#>> . speeding through mail ( answered )

[a0iakuma]

"Rumor has it that you dropped one of the emeralds on the floor during a pretty important fight once..."

Send “Rumor has it...” And a rumor about my muse ( accepting! )

“ Oh come on! That happened one time! One! Time! Uno! Uno! ” He waves his index finger in the other's face. “ Uno! Plus I was in the middle of a fight! A pretty important one! So what if I did a little slip up? It was fine in the end and I still kicked butt! So does it really count? I don't think soooooo. ”

[saeun]

+ extra: canon-type family relations: jin itadori & sukuna are brothers, itadori is a child here ( 8 years ).

boyfriend-girlfriend life with sukuna except he thinks he's being replaced — in all seriousness. sukuna's seconds away from destroying his nephew's remote-controlled cars collection.

can the kid move? he wants yuuji gone. he's not jealous of him, he just wants your undivided attention back on him. if he knew beforehand that agreeing to jin's invitation over would result in this, he'd probably fly out of the country with you to avoid it.

manspreading on the sofa with one hand slung over the backrest, he swirls the beer in his other hand. his brother's in the kitchen, stacking the extra beers in the fridge.

“you can help me, you know?” jin calls sukuna out, lacing his voice with slight annoyance.

“nah,” sukuna responds, waving him off.

he's busy watching you sit on the floor with yuuji, pretending to race against time with him.

it's not all that bad when he thinks about it — never mind, it is. the kid's had you on the floor since you walked through the door. not a moment spared for his uncle. all yuuji did was look up at sukuna, stick his tongue out, and engulfed your legs in a big hug.

ever since then he's been sulking in the corner. jin can only pity him for so long — it's been an hour, he needs to get over it.

jin sneaks up behind sukuna, gathering his fingers to surprise attack him. in only a matter of seconds he's subjected to the ear-pinch-and-ring combination.

sukuna flinches, immediately swatting jin's hand off.

“you must've gone fucking crazy!?”

he gets yet another ear-pinch-and-ring combination from jin.

“i have a son, don't curse.”

“fuck that boy,” he whispers under his breath, cupping his ear. it's hot from the pain — most likely already gained a red shade.

even after such commotion both yuuji's and your attention didn't turn to them. you both are far too immersed in the racing game.

the brothers are now both on the sofa: one has his attention on you and the other has his attention on the unattended mail on the coffee table that's been neglected two days ago.

“this one? no... that one? also no...”

“jin, quit mumbling.”

“cover your ears then.”

rolling his eyes, sukuna downs the last bit of beer remaining in the bottle. he's now officially out of beer and too lazy to get one.

being left without a distraction, he's forced to observe jin's house. it's nothing extraordinary. he believes his house to be better.

he voices out a sigh, slouching and spreading his legs further apart. the boredom's hitting him earlier than it usually does — this is your fault. if you weren't busy zooming cars around the living room with yuuji then he wouldn't be bored.

as sukuna's busy with complaining, he doesn't notice yuuji speed walking to the sofa with a broken car in hand. you're right behind him, sporting a smile that says you got yourself in some trouble.

“daaad, the car!” yuuji whines, climbing onto the free spot between his dad and his uncle.

jin hums, raising his eyebrows but his gaze is fixed on the mail as he's still sorting them out.

“it broke,” the boy complains, pouting at the toy.

“it lost control and rammed into the wall,” you explained further, sitting on the armrest on sukuna's side.

sukuna's arm fixes itself around your hips. he's slightly smirking at the news.

that doesn't go unnoticed by you. you're more than familiar with your boyfriend's joy at other's misery. you shot him a glare with a light tap on his shoulder.

“is that so?” jin's attention is now fully on his boy. he takes the glasses off, pulling yuuji onto his lap.

taking the car into his hand, he inspects the damages. it's not too much, and it's fixable.

“dad will fix it later, okay,” reassuring yuuji, jin ruffles his hair.

yuuji nods, jumping down from his dad's lap to return to the toys. as he's on his way, he turns, appearing to have suddenly remembered something.

“(y/n), come play with me!”

“no, she won't,” sukuna answers for you, ignoring the harder hit you gave him on his shoulder.

“i'll be right there, yuuji,” this time you answer, giving him a warm smile and a thumbs up.

“give the boy a fucking brother,” sukuna grumbles, looking at jin with pure annoyance.

jin shoots his brother a smile, giving him no reply before he goes back to reading the final mail of the bunch.

[bbyg4rl]

୨୧ ─ jj gets protective over you . . .

cw: REQUESTED / protective!jj x reader, teasing/bullying, hurt/comfort themes, jj's a petty bitch !!!

It was supposed to be chill. Just old friends, some drinks, a little reunion. But five minutes in, you're already regretting it. “You still do that thing with your fork?” one of them says, tipsy and grinning. “God, I remember that. You were such a freak about your food.”

Another chimes in, “Remember when she cried that one time? That was iconic.” They're laughing like it's funny. Like it’s love. Like it isn’t still scraping something raw in your chest. You smile. Shrug. Sip your drink and sink further into the booth. Your phone's in your lap. You don’t even think about it—just type one thing:

can you come get me?

they’re being weird

You don’t expect him to answer. But ten minutes later, you get a text back:

on my way. five mins out.

And exactly that—five minutes later—the bell above the bar door chimes, and JJ walks in. Messy blonde hair, denim jacket, eyes scanning until they lock on you. You can breathe again.

He walks over like he’s just swinging by. Like this is normal. Presses a kiss to the top of your head, drops an arm casually across your shoulders.

One of the girls raises a brow. “Uh… hey?”

JJ smiles. “Hey. Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt. Just stopping by—she left her charger at mine.” You glance up at him. There’s no charger. But he winks like, go with it.

“Oh,” one of them says, voice sticky. “You’re JJ, right?”

“That’s me.”

A pause. Then one girl leans forward. “We were just reminiscing. She used to be so shy, you know? Like, full-on crybaby. Adorable.” JJ smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah? Well. Guess she grew out of that.”

“She did,” someone else laughs. “Mostly.”

He hums. “What about yours? Your growth get stuck in the mail or something?” It’s calm. Quiet. But the shift is instant.

Your friends go a little still, drinks halfway to their mouths. JJ’s voice isn’t raised—but it’s final. A line drawn with a smile. “Anyway,” he says, “I’m double parked. You ready, babe?”

You nod, sliding out of the booth. He keeps his hand low on your back as you walk, warm and steady. Doesn’t say anything else.

JJ’s already guiding you toward the exit, hand warm on your back, when he hears it. A whisper—sharp and snide, not meant to reach—but it does. “God, she always needs someone to fight her battles.”

JJ doesn’t even flinch. Just a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. He spots the waiter stepping out of the kitchen, balancing a tray of waters. Times it perfectly. Sticks his boot out just enough. The waiter stumbles—just barely—but enough for the tray to tip. A cascade of water sloshes directly onto the table behind you. Gasps. Shrieks. One girl jumps back, soaked.

JJ doesn’t even look. Just tugs the door open for you like a gentleman and nods to the waiter, deadpan, “Oops.”

You’re already trying not to laugh as he walks you out.

Outside, you exhale like you’ve been holding your breath for an hour. JJ leans you against the passenger door, cups your jaw gently. “You okay?” He presses a kiss to your temple, “Didn’t like how they talked to you.”

You nod. “They were just… drunk. I think.”

He shrugs. “Still.” There’s a pause. Then, quieter, “You don’t ever have to sit through shit like that. Not for old times. Not for anyone.”

You nod again. Swallow. “Thanks for coming.”

“I’d do it a hundred times.” Then he grins, tilts his head. “I made it in ten minutes flat. That’s gotta be some kind of record.”

You laugh. “Did you break the speed limit?”

“Oh, definitely. I was flying.”

You press your face into his chest. “You’re insane.”

He kisses your hair. “Yeah? What else is new?”

♡ requested by @lorleaivv for ꒰ ⑅ ๑  𝟖𝟖𝟖 : : BALANCE ꒱

check out my — masterlist / 2k celebration ૮꒰•༝ •。꒱ა

[oporotheca]

Parental Guidance

pairings: bf!Geto x f!Reader synopsis: called into your daughters' school for an impromptu conference, you and your boyfriend find yourselves in the principal's office... unfortunately, suguru seems all but incapable of taking the situation seriously, and with how distracting he looks in that button down of his, you aren't much better off. aka - suguru geto puts the petty in pretty, and who are you to fault him for that? tags: MDNI, somewhat suggestive, low-key dilf!Suguru, domesticity, silliness, family fluff, suguru is rude af to non-sorcerers, mimi and nana are adorable, reader is obsessed with her man lol notes: divider by @thecutestgrotto

"I'm sorry, what?"

You uttered tiredly, arm clutching a thin blanket to your bare chest as you sat up, holding the flip phone that had so rudely awakened you mere minutes ago to your ear.

The one morning you had finally relented to your boyfriend and slept in and this is the wake up call you received?

You vastly preferred being trampled by your girls if this was the alternative...

"Your daughter's, ma'am? This is the correct contact for the Geto residence, is it not?"

At that, you sat up a little straighter, holding the phone closer against your ear as you replied.

"Yes, that's right..."

You said in a slightly stiff fashion,

"But you mentioned something about an expulsion?"

Your tone was a bit incredulous, and you couldn't help but feel you were missing something.

"A meeting ma'am, regarding measures that can be taken to avoid expulsion in the case of the girls..."

You were completely upright now, leaning your head back against the head board as you sighed.

Motherhood was not for the weak.

"I didn't realize that expulsion was being considered. You've spoken to my husband about this?"

There was a tension laden silence on the other line before the poor woman, who you could only assume was the local elementary school's receptionist, gave a sigh.

"I don't believe so, ma'am, but our records note that we've sent quite a few letters home..."

At that, you uttered a frustrated sigh, head falling into the palm of your unoccupied hand as you silently cursed your love's tendency to throw out any mail that came from sources he deemed unimportant.

This was far from the first time such a habit had caused you a headache.

"Ah, that must be where the confusion is coming from"

You muttered in response, trying to hide your obvious disdain for the situation at hand,

"We've been having issues receiving our mail for a few months now. My apologies."

The woman on the other end hummed, clearly having no personal stake in whether or not you received adequate warnings about your daughters' behaviors.

As you spoke, you swung your legs over the side of the bed, feet sliding into your slippers before you stood, shoulder keeping the cell phone pressed firmly to your ear even as you began flipping through the hangars in your closet to find a blouse.

"When did you say the principal was hoping to have this meeting?"

You asked, somehow already knowing the answer before it even passed the woman's lips,

"I believe he cleared his lunch schedule in hopes you and your husband might be able to make it today following an altercation involving your girls an hour ago, ma'am."

Pulling a suitable outfit from your closet, you moved to hold your phone with your hand once more, sighing as you checked the time on the watch that sat upon your bedside table.

Suguru would have just started "working" for the day, but really that was no matter.

"So noon then?"

You asked, simply nodding to yourself when the woman on the other end of the line made a noise in confirmation.

"My husband and I will be there."

And with that, you hung up before dialing a number so familiar that you didn't even have to use speed dial to make the call.

And like the wise man he was, your boyfriend (husband to anyone else who asked, of course) answered on the second ring.

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

"Is this truly necessary, my love? I think our girls would have mentioned if there was a real issue at school..."

Suguru muttered as he adjusted the cuff of his rolled-up sleeve, his eyes flicking up briefly to meet your own before they returned to the road in front of him.

You sighed.

"Not if they're getting into trouble. Would you have told on yourself for the things you knew you could have otherwise gotten away with as a child?"

At that, your boyfriend simply hummed, his eyes gleaming with something that reminded you distantly of mischief as he maneuvered the black sedan the two of you shared into a spot labelled 'parent parking'.

"No,"

He began, forearm muscles flexing ever so slightly as he shifted the car into park and turned to look at you properly, a familiar smirk playing about his lips.

"I found that there were some things my parents preferred to leave unknown."

And as you rolled your eyes at his comment, Suguru reached over, unbuckling your seat belt the way he always did before doing the same to his own.

And, as per usual, when he stepped out of the car you took the few moments available before he reached your side to admire him, the way his purple eyes looked in the full sunlight, the way his hair fell alluringly upon his shoulders, the way his fake wedding ring looked on his long and slender finger...

You couldn't help but envy the door handle when he wrapped four of them around it a few moments later.

And when he looked down at you with a particularly smug expression, you didn't even try to defend yourself.

You simply fixed him with a pretty little grin, shrugged your shoulders, and reached for the hand he'd offered you.

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

"Well, let me begin by saying that even in spite of the circumstances, it is lovely to meet you both."

The principal said politely, though you didn't miss the scrutiny in his gaze as it passed over the two of you.

But really, that was to be expected.

After all, you were only twenty, and with two eight-year-old daughters, a fake marriage could only do so much for the obvious youthfulness both you and your boyfriend possessed.

"Likewise, Principal Akage."

Suguru replied smoothly, using that same tone that most mothers did when they spoke to strangers on the phone, his voice somehow still dangerously low even in spite of being pitched upward with a false politeness...

Every word he spoke and movement he made some sharp yet subtle act of intimidation and superciliousness that you were certain came as naturally to your love as breathing after several years of necessity.

Because, as loathe as he may have been to admit it, elementally, you were both ducks out of water almost anywhere you went,

And if the world was going to be so unyielding, then Suguru found he could be far more so with very little effort indeed.

The principal gave a courteous hum in reply to your boyfriend's words before speaking up once again, clearly more than a little eager to get on to the topic at hand.

Perhaps his cancelled lunch had something to do with that, but who was to say?

"Well, in any case, in regard to Mimiko and Nanako-"

"Lovely girls, aren't they?"

Suguru all but purred, cutting the principal off with a grin so cat-like that you had half a mind to check his hair for a well camouflaged pair of ears.

You watched as the principal bristled slightly, clearing his throat with a volume that was clearly meant to convey his annoyance (a fact which only caused Suguru's grin to grow almost imperceptibly wider),

"Quite."

The man said tersely,

"Although, I'm afraid this meeting hasn't been arranged with that particular topic in mind."

In reply, your boyfriend sighed histrionically, his expression schooled into one of what you knew to be feigned sorrow as he flicked a few inky black strands over his shoulder, allowing them to join many of the others flowing down his back like some otherworldly waterfall.

And you could only just manage to hide your amusement as he spoke.

"It never is, is it?"

He asked wistfully, as if deeply disheartened by the lack of supposedly deserved recognition for the little girls the two of you had raised.

And, of course, you knew it was all an act, Suguru's impish game of mockery that he liked to play with the non-sorcerers he was forced to interact with, but to the man sitting before you, it was an immensely unexpected and anxiety-inducing reaction indeed - no one liked dealing with an upset parent, after all.

But, of course, your love wasn't nearly done yet.

"I mean, honestly, how many letters have you bothered to send home detailing their positive exploits at school hmm? Perhaps the lack of proper acknowledgement for their achievement paired with the deluge of judgement has something to do with whatever supposed behaviors they've been exhibiting."

And truth be told, you nearly scoffed at that, because both you and Suguru knew full well that the last thing either of your girls cared about was praise from those their father would call monkeys.

But, of course, there was not a soul in the world present besides the two of you that knew that, so the charade carried on.

And at this point, Principal Akage looked utterly bewildered.

"I'm sorry sir, but 'supposed behaviors'? Do either of you have any awareness of the true severity of your daughters' actions?"

He asked incredulously, and you could tell that Suguru was getting a kick out of how exasperated the man already seemed to be.

"Not a clue."

He said nonchalantly, inspecting his fingernails before looking back up at the administrator with an irritatingly polite smile playing about his far too beautiful features.

"But I'm sure you'll happily inform us."

And with a sharp roll of his eyes and a mutter beneath his breath that had you shooting a glare at your boyfriend for perhaps taking things too far, Principal Akage did just that, hands already having opened the manila file that had been sitting closed upon his desk when you'd first arrived.

"Well, first of all, the girls seem to have what can only be referred to as a name calling issue,"

He began, regarding you both with a serious look that you did your best to return, although you weren't sure if it did much to counteract your love's persistently infuriating grin that he had yet to replace with a different expression.

That said, based on the way the man sighed before he continued, you highly doubted it.

"I have received a multitude of reports stating that they've been sent out of the classroom and even to the counselor's office after referring to other students as some sort of primate."

He said incredulously, eyes searching the file for the specific phrase he was looking for as you bit back a groan and Suguru tried to hide his now far too obvious amusement behind his hand.

You kicked at him beneath your chairs, but it did little to help, especially not when he brought those mischievous eyes to yours, sending you a wink that made your traitorous knees go weak.

But then, after a few seconds of time to recover from your boyfriend's infuriatingly attractive face, you sighed before speaking up, voice colored with an air of exasperation as you did so.

"Is the insult you're referring to perhaps, 'monkey'?"

And at that, the Principal Akage's eyes shot to yours, brow raising as he nodded, finally free to stop aimlessly searching the document for the correct term.

"Yes, I believe that's right."

He replied stiffly, adjusting his seated position so his posture seemed a bit less slouched before continuing,

"I can assume you've both heard this term used at home then?"

And before you could try to reply in any manner that even dared to convey honesty or seriousness, Suguru was already talking.

"Oh, certainly."

He said with a casualness that could only denote apathy,

"Or, at least the girls have. I'm not sure I've ever heard them use it very much themselves..."

And honestly, that, in part, was true.

After all, you had a zero tolerance policy for the use of that word for those under eighteen, and a somehow even lower tolerance policy for the excessive use of it over eighteen.

(Not that it ever truly made all that much of a difference).

Upon hearing Suguru's words though, the man sitting before you became increasingly interested in what he had to say.

"Do you mean to tell me that the girls hear that word used as an insult often while at home?"

At that, your boyfriend shrugged, his casual attitude persisting even in the face of the principal's increasingly obvious concern.

"I suppose you could say that."

He explained, gaze flickering back toward his fingernails, which had been re-painted by the girls last night to match the deep purple of his eyes.

The man in front of you both looked shocked at his indifference toward the situation at hand and the subtle accusations he had tossed your way, the look on his face making it apparent that he wasn't entirely convinced that Suguru understood what it truly was that he was trying to say...

And while you were completely certain that he did, you weren't about to waste your breath saying so.

Thus, Principal Akage seemed to think it best that he make his concerns abundantly clear.

"Am I to believe then, Mr. and Mrs. Geto, that the girls are hearing insults like this being used in their home?"

And at that, Suguru had the good grace to look appalled (an expression which, upon his face, you found to be rather entertaining indeed, even if it was feigned).

"As in used by myself and my wife?"

He scoffed then, that look of consternation morphing into one of antipathy, as if he were revolted at the mere consideration of the words he'd just spoken...

The irony was not lost on you.

"Certainly not."

He expressed staunchly, one strong, lithe arm moving to cross over the other against his chest as he leaned back slightly in his chair, giving you a generous view of his trim waist, which was only accentuated by his familiarly high-waisted pants...

And for a moment, the only thought you could muster was God bless whoever had introduced him to that particular style of bottoms...

Until you were brought back to reality by your love's voice once more, hoping against hope that the stern man sitting across from you hadn't noticed your shameless staring at your own partner.

"I believe they've heard it often on some television program that they're allowed to watch on the weekends. The main antagonists are these abhorrent little monkey creatures, wretched things really. They must have gotten it from there."

And just when you were about to shoot Suguru a look of complete and utter disbelief at his ridiculous excuse for your daughters' language, the principal said something that had you taking pause immediately, brows furrowing with something akin to incredulity.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised by your apparent negligence, as disappointing as it may be. Many staff here have claimed to harbor concerns of your child rearing capabilities since the date of your first parent-teacher conference, and it's safe to say now that I can see why."

And suddenly, that amused glint that had remained so persistent in your boyfriend's eye disappeared entirely, replaced with a hardness that betrayed his anger even as he kept that sickeningly sweet (and now occasionally twitching) smile painted on his pretty face.

"Excuse me?"

He asked rigidly, having abandoned every bit of that saccharine tone from before, leaving only his usual baritone voice in it's wake, low, smooth, and ever so slightly musing in a way that seemed perpetually capable of sending subtle shivers down your spine.

His head tilted then as he spoke, black strands spilling over the white fabric adorning his left shoulder like thick, stygian oil spreading out on cold water.

Still, if the principal caught on to the sudden shift in Suguru's demeanor, he did not react to it.

"Of course, I believe wholeheartedly that the two of you are doing your best."

He explained calmly, tone having shifted to something far more condescending than before, as if he were perhaps talking to students rather than the fully grown adults who sat before him.

"I imagine that things must be quite difficult for you all, what with the two of you clearly being so young..."

He trailed off, and you didn't miss the judgemental gaze that he passed over you as he did so.

Because although he didn't know your exact ages, it was apparent, at least, that the two of you were far too young to have had the girls at what he would have deemed an appropriate age.

"But that doesn't make it acceptable for you both to cut corners with raising these children. Excessive access to television has been proven to-"

"And at what point during this discussion did I give you the impression that their access to such a thing was excessive?"

Suguru asked suddenly, cutting the man off with very little regard for whatever he was about to say next.

And at that, the principal seemed to finally catch on to just how incensed your boyfriend had become in the little time since he had started spewing his baseless accusations.

He was sitting up straight in his chair now, head still tilted almost as if he were a parent speaking to their child, eyes darkened with a quiet rage that reminded you distantly of a rolling thunderstorm.

That said, his new position didn't last long once Principal Akage actually looked up at him.

No, at that point, your love took it upon himself to brace his forearms upon his thighs before leaning against them, bringing his upper body closer to the older man sitting at the desk in front of you both in a manner that could only be seen as an act of intimidation.

And, judging by the principal's suddenly paling complexion, a successful one at that.

"W-well..."

He began, seeming to steel himself a bit before continuing,

"That can be inferred based off of the fact that they're learning so much from a mere program. It seems highly unlikely to me that with a reasonable amount of TV consumption the girls would be-"

"And it seems highly unlikely to me that you would hurl such blatant accusations of negligence at any other parent in this school with girls the same age as ours."

Suguru jeered before the man could even finish, cold eyes leveling him with a glare as he leaned forward slightly further, drawing your attention briefly to the way his arms flexed in his button up shirt, the way his long, slender fingers twitched slightly as he fought the urge to clench them into fists, and the way the fabric of his pants perfectly followed and outlined the curve of his waist and the spread of his thighs as he continued on with his assumed position.

And for a moment, you understood poor Principal Akage's dilemma completely.

After all, who in their right mind would take a look at the devastatingly attractive man sitting beside you and think he could be the kind and doting father you and your family claimed him to be?

You were drawn out of your thoughts though, when the man sitting on the other side of the desk began to sputter as if in disbelief of your boyfriend's words.

"I would levy these accusations against any that I deemed deserving of them, Mr. Geto, and I can assure you, from what I have seen, you and your wife are both more than deserving."

He fumed, and you could all but see Suguru's blood boiling in his veins in response.

There was little he loathed more than being talked down to by a non-sorcerer, after all.

"Do you know that to be true, Principal Akage?"

He ground out through clenched teeth, hauntingly polite smile still adorning his face as he spoke.

"Or have you just made assumptions based off of the way we look?"

And at that, the principal scoffed, eyes rolling as he waved the file still in his hand, as if hoping to remind you and your love of why you were present at this meeting in the first place.

"The behaviors of your daughters alone give me plenty of reason to suspect less than stellar parenting on both of your parts. Name calling, hair pulling, biting, threatening, these are all things Nanako and Mimiko do on a weekly basis in their classrooms, and I find it hard to believe that these actions could originate anywhere else but inside of the home you've raised them in."

This time though, instead of speaking or leaning even further forward to emphasize his point, Suguru just shook his head and laughed.

It was a mostly mirthless and slightly ominous sound, and you quickly knew why once it came to an end.

"It's funny you should say that, Principal, because what you fail to realize is that my girls do not struggle with even one of these behaviors outside of your school."

Suguru said with a half feigned amusement, his previously polite smile now much closer to that cat-like grin from before.

"There is no name calling in my house, no biting, no threatening, no hair pulling, because my girls know better than to show disrespect to those who aren't deserving of it."

He all but hissed, hands giving up their efforts to remain relaxed as his fingers curled into fists, the metal of his fake ring glowing in the yellowy lighting of the office the three of you were sat in.

Principal Akage seemed to flounder for a few moments at your boyfriend's words, before finally, he found his voice again.

"Are you attempting to place the blame for Mimiko and Nanako's incorrigible behaviors on us?"

He asked incredulously, clearly not taking kindly to the accusation.

"We are a fine and proud institution of primary education, Mr. Geto, and I don't think it appropriate for you to use us as a scapegoat for your poor parenting skills. I-"

And at that, you'd had enough, standing abruptly and leveling the principal with a glare so harsh you could have sworn you saw him flinch backwards when he caught sight of it.

"That is quite enough, thank you, sir."

You said sternly, gaze unwavering as you spoke.

"I refuse to sit here and let you insult us like this when we all know you would never use so little decorum with parents you properly respected."

And although Akage opened his mouth as if to argue with this, you didn't give him the opportunity to speak.

"And on top of that, how nonchalantly you've hurled insult after insult about parenting at my husband of all people, who spends hours upon hours each day entertaining and educating his daughters, is deplorable."

You shook your head as if in disbelief of the situation at hand.

"I cannot believe how many weeks I spent convincing him that this school would help our daughters reach their truest potentials in their education, only to then sit here two years in being told that we are to blame for behaviors they seem to only engage in when they're within the boundaries of your institution. Would you have jumped to such conclusions with parents you believed to be worthy of your respect, Principal Akage? Would you have spoken of their daughters with such contempt right in front of their guardian's faces as you've done so readily with us?"

You scoffed then, reaching for your boyfriend's hand and tugging him up to stand alongside you, ever appreciative of the way he never failed to give into your every whim, regardless of the fact that you could never truly make him do anything.

"Evidently, I made the wrong decision when I decided it would be best to enroll Mimiko and Nanako here. We will be taking them home with us immediately, and they will not be returning. Clearly, my husband was right to believe alternative schooling was the proper choice all along. You have let my family down immeasurably today, Principal."

And with that, you stalked your way out of the man's office and into the main area, where you promptly insisted the secretary inform you of where your daughters were at that time.

And, once that information had been procured, you were off again, walking toward their second grade classroom with a huff, Suguru chuckling amusedly from where he was trailing ever so slightly behind you, hands in his pockets.

"You know that the girls are almost certainly far less innocent here than we've made them out to be, right?"

He all but drawled, coming to walk alongside you as you rolled your eyes in response, glancing up at him with a sigh that told him everything he needed to know before you even spoke.

"Of course I do. I just couldn't go another second trapped in that office with that sorry excuse for a man. He should be ashamed of himself, treating us and the girls like that"

You muttered, scoffing slightly as you crossed your arms over your chest before continuing with a mumble.

"Now lets just get the girls already before I change my mind."

The two of you walked toward the location of the girls' homeroom classroom in silence after that, Suguru's hand pressed comfortingly to your back as you finally arrived and knocked on the door.

You recognized their teacher when she answered, but it was clear from the furrow to her brow that she wasn't entirely certain of who you and your boyfriend were.

And it wasn't exactly surprising, what with the lack of resemblance between the two of you and your adopted girls, but even still, you felt a wave of exasperation wash over you.

The questioning, while somewhat understandable, was seemingly endless, and having to prove yourself time and time again had long since taken a toll on your patience with the subject.

Still, you opened your mouth to start that same song and dance as always.

"Hi Miss Shimizu. We're here for-"

"Mama!"

"Papa!"

Two distinct little voices called out excitedly at virtually the same moment, familiar sets of footsteps rushing over to where their teacher stood before they were peering out from the left and right sides of her hips.

And suddenly, it didn't matter that you had to prove your relation to the girls at nearly ever turn...

Because clearly, they knew exactly who you were to them.

And that was all you really needed. -------------------------------------------

"Mama, can we get ice cream?"

Mimiko asked about ten minutes later as you and Suguru each held one of her hands, swinging her between you both through the school's empty hallways while Nanako sat proudly atop her father's shoulders, one hand on the crown of his head while the other reached up in an attempt to touch the ceiling.

You looked between the two of them for a moment, taking in the gleeful and eager expressions that played about their far too cute faces, trying not to make it too obvious that you would give them just about anything they could ever ask for in that moment.

Because right there beside you were your girls, your sweet Mimiko and Nanako, who had come to you so fearful and distrusting, and now tackled you in hugs to wake you up in the mornings, clung to your legs until you agreed to take them on errands, and snuggled up in your bed beside you whenever your boyfriend was away from home (and sometimes even when he wasn't despite the fact that you all knew well that the bed was far too small for such a thing).

If you loved your family anymore, you were almost certain your heart would burst.

So, of course, the answer to their question was obvious.

"Ask your father."

You said playfully, watching as Suguru sent a look of clearly feigned exasperation your way just as the girls began their usual chorus of,

"Papaaaa~!"

Though, it was cut short by his quick reply.

"Of course we can."

And the celebratory shouts that came in reply were worth every second of the exhausting evening the two of you would doubtless have after giving your daughters so much sugar.

[ghostbustting]

hiiii, can you please please please do slash x Guns N’ Roses assistant?

╰┈➤ “𝑶𝑵𝑬 𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬„ ๋࣭⭑

Saul “Slash” Hudson x Reader

Contains Smut

“This is a one time thing.”

Slash’s voice and grunts along with the sound of skin meeting skin in repeat are the only thing that fills my ears as I lay underneath him on what’s supposed to be my work desk, trying to control my breath while the pressure of his member that pushed in and out of me in repeat like an endless loop takes control of every sense I have, my chest heaving up and down.

I couldn’t help but chuckle between breathy moans, “You’ll be saying that again for the next few years I work here.” I say with a tired smirk.

He only sigh and glance down to where we are connected perfectly well like two missing pieces of a puzzle, he moved his rough fingers, which I figured were from his guitar playing, to wrap around my throat, the pressure his hand had earned a short gasp from my red lips which are swollen from all the interaction with his own lips.

“Shut up..” He grunted and I swore I could die in his arms by the time his other hand met my hips and held it tightly as his hips’ movement starts to accelerate, causing my eyes to roll to the back of my head.

Fuck, how is this man real?..

My moans only went louder when the hand he had around my throat went to one of my breasts that’s been slipped past my bra and unbuttoned shirt and he leaned down to wrap his oh so beautiful lips around my nipple, his soft yet hot tongue coating my skin with his saliva.

One of my hand reached up to hold onto his hair, my fingers getting tangled in his gorgeous curly hair.

A small whimper leave my lips, “F-fuck..” My legs shifts to wrap around him, locking his still moving hips against mine, while my other hand also shifts to place the lollipop I held between my lips.

“How can you-” He cut himself off with his own groan as he pick up his pace, “How can you eat a lollipop right now?” His breath

I slip the stick out again and let out yet another breathy moan, ”How can I not?” My lips became glossy and sweet from the lollipop when he leaned down to kiss me yet again, my lips too numb at this point to even understand how to move against his.

This feels wrong.. No, not the lollipop. What cringed me is the whole ‘fucking the guitarist of the band I work for’ shenanigan, god that sentence is a mouthful. Not only that, It’s the fact that I actually enjoy the way his fucking cock fits well and hits every right spots in me.

The way his grunts will harmonize together along with my small whimpers and breathy moans. The way his eyes holds an intense gaze all the way to my own.

He pull back from the kiss and grab my lollipop, I watch with hazy eyes as he bite the red candy off the stick, throwing the plastic stick away. I roll my eyes and mumble, “Party pooper..”

Just then, the phone I had on my desk rings. Slash’s eyes meets mine in a sharp gaze, almost threatening me from answering, all while still thrusting into me. I smirk and grab the phone from the receiver, bringing it up to my ear. “Hello, this is Alan Niven’s assistant speaking, how may I help you?” I manage to voice out without any hint of filth in my voice.

I can hear him grunt as he speed up his thrusts, trying to break the steadiness of my voice with how hard and fast he’s thrusting into me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I hummed into the phone at whatever the fuck the person was saying, I wasn’t even paying full attention. My eyes stays fixated on Slash’s, still in the same intense eye contact.

“You sent a mail?” I ask to the person, my other hand reach around my desk for where the pile of mails are supposed to be, covering the phone a little so I can let out a heavy breath without the person hearing it.

I manage to take the mail and open it with one hand, quickly reading through it while I feel my walls clenching around Slash’s cock. Taking deep breaths, I spoke to the phone again. “So.. you want… Guns N’ Roses to open for your new band?..”

Before the person can even answer, Slash took the phone and yelled into it, “We’re not interested, thanks!” Then he slammed it back onto the receiver, making me groan in annoyance.

“What the fuck—”

I was cut off short when he took two of his fingers and shoved them past my swollen lips, “Focus. On. Me.” He demanded, “Fucking tease..” He grunted.

I tried to speak around his fingers but they ended up muffled as he’s the one that’s chuckling now. “You whore.. fucking around with the band guitarist..” He spat, his other hand moving to rub circles gently on my clit, my moans became more desperate and loud yet muffled by his fingers.

A small chuckle leave his lips, seeing my vulnerable position, my work outfit looking rather filthy with how it now exposes what’s supposed to be private parts of me to him. “You know, the groupies out there don’t got shit on your sweet little pussy..” He said, slowly slipping his fingers out of my mouth.

His fingers slides out with a strand of saliva connecting from my glossy lips and the tip of his fingers. I cough and whimper, “I know. I’m that great.” I manage to utter out.

“You’ve got a big ego for an assistant.”

I let out a small scoff and arch my back from the desk as I feel my walls tightening around his girth even more, small whines leaving my lips as I look down at how his cock thrust in and out of my hole, feeling slightly dizzy.

I look up to see him smirking down at me, “You’re close aren’t you?” His voice was filled with playfulness, clearly enjoying how I’m squirming underneath him.

I nod, humming a little as my mouth struggles to utter out a word.

“C’mon, cum for me, baby.” He tapped on my thigh, accelerating his hips movement to encourage the urge in me to release.

With deep breaths, I throw my head back and let myself relax before my pussy clench even tighter around him and one more loud moan made it’s way out of me while I had the most intense release ever, my legs shaking. "Fuck fuck fuck..!" I cried out.

Not long, the guitarist follow close and fill his seeds right in my throbbing slick hole, making me feel full with his cum and my own that slowly drips down onto my desk when pulls out of me.

While I try to recover from the intense sex we had, Slash took the moment to look down at my pathetic position laying on the desk, my sweaty chest heaving up and down, my hair disheveled, my desk messy, and cum dripping down my thighs.

He sighs and run a hand through his curls, “Yea alright, I guess this won’t be a one time thing..”

[transboyswitchytales]

'A Minute From Home But I Feel So Far From It'

Agatha Harkness X Witch Reader x Rio Vidal

Reader get's a ring in the mail, a marriage contract that is soul binding. She puts it on and instantly knows, she's fucked up. Or has she?Agatha isn't exactly taking no for an answer, and neither is your coven!

Part 1 , Part 2

Mommy Kink/ Daddy Kink/ Jealousy/Possessive/ Found Family/Coven Feelings/Your Lilia's Daughter/Impregnation Kink/ Panic Attack Billy/18+/Hurt/comfort/NSFW/ Fluff /Anxious Depression in Reader/ Drinking / Mentions of Weed / Chronic Cuddling / Not good communication at all/ Smoking Cigarettes/ Bad Driving MDNI 18+

My Masterlist Story MasterList A03

'Air in my lungs

'Til the road begins

As the last of the bugs

Leave their homes again

And I'm splitting the road down the middle

For a minute, the world seemed so simple'

Noah Kahn’s voice blares through the speakers Rio had installed in your old pickup truck.

You roll carefree down the back roads. You keep moving the ring on your finger. You can’t move it off. It’s been a week. A week of Agatha showing up every day to be around you. She’s not asking for anything. She just keeps you company. Almost like a shadow stitched to Peter Pan. You try to fight it, but part of you really missed her near you. Agatha, this new Agatha.. She doesn’t touch like before, she still puts her hand on your shoulder or your lower back around the house. But you see her eyes linger on your lips, and then she stops herself. Like she’s holding back, like she’s waiting for you. 

Your family calls you a million times a day. Your phone is blowing up. Alice and Jen want you over all the time. You decline every invite for dinner or lunch. Your mom keeps coming up with bullshit things she needs you to fix. You remind her that Agatha is there and can help her. 

And Billy keeps texting you memes, and you don’t get them, feeling old. Vision sends you emails now, which is odd. Wanda calls and leaves long long long ass voice memos. Saying things about her garden. About her need for you to come over and help her with a spell, about a movie on Netflix. It’s insane how much your family is bugging you, but not actually talking about it. 

Not that you want them to. 

And Rio is well, that’s complicated too. She texts and calls a lot, like the others, sure. But she keeps dropping by unannounced. Which is awkward with Agatha there. But the two sit as you work on your laptop. Or they make you food together. Neither really talking much to each other. They bring groceries too much and are too quiet.

So this morning, before Agatha could knock, you left really early, earlier than the sun came out. Pinning a note to the door for Agatha. Telling her you went on a drive, you’d be back soon. 

Agatha was amazing at keeping away most of the monsters of your mind, but they clung to your bones all the same. 

So here you were, iced coffee number two, black RayBans on your nose. Rolling down the back roads like a bat out of hell. 

You turned the sound up in your old truck as far as it could go. Agatha hated this car, called it a death trap or ‘coffin on wheels.’. 

But it was your mom's first car. And you kept it even when Rio had agreed with Aggie about it being unsafe. You didn’t care. You sped too fast down roads that were not safe to speed on. Pulling open the glove box, you found an old cigarette carton. Pulling out a light blue American Spirit. You wondered how old it was. But you put it between your lips and you lit it. 

'Feel the rush of my blood

I'm seventeen again

I am not scared of death

I've got dreams again '

You grip the wheel a little tighter as gravel flies behind you. The really big pine trees are the only thing you can see for miles. And then a little clearing, there’s a lake. You’d been to it a million times. But it’s clear blue waters reminded you of Agatha’s eyes. And you inhaled the nicotine a little harder. Blowing it out the window as the air flicked your hair in all directions. 

The cherry lit at the end burns your finger. You don’t mind the sizzle.

'It's just me and the curve of the valley

And there is meaning on Earth, I am happy

Oh'

You find yourself putting your foot all the way down on the peddle. Your poor truck wasn’t used to this abuse. Not used to how fast you were going for this long. You felt a bit out of control as you listened to the lyrics and smoked. 

'Passed Alger Brook Road, I'm over the bridge

A minute from home, but I feel so far from it

The death of my dog, the stretch of my skin'

You don’t even notice your phone vibrating as Agatha calls for the 38th time. You are skidding as you don’t slow down, not breaking. Your dull tires not holding traction now. You wonder if it’ll flip. 

You speed faster around a corner, knowing that this was bad, but you stick your hand out the window and feel the air flying through your fingertips. You make invisible waves against the air. Not slowing.

'It's all washin' over me, I'm angry again

The things that I lost here, the people I knew

They got me surrounded for a mile or two

The car's in reverse, I'm grippin' the wheel

I'm back between villages and everything's still'

The song reaches it’s peak, and you put the cigarette out, and then you scream. You yell into the void of the old pickup. You scream and scream until your voice is raw. You don’t notice the magic crackling in your skin until you blow the engine. It catches on fire, and you slam on the brakes. Thank god Rio and Agatha had put in seatbelts. 

You sit for a millisecond as the car is on fire until it dawns on you that you need to get the fuck out. You open the door, remembering your phone, and you stare at the flames. You didn’t wear shoes…so the gravel cuts your feet a bit. 

You remember you are a witch now. 

Focusing your magic and you work to put out the tall flames. But the damage is done, your baby is dead. 

“Fuck. Me.” You say to the open air. 

You consider your phone for a minute…Your finger hangs over calling Agatha before you change your mind. Going to Rio and hitting the call button. You wanted Agatha but…

“Sweets! There you are! Ags is having an absolute freak-out. You just up and disappeared. And you took both of us off your Find a Friend, you asshole. We were about to go crazy and cast a spell to find you. Where are you, squish?”

“me equivoqué”

“Did you just tell me you fucked up in spanish, you really must be in trouble. Babe, tell me where you are? Daddy will be right there! Do you want me to bring backup? I can get your dog, or your mom, or Aggie? I refuse to bring Wanda anywhere. But I will, where are you?” 

Rio didn’t usually babble, but she’d started to around you. It was adorable, if not so telling of how everyone was acting differently around you. You clear your throat and focus. 

“Rio, I’m kinda in the middle of nowhere. I have a bit of car trouble…”

You are eyeing your burnt car and trying to decide if it still could be considered ‘car trouble.’

“Aggie and I both told you that thing wasn’t safe? Did you get a flat? I told you you needed new tires! Or is it the belt again?” She’s rambling, you make your best friend nervous, great.

“It was me, Rio…I- my magic I..I kinda baby witched it and now it’s fried.”

You hadn’t baby witched shit in a while. You were centuries old, it didn’t happen anymore. Well, maybe it did now. 

“Oh shit, are you ok? Are you safe?” Rios' voice cracked over the phone. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. But I might need some help getting home- If..If you are busy, I can call Alice. I don’t want it to be a big thing fo-” You realized she had a big job and a fucking life outside of your messed up one. 

“Shut up, Sweetness, Daddy’s coming! Do we tell Agatha? Mama will be mad if you continue to leave her in the dark, ya know?” 

You hadn’t called them Mommy and Daddy in so long and you noticed Agatha and Rio calling themselves it every now and then in front of you. You figured they both missed sex, bdsm, being close to you, maybe? Or maybe just the fucking intimacy you used to all share. Whatever it was, you didn’t repeat it. But they did. 

You eye the melted engine and the bits of black smoke still coming out. Not great for Mother Earth…

“Don’t bring her here. I think she’ll wig out if she sees Lucy like this.”

What was truer was that Aggie would know you did it and she’d freak about your safety..

And Lucy well.. You’d named your old truck Lucy because of ‘I Love Lucy,’ you’d loved Lucille Bal,l and you figured it had to be lucky for the car. Now maybe not so much.

“Not fixable then?” You heard Rio grunt and knew she was putting on pants. 

“I don’t know….I’m guessing not so much. I killed my love.” You said half assed as you stared at your truck. 

Rio was grabbing the keys from her bowl, and you heard her. You knew Rio and Agatha like the back of your hand. Centuries together did that. 

“Don’t be like that squish, don’t sweat it, I’ll find you another shitty truck online and we’ll fix it up.”

You can’t speak, you feel yourself starting to cry. You’ve had this truck since the 70’s. You loved this hunk of junk. 

“Hey- you there?” Rio doesn’t sound right as she asks. 

You wipe your running nose on the back of your hand and push the tears away. 

“Yeah, can you not tell anyone else, actually?”

“Sweets, we are all pretty worried about you. I don’t think Alice has stopped making protection charms for you all week. And I won’t even comment on me and Aggie. You sure you wanna keep 'em in the dark about this?”

“I need you, please.” You close your eyes, and you hear her keys start in the ignition. 

“I’m there. No questions asked. You know that. Drop a pin, I’ll find you, babe.” 

You hang up and do it. Before you climb onto the front tire and push yourself up onto the roof. You lay across the top of it and let yourself cry. You aren’t even sure what or why. But you want Agatha. You want her to hold you. You want Rio to hold you. You want your dog. You want so many things. You don’t want this. You don’t want this fight in your bones. But you can’t do all of that right now, so you cry. 

Your phone is ringing and you look at it and see your mom’s face as caller ID. 

You answer this time.

“The all seeing Calderu. Family curse isn’t it?”

“Maybe, perhaps a mother's intuition?” Lilia tells you, and you smile sadly. Something about hearing her on the phone actually made you feel like this was all going to be ok. 

“You see what happened?”

“Not exactly, I saw fire and a cigarette. Not sure which order, are you smoking again?”

“Of course not.” You chuckle but it’s wet with tears and she doesn’t ever believe your lies anyway. 

“Are you safe?”

You wondered how many people were going to ask you that.

“You see the future. You tell me?”

“You know I don’t see things linear like that. But if I had an amazing child like you, ya know what I would see?”

You sniffle and wipe your nose with your hand.

“What, Mom?”

“I’d see a strong witch. With a mountain of people who love her. With more talent in her pinky than most witches' covens whole. I’d see a woman who’s going to figure it out. You don’t need to worry.” She tells you and you smiles up at the big fluffy clouds in the sky. 

“All that from the cards, huh?” You tease. 

“Nah, that’s the family curse talking.”

You both chuckle. 

“Ma?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“I don’t like this. I don’t want to feel this way anymore. I think it’s not good.” You say, and it sounds childish when you say it like that.

“You want me to come get you?”

You shake your head before telling her “no.” You aren’t sure what you wanted her to say. Even though it’s sweet, your mom wants to get you. It’s not the answer you’d wanted her to say. 

“Rios is coming actually. So I gotta go.”

“Rio? Not Agatha?” You can hear the displeasure in her voice. 

“Why do you dislike Rio so much after all these centuries?” The annoyance shows in your voice. 

“Your palm always showed two loves. The witches love line was always a longer, so Agatha. And being in love with Death can’t end well. Agatha and Rio would kill for you. I know after I’m gone, you’ll always be safe. But I worry about what loving Rio would mean.” She says honestly, and you know she’s being as gentle as she can. But it makes you see red all the same. 

“I can’t marry them both, Ma. And I know you know I’m wearing a fucking ring now. Which is nuts, by the way.”

“Who says you can’t marry two? We are heathens for Crones' sake! You can do whatever you want my sweet love. But your grandmother would not approve of Rio. And Agatha may murder her if you tried.” 

You roll your eyes. This was a ridiculous conversation. 

“No one is marrying anyone, Ma. It’s not like that. And no one wants me like that.” 

You say, but your ring shines in the light.

“Now that’s the biggest lie you told me so far.” 

You two don’t talk much more. You tell her you love her. And she tells you to the moon and back. And the call ends. You feel yourself crying again.

To Rio’s credit, she takes about thirty minutes to get to you. You wonder if she used her powers at this point. But her gorgeous '69 Dodge Charger, it’s black and dark green, just like death is pulling up. It’s extremely fast and she’s not driving slow until she see’s you. Agatha hated this car almost as much as your truck. She swore at Rio when she bought it, saying you’d never drive in it. Rio had of course proven that theory very wrong. 

You didn’t get off the truck roof as Rio pulled up next to your broken baby that was now a pile of burnt metal. 

She gets out of the car, pulling her dark aviators off of her face and up onto her forehead. Rio’s mouth is hanging open, obviously a bit shocked at the state of your truck. 

But she’s nothing if not your person, so she closed the car and she puts her big black boot onto the wheel and gets onto the truck with you. She lays next to you on the small hot metal roof. She moves to lie on her side facing you, elbow bent, holding her face up. 

“Baby, what the fuck is going on with you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. Can you fix her?” You say, and Rio pulls your shades off your face and sees you’ve been crying. She wipes your cheeks of running eyeliner. It’s such a sweet gesture, you don’t have the strength to pull away.

“Not even an all mighty Death can bring this one back to life. I’m going to say something I’ve never said to anyone before. So you really need to listen, because I’ll never have the ability to say it again.”

You hold her hand and thread your fingers together. 

“Rio?” You say concerned, and you see fear for the first time ever in her eyes. But she pushes forward and admits it:

“You are scaring me.”

“Nothing scares you.” You say in disbelief, one eyebrow raised.

“I know, it’s a very new feeling for me. So I’m gonna ask you not to do something, and you know I never ask you for things.”

That was sorta true, sorta not, Rio asked for sex, you to love her, kisses, physical affection, and endless cuddles. But Rio didn’t like favors. So there was that. 

You sit up and both of you are sitting criss cross holding each others hands, knees touching. You look at her seriously, feeling that Rio is really actually upset. 

“Don’t play with me.”

“What do you mean? You are my best friend, have I done something? Did I hurt you?” You wonder if the teasing and flirting has gone too far and you’ve crossed a line with her. You never wanted to hurt Rio. She was too important for that. You are panicking and she pulls your hands closer to her chest. 

“Don’t play with Death.”

“Oh.” You say understanding, and she shakes her head twice, like you don’t get it. 

“Rio-” you start your spiel.

“Promise me! You are a witch and you’ll live a long life if you don’t fuck it up yourself. Why the hell am I sitting on a burnt hunk of metal? Why aren’t you at home? Why are you running from us? Why doesn’t Agatha know where you are? You are scaring us. We love you. Don’t play with me.” Rio repeats and you see something you’ve never seen in her eyes. You reach over and she grabs your wrist, not to stop you but because she doesn’t understand. You touch gently just under her waterline, and you hold it up to her to see. 

Rio just shed her first tear. 

She stares at it like it’s foreign. Rio had never cried before. Not when Agatha and her broke up. Not when Rio saw you break a bone one summer at the lake. Not when Agatha told Rio she couldn’t be with you the way Rio wanted. She never cried once. But the idea of you playing with your fate, it made her shed her first real tear. After Gods know how long being on this earth.

“I didn’t know I could do that.” She whispers like it’s a secret, and you smile at her. 

“Loves a crazy thing, huh? You do and say things you’d never thought possible.” You tell her, and she stares at you like you’ve grown a second head. You wonder if Rio is shocked you know her feelings, or if she’s shocked you are talking about it? Either way, she’s floored. 

“I don’t understand,” RIo repeats, and you know her enough to know she didn’t believe she could create pretty things. Only destroy things, it’s why she’d never really make a move for you.

Her and Agatha had rules around you. Very strict rules. 

But that was besides the point. Rio didn’t believe in certain things about her existence. Rio was cocky and confident for sure, but not about beautiful things about herself.

 It was a terrible thing to believe about yourself. But it was Rios' truth.

You bring her hand that’s grabbing you so tight, and you smile sadly before kissing her wrist. Where there’s a heartbeat, even though it’s not a mortal beat. It’s warm and she’s real. 

“Tell me every terrible thing you ever did, and let me love you anyway.” You quote Edgar Allen Poe, and Rio just looks like she’s not sure if this is real or a dream.  Still looking at the little bit of water sitting on your finger. 

“I can’t cry. I’m not- I can’t.”

“But you did. Maybe you can stop hating yourself so much now?” You tell her, and Rio just looks further amazed that you know her so well. Thinking, perhaps you bought her tough bad boy act. But then again, you were always her favorite. 

 “Come on Vidal, let’s go.” You say, but first you take her tear and press it to her mouth. Rio understands and she’s quick to lick it and you see the joy at the taste of salt.

 Before she laughs happily and free for a moment. You put your hands on her thighs and it grounds her and she smiles at you. You think for a minute Rio’s going to kiss you, really kiss you. Like you know, she has been dying to since the last time you three were intimate. 

But she stops herself, much like Agatha keeps doing.  

You tilt your head to the side and look at her for a minute. Feeling a bit of rejection at the beautiful moment you just had, now ending. Rio seems to realize she’s fucked up too late. 

“Sweetness I-”

“Don’t. Just don’t. Let’s go.” You release her, and Rio goes to grab your hand, but you slide off the truck quickly. It’s a dirt road, no one will probably notice your truck for a while. You reach into the truck cab, pulling your pentacle and tiger's eye charm off the rear view mirror. 

You walk over to Rio’s car, and you hear her come off the truck and follow you. Your feet are a little bloody, but neither of you say anything. 

__________________

When Rio drives you back home, you aren’t surprised to see Agatha sitting on the front porch, her knee is jumping up and down anxiously. 

Nosferatu is pacing up and down the porch until he sees Rio’s car, and he smells you even from afar. The familiar starts to bark over and over, his tail wagging. The big grey dog is so happy, and Agatha seems ready to jump out of her skin. You see, she’s sitting there with two coffees. Her’s and the one she’d brought for you. You momentarily wonder why she didn’t go inside, but you realize Agatha’s waiting for you. She’s been waiting all day. 

“Too late to run now babydoll.” Rio teases but it’s not funny to either of you. You thank her in spanish before you open the door. She grabs your knee before you can leave.  “You want me to stay? I can-”

“No, Rio, it’s fine. I’m sorry I took up this much of your day, I shouldn’t have-”

“No, I wanted to come. Damn it, Squish, you aren’t some burden we all are stuck with. You know that, right? We want you. All of us but Aggie and I really really want you!” Rio says and she looks scared again, but you squeeze her hand on your knee. Before you move out of her grasp and close the car door. 

Your dog runs to you and sits in front of you. You lean down to kiss between his eyes. The special spot he loves, Nosferatu whimpers happily. You feel bad, you left him and Agatha all day to worry. 

Your family is a tension convention. 

Rio doesn’t pull away right away.  And you now notice that Agatha and Rio are staring at each other. You know them both well enough to understand the silent exchange. You spoke their language after all. 

Agatha’s pissed Rio didn’t call her about you, Rio’s pissed Agatha hasn’t fixed this yet this whole thing. 

You slap the top of Rio’s car and it makes both of them look at you. 

“Stop it. Go home, Rio. I’ll text you.” You tell her, and she grinds her jaw, but she starts backing out, and you walk up to Agatha. Rio’s out of your driveway, and she’s speeding off, and that’s when Agatha’s shoulders ease a little down as she speaks to you. 

“Where the hell were you? Why was Rio-”

“My car kinda blew, Lucy’s kinda dead.” You chuckle self-deprecatingly. Lots of ‘kinda’s’ in that sentence. 

“What?” Agatha said in disbelief, and you can tell now like before. She’s not sleeping; the bags under her eyes are dark. She’s wearing your flannel, not her usual attire at all. Her hair isn’t its usual shine, she looks like hell. 

You feel so guilty. You crash into her arms. Holding her, and you hear those painfully truthful Noah Kahn lyrics again. 

'The things that I lost here, the people I knew

They got me surrounded for a mile or two

A left at the graveyard, I'm driving past ghosts

Their arms are extended, my eyes start to close

The car's in reverse, I'm grippin' the wheel

I'm back between villages, and everything's still'

Your hug was almost bone-crushing. Like you just needed to feel her.

 Like when one of you had a really bad day. And it reminded you of that movie that Wanda and Alice loved, ‘Waitress’.

You don’t have to wait long as Agatha moves from your hug to hold you against her body as tight as she can in return. You don’t cry this time. You just cling to each other. Neither of you breaking the hug. Your breathing is matched, and you cling to her for dear life. 

At one point, Agatha’s hand goes to the back of your neck, caressing you. The other is solid against your back. Your arms hold her waist like she’s the only thing that’s real in a world you don’t understand. 

“Aggie?” You whisper after about fifteen minutes of holding each other. Agatha’s black nails scratch the back of your head before she says something. 

“You know what I keep thinking about, Bunny?” She whisper,s her face pressed into your hair.

“What?”

“That stupid rom-com Wanda and Alice picked. We all watched it one night a few years ago. But in it she says….and I can’t believe I remember this. But I thought of you. And I don’t forget things about you, so I remember it. She said : ‘I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight and that's all they do. They don't pull away. They don't look at your face. They don't try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness to it.”  

You laugh and Agatha knows you aren’t laughing at her. She knows each laugh's meaning because she spent decades decoding you. Studying you and learning how to love you right.

“I was thinking the same thing. You are so perfect, Aggie.” You whisper into her neck, and she curls around you ever closer, ever more tender. 

“No baby, I’m fucked up too. Don’t put me on a pedestal now. You know better. You see me, really see me. You know what I’ve done. What I’ll do. You know all of me. And even if you don’t believe it right now, I know you.” You felt Agatha gulp before she continued. “You can’t run from me, Bun. I’ll run likea a dumb dog next to you the whole way. I’m stupidly loyal to you, in love with you. I’m enamored by you, you’re my home. I know what you are doing. I get it now, I’m sorry it took me so long to catch on. But you running away from all of us, it won’t work. We won’t let it. So you run, and we’ll catch you every time. I’ll be here to catch you, no matter what.”

You didn’t know you were crying until you felt the dampness on Agatha’s neck and realized it was coming from you.

“Agatha-” You started, but she just interrupted you. 

“You don’t have to say anything. We both know the truth. Don’t lie to me. I am sorry about Lucy.” 

“You don’t say you are sorry, and you definitely aren’t sorry about Lucy.” You try the joke but it lands flat for its audience. Agatha presses her lips against your head, not kissing but inhaling you. She’s whispering into your skin like she’s saying a prayer.

“I do say I’m sorry to you. I do a lot of things for you that I wouldn’t do for others. And as much as the death trap scared me every time you were in it. And I watched you on GPS like a hawk. I know you will miss her, I know she meant freedom for you. We’ll find you another car I know, but it won’t be the same. And you can be sad about that.” 

Your fingers turned to claws against her body, and you don’t mean to hold her like a scared animal, but you do. And you are.

The two of you stand there, for another ten minutes. Neither of you moving.

____________________

It’s Tuesday, and you and Agatha are sitting in the kitchen. She’s reading quietly, in your space, but not cuddling like you normally would on the sofa. You are typing and you take your glasses off and rub at your eyes. Agatha looks up from her book. She’s thinking hard, you know that look. She keeps giving it to you, like she’s talking to a scared creature. Not her wife, fiance, or the love of her life. And you kinda hate it. 

But you both keep ignoring the underlying issue. It’s like Agatha is being so patient, it makes you want to scream sometimes. But you don’t, not at her, you keep opening the door and letting her in. You promise yourself it’ll be the last time and you’ll stop, but you are weak for her.

Every night she stays until you fall asleep. Every mornin,g you wake up to her knocking on your door. She stays by your side all day long, your loyal shadow. 

Nosferatu gives you more alone time than Agatha does. Which is crazy. Because when you two were together, you didn’t leave each other alone for long. But this..this was different. Like she’s keeping a close eye on you at all times. It was comforting and infuriating all at the same time. 

“What is it, Aggie?” You finally sa,y turning to her. Opening your eyes and putting your glasses back on your face. She’s got her lips to the side and she’s thinking, but finally Agatha decides on a middle topic instead of what she wants to actually say. It’s stupid because you both know it’s not what she wants to talk about. But Agatha’s been biting her tongue a lot these days. You don’t appreciate it. 

“You want me to make an appointment for new glasses for you? There’s a med-witch Alice and Jen like.”

You narrow your eyes at her now. That is what she wants to say?

“No, I’m fine. And I can make my own appointments.” You snap, and Agatha doesn’t take the bait. Doesn’t flinch, she just nods. You want to throw the kitchen sink at her. 

Your cellphone vibrates for the millionth time today, and before you glare at your electronic.

You hear a knock on the door.

“Come in!” You shout, and Agatha looks annoyed by the intrusion. But Rio walks in and she’s got lunch in a big brown bag. You smell it and smile. 

“You brought me a garbage burrito?”

“Hi, Daddy, how are you? I’m fine Squish, I masturbated this morning to the image on my phone of Agatha eating your pussy. The drive was fine, I got caught in a bit of traffic.” Rio rattles off as she goes to the kitchen to grab plates. 

“No one needs to know all that.” Agatha snaps but it isn’t as tough as it could be. And Rio doesn’t acknowledge it at all.

“Which photo?” You ask and both women look momentarily taken aback. You hadn’t really been flirting with either of them lately. 

“June, big coven gathering we fucked in the garage while everyone ate hot dogs,” Rio answered and then looked at Agatha for help. Aggie was staring at you though. 

“That was fun, you both really ruined that tight dress though.” You say and you reach into the bag. Not grabbing a plate and finding your burrito with a little black heart on it.

Agatha clears her throat like she’s trying to find something in her mind. 

“Did you fix it?” Rio asks Agatha like you aren’t here, and you roll your eyes.

“Stop it.” You scold and unwrap your burrito. 

“Are you guys fucking again?”

“Rio!” Agatha scolds, but you tilt your head to the side. 

“Really?!” Rio says excited by your answer. You chew and nod before saying:

“Just once.”

“You didn’t tell me?” Rio scolds Agatha now.

“I don’t have to tell you shit!” Agatha sneers at her ex-lover and friend. 

“We talk all the time. You are telling me in your late night moping sessions you couldn’t mention you guys were fucking again?”

You were curious which part Rio was more upset about. You saw the same thought hit Aggie.

“I do not mope to you. I talk to you and now I regret that. And secondly, she’s my fiancée and I don’t have to tell you when I touch her! And you don’t need to sound like a jealous lover! And-“

You cut Agatha off before she’ll say something mean, because she’s gearing up to.

“I gave her head, we didn’t make love or anything. No big scene or ropes. And while it was fun, it was a week ago.” You tell Rio, who seems to be having a hard time with all of this. 

“A week! You told me you came in her mouth a week ago? I’m just now hearing this? From both of you?”

You sigh and bite the burrito again. 

“What do you want from me Rio?”

“You damn well know Agatha!” Rio snaps back, and she is actually mad now. The two look at each other with so much intensity.

The images of them fucking are going through your mind. 

But that doesn’t happen, because this is real life, your life. Instead, Rio walks backwards to grab the detachable sink head and she turns it on cold and sprays Agatha and her book.

Agatha’s jaw drops as she’s now very wet.

“Rio..” you say calmly, for the storm she just brought down.

“Fuck you Agatha! Forgive me already! I love her, and you love he,r and we love each other! You can’t lie anymore! Fuck you! What do I want from you? I want both of you! Asshole!” 

Rio turns the water back on and hits Agatha across the face, but this time Agatha uses her purple and it backfires against Rios face.

You laugh, so hard. At the two loves of your life, soaked in a water fight. They turn to you, and both of them look betrayed. 

“You two are so stupid!” You laugh and they lock eyes before both of them turn to you, one purple hand and one with the water foset. They spray you with water. You push your computer with your magic just in time to not ruin it. You jump out of your chair to run from them. But they are on you fast. 

Nosferatu barks and wags his tail, feeling the fun energy bubble in the house. 

You jump over the sofa and Agatha is fast as she rounds the sofa and sprays you with purple water.

It drenches your hair and face completely, and she’s laughing now. 

You use your purple on her now, shooting it across her face and it hits her like a waive and her hair is a mess. Rio laughs and you do the same to her but her top is now completely see through from getting hit with all that water. 

You grab the sofa cushion just as Rio is using her powers and Agatha rounds the coffee table and grabs the cushion. You are both trying to pry it out of the others grip as Rio aims. 

Agatha expertly kicks the back of your calf and you fall to the ground and she’s straddling your waist and you acccidently loosen your grip. So the sofa cusion is no longer your shield. Agatha grabs your wrists and you are both laughing as Rio jumps over the couch. She goes by both your heads and dumps buckets of water with her powers over you both. 

You are both coughing and laughing at the amount of water on you and Rio grabs her stomach she’s doubled over giggling at you both. Rio drops to the floor and Agatha and her both grab your wrists and pin your legs. 

“UNCLE UNCLE!”

“We don’t take prisoners!” Agatha jokes and she bends over and blows a raspberry into your neck and Rio’s smile has never been bigger at the sight. 

Eventually Agatha stops and the three of you lay on the floor next to one another, panting, wet and happy. 

Agatha looks like she wants to thank Rio. For you laughing and for this being such a needed feeling of fun. But something in her just can’t. Can’t forgive Rio. Can’t let her win this.

You open your mouth to say something when your front door is slammed open. Nosferatu barks in surprise. Rio pops her head up first and Agatha’s hands turn purple ready to fight. 

But a very angry Alice storms in and she finds you three quickly on the floor. 

Alice looks around your house like you guys had been vandalized. Like perhaps someone meant you harm, or a local teenager pranked you.  Before her eyes settled back on yours and she’s furious. Nosferatu is licking her hand. 

“So you won’t come over to my house and eat, but you guys are having weird water sex?”

You can’t believe she’s thinking this. You gasp for a secon before answering her. 

“Oh fuck no! Alice we aren’t doing anything Kinky. It was a water fight.” You defend your and the women next to you’s honor. 

“That sounds fun though,” Rio said, and you chuckle at her. Jennifer walks in holding three plastic bags and she’s looking around much like Alice had. But your friend continues her tirade on you. Agatha and Rio aren’t defending you much in this moment. 

“Jen was so worried she made you a new face peel, and I baked! I hate baking, I’m a cook, not a baker. That’s Wanda, that’s how freaked we all are. Why won’t you answer your phone? You couldn’t send me a fucking text?” 

“Jen’s worried?” You say, and Jen comes into view after dropping off the plastic bags of food on the kitchen island. 

“Alice!” She says offended by her wife’s admission.

“She made you four face peels, babe,” Alice says, and you laugh now, and Jen looks even more offended. Agatha snorts along with you. Because that was the most basic Jen thing to do in times of stress. You bite your lip to stop from your manic giggles at the news.   

“That’s very thoughtful.” You say but Rio and Agatha are belly laughing without any thought for Jen’s feelings now.

“Yeah fuck you Harkness,” Jen says to you, and you just laugh harder now, and both Rio and Agatha join your heightened chuckles. Seems that all three of you like the sound of the name on you. 

“Who- who’s watching the kids?” You wipe your happy tears away. Alice is patting your wet sofa. Jen walks away and you hear her heel slip a little at the water. Nosferatu follows her looking for a snack. 

“Tommy and Billy. Wanda and Lilia are on their way. They are picking up lunch.” Alice says and she’s looking at you like you are the weird one. 

“I had lunch already.” You say and it’s a half lie. You had three bites of a burrito that’s probably soaked over in the kitchen now. 

“Did you? Or, did you eat it or just lie about eating?” Alice calls you out and neither of the woman who love you defend your shitty eating lie. Ok not cool that no one was in your corner right now. 

“Rio brought burritos! I’m not lying! And you brought my mother? What the fuck Alice? You think that’s gonna help right now?” You chastised, and Jen comes back with towels for everyone. She’s throwing them at the three of you like she’s Oprah and they’re presents. 

“Yeah, well, she is blowing up our phones too. And Wanda can’t keep a secret. I didn’t exactly plan on making this a whole thing. I was hoping we’d come over and smoke Rios weed. You’d cry, you and Agatha would bone and get back together. Jen would let me wear the strap on tonight because she got cross faded. But none of us are getting what we want tonight!” Alice snakily states. And Jen is looking at her wife curiously now. You don’t want to think about why Alice doesn’t get to wear the strap on more often, or if it was just something they-whatever it didn’t matter. 

Then you think about what she said again and turn to your best friend. Who’s white tank top is very see through with all the water. 

“I do want weed.” You whisper, and Rio laughs again. Agatha takes your towel and squeezes your hair to get the water out. She’s done this a million times when you two got out of the shower. Her small acts of service, the way she touched you so tenderly. 

“Thank you.” You tell her, and she smiles at you. 

“That’s cute, can you two make up and get married and give me god children already?” Alice claps her hands in your face. Agatha pushes her hands away from you. 

“Fuck Alice! What the hell!” You snap at your childhood friend. 

“Hey, I have an idea, why don’t you not leave your best friend on read? And maybe while you're at it call one of your family members back? Oh, and I won’t bring your mother into your house! What the fuck Y/N!”

Alice snaps again, and you feel a headache coming on. 

“You are so not her best friend.” Rio mutters and it’s always a thing for the two of them and Wanda. It had been for so many years now. 

“I am her best friend, whatever thing you three are doing is not friendship. I don’t bone my friends.” Alice glares at Rio now. Before the two of them can get into it you hold out your hand in the air to stop them. 

“Yeah, well, the three of us weren’t really ready to entertain!” You snap, and Rio smirks at being lumped in with you two, the idea that there could be a three of you.

Agatha is giving a rather menacing look to Jen who’s using her heel to mop up the water on the floor with a towel. 

“We are family. It’s not entertaining when we are always all up in your biz!” Jen throws another dry towel at your face. But Rio catches it before Agatha can.

“So, Wanda and Lilia are coming? No one else?” Rio asks, and Agatha gets up, reaching a hand out and helping you up. You grab Rio and the three of you wrap towels around yourselves. 

“Well, we weren’t going to invite Vision and all the kids to whatever we found. And we came first in case you three were fisting each other, again!” Jen said, and Alice grimaced at the memory. 

“That was one time, and you guys never didn’t knock again!”

“It was not just one time-” Jen starts and you cut her off. 

“-Ok so I’m going to get cleaned up.” You said, and Rio and Agatha followed you.

“Not you!” Jen grabs Rio, who hisses like a cat at her. The two start to bicker, and you and Agatha go up. Neither of you sticking your neck out for whatever Jen was going to do to Rio. She was a big girl, she could help herself right now. 

You open the master bedroom and Agatha walks in. You go to the closet, and Agatha looks around awkwardly. Her wet socks making squishing noises against the large rug you two had bought on holiday. 

“What are you doing?” You ask her and she motions to her clothes.

“Do you have anything I can-” 

“All your clothes are still on your side, I didn’t burn them. I mean, I wore a lot of it, but there’s plenty I didn’t.” You say, and you take your shirt off. Agatha stops in her tracks and watches your body. You are momentarily thrown off by her shift in demeanor. Your naked body wasn’t new to her. 

“Aggie, you’ve seen me naked! Stop looking at me like a new lover! We’ve been together a long time. You aren’t a prude!” You laugh at her all flustered at you in your bra.

“I’ve seen a lot of sunrises too, doesn’t make this one any less beautiful,” Agatha says, and you wonder if she knew she’d said it out loud. It’s actually really romantic, so you think she didn’t realize it at all.  

“Aggie.” You say, and it’s sweeter than before, and she looks at your eyes.

“Yes, Bunny?” She says, and you smile at her.

“That’s very sweet, but my mother is coming over, and we are soaking wet and not in the fun way. So get your sweet witches ass in the closet and get changed. You have to put up with all of the snide comments that are coming our way tonight.” You tell her domestically. 

Agatha smiles fully at you and nods. You wish you could kiss her, but you can’t not now. So, instead, you grab her slightly wet hand and pull her into the closet. 

The two of you get changed into warm clothes and Agatha comes behind you and puts your hair up into a tall ponytail. You don’t ask her to, she just does it. And her fingers feel good in your hair. Pressing against your neck every so often. But just as quick as she’s there, she’s gone and you miss her. 

You and Agatha emerge from the bedroom and by the time you are back downstairs the house is cleaned up. Rio’s dry, cuz magic. 

Wanda and Lilia had arrived and Wanda is the first to grab you and squeeze you tight into a hug. 

“You’ve been avoiding me.” She whispered against your cheek into your ear. You squeeze her back.

“Never.” You lie slightly and she slaps your ass. 

“Hey! Not allowed Maximoff.” Agatha sorta teases but she actually means it. Rio looks slightly amused but she’s on tea duty and can’t say shit. Jen is heating up food and Alice has the slider open so everyone can eat outside. 

“Relax Husband, she’s my best friend.” Wanda teases and Agatha just glares at her. 

“She’s not your best friend!” Alice yells from outside and you chuckle. Lilia rolls her eyes and opens the fridge to find creamer and milk for the tea. 

“‘Hi mom!” You say and she throws a hand in hello. But the coven isn’t done with you. 

“Protection witch, I’m the fucking Scarlet Witch, I’m gonna tell you right now. I outrank the shit out of you!” Wanda teases but she’s got mischief in her eyes and Alice walks back in carrying a tiny cheese knife. And she pionts it at Wanda. The two are totally joking but it’s fucking entertaining to see it. Agatha and the rest of you look between Wanda and Alice sorta hoping they’ll escalate this fight. 

“You think you can just come in here and take her! You gonna have to fight me for the title bitch!” Alice says using her best sassy city girl attitude and Wanda drops her hold on you and she let’s her fingers turn red and they sparkle a little. 

“Bring it Kale!” Wanda says and the two get closer and Rio uses that moment as a distraction. Death cackles and runs into the living room, ducking down she dives around you. You yelp as she throws you over her shoulder. Your ass in the air and you kick your legs. Your head is by her butt now. This stops both Alice and Wanda as Rio runs skillfully out to the yard. 

“CAREFUL!” Lilia and Agatha yell at the same time. But you and Rio are laughing and on the run now, and Alice and Wanda are outside fast. The three of them playing a sort of tag with you helplessly giggling. Wanda is trying to catch Rio and Alice grabs the paper cups from the table and starts to throw them at Wanda and Rio. But they end up hitting your ass instead. Nosferatu runs in the yard happily with you all. 

“YOUR AIM SUCKS!” You shout at Alice. 

Eventually Rio declares herself the winner and Wanda and Alice continue to disagree but you are set down on a chair. The blood starting to rush back down to your body and not in your face. 

Lilia comes over with tea for you and she places Agatha’s cup next to you. You sniff your ex girlfriends mug. 

“You don’t want your usual chai?” Lilia asks as she leans in and kisses your cheek and you kiss back. 

“No Ma, that’s fine.” You say and Agatha has a tray of fruit and glass water pitcher. She puts them in the middle and sits in the closest chair to you. But you see her move the chair even closer. When Lilia walks back into the house Agatha takes her mug and yours and swaps them. 

“You don’t have to-” You tell Aggie but she just shakes her head and closes her eyes like ‘dont’ say anything.’ But you smirk at how attentive she is, how well she knows you. You don’t do caffeine anymore past three pm because you already couldn’t sleep well. Agatha however did caffeine at all hours as she was always sleepy. It was something you’d learned early on in the relationship. Agatha could be talked into a nap at any hour, no matter how much black coffee she’d already had. You can’t help it, between; the memories, the closet, the water fight, and Agatha being so herself for you. You lean over and kiss her cheek. You linger at the feeling of her skin against your lips. You feel the familiar tingle, a spark, a type of magic saved for you both. 

You pull back and rub your lips together like you could taste her. Agatha’s mouth is open and she closes it when she realizes how obvious she’s being. 

“Thank you.” You say again and she nods but her knee is pressed against yours and neither of you move away. You sip at the herbal tea your mom had given Agatha. 

Wanda comes back over with a huge amount of salad and Jen had sandwiches. You were tempted to comment about how as a coven and a family it was ridiculous how much food everyone brought to gatherings. But you couldn’t find it in you to make the joke. Looking around you saw Alice had indeed baked cheese danishes. You’d taught her how a few decades ago. Your mom made your favorite BLT’s with bread she’d baked. Jen had brought over sweet tea that her mom used to make, that she knew you were always asking for. 

Wanda had made muffins, cookies, and cupcakes. All your favorite’s and there was a huge greek salad with lots of fresh fruit. You bit your lip and looked at the table. Everyone sat down and started passing hot tea and sweet iced tea. Wanda was pouring Rio a tall glass of water. While Rio was serving Lilia a plate of salad. 

And the coven was oblivious to your internal panic. 

They’d all been worried about you. They’d all made things that reminded them of you. And your family had invited themselves into your home. Because they weren’t simply friends from centuries of running from witch hunters. They weren’t just best friends you’d met over time. This family that had been built was more gorgeous than anything you could ever hope for. 

And they were scared for you, and they were supporting you, with or without your consent. And that was beautiful and so scary. How could you ever leave something like this behind?

Jen was talking about something and you feel panic creep up your neck, over whelm at the love in front of you. 

Then Agatha grabs your hand and you turn to her. She’s not listening to Jen either, you see she’s been watching you the whole time. 

She brings your joined hands under the table and she flips your palm over. Agatha is skilled in the art of your panic attacks. She leans forward and whispers in your ear. 

“Breathe my love, slow and deep.” She tells you and you close your eyes and she gives you an example to follow. You match her breathing and her finger is purple under the table as she pulls it over your palm. It’s warm and it’s comforting and it breaks your upset up. It’s your own secret. You kiss her cheek once more and pull away. 

Jen is throwing her hands up and everyone is clapping. 

You turn realizing you’ve missed whatever everyone is now excited about. But as Lilia and Wanda are kissing and hugging Alice you realize the news they’ve shared. 

“Congrats!” You say and Agatha catches on with you. Raising her water glass the rest of the coven grabs theirs to toast. Rio is looking at you and Agatha though, like she see’s more than the rest of them do. Agatha keeps her hand in yours and you wonder if she is a tad jealous that it isn’t you who’s pregnant. 

“Another coven member I can teach to do my bidding!” Agatha teases and everyone laughs and you know now she’s hiding you both. But everyone clinks glasses and Wanda starts talking about the baby shower. 

It’s nice to hear them babble on you find comfort in their ongoing talking. At one point you pull your hand away from Agatha and her brows furrow. But you pull her hand over the back of your shoulder and she leans in. You rest your head on her shoulder and put your right foot under your butt. Pressing yourself against her side. Easily cuddling into her as the coven talks. 

Rio’s at the other end of the table and she looks at Agatha. The two lock eyes as the rest of the coven talks about Beltane and Litha. And how they will need to celebrate and what they’ll prepare for circle. 

Rio winks at Agatha who smiles warmly back at her. It’s a silent conversation. Rio is so relieved to see you so relaxed. And the fact that you are curled against Agatha makes everyone feel better. Most of all you and Agatha, but Rio’s heart feel’s full as she looks at you both. 

Lilia is talking about how they’ll need to have a bonfire and maypoles and Jen groans. 

“What is it Kale?” Lilia looks unamused. 

“Maypoles? Come on we know you are the Crone here but that is sooo…” Jen says and Lilia looks offended at being called old. 

“So retro, and fun! Baby what do you mean we can’t do maypoles! The kids love it! Besides last Beltane we had that huge bonfire on the beach and you got naked and danced!” Alice licks her lips at the memory. 

“That was because of the Dandelion wine! Which is totally Rio’s fault!”

You and Agatha hadn’t added anything in a while, Agatha seemed afraid to speak and break whatever spell you were under. She didn’t want to spook her Bunny into moving away now that you were curled against her. But you spoke now. 

“Not Rio’s fault, I picked the dandelions and made the wine that year.” You defended your friend who smirked at you across the table. Before crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Thanks Squish, besides Kale I seem to remember you having plenty of unprotected fertility spell sex that night!” Rio pointed out and you and Agatha both were very still for a moment. But you moved your right hand under the table onto her knee. And Agatha released a small breath you knew she’d been holding. The ring on your finger was still a topic you two hadn’t discussed in detail. And the added fertility magic was not something you wanted to talk about in front of everyone today. 

Rio’s eyes met Agatha and she seemed to see a warning in them. So she changed the subject. 

“If I promise that Sweetness and I won’t make dandelion wine this year, then Lilia should get her maypole.” 

Lilia eyes Rio curiously, and you know Rio’s trying to get your mother to stop disliking her. But you also know it won’t work. Calderu’s weren’t easily persuaded to do anything they didn’t want to do. And your mom would never trust Rio. 

Agatha watched the exchange with an understanding you were confused about. Agatha tended to defend you and Rio. Not Rio’s actions per say, but she didn’t let people push Rio around either. Agatha and Rio had always been protective of each other, not from you. You were their soft spot. But to the coven, they kept secrets. Ones only the three of you would ever know. 

“Maypole’s are a must,” Wanda says after she takes a long sip of sweet tea and hums. “Between the kids loving them and it being Beltane, we aren’t forgetting maypoles!” Wanda argued and Jen threw her hands up but Alice pulled her neck so that she could smooch her in front of everyone. 

“You can wear a pretty flower crown. But we are celebrating, oh and no fertility spells. You already knocked me up. I don’t know if you could give me twins but let’s not tempt it.” Alice said and Lilia and Wanda laughed loudly at the idea. Jen looked simply turned on and it was kinda making you want them to get a room. 

“We could always try!” Jen said and Alice rolled her eyes and kissed her again. 

“You two are really gross.” Rio says and Jen throws her napkin at Death. Who catches it and throws it back. Jen looks like she’s about to grab her water glass before Lilia puts her hand up. 

“Children! Children! No fighting at the dinner table.”

“Just because you aren’t getting to bone your girl doesn’t mean- “ Jen says and Alice grabs her arm stopping her but it’s too late. The damage is done, what went from teasing now has Rio looking angry. 

“Jen, stop.” Agatha surprises Lilia by defending Rio in this moment. You aren’t the least bit surprised but you do what you do best in this family and you smooth it out. 

“Rio, will you help me find that tea for my leg cramps?” You ask like it isn’t your home. Agatha looks both pleased that you are breaking up the fight, but also she looks disappointed you are getting up from your cuddle. You squeeze Agatha’s leg under the table and it’s sweet enough that she does her best to not look upset. 

Rio stands but she’s glaring at Jen and you feel the backyard getting hotter. You stand up and grab your mug and walk over to Rio. You grab her forearm and you feel her respond to your touch. But she’s lurking in the spot and looking ready to say something else to Jen. So you let your warm fingers trail down to her hand and you tug her behind you into the house. You close the slider and walk into the kitchen. 

“That was not nice of Jennifer. But you know she sticks her foot in her mouth. She didn’t mean to hurt you, she’s just not used to family being sensetive to each other.” You explain Jen to Rio for the zillionth time. Knowing that Agatha and Rio tended to get upset at Jen the fastest. Jen said shit without thinking and whenever it was about you, they both got upset. 

Rio put her hands into fists and leaned against the kitchen island. 

“Rio, babe.” You say and the nickname doesn’t stop the veins throbbing in her neck and forehead. So you put the mug down and you go to her side and hug her against your body. It takes a second but Rio turns and holds you now. She’s not saying anything, just breathing against you. 

Her body starts to relax against yours. 

You move to run your fingers through her silky long hair. And  she puts her face against your shoulder. Her fingers are splayed against your back and she’s warm, maybe too warm. But her breasts are pressed against yours and you feel her breathing even. Rio is concentrating on being present, being there with you. 

You can’t make out all the words. But you hear Agatha talking to Jen through the glass door. She sounds stern, like she’s not gonna allow that kind of conversation in her home, or her coven. And you are glad that Agatha’s taking care of it. You know Jen’s feeling guilty for it too. 

But boundaries are important and this is one that shouldn’t keep being crossed. 

Rio doesn’t speak but you pull away and she closes her eyes like she instantly misses you. 

“Want to see if we have any alcohol?”

Rio’s eyes open and she’s smirking now, you always knew just how to cheer her up. 

About fourty five minutes later you and Rio are sitting on the kitchen floor with a bottle of Agatha’s nice red wine. Rio could handle her liquor but she was a lightweight on Aggie’s expensive reds. 

You were sipping, and Rio was chugging. You didn’t want to get fucked up. But you knew Rio needed the distraction. 

Eventually Rio’s laughing and telling you about this guy she had to take the other day. His soul was very dirty and she was explaining his porn addiction with pig masks when the slider opened back up. You didn’t need to look up to know who it was. 

You were impressed Agatha had waited as long as she had. She walked around in her barefeet stopping before you both on the kitchen floor. You were looking down at her cute feet. Her toes were painted dark red, you’d done it earlier that week. She’d been surprised at your request to paint her nails. 

But you had secretly just wanted an excuse to touch her. And Agatha had given into you. Even letting you pick the color. You were admiring your handy work when Agatha bent down and grabbed the bottle looking at it. 

“Rio, must you always drink Mama’s good stash?” She teased and Rio cackled and downed her wine glass again. 

“Hi Aggie.” You smile warmly at her and she returns the tender look. 

“You know you two are so fucking cute. I just wanna fuck you guys until the end of days.” Rio drawls and you look at her realizing she’s drank perhaps too much. You grab the bottle from Agatha and shake it a little. It was empty, oh wow. Rio made quick work of it. 

“You are not driving home.” You tell your friend. Agatha sits on the floor facing you both. She’s not chastising Rio, if anyone understands what it’s like to be made fun of in this coven for their feelings for you, it’s Agatha. 

You look over at her and the two of you are silently communicating. 

“Oh my god don’t do that like Daddy isn’t right here. I know you guys are like worried or whatever. But I’m not gonna kill the potions bitch.”

“No one thinks that.” You say and Agatha lifts an eyebrow and you roll your eyes at her. Because of course they both knew it was a possibility but she wouldn’t. 

“Ags tell me you aren’t going to make her apologize to me, that’ll be so weird.” Rio slurs and she rubs her eyes. 

“I talked Wanda out of that notion.” Agatha says and she gets Rio and you are so glad for that. Because Jen talking would only make this so much worse. 

“I can stay here tonight.” Rio grinned at Agatha who glared at her ex now. 

“Lilia will be driving you home actually. We already discussed it.”

“Aggie you are no fun, I just wanna make her cum! Besides the in-law hates me! Wait, you knew I’d drink your wine!?” Rio says and you chuckle at the last bit. Agatha groans and puts the empty bottle on the counter above her head. 

“Rio, if you think you are going to be rude to Lilia I can have Wanda drive you. She’s probably the least likely person to get pissed off by you.” Agatha ignores the rest of what her ex said about you. 

“No, I’ll be good to Mama C. I need her to like me. Why doesn’t she like me?” Rio says and she puts her head on your shoulder and then leans into your neck. Agatha’s eyes go down to see her do it. But you just keep looking at Agatha and her gaze raises to see you. You smile at her, and it’s reassuring enough that Agatha seems to settle. You open your palm, and it doesn’t even take a second for her hand to reach out and take it. 

Your fingers are purple and you heat up her hand like she did before. You both had inside things like every couple did. And this was one of them. You’d been on a coven retreat centuries ago, and you two said you were ‘holding hands to stop frost bite.’ But everyone knew you were in love. And you kept using magic to warm each other up, but also because it was intimate to use magic on each other. It was such a turn on. 

Agatha had never dated a witch before you. She’d dated death of course. But it was different, the magic was…so different. Aggie said she’d been captivated by it. And both of your magic was purple. Which freaked everyone out. No one’s magic was ever the same…color, shade and everything. 

Your fingers now danced with purple under hers and she leaned down and flipped your hands so she could kiss the back of your joined hands. 

“You guys stooooop, so cute!” Rio mumbled and you snorted. Agatha looked deep into your eyes like she was finding everything she needed in them. 

The slider opened and no one pulled away but Wanda walked in. 

“We were thinking about a movie? Any takers?” Wanda asked and you knew she volunteered to come in. After yourself Wanda was the second peacekeeper. Everyone had wanted you to be the leader of the coven. But you’d declined high priestess. Agatha said it was your destiny, but it didn’t have to be your reality today. 

And you’d agreed, she’d taken the role and told you one day she’d want you at her side to do it. But you’d pushed Wanda into the role. She was powerful and emotionally stunted. 

Wanda came over and saw the bottle of wine. 

“How sloshed are we guys?” She said and a bit of her accent came out. 

“Red, I think I see two of you.” Rio answered and one eye was open and one was closed. 

“My god you three need to work your shit out. My teenage sons talk to their partners more than you three do. Ok, so Alice will brew some coffee. None of us are leaving though. So Rio you need to start sobering up. Also sweetheart Billy is texting you.” Wanda tells you and you jump up. Rio groans at you leaving and Agatha’s face sours but you go over to the living room to find your phone. 

Reading it you see a bunch of missed calls and texts. 

“Wanda can I use your car?” You ask and Wanda and Agatha walk over to you. 

“Is he ok?” Wanda asks and you are texting back and talking at the same time. 

“He’s upset, he’ll be ok. But I’m gonna go get him.” You say and Wanda goes to grab her keys from her purse. 

“Bunny you can’t drive, you had wine. Let me come?” Agatha asks and it’s different, because normally she’d demand it. You look up after sending Billy an ETA. To see Agatha looking extremely uncomfortable. You know she doesn’t ask for things. So it’s hard for her to ask permission for something she just wants to take over. 

Wanda hands you the keys and you hand them to Agatha who breathes out a sigh of relief. 

“I’ll text you I promise.” You lean over and hug Wanda and kiss her cheek. She squeezes you tight before letting go. You walk over to Rio. 

“Will you please behave while we’re gone?”

“You and Aggie are the only one’s who like me.” Rio pouts and you know she’s just trying to manipulate an invite out of you. You kiss her forehead and she smiles and you’ve caught her faking being upset now. 

“You are too good my little chili bean.” Rio says seeing your angle now. 

“Wanda will take care of you, be nice to the coven and I’ll suprise you with something fun.”

“Oral?”

You laugh and she smiles at you. You lean in and kiss her on the mouth and she moans in delight and suprise. She tastes cinnamon and Agatha’s wine. You pull back and hear the slider. Rio’s mouth is slightly open and she looks turned on as hell. 

“Behave, for me?” You say and she nods like a good boy now. 

“For you, anything.” You laugh and see she’s used her powers and she’s sober. You laugh and leave her on the floor before moving to your mom and kissing her on the cheek. 

“Billy?” Lilia see’s it in a vision and you nodd. Before leaving and Alice is shouting after you that she didn’t get a hug! But you pull Agatha’s hand out the door. 

Agatha unlocks the minivan. And you throw the coffee cup that’s on the seat into the back. 

Climbing into the front seat Agatha adjusts the mirrors. Before seeing you have your seatbelt on and pulling out. It takes about two minutes of her holding the steering wheel like it personally insulted her for you to sigh. 

“Aggie.”

“You kissed her.” Not even a beat. 

“You know why.”

“We have rules.”

“I didn’t break a rule, it wasn’t sexual and you were there. You might not have initiated it, but it was to comfort. Which isn’t against our rules.”

“Do you kiss her when I’m not around?” There it was you thought. 

“No, we cuddle and we don’t make out. We know the rules.”

“But you want to kiss her…” Agatha presses and you don’t want to go down this road. 

“I feel like this isn’t why you are actually upset. Seeing as how she’s eaten my ass and we’ve all fucked each other a million different ways. So what’s on your mind baby?” You say through clenched teeth. 

“Nothing.” She lies and you can’t believe it. 

“Oh, wow.” You say understanding now and she turns to look at you. But you tell her to stop the car. 

“Bunny no, wait! I’ll explain-” 

“No Agatha stop I see him.” 

And Agatha slams on the breaks and you open the door before it stops. Billy is walking numly by the side of the road his light grey Wizard of Oz T’shirt is drenched from sweat. His beat up pink chucks are barley carrying him. You run over to him and he’s scratching at his wrists.

“My sweet boy.” You say and he looks up. He’s been sobbing and he’s in the middle of a panic attack. But he sees you and he falls into your embrace. You catch him. 

“Auntie!” He screams and you hold him tight. 

“I know sweetie. I know.” You tell him and he shakes. People start to honk and Agatha rolls down the window and gives them the bird. 

You pull Billy up and into the back of the minivan. You crawl into the back with him as he cries against you. Neither of you are buckled, but Agatha drives away. She’s going slow afraid of getting either of you hurt. 

“It I can’t- I can’t-, I-I-” He’s panting and hyperventilating and you have to get him to stop. 

“Baby boy, take a deep breath with me.” You tell him and you put hand on his chest and push and it helps him focus for a minute. You use your jacket sleeve to wipe the snot off his lip. He’s staring at you and you both share deep breaths together. 

You feel Agatha pull into a parkinglot and you look out the window. It’s a local ice cream shop. Agatha turns off the engine and you work with Billy to take deep breaths. Before you are able to coax him out of the mini van and into the ice cream store. Agatha opens the door for you both and you pull Billy to the farthest booth in the corner. 

Agatha goes up the front and orders. 

You drop down into plastic white seats, Billy takes the opposite one and you sit across from him you pull your sweatshirt off and give it to him. Understanding his body is probably cold now that his panic isn’t so intense. He puts it on and thanks you. 

“Is this what Agatha feels like?” He says and you look at him confused. Just as Agatha walks over with three ice creams. One of them is a soft served cone which she gives to Billy. Who takes it and stares at it. He’d taken up your same habit, having a hard time eating when you are upset. But Agatha was smart to get him something sweet and cold. Knowing that it helped you when you had panic attacks, cold water, ice cream, whatever made you present.  

“What do you mean?” You ask. 

“When you love someone and they don’t..want you or love you back? Is this how it feels?” He says and Agatha looks over at you lost. She heard what he said, but she isn’t sure what the fuck is going on. 

“Billy I do love your Aunt Agatha back, so deeply and I do want her very, very much everyday. I would move heaven and earth for her. But this is about you, and Eddie told you he loves you. He’s proven it time and time again. It’s a fight sweetheart and that happens. But love doesn’t just dissolve over night.” You tell him and Agatha’s jaw clenches but she pushes your cup of soft serve vanila with hot fudge and strawberry pieces towards you. Because of course Agatha ordered you ice cream. 

You take it and silently thank her with your eyes. You wonder if you are seeing relief in Agatha at your words to Billy now.

You push the strawberries around the cup but you don’t take your eyes off your nephew. Waiting for him to continue. 

“But..he’s pulling away and he snapped at me. He doesn’t want me. I’m too much.”

It stung to hear your own words on your godson’s tongue. 

“Billy, I’m going to break a big rule. But as Agatha and my godson you are sort of our favorite.”

Agatha smiles at you and then turns to Billy who chuckles. 

“You aren’t suppose to say that, I thought.”

“Your godmother’s don’t lie to you teen.” Agatha jokes with her student and nephew. She surprised him by running her fingers through his curly dark locks. He melted into the touch and your heart felt like it was going to explode. Agatha rarely touched people, with the large exception of you. And Rio when it was sex, obviously. But she loved Billy so much, she was making room for him. 

“Besides Tommy is technically Alice and Jen’s problem.” You say in true Harkness sarcasm fashion and Agatha is proud of you. Billy just laughs again. But he stops and stares at you.  

“What is it?” He says curious now and Agatha plays with his hair. 

“Eddie’s Dad is really sick. And he’s afraid to tell you, because he’s scared of making his worst nightmare a reality. And telling you feels big and real. But Billy, his father is going to die. There’s nothing you or I can do about that. Eddie is a mortal, and while loving a mortal is still very real and valid. There’s some big things you will have to face, and this is one of them.” You tell him and you are making your tone as gentle as you can. You’d loved a mortal. You knew what this was like. Agatha eyed you carefully, she knew your past. 

“Why wouldn’t he tell me? Did Rio tell you he’s going to die?”

“No baby, I can smell it in their home. Besides being part Calderu I see things I shouldn’t.” You admit and Billy’s shoulders fall and you know he’s scared. You reach over and push your ice cream aside. You grab his free hand, the one that doesn’t have ice cream melting. 

“All you can do is be there. For the people you love that’s the only thing any of us can do. You can’t save him, and you can’t erase Eddie’s pain with magic.”

Billy’s eyes look up at you. 

“I don’t need to read your mind to know it honey. It’s every baby witches first thought. You want so badly to help, but you just need to be there. So when Eddie is being moody, or distant. You give him the space to feel his feelings. Don’t take this on as yours to fix. Because it’ll drive you crazy.” You hope that it will be enough for him to listen. 

“You loved a mortal.” Billy said looking up at you and Agatha stopped playing with his hair. 

“I did.”

“Mom never told me that.”

“She doesn’t know kiddo.” You admit and he looks surprised. 

“I thought you guys were best friends?”

“I adore your mom, she’s a wonderful friend. But my best, best, best friend is Agatha. Just like Eddie is yours. So tonight he’s going to apologize for the fight that he didn’t mean. With the words he regrets already. And give yourself a minute, but forgive him. Because he loves you and you love him. And that is everything.” You tell him and squeeze his hand. The sharpie from drawings is smudged on his knuckles and his black nail polish is chipped. He has no scars yet, his baby teenage hands haven’t seen hard labor. They haven’t held death yet, or seen real loss. And you wish just like Billy that you could shield your loved ones from what is to come. 

“Rio can’t-” He starts scared. 

“No hon, no one can.” Agatha answers a united front with you, like always. But she grabs a napkin and wipes his sticky right hand. And it’s nurutirng and it’s one of the many acts of service that Agatha displays for love. 

“I feel bad, I didn’t realize. I’m a witch how could I not know?”

“Teen, your aunt knew but I didn’t. I’m older than her by about two hundred years.” Agatha tells the sweet lost goth boy. You snort and look at her but she’s raising her eyebrow. 

“One hundred and fifty two, but who’s counting. You cougar you.” You tease her. 

Agatha let’s out a big cat noise and you and Billy smile at her. Before Billy turns to you. 

“Can you teach me how to…how to tell?”

“No, because it won’t be what you want it to be. It’ll be sad, all the time.” You tell him and you see Agatha’s face fill with sorrow at your. Because she knows your past, she knows what you have seen, what you’ve done. The horrors you lived through. 

“But I’ll know.”

“Knowing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Now, your mom is freaking out. Even though I’ve texted the woman literally like twenty seconds ago. So, finish your ice cream. I’m going to buy one of those gross ice cream cakes because Alice is knocked up again, and she’ll be so mad if we come back without one.” 

Billy laughs and then his eyes go big. 

“I’m going to be a cousin again?”

“Oh damn kid, I think you are going to be a cousin for a while. This coven just keeps breeding.” Agatha says like it’s annoying but it’s got no malice. You stand and give the two of them a moment. You are Agatha were like the two sides of Billy. And you knew he needed her just as much as he needed you. 

Giving them a minute too. 

You stepped up to the front of the store and opened the day old ice cream cakes freezer. Picking out a large one that was Alice favorite flavor, cookies and cream. You held it and reached in your back pocket to text Wanda back again. 

You waited in line behind a guy with a blue mohawk. Before it was your turn you walked up to the front where a teenager was chewing gum and making big pink bubbles. 

“Hi, I am going to take this and can I get a pint of Rocky Road and a pint of your Coffee?” He nodded and walked into the back. You took out your credit card and after he bagged everything and rung it out you swiped it. He looked down at your breasts and you preteneded not to notice him. You also worked hard not to read his mind, it was so easy when they were this stupid. You grabbed the plastic bag and turned and Agatha held your hips to steady you before you fell into her. 

“Sorry.” You said surprised at how close she was. You were usually hyper aware of where she was. But you were not paying attention and she furrowed her brows for the same reason. 

“Bunny, you ok?”

“Yeah, sorry just lost in thought.”

She looked at you for a moment as if checking your story before she turned and looked at the guy behind the counter. He seemed to fear her in this moment and she glared at him for staring at you. 

“Come on baby, let’s go home.” You say and you grab her hand and pull her towards Billy who was outside texting Wanda. Agatha follows you hand in hand out to the mini van. 

You open the back but Billy takes the plastic bag full of ice cream and gets in the middle where there wasn’t a car seat. 

“You don’t wanna sit with Aggie up front?” You say surprised, but he shakes his head and gets in the back and texts rapidly with his mom. 

“Come on superstar, can’t get rid of me that easy.” Agatha jokes but you hear her true feelings. You close the sliding back door and then get into the front. You grab her hand and pull her palm onto your thigh. Placing it there and Agatha seems to like how much you are touching her today. 

“Take us home before the ice cream melts.” You tell her.

Agatha keeps one hand on you as she drives back to your home. 

Billy grabs the plastic bag and you tell him to go in. Agatha is unbuckling and you unbuckle too but before she can grab the door you reach over and you grab her face. She’s momentarily shocked at you. But you lean in and kiss Agatha, it starts off nice but it turns hot and needy. You slip your tongue into her mouth and she moans and grabs the back of your neck to pull you closer. After a minute of making out like teenagers yourself you pull back. 

“I don’t want to get rid of you Harkness.” You tell her and it’s not teasing and she see’s you. “You don’t need to be jealous of me kissing Rio. If you want a kiss I’ll give you a kiss. You don’t need to be so scared of me. I know we aren’t exactly in a good place right now. But my love for you isn’t the thing in question. And while I love all of those fucking witches in there. You are my best best best friend. And you know that because you don’t argue with them about the title. You know you have it. So stop looking at me like you are so fucking scared.” You shake her head slightly as you hold her.

“I am scared Bun. More than I have ever been before.” Agatha says and it’s honest. “I can’t lose you. I can’t. I won’t. It can’t happen.” She says and it breaks your heart. You kiss her forehead and you pull back. Opening the car door. She follows you into the house and you aren’t sure if the kiss helped her or hurt her now. 

Billy has already been taken by the coven. 

The group as soon as they see an upset Billy swarm him like a bunch of fucking moths. Jen starts on his nails, because that’s the only way she feels better. Alice is letting him pick the scary movie on your TV. Lilia is telling uncomfortable stories about her past lovers, ew. With no context on why he’s upset, just assuming it’s love trouble. 

Wanda practically has him in her lap as she’s cuddling him. He’s got her lipstick on his face.  He doesn’t seem to mind them though. After a rough day all the witches who love him, the matriarchs are showing him affection. Not such a rough way to go. 

Rio is doing the dishes alone while everyone is touching Billy. Agatha grabs the plastic bag and walks into the kitchen. You jump up on the counter and Rio smiles at you. You grab a towel from behind our back and put your hand out to get a dish. Rio drops her face and kisses your palm before handing you a wet plate. 

Nosferatu is sitting by Rio’s feet keeping her company. 

“You do ok while we were gone?” You ask and she nods. 

“I was on my best behavior.” She says and there’s no trace of alcohol on her what so ever. What a fun trick she can pull. 

“So you hid and didn’t talk.” Agatha says from behind you both. Pulling out the ice cream cake. But she looks down and sees the two tubs of ice cream. 

“Bunny, what’s this?”

“You like coffee and Rio likes rocky road. Even though I know you both like those flavors and steal each others all the time.” You tell her as you wipe the plate. Rio turns to Agatha in a bit of surprise. 

“You bought us ice cream?” Rio says confused. “There’s a whole fucking ice cream cake?” She states looking at the giant thing. 

“Right but you two don’t like ice cream cake and you hate cookies and cream.” You tell them as you stack a plate. 

“But you don’t like cookies and cream, and neither does Billy or Lilia. You didn’t buy them something else?” Agatha states and you shrug. 

“Billy already had ice cream and whoever else will manage. You two are my priority, and you don’t like ice cream cake. It’s not a big deal.” You say and you aren’t paying attention to the two woman looking at each other. Seeming rocked by how much you loved them. 

You just hop down and go into the living room, your big dog following you.  

Jen orders deep dish pizza to be delivered. And all of you eat spread out in the living room. Agatha is in the tight loveseat to the side and you are comfy in her lap. Letting your feet rest under Rio’s thighs to keep your toes warm. Both of them look at each other and you ignore them. Eating pizza and watching ‘As Above So Below.’ It takes place in Paris in the catacombs. You remember them well. You like the play on Datne’s inferno and you watch happily. 

The rest of the coven takes the larger sofa, they squeeze onto it. Lilia is sitting in the reading chair. You try not to think about how many times your ass has been over Agatha’s knee on that chair. But Lilia is drinking wine and her barefeet are up on the coffee table. Every now and then she feeds a bit of crust to Nosferatu. Who keeps his head in her lap. She brushes the dog over and over again. 

The movie is about halfway through and in that time some of the coven gets confused. 

Lilia and Jen ask questions too often and Billy explains. You finish your pizza and drop the paper plate on the side table. You realize that perhaps you’ve been too touchy with Agatha and your body stiffens. 

Was this wrong? Should you have been keeping the distance? You were still worried you were too much. That this was wrong, that Agatha deserved better. That maybe you shouldn’t be here. But just as you started to think about it Agatha pull you down against her chest. Your face ended up in her neck.

“Bunny, stop worrying. Don’t over think it. Just cuddle me, it’s ok. There’s no bear chasing you. Don’t panic.” Agatha told you and you sighed and Rio pulled your legs so that they stretched out and she massaged your feet. Not meeting your eyes, not making you self conscious as she watched the movie.

 While Agatha let her strong hands push and the muscle of your thighs and lower back. It was calming you down so much, the two of them working easily to make you relaxed and cared for.  

“I loved Paris.” Lilia says and looks over at you and you smile even in your euphoric state. Your mom may be a tad tipsy you realize now. Wanda and Alice stuck to sweet tea, but Lilia and Jen were not as interested in that. 

“Me too.” You admit remembering your fun times. The sex and kink clubs, the magic, the food. You were a different person then. 

“You guys have been to the catacombs then?” Billy asked and you laughed. 

“Oh yeah kiddo, your Auntie used to break in and hold circles there!” Lilia outs you to the coven. While Agatha knew about this you weren’t prepared for everyone else to hear it. Rio looks at your fiance with interest. 

Alice paused the film and turned to you. 

“What the hell! You never told me that!”

“That’s some dark shit.” Jen said as her fingers played with Alice’s hair, her wifes head in her lap. 

“How long were you in Paris?” Wanda asked not as phased with the dark magic as the other two. You loved that about Wanda, she’d done some bad shit too. So you didn’t get judged about things from her. Alice and Jen grew up in magic homes like you, but they had some more…opinions on practices. Dark magic was not always an easy topic for the coven. 

“But you held circle in the catacombs?” Billy repeated not believing it. 

“Thanks mom.” You said sarcastically. 

“I just feel like you would have told us this amazing story!” Alice says throwing her hands up. Agatha subconsciously pulls you in a little closer to her. She was ready to defend you if you needed it. Agatha wished she’d been there for everything in your life. 

“It was a very long time ago. I liked dark magic, I did bad things. We really don’t need to get into it.” You say and Rio smirks now. 

“Always liked the bad boys, did ya?” Rio teases and Agatha uses her free hand to slap Rio’s shoudler in warning. 

“I would love to watch the movie again.”

“Was it like better energy divination? Were you doing necromancy? Oh my god did you do sex rituals? You so did you kinky freak!” Jen said her imagination going wile and Lilia just looked amused at you for stirring the shit pot. 

“Wow it’s getting late, don’t you all have homes you need to get to.” You snark back and Agatha’s body tensens. She doesn’t want this to end. You in her lap, her hands on your body.

“Your Auntie is right, It’s a school night. Besides as her best friend she’ll tell me eventually.” Wanda teased and patted Billy’s shoulder for him to get up. 

“What about the ice cream cake?” Billy panicked not wanting to go home and Alice threw her fists up in the air. 

“The pregnant lady gets the ice cream cake.” Lilia tells the group who all agree. 

“I’ll happily share with my cute nephew though.” Alice grabs Billy’s shoulder and rubs it lovingly. He smiles at her. 

Lilia stands up and turns the lights on and everyone starts to clean up and get their stuff. You go to stand and Agatha grabs your hip. Rio senses something’s off and she squeezes your foot before moving to go help pack up food. 

You wait until she leaves and then you put your hand into Agatha’s hair. You pet her like the black cat she is. 

“Aggie?”

“Sorry Bun, give me a minute.” She tells you and you aren’t used to this many apologies. But you play with her hair and she takes deep breaths. It takes about two minutes before she nods and you slowly get up. Pulling her hand and helping her get up too. 

Everyone is out in the drive way and you can tell Agatha doesn’t want to go. But Lilia is tipsy and she shouldn’t drive. Before you can make your way over to the witch Alice grabs you and Lilia is next to her. Alice is hugging you and Lilia grabs your face. 

“Fun night my duci.” Lilia uses the sicilian nickname and you know she’s gonna hurt tomorrow.  She kisses your cheeks a little wetter than before and she goes over to talk to Wanda. 

“So does this mean you two are back together?” Alice asks still holding you in a hug from the side. 

“Alice, leave it alone.” You tell her but there’s not enough bite and your friend continues. 

“We’re all tired of seeing you being miserable and pushing her away. Can you just-” She feels your body get stiff under her. “Hey babe-”

“Alice, it’s not that easy. I’m sorry you don’t get it-”

“Hey wait a minute!” She chastises and Jen comes over and grabs her pregnant wife. 

“Come on honey, you gotta drive me home.” She says and Alice is ready to fight with you but Jen winks in your direction and you are thankful even in her more tipsy state, she is actually helping for once. But Alice points her finger at you she’s talking louder than before. 

“You are being secretive and I don’t like it. We love you-”

“Maybe you shouldn’t! Fuck!” It falls out of your mouth too loudly and everyone turns and looks at you now. An entire family of sad eyes fall on you. Their concern is clear as day. And you wish you could disappear. So you do what you do best, you push them away. You walk over to Billy and kiss his forehead and call for your dog. Who’s at your side before you can finish his name.

“Sweetness!” Rio yells after you and you hear Wanda yell for you too. Someone is walking towards you but you are faster. You go back up the porch and lock the door behind yourself. Marching up the steps and into your master bedroom. 

You take deep breaths and take off your clothes. Going into the shower to cry. When you emerge you put on one of Agatha’s tank tops and sleep shorts. Going into the bed you grab Agatha’s pillow and it doesn’t smell like her as much as it used to. And you beg for sleep to take you. Nos crawls on top of your feet and it helps a little. 

Until your dreams are the thing to scare you. 

You see it from Agatha’s perspective. You are being tortured in Salem by her mother. And she’s begging and pleading for your life. But you are burning, and you feel the heat.

Agatha is asking to die instead and that’s when something wet hits you. 

Nosferatu is licking your tears. And you jerk up back into the master bedroom, not in Salem any longer.

It was midnight, you realized from the clock on Agatha’s side. And you woke up from that nightmare perspiring. You turned to the side of the bed and Agatha wasn’t there, oh right. 

You look to the armchair and she wasn’t there. Right you’d slammed the door on your family. 

You grab a sweatshirt with bleach stains on the cuffs and you aren’t wearing shoes. Nos follows you into Jen’s Subaru she’d left the keys because she and Alice took different cars. And she’d been too tipsy to drive. You were thankful for it now. 

You call for Nos to get into the back, knowing you’d have to apologize to Jen for the dog hair later. 

You drive to your mom's house. It’s not far, twenty-five minutes on a night like this. 

You leave Nos in the car with the windows down, and you hesitate before you knock on the door. It takes a few minutes, but you know Aggie is on the sofa, your mom didn’t have a guest room. You knock again and Agatha opens the door. She’s wearing another one of your flannels and she’s in sleep shorts. 

“Bunny, are you ok? You aren’t wearing shoes, again.” She says looking down at your barefeet and then back at you. 

“You had a nightmare, didn’t you?” You tell her rather than ask. 

“Yeah.” She says and you can see that she didn’t sleep well. 

“About me?”

Agatha opens and closes her mouth a few times before answering. 

“Yeah.”

“Come back.” You say and it’s not the speech you planned on the way here. 

“What?” Agatha says and you realize she’s pinched her own arm casually to see if she’s dreaming. It’s so cute but you don’t comment. 

“Come home, I don’t know what this is. I don’t know how to fix it all. I’m not saying we are back together or not back together. I just. I can’t sleep right, and you keep having these horrible nightmares. I don’t know how to fix this, Aggie. But I love you. And I can’t do this without you. I love you and- and I won’t do it without you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. And I can’t promise it’ll be easy or perfect. But I can’t sleep without you anymore! And those dreams make me think you don’t want to sleep without me! I mean what I said to Billy was right, right? That doesn’t just dissolve over night! You still want me right? Oh god I didn’t think this through-“

Agatha lunged into your arms and hugged you. You wrapped your arms around her neck where her messy ponytail poked out.

“Bun what a beautiful proposal. Of course I want you. Nothing has ever sounded sweeter. Yes, I would love that. I’ll sleep in the guest room if you want or I can-“

“No, in our bed, with me. Please?” You say against her, and she nods and you hear her gasp. Before biting her lip to stop the noises coming out of her. She forms a sentence with much hard work in her mouth. 

“I would love nothing more.”

“I don’t know what this means.” You admit against her. 

“That’s ok, we don’t need to know. Day by day okay?” She says and you wonder if your mom told her that. It sounds like a Calderu sentence if you’d ever heard one. Agatha really needed out of your moms house. You turn against her and sniff before realizing what’s happened. 

“Ok, but I’m driving cuz you’ve definitely had Tequila tonight with my mom.” You laugh and she laughs and doesn’t deny your wolf nose. 

You release each other, and she goes to grab her phone and wallet inside. You hear her open the kitchen door and grab Senior Scratchy. 

 You realize she’s not leaving Lilia a note. Because your mom probably saw this coming anyway. But when she walks out and you grab your keys to lock your mom’s house, she isn’t holding a dufflebag or anything. 

“Bag?” You're confused.

“I’ve been wearing your clothes mostly, and four outfits I keep rewashing. There’s nothing in there for me.”

You realize Agatha means that in a few different ways, her home was with you. 

The rabbit starts to make happy squeaking noises when it recognizes you. You bend down and kiss his head and he only gets louder. Agatha smirks and how in love her familiar is with you, every part of her soul craved you. 

You nod and feel guilty that she’s been living like this. She gets in the sticky Subaru. You know Agatha is happy because she doesn’t complain about the smell of Jen’s car. Because it smells like a stinky pre-school for sure. And you throw one of their kiddos three feet tall stuffed Rhino into the back of the car so Agatha can sit. It makes a farting noise and you both don’t comment. Being around kids for years and years desensitized you both to weird children's toys. Aggie puts her familiar in the back with your pup. The two recognize each other. Nosferatu starts to lick the rabbits fur. The two curl up in the back seat with each other. It’s fucking adorable and you take a quick picture before Agatha panics. 

“You didn’t speed here, did you?” Agatha says, now fearing how you got here. Which was funny since she’d been doing tequila shots with your mom. And was judging your driving now. 

“No, I listened to Jen’s burned shitty CD’s since this thing doesn’t have an AUX cord. It was so much ‘If you are happy and you know it.’ So I should get a metal for not speeding. Besides you know I don’t speed with Nos in the car. Or you!” You defend, and Agatha looks sad again and you wonder what you said. 

“You shouldn’t speed with you in the car. It doesn’t matter who else is with you, Angel. You are the precious cargo.” She says and you grab her hand and squeeze it. But she doesn’t allow you to release, turning her hand over and lacing your fingers. It’s so easy, it’s so nice. Like the goddess herself carved your hands to fit one anothers. 

 And you drive easily with your left hand on the wheel. 

“How was the rest of your night?” Agatha asks, and it’s not awkward; she genuinely wants to know. You’d been upset. 

“You mean after our crazy coven left the house? Oh, it’s great my so called fiancé put a chastity ring on me so I can’t masturbate!” You laugh and Aggie looks pleased with herself. You aren’t sure if it’s more that you can’t cum without her or that you called her your ‘fiance’ but either way she’s beaming. 

“Have you tried?” Agatha teases knowing, full well if you had you wouldn’t be able to reach an orgasm. 

You turn when you come to a red light to glare at her.

“Yeah! Actually I did! Not tonight but this week. But It’s like numb or something, I can get turned on and wet! But my fingers are useless!”

The light turns green and you go again. 

Agatha laughs, and you join her at how absurd the whole thing is. But you know Agatha is laughing at you, not with you. Her sadistic ass is glad you can’t cum.  

“It’s not funny! You suck! It’s a good thing I love you, you prick!” You laugh again. And she smirks until her face falls.

“You tried alone?” She’s looking down at your joined hands, and you scoff. 

“Agatha! What the hell? Who would I be trying with? You are over every day!” You say. 

“At night, someone could come after I leave..” Agatha says and you realized she’s given this some thought. You press her stupid theory.

“Who?” You grit out, and you don’t need an answer. Agatha doesn’t even look ashamed at her misplaced jealousy. “You two are so ridiculous!” You shout, and Agatha doesn’t let go of your hand.

“It’s not an outrageous question.” She says calmly, and you laugh so sinicly at her.

“Yes, it is! Ya know, this is so ridiculous! I was late to your little romance! You two dated first! Shouldn’t I be the one who’s insanely jealous that my fiancé and friend were in love!”

“It isn’t the same!” Agatha’s tone makes it seem like you aren’t getting it at all. 

“Why! Why because, it’s me and Rio and not you and Rio?” You say outraged at the idea that is somehow ok. 

“No, because it’s you! Rio and I loved each other, and we were toxic and lost. We were co-dependent and stupid for decades. Yes, of course, we loved each other. But it wasn’t like you! I love you so differently than I loved her!”

You come to another stop light and you look at her with something akin to curiosity, and you wondered if it would end for you like the cat. 

“Explain it.” You demand, and Agatha does. 

“Loving you is magic, it’s complex and fits so right with everything in the world. Loving you has never been toxic or ugly. I don’t need to prove anything and neither do you. It’s safe and beautiful, it’s warm like home… It’s better than anything I’ve ever experienced or ever done or ever will do! Bunny, loving you was the best decision I’ve ever made. Hurting you and doing whatever this is, is the thing I regret more than anything I’ve ever done. And I’ve done a lot of murder in my day.”

She’s shaking her head at all the dead bodies before she continues. Agatha is trying so hard to explain it you almost wonder if she’ll make herself have a headache. 

“ So that’s really saying something! I love you without fear of looking ridiculous. Because big shows of devotion or time-consuming acts of service are all worth it. And to you smile at me the smile you save just for me. You are worth it all. So it isn’t the same. It’s not what you do or don’t do. It’s who you are. I can’t..it’s not the same. My love for you is strong, not some delicate little thing that you find wounded by the side of the road. My love for you never waivers, it doesn’t matter how hard times get. It’s constant and sure of itself. It’s deep in my bones an ache for you nothing but you can ease. You are always on my mind, in every decision I make in the day. I love you without fear, because loving you makes me a better person. I love how you see me, I love who we are when we are together. I love that you dog ear the pages of all my books, I used to hate when people did that! I love that you can’t watch a scary movie without feeling empathy for the monster. I love you when you are sad, when you get really upset or mad. I love you for you every inch and every scratch you’ve ever had.” Agatha says and a,t the end she looks at your joined hand again. And you sigh before biting your lip and shaking your head. 

“What about Rio?” You ask,, and you know it’s not fair, after such a gorgeous monologue on how strong her love for you is. You feel the truth in ever bit of it.  

“What about Rio?” Agatha asks like it’s obvious, she’s not on the same level.  

“You don’t love her anymore?” You clarify. 

“I’ll always love Rio. But it’s not the same. I’m not in love with Rio.”

You don’t agree with her. 

“I think you are lying, I think you can’t forgive her. And I know why. But it’s not fair.”

“I don’t love Rio. Not the way I love you. And you know me way too well to believe that is a lie. You just don’t want it to be true.” Agatha clarifies, and you pull into the driveway and turn off the car and turn to the side to look at her. Nos is panting with his head out the window because it’s hot. 

“I think you are right. I don’t want to believe you could really fall out of love with Rio.” You tell her, and Agatha bites her lip now. But she’s older and she’s strong and her resolve doesn’t break as she looks into your eyes. 

“I want to marry you. I want our souls bound. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I know Rio will always be in our lives. I will love her, and you will. But if you ask me to choose-”

You open your mouth, and she holds up her free hand to stop you. Before she uses it to unbuckle and turn to you like you had. 

“It will be you, every day of every moment for the rest of my existence. If you want to incorporate Rio more than our already stated rules, we can talk. But I have limits, and I know you, you won’t always like them.” She said regretfully, and you are proud of how strong Agatha is. She won’t bend her boundaries, and you love that about her too. 

“I’ve always respected your limits. I wouldn’t ask you to break one.” You say softly and the corner of her mouth lifts. 

“I know Angel, you’ve never put me in that position.” Agatha valued that in you. 

“So then why do you believe I’m going to run away with Rio at the very absence of you?” You whine. 

“Because she loves you, and you love her. Not in the same way you love me. But you do have a soft spot for her. And I agree with your Mother. There’s nothing good that comes from loving Rio, longer term that is.” Agatha says slowly, and you reach out and touch her cheek.

“I’m not sure where this idea is coming from. But I think the three of us are complicated. And it’s not that simple. I do love Rio, and you are right. It’s a different part of my heart than the one you own. But it’s still there. And she’s not going anywhere. And you two will have to figure this out, if not for each other, then maybe for me?” You say, and it isn’t meant to be selfish. But it’s true, the two would have to co-exist no matter what. 

“We can do that,” Agatha admits like she doesn’t call Rio and talk about you endlessly at night. You smirk at her knowingly and she is once again reminded you know everything about her. 

“Get your ass inside witch, I need a big spoon.” You say dropping, your hands and she’s all too happy to open the Subaru door. Both your familiars are inside before you open the door all the way.  You didn’t lock the house before you left, and you hear Agatha make an upset noise behind you.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Mommy wasn’t here to do it, ok!” It slips out, and you stop walking and put your hand over your mouth, shit! Agatha lets out a witch's cackle behind you. 

“Rio owes me a hundred bucks!” Agatha says and you are about to turn and slap her arm when two arms come around your waist and stop you. She puts her mouth on the shell of your ear. Her warm breath hitting you and the smell of her perfume is intoxicating. 

“You lasted longer than ever before. But you are Mommy’s girl. Daddy’s gonna be so mad at you! But you can’t help it, you even touched yourself without permission, and you know how I feel about that!” Agatha breathes against you and you moan and bite your lip. 

“I didn’t mean to say it! I didn’t mean it! Agatha!” You try to regain your composure but your underwear is already getting ruined. 

“No, no, no taking it back! I like the nickname too! And you sound so pretty saying it. And Freud would have a thing or two to say about you trying to deny your desire to say it!” Aggie giggles. 

“You don’t even like Freud! You said he’s full of shit and finger bangs people he shouldn’t!” You defend yourself and it doesn’t work. 

“I like the Doctor right now!”

To be continued...

A03 link

[genderkoolaid]

I come late to organizing as a transgender activist. In doing so, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned transgendered people truly are everywhere and not just in New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. I’ve learned many want to quietly assimilate into the white, heterosexual, middle class status quo that is the dominant culture of our nation. I’ve learned quite a few of us have no wish or desire for such assimilation — that for some of us, our greatest desire is to shake up that dominant culture, to question gender and identity on every level — social, biological, political and personal. I’ve learned that perhaps right at this moment there is a transgendered person — most likely an MTF transsexual or crossdresser, most likely a person of color, being brutally murdered. I’ve learned people much younger than I are coming out as transgendered in ways I never believed possible when I was their age and are challenging not only the status quo, but also calling on “old” activists like me to take another look around and see the world through their eyes. And I’ve learned that, perhaps like all other communities, we love to eat our own. Some of you reading this are aware of the controversies and conflicts swirling within the transgender community, most of which focus upon the organization GenderPAC. For those of you who aren’t up on it, here’s an abbreviated version. A significant number of transgender activists and community organizations have taken issue with GenderPAC’s expansion of its mission and vision to incorporate a larger view of gender rights rather than a specific and focused emphasis upon civil rights advocacy for transgendered people. Depending on whom you ask, this reinventing of GenderPAC is either the logical extension of its organizational vision to secure the rights of all people to free gender expression — or the cold-blooded abandonment of the very community by whom and for which it was created, nurtured and financially supported. Being the baby TG activist I am, I come to this drama late. Long after the battle lines were laid down. Long after sides were chosen, opinions formed and set in stone. Long after wounds (both real and imagined) were inflicted.

I’ve watched carefully for the past couple of years as the battle has played out online, in internet chat rooms, and on mailing lists. I’ve read statements from individuals and organizations that have taken a stand on the issue. I’ve received press releases and announcements from one camp or another; a battle of media propaganda that would make the veterans of the Cold War proud. And through it all, I’ve tried to be a rather casual observer, if one can be casual as they watch some of the best and brightest of their community consumed in an internal battle that threatens to tear the entire community apart. Of course my being a casual observer hasn’t stopped a few folks from demanding to know where I stand. I’ve been pulled aside at conferences and been given “information,” primarily innuendo and accusation, so I am up to speed on the situation. I’ve been directed to websites that were little more than character assassinations in badly laid-out HTML. And I’ve been emailed privately and off-list by those concerned I was going to make the “wrong choice.” Want to know what my answer to these people is? Okay, here it is — I really don’t care. That’s right. I DON’T CARE. You see, I believe almost everyone entangled in this controversy is acting in what they believe are the best interests of the community with which they feel most closely aligned. I believe they’re doing the best they can with what they have. I believe mistakes have been made by everyone involved, that the personal has become political in the most destructive of ways. I also believe in change and evolution; that even organizations that have had to be forced to listen to me and to consider my issues can learn from their mistakes and realize they must make a seat for me at the table if they are to truly realize the dream of civil rights for themselves and for others. But most of all, I believe in hope. I was asked point-blank whose side I was on. This is my answer: I am on the side of whoever has the guts and initiative to end this thing and make a real effort to move our community forward out of this debilitating and destructive conflict. I’m on the side of anyone who is more interested in healing the wounds than in proving who is right. I’m on the side of those who have the ability and the willingness to put aside their personal and political animosities and seek some way to bring together everyone involved to begin a healthy dialogue, one without finger-pointing and name-calling. Until that happens, I guess I’m on the side of those who are the most negatively affected by this dysfunctional family feud. In case anyone needs a refresher course as to who those folks are and the issues they are dealing with, allow me to introduce just a few of them. The transsexual FTM who has lost custody of his child when he began transition; the butch lesbian who lost her job because she refused to wear makeup or shave her legs; the crossdresser whose wife is seeking a divorce and custody of the children he adores; the effeminate gay man beaten to death and crucified on a fence on a lonely Midwestern plain; the 17-year-old MTF doing tricks in the back alleys of San Francisco because her parents kicked her out when they found “him” wearing dresses; the FTM who died of uterine cancer because he couldn’t get insurance approval for a hysterectomy after he had completed sexual reassignment. Ultimately, it is these transgender, transsexual and gender- variant people who have the most to lose if someone doesn’t step up to the plate to end this.

"Gender, Identity Politics, and Eating Our Own" by Alexander John Goodrum (2001)

[if-whats-new]

What's New In IF? Issue 33 (2024)

By Aj, Dion, Briar, Jen and Peter

Now Available!

Itch.io - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people see it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

The new year is upon us!

To give us more free time during the holidays, the Team decided to merge last and this week’s Issues together.

The same will be done with the next Issue, which will come out on January 4th! This makes this Issue the last Issue of the year.

More feedback?

As the year comes to an end we in the WNIIF team are once again looking for feedback! The goal of this form is to find out our readers' preferences and wishes, so we can make the 2025 edition even better!

Please spare a few minutes to fill it out. None of the questions are required, so you can answer only what you want!

Small Talk with Harris Powell-Smith! @hpowellsmith

Our Interviewers are currently working on a Interview with the awesome Harris Powell-Smith, an award-winning narrative designer and writer of the Crème de la Crème series and Blood Money!

Do you have something you always wanted to ask them? Now is your chance! Send us a message on one of our socials or send us an e-mail. We’ll ask them for you!

We hope you enjoy this new issue!

AJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

~ BE A PART OF THE ZINE ~

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

Prefer to be more low-key but still have something to share? Send us a Zine Letter or share a game title for Highlight on…!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Came across something interesting? Know a release or an update announced? Saw an event happening? Whether it's a game, an article, a podcast… Add any IF-related content to our mini-database!

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

Contact us through Tumblr asks, Forum DMs, or even by email! And thank you for your help!!

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : Velox Turbo 2 ~

December 13th to 17th 2024

Velox Turbo is a challenge edition of Velox Fabula (or "Quick Story"), which is a ranked jam about making a complete visual novel based on a community-determined theme, hosted by robobarbie and Allie Vera. The Velox Turbo edition gives creators 4 days (instead of the usual 10) to complete their project, encouraging speed, accurate scope setting, and creativity.

The Velox jam series is heavily inspired by Ludum Dare, a global game jam about making a game from scratch based on a certain theme in a short amount of time.

This Jam's theme: The Eye of the Beholder, was revealed at the start of the jam. Voting was held across several rounds in the week leading up to the jam starting.

Other themes in the Velox jam series were:

Unreliable Narrator

Morally Ambiguous Promise

Enemies with Benefits

Flower Symbolism

Doomed by the Narrative

Trapped with Someone

Forbidden Romance

You Shouldn't Be Here

Participants can now vote for their favourites until December 31st. There are six categories: Overall, Theme Incorporation, Narrative, Visuals and Sound. Even tho you can't vote unless you submitted your own work, definitely check out at least one of the 15 entries!

~ ENDED ~

The voting for A Very Hallmark Game Jam is over. Check out the results!

This year’s Yuri Game Jam is in over. There’s an unbelievable number of 109 entries to check out!

Another bitsy jam has ended. You can now check out 8 entries with the theme "better late than never".

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Media depicting healthy examples of polyamory isn’t that common. The PolyJamorous 2024 is trying to break the status-quo!

The Queer Winter Game Jam is in full swing. Those interested can submit their work until January 16th 2025.

ShuffleComp is a musical interactive fiction competition where you make games based on songs, which are submitted by other entrants. Creators have until January 20th 2025 to upload their works.

Once upon a time, a game jam was held to create stories around the theme of fairy tales… and that game jam is the Once Upon A Time VN Jam. It’s running from October 1st to January 31st.

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.

Are you perhaps a fan of more somber, melancholic themes? Then check out the Dying Year - Visual Novel Jam! You have until the end of the year to participate.

The Black Visual Novel Jam is all about working with creative professional developers who work in visual novels to bring more Black stories to life. The goal is to create a space where Black creators can show their unique storytelling through visual novels.

IF Short Games Showcase 2024 is a great way to shine some new light on your projects made in the past year (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024), regardless of whether or not they are previously released! You have until January 15th 2025 to join.

Winter Visual Novel Jam 2024 is here! You have until January 1st 2025 to submit your projects.

Are you familiar with Decker? Then why not take a part in the Deck-Month 2?

SeedComp! is a 2-round interactive fiction game jam, focusing on creativity and the growth of ideas and the Sprouting Round has just started! Check out the Planting round for inspiration.

~ NEW RELEASE ~

Gentleman, Adventurer, Crocodile (Forked) is a twenty-second romp around the Victorian world in the company of an adventurous crocodile. It is a story filled with wondrous lands, strange people, wealth, power, friendship, betrayal, shipwreck and delicious pastry.

Murder Gods Play Pachinko (Super Videotome Engine) - A group of friends gathers in a remote house for the first time in two years. This is the place where Kaya took his life. Tensions are high, to say the least. The snowstorm isn't letting up. It appears they're trapped. The only company they have is each other. Little do they know -- time isn't on their side. He's on his way.

A new era begins in Maroland… The Ancient Talking Dragons have nearly all been annihilated… The Elves hide in their ancient mansions. The future belongs to humans… However, naive human wizards long for immortality. It’s only a matter of time before one of them finds something they can’t control. The Elves of Maroland is now available for free downloading in English language.

You are a prisoner of the jaguar empire, being forcibly marched by your captor to the blood pits at the heart of the empire. In your condition, your choices are limited -- but you refuse to let them have you. Escape your captor, explore the continent, and struggle for survival in this unique text-based roguelike, Wild Continent (Unity).

Echoes in the Deep (Twine) is an atmospheric, choice-driven narrative game set in a failing underwater research station. As Dr. Evelyn Moore, you must uncover the station's secrets, restore failing systems, and escape before time runs out. Will you survive the depths, or will its mysteries drag you under?

Calmaria is the newest companion app developed by the Design School in partnership with the Informatics College, the Student Engagement Office, and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office of the University of ≭∘⊊⊚. Please enjoy Calmaria.

Dive even deeper into the world of A Date with Death with an all-new route. Starting with a fresh Day 6 and unfolding all the way through Day 10, this DLC brings you new conversations, stunning art, four new endings, and of course, the same beloved Grim Reaper. - A Date with Death - Beyond the Bet (Ren’Py). @twoandahalfstudios

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

Everyone knows vampires: bloodthirsty, unholy creatures, some barely any better than animals. You never thought you'd become one yourself. You're a believer in the new gods - but here you are, trying not to feel that they've abandoned you. Feed, fight, and flee from the sun, all while looking for a cure to turn your life, or lack of it, right again in Glass Fangs (Twine). @glassfangsif

You are the heir to the Dracian kingdom, born of dragon blood and royal lineage—but you know nothing of this truth. To protect you from the tyrannical king of Dracia—your own grandfather—your parents sacrificed their lives. They hid you away, ensuring the prophecy that foretells his downfall would survive, even if they could not. - Rise of the Forsaken (CScript).

Dazzling phantom thief heists, romantic meetings in the dead of night, and making a name for yourself; The Mysterious Thief, Forget Me Not (Ren’Py) is a mostly linear girl's love visual novel that features multiple POVs throughout. The story is set in the fictional city of Twinbells, England, and shows how the lives of our four main characters are changed forever when a ballet company — and its treasured jewel — visits the phantom thief-loving city. @solsketchbook

Rigor Mortis (Ren’Py) is a visual novel for goths of all stripes who are surviving under late-stage capitalism. Discover the adventures of Lunis Culpeper, 12-year-old newlydead, as she learns about (un)life in the (under)world the hard way.

Your life as an alchemist has been safe and comfortable so far... but when your sister makes you one last wish before passing away, you'll embark on a dangerous journey that might change your life—and the lives of your two companions—forever. Hopefully, you'll also learn to see the world in a new light after this Trek to Dead Water (Ren’Py).

Take centre stage as a former-rockstar turned actor navigating your new career and the chilling grip of fan-obsession in Scapegoated (CScript). Your once-famous band may be nothing short of a ghost of the past to you, but the rest of the world cannot seem to let go. The split in 1968 was scandalous, abrupt and mysterious. And although you’ve thrown yourself into acting and secured your first major role with a big time Hollywood director, whispers of blame have been on your tail ever since.

You are the illegitimate child of King Aldric the ruler of one of the seven kingdoms Ceryndor, marked by your half elven heritage and shunned by society. Born under a cloud of prejudice and tragedy, you are feared as the “Black Wolf” – an omen of misfortune and a harbinger of chaos. When the son of a wealthy trader is found dead, the fragile peace in your land begins to crumble. The investigation leads you to uncover secrets that could shake the foundations of the seven kingdoms. Will you embrace the tyranny they accuse you of, or will you rise above the scars of your past and forge your own path in War of Crowns (CScript)?

A Life in a Year (Unity) is a narrative-driven adventure game that explores the emotional challenges of studying abroad. You play as Laura, a 16-year-old exchange student in a Nordic country. The game navigates themes like language barriers, cultural differences, friendship, family, and more.

Your trade as a Keeper is suffering under the rule of the current Emperor, but you've just gotten lucky – the Summit Library, the largest and most important Library in the Eawin Empire, has requested your services. But when you arrive you suddenly find yourself in a dangerous magical mystery: something's wrong with the books, and the Library is falling apart at the seams. Also, there might be a war? But The Summit Library is situated on neutral territory, so that doesn't affect you... Right?

~ UPDATES ~

A Sun Asunder: Post Apocalypse (CScript) updated their demo. @asapostapocalypseif

Meteoric (CSscript) added new content to their demo.

REMEMBER, YOU WILL DIE (CSscript) released Chapter 5. @vapolis

The Ultimate Magic Student (CScript) updated their demo.

Thicker Than (CScript) released their monthly update on Ko-Fi. @barbwritesstuff

Virtue’s End (CScript) updated their Patreon demo. @virtues-end

A Warmth in the Cold (CScript) added new content to the demo.

Spire, Surge and Sea (CScript) updated a new second Chapter.

The Adventures of Alaric Blackmoon (ADRIFT) released Episode 10.

Sentience (Twine) released Chapter 5. @sentience-if

Adrift With You (CScript) released Chapter 2. @kathrinesadventures

A Shriek of Ash and Fire (CScript) released Update 6. @krogpile

Drink Your Villain Juice (CScript) updated their demo. @drinkyourvillainjuice

Oh Mother, Where Are Thou? (CScript) updated their demo.

Dragon Kin (CScript) added new content to their demo.

Soulmates Inc (CScript) is back with a new update. @soulmatesinc-if

Voiceless: A Siren’s Song (CScript) released a re-written Chapter 1.

War of the Divines (CScript) updated their demo.

Hunter’s Requiem (CScript) added new content to their demo. @huntersrequiem-if

~ OTHER ~

Crown of Exile (Twine) offers a limited Access up to Chapter Ten for all their readers. Check it out before it’s too late! @ramonag-if

The Rosebush released an Interview with Chandler Groover, an interactive fiction author known for his influential games such as Eat Me, Toby’s Nose and Midnight. Swordfight., as well as his contribution in Fallen London’s storylines. @the-rosebush-mag

Devil On Your Shoulder is looking for beta testers.

~

As always, we apologize in advance for missing any update or release from the past week. We are only volunteers using their limited free time to find as much as we can - but sometimes things pass through the cracks.

If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week! And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

I.A.G Alpha by techniX (INSTEAD)

The interactivity turns the idea of an IF piece on its head!

//submitted by Max//

The Master of the Land by Pseudavid (Twine)

A night of celebration with many storylines to explore. Replay again and again to understand, not to win.

//submitted by Sera//

Wonderland Noir: Behind the Looking Glass by Slim Pickens (Ink)

Delves into heavy topics, reminds me of Disco Elysium. Incredibly evocative writing, almost no attention given.

//submitted by Mouthofdirt//

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!

As we end this issue, we would like to thank:

Max, Sera and Mouthofdirt

For sending us a Highlight!!

And as always, huge thanks to all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on last week's issue!

What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us!

Thank you for cheering us on this journey!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We all wish you a great start to next year!

We will see you in January with a 2025 edition of What’s New in IF!

AJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 33

[reijisteacup]

Can you do a scenario where they get like a really silly sacrificial bride who makes dark humor jokes and calls them humanoid mosquitoes and randomly drinks monster and gets shaky and violent afterwards because of all the caffeine and aggressively bites them for no reason.

This is me core

YESSS THIS IS MEE TOO TWINNN <3333

=================================================================================================

Sakamaki's

Shu Sakamaki:

At first, he ignored her. A sacrificial bride with a death wish? Fine. Less work for him. But then she climbed onto his couch, knocked his headphones off, and bit his shoulder hard. “Are you feral!?” She licked her lips. “You taste like wet dog and childhood trauma.” He genuinely considered calling Karlheinz.

Reiji Sakamaki:

He tried to educate her. Tried to instill discipline. Structure. Dignity. But every time he lectured her, she stared blankly and whispered: “God, you sound like a tax accountant. Bite me.” “I intend to.” “Promise?” He banned energy drinks. She started making her own in the garden. She called it “Witch Juice.” It burned a hole through the marble.

Laito Sakamaki:

“Oh~ such a naughty little thing. Kinky, ne~?” She blinked once. “Do you want rabies? Because I’ll give you rabies.” Then she bit his neck like an angry toddler and screamed “BLEED FOR MY ART!” Even he needed a moment after that.

Kanato Sakamaki:

He was intrigued by her… erratic behavior. Until she called Teddy “Build-A-Bear’s goth cousin” and tried to offer him Monster. He screamed. She screamed. Everyone screamed. The windows shattered. When he finally tried to drain her, she whispered, “Careful. I had five Red Bulls and a gummy bear today. My blood might legally count as an energy drink.” He spat her out.

Ayato Sakamaki:

Thought she was gonna be an easy snack. Until she bit him first. While laughing. “Hey! You don’t get to do the biting, Chichinashi!” “Sorry, I thought we were playing ‘Who’s the Bigger Parasite.’ Guess I won.” Cue Ayato chasing her through the halls, fangs bared, her screaming “MOSQUITO MAN DETECTED—DEPLOYING REPELLENT” and throwing holy water like it’s a Nerf war.

Subaru Sakamaki:

Poor, poor Subaru. He tried to be patient. Nice, even. But she snuck up on him, poked his arm, and said, “Hey. Do vampires get heart attacks? Because I think I’m about to give you one.” She then chugged half a Monster, screamed like a war god, and sprinted full-speed into a wall. He just left the room. Nope.

Mukami's

Ruki Mukami:

He thought she was a “livestock anomaly” at first — defective, but manageable. Then she kicked open the manor door, chugged a Monster in three gulps, and screamed: “HELLO POLYESTER DRACULAS, YOUR BRIDE HAS ARRIVED. WHO WANTS TO DIE FIRST?!” He dropped his book. When he tried to scold her for her “utter lack of refinement,” she made unblinking eye contact and whispered: “Your hair makes you look like a rejected Final Fantasy villain.” She bit him later for calling her ‘livestock.’ He had a mark for three days. Ruki locked himself in the library for 72 hours. He now mutters her name like a curse.

Kou Mukami:

At first, he thought it was all an act. “She’s just quirky~ That manic pixie cryptid energy is kinda cute~” Then she punched a hole through his fan mail pile during a caffeine rampage and told his stuffed rabbit: “You’re next, Rabbit Satan.” She tried to bite him mid-photo shoot, eyes wild, pupils two different sizes. He screamed. She screamed. The camera guy screamed. And when he bled a little, she licked her lips and said: “Mmm~ glitter blood. Tastes like clout.” Kou has been sleeping with the door locked ever since.

Yuma Mukami:

He honestly liked her. At first. Girl had bite — literally. The first time they argued, she lunged for his forearm and gnawed like a rabid raccoon. “WHAT THE HELL—?!” She didn’t even answer. Just wiped her mouth and went, “You taste like fertilizer and unresolved daddy issues.” He tackled her into a bush. She started calling him “Corn Daddy.” He pretends to hate her, but honestly? She's the only person who’s ever scared him without even trying.

Azusa Mukami:

Wasn't scared. At all. No, he was enthralled. She bit him? He smiled. She barked at the others like a demon chihuahua on six Monsters? He laughed softly. Called her "warm chaos." “Do you… want to bite me again…? Harder this time?” She blinked. “You’re kinda weird. I like that. Wanna shotgun Monster together and commit minor arson?” Cue the most deranged, soft-spoken duo in vampire history. Everyone avoids them now. They’ve started a caffeine cult.

Tsukinami's

Carla Tsukinami:

The King of Vampires met her, and she called him a “premium Dollar Tree Dracula.” He nearly killed her on the spot.

Nearly.

But the way she downed a Monster mid-sentence and growled “fight me, powdered donut boy” before lunging at him with a feral bite? That… intrigued him. “You are either utterly brainless… or a divine glitch.” She responded by asking if his cloak was made of dead IKEA curtains.

Carla has not been the same since.

Shin Tsukinami:

He laughed his ass off. “What are you, a rabid possum? What’s wrong with your blood pressure?” She bit him out of nowhere — no warning, no seduction, just CHOMP. “NOW YOU’RE MARKED BY THE GOBLIN QUEEN!” she screamed, eyes twitching from her sixth Monster. Shin didn’t even fight back. He wheezed. He cried. He might’ve imprinted on her. “I think I’m in love,” he whispered, holding his bitten wrist like it was sacred.

[n0t-evenhere]

Here is that Jacob Alden fix that’s just been marinating in my brain space. I couldn’t quite figure out how I wanted it to end so if the ending is wonky…forgive me. Other than that enjoy this little thing I promised you. (Even though I didnt receive any hip surgery memes 😔) a sucky drawing at the end too.

My heart

Warning: creepy stuff, bones go crunch, flesh gets torn, obsessive behavior, and terrible sleep.

The mattress was perfect, warm, so good your body couldn’t move nor did it want to. Well, your body felt heavy, was the better term, you thought. Soft thudding made your eyes open, the space between wakefulness and sleep shifted to complete awareness. Your eyes wander to the corner of your room. A silhouette. Light that peaked through the crack from the window curtain reflected off the silhouettes glasses. After the short moment of your eyes adjusting to the darkness, there was familiarity in the person. An unsettling familiarity that makes you feel increasingly uneasy. “Jacob?” You whispered quietly, almost afraid that with the broken silence he’d pounce. The shadow smiled, a grin wide that showed all teeth. “Yes?” He replied softly.

That made your mind fill up with questions but even with effort you couldn’t verbalize, they just mingled on the tip of your tongue . “I hope you don’t mind.” His slow southern voice remained soft as he stood to you. “I just…needed to feel it.” Your body still remains immobile, the heart in your chest picks up speed as Jacob waltzes over to the left side of the bed. “I can hear it from here.” Climbing onto the bed, her crawling over to you, straddling you. Even with his weight on you, you couldn't feel it. Sat there before leaning down face to face with his hands resting beside your head. “Yes…” He sighed, face flushed, he sat back up his hand moving to push back his hair while the other covered his mouth for a moment before he moved it and licked his lips. “It’s so beautiful. Just for me.” Jacob’s hand came to rest on your chest, just between the valley of your breast. “There it is. Beatin’. Just fer me. Ya know….this belongs to me right.” His eyes lock on to yours, excitement practically spilling out of them. “I can prove it. No one can reach your heart like I can.”

Pressure began to radiate heat on the flesh where his palm touched. Pressure quickly turned to pain. Throwing your body out of its immobilized state. You flailed and thrashed, trying to push him off. He seemed unaffected and determined to continue. A new sound filled the space, the sound of flesh ripping that quickly turned into the sound of bones cracking and breaking as Jacob’s hand sank further. You scream but everything goes dead quiet except for the sound of ringing that wouldn’t stop. His hand sank deeper, your body reacting, body feeling as if it were engulfed in flames. He continued until you felt it…he felt it. He held your heart in his hand. Jacob gave it a squeeze rendering you numb again. All your limbs are lying still on the bed. He leaned down. “See, it beats just fer me. You don’t know it yet but, you are mine. Always will be.”

Your body jolts up, your skin drenched in sweat along with the sheets. It took you a few moments to recover from the absolute horrid dream you just had. You’ve heard people talk about fantasy dreams but this? Whatever it was you just dreamed felt like you just lived someone else’s fantasy. That or it felt like a warning of some sort. You’ve always been a vivid dreamer, never forget your dreams. After coming to a more calm state of mind you had an answer for your problem. A shower, a shower would fix this. Definitely needed it anyway.

Moving her wasn’t a bad choice. A nice house for one, a park, nice neighbors. The only things you weren’t too sure about were one, the mail man named Austin. He acted more like a frat boy Chad then an Austin. He probably just peaked in highschool and now he thinks he’s still some prize. The second thing was now your neighbor to your left. Jacob. He was kind, often giving you your misplaced mail and other things like cookies. Nice and a little awkward. A complete contrast to that horrific dream you had. Confliction was what you felt, Jacob was nice so it was just odd. With a sigh it was shower time but you wanted to check your phone first. 6:48. The time where even if you showered or not you wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep knowing it’s so close to morning time. Too early to wake up, too late to sleep. That shower would help with the crankiness too.

The warm water cascaded down you head, back and to your shower floor. Hair becomes heavy with water. The shower took a good twenty minutes. A new hair care routine that you are still trying to get a hold on. Shaving and all that. After the hot shower and motioning to prevent dry skin you tried to read a book in your decently sized living room. That lasted five minutes. Tv? Ten minutes, drawing? Not even three. Restless sleep is bad enough but restless wakefulness is a whole other level of frustration. Looking at your phone reads 7:26 am. A moment of consideration brought you to the decision to do something new. Go for a morning jog. Throwing on some comfy clothing and tossing your hair up, you just went for it. The park nearby was enticing enough.

Making it to the door and opening it you yelp. Jacob stood there wide eyed, face dusted with deep red, his body tense. “Oh, my lanta.” You said as you held your hand over your beating heart. “I’m uh, I’m sorry I scared you. I didn’t mean nothin’. No harm. I just was up early and made food. Made extra and thought you might want some.” She paused, “not that I knew you were up or anything like that. I just was gonna leave it here but then you just kinda…you know…showed up.” Jacob held the small dish to you. You couldn’t see what was inside but you took it anyway. “Oh, thank you Jacob. Very sweet of you.” He smiled warmly. “No problem, I just you know, did my thing that I do.” You look at him not quite sure what that meant by that. He seems embarrassed again, as if he just gave something away that he wasn’t supposed to. Like some kind of secret. “Ah, well. Anyway, I’ll see ya around. Enjoy breakfast. If you need me you know where to find me.” Jacob quickly retreated back to his home. Breakfast seemed like a better start to your day. Jacob made any doubts and questions you had disappeared . It was just a dream anyway. It’s not like he was some psychopath who was obsessed with you….

[a0iakuma]

@theultimateshadow asks: & ((YOU SAY YOU WANT ANGST AND CUTE HOURS I WILL PROVIDE IF YOU WILL ALLOW IT- if I'm sending in too many things lmk and I'll slow it down lmao)) ( Send me "&" for my muses reaction to yours tracing one of their scars. / accepting! )

“ ⸻Whoa! Getting a bit touchy there, ain't you? Not that I mind. ” It was weird but not unwelcomed. There's a nasty scar on the back of his leg. Just another accident. “ I don't remember where I got that. I get into so much trouble that I just forget about them. ” Sonic laughed softly. “ Maybe it's from Eggman, or hell. Maybe from you? Or from something else entirely. If I'd guess, then I'd say it happened by Eggman's hands or robots. I ain't exactly indestructible, I know that. ”

“ Just shows how much I survived during these years, or maybe it was from one of the Black Arms. Actually, it could be that. I barely had any sleep during that. ”

[probablysimpledreams]

hello!!! congrats on 200!! could I get shigaraki + "said you're not in my time zone but you wanna be" + maybe online friends au? (You can really do whatever kind of au you want, i don't mind!) Thank you for doing these, congrats again!! 🖤🖤

Hiii lovely<3333 thank you so so much Kisa!!!!! AA I LOVE ONLINE FRIENDS AU WITH SHIGGY it's so good for him hehe I had fun with this I hope you enjoyyyy (throwing lots of love your way) <333

cw: fluff <3 you two are in love but this is like predating situation (and had to add Shiggy being in a band bc LOV band is so real to me)

wc: 1254

You groan as another email popped into your inbox, announcing its presence with a sharp ding that has been haunting you all week. Usually you had no issues with your job as it paid well and the work was relatively easily. However, this past week had you rethinking all those positive thoughts after being thrown onto a last minute project with a team that does not work well together. You've been having to come in much earlier than usual all week too, and now that it was Friday that exhaustion was catching up to you. Before clicking on the new emails demanding your attention, your eyes travel down to the corner of your laptop to find the time. 12:06 pm. Great.

You rub your eyes then take a deep breath as you work through the next tasks that needed to be completed this week. If you could just power through these last few hours then you could get home and spend the rest of the evening with Tomura, as Fridays were designated as movie nights for you two. You and Tomura had met in a random Discord server almost a year ago, bonding over a similar taste in video games and music. You two connected instantly, spending many of the early days of getting to know each other pulling all nighters to keep talking. However between the responsibilities in both your lives growing and Tomura being in a timezone hours ahead of your own, these all nighters got harder to do. That's why Friday movie nights were so special to you both, as it was a guaranteed day you both could be online all night and just sleep in the following day.

Buzz buzz. The vibration from your phone grabbed your attention away from the laptop you've been staring at for hours on end as you pulled it from your pocket to read the message.

tomura: What's the name of that restaurant you're obsessed with again? With the ramen you like so much

you: Ramen House lol why?

[tomura liked your message]

You shake your head giggling before putting your phone away. Who knows what he's up to, you can just ask him later. A couple more minutes pass before your phone goes off again.

tomura: Why the fuck is food so expensive in your city?😐

you: Don't even get me started😩 why do you think I only get that place on special occasions LMAOOO

[tomura laughed at your message]

After what felt like ages, the workday finally wrapped up and you could head home. A wave of energy washed over you as you skipped to your car, shooting Tomura a quick message before speeding off home.

you: IM FREE🙌 idk how I did it😩

tomura: Yay :) Rough day again?

you: Yeah :/ just happy it's over and finally our movie night <333

tomura: Same :) btw there should be something at your door when you get back

you: huh ????

[tomura laughed at your message]

As you make the drive back to your apartment, you can't stop thinking about that message. He had sent you mail before, but only twice for different holidays. Also, if he had bought you something he probably would have told you much earlier in the week so you could be expecting it. What could possibly be waiting for you today all of a sudden? And that's when you see the bag of food and drink sitting right outside your day, a DoorDash receipt stapled to the bag listing your favorite meal in a size large enough where you will definitely have leftover to enjoy tomorrow.

you: TOMURA YOU DID NOT

you: crazyyyy way to ask for my hand in marriage but my answer is yesss <3333 making out with you through the screen (with tongue)

tomura: Nevermind, telling the driver to come back and get it now that you made it weird🙄

you: oh pls you love me just as much

[tomura liked your message]

tomura: Get inside so we can start the movie idiot

Tomura was happy you weren't on the call just yet as his cheeks were still flushed from your cute message. You grab your dinner, smiling and humming happily as you enter into your apartment. After kicking off your shoes and throwing on some comfortable clothes, you practically jump onto your bed to pull up the video call with Tomura.

"Thank you again for my dinner Tomu," you smile as the call connects. He offers you a small smile in return, avoiding direct eye contact as he works to pull up the movie he has picked out for tonight.

"It's really no big deal, I know how hard the week has been for you. And knowing your lazy ass, you probably wouldn't have even cooked dinner if I didn't order you it," he joked. You stuck your tongue out at him before taking another bite of the noodles, humming happily as the flavor and warmth enters your body. You're too focused on the food to notice the way Tomura watches you with a gentle expression. God you were too cute.

Before starting the movie, you ask him about his week. He shares with you how work has been treating him lately, and how band practices have been laster longer with an upcoming gig in their future. He shares some funny stories of his bandmates, making you giggle as you love hearing about his friends. You then share your latest work endeavors, how you finally finished that project up today and how earlier this week you and your friends went to the drive in movies since the weather has been warming up. All your worries and stresses just melted away whenever talking to Tomura. And he took note of it too, his heart beat quickening as your eyes lit up whenever you talked to him. You made him feel special in a way he'd never imagine someone could.

After a couple hours of conversations, though it felt more like twenty minutes, you and Tomura started up the movie. The movie was one that had been on both your watch lists for a while now, and Tomura felt it fit the vibe well as it featured the type of actions he enjoyed and many actors you adored. It's about half way through when Tomura looks away from the movie and over to you, excited to see your reactions to the latest plot development occurring. His eyes widen before letting out a chuckle at the sight of you fast asleep, mouth open and drooling slightly with your favorite stuffed animal in your arms. You must have been truly exhausted to have fallen asleep so quickly tonight, but Tomura didn't mind. You both had tomorrow off so could always rewatch the movie then, or even just play some video games. As long as he gets to spend time with you the details don't matter much.

As the movie wraps up, Tomura moves to stretch his arms and upper body. He then turns towards the window, watching as early morning sunlight begins filling the room slowly. He looks back over to you on the screen, smiling as you're still deep asleep and probably will be for the next few hours. He whispers "I love you" as he watches you before ending the call. Before he climbs into bed for a quick nap, he pulls out his phone and sends you a message.

tomura: Hope you sleep well, don't drool on your laptop loser💀 Call me when you're awake

[athenagc94]

Dear Daddy Long Legs - Chapter 4

Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

I am now uploading this fic on AO3 for those who'd prefer to read it there. You can find it here.

TW: Mentions of Death - Jason always talks about his death

First | Prev | Next

Chapter 4

Tim thought the letters were a stupid idea.

And maybe he had a point, not that Jason asked for his opinion. It was his memorial foundation. He died for the right to set stupid parameters for his scholarships. Besides, it wasn’t like you were the only one to receive a scholarship. He picked two other students from the pool of applicants.

One wanted to be a doctor and work at the Martha and Thomas Wayne clinic in Park Row where she grew up. Another wanted to study law so they could provide pro-bono representation for people who couldn’t afford it. Three scholarships didn’t seem like nearly enough, but it was a step in the right direction. Maybe he’ll expand it to five next year. There was plenty of money in the foundation.

You were the only one he asked for letters from—not because he didn’t want to hear from the other two—he just figured you’d appreciate the parallel to your favorite novel more than they did. Irony was delicious, and it seemed more fitting for a writer.

Or at least, he thought that would be the case.

The new semester started that week, and Jason might have been excited to hear from you. Giddy was a better word, but he had a reputation to consider. He checked the PO box daily in anticipation of your first letter.

The first week passed.

Nothing.

He texted Tim. You’re sure she accepted the scholarship?

His response: Srsly? Get a life.

Rude, but whatever. Tim already confirmed you accepted—several times now. Jason even saw the finished paperwork with your signature (only because Tim wanted him off his back). Asking again wasn’t going to change his answer.

Jason shrugged off his initial disappointment. You would write to him, er, Bruce Wayne next week.

No one paid him any mind as he approached the PO box the following week. He wore street clothes, another variation of joggers and sweatshirts because it was too much effort to figure out his aesthetic as Stephanie had told him. Seriously, he had no idea what the fuck lunarcore was. Unlocking the box, a frustrated growl rumbled in his chest, earning him some startled looks from the postal workers behind the counter.

Empty.

Again.

Maybe he overestimated your appreciation for poetic irony. Or Tim had lied to him about you accepting the scholarship. He always expected Tim to get back at him for the Tower incident one day. Psychological warfare seemed more his speed.

If all of this—you, the Jason Todd Memorial foundation and scholarship—had been a cruel joke, it might be enough to break him.

He grabbed his phone to text him. Halfway through, a notification appeared at the bottom of the text box.

Tiny Tim Drake has notifications silenced.

Jason gritted his teeth and slammed the ‘notify anyway’ button before sending three more texts in quick succession—just to spite him. By the third text, he was notified that it couldn’t be delivered. Jason swore under his breath. The bastard blocked him.

He slammed the door closed, rattling the middle-aged worker who sorted mail in the corner. His fingers curled and uncurled as he breathed through the irritation welling in his chest. Irritation could quickly turn to anger and anger was… well, destructive.

At one point, anger was all he knew. It burned at the center of his chest, hot and bright. He spent so long feeding the flames, and for what? Acting on his violent urges rarely left him satisfied when the smoke cleared.

But there wasn’t always anger. Frustration, certainly. He had been frustrated with the hand he was dealt. Park Row was unkind but he managed to look past the shit and chose happiness instead. Smiling wasn’t a chore. Robin gave him magic—before it was ripped away from him.

If he chose happiness once, Jason believed he could do it again. He just wasn’t sure how.

Jason stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, other passerby parting around him like water around a boulder. These letters. They were supposed to make him happy. He needed to speak with you.

But how?

And as who?

Jason Todd was supposed to be dead—killed abroad in a terrorist attack. A tragic hero in the story Bruce fabricated to hide the truth. A ghost. Nothing more.

The nameless man you met in passing on the subway didn’t know your name, let alone where to find you.

But you knew Red Hood. He knew about the writing program, just not that it had panned out for you.

You even shared the general location of where you lived…

He shook his head to dislodge the plan slowly forming in his head. Getting involved was a bad idea. You didn’t need him meddling any more than he already had.

Jason was intelligent—certainly. One didn’t spend their life tucked between the pages of a book or working for the Batman and not learn a little common sense. He recognized all the different ways this could blow up in his face, and yet…

One last time, he promised himself as he continued toward his apartment. Once he spoke with you, he could move on with his life.

But first, he needed to change.

***

The air cooled significantly with the setting sun, enough to sting his skin as he navigated the rooftops of Park Row. For someone like Jason, who always ran a few degrees hot, it was a welcome change. His footfalls stayed surprisingly light for a man of his stature, not that anyone was around to appreciate it (nor would they have heard him coming until it was too late).

As he closed in on your complex, he counted the windows to find your apartment. His efforts were moot because, well, there you sat on your fire escape with a notebook balanced on your knees. No yellow hoodie this time.

Jason slowed his stride, assessing how best to make his presence known without startling you.

Your gaze shifted up as he reached the edge of the adjacent roof, pinpointing where he hid amid the shadows. He froze. How did you…? You squinted; another hard expression tinged with what he could only describe as morbid amusement.

“Stalking isn’t a good look for you.”

He hopped down to join her on the escape, the iron groaning under his heavy boots. “I’m just checking in to make sure you haven’t gotten into any more trouble.” Even Jason heard how lame that excuse was, especially given you hadn’t been the one to seek out trouble in the first place.

You, of course, called him on it. “Bullshit.”

“Standard protocol,” he insisted, though he sounded less certain.

“I wasn’t aware the Red Hood followed protocol. Doesn’t really seem like your style.” You tapped your pen thoughtfully on your notebook before adding, “You track down every person that you save, weeks after the incident occurred?”

“I happened to see you,” he tried again, grateful that his modulator hid the desperation in his tone, “So, I decided to see how you were doing with the…” He threw up his hands in defeat. “How are you?”

Not even the Red Hood alias saved him from his painfully awkward attempts at small talk. His fingers flexed at his side. He had a nasty habit of fidgeting under pressure, and your discerning gaze stressed him out. You already clocked him as a liar. What was stopping you from connecting the dots between this and everything else?

When you failed to respond in favor of staring at him, he asked, “Do you look at everyone like this?”

You blinked. “Like what?”

“Like the world is out to get you.”

“You saved me from getting mugged the first time we met.”

False. You were trapped with him on a subway while he rambled about books for ten minutes the first time you two crossed paths, but he caught his tongue between his teeth before he admitted it.

“I think I’m allowed to be wary of people, especially when they wear masks and track me down at my home to check in.”

A flush crept down his neck. “Noted. This is weird, isn’t it.”

“A little weird,” you agreed.

“If it counts for anything, I’m aware that I'm not very good at this,” he admitted.

Your expression softened. “Or maybe I’m being a little harsh. I’m sorry. I’m just—I’m a little overwhelmed right now.”

“Why?”

“For starters, the semester started two weeks ago?”

Jason jumped at the opportunity to talk about your classes. “Does that mean you got a scholarship?”

“That’s the other part. I did. It’s a Wayne Foundation scholarship. Real niche, I guess. It wasn’t even listed on their website when I applied. Now it is, so maybe I just missed it, but…” You sighed. “Now they expect me to write letters to Bruce Wayne every two weeks.”

“And you don’t want to?” he asked, fearing the answer.

“It’s not that,” you insisted, “I don’t mind it, I guess, but writing them seems a little old-fashioned. It would be easier to send an email instead.”

“Maybe he finds emails impersonal,” Jason muttered before he could stop himself. Emails would also require Jason to have a business email, and that was a little too corporate for his blood.

“I get it. He’s old, but I didn’t think he was that old.”

Jason flinched. People, mostly adults, called him an old soul. He used to preen under their attention, believing it was a compliment, but being called old outright—by you—didn’t feel as good.

“But there’s something romantic int the art of writing letters,” he insisted.

You shot him a dubious look—a favorite in your arsenal of guarded mistrust, it seemed. “Romantic?”

“I-I mean, not in the context of romance, but through the lens of an idealized reality. Picturesque, idyllic, pick your favorite synonym. I’ve always been partial to quixotic myself. Not enough words starting with the letter q.” More blood rushed to his face. This was going south and fast if he was talking about his favorite synonyms. He should have left well-enough alone and gotten a life as Tim suggested.

You exhaled sharply. It was almost a laugh, but not quite. “No one said he’d ever write me back. Honestly, I doubt he’ll even read my letters. Who has the time to read about what I’m learning in French?”

Jason perked up. “You’re taking French?”

“I want to read Victor Hugo in its original language.”

He curled and uncurled his fingers—excitement this time. Bruce might not care about your schooling, but he wanted to know everything. Your thoughts and opinions, which classes were your favorite, and whether you joined any extracurriculars. It allowed him to close his eyes and act like he was there too. Some might call it selfish, but he could live with that.

You sighed and uncapped your pen. “Technically, I needed to send a letter last week, but I’m not sure what to write. I want to make a good first impression, just in case he does read them. What if he decides I’m not the right fit for the scholarship and rescinds the offer?”

His heart sank. “Is that what you’re worried about?”

“I want to be witty and charming, but everything sounds wrong as soon as I get it on paper.”

If that was all you were worried about, Jason felt infinitely better. He didn’t want you to pretend for his—er, for Bruce’s sake. “I think you should write what feels good to you. The foundation picked you for a reason, so I think he’d know if you’re pretending to be something you’re not.”

You eyed him curiously. “Is it standard protocol to give unsolicited advice?”

He shrugged. “I’m a man of depth and multitudes.”

You laughed at that, and his heart swelled. It was a nice laugh.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

Your eyes sparkled. “It’s everything I ever wanted and more.”

“I bet it is.” Jason curbed the whisper of jealousy that curled in his chest and focused on the good he was doing instead. You looked happy, and that was all that mattered. “I’m glad someone took a chance on you.”

Before you could respond, his comm beeped with an incoming message. He swore under his breath. “One second.” He popped onto the roof to put some distance between you and him before answering. “What?”

“Have you sufficiently wallowed in your failure?” Artemis asked coolly.

Her voice, while not unwelcome, left him a little disoriented. They hadn’t really spoken since he dipped a few weeks ago. It usually fell to him to keep the channels open, and he’d been a little distracted, so hearing from her without his reaching out first was a little unexpected.

“Maybe.”

She clicked her tongue. “We have a new bid from a new client. We await our fearless leader before we proceed, but only if he pulls his head out of his ass first.”

Jason ground his teeth. “When?”

“In a month, so wipe your tears and try not to be late. I am happy to step in as leader in your stead. Or we could call Nightwing to replace you. Or the one called Orphan? I hear the Gotham lot are interchangeable.”

It was hard not to take everything she said as a personal attack, but he was used to her blunt tone. It was her way of knocking some sense into him. He usually deserved to be bullied, and this time wasn’t any different. The Outlaws needed him. They weren’t always on a job, but this was the longest stretch of time he’d gone without reaching out since they decided to work together. Another job might be exactly what he needed to get over… whatever this was with you.

“Message received.” He chuckled a little. Loud and fucking clear. “Send me the details. I’ll be there. You still as the safehouse?”

“Yes.” The line went dead.

Artemis also wasn’t that big on goodbyes.

Jason sighed and hopped down to join you once more. You peered at him over the edge of your notebook. “Duty calls?”

“Uh, yeah, I have to—” He left it there. The less you knew about his work, the better. Some clients were more unsavory than others, and he didn’t know fuck all about this one. “I’m glad you’re enjoying your classes. Good luck with your first semester.”

You shot him a mock salute. “See you around, Hood.”

He hoped not. Seeing you again gave him the closure he needed, but indulging himself could easily turn into a slippery slope, one he wasn’t too keen to take. From here on out, it would be the letters, and that’s it.

[jay-m3]

Eggcellent

Male reader insert Characters: Adam, Lucifer, Alastor, Valentino, and Vox Warning* Foul language

Ok, imagine giving them an egg. Like in those tiktoks where people give their dogs an egg to see if they will be gentle with it.

Adam

"Uh, what the hell do you want me to do with this?" Adam looks at the egg in his hand. An eyebrow raised in confusion as he rubs the egg with his thumb before looking over to you; who walks away.

"Babes?" You didn't even explain why, just placed the egg in his hand when he arrived home. With a snarl, he follows you in the kitchen, pocketing the egg in his robe.

The whole day, Adam didn't get an answer. Egg in his pocket which he sometimes smooths a thumb over it. Seeing that it is now bed time, he enters the bathroom where you were brushing your teeth. Through the mirror he narrows his eyes before a flash of a grin spreads on his face.

"What the fuck Adam!" You screech when the eggs' yolk runs down your face when Adam smashes it on the top of your head.

"Ha! That's what you get bitch! Hahaha!"

Lucifer

"Uh...want me to make you eggs?" Lucifer chuckles out, looking down at the egg that was placed in his hand. When he looks up, you shrug as a response before leaving him in his office.

Narrowing his eyes at the egg, he gently places it on his desk, away from the duck that he was creating before you walked in. It was a little late to eat just eggs (it was 9pm) and has seen you in pj's so that means you were now heading to bed.

Over night, he stays up to finish his project. Eyes drifting to the egg every so often. Everytime he does, the memory of you just pops in from the random encounter. How funny.

"Awe, Lucifer." You smile as a plate of eggs is set infront of you as you sit up from bed. The egg that you gave him on the side, fully intact with a smiling duck face painted on it.

"Good morning, handsome."

Alastor

"Dear?" He questions as the egg is placed in his hand. Without much of a goodbye, you rush off. With an eye twitch, he places it down on his table.

He stares at if for a couple of minutes, sipping at his tea as he tries to make out what is your intention. He hasn't done anything wrong...unless it's your communication of wanting dinner with something with an egg in it? With that idea and only solution of just giving him a fucking egg, he darts off to the kitchen.

"What the hell, Alastor." You say in shock once you see one of Sir Pentious's egg boy tied up in the middle of the table on a platter.

"Please save me nice man!"

Valentino

"What's this?" Valentino questions as you hand him the egg. He examines it closely, wondering if it's a vibe that was shaped as an egg. Those things have been selling well. But as he examines it closer, it's just a regular plain stupid egg.

With a frown he looks up to find you gone. How rude. With a displeased sigh, he takes a gulp from his cocktail that he was trying before you interrupted.

"Kitty, give me my usual." Valentino grumbles out, watching as the robot quickly takes the drink that was placed down to replace it. Sighing, he remembers the egg in his hand.

"Fucking bitch." He grumbles out as he let's the egg slip from his hand and splat on the ground.

Vox

"Bye hot stuff." Vox says before rushing out the door. He was on a call, distracted as he grabs his stuff from your hand which you thankfully gathered for him. He is so going to reward you tonight.

"What the fuck?" He says once he notices the egg in the cup holder of his car after he finishes up the call. He picks it up, examining it. How the hell did the egg end up there? Why did you give him an egg?

"Hey Valerie, call Lover boy." The sound of a ping rings out the car as it starts to call you. After a few seconds, it goes to voice mail. Rolling his eyes, he calls again. As he waits, he lowers his windows to get some fresh air.

"Don't cut me off!" Vox yells out to the car that swerves in his lane. Having none of it (especially not wanting to damage his sport car), he speeds up next to the car and throw the egg at it.

"Hello?"

"We need to buy more eggs."

[blerb-f1]

"Documents" - Max Verstappen x NB!Reader

Max finds himself working on Documents for someone.

For more FanFiction, find my Masterlist here

A loud Yawn escaped from Max Verstappens Throat as he pushed open the doors to the Red Bull Hospitality. He was supposed to meet his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, Short GP to talk about some Ideas the Team had regarding the Car’s Performance.

Apparently his frequent complaints had finally gotten on everyones nerves, motivating them to finally get working. Simply Lovely.

As his Eyes passed over the long dining room, he spotted GP carrying mugs. Three specifically. ‘Why Three?’, Max wondered but not too long, as the question answered itself immediately afterwards.

The Table GP was carrying the mugs too, also seated a third person. Their head was hung low over the table, cheeks touching a stack of big folders. He approached the Table with another yawn escaping his throat.

“Good Morning Max”, GP called out cheerfully. Way too cheerfully for such an early morning. (It was 11AM). He placed the Mug on a little paper towel to prevent marks forming on the table while trying to navigate around the third person. Max just gave them a confused look before blowing at the coffee to cool down.

As if reading his mind, GP spoke:” Ah, I totally forgot to inform you, Max. That’s Y/N, our Intern. They’ll be here for a few races.” He wanted to continue speaking but a short check of his watch alarmed him. “Sorry Max, I got a meeting! Please entertain Y/N for a bit!”. If this were an Anime, a big gust of wind would be left behind, with the speed he fled in.

Y/N flipped their head to the other side, bloodshot eyes staring in his. A quiet voice escaped:” Hi Max. As GP said, I’m Y/N.”

He gave their mug a push, shoving it close to their nose. “What got you so tired, Y/N?”

“Coffee!”, they exclaimed like a Zombie, quickly drowning some of the steaming, way too hot, liquid. After trying to cool off their burned tongue for a moment, they continued speaking.

“My internship stuff, the usual. I didn’t do my reports of the last few weeks so I spent the night doing them, Ugh…”

The driver just looked them up and down while mustering the stacked folders. “Aren’t interns  younger, normally?”

Y/N sighed. “Nope, this is not a school internship. I go to university, getting my Bacherlor’s in Sport Science and Management. Just didn’t expect to get this spot so I kept lazing around. Suddenly, Boom. E-Mail from Red Bull telling me I got accepted.”

His Team was doing Internships? That was pretty new to Max. He didn’t remember ever being told about that or seeing young, overly excited people scurry behind Team members. But apparently this one was fully endorsed since GP accompanied them. Was accompanying them. Weird.

“And now? URGH”, their groan was louder than before. “Why do all these tasks need me to write endless reports. Can’t even concentrate on my shiny Internship now…”

“If you had done your work earlier, you would have been able to concentrate on it…”

“Shush, as if anyone does their work early.”

“True.” Mental images of still to be paid pills, car maintenance and appointments fluttered through his mind. “No big difference here.”

“See?”, they asked, fully sitting up now. “Who even does that?”

Max chuckled. “Definitly not GP. He’s always late with everything. Like telling someone about the new Intern.”

Y/N led out a Gasp. “That’s why nobody expected me!”

They scurried to fling open their folder of work. “What got you so tired though? I don’t expect it to be paperwork.”

A sense of guilt overcame his mind.

Max loved Racing. A lot. The strategy, the mind games, the Developmental parts. But the marketing and whatnot? He’d be glad if they weren’t a thing but was aware they were a major part. He knew how to behave unlike some other driver when faced with Media Responsibilities. At least most of the time. He knew, Angry Max wasn’t nice-to-be-around Max.

That’s what got him into SimRacing. Spending all night in front of the screen, in a Call with his Mates. And just this evening, a large competition had held him up. Maybe 3 hours of sleep were trying their best to keep him standing. 

Y/N waited for him to answer, yet no response came. They laughed. “Don’t say it was Gaming. Really?”

Max stayed silent. 

“Media keeps saying that the simulators got your ass hooked, line and sinker. Didn’t expect that to this degree. Well, you do you.” They fumbled around their pencil case. “Because i gotta finish, really now.”

As they procured a little IKEA Pencil, Max just lost it. The sleep deprivation had lowered his limits and the visual of this teeny tiny pen had gotten him belly laughing and table with fist smacking. His tablemate just pouted at that, trying their hardest to work through the loud laughs. As he finally came to stop, little tears were streaming down his face. 

Wiping them away, an Offer came: “I could help you”

That’s how GP, tired of a large meeting with major Red Bull Staff, returned to the dining room to find his new intern and his driver seated at a round table holding little Ikea pencils. Mugs upon mugs were stacked in towers next to them, akin to the neatly stacked towers of paper and folders that they had their faces planted on. Both were sleeping deeply, lips curled into smiles. He wondered, how exactly should he report that to the Intern’s supervisor? Maybe just not at all. That sounded more tiring than lying through gritted teeth.

Instead, he tried to clean up around them and pretend nothing of the sort had happened. GP was well aware that Helmut Marko would not be approving of his talent working with those lower than him, so no need to unnecessarily awake a sleeping dragon. If he could call a guy that age a dragon at all…

While trying to carry away the stack of mugs, however, the porcelain let out a loud, high pitched noise as it collided with another. GP reacted with gentil shock, causing everything to come tumbling down.

Loud shattering noises sounded out, awakening the driver and the Intern from their slumber. Max slowly laid his eyes open, blinking once, blinking twice. He would not be hurried, who even would dare to do so, knowing his temper? Taking the time of his life, he yawned loudly. Both arms stretched high, his legs low, just akin to a cat as he finally awoke, blinking at GP. The intern meanwhile, did not awake that softly. With the loud noise, they immediately jumped into the air like a scared crow. This speedy move caused the sorted papers to fly in the air, fluttering around in a manner that was sure to mix up everything as much as physically possible. As last ditch effort to even topple this, they managed to bang their knee against the table, yelping out in pain. They slowly fell to the ground, holding their brused knee in an ocean of broken mugs, mixed papers and coffee stains.

Max didn't say anything, there clearly was no need to do so. Instead, he also got on the ground, slowly helping to collect the flung about pages to sort into neat little stacks while the intern was wiggling about like a worm. Their wide sleeved shirt looked like fluffy antenna's as they managed to now smash their head against the table, holding it in pain. Max pushed the table aside, grabbing the Intern by their arm and helping them up. Gently, he placed them on their previously occupied chair, crossing his arms.

Gianpiero Lambiase stood aside, his chin just dipping lower and lower. What had he done?

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

That evening, Max Verstappen found himself seated in his hotel room, staring at the computer he'd brought with him. The monitor was flickering in it's usual blue light, slightly off colours that had him feel more at home. Yet, he didn't feel the urge to start up a game. To play another round of Asetto Corsa with his mates or to join a competition in iRacing. This confused him. His normal routine was broken, occupied by thoughts of that Intern. Their voice as they screamed out in pain, their scrunched up face while wiggling about. He sadly didn't have the time to look after them as GP, obviously too late once again, informed him that the FIA wanted to brief the driver's on something. As one would expect, the meeting was not very fruitful. It was a stark reminder by the FIA to not engage with sponsors or media accounts talking about things the FIA didn't like. The usual, therefore. Max decided to catch up on sleep during it, which is why he was so awake now. He dreamt off warnings about politics, ongoings military conflicts and people bumping their head against tables. 

…

People bumping their head against tables?

‘Maybe Y/N is awake still?’, he asked himself. He was pretty sure the Intern still had a lot of work to do, if not just sorting through the files they had filled out after the stacks fell from the table. Propably also had to read them over, to check if everything was fine. Maybe also to make sure they knew what was written, if asked about it. At least, that's what Max was told Internships were like, not that he'd have Experience with them. His future was been designated before his birth, nothing to choose on his own. Well, maybe the colour of his first racing helmet?

He reclined on the armchair, drinking some of the overpriced Hotel water.

Did Y/N have to worry about the Water's Price? Most likely, he'd heard GP complain about it. They were sure to earn much less than him. But they could pick their own lane, he realised. He absolutely loved racing to his bones but sometimes he wondered. Would Life have different directions for him? He wasn't sure if that was something he should be thinking off, at all. Racing was his life now, nothing would change that. Afterall, not everyone even had the luck to get into racing since the sport is so expensive.

He sighed again, looking through the contacts on his phone. While he was sure not to have Y/Ns Number, GP definitely must have it.

Max dialed.

GP answered, sounding very tired. He could picture the tired, red eyes staring at the phone.

“Max, it's 2AM, what do you need?”

“Y/Ns phone number, please.”

GP sighed before rattling it off. As he read out the last digit, Max could hear his blanket rustle. He was already tucked in, not even saying goodbye as the call ended.

‘Man’s pretty tired’ Max thought to himself as he typed Y/N’s number into his phone.

It rang. Once. Twice. It didn't get to the third time as a wary voice rang through the speaker.

“Who's there?”, they sounded a little drowsy and careful.

“Hi, it's me, Max Verstappen. Sorry to call you this late… Or early?”

A fragmented chuckle rang through.

“Good Evening Max, I'm still working.”

As he thought.

“The document's?”

“Pretty much. I was about to head to the Convenience Store to get some food, you want to join me?”

“Sure.” He felt a bit Hungry. What even was the last time he ate? 

Shortly after, he found himself standing in front of a Convenienve Store, fiddling with his room keys. He forgot his phone in the hotel room, so that left him with no clue of when Y/N was sure to approach.

Their arrival announced itself, however. Y/N walked in the distance, the hood of their sweater pulled onto their head. They spoke, sounding very agitated. 

Max stared at the person next to them, quite startled as he heard them scream something. The person, a man about his height, stretched their arm out as if to touch Y/N and grab their bag but did not succeed. Before he could even touch them, Y/N had somehow grabbed him and flung over his shoulder. He landed face first on the ground, Y/N pressing their knee into his back.

“Don't you dare try something like that again!”, they called out. Their line of sight swept over to Max, spotting him. “Could you call the police?”

He was startled again. “Sorry forgot my phone.”

Quickly fishing around in their pocket, Y/N produced their phone and flung it to Max, Hands holding the man’s shoulder down.

It didn't take long for the police to arrive, Siren's blaring. Max pulled the cap he quickly bought it the convenience store deeper, trying to hide his appearance from curious onlookers. Meanwhile Y/N had handed the guy over to the police. The police man was surprised as he arrived, not even questioning how they could do this. “He tried to grab my Butt on the Bus!”, they exclaimed. “Then attempted to pull off my hood. I told him, the camera's on the bus were recording and that I'd Inform the police. He followed me from there”

The Policeman nodded again, taking their identity information before looking at Max shortly, clearly recognising him. “I presume we should keep this silent?”

Max nodded, watching the car drive off with one less creep running free.

Y/N stood next to him, dusting their clothes off. Max offered them a tissue to clean their hands which they gladly took. 

“That was impressive.”, he stated. “I've never seen a guy go flying like that.”

Y/N grinned. “Thanks, I do a lot of combat sports. Never thought I'd be able to use them in public though…”

“Good you trained then”. Max chuckled. “Remind me to not anger you again. I don't want to get punched.”

Y/N shook their head. “I don't unnecessarily touch people. You don't have to be scared. Not stopping you if you want to be, though!”

They silently entered the convenience store, browsing. Max had picked some instant noodles which he prepared with the provided hot water, Y/N had gotten some sandwiches and snacks. Something green? Papery looking. 

“That's Seaweed”, Y/N mouthed before hungrily biting down.

He not-do-silently slurped the instant noodles, warmth hitting his stomach. He felt content, like a cat. He wanted to stretch himself and lay on the soft carpet that you'd find before a fireplace. The perfect life.

As Y/N finished stuffing themselves with food, they also stretched out. With their foot hitting the table, they let out a losu yelp.

Max looked downy seeing them hold their foot.

“I sprained my foot yesterday in my room.” They exclaimed, face contorned as they remembered the stinging pain.

“You keep getting hurt or hurting yourself.”, he realised. 

They let out a sad sounding laugh. “Kinda, yeah..”

“You should stop that. Have you tried not hurting yourself?”

Now they were pouting. “Thanks, Doctor. That's real helpful advice here. Anything else?”

Max pondered that. “Maybe drink some water if you're feeling thirsty?”

Y/N reclined on their chair. “WOW, Live-changing. Thank you so much!”

As they got up to chuck the food wrappers in the trash, Max blurted out his thoughts: “I brought my computer with me. Interested to play a round of Asetto Corso?”

“Is that how you invite people to your Room? You should work on your pick-up lines then.”

He scowled. “No I-”

‘He’s quite awkward’, Y/N thought.

“I get what you're trying to say. Gotta finish my work though, Sorry Max. I'll see you tomorrow?”

Max was quite breathless now. “..Yeah. Till Tomorrow!”

As Y/N left, they turned around a last time. “Nice hat you got there! Suits you, Mate!”

He quickly fumbled the hat off, staring at what the hell he'd bought. It said “I'm a saucy boy!”

What the hell did that even mean?

[scoops-aboy86]

wc: 1034 | Rating: T | CW: mentions of infidelity | Additional Tags: future fic, famous Eddie Munson, school counselor Steve Harrington, past Steddie, reconnecting, olive branches, second chances, hopeful ending

I got wailed at a lot for part 1, lol, so here’s this to start making it better. Thanks for the comments about Eddie’s characterization though, I’m glad all the growing up he’s done since the breakup came through.

Now also on ao3

Hell of a Time at the Wake, part 2

The thing is, Eddie never fell out of love. He’s just grown past wondering if they’ll ever cross paths again, given up hoping because that way lies just going through the motions instead of living. 

So he’s completely blindsided when, months later, he answers the phone without bothering to check caller ID and hears a voice he hasn’t heard in over five years. 

“Did you do that interview to get my attention?”

Not just blindsided, but speechless. Him. Eddie Munson. Completely struck dumb. He opens his mouth and all that falls out is a strangled, “Steve?”

There’s a scoff down the line. “No, it’s Entertainment Tonight.”

It brings a faint smile to Eddie’s face despite the shock; he’d always loved Steve’s bitchy side. “Uh, hey. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting—No, absolutely no, to that question. How did you…?”

“Dustin taped it and mailed it to Robin, who showed it to me after being really, really weird for a couple of weeks,” Steve admits, with what sounds like a grudging sigh. But then, it’s been so long, who’s to say that Eddie even knows how to read the man’s tone anymore. “Apparently they talk about me behind my back. I’m thinking of pressing charges.”

Eddie snorts. “That tracks. Sorry again, for… that. I would’ve gone out of my way to tell Dustin not to, but all that would’ve done was speed things up, probably. And I really… I mean, it wasn’t that I wasn’t thinking about you when I said it, but…”

“You didn’t expect me to see it.”

“Well,” he hedges—but yeah, he hadn’t. “It’s not like I expect you to keep tabs on me. I fucked that up a long time ago, I know you don’t owe me any of your time or anything. Just, they asked why I don’t drink and I figured I’d give the real answer for once, get it off my chest. For me, you know?”

There’s a pause, and then, “Yeah, I get that.”

The words are quiet. Eddie doesn’t know what to make of them, so he doesn’t particularly try. He leans his hip against his kitchen counter, picking up the mug he’d set down in his haste to catch the ringing phone. Takes a sip. Clears his throat. 

“So,” he prompts finally into the awkward silence. 

“So,” Steve agrees. “Um, is it stupid to admit that I called all indignant because I was sure—But, I get it. And I appreciate that you were… discrete, I guess is the word. You could’ve said a lot worse about how I handled things back then.”

“Gonna be honest, I have a lot clearer memories of how badly I handled it,” Eddie says, staring down into his mug. His face peers back up at him from the dark, steaming surface of the liquid, and man, the number of times he’s wanted to punch the guys he’s looking at for some of that shit. “At the risk of sounding dismissive, people in their early twenties are a lot stupider than they think.”

“That’s hindsight for you.” Another pause. “We don’t have to talk about it. I don’t think I want to open up that can of worms. But… I was surprised to hear that you’re a teetotaler now. Not even weed?”

Eddie laughs. “Hey man, I smoked enough of that while I was still dealing to last a lifetime.”

“You’re not wrong,” Steve shoots back, and maybe, just maybe, he’s smiling when he says it. “I don’t anymore either. Smoke, I mean. I could say I grew out of it, but the smell was…”

He trails off, and Eddie lets him, nodding to himself. Too many memories, the scent of reefer permeating his old jackets that Steve had liked to steal whenever they’d spent a night apart. It’s why he doesn’t wear those anymore either.

“Yeah,” Eddie says softly. “It got me through some shit. I’ve got different shit now, though. Better, uh…”

“Coping mechanisms?”

“Sure. And a busier schedule, too. Not a lot of time to sit around and just be stoned, which was half the fun of it anyway.” It had always made Eddie somewhere in the crux between annoyed and anxious if he had to get up and Do Something when he’d been smoking. Spoiled the ambiance, the boneless indulgence of a good high. That attitude had led to more than a few arguments when they’d been together, and with Uncle Wayne before that—but Eddie had always preferred to finish things up and then smoke up, as a reward. 

Working on DnD campaigns hadn’t counted as doing something. Music either, back before he’d made a career of it. 

“Same here. Did Dustin tell you I’m a middle school counselor now?”

Eddie sees the smile in his reflection before he realizes he’s doing it, and covers his completely unnecessary embarrassment by taking a sip, which Steve also can’t see. “He didn’t, but that’s great. Just like you wanted, huh?”

“Yeah. Keeps me pretty busy, the kids these days man, you wouldn’t fucking believe… I mean, nothing as off the wall as some of the shit the Party got up to, obviously, but these kids, jesus. But yeah, I love it.” Steve hesitates. “How about you? How’s the, uh, music industry treating you?”

Once upon a time, Steve had spat in his face that Eddie only wanted to be a rockstar for the sex, drugs, and groupies, and Eddie had snarled back that it’s supposed to be sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll, asshole, I know you don’t take me seriously as a musician but come the fuck on.

“Can’t complain,” Eddie replies easily, because that was a long time ago, in the heat of an otherwise long forgotten moment. They were different people. “Our last album just went gold. The last tour was wild, but too long. Jeff’s got a baby on the way so we’re taking it easy for a while.”

“That’s great, man. Breaks are good. It sounds like you’ve really earned it.” 

And the thing is, Eddie never fell out of love. 

They keep talking, sometimes stalling out but always picking up the threads to keep going eventually, and it feels a little bit like coming home. 

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