesforeveryone]

Retreat (Part 4) 

Pairing: Y/N x rooster Summary: This is the continuation of Navy Nurse and Y/N and Rooster life after the big mission WARNINGS: angst, rooster being there for you 

It was the next day after you told Rooster the news. You woke up around 0500 engulfed in Roosters arms. 

“Roos.” You whispered untwisting yourself from his arms a bit. He groaned and tried to grab you tighter into him. 

“Roos, we have to get up.” You told him. He just groaned again. 

“Bradley.” You said a bit more stern this time. His eyes started to open and he looked down at you. 

“Goodmorning beautiful.” He said in his deep sleepy voice. 

“Goodmorning handsome.” You said back pecking him on the lips. 

“Come on. We have to get up and ready.” You told him starting to get up, but he pulled you back to lay down and got in between your legs and laid his head on your stomach. 

“How are you doing in there this morning peanut.” He whispered to your stomach. 

“It’s barley even alive. I think it’s okay for now.” You said with a giggle. 

“Yeah, but I still want it to be okay.” You said kissing your stomach and getting up. 

“Maverick told us at the end of the day that we were meeting at the Hard Deck today. I’m guessing another team bonding day.” Rooster said stood in his naked glory. Thinking of the things you’d do to him right now if you had any sort of time to do so. 

“This whole pregnancy is going to be rough, I can already feel it.” You said rubbing your eyes and still looking him up and down. 

“I feel like you’re judging me with those eyes.” He said looking over at you. 

“No, just thinking of the things I’d do to you if we had enough time.” You said getting out of be and stretching. 

“I mmeeeann. Cant get anymore knocked up right?” He said putting his hand on your cheek and pulling you into a kiss. You let out a soft moan. 

“No, no, no, we cut it to close yesterday. Let’s get ready and get out of here.” You told him pushing his chest softly back. 

“Ugh, fine.” He said. 

“I’m going to go to the Hard Deck with you, but obviously I shouldn’t be playing football. After the day is over I’m going to go talk to Cyclone about everything and I’ll probably get grounded.” You said grabbing a pair of shorts out of your drawer. 

“Listen, I know how hard this is for you because you were just able to get back into a plane. I can’t help but think you know, this is my fault, and I feel awful for it. But you’ll be back in a plane in no time and I’ll be right next to you.” He said coming over hugging you tight. 

“It’s not your fault. Well I guess it is kinda. Just got to good of dick to not have.” You said laughing and pushing him away. You put your shorts on and grabbed a sports bra and putting that on along with a tank top over it. 

“You ready?” You asked him. 

“Yep, let’s head out.” He said with a smile and you two left the house together getting into the car. Rooster held your hand the entire way there comforting you as best as he could.

“Oh, I also forgot to tell you, I invited my brother out here to help move me into your place, and he was also just coming out to visit while he has a break.” You told Rooster breaking the comfortable silence. 

“What does he do?” He asked not knowing much about your family other than who your father was. 

“He’s a Marine. He just got back from deployment and gets a month off.” You told him. 

“Great, I’m definitely going to get my ass kicked by your brother AND your dad.” He said making you laugh. 

“A long as you’re good to me, there will be no ass kicking.” You told him. You two pulled up the Hard Deck and parked next to Hangman’s car. You two walked into the Hard Deck and saw everyone standing around talking. 

“There they are.” Phoenix said turning to see you two. You walked up to everyone and said hi. 

“So what happened? Is everything okay?” Hangman asked. You looked over at Rooster and he just gave panicked look. 

“Just an iron deficiency. A few tablets a week and I’ll be straight.” You told him covering up the true reason. 

“Well, hopefully you’re back in the air soon.” He said right before Maverick came out. 

“Aviators, you may remember from last year why we are here. With new team member I think this is a good way to help us all working together with the new members.” Maverick started with. 

“So let’s go get out there and get going.” Maverick said and everyone broke off leaving. 

“I’ll be out in a few.” You told Rooster and he went to walk with Hangman and Barbie. 

“Mav.” You said walking up next to him before he could leave the building. 

“What’s up Rat?” He asked stopping. 

“I need to talk to you.” You told him. 

“Okay, shoot.” He said now giving you his full attention. 

“So, yesterday. I got my results back as to what’s wrong.” You told him. 

‘Okay, what is it?“ He asked more interested in the conversation now. 

"Mav, I’m pregnant.” You simply said to him. His eyes widened and then calmed to keep the moment at ease. 

“Rooster?” He asked. 

“Well duh.” You said with a giggle and a light punch to the arm. 

“Well, I guess you’re grounded then huh?” He asked looking a bit disappointed. 

“I haven’t talked to Simpson yet, but yeah I’m guessing thats whats going to happen.” You said hanging your head a bit upset. 

“Well, I think a congrats is in order, happy to see Rooster carrying on his bloodline. His dad & mom would be over the moon if they were still here. If you two need anything you know I’m always just a phone call away. I have 2 chairs set up so if you want to you can just sit and watch I’ll tell them you aren’t feeling well and would rather just watch.” Maverick said knowing you didn’t want to tell anyone yet. 

“Thanks Mav.” You said giving him a hug then following him outside. You went and sat down in the chair and looked to see Rooster stood next to Hangman talking. He had no shirt on and a pair of board shorts. You couldn’t help but just stare at him. Knowing he was going to be the father of your child was the biggest blessing this world has given you. You knew he would be an amazing dad. He looked over at you and shot you a wink over his aviators and put them back up before getting down into position. You smiled as you saw all of them just having a blast together. You think Barbie might of gotten the hint to stop getting all over Rooster because she still talks to him but from a good distance away. 

“Hey Y/N. Why aren’t you playing?” You heard Penny say from behind you and sat in the beach chair beside you. 

“Just not feeling well.” You said trying to cover up the real reason why. You wanted to tell Penny but you couldn’t this early in the pregnancy. You didn’t want to start getting everyone hopes up just incase something happened. 

“Aw, well I’ll keep you company till Maverick gives up.” She said with a little giggle. 

“So, how’s everything going with you and Rooster?” She asked looking out at the everyone running around. 

“Amazing. We are moving in together actually. My brother is coming out next week while he’s on break to help us out and visit.” You told Penny making small talk. You and her talked for about an hour about life, what you both were up to. Maverick came trotting over and Penny got up. 

“well I’ll leave you two be, I should probably get back to work.” She said and went back inside. Maverick sat down next to you putting his shirt back on. 

“So how are you feeling?” He asked.

“Nauseous, tired, nervous.” You told him looking at everyone playing still. 

“Why nervous?” He asked looking you with concern in his eyes. 

“Nervous to talk to Cyclone, nervous to tell my dad, nervous to tell my brother and nervous to just be a mom. I haven’t thought that far ahead in my life yet. Didn’t think about having kids yet.” You explained to him trying not cry. 

“I think your dad will be happy for you. He may not like the fact that you and Rooster have only been together a few months, but I think he’ll be happy and for Cyclone, don’t worry about him. I will tell you, you will be grounded for obvious reasons and you’ll just go back to your duties in the hospital. Your brother will probably be a hard ass on Bradley like he is on everyone else. But, don’t stress yourself out. You got this. You have a lot of support no matter what.” He told you making you relax a bit more.

“Thanks Mav.” You said smiling. It was rounding the end of this training day which means you had to go talk to Cyclone now. 

“You ready?” Rooster asked coming up to you covered in sweat. 

“As I’ll ever be. I just need to change real quick.” You said as you went into the Hard Deck to get your bag and change in the bathroom. Changing quickly and coming out you met with Rooster and you guys walked out and to the Bronco and left to go to the base. Pulling into the parking lot and parking. You two got out and walked to the front doors together and up to Cyclone’s office and waited for him to call you in.

“It’ll be okay.” Rooster said looking over at you noticing you were nervously shaking your legs.

“Metcalf.” You heard from the other side of the door. 

“You got this.” Rooster said before you got up and walked into the office. 

“Captain.” He said as you went over and he told you to sit. 

“What can I do for you today? Any updates on your test results?” He asked and you pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. He read it and his eyes widened knowing he read the part where you were pregnant. 

“Well, moving forwards, I’m sorry to say we cant put you in a plane till you give birth and are back to full health. I’m sorry that this happened right after you were able to get back into a plane. But, you will be able to stay on your duties in the hospital. So I’m sorry to say but you are grounded for the time being.” He explained as best as he could without making you upset. 

“I figured thats what was going to happen. I’m upset but not SUPER upset. Thank you sir.” You said to him. 

“But, I think a congratulations is in order. Bradshaw!” He said calling Bradley into the office. He came in an stood at attention. 

“At ease” Cyclone said and motioned him to sit next to you. 

“So, I was telling Metcalf here that I believe a congratulations is in order.” He said looking at Bradley now. 

“Thank you sir.” Bradley said keeping his attention on Cyclone. 

“So in these situations normally we wouldn’t let the couple work together. But certain circumstances are different here. You two have observed that you are more than enough capable of working together and not letting your relationship get in the way of your work. So, I will allow Metcalf to go back to flying after the baby is born, on your team.” Cyclone explained which made you really happy. 

“Thank you sir.” You both said in sync. 

’“Well again, congratulations and I cant wait to meet the little booger.” Cyclone said with a hint of humor which he never has. 

“Of course sir.” You said with a smile. 

“You two are dismissed.” He said. You and Rooster got up and left the room, making your way to the front door and to the car. Stopping you looked at each other and he engulf you into his arms. 

“That went so much better than expected.” You told him pulling away and rounding the car. 

“Yeah it did. So what do you want to do?” He asked as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

“Well, I should probably go home and keep packing.” You told him. He smiled wide and drove towards your house. 

“What?” You asked questioning his huge smile. 

“Nothing. It’s just I have a family now. It’s not just me. I have you, the baby, Maverick and Top Gun.” He said smiling still. You reached over and ran you hands through his hair. 

“You’ll always have me and you’ll always have this baby.” You said to him. You pulled up in front of your house and parked. You two packed all night and got the majority of your house packed up, the last thing was your room. After you guys finished packing for the night you had a living room full of boxes. Laying in bed finally, you were exhausted from the stressful day and all the packing. Tomorrow was a new day and you had your first OBGYN appointment for the pregnancy. 

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