#I want all my dolls to feel comfy and covered top and bottom

[trynadollsiesplay]

Hi again! So, progress update (11.10.2022) 😊

We finally managed to sew a full top and bottom lingerie set for our Jnr Vi doll! Like, omg! Mwahahahaha!

I never imagined I would be sewing doll clothes. After a traumatic speed-run through 1 year of textile classes in Aussie High School (at about 14 years of age) I believed my sewing journey was over. I was told I wasn't very good at it. I had the one sewing machine that was extremely broken. I never managed to remember a thing from those classes, and even though I liked the idea of dress making, I never thought we'd get anywhere with it.

Lol, this has changed my life.

I haven't shown all of my terrible trials on this blog. But I have made a good 7-9 pairs of underwear (or... my system, us, has). One of them, until this pair, was actually salvageable / fit and didn't look hideous. But here we are! At something decently good.

I refused to use other peoples patterns. I'm guilty. I trialled pattern making and watched tutorials until I understood measurements and making patterns from those measurements. Glad wrap copying would not do. These are skills for my future.

And, I hand stitched them all too! I am so not good at sewing and I am so proud of these achievements!

And, sure, this isn't perfect. But I'll keep making more until they are. I have the pattern now! It's all about adjustments from here. So this is really a good spot I'd at. And it just makes me so happy! 😊

[absdoll]

Hi bee:3 requesting for Abby eating out or playing with readers 🐱 with her fingers while reader is playing a game

It's all I've been thinking about lwjeuvesivdsi

hi qt ૮ ˶´ ᵕˋ ˶ა i luv this idea ! ty for requesting 🎀

cw : pervy!abby <3 my beloved ♡ // reader is playing animal crossing new horizons !

“abs! guess who just came to my island?!” you squeal as abby lifts her head from her book to meet your sparkling eyes. “hmm let me guess, the weird looking red dog?” she asks, quite genuinely.

“wh-… oh! cherry? she’s so cute! you’re mean.” you furrow your eyebrows at her, offended she called one of your favorite villagers weird looking.

your girlfriend smirks, a sigh leaving her mouth. abby gets a rise out of making her sweet doll-face frown and pout. abby knows it’s wrong to think such dirty thoughts about how innocent you are. the way your cute little butt peeks out of the bottom of your cotton shorts when you try to reach the top cabinet. when you’re all doe-eyed and curious asking her what she wants for dinner. how you sit crisscross applesauce in the big comfy living room chair, looking so small and fragile. and right now, the way you’re so giddy about a silly animal video game. she takes a deep breath as she moves over to where you’re lounging.

“i’m sorry baby, can i see?” abby rests her head on your shoulder, her right hand settling on your bare thigh. you giggle when she gives your soft flesh a little squeeze.

“it’s chai! i’ve wanted her to move to my island since i started playing!” you ramble on about your beloved blue elephant. “she’s just like cinnamoroll, look!” you tilt your nintendo switch screen in abby’s direction, biting your bottom lip in excitement, so happy you get to share this moment with your favorite girl.

abby glances at the game for a moment, then looks up at you, your eyes glistening. she looks back down at the screen, noticing your small fingers toggling with the knobs of the device. she takes another deep breath.

“mm so cute angel, i love the little teacup on her head.” abby kisses your shoulder. “i’m gonna get something to drink from the fridge, you want anything?” she inquires. you shake your head no, too focused on trying to make a good impression on your new guest.

the tall blonde stands to walk to the kitchen, stopping to stretch her arms above her head, letting out a long sigh. she turns around to give you a sweet look before she leaves the room, but her eyes fall somewhere else.

as you sit with your legs in the butterfly position, your pretty pussy on half display. abby clenches her fists, she’s resisting the urge to pry your game out of your soft dainty hands, pin them above your head, and fuck you dumb. she can’t hold back much longer.

“baby,” abby breathes, she walks back over to you, kneeling before you, elbows on your knees. “just keep playing, okay? don’t mind me.” you’re too busy cleaning up your island and making small talk with your digital neighbors to give abby any more than a “mhmm! okay bibi!” and she knows it.

abby begins planting gentle kisses to your cold thigh, humming against your skin as she sees goosebumps rise up your legs. you shiver a little when her face gets closer to your half covered heat. you move your game slightly to the left, looking down at her. “what’d i say pretty girl? hmm? eyes on the screen, don’t look at me again.” abby softly speaks through her pebbled kisses. you frown, confused, but decide to listen and be the good girl abby wants you to be.

abby’s mouth is nearing your pool of slick, you can feel the warm breeze of her breaths tickling your entrance. she uses her nose to reveal your wet pussy from your shorts.

“abs!” you attempt to close your legs around her head, but she knows you, she knows your movements. she knows that you like to play this little game where you say “nooo abs! don’t wanna! too sensitive!” and then a few seconds later, you’re spread wide open, desperately waiting for her skilled tongue to plunge into your aching hole.

“cmon princess, i don’t have to tell you again, do i?” abby coos. “spread.” her voice a little huskier.

you nod and relax your legs. you resume playing, eyes glued to the screen again, quickly getting distracted by the singsong isabelle is putting on outside town hall.

abby’s tongue now inches away from your puffy pulsating clit. all she can think about is devouring every last ounce of you while you sit there, so innocently focused on something far less disgusting than what she’s doing.

your perverted girlfriend watches as your cute hole tightens around nothing, a smile forms on her freckled face. she extends her wet pink muscle and licks a gentle zigzag from fold to fold. “mm-aahh!” you let out in a high pitched moan. abby shoots you a glare, a warning, that if you acknowledge what she’s doing again, she isn’t gonna be so sweet and soft anymore.

she’s drinking your pussy, tongue circling your sensitive nub, slurping every drop of white cream that’s sticky all over her chin. abby glances up at you, “good girl, so proud of you angel.” you bite your lip so hard that you wince a little at the sudden taste of blood, but you know better than to look at abby, let alone let her know how good she’s making you feel.

abby slides one finger into your pussy with ease, your drenched entrance practically sucking her in. “so wet for me.” she’s making out with your thumping clit, curling her index finger up, the pad perfectly tapping your g-spot.

you can’t breathe, you can’t think, you’re trying to move the controls of your game, your hands shaking. all you want to do is buck your hips up to her face, shoving her tongue so deep inside of you that feel her nose touch your clit over and over and over. “you’re close princess, i can feel it.” abby hums.

she’s going so agonizingly slow, the soft sensation of her saliva mixed with the unhurried pump of her finger, you’re dying for her to pick up the pace — and that’s exactly what she isn’t gonna do.

“cum slowly for me baby, ride it out.” abby continues lapping up your slick, using her free hand to hold your legs open. “that’s it sweet girl, riiight…. there.” you’re cumming all over her face, from her nose to her chin, her face is buried in your juices.

“let me hear that pretty moan of yours.” abby’s eyes fixated on your blissed out face. finally granting you permission, you scream out in euphoria, “uug-uuuh aahh aaa-bby-y-y!”

abby removes her finger, plopping it in her mouth, eyes rolling to the back of her head as she sucks your cum off.

sliding your shorts back up your legs and kissing the top of your head, she starts to walk towards the kitchen. “you want something to drink now?” she teases.

a/n : i loved writing this ପ૮๑ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ๑ აଓ hehe if u don’t love pervy!abby then idk what to tell u , ur missing out ! 😵‍💫💕 hope u enjoyed bbs <333

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･⋆ @whore4abby @hersweetheart @enbesbians ♡🧁

[subwaysurf45]

Tech problems (bucky x reader)

Summary: bucky doesn’t know how to work the TV, his new phone, anything. After getting made fun if he wants to quit but the reader helps him out.

Pairing: bucky barns x reader

Warning: mentions of death near the end, but it’s mostly fluff

Masterlist!

Bucky stood at the counter in the kitchen, full weight leaning on the concrete slab that most people ate off of. His eyebrows were basically touching as he fiddled with his phone that Tony just gave him, he just couldn’t figure it out for the life of him.

“Hey, old guy!” Tony walked in, “whatcha doing?” He walked over and peered over Bucky’s shoulder.

“Trying to…” his brain wasn’t focused on completing the sentence, more on creating an e-mail.

“I see,” Tony snatched the phone from Bucky’s hands and turned his back to him, Bucky tried to see what he was doing but Tony kept walking around. A little bit of anger grew inside him because Tony seemed just fine at working with tech- everyone did.

Steve had walked in, “Tony, what are you doing?” His voice was tired and annoyed, he already knew what was happening simply from the way Bucky looked longingly at Steve. “Tony-“

“Ah-ta-ta, let me help him.” Tony smirked, his voice dripping in sarcasm. “I’m doing it all for him, aaaand- done!” He turned and slapped the phone in the table, it looked like everyone else’s.

“What did you do to it?” Bucky asked, his anger coming through in his tone.

“Nothing, tin man- old man- silver hair, just nothing.” He seemed like he was telling the truth, “i just did it so you wouldn’t keep annoying me and asking so many god damn questions, jeez.” Tony scoffed and walked away, Bucky didn’t pick up the phone, rather stare at it.

“How stupid am I?” Bucky asked, “really, like you got this figured out in less than a week, Tony told me when I asked for the Bluetooth password.”

“Wifi.” Steve corrected.

“What?” Bucky looked over, “same thing, who cares…” Bucky waved him off, his head snapped up at Steve suppressing a laugh, his stomach sank, “what?” His voice light and almost a whisper.

“It’s not the same thing, very much not the same thing.” He laughed, Bucky sighed, he’d had enough of this. Bucky picked up the phone and walked down the hall, “oh, come on! I’m having fun with you!” Steve laughed.

~~~

You wiped the sweat from your forehead, training with Nat had just ended and you were heading back to your shared room with Bucky. As you walked past the kitchen you saw Steve looking at nothing, he hand kept his head up.

“Why the long face?” You panted, still needing to catch your breath.

“I made fun of Bucky, he’s mad now.” His mouth barley moved, the sentence was muffled.

“About what?” You asked softly but you were still mad, he made fun of your boyfriend.

“Him not knowing how to use tech,” Steve looked up and saw your jaw drop, “what?”

“Literally last night he was so upset because he called me when I was training and he used the emergency signal, so I came running to our room and he had no idea.” You looked towards the bedrooms, “he was so upset with himself that he made me scared, he was all in his head. I need to go check up on him,” you sighed and turned to go to your room; that hot shower had to wait.

Once you made it to your room you softly knocked on the door, “Bucky?” You called, when you heard a hum you opened the door a jar, seeing him slumped over with his phone in his hands. “Hey, babe.” He seemed to break out of his thoughts when you placed a hand on his back.

“Hi, doll face.” He tried to smile, “how’s training?” He looked over to you as you sat beside him.

“Very long and very tiring,” you chuckled, you knew if you asked how he was doing he might get mad or breakdown, “Steve told me what happened, he seemed sad when I was in the kitchen.” Your hand started to rub his upper back, making sure you didn’t hit any scars through the shirt. “You wanna talk about it?” His phone was still on the home page, all the apps were downloaded but you knew he didn’t do that himself.

“I don’t know anything,” he sighed, “i don’t know how to work my phone, the microwave, the TV…I don’t know how to use the system thing in here properly, I can barley understand cars these days, that’s why I use the motorcycle because they didn’t change much but-… y/n, everyone thinks it so funny, the old guy who doesn’t know jack shit about tech.” He slumped forward.

“I don’t think it’s funny,” you moved up to the back of his neck, knowing he likes when you get under into his scalp.

“You’re different.” He stated.

“How so?”

“Because you’ve never been mean to anyone, you’re this shining star, you’re a light and you’re never mean.” His eyes left his phone and he looked at your leg, not wanting to make eye contact after saying that.

Your heart melted, his lips turned up at the quickly kiss to his cheek. He looked over and kissed you back, your hands wrapped around his neck and his pulled your waist in. After pulling away your foreheads rested on one another’s.

“Let me teach you, yeah?” You whispered, “no jokes. No funny business. As long as you need, I’ll go through it all.” You leaned back and waiting for his response.

“I don’t wanna make you go through-“

“Nope. Final rule, no self-doubt.” You smiled, his lip pouted out and he tried to cover his face and blush.

“Okay,” he nodded, “teach me.”

“Not right now,” you laughed, Bucky quirked a brow, “I’m tired and sweaty and I feel gross, also, I would like some cuddles.” You stood and grabbed your towel and a change of comfy clothes, “tomorrow.”

~~~

It was the next day, Bucky sat on the bed as you walked around the TV in your shared room, deep down he wanted to take some notes but he knew if anyone found them, he’d never hear the end of it.

“So let’s start basic,” you stood in front of the blank TV, “let’s say you’ve lost he remote, this is how you control it. Right here,” you pointed to the circle with a line through the top symbol, “that is the universal signal for on and off, look for that. Then, once you’ve pressed it here is the little notches for the volume and then the channel notches.” You pointed as you went along the bottom of the screen.

“Sounds easy,” Bucky muttered more to himself.

“But we have a remote, here, same little symbol, on and off. There, that’s the volume, and the big circle can help navigate up and down, side to side.” You showed him up close, “lots of these buttons will never be used, so I won’t really go through them.” You waved it off. “Okay, test number one, turn of the tv.” You passed the remote.

“Okay…” bucky clicked the button with the symbol he now knew and the screen lit up, some random cartoon played, “yes!” He shit up and jumped, quickly catching himself he sat back down.

“Can you change the channel for me?” You asked, a smirk on your face from his reaction before, he clicked the channel button and it went to the news. “And turn it up, please.”

“Easy,” he smiled and clicked, no sound came out. “What?” He clicked again and the sound came back, but not louder.

“You hit the mute button, use the long button here,” you pointed, he clicked up and it went up one level, after catching on and holding it the volume kept going up, “Bucky-“ you tried to warn but the volume cut out completely.

“Shit.” He stood up, Bucky fiddled with the notches on the actual TV but nothing happened. “What did I do?” His face i genuine terror, “did I break it, oh god, Tony’s gonna get some mad.”

“You blew out the speakers,” after observing the smoke coming out from the side of the TV that was the only possible answer.

“I knew i’d mess it up, I get so cocky, I really thought I had it.” He paced around, tugging his hair.

“Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine,” you calmed him and sat him in the bed, “it’s hard at first but it will only get easier.” You smiled before pulling him into a hug, you could feel his sigh of defeat as he hugged back.

You both headed out to the kitchen, Bucky still in a mood from breaking the TV a couple minutes ago. You both had some coffee, yours with a little milk.

“Hello, lovebirds.” Tony walked in, Bucky looked right at his feet and tried not to look awkward. “What’s up with cyborg over here?” Tony giggled.

“Nothing,” you dipped your coffee, Bucky just nodded along.

“I got a notification that the speakers in your room were blown out,” Tony teased, Bucky stiffened and inches closer to you, “what happened?”

Bucky looked up, his mouth open and about to talk. You gently placed a hand on his chest and looked him in the eye, a way of saying ‘I got this’.

“I sat in the remote, turns out my ass poked it right at the volume and I couldn’t figure it out in time.” You laughed, Bucky looked at you crazy before forcing one out.

Tony hunched over, “I can picture that, oh wow- I wish I was there!” He cackled before turning away and walking down the hall, “it’ll be fixed by tomorrow!” He called over his shoulder.

~~~

It was lonely without you, it was very rare you’d go in missions without Bucky but also rare you’d go alone. It was a simple infiltrate, you were more on the espionage rather than Captain America side of powers. 

Bucky had tired to talk to Steve about letting someone go with you, this mission would involve zero contact with the base. But no one listened, it was always going to be you.

It had been a month, three quarters done with the they needed. The tech lesions had to be halted, you weren’t there to teach and Bucky refused to let anyone tell him anything about the tech in his room.

“If only you could see me, babe…” he whispered as he worked the TV, that was the only thing he knew, and he was great at it. Last week he recorded a show, he was never going to watch it, but it as recorded. He almost had a heart attack when the remote stopped working, but it just ran out of batteries.

After doing all the cool tricks he knew he looked over to your side of the bed, it was neatly made and seemed untouched. Whenever you’d be fine for even a night he’d sleep on the ground, but he promised he’d sleep on the bed, but he never rolled over or even sat on your side.

The one thing he missed was the way your shampoo stunk up the whole bed in a good way, when he’d wake up the morning after you’d showered he’d could smell your lavender shampoo right away, it almost puts him back to sleep. But as the days went on, it faded.

Bucky looked around before gently placing his face your pillow, almost like an afterthought of your sent came through; just barley there. His face hovered before he gave in and relaxed on it, he knew if he’d roll around the sent would fade quicker, he didn’t really care.

There was a hard spot on your pillow, he reached under and found a green spiral notebook. It didn’t have anything in the cover, once he opened it a gasp fell from his lips.

It was a notebook, for every piece of tech in the house. From his phone to how F.R.I.D.A.Y. works, it was all there. Intricate diagrams that where labeled, one page had everything he needed to know.

Bucky’s phone sat face down in his bedside table, he flipped the that page and looked it over. He picked up his phone and read through it all, slightly muttering then words that were written to himself like he was being taught.

“Okay, you got this,” he said as he pressed the on button, as he navigated around he learned how to add a contact, send and text, google, the a picture, send an email. Everything.

~~~

You walked into the compound completely exhausted, one black eye layer, the base had been infiltrated. You went to your mission report computer and Tony was there, he gave you your phone.

“Connect back to the wifi,” he nodded before leaving you to connect.

Once you were fully back online your phone began to buzz, over and over. Tons of notifications rolled in. You went to emails first.

From: bucky

To: y/n

Subject: test?

Hellooooooo this is a test, don’t worry about it!

You laughed and scrolled through the other emails, finding out they were all kind of the same, then you went to text messages.

There was a selfie of him holding the green book, his smile couldn’t have been wider. He sent three, probably by accident. But they were still cute.

So I figured hit text!

Kinda cool

I found the book, it was like Christmas

Anyway, I know you won’t read this but I think I’ll try the oven next, I’ll ask wanda about it.

As the texts went on, your heart started to drop and your stomach swirled. They had been getting progressively sadder.

Hey doll face, I hope you’re well, miss you

I miss you

I love you

I wanna marry you one day, maybe live on farm and have a few kids

If you want

Sent: two months ago

I finished your book, I think I know it all now, I’ve been going over those tests you put in the back sleeve, they’re really good

You’re very thoughtful

I know you can’t see this

I don’t know what to do with myself, this is very hard.

Sent: one month ago

Are you dead?

I had a dream you died in my arms, and I can’t tell if it was a flashback or a dream

I hope you’re not

I love you too much

Please come home

Please

I really need you

I wish I never learn how to use this shit, honestly, I can’t seem to put my phone down because this is all I have if you right now. I keep checking it to see if you’ve responded but I know you haven’t, but part of me wants you to respond so I know you’re alive.

I’m not ready to say goodbye to you yet.

Sent: 24 hours ago

You slammed the phone down and raced down the hall, you passed the kitchen and everyone who smiled at you because they hadn’t seen you in three months, they probably also thought you were dead.

You stopped right before the door, you could hear soft whimpers coming from inside.

“I miss you,” the voice was muffled.

You opened the door silently, you saw Bucky lying right next to your side of the bed, it was still perfectly made. You also saw what looked like glass shattered by the wall, a closer look and it was his phone.

“Bucky?” You asked.

His head shot up and he sat up straight, after wiping his face he ran right over to you. His hug pushed you back on the floor, he just stayed there.

“Don’t ever do that again, please.” His voice was still shaken, “I can’t go through that again.”

“Never again, i was so worried when I saw your text a minuet ago.” You whispered and ran your fingers through his hair.

“Your name in my phone, your the only one.” He sniffled, “it was like it was taunting me, I got really mad and I threw it.” He hugged you tighter, “you were supposed to come home two days ago.” He cried.

“I know,” you housed him and sat up, as he pulled away he saw your bruised face, his thumb gently traced the purple mark.

“I don’t want a phone, I like knowing about it, but I’ll only ever borrow yours.��� He seemed like he was pledging something, like an oath.

“Done deal,” you pulled him in for a long kiss, hoping it would never end.

[youryanderedaddy]

Imagine a yandere ghost who is cursed is trapped in the doll, so one day a family came to live in his house, but what the ghost did not expect is to fall in love with the couple's eldest daughter. Maybe this yandere ghost (doll) use the younger brother to get closer to his beloved...

I didn't really include the doll, but the overall idea is here ;)

Tw: nsfw, non - con, underage sex? (The reader is meant to be around 18, her brother is 16 - 17, but the ghost is 100+ so idk), (technically) incest, ghosts, possession, possessive/obsessive behavior, slight parental neglect ig

You knew it was a mistake moving into the old house up the hill. You tried arguing with your parents so many times about the mansion being hidden in the woods, so far away from any civilization, bringing up the fact it hadn't been bought for the last 8 years despite the insanely low price or the news about the previous owners dying in their sleep just like that, from "natural causes" even though they were an young energetic couple. But of course your worries had been discarded so easily since your younger siblings were ecstatic, constantly talking about finally living in a castle, which was obviously pushing it too far, but kids will be kids.

Your family was big, consisting of your mother, father, two younger sisters and a brother currently in his late teens. Your siblings managed to take all the nice bright rooms on the second floor so you were forced to sleep in the attic. At first it didn't seem so bad, yes, the place was dark and dusty, the space was limited, but it was a quiet spot and there were many interesting things left there to explore and discover.

The first week you discovered a huge box full of old books, medals, notebooks and different souvenirs from all over the world. The second week you found a few paintings covered by a thin disheveled cloak, most of them depicting a pretty young boy with golden locks and sad green eyes, dresses in an expensive silky clothing resembling what was nowadays considered an elegant suit. You didn't pay it much mind yet the miserable longing gaze of the kid haunted your dreams in the following days.

During the third week you noticed that things were going missing one by one. First it was your favorite lipstick, then your new dress, and suddenly your favorite items were gone just like that. On top of all, almost as if fate was tickling your paranoia, you could hear certain sounds at night that were too distorted be natural and too human to belong to an animal. There were sobs, loud and tormented, sometimes you could make up a few words in a language no one spoke anymore. You slept less and less each night, you could swear you felt someone's lingering touch on your shoulders, them gently stroking your hair and even pressing their cold unmoving lips on yours. This was usually the point when you opened your eyes and screamed in fear only to realize you were alone in the room. There was nobody there.

Still you decided to speak with your parents about the creepy events taking place in the attic. Much to your dismay they brushed your concerns off once again, laughing softly and calling you a scaredy - cat, going as far as to joke around about your "oh so creative" imagination getting the best of you just like it did in your childhood. But this time you insisted on holding your ground, almost begging them to take action and help you. At the end your mother decided to let you sleep in your brother's room for a while until you calm down, and as embarrassing it was to share a room with a hormonal teen, it was better than constantly being on the edge and losing sleep. Or so you thought.

The first night you slept in Steve's room nothing out of the ordinary happened and for the first time in weeks you actually managed to rest. The second night was blissfully peaceful as well and you quickly fell into a deep dreamless slumber.

The third night started well, just like the previous two. Your brother was tired from studying all day and went to bed early, giving you the freedom to relax a little bit before following his example. You could read a book or try to revise for your exam tomorrow, maybe even call your bestfriend and finally let her know all about your new classmates and just how boring life in the village was. But in that moment all these suggestion sounded annoying, nothing was interesting enough to hold your interest for more than a minute. Thinking about what to do next, you suddenly became aware that your body was tense and tired, but your mind was restless. After all you hadn't had time for self - care between the paranoia episodes and the fear, maybe it was finally time to do something nice and therapeutic for yourself.

You snatched a quick look at Steve and he was sleeping soundly, snoring from time to time, his usually angry face now calm and childlike. Making sure there was no one in the room awake, you finally slipped a hand down your pajama bottom until you felt the soft fabric of your panties. You closed your eyes and run a finger up and down your clothed sex, following the line of your slit. Your pussy throbbed at the sudden contact, the lack of pleasure in the last few weeks making it sensitive to the touch. You pushed your underwear lower so it hanged around your legs, and shoved one finger into your warm hole, enjoy the way your walls clenched around the digit. You flicked your clit gently, feeling it swell from the arousal, rubbing slow circles and pressing on your sweet spot every once in a while.

Your free hand went to your breasts, bare under the comfy oversized shirt, and awoke the cherry nipples with subtle pinches causing them to harden. You couldn't help but moan quietly as you decreased the pace of which you teased your hole and added a second finger in your pussy, fucking yourself on it. You were so focused on chasing your pleasure you didn't even notice the hand on your thigh pulling your own away from your excited throbbing core and replacing it with a big hard cock. Only once its head reached your tight entrance and pressed on it did your mind register the atrocious size difference. Your words stilled in your throat, the sudden panic rising in your chest, making your vision blurry and your cheeks rosy pink. You finally opened your eyes, your heart racing at the image of your younger brother towering above you with his member so close to entering your heat.

"Steve, what are you doing?" You whispered as you tried to squirm away from the boy, but he was quicker in pinning your wrists above your head in a deadlock. When did the male become so strong? Just yesterday he would ask you to open up his water bottle and help him with his math homework and now he was doing this...

"My name is Henry, my love." The voice was different from your brother's, lower and huskier, gentler in a way. You narrowed your eyes and observed the teenager's face, gasping as you noticed that his eyes had changed from black to green, yet all his other features had stayed stayed the same. You wanted to ask so many questions - who is Henry, why were your sibling's eyes and voice different from before - but you were quickly shut by one stern gaze. "I used to live here 80 years ago." The stranger started off with an unexpectedly soft tone as his grip on your wrists loosened. "I'm a ghost. I possessed your brother." He confessed calmly while you watched his pink lips part slightly with each breath as if you were in a trance before you found the strength to break your silence.

"Why are doing this to me? Why did you take my brother's body?" You questioned him manically, feeling like a confused little lamb sent to the slaughter, trembling and stuttering in front of a knife. Henry simply chuckled at your adorable dumbfounded expression and lowered his torso until his face was mere inches away from yours and you could feel his ice - cold breath on your warm red cheek. "Because I love you, darling." The ghost replied with a confident smirk that looked so weird and unnatural on the younger boy's face you almost gagged. Before you had the chance to say anything, he continued. "I've been wanting you for a while now, little girl. And with this body I can finally have you all to myself." You opened your mouth in a protest but your screams were easily muffled by a harsh kiss and a wet tongue down your throat. Next thing you knew the man had pushed your brother's manhood into your wet sloppy cunt in one sharp thurst and in your despair you had yelled for help once again, the ghost taking your whimpers greedily and shushing them away. Struggling was pointless.

In the next hour you were reduced to a sweaty whimpering mess of pain and arousal, fear and pleasure. The ghost was fucking you in a fast brutal pace while his free hand was playing with your clit, bringing you so damn close but never enough to send you over the edge. You were crying and your whole body was aching, your tits red from the rough manhandlind, your lips bruised and swollen from the rough kisses and bites. There were purple hickeys adorning your neck, belly and thighs and you went quiet in embarrassment every time you wondered how you would be able to hide them the next day.

"Please, whoever you are, let me come, I'm begging you." You pleaded desperately as you arched your back to meet the next couple of deep thrusts. Your cheeks were wet with tears and you could even taste the bitter salty flavor in your mouth mixed with your own drool and saliva. Upon hearing your meek pleas the man mercifully started hitting your cervix with each shove until his moves became sharp and quick, targeting your g-spot. You were so close you could feel your abdomen clench and tighten from the tingling sensitations. "Please..." You uttered weakly again, making doe eyes at your brother.

"Say you love me. Tie your soul to mine forever and I'll give you exactly what you want, beloved." Henry basically growled in your ear as he groped your breasts, squizing lightly the soft flesh. Your mind was so hazy and clouded you weren't sure how to respond so you just repeated the words easiest to grasp. "Love... you... forever, ngggh..." You muttered under your breath before moaning wantonly when the forceful thrusts finally sent you over the edge and your pussy clamped down in a big, satisfying orgasm. Your bliss was short - lived because soon the ghost was pounding into you again and again, keeping you too tired to move, struggle or even speak properly besides whimpering every once in a while. The rest of the night was a blur but eventually you fell asleep from the exhausting and the pleasure.

You woke up sore, your eyes red and puffy, your muscles tense and unnatentive. You rushed to look at your brother, but the teenager was sleeping just as peacefully as he did eight hours ago. One side of you was more than glad to know everything that had happened was simply a bad, terrible dream, while the other one still felt extremely uncomfortable and uneasy. You couldn't bear staying in the room any longer so you got dressed and went into the hall. Everyone else was still asleep and you felt as restless as if you hadn't caught a blink at all. You finally gave in to your paranoia and climbed the stars leading to the third floor.

You knelt on the ground where you had found the beautiful paintings. Those green eyes from your dream seemed way too familiar for it to be a coincidence. When you finally got a hold of your favorite piece, the one with the sad young boy, you had to cover your mouth to suppress the shock. There wasn't an aristocrat with golden locks on the picture anymore.

Now the one trapped in the painting was none other than you own brother, Steve. Instead of misery and pain in mysterious blue eyes, there was only terror in his tormented black ones. You screamed for the last time before you dropped the picture on the ground and ran away from the attic, the tears streaming down your face, but unfortunately, there was no escape from the restless dead souls.

[black-bhabie-2000]

Hii! I would like to request accidental stimulation in public by fem reader (may be she doesn't pay much attention that time about this? Or u choose ) & and then may be the Guys get flustered about this and they try to get close & get some stimulation with their S/O till they get home and then we can go all NSFW 😛 with KENNY, CHIFUYU, BAJI, MITSUYA please ♡♡ thank you for your time. Have a greattt day☆ xo

I hope I had the right idea with this.. thank you for being my first ask and sorry if it isn't right I did the ones I know and I hope you request again..

Mitsuya

You and Mitsuya have been dating for a while and you've gotten to see every side of him. Including what he's like outside of his Toman persona but you guys were about to hit an even bigger milestone. He invited you to his house. You were brimming with excitement. You stopped at his club after school to walk with him. He spotted you " Just a sec babe, alright make sure to not hurt yourselves and anything you mews up let me know so I can help you tomorrow. " with that He grabbed his stuff and grabbed your hand pulling you alongside him. The walk to his house wasn't long. You guys walked in and changed to his slippers and he led you to his room. "Feel free to look around." He said with a smirk. You laughed " How did you know !" He smiled and closed the door. You waited to see if he was going to com back in and he didn't. So you started snooping. The first thing was dirty magazines but sadly he hide them to well but you came across something better. In his closet was a bag with your name on it. What else could you do but open it and inside was the prettiest dress you've ever seen. You immediately stripped not paying attention to the door that was slowly opening and started putting on the dress. Once on you realized it really emphasized you curves and was a little too tight in certain areas. The whole time your tugging and trying to make it fit right. Your boyfriend is on the floor watching the show your putting on. " Wow you look hot babe" you turned around flushed and embarrassed. You forgot he would eventually come in. " You look very sexy in the clothes I made for you but it looks like it needs some adjustments " he smirked and stood up slowly walking to you. Your body moving backwards till your against the wall . Mitsuya leans in his hair tickling the side of your face. He grabs your side his right hand slowly sliding down your back and he whispers in your ear. " We're going to have to rip this off and start from scratch ." Let's just say you reached more than one milestone that day and Mitsuya makes you wear the clothes he designs on dates.

Baji

You and Baji have been in the same class for 2 years and yes yall both dumber than a bag of rocks. Only thing is you were more popular because of how cute your actions were. While baji was just weird. You asked Baji out and much to your surprise he said yes. You didn't know about Toman or that he looked like out of school until he asked you on a date to an amusement park. He told you his gang was going to be there and you excited about going on your first date pulled all the stops. Im talking about cute thigh highs, brand new skirt with a baby doll top that showed off your rack quite nicely 😏. Your makeup was beat in and you snuck into your older sisters makeup for the spray that would make sure your face wouldn't melt. Your accessories showed off you curvy and cute form. You hadn't seen Baji after-school and neither had he seen you. So you arrive at your meeting spot and couldn't see him. So you waited. You hadn't noticed the group of boys next to the fountain you walked past or kept circling. Draken called attention to you first with a nod in your direction "she's cute '

Takemitchy gasped "don't say that what about Emily " Draken laughed "like Mikey would let me date his sister " Mikey silently smiled to himself ready to go into the amusement park cause he was hungry. "Baji how long is your girlfriend gonna take, we've been out here for 20 minutes " Mikey whined. I don't know man she said she was here maybe I should call her ?" Baji responded. "You should've called her in the first place" chifuyu replied. Baji typed in your number and flipped chifuyu off with lead int the guys chuckling. You had hit the roundabout and stopped in your tracks a few feet in front of the boys. You picked up your phone in a hurry and answered it . You were kinda irritated " if you weren't going to be here , you shouldn't have wasted my time dumbass and hung up on him. Baji ofc looking at you and also stunned that you cussed at didn't say a word. Better yet all the boys were looking at you because one there was no way Baji pulled a baddy like you and two did you just cuss him out. You were Bout to storm off . When Baji caught your arm and spun you around, pulling you into him. You were shocked cause one wo to was this hot ass stranger and why was he so close. You went to yell at him and " hey babe if I knew you were going to get all filled up. I wouldn't have invited the gang and 'he leans I a little too close ' we could've went to my place for a study Date. He said gazing deep in your eyes and you knew exactly what he meant and it was for sure not studying. You pulled back half in shock cause you recognized his voice anywhere and damn you got lucky. You slapped Bajis chest ' hmph show me your friends dummy and walked away. Baji chuckling behind you , slyly gripping your hand. " Hey Draken the hot babes mine "

DRAKEN (kenny)

It was a comfy afternoon , the sky was gray and it was raining true peace. Well as peaceful as it gets in the red light district. You followed Draken all the way to his house and then hid when he got out. You walked around till you met the front desk clerksman and he recognized you. Though you didn't know how . He offered you some tea and led you to Drakens room. " I don't know when he'll be back and I'm not calling him so stay comfortable " he shut the door and left . You were in Drakens room your excitement trumping your guilt because you followed your boyfriend outta jealously. " It's so neat in here" you announce to yourself in a slight mischievous tone. Looking around cautiously you start to what any girl in her boyfriend would do . Look for evidence, not bad evidence but evidence. You had been strategically Looking and putting everything back in its place just in case he might get upset with you for Looking through his stuff. You did find a porn Magazine that showed you why he was dating you. You fit the body type of the page with white residue on it to a T . I mean her ass was a bit bigger but hey what's a girl to do. You had now moved on to store i.e. his closet . You opened and marveled at how many of those damn black and white jackets he has like damn Boi buy another color shit. You now completely forgotten you are trespassing cause your boyfriend doesn't know you are there. You start to strip and try on his clothes. Draken was making his way home it was still light outside and plus he needed to Chang into his toman uniform because Mikey wanted to meet up tonight. He was in the building heading up the elevators. Wondering why he hasn't heard from you all day. TF were you doing 😒, were you mad at him. He doesn't really know or care . He's just pissed you hadn't texted him all day. "I'm going to punish that brat next time I see her 😏" the elevator door opened and he stepped off with a pep in his step to change a little faster and head to your house and mess with you before the meeting. He walked up to the desk .

You had lost track of all time and now was getting ballsy. You half naked was about to put on his toman uniform. All your sanity is apparently out the Window cause you are giggle Loud as fuck. Your couldn't fit the pants but his jacket and boots fit nice and the way your ass looked hanging out the bottom of the jacket oof girl, you left it open revealing your bust just enough and you had your hair in a pony tail trying to mimick your boyfriends hair. ' I'm Draken and Mikey is my leader and son and if you wanna hurt him you gotta fight mee grrr"... you had your fist up and a very sad attempt of a bad ass face. You currently fake fighting and giggling like an idiot had no idea Draken had been watching you since you put your hair in the pony tail. (Stealthy bitch) you turn around doing a bad ass kick and scream and dive to his bed and cover yourself up. " WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE. YOU DIDN'T CALL OR TELL ME YOU WERE COMING " Draken laughed " Sweetcheeks this is my room' he approached the bed and ripped the covers off of you. You squirmed away from him till your head hit the wall. Giving Draken enough Time to place himself over you." Well hey there babe , you look pretty sexy in my uniform " his hand trailing up the side of your thigh. " I have 1 and 45 before the Toman meeting that's enough time to show you my bad ass skills huh sweetcheeks" you gasped .......... Draken was very late to the meeting that day and your brother was pissed when you went home the next day but shit that was the best sleep you ever had 😏😏😏😉🤷🏿‍♀️

[saturatedboy]

I was in the mood to write some angst-fluff writing for Donna Beneviento x M!reader so I hope you all enjoy if you chose to read it ^^ (This one shot can be found on my wattpad account Nerd_Dragon_Writes)

Mentions:

Just a sad fluffy chapter

This is a male!reader

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Narrator’s POV

(Y/n) was minding his own business tinkering away at fixing the recently broken rocking chair that Angie, the loud and hyperactive doll, loved to bits- literally. Once Angie was sat in the rocking chair you barely could get her out of it. Angie adored the way it would rock, she found it better when her owner Donna would read a book beside her as (Y/n) would gently rock the chair as he normally sat beside it on the ground. However due to some disagreement over the outside world, Angie had thrown a fit and out of anger had broken the chair. Donna on the other hand had silently backed away out of the room and went somewhere in the small mansion to have space to herself. Mostly likely from the distress and headaches she most likely was getting, (Y/n) could only guess.

As (Y/n) hammered in the very last piece of cork into the wooden frame, the all well knowing screech of the wedding dressed doll came from the left side of his ear. "You fixed itttt!" She carried out, floating around the male and sitting in it after getting herself comfy in it. "Ahhhhh! It so good!" Giggling and quickly flying out of the rocking chair, Angie had rammed herself into (Y/n) and engulfed him in a hug as her small wooden arms could reach. The attempt at a hug had lead (Y/n) laughing slightly at her excitement and appreciation. Moving his arm, (Y/n) had cradled the doll with one arm under her to support her weight and used his other hand to gently pat the top of her veiled head. "You're very welcome. It's the least I could do for you after you and Donna didn't kill me-"

A finger was pressed against his lips, the doll's face had a serious look- one that you wouldn't expect Angie to even be able to create from knowing her having a really expressive emotions of being positive. "You were fun to play with and Mother Miranda did say that if you did somehow survive we could keep you for our own needs~ Ow! Hey no fair!"

With an outstretched pointing finger, the male had flicked the doll on her head to keep her thoughts to herself. He was left with a a small frown from the small doll in return."Sooo?" She dragged out, looking up at the male with a sad glint in her eyes. "Shouldn't you go find Donna, I'm sure she's still upset with earlier."

Sighing, (Y/n) could only nod however he didn't move from his spot on the floor next to the chair. He didn't know why but he felt like Donna didn't want to see him at the moment after the disagreement earlier. "Why don't you both want  me to leave- I'll only be going down the the village to go collect some materials?"

Angie had stayed quiet, thinking on how she should word her next words since she didn't want their new playmate to go and leave them after hearing what she had to say. Squirming her way out of his arm, she heaved herself out and floated in front of (Y/n), twiddling her fingers. "You've been with us for a while now and Donna had the sudden idea of maybe you wanted to be a fam-"

"I apologise for my sudden departing. I did not mean to worry you." A soft voice came from behind, the sound of small patters could be heard to along with some scattering on the floor. Turning around, (Y/n) could only be met with a heard of smaller puppets and dolls crawling, running and even skipping towards him with welcoming smiles. However past them, The Lady of the mansion stood with her veil covering her face and still in her black gown stitch and created from her sorrows.

As the dolls climbed onto (Y/n), he could only fight against their resistance to be able to stand up. However with the help on Angie moving some, he finally managed to stay standing with at least a total of twelve dolls hanging and clinging onto him. Taking a step forward, the male had smiled in joy seeing the other stand before him. "Donna," (Y/n) had spoken out gently, using a hand to lift a doll that was about to fall off him back onto his shoulder. "I wish to speak of today's event, however I had no intentions to mean to upset you or Angie."

Donna moved to lay against the door, her shoulder slightly making ridged movements every now again. With worried eyes, (Y/n) continued stepping forward until he was right in front of the doll maker. Being face to veil, the male had tilted his head gently, his smile still plastered sweetly onto his face. "May I take your veil up please?"

As the request left (Y/n) lips, Donna raised a hand to her veil and pressed it against her face. The sudden feeling of self-conscious had fled around her body and made a sudden noise of a sniffle come out from her. She hadn't revealed her face to anyone in a while- except Angie and her own creations. "Ma, it will be okay." Angie had floated next to her owner, whispering to her after that so (Y/n) couldn't hear what she was saying. It seemed it worked though because next thing he saw was Angie backing away with a her hands rapidly shaking happily.

Moving her hand down, Donna had pulled the black sheet up, letting her stray hairs from a bun she had stick to her face. Her pale skin had turned a cherry red on her cheek bones, her eye had steamed up with a blur and a light streak of water and sweat had trail down her face. Shyly looking away from embarrassment, Donna had focused herself on staring at the door frame, running her finger up and down the wood not caring is she would receive a splinter from it. With wide eyes in both wonder and enchantment, (Y/n) spoke out, "Lady Donna- You're-!"

"I'm hideous. This is what happened to me after the...incident." Biting her bottom lip and splitting it a small amount, she scrunched her eye up and stopped running her finger up and down the frame. Breathing deeply, she gathered the courage to stare at the other with a forced tone of happiness and curved lips "I didn't want you to leave because I thought I had everything back. I thought you would like to be a family. We acted like one and I believed that, you were the one to fix everything."

Angie looked at (Y/n) to see his reactions. Although she couldn't do that much in the very moment, all she knew was that the fate of everyone in that house, was laid in the male's hands. Using his hand to place the dolls and puppets on him onto the ground, he walked forward towards Donna and grabbed her chin gently with one hand and used the other to stroke her cheek-leaving Donna to be very flustered. "Oh Donna, hideous is no way to describe a women who laughter is the most perfect composed music to ever exist. Hideous is no way to describe a women who's hands fit perfectly with my own and create the most alluring pieces of art in my opinion."

"But!-" Her argument was cut short with a gentle kiss against her cheek. With her mouth left hanging open slightly and Angie laughing in the background, she felt sudden comfort wrap around her frame and brought her closer to them.

"And hideous is no way to describe the women who deserves a family which I am willing to hopefully be accepted in." (Y/n)'s soft whispers in her ear had left her speechless. It felt like the first time in forever she felt safe in the arms of someone. No more hiding herself away from the guilt she thought she deserved to feel. The warmth and sweet smell of flowers that came off (Y/n) had made those thoughts stop, like they were just stories from a fairy-tale. Slowly lifting her own arms up, she rested her head between the shoulder-blade and neck of her other, hugging tightly and letting tears that showed compassion and love fall from he eyes. Opening them slightly, she was met with Angie sitting back in her rocking chair and the other dolls and puppets surrounding her as she read a book to them, trying to mimic Donna when she would show the pages when reading.

It was Donna's turn to sniffle out a giggle when she watched Angie struggle with turning the page since it was so far away from her. Pulling out of the loving embrace (Y/n) was giving her, she moved her hand down to wrap around his hand and gently brought them both of them over to the chair. "Would you like me to read it Angie?" She asked watching the bride doll swell in happiness and nodding swiftly.

"Yes please mama!" She screeched out, jumping out of the chair and moving the other creations about so she could sit down on the floor with them. Donna let go of (Y/n)'s hand but once again she was left without words as he kissed her cheek again. "Ooooo~ mama and papa are kissing each otherrrr~" Angie sang out, leaving the room to be filled with other voices from the other creations. Feeling flustered and worried that them words aren't correct, she stand corrected when (Y/n) had sat down in the rocking chair and gently pulled her onto his lap. His arms once again wrapped around her as he leaned his head onto her shoulder looking at the others.

"I'm just showing my love to my wife, is that an issue children?" He said leaving the doll's to quickly quieten down, only a few whispered were left.

"Wife?" Donna muttered and she moved her eye to stare down at the other.

"That is, if you'll let me love you?" (Y/n) asked slowly. Donna smiled, a real smile and nodded.

"That's more than fine by me," She said as she felt her heart race in speed.

"Well that's good now can we hear the storyyyy?" Angie whined out, crossing her arms in a huff as she let the book lay in front of her. Donna turned to her and nodded.

"Of course you can."

Within the office room was the two new lovers. Donna was still in her mourn clothing, however pinned to the clothing where a breast pocket may of been was a flower. A daisy to be precise to signify new beginnings for her and (Y/n). Donna had leaned back against a green leather sofa facing the projector in the room. The faint noise of snoring was heard above in the more safer rooms, the snores and sounds were mostly likely coming from her creations of her handy craft.

Soon a pair of footsteps had lead in her way, only for them to stop and the sound of a sneeze coming out. Donna looked behind her to see (Y/n) walking towards her with two glasses of water. Gently giving her one from behind the sofa, (Y/n) had walked around and sat next to her, him taking a sip of water. "Say Donna," (Y/n) had started, turning to face her. "How do you feel about you coming out with me tomorrow. We don't have to go to the village so instead how about we explore? That way we both get what we want. I go outside and you don't have to worry about me leaving hm?"

Donna stayed quiet, focusing on drinking her water. She normally wasn't much of a talker but she talked so much today that she felt breathless. Bringing her glass down from her lips, she sighed.

"Maybe," she spoke out. A short laughter was heard from the other as he leaned behind himself and placed his glass on the table behind. After he gracefully wrapped an arm around Donna and brought her into a side hug which she was more than happy to accept and snuggle into.

"Don't worry my love," (Y/n) spoke out as he gave her a kiss on her forehead, letting his lips linger there for  while to pull away soon after with a toothy grin. "I understand my maker."

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[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch44: Peanut Butter And Poop

Introducing: Baby Rogers!  

Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut! (NSFW) No under 18s. Teeth rotting fluff…

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: Yeah, I love this chapter. I hope you all do too. And thank @angrybirdcr​ for the edits. They melted me.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 43

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 March 2020

“Is everything ok?” Steve asked, tiredly. For the fourth time in about two minutes Katie had shifted, next to him, rubbing her hand over her distended belly. She was fed up now, and he wished he could help her get comfy, he really did. But until their baby decided to make an appearance, there wasn’t much more he could do. She had been feeling crappy all day and had thrown a spectacular tantrum at the fact Steve had shaved his stubble. His reasoning being that although she technically had another four weeks to go, she was already at full term size, and if their son arrived, who knew how long it would be before he managed to shave again, but she was having none of it. Steve had simply stood there, calmly whilst she’d ranted and raved about that and everything else she was pissed off about before she’d broken down into tears and apologised, falling into his arms and going on another rant about how shitty she was feeling.

His wife was such a strong person normally, the strongest person Steve knew in fact, but over the last week she’d been up and down mood-wise more than any other time during her pregnancy, and he hated seeing her so uncomfortable and upset. And tonight, she was physically the most uncomfortable he had seen her yet. “Yeah, he’s just kicking.” She sighed, rolling over to face him. “Really hard, Steve. It fucking hurts.” Steve gave her a sympathetic smile as he reached out and pressed his hand to her abdomen, waiting, and then he felt another sharp dig, Katie hissing air out through her teeth.

“Maybe he’s gonna be a footballer.” Steve yawned, attempting to make light of the situation. But it didn’t work. “Well I’m not a football.” She grumbled, pressing her hand to her stomach just above Steve’s. “Pack it in, Buddy, please.”

Co-incidence or not, their baby stopped kicking, but Katie was still restless. She moved again, and again, until finally Steve sat up, flicking on the lamp, his face silently asking her what the issue was. Katie had to smile, there wasn’t a shred of annoyance in his face, despite the fact it was almost one in the morning thanks to her sleep patterns being all over the place. Instead, there was nothing but love and genuine concern across his handsome features and coupled with the fact she was hormonal and just felt a bit shit, she started to cry.

“I’m fed up Steve.” She sniffled. “I’m fat, I had to get Natasha to shave my legs yesterday, I can’t see my feet, I need to pee all the time and…” “Sweetheart,” he chuckled, softly looking down at her, taking his face in her hands, “first off, you’re not fat, you’re pregnant. Very pregnant. With our baby.”

“I know but,” she continued to cry, “I just…”

Whatever it was that she just, Steve never found out as she simply sniffed again and moved so that her head was lay across his lap over the covers of their California king, and he gently stroked her hair. And for a moment he thought he’d managed to sooth her until she gave another groan.

“For fucks sake, I just can’t get comfy.”  She sniffled, her sobs coming again as she sat up. “My back and my shoulders…”

Okay, this he could try and help with. Smiling to himself he looked at her. “Assume the position, Doll.” She gave out a watery laugh as she heaved herself over so she was facing away from him. Steve shuffled down so that he was led right behind her and doing the one thing he could to try and get her to feel a little relaxed, he slid his strong hands up her top, his deft fingers gently massaging and rubbing at the spot he knew was sor in her lower back.

“You still feeling funny?” He asked, his fingers working the tight and aching muscles and she nodded.

“Have been all day, but it’s not uncommon apparently. Pepper said she felt iffy for the last four weeks of her pregnancy.” “Four weeks.” Steve mused, his fingers stopping momentarily before he started again. “As if he’s gonna be here in four weeks.” “Well, it could be any time technically. And I hope it is, because frankly, I can’t wait to get him out.” She sighed, as Steve’s hands gently guided her top, well his shirt, over her head so his hands could work at her shoulders and her upper back.

“Hmmm,” he gently swept her hair off her neck so he could plant a soft kiss there. “I can’t wait but I’m gonna miss your bump.” “I’m not,” she scoffed, as his hands crept round to cradle her distended stomach, “and stop feeling him and carry on. Until he’s here this is all about me, remember.” She shrugged her shoulders, emphasizing her message, and he chuckled. “Sorry doll.” Relaxing into his touch, Katie felt herself leaning back against him and then Steve made the best suggestion he had ever made to her in the history of suggestions.

“Why don’t I run you a bath? I know it’s late but Emmy’s at Brooke’s for the evening and it might help.” Katie groaned “God, yes.”

He kissed the back of her neck and threw back the covers, climbing out of the bed, not an inch of tiredness displayed in his body. Despite herself, Katie had to bite back a laugh. He was like a coiled spring at the moment. He had told Rhodey a few weeks ago that he wasn’t travelling anywhere now until the baby was here for fear of missing anything, but as a result that relentless energy which normally went into his work was bubbling inside him, and even his runs every morning and night were doing nothing to help.

Laying back she closed her eyes until she heard him calling and she heaved herself up, taking a moment to steady herself before she rather ungraciously waddled out of the room, one hand pressed to her lower back, the other clamped under the bottom of her bump.

“Give me a hand when you need me to lift you out.” Steve chuckled as he passed her on the hallway and she spun round, glaring at him. “Like last time.” “That’s not funny.”

“No, but it will give me the chance to eye up your naked pregnant body, something I intend to make the most of as it won’t be around for much longer.” “You’re a piece of work, Steven Grant Rogers.” She huffed, as she turned and headed to the bathroom.

Steve settled back on the bed and flicked on the TV. There wasn’t much on but in the end he logged into Netflix and settled for a few re-runs of ‘Brooklyn 99’. The show was absurd, but it was easy watching and he quite liked it, Jake Peralta reminded him in an odd way of a cross between Tony and Thor with his incessant energy and ridiculousness. About halfway through an episode, he was struck with another good idea, and he headed down into the kitchen to make them both a drink, cocoa for him and a ginger and honey tea for Katie. He carried the mug into the bathroom where his wife was slumped in the tub, surrounded by lavender and camomile bubbles, her eyes closed. She looked up at him, one eye open as he walked in, handing her the mug and she let out a soft groan.

“My hero.” She smiled as he dropped a kiss onto her lips before heading back into their room.

It was about another thirty minutes or so when she did call him. He knew she hated this, needing his help, but getting out of the huge tub on her own was simply a physical impossibility.  Once he’d helped her out and she was wrapped in a robe, she dropped on the bed, seemingly pacified for a moment until she suddenly wanted peanut butter. Heading into the kitchen, he opened the cupboard and a cold feeling of dread washed over him when he realised they were out.

Fuck, fuck!

He was certain there had been three jars in there this morning. He frantically searched the rest of the kitchen, just in case Katie’s baby-brain had meant she’d stashed it somewhere else, but there as none to be found. Grimacing, he took the stairs two at a time and winced at the look on his wife’s face when he told her she must have eaten it all, before hastily placating her as her eyes watered, reminding her that the twenty-four hour mart was only a five minute drive away.

Which was why he found himself there at twenty-seven minutes past two on a Sunday morning buying six jars of the damned stuff.

Captain America, buying jars of peanut butter at half 2 in the morning for his wife.

Steve smiled to himself, he didn’t give a shit.

“Missus is Pregnant.” He nodded to the man behind the counter, who gave him a look of confusion as he dropped the jars onto the side by the till. The guy laughed, and nodded.

“It was chow-mein with my gal.” He chuckled as Steve handed over the cash. “That was a pain in the ass at four am on a Sunday. Trust me buddy, you got off lightly.”

Thanking his lucky stars that his wife’s craving was, indeed, relatively simple, Steve headed back home and she nearly cried when she took a jar off him and dug in with a spoon. They sat still for another hour, at which point Steve really was ready to fall asleep, and after eating half of a jar in one go, Katie screwed the top back on and set it back on her nightstand, her eyes drooping slightly.

“Think I’m okay now.” She nodded softly and Steve hummed into her hair, reaching up and turning the TV and lamp off and settling them down. She managed about half an hour before she groaned again and heaved herself off to the bathroom, this time for a pee. When she came back she lay facing him, her fingers gently tracing his jaw and he cracked one eye open and they just lay there, watching one another in the dim light.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

“What for?”

“Keeping you awake.”

Steve chuckled and leaned forward to give her a soft kiss “Honey, it’s fine.”

And it was, it really was. He would be tired tomorrow, he knew that, but he didn’t care.

He closed his eyes and he was on the verge of sleep, teetering between dozing and being fully under when…

“Steve.” Katie whispered softly, and he grinned as he knew that suggestive tone way too well. “I’m horny, now.” “You really know how to pick your moments, Mrs Rogers.” He sniggered a little, opening his eyes,  as his mouth met hers again, the slight taste of the peanut butter made him smile even more as both his lips held her bottom one as the kiss lingered.

“Blame your son.” She murmured as she kissed him again, her hands creeping into the back of his hair, eliciting a soft moan from him.

And that was all it took.

Steve was obliging, and kissed every part of her body he could, taking care to avoid the rather tender chest area. It was slow, soft, as their bodies joined in the ever so familiar dance, tangled in the sheets of the bed. As his wife rode him, her large bump not allowing for any other position, Steve’s hands never left the side of her hips, the pair of them groaning loudly as her release took her over the edge and he followed shortly after. They lay there, gently on the bed together, Katie’s back pressed into his chest, for half an hour or so afterwards. Steve’s hand was strong yet gentle over her waist, his hand caressing the place his son was currently dwelling, thumb stroking her stretched skin in soft arcs. And when he felt her finally relaxed, he took a quick glance at the digital clock on the night stand, giving a slight roll of the eyes as he saw it was almost half four in the morning.

****** Katie woke later that morning at little after eight, trying not to groan at the now quite nasty pain in her back. She didn’t even try to go back to sleep, knowing it was utterly pointless. Instead, leaving Steve flat out, exhausted from the nights activities, she headed into the kitchen to make herself a peppermint tea and stuck a heat pack into the microwave, grabbing another jar of peanut butter.

The pains in her back and lower stomach continued to get progressively worse through the morning and along with them so did Katie’s mood. Emmy had called asking to stay at Brooke’s for a bit longer, which suited Steve as it meant he could give Katie his undivided attention, so he agreed and promised to collect her later in the evening.

As they both stood in the kitchen, Katie trying to decide what she wanted for lunch, eventually settling on meatball subs. They began to cook together, something to take Katie’s mind of feeling so uncomfortable, but as she turned to pass Steve the cheese so he could start loading the bread up, a searing pain flashed across her abdomen causing her to give a loud exclamation and clutch at the counter edge with one hand, dropping the packet of grated cheddar from the other.

“Katie?” Steve turned to face her, frowning “Sweetheart?”

She turned into him, curling her fists into his shirt, pressing her head against his chest, with a groan, her forehead digging into his collarbone. He gently held her back, supporting her as she breathed through the pain.

“I - mm.”  Katie’s voice was trembling, a combination of fear and excitement. “I thought it was just cramps but now I think…”

Steve understood immediately. And despite all the classes, all the prep, everything, he suddenly felt really, really nervous “What? Now?”

She looked up into his eyes which were wide, in a combination of anticipation and trepidation and laughed. “I think so, yeah.”

Steve went straight into Captain mode. The maternity bag was loaded into the car, Dr Kellet was called who told them to monitor the contractions in frequency and duration, and a bath was run to try and make Katie more comfortable but it didn’t work.

Neither did a soft walk round the block with Lucky.

Four hours later, Katie was stood, bent over the back of the sofa as Steve rubbed her back, helping her breath through another contraction. They were now coming every thirteen minutes and getting far more painful (thanks to Steve’s impeccable time keeping skills for that one) when Katie noticed him step back slightly as she felt a dampness spread across her legs.

Her waters had gone.

“Baby, I think-“ “I know,” she grit her teeth as the pain subsided again. Steve was already on the phone to Dr Kellet and as he thanked her and placed the phone into his pocket he gently placed his hands on the side of his wife’s hips as she straightened up.

“She’s told us to go in.” A smile flickered on his face and despite the pain and stress she was feeling, Katie couldn’t help but find her heart swelling at the excitement on his face.

Steve called Tony, asking him to collect Emmy, then rang the girl herself who squealed with excitement at the fact her brother was on his way. A quick chat to Jennifer’s mum to explain, the woman wishing them both luck, and Katie was in the car and they were off, making quite possibly the most important journey of their lives. Steve drove carefully but determinedly to the Birthing Centre, his thumb tapping out a nervous rhythm on the steering wheel, casting glances at Katie every chance he got, and by the time they had arrived twenty minutes later the contractions were arriving five minutes apart.

He helped her change and got her settled in their airey room, his hand curling round hers as she lay back on the bed, both of them pleased to see the familiar face of Dr Kellet as she walked into the room just as another contraction hit Katie. Once it had subsided, Dr Kellet smiled moved to examine her.

“Yes, you’re in active labour Mrs Rogers.” The Doctor smiled. “You have a little while to go yet though so, we’ll try and get you a little more comfortable, okay?”

Katie nodded.

“And you still don’t want an epidural?”

“No.” She shook her head firmly, and Steve raised her hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it. She’d been adamant that there were no needles going anywhere near her back, not after what HYDRA had done to her, which broke Steve a little when she’d said that to him, not only at the memory of what she’d been through, but also a the fact she was going to be giving birth with little relief.

Three hours later, however, Katie was seriously questioning her decision. She was on all fours on the bed, desperately trying to find some release that the gas and air wasn’t really providing anymore as Steve rubbed her back, feeling utterly helpless.

“I don’t like you-” Katie groaned, her voice cutting off as another wave of pain washed over me. “I don’t you seeing me like this. I don’t like it, you should go”

Go? Not a chance, Doll, he thought to himself as he glanced up at the midwife who simply smiled at him. He leant down so his lips were by Katie’s ear and she turned her head, burying it into his shoulder, as his arms supported hers. “Katie Marie Rogers, I have seen you throw tantrums that rival the ones a two year old could produce, I’ve seen you with a face full of blood and a broken nose, I’ve watched you crawl through a dirty hole in the floor to disarm a bomb, and come out trembling. I’ve seen you scream the house down after spotting a damned spider, I’ve seen you half dead,” the words caught in his throat at the memory, “I’ve seen you shit faced to the point of puking, not to mention that I’ve seen you in every single position going.”

Katie snorted loudly, before gripping at his arm as another wave crashed over her.

“None of that could ever make me love you any less. And, seeing you here now, about to give birth to our boy, well I couldn’t love you anymore if I tried. I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

She looked up at him through her tears and he wiped at her face with his thumbs, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, before she let out a gasp.

“I need, I need to push.” The panic tone in her voice made Steve glance up at the Doctor as Katie grabbed athis arm. “Steve, I…oh shit, I want to lay back, please, I need-“

“Okay, okay, I got you.” Steve assured her as the Doctor nodded at him to oblige. He gently helped her onto the back as Dr Kellet stood forward.

“You good?” She asked Katie who shot her a scathing look and Steve had to bite back the snort at the fact the Doctor merely raised an eyebrow whereas most people would be quaking in their boots at that infamous Stark glare. Instead, she merely smiled. “Let’s have a look.” Katie grabbed Steve’s hand with a force he didn’t think possible, and it almost made him wince slightly, but he was damned if he was showing her that she was hurting him. As far as he was concerned, she could break every damned finger he had if it meant she was okay, that their son was okay.

“Yep, we’re in business.” The Doctor said, nodding to the midwife that was in the room. “Okay, Mrs Rogers, next time you feel ready to push I want you to do so gently, follow my lead, Steve is gonna help you with your breathing okay?”

And Steve tried, boy did he try. But after twenty minutes of pushing, Katie was pissed off, tired, in agony and just wanted it all to be over.

"You’re doing so well, Sweetheart.”  He smiled gently, as he brought her hand up to his lips.

“You are NEVER touching me again.” She grit her teeth and he let out a chuckle, wiping her clammy forehead with one hand.

“Alright, Katie.” The midwife looked at her from the foot of the bed. “Next time, I want a big, strong one. He’s crowning. Chin into your chest…”

“Fuuuuuck…” Katie screamed, another contraction hitting her and she let out a yell, gripping Steve’s hand as she pushed with everything she had.

You’re doing amazing, Katie. Just one more.” Steve dropped a kiss to her forehead, his heart was beating so loud he was sure she would hear it. “Come on, you got this, and I’ve got you, okay?” Another yell, one final push and then…

A piercing scream hit their ears as Katie sagged back on the pillow panting before she looked up, relief crashing over her. Steve was beaming from ear to ear, his eyes wet as he looked at his wife, in awe at how simply amazing and strong she was.

“You did it.” His voice cracked as he kissed her head. “Oh, Baby Girl, you did it.”

“He’s here?” Katie asked, dazed slightly as their baby was placed straight onto her chest, where the buttons at the top of her gown were undone, and instantly the warmth she felt was like nothing she had ever experienced before, her chest filling as she held their baby boy tenderly, tears pouring down her face.

“Oh God.” Steve breathed, his voice cracking, as Jamie was covered with a towel, resting on his wife’s chest, his piercing cries subsiding at the skin to skin contact. Steve rest his head against Katie’s, wiping the tears that had pooled at the end of his nose away, and the pair of them looked down getting their first glimpse of their son.

“Hi, baby!” Katie finally managed to speak, looking down through her tears at the tiny bundle in her arms as his head lay against her chest, making little snuffling noises. “We waited so long for you!”

She finally tore her eyes off the precious bundle and looked up at Steve, his eyes swimming with tears of joy as her own continued to fall down her cheeks. "It’s our boy, Steve.”

“He’s perfect.” Steve whispered again and gently smoothed down the towel with a trembling hand so he could see their baby’s face clearly. Steve instantly noticed he small spattering of dark blonde hair on his head, and there was something distinctly Stark-like about his nose. Then his eyes barely opened, but through them he saw a sliver of beautiful baby blue. 

The Soldier’s heart instantly swelled so full he thought it would bust from his chest. He already knew this, but as he looked down at his son, it simply solidified the fact that he would take on the world to protect that little bundle in his wife’s arms, shield or no shield.

They remained wrapped in their own little bubble so much so that neither of them knew what was going on around them. Eventually, their baby was gently taken to the opposite side of the room whilst Katie was cleaned up. He was weighed at 7lb 4, which was, given Steve’s size, rather small but still perfectly healthy. Steve couldn’t help but hover, watching what they were doing with his boy, wincing as they gave him a shot of vitamin K.

“Does he have a name?” The nurse recording his AGPA scores looked up. Steve looked at Katie and she nodded at him.

“James” Steve spoke, his voice croaky. “Jamie.” “Alright.” The nurse scribbled something onto a band which was placed around his wrist before he was wrapped in a clean towel and the midwife looked up at Steve.

“Would you like to take him, Dad?”

Steve nodded, swallowing.“Yeah, yeah I would.” “Okay, well if you’re comfortable doing so, open your shirt, he’ll appreciate the skin to skin contact…”

Steve did was he was told, undoing the four buttons on his dark green Henley and could do nothing but gasp as his son was laid in his arms, tears once more forming in his eyes as he cradled their child to his chest for the first time, awestruck as he brought his lips down to drop gently on his head.

“Hey, Pal.” He whispered unsteadily. “I’m your Dad.”

Katie watched the two of them, more tears springing into her eyes as Steve sat down on the chair next to the bed and she just watched the pair of them, Steve’s eyes not once leaving his boy, who Katie noticed was now trying to burrow into his chest face-first.

“What are you doing, lights too bright for you, Buddy?” He asked softly.

“It’s called rooting.” One of the nurses looked over “He’s wanting to feed. Are you ready to try Mrs Rogers?”

Katie nodded and sat up slightly, as Steve gently handed him over and the midwife helped Katie position him correctly. It took a while, but when he finally latched on and began to suckle, Katie looked down into her baby’s face, trying to memorize the way the tiny hand curled against her skin. Steve leaned close, simply watching, his heart full of a love like nothing he had ever felt before.

“You’re beautiful,” he told Katie suddenly, and she laughed a little, because it was anything but true at that moment in time.

“I think the serum is failing as your eyes are clearly not working properly.” She retorted, glancing up at him.

“I mean it,” he repeated, leaning in to kiss her temple. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And look what you made!”

She glanced down at Jamie, who was feeding enthusiastically and smiled. “What we made…” “Yeah but you cooked him.” Steve’s finger slid under her chin so that she was looking back up at him, and he held her gaze, driving his words home. “Thank you.”

Katie leaned into his touch as his palm caressed her cheek. Carefully, he moved to sit on the bed beside her, guiding her head against his shoulder and gathering his family into very gentle embrace, his eyes not once leaving his baby.

"I love you,” he whispered into her hair - and he didn’t budge from that spot until Jamie was done nursing and Katie was then escorted to the toilet. In there she changed out of the gown and into a pair of pyjamas and returned from the en-suite of their private room, with a tired smile on her face to see that Steve, had dug out a baby grow. Katie watched as he placed their son in the cot by the end of the bed, with infinite tenderness, and the new parents dressed him for the first time.

“I suggest you both get some sleep whilst you can.” Dr Kellet smiled, peering into the cot where Jamie was now yawning, eyes drooping. “I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you. If you need anything though, just hit the call button and one of the Midwives will come in. Congratulations.” Steve and Katie both thanked her as Katie headed over to the bed, dropping exhaustedly onto it.

“You should go get some rest.” She yawned and Steve shook his head.

“I’m not leaving you.” Steve snapped a quick photo of the sleeping baby before settling on the bed as Katie lay her head on his chest. “Not a chance.”

It wasn’t long before she had fallen asleep, exhausted, and Steve sat up slightly, firing the photo off to Tony, Emmy, Nat and Rhodey. The replies of congratulations flooded in, along with a selfie of Tony, Pepper and Emmy on Tony’s sofa with their thumbs up. Steve snorted, it was almost two am now, but he knew that Tony and Emmy would be too excited to sleep. He placed his phone back on the night stand and settled down next to his wife, his hand straying into her hair. A little sniffling noise came from the cot at the side of the bed and Steve sat up, to check on him, but Jamie was sleeping soundly so he relaxed back, taking a deep breath.

He was in way over his head, and there was no planning for this mission, not one bit. But Steve found he didn’t mind. As he dropped a kiss to Katie’s head, he closed his eyes with a satisfied sigh knowing full well that the 7th March 2020 was a date he was never going to forget.

****

Katie opened her eyes and stared around the unfamiliar room which was lowly lit from a chink of light flooding in under the door. She sat up so quickly that her head spun, and she dropped back against the pillow, taking a deep breath. Then her eyes caught the man in the chair by her bed, and the memory of the night before came back. At some point in the night Jamie had woken for a feed but post it wouldn’t stop fussing and Katie’s half-conscious attempts to soothe him had failed. Steve had at that point stepped in and taken him, insisting that she get some rest as he paced the room with his son, gently rocking him to and fro. Her husband was now leaned back in the chair by her bed fast asleep, their little boy slumbering on his dad’s chest, secured by Steve’s large, gentle hands. Katie felt her heart swell and she grabbed her phone, noting that the time was only a little after 6:30 am, meaning that it was only two hours or so since his feed. She took a quick snap, contemplated taking Jamie back to his crib before she decided he was fine where he was. Steve wouldn’t let anything happen to him. Glancing at her two boys, she sank deeper into her pillow, quietly satisfied, as she drifted back off into a light sleep.

Steve was woken by a soft cry about forty-five minutes later, and despite his best attempts Jamie wouldn’t settle.

“Sorry, Doll.” he looked at Katie as she woke, blinking as she pushed herself up. “I think he’s hungry and I can’t help him in that department.” With a smile she took their baby and began to nurse him again, something Steve didn’t think he’d ever get tired of seeing. Once he was fed, the midwives appeared and offered them breakfast which they gratefully accepted and then Katie positively moaned when she was told she could shower. She was dried off an and in a clean set of Pyjamas just in time for visiting hours which started at ten.

At one minute past there was a knock on the door to their room.

“Hey Mommy and Daddy!” Pepper peering round the door clutching a huge blue balloon as Tony followed, Morgan in her stroller. The tot squealed when she saw Steve who stood up to greet them as Emmy flew into the room, locking her arms around Steve’s waist. He dropped a kiss to her head and looked up as Natasha stepped in hot on their tail.

”Congratulations Cap.”  Tony beamed, shaking Steve’s hand before he pulled him into an embrace. Katie smiled up at her family, Jamie clutched in her arms having just been fed again as Tony moved and stepped up to the bed, kissing the top of his sister’s head as he peered down at his nephew.

“Well done, Kiddo.” he whispered softly and she smiled at him. 

Pepper was next to congratulate her, then Natasha and finally Emmy who gave her brother an appraising look. “Hmmm takes after you, Dad.” She smirked up at Steve. “Where else is he gonna get a face like that?” Steve rolled his eyes as he stood up from where he had been crouched saying hello to Morgan. He glanced at Tony who was peering down at his nephew, a huge grin on his face.

“He’s beautiful, guys.” Tony said and Katie smiled up at her brother and he made a gesture with his arms. “Can I?”

Katie nodded, and moved to gently pass him over, and Tony took him in his arms with a soft chuckle.

“Hey, Champ.” He beamed down as Jamie moved softly in his arms, kicking slightly. “How’s it going?”

“How are you feeling?” Pepper asked, looking at Katie.

“Tired but, I’m good.”

“So, does he have a name yet?” Tony looked at Katie and Steve took a deep breath, his arms crossing over his chest. If truth be told, he was a little nervous about revealing the name they had chosen, Bucky wasn’t Tony’s favourite person, but before he could answer he spotted Katie giving Emmy a small wink.

“Horatio Montgomery Rogers.” Katie nodded. “Monty for short.” There was a pause whilst Pepper, Tony and Nat all exchanged a look and Steve bit on his lip.

“That’s…” Tony began, searching for words as he glanced down at the baby in his arms before he finally settled on, “…unusual”

Emmy looked at Katie again before they but out laughing.

“I can’t believe you fell for that, Uncle Tony!” Emmy cackled. “Such an idiot.”

“I resent that.” Tony pouted and Natasha cleared her throat.

“So what is his name?” Nat pressed. Katie looked at Steve and gave him a nod.

“James Anthony Samuel Rogers” Steve took a deep breath as Tony blinked. “Jamie for short.” “James Anthony Samuel.” Tony whispered looking down at Jamie. “James. Anthony?” His eyes locked onto Katie’s, then Steve’s, before they flicked back down to his nephew. “You actually named him after me?”

Katie smiled. “Yeah, guess we did”

“And I was only joking too.” His voice choked as Natasha, stepped forward to peer down at the baby in his arms. “But the James is after Barnes, right?” She looked up. Steve took a deep breath, his eyes flickered to Tony who was simply gazing down at his nephew with adoration as Katie answered.

“There’s so many people we’ve both known or know with the name James.” She shrugged. “Rhodey, half the Howling Commandos, but yes, Bucky was one big reason, another was Grandad Jim.” Tony looked up at her, smiling, his eyes wet. “Yeah, Grandpa Jim was pretty awesome”

“And so is his uncle-slash-grandpa.” She smiled and Tony gave a loud sniffle.

“Wrap it up Kiddo, you’re killing me” He shook his head as he turned to Natasha. “We’ll call that one a draw.”

Steve rolled his eyes, as Natasha shrugged. “Suppose you can’t be wrong all the time, Shell-Head.”

Jamie was passed around, and Emmy finally got to have a hold as she sat in the chair, Steve crouched by her side as she peered down at the baby. But when it was Natasha’s turn, the red head grew almost as emotional as Tony as she held him and he curled his tiny hand around her finger.

“Good job he likes you.” Katie smiled at her, “you know, seeing as you’re gonna be his god-mother and all…” “Me?” Nat’s head whipped up and she looked at Katie, then Steve, her eyes full of tears. “I mean…” “Well, there’s no one else for the job so it kinda falls to you by default.” Steve teased from where he was perched on the arm of the chair.

“You’re such a douche.”  Emmy muttered, elbowing Steve in the ribs and Tony’s face split into a grin.

“Kid, you have no idea…did you know his nickname is Spangles?” “Spangles?” she grinned and Steve groaned

“No one calls him Spangles other than Tony, because Tony is an idiot.” Katie shook her head.

At that point, Jamie let out a huge shriek and Natasha promptly crossed the room to hand him back to his momma, who placed him over her shoulder and he nuzzled into her neck, his nose brushing against her jaw line. As she looked around the room, her eyes locked onto Steve’s and he gave her, quite possibly, the most affectionate look she could ever recall him giving her. And at that moment, although they were surrounded by their friends and family, she felt like the only woman in the world.

*****

Thankfully as everything had gone as well as expected they were discharged later that day and they could go home. Steve, having practiced about a billion times, expertly clipped Jamie’s car seat into the base of the Porche SUV they had borrowed from Tony a few weeks ago (the Camero just wasn’t baby friendly) and Katie climbed into the back, positioning herself in the middle seat so she was by their son for the drive home.

Emmy had gone back to Tony’s to give them the evening to settle in, and with Lucky also with them, when Katie and Steve walked into the house, Steve carefully carrying the car seat containing the most precious cargo he had ever carried, it struck them that they were suddenly on their own.

With a baby.

Steve set the car seat on the coffee table in the lounge and the two of them sat on the couch, looking at their baby before they looked at one another, neither of them having a clue what to do next.

Thankfully, a piercing scream from Jamie jolted them out of the stupor and dictated exactly what they needed to do. As Katie set about feeding him, Steve headed into the kitchen to make them something to eat and by eight pm the pair of them were whacked and ready for bed but Jamie had other ideas. It took a lot of pacing, frustrated sighs and prayers but he finally settled a few hours later and the new parents crawled between their sheets, exhausted, frustrated and feeling like they were embarking on a mission which was far bigger than any they had faced before.

*****

Steve heard his wife get up, but didn’t register why. Not at first. He dozed for another half hour or so before he heard a cry and he sat upright, looking around. He blinked, saw the empty crib at the side of the bed and smiled to himself. Swinging his legs out of bed he pulled on a t-shirt and grabbed the bag he’d had waiting for weeks out of the back of his closet before he headed down the stairs.

Katie was sat on the sofa in one of his button downs, her bare legs crossed, munching on a piece of toast when he paused in the door to the lounge taking in the scene. The domesticity of it all hit him for a moment and he felt himself welling up, he’d never in his wildest dreams dared to imagine he would ever be this damned lucky. But here he was, gorgeous wife, beautiful baby…

At that point, Jamie started fussing and she instantly placed her hand on his tummy whilst he lay in the wicker Moses basket in front of her, gently hushing him, all the while a look on her face of infinite tenderness. As he settled she smiled, simply gazing at their boy for a moment before she looked up and smiled at Steve. He walked over to her and dropped a soft, lingering kiss to her lips and she smiled.

“Morning.” She whispered and he smiled against her mouth, kissing her again before his attention turned to his boy and he gently reached into the basket, his finger softly running down his son’s cheek.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” “Could you feed him?” Katie grinned and Steve let out a soft laugh and shook his head.

“No, suppose not.” He looked at Katie and nodded to Jamie “Can I?”

“Steve, honey, he’s your son. Of course you can.” He placed the bag he was holding on the coffee table, Katie still not noticing it, as he reached into the basket and gently picked his son up, cradling him to his chest as Jamie buried his face into his neck, still sleeping. Steve gently moved to sit on the couch and Katie watched the pair of them, smiling softly.

“That’s for you.” He nodded to the Tiffany bag. Katie glanced at, blinking in surprise before she frowned slightly.

“What for?”

“Well it used to be a tradition to buy your wife something after your first child and Tony assured me it still was so…”

She beamed at him and reached over for the bag. As Steve cradled his boy close he watched his wife pull out the blue ring box and open it, her mouth dropping open as she looked at the platinum Eternity band which was studded with sapphires and diamonds.

“It’s beautiful.” She whispered, turning to him and leaning over to give him a soft kiss. “Thank you.” Steve beamed at her and watched as she rejigged the rings on her wedding finger so she could place it in between her wedding and her engagement ring. She flashed her hand at him to show him what it looked like on.

“Looks good.” He smiled “I clearly have good taste.” “Of course you do, you chose me.” ****

“Come here.”

Steve turned to look at Katie who was on the other side of their bedroom and he frowned. “What?”

“Just come here.” 

Steve crossed the room towards her where she grabbed the bottle of his aftershave and sprayed an amount to his neck.

“What are you…” he frowned as she stood up to take a deep sniff.

“Oh thank God!” She groaned. “I can sniff you again without feeling sick!”

Steve snorted, and shook his head, a grin on his face as Katie began to spray the Hugo Boss around the room, sniffing and smiling to herself before she stopped and grimaced.

“Oh, that’s…” She looked down at the crib and Steve did the same.

“Oh.” Steve wrinkled his nose

“Your turn, Daddy.” She patted his back. “I’m going for a shower.” Steve looked at her, slightly panicked as Jamie began to let out a soft cry “What, alone?” “Don’t tell me Captain American can’t deal with a bit of poop.”

“It’s not that. I might do it wrong or…” “Steve, relax, what’s the worst that can happen?” She eyed him, as he bit his lip, watching his reaction carefully. Whilst he had been amazing that night in the hospital, once they had gotten home and away from the safety net of midwives, she had fast realised that Steve had suddenly grown incredibly nervous when it came to their baby, asking permission to pick him up, wind him, cuddle him and Katie was keen to nip that in the bud right away. She knew he wanted to help as much as possible and she didn’t want him to constantly be second guessing everything he did.

“I err…” Steve stuttered and she cut him off. “You saw me before.” She shrugged, heading into the en-suite. “You’ll be fine.”

Steve watched her go and then peered down at his son, swallowing slightly before he picked him up and took him into the nursery. As soon as the baby-grow was off, Jamie still crying slightly, Steve suddenly felt completely inadequate. Cursing to himself, he laid Jamie gently on the changing mat, wrinkling his nose and trying to shut out the scream that was ringing round his ears. At that point he was seriously starting to believe that this was worse than facing off against thirty HYDRA agents single headedly. Taking a deep breath and telling himself to get it together, he managed to clean Jamie, get a fresh diaper on, and then once he was dressed again, he picked the baby up.

“Come on, Pall.” He soothed softly, his large hand gently smoothing his son’s back as he walked over to look out of the bedroom window “You know, that there is the best city in the world,” he glanced over the Brooklyn skyline, “one day I’ll show you all the places I used to go, tell you all about my life and the Rogers clan, and who you’re named after. Take you to meet your Grandma…”

He stopped talking as he realised Jamie had fallen silent, and was now relaxed completely against him, his face gently pressed against his shoulder.  “Thass ma boy.” He whispered, dropping a kiss to his head. He turned to see Katie was stood in the doorway, her hair damp as she was wrapped in a towel gown.

“See.” she smiled as she crossed the room towards them both. “I told you it would be okay.” She gently smoothed a hand over the baby boy’s head before dropping a kiss to his crown.

“Should I put him down to sleep now?” Steve asked and Katie looked at him.

“Do you want to put him down?”

“Not really.” Steve admitted, with a little smile. “You gonna drop him?” “Shut up.” Steve rolled his eyes. “Of course not.” “Then no, you don’t have to put him down.” Katie smiled “He’s your baby, Steve. If you wanna cuddle him, cuddle him.” “Sorry, I’m fussing again ain’t I?” Steve sighed.

Katie gently stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to her husband’s lips. “Fussing is fine, just don’t doubt yourself. I don’t know what I’m doing any more than you do, but we’ll figure it out.”

Steve smiled, as he gave her a soft kiss. “I still swear you can read minds.”

“No, I can just read you.” She corrected. “Now, before you go get Emmy, can I leave you whilst I take a quick nap? He’s gonna want a feed soon and I’m so tired. ”

Steve looked at his wife, then to his son who was perfectly content, his little nose and mouth now resting firmly against Steve’s collar bone. He smiled back at Katie and gave her another soft kiss.

“Think we’ll be okay.”

 **** Chapter 45

**Original Posting**

[queenxxxsupreme]

🍺 anon. I hope this helps in any case, imagine how sweet and giggly Eskel and his SO would be having a snowball fight in or around Kaer Morhen!

A/N: Babe I had a dumb moment and fucking wrote this but completely lost it among the other 753,249 WIPs I have so I never actually got around to posting it even though it very well could have been posted weeks ago... I am such a mess 

***

As you pushed the heavy doors to the keep open, a gust of wind blew into you, biting your nose and blowing your hair out of your face. 

You paused for a moment, debating on going back inside and just waiting for Eskel to return. He’d been gone all morning. He left right as the sun was coming up, needing to check on the animals. He promised he wouldn’t be long and that he’d be back in bed before you woke up, but that didn’t happen. Hours had passed and he had yet to return. 

You figured he’d gotten caught up in something else. Perhaps he wasn’t sneaky enough to slip past Vesemir. 

But you didn’t like the thought of just laying around in the warmth and comforts of your bed while he was out working. 

So with a deep breath, you stepped out of the keep. 

Snow crunched beneath your feet as you made your way towards the shelter for the goats. All six of them, Lil Bleater included, were huddled up on a fresh bed of straw. She lifted her head at the sight of you, letting out a rather loud bleat.

“Daddy isn’t in here, is he?” You stepped into the shelter, shutting the door firmly behind yourself, and moved to pet all the goats. You couldn’t just leave without saying hi to them. 

Once you’d given them some love and attention, you headed towards the stables. 

As the door to the stable creaked open, you heard a quiet whispering. But it soon stopped. You stayed there by the door, listening carefully. 

“Doll?” His voice made you smile. “Is that you?”

Scorpion’s stall was the first one you came upon. 

“I was afraid you’d gotten lost.” You rubbed the horse’s nose. “You’ve been gone for nearly three hours.”

“Ah, shit. Sorry, doll. Lost track of time.”

You moved down to the last stall on the right, finding Eskel brushing Lambert’s horse, Champion.

“You didn’t have to come find me.” He glanced up at you, golden eyes shining from the fire burning just behind you. 

“What if you were lost in the snow?” You raised a brow, a teasing tone playing on your voice. 

He chuckled. 

“I think I’d manage.”

You rocked back and forth on your heels, rubbing your hands together as you waited for him to finish. 

“Doll, you can go back to bed.”

You hesitated, wanting to have him in bed with you. 

An idea popped into your head. You nodded, letting a frown come over your lips. 

“I’ll see you upstairs.” You moved forward to kiss him. 

He hugged you tight and then let you go. Eskel watched you leave, eyes lingering on the door even after you disappeared. 

***

He pushed the doors to the stables shut behind himself and began to head towards the door to the keep. He found himself looking at the ground as he walked, following the tracks you left behind in the snow. He smiled a little, knowing very well you had shuffled your feet most of the way.

As he neared the main doors to the keep, his brows furrowed together. Your tracks seemed to veer away from the doors and disappeared around a corner. 

The witcher paused for a moment to listen. That’s when he heard your heart beating. 

“Y/N?” He moved towards the corner, confused and a little concerned. 

Just as he was peeking around the corner, something cold hit him on the front of his neck. He stepped back in shock, hands coming up to check and see what it was that had hit him. 

Your laughter broke through the air. 

“I got you!” 

Eskel’s eyes found you, clutching your chest as you laughed. 

“You’ve been out here this whole time?” He asked, raising his brows. “You were waiting for me to come by so you could hit me with a snowball?”

You nodded, bringing your hand up to cover your mouth. 

“My turn.” Eskel smirked a little, kneeling down to scoop up some snow. 

“No!” You gasped, pointing a finger at him. “Eskel!”

“Don't worry, doll. I'll be gentle.” He took a few steps towards you. 

You turned and darted across the courtyard, seeking cover behind a tree. 

“Oh, doll.” Eskel sighed mockingly, shaking his head. “That won't protect you from me.”

“Eskel! I was just messing with you!” You kept yourself as close to the tree as possible. “I-I’m freezing cold! You've been out here forever.”

“You could've stayed in bed.”

“I thought you were lost in the snow!”

“You're adorable, doll.”

“.... Thank you.” 

He chuckled. 

You peeked around the tree to look for the witcher, but he was nowhere to be seen. Just as you turned to look and for him, snow hit the back of your head and fell down the back of your shirt. You gasped and arched your back. 

“Eskel!”

“What's the matter, doll?”

You turned to face him, wearing a big frown on your lips as you shivered. 

“I'm cold!”

“Poor baby.” He pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. ”Do you want to go inside?”

You nodded. 

“Okay. Let's go.” 

He turned to begin the trek to the front doors. 

With his back to you, you had the perfect opportunity to kneel down and pick up more snow. You formed a ball and threw it at him. He moved out of the way just in time for it to fly past his head.

“Nice try, doll.” Eskel chuckled, stopping and gesturing for you to come to him. “Come on.”

You stopped in place and shook your head. 

“I just want you to walk beside me, Y/N.”

“You-You aren't going to hit-hit me with snow again?”

“Your teeth are chattering. You're freezing. No, I'm not going to do that to you.” He shook his head. “I give you my word.”

You hesitated before moving to walk alongside him. He wrapped an arm around you, tucking you into his side. 

“But I didn’t say I wouldn’t touch you with my cold hands.” He put one hand against the side of your neck, letting you feel just how cold his fingers were. You cringed, bringing your shoulders up to your ears. 

“Eskel!”

***

When you made it to the warmth of the bedroom, Eskel helped you undress from your now wet clothes. He retrieved a top of his and pulled it down over your head. 

“Climb up into bed, doll.” He kissed the top of your head. “Let me change and I'll be right there.”

You nodded, practically scurrying across the cold stone floor to get to the bed. 

Eskel moved towards the fireplace, signing Igni towards the dying flames. The fire roared to life. Soon, the room would be toasty. 

You got comfortable beneath the blankets and furs, curling up by the pillows as you waited for him. 

He changed into a pair of trousers then got into bed with you. 

You put yourself as close to him as possible, curling into his side. He wrapped an arm around you to pull you even closer. You hooked one knee across his hip, bringing your cold foot in between his thighs. 

“Are you comfy?” He asked, a little grin playing on his lips. 

“Mhm.” You nodded, tucking your nose into his neck. “Thank you.”

He kissed your temple, closing his eyes. 

“Don’t worry though. I’ll get you back for that terrible excuse of a snowball fight we had. And I’ll make sure Lambert’s on my team.”

Taglist: @pressedinthepages @mishafaye @whitewolfandthefox @wolfyland07 @belalugosisdead @persephonehemingway @keira-hulmaster @dinonuggs69 @greatestauthorofmygeneration @shadow-hunters-lover @dancingwith-thesunflowers @tedi-fach-las @thecomfortofoldstorries @raspberrydreamclouds @natkowaa @disasteren @weathervanes-my-oneandlonely @onlyhenrys @wackylurker @criminaly-supernatural @magpie343 @permanently-exhausted-witcher @hina-chans-stuff @the-space-between-heartbeats @havenoffandoms @carriebee1 @ger-bearofrivia @naominami @writingawaymylife @reaganjenelle @theawkwardpedestrian @scarlettwitcher @badassspaceprincess @just-a-sad-donut @summersong69 @an--actual--human--disaster @rubyqueen819 @omgkatinka @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @vonxcon @mazakeen @bravelittlesunflower @thereagles @awkward-turtles-world @menalliha @cotton_mo @maan24 @thefirelordm @monkeymo @krenee1drful @nympha-door-a @unadulteratedtreecrusade @Aquarius-pisces-rose @mentallyscreamingsincebirth @fl0ating @sometimesiwrite @you-fxcking-wish-bish @thanks-bruh-for-nothing @maan2442 @thegaydeath @creatingstuffinpeace @wellthisstinks @andyrazzledazzle @ameliasmistake @she-wolfoftheinquisition @titaniafire @ameliasmistake

If your name is in italics, it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[parkeraul]

Pleaseeee a quick write about reader sitting on Toms face and getting eaten out while also fingered

ann’s note — i’m assuming you requested this during the mob!tom week i suggested. if you didn’t, i’m sorry but i made it slightly mobster–styled. it’s filth so i hope you enjoy though.

pairing: tom holland x reader

warnings: dirty talk, swearing, smut (fingering, oral — female receiving) & mobster–related stuff.

masterlist ┊add yourself to my taglists ┊give me feedbacks.

→ IT’S A MOB!TOM WEEK.

The wind is chilly and she feels the temperature of the house contrasting with the warmth of her body, trying to get used to the feeling of not being under the comfy blankets anymore. 

Her middle is still snug under the cotton baby–pink blouse she’s wearing, but her legs are mostly bare, her long socks covering all the way up from her feet to the beginning of her knees being the only thing hiding her lower half — besides her black underwear hidden by the hem of the blouse.

When she reaches the slightly–open door of Tom’s office, she can feel a hotter atmosphere due to the heater that must have been on ever since the day has begun. The sight in front of her eyes is his meeting table, excellently cleaned and empty; to the right, she can catch the view of him editing worksheets with one hand and taking packets of money from an enormous plastic bag to put on a black briefcase beside the laptop with the other hand. His hair is brushed back impeccably, suit open and tie resting around his shoulders as his jaw clenches and relaxes.

She steps inside, as silent as possible not to disturb him but Tom doesn’t need to look back to know his baby is there. Her scent is stuck in his memories in a way he recognises her just by the way she smells, the unmistakable fragrance of her shampoo combined with her favourite hot drink she drinks every morning invading his nostrils, making him drop his tensed shoulders immediately and chill unconsciously.

“You up, pretty girl?” He asks, eyes still glued on the screen as she tiptoes to stand behind him, arms embracing his chest and bringing his body closer to hers. Tom cocks his cheek to the side, knowing that her next action is to leave a sweet kiss on his skin — and so she does, bringing them both to smile simultaneously. “Did I wake ya?”

After the kiss, she gives him a warm and quick head–rub as she speaks, “No, baby. I just wanted to see you before you go downtown.”

Tom softens, quitting his current responsibility to give her some attention back. He takes his hands off the stuff to turn around in his chair and move his slender fingers to hold the sides of her thighs, meeting the cold flesh and studying the way her body lacks clothes in such a breezy day. 

“Your thighs are clenching like this because you’re cold?” Knowing the answer, Tom asks keeping back his smirk. Then he looks her in the eyes, finding in those pleading irises the neediest request for relief. He swears his heart grows three sizes while she blushes and tucks the front strands of her hair back behind her ears, legs rubbing together harder as his hands start to knead her skin provocatively. 

She shakes her head in denial, chewing on her bottom lip and lowering to straddle him, “Mm-mm.”

Tom stops her, travelling his palms to grab handfuls of her ass and slide his fingers under the fabric of her tight underwear, feeling all the extension of her icy flesh starting to burn because of his slow touch and the eventual scratch of his small nails. One of his hands comes to the front and slides her blouse further up, lips wetly kissing her stomach and taking his sweet time to work her up — tongue licking his lips before each smooch, mouth dragging along the skin exposed and the very edge of his tongue leaving soaking and tempting trails wherever he goes. She gulps, closing her eyes and resting her hands on top of his head, his gelled hair being the only cold thing matching the temperature of her hands.

While Tom keeps planting wonderful kisses along her body and giving all the possible sensations to her skin (grabbing, scratching, caressing up and down, pulling towards him), she closes her eyes and feels her clit throbbing, her core clenching around nothing and craving everything.

“No, baby?” He whispers in a raspy tone against her silhouette, looking up as his mouth goes down and his fingers start to wander along her inner thighs. The tip of his index finger traces her clothed slit, noticing how the wet spot down below her entrance was increasing rapidly by the way it soaked all the way up to her clit. “You looked out for me because you want me to play with you a little bit, hm? Want me to fix this little mess you’ve made in here, don’t you?” 

He looks down to see the black fabric turning even darker because of her wetness, feeling his mouth watering to look up at her then, and watch her tortured expression nodding affirmatively like she would die if he denied such thing to her.

Tom stands up from his chair, discarding his tie and taking her gently by the legs, making her tiptoe and then wrap her legs around his body as he ends lifting her frame up.

Tom walks to the white and giant sofa of his office and sits down, having her hands cupping his face and kissing him deeply, grinding on him as his tongue slides against hers lazily. Their lips lock and unlock, making the kiss wetter and louder, needier. Tom grips her ass mightly, dragging her sensitive core against his growing bulge and landing a sharp slap onto her cheek, making her jump lightly and groan against his mouth. His index pulls the elastic band of her panties and releases it, making the material spring back as he breaks the kiss with a bite on her lower lip, “Up on your feet. Take this off.”

She instantly complies, taking her panties off and holding it in her hand while she straddles him back again. Tom helps her get down on him once more and his fingers search for her bare pussy as they map her spine, going to the small of her back, ass and then her slit, playing with her from behind, “Bloody hell, darlin’, you’re drenched.”

Of course she squirms and moans into Tom’s mouth when he adds pressure to his movements. His two fingers go up and down deliberately, stimulating her aching clit down to her entrance and then back up again in a loop. When on her clit, his skilled fingers draw circles right in the middle of her bundle of nerves to make her pant desperately, looking him in the eyes while his jaw falls shortly — it’s priceless to watch her unraveling under his control, the perfect way to please her that only he knows best; when on her entrance, he threatens to insert his digits after circling the region temptly, causing her to cry lowly with her lips pressed together and forehead dropped onto his. 

He grabs one of her cheeks to make some space and finally thrust two fingers inside, “Shh... Take it, little thing, take it. Nice and slow.”She plants both palms on his chest and moans, closing her eyes and trying to take like a good girl the indescribable feeling of Tom pumping his long fingers inside her pussy, turning her on impossibly harder. Her legs go numb and she drives her hips against his movements — and Tom helps her, still moving his fingers in and out and pulling her down onto his digits by the firm grasp he still has on her ass, guiding her. As he starts to pump faster with short thrusts, she gradually becomes a whining mess. Tom loves every single second of it, watching her face contorting due to the amount of pleasure she’s receiving. The coil in her stomach is growing and making her nerves sparkle, attempting to savour the multiple sensations travelling all around her sweetest spots. “Eyes on me, babygirl, hey,” He calls out, making her look at him once more with her lips parted and swollen, so close to his and blowing gracefully the filthiest sounds into his mouth. “Eyes on me. Look at who’s fucking you this good, princess... That’s a good girl.” 

Her walls clench around him as he hits her g–spot and the first wet sound echoes throughout his office loudly, “It’s here, right?” 

“Yes,” She breathes out faintly, gasping and clutching onto his dress shirt for life. “Yes, yes, yes...”

Tom then begins to massage her spot quickly, hand bouncing up and down as her soaked pussy turns into a squelching mess. She would have screamed for the entire mansion to listen if Tom hadn’t glued his mouth on hers, muffling her now broken groans and sobs as his fingers bring her to a state of bliss. She can’t stop moaning and that’s how he knows she’s close — when she’s a noisy and dripping mess, gulping repetitively so she won’t drool all over herself as the soaked sound of his digits rubbing all of her sensible spots and grinding up and down becomes too much.He waits until she suddenly goes quiet, knowing that this is how she does when she’s about to cum to remove his fingers gently. She displays a confused face, cheeks flushed and hairline wet while Tom manages to lay down with her on top of him.

“On my face now, doll,” He says as she climbs further up, still unsure. “Want your taste on my tongue, c’mon,” While she reaches his mouth, Tom holds her by the waist with sight switching from her wet pussy to her teary eyes. “Just drop down real slow, I got you.”

She complies and lowers her hips, Tom kissing every possible inch of her inner thigh before his lips are busy on her clit, “Like this, baby. Just relax, come down a little bit more. You won’t hurt me, you’re okay.” 

Before she can notice, his tongue slides along her slit and rubs her nub, lips enveloping it in a gentle suction. She sighs almost deafeningly, trembling on top of him while he pulls her down, mouth totally immersed on her pussy. Her pleasure multiplies infinitely from the good minutes being worked up, her whole body giving into the delicious way that Tom’s tongue laps up her juices and traps her pulsating clit for a mind–spinning time, suckling and licking devotedly. All of a sudden, his hand makes the same way it did before along her back and his digits find her entrance once again, breaking into her pussy and finding her spot again, rubbing it mercilessly as he sucks her clit repeatedly. Smack sounds from his wet action fly around the office along with her desperate cries, the quick pace of it all becoming too much for her to handle.

“I’m gonna c—”

She can’t even finish the sentence, shivering in a way she’s never done before while her orgasm bursts out and gives her chills. Her clit now throbs in the most delicious way against his tender and wet tongue, flat under her nub and moving in circles. Her entrance pulsates, feeling her high taking a longer time than usual to bring her back down to Earth and she swears that her blurry sight makes the dizziness grow more. Down in there, Tom is watching her with a boyish glance, upper lip perfectly molding the beginning of her lower lips and the tip of his crooked nose bumping into her soft skin. He closes his chocolate eyes to focus on the taste she’s left on his tongue, using it to lick a last long trail on her pussy and finish it with slow and breathtaking suctions. That’s the way he reminds her that a good girl gets whatever she wants if she asks nicely.

TAGLIST: @outlandishnerd — @jilanaholland — @space-holland​ — @hollandraul — @tomhollandseverything — @mcuspidey — @iam-thevillain-of-thisstory — @peterspideysense — @fanficscuziranout — @parkernerd.

TAGGING MUTUALS AND BLOGS: @madmadmilk​ — @angelic-holland​ — @fallinharry — @keepingupwiththeparkers​.

[animnerd]

Rocky Waters

This is the second story for Dips #body positivity. This story is about negative thoughts. 

synopsis: Rose is out with her boyfriend having a great time untill some negative thoughts keep coming up. How will Bucky help out his girl? 

Characters: Bucky and rose

A/n: this is my first self indulgent story. The character Rose is me. Also, the thoughts will be in italics. Not beta read all mistakes are my own. 

One hot summer day in NY Rose went with her boyfriend into town to pick out new shirts for him. They were in one store H&M. Rose was looking through a rack when an all to familiar thing popped into her head. You are not worthy of him. He is only dating you because he pity you. He can have any girl in NY and he chose you pathetic. She quickly tried to get the negative thoughts away by shaking her head. Which little did she know Bucky watched her. He pouts and walks over to her. He puts his hand on her back. "How’s it going over here?" Which she jumps turns around to see Bucky. "Oh hi baby. It's going ok I found a few shirts I think you should try." As she shows them to him. He noticed his lively, bubbly girl now this sad depressed women in front of him. He wanted his girl back. He hated seeing her this way.

He smiles and takes the clothes she is offering him. He bends down and kisses her forehead winks at her and walks to the dressing rooms. She stares back in shock while her mouth is open and her checks are red. Her smile returns to her face and she feels a little better. After a while they go back to the tower to rest before making dinner. They decided on watching a movie. They picked "Indiana jones and the last Crusaid." Because Bucky had not seen or heard of the series and it was Rose's favorite.

:continue reading:

While watching the movie the voice was back. No one wants you. hurt yourself.  Bucky I's only doing this out of pity." She wanted to cry right then and there. She bite her bottom lip and quickly shock her head. Out of the corner of Bucky’s eye he notices her distress. He reaches over and hold her hands and squeeze. She felt relief when she felt him squeeze her hand that she was ok and enjoying the movie. She leans over and kiss his check and lay her head on his shoulder. Which he smiles and kiss the top of her head. When the movie was almost over Rose’s stomach growled which she blushed in embarrassment. He only laughed.

"What does my princess want for dinner?" She thought "how about noodles with salad?" She looks up at him curious. He sighs "trying to make me eat healthy you, Sam, and Steve. Ok ok we can do that.” He sees her going from a pout to a smile. "Yay! I want to make sure you are healthy love.” He rolls his eyes which earns him a giggle from her. Which he smiles at. He always love to see her laugh.

He gets up and extends his hand to her which She gladly takes. She stands up they walk to the kitchen hand in hand. Once they figured out what jobs they were going to do. They started working.

Rose went to get the salad done since Bucky would not do it or be near it with a teen foot pole. Which Rose laughed at. She was humming a tune while cutting up tomatoes when the thoughts came again. This time more severe.

She had an image where it was her with the knife hurting her friends the Avengers and Bucky. She froze in place while the image lingered there. She dropped the knife her hands were shaky. She quickly shook her head "no no that's not true." She was mumbling to herself. She felt herself hit rock bottom on her emotions. She cried and covers her eyes.

She doesn't know that there are arms wrapped around her. She jumps when she does to see Bucky. She squirms out of his touch and move away. "No go away I don't want to hurt you.” As the image of Bucky hurt flashes before your eyes.

Bucky looks hurt when he hears say that but he pulls her into his embrace even more in a tight hug. Whisper in her ear. "It's ok love i’m here. Nothing is going to hurt you." Which helped calm her down.

She cried and looks up at Bucky. "Let's get you comfy ok?" She nods her head while Bucky shuts off the stove and he takes her to his room while draping an arm around her shoulder. He rubs his hand over her shoulder in a calming gesture while she tries to calm her breathing.

On the way to his room they bump into Steve. "Hi Rose Hi Buck." Bucky gives his best friend a glare and whispers a "not now." Which Steve nods his head and walks on. When they arrive in Bucky’s room he lays her down on his bed and drop a blanket over her while cuddling her closer to him.

He rubs circles around her back and hums. "OK mind telling me what happened back there?" As he looks down at her. She sighs "I have been having bad thoughts and sometimes sever like the one I just have. When I do I try to stop them by shaking my head and moving on even though they linger and change my mood. The sever ones really get to me though. I know in my head that is definitely not me but my thoughts over power my logic. It just scares me Bucky!" She looks up at him with pleading eyes that almost look like she will cry again which breaks his heart. He envelopes her in a hug and shh her and kiss her.

After a while she calls down Bucky lifts her chin to kiss her lips. "I deal with the same thing I know it's scary love but just know I am always here for you anytime you feel like you have a thought come find me and we can talk about it and I can help shoo it away. " as he is making the shooing motion with his hands which made her laugh.

She yawned which she blushed. He laughs “it's ok my baby doll you can rest I’ll be here when you wake up.

She smiles leans her head down on Bucky's legs and fell asleep with a smile on her face. She knew that she didn't have to face her negative thoughts anymore not when she had Bucky by her side.

@gotnofucks

@saiyanprincessswanie

@winteralpine

@writersbuck

@angrybirdcr

@sweater-daddiesdumbdork

[jobean12-blog]

Top Shelf: Chapter 19- Book Ends

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader (bookshop, bartender, baking AU)

Word Count: 2,096

Summary: Spring is on the way and with it lots of new ideas and beginnings...

Author’s Note: So I have this ready and I was excited to post so it’s a little early again. I know the moodboard probably gives too much away but I enjoy making them so much! Hope you love this chapter and I did it justice. It was hard to imagine how this would go down but I think it was grand enough in the choice of place and the words and attention to detail that make it work without being too much. I’m rambling! The Meatball Shop is such a great place, check it out here, I’m hungry just thinking about it! haha I hope you like it and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your continued amazingness, you are all the best! Much love always! ❤❤❤

Warnings: SUPER SOFT FLUFFY SWEET LOVE :) 

Top Shelf Masterlist

It’s early Sunday afternoon when you get the text from Peggy that the wedding proofs came in. You and Nat reply with several uppercase letters and happy emojis, agreeing to meet at Peggy and Steve’s for dinner and a browsing party. “Hey babe?” you shout, waiting for Bucky’s reply. He pops his head out of the bathroom, “yea baby, what’s up?”

You rush over to him and do a little dance, “Peggy said the proofs came in so we’re gonna go over there later and eat and drink wine and look and photos and no boys allowed!” He starts laughing before you even finish the sentence, shaking his head to get rid of some excess water. “Hey! You’re splashing me!” He drops the towel from around his waist and rubs it over his hair. “Better?”

Keeping your eyes on his you cross your arms, “mmm, I don’t know, let me check.” You walk closer and run your hands through his hair, the soft fluffy locks only slightly damp now. “Yes, better.” His arms snake around your waist and he pulls you all the way into the bathroom, picking you up and sitting you on the counter. “You have way too many clothes on,” he simpers, spreading your legs and standing between them. “Well then you better do something about it before I leave.”

-Cut to Bucky’s POV about and hour later-

“Hey Steve, can you meet me today? I’m sure you know Peggy got the proofs and the girls are coming by your place to look at them. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to go.” Steve chuckles into the phone, “of course, wanna grab a bite first? Let’s get tacos!” Bucky’s stomach grumbles as he happily agrees, quickly getting off the phone before you come into the room.

*****

When you arrive at Peggy’s she already has the wine out along with some snacks. Nat shows up a few minutes later and you all get comfy on the couch. “How did you get rid of Steve?” Nat asks, shoving some cheese into her mouth. “He said he and Bucky were gonna get tacos then go see Sam.” Nat finishes chewing, "that sounds about right.” You all laugh, ready to enjoy the beautiful photos and help Peggy pick some out.

You get home later than you thought, finding Bucky standing in the kitchen, a cookie half stuffed in his mouth. “Hi doll face,” he mumbles through a mouthful, “did you have fun?” Grabbing a cookie for yourself you kiss his cheek, “I did, the photos are amazing! There is one of us dancing that is so perfect Bucky! I ordered an 8x10 so we can frame it and hang it up!” His eyes light up, “that’s great, I can’t wait to see it.”

“So how many tacos did you eat?” He’s about to pop another cookie in his mouth but he stops, eyebrows knitted as he thinks over his answer. “Hmmm, probably like 12.” He shrugs, eating the cookie whole and going to get some milk. Downing the small glass, he says, “these are really good by the way, is this the new sugar cookie recipe?” You do a little happy dance, “it is! I think I finally got it right! They’ll be fun for Spring because I can do all different shapes and decorations!”

Bucky reaches his hand into the cookie jar for another one, but you smack it, “don’t do it, you’ll get a stomachache.” He makes a sad face, giving you his best puppy dog eyes. “Save it Barnes! And save some cookies so we can snack tomorrow! I can’t have you eating my bookshop supply!” He puts his hands up in surrender, “fine, fine. But they are really good!”

Later that night you’re cuddled up in bed, reading your book while Bucky absentmindedly plays with your hair. “OH!” he nearly yells, making you jolt and sit up. “Sorry, I just remembered something I wanted to ask you. He smirks, continuing on, “so Spring is right around the corner and the weather is getting nicer and warming up so I was thinking we could set up some tables outside the bookshop. Maybe add an awning or just umbrellas and plants or something.”

You watch him talk, his eyes bright and excited and when he finally stops rambling you crawl on top of him, kissing his lips. “That is an amazing idea baby! I love it!” His eyes crinkle in a smile, “ok great, I’m glad, I thought you would like it.” A few comfortable moments of silence pass while you stroke his beard, lightly kissing along his jaw. “You know what else is coming up,” he says, almost dreamily. “What?”

He stops your hand and holds it, kissing your palm, “the anniversary of the day we met. Do you remember it?” Playfully tapping your chin, you pretend to think it over. “Ummm, I think so, maybe. I mean it was SO LONG ago.” He rolls over and squishes you into the mattress. “Oh. I see how it is. At least we know one of us is a romantic!”

A few weeks later…

You walk outside with a hot cup of tea and some of your rose macarons, placing them down in front of Grandma Betty. “This should warm you up a bit!” You sit down across from her, wanting to take minute to say hi. “It’s really quite beautiful out, I love that you set up this area.” She bites into the cookie, immediately smiling. “Oh, these are just delicious! Well done sweetheart!” You bring her two more before going to the back to put more in the oven.

“Grandma is loving those rose macarons baby, nice work.” He gives you a quick kiss before grabbing more coffee. “Can you save some for us, I was thinking maybe we could stay at the bookshop tomorrow night since I’m not working the bar. Would be the perfect snack.” Smiling over your shoulder you happily agree. “I should have some left and if not, I can easily make another batch just for us.” Bucky licks his lips and winks, heading back out with the coffee.

Bucky lays back against the pillows on the floor, hands behind his head and his long legs stretched out in front of him. “What are you doing doll?” His eyes follow you as you walk around the attic, scanning the bookshelves and quietly humming to yourself. “Just looking for something to read, any ideas?” You can’t see him, but Bucky let’s out a silent breath, rubbing his hands together and standing. He wipes his palms on his sweatpants and walks toward you.

“You know we never finished ‘The Never Ending Story,’ we could read more if you like?” Smiling at him over your shoulder you walk toward the shelf it’s on, filing through the spines in search of the title. “Perfect.” Pulling it from the shelf you hug it to your chest and turn toward Bucky. His eyes look bright with tears and you rush over to him, taking his hand in yours. “Bucky? What’s wrong?” He raises his hand to cup your cheek, brushing his thumb across your lips before kissing you.

The softness of the kiss takes your breath away and when you open them Bucky smiles, looking down at the book in your hands. “Ready?” You simply nod, lovingly stroking the cover of the book and thumbing the pages. You notice the ribbon bookmark, fingering the silky fabric before following it down and opening to the page it’s on.

Your eyes drop to something that catches the soft glow of the star lights hanging from the ceiling, it’s sparkle dancing over the words on the page. Your hand covers your mouth, nothing but a muffled cry escaping and when you look up Bucky is on one knee in front of you. The tears that filled his eyes earlier threaten to spill from the corners as he reaches up to take your hand in his. Your lower lip trembles and you squeeze his hand so tight, feeling as if you might float away at any moment.

“That’s for you.” You both laugh through your tears and you try desperately not to throw yourself into his arms, knowing he has more to say. “I knew you were special the day we met. And every day after I fell in love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing you every step of the way. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality. I’d find you and I’d chose you. You will never be anything less than everything for me. Will you marry me, y/n?”

You fall to your knees and throw your arms around his neck, sobbing into his shoulder and saying “yes,” over and over again. He holds you for what feels like eternity, the thundering beat of his heart in sync with yours as it becomes steadier and your tears begin to dry. Lifting your head, you kiss him a thousand times, but it never seems enough and finally he says against your lips, “do you want to get a better look at the ring?”

Your cheeks are red and still wet from tears, but your smile is bright. “Yes! I’m just. I’m so happy, Bucky.” He picks up the book and unties the ring. Taking your left hand in his he slowly slides it onto your ring finger, kissing it before you pull it away to admire how perfectly beautiful it is. “Wow, it’s gorgeous. I couldn’t have picked a better ring myself!” You move your hand back and forth, the light from the moon filtering through the skylight reflecting off the diamonds and painting your face in shimmers.

“I can’t wait to marry you, Bucky.” You barely whisper the words, but they hold more weight in their honesty than any others, as if your heart spoke them.  The mood shifts and Bucky has you in his arms, his body covering yours and his hands and mouth desperate to feel every inch of you. The sounds of city outside melt away and it’s only you two, skin to skin, every nerve ending alive with each other’s touch.

Thankful that you don’t have to wake up for anything you both sleep late into the morning, the sun bright and shining through the window, heating your bare skin and rousing you from your slumber. Your head rests on Bucky’s chest as you gently scrape your fingers through his beard, causing soft hums of pleasure to rumble through him. “I could stay like this forever.” Cuddling closer and pushing off the blanket you joke, “me too, except we might cook first.”

His laughter shakes you more awake and you roll over, stretching your limbs. The sunshine catches the facets of your ring, making it sparkle brilliantly and you can’t help but let out a squeal. “OMG BUCKY IT WASN’T A DREAM!” He takes your arms and brings you back to him, “no, it wasn’t. But it is a dream come true, you’re really gonna marry me.” Wiggling your fingers to get one more look you turn your eyes to him, “I can’t wait to tell everyone.”

“Why don’t we get dressed, and head home to shower then we can see if anyone is around to meet for lunch? Wanna go to The Meatball Shop, I’m already hungry.” You’re about to tell Bucky you are too but your stomach grumbles, saying it for you and you laugh. “Definitely, I could go for a giant plate of spaghetti.”

Once you’re back at your apartment you get yourself cleaned up, Bucky handling the texts to see if Steve, Peggy, Nat and Sam can meet you. “Did you hear from anyone?” you ask Bucky as you fix your hair. “Nat said she and Sam already ate but they expect us at the bar later and Peggy and Steve are on the other side of the city so it’s just us I think.” Smiling you skip over to him and plant a kiss on his lips, “sounds good to me, I’ll just tell everyone we see on the streets the news.”

You decide to walk to the restaurant considering it’s such a nice day and Bucky keeps you busy by asking you questions about when and where you want to get married. You don’t realize you’re just steps away from the front of the restaurant and your friends are waiting outside the door until you hear Sam yell, “well, I guess this means she said yes!”

@aesthetical-bucky​ @book-dragon-13​ @bugsbucky​ @buckys-broody-muffin​ @breezy1415​ @eurynome827​ @hiddles-rose​ @hawksmagnolia​ @hailmary-yramliah​ @ikaris-whore​ @itsunclebucky​ @jhangelface0523​ @jewels2876​ @lorilane33​ @lokilvrr​ @littledarlinhavefaithinme​ @littleredstarfish​ @mushyjellybeans​ @loricameback​ @marvelgirl7​ @marvelandotherfandomimagines​ @nano--raptor​ @pinkdiamond1016​ @randomfandompenguin​ @sallycanwait68​ @tuiccim​ @the-wayward-robot​ @yansi1923​ @flyawaybay​ @throwmyheartawayagain​ @amandatar-06​ @nd1998sc​ @captainchrisstan​ @vherriepie​ @godofplumsandthunder​ @fire-flv​ @jamesbarnesappreciationclub​ @irishflutiegirl​ @rinthehufflepuff​ @moonybarnes​ @nordlysinthewoods​ @lauratang​ @my-favorite-fics-and-imagines​ @buchanansebba​ @addikted-2-dopamine​ @lady-pswrld​ @buckys-henley​ @lookiamtrying​ @mishaandthebrits​ @hopefuldreamers-world​ @rebekahdawkins​ @randomesk-yuku​

[rottenrodentruby]

And now... Pinky Suavo headcanons because I can~ <333

While purple is his favorite color, he also loves red and pink.

Valentines Day is his favorite holiday

Likes the lovecore aesthetic

Wears both cologne and perfume (mostly the ones with a rosey fragrance)

Would definitely wear makeup (I can see him using eyeliner and purple eyeshadow for his lavish looks)

Suavo sleeps with a pair of purple satin silk pajamas on with a matching eyemask. The top is long sleeved and buttoned loosely with black frills at the end of the sleeves. The bottoms are shorts also with black frills.

Suavo wears his usual purple robe loosely because oooo seggsy aaaAAAAAAAAAA-

Loves to read angsty romance novels. And ones that are steamy don’t @ me-

Bisexual chad like all Pinkies

Theater kid (totally did not steal that headcanon from Sil-)

A very dapper gentleman who respects women. Take it or leave it.

Strawberry is his favorite ice cream flavor

LOVES alcoholic beverages. Mostly likes champagne, fancy liquor, wine (especially Rosé), vodka, cocktails and even alcohols that are considered “girly”.

Suavo likes to decorate things with roses despite Brain’s allergies.

Wears nail polish 💅

Is a good singer and would definitely do karaoke, love songs, and sing you serenades.

Suavo is a big ol’ softie for someone he loves inside and out and is very good at making the first mood and flirting.

Can dance very well. Not only do I imagine him being a disco man, I can also see him doing ballet and stuff like that.

Suavo purrs when he’s being fluffy with you and it’s the most soothing thing to listen to. You’re practically play dough.

Certified fashion icon he will rock any outfit he wears

His fur is silky smooth and soft~. It even smells good with whatever cologne/perfume he’s wearing.

A top. That is all. /j

Loves doing photo ops for magazine covers, albums, etc. he especially does pinups too~.

Bathes with bubble bath and rose petals in his water and candlelight because yes

Suavo would enjoy listening to smooth jazz to relax, even when he’s spending time with you.

Despite being skinny AF, he also has a little bit of muscle too! He can look like a twig and you can still grate cheese on his abs-

I just imagine Suavo doing tango with you

Likes to have latte and a croissant in the morning because French

Suavo will not tolerate anyone not pronouncing croissant as “kwason”

Not only can he sing he can rap 😎

I imagine that Pinky Suavo is an expert in therapeutic massage

Flexible AF

A very sassy boy

Okay, now I’ve recently seen people complaining that Pinky Suavo does not have his verbal tics and doesn’t show any neurodivergent qualities. My ADHD having ass begs to differ. Pinky is still neurodiverse even when he’s Suavo! So here’s why, along with some neurodiverse headcanons sprinkled in.

“Yeeeees~!” is his main verbal stim/tic.

He slicks his hair and ears back as a stim.

Dance, fashion, and music are his hyperfixations.

Suavo twirls his mustache like it’s a fun little fidget toy! <3

He’s hyper empathetic, especially towards someone he loves like you <3

Definitely would be the type of man to imagine badass andsexy music videos of himself to some music.

I can just imagine Suavo having texture issues when it comes to certain articles of clothing

Mumbles incoherent French to himself when he’s feeling overstimulated

Would definitely dance and/or sing as a stim

Wrist flicks as a stim

Still says narf, zort, poit, etc. but doesn’t do it in public very often because he fears he’ll be frowned upon for doing so.

Pinky Suavo does masking because he fears that nobody would like to see a celebrity being openly neurodiverse when that isn’t true.

Off topic but it pissed me off when the fangirls became disgusted by Pinky Suavo being neurodivergent and rejecting him. It shows how hurtful ableism can be, especially when it comes to media and the entertainment industry.

Suavo’s facial expressions would sometimes stay as one expression like some ND people have. Like his bedroom eye look for example.

Has no need to mask when he’s around you because he knows you love and support him

Now it’s time for some self indulgent simpy fluff headcanons so don’t throttle me I just love him a lot

Pinky Suavo loves it when you sit on his lap (he’s very comfy)

Pinky Suavo loves soft silky textures, even ones like your smooth warm skin. He loves to kiss it when he’s all cuddly and fluffy with you.

He will wrap his tail around your waist like it’s a belt of love

His body is so warm and snuggly and it’s perfect for cuddling

Suavo’s heartbeat is super soothing and it makes it fun for you to listen to

Suavo loves to give you neck kisses

Affectionate and passionate towards you at the same time

Playing with his mustache makes him a blushy and flustered mess

Loves to carry you and just hold you in his arms~

You and Suavo will discuss hyperfixations together with no end and no problems

Suavo loves to play with your hair. He’ll also style it all up, make it pretty and decorate it with rose hair clips (or better yet, flower crowns).

Pinky Suavo will not hesitate on pampering you. You’re like a little Barbie doll and he loves you a lot.

You would also flirt with him too. His charisma has rubbed off on you. And whenever you do flirt with him, he becomes all gushy and lovey doveyyy~.

To tease you, he says “narf” in a prolonged purring tone. Your legs become jelly and your skin is shrouded with goosebumps each time you hear it.

H A N D H O L D I N G

Calls you fluffy pet names like mon amour, mon cheri, rose blossom, baby, deary, darling, etc.

You would also give him pet names too. He LOVES that.

Cuddles and hugs you like a koala when you and him sleep together. He wants to be as close and snug to you as possible.

He will become H Y S T E R I C A L if anything bad happens to you, even when it’s a minor injury, like a paper cut.

If you’re ever having a bad day, Pinky Suavo will make the effort to comfort you until you’re feeling better again. Whether it be cuddling in a blanket and exchanging nuzzles and kisses, or a slow dance session alone with him in his bedroom.

Tummy is soft pillow,,,, S O M F T

Pinky Suavo wants to make every date with you impressive as possible when he really doesn’t have to. All that matters is that you love him and spending time with him. And him hearing you tell him that makes him so happy that he hugs you and kisses your face all over and AAAAAAAA-

cw // suggestive ................................................................................................................... Makeout sessions with Suavo are *chef’s kiss* c'est magnifique

Duets with Suavooooooooooo

He would definitely be the kind of man to feed you snacks on dates

Now I just imagine you and Suavo becoming so affectionate for each other you happy stim together~

Okay I think that’s all the headcanons I have! If there’s any more you would like me to add here, leave a reply under this post! Thanks and I hope you love this!

[itisannak]

Single Dad!Calum x Preschool Teacher!Y/N (Calum Hood Fic, Part 2)

Summary: (Y/N) and Calum are about to create a big, happy family. That is if people from the past allow it (Smut / Unprotected Sex / Pregnancy Sex) (T.W: Pregnancy Complication / Hospital Stay) Part 2 to admittedly one of my best fics. I have been working on it since August 2019 (published April 2020), so I hold it in my heart very dearly. I hope you love it as much as you loved the first one. It is 21k words long, but definitely worth the read.  (Request) (Part 1: Single Dad!Calum x Preschool Teacher! (Y/N))

"You don't know the gender yet, do you?" Calum asks me, placing his hand on my lower stomach. There is no visible bump yet, nothing that gives away I am expecting, but surely my jeans feel a lot snugger. "Too early for that." I reply, placing my hand on top of his. "When?" He asks, his tone sounding a lot impatient. "Haven't you been through that before? With Joy? Because I honestly hoped for some guidance from you." I ask him, turning my head to look at him as I let a playful chuckle.

Calum looks at me somberly, shaking his head in denial. "We were too young... Nina didn't want me with her on the appointments, I didn't push on it, because, well, I was not ready to become a father. And neither was Nina to become a mother. So we both pretended that Joy wasn't about to come. But of course, Joy was coming and there wasn't anything we could do about it. We found out about the pregnancy when it was too late for an abortion, the doctor said it would be dangerous for Nina and we didn't want to risk it. We agreed that once Joy was born, we would give her up for adoption. We both had dreams, we both wanted to focus on our careers. Nina was supposed to be on a big TV show when we found out we were expecting. She lost her part, they didn't want a pregnancy plot for her character this early on, and she wouldn't be able to hide it for long. She blamed me for that, I blamed her. So, we shut each other out." He explains; he doesn't look at me as he speaks, certainly a bit embarrassed. I take his hand in mine, intertwining our fingers and bringing his hand to my lips, planting a soft peck on his knuckles. "What happened then?" I ask him, curious about what changed their plan.

"She gave birth alone. I was in practice all day when she went into labor, my phone was on silent. So, I found out a lot later, went to the hospital hours after. When I got there, Nina had already discharged herself, signed some AMA forms so the doctors had no other choice but to let her go. She left a note to one of the nurses. 'Didn't want her anyway. Do whatever you want.' word by word, just like that. The hospital had called Child Protective Services already. When I got to the nursery, Joy was with a lady, talking to the nurses about putting her in the system. I told them I am the father, that I was at work, and I didn't know her mother would be doing that. The lady smiled at me, patted my shoulder, and asked me if I wanted to hold her. I nodded and they handed me a swaddled bundle, barely bigger than a toy baby doll. And I looked down on her... Do you believe in love at first sight?" He asks me and I nod; of course, I do, he made me believe. "I didn't... Until that moment. Cause when I looked at her, my heart stopped. It was like she became the center of my universe, instantly. I called Luke that night, told him to go to Target and pick onesies, diapers, bottles. We hadn't bought anything for her. He picked them up and came over to the hospital, not saying anything, not asking anything. He stayed with Joy, watching over her as I called my mom. I told her 'Hey mom, you are a grandma now'. She asked me when the baby was due. I told her she was already here. I told her everything. She yelled at me over the phone. Then she took a plane here. Mali came over the day after my mom. We took Joy home after 4 days. I just had a basket for her, so she slept there until we got a decent crib. I just sat on the couch, looking at the door, waiting for Nina to walk in. I would have accepted her back as if nothing happened. She didn't. I didn't see her again before the court, and that was just for a spare moment..."

"Court?" I ask softly. "Custody battle. The case was easy. You see, child abandonment is not really applauded. And then came the hard part. I had to tell the world I have a daughter, whom I was raising by myself, without dragging her mother through the mud." "They didn't know?" I ask surprised, trying to wrap my head around the fact that they could keep it a secret. "No one but our closest friends knew. It was way easier back then to hide from people in public. My parents didn't forgive me for the next 3 months. My mom only talked to Mali while helping me." He sounds hurt; I can tell he hasn't gotten over it. "How did she forgive you?" I ask him and he sighs, dragging his breath. "I broke down crying in front of her. I was sleep-deprived and alone. She wasn't talking to me. So I broke down. I told her everything, about the adoption plans, about the note... She hugged me and I slept the full night, for the first time in 3 months." "Must have been hard." "Those were the hardest 3 months of my life. After that, Joy and I got used to each other, and she became the core of my existence, my whole world. So, I didn't mind staying awake or cleaning vomit and poop all day. Of course, I had tons of help. Everyone chipped in as much as humanly possible." Calum explains.

I feel my eyes getting heavy; I get so sleepy, so easily lately. "Baby, do you mind if we go to sleep? Peanut is making me sleepy." I ask and he nods, smiling softly. "Want me to leave?" He asks, pecking on my forehead. "Don't you dare! I said WE go to sleep. Don't let me sleep another night alone." I pout and he hums. "Let's go then. I am tired of all the exposition too." He fakes a yawn as I get up.

"You are hogging the covers..." Calum whispers sleepily. It is 4 in the morning and I am trying to find a comfy position; I am not even big, but I am used to sleeping on my stomach, and now I am too scared to do that. I turn to look at Calum, admiring his body, naked and sprawled on the bed. "Or maybe, I like you better naked and uncovered. That's why I am pulling at the covers." I reply, crawling back on my pillow. "Oh, really?" He sounds intrigued, making me scoff. "You look so much better naked." I reply and he chuckles. "You look so much better naked as well. Especially underneath me." He comments, smirking slightly. "That is exactly what I was thinking." I reply as he moves to hover above me.

He grips on my jaw before he leans in for a kiss, making my legs wrap around his waist almost instinctively, earning a chuckle of pleasure from him as he brings his hand to hold onto my thighs. "I'll just pull those panties to the side..." He mumbles, lowering his hand from my jaw to the hem of my underwear. "And then?" I ask, feeling already hot and heavy with need; I love these pregnancy hormones. "Then I will thrust inside you and press my body on yours. And make you feel so good. That's a promise. So please, let me pull those panties to the side." He sounds needy as well, his voice almost breaking at the end. "What the fuck are you waiting for?" I ask, smirking at him playfully.

He slips his finger inside the hem of my panties, pulling them to the side messily as he tries to free his cock. I scoot lower, spreading my legs more to give him better access. He goes in slowly, closing his eyes as I wrap around him. It's been so long since the last time. So, so long. This feels strangely new, almost like our first time. "Are you ok?" He asks me, stopping for a second. I nod my head, biting my bottom lip and closing my eyes. "You feel so good inside me. You have no idea how much I craved this, how long I have lusted over this." I moan, digging my nails into his forearm. "Trust me, baby, I do." He whispers, leaning in to kiss me. He changes the rhythm, picking up on force but still going slow. He goes as deep as it goes, pressing against my spot as I roll my hips a little, enhancing the tightness I feel on my stomach. I moan against his lips, bringing one hand behind his head to deepen the kiss.

We move together, the bucking of my hips meeting his thrusts. I gasp, lowering my lips to his chin. "God, I need all of you." He whispers, his breath fanning against my skin. I moan, feeling his veins throbbing on my walls. The feeling doesn't fade away as we move, making my head blurry and clouded. "You are my favorite high. Nothing else feels this good..." He mumbles, moving fast and forcefully, giving me all I want without me even asking. "Good... Cause I want you to be totally hooked on me..." I moan, feeling his breath bring chills to my skin. "You are so fucking beautiful... So fucking beautiful..." He moans deeply, the sound coming from deep in his throat. I place my hand on his chest, right over his heart, feeling it beat fast. "Your hand is a bit cold. Are you cold, princess?" He asks me, stopping for a moment and looking at me worriedly. "I am fine. Keep going!" I beg, scratching my nails over his skin. He leans down to kiss me, taking my bottom lip between his teeth and pulling it back a little. I whimper at the sensation, closing my eyes as he starts thrusting in again. "You like that, baby? You like it when I do that?" He asks, sighing a little as he finds a comfortable angle. My whole body jolts back as I take him, completely losing control of my reactions. "I am so close..." I whimper, closing my eyes shut and focusing only on how good this is. "Hi so close, I am Calum." He replies; I know this is supposed to be horrible and throw me off the mood, but his voice sounds so sexy as he struggles to catch his breath and let out the words. "You are a fucking jackass..." I groan. "Yeah yeah, I know you fucking love me, sweetheart." He replies confidently, thrusting inside me quickly yet powerfully. "You are lucky I do..." I gasp for air, grasping onto his arms. "You are pulsing around me. Wanna cum, princess?" He asks me, smirking cockily. "Yeah, act like you haven't been throbbing inside me since the first second... Wanna cum, papi?" I ask him, mirroring his smirk.

He leans down, taking my face in his palms before he kisses me. I reach between our bodies, bringing a hand to play with my clit, stroking my fingertip over the bundle softly. I feel my body jolting every time my finger syncs his thrusts, sending my mind further down the rabbit hole. "Your face is so pretty when you get close... Holy fuck..." He moans; I adore it when I hear him moan, or make these euphoric sounds he makes. I cum after a couple of powerful thrusts, arching off the mattress and holding onto his shoulders. "That's it, baby... Squeeze around me..." He sounds husky, letting me know he is close too. "Don't stop talking. I love your voice..." I almost beg him. "Oh, you do? I had no clue, angel." He teases me, stroking his hand down my arm, gripping tightly around my wrist, before he lowers it to replace my fingers with his and stroke my clit, prolonging my orgasm.

With my other hand, I tug at his hair, pulling on his locks softly. He opens his mouth ajar, looking at me a little shocked, but soon shutting his eyes and humming, pleased by the way my fingers interlock into his messy hair. "Pull harder, baby." He begs, voice clouded with lust. I follow his request, pulling at his hair as he fucks me for a little longer, thrusting sloppily until he hits his high and cums inside me, screaming and cursing as he reaches his peak. He collapses on his back next to me on the bed, gasping and smiling. "Yeap, I wanna do this for the rest of my life..." He comments, sighing happily. "Good, I want you to do me for the rest of my life..." I chuckle, turning so I can lay my head on his chest. He scoffs a little but reaches down to take my hand in his and bring it to his lips.

(Calum's POV) I hold (Y/N)'s hand as I unlock the door of my house, feeling her grip on my hand tense up as the moment she will see Joy again approaches. "You'll be alright. We will be alright." I remind her, letting her walk in. Giggles are heard from the living room, signifying that Joy is in there. (Y/N) walks ahead slowly, but confidently and I follow right behind her, hoping for a good reaction from Joy. "(Y/N)..." I hear her gasp, followed by paddling on the floor. "Hi, bunny. I've missed you so much..." (Y/N) says, kneeling to hug her. "I've missed you too. Is your sister ok?" Joy asks, looking at (Y/N) with her big eyes. "She is so much better. And she is so, so sorry that she took me away from you. But I promise I am not leaving again." (Y/N) almost tears up as Joy reaches to stroke her cheek. "It is ok. I am glad she is healthy."Joy replies softly. "Joy, baby. You are too precious." (Y/N) coos, hugging her close. She tries to pick her up but I place a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Yeah, I probably shouldn't." She comes back to her senses, kneeling back down. Joy looks at us with knitted eyebrows, finding it weird. "My back hurts a bit. I was sleeping on my sister's couch..." (Y/N) covers it up quickly, making Luke, who has been watching us from the couch, chuckle.

(Y/N) chuckles as well, getting up to greet him. Luke hugs her, sighing softly. "I am so sorry." He mumbles, stroking her back softly. "It is in the past. We are all good now." (Y/N) responds with her soft, calming voice. "Enough pity party... We should all go out for lunch..." I suggest, picking Joy up and pressing a kiss on her cheek. "I have to go back home, I am sorry." Luke replies and I nod. "It's alright. Maybe dinner tonight. With everyone." (Y/N) suggests and Luke hums. "See you tonight then." He smiles, moving towards me to leave a kiss on Joy's head. "See you tonight, uncle Lu..." Joy waves him off, grinning at him.

"What should we do now, Joy?" (Y/N) asks and Joy presses a finger on her chin, pretending to be thinking hard. "I wanna see (Y/N). I missed her." Joy pouts at me, reaching for (Y/N). I let her down and she runs to (Y/N), who scrunches down to hug her. "What should we do?" She asks her, stroking her hair off her face. "We go play with the toys daddy brought me from tour." Joy cheers, making (Y/N) giggle. "Actually, Joy... Before you go, there is something we need to talk about." I state, taking a seat on the couch and patting the cushion softly.

(Y/N) stares at me a little worriedly. Joy sits next to me, waiting for (Y/N) to do the same before turning to look at me, giving me her full attention. "You know that (Y/N) and I are a couple, right?" I ask, already feeling jittery about the conversation. "Yes." Joy is looking at me weirdly, almost mimicking the look on (Y/N)'s face. "Well, there is a point when you are a couple with someone that you think about living with them. And before I left for tour, I talked with (Y/N) about living together. And she wants to... And I want her to come live with us. So, what I want to ask you is, would you be ok if (Y/N) moves in with us? So she starts living with us?" I ask Joy, whose face lights up as I explain it to her. "Yes... That would be awesome. When are you moving here with us?" Joy asks (Y/N) who is on the verge of tearing up. "I have brought some stuff here and I can move in this week if it is what you want." (Y/N) suggests as Joy hugs her. "Yes... And we will have sleepovers like when daddy was gone, right?" She asks and (Y/N) scoffs happily. "All the time. We will kick daddy out of the bedroom and have it all for ourselves." (Y/N) cheers, making Joy giggle. "Hey, I can be part of the sleepovers as well..." I protest playfully. "Sorry, daddy. Girls only." Joy giggles as I gasp. "Duke, attack them." I shout, leaning towards them and tickling Joy who laughs maniacally. Duke runs on the couch, barking as he tries to jump on top.

I climb up the stairs to Joy's room to announce that the food is ready. Opening the door, I find them sitting on the floor, dolls sprawled in front of them while Joy sets up the dream house. (Y/N) is dressing the dolls up, talking with Joy about the scenario they are going to put the dolls in. They are both glowing with happiness, giggling as they chat. I lean against the door frame, gawking at them. This is everything I've wanted my life to lead to, everything I've wished I could give Joy. "Girls, food is ready." I announce, making Joy fuss over it. "We've just started playing." Joy protests, but stands up. "We will continue after eating. Go wash up." (Y/N) assures her, before Joy rushes out of the room.

I walk to (Y/N), helping her get up from the floor as she struggles a little. "How are my babies?" I ask, placing a hand on her belly. "Shush... Joy might hear." (Y/N) scolds me but I scoff it off. "She won't. Tell me how is the baby..." I peck on her forehead, hugging her to my chest. "We are both fine. You don't have to worry." "I do need to. Do you need anything? Maybe you should take a nap." I suggest and she chuckles. "I am fine, Cal. Are you going to be like that for the next 27 weeks?" She asks me with a chuckle. "Yep... I need to make sure all my loves are ok." I reply, tilting her chin up to kiss her. "You are going to be the best baby daddy..." She mumbles against my lips, wrapping her arms around my neck. "I promise you that..." I reply, bringing my lips to her nose.

(Y/N's POV) "You are nervous..." I state the obvious, watching Calum as he drives to my parents' house. "Shouldn't I? 'Hello, sir. Nice to meet you. I have been dating your daughter for almost 2 years and this is the first time I am meeting you. Oh, I also got your daughter pregnant, surprise...'" He sounds panicked, scoffing sarcastically. "My parents are nice people. They are going to adore you." I reply. Truth be told, I really don't know how they are going to react to meeting Calum, let alone when we are going to tell them about the pregnancy. "What if they don't? What if they hate me?" He asks me, pulling over and turning to look at me. "They are not going to hate you, bub. But if they do, there is not much they can do to change the fact I am utterly and head over heels in love with you. And that I am having a family with you. They will have to suck it up and deal with it." I reply, stroking my thumb over the knuckles of his right hand. "You are in love with me..." He teases me playfully, softening a little. I roll my eyes as I rest my back against the seat, shaking my head from side to side. "Hood, take a look at me... I have a baby inside me, your baby. Our baby... And I have been with you for nearly 2 years, and I still look at you like you are God's gift to humanity. There is not a doubt I am in love with you, more than anyone will ever be in love with someone else." I reply, intertwining our hands together. "Damn it... I guess you are right." He side-smirks, getting back on the road. "Do you think Luke will be alright watching Joy the whole weekend?" I ask, relaxing back on my seat as he starts driving again. "He is going to be fine. Sierra is with him, they make a pretty good team." He assures me, focusing on the road. "They do, huh?" I chuckle, placing a hand on my stomach, which is now sticking out just a little bit.

I ring on the doorbell, holding Calum's hand tightly. He looks composed, almost ready for what is to come. I hope this goes well, I hope they see him the way I do. "Hi, come on in. Welcome." My mom greets us, smiling brightly at Calum. "Hi. It is such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having me over to your house..." Calum tries to woo my mom, who is scanning him from head to toe. "The pleasure is all ours. Finally, we will get to meet our daughter's boyfriend, after so long. Let's get straight to the table, your father is waiting for us..." She guides us in, while I take Calum's hand in mine. "Are you ok?" I ask him and he nods, discretely placing a hand on the low of my stomach. "Are you?" He asks me and I nod, leaning my head on his shoulder for a split moment. "There they are..." My dad says sarcastically, standing up from his chair to greet us. "It is an honor to finally meet you, sir." Calum reaches to shake my dad's hand, making my father nod approvingly. "Well, it was about time, don't you think? If we delayed this a little more, I would have started believing that you are imaginable." He jokes, sitting back on his chair. Calum gulps thickly but nods his head as he pulls my chair out for me. "I agree, sir. And I apologize it took so long. Work obligations, you see." Calum mumbles as he takes a seat next to me. "Work obligations... What do you do for a living?" My father asks while my mom begins serving the food. "I am a musician. I play bass and do vocals for my band. I also write music and lyrics... All of that... We have been touring for the past few weeks..." Calum explains, smiling at my mom who is serving him some veggies. "Musician... I see... Well, I guess it is nice to follow your passion. What did you study?" My father asks him, already looking at us weirdly. I look at him with wide eyes, feeling that poor Calum is under interrogation. "I didn't go to college, sir. My band had a major take off when I was 16, so I had to drop out and follow that path. Luckily, it worked very well for us." Calum replies confidently. My dad cocks an eyebrow, the room filling with silence. "His band is one of the top ones in the world right now. They have become a household name." I chime in, rubbing my thumb over his hand in solidarity. "Well, let's drink to that, then..." My father raises his glass, prompting us to do the same. We cling them together, and while everyone sips their wine, I pretend to take a small gulp, not wanting to ruin the surprise yet.

"How often do you go on tour?" My mom asks while we begin eating. "Depends on the releases of music. Usually, we have a big tour after the release of an album. Then we do some promotional tours and interviews for new singles. There is not a stable pattern, but mostly, we tour more than 3 months a year." He explains with a smile. "That must be tiring..." My mom sighs sympathetically. "It is not as bad as it sounds..." Calum chuckles happily. "How did you two meet, again?" My father asks me, cutting a piece of steak. "I was his daughter's teacher..." I mumble hesitantly. "You have a daughter!" My dad chokes on his food lightly, making me close my eyes and brace myself for what is to come. "Yes, Joy... She is 6 and she is the light of my life. She adores (Y/N), which has been a breath of fresh air." Calum replies, tensing a little. "So, you were married? (Y/N), did you get between a family?" My mom panics, looking at me with terror. "I was not married, no. I am a single parent. Your daughter didn't come between no one..." Calum chimes in quickly, trying to defend me. "Jesus... You are dating a single father of an ex-student of yours, who travels the world for a living and lives his rock star life while you stay behind, taking care of his child, whose mother God only knows how and where she is. And that, if she is still alive. God, I thought you were smarter than falling for good looks and money..." My mom snaps, making everyone gasp. "Mom..." I protest, glaring at her. "Did you just accuse me of murdering my ex-girlfriend?" Calum asks confused. If anything, it is comical that my mother has just bluntly accused him of murder. "You are ruining your potential! Did you break up with Matt for him?" She asks, the word him coming out with disgust. "No, mom. Matt and I broke up months before getting together with Calum. And you know, I would break up with Matt a million times in order to get what I have with Calum..." I reply, patience running flimsy thin. "You were always such a fool. You think he is in love with you, but in a couple of months, he is going to get bored of you and find someone his range, and you will be left alone, with your memories and your bruised feelings, thinking you have lived the greatest love story there is, but you will be wrong." My mom obviously becomes overly dramatic, making my blood boil in my veins. "Cal, let's go. Obviously, they don't care about actually getting to know you and finding out what a great man you are, nor how happy you make me, so we are leaving." I say calmly, standing up from my seat. Calum takes my hand in his, trying to stop me. "(Y/N), baby, it is ok..." He mumbles but I shake my head no. "No, we are leaving. I am not going to stay here and be disrespected by my parents and listen to them degrade the person I love... I just hope they get their heads together before their grandchild is born." I let the cat out of the bag before Calum stands up to follow me. "For what it's worth, I really love her. And I will never get bored of her, And I do hope you are part of our child's life..." He states before we move to the door to get out of here.

"I am so sorry. I never thought they would react like that..." I mumble as we get in the car. "It is alright, baby. I was hoping they would like me, but I guess they need more time. Are you ok? You seemed more upset than I would like you to be." He asks, getting in the car and helping me buckle up. "I am fine, really. They will get around to accepting you, especially now that there is a child involved. They will look you up, for sure... They will see what an amazing dad you are, how much you love Joy, how much you love me. They will get to see you for the amazing person you are and they will regret doubting you, I promise that." I try to assure him, hoping that my words will give him some ease. "I know they will, baby." He smiles turning the engine on.

"Would you look at that... Look who finally looks pregnant... Hi there, baby bump." Calum announces as he enters the shower cabin. I rub the loofah over my belly that now pokes out enough so everyone knows that something is up. "Hey, daddy... Came just in time." I cheer, turning around to place a kiss on his neck. "In time for what, princess?" He asks me, an eyebrow cocked up and a stupid smirk playing on his lips. "In time for my doctor's appointment. Quick, shower, and we are off." I remind him, "We have plenty of time until then..." He mumbles, wrapping his arms around my waist. "No, we don't..." I giggle and he groans. "Quick shower and we are off..." He mumbles with a sigh. "I told my boss today... She said that I have to inform the students and parents myself." I sigh as I rinse myself off. "Or, you can tell them nothing... At least not until we tell Joy and I find a way to deal with it getting public." He suggests; he sounds too worried, anxious about telling the world "I wasn't going to tell anything until we tell Joy... But we have to do it soon. I am getting bigger and bigger by the day... You said it yourself, I look pregnant. Joy is smarter than me and you, combined... She is already asking me if I am ok every time she hears me throw up and seeing me exhausted all the time." I state and he nods. "I was thinking we could tell her on Christmas morning. Get her something that says 'world's greatest big sister'... It would be cheesy and cute." He suggests, stroking my arm with his thumb. "I don't think we have until Christmas... I am already showing..." I reply and he nods. "Tonight then... We will order from her favorite place and tell her she is having a baby brother or baby sister..." He sounds anxious about it, even worried a little. My stomach drops at his uneasiness, mind flying to the worst-case scenario, panicking over the possibility of hurting Joy's feelings. "Tonight, then." I nod, pecking on his cheek.

"I checked your labs, (Y/N)... They are spotless. Good job. Seems like they are taking great care of you." My doctor comments, closing the file with my labs. "I am being treated like literal royalty." I wink at Calum who squeezes my hand. This is his first time ever at the OBGNY, so he looks at us nervously. "How is your morning sickness?" She asks me. "It's better than before. I only get sick when I smell something I don't like nowadays." I state and she nods. "That's good... You'll get nauseous less and less as you progress. Now, wanna go take a look at your baby?" She asks, looking at Calum who nods excitedly. "We are finding out the gender today, right?" He asks, making the doctor giggle softly. "Well, if the kiddo is sitting right, we will..." She replies, guiding us into the exam room.

I lay on the bed, raising my blouse, and lowering my pants slightly, prepping myself for the ultrasound. "Oh, you have quite the bump..." She coos softly, getting the bottle of gel. "The bump is normal, right?" Calum asks, taking a seat on the chair by the bed. "Well, every bump is different. (Y/N) has a healthy weight for how far she is, so we will have to see the baby's measurements and tell for sure... But she has an average bump, I would say..." The doctor replies, squirting the gel on my belly. "Now, let's take a look at peanut..." She focuses on the screen. "We have a very healthy heartbeat. And we are moving perfectly... You will feel kicks soon, maybe in the next couple of weeks..." She announces and I nod. "Any signs of deficiencies? Osteogenesis Imperfecta? Down Syndrome?" I ask, perking my head up to look at the screen. "(Y/N), this is not a Grey's Anatomy episode... You are healthy, and your baby is healthy... We have no reason to worry, everything seems normal." She assures me, taking the baby's measurements. "Your baby is as big as an avocado. And if I turn the wand a little..." She mumbles, moving the instrument and looking at the screen, enhancing the picture. "You said you want to know the gender, right?" She asks us, making us nod in unison. "Well, it looks like a baby girl is growing in there..." She replies cheerfully. I squeal, looking at the blob-like image on the screen. "Looks like I am doomed to be surrounded by gorgeous women my whole life..." Calum sighs happily. I turn to look at him, finding him smiling down at me. "Congratulations you two..." She smiles at us as Calum leans down to peck on my nose.

"I am ready to tell her." Calum states as we drive back home, a little black t-shirt that reads 'Best Big Sister Ever!' resting in a gift bag on my lap. "Good..." I chuckle, stroking my bump softly. Calum quickly brings a hand to my stomach, rubbing his thumb over it. "I can't believe we are having a girl..." He sighs, shaking his head. "You wanted a boy, didn't you?" I ask. "A boy would be nice, yeah... But holy fuck, a girl is the best thing ever..." He sounds excited, a smile stretching all over his face. "How do you think Joy will react?" I ask him, biting my lip. "Honestly, she always asked for a sibling and she is jealous of her friends who have ones, so, I think she will take it pretty well. Plus, she is obsessed with you, so..." "I guess she will take it pretty well."

"Joy, food is ready..." Calum shouts as we finish setting the table. The gift bag rests underneath the chair Calum will be sitting, so he can give it to Joy during dinner. She runs to the table, Duke skipping behind her. "Spaghetti and meatballs." Calum replies, pointing to the platter. "Yum..." She screams, picking her fork. "And cheesecake for dessert..." I sing and her face lights up. "Yes..." She cheers excitedly while twirling her fork in the spaghetti.

We eat silently, enjoying the food for a little while until Calum clears his throat and reaches for the bag. "Joy, we got you a little gift..." He announces, earning her attention. "A gift? What is it?" She asks excitedly. "You'll see... Open it." He hands her the bag, which Joy tears apart instantly. "It's a t-shirt. Can you read what it says?" He asks, taking my trembling hand in his. Joy nods, unfolding the t-shirt and scanning it with her eyes. "Best Big Sister Ever...?" She asks unsure, looking at us confused. "Joy, (Y/N) is pregnant. We are having a baby. In a few months, you'll have a baby sister." Calum explains, with a smile spreading on his lips while leaning to stroke her cheek. But Joy dodges him, frowning as she throws the t-shirt on the chair next to her and hops off. "Joy." Calum looks at her with wide eyes, sighing at her reaction as my heart drops to my stomach. "I am not hungry." She shouts as she stomps away. "Joy Luna Hood... Come back here so we can talk." Calum says calmly. "Don't want to..." She replies, going up the stairs and leaving us staring at each other in fear. Calum rubs his temples, blinking a couple of times before he takes a breath and gets up from the table. "I'll talk to her." He states heading towards the stairs.

I sit on my spot for a few seconds before I decide to follow him to her room, but let him go in alone, staying outside as I don't want to bring anyone in a hard position. "Joy..." Calum knocks on her door before entering but receives no response. "Joy, baby... I thought you wanted a baby sister..." Calum says softly. I hear Joy sniffle, signaling she was crying. "I do..." She mumbles. "Why did you react like that then, baby?" He asks her; I hear the bed shuffle indicating he is taking a seat on it. There is silence in the room until Calum breaks it by sighing. "Why are you crying, princess?" He asks softly. "Will (Y/N) leave us like my mom left?" She asks hesitantly; my heart breaks into a million pieces as she brings the words out of her little head and into reality. I can barely draw a breath, a knot resting on the back of my throat as I fight to keep tears from spilling from my eyes. "Joy, who told you that?" Calum asks shocked. "I heard you say it." She replies, sniffling her nose. I press my hand on my mouth, trying to drown my sobbing. "My love, I can promise you that (Y/N) won't leave us. I promise that. She loves us so much... She loves you more than anything...." Calum replies.

"But the baby will come and she will love the baby, not me." She protests. "No, baby. She will always love you." "But... She won't. Because she will be the baby's mom and not mine, so she won't love me anymore." Joy's voice breaks and I can hear her sob. I freeze, feeling sorry for all the thoughts that are eating away her little mind. "I promise she will continue loving you with all her heart, baby." Calum assures her. I feel tears rolling down my face and I try to sob silently, avoiding making Joy aware that I was eavesdropping.

Calum comes out of the room looking like a total wreck. "How much of it did you hear?" He asks me as we walk downstairs. "All of it... I hate this woman, I hate that she made Joy doubt me loving her. I hate that what she did is eating Joy's mind away, filling her with so much distrust. I hate her..." I cry out, making Calum pull me in for a hug and press my head on his chest... "Shush, baby... I know, I know... But she has zero power over us now. And Joy just needs time and she will see that nothing will change." Calum mumbles, pecking on the top of my head. "I know I am not her mom. And I will never be the one who brought her in this world... But I love her as mine, Calum." "I know, love. She will get around it too..." He assures me.

Calum cleans up the table, rejecting any of my offers to help. He has me seated on the couch, multiple cushions supporting my back as Duke lays on top of my lap, head propped against my stomach. I think he knows there is a resident there. "(Y/N)?" I hear Joy's little voice from the stairway. "Yes, darling?" I ask, averting my gaze to her. There is pin-dropping silence into the house, to the point where not even a breath is heard, only Joy's feet shuffling on the floor. She climbs on the couch, approaching me a little hesitantly; her hair falls messily, reminding me of her father's whenever he keeps his hair untamed for a while, and she looks sleepy, rubbing her eyes softly as she rests on the couch. Calum is standing at the end of the kitchen, looking at the whole exchange. "You have a baby in your belly now?" She asks me and I nod, running my fingers through her hair. "And it is my sister?" She asks me again and I hum, smiling at her softly. "Yes... And she is as big as an avocado right now..." I reply and she buzzes in interest. "Can I touch your belly?" She asks shyly. "Of course." I reply happily, sitting a little better and moving Duke from my lap, so she can place her hand on my stomach. She does it very softly, feeling my stomach slowly. "When will she get out of your belly?" She asks me, leaning closer to me. "In 22 weeks... That's in almost 6 months." I reply and she gasps. "That long?" She asks me. "Yeah... But she will start moving and getting bigger soon... And she will be able to hear us through my belly, so you can talk to her if you want..." I state and she nods vigorously. "Listen, Joy... I know you are worried that I will stop loving you when the baby comes. But I promise I will always love you. I know I am not your mother. I know that... But I wish I was, with all my heart. I wish I had brought into this world such an amazing child... I love you with all my heart and I would do anything for you, and that will never change, no matter what." I find the courage to say to the child, who nods and sniffles, bringing her pinkie up in the air. "You promise that?" She asks and I chuckle at her innocence. "I pinky promise that..." I peck on her forehead, hugging her tightly.

"You are going to be such an amazing mother..." Calum whispers in my ear as we cuddle on the bed, one of his hands carefully draped over my stomach. "Why, thank you very much... You are an amazing dad already..." I reach down to touch his hand that strokes my bump. "Well, thank you very much... Honestly, though, you handled Joy better than I ever would..." He places a kiss on the back of my neck. "No, you handled it the best way possible... She just needed to hear that from me too." "What did she tell you when you tucked her in?" He asks me softly. "She asked me if the baby is going to call me mom. And I told her 'yeah'. And she asked me if she can call me mom as well." I reply and he gasps. "(Y/N), I am so sorry. I know it was probably awkward for you..." He is quick to apologize, even though there is nothing he needs to do that for. "Cal... I told her that it would be an honor. But we would have to ask you first..." I turn my head to look at him. "I don't mind if you don't either." He states, pursing his lips. "I already told you... I would be honored." I reply and he coos. "I really fucking love you so fucking much..." He sighs happily, turning my head enough to kiss my lips.

"What time is daddy coming home?" Joy asks as she enters the kitchen, holding her bunny by the hand. I chuckle and leave the wooden spatula against the pot, kneeling to her height. "He said he is going to be a bit late, hun." I reach closer to stroke her cheek. She pouts slightly but nods her head defeated. "Why the long face, baby?" I ask her, mirroring her pout. "I am hungry. And I know we have to wait for daddy to come back before we eat." She replies. I hum, picking her up and setting her on the counter. "Well, the baby is hungry too. So, I think we should have a snack." I state, walking to the fridge to find something to snack on. "How do you know when the baby is hungry?" She asks me as I grab some carrots from the fridge. "She is always, hungry. She never stops asking for food." I joke, giggling softly at the end of the sentence. I wash the veggies and peel them off, cutting them into little sticks, handing one to Joy and keeping one for me.

"Are you excited about Christmas this year?" Joy asks me, catching me off-guard. "I am, I really am. I am excited about spending them with you and daddy. And Dukey, of course. I am very excited that I will get to see you at your Christmas recital, and your Christmas play. And I am excited about all the yummy food." I bop her nose as she crunches on her carrot. "Are you excited about Christmas, Joy?" I ask her and she nods. "I am. But I really wish the baby would be with us for Christmas." She replies and I hum. "Well, she will be with us next Christmas. For now, she is just listening to us through my belly and kicking excitedly." I reply, handing her another carrot. "She is kicking?" She asks surprised. "Yeap, but very softly. I have to be very concentrated to feel it. I promise though, when she kicks, when she starts kicking really strong, you will be the first to feel it." I chuckle, going back to cooking. "How does she fit in your belly?" She asks me. "She is not very big yet... And she is all curled up inside my stomach, so she fits better." I explain and she hums. "Do you need help?" She asks me, taking the last stick of carrot ad snapping it in half, offering me one of the two halves. "No, baby. I am fine." I smile at her. "Daddy told me that you will get tired as the baby grows and you will need my help." She states, biting on the carrot. "Well, daddy was not wrong. But for now, I am ok, baby." I smile at her, turning off the stove. "I can set the table and you can go sit, mommy." She whispers that last word under her breath. I smile at her, leaning to peck on her forehead and help her get off the counter. "Or, we can both go cuddle on the couch and wait for daddy to be back. And when he gets home, we can eat on the island, so no one will have to set the table..." I suggest and she nods. "Can Dukey come as well?" She asks me and I hum. "Of course. Let's go." I take her hand in mine.

"Wait. I want to bring you a blanket for the belly. So the baby won't be cold." She pulls away from me, running to her room. I smile at how kind she is, making my way to the couch. "There... Now the baby will be all warm..." Joy claps her hands, covering my belly with the fuzziest pink blanket I have ever seen. "Should we watch a movie?" I ask, stroking her hair as she leans on me. "Yes... Moana?" She asks and I hum in approval. "Let me go put it on." I try to get up but she places her hand on top of mine, stopping me from moving. "I can do this." She offers, quickly hopping off the couch to grab the remote from the coffee table. I give Duke a pet behind his ears, relaxing a little; I only now realize how tired I am. Taking care of a class of toddlers with an ever-growing bump seems to be the most tiring thing ever. "Can I put my head on your lap?" Joy asks me after putting the movie on. "Of course. If you are lucky enough, you'll hear the baby move..." I state as she lays on the couch, placing her head on my lap as Moana starts playing.

"What are my pretty girls doing?" Calum asks as he walks into the living room, finding Joy and I singing along with Moana, half asleep, both of us exhausted. "Daddy!" Joy cheers, raising her head to look at Calum, who looks just as drained. "Hey, princess. How are you?" He asks, leaning down to kiss her squishy cheek. "Starving..." She announces with a groan, making me chuckle at how overly dramatic she can be. "Go wash up while I say hi to the baby..." He encourages her, patting her back. Joy jumps off, running to the bathroom as Calum walks to the front of the couch, kneeling and bringing his lips to my bump.

"Hi, baby..." He whispers, pressing a kiss on my belly as I bring my hand to stroke his hair. "A kiss for baby..." He whispers, crawling up to me. "And a kiss for mama..." He whispers, before planting a kiss on my lips. "Hi, daddy... How was your day?" I ask, giggling as he cups my face in his hands. "Good, even better now that I am with my favorite girls." He kisses my lips once more. "How was your day?" He asks me, stroking his hand over my belly. "Exhausting... But, Joy called me mommy for the first time today and I swear, my heart melted..." I smile at him, causing him to smile just as brightly. "And I missed it? Fuck..." He sighs, pouting. "I am pretty sure she will do it again... She is such an angel, Calum... She brought me a blanket for my belly because she didn't want the baby to get cold. I swear, I wanted to start crying... And she wanted to make the table, so I could rest after cooking." I sigh happily, making him chuckle. "She amazes me all the time... She had this great preschool teacher, she taught her a lot of manners..." He teases me, biting his lip. "Oh, I think her DILF daddy taught her great manners before the teacher did..." I nudge him, leaning in to kiss his nose. "Why is washing up taking her so long?" He asks, looking towards the bathroom. "Go check on her and I'll serve the food. We are eating on the island today." I say, getting up from the couch.

"You know, I had this thought today and I would like to talk it out with you." I suggest as I enter the bedroom, ready to let the day behind me. "Sure..." Calum replies, lifting the duvet for me to get under as he locks his phone and puts it on the nightstand. "You remember that Joy called me mommy today, right?" I ask and he nods as I climb on the bed, fixing the covers and shimming my way to Calum's embrace. "Well, I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but since you and I are having a baby and you pretty much asked me to marry you, I was thinking that maybe... I could adopt Joy..." I suggest, biting my bottom lip as I wait for his reaction. He is silent for a moment, so I tilt my head to face him, finding him staring at me with his mouth agape. "I know I am not her mother... And I am not trying to replace Nina... But I love Joy as mine and I want her to feel like it." I try to explain, rumbling as I rush to give him an insight into my thinking. "Thank God you are not her mother. I... I don't know what to say..." He is really hard to read right now. "It was just a thought, I didn't want to put you in a rough position..." I panic but he chuckles, pressing his lips to my forehead. "I will call my lawyer tomorrow morning and schedule a meeting. She will tell us all we need to know about the process. You are a literal angel, and I am the luckiest guy in the whole entire world... And our kids are so lucky you are their mom." He peppers my face with kisses, making me giggle as he leans down, pressing his lips to my belly, just below my navel. "I know, I know... But I am just as lucky that I have you..." I smile, stroking his hair as he cradles my bump.

"You know you didn't have to dress this formal for the meeting, right?" Calum asks me as we walk into the waiting room of the lawyer's office. "I didn't know these things had a dress code..." I cock my eyebrow at him, while he takes my hand and brings it to his lips, keeping my hand in his palm after. We sit like that, listening to the clock ticking in the empty space, prepping for what we will hear once we walk in. "Mr. Hood, Mrs. (Y/L/N), please, go in..." The secretary smiles at us, gesturing us to get inside.

Calum lets me walk in first, holding the door open. I clutch at my purse and gulp the lump in my throat, feeling worried for no reason. "Calum, I really didn't expect you here any time soon." The lady stands up to shake my hand and then Calum's before we take a seat. She seems familiar with him, which is a good sign; at least she is aware of the case. "It's for a good reason this time..." He chuckles, resting back on the chair. "Judging from what you told me on the phone, I agree. But tell me a little more." She instructs us, grabbing a notepad. "My partner and I are having a baby. And we thought, well, she thought, that since my daughter's mom is not in the picture, maybe (Y/N) could adopt her." Calum begins. "Adopt her?" The lawyer asks, turning to me. "I have seen that quite a few times, children being adopted by their step-parents. And I would like to adopt Joy officially since her mother is not present in her life." I explain and she nods. "Well, since the noncustodial parent is absent, the case is less complicated. Are you two married?" She asks us, making us look at each other. "No, but we are planning to..." Calum replies. "I am going to be straightforward and tell you that you should get married as soon as possible. It will simplify the case for the court even more. When you get married, you will bring me your marriage license and we will file the petition. After that, we get a court date, and before the date arrives, you will both get interviewed and your environment and background will be checked. It is best if you prepare Joy for that. Since the biological mother does not have custody and has no parental rights, she will not be called to testify and consent to the adoption. I am really confident that we are going to have an easy case. But, we will need to be well prepared for it." She explains, making Calum and I sigh; I am not really sure if it is a sigh of relief or frustration.

The drive back home is pretty quiet, Calum focusing on the road while I stare outside the window, biting the inside of my cheek in agitation. "Well, at least she said it is a simple case..." Calum mumbles, causing me to sigh as I draw my attention to him. "Yeah, that's a good thing. But you don't seem as happy as you should about the news." I sigh and he hums. "I don't know... That thing about rushing the wedding... It doesn't sit well with me... I don't like that we will have to do it fast just for the court... I want you to have the wedding you have dreamed of." He admits and I purse my lips, thinking about it. "Let's just do it in the mayor's hall. I don't want a big, expensive wedding. And I never was the one to dream of wearing a wedding dress. I just want it to be me and you and our vows to each other, nothing else matters." I shrug, turning to look at Calum. "You are joking, right?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows together. "I am not. We will just have a few friends as our witnesses, Joy will be my flower girl, I will wear a simple dress and then we can have a big party with friends. I don't care about anything else... I just care about marrying you." I speak with honesty, all of it coming from deep in my heart. "I will still have to officially propose to you... I want Joy to be a part of it. And we will still have to obtain the license and organize the party..." Calum smiles, sounding a little too cheerful already. "Don't worry, I am not going to ruin your Christmas proposal... We can get married after Christmas, before the New Year... We have, like 2 weeks ahead of us..." I state and he nods his head. "Let's do it... Let's fucking do it..." He cheers, bringing a smile to my lips. "You know we will have to talk to Joy about the adoption plan, right?" I ask Calum, who nods still smiling as he drives. "I know. And I know that she is going to be extremely happy over the news, so there is nothing we should worry about. Really, we should limit our worrying time to the absolute minimum." He reaches to stroke his thumb over my tummy. "I kinda like this easy breezy version of you." I place my hand over his, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin. "For the first time in a few years, everything is exactly where it is supposed to be. Everything is exactly as it is supposed to be. And I have decided to let it flow over me, enjoy all of it while it lasts." He explains, licking his lips. I hum, sitting a bit upright. "What about I call Luke, ask him to keep Joy for the night and you and I have a little bit of mommy and daddy fun? I have a couple of non-alcoholic sparkling cider bottles and I can't wait to share them with the prettiest pregnant lady I know..." He suggests, taking my hand and bringing it to his lips. "Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Hood?" I ask, playing it dumb. "Is it that obvious?" He teases, chuckling as he lets my hand down on my lap.

"Can you raise your t-shirt a bit?" Calum asks as he brings the platter of cheese on the couch. "Are you asking me to strip? Jeez, at least buy me a drink first..." I fake-scold him, rolling my eyes at him. "No, smart-ass... I am asking you to raise your top so your baby bump is out and I can send a pic to my mom. She has been asking for one ever since I told her she would be having a second grandchild soon." He explains, picking up his phone. I hum, leaving my glass of cider on the coffee table. I raise my t-shirt, laying back and placing a hand on my bump, giving him a clear shot of my protruding stomach. "The picture would look so much better if there was a ring on your finger..." He mumbles, snapping the picture. "I have plenty of rings in my jewelry box. Go fetch me one." I tease him, turning my head to look at him as he smirks and rolls his eyes. "I think you know what I am talking about... Stop playing it dumb." He whispers, scooting closer to me. I shrug my shoulders, reaching up to stroke his face as he hovers above me. "I have no clue..." I cheer, pursing my lips as my eyes crinkle from smiling at the love of my life. "Oh, you don't?" He asks, licking his lips as his hand cups my face, holding it up before he places a kiss on my lips. His knee rests between my legs, supporting his body up as his lips mold with mine. He touches me oh so softly, tracing his fingers from my jaw to my neck, raising goosebumps on my skin. "You look so pretty, my love..." Calum mumbles, kissing a trail from my lips to the spot below my ear. "Turn the lights off, leave only the Christmas lights..." I moan, closing my eyes as I picture Calum holding me down, thrusting inside me as the lights that decorate our house blink slowly. "What do you have in mind?" He asks, cocking an eyebrow at me, supporting his weight on his palms. "When was the last time you had sex on this couch?" I ask, biting my lip. He smiles down at me, sighing happily as he shakes his head. "I am so fucking lucky that I will get to marry you..." He mumbles, planting a kiss on my lips before he gets up to kill the lights.

(Calum's POV) "Did you have fun with uncle Lu and auntie Si, baby?" I ask Joy as I hug her to my chest, looking at Luke who is chuckling at us. "I had so much fun, daddy. Auntie Sierra painted my nails." She cheers, showing me her sparkly manicure. "So pretty. But we will have to get it off before you go to school on Monday, you know that, right?" I ask her, bopping her nose as she nods. "I know. Mom will help me." She replies and I smile at her, the word 'mom' making my heart warm up. "Ok, then. Say bye-bye to uncle Luke and aunt Sierra..." I prompt her, letting her turn around to wave off my friends. "Bye uncle Lu, bye auntie Sierra. See you soon..." She cheers, blowing them a kiss.

I strap her on her booster seat, making sure she is comfortable before I get on my seat. "How is mommy?" She asks; the word now comes out with a little hesitance, almost like she is testing the waters. "She was still sleeping when I left. The baby makes her feel a little tired." I reply, turning the engine on. "Oh, we will have to be quiet." She suggests and I hum. "I was thinking that you and I should go for a milkshake and give mommy some time to wake up." I suggest and she cheers. "Yes. Caramel milkshake, caramel milkshake, caramel miiiilkshakeee." She sings rhythmically, clapping her hands along. "Ok then. I guess we are going for a milkshake." I smile, pulling out of Luke's driveway.

"I wanna show you something, but you have to promise you will keep it a secret... From everyone." I whisper as I lean closer to my daughter, who slurps on her milkshake. She looks at me with her eyebrows furrowed, leaving the glass on the table. "Even (Y/N)?" She asks me and I nod. "Especially (Y/N)." I reply and she looks at me, even deeper in confusion. "What is it?" She asks, scooting closer. I take the ring box out of the pocket of my jacket, opening it carefully under the table. "Do you know what this is?" I ask her and she nods. "A ring." She states. "That's right. Do you know what that means?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders. "It means I want to give it to (Y/N) and ask her to marry me. If it is ok with you, of course..." I reply as Joy brings her fingers to graze them over the sparkly ring. "Oh." She gasps, turning to look at me, with her eyes big and sparkly. "And I want it to be a surprise. So please, don't say anything." I remind her, closing the box and placing it back in the pocket of my jacket. "I won't, daddy. I promise." She raises her pinky in the air, making me chuckle as I link it with mine. "And I need your help, baby. I want you to give the ring to (Y/N) on Christmas morning. Can you do that for me?" I ask her and she nods excitedly. "Do you think she will say yes, daddy?" She asks me, whispering as she looks around, making sure no one heard. "I have a hunch she will, baby. But remember, we can't say anything to no one until Christmas morning. This is our little secret." I remind her, pressing my finger to my lips, causing her to giggle and mimic me. "I will wrap the ring really pretty and you will give it to her when we open gifts on Christmas morning, ok baby?" I bop her nose and she nods, reaching to pick up her milkshake. "Will she like the ring?" Joy asks me, holding the glass carefully. "I hope so, bunny. It is pretty, isn't it?" I ask her, scratching the back of my head. I know that (Y/N) is not a big wearer of jewelry, but I do hope she loves the ring; she didn't say anything when I showed it to her, so I hope she thinks it's decent, at least. "It is pretty, dad. I want one too." She pouts at me as I lean in to kiss her forehead. "I'll get you a diamond ring, baby. When you turn 18, ok?" I promise her and she nods happily, bringing her straw to her mouth.

"Hey, mama? Did you miss someone?" I cheer as we enter the house, finding (Y/N) resting on the couch. Joy runs to her, climbing on the couch to leave a kiss on her cheek. "I missed this baby bunny so much. Did you have fun with uncle Luke and aunt Sierra?" She asks her, squeezing her in her arms. "So much fun. Look." Joy cheers, showing off her sparkly nail polish. "They are so pretty... What else did you do?" She asks, stroking Joy's hair softly. "We built a fort and Petunia slept in my room and we watched a movie with a girl named Lilo." "And an alien named Stitch... Oh, I love this movie. I am so glad you had fun. But I've missed you so much... And your sister did too. She has been kicking a storm..." (Y/N) states, stroking her hand over her belly. "Really? Can I put my ear on your belly again?" Joy asks and (Y/N) nods, causing Joy to lay her head on her lap and press her ear on her bulging stomach. "Daddy, come listen!" Joy gestures me to get to her. I walk on the couch, laying on the other side, and pressing my ear on (Y/N)'s stomach. The baby kicks and moves, the feeling of it reminding me of a spring bouncing. Her hand rests on top of my head, stroking through my hair. As I turn my gaze, I find that she does the same to Joy, while smiling at us.

"She knows about the ring. And she is in... A bit too excited about it." I whisper as (Y/N) nestles to my chest. The house is quiet, only the TV giving off a low sound, while the little tea lights provide just the right luminance. "That's a relief..." "I was so nervous when I told her... But she loved the ring and she loved the idea of me marrying you, so..." "So, I guess I will have to go look for a dress. Not that it's going to be easy, with your daughter making my stomach look huge..." "Now she is my daughter?" "Come on, Hood. You are not the one getting your spline punched all day long, give me a break and let me have it." "You will look great in anything. You are the sexiest mama I have ever seen... And seriously, pregnancy suits you. If I could, I would have you with your belly full, every day for the rest of our lives." I reply, bringing a hand underneath her chin to lift it so I can kiss her. "Yeah, yeah... You are only saying that because you feel guilty that the baby is kicking my organs." She chuckles and I shake my head at her. "You are gorgeous, angel. You are glowing from the inside... And I can feel myself falling more and more for you, every second I spend with you." "I hate to ask... But it has been eating my brain away..." "You can ask me anything, baby." "You and Nina... How... What were you guys like as a couple?" She asks, avoiding to look at me. "I... I guess we were kinda like all else, having our ups and downs... We were passionate about what we were doing, trying to support each other through every step. She was very calm and sweet, I guess Joy took that from her. We were never very public about anything, we wanted to be taken seriously at our jobs, but she was affectionate and loving. But when she got pregnant... She changed. She became distant, agitated... We barely talked about anything else other than the adoption plan in the entirety of the 6 months we were aware of the pregnancy. Everything changed and I was hoping we would go back to normal after the whole thing would be done." "But you never got the chance... Is there a possibility... that you are still in love... with her?" She asks, her eyes fixating on my face, trying to read it. "Not even the slightest. I told you, she left us, she abandoned me with a child, never showed up again. In the beginning, I was thinking of her... But all went away when I realized it would be just me and Joy, for the rest of my life. I am not in love with her, I don't hate her... I don't feel anything when it comes to her." I reply and she nods, leaning in to kiss my cheek. "Did you ever think of marrying her? I mean, before Joy and all that..." She asks me, and I huff. "No. I wasn't thinking about marriage back then. You are the first ever to bring those thoughts to me. I didn't want any of that, not until I met you." I reply and she purrs happily.

"Now, if you are done with the questions, we have a wedding to plan. And we have a lot of things to decide on..." "Just find a caterer, a florist, someone to play music and we are set. And of course, we need to see what we are going to wear. But I really don't want anything complex... I need just us and our friends." She replies and I nod. "What about our families?" I ask her and she sighs, shrugging her shoulders. "Your family is more than welcome. I don't want mine at the wedding. Just my sister and my nephews. I haven't talked to the rest since the dinner incident. And they are not welcome if they don't approve." "Are you sure about that, darling? They are your family." I rub my thumb over the back of her hand. "I am sure. You, Joy, and our little baby are my family. And Duke, of course." She replies and I lean in to press a kiss on the tip of her nose.

(Y/N's POV) "Mommy, daddy, wake up... Santa brought the presents..." Joy screams as she barges into the room, jumping up and down the bed. I look at her, smiling at how excited she is. "Sweetheart, go get washed up and mommy and I will be with you in a few minutes..." Calum mumbles, making Joy nod as she jumps off. "Hurry." She shouts as she runs out of the room, skipping happily.

"Merry Christmas, my love... And Merry Christmas to you, my baby peanut..." He whispers, leaning down to press a kiss on my belly. "Merry Christmas, daddy. We love you so much..." I reply, stroking his hair. "I gotta give my baby mama a proper kiss..." He states, bringing his lips against mine for a moment, making me giggle. "I love you so much... You and our babies... I love you so much..." He whispers, placing his hand low on my stomach. "Come on... We have to go downstairs... Joy has to ask me to marry you on your behalf..." I cup his face in my hand, stretching up to give him a peck on the lips. "I think that's the reason she is so excited about 'Santa's gifts'." He replies, whispering before he gets off the bed.

Joy seems agitated as she unwraps her gifts, her legs bouncing as she throws the packages on the side. She is only looking for the ring, I can tell. "Oh, this one is for mommy." She exclaims, her voice coming off more excited than she intended. She moves next to me, handing me the wrapped box. "Oh, a gift for me? From Santa? I wonder what it is..." I gasp as look at it. "Open it..." She almost commands, unable to keep herself from squealing happily. I tear the paper apart, revealing the velvet box. "Oh, must be those earrings I had my eye on..." I mumble before I open the lid. I really gasp the moment my eyes land on it; I didn't remember the ring being so beautiful. "What is that?" I ask, staring mesmerized by how the ring sparkles. "Daddy has a question for you..." She stares at her father, prompting him to speak up. "Well... I love you so much, that I really, really want to marry you. So, I guess my question to you is, do you want to marry me?" Calum says, confidence dripping from his voice as he already knows the answer. I smile at him, shaking my head as I feel my eyes tear up. It feels so real right now, all of it suddenly coming to life from just being a thought. "Yes... Yes, I wanna marry you." I reply, feeling a couple of tears slip; stupid pregnancy hormones.

Calum stands up to hug me, squeezing me as Joy dances happily, cheering as Calum peppers my face with kisses. "Wanna slide that ring on?" I ask him and he nods, picking the ring out of the box before he slips it on my fingers. "Is it good? Not tight on your fingers, right?" He asks me and I shake my head no. "It is beautiful." I reply, leaning in to kiss him softly. "Were you in all of this, little lady?" I ask Joy, who giggles and nods. I kneel in front of her, hugging her closely. "This was the best surprise ever." I state, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Now, you and I will have to find some pretty dresses to wear on the big day..." I take her hands in mine, making her nod her head and grin. "Ok. Can I go play with my toys now? I wanna see what Santa got me..." She asks and I nod, letting her hands go. "Go have fun, baby. Daddy and I will go make some lunch while you play." I reply, watching her run happily to her pile of toys.

"You were really great at pretending you had no clue about this..." Calum whispers as we walk to the kitchen. "I wasn't pretending. I was really surprised." I reply and he chuckles. "Seriously?" "Yeah... I had forgotten how good the ring looks, and I was shocked at how excited Joy was about this." I reply, opening the fridge to see what I can whip up for lunch. "You know, my heart almost pumped out of my chest while I was waiting for you to say yes." He admits and I coo, turning to look at him. His cheeks are rosy with embarrassment. "You had doubts I would say yes? Wanna take a look at this huge bump?" I chuckle and he hums. "Is the bump the only reason you are marrying me?" He asks, cocking an eyebrow. "Well, you are sweet and kind, and smart, and funny, and loving, and caring, and handsome to the point I drool over you every time I look at you. And, last but not least, you are so good at giving me orgasms, I am practically addicted... And I really can't imagine myself spending the rest of my life with anyone else. So..." I reply, cupping his face in my hands and squeezing his cheeks. "After dinner at Luke's tonight, I'll put Joy to bed, and when I get back to our room, I'll lock the door. Maybe you can wear some of that nice lingerie you own." He whispers in my ear, making me chuckle. "I can't fit in them. My boobs are huge now." I reply and he moans. "Be naked then." He kisses my neck, his breath fanning against my skin.

"Do you mind if I ask Kaitlin to be my maid of honor?" I ask Calum as he dresses up for Luke's dinner. "Not at all. I will ask Michael to be my best man since Luke is Joy's godfather and Ashton will be our ordain." He states and I nod. "Speaking of godfather... We have to pick one for the peanut..." I suggest and he hums. "Isn't it a bit early? We still have time for that..." "Yeah, but it is a tough decision to make." I remind him and he chuckles. "We will figure it out..." He replies, fixing the buttons on the sleeves of his shirt. "How do I look?" He asks, walking to me. I fix the creases on his chest, letting my hands rest there for a moment. "Completely edible, nearly irresistible." I sigh, biting my bottom lip. "Maybe I should call Luke and tell him we are not going..." He whispers and I chuckle. "I would like to see you try to tell Joy we're not going to Luke's house... She is obsessed with that man. Plus, I said nearly irresistible, not completely." I giggle, turning around to go see if Joy is ready.

"Joy literally fell asleep on top of Petunia. The poor doggo doesn't even dare move." I state as I take my seat at the table. "It's going to be a fuss picking her up..." Calum mumbles at me, making me smirk at him. "I can't pick her up. The belly is on the way..." I reply, pointing at the bump and making everyone laugh. "Well then... I guess I will have to." Calum replies, bringing my hand to his lips. "Calum was telling us about the wedding. Do you need any help, darling?" Sierra asks me, taking a swig from her wine. "Not really. It is going to be very simple and casual. Just us. But I will still need bridesmaids and a maid of honor... And I know this is not the best way to ask, but it would be an honor if you girls agreed on being my bridesmaids." "Uh, I was hoping for the flower girl gig..." Kaitlin sighs dramatically, shaking her head. "Well, that was promised to Joy, so you will have to settle for the maid of honor gig..." I reply and she nods. "I would be honored..." She replies, standing up and walking to me, hugging me close to her. Crystal and Sierra join in, making it a group hug. "So, we have a week for the wedding?" Ashton asks as we part, walking to me with open arms. "You'd better get ordained, mister..." I sniffle as I feel my eyes brimming, pouting a little. "I would, even if you didn't ask me to." He replies, pecking on my forehead. "You sure want to have the wedding in your backyard? I mean, I know you are rushing for the adoption court, but still... Don't you want something fancier?" Michael asks, looking at me and Calum. "This is fancy." I remark, smiling at Calum who shakes his head playfully. "I had to convince her for the backyard wedding. She wanted to do it in the mayor hall." Calum states, making me shrug my shoulders as I grin.

(Calum's POV) "Are you ready for tomorrow, princess?" I ask Joy as I tuck her in, and kiss her forehead. "I am. Mommy said I will get dressed with her before the wedding." "Try not to be prettier than mama, ok? She has to be the star of the evening." I tease her, and she giggles. "Ok, daddy." She smiles and I nod. "I will see you in the morning, baby. Get lots and lots of rest." I whisper, bopping her nose.

I exit the room, sighing as I enjoy the little bit of silence in the house. This time tomorrow, the house will be filled with music and celebrations. I can't wait until I marry her; I know that this is all typicality and that we don't need a paper to officiate our love, but this paper is what will make it easier for us to make our family official.

(Y/N) has been asleep for a while now, the pregnancy and all the wedding preparations finally catching up to her and making her tired. But my heart races and I become giddy with excitement as I wait for time to pass by and bring me to the moment (Y/N) will become my wife. My stomach twists a little as I dig in my pocket for my phone, but I know that I have to fight through the nasty feeling, and give one last fight. For her, because she deserves it.

I huff as I hover over the contact; I hate that I had to go through (Y/N)'s phone for that, but I had no other way. I press the phone against my ear as it rings, tapping my fingers against my thigh as I wait.

"Hello?" The line goes live and I release the breath I was holding. "Hi, this is Calum, (Y/N)'s boyfriend." There is an awkward silence until the man speaks. "How did you get my number?" He asks and I sigh. "It doesn't matter. I want you to listen to me for a moment." I almost plead, hoping that he is not going to hang up on me.

"Is my daughter ok?" He asks and I chuckle. "She is more than ok. I am going to talk to you, father to father. I know you don't necessarily approve of our relationship, but we are getting married tomorrow. I know that I would hate it if my daughter got married and I wasn't there. Whether you show up or not, she is still going to walk down that aisle, she is still going to look gorgeous, she is still going to marry me. Would you be ok missing that?" I can only hear her father's breath through the phone, for nearly a minute. "Listen, you don't have to make up your mind right now. I am going to hang up and I will send you the location and time with a message. I really hope to see you there. But if not, I want you to know that your daughter will be forever safe and happy with me." I state, and without wasting one more second, I hang up, feeling peaceful over the fact that I did my part. As I press send on the text, I can only hope her parents will do their part.

(Y/N's POV) "Don't over-do it with the curls..." I boss around poor Kaitlin, who just chuckles and shakes her head. "I know what I am doing, mama, trust me." She replies, smiling at me through the mirror. I still can't believe that in just a few moments I will be slipping into my pretty dress to go and get married to the man of my dreams. My hand flies to my bump, stroking over it without me realizing it. I can't stop feeling the bump lately; maybe because now it really looks like I am pregnant, maybe because I have finally started feeling the baby kick and move. "You ok?" Katelyn asks me and I nod, rubbing my thumb over my stomach in soft circles. "Yep. I am just trying not to get too emotional." "Please don't. Crystal will literally kill us if we mess with your makeup." She jokes and I giggle, nodding in agreement. "I will be very careful, I promise." I assure her as she runs her fingers through my curls.

I hear the door squeaking open, making me turn my head toward it. "You have some visitors." My sister announces, half-hiding behind the door. "Can't they wait downstairs with the rest? I have to get ready..." I reply and she shakes her head. "I don't think they can." She states and I sigh in surrender. "Sure, then... Let them in." I turn around as Kaitlin takes a step back to let me stand up and greet the guests.

In walk my parents. My mom takes the steps hesitantly, followed by my dad, who looks at his shoes instead of me. "If you are here to talk me out of this, I have to ask you to leave." I state, deciding to not let them ruin my day. "We are here... We are here because Calum was right. I would hate myself if my little girl got married and I was not there." My father speaks, making me gasp. "Calum invited you?" I ask, in confusion about what is going on. "He called last night. I couldn't sleep after that, thinking of you on your happiest day and us absent from it." He replies, walking closer to me. "We are here to join you, darling, not stop you. And we are very sorry about what happened the last time we met. We are so very sorry, my love." My mom chimes in, smiling softly at me. "I don't know what to say." I utter and they both nod. "We promise to not cause any trouble. We will sit in the back and leave right after if that's what you want. Just... Let us see you marry the man you love, that's all we ask." My father sounds apologetic, looking at me with honesty in his eyes. "I want you to stay for the whole thing. I wanted you here since we started planning, I wished you could magically appear. And you are here. So, please, stay. I don't want to get married without my family." I sniffle, looking up to avoid ruining my makeup with tears. "We will, my love." My mom replies, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "Now, I have to finish getting ready. Dad, will you walk me down the aisle?" I ask, pulling them in for a hug. "It would be an honor, darling." He mumbles happily, rubbing my back.

"You look... Absolutely gorgeous." My father whispers as he links his arm with mine. "You think so? The bump makes it all look weird..." I mumble but he shakes his head. "You look gorgeous, really. The most beautiful bride I have seen. Don't tell your mother and sister." He chuckles, making me giggle. "It will be our secret, dad. Thank you for doing this." I lean my head on his shoulder as we walk toward the little flower arch Calum is under. "Thank you for letting me do this." He replies, sounding sincere.

Calum smiles at us as we approach him, making my heart flutter happily. "I know you know already, but this man really loves you." My dad says, stopping for a moment to plant a chaste kiss on my forehead. "I know he does, dad. And I do too." I reply and he hums. "Well then... You two will make a wonderful family." He assures me, walking the last few steps. "Thank you." I mouth as Calum takes my hand to bring me closer to him under the arch. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on." He says happily, letting out a sigh at the end. "I know, right?" I tease him, making him shake his head at me.

Calum has been holding me close to his body throughout the party. His hands make their way to my bump, feeling our daughter as she moves inside me. Joy has been dancing around all night; even my parents danced with her. But for the last hour she has been laying on 2 chairs, put together for her to sleep on, and I would be lying if I said I am not jealous of her. "You are tired?" Calum whispers in my ear, pressing a kiss right under it. "Just a bit... Baby makes me sleepy." I giggle, resting my hand on my stomach. I love feeling our baby move, I love that she makes her presence known at almost all times, even if it means she is punching my organs. "I can kick them out, you know." He states, placing his hand on top of mine. "It's alright. If I get too tired, I can always get two chairs and join Joy..." I laugh and he hums. "Can't believe you are my wife..." He sighs happily, pressing a kiss on my temple. "You better believe it. Because I don't plan to ever change that. You married me for life, Hood." I state, turning around to look at him. He bites his lip, smiling to the point his cheeks are popping off. "You promise?" He asks me, cupping my face in his hands. "I promise." I bring his hand closer to my lips, pecking on the side of it.

Calum places a pancake on Joy's plate, cutting it into little pieces for her, while I help her with her glass of milk. She is almost sleeping, tired still from yesterday's intensity. "Are you ok Joy?" I ask her, stroking her hair as I watch her eyes get heavy. "I need sleep..." She sighs, making Calum and I chuckle at the same time. "You will feel a lot better after breakfast..." Calum picks a piece with the fork and brings it to Joy's lips. "Isn't baby tired? We should all take a nap." She states while chewing on her food, poking at my stomach softly. "Look at Ms. Smartypants over there, already using her baby sister." Calum cackles, knitting his eyebrows together as he makes his signature funny face. "We will take a nap later, don't worry. Mommy is tired as well." I assure her, leaning down to peck on her forehead. "Joy, mom and I would like to tell you something." Calum looks at me with a question mark glazing his eyes. I nod my head, sitting up a little better before I open my mouth. "Joy, now that dad and I got married, I would like to... I would like to become your mom." I look at the little girl, whose mouth is covered in chocolate syrup. "But you are my mommy already." She seems confused, and I really can't blame her; how can I explain that we need a signature to verify what we already feel with our whole soul? "I am. But, we need to make it official. Which means that everyone will know I am your mommy. That you will my baby forever and no one will ever say you aren't. And I want to ask you, would you like to become my daughter, officially? Would you like for me to be your mother, legally?" I ask her, my voice breaking as I feel too emotional.

Joy looks at me, bringing her hand on top of mine as I feel ready to burst into tears. "You are my mom." She states, making my bottom lip quiver and causing me to sniffle as I feel tears streaming down my eyes. "Ok... Let's give mommy a moment." Calum stands up to press his lips to my forehead. "Mom and dad will have to go to the court for this. You might need to come with us, some people might ask you a few questions about (Y/N) and how you feel. I want you to know that there is nothing to be scared of. We will be there and we are all going to be alright. And then mommy will be your mom forever." Calum explains, leveling down to her height. "Is mommy alright?" She asks, pointing at me; I must look like a mess, sobbing at how precious this moment has been this far. "She is just a little sensitive. Your sister is making her feel a little emotional." Calum explains, rubbing his thumb over my thigh in empathy. "Oh... It's ok, mama. Don't cry." Joy stands up from her seat, looking at her father who lifts her and lets her on my lap to hug me.

"I got served today." Sue smiles at me, showing me the paper. "Yeah, the lawyer told us they would start sending the papers." I reply, sitting on my chair and taking a breath; I am getting so heavy and it is getting tiring standing up, let alone having to manage a group of toddlers. "This is it, huh? You are becoming a family officially..." She states as she takes a seat on top of the little desk. "I still can't believe it. Joy is going to be my daughter... Fuck, I am going to cry again." I look up at the ceiling as I try to stop myself from breaking down again. "I told you he likes you before you even knew it. Remember the time he brought you flowers and you said it was because you helped him find Joy's backpack and all that crap?" She asks, with a smirk playing on her lips and her hand resting against my bump. "I just didn't think it would ever be possible. You know, I liked him since day one. The moment I saw his hands, I was hooked..." I sigh, bringing to my brain the visual of how good his hand looks. "Well, thank God Matt broke up with you when he did. I am leaving. Want me to drop you home?" She asks and I shake my head. "Calum is picking me up. He doesn't let me take a step by myself nowadays." I reply and she shakes her head, stroking my arm as she hops off. "I will see you tomorrow then." She says sweetly before walking out.

I check my phone to see if Calum has sent me any messages while I wait, hoping he will be here soon; I am craving the cheesiest mozzarella sticks dipped in marinara sauce. "I thought you would actually have the decency to get away from my family. But no..." A voice startles me, making me avert my gaze from my phone. Nina stands at the door of the room, looking at me with hatred. My breath hitches in the back of my throat and my hand instinctively goes to my protruding stomach, to protect it; she is not here for good. "And I thought you wouldn't actually dare show up after your filthy lies. Your plan didn't work in your favor, huh? Really, what were you trying to achieve with your lame fiction?" I ask her, standing up from my chair. Her eyes get wider as she takes a look at my belly, mouth staying agape. "You are knocked up?" She points at my stomach, walking towards me. It takes everything in me to stay where I am, show her that I am not scared, even though every cell inside me trembles at the hatred I see in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" I ask her, with the most paced voice I can muster. "The court sent me this... You want to take my daughter? You think you can take my child from me?" She nearly hisses at me, throwing the paper at me. "The... the lawyer said they wouldn't serve you... You gave up all parental rights, you don't have her custody, not even partially." My stomach hurts as I look at her becoming red with anger. "I am not going to let a random slut become my daughter's mother. And I am not going to let you take my man away. Calum still loves me. You think if you weren't carrying that bastard, he would still be with you? I am going to get what is mine, and you are going to be left with what you fucking deserve... Nothing." She spits out, getting scaringly closer. I cover my belly with my hands, mentally praying she will not hurt me.

"(Y/N)?" Someone calls from the door. I look over Nina's shoulder, finding Ashton waiting at the door. He looks distraught, confused as to what is going on. Nina turns around, making Ashton gasp. "You dare show up here? You dare show your fucking face after everything you have done?" Ashton growls at her, dashing to where we are. "Ash, please..." I mumble but he seems infuriated. "Step the fuck away from her, before I throw you out of here. You have no place in anyone's life." Ashton pulls her away, stepping between me and her. "You can't tell me what to do." She bites back, but Ashton seems to keep his composure. "You are lucky Calum wasn't here, because you get to walk away now. If he had been, if he had heard what I had heard, oh, you would have been buried 2ft wide and 6ft deep. So, get the hell out of here, and if you dare to show your face ever again, I will remember all the pain you have caused to my favorite people, and I will bury you with my own two hands." He threatens; Nina stays silent, only her breath being heard before she turns around to leave.

I gasp for air, Ashton turning to me immediately. He helps me sit on the chair, crouching down to my height to make me look at him. "Hey, hey... Everything is alright... You are safe, no one is going to hurt you." Ashton tries his hardest to calm me down, but the little pain growing in my abdomen makes me more panicked. "It hurts..." I cry out, shutting my eyes and trying to regulate my breathing. "Where? (Y/N), where does it hurt?" He asks me, bringing his hand on top of mine. "Something is wrong, something is wrong..." I cry out, clutching my belly. "Sweetheart, sweetheart look at me... You are going to be ok, and your baby is going to be ok. Everyone is going to be fine. I will take you to a hospital, ok darling?" He tries to assure me, but he sounds just as panicked as me. He helps me stand up from the chair, letting me support my weight on him as he grabs my purse and phone. "Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you?" He asks me but leaves no time for me to respond before he picks me up.

(Calum's POV) My phone rings as I finish strapping Joy to her car seat, so I reach in my pocket for it. "It's probably mommy." I say to the kid who looks at me sleepily. I take a look at my screen, finding that Ashton is calling me. "Hey, I just picked Joy up. Did you ask (Y/N) where she wants to go for lunch?" I ask him, opening the driver's door. "I need you to stay calm. And if you are driving, pull over." Ashton says, making me knit my eyebrows together. "What happened?" I ask, sitting on my seat and closing the door. "I had to take (Y/N) to the hospital. And you should come over too." He says, trying to keep his voice calm. "What? Why? Is she ok? Please, tell me she is fine... Please..." I feel my breath getting caught in my lungs. "I don't know, Cal. Come over. We are in Good Samaritan." He replies and I hang up, trying not to get my brain to the worst.

I quickly dial Luke's number, hoping he will be available to keep Joy; I don't want her in the hospital, not now that I don't know what is happening with my wife and baby. He picks up after a few rings. "Can you keep Joy for a while? It is an emergency?" I ask him before he could say a word. "What do you mean an emergency?" He asks, yawning a little. "I don't know much. It has to do with (Y/N)." I state, sniffling as I try not to fall apart. "I'll be waiting in my driveway." He responds, stuttering the words. "Thanks. See you in a bit."

The drive to the hospital could easily be the hardest ride of my life. I know I have to keep my shit together, but this ignorance is killing me. Ashton waits for me at the entrance of the E.R, looking as pale as ever. The constant pinch in my gut is making me dizzy; I don't know what to expect. I feel my body becoming cold, my knees suddenly bucking as they struggle to support my body. "Where is she?" I ask Ashton, who motions me to follow him. "They are examining her." He replies, guiding us to the elevators. "What happened?" My thumb goes to my ring finger, grazing over the silver band. "I went to pick her up as we planned... And I found Nina in there." "Nina? What the fuck was she doing there?" I ask him, feeling my blood become boiling. "I have no clue. I only heard her say she was going to get everything that's hers. I kicked her out and then (Y/N) told me she was in pain." He explains. "Did she hurt her? Did she fucking touch her?" I growl, digging my nails in my palms. "I don't think so... I mean... I didn't see her doing anything." He replies, looking at me for my reaction. I bite the inside of my cheek, feeling my stomach drop. "I am going to find her and I am going to kill her. I am going to kill her, I swear." I say through gritted teeth, making Ashton move in front of me and grab me by my shoulders. "Mate, if you hurt her, she is going to get you arrested. Your wife will have to give birth alone, you won't get to be with your daughters, and the career you have will be forever stained by it." He reasons me. "If anything happens to (Y/N), I won't..." I begin but I burst into sobs, making Ashton pull me into a hug. "Calum, your wife is the most stubborn person I know. I mean, look at her, putting up with your ass... She is going to be fine. And your baby, well, she has the strongest mama, and she is going to be fine as well. Please, don't think about that. (Y/N) will be fine." He assures me, patting my back. "Now, we are going up to the OBGYN floor and we are going to wait for the results. And then you are going in to see your wife and you will be calm, so she can be calm. Ok?" He looks at me, shaking me a little. "She is going to be fine." I state and he nods. "Both of them." He adds, pushing the elevator button.

"Mr. Hood?" Someone asks me, making me bring my head up from my lap. A woman with a medical coat stands before me, smiling condescendingly as I stand up. "Are they ok? Is my wife alright? Is the baby ok?" I ask and she draws in a breath. "The baby is perfectly healthy, there is no reason to be worried right now. Your wife, however, was in shock when she was brought in. Her blood pressure was very high. We were able to lower it, but we are worried about her developing preeclampsia." She explains. Ashton pats my back as I feel my breath hitch to the back of my throat. "Preeclampsia?" I ask and she nods. "High blood pressure can lead to organ failure and we want to avoid that. So, we will keep her in, for observation and treatment. And hopefully, her blood pressure will drop to normal soon." The doctor explains and I gulp the lump in my throat. "If it doesn't drop?" Ashton asks, beating me to it. "We will have to deliver the baby. But this is something we are trying to avoid." She replies. "Can I see her?" I ask; I must be looking at her in the most pleading way. "Of course. But try not to upset her." She states, motioning me to follow her.

I see her laying on the hospital bed, the monitor hooked on her arm. I have to take a moment to get my mind in order before I step into her room, because I know I will break down crying in front of her. "Are you going to stand there or get in?" She asks me softly, patting the free spot on her bed. I walk in, feeling at a loss of words. "The doctor filled me in. She said our baby is fine and that you'll be fine too." I try to assure her, but she shakes her head at me. "They talked to me too. I know the baby is fine... But... I am not, Cal..." She sniffles, squeezing my hand. "No, no, baby... You will be fine, we are all going to make sure of that. They said they already have lowered your blood pressure... We are on the right track." I press my lips on her forehead, trying to use my most calming voice. "If it comes to choosing..." "No, shut up... It won't come to choosing... We will never let it get to that. You and our baby will be fine. And when we get out of here, we are going to choose all the baby furniture and everything we need for our little peanut. And Joy is going to help me decorate the baby's room because that kid has an eye for that. And then we will have to find a name for her before she is here, so we have plenty of stuff to think about instead of thinking about it ever coming to a choice." I assure her, placing my hand on her bump. "It was so scary... She had a paper from the court, she said she wasn't gonna let me take what's hers... She looked at me with so much hatred..." I can hear her breathing become a little struggled, so I just hug her closer, pressing my lips on her forehead as I try to soothe her. "It's all over... All over, baby. She won't hurt you... We will get a restraining order and security and..." She shakes her head and leans her head on my shoulder. "Why did she have a paper from the court? I thought the lawyer said she wouldn't get served..." She asks as I run my thumb over her shoulder. "I don't know, angel... Let me take care of everything, ok? You rest and make sure our baby is alright, and I will go get everything fixed. How does that sound?" I ask her, pecking on her temple, while at the same time I try to calm down myself. "I love you." She whispers, placing her hand on top of mine on her bump. "I love you, angel. Try to rest now, I will be back in just a bit." I sigh, getting up from the bed.

Ashton waits outside the room for me, hugging me without saying a word. "You look like shit right now. You need coffee and food." He pats my back as he pulls away. I shake my head at him, pulling my phone out of my pocket. "I need to call the lawyer, and ask why the hell Nina got served to a court she never should have gotten served to. And I need to tell her to file for a restraining order because today Nina scared my wife to the point of endangering her life. So, before I get food or coffee or really anything, I should fix everything... I should fix it for my wife, for my daughters, for myself. Because Nina showed up twice, she knows where my wife works, she knows we are having a baby. Nina showed up, twice... And I can't breathe at the thought of Nina showing up and me not being there to protect (Y/N), or Joy, or the baby... So, please, let me fix this and stop worrying about me, for just a moment." I plead, feeling my chest becoming tight. "Ok, ok... Can I help? Any way I can!" He asks me and I nod. "Call Luke and tell him that I am staying with (Y/N) at the hospital and if he can't keep Joy, I can call a babysitter..." I explain. "I will call. And if he can't keep her, I will. I will also go to the cafeteria and buy us some coffee and water and food, and you can eat while you talk with the lawyer." He assures me, patting my back softly. "Thank you." "You are welcome. Now, let's go sit and make the calls we need to make." He nods his head towards the sitting area.

"It was all a mistake." I announce as I walk into (Y/N)'s room. "What was a mistake?" She asks me, looking at me in confusion. "Nina getting served. The person in charge of our papers didn't see the custody ruling. Nina won't be at the court. And she won't be allowed to get anywhere near you. I filed for a temporary restraining order, and we will pursue a permanent one as soon as we can. And I will make sure you are always with security when I am not with you." I explain, smiling at her. "She knows where I work... What if she doesn't stop? What if she comes again?" She asks me; I can see the terror in her eyes. "Well, you will get your maternity leave early, due to medical reasons. And, frankly... You can always quit..." "And what will you have me do? Be a housewife and a mother? I will go insane, Calum." "Now, did I say that, my love? You can quit, and I can help you set up something of your own." "You know I can't ask you for something like that." "You are not asking for it. I am offering. It is an investment, something that will be ours. Think about it... We have time to decide what we will do. But now, you get your maternity leave and stay home with our daughter while we wait for our other daughter to arrive. Ok?" I ask and she nods, smiling at me. "What did you tell Joy?" She asks me, running her thumb over my wedding ring. "I didn't tell her anything. Haven't spoken to her yet." I shrug my shoulders, looking at our hands. "You should tell her the truth. Not the scary part, of course. But tell her that mommy is at the hospital and the doctors are taking care of her and her baby sister." She explains, bringing my hand to her stomach. The baby moves inside her, little lumps moving across her stretched skin. "It still feels weird..." I chuckle, feeling her move under my hand. "I know. It feels like an alien is trying to rip through my body." She replies, sounding calm, finally. "Don't call our baby alien." I scoff. "Why? She looks like one right now. Have you seen the ultrasounds? She looks like ET more than she looks like you or me." She jokes, but her voice sounds so loving. "Prettiest alien ever." I say in my baby voice, stroking my hand over her bump.

I knew Joy wouldn't be able to stay home the moment she would hear about (Y/N) being in the hospital, so I promised to bring her in and see for herself that her mommy is alright and I haven't been lying to her. The little girl has been tugging at my sleeve from the moment we got in the hospital; her other hand is occupied, holding some flowers and one of her stuffed bunnies. "Bunny, no need to be anxious. Mommy is alright, you'll see her in a few minutes." I try to calm her, but her eyes look at me with worry. "Why is mommy in the hospital? Only sick people go to the hospital." She asks me, and I chuckle. "Well, not only sick people. The doctors wanted to make sure your baby sister is healthy, so mommy is staying here for a while. In a few days, she will be back home." I assure her, lowering to her height. "You promise?" She asks and I hum. "I promise, love. Now, put on your big girl smile, and let's go to mama." I suggest and she nods.

We walk into the room, finding (Y/N) sitting upright on her bed, glowing and beaming with happiness as the little girl runs to her. "Mommy." She screams happily, throwing the flowers and the stuffie on top of the bed. "Bunny... You are here." (Y/N) says excitedly. I move closer to them, lifting Joy on (Y/N)'s bed so she can hug her. "You are ok?" Joy asks her as (Y/N) hugs and kisses her forehead. "I am. We are just making sure the baby is healthy inside my tummy." (Y/N) replies, twirling one of Joy's curls. "Is she?" She asks; her voice is full of worry, which quite honestly is the purest thing I have witnessed. "She is very healthy, and soon I will get back home and we will be together all day long. We will draw, and read, and watch movies, and play all day. And daddy said he needs your help with the baby's room because you are so good at choosing stuff and I get tired very easily, so I am not such a great help." (Y/N) explains to our daughter who looks at her adoringly. "Ok, mama. Daddy bought you these, he said you love tulips. And I brought you Carrot because I don't want you to be alone. She will keep you and the baby company." Joy reaches for the stuff, handing the stuffie to (Y/N), who keeps it close to her chest. "Thank you, sweetheart. I am sure Carrot will be amazing." (Y/N) coos, pressing a kiss on Joy's forehead. "Hey there. I see you have a lot of visitors." The doctor walks into the room, smiling at Joy who studies her. "I have the best company ever. Joy, this is my doctor, Dr. Willow. She makes sure the baby and I are very healthy." (Y/N) explains as Joy extends her hand to shake the doctor's. "Yes, and I am here to take a look at the baby." The doctor says as I take Joy off the bed. "Oh, can I see her too? Please..." She begs, making me look at (Y/N). "If the doctor says you can stay..." (Y/N) responds, turning to the doctor. "I don't see why not." The doctor states, bringing the ultrasound machine a little closer to (Y/N)'s bed.

(Y/N) raises her gown, making sure to bring the covers closer so she is not exposed to the whole world. The doctor squirts some gel onto (Y/N)'s belly before she moves the wand over it. The heartbeat echos through the little machine, steady and loud as it should be. "This is your sister's heart that you hear. And on the screen, we can see her move inside your mommy's belly. She looks very healthy and active. Do you want a picture of her?" The doctor asks Joy, who nods excitedly. "Ok then, let's prepare you one. By the time you are back from the amazing cafeteria with your dad, the picture will be ready." The doctor subtly lets me know we have to go, so I nod and pick Joy up. "Let's go see if they have some ice cream in here. We will be back before you know it." I assure her, walking out of the room.

(Y/N's POV) "I thought this was your first pregnancy..." The doctor states after Calum and Joy leave the room. "It is. Joy... Well, I didn't birth her, but she is my daughter. My husband and I are going to court in a few days so I can legally become her mother. But she is my daughter already." I respond, making the doctor nod. "Biology doesn't matter. Love matters. And I see enough of it in your family." She responds, printing the ultrasound picture for Joy. "Is everything alright? Why did you ask them to leave?" I ask as I clean my stomach. "Everything is fine. As I said, she is very healthy and active. And I like how low your B.P has been for the past 24 hours. We'll keep you on for one more day, just to make sure. But I think there is no reason to be worried." She replies, turning off the ultrasound. "I don't have preeclampsia?" I ask, making her smile. "From what I see this far, no. But you will need to keep track of your blood pressure and make sure you don't get stressed. Take small walks to help with circulation, but not getting tired or too worked up. And before you ask, sex is still allowed..." She states and I chuckle. "Ok... So I am getting out tomorrow, right?" I ask and she hums. "In 24 hours, yes. You will still get monitored throughout the day, just for precaution, but I am pretty sure you will get out of here." She replies, leaving the ultrasound picture on the little bedside table. "I will see you again in a few hours." She smiles at me before placing the ultrasound machine back in place and leaves.

As the doctor promised, I am out of the hospital the day after, with Calum and Joy picking me up with excitement written all over their faces. Joy has been holding the picture from the ultrasound in her hands nearly all day since I handed it to her, which I am absolutely positive is the cutest thing ever. "Ok, mommy goes to sit on the couch and I will go order us some food. Joy, want to go join mama?" Calum asks the little girl, who nods. "Actually, I want to go out in the backyard. It is such a lovely day and I want to soak up some sun." I state and Calum hums, leaning in to press a kiss on my lips. "I'll order the food and join you in a bit." He replies before Joy takes my hand and guides us into the backyard.

We lounge on one of the sun chairs, letting the sun hit us, Joy leaning her head on my stomach as the baby moves. "Will the baby sleep in my room when she comes?" She asks me, making me stroke her hair. "In the beginning, she will sleep in our room, so I can feed her and change her diaper at night. But after that, she will have her own room." I explain and she sighs in disappointment. "Why? She can stay in my room." She offers and I chuckle. "Well, you have a big girl room and the baby needs a baby's room. But we can talk about it when the baby gets older... I promise that." I reply, smiling at the girl who grins at me. "Daddy said we will go to this place where they will ask me questions in a few days." "Yes. Are you anxious?" I ask her and she shakes her head. "No. I want to go there. After that you'll be my mom forever, right?" She asks and I nod. "I am already your mom forever, my love. I will just be your mom on paper too." I explain, stroking her curls. "Ok, mama." She whispers, running her hand over my belly.

I wear the only formal clothes that fit me right now, with my most comfortable fancy shoes, hoping I look prestigious enough so that the court will decide in my favor. It has been hours since the session began, and I feel more than sleepy and bothered than I want to admit. And I bet anything that Joy is even worse than me. But none of us dare say anything, none of us complain. Because according to our lawyer, things have been going very well this far. So, we spend the court break just waiting for the decision, in nearly complete silence. "Are you ok, my love?" Calum asks me as I lean my head on his shoulder. Joy has been sitting with Luke and Sierra since the social worker has already taken her interview early on. "I am tired. And I want this to be over already. What's taking them so long?" I groan and he hums softly. "It will be over soon. And we will go home, with our daughter and friends to celebrate." He assures me. I feel my bump, trying to soothe myself from unnecessary anxiety. "Joy is about to fall asleep..." He points out and I chuckle. "She barely slept last night. She was excited..." I reply, bringing my hand to tangle with his. "Weren't we all?" "How come you are not anxious?" I ask and he chuckles. "Someone has to be the rock..." He shrugs his shoulders. The judges walk in, taking their seats as we stand up to hear their ruling. "After thoroughly examining the testifies of the witnesses, and all the information collected by the respected services, we hereby approve the adoption of Joy Luna Hood from (Y/F/N), thereby granting the custody to (Y/F/N) and Calum Thomas Hood. Congratulations." The judge announces, making the whole room cheer. Joy runs to us, cheering as Calum picks her up and we have a little family hug. "I am your mommy now... Officially your mommy." I nearly cry; I have been dreaming of this moment since we went to the lawyer the first time. "We are a family now. Officially." Calum adds, kissing Joy's forehead, then mine.

"Not to startle you or anything, but your room is ready and soon you will get an eviction notice from in there... So, it might be time for you to pop out. Your sister is so excited to meet you, you are so gonna love her." Calum says in his baby voice, poking at my stomach. "Baby, I really don't want to blow your cloud away, but I am the one who is going to have to push a human out of a very small hole, and I am not so pumped about that... So, please don't try to rush her out yet. She is warm and safe in there..." I stroke Calum's hair, yawning a little as I feel drowsy already; it has barely been 3 hours since I woke up. "Yeah, I know. But I am excited she is getting here any day now. I still remember the day you came to our house with that folder in hand. It feels like yesterday." "I would kinda like to forget that I announced my pregnancy that way and that we were practically broken up at that point." I groan and he huffs. "Officially, we never broke up. And you promised the announcement of the next pregnancy is going to be a whole lot better. You better stay true to your promise." "Oh, we are already talking about the next one? This one is not even here yet. She still doesn't have a name." I protest but he scoffs playfully. "Yeah, we need a name. But I kinda like the idea of this one and the next one being so close, age-wise." "Calum, baby, I adore you and I adore our children, present and potential, but after this one, you are really not touching me for a while." I state and he gasps. "You really think you will be able to resist those lips, this charm, this body?" He asks me, cocking an eyebrow at me. "I can always try." I giggle, stroking my stomach.

"Cal... Cal baby, can you wake up?" I shake my husband, who stirs a little and grimaces. "Baby, please. My water just broke..." I nudge him, trying to get him to wake up. I feel myself becoming more anxious than I ever imagined I would be when this moment would come. "Calum Thomas Hood... Our daughter is coming. Get off the bed." I practically shout at him, startling him awake. "What?" He asks me, panting as he sits up. "My water broke... We need to go to the hospital." I moan as a contraction rips through me. "Fuck..." He exclaims, jumping off the bed. "That's what I am saying..." I reply, taking a deep breath to calm down. "We need to get going. Did you call your doctor?" He asks me, walking to the closet to get dressed. "I will call on the way. You still have the bag in the trunk, right?" I ask and he nods, turning to look at me. He stops for a moment, walking closer and pressing a kiss on my forehead. "She is coming." He says excitedly before he bends down to press a kiss on my bump. "I know... We should wake Joy up..." I reply as he stands up and goes back to getting dressed. "Let her. I will call Mikey and Crystal. They'll come over to take care of Joy. We have already talked about it." He replies, going to the nightstand to pick up his phone. "She will be sad when she finds out we went without her." I state but Calum hums. "She will see her baby sister and forget everything." He replies, chuckling softly. "She still doesn't have a name..." I sigh, earning a hum from him. "Well, we will have to come up with one, very soon." He replies, pressing a kiss on my forehead.

"You'll be inside the delivery room with me, right?" I ask Calum as I calm down from the contraction. They have become more frequent, more powerful, which only means I am getting closer to holding our baby in my arms. "Of course, if you want me to be." He replies, pressing a towel on my forehead to mop up my sweat. "You know, when I found out I was pregnant, I pictured myself all alone... Going to doctor appointments, having all the milestones by myself. But I pictured going in labor with you. You were there, holding my hand and telling me that you love me... Every time I pictured myself in that room, you were there... It's pretty much the reason I came to your house that night and told you about the baby." I state, taking his hand in mine. "I am here. And you'll never have to do anything alone. I can promise you that." He replies, pressing a kiss on my knuckles. "I am scared..." I admit, but he brings his forehead to rest on mine, nuzzling his nose against mine. "You will do amazingly. You are already amazing to our Joy, and you are the bravest person I know. You are a freaking superhero and I am in complete awe of you at all times." He states, kissing the tip of my nose.

Chiara Stella Hood joined the world on the 18th of June, at 6:25 in the morning. From the moment I saw her, I knew that there won't be a moment in my life that I won't love her with my whole heart. Calum hasn't left a moment, keeping a close eye on our daughter as she does pretty much anything. From letting out her first cry to suckling on my breast, his eyes haven't left her for a second. And I really can't blame him. "Michael says they are bringing Joy over in 20 minutes." Calum yawns, sitting closer to us on my bed. He brings his fingers to graze Chiara's little blanket as she blinks softly at us, while I put my gown back on. "You hear that, little lady... You are going to meet your big sister and your godparents..." I coo at the baby, as her father picks her up to hold her. "Joy is going to be so excited..." He says as I lean my head on his shoulder. "She has your eyes... Both of our children have your eyes." I state, running my thumb over the baby's chubby cheek. "I know... She is gorgeous, baby. I can't stop looking at her. Thank you." He turns to look at me, pressing a kiss on my lips. "For what?" I giggle softly. "For her... For carrying her, for telling me, for keeping her safe and healthy... Thank you." He replies, bopping her little nose. "We have the cutest little family. You are going to be such an amazing girl dad." I yawn a little; I am so tired from the delivery, but I can't wait for Joy to be here so she can meet the baby, so I just push through. "You need sleep." Calum comments; his voice has become raspy and groggy, coated with sleepiness. "You too. After Joy leaves, I am going to nap a bit. And you should get home, rest a lot because you will be on diaper duty for sooo long." I tease him and he chuckles. "I am not leaving you. I'll sleep on the chair a bit." He replies. "You should head home and spend some time with Joy... I don't want her feeling ignored now that Chiara is here." I state and he hums. "You are an angel, you know that?" He asks me and I nod. "I am aware, yes." I chuckle.

Joy runs into the room, gasping as she sees me holding the swaddled baby. "Mommy." She cheers, stopping at the edge of the bed as Michael and Crystal walk in after her. "Hey, bunny." I smile at her while Calum moves to help her get up on the bed. "This is your baby sister, Chiara Stella Hood. It means bright star in Latin." Calum states, stroking Joy's hair. "So now we have a Luna and a Stella. A moon, and a star." I explain, showing the baby to Joy. She looks at her in awe, love dripping from her eyes. "She is so pretty." She comments, staring at the baby girl. "Wanna hold her?" I ask her, making her gasp and look at me. "Can I?" She looks at me and then Calum. "Of course. Daddy will help you, ok?" I hand the baby, who complains a little but only for a moment, to Calum, who in turn shows Joy how to hold her sister. "She is so little." Crystal coos, leaning closer to take a look at the baby. "Just 6lbs and 19 inches. She is a tiny star." Calum jokes. "Joy, can we let uncle Michael and aunt Crystal hold Chiara for a little?" Calum asks, but Joy protests. "She is my sister..." She grumbles, making me smile. "I know, baby. But she is also their goddaughter... Like you are uncle Luke's." Calum explains, making Joy hand him the baby reluctantly. "Are you for real?" Michael asks, picking the baby up. "If you want to, yes." I reply and they nod, while I reach to hug Joy. "It would be an honor." Crystal adds, getting closer to Michael so she can look at the baby too. "I got something for the baby." Joy says, pointing at the paper bag that rests on the edge of the bed. Calum hands it to her, sitting near us as well. "Daddy says that I had this blankey since I was a baby. And I want Chiara to have it too." She says, handing me a little lilac blanket. I coo, my heart melting over it. "This is so sweet of you, bunny. Chiara is going to love it." I press a kiss on her forehead. "Auntie Crystal washed it so it smells nice." Joy states, turning to look at her sister. "It is lovely, bunny. I love you and your sister is going to love this so much." I hug her, making her hug me back. "When are you coming home with the baby, mommy?" She asks me, still not letting me go. "In a few days, baby. We need to make sure the baby and I are both healthy. But when we are back home, we are going to spend all day long, me, you and the little baby, napping and reading fairy tales." I say, pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Can daddy join you girls too?" Calum asks, pinching Joy's cheek before Crystal hands me Chiara, who has fallen asleep again. "Only if he promises to bring us food." I joke, smiling at my husband.

Our little, perfect family. And it all began because Calum was late picking up Joy from my class.

My Masterlist /  Single Dad!Calum x Preschool Teacher! (Y/N)

[artificialqueens]

Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, 9 (Branjie) (and background everyone) - Ortega

a/n: right. i have no words. u all deserve this chapter after last week’s anguish….so as we say in my homeland…here wi…here wi…here wi fuckin go xo

fic summary: Strictly Come Dancing enters its 18th series and its producers, after being goaded by a rival dance show on its inclusivity, commission it to be an all-female cast. Unlike Akeria who’s just here to bone her potential dance partner, dancer Vanessa is ready to act like a professional.

And then TV presenter Brooke Lynn walks into the rehearsal room.

***

8th November 2020

The rain has got worse.

It’s evolved from drizzle into a full-scale downpour, but Vanessa supposes it’s covering up the tears that are streaming down her face as she walks down the streets with only the orange of the streetlamps lighting her way in the dark. Her jumper is still in the rehearsal studios and she’s soaked to the skin, her hair plastered against her scalp and feeling much the same as if she’d just jumped in the shower.

She is so confused and hurt. Brooke has been so kind to her, she’s been supportive and caring and brought her flowers, for fuck’s sake, flowers that Vanessa’s still holding in her grasp but perhaps she should let go because let’s face it, she’s got to let go. Vanessa was so so sure she hadn’t misread the signals but…maybe she was wrong about the whole thing, maybe she was wrong about Brooke’s feelings.

She feels so embarrassed.

She gets to the end of the road and sighs. Her phone is in the pocket of her sweatpants and when she brings it out it’s immediately covered in raindrops. It takes her three attempts to unlock it in the rain and before she knows it she’s scrolling to Monique’s contact and ringing her. She’s lucky that Monique lives close by, and before she picks up the phone Vanessa has already made the decision to start walking in the direction of her flat.

“Hello hello?”

Vanessa takes a shaky breath in because she’s got absolutely no idea what her voice will sound like when she speaks. “Mo, I need to come round. I wouldn’t ask and I know it’s late an’ you’re probably exhausted but I…I really need a friend right now.”

There isn’t even a single pause between what Vanessa says and Monique’s response. Her voice replies instantly, comforting and reassuring and urgent all at once. “Come straight round. You want wine or tea?”

“I don’t even know. Tea maybe,” Vanessa shrugs, supposing that a hangover would be the last thing she needs tomorrow considering she’ll also have to face Brooke again.

“Gotcha. See you in five, boo.”

Even the small chat she’s had with Monique has made her tears dissipate slightly. It helps Vanessa feel reassured as she quickly crosses the road, her feet landing in all different depths of rapidly-forming puddles. By the time she’s outside Monique’s stairwell and pressing its buzzer, she feels like a submerged sponge.

“Come right up.”

Vanessa takes the stairs two at a time and when she gets to Monique’s door her friend is already holding it open. Maybe it’s because she’s seeing a friendly, kind face or maybe it’s because she can finally let out her emotions in peace but when she gets to Monique she falls into her arms for a hug and starts to cry all over again. Monique holds her steadily, not even making any comment about the fact the pink flannel pyjamas she’s wearing are getting drenched by proxy from Vanessa’s half-drowned frame. After a few moments spent this way, Vanessa feels Monique step away and motion her into the flat.

“C’mon, girl.”

Vanessa follows Monique into her bedroom. She’s been here before, probably hundreds of times, but the fairy lights and soft, patterned cotton bed sheets and heavy, dark curtains are comforting to Vanessa, helping her feel relaxed. She’s standing in the middle of the room as Monique looks at her with a single raised eyebrow of confusion, taking in her drenched clothes and mascara train tracks that adorn her cheeks and the bouquet of flowers that she’s still holding in her right hand. Vanessa can almost see the cogs in Monique’s brain turning.

“Alright,” she begins slowly. “Plan of action…I’m gonna make us tea. While I’m doin’ that, you’re gonna take a shower an’ borrow a set of my pyjamas. Make sure you choose comfy ones, Lord knows you need ‘em. Uh, I’ll take these too, I guess? Put ‘em in water.”

Monique points at the flowers and Vanessa wordlessly gives them to her. Monique examines them with an appreciative gaze.

“Huh. Heliotrope an’…somethin’ else, I don’t know that one.”

Vanessa scrunches her face up. Monique’s just given her the first laugh she’s had in the past half hour. “Since when were you the queen of horticort…horitic…plant knowledge?”

Monique quirks her a smile. “Hey, if you get given enough bouquets after dance competitions you start to recognise a flower or two.”

Vanessa shrugs in agreement and, as Monique leaves the room, she does what she’s told. She jumps into Monique’s en suite, strips down and takes a hot shower. On top of being wet outside it had also been freezing, so the warm water and all the steam feel like a big hug both physically and mentally. Vanessa grabs one of the clean fluffy towels that sit on the small bamboo shelves Monique’s put up and wraps it around herself as she pads back through to the bedroom. She’s been friends with Monique for so long that she knows which of the old battered wooden antique drawers holds which item of clothing (top drawer underwear and socks, second drawer down is tops, third drawer down is bottoms and bottom drawer is pyjamas) so she grabs a soft cotton pair of pyjamas that’s comprised of an oversized t shirt and some long, baggy pyjama pants. She tucks herself up into a little ball on the bed and the moment she’s finally comfy Monique returns with two steaming mugs of tea and a packet of biscuits tucked into the crook of her elbow and pinned to her side.

“You turned up on my doorstep at the right time, girl, I got the good shit earlier on today,” Monique smiles as she hands Vanessa her mug and gets herself comfortable under the duvet next to her, pointing at the biscuits which seem to be more chocolate than biscuit. Monique offers them to Vanessa, and she declines before Monique shrugs and rips into the packet herself. As she bites into one, she gives Vanessa a questioning and concerned gaze. “You wanna talk about it?”

Vanessa hums as she thinks, winces a little as the memory of what has happened barges into her mind again. She is momentarily distracted by the wet tendrils of hair dripping through her pyjama top, the towel-drying only doing so much. She turns to Monique and pouts. “Can you braid my hair an’ I can vent?”

“Sure, doll.”

So Vanessa vents. Tells her everything, the whole situation. Monique listens and by the time Vanessa is done her hair is in two perfect braids.

“So you’re tellin’ me-” Monique begins, once Vanessa is finished talking. “- that you were a cryin’ mess when you went for the kiss?”

Vanessa scrunches up her face in a frown. “I guess so?”

“Well, bitch!” Monique shoves her and lets out a huge exasperated sigh. “Why else you think she pushed you away? Would you wanna smooch with someone cryin’ their damn eyes out?”

Vanessa pauses as she considers Monique’s words. She might have a point, but then again she didn’t see the look Brooke had given her. In Vanessa’s mind, the only possible explanation is that Brooke is disgusted with her, she’d read all the signals wrong, and that she’s probably phoned up a producer already and quit the show.

Okay, maybe she’s being a little dramatic.

Vanessa doesn’t answer Monique’s question. Instead she reaches for the phone she’s discarded on Monique’s bedside table, looks at her notifications.

2 missed calls: Brooke Lynn

B: Vanessa I’m so sorry

B: If you want to just forget it all happened that’s okay, just please don’t be embarrassed xxx

Vanessa reads the text over again. The wording of the second one is weird and it messes with her head. The fact that the ball’s in her court, the fact Brooke is telling her not to be embarrassed, the kisses…

No. Don’t get your hopes up, bitch.

“She text you?”

Vanessa sighs, feels her whole body deflate like a balloon. She nods, wordlessly passes Monique the phone. She watches her eyes dart over it quickly, Monique’s face smirking as she hands her the phone back.

“Oh my God, Vanjie. She’s panicking just as much as you are.”

“Panicking ‘cuz she’s partnered with some crazy bitch tryna pull moves on her when she’s a professional just there to take part in a competition,” Vanessa huffs. She feels herself pout a little as she looks down at her phone. “I really liked her, Mo.”

“Will you stop usin’ past tense? It’s not over! You gotta go in there tomorrow morning, hold your head high, be a professional an’ act like nothing’s happened.”

Vanessa suddenly has a thought. “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“I choreographed a fuckin’ Argentine Tango.”

Monique lets out a howl of a laugh as Vanessa puts her head in her hands and sinks down against the pillows. If Brooke thought their Salsa was hot Vanessa doesn’t even know how she’s going to react when she reveals the dance they’re doing tomorrow.

And tomorrow rolls around quickly. Vanessa drags herself into the studios, borrows rehearsal clothes from Monique which are ever-so-slightly too small for her but are preferable to wearing the crumpled outfit she’d been wearing in the rain yesterday. Monique flanks her as she walks with her from her flat, keeping her distracted with mindless chatter and silly jokes which Vanessa pretends to laugh at. Monique doesn’t seem to mind the fake laughter though, and when they arrive at the studios she gives Vanessa a tight hug and tells her to text her to tell her how things go.

Vanessa waits. She paces the rehearsal room and thanks God that they don’t have their filming slot first that day. She barely slept the night before, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how to play the situation, and she’s concluded that if Brooke is giving her the option to pretend that Sunday never happened she’s going to take her up on that. Though she feels her already flimsy resolve breaking down as she finally sees Brooke enter the room, her face pale and her eyes puffy indicating a similar lack of sleep. Her hair hasn’t been brushed and her ponytail is what can only be described as bumpy, stray hairs sticking up from her scalp at all angles. She’s wearing a huge baggy hoodie with her exercise leggings and it’s swallowing her up, though from her expression it seems as if Brooke doesn’t mind.

For a moment there’s a sort of standoff. Vanessa waits for Brooke to speak first and it seems as if Brooke is doing the same for her. It’s Vanessa that finally speaks first, her guilt overtaking her.

“Morning,” she says simply. It’s only then that she registers the fact that Brooke is carrying a plastic bag.

“Hey. You, uh. You left your jumper and your speakers, so I brought them in today.”

“Thanks.”

Vanessa scuffs her shoe against the floor, casts her eyes to the ground. Brooke seemingly takes this as her cue to speak.

“Do you want to talk about what happened yesterday?”

Vanessa cringes. She hopes she doesn’t do so visibly. She casts her eyes back up to Brooke, makes sure she’s got eye contact when she delivers her words. “Why, what happened yesterday?”

Brooke frowns, opens her mouth as if to remind her then snaps it closed again as she clearly realises what Vanessa wants to do. She gives a small smile which doesn’t meet her eyes. “Nothing.”

“Okay,” Vanessa nods curtly. She takes a deep breath, because Brooke is still her dance partner and they’re still competing and they’re still going to be on TV in six days’ time, so she pulls her shoulders back and fixes her with the best smile she can manage. “Let’s warm up. Then I’ll tell you what we’re doin’ this week.”

The kiss doesn’t get brought up again. That’s good. Vanessa’s glad. There’s nothing to say, so instead of talking they rehearse. They rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and they barely talk apart from that. Vanessa saves her communication for her choreography, in touches and Ochos and the way her body moves in Brooke’s hold. Vanessa’s still marking the majority of the dance, careful not to push herself too far, but she makes sure to put extra effort in when she’s teaching Brooke the Ganchos and they hook their legs together. Vanessa is sure Brooke gets extra quiet during those sections, and her eyes go all dark and heavy. She wants to believe Brooke likes her, wants to believe maybe she did want to reciprocate their kiss on Sunday, but the last time she got her hopes up that high Brooke had pulled away so she’s wary of doing so again. Still, though, the Argentine suits Brooke. The way she takes control and leads, the power in everything she does. Vanessa’s head is already a concrete mixer of emotions and horny is one she really doesn’t want to have to add to the list, but when Brooke puts one arm around her waist, lifts her up and drags her across the rehearsal room floor while Vanessa’s thigh is hooked over her hip it’s hard not to have some sort of visceral reaction.

The tension builds over days. They’ve been entirely professional all week, not even exchanged so much as a text and it’s eating Vanessa up inside. So when it gets to late evening on Wednesday and it’s dark outside and Vanessa has peeled off her jumper and sweats and is wearing a pair of little cycling shorts and a sports bra to rehearse in, she honestly doesn’t know how it’s going to go when she suggests a full run of the dance.

“If we get it so that we’re nailing it by tonight then we got Thursday, Friday an’ Saturday morning to polish it,” Vanessa explains to Brooke as she walks over to her phone and makes to re-start the music.

“Sure. Sounds good,” Brooke nods easily. She adjusts the table and chair that they start off their dance with, makes sure the napkin is in place. Vanessa swallows her anxieties and presses play, dashing over to the chair and sitting down in it.

“Full energy, okay?” she reminds Brooke, although she’s not sure she needs a reminder given that Brooke’s been putting her all into even tiny counts of eight.

The music starts and on the first beat Vanessa stretches out, places her hand against the table. Right on cue, Brooke has grabbed her forearm. Vanessa whips her head around to face her and Brooke draws their faces close with the palm of her hand flat against Vanessa’s cheek. Their eyes connect and for a second, Vanessa thinks she can see what looks like longing in the dark of Brooke’s pupils.

It’s just the dance. She has to be imagining it.

As quickly as she’s there Brooke is suddenly gone, spinning around and slamming her hand against the napkin in time with Vanessa. They raise it up so it’s level between them and Vanessa uses it to twirl in close to Brooke, their bodies instantly pressed together. Brooke’s got both hands on the napkin now and she’s using it to keep Vanessa close to her as she leans back then spins between Brooke’s left and right side. As Brooke lets go of the prop with one hand and Vanessa twirls across to the other side of the ballroom, she watches her scrunch the napkin up and slam it to the floor. The action makes her catch her breath. Brooke’s a good actress, and they’ve done this section hundreds of times, but the passion and frustration with which she’s doing it this time almost knocks Vanessa off balance.

Is she…? No.

They reach the section where they’re in hold but showing off the footwork. Vanessa doesn’t do it all, only makes sure she’s connecting legs with Brooke for the Ganchos, but it’s probably for the best as the eye contact they’re giving each other and the close proximity between their faces is almost burning. Part of Vanessa wants to look away it’s so intense, but they’re running the full dance and she did tell Brooke to give full energy so she has to hold up her end of that. They’re perfectly in sync the entire time, Brooke having memorised the choreography so well. Brooke lifts her to drag her across the floor and if Vanessa deliberately hooks her leg a little higher on Brooke’s waist then it’s simply a happy coincidence.

The next section flows well (Brooke makes a few little mistakes she’ll pull her up on) and when Brooke lifts Vanessa to spin her round her cheek is pressed against her chest and it sends a shockwave down Vanessa’s spine. Their faces are close again as they walk across the rehearsal room floor, Vanessa dipping down facing away from Brooke to extend her leg between Brooke’s open ones. Her arms lock around Brooke’s thighs for support and Brooke grips onto them as she helps her up, the power and force she uses when she spins Vanessa round and presses their foreheads together sending Vanessa up in flames. They’ve danced through these individual sections so many times but put together it’s almost too much. There’s an atmosphere in the air and Vanessa realises it’s the exact same as when they’d rehearsed the Salsa. They cross the floor once more and it reaches the point where Vanessa jumps up to straddle Brooke’s waist with both her legs. Brooke spins her round and Vanessa brings her arms up to cradle the back of her neck. As Brooke slows her spin she reaches the part where she’s meant to dip Vanessa, lower her to the ground, but she’s stopped dancing, electing instead to keep her eye contact steady and burning with Vanessa’s. Vanessa knows she should maybe lower one of her legs, or perhaps both of them, but she’s still got them both wrapped around Brooke’s waist and the fact Brooke’s still holding her without even so much as a tremble is too much. Brooke leans in, presses her forehead against Vanessa’s, and Vanessa can only hold her breath as Brooke squeezes her eyes shut. They’ve never been physically closer to each other and Vanessa knows she should do something, knows she should move the dance along, but her heart is begging Brooke to say something, to do something. She’d do it herself but making the first move didn’t seem to work out for her so great last time.

“Tell me that Sunday happened,” Brooke murmurs, and Vanessa’s heart stops. “Tell me you kissed me.”

Vanessa flushes red. Momentarily, she wonders if this is something Brooke’s doing to build chemistry between them during the dance. If it is then she’s quitting the entire show. Vanessa closes her own eyes, almost embarrassed to admit it. When she opens them, Brooke’s opened hers too and fuck, her eye contact is searing.

“I did,” she confirms. Then, because she’s petty and can’t let her off the hook easily, she raises her eyebrows. “But you never kissed back, remember?”

Vanessa sees the regret flash in Brooke’s eyes for only a second and then the sparkle is back. “No, that doesn’t sound like me. I don’t think that happened. Maybe I’m remembering it wrong though, maybe you need to remind me.”

Vanessa feels as if her synapses are melting. She’s basically being invited to kiss Brooke again, she’s confirming to her that it wasn’t a mistake, she wants it to happen again, that her pulling away the first time was…down to something else? She’s still not going to give Brooke what she wants that easily, though, so she cocks an eyebrow, tilts her head thoughtfully as she pulls back a little. “I’m sure you can remind yourself.”

Brooke doesn’t look deterred by this. She shrugs, fixes Vanessa with a soft smirk. “Okay.”

When Brooke gently leans in and meets Vanessa’s lips with hers, Vanessa is sure she sees fireworks going off in the dark of her closed eyes. She feels them too, they’re happening in every cell of her body because Brooke is voluntarily kissing her and she doesn’t know what this means but she’s going to take a wild guess and say that maybe, just maybe, Brooke likes her back after all. Brooke kisses like she dances- passionate, careful, fucking perfect. As Vanessa kisses back she’s trying not to speed things along, trying to make the moment last as long as she can, but it’s hard not to be eager and urgent and to kiss Brooke with a hunger she hadn’t known she was in possession of until now. She’s brought her hands around from the back of Brooke’s neck- one tangled in her hair, the other softly cupping her cheek- and she tries to channel all her gentleness into them, stroking her skin with her thumb gently as if Brooke is breakable and fragile like the moment they’re sharing.

It’s Vanessa who pulls away first (if only so she doesn’t give Brooke the upper hand of being the first one to pull away twice) and, as she’s depositing herself back on the floor to stand up, she can’t help but break out into a smile because Brooke is blushing and beaming at her and her arms are still wrapped around her waist.

Vanessa doesn’t really know what to say. That…happened. She’s confused, though. Just over twenty-four hours ago Brooke had been pulling away, not pulling her in. Vanessa thinks it’s almost too good to be true.

“Can we talk about all this?” Vanessa says before her brain has a chance to weigh up if it’s a good idea or not. Brooke’s smile falters and Vanessa feels guilty. “Not in a bad way, I just…like, my head is mush.”

“No, no, I get it. Of course we can,” Brooke nods, slides her arms away from Vanessa’s waist. “Here? Or in the canteen? We could go back to mine but it’s a bit far away.”

Vanessa pulls on her oversized jumper and then the green parka she’d wrapped herself up in to protect from the November cold. “I know a place.”

Vanessa drags the pair of them onto the tube and they travel to the Thames embankment, where they stop off at a nearby chippy to grab a styrofoam carton of chips each. The atmosphere between them has shifted- gone are the frosty silences and short conversations. Instead the two of them talk easily, bicker and laugh and flirt about nothing in particular. Vanessa knows they’ll talk things through once they’re comfortable so she settles on rolling her eyes at Brooke making fish puns in the middle of the chip shop (“when you said you knew a place I didn’t think you meant an ACTUAL plaice”). It’s quiet on the embankment, locals all home from work and tourists preferring the pull of the Houses of Parliament or the Eye across the river, so they don’t pass many people and they ones they do pass don’t seem to recognise them. Everything is calm and relaxed and easy, like the inky sky and the clean cold of the air and the smooth surface of the river that’s opposite them as they find a bench with only a few small puddles of water on it and settle down. Vanessa’s heart is thumping hard in her chest as Brooke sits down beside her, sitting diagonally so she can see her as they discuss things. It’s a small thing that Vanessa notices and appreciates.

“So,” Brooke says around a particularly hot chip, her mouth making an ‘o’ and steam flying out of it. “You wanted to talk.”

“Uh, yeah. ‘Cept now we’re here I don’t really know what to say.”

“Do you want me to start?”

Vanessa shrugs, bites into a chip delicately. “If you wanna.”

“Okay, well,” Brooke begins, then looks out to the river. The lights of the Eye are reflected in her own, blues and reds meeting greens and creating a kaleidoscope from which Vanessa never wants to look away. She pauses and takes a deep breath before meeting Vanessa’s eyes. “I’m really sorry for hurting your feelings on Sunday. If you’d kissed me in literally any other context, I wouldn’t have reacted like that. Honestly. I just…didn’t want to take advantage of you.”

Vanessa gives a laugh. She’s confused. “Take advantage?”

“No, I don’t mean like that, I mean…” Brooke frowns as she’s searching for the right words. It’s kind of adorable. “You were upset, you’d had a shit week. The music was all sad and you were crying and then you kissed me and I…didn’t want you to be doing that just because you felt upset. I didn’t want you to do that and then think you’d made a mistake.”

Vanessa pauses. She hasn’t considered that Brooke might have thought Vanessa would regret kissing her. To her the idea is so ridiculous that it almost makes her want to laugh but she doesn’t, because this means that Brooke was overthinking their kiss and trying to talk herself out of the idea of Vanessa possibly liking her back.

Now don’t that sound familiar.

Vanessa tries to stifle a smile as she tilts her head to look at Brooke. “It wasn’t a mistake, baby, I meant the whole damn thing.”

She wants to squeal when Brooke’s face breaks out into an enormous grin, one that Vanessa is sure must hurt her face. Vanessa likes the fact that Brooke is talking, likes the fact she’s saying everything first because it means she gets to hold her guard up just that little bit longer before this girl tears it down and even though she’s ready for that, it doesn’t mean she isn’t ever so slightly scared of it.

“So, uh…” Vanessa asks her, her tone light and teasing. Brooke crosses her legs and Vanessa has to try to stop herself getting any ideas. “That cast member you got a crush on. You gonna tell me who it is now?”

Brooke bursts out laughing, tipping her head back and lacing her hand with Vanessa’s at the same time. “Shut up. Are you really going to make me say it?”

Vanessa simply raises her eyebrows at Brooke, lets her know she’s waiting on her answer. Brooke gives another laugh as she gives in. “Fine! Well…she’s one of the dancers.”

“Uh huh.”

“I saw her on the induction day and I thought she was hot. We had a bit of a flirt and it was all fun and games. Then I followed her on Instagram because I was thirsty. Thought for ages about how to slide into her DMs but I was too much of a scaredy cat so I just commented on one of her pics instead,” Brooke continues to explain. Her admission makes Vanessa giggle, sends her heart leaping into the air because oh my God, Brooke had wanted to talk to her before the series even started too. She was thinking about Vanessa for the same amount of time Vanessa had been thinking about her. “Then it got to the intro show and I was like…screaming inside. I knew I wanted to be partnered with her, I knew even before the induction day because she’s so, so good at what she does. In fact, she needs to believe in herself more, but that’s besides the point. Anyway, we got paired up. I was so fucking ecstatic that night. She drunk-texted me and I actually lay in bed squealing and flailing like a teenage girl because I got so excited that she was thinking of me.”

Brooke is so animated when she’s talking about her crush. Her. She’s talking about her, and Vanessa is so happy and emotional she almost wants to cry but that would be peak pathetic so she squeezes Brooke’s hand instead, the hand that’s still entwined with hers.

“I keep growing closer to her and finding out more about her and she trusts me with stories about her life, trusts me to fling her body around the rehearsal studios despite the fact I’m so fucking clumsy I could drop something that’s superglued to my hand-“

“Stop lyin’, shut up,” Vanessa rolls her eyes at Brooke’s self-deprecation, and Brooke gives a gentle snort of a laugh.

“- And I just keep liking her more and more with every day,” Brooke smiles at her, her face all dreamy and dazed as if she’s sleepwalking. It suddenly snaps into a smirk, her eyes dark and playful, and it’s Vanessa’s turn to cross her legs. “And she doesn’t help any of it by looking like a Gymshark model and sticking her cute little butt out any time we rehearse.”

Vanessa screeches out an outraged laugh which Brooke’s quick to join in with. “Hey, I had to get your attention somehow!”

As their laughter dies down Vanessa fixes Brooke with a smile, scoots closer to her on the bench. “So go on, then. What’s her name?”

Brooke pulls Vanessa close with the hand she’s holding and when she says Vanessa’s name in response she feels worshipped. Suddenly, Brooke’s eyes fly open a little in what seems like panic. “Sorry. Fuck. That was all too much, wasn’t it?”

“Brooke Lynn,” Vanessa laughs. “I’ve had the most huge, embarrassin’ fuckin’ crush on you since God knows when. I really like you. Chill.”

Brooke’s still got a soft little smile on her face and it makes Vanessa wants to kiss her again so much so she pushes the images of long lens cameras out of her mind for the moment and leans in, kisses Brooke soft and gentle and slow and Vanessa doesn’t think she’ll ever get bored of the way Brooke kisses her back.

When Vanessa pulls away she’s right beside Brooke on the bench, so she slings an arm around her waist and rests her head against her chest for good measure. It’s still cold outside but Vanessa hopes that isn’t the only reason for Brooke cuddling her back, linking their hands together like a little chain. Vanessa’s happy, but her mind is still full of thoughts.

“How good are you at keeping secrets?”

“Depends what it is,” Brooke replies. Vanessa tilts her head up before she speaks again because this is important, she needs to see Brooke’s reaction and make sure she says this in the right way.

“I can’t do the whole…paparazzi, me-in-the-papers, invasion-of-privacy thing again. It was bad enough when me an’ Kam broke up,” she begins, and Brooke nods understandingly. “So I guess what I’m askin’ is…can we be careful? Whatever ‘we’ is. I don’t know yet but I don’t mind just figuring things out along the way.”

Brooke nods slowly, taking things in. “So you want to keep us secret for now?”

“Just until the show ends,” Vanessa reassures her, tries to ignore the triple somersault her heart does at the word ‘us’. “I don’t want people thinkin’ it’s a publicity stunt or tryin’ to take attention away from the other couples or anythin’ like that. Also I don’t want this getting ruined for us.”

Vanessa’s heart stands still as Brooke thinks for a second. She’s relieved when a grin spreads across her face. “Can I still flirt with you on Instagram? That’s fun.”

“Flirt with me anywhere you want, boo.”

“God, you know I’m so going to play into this? Think of all those fan accounts for us all those fourteen year olds run. They’re going to implode,” Brooke smiles, bouncing in her seat on the bench excitedly. It’s so endearing it makes Vanessa smile more than she already is. Her heart is still fluttering nervously; there’s butterflies trapped in there and as long as Brooke is holding her hand and smiling at her like that with her eyes all soft Vanessa is not really sure if they’ll ever go away. She doesn’t care, though.  

They stay on the bench for a while until their chips are finished. Brooke takes a photo of Vanessa who smiles brightly at the camera, carton of chips in her lap and her hair all messy over her shoulders but she doesn’t even care because she’s happy, so happy and relieved and when they walk back to the station together it feels like she’s walking on little clouds. They don’t kiss goodbye because it’s busier in the station but Brooke does sneak a peck against her neck when they hug and it makes Vanessa feel gooey inside. When Vanessa gets home that night she has both an Instagram tag and two messages from Brooke. She opens the message first.

B: I’m so glad we talked, I had the best time tonight. Can’t wait until I can take you on a proper date!! See you tomorrow cutie xxxxxx

B: (Sorry if cutie is ick I’m just going to try out a bunch of pet names because I can xxxxxx)

Vanessa feels her heart almost burst open at everything Brooke’s said to her. The confirmation that she enjoyed her company, the promise of a date, the pet name (which she definitely won’t say no to). It’s all like a big hug for her mind which had previously been exhausted with overthinking. Vanessa doesn’t realise how much she’s smiling at her screen as she types out her reply until it physically hurts her face.  

V: me too. you’re so amazing. for ref i like Zoilo if we going bougie or Franco Manca if we broke. cutie gets seal of approval from me… u a bit of a cutie urself xxxxxx

Before she gets ready for bed that night she decides to open up Instagram to see what Brooke has tagged her in. It’s the photo of her on the bench from earlier, and Vanessa wants to blush at how happy and smiley she looks. She scrolls to Brooke’s caption, and if she wasn’t blushing before she’s definitely blushing now.

bhytes: Post-rehearsal chips by the river with this diamond. I could get used to this. 🧡

Their fans are in meltdown in the comments, and Vanessa is melting herself.

Saturday comes quicker than Vanessa wants it to. It’s maybe because she never wants her time with Brooke to end whether that’s on or off the show. They’ve done full runs of their dance each day, the pair of them sneaking kisses with each other sometimes even mid-dance.

“You know we need to stop doin’ that, right?” Vanessa warns Brooke with a smile after Brooke kisses all down her neck mid-Tango in a bid to wind her up (she’d succeeded, and if Vanessa might need to take a cold shower later that’s nobody’s business but her own.)

“Why?”

“Because we’re gonna end up doin’ it on the night an’ then the cat’s outta the bag after what, three days?”

Vanessa doesn’t miss the way Brooke runs her tongue over her lips a little. She’s got a smirk on her face as she pulls her in close, slides her hands down her sides and hooks her fingers over the waistband of her leggings. “Well if you are going to keep wearing things that make your butt look so good, I am going to find it hard to stop kissing you.”

Brooke snaps the elastic of her waistband and Vanessa feels a fire ignite low in her stomach. She’s not told Brooke that she was the girl from her sex dream, she’s been saving that information for another day. She wonders when that day’s going to come, though. If Vanessa had her way she would lock the rehearsal room door, throw herself at Brooke and practically beg the girl to raw her, but she doesn’t know what Brooke’s thinking or feeling and Vanessa doesn’t want to risk ruining the high levels of sexual tension they’ve cultivated over roughly a month by asking her when they’re only 24 hours away from performing another incredibly sexy dance. By Saturday night the pair of them are ready to perform and their biggest challenge, Vanessa thinks, will be to try and act as if they’ve not started seeing each other and are in the complete honeymoon phase of whatever it is they are.

And soon enough Vanessa is sitting on a chair in the middle of the ballroom floor dressed in a long sparkling nude-effect dress with a split up its side, facing away from Brooke who’s in black tailored suit trousers and a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves buttoned up to the neck and an undone bow tie around it. The audience are silent as their VT plays, and then the familiar voice of the commentator is booming overhead.

“Dancing the Argentine Tango…Brooke Lynn Hytes and Vanessa Mateo!”

There’s four clicks of drumsticks smacking together before the music starts and the pair of them hit the first beats of the dance. There’s even more electricity between them now and when Brooke grabs her arm, reels her in with the napkin, pulls her close so their bodies are pressed against each other, Vanessa feels as if she’s burning up inside. They added in a little bit of choreo after their kiss and their riverbank date on Wednesday night, and Vanessa’s back is to the audience and the cameras as she gives Brooke a wink, hooks her fingers around each side of the lapels on Brooke’s shirt.

“I’m tellin’ you to loosen up my buttons, babe, uh-huh-”

Vanessa rips the velcro she knows the costume designers have concealed in the lapels and reveals a little strip of Brooke’s chest, her collarbones exposed. The roar that goes up from the audience in response has Vanessa feeling as if they’re dancing in a football stadium rather than the ballroom at Elstree. The shirt isn’t even open enough to expose any of Brooke’s cleavage but Vanessa suddenly realises how people in old-timey costume dramas feel when they see a woman’s ankle. As they press their foreheads together and cross the ballroom floor Vanessa finds it hard not to break character and smile like an idiot at Brooke Lynn, the girl that likes her back, the girl that maybe one day she’ll get to call her girlfriend, the girl that she can kiss any time she likes. She could technically kiss her now as she drops to the floor and Brooke comes with her, still holding her hand with her arm around her waist, but she focuses on getting the Ganchos right because they need a good score. Vanessa needs to show Brooke, show the judges, show every fucking person watching at home that she is a force to be reckoned with, that she can teach and choreograph and make Brooke progress.

Still, it’s hard not to just reach her lips forward and press them against Brooke’s as she drags her across the floor, Vanessa making sure to get her leg as high as it’ll go on her waist just to show Brooke what she’s capable of. As Brooke lifts her up and spins her, Vanessa sneaks a look at the judges’ table. Bianca is watching impassively as usual, Shangela is smiling from ear to ear, Kennedy is screaming and Laganja is leaning almost over the desk, her mouth wide open.

If ever there was a desired reaction to her choreography, it’s probably that.

There’s a point in the middle of the dance where the two of them pause in hold and just give each other an incredibly lingering look. Vanessa doesn’t have to act for this section and as she slowly brings her eyes up from Brooke’s chest to meet her gaze, she feels her knees turn ever-so-slightly weak as she catches the hunger, passion and fire in the other girl’s eyes.

If they don’t get at least 35 in this, Vanessa is going to quit the show and take Brooke with her.

Vanessa can hear the screams from one of the judges as she and Brooke walk slowly across the dancefloor with their hands cradling the back of each others’ necks. Brooke gracefully lowers her to the floor and pulls her up again, Vanessa making sure to press their bodies tight together once she’s in front of her. She catches the way Brooke’s eyes grow ever so slightly wide and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t fill her with a sense of pride. They get to the part that makes Vanessa’s pulse speed up every time- her legs wrapped around Brooke’s waist, Brooke spinning her around- because of all the memories attached to it. This time Brooke doesn’t kiss her, though- she dips her down one way then the other with her strong arms supporting Vanessa’s back.

Vanessa feels safer in Brooke’s arms than she’s ever felt with any six-packed, world-champion male partner. But of course, she knows exactly why that is.

The dance is coming to an end and Vanessa puts her all into walking Brooke back, her hand against her chest. Brooke sits down in the chair, spreads her legs before reaching out and letting Vanessa twirl into her arms, where she leans into her and wraps her arms around Brooke. She knows she’s got her chest pushed right up in Brooke’s face and all she’ll probably be able to smell is her perfume, but Vanessa doesn’t really mind and she’s got a feeling Brooke doesn’t either. As the final notes of the music ring through the studio, the audience are yelling and clapping the place down. Vanessa doesn’t even know if Brooke made any mistakes and at this point she doesn’t care because they did that dance proud, she knows they did, and as Brooke wraps her arms tight around her waist Vanessa feels her press a kiss to her collarbone that makes her giddy. Vanessa squeals with happiness and she feels Brooke pick her up in their hug and walk her over to where Michelle is standing. As they finally break apart she can see the smile on Brooke’s face. Vanessa throws caution to the wind a little, plants both her hands on either side of Brooke’s face so that her eyes are firmly locked on her own.

“We did it, baby,” she whispers to her, and she’s not even sure it’ll be audible over the cheers of the crowd but Brooke nods rapidly in happiness and Vanessa knows she’s been heard.

Michelle finally manages to pry Brooke off of her and get some form of reaction about how she feels the dance went.

“Oh my God, it felt amazing,” Brooke smiles. She’s laced her arm around Vanessa’s waist and Vanessa’s done the same, and Brooke gives her a little squeeze and a smile down at her as she continues. “We’ve obviously had a bit of a crazy week…you know, Vanessa coming back from her injury, but she’s just such a great person and such a great teacher that she still managed to recover and teach me all this, and I’m just so grateful for her. I’m so glad I’ve got her back. She’s not allowed to leave me again!”

Michelle laughs as Brooke puts her other arm around Vanessa to hug her, and Vanessa happily reciprocates.

“Vanessa, how do you think Brooke Lynn got on this week?”

Vanessa pries herself out from under Brooke’s arm and simply smiles up at her in response. “She knows how amazin’ I think she is, I’m gonna let the judges tell her instead.”

Michelle gives another laugh and so do some of the judges. Vanessa doesn’t miss the single raised eyebrow that Bianca shoots towards her. Her stomach dips. Maybe they hadn’t been as good as she’d thought…?

“Speaking of judges- Bianca, let’s come to you first. How did Brooke do?”

“Well…” there’s a silence as Bianca shuffles her notes a little. Vanessa feels her heart stand still. “I thought…that it was absolutely brilliant.”

The audience erupts. Vanessa is so shocked and happy that she can’t help the grin that breaks out on her face, and she and Brooke both instantly reach for each other to hug. There’s a rare smile to Bianca’s voice as she continues. “Brooke Lynn, there’s one thing that Vanessa can’t teach you, in fact nobody can teach it, and that’s chemistry. The chemistry you had with Plastique last week was great but the chemistry you have with Vanessa is incredible. The Argentine is all about that, it’s the passion and the fire, and you encapsulated that so well. Watch with the Ganchos that your feet are pointed all the way down, we should have a full 180 degrees there which I know you can do because I’ve seen it before- and it should be more of a light motion, you’re not churning butter…but other than that, a great job this week, well done.”

Vanessa looks up at Brooke and she’s still smiling as Michelle comes onto Shangela. She and Kennedy both give them glowing praise, the pair of them also mentioning the chemistry between them, and then it’s Laganja’s turn. The audience are already giggling in anticipation- they know she’s theatrical, and her reaction is going to be big. Vanessa watches as she sits composed in her chair, narrows her eyes, and points at them both with her pen.

“Is there…something going on…?” she asks. Vanessa feels her hand tighten around Brooke’s waist. She clenches her teeth together as she smiles. Fuck. Have they been too obvious? Laganja pauses dramatically as Brooke gives a laugh Vanessa can tell is fake. “I mean…first that American Smooth, and then that Viennese, and now THIS? Is there something in the air tonight, Fernando?!”

Vanessa lets out a relieved laugh as Laganja references Gigi and Crystal and Jan and Jackie’s dances, realises she’s not asking specifically about her and Brooke.

“LADIES, ma’am, I don’t have any earthly words for what I just witnessed!! The connection you two have is just incomparable…Brooke, you’ve been so great the past two weeks but I can tell you’re at your most comfortable and your happiest when you’re dancing with Vanessa, it’s like you’re here, you’ve arrived! This is elevated, mama! I don’t know if you could hear me screaming when you dragged Vanessa across the floor-”

“New Zealand heard that scream, Laganja,” Bianca cuts in deadpan, and the audience laughs.

“- yes thank you, Simon Cowell! Maybe your feet weren’t as pointed as they could’ve been during the Ganchos- you know what, I honestly don’t care! I wasn’t looking at your feet! I spent that entire dance wondering if you were going to smooch each others’ faces off midway through!”

Vanessa bursts out laughing as she feels Brooke do the same beside her. They’re both squeezing each others’ sides for dear life. If they only fucking knew.

“Great job, Brooke, and Vanessa- welcome back, ma, that’s how you return after an injury.”

The audience clap them as Michelle sends them upstairs, and Vanessa’s hand is tight in Brooke’s as they run up to the Divinatorium and are greeted by Divina herself. She interviews the pair of them but Vanessa can hardly speak, she’s practically vibrating with excitement beside her partner. Their comments were so encouraging, the best they’ve had. Brooke’s never had a 10 from any of the judges before. Maybe tonight is the night?

“Will the judges please reveal their scores. Bianca Del Rio.”

Vanessa’s screaming before Bianca can even speak, because there, on the paddle, is an, “Eight!”

Brooke’s arm flies around her waist in a hug but Vanessa can’t yet accept it, her eyes glued to the screen.

“Kennedy Davenport.”

“Nine!” she says happily, and Vanessa is so happy that she can almost feel tears stinging her eyes.

“Shangela Wadely.”

“Nine!” she beams at the camera, sticking her paddle into the air. Vanessa’s heart lifts itself up into the rafters as the camera pans to Laganja’s seat. She gave them the most favourable critiques. Maybe…?

“Laganja Estranja.”

“I hope y’all are ready for this…TEN!” she screeches as she stands up, and Vanessa can barely take in the amount of things that happen at once. Her pulse skyrockets, Brooke practically leaps on her in her haste to wrap her in a hug, the other couples are screaming and cheering and clapping for them, and her eyes basically spring a leak. She has no idea why she’s so emotional but Jesus Christ, she’s allowed to be after the past few weeks she’d had. Laganja thought their dance was a ten. A perfect ten. Flawless. Impeccable. They’re second on the leaderboard behind Jan and Jackie (who scored thirty-eight). Vanessa feels like running back down the stairs and kissing the judges, never mind Brooke Lynn beside her.

But of course, the thought of kissing Brooke is one that isn’t too far away, and they’re walking down the corridors, laughing and chatting after their reaction interview and about to go back to makeup when Brooke slows beside her dressing room door, laces her hands in Vanessa’s.

“Um…” she casts her eyes downwards, and when she meets Vanessa’s gaze again there’s a little glint in her eye that makes Vanessa squeeze her thighs together. Brooke puts on her very best, professional, TV presenter voice as she talks. “Vanessa. Would you mind helping me with something for two minutes in my dressing room?”

Vanessa almost feels her pupils blow as Brooke gently tugs her in. The moment she steps through the dressing room door Brooke wastes no time in closing it, spinning her round and pressing her up against it as she crashes their lips together. Vanessa has to stop herself from sliding down the door, feeling like a snowman in July as Brooke’s soft lips press against hers and her tongue licks gently into her mouth. If Brooke’s tongue can make her feel this weak when they’re just kissing, Vanessa almost doesn’t dare think about how good it could feel elsewhere.

Vanessa can give as good as she gets though, and she likes to have the upper hand so she  drops her lips to Brooke’s neck, presses frantic kisses down down down to her collarbone where she sucks at the skin, bites ever so gently then licks over the mark she’s just created, kissing hard against it once, twice, three times before she feels Brooke lean down to murmur into her ear.

“That better not’ve left a mark.”

Vanessa’s spine feels like an electricity pylon. “Does it feel like it didn’t leave a mark?”

Her breath hitches as Brooke slams her knee in between her thighs, cages her in. Brooke’s voice is a low whisper as she kisses her neck, making Vanessa whine. “You’re so bad, fuck.”

“You like it when I’m bad, huh?” Vanessa teases, dropping both her hands to Brooke’s waist as she bucks her hips against her. The friction has got her feeling tightly wound and she needs more, way more than this.

“God, yes,” Brooke sighs, brings her mouth back up to kiss her again. It’s not as frantic as their first; this time it’s slow, teasing, and driving Vanessa absolutely insane. They’ve not talked about this, where this is going to go, and Vanessa doesn’t want to assume anything but still…Brooke’s got her in a pretty compromising position. She’s still going to check though, so she pulls back, murmurs against Brooke’s lips as she places both her hands on either side of her jaw.

“What do you want, baby?”

Brooke gives a sigh mixed up with a gasp as Vanessa trails a finger down her neck, stops it at her chest right where her shirt’s buttoned up. “Ah…want you to-”

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Vanessa launches herself away from the door, almost jumps into Brooke’s arms Scooby-Doo style in shock. Brooke’s got her arms around Vanessa, her eyes equally wide and her mouth just as slack-jawed. She steps away quickly as whoever’s behind the door starts speaking.

“Brooke Lynn? You and Vanessa are needed in makeup.”

Vanessa can see Brooke swallowing thickly, the rise and fall of her chest as she tries to compose herself. The very sight of that alone makes Vanessa’s mouth dry. “Okay, no worries! We’ll be down soon!”

The pair of them stand in the dressing room in silence listening to the sound of the runner walking away. It’s funny- the pair of them sneaking around like they’re in high school or some shit, and it makes Vanessa press her lips together in an attempt to stifle a laugh. She looks at Brooke Lynn, who’s got much the same expression on her face. It’s Brooke that cracks first, and soon the pair of them are standing giggling together.

“Nothing like getting the absolute shit scared out of us to really kill the mood,” Brooke laughs softly, reaching out and tucking a piece of Vanessa’s hair behind her ear that has come loose from its bun. Vanessa smiles, sighing a little and taking her hand.

“We should go. It’ll be a batterin’ ram next.”

“Right,” Brooke shrugs a little, stroking the back of Vanessa’s hand with her thumb. Vanessa can see she’s holding something back and just as she’s about to ask her what it is, Brooke meets her eyes. “You think we’re going through to Blackpool?”

Vanessa has almost forgotten what week it is next week; where the dancers all travel up to the iconic Blackpool Tower ballroom for one night away from Elstree. They pull out all the stops that night and they’re allowed backup dancers and even sometimes a set instead of just props. She tilts her head in thought- the fact that by the end of tonight there’ll be just six of them left in the competition is wild to her, the whole thing is going so quickly. She can see in Brooke’s eyes that she’s not forgotten, though, the nerves almost visibly clouding her vision, so Vanessa leans up and presses a soft kiss to her lips and feels Brooke relax against her.

She pulls away and shoots Brooke a soft grin. “After that performance? You might as well start packing your case, baby.”

[itsunclebucky]

From Out of Nowhere [Bucky Barnes x Reader]

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Summary: Bucky helps you move into your new apartment and stays a couple of nights, realizing you love his company more than you thought. Prompt: Friends to lovers AU for @simsadventures​ 1k writing challenge! Thank you, my love, for having me back!!!

Warning(s): Slow Burn, fluff, mutual pining, implied smut near the end (with spooning but nothing really explicit)

Word Count: 2,386

A/N: I just want to apologize for any grammar mistakes! English isn't my first language and I did use a thesaurus but I still might have used words incorrectly and I'm sorry about that! I was also watching the witcher as I wrote this :) feedback is greatly appreciated! Please don't repost my work to any other site (Wattpad, ao3, etc) without permission, reblogs are greatly appreciated though! I'm also really sorry for the slow burn but I wanted to include everything and not rush it.

Masterlist

Your ringtone resounded out into the empty room as you finished taping up the last box of your possessions and piling it on top of the others. You walked over to the windowsill where your phone was perched and smiled down at the name of the person calling you.

"Hey, Buck!" Your voice echoed around the once loved - now hollow bedroom.

"Hey Y/N! I'm outside and I'll be up in a sec." It was early morning and by the sound of his hoarse voice, Bucky had not long woken up.

"Great! Thanks for this Buck!" You sigh as you end the call, looking out into the city for the last time. You would miss this cozy apartment, it's been your home for the past six years but now the time has come for a brand new fresh start, a new chapter in your life. You could no longer afford the apartment since your landlord raised your rent considerably higher and your wages wouldn't even cover half of the rent let alone any bills that needed to be paid, it was the most expensive part of Brooklyn. And Bucky notified you that his elderly landlady was looking for a new tenant to occupy an apartment three floors above his apartment for a fraction of the rent your landlord wanted, she was more flexible and helpful, and besides being closer to your best friend, it was also closer to your work and in a much safer neighborhood.

And Bucky had insisted to come and help you move your things out, and you couldn't be any more appreciative because some of your furniture was really heavy and you felt bad for overloading some boxes which threatened to break your bones in your back and arms if you carried them far enough.

"Y/N?" Bucky's deep voice calls out as he enters the apartment. It's bittersweet for him too, he used to love coming here and having your weekly movie nights on the L-shaped corner couch with your fuzzy cream blankets. But he is more happy to have you living in the same apartment building as him, it's easier for him to protect you, not that you needed protection, Bucky knew you were independent and capable of dealing with things on your own but he wanted to keep you close, you were one of his best friends and he's never had someone as close to him besides Steve before.

"In here!" You haul the box out into the front room and smile when you see Bucky in his blue Henley, dark jeans and a pair of sneakers (you never thought you would see the day he would wear something different than his usual combat boots), his hair was cut shorter and he looked so clean and perfect. You were used to Bucky with long hair, but since he cut it a couple of months ago, you kept telling him how much you loved him with shorter hair, telling him "it really suits you, Buck!" And he has taken your compliment personally because he's kept up with his short hair.

"Doll?" Your eyes fly up to his face, he was smirking and raised an eyebrow at you and you blush, you didn't realize you were staring at him.

"Huh?" You clear your throat and awkwardly look around the room.

"I asked if you wanted me to start moving your stuff out? The truck is downstairs."

"Yea-yes. That would be great." You smile, nodding your head for no particular reason as you find yourself getting lost in his bright blue eyes. ☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•° It only took you a couple of hours to move everything from the truck into your new apartment and by the time 6pm arrived, half of the boxes were already unpacked and your ornaments were placed out neatly around your new living room, your L-shaped couch positioned with your familiar rug in the middle of the room, it was already starting to feel and look like home. And while you were busy hanging your curtains, Bucky had gone out to grab some food for the two of you, deciding to take the rest of the evening off packing and just sit and watch a movie to relax before bed.

"Honey, I'm home!" Bucky chuckled walking through the door. You finished the gather of your curtains and smiled.

"Great!" You sighed as you welcomed the comfy cushions of your couch behind you as you plopped down with a bounce, crisscrossing your aching legs under you as Bucky plated the food.

"Chicken for you." He said holding the plate of chicken noodles in front of you and a soda.

"Thanks, Buck! For everything." You smiled at him as he sat down beside you, digging into his own noodles, he nodded in return and flicked the TV on, playing the DVD you left in from a few nights ago.

You and Bucky ate in silence, occasionally laughing at the TV. Over the years you have had so many movie nights with Bucky, and you weren't sure if it was because of the new apartment, but you didn't want Bucky to leave, you didn't want to be alone. Sitting next to Bucky right now felt so right in so many different ways. But Bucky was your best friend, and you felt conflicted about your feelings. You were also sure he saw you as nothing more than a friend. Your thoughts were all over the place and you nibbled on your bottom lip.

The action didn't go unnoticed by Bucky, who was watching you from his peripheral. He knew whenever you bit your lip it was because of anxiety or panic attacks. For now, he stayed quiet, allowing you to gather your thoughts. ☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•°☆•° Bucky stayed with you until the end of the movie. You had somehow managed to push your weird thoughts to the back of your mind and enjoy his company.

He stretched and yawned, looking at his watch.

"Wow, it's almost midnight. I better be goin'" he says tiredly, getting up to leave.

"Thank you for everything today Buck." You stand up with him and pull him into a tight hug, burying your face in his chest and fisting his shirt around his back.

Bucky chuckles and his chest vibrates against your face as he holds you.

"You already thanked me doll. Got nothin' to thank me for, s'what friends are for." He rubs your back comfortingly and tries to pull away, you only hold him tighter.

"Please stay." You whisper, refusing to loosen your grip on his shirt.

"Doll, let me look at ya." He pushes your body away slightly and his heart sinks down to his stomach as he looks at the stray tears racing each other down your cheeks. "What's wrong?" He asks, concern laced in his voice. It was rare for you to show Bucky this side of you.

"I just-" you sigh and take a breath. "I feel so selfish but I don't want you to go... I don't want to be alone here." Your bottom lip trembles uncontrollably and Bucky nods, pulling you impossibly close to him.

"Ok doll, shh shh it's okay. I'm not goin' anywhere. I'll stay for a couple o' days ok?" He holds your chin between his fingers and you nod happily.

And now that you knew Bucky was staying, you felt so much better. You were used to living alone so why this was any different you didn't understand.

Was it because you started to feel something in the pit of your stomach for your best friend? You have never felt this way before, even when you were around when Bucky was in relationships with other girls, you didn't feel jealous. But now just the thought of it sent a pang of pain to your chest. When did this happen?

For Bucky, it was a different story.

Bucky has been in love with you for a long time, he has just kept his feelings buried because of your friendship at stake. If things didn't go his way and you didn't feel the same way, he could handle the rejection but losing you was not worth it in his eyes.

Instead, he stood by as you tried to go on dates, most failed and some guys acted like complete jerks towards you which he strongly disliked but could do nothing about when he really wanted to dislodge their testicles.

And he knew staying with you would be difficult, because with you he always felt at home, it felt so natural. But seeing you so upset he didn't want to leave you. He wouldn't leave you. His ma taught him manners and he was a better man than most these days.

He hated how sexist the men had become. Even now he knows women deserve just as much respect and attention as they did when he was an 18-year-old taking his dames out on dates every weekend. And mention dick pics to Bucky? He was disgusted. And it has never interested him, even if one of his recent ex-girlfriends tried to push him to send her a sexy photo of himself, he declined as kindly as he could.

After brushing your teeth, you go back to your bedroom and stop in your tracks. Bucky is wearing a black T-shirt and his boxers as he pulls the covers back. He notices your reaction and panics.

"Is this ok?" He asks timidly.

You grin and walk over to the free side of the bed. "Of course it is." You reply, stripping down to your tank top and shorts, climbing under the duvet the same time as Bucky.

You roll on your side and face him, making the outline of his features in the darkness you're shrouded in.

"You ok doll?" Bucky asks quietly, stretching an arm out and moving some hair from your face and you shiver from his soft touch.

"I am." You whisper back, reaching out to touch his prickled cheek. Drawing patterns and you feel his cheeks lift in a smile, his dimples under your fingertips. You move your hand down above his heart, his heartbeat lulls you into a deep sleep.

The sun beaming through the partly opened curtains wakes you up and you feel totally refreshed. The best night's sleep you have had in a long, long time. It takes you a few seconds to remember where you are and why there is heavy breathing behind you.

You're facing away from Bucky, and he has his arm wrapped around your belly with your back pressed into his chest, his face buried in your hair, and something digging into your backside and you realize he's spooning you, quite intimately. It only makes your heart beat faster, now this is something you could get used to.

You shift your butt slightly, grinding your backside into his wood and a loud groan erupts from behind you. It encourages you to do it again, only harder. His hand grips your waist tightly to stop your movements.

"Doll!" He groans, thinking you're just asleep and unaware of what is happening but he hears your cheeky giggles.

"Good mornin' doll." Bucky slurs from tiredness, pressing a firm kiss to the back of your head and moving his lower body away from you, already missing his closeness.

"Good mornin' Buck." You turn to face him and lay on his chest, tucking your head under his chin and intertwining your legs with his.

The silence in the room is comforting, the birds are singing their sweet tunes outside and inside it's just the sounds of two hearts beating in sync.

"What do you wanna do today?" You ask in a whisper, not wanting to disturb the peace and quiet. You draw an invisible pattern with your finger over his heart.

When Bucky doesn't answer, you assume he's fallen back asleep until you tilt your head up and see he's already looking down at you with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Buck?"

Bucky lowers his lips to yours and you reciprocate the kiss by tilting your head to the side to kiss him deeper. This was what you wanted for so long, and Bucky has dreamed of this moment for years. He's scared he's going to wake up soon.

The kiss becomes heated and you straddle his waist, grounding yourself against him. He elicits a moan as his hands fly to your waist, his fingertips burying themselves into your skin.

"Doll.." he breathes heavily. "Do you want this? Do you want me? Because we can pretend this never happened..." he speaks lowly, hoping the latter doesn't happen.

"I want this Buck. I want you, I have for a long time." You smile down at him, pressing the palm of your hands on the pillow beside his head.

"Will you be my girl?" His tongue darts out to lick his suddenly dry lips.

"I would want nothing more than to be yours." A growl elicits from his throat at your choice of words, and clothes are flying off everywhere.

Your first official morning as a new couple is spent between the once clean but now sweat-soaked bed sheets as the two of you embark on a beautiful adventure together as boyfriend and girlfriend, which Bucky hopes one day you will walk to him down an aisle and mother his children.

And you hoped that one day this beautiful specimen of a man became your husband and fathered your children you desperately wanted in the future.

Taglist: @leosandbuckysgirl​ @jobean12-blog​ And wanted to thank a few people (sorry if I bother you!!): @the-ss-horniest-book-club​ @littledarlinhavefaithinme​ @book-dragon-13​ @criminal-cookies​ @valkyriesryde​ @mushyjellybeans​ @emmandhercoffecrisp​ @captainchrisstan​ @this-kitten-is-smitten​ @godofplumsandthunder​ @moonbeambucky​ @searchingforbucky​ @sebbbystaaan​ @buckythewhitewolfx​ @your-highnessmarvel​

[zankivich]

The Arrangement: CEO’s Son/Dom!Shawn x Black Sub Reader Chapter 17

a/n: this is it y’all. And what a ride it’s been. With all the shit in the world, and the shit that’s gone down in the fandom, I wish we had a shawn like this. but alas all we have is fiction and this is the best way I could think to end it, so I hope you enjoy. That’s all folks. Peace. 

*six months later*

Breaking News: Shawn Mendes has topped the Billboard 100 for his fourth week in a row with his hit single Fallin’ All In You. The pop star crashed onto the scene with the powerful ‘Youth’ co-written with his friend and fellow artist Khalid, and he hasn’t left us hanging yet! Is this the start of a new force to be reckoned with in the pop world or just a flash in the pan?

And we’re back with E! News. Shawn Mendes has stolen all of our hearts and it looks like he’s not willing to give them back. Here he is on the cover of GQ looking absolutely dashing as always. But the pop singer is not just here for his looks, it appears he’s a bit of a romantic as well. In the recent interview he chatted about his latest record, the potential grammy nominations, and...his girlfriend?!

Shawn Mendes is the biggest thing in pop music this year. Here he is walking the red carpet at the vma’s after taking home five awards from the night. And perhaps more stunning than the leading man himself was his girlfriend in tow, top artist manager in the game right now, y/f/n y/l/n. The two were quite the pair at the show and insiders say they couldn’t get enough of each other. Sorry ladies, this one’s taken!

Uh oh! Looks like there’s some drama in the world of Shawn Mendes. The young artist was seen leaving his attorney’s office in LA after being slammed with a law suite from none other than his father, the legendary Manny Mendes of Mendes Industry. Manny Mendes claims that Shawn was under contractual obligation not to release or perform any music and that the star may have actually breached his contract prior to signing to Atlantic records!

Popstar Shawn Mendes was recently spotted out in New York with his beautiful girlfriend, y/f/n y/l/n. The two were seen holding hands at a coffee shop and taking a stroll to a bookstore. It seems even celebrities still read books my friends! Y/n made news when she became the first ever manager to win Manager of the Year at Billboard’s Women in Music while simultaneously having one of her artists, Ariana Grande, take home the Woman of the Year prize. It seems the two are a power couple far on their way to dominate the music industry. I for one can’t wait to see what they do next.

*y/n’s point of view*

Sometimes you wake up from a really good dream. And you can’t remember what you dreamed about, can’t remember anything that happened, but all you get is this really pleasant feeling in your bones. This was one of those mornings. You woke up and your back cracked as you stretched and you curled your toes and groaned quietly. The sun was streaming through the windows. Your sheets were all comfy. And you opened your eyes to what? Your boyfriend looking at you like a total creeper.

You immediately groaned and rolled over away from him.

“Why are you staring at me, weirdo?”

“Well good morning to you too, love of my life. I’m feeling great, by the way.”

You giggled and rolled back over to find yourself in his arms. He pressed his lips to your forehead and settled his weight against you. The warmth was unlike anything you could experience elsewhere.

“What time did you get in?” You whispered.

His palm cupped your cheek, eyes bright and adorable.

“A little after three. Didn’t wanna wake you. I missed you.” He mumbled.

“I missed you too. They keep taking you away from me for longer and longer periods of time huh?”

He nodded softly. “Yea, unfortunately. Andrew thinks the world tour is gonna sell out though. They’re...they’re talking about adding dates, babe. I have a huge fanbase in the philippines...The philippines, y/n?! Me!”

God he was cute when he got excited. And Shawn was pretty much always excited when it came to music. The kid must be a dream to manage.

“I’m so very happy for you.” You chuckled. “Something tells me you’re gonna love it out there”

“You think?” He sighed. “I guess I just...I’m gonna miss you. Like crazy.”

“Me too.”

“Will you come visit me?” He asked pushing his way between your legs. “In LA?”

You snorted and wrapped your legs and arms around him.

“Of course.”

“Yea? How about in Paris?”

His lips touched your ear and you bit your lip.

“Mhm.”

“Brazil?”

“Yea.”

“Hmm...will you be my good girl? Let me take care of you?”

Your thighs tightened.

“I don’t know. I can be very bad when I’m abroad.”

He pulled back to stare at you, eyes less soft and fluffy and more hard and dominant. His curls were everywhere, even going so far as to tickle your nose. How could someone so fluffy be such a dom? It was astounding.

“How bad?” He asked.

You shrugged. “Why don’t you flip me over and I’ll show you?”

“Good god, I love you woman.”

You laughed into the sheets as he threw your body around like a rag doll. It was certainly good to be home.

“Everytime I’m away for a long time are you gonna make me remind you who you belong to?” He hummed against the dip in your back. “Who gets to make you feel good?”

You sighed noisily. “If I can help it.”

His hands on your body are like tidal waves. You never get used to it. Can never catch your breath to prepare for the next thrashing hold, the next grip, the next slap. The sun raises steadily into your bedroom, but neither of you notice. He’s too busy undressing you, touching you, making you beg. In the grand scheme of things, if he was going to be away for so long, the least the could do was throw your back out upon arrival home.

“Can I try somethin’?” He whispered kisses trailing up your tummy and between your breasts.

Your toes curled against his calves. You had to hold back a moan.

“What is it?”

“Well...I’d need to tie you down first.” He explained. “And then, as much as I love these beautiful eyes of yours I’d like to cover them for a little while. I thought about gagging your mouth on the plane ride home, but I think I wanna hear you cry out for me. How does that sound?”

It was a Tuesday morning. If you’d even bothered to look at the clock you would know it was eight thirty in the morning and you were due in the office soon. Meanwhile Shawn had spent his time planning out a whole ass elaborate sex dream. What was one to do?

“Go get the blind fold. Hurry.”

The dom/sub relationship continued to be one of the greatest sources of pleasure and relief in your life.  There’s something about the way he kisses your ankle when he straps it to the bed. The way he checks that you’re okay when your legs are spread wide. The more vulnerable you became with each other, the more open that you were the more  that you let yourself fall into these moments. Bare and naked on the bed. Nowhere to hide. Nowhere to act shy. You were on full display for him, just as he was for you. And he was in charge of your pleasure, a power that was not to be taken lightly. The good news was he knew exactly what to do with it.

“Color?”

“Green.”

“And the ropes? Do they hurt at all?”

“No, Sir.”

Without your eyes, your senses began to alter. You could sort of feel the air in the room differently. Your nipples hardened and your teeth sunk into your lip. He was watching you and you could feel it.

“What are you doing?” You murmured.

His voice came from lower, maybe between your legs at the bottom of the bed.

“Just looking. Appreciating.” He answered. “You’re beautiful baby.”

On the other side of the blind fold, Shawn was doing just that. He tilted his head back and sighed as he cupped himself firmly in his hand. While you were practically throbbing spread open for him to see, he was quite literally throbbing for you.

A groan entered the air, ending the silence.

“I missed you so much. You have no idea how much I thought about you while I was away.”

His fingers trailed up your leg and across your thigh causings your lips to part.

“S--Shawn.”

“How much I missed being inside you. Hearing you cry out for me. Are you gonna let me hear you, y/n?”

“Yes. Yes, just please touch me.”

He chuckled. “You get so impatient when I’m away.”

You sighed and pushed your hips gently towards the ceiling.

“Cause I miss what’s mine….I need it.”

You felt the bed move before you felt his presence over your body. And yet you knew the second that he was hovering over you because of the feel of his dick against your stomach. His nose skimmed your ear and you practically melted before him.

“Yours eh? You need it?”

You nodded shakily. “Please, sir? I need it so so bad.”

He sighed, long and breathy, and you could tell he wanted it just as badly as you did. You licked your lips in anticipation for it. Fuck.

“The things you do to me…Not yet. I’ve got plans for you baby girl.”

If only you knew. If only.

The buzz of it comes out of nowhere it feels like. There’s just silence. Your breathing, and the dips of the bed as he moves and nothing else. And then out of nowhere it comes buzzing. Your lips part instinctually, your body knowing something that your mind hasn’t even caught onto yet. The first time he touches it against your clit drives you wild, and before you know it the whole world sets ablaze.

“Unnnngh. Fuck.” You whimpered.

He hummed. “I got you something while I was away. What do you think?”

He’s an expert at playing you like his favorite instrument. The toy presses firmly to your clit and he rubs up and around so perfectly that you gasp. The fingers on his other hand join the party and suddenly you’re full in more ways then one. And the fact that you can’t see any of it? That there’s nothing but darkness and yet stimulation everywhere? It only heightens it all. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

“So wet for me. Is it because you haven’t been able to get off without me, or is it our new set up?”

You snorted. “I can get off without you just fine Mendes, just not quite this creatively.”

He chuckles and you smile, the ability to move in and out of this scene that the two of you play with one another, feels like all the love and trust that you’d chosen to given to him exclusively.

He finds his way on top of you again. The feeling of his presence and his weight rocking you to our very core. The vibrations don’t let up and your thighs begin to burn from the exertion, but here you are. You can feel the heat of his hard on and the feel of his breath against your clavicle. It’s too much. Your body can’t handle all the different sensations, but Shawn doesn’t seem to care.

His lips latch on to one of your nipples and the result is catastrophic. You burst from within for him. Like a wave crashing against the shore. Inevitable. Euphoric. Your back arches and the restraints dig into your skin as you threatened to bust out of your skin let along the ropes. It’s so powerful that it brings tears to your eyes, and a sob from your very gut.

“Oh my god! Ohmygod ohmygodohmygodohmygod! S--Stop!”

The vibrations disappear just like that. Suddenly your face in his hands and he’s ripping off the blindfold.

“Are you okay?! Did I hurt you?” He cried. “Y/n, speak!”

And then you started to giggle...softly at first and then loud and unabashed. Your knees were pulled awkwardly together against the resistance of the ropes. When Shawn saw that you were okay he rolled his eyes in that way of his. He was so cute and fluffy when he wasn’t making you cum your brains out.

“You’re gonna give a fucking heart attack one of these days you know that?”

You snorted softly and licked at your dry lips.

“Well damn daddy, how you gone tie a sister up and and put a fucking witachi wand to her and be shocked when she cums like she’s being electrocuted? You gotta commit, sir!”

He busted out laughing in that way that made his whole body shake, even his curls. You loved those laughs of his. They were everything to you. He hid is face in your neck. You could feel his laughter against your collarbone. You loved him then, more than anything in the whole world. The love of your life, he was.

It’s not until he pulls back far enough so that you can see his eyes again that the thing that is molten hot in your gut comes back. He is way too fine for his own good.

“How ‘bout I commit to making you cumall over my cock with that wand a few times? And then i thought I could take you to breakfast before work...and perhaps stop in again for a little late lunch?”

You closed your eyes and moaned.

“Put the blind fold back on.”

“Yes ma’am.”

***

There are things called insiders in the industry. It’s nosey, but very well connected people who just tend to know shit. And not like the people who leak to the tabloids, those were like commoners compared to royalty. Industry insiders could make or break a narrative. Which meant, y/n like to keep a few of them in her back pocket. It meant knowing the good shit before anybody, and more importantly...the bad shit so that you could plan and get ahead. Luckily this time it wasn’t news to get ahead of. Just perhaps news to keep a secret.

“Oh no. I know that face. You’re either about to wreck my life, or make my day. Either way one of us is leaving here in tears.” You sighed.

Into your office walked Caroline Graves, music industry insider, and one of your greatest friends though you didn’t see each other much. Caroline usually walked with gusto and poise. Today she was timid and shy, her big wide eyes tantalizing with secrets. She surely had something to share.

She smiled awkwardly. “Hi, babe!”

“Don’t ‘babe’ me. Have a seat.” You snorted.

She nodded and slid smoothly into the seat before you. She was slim and tiny with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She was about as white as they came, but she was a feminist to the core and the two of you had vouched for each other for years. Today was no different.

“I have news…” She began.

You chuckled. “Sis, everytime you come in here ya got news. Now what is it?”

“Something is circulating about the grammys.”

This had you sitting up straighter in the seat.

“Yea?”

“The word on the street is...Manny Mendes is trying to get Shawn Mendes barred from a single nomination.”

You bit your lip in anger. “That cold-hearted, Voldemort acting ass bastard. I should have expecto patronum’d his ass when I had the chance.”

She raised her eyebrow at you only for you to shrug.

“My boyfriend likes harry potter. When he’s happy I tend to be happy too. Please go on.”

“Apparently he’s got no grounds for the lawsuit he slapped Shawn with. He’s gonna lose the suit and he knows it, so he’s trying to pay anyone and everyone to change their score cards. Because the other word on the street is...Shawn’s gonna be up for Best New Artist, Album of the Year, Best Collaboration, Record of the Year, and Pop vocal.”

Your eyes widened. “I’m sorry?!”

She nodded. “I was just as surprised. But his debut album hasn’t left the top ten since he released it. He’s got three of the top songs of the year under his belt, and the kid is damn charming. The world loves an underdog, but you know what they love even more? A rich kid who gives it all up to chase his dream.”

“Well...shit. Shit….I mean...Shit.” You mumbled, collapsing back in your seat. “Even I didn’t call that.”

“No one did. I just want you to be aware that if my sources are right, and I’m sure you would know better than most, if Shawn’s lawyers push for the dismissal of the case and for his master’s to be returned? Things might just get a lot messier than he’s prepared for.”

“Dammit. Okay. Well thanks for the heads up. Now tell me what else is going on in this fucked up world?”

***

You heard the most peculiar sound coming from outside your door. It was a whirring sound, the kind of hypnotic machine rumblings that might make one feel nostalgic about your mother cleaning on the weekends. Perhaps it was only peculiar because you weren’t on the other side of the door, and thus to hear the sound didn’t quite make sense.

You slid your key into the door carting your purse and laptop bag into the house. Your confusion quickly came to an end when you found your boyfriend standing on the couch in sweatpants and nothing else as he attempted to vacuum the rug in the living room. In any other sense it was a vision of complete and utter ridiculousness. And yet there was nothing but tenderness in your heart. You leaned against the door with glee watching him with his tongue poised between his lips in concentration. He lifted the cord to the vacuum cleaner way high into the air as he attempted to go under the coffee table. The result was that it knocked the plug out of the wall, shutting the thing off.

“Shit.” He muttered.

A giggle passed your lips alerting Shawn that he was no longer alone. The frustration on his face turned to pure joy at the sight of you, a look that you could never get used to in a million years. He was too soft for his own good, and you loved him endlessly.

“Hey,” He smiled. “Are you spying on me?”

You shook your head, finally setting your stuff down on the kitchen table.

“Not spying...just admiring. The place looks great by the way.”

His smile only grew larger at the praise, and he quickly hopped down off the couch to make his way over to you.

“Really? I’ve been cleaning all day. I wanted it to look nice when you came home.”

His arms came to wrap around you and you quickly wrapped him up in your grasp as well. The warmth of his hold and the love that seemed to radiate from within him was enough to make you melt. And he knew this of course.

“Well it does. It looks amazing.” You hummed.

“Yea? How would you know, you’ve barely looked around. You’re just staring at me.”

“Exactly. And I like what I see.”

“Oh yea?” He asked leaning closer so your noises touched.

“Mhm.”

His lips were soft and heaven like against yours. The entire day seemed to wash away when he touched you. And you still couldn’t fathom how he managed to do that. He pulled back just far enough so that your foreheads could rest against one another and you could peer up into his eyes as he spoke.

“I know work has been really crazy for the both of us with award season. And I know I haven’t been home much--”

You quickly interrupted. “Hey, you do not need to apologize to me for working your ass off. It’s been an incredibly successful year, Shawn. You deserve it.”

“No I know, I know. I’m just saying I can also recognize that for every second I’m out there succeeding, I’m not here. And I just want you to know that I still appreciate you and us and our life that we have here. I want to build and sustain a life with you more than anything. That’s important to me.”

He had those stupid pouty lips and those ridiculous big brown eyes. It was a wonder anyone had ever said no to the bastard ever. You loved him. Oh god did you love him. He probably could get down on one knee and your ass wouldn’t even hesitate. Oh how times had changed for you.

You nodded gently. “Thank you. That means so much to me. Thank you for cleaning the house and for taking care of me. I appreciate you.”

“I appreciate you too. I appreciate everything that you do for me and for our apartment and for the world.  What do you say I take you out to dinner tonight. Give you the night off from cooking.”

“Hmmm...Can I put on something sexy for the occasion?”

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “Baby, I’d be hurt if you didn’t.”

Changing out of the outfit from a day of stress and anxiety into something that had your man taking pause where he lied on your bed as you got ready was beyond worth it. You’d gone for a silk red dress that hit mid thigh and wrapped around you tightly. It was the kind of dress that made you lean back with your shoulders, that brought the poise and elegance that could only be achieved when you knew you were that bitch. With winter came protective styles and you were more than happy with your high bun that was sleeked to perfection.

“You look so pretty.” He sighed from the bed.

His eyes were big and hesitant when you looked at him from the mirror. It was as if he wanted to touch but knew he needed permission. God what a man.

You bit your lip. “You look kinda pretty too. Come ‘ere.”

Shawn was decked out in a nice pair of slacks, an upgrade to his usual skinny jeans, and dress shoes to match. He knew you preferred them to the chelsea boots so he usually only pulled them out for special occasions. Speaking of things he knew you liked, his dress shirt was a beautiful ocean blue and the buttons were non-existent. Ya man had his tiddies out exactly the way you liked him. But no stress woke friends, your tiddies were out too. Equality.

He wrapped his arms around you from behind and kissed the side of your head as you stared at each other through the mirror. The way he pressed himself against your ass was not lost on you, nor was the way you arched your back lost on him.

“Damn we look good.” You snickered.

He grinned. “Baby I don’t mean to toot our own horns but like...we’re fine as fuck.”

“Boy, toot toot toot. We are FWINE, with a W. I know we don’t believe in publicly sucking face like those obnoxious PR couples that have to keep careers afloat, but I think the world deserves to see this.”

“I think you’re right, my love.”

Two selfies--one of Shawn in a crouched position with the prayer hands staring up at you like the GAWDESS you were and another silly cute one of you sticking your tongues out at the camera--later you were off to dinner. The fact that you end up at your favorite restaurant is a surprising delight. Nothing feels out of the ordinary because your man took care of you on a regular basis. Dinners out and dressing up was a weekly occurrence, especially when you weren’t busy. However with grammys looming over your heads alone time had been scarce. So him going out of his way to make time mattered a lot to you. A lot alot.

You kept your face hidden in his neck on the ride there, a personal driver now the norm for your hotshot boyfriend. He’d gone and made you sentimental and sappy and there was nowhere to hide how you felt. Shawn had been more than patient with your difficulties in sharing emotions. But you had grown significantly.

“I love you.” You hummed against his neck.

His hands had been intertwined with yours, and he paused from playing with them to squeeze tightly at the digits.

“I love you too, sweetheart. More than anything.”

You shook your head playfully, voice small in his ear. “Not but like a lot. Like a lot, a lot.”

He chuckled. “Yea?”

You nodded, the fingers not intertwined with his finding place in his curls.

“I just can’t really imagine my life without you in it, I guess. You’re my person.”

He turned in his seat so that your legs moved over his knees and your bodies were more overlapped than apart. His palm found your cheeks and you melted like only he could cause, like only he was capable of producing within your being.

“Well good. I don’t really plan on you being without me anytime soon. I hope that’s okay?”

You nodded again. “More than okay. Don’t go away.”

“Never.”

Dinner is splendid.There’s a new added layer of paparazzi appearing outside before you’ve even arrived. Shawn can’t really go anywhere unseen anymore, but you’d never met someone so worth enduring it for. It feels simultaneously like romance and love while also feeling like a random tuesday with your best friend. Somehow he still manages to make you laugh. Somehow he can still get your toes to curl beneath the table. He asks if you’ll be his date to the grammys. You agree only if he’ll take you out for pizza after. He promises. You know he’ll uphold it. By the time desert comes you don’t think the night could get any better. You’re wrong.

“Hey do you mind if we stop at the studio real quick? I left my guitar there earlier when I was laying down a track.” He asks.

You agree because what reason do you have to say no? In hindsight never in a gazillion years would Shawn leave his guitar at a studio. He’d hold in his lap on the plane if they let him.

It’s the same studio you took him too that first time he showed Khalid how to lay a vocal better than the producer could. When he asks you to follow him in and the lights are dimmed beyond belief, you don’t get it. The fact that his guitar is nowhere to be found might certainly be a hint, but apparently you were dumb as a bag of rocks.

“Will you uh...will you sit for me?” He asked pulling up a chair by the vocal booth.

You raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’ll all make sense in a second.” He smiled. “Please?”

You hesitantly lowered yourself into your seat, facing Shawn as he smiled at you. His knees were bouncing, his hands waving anxiously as he tried to balance them. You hadn’t seen him so nervous since...since he asked you out on your first date. The hell?

“Shawn?” You asked. “What the hell is goin’ on?”

He swallowed. “I...I wrote you a song. And I just finished it this afternoon. Can I play it for you?”

There's that softness in his eyes again. The personification of puppy-love. He had only ever asked to give you the world since you met him, and he fought through every single wall you’d had put up long before he arrived, until he could. He plays with his rosary around his neck and flicks the beads back and fourth between his thumb and forefinger. The anxiety comes off of him in waves. He’d never been so nervous to share a song with you before. It must mean that it meant more to him than usual. The least you could do was indulge him.

“Of course.”

It’s beautiful. Perhaps the most beautiful thing he’d ever written. And drastically different from the album. Shawn had gone for R&B and soul on the record with that pop flair that made for a commercial hit. But this was all singer-songwriter. Intricate chords on the guitar. Raw vocals. Nothing else. And the words are just for you and him. It’s your life together in a song. Things that no one but the two of you could ever understand. Cooking on sunday afternoons because you hadn’t left bed until then. Your head in his lap, his fingers in your scalp when your braids were hurting. His lips on your neck. It was you. And no one else.

“Well...What did you think?” He mumbled spinning aimlessly in his chair like a toddler hyped up on sugar.

You smiled widely. “I think...I think I’m really fucking lucky to be loved by you. It’s beautiful. What is it, the next single?”

He shook his head and it made his curls bounce. God was he cute.

“Not exactly.”

“Okay, well what’s it for?”

“I’ve been thinking lately ya know? About us, and about the life that we have together. In our apartment. And I just have been thinking about how I could maybe make it better for you--no baby, just let me finish,” He whined when you went to interrupt him. “Not because it sucks but because I’m always thinking of how it could be better. And there are things I still wanna give you ya know?”

You bit your lip, for some reason willing to indulge him.

“Yea? Like what?”

He rolled closer and closer and took your fingers in his own. Intertwined.

“I wanna give you a house. With an office, so that you can get work done but I can still come see you and bother you. I wanna give you a jacuzzi  like that one we found in the Domincian Republic that one time? I wanna give you...a baby one day. You know if you--if that’s what you want. If we decide that’s what we want together. I want your mom to retire. I want you to never have to worry about anything ever again. I want to dominate the world with you, build an empire, a legacy.”

Now it was your legs that were shaking. You didn’t know how he could manage to make you feel so overwhelmingly full of love. You have not a clue how you had managed to snag him of all people. It was utterly unbelievable, and you simply would never be willing to give it up.

“And just how in the world do you expect to make all that happen, silly?”

He chuckled nervously and squeezed your fingers.

“Can I be honest?”

“That’s all I ask.”

“I haven’t quite figured it all out yet. Do you think you’d be okay with giving me a little time?”

You laughed. “Of course, babes. Take as much time as you need.”

“How ‘bout forever?”

“Forever? Well I’m not getting any younger, sir.” You snorted.

He shook his head softly, letting the wheels of his chair fall back so that he could make his way to one knee. The image had its intended effect. You froze like a lobster being tossed into the pot, and probably were just as red beneath all the melanin.

“I promise that no matter what happens, I’m gonna do everything in my power to give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I want to love you for the rest of our lives. I want to be your partner in crime. Always. Baby, will you marry me?”

“Shawn….S--Shawn...That’s an engagement ring.” You whispered.

He nodded. “It is. It’s your engagement ring. If you want it. Do you want it?”

Your fingers felt over your chest to feel the way your heart was beating so fast it might burst through. You’d spoken about it. Had had the whispered dreams in each other's ears in bed late at night. He’d promised it one day even, but never had you seen this one coming. Ever. And certainly not this soon.

“I….YES! Gimme!”

“Yea?!”

“YEA!”

He fumbles with the ring and just barely gets it onto your finger before he’s in your lap kissing you, still on his knees for you like it was nothing. Your arms wrapped tightly around him as his lips melded to yours and it couldn’t have felt any better. He was yours. A fact you had known and felt secured in for so long you could remember no different. But this was different. This was him asking you for forever. Just the two of you. Thick and thin. The whole shebang. This was love at the highest level, and trust, and compassion, and heart.

There are tears on your face and on his. You try to wipe lip gloss from his lips while he rubs at your eyes that are leaking. It’s very much the two of you. Messy and dramatic and ridiculous, but equal. When he pulls you into his arms your heart is fully and infinitely his. And there’s no space to miss it because you’ve already got his in return to fill the space.

“I love you more than anything. I can’t wait to marry you.” He smiled.

“Me neither. Me neither. I love you so much.” You whispered. “Can we go home now and make love please?”

His eyes widened. “Just like that aye?”

“Just like that.”

“You haven’t even looked at your ring.” He chuckled pulling your arms from around his neck.

You rolled your eyes. “Oh Shawn you know I don’t care about material pos--WELL DAMN! Suddenly I can’t see. Suddenly I am blinded by the light! SHEESH!”

The thing was massive. A beautifully elegant, diamond encrusted band wrapped around your finger. It was easily overshadowed by the diamond itself. The classic princess cut, which he had somehow picked out without ever asking you. You didn’t know how many carats it was, and in reality it didn’t really matter. If you knew him, and you did, it wasn’t about being flashy. It was truly about giving you everything he thought you deserved. And this had just been another on the very long list.

“It’s beautiful. You know that.” You sniffled holding your finger up to the light. “Jesus, Shawn.”

“I had it designed after we moved in together. I might have asked Ti for some pointers.” He smiled reaching your hand. “I just wanted it to be perfect.”

“It is. It really is. Please come here?”

More kissing. More holding. More love. More emotion. Being in love is a lot of work y’all.

“Please...Please take me home now.” You murmured when the warmth of his hands on your hips had begun to burn through your dress and all you wanted was to thank him...and thank him...and thank him.

“You have no idea how much I want that….But I actually have another proposition for you.”

At this you paused.

“Oh for the love of all that is holy! Shawn my heart cannot take anymore tonight. What in the caucasity could you possibly have to show me?” You whined.

“I cannot wait to tell our children how you made me swoon on the night I proposed.” He snickered, suddenly handing you a thick, padded envelope. “I thought you might like to be my business partner as well as my life partner.”

In the folder were documents detailing the lawsuit of Mendes Industries versus Shawn. It documented the trial, and the win on Shawn’s lawyer’s part. It documented all of the songs that they'd won back, all his hard work that was now his possession again. And it offered the trademark to a new name, a new industry one might say….S+Y Industries. and it had the audacity to list your name as CEO.

“What in the entire fuck is this?” You gasped. “And speak quickly because you know I slap irrationally when I get excited.”

And suddenly his hands found your hips again, like a little rum rubbing against the gums of a teething baby, lulling you into his hold. You could smell his cologne and his heat and it made your heart beat calm if only slightly.

“See I had this incredible manager, who wasn’t a manager, decide to craft my contract on an album by album deal, which means after this tour...I have options. And so I thought maybe I might house all of my work from the past, present, and future, under my own label. And then I thought how crazy that was...how I couldn’t do it alone, so I just thought...maybe you might like to run it with me.”

His hands trembled against your waist. It was the only indication that you weren’t crazy, that this was indeed the wildest shit anyone had ever asked of you in your whole life. Of everything you could have ever expected from this, this wasn’t even in the same stratosphere. To run your own label had been a dream of yours since you were a child. When he had said he wanted to give you the world, the man wasn’t joking.

“Baby you--you gotta speak. My heart is pounding. I’m going crazy over here.” He mumbled licking his lips.

Your body slowly unfroze as you looked up from the paperwork and into the eyes of the craziest man you’d ever met in your life.

“Well that’s what your pasty ass gets for pulling this shit on me like this.”

He only smiled softly at you. “You’ve got a point. So uh...what do you say?”

“I say...I’ll have to have my lawyers read over it of course. And my terms for being CEO will only be founded on the basis that my salary increases from what I’m making now. We’ll need to discuss what your role as President will be, and what that will look like within the context of the company as you continue to tour and make music of course. And I want to make sure you’re protected from--”

“Sweetheart,” He whispered, pulling your eyes to him. “Just say yes. I’ll do whatever you want. You know that. Just say yes.”

You nodded silently, admittedly a little lost in his eyes and his confidence and his soul. Jesus.

“Y--Yes.”

“Come here.”

And he kisses you again and again and again until your bodies are more one than two. Until your heart beats both faster and slower at the same time. Until it’s just the two of you against the world. You liked your odds.

*two months later*

*Shawn’s point of view*

There’s a reason why he needs her with him at all times. There’s a reason why his hands shake when she’s not holding him. A reason why his breathing is out of sorts when she’s not around. There’s a reason why they’re sat in the front row at the Grammys and a reason why he makes them point out her seat in the crowd for him.

The grammys were the most terrifying night of his whole entire life. A lot of people felt like they could define a night, a year, an entire career. But they could never mean more than to a boy who had grown up with them around the house, who had seen them on the coffee table, who had to leave his life behind to even get a shot at one. The Grammys meant that the world had accepted him, had welcomed him in with open arms...despite his dad doing everything in his power to get them not to. But they also meant that she had believed in him like no one had, like not even he had.

So, that night when he performs he’s only performing for her. And he’s only singing to her. Perhaps for that reason alone it’s one of the smoothest performances he’s ever had. When the last note rings out, he lets his guitar fall against his thigh and he holds his fingers to his lips to send a kiss her way. He knows the camera is on the two of them. He wants them all to know that no one has ever loved anyone the way he loves her. And the kiss she sends back his way is all he’ll ever need. It’s the icing on the cake. To be loved by her. He was ready to go home with that and only that. You have to believe that.

He walks backstage and Andrew is waiting there with a guy dressed in all black and a headpiece in his ear. They both stop him, and he’s just a little bit annoyed that he can’t get back to y/n faster. They had a game plan to take a drink every time Alicia Keys performed a random song that night.

“What’s up?”

“They’re about to announce Best Collaboration and Best Pop Vocal. You’re up for both, so you’re staying here.”

He winced. “W--Wait can I...can I go back to my seat first?”

Andrew shook his head. “What? No, man. Come on the camera’s ready to go.”

“But y/n! She’s got my phone, I can’t even text her.”

“You can look  at her if you win the grammy, now stop whining!”

His heart pounds. His legs shake. His hands wreak havoc on his guitar until they yell at him for playing and take the damn thing away from him. It’s the scariest minute of his whole entire life. He’s lucky they hadn’t started drinking quite yet.

“And the winner for best collaboration goes to….Shawn Mendes ft. Khalid, “Youth”!!!!”

The curtain backstage opens and he doesn’t move. Because surely there’s a mistake. Surely Ariana Grande or someone else won. He was just a guy with a guitar. There was no fucking way.

“SHAWN GO!” Andrew huffed pushing him towards the stage.

Khalid is already there. Shawn feels so stunned he waddles awkwardly toward the stage. Fucking Lizzo is standing there for Christ sake. Khalid is all smiles and jumps on him with love and a squeezed hug. He still can’t believe it.

Lizzo hands him the fucking grammy and suddenly its in his hands. His hands. And the whole room goes silent because they’re waiting for him to speak. Him.

“I...I don't know what to say.” He mumbled.

“THAT’S MY MANS. STAND UP TALL BOY!”

He looks over in the direction of her and she’s standing for him. She’s got tears in her eyes. She’s smiling so big it looks like it hurts. For him. All for him. And because she said so his spine straightened. Because it was actually all for her.

“I...can only thank one person on this earth for this grammy and for this year and for this life that I have now.” He sniffled, throat tightening as he turned to her. “You found me when I was nothing but a trust fund asshole who couldn’t look more than two feet in front of him. You loved me and healed me and cherished me when no one else would. This is only because of you. Because you’re the most talented human being in this room, and you work harder than any of us. Because for some reason you think I’m worthy of your love. Thank you. I--I’m gonna spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I love you. T--Thank you.”

It’s like walking on butterflies. It’s like doing coke and ecstasy and molly all at once. His ears feel like they’ve burst. His heart is thudding so fast he’s given up on trying to calm down. He just wants to go to her. He’s not too proud to wipe away the tears in his eyes, and there’s a moment where Khalid and he just hold each other. Because they just wrote a song about how the world wasn’t fair, and it had somehow been recognized by that very world. In the middle of this hug, he is once again tugged in a different direction against his will, because why the fuck not.

Best pop vocal album doesn’t even make sense. Like it was actually wild. He had thought it was ridiculous when he got nominated, and for them to hand him the award is just absurd. Absolutely absurd.

“What the hell?” He asked y/n through the mic, because apparently he could only speak to her during his acceptance speeches. “I really thought Ariana had this one.”

Ari was sitting next to y/n in a ball gown that nearly swallowed her, but he could at least see the two of them nodding at each other.

“So did we!”

“I’m so sorry.” He mumbled to both of them, incredibly sincere. “Uh...I wanna thank my fans for even buying the music and coming to see me.That is the wildest thing in the world to me and I promise to never take it for granted. I’m gonna leave now. Okay bye.”

They finally let him go back to his seat during the commercial break. He practically falls into her arms. Her lip gloss coats his mouth and he couldn’t be happier. Finally, with her fingers on him he can relax.

“I can’t believe you used your first grammy speech to just ramble about me.” She whined wiping away the colored lip gloss. “Did you not write a damn speech like I told you too?”

He shook his head softly. “I didn’t think I would win. And you--you looked so pretty. I got starstruck. I won two grammys baby, I’m the happiest guy alive right now. Now can we please get drunk and listen to Lady Gaga? It’s all I want.”

“Sorry sweetheart. You’re up for three more tonight. No alcohol for you.”

“I...What? But--But what about our drinking game?”

“You have a reputation to uphold sir.” She said sternly.

He simply pouted at her with as soft of a look as humanly possible. She raised an eyebrow as if it wouldn’t work. His fiance was a tough cookie to crack.

*ten minutes later*

“Look babe! Alicia is at the piano again!” He murmured excitedly.

“Alright. Down the hatch!”

And the tequila kept coming for the rest of the night.

*an hour later*

“Babe, I wanna go home.” He whined into her shoulder.

“Mmm, can’t yet. There’s still like three more awards left. You’re three for five babe.”

“You smell so good. I think your collarbones are my favorite body part. I’d like to dedicate some time to them later if you’d let me”

She giggled. “Boy, we’re in public.”

He pouted at her, a bit annoyed that this award show was stopping him from making love to her already.

“Then let’s leave. Right now. We can elope. I don’t even need a wedding. Just you, me, a bottle of champagne, and that villa in Rome. What do you say?”

“I say….you need to give me your cup before you slip and tell the whole world we’re engaged.”

No fun.

He leans on her shoulder and stares up at her wondering how the hell she got so pretty when the next awards are called.

“It is time to announce Best New Artist. Past winners have included Alessia Cara, Doa Lipa, and me, Billie Eilish. Here are the nominees.”

“Baby, I love you.” He whispered pursing his lips for a kiss.

“You are on camera. They’re about to announce your award, babes.”

“There’s no way in hell I won, y/n. Look I’m so content right now I just wanna--”

“And the winner is...SHAWN MENDES.”

And suddenly he was upended by the gracious melanated pillow that was his fiance's titties. Truly a crime against humanity.

“GO!” The entire first row yelled as he stared around owlishly.

Tequila is a hell of a thing.

He reached for her hand and immediately began walking towards the stage, not at all concerned by her yelling at him or trying to remain in her seat. Fat fucking chance.

He gets her on the stage and they both hug Billie, and he has a moment where he realizes he actually fucking won, and what that means. They hand him the award and y/n tries to step back with BIllie but he won’t let go of her hand, wouldn’t dream of letting go of her hand. She’s not wearing his ring in that moment, and he knows exactly why, but he can still feel it -- the commitment, between the two of them. That will never fade.

“I’m so sorry that I’m up here again. I--I’m sure that you’re sick of me. But, I’m so glad I get the chance to have her up here with me just once. I don’t uh I don’t get to talk about all that she’s done for me, mostly because she won’t let me. And mostly because her job is to make people like me and a lot of you get to a place where we can share our stories and our passion through music. But not all of us are that lucky. And for a long time, I wasn’t.”

He peered over at her for courage and strength and perhaps because he just liked to look at her. When she smiled it made him feel safe. And so he kept talking.

“I signed a contract with my father when I was fifteen years old...and I thought he wanted the best for me, thought that he’d make me a star or something. But instead he took every song I ever wrote and kept it from being released. And he didn’t let me perform, record, or even write anything that could be viewed in public for years. And I think a lot of people in this room wouldn’t even know what to do with themselves if they couldn’t create. Music is what makes me--us--human. I’m nothing without it.” He peered down at his grammy and swallowed thickly. She pressed her fingers against his back and it was like he could breathe better, so he smiled at her “But uh it would mean nothing if I didn’t have you. I’m gonna write songs about you for the rest of my life. I’m gonna love you for the rest of my life. And if we get a couple grammys for it that’ll be cool. But I’m me because you allowed me to be. So this is for you. Okay? No take backs.”

He hands her the award and rests his hands upon her waist. They’re shaking, but he can’t tell when she’s kissing him in front of the whole world. The applause that rings out around them might as well be background noise. He’s got nothing in his head, his heart, his field of vision, but her. And he kind of wants it to stay that way forever.

That alone could be the end of the story. And he’d never ask for another thing again. But instead they take home album of the year and he has to get up there and make another speech. He was sick of speeches, and he was sure the rest of the audience was too. So he quickly thanked his collaborators, Khalid again, Niall for essentially creating the record with him, Andrew, everyone at the label, his mum. You know, the people he couldn’t thank when he was do busy praising y/n?

“Sorry again. I guess I could have thanked all those people earlier in the night but I just wanted to spend some time talking about my fiance tonight. It’s my favorite thing in the world. Have a good night everyone!”

And a bit of a gasp rings out across the crowd. And he pauses cause he’s not quite sure what’s going on. He looks to Alicia who gave him the award and her eyes are wide. Not a great sign. He peers over to y/n because surely she could tell him what the hell had happened. She stares him down like a wolf that hasn’t eaten in a few weeks. Even Ariana Grande is shaking her head at him in a big puffy dress like she’s disappointed. And the poor bastard that he is, he truly doesn’t know what he did wrong at first.

“Well that’s what it’s all about folks. Love. It’s a beautiful thing. I think I speak for us all when I say we wish y/n and Shawn nothing but the best in their marriage. That’s our show tonight. Have a wonderful night and spend some time spreading love and positivity.”

Oh God.

“What did I do? What did I do?!” He asked her walking down the steps of the stage.

“You told the whole world we’re getting married, boy. Get your pasty ass down here!”

He walks back to her like a puppy with its tail between its legs. He was genuinely the dumbest fucker alive.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I--I didn’t mean to--it just slipped out!” He apologized.  “At least I didn’t tell them about the label.”

She rolled her eyes. “I simply cannot believe you’re my forever. You just won five grammys. Shut up and kiss me already.”

That much he could do. 

The End.

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