#<= Mel not liking this and trying to stand up for herself?

[falling-mellow]

Due to the previous family fight once again having escalated for the worse today, unfortunately no more Eurovision for me this year.

[prythianpages]

But the Worms | Azriel

Azriel x Green Witch | Azriel is woken up by your daughter in the middle of the night to answer some of her questions.

warnings: fluff, dad Az

word count: 943

a/n: Just a short little fic that can be read as a stand alone. This was inspired by a scene from Bob's Burgers lol.

Rain pattered against the window steadily, accompanied by the distant rumble of thunder. Every so often, the sky would flare with a jagged streak of lightning, briefly illuminating the room with a cold, blue light before plunging it back into shadow. The storm was a familiar, comforting backdrop to Azriel’s slumber.

But his shadows, ever vigilant, stirred with a whisper of unease.

Azriel’s eyes fluttered open, drawn by the shift in his shadows. That’s when he heard them. The faint, hurried sound of small footsteps. His shadows fluttered toward the door as they sensed the hesitant shuffle against the wooden floor.

He didn't need his shadows to tell him who was on the other side. Had it been his first born, he'd never hear the steps as she loved to sneak up on him,. The door would've been open abruptly with no hesitation whatsoever but it's been years since she last had a nightmare. A nightmare she didn't welcome, at least.

That was not the case tonight. It was his second-born. Sweet little Alora, who, true to her name, should be dreaming of unicorns and rainbows as she loved to recount to him every morning, rather than being awake.

His gaze flickered to you. While Azriel was a light sleeper, you were a heavy sleeper and truth be told, you were sound asleep, back turned toward him. A shadow tenderly caressed your back before he shifted his attention back to the door. He was already sitting up in the bed, blinking away the sleep or at least trying when the door opened quietly, muted with the help of his shadows.

Alora stood at the door. Her hair, the exact shade of yours, was disheveled, the bangs she cut herself last week splayed over her forehead awkwardly. A rite of passage, you had called it, reminding him that your first born had done the same.

Her eyes, the exact shade of his, were wide and glistening, and there was a pout on her face.

Azriel’s chest tightened at the sight, wanting nothing more than to soothe whatever troubled her, despite his fatigue. He extended his arms out, and Alora ran right into them, her small frame immediately enveloped by his.

Cradling her to his chest, he pushed her bangs back and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple. “Did you have a nightmare?” He asked, voice still heavy with sleep.

“No. I haven’t slept at all,” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

Azriel frowned, glancing at the clock. It was well past midnight, and his eyes were begging for sleep, lulled by the rain falling outside. “Is it the storm?”

Alora placed her hands on his chest, pushing herself up slightly. She spared a glance to your sleeping form before leaning in closer to her father, careful not to wake you with her voice. Though, Azriel doubted you'd wake at all.

Her hazel eyes, so innocent and pure, stared into his own. “Do you think worms have dreams too?”

Azriel's heart softened further. Her worries were so small, so wonderfully trivial compared to the burdens he had carried as a child.

“I’m sure they dream,” he murmured, gently pulling his daughter's head back to his chest, wishing for her to always have such simple worries. He also hoped she’d be content with his answer and finally drift off to sleep herself.

“But what do they dream?”

“The same things you do.” He replied, trying to stifle a yawn. He snuck a glance at you, still oblivious to your daughter’s insatiable curiosity.

“Do they get nightmares too?” 

Azriel fought back his groan. He loved his daughters deeply and strongly. He would go through all ends of the world for them. Any other time, he would entertain this conversation fully, but it was late, and Alora should be fast asleep like her sister. 

“Mel says worms come out when it storms so that we don’t hear their cries.”

Speak of the little devil herself. Mel was sure to get an earful from him. Tomorrow morning, or rather, in a couple of hours. Azriel took a deep breath, trying to muster the energy to explain, his body aching for rest.

Azriel could hear the thoughts swirling through her mind as she continued. “Why would they cry? Is it because of the bad dreams?”

“Don’t listen to your sister,” he said gently, running a hand through Alora’s tousled hair.

“But you told me to listen to her yesterday morning.”

“I did,” Azriel replied with a slight grimace, regretting that decision immensely at this very moment. Granted, he had said that after Mel told Lor to stop riling up Sprinkles, her pet scorpion. “But that’s different.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ll explain tomorrow,” he said, his voice a mix of patience and weariness.

“But the worms–”

“The worms don’t have nightmares and they come out during storms because they love the rain. Now, go to sleep. Please.”

Alora let out a small gasp, her hand losing its tension against his chest. “You promise?”

“Yes.” Azriel replied quickly, not certain what exactly he was promising. He'd deal with it later.

“Okay.”

When he finally felt her body relax in his arms, he let out a breath of relief. He held her tighter in his arms, shifting them to face in your direction before settling Alora between you both. He didn’t have the energy to take her back to her bed.

He gladly gave in to the heaviness of his eyelids, his eyes closing shut and ready to embrace sleep under the comfort of the rain once more--

"Daddy?"

He didn't bother opening his eyes. "Yes?"

"I love you."

His lips tugged up into a smile. "I love you too, my sweets."

Alora snuggled closer to him, tiny hands grasping onto his larger one and placing it over her face. She always found comfort in his touch, despite the scars that marred his hands. It was something that never failed to make his chest swell with warmth. Along with the way both his daughters always looked up to him, eyes full of affection and admiration.

His thumb caressed her cheek, soothing her as his shadows settled back into their corner of the room, curling into the bed Alora had gotten them for Solstice this year.

For centuries, his shadows had slept among other shadows, usually underneath the bed or in the corners of rooms. But Alora had felt bad for them one night, and when shopping for Solstice this year, she had asked you to take her to the pet store and picked out the softest bed for Azriel’s shadows.

Though his shadows had never complained or shown any interest in comfier sleeping habits, they had vibrated with excitement at the sight of the gift. Now, they slept there every night, happy and content, snuggling amongst one another and curling into a ball.

As his thoughts began to blur and drift, the world around him softened, the edges of his awareness becoming fuzzy and indistinct. Now that he knew your daughter was okay and her curiosity satiated, he could go back to sleep.

His breathing slowed, deep and even, matching the gentle rise and fall of your own breath. Just as he was about to give in to the sweet embrace of sleep–

“Daddy?”

He could barely manage a grunt in response.

“Would you still love me if I were a worm?”

Oh, this was definitely your daughter.

series tag list:@fxckmiup, @aria-chikage

General tag list: @scooobies, @kennedy-brooke, @sillysillygoose444, @lilah-asteria @the-sweet-psycho

@daycourtofficial, @milswrites, @stormhearty, @pit-and-the-pen, @mybestfriendmademe

@loving-and-dreaming @azriels-human, @mrsjna

[megalony]

Exploding Emotions

As promised, this is the new Evan Buckley imagine I have been working on, I am very happy with this one and I hope you will all like it.

Please let me know what you think.

Taglist: @justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyje @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme @sp1ritssz @dumb-fawkin-bitch @oliverstarksbae @gimatida @heart-35 @supernaturalstilinski @kyky9103 @wutheringhearts2275 @gay4hotmilfs @itshamleth @chaoticnosleepinfluencer @gs29 @wh0reforsmutstuff @mel-vaz @natashamea18 @chrisevansdaughter @alexandra848484 @deena-beena-weena @targaryenluvs @kpoplover-19 @marvelmenarebeautiful @gillybear17

@zoeybennett @mrspeacem1nusone @zephyrmonkey @estella-novella @eleventhdoctorsangel @kniselle @senjoritanana @shauna-carsley @dottierose @cfdhouse51 @darkfemme1 @rainechase45 @lolalolsstuff @jupiter1700 @ashdoctor @an-aliens-ghost @lunaroserites @houseoftwistedspirits @callsignwidow @winterreader-nowwriter @reneinii @bellsbomb @western-pyro

Evan Buckley Masterlist

Part 2

Summary: While out on a call, an accident gives (Y/n) flashbacks to the night her husband got trapped beneath the fire truck and what happened to her while he was stuck.

Enjoy.

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

"Okay, what have we got?"

The team clambered out the truck one by one, each sorting their gloves and reaching for their helmets while they followed after Bobby. The Captain led them away from the truck and towards the scene they were here to assist.

(Y/n) could feel her legs starting to ache and she was beginning to lag behind. This was their fifth call and they weren't even halfway through their shift yet, and they had come here straight after their last call. They hadn't been back to the station for a drink or a snack or had a moment's peace.

Added to the fact that this was an evening shift, (Y/n) felt like dropping down here and now in the middle of the road.

She shrugged on her florescent jacket and stood near Ravi, looking out at the scene.

Each of them could feel their shoulders sagging and a grimace flooded their faces in turn when they looked around.

A lorry had crashed at an intersection. The large metal lorry was now on its side right in the centre, with a mangled up car resting in front of the bonnet. There were at least four other cars scattered around who had either crashed together, hit posts or swerved and burst a tyre trying to get out of the firing line.

"Hen, Chim, head for the lorry and the collision car in the centre, those drivers will be the worst off. Everyone else, fan out around. If anyone can walk, guide them to safety and get them off the scene."

Bobby's orders fell upon deaf ears when (Y/n) looked at the scene ahead of her.

The hairs on the back of her neck started to prickle and stand on end as a cold shiver passed through her blood. She could feel her lungs tightening and closing up and her eyes zoned in on the lorry.

It was the same crimson shade as the fire truck. Those bright headlights were shining in her direction, they were calling out to her.

It looked just like the scene over a year ago that (Y/n) had to endure watching over the news.

The scene that tore out her heart and made her feel like she was witnessing the end of the world with no way of helping. Being a firefighter meant it was in (Y/n)'s nature to help people. She wasn't used to sitting back and watching from the sidelines, unable to do anything at all. And when it had involved the one person who meant the entire world to her, everything else had become insignificant.

Dread clawed at (Y/n)'s lungs as she felt herself beginning to shake. It felt like a decade had passed since that night, but standing here, staring ahead at that crumpled lorry in the middle of the road, in the dead of night, (Y/n) suddenly felt as if the last year had evaporated into dust.

She felt like she had been transported back one year with her wish of being able to be on scene and do something to help. To look after Evan and get him out.

Was he there? Was Evan laid out on the concrete with one leg practically split apart and a hundred tons of metal crushing down on him? Was he pinned to the floor, unable to move in any direction? Was he screaming until his lips were blue and his lungs were on the verge of giving out? Was Evan in mass agony, violently screaming for someone to do something to help him when no one stepped forward to save him?

"(Y/n)? Everything okay?"

A quiet round of "He's not here," murmured beneath her breath, so quiet that her dad didn't catch a word.

But he could see by the faint, distant look in her constricted eyes and the trembling that set in her body that she wasn't here. She wasn't on scene with them, not mentally. Her mind had gone somewhere else and although he didn't know where, he could see she needed a few moments to come back to the present.

His eyes widened when he watched her suddenly stumble before she crashed down to her knees. Her arms were pinned around her waist with her head lolled to one side, but Bobby could see her eyes were intently focused on the scene ahead of them.

They couldn't see any of the number plates from this far away and there weren't any casualties yet or anyone they knew here on scene. So (Y/n) couldn't be panicking about having family or friends meddled up in this collision.

He hurriedly crouched down in front of her, moving his hands to hold her arms while he leaned his head to try and get within her line of sight. But even when he was in her view, it was like she was looking through him rather than at him. She wasn't here, she was lost.

"Honey, talk to me. Are you okay?"

Relief overtook Bobby when (Y/n) managed to nod her head. She could hear him. She hadn't collapsed in pain or mass agony, she wasn't having some kind of stroke or seizure or some sort of episode. Something was clearly going on, but it didn't seem to be a dire emergency.

Bobby couldn't be doing with any more emergencies. Not after this last year with Evan and all his operations on his leg and him and (Y/n) struggling to cope with those and a newborn baby. (Y/n) had only just come back to work from maternity leave while Evan's return to work date was still to be determined.

His daughter and son-in-law had been through enough.

"I just… I need- need a minute." Her voice sounded distant even to herself and she kept leaning her head to the right until she could look around her dad and stare back at the lorry that was looking more and more like a fire truck to her hazy eyes.

"You sit this one out, get back in the truck. I'll be back in five minutes, if you need help, radio through."

Bobby looked like he was going to try and help her up into the truck behind her, but she shook her head. She wanted to stay where she was, knelt down on the floor. She was okay, but she didn't have the willpower or the energy to get up yet. She couldn't move. She had to stay here.

He seemed dubious about leaving her, but (Y/n) clearly didn't want help right now and they were two men down with Eddie being on holiday and Evan currently off work. And if (Y/n) was sitting this call out, Bobby needed to get back out there and control the situation and help so they could be back at the station as soon as possible.

(Y/n) barely heard her dad whisper that he would be back soon and she tried to lean closer when he kissed her temple. His touch lingered for a few moments, giving away how badly he wanted to stay with her and truly make sure she was alright. But the faint smile she tried to muster told him she might just be okay for a few minutes while he got this scene under control.

All she could do was lean her shoulders back against the truck and close her eyes, but the image was still there. Those beaming headlights were aimed at her. They were shining on her, blinking at her, flashing for her attention and the light shone through her closed eyes that were illuminated into bright red lines. With the image of Evan burned into her cornias until the day she died.

The image of Evan laid out on his stomach, gloved fingers desperately clawing at the floor. Nails splitting apart beneath the gloves, fingertips wearing down and the skin rubbing off as he tried to prize himself free.

His lips, sodden with sweat and dirt and the odd speckle of blood, screaming until he was froffing at the mouth and his throat felt drier than the desert.

His eyes, shedding so manny tears he could have had his own ocean named after him. Red circles beneath his eyes, veins prominent in the whites of his eyes, cheeks glistening with little white tracks where tears had wiped through the dirt covering his face.

(Y/n) could hear those screams. She could see the blood creating a puddle beneath him. She could see people moving to lift the truck and she could hear the agony in her husband's shrieks when their team finally dragged him from the wreckage and prized him free too late for (Y/n)'s liking.

Tears began to streak down her own face before she could stop them and she found her trembling hands rattling through her inside jacket pocket, searching for her phone.

She had to make sure he was okay.

She had to call Evan.

She had to know he wasn't in danger.

To stop herself from staring at the scene ahead that was only inflating her panic and agony, (Y/n) snapped her eyes closed. She closed them so tightly pins and needles flooded her face and had her squirming from the tight pain ebbing away at her eyes. It didn't stop the tears from falling, but they were only silent tears of fading panic and old anguish she was trying to push away.

The line didn't ring for long and (Y/n) was suddenly overwhelmed. Usually when it didn't ring for more than three beeps it meant Evan's phone was switched off or he rejected the call because he was busy on a call. And if the line had rung and rung with no answer, (Y/n) wasn't sure what her panicked brain would do in that scenario.

"Hey baby, everything okay?"

Evan's voice was the calm after the storm. (Y/n) could feel more silent tears beginning to stream down her face when she listened to his lulling voice with that slight rough edge that implied he may have taken a nap with Lilah at some point tonight.

He wasn't quite used to being at home while (Y/n) was at work. It had been the other way around when (Y/n) took early maternity leave and Evan had been the one to call her while he was at work. Just so he could hear her voice or listen to how her day had been to take his mind off a rough or an oddly quiet shift.

He didn't like being the one stuck at home, not able to do his job. But now he didn't have a pot running from his toes midway up his thigh, it was easier to be at home. No one had to be here helping him hobble about the house, he didn't need (Y/n) to help him wash or help him up out of bed and down the stairs.

He didn't need Maddie coming round to babysit him and now he could walk- although with a limp for now- he could properly care for Lilah.

It crushed Evan to not be able to carry his baby girl or bathe her or take her for a walk when he had been on crutches. Seeing (Y/n) or Maddie or even Bobby come round and help with Lilah had been killing him. But now, until he was signed off for work, Evan was spending as much time as he could with his baby girl.

"Babe, you there?" There was a slight chuckle at the end of his words as if he thought (Y/n) may have called him by accident or not realised she was now on the phone to him.

"Hm."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… just- just wanted to hear your voice." Her voice sounded steadier than she had hoped and it made her relieved. She didn't want to worry Evan unnecessarily and make him panic or think something was wrong.

Because nothing was wrong, not really. A moment of panic had now been quenched by the sound of Evan's voice. (Y/n) could carry on, she could pick herself back up and get out there and try to actually do her job and hope none of the team had noticed her lapse in concentration.

"Why, what's going on?" There was a softness to his tone and (Y/n) could just imagine him sat there smiling.

She wasn't going to worry him. There was no point when telling Evan why she had worriedly called him would only serve to upset him. And there was no way to open up that conversation and tell him she had a brief panic at the thought of his accident.

"Nothing, just missed you."

"You're sweet." He tilted his head back, sliding further down the sofa he was reclined on with both legs hanging over the other side. And he shuffled Lilah who was laid on his chest with her head just beneath his collar bone. "Who's on the phone? Is it mummy?"

He got a little babbling response, a jumbled sound that was drowsy and showed that the toddler was about to fall asleep at any moment. But it was enough to have Evan smiling as he kissed her temple and ran his hand up and down her back, holding his phone closer to his ear with the other hand.

"So, you're missing me, huh?"

(Y/n) allowed a smile to pull at her lips. She felt better already.

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

(One year ago)

Lifting her head, (Y/n) looked up at Athena through blurry eyes when they both heard a knock at the door.

She reached her hand out to give her mum's hand a tight squeeze and the calming smile on Athena's face did wonders for (Y/n)'s raging nerves. They both had the same thought in mind. They both prayed it was Evan at the front door.

Athena leaned over to peck (Y/n)'s temple before she got up from the sofa and hurried out into the hall to open the door.

Just as Athena dipped out the room, (Y/n) leaned forward with one hand gripping the arm of the sofa and her other hand clutching at her stomach. she hunched over as much as she could until her stomach was pressing into her thighs and her head was tilted down.

God, these contractions were going to be the death of her.

A quiet groan burned at the back of her throat and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes but she willed them away. She couldn't be crying yet, not when she wasn't even fully dilated or at the point of pushing yet. But she couldn't help it.

She wanted Evan. She wanted him to come home.

She was two weeks away from her due date and had gone into labour right when Evan was in the middle of a night shift with the rest of the team. (Y/n) had been extremely lucky that when she rang her mum, Athena hadn't been on shift tonight. She had come straight over and when neither of them could get hold of Evan or Bobby, Athena called the next best person.

She rang Maddie who was on shift at dispatch and they kindly asked her to get the message across to the 118 that Evan would have to end his shift early. He needed to come home and be here when (Y/n) had their baby.

When the contraction subsided, (Y/n) let out a groan and started to rub circles along her stomach in the vain hope that it would take her mind off the budding pains. And the ache in her heart from not having Evan here. He promised to be here. He had been subtly whispering to her bump, telling the baby to make an appearance when Evan was home and that they had to wait patiently for him.

(Y/n) had playfully told Evan off two weeks ago when he had been talking to the baby and asked them to arrive promptly last week so Evan wouldn't have to go to dinner with his parents for his dad's birthday. It didn't happen. They all suffered through dinner together anyway. If (Y/n) went into labour then, at least Evan would have been by her side rather than on shift like he was now.

"Is- is that him?" (Y/n) tried to look over her shoulder but she couldn't see Athena in the hall from where she was sat in the living room.

But she couldn't hear voices either. Athena was speaking in hushed tones with whoever was at the door. That must mean it wasn't Evan, if it was he would have burst through the doors and found (Y/n) immediately.

With pursed lips set into a deep frown, (Y/n) reached across for the tv remote and promptly changed the channel. The stupid sitcom that had been on in the background was steadily getting on (Y/n)'s nerves. The gag lines were silly, the jokes weren't funny and the audience laughing was irritating her to no end.

She flicked through three channels, about to look through a few more until a headline on the late night news caught her attention.

LAFD Bombing.

Her head tilted to one side and her eyes narrowed as she watched the camera zoom in, clearly live recording from a helicopter hovering at the scene.

Someone had tried to blow up a fire truck. They were sectioning off the street while the fire brigade talked to the bomber who was actually on the scene. a few people had been hurt in the blast. Someone was trapped. One of the firemen was still stuck in the fire truck that had exploded on-route.

"We can't tell her-"

Maddie lost her train of thought and whatever she was about to say when a horrifying, gut-wrenching scream shook the walls of the house. She clutched the doorframe, her eyes locking with Athena as the pair of them bolted from the hall and into the living room.

It was too late.

More tears streamed down Maddie's face, despite the fact that she had been crying for over twenty minutes now since the news reel first started and showed her little brother in peril.

She had come straight over to help Athena take (Y/n) to hospital and be here with her while Evan couldn't. She had tried to explain what had happened, she didn't want (Y/n) to know. She didn't want her sister in law to panic or be in distress, not when she was already overwhelmed and in labour. But it seemed too late now.

Both of them scurried into the living room to find (Y/n) down on her knees in front of the coffee table. One hand gripping the table while the other clutched the tv remote close to her chest. She turned the volume up until all of them were wincing at the abrupt noises of the helicopter and the news reporters.

She had seen. (Y/n) had seen her husband, lying there on the floor with the entire fire truck crushing down on his leg.

No wonder he wasn't here already. He wasn't going to be here. Evan wasn't coming home, he was stuck. He was pinned down to the road like a fly trapped in a spider's web. Her husband was being crushed while she was splitting apart, about to have their first baby without him. There was no way Evan was going to be here to hold her hand or be by her side.

Did he even know she had gone into labour? Had he been told before this accident happened or was he still oblivious? What did it matter? Labour seemed insignificant compared to the horror Evan was going through.

Why were they broadcasting his anguish to the world?

"(Y/n)-"

"Oh honey."

A gurgling sob left (Y/n)'s lips as she pushed forward until her forehead was pressing down on the edge of the coffee table harsh enough that it was going to leave a mark soon.

When she felt Athena and Maddie reaching out for her, she roughly shook them off, but it wasn't like she could move very far. Not when her aching knees were now glued to the carpet and her stomach was tightening with every passing second.

"He- he's hurt!" The urgency in (Y/n)'s voice took Athena by surprise and only made fresh tears pour down Maddie's face.

This is what she had been afraid of. She had been worried about (Y/n) finding out and sending herself into a state of distress which wouldn't do her or the baby any good. She had hoped to keep (Y/n) ignorant and try to tell her that Evan had been caught up in a situation at work. Maybe tell her there was a bomber out there and the team were trying to diffuse the situation. She thought it would be easier to tell (Y/n) once she'd had the baby or once Evan was taken to hospital, whatever happened first.

"They're going to look after him, he'll be okay." Maddie looped her arm around (Y/n)'s shoulders and gently reeled her sister in law into her chest. She pecked the top of (Y/n)'s head and tried to rub her hand up and down her back, but she could see she wasn't helping very much.

Sobs continued to wrack (Y/n)'s body that was now trembling and when she reeled up, she looked back at the tv which was now zooming in on her husband's peril.

Showing Evan in all his anguish and agony, bright red in the face, spit dribbling down his chin as he screamed. Hands clawing at the road to try and drag himself free to no avail.

"Why isn't someone helping him?!" The words tore past (Y/n)'s lips with a violent scream before she launched the remote in her hand far across the room. Watching with anger and disgust as the remote hit the wall, rebounded into a picture frame and knocked it to the floor.

The shattering glass somehow made (Y/n) feel a little better. Something else other than her and Evan was shattering.

Why wasn't there someone knelt down beside her husband, telling him everything was going to be okay? Why wasn't someone holding his hand? Why was no one trying to move the truck and free her husband? How could they just stand back and leave him there like that, allowing the camera to get a closer view than the rest of them? That wasn't fair. They couldn't leave him in agony like that.

"We have t-to help him. I need to be there- be there with him." Each word came out with a hitched breath until (Y/n) was barely breathing and reduced to panting and gasping instead.

She moved her hands to the coffee table and tried her best to push up from where she was knelt on the floor. But both her legs were shaking and the moment she was on her feet, a cry errupted from her lips and her hands cupped her stomach that was twisting in agony.

She felt Athena rush to grab her arm and steady her and she allowed herself to lean into her mum's touch, letting Athena hold up some of her weight.

"Honey, we need to go to the hospital, these contractions are getting closer." Athena shakily brushed her free hand along (Y/n)'s cheek and leaned over to kiss her temple. (Y/n) was like another daughter to her. Since the moment she married Bobby, she had taken (Y/n) in as her own like Bobby had grown close to May and Harry.

She hated to see (Y/n) in distress like this much the same as she couldn't look at the tv and see Evan be trapped beneath that truck.

"No. No, I w-" She broke off with another cry as Maddie reached out for her waist to stop her from going back down on her knees. "Evan! He needs us."

Maddie couldn't stop her lower lip from wobbling and she sucked in a deep breath, doing her best to stop from bursting into another fit of tears. How could any of this be happening? How could her little brother be stuck in peril like that? How could (Y/n) be in labour at the exact same moment? How could they be separated in a moment where they should both be together? When they had both been planning to do this as one since the moment they found out about this baby.

"Buck has the team with him to look after him, and he wouldn't stand for you having his baby in the middle of the street, now would he?" The firm tone to Athena's voice made (Y/n) shiver and feel like she was a child being told the rules of the game.

Her head fell onto Athena's shoulder and a low whine passed her lips as she began to cry.

"Your dad is there with him, I'll call him when we're at the hospital to find out what's happening. And as soon as Buck is at the hospital with us, we can sort everything out. But we need to get you to the hospital to look after you and this baby."

"Buck will be taken to the hospital soon, better to be there waiting for him than stuck in traffic trying to reach him, hm?" Maddie's words made sense and seemed to calm down one of (Y/n)'s many erratic nerves.

The roads would be gridlocked. They had to get going now and it was lucky that Athena had sirens in her car so she could override the traffic that would undoubtedly be on the streets.

Rather than trying to get to Evan, by which time he could be transported to the hospital, they may as well get there first and wait for him. (Y/n) could be seen by the midwife, her and the baby would be safe and as soon as Evan was there, they would find out what was happening and get news of if he was alright or not.

They would wait for him at the hospital. And (Y/n) would try and hold on as long as she could. She didn't want this baby on her own, she wanted to know Evan was okay.

She wanted to see him before she gave birth.

***

"Why don't we sit down-"

"No."

Both (Y/n)'s hands planted down on the bed in front of her. Her lower back arched out and she leaned forward until her legs were ready to cave in beneath her and give way. Her knees were trembling. Her arms were rattling against the bedframe. She wanted to be sick.

She had shed so many tears she could have a river named after her. Both eyes were puffy and begging for rest, for a moment to sleep or fall closed and recover and to stop crying, but (Y/n) didn't know how. She didn't know how to stop crying when she could see her husband in dire distress, but she couldn't do anything to help him.

She didn't want to sit down, (Y/n) didn't want to be here in the first place. She changed her mind as soon as they arrived at the hospital. She wanted to turn round and go find Evan, she wanted to be there with him, to talk to him and tell him that she was here. She was nearby and she wanted him to know she wanted to help but she just didn't know how.

Another cry tumbled past her lips as her hands fisted in the bedsheets. She wasn't sure whether it was Maddie or Athena who was reaching out for her, but she didn't care. Their gentle touches and vain attempts to get her to move from her crouched position weren't working.

When the pain finally wore off, (Y/n) lifted her head and looked up at the tv in the corner of the room.

The news reel was playing. (Y/n) had been glued to watching any screen she could, looking at any monitor that was recording the live event and giving her a view of her husband in turmoil.

People had finally started to move to try and help him. Evan was no longer sprawled out on the floor on his own, in mass agony, with no way of getting himself free. The rest of the team had managed to pull themselves together and were trying to move the truck. As if any of them could lift that ten ton of steel and and equipment and oversized engine.

"How are we doing in here?" The same midwife who had showed them in peeked her head round the door. She had been doing regular checks and kept trying to insist (Y/n) try to sit and calm down because this was doing her blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat no favours. But (Y/n) wasn't in any fit state to listen.

(Y/n) didn't bother answering, she kept her gaze intently focused on the tv. She couldn't believe Evan hadn't passed out by now and she couldn't believe no one had gotten him free yet.

If they'd of gotten him out by now he could have been in the hospital. (Y/n) could have been with him, she could of held his hand and promised him everything was going to be okay.

She wished there was a way to pause her body and stop labour until Evan was in a fit state to be here, but that wasn't possible.

When another pain hit, (Y/n) couldn't stop her knees from giving out on her and she crumpled down into a squatting position. She thrust more weight onto her arms, quivering through the pain as Maddie tried to stop her from kneeling on the floor and Athena's hands held onto her waist to try and coil her up.

"If you're pushing, we really need to get you on the bed." There was a sense of urgency in the midwife's voice and she got as close as she could considering Maddie and Athena were crowding her like bodyguards.

(Y/n) didn't have the willpower to argue with them anymore.

Her hands clawed at the bed once the pain wore off and left her cramping and aching and splitting apart in dull infrequent waves. It didn't feel good to be sitting down like it did to be crouching or pacing around the room. Pacing kept her mind busy and gave her something to do.

And (Y/n) was fearful that as soon as she sat down, she would progress further and have the baby without Evan, although that seemed inevitable now.

"I think you're ready, let's get settled to push, shall we?" The sympathy in the midwife's voice did nothing to settle the anguish in (Y/n)'s heart.

Her head began to shake and her lower lip wobbled as a horrid sob wracked her chest. This wasn't how things were supposed to play out. She was supposed to be safe at home with Evan when she went into labour. He was supposed to time the contractions and take her to hospital and hold her hand and help her through this.

He was supposed to be here making jokes and kissing her hand and telling her all the random facts about labour and kids that he had learned to go along with all the pregnancy facts he had been telling her the last few months.

Evan wasn't supposed to be stuck with their entire damn fire truck crumpling down on his leg and people desperately trying to set him free.

"I c- I can't have this baby yet-" Her head began to shake and she tugged on Athena's hand as if her mum could somehow do something to rectify this situation.

"Honey, you don't have much of a choice."

Maddie sat down on the left side of the bed and let (Y/n) deadlock their hands together. She reached out with her free hand and gently ran her fingers through (Y/n)'s damp, matted hair, brushing the strands away from her face as she herself was in tears once again.

She hadn't expected to be here when (Y/n) gave birth, she had expected to have the most overjoyed, hyper phone call from her little brother telling her when (Y/n) went into labour. And then another call to ask her to come down to the hospital once her niece or nephew was born.

But when she came along to bring (Y/n) down here, (Y/n) hadn't let go of her hand and Maddie took that as a silent hint that (Y/n) didn't want her to go. And she didn't want to go either. Maddie didn't want to go home and wait anxiously in vain for news of both (Y/n) and Evan.

She had to be here, whether that was in the room right now giving (Y/n) support or just sitting in the hallway waiting for news on either her or Evan. Being in here made Maddie feel useful and it was a distraction.

"You can push on the next contraction."

(Y/n) didn't reply, but she did as she was told and started to push. Her knees coiled up, she pulled both Athena and Maddie's hands towards her chest and she leaned forward as much as she could to see if it would help.

But she stopped, every part of her body going rigid and becoming tense as her head snapped up to the tv.

A small 'oh' left her lips before a round of "Evan!" croaked into the air causing the other girls to look up at the tv.

Dozens upon dozens of passers by in the street were pushing the fire truck. Everyone was leaning against it, forcing all of their weight onto the structure to try and get Evan free.

(Y/n) ignored the next contraction, droning out the midwife's nervous instructions and she tried not to push as she put all of her focus on the tv. Silent sobs wracked her lips and had her trembling back and forth as she watched Hen and Eddie reach out for Evan to try and pull him free, while every other civilian there pushed on the truck.

What hurt (Y/n) the most was seeing Evan scrape his hand against the road. He was trying to help. He had hundreds of pounds of metal crushing down on his leg, pinning him to the road, he was in more agony than he ever had been in his life. And there he was, trying to help get himself free, trying to drag himself along the road to make it easier on everyone else.

The news reporter was close enough that Evan's horrid scream of terror managed to get broadcast on the tv and (Y/n)'s only response was to cry his name through wet lips as another contraction hit and she started to push.

"He- he's free."

"They've got him, they've got him honey."

"He'll be okay now." Maddie leaned forward when (Y/n) dropped her head onto her sister's shoulder and Maddie kissed the top of her head, weaving her other arm around (Y/n)'s waist.

(Y/n) coiled her legs up tighter until her knees were pressing into her stomach and she pushed. Unable to stop herself from muttering Evan's name on a loop as if it was the only thing she could understand. She was almost there, she was about to have her baby in her arms, and the one person she wanted here with her was nowhere to be seen.

The news reel changed to a wider angle of the whole scene and the reporter switched back to someone in the studio. Evan was free, they weren't going to record the team getting him into an ambulance and racing him away from the scene. But he was free. He was free from the constraints of the fire truck and now he would be here within ten minutes, all being well.

But he was still going to miss the birth.

***

"We're here! Buck, we're here." Reaching down, Bobby gripped Evan's arm and did his best to try and smile, but he couldn't manage it. Not when he could see the damage done to his son in law's leg.

He could see the dramatic sight where skin and muscle had been split apart and the bone was visible. He could see breaks in the bone and splinters of bone pushing out at odd angles. He could see through the gauze that was moulding into Evan's wound from soaking up all the blood that the strap around his thigh couldn't cut off.

It didn't look good.

Both Eddie and Hen had been doing their best to make him comfortable on the ride down here, but it was hard. They couldn't give him any morphine, not when he was going to need X-rays and scans and an emergency operation. Morphine and anaesthetic didn't always mix well and Evan had a bad track history with medications causing severe reactions.

All they could give him was the gas and air tube to breathe through and although it had done nothing to take the edge off, Evan had been breathing it in since the moment they got him in the ambulance.

"Let's get you inside, you're gonna be just fine." Hen's voice was soothing, but Evan couldn't believe her words.

He didn't feel fine.

He didn't feel as if he was going to be fine or make a swift recovery from this.

He felt like he was going to be put under anaesthetic and wake up with one leg. He could feel each piece of tattered skin desperately trying to cling to his leg. He could feel his leg pulsing and aching from where the blood supply had been cut off mid-way down his thigh. Evan felt like his body was on fire, his leg was disconnected and each breath was becoming harder to take.

When Eddie reached across to try and take the gas and air tube from his grip, a deep growl emmited from Evan's lips and he clenched his hand tight around the tube.

He pulled the strange looking mask back to his lips and inhaled three fast, choked breaths. The tubes were always switched and cleaned out after every use, but Evan had a feeling they would have to bin this one. He had chomped down so hard on the tube that he had left puncture indents in the plastic.

"No! It f-fucking kills-"

"Buck, you can have more pain relief once you're inside, I swear. Mate please, please we have to move you now." Eddie felt horrible when he had to prize Evan's fingers from the gas and air and as soon as he let go, they clipped off the breaks and moved the stretcher.

Bobby leaned down and took Evan's hand once they all climbed down and Chimney rushed from the driver's seat. He held Evan's hand high to his chest as Evan started to thrash around on the gurney.

His chest stuttered up and down and repeatedly pushed back to the point the gurney was shaking and about to unlock and lower down. His free hand curled into a fist and slammed into the metal frame harsh enough to split some of the skin around his knuckles.

He was in agony. He needed it to stop.

"(Y/n). Have- have you- fuck. (Y/n)." Evan couldn't get his thoughts in order, the only thing in his head and the one word that could properly be muttered from his lips was his wife's name.

They had been on their way back to the station when the bomb hit. They had been going back specifically because Maddie came through the radio and said (Y/n) had gone into labour. That was the call Evan had been waiting for and dreading at the same time. He had been anxious about when (Y/n) would go into labour and if it would happen while he was at work.

He had been ecstatic. He had been bouncing in his seat, riding shotgun in the truck for the first time in ages and he and Bobby had been debating whether it would be a boy or a girl.

Now, Evan had no idea what was happening. He didn't know who was with (Y/n) or if she was alone right now. He didn't know if she was still home or if someone had taken her to the maternity ward. He didn't know if she was in agony, if anything had gone wrong, if she was having complications or sailing through labour without him.

Bobby tightened his hand around Evan's and leaned down so he could talk to him better because he knew Evan was now having a hard time concentrating and taking things in. Who wouldn't in his state?

"Athena and Maddie brought her to the hospital, once you're inside I'll go find them. She'll be okay."

While waiting for people to help get Evan free, Bobby had answered the third phone call from his wife. All he knew so far was they had brought (Y/n) in and labour was in full swing, they were just waiting for her to dilate. But his daughter was here and she was safe, that was all Bobby needed to know for now while he focused on looking after his son in law.

"I wa- I want-" Evan broke off into an animalistic howl when the gurney jolted over the threshold into the emergency room and the shock sent his leg jerking. Shockwaves rattled up and down his spine and both legs shook as if he had been electrocuted.

He lifted his head and shoulders, doing his best to sit up although he wasn't sure what he was doing, he just wanted to move.

He wanted the pain to stop.

Tears flushed down his face and a broken sob left his lips when he locked onto a familiar frame stood anxiously by the reception desk.

He could see his big sister stood with a bright red face, puffy eyes and tears streaked down her features. She had both hands interlocked in front of her in that panicked manner where she would scratch her nails along the back of her hands until they were rubbed raw. The moment she looked their way, it was as if a light had come and gone in her eyes all at once.

She ran across the floor and grabbed Evan's outstretched hand, pulling it up so she could kiss the back of his hand. Her fingers trailed up and down his arm and her lips wobbled, unable to hold back a sob when she looked at her baby brother who had been more of a son to her at times.

"Oh, oh Buck."

Evan let out another sob while the team paused the gurney in the hallway and Eddie moved to flag someone down. This was a dire emergency, they needed a doctor here now and they needed Evan taken to theatre before he lost his leg.

"W-where's (Y/n)?" Evan had spent the last few hours wondering what was happening with his wife, if she was okay, if he could be taken to her at some point.

He had tried arguing with Bobby on the journey down here, asking if he could see (Y/n) before he went for whatever surgery he was going to need. Of course Bobby said no, that wasn't going to be an option. Evan couldn't delay any form of treatment, not for a minute or an hour. He had to be taken straight to theatre.

"She's on the maternity ward."

"Is she-"

"She's fine… oh Buck, you've got a beautiful little girl." Maddie reached her hand out to brush her finger down his bloodied cheek as a broken smile formed on her lips.

But her smile faded into an open-mouthed, hollow frown when Evan's entire face fell. His jaw loosened and slacked like it had become disconnected, his eyes glossed over and his nose crinkled making him look like a snarling dog.

"I m- I missed it? I- oh God- Bobby-" The most horrid scream any of them ever heard erupted from Evan's lips and shook the walls.

He ripped his hand free from Maddie's hold, slammed his fist down into the frame of the gurney and writhed until he almost toppled off the gurney. He fought and thrashed against all the hands that pinned him down and ignored their panicked screams for a doctor.

He missed it.

He missed his daughter's birth. He hadn't been there. He promised (Y/n) he would be with her from the moment she went into labour to the moment their precious baby would be in their arms. He said he would do anything he could to be there and that he wouldn't let her down, and now, he had broken those promises.

He couldn't see (Y/n), he couldn't hold his daughter. He couldn't cut the cord or hold her for the first time the moment she was born. He wasn't going to see her on her birthday, if he was going for an operation he wouldn't be conscious or lucid enough to see her for another day, possibly two.

A chorus of exploding emotions erupted to life in his chest and wailed past his lips but it didn't feel like anyone was listening to him. And Evan was too far gone into his despair to hear anyone try to comfort him. He didn't want comfort. He wanted a time machine. Evan wanted the chance to go back and make sure this didn't happen.

He wanted to rewind time and sit in the back of the truck with the rest of the team so he could scramble out without being trapped. He wanted to get out of that truck unscathed and rush down to the hospital and hold his wife's hand as she gave birth to their daughter.

This wasn't fair.

Tortured screams left Evan's lips and (Y/n)'s name spat past his lips on repeat as the gurney began to move and hands continued to pin him down.

But the pain in his leg was nothing compared to the agony overwhelming his heart.

[fadingdaggerr]

Can you make a fic based on my two fav melissa schementti fantasies

melissa calling reader by pet names and making them completely flustered x melissa making reader jealous on purpose

basically all this happens before they date/confess

and when melissa has had enough of reader not making any moves and hiding from her, melissa takes charge and ends up making out w reader.

i know this is a little difficult to write but tysm i really love ur fics 😭🫶🫶

wishful thinking

pairing: melissa schemmenti x gn!reader

summary: request above!

warnings/includes: ridiculously clueless!r and a not clueless mel, gary but only for plot purposes, making out

translations: gioia (joy/happiness), tesoro (darling/treasure), gavone (pig/slob)

note: i’m so sorry i haven’t been active. i’ve been dealing with a lot the last few months and haven’t had even a second to breathe. better note at the end <3

Melissa would never admit to anyone how much she liked the effect she had on you. She loved to watch your head duck down nervously when she complimented you or guided you along with a hand on your lower back. Every single time she left the light tremor of your body, but not once did she mention it. You were glad she couldn’t feel your heartbeat the moment her attention was on you.

—

The first time she noticed it changed her entire perspective on you.

Melissa wasn’t the kind to talk to the new hires, the turnover rates at Abbott were laughable and they never stayed more than a couple of months. But after a few months, she started to pay attention. Over time, she got to see just how much you really cared for the kids. She had stopped by to ask if you had an extra purple whiteboard marker, but she was met with the sight of you kneeling in front of one of your students, big, sad tears in her eyes. She could just barely hear the mutterings of I know it hurts sweetie and the one that made a little smile cross her lips, of course I have shark band-aids, what am i? A chump? She sees you start to stand to grab the bandage and decides to move now before she gets caught staring.

Right as she steps close to you, you rise and spin around. Your action staggers as you notice her form too late, and nearly falling as you try to avoid running into her, nearly. Strong hands grasp your upper arms, saving you from landing flat on your ass.

Your head tilts up to face her, finally registering that it was Melissa. It takes you a second to breathe before you let out a little, “thank you.”

“Of course, hon. My fault anyways,” she says with a small smile. There’s an almost too long pause before she realizes her hands are still on your arms, dropping them immediately to fold them across her chest. You’re almost in a daze just looking at her, but you have to keep up appearances.

“Did you need something?” You say with a soft smile. Melissa noticed how your eyes never left hers for a second after she called you hon, she also thinks that you’d never looked her in the eyes before then. It had never gone unnoticed that you always looked at her bangs or the frame of her glasses whenever you’d spoken before.

Interesting... Melissa thinks to herself.

—

And then Melissa began to see a pattern.

You’d given her the extra dollar she needed for her iced tea, four quarters stacked tails-up in front of her. She didn’t ask anyone, only sighed when she checked her purse.

“Thanks sweetheart,” Melissa said without really thinking.

Your eyes widen for a fraction of a second before you catch yourself, accompanied by a quick inhale. Licking your lips and averting your eyes from her, you quietly say, “yeah. of course, anytime.”

Barbara must notice Melissa’s intrigue suddenly and speaks up, “dear, why don’t you come sit with us? I don’t think we’ve gotten a chance to know each other just yet.”

This marked the start of yours and Melissa’s friendship.

—

“You got plans Saturday?” Melissa says as she pours a cup of coffee into her Tucci mug.

You look up from your phone and take a breath in, “I have lunch with my cousin at noon, but I’m free later on. Why, what do you have planned?”

“That flea market’s coming back around, the one with the good antiques and the petting zoo,” you almost speak but she cuts you off, “oh, and that apple cider you liked.”

You smile at her remembering that detail before responding, “yeah, that sounds perfect. I can text you when I leave the diner.” Your voice thankfully doesn’t seem to give away how nervous you were trying not to seem. You take a sip from your mug to hide yourself for a moment.

“Great. I’m looking forward to it, babe,” she says through a sip of her own coffee. She stays just long enough to watch you nearly choke on your tea, and then slips out to walk to her classroom with a satisfied smirk on her face.

—

At the development week meeting, she turned to see you looking around for a place to sit. When you miss her wave to get your attention, she decides to yell your name across the gymnasium to get you to look in her direction. Your head whips her way, a grateful smile on your face when you see her waving you over. She decidedly loves the shy smile that was reserved for only her.

Stepping over nurse Makiah to get to the free seat, you finally plop down next to the redhead. Something possesses Melissa and her arm moves on its own to rest across the back of your seat, hand resting on your arm. She feels you stiffen for a moment, almost thinking she’d overstep, but you relax into her touch.

“You didn’t have to save me a seat. These are prime real estate to bleacher-leaners,” you mumble to her as one of the eighth grade teachers goes on about something that wasn’t as important as her fingers tracing little patterns over your shirt.

Melissa chuckles lightly, squeezing your shoulder lightly. She leans in to answer, “but then I wouldn’t have you sitting here, tesoro.” Your eyes go to your lap as you fail to hide the smile from her words, making the redhead’s heart rate pick up.

“You’re too nice to me, Schemmenti,” you say as you lift your head, with what little courage you have, to look at her and smile, leaning into her for a second.

—

Then an idea struck Melissa

Tuesday was vending machine restock day. Tuesday was your new least favorite day of the week. Totally unrelated.

Gary, the vending machine guy, had started a habit of flirting with Melissa. He started with giving her a free iced tea straight from the truck, and then chatting, then complimenting, and then just straight up checking her out with no shame. Every time he entered the room, your voice died in your throat, and your eyes stayed trained on him with a special kind of hatred. You were at least thankful Melissa hadn’t noticed the rage you felt when he had a conversation with her breasts. Melissa, in fact, did notice.

She watched how you stared daggers into his back as he spoke to her, completely unaware of her attention flicking to you every now and then. Your fork angrily stabbed at the lunch she’d brought you, not a single bite being taken since the vendor walked in the door. The more forward Gary got, the quieter and angrier you became. Once he left and Melissa’s focus went back to you entirely, as it always was, your shoulders relaxed and the assault on the pasta stopped.

Melissa decides she has a theory to test. She plays into Gary’s flirting some more, enough that the man is clearly picking up on it, and your hand stills. By the third week, Barbara is begging her to go on a date with the man.

“Girl, he likes you. You should give it a shot, he’s a nice man. Handsome too,” Barbara says with enthusiasm. Your eyes roll as you look at your phone, trying to tune out this conversation. Your resolve cracks a little when Ava mumbles that’s generous in response to Barbara’s comment, a tiny chuckle espacing you.

The kindergarten teacher nudges your hand, “don’t you think she should go for it?”

You struggle with trying to not just flat out say no so instead you settle with, “yeah. Gary seems really nice.” The thin smile on your face is unconvincing to both women, and it’s easy to read on both their faces. You quickly grab your stuff and stand, “I’m gonna head back to my room and pass out their math quizzes. I’ll see you later.”

Once the door closes behind you, Barbara looks at Melissa, “what was that?”

Melissa just shrugs, feigning obliviousness.

When Gary finally gets the nerve to ask her out, she laughs and agrees. You think the gods above must have it out for you, not letting you escape any interaction between the two. The fork in your hand just stabs harder at the food in the tupperware. After watching with a tinge of regret, Melissa finally speaks up.

“You alright over there, gioia?” She asks, her voice filled with real concern. You look at her for a moment, considering what to say, but settle with a nod. When your gaze drops again, you miss her lips dipping into a small frown.

—

Monday morning after the big date, you realize that being in the lounge was a mistake. You should have known to go straight to your classroom, but the need to see Melissa overrode your actions.

As you walked in, everyone was facing Melissa and asking her about every little detail of the date. Where’d they go? Was the food good? Did he offer to pay it all or ask to split the bill? What did she wear? She gives them all they want to hear, and only Ava asks what you didn’t want to know.

“Cut the bull. Did you let him hit or not?”

A chorus of AVA! goes around the room.

The redhead just sighs before answering, “why did you say it like that? And no, I did not ‘let him hit,’ Ava.” You hate that some tension leaves your shoulders after that. The rest of the time is spent with your eyes trained at the floor and ringing in your ears.

Melissa regrets her idea a lot more when she stops seeing your smile altogether and your eyes stop meeting hers.

—

She finally snaps.

Janine had planned to make a whole outing for the Abbott crew, inviting everyone out to a new arcade-bar that Erica had told her about. She’d told Melissa that she should invite Gary, saying that everyone wanted to meet him in a social setting and not just in the ten minutes he was in the school every Tuesday. Inviting Gary couldn’t hurt, she reasoned.

Gary’s phone went to voicemail for the fifth time and all eight of her texts were unanswered. He said he would come, that he wanted to meet everyone for real, but now he was a no show. Melissa felt like a teenager again, getting stood up by her date to homecoming while she waited outside for him. She turned to walk back in, almost running into you as you were coming to check on her.

“Everything alright?” You ask, knowing the answer already since she can’t hide her emotions well when she’s upset.

She huffs a laugh, “peachy. Jackass said he would be here almost an hour ago and won’t return my calls or anything.”

“Want me to beat him up for you?” You ask jokingly, but there’s a certain hope she’ll say yes that sits in your chest. Your heart almost can’t handle it when she smiles at your words, arm looping with yours as she drags you to the pinball machines.

You’d probably lost a student-loan payment in quarters by the time either of you had even won a single game you played. In the course of two hours, both of you had only managed to get a collective hundred tickets that could maybe win you each an eraser. Melissa pretends to not notice you cheating in the driving games, and you pretend not to notice her taking quarters from your cup.

You watch an equally competitive Ava and Melissa play a scary-good match of air hockey, each of them likely to have bruises on their knuckles by the end of the night from how hard they played. Each time she scored, the redhead’s eyes moved to you for approval, and each time she’s met with a little applause and smile from you.

“Wasn’t your man supposed to be here? Or were the Kit-Kats not behaving?” Ava says when they finally take a break from the game to take a drink.

Melissa just shrugs, “he hasn’t answered anything. If the gavone decides to say anything, then he’ll be getting an earful, or a bat to the head. Depends on what he says.”

“Do you even like this idiot?” Ava asks incredulously, saying exactly what you’d been thinking for weeks since they’d had their first date.

Melissa shrugs, “he’s alright. The first date was nice, but the rest have just been him trying to get in my pants.”

“Well,” Ava’s brows bounced a couple times, “are you gonna let him in or not?”

You check out entirely before listening to Melissa’s answer, not even caring how suddenly you left the conversation, just letting your legs carry you until you could finally breathe. You find yourself back with the old pinball machines that no one but you and Melissa had played. Only a few seconds of silence manages to pass before you hear the muffled stomp of boots on carpet, stopping right behind you.

“You gonna tell me what that was?” Melissa asks with your back facing her.

You should have known it was her that would follow you. Part of you wanted to lie and say that the drinks made you feel sick, but you both knew that they were too watered down to even intoxicate a toddler. The other part of you just wanted to scream about how it should be you on those dates with her, driving her home and walking her to the door. You turned to meet her eyes and any courage you had left, feeling like putty when she was so focused on you and you alone. Even though you know what her response will be, you just say, “it was nothing. I’ll be back inside in a minute.”

“It wasn’t nothing,” she says, stepping closer, “you’ve been doing that a lot lately. Just... I dunno, just leaving. You can be in the same room as me and it feels like you’re miles away.”

Your gaze drops to your feet, suddenly feeling insecure now that you know she’s noticed your behavior. You put all your energy into stabling your voice and keeping your lips from quivering at the thought of upsetting her. All you can muster in a tiny voice is, “I’m sorry.”

Melissa surprises you by pulling you into a tight hug, whispering to you, “is this about Gary?” Your heart stops at her words, knowing you’d been found out. The lack of answer and the way your body stiffens tells Melissa everything she needs to know, what she already knew.

Melissa knows that you’ll likely try to explain away anything the second she loosens her hold on you, that you’ll run and she’ll never get this close ever again. So she does the only thing that she can think of at this moment.

As she pulls away, Melissa’s hands cup your face, pulling you into her lips. Your eyes nearly bulge out of your head as you feel her lips press against yours, soft and eager. After a moment, she realizes you’re not kissing her back, her heart cracking as she pulls away from you, ready to run. Her hands drop from your face, eyes blinking rapidly as doubt clouds her mind. Your mind catches up, realizing what had just happened. Melissa begins to turn to leave, but is stopped by your hand in hers. You tug her back to you, cupping her face and leaning forward to finally kiss her back.

She tasted like lipstick and watery vodka, her hands were warm against your wrists where they held tightly. Your mind was in hyperdrive as you took in her lips and her touch, hardly noticing her moving you until your hips met the game behind you. Melissa’s lips parted, her tongue brushing across your bottom lip to ask for entry. You were quick to allow her in, letting her dominate your lips as her hands dropped to grab at your waist. The taste of her lips and tongue became quickly addictive, the feeling even more so. Your hands migrate from her face to her hair, pulling her even closer to you as the kiss turns sloppy from the sheer desperation radiating from both of you.

Melissa’s hands grab at your hips harder as you tug at copper strands, cold fingers creeping under your shirt to rest against warm skin. The force of her body leaning further into you boggles the machine you’re pressed against making a loud buzzer sound and the automated voice yell just a quarter to play! The sudden noises make you both jump, breaking the kiss. Your eyes meet and you both stifle a laugh at the whole thing. Her lips immediately gravitate back to yours, this time softer. The smile you feel against your lips brings your own out, breaking the kiss again. You drop your head against her shoulder, basking in her presence and her hands on your skin.

“You knew,” is all you say, voice muffled against her shirt.

She smiles and rests her head against yours, “I did.”

“How long?”

“The whole time, give or take,” she’s a little surprised when your head pops up, almost smacking her chin.

Your eyes stare straight into hers, “and you said nothing?”

“You didn’t say shit either, don’t even start,” she says with a laugh, no malice hiding in her voice. Her only response is a grumble that sounds something like touché.

There’s so much love behind your eyes, it chokes her up. The way your eyes never left hers, something she missed in the last month, made her feel like the most precious stone. She looks at you for a moment longer before quietly asking, “can I kiss you again?”

The smallest smile crosses your lips as you answer in an equally quiet tone, “you can kiss me whenever you want, Schemmenti.”

feedback appreciated as always <3

note: again i’m sorry for not being active. i started school again and have been working full time while also being a full time student. i also had a death in the family that hit me very hard mentally and i had to take a step back as to not end up in the hospital. i’m going to try to be more active and take time to write more. thank u for being so patient. ilyvm

[morgana-larkin]

Hi can you write a Melissa x reader with enemies to lovers, a true slow burn, and the reader only calls her ‘Schemmenti’ until the turning point where the reader finally calls her ‘Mel’? Thank you!

Hola! Here ya go! I have to say that it was fun, and I did not do an evil laugh at some point while writing this… 😏. Anyway, like I said previously, hope you’ll enjoy my period driven fics for the next week cause this one gots the smut too. (I regret nothing… I might in a week *shrugs*). Anyway, not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I made a masterlist and I’m quite proud of it *does self five*. But then 5 minutes later the wifi craps out so I’ll be adding this one to it when it decides to work again as I need my laptop to do it. And if you want to be added to my taglist then let me know peeps!

Fine Line

Warnings: smut, I think there’s swearing but I’m too lazy to check

Words: 4.3k

You come storming in the break room and slam the door open, then proceed to stomp to the fridge. Melissa trails your movements and sees that you’re in a pissy mood this morning.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Melissa teases you.

You throw your lunch in the fridge and slam the door shut then go to the coffee machine.

“I don’t have the patience for you right now Schemmenti.” You snap at her. You pour the coffee in your mug.

“Are you alright dear?” Barb asks you and you sigh.

“Just a rough morning.” You tell her gently.

Melissa has always seen how both of you treat each other differently. You both have a short fuse and didn’t like each other from the start. You accidentally pissed her off one too many times during the week and you got mad and started arguing back at her. Now it’s a year later and it hasn’t changed.

Melissa eyes you and you catch it and glare at her before walking out of the break room and Melissa smiles. If Melissa was being completely honest, she doesn’t mind the little rivalry. She has fun with you and enjoys how hot you look when you’re mad at her.

You on the other hand want Melissa to just avoid you, you have no idea why she enjoys torturing you and you want her to leave you alone instead.

Melissa stops by your classroom on her way to the break room at lunch. “Have you simmered down at all?” She jokes to you and you roll your eyes.

“I have and then I see you and it goes right back up.” You retort back and Melissa smirks. “What are you doing here Schemmenti?”

“I work here.” She tells you and you huff in annoyance and glare at her.

“You know what I meant.” You snap a bit at her.

“I came to see you.” She tells you and you sigh. She likes to come see you before she goes on lunch everyday and quite frankly, today, you don’t have the patience for her. So you stand up and walk towards the door. Melissa sees you walking over and she unconsciously licks her lips.

“I already told you that I don’t have the patience today for you Schemmenti.” You tell her, then slam the door in her face and lock it. Melissa huffs then defeated, she walks to the break room. Melissa likes talking to you, she just doesn’t know how to without making you annoyed at her. She already admitted to herself that she has a crush on you and she wants you to see her as more than a rival and more than a friend too.

“How do I talk to y/n without her getting mad at me?” Melissa asks Barb in the break room and Barb is stunned by the question. She thought that you and Melissa were gonna wanna keep this rivalry forever.

“Why?” Barb asks.

“Because I want to try and be friends with her instead of enemies.” Melissa says and leans back and crosses her arms.

“Well you could start with not insulting and teasing her.” Barb starts.

“Everytime I try it seems like I just annoy her. Like she thinks I’m joking or playing with her mind.” Melissa says.

“Well you did get mad at her everyday for her first 2 weeks.” Barb reminds her. “Maybe start with an apology.” Melissa sighs, it’s worth a try and she stands up, grabs her lunchbox and yours from the fridge, then walks to your classroom.

When she gets to your door, she stands in front of it for a moment then knocks. You answer it a few seconds later, when you see Melissa there you go to close it again but she stops it with her foot. “I brought your lunch for you.” She tells you and holds up your lunchbox. You open the door and stare at her confused.

“Why?” You ask.

“Because it’s lunchtime and you should eat.” She simply tells you.

“Did you do something to it?” You ask and Melissa huffs.

“No, because I’m not 12.” She tells you and hands you your lunchbox. You take it and just stare at her confused. Melissa then walks to her classroom and continues to eat her lunch while grading some tests.

There’s a knock at her door and she gives a ‘come in’. She finishes grading the question and finally looks up and sees you standing there, looking at her curiously. “Yes?” She asks and you sigh.

“Why were you being nice to me?” You ask her and she drops her pen on her desk and lifts her glasses up to the top of her head.

“I just brought you your lunch, that’s all.” She tells you.

“But why?”

“Because you’re having a rough morning and you’d have an even worse day if you didn’t eat.” She tells you.

“And that’s all?” You ask her.

“Ya.” She says and you turn to leave but glance back at her.

“Thank you.” You tell her and she looks at you.

“You’re welcome hon.” She tells you and you close her door and leave to your classroom.

Melissa smiles after you leave. That’s the first normal conversation she’s had with you and you even thanked her. She thinks maybe now you won’t take everything she says the wrong way. When she thinks back on that thought, she thinks that it’s nice to have dreams.

You walk into the break room the next day in a better mood than yesterday and Melissa looks up and smiles at you.

“Morning.” She tells you and you look at her confused.

“What do you want Schemmenti?” You ask her and she sighs.

“Nothing, just saying morning to you.” She tells you and you eye her suspiciously but then continue with what you were doing.

After you leave the break room, Melissa sighs. “Everytime.” Melissa mutters.

“Wow, she really does take everything you say the wrong way.” Barb says beside her and she turns and glares at Barb.

“Really? I didn’t notice.” Melissa says sarcastically but Barb just smiles.

“Just because you brought her lunch one time doesn’t mean that reverses a year of rivalry.” Barb tells her and Melissa sighs then gets an idea and smiles. “What did you just think of?” Barb asks cautiously.

“That maybe I could bring her lunch more often, as in something that I made. No one says no to anything I make.” She says proudly and Barb looks at her sceptically. Barb then prays that this doesn’t end badly.

The next day, Melissa brings an extra lunch for you. You stay in your classroom during lunch again. You end up staying in your classroom during lunch quite often, mostly to avoid Melissa. You start to think you should pack food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated and keep your lunchbox with you in your classroom. You’re grading one of your students' homework when there’s a knock on your door. “Come in.” You say and finish what you’re writing then look up. Melissa is there with a smile on her face.

“Hi.” She says

“I was starting to think you forgot about me, bummer.” You tell her and her smile doesn’t falter. “What are you doing her Schemmenti?” You ask and she walks up to you.

“I brought you lunch.” She says and you look and don’t see your lunchbox.

“Then why isn’t my lunchbox with you?” You ask her.

“Because I didn’t bring your lunch to you. I brought something I made for you.” She tells you and you look at her surprised.

“What?” You deadpan.

“I made food last night, and brought some leftovers for you.” She says.

“Why?”

“Because I did.” She says and sets the food on your desk.

“I don’t want it.” You tell her.

“No one ever says no to anything I make.” She tells you.

“Well I’m saying no to you now.” You tell her.

“That’s because you haven’t tried it yet.” She tells you and crosses her arms.

“If I try it and still say I don’t want it then will you go away?” You ask and she nods. Reluctantly you sigh and take a bite. You go tell her to now leave then it hits your tastebuds and you freeze. It was good, like really good, the best food you’ve tasted. And now you reluctantly tell her no to the food and tell her to leave. “There, I tasted it and I’m still telling you to leave.” You say and she looks at you unconvinced.

“I saw you hesitate, you love it.” She tells you and you know you’ll have to admit you do like it but don’t want it here.

“Ok it was probably the best thing I ever tasted but I don’t want it or you here.” You tell her and she looks offended.

“Why?” She asks.

“Because in case it escaped you, I don’t like you and you don’t like me. We’ve been enemies since I got here since I was an easy target for you. So now, please leave.” You tell her and she looks defeated but takes her food and leaves.

You think she’d give up but she doesn’t, she’s very stubborn, but so are you. She brings you lunch for a week before you finally blow up at her.

“Brought you lunch again hon. Maybe you’ll actually have it today.” She tells you and you sigh and rub a hand on your temple. She walks in and your anger that’s been building all week finally lets go.

“MELISSA WILL YOU PLEASE STOP!” You say and she freezes. “I don’t want anything you make! What I do want is for you to leave me alone. Forever!” You say and she actually looks upset which catches you off guard but still stick to what you want. “I don’t want you to talk to me or to bring me food ever again. We’re co workers, nothing more.” You tell her and she lets out a huff then snatches her food.

“Fine.” She snips and starts walking out of your classroom. “Try to be nice and this is what I get.” She mutters. You hear it and you’re confused. She was trying to be nice? Wtf?

A month goes by and to your surprise, Melissa does leave you alone. She doesn’t even look your way anymore. She pretends you don’t exist and for the first week you actually like it. Then the second week hits and it turns out you miss the rivalry you had with the redhead. You keep glancing at her throughout the week and she keeps feeling like she’s being watched and looks up and you look away quickly. If Melissa ever catches you staring at her then she doesn’t comment on it.

After a month, you go to talk to her. You both have a prep second period so you go and knock on her door. “Come in.” You hear and you enter.

She glances up to see who it is and she does a double take. “What do you want?” She says with a bit of anger and sadness lacing it.

You close the door then turn around and face her. You don’t seem annoyed, she thinks, more frustrated about something.

“Did you mean what you said a month ago?” You ask and she quirks an eyebrow.

“You’ll have to be more specific. I said a lot of things a month ago.” She says and you walk over and sit on one of the students desks.

“That you were trying to be nice.” You say and she looks stunned.

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.” She says.

“So it was true? You were trying to be nice?” You ask and she rubs her temple and nods.

“But why? You have been nothing but mean to me since I got here.” You state.

“I know.” She says. “At first it seemed like you just did everything wrong to make me mad but then I realised you didn’t know what you were doing and I was gonna stop but I found it a bit amusing to see your annoyed reactions. Then I wanted to stop fully 6 months later but you keep taking everything I say wrong. And I can’t say I blame you.” She says and you look at her stunned.

“What exactly are you saying Schemmenti?” You say and she quirks an eyebrow.

“You know last time you spoke to me, you called me Melissa.” She says and you look at her confused.

“I did?”

“You were telling me to get the fuck out and leave you alone but ya, you called me Melissa.” She says and you roll your eyes.

“Obviously an accident.” You tell her and she rolls her eyes at you.

“Well I don’t know about you but I want to put the whole rivalry to an end and maybe actually get to know each other.” She tells you and you look at her stunned.

“You do?” You ask and she nods. “You mean you don’t want to annoy each other again?” You ask and she quirks an eyebrow again at you.

“Obviously we still will but more friendly this time. That’s if you want to possibly become friends.” She says cautiously and you smile.

“I think that could happen.” You tell her and you get off the desk. “Well I gotta get back and finish some grading or my students might revolt as I’m apparently taking too long to grade the tests, like I got nothing else to do.” You say dramatically and she giggles.

“Hey y/n.” She says and you look at her. “I’m sorry for how I treated you when you got here.” She tells you genuinely and you smile.

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry for how I treated you too.” You tell her.

“It’s alright, I would have reacted the same if I had someone being mad at me everyday.” She jokes and you laugh. You go to leave then glance back at her when you reach the doorway.

“See you around Melissa.” You tell her and she freezes and looks at you stunned. You smile at her and she smiles back at you.

“See ya around y/n.” She tells you. You nod, tap the doorway once and then leave. And for the first time in a month, Melissa feels hope with you.

A week goes by and you and Melissa stay true to your word. Everytime you enter the break room, she says good morning to you and you say it back to her. Barb looked at you guys suspiciously for a second, thinking she heard you both wrong. But after glancing at the trio, she realised she heard you both correctly, if the trio’s shocked expressions are anything to go by.

You come in at lunch everyday and you mostly go to the table and couch and do some work there while you eat. On Monday of the third week of you two getting along, she brought you a coffee while you did your work during lunch. You look up and smile and thank her.

“Whatcha working on hon?” She asks you and glances at your paper.

“Descriptions of their hero.” You tell her and you hand her the one you were grading.

“This is cute.” She says and hands it back to you.

“Ya, most of them chose their parents or a celebrity. But I got concerned when I read this one.” You tell her and hand her one of them. She reads it then laughs after a minute.

“I think this little one is on the right path to be a little Wednesday Addams.” She tells you and you laugh.

“Maybe that’s their goal.” You joke with her. And neither of you notice but everyone is looking at you two shocked.

When it comes to a month of you two actually being nice to each other, you realise you have feelings for her and you get annoyed at yourself. You just became friendly with her and now feelings had to get involved. The thing you have to realise is, is that there is a fine line between love and hate.

You start to ignore her a little bit, in the hopes of your feelings going away. They don’t though. And to make it worse, Melissa notices the change in how you treat her. She comes in your classroom during both your prep, without knocking , after a week of you ignoring her a bit.

“What’s going on with you?” She questions right away.

“Well hello to you too.” You joke.

“Hi.” She says and then sighs. “Now what is going on with you?” She repeats.

“What do you mean?” You ask.

“What do I mean.” She says with a chuckle and huffs. “I mean, why do you sometimes ignore me?” She asks and you sigh.

“I’m not.” You say and honestly, you don’t even believe yourself. Melissa crosses her arms and that unintentionally lifts her chest up a bit and you stare at her chest. She catches on to you staring and looks down to what you’re looking at. She looks back up, confused, until she puts the pieces together and she smirks.

“Why are you staring at my chest?” She asks and you snap out of your trance.

“What?” You ask and she walks towards you until she’s right in front of you.

“I said, why are you staring at my chest?” She repeats and you gulp.

“I- I wasn’t.” You say and she leans down and puts her hands on the arms of your chair, effectively giving you a view of right down her shirt. And you try to not stare at it, but the view of it is just too good not to stare.

“Do you like me y/n?” She asks you and you look up at her eyes. You see the curiosity and hope in them.

“I do ya.” You tell her and look down at your lap. She puts a finger under your chin and forces you to look back up.

“I like ya too hon.” She tells you and your jaw drops. She smiles warmly at you then closes your mouth with the finger still under your chin. Then she leans in and kisses you and your brain shuts down. She pulls back after a second and sees your reaction and laughs. “Did I make you short circuit?” She teases you and you stare. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She tells you and you snap of your very deep trance.

“What?” You ask and she giggles.

“I made you short circuit didn’t I?” She repeats and you nod embarrassed. “No need to be embarrassed, it actually makes me happy I have that kind of effect on someone.” She tells you.

“Mel, you’re stunning, of course you have that kind of effect.” You tell her dramatically.

“Oh I’m stunning am I?” She asks you and you nod. “And you called me Mel.” She says and your eyes widen.

“Sorry Melissa.” You tell her.

“No, go back to Mel. I like it.” She tells you and you blush. You still have the view of down her shirt and you rub your thighs together. She notices and she smirks. She then casually sits on your lap with her legs on the sides of the chair and kisses you. You kiss her back this time and she smiles in the kiss. She makes out with you for about 5 minutes then you buck your hips and she pulls back and stands up and you whine. “Patience you. How about you come back to my place after?” She says and you nod with a smile. “Perfect now, hand me your phone.” She says and holds her hand out. You give her a confused look and she smiles. “So I can give you my number.” She tells you and you scramble to get your phone out and then give it to her. She giggles as she takes it then puts her number in and texts herself. “Great, now we have each other’s numbers. See ya tonight.” She tells you with a wink then hands you your phone back then turns and leaves.

She gets a text from you not 5 minutes later.

You: was your plan for me to not be able to concentrate the rest of the day?

Mel: Possibly

Mel: Did it work?

You: Possibly

Mel: see you tonight right after school.

Mel: *sends address*

You: can’t wait

Mel: don’t touch yourself! I know I left ya hot and bothered

You: Ffs

Melissa smiles at that then you both continue out the day. Of course she can’t resist teasing you. Like sending you winks whenever she sees you, touching your thigh when she comes to join you on the couch during lunch, pressing you up against the wall during… oh wait, that last one was in your daydream.

When you get to her place though, that daydream comes true. As soon as you walk in through the door, she closes it, slams you against it and kisses you roughly. She then trails down to your neck and immediately sucks it. You think she’s trying to be quick about this with the pace and intensity she’s doing it at.

“You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of doing this with you.” She says between kisses on your neck.

“How long?” You ask curiously and out of breath.

“About 6 months.” She says and you gasp, from shock of her answer and pleasure of her sucking your neck again. She then pulls your top off and inclips your bra then taking that off of you. She stares at you with a smile then cups your breasts and leans in to you. “6 months I’ve held off wanting to kiss you.” She says and starts moving her hands in a circle, causing your breasts to move a bit and your nipples get played with at the same time. “Now that I have you, I’m not holding back. Especially since you were ignoring me for a week.” She tells you and you groan.

“It’s because I realised my feelings for you, and we just started to be friends and I thought if I ignored you, my feelings would go away. But they didn’t.” You tell her and she smirks.

“I don’t care for the reason Bella. Just know that you’ll get properly punished.” She tells you with a low pitched voice and you shiver. While you were distracted, she pulls down your pants and underwear at the same time, you step out of them and she spreads your legs. You finally clue in to what she’s about to do. “Mel, shouldn’t we go to your be-.” And what you were about to say was cut off with a gasp from you as she goes and sucks your clit hard, right away. You get close to an orgasm and you hold on to her head and lean against the wall so you don’t fall down. but once you come, you collapse. Luckily she catches you as she knew you’d fall. She then picks you up and carries you to her bedroom and places you on the bed with a pillow under your head. You’re still blissed from your orgasm that you don’t realise that she’s out of view until she comes back. You look and your brain shuts down again. She comes back completely naked and wearing a strap.

She crawls on the bed and kisses your lips, you taste yourself on her and you moan. While kissing you, she grabs the strap and gently slides it in through your entrance and you squeak into the kiss. She gives you a second to adjust then she goes and moves in and out of you quickly and hard. You start gasping and moaning and she does check in with you. “Is this ok?” She asks and you nod.

“Yes, ple-please d-don’t stop!” You tell her and she smiles. She puts one of your nipples in her mouth and you come again 20 seconds later. She doesn’t stop though and you’re over sensitive as you already came twice.

“I still have to come baby.” She tells you and you whine. You end up coming again and then she comes right after. She stops immediately and leans her head on your shoulder and catches her breath. Then she pulls out of you gently and flops over beside you on her back. She takes the strap off and grabs the Kleenex on her nightstand. She cleans both of you then spoons you. You shift so that you’re on your side so you can spoon properly. She leans up a bit and kisses your forehead then lays back down and pulls you in closer to her.

“I really enjoyed that.” You tell her and she giggles.

“Good, I’m glad.” She says and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Didn’t know you’d be so intense.” You tell her and she laughs.

“Well I guess a week of being ignored would do that.” She says and you laugh. You turn around in her arms so that you’re face to face and she smiles at you. “Hi beautiful.” She tells you.

You smile back at her. “Hi Mel.” You say. “This wasn’t a one time thing right?” You ask cautiously.

“Of course not. I want to do it again. For as long as you’ll have me.” She tells you and you smile.

“Well I guess unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with me.” You tell her teasingly.

“Oh, I’m so unlucky that I have to wake up to this beautiful face every morning.” She says and boops your nose and you giggle. You then nuzzle into her neck and fall asleep. She wraps an arm protectively around you and falls asleep as well.

Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta @imaginesmultifandoms @idonothingalldays-blog @sexysapphicshopowner @dvrkhcld @lilfartbox1

Let me know if you want to be added!

[jeridandridge]

stelle splendenti (shining stars)

Not edited, it’s been a minute.

On Friday night after school Melissa and Jacob find themselves at a shared favorite restaurant sipping drinks and chatting like they do in their new found friendship.

“And then,” Jacob laughs, “then I did my walk of shame practically blind and almost tripped in the crosswalk on 5th.”

Jacob and Melissa howl with laughter in their booth, the redhead wiping her eyes. “Oh god, kid. I’m impressed.”

“Jacob what are you doing here?”

Looking up Melissa’s breath hitches when she sees the gorgeous woman next to their booth. “Stelle splendenti.” She whispers smiling at the stranger.

“Y/n!” Jacob stands up pulling the woman into a hug. “Melissa, this is my friend, I was just telling her about you recently.”

“You’re a friend of Jacob’s?” The redhead smiles gesturing for the stranger to sit.

“Yeah, this guy crashed on my couch for a few months and we’ve been friends ever since.” The woman smiles. “If I weren’t living in a shoe box it’d probably be the same set up now.” She chuckles.

“Ah it’s alright, Mel Mel and I are good friends now.”

Melissa nods trying not to stare at the woman, completely mesmerized by her eyes. She doesn’t know it, but Jacob catches on right away.

“Ya know, y/n, Melissa has a ticket guy for sports. I know you like the flyers, maybe we can all go to a match sometime.”

“Game,” Malissa and the woman correct him at the same time. “You like the flyers, hon?”

“I do,” she nods with a chuckle. “I’ve always loved hockey, football is a close second though.”

Now Melissa is very intrigued.

“Pretty and a sports fan? Jacob where have you been keeping this one?”

The conversation goes on, and it turns out this woman is a breath of fresh air.

“No it’s from the 40s originally, way before all of us.” She laughs, her eyes crinkling.

“What can I say, hon you’ve got good taste.”

She smiles at the redhead with a shrug. “I usually do.”

Hours later, Melissa is dead tired but cant force herself to move from the booth. Getting to know Jacob has been a delightful surprise and now she was surprised that she found herself liking one of his friends.

“I have to get going but it was so nice meeting you, Melissa. Jacob give her my number and I’ll send you the links to that band.” She smiles hugging Jacob before putting her jacket on and walking out. Jade eyes follow her slim frame all the way down the aisle of booths.

Melissa Schemmenti is screwed big time.

After a weekend of constantly thinking of the cute woman and giggling at her phone like a school girl, Melissa sits with Jacob in the teachers lounge staring at her phone screen.

“Just ask her to hang out,” Jacob shrugs with a smile. “She’s a really great person.”

“Kid,” she sighs leaning back in her chair. “Look, you’d make a great wingman but that’s just not in the cards for me okay?”

“How do you know that?” He asks in a way only Jacob can. “You don’t know how it’ll go if you don’t try, and If I were a betting man I’d say Barbara probably told you the same thing.”

He smiles just as Barbara walks in with the others.

For the rest of that morning Melissa thinks about what Jacob said and how he’s right although she’d never say it aloud. Her marriage ended badly and her last relationship ended in an embarrassing failed marriage proposal. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to try again. For the rest of the day her mind drifts off to the woman even during her lesson with the kids.

Up on the second floor after the kids have long gone Jacob holds the phone to his ear walking back and forth across the floor. “Quit being chicken and give it a try.” He huffs into the phone.

“Jacob! What if she says no? Does she even like women?” His friend asks on the other end.

Walking around his classroom Jacob can’t help roll his eyes.

“I know you two have been texting all weekend, if she wasn’t into you she wouldn’t be doing that. Trust me.”

“Fine, but if this backfires you’ll never hear the end of it.”

Later on in the evening Melissa sits on the edge of her bed looking at her phone screen. The phone number shines on the screen, like it’s taunting her. Taking a breath the redhead hits the number almost vibrating as it rings on speaker.

“Hi, gorgeous.” A bubbly voice comes from the other end.

“Hi,” Melissa laughs, “ya know I usually don’t do this but I dunno, I wanted to call ya.”

“I’m happy you did. Textings nice but I like actually talking. Plus it’ll get Jacob off my case.”

“He’s been on you too? I couldn’t get him to leave me alone. I guess that’s what I get for acting like a schoolgirl.” Melissa bites her lip hoping the admission isn’t too weird.

“If it makes you feel any better I was really giddy all weekend.” She chuckles.

Melissa smiles twirling one of her rings. “I guess it wouldn’t be so weird if I asked you out then?”

“I was hoping you would, especially since the first thing you said to me was a dreamy Italian compliment.”

“You heard that huh?” Melissa laughs practically face palming herself. “Your eyes are very pretty.”

“With a compliment like that I’d be very dumb to say no to a date.” She laughs on the other end.

“Finally!” Jacob bursts through the door tossing his hands up.

Melissa and the young woman on the other end both snap at their friend.

“Jacob!”

[janeyseymour]

Hey, I was wondering if you could right a Mel x Reader fic where R gets super drunk at PECSA and ended up getting knocked up(from a rando), her and Mel not being together but flirts pretty heavily. And Mel finds her crying in the bathroom abt after finding out, and after Mel finds out why she starts distancing herself and being cold. Then maybe when R’s a few months along Barb tells Melissa off for being so rude, then fluff + whatever ending you think is best?

your wish is my command. lemme know what you think, because i lowkey loved writing this :)

as always, entirely unedited.

Unexpected

WC: ~3.55k

You’re at PECSA, and of course that redhead that you constantly flirt with is right by your side. Neither of you have mentioned anything about going out or whatever is going on between the two of you, but you quite like having her by your side.

You’ve both had quite a few drinks, and the flirting is beyond ridiculous at this point- anybody at the convention can see that the two of you are madly in love despite the fact that you aren’t in a relationship or even doing anything remotely ‘romantic’. She’s not hanging off of you, you aren’t hanging off of her… it’s just the look in both of your eyes and the smiles on your faces when you’re together.

But eventually, she calls it a night as Barb tells her it’s maybe time to head up.

“Oh, go,” you roll your eyes. “I’m a big girl. I can handle myself.”

“Are you sure, hun?” Melissa asks you, voice oddly soft considering the party still going on around you.

You nod. “I’m sure, babe. I’m probably just gonna have another drink and retire to bed myself.”

“Have a good night,” the redhead tells you as she pulls you in for a hug. She turns on her heel and heads out of the room with her work wife.

And that leaves you as the last Abbott worker at PECSA. You head up to the bar and order yourself another when a man tries to approach you. You’ve seen him at a few of the different panels and discussions, but you haven’t spoken to him and he hasn’t spoken to you (mostly because you’ve had Melissa by your side this entire weekend, not that you mind that at all). He offers to buy you a drink, and you don’t have it in you to say no.

That last drink, although you were heavily intoxicated to begin with, does you in. You end up blacking out.

The next morning, you wake up in your room naked and alone. There’s a familiar burning sensation between your legs. Fuck- you just had a one night stand… and at PECSA weekend of all places. What a fool.

But you figure nothing will come out of it. You’re on the pill, there’s a condom wrapper in the trash… you’re safe. 

That was two months ago. And now, you’re sitting in the Abbott Elementary bathroom, sick as hell. You did have the leftovers that you let sit in your fridge for maybe a day too long before eating last night. After expelling the contents of your stomach from your body, you wipe your mouth and head down to the office, looking like you’ve absolutely had the life sucked out of you. 

“Girl, what’s got you lookin’ like shit?” Ava asks you in her conventional Ava way.

You groan as you sit down in the chair in her office. “I think I have food poisoning. I need to go home.”

“You got emergency plans?”

“Yeah,” you sigh. “Mel knows where they’re at in my room.”

“Okay, but I can’t promise you gon’ have a competent sub. Mr. J might even have to-”

“I don’t care,” you groan as you hoist yourself up from her chair. Suddenly, you get insanely dizzy. Your vision goes dark, and you wake up with Melissa sitting on the floor next to you looking at you with more concern and love than you’ve ever seen from her.

“What happened?” you groan as you try to sit up.

“Stay down,” the redhead tells you gently. “You passed out in Ava’s office.”

“I what?” you mumble.

She just brushes a few hairs away from your face. “Here. Drink.” She holds a water bottle up to your lips and helps you take a few sips.

“Good god,” you mutter. You lay there for a few more minutes before you finally have your bearings.

“Let me drive you home,” your colleague insists.

“I’m okay,” you sigh softly. “I can just walk.” You don’t live far from the school, so it really isn’t a problem.

“I’m driving you. C’mon.”

Melissa gets you comfortable in your home before she drives back to Abbott, and she’s back at your house come the end of the work day with what she claims to be her own remedy to a stomach bug or food poisoning.

The next day, you’re feeling much better, but then at lunch, the smell of Melissa’s lunch makes you queasy and you have to excuse yourself. You don’t think you can stomach lunch with the way you’re stomach is churning. What the fuck could make you feel so shitty?

And then you remember… you should be on your period right now. But it still hasn’t come. Actually, now that you really think about it, you’re a week late.

“Fuck,” you hiss to yourself. Without thinking, you grab your wallet out of your purse and head down to the convenience store on the corner. You buy a pregnancy test and sigh. Ducking into the bathroom, you rip open the package and take the test. You sit there for a few minutes, silently praying that you aren’t with child.

But as luck would have it, five minutes later the word pregnant is staring up at you. At first, you think your eyes are playing tricks on you. How are you pregnant? You’re on the pill, the last guy you slept with was… shit- you had a one night stand during PECSA weekend. You burst into tears. Loud enough tears, that when a certain redhead comes to check on you, she can hear your sobs from the hallway outside the staff bathroom.

Concerned, she knocks frantically. “Y/N? Hun?”

You wipe the tears from your face as you try to catch your breath. “I- I’m fine.”

“No you ain’t,” she tells you, seeing right through your act. “C’mon. It’s just me. You need me to hold your hair back while you puke?”

“‘M fine,” you say again, but the crack in your voice gives you away.

She sighs loudly. “Hun, you either let me in, or I pick the lock.”

You don’t think she can pick the lock, so you don’t open the door. She counts to sixty, and then you hear the door click as the lock unlatches approximately ten seconds later. She appears in the doorway looking quite proud of herself as she slides the bobby pin back into her hair- that is until she sees the puddle that you are.

“Y/N?” she lowers her voice and softens it. “What’s wrong?”

You just hold up the test as you hang your head in shame. Her eyes go wide as you see what you’re holding up.

“You’re… When did you…?”

“PECSA weekend,” you choke out. “After you- after you left. I- I thought I was fine.”

“You had a one night stand?” she asks you, clearly bewildered and a little hurt.

You nod as the tears continue to flow down your cheeks.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“I didn’t think I had to!”

“What are you… you seriously had a one night stand?”

“I did,” and you pick up on her tone- the sharpness. “I’m allowed to do that, you know. I am single, and I don’t need you judging me.”

“I ain’t judging you. I’ve had my fair share of those, but not when I’m talking to someone!” she bites out.

“What do you mean?”

“It means I thought we had somethin’ going on here, but clearly I was wrong,” she huffs out. Before you can get anything else out, she’s gone, and you’re left on the bathroom floor crying alone.

You try to talk to her during dismissal, once you’ve collected yourself a bit more- although you haven’t collected yourself by much. As you would later realize, your hormones are very much already all over the place. But she pretty much refuses to talk to you.

You cry on the way home. Oh how you wish you could have a glass of wine to at least somewhat numb the pain you’re feeling, but now you have a child to think about. Speaking of, you should probably make an appointment with your doctor to confirm that you are pregnant, although you’re almost 100% certain that the test didn’t give you a false positive.

The next day, you take a half day. The doctor is able to confirm that you indeed are pregnant- already about eight weeks along.

You show to school the next day in bulky clothes, as if your stomach grew overnight and you feel the need to hide any sort of signs that you’re pregnant before you’re ready to tell everyone.

Melissa avoids you like the plague. And it absolutely breaks your heart. The next few weeks continue on like this.

And with your hormones and mood swings only getting worse, it becomes harder and harder to fight the big emotions that you’re feeling. So, about a week out from being able to tell everyone that you’re with child, you burst into tears when Melissa comes into the break room, grabs her lunch, and leaves without so much as glancing in your direction.

The sob that erupts from your body startles everyone in the room, and their eyes are on you immediately.

“I- I’m sorry,” you rush out as you grab your lunch and head down towards your end of the hall. Your tears don’t stop, and once you’re in the confines of your own classroom, the dam really does break. You’re reduced to pathetic whimpers and choked out sobs as you almost curse the day that you conceived this baby that you’re carrying- he or she cost you Melissa.

You hear heels making their way to your room, and there’s some stupid part of you that hopes it is the second grade teacher. It isn’t, of course. It’s Barbara instead.

“Sweetheart, what has gotten into you?” the kindergarten teacher asks as she enters your room and closes the door behind you. She makes her way to where you’re curled up in your desk chair and perches herself on your desk.

“I- I’m fine,” you try to tell her, but the tears that continually fall down your face say otherwise.

“Y/N, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to answer truthfully,” she says calmly, evenly. You nod. “Are you pregnant?”

You gasp. “How do you know?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve been through it twice… I’ve had many friends who have had children. I know the signs: not being able to handle certain foods you love anymore, craving the oddest food combinations, more frequent bathroom trips… the fact that you’ve switched from espresso to tea. How far along?”

“Twelve weeks,” you whisper.

“I didn’t realize that you were seeing anyone,” she says softly.

“I’m not,” you mumble. “PECSA weekend… I blacked out after Mel left.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” she sighs quietly. “When did you find out?”

“A month ago,” you cry. “And since I told Melissa… she- she hates me!”

“She doesn’t hate you,” the kindergarten teacher tries to assure you.

You sniffle as you wipe your tears on your sleeve. “She does! She was mad!”

“Why would she be mad?”

“Because… because she said something about how she thought something was going on between the two of us, but clearly she was wrong… Barb, I- I didn’t mean to hurt her!”

The older teacher frowns at that. “Sweetheart, are you and Melissa dating?”

“No! I mean, yeah we flirted, but she also flirts with Gary to get cheaper stuff from the vending machine! And I- we were never dating… we never even talked about it, and if I had known that was going through her head… I never, ever would’ve slept with that guy.”

“Does she know that?”

“No,” you mumble as the tears begin to subside. “She left and hasn’t talked to me since.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Barbara says, slightly pitiful.

“It breaks my heart, and it’s made… it’s made me hate this baby,” you admit, and the second it comes out of your mouth, you hate yourself. You can’t believe you just said that. “I- I didn’t mean that.”

“I know you didn’t,” the kindergarten teacher assures you as she pulls you into her arms for a hug you didn’t know you needed. “I know.”

You nod silently, aggressively wiping away at the remains of your tears and relaxing into her touch. “I- I’m fine. I just… got a little emotional. This has been really hard, especially all by myself.”

“I’m sure,” Barb says softly. “If you ever need anyone to help out, you know Gerald or I will always be more than happy to assist you… now, and when the baby comes.”

You start to cry again at that- the genuine kindness radiating off of the woman. That, and while you’re more than grateful for the support, you want that support from Melissa.

“I appreciate it,” you whisper. “I really do… I just wish Melissa would’ve been more supportive… I wish she was here with me through this.”

“I’m sure she’ll come around,” the woman promises. You don’t know it, but she’s already made up in her head that she is going to be giving her work wife a piece of her mind later about this.

You just shrug as you pull away from Barbara. “I- I’ll be okay, no matter what.”

“Yes you will be, dear,” she assures you. “Yes you will.”

“Thanks for coming and checking on me,” you give her your best smile considering your emotional state. “Go enjoy your lunch, I’ll be alright.”

“You need to eat too, Y/N,” she reminds you. “Especially now that you’re eating for two.” She extends her hand out to you, and you take it gratefully.

“Can we just… not talk about what just happened… the Melissa part?” you request softly as you follow her through the halls.

She nods, and when the two of you walk in, she gives everyone a stern look when they ask if you’re okay.

You sigh softly as you settle back into your chair next to Barb. “I’m okay. Just a bit emotional lately… because I’m pregnant.”

There’s a collective gasp heard throughout the room, and then you’re bombarded with questions as they all talk over each other.

“Twelve weeks, no I do not know the gender, no I am not seeing anyone, yes I am keeping the baby, yes I will continue to work throughout my pregnancy,” you state. “And: I expect that none of you will act like I’m broken. I’m not; I’m just pregnant.”

Barbara looks at you proudly as you finish your statement and take a bite of your lunch. Then she turns and gives them all another stern look, and they’re quiet again.

“Congratulations,” Janine says sincerely, and then the rest of them are congratulating you just as genuinely and letting you know that the Abbott crew is always going to have your back and that this baby is going to have more love than you could ever imagine.

You give a sad smile. You wish this baby had Melissa’s love.

When the lunch period is over, you’re able to get through the day without another breakdown, and you’re so grateful that you get to go home and veg out on the couch for the night- no appointments, no meetings, just peace and quiet. 

Meanwhile, Barbara Howard is marching her way over to Melissa Schemmenti’s house.

“Melissa Ann, you better open the damn-”

“Barb, what the hell?” the redhead whips open the door.

“What in the Earth, Wind, and Fire are you doing, just dropping Y/N like two day old bread?! She is pregnant, and alone and scared, and all she wants is you- but you decided that you’re too good for all of a sudden? Melissa, I thought you were better than this,” the kindergarten teacher goes off.

“She’s the one who went and slept around,” Melissa rolls her eyes as she walks away from the front door. “She’s the one who threw away everything we had.”

Barbara enters and sets her bag down on the plastic covered couch before she follows the second grade teacher further into the house.

“As far as Y/N was aware, the two of you weren’t together,” the older teacher purses her lips. “Because for once in your life, you weren’t direct with somebody you had feelings for.”

“I thought I was pretty damn obvious about it!”

“You flirt with Gary too! She thought it was innocent!” Barbara tells her. “All I’m saying is, all she wants right now is you. And I do hope you’ll pull your head out of her ass and be there for her- because while I can offer my own support and the rest of the Abbott group stands behind her, it doesn’t matter; she wants you.”

“Doubt it.”

“Melissa, look at me,” the kindergarten teacher orders, and Melissa pulls her eyes away from the carrots she’s peeling. “Y/N left the break room crying when you came in and didn’t so much as look at her. I followed her, and she told me directly that she thinks you hate her- that she wants you to be there with her through this… that she has some not so pleasant feelings towards this baby because it made her lose you.”

“What do you mean?” the redhead teacher asks as she places a hand on her hip.

“It means that she told me… before redacting the statement, that the situation involving you has made her hate this baby.”

“She doesn’t mean that.”

“She doesn’t hate her baby, but she does hate that you aren’t talking to her… that if she knew that you two flirting was anything more than innocent, she never would’ve slept with the guy at PECSA.”

Melissa sighs. “I should go talk to her.”

“You should,” is all Barbara says back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home to Gerald.” She turns on her heel and leaves.

Melissa runs a hand through her red hair before glancing at the pot of water that is just beginning to boil. She turns off the stove and grabs her keys before rushing to get to your apartment.

She pulls in all too quickly, nearly hitting your car in her haste to get to you. She’s able to slip into the building thanks to another resident and books it to your apartment number. She knocks swiftly.

Inside, she can hear you groan as you pull yourself off the couch. You assume it’s just the pizza you ordered, and you open it. What’s on the other side of the door shocks you.

“Melissa?” you ask quietly.

“Hun, I’m sorry. I’ve been an-”

“What are you doing here?” you interrupt her.

“Just let me get this out,” she tells you. “I’ve been practicing this the entire way over.”

You nod and gesture for her to continue.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I was an ass, and you didn’t deserve the reaction I gave you. I was… I let my emotions get the best of me, and when you told me that you slept with someone else, I just got so jealous and angry because I wish it was me that you ended up with in bed instead, but I wasn’t direct enough with what I wanted, and I fucked up. I- I don’t hate you; I could never hate you. I am so, so ridiculously in love with you, and I want to be here for you in any way I can if you’ll let me- for both you and this-”

You hiccup out a sob.

“Hun, hey, why are you crying?” she stops her speech. She pulls you into her arms and holds you tightly, playing with the ends of your hair.

“I’m- I’m sorry,” you choke out. “Just really emotional lately… hormones,” you hiccup out a laugh at the last word.

“I’m so sorry I left you alone when you needed me most,” Melissa whispers. “So sorry. But if you’ll let me, I want to be here for you and the baby.”

“That’s all I want,” you tell her softly as you wipe at your tears. 

“And I want to be here for you as more than someone who just flirts with you innocently,” she tells you. “I want to… we should date.”

You give her a sad smile, and she knows she’s blown it. “Mel, I-”

“That’s okay,” she says softly. “I- I get it. Not the right-”

“You still want to be with someone who’s three months pregnant?” you ask her hesitantly. “You want to deal with all of this, and then a new baby?”

“If it means I get you,” Melissa whispers.

The tears that had started to subside hit you again, and you cling to her as if your life depends on it. “Please.”

“I’m right here,” she promises you as she continues to hold you in her arms. A hand slowly makes its way down to your still relatively flat stomach. “I’m never leaving you, either of you, again.”

You smile as you lean into her. You, and this baby, will be just fine with Melissa Schemmenti by your sides. 

tags (and lmk if you want to be added to the list!): @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels—slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @nothere1111 @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1

[cosmichahn]

BEWITCHED

Melissa Schemmenti x Fem!Reader —☆

about: melissa only expected for her friday evening to go as always, but plans change when she sees you crying on the sidewalk

warning/s: mild cursing

word count: 4.7k

note/s: first time writing for mel, might be a bit rusty but i really enjoyed writing this and hope you guys enjoy reading! lyrics from bewitched and from the start by laufey mentioned. (i also have not watched the new episodes yet so yeah)

The parent evening at Abbott Elementary just ended, as every teacher and every parent went their separate ways. Everyone but you who left about an hour earlier than everyone. No one knows why, no one dared to ask when you rushed out of the building after cleaning up your classroom and grabbing your bag. Not even a goodbye like you always do, especially to Melissa who grew worried because of this; but she decided not to call you, especially how it seemed as though you wanted some time alone.

Your movement wasn’t harsh, nor was it rough. It was more of a quiet rush that might as well be considered worse than an angry one.

Melissa says her goodbyes to her co-workers before setting off to go home. She looks at her phone set up on the side with an attached stand to it, pondering on whether she should call you and ask how you are or perhaps not. You’ve only been at Abbott for a year, and in that year, Melissa grew very fond of you. There was just something about you she couldn’t pinpoint in the beginning, not until one of her kids came rushing to her crying and asking for you, for some reason. You started as an aide just to see if the teaching position would fit you at Abbott after about four years of teaching experience in a different state.

When you were Melissa’s aide, her days never ended up being exhausting. You were a breath of fresh air and really helped her around the classroom; with managing two classes at once, it’s not an uncommon occurrence for Melissa to stress herself out. Eventually, you’ve come to apply for an official teaching role at Abbott to teach 6th grade Biology after 2 and a half months of being an aide. It was perfect since the last Biology teacher just straight up gave up and signed up for a resignation; which is a bad image given that it kind of shows the students a message that they may not be worthy enough to stay for since that said teacher left to go to Addington. It’s great that you’re qualified for the teaching role and Ava, especially, was thankful for that.

The redhead drives over the street, her mind only occupied with next week's lesson plans that she should finish on Sunday. Thankfully she’s already done with grading papers. As her mind wanders, she comes across someone familiar on the street, tears pouring down. She stops her car immediately near the familiar broken down car whose owner is the person crying in front of her. You.

Upon noticing the sudden warmth of someone’s presence, you look up only to feel embarrassed, so you quickly wipe off the tears that already stained the bottom of your shirt used for wiping them off. You have the mascara stained from all the tears, and the lipstick that smudged just right on the side of your lips. This is an ugly cry that you never want anyone to see, but Melissa is the exception. You don’t mind her.

She looks at you with not pity, but worry. Wiping off the dust and small grains of dirt she can get off beside where you are, Melissa takes a seat, trying not to be too close to you so you can have enough space to be comfortable or not feel too crowded. “Hon, what happened?” Her voice is so smooth that it sounds like the only symphony you can listen to for the rest of your existence. She looks at you, her eyes speaking more emotion than her words, as always.

“It’s nothing, really.” You sniffle your runny nose in between words that shake your voice and tone. “Just a mishap, but thanks.” Your eyes meet hers, giving her a light chuckle which makes her raise her eyebrow.

“You know me enough not to believe this stunt.” She slightly tilts her head towards you, crossing her arms. Melissa knows you too well upon the year she spent with you at Abbott. She knows when you’re being all bullshit. This is one of those times.

You look at your lap, then your hands that had small stains of black from that mascara that you wore today. “Fine, it’s something. But it’s not really that big of a deal, Mel.” Your gaze turns to her. “It’s just a parent being a parent.”

“Seeing you like this doesn’t make it feel like it’s a small deal.” Melissa isn’t always one for being interested so quickly towards someone, but you just managed to intrigue her the more she knew about you.

In defeat, you tell her what happened; but you feel guilty upon telling her all of this. For whoever up there’s sake, this is only your second year at Abbott and you’re already dropping a bucket worth of tears over one comment a parent made for the first time in your whole career. “One of the parents, um, she called me a terrible teacher because her son was struggling with something and all I really did was help her son out but she wasn’t listening to what I was saying and blamed it all on me.” Talking about your problems really has always been the catapult to a breakdown that you can never find a way to stop. “She blamed it all on me that her son’s grades weren’t high enough, when he has always excelled in all of his subjects. He’s on the verge of burning out, and I’m just trying to help him, Mel.”

“She thinks her son’s grades aren’t enough, when they’re high and he already reached his goal. The mother is so strict but I can’t speak on it because I am not the parent, I am only the one who teaches and calculates the grades. I don’t make the grades, I just help the students achieve the grade they want. She called me terrible. A terrible teacher. I have never been called that and I feel so bad, so guilty, and sensitive, for feeling this way about it. About what she said. And I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you when you’re handling two classes at once, you’re incredible, and I know how stressed you are at times. I care about you a lot.”

Melissa thinks before she speaks, signaling if she can touch you and you nod in response; and so she places her arm around your shoulder, pulling you in with a small apologetic smile. “Some parents really are like that, and unfortunately we can’t exactly do anything about it other than have a quiet and listening conversation with our student.” You hold onto her other hand, feeling her squeeze yours in comfort. “And you don’t have to apologize for feeling this way. No apologies to me, we all have our own experiences, hon.” Melissa removes her arm around you, where she is now holding both of your hands in hers. You melt under her touch, she brings you warmth. She’s the beaming sun that lifts up your glow. “Your feelings aren’t any less. I care about you too, I care a lot.”

You only mumble a quiet thank you to her, letting go of her hands before moving closer and burying your face on her neck, feeling the warmth she had to offer. The comfort her presence gave you was enough to recharge from a tiring day. “Thank you so so much, Mel.” The warmth Melissa gave not only came from her natural body temperature, but also the sudden contact of you leaning into her this close that sent up sparks in her mind and caused her to grow a blush she couldn’t take away.

Melissa places her right hand on your back, leaning her head on yours, before whispering “Anything for you, cara.”

“You’re so nice to me, Mel.” You whisper with a small chuckle, feeling her heart beating, feeling it speed up. “I never knew that something I would say is enough to make your heart crazy.”

“Great assumption you got there.” Melissa jokes, lifting your face off her shoulder. You looked a mess with your smudged makeup, and yet still she was enchanted by you; to her you were still beautiful as always, and she was glad that you felt comfortable being in states like this around her. She keeps your trust the way you take care of hers.

“No use in lying to me when I look like a mess.” You shrug your shoulders, feeling the tension of your feelings cool down and feel lighter. She only playfully rolls her eyes and chuckles at you.

You never denied your attraction towards Melissa, but that’s something she doesn’t know. Something you never had the guts to tell her; you were just scared, confused as to how and why would she date someone like you. Someone younger, obsessed with movies, and could talk about anything and everything within every second of the day. You’ve seen how Melissa acts when Jacob starts yapping about something, but then if you’re the one doing it, she never scolds or avoids you when you talk about your interests even though she doesn’t get most of them. Melissa could just be really friendly to a selected number of people, and you’re lucky enough to be one of those people; that’s one of the main reasons as to why you’d rather not express your romantic feelings for her.

Melissa is too important to you. She’s your friend first before all.

“Why are you even stopped here anyway?” Melissa questions, looking at your car parked on the side near hers.

Embarrassed, you answer her with a small hint of nervousness “Well, you see, I ran out of gas.” You also realize your inability to head home because you remember now that you left your house keys on the desk right before you rushed out of the school a while ago. “Shit! I left my house keys in the school. Son of a bitch.”

Your evening after that parent situation really isn’t going how you want it to. First, you forget your apartment keys in a school that’s already locked, and second, your car is out of gas. You have nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep in, until an idea pops up in mind, but Melissa had another idea. “You can always stay at my-”

“I can call Janine and ask her if I can stay.” You say in full confidence, remembering how Janine once offered for you to stay at her place if ever that there were any cases of unfortunate occurrences. But instead of Melissa agreeing and knowing it’s better for you to stay at Janine’s, she reacts differently.

“No! I meant you can stay at my place.” This peaks the curiosity in you. A year of being friends with Melissa, and yet you’ve never been to her house before, surprisingly.

“As tempting as that offer is, I don’t want to be in the way of your weekend.” You say. Melissa only scoffed and shook her head with endearment. “And I do know how much you cherish your privacy.”

“That’s nonsense, sweetheart. You’re an exception.” Before you can say anything, Melissa stands up to open her car, making sure that you follow. “I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer, by the way.” She’s pretty persuasive. Pretty and persuasive. She smirks at you as she waits for your approach; she leans on the car and crosses her arms with the keys dangling on her finger. “We both had a tiring day, so a little wine wouldn’t hurt too, right?”

You nod with excitement, looking back at your car while approaching Melissa’s. “Don’t worry, we can get back tomorrow. I have a guy that can help with your car without hassle.” Thankfully, the area where you stopped your car when it ran out of gas was a safe space. Knowing this part of Philly, it surely is more peaceful. Melissa is so thoughtful and just the sweetest, when what she always does, at least to you, is what you think of as something like the bare minimum or just something she does to her close friends. You’re not that special to her, as to what you think; but to her, you’re more than that.

Before leaving off with Melissa, you first check over your car just to grab your things. “Let me just get some stuff from my car. I don’t want any important things gone.” She nods as you head off, unlocking the back of the vehicle and grabbing some things. You take your files filled with student papers you need to check off and grade, then in front of the car is your bag with all of the pens you use and essentials. You double check to lock the door then look over to Melissa. “Well, it seems like we’re both gonna be occupied.” You say, showing her the very thick file folder you have.

“We can grade papers and drink wine.” She suggests, and all you can imagine is grading papers on the table together with Melissa’s glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose, hair up in a loose bun with a wine glass in hand and the smell of her lingering in her home. She holds your hand every so often after taking a sip of her wine and you brush a strand of hair off her face while she smiles at you and thanks you. That is all an image in your head.

“Sounds like a fun evening.” Is all you can say in reply.

As you approach her car, Melissa opens the door for you and you quickly thank her for it. The car ride was comfortable and quite fun. It’s not your first time riding in Melissa’s car, and usually she leads playing music in the car, but she actually lends you the aux cord from time to time. You connect your device to the speaker and radio in her car, where you then blast one of Laufey’s songs; a fairly recent artist that Melissa denied when you first played it around her, but she soon grew fond of the artist knowing that you loved listening to her music a lot.

Melissa would always find herself looking the artist up just so she could be reminded of you when she listens to it. It just for some reason makes her feel closer to you whenever she engages with things you love.

“You bewitched me.” You sing along the rhythm, slightly bopping your head to the light and magical tone of the song. Melissa quietly glances at you, a smile growing on her lips upon adoring the sight, before looking back on the street. “From the first time that you kissed me.” The lyrics catch Melissa, causing her to swallow the invisible lump in her throat. “To experience this song is to make my life complete.” You joke, not imagining anyone to dance to this song with other than Melissa.

Upon hearing this, Melissa wanted you to kiss her under the bustling lights of an evening in Philly. She wanted to lean in and whisper how much she wanted to keep you in her heart. She wanted to be the one who makes you bewildered, bewitched.

“Well, if I ever get the time to buy her vinyl, that would also be an alternate way to complete my life.” You shrug, chuckling.

But I’m falling so badly, I’m coming apart. The song continues. You cast me a note, cast a spell on my heart.

Melissa takes a quick glance over the radio. Well, you’re right about that. She thinks to herself, indulging the lyrics of the sweet yet whimsical song.

“Not the first time you’ve talked about the artist.” She looks over to you through the front mirror, noticing the embarrassed chuckling you let out. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s cute.”

“Thanks, Mel. People don’t really engage with me when I talk about things I love.” You look over at her with an endearing smile. “But thankfully I have you, don’t I?”

“I talk about firefighters to you a lot, hon. I think we’re even.” She laughed quietly. “And you really love the food I make.” In all honesty, there’s a mix of excitement and nervousness in Melissa right now. It’s your first time both going to her house and staying over there for the weekend. Is the sink cleared? Will there be time to whip up a quick meal? Is her bedroom clean? Wait, you’re sleeping in her bedroom? On the same bed as her? Unless you don’t want to, she’ll just sleep on the couch. Melissa’s mind just shuffled.

You notice that Melissa kind of dozes off, so you try to catch her attention. “Mel, you good?” Waving off your hand beside her, until you catch her attention.

“I’m good. Just thinking of something.” You quirk an eyebrow making an attempt to guess, but trying not to push it much as for Melissa to not get frustrated.

You remember the vending machine guy that the Abbott crew would always mention to Melissa. Given that he leaves hints that he likes her. This happens way after they forget to tease you and Melissa for being close. Although there’s some sort of jealousy that flows through you whenever this happens, it’s not really something you can do anything about, given that perhaps Melissa feels the same for him too. “Ooo, is it Gary?” You tease.

Melissa shakes her head quickly. “No, that’s not- he’s not-”

“Oh! My bad, sorry.” You apologize but she denies this apology, saying that there’s nothing to apologize for.

The next moments were filled with comfortable silence, as you then start humming to the next song playing.

Don’t you dare look at me that way; I don’t need reminders of how you don’t feel the same.

─────────

Shortly afterwards, you arrived at Melissa’s place, seeing the beautiful interior displayed right in front of you. She looks at you adoring her house, with only the luminescence of the neighboring houses and the moon lighting up your face. “Beautiful.” Melissa compliments.

She leads you to the door, unlocking it while you stand behind her, carrying the file folder and your bag. You’re greeted by a well decorated living room and several photo frames across the walls and the side tables. “You can just place your things on the couch and I’ll whip us up something to eat for dinner and maybe a snack while grading. That sound good?”

You nod in response, carefully placing your things on the couch that’s still covered by plastic, but that’s okay. It’s very Melissa, quite as you think.

“You know, Schemmenti, you’re all heart and passion.” You say, following her to the kitchen. Melissa manages to short circuit after what you just said, trying to mentally fix her composure.

“Flattery doesn’t work around here. Sorry, Sweetheart.” She shakes her head with a soft chuckle before turning to you and leaning on the counter. “And besides, you’re not helping in the kitchen, but you can sit there and look pretty.”

Compliments like these are common between you and Melissa. Both of you appreciate and care for each other’s everything; even when Melissa’s stress and temper gets a hold of herself, or when you go quiet from being too overwhelmed. “Funny, but I do need to fix this face.” You point at the several faded marks of makeup on your face, making Melissa walk towards you and offer to take you upstairs where the bathroom is.

She points to the bathroom then leaves you there, with the idea going across her mind that you probably don’t have any spare clothes to change into to be able to sleep comfortably. Due to this, while you’re getting yourself clean in the bathroom, Melissa gets an old Eagles shirt that she found in her closet and a pair of sweats she never uses. She knocks on the bathroom door with the clothes hanging on one of her arms. “I got you some clothes, hon.” She says, and you reply to her with thanks. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you so much, Mel.” You open the door and thank her, carefully taking the neatly folded clothes from her arm.

You soon finish freshening up, looking at yourself all fixed up in the mirror with the change of clothes on. The Eagles shirt smells exactly the way Melissa does, and you take it in, feeling as though she’s with you right now. The scent fills you with comfort and warmth you don’t want to stop feeling.

Upon arriving at the kitchen, you’re greeted with a quick meal that Melissa made that’ll surely fill you up for the evening. You wonder how long you took in the bathroom because Melissa is already in a different set of clothes with, just as you thought, her hair in a loose bun. She sees you and the only thought that comes across her mind is ‘Damn’ There was just something about seeing you in her clothes, in her kitchen, even in her car, that felt so domestic. It’s the same thing she feels every time she offers to pick you up from somewhere or when you have lunch ‘dates’ where it’s just the two of you; or when sometimes she asks you to go to the farmer’s market with her, and you ask her to go to music stores and bookstores with her.

Now, you’re here in her house. You’re staying over for the weekend, and she can’t help but just keep herself from getting too attached to the idea of a domestic life with you.

“That looks delicious!” You exclaim, walking towards the counter where Melissa had already set up two stools and two sets of plates.

“You look delicious.” She blurts out which makes you burst out laughing, in mind that she was probably just joking around like always. You playfully punch Melissa’s shoulder, and if anyone were to ever do that to her, she would probably punch them harder, but she only looks at you with her brows furrowed.

You shake your head, “I thought flattery doesn’t work around here.” You sit across Melissa from the counter where you both prepare to eat. It’s filled with silence, before she clears her throat and tells you.

“Delicious doesn’t say it all.” Melissa shrugs, wanting you to take the flirty compliment.

After exchanging a few laughs with each other over dinner, you stop to look at Melissa who just finished laughing at something you said. “I like this side of Melissa Ann Schemmenti.” You rest your chin on your palm, elbow flat on the table with your eyes only to hers. “Anyone who would have the chance to be with you is lucky enough to experience what it feels to have a domestic life with you.” You say without thinking of what this might cause to the aura in the room.

“Well, um, not that it matters when I say it.” You say, feeling your palms grow sweaty by the clock. “I think a domestic and simple life with a partner I love is just a really incredible thing, I mean, I would want that kind of life to be mine. Not that I’m assuming that it’s the same thing you want, of course.” You smile apologetically.

“You think about it a lot?” Melissa asks, intrigued to know more and yet still going back to what you previously said about her. Even though she knows she has feelings for you, it still sits in the back of her mind that she may not be fond of marriage. Especially with things during and after Joe, she’s not sure when, but she knows she’s not ready for anything other than a relationship. No marriage, no union or anything.

But why is it that when she thinks of you, she thinks of marriage? She thinks of a life where she wakes up with you on her side. She gets ready in front of her vanity with your reflection in the mirror adoring her from behind. Walking hand in hand around every corner of town. Giving each other flowers just because you felt like it. Taking care of each other when one’s sick. Talking about everything and nothing at night.

“Marriage? Not a lot, but settling with someone I love? Of course.” You like the topic of it all. You love love; how it’s always there, how it doesn’t always have to be a person, that it can grow in places or on people you don’t expect. To love and be loved is what you want, and have always wanted. “I want to one day be loved. To be held, heard. Be sappy and all. To wake up and do the littlest of things. It doesn’t matter if it’s only a quiet day at home or looking through the grocery list while the sounds of the washing machine bustle in the background.” After that brief monologue, you catch Melissa’s eyes.

“You never know.” She gives you that reassuring and hopeful smile. “That person might just be the one in front of you after all.” Melissa sees the way your expression changes from sentimental to a confused furrowed look that made her eyes widen upon realizing what she had just said.

This makes you think for a bit, your brain split in half. Is she just being helpful with the conversation or is she confessing something. She waits for a response quietly as the two of you silently sit across each other. Does she regret saying this? Is she overthinking things?

“I hope so.” You respond nervously. “Are you saying what I hope you’re saying?” She takes her hand out on the table, hoping for yours to hold hers and you do so.

“I want it to be me.” She holds your hand softly.

“Oh.” The only word that came out of you, not being able to process things immediately. Until this registers in mind. “Oh.” You’re clueless as to how to respond. “I need to pinch myself.” You say before standing up, in which Melissa lets out a soft laugh. “Jesus Christ.” You mumble to yourself.

Melissa stands up to tidy the table, but all you can do is freeze in place. Perhaps this is what really happens when your mind short circuits. She puts the used dishes properly in the sink, before wiping her hands clean where she then walks to stand near you, the counter facing your back as she is now standing in front of you. Only the surface of the counter and Melissa in between your body, with only a shorter distance between herself and you. She walks closer, making you walk back, but the edge of the counter is now sticking to your lower back. Both of her hands are placed on either side of the counter behind you.

You clear your throat, only able to look her right in the eyes. Her lips were right there, ready for you to lean in closer just to feel what you’ve always wanted to feel. Her. The risk is for you to take. No, for the both of you to take.

“May I kiss you?” Before you could receive a vocal response, you feel her lips coming in closer onto yours. With closed eyes, Melissa’s hands make their way up to your hips, then to your waist, which slightly lifts up the shirt you were wearing; and so the coolness of your untouched waist was cooled from her fingertips.

A smile grows from your lips, returning it. The world feels as though it froze around the two of you. She pulls away only to look at you and your stunned and lovesick reaction, not wanting the moment to end before kissing you again. A groan escapes her lips, relief and excitement. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.” Melissa mumbles in between kisses.

You swoop in and place both of your hands on her cheeks, feeling the warmth of her face on your palms. She takes a short step back as you lean more into the kiss, giving a light bite on her lower lip where she then smiles softly. “You’re the most beautiful person I have ever seen.” You whisper close to her, feeling her pull you closer by the waist. You’re smitten, and finally, she knows.

Your hands find themselves on Melissa’s shoulders as she pulls you in for a tight hug, her arms snaking around your waist as you rest your head on the crook of her neck.

The world froze around us, you kissed me good night.

[pinkthrone445]

Would you consider writing a part 2 for “The most wonderful time of year?” where maybe reader got pregnant by a one night stand or donor ands has a happy ending? Pretty, pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top?

-The most wonderful time of the year?- Part 2

Part 1

Pairing:Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Gender: hurt, fluff

Warnings : (+18) strong words, fights.

Summary:Melissa makes the worst mistake of her life by letting you go when things don't go the way you wanted them to. Years later, fate pulls you together again, Melissa just hopes it's not too late to fix things.

I'm officially on vacation, so I hope I can write some more! Thank you for continuing to send requests, little by little I am answering all of them. I hope you have a beautiful year!

Melissa was stunned to see the hall where you had gone, it was as if the ghost of the past had visited her, all her bad decisions were coming back to her head, even things she had avoided thinking about for years had come back to haunt her. Why had she left you? Why did you look so happy since you left her? Why had you come back and no one told her anything? Were you avoiding her or was it a coincidence that she didn't cross paths with you before? Was she right to leave you to get on with your life and dreams? If it had been the right thing to do, why was she hesitating so much?

Why hadn't anyone told her that you had come back and that your son was going to the same school where she worked, if almost everyone knew that you had been her girlfriend? Why Barbara, her best friend, didn't say nothing, anything? Melissa looked at her friend who started packing her bag faster as she felt the redhead watching her

-"Why?..."-Mel asked in a very weak tone and her friend didn't dare to look at her

-"Why what?"-the older one played dumb

-"Why you didn't tell me she was back?..."-Her voice sounded pained, as if her friend had committed the worst betrayal, Barbara had never seen Mel so hurt by her fault and she was not liking it.

-"Mel... I'm so sorry, she asked me to... She told me she would bring her son here because it was close to work and because she had no one else to leave him with. She begged me not to tell you because she wanted to be calm without going through the pain of seeing you again... You know we promise parents confidentiality with some things and even though I wanted to tell you I couldn't... I am sorry..."-Barbara spoke in a calm tone, and her friend sighed in pain

-"It is ok Barb, I understand... How long has it been since she came back?"-Mel needed to know

-"About 3 months?... She told me they came back because of a job offer she had...I promise you that's all I know"-Her friend responded by trying to redeem herself

-"Thanks Barb... Let's go home"-Mel talked before going with her friend to the car.

For the next few weeks, Melissa watched you from afar every time you dropped off your son in the mornings and picked him up in the afternoons. Also in the recesses or lunches that she had to supervise, she observed your little one very carefully, seeing all the similarities that you and he had, you both had the same eyes that shone when you smiled and that laughter that animated any person every time you let you show it. The two of you frowned in the same way when something displeased you and your little one loved pasta just like you. It made Melissa happy to see how much the two of you looked alike, it made her feel like you were close and that she already knew your son because of how much you looked alike with him.

More than once, Mel saw how you were late to pick him up because your work took longer than expected due to some emergency, your son was used to waiting for you and was well-behaved, but she was worried that you had no one to give you a hand when unexpected things came up.

One day in particular, the hospital where you worked had called the school saying that it would take a while to get there because you were doing a big surgery, but Barbara hadn't come to work that day, so Mel offered to take care of your little one until you arrived. Your son had no problem staying with the redhead because he had already gotten used to seeing her at school, although at first he had stayed with her playing on the carpet and listening to the book that Mel read to him, soon he fell asleep curled close of the teacher, since he had had gymnastics that day and had exhausted his energy.

When you arrived at school you were surprised to see how the two of them were snuggled together while Melissa stroked his hair and your son slept soundly, at first the scene gave you tenderness, it allowed you to imagine how things would have been if you and Mel had started a family, but that same thought made you angry because you remembered everything that had happened with her. In order to get the redhead's attention and not scare them, you cleared your throat. Mel stood up carefully with your son in her arms, who settled on her chest with his thumb in his mouth, there were times when you forgot how small he was and that he was only three years old because of how well he behaved and understood everything. The redhead handed you your son carefully, you laid him on your chest thanking the heavens that he didn't wake up and murmured a soft thank you to her before turning to leave, but she grabbed your arm making you stop and you sighed

-"If you ever need it, I can take care of him if you want from time to time... You're not alone, you know"-Melissa whispered and you looked into her eyes

-"Look Melissa, I appreciate you taking care of him because Barbara wasn't here today, but I don't want you to get involved in our life, got it?"-Your tone was soft because your son was asleep, but your words were harsh

-"Hon, I'm sorry about what happened between us, but it's not wrong to ask for help, you don't need to do it all if someone it's offering to help you..."- she repeated and you sighed, you were too tired for this

-"I'll ask for help if I need it or I'll manage on my own, I just don't want your help, I don't want you near him"-You responded by looking seriously how her face transformed as she listened to you

-"Please I'm not a bad influence on him, you know I'm good with kids, I'm just offering you help, you don't have to be that mean..."- she responded with annoyance

-"I'll refresh your memory in case you don't remember, you left me, at Christmas, because you didn't want to have children or have a future with me, so don't come to pretend to be a good person to me or to him, because you were the one who let go of the opportunity to have a family, you let go of the opportunity to continue relating to me or my son. If you were so repulsed by the idea of having children or getting married, I don't want you around pretending that you want to take care of him or get to know him, because you don't deserve to know what a beautiful person MY son is... I didn't come back to rub this in your face, I just came back because I needed a better paying job so I could take care of him... "-Your tone of voice rose, but you tried not to scream so you wouldn't wake your child

-"I came back from you! You were the one that disappeared, I realize pretty soon what a big mistake I made and try to get back to you... I visited your family and they didn't wanna tell me where you were... I tried to call you and you changed your number, I went to see your sisters and I put up with their screams and insults just to see you, but no one wanted to tell me anything about you... I went every year, three times a year every dam year... I'm sorry okay? I was so stupid when I let you go... I just didn't wanted to hold you back on the things that you dreamed of..."-Melissa was someone with a lot of strength, but right now she looked so weak and fragile, so hurt and needy, she looked so remorseful

-"I wanted all that, I wanted marriage, pets, and children with all my heart, but I wanted to do it with you... And you let me go so easily..."-Your voice sounded hurt, too

-"And I regret it every day, every second that pass...As soon as you left, I realized that my life wasn't worth living if I couldn't share it with you, I would have given everything to have you by my side again, my stupid pride, my stupid ideas and everything I am, I would have left it for you to come back to me. It's been 5 years and there's not a moment where I don't think about you, how much I miss you and how stupid I was to let you go. How stupid I was to reject the things you wanted, that you wished you had, how stupid I was to have missed a life with you and him. Because now that I know him and see how happy he makes you, I realize what a big mistake I made by not joining you in this, you're an amazing mother and I would be lucky to be with you taking care of him..."-Mel whispered looking into your eyes and you sighed not knowing what to say or do. You didn't know what would have happened if Mr. Johnson hadn't come in to tell you he needed to close the school. You and Mel left school quietly, and after a simple goodbye, you each went to your cars and home.

The days began to pass, and though you hadn't spoken any more after that night, you noticed how something had changed between you two but you didn't know that. Melissa also noticed how now you recognized her presence with at least a small smile when you left your son at school and saw her, that little smile was enough to make her happy all week, seeing that you didn't despise her anymore made her the happiest woman in the world.

For your part, you wanted to talk to Melissa again but you were scared and didn't know if it would be the right thing to do or what excuse to use to do it.

It wasn't until a work conference coincided with you not being able to get a good babysitter that you had a good excuse to talk to her, but still, you consulted with your son before

-"Theo, mama has a work conference for a few hours, do you want to stay with the neighbor and her children?"-You asked your son but he shook his head, looking at you a little sadly

-"I want to stay at home... The neighbo's childen ade noisy and won't let me do what I like"...-He muttered, trying to cross his arms angrily, but it gave you tenderness when you saw that they were a little crooked and he couldn't cross it properly

-"It's fine, but I can't get the babysitter who always comes... Would it be okay if you stay with Melissa? The teacher at your school who stayed with you when I couldn't get there quickly, do you remember her?" - You consulted and he smiled a lot, nodding excitedly and jumping up and down

-"Yes, please, she does the best voices when deading and takes cade of me when the olde kids tease me, I like hed, mama!"-Your little one spoke excitedly and you sighed with relief when you saw that he agreed, you didn't know who else to call if he didn't want to stay with her. Praying to the heavens, you called the redhead and explained the situation, she agreed and in less than 15 minutes the eldest was already at your home. As soon as she arrived, you took the opportunity to get ready to go to the hospital and quickly explained some things to her

-"If you see that he wants to cry and you can't find an obvious reason, it is likely that something is overwhelming him, it may be loud noises or that the texture of his clothes are making him uncomfortable, in that case turn down the volume of things and offer him his pajamas, those clothes always calm him down... If you or him are hungry, there's food in the fridge, if he's sleepy, a bottle of milk before bed helps him sleep better... He knows how to go to the bathroom on his own... Let me think if I remember anything else"-You spoke quickly, and the redhead laughed, putting her hands on your shoulders and guiding you to the door so you wouldn't be late. Her hands felt firm but loving, as they did years ago when you started to get distracted from doing what you needed to do and she gently guided you.

-"Remember that I'm with kids almost all day, I know how to take care of them and if not, I'll send you a message, okay?"-She spoke and you nodded going to open the car, your son ran next to the redhead hugging her leg and waved at you with his little hand

-"Goodbye baby! Behave yourself and listen to Melissa, I love you my boy!" - You screamed smiling when you saw how comfortable he felt around Melissa, something that wasn't normal with other people. Then you looked up at the redhead smiling kindly-"Really thank you... I didn't know who else to call, I'll be back as fast as I can"-You smiled nervously

-"It's the least I can do... Go or you'll be late!"-The eldest spoke and you got in the car to go to the hospital.

A few minutes later, Melissa watched as your little son entertained himself without causing her any troubles, he painted and played with blocks while soft music played in the background.

She took time to observe a little, there was still a lot boxes on the house, but she could already tell that you two were turning it into a home. There were many pictures on the wall, mostly yours and your son and some with your family, she smiled when she saw one with all your friends in which she was included. There were many books on the shelf too, the top ones were yours and the ones at the bottom were your son's. The Christmas tree was the same, although Melissa knew that you loved to keep order even in the decorations, you had let your little one decorate as well, making most of the balls and stars be at the bottom of the tree where the little boy could reach, Mel laughed tenderly at this.

There were toy boxes in various places and the lights were soft, accompanying the fireplace light, giving a warm atmosphere to the house.

When she turned around, your son was looking at her with his eyes wide open

-"Miss Melissa... My mom said you wed a teached too like Ms. Howad, can you help me do my homewodk so my mom can sleep when she adives? Pweease?"-Your son begged her with big puppy eyes and the redhead nodded excited.

A couple of hours later, after doing homework, eating together, and playing some more, your son brushed his teeth, and after Melissa gave him a bottle of milk and read him a story, he fell asleep smiling and hugging a stuffed animal that she recognized, it was yours when you were a kid.

When you got home, everything was neat, clean and quiet, the redhead was sitting on the couch grading some of her students' papers. Seeing you enter, Melissa took off her glasses and smiled softly at you as she saw your tired face

-"Theo is sleeping, he did his homework, played, ate, brushed his teeth, and put on his pajamas before bed... We also sorted the toys together and after he fell asleep I arranged the rest, made pasta in case you are hungry" - Melissa spoke in a whisper to avoid waking your son, she also put her cell phone and papers in her purse before getting up to leave

-"I don't know how to thank you... It's rare that he stays with just anyone, he sees you as someone special"-You confessed and she smiled

-"He's special, I could spend hours playing with him and listening to all the things he knows about animals... Thank you for letting me help you and for trusting me to be with him... I'll go so you can rest, good night..."-The redhead gently caressed your arm giving you a small smile before leaving.

Weeks began to pass and the distant greetings turned into small chatter that was then followed by messages late into the night. You didn't know it was going on, you were just letting it flow.

A month after Christmas came your son's birthday, he gave his invitations at schools to whomever he wanted, and you were really surprised to see when Barbara, Mr. Johnson and Melissa arrived at the party you had organized for him. Your son was through the roof when he saw them and spent the whole party laughing and playing a lot with the other children. Your family was there too, and your sisters were looking at Melissa badly but you told them to control themselves.

When it came to opening presents, Melissa had given your son clothes with the same fabric as his pajamas to make him feel comfortable, that made you smile as you realized how much attention she had paid to him. Also she brought you a small puppy, to fulfill your dream of having a pet. Even though you knew your child would say it was for him, you almost burst into tears when you saw the little puppy.

A couple of hours passed at the party, your son, your new puppy and his friends were playing and singing with Barbara and Mr. Johnson, Melissa was sitting on the couch that was in the courtyard where the party was, you carefully sat down next to her and rested your head on her shoulder letting out a tired sigh and closing your eyes. Mel just looked at you and smiled, putting her arm behind your shoulders, bringing you closer to her, begging you not to walk away

-"You know... The first year you showed up looking for me, I saw you, but I didn't come out because I was mad at you... The following year I started to miss you and wanted to see you, but days before you went, I found out that the treatment had worked and that I was already pregnant and I thought that if I saw you, you would be scared and reject me again... Then the baby was born and I was even more afraid to see you... That's why I stayed away, it wasn't out of anger at you anymore, it was fear of rejection again... But I'm happy to see you again and to see that Theo is happy being with you too..."-You whispered and the redhead hugged you closer to her body

-"(Y/N)... I know how much I messed up and I want to see if I can fix this, because I don't want to miss another second away from you two, would you like to go on a date with me and your son?... If you don't want to, I understand, but if I didn't ask you I know I'll regret it"-She spoke sincerely, expecting you would reject her and push her away, but you just hugged her tighter taking advantage of her scent and the heat that her body radiated

-"We'd love to..."-You whispered, hiding more in her neck, watching your son's happiness and listening as the redhead's heart almost came out of her chest.

-"By the way, your sisters have been looking at me like they want to kill me since I arrived, but since you sat next to me, it seems like they're shooting lightning at me" - She whispered and you laughed

-"I know, so be careful what you do this time because if you don't, I'll let them do it"-You responded jokingly

[aspirationalpeony]

What She Deserves

Summary: Melissa hears a painful truth, and you're there to help her recover. Content Warnings: Unhealthy coping mechanisms, discussion of infidelity, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, disordered eating. Don't worry, it's all hurt/comfort! AO3 Link

You come home one day, and she's crying.

There were warnings when you entered the house: Her high-heeled Docs, discarded sloppily like she'd yanked them off right in the doorway. The open bottle of wine and the lipstick-smeared glass on the low table in front of the plastic-covered couch, a stack of photo albums just by them, a few opened and in disarray. Her leather jacket thrown right onto the carpeted floor. You knew there was something going on--a bad day with the double class? A fight with Barbara?--and you squared your shoulders as you went up the stairs.

You weren't, aren't, ready for what you hear. You've never heard her cry like that, in real, deep sobs, body-wracking things that must be shaking her to the roots. You find yourself hovering outside the bedroom door, just listening for long, awful seconds, trying to understand it, that that sound could be coming from Melissa. And knowing, because you know her, that she doesn't want you to hear this. That there'll be a fight if you go in that room. No matter how desperate she is to be held and comforted--first, there'll be a fight.

It's how she's always been. Your tears turn her buttery-soft, gentle and sweet, her rough edges showing only when she offers to beat the shit out of whoever's hurt you. But her tears? Her tears are a vulnerability. And Mel--she can't stand being vulnerable. When she knows she's showing weakness, that there's a chance someone, anyone, even you, could go in for the kill, her claws come out, twice as long and sharp.

(She told you, one time, about her dad; how Kristen-Marie's tears would make him do anything to soothe her, turning the gruff, remote man into a teddy bear, cradling his baby girl in his arms. How Melissa's tears would turn him mean, how she was the eldest, she was supposed to take care of her family, and here she was howling and whining like a pathetic pissant baby, and she should go help her Nana with dinner and her siblings with their homework and stop bothering her dad, who worked so hard, sunup to sundown, to provide for this fuckin' family, and don't fuckin' touch me again, Melissa Ann.)

You're getting to be okay with it. She's getting to be better with it, too, which helps. But you know this isn't going to be a time she can reel herself in and catch that anger before it flares. You need to be there for her. You open the door.

She's at her vanity table. You love that she has one of those things; it's so Old Hollywood, covered in the skincare and makeup that didn't fit into her bathroom, a secret stash of gummy bears in one drawer, a picture of her and her Nana, framed, where she can look at it whenever she needs her. You love that picture, Melissa looking so terribly young, her hair still dark and undyed, her Nana with those green Schemmenti eyes and a look of profound love and pride on her aged face.

When she hears the door creak open, Melissa whips around to look at you. She's not that girl in the photo anymore, but you see shades of her in her crumpled, flushed, tear-stained face; you see that woman, young and hurt and afraid, behind the armor that she's been building for so long, layer on layer.

"Baby," you say.

"Fuck off," she barks at you. You wince. She winces, too, hearing herself; her brows knit and her head ducks and she trembles as she fights another sob. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I--" her voice is hoarse. "Babe, fuck, just go," she whines, sounding like somebody else, some scared, struggling stranger. "Just go, I don't, I don't--" you can hear so many ends to that sentence: I don't want you to see me like this. I don't want to hurt you just because I'm hurting. I don't want you to know how vulnerable I am.

"Hey," you say, "it's okay, it's okay," like she's a hurt kid or a shying horse, and every instinct in you calls for you to put your arms around her, pull her to your chest the way she does you when you cry. Instead, you move closer--slowly--and you sit with her. You get down on the floor, maybe a foot from her chair, and you don't touch her. She looks at you with her mouth twisted and eyes narrowed. Tears are still trickling from her reddened eyes; her body is shaking with it.

You want to cradle her face in your hands. You've learned she can't take it, not when she's in the middle of the feeling; she can't stand being touched at all. She has to get the emotions out in their first, horrible frenzy, and then she can let herself be comforted, once the frightened, angry, hurt little girl inside has let go of the wheel and let the grown woman take back over.

Her hands are fists on her thighs. There's something crumpled in one of them, a paper.

"Baby, what happened?" you say.

"You should just fuck off," she says hoarsely. "You should just fuck off outta my life. You're gonna, anyway, so--" her face pinches. She fights another sob that shakes her whole body. Her mascara is a wreck. "I'm gonna hurt you," she says, "and you're gonna hurt me, and I can't take it. I can't take it, so, so--"

"What happened?" You lean forward. A little glimmer of intuition comes. Your own eyes are starting to tear up, seeing her, but your head stays level. You can't get whipped up into her pain or you won't be able to help. "Did Joe do something?"

Now she lets the sob out, deep and hoarse. Her clenched fist opens and the paper drops. You recognize it once its face is turned up on the floor: it's a photo from one of the old albums she still keeps, one of the loving records she'd made of a marriage that failed. She let you look through them a few times. ("I don't keep them 'cause I want him back or nothin'," she'd told you. "He can drop dead, for all I care. But I..." A cloud passed over her face then, troubled and sad, and you didn't push; you knew she was giving you a privilege letting you see her like this, much less look at these mementos of a young woman desperate to be loved.)

The photo is her and Joe cutting the cake at their wedding. It's a four-tier monstrosity, probably made by a Schemmenti relative, with thick frosted swags and rosettes and topped with a hokey little bride and groom. Mel's in her big puff-shouldered princess dress, her huge eighties hair and thick makeup. Joe's got a five o'clock shadow and looks like hell from his bachelor party the night before. She's told you how hurt and lonely she was that day, even though she's smiling in all the pictures; how she starved herself, ate one meal a day and drank nothing but water, getting ready to fit into her dress, and he rolled out of bed an hour before the wedding, hungover, stifling burps through the ceremony.

"What happened?" you repeat.

"Nina called," she says.

You straighten. "Are they getting married?" It would make sense: the tears, the photo, the terror of being left again. That sack of shit Joe, you're going to take Edith Houghton and--

"What? No," she says, so startled by the suggestion she's speaking in her own voice again, not the one hoarse and strained by tears. "No, they're not--no." Her other hand opens in her lap and she looks down at the pair of them. You can see her trying to make herself relax, make herself stop crying and shouting. "Sorry, baby," she whispers, "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt ya. I didn't mean..."

"I know." If you took Melissa at her word every time she cursed, well... "I'm not fucking off anywhere. Can you tell me what happened?"

She gives you a look, harrowed and bruised, then drops her gaze back to her hands. She opens and closes her fingers, working on herself still. "Nina called. I was still at the school. She called to thank me for dinner," she says roughly. "And she said she had to tell me somethin'. She said..."

No marriage. Your next thought is, Oh my god, she's pregnant. That's one of the sorest subjects of Melissa's whole life, and if Nina had the audacity to tell Melissa that over the phone, while she was at work, to deliver such crushing, awful--where's Edith Houghton, you really are going to--

"She thanked me for dinner," Melissa repeats. She's getting more control and tips her head back against the welling of tears in her eyes, like it will save her makeup now. She's staring at the ceiling when she says, "Nina said she had somethin' to tell me, because she knew you and me, and her and Joe, all of us, were gettin' closer, like bein' friends."

That's true. You aren't so crazy about the Joe you know from Melissa's stories, but apparently he's a changed man now, and you can still see shades of the guy Melissa liked so much: his silver head of hair still full and sleek, his trim, Selleckian mustache, his way with a grin and a laugh. You like Nina better than him, a woman about twenty years his junior, tough and smart with arms covered in tattoos. You've never pointed out that she's like a different shade of Mel, a version that Joe hasn't had time to hurt, although you've had the thought many times.

Last week all four of you had gathered at Mel's for dinner. Melissa refused to cook--she'd never cook for Joe again, she told you privately, not after all the housekeeping and nannying and babying she did in their marriage--but you all got takeout and sat around the table and talked and laughed, openly, comfortably, the way friendly couples do, and you could believe that all that history was far behind them, that there was a future where Joe and Mel could admit to their scars and what they'd inflicted on each other, and be brothers-in-arms, veterans of the fight, not soldiers on opposing sides.

"Nina said," Melissa says, and wipes away a tear. "She said they were together. While me'n'Joe were still married."

You stare. "What?"

"They were together," she repeats. "They've been lyin', this whole time. 'Bout when they met. It was way before the divorce. He was fuckin' her on the side." Her lips pinch together and her mouth twists. She stares at the ceiling like the answer to it all is up there and fiercely bats away another tear. "I..." You watch her. Her throat works as she tries to get words together. "Nina said she couldn't keep lyin' to me. That she always felt awful about it. And now I got you and she likes ya and wants things to be fair, for us to... To choose our friends right, and..."

You've always had an impression of Nina as like Mel in this way, too--as rough, but fundamentally decent. Prone to a little lie here, a little sleight-of-hand there, but not enough to really hurt somebody, never playing games where it really mattered. What's awful is that this sounds like her all over, that single-minded sense of fairness, a toughness inside that made her willing to face the music, to blow up this burgeoning friendship if it meant being honest.

"Baby," you say softly, and inch closer on the floor. It's enough. The wall crumbles. Melissa slides straight off the chair onto the floor with you, practically into your lap, and her whole body sways into your arms. You take her, you hold her. She shakes in your grip, crying, still, though no longer those sobs that seemed to scour her from the inside out. You carefully stroke her hair back from her face as she clings to your encircling arms, and you ride it out together.

She comes back from it slowly, stilling, relaxing into you. Then she hiccups, in a loud, distinct hic, and instantly leans back to give you an accusing look, daring you to laugh. She hiccups again. It makes you smile. You touch her red, damp cheek, brushing your thumb against its flushed curve. "It's okay," you tell her. She hiccups. "I'm going to get you some water. You wanna sit on the bed?"

When you come back, she's not on the bed; she's back at the vanity. She's scrupulously wiping her makeup off with little micellar pads, lips still pinched like she's trying not to cry, leaning close to the mirror to make sure she's getting it all. You sit on the edge of the mattress with water in one hand and ibuprofen in the other, waiting, and when she's done, she turns to accept your offerings, her eyes lowered, a little shamefaced.

"C'mon," you say when she's knocked the pills back. "C'mere." She gets up and joins you, crawling right to the middle of the bed, and you crawl after her, settling on your back so that she can curl into the protective curve of your arm. You look down at her face--her long nose with its cute, turned-up snub at the end, the lashes shielding her reddened green eyes, the mark at the corner of her mouth that records every smile and frown--and you don't get it. You don't get why Joe is... Joe. And why he did what he did.

More's going to come, you know that. The air's heavy with it. Finally Melissa starts to talk. She stares across the room while she does it, your hand stroking her hair.

"I knew he was cheatin'," she says. "I think he was bonin' some of the other firefighters' wives. And he probably would go out and pick some girls up, too, some, y'know, whoever he could get his hands on, right. At that point, it was, what, the last few years, and I wasn't puttin' out, so. I mean, I'd blow him, to get him off my back, but not the real thing."

"That doesn't mean it was your fault."

She doesn't answer that. Instead, she says, "I didn't think any of 'em were serious. Like, that it was an affair affair, you know. Like that made it better. Anyhow..." She presses more closely into you. You're sure she can hear your heartbeat, and you feel it as she tries to steady her breathing to match you. "Nina said it was happenin' the last year," she says. "The very last year he and I were married. Funny thing is, I was tryin' to make it work."

You've seen photos from that time in her life. You know what trying to make it work entailed for her: back on the one-meal-a-day diet, trying to get her menopausal body back to a twenty-five-year-old's slimness; the brightening of her hair to fire-engine red, trying to be enough to catch his eye; the clothes she wore, trying to turn herself girly, like her princess-gown wedding dress had been so girly, and so unlike her. Oh, she's always feminine, Melissa--luxuriously, wonderfully feminine--but not girly, pink and wispy, delicate. Not like she tried to make herself for Joe.

"What was it all for?" she says wonderingly, voicing your own thought aloud. "What did I do all that shit for, baby? He was already fucking her. He already... Loved her." Her voice is hollow and lonely. You think of that story about her dad, what he told her, again and again, all her life, about her role in the world, about who she was. You're supposed to take care of this family. You're supposed to give up everything. You're supposed to give us what we want, we're supposed to have our cake and eat it, too, and fuck you if you try to keep even a crumb for yourself. He probably never said it as plainly as that, but it was what he meant.

"S'what I get," she says, very softly, almost to herself; it's a child's voice, meek and small, from that place deep inside where she's forever the self-loathing little girl, crying alone in the kitchen. "S'what I deserve."

"No." Her eyes flick up to yours. "You don't deserve that. You did it all because you cared about him," you say, petting the soft hair at Mel's temple. "Because you loved him. There's nothing wrong with that. That's not shameful." Her eyes dart away. You know you've caught a little bit of what's dragging on her--the shame. The shame of giving up everything for a man who didn't know her favorite color, her favorite ice cream flavor; of sacrificing her dream of a real home, a baby, the life she'd always imagined, for somebody who'd turn around and stick his dick in God knew how many other women.

"I hate him," you confide in her softly. She doesn't quite smile, but the corners of her eyes crinkle tenderly like she feels the smile inside. "I hate him so much." You echo her promises from all the times your roles were reversed, your tear-wrung body cradled in her arms: "You want me to beat the shit out of him?"

"Yeah," Melissa says at once, "please." She sniffles, then hiccups. "Jesus." Her head lolls against your chest. Her arm drapes over your waist and pulls you tight against her. "I really liked her," she says softly, into the quiet room. "That's... What fuckin' sucks about it, huh? I liked her, and I... I was likin' him again. He was my best friend, before you'n'Barb. And I... Wanted my friend back."

"It's okay." You scratch your nails gently against her scalp, tracing the sensitive skin at her nape. "It's okay you wanted him back, as your friend. You can still care about him. About both of them. And be angry, and hate them, even though you care, and not talk to them for a long time. What you feel is okay."

She takes a deep, shuddering breath. You wonder if she's ever heard those words before. If Joe or anyone else in her life has embraced this chaos of contradictions, this woman so full of passion that she can't help but feel, all of it, everything at once. That's why she's so tough, you know. Because despite it all--her shitty dad, her vicious sister, her awful ex, and everyone in between--she never lost that thing they all zeroed in on, that weakness. She never lost that sensitive, loving heart. She had to protect it; no one else would do it for her.

Now you can. Now you will. You lean down and kiss the top of her head. She hiccups.

"You want me to run you a bath?" you ask. Her head bobs against your shoulder in a little nod. You give her another kiss and start to extract yourself from her arms. She rolls into the warm space left by your body as you enter the en-suite.

You love Melissa’s bathroom, same way you love the vanity table. It’s an extension of herself, a little bit organized and a little bit chaos: hair care and skincare products on every available surface, eyeliners worn down to a nub, her perfume, her lip gloss. Tucked into the edge of the mirror, wrinkled from long exposure to the steam of her baths and showers, are two pictures. One is herself and Barbara at Barb’s sixtieth birthday party. “We looked like a whole meal,” Mel told you frankly when you asked about it. They’re both in dresses that cling to the generous curves of their bodies, heads tilted together, wearing mirror smiles and a shade of red lipstick that’s nearly the same. It washes you with tenderness to see it.

The other picture is her and you. The guy she dated before you tried to take her to Dave & Buster’s on a first date, so of course, you two had to go. It’s a strip of photos from an automated booth, the two of you in outrageous poses: her pretending to take a bite out of your cheek in one, your tongues lolling and eyes crossed in another. In the last photo, the camera’s just caught you looking at her, eyes full of love, while she’s squinting over her glasses at the lens, trying to tell if it’s taking the next picture.

You start the bath running. You make sure it’s hot as hell, just the way she likes it, and add a judicious amount of the first body wash you grab, letting the water churn it into bubbles. A shuffle and a rattle behind you; it’s Mel in the doorway. “Hey, baby,” you say. She looks like shit, which you don’t mention. “It’s filling up. Here, I’ll let you relax.”

“Stay with me,” she says.

You sit next to the tub while she lowers herself into the water. Her clothes are a messy pile on the floor; you pull them toward yourself and start folding them, piece by piece, making her roll her eyes affectionately. She tips her head back against the edge of the tub and looks at you, and you feel yourself prickling with the focus of that gaze.

"What are you thinkin'?" she asks at last, quietly.

"I'm thinkin'," you echo, rubbing the fabric of her silky pink blouse between your fingers, "that you're tired, and I'm tired, so in a little bit, I'll order some dinner." Maybe Indian? You've learned never to get Italian with Melissa; everything's scrutinized, down to the texture of the breadcrumbs. "Then I'll wrap you up in your bathrobe. We'll watch a movie..." You move on to her jeans. They're still warm from her body. You smile a little to yourself as you tidy them into a small square. "A Paul Newman movie." Her favorite. "And drink wine. And then you're going to go to bed. And you're not grading anything tonight, okay? And I'll hold you until you fall asleep."

"What are you thinkin'?" you ask, and look at her. What you see makes you straighten your spine, makes you feel spotlit and strange.

She's staring. She looks... How can you describe it? Unsmiling, but not unhappy; tender, but not amorous; vulnerable, but not afraid. She looks... Wonderstruck.

She reaches out with one small hand and her manicured nails brush your cheek gently. "I think I never been taken care of the way you take care of me," she says. Her thumb brushes your lower lip. "Thank you, baby. I..." You see the questions in her green eyes, the sensitivity and confusion: How did this happen? Will I get to keep this? What will happen to me when it's taken away?

"I'll always take care of you," you promise her, voice soft. You dip your head and kiss the pad of her thumb. Kiss her palm, making her sigh. You take her hand in yours and she squeezes hard. You make her a soft promise, one you know she's never heard before: "Melissa... It's what you deserve."

[waywardangel-wilds]

Putting this here so I don't lose it. I think this would be fun to rework into a longer version for ao3.

I had an idea (I wrote this on my phone, forgive all the random mistakes):

Catnip asked me to help her out with training. I didn’t mind, she’s never been the best at snares. Plus, it was time with her. But, as usual, the merchant got priority. I hadn’t been all that excited about teaching boy wonder, I’m still not that thrilled, but I can be nice. That’s what Katniss likes now right? She likes ‘em nice.

Anyway, whatever. Today’s the first day. I told Ma’ I’d be late from hunting so I could help Katniss out. She took the Quarter Quell announcement really hard. I did too, obviously. Every Sunday’s gonna be a long day, but it’s for the best. We gotta get Katniss home for good this time, no strings.

I’m just walking up the Victors Village hill when I spot her. She’s sulking on her front steps, covered in sweat. My mouth goes dry. She looks really good. She doesn’t notice me though, she’s too busy glaring at Mellark who’s standing in front of her.

“That wasn’t your best time.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard him talk to her like that before. Guess I got used to the sappy stuff, like everybody else.

“I’m not doing that again,” Katniss snaps. She’s glaring at him as if she wants him to drop dead. I’m surprised he doesn’t.

“You’re beating that time,” he starts saying as he shucks off his sweaty shirt to use it like a towel “tomorrow.”

Katniss doesn’t say anything in return. She stands up and walks past him, making sure to knock into him with her shoulder.

Peeta turns to stare after her, “that’s gonna cost you another twenty minutes, you know.”

She flips him the bird, but doesn’t bother sticking around. She keeps walking in my direction, “Gale!”

“Hey,” I smile. She nods at me. “You ready?”

“Yeah, yeah. Where’s Haymitch?” The last half of her sentence she directs to the guy behind her.

“Probably passed out somewhere by the fence,” he snorts, taking a long drink from a bottle of water. He thankfully pulls the shirt back on. “I’ll get him, get started.”

Katniss rolls her eyes but lets Peeta leave without saying anything else. She crosses her arms, “come on, let’s practice in the house.”

I’m expecting her to head to her place, but she walks past it, going down the street towards some other house I’ve never been to.

“Where are we going?” I ask. “Haymitch’s?”

“Peeta’s. No Prim or mom, plus it’s clean.” She answers. She jogs up the steps and pushes the door open, “come on!” She says when I don’t follow right away.

Great, now I have to be in his house. “I’m right here.”

“Layouts the same, put your stuff in the living room,” She jogs towards the kitchen and I follow her at a slower pace.

I watch her turn on the tap and stick her face into the water, splashing the sweat off and taking a long drink. “What?” She asks once she catches me staring.

“Nothing,” I shake my head. I wander over to the kitchen window, looking around for anything… interesting.

“Ugh, he sucks!” Katniss whines behind me. I turn around and find her digging through Mellark’s fridge. “There’s nothing worth eating in here,” She opens the fridge wider so I can see all the vegetables in there. “Not even bread.”

I make a noncommittal sound, “yeah”

Some noise from the front door interrupts us. “Katniss!” Mellark.

“Crap.” She closes the fridge and grabs my wrist, yanking me into the living room. “I’m in here!”

“Walk,” I hear Mellark snaps at someone. Probably Abernathy.

Katniss plops herself down on a couch and I put my bag on the coffee table. Haymitch and Mellark come into the room. Mellark shoves the older man in front of him.

“Don’t make me shank you,” Abernathy groans halfheartedly and drops himself into the spare cushion next to Katniss.

“I’d love to see you try,” Mellark scoffs, side stepping around the couch. “You can’t even see straight.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Let’s just start,” Mellark says curtly.

“Would you quit being such an asshole?” Katniss says, but Mellark just stares at her, arms crossed with and a blank expression. “Show us what you brought, Gale.”

I glance at all of them, clear my throat and pull open my bag, kneeling down on the floor once I’ve got the wire and rope on the table. “We’ll start with the basics,” I say.

I start off showing them some easy traps, simple knots. Mellark crouches nearby to get a better look, accidentally knocking against Katniss’s knee. She leans forward to have a better look too, but she knows this stuff. While Mellark is frowning down at my fingers she picks up some spare wire and slowly arranges the trap. It’s a small thing, good enough to catch a curious rabbit, if you’ve got a branch nearby. Mellark turns to look at what she’s doing, reaching out to put a hand on her wrist to slow down her movements.

I watch him, frowning. Katniss doesn’t seem to notice he’s touching her at all, and honestly, I don’t think he noticed he did it either.

I brush it off and glance at Abernathy to see how he’s doing. I raise my eyebrows when I realize he’s snoozing against the couch, not a care in the world.

“Yeah that’s good,” Katniss says, picking up the loop Mellark made to inspect it. “We should probably practice setting these outside so you can see how they actually work.”

“Hm,” Peeta says dismissively. “Show me something else,” he nods, directing the words towards me.

I can tell that Katniss is bothered by his attitude, but if Mellark notices he doesn’t seem to care. It sucks to see it gets to her, but I’m glad there doesn’t seem to be anything going on between them.

I spend some time showing him a basic wire snare. I can tell Katniss checked out a while ago, she isn’t looking my way. She’s picking at some of the string in front of her without really seeing it. Mellark is paying me very close attention, so I’m surprised when he suddenly jumps up.

“You’re hungry,” he says.

“What? Oh yeah.” Katniss puts a hand to her stomach. “I’ll go back home-“

“No, come on.” Mellark motions for her to follow him into the kitchen but she stays put.

“Don’t bother, I’m sure there’s food at the house.”

“Come,” Mellark takes her hand and pulls her after him.

“I don’t need you feeding me,” Katniss grumbles but she goes along with him anyway, a small smile she hides from him tugging at her mouth.

I show up at the same time the week after that. I don’t find them outside though. I walk over to Mellark’s house again and find Haymitch drinking moonshine on the porch.

“Where is she?” I ask.

“Good morning, how are you?” Haymitch says sarcastically. “She’s inside with the boy. Might as well give em a few minutes if you value your peace.”

“What?”

“They’re fightin’. I don’t know a whole lot, but even I know when to leave something alone.” He chuckles and takes another drink. “Don’t tell em you saw me drinking!”

I ignore him and keep walking past him. You can’t hear any yelling or anything else that sounds like a fight so I push the door open and walk over to the living room.

“Catnip..?” The question dies in my mouth.

“Ugh, get off!” Katniss is struggling, trying to kick out Mellark’s legs from behind her but missing. The guy’s got her arms held behind her back, half on top of her one the ground.

“You can get out if you do it like I taught you,” he shifts his grip to compensate for her struggling. “Come on, go for the weak spots.”

“Get off of her man,” I take a step into the living room, dropping my bag to the ground along the way. “She told you to get off!”

“Gale, it’s fine,” Katniss blows some of the hair out of her face and looks in my direction. “I can figure this out, give me a sec.”

“You can wait over there, if you want.” Mellark nods towards the couch without looking at me, he’s too focused on Katniss. “Go for the leg for real this time.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Katniss snaps and keeps trying to pull her arms free. Mellark’s grip doesn’t budge. I stay standing close by. “Gale, it’s really fine. Go outside if you want, we’ll be done in a minute.”

“I’m gonna stay here.”

Mellark ignores me. “You’re already dead. You think anyone in the arena’s gonna give you this much slack? Huh? Kick!”

“Shut up!” Katniss puts all her force into throwing her shoulder back, knocking Mellark backwards. She tries to crawl away from him in the confusion, but he catches her right away, crawling on top of her and locking her wrists down with his elbows.

“What’re you gonna do now?”

“Ugh!” She tries to pull her hands free but it’s futile. Mellark shifts his weight from one hip to the other. Katniss’s feet scramble against the floor but find no purchase.

“Think it through, how do you get out?” Mellark asks, staring down at her. Katniss moves her head around, trying to get her bangs out of her face but Mellark smooths the hair back with a free hand. “Come on, stay cool. You can figure this out.”

Katniss is frowning. She looks beyond pissed. She gets one of her feet flat on the ground and uses all her strength to buck at him with her hips. Mellark merely shifts his weight again and slams hers back down to the ground.

“Damn, buy me dinner first.”

“That,” Katniss’s expression breaks and she laughs. “That’s not funny!”

“It’s a little funny,” Mellark heaves himself backwards and off of her, settling onto his knees. He offers Katniss a hand to pull her up. “We can try again some other time.”

“Fine,” once she’s seated she busied herself with fixing her messed up braid. Mellark steps past me and out of the room.

“Sorry that took so long,” Katniss is saying. “Peeta really wants me to do well at close combat.”

“Yeah, that’s what this is.” I can tell my expression is bitter because Katniss’s smile drops. “Let’s just get started.”

“Who the fuck sold to you??” We both hear Mellark shouting from the porch. “Tell me! What the hell did I say, Haymitch?!”

Katniss cringes but hops up to her feet. She starts rearranging the furniture. It had been moved to make space for their little wrestling match. “Haymitch was drinking again?”

“Yup,” I say.

“That sucks. Just when we got him in a better mood he goes and blows it.” She shakes her head.

Anyway I spent wayy longer than I intended writing this! Hope you liked it!

[wheels-of-despair]

@oneforthemunny's one-derful year The Title: The Big Three The Eddie: Dom!Eddie The Prompt: Revisit The Greatest Horny Hours Ever The Summary: A certain bratty reader finds herself reliving a familiar situation with Dom!Eddie... or three. The Words: 3k Youths and ageless blogs, Do Not Interact. I will block your ass.

It had been a pleasant evening.

After a few hours of shopping at the mall in the next town over, you and Eddie had stopped for dinner at a nice little restaurant nearby. Your waitress was sweet - a grandmotherly type - and the food was great. Eddie didn't even complain when you ordered a salad and proceeded to pick at his "real food".

Until he got up to pay the check, and you saw her.

That bitch Sandy.

The reason you never went to that cute little Woodstock-themed restaurant in Hawkins ever again. She'd practically drooled over Eddie, flirted with him right in front of you, shoved her tits in his face. And he didn't even fucking stop her.

You'd fought about it on the way home, and he'd pulled the van over and pulled off his belt in an embarrassing event that you mentally refer to as The Mel's Parking Lot Incident. Both your face and your ass burned at the memory of it.

And here she is again. Still dressed like a cheap hooker. Tying on an apron that was longer than her slutty little skirt.

"Oh, hey, baby! It's so nice to see you again! Still got that beautiful hair!" She reaches out and runs her glittery talons through Eddie's hair. YOUR Eddie's hair. The asshole smiles and mumbles something that makes her giggle. You rise out of your seat and stomp toward them with your fists and your jaw clenched. You're going to fucking kill her this time.

He hears you coming.

"No."

You keep walking, and he places himself in your path.

"No."

You growl and try to step around him. In any other situation, he might laugh, but in front of his whore, he grabs your arms to hold you still.

"Van. Now." He puts his keys in your hand and marches you to the door and pushes you out of it. He stands there, inside the door, guarding it for a second, until you stamp your foot in defeat and march toward the van, parked just a few steps away.

You unlock the passenger door and climb in and watch through the windshield as he drops a few bills on the table for your waitress and picks up the purse you'd forgotten about. He smiles and says something to that bitch behind the counter on his way out.

You're LIVID.

He steps outside, and his smile drops when his eyes settle on you. He tries to open his door, but you haven't unlocked it yet. He taps on the window. You fix him with a glare and cross your arms.

"Unlock the fucking door."

You roll your eyes and reach across to pull up on the lock. Not because he told you to. Because you're ready to give him a piece of your mind. He hops in and slams the door, dropping your purse on your lap.

"Keys."

You throw them at him.

They hit his arm and drop into the floorboard with a jingle. Instead of reaching for them, he slowly turns to you.

"You remember what happened last time you pitched a fit over her?"

You want to reply with a real zinger, something that'll make his jaw drop. But the memory of The Mel's Parking Lot Incident silences you.

"Pick 'em up."

You seethe.

"Pick 'em up, or I'm gonna come over there and give all these fine people a show."

You look through the diner's windows at all the people eating… and see HER. Staring at you. Bet seeing Eddie punish you because of HER would make that bitch's fucking year. You reach for the keys and drop them in his lap, then face your window with your arms crossed.

Eddie starts the van and backs out of the spot. A few minutes of driving passes in tense silence.

"What's your fucking problem?" he asks after a while.

"You're my fucking problem."

"I'm gonna be if you don't quit acting like a little bitch."

You're the bitch? Your rage bubbles.

"So did you know she was working there? Is that why we went there? Did she blow you when you went to the bathroom? Or did you slip out back and fuck her against the dumpster?"

"What the fuck?!"

"Fuck you! " you yell. "And your ugly whore, too!"

Eddie laughs. LAUGHS.

You pick up your purse and throw it at him. It's the closest thing in reach. He swerves and slams on the brakes. Your seatbelt keeps you from hitting the dash. The things you'd bought at the mall and stashed in the back go flying. A pack of brightly colored bath beads flies by you and spills into the floorboard by your feet. The van comes to a shuddering stop in the middle of the quiet road. Shit.

You look from the mess to Eddie's red face. You can see the vein pulsating in his neck.

"Alright."

Shit.

Eddie changes gears and keeps driving, scanning the side of the road for a place to pull off. You've done it. You're not going to be able to sit for a fucking week. And it's all that fucking whore's fault.

Eddie finds a forgotten driveway that looks like it leads to nowhere and pulls the van into it. How far does this go? Has he been here before? If you run, how long will it take for him to catch you? How much worse will it be? Your thighs clench. Your nails dig into the seat. Finally, the van comes to a stop. You look around, wondering if people can still see you from the road.

Eddie turns off the ignition, gets out, and stomps around the front of the van. His face is red. His jaw is clenched. You're going to get it.

So you lock your door before he can yank it open.

He looks from the handle up to you with fury on his face.

"Unlock. The. Door."

You shake your head.

Eddie glares for a second, then walks back around the front to his side. You reach over and lock that too. The keys are still in the ignition. You'll let him in when he calms down.

"You're playing a dangerous game, little girl," he growls through the glass. His tone makes the heat pool between your legs.

"Are you gonna say the word, or are you just being a fucking brat?"

You know the word he means. But you don't feel like it's the right time to use it. You stick your tongue out at him. What's he gonna do, break his own window?

He disappears. The back? Can he get in the back? No, the back is always locked, because he keeps his band equipment in there.

You frantically look from mirror to mirror, wondering where he'd gone to. Is there a secret Flintstones hole in the bottom he can climb though? What's he doing? You're leaning over to look out the back window when you hear a click coming from your door.

Fuck. The spare key he hides by the back tire.

He's got your door open before you can flee out the driver's side. You slip on one of the bath beads and fall over the seat.

"No you don't," he grunts, grabbing your ankle.

"Eddie, I'm sorry!"

"You're gonna be," he growls, pulling you to him.

Your feet hit the ground, but they're not there for long. He sticks his boot on the edge of the doorframe and props a leg up and tosses you over it, holding you in place with a strong arm around your waist. You dangle helplessly as he flips your dress up and starts smacking.

"Ow!" Slap! "Eddie!" Smack! "I'm sorry!" You kick out in protest, and he responds by shifting you further over his thigh and smacking harder. You try to brace yourself on the side of the van, to get at least some kind of leverage so you're not flopping around helplessly, but it's useless. You can't do anything but flail and cry.

And then, before you know it, you're standing upright again. You bounce back against the door as you get your bearings.

You look at him bashfully. You bat your teary eyes, hoping he'll just tell you to get back in the van.

"Go pick me a switch."

"Eddieeee," you whine.

"Plenty to choose from. Make it a good one."

"It's not my fault!" You stamp your foot again. "It's HERS!"

Eddie starts to roll his eyes, but they land on something in the van.

The new wooden bath brush he'd picked out at Bed Bath & Beyond had fallen out of its bag. Eddie had spotted it on a clearance shelf, picked it up, and smacked it on his hand to test it. The crack echoed through the store and made your thighs clench. He'd smirked and placed it in your basket. You'd had to carry it around for the rest of your shopping trip, wondering if everyone else knew what it was really going to be used for.

It had seemed fun and sexy at the time.

When he reaches for the bath brush with one hand and you with the other, like he knew you would try to run, you quickly change your mind.

He tosses you back over his thigh and starts bringing that big wooden brush down on your ass. You squirm and whine as the burn sets in. Eddie stops for a second, and you think it's over... until he yanks your panties down to your knees. You whine, but he just keeps going. The wood cracks so loudly against your bare skin, you're sure all the wildlife has fled the vicinity in terror. You cry in protest and humiliation at being bared out here in the open, but he doesn't stop spanking until you give in and quiet down.

"You gonna be good now?"

"Yeah," you sniffle, wishing there was more of a cool breeze on your ass right now. Your panties had slid down your legs at some point and landed in a crumple on the ground. You hadn't noticed until just now.

"Yeah?" he asks with another hard smack.

"Yes, sir," you correct yourself.

"Good girl." He puts you back on your feet. "Now go pick me a switch."

"Eddie, I said I'd be good," you whine.

"Then go pick me a fucking switch."

You huff and stomp away and pick a fucking switch, strip it of its leaves, and bring it back to him.

"Hands on the side of the van."

You glare at his stupid van and flatten your hands against it.

"Spread your legs."

You spread your legs.

He steps closer and pulls your short dress up, bunching it up and tucking it in so it won't be in his way.

"Stick that ass out."

You bend over further and give him his target.

SWISH.

The first strike isn't so--

SWISH!

BAD!

The switch swishes through the air so quickly, you're glad you weren't asked to count. You cry and shift your weight and try to avoid the stinging lashes setting your ass on fire until he steps closer and grabs you around the waist.

"Stay still," he orders over his shoulder. He keeps his arm wrapped around your waist, pinning you to his side as the switch keeps flying.

You try to obey, but it's so hard. By the time Eddie's done switching you, he's got his jean-covered leg between yours to keep you from lurching forward to escape the sting, and you're pretty sure there will be a wet spot when he releases you.

He drops the switch and gives your burning rear a rub, and you sigh, thinking it's over.

"Alright, hands back on the van," he orders with a light smack to your right cheek.

"What?" you ask, eyeliner streaming down your face. He reaches for his belt buckle, and you sob. "Eddie, I'm sorryyy."

Eddie unbuckles his belt and pulls it through the loops, never breaking eye contact with you. He folds the leather in half and holds it up and jerks it with a loud SNAP. You flinch at the sound. He lifts his hand and makes a twirling motion that means "turn around."

You do what he wants. Hands on the van, legs spread, ass out.

"Count."

You take a deep breath and brace for--CRACK.

"One!"

CRACK!

"Two," you cry as the belt lays another stripe.

"Three, four," on your already-tender sit-spots.

"Five!" on the left.

"Six!" on the right.

"Seven, eight!" stripes the tops of your thighs.

"NINE!" and "TEN!" set your whole ass on fire.

You lean your weight on your hands against the van, praying that he won't go to twenty. But through your sobs, you hear him shushing you as he rubs his hand across your sore ass.

"You got somethin' to say to me?" he rumbles in your ear, his breath hot on your neck.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a brat."

"And?"

You want to stomp on his foot, but you know better.

"And being jealous of that whore."

He smacks your exposed rear with his hand.

"Of that GIRL."

"Better. Anything else?"

"I'm sorry for locking you out of the van and not listening and for being a bad girl," you say quickly, hoping that'll cover it all.

Eddie laughs and dips a finger between your still-spread legs.

"Well shit, if I didn't know better, I'd say you enjoyed that. You like being punished? Like it when I have to spank the brat out of you?"

He slides a finger inside of you, and you have no reply but a moan. You arch your back and spread yourself more for him, hoping he'll add another finger or two. He pumps in and out a few times and starts to circle your clit. You're so close, you can almost--

"Shame there's no dumpster out here to fuck you against," he says, pulling his hand away. You whine. He gives your ass another slap with his sticky hand. "Guess you'll just have to blow me. On your knees."

You salivate at the command and turn quickly to drop to your knees on the grass, reaching for his zipper eagerly. He lets you do all the work, not making a move until he's in your mouth. His hand comes to rest on the back of your head, and you respond with a moan around his shaft.

It doesn't take him long to finish.

"Alright, back in the van," he smirks as he zips up.

"Eddieee," you whine, rubbing your thighs together from your position on the ground.

"Oh, did you want to get off too?"

You wrap yourself around his leg and look up at him with the best puppy eyes you can muster. You must be quite a sight; you know your eyes are red and your eyeliner's running. But you want him in you so fucking bad you don't care about anything else. You'll ride his boot if you have to. If you just shift a little--

"Too bad," he says simply, wrapping his fingers around your upper arm and helping you stand. Before you can protest, he guides you back to the passenger door and helps you into your seat. You hiss when your ass makes contact, and he smirks as he leans over to buckle your seatbelt. You glare down at the bath brush in the floorboard instead of at him.

"Is that how bad girls ride home?"

You look down at yourself, wondering what you've done wrong.

Eddie reaches in and tugs your dress out from under you so that your ass makes direct contact with the cracked leather seat. You'd forgotten about this part of The Mel's Parking Lot Incident. How the hard surface adds heat, and the cracks dig into your tender flesh.

When the van rumbles to life and backs out of the bumpy road, it's like being punished all over again. The paved highway is a smoother ride, but still extremely unpleasant.

You know better than to lift up. Last time, you got caned for it. But maybe if you put your hands on the seat and put your weight on them, it would help take the pressure off…

"Get those hands on your head."

"Won't that look weird when people pass us?" you ask hopefully, mad at him for seeing what you were doing immediately, and mad at yourself for even trying.

"Don't care. Do it."

You pout and put your hands up, the full weight of your burning ass pressing down on that cracked seat from hell.

You were so relieved when Eddie pulled into the driveway. You were nearly free. You'd behaved on the way home, so he wouldn't cane you this time; he'd probably take you inside and cool you off with some lotion and bend you over something so he could admire his work as he plowed into you. You unbuckle your seatbelt and carefully climb out, where he's waiting for you.

"Pick up all those bath beads."

You turn around to start picking up those colorful little beads from the floor, quickly and without protest because you want to get inside and get fucked right now. You feel a breeze. He's lifted up your dress and tucked it in again. Your striped, burning ass is on display for the whole neighborhood.

"Eddie!"

"What?"

"People will see!"

"Better hurry up then," he says, unbothered. He stands behind you, partially blocking the view, but making you feel so exposed… and dirty… and so wet, you're seconds away from dripping.

You stuff the bath beads back into the flimsy plastic box they fell out of as quickly as you can. Eddie opens the side door and stands guard as you re-bag all the things that had scattered after he slammed on the brakes.

When everything is finally back in a bag, Eddie reaches out and lets your dress back down. You both grab an armful of shopping bags, he slams the van's doors closed, and he follows you into the house.

Now it's time for the fun part.

[seenoversundown]

For Death Or Glory : Chapter Twelve

Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC)

Warnings: 18+ Smut !!! (Oral / Very suggestive language) mild anxiety, fluff, alcohol/drinking (it’s a bar, we know this) VERY brief themes with grief, silly banter, flirting, and Come On Eileen mentions.

Word Count: 4.1k

Summary: Charlotte thinks herself into a little spiral, landing her at the bar. Josh must have made her drink strong tonight, because she definitely made a choice!

Author's Note: Oh babies, I have been vibrating with excitement to post this chapter. We’ve made it through the dry-spell!! 🫡🫦 have fun!!

Talk (Unreleased) - Harry Styles "Don't ask me to talk about, I don't wanna talk at all."

“Maybe she was right. Maybe they were both right. I should just live a little,” I mutter to myself as I pace the house. You deserve to be happy; just let it happen. 

Daydreaming about the precious long-haired boy who has my stomach in knots. The way I still can’t believe we kissed more than once. It was hard to deny how sweet he was. Always made sure I didn’t walk to my car alone at night. Asking me to text him when I make it home. Checking that it’s okay that he kissed me, even though I went for him first. 

I’ve never met someone who had me so smitten so quickly. It would be a lie to say I’m not a little nervous, but I’m trying to do right by Cassie. She told me to stop thinking myself out of happiness and so .. I’m trying not to think too hard. 

I wish I needed to be there today. 

Mindlessly tidying up to try and keep myself distracted, I look through the handful of books sitting on the coffee table. For transparency’s sake, they are all romances. Maybe it’s because I just don’t have anything non-fiction on my to-be-read list or the fact that I feel like I’ve seemingly met a man written by a woman; the world will never know. 

Flipping one of them over to read the summary on the back, in italics, reads ‘friends with benefits.’ It stops me in my tracks, metaphorically. ..That’s a bad idea.. Right? I shake my head, trying to rid the idea entirely. Tossing it back on the coffee table and staring at it like it just insulted me personally. 

I pick up my phone, seeing the time, 4:03 pm, with an unread message from him.

Jacob: someone keeps queuing up the same song on the jukebox and I cant stop laughing

Jacob: idk how many times you can listen to Come On Eileen before you lose your mind but I have to be close to it 

I laugh at the idea of him losing it while behind the bar, especially with how calm his demeanor is. I can’t picture him being distraught. What if I just went and got a drink? That wouldn’t be weird, right?  

Me: Too many ‘too loo rye ay’s for you huh?

I mean, we are basically friends at this point and we’ve made out twice.. I don’t think me going to the bar for a drink would be .. wrong?  Staring at my leggings and fuzzy socks, I get up and quickly walk into my bedroom. I stare at myself in the full-length mirror; my hair is still fairly curled from last night. 

I pull out my olive cigarette pants, toss them onto my bed, and start digging through my closet. Finding an off-white sweater hiding in the back, I think I can make this cute. Changing into those and standing in front of the mirror, I tuck the bottom of the sweater up into the band on my bra, cropping it slightly. 

“That feels better, I think,” I mumbled to myself. I slide my belt through the loops, pulling things together even more. Adjusting my necklace to sit on top of the sweater, moving the clasp back to it’s rightful place. 

I grab my phone from the bed, take a picture in the mirror, pulling up the group chat; 

The Laid-Ease 🤩

Me: [sends photo] is this cute? 

Quinn: YES YES YES

Willa: very!!

Mel: Oooooo! Yes 😍

I smile at their responses, feeling a little more confident in my impulse decision. I sit in front of my mirror with all my makeup next to me. I take my time, making sure everything looks how I want it. I typically stick with natural-looking makeup because I’ve always liked my freckles and don’t want to hide them. The least I can do is feel cute if I’m going to go sit at the bar, you know, just in case.  

Sufficiently killing enough time so that I didn’t get to the bar too early. Finding a parking spot proved to be a little more difficult tonight. But being further away, I was able to sit here for a minute before walking over. 

Is this a dumb idea? No Char- you need to just go inside and get a drink. Josh is probably bartending anyway, so he’ll probably just talk to you. 

Forcing myself out of the car, I slowly walk over to the bar, taking deeper breaths as I do, trying not to let anxiety win. I'm doing this for you, Cass.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Luckily for me, I found a seat at the bar, and Josh is an angel. Bringing me a drink quickly and chatting with me for a few minutes before checking in on other customers. 

I slide my book from my bag, making myself comfortable as I sip on my drink for a while. My thoughts get louder as the alcohol slowly hits me. Rereading the same page a few times before actually processing it. 

You know he’s here–just go say hi. Shaking my head as I swallow the last sip of my drink. It’s very unlike me to let anything like this even remotely happen. 

You’ve never caved in a work situation, it’s honestly shocking. Unprofessional if you ask me. Okay but to be fair– none of the people I've had to work with look like him. You really can’t blame me for having eyes. 

Flipping the page of my book, I try to refocus. I wonder what he’s wearing today. Does he have his button up that he hardly buttons on? Jesus, what did Josh put in this drink? 

Forcing myself to read a few more pages before moving my bookmark into its new home. 

“Is Jacob in his office?” I ask Josh as he’s lingering close to where I’m sitting.

He nods quickly, “Where else would he be?” His eyebrows raise as he looks over at me, “I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.”

I slide out of my barstool, adjusting my pants quickly. His office isn’t far down the hall; as I round the corner into the door frame, I take him in for a second. He’s so pretty. 

I gently knock to get his attention, watching his eyes light up as he sees me makes my stomach turn. Just go for it.

His sweet voice lingers in the room as he says, “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

I swallow my nerves and whisper, “I know.” Stepping further into the small space, pushing the door shut behind me. Everything feels like slow motion again.

Turning to him, I’m barely taller than him while he’s sitting; I grab the sides of his face as I lean in. The feeling of his lips against mine makes my heart beat harder. I have kissed my fair share of men in my life, but none compare to him. The way his lips are so soft and how he goes for my bottom lip makes me wonder if he would ever sink his teeth into it. 

“Well, it’s nice to see you too,” he whispers through a small giggle, which makes me laugh with him. His hands gently rest on my waist. The way he looks at me, this man is going to be the death of me. 

I lean back in; this time, I can’t stop how desperate I feel. My hands find the back of his neck; my fingertips pressed into him like I’m afraid he’s going to run away. His grip on me tightens, pulling me closer. My legs bump into his knees; well, there’s only one way to solve this. 

Before I have time to think, I’m straddling his lap, his arms wrapped around me, my hands sliding up into his hair. Oh my god. My breath hitches as he lightly dances his tongue against my lip, and who would I be to deny him that? Goosebumps flood my body as he deepens the kiss, his grip on my shirt getting tighter, pulling me against him harder. I let my teeth grab his bottom lip, barely enough pressure to gently pull it back, when the sweetest little moan escapes him. 

The sound alone was enough to get a girl wet, but then he smiled. And dear god– isn’t his smile gorgeous? A little pink staining his cheeks, we quietly laughed together as I tucked my face into his neck. I breathed him in for a moment, feeling his hands slide up and down my sides. I felt him shift a bit before he pressed a kiss into the base of my neck, sending chills through my body.

He continues to litter slow kisses up my neck and under my jaw as I sit back up. He takes his time, barely lifting up when he moves so I can feel his breath as he inches his way up. Nobody had ever taken the time he had with me; it felt like he was savoring every kiss.��

My hands timidly moved from his neck down to his chest. If we weren’t here, I would be pulling this shirt off of him. Thankfully, his button-up shirts didn’t leave much to the imagination; I gently tugged on one side, revealing his collarbone that I let my fingertips graze. 

He hums against my skin before moving to press a kiss just under my ear. 

“Mmm,” he rasps quietly, “I could stay here all night.” His low voice sends shivers down my spine and makes my heart throb. I need him.

I stand up, grabbing his hands from my waist. 

“Stand up for me?” I ask quietly, and he doesn’t hesitate to follow through. He leans against his desk as I lean into him. It’s my turn to have some fun. 

I kiss down his jawline as my hands find his hips. Tracing along the top of his belt, I move my lips to his neck; his skin is so warm. Deciding to take my chance, I slide his belt over, starting to undo it. 

“Charlotte,” he whispers, “what are you doing?” 

I look up at him, stilling my hands, to ask, “Is this okay?” 

His eyes meet mine, looking back and forth for a moment like he’s trying to make sense of what I’m doing. But honestly, I’m also trying to make sense of it. 

“Of course, it’s okay. I just—“ he stumbles over his words before I cut him off with a kiss. 

I mumble against his lips, “Let’s not talk about it right now.” 

Quickly undoing his belt and popping the button on his jeans, my mouth is already watering. I drop down to my knees as I’m unzipping him, seeing his cock twitch as I do. He leans over me, flipping the lock on the office door. 

I can’t help but press kisses into his stomach just above his boxers, watching the goosebumps flood his skin. Gently tugging the waistband down, letting him free. Holy shit. My hand immediately ran down his length as I glanced up at him.

“All for me, baby?” Slips out, and he just moans quietly in response. What is he doing to me? His face reddening at the pet name, and my heart is pounding at the soft sounds coming from him. Letting my tongue run up to the tip before sliding him into my mouth. I can barely see him gripping his desk, the veins in his hands popping out harder, which only sends another shock through my body. 

Slowly taking more and more, I want to savor the moment. I’ve never wanted to be in this position more in my life. His little whimpers as I move closer to the base, making me throb. I pull my head back, stroking him for a second as I tease him more. 

“Don’t be shy, I wanna hear you,” I tell him. A strained moan falls from his lips. Before going back in for more, I tuck some loose hair behind my ears. Feeling his hands carefully gather all my hair as he wraps it around his fist, he watches me as I move my head quicker. The moans falling from his lips get louder as I pick up speed. 

Knowing he must be getting close, I say the one thing I know will get him going. 

“Come on, Captain.” 

His head drops back as his hand tightens its grip on my hair, he lets out a breathy, “Please.” 

“Let me have it,” I whisper, plunging my head down his length, feeling his little trail of hair barely touch my nose. I bob my head a few times before using my hand to help get him there, feeling his muscles tense before he finally spits out any sort of warning.

“Charlotte- fuck,” is all he can get out before his orgasm hits him. Hearing him moan my name makes my heart flutter. He accidentally tugs harder on my hair, not that I mind. But lettting go to brush the little hairs away from my face as I pull back and tuck him back into his boxers. 

I sat back on my feet, just admiring him in this state. His face was a little flushed, eyes still closed as a little smile crept onto his face. Finally looking down at me, he reached his hands out for me to take. Pulling me close to him as he kisses me, but I move my face back out of shock. 

“But I just-“ I start; most men I have been with would never kiss me after I did that for them.

“Who cares?” He giggles, pecking my lips a few more times. “Don’t even mind the taste since it’s on your lips.” 

“Oh,” is all I can muster. I was so severely unprepared for how secure he actually was in himself. Why is that so sexy? Have I really wasted that many times on guys who are just insecure? I truly didn’t think that something so simple would make him even more attractive, but here we are. 

“Should I sneak back out there?” I ask as he fixes his belt. 

“If you do, I’ll come out and keep you company,” he says, looking back up at me. He looks like he’s fighting a smile, which I can’t decide what option is cuter. I lean myself into him, pressing a few small kisses against his lips. 

“Okay, I’ll see you in a few minutes,” I whisper, wiping my thumb across his lip gently. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Sitting back in my seat at the bar, I watch as Josh makes my drink for me. I can’t believe I did that. My mind races with what just happened, the sounds he made, the way even just the thought makes me shift in my seat. 

“Thank you,” I pipe up as Josh slides my drink over to me. He flashes me a toothy grin before hustling over to take someone’s order. I’m not even halfway through my sip when Jacob’s voice floods my ears. 

“You doin’ alright?” his English accent slips out. He sneaks behind the bar but not too far from me. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to show up,” I smirk, taking a sip of my drink. The corners of his mouth quirked. He grabbed the towel next to him before walking over to where I sat. 

“Is that so?” He asks, cocking his eyebrow up. The way he’s looking at me like I’m the only person in the room makes my body warm. I’ve never had someone make me feel like this before. The way he’s standing in front of me, propping himself up against the bar. How his toned arms are lightly flexed, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look past how nice* his hands are. 

“Maybe,” I squeak out, leaning into my hands to try and get a little closer to him. The grin plastered on my face was undeniable. Looking at him in front of me after what just happened makes my head feel dizzy, and I’ve only had one drink. 

“Well, I’m very sorry, honey,” he says, just loud enough for me to hear. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and I’ll be damned; he’s good at it. “Rude of me to leave such a pretty girl like you waiting.” He thinks I’m pretty.  

My mouth moves faster than my brain can when I respond with, “I’ll let it slide this time.” Letting my eyes wander all over him as if nobody could see me. Noticing the way he’s biting the inside of his lip, the little twitch in his hand as my eyes drop to them. The movement of his necklace when he leans forward only fills my head with horrible thoughts. The thought of them bouncing off his chest as he– 

“I’ll make it up to you,” he says, subtly biting his lip. “Promise.” The look he’s giving me makes my thighs clench together. 

“Oh, I’ll be looking forward to that,” I try to hide how nervous that makes me. I haven’t done anything with someone for a while, let alone having someone … do something for me. Usually on my own for that. 

He stares at me for another second before letting his head drop back a little. He stares at the ceiling before shaking it as he looks down. A soft little smile is on his lips. What is he thinking about that has him grinning like that? 

I cave, “What’s that face for?” 

He lets out a laugh, letting his smile grow, showing off his teeth now. His eyes rake over me again, his arms folded over his chest; he really is so cute. 

“It’s nothing,” he finally spits out. 

My eyebrows pull in, “I don’t buy that one bit.” Squinting at him as tries to do the same face back but not being able to hold it.

“I can’t say it right now,” he says, moving closer to the bar. He leans down, propping himself up with his elbows.

“Why not?” I don’t know what is in the air tonight, but I can’t stop myself from poking at him more and more. 

“It’s not the right place,” he laughs, “people could hear me.” 

“Just whisper it to me,” I excitedly spit out, “we can pretend it’s a secret.” I watch as he looks around the room, moves back, and mouths ‘hold on’ to me. 

  He pours two fresh beers from the tap, walks them over to a table, and grabs their empty glasses. He then wanders around the booths for a moment, making sure everybody is happy. I steal glances at him a few times, doing my best to not stare at him, but it’s hard. He’s a deceivingly intoxicating man; you’d never expect it because he’s so quiet at first. 

How he’s gone this long without a girlfriend is beyond me. I guess it’s also something we’ve never really talked about, so maybe he just didn’t care? I can’t imagine girls not liking him. He’s so precious; how could you not develop a crush on him? Oh– I hadn’t thought that hard about that part of whatever this situation is. Do I have a crush on him? But I don’t live here, so that could make him not want to pursue anything– I don’t live that far, maybe he wouldn’t care. My thoughts race with questions of whether I’m making a mistake or not. 

I don’t want to jump into a relationship this fast. I don’t want to waste more time, but I have to do something because I just know Cassie would punch me if I didn’t do this. Suddenly remembering the book that offended me earlier today, ‘Friends with benefits’ plays in my head. Maybe he would be okay with that..? That way I can make sure this is what I want to do. That sounds reasonable, right? I’d say we’re friends and who would say no to the benefits? He already promised me something, and I need to know what that is now.  

I’m pulled from my thoughts when I feel someone gently place their hand on my back. I look over to see him setting a few glasses on the bar. He’s so close I can feel the warmth coming off of him and smell his cologne. 

“Oh, sorry, excuse me,” he giggles quietly. Turning to leave, he stops, sliding his hand up to the base of my neck and lightly giving it a squeeze. He drops his head to whisper, “Was just thinking about how I can’t wait to hear your pretty voice moaning my name.” 

My jaw falls open as he says it; looking up at him, his face is flushed like he’s embarrassed to admit it. He gives me a slow wink before sauntering off to talk to customers, leaving me to think about that. I definitely need to know what he plans on doing to make it up to me now. 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Our nightly routine begins once more as we walk in comfortable silence to my car. 

I quietly break the silence, letting out, “The sky looks so pretty tonight.”

His head tilts up quickly to take it in while I watch him. His eyes scanned all the stars and the light from the moon, illuminating him with no cloud in sight. 

“She really is amazing, isn’t she?” he spoke so softly, looking over at me. 

“Who..?” 

“The moon,” he chokes back a little laugh. “She’s incredible.” He looks so happy as he looks back up at the sky. The chill of November made it so I could see his breath as we walked, but it also kept me closer to him in hopes of stealing some of his warmth. 

Our hands timidly brush against each other a few times until he glances down, sliding his hand into mine. I just know Cassie is somewhere screaming over how  I am with him. I just look at our hands intertwined, the way his thumb just runs over mine, and smile when he squeezes a little to make me look at him. 

“Your chariot, madame,” he says, gesturing his free hand to my car. 

“Oh, thank you, sir.” I try to play along, letting a small laugh slip partway through. We just stood there in comfortable silence for a second, still hand in hand. 

“So,” he mumbles, “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I nod, fighting the urge to just stare at his mouth. 

“Drive home safe. Text me when you make it. You know the drill at this point,” his sweet giggle lacing the latter half. 

“Of course, mhm,” I tell him, moving a little closer to him, “I hope you have a good rest of your night, Jacob.” His eyes practically twinkling in the moonlight as I gaze at him. He leans in, his plump lips pressed into mine but backs up quickly with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Back to my full name already?” his smug little tone made me laugh. My hands grab the sides of his face, pulling him back in for another kiss. 

“I didn’t think you’d want me to call you Captain in public after that,” I say against his lips; he lets out a small groan at the name. 

“I’ll let it slide this time,” he mocks me, stepping back and grabbing my hands. He pulls them up, placing little kisses across my knuckles. How is he real? He reaches past me to open my car door. 

“Now, get home before it’s too late.” 

I toss my bag into the passenger seat before sitting down and starting it. Turning to him one more time, looking up at him, I can’t stop myself from smiling. I grab his shirt and tug him towards me. His hand holding onto the doorframe, leans down, hovering over my mouth until I finally cave.

 “One more,” I mumble before closing the gap between us. He laughs into me, knowing I full well just stole his line. 

“I’ll be waiting for your text,” he says, pointing at me with his eyebrows raised as he moves back to shut my door. 

I sit there for a minute, just watching as he walks back towards the bar until he’s finally out of sight. I click on the address in my maps and set my phone in the cup holder. Looking back up at the moon, seeing how bright it is tonight. She is beautiful. 

I can’t take my eyes away from it, feeling the tears settling in, and into the quiet of my car I whisper, “I hope you’re proud of me, and god, I wish I could call you right now.” 

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Thirteen

FDOG Master Post | Masterlist | Playlist

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Family Matters

Okay, this is my first Jim Street imagine from SWAT, requested by a lovely anon. I hope you will all like it. Please let me know what you think.

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Swat Masterlist

Part 2

Summary: When Jim's mum is out on parole and comes to live with him and (Y/n), she does whatever she can to hurt (Y/n) and come between them. And it puts (Y/n) and her unborn baby at risk.

Enjoy.

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

"Hm, morning."

A shiver tore down (Y/n)'s spine when she felt an arm loop around her waist and a warm pair of lips attach to the side of her neck. She tilted her head to the left, trying not to move or shudder when the short hairs on Jim's head started to graze against her cheek and caused her nerves to ignite beneath the touch.

Her lips curved into a smile and she paused, her fingers tapping against the counter where she was in the middle of making them each a coffee.

"Morning, want breakfast before you go?" She twisted her head to the right and kissed the top of his head, smiling into his hair when she felt his teeth nipping against her skin.

It was hit and miss whether Jim would have breakfast or not, most of the time he grabbed a protein bar and waited until lunch with the squad at work.

"I'd rather have you." The way his words vibrated into her neck made (Y/n)'s heart flutter and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her lips.

"Oh really?"

(Y/n) forced her hands to work and started pouring the coffee, being mindful not to spill it when she could feel Jim's lips distracting her. And she could feel him smirking into her neck. He knew what effect he had on her and how to turn her to jelly.

She barely had the cups poured before she felt Jim's hands moving down to her stomach. He finally released his head from her neck but only so he could peck the side of her head and stand up straight behind her. (Y/n) tilted her head down, rolling her lips together as she watched his hands move to roll up her top.

"What're you doing?"

"Let me look at you."

She let go of the mugs, biting the inside of her cheek when Jim spun her round so her hips were backed up against the counter and she was facing him. Her hands moved to grip the counter, keeping herself steady as a fond look danced across her face when she looked up at her husband.

"You act like you haven't seen me in weeks." The tender edge to her voice was clear while she danced her fingertips along the back of his neck.

She could see where his eyes were drifting to. He had rolled her shirt up so it rested just beneath her bra, leaving her small bump on show. He was fascinated. Every day he was looking to try and see if he could notice the small changes and to see if he could see her bump growing and changing each day.

Jim's childhood had been far from great. Fighting parents, his dad who abused the both of them and his mum who always struck back until the day she decided to fend him off with a gun. And then foster homes for the next seven years until he could finally live on his own.

He wasn't used to having a family until he worked in Swat, and he wasn't prepared for the amount of love he would receive and feel for (Y/n) when they got together. Having a family was something Jim always wanted, but it was something he had been nervous about.

Jim didn't know how good of a dad he was going to be until that pregnancy test came back positive and he could feel the changes already. He had prime examples of what not to do and he used Deacon as a role model for how he was going to make this work. The love and excitement Jim felt already was enough to show him he was going to be okay at this.

"I wanna look at my girls." He responded with a shrug and a tick of his head that almost made him look boyish.

(Y/n) reached her hands up to cradle the back of his neck and she brought him down for a kiss, soaking up the sound he made when her nails scratched the short hairs at the back of his neck. She could feel his thumbs stroking across her hipbones which made her squirm and shudder in front of him, and when he bit her lip he elicited a gasp that had him smiling against her mouth.

Her hands moved down to his shoulders when he finally released her lips and trailed his way down her neck.

She heard hum murmur 'morning girlie' against her stomach and his hands kept moving back and forth over the sides of her hips. His lips tickled her stomach but the butterflies he elicited beneath his touch had (Y/n) swaying on her feet.

"She should start moving soon." (Y/n) continued to run her hands over Jim's shoulders and the smile that danced over his face made her heart leap in her chest.

She was sure he murmured 'can't wait' against her lips when he leaned up to steal another kiss.

(Y/n) knew anytime now she should start feeling the baby move and kick and she knew once that happened, Jim wouldn't be separated from her stomach. He wanted to be there for everything, he wanted to be at all the scans and feel every movement and he was already thrilled at the thought of when (Y/n) was going to give birth. He didn't want to miss a thing.

"Good morning."

"Morning mum." Jim nuzzled his temple against (Y/n)'s neck so he could just about see his mum as she walked past them in the kitchen. He grinned when he felt (Y/n) squeeze his shoulders and he sighed and tore himself away from her. He gave her hips a lasting squeeze before he grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it back down to cover her bump.

"Want some breakfast, Jimmy?"

"No, I'm good. Guess I need to get ready." He pecked (Y/n)'s temple and pressed up close until their abdomens were touching so he could grab the travel cup from behind her that she had filled for him.

He wasn't hungry in the mornings and he wasn't bothered about breakfast, he just had to get ready to go to work.

(Y/n) ran her hand up and down his shoulder, following him with her eyes as he moved near the fridge to kiss his mum's temple before she sat down at the kitchen table.

The look Karen shot (Y/n)'s way made her shiver but she forced herself to smile. She wouldn't let her mother in law get to her, at least not while Jim was home. When he was at work, Karen seemed to unleash her spiteful side. She would make snappy comments at (Y/n), move things, changes the dates on the calendar, she would do anything she could to upset or annoy (Y/n).

But when Jim was home, Karen was the picture of the calm, sweet mother who wanted nothing more than to get along with her son and his wife.

(Y/n) hated it. She hated how rude and spiteful Karen could be, and she hated that Karen was living with them, but what other choice did they have?

She needed to have a place sorted out or else she wouldn't have been released from prison and with Jim's reasoning, (Y/n) didn't feel like she could say no. Karen had guilt tripped Jim just like she always did, she made him feel guilty, she told him that he was the reason she was in prison in the first place. She had shot her husband to protect them both and that was the way Jim had always seem things.

He wanted nothing more than for his mum to be released and they had a spare room, which his mum was always pointing out. They had the space, she wanted to be close to her son and she didn't want to be alone after all those years locked up. There was no way Jim could refuse her without breaking her heart and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Oh Jimmy, are you taking me to my interview tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? No, you said it was Friday." Jim leaned around the fridge to catch a look at the calendar on the wall.

His mum had a job, but it a long bus ride to get to and from work so Jim had found a few places closer to home that were willing to hire someone with a record.

"No, it's tomorrow at one. Can you take me sweetie?" Her smile was sincere, but it was the way she glanced over at (Y/n) that had the younger woman pushing back into the counter.

The smile faded from (Y/n)'s lips and she looped her arms over her bump, taking a deep breath to remain calm. She knew what tomorrow was. (Y/n) had her scan tomorrow and Jim had an extended lunch break tomorrow specifically so he could go to the scan with her. Hondo was happy and proud of Jim for being so involved and excited about starting a family and he said they would try and arrange Jim's shifts around (Y/n)'s appointments.

"Mum, we have the scan tomorrow, can't you get the bus?"

Jim tossed the travel mug between his hands and sank his teeth down into his lower lip enough to draw blood. He didn't want to upset his mum or make her panic, but he wanted to be at the scan, he couldn't miss that. And it wasn't a long bus ride to get to the diner in town where her interview was being held.

"Jimmy, you know how nervous interviews make me… it's not the first scan, (Y/n) will be fine without you."

With a deep breath, (Y/n) bypassed Jim and moved to the fridge to get a yoghurt. She wasn't getting involved in this, but she would make sure her silence was clear and disagreeable.

That wasn't fair.

Karen knew (Y/n) hated hospitals. Whenever Jim used to visit his mum in prison, he was forever talking about (Y/n) and their life together, how she made him feel like a better person and helped push him to get into Swat and get on the right track. Jim talked about her a lot and when he told his mum they were having a baby, he had mentioned once or twice that (Y/n) didn't do well with hospitals.

He went to the scans because he was desperate to be involved with his baby but also because he wanted to support (Y/n). He knew she had had bad experiences in hospitals and they made her nervous so he wanted to be at all her appointments to try and make it easier for her.

Jim spared a look over at his wife. He could see how hard she was gripping the fridge so she didn't start to shake and the way her eyes danced around the room gave away her unease which made him sigh.

"I can't take you, but I can pick you up afterwards."

"Oh, okay." The disappointment in Karen's voice was clear and it made (Y/n) feel sick.

Her mother in law wasn't going to make things easy for her now. Whenever Jim was at work and Karen was on a day off, (Y/n)'s day got worse. (Y/n) worked from home which had always been a comfort, right until Karen moved in with them two weeks ago. The first week she had been on her best behaviour, mostly because Jim had been home quite a lot.

Now he was back to his usual work pattern, (Y/n) was left alone with Karen who was becoming spiteful and insufferable.

"I gotta go, I'll see you both tonight."

(Y/n)'s chest fluttered when Jim held her chin between his finger and thumb so he could tilt her head up in his direction. His lips quirked up to one side and he brushed his thumb along her chin before he captured her in a quick but searing kiss.

"Love you," He spoke into her mouth, pulling her lower lip between his teeth before he was turning away and heading down the hall to grab his things.

The moment the front door closed, (Y/n) pulled her arms into her sides like she wanted to wear a suit of armour for protection. Her eyes followed Karen as she got up, lips pursed, nose crinkled and shoulders squared like she was getting ready for a fight.

Part of (Y/n) had thought in the beginning that Karen would be happy about having a grandchild. She thought Karen would be pleased for Jim because he was happy and settled. It didn't dawn on (Y/n) that Karen would become jealous. She was no longer the only person in Jim's life. Karen had been replaced. She couldn't have Jim all to herself, he was no longer the little boy she had left when she got taken to prison.

She had missed out on almost two decades of his life and as much as (Y/n) could sympathise, she couldn't condone Karen trying to keep Jim to herself and control him like she was.

"I guess you got what you wanted then."

Her harsh words made (Y/n) flinch and sigh. She didn't know whether to reach out for her mother in law or stay huddled up near the counter.

"Karen, I-"

"No, I get it. You think because you're having a baby that you've got him wrapped around your finger. Well you don't."

Both (Y/n)'s arms pressed into her stomach and she swallowed a gasp when Karen roughly barged her shoulder into (Y/n)'s chest on her way past her.

Why did she have to be like that? Why did she have to be so crude and snarky and possessive over Jim? (Y/n) always thought when she got married that she would have a great relationship with her in-laws. And when Jim told her about his mum, (Y/n) wanted to get to know her. She wanted to know the woman who had gone to prison to protect him, but that wasn't the same woman who was walking away from her right now.

This woman was bitter and manipulative, and maybe that was because she had to toughen up when she went to prison. Maybe she really did kill her husband to protect Jim, but she was using that as an excuse to control Jim and his life and worm everything to her advantage. And she knew (Y/n) wouldn't stand for it, which made (Y/n) an obstacle in her path.

God, (Y/n) hoped the worst Karen would do would just be to spit insults at her. She could endure this for a few more weeks, it wouldn't be for long.

Jim had agreed that his mum could stay with them for a few months, but she had to go when they had the baby, preferably just before they had the baby. The house was going to be lively when they had their daughter and they would be busy.

(Y/n) couldn't be looking after her baby and dealing with Karen and her vindictive nature. And she and Jim wanted to be a family and have their home to themselves when they had the baby.

Just a little while longer, and then Karen would be living on her own.

***

"Karen?" (Y/n) rapped her knuckles on the door and gingerly leaned around to peek into the spare room. Her hands stayed clinging to the door and she bit down on her lip, trying to pluck up as much courage as she had within her to both have this conversation and stay calm.

"Yeah?" The older woman looked less than interested in a conversation with her daughter in law.

She rose a brow and nudged her glasses further up her nose while she twisted on the bed so she was looking in (Y/n)'s direction.

"Have you seen my notebook? The blue one, I use for work?"

The flicker that danced over Karen's eyes and had her lips twitching made (Y/n) press further into the door. She knew it. She felt so stupid for even asking when she knew deep down that her book wasn't anywhere to be found, because of her mother in law.

(Y/n) worked from home, she kept all of her notes in two separate notepads which were always either in her and Jim's bedroom or tucked under her arm. (Y/n) needed her blue notebook with the sparrows drawn on the cover, it was all her dates and details and facts that she had to type up and send across to her boss this week.

The last time she saw her notebook was yesterday when she had been writing in the living room. Now the book was gone, and (Y/n) knew exactly who had moved it. Jim had been at work all day yesterday and he had gone again this morning. There was no way he would of moved it when he came home and went straight for a shower before climbing into bed. He didn't go in the living room.

"No, I don't think so. Why, is it important?"

She knew it was. Karen knew it was important, if (Y/n) didn't have those notes she would have to start from scratch and it would delay her and cause her to be reprimanded by her boss.

"It- it's my work, I need that book." Her voice was unusually quiet and she could feel defeat clawing at her throat.

"Oh, well I haven't seen it."

Nodding, (Y/n) turned on her heels and walked down the hall. She wasn't standing here arguing. She was going to search the house from top to bottom and if that made her look like an idiot or stressed her out then so be it, because she needed that notepad.

The living room had already been searched. (Y/n) had moved every book and magazine, looked beneath the sofa and the cushions and the bookcase. She looked everywhere she could think of.

She made her way into the kitchen and scanned over the few papers on the table, again. She looked in the little wooden crate on the windowsil that was for important letters and bills. She looked in the messy drawer and the cupboards.

Sweat rolled down the back of her neck and adrenaline sparked in her stomach that was churning and rotating awfully. She felt like she was going to be sick. What was she going to do if she couldn't find her notes? She was going to have to work late into the night to redo everything. (Y/n) would have to rewrite her notes and then type up her essay and her notes and then she would have to edit and make sure everything was ready to send off.

Grabbing a few wrappers from the counter, (Y/n) scrunched them up in her hands and started to tidy up. She may as well tidy the house as she tore it apart looking for what she needed, something (Y/n) wasn't so sure she was going to find.

She flicked open the bin, about to toss a few bits in until something caught her eye.

A sparrow.

A flash of blue.

(Y/n) leaned down, dragging her fingers through the bin with a wince, trying not to touch last night's dinner or the cereal from this morning.

She choked on a sob that had her lips curdling like sour milk when her fingers curled around her notepad and she wrenched it out of the bin.

The book was lathered in sauce from last night. Splotches of milk painted the cover and the pages were crinkled, cracking and sticking together.

(Y/n) couldn't stop the tears falling down her face or the way her chest shuddered and jumped when she looked through the pages. All her work. All those hours, those notes, the tentative, neat handwriting. Stained. Destroyed. Ruined.

Karen had put her work in the bin. She had dumped it in the bin and threw the leftovers on top to try and hide it and keep (Y/n) from realising where all her hard work had gone.

Why did she have to do this?

"Hey baby, what're you doing?" Jim leaned against the doorway to the nursery, glancing his eyes around the room. The walls were still pale magnolia from when they bought the place and moved in last year. They hadn't decided what colour to paint the nursery yet, all they knew was that they didn't want this pale, bland colour when the baby was born.

(Y/n) was five and a half months along now so anytime soon, Jim would get ready to paint the nursery and he would start setting up the crib and units soon too.

His arms folded over his chest and his head leaned against the door while he looked down at his wife.

She was knelt on the floor, a few onesies and bibs and little trinkets surrounding her.

A fond look swarmed through Jim's eyes, right until his wife turned around. The smile faded from his lips and the warmth in his eyes turned ice cold the moment he noticed the tears streaking down (Y/n)'s face. Her eyes were overwhelmed with tears, the colours blurring together and meshing around her pupils that were as wide as saucers.

He noticed the puffy look beneath her eyes and the way her lower lip kept wobbling as she tried to draw in a proper breath.

"Hey, hey what's the matter?"

He moved before he could stop himself and he slumped down to his knees beside her, trying not to kneel on any of the clothes scattered around. What had happened while he had been at work? They had been to their scan last week and everything had been fine with the baby, so he hoped she wasn't upset or panicking about the baby.

He reached out for her hands and gently pulled them onto his lap, smoothing his thumbs over the back of her hands while he waited for her to explain so he could help.

"I'm not doing this anymore Jim." (Y/n) pulled her hands away from his touch so she could run her fingertips up and down her face. It didn't matter how many times she tried to swipe away the tears, more drenched her face and had her breath bubbling and catching in her throat.

"What, doing what? Baby what's happened?" He tried to reach out for her again but (Y/n) moved faster.

"Look."

Something twinged in (Y/n)'s chest like her heart had physically been slashed when she looked across the floor. She scrunched up the blanket in her hands and roughly tossed it at Jim, sending him leaning backwards when it hit him in the chest.

Jim's stomach pulled inwards and his lips parted when he looked down at the blanket.

It was the one (Y/n)'s grandma had knitted when she was little. The blanket was a worn shade of white with a deep blue ribbon stitched around the edging. (Y/n) had had this since she was little and she had started adding a few flowers and embroidery stitches to update it ready for when she had her baby to pass it onto.

It was ruined.

The bottom corner had either been cut or pulled and the wool was unspooling. Half the blanket had been pulled so the woven stitches were undone, leaving a tangled mess of wool attached to what was left of the blanket.

"What happened?" Jim swallowed harshly as he held up the blanket and looked it over.

It would take a skilled knitter to fix this and even if someone could fix the blanket, there would be telltale signs and stitches that showed it had been wrecked and patched back together.

This was important to (Y/n). She didn't have a lot to remember her grandma by and their baby would never know her. (Y/n) wanted to give their child something that would remind them of someone they would never know, and now it was damaged, possibly beyond repair. "I- I found it in the drawer like this."

"Maybe… maybe it got caught in the drawer-"

"It's been cut! She's cut it. Jim, you- you know what this meant to me." (Y/n) swallowed harshly, wiping her hand beneath her eyes as she took the blanket back from Jim.

She wanted to throw it across the room, unravel it completely and toss it in the bin, but she couldn't. Her touch was unnaturally gentle as she folded what was left of the blanket and ravelled the loose wool around the blanket to stop it from unravelling further.

"And where's the stuff I bought?" (Y/n) motioned around to the clothing she had set out on the floor around them and Jim took a moment to look at it all.

There was the onesies Jim had picked out. A few items Deacon had given them last week when he and Annie went through their old baby clothes they didn't need for their girls anymore. And a few things from the others at Swat who had either donated their kids old things or like Chris, had gotten a few things to surprise Jim with.

But nothing (Y/n) had bought was here.

The few teddies she had picked out. The jumpsuits and mini dresses and tights she couldn't resist from town. The bibs and socks and little things to stock up on, everything (Y/n) bought, wasn't here.

"I- I don't know, maybe I tidied them in the chest of drawers-"

"Jim, everything I got is gone. The stuff you bought, that's all here. The things Deacon donated to us, that's here. Can't you see what she's doing to me?"

Jim ran his hand up and down his face, trying to take a deep breath but he found he could barely breathe at all.

This wasn't right. This couldn't be happening. It was just a mistake.

There was no way his mum would be this spiteful and vindictive. She wouldn't toss away the things that were bought for her first- and only- grandchild. She wouldn't cut up something so important to (Y/n) and unravel it like this to hurt her. She wouldn't wreck and mess with everything to wind (Y/n) up, Karen wasn't like that.

She was his mum. She loved him, she did everything for him, she had spent years in prison because and for Jim and now she was out. She wouldn't do anything to jeopardise what she and Jim and (Y/n) had here.

"No, mum wouldn't do this."

"No, no Jimmy I'm not doing this anymore, okay? You go to work but I work from home, I'm the one dealing with your mum's tantrums and her fits of rage. She doesn't like me, she scares me Jimmy and now she's doing this to me. What if it gets worse?"

(Y/n) couldn't do this anymore.

She had spent a month living with Karen and it was too long, too frightening. She had gone too far. First she had been rude when Jim's back was turned, then she started being horrid whenever she passed (Y/n). She had thrown (Y/n)'s notebook in the bin.

Karen watched as (Y/n) screamed and cried and sat on the living room floor for hours rewriting her notes and trying to salvage what she could from her notepad. Now Karen had gone as far as to throw things away that were for their baby, and she had destroyed something that was so important to (Y/n).

This couldn't keep happening. (Y/n) couldn't carry on like this, she wasn't staying home when Karen was here. She wasn't going to keep living like this with a cruel mother in law who was out to upset her.

(Y/n) was pregnant, she couldn't be stressed and panicked and she couldn't stay with Karen when she her temper was flaring. What if Karen lashed out at her? What if she went from verbally aggressive to being physical? What would (Y/n) do then?

"I'll talk to her."

With a broken smile and a shake of her head, (Y/n) moved her hand to Jim's shoulder and got up from their position kneeling on the floor.

"Thanks." The sarcasm dripping from her tone made Jim shiver and his expression dropped completely. He watched her leave the room, doing her level best to control her breathing and calm herself down before she made herself sick.

Part of (Y/n) didn't expect Jim to go and talk to his mum straight away. She thought he would take a few minutes to calm down, maybe look around the nursery and try to prove (Y/n) wrong and find all the clothes she couldn't find. But she heard him storm out of the nursery and when she looked over her shoulder, he was aiming for the spare room where his mum was since she wasn't at work today.

(Y/n) couldn't help herself.

She took a few seconds to calm herself down and clear the tears from her face before she backtracked and shuffled along the hall. She stayed close to the wall and a few feet away from the door. She didn't want to watch, but she wanted to know what Karen would try to say to defend herself.

She wished she hadn't listened.

Jim seemed to start off strong. He walked in there with the intention of telling his mum that whatever went on while he was at work needed to stop. But Karen's words were like a knife cutting right through (Y/n)'s stomach. She moved both hands down to cradle her stomach as she coiled in on herself.

"Jimmy she's pregnant, all those hormone changes and she's always so temperamental these days. She doesn't want me here, this is her way to get rid of me but I don't wanna leave you, baby. I'm finally out, finally able to be with my little boy again."

"I know, mum. I just… I need you both to get along, you're both my family and this is upsetting (Y/n). Try and be nice to her-"

"She needs to accept that I'm staying. We're meant to be together after all the lost time, Jimmy. (Y/n)'s just emotional."

"I guess."

Moving her hand to her mouth, (Y/n) swallowed down whatever cry was desperate to claw at her throat. She wasn't doing this anymore.

If Jim couldn't have her back and stand up for her, then she wasn't going to stay here. She didn't feel safe in her own home and that wasn't fair. (Y/n) had a right to feel safe where she lived and right now she didn't. She didn't want Karen living with them in the first place, but she didn't really have a choice.

If he wasn't going to help her and Karen was going to target her, then (Y/n) wasn't staying here with them.

Karen could have what she wanted. She could have Jim to herself until he worked out what he wanted to do and who he wanted to prioritise.

They were both his family but Jim was picking Karen over (Y/n), he was believing her over his wife and (Y/n) couldn't stay and be victimised any longer.

Staying wasn't an option.

***

"She doesn't wanna talk to you."

"Chris please. Five minutes, please?"

The pleading look in Jim's eyes won Chris over, although she still looked disappointed and angry.

Her lips rolled together, her eyes narrowed and she placed her hand on her hip before slowly opening the front door to let him inside. She didn't want to let him in, but he was here, again, and he was begging her. He had called and called (Y/n) and Chris but neither of them answered and this was the fifth day and he thought he was going to go insane.

He hadn't seen his wife in five days, that was almost a week. The longest he had gone without her was three days when Swat had been low on staff and everyone had been on a big assignment. This was different.

This was (Y/n) staying with Chris because she didn't feel safe in her own home and Jim wanted to do whatever he could to change that. He wanted his wife home where she belonged, not here with her best friend to get away from him.

Jim squeezed Chris's shoulder and bypassed her to get into the living room where he could see his wife.

He bounded up to her before she got the chance to see who it was and before (Y/n) could try and get up, Jim was already plonked down on the sofa next to her. He reached out and clamped his hand down on her wrist, his touch comforting but desperate at the same time as he leaned forward until there was barely an inch of space between them.

His knees bumped into (Y/n)'s thigh and he was close enough that (Y/n) could feel each rapid breath fanning against her cheek.

She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to turn and see those puppy dog eyes that could win him whatever he wanted. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction. But when Jim tilted his head down and attached his lips to her shoulder, (Y/n) shivered.

She felt his hand let go of her wrist and slide round to cradle her lower back and when his other hand moved to squeeze her thigh, (Y/n) finally looked down at him. He was glued up against her side, his chest pressing into her arm, his fingers twitching against her skin like he feared she was a figment of his imagination and would fade away any moment.

"Baby…"

"Why're you here?" (Y/n) couldn't hide the pain from her voice and she couldn't stop her eyes from welling up with tears when Jim flinched against her. He squeezed her thigh tighter, shifting his hand up higher, testing the waters to see if she would throw away his touch or not.

"You shouldn't be here, you should be at home-"

"Not while she's there." (Y/n) didn't want to stay with Chris, she didn't want to impose on her friend, but Chris had more than welcomed her to stay.

She was the one who told (Y/n) she couldn't go home until Jim realised just what his mother was doing. The whole team knew how crazed Karen was becoming and they understood that (Y/n) was being targeted, she wasn't losing her mind or imagining anything or overreacting. Chris told (Y/n) to stay with her as long as she needed until things settled down and Karen was sorted out.

"Baby, come home. I've talked to mum, properly, I swear, it's sorted now."

(Y/n) wanted to believe him, she really did. She wanted to let herself sink into his touch and the way his lips were feathering across her neck, feeling her in without having to do much at all. But if Jim was just saying this to get her to come home, (Y/n) couldn't do that. She had to know that he was taking her seriously and he would listen if anything else happened.

"You didn't listen to me, Jim. She called me hormonal, and you agreed." Tears welled up in her eyes as she gripped his chin and tilted his head away from her neck so they were face to face. "I can't come home if you won't take me seriously."

"I'm looking at flats."

"What?"

His words sent shivers running up and down (Y/n)'s spine and she couldn't help but lean away from him. What on Earth did that mean? Was he truly believing his mum over her? Was this it? Had Karen well and truly got in the way of their marriage like she strived to do?

"Mum staying with us was- is, temporary. I'm trying to find her a place of her own, somewhere nearby. Then she's still close to home, but we have our own space again, just you, me and our girl."

His mum living with them had never been a permanent thing. Jim only agreed because his mum needed a place secured or else they wouldn't approve her for parole. She had to have that security and Jim couldn't let her rot inside a day longer. But he had always had the intention of helping his mum find her own place.

It wasn't healthy for her to be living with them and be so attached to Jim and he and (Y/n) needed their own space now they were extending their family. He was trying to get his mum a place of her own as soon as he could so they could all have a better, healthier relationship together.

When he shifted his hand up from (Y/n)'s thigh to trace her bump, (Y/n) couldn't help the tear that slid down her face.

He could feel her resolve melting away when he started to trace designs across her stomach with his fingertip.

Five days had started to feel like five weeks away from (Y/n) and all the team knew something had been up. Chris was the only one who knew the details, but all of them saw how tightly strung up Jim had been. He felt like he had been having withdrawel symptoms when he came home to an empty bed and he couldn't have his arms around (Y/n) or his hand on her stomach.

"Come home." Jim didn't take his hand away from her stomach, but the way his nose twitched and his lips drew to one side told (Y/n) he was one minute away from crying.

She saw a tear slither down his cheek when she nodded and that was all Jim needed to practically push her back into the sofa and steal a starved kiss from her.

She could feel his teeth grazing her lower lip and the way he smiled into the kiss as he took all the breath from her lungs, leaving her starving and lightheaded. He wanted both his girls to come home, he missed them more than any words could say and he wouldn't let this happen again.

He would listen next time.

***

A quiet, lulling hum filled the nursery as (Y/n) moved towards the window. She could faintly hear the music channel playing on the tv downstairs and it was loud enough for her to know what song was playing and to hum along to the music.

Her head ticked from side to side as she looked up at the window frame with pursed lips and narrowed eyes.

They had decided on a pale shade of lilac for the nursery with a bleached white ceiling. The colour looked beautiful and when the sunlight hit the walls just right, (Y/n) could almost see sparkles twinkling off the walls. They had finished the second coat over the weekend while Jim was off and now (Y/n) was just adding a few more details.

They still had another three and a bit months left until their girl would be here, but Deacon had told them it was better to plan ahead and be prepared. According to him, the last few months would go by in a flash and they didn't want to be rushing about trying to sort everything at the last minute.

Grabbing the chair from the corner of the room, (Y/n) dragged it across and took her time climbing up.

Her fingers scrunched around the dusty white curtains that had a mixture of burnt orange, beige and bright pink flowers painted across them. She unclipped one end of the curtain pole and started feeding the curtain rings on.

Once these were up, the only things left to do in the nursery was to put up some shelves, assemble the crib and sort the changing table. Then they would be well and truly prepared.

"What have you said to Jimmy?"

A gasp tumbled past (Y/n)'s lips and she wobbled, quickly regaining her balance before she toppled off the chair.

She fed the last ring onto the pole before she glanced behind her over her shoulder.

Karen didn't look happy.

The elder woman stormed into the nursery she had barely looked at since they started decorating it. If (Y/n) had thought before that Karen wasn't interested in her grandchild, she well and truly understood now. She could see the way it started to gnaw at Jim when they had been getting things ready and Karen could barely manage a smile. Whereas everyone down at Swat was more than delighted and listened intently if Jim ever talked about the baby.

"Excuse me?" (Y/n) took a deep breath to steady herself for the upcoming argument and she pressed her hand to the wall to climb down off the chair.

She had no idea what Karen was going on about and she was sure whatever it was, Karen was blowing it out of proportion. But she just had to do this now, when Jimmy was still at work. He would be coming home around about now, why couldn't she just wait until he got back so they didn't have to argue any more?

She had promised Jim she wouldn't argue or upset (Y/n) or fight with her. (Y/n) knew she wouldn't stick to it.

"He's looking at flats. He's trying to find a flat for me, he wants me to move out before the baby comes. What have you said to him? Why are you trying to get rid of me, he's my son I've sacrificed everything for Jimmy so I can be with him now. Why do you have to get in the way?"

"Karen calm down-"

"Calm down? When you're taking my son from me?!"

(Y/n) coiled her arms to her chest and took a strangled breath when Karen grabbed the nearest object and threw it her way. Thank God it happened to be one of the teddies Chris had given them, but seeing what she had thrown only riled Karen up even more.

She reached out for one of the coat hangers on top of the chest of drawers and launched it so hard and fast (Y/n) barely had time to move.

She bit back a scream when the plastic hanger collided with the edge of the windowsil and snapped on impact.

What the Hell was she doing?

"He's my husband, I'm not taking him from you. But you… you can't think that it's normal to live with us forever? We're having a baby, things are gonna change." (Y/n) held her hands out in front of her as if trying to act peaceful as going to make a difference when her mother in law was on the warpath.

"You little hustler. You're turning my son against me and I won't have it." Karen's voice heightened until she was at the point of screaming and (Y/n) winced at her pitch and tone.

She sidestepped and slumped into the wall when Karen tossed a paintbrush her way and when she threw the paint tray to the floor, (Y/n) cowered back.

She was aiming things at her. If Karen got hold of the screwdriver set or something heavy, she could aim it just right and cause (Y/n) some real damage.

"You and that bloody baby are destroying him."

Would Karen go as far as to hurt the baby? (Y/n)'s hand moved down to her stomach at the thought and she winced, feeling the baby give out a strong kick. She had no idea if Karen would try and come over to hit her or push or slap her or toss something directly at her, but she didn't want to find out.

She was scared. Karen had killed her husband. She had been so riled up and defensive over Jim, wanting to protect him that she had shot her husband in cold blood. Of course she had her reasons, she was a battered wife protecting her only son. But now, Karen was thinking of (Y/n) and the baby as a threat. A threat to Jim.

(Y/n) needed Jim to come home. She needed to go get her phone and call him to find out if he was on his way home or not. She couldn't stay here and argue with Karen who was only getting angrier by the second. Being here with her wasn't safe for (Y/n) or her unborn baby.

"You need to stop."

She kept one hand on her stomach and held the other out towards Karen, both to try and calm her down and to keep a good distance between them both.

Pushing forward, (Y/n) quickened her steps in haste and cowered down when Karen screamed. She bolted past her, giving Karen a nudge to get her out of the doorway so (Y/n) could fly past her.

Her phone was downstairs. She had to call someone. She had to get hold of Jim or Chris or even Hondo at this point, just someone that would help and not think she was overreacting or being silly. She had to keep as much distance between her and Karen as possible.

"Where are you going? You can't do this to me and Jimmy, he's my son! You hear me, he's mine."

(Y/n) couldn't help the scream that slipped past her lips when she felt a hand smashing against her shoulder. She wasn't sure whether Karen tried to punch her or grab at her, but either way it threw her off balance and had her falling into the wall that stopped her from going down on her knees.

She flung her arm out behind her, managing to scratch her nails along Karen's arm and push her back. She had to get away from her. She had to get downstairs and either get her phone or get out the house. Karen was trying to attack her.

"Get the Hell away from me!"

"Does your girl know you've invited us all round?" A wide grin spread across Luca's face as he leaned forward and grabbed Jim by the shoulders, giving him a little shake.

He pushed down on Jim, nudging the shorter man forward while Luca practically jumped up and down behind him like an excited child. It had been a while since the whole team gathered together to hang out after work, and this was the first time they would see Jim's new home.

Luca had spent almost five months living with Jim and (Y/n) two years ago in their old apartment. They had been gracious enough to put up with him for that long and let him stay and he had loved being around two of his closest friends.

"Nope, she wants to see you all though." Jim fished his keys out his pocket while Luca continued to shake him back and forth.

He could hear Chris laughing somewhere behind them and Hondo and Deacon were close by.

They had all agreed to come over for a few drinks, and Hondo and Deacon were more than willing to help Jim set up the crib he had been having trouble with over the weekend. They knew what they were doing, Hondo was good at fixing things and Deacon had four kids, he had done this before. Luca was the only one who wouldn't be so good with sorting out the furniture so he would stick to sorting the music. Chris knew what she was doing, but she was here to see (Y/n) more than to do any DIY.

"Course she does, she's missed us." Hondo grinned and shimmied his back pack higher on his shoulder as Jim finally reached the front door. They watched him make a big effort to wave his hands in front of the house, showing off with a cheesy grin before he unlocked the door.

Jim had never heard a scream quite like the one that hit his ears when he walked over the threshold.

It was so perfectly timed to when he walked inside that he thought for a moment that someone was playing some sort of prank on him. Like he had stepped on a trip wire and a fake scream sounded through a megaphone.

But he knew it was real.

He knew that scream was real, and he knew exactly who it belonged to.

The clouting thud that followed had Jim shivering and backing into Luca who in turn took a step back over the threshold. None of them knew what they had walked into. Had they interrupted a break in? Had some sort of accident happened? Had they done something by walking in at this exact time?

"No!"

"Oh Jesus- someone call 911!" Luca flapped an arm behind him, hitting any of his team that he could to make them listen while his other hand fisted Jim's shirt as if to make sure he hadn't vanished or fallen down with shock.

Jim bolted forward, feeling the team close behind him but he didn't care. He wrenched out of Luca's grip and took double strides until he was five paces up the stairs.

(Y/n) had fallen.

His left arm bashed into the bannister while his right knee bent out and punctured into the wall, wedging himself in place on the stairs so he could find his balance without falling down.

His hands were quick to find her neck, his thumbs smoothing over her jaw as he tried to be as gentle as he could to tilt her head away from the bannister. Her temple had been pressing down on the wooden beam until Jim turned her so she was facing him.

"Baby? Baby, oh come on, open your eyes for me." Words flurried past his lips before he could realise what he was saying.

His fingers pressed down into her neck and he winced, hoping he wasn't hurting her when he realised the grip he had but he couldn't let go. His whole body was shaking as he looked over his wife.

She was laid in the middle of the stairs, crumpled at an odd angle. Arms bent and stuck near her waist, legs curled awkwardly with one foot pressed against the opposite wall and the other hanging off a lower step. But she wasn't moving. She wasn't opening her eyes like Jim was telling her to. She wasn't even moving her head or acknowledging him.

"She's not waking up." Panic entwined in with Jim's words and he glanced over his shoulder, tears already streaming down his face as he begged any of his team to help him. To do something to make this better, to help his wife.

But when Jim glanced up, he wished he hadn't. He wished he never bothered lifting his head because the sight he was faced with made his stomach churn and had him gagging.

Karen.

His mum. Stood at the top of the stairs, one hand stretched out for the bannister to stabilise herself while her other hand was pressed against her mouth to cover her shock. She had tears streaming down her face and Jim realised she was shaking her head like she was trying to tell him she didn't do this. She hadn't wanted any of this to happen. But the guilt was written across her face.

The look in her watering eyes, the shock that was making her tremble back and forth like a lead. The way she was backing away from the stairs with little gasps and croaks.

She had pushed her.

When Jim heard Hondo's voice, it sounded faint and distant like his leader was calling from across the street instead of the bottom of the stairs.

Hondo's hand found Jim's shoulder and he quickly and expertly climbed over Jim and (Y/n), stepping over the entwined couple on the stairs with Luca hot on his heels. The pair of them bolted up the stairs towards Karen, both so they could stop her from trying to wander away and restrain her in case she tried to lash out at any of them.

"Do something." Jim's voice was oddly low but the desperation was clear. He spat the words with venom and he leaned into Deacon until the older man could see the fright blowing up his brown orbs.

Deacon rested his hand on Jim's shoulder and knelt beside him, leaning around to try and reach out for (Y/n). He pressed his hand to her neck to check her pulse before he gently peeled back her eyelid, but her eyes had rolled to the back of her head. Only allowing them to see the whites of her eyes with prominent veins crawling across them.

"Chris we need that ambulance." He glanced at the bottom of the stairs towards Chris. She had one hand tangled in her hair, a determined look on her face and tears in her eyes. Deacon couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Chris cry. "We can't leave her here like this, we need to get her down in the recovery position. Okay?"

He didn't want to wait for an ambulance with (Y/n) in this position, she was crumpled up like a piece of paper. It was going to hurt and if she had any internal injuries, lying like this was going to make them worse.

Deacon moved to try and hold her legs but Jim was moving off a different schedule.

He was already easing (Y/n)'s head onto his shoulder and curving her arms around her waist to keep them out the way so he could lift her up. Biting his lip, Deacon helped ease (Y/n)'s legs over Jim's arm and kept a hand on Jim's back to support him standing up on the stairs.

They walked backwards, slowly easing down the stairs until they were safely in the hallway and Deacon held the back of (Y/n)'s head and her waist to help lower her down.

"Airways are clear and open, breathing is good. Pulse is high… I can't tell if she's broken anything." Deacon tilted (Y/n)'s head down just in case she got a nosebleed or she started to throw up.

He tried to check her over but he couldn't see any obvious breaks or feel any dislocations. That didn't mean her ribs weren't broken or that she didn't have any internal injuries. They needed the paramedics here. Now.

"Two minutes," Chris gripped Jim's shoulder and gave him a little shake. She had dispatch on the line. They were already relocating an ambulance and a squad car down to them. This was an emergency and they would have help soon. Chris would ring Captain Cortez and tell her the situation, they would get hold of Karen's parole officer and sort this out for Jim so he could go with (Y/n).

"What have I done?"

"Street, you couldn't-"

"S-she told me. She told me she wasn't safe here, and I- I didn't- I never… God, what have I done?"

She told him she didn't feel safe with his mum. She told him everything his mum had done and he didn't believe her. He wanted to see the best in his mum, he wanted the family he hadn't had since he was eleven. He wanted a proper, loving, caring mum in his life, not one that sent him letters from behind a secured facility. He wanted his mum to get along with his wife and be involved in her granddaughter's life.

This wasn't how it was supposed to work. This wasn't the family Jim had tried to build. He hadn't kept his family safe. He hadn't listened to (Y/n) and now both his girls were in danger.

Why didn't he listen?

[valuunit]

Yearly Styles' Family Awards

Summary: in the middle of a pandemic, the Styles kids want to recreate an award show like the ones their parents used to go to.

some adorable and cute inexistent scenarios to cope with life :)

Content: husband!dadrry x wife&mom!Y/n (fluff), kids. Mention of covid and the pandemic (2021/2022), she/her Y/n. Food (kinda). A slight reference to sex (nothing deep, there'll be time for that ;) ).

Disclaimer: English is not my first language so if there’s any mistake i’m sorry, i’ll try to correct it. It’s not proofreader yet (☞ ͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡°)☞.

“Honey, honey, no, no, no. Mum's busy right now.” Harry whispered carrying his daughter who was trying to enter her mother's office.

“But I want to show her my drawing. And I want more paint." she squirmed in Harry's arms, trying to go back.

“You can have all the paint you want, but in a couple of minutes, remember that mommy's getting an award? That's why we baked the cake.” Harry was on his knees distracting the fidgety girl.

“You mean I baked it?” she giggled.

“Oh, so that's how you treat your assistant?” Harry combed the rebellious curly hair of Melody. She continued giggling.

“I thought there weren't gonna be fans waiting for me this time.” an optimistic voice said. Y/n, with sweatpants and a pretty blouse, was admiring her family.

“Mommy!” the girl jumped into her arms, Y/n rapidly caught her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Hi, sunshine. What happened here?” she pointed to the pajama top of her kid, with chocolate and paint stains all over it, and looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow, he just smiled like saying 'sorry'.

“I made you a cake and a drawing.”

“Lie!” exclaimed Harry standing back up with a jump.

Melody held onto her mother's neck tightly and exclaimed, "Don't listen to him!".

“I left for thirty minutes!” she slowly put her daughter down because she was starting to strangulate her.

Harry softly laughed and went to hug her. “Congratulations, love. I'm proud of you.” and then he gave her a kiss.

“Thanks, H.” their little bubble popped with a cry, their baby boy. They giggled.

“I'll go, and let you see the cake that Mel and I made for you.” he gave his daughter a final look and Melody shook her head with a smile.

“Okay, I also want to see the cause for this colorful mess” Y/n returned her attention to the little girl, who grabbed her hand and let her into the kitchen.

“What did you win, mommy?” she said sitting on the island.

“Well... I'm not gonna bore you, but every year there are events to recognize the work of people, this time was for the book that I wrote.”

“The one with my drawing on the cover?”

“Yes! I guess you're also a winner” She giggled at the expression of the kid, she looked amazed.

“Where is it!”

“I think it's arriving in a couple of days.” she pinched the girl's nose.

“Why can't you go? I remember that you and daddy went to other places for more awards before.”

“Baby, remember that we have to stay at home, it's not safe right now.”

“But it will be?”

“Of course, honey. One day it'll be safe and perfectly fine, and one day you can go to those events if you want to.” Y/n couldn't help but feel sad and nostalgic, she brushed a piece of hair off of Mel's face to caress her puffy cheek.

“Of course I want to! Can I go with all the pretty clothes and makeup that you use? Or like the daddy's suits!”

Y/n laughed, getting herself as excited as her daughter.

“Well, one day, I promise.”

“But we have to start planning everything now.”

Mel's green eyes, incredibly alike to Harry's, looked at her hopeful, she also put her hands together in the form of pleading. And how could she say no to that adorable package, and an even better thing than just putting on clothes, something bigger?

“I have another idea..”

The famous chocolate cake just sat on the counter, while the mother-daughter duo ran upstairs.

“How's he?” said Y/n entering Daniel's room.

“Just wanted Puffy,” Harry said leaning in the crib watching adoringly his son playing with his beloved bunny plushie.

“He's a simple little man.”

“Let him be.” her husband turned around to face her. Y/n grabbed one of his hands and change the tone of her voice to a very sweet one.

“So, I was talking with Mel... we were talking about the award shows and that stuff, and I kinda made the suggestion of making an event here... like, right now, well no, tomorrow but you know, the assembling and that.”

“Okay.” he laughed. “So, we're hosting an award show.” she nodded “That's adorable, my love. I love it.”

“Uf, I knew you'll like it. Thanks, sweetheart.” she kissed his lips lightly. “I'll watch him from now on, go help Mel.”

“I'm expecting an award,” he whispered patting her bum on his way out.

“Dad!” Mel's high-pitched voice made its way into her parent's bedroom. She sounded desperate.

“What's the matter, honey?” Harry walked into her bedroom in full glam. He was wearing one of his old suits from Live on Tour just testing if it still fitted him.

“I don't know what to wear.” his daughter groaned, some cute dresses and suits on the carpet of her room.

“What about this one?” he took a plain black suit, in his opinion an adorable piece.

“It's too simple. I want one like yours.” she pouted and pulled from the shiny fabric of his blazer. His heart melted.

“Aw.” and then it hit him. “Oh, wait. I think I have one like mine for you.” he grabbed her hand and let her into his bedroom.

He dug up in the closet. He knew he kept the suit from the Kiwi music video. At that time Melody was barely a two-year-old but he treasured it for the right moment, now for example.

“Yeah, here. Do you like it?”

“Wow. Yes! It's so beautiful. Thanks, daddy!”

Harry's deep voice said quietly, "Tomorrow is the big day. You should try to get some sleep."

“I'm just finishing this” answered his wife, she was holding a paintbrush with which she was completing a cute banner with the words 'Yearly Styles' Family Awards'.

“Yearly Styles' family awards?” he whispered “Clever, love.”

“I know you're joking, but thanks.”

“Need any help?” he said sitting on the edge of the couch watching his wife in awe.

“You can cut out some circles in those sheets. Just use the red, yellow, and blue.”

“Mhm,” he mumbled quickly doing so.

Y/n looked up from the 's' she was working at that moment. She watched the ellipse-shape-like circles in the hands of her husband, recalling him wearing his old suit, he looked so similar and yet changed so much at the same time. It made her head hurt thinking of all the time that have passed since they ever met.

She was beginning to be a recognized lyricist in the pop industry and ended up writing songs for the album Midnight Memories. One day, when she was having a meeting with Louis Tomlinson, showing him a couple of songs, Harry walked into the hotel room.

At first, Harry rapidly exited the room, shouting sorry's, thinking they were in a private moment, but soon after they got presented by Louis.

“M'Harry. Nice to meet you. And, you know, sorry.”

“I know. Y/n, don't worry, you did nothing.”

“'kay, now, can we get finished? I want pizza...” Louis groaned like a toddler.

“Calm down, mate” said Y/n imitating his accent. He shoved her off and grinned, she didn't knew why.

Shortly after she began to encounter Harry very often. They began to talk more and grow closer, and when they exchanged phones they talked every single day via text and facetime, something they still do to this day.

Almost a year later they began to date. The relationship was kind of secret, with just the guys from the band and family and very close friends knowing, until Y/n got pregnant two years into the relationship.

A lot was happening with the band's hiatus. All the eyes were on Harry and became impossible to hide from the public.

They went through a lot of public scrutiny and unasked comments since anyone understood how that relationship happened without anyone knowing, and the hate and nasty gossip only made their bond even more, just for Melody to make them inseparable.

All of that and more went through her head for just watching Harry with a suit from some years ago. That made her want to cry, happy tears.

“You okay, honey?” his deep voice snapped her out of her line of thought. She moved her gaze from his hands to his eyes.

“Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, I was just feeling melancholic...”

“About what?” he says leaving the scissors on the armrest of the couch.

“Watching you in your suit... Oh! And Melody's one, she looked adorable, I didn't know you kept it.” Y/n said standing up and walking to Harry, placing herself between his legs.

“I forgot to tell you, at the end I was asked if I wanted to keep some of the things, I wish I also kept the one I used.” his hands went to her hips as if they were magnets near some pure metal curve.

“Well, you still looked very handsome in the shiny jacket.” she grabbed the collar of his hoodie to attract his face to hers.

“I thought you said you liked me more in hoodies and sweatpants than fancy clothes,” he whispered looking at her lips.

“I actually like you more in your birthday suit, but you will always look great, even with a potato sack.”

“You missy, stop it now, otherwise I'm not responsible for what might happen later.”

Y/n just kissed him passionately. Her hands were still on his hoodie, while he's changed to her lower back.

The room had some light jazz in the background with the breaths from the couple as the protagonists.

Y/n pushed away from the kiss. “Wanna go to the bedroom?” she said quietly.

“What about this?” he shook his head towards the sign. He had a cocky smile, she knew he was just playing with her, but she can do that too. She liberated herself from his grip and turned her back to him.

“Oh, yeah. Well, I'll finish this-” and before she finished her sentence, Harry's hands were on her waist lifting her up. She squealed and giggled. “You're getting way too comfortable carrying everyone shorter than you around.”

He chuckled and let her go. “We can finish the sign tomorrow.” then he winked offering her his hand, which Y/n took. They walked to their bedroom as quietly as possible and locked the door.

“Mummy! Daddy!” a quiet knock startled the couple. Y/n jumped out of Harry’s embrace to put on something more than his hoodie she wore that night as pajama.

“A moment sweetie!” instinctively, she turned to the clock above the door, it makes 8 am. She groaned.

By this time, Harry was on his knees looking for the sweatpants he had been wearing the day before, which had probably been thrown away somewhere in the room a couple hours ago.

Y/n opened the door without expecting no one, she picked her head an turned around inspecting the surroundings quickly spotting her daughter carrying her brother out of his room.

“Even he was awake earlier.”

“I’m sorry, sunshine.” she kissed her head and blended over to take Danny, also giving him a kiss. “Good morning.”

“It’s okay, it was fun watching him blow bubbles with his drool.”

Y/n chuckled. Three out of four Styles walked into the master bedroom, Harry was standing next to the bed completely stiff. Y/n couldn’t help but let out another laugh.

“Good morning, daddy.” Mel we go to hug him.

“Morning. honey.”

“I have a schedule for today.” the girl said sitting on the bed.

“Really?” asked Y/n surprised. She loved the ideas of her girl.

“Yes! I was watching some videos and pictures. Is there a red carpet?”

“We have a beige carpet.”

“It’ll work.” she nodded with confidence. Harry and Y/n shared a proud look.

“Okay, little director. You can tell us about your plan at breakfast, how’s that sound?” Y/n said giving her a big smile.

“Can I have waffles?”

“Of course you can.”

“Yay!”

“To the left- no, the other left.”

“So the right...”

“No, my left your right.”

“We have the same left and right, darlin'” the both adults chuckled.

“What's taking so long! I want to start with the hair and makeup.” Melody entered the living room with two bags and a hair straightener.

“Where did you find those?“ Y/n said taking the black flat iron from her little hands.

“Your bathroom.” the girl simply said. “Is everything done? I already have the award winners.”

“Can we know who they are?” Harry asked playful.

“No.” Mel smiled.

“Not even the nominees?” Y/n continued.

“No, it's a surprise.”

“Fine, at least I won something?” her dad sat on an armchair crossing his arms and pouting.

“One, maybe two. But makeup and hair. Now.”

“You're being quite bossy today, Mel.” Y/n said ruffling through the curls of her daughter, Melody stood up and put a hand on her hip, forming an adorable pose. Both of her parents laughed, and so did she, hell, even her little brother. “I'll do the hair and you take care of the makeup. If you want there's some in my-”

“Third drawer on your closet's vanity.” she finished her mum's sentence walking to said vanity.

Y/n looked at her in disbelief and turned to look at Harry. “I swear, she's the perfect mix between you and me.”

“The best of two worlds.” he smiled as their baby was squealing, demanding some attention. Harry picked him up. “What are you going to wear today, buddy?” his baby just looked at him deep in the eye.

“Oh! I know. That cute suit with the gray vest.”

“The one mum sent?” His gaze returned to his wife. She nodded. “Ah, I love that little outfit, I want one for myself.”

“It seems like I need to wear a blazer and pants or I'll look left out of my family.” the woman giggled while playing with the little chubby fingers of her child.

“You know what you should wear?” she hummed in response looking at him again. “The Coperni vest with the matching pants.”

“I love you and your sense of fashion.” she kissed his lips.

“I imagine something purple” Melody put her hand on her chin thinking.

“I trust you, sweetie” Y/n had a sweatband stopping her hair from interrupting the process.

“You in purple and daddy in pink!” she clapped in excitement. “And me in blue and Danny in… black?”

“Maybe Danny can go without makeup, i think he’s skin is a little too sensitive for now.” she looked at her daughter with a warm smile.

“Yeah, you’re right mum.”

“Well, let’s get to work, I still have to do everyone’s hairs.” Melody smiled even more exited and went floor the products she needed.

“Not yours.” the voice of her husband creeped from behind, caressing her hair. “I can do it.”

“Uh. I don’t know if i trust you with hair. Remember Mel’s winter festival incident.” Harry looked at her with a offended look.

“It was just a slip, and her ear is fine.”

Melody returned. “I have a scar.”

“And I’m sorry, honey. But tell mommy how much I’ve improve.”

“Uh, well, you are better.” she shook her head in agreement. “You’re in… good hands mum.”

Y/n laughed and said “Okay, I’ll confide in my star stylist’s word.”

At the end Y/n ended up with a glowy cosmic like makeup, not bad for an almost 8-year-old, and a half ponytail, not bad for a Harry.

In Harry’s turn her daughter took a similar approach in his makeup, just different colors. She used a lot of glittery and bright colors, a lot of highlighter as well. Later his wife combed his hair very simple.

While Melody was doing her own makeup, with Harry’s assistance, Y/n was dressing Daniel up. He looked like a little gentleman from the 40s with his outfit.

“I want all my hair down.” said Melody, her hair ended up being just her natural curls better only better groomed, and with some shiny golden clips.

“It’s beige carpet time!”

Y/n staged her and Harry’s phone in two different angles to record the event as well as using a regular camera to take the pictures. The first one in pass was Melody. She wore her suit with admirable confidence, walked to the middle of the hall and pose for her mom. Some serious, some silly and done.

The next one was Harry with Danny in his arms. Harry was a natural in front of the cameras and as confident as his daughter. Danny was just giggling and going along.

Thirdly, Y/n, at first she felt a little self conscious, but with her family cheers she remembered there was nothing to be anxious about, she was in the confort of her own home with the people she loved the most. She walked through the soft material in her bare foot. She loved her outfit and according to Harry, she was rocking it. Harry took her photos.

And last but not least, they set up the camera to take a couple of family pics, most of which were very blurry, but it was a lot of fun.

no Then they moved to the living room, it was time for the award ceremony. Melody made six different envelopes with the confidential information.

“Good afternoon to everyone. I’m happy to announce the first event of the yearly Styles’ family awards.” she said standing on an old coffee table and with an unplugged karaoke microphone.

Y/n and Harry were sitting on the floor resting their backs in the couch, Danny was sitting between his mum’s legs.

Harry cupped his mouth and cheered. “Woo!”

“Thanks.” Y/n and Harry chuckled. “The first award of the day is…” Y/n grabbed an iPad and played a drum sound. “The best mum in the life...” she looked at the sign of the Yearly Styles’ Family Awards. “Am. If the year. Best mum of the year.”

“Oh god, who could it be…” Harry whispered with his hands covering his mouth.

“The winner is…” iPad drums. “Y/n Styles-Y/l/n!”

“Oh god, yes! Can you…” she passed the baby to Harry, and he gave her a peck. “Yay!”

The awards were origami pigeons, also made by Mel. Y/n received her first one, and hopefully not last, award. “Congrats, mommy.”

“Thanks, sunshine. Oh god. Ahm… I don’t know what to say. Thanks to the ones that made me a mother.” she look at her family sitting in front of her. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, it motivates me every day to wake up and see your beautiful faces and hear your voices. I love you, my angels. And a honorary mention to your daddy. It literally wouldn’t be possible without you.”

“Yeah, mamma!” said Harry.

Melody stepped back up and presented the next award. “Next… best dad of the year.” this time i read of a drums sound effect there was an ad. “Again. The best dad of the year…” drums. “Harry Styles-Y/l/n!”

“Yeah!” Harry punched the air. “Thanks, honey.” he carefully grabbed his pigeon. “Hm… Love, i’m gonna copy your speech, a little bit, I hope that doesn’t bother you.” He smiled to Y/n, who shook her head and smiled back. “Perfect. So, I always knew I wanted to be a dad, but i never knew that it would be this great. Waking up to see you is a blessing every time, I love you all more than anything. Thanks.” he blowed a kiss to his family.

“Great speeches tonight!” she exclaimed. “Okay. The next one is…” a different video of drums. “Best little brother/son of the year!”

Y/n stood up with Danny in her arms, he laughed don’t knowing what was going on. Harry also stood up cheering his son.

“Congrats, baby D.” his sister kissed his cheek.

“Look love, it’s yours.” Y/n took his pigeon and showed it to him.

“Ah!” he responded.

“So touching.” Harry said and hugged his son.

“Before the next award. We’ll go to an ad break a.k.a this little guy needs some food.” Y/n said before Melody went back to the podium. Y/n and Danny went to the kitchen.

“Daddy.” Melody said quietly. “I need your help.”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a category of best parent… I don’t have a winner. You are both the bests parents in the universe.” she whispered looking to the floor.

“Aw, honey, that’s so sweet.”

“I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.” she pouted.

“Well, we could ended in a tie.”

“That’s boring.”

Harry chuckled. “Okay. Ahm. I don’t know. A competition?”

“Like an eating competition.”

“Yeah… Or it could be race.”

“Ohh! A race with us on your backs.”

“Are you sure you don’t want a tie, honey?”

“Yeah, maybe it’s easier.”

“It’s easier for my back too.”

“Okay, old man. A tie.”

“Eh!”

“I need to make a new pigeon!”

After a new pigeon and a cop yoke of seconds later, Y/n walked into the living room. Danny’s head was in her shoulder, his eyes looked sleepy. “Ad break finished.”

“Okay, fifth award of the night. Best older sister/daughter of the year.” she stood in the low table and said “Am. Thank you to me, for this award. Thank you to my mum and dad for creating me and my baby brother, i wouldn’t be a daughter nor a sister without you, and yada yada yada. Ahm… yeah thanks, love you lots.”

“Woo!” said Y/n quietly.

“But the final and most competitive one. The best parent of the year…”

“Oh god.” Y/n gasped and covered her mouth.

“This was a tough one. But after some deliberation the result is.” the iPad’s sound went down a half, but it still played. “It was a tie. Y/n and Harry Styles-Y/l/n are the best parents.”

“That’s so cute.” Y/n left Danny laying on the couch. “Thanks, sunshine.”

“We did a great job in here.” Harry whispered in her ear before kissing her neck. His hands rounded her waist and gave her a side hug. Soon after Melody joined the hug.

That memory filled their brains and their phones’.

[morgana-larkin]

Prompt where r is a sub in Abbott who's head over heels for Melissa. She doesn't have the nerve to admit it let alone talk to Mel without being a stuttering and flustered mess. Barb noticed it as well as the other teachers but they leave the sub for the silly crush she's harboring with the redhead thinking it's cute to see such thing like that in the school . Yet Ava, who's like have eyes everywhere teases her about it. Melissa on the other hand is clueless and joined the teasing one day not knowing it was actually about her and the sub, who became absolutely embarrassed at that point and left the break room quickly. All eyes are on Melissa, Barb + crew was like questioning her if she means the teasing or she was just blind and clueless.

So this fic got way out of hand, I thought it was gonna be a cute 2k word one then I look when I’m finished and there’s 4.5k words. Whoops. I really thought this prompt was funny and cute and hope I did it justice. I’m sorry it sat for like 2 weeks while I did all the other fics but I finally got to it. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

On another note: I’m getting to all your prompts! If you wrote one then I will write a fic for it. I don’t delete them so don’t worry, it’s coming! I also didn’t expect to name it with the one I went with to describe it but oh well

Clueless Teasing

Warnings: Smut, I think one swear word and a shit ton of fluff

Words: 4.5k

You walk in through the doors of Abbott Elementary. It’s your first day as a substitute teacher at this school and you were beyond excited. They told you they’ll need you until the end of the school year which is in 6 months and they told you you’re filling in for Janine Teagues.

You walk into the office to get your temporary badge and classroom key. As you walk out you run into someone causing you to drop both things and the other person dropping a folder. You immediately bend down to pick up your things and the folder for the other person and stand back.

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going-” whatever you were going to say next was cut off when you looked at the person and got distracted by her. Luckily for you, where you finished seemed like the end of your sentence and the woman smiled as she grabbed the folder from you.

“It’s alright hon, happens to the best of us.” She says and looks at your badge. “New teacher?” She asks.

“No no, um new sub. Filing in for a teacher called Janine Teagues.” You tell her and smiles.

“Did you happen to be shown where her classroom is?” She asks and you mentally facepalm.

“Um no, I- I didn’t.” You tell her.

“That’s alright, if you want I just have to drop this off and I can show you. The classroom is across from mine. I teach second grade as well.” She tells you and you smile.

“I would love that, thank you so much…” you say and try to read her badge but got distracted by her chest.

“Schemmenti.” She says and you look back up. “Melissa Schemmenti.” She tells you and you blink, of course she has a beautiful name, fits her beautiful face.

“That’s a lovely name.” You tell her and she sticks her hand out to shake. “I’m-I’m…” you start to introduce herself but short circuited when you shook her hand, it feels so soft.

“You’re…?” She asks and pulls her hand back.

“Oh right my name is Y/n Y/l/n.” You tell her and she smiles.

“That’s a lovely name too. I’ll just go drop these off and then I’ll show you the classroom. I’ll be right back.” She tells you and you nod. She goes into the office and 10 seconds later someone comes up to you.

“Hi, are you a new teacher?” He asks you.

“New sub.” You tell him.

“Oh amazing! I’m Jacob Hill.” He says and brings out a hand for you to shake.

“Y/n y/l/n.” You tell him. “I’m subbing for Janine Teagues.”

“Oh cool, I was good friends with her. She’s a temp at the district right now.” He tells you and you nod. Just then Melissa comes out and sees Jacob there.

“Jacob, are you trying to scare the newbie away? I thought that was more Janine’s thing.” She tells him.

“Well someone has to fill in for her.” He jokes back and she snorts.

“Come on kid, I’ll show you to her classroom.” She tells you and you wave goodbye to Jacob.

You walk down the hall with her and can’t help but feel mesmerised by her.

“So how long are you subbing for?” She asks you and you shake yourself out of your trance.

“Um um 6 months.” You tell her, cringing as you forgot how to speak for a second.

“Are you ok? You seem nervous.” She asks you.

“Ya I’m fine, a little nervous. New place and people.” You tell her and she nods.

“Understandable.” She says and then she stops. “So this is the classroom.” She says and nods her head to the side to the room. She then turns slightly and points to a class down the hall. “And that’s where mine is. Have any questions just feel free to ask. And another teacher, Gregory Eddie, his classroom is just right here.” Melissa points to the classroom just right next to yours. “Him and Janine are close so he can answer questions too.” She tells you and you nod.

“Thank you so much Ms Schemmenti.” You tell her and she waves you off.

“Oh please, call me Melissa. I normally don’t let newbies call me by my first name but you seem ok.” She tells you and you blush.

The morning goes by quickly and before you know it, it’s lunch time. You get the kids lined up and you begin to walk out and to the cafeteria when you have no idea where it is. You were about to ask the kids when Melissa walks by with her class and sees you don’t know where to go.

“Hey newbie, just follow me.” She tells you with a wink and you blush again.

“Thanks Melissa.” You tell her and you follow her to the cafeteria. You both drop off your classes and then she goes to walk out.

“Did you bring a lunch today newbie?” She asks you and you nod.

“It’s in the classroom.” You tell her and she nods.

“How about you bring it to the break room and come meet some more teachers?” She says and you nod.

“Ok, although I have no idea where it is.” You tell her and she giggles.

“I’ll bring you there, let’s go get your lunch.” She tells you and starts walking to your classroom and you sprint after her. For someone wearing heels, she’s sure fast.

She brings you to the break room and you see Jacob there with Gregory. You met both of them briefly today. You see a few other teachers chatting in a corner. You see another teacher at a table that Melissa goes to sit with.

You go to sit at an empty table but then Melissa stops you. “Newbie, come sit with us.” She tells you and you blush then sit down in the empty chair at her table. “This is Barb, she teaches Kindergarten.” She introduces her friend to you.

“Hi Barb, nice to meet you. I’m y/n y/l/n. I’m subbing for Janine Teagues.” You tell her and she smiles.

“Nice to meet you dear. I see Melissa has taken an interest in you.” She tells you and you blush.

“Oh I’m just lost so she’s been nice to me and showing me around.” You tell her.

“Ya like I said, she’s taken an interest in you, she doesn’t do that for anyone.” Barb tells her and Melissa rolls her eyes.

“You’re making me seem like a bad person.” Melissa complains and Barb chuckles.

“Not bad, just antisocial.” Barb responds.

“Well whatever it is, I just really appreciate your help. And if there’s any way to thank you then let me know.” You tell her and she smiles at you. That smile will be the death of you, you just know it.

Over the next month, you’ve been fitting in well and getting to know around the school, and the students seem to like you. You have Melissa to thank for the support and guidance. Your crush for Melissa has just grown more and more as she does seem to take a liking to you. You think that your crush has grown more into love though and you’re not sure how to act around her most of the time, or what to say. Most of the time when you talk to her, all that comes out is something that makes you seem like you have a loose circuit or wire, and you sometimes don’t understand what you say.

One day was really bad though as Melissa accidentally got pushed in a busy hallway and got pushed into you against a wall. You looked at each other and your lips were centimetres away from each other, if she didn’t pull away then you might have kissed her right then and there.

“Sorry kid, busy hallway.” She said as she pulled back. “Kids don’t watch where they’re going most of the time.” She told you.

“Oh.” You squeaked out and you clear your throat. “Oh, it’s alright, um ya. It’s alright.” You tell her and she looks at you confused and you want to bolt out of there but you can’t with all the kids in the way so you just start walking.

All the other teachers seemed to notice how you act around Melissa and they know it’s a crush. They don’t say anything though, since it’s none of their business and having fun watching you try to keep it together. The only one who doesn’t know is Melissa, and you want to keep it that way. But of course Ava happened.

Ava has been watching you on her cameras for awhile now ever since the incident in the hallway that happened during your second week here. She’s having fun watching you try to be a human being around Melissa and failing. After 6 weeks of watching this, she decides to do something about it,

So one day you were all in the break room while Janine was visiting everyone again, she seems to pop in once a week, she’s met you and seems to like you as well. Anyway, Ava comes waltzing in like she always does and looks at you with mischief in her eyes.

“So y/n.” She starts and you look at her confused as she walks to the coffee machine. “I know who you have a crush on.” She teases you and your cheeks go red. Melissa looks at Ava then at you.

“Do you have a crush on a girl y/n?” She asks you and you don’t answer, you just take a sip of your coffee.

“Oh she sure does. And she seems to not know how to act around her. Stuttering and becoming flustered, trying to be a human being and failing, miserably.” Ava continues on and you wish the ground would swallow you whole. And worst of all it seems Melissa is finding this amusing, as she begins laughing at what Ava is saying.

“Oh, I would like to see you around this girl, see you apparently fail at being a human being.” Melissa teases you. Your cheeks go red and you get so embarrassed that you sprint out of the break room and to your classroom.

Once you get to your classroom you close and lock the door and then just sit in your chair and sulk.

Back in the break room everyone looks at Melissa. “What?” Melissa says as she notices everyone staring at her.

“Why were you teasing her about her crush?” Jacob asks her.

“Because it sounded funny.” Melissa says like it’s obvious.

“Do you even know who her crush is?” Barb asks and Melissa shakes her head.

“No, she hasn’t told me, why? Has she told you guys?”

“She doesn’t need to tell us when it’s obvious.” Janine says and Melissa looks at everyone and she’s lost in what everyone else seems to know.

“Girl, how blind are you? You seem completely clueless to what’s really obvious.” Ava states and Melissa frowns.

“Ya like even though I’m not always good at reading people, it’s obvious to me as well.” Gregory says and Melissa looks at all of them confused.

“So it’s a teacher then?” She starts and they all nod.

“And someone you know extremely well too.” Barb says and Melissa is taken aback by this.

“But everyone I know well is in this room, and y/n is only interested in women.” Melissa says and everyone looks at her to see if she’ll figure it out. Melissa still looks completely lost, like something isn’t clicking like it has for everyone else.

“This is getting hard to watch.” Ava says and she almost blurts it out right there.

“Melissa dear, you know y/n, she’s told you what type of women she’s interested in. I know she has because I was there when she has.” Barb says and Melissa thinks about it.

“Well ya, she says she likes older redhe-” and that realisation stops her dead in her tracks. “I’m an older redhead.” She says and everyone smirks. “And I’m in this room.” She says and puts it all together and thinks about all your interactions. “OH FUCK.” She says and runs out of the room to go searching for you.

“Honestly if she didn’t figure it out right there then I would have just told her.” Ava says and everyone glares at her. “What? I didn’t though.” She says and Barb shakes her head at her.

Melissa walks down the hallway and decides to look at your classroom first and sees the closed door. She goes to open it and sees that it’s locked so she knocks on it.

“Y/n? It’s Melissa, are you in there hon?” She asks and doesn’t hear anything. She asks again but is still met with silence so she assumes you’re not in there and goes to check other places.

In your classroom you heard her both times but chose to stay quiet, you just want to be left alone right now.

Melissa is getting worried, she’s checked everywhere you could be but can’t find you, she texts you again but no reply.

Melissa: Hey hon, I wanted to talk to you about something, where are you?

Melissa: I wanted to apologise for what happened in the break room.

Melissa: I’m trying to find you but don’t know where you are?

Melissa: Hon, I’m getting worried, can you reply back to me please?

Melissa: Can you at least tell me that you’re ok?

Melissa decides to just go to her classroom and talk to you at the end of the day. When the bell rings she sees your door wide open and you welcoming back your students from lunch. She sighs as she thinks about what everyone told her at lunch and looks at you longingly. Barb and Gregory see her look at you and they shake their heads.

Melissa’s heart breaks a little, you have a crush on her and she never notices any of the signs, and she teased you about it to the point that you got embarrassed and left. She’s thought about her feelings for you many times, she remembers you telling her your type but she didn’t have any feelings for you at that point and didn’t think much about it. How long have you had feelings for her? Cause she hasn’t seen you act very differently from the first time you’ve met. And that’s when it clicks, you’ve been interested in her since the start and she mentally facepalms.

At the end of the day, Melissa says goodbye to all her students as they’re getting picked up or walking to their school bus. When her last student leaves she sees you locking your door to leave. So she runs in to grab her things, locks her door and bolts to you. She makes it to the parking lot and sees you pulling out and she sighs.

The next day, you come in and when you get to your classroom you see it’s already open and Melissa is spinning a little in your chair.

“Hey hon.” She says casually and you freeze.

“Um h-hi Melissa.” You say and she smiles. She motions for you to come closer and you close your door and walk to your desk as she stands up. You sit down at the chair and Melissa is sitting on your desk. Feet dangling on both sides of you when you sit in the chair.

“I wanted to apologise for what happened in the break room yesterday. Ava and I shouldn’t have teased you.” She starts and you sigh. You didn’t really want to be talking about this, you just wanted to forget about it, finish out your 4 months and then hope to get placed somewhere else.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Just forget it happened.” You tell her and she tilts her head at you. You get up to go and get something at the other end of your classroom but Melissa straightens her legs out and puts them up, effectively trapping you. “Uh, Melissa, do you mind? I need to go get something.” You tell her but she doesn’t move.

“When were you going to tell me you have a crush on me?” She asks and your face pales.

“What?” You ask, very nervous now.

“When were you going to tell me you have a crush on me?” She repeats and you don’t say anything. “Were you ever going to tell me?” She asks and you shake your head. “So you were just going to finish up your 4 months and what? Just leave?” She asks and her voice breaks a bit at the end. You nod your head in response to her question and she sighs. “Why weren’t you going to tell me?”

“Because everyone I’ve ever had a crush on never likes me back so now I just keep quiet instead of making a fool out of myself.” You tell her and she puts her feet down. You go to move but she grabs your arm and pulls you to her.

“Oh hon, that’s no way to be. I mean if you never told me and just left then you would have never known that I like you back.” She says and you short circuit.

“Like me back?” You question and she nods.

“Ya, I like you as well you goof.” She says with a smile. You still look at her confused and she rolls her eyes. She then pulls you closer to her and kisses you. Your brain catches up with what’s going on after a second and then you kiss her back. Melissa lets go of your arms and you move a hand up to grab her hair while she puts her hands on your hips. You both pull back for air and you stare at each other.

“How did you find out?” You ask her and she blushes a bit.

“After you left yesterday, everyone sort of helped me figure it out. They all knew except me, go figure that out.” She jokes and you giggle.

“Ya I thought you were the smart one of the group.” You tease her and she huffs at you.

“You’re a little shit, you know that?” She says and you nod. She smiles then just pulls you back and kisses you again. You move your hands from her hair to her cheeks, then to her arms, then back up to her hair. Just trying to touch everywhere you could. While Melissa sneaks a touch and finds the skin under your shirt and places her hands there. You don’t seem to mind so she risks it and keeps trailing her hands up to the front of your chest and you still don’t stop her, even when she’s about to cup your breasts through your bra. You realise that you want her to touch you, you want her to unclip your bra and make you moan and you don’t want to stop. Melissa puts her hands on your bra and squeezes a bit and you moan. You still don’t stop the kiss and she moves her hands to your back to your bra clip and she undos it. She sees that you still don’t stop her so she moves her hands back and puts her hands underneath your bra, right on your breasts and she starts playing with them. You gasp this time and Melissa takes the opportunity to stick her tongue in your mouth and taste you. Melissa wraps her legs around your waist and pulls you closer to her.

You both pull away to breathe and you see how blown her pupils are and see the lust written all over her face. Her brain remembers where you both are for a second and she leans in to you. “If you want to do this now then I suggest you lock the door.” She says huskily in your ear and you shiver a bit. You then register what she says and you run to lock your door as she closes a few of your curtains. Just the ones where someone would be able to see you both.

You walk towards her as she’s leaning against the window sill, all sexy like you think and you smile. Once you reach her, she puts her hands on your hips and spins you around so that you’re against the window sill. She likes to take charge, you think, and you smile at that. You’ll let her take charge of you whenever she wants. You put your hands under her shirt and bring them up and to her back to unclip her bra and she lets you. You then snake them around to the front and you slide them under and feel her big full breasts and you moan and she pulls back. “You like my breasts hon?” She asks with a smile and you nod. She then takes her shirt and bra off for you to look at her chest without clothing in the way and your eyes widen. She then goes to take your shirt and bra off and you let her. She looks at your chest and she smiles. “So beautiful.” She says and you blush. She goes and sucks on your neck while you keep your hands on her breasts. You want to keep your hands on her breasts, I mean it’s not like you’ve been staring at them for 2 months with all her low cut shirts she likes to wear.

She moves from your neck to your nipples and you moan and this time you have to move your hands to the window sill or else you’d fall down right there. She presses her body up right against you when she pulls back from your nipples and kisses your lips, she snakes her hand down your pants and your underwear and finds you clit fast and rubs it. It’s a good thing she’s helping to keep you up or else you’d let gravity do its thing right there and fall. You also think it’s good she’s kissing you as you’d probably be loud enough for someone to hear.

“Keep quiet hon.” She tells you as she pulls back and then slides down your body and pulls your pants down and only has the patience to take them off one leg before spreading your legs. She then gets an idea as the floor here will hurt her legs. She goes back up and lifts you to sit on the window sill and spreads your legs that way, then dives down to your pussy and starts licking it like crazy. You bite your lip and do your best to keep quiet but her tongue is doing wonders on you and you let a few moans escape. She brings one hand up to your mouth and covers it with her hand. She then moves to your clit and tells you to suck on her finger, so you let her stick a finger in your mouth as she sticks another in your entrance and you suck on her finger instead of letting out noises.

She starts licking your clit with her tongue while fingering you and you keep quiet as best you could but she’s really good at what she’s doing. You let a couple of muffled noises escape so she pulls her tongue away and replaces it with her thumb. She pulls her finger out of your mouth and replaces it with her lips and tongue. You kiss her back and that gets you to keep quiet. You lean forward to kiss her too much at one point and end up falling off the window sill and on to her. With her fast reflexes she catches you and neither of you fall down but it does make her back up all the way to your desk. She turns you both around so you're against your desk and continues fingering you. You then realise someone could see you through one of the windows if they look and you push her backwards back to window. She gets the hint and allows it but still continues to finger you and you stop walking. She smirks and then picks you up and brings you the rest of the way. You’re close to an orgasm and Melissa realises as your legs start to shake and you’re breathing is faster. She rubs your clit faster and you come 5 seconds later, doesn’t stop though as she just keeps going.

You pull back from the kiss. “Mel- Melissa, please, it’s too much.” You tell her but make no other attempt to stop her.

“You can do it hon.” She tells you and you put your hand on her back and your mouth on her shoulder to have her closer and muffle your noises. You end up coming again and that’s when she pulls out. She helps keep you up for a few seconds and she licks her fingers and moans at your taste.

You help each other get dressed and fix your hair and reapply lip gloss. Anything to make sure you don’t look like you just fucked in your classroom.

“How about you come over to my place tonight? I’ll cook dinner and then we can continue what we started.” She says and you nod quickly. She giggles at your eagerness, gives your ass a playful slap, gives you a wink then walks out of your classroom. The bell is about to ring so you go to the door frame to greet your students as Barb walks by and looks at you.

“You might want to cover that hickey before Ava or your students notice.” She teases you and your cheeks go red.

“Wha-what hickey?” You stumble out and she chuckles. You take your phone out and put it on selfie mode and sure enough, there’s a hickey on your neck. You whip your head to Melissa and give her a glare. She just smirks at you and tries not to laugh and makes a heart shape with her hands to you. Barb sees the interaction and snorts and shakes her head.

“As happy as I am that you and Melissa got your heads out of your asses. Your students shouldn’t see this.” Barb tells you and ushers you in your classroom and quickly covers it with your makeup that you keep on you for emergencies. You never thought the emergency would be to cover up a hickey that Melissa gave you when you 2 had sex just before school but here you were. Barb quickly makes her way over to her classroom just in time for the bell to ring and you go and greet your students. You glance over at Melissa and she sends you a wink and you blush. You blow her an air kiss and she puts her hand over her heart.

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