#I met my word count/ fic count goals. i also just veered away from most wips and wrote something completely different

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

revisiting my "2023 writing plans" document just shows that if I try to force the brain down a set path it will not work so 2024 is going to be following the desires and urges while gently building more structured writing times into my schedule. and possibly using outside accountability to get this ever-growing to write list slightly smaller

[writer-ish]

I love your fics so much! The Mason ones are utterly amazing 🤩

As for my ask: the touching prompts and Mason can you do 37+50?

prompt: putting their head on the other’s chest / putting a hand over the other’s mouth to shut them up pairing: mason x detective (grace bennett) word count: 1.5k | rating: T (language) author note: you are so sweet. ☺️ thank you sm and thanks for the prompt love! hope you enjoy. 

☾☾ touching prompts

*

It wasn't that the meetings were boring, per se.

Consolidation after a patrol was a necessity in Grace's eyes. It wasn’t like they all walked through the same streets and alleys together, arms linked, the five of them patrolling in tandem. Nate usually went one way, Adam another. Felix would decide who he wanted to join or if he felt like taking his own route.

And that would leave her and Mason.

She tried, once, to tell him that she didn't need him to patrol with her. They'd cover more ground separately, of course. That much seemed obvious. And before Unit Bravo had arrived, she had been made detective of their small town's police force, which had to count for something—had to speak to some level of ability; of skill.

But the absolutely withering look he gave her upon that suggestion shut down any further discussion on the matter.

Plus, and here was the real problem, the crux of the issue—the truth was, if she were being honest with herself... she liked having him on patrol with her.

It felt like a betrayal of her sex to admit that she felt—safer with him around. But for all her capabilities (admittedly most of which were intellectual and not so much physical or combat-oriented), the idea of having someone to patrol with, a protector, was—

Well, it was nice.

Of course she would never, ever admit that out loud. She could barely admit it in the sanctity of her thoughts.

But ever since life had changed for her in Wayhaven, and supernatural occurrences had become the norm, and her life had been put in danger (more than once), it seemed, at the very least, prudent of her to have the extra support wherever available.

And anyway, they were partners. If not in anything else, they were partners for the Agency. And the patrol - they did that together.

Which brought Grace back to the present moment.

The meeting.

Every time the unit patrolled, they would meet together briefly afterwards to discuss anything unusual they had seen, offer up any suggestions for future patrols, or coordinate routes or sites that may be more fruitful or beneficial in the future. There was always a plan, an ultimate goal, and each member of Unit Bravo, including their human liaison, wanted to ensure that their patrols were as efficient as possible.

Which was all well and good, fantastic really, except for one small thing.

Grace was fucking exhausted.

Months of working for the Agency, of patrolling with UB and then waking up a few hours later and doing her other job, her “real” job, for a seemingly endless amount of time, only to come home and cat nap and then do it all over again—it was taking its toll.

The vampires were fine, because of course they were; they were fucking vampires. Sleep was a suggestion. A novelty. A lark.

But Grace was tired.

At this particular post-patrol gathering, she had tried exceptionally hard to focus. Adam said they were going to keep it short, but it had already been twenty minutes and he was still going over a detour in his route that he felt would be beneficial.

Mason sat beside her on the arm of the chair she was sitting in, a high-backed, extra plush thing, that was somehow incredibly conducive to sleep and also horribly uncomfortable.

He was flicking his lighter open and closed as he listened and she lightly tapped his thigh with the back of her hand to get him to stop, feeling her eyelids grow heavier with each passing second.

He looked down at her and took a second to absorb her expression, before looking over sharply at Adam and barking:

“Hey, how about we wrap this shit up—?”

His words were unceremoniously cut off by Grace’s hand over his mouth.

She felt the sharp intake of breath he took as he glanced at her in surprise, eyes narrowed and nostrils flaring.

Sheepishly she took her hand off his mouth and said softly, “No, I’m fine.” She then turned to Adam, who looked puzzled, and glanced briefly at Nate who seemed concerned and Felix, who was clearly amused. “It’s fine, Adam, continue please.”

Adam looked at her assessingly, before giving a brief nod and continuing. “As I was saying, if we veer northwest here and go around the park...”

Grace settled back in the chair and looked up to catch Mason still staring at her, narrow and intent.

What? she mouthed.

He pointed at her and then closed his eyes and lolled his head to the side, an exaggerated tableau of sleep.

She bit her lip to keep from giggling and shook her head, re-focusing on Adam.

Within seconds, her focus was cut short once more as she felt Mason drop down from the arm of the chair and wriggle in the seat beside her. They barely fit side by side, so she had to make room for his leg under hers as he squirmed his way closer to her.

Felix was watching them now, giddy with his amusement. Nate kept glancing over and looking away quickly. Adam was tracing a line on the map of Wayhaven in their common room and hadn’t seen the mute commotion just yet.

Soon, Grace was situated, essentially on Mason’s lap much to her chagrin, her head tucked into the admittedly very comfortable nook where his pectorals met his deltoids. He brought his hand up to toy with her hair lightly and he was so warm, so comfortable—just an unbearably pleasant extension of that safety and familiarity she felt with him when they were patrolling together.

She could feel his heart beat, a steady gentle thud under her ear. Could smell him, his unscented laundry detergent, and something else—something masculine and sweet, earthy and smoky and just intrinsically him—that scent that had already infiltrated her pillow and her top sheet and her favourite jacket—

That feeling, imbued with his scent, and with the gentle pressure of his hand that had moved from her hair down to her thigh, was like a sedative for her soul.

Of their own volition, drawn by a power she could no more easily control than she could the setting of the sun or the moon rising, her eyelids drooped down, down, down until her eyelashes brushed her cheeks.

Within seconds, her breathing evened out and soft snores filled the room.

Adam paused and turned away from the map to take in the new and unusual noise.

Mason watched with hooded eyes, daring him to make a comment. To say a word about their position or - he felt his canines tingle, a rumble deep in his throat - to try and wake her.

Instead, Adam looked resigned. Regretful, almost.

“She is tired,” he said simply as he regarded her.

Felix and Nate looked over as well, various iterations of affection and sympathy over their faces.

“We forget, sometimes,” he continued, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest, “that she is a human among us. She does not have the stamina we do.”

“She works hard,” Mason couldn’t help but say, deliberately keeping his voice soft. “She works herself to the bone for this town. These ingrates,” he ended on a semi-snarl. “And then does it all again at night for the Agency.”

“She enjoys her work,” Nate responded pragmatically. “Though she could probably benefit from more rest time.”

“There is too much going on right now for rest.” Adam stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Though, I suppose, it’s alright if she rests for the moment.”

“Plus, I wouldn’t move her from Mason’s lap right now unless you want your head torn from your body,” Felix cackled, leaning back gleefully in his chair.

Mason shot him a stare that could wither a cactus and Felix bit his lip, still hiding a smile.

“Do you want to continue, Adam?” Nate asked. “Or should we call it a night?”

Adam looked thoughtful. “As long as she is comfortable, let’s finish up. Mason can fill her in later.”

“Oh, I’ll be happy to fill her—shh, shh shut up!” he cut his own vulgarity off with a hiss as Nate loudly groaned and Felix’s cackles unleashed themselves further. He glared at everyone. “I’ll tell her what you said,” he muttered finally, nodding towards Adam. “Let’s just get this over with.”

As Adam droned on, Mason couldn’t help but look down at the detective, her soft snores and steady heartbeat a familiar litany to his ears these days. He felt the soft firmness of her thigh under his splayed fingers. Felt the rush of air on his chest as she breathed in and out. Watched her rosy lips pout in sleep, the crescent of her dark eyelashes on a lightly freckled cheek, a light brown strand of hair flopping over one closed eye.

Her hand had come up to rest under her chin, fingers loosely curled. Absently, he brushed the hair back from her forehead and then, again without giving much thought to it, he brought his pointer finger up to stroke the soft inside of her palm gently. Her fingers jerked reflexively and closed, holding him there securely.

He felt a tug come from somewhere deep in his chest at the sight of her holding his finger like that. It felt so trusting, so innocent, this simple unconscious gesture. As though, even in sleep she wanted to keep him close.

Shaking his head abruptly to rid himself of the intrusive and unexpected thought, he renewed his focus on Adam—no, Nate, who was now talking.

He left his hand in hers, though.

*

tags: @utterlyinevitable , @ethansramsey , @otherworldlypresents , @aworldoffandoms , @raleighcarrera , @ejunkiet , @starrystarrytrouble , @terrm9 , @openheartthot , @octobereighth , @campsearchlight , @coldshrugs , @kelseaaa , @homeformyheart , @intothestrawberryjar , @magebastard , @kodysteach , @newfangledsoul , @silma-words , @lalizah , @detective-sweetheart , @lem-20 (if you don’t want to be tagged for twc, mason x detective, and/or prompts, please let me know!)

[strangesoulmates]

700 Followers Celebration!

Okay, so while I was busy reaching my nano word count, I hit the 700 follower milestone.  So, to celebrate, I decided to go ahead and give you guys a sneak peek at SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (the larch)

Okay, not completely different.  It’s still Tomarry.  But it’s not from any of the other wips I’ve ever posted.  It was something I originally intended to be a oneshot holiday fic of some sort, but I never finished it.  So, have 1k of Harry freaking out about introducing Tom to his parents.

Harry took a deep breath, gripping the hand of the man sitting beside him and trying to keep himself calm.  His leg bounced up and down while he used his teeth to worry a loose piece of skin on his bottom lip.

The hand that he had wrapped in his own somehow managed to escape his grip and made it’s way to the leg in question, pressing down firmly on Harry’s thigh.

“Harry,” the man driving the car said, “Calm down.”

Harry didn’t bother biting back a slightly strangled chuckle.

“Calm down?  How the hell can I you ask me to calm down?” Harry said, hoping his voice wasn’t as strained as it sounded to his own ears.  “You don’t understand.  You haven’t met my family.”

“I thought that was rather the point of this excursion,” his boyfriend replied.

“Tom,” Harry all but whined.

The hand on his thigh tightened reassuringly.

"Everything it going to be fine" Tom said.  "There is no need to chew your lip to pieces.  Traditionally, aren't I the one who is supposed to be anxious?  It should be the significant other in knots about meeting the parents, not the person doing the introduction."

"Yeah, well, normally the significant other isn't a crime lord and the family in question isn't full of law enforcement officers!"  Harry said slightly hysterically.

"Alleged crime lord," Tom corrected off-hand.

Harry glared at him.  Tom's face was perfectly blank, except for the small twitch of the corner of his mouth.  Harry was not nearly as amused.

Tom glanced at him, blue eyes flickering over his face in the way that Harry knew meant his entire thought process and emotional state was being dissected.  Without another word, the car veered to the side of the street, and Tom released Harry's thigh only long enough to slide the car into park.  Tom's long fingers turned the key in the ignition and the rumbling of the engine died away, leaving only the sound of their breathing.

Tom turned in his seat to face Harry fully, a small crease between his eyes.

"You're worried about this," Tom said.  "Why?  I can understand some level of anxiety, but this is excessive, even for you."

Tom reached out and cupped Harry's face in one hand, rubbing his thumb along Harry's cheekbone in a way that normally made him melt.  Today all it managed was to ease a small bit of the tension keeping his spine ramrod straight.  Tom's index finger began toying with the lobe of Harry's ear, making his shoulders drop a bit, but nothing else.  Upon seeing this, the furrow in Tom's brow only deepened.

"Tell me what's wrong," Tom said quietly.  For anyone else it would have been a command, but for Harry it was a question.

The simple matter was that he didn't know how to answer it.  With anyone else, he could respond with a shrug or a smile.  But this was Tom.  They knew each other far too well for that now.  Tom could always tell what was on his mind.  And after the past seven months, it was getting to the point where Harry was starting to be able to return the favor.

To tell a lie was to cheapen what they had.

"I'm not sure," Harry finally answered him.  "I just...they're my family.  And you..."  Harry trailed off, unable to articulate exactly what it was that Tom meant to him.  This, he wasn't sure he could trust Tom to pick up on.  Simply because it was so far outside of anything Tom had experienced before.

"I've never brought anyone home before," Harry said finally.  "I've been in relationships I thought were serious before, but I've never wanted to bring anyone home."

Tom's eyes had frozen at the mention of other serious relationships.  Something about the set of his jaw told Harry that he was thinking violent thoughts, as he so often did whenever Harry even alluded to past partners.  But after Harry's revelation about bringing people home, his face had taken on that softness that Harry had only ever seen directed at him.

"But that means that I don't have any idea of how this should go under normal circumstances.  And these circumstances are far from normal."

Tom's hand slid from Harry's cheek to his neck before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Harry's lips.  Tender and short, it was clearly meant to do nothing more than reassure. Even when Tom pulled back, he stayed close.

"I promise you that everything will go smoothly," Tom said, staring intently into his eyes.  "Your family is important to you.  That much is abundantly clear.  The last thing I want is to cause you pain.  You know by now that I would do anything to keep you happy."

Harry felt his cheeks heat, but was unable to do anything but nod.  Tom had never been subtle about what he did, for all that he was careful to keep anything truly incriminating far away from Harry.  Tom hadn't truly tried to hide anything so much as he had tried to keep Harry from been indicted and having to testify, should it ever come to that.  They'd had their fair share of fights about Tom's work, but Tom's methods had changed drastically over the last seven months.  All to keep Harry happy.

That, more than any words, showed exactly how much Harry meant to the man beside him.

"I will be on my best behavior.  You know I am perfectly capable of charming anyone I need to, and it is more than obvious that this is such a circumstance.  I will do everything in my power to make your parents and your uncles fall under my spell," Tom said.

It shouldn't have been reassuring.  Hearing his partner talk about his plans to manipulate his family into liking him to keep Harry happy should have been appalling, or worrying, or amusing.  But all Harry felt was relief.

He leaned his forehead forward until it was resting against Tom's and let out a sigh, tension melting from his frame as the air left his body.

“Thank you,” Harry said.

Tom’s only response was to smile at him before pulling back far enough to press a kiss against Harry’s forehead before pressing his nose into Harry’s hair and inhaling deeply.  Harry gave a small pleased smile as he reached out to wrap his arms around Tom while the man took comfort from Harry’s presence.  It was unguarded moments like this that had helped convinced Harry that Tom’s affection was not artifice for some goal, but genuine.

“Now,” Tom said, pulling back at last, “are you calm enough for us to drive the remaining three miles to your parents house?  Or do I need to find some other way of relaxing you?”

The smirk that worked its way across his face during the last comment was more than enough for Harry to figure out exactly what kind of relaxation technique Tom had in mind.  Under normal circumstances, Harry might be tempted.  But these were not normal circumstances, and honestly anything Tom tired to do would probably only serve to work Harry back into a state similar to the one he’d been in for most of the drive down.

Thinking about your parents was enough to put anyone off.

If people are interested in this, I could go ahead and put some time into it.  Maybe post it for thanksgiving or christmas this year?  Anyway, I hope you all liked it, and thank you so much for following me!

Also, I might post a snippet of either soulmate AU or the heart remembers too, since I don’t want to deny you guys some of your favorites