#Happy birthday to her and steff!!

[itneedsmoregays]

Accompanied by Ash, Steff takes a break from Moon Theatre rehearsals to visit the cemetery for what would have been her Grandma Julie's 80th birthday.

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[captkota]

Cheree had rushed home as fast as she could from Raw because her wife’s birthday was the next day. She didn’t make it in till midnight but she greeted Steff with a kiss at the airport and roses. The welsh wonder had no idea that her gifts were tucked away in their home and had been for days. Her hand stayed on Steff’s leg as she drove them home and once they had arrived she quickly grabbed her bags and followed Steff in the house. 

She was tired but she had things to do, important things. “Happy birthday, baby. I’m sorry that I had to work but I didn’t forget. Your gifts are hidden in the closet and I’m about to make the best birthday cake ever.” She had tried to find hippos but she had found dinosaurs and Steff loved them too. Everything had to be perfect and her wife’s birthday couldn’t have came at a better time since she had been depressed lately. They had dealt with this before and they would again but her birthday was going to be the best ever bar going home. 

Cheree reached in a kitchen cabinet and brought out party hats and placed one on Steff before placing one on herself. “You’re going to love it.”

@theshiniestnox

[froggednb]

A one Una

[wyattjohnston]

yours for the weekend - nico hischier

note: this is part of the late nights in the middle of june series. Everyone say Happy Birthday, Nico! for Tuesday.

word count: 3,339

summary: They'll always find a way.

It hurt a little bit to let Daisy drag her out of the arena before she’d seen Nico. All the partners had told her that she’d be waiting forever, that none of them were hanging around because the time would be better spent preparing for the New Year’s party and she didn’t disagree… It just pained her to be so close to him without him even knowing she was there.

The month of December had been nothing short of awful.

The message to her Instagram had startled her because she’d expected it to be a message from someone asking exactly how she knew Nico (it wouldn’t be the first). What she’d received was from @haisydolston that said:

Hi stef!! Nico talks about you all the time and I think you should come to new jersey for Christmas

I’m daisy btw

Jack’s girlfriend

It can be a surprise for nico!

As lovely an idea as it had been, and Stef was quick to agree after working out her schedule between university and seeing her family, it didn’t take long at all before Stef realised that lying to Nico was not normal.

So, Stef had spent an entire month lying to one of a handful of people she had never lied to before all in the name of a surprise. And she still had to wait a few more hours before the lies could end despite being oh so close.

They got changed at Daisy’s house and then, when the time finally came, climbed into the Uber that took them to a ridiculous bar that had been booked out for the team’s party.

The event was nothing like Stef had ever experienced before, an odd mix between her university house parties and dinners she’d attended with her parents; Stef had never seen so many outfits with sequins in her entire life.

Stef made a split-second decision when she saw Nico—she’d never had second thoughts about how she greeted him until she was standing in a room filled with his teammates who she’d never met before. At least, that was until she saw him and then she was running through the crowd of teammates. She barely saw the recognition on his face before her feet were leaving the ground and her legs were wrapping around his waist.

Stef pressed a kiss to his left cheek then his right cheek and then to his mouth just as he worked out what was happening and moved his hands under her thighs—the skin-to-skin contact was incredible.

“I missed you,” she breathed, leaning her head back so they were making eye contact.

“How are you here?”

“It was Daisy’s idea. Apparently, you’ve been talking about me more than ever.”

“I’ve missed you, what can I say?” Nico laughed, unashamed.

Steff kissed him again, tongue and all, and could vaguely hear someone behind her comment on how they thought Jack and Daisy’s PDAs were bad. Maybe Stef deepened the kiss because of it.

“How long do I have you for?”

“My flight is Sunday evening.”

Nico’s sigh was heavy before he said, “I can’t even be mad that you’re not here for my birthday because I won’t be here for my birthday.”

“I thought about it,” Stef told him, her hands cupping his cheeks. “I would have missed a few days of classes if you weren’t on a road trip.”

Nico kissed her again, more subdued than their initial kiss, before he put her back on her feet.

It was easy to follow Nico around, letting him introduce her to his teammates. They all knew who she was before he even said anything—half of them introduced themselves before Nico even had the chance to speak—and Stef felt a little more lightheaded every time it happened.

It was something she’d been thinking about since she’d read Daisy’s first messages. How much did Nico actually speak about her? Was it just in passing? Was it conversations about her specifically? Did he just manage to relate things back to her when talking to people? She guessed it was probably all of the above.

Stef found Daisy after she’d been paraded around the venue. She grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter, kissed Nico and left him to speak to some of his teammates. He gave her a concerned look as she stepped away from him but she smiled and pointed at Daisy until his face relaxed.

Truth be told, the pride that he had in her was beyond anything she could ever have imagined and she needed a second to breath.

As the night grew on, midnight drawing nearer, Stef made her way back to Nico where he was talking to Jonas—she’d met him at camp in Bern over the summer so at least he was a familiar-ish face.

“Why aren’t you drinking? It’s New Year.” Stef sidled up beside Nico, easily filling the space under his arm; he’d raised it as soon as she got close.

“I get one day with you. I want to enjoy it.”

The glass in Stef’s hand was instantly heavier and the blur in her vision decidedly stronger. She had been preparing herself for a dreadful hangover; all it took was Nico’s words to have her finding a nearby table to put her champagne on.

“You could have told me your plan. You would have spent all day looking after me.”

“I don’t like telling you what to do,” Nico shrugged, “and I have no problem looking after you.”

Stef swayed, his words filling her with so much emotion that she didn’t know how else to release it. She leant up, pressed her hand to his cheek so that she could pull his mouth to hers.

“You are very good at looking after me.”

Jonas groaned beside them, and they both turned to look at him. He said, “This isn’t fair when I’m the only one who understands you two.”

“Stop eavesdropping,” Nico deadpanned, kissing Stef again, though much more pointedly than before.

“I haven’t moved!” Jonas protested, another groan leaving his mouth when Stef pulled Nico even closer.

The countdown started shortly after; everyone had champagne glasses in one hand and partners in the other.

A chorus of Happy New Year! rang out through the room and then Nico was kissing Stef as if there was nobody else in the room.

Waking up was less enjoyable than Stef would have liked, but not as bad as she had been anticipating when she showed up at the party—and then she rolled over, expecting to see the wall of her Zurich bedroom, and forgot how to breath.

Nico was lying on his side, and he lowered his phone when he noticed her movement so that she got the full force of his lazy morning smile. Stef surged forward with enough momentum behind her to rolled him onto his back and she buried her face into his shoulder. His arms were tight around her, no space was left between their bodies, and she felt more relaxed than she had in months.

“Good morning,” Nico laughed. “I didn’t think you’d ever wake up.”

“Now is not the time to let me sleep in, Nico,” Stef whined, pulling back and making sure he could see her exaggerated frown. “We have limited time together. I wouldn’t sleep tonight if it wouldn’t mess up your game.”

Nico’s hands were cool against her bare waist. He slid them from her ribcage down to her ass and then up again and it was so hypnotising, so calming, that Stef felt her eyelids droop. She rolled off him instantly, squeaking as she did so, until she was standing beside the bed.

She was shameless, comfortable, standing before him entirely naked and demanding her tell her what time of day it was. If she wasn’t so conscious about their limitation of time, the smirk on his face would have been more than enough to have her crawling back next to him.

He had barely been able to tell her that it was nine thirty before her back was to him and she was rushing into the bathroom to shower. The water wasn’t even hot before she was stepping into its spray.

Nico joined her, recoiling as he put his hand under the still lukewarm water.

“Stef…” he said, concerned and slow, that same hand touching her wrist to stop her from reaching the shampoo. “We have so much time.”

“What do you mean? We have no time, Nico, there’s so much to do.”

“There’s nothing we have to do. I just want to spend the day with you.”

Stef froze for a brief second before falling forward and pressing her forehead to his chest. She counted her breathing; four seconds in, hold for seven, out for eight. Nico released her wrist, his arms wrapping around her as he angled them so that water wasn’t just streaming over Stef’s face.

Nico let her breathe, counting along with her, until it turned back to her regular pattern.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed, her lips moving against his chest. “I’m so stupid. I—I just want to spend the day with you, too, and I was going to ruin it by rushing through a to-do list.”

“Do you even have a to-do list?”

She looked up at him, frowning at his teasing, “No. I don’t know what there is to do here.”

“Oh, so you thought I would have a to-do list for the visit I didn’t know was happening. It’s also New Years Day, so not everything will be open.”

With an accompanying eye roll, Stef draped her arms over his shoulders, “I guess your company will have to do, then.”

Their kiss was gentle and unassuming, even though it definitely could have led to something without much effort.

Stef slowed down after that, able to just enjoy having Nico by her side as she got ready for the day. It was the way he pressed his body up against hers, moved her hair to kiss the back of her neck as he passed her, that ensured she didn’t forget just why she’d gotten on the plane.

As Stef was finishing getting ready, Nico found them a café that was open for breakfast and, after a quick make out session at the front door they pulled on their coats and scarves and descended on New Jersey.

If it weren’t for the weather, it would feel exactly like they were back in Bern, when Stef had joined Nico while he did his summer training.

Walking down the street, hand in hand, Stef told Nico all about how hard it had been to keep the trip from him. She was able to laugh about it, at least, especially with Nico’s teasing about it—he wasn’t considering it lying when it was a surprise for him.

Breakfast was appropriately greasy given the slight ache in Stef’s head, and appropriately diet-approved given that Nico had been a bit more well behaved the night before.

“Do I have something on my face?” Stef asked, lifting a napkin and trying to wipe away anything that may have missed her mouth.

“No,” Nico said, shaking his head, “you just don’t wear make up in the summer, so I’m not used to it.”

“I was wearing more make up last night,” Stef said, tilting her head.

“Yeah, that’s not what I was focused on last night.”

“What were you focused on?” Stef pitched her voice lower, leant across the table and made sure her foot brushed against his calf.

“You want to do this here?” he asked, his voice thick.

“No,” Stef relented, relaxing back with a sigh. “But you should definitely tell me later.”

Nico folded his arms over his chest, also leaning back in his seat. He was far less relaxed about it, though, and Stef could see the tension in his jaw. Her smile was innocent as she went back to eating her breakfast.

Out of nowhere, after a comfortable if not slightly sexually charged silence, Nico said, “Julien wants to propose to Tanja.”

“He what?!” Stef asked, losing control of the volume of her voice and drawing the attention of the few other people in the restaurant. “Since when? How’s he finding a ring? Who’s helping him?”

“He was going to ask you when you were in Zurich but couldn’t get you alone.”

Stef squealed, closed mouth to muffle some of the noise. Tanja and Julien had been together for so many years and it had always been inevitable that they would marry, and Stef had been waiting for it. She was going to make sure that she was as big a part of the ring choosing process as she could be.

The excitement of it all had her shaking in her seat—until it didn’t. Until a new and unwelcome thought crossed her mind.

“Does that mean our summers change?” Stef asked, doing her best to remove any sadness threatening to escape.

“Why would it? They may as well already be married. They might not even get married for a few years.”

“It has to change sometime, doesn’t it? It can’t just be the four of us forever.”

“It will be for a few more years.”

Stef didn’t dare ask about what was going to happen the summer he wanted to bring a girlfriend along with them—if she didn’t speak it, it couldn’t come true.

“Can we go into New York?” she asked instead.

“Times Square is going to be gross after last night.”

“Central Park? Will MOMA be open?”

“We can check and if it isn’t then Daisy will probably go with you tomorrow morning.”

Stef wouldn’t go without Nico, and she was sure he knew that, though it did warm her heart to know that he’d find a way to get her there if she really wanted to go.

The hopped on the PATH train and then onto the subway, standing almost on top of each other the entire time. A few people gave them unimpressed looks because of their closeness—or maybe it was the fact that they were kissing each other rather relentlessly while being pressed chest to chest. They would never know.

MOMA was open and relatively quiet—most likely a sign that most of New York and its tourists were still in bed nursing hangovers. They both removed their gloves, checked their coats and Nico suggested that they get a coffee before they ventured into the exhibits.

“I feel good, Nico,” Stef said softly, tugging on his hand to stop him from heading in the direction of the café.

Nico shrugged, looking only a tad caught out, “What if I want another coffee?”

“You drink too much coffee,” Stef said, looking Nico dead in the eye as she said it, “but fine.”

Their visit went much the same as every other time they’d been in a museum. Stef wasn’t as well versed in art as she was science, but she was very good at reading the plaques and recalling random pieces of information she’d read online. It was more than enough to keep Nico rapt.

It was nothing like they’d ever done before because Stef could lean back into Nico as he stood behind her, let him drop his chin onto her head. She could lead him through the museum by the hand. They could stop wherever and kiss freely, even if it did earn them more disapproving looks from passers-by.

The entire day was easy from when they finished at the museum to when they stood in the kitchen to cook dinner together. They could barely keep their hands off each other.

Whilst they were cooking and eating dinner, it was easy for Stef to get lost in the dream that it was her everyday life. Looking over at Nico, to see him smiling softly, whether it be at her or just at his own thoughts, was so nauseatingly tempting.

She could have spent hours just being in his space, living in his house, but Nico was a professional athlete with a regular bedtime that was much earlier than her usual University student bedtime, so she wandered up the staircase while he made them tea.

Stef sat up against the headboard, waiting for Nico to finally come back upstairs. It had probably realistically been ten minutes since he went downstairs with the intention of making tea; she just couldn’t shake the worry that any time not spent right next to each other was time wasted.

He slipped into the room carrying two mugs and placed one on the bedside table next to Stef. She closed her eyes and leant up for a kiss. It never came.

“Am I going to wake up tomorrow to you ignoring me?” Nico whispered; Stef opened her eyes to see him standing at the end of the bed.

The hurt etched on his face was

“No. I know that we’re still—we’re still Nico and Stef. I was just scared last time. I didn’t need to be.”

“We’re always Nico and Stef. I don’t ever want you to be scared of that. Of me.”

Stef’s heart broke and all she could do was reach out to touch him, no matter that he was still at the end of the bed. She sighed, anguished, “Nico.”

By the time he had walked around to the side of the bed, Stef was on her knees in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him as close as she possibly could. He relaxed against her, resting his weight on her.

“You’re the least scary person I know,” Stef whispered into his ear.

It wasn’t all she wanted to say, and she was sure it wasn’t all he wanted to hear; they both knew they couldn’t say anything more when they were going to be separated. So, they fell back onto the mattress and tried to show each other.

Stef heard Nico before she saw him descend the stairs. She knew that he was carrying his hockey bag and a small suitcase because she’d watched him start packing them; it didn’t hurt any less when she did see him.

“Maybe I should just stop studying and move here.”

“Not a chance,” Nico said firmly, his hockey bag dropping to the ground loudly. “You’d never forgive yourself.”

“I’d never forgive myself? Or I’d never forgive you?”

“Yourself,” Nico said firmly. “I’ve never known you to hold a grudge against anyone else. Besides, you’re The Future of Medicine so you need to finish studying.”

Stef huffed, “I could hold a grudge if I wanted to.”

Nico’s eye roll was vicious, disbelieving. He walked to her, pulling her out of her seat and away from her granola. He was telling her that he didn’t want to leave, that he didn’t want her to leave, but he knew that she needed to.

“I’ll see you in Tenerife?” Stef asked, as if she didn’t already know the answer. As if Nico was going to suddenly change his mind and not join her, Tanja and Julien on their summer tradition.

Nico hummed, resting his hands on her waist and pulling their hips together. He asked, “When is your last day of school?”

“The last week of June. I’m basically in Zurich for one day before I’m back on a plane to see my favourite people.”

Nico thought for a moment, Stef watched his eyes as they looked over her head. She couldn’t help but smile up at him and kiss the underside of his jaw.

“I’ll come to Copenhagen when the season’s over.”

“Kommer du til København?” Stef gasped, switching from their native Swiss German to her learnt Danish with ease. “Virkelig?”

“I don’t know any of the words you just said,” Nico laughed, “But as soon as the season’s done I’ll be there with you.”

Stef buried her head into his chest, feeling the swelling of her heart take over her entire being.

Please consider leaving feedback—reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!

[bxcketbarnes]

Friends... or More?

Pairing: Ashton Irwin x Reader

Words: 3600+

Author's Note: This picture is incredible. And I thought of this idea while talking to @galcalirwin​ ! I hope you guys like it 🥺

"I can't believe I'm the only one single in this friend group," you sigh as you and your girlfriend's drive-in downtown LA. You glance out the window as a hand lands on your shoulder.

"You're not the only one! Ash is single too," Bri states and you look towards her, a knowing smirk on her lips. You roll your eyes, fiddling with your phone.

"Wait, what? I thought he was dating that chick?" You ask, your eyes wide as you glance towards the other two girls.

Bri shakes her head, adjusting the hat on her head. "Nope. They broke up like four weeks ago," she informs you and you frown slightly.

"He didn't tell me that," you mumble quietly and the phone in your hand vibrates. Speak of the devil.

Hey! You girls get back yet?

"Maybe he hasn't found the right time to tell you?" Jess questions as you type quickly on your phone, responding to Ashton.

Driving through downtown LA as we speak. About 20 minutes until we get to Mike's.

"Yeah, maybe. How'd you find out?" You ask Bri and she gives you a look. "Calum?" You giggle and the brunette nods her head, a laugh leaving her lips.

"Of course I heard it from Cal! That man can't keep shit from me," Bri laughs and you shake your head, glancing back out the window.

Your phone vibrates again and you look down at it, smiling softly at the text Ashton sent.

Fuck, I can't wait to see you. Now I know how it feels when I go on tour lmao

Lmfao ah, yes. A taste of your own medicine! I can't wait to see you either.

"Who are you texting?" Bri asks and leans towards you, looking at the texts between you and Ashton. You scoff and turn your phone off, looking at her in disbelief.

"You're fucking nosy!" You laugh and she laughs with you, wiggling her eyebrows.

"We be flirtin' with Mr. Irwin are we?" She questions, loudly, and the other girls hear her.

You blush heavily, and you can feel the other two's eyes on me as Steff stops at a stop sign. "I-What? No! No!" You defend as they all give you a knowing look. "I'm not! He was just asking me if we were home yet."

"And then they both said they can't wait to see each other!" Bri cuts in and you slap her arm, feeling your cheeks on fire.

"Can we not do this?!" You groan and hide your face in your hands. Bri pats your back as Steff pulls into her and Michael's driveway, Michael's car not insight.

"Guess we beat them here," Steff mentions and opens the garage door before pulling her car into it.

You four get out of the car, grabbing your bags from the trunk before heading inside. You set your bag on the couch when your phone goes off and you pull it out of your back pocket to see Ashton had sent you a picture.

Your heart melts a bit at the picture, seeing the dimples indented in his cheeks. You read over the text he sent with it and you bring your lip between your teeth.

Five minutes until I see your gorgeous face!

You couldn't hold the giggle in any longer and you bring up the camera app, taking a quick selfie with your tongue sticking out before sending it to him.

You've seen my face all week. We've been snap chatting with each other almost every day!

That's nothing compared to the real thing!

"Y/N! C'mon, we're gonna wait outside!" Jess's voice calls out and you slide your phone into your back pocket after sending Ash a smile and heart emoji before heading out the front door.

Steff puts out a couple of chairs before sitting in one, Bri and Jess sitting beside her. You grab a seat next to Bri, looking up at the sky to enjoy the lovely California sun. "So," Steff begins and you glance towards her, her eyes set on you, "do you have a thing for Ash?" She asks and your lips part, hoping this conversation wouldn't have come up again.

"I…" you trail off, thinking about your answer when Michael's car backs up into the driveway. Your heart beats in your chest as one of the back doors open, Ashton climbing out of the Tesla.

You grin widely and spring up from your chair, heading towards him. The black-haired man's eyes light up at the sight of you and wrap his arms around your shoulders as soon as you make it over to him. You inhale his vanilla scent, melting a bit into his chest as your arms wrap around his torso.

"Hi, beautiful," he mumbles into your hair, swaying with you a bit as giggles leave his lips. "Did you have fun in Vegas?"

You smile when you pull away from him, looking up at him. "I did. We had a fancy-ass hotel room. It was cool. I wish you guys could've been there though," you admit and Ashton smiles.

"Yeah, it would've been cool. I've never been to Vegas with you. We'll have to go the next time we get another vacation," he mentions and you agree with him. 

-

You and the girls just got back to the Bellagio Hotel, most of you feeling pretty good while Jess decided she was going to be soberer than the rest of you. Just in case something were to happen. You all said goodnight and I love you to each other before going to our separate rooms.

You giggle as you stumble into your giant room, slipping the leather jacket off of your shoulders. The leather jacket Ashton bought you for your birthday. You look at yourself in the giant mirror that's near the bathroom, admiring how you look in the outfit you chose to wear.

Fishnet stockings cling to your legs with a leather skirt that barely covers your ass cheeks, paired with a nude lace bodysuit from Victoria's Secret. It's a bit skimpy but it's Vegas. You were single. You were infatuated with a man who lived in LA but single nonetheless.

You fluff your hair around, grinning to yourself as you thought of an idea. You pull your phone out from your leather jacket's pocket, opening up the camera before taking a small photoshoot.

You face your back towards the mirror, seeing the small peek of your ass cheeks hanging out as you look into the mirror and bite the tip of your finger. You couldn't help but giggle, shaking your head as you look at the picture you just took.

You were happy how it turned out before deciding to take it up a notch. You set your phone on the dresser before unzipping your skirt, tossing it to the side. You tilt your head as you look into the mirror, only having the bodysuit on and your stockings. You kneel on the floor and face the wall, the side of your bare ass facing the mirror. You snap another photo before bringing up Ashton's contact, attaching the two photos that you took.

Wish you were here… 😋😘

You sent the photos and got up from the floor, beginning to undress the rest of your clothes to change into your sleep shirt.

Ashton was hanging out with Calum when his phone went off, his hazel eyes moving away from the movie they were watching to check the notification. He smiles softly when he sees your name, picking up the device from the arm of the couch.

His breath hitches in his throat when he opens the text, the two sexy pictures he received staring him in the face. "Holy shit…" he mutters quietly and tilts his head, admiring your body. He adjusts himself in his sweats and licks his lips before whispering, "wish you were here. Y-Yeah, I wish I was too."

"Who is it?" Calum asks and the black-haired man looks over at his best friend.

"It's Y/N," Ash mumbles and looks back down at his phone, saving the two pictures to his phone. "She… I'm gonna say she's feeling pretty good."

Calum lets out a laugh and looks towards his friend. "Why do you say that?"

"She, uh, sent me sexy pictures," Ashton clears his throat, feeling his cheeks grow warm. Calum's eyes went wide and mumble a "no way". "Yeah, I'm just as shocked as you are."

Cal pauses the movie and shifts in his seat so he's facing Ashton. "So, what are you feeling? Do you… do you like her?" He asks and Ashton furrows his brows together.

"I don't know. I mean, she's gorgeous. No doubt about it and she's an amazing person. So amazing. But, I just don't think she'd go for me," Ash mentions and runs his hand through his hair.

"I mean… she's gotta feel something if she sent you those, right?" Cal questions and Ashton shrugs his shoulders.

"I'll ask her about it when she gets back. Maybe she meant to text someone else," he mutters and locks his phone, setting it back on the arm of the couch.

-

Everyone went out to Michael's backyard to chill by the pool and spa. You put your swimsuit on before heading into the kitchen to grab yourself a drink. You grab ahold of a wine cooler when Ashton's voice echoes off the walls in the kitchen. "So-"

You jump, placing a hand over your heart and glances over your shoulder. "Jesus, Ash," you mutter and let out a breath of air. "I thought you were outside already."

Ashton chuckles and shakes his head, leaning against the counter. "No, I actually wanted to talk to you about something," he mentions and you nod your head slowly.

Finally. He's gonna tell me about him and his ex breaking up. "What is it?" You ask while opening your wine cooler, taking a quick sip of it.

"Are you gonna explain the pictures you sent me?" He asks with raised eyebrows and your heart drops in your chest. The bottle you were holding onto slips from your grasp and falls to the floor, shattering on impact. "Shit, Y/N!"

Ashton rushes to grab some paper towels to soak up the blue liquid. "I-I'm sorry," you apologize. For dropping the bottle and sending him almost private pictures of yourself. "I-I was a bit tipsy and didn't know what I was doing."

The black-haired cutie looks up at you, his hazel eyes shining after he soaks up all of the liquid. "Hey, it's alright. I didn't say I was upset about it," he reassures you and you stare down at him in shock.

"You're not?" You whisper and he shakes his head, smiling softly.

"No, of course not. You… you looked great," Ash blushes and you let out a breathy laugh, feeling your own cheeks heat up.

He grabs a broom, sweeping the glass away from your feet. You stare at him the whole time, admiring his features. "Did you really think I looked great?" You ask him and Ashton glances back at you, throwing out some of the broken glass.

"Oh, hell yeah. I was quite shocked honestly. You were never the one to… show so much skin," he admits and you nod your head.

"I just wanted to try something different. Be more confident in me. I mean, wearing this right now can be difficult for me," you motion towards the two-piece and Ash lets his eyes roam down your figure.

"You look good. You always did. Whether you were wearing baggy clothes or dressy clothes," he tells you with a smile and you couldn't help but smile back at him, your heart fluttering in your chest. "C'mon, let's get out of this spot."

You nod your head and take a big step, getting away from the spot. Ashton finishes cleaning up the rest of the broken glass as you gathered the all-purpose cleaner, so the floor doesn't get sticky. "Thanks, Ash," you mumble to him while spraying the floor, wiping it up with some paper towels.

Ashton runs his hands through your hair, smiling down at you. "It's not a problem, love. What are friends for," he states and your stomach churns a bit. Friends.

-

It's been about a week and a half since the guys posted their Carpool Karabloke video and you couldn't count the numerous times you've seen a comment about your and Ash's relationship status. You're currently out to lunch with Bri and Cal, your mind far away from the topic of conversation at hand.

"Hey, Y/N?" Your friend calls out and you snap out of your daze, looking between the two of them.

"What?! Sorry," you mumble and run your fingers through your hair.

Cal chuckles softly and leans back in his chair. "You're fine. Everything alright?" He asks and you shrug your shoulders, furrowing your eyebrows.

"For the most part," you mention and rest your chin on the palm of your hand.

Bri lets out a sigh and sets a hand on her boyfriend's arm. "It's probably about Ash," she states and Cal looks at her with a confused expression. "I'm assuming you saw the tweets?" Her question is directed towards you and you press your lips together before nodding your head.

"Wait, what tweets?" Calum asks, his brown eyes darting between you and his girl.

"Ever since the carpool video came out people have been wondering if Ash and I are together because we fucking hugged on video," you inform him and shake your head, "and he replied to one of the tweets saying that we weren't. That we were just friends."

Calum furrows his eyebrows together, drumming his fingers against the table. "Okay? So, why are-"

"She likes him you fool," Bri practically shouts and you shush her, looking around to see a few people turning their heads towards us.

"Jesus," you laugh, playfully glaring at your friend, "could you be any louder?"

She smirks and shrugs her shoulders. "Just be thankful Ashton isn't here," Bri winks and you scoff, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

Your smile slowly diminishes as the whole situation sets in, a sigh leaving your lips. "I just… don't get it? I think he's interested in me? I mean, he didn't say he was mad about the pictures I sent him in Vegas. He said I looked great. That has to mean something right?" You ask the two of them and Calum nods his head as Bri just stares at you in shock.

"Hold up. You sent him pictures? What kind of pictures?" She asks with an eyebrow raised.

You blush, clearing your throat while scratching the back of your head. "She sent him sexy pictures," Cal states and Bri whips her head towards her boyfriend of two years.

"Excuse me? And how do you know?" She asks him and the man glances towards his girl, brown eyes wide.

"We were hanging out when he told me! I didn't see them, I swear!" He pleads and you tuck a strand of hair behind your ear. "I love you."

"Mhm. You fuckin' better," Bri mumbles, looking back at you and asks, "can I see the pictures?"

You nod your head and pull up the photos before facing the phone towards her. Bri pushes Cal's head away and leans down to look at the two pictures you sent Ash a few weeks ago.

"They're cute. Very sexy for sure!" She states and you bring your phone back to you, seeing a notification from Twitter.

@ilovecalum: @ashton5sos are you and the woman in the Carpool video dating?! That hug looked special as fuck!

@ashton5sos: no, no! She and I are really good friends 🖤

You swallow the lump in your throat as you don't know how many more of these types of tweets you can handle seeing. You can feel tears pool in your eyes, taking a deep breath before standing up from the chair.

"I, uhm, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later," you mumble to your two friends and walk away before they have a chance to stop you.

Bri watches you leave, a sad expression on her face as her heart breaks for you. "Doesn't he realize that he's hurting her?!" She asks her boyfriend and Cal sighs, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't know, babe," he starts and drapes his arm across her shoulders. "He's pretty oblivious when it comes to this kind of stuff."

Bri sighs, relaxing into Cal's touch as she thought of a way to get him to see how you really feel about him. One way or another.

-

"Ashton motherfUCKING Irwin!" Bri yells while storming into the drummer's place. You furrow your brows at your best friend, seeing her tilt her head towards the back door. "Outside, now!"

You glance back at Ash, seeing his hazel eyes wide with a bit of fear swimming in them. You gently move your legs off his lap, giving him a small smile as he rubs your leg for a quick second before getting up.

"If I'm not back in five minutes… save me," he giggles before heading towards the sliding door. You chuckle and nod your head, watching him leave the house.

"What the fuck just happened?" You ask Cal and he lets out a noise, shaking his head while flailing his arms.

"I've got no idea. You know how she is," he states and you laugh, nodding your head while muttering you right.

Ashton stands outside, rubbing his palms along his ripped jeans. "So, what's up?" He asks nervously, seeing the menace look in his friend's eye.

"What's up?! What's up is that you're making Y/N cry!" She almost yells and Ash furrows his eyebrows before glancing into the house, seeing you laughing with Cal.

"She's… she's not crying?" He questions and points into the house.

Bri lets out a groan and presses her fingertips to her forehead. "Not now, dumbass. Yesterday. You made her cry yesterday while the three of us were at lunch," she explains and Ash's heart drops. He was about to ask what she meant but she pulls out her phone, cutting him off by showing him a tweet he made yesterday. "This. This made her upset."

"Wha-Why?"

"Because she loves you!"

Ashton furrows his eyebrows and pushes some of his hair out of his face. "I know that she does. I love her too," he tells her, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips.

"No, no, no. She loves you, Ash. Seeing you tweet out that there's basically no hope for the two of you is hurting her more than you think," the short brunette exclaims and Ashton's lips part in surprise, looking back into the house at you. "Don't you love her back?"

The drummer swallows hard, keeping his eyes on you as your figure turns to face him and his eyes meet yours. A smile comes to your lips and you give him a small wave. "I-I… I do. I think I always have. Guess I didn't realize it," he mutters and Bri lets out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Otherwise, I would've had to kick your ass," she laughs and Ashton giggles as well. "Now… go get her!"

He nods his head and once again wipes the palm of his hands on his jeans, his nerves becoming more apparent. Bri walks into the house first, heading towards the couch and sits down next to her man.

"Uh, Y/N?" Ash calls out and you whip your head around, seeing him still standing by the back door. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" He asks and motions his head towards the sliding door.

You gulp and nod your head, pushing yourself off the couch. You glance towards Bri and she smirks at you while you head towards your best friend. "What's up?" You ask and Ashton leads you outside before shutting the door behind him. "Ash?"

Ashton's heart races as your hand land on his arm, squeezing gently while you look up at him. Fuck it. He places his hands on your cheeks and leans forward to connect your lips with his. Your eyes are wide as you fist his shirt in your hands, letting them flutter shut. You melt into the kiss, not believing this is happening as you kiss him back.

One of your hands moves to the back of his neck, your fingers carding into his black hair. Ashton glides his hands down your sides, squeezing your hips as he presses you against him. You pull away from him after a bit, breathing heavily as Ash presses his forehead against yours. "I… what…"

"Do you wanna go out with me?" He asks and your breath hitches in your throat, looking up at him through your lashes.

"A-A-Really?" You whisper and he grins, his dimple indenting his cheek and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Yeah, really. I… I didn't really tell you much about my ex because I was using her to try and get over you. It didn't go well, obviously. I'm sorry if I hurt you and didn't see it," he explains and your heart flutters, closing your eyes while letting out a breath.

"It's okay. It's okay," you mumble and stroke his cheekbone with your thumb. "I guess we were both a little stubborn to see what was in front of us."

Ashton lets out a laugh and nods his head, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. "Very. Better late than never though," he states and you nod, grinning like a fool as his arms wrap around your waist. "Maybe we can ditch these two and go on a date?"

You glance towards Cal and Bri, seeing them watching the two of you. Bri gives you a thumbs up and you let out a laugh before looking up at Ash. "That sounds great, Ash."

-

Taglist: @galcalirwin​ @sexgodashton​ @myloverboyash​ @h0tsos​ @mysticalhood​ @tea4sykes​ @baldcalum​ @talkfastromance4​ @g-l-pierce​ @here-for-the-uproars​ @maluminspace​ @abb-lan-5sos​ @itsasadfishworld​ @gigglyirwin​ @bloodmoonashton​ @thebookamongmen​ @sublimehood​ @bumblebet-20​

[captainshyguy]

not to be a little melancholic but i've been thinking a bit about all the people that have come and gone in my general social circle like. not just irl, but online too. the close friends, who eventually left, and the ones on the outskirts, but were always there. at least, for a time. the people you never quite talked to, but were in your bubble, in your life, if just for a bit. the people who will only be icon, words on a screen to me. the people who will forever be 14 in my memories, because its all i have of them 

its just...its weird yknow? not even getting into social circles from school, friends you grew apart from, friends of friends of friends in your class that you had an odd connection with

but online its like. i’ve been in a few online communities in my time. the penguins of madagscar community on fanpop, one for the same fandom on deviantart, the agents of shield one here, then the maze runner, then star wars, then mario, then star wars again...i’d say ‘and hollow knight now’ but lets be honest, i haven’t made....many friends or even mutuals through it solely X]

i guess my point is like. all of these communities were different people. and over time, whilst i’ve generally stayed put (until i was physically the last one left, and jumped ship, like fanpop) people just. they left yknow? maybe it took a couple of months, maybe a couple of years, but they did, and its such an almost...odd thing to experience

im not saying people cant leave, not at all but it just made me think how many people i’ve known, how many i’ve been friends with, how many existed in my orbit. how many i only have pieces of. and i guess...how many people’s orbits i was in. the person i was in the past lives on through each and every one of then, and i have no idea what stuck. what’s their ‘luke’ memory, their takeway. heck, some of them wouldn't even have it by that name. 

one thing im glad about in a way is like. from each of the communities that like. meant something to me, i managed to grab a few people almost. a few that also dug their heels in, a few that are still in my orbit, however close or far, but they’re there. they’re posting actively or somewhat actively and i know where to find them. and thats nice 

it just makes me wonder sometimes yknow?? how many people currently in my circle, currently in my orbit, will eventually leave one day? who will stop posting, who’s icon i simply will never see again.

i do hope, with all my heart, that all the ones that i fell out of touch with are doing well 

(im musing about specific people under the read more, WILL get long kjdfhnd) 

from my primary/secondary school i dont have anyone exactly. the closest i have is one guy i was pretty fond of but not like. romantically. i follow his youtube and whilst i dont really watch the videos seeing his face pop up every now and again is nice. but man i do think back on those secondary school friends. funnily enough by the end whilst i liked my “official” best friends i honestly ended up more fond of others. sarah, priya, shriya, zarah, zi yu, kyle. danny, introducing me to treasure planet, hiding away with him and his friends to watch films in forgotten rooms when it was near the end of the year, then liam, of course, man..its weird he was my best friend in the first few years when i moved there, then we got put in different classes so we just didnt see eahc other much. but that fondness was always, always there. god, and jake....i wonder if he thinks back fondly to the two of us pretending to be transformers. i wonder if im still jazz to him. god, and then sophia, just, not even hanging out but having our little ‘hot buttered toast’ song. i hope thats the memory she has of me. (i haven’t even listed everyone from this part, and i couldnt! it was a 7-8 year period of my life! right during my brain developmental stages!!)

its weird i was in love with ryan for nearly three years. a lot of those memories are soured knowing one of my friends spread it around school and everyone secretly knew, (and looking back i was way out of his league like, morally lol) but still. maybe once or twice a year i’ll dream about him, and for a brief moment, im there, sitting with him in geography as he shows me magic tricks, during that period i do genuinely think he liked me too (before it wore off for him lol) and im still in love. 

from college, man....ewan was like. i have a feeling he was leading me on since he had a girlfriend lmao, and was just flirting for fun bc he saw i was shy and was trying to get me to react, but it never felt like bullying yknow? i dont think he was actively trying to make fun of me. so i dont know, it was nice, it felt nice and it still kinda does. 

khairun.....im so glad i still have her. i’m still a little gay for her. i remember sitting with her on the bus, riding for hours as we were on the geology trip, and she would ramble about the game of thrones video game and she’d squint so happily and her eyes would sparkle. she talks about dark souls now and i only see her messages, but i can still feel her enthusiasm. or tanisha and fatima, my other geology friends, my maze runner friends. seeing the scorch trials with fatima in the cinema. joking about newt and thomas with tanisha. sitting around the table with my actual friend group, in the big lounge chair reading the tolkien dictonary, joking about the flash with bindiya. sleeping around maddie’s house and playing would you rather. 

heck, i didnt even touch on teachers!!! teachers i connected with so much on a genuine level!!! mrs chambers, mr hauge, mr wrght, miss lloyd, mr hutchinson, miss petra, mrs young! mrs mohammed, mr santa maria, mr longdon, miss langley, mrs maize, miss davies. i know with teachers, the kids must start to blur together at a point. but i just....i hope, at least. with those first two, they’ll remember me, just a bit. i keep having dreams where im in my old school, and i try to find them., i’ve found mr hague a few times. but until about a month ago, whenever i got to geography, miss chambers was never there. im glad i finally found her. 

then fanpop...lexii, having the same birthday as me, talking with kait and roleyplaying as penguin ocs in high stakes situations. dating dylan fkjdngjdh, rigging the club’s presidential election. its weird, i dont have a lot of memories from this time. just....just people? people posting their ocs, people drawing ech others ocs. kaitlyn, anya, kait, dylan, lexii, imaneasel, mya, peacebaby, madascargirl, kate, starslight, imogen, tressa, sammi, crystal, cc, syliva, jasmine, hikari, amber,  yellow, steff, lilly, blue, richard, monique, sharpey, hannah, icicle, ratking, cian i- god, there was so many of us. theres more, i can think of more names. there was so many

anya did what i did pretty much and went to deviantart then kinda dug her heels in and didnt leave, though i don think she’s more active on toyhouse. and yet, i still see her art there, so its nice. having her throughout the years has been nice, watching as both of our art improves. she’s always been a bit ahead of me. then cian i’ve been talknig with pretty much every day for about 6 months now, thats been nice 

and then here, man! the agents of shield fandom! man! i dont remember a lot of names honestly besides the ones who stayed, and sam. i hope sam’s okay. y’all who stayed, who are still mutuals, the hm....five of us i think? though the one ofy’all i was closest to isnt around as often X[ but still. im happy y’all are here 

some of y’all that have been around long enoguh will know i was best friends with kacie for a while. from....i think that was my brief stint in the dan and phil fandom. she. well. she’s okay, the last i heard of her. but my overtalking screwed that up i think. my last message from her, a few years later, was amicable at least. i still feel awful about that if i think on it too hard

i think i only picked up ronan from the maze runner, at least, that i talk to, yeah, right, there’s two others that are still about but i dont think we’ve ever held a convo X] 

and u current peeps! from mario, star wars and.....im not quite sure where for some of you! i love u all! especially y’all that have been around forever, just, liking each others posts every now and again., i dont know how many people you all follow, but i follow less than a 100. i might only be a blip on your radar, but i like seeing y’all, genuinely. thank you for being in my orbit. i hope i’m a comforting or at least. nice reliable presence in yours, for as long as we all stick around.  

[a-damn-good-medic]

Meet the Muse

Tagged by: @cromwellharvests

Tagging: STEAL IT

Name ➔ Charlotte Beatrice Samaritan. Just Lottie or Samari is fine! ► Are you single ➔ Yep, kinda married to my job at this point though... ► Are you happy ➔  I try to keep a positive attitude! ► Are you angry? ➔  Nope! Honestly can’t remember the last time I got mad ► Are your parents still married ➔ Yep! 25th Anniversary next year!

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ The small town of Limoux in the southern countryside, not too far from Fotset ► Hair Color ➔ Black ► Eye Color ➔ Honey Brown, thank my dad for that! ► Birthday ➔ 17th August 1893 ► Mood ➔ I should probably be getting to bed but I’m lacking self control ► Gender ➔ Female ► Summer or winter ➔ Winter, it gets way too hot down South in the summer ► Morning or afternoon ➔ Afternoon, I haven’t been a morning person since I was a kid

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ Nope, I don’t seem to fall for people very easily ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ Hmmm, I don’t know, just because I haven’t felt it doesn’t mean it’s out there somewhere for me ► Who ended your last relationship ➔ I did, we hadn’t seen each other for two years at that point due to my work and communication grew distant ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ I don’t think so? I doubt he really cared anymore ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ I haven’t really tested it out yet. I like to think that I’m not but I’m really focused on my job at the moment ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ Yep! My favourite kind of affection! ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ Nope! ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ Nah, I’ve never really get that invested in someone in a romantic way

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ The traditional country girl in me has got to go with love ► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ Lemonade, the fizzy kind ► Cats or Dogs ➔ Dogs, I love Sven with all my heart ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ A group of besties definitely!  ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ Romantic night in, get all cosy and snuggle up ► Day or night ➔ Night, there’s too much to do during the day

FIVE FOUR HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ No, but I’ve never really tried to, there wasn’t much to do back home, and during military training I was too tired or busy to try anything ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ Yep, I fall up the stairs far more often than I should ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ Nope ► Wanted to disappear ➔ In embarrassment? Absolutely

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ Eyes, but my instinct was smile ► Shorter or Taller ➔ As long as they’re taller than me ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔ Geniuses who are passionate in their craft are an attraction ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ Relationship, I just don’t see the point in hook-ups

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔ Absolutely! There’s the regular sibling jab or whatever but we’re tend to be pretty tight. Not to mention that I’m a complete daddy’s girl ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ Definitely not! It’s been pretty perfect compared to some horror stories I’ve heard! ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ Not that I can remember? I would often hide out in the barn or my old treehouse when I wanted to get away from everyone but I was always on the land ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ Nah, don’t think my parents have got it in them

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ Pretending to like people you don’t is exhausting, I’ll do it to bosses maybe but never to a friend ► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ I deal with way too many people in my work for everyone to be good friends, but we maintain a group of 8-10 of us who regularly write and call ► Who is your best friend ➔ Growing up it was Chrissy, but now it’s a tie between her and Steff ► Who knows everything about you ➔ At this point? Steff. She’s seen me at my lowest during the rough parts of military life... I tend to hide that from my parents

[manunfiltered]

Some of my Chaos Walking prequel headcanons:

- First things first, I don't believe Mayor Prentiss's version of events for a minute. Todd's mother assured him profusely that she would never decieve him and never leave him, and committing suicide would have intentionally been doing both of those things. Ben was pained by telling the true story to Todd and Viola, it could clearly be seen on his face and in his Noise. There was nothing to see in face or Noise when Mayor Prentiss told his side of the story, and in many other scenarios, we can see that his expression is very plain when he lies.

- David Prentiss had a wife before New Elizabeth became Prentisstown. When Jessica Elizabeth began to suspect him and shared her concerns with the women in town, David Prentiss's wife tried to call off any harsh actions because she trusted him. She had had a son with him after all, and to her knowledge, they both loved Davy very much. Needless to say, when Jessica Elizabeth would start to call secret meetings for the women to discuss escaping town, Mrs. Prentiss would never show up. She believed that she was being faithful, but eventually, her husband showed her that she was being foolish by conducting his very first Asking, finding out about the secret meetings, and putting an end to the women of New Elizabeth, starting with his own wife. She was the only woman that he killed, so when he later told Todd that he never harmed the women of Old Prentisstown, he wasn't necessarily lying.

- As a child, Todd had always been singled out and taunted by Mr. Hammar. Ben and Cillian told him that he was just teasing because Todd was the youngest boy in town, but in truth, Mr. Hammar had been the specific man that killed Todd's mother. Hammar wanted to watch Todd fall just as much as any other man in town, and he liked to believe that on the day Todd was to become a man, his little taunts and teases would contribute to Todd finally snapping and completing Mayor Prentiss's army.

- Because Viola and Steff Taylor were the only girls on the convoy their age, Viola spent more time with the younger kids while Steff tried to hang out with the older kids. This ended in Steff having a bunch of fake friends that were too mature for her, and Viola being allowed to tutor the children in music. Steff often caught herself watching Viola have fun with younger kids while she was desperately trying to look happy with the older ones, but her jealousy was always covered up by a dirty look or rude remark.

I wrote fanfictions about these next ones: 

- Ben, Cillian, and Todd’s parents making the decision to leave Old World: https://www.wattpad.com/690742481-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-ben-escape-to

- Ben being arrested for trying to teach Todd how to read: https://www.wattpad.com/665766202-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-todd-ben-is

- Viola’s convoy passing through a colorful galaxy in the black beyond: https://www.wattpad.com/665766747-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-viola-passing

- Todd losing his last friend and becoming the only boy in Prentisstown: https://www.wattpad.com/665767217-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-todd-first-day

- Todd getting Manchee for his birthday:  https://www.wattpad.com/665767735-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-todd-getting

- Manchee talking for the first time: https://www.wattpad.com/694591950-chaos-walking-childhood-one-shots-todd-manchee

[tequila-clifford]

Three Wishes

Pairing: Michael Clifford/Reader

Word Count: 8601

Warnings/Rating: Fluff/Some Angst & Adult Language 

Request:Sorta? It’s was inspired by the photo above. 

Summary: Single mom, Y/N wants her son’s 5th birthday to be perfect. Things don’t exactly go as planned, but best friend, Michael, saves the day, in more ways than one.

If you like this fic, go thank Steff aka @h0tsos because it would have literally never been finished without her. 

“IT’S- MY- BIRTHDAY!” You were hurled out of your sleep by your son, Emmett, catapulting his entire body weight into your side. It was here, the day you wished you could just skip over or push away; your baby boy was five. You would have loved nothing more than to stay in your happy little denial bubble, where you could pretend that he would stay little forever, but, like it or not, it was happening. “Mommy, you need to get up! It’s my birthday!” You couldn’t help but let out a groan at the idea of getting up right now, but you could feel the excitement radiating from him and you knew you had to greet him with just as much enthusiasm.

Without opening your eyes, you wrapped your arms around his middle and pulled him down onto the bed, immediately tickling his sides and sending him into a fit of laughter. “There is NO WAY it’s your birthday today!”

“IT IS!”

“So how old are you today?” He managed to hold up his hand between his giggles and you kissed the tips of his five little fingers. “You’re right, bug, you’re five! What do you say we go make you some birthday waffles and get ready for your party?”

“YES! LET’S GO RIGHT NOW!” You couldn’t help but laugh at his excitement as he practically sprinted out of your room and towards the kitchen. You climbed out of bed and slipped on your robe, following close behind.

You’d just finished up making E’s breakfast and took the first sip of your coffee when your phone began to buzz on the counter, you looked over to see your best friend, Michael’s, face on your screen.

 You instinctively checked your reflection in the microwave before picking up your phone and answering his FaceTime. “You’re up awfully early for a Saturday.”

“Well, good morning to you too, Y/N. Of course I’m up early, it’s my favorite little dudes birthday! Where is E, anyway? Is he awake?”

“Yeah, he’s ri--”

“Is that Mike!? Mommy, I wanna talk!” You handed your phone to your child who was practically vibrating with excitement. “Mike, are you coming to my birthday today? You know I'm FIVE!?” He spit out all in one breath.

“I know, buddy! And you bet I am! Ya know, I heard your mum is making our favorite cake.”

“Already made it. AND you’re in charge of bringing the ice cream, don’t forget!” You shouted from across the kitchen as you started to wash the dishes from breakfast.

“You got it, boss.” Michael let out with a laugh before Emmett interjected again, going on about how he wants chocolate ice cream and that he hopes he gets the Batmobile go-kart that he’s been asking for “for his whole life”.

As you finished up the dishes, Emmett walked back into the kitchen and reluctantly handed you your phone. “Here, Mommy, Mike wants to talk to you now. ”

“Thank you, bug. Why don’t you go upstairs and make your bed?” He nodded and ran out of the kitchen.

“Is Jason coming today?” Michael all but blurted the question out to you as soon as you turned your attention back to your phone. Jason, your ex and Emmett’s father. You had zero expectations when it came to him being a hands-on parent, or being any type of parent, since he has proved time and time again that E was not his priority. More often than not, you found yourself wishing that he would just permanently stay out of your lives, rather than coming around at his convenience, only to leave again and let Emmett down.

“He said he was coming, but you know that doesn’t mean much.” Michael nodded, clearly biting his tongue about the issue. “I haven’t even told E, just in case he doesn’t show. If Jason does come, then he’ll have a nice surprise, but if he doesn’t th--”

“Then at least he won’t be disappointed.” Michael finished your sentence with a sour look on his face and your expression fell to match his, until he spoke again. “But hey, today is still going to be great! I will get the ice cream and I already picked up that thing that you asked me to get. I will be over early to help you decorate with your favorite wine in hand, so you won’t have a complete internal meltdown once all the tiny humans start showing up.”

“What the hell would I do without you?” You let out in a sigh of relief.

“Die, probably.” He replied with a laugh.   

“You’re probably right.”

“Mommy, I need help!” You heard Emmett call from his room.

“Hey, I gotta go, E’s yelling for me. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Yeah, see you later.” With that, you ended your call and headed upstairs.  

About 2 hours had passed by while you frantically cleaned your house, being sure to put anything breakable out of reach. When both of your dogs sped passed you and down the steps, you knew Michael had let himself in. Before you could get down the stairs to greet him, Emmett was running passed you just like the dogs had. “Hey, there’s the birthday boy!” You turned the corner at the bottom of the steps to see him scooping your son up into his arms and spinning him around, both of them with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

Michael looked great, as usual. Long legs in tight skinny jeans with ripped knees exposing his pale skin, black Docs on his feet, and an old band tee to top it off. Emmett pulled the snapback from Michael’s head and placed it on his own, leaving Michael’s blonde fringe hanging in his eyes.  

Emmett and Michael have had a special bond from the first moment they met, the two of you had been friends for years before you had E. When you found out that you were pregnant, Jason had immediately denounced you and your baby; even going as far as accusing you of cheating on him with Michael, anything to get out of being a father.

            Michael had been there for you every step of the way, stepping up without ever being asked or expected, to support you and Emmett however he could. Seeing the two of them together always made you so happy, but this time felt different, almost bittersweet. You sometimes asked yourself what your life would be like, had you never met Jason; always thinking about the what-ifs. You loved Emmett more than anything in the world, and yet there were times when you couldn’t help but wish you’d waited to start a family with the right person; seeing your two favorite people wrestle on the carpet in front of you, you wondered if that “right person” had been Michael from the start.

Michael looked up at you from where he laid on the floor, holding your son in the air with his feet. “Hello, gorgeous,” he said with a laugh. You rolled your eyes and smiled as you fixed your messy hair and subconsciously tugged at your ratty old pajama shirt.

“Do you wanna knock out these decorations now, or?” Michael placed Emmett back on his feet and stood up to meet you.

“Ya know,I think E and I can handle the decorations,” He glanced over to your son and shot him a wink before meeting your eyes again. “You go upstairs and get yourself ready.” You felt some of the tension in your body ease, knowing that was one less thing you had to worry about before people started showing up.

“You’re the best, thank you.” You quickly kissed him on the cheek before turning towards the stairs. “Bug, be a good helper, be sure to listen to Michael. Okay?” He nodded excitedly and you could hear him talking Michael's ear off as you made your way to your bedroom.  

After taking a longer shower than you probably should’ve and drying your hair, you pulled on a fresh pair of panties and reluctantly clasped your bra. You opted to hold off on getting dressed and you slipped your robe back on instead, you put on your favorite playlist, and sat down in front of your mirror. You looked at the clock and let out an exasperated sigh, realizing you didn’t have time for a full face of makeup. You settled for a subtle rose gold shadow and your signature winged liner, being sure to conceal the dark circles under your eyes and to shape up the brows that hadn’t been waxed in way too long, just from lack of free time. You did your best to not overthink the day, trying to not stress about how your house was going to be flooded with over twenty kids under the age of seven in just shy of an hour, and about whether or not Emmett’s father would show.

Just as you were finishing up, there was a tap on your door, you turned to see Michael leaning against the frame with a wine glass in one hand and a bottle in the other. “Thought you might be in need of a drink,” he chuckled and you nodded as he walked over and leaned back against your dresser, handing you the glass. “Is this the playlist I made you?” You nodded and he smiled, looking at his feet for a moment before speaking again. “So, how much crying did you do last night?”

“Ugh. So much.” You shook your head and took a sip of your wine. “I can’t believe he’s five. I can’t believe that I am the mother of a five year old.”

“Well, you’d never know it by looking at you.” You felt a blush creeping up your neck at his words, he cleared his throat before continuing. “It feels like just last week, I was driving you to the hospital after your water broke at my band practice.” You couldn’t help but laugh at the memory, you were so embarrassed that so many people had witnessed that.

“I think E just wanted to see you play in person, he couldn’t wait any longer.” Michael scoffed at the idea as you rested your hand on his forearm, he caught your gaze and immediately turned the attention back to you.

“I just think he was in a hurry to meet his mum. She’s pretty incredible.” Your eyes remained locked on his for just a moment before you cleared your throat and looked away sheepishly.

“I'll always be a little mad that the hospital wouldn't let you in the room with me.” Michael ran his fingers through his hair, and tried to steer the subject in another direction.

“But, I was the first one to meet him once I was allowed in. Do you remember what I said when I held him?”

“Oh my god.” You started laughing again. “You said he looked like Princess Dot from A Bug's Life” Michael squeezed his eyes shut and laughed with you, nodding his head in agreement. “I could not believe you said my baby looked like a bug!”

“But, that nickname stuck, didn't it?” You just shook your head in response before standing up.

“I need to finish getting ready, could you stick around for a second to help me zip up my dress?”

“Of course. Do you want me to step out?”

“It’s not like you haven’t seen me naked before.”  He had; between skinny dipping at Ashton’s birthday party, years of nonchalantly changing clothes in front of one another, and especially after you had E, you’d seen each other naked dozens of times. Michael nodded almost nervously as you pulled your navy blue dress from the hanger and slipped out of your robe. You bent down to step into your dress and you could feel Michael’s eyes on you. When you stood up and pulled the straps over your shoulders you met his eyes, his cheeks were flushed pink and his hand was rubbing the back of his neck, which you knew was one of his anxious habits. You walked over to where he was standing and turned, pulling your hair off to the side and out of the way of the zipper.

You felt his cool, calloused fingers graze your lower back before zipping up your dress, he lingered for a moment, his warm breath fanning over the back of your neck. You could feel your heart racing in your chest as his fingers trailed from your shoulders down to your hands, he grasped your left hand gently and tugged you around to face him. He took your hands into his own and you instinctively laced your fingers with his, loosely; he looked you up and down, shaking his head subtly before catching your eyes again. “You are so beautiful, Y/N.”

You broke your eye contact once again and sucked in a sharp breath. “We better go downstairs. People will be showing up soon.” Your voice was low and you avoided meeting his eyes, you pulled away from his hands and he nodded. You’d started to mentally kick yourself, at first, for ruining the moment, but that quickly turned to you shaking the notion from your mind. There was no “moment”. You scolded yourself for getting caught up in him the way you had, when deep down you knew he meant what he said in the most innocent way. That was just Michael, being Michael. He was just being is normal sweet self, giving you the confidence boost you needed to make it through the day. He couldn’t have meant it in any other way, not with how you look...right?

Emmett may be five, but you’re definitely still rocking the mom bod. Your wide hips, full thighs, and soft stomach that detested being forced into jeans, not to mention the stretch marks adorning your hips, boobs, belly, and arms. E called them your stripes, every time your shirt would ride up a bit and he would see them, he’d growl and say “You look like a tiger, Mommy. That means I’m a tiger too.” You loved that; you loved your body, because it had brought this amazing little boy into the world. But no matter how much you loved your body, you just couldn’t imagine someone like Michael, someone who looks like Michael, loving your body too.

After about 45 minutes of your dogs going crazy every time the doorbell rang, everyone had finally arrived for the party. Michael and E had done a great job with the decorations, Emmett couldn’t wait to tell you how Michael put him up on his shoulders to hang the streamers from the doorway.

All the kids were in the backyard jumping on the ridiculously overpriced moon bounce rental and most of the parents had dropped their kids off at the door and went home. Bright side of the parents not staying for the party? No small talk. You had Michael there, and the rest of the band, who were currently being mobbed by children in the aforementioned inflatable money pit taking up most of your yard. Some of your family had even shown up too, but of course, as predicted, no Jason. You tried not to think about it, knowing that his absence was probably the better side of a shitty coin.

You put on a happy face and lit the candles on E’s birthday cake, your “Milk & Cookies” cake had been a favorite with both Emmett and Michael for as long as you could remember, they would always share a piece, E eating most of your homemade icing from the middle and edges before Michael even got the chance to sit down; not that he ever seemed to mind, he always said that ‘the chocolate chips were his favorite part anyway’, which you knew was a lie. “Here, let me help.” Michael spoke as he walked in through the sliding glass door. “You go stand with E and take some pictures, I’ll carry this.” You smiled at him and rested your hand on his arm for a moment before you walked out to the patio.

Michael followed close behind, a chorus of out of tune guests singing “Happy Birthday” as soon as he emerged from the doorway. The look on Emmetts face was priceless, you only hoped that he would have the same reaction to his gifts as he did over food. You laughed as his face scrunched up, squeezing his eyes shut extra tight before blowing out his candles and making a wish. As soon as he opened them, he practically launched himself into you, wrapping his arms around your neck and hugging you tighter than you think he ever had before; after a silent moment, he let go of you and you just looked at him for a second, trying your best not to tear up in front of all of the people surrounding you. “Okay, how about we open your presents, and then we’ll eat dessert? Sound good?” He excitedly jumped up and down and nodded so fast you were sure he’d concuss himself.

After opening all of the gifts from his friends, the boys, and your family, there were only two to go. Michael came forward carrying a long box, he sat down next to E as he ripped the paper off in record time, the look on his face nearly matching the one he made at the sight of his cake before yelling “A GUITAR! MOMMY, NOW I CAN BE A ROCKSTAR LIKE MIKE!” You didn’t think you had ever seen Michae’ls face light up the way it did in that moment, he was beaming with happiness, maybe even pride. Emmett leapt into his arms the same way he had with you earlier and thanked him profusely.

“I think Mommy might have one more surprise for you.”

They both looked up at you, Michael shooting you a wink and showing off that smirk you loved a little too much. “I think Michael is right. You wait here and cover your eyes.” You walked around the side of your home and through the gate where Michael had hid Emmett's last gift, smiling at the large bow and gift tag Michael had placed on the front. You pushed it around the house, holding your index finger to your lips as you turned the corner, willing all of the kids not to yell and spoil the surprise through their excited whispers. Once you managed to push his deceivingly heavy gift onto the stone patio, you took a second to reclaim your breath and pull out your phone, not wanting to miss recording his reaction. “Okay, Bug, open your eyes!”

The sound that left your sons tiny body could only be compared to one of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, it took a solid 30 seconds for him to compose himself enough to move from where he stood in front of Michael. “A BATMOBILE! I HAVE WANTED THIS MY WHOLE LIFE!” He turned to Michael almost in disbelief. “Mommy really got me a Batmobile!” Michael just laughed before nodding his head in your direction.

“Well, why don’t you go try it out?”

Emmett turned and bolted towards you, spitting out “thank you Mommy’s” right and left and repeatedly telling you how he has wanted this go-kart “since he was two”.

“Alright baby, you play with some of your new toys while I go cut your cake, okay?” E looked at you a nodded before you turned towards the door. “Make sure you share, Emmett.”

You shot him a warning glance before he answered “Okay, Mommy.”

Before you reached the door, one of your cousins who you had invited strictly out of obligation grabbed your arm. “So, what’s your deal with him?” A puzzled look must have washed over your face because she spoke again without waiting for a response “The hot guy, with Emmett. Mike, right?”

“Oh? Yeah, that’s Michael. Why?”

“Are you two like...a thing?” The question caught you off guard and you fought back the urge to say yes, knowing what her next question would be if you told her the truth. She didn’t wait for another reply from you. “Like, is he single? Because I want him to leave here with me.”

Your mouth suddenly felt dry and you struggled to find the right way to answer her. “Uhh, yeah. I mean, yes. He’s single.”

You didn’t wait around to hear anymore, walking inside and placing both hands on the counter, letting out the breath that you had seemingly been holding. The nervous pit in your stomach from all of the days stress just tripled in size. You glanced out the window to see your cousin chatting him up, and you turned away quickly, trying your best to ignore it.

You just had to get through the cake and ice cream, then parents would be showing up to get their kids soon after and you could finally sit down and take a breath. You pulled out the paper plates from the cupboard behind you and a knife from the block on the counter. When you turned back around, Michael was on the opposite side of the island. “Thought you could use some help with the ice cream.”

You glanced out the window and noticed that your cousin was nowhere to be found, and you held back a sigh of relief. “Yeah, that would be great.” He walked around the counter and opened the freezer, pulling out 3 huge buckets of ice cream. “Jesus, Michael how much do you think these kids will eat?”

“Hey, baby, it’s better to be over prepared.” he said with a wink.

You just rolled your eyes and laughed as he stacked the buckets on the floor and then leaned against the counter next to you, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Aren’t you gonna scoop that?”

“Ehh, it can wait a minute or two. So, funniest thing just happened.”

You raised an eyebrow at him and tried not to stare at the smirk on his face. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Your cousin just asked me out. Like, shamelessly hit on me at a 5 year old’s birthday party.” You had no words to respond to him, so you opted to just nod, wide eyed. “And then I asked her what made her so confident, to come over and blatantly try to seduce me. And she said that you, so kindly, told her that I was single.”

“Well, you are.”  You said matter-of-factly, looking at Michael as he nodded at your statement.

“I mean, I guess it does look that way.”

“So, what did you tell her then? Since apparently I was wrong in revealing your relationship status.”

Michael rested his hand on top of yours and you looked up to meet his eyes as he spoke. “I told her, that I’m only interested in one person and that I plan to stay single for as long as I have to until that one person is ready to let me love them the way they deserve.”

You were speechless, it was like all of the air in your body was suddenly gone. Before you had the chance to even think of how you could possibly respond, your kitchen was flooded with kids all chanting for cake.

You recoiled your hand and shot Michael an apologetic glance, still unable to use your voice, so he spoke up for you. “Alright, who’s ready for a sugar high?” The enthusiastic cheers, came mostly from Emmett who was acting like he hadn’t eaten in days. “Everyone lineup and Miss Y/N and I will hand out the cake and ice cream.”

As the kids lined up in your kitchen, you couldn’t help but stare at him. To say you were in shock would be putting it lightly. You had never in a million years imagined that this was real, that he was real. Michael had always been there for you, and more importantly, for Emmett. Did he really mean what he said? Did he really love you? You absentmindedly handed kids their cake while you admired how he was interacting with every single child who came up for ice cream, complimenting the girls on their sparkly unicorn bows and high fiving the boys for their Batman shirts. You were in awe of him. As the last kid got their plate and turned to walk outside, you sucked in a deep breath at the realization that you and Michael were alone once again. He didn’t say a word as he put the tubs of ice cream back in the freezer, he turned back to face you, immediately meeting your eyes. “Did you mean that?” You all but blurted out.

Michael just nodded as he stepped forward and pulled you into his arms, your head resting on his chest. You could hear his heart racing and feel how tense he was. “I meant every word.” You heard your front door open and click shut over Michael’s words, but you were too wrapped up in this moment to pay any mind, assuming that it was just one of the parents coming a little early to pick up their kid.

Michael pulled back and met your gaze once again before he started to lean in, you shut your eyes, preparing yourself for something you’ve wanted for so long until you heard little footsteps running through your kitchen. “MICHAEL! I’m all done with my cake, can you open this for me?!” Michael’s demeanor immediately changed as he turned towards E.

He nodded and took the toy from his hands, grabbing the scissors from the drawer to open the packaging. He then found the screwdriver and put in some batteries before handing it back to your eagerly waiting boy. “Here ya go, buddy.”

“Thanks, Daddy!” Without another word or any indication that E was aware of what he said, he ran back outside, leaving you and Michael standing there in shock.

“What the fuck is this, Y/N?” You whipped around to see Emmett’s father standing in the entryway of your kitchen. “I drive all the way here from Burbank, for my son’s birthday, and I walk in to not only see you all cozy with this asshole, but to hear my son calling him “daddy”.

You couldn’t help but notice the slurs at the ends of his words as he finished his sentence. When he took an aggressive step in Michael’s direction, you jumped forward, putting your hands on his chest and pushing him towards the door. “Absolutely not. This is not happening, you need to go.”

“I was invited here, Y/N. Remember?”

“Party started hours ago, Jason. You need to get the hell out of my house.”

“I deserve to know what kind of people are around my son, you know. I think we need to have a talk. I am his father and I don’t like what I saw.” You turned your face away from him in disgust as you got a whiff of the booze on his breath. You finally managed to get him out the front door of your house with Michael close behind you.

“You wanna talk? Fine, let’s talk. First of all, how dare you show up here, trashed! Like, do you honestly think I’m going to let you within 10 feet of my son? You reek of alcohol, Jason.” You were a few feet from him, doing your best to keep your distance and maintain your composure. “Since you want to act like a father for a minute, why don’t you answer some questions for me?” You took his silence as permission and swallowed the tears of anger that you felt welling in the back of your throat. “Who took me to every single doctors appointment, when I was pregnant? Who stayed with Emmett, so I could work double shifts to afford his Christmas gifts? Who stayed up all night with me after bringing E back from the hospital, when he wouldn’t stop crying? Was that you?” You moved closer to him, almost chest to chest. “What about the time when I had the flu and couldn’t even get out of bed, let alone chase around a two year old? Was that you, Jason?” You put your hands on his chest and pushed him backwards towards his car, where you saw his flavor of the week hiding in the passenger seat, you we’re all but yelling now, your voice cracking as you tried to hold it together. “No. It was never you, was it? It was Michael, every fucking time. No wonder Emmett called him “Daddy”, even if it was just an accident. He has been more of a father to him than you ever have.” He avoided looking at you, and you knew that he was doing everything he could to ignore what you were saying, staying fixated on Michael.

“I always knew you two had something going on behind my back.” Jason sneered as he stepped towards Michael “Ya know, I bet that kid isn’t even mine.” Jason’s words made your stomach turn, you looked over at Michael, reading his body language like an open book. His face was turning more red by the second and his knuckles were white as he clenched his fists by his side. “I don’t know why I send you so much goddamn money for him” His eyes cut over to you, but his body was still stalking towards Michael. “Pretty sure rockstar here has you both covered.” He stopped just inches away from Michael's face “I mean since the kid is calling you daddy anyway, maybe you should just take him off my hands.” Jason glanced down to see Michael’s fists trembling with rage “You wanna hit me don’t you?” The smirk on his face as he spoke, should have been warning enough. “Go ahead, rockstar, hit me. Make it a good one.”

“You need to fuck off.” Michael spoke up and suddenly you couldn’t move. “You should be pissed, you have every right to be furious that your son just called me “daddy”. But you’re not going to stand here and get in my face over something that’s your own fucking fault.” You could tell Michael was being careful with his hands, making sure he didn’t set Jason off. “It should piss you off that your own son walked right passed you in the kitchen and didn’t acknowledge you. Maybe if you weren’t such a fucking deadbeat and came around more often, your son might actually know who you are.”

Before Michael could even finish his sentence, Jason had pushed him back towards the house. You knew that he wanted to fight, and he wouldn’t stop until he got his way, he was yelling slurs and practically begging for Michael to hit him. You ran over and grabbed his arm, trying to pull his attention back to you. “Jason, stop it! God dammit, just go home!” He pushed you back with his elbow, causing you to fall down onto the pavement.

The second you hit the ground, Michael had him pinned against the fence. His forearm pressed against Jason’s neck.

In the same instant, Calum came running around the side of the house, pausing when he saw Michael in your ex’s face. “I heard yelling.” Calum helped you up from the sidewalk and made sure you were okay. “Does Michael have this under control?”

You nodded, embarrassment flushing your cheeks. “Can you just keep everyone out back please? Don’t let anyone out here, especially Emmett.” Calum agreed and ran back into the house, closing the door behind him.

You walked quickly over to Jason’s SUV and knocked on the window, motioning for the woman inside to put it down, she obliged nervously after a few seconds and you tried your best to speak calmly. “I really doubt this is what you signed up for, but I’m gonna need you to get in the driver’s seat.” She opened her mouth as if to protest, but you just held up your hand before speaking again, maintaining your low tone. “You get your ass in this driver's seat or I’m going to call the cops to come haul both of you off of my property. He’s a bastard, but he’s the father of my child and I’ll be damned if I let him drive out of here in that condition.”

Without waiting for a response, you turned on your heel and made a beeline for Michael, his words growing clearer as you as you stopped a few feet behind him. He was just inches from Jason’s face, his words were thick with venom and he spit them at your ex as powerfully as he was able. “You’re lucky I have so much to fucking lose, mate, or you’d be leaving here in an ambulance.” You could practically see Michael’s pulse in his neck, his entire body tense with anger. “You have no right to be here acting like this and making a complete ass of yourself. Do you even understand why she’s so angry with you?” You could tell that Michael wasn’t about to hold anything back, like he wasn’t speaking for you, he was speaking for himself.

You shifted around to his left so you could see his face, you didn’t put yourself any closer to them, still a little shaken after being knocked down. Michael took a quick breath before continuing his assault. “You think you can show up maybe twice a year and start bossing her and Emmett around, like you actually have authority here. You don’t get to show up whenever the fuck you feel like it and be a father, Jason.” You weren’t sure you had the ability to speak up, even if you’d wanted to. “Do you think she gets a break? Do you think she gets to just run off whenever she has a cold or if she’s tired or if she just doesn’t feel like being a mom that day? No. She wakes up everyday, puts a smile on her face and raises HER son.”

You could feel the tears welling in your eyes, hearing Michael’s words, even if they weren’t meant for you. You stepped forward, placing your hand on his lower back, it caught his attention for only a moment as he turned his head and met your eyes with an empathetic expression before quickly facing your ex once again, not wanting to give Jason any opportunity to interject. “I would have NEVER let you in that delivery room with her, had I known that this is what you would do with your chance at being a father to him.”

You saw Jason’s expression change and your heart sank. He ‘let’ Jason in the delivery room? Why didn’t you know this before?

“You don’t have to be his dad, Jason. Y/N has been filling both roles for five years without any help from you. You don’t have to like her and you sure as hell don’t have to like me, but you will give her every ounce of respect that she deserves for stepping into the shoes that you weren’t man enough to fill.” Michael removed his forearm from Jason’s throat and gripped his shirt on both shoulders, pulling him from the fence before slamming him back again just hard enough to regain his attention. “Now get the fuck out of here and leave my family alone.”

As he ended his final word, he pulled Jason from the fence once again and pushed him in the general direction of his car. You noticed that what's-her-face had heeded your warning and was sitting uncomfortably in the driver’s seat. You heard Jason mutter something under his breath, along the lines of “I don’t need this bullshit” as he hauled his bruised ego into the passenger side of the SUV.

Michael rigidly stared them down until they were off of your property and out of sight, then his posture immediately changed. He turned to you, resting one hand on your cheek, running his thumb along your jaw as he searched your face for some sort of reaction to what had just happened.

Without a word, you pulled his hand from your face and lead him into the house to rejoin the party. Parents would be showing up any minute to pick up their kids, and you needed time to process.

You stood at the door with Emmett as he said goodbye to the last wave of guests, making sure he thanked everyone for coming. You glanced towards the kitchen where you saw Michael lingering. “Bug, why don’t you go ask Mike if he want to stay for a movie night?” You watched his face light up before he turned and ran towards the kitchen, yelling for Michael to pick a movie before even extending the invitation. Michael looked up at you from where he stood at counter and shot you a smile before following E.

“DON’T FORGET THE POPCORN, MOMMY!” Emmett blared from the living room. You shook your head as you locked the front door, and made your way into the kitchen.

Just as you pulled the popcorn bags from the pantry, you caught Michael out of the corner of your eye. “Here, I’ll take care of the popcorn. You go ahead upstairs and change.” You walked by him with a smile, touching his arm as you passed. You peeked your head into the living room to tell Emmett to go put his own pj’s on before making your way to your bedroom. You slipped on your Wonder Woman sleep shorts and your long sleeved All Time Low t-shirt before brushing out your hair and tossing it up into a messy bun. You looked at yourself in the mirror quickly before heading back down stairs.

You opened the fridge to grab a few drinks, noticing the bottle of wine Michael had brought you this morning tucked in the door. You grabbed the bottle and two glasses, and poured a cup of water for E. You carefully walked into the living room, being sure not to spill anything. After sitting the glasses on the coffee table and pouring the wine for Michael and yourself, you were finally able to sit down for the first time since Emmett had excitedly woken you up that morning.

“Alright, boys, what are we watching?” You positioned yourself at the end of the couch next to Emmett, with Michael on his other side.

“ANT-MAN!” Great. Ant-Man, again. You glanced over to Michael who looked almost as excited as your five year old did. You rolled your eyes and smiled, opting to use this time to think about everything that had happened today. You took a sip of your wine and tried your best to unravel your thoughts, your mind had been going a million miles an hour since your interaction with Michael in the kitchen, before Jason showed up, and everything had just gone downhill from there.

At some point during the first half of the movie, E had ended up sitting on the floor in front of the TV, leaving nothing in between you and Michael to cut the tension. He turned subtly in his spot on the couch and leaned back until his head was resting comfortably in your lap, snapping your out of your thoughts. Your right hand went to his hair, playing with the ends absentmindedly; he took your left hand into his own, lacing your fingers and resting them on his chest.

You sat like that contently for awhile, until Emmett got up from his spot on the floor and walked back to the couch. He climbed up on top of Michael and laid down on his chest, you pulled your hand from Michael’s gently and rested it on E’s back, rubbing small circles and watching his breathing slow. He still managed to watch a few more minutes of the movie before falling asleep. Neither of you seemed to be in a hurry to move from you positions on the couch, so you finished the rest of the movie, the teaser, and all of the remaining credits. You honestly didn’t even consider moving until after the start menu popped back up on the TV, you even watched that on a loop a few times before reluctantly breaking the silence. You looked at Michael and whispered “Can you put him to bed?” He nodded and stood up slowly, Emmett’s head resting on his shoulder and his arms falling limp at his sides. While Michael walked him up to his bedroom, you cleaned up the popcorn bowls and empty glasses from the coffee table and put them in the sink.    

You grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and began making yourself some tea. Your heart started to race as you heard Michael making is way down the steps. You knew what was coming and you weren't sure you were ready for it.

“He's out cold.” Michael spoke softly as he stepped into the kitchen. “All the excitement today wore him out.”

“Yeah, today was definitely something.” You spoke, not looking up from the mug you'd been stirring for a little too long.

“Y/N, I need to apologize for what happened earlier. I lost my head when Jason spoke to you the way he did and when he pushed you, I-I snapped. It wasn’t my place to say those things to him. I’m sorry.” You turned to see Michael looking down at his shoes as he spoke, like he was embarrassed.

“You don’t have to apologize, Michael, I’m not upset with you.” His eyes lifted to meet your own. “I do need to talk to you about something you said though.” He nodded as you grabbed both cups of tea from the counter behind you and took a few steps towards him. You handed him both mugs and turned to pull yourself up onto the counter by his side, before taking back your own. You blew the steam from the top and carefully took a sip before speaking up. “What di- what did you mean, when you said that you “let” him in the delivery room with me?”

You watched Michael’s chest as he drew in a long breath, he didn’t seem surprised by your question, but his brows furrowed and he avoided your eyes for a moment, like he wasn’t quite sure how to answer it. “You remember this morning when we were talking about when E was born, how I drove you to the hospital?” He looked back up at you for confirmation before continuing. “I knew you didn’t want me to leave you, but I had to go to the lobby to call your mom. You remember that too?”

“It’s foggy, but I remember.” You weren’t sure what to expect or where he was going with this, but you felt your heart rate picking up with every word he spoke.

“Well, I had finally managed to contact her and I told her I would wait in the lobby until she got there. While I was waiting, Jason showed up, your mom had called him and told him which hospital you were in.” You weren’t sure how you’d gone 5 years without knowing how Jason found you that night, you were almost angry at yourself for never asking these questions before. “He saw me right away and came at me with the same shit he had today, saying that the baby wasn’t his and that he shouldn’t have wasted the trip.”

You looked at the ground and shook your head, embarrassed that you had ever been with someone so awful. Michael rested his free hand on your thigh, making you look back up at him before he kept going. “Before your mom showed up, the nurse had come into the lobby, she looked at both of us and asked who the father was. I had half a mind to speak up and tell her it was me, since Jason didn’t want to believe that E was his anyway. I knew from day one that you deserved better than him and I knew that your baby deserved better than him too, but I couldn’t do it. I thought I was doing the right thing, after all, I’m not Emmett’s father.” Michael’s voice cracked on the last words of his sentence, you caught his stare again to see that his jade green eyes were glassy and blinking back tears.

As if his words weren’t enough, seeing him, the man who has been there for you, who has been strong for you for years start to fall apart, broke something inside of you; you felt the weight of it sitting in your chest and you couldn’t stop the tears from welling in your eyes. You placed your hand on top of his, still resting on your leg. He took a moment to pull himself together before speaking again. “So when she asked, I said that he was the father and within half a second he was being taken back to you. I regret it everyday, Y/N. Had I known that he would treat you and Emmett this way, I would have never let him see you that night.”

You gripped his hand, rubbing your thumb along the back and swallowing the lump in your throat that was keeping you from speaking. “There is no way you could have predicted how the last five years would play out. You did what you felt was right and I can’t ever be mad at you for that.” Michael nodded softly. “He may have been there to see Emmett being born, but you are the one who has been there for us every single day since.” You paused to take a breath, hoping that what you were about to say wasn’t too much. “Michael, you not being biologically related to my son and your name not being written next to mine on his birth certificate, means nothing to me. Do you think those things matter to Emmett? He walked right passed Jason today and called you “daddy”.” You tried to gauge his expression, but the face you could usually read like a book wasn’t giving anything up. “When you’re gone, he talks about you endlessly. When he’s frustrated and doesn’t want to talk to me, he asks for you. When you call me, he follows me around like a lost puppy until I give him the phone so he can tell you about his day. Michael, he loves you. And I know that you love hi-”

“I love you both.” Michael interjected quickly.

“I know you do.” You spoke softer now, not sure exactly which kind of “love” he meant.

“No, Y/N. When I say “I love you both” I mean, I love Emmett with everything I have, in my eyes, he is my son, regardless of what his birth certificate says. And I mean that I love you, in every sense of the word that you’re thinking of and more. I meant it when I told Jason to stay away from ‘my family’ because I want to protect you from all of his bullshit that you don’t deserve. My parents, the boys, you, and Emmett, you are my family. You are all I have. You are what makes me get up in the morning.” You couldn’t stop the tears from falling as his words sunk in, his hands moved to either side of your face, thumbs wiping away every tear as they rolled down your cheeks. “I meant every single word of what I said earlier, Y/N. I love you and I don’t want anyone else but you.” You placed your hands on top of his, closing your eyes and leaning into his palm. “But-” He took a deep, grounding breath. “I am content with how our lives are now. If you’re not ready or if that’s not what you want at all-” He was pouring his heart out and you could see the vulnerability in his eyes. “As long as I have you and Emmett, I’m happy, Y/N, I don’t need anything else.”

There was a split second, where you were sure his eyes would swallow you whole, because you couldn’t move. You were desperately searching for the right thing to say, every option you’d come up with just not being good enough. After a silence that felt like decades, you finally gathered up the courage to say what you’d been holding back for as long as you could remember. “You have me, Michael. I’m yours.”

In an instant he pulled your lips to his like a magnet. You’d imagined kissing him for so long, and nothing you’d ever thought of compared to this. His lips were soft, melting against yours like they were made just for you. He was slow and sweet until you grabbed for his shirt, using it to pull him closer to you as your wrapped your legs around his torso, in that moment you were glad you’d decided to sit on the counter. Michael’s tongue ran along your lower lip before tugging it lightly between his teeth, pulling a soft moan from your throat. Michael pulled away to catch his breath and you immediately went to his neck, feeling his stubble graze your lips as you began to leave a mark below his jaw, you could feel the vibration of a groan against his throat. His hands moved to your hips, pulling them closer to his own, before abruptly hitting the brakes.

Michael lifted your chin and closed his eyes, resting his forehead against your own. He took a few deep breaths before pulling back, you gave him a puzzled look and he pressed a soft pillowy kiss to your lips once again. “Trust me, Y/N, I want nothing more than to be with you in every way possible. But, we have time.” You couldn’t help but feel a little hurt for a moment, but you knew he was right.

You bit your lip and looked into his eyes once again, he shot you that smirk you’d always loved a little too much and leaned in to catch your lips with his own. You weren’t sure how long you stayed like that, fully content with just kissing him softly, feeling all of the love that had been held back for so many years.

You were jolted back to reality when a tiny voice yelled from the doorway. “OH MY GOD!”

You pulled away from Michael quickly and jumped off the counter. “Bug, what are you doing awake?” You almost felt sick, what if he got upset, how were you going to handle this?

“MY WISH!” You and Michael glanced at one another quickly, confusion washing over both of your faces. Before either of you could reply, he ran over and  hugged Michael’s legs like his life depended on it. “MY WISH! I GOT MY WISH, I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”

“What wish, Bug?” Michael spoke, resting his hand on Emmett’s back.

“When I blowed my candles out, I wished that Mommy would love you, so you could be my real Daddy!” Your heart stopped.

You looked to Michael who already had tears in his eyes, he reached down and lifted Emmett into the tightest hug you’ve ever seen, before reaching out for you and pulling you into his side; He kissed your forehead and whispered, “I got my wish too.”

IF YOU READ THIS WHOLE THING I LOVE YOU 

Tag List: @h0tsos @hotmessmichael @karr-bash @singt0mecalum @asht0ns-world @ashton-ma-bestfriend @cxddlyash @bea-utifulxliarx @irwinkitten @5sosdrfluke @jordankate987 @aspiringwildfire @wirioutcolors @emma-rose-biersack @naivelystan @dukesnumber1 @problem-w-problemz @ghstofcalum @gigglyirwin-main @gigglyirwin @mainly-michael @lasagnamichael @angelbabycal

[theargoninja]

Birthday Gift for the best person ever @s0s2 of Her girl, Puzzleface, getting some air.

Happy Birthday, Steff!

[itneedsmoregays]

Steff trivia!

Her birthday is December 3rd.

When Steff was four, she cut off her ponytail with a pair of scissors while playing hairdresser in the mirror. Her moms were not happy though her grandma found it quite amusing.

She figured out she was pan in middle school after finding an otter named Jordan kinda cute. It turned out they were into guys but Steff was still thankful that they played a role in helping figure herself out.

She has a habit of sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth when concentrating on something, which she denies.

Steff tried wearing contacts for a day in high school but found her eyes were too sensitive.

She considers herself more of a baker than a cook, having filled the kitchen with smoke trying to make spinach lasagne when she was twelve. She's getting better with Ash's help.

As much as she likes ballads and pop music, Steff is also a big fan of Weird Al, oftentimes hearing his parody songs before the originals. She nearly passed out trying to sing the fast part of Hardware Store at her 21st birthday party.

She's become capable of dishing out a sarcastic remark once in a blue moon, thanks to being around Ash for so long.

On their first Halloween together, Steff tried to brave a horror movie with Ash but, because of her involuntary gas spraying when startled, couldn't get past the first 30 minutes. Costume parties are fine so long as there are no scare pranks.

Don't serve her a dinner dish with peas. She hates peas.

[captkota]

Charlie had set the day perfectly to celebrate Steff’s birthday by fixing her favorite dinner and having the room filled with balloons which the dogs tried their hardest to get to but Charlie had them out of their reach. This day was going to be perfect for her girl. Setting up things for the facetime call Charlie let Christine know that her daughter would be coming back home any second.

“She should be back soon and I have things set up so you can all yell surprise.” Charlie knew Steff had to be depressed being off tv and trying to hide it so what better than to bring home to her and ease some of that depression. “All happy talk and her seeing the boys. I know she misses Charlie and Tommy so much and wants to come home and see all of you.”

Charlie was planning a secret family trip soon if she could get the time off and make sure Steff was off too. Christmas could be the perfect time for a family reunion. “Okay, I think I hear her at the door.”  Charlie waited with a smile on her face as the key turned in the lock of the door. 

@theshiniestnox

[jberries89]

About 2020

I'm hoping 2020 will be great as it has been so far. I have been closer to a few friends I get to chat with on a daily basis on facebook. So thankful to talk to some I haven't talked to in awhile. I hope to talk to more people and be more of a friend to the friends in person aside from Facebook. Also thankful to be helping my mom out with learning a computer. That ll be intetesting. I hope she learns alot and can do it. Also, so happy to have one baby cousin come in the world named Rhylee from my cousins in Flint area. Can't wait to meet her someday. I'm also happy for my Aunt becoming a Grandma again down by Detroit. Gonna be a baby boy in the family. Can't wait til he comes soon in April 2020. Also happy for my besties cousins in Grand Rapids area on having their first little one soon in May 2020. Please pray that both babies are healthy when born. Also February 2020 is special because it's been 10 years since the home got moved to where it is that I call my first home. Then Moms birthday is coming up. Can't wait to celebrate that. Then Valentines day is coming up. My bestie/ sis Steff and I are each others Galentine this year. Can't wait to see her in March to celebrate my birthday . Also seeing Lindsey and Eric end of February and then March and April. Gonna be exciting to see them and some of our friends for February and April. Can't wait to tell ya more soon how it goes with something else in February coming up.

[if-one-of-us-falls]

what are your face tiola headcanons?

Now THIS is the type of ask I love to get!(contains spoilers) 

After he wakes up, Viola teaches Todd to read properly. At first he’s kind of reluctant. He doesn’t have time to read anyway, right? They have an entire planet full of settlers to rebuild.  But Viola isn’t going to give up so fast. She digs up some ebooks for him that she read when she was little, and they read them together, little by little. Ben likes to sit in the room next to them and listen to Todd’s Noise reading. It makes him proud. And little by little Todd advances until he’s able to read pretty much by himself.  Until one day Viola comes home and hears some very frustrated Noise. She runs in and finds Todd sitting on the floor, clutching the E-reader with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”“It just stops. How can it just stop? There’s gotta be more -”Viola sighs and helps him download Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

They’re both really sick of living in a city so they decide to go back to Todd’s old plan and start a new settlement in Old Prentisstown. But it takes a lot of time because they have to hang around in New Haven where the majority of the population is gathered. They spend their days working and helping wherever they can.

 Viola especially tries to keep the new settlers from bugging Todd too much. They are nice people, and they’re very interested in him, but they freak him out a little. They’re just so different. And they keep stealing Viola’s attention with all this tech talk that only they understand. Eventually, with Viola’s help, he starts spending more time with them. Todd is trying to learn as much as he can from the settlers about agriculture and machinery.

But then there’s this one girl, Steff Taylor. Todd doesn’t understand why Viola keeps ushering him away whenever she’s around. She won’t say more than, “I don’t like her very much.” Then one evening, Steff shows up on their doorstep uninvited. The most awkward dinner in New World’s history ensues. 

Ben is a really crappy cook. Cillian was the household chef. But Bradley and Mrs. Lawson come over for dinner a lot, and the three of them bond over teaching Ben to cook. Todd asks Ben (very sheepishly) if he could help him bake a cake for Viola’s birthday. They end up making a huge mess. But at least it’s a delicious mess. Even if Todd misspelled “happy birthday” in frosting. 

[365daysofabby]

October 12th, 2018

I had my birthday dinner tonight and again, I think I need to be slightly more aware of the people in my life and how they affect my mood. My mom, sister, cousin, and her husband went to maggianos for dinner. It was delicious if not overly filling.

I had a good time but often felt lost in conversation. I think when it comes to selecting company for my special day, I need to be wary of who I choose, not just because it’s considered “standard.” I deserve to be happy and to be honest, I wasn’t.

I do love the Kylie lip kit I was wearing in the shade Kandy and have been dying for my recent makeup looks since they’re simple and my skin has been cooperating.

The rest of the night was spent cleaning my entire house with Conor and Steff. They made the place sparkling and better than it’s looked since we moved in. I’m grateful for friends that love you always and not just when it’s convenient.

[wrachsteff]

squid birthday // steff + chris

A year ago, Steffanie would of never guessed this scenario was a possible one. Not only was she seriously injured, on the sidelines watching her friends in the MYC but a year had passed while she was once again on the sidelines, it was nothing too serious and yes, Steffanie was part of the MYC like she always wanted. But the biggest change was her relationship with Chris. They weren’t just best friends anymore. A year had passed and they were finally together. As husband and wife. It still felt surreal but in the best possible way. Laying down on the couch, Steff looked up and simply smiled. He was so perfect, so amazing, so everything the Welsh wrestler ever wanted. Despite the unfortunate turn of events regarding the annual tournament, nothing could shake her happiness way. “Chris....”, she asked, adjusting herself against his much taller frame. “Can we get cake again...? We sang happy birthday awhile now...”

@christofarrx