#(thinking about my brother/sister in law’s future wedding)

[pierregazly]

you make loving fun ꨄ pierre gasly smau

pierre gasly x fem!russell!reader

in which pierre has made it obvious he worships the ground his fiancé walks on, but her brother just has to make it clear he can fight if he needs to.

ynrussell has posted a story

liked by pierregasly, carmenmmundt, and others

replies

pierregasly je t'aime mon chérie 🤍

georgerussell63 you better be sleeping in different beds. and the food better be fully cooked

ynrussell we've been engaged for 9 months. ynrussell and it's a fucking croissant it's obviously fully cooked you dolt

pierregasly

tagged ynrussell

liked by ynrussell, charles_leclerc, carmenmmundt, and 650,093 others

pierregasly what a great winter break with my favourite person! time to get back to work 💪😈

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ynrussell i love youuuu

ynrussell thanks for massaging my sore ankles after :(

liked by pierregasly

username they are literally so CUTE

username i want to be ynrussell so bad... like she's so pretty and pierre brings her EVERYWHERE

georgerussell63 this doesn't seem like a safe date option

georgerussell63 my sister better be in one piece by the time you finally return her home

ynrussell i am a grown woman??? i am not being returned home??? what is WRONG with you pierregasly i think i'll keep her actually, sorry mate!

username do you guys think george is serious or is he just playing a joke

username he comments on EVERY single one of their posts... my mans gonna fuck pierre up if he ever steps out of line frfr

liked by georgerussell63

ynrussell

tagged pierregasly

liked by pierregasly, charles_leclerc, georgerussell63, and 46,209 others

ynrussell a special happy birthday to the king of my heart 🫶🏻 one year closer to 30 handsome!!!

view 306 comments

username happy birthday pierregasly!!!!!!

charles_leclerc 🥳🥳🥳

pierregasly do you want to fight??? one year closer to 30???

georgerussell63 i've got this ynrussell, don't threaten my sister or it's game over

pierregasly je t'aime 🤍

georgerussell63 is there a video of pierre getting his face shoved into the cake? i'll pay good money for it

username george omg

username LMAOOOO pleaaaase george is ruthless does he even like his future brother in law

georgerussell63 no. happy birthday pierregasly.

username why is no one talking about how he's looking at her in that second photo???? the pure love??? im gonna cry i hate that i love them

username the 😭 king 😭 of 😭 my 😭 heart 😭

ynrussell

tagged carmenmmundt, alexandrasaintmleux, pierregasly, and 12 others

liked by pierregasly, georgerussell63, alexandrasaintmleux, and 52,951 others

ynrussell spoiled absolutely rotten by all the wonderful women in my life this weekend, thank you all for making my bridal shower so special 🫶🏻 (and an extra special thank you to my best friend for the beautiful present he dropped off for me in the middle of it all)

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carmenmmundt had so much fun celebrating the beautiful bride to be!!

username it makes my heart so full that carmen's planned so much of ynrussell's pre-wedding stuff, she has to be in the wedding party omg

username do we think george is one of pierre's groomsmen???

username if pierre doesn't want to die on his wedding day i'd hope so lol

georgerussell63 i hope pierregasly didn't ruin your special day by showing up. so happy to see how overjoyed you were in all the photos 💗

ynrussell pls stop harassing my fiancé. love you georgie.

username i literally cannot WAIT for their wedding, i just know pierre is going to go all out to make sure ynrussell is the happiest bride in the world (or george will get his ass)

pierregasly i stand by what i said, prettiest flowers for my prettiest flower 💐

georgerussell63

tagged ynrussell

liked by ynrussell, pierregasly, carmenmmundt, and 879,092 others

georgerussell63 can't believe the little girl who used to make me zip up her raincoat on the way to school is getting married tomorrow. honoured to be apart of your special day. and even though i mention it 14 times in my speech, pierregasly i know where you live and i will hurt you if you ever hurt her.

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ynrussell 🥺🥺

ynrussell i'm going to cry. love you always georgie 🥺

username the picture of him zipping up her coat i'm going to cry... my fav brother/sister duo HONESTLY

username i just know this man would get away with murder for her if he had to

username pierre would not stand a chance against george

username bestie be so fucking for real, george's skinny ass ankles wouldn't stand a chance against my man pierre

carmenmmundt i think you've made enough threats by now?

liked by pierregasly, ynrussell, and 63 others

pierregasly may as well make it 15 times, i just dont think 14 is enough little brother

georgerussell63 do NOT call me that

pierregasly and yngasly

liked by georgerussell63, charles_leclerc, alpinef1team, and 1,673,942 others

pierregasly i am truly the luckiest man in the world to finally be able to call myself your husband. the tears were worth seeing you in the most beautiful dress, on the most beautiful day. i will hold my vows until the day i die. je t'aime, i love you.

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username omg he cried!!!!!!

username i KNEW IT i knew pierre would be a crier my man's looks like he would be

username do we think george made him cry

username girl dont be delulu i'd be crying too if yngasly was about to be my wife

georgerussell63 i have a video of you crying. don't act up.

pierregasly wouldn't count on it lil bro. username pierre may get beat up without it even involving yngasly as this rate

yngasly can't believe i bagged myself such a looker

yngasly i love you mr. gasly

pierregasly i love you mrs. gasly

honestly this was one of those one's that i started, imagined myself in this position and then basically HAD to finish it. thank you to the lovely person who requested a russell!sister!reader who is engaged to pierre, who constantly get's threatened by george. i hope you all loved it!!

my requests are open

taglist:

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[hannibals-favourite-meal]

For your celebration about she fell first but he fell harder, with clark kent or logan?

It Got Worse

Clark Kent x Wayne!reader

Bruce Wayne thought that the worst thing to ever happen to him was his darling little sister developing a crush on his best friend, but oh boy, it gets worse.

Warnings: reader is Bruce’s adopted sister, Clark is a SIMP, fluff, pregnancy

WC: 487

Minors DNI

3000 Follower Celebration

“Kal, stop staring at her. You look like a fucking creep.” Clark snapped back to reality, shaking himself from his daydreams. Bruce glared at him with a stern expression, his eyes dark with a raging anger reserved only for those who royally pissed him off.

Clark blushed and looked away, although he was conscious not to look even vaguely in your direction anymore. “It’s not being creepy, it’s being in love.” He retorted with a pout. Bruce scoffed.

“Actually the technical term is stalking.”

“She’s my fiancée.”

“She’s my sister.” Clark harrumphed and slumped down in the conference room chair. Obviously Bruce was going to get the kryptonite from his “super secret safe” if Clark even dared think about looking your way again, so the Kryptonian focused his ears and began to listen to your heartbeat instead. “Don’t.” Batman growled.

“I wasn’t even doing anything!” He whined, throwing his arms up into the air like a petulant toddler. 

“You two are already getting a whole day where the two of you can fawn all over each other and I am being forced to be there. So please, spare me the love-sick glances and blatantly inappropriate thoughts you are having about my little sister, until then.” Considering that the end of the conversation, Bruce turned back to his work, assuming that Clark would follow his lead. 

But instead there was a rush of air, causing the documents that had been carefully laid out on the table to scatter everywhere. With a heaving sigh, the older man looked up to see his future brother-in-law cradling you in his arms, lathering your face with sloppy kisses as you screamed with laughter.

Yet Bruce couldn’t help but smile. He remembered only two years ago when you would frequently collapse onto his couch, spouting about how in love with Clark you were and no matter what you did, he never reciprocated. In desperation for saving not only your happiness, but also his own sanity, Bruce had outright told Superman to ask you out. And he had been living to regret it ever since. 

Yes, you were happy and so was his best friend but the honeymoon phase had never ended. That led to an overabundance of pda, way way too many pet names, and a legitimate concern that Clark would drop dead the moment he saw you in your wedding gown.

You were trying to push your fiancé away, but he wouldn’t budge, instead one large hand slipped under your large shirt to cup your soft stomach. You placed your own hand on top of his as your lips met in an achingly soft kiss. Clark’s blue eyes sparkled with tears as you cooed something to him that your brother could not hear.

By the time the hero fell to his knees to kiss where his hand had just occupied, the realisation slapped Bruce in the face. This has just gotten worse.

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[bluecollarmcandtf]

"Dude, I'm in your brother-in-law!"

Panic twists your gut as the bizarre scene sinks in! Those unnaturally clouded eyes are the trademark of Jimmy, your long-dead friend, and they're sitting in the skull of Carlos, your sister's fiance! The ghost is up to his usual antics, possessing yet another guy in your life without any regard to you.

"Did you imagine a tight gym rat like this would wear undies like these?" Jimmy chuckles, referring to Carlos' patterned boxers, "I mean how could you be so intimidated by a guy who's got hearts on his crotch?"

The underwear is the least of your worries: the man is supposed to be walking down the aisle in an hour! It may have been a dick move for your sister to get engaged to your high school bully, but that didn't mean you wanted her future husband to be late to the altar!

"Don't even bother asking me to get out of this body, dude!" the deep baritone of Carlos sings with Jimmy's cadence, "The only thing I plan on getting out of is this tux! Training like this needs to be appreciated, and who better to appreciate it than you? I'm sure you'd love to know what your sister is getting tonight..."

"I mean just look at these abs. It's like a rock hard washboard if you want a feel..." Jimmy winks one of his starkly blank eyes at you, "...speaking of being rock hard, it looks like you're enjoying this bonding time with your new brother-in-law. After all, Carlos does need to apologize for all the bullying he did in high school."

With a racing heart, you shush him and beg for Johnny to leave. He needs to return Carlos to normal before anyone notices! The wedding would be over if someone found the groom naked and flirting with the brother of the bride!

"If you're gonna be my new little bro..." Jimmy says with an unsettlingly accurate impression of Carlos' demeanor, "...then I think you should get to know me. Come on and grab my fat, meaty pecs; pinch my nipples; let me know who the real man is around here..."

It's hard to resist. You've only ever caught stolen glances at Carlos. The jerk would always shove you into a locker when he caught you staring in his direction, yet now he was begging for your attention.

"Come on, bro. Grab my athletic little ass and grope my crotch. It's the least I can do after targeting you for all these years."

Before you realize what you're doing, you find yourself rushing towards the shredded latino and pressing yourself against his exposed body, layered with dense musculature. Part of you still expected Carlos to kick you in the nuts and call you a slur, but his lips instead gleefully embrace your own.

"Damn, if I'd known being queer was this good, I woulda married you and not your sister!" he exclaims. You just roll your eyes, knowing Carlos isn't actually saying these things. Jimmy is just puppeteering his mouth for your amusement, "I bet having your dick in my mouth will be better than the tits of any girl! The only way a piece of crap like me can apologize is on my knees..."

You stifle a moan as all 200 lbs of the naked jock drops to his knees with a dopey grin. Carlos' soulless eyes stare at the tent in your pants like it's the most desirable thing in the world. It doesn't take long for him to unbuckle your pants and open his mouth...

...twenty minutes later, you're still catching your breath while Carlos slowly redresses.

"Now you can watch your sister marry this homophobic dirtbag and know that you've shoved your shaft down his throat," Jimmy purrs, enjoying his final moments in Carlos' form, "I'm not going to brush his teeth, so he'll have to taste you throughout the entire wedding."

You giggle at the thought of the guy wondering about the strange flavor in his mouth while reading his vows. Somehow, Carlos doesn't seem as big or intimidating as he once did.

"If it were up to me, I'd commandeer his whole life," Jimmy went on with a sparkle of enthusiasm in Carlos' clouded retinas, "I'd walk him out there in nothing but his heart-patterned undies and announce to his whole family that he's a flaming homosexual. Then I'd like to spend a couple weeks working his body as a stripper at the nearest club, and of course I'd come home to you every night..."

The idea of Carlos coming out to his orthodox family and working as a stripper is an insane one, but it did turn you on. It's too bad your sister's taken a liking towards him, otherwise, you'd tell Jimmy to go crazy with the guy.

"Imagine your old high school bully coming home to you every night, hot and sweaty from dancing all day, with a new skimpy costume for you to explore. Damn, I'd want you to find a new way to degrade me each night while I wore him. It'd be healthy, I think, after all he's put you through."

Jimmy's crazy ideas never cease to amaze you. A little time belittling Carlos sounds hot as hell!

You give Carlos one last kiss and remind your paranormal buddy that he has to leave soon. The stud frowns, looking sad that he won't be possessed by a gay spirit anymore. At least you know that if this man ever screws up, if he ever wrongs your sister, if he ever hurts her; Jimmy is just one seance away from charging back in his body and making this twisted fantasy come true. It's only a matter of time before Carlos screws up his marriage, and then he's yours.

You almost can't wait for your sister's marriage to fall apart, and it hasn't even begun...

[mynameismckenziemae]

Unbroken

Part 1

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x You

Summary: You (Jake’s younger sister, Emma) were gutted by the way your first (and only) relationship ended, you’re not looking for anything but some fun. Bradley Bradshaw shows up for your older brother’s wedding and is eager to scratch your itch, but refuses to let it be a one-time thing. Will you let him mend the heart he didn’t break?

*Should be able to read alone but helps to read Jake and Charlie’s story, ‘In Case You Didn’t Know’ first.

Warnings: 18+. MDNI! This chapter contains adult language and situations, future chapters will have smut. There’s probable veterinary inaccuracies-I work in people healthcare, not animal healthcare 🥴TW: unwanted/nonconsensual touching/advances. Please message me if you have questions.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“Thanks for letting me get ready here, I was afraid I wouldn’t have time to shower and get ready after that last call. Does this look okay?” You ask as you check your reflection in the mirror.

“No problem,” your oldest friend and soon-to-be sister-in-law, Charlie answers as she comes into the guest bedroom. “Emma Lou, you look gorgeous. That dress new?”

Charlie and Jake had invited you over for dinner to meet the other half of their wedding party, Bradley Bradshaw.

“Kind of? I got it at the beginning of last summer, just haven’t worn it yet. It’s too short for church and can’t really wear a dress when I’m wrangling farm animals,” you laugh.

“Well, you could if you really wanted too. I’m sure the farmers wouldn’t mind,” she teases.

“Ew,” you shudder, thinking about one client in particular you work with. “No thanks.

“Anderson still being gross?” Charlie asks, reading your mind.

“Uh-huh. Speaking of, I have to go out there tomorrow, he thinks one of his cows is pregnant,” you sigh, following her to the kitchen.

“Can’t Gav or Noah go instead?” She asks, washing her hands at the sink.

“I’m sure either would in a second,” you reply, wetting your hands too. “They’ve been nothing but great since I joined the practice, but I haven’t told them how he acts towards me. They’d fire him in an instant if they found out. It’s dumb, but I feel like he wins if he knows it bothers me. Plus he brings a lot of money into the practice. Ky comes with me too.”

Charlie frowns but then nods. “Okay, but be careful. He’s a dead man if he ever lays a hand on you,” she warns.

You don’t tell her that he already has.

“So this Bradshaw guy…Is he as hot in person as he is on Insta?” You ask, changing the subject.

“Nope,” she laughs, drying her hands. “Even hotter.”

“Off to a good start. Straight? Single?”

“Yes and yes. He told Jake he was going to ask me out but I think it was just to push Jake into telling me how he felt,” Charlie replies.

“Should’ve done that 10 years ago,” you mutter, smiling when she rolls her eyes.

“Bradley’s a sweetheart. I think you’d make a cute couple.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes. “I’m just looking to get laid. My vibe isn’t cutting it anymore.”

“What’s not cutting it anymore?” Jake asks as he walks into the kitchen behind the two of you.

“My vibrator. I was telling Charlie I need to get laid,” you answer, forgetting Jake was picking Bradley up from his hotel on the way home.

Jake coughs awkwardly, “Bradshaw, this is my sister, Emma.”

You cringe, laughing as you turn around, refusing to be embarrassed.

Damn. Charlie wasn’t lying; he is hotter in person. Dressed in tight jeans with a Hawaiian shirt, unbuttoned to reveal his dog tags, and a white tank clinging to his defined chest.

“Couldn’t have led with that, Jake?” You glare at your older brother before turning to Bradley with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“You can call me Bradley, or Rooster if you want. Nice to meet you too,” he chuckles, cheeks flushed and his deep brown eyes twinkle with amusement as he takes your outstretched hand, making it look small. Your eyes flicker to his dog tags, wishing you could reach out and grab them to pull him in for a kiss.

“Who wants a beer?” Charlie asks, breaking the spell.

“Me, please, and thank you,” you answer as you reluctantly pull your hand away, wondering how his callouses would feel on other parts of your body.

“I’ll take one too, thanks,” he answers as his eyes do a perusal of you.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“So you’re a vet?” Bradley asks as you finish your singer around Jake and Charlie’s kitchen table.

“Yep. Large animals mostly, but I’ll cover the clinic if needed,” you reply.

“Emma was always the smart one,” Jake says, nudging you with his elbow.

“And the pretty one, and the sweet one, and the strong one…” you tease.

“Strong one is true,” Charlie agrees, squealing as Jake pinches her.

“I’ll never hear the end of it ‘cause Em beat me in arm wrestling once or twice,” Jake rolls his eyes.

“Once or twice?! I was 14 the last time you beat me,” you scoff as Charlie laughs in the background.

“Sounds like there needs to be a rematch,” Bradley says, sipping his beer.

“I’m in,” you shrug, looking at Jake.

“Fine.”

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Everyone helps clear the table and load the dishwasher. It’s refreshing to see a man besides your dad and Jake help; you and Jake were raised without household gender roles but most of the men you know weren’t.

“Alright, on 3. Jake,” Charlie looks at him as she holds your intertwined hands. “No cheating.”

You laugh at the look he gives her.

“1, 2, 3!” Charlie says and releases your hands.

Jake’s stronger than you remember, but still not as strong as you. You let him push your arm a little, biting your lip to not laugh at the look of surprise that flashes over his face before you take a deep breath and push his arm down.

“Oh come on, you totally dropped your shoulder!” Jake argues.

“She did not, you’re just a sore loser,” Charlie laughs, kissing his cheek.”

“Gym muscle just doesn’t compare to farm muscle,” you grin, flexing your bicep.

“Guess not,” Bradley smiles.

Your phone rings and you frown when you see that it’s your tech, Ky.

“It’s work. Sorry, I gotta take this,” you excuse yourself to the front porch.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“Everything okay?” Jake asks when you come back inside.

“Yeah,” you nod. “It was my tech. His kid is sick so he won’t be with me tomorrow.”

“So you have to go to Anderson’s alone?” Charlie asks, remembering your conversation from earlier.

“Yep,” you sigh, flopping down on the couch.

“As in Jim Anderson? The pervy old fuck?” Jake asks, sitting forward on the couch.

“That’s the one. He thinks one of his heifers is pregnant and I’ve got to go take a look at her before the weekend.”

“Shit,” Jake sighs, thinking. “I’d go with you but we meet with the pastor tomorrow morning. I’ll call him and see if we can-“

“No. You’re getting married in a few days. I can handle it,” you assure him.

“I know you can,” Jake agrees, “But it’d make me feel better if you weren’t alone.

“I can go with you,” Bradley offers. “I was just going to hang out at the hotel while these guys were busy.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” you shake your head. “It’s smelly and gross.”

“I don’t mind,” Bradley shrugs.

“He can use some of my old clothes and work boots,” Jake adds. “I know you can hold your own, Em, but I really don’t like that guy.”

Knowing Jake won’t drop it, you sigh and look at Bradley. “You really don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I think it’d be cool,” he smiles so genuinely that you can’t help but believe him.

“Okay. I’ll pick you up at 8.”

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Bradley’s waiting outside the lobby holding two coffees when you pull up the next morning in your work truck. He looks good enough to eat, even if he is wearing your brother’s Wranglers and a Longhorn tee; your Alma mater.

“Two creams, no sugar,” Bradley says, handing a travel cup over. “I texted Jake how you take it,” he answers before you can ask.

You take a sip. “Oh it’s perfect, thank you. I was gonna treat you since you’re helping me out.”

“You’re saving me from a morning of scrolling on my phone, it’s the least I could do,” he replies. He’s practically vibrating in his seat as you pull out of the driveway.

“Excited?”

“Yeah,” he replies with a grin. “I’ve never been up close to a cow before”

You laugh. “Really?”

“Really. I grew up in the city.”

He tells you about it on the way; his dad died before he really knew him and much like Charlie, he was raised by a single mom that he lost to cancer too young.

“You don’t have any family left,” You realize softly.

“Mav’s like an uncle, plus Jake and the rest of the squad.”

“Jake’s not the best at expressing it, but he considers you a brother.”

“You’re telling me the guy who was in love with his best friend for 15 years but didn’t tell her isn’t good at expressing his feelings?” Bradley jokes.

“Crazy, right?” You laugh. “I hear you were gonna ask Charlie out.”

“I just told him that so he’d finally make a move. Yet he always says I’m snug on my perch.” Bradley sighs, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah…what is the story with your callsign?” You ask.

“My dad’s callsign was Goose, so it’s a nod to him. I’m also a morning person.”

“That’s it?” You ask as you turn into the driveway.

“…why?” He asks, avoiding your question and your eyes.

“I was just wondering if it means you have a big cock,” you answer as you grab your bag and hop out of the truck, eyes flicking to his groin before meeting his with a cheeky grin.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

Bradley catches up to you a minute later.

“Good. He’s not outside,” you observe out loud as you round the corner of the barn. “I’m assuming she’s the one in the holding chute. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be gone before he realizes I was here.”

“That bad, huh?”

Your blood boils as recall you the times he’s touched your ass, brushed your breasts, and the inappropriate comments he’s made.

“Yeah, that bad,” you reply, starting your exam.

You finish quickly, laughing when Bradley turns green as you palpate inside her.

“Jesus! Your whole fucking arm’s inside her!” He gulps, turning away and patting her side.

“We got a fetus,” you say pulling your arm free, and removing the lubricated sleeve from your arm. “I just need to give the mama-to-be some vaccines and we’re done.”

“You know, she’s actually kind of cute,” Bradley says, crouching on the other side of the chute to rub her head.

“The calves are even cuter,” you reply, patting her. “I’ll be ready in a second here. Just a heads up, she may flinch.”

You hum as you draw up the meds, not hearing the footsteps behind you. You jump when a hand brushes your backside.

“Didn’t even come to the door to say hello. You avoidin’ me?” Jim breathes into your ear, reeking of chewing tobacco and old sweat.

“Hi Jim. No, I’m just in a hurry. Have a lot to do with Jake’s wedding in a few days,” you reply, stepping to the side to get out of his reach, refusing to look at him.

“You can spare 5 minutes, can’t you? I never get you to myself,” he spits before entering your space again.

“No. I’m here to see the animals, not you-hey!” You yelp when he tugs your ponytail.

That’s the final straw.

He stumbles when you jerk your elbow back, knocking the wind out of him when it nails his solar plexus.

“Don’t ever fucking touch me again,” you seethe, quickly administering the injections and picking up your bag.

“Oh come on, honey. I was just playin’,” he wheezes, bent over. But he reaches for you again.

“You heard her. Don’t touch her. Or anyone else for that matter,” Bradley says calmly as he walks around the chute; but you can see his hand shaking out of the corner of your eye.

Jim gulps as he looks up at Bradley before nodding. “Alright. Sorry Em.”

“I’ll send you the bill and you can find your veterinary care elsewhere,” you reply, ignoring his apology.

Jim’s face goes white when Bradley murmurs something and slaps him on the back none too lightly before following you to the truck.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“So that was unprofessional,” you sigh as you back out of the driveway. “But fuck, it felt good.”

“It’s not unprofessional to protect yourself,” he replies. “You’re quite the woman, Emma.”

Your cheeks heat under his praise. “I really appreciate you coming with me and having my back.”

“You had it handled, but no problem.”

“Can I treat you to lunch? As a thank you,” you ask as you pull into the parking lot of his hotel. Not admitting to yourself that you just want more time with him.

“You don’t have to do that, but yeah, I’d like to get lunch with you.”

“Great! I’d take ya now, but I smell like a barn,” you smile. “I’ll pick ya back up in about an hour after I shower.”

“Can’t wait,” he winks, walking to the lobby after shutting the door.

He grins when he glances back, catching you watching him walk away in those tight Wranglers.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“Sorry I’m late. I ended up calling my coworkers to let them know what happened before Jim calls to complain.”

“No worries. How’d that go?” He asks, climbing into your personal (and much cleaner) truck.

“Good. They were furious,” you reply, continuing when he arches a brow. “But not at me, said they wish I would’ve told them earlier. Noah’s going to give him a call later. I’d love to be a fly on the wall during that conversation.”

“I’m glad they’ve got your back too.”

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“Wait a minute, is there where Jake took Charlie on their first date?” Bradley asks when he sees the sign for the scenic outlook turn, handing you a fry from the bag of food you picked up from Ray’s-the town’s old carhop.

“Yeah, he told you about that?”

“I gave him the idea. Well…sort of,” he chuckles. “He was freaking out and didn’t know where to take her. Wanted it to be special, you know? So I asked what he would’ve done if they were in high school. I laughed when he told me he’d take girls to a car hop and find some place to park and fool around, but he said Charlie would like it.”

“She did. She would get so jealous when he’d take other girls out. It was so obvious. God, he’s an idiot,” you laugh, parking under the shade of a live oak.

You eat your lunch on the tailgate as he tells you about his dates when he was younger.

“…my mom tracked us down when I missed curfew and didn’t answer my cell, found us necking in the grocery store parking lot,” he smiles.

“I’m sure it wasn’t at the time, but that’s hilarious.”

“It was mortifying. That was the first and last date I got with Ashley Jones.”

“Thats too bad; if your mom hadn’t found you when she did, you might be married with 2.5 kids by now,” you tease, sipping your milkshake.

He laughs. “Nah, I’m happy with where I am at the moment.”

You smile, catching his insinuation when his eyes meet yours.

“How about you? You ever come out here and make out in a truck with a guy?”

“Nope. I’m Jake Seresin’s little sister, so every cop in town always had an eye on me. Fucking Jake,” you sigh dramatically. “It’s like a rite of passage around here and he ruined it for me.”

“You know, I’m a guy….and we’re sitting in a truck,” Bradley murmurs, brushing a strand of hair off your forehead.

“Yeah? You offering?” You ask, leaning in.

“I am,” he whispers before pressing his lips to yours.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

A/N: I worked on this way too longgggg. I originally liked it but now I’m not sure lol. I hope everything makes sense and you all like it 🥺

As always, any interaction is appreciated but I love hearing what you think in comments/reblogs.

Tagging (please let me know if you want to be added/removed!):

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@its-the-pilot

@dizzybee03

@sweetwhispersofchaos

@shanimallina87

@blindedbythelightt

@getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth

@lexixstewart

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[dittanyinbloom]

Baby Fever

Ominis Gaunt x Fem!MC. 11 years after the events of fifth year. Could been seen as a final part to Note Taking. But trilogy is so sweet I didn’t want to include smut.

Summary: Anne is struggling after the birth of her child, and Sebastian has too many kids of his own to give Anne the proper care she needs. Sebastian calls on you for help, but your husband Ominis insists on coming along despite his affinity for children. 13.3k long so grab some tea besties.

Warnings: 9.5k of fluff and angst and Ominis healing from childhood trauma and then about 3.5k of smut. Breeding kink but like- it’s sweet I swear. Maybe a bit of cockwarming thrown in there (Sorry, Jesus. I’ll repent later). Minors DNI!

.🍼🌿🍼

Y/N,

I hate to do this while business is booming for you, or should I say blooming? Sorry. I need a bit of humor whenever I can get it. Anne is not doing well since having the baby. She’s been on bed rest and she’s a complete mess. I can imagine you ridiculing me, but I am allowed to say such things. She is my twin after all.

Her husband still isn’t back from that work trip. My wife has been asking around the Ministry for me, but no one knows anything. He wouldn’t have missed the birth of their daughter. And she’s four days old now, the cutest thing, by the way. She's starting to look just like Anne’s baby photos.

Anyway, I’m getting off track here. Sorry if this letter is scattered. I’ve got all four of my kids here with me. Their mother has to work while I’m taking off time to look after Anne. Obviously, someone has to earn money for the abundance of school robes we’ll be paying for in the very near future. They can’t be home alone with the youngest being only one. He’s walking now! Have I told you yet? Well, standing and wobbling. He’s getting there. Gonna be the next Slytherin Quidditch Captain in no time.

All this is to say, I need some help here with Anne. Helping her and taking care of her newborn is a two-person job. My kids make it a three-person job. I’m drowning a bit in diapers and screams and tears. Think everyone here has had a tantrum today alone, including me.

Needing your help desperately, my dear sister-in-law of mine. Don’t let Ominis roll his eyes when you read him that bit. He is my brother, blood be damned.

Sincerely,

Your Most Handsome Brother-in-law

S.S.

P!S! Please for the love of Merlin, bring washcloths. Between everything I’m trying to keep up with laundry and it’s simply impossible.

You glanced over the top of the letter once you were done reading it aloud. Contrary to Sebastian’s predictions, Ominis was not rolling his eyes. In fact, he looked forlorn and pale. Not only was he worried about Anne’s safety considering her poor condition after having the child, but he was no doubt worrying about Anne’s husband who was actually quite a lovely bloke. He fit in just right with Anne and Sebastian, and he very quickly grew on Ominis despite his attempts to keep the jokester at bay. In his eyes, Ominis had enough of that energy with Sebastian and Anne, who had been handling her curse greatly in the last few years and was back to her wild self, until the pregnancy complications that is.

What Ominis refused to acknowledge was that Anne’s husband didn’t have the mischief or malice of Sebastian and Anne. He was just a golden, loveable, arguably dopey guy. His love for Anne was so pure. He bawled multiple times on their wedding day. Being gone for so long during the latter days of Anne’s pregnancy was unlike him. And to miss the birth of his firstborn child, and likely their only considering the complications, was beyond excusable. Not that he would even try to excuse it because he was truly that honest of a man!

And then there was Anne, the most heartbreaking part of the letter. The doctors had her on bed rest seemingly indefinitely. She spent the last two months of her pregnancy in that dreary bedroom. When her husband was forced onto his work trip a week and a half ago, you closed up your magical plant shop and stayed by her side until the baby was born. A girl. She was born healthy with the cutest button nose. You held her for hours after she was born while the healers and Sebastian all huddled around Anne in worry.

Once Anne was safe and resting, Sebastian had tiredly collapsed on the couch next to you. You hadn’t seen him that exhausted since you were teens still in school, causing mayhem that affected yourselves more than others. His wife had been watching over all four of their kids all day so that Sebastian could spend that moment with his twin. You put the baby girl in her uncle’s arms and the two fell right asleep just like that.

It had only been a few days, but you were wanting so desperately to get back to the little girl. And while Sebastian’s kids were a handful, to say the very least, you wanted to see them as well. You had done your fair share of babysitting those mongrels, so they were quite attached to you. Their obsession with you and inclination to always come visit and run up and down the hall of your home was actually welcomed, as crazy as that sounded.

By the time you realized you loved children and wanted some of your own, you were already deeply devoted to Ominis. Because of his past, he wasn’t too enthusiastic about having children of his own. That was fine. Sebastian seemed set on having plenty for everyone.

Ominis stood from his velvet armchair and announced, “I’ll grab the washcloths.”

“Ominis, you do not have to go.”

He had stopped in the middle of the hall to ponder it. His head shook in disapproval. “I’m going to look after Anne. You’ll look after the baby. Sebastian will pack up the Quidditch team and head home so that Anne can rest in a peaceful house. Does that sound like a plan?”

You met him in the hallway and took his hands in yours. Butterfly-soft kisses were left on his knuckles. You spoke firmly and slowly to make your point. “You do not have to go with me to Anne’s. I can take care of both. It’s okay.”

“Don’t insult me,” Ominis insisted with a harsh whisper. “I won’t faint at the sight of a child, and if Anne needs me, I will be by her side. She is my sister.”

You chuckle, lightening the room for a moment, “Oh, so Anne is your sister, but you can’t admit Sebastian is your brother.”

“That’s because Anne is my sister through and through, but Sebastian can’t just claim such a title just because his kids call you Auntie. Such a thing has to be earned! Bestowed upon!”

“Okay, okay,” you giggled and smoothed his shirt across his shoulders to calm him. “You know he only says it at this point because it gets a rise out of you. And perhaps that’s why I bring it up too. You’re cute when you go red.”

“Oh, well thank you for adding to the stress,” Ominis shortly huffed in annoyance then turned to the bathroom to grab your house’s supply of washcloths.

Usually, he went along with your playful tones unless he was really out of sorts. You frown and follow right at his heels into the bathroom. “Sweetheart, we are all stressed. I’m sorry to make light of things in such dark times, but you always say you enjoy my light. I’m only trying to help you feel better.”

“I know. But right now-“ Ominis pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can I just be alone for a moment? Why don’t you go pack up those strawberries for Sebastian’s kids? You know we won’t finish them before they go bad if they stay in our kitchen.”

With your head hung low, you trudged to the kitchen and began to ransack your cupboards for potential meals. If things were really as bad as Sebastian made them seem, he likely didn’t have time to cook properly for the kids, Anne, and even himself. A few sandwiches and the berries would make a healthy enough lunch. If Ominis was truly planning to go with you, Sebastian really could head home for a break like Ominis suggested. Sebastian could no doubt figure out dinner for his kids at his own home with the stress of Anne and the newborn off his shoulders.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” that was Ominis leaning against the doorframe to your tiny kitchen. He looked exhausted as though he fought some great battle during his moments of solitude in the bathroom. He hated this side of himself, the one that could be so cruel. With his history and his trauma from his childhood, you didn’t ever fault him for being triggered.

The entire friend group was blissful until Sebastian started having kids with his wife, which was only a year or two into having your adult jobs after graduating from Hogwarts. Ominis had gotten used to them, slightly, but now with Anne having a child, he felt like he couldn’t turn in any direction without feeling an immense guilt.

“That was hardly snapping,” you kept up your light tone. It wasn’t an act. You really weren’t fazed by his behavior. These were stressful times for everyone. “You’ve bitten me before, so I think I got off a bit lucky this time.”

His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. After all these years, you could still fluster him. It was actually one of your favorite pastimes. How much teasing could Ominis handle? You were always itching to find out.

“That- that was one time. And you- you said you liked it,” Ominis straightened from his lean against the doorframe as he stammered on, “And that was different.”

“I did like it,” you reassured him. Memories of that night fluttered back. The sting in your shoulder. The cold from the blood dripping down. Tasting metallic on his lips afterward… “Maybe if you would bite me more, I wouldn’t have to keep pressing your buttons to see which one ignites that side of you.”

Ominis rubbed his face as though he was tired of your antics, but his cheeks turning a deeper shade, nearly all red now, told you all you needed to know. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

“Didn’t I just admit to doing it on purpose?”

Ominis could hear the knife come out into the cutting board. He tilted his head. “What have you been up to in here? Thought you were going to grab the strawberries.”

“Sandwiches for everyone. Doubt Sebastian has had time to make lunch yet. I’d rather make them here than amid whatever chaos is happening there.”

Then Ominis was behind you, gently placing a hand on your shoulder to map out where you were. It glided down to the small of your back and then snakes around the front, his other joining as his body pressed into yours from behind. His chin rested on your shoulder. His chest rumbled against your back as he spoke, “Forgive me for taking my stress out on you?”

“You hardly said anything, Ominis. There is nothing to forgive.”

His lips pressed right at the back of your jaw where it met your ear. “Maybe I’m asking in advance for tonight.” Then his mouth opened. His teeth grazed your skin so lightly you thought you imagined it. And then, rather evilly in your opinion, Ominis stepped back and released his hold on you. “Hurry up with those sandwiches. I’m going to handle a few things before the trip, but I’ll be waiting by the fireplace to floo by the time you are done in here.”

Sure enough, your husband was waiting for you patiently at your fireplace after you finished packaging up the lunches. He held out a hand to steady you as you stepped up on the brick, hardly a necessary gesture, but he was being extra sweet with you while he still could.

“I put a closed sign out on the shop,” he sounded almost formal about it.

“Thank you,” you breathed out in gratitude, “I completely forgot.”

“That Alihotsy is getting a bit big for the nursery. It’s extending across the walkway. Startled me for a second.”

“Sorry. Yes. That fellow from Honeydukes is meant to come by sometime this week for it. I’ll have to write him to explain that we are looking after Anne. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if we dropped it by late at night on his doorstep?”

“Maybe tomorrow night. We’ll be too tired after this.”

You chuckled and shook your head. “You always talk me into being lazy with you. Promise you won’t talk me out of it tomorrow too?”

“I would like its leaves out of the walking path, so I promise, tomorrow night we can take it to him. I won’t drag you to bed too early.”

“But I do look forward to ending up in bed with you after.” And with that, you threw down the floo power and were transported to Anne’s bungalow in Feldcroft. Upon entering, the first thing you noticed was the noise. There was a baby crying, kids screaming, and footsteps pounding around on the hardwood floor.

“I said to get that thing out of here!” That was Sebastian, sounding exasperated.

“I can’t catch it!” His oldest child, who was seven going into eight now, whined back.

“Then chase it out the door! It can’t be in here. It- oh! Y/N. Thank Merlin you’re here. Popped in at an awful time. Sorry for the mess.” Sebastian, while cradling his youngest in his arms, a baby who was about a year old now, kicked a few toys out of the way so you could step off the edge of the fireplace.

“Auntie Y/N!” Three children trapped you with hugs from all around. Then behind you, Ominis popped up in the fireplace and the three were rushing to embrace him as well.

You chuckled and put a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder to ask, “Seb, why is there a chicken on the couch.”

“It’s on the-?” Sebastian turned and started to wave the brown chicken off of his sister’s couch. “Shoo! Shoo! You are lucky I haven’t cooked you yet!”

You rolled your eyes and pulled out your wand. “Levioso. Accio.” The brown chicken squirmed in your arm, but you held it at your hip and then turned to the three kids with an eyebrow raised. “Who brought a chicken in the house while Auntie Anne isn’t feeling well?”

None of the kids said a word, but the two oldest shoved each other while they all stared at the floor in shame. You sighed and said, “If you go and collect all the toys in the house and put them in the diaper bag, I will give you the surprise I brought.”

The kids lit up. Their guilt long forgotten.

“A surprise?!”

“What is it?”

“Ah, ah, ah. Pick up your toys first.” Then the three of them were off collecting the messing they made and putting it in their youngest sibling’s enchanted diaper bag.

You put the chicken in the backyard and came back to see Sebastian and Ominis having a chat on the couch while the baby while trying to pull itself up on the side to join in. Ominis flinched when the baby grabbed his pant leg. You were quick to dive down and pick the little one up, grunting as you did so.

“My oh my, you have gotten big! What are they feeding you? Rocks?”

“That one’s gonna win the World Cup. I just know it. Gonna be the best Beater there is.” Sebastian played with the baby’s chunky ankles while you held it. It cooed back at him as if it understood and agreed.

You laughed and moved the baby to your hip to then use your free hand to touch Ominis’s shoulder. “You wanna go check on Anne while we set up the picnic for the kids outside?”

Ominis nodded and stood up to leave. He seemed thankful to have an excuse not to join the chaotic lunch plans.

Sebastian smiled wide. “Am I hearing this right? You brought lunch?”

“Just some sandwiches and strawberries. Figured you hadn’t had the time.”

With an exasperated sigh, Sebastian leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes. “You thought right. It’s been… a lot. The baby is sleeping now, I mean, the other baby, the newborn, Anne’s baby.” Sebastian paused for a second then whispered, “That’s still so crazy for me to say. I’m so happy for her.”

“You and your cousin are going to be the best of friends!” You told the one-year-old on your hip. So close in age. How fun! They’ll only be a year apart at Hogwarts. Bet they’ll get into even more trouble than we did.”

Sebastian covered his face and groaned. “Merlin, don’t say that. They already make me crazy as it is. Can’t imagine how I’d handle them being as wild as us.”

“Sebastian, there was a chicken on the couch when I got here. You may want to mentally prepare yourself for all sorts of Hogwarts shenanigans.”

Meanwhile, Ominis was knocking on Anne’s bedroom door and waiting to hear her voice before letting himself in. Sebastian’s kids were still being rather loud, but the decibel levels had greatly depleted. Ominis shut the door gently, but firmly, hoping to trap out any further noise. Their little feet could still be heard scampering about the echoey wooden floors as they searched for their abundance of toys to put away.

“Thought you two must have arrived,” Anne sounded exhausted. Ominis’s heart immediately ripped in two. He hadn’t heard her voice so raspy since they were teens. Anne had mostly healed from her curse. At around the ten-year mark, she decided she wanted to try for a child. She and her husband were happy and head over heels in love. They just wanted one child to share the love with. The risk was great with Anne’s past, but she didn’t want some retched curse to stop her from living her life the way she dreamed.

“And it was a good thing we did. Sebastian’s kids were terrorizing your home.”

Anne laughed at that, though it was quiet and airy. “They are just playing, Ominis. That’s why kids do. Not a dull day around here lately, that’s for sure.”

“Still, I’m sure you could rest better if it was quiet.” Ominis took a step to the right, meaning to meet her at her bedside.

“Wait-,” Anne croaked out, causing Ominis to freeze. “The bassinet is on this side. Come around to the other.”

Oh, right. Ominis swallowed thickly. He had forgotten about Anne’s baby for a moment. The room was so peaceful. It was hard to believe a child was in here with them. “Right, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, Min,” Anne reassured as Ominis walked around to the other side of the bed. “Just didn’t want to bump into it and wake her. She’ll be hungry when she wakes up.” Which was Anne’s way of gently warning him that the baby was probably going to cry for food soon that way he didn’t panic when he heard it.

Ominis cautiously sat on the side of Anne’s bed and asked, “Anything I can get for you? I’m here to look out for you, and Y/N is going to look out for the baby once she feeds Sebastian and the kids and sends them home.”

“Honestly, I was dying of boredom before you came in. Just you being here is enough.” Anne placed her hand over Ominis’s and squeezed. “And how is my Y/N doing? How’s the shop coming along?”

There was a thankful sigh of relief from Ominis’s lips at the subject change. He could talk about you and the shop for hours. “We’re loving it. She put me to work though with all the upkeep. I’m regretting cutting back my hours at the Ministry. At least they didn’t make me sweep.”

Anne’s soft chuckle sounded much closer to her normal self this time. Ominis let some of the tension in his shoulders release from knowing Anne wasn’t feeling too much pain at the moment.

“You know, they would take you back full-time in a heartbeat if you offered.”

“No, no,” Ominis quickly backtracked with a smile, “No, trust me, being at the shop is a walk in the park in comparison to the Ministry’s paperwork. The half of my week there is like a vacation. Besides, it’s right next door to the house. No travel sickness. And the greenhouse smells lovely. Much better to work in than those dingy offices.”

“Hey now, don’t talk bad on those dingy offices. I can’t wait to get back to them in a few weeks. I’ve already planned on how to reorganize mine. Bit of spring cleaning.”

Whatever was going on with Anne, Ominis had assumed it was to do with the curse. Hearing her so confidently say she would be back to work soon made Ominis tilt his head in confusion. Was she being her stubborn self, or were things not as bad as Sebastian’s letter made it seem. It was always hard to tell with the twins. Anne played everything off as fine, but Sebastian acted like Anne’s paper cuts were life-threatening.

“Planning to get back there so soon? Well, don’t strain yourself. The office will still be just as meek and dusty no matter how long you wait.”

“Suppose so. Might be nice to spend some extra time just with her.” Ominis couldn’t see it, of course, but he knew Anne was referring to the baby in the bassinet on the other side of the bed.

There was a soft knock on the door, and with Anne’s approval, you cracked the door open just enough to peek your head in. “Up for a few visitors? The kids want to say goodbye one by one. I’m including Sebastian in that category too, of course.”

“Hey!” Could slightly be heard from the hallway.

Then, one at a time, you allowed the kids to give their Auntie Anne a kiss goodbye. Lastly, Sebastian went in with his youngest in his arms. Anne chuckled at the red stains on the baby’s hands and shirt from the strawberries. She could picture how it probably mashed the berry in its hand before shoving it in its mouth and likely missing its mouth entirely so that the strawberry ended up mostly on the ground. Her heart tinged a bit. She wished she could have joined them for lunch and not been forced to stay in her tiny bedroom.

“Get some rest,” Sebastian mumbled as he kissed her forehead.

“You too,” Anne replied. “Thank you for looking out for me these past couple of days, but go home and relax. Ominis and Y/N will take good care of us here.”

Then Ominis felt a hand on his shoulder. By the way it lightly massaged him, he instantly knew it was his wife. She leaned in close to whisper to him, “I’m going to walk Seb and the kids home to make sure none of them wander off. They’re a bit ornery today. Will you be okay without me?”

A pang of guilt stabbed him in the stomach. Ominis hated that he was the one you were worried about leaving while Anne was quite literally bedridden. It was embarrassing that you felt as though you needed to check in with him before taking a quick walk just a few houses down to Sebastian’s place. His…affinity to kids was bad, he knew that, he knew that you knew that and that’s why you were being overly protective. Still, it hurt his ego just a bit.

“Take your time. We’ll be okay here,” Ominis whispered back, trying his best not to sound short. If there was any uneasiness in his tone, he knew you would drop everything to comfort him. That couldn’t happen now. Sebastian might have needed your help walking the kids back, but Ominis knew that it was partially an excuse on your part to spend more time with them. He didn’t want to take that from you.

The baby, well, Anne’s baby was sleeping anyway. Sebastian’s was blowing raspberries while Anne was cooing a goodbye to it.

He waited until he heard the front door close to admit to Anne, “You asked how she’s doing… I don’t think she’s happy.”

“With the store?” There was a hint of terror in her voice as if Anne feared it was something worse.

After a moment of silence, Ominis shook his head no. “I can tell she wants more. She grew up in a big family and then Hogwarts was always just as loud and chaotic. At first, I think she appreciated the peace and quiet after we got our house, but lately… Lately, I wake up in the middle of the night and she’s gone. She goes and falls asleep by the gramophone in the living room as if she needs the noise for comfort.”

A gentle hand touched his shoulder as Anne said, “Oh, Ominis…”

“I think she would be happier if she were with someone that could provide what she wanted, but she’d never admit that.”

“No, she wouldn’t. I know you can’t see the way she looks at you, but you’re her world. Don’t ever even suggest such a thing to her. It would shatter her. She is happy with you, just you. We’ve talked about it before, she and I. She is content with being an aunt to Sebastian’s kids, and now my girl. Please don’t worry over this in the slightest.”

Anne’s comfort eased his pain, but the guilt of it all still weighed him down. They chatted for a while about Sebastian’s wife and her exciting job until you made it back to the house. You leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom and listened to the two old friends talk for a while before interrupting, “Do you want to have a bath while I change your sheets for you, Anne?”

“Is that your way of saying I smell?”

“Your hair is a bit of a mess,” you joked as you walked up to her side of the bed and gently moved the bassinet so that you could help Anne up.

At the sound of shuffling and Anne wincing, Ominis offered, “Do you want me to-“

“It’s alright,” you said, suspiciously quick. “Us girls have got this. I’ll just set Anne up in the bath. Do you want to start removing the blankets?”

Ominis stood from the bed and started to remove the covers at your request, albeit a bit reluctantly due to his confusion and frustration. Why didn’t you let him carry Anne to the bathroom? It wasn’t like the intimacy mattered. He couldn’t see.

Wordlessly, he carried the laundry to the back porch and then felt through the linen closet for another set. The two of you met back in Anne’s room at the same time. You kissed his cheek and took the fitted sheet from him to start unfolding it. That was the only covering you managed to get on before the baby stirred in the bassinet. It started to cry out, loud and demanding. Ominis flinched and clutched the blanket he was holding while you scooped the baby up in your arms.

“Oh, that sounds like a hungry cry,” Your voice was soft and unfazed by the cries. “Come on. To the kitchen, we go. I’m going to show your Uncle Omi how to make a bottle for you.”

Ominis tensed at that. “Why? I thought we agreed that I take care of Anne and you take care of…her.”

“If we really are going to be here the next few days helping out, you might as well learn.” You didn’t say anything more as you headed to the kitchen. It was up to Ominis whether or not he followed.

And follow he did with a heavy sigh. Anne’s kitchen was far more spacious than your own. He still hadn’t mapped out where everything was since it all seemed to spread apart. There was even room under the south-facing window for a breakfast nook area that had the perfect view of Feldcroft. You stared out at it wistfully. Down the way a bit, you could make out Sebastian’s two oldest digging away in their front yard. They had told you on the walk back that they had been trying to dig to the center of the earth. You had laughed and told them they would need a pretty long ladder, but you didn’t discourage their determination.

“Do you want to hold her while I grab the-“

“Just tell me where it is,” Ominis insisted, sounding a bit exasperated. His heated tone made you giggle. When you first met him, he used to always be on edge like this. There was a cold exterior about him that was snappy and sarcastic. In his defense, Sebastian was putting him through a lot at the time with his unforgiving plight to find a cure for Anne. But you didn’t mind it then just like you didn’t mind it now. Ominis was complicated, and that’s what drew you in.

“A step forward and to your left. Should be a cylinder tin on the second shelf of the cupboard.” Your direction was easy to understand and deeply appreciated.

Sometimes at work with the Ministry, Ominis would ask something like, “Which one?” Only for his coworker to inevitably reply something stupid like, “The green one.” He never had to prod you for more information. If only he could bring you everywhere to direct him like this. Though, maybe not while you held a crying baby in your arms.

“I’m putting an empty bottle right beside the tin here. But first, we need to set up the kettle.”

“Are we making tea for Anne?” This he was familiar with even in Anne’s kitchen. Ominis made quick work of taking the kettle from the stove and filling it in the sink.

“Just heating up the water a bit. Not too hot. I’ll show you how to check the temperature after we’re done. While that’s heating, you can measure the power. There should already be a scooper in the tin. Two scoops should be plenty. She’s still so tiny.” You took a moment to admire the baby girl in your arms. She really was the spitting image of Anne.

While you rocked her to soothe her cries, Ominis poured two scoops of the formula into the bottle and tried not to grimace at the sour smell of it. Now he understood why babies smelled the way they did. It was a mix of this awful powdered milk and the starchiness of baby powder. Very off-putting and unpleasant.

“Water should be warm enough now. I’ll tell you when to stop pouring. Go slow,” you directed. You stopped him just at just a quarter full and reached to touch the bottle to feel how hot the water was. “Just a splash of cold water and that should be perfect.” Ominis brought the bottle to the sink and literally just let the smallest splash into it. You giggled and prompted, “Okay, maybe two splashes.”

Next, you handed him a clean top for the bottle which he took a moment to stir on straight then asked, “Are we done here?” in a very bored tone.

You smiled as you shook your head and clicked your tongue. “Always so impatient, my love. The powder needs to be mixed in. You’ll have to shake the bottle and-“ Ominis started shaking the bottle immediately, wanting to get this over with. Formula sprayed out of the nipple and got on the kitchen floor, Ominis’s hair, and your face. He froze, realizing his mistake.

Your laughter was so intense that you doubled over, clutching the baby to your chest so that you wouldn’t drop her during your fit. Ominis was blushing, but the sound of your laughter made him smile sheepishly.

“I am an idiot,” he proclaimed.

“Yes, yes your are. You have to cover the tip of the nipple.”

“Excuse me?” Ominis sounded almost offended. You laughed harder, not being able to take much more of this.

“That’s what the rubber part of the top of the bottle is called! It’s not like I came up with it!” After taking a deep breath to calm yourself, you reached over and placed Ominis’s finger over the tip of the bottle. “Okay, now you can shake it without making it rain indoors.”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled shyly.

“I love you,” you answered.

Once the formula was mixed up, it was time to test the temperature. “This part is simple. Hold out your wrist,” you told him. When he did, you guided his hand that was holding the bottle to dab the slightest bit of formula on his inner wrist. “Do you feel that?”

A flash of uncertainty washed over his features. “Yes, but how do I know if it’s right?”

You held out your wrist, lighting bumping it to his so he knew where you were. “Let me feel and I’ll tell you.”

The fingers of his free hand drifted across the palm of your open one, acting as if he wasn’t sure where your wrist was. You had a smug smile knowing it was all for show. You had made your movements very clear. He only wanted to touch your hand, but you weren’t about to call him out on that. The bottle dipped to let a drip fall on your wrist. It was like warm. Not too cold that the powder didn’t mix in properly, and not too hot that it would hurt the baby.

“This is perfect. You want to test it on your wrist again so you can remember this temperature for next time?”

He snorted and insisted there wouldn’t be a next time, but he tested the formula on his wrist once more and looked rather deep in thought as if trying to memorize the feeling. You kissed his cheek and thanked him while taking the bottle. A weight lifted off Ominis’s shoulders when the baby stopped crying in your arms. He let out a heavy sigh.

“Glad that’s over.”

“Well, get used to it because it’ll probably happen every four hours or so.”

That statement did not spark joy for Ominis, but you hadn’t been trying to. It was the truth. This was the reality of helping out Anne right now: a crying newborn.

“Let’s go check on Anne in the bath.” Now that was a statement Ominis didn’t mind. You followed him down the hallway and stood at his side while he knocked on the bathroom door.

“How are you doing, Annie?” He asked in a soft tone.

“Just fine, Min! I’ll be getting out soon. How’s the baby?”

“Ominis made her a bottle!” You cut in proudly.

Anne paused a moment then asked, “‘S it poisoned?”

Ominis rolled his eyes while you responded, “No! I watched him like a hawk. I promise! He did great!”

Anne’s laughter echoed in the bathroom. “Well, then thank you, Ominis!”

In the living room, you nestled in on the couch, using the armrest to support your elbow. Holding the baby in the kitchen that whole time had made you ache. She wasn’t heavy either, maybe six pounds at the most. You couldn’t fathom how Sebastian held his youngest all day. That baby was huge!

“Anything I can get you?” Ominis was hovering over you from behind the couch. His hand was resting on the back of it and his fingers were reaching up to brush your shoulder. It was clear he wanted to touch you, but you were holding a baby and that terrified him.

“Maybe turn on a bit of music? There’s a very fancy-looking phonograph sitting in the far corner on your left. It’s begging to be played.”

Your wish seemed to be his command. Ominis brought out his wand and used his sensing charm before pointing it precisely at the phonograph. The needle reset itself on the record and began to play a beautiful sonata. It started out with a feathery light piano that was quickly joined by a set of strings. You weren’t well versed enough in muggle music to know if it was a violin or cello, but its tender tones took the lead of the song while the piano supported the beat and background. There was just a hint of a wind instrument harmonizing with the main melody of the strings. It wasn’t prominent enough to tell if it was a flute, or perhaps a panpipe…

“Come sit by me,” you requested dreamily.

With the music and the airy sound of your voice, Ominis was lost in the moment. He kissed the top of your head then walked around the front of the couch to be next to you. The string instrument started to swell. His hand rested on your knee as he sat down and immediately inched higher and higher until his forearm bumped your elbow and he briefly wondered why your elbow was sticking out like that.

Reality came hurtling back like a bludger. His hand jolted off you as if your skin burned him. He had forgotten about the baby being fed in your arms.

Ominis hoped you hadn’t even noticed his slip up, that you were too lost in feeding the child. With the way you were talking to it, Ominis felt as though he was in the clear. You were commenting on how the baby’s hand was curling around your ring finger. It seemed to like the smooth texture of your wedding band.

“You trying to steal my ring, little one? Four days old and your mommy has already trained you to be her little niffler? Well, I’m very sorry. You can’t have my wedding ring. I love it too much. You can have your own if you choose to get married one day.”

“Anna and Sebastian are probably competing to see who can have the most mischievous child,” Ominis said mostly to himself since he assumed you were lost in your own little world.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” you joked in return. “And you can put your hand on my thigh if you would like. It is not going to offend the baby.”

Sometimes he hated how in tune you were with him. Ominis put a hand back just below your knee and squeezed to show his annoyance with you, a move he often did to fluster you and keep your teasing mouth quiet.

The move was not working out in his favor while you were holding the baby, however. You gossiped to her, “Oh, Uncle Ominis is mad at me for some reason. I’m in such big trouble. He’s got the grumpy pout. I think he’s feeling a bit bashful that I called him out, what do you think?”

A loud thud sounded from the bathroom. Ominis was standing in a flash. You dropped the bottle beside you on the couch to grab him by the shirt, insisting, “You take the baby! I’ll go get her!”

A look of annoyance washed over Ominis's face and he defied your request, “Are you insane? Just let me-“

“She’s going to want it to be me, not you.”

For the first time since your school days, he bitterly reminded you, “I’m blind! It’s not like I’ll see anything!”

You were standing now, matching his volume. “She’ll just want a woman there that understands-“

“I’ve known her a lot longer than you have! She’s a sister to me, I understand her perfectly! She-“

“She’s still bleeding,” you whispered through your teeth, “You know, down there. That’s why she’s been on bed rest. They had to give her muggle stitches.”

Ominis paled and swallowed quickly. He had assumed Anne was hurting from the curse. The last thing on his mind was average birthing complications. “Oh.”

“Sit down on the couch and put your elbow on the armrest,” you insisted in a very angry tone that you only ever used on Sebastian when he was stepping out of line, which was very, very rare these days. Hearing you so angry sent a shiver down Ominis’s spine. He sat, but panic was bubbling to his surface when he realized why you told him to put his elbow on the armrest.

“My love, please, I’m sorry, I can’t- Don’t make me-“

“It’s a newborn, Ominis! She isn’t going to remember this moment! You can’t possibly do anything wrong. Just feed her the rest of the bottle!” Your screaming made Ominis snap his mouth shut.

You leaned down and put the baby, who was now crying from her bottle being ripped from her and all the commotion, into his arms with a gentleness that shocked Ominis. How you went from screaming at him to carefully making sure the baby’s head was supported on his arm just right, he would never know. The bottle was picked up from where it had rolled to the other side of the couch and put firmly in Ominis’s hand with a bit more fire to your placement this time around.

“Feed her. She can’t cry if there is a bottle in her mouth. Relax your shoulders. I’ll only be gone a minute.”

Then your footsteps were fading. Ominis couldn’t stop his entire body from shaking. The baby was still crying, and although the only other sound in the house was the soft piano and strings coming from the phonograph, Ominis was overwhelmed to the point of shock. The baby weighed in his arms, but not nearly as much as he expected it to. He had held Sebastian’s firstborn twice: once when it was a month old and then one other time when it had just started crawling. Sebastian’s baby was never as feather-light as the dainty little thing crying in his arms now. It didn’t even stretch across Ominis’s chest. Tiny little feet were kicking his right arm that had been white-knuckling the bottle. They were covered in fuzzy knit socks that felt soft and plush against his arm with each weak kick.

The baby seemed to kick some sense into Ominis because he realized it would stop crying if he would just hurry up and give it the bottle. At first, he tried placing it in the baby’s flailing hands, but it wouldn’t take it from him. Was holding a bottle not something babies could do for themselves? He was pretty sure Sebastian was able to hand his youngest a bottle and walk away. Why didn’t this one know what to do?!

Ominis was ready to give up, but he didn’t know how to move the baby properly or where to put it even if he had the nerve. The couch? Would it roll off? The floor? Surely that wasn’t appropriate.

“Fine! Fine,” Ominis grumbled. He set the bottle between his legs and then hesitantly touched the baby's chest and glided up to feel where its mouth was. The thing was so tiny, and even though Ominis was holding it, he still expected it to take longer to find its mouth. But before he could pull away, the baby sucked his pointer finger in and bit down. It might have not had any teeth, but its gums were still brutal!

“Ow!” Ominis hissed and yanked his finger away from the little gremlin. He shook his hand with a dramatic flair to lessen the hurt. The baby went right back to crying. “That was uncalled for.”

Finally, Ominis was able to get the bottle in the baby’s mouth. There was an annoying squeak from it sucking on the rubber, but other than that the living room had turned back to its peaceful state. The record on the phonograph was playing a more upbeat tune. All was well.

Meanwhile, you had sprinted into the bathroom panicked and breathing heavily. Anne was lying on her back near the sink, about a meter from the tub.

“Anne!” You gasped and hurried over to her.

“Oh, hey,” Anne laughed lightly, not acting injured in the slightest. “How was your domestic disagreement? I have never heard you two argue like that. It was quite entertaining.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Mostly just embarrassed. I slipped while I was brushing my teeth. Wasn’t even walking or anything, just tumbled over for no reason. Held onto the sink though, so it wasn’t too bad.”

“You need help up?”

“Yeah. My hip is pretty sore, as if it wasn’t bad enough down there already,” Anne always kept a light tone to not worry others. You understood the sentiment. She didn’t want to be treated like a child or hovered over. Sebastian used to do that to her constantly, he had gotten a lot calmer over the years, but Anne hadn’t learned to get rid of her coping mechanisms yet.

“Let me dry the floor then I’ll help you up. Looks like a hurricane happened in here. Were you playing with the bath bubbles?” You joked to put her at ease.

She sighed gratefully for your calm nature. “Maybe. It had been a while since I’ve had a bubble bath. Might have got a bit carried away.”

You dramatically dragged a towel along the floor at the edge of the tub and asked, “A bit?”

It took some patience, but you managed to get Anne to her bed. There was still only the fitted sheet in place, so you added the bedding around her and made a point to tuck her in so tight that she couldn’t even wiggle. She shoved your hands away, laughing at your antics. The two of you chatted for a bit about your new plant shop and whether or not you missed working at the Ministry.

In the living room, the light squeaking of the bottle stopped. Ominis frowned in confusion. He could feel that there was still a bit of liquid sloshing around in the glass. Would the baby start crying again? Why had it stopped eating? Fearing the worst, he set the bottle down on the couch beside him and then leaned his ear in close to make sure the baby was still breathing. He placed his hand over its chest to feel the rise and fall. The tip of his middle finger touched its chin and the bottom of his hand was over its stomach. How could something be so small?

The baby’s hands latched onto his, one grabbing his thumb and the other his pinky, holding Ominis against its chest. Ominis blushed at the contact. The hands were soft and oh, so tiny. It could hardly clasp his thumb properly. Its breathing started to slow. The record on the phonograph came to an end, leaving a soft scratching sound to fill the room.

“Alright then,” his voice was but a whisper so that he wouldn’t disrupt the tranquil atmosphere of the room. Having his hand cradled like that made his heart clench tightly and painfully. The baby’s little cotton clothes were slightly wet around its neck from the formula, but other than that, Ominis didn’t mind that his hand was trapped.

His own breathing started to slow for the first time since arriving at Anne’s place.

A few moments later, you had been sent by Anne to collect her child. She wanted to snuggle with the baby while they both had a nap. The fiasco in the bathroom had worn her out.

The last thing you expected to see was a soft smile on Ominis’s lips while he seemed to be resting. The baby was pulled in close to his chest and was clutching into Ominis’s hand. They both looked fast asleep. The sight filled you with warmth. Your eyes softened, and you nearly wanted to shed a tear. Instead of disrupting them right away, you turned off the phonograph that had been playing nothing and washed the unfinished bottle in the kitchen sink.

When it came time to finally collect the baby from Ominis, you felt slightly guilty for dragging it out for so long. He just looked so precious holding a child. It was doing things to you, making you yearn for things you had sworn off thinking about.

With the utmost care, you reached to scoop the baby out of Ominis’s arms. His left arm tightened around the child, drawing her closer to his chest.

“Don’t,” he whispered.

That was…odd. Was he talking in his sleep? You couldn’t recall Ominis ever doing such a thing.

“It’s just me, love. I’ve come to relieve you from your babysitting duties. Sorry it took me so long.”

You tried going in for the exchange again, but Ominis insisted, “Just another moment, please. Just one moment.” His voice was breaking. It was clear now he hadn’t been sleeping at all to begin with because a tear escaped from the corner of his eye. It had been quite some time since you had seen Ominis in such a fragile state. When he would open up about his family and his childhood, sometimes he would get quiet like this. In those times, he had held onto you like you were driftwood in an ocean of terror he was drowning in. The way he was cradling the baby so close to his chest now meant he was anchoring to her at this moment. You couldn’t bring yourself to take her from him, even if the baby’s young mother was wanting to see her.

The only thing you could do was sit beside him on the couch. Your head rested on his shoulder and your hand rubbed in soft patterns across his arm. A few moments later, you had to tell him, “Anne sent me to collect the baby.”

Ominis nodded and softly said, “We shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer then. You can- you can take her now.”

There was a tense static in the room. The last thing you wanted to do was end this moment. Even with Sebastian’s for at born, Ominis had never asked to hold them, let alone hold them longer the few times he had been forced to.

“Why don’t you just carry her to the bedroom for me, hm?”

That was not what Ominis wanted to hear. His eyes widened with fear. “I can’t I- I don’t know how to.”

“It’ll be alright,” you were already adjusting his left arm so that he was providing better support underneath her as you spoke, “Just support her bum here. You can use your other arm too if you’re unsure. Just bring that one to cover here and- There. Now you’ve got a very good hold on her. After you get up from the couch just put it right back there where I showed you. I’ll lead you to the bedroom. Come along, now.”

Before he had time to come up with an excuse, you were dragging him up from the couch and guiding him to Anne’s room. Usually, he hated being guided places unless the situation was dire or he was in a big crowd. Sometimes people at work would try and guide from around the building. He took a bit of offense to it. If he ever needed a guide, he could just use his wand!

But now he was holding this tiny little thing in his arms, and it was alive and depending on him not to trip or bump into something. Without fighting it, Ominis let you hold his elbow and guide him across Anne’s house to the master bedroom. You had him sit in an armchair in the corner of the room as you joked with Anne, “You said, ‘Bring the baby’, and I wasn’t sure which one so naturally… I brought both.”

“You two look good like that. With her,” Anne commented as you put your hand on Ominis’s shoulder.

You were thankful Ominis couldn’t see your flush or the warning look you gave Anne. Around Ominis, you tried your hardest to avoid the topic of starting a family of your own. Your mother mentioned it every time the two of you visited her. She wanted grandkids. Usually, Anne and Sebastian were safe to converse with because they knew Ominis as well as you did. A comment like that almost felt out of character for Anne, especially since she was so protective of Ominis.

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Ominis replied smoothly.

“Have you burped her yet?”

“Have I what?”

You laughed and patted Ominis on the shoulder. “That can get messy. Why don’t we let Anne do that, hm?”

“I can do it,” he offered quickly. “Just tell me how, and I can do it.”

You draped a towel over his shoulder and directed him to lay the baby against it. It didn’t take long to burp her. Ominis winced at the wet gurgling by his ear and the pungent, sour smell of the formula coming back tenfold. You giggled at his reaction and seemed to be cleaning up the baby’s face so that Ominis could go back to snuggling her.

“I’m glad you two are getting along. I’d hoped you would. After all, she’s named after you.”

A beat of silence dragged by before Ominis was able to ask, “What?”

“My little Minnie. Cute, don’t you think?” Anne smiled softly. “You were always there for me when Sebastian and I had our falling out. I appreciate you and I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Minnie is such a sweet name,” you commented once you realized Ominis was too stunned to respond. “Perfect for this sweet little girl.”

A couple of hours went by while you and Anne chatted. Ominis didn’t move from the armchair with Minnie and never once complained about his arm going numb from holding her.

Went you stood up so go start something for dinner, an Apparation crack sounded from outside. All three of you were alert and tense, wondering who it could be. You brought out your wand and headed to the front door, but it burst open before you had the chance to get there.

“Anne?!” The desperate cry of her husband called through the house. His heavy footsteps sprinted for the bedroom. Blood and scrapes littered his face and his hair and clothes were in disarray and even looked a bit singed. “Are you alright?” He raced to embrace her.

“You’ll have to give her up now, my love,” you whispered in Ominis’s ear while Anne and her husband reunited.

With a heavy sigh, Ominis stood from the armchair and approached the side of the bed Anne’s husband was standing on. He tearfully took Minnie from Ominis then looked at Anne in disbelief.

“She looks just like you.”

Sebastian’s wife was standing in the entryway, looking just as disheveled as Anne’s husband. While you and Ominis left the bedroom to give the new family some privacy, Sebastian’s wife explained, “There was a dragon attack that led to a cave-in. He was trapped for nearly a week.”

“Lucky you were able to find him. You’re amazing, honestly. Are you okay? Do you need anything? The both of you look like you got in a fistfight with the dragon!” You told her.

“Nearly did! Its tail swung at me at one point. It’s been an eventful day. All that’s on my mind is getting home to the kids and Sebastian.”

“We’ll be heading home as well, I think. Stay safe.”

With her gone, you cleaned up a few things around Anne’s house. Ominis tagged along on your cleaning spree, but he was nearly silent while doing so. You worried today might have been too much for him, but you would decide you would wait to check on him until after getting him to the comfort of your own home.

“You can floo first, Ominis! I’ll be right behind you. I’m just going to throw this blanket in the laundry bin.”

He was gone in a smokey, green flash. As promised, you traveled just a moment later. You hardly had a second to focus on the blur of your living room before a pair of hands were haphazardly dragging you forward until a rather demanding set of lips landed over yours. In his defense, Ominis had warned you earlier that day that he would be taking his stress out on you.

“What a lovely welcome home,” you comment when he pulls away, thinking it would end there.

His voice was a bit raspy in your ear, “Tell me what you’ve been wanting, and I’ll give it to you.” And although the sound of his voice was arousing, you could tell he wasn’t talking about anything sexual. There was a pointed annoyance in his tone. The unspoken dream you’ve been trying to keep to yourself secret all these years seemed to be weighing down on the both of you.

“Ominis, I don’t expect that of you. Is this because of what Anne said about us looking good with a baby? She was only teasing, Ominis. You know I would never ask that if you.”

Lips started to trail down your neck, tasting you. Between kisses, Ominis was whispering, “So good to me. Trying to hide her desires. It’s okay. I want it too.”

“What do you mean?” You managed out between gasps. His hands were exploring every inch of your body as if he didn’t already have you memorized. It took all of your willpower to restrain yourself and pull away from him because he seemed as though he was going to continue on without clarifying if you weren’t going to make him.

He groaned as if he was the one losing out on pleasure by you pulling away. “Want it too. Wanna give you a baby,” he whined softly. The words shocked you enough that your hold weakened. Ominis took the opportunity to lean back in, but you put your hands on his shoulders to hold him at bay.

“I think you caught an illness while at Anne’s,” you say in a worried tone. The back of your fingers pressed to his forehead. “Yup, just as I suspected. You have a bad case of baby fever. I think a good night's rest will be just the cure.”

Rolling his eyes at your antics, Ominis insisted, “I’ve thought about this before, and I know you want one. I don’t need sight to know how you feel about Sebastian’s kids. You are always coming up with excuses to be with them longer. It’s okay. I’m not going to be angry if you admit it. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. I’m happy with you. I don’t need anything more. I would never ask for anything more.”

Ominis rested his forehead against yours. “I know you would never dare to ask. That’s why I’m offering.”

“And you’ll regret offering such things in the morning,” you reminded him.

“No, I won’t.”

“I know holding Minnie was overwhelming for you, but don’t let those new emotions cloud your judgment. You’ve never wanted kids before this. Just think for a moment and-“

“I have thought about it, many times. Maybe I’ve been apprehensive to the idea, but that was before. I thought it wasn’t possible for me to connect with children, that I wouldn’t be able to care for them the way a parent should. I thought I’d be cold and distant like my parents, so I didn’t want to bring a child into this world for them to feel alone and unwanted. But now, with her, I was able to care, to- to…”

“To love?” you offered

“Please say you believe me,” he sounded so lost and broken.

Your hands cupped his cheeks as you wiped away his tears of frustration. “I believe you. I never doubted that you wouldn’t be able to love our child if we had one. I just assumed you didn’t dare to let yourself try because of your parents. I love you, Ominis. Of course I want to have your children. I want them to be just as stubborn, but just as caring as you. I want them to have your sarcastic wit but also your devoted loyalty. It’s something I’ve thought about endlessly, so don’t think I’m turning you down when I ask for you to think on it just a while longer. Let the emotions from today come back down. I’ll make us dinner, we’ll go to bed. Then, whenever you are ready to talk about this, we will.”

Ominis managed to look disappointed but grateful at the same time. “I’ll think on it.”

And think on it he did, or simmer was a closer description. While you were in the kitchen, he pretended to read with his wand. There was a moment of uncertainty when he thought about how holding Minnie had made him feel. Would he be able to connect like that with his own child? But then again, how could he not? His own child would be half you, and he loved every part of you, even the side of you that thought you knew what was best for him by making him sit with his thoughts.

After a while, you brought him a cup of tea and kissed his temple. Ominis mumbled a thank you and continued to pretend to read. He could tell by the way you lingered in the doorway as you left the living room that you had used the tea as an excuse to check in on him. Instead of clueing you into his thoughts, he remained aloof and sipped his tea without showing any emotion positive or negative. The last thing he wanted was to hear you ramble about how he wasn’t in the right headspace to know what he truly wanted.

What he wanted was to be buried deep in you as he came. He wanted to, for once, not ruin his adrenaline rush by pulling out at the last second. He wanted you to have his child. He wanted a family with you, and he didn’t want to waste another second before starting it. This was something he should have done years ago.

“Dinner is ready,” you announced. There was a tremor in your voice as though you were nervous to speak to him. You spent the last thirty minutes hiding in the kitchen and wondering if he was cross with you since he hardly spoke at all when you brought him tea.

“It smells lovely in here.” Ominis played along with you, pretending not to notice your slip-up.

“Thank you. What were you reading?”

“A book that Sebastian’s wife recommended about keeping dragons.”

“That sounds intriguing.”

“It is.”

And that was all you got out of him. Ominis finished his food before you then disappeared to the kitchen to do the dishes while you sat in silence at the dining table. The wine wasn’t strong enough to keep your mind from worrying. How long would things be like this? Usually, Ominis was easy to get through to, so your arguments never lasted long. Would this remain an unspoken thing in your marriage for years to come? Forever?

You tiptoed into the kitchen with your empty plate. Ominis had done most of the dishes except for a single pan and the plate and fork in your hands. Even though you were trying to be as quiet as a mouse, Ominis held his open hand out in your direction and said, “Your plate.”

Reluctantly, you handed him the dirty dish. “Thank you for cleaning.”

“You cooked, so I cleaned. No reason to thank me. It’s only fair.”

“You’re right,” you whispered quietly.

Ominis raised his brow. “What? No comeback? No telling me how wrong I am for not accepting your gratitude? No making me think about it before I decide I want to do the dishes?”

“So you are mad at me!” You said it like it was an accusation. “I knew it. You’re being ridiculous! I’m only asking you to think on this before you decide!”

“You think I haven’t thought about it? Nearly ten years of marriage and you don’t think I fantasize about what it would feel like to hold you while my child is growing inside you?” He dried his hands on a dishrag and then leaned against the counter, looking exasperated. His volume hadn’t matched yours yet. He was holding back.

“You don’t have to do this just because it’s something I want!”

“Just because I’m scared doesn’t mean I don’t want it too!” His yell seemed to echo in the tiny kitchen.

After a second of trying to remind yourself how to breathe, you felt horrible for letting it escalate so far. Hearing Ominis was scared just made you want to comfort him. You spoke softly, “Ominis-“

“No, don’t do that. Don’t pity me and try to comfort me. Don’t use that as an excuse for us not to do this. Either you want us to have a child, or you don’t. I need you to be fully in on this as well. I’ll need you to show me how to make a bottle a few more times, how to change a diaper, and how to hold them properly. I need you to be patient with me, but I don’t want you to pity me. Is that understood?”

“I understand.” His words started to sink in. He seemed satisfied with your agreeability and turned back to the sink to finish the last two dishes. When the water cut off, you were still frozen in the center of your kitchen and trying to figure out if this was all real or a fever dream.

Ominis was humming a melody that had been playing earlier on Anne’s phonograph as he put away the pan he cleaned last. When he passed you by, a hand reached out to touch you. It dragged across your stomach to your hip and squeezed.

“If you are feeling against the idea any sort of way, now might be your last chance to speak up,” he warned, “I won’t be able to hold back tonight with this on my mind.”

“Don’t hold back-“ Was all he needed to hear before you were backed up against the kitchen counter with his lips how and heavy on yours. His approach was usually far more gentle. The two of you could kiss for hours before he’d even cop a feel. Now his hands were unbuttoning your clothes at your waistline and tugging the fabric down with haste.

This is what you’ve been dreaming of. Only a handful of times had Ominis ever devoured you in such a way. Things were more heated when the two of you were younger, exploring each other, and having uncontrollable urges. Since marriage, Ominis had calmed in that sense. You lived together, so he had the ability to take his time and appreciate every inch of you. It was always about bringing you pleasure as many times as the night would allow. Tonight was a stark contrast to those gentle touches.

Before you knew it, he had your panties around your ankles and was telling you to sit on the counter that he had just cleaned. You hopped up as told, but your position still didn’t have his approval. His fingers hooked under your knees and yanked so that your ass slid across the counter until it was nearly hanging off the edge. He smirked at the feeling of your heated core bumping into his dress pants.

“Right there. Stay right there on the edge for me.” And then he was sinking to his knees. His hands held your inner thighs to keep you from trying to close them, not that you would have.

His mouth was everywhere except the one place you wanted it so desperately. Your clit ached for attention. It seemed like Ominis would be taking his sweet time with you after all. This was usually welcomed attention, but tonight, you wanted him inside you more than anything. You didn’t even need to finish yourself as long as he spilled inside of you.

But even though your mind didn’t need an orgasm, that didn’t mean your body wasn’t craving it. Your hips bucked slightly when his nose nearly brushed against your clit. His hands held you down on the counter as he chuckled. The vibration of his laugh made you quiver.

“Don’t fall off the counter, now. Twisting your ankle won’t get you out of taking my cock. I’d just lay you on the bed and elevate your foot with pillows before filling you up.”

“Ominis,” your voice came out like you were scolding him. He’s spoken dirty before, but never quite like that.

“Just today you admitted in this very kitchen that you push my buttons on purpose to get me to snap and bite you, yet I’m the one being told off. And for what? Making sure my wife’s hypothetical, hurt ankle would be taken care of before I give her the child she so desperately wants?”

“I- oh-,” You lost your train of thought as his lips brushed against your clit before taking it in his mouth and sucking. The feeling was too much after waiting for so long. You squirmed again, this time to get away. The feeling in the pit of your stomach always felt better releasing when things had been slow and steady. Now, you could feel the tension building alarmingly fast.

Ominis took your hips trying to move as a sign of your eagerness. His tongue lapped up your wetness that had started to seep out. Then, it dipped inside of you and his nose rubbed against your clit. Your hands were gripping the edge of the counter to keep yourself from flying off.

Now you were saying his name like a prayer. Your breathy pleas were quite the opposite from how you had just scolded him a few moments ago. Hearing you pant and mumble his name made him smirk. You could feel the corner of his mouth rise slightly against you. That action was enough to send you over the edge, almost literally if Ominis hadn’t been holding you in place on the counter. He kept his tongue in place to feel you pulse around it, though he was careful not to overstimulate you and ruin your high. Only when the pulsations slowed to nearly an end did he pull back and stand up.

“Such a good girl for me. Coming on my tongue and sounding so sweet.” He kissed you with the taste of your juices still on his tongue. You hadn’t even dared to let go of the counter while Ominis got to work unbuttoning his own pants. “Was gonna wait to have you in the bedroom, but I don’t think I can.” And then, he was lined up at your entrance and pushing in.

His movements were slow as he took you in an all consuming kiss to distract you from the stretch. Normally, you could handle whatever Ominis threw at you. This time, you were sitting nearly upright because of how close Ominis held your for the kiss. The position made it hard to take him fully, at least in an enjoyable way. You tried leaning back, and while that did help things start to feel pleasurable, your hand had landed in a stick of butter. The plate clanked against the counter. You immediately cursed under your breath.

Ominis, having heard the plate, had the audacity to laugh at your demise. He pulled out and scolded you, “You aren’t making a mess of my clean kitchen, are you?”

“It seems like you’ll have to wait until we get to the bedroom after all, and now I’ve got to wash my hand as well!”

His hands didn’t leave you the entire time you stood at the sink to try and scrub away the slimy mess on your hand. Even while walking down the hallway his hands were at work taking off your shirt and throwing it who knows where. Needless to say, you were both naked by the time you made it to the bedroom.

Vibrations ran down your neck from his voice mumbling while his lips were against your skin. “Lay on the bed.”

You had expected his hands to be all over you again the moment your back landed on the mattress. Instead, Ominis felt around for the pillows at the head of the bed. He tapped your hip. “Lift up.”

It was hard to deny his odd request because of how deeply you loved when he got a bit bossy like this. You lifted your bum so that he could slide a few pillows under you. The gesture seemed sweet, but entirely unnecessary. You’d been married for nearly nine years now, it wasn’t like you were delicate in the bedroom.

“You’re very sweet, my love, but I don’t need this to be comfortable. You won’t break me.”

Ominis stilled. His hand rested on your thigh. It looked as though he was debating something. “It’s not… for your comfort.”

“Then why are you- oh.” You swallowed your words when it set in. Your hips were high in the air like this. Gravity would make the mess Ominis was about to make stay inside you instead of seeping out.

“But are you comfortable like this?” Ominis ran his hand from your hip to your breast. His hand squeezing around you was faint and soft, more akin to a tender caress instead of anything overtly sexual.

“Yes,” you earnestly answered.

“You might have to stay like this for quite some time,” Ominis leaned closer to your ear to whisper, “Can you handle that?”

You nodded, then felt stupid before replying verbally, “I’m comfortable like this. I can stay as long as you think it’s necessary for it to… set in.”

His hand moved from your breast to lay over your heartbeat for a moment. A satisfied smirk spread across his lips. “Your heart is racing.”

“I might be a bit excited.”

“Oh yeah?” Both his hands smoothed down your body until they rested on your hips. He got on his knees between your legs. “Is that what people are calling it these days?” His thumb messily rubbed over your clit then dipped down between your folds to feel the sticky arousal that had been leaking out of you since the kitchen. There wasn’t much of a rhythm to his movements because he was just wetting his hand so that he could lubricate himself, but still, his hand touching you there in any capacity made your breathing pick up.

You were mumbling his name all desperate and breathy. Ominis chuckled at how needy you sounded. Giving you what you were begging for, he lined himself up, which caused you to whimper even more because his tip dragged across your clit a few times before he found your entrance. As he started to sink in, you sighed in relief. This angle was much better than sitting on the counter. With surprising ease, he nearly bottomed out. There was just a pinch of tightness that made him still for a moment.

His lips were leaving tender kisses across your chest and neck while he let you adjust to the feeling. You were mumbling into his neck for him to move, to take you. Your neediness made him want to give in to those desires, but Ominis wanted to memorize everything about this moment. The smell of sweat and sex in the air was absolutely vile, but incredibly mouthwatering all the same. He could go deeper than he ever had before at this angle, but that area felt tight around his tip. Ominis pulled out slightly and thrust back in slowly, being careful not to go too far and hurt you.

“More,” you were begging, nearly crying in the crook of his shoulder.

Not being able to deny you a second longer, Ominis started to thrust his hips. It wasn’t shallow, but he still wouldn’t let himself go further than the two of you were used to. Your arms wrapped around him and your nails lightly skimmed across his shoulders. He shivered and his hips stuttered unevenly, accidentally driving deeper into you. Immediately, Ominis pulled back and whispered an apology in your ear, but you held tighter onto him.

“Again, do it again.”

A tentative hand brushed the hair off your forehead so Ominis could kiss it. He pushed in deeper, but deliberately slow so he could listen for any signs of discomfort. His thumb found your clit again, hoping to give you a bit of pleasure to combat the fullness. The second his thumb grazed over you, your walls convulsed around his cock and your body shook erratically.

Ominis felt his own waves of pleasure building. On instinct, he tried to pull out to finish on your stomach. Your thighs wrapped around his waist to hold him in place.

“Please, come inside me. I want to make you a daddy.”

Your words made the tips of his ears go red. But now that he wasn’t so lost in the moment, he remembered the whole point of the evening, why he had made you rest your hips on a pile of pillows, and why he was able to reach this deep inside you in the first place.

“Stop me if it hurts,” was all the warning Ominis could give before his hips started to rut against you, hitting as deep as his length would allow with every feverish thrust. His pelvis was hitting your clit each time, Turning you right back into a moaning mess beneath him.

“There, right there.”

His breath was hot and heavy on your neck, “Gonna fill you up with my seed, sweetheart. I’m gonna fuck you just like this twice a day with your hips all high and willing to take me until we find out it worked. And then, I’m going to keep coming in you every night after to celebrate. I’ll fill you up so good, that we won’t know if it’s my come or my child growing in you that’s making you bigger.”

Talking dirty wasn’t new for Ominis, but it was rarely obscene and never, ever like this. That with how deep and fast he was fucking you made you speechless, breathless, thoughtless. You couldn’t even see straight, so you just held onto him for dear life and panted, but no breath was deep enough to fill your lungs or call you down. The tension in your entire body builds to the point that your leg was cramping. You wrapped it around Omni’s leg just to ease the pressure, but Ominis saw that as you wanting him to go harder.

So he did. His hips snapped into you hysterically. You cried out in ecstasy as another orgasm hit you like a train.

His hips faltered and he groaned as he came while your walls relentlessly milked his cock. You couldn’t stop writhing beneath him. Feeling his warm spurts of come paint your walls and add pressure made your intense waves of pleasure drag out. Ominis was on his elbows and panting, his lips right above yours. You already couldn’t breathe, but you pulled him down for a kiss regardless.

“I love you,” he gasped as he pulled away from the kiss. “Was that okay? Are you hurting? Should I get you a-“

Ominis had started to move, but your arms wrapped tighter around him and your walls clenched around his length. “Don’t move yet. Stay. Just stay.”

Seeming to understand and reciprocate your need to be close, Ominis rested on an elbow and then used his other hand to caress your body as if you were made of glass. “I’m not going anywhere, love.”

The two of you laid like that for a while just playing with each other’s hair and whispering sweet nothings. Soon, Ominis started to get hard again inside of you. He slyly shifted his hips, but his excuse of getting more comfortable didn’t work on you.

“Ominis,” you whined in an exhausted tone. How was he ready to go again!?

His kisses on your neck paused while he laughed against your skin. “Well, I did say twice a day until we’re certain, didn’t I?”

[amaya-writes]

rewatched black clover then saw your event and now i'm thinking how would Finral, Gauche and Leo introduce their fiance to their siblings. for the sake of this req let's say their siblings had no idea they were getting engaged (for Leo maybe his sis knew but brother didn't? idk i cant imagine neither of them knowing)

Ringtober Masterlist

Notes: sorry for the delay!

Warnings: n/a just fluff

Characters involved: Finral Roulacase, Gauche Adlai, Leopold Vermillion

Fem reader, you/yours

Finral Roulacase

His brother needs a minute.

Literally just points at Finral then you and goes you actually managed to convice her to fall for you?

Might make fun of Finral a bit but Finral can tell he's secretly happy for him.

Langris is more interested in the ring than you, he is glad to say that his brother has good taste in jewellery.

They end up discussing family matters after that and what's going to happen with certain pre established marriage agreements.

Overall Langris doesn't really care much, sure he's happy his brother found someone but it's kind of a 'meh' moment for him.

He isn't interested in getting to know you either, in his head you're like the Black Bulls—someone his brother likes but he doesn't particularly care for.

Don't expect to see much of him around either, although he does expect a wedding invite even if he might snark on about not attending.

He does in fact attend.

Gauche Adlai

His sister is so excited it's honestly adorable.

You've already met in the past since Gauche had to introduce the two most important girls in his life to each other, but she gets very excited at the prospect of having you as her future sister.

Gauche has to roam around with tissues because he keeps getting nosebleeds at the idea of the three of you living together like a happy lil family.

Once she finds our you're going to be her future sister in law his sister constantly asks about you when Gauche visits. He almost can't visit her without you because she sometimes seems sad and then Gauche feels very bad.

This one time the two of you got into a fight and she asked about you and told Gauche something along the lines of you better not take my sister away from me and to this day he does his best to never argue with you.

Overall your relationship is really sweet. Since Gauche is kind of like her father figure anyways you sort of become a maternal figure for her.

Leopold Vermillion

Fuegoleon is so genuinely surprised he doesn't even know how to react.

Their parents called all three children to the house for dinner which was surprising in itself, so when he sees you there he is pretty confused.

You're a close family friend, and ever since you were children it was sort of a given that Leo was yours and you were his. You two were just fated to be together.

But Fuegoleon presumed that his parents would at least give him of all people some forewarning before an engagement.

He ends up finding out that Leo actually proposed out of nowhere, you accepted and told both families a few days ago.

So why was Fuegoleon so late to the party?

His sister finds the entire situation funny and doesn't miss a beat before teasing Fuegoleon for being slow and not seeing the signs. Like how Leo suddenly decided to visit their grandfather (for a ring that was pre decided) the day he proposed.

Fuegoleon is honestly very pleased with the entire ordeal. You were always like a little sister to him anyways, but now that relationship is just solidified.

He does however tease Leo quite a bit about being a man and the responsibilities that come with marriage.

He's kind of surprised that Leo is going to be the first of the three of them to be married. That's Fuegoleon biggest concern rather than the sudden announcement.

Mereoleona definitely teases him about how their little brother has a better love life than him.

[miryum]

Foundling Villa- Chapter 4

Royal!Charles Leclerc x Reader. Princess Y/n is arranged to marry Prince Charles. There will be many ups and downs that the author hasn’t planned out yet, but read along to find out more! (Yes, I know that sounds super cheesy) Warnings per chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of sex, mentions of misogyny, swearing

ao3 link  next chapter>>

You woke to a loud knocking on the door. What the hell? you thought. Sara and Elena usually gave a soft knock before coming in to gently wake you. Who was making such a racket? 

“Y/n! Future princess of Enzaaaaaaa! Wake the fuck up!” You bolted upright, recognising the voice.

“Brenda!” you shrieked. The door banged open and your sister appeared. Two of your brothers walked in behind her. Sara and Elena rushed past them.

“My Lady, we are so sorry!” Sara apologised.

“Never apologise for my sister!” You hugged Brenda tightly. “Otherwise you would be apologising forever.”

“Shush!” Brenda laughed loudly. “I missed you so much!”

“How’ve you been, Y/n?” Your oldest brother, Robert, pulled you in for a hug. He ruffled your hair and said, “put on some clothes, why don’t you?”

“God, I hate you.” Sara handed you a robe and you threw it on. “I’ve been… dealing. It’s been fine.”

“Come here,” your younger brother, Ralph, consoled you. “You were always terrible at hiding emotions. Really, how are you?”

At those words, you broke down crying. “I miss you so much!” Robert and Brenda joined in the sibling hug and held you as you sniffled. 

“Sweetie,” Brenda cooed. “It’s okay. I promise you’ll feel better soon. And no crying while we’re here.”

“How are Marie and Kaitlyn?” You asked about your other sisters.

“I last wrote them a month ago,” Brenda said. “They seemed great! Marie held a ball a while ago.”

Is this what your life would be reduced to? Holding occasional balls and writing to family members every other month? Your future never seemed more boring. 

“What are you doing here?” you asked, though you didn’t want to tempt the fates. 

“Do you honestly think Brenda would let us miss your wedding?” Robert asked, chuckling.

“Right,” you sighed. “That’s tomorrow. But where are mother and father?”

Ralph rolled his eyes. “Completing boring royal procedures. They’ll come by tonight or tomorrow. Meanwhile, we got to see our sister!”

“And where’s the future husband?” Brenda asked in a teasing tone. 

As if I’m cue, a knock sounded on the open door. “Excuse me?” You whipped around to find Prince Charles grinning timidly. 

“Prince Charles,” your brothers bowed. 

Brenda giggled and said, “hello future brother-in-law! We shouldn’t need to bow to you, should we? It’s nice to meet you!” 

“No, you don’t need to bow.” Charles laughed with Brenda, adjusting to her vigor. He shook her hand. “You’re Brenda, correct?”

“Yes! I hope Y/n hasn’t bad-mouthed me too much. This is Robert and Ralph.” Charles shook hands with your brothers. 

“Nice to meet you,” Charles greeted politely. “I’m glad that you’re visiting us.”

“We couldn’t miss Y/n’s wedding.” Ralph said, “she’s done so much for us over the years.” 

“And we couldn’t pass up the free food!” Brenda joked.

“You and my brother Arthur would get along fabulously,” Charles stated to your sister.

“Unfortunately, I’m a happily married woman,” Brenda said. “But I wouldn’t mind having a new best friend. Ever since this one ditched me,” she pointed at you. “I’ve been so lonely.”

“I only got your letter yesterday!” You defended, “you have to expect communication to take longer.”

While you and your sister bickered, Charles said to your brothers, “she’s a completely different person. Usually, Princess Y/n is apprehensive and timid. She doesn’t speak at all; when she does, it’s very quiet.”

“Y/n? Timid? Quiet?” Ralph laughed. “Wait until she opens up. That’s not the Y/n we know and love.”

“Have you thought about getting her away from the palace?” Robert suggested. “When we were growing up, she didn’t love being around the court. She used to complain about it being uptight and superficial. And yes, as a seven year old, she used the word ‘superficial’. Bizarre, isn’t it? Yet, when we would visit our grandmother’s estate in the country, she would open up. Become more lively and active. She loved the barn, though our mother always worried she would scrape her knee or muddy her dress.”

“Didn’t she name all of the newborn piglets?” Ralph asked. “There was Poe, Garth, Bean, Tassel, and… oh, what was the other one?”

“Corn,” Robert recalled. 

“That was it!” Ralph clapped his hands. “I knew I was forgetting one.”

Charles was enamoured by your brothers’ stories. The tales they told sounded implausible. It was unbelievable to hear all of the mischief you had gotten into when you were young. Charles made it his mission to make you feel comfortable enough to open up. He wanted to get to know you- not the one who was shielding away from him. It wouldn’t be a true marriage if the bride was a shell of herself, right? 

“Tell me more,” Charles prompted Ralph and Robert. “What other adventures did Princess Y/n get into as a child?”

*

“Don’t be scared, sweetie,” Brenda pulled at a strand of your hair. “Everything is okay. Take a deep breath.”

“Where’s mama?” you asked. 

Brenda opened her mouth, took a moment, and said, “she’s waiting in the church.”

You nodded slowly. Apparently, your mother and father were more concerned with meeting new allies than their daughter on her wedding day. 

“Princess Y/n?” A knock sounded on the door and you vaguely recognized Queen Pascale’s voice. “May I come in?”

“Yes, your Majesty.” You had only seen your sister bow to her husband, so you were shocked when she did it to the queen of Enza.

“You don’t have to do that,” Pascale smiled and reached out to lift Brenda into a standing position. “Princesses, how are you?”

“I’m splendid. Are you splendid? I am perfectly splendid!” You worried you had said the word ‘splendid’ too much. 

You couldn’t stop running your hands over your dress. The fabric felt odd against your sweaty hands. “Do you know what else is today? It’s the reception, where I have to talk to dignitaries and monarchs who I can’t remember the names of. And then there’s the dinner and the dance- Oh, Brenda! What if I forget the dance?! And after I forget the dance and mess up in front of everyone, then it’s the…” You swallowed and looked around for a glass of water. Or better yet, wine. 

“The wedding night?” Brenda guessed. You nodded.

“Your Highness, I am so sorry,” you said to Pascale. “I’m trying to be composed, but it’s proving very difficult. Your son seems incredibly thoughtful and considerate, but can you understand why I’m frightened?”

“Yes. I understand perfectly. It can be nerve wracking going into a marriage and not having connected with them.” Queen Pascale sat down on a sofa.

Brenda added on, “and don’t worry about tonight. I’m sure Prince Charles will take care of you.” She grimaced awkwardly at the Queen, feeling uncomfortable talking about Pascale’s son right in front of her.

Pascale snickered in a very un-queen-like way. “Dear, I don’t care what you say about my son. I’ve changed his dirty diapers. I’ve seen it all.”

You smiled, wanting to laugh at her words. A sense of longing suddenly washed over you, a small part of you wanting it to be your own mother who was comforting you. 

Nonetheless, you were still grateful for Queen Pascale’s words. You wondered if she would be open to visiting you at the Foundling Villa. You had already told your siblings all about it, and Brenda was scheduled to visit you two weeks from now.

Speaking of the Foundling Villa, you had Sara and Elena visit it two days ago. They had met with the housekeeper and her small staff. With the housekeeper’s suggestions, they had vetted and hired a stable master- someone by the name Lando Norris- and a cook that went by Chef Yuki. You had asked Sara and Elena to start packing during the wedding so the moment the sun came up tomorrow, you could leave. 

“Are you ready?” Brenda asked.

“Do you want the truth?” you replied. 

Queen Pascale shook her head. “Never tell them the truth. Only tell them what they want to know.”

Robert appeared at the door. “It’s time.” He sucked in a breath, wondering if it was better to feel excited for you, or nervous. He wasn’t naïve. He wanted to talk to Prince Charles about not messing with his younger sister, but he also knew that Enza was a much more powerful state than Williams. Robert couldn’t threaten their prince, even if he was trying to protect you.

As Robert walked you to the church entrance, you whispered, “I’m glad you’re the one walking me down the aisle.”

“As am I,” Robert admitted. “Father would be too uptight.”

You sunk into his side. “I missed you so much. You’ll come visit?”

“Yes! I want to see the Foundling Villa.” The doors opened to a room filled with nobles. They all stood to stare at you. An organ started. There were so many people. “Ralph might visit with me,” Robert kept talking, even though you were currently marching towards Prince Charles and a priest that was ready to seal your future. A long, inconvenient veil fell from your head and two little girls were holding up the ends. “Okay, wow, that’s an impressive grip!” Robert chuckled nervously, wanting to remove your hand from his arm. “Right now, I am going to keep talking so you can listen to my voice and have something to ground yourself on. You look beautiful today. Sara did a wonderful job on your hair. Look, there’s Brenda and mother and father,” his voice slipped away. The only sound you could focus on was your quickening heartbeat. “Breathe,” Robert gave you one last instruction before placing your hand in Prince Charles’s. You registered his outfit- the royal mantle Este had commissioned for him. He looked good. His hair was slicked away from his green eyes which kicked onto yours.

Prince Charles took your hand and turned to face the priest. The organ came to the end of its song and the girls behind you set down your veil. 

Internally, Charles was freaking out. Yes, you were beautiful and he wanted to cultivate a relationship with you, but that didn’t mean he wanted to marry you! Lorenzo had motioned to him multiple times to loosen up. Before the wedding, Arthur had reminded him to stop clenching his jaw and hands. King Hervé gently told Charles to smile at you. 

He didn’t remember any of their advice.

The priest started talking, “dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of these two unions.”

Charles remembered seeing your mother and father before the wedding. They had been conversing with the monarchs of Redull before the rulers of Wolff swept them away to talk. The priest, who was still talking, had been implanted in Charles’ memories since the beginning. The priest had been the one to baptise all of the Leclerc brothers. Charles had seen your maids running about this morning. He wondered what they were preparing for. It couldn’t have been the wedding; you had been whisked away early in the morning to get prepared. 

“Prince Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc of Enza,” the priest turned towards Charles. Was the man already done with the speech? Charles hadn’t realised. “Do you take Princess Y/n M/n L/n of Williams to be your lawfully wedded wife? For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part, and according to God’s holy law?”

“I do,” Charles said. He noticed the word ‘love’ didn’t come up in the vows.

“And Princess Y/n M/n L/n of Williams,” the priest’s eyes never left the page. You stiffened and Charles gripped your hand. “Do you take Prince Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc of Enza, to be your lawfully wedded husband?” You paled at the word. “For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part, and according to God’s holy law? Do you pledge yourself to both him and his kingdom?” 

You exhaled and said, “I do.” 

“I pronounce Prince and Princess Leclerc of Enza! You may now kiss the bride.”

Prince Charles faced you, quirked a brow in silent question, and when you gave a sharp nod, he pressed a quick kiss to your lips.

[artedimichelangelo]

Hii! Since you take requests for hod now, could I get an aemond and reader fic where theyre arranged to be married and secretly like each other? One day she accidently sees him without his eyepatch and he gets all insecure abt it? Just soft aemond and fluffy endings? Thanks!

Do not fear - Aemond Targaryen x Stark! Fem! Reader

Author's Note: Hii! Thanks for your request, I added a few details about the readers and I hope this little fic is to your liking!

Pairings: Aemond Targaryen x Stark! Fem! Reader, Helaena x Stark! Fem! Reader (the two are friends).

Warnings: English is NOT my first language; possible grammatical errors; fluff?

Word Count: 1067.

The sun was high in the sky, illuminating all the streets of King's Landing and making the crimson stone of the Red Keep stand out.

In the castle corridors, there was a continuous bustle of servants and maids, busy with the grand wedding that was to take place in the great hall in a few days.

To distract Y/n from the chaos and spend some time together, Princess Helaena decided to take her lady-in-waiting to the gardens, especially as she would be processing her wedding gift there.

"My Princess, I do not think it is necessary to give me a gift," Andromeda tells her politely as Helaena places the most majestic butterflies in all of Westeros between her friend's raven locks.

"I insist, this portrait is also a thank you from me for our friendship and your loyalty over the years," the other replied, concentrating on balancing the scarabs and caterpillars on the flowers placed in the daughter of the North's hands. "In addition, I asked you to use my name. We have been companions for several moons now."

It was true: Y/n Stark had lived with the royal family since she was a young girl, and it was with them that she had experienced the happiest moments of her life, despite the distance from her kin.

Even the youngest of Alicent Hightower's sons, Aemond, had grown fond of the girl, who was one of the few people to treat him like a human before and after the incident with Princess Rhaenyra's children.

The future bride remembered the moments spent with the young prince as if they had happened the day before.

"One day I will marry you, Y/n..." Aemond murmured in a small voice as he stroked the little girl's hair. "I promise you with this blue flower, blue as the sky in which we will fly together on the back of my dragon!" He confidently exclaimed as she looked at him with admiration and joy.

While the two girls were engrossed in their conversations and the elaboration of the portrait, Prince Aemond emerged from the entrance of the gardens and lingered near the stone archway; his solid gaze softened at the sight of his future wife posing, completely mesmerised by her immeasurable beauty.

"I apologise for interrupting you, but I was looking for Aegon. We were supposed to train together, and I cannot find him." He explained to the girls, who replied that they had seen no trace of the missing brother. "Very well, I will leave you to your business. If anything, you will find me in the training grounds with Ser Cole." Aemond responded in a stoic voice, and after bowing to the two, he headed for the training ground.

At the end of the painting session, Y/n said goodbye to her future sister-in-law and decided to visit Aemond.

On the way, she met Ser Cole, who told her the prince was still at the camp after their sword duel.

She was always thrilled to see the one she had always loved, even though they spent most of their time together, yet she could not avoid the ball of heat that pounded in her chest just thinking about him.

As she crossed the stone threshold, everyone bowed before her and greeted her as she crossed the field to the tents.

Without a second thought, she entered the first one before her, which revealed Prince Aemond's intent on freeing himself from his duelling attire; his missing eye patch revealed the blue gleam of the sapphire that replaced the lost eye.

Finally realising Lady Stark's presence, he felt the blood run cold in his veins and with a swift movement, he spun around to hide from her.

"Please, my dearest, I don't want you to see me like this." Aemond had always been unsure of his appearance after the incident years before. People did not look at him and if they did, they gave him repulsed looks as if he had become a monster.

"Do not fear," she murmured, her honey-sweet voice capable of warming the young man's soul. "And do not hide, not from me."

He sat on a filthy stool, his head bowed downwards, still undecided whether to show himself to her for good.

Y/n knelt before him and let her delicate hand rest on Aemond's cheek.

"Look at me... I was there with you when your wound was still fresh, I helped you clean it and even there, my mind regarding you did not change." She reassured him, her grey eyes focused on his face. "Do not fear, I will love you eternally and protect you until I die. I swear it by all the gods in existence."

Her reassuring words and calm voice gave Aemond the courage he needed to raise his head.

His furrowed brow relaxed as he opened his eyes and took in the sight of how the sunlight from the crack in the tent perfectly illuminated Y/n.

"You do not reckon that I am a hideous monster?"

"I grew up with you, I could never think that." She gently kissed the prince's scar and rested her forehead against his. "Understand that your insecurities do not make you a horrible person, and being aware of them does not make you weak, only more human, and I am willing to show my love for them so that you appreciate them too."

Aemond was happy, relieved, to have a woman like her by his side.

"Do you know why I chose this blue gem?" He asked, arousing curiosity in the girl, who nodded to continue with the answer. "It reminded me of you, Lady Stark, and the promise I made to you with the blue flower when I was just a little prince."

"It almost seems as if it happened yesterday, and here I am, this instant, in the arms of the one I have always loved." Her eyes shone with contentment.

The silver-haired boy was even more relieved, knowing she loved him from the beginning too.

"I always knew I was the more charming brother deep down..." He whispered, but Y/n heard him and gave him a small pat on the chest, trying to hide a slight laugh. "Why do you think not?" Aemond feigned an offended look, which fell immediately after his beloved placed her lips on his in a gentle kiss.

"I have always loved a humble prince."

[kristeristerin]

Hi hi! *waves* may I please request Lucien x Reader with Speak Now? Thank you very much!

AN- Annnnd another one down! Thank you for the ask! These have done a great job at getting me writing. I even managed to get halfway done with the third chapter of Pretty Little Liar today! That should be out soon!

As always asks are open for prompts!

Song: Speak Now

Pairing: Reader X Lucien

Content Warning: None

Words: 799

“What are you doing here?”

The sudden voice startles you out of your daydream and you turn to look into the face of Eris. Though you had expected to see his signature sneer, the face you are met with instead is one of concern.

“I- I’m not sure honestly,” you bit your lip as you look from Eris to the Temple ahead of you. “I just thought that maybe I should talk to him, you know?”

“Are you here to stop the wedding?” He raises a brow at you.

You shake your head. “I couldn’t do that to him. He’s waited for this for so long. Lucien deserves to be happy. He deserves a future with his mate.”

“Idiots, the both of you,” Eris mutters as he rolls his eyes. “What my dear brother deserves is a future with someone who isn’t just picking him as a consolation prize. Elain is a nice enough female, but anyone who thinks that’s a love match is delusional. She’s still caught up on the shadowsinger, and he’s so in love with the weird little bookstore owner it’s disgusting.”

You wipe away a few stray tears as you try to glare at the Autumn Court High Lord. “So you’re saying you’d approve of having me as a sister-in-law then?”

“Honestly?” he leans in and pushes a lock of hair behind your ear, “You’re the only female I would approve of for Lucien. I hope you make your choice soon. The Ceremony is about to begin.”

Before you have a chance to reply Eris turns away and is striding toward the temple.

—--------------------------

You can hear the music has already started as you manage to slip into the back of the main room of the temple. Lucien is standing by the alter with Eris to his right and Elain’s sisters to his left. A moment later the bride enters the room and you press yourself back into the curtains to hide from view.

She’s graceful as she makes her way toward Lucien, and your heart breaks at the smile he’s giving her. For a moment you contemplate leaving, but a cool sensation around your wrist catches your attention. Looking down you notice a black shadow circling up your arm before resting on your shoulder. When you look into the crowd again you meet the knowing eyes of the Shadowsinger. He gives you a small nod before turning back toward the ceremony.

Lucien is speaking, but you can’t make out what he’s saying over the sound of your heartbeat. You close your eyes and breath deeply for several breaths and manage to pull yourself back from having a panic attack. Then it happens. The line you’d been waiting for. “If anyone here has any reason these two should not marry, speak now or forever hold your peace.” The priestess looks out to the crowd.

There are several gasps as you step into the aisle, and it takes you a moment to realize it’s because of the male who has also stood up several rows ahead of you.

“Elain,” Azriel’s usually quiet voice is loud and full of emotion. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for messing everything up, and I’m sorry for waiting until your wedding day to try to make things right. If you can forgive me, and give me a chance, I swear I will spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”

You want to look at Elain to gauge her response, but you can’t take your eyes off Lucien and the fact that he’s staring right back at you.

After a moment he shakes his head and turns to Elain and they begin to speak at the same time.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”

“I’m in love with Azriel.”

They stare at each other wide-eyed. The room is silent. Lucien nods and takes Elain’s hand. He leads her back down the aisle to where Azriel waits and puts her hand in his, “Take care of her.”

A look passes between the males before Azriel looks over his shoulder at you and says to Lucien, “You too.”

Lucien nods at him once before looking back to you and quickly making his way to where you were waiting.

“You came,” he breathed looking down at you.

“I came,” you nodded and bit your lip. “I’m sorry about your wedding, Lucien.”

He shakes his head and says “I’m not.” In an instant, his hand was in your hair as he pulled you closer. “I’ve never been happier to be interrupted.”

Your eyes shine as you look up at him. “Want to get out of here?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” he grins at you and takes your hand in his as he leads you the rest of the way out of the temple.

[miraplayssims]

The day of Benjamin and Theodora´s wedding had come. The bethroded hadn´t talked or even seen to eachother since their parents told them about their planned marriage and Benjamin felt it was high time to do so.

Leaving his parents and future in-laws talking outside, Benjamin walked in to the church where his sisters were waiting for the ceremony to begin.

He walked up to his Magdalena and cleared his throat, "Magda, do you know where Theo is?"

“I believe she´s getting ready in the sacristy," she said, giving him a sympathetic look, "how are you feeling, brother?"

"I´m fine," he sighed, "thank you."

Benjamin knocked on the door and heard a quiet "come in" from inside. When he entered and saw his childhood friend dressed in all white, silently sobbing with her face buried in her hands, his heart sank. My dear, dear friend, he thought, how I wish you wouldn´t be crying on your wedding day.

Benjamin kneeled down in front of the crying girl, "Oh Theo," he mumbled, "it´ll be all right."

Theodora looked up at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks, "yes," she nodded softly, "I´m being dramatic."

He grabbed her cold hands and squessed them thight, "no, you´re not. Cry if you want to, God knows I have," he whispered, "listen Theo, I swear to you I´ll try my best to make you happy, as a friend or as a husband. We don´t ever even have to share a bed, if that´s what you wish. We decide how this will work, no one else."

Theodora had stopped sobbing, but tears still trickled down her face, "I know you´ll be good to me, that´s not my worry. It´s just-," her voice thickened, "well, it´s just that I wish to have children some day. But as you said, perhaps we´ll never share the marital bed."

"If you wish to have children, we´ll have children," he reassured her.

Theodora stood up, smiling bleakly, "thank you," she whispered and embraced him, "you´re my dearest friend."

They stood there for a while in a silent embrace before Benjamin finally broke away, "come now, I think it´s time."

[jrob64]

Silly Songs With Killian - a CS Modern AU One-shot

You can blame @sotangledupinit for this silly, but sweet, little story! She posted a prompt on Discord which caused my muse to jump to attention, and I wrote it in two days. If you're not familiar with the Veggie Tales videos, you'll still be able to enjoy this, but do yourself a favor and check out the songs on Spotify here. You don't have to be a kid to enjoy them and I guarantee they'll make you laugh!

Special thanks to Kit for making young Henry look even younger for the pic set, Mary for being my beta, and Krystal for being a second set of eyes for the Silly Songs lyrics and also for the pic set I created. It pays to have wonderful fandom friends!

Summary: After a frustrating and exhausting day, Emma Cassidy is relieved when her little boy, Henry, is entertained by a gorgeous musician at a restaurant, giving her a chance to sit back, relax, and enjoy the music (and the view!) It gets even better when the singer, Killian, sings some of Henry’s favorite Silly Songs from his favorite videos, Veggie Tales. 

Rating: T

Words: 3946

Also posted to Ao3 and ffn

*********

It’s been one hell of a day. It wasn’t supposed to be this exhausting, but of course my ex, Neal, had to complicate things.

I was looking forward to going wedding dress shopping with my future sister-in-law Mary Margaret and her other bridesmaids, sipping champagne and giving my input on each of the possibilities. It was going to be so much fun.

And then...remember the saying that was popular many years ago - shit happens? Well, Neal can be used interchangeably with shit - they’re one and the same.

It was his scheduled weekend with our three-year-old, Henry, which was one reason why Mary Margaret chose this day. Then on Friday, almost an hour after Neal was supposed to pick Henry up at my apartment, he sent me a text: Something came up. Can’t make it this weekend. Tell Henry I’m sorry.

Apparently he turned off his phone after sending it, because he didn’t answer any of my increasingly volatile texts - eighteen of them, to be exact - or phone calls. I had to sit Henry in front of the television so I could go into my bedroom to leave some choice words on Neal’s voicemail.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for my sweet little boy) Henry is used to being let down by his father. In the eighteen months since we called it quits, Neal has skipped out on more weekend visits than he’s kept. I guess being a lying piece of shit takes up way too much of his time and he can’t spare any for his son.

Also unfortunately, all of the people who usually babysit for Henry were unable to watch him. Most of them were included in the shopping trip, my brother David was busy because he was painting the living room of the house he and his fiancée just bought, and Ruby’s Granny was off bowhunting with her new beau. (Bowhunting with her beau has been a running joke ever since she left a week ago.)

So instead of enjoying a carefree day of shopping with Mary Margaret, Belle, Ruby and Elsa, I had to keep an active, inquisitive toddler entertained in one bridal shop after another. We were all relieved when he finally fell asleep in the third shop, until the manager woke him up by screeching about how he was going to drool on the green velvet upholstery. That cost her any business she might have had from us (though in all honesty, her gowns were all hideous and looked like something only the Wicked Witch of the West might wear.)

Eventually, Mary Margaret said ‘yes to the dress’ in the fifth shop late in the afternoon, then we all decided to get an early dinner at a nearby restaurant that serves kids’ meals and has outdoor seating. If Henry has to spend one more minute inside today, I think he might have a complete meltdown.

After placing my order and getting Henry situated with the provided coloring sheet and obligatory four crayons, I hear someone speaking into a microphone and look over to see a guy standing on a small stage with a guitar. A very, VERY attractive guy.

“Good evening, everyone,” he says, and my jaw drops at the sound of his British accent. “My name is Killian and I hope you enjoy the music tonight. I do take requests. Feel free to sing along or dance in this nice, open area in front of me.”

“Oh, wow!” Belle gasps. “He’s very handsome, isn’t he, Emma?”

My jaw snaps shut and I turn to look at her. Seeing her sly smile, I teasingly say, “Why are you asking me? We all have eyes, you know.”

“Yes, but we all have significant others, too,” Ruby adds, which is completely unnecessary but, sadly, also completely true.

While my self pity begins to set in, the guy - Killian - strums his guitar and launches into the Eagles classic “Take it Easy”. Henry, who by this point has scribbled all over the coloring sheet, somehow managed to break his crayon into at least four pieces and, judging by the color of his teeth, took a bite of it as well, looks up with bright eyes. Since I allowed him to kneel on a chair instead of trying to strap him into a booster seat, he takes advantage of it and hops down.

Before I can chase after him, he makes a beeline for the open space in front of the admittedly gorgeous singer and begins jumping around in what passes for a three-year-old’s version of dancing. I sigh and start to get up, but Mary Margaret stops me with a hand on my arm. “Let him go. He’s been very good all day and deserves to burn off some energy. Besides, he’s only a few feet away and we can see him clearly from here.”

It doesn’t take much convincing for me to heed her advice. If someone else can entertain Henry for a while, I’m not going to complain.

When the song comes to an end, Killian acknowledges the smattering of applause and plays the extremely recognizable first chords of “All Right Now”. Henry doesn’t miss a beat, throwing himself around like a rag doll while all of us at our table, as well as most of the other diners, laugh delightedly at his exuberance.

By the time Killian is in the middle of his third song, “Old Time Rock and Roll”, our food arrives and I face the dreaded task of dragging my son back to the table to eat. I nibble at my fish and chips until the song ends, then dash to the makeshift dance floor to cajole Henry. When he shows the expected resistance, Killian chuckles and helpfully says, “Go with your mum, lad. I’ll play a slow song that’s not as much fun for dancing.”

True to his word, he croons the song “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” as Henry acquiesces and comes back to his seat to shove French fries into his mouth as fast as possible. It might not be a good song for Henry’s style of dancing, but Killian’s smooth voice singing the beautiful lyrics is sending pleasant chills down my spine.

Another song with a slow tempo follows, during which my little man polishes off his fries. But when Killian starts “Footloose”, all bets are off and Henry is back on the dance floor with a chicken nugget squeezed into both of his chubby fists.

After we finish our meals, Belle, Ruby and Elsa leave to spend the rest of the evening with their boyfriends. Mary Margaret lingers, telling me she’ll stay to keep me company, because she’d rather not have to help David clean up his painting mess. We don’t want to take up a table, so we move to some empty seats along the edge of the patio from where we can still see my little dancing king.

“You’d think his battery would run down soon,” Mary Margaret comments.

“Are you serious? That kid is like the Energizer bunny, plus he’s been cooped up in stuffy dress shops all day. My money is on the singer wearing out before Henry.”

She’s uncharacteristically quiet for several minutes. When she finally speaks, she says quietly, “He really is very handsome and seems like a nice guy.”

Her statement is out of left field and I’m confused. “Who?”

“The singer - Killian,” she clarifies.

I narrow my eyes at her. “What’s your point?”

“No point. I was just making a comment,” she shrugs, all innocence.

I don’t believe her. Mary Margaret is the queen of set-ups and wears the crown proudly. She introduced Belle to Will, Ruby to Jefferson and Elsa, well, she introduced Elsa to Victor, but that didn’t work out very well. Elsa met Graham on her own.

“I’m not looking for someone to date, Mary Margaret. I’m still dealing with my idiot ex and trying to concentrate on raising my son not to follow in his father’s footsteps.”

“I understand, but…”

And it’s at this point I resign myself to the fact she’s going to spout some argument that’s going to weaken my resolve not to date.

“If Henry had a really good male role model in his life, it would help you in raising him to be a gentleman.”

“Seems to me David does a pretty good job of that, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I know,” she sighs, “but between working, getting the house ready and planning the wedding, his time with Henry is very limited.”

“The house will be ready before you get married and the wedding is in less than five months. After the honeymoon, he’ll have more time.”

“Oh, but then we’ll have children of our own, and you know how much time that takes.”

“Is this your way of telling me you’re pregnant, Mary Margaret?”

‘’What?” she gasps. “No! I’m just saying…”

“I know what you’re saying and I hear you. If the right guy comes along, I wouldn’t be opposed to dating him, but I’m not gonna try to force something to happen.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a date for the wedding, though?” she presses.

“Henry will be my date. He’ll be very dapper in his little tux.”

“But…”

“No buts, Mary Margaret. I don’t want to be set up with someone just so I don’t look pathetic at your wedding.”

We both fall silent as we watch Henry continue to dance in front of the bemused musician. Glancing at the time on my phone, I realize he’s been at it for well over an hour and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’s beginning to get dark and I know I’ll have to wrangle him into the car before too much longer for his bath and bedtime.

I feel a little sorry for Killian, though. Nobody else has taken him up on his offer to dance, despite his repeated invitations. In fact, most of the diners aren’t paying attention to him at all. I hate to take his number one fan home, especially when I’m able to sit back and relax while listening to some seriously good music.

“I’m going to take a little break and then I’ll be back,” Killian announces, lifting the guitar strap over his head.

“Well, I guess that’s my cue to take Henry home,” I say to Mary Margaret.

“I suppose so,” she agrees. “Let me say goodbye to him and then I have to be on my way, too. According to his text, David is anxious for me to see how the living room turned out.”

We both stand up and move toward the stage, but I stop in my tracks. Killian is squatting down in front of Henry, listening to him with a huge smile on his face. I don’t know what Henry is saying, and I’m not sure Killian will be able to understand it anyway. Henry has an extensive vocabulary for a three-year-old, but I listen to him with ‘mom ears’, which means I can actually decipher what he’s trying to say.

When we reach them, Killian looks up at us and whatever I was going to say flies right out of my head. From a distance, the man is handsome. Close up, he’s nothing short of breathtaking. Carefully trimmed scruff covers a jawline sharp enough to cut glass, his cheekbones would put every male model to shame, and his dark hair is swept back from his forehead with a few rogue strands hanging down enticingly. Even his slightly pointed ears are adorable.

But it’s his eyes that shut down the functioning part of my brain. To say they are blue is like saying the sun is a tad bit warm, and the way the waning light catches them makes them shine like sapphires. I’m aware that my mouth is hanging open like a fish on dry land, but I can’t seem to make it form actual words.

“Hello, Killian. We’ve been thoroughly enjoying your music tonight, even if we haven’t been showing it as much as this little guy.”

Thank God for the natural chattiness of Mary Margaret.

Killian reaches out to ruffle Henry’s sweaty hair, then stands up. “I’m very happy to hear that,” he says in that beautiful, lilting accent. “I was just telling young Henry here that I’ll play some special songs for him after the break.”

I finally find my tongue. “Oh, but I was coming to tell Henry it’s time to go home.”

My little con artist turns his baby browns on me. “Please, Mommy. I be a good boy, I pwomise.”

That’s just great. Now if I take him home, I’ll have to forfeit my Mom of the Year award.

Mary Margaret laughs. “Well, Henry and Emma may be able to stay, but I really have to go.”

Why did she emphasize my name so much? As if I don’t already know.

She hugs Henry and me, tells Killian goodbye, and winks at me as she passes by. Even without trying to set me up, she’s setting me up.

I look back at Killian, who finishes chugging a bottle of water and grins at me. Reaching out to take my hand, he shakes it and says, “It’s nice to meet you, Emma, and little Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Killian. Thanks for entertaining my son tonight.”

“It’s been my pleasure. I love how uninhibited kids are, and how joyful.”

“Well, his day certainly didn’t start out joyfully at all.” I shouldn’t have said it, but I’m still boiling about what Neal did to his own son, especially when this stranger seems so happy to spend time with him.

“No?” Killian questions. “May I ask what happened?”

I glance down at Henry, not wanting to bash his no-good father in front of him. He’s happily lining up little stones he collected along the edge of the patio, oblivious to the conversation going on above him.

“He was supposed to be with his dad this weekend, but he canceled. Again. So Henry was stuck shopping for wedding dresses with us all day.”

“I see.” He ponders for a second. “Would that wedding dress be for the lovely lass who just left…or someone else?”

“Yeah, it’s for Mary Margaret. She’s engaged to my brother.”

“I’m very glad I was able to make Henry’s day better, because his dancing did the same for me.” We watch Henry play, babbling to himself. “He seems like a happy little lad,” Killian observes.

“I do my best, but as a single mom, I make a lot of mistakes.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Love. All parents make mistakes. It’s a good thing kids have perfect aunts and uncles,” he says with a smirk.

“So, are you an imperfect father or a perfect uncle?” Am I really flirting with him right now?

“I have two nieces, so that would make me the latter.”

“Do you get to see them very often?”

“Aye, they live just a few miles from me, so I spoil them as often as possible. They’re my brother Liam’s girls.”

“Doesn’t sound like you’re originally from the U.S., if you don’t mind me saying.”

He chuckles again, rubbing his finger behind his right ear. “We were born in England and lived there until I was fourteen, then my father took a job here so we moved across the pond.”

“That explains the accent.”

He nods and checks his watch, blowing out a breath. “I should probably get back to my set. Will you allow young Henry to stay for a few more songs?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Sure. What’s another fifteen minutes in the grand scheme of things?”

A genuine smile splits his face. “Excellent! I think he’ll particularly like the next three or four songs I play.” He looks around and grabs a nearby chair from an empty table, setting it down beside me. “Won’t you please have a seat, Emma?”

“Such a gentleman,” I say, sinking onto the offered chair.

“Oh, I’m always a gentleman.”

Somehow I don’t mind him flirting with me.

He steps back on the stage, slips his guitar into place, and positions himself in front of the microphone. After giving me a wink, he announces in an overly accented, squeaky voice, “And now it’s time for Silly Songs with Killian. The part of the show where Killian comes out and sings…a silly song.”

I burst out laughing at the very familiar words. Henry is addicted to Veggie Tales, the wacky shows featuring talking fruits and vegetables. I love them because they teach good moral values; he loves them because they’re hilarious. His favorite part of every video is Silly Songs with Larry the Cucumber, which we watch over and over and over again. Apparently he conveyed this obsession to Killian.

Killian closes his eyes, somberly strums his guitar, and sings, “Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh, where is my hairbrush? Oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh where, oh wherrrrrrrre…is my hairbrush?”

Henry is jumping up and down like a kangaroo on a pogo stick, shouting, “Mommy! Mommy! It’s the Lawwy song! Keeyin is singin’ the Lawwy song!”

Wiping tears of laughter from my eyes, I look around at the half-dozen people at the tables, who are looking at the musician like he’s lost his damn mind. Bunch of sticks in the mud. Lighten up.

But Killian isn’t bothered by their response, or lack thereof. He smoothly transitions to another of Henry’s favorite silly songs. “Oh, everybody’s got a water buffalo. Yours is fast, but mine is slow. Oh, where’d we get them, I don’t know. But everybody’s got a water buffalo, oooooo.”

Henry is beside himself with excitement. He’s running around in a circle, waving his arms in the air in his best impression of a rabid chimpanzee.

Killian moves on to sing a few lines of “I Love My Lips” (I can’t help thinking I’m quite fond of them, too), followed by “The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”.

By this time, the diners have relaxed, laughing and clapping along with the crazy tunes. Meanwhile, my son has finally worn himself out, collapsing in a small heap in front of the stage, looking up at Killian adoringly.

“...and we’ve never been to Boston in the falllllll,” Killian concludes with a flourish and takes a deep, dramatic bow.

I dig into my purse and pull out a twenty dollar bill. I always try to watch my budget, but I’ll skip getting a chocolate caramel latte for a few days to compensate. It’s worth it for what Killian did for Henry tonight.

Walking up to the stage, I drop the bill into the tip jar, smiling up at the singer. He’s between songs, so I say, “Thank you so much, Killian. You’re my hero for entertaining Henry tonight. It was great and he loved it, didn’t you, kid?”

Henry jumps to his feet. “I weally did, Keeyin! I love Lawwy songs!”

“What do you tell him?” I prompt.

“Thank you, Keeyin,” he says obediently.

“You’re very welcome, lad. I play here again in three weeks. Perhaps you can stop in and see me again?” He’s talking to Henry, but he’s looking at me.

“Can we, Mommy?” Henry pleads.

I know we probably can’t. This restaurant is all the way across the city from where we live, plus it’s pretty expensive. Mary Margaret footed the bill today, but twelve bucks for a kid’s meal is a little steep and I won’t pay it. I don’t want to say any of this though, because my tired son is walking a thin line between lingering happiness and an emotional collapse. So I use the parental standard, “We’ll see.”

Taking Henry’s hand, I say, “Thanks, again, Killian. Have a good evening.”

Something that looks like slight panic flashes through those gorgeous eyes of his and he speaks into the microphone, “I’ll be back in five, folks.” He slides his guitar around to his back and steps off the stage, placing himself directly in front of me. “Emma, if I may be so bold, and if you’re not already dating someone, would you consider going out with me?”

“Wh-what?” Apparently, getting asked out by the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on renders me a bit stupid.

He lightly wraps his hand around my wrist and pulls me further toward the side of the patio for some privacy. “Even though we just met, I would really like to get to know you better.”

“But…but you don’t even know my last name.”

“What is it?”

“Cassidy.”

“Mine is Jones, so now we know each other a little better already.”

I stare at him, trying to think of a single reason why I should say no to him. “I…we…um…Henry and I, we…uh…we come as a packaged set.” That’s the way, Emma. Use your kid to try to scare him off. And you did it so gracefully, too.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m really quite fond of your son. That’s not a deal breaker,” he states firmly. He still hasn’t let go of my wrist and now he’s rubbing his thumb over it. I find I don’t mind at all.

“I…”

“Mommy, potty!” Henry announces.

Oh, geez. Killian has to get back to his set and Henry has to pee. I’m running out of time.

Dropping Henry’s hand, I rummage through my purse, trying to find a pen. “Got a piece of paper?” I ask, mid-rummage.

Killian dashes to his guitar case and pulls out a piece of sheet music, returning with it just as I locate the elusive pen. He plants his foot on a chair and slaps the paper down on his knee so I can scribble my number on it.

When I finish, I lift Henry into my arms and take off to find a bathroom. Before disappearing inside the restaurant, I glance back at Killian. He’s still standing where I left him, a broad smile on his face as he grips the paper in his hand. Raising my free hand, I give him a little wave and he returns it.

After I’ve had time to think about it, I might regret giving him my number. Right now I just have to keep my kid from peeing down the front of my dress.

*********

A year ago, Killian Jones was my hero for giving me a chance to relax while he entertained my son. Five months later, he was once again my hero by being my date to Mary Margaret and David’s wedding. Today, he’s still my hero because he’s continuously proving that not all men are incomparable asses.

On the contrary, he’s everything I dreamed a man should be, once upon a time. Killian Jones is talented, intelligent, funny, considerate, masculine, caring, loving, passionate, and a great conversationalist, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous (if I didn’t mention that, it would be a crime.) He’s the total package and I’m head-over-heels in love with him.

Oh, and he’s a fantastic role model for my little boy. I usually hate to admit when Mary Margaret is right, but in this case, she was unequivocally correct. He and Henry absolutely adore each other and it makes my heart so happy. They do everything together - read books, play Star Wars with lightsabers, build block towers, climb trees, ride bikes, you name it.

And Henry loves singing silly songs with his soon-to-be stepfather. What more could a mother want for her son? Except, perhaps, a sibling.

Killian and I are working on that…and thoroughly enjoying every second of it.

*********

Thank you for reading. I hope it brightened your day!

Tagging: @hookedmom​​​​​​ @kmomof4​​​​​​ @cs-rylie​​​​​​ @qualitycoffeethings​​​​​​ @grimmswan​​​​​​ @wyntereyez​​​​​​ @the-darkdragonfly​​​​​​ @ultraluckycatnd​​​​​​ @paradiselady19​​​​​​ @xarandomdreamx​​​​​​ @motherkatereloyshipper​​​​​​ @julesep3026​​​​​​ @courtorderedcake​​​​​​ @lfh1226-linda​​​​​​ @pawshapedheart​​​​​​ @vampcoffeegyrl23​​​​​​ @tiganasummertree​​​​​​ @captainswan4life85​​​​​​ @bluewildcatfanatic​​​​​​ @eleveneitherway​​​​​​ @elfiola​​​​​​ @kday426​​​​​​ @julieenchanted-swans​​​​​​ @gingerchangeling​​​​​​ @andiirivera​​​​​​ @djlbg​​​​​​ @jonesfandomfanatic​​​​​​ @snowbellewells​​​​​​ @huntressandlioness1​​​​​​ @anmylica​​​​​​ @booksteaandtoomuchtv​​​​​​ @pirateherokillian​​​​​​ @cocohook38​​​​​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​​​​​​ @laschatzi​​​​​​ @zaharadessert​​​​​​ @jennjenn615​​​​​​ @yasbio2015​​​​​​ @lyssapup27​​​​​​ @nachocheese-itsmycheese​​​​​​ @singersdd​​​​​​ @mie779​​​​​​ @undercaffinatednightmare​​​​​​ @winterbaby89​​​​​​ @xsajx​​​​​​ @jackieorioncat​​​​​​ @teamhook​​​​​​ @bdevereaux-blanche​​​​​​ @soniccat​​​​​​ @searchingwardrobes​​​​​​ @jarienn972​​​​​​ @apiratewhopines​​​​​​​ @softkilly​​​​​​​ @goforlaunchcee​​​​​​​ @kymbersmith-90​​​​​​​ @captainswan217-blog

[abbatoirablaze]

Deal With The Devil, Chapter 3

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: slight angst, mentions of aggression/violence, throwing things at people.

“Well, Stark…it sounds like you have a deal!” Steve smiled, downing his own drink.  The two men shook hands and Inez huffed from the bar.

“So, what now?” she growled, “we get married by a JP or have a big gigantic wedding where everyone pretends to get along?”

Steve looked at his soon-to-be bride from across the table and he shrugged, “it depends…how do you feel about premarital sex?”

“Steve…” Tony growled, his tone becoming a warning one. 

“I’m joking, Tony…come on…” Steve grinned playfully as he clapped his soon to be brother-in-law on the back, “I’ll take her virginity after we get married.  I’m not an animal!”

She sneered at him, “you’re disgusting.”

He chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest, “you take things too seriously, Inny…”

“Don’t call me that,” she hissed, her nose scrunching up at how he so easily called her by the nickname that Tony had given her when they were children, “you don’t get to call me that, Rogers.”

“Ohh, the last name,” he chuckled sarcastically, “you know, you’ll be a Rogers soon.  Calling me by my last name to distance yourself won’t do much, Inez.”

“Trust me…there’s not enough distance in this planet…”

“Maybe we should let Steve and Inez get to know each other…” Pepper suggested, “have them go out on a few dates bef-“

“Pass!” Inez sneered, cutting Pepper off, “seriously?  Can’t I just marry Peter? I mean it’s not like he’s your brother.  He’s your cousin.  There’s no relation between him and I.  It’s not like we are brother and sisters-in-law.”

“Inez…you’re going to marry Steve,” Tony sighed as his hands started rubbing his temples, “I’ve already explained this.  You marrying Steve will allow the three remaining original families to keep the peace in our boroughs while those idiots murder each other.  I’m doing it to ensure the safety of our people.  So please don’t make this harder than it has to be.  Please.”

“I have to be at the club…few meetings tonight, so I can’t do any ‘dates’ per se,” Steve shrugged, “but I could move her into my place immediately…she could get the lay of the land, before I lay with her…”

“Excuse me?”  

“What?” Pepper asked, “Move her in with you? Tony-“

“What did I just say about the sex jokes, Rogers?” Tony sighed.

“Don’t take it personally, or do, I don’t care,” Steve shrugged before looking at Inez once more, “but I feel like if I let you out of my sight after our lovely little engagement idea tonight, you’ll hop on the first flight you can to hide from me, my little bird.  Flighty little thing…that’s the vibe I get from you!”

Tony chuckled, knowing from the look in his sister’s eye that she had been thinking exactly that.  But she tried to hide the expression from her face as she shook her head at Steve, “What?  That’-That’s crazy.  Who would do something like that?”

“I’m good at reading people, Inez…” Steve said simply, giving his future bride a knowing look, “I helped one of my best friend’s sisters disappear because of a particularly brutal engagement.  I don’t need my pretty little wife doing the same because she doesn’t like the way I speak.”

“I’m not your wife…”

“Not yet,” he admitted with another simple shrug, “but you will be.  I intend on getting you to that altar…and then doing the dirtiest of things behind closed doors once you are my wife.”

She grimaced.

And Steve smiled.

Tony’s glass nearly cracked from the amount of pressure he was putting on it, trying not to reach across the table and punch the man who was talking about doing things to his sister. 

“We can have Inez’ stuff packed up and sent to your home so that by the time the two of you are finished with your night out on the town it’s there,” Pepper said softly, putting her hand over Tony’s, “we can all make this work with a little effort…right?”

“Yeah…sure…”Tony grumbled.

Inez looked away from her sister-in-law, and brother, towards the man that she was going to be marrying.  Steve puckered his lips and teased a kiss. 

She looked away from him and to the ground, a tear slipping down her cheek.

“Sounds good to me.  Thank you for all of your generosity, Tony…as promised, I’ll make sure that none of my men are involved and that Brooklyn stays out of whatever fight happens between Staten Island and The Bronx.” Steve said quickly, standing from his spot at the table.  He walked over to where Inez was sitting and lifted her cheek, wiping away the lone tear, “don’t cry, Inez…you are not a caged bird.  And I will not harm you.  You’ll see that I can be a very good husband.  All joking aside, I do have some decorum.”

“You’re a self-righteous ass, Steve Rogers.”

“And soon enough I’m going to be your self-righteous ass, Inez,” he said softly, his fingers trailing down her cheek, before falling away from her face.  He gave her another soft smile, before holding his hand out to her, “come on…we have to get back to the club.  I have other meetings to attend to, and I want to get you settled first.”

“Are you alright?” he asked once more as another one of his generals left his office, “I could get someone to bring you a drink…or some food.  I know that we didn’t have a chance to grab dinner before-“

She gave him another frown as she crossed her arms from the large couch behind and off to the side of his desk, “does it really matter what I say that I want, Steve?”

“Of course it does,” he answered with his own frown, “you’re going to be my wife, Inez.  I want you to be taken care of.  All jokes aside, I mean that.  I really do.”

“Then don’t make me marry you…stay out of whatever war is going to happen because it’s the right thing to do.”

“But if I do that, Tony and Peter will cut me out of whatever territory doesn’t get carved up by the fighting,” he noted, “keeping you by my side ensures that they keep me in the fold.  After all, you should know that.  You don’t leave family out in the cold, hungry and alone.  You and Tony seem close.”

“We are…”

“And it’ll stay that way,” he reminded her, “don’t be mad at your brother for what he’s doing.  You know he probably could have done worse.”

“I’ve heard of you,” she admitted softly, “well, your father.”

“My father was a ruthless asshole,” he admitted with a frown, “but his results weren’t anything to be laughed at.”

“Your territory is small.”

“Small but effective…”

She nodded and gave him a guilty look as her stomach grumbled, “I-I might be a little hungry.”

“I can have the kitchen whip something up for you.”

“You aren’t going to eat?” she asked softly.  Steve nearly dropped the phone that he’d picked up as he looked back at her.  His brow raised and she pulled her arms tight around herself, “Wh-what?”

“Since when did you start caring about me?” he teased playfully with a scoff.

She frowned, and her cold exterior pushed back out into the room, “I don’t.”

“Says the girl who just asked if I was going to eat too.”

“As far as I know you haven’t eaten today…I mean, I didn’t see you eat anything…” she shrugged dismissively, “I was trying to be nice…dick.”

Steve chuckled, enjoying the back and forth ever so slightly, as not many in his inner circle had the audacity to be a little rough around the edges with him.

“I haven’t.”

“Well, you should…” she said simply, as though that would end the conversation, “eat I mean…”

“You know…people don’t normally do things like that for me…remind me to eat or-“

“Well, they should…mob boss or not, you’re still a human.  And you still need to eat meals to survive, Steve.”

“Be careful…I might start to think that you care about me…”

“I don’t…”

“What do you want to eat, Inny?”

“Don’t call me that,” she grumbled softly, looking away from him.  Steve continued to watch her for a moment, and she sighed, mumbling under her breath, “pizza…”

“Not a salad?”

Her head shot up, and her brow raised. 

Steve could feel the tension lighting up the room, “if you’re one of those guys…you can cut the bullshit right now!” 

“One of what guys?”

“I don’t spend my days eating nothing but salad and doing fad diets,” she hissed as her arms wrapped even tighter around herself, “and if you insinuate that I need to-“

“I’m not,” he said quickly, laughing as he cut her off, “just…most women don’t have real appetites around me…it’s refreshing…”

“You’re eating it too!” she huffed, “I want pepperoni.”

“Yes ma’am,” Steve chuckled as he called downstairs, telling them he wanted a pizza and a few cokes, “anything else, my queen?”

“You could drop the sarcasm!” she commented dryly.

“Have someone pick up something that’s chocolate and extremely sweet…I think the wife might be hitting her time of the month.”

Steve almost didn’t dodge the heel that was thrown at him as he hung up his phone. 

Sam wasn’t so lucky as it managed to catch him in the thigh as he opened the door. 

“You have horrible aim!” Steve laughed, smirking at her.

“Well, I don’t exactly spend my time throwing things at assholes!” she growled.

“Steve, stop riling up your future wife!” Sam frowned, rubbing his thigh, “she throws those shoes really hard.”

“I’m sorry!” Inez frowned, feeling bad over hitting one of Steve’s men, when the shoe had been meant for her fiancé.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Sam shrugged, “I understand that Steve can be a lot sometimes…trust me.  I grew up with him.  I’ve seen women throw a lot of things at him.”

Steve frowned as Inez giggled, and he didn’t like the fact that Sam had developed such an easy back and forth with her.

“Is there something you needed, Sam?”

“Barnes has been messaging me.  There hasn’t been any movement in their territory.”

Steve shrugged, “so?”

“He doesn’t want to spend any more time out there than necessary.”

“Fine,” Steve sighed, “have him pick up the pizza I ordered from downstairs and across the street for me and Inez.”

“Pizza?” Sam questioned his friend and boss, “since when do you eat pizza, boss?”

Steve frowned his brow furrowing as he answered Sam, “I eat pizza.”

“Steve, I’ve worked for you since I came up.  We grew up together and I’m your second in command,” Sam chuckled, “and not once have I’ve never seen you eat anything unhealthy…let alone eat pizza.”

Inez smirked and crossed her arms, “you eat salads all the time, don’t you?”

“Steve’s diet is drinks and the occasional fruit that comes in them!” Sam chuckled, “that or the meal prepping that Barnes does for him.  He’s gonna be pissed that you’re eating pizza.”

“That punk will get over it,” Steve shrugged, “have him pick it up.  And I guess he can meet Inez too…all of you need to be aware of who she is and that it’s your jobs to protect her just like you’d protect me.”

“If they hate you, you’re just giving them a reason to hate me too!” she frowned. 

Steve gave her a sad look as he turned to glance at her, “are you insinuating that my people don’t like me?”

“I don’t…and I’m apparently ‘your people,’ so….”

“Correction, Inez…you’re my wife.  You’re not ‘my people,’ so you don’t count!”

“Correction!” she mocked, shaking her head at him, “not yet…you know you settled into the idea of being married to me pretty quickly, Steve…I guess I’m not so ugly after all.”

Sam couldn’t stop his laughter and Steve gave him another firm look, “did you need something else, Sam?”

“Oh no…I’m good,” Sam chuckled, putting his phone into his pocket after he texted Bucky about the food, “but this…this is comedic gold, right here.  Your future wife is gonna keep you in line for sure.”

“You can go, Sam…thank you!” Steve frowned.

Sam gave his boss another nod before leaving the room, and Inez threw her other shoe, albeit a little softer. 

It did hit Steve this time.

Right between his shoulder blades. 

He turned from his chair and looked at the barefoot woman curled up on his couch.  She gave him an innocent look.

“What?” he asked, slightly irritated with her.

“I’m tired…”

He huffed before taking off his suit’s jacket and tossing it beside her on the couch, “use your arm as a pillow…I’ll wake you up when the food gets here.”

“There’s no pillows or blankets, or-“

“You know, you’re awfully needy for someone who doesn’t want me or anything to do with me.”

“Yeah…well you’re-“

“I’m what…”

“I don’t know,” she huffed with a frown, “I’m tired and hungry…and not sober…leave me alone.”

“Take a nap, Inny…”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” she mumbled, curling up under Steve’s jacket.  He chuckled as she yawned, and she pouted from behind closed eyes, “stop laughing at me, jerk.”

Chapter 4

Tag List:  @teambarnes72, @prokey16, @lohnes16

[silverhallow]

Part 4: Making a Motion

Summary: perhaps a Princess can have her cake and eat it...?

(this is also on AO3)

When Sophie returned to the room she felt all eyes on her, she knew she and Phillip were supposed to give some sort of speech to the guests, preparation for tomorrow, thanking people for travelling and whatever else Ann had written into her speech but she knew she wasn’t going to read it.

She walked over to Phillip who offered his arm, he had no idea about the change of heart, the thoughts that were going through Sophie’s head at that moment and he was preparing for the speech, the last thing they would do before parting for the evening and then tomorrow they would become Man and Wife.

He looked at Sophie as she walked over to him, and she took his arm but as they reached the podium where the microphone was Sophie paused, they were away from everyone, the only person near them was Edmund Bridgerton, he had a part to play in reading out a proclamation for the wedding and seeing Benedict’s father made her decision for her in an instant.

“Phillip, wait…” she said quietly. Stopping him, pausing and turning to face him and took a deep breath, “everyone deserves a chance at finding true love, right?” she said

Phillip looked confused “erm… yes?”

“Including us?” she asked as she held the ring out that she removed and held out to him.

Phillip blinked for a moment before a smile appeared on his face “thank you…” he said and Sophie looked confused “Uhhh for saving me for doing the proper thing for once in my life… Now… i just have to tell George” he grimaced knowing his brother would be giving the whole I told you so routine.

“And I need to tell everyone else” Sophie said and the both just grinned at each other before saying “Good luck”

Sophie took a deep breath, with everyone staring at her she made her way up to the podium, a brief glance around the room and she couldn’t see Benedict, but she knew he wasn’t the reason she was doing this but she was doing this for her.

She didn’t want to be forced into something against her will and she hoped she could appeal to everyone for some compassion…

“Good evening everyone…A few moments ago, I realised the only reason I was getting married was because of a law, and that didn't seem like a good enough reason so I won’t be getting married tomorrow” she started, her confidence growing as she talked

“My grandmother has ruled without a man at her side for some time now and she rocks at it so as the Granddaughter of Queen Sarah and King Reginald, I ask the members of Parliament to think about your daughters, your nieces, and sisters, and granddaughters, and ask yourselves: would you force them to do what you're trying to make me do? I believe I will be a great queen. I understand Penwood to be a land that combines the beauty of the past with all the best hope of the future. I feel in my heart and soul that I can rule Penwood. I... I love Penwood. Do you think that I would be up here at a Wedding rehearsal if I didn’t… I know I can take us forward, I know I can be the Queen the country needs… so I stand here ready to take my place as your queen. Without a husband.” she said passionately.

There was an outbreak of applause and Sophie smiled knowing she’d gotten to them but Lord Cowper, one of the eldest members of parliament, the grumpiest and stickler for the laws in Sophie's opinion said “what about the law? ”

There was a lot of muttering from the members of parliament, and someone bemoaning about Cavander when Sophie felt someone at her shoulder and when she turned she saw Edmund beaming at her and he coughed “Make a motion”

“What?” sophie whispered back to him

“Make a motion… only you can change it… make a bloody motion to change the marriage law!” he whisper shouted at her

“Oh!” Sophie said with a bright smile.

“My Lords…” Sophie said as a hush moved over the crowd “I move to abolish the marriage law in its entirety, as to how it applies to present and future Queens of our great country…”

“Does anyone second the motion?” Edmund asked, knowing that this was his role and he just hoped that Sophie’s speech and appealing for them to think of the women in their life would work.

Silence fell over the crowd and Sophie felt her stomach sink, “hold their gaze” Edmund said and seeing the stern look of Sophie’s face whispered “softer…”

Sophie felt her face loosen and tried not to let her fear and hope show on her face as she looked around the room.

Just as she was starting to lose hope Lord Ashworth, the one person Sophie did not expect to help her nodded and raised a hand “I second the motion. Change is good, we need change”

Sophie felt her heart swell as Cowper next to him nodded.

Edmund grinned “All in favour of Abolishing the Marriage Law in entirety say Aye”

Lord Cowper started with an approving “Aye”and then much to Sophie’s surprise Lord Cavander, who would have inherited the crown for his son, raised his hand and said “Aye, the country needs a strong hand and I have faith you will do a fine job your highness” as his son look outraged

Sophie blinked as there were a few gasps around the room as Phillip Cavendar protested and his father shot him a glare “shush you, you had your chance but ruined it. She is far better prospect than you ever shall be” Philip wanted to argue with his father but his mother placed a hand on his shoulder and a look made him go quiet immediately as the rest of the Lord’s all said “Aye” 

Sophie beamed as Edmund said “The Aye’s have it, Congratulations your Highness” 

Following Edmund’s words, Sophie could have sagged but looked at her Prime Minister with a curious look as there was cheers and congratulatory applause “why did you tell me of this earlier?” she shot at him quietly

“I only learned of it last week, and have not had the opportunity to pass the information on” he replied but any further conversation was cut off as well wishers and people clamouring for Sophie’s attention, including her grandmother, descended upon her and she was lost in a sea of people but she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

The full marriage law was abolished, she was free to marry whomever she chose and she was still going to be Queen!

The only thing that would have made the rest of the night perfect, was if Benedict had been there to witness it for he had disappeared whilst she was out of the room and she had not seen him since.

~*~

Benedict hadn’t been able to stay and watch, neither had Eloise. He knew his sister had a crush on Sir Phillip and that she was feeling the pain of watching the person you wanted to be with be with another as acutely as he was so they had stuck together during the early parts of the party.

He hated that he’d been forced to come but as his father was Prime Minister and his brother was married to Sophie’s eventual Chief of Staff, he knew there was no way of getting out of it.

He had it settled in his mind that once the wedding was done the following day, and the coronation in a week's time, he would be on the first flight out of the country. He had plans to go to America, to find a studio over there and paint and pour his heartache into his art.

He’d bring Eloise with him when he was settled, she could apply to a University in America so she could get away from it as well. 

It was not fair but Benedict knew Sophie had an impossible choice, and he knew that she was the best thing that ever happened to the country and that she was born to be Queen ad he could never ask her to give that up for him so he’d agreed with his mother that he would plaster a smile on his face, he would sit through the wedding ceremony that would break his heart into irreparable pieces with a fake smile on his face, he would do his duty as the Prime Minister’s son, and then leave the country and never to return home.

That was the way it had to be.

But the party was harder than he had thought it would be. He’d been around Sophie and Phillip over the last few weeks and it hadn’t hurt this much.

He had been behind a camera, able to hide his feelings but now, he had to watch them as the future Queen and Prince Consort knowing full well that if circumstances were different, if his father’s title was more than just a Lord and a Viscount, that he could have been the one on Sophie’s arm. The one who was going to marry her.

But alas, he was naught but a second, untitled, son and therefore not eligible enough for the Princess and Future Queen.

He sighed into his drink, tried not to watch her, but given the silver of her gown… his eyes were drawn towards her, she looked like an angel.

By the time she was making her way over to his father and he knew he was going to have to attempt to offer his sincere congratulations to her and Sir Phillip, he felt sick.

He had managed to keep his eyes from meeting hers all evening but as they approached her green eyes met his blue and held his gaze for a moment causing them both to freeze.

He watched as she left the room and he knew he had to do the same, with a tap to Eloise’s arm, knowing she didn’t want to be there any more than he did, he whispered “lets get out of here” and he steered her from the room.

They got in the car and got home and as he did so, he turned off his phone. He had no intention of speaking to anyone as he picked up his bottle of Whiskey and he hoped with all hope that tomorrow would never come…

[thatbadadvice]

Help! What If A Person Has A Human Body At My Wedding?

Dear Prudence, Slate, 17 August 2022:

Q. Am I wrong to think his actions were rude and disrespectful toward me at their family BBQ? I recently met my fiancé’s family for the first time at the family BBQ which his mom and dad organized at their cabin at the lake. Everything went well overall until the end. They seemed like friendly people. The sister initially I thought was a bit stand-offish but by the end, we had a chance to chat and my perspective of her changed. Mind you I am a very intuitive person and I can usually pick up people’s energy. I am also an introvert, so it takes me time to warm up to people. As we were winding down to say goodbye to everyone, I was standing next to my fiancé and directly behind his brother with just a small space between myself and the brother.

The brother decided to let one out loudly. A huge loud fart. This is a full-grown, married man acting in this way. My fiancé’s reaction was to pull me closer to him. His family’s reaction was to scoff it off. I can tell his wife was not pleased but also smiled about it. I felt embarrassed and disrespected but I played it cool until a few days later when I attempted to talk to my fiancé about it, to tell him how I felt. And how I was concerned for this type of behavior to happen at our wedding. His brother had texted him the next day and stated he “felt bad for farting on me.” My fiancé became defensive and angrily stated, “I won’t invite them then if you are worried about your family being disrespected.”

He said I was getting too worked up about it. Am I wrong to think his brother was rude and disrespectful for releasing gas loudly on me? Whether he did it intentionally or not, that’s not something you do in the presence of a stranger you have never met before. I need some advice on how to move forward because I feel like the next family encounter will be awkward, especially if he is going to be my fiancé’s best man at our wedding. Please give me some advice.

-- Rude Welcome Into The Family

Dear Rude Welcome,

Wedding days are fraught enough without the threat of the possibility of a person potentially passing gas somewhere in the general vicinity of the proceedings, the all time worst thing that could ever happen at or to a wedding in the era of overlapping global pandemics and climate-change-induced extreme weather events. 

So no, you are emphatically not too worked up about this -- of all the things that could go wrong on your special day, one guy doing a fart is absolutely at the top of the list. When people think of things that could absolutely fucking decimate the day they’ve spent months, even years, planning, they think of a man farting. Brides and grooms the world over lay awake at night, trying to game out every terrifying eventuality that could result in the total destruction of their wedding experience, but none looms so large as: a fart.

You are infinitely kind and patient to entertain the thought that the fart could have been accidental, but we both know that all humans everywhere can contain their gaseous emissions all the time, because all our bodies all work exactly the same, and everyone knows that a barbecue meal of greasy smoked meats accompanied by flavorful greens and soupy baked beans is unlikely to produce alimentary gas! The math simply does not add up! This man is coming for you directly and specifically with his butt! The call is coming from inside this full-grown married man’s rectal cavity, and you mustn’t answer it! 

Trust your impeccable intuition for once. And indeed it’s lucky that this gastrointestinal, barbecudinal tragedy befell you, an intuitive person, before your future brother-in-law had a chance to raze an entire church with a toot. A person less attuned to the ~ vibes ~ of the universe might not have recognized this man as the agent of chaos he so clearly is, but you sussed out his nefarious flatus for what it truly is: the sheer essence of disrespect, an intentional and deliberate flatulative assault on you personally, and a warning shot across the bow of your future wedding vows. This man cannot be allowed anywhere near your nuptials, lest the force of his flatulence blow the entire wedding party to kingdom come, a thing he clearly intends to do on purpose because he had gas after eating barbecue one time when you were there.

In fact, you may consider retaining a notary to stand watch at the entry to your venue so that they can witness signatures for those guests who are willing to enter into a contractual agreement not to pass wind for for the following five hours. Attendees who are unwilling to show you this most basic sign of respect by shutting down the normal functions of their human body during an event that probably includes an elaborate sit-down meal could perhaps watch a livestream of the ceremony in the comfort of their own disgusting, fart-filled homes like the repulsive trash goblins they are.

[zablife]

Luca Takes Your Photo

Part of my Corrupt a Wish challenge.

Request: Taking a photo of them smiling. Requested by a lovely anon.

Warnings: blackmail, language, Corrupt a wish reminder: If you think this story has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention. Proceed with caution.

Author's Note: Reader is engaged to Angel Changretta, but previously dated Luca when they were young. Luca is now dating reader's sister.

You closed the door to Luca’s office and carefully approached his desk. The only sound was the wobble of your heels against the polished floor as you tried to control your anxious movements. Clutching the manila envelope to your chest you looked at your future brother-in-law with watery eyes and asked, “Luca, what’s the meaning of this?” 

He smiled, but the emptiness in his eyes frightened you as he replied, "What have you got there?”

You extended the envelope with a shaky hand and he leaned forward cocking his head at you. You wanted to scream at him because he knew very well what was enclosed. He had sent them to your home the night before, intending the salacious photos to find their way into Angel’s hands. Luckily, you had intercepted them just in time. 

He opened the envelope slowly and dumped the contents out, pushing the stark black and white images across the surface of his desk with one finger until they were lined neatly in a row. He leaned back in his chair and studied them before turning his attention back to you. “Tsk, tsk. What would my brother think if he saw these obscene pictures of you? It might make him change his mind about the wedding, don’t you think?” he said, holding your gaze like a challenge to see if he could intimidate you, but you persisted.

“Photos of me? Luca, anyone can see that’s my sister. Angel would never believe-” 

Luca stopped you, interjecting, “Wouldn’t he?” He picked up a single photograph and tilted it against the light. “It’s honestly very hard to tell from the quality. You look so much alike," he pointed out. Then he added threateningly, "To a jealous man like my brother that would be all he would need to throw you out into the street.”

You turned your head away, not wanting to listen to him. Your mind raced suddenly as you imagined Angel confronting you. You didn’t want to admit it, but you knew Luca was right about his brother. The Changretta men all had the same vicious temper made worse by the violence of their business. 

The only way to get out of this would be to try and appeal to Luca’s sense of humanity. You weren’t sure why he was doing this to your family or who may have put him up to it, but he held a fondness for you once when you were younger and you intended on tugging at his heartstrings. 

“Luca, I don’t understand. I thought you were happy with my sister.  If you cared for me once, why would you do something like this? Why do you hate me so now?” you asked, giving him a look that pleaded for mercy.

Luca shook his head in agitation. “You misunderstand my intentions, amore.”

“Luca, please don’t call me that. We haven’t been a couple for years. It will give Angel the wrong impression,” you begged of him.

Pounding a fist on his desk, he stood to tower over you. “You were mine first! Mine! I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want!” he shouted.

Your whole body flinched at his show of aggression toward you and you took a timid step back toward the door. Luca had turned into someone you didn’t recognize these past few years. He had once been a kind, caring young man who made you laugh. Now his gentle demeanor had been replaced with a brash sense of entitlement and an obsession with power. Everyone in the neighborhood knew he enforced his threats and now you were horribly afraid he would go through with his attempt to blackmail you.

Coming out from behind his desk, Luca crossed to you in two quick strides and captured your arms just above your elbows in a painfully tight grip. Furrowing his brow in confusion he said, “No, I don’t think you do understand. Angel never deserved you, but I do.” You gasped and he took your chin in his hand with such force you worried it might bruise.  Tears welled in your eyes as he instructed in a low voice, “Listen to me carefully, there won't be any need for the photos if you call off your engagement to my brother. Then you'll be free to become my wife.” 

You couldn’t help the tear that slipped down your cheek as you whispered, “What if I say no?”

Luca clenched his jaw in frustration, then huffed out a loud sigh of annoyance at how difficult you were being. Suddenly a knock came at the door and Angel’s voice could be heard on the other side. “Luca?” he called out.

Luca placed a hand over your mouth as he leaned in to whisper, “Do what you want, amore, but remember this, if I can’t have you, no one will.” Then he threw you away harshly with both hands. You stumbled backward, rubbing your jaw as he cleared his desk and called for his brother.

As Angel entered the room, you felt Luca watching you. You wiped your tears in time to greet your fiance, trying to decide what to do as time slipped through your fingers.

“There’s my gorgeous girl,” Angel said, leaning in to kiss you on the cheek. “Isn’t she beautiful, Luca?” Angel said turning to his brother. 

Luca looked down at the envelope in his hand, tapping it against the desk like a ticking time bomb as he chuckled darkly. Looking up at you with a menacing smirk he replied, “She is. Pictures really don’t do her justice.”

[goodqueenaly]

So I was kind of dumb and instead of answering an ask in my inbox I just deleted it. Whoops. Anyway I don't remember who asked this or what exactly they said but I remember it had to do with Rhaenyra betrothing her two oldest sons to Baela and Rhaena so let's just talk about that.

I think it's probably accurate to say that the betrothals were arranged by Rhaenyra to underline her own personal affection for Laena (and, perhaps, Daemon as well) - and, at the same time, her personal antagonism toward the green faction at court. Gyldayn reports the betrothal immediately after noting that "[w]hilst Princess Rhaenyra misliked her stepmother, Queen Alicent, she became fond and more than fond of her good-sister Lady Laena" and observing that Rhaenyra and Laena spent a good amount of time together. Moreover, while we can’t say for certain how Rhaenyra felt about her uncle in 118 AC, there seems to have been enough of a relationship there between them for Daemon to exploit two years later, when both of them had lost their spouses (partly arranged by him, of course) and he was looking to secure his own politico-dynastic future. These people were, in other words, Rhaenyra’s favored relations: her cousin and sister “by all the laws of marriage and the bonds” she shared with Laenor (to borrow Cersei’s language from AGOT), and her uncle as well as her husband’s brother-in-law. In the manner of Targaryens who had wed their relations for centuries and millennia, and just as her own paternal grandparents had been siblings betrothed and then wed together by their own parents based on the clear affection they had for one another, so Rhaenyra was going to marry her sons to the daughters of her own close family members, based on her personal affection for those relatives. 

Just as well, the betrothals may have been an open declaration by Rhaenyra that the greens had no claim to her sons. Rhaenyra may have been aware, or at least suspected (and it would hardly have been a huge leap in logical guesswork), that Alicent had schemed to marry her to her half-brother Aegon. Although Viserys had refused that marriage, Rhaenyra might have suspected that Alicent would look to her, Rhaenyra’s, children for marriage matches in the future in order to seize upon Rhaenyra’s claim, to have a hostage against Rhaenyra’s loyalty to the green faction, and/or to compromise Rhaenyra’s factionalism against the green party. If Alicent had imagined a marriage between Aegon and Rhaenyra, 10 years apart, would it be so unusual (at least in Rhaenyra’s mind) to suspect Alicent of scheming to marry Jacaerys Velaryon to her Helaena, only five years Jacaerys’ senior? (Especially since Viserys had set out to raise her Jacaerys and Alicent’s Daeron as virtual twins in the hope of fostering fraternal love between them.) By betrothing her sons so young - and doubling down on the black faction’s ties to House Velaryon - Rhaenyra was making very clear that her sons (at least the oldest two) would never be nuptial pawns in the hands of the green faction.

It is worth considering too, I think, the extent to which Rhaenyra’s move to betroth Jacaerys and Lucerys was to some extent a response to her own betrothal to Laenor. Gyldayn presents it as undisputed that Rhaenyra personally had no desire to marry Laenor Velaryon, and that it took Viserys’ threat to remove her from the succession for Rhaenyra to acquiesce to the marriage. She had, in sum, been used as a political pawn by her father, her own desires and personal feelings put aside so that the crown could “unite and strengthen the royal bloodline, and regain … the friendship of the Sea Snake with his powerful fleet”. By betrothing her sons to these cousins whose mother (and, perhaps, father as well) Rhaenyra liked so much, Rhaenyra could prioritize the personal over the political in a way that her own father had not in her betrothal.

Were these marriages the most politically advantageous betrothals Rhaenyra might have made for her sons? No, I would say probably not. Only the spectacularly naive Viserys I could have imagined that his death would not result in a major civil war, and Rhaenyra had every reason to suspect that her claim would be challenged by the green party. As both factions demonstrated IOTL at the start of the Dance, great lordly allies would be necessary to triumphing in this civil war -  great lordly allies whose allegiance would be bought at least in part via royal marriages (like Aemond’s offer of his own hand for one of the daughters of Borros Baratheon or Jacaerys’ offer of his brother Joffrey’s hand for a daughter of Lord Desmond Manderly). By betrothing her two eldest sons to their (ostensible) first cousins, however - and specifically cousins whose grandparents were already Rhaenyra's chief aristocratic supporters - Rhaenyra chose not to court such allies prior to the start of the war. This is not to say, obviously, that Rhaenyra was doomed without making such nuptial alliances - certainly we see as much with those who sided with the black faction during the Dance - but rather that Rhaenyra’s motivations with her sons betrothals were, I think, largely if not indeed purely personal rather than political. 

(This is a continual reminder that I don't talk about That Other Show and that I will block anyone who uses this or any other post of mine to talk about That Other Show.)