#Guess I have to settle with becoming her sister in law…

[staytinyville]

OUTLAW (15)

ATEEZ poly!ot8 x Reader

Cowboy AU / Wild West

Series Masterlist

Warning: None

BETA READ (@mariana-mmtz)

It had been two weeks later by the time any of the boys came back to tell you about the others. Yeosang and Seonghwa had been staying with Jongho and Yunho in the meantime, rather than going back to the camp. The whole thing with the outlaw and you, made you feel unnerved. Your neighbors would look at you like you were dirt, sneering when you would pass by.

You realized the only people who didn’t look at you a certain way were the ones who stayed out late at night. Word hadn’t spread far for the real reason why you were sent to the police station, but you already knew that whatever the sheriff thought of you was what he told everyone else. 

The girl who you had saved, you learned worked in the stables of your neighborhood. She was 17, only a year older than your sister. In fact, your sister expressed how they went to school together, telling you that the girl had always been shy but after the murders she didn’t dare to look at anyone. 

It made you upset knowing she was traumatized. You wanted to get to know her, try to make her return to normal. But going through something like that, you guessed it wouldn’t be easy. You sighed to yourself as you were brought out of your head with Jongho and Yunho walking up to the front desk. 

Yeosang and Seonghwa walked out of the office, coming to stand next to you as you leaned your torso over the wood. 

“We might have found something.” Yunho spoke up. 

“What do you mean?” You frowned.

“Captain left a message for us.” The tall man leaned closer, glancing around to make sure no one was near. “They made tracks going one way but the ashes left from the campfire were blown another.” He explained. “They left in that direction.” His eyes found his friends, watching as they understood what he was talking about. 

“We have to find them.” You quickly said. 

“One step at a time, Love.” Jongho sighed. “Me and Yunho will take care of it, seeing as you all need to stay for work.”

Yeosang and Seonghwa both pursed their lips, realizing that they couldn’t just take off with a good enough excuse. 

“That's not fair.” You softly cried. 

“Honey, it's how jobs work.” Yeosang wrapped his arm around your waist, rubbing his thumb in a soothing manner.

“I'll find something to tell my parents.” You shook your head, turning to look at the man. “I have to go see them too.”

While you knew they were safe from the law in Cromer, it didn’t stop you from worrying about other towns being on the lookout for the outlaws as well. It was common for towns to be in the know about other crimes happening nearby. Who knew how far they had to go to find a safe place. 

“We'll come up with something.” Yunho sighed, watching as your eyes seemed to become downcast. 

You took in a deep breath, trying to come up with the best idea you could. The only issue you had at the moment was coming up with an excuse to give to your parents. There were a lot of things you could tell them, however it was best to create a full story just in case cracks started to show. 

Looking over at the boys, your eyes stopped on Seonghwa which caused him to look at you with wide eyes. 

“Seonghwa never told my parents where he was from.” You spoke up. “What if we say he has sick family in Dune. It's a few hours by horse. We'll be back in two days.”

They all began to think over the story, nodding to themselves when they saw it as a good excuse. However, while that would be able to get the boys free from work, they couldn’t guarantee your days off. 

“That settles our story, but why would you need to be going?” Yeosang questioned. 

“I'll tell them I'll be your navigator.” You quickly prattled off. “That you don't know how to get to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa raised a brow as you looked at him. 

His gave Yunho a side eye, trying to fight off the grin that threatened to overtake his lips. There were things you wanted to do in life and you would do anything to achieve them. At the moment, going to find the rest of the boys was all you wanted to do. It made heat bloom within his chest to see you care so much about wanting to see all of them.

You had four very capable men standing in front of you and yet, you knew that they felt lost without the rest of them. You couldn’t choose to stay with just one, you wanted to make sure they were all together. He had never met someone who thought of others needs before their own. You were selfless, and it caught all of their attention.

“You sure about this?” He asked you.

“I have it planned.” You smiled, nodding your head. “You two go to tell them about Seonghwa’s family. Once they accept your leave, tell them you need a navigator.” 

As they boys all took the moment to come to an understanding, they all set off in the direction they needed to. When the deputies went back to their room to gather their things, Yeosang and Seonghwa went to find your parents. 

When they came across your father in the saloon, deciding to ask him, seeing as he was the boss. With a smile on his face, Yeosang was the one who spoke to him.

“We would like to speak to you about asking for some days off.” The man softly asked.

“Oh,” Your father raised his eyebrows. “What is it?” 

“I got a letter that my grandmother is sick.” Seonghwa sighed deeply, trying his best to sound like he was worried. “She's currently in Dune where my family is taking care of her. I would like to go see her, just in case the worst comes.”

“Well, I mean of course. You can take however long you need.” Your father was a kind man. He knew what it was like to have sick family. 

Your grandmother left this world before your grandfather, having died of fever. Your grandfather died shortly thereafter to a broken heart. While your father wasn’t an only child, he was the only son and the eldest. His sisters left the home to care for their husbands, which left your father in charge of caring for his parents. 

It wasn’t Seonghwa’s duty to take care of his grandmother, but your father remembered how upset you were to lose your grandmother. If Seonghwa was as close to his grandparents as you were, your father knew how much it hurt to know they were sick. 

It pulled at your chest to know that it was all a lie. But when you returned, all you could easily say was that it was a normal sickness and that she would be fine in the following weeks. 

“Three days should suffice. It's enough to rest and travel.” Seonghwa continued on.

“Both you and Yeosang then?” Your father questioned. 

“Actually, we were hoping we could ask for a navigator. I don't really know the route to Dune from Cromer.” Seonghwa took a glance at you, watching as you came up behind your father.

“Well, I guess you can take (B/N)-”

“I'll do it.” You spoke up, a grin on your face as you looked at your father. 

“You?” Your father says skeptically.

“You told me to talk with Yeosang. I'll have plenty of time on the trip.” You tried to explain to him. 

“I don't know about that anymore, (Y/N).” While he did tell you to act buddy-buddy with Yeosang, going out for three days with two men was not exactly something your father saw as a good idea.  

“It'll be fine. I promise.” You told him, giving him a bright smile to show there was nothing to worry about. 

“Well alright.” Your father said slowly. “You all be careful.” He was looking at you, worry showing in his eyes. 

You gave him a hug, turning to give the boys a smile. “I'll go pack. We can leave in a moment.” As you turned to leave, your father was left with the two boys. 

“You boys better take care of my daughter.” He told them. 

“With our life.” Yeosang nodded his head. 

It took 30 minutes to pack up all you needed. With a tearful goodbye from your mother, you went on your way, riding on your own family horse this time rather than sitting behind Yeosang or Seonghwa. 

You sighed to yourself as you started your journey once you hit the road out of your family's estate. It was the first time you were leaving the house alone for a couple of days. You understood why your mother was upset, but also you felt like this was the first time you were someone. 

You had spent your entire life up until then doing what your parents told you to. You never went out when there was a curfew, never stayed with friends for sleepovers. Not that you ever wanted to do those kinds of things. You were living day to day, thinking that what you saw and did was all you were ever going to know. 

Meeting the boys really seemed to change the way you looked at the world. Things that you used to do in the past were so dull in comparison to what you were so used to. You had always known the kind of person you were, but having met the people you call friends now, put your thoughts into actions. 

You would have never dared to interfere with those thugs, probably living the rest of your life in guilt that would eat you away from not going to investigate. But they brought a sense of adrenalin into you. A push that leads you to want to be the hero in this story. 

“The ashes were blown that way.” Jongho showed you all where the fire pit was moved to point in another direction. 

You watched how the ashes were brushed to the side in one single direction and knew that had the wind blown away the ashes it wouldn’t look so clean. You pursed your lips, thinking about how anyone could have missed something like this. As you looked off into the direction the ashes pointed, you tried to map out the surrounding area you knew.

“There's a creek that runs off the river.” You called, pointing in that direction.

“The police of Cromer already checked it.” Yunho told you. 

“Yes, but they didn't follow along it.” You moved to climb back onto your horse. “Look around for more clues.” You told the others. 

“Are we just going to ignore that the way she bosses us around is actually really sexy?” Seonghwa placed his hands on his hips, watching you look around the area. 

“Who are you?” Yunho teased. “Wooyoung?”

It took a good 30 minutes of searching around the surrounding area of the creek to find something out of the ordinary. You came across a tree with what looked like bear claw marks on the bark. There were four slash marks going down the tree bark, but there were four more going up in the opposite direction. 

The first two marks seemed to be overlapping on another, creating an H that immediately stood out to you. “I think I found it.” You called over your shoulder. “It looks like bear marks.”

Yunho moved his horse alongside yours, raising a brow at the marks on the tree. “Yes, but Hongjoong leaves the scratches diagonal as well.” Yunho explained.

As you both looked around, you started to notice the trail of marked up trees. They all lead in one direction, making you smile brightly at the fact. “They're this way.”

You quickly tried to get your horse to move swiftly, feeling all the more hopeful that you will get to see the boys again. 

Series Masterlist

@thefrog3223 , @iarayara , @0rangemilk , @explorewithd , @detectivedoodle , @bangtanxberm , @a1i33a , @loveforred , @drunken-deitence , @0325tiny , @the-ghostest-with-the-mostest , @atinyreads , @atinytinaa , @lexiigom , @smilingtokki , @mismatchfluffysocks ,

[strawberrycheeks-and-glasses]

Practice Makes Perfect

Tsukishima x you fluff | rated T | 1.3k

Summary: You and Kei visit his family for the holidays and you meet his new niece for the first time. It’s a learning curve for you, never having been near a baby. But Kei sees you with her and everything changes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Could you hold her for me?” Akiteru hands you his crying daughter as he sifts through the diaper bag for her pacifier.

“Uh,” you grimace, holding the baby at her shoulders as a snot bubble forms around her nose.

“Have you ever held a baby?” Kei strides over to you at the sound of his niece’s distress.

Taking her from you, he cradles her. Patting her little diaper bum, rhythmically as he gently bounces his knees. She immediately stops crying in his arms, her little baby gasps calm down as soon as her head hits his chest.

“See?” He looks up at you. Your eyes are wide with awe, you’ve never seen him so gentle.

You’ve been dating for a few years now, and you’ve become a part of his little family, since you don’t have any of your own. Akiteru and his wife just moved back home to start their family and now that’s it’s the holidays, you’re able to meet the newest addition, baby Ari.

Kei has been back and forth between here and your home in Tokyo, helping his brother and sister in law get settled into his mothers house now that the baby is home.

“You’re so good with her,” you smile at him, taking in his massive frame holding such a tiny little infant.

“Found it!” Aki shouts, a little too loud, holding the pacifier in the air. “You got her to sleep?” He asks in quiet excitement.

“I guess,” Kei shrugs, gently handing her off her to her father

Watching as he lays her down in her crib, quickly swaddling her in a blanket, you feel Kei’s arm slide around your shoulders. A satisfied sigh falls from his lips as his eyes glance down at sleeping baby Ari, to you.

“Okay, let’s go eat,” Aki whispers, ushering you two out of the room. “I’m starving!”

After dinner, you and Kei clean up and wash dishes alone in the kitchen. The baby woke up and now it’s their mom’s turn to work her baby magic. Hearing the baby giggling as his mom bounces her and makes funny faces, Kei looks over at you.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so bad at holding a baby,” he laughs at you as he hands you clean plate.

“I’m not bad at it,” you pout, taking the plate and drying it with your towel. “I’ve just never held one before.”

“Well, you’ll get plenty of practice this weekend,” he smirks at you.

Rolling your eyes at him, you finish drying the last plate, flicking your towel at his bum as he walks away from you, laughing at your teasing nature.

The next day, you help Aki and his wife take care of their child. They teach you how to hold her, feed her, burp her, and of course, change her diaper. It’s exhausting, having a baby. You’ve only had her for a day and you’re wiped out.

Please read the rest on ao3

[t1oui]

random weasley-wood children headcanons (bc obviously im ignoring percy's canon wife, sorry audrey)

so in canon percy has 2 kids: lucy and molly ii. when i made up the weasley-wood kids i named the eldest lucy without knowing of the canon lucy's existence, so i just thought i'd give that as a fun fact. anyways onto the children

lucille weasley-wood, better known as lucy (percy only calls her lucille when he's worried she's about to hit one of her cousins in the face with a bludger), is a ravenclaw. she's in the same year as lily potter and rose granger-weasley, and the eldest of the three (think of them as the new marauders without peter. basically, they prank people).

if it wasn't obvious from that bludger comment earlier, she's a beater for the ravenclaw team. she's been a beater ever since oliver taught her what the position was (so she was like 1, probably) because "come on dad, i get a bat".

lucy is generally a confident person, and has a bit of a reputation from her cousins (and her parents) for being a blabbermouth. every time there's a secret that needs to be kept, it's rose and lily's job to get lucy as far away from it as possible. she protests, but honestly, she knows it's for the best.

lucy ends up with henry, another ravenclaw in her year and the other ravenclaw beater (and the eldest of my 2 oc kids of dean and seamus). they bond over being extremely protective over their younger siblings (henry is honestly kinda scared of lucy but who isn't at this point).

she ends up playing professional quidditch for the hollyhead harpies and becomes an announcer after that.

skye weasley-wood, the middle child of the three, is a hufflepuff and the only one who doesn't play quidditch (you bet oliver tried. percy told him to stop torturing their children after the fourth time lucy knocked skye off his broom). skye is, as some of you may have guessed, named after the isle of skye in scotland, which is where i hc oliver to be from.

skye is definitely more on the studious side, preferring to read than to do physical activity of any kind. in truth, he's rubbish on a broom. his favorite form of transportation is floo travel, even in adulthood.

skye doesn't have any cousins or family friends in his year, nor is he remotely connected to any hufflepuffs other than teddy (who is long graduated from hogwarts). luckily, in his second year, his younger sister and her friends decide to befriend him (read: force him to join their group because if they want to be better pranksters than lily, rose, and lucy, they need someone in hufflepuff on their side). skye doesn't really mind.

skye's favorite teacher is neville longbottom, and with the help of neville's plant knowledge, he helps out in some truly spectacular pranks. (lucy can't figure out if she's supposed to be angry or proud, so she torments him with an array of zonko's products before settling on both. skye, whose hair is green for the rest of term, is not as pleased with this decision as she is.)

despite his inability to fly and his extreme fear of splinching, skye manages grades rivaling percy's on his newts and decides to be an auror. one day, he takes percy's job as the head of the department of magical law enforcement.

katie weasley-wood, named after katie bell, is the girl everyone says takes after percy the most. she's a slytherin like him, and even though she seems much more outgoing, anyone who knows percy knows that they truly are one in the same. she's a monster on a broom and ends up playing seeker for slytherin after albus graduates. (she's keeper in the year they're both playing, and she's surprisingly good for a 2nd year. at least, she's surprisingly good for the split second before people remember she's oliver wood's daughter.)

katie is not one to be outshone, so when she finds out that her older sister is part of a pranking trio, she gets together a group of first years (and skye), determined to be better. (and mcgonagall thought the weasley twins were bad.) she will destroy you, but she will do it with a smile on her face. be warned.

katie's favorite subject is defense against the dark arts. she loves potions, too, and history of magic can be fun (nobody seems to see how entertaining binns can be when he thinks everybody's asleep), but in dada, she gets to annoy her uncle harry. nothing is better than that. (he pretends he doesn't find her funny, and she pretends she doesn't know he's full of it.)

katie plays quidditch whenever she's home (always keeper, now), but she ends up following her uncle bill into curse breaking. she never does play pro like everyone thought she would. she pretends she doesn't see percy's smiles when she's telling him all about her success.

years later, katie and skye take over weasley's wizard wheezes. you thought it was bad before.

[dividers by firefly graphics]

[inuhalfdemon]

Dirty Dealings (4/21)

Word Count: 2,460 Words

Chapter 4: The Grave

“I’m a demon, my dear.” Alastor told her warmly. “I really don’t give a damn.”

Lafayette, Louisiana

June 25th, 1970

“I’m not fucking around, here.” The guy yelled in Addie’s face, shoving her hard so that she stumbled and fell backward into the alley behind the apartments. “I told you to get lost, bitch!”

“But…” She gasped, shaking from his escalated aggression. “I-I paid for-“

“You fucking didn’t!” The man screamed at her. “You’d think I’d forget a face that’s staying in my apartments!?”

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat. The man who had shoved Addie, whirled around, his eyes finding Alastor leaning against a brick wall – ‘dressed-to-the-nines’- in his human form with a smile on his face.

“My good man,” He said, casually “Is there a problem?”

“Luc…?” Addie breathed, shakily.

“This broad here thinks she can get away with staying in my apartments rent free.” The guy spit, turning back toward Addie. “I was just seeing her out.”

“Hm…well.” Alastor pushed off from the wall and strolled over to where Addie was, offering his hand to help her from the dirty cement. “Perhaps, a tad excessive.”

“Excuse me.” The guy turned on Alastor. “You have something you want to fucking say?”

“How about a magic trick!?” Alastor snapped his fingers, bright green smoke bursting in the man’s face. The man wobbled backwards. He shook his head and blinked at Alastor and Addie in confusion.

“I-uh…” He grunted. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” He asked, all anger gone now.

“We were just discussing my sister-in-law.” Alastor explained to him happily. “You see, she needs a place to stay when she comes here for work. We were interested in one of your apartments but she will be new to the area, you have never met her before and I worry that you won’t know who she is when she comes to stay in a room that’s already been paid for.”

“Oh,” The guy started to say, “Well, I suppose-“

“You were just getting ready to sign this document!” Alastor smiled, suddenly showing him a paper and pen. “It will provide your signature in the event that if any problems should arise, my dear sister-in-law could produce it and provide to you the proper proof of purchase.”

“Of-of course.” The man stated, fumbling for the pen. He continued to blink repeatedly, his hand sweeping clumsily across the page as he signed.

“Pleasure doing business with you, my good fellow!” Alastor exclaimed happily, flourishing the document and pen back into his hand. “But, now, my friend and I must be off.”

Turning away, Alastor led Addie quietly away from the man and out of the alley.

Addie paused, glancing back into the alley briefly. “Did you just…?” She looked at him pointedly.

“Heaven’s no!” Alastor waved a hand. “This was for you, not me.” He handed her the document. “You show that to him at anytime and he won’t be giving you any more trouble. Stay there as long as you like, it won’t make a difference, the paper will still do the trick.”

Addie took the page from him. It glowed briefly, warm in her hands before the ink melted into the paper, fading away. The paper had become blank but she could feel it thrumming softly against the skin of her fingers. She carefully folded the sheet, placing it within a pocket of her jeans.

“Well, thank you…I guess.” She told him, not quite sure how she should feel about the situation. “You do realize if I use this, it will be stealing…”

“I’m a demon, my dear.” Alastor told her warmly. “I really don’t give a damn.”

“Thank you, then.” Addie told him. “Truly.”

“Think nothing of it.” He told her. “Now, there is the matter of our anniversary. I am afraid that I have a pressing engagement that will require my absence from you tonight. I’m sure you are quite devastated.”

“Not really.” Addie told him.

“I thought as much.” He chuckled softly.

“However, why don’t you get settled in to your new place? I have an errand to run in New Orleans; won’t take me long. I can come back…say…in the next couple of hours?”

“You’re going to New Orleans?” She asked. “I-I haven’t been there in…ages…” She suddenly realized.

“You are welcome to join me, if you’d like!” He happily offered.

“…really?” She asked. “I mean, I-I think I’d like to.”

“Splendid!” He took a large, sweeping step back. Snapping his fingers, green sparked and formed into whirling pool of smoke that spun beside them.

“Ladies first,” He dipped, an arm out toward the portal.

She hesitated.

“It is quite safe, I can assure you.” He promised.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the spinning portal, preparing herself for all sorts of…unpleasantness.

As she stepped through though, nothing happened. She simply stepped out into the same exact bright daylight she had left and felt entirely the same.

A young black man, hurriedly stepped directly into where she was standing and she gasped loudly, surprised. When the man never stopped or even touched her, she whirled around, disoriented. He and the friend that was with him had kept walking - somehow - right through where she had been without seeing or touching her.

“Quite, alright.” Alastor told her, stepping beside her. “These things do have their ‘fool proofs’.” He glanced around briefly, checking that no one was looking, before snapping his fingers. Addie realized that a soft green glow had been surrounding her and it dissipated immediately – fully materializing her to the spot. They were standing just off from a quiet street in New Orleans.

“Can all demons…do that?” She asked him.

He was swiping at his hair, trying to get the sweep just how he liked it. “No.” He answered, simply. “So, would you like some time to see the town? I can pop back by when I’m done.”

“I thought you were going into town yourself.” She said, confused.

“Oh, no. I have another outing in mind.” He told her. “Another kind of anniversary, in fact.”

“Oh, well, I-“ She wasn’t sure how to admit it. She was excited to be back in New Orleans. She hadn’t been back here since…well, since returning to the swamps the night after their deal had been made. That was 1950…had it really already been 20 years?

“You are welcome to come along.” He told her, still fussing with his hair. “I can’t say that it will be especially exciting for you.”

“You really wouldn’t mind?” She asked him.

“Not at all.” He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Oh, blast it.” He sighed, done trying with his hair. “Would you mind terribly if I…well, if I took a more comfortable form? This one suited me fine for quite some time but it gets rather….stale, after awhile.” He was trying to explain.

“I guess not.” She said, having seen him in a few forms now and wondering why he even felt the need to ask.

“Humans will not be able to see me,” He explained. “You will, but others will see you talking only to yourself.”

“They would forget about me doing anything as soon as they no longer saw me, so why do I care?” She asked him dryly.

“Well, I’m just being polite.” He told her, before producing a long black cane and spinning it agilely about. In an instant, he was no longer human. He took the form of the dealer demon she had shook hands with those many years ago out by the bayou.

Obvious relief brightened both his smile and his mood. His long black cane now was a red and black staff with a microphone fixed to the top. He wore the same bright red, flashy clothing he had the night of their deal and his ears and antlers were even more pronounced in the light of day. Spinning the staff with the microphone, he began to walk away down a dirt road that led away from the city of New Orleans. The staff disappeared entirely, before he crossed his hands to the small of his back and whistled happily as he strolled away.

“Wait.” She said.

He paused, tilting his head and smiling at her.

“If you could already do all that…why even bother?” She asked.

He didn’t reply. He simply, happily shrugged.

She sighed, going over to where he had stopped. “Well, if you don’t know then I’m not going to try to understand it.”

“So, where are we going?” She asked him, falling in-step beside him when he turned to continue his jaunt.

“To visit someone very dear to me.” He told her but then saying nothing else. She noticed his voice had that same crackling-old radio sound it had had before as well.

They walked quietly for a few moments, Addie wanting to know more but also not wanting to annoy him.

“You know,” He said. “These were my old stomping grounds when I was alive.”

“Really?” She thought about it briefly. She supposed it made sense.

“Were you anyone I would know or remember?” She asked him.

He laughed. “Hardly. No, my dear, I spent my time in much different circles of society than you would appreciate, I think. But, I was a host to one of the earliest radio broadcasts in our lifetimes.” He proudly told her.

“That’s…interesting.” She admitted. “I can’t say that I’ve accomplished much myself…even with our deal that we made.”

He didn’t offer any comment to this, but if his ears were any indication, he was listening to her as they kept walking.

“The clause you added…” She told him. “It makes everything too hard. I want to do meaningful things, travel, see the world, find something I’m good at but…” She vented to him, frustratedly. “I can’t. No one remembers me long enough to make an impact or get anything done. I can’t apply for travel documents, I can’t get a job….I can’t even fucking write or draw, everything I ever make an impression on just…fades away.”

Alastor chuckled. “I made it so you can never be remembered, Adeline. Part of that is not being able to make any meaningful impact or form any meaningful relationships with others.”

“Not to mention that even just day-to-day tasks are…incredibly difficult now.” She sighed.

“Yes, well.” He giggled. “That’s just a bonus.”

She glared at him. Of course he was enjoying this. He would.

They were approaching the end of the dirt road now, an old rusted black metal fence encircled what looked to be an old cemetery. Alastor never slowed, but went to the old gate at the fence and swung it out wide, the metal screeching. He waited politely for Addie to walk through before following her, closing the gate behind them.

Addie paused, looking around the graveyard. There was a much nicer cemetery actually in New Orleans but she saw that these headstones were…very old. The most recent date she saw were ones that had the year 1929 but there were many other stones that were there dating back into the 1800’s.

She followed Alastor as he kept his strolling gait between the rows of long-since dead. At the edge of the graveyard, a large, beautiful oak grew just beyond the perimeter fence. Its branches casted long and twisting limbs over and into the yard. Just beneath, engulfed in shadow, was a lone headstone.

Alastor stopped at the grave and Addie watched him. He still wore a large smile across his face, but his eyes had softened and there was a gentle sadness there that she didn’t expect to see from him. Several moments passed with him standing there, just like that, completely and utterly still.

Addie thought about stepping away and leaving him alone, when he told her, “She was my mother.” 

“Your…mother?” She wasn’t sure what she had anticipated. Looking more closely at the gravestone now she saw that the day of death was June 25th…

“You come here…” Addie said, starring at the worn stone. “Every year? On the day she died…” Addie hadn’t visited the grave of either of her parents. Not once.

“Not every year.” He told her, almost as if they were chatting happily. “But, every year that I am able.”

“Isn’t the day though…” Addie wasn’t sure how to ask it. “I mean, it’s kind of depressing right? Why not visit on another day of the year? Her birthday even?” Addie couldn’t fathom it.

“I wasn’t around when she was born, Adeline.” He told her. “I was there when she died.”

Addie didn’t know what to say to that.

“Do you…? She offered, after some time.  “Do you want me to go-?”

“No, no that is quite alright.” He told her. Snapping his fingers, he produced a brilliantly colored, red rose. Bending down, he tenderly placed the rose atop of the grave’s headstone.

“Do you…?” Addie fumbled, not sure if she should even be asking him this. “Do you know where she is now?”

“Heaven.” He told her. “But, even it doesn’t deserve her.”

“What do you think she’d say…? You know, about you being what you are now?” She wondered.

“Oh, she would be horrified.” Alastor laughed. “Absolutely, and truly mortified. But,..” He looked at Addie, now, the radio static falling from his voice briefly. “She would still love me.”

Addie suddenly was fighting back tears. “Wow..” She breathed.

He looked at her, his expression happily curious.

“It’s just…” She sighed, really trying not to cry. “I really miss my dad.”

He watched her, not saying anything.

“He died before…well, before our deal so it’s not like that changed anything… But, you come here every year you possibly can to visit your mom? I’m not even sure I know where his grave even is…” She said it, realizing it was true. “What kind of a person does that make me?”

Alastor offered her no reply.

“My dad…” Addie wanted to explain but she just didn’t know how to do his memory the justice it deserved. Instead, she told him, “You probably wouldn’t remember it…but I gave you a ring. A wooden ring. He had carved it for me just before he died…” She was losing her words, unsure of how to say just how much her father had meant to her.

“You mean,” Alastor snapped his fingers, and in a rush of green the wooden ring appeared in his hand. “This ring.”

Addie starred at it, uncomprehending. “B-but you-you burnt it. You said it was worthless and you burned it away right in front of me!” 

“I never said it was worthless, darling.” He smiled coyly back at her. “I said it held no value to me. It obviously had meant quite a lot to you, however, and there is much greater worth in that. So, I kept it.”

She starred back at him. She was torn between wanting to scream in his face for all of this petty-shit-stuff he was putting her through - just for his own amusement – but then, also in being overwhelmingly grateful that he had kept the ring all this time, safe and sound.

He chuckled deeply when some time passed and she still hadn’t sorted through all of her feelings.

“Well, my dear, Adeline.” He smiled. “Happy 20th Anniversary.” And he, gave her the ring.

______________________________________________________________

Chapter 5

[thekimspoblog]

FotD 1:

@joshgoodman: Thinking of some ideas currently; I've had this one circling my head. Somehow kim and Jim find themselves camping out like the kettlemans did (without the stolen money) to avoid being found by (insert threat here). Iris and fille are around 8 and 6 respectively

Me: That'd be cute! Fighting with trying to set up the tent, Kim would probably do most of it; Jimmy's threatening to slip a disk. Fille keeps asking what the hell we're actually doing out here. Iris tells her not to ask stupid questions.

"Iris, don't call your sister stupid"

"I'm not! I said her question was! There's a difference!"

Did they bring any food?

Me: In my timeline, one of the main tragic things is how this life weighs on Kim's sanity. She never really got over the trauma of the cartel following her back in '04, that's when the sheepdog dreams started; that's when she started believing in God, simply because she felt like someone or something was watching her and plotting against her at all times. Especially after Jimmy dies, paranoia really starts to consume her. She becomes a powerful mob boss nearing the end of her life, but no amount of security measures bring her peace of mind. Once Jimmy's out of the picture, things start to get a little Howard Hughes.

But yeah, even while he's around, he is sometimes worried she's getting neurotic, but it's not like he can't empathize; he never stopped looking over his shoulder either. Out here in the woods, every rustle in the grass could be a mountain lion or worse.

Him: They brought enough food for a week, but then they'd have to catch and cook their own. Which Jimmy might have an issue with. I think a mountain lion would be the least of their worries, it can be scared away; a cartel member with a gun/intent to hurt kim/her family isn't as easily scared away.

Me: Why do you think Jimmy would have a problem? Just not very good at hunting/fishing?

Kim considered taking a gun, but they both decided it would create more problems than it would solve. Even if Fille or Iris don't play with it, firing off a wild shot into the bushes could be a really bad idea; they're hiding from the law on fraud/extortion/other non violent charges. If she accidentally shot a cop who was coming to arrest them, now they're both back to looking at life. Not losing custody is always the top priority.

Even killing a "Made" man/woman would just incite retaliation. If the mafia kills them, best to just pray they'll spare the kids. Starting a shoot out would just be loud and dangerous.

I guess if they really believed the kids were in danger, they would have to give them up and leave them with someone, but thankfully it's never come to that.

Him: Based off of Jimmy's character, I'd think he'd have a terrible time hunting and fishing, yea. Also, he might have an issue with killing the animal he's able to retrieve.

I think kim would settle for a bow? Not sure if she has an archery background; iris would LOVE that. Fille could care less. But who would they leave them with, is the question? Mike is dead, so is dawson. The church is questionable

Me: I don't think Jimmy would have a problem killing an animal. He might be squeamish, but he was never a pacifist or vegetarian.

Highly doubt they would have thought to bring archery supplies. If they run out of food, they should just head back into town.

And when all else fails, they always have the option to call a social worker themselves. They REALLY don't want to do that, they've been trying to keep the kids safe off the grid. But nothing is worth endangering their lives. Even Fille would be unhappy in that arrangement.

Pretty sure "My parents only abandoned me because they're traveling con artists. But they promised they were coming back once the mob boss is dead" is foster home for "please beat me up for telling such outrageous lies".

Iris would look out for Fille, but who's looking out for poor Iris?  In the eyes of any conformist parent or teacher, Iris would be labeled a troubled child with behavioral issues. Even if their foster parents accepted their queerness, and that's a big if, nobody's going to listen to their indoctrination about the reasons shoplifting is a public good. Probably end up getting put on Ritalin or some shit.

Still, as long as Iris knew where they came from, why they feel this way all the time,they could at least try to fit in. In the timeline where Iris was born in 2005 and Kim gave them up out of guilt for what happened to Howard, Iris's life was terrible; just grew up confused and angry. Tarzan might not know what a human is, but he would still know he wasn't an ape. Kim saw these futures; even aborting them would be less cruel than leaving them to be raised by someone else. Iris needed their parents; they were the only ones who understood, the only ones who could shape this overgrown hedge of wild energy into a countercultural topiary. No matter what other childhood trauma they absorbed, the worst thing you could ever do is leave them without direction or purpose.

Him: Squeamish, that's the word I was looking for. But if it comes to survival, what wouldn't he do for his family?

Him: I wonder if the social worker would be an option? Kim wouldn't want to put the kids through that, they would find the best option one way or another.

Ah yes, Ritalin. Or as I like to call it, the zombie drug. That shit doesn't work and fuck any doctor who puts kids on it

Me: No matter what happens, at least Iris and Fille have eachother. It's not that Fille can't feel that Wexler-McGill blood in their veins; Fille is different from Iris by choice, not nature. But as the youngest in the family, as the last one always in pool when it comes to mischief, she can see how recklessness never leads to anything good.

Fille is better at pretending to be a "good kid" but she'd still feel deeply alone without her big sibling.

If she was left alone, Fille would probably be a troublemaker too. She's only such a square and a goody-goody because that's the only way she could have rebelled in a family of rebels.

Him: Ah, so fille chooses to be a goody two shoes because that's not what people expect when they see that family.

I don't think they would be apart for long, even separated by the foster care system if it came to that. Those two would always find a way back to each other

Me: Main problem is Jimmy and Kim don't want to admit failure a first time, because CPS is going to be breathing down their neck from then onward. For some reason, as long as the kids are biologically yours, most bizarre parenting choices are accepted as long as the government hasn't already labeled you a bad mother.

When Love Quinn was brought back by Dolores, the thing she wanted most was to see Henry again. But Dante and Lansing are good dads, and showing up in Henry's life now would just upset and confuse him. Admitting that she deserved to lose custody of her son was the hardest thing she's had to do, but it's for the best to just move on, try to be better moving forward.

Him: Do Love and Henry ever reunite? Or are those days behind them?

Me: Probably when Henry is older.

Iris probably would ask for archery lessons after reading the Hunger Games. Iris was always outdoorsy, but this probably is just a phase.

Him: What kind of phase would fille go through, if you had to guess?

Me: Well both siblings do have an interest in music. Iris learned to play the guitar from Jimmy; Fille would probably go ahead and find herself a piano teacher.

Him: I feel like iris would also take an interest in drums, maybe?

Me: Sounds about right.

I mean Jimmy and Kim want to encourage their hobbies. This is what the money is for.

Him: Iris would take an interest in archery, drums, and guitar while fille does piano, and maybe...swimming?

Me: Yes Fille loves the ocean. Probably cus of that goldfish soul.

Him: Ooh! Kayaking!

Me: I think Iris would be more into motor boats

Him: Boats are fun. Maybe they could take a vacation to the great lakes/some type of beach.

FotD 2:

Me: I guess yesterday I was also thinking about them making a big score, and then taking the kids shopping for new clothes. The kids complain, but it's still fun dressing them up like little dolls.

Him: I didn't think iris would go for that? Maybe fille

Me: Well Iris has always loved dress up, but plain clothes shopping is always a little boring for kids.

Me: Kim saying "Try this one on. It's a little bit big but you'll grow into it... hmm no; that's actually too big, you'll be tripping and face planting all over"

Me: But yes, those two love shopping for the family. I mean Jimmy and Kim have been eachothers gay best friend stereotypes since all the way back to law school, but the last time they actually spent a substantial amount of money like this was a few years ago at Babies-R-Us. Since leaving the church, it's mostly been consignment shops. Nothing fancy that wasn't secondhand.

Which is why they want to get each of the four of them a new outfit that will last for next few years

Him: I don't think jim + kim would contribute to chains if they didn't have to. Always choosing places like goodwill over walmart

Me: Nah they'd still go somewhere nice. Kim's love for shiny things outweighs her communist sympathies.

She wants to pretend she's not materialistic, but low-maintenance bitches don't drink thousand dollar tequila or wear real gold.

I mean Goodwill is fine and all, but this is Prada man! She's only human!

Honestly Kim's hypocrisy with how she identifies with class I think is a really interesting facet of her personality.

This is why wealth redistribution campaigns always fail: first of all, in order to adequately navigate the upper class, the revolutionary already typically needs a middle class education or better. And second, even if an army does manage to steal from the rich, the leader finds it hard to actually give those winnings to the poor instead of just pocketing it. Kim hates rich people... except for herself; that person is a lucid and benevolent matriarch who DESERVES to be managing the money!

[wardenparker]

From Dorne, with Love - part 4

Oberyn Martell x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

Your little sister is marrying her fairy tale princess on the exotic desert island nation of Dorne. Your soon-to-be sister-in-law’s playboy uncle is the other member of the wedding party along with you, but will your opposite approaches to life drive you apart before the ceremony even begins? Or is it possibly the beginning of a future you never thought possible?

Rating: E is for Explicit, my lovelies! Word Count: 9.9k Warnings:  *Some instances of reader being pig-headedly stubborn and some ‘ugly American’ moments, but we learn and grow in this house. Another one of our patented shitty families.* Size kink (Oberyn is stacked and I will not be taking criticism), public sex, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, exhibitionism, cockwarming, technically frottage I guess?, cum play. Prudishness, prejudice, a bit of slut shaming, seeming homophobia, family drama, discussions of cheating.  Summary: It’s time for a royal wedding! A little scandalous fun at the wedding reception is followed by an unexpected heart-to-heart. Notes: Sorry about missing last week’s update slot, everyone, my health is wreaking havoc on my productivity again. But we’re back in business!

Part 1 ~ Part 2 ~ Part 3 ~ Part 4 ~ Part 5 ~ Part 6 ~ Epilogue

The reason Dornish weddings take place at sunset becomes abundantly clear when you see just how many candles are lit during the ceremony. Each little flame helps carry the feeling of starlight and beauty throughout, and the pictures that the photographer takes of Lily and Aja at their altar after the ceremony are sure to be absolutely stunning. One of those is going to be your cell phone's lock screen for a very long time. That, or the candid that the photographer's assistant snuck a few moments later of Oberyn pulling you in for a kiss with the night sky as your backdrop. 

Now the new couple is politely accepting handshakes and hugs from everyone in their very long receiving line while you take the opportunity to check in with the band. Singing in public is something you normally reserve for karaoke night at your favorite bar in Koreatown, but the band leader has promised to keep it slow and simple and follow your lead. As long as Lily and Aja enjoy it, that's all that matters. You'll just focus entirely on them and not the three hundred other people in the palace gardens.

“Are you nervous?” Oberyn asks, coming up beside you as you make your way over to where the band is setting up. “Lily says you have an amazing voice.”

"My sister is my biggest fan. Always has been." Honestly, you're not sure if having him there to hear you makes it more or less terrifying, but his hand on your back in your elaborate gold bridesmaid dress is definitely calming right now. "I'm terrified, to be honest. Normally I'm three drinks down by the time I get up to sing in front of people. I want this to be perfect for them."

“It will be.” He promises immediately. “Because someone they love is singing it to them.”

"And then afterward I can hear a review from my mother," you laugh half-heartedly, pressing a kiss to his cheek when he looks annoyed at the implication. "It's okay. Honestly. Nothing they say can get to me tonight. Lily's happy and all is right with the world."

“We could always send them to the other side of the gardens.” Oberyn jokes. 

“Oo, banishment? That sounds exceptionally sexy.” Waggling your eyebrows at him earns you a laugh and it settles in your chest like a warm hug. “It’s fine. I’ll just tell my mom she looks beautiful and explain all the fancy food to my dad in layman’s terms and they’ll be good to go.”

He rolls his eyes, wondering how your parents would not be happy to have you or your sister as their daughters. “Do not spend much time concerning yourself with their comfort or enjoyment.” He leans in and gives you a conspiratorial look. “We might have mentioned that the downstairs salon has every football and American football and baseball channel on it.”

“I hope you know my dad is never leaving that room.” You giggle, grinning at the idea of something so simple and American being available in such an elegant place as the Old Palace. “I mean ever. He might even skip the flight home if that tv gets more channels than he does.”

He snorts and shakes his head. “Then we will have to make sure that the box is ‘broken’ in a few days.” He jokes. There are far more people that he dislikes more than your parents, even if he wishes to smack them on the head at what comes out of their mouths.

“Probably smart.” Once the receiving line has ended it will be time for the first dance, so you check your microphone quickly and step away from the stage with Oberyn to go in search of a little liquid courage. Not that it takes much work - there are waiters with drink trays positively everywhere.

He hands you a drink with a smile. “Don’t get too sauced where you forget the words.” He teases, giving you an encouraging wink as he picks up his own glass of alcohol. “To Lily and Aja.” He offers in toast.

“Lily and Aja.” The clink of crystal is musical, almost magical sounding amongst the laughter and chatter of guests around the two of you as you sip your drinks. “The ceremony was gorgeous.”

“Yes, it was.” He takes a sip of his drink. “Dorne has spectacular weddings. It’s honestly magical.”

For someone who has given up thinking of their own special day many years ago, it hasn’t made you as melancholy as you expected - probably because of the fact that it’s Lily’s perfect happily ever after moment. Princess Lily. A smile plays on your lips, knowing how she used to play princess when you were little. Princess Lily the Miracle Lady, aka the princess whose Lego castle was 90% science lab. “I was going to propose to Whitney.” You murmur, not sure why it’s really relevant except that it’s in your mind. “The only good thing from that whole situation is that she left me before I bought a ring.”

“Which makes her betrayal even more biting.” Oberyn observes. “Honestly, I never really thought much of weddings. I didn’t need to marry.” He explains. “There is no divorce in the royal family.”

“Maybe it’s just how our parents raised us.” You shrug slightly and sip your drink. “I mean…you’ve met my parents. They’re big fans of tradition. I just…I always thought I would get married and have kids right up until the day it was yanked out from under me. But…” Tilting your head at him slightly, you have to admit that you’re curious. “You never considered it? Not even with any of your daughters’ mothers?” 

“I considered it with Ellaria briefly, but she was not the type of woman who wanted to be tied down either.” He hums, remembering the conversation they had while she was expecting their third daughter.

“Well,” you offer him a smile, resting your hand on his arm briefly. “If that’s what you decide you want, I hope you find someone worthy of you.”

“You are still able to have your dream, Iris.” He reminds you. “Just with someone who will treat you better than your last love. Fuck, find love, have babies.”

“Maybe.” Regardless of how much better you feel, the level of trust in yourself and others you have to rebuild before you can even be able to contemplate a relationship again is…daunting. To put it mildly. “At least we know I haven’t forgotten the fucking part, right?”

“Definitely not.” That he can agree on, remembering the way your cunt squeezed his cock and your breathless praises feeding his own passions. “You excelled at remembering how to ride that particular bike.”

“Glad to hear it.” Given his wide berth of experience, you dreaded the idea of disappointing him. “Very, very glad.”

He takes your empty glass, tipped back during the conversation without you realizing you finished it, and hands you another. “If we were not required to partake in the celebration right now, I would be trying my hardest to convince you to let me get under that dress.”

“That won’t take a whole lot of work.” You accept the second glass with a mischievous grin. “We could always disappear for a little after the first dance? No one would notice.”

“What fun would that be?” He purrs. “I’d much rather make you cum with hundreds of people around, all clueless to the pleasure you are receiving.”

“Oh…” The breath just about knocks out of you, eyes widening and thighs clenching at the suggestion. “That…um…h-how exactly would that work?” 

Smirking at your obvious interest, he leans in, letting his nose graze yours. “We could be sitting down, and you have to keep those pretty little sounds to yourself. Or it can be on the dance floor, and you can make a mess of my thigh.”

“Interesting…” Any part of Oberyn between your legs would be a welcome feeling, but the idea of him getting you off while calmly chatting at the table is about to turn you into a needy little puddle. “I can be quiet,” you promise, almost instantly.

Triumph lights up his dark eyes, turning the smirk positively wicked. “Fingers, or does my Iris want to sit on my cock while we chat with people.”

“Why do I feel like you’ve done this several times before?” And why does that certainty make you completely weak in the knees? You lean into his side with a soft hum, loving the way he lights up at such a filthy game. “There’s no way you could get a hand under this dress without everyone knowing. It would be far more discreet to have me in your lap. Just…simple logistics.”

“I like the way you think.” Oberyn smirks and he nips your bottom lip playfully. “Discreetly hidden beneath my jacket is the hard cock I’ve been sporting since you appeared at the end of the aisle.”

“How you manage to be discreet about it is a mystery to me.” His playful mood rubs off on you easily, and you burrow into his side again without thinking. Everything about Oberyn is warm and inviting with an air of mischievousness and you hope the entire week is lived under this shroud of his encouraging and devious smile. You will not, however, let yourself indulge ever again in the image of walking down the aisle toward him. It’s a stretch even Gumby couldn’t make and will ruin the playfulness inherent in everything.

“Very good tailor.” He jokes, arm coming around you and sliding over the expanse of skin available to him.

Whatever reply you were expecting, it definitely wasn’t that, and it’s enough to send you into a fit of giggles that has you nearly clinging to him so you don’t double over and spill out of your dress. “The best,” you agree between laughs. “Best tailor in the world.”

“Much like the tailor who fitted this to you.” He doesn’t care if anyone is watching, squeezing your ass and smirking at your happy, bubbly face. “Now get up there and sing your song so you can sit on my cock.”

It might be the single most enticing and terrifying thing anyone has ever said to you and for some reason that makes it so much more fun as Aja’s father takes twenty-five or so more words than necessary to announce that the sister of the bride will be singing their first dance. It’s the song they danced to in Aja’s dorm room the first time they said out loud that they loved each other, and it’s the song Aja had playing when she proposed, and it’s the song you’ll sing for them now - along with a hundred thousand more times they’ll hear it in their hopefully long and happy life together. The nerves are there, of course, and they’re fierce - but watching so attentively from the edge of the dance floor is Oberyn, and it’s impossible not to think about singing straight to him.

There is something magical about you singing this song. Staring at him and crooning the words like you are devoting it to him. He swears he has stars in his own eyes as he watches you stun the entire audience, although Aja and Lily are center stage. At that moment, a little bit of his heart becomes yours.

It’s almost a pity that you can’t get away from the microphone fast enough after the song is over, though you’re swept onto the dance floor by your sister and her brand-new wife for endless hugs before the band strikes up and both fathers come forward to share a dance with their girls. In this moment the only place you want to be is basking in the easy glow of Oberyn’s affection - while simultaneously ignoring the adrenaline spike in your blood that has you thinking very un-fling-ish thoughts. Weddings make people think romantic thoughts, you remind yourself. You’re not actually feeling anything like that. It’s just the glow of Dornish wedding candles making you think that word. 

“You a woman of many talents.” Oberyn declares, hauling you close and pressing an eager, almost desperate kiss to your lips. Blocking out everyone around you for the taste of champagne on your tongue and the exhaled gasp you push into his mouth. He hears some murmured talking but ignores it, used to people talking about him.

The enveloping warmth of him is at an extreme - almost a scorching grasp to get as deeply close to you as he can, and it makes you melt into him. “If that’s that reaction it gets from you, I might have to sing a few more times before I leave.”

“We can make that happen.” He murmurs against your lips before he pulls away. “Shall we go sit down? Or would you like to dance first?”

“Let’s sit?” Nudging his nose with yours is an intimate gesture but it fits the mood of the moment nicely, making both of you smile into one more light kiss. “We have all night to dance.”

"Eager, are we?" He can't even deny that he is too. Ready to be inside you for hours now, and enjoying the idea that you are just as eager.

“I don’t know what you mean.” You throw him a teasing wink when he takes your hand to lead you to the table you’ve been assigned to sit at together. “I’m just talking about sitting on your lap and having a nice chat.” But the twisted smirk on your lips is barely containing your giggle and he knows it. “If you just happen to be inside me while I’m sitting there…I mean that would be absolutely salacious.”

There is a change in your demeanor that Oberyn is slightly surprised at witnessing. So different than the woman he had teased and flustered so easily. Confidence makes you even more sexy and his cock twitches in anticipation as he sits down and pats his lap.

The dress that Lily and Aja picked out for you is billowing. Yards and yards of some kind of fancy silk over built in petticoats - you didn’t even know people still wore petticoats - and it absolutely hides your intentions from sight as you set yourself down in Oberyn’s lap in the (thankfully) sturdy chair. Anyone who knows him won’t be surprised to see a woman in his lap, and almost no one here knows you at all, so they don’t know how impossibly unusual it is for you to be doing something like this. Only your family would have something to say, but Lily and your dad are still dancing, and your mom is off attempting to schmooze someone who easily looks related to Oberyn. The Dornish royal family isn’t overly large, but every single one of them is here today.

There is enough material that no one notices Oberyn's hands, covered by your skirts as he unzips his suit trousers and pulls himself free of the confines. No underwear makes this quick work. It was more a rule for his life to try to wear restricting garments as little as possible and he applauded himself for his forward thinking, even if he hadn't thought he would convince you to do this. He hums in your ear when you start grazing the head as you 'get comfortable'. The lace of your panties providing wonderful friction but he's eager to get to the warm wetness underneath. 

Even this much is without a doubt the most exhibitionist and possibly the dirtiest thing you’ve ever done in your life - definitely outstripping anytime you had a quickie with a coworker in the bathroom of a restaurant in between shifts or that nightclub in Palermo that was right on the coast, and you’d eaten that girl out on the cliffside because neither of you could wait to get back to her place. His fingers deftly work your thin panties aside, and you swallow a soft moan when he lines the thick head of his cock up at your entrance and slowly presses himself inside your body. The stretch and pinch of taking him are absolutely perfect, but you’re definitely clenching your fist under the table to keep from showing any other reaction.

You take him well. He feels you clench and flutter around him, loving the way you wiggle your ass in his lap to work him deeper. “Drink, Iris?” He asks, motioning one of the servers for the reception over.

“We are celebrating, after all.” He really is just going to be calm and collected about having you sit on his cock in the middle of the party. That realization makes you clench down on him that much harder, and you swear you see the moment his pupils dilate when you twist slightly in his lap to accept the glass.

He loves the way you feel around him. The nonchalance on your face and the small mischievous glint to your eyes. His cock twitches, deep inside you in response to your walls bearing down on him.

The small rhythm of minute movements is still just as breathtaking as when he was pounding you into the mattress at sunrise, just in very different ways now. Threat of discovery isn’t a high you’ve felt in years but in has lit up your entire body, making everything so much more sensitive and so much more pleasurable. A lady and gentleman come up to pay their respects to the prince and Oberyn might have been lazing in a window with nothing more scandalous in his lap than a book for how blasé he’s being - it makes you wonder what else you could get away with if he really wanted to. 

Perhaps, though, that was a be careful what you wish for moment, because as soon as the thought of more mischief floats through your mind, you catch sight of your mother making her way across the Gardens towards your precarious position. “Shit.” You mumble, squeezing his free hand at your hip. “Red alert. We’ve been seen...”

He chuckles in your ear, dark and sinful as his arm winds around your waist to keep you anchored against him. Possessive in appearance. "How interesting." He coos. "Your mother will no doubt say something to irritate you, I wonder if it will sting as harshly as when I am not buried in your delicious little cunt."

It’s too ironic and too entertaining to pass up, but even if you had been feeling modest or overwhelmed, your mother’s alarmingly fast footsteps have her pattering up to your table lightning fast. “Did you enjoy the ceremony, Mom?” The smile on your face is bright and cheery, completely belying the way you are subtly grinding down on Oberyn’s thick length.

Your mother arches her eyebrow at the vision of you sitting in Oberyn's lap, pursing her lips slightly. If it wasn't for the fact that the man had been so rude to her, she would have been thrilled. However, he was royalty, so she nods. "It was...interesting." She sighs slightly. "Although I wish some of our traditions had been observed."

“Neither Lily or Aja is Christian,” you remind her gently, deciding that whenever she says something rude or annoying, you’re going to bear down a little on the man below you. “You knew it was going to be a traditional Dornish ceremony.”

“Still.” She sniffs slightly and looks around, slightly flustered by seeing you on a man’s lap that you barely know. “At least they are married. Finally. I never thought I would get to see it.”

“They were together the exact same amount of time before they got married as you and dad. The only difference is that they met in college instead of high school.” Maybe it’s the idea of literally having nothing to lose while the lover you took thirteen hours ago grinds into you, but you’re feeling far less like a doormat than usual. “They took their time, and they made the decision when they were ready. Now they have a whole new life ahead of them.” You offer your mom a little solace though, and smile. “Your little girl is a princess now.”

"She is." That makes her soften for a brief moment and Oberyn uses it to his advantage, shifting his hips up slightly and flexing his cock inside you. Feeling the instant reaction of your walls tightening around him. He wishes he could see your face, wanting to see what expressions are riding across it.

You have to clench your fist and practically bite your lip to keep from moaning, the smile that you have directed at your mother wavering only for a blink of a second as you shift in Oberyn’s lap again and feel him throb inside you. If she knew, she’d probably accuse him of putting a spell on you, and that thought makes you want to laugh uncontrollably. Maybe he has? Who can really tell? But you feel more like your old self after a day and a half with Oberyn Martell than you had ever thought possible again. “Mom,” you throw a smirk over your shoulder at the man holding onto you. If he wants play dirty, you can definitely do that. “You’ll save a dance for Oberyn later, won’t you? He was saying earlier that he’s been looking for new things to read and I thought maybe you would have a recommendation from your book club.”

“Absolutely.” Oberyn immediately pipes up. “I have just finished Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. And One Hundred Years of Solitude.” He supplies easily. “Need some else to capture my attention.”

“Oh, we just read that Anderson Cooper’s new book!” Your mother launches into a verbose description of the American journalist’s exploration of his family history with delight, and Oberyn’s grip on your waist softens a little into something tender despite the fact that you’re teasing him with keeping her at the table longer while you warm his cock.

“…but of course, that’s not our New York,” she goes on, making you twist in Oberyn’s lap to grin at him. 

You can tell from the way he twitches inside you and his hand discreetly grips your hip that that swivel was a particularly good one for him. “Be careful, or she’ll be asking you to visit the real New York and put in an appearance with her book club ladies.” 

“Hmmm.” Oberyn is throbbing inside you and wants to feel you cum around him, but not while your mother is standing there. “Unfortunately, it will be some time before I will be back to the States.” He preemptively strikes that down. “Although I could send her book club copies of a famous Dornish author to discuss and even have them visit.”

“Martha Cauldwell would never believe it.” She practically crows it, and you know instantly that Oberyn has just won himself a decided victory with your mother. Martha Cauldwell is her age-old rival in all things and beating in anything her would make your mother’s entire year. Possibly even more than Lily’s wedding, though she would never admit it. 

You’re about to suggest she send her friends a text to see if they would be interested just to get her away from the table when Lily appears beside her to suggest she dance with your father. Lily may not say a single word to you or to Oberyn, but there is suspicion and amusement in her eyes, and you know you’ve been caught. But that she would never ruin your fun.

“Thank the gods.” Oberyn huffs, rolling his eyes slightly. “I thought she would never leave.”

“You’re welcome.” Lily throws both of you a wink before scampering away to find her bride again.

“You are lucky I didn’t bend you over this table and make you scream my name again.” The table in question, along with your dress, hides the way his hand dives beneath it to grip your panties and start grinding the material against your clit. “I would have, you know. Fucked you in front of everyone and been proud to do it.”

“I—“ You nearly squeak trying to swallow a moan, feeling glassy-eyed at the sudden assault of pleasure brought on by the texture of lace tight against your swollen nib. “I believe you would.” He doesn’t seem like he would be shy about pleasure no matter who he is with, and you honestly respect that about him.

“Smart girl.” He coos, grinning against your ear. “Want this little pussy to cum on my cock now. Can you do that for me? Squeeze me tight and make me fill you up?”

Nodding to keep from making any obvious noises, you’re suddenly grateful for every second of random pelvic floor exercises you ever did alongside your friends as they became mothers one after the other. Giving your cunt a workout had never paid off more than it did today, while he rocks up into you as subtly as he can to tip you over the edge.

You are close, he can feel the way your cunt is fluttering, the hand on your stomach feeling the muscles bunch beneath your skin as your core tightens in anticipation. He grunts, looking around and smirking when everyone is dancing and chatting, no clue what he is doing beyond Lily’s theory. “Cum, Iris.” He pulls a little more harshly on your panties to press your clit harder.

It’s like your body was waiting for the command, waiting on the precipice for when it would please him most, because a bare moment later you’re grasping his hand with your own - digging your nails into his skin with the effort not to sob his name while you cum in a torrent of pleasure.

The music playing provides the perfect cover for him rocking you on his lap. To anyone looking over it would seem like the two of you are wiggling to the beat. Instead of him working you through your orgasm in the middle of a wedding reception.

“Come on, lover.” You’ve never used the word in your own personal life before today, but that’s precisely what he is to you, and he did call you that this morning as well, if memory serves. With your lips as close to his ear as you can manage, your voice is no more than a strained whisper. “Fill me up.”

“Fuck.” Something about you wanting it, begging for it makes him nearly animalistic. Growling slightly, his entire body tightens, cock pulsing wildly while he coats your walls with hot ropes of his seed.

“So good.” The words are nearly a sigh of relief as the two of you relax, but a disbelieving bubble of happy giggles threaten to burst through the surface immediately afterward. “Holy shit I can’t believe we just did that…”

He smirks, kissing your ear. “You can add that to your list of ‘things I never thought I would do’.” He teases. “You just became an exhibitionist.”

“While talking to my fucking mother.” You nearly choke on your laughter, sinking into him as you relax.

He snorts quietly. “She might have demanded proof you were.” He hums, feeling himself start to soften inside you. “Now, I want you to be a good girl and slide your panties back into place, to keep that inside you.” Cum play has always been a favorite of his and he is curious to find out if it’s yours as well.

The slight whimper that escapes your lips surprises you, but you can’t deny that the idea has a fairly naughty appeal. “So early in the night and we’re already misbehaving.”

He huffs, smirking and slides his hand between you to tuck himself away. "Iris, we can get in so much trouble together if you let us." He informs you with a chuckle.

“You’re going to be a bad influence on me. I can tell.” As if he hasn’t been already. As if you’re not already craving more. Oberyn is addictive in a way that you could never have conceived of another person being. It’s no wonder he constantly has lovers of every kind jumping at his beck and call, and it must take as many lovers as possible to satisfy him.

"The worst." He is careful with your dress, shifting it so that you are not revealed in the slightest when you move off his lap. While he might have an exhibitionist streak a mile wide, he also believes that it should be equally shared. You bare your body because you wish to, not because of his carelessness.

“What do you say to a dance before dinner is served?” Standing next to him, completely modest again with not a stitch of clothing out of place, you can’t think of anything better than a moment of sweetness after the playful heat you just shared.

Hopping up, he offers you his hand in a dramatically overdone fashion. "My Iris, if you would honor me with this next dance?" He asks, bowing slightly and smirking up at you with a wink.

“I just asked you,” you’re laughing though, shaking your head as he scoops you up in his arms and twirls you off to the dance floor, still managing to tease him on the way. “I promise I’ll wear something much skimpier when we got clubbing.”

"I have just the thing." He grins as he turns you around and pulls you into his arms. "A dress made out of thousands of tiny chains. It would look exquisite on you."

“That sounds a lot more intense than my little black dress.” The music is soft and sweet, and he sways gently with his arm around you like you’re a natural extension of his own body.

"It would be intense." He agrees with you, swinging you out of his arms to pull you back to the tempo. "However, I would never force you to wear something you would not wish too. Perhaps a private show of that dress."

"A private show can definitely be arranged." You giggle freely when he dips you and pulls you back up to his chest, happily leaning in to steal a kiss before he spins you gently one more time.

The servers start to bring the meals into the gardens, making Oberyn kiss your hand as the song ends. “Have you worked up a proper appetite?” He asks, guiding you back over to the table.

“I think we had plenty enough of a workout.” The table you’ve been assigned to, as the sole members of the wedding party, is for family and distinguished guests. Your parents, Oberyn’s brother Doran, and his wife round out the seating, making you dread what kind of a meal this would be if you didn’t enjoy Oberyn’s company so much.

"It will be fine." Oberyn squeezes your hand gently. "It will not be bad. If she opens her mouth too much, I will shove a croissant in it."

“Do that and I’ll wear your chain dress anywhere you want,” you murmur in his ear with a smirk.

He is laughing as he holds out your chair for you and pushes it under you. Your parents are already sitting at the table along with Doran and Mellario. He smirks, wondering if they had been sitting before the other are at the table to prevent the constant standing and bowing that would inevitably get. "Brother, Mel." He nods towards both of them with a bow of his head.

“Oberyn.” Mellario is in good spirits, enjoying the evening as an occasion for relaxation. Her own son is younger still than some of Oberyn’s daughters and she will not have to worry about truly sponsoring an event like this for several more years at the earliest. “Such a lovely night, and a beautiful wedding.”

“It was.” Oberyn agrees, looking around proudly as if he were Aja’s father instead of Raeghar, who is still on the dance floor. He was sitting elsewhere, much to Oberyn’s relief. His causal neglect of his only daughter made the prince’s teeth grind together. “The fireworks will be the talk of the year.” He predicts with a grin.

“I have no doubt.” She seems pleased with that assessment and raises the glass of champagne in her hand in your direction. “And you, my dear. Such a lovely singing voice. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.” 

“Oh…” you barely exclaim, clearing the surprise from your throat, and feel your whole face warm with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. “Th-thank you…it’s not something I do often anymore. But my sister asked, and I really would do just about anything for her.”

“As would anyone who loves their sibling.” Mellario’s eyes flicker over to Oberyn for a moment, her eyes expressive. “They would do anything.” 

The way she says anything makes you wonder what exactly Oberyn might have done for - or with - her, but you push the slight needle of jealousy away. Not only do you have no claim to him whatsoever making jealousy completely inappropriate, but the woman is now married to his brother - making jealousy completely inappropriate.

“Yes, they would, Mel.” He murmurs, looking over at his brother who lifts his wife’s hand and kisses the back of it. The brothers have a moment where they stare at each other, silently communicating but Oberyn’s isn’t quite ready to let Doran know all his secrets, so he turns back to you. “I will have to convince you to sing for us again before you leave. A private palace concert.”

“A-a concert?” Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline at the overwhelming suggestion. “I don’t know, I mean…I’m not a professional or anything…if you’d said you wanted me to cook dinner for everybody then I mean maybe—”

“Perfect.” Oberyn grins, latching onto the idea. “We will have a family dinner, cooked by you and then you can sing us whatever you want.” He’s teasing you but he doesn’t want you to know that yet. Yes, singing does happen routinely at family dinners, but everyone sings.

The look you shoot him says he is going to pay for picking up on your rambling, but it’s already out of your mouth and it was said to a table full of royalty as well as your extremely expectant parents, so you make yourself nod. “Whenever you wish.” The agreement is directed at his brother, and you swear you can feel yourself sweat realizing what you’ve just said yes to.

Doran chuckles and shakes his head. “My brother is teasing you. He is talking about the very informal family nights where we all cook, get drunk and sing horrible karaoke in the main salon like we are not royals.”

“That sounds like the perfect night.” Drinking and cooking and spending time with people you love? That is your version of happiness. It was what you did with Lily and Aja when they came over on your nights off, but the flicker of sadness that you won’t be able to share that with them after they move here is something you’re not ready to face yet. You look over at Oberyn with an exaggerated smirk and roll your eyes at him. “Yes, Oberyn likes to tease.”

He pouts. “Damnit Doran, I was going to get her to do it.” He huffs, knowing it would be unseemly to throw his napkin ring at his older brother.

“I’ll still cook.” In a much less formal setting, you don’t mind it at all. You vastly prefer family style cooking and that sounds like exactly what their family dinners would be. “But I will be very happy to not be the only one who sings.”

“I’ll make sure you hear Oberyn screech.” The king grins, winking at his brother as the younger man glowers at him.

“Is there actually something that you’re not amazing at?” It’s your turn to tease Oberyn, and the grin spreads across your face like wildfire. “A hole in the armour of seeming perfection?”

“I don’t screech.” He grumbles, lips pursed and a decided pout on his face.

“You can’t be worse than Lily.” You promise him, slipping your hand around his and gently squeezing his fingers in reassurance. If he’s actually insecure about it, you wouldn’t tease him even a second more.

“We’ll see.” Oberyn grins at the idea that you are sweet enough to try to make him feel better.

“I’m sure of it.” The first course laid in front of you is an exquisite trio of raw oysters with mignonette sauce alongside a warm octopus salad and you practically hum with joy at the fresh seafood - choosing to disregard the way your father looks at the offering like he’s just been served snot. Some people would call it a lack of culture, but he’s just a picky eater. Knowing this, you catch his eye and direct him to the octopus salad which you know he’ll love because he likes to eat calamari on the rare occasion they make it to the city and come to your restaurant.

Food is always a favorite of Oberyn’s, humming in approval as the happy couple make their way over to the table. “Ladies.” He pushes his chair back and sits both Lily and Aja before he sits again. “Working up an appetite on the dance floor, I see.” He smirks at them before he picks up the small oyster fork.

“Absolutely.” Lily hasn’t stopped smiling all day, and she is positively beaming now. “We’re going to utterly exhaust ourselves so when we get on the plane to Fiji in the morning, we can just sleep the entire flight.”

“It doesn’t hurt that the plane has a bedroom.” Oberyn smirks at the two of them, knowing that they will definitely have sex before passing out. 

“No.” Aja smirks at her uncle and shakes her head before placing a kiss on her wife’s burning cheek. “It doesn’t hurt at all. And I’m sure you’ve stocked that room with some kind of fun surprise for us.”

“Well since I didn’t think you would appreciate the prostitute I considered sending with you, lubes and toys had to suffice.” He jokes.

Your parents simultaneously choke on the sips of their drinks they had just taken, and both you and Lily are trying so hard not to laugh that you feel like you might burst. “What?” Aja feigns complete ignorance. “We’re married. Surely it is no longer taboo to acknowledge that married couples have sex.”

“You’re her uncle!” The look your mother sends Oberyn is positively scandalized and he almost laughs. Instead, he nods and gives a very serious nibble on the bottom of his lip. 

“Yes, and it is my duty to make sure my niece is safe.” He quips.

“You should have fun.” You insist, squeezing your sister’s hand as she sits on your other side. “It’s your honeymoon. Go wild.”

“Oh, we will.” Lily giggles happily. “We aren’t wearing more than our birthday suits for days.”

The scandalized gasp that rips through your mother has nearly everyone else at the table holding back laughter, but you manage to swallow your amusement first to change the subject so that she doesn't end up upset instead of just aghast. The meal progresses gently instead, with polite conversation instead of raunchy, and soon enough Doran and Oberyn are stepping onto the dance floor with the brides as the party truly gets started.

The silence at the table isn't deafening, but would be if there wasn't the scraping of forks on plates as your father finishes up the last of his meal. The queen is watching Doran on the dancefloor, a whimsical smile on her face, remembering her own dance with the previous king, Doran's father, on her own wedding day.

It’s not long before the queen is whisked away to the dance floor as well, and the tense silence at the table seems to crescendo. Your mother is all but staring at you, and your father seems uncharacteristically unable to meet your eyes at all. “Alright,” you huff, knowing that the stewing in it will only be worse. “Say whatever it is you’re going to say.” Just get it over with, please.

"I find it funny that you have been in Dorne for two days and now you are acting like...like a harlot." Your mother hisses. "Sitting on his lap in front of everyone! I raised you better than that."

“A harlot?” You raise one eyebrow at her word choice, having a feeling that Oberyn would appreciate its dramatic flair. “I made a friend, and I like spending time with him. Aren’t you the one who was bemoaning the fact that I don’t spend time with men yesterday?” And to Oberyn, no less. Which only made it funnier. “I’m just trying to follow your wishes, mom.”

"But he's – he's—" She can't come right out and say it like she wants to. "I read he has eight bastard daughters!" She makes sure to lower her voice and glance furtively around as she says it, not wishing someone to overhear. "He has a reputation."

“Yes, he does.” And that reputation is well deserved, but he isn’t the devilish rascal she imagined him to be. Not really. “He has eight girls that he loves and cares for, and he’s proud of each and every one of them.” It bristles that she would choose to pick on his girls, who have done absolutely nothing wrong, but your mother has always thought of herself as a saint in so many incorrect ways that it shouldn’t surprise you. “What are you worried about? That your book club will find out I kissed an unmarried man with children, and they’ll suddenly decide I’m not good enough for their already married sons?”

"No." Your mother looks over at the dance floor, frowning slightly and then looks back at you. "Your last relationship," she sniffs delicately, "did not end well and you spent the past seven years licking your wounds." She tells you. "I would hate to know that some little fling with this lothario would put you right back in that same place. No matter how often you...perform for him in public, it won't lead to anything permanent." 

“Six years.” You correct her with a frown. “And there is absolutely nothing permanent about me spending time with Oberyn, I totally agree. We’re friends, we enjoy spending time together, and at the end of the week I’ll go back to New York and probably never see him again.” That is the reality of the thing that you agreed upon, no matter how much you’re already starting to regret it. But fuck if you’re going to let your mother know she’s right. “I have no illusions and neither does he. So if that is really what you’re worried about, then please try to relax.”

"And when it gets out that you have been with him, you will find men don't want you." Her words are sharp and scolding. "A man like that. Promiscuous, so...free." She shakes her head in disapproval. "I even heard he sleeps with men."

“Mom…” Instantly, your forehead crashes into your palm with a smack. “Lily just married another woman. I’m not straight either. How are two men together the thing that you can’t wrap your head around?”

"It's...it's..." She is struggling to find the words to try to articulate why it's wrong. "They are men! It's just not right." She decides, not admitting to the past that might cloud her judgment of this entire thing. It was a secret she had kept from her girls for a long time. Kept from everyone in the small town she grew up in. Everyone except her husband.

“So you’re selectively homophobic?” There’s nothing you can do to disguise the disappointment on your face, and you’re not sure you would even if it were possible. For all the things they had pushed back against, your parents had always supported you and Lily in your sexually identities. They had learned the terminology and done their best to get it right, looked your girlfriends in the eyes while shaking their hands and never balked when a teenage Lily wanted rainbow everything in high school after coming out. They had been allies, but apparently this was where the line was drawn. “That’s fantastic.” The sarcasm in your voice is biting as you stand from the table. “I’m going to go ask Oberyn’s male lover to dance,” You announce, having spotted Selvin amongst the guests earlier. “You two have fun stewing in your discomfort.”

"Dear." Your father finds his voice, disapproving and harsh towards his wife before he reaches out and captures your hand before you can leave. "She doesn't mean it like that. Just…sit and talk."

There are a lot of things you will do tonight - not the least of them definitely being having sex with Oberyn again - but you won’t cause a scene. The fact that your generally timid father is willing to speak up makes you nod and sit back down. “How did you mean it, then?” You ask, eyes trained on your mother.

"It's not...honey, I just worry." She starts, biting her lip and there is a sheen of tears in her eyes. "I don't mind gay men." She admits. "It's just— I – I – what if you start a relationship and you come home one day thinking that everything is fine and yet you find out that you can't give him what he needs because you aren't a man? Or worse, walk in on the boy you think you will love for the rest of your life to find him in bed with your bro— friend. Your friend."

“Mom…” The tears in her eyes are definitely something you’ve never seen before - not like this - and you carefully slide over in the vacant chair beside her. “Did…did something happen? Do you want to talk about it? Maybe?” The small slip of tongue that sounded like brother makes you wonder if there’s a story here. A story of maybe why you never see your own uncle except at family funerals. “If you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

Your father sighs, reaching for the beer that he had insisted was better than the champagne. "It's time, dear." He murmurs to his wife softly. "Tell the girl."

While he reaches for a drink - an impulse you totally understand - you reach for your mother’s hand. She’s not perfect, sure, and sometimes you piss each other off to an extreme degree, but she’s still your mother and you do love her. “Did something happen with Uncle Rick?” You ask her quietly, not wanting to spook her by guessing but wondering if you had inferred correctly.

"I— your father was my best friend." You had known that growing up. It was a cornerstone of the fairy tale version of her life that she had spun for you girls. "But he wasn't my first love." She confesses softly, shaking her head and huffing at herself for her own blind stupidity. "Your 'uncle' Rob was." Her brother and the man he had lived with your entire life had never formally gotten married, even when it was legalized, but when you had seen the other man, he had insisted you call him Uncle Rob.

“Oh…” Your eyes widen with understanding, and the animosity towards your uncle and his partner suddenly makes a hell of a lot more sense. “You never forgave Uncle Rick for stealing your boyfriend.” It’s not accusatory, or judgmental. Just a statement of fact as you nod your head slowly. “That’s why Lils and I didn’t even know Uncle Rick was gay until after we came out.” It hadn’t even been a conversation at home, but one between you and your sister as you put the pieces together. The standard ’this is your uncle’s best friend’ lie had sufficed for years before that. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m really sorry. Believe me, I know what it feels like to be betrayed. But that just means Uncle Rick and his partner did a shitty thing to you, not that all gay men are untrustworthy.”

"Except he wasn't gay." She huffs. "He claimed he liked girls and boys, but that he was with me. Such a lie." She scoffs. "Sleeping with both of us." She shudders in disgust at that fact. "I just – I know your last girlfriend married a man after she left you." She reveals quietly, giving you an imperious look when you gasp in shock. "I'm your mother, I knew something was wrong and so I looked her up. I don't want to see you hurt like that again."

“Mom, I like men and women equally.” She knows that, you’ve been plain with her, but it sounds like she hasn’t had an easy time processing it. Although it’s kind of a relief that you don’t have to explain what happened with your last relationship. “Whitney could easily have left me for another woman. Two people cheating who happen to be bisexual doesn’t mean that all bisexuals will cheat. That’s not how it works.” It does, though, show you where you get your powerful ability to hold a grudge from. Your mother has been holding on to this for thirty-five years. “I’m so sorry you got hurt, I really am. But it was individual people that hurt us, not the world.”

It was individual people that hurt us, not the world. Your own words echo in your ears far longer than they do in the air and you almost shake your head at yourself. For six years you’ve been holding yourself away from the world, when you should have just been steering clear of the one person who hurt you. And it took finding out about your mother’s grudge to realize it. Like mother, like daughter…

She stares at you for a moment before she sighs, nodding as her posture slumps down in shame as she realizes exactly how bitter she has been towards the entire situation. "I just want you to be happy, have babies, create the family you used to dream of when you were a little girl."

“And I might.” Instinctively, you move forward to hug her, closing your eyes against the huge gap of misunderstanding that has almost made you walk away from the table. “Or I might adopt. Get IVF and be a single mom. Or I might find a partner and decide not to have kids at all. But no matter what happens, I just want my mom to be behind me, okay?” You hug her a little tighter when you hear her sniffle in your ear. “And Lils deserves that, too. For you and dad to love her and be proud of her no matter what decisions she and Aja make about having kids. We’re just…” The truth. Tell her the truth. What she just admitted is huge and she deserves trust in return. “We don’t want you to be disappointed in us, so sometimes it’s hard to tell you things that we’re not sure you’ll like. And…” Truth, your mind says again. “Please don’t take it out on Oberyn? If anything, he wants the same thing you do. For me to be happy again. His way of helping is just a little bit different.”

"Like having sex with my daughter in the middle of a wedding reception?" She asks soft enough that your father doesn't hear, head turned away and studiously trying to ignore the conversation going on beside him as he watches the people mingle and dance.

“Unconventional solutions for unconventional problems.” And as soon as you are done with this conversation you’re going to melt into the floor with embarrassment. You cover your face with both hands and exhale slowly. “You and I will never speak of it again.”

"As long as you enjoyed it." Your mother gives a small smile as she looks over at the dance floor. "We won't speak of it again."

“From now on I’m not bothering with any partners that I don’t enjoy.” When you sit back in your seat, your eyes glide out over the dancers as well. They find him almost immediately in the crowd, as he charms and laughs with a woman you don’t recognize while the song draws to a close. It’s not exactly jealousy that you’re feeling, but definitely something mixed in with affection. You want it to be you out there with him. But it will be soon enough. “Thank you for being honest with me,” you can’t really look your mother in the eyes at the moment, but she knows you’re talking to her still. “I’ll do my best to be more honest with you, too.”

"I should have told you years ago." She admits, squeezing your hand gently. "Go, have fun." She encourages you with a smile.

“I love you.” It’s a small sentence, but it needs to happen right now possibly more than it has in a long time as you squeeze your mother’s hand tightly and get up from your seat to hug your father. “You too, dad.” And to him you add a whispered: “Thank you,” before walking out to the dance floor. 

Oberyn’s eyes light up when he spots you walking towards him. Finishing up the dance with the woman who had asked him, he kisses her hand and turns towards you. “Iris.” He searches your face with a small smile. “You survived the inquisition.”

“It got…interesting.” You step into his arms easily, appreciating that it is a slower song so you can talk a little. “It started with an inquisition and ended with me wanting to evaporate into the floorboards because my mother knew exactly what we were doing earlier.”

“Really?” Oberyn looks around you to glance at your mother. “Maybe the stick isn’t as far up her ass as I thought.”

“We are never speaking of it in front of her.” Your voice is firm despite the fact that you’re shaking your head on a laugh. “Turns out my superpower of holding a grudge way too long is hereditary.” His arms around you are secure and soft all at once and you don’t hesitate to sink against him. “And I may have logic-ed myself out of my own stubbornness while trying to get her to give up on her own.”

"Then the conversation was an overwhelming success." He decides, pulling you into his embrace and kisses you softly.

You would agree with him. You really would. If you weren’t so absorbed in the soft comfort of his lips pressing against yours. Instead, all thoughts fly out of your head except for him, and you sweep your tongue along the seam of his lips, begging entrance right there on the dance floor.

He hums, opening up for you and completely approving of the way that you are taking control of the kiss. He’s easy to get lost in - another thing that makes him so addictive - and you have to reel yourself back down to reality hard in order not to get carried away. “What do you think about us disappearing after cake and fireworks at midnight?” When you open your eyes again you’re nearly breathless, fully ready to admit that he affects you in a way that you can’t quite explain past wanting.

He sends you a pout. "You ruined my plans." He jokes, leaning in and kissing the tip of your nose. "I was going to suggest that."

“Then the only thing I ruined was the surprise suggestion.” Nudging his nose with yours makes both of you smile. “We can come back, I just…I think my sex drive is trying to make up for the last six years.”

Oberyn chuckles, sliding his hand down and squeezing your ass. "Do I need to make sure I have back up if I am unable to keep up with your appetite?"

You raise your eyebrows at him, surprised he would sell himself short like that, but shake your head. “I might be hornier than usual, but that doesn’t mean the trust issues evaporated.” You tell him honestly.

"It was a joke, Iris." He huffs softly. "I don't think I would let another touch you right now." He leans in and nudges his nose against yours. "Every orgasm until you leave is mine. If not on my cock, then I think I have proven my fingers and tongue to be a satisfactory substitute." 

“There is no substitute for any part of you, and you know it.” The urge to suggest again that he come visit you in New York is going to be one you have to stifle for the rest of the week, you can tell that already. It’s just a fling. You remind yourself as he tugs you closer in his arms. Nothing more. And that’s okay.

"As long as my flower is satisfied." He winks at you and starts swaying with you to the music. "Perhaps you can sit on my lap again and I'll finger your cunt until you cum."

“I don’t think I’ll be up for anymore lap sitting at the reception.” The look on your face is borderline mortified. “Not now that we’ve been caught twice.”

"Twice?" He frowns at you in confusion.

“Lily definitely knew.” And she’ll be ragging on you about it forever, if you know her at all.

"Yes, I saw her smirks she was tossing you." He hums, grinning himself. "And the other was your mother. Naughty, naughty."

“We would have given my father a heart attack.” That nearly makes you snort, and you bury your face the crook of his neck. “Thank god not everyone in my family knows what we’ve been up to.”

"I wouldn't mind if they did." He knows you might, but he was very proud that you had allowed him between your thighs.

“I know, lover.” The little term of endearment grows on you every time you use it, and it’s always fond. “But you heard them at dinner. They can’t even wrap their heads around talking about a married couple fucking.”

He snorts and shakes his head in amusement. "They are very conservative when it comes to fucking." He rolls his eyes. "I would die of boredom."

“Then it’s a good thing we’ll all be gone and out of your hair, soon.” It’s meant as a joke, but it does sting a little. Though you’re too stubborn to let that show. “All except Lily. But she’s the most fun of us.”

"I have to disagree." Oberyn hums, leaning in and biting your bottom lip. "I have had nothing but fun with you." 

“Flatterer.” You can’t help but giggle a little, and the words are out of your mouth before you can stop them. “Maybe someday I’ll make it back to visit.”

"Dorne would always welcome you." He promises, feeling a pang of remorse that you would ever leave. However, you had told him you just wanted a week with him.

“Maybe someday, then.” And from now until that mystic day, there is a good chance you’ll think of him every day. But there’s nothing you can do about that except make wonderful memories to think back on fondly.

"Let's not look to the future." Oberyn doesn't want to think about that right now. "We are here now, in this moment."

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @katheriner1999 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356​ @ajathegreats-blog​

FDwL: @emofairyprincessofarkansas @littlemisspascal @doommommy @lepard60 @writeforfandoms @sweet-heartbadmouth @scorpio-marionette @storiesofthefandomlovers @fan-of-encouragement @sainteredhood @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @shadowolf993 @apocalypticwafflekitten @coldlonelydays @166869 @genevievedarcygranger @missredherring  @ellenmunn @teenagezombiekryptonite @star017

My Masterlist!

[nehswritesstuffs]

Designated Chaperone

Has anyone done this yet? I went to see Film Red last weekend and so much of it is currently living rent-free in my brain right now, the Heart Pirate contingent included, which meant that fic was bound to happen.

2903 words; contains spoilers for a specific Film Red gag, I guess (and the movie as a whole); I love our favorite jaded double-genocide survivor and his crew of nutbags; the idea that Bepo needs a chaperone despite being twenty-two and presumably able to use both Electro and Sulong is kind of hilarious in of itself, as long as you don’t think about the One Piece world at-large (Law just wants his fuzzy little brother to have a good time yo); be glad I wrote about this and not a compare/contrast essay between this and Jango’s Dance Carnival lol

Bepo wants to go to a concert. The problem is, well, his fan kit is too embarrassing.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

In faint memories, ones blurred by trauma and time, Trafalgar D. Water Law used to actually enjoy music. He could recall festival bands and radio snails; his sister attempting the violin and their mother gently correcting her; the way his parents would dance to certain songs, clung together and swaying in the dim office that was their sitting room. All that changed, like so many others, with the Amber Lead and the subsequent systematic elimination of Flevance. Later on in his tumultuous childhood, Doflamingo’s court was only one for Dressrosan music, which was something he barely experienced due to leaving the Family so young. Much music still brought a pang of sadness to his heart, one he was not entirely certain would ever fade away with time.

The rest of the Heart Pirates, however, loved music. Worse yet: they were disastrously bad at it. Every so often, when there was nothing to do after dinner, they all got together and procured musical instruments out of somewhere and then proceeded to—very poorly, mind—play a medley of North Blue standards. Law, not wanting to ruin the mood thanks to something beyond the control of anyone there, would sulk back to his cabin and attempt to do something else to pass the time. The metal of the submarine would always betray him, however, and carry the screeches and bleats and booms throughout the entire expanse of the Polar Tang. Nowhere was safe.

“Alright, that’s it,” he ordered, putting on his best scowl. The crew was all in the galley, stopping mid-song. Hakugan and Bepo even stopped their dancing to join in the guilty staring. “New rule: these concerts can only happen outside.”

“…but we’re not scheduled to resurface for another three days,” Shachi mentioned.

“I don’t care. Either take lessons—which good luck with that considering what we do—or play music that was made by a professional. Those are your options.”

“That doesn’t sound very fair,” Ikkaku fired back. The guys all stared at her as she confronted their captain; the only woman amongst them and yet she was the one with the balls to argumentatively sass back. “Music is fun, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“It’s not when it sounds like you’re butchering a goat alive, which is only a slightly-muffled goat mid-butchering if I head to my quarters and do my best to ignore you. No more concerts indoors until something improves. Don’t think that’s leeway to kidnap Bone-ya. Or anyone else. That’s final.”

Was he proud? Not entirely, he mused as he stomped back to his cabin. It was at least going to get him some peace and quiet for a while. He locked his door and laid down on his bed, letting out a long exhale as he tried settling himself long enough to get some rest.

Oh, could he have not been more wrong.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As it was, the moratorium on the crew playing instruments inside the confines of the Polar Tang resulted in one very specific thing: the introduction of Princess Uta into their lives. The young woman with two-toned hair would broadcast concerts and put out shells that played her music over and over again, the songs becoming staples alongside the Soul King’s on the submarine. Her work was well beyond festival bands and the living instrument of a Supernova—it was stuff with emotion and range, that worked deep into one’s very soul until there was little but her music being played. She was a rare talent, that was for certain, but there was still something about the crew’s recent infatuation with her that put Law a bit on-edge.

“So this is her, huh?” He was holding the box that the latest Tone Dial came in, with her face printed along the side. She was… cute…? He guessed…? She looked around the same age his sister would have been had she… no, none of that, Law. Just be normal for a change.

“She’s a bombshell, that’s for sure,” Penguin grinned, high-fiving Shachi. The two of them and Ikkaku were relaxing in lounge chairs while Law sat underneath an umbrella with a medical journal and the remainder of the Heart Pirates were attempting to teach Jean Bart how to play beach volleyball. Well, Bepo was in the cool air of the submarine as it stayed docked a short ways off the island, but that was a given for Summer Islands.

“You’re gross,” Ikkaku grumbled. Shachi rolled his eyes.

“You’re jealous she actually gets flirted with, Miss All the Other Hearts’ Sister Figure.”

“Sach, Uta’s just a kid.”

“She’s twenty-one, thank you,” Shachi defended. He watched as their captain placed the box back down on the blanket, the music of the nearby Tone Dial filtering through the open air. “You know, rumor has it she’s planning a concert.”

“We’ve seen plenty,” Law stated. They had. At least she sang better than Clione.

“No, like, a live one,” Shachi clarified. “She’s never done one, unlike Soul King.”

“The two of them should collaborate,” Penguin decided.

“That’s a bad idea,” Law stated bluntly. Ikkaku snickered while Penguin and Shachi sulked.

“What do you mean by that, Captain?” Shachi growled. “Don’t you think that would be one of the best collaborations of all time?!”

“I would barely trust the two of you around her—get Bone-ya, and Blackleg-ya by extension, and I fear for her safety.”

“Killjoy,” Penguin mumbled. “You can dump a hundred hearts on the doorstep of the Celestials, but allow the greatest musical collaboration of our age? Apparently that’s off-limits. Who knew?”

“I can and will scramble Little Penguin to somewhere on this island and you won’t be able to find it to reattach before we leave; same goes for Little Shachi,” Law threatened.

Both men squirmed uncomfortably, which Ikkaku’s snicker became a full-on cackle. The captain casually went back to the medical journal in his lap and reached for his drink—he was certain he had not heard the end of this.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

…and of course, he was right. Again. Despite the fact he wanted to be wrong for once.

The rumored concert was more than just a rumor—it was a full-blown event. Elegia, the venue for the festivities, was large enough that a lottery system was put in place and, if someone won, they had a small window to call on a transponder snail and get as many tickets as they wanted. The only trick was that they were not for resale, only gifting, to ward off scalpers. Why would you resell free tickets anyhow? Anyone not chosen in the raffle pull was going to be relegated to a call-in show, where the video snails could broadcast to the entire rest of the world live. Being there in-person was highly sought-after, however, and it seemed as though every single Heart Pirate other than the captain put in to increase their chances.

That being said, only one person ended up getting their name drawn on the Polar Tang.

“I can’t believe it!” Bepo sobbed, holding his winning notice. The bear bounced around the top deck of the Tang, the other music-lovers cheering him on. “This is like a dream come true!”

“You’ve known about her for five months,” Law reminded them. He was promptly ignored, so he fluffed out the newspaper and continued to read. Damn, they were annoying sometimes. “I should tell Bone-ya on you all.”

Still being ignored, Law took it as a sign that this was merely going to be a thing he would never understand. The man made a valiant attempt at ignoring the commotion, until there was suddenly a distinct lack of it. He didn’t look up from the newspaper, not until a large shadow blocked his light.

It was Bepo, and he was wearing a pastel pink t-shirt with an arrow-rent heart on it, along with the most garish-looking contraption Law had ever seen. It was large and light-up and consisted of three fans, the one behind his head possessing a large UTA. Oh no…

“How do you like my outfit for the concert?” he beamed. “I’ve been working on it since we all put in for the lottery.”

“It is flamboyant… and I grew up knowing Donquixote Doflamingo,” Law noted. Bepo bowed and muttered out a quick sorry. “As long as someone’s willing to go along, I’m not stopping you.”

“You sure about that, Captain?” Law leaned over to glance around Bepo, seeing that the entire rest of the crew was cringing at the bear’s getup. “Maybe… Bepo can go by himself…”

“Nonsense,” Law said. “While Bepo’s strong on his own, he’s still a Mink and there will be a lot of variables at this concert. We don’t know if there will be anyone wanting to snatch him for sale or to get to us as a whole. He needs a chaperone, so to speak. Figure it out amongst yourselves.”

“…but…!”

“No buts, Peng—figure it out.”

“Captain…”

“Put in for a pair of tickets, Bepo,” Law said, going back to the newspaper. “You’re going to the concert and one of the goons is going with you.”

Bepo cried again, not able to contain his joy.

The rest of the Hearts cried, not able to contain their embarrassment.

Just as Law liked it.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The next couple of weeks were rather tense, to say the least, amongst the denizens of the Polar Tang. While Bepo made fine-tuning changes to his getup, the rest of the Heart Pirates were attempting to figure out who was to go with him. No one could look the bear in the eyes and actually tell him no—not when it came to something like this. He generally asked for so little, was always apologizing for every tiny thing, that it was of the collective crew’s firm belief that Bepo should go, and that one of them should take him.

Their only real issue was attempting to decide which one.

“It should really be one of you,” Uni said, pointing between Penguin and Shachi. The lot of them were in the galley as Law and Bepo were charting the next few legs of their course, including their stopover by Elegia. “You two have known him the longest.”

“Yeah, and we already know that the guy is almost too much for us to handle together, let alone for one of us,” Shachi replied. “It should be Ikkaku.”

“Why me?” she snapped. “I’ve got work to do.”

“Listening to the concert while you pretend to tune up the Tang doesn’t cut it,” Clione fired back. “Maybe Jean Bart can do it—use it as an excuse to know the guy a bit better.”

“No,” the burly man said adamantly. “I did many things considered humiliating when I was a slave and had no choice. Now that I’m free, I’d like to be choosy about when and where I look like a fool, thank you.”

“Captain said that we needed to choose someone by the end of the day or he would choose at random, need I remind everyone,” Penguin said. “Now how are we going to make sure that Bep gets to go while sacrificing the least amount of our dignity?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? There was no way that Bepo was going to be dressed less-obnoxiously, not with the amount of bear-hours he put into his getup, and there was no way anyone in the galley was going to be seen with someone dressed like that. Hell, they enjoyed the fact they all essentially had uniforms. There was something to be said about the oneness of them, how it brought them all together, and how it really forced them to look at their crewmates as not only individuals, but part of the same unit. It made them a more united front…

…wait! That was it!

“I think I figured it out!” Ikkaku grinned. The guys all looked at her in confusion. “None of us have to go!”

“Ikka—Captain said one of us has to go,” Shachi groaned. Her grin never faded and all the pieces snapped into place inside his brain. “Oh… I see…”

“See what?” Hakugan wondered. The masked pirate watched as Ikkaku’s grin spread like wildfire, wondering what was going on until, suddenly, clearly, everything made perfect sense.

Without speaking a word, the Heart Pirates made a decision.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The Polar Tang was moored on a small island, not large enough to have its own climate, but close enough to a nearby Spring Island to benefit. Most of the crew was enjoying being in fresh air and on solid land again, glad that the ventilation system could filter out the past few days of farts and burnt butter with help from the gentle breeze. It was a wonderful, serene, calm day…

“Alright, who’s going with Bepo?” Law asked. His crew looked at him from where Bepo was currently readying a small vessel to take him to Elegia not far away. He was already dressed up in his fan-attire, which raised the silent question of if he was going to be using himself as a sail. “You said you chose someone. Now who is it?”

“We all decided unanimously,” Penguin said, stepping forward as the crew representative, “and it is the one out of the entire crew who deserves the chance to go and have fun with Bepo the most, by far and away.”

“Then why is no one getting the boat ready with him?” Law asked. Penguin put one hand on Law’s shoulder, clenching his other fist with tears in his eyes.

“It is a sacrifice I know you won’t make lightly, Captain,” Penguin said. “We’ll all be here rooting for you.”

Law’s eyes went wide. “Now wait a minute…!”

“You didn’t say who was in the pool of candidates, Cap!” Hakugan cackled. Law grew pale and his normally-razor-sharp mind began to shut down. Him? Attend a massive concert? With huge crowds? And Bepo looking like a fool of a hyper-fan? He lost count of how many times he’d almost died years ago at this point, but this could have been the one to do him in.

“Bep, we’ve got your concert buddy!” Shachi announced. The Mink looked just as Penguin turned Law around and shoved him towards the small boat. Bepo’s eyes went wide and he caught his captain, bringing him into a crushing hug.

“Oh, I knew you’d come around to Princess Uta eventually, Captain!” Bepo cried. “If we get going now, then we can be guaranteed to get good seats! The entire stadium is a grassy park!”

“Bepo… I…”

“No need to worry! Bep’s got it covered!” Ikkaku shouted. The other Heart Pirates waved their captain and navigator off, not caring how much trauma they were inflicting on the former, nor how much they were absolutely screwed if something happened to the latter.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Jean Bart asked as the tiny boat headed towards the distance.

“’Course it is,” Ikkaku said cheerily.

“…but he’s dressed for the beach,” Clione noted. “His legs are out.”

“Man needs to live a little—show himself off more,” Shachi replied, trying his best to not burst into laughter. “Maybe, if we’re lucky, he might actually get some while they’re out. You know… a little bit of alternative crew recruitment?”

“I don’t know which of you two is worse,” Ikkaku scowled. Penguin snickered just out of her reach, which caused her to shoot him a glare in warning. “Now, if you excuse me: Uni and I need to make sure our setup for the concert is in working order.”

Somehow, Shachi and Penguin felt setting up the projection rig was a lot like when she needed to wash her hair.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

As it turned out, the Heart Pirates that had stayed back on the island had missed an absolute banger of a time. Between getting stuck in a psycho-fantasy-dreamworld and not being able to do anything about it (because they could see the darkness from Tot Musica on the horizon, while seemingly stuck on the island, and it was not a good feeling in the slightest), and the fact that there was a huge beatdown between major world powers both inside the dreamworld and out, and the revelation that Uta was also, somehow, Red-Haired Shanks’s daughter…? There was a lot to be said about being there in-person.

“You gotta tell us what went down, Bep!” Penguin pleaded. It had only been five whole minutes since the navigator and captain had returned and the others were full of questions. “Did you do anything in the dreamworld that you also did in the real world?”

“Did you still need to avoid the Marines after that?!”

“What’s Princess Uta like in-person?!”

“Did the captain run off with anyone for a couple hours for reasons not battle-related?!”

More than a couple punches and kicks went Shachi’s way as he was disciplined for such a ridiculous question. Their captain put up an island-wide room and scrambled something, the rest of the crew looking confusedly at one another before Shachi pulled a literal leaf from his pants and began to run red-faced into the nearby forest.

“Anyone says a damn thing about anything and they’re on the next freighter we see,” Law threatened. “In pieces. Gagged. In a crate. Bound for Germa.”

Yeeaahhh… that was not exactly what anyone had in mind.

[astrabear]

trick or treat

Happy Halloween! Have another abandoned work in progress! Sorry it's so depressing, I guess you got a trick.

**** Nile did extensive research into funerary customs of the Neolithic Eurasian steppes, but Andy said she didn’t remember any of that shit, and as far as she was concerned they should just dump her body in a hole. So Nile researched development trends, the migration patterns caused by climate change, and law enforcement practices. Then she gave up and picked a spot in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone that she was reasonably confident they could sneak in and out of and that wouldn’t be dug up for the foreseeable future. But this was all for later – it wasn’t time yet, she just liked being prepared.

And then it was time.

And then, about a week later – when they were in a safehouse outside Riga, still mostly numb, encouraging each other to eat and sleep while not doing it themselves, trying to keep Booker distracted so he wouldn’t think about how much he wanted to drink – they hauled themselves out of bed one morning and discovered Quỳnh had gone. All she took with her was a change of clothes; all she left behind was a note that read, “Give me a year. I’ll be in touch. I promised her.”

Nile was blindingly furious at first. How could Quỳnh give them something else to grieve? How could she leave Nile to take care of these men on her own? But over the next few days it dawned on her that Joe and Nicky each thought they were taking care of her, and after that she noticed that while they missed Quỳnh they were not distressed by it, and she decided to stop trying to be the older sister she’d grown up having to be.

Slowly, day by day, they got through it. Every few weeks, Quỳnh would send a postcard to Sulastri (Copley’s replacement’s replacement), or text her from a stolen phone, and she’d pass the information on to the rest of the team. Quỳnh never said where she was or what she was doing, only that she was still all right. The year turned into two, then five, a decade. She’d leave notes and keepsakes in safehouses and stashes as she passed by, and they took to doing the same. No one ever talked about when she might rejoin them, or at least not while Nile was around.

Most of the time, they were too busy to dwell on it. There were climate refugees to relocate from submerged islands in the South Pacific (safely, in communities, rather than in the camps and holding facilities they’d otherwise be stuck in.) They broke up a water cartel in Chennai and a black market for diverted relief supplies operating out of Asmara; Booker crashed the accounts of their backers and investors and transferred their funds to reforestation programs, which amused him. They drove Sulastri crazy by acting as human shields during protests and riots, forcing her to hunt down and alter or delete recordings. After Nicky shattered his collarbone taking a blow meant for a teenage boy’s head, she stopped scolding them about it.

They went to ground for a little while, literally, in Andy’s old French mine. A nascent military coup in Turkey had suddenly found itself bereft of leadership, and the team wanted to wait out the uproar somewhere under the radar. They’d installed a few modern amenities over the years (a composting toilet, a camp shower, a discreet charging station outside the mine for their solar batteries), and it made a nice respite from the 40-degree heat baking most of Europe.

Their third night there, Nile took second watch. While Joe climbed back into his sleeping bag with Nicky, she settled down just inside the entrance with her night-vision goggles. She let the midnight sounds wash over her: more traffic noises than the last time, fewer birds and insects. When they’d arrived, Booker had commented they were lucky not to find squatters there; Nicky had wondered if maybe it was unethical not to invite people in. Nile sometimes felt oddly cheated, as though she’d become immortal too late to really enjoy it. It was hard to take breaks when instant communications meant they were always aware of how badly they were needed, and it was harder to feel optimistic about human progress and the potential of the future when everything seemed to be falling apart. Joe told her that the entire 20th Century felt that way to him; climate change wasn’t nearly as depressing as two world wars in rapid succession. Nile couldn’t really argue with that, but she stared out into the still, muggy night and saw a future that only held more losses.

And then – a noise. Coming from near the gate. Animal, not mechanical. Large. A person? She stood silently, gun at the ready. One person, moving quietly and confidently; they were coming toward the mine and knew exactly where they were going. They were…

“Quỳnh?”

“Nile!” She bounded over, and in the moment before she wrapped Nile in a hug, Nile saw she was grinning ear to ear. Nile found herself smiling to match, and her cheeks felt stiff. How long since she’d smiled like that? How long since she’d felt relief and comfort, and the rush of warmth in her chest that she vaguely recognized as happiness?

She pulled back from the hug enough to say, “Come on in, let me go wake the guys.”

“No, no, I’ll stay out here for a while. You’re on watch? I’ll sit with you.”

The mention of keeping watch reminded her that they should stay silent, but she couldn’t help herself. “You know they’ll be glad to see you, right?”

Quỳnh laughed softly and took her hand. “I’m not afraid of seeing them. But as long as I stay out here, I can pretend there are four people inside, not three.” They sat simultaneously, still holding hands.

“Is that… do you still… it’s been ten years. You haven’t spent all that time imagining Andy was here.”

“Not all of it. Not even most of it. But sometimes.”

She smiled again; Nile couldn’t remember ever seeing her so relaxed. It was oddly unsettling. A horrible thought came to her, and she asked, “Are you still healing?”

Quỳnh squeezed her hand. “I can show you, if you like.”

“I’ll pass.” She tried to keep her focus on the world around them, but her gaze kept returning to Quỳnh. She looked well-rested, serene. Clean clothes, neatly-trimmed hair. Nile felt about a thousand years older. “You didn’t come here because of us, did you?”

Quỳnh shook her head. “I was in the area, and it seemed like a good place to spend the night. I didn’t know you were here.”

“Will you stay? At least until they wake up? Or… you could stay longer. If you want.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Quỳnh turned to face her and let go of her hand. “You’ve been working.”

Nile sighed. “Pretty much non-stop.”

“Your next job?”

“Eco-fascists. They say the only way to save the planet is to speed up population decline, and they’re destroying infrastructure in refugee camps.”

Quỳnh cocked her head to the side like a bird, an old gesture that Nile hadn’t seen in decades. “And are you stopping them, or helping them?”

Nile had lived with Quỳnh longer than she’d lived with her own mother. She’d fought with her, and beside her; yelled at her, cried with her, died in her arms. She suddenly wondered if she knew her at all. “Which one do you want it to be?”

“Stopping them.”

“Why?”

“I want you to try to stop them because… because it’s more hopeful. I don’t want things to be so bad that the greatest good is served by letting people die. I want there to be a future that’s worth protecting people for.”

Nile’s breath caught in her throat and tears pricked her eyes. None of her reasons for taking this job had anything to do with hope. She swallowed, twice, before she could speak. She’d meant to confirm that yes, the goal was to protect the refugees. But what she actual said was, “What was it that you promised Andy?”

Quỳnh just smiled that same calm smile. “Why don’t I keep watch for you while you get some rest? I promise I’ll still be here when you wake.”

[cellsshapedlikestars]

well. guess who's 4th of july weekend plans were cancelled because her sister & brother in law got covid? me!! so now I have nothing to do for 3 days and so I'm writing prompt fics.

this one is for @hilarychuff who left a comment on my prompt request post, asking for a The Circle AU, which we have discussed AT LENGTH. I will probably never write a full AU of it, so here's a short snippet.

For those of you who do not know what The Circle is, I'll give a brief rundown: it's a Netflix reality show where 8 people live in these apartments and they can only interact over their in-house social media platform. They have profiles and can do group and solo chats with the other players. Some people go on as themselves, some people catfish as a completely different person. Someone even pretended to be Lance Bass one time. Every week, the players rank the others on a scale of 1-7, and the two highest (aka most popular/favorite) become "influencers" and decide who in the group is eliminated. The person who is eliminated can go visit any one of the other players before they leave to chat/ask questions. Then, a new player is introduced after that and it starts all over again. The show LOVES to throw wild game-changers out there (like clones, two eliminated players coming back to play as someone else, etc), but that is the basic setup.

.

read it on ao3 here:

ephemera chapter 26

.

Sansa's in the middle of cooking herself some lunch when she hears the familiar ding of a chat request. Looking over at the nearest screen, she groans in annoyance when she sees the name.

Jon.

She absolutely cannot stand this guy. But the problem is, it seems like he's charmed a lot of the other players, and so she knows she needs to keep him on her side. And she knows just how to do that.

Hey beautiful, the chat starts off. How are you today?

She rolls her eyes at the screen.

“Circle, message,” she starts, trying to figure out her best move. “Good morning, exclamation point,” she dictates for the screen. “I'm great today, smiley face emoji. How about you, question mark. Send.”

The screen types out exactly what she says and sends it. She can see him start to respond immediately.

I'm incredible now that I'm talking to you, he sends back, along with a tongue out emoji. She makes a gagging sound.

“Circle, message. I really like talking to you too. Send.”

Jon is by far the skeeviest guy here. From the moment they started the game, he's been hitting on her relentlessly. She can only assume he's doing the same to the other women, too.

It's a shame, really. His profile had made him seem so nice. Jon, 25, contractor. In his photos, his smile looks so genuine, and the photos with his dog had made her melt.

But then she'd spoken with him, and realized quickly he was just another asshole who thought his good looks meant he could be as gross and invasive as he wanted. But he'd been ranked number one last time, and so she needs him on her side.

She grits her teeth and flirts with him for the rest of the conversation, before finally cutting it off.

…

There's an alert on her screen.

“New player,” Sansa narrates to herself. It's what they're supposed to do – narrate what's happening for the cameras. She thought it would be harder than it is, but since she's alone all the time, it's actually been a bit of a comfort to talk to herself out loud like this.

Last night, Mel had been eliminated, and so that means someone new is coming in today. (She wonders who Mel went to go see after she was cut. Maybe Jon? Sansa's pretty sure Jon was also flirting with Mel, too. Mel had hinted as much.)

She settles herself on the couch with her morning coffee and waits for the new player to be introduced, but she's confused when a name and photo pop up that's already extremely familiar – Jon.

“What?” she says to herself as the group chat opens up.

No one speaks at first, and Sansa assumes they're all just as confused as she is. In the sidebar, she can see two photos of Jon, both with the name Jon, one highlighted with a blue ring, and one with an orange ring.

The orange ring Jon speaks first.

Hi, the first message sends. I'm Jon. The real Jon.

“What?” Sansa nearly shrieks, hands tight around her mug. She can't help it, though, she's smiling, because this is by far the most dramatic thing to have happened yet.

I am so confused, what's happening? Margaery is the next to send a message.

I'm also confused, Blue Jon sends next with a frown emoji. I'm the real Jon.

Another ping! and there's a message from The Circle itself.

“As you can see, there has been some identity theft,” Sansa reads out loud from the screen. “It's up to you to decide which Jon is the real Jon. Only one can stay.”

…

Sansa paces her room, trying to decide what her vote will be.

This isn't like a normal elimination, where the top two players get to decide who goes. This time, they're all voting on which Jon is the real Jon.

Sansa is almost one hundred percent sure that Blue Jon is the one she's been talking to this whole time, with Orange Jon being the newcomer. But that isn't the assignment – the assignment is to figure out which Jon is the catfish, and which one matches the photo. They're supposed to figure out and vote out the catfish.

She's barely had a chance to get to know Orange Jon, but so far he seems completely different from Blue Jon. Orange Jon doesn't use emojis, where Blue Jon overuses them. Orange Jon also didn't aggressively hit on her when she solo-chatted him earlier. Meanwhile, in her solo chat with Blue Jon, he'd spent the whole time giving her a sob story and calling her baby and begging her to believe him.

“I'm going to eliminate Blue Jon,” she says out loud, hoping that she's right. “I believe Orange Jon is the real Jon.”

Part of her thinks she's voting against blue because then she won't have to keep fake flirting with him, even though this means she'll be losing support in the game, since Blue Jon has promised to keep her around if he's in the top two.

Part of her, though, just wants the guy in the pictures with an adorable dog to not be an asshole.

…

In the end, Orange Jon is eliminated.

She isn't surprised.

Blue Jon can be charming when he wants to be. Sansa might have even fallen for his schtick herself, if she had never dated Joffrey. But she had, and so charming men who like to give her lots of compliments on her looks have really lost their shine.

After Orange Jon is blocked from the game, the announcement pops up that he will be allowed to visit one of the players.

Sansa assumes he'll go see Blue Jon, that makes the most sense, right?

She sits on her couch and waits for The Circle to tell her she can go to bed. Even though she knows Orange Jon won't come see her – he has no reason to, he isn't the Jon that's been flirting with her this whole time – she still feels anxious. She feels anxious anytime anyone is eliminated, just in case they come to see her.

She nearly jumps out of her skin when there's a knock on the door, and then it opens, and she hears footsteps into her temporary apartment.

“Hello?” a deep, Northern voice calls.

“I'm in here!” Sansa manages to squeak out through her suddenly tight throat. Her heart is pounding wildly, even though she has no reason to be nervous. She even voted for Orange Jon to stay! He has no reason to be mad at her.

When he comes around the corner, her heart starts to slam inside her chest even faster, because he's real. He's the Jon from the pictures.

“Hey,” he says, giving her a half smile, his hands shoved into his pockets.

“Hi,” she breathes, shifting over to make room on the couch. When she does, he takes the invitation and sits.

“So, uh,” he starts, then winces a bit, like he can't figure out what he wants to say.

“You aren't the Jon I've been talking to, are you?” she asks.

“No. I found out that a guy I know tried to use my photo without my permission. The show contacted me. They let me eavesdrop in on his conversations with people, and then they invited me on, and I guess I felt like I had to redeem myself?”

“So you came to see me, because...”

“Because I saw how he was with you. I don't know, I just... I felt like I needed to apologize.”

“But it wasn't you,” she argues gently.

“No, it wasn't,” he lets out a laugh and brings a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. “Though I guess you can't totally trust that until it's over.”

Oh, right, she thinks. She'll get to see who was behind the Blue Jon profile that she's been talking to this whole time when the game ends or when he's eliminated.

“Well, it's good to finally meet the real Jon,” she says, which makes him smile.

There's a beep that lets them know his time is almost up.

“Well, I guess I should head out. Hopefully I did enough damage that he gets kicked off next.”

That makes her laugh, and she stands up as he does.

She doesn't want him to leave.

He's handsome and seems nice and he's got the cutest dog and she's so annoyed that she only got to meet him for such a brief period of time.

The Circle pings with a message, and Sansa turns, confused, to the screen.

“Sansa and Jon,” she reads out as the message pops up. “Would you like a chance to get back at the imposter?”

“What does that mean?” Jon asks, brow furrowed in confusion.

“If you choose, you can team up to play as Sansa going forward,” Sansa reads, a smile stretching across her face as understanding dawns.

“Oh,” Jon breathes.

“Do you want to?” she turns to him to ask, gleefully. The idea of teaming up with real Jon to make fake Jon's life miserable sounds incredible.

He looks at her, and then he smiles, that one she saw in his photos that makes his eyes crinkle up.

“Fuck yeah,” he laughs. “I would love to mess with him more.”

After they've agreed, they're contacted by producers and told the real rules: Jon can't use any of his knowledge to expose the person behind the fake Jon account, they aren't allowed to tell anyone Jon-Jon was real and fake-Jon isn't, they both have to keep pretending to be Sansa, etcetera.

After talking to the producers, Sansa now knows the Jon standing next to her isn't the Jon that had been hitting on her and being gross. Away from the producers, Jon whispers to her that it's some guy named Theon that he went to high school with, and they still run in the same circles, but they aren't exactly friends. It's a relief to know, and she tries to ignore that tiny flutter of butterflies in her stomach.

“So,” she gives a little laugh after they're moved to a new set of rooms that has two beds instead of the one Sansa had been in. “I guess we're roommates now?”

“Yeah,” Jon shrugs, rubbing at the back of his neck again. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow,” she says back. “We'll start Operation: Take Down then.”

“Operation: Take Down?” he asks, breaking out into a full smile again.

“Shut up,” she laughs, feeling her face go hot. “Tonight's been a lot of new information, I'm not on my A game.”

Jon's laughing too, “alright,” he says, unable to keep the grin off his face. “Operation: Take Down it is.”

That night, she goes to bed and for the first time, she isn't totally focused on the money she could win at the end of this.

No, she's focused on the man sleeping right next door. Her new partner in this game. Her new roommate.

The real Jon.

[sweettoothedtrickster13]

On the Run Chapter 33

Summary: Lisa has a break and a revelation

AO3 Portal

Paul wakes up and blearily goes downstairs to make himself a cup of coffee. Lisa is already up, typing at the computer. He looks and there's an empty coffee cup next to her. He picks it up and gives her a fresh one, putting the sugar and milk next to her. She looks up at him before adding a single spoonful of sugar and sipping. Paul takes the rest and the milk and puts them away. He checks the time- a little after eight on a Saturday. The boys won't be up for hours if they're anything like he was when he was their age.

Paul settles on the couch and enjoys his coffee silently.

"You can put the TV on," Lisa says.

"Didn't want to disturb you," Paul says, looking over at her.

"Please. I have two boys, I could work with them crawling on me."

Paul laughs and grabs the remote, turning on the TV. He flicks to a news channel and puts it on low. He listens to the quiet voices and the sound of Lisa typing as he finishes his coffee. He rinses out the mug and Lisa joins him, doing the same.

"Paul, can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"How did you and Jezebel become friends?"

Paul chuckles. "Interesting story, believe it or not." He follows Lisa to the living room and they sit on the couch. "Jess was moving in and I offered to help. She said no and brought everything in herself. I went back into my apartment and the next few times I saw her, she barely said three words at a time. Then she kind of warmed up to me I guess. Don't know what I did, maybe it was pure persistence," he jokes. Lisa smiles. "Then we became friends."

"She must have trusted you a lot to go to you after Mount Massive," Lisa says, sitting sideways on the couch and resting her cheek on her fist, elbow propped up against the back cushion.

"She had no one else," Paul shrugs.

"Paul. Don't sell yourself short," Lisa reprimands. "She doesn't seem like one to trust easily."

"She really isn't," Paul admits, sitting back.

"Did you have a crush on her?"

"Maybe when we first got closer," Paul shrugs. "But not anymore. She didn't express any interest and I started to see her as more of a friend. Now she's more of a little sister than anything."

"Still, that must have been disheartening."

"You get used to it."

Lisa cocks her head and frowns. "What do you mean?"

"That is a very long story I'm only likely to even start to tell when I'm wasted."

Lisa frowns deeper but leaves the subject be for now.

"So were you working on the computer when I came down," he asks.

"Yes. Lawyer stuff. I took a leave of absence, but I just asked if I could work remotely."

"What kind of lawyer are you?"

"Family law. I mostly go for adoptions."

Paul nods. He doesn't know a lot about law, mostly the stuff you see in movies and TV shows. And those only cover criminal cases.

"Do you like it," he asks.

"I do."

"How'd you get into that?"

"Most of my family is lawyers and doctors, so I guess it was just instilled in me from childhood." Paul nods. "What do you do?"

"I'm a nurse."

"What kind?"

"Emergency room."

"Oh God. You must have to work fast."

"I guess. But you get to help the most people and the ones who really need you. I took a leave of absence from my job, too. Thinking about going back to it eventually. I liked it."

"And what does your family think of your job?"

"I was actually the first person in my family to go to college," he divulges. But his voice doesn't sound proud, it's more...resigned.

"They must be very proud."

"Kind of," he hedges.

"What?"

Paul sighs. "Most of my family are criminals. Assaults, robbery, forgery, that kind of thing. In and out of jail. They hated when I went into nursing. Said it was women's work. I don't talk to most of them."

Lisa lays a comforting hand on his arm. "Thank you for telling me."

Paul smiles a little. "Haven't told anyone that in a long time."

"Not even Jess," Lisa asks, shocked.

"Not even Jess," he agrees.

"Wow. I just figured you told her everything."

"We actually didn't know each other for very long," he shrugs. "Three months and friends for one."

"You're right, that isn't very long," Lisa muses.

"How did you meet Waylon," Paul asks, just to get the subject off himself.

"We both went to Berkeley. I was in the law school, Waylon went for coding, and a mutual friend introduced us. I actually asked him out, he was so shy. He got a little better about it over the years, but he's still quiet. Not so much reserved but more internal and thoughtful." Lisa's eyes tear. Paul winces internally- he touched a raw wound. "I miss him."

"I know you do. I'm sorry."

Lisa dabs at her eyes with her sleeve. "I just hope we can make a dent in Murkoff."

Paul sighs. "Me too, Lisa. Me too." Hunter comes over and noses at Lisa's knee. She pets him with one hand.

They hear footsteps on the stairs. Lisa pulls herself together and Paul leans back. Ethan appears and looks at them, eyes squinted. Hunter goes to him and he leans down after a moment, scratching him.

Ben comes down not too long after.

Lisa's cellphone rings and she stands and answers it. Paul can barely hear her voice from where she's in the kitchen.

"Hey Alice," Lisa greets her friend.

"Hey, Lisa. Look, you need a break."

"Alice," Lisa sighs.

"Nope. You have that guy to look after the kids. You need some 'me' time. We can even have it at my house. We don't have to go anywhere."

Lisa hesitates. She's been so stressed lately that her shoulders are starting to actually ache from being wound so tight.

"Come on girl," Alice coaxes. "Just a few hours if you want."

"Fine," Lisa sighs. "Give me a second, let me ask Paul if he minds."

Lisa pulls the phone away from her mouth and walks into the living room. "Hey Paul," she calls, and he looks over. "Do you mind looking after the boys for a little bit? My friend invited me over."

"Sure thing."

"Thanks."

Paul smiles. "No problem, Lisa." Lisa goes back into the kitchen and returns the phone to her mouth to resume the conversation.

"Alright. Let's do it."

Alice whoops, making Lisa laugh. "I'll pick you up."

"Sure. When are we doing it?" Lisa's doorbell rings.

"Right now."

Lisa frowns in confusion and looks through her peephole, seeing Alice on the other side. "Ok." Lisa hangs up and opens the door. Alice smiles widely when she does so.

"Come on," Alice says, grabbing Lisa's hand. Lisa laughs and leans back enough to speak to her sons.

"Be good for Mr. Redding," she calls.

"Ok," Ben calls back, and Ethan just nods.

Lisa lets herself get pulled to Alice's car, both of them laughing.

Alice gets in the driver's seat and Lisa in the passenger.

"You really do need this, Lisa," Alice says as she pulls away from the curb.

"I do," Lisa nods.

"That's the spirit! Come on, I set everything up last night."

"Last night? Were you just going to drag me out even if I said no," Lisa laughs.

"Yep," Alice chirps. Lisa laughs, putting her head back against the headrest.

They arrive at Alice's house and they both get out. "Marvin is out, so it'll be just us girls."

Lisa follows Alice inside. Alice gestures for her to sit on the couch and goes to the kitchen while Lisa takes her up on her offer. Alice comes back toting big bags of junk food. Lisa chuckles and accepts a bag of chips. She opens it and pops one in her mouth. She settles back into the couch.

Alice talks at her and Lisa eats too much junk food.

"Next phase," Alice announces, making Lisa crack an eye and turn her head slightly to look at her. "Pedicures."

"You said we weren't going anywhere," Lisa points out.

In answer, Alice holds up a box. It's a home pedicure and manicure kit and Lisa laughs. They set the boxes up since Alice got two and the women take off their shoes and socks. Lisa picks a teal calls 'tealiously?' and Alice goes with a 'bubblegum pink' that is just as bright as the name promises it will be. They soak their feet in the warm water and Lisa feels tension leech out of her.

They paint their nails and laugh at their job. Lisa had small, practiced motions that ended up looking somewhat professional, but Alice's look like a five year old tried to paint their own nails. She ends up scrubbing with a scrub brush and that cleans it up somewhat.

"Ok. Dish," Alice says.

"About what," Lisa asks, admiring the color.

"Paul."

Lisa looks up, eyebrows furrowed and mouth turned down. "What about him?"

"Are you fucking him?"

"Alice!"

"What?"

"What about Waylon?"

Alice sighs. "Waylon is gone, sweetie." Lisa belatedly remembers that that's what the world believes. She can't put Waylon in danger by revealing the truth. "Plus, he would want you to be happy."

"Alice, it hasn't been very long."

"I know, but still. Paul's living with you, honey. I'm sure that leads to something."

"No, I'm not having sex with Paul," Lisa says. "Alice, I still love Waylon. It actually feels strange to have another man living with me."

"It makes sense," Alice says gently. "You both lost someone under the same circumstances. You lost your husband, he lost a friend."

"That isn't the same, Alice."

"I know. But you must have talked about it, right?"

"A little," Lisa admits. "But Alice," she starts when Alice just smiles knowingly. "Us talking about trauma doesn't really add up to romance."

"He's cute," Alice points out.

"I don't see him that way. He's a friend."

"Could he end up being something more?"

"No," Lisa says. "I should get back to the boys."

"Lisa, I'm sorry. We can just go back to girls' day."

"I'm ok, Alice. Thank you for this, really, I appreciate it. Call me sometime and we can try again," Lisa smiles, and Alice sighs but picks up her keys. She drives Lisa home, Lisa too engrossed in her thoughts to make conversation. Lisa smiles at her and squeezes her arm before getting out. Paul looks up at the door opening.

"That was fast," he notes, checking his watch.

"I know. I was just worried about the boys."

"They're ok," he nods, gesturing at the room at large. Ben is playing with Hunter on the floor and Ethan is sitting in a chair, reading. "We didn't even burn the house down."

Lisa laughs, coming around and sitting next to Paul. "Were they good?"

"Very," Paul nods. "Lisa, they're fourteen and eight, not three and one," Paul points out. "I can look after them if you need to leave the house."

"I know you can," Lisa says, squeezing his upper arm briefly. "I just get worried is all."

Paul nods. He's always so understanding. Even if he doesn't have kids of his own, he's just so full of empathy. She figures it's because of his job. But a person needs to have some already to do his job in the first place.

Hunter grows disinterested in the toy he'd been playing with and noses at Lisa's hands, and she scratches behind his ears.

"Manicure," Paul asks. Lisa nods, looking at him.

"Alice bought a do-it-yourself kit." Paul smiles, the lines near his eyes crinkling as he does so. Lisa looks back at Hunter. Ben stands and pets Hunter's back and Lisa lets him go to play with her son. She leans back and watches Paul out of the corner of her eye. He's smiling at her son and Hunter and he looks so gentle and content. She looks away. Maybe Alice was right, some tiny voice inside her says. No. I'm married. Waylon will be home eventually.

Paul stands and stretches, looking over at her. "Do you want some coffee or something," he asks.

Lisa just shakes her head. Paul walks to the kitchen and starts puttering around. She can hear the cupboard door opening and the mugs gently clinking together as he takes one out. She hears him run the faucet. Soon enough, he's back and settling on the couch again. "What are you making," she asks.

"Tea."

Lisa nods and turns to the TV. She honestly has no idea what's on it, she's so lost in her racing and warring thoughts. Murkoff will never allow Waylon to come home. No, don't say that, he has to come home. VIRALeaks will help. Murkoff is already staggering, about to topple over. You don't know that, they probably have an ace up their sleeve. Lisa stands and goes to the computer, checking her email. No response from her firm yet, not that she expected one until Monday. She pulls a legal pad close but decides against making a list. What if Paul or one of the boys sees it? She returns to the couch.

Lisa runs her hands through her hair, a nervous habit. The kettle starts to whistle and Paul gets up, making himself a cup.

Lisa takes a look at him as he's sipping. Thankfully he tips his head back after he's done, holding the hot mug in both hands. Waylon liked tea. No. He likes tea. He isn't dead. Lisa looks at Paul. He is handsome in an objective way. Tan, tall, brown but almost-hazel eyes when the sun hits them. Short brown hair that is growing out a little. He's a little older than her. Lisa looks away with a sigh.

"What's wrong, Mom," Ethan asks, and she looks at him.

"Nothing sweetie," she pastes on a gentle smile, but from her son's expression, he doesn't buy it. Still, he goes back to his book.

[soldmygenderforglitter]

Elsje is has such a big sister vibe to her. 

[searidings]

The prompt: Nia’s tasked with building one of those buzzfeed style quizzes and the theme is “Which Superfriend Would You Marry?” She sends it on their group chat as a test run. Kara and Lena are having a movie night and they take the test together. Lena gets Dreamer as a result . Kara’s immediate, not censored reaction is to say that there must be something wrong with it because there’s no way Lena would get Nia. The (fun) thing is, Kara and Lena aren’t dating (until that night oc).

“Which Superfriend would you marry?”

Lena promptly chokes on her mouthful of red wine, coughing and spluttering as her cheeks flush a deep puce. “Excuse me?”

Which— right. She probably could have phrased that differently. Kara grimaces, reaching out to rub soothingly over Lena’s back as her best friend tries valiantly to expel the last of the alcohol from her lungs.

“It’s a quiz. Craft Your Perfect Taco to Find Out Which Superfriend You Would Marry,” she explains once Lena’s breathing has settled, nudging closer on the couch to hook her chin over Lena’s shoulder. “Nia made it after Andrea decided Catco was going to become the new Buzzfeed within the week or we were all going to lose our jobs. I guess she finally finished it?”

Kara tilts her phone between them, showing Lena the message. “She sent it in the group chat. Wants us all to try it to make sure there are no bugs.”

“Which group chat?” Lena asks, hitting pause on the movie and rooting through their nest of blankets and pillows for her own phone. “Superfiends? Brain Train 2: Intergalactic Boogaloo? Alex Danvers' Blue Eyeshadow Support Group? America’s Ass?”

“Superfiends, I think— wait. America’s Ass?” Kara’s eyes narrow. “What’s that?”

“Woops.” Lena presses her lips together, blinking big and angelic. “You might not be in that one.”

Kara’s frown deepens. She pouts up at her best friend as Lena pushes up from the couch to refill their glasses, bottom lip at maximum extension. “You guys have a group chat without me?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lena calls from the kitchen over the sound of pouring wine. “Tell me more about this quiz.”

Kara huffs. “You know I can’t be that easily distracted, right?”

Lena crosses back to the couch, depositing their drinks on the coffee table and flopping down beside her. She presses close, curling into Kara’s side in a cloud of expensive perfume. “Of course you can’t, darling,” Lena soothes, stroking a consoling hand over her forearm as she drops a large bag noisily into Kara’s lap. “Look, popcorn.”

Kara beams, ripping into the snack and devouring it with gusto. “Okay, so, the quiz,” she mumbles around a loud mouthful. “I guess we should take it separately? Nia wants as many guinea pigs as possible.”

Lena nods, settling in at Kara’s side as she unlocks her phone. She’s really close, and she smells really good, and her teal cashmere sweater is really soft against Kara’s skin so she makes the executive decision to hook her chin back over Lena’s shoulder. Just, like, for convenience.

“Hey!” Lena’s fingers dig lightly against her ribs, and Kara squirms. “No cheating.”

“How am I gonna cheat?” she huffs, but pulls her head back anyway, settling for hooking her pinkie through Lena’s belt loop instead. “This is a quiz designed to tell me who I should marry: my sister, my sister-in-law, my honorary father, my little brother, or his girlfriend. The results are gonna be pretty funky whichever way you slice ‘em.”

“Still,” Lena hums, wiggling her socked feet beneath Kara’s thigh. “Eyes to yourself, Ms Zor-El."

The loft falls silent as they tap away at their respective screens. She has to hand it to Nia; this quiz is no walk in the park. She spends a solid ninety seconds deliberating between pico de gallo and guac on her tacos, and is just making a mental note to tell Nia to add an all of the above option to every question when Lena sucks in a sharp breath, lets it out in a giggle.

“What?” Kara asks, craning her neck to get a look at the other woman’s screen. “Did you finish already? Who did you get?”

Lena’s still laughing, head tipped back, the elegant line of her throat exposed. Kara forces her eyes away from the arc of creamy skin, reaching over to pluck Lena’s phone from her limp fingers.

“Dreamer?” she all but shrieks, reading the name on the screen once, twice, three times. “You? And Dreamer? You and Dreamer? Dreamer?”

“Apparently so,” Lena laughs, head tipping back against the cushions. “Do you think Nia set herself as the only possible answer?”

“Apparently not, since I just got matched with Sentinel.” Kara shudders, the mere suggestion too icky to contemplate for long. She stares at Lena, who’s still chuckling.

“I can’t believe you got Dreamer,” Kara huffs, teeth grinding. “That’s ridiculous. I’m gonna tell Nia her quiz doesn’t work.”

Lena presses her lips together, holding back a smirk. Kara’s eyes get stuck there a moment; on the pretty pink sweep of plump flesh, the delicate bow, the deep plum tint left over from her wine.

“Why is it so ridiculous?” Lena chuckles, white teeth digging into the plush of her bottom lip. Kara’s eyes follow the indentation, the willing yield of her flesh to the pressure. She watches the way Lena’s mouth moves, entranced by the formation of words she’s barely registering.

When Lena’s mouth stops moving altogether, Kara manages to tear her eyes away only to find her best friend is staring at her pointedly, looking decidedly unimpressed.

Right. Lena had asked a question.

“It just— it’s wrong,” she manages at length, feeling a little like she’s having to manually fire her own synapses just to make her brain focus on anything besides the sight of Lena’s mouth. “The quiz is obviously faulty.”

“Why?” Lena repeats, a hint of indignation beginning to bleed into her tone. “I love Nia very much. There are certainly worse matches.”

“Yeah, but there’s also way better ones,” Kara insists. The collar of her shirt feels too tight all of a sudden, the room too hot and the air too stifling.

One perfectly manicured eyebrow quirks. “Such as?”

Kara opens her mouth. Closes it again. Opens it once more. “Well, I mean—”

Lena’s brow lifts another quarter inch. “Yes?”

“Lena, come on.” She doesn’t know why she’s so adamant on making this point. She just knows that Lena and Nia, it’s— it’s wrong. She just needs Lena to see that too. “You can’t honestly— Rao, if you were going to marry any of us it wouldn’t be Dreamer, it would be—”

Her jaw snaps shut with an audible click that echoes through the suddenly silent living room.

Kara’s heart is pounding. Her fists are clenched around the corners of an unsuspecting throw pillow, her breaths coming in short, ragged bursts. She becomes aware of this, mainly, because of how conspicuous her own noisy exhales are in comparison to Lena. Lena, who all of a sudden doesn’t appear to be breathing at all.

“Who?”

Lena’s voice is barely a whisper. In the unearthly quiet of the loft, it feels deafening.

Kara swallows, sandpaper rough. Doesn’t answer. Can’t.

Lena’s gaze is so heavy it feels like a physical touch. “Who, Kara?”

“I—” Her voice cracks. She clears her throat, takes a deep breath. “I don’t—”

Lena’s voice is a lit fuse, a thunderstorm on the horizon. “If not Nia, then who?”

The tension stretching the space between them pulls taught, wrought as overworked metal.

The goldfish clock on the wall counts the silent passage of time. Twenty seconds. Thirty.

She watches Lena. Lena watches her. Her lips aren’t smiling anymore. They’re pressed together, braced and tight.

Every molecule of air in Kara’s lungs shudders out at once. Her chest caves, shoulders slumping. The thread between them snaps, disappearing back into the ether. “I don’t know.”

Lena’s eyes widen a little, then narrow. The line of her jaw hardens infinitesimally. “Well, then. Maybe you shouldn’t be in such a hurry to pass judgment.”

Kara nods, cowed. Curls in on herself, hugging the pillow to her chest. Nia’s quiz doesn’t seem so fun anymore. In fact, their whole evening feels sour, curdling rotten in the pit of her stomach.

The movie restarts. Lena’s gaze is fixed on the screen but she isn’t watching, not really. Her eyes don’t follow the action, don’t move, don’t even blink.

Kara watches her, throat clogged with the contents of her slashed-wide heart, afraid to set it free lest its welcome be less than warm.

They don’t speak until the movie ends, some bland easy-listening tune rolling over the credits. It’s barely gotten to the first chorus when Lena shifts, rooting through the blankets for her discarded phone and reaching for her purse on the coffee table.

Kara sees the dismissal, the looming escape, in the tense lines of Lena’s shoulders. Hears it in the fraught silence between them before Lena even says a word. “Well, I should probably—”

Panic flares hot through her muscles and suddenly, vicious as a lightning strike, the dam behind Kara’s teeth cracks.

“Me,” she interrupts, desperate and half-wild.

Lena freezes, halfway off the couch, one foot planted on the floor while the other pushes awkwardly against the couch cushions. “What?”

“God, me.” She doesn’t want to say it again. She says it again anyway. “Not Nia. Me."

Lena’s mouth falls open, a soundless breath escaping her. Her toes twitch against the couch cushions. “What— what are you saying?”

Kara takes a deep breath. The dam has cracked, now. Little point trying to hold back the flood.

“I’m saying, if you’re gonna take a stupid quiz about which of the Superfriends you should marry then the right answer – the only answer – is me.” Kara bites hard at the inside of her cheek. The sting helps to centre her, calms her rapid breathing enough to get the words out. “I’m saying that if you were to marry anyone, anyone in the galaxy, then I’d want— I’d hoped it might be me.”

For a long moment, Lena doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Only stares at Kara, wide-eyed.

Then, slowly, achingly slowly, she sinks back onto the couch beside her. Across the desolate chasm between their bodies, their knees brush. Lena’s voice is very, very quiet. “I’d hoped it might be you, too.”

Kara’s breath hitches. Lena’s eyes are so green it almost hurts to look at them. “Yeah?”

Lena’s mouth, always captivating, quirks into the beginnings of a smile so radiant it could outshine the brightest sun. “Yeah.”

Kara swallows. Snakes her fingers out to where Lena’s rest on the cushion between them, twining tight. “Wow,” she breathes, breathless and still a little disbelieving. “Wow. So, are we— are we really doing this?”

Lena chuckles, squeezing their joined hands. “What, getting married?”

Kara flushes, a heady suffusion of white-hot joy coursing through her veins. “I mean, maybe we could start with dinner,” she chuckles, and Lena nods. Kara tilts her chin until they’re eye to eye. Lets the last blissful secret of her heart run free. “But, one day? Absolutely.”

Lena’s cheeks flush a delicate pink, eyelashes fluttering. “Deal.”

It’s natural, then, the way Lena folds into her. The way their bodies slot together on the couch like interlocking helices, Lena’s head on her shoulder, arms around her waist. Kara encircles her ribcage in turn, holding her tight, peppering the sweet planes of her face with the lightest dusting of kisses. She revels in the softness of Lena’s skin beneath her lips, the way her cheeks heat beneath the tender ministrations into a blush Kara can feel against her mouth.

“I cannot believe,” Lena hums, knuckles tracing the planes of Kara’s stomach through her shirt, “that after six years the thing that finally got us to this point was Nia Nal’s taco quiz.”

Kara snorts, nosing into Lena’s hairline to inhale the warm untempered essence of her. “God, I know,” she chuckles, pulling Lena a little tighter against her. “We’re ridiculous.”

Lena hums, burrowing against her chest, and Kara thinks she could stay here forever quite happily, actually. That she might never need anything else again.

A thought strikes her suddenly and she tenses hard enough that above her, Lena does too. She raises her head so their gazes can meet, green eyes wide and apprehensive. “What is it, darling?”

“Did you choose salsa rojo or salsa verde for your tacos?” Kara rushes out, wide-eyed. “Because now I'm worried I made the wrong call, what if—”

Lena only laughs, and halts all further taco talk with a kiss.

[mac-kd8]

                                                 Law x pregnant readers

Waking up, (Name) only felt tired as if she hadn't slept in months.  She  just blamed it from the late nights of working and nothing else. Not even realizing when she woke up it was already in the afternoon and the Heart Pirates were currently eating in the galley.

With a loud groan (Name) took off her Pj's and walked into the shower, she gasped slightly when the water presser felt a little more sensitive on her chest than usual.

(Name) shrugged it off, thinking it was because she was still healing from the last battle she took part of, so she didn't think much about it. Propping herself next to her captain like she always does, she quietly ate her late lunch while trying to keep her eyes open. Law being the observant man he is, grew quite worried about his beloved wife acting so fatigue. "Are you alright?" Law asked, trying to act he wasn't concerned. She only nodded before face-planting into her food with a loud smack. No one panicked or thought it was something to worry about, guessing (Name) was just having a narcoleptic attack.

Later that day, (Name) was currently laying on her bed while reading a book. Feeling like she was about to throw up, she put down her book next to her and quickly opened the bathroom door. She then puke out all of her lunch and maybe last night dinner as well into the toilet. Wipeing her mouth, (Name) then headed toward the sink to splash some cold water on her face.

Feeling a familiar presence, (Name) then turned her head to where Law was currently standing with a worried expression on his face. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess it's just a little food poisoning." (Name) said while scratching the back of her head.

"Alright but let me know when it gets worse."Law stated as he exited the bathroom.

(Name's) heart almost escaped from her chest when the submarine started shaking and yellow lights started flashing. Running onto the deck she could already see a battle taking place with men in white and blue uniforms on one side and men in colorful hats and white overalls on the other side. Unsheathing her twin katanas, (Name) then started cutting one marine after another but for some strange reason she already felt like she was out of energy. 20 minutes into the battle, with a large pant for air she finishes off the last of the marines before wobbling back to the submarine's doors.

"Damn why am I already out of breath, those marines were just small fries. My training methods haven't changed one bit, why do I feel so weak. "(Name) muttered to herself in annoyance.

(Name) only pushed her food around on the plate, hardly nibbling then she looked around the room. Everyone was so cheerful and she couldn't help but smile.

"Not eating much I see." Law commented, leaning over to whisper in her ear. Not like he needs to, over the usually loud noise that the Heart Pirates made at each meal.

"I'm just not hungry." She responded.

"Strange and I thought for someone who was out of breath just by fighting a few marines would be starving." Law stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Is it not to your liking, (Name)?" The head chef asked, catching sight of Law's actions.

"It's good. I'm just not hungry right now"(Name) said as she pushed back the plate.

"I'll put it in the fridge until you feel like eating again,"The chef said as he scooped up her plate of uneaten food.

"Do you need to lie down again?" Law asked her again for the third time today.

"I'm okay."

"Could I get some orange juice though?"(Name) sweetly asked the cook.

Then immediately , the crew got back to their usual antics paying no mind to (Name's) odd behavior.

She got to her feet while squeezing Law's shoulder gently. "I'm going to read a book." She said before taking a sip of the juice.

She was hoping that it was simply a case of stomach flu and not something alot more serious.

(Name) was once again in the bathroom and vomiting all of what she ate yesterday, which was not that much. (Name) felt terrible , as would anyone in these types of situations would, however, she still didn't want to bring the matter up. Luckily, Law hasn't woken up from his deep slumber , which made her sigh in relief. Slipping back into bed, she then let her eyelids close as she slept all the way through the afternoon again.

Then that cycle of having no appetite and vomiting lasted for this day as well, which made Law start to worry even more about his wife.

"(Name)!" She picked up her head by the ship's railing in surprise as she heard her name being called by Penguin. Her stomach hadn't seemed to settle, and now she is throwing up into the sea.

She then turned her head to the mechanic, trying her best not to look sick.

Penguin walked up to (Name) getting rather closer, causing (Name) to become nervous.

"You look pale." Penguin commented.

"I haven't been feeling well the last few days Penguin. So I'm probably a bit pale." (Name) stated .

"You're sick (Name)?" questioned Shachi. (Name) nodded her head, however quickly realized what she had brought up.

"I'm only slightly sick, just a little headache. Really."

"You sure (Name)?" Law asked as he walked up to the swordswoman, worried about her health.

She then gave a reassuring thumbs up to everyone to show that she was okay. Though internally, she was kicking herself for lying to the crew, even more so to her trusting and loving husband. The crew soon believed the lie as they continued with their day, however, Penguin, Shachi, and Law didn't seem to be convinced, so they kept an eye on her.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." (Name) thought as she ran to the bathroom for the third time this week. She still was getting lucky with Law having once again already left their room or sleeping, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before they really began to be suspicious.

"This will pass. This will pass."(Name) kept telling herself furiously as she finished with her recent vomiting episode. She picked herself up, taking in deep breaths trying to settle her stomach. As she looked into the mirror, she noticed that she is even paler than yesterday.

Putting on a brave face, she then walked out of the bathroom and went onto the deck.

"Land ahoy!" Shachi shouted as he pointed at the piece of land.

All of the Heart Pirates gather around the railing in a disorderly long line, and lean over it, while watching the island they were about to dock. They had docked at a unique island well-known in the areas as vicious wild blood thirsty animals live there.

"Yahoo, a new adventure!" (Name) said happily before walking off the submarine's plank. As she got closer and closer onto the island, she felt someone grabbing her shoulder.

"I think it's for the best if you stay back in your current state."Law stated with a worried look on his face.

She only shrugged his hand off. "I'm fine, I feel a lot better today."

Before Law could protest, (Name) had already made her way onto the island.

And then she left, not running, but walking kinda in a slow pace into the forests.

After some time had passed, both Penguin and Shachi had returned after a troublesome adventure with some saber-tooth monkeys. Law was starting to get a little worry since (Name) wasn't back yet, so he went the same direction she walked in.

As Law walked deeper and deeper into the forest he finally made eye contact with the swordswoman. "Help!" (Name) called out as she was kneeling onto the tall grass while clenching her slightly bleeding shoulder.

Law was surprised, (Name) never called for help unless it's something really serious or life-threatening .

Activating his Room he switches places with (Name) while killing the beast in the process.

While Law was carrying (Name) through the forest, she leaned away from his chest so she wouldn't get vomit onto his clothes

-x-

"I'm going to take a blood sample." (Name) nodded as she rolled up her sleeve allowing Law to apply the alcohol onto her skin then inserting the needle. Only taking a tiny amount, Law removed the needle and quickly placed a band-aid on where he poke her. "You can leave, I will give you your results as soon as possible."

She only nodded before leaving the infirmary room.

Law stood there from where he was sitting in shock, not knowing how to feel after reviewing the results of her blood test. It was a mix of happiness, relief, fear and mostly parental love. It took all of his strength not to jump down like a crazy man who just won the lottery, because it was the middle of the night and he didn't want to wake up his crew. When he finally made it to the doors of his room, he put on a calm face and slowly and quietly opened the door. "Hi Captain, so did my blood test turn out good?" (Name) asked casually.

"Yep, it seems that both of you are fine." Law said with a big goofy smile on his usually calm and serious face. (Name) looked at her captain in surprise and in slight confusion, even already knowing the answer. "W-what do you mean the b-both of us?" (Name) managed to stutter out.

"I mean our baby. You're 9 weeks pregnant."

He was in love with (Name), and the idea of her having his baby was ideal to him, but it was still a shock, they'd never even spoken or brought up the subject. He wanted a family, but the idea still scares him. All the memories of his mother and father, and his little sister Lami all stuck to him. Then, the struggles and problems of them being famous pirates with both of them having large bounties on their heads. And all of the struggles that their child will face as well, everything he, (Name) and his unborn child, everything they will face together suddenly hit him in one go.

"Law I'm sorry, I should have been more careful." (Name) said while sobbing.

Law quickly, but carefully picks her up and sits her onto his lap while stroking the spot where their child was growing.

"Sorry for what? Making this the happiest day of my life." Law said before kissing her still flat stomach.

(Name) began to cry more but it wasn't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. "We're going to be parents. I'm going to be a mom."

"And I'm going to be a dad. " Law said while showering her with even more kisses. (Name) squeaked when Law gently swooped her off her feet and began sprinting across the metal halls.

"What the... Law?!"

"Your shoulder, your shoulder was wounded. You're staying overnight, no, 3 nights in the infirmary. What if the baby got hurt. What if the baby got killed?"Law started listing off the things that could happen to their unborn child.

-x-

"Everyone, we have an announcement!" Law shouted loudly to get everyone's attention who was on the deck.

"We're getting a new crew member." (Name) said while trying to hold back her giggles.

"Oh, that's nice, when can we meet them?" Penguin asked.

"Less than 9 months." Law answered which made everyone go completely silent.

"We're having a baby!" Both (Name) and Law shouted cheerfully.

They were all staring at the expected couple, completely dumbfounded.

Astounded, flabbergasted, shock whichever word to describe their expressions and the tense atmosphere. Law's hand started to turn purple just by how hard (Name) was squeezing his hand.

"CONGRATULATIONS," Penguin and Shachi shouted in perfect unison.

"This is amazing, this calls for a party!" A Heart Pirate exclaimed.

"No alcohol for the pregnant woman though," Bepo smiled warmly at her from Law's side.

"(Name), don't cry, " Law said, reaching around her shoulders to comfort her.

"I know, it has to be the unbalanced hormones. I'm just so happy, this is a new chapter of my life." (Name) said as she cried into Law's chest.

Throughout the day everyone was partying while congratulating the new parents-to-be.

"So who will be the godparents?" Bepo asked.

"We have already decided that Ikkaku and you will be the godparents of our child."(Name) answered. Bepo then lifted both (Name) and Law off their feet and gave them a big hug while crying tears of joy. "Thank you, I'll be the best godfather ever." Bepo said, which made everyone in the Heart Pirates stare in jealousy, especially Penguin and Shachi.

"You guys will make great uncles." (Name)said with a big smile while hugging both of them in her arms.

"Lucky bear." Shachi muttered.

The 2 mechanics' faces turned a deep shade of red when (Name) kissed both of them on the cheek. "Don't worry, there is enough love to go around."

Then out of nowhere, a large explosion could be heard across the deck.

"Heart Pirates, Give up now or prepare to die."A marine holding a megaphone demanded.

(Name) smirked before unsheathing her twin katanas as she got into a fighting stance.

"Do your worst.''She retorted before Law used his devil fruit ability to transport her back into the sub.

Law shut the metal doors, ignoring the loud banging noises that were coming from the other side.

"Law, you ass, I want to fight too. Let me out, let me out." (Name) demanded as she kept on banging her fist onto the metal door.

"No, as your captain and doctor I order you to stay back and let us handle this. You're pregnant, you need to take it easy for now on."Law stated, which made (Name) slump down in disappointment. She hated being useless, she wanted to fight, she wanted to help, she wanted to do something besides laying down and doing nothing.

"Oh great, 7 more months of being totally useless." (Name) muttered under her breath while sighing.

A few weeks later-

(Name) felt like she was already going crazy. She wasn't allowed to do anything and she meant she couldn't do anything. First, the large weights she and Jean Bart can usually lift with ease have been replaced with 5 pound weights and she wasn't even allowed to use them for more than 5 minutes. Law had also forbidden( name) in certain places in the submarine as well, which was almost one half of the metal vessel that was off limits for her.

(Name) also swears, Law has super hearing because when she decides to get out of her bed, Law uses his devil fruit abilities to teleport himself right next to his wife's side.

"Law, go back to work. I'm just getting a snack."(Name) protested.

"Then ask me or someone else from the crew to get it for you. You're still in your first trimester of pregnancy, there is still a possible chance of miscarriages or physical deformities or all sources of possible medical stated as he called forth his room again then instantly a jar of peanuts appeared in his hand.

"Here, take these and go back to our room." Was all Law said as he pointed the direction of where their room was located, as if she was completely clueless of where she had been living for most of her life.

Rolling eyes (Name) went back to her room while munching down on the jar of peanuts on the way.

-x-

When the Heart Pirates docked onto an island, (Name) thought she could get some alone time to herself while getting the necessary items for the future stages of her pregnancy. And it was a good thing too since her pants and shirt had been feeling tight lately. "Bye Captain, I'm going to do a little shopping." (Name) said before she jumped off the submarine's front deck.

"Room, Shambles." Law now had (Name) in his arms.

"What the hell Law?" (Name) questioned.

"I'm coming with you, " Law stated as he tightly held her hand.

"Law, I'll be just fine. It's just a little shopping, I'm barely showing." (Name) retorted while trying to slip her hand from Law's strong grip.

"Nope, as long as you're carrying my child you're stuck with me." Law said, securitly wrapping around his arm onto her waist.

After 5 medical and clothes stores later, Law's arms were both covered in shopping bags while (Name) just carried a single bag with a small bottle of medicine inside of it.

"Law, let me carry that for you. You know I can lift 1000 times my own body weight." (Name) Stated with an annoyed frown.

"I got this, I don't want you to lift even one eight of your body weight. Your-" (Name) then cut off Law before he could finish the rest of this statement. "Yeah, Yeah, I know I'm pregnant and pregnant women shouldn't be exerting themselves."

Smirking devilishly, (Name) came up with a small plan to get away from her overbearing husband.

"Hey honey, I really need to use the bathroom."(Name) said as she pretended her bladder was about to burst.

"Very well."He responded, then they headed to the closest bathroom.

Reaching down in her left sock, (Name) grabbed a screwdriver and began unscrewing the bathroom's top window.

When (Name) was finally outside of the building, she began to grin like she has been in prison for 20 years and just now escaped. She was free, she could do whatever she wanted without worrying about Law dragging her back to their room and making her stay there until the next day.

In a swift motion, (Name) unsheathed her twin katanas and blocked an attack from a familiar mask man.

"Yo... it's been a while, when was the last time we fought together."(Name)greeted, enjoying the weight and feel of her swords when fighting. "Too long and this time I will become victorious." Killer responded.

Killer and (name) have been rivals ever since their crew had first met. The 2 of them will always break into fights everytime when they see one another. But so far they're about even, most of the time their fights usually ended up in draws.

The fight soon stopped when Killer stepped away and put back his scythe blades into its case. "Hey what gives, why are you chickening out now! The fight was just about to get better." (Name) shouted.

"I'm not fighting a pregnant woman, I want to kick your ass at your best."Killer stated while pointing to her slightly rounded stomach. "Damn, I knew I should have put on more baggy clothing."(Name) thought to herself as she tried to cover her baby bump.

"You're a pirate, why should you even care? Pirates do whatever they want."(Name) exclaimed while pouting slightly.

"I may be a pirate but I'm still a man who doesn't like fighting weak women." Was all he said before walking away.

"I'm not weak...fight me, please! Law won't even let me hold a fork. Please, I'm only on my 16 week."(Name)whined as she tugged onto Killer's shirt.

"No, and you look alot more further along than that."Killer retorted which made (Name) gasp loudly of being called fat.

Before Killer had any time to dodge, (Name) kicked him square in the balls which made him groan in pain.

"Meanie!" (Name) spat out before taking off into the forest nearby with small tears running down her face.

"Ouch!"He groaned loudly, laying on the ground while holding his sore nuts.

-x-

Law was pissed. But mostly Law was extremely worried. He couldn't find his wife anywhere, but what really worries him is that the Kid Pirate's ship has been spotted as well.

What if the Kid Pirates took advantage of his wife's current state or even worse killed her on the spot.

No matter how much observation Haki Law uses, he didn't have any lead on where his wife is.

"Captain, we know where she is." Penguin reported.

"Yeah, Killer from the Kid Pirates told us she kicked him in the nuts and went into the forest,"Shachi added.

"And why did she kick him in the nuts, (Name) doesn't usually use low blows?"Law stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Well,"Penguin started off while scratching the back of his head.

"He kinda called her fat." Shachi answered.

In a blink of an eye, Law called forth his room and teleported himself into the forest. Without even trying, Law hears small whimpers coming from the top of a tree so he looks up and sees the person he was looking for all day.

"(Name!)Law called out his wife's name.

"Go away!" She screamed then resumed crying again.

"No, I know I've been a little too clingy lately, but it's only because I want the best for you and our future kid as well. And to be fair, I don't really blame you for running away from me, so that is why I promise you I will try my best to give you your space."Law promised as he kneeled down.

(Name) stopped crying and looked at her husband.

"Okay, I'm coming down now."(Name) responded as she started climbing down onto one branch after another.

She gasps when one branch snaps from her weight and she begins to fall, face first into a painfull fall, and Law swears his heart stops for 5 seconds as his throat hitchs.

"Room, shambles!"

When his wife's stomach was only inches away from hitting the hard ground, she instantly appeared in Law's arms.

"Law, I'm sorr-"(Name) whispered her husband's name.

"That was way too close." He then looked and touched her baby bump gently.

"You're never ever leaving my sight until that baby is out of you. That's an order." Was all he said as he started walking back to the sub with his wife in his arms.

-x-

(Name) found herself laying flat on her back in the medical bay as Law prepared the new ultrasound equipment.

"Damn, that's cold." She hissed when the clear gel made contact with her stomach.

"Sorry," he apologised half-heartedly.

"Usually I would just use my scanning ability, but I think it would be a lot more useful to check in like this."Law stated then he turned on the monitor. He moved the device around her stomach slowly with his eyes on the screen, instantly stopped when he saw a gray blob in the middle.

"There's our child."He pointed to the blob.

As (Name) looked closer at the screen, she cock an eyebrow when another blob had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Honey, why are there 2 of them?"(Name) stated while pointing where the 2 blobs were located.

"You're just seeing things, there is no-"Law stopped himself when indeed there were more than 1 blob. "We're having twins."Law whispered so softly that (Name) had to ask him to repeat himself.

"We're having twins. Yes,! Now you don't have to get pregnant again."Law said again as his wife just stood there in shock, not knowing how to process the new information.

"Wait, you're not satisfied with one kid." (Name) yelled at her husband in which he only nodded.

"Great. I already get smothered enough with one baby, I'm sure it's gonna get worse."

"It's now double," his lips formed into a smirk. "For now you're going to have daily instead of weekly check ups. And you're no longer allowed to practice swordsmanship with real swords anymore."

"Excuse me? No way, I've been holding swords since I was only 5 years old, you can't do that." She sat up sharply.

"You lost all of your rights when you started carrying precious cargo. Now you must be twice careful with our little ones." He brushed his fingers against her stomach before kissing it gently.

The more (Name-s) belly got bigger and bigger, the more cautious everyone, especially Law became. In only her 30 weeks of pregnancy, (Name) already looks like she could give birth any day now.

The Heart Pirates were currently docked on a winter island while (Name) only watched from a sideline.

"But Law, I want to play in the snow like everyone else. Please, I've been cooped up in this submarine for far too long."(Name) begged while giving Law the puppy eye look.

"Fine, but you need to bundle up."Law exclaimed.

6 layers of thick clothing later, (Name) walked off the Polar tang's deck with Law right next to her side.

Working on her snow fort for about 30 minutes, (Name) started to feel a sneeze coming along and tried her best to hold it in.

"Achoo!" She then covered her mouth, in hopes Law didn't hear it.

She sighs and doesn't even put up a fight when Law's room incases her, and teleports her into his arms.

"You're going back to the sub, I knew it was a bad idea to let you play in the snow."Law stated flatly.

And once again (Name) was laying flat on her back as she watched Law move the ultrasound equipment around her stomach for the fourth time this week.

"Is this really necessary?"(Name) questioned while pouting.

"Yes, unless you don't want our babies to be healthy. You're now forbidden to leave our bed until your cold has subsided. If you break any of those rules then I will bind you to the bed until your pregnancy has ended. Do I make myself clear?" Law questioned which only made (name) stick out her tongue.

"You 2 need to get out of mommy soon because I can't take another minute with your daddy."(Name) talk and rub to her rounded stomach when Law left the room.

-x-

2 weeks later and (Name) Was finally on her last trimester of pregnancy. "Law!" (Name) shouted his name loudly.

"Yes my darling, is there something you need." Law responded as he headed toward where his wife was currently sitting down.

"The babies are kicking, they're kicking again."(Name) said excitedly then grab's Law's hand to guide him where the kicking was happening.

Then the day when his children would be born.

(Name) woke up in the middle of the night when she felt a warm wet substance in between her legs and soon realized her water just broke.

"Law...Law." She shakes her husband awake.

"Yeah, what is it?" He muttered as he tried to rub away the sleep from his eyes.

"My water just broke."She then yelled in agony after she felt a contraction.

"Shit?!" Law then quickly moves to her side to help her into the wheelchair he had laying by for this day. "Bepo, round up the medical squad, it's time." Law shouted through a den den mushi.

"Whatt, I thought she wasn't due for at least another couple weeks." Bepo shouted.

"Well, the kids have decided to come now!" Law stated.

12 hours of shouting and a lot of pushing later, the first one came out.

"She's a beautiful girl!" Law said before handing the bundle of joy to Bepo.

"Come on just one more push." Law said then he could see the head of the baby.

"It's a handsome boy," Law said before handing the other baby to Penguin's arms.

"Law, what should we name them?"(Name) asked as she panted for air.

"Rosey for our baby girl and Corazon for our baby boy." Law answered, then placed a sweet and tender kiss on his wife's forehead.

"You need rest now, I will take care of them in the meantime."

[valdomarx]

A Marriage of Convenience

Octoberfest romcom tropes day 1: fake dating

Jaskier pushed his ale aside and broke the wax seal on the letter. As he read the contents, his face pinched into a frown.

“Anything important?” Geralt asked, glancing up from his soup. 

Jaskier chewed his lower lip. “Not really. It’s from my family.” He took a breath. “They’re going to disinherit me.”

Geralt raised an eyebrow. “What did you do this time?”

Jaskier scoffed. “Nothing, thank you very much! But it’s my 35th birthday next month, and the stipulations of the Lettenhove family will are quite clear. If the oldest son isn’t married by the age of 35, inheritance passes to the next married cousin.”

“Very keen on weddings in Lettenhove, are they?”

“Rather less keen on unmarried bachelors, actually.”

Geralt grunted. “That’s too bad. I imagine a viscount’s fortune could have come in handy for you.”

“Oh, I don’t care about the money.” Jaskier waved a hand dismissively. “It’s just,” he sighed. “I have younger sisters who rely on me for support. If the inheritance goes to cousin Edward, he’ll turn them out without a penny to their names.”

“That’s unkind.”

“It is.” Jaskier slumped. He was glad to have left Lettenhove and its court intrigues behind, but the thought of his sisters being at the mercy of his greedy cousin was unconscionable. He knew too well all the terrible things that could befall a woman alone in the world.

“This will,” Geralt said, stirring his soup absentmindedly, “does it have any rules about who you have to marry?”

“No. Any old wedding will do. But it’s not like I’m going to find anyone willing to tie themselves to me in the next month.”

Geralt shrugged one shoulder. “I’ll marry you.”

Jaskier choked on his ale. “You?”

“Why not?”

“Because…” he broke off and mopped the sweat from his brow. Because I’ve been in love with you for decades. Because I’ve fantasised about you saying this in a million different ways. Because having to pretend it’s real is going to break my heart.

Geralt reached over the table and patted his hand. “It’ll just be pretend,” he said, as if that were in any way reassuring. “This is a problem easily solved. Let me help you.”

Jaskier sagged. This was going to be a disaster.

-

“This is going to be a disaster!” Jaskier paced anxiously around their room. “There are so many ways this could go horribly wrong.”

Geralt sat on the bed counting bundles of herbs. “It’ll be fine.” He was infuriatingly calm. “We’ll head to Lettenhove, have a quick wedding, get your family off your back, and be on our way. It’ll only take a few days.”

“But,” Jaskier kept pacing. “We’ll have to. You know. We’ll have to do couple things. There are certain… expectations of a newly married pair.”

Geralt got to his feet and placed his hands on Jaskier’s shoulders, stopping his anxious traipsing. “We’ll manage. Can’t be any worse than fighting drowners.”

Jaskier looked into amber eyes and felt his heart turn over in his chest. “Everyone will expect us to be holding hands, and kissing, and gods know what else. And you can’t do that.” He sighed. “You don’t even like men.”

Geralt leaned in closer, close enough that strands of his silver hair tickled Jaskier’s cheek. “I like men just fine,” he said, and pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Then Jaskier did something terribly foolish. His body moved before his mind, his feet stepping closer, his arms wrapping around Geralt’s neck. He kissed him, hard, and to his astonishment Geralt kissed him back hungrily, lips parting to allow Jaskier to taste him fully, tongue exploring, hands roaming, and by the time they broke apart Jaskier was flushed and breathing hard.

“See?” Geralt said, his deep voice sending a shiver up his spine. “We can do this.”

-

Jaskier wrote to his family to tell them the good news, and he and Geralt wasted no time in heading off to Lettenhove. The journey was long but nothing they were unused to. They traveled by day, slept under the stars by night, and Geralt even picked up a few quick contracts to help pay their way.

It was comfortable, and normal, and Jaskier could almost forget about what he was about to put himself through.

At least, until they reached the outskirts of Lettenhove and they heard the whoosh of an incoming portal. The ground shook, the air rippled, and through the rent in reality stepped Yennefer, terrifying and beautiful as ever.

She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at them. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Jaskier couldn’t even bring himself to come up with a snarky reply as she swept past him and went to Geralt. He stood back and watched the two of them, powerful and dazzling together, each other’s equals in capability and composure.

He had never had a chance in this competition, he thought bitterly. He would be pretending with Geralt, while she had his heart for real.

Jaskier was left at camp while Geralt and Yennefer went off to do... whatever it was they did together. (He could guess what that was.) He spent a cold, lonely night with no one but Roach for company, berating himself for feeling so hurt by something he knew from the beginning was nothing but a ruse.

-

With their arrival in Lettenhove proper, there was nothing to do but face his family. The brightest spot of his day was walking into the estate and having his sisters squeal and jump on him just as they had done as children.

He stopped laughing and caught his breath long enough to introduce them. “Essi and Priscilla, this is Geralt.” My husband to be, he thought, and something twisted inside him at that. “Geralt, these are my troublesome sisters.”

Essi dipped her head and Priscilla performed a theatrical bow. “We were wondering if Jaskier would ever settle down,” Essi said with a sly smile.

“But seeing how handsome you are, I can’t blame him!” Priscilla replied, and the two of them broke into fits of giggles. 

Geralt, for his part, took them with good humour. Where Jaskier had been expecting him to be dour, he smiled indulgently and took each of their hands in turn and pressed a kiss to their knuckles, resulting in another uproar of giggling.

“Thank you for that,” Jaskier said quietly as they made their way to the room waiting for them.

Geralt inclined his head. “Have to make a good impression on the future in-laws,” he said, the corner of his lips quirking upward in amusement. 

The rest of his family were predictable as clockwork. Cousin Edward was sour, his father was distant, and his mother was simply relieved to see him married off as was proper. Geralt sat through all of it with more patience and good grace than Jaskier would have thought him capable of.

-

The day of the wedding itself passed in a blur. With such short notice the ceremony was terribly paired down by noble standards, but still, there was the formal breakfast, the dressing in formal garments, the journey to the temple outside of the city, the clamour of priestesses and officials and his family, the exchanging of rings, the reading of texts, and of course the formal dinner.

Jaskier barely remembered any of it. Looking back, the only thing that stuck out in his mind was the feeling of Geralt’s hand clasping his own during the handfasting. And the way that, whenever he was feeling overwhelmed over the course of the day, Geralt’s hand would find his own and give a comforting squeeze. 

-

Finally the ceremonies were complete and they were left in peace in their chambers, the two of them alone for the first time all day. Geralt’s hair had been braided into two slim plaits running either side of his face, though by now they were starting to become mussed. He’d even put on a shirt of dark blue silk as opposed to his standard uniform of all black. The effect was quite stunning.

As the door closed, Jaskier’s shoulders slumped and he breathed for what felt like the first time in hours.

Geralt cupped one cheek tenderly. “You good?”

Jaskier exhaled, letting the anxiety and stress of the day slowly unwind. He looked into Geralt’s warm eyes and felt, for once, safe and unjudged. “I’m good.”

Geralt brought their lips together, soft as could be, and Jaskier’s knees shook. He grabbed Geralt’s forearms to hold himself upright and, desperate for some sort of control, some sort of meaning, he pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. 

This was a bad idea, he was aware, but Geralt felt so good in his arms. He ran his hands through silky silver hair like he’d always wanted to, he pressed himself close to that muscled chest he’d spent more time than he should have admiring, and he moaned unrestrainedly when Geralt picked him up, locking his legs around his waist.

This was a terrible idea, he knew, but Geralt carried him over to the bed with firm, confident steps, and the temptation to touch, to hold, to kiss was overwhelming. This would only lead to heartache, but he was weak in the face of love, as always. 

Geralt laid him out and took him apart with soft lips and careful fingers and a wicked tongue, and it was everything he’d been dreaming of for years, and yet so much more intense than anything he could have imagined. Geralt was dazzling beneath him, warm amber eyes and pale scarred flesh, beautiful and kind and more than he could possibly deserve.

-

Nuptial celebrations in Lettenhove were mercifully brief, and with the ceremony completed and recorded to the satisfaction of the genealogists, they were free to depart.

There were, however, some customs which could not be avoided.

“You’ll be honeymooning nearby?” Jaskier’s mother asked, with the understanding that this was not a question.

“Actually, we thought -”

“They’ll be staying in my cottage, won’t you?” Priscilla interjected. She’d availed herself of her position, such as it was, to secure a tiny ramshackle cottage on the Kerack coast. It wasn’t opulent but it was, thankfully, far from prying eyes.

Jaskier gave her a tiny nod of thanks and she winked.

“A cottage?” His mother’s lip turned up in distaste. “How quaint.”

“And there’s ever so much to pack, so we must be on our way -” he excused himself with a bow, tugging Geralt behind him.

Out of the view of their parents, Priscilla and Essi set upon him with hugs and kisses, thanked him for saving them from the horrors of cousin Edward, and packed up an obscene quantity of cheeses and wine to take with them.

By the time they departed the estate, Jaskier was even smiling.

-

It was quiet and calm on the coast. The cottage overlooked the sea, rolling and tempestuous, and had just enough space for a kitchen, a bed, and a bath. They had everything they needed, even a stable for Roach outside.

Even though it was only for a few days, Jaskier imagined Geralt would be bored and unhappy, feeling trapped in a place so small. But he seemed content: riding along the coastline in the morning, brushing Roach out, going fishing in the afternoon, preparing the catch for their evening meal.

Jaskier showed him his favourite spices and how to prepare the fish with butter to make it rich and indulgent, and in the quiet moments he wrote poetry or simply sat on the battered chair on the porch of the cottage and watched the waves.

Geralt returned to the cottage with a net bulging with fish and a smile on his face. He’d been doing that more recently, Jaskier had noticed, smiling in a way that seemed natural and unforced. He even left his armour and swords in the cottage and waded down to the sea in just his trousers and shirtsleeves, disarmingly casual.

It was comfortable, almost domestic. 

And it was a torment, showing Jaskier a tiny glimpse of a life he’d never have.

-

Their last night on the coast, Geralt cooked the remainder of their provisions into a feast, poured the best wine they had, and set a fire in the hearth. He piled up blankets and pillows, laid down their warmest furs, and pulled Jaskier into his arms in front of the flames.

“Thank you,” he said, dotting kisses in a line up Jaskier’s neck, “for taking such good care of me.”

Jaskier fidgeted unhappily. “You’re the one doing me a favour,” he reminded him. That seemed important to remember. This was a favour from a friend, nothing more.

Geralt hummed against his neck, the vibrations rippling against his skin. “I can see some advantages to me,” he murmured, continuing his line of kisses up Jaskier’s jaw and toward his lips.

Jaskier, stupidly, allowed Geralt to turn him around, hands delicate around his waist, allowed him to bring their lips together. He allowed a kiss, soft at first, and then another, more intense, moaning into Geralt’s mouth. 

“Can I interest you in an early night?” Geralt purred in his ear, and everything in Jaskier’s body said yes, and everything in his mind said no.

Eventually, his mind won out and he pushed Geralt away. 

“No,” he said, struggling to keep his voice steady. “I can’t. I won’t. I’m sorry, Geralt, but this was a terrible mistake.”

He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring Geralt’s sad expression. He was hit by the urge to run, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Tears welled in his eyes.

“Hey,” Geralt’s voice was so soft behind him. “It’s okay, Jaskier. Whatever it is. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I won’t do it again.”

Jaskier deflated. He turned to face Geralt, watery eyes and all. “That’s not the problem. I don’t want you to stop. I want this to be real.”

Geralt stood carefully still. “What do you mean, real?”

Jaskier took a breath, tried to imagine how to explain himself, how to convey what he felt. “I’m in love with you!” he snapped in the end. Not his most eloquent work, but perhaps his most honest.

Geralt tilted his head. “I know,” he said. He looked down at the ring on his finger. “Isn’t that the point?”

“The point?” Jaskier exploded. “The point!” He couldn’t stop himself from waving his arms as he ranted. “Oh, sure, I’m certain that the ideal marriage is between one person who’s hopelessly in love and one person who’s indifferent and besotted with another. I’m sure Yennefer will be delighted when she hears about this whole situation.”

Geralt’s eyes narrowed. “You think I’m in love with Yennefer?”

“Yes! Obviously!”

He paused, obviously weighing his words. “That night when she visited us outside Lettenhove, she wasn’t surprised by the news. She told me congratulations, and that it had taken long enough. I think she knew long before I did that I wasn’t in love with her, not really. My heart already belonged to another.”

Jaskier’s breath caught in his throat. “You mean… You and her, you’re not...”

Geralt shook his head. “What she most wants is something I can’t give her.”

“And you?” Jaskier asked, dreading the answer.

Geralt took his hand. “What I most want,” he stroked his thumb over the ring around Jaskier’s finger, “is something I already have.”

Jaskier’s heart leapt. It was almost too much. It was overwhelming. “You really love me?”

Geralt smiled softly. “I really do.”

Jaskier threw himself into Geralt’s lap, arms around his neck, foreheads pressed together. “Tell me again,” he said, because he was needy.

“I love you,” Geralt said, kissing down the side of his face. “I love you,” he said, lacing their fingers together against the furs. “I love you,” he said, their bodies moving together, finally free to feel with the intensity they had been hiding for so long, their scents mingling together with the fresh salt tang of the sea.

-

The sun shone brightly and the wind whipped their hair as they packed up Roach the next morning. Jaskier paused to admire the view one last time: The rolling waves, the steep cliffs, the shingled beach. 

Geralt slipped his arms around his waist from behind and dropped a kiss just beneath his ear. 

“What does our life look like now?” Jaskier asked, eyes on the waves.

He felt Geralt’s smile against his hair. “Much the same as before,” he said. “With perhaps a few improvements.”

Jaskier turned then and kissed him fully, no need to hold himself back, taking Geralt’s hand and running his fingers over the ring there.

“Ready to head back to the Path?” 

Geralt smiled, and Jaskier would never tire of that. “Ready if you are,” he said with softness in his eyes, “husband.”

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter 24}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Occasional surprise chapters could be posted at miscellaneous times. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara’s blogs! >> @tacmc.​

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

A/N: Sorry for the late post! My baby shower was today, so Tara and I have been extremely busy! Look for Chapter 25 on her blog on Monday!

Warning: 18+ content.

Cassian got to the restaurant and took a look around. There were people everywhere, bustling about, getting ready for the night’s grand opening.

It had become the talk of the town - and the local groups on the internet - so they were expecting a good turnout.

At least, that’s what Cassian’s guess was.

He hadn’t talked to Nesta since he stormed out two days before, with the exception of one text exchange.

Cassian had texted, Tell Nyx I love him and I will see him tomorrow.

Nesta had replied, Ok.

Now, he was searching for that tiny little man with a mop of dark, black hair.

When he finally found Nyx, he was in his stroller eating cheeto puffs off the tray. When he saw Cassian his eyes lit up and he was instantly reaching for him.

Cassian laughed as he unbuckled him from his stroller and picked him up, giving him the biggest hugs. “Hey, buddy. I missed you, too.”

“This is his third helping of cheetos,” Helion said, from where he leaned against the wall. “Sorry about the next diaper.”

Cassian chuckled. “All this going on and Nesta stuck you on baby duty?”

Even saying her name out loud hurt, but he didn’t let it show.

He gestured toward the kitchen and said, “She’s been here since six and she’s in one of her moods. I decided I’d rather be on baby duty than caught in the crossfire.”

He winced, figuring that didn’t bode well for the two of them today. “I’ll stay in the bar, then.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Helion replied, looking him up and down, before pushing the stroller behind the counter. Cassian had the distinct feeling he was looking for a crack in his armor. He didn’t bother telling him that he’d been broken for two days, and the only person who could fix him was currently yelling at some poor employee in the kitchen.

Cass crossed the threshold into the bar area and let out a low whistle. He’d had a hand in the design, but most of this was all Nesta. It accented the restaurant perfectly and he immediately loved the place.

“Nice, right?”

He turned to find Kallias carrying a tray of fresh glasses from the dish area and the smile on his friend’s face was infectious.

Cassian nodded as Kallias said hello to Nyx. “Yeah, it looks amazing.”

Kallias nodded. “You and Nesta did good.”

“Thanks,” Cassian muttered, not wanting the conversation to go any further. “How long have you been here?”

“Just got here,” Kallias said, as Nyx started playing with the strings on Cassian’s hoodie. “Viv will be here soon to help out. She said she can watch Nyx while we work.”

Cassian nodded. “That would be great.”

It would be helpful, of course, to have Viviane help out watching Nyx. Cassian had a ton to get done in the next six hours before the opening began. He didn’t want to let Nyx go, though. Two days. It was the longest he had been away from Nyx since...everything happened.

“Well, little man, until then, you get to help me unpack liquor bottles,” Cassian said, trying his best to sound excited.

Nyx giggled. “Ba ba ba ba ba ba.”

“Yeah, different kind of bottles,” Cassian chuckled, and carried Nyx with him into the back room.

Kallias had been at the bar for the past two days, getting most of the stock ready to go. A few texts to explain the situation was all he’d needed and Cassian was thankful he had such a loyal friend and coworker.

Elain hadn’t been as understanding the first night he’d been there, but after talking to Nesta, even she backed off. He had no clue what Nesta had said to her, but her frustration turned to sympathy and she was back to treating Cassian like the brother-in-law she loved and not like a man who’d hurt her sister.

After pulling the carrier out of Nyx’s stroller, he strapped the baby to his chest and set to work, carrying case after case of liquor up to the bar. Kallias was busy stocking the assorted glasses they’d need, so the two worked in silence for the most part.

He had just walked back into the store room, short one case of whiskey, when he heard Nesta talking from the dry pantry separating the store room and kitchen. Cassian’s heart lurched and he was about to make his way back into the bar, but Nyx squealed as he heard her voice.

The swinging door flew open as Nesta hurried into the store room, wondering how Nyx had gotten in there in the first place. She froze when she found Cassian there. Their eyes locked and she blinked.

“Hey, Nes,” he said, quietly.

“I…didn’t know you were here,” she breathed.

He shrugged, turning back to the boxes of bottles. “Got here about an hour ago. Didn’t want to interrupt you.”

Nyx was reaching for her, so he unclipped the carrier and gave him to her. He giggled happily as soon as he was in Nesta’s arms, but she froze, unsure of what to say. “You should have let me know you were here.”

Another shrug. “You were busy, and I knew what I needed to do. Kal said Viv would be here later to watch him.”

She nodded, silence filling the space again.

Nyx pointed at Cassian, reaching for him. “Dada.”

Cassian stilled.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed his mouth.

A second passed.

Then, at last, he said, “What did he just say?”

“Dada,” Nyx repeated, and clapped his hands together. He reached for Cassian. “Dada!”

Cassian took Nyx, although he was moving slowly, stunned into silence. Nesta watched as a thousand different emotions crossed his face.

“Dada?” Cassian breathed, looking from Nyx to Nesta. “He just called me-.”

“He’s been saying it for the past two days,” Nesta said, staring at a spot on the wall behind Cassian.

For a moment, Cassian didn’t say anything, but then he asked, “You didn’t bother to tell me that?”

Nesta’s eyes narrowed and she slowly met his gaze. “You left.”

“A simple text letting me know that Nyx said his first word wouldn’t’ve killed you,” Cassian snapped. “Especially since his first word was…” Cassian shook his head, that fury fading as quickly as it had come. He looked at Nyx and chuckled, softly. “Dada, hmm?”

“Dada,” Nyx said, taking Cassian’s face into his hands before patting his stubbled cheeks with his chubby little palms.

Cassian watched Nyx for a moment, chuckling softly, before asking Nesta, “Has he said anything else?”

Nesta shook her head, even though Cassian wasn’t looking at her. “Just that. Probably wondering where you were. He’s been saying it nonstop, after all.”

“I’m sorry, bud,” he said, softly. He kissed the top of his head. “I’m still right here though.”

He was about to buckle him back into the carrier when Nesta reached for him. “I can take him. You’ve got a lot to do.”

“No more than you,” he said, settling him back into the carrier. “And I’ve missed him. Viv will come see Kallias when she gets here. Let me keep him.”

Her hands fell to her sides. “Fine.”

The tiny room felt like it was closing in on him, looking at her. They were so close together, whether they wanted to be or not. Without another word, Cassian grabbed the closest box and shouldered his way back through the swinging door.

Kallias caught the look on his face as soon as he came back. “That must have been the first conversation you two have had.”

Cassian grunted in response, letting Nyx continue to pat at his face.

“And how’d it go?” He asked, leaning against the bar.

“About as well as you think.”

Kallias watched his old friend for a moment before nodding, deciding to let the conversation drop. Cassian was grateful for it.

He was thankful for Nyx, too, for an endless amount of reasons, but right now, he was a distraction. With Nyx here, he was only thinking about Nyx, not about Nesta.

Cassian spent the next couple of hours lining up liquor bottles, and when Viv got there, she happily took Nyx and let Cassian work.

Once Nyx began playing with Viviane, Cassian’s thoughts were once again on the last person he wanted to be thinking about.

He continued to work, trying his best to keep his mind on that. It was kind of hard, though, when the owner of the restaurant was Nesta. He guessed he was part owner now, too - owner of the bar, anyway.

The hours flew by and by the time Cassian decided to check his watch, he realized he only had thirty minutes until the doors were opening for the main event.

He needed to get out of his old hoodie and into something nicer.

After making his way into the stockroom, he pulled off his hoodie before digging into his backpack for the black henley he’d brought. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but it was sure better than his ripped hoodie.

The door swung open as he was pulling his shirt over his head, and when he turned around, he saw Nesta, once again.

She stilled just in front of the door. “Are you planning on being in here every time I come in?”

It was meant to be a joke, something to lighten the mood, Cassian knew, but the light didn’t exactly reach her eyes.

He looked down at his shirt. “Just had to change. Didn’t think a hoodie was appropriate for an opening celebration.”

Nesta nodded, giving him a forced smile. “Couldn’t have gone all out with a button down?”

“This is Azriel’s,” he said. “All of my nicer things are at…home.”

He said the last word hesitantly.

Nesta’s eyes fluttered shut. He knew she was dying to say something, but what it was he couldn’t tell. He thought he knew her well enough to read her face. It seemed he was wrong though.

“I’ll come by and get my things on my day off this week,” he said, saving her the request. He pulled the Henley over his head, leaving his backpack against the store room wall. “You won’t even know I was there.”

“Cassian…”

He pushed back through the door without waiting to hear what she was going to say.

This was agony. Every moment of being around her hurt, because every time he saw her, he knew that he’d wasted the past three months of his life. He’d wasted his time falling in love with her, because she still hadn’t said it back.

“Dada!”

Nyx and Viv sat at one of the new tables, Nyx munching on some crackers, and even Kallias’ eyes dragged to him. Nyx’s blue eyes were the only ones he cared about though.

“That’s new,” Kallias said, from where he leaned across the bar.

Nyx’s new favorite word was one of the few things that had made him smile all day. Even if it tore him apart at the same time.

He didn’t mind Nyx calling him that. He was still too young to understand what had happened to Rhys. So one day, he’d explain to him who he really was, and who Rhys was. But until then, he was content to be Dada.

Cassian lifted him out of the high chair he was in and smiled, wistfully. “Hey, buddy.”

On the other side of the room, Nesta pushed through the double doors and into the restaurant, making sure everything was in order as the clock ticked down.

Cassian couldn’t keep his eyes off of her.

He wondered if she knew.

*

This was the biggest night that Nesta had in quite some time. A new bar would be amazing for business, and she was expecting a hell of a crowd.

And she wasn’t disappointed.

At exactly six, people began to pour in. They sat, and they ate, and by the Mother, they drank. She was amazed at how well Nyx was doing. She kept expecting to see him sleeping in a corner with Viviane, but he was being passed around to Viv, Kallias, Helion, and Cassian, having the time of his little life.

Nesta was glad someone was enjoying their night.

She should be enjoying her night, should be pumped at the booming business, but she could hardly focus.

All she could think about was him.

Cassian.

Every time she even got a glimpse of him, she wanted to run into his arms and tell him that she loved him. But she couldn’t do that. She had no clue what the repercussions of their relationship would do to Nyx, especially if something were to happen. If they were to break up, would this be their future? Barely speaking, passing the kid back and forth, both of them in misery?

Even when Elain and Azriel got there, both giving her hugs and warm smiles, the one on her face wasn’t real. She knew Elain could tell, knew she wanted to pull her aside, get the whole story, and quite possibly talk some sense into her, but she wouldn’t.

She couldn’t.

Not tonight.

As much as she tried to spend most of her time in the dining room, greeting guests and asking how they liked the drinks and new menu items, she kept ending up in the kitchen.

She got word that there had been a small grease fire on the line and she was about to rush into the kitchen when Helion stepped in front of her.

“Take a breath.”

“I can’t,” she replied, pulling her hair back off of her face. “There was a fire and-.”

“And it’s under control,” he said, gripping her by the shoulders. “It’s been put out, and I can go deal with Emrys and Luca and any potential fallout. Go have a drink, relax with your sister. You deserve a glass of wine and a moment to sit down.”

Nesta hesitated, but Helion wasn’t having it.

“Go,” he said. “Kallias is currently manning the bar. Go order a drink before the next wave of people come along.”

With a huff, Nesta nodded and exited the kitchen. True to Helion’s word, it was Kallias that was behind the bar. The second he saw Nesta coming, he was pouring a glass of wine.

She took a sip as soon as she reached the counter. “Vodka.”

Kallias blinked, then obliged her. He poured her a shot, Nesta downed it and thanked him, then took her glass of wine around the room to greet people. She eventually found Elain and Azriel, and was getting ready to take a seat by them, until she noticed Cassian already sitting with them, Nyx in his lap.

Bypassing their table, she gave them both an apologetic smile, before redirecting herself towards the bar. She breezed past it and Kallias, draining her wine and leaving it by the sink, before she entered the store room.

Cassian must have handed the baby off to Elain or Viviane, because not even a few seconds later, he was right behind her.

“Is this how it’s gonna be, Nes?” He asked, not stopping until he was right in front of her. “Are we just going to avoid each other, unless Nyx is concerned?”

The door hadn’t even finished swinging shut, but she noticed Kallias stacking a few boxes in front of the door.

For all intents and purposes, do not enter.

Their first night working together and already a fight. She couldn’t blame his frustration, this was all her fault.

“It hurts to see you,” she breathed. “It hurts to see you because I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

“You don’t know what the hell is going on?” He asked, incredulously. “I don’t know what the hell is going on! You’re so-.” His words fell away and his eyes shut as he rubbed his temples.

Nesta arched a brow. “I’m so what?”

“Infuriating,” he said, and met her eyes with a pained expression that knocked the breath out of Nesta. “It hurts for you to see me? It kills me to see you, but you know what? That’s on you. I wasn’t the one that started questioning everything. And you want to know what’s ironic? You’re pushing me away because you’re afraid it won’t work out. But, it’s not working now, Nesta. In pushing me away, you made what you’re worried about a reality.” He shook his head, slowly. “What the hell is the point of that?”

Nesta didn’t say anything. Her jaw locked and she refused to break his gaze, no matter how much it tortured her.

“It’s better for it to happen now rather than later,” she said, and hated herself for it the second the words left her. “It’s better for it to end before it really begins.”

Cassian chuckled, humorlessly, and shook his head. “That's bullshit and you know it. It already began, Nesta.”

He took a step toward her, and in such a small room, it left very little space between them.

Nestas breath hitched, and judging by the way Cassian’s eyes flared, he definitely noticed.

“Tell me you don’t care about me, and it’s done. We’ll pretend these past few weeks never happened, and we can move on,” he whispered, and she could feel his breath fan over her face. “Tell me this all meant nothing to you, and it’s over.”

Her eyes flashed down to his lips before meeting his own. “I can’t do that.”

Cassian wasn’t sure who moved first. If he grabbed her face or if she leaned up and pressed her lips to his, but before he knew what was happening, he had her back pressed against the store room wall. Gods, it had only been a few days, but kissing her again, the feel of her lips on his, it felt like he hadn’t been able to breathe.

Her hands were clawing at his back and he found her thighs, lifting her up to wrap her legs around his waist. He hadn’t even noticed she’d changed into a loose, sundress but thanks to her own wardrobe change, there was very little fabric between them as she let go of him to fumble with his belt buckle and jeans.

There were no words necessary, not when they both needed the other as badly as they did.

Their lips never broke, that contact remained, hungrily, needily, as Nesta pulled Cassian’s cock out and, moving the thin scrap of fabric beneath her dress aside, he pushed himself up into her.

Nesta moaned into his mouth at the feeling of him filling her. He bit her lip, and that moan deepened as he began to thrust deep inside of her, over and over again.

There was no foreplay.

Foreplay wasn’t necessary, not this time.

Two days, two nights, had been far too long when they had become so accustomed to this same ritual every night, time and time again.

Cassian’s head fell back as he fucked her, relentlessly, then he met her lustful gaze. His forehead fell against hers as he slowed his pace. With a soft, reverent curse, Cassian breathed her name.

She clung to him, the smell and taste and feel of him making her feel far more drunk than the wine or liquor had. Nesta buried her face in his neck, trying to cover the sounds tumbling from her.

He captured her lips again, knowing her body better than his own at this point, and thrust into her as hard as he could.

The bottles on the shelves rattled gently, but he didn’t care if anyone could hear them in the bar. He didn’t care if anyone caught them. All he cared about was that he was deep inside of her, listening to the quiet whimpers and moans that she couldn’t stop.

There was no way she could walk away from this.

Not just from the sex. Which, yeah, was incredible, but there was more to it than that.

Their souls were connected, which is what made the sex so mindblowingly phenomonal.

It was more than just sex.

It was something that Cassian swore no one else had ever witnessed before. Or, maybe they had. Maybe this is what it felt like when you found the person you were meant to spend forever with.

No, Nesta couldn’t walk away from this.

He swore, hoped, prayed she couldn’t.

He wanted to say those little words. Wanted to tell her, so desperately, that he loved her, but he didn’t.

He just kept saying her name over and over and over again with every thrust of his hips.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

“Nesta,” he breathed, and she cried out as her legs began to shake around him. He cursed, his fingers digging into her thighs as his body flooded with the need to explode.

As soon as her release slammed into her, he met his own, her name a groan as he spilled into her. They stayed like that for a moment, him still buried inside her, even as his seed started to drip down her legs. Thankfully, the sound of the party out front had covered any and all noises they’d made. Her breathing was still uneven as he pulled out, and he pulled that ripped hoodie from his backpack and silently used it to clean her up.

Tossing it back towards his bag, not caring if it made it inside or not, he paused in front of her, and tried to tilt her face up to his.

She refused.

He breathed, “Look at me, Nes…”

She shook her head, and damn him if those weren’t tears starting to spill down her cheeks.

He gripped her chin, forcing her eyes up to meet his. “Damn it, Nesta, talk to me. Just talk to me and tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I think you need to go,” she breathed.

He hesitated. “What?”

“You need to go,” she repeated, but there was no bite in her voice.

Cassian took her face in his hands and brought her eyes to his. “I’m not leaving. Not after that.”

“Go,” she repeated, and another tear slid free. “Go, Cass, please.”

He shook his head, fury, frustration, utter misery filling his core. He dropped his hand and stepped back. “Damn it, Nesta! What do you want?!”

“For you to leave,” she hissed.

“You’re a fucking liar,” Cassian snapped. “You say you can’t tell me that you never cared, you fuck me in a damned store room, then you ask me to leave?”

“You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

“I’m making this harder?” he asked, breathlessly, unable to stop his darkened laughter. He looked away from her and sucked in his bottom lip.

A moment passed, and Cassian refused to meet her gaze. “I don’t get it,” he said, at last. “I don’t get it. I don’t know what you want. I don’t know what you want from me.” His words were coming out rushed, frazzled. “Know what? Fine. If this is the way you want it, this is the way it is. I’ll be at Elain’s and Azriel’s tonight, and I’m taking Nyx with me. I’ll bring him by tomorrow, when Viviane is there.”

With that, he was gone.

And Nesta was left alone, her hands flying over her mouth as she sobbed, still able to feel the soft, tender, alluring feeling of his lips on hers.

[batfamtv]

me after writing smut: is this who i am? is this who i represent? lmao i've never written smut until trese, i guess the thirst was too much, let me know how y'all like it! thank you so much for all your support, ily <3

(ﾉ´ з `)ノ

kambal x reader; established relationship

gif by @rasputinaillyanna (see their original gifsets here!)

sfw

the three idiots

seriously, alexandra feels like she keeps aging 20+ years whenever you three are together and goofing around

this is one of the reasons why you’re not allowed on the field with them, they’d get absolutely nothing done

that, and the twins simply wont put you in danger under any circumstances

alexandra also treats you like a sister (in law) and wants you safe, but can only do so much to keep you out of their lives since you still find ways to help them out

absolutely rowdy when you’re with basilio, you and him practically have a lot of inside jokes and a secret language

people would give you both weird looks when you’re out in public, just because you’re both so damn loud

with crispin you’re more mature (but not a lot), he does these grand gestures like taking you out on expensive dates, takes instagram/pinterest style pics of you

basilio also takes pics of you, but those are some of the most unflattering ones that he sends to your groupchat as memes

the ppl who arent familiar with your relationship with the twins are almost often confused when they see you with just the one twin: they’d think “huh i saw this couple a week ago, but i could have sworn the boyfriend had much shorter hair, it couldn’t have grown that long in a week, right?”

when you do go out with the twins, they flank you and you almost get squished in between them, so sometimes you have to push them both to the sides so that you would have space to move around

the three of you like to just chill at the mall sometimes, go window shopping and then eat samgyup/mang inasal later on

other times when you manage to drag alexandra with you, people would assume that you guys are on a double date, and alexandra has the ugliest/most disgusted look on her face as she corrects them “these are my brothers” “im gay”

in your groupchat (just you and the twins) crispin is the sweet, doting one who would text you “have you eaten?” “want us to pick something up for you on the way home?” while basilio sends you memes and selfies of the twins

they send you videos and pics of pets they meet “today we met brownie and blackie”

with regards to living arrangements, the twins have separate rooms (basilio’s is the messy one, smells weird)

when you moved in, alexandra offered you your own room, and most of the time that’s where the boys stay anyway

the bed is much larger than theirs because it needs to accommodate all three of you

you three try to cook meals for ate alexandra, but it almost always turns out disastrous - mostly when basilio insists on helping

so you always make him run errands (“can you go pick up some more garlic and magic sarap”) while you and crispin man the stoves

you braid basilio’s hair while crispin tunes his guitar!!

and you spend a couple of hours listening to crispin play the guitar, basilio’s head now resting on your lap

crispin’s movie taste are like *film* and *poetic cinema* while basilio might enjoy movies that are so bad they’re good, but you three are all suckers for superhero ensemble movies and horror movies

the boys become really annoying when watching filipino horror movies because they like to point out mistakes in the film “aswangs dont do that” “why would you go there all alone are you stupid???”

“please boys i just wanna watch the movie”

a huge cuddle pile

both boys run hot, so during cold nights (that never happen, bc you live in the philippines) you’re all warm and toasty between them

both light sleepers! they were pretty heavy sleepers when they were kids/teenagers, but the occupational hazard of their jobs require them to be ready at a moment’s notice

they still, however, snore quite loudly

crispin doesn’t ever tend to move positions when sleeping, he wakes up in the same position he fell asleep in

basilio rotates around the bed like hands of a clock

most often falls off the bed, but clumsily climbs back up and cuddles you

really really simpy when it comes to you, though most of the time it’s just you three sharing one brain cell (it’s with you, mostly), they can be quite romantic and cheesy if they want to

crispin probably has his brother as just “Basilio” on his phone, and “Y/N ❤️" for you

basilio has “my love ❤️😍😘💘 ” for you and crispin’s number isn’t even registered lol

nsfw under the cut

nsfw

threesome? threesome

boys barely do anything separately and usually just have a Single Thought in both their heads, so if one is horny, the other one is 69% (lol) horny as well

you realize that crispin doesn’t like to be teased at work, but basilio enjoys it so much

you find this out when you’re alone and horny, so you send a pic of you touching yourself to the boys in your groupchat

crispin sees it first, but doesn’t say anything?? he honest to god just left you on read

meanwhile basilio also sees your pic not too long after and you quickly get a “what the fuck” as a reply from him

like 10 mins later he sends you a pic of him in what looks like a washroom and his cock is straining in his pants

he texts you “had to find a washroom so fucking fast so that ate alex and the police captain doesn’t see me so fucking hard in my pants” and “wanna eat you pussy babe”

crispin does text you when the three are on their way home, not mentioning the picture you sent “we’re on our way home”

and at first you thought he is mad at you bc he didn’t bring the nude up?? does he not want you anymore :(

but the moment they arrive crispin all but sprints to your shared bedroom and sees you there, in your underwear

holds your cheeks in one hand, “what the fuck was that baby, hmm? what did you send us?”

you try to ask if he’s mad bc you sent him a nude, ask him if there’s anything wrong, but he just lets your face go as he takes his suit off, basilio finds his way to your room, locks it, and gives you a kiss

basilio whispers “missed you baby” against your mouth before moving away to undress

crispin, now fully naked in front of you, makes you suck his cock, which is hard and twitching, its tip leaking with precum, he makes you place both his hands on your head, “do you know how surprised i was when i saw a text from you and it’s a picture of you touching your cunt? hmm?” he sighs as he sees you looking up at him, eyes watering as you struggle to take all of his cock down your throat “i had to stop myself from getting hard in front of everyone, baby, basilio couldn’t even do that”

basilio huffs but the boys reposition you so you’re in bed and on your back, crispin kneeling to your side, his cock still throbbing in your mouth, basilio positions himself between your thighs, moaning when he sees how wet you are

basilio removes your panties before rushing to sniff your cunt, groaning in delight--you’re sure his eyes roll to the back of his head before he dives into your cunt

you moan into crispin’s cock and he grunts, shoving more of his cock into your mouth, now moving faster, “i really wanna cum down your throat baby, would you let me?”

you nod and he pushes his cock all the way into your mouth, your nose practically touching his groin and pubes

you gag, for a moment panicked as you try to breathe in, while crispin just eyes you, his cock growing ever harder when he looks at your face wet with tears and drool, he grabs your hair, softly at first, to make sure you’re okay, and when you nod crispin groans as he sets up his pace, groaning as he feels his orgasm building

basilio, meanwhile, is licking and sucking your clit with three fingers knuckles deep in your cunt, and when he starts to feel you spasming, a telltale sign that your orgasm is approaching, he pulls his mouth and fingers out and quickly replacing them with his fat cock

immediately, you and basilio both groan, your eyes roll to the back of your head as you feel yourself so full of cock

basilio curses under his breath before taking your legs and resting them against his shoulders “fuck, y/n, im sorry i’m not gonna last long” “your pussy got me so fucking hard you tasted so good baby, you know how much i love your little pussy, right?”

crispin groans at this before he pulls his cock out of your mouth, leaning down to kiss you, he then moves down your neck and your tits, making sure he marks your chest

basilio whimpers and thrusts three more times before releasing a long groan, his cum exploding deep in your pussy “fuck baby you feel so good” he manages to pull out and you see his cock wet with his cum and your juices before settling beside you, panting harshly

you barely had the type to recuperate before crispin flips you on your stomach, making sure your face is resting on the pillows before he thrusts into you with a grunt

“fuck, still a tight little pussy after basilio rammed your cunt, huh?”

your eyes rolling, you couldnt do much other than hold onto the sheets and basilio’s hand, moaning loudly when you feel crispin’s fingers on your clit

“can you take one more, y/n? can your pussy take one more load?”

speechless, you nod, trying to grind your ass against crispin’s hips, but his hands on your hips hold you firm

he grunts approvingly, “good baby, take it deep in your pussy okay? and cum on my cock, baby, i wanna feel it”

you cum on his cock, almost violently, and twins groan at the sound of your moaning, and the sight of you spasming and shaking on crispin’s cock

a couple of deep thrusts later, crispin also cums deep into your pussy, his cum now mixed with basilio’s

crispin moves to get a washcloth to clean the three of you up, before all three of you collapse in bed, huddled together, basilio with his arms wrapped from behind--already falling asleep, you rest your head against crispin’s arm

“so, no more nudes when you’re at work?”

crispin laughs softly before pressing a kiss on your forehead, “unless your cunt is ready to take two cocks at once, no nudes when we’re at work”