#I’m finally clearing out my ask box and this ask made me smile so wide :))

[jayflrt]

𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐒 49. #STARBUCKS_FIRST_WIN

IN A MATTER OF HOURS, YOUR COWORKER PIZZA PARTY HAD TURNED INTO A FULL-ON GATHERING. 

Not only had Heeseung and his group joined you, but the employees from Peet’s had dropped by, too. Soon, Chan and Renjun’s apartment was packed with everyone sitting in a circle and scarfing down the boxes of pizza. You thought it would just be Chaewon and Aeri coming over, but you knew things were getting serious once Jungkook, who Chaewon told you was notorious for never doing anything that required energy, showed face.

Obviously, no one expected the number of heads to double, so the pizza ran out soon after Heeseung arrived. Sunghoon took the liberty of exercising his Papa John’s employee privilege to pick up more pizza. It was even better than the pizza you all previously bought, and it was plenty for everyone to enjoy.

“Is this, like, a Starbucks-finally-burned-down party?” Wonbin asked before Aeri sharply jabbed him in the side. “Sorry, I meant an oh-no-Starbucks-burned-down party.”

“That wasn’t any better, Wonbin,” Aeri deadpanned. 

“We got our customer connection score report today,” Chan answered, finishing chewing the last of his pizza before continuing, “and we got the highest score in the district. We’ve never gotten a score over thirty before, and today our score was in the eighties.”

“Maybe they felt bad for you,” Jungkook suggested.

“Shut up.”

Heeseung turned to you, wide-eyed and breaking into a grin. “You guys got best in the district?”

“Yeah—number one! I was gonna text you about it.” Although you two were sitting next to each other, shoulder-to-shoulder, you still slid your hand into his. “We were almost tied with Starbucks in second place, so your survey really helped us.”

He squeezed your hand. “Totally worth the mermaid cosplay.”

Renjun raised his voice to say, “Riki, you should give us a speech, since you've been losing your mind over our customer connection score.” 

Minjeong, who was sitting between Jake and Aeri, let out a snicker. “Yeah, you’re the one who almost failed trigonometry over Starbucks.”

“I didn’t fail, for your information! I got a passing score,” Riki said with a huff.

Sunoo leaned back on his hands. “Yeah, a D.”

“And D’s get degrees, Sunoo,” Riki fired back before standing up. He raised up his glass of water, clearing his throat. “I was but a mere child when I first joined Starbucks. I didn’t know much about the world around me or the tribulations I’d face in my journey to becoming the best Starbucks in this district. However, today, I’ve become a man.”

(Sunghoon rubbed the back of his neck. “This kid makes me feel like I smoked a pack whenever he opens his mouth.”)

Riki continued, “I wanna thank Chan for always looking after me and being, like, my second father, even when I pissed him off every single shift, or when I used his credit card to buy LED lights, or when I made a weed frappuccino past closing hours, or when I forged his signature to get out of class, or—”

“You forged what?” Chan interjected, distraught.

“Anyway, moving on.” Riki waved off the store manager’s concerns and said, “I also wanna thank Jay for always being on my side, even when the odds were against me. And Renjun, I wanna thank you for always giving me credit when it’s due. Sunoo, you’re the best shift lead I could’ve asked for, even though I’d probably throw you under the bus for your job. Minjeong, I think you’re insane, but I appreciate that you strike fear in our hearts when necessary.” 

At that, Minjeong gave Riki a high-five, which was a little too forceful and left the kid’s hand stinging. 

Riki’s eyes then met yours and he softened his gaze. “Y/N, we all had our doubts about you when you joined, but you’re totally part of the Starbucks family now. I just really wanna thank you especially for letting me cover your shift so that I could get a bonus.”

Your smile dropped. “Man, fuck you.”

“I’m just here for the pizza,” Anton admitted, “but that was sweet… I think.”

Jay seemed to be wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. You were surprised that his eyes actually seemed to be glistening.

"That was a beautiful speech, Riki," he praised the high schooler.

“Thank you, Jay. I’ll miss you guys when I go to Harvard,” Riki finished.

“Your ass is not going to Harvard,” Jake said flatly.

The rest of the night was spent eating, talking, and watching the Harry Potter movies together. While some of the boys went outside for a smoke sesh, you and the girls discussed plans to get an apartment together for the next year. Since you lived alone, you figured it was about time you experienced living with your friends. Chaewon shared a Pinterest board with everyone to start pinning interior decoration inspiration. You and Minjeong were completely useless in that area of expertise, so you offered to help with picking out more practical things, such as kitchen and bathroom essentials.

You already knew that Heeseung was going to continue living with Sunghoon for the next year, but you were content with that. You weren’t sure you were exactly ready to move in with your boyfriend or anything, so you thought it was best that you two lived separately for the next year. The student apartments were close, anyway. 

When your boyfriend returned, his eyes slightly glossed over, you tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. He leaned down so that his ears were by your lips. 

“Ask them if they wanna watch the Mario movie,” you whispered.

He shot you a wary look, whispering back, “No! They’re gonna make fun of me. You ask them.”

“No, they’re gonna make fun of me, too.”

“Well”—his lips curled up in a smile—“guess we’ll just have to watch it on our own, then.”

After a while, everyone started to disperse, except for Jungkook, who decided to crash on the couch. It was nearly midnight, anyway, and Riki’s mother had called him about twenty times to get home soon. He was strangely at ease while everyone else was anxious for him.

Chaewon and Aeri left first, claiming that they had to go to bed early because they both had 8 a.m. classes. Wonbin and Sunghoon were discussing going to a party that one of their friends was hosting, and Jungwon and Sunoo immediately shot down the idea when they were asked to tag along

Sunghoon held his phone up to show everyone a Snapchat story of a guy in a Barney costume double-fisting two beers. “Bro, Vernon’s at the party.”

“We’re going home,” Jungwon insisted. 

“C’mon, it’s just for a few hours. We’ll bring you guys back home safe—or, like, we’ll try to. No guarantees. If your safety's compromised, blame Jake or something.”

“Hell no,” Sunoo deadpanned. “I have a paper to finish.”

“Also,” Jungwon added on, pointing an accusing finger at Sunghoon, “I don’t trust you.”

“The fuck? I’m trustworthy.” He turned to you and asked, “Y/N, you think I’m trustworthy, right?”

“No,” you replied immediately. “In fact, I was gonna tell Jungwon and Sunoo to save themselves.”

“Yeah, I can’t get spiked today, dude,” Jungwon said. “I have a fluids test tomorrow.”

After saying your goodbyes to Sunoo and Jungwon, who took a while to figure out where they parked their car, you turned your attention back to Sunghoon and Wonbin. Beomgyu walked up to your group after being occupied with talking to Jisung and Anton for a while. 

“Let’s just go for an hour or something,” Wonbin told Sunghoon. “Are Jake and Beomgyu coming?”

“I’ll join,” Beomgyu said. “I think Jake’s being dragged somewhere by Minjeong, though. Heeseung, are you coming?”

Heeseung started, “No, I—”

“Oh!” Sunghoon bursted out, grabbing his two friends by the shoulders and tugging them away. He turned on his heel quickly, muttering something along the lines of, “Let’s just leave them alone.”

You raised a brow. “What’s his deal?”

You were just able to catch Heeseung’s expression under the dim lamplight, noting how he shied away at your question and averted his gaze. You swore the tips of his ears went scarlet, although you weren’t able to properly discern whether your mind was playing tricks on you or not. 

“Uh, he’s probably just zooted,” your boyfriend said offhandedly. He shot you a glance once you two started walking in the direction of his apartment. “Are you cold?” Before you could answer him, though, Heeseung was already taking off his sweater to hand it to you.

You giggled. “Thanks.” After a few moments, you bit your lip and told him, “Hey, so, about the survey, I thought you should know—”

“—that Minjeong sent me the link?” he finished for you, a grin growing on his face. You stared at him, nonplussed. “Don’t worry, I already knew. When I showed Jake the text, he recognized her number immediately. I figured you guys were just being nice.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“No, no,” he interrupted, shaking his head. “Why’re you apologizing? That was, like, the nicest thing they’ve done for me.” He wrapped an arm around your shoulder. “You really turned my life around there. I would’ve probably just been permanently banned from Starbucks by now if it weren’t for you.”

Your cheeks went hot. It was true that you and Heeseung growing closer definitely changed his relationship with the employees, but you could say the same for him, too. You were admittedly reserved before you met Heeseung, and dating him opened your world up to so many new people. You wouldn’t have had all these new friends if it weren’t for him.

“You’ve done so much for me, too,” you told him. “I’ve never been able to just spontaneously hang out with so many friends before. I never even approached people before, and now I’m gonna room with Minjeong, Chaewon, and Aeri.”

He smiled down at you. “They like you ‘cause you’re fun to be around. Give yourself some more credit.” When you two reached the door of his apartment, Heeseung stopped in his tracks instead of opening the door. You noticed the flush of pink dusting his cheeks when he mumbled, “By the way, I sort of got you a surprise for your Starbucks thing.”

“Really?” You beamed up at him. “Hee, it’s really not that big of a deal for you. You didn’t have to get me something over that.”

“No, it is a big deal,” he insisted. “If it’s something big for you, then it’s big for me, okay? So, close your eyes.”

“Okay.” You placed your hands over your eyes, and your chest felt hot when Heeseung moved his arm to place his hand over your hands from behind, too. Your back was against his chest, and you could almost make out how fast his heart was beating. After you heard the sound of the door being unlocked, Heeseung took small steps forward to get you to walk inside. “Ow. You stepped on my heel.”

“My bad. Step on my feet.”

You did as he said and proceeded to laugh as Heeseung awkwardly walked you further into his apartment after shutting the door behind him. You leaned back against his chest and stumbled a little once he had you step off of his feet. 

“Okay, stay right there,” he instructed, “and keep your eyes closed!”

You swayed back and forth as you waited for him to return. He didn’t take very long, but you were brimming with anticipation. You stilled once you realized he was right in front of you again. You were just about to remove your hands when Heeseung stopped you again.

“Don’t!” he warned, and then asked, “Remember when I stole that baby goat for you?”

Your smile was quickly replaced with a disapproving frown. “Lee Heeseung, do not tell me you still have the baby goat.”

“No!” he exclaimed. “I miss him every day, though. But… I remembered you said something about how it would be nice if we raised a pet together one day, and I know we’re not living together yet or anything, but I thought it’d be nice to share… something…” He trailed off, clearly flustered. “Er, so—yeah, you can open your eyes now.”

You removed your hands and a gasp fell from your lips almost immediately.

Nestled in Heeseung’s palms was the cutest baby kitten you had ever seen. You cooed as you reached over to stroke its plush, white fur. The mewl that came from the kitten nearly had you falling to your knees from how adorable it was.

“He’s a Ragdoll,” he told you. “I thought we could parent him together.”

Heeseung let you hold the kitten in your hands, and you held him close to your chest and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I could seriously kiss you right now,” you breathed out. 

“Don’t kiss me yet.” He grinned. “I have something else for you.”

You could’ve died of happiness on the spot. Your boyfriend really was completely unfair. How could he spoil you this much and expect you not to combust?

Heeseung dug into his pockets for a moment before pulling out a silver key. You were confused as he took the kitten back from you and placed the key in your hands. After you weighed it in your palm and inspected it for a moment, the dots started connecting in your head. You could almost feel the tears threatening to well up in your eyes.

“That’s our spare key to the apartment. It’s all yours,” he said. “I talked to Sunghoon about it, obviously, and he was totally chill with you having a key to our place. You can come by whenever you want, and you don’t need to wait for me to get out of class if you wanna come over and see our cat.”

“Heeseung,” you murmured, “I don’t know what to say.”

He seemed to visibly panic. “It’s totally cool if you don’t want it. I wasn’t sure if I was moving too fast with that or not, uh… Sunghoon and I just keep it under the doormat if we accidentally get locked out, so it’s really not—”

“I love you,” you breathed out.

His eyes grew wide. 

He quickly became a stuttering mess, scrambling to fit words together into a sentence, but nothing was coming out coherently. You almost wanted to laugh because his distress was so cute, but you decided to show him how you felt instead.

The words died on his lips as soon as you wrapped your arms around Heeseung’s neck and kissed his disquiet away. And this time, it felt like you were able to pour your entire heart into that one kiss because there was something that stirred deep within your heart as your lips moved against Heeseung’s soft ones. 

You never thought one person could move your heart like this, never thought someone could make you feel like you were made of magic, but Heeseung managed to wriggle his way into your heart so effortlessly. One of his hands moved to hold the back of your neck, deepening the kiss slowly—at your own pace. 

When you two finally pulled away after what felt like forever, Heeseung didn’t pull away from you. His nose nudged yours, then grazed your cheek, peppering several more chaste kisses to your lips before you were a giggling and blushing mess. 

Your boyfriend grinned. “I love you, too, Y/N.”

It was then when your kitten mewled from where it was resting on Heeseung’s free hand, seemingly wanting attention. You stared at it for a moment before realization dawned across your face.

“Yoshi!” you exclaimed. “We should name him Yoshi.”

He gasped. “I wanted to name him something Mario-themed! But I thought Mario or Luigi sounded stupid.” He snorted and held the Ragdoll properly again, using his knuckle to gently stroke his head. “Yoshi sounds perfect.”

You giggled. “Yoshi should watch the Mario movie with us. It’s only tradition.”

“I’ll get the popcorn ready.” 

He saluted and handed you the remote so that you could pull up the movie. You took the kitten in your hands and curled up on the couch, placing Yoshi on your lap. When your boyfriend returned, he wrapped an arm around you and started the movie, petting the kitten every now and then. 

And after your umpteenth rewatch, you were definitely going to brag about your new kitten to all your friends; you were going to start looking into applying for apartments for you, Minjeong, Chaewon, and Aeri to move into; and, most importantly, you were going to tell Heeseung you loved him over and over again until there were no doubts in his mind about your feelings for him. 

It was around three in the morning when Park Sunghoon stumbled to the front door of his apartment. He, Wonbin, and Beomgyu somehow ended up getting crossed to the point of nearly blacking out at the party. Thankfully, though, after sitting on the curb of a sidewalk for thirty minutes and having Beomgyu forcing Gatorade down his throat, Sunghoon seemed to sober up enough to walk back home.

Beomgyu insisted on walking him back after they dropped off Wonbin (who hardly remembered his own name at the moment), but Sunghoon was determined to brave the journey back home. 

He patted down his pockets and realized he only had his phone and wallet. No keys. He must’ve left them at home since he was out with Heeseung earlier in the night. 

But no worries. Sunghoon and Heeseung always kept a spare key under the doormat in case of emergencies like these. Sure, he and his housemate often got themselves into crazy situations from time to time, but the smartest decision they had ever made was keeping their extra key ready. 

However, when Sunghoon flipped the corner of the doormat up, there was nothing there. He paused and lifted up the doormat completely, but absolutely nothing was underneath. 

Fuck, he remembered, that motherfucker gave Y/N the stupid spare key.

He honestly couldn’t blame Heeseung because he agreed to letting Y/N have the key, but now he couldn’t get in the house. Couldn’t Heeseung give her the key at a normal hour, like tomorrow afternoon? This situation was fucked.

Sunghoon groaned and dialed Beomgyu’s number. After a few rings, his friend picked up.

He asked, “Weed Guy Beomgyu, can I crash at your place?”

“Use the doormat key,” was his friend’s curt response. 

“Heeseung gave it to Y/N.”

A couple seconds of silence rolled by before Beomgyu answered, “Fine. I’ll pick you up in a few.”

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SUMMARY ▸ in which you work at the starbucks where heeseung is a regular at (and considered a public enemy). also he only goes when he’s stoned off his ass.

AUTHOR'S NOTE ▸ thank you for supporting a stoner's guide to starbucks all this time !! :') it has been a JOURNEY and i feel so so bittersweet about it ending but i very much appreciate all the love and support you guys have shown this smau <3 i am also very much content with this ending and i hope you guys enjoy it as well 🥰 the next chapter will be the epilogue and then i'll post some uncuts !! #LIGHTONEUPFORHEESEUNG

[jobean12-blog]

All Wrapped Up

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 1,344

Summary: Bucky likes you...he’s shy...but he finally has a way to show it with a special gift. 

Author’s Note: This is all because of that adorable video of Seb at the Ronald McDonald house. He’s so sweet and cute and I love it! Bucky isn’t the best at wrapping gifts, but his heard is in the right spot. I didn’t specify any Holiday here or gift so you can make it whatever you celebrate and like best! Thank you all so much for reading! Much love always! ❤️❤️❤️Divider by my sweet Daisy @firefly-graphics

Warnings: soft and sweet fluffy fluff 

GIF NOT MINE: Credit goes to my love @maladaptivexxdaydreaming she made this just for me and it’s perfect, thank you so much beauty 💕

“Son of a bitch,” Bucky grumbles as he pulls out the thirtieth piece of tissue paper from the bag.

His hand is sticking straight through the giant hole he made in it and he flails around to get it off.

He continues mumbling incoherently to himself and the commotion draws your attention as you’re walking by to grab a snack.

“Hey Buck,” you sing. “Whatcha doin’?

He goes still as stone and stares at you with wide eyes.

“I thought you were out with Nat.”

“I just got back,” you say and narrow your eyes.

“Huh,” he huffs. “Well…I’m uh…kinda busy.”

He motions to the mess of tissue paper, ribbon, wrapping paper and bows on the table in front of him.

“I can see that,” you say with a wry smile. “Need some help?”

“NO!”

At your surprised face his own features soften and he gives you a sheepish smile.

“Sorry doll. I’m just frustrated and I need to keep this present a secret.”

“If it’s already in a box I won’t see anything and I can definitely help.”

“I know and I appreciate it but I really wanted to do it myself. It’s special gift.”

Your eyes soften at his confession.

“Well, how about this? I was just going to make myself a snack so I’ll be here if you need me.”

He smiles with a nod and discards his latest piece of mangled tissue paper.

“But um…you’ve got some…” and you lift your fingers to his metal arm, carefully pulling out some scraps of rogue tissue paper from between the shifting plates.

“Oh,” he says, his brows furrowed. “Must have gotten stuck when I was trying to put it in the bag.”

You grin widely and try not to laugh, clearing your throat before you spin on your heels and head to the counter.

As you make your bowl of cereal you watch him from the corner of your eye and try to stifle more giggles.

He’s abandoned the gift bag and the tissue paper for the time being and is focusing on getting a bow tied around the box he already haphazardly wrapped. The bow is not cooperating and he finally just rips the ribbon into pieces in frustration.

You quietly walk over and take the scraps from his hands, gently shoving him over with your hip.

“I’m good at bows,” you state.

You take a look at the box he wrapped and notice that several pieces of wrapping are sticking out and uneven so you first grab the tape.

You pull a few pieces from the holder and grab Bucky’s hand, sticking the small pieces of tape onto the tips of his fingers.

“Thanks,” you say as you get to work fixing the wrapping on the box, every so often pulling a piece of tape off one of his fingers.

“There we go. Now it will be easier to put the bow on,” you explain.

His eyes are settled on you instead of the present and it takes him a moment to realize you’re speaking to him.

He quickly averts his eyes and rubs the back of his head.

“Perfect. Yeah. Thanks doll.”

“Do you have more ribbon?” you ask with a smirk.

“Ummm,” he begins, shifting through the mess of things. “Yeah, right here!”

He hands you a new ribbon and tries to focus on your instructions as you explain how to tie it around the box but he can’t help how his eyes drop to your mouth and the way your tongue pushes between your lips when you concentrate.

“How does that look?”

He averts his gaze once again and looks down at the neatly tied bow.

“Wow. That’s great doll. Thanks.”

“Now you know how to do one,” you say as you look for pieces of tissue paper that aren’t ripped.

“Yep! I certainly do,” he says with far too much enthusiasm.

You side eye him before finding what you need and carefully flatten it out in front of you.

“So, tissue paper is finicky. It rips really easily.”

“Yeah,” he scoffs. “I noticed.”

You take the gift bag and open it wide, placing the gift inside at the bottom.

“What colors do you want to use?” you ask him. “Pick two or three.”

He grabs three different colors from the pile and hands them to you.

“I love these! My favorites.”

He smiles in answer.

“So, you want to do one piece at a time and you have to be careful and slow. You also want to shape it a bit before shoving it in there.”

You lift your brows as you give him a knowing look.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says with a smile and a wink.

You show him what you mean and place the first piece of tissue paper in the bag then hand him the next to do himself.

“Now you try.”

He works carefully and slowly and gets the paper in without issue, his eyes lighting up.

“I did it!”

“Perfect Buck! One more to go.”

He does the last one and beams.

“That looks great,” you gush. “Time to fluff it up a bit.”

You take the top of the paper and make it poof out and cover any openings.

“You’re all set!”

“Thanks a lot doll. I really appreciate your help. This looks so much better than what I had going on.”

“I’m sure you would have figured it out,” you smile.

You lean over and place your palm against his chest and softly kiss his scruffy cheek.

“But I’m happy to help anytime.”

His big blue eyes stare widely down at you before he envelops you in a tight hug.

“Thanks doll face,” he whispers.

“I’m sure whoever you’re giving that to will be very happy and grateful.”

“I really hope so,” he says quietly as he starts to clean up.

Before you leave you notice he has some tape stuck to his Henley.

“Oh Buck, one more thing…you uh, you have some tape…”

He looks down at his shirt and starts to pull at the pieces stuck there.

“Shit,” he mutters. “I’m a mess.”

“A really cute one though!”

And with that you disappear down the hallway to your room, completely oblivious to the pink blush that paints his cheeks and the sweet smile on his lips.

The next morning as you’re getting yourself dressed and ready for the Holiday festivities you hear a familiar knock on the door.

“Come in Buck!” you shout from your room. “I’ll be right there.”

You pull up your socks and walk into the living room to find him standing by the couch with something hidden behind his back. He shifts back and forth on his feet and shoves his metal hand through his hair nervously.

“Hiya doll face,” he says quietly.

“Hi Buck.”

“I wanted to, um, wanted to give you something…before the day got crazy and everyone was around…”

You move closer to him, standing almost toe to toe now, and smile.

He pulls the bag in front of him and you recognize it immediately, your eyes bright with emotion.

“Bucky…”

“I hope you like it doll.”

Without warning you launch yourself at him and he catches you easily, wrapping you tightly in his embrace.  

“I just know I’m going to love it. Thank you Bucky.”

You whisper the words into his neck, placing a soft kiss just below his ear before you slide down his chest.

His dark lashes are lowered and his eyes drop to your mouth.

“Do you want to open it?” he asks, his voice husky.

“Mm hm,” you answer as you fingers trace his jaw.

He dips his head, his warm breath fanning your lips before his nose gently bumps yours.

“But maybe first…”

He nods at your words, inching his face closer.

“Definitely this first…”

His lips brush yours in a whispered tease but the moment he hears the small whimper that leaves the back of your throat he deepens the kiss, lining up your bodies until you soften against him, desperate for more.

@book-dragon-13 @dreamlessinparis @hiddles-rose @goldylions @seitmai @randomfandompenguin @lookiamtrying @loki-laufeyson-1054 @peaches1958​

[faux-ecrivain]

Househusband Part Two

(Recap of Part One) (Househusband is named Angelo) (Thirteenth Official Post)

He made sure his makeup was pristine and that his hair was perfect, then he hopped downstairs and put on a coat, some gloves and then began to head over to your house. Although, he pauses and doubles back to grab you a housewarming gift (luckily, he had baked some cookies earlier today) and then marches across the street. He knocked on your door and straightened the skirt of his dress, he hoped you wouldn’t mind such a late visit. He hears scuffles from your house and can’t help the stunned expression that graces his face when you open the door. Why, he’s never seen such a gorgeous human before! ————————————————————

You were simply putting away some boxes, empty of course, when you heard a knock on your door. You glanced at the kit-cat clock you had just hung up and furrowed your brow, it’s 10:30. That’s far too late for visitors, you gulp, steel your nerves and grab a baseball bat (for safety). You crack your door open, hiding your bag behind the door, and your eyes analyze the stranger on your door step. He’s silent for a moment, his eyes roving over your body, and he seems to be mesmerized. You contemplate closing the door when he finally talks. He clears his throat and holds the plate of cookies out to you. “Hello there, my name’s Angelo. I’m your new neighbor!” He smiles, far too happy for your liking, I mean he’s practically glowing.

His smile is so bright, that you have to hold a hand over your eyes to protect them from blindness. Your gaze is cast towards the plat of cookies he offered, and you hesitantly reach for one. Although, you do, of course, worry that maybe you shouldn’t take a stranger’s cookies. But this is the 1950s and if you know anything from the reruns of my three sons and that Beaver Show, (those are real shows, look them up) then you can trust your neighbors. So, you grab a cookie and take a bite, suddenly all seems right in the world, and you feel so unexplainably happy. Angelo waits patiently for your response, though he suspects you enjoyed it (it’s quite obvious by the blissful expression on your face). He silently stares at you, burning your joy into his mind. He sighs, seemingly lovesick, he doesn't understand why he feels this way, but he knows he likes feeling this way. Your attention his redirected to him when he clears your throat, and you suddenly feel quite bashful for your display of jubilant. You clear your throat and speak, after finishing the cookie, of course. “Ahem, you’re quite the skilled baker, thank you for the housewarming gift. Assuming, that they’re for me.” Angelo’s heart races when you compliment him, he gets overwhelming gleeful when you thank him. He physically restrains himself from hugging you. “Oh, you’re welcome and yes, they’re for you.” He’s so caught up admiring you that he almost forgets why he came over. He hands you the plate of cookies, which you willingly take (with one hand because the other is still holding the bat). “I should probably apologize, it’s so late, and it must be so strange to have your neighbor come visiting.” He has a hand on his mouth, his brow furrowed as he apologizes.

He clasps his hands together and just as he’s about to apologize, you speak. “It’s alright, back in my old town I would always get late night visitors.” Angelo gets mixed feelings by your response, but he brushes them off and asks to come inside. “Would it be too presumptuous of me to ask if you would invite me inside?” He inquires politely, though he expects you to reject him. He hopes you’ll let him in and then maybe you two could become fast friends. You consider his words for a moment, you shouldn’t let him in, but he did give you cookies and he seems harmless.

Plus, if he tries anything, you could easily over power him (he looks rather weak). You shrug and allow him inside, once he enters (with a wide grin) you out your bat away and close your front door. Hopefully, this decision wouldn’t be one of your regret.

(Enjoy this short fan fiction and I apologize for such a late post.) (This wasn’t exactly what I wanted from part of Angelo’s story, but I can always revise it later. I don’t know how long it’ll take for part three, but it’ll come out… One day.)

[Also, Requests are open. So feel free to send in a request, anonymous or not! Chances are I’ll probably write it.]

[harrywavycurly]

It’s Tradition, an Eddie Munson Blurb💚

A/N: I love the movie Leap Year and this has been sitting in my mind all day so enjoy✨

“Neither of you are Irish.” You ignore Steve’s comment as you dig around in your dresser in search of a very important box.

“You don’t have to be Irish to take part in this tradition Steve.” You respond making him just roll his eyes as he gets comfortable on the edge of your bed. “I know it’s in here somewhere.” You mumble to yourself as you feel around in the back of the drawer that holds your undergarments.

“This has the potential to end badly you know that right?” You let out a huff as you stand up and turn so you can face your bestfriend as he grabs your stuffed rabbit that you’ve have since middle school and begins messing with its floppy ears.

“I’m aware this could end with me on the floor of your bedroom crying my eyes out but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Steve lets out a sigh of defeat before tossing your rabbit to the side so he can stand up.

“Well if you’re going to propose to someone you can’t do it looking like shit so come on,” you smile as he walks past you and into your closet. “We’ve got work to do.” You go back to digging around in your underwear drawer in search of the box that holds a special ring while Steve busies himself with finding you an outfit.

“You look great.” Steve gives you a reassuring smile a few hours later as he puts his car in park in front of Eddie Munson’s trailer. “If it goes south just call me and I’ll meet you at the corner okay?” You just nod as you try to calm your nerves.

“Thanks Steve.” You lean over and give his cheek a sweet kiss before you get out of the car.

“Good luck!” He shouts before he pulls away as you turn and head for the front door of Eddie’s house.

“You can do this.” You whisper to yourself as you walk up the creaky steps of his porch. “The worst thing he can say is no.” You add as you smooth out the shirt Steve picked for you that has green hearts all over it, you reach down and feel for the box inside the side pocket of the black vest he picked because he said it went with the black jeans you had already had your mind set on wearing. “Should I knock or ring the doorbell?” You ask yourself as you finally reach his front door.

“You know how I feel about knocking and no one has ever used the doorbell.” You jump at the sound of Eddie’s voice making him laugh as he gets up off the beat up couch he keeps on his porch.

“It’s for strangers who don’t know to just walk in.” You explain as you watch him smile as he takes a few steps closer to you.

“Exactly.” You smile back at him as he stands just a foot in front of you. “Not to be an asshole but did we have plans today that I forgot about?” You can’t help but laugh at how he’s rubbing at the back of his neck with one of his hands as he asks letting you in on the fact he’s embarrassed at the idea of forgetting plans he made with you.

“Can’t I just come surprise one of my friends with the pleasure of my company?” This makes him laugh as he pulls you in for a hug.

“Wayne’s gonna be pissed he missed you.” He mumbles into your hair as you wrap your arms around him to make the hug last a few moments longer. “Wanna come inside or did you need to finish the conversation you were having with yourself first?” He teases as he pulls away allowing him to see you roll your eyes.

“Actually there is something I’d like to say before we go in.” Eddie just nods in response as you drop your arms from around him and take a step backwards making him raise an eyebrow. “Uhm well,” you clear your throat as you reach into your vest pocket and pull out the ring box. “So today is uh Leap Day and I’m not sure if you know this but in Ireland it’s a day that-”

“What’s that? What are you doing?”

“Don’t interrupt please.” You state as you slowly get down on one knee in front of Eddie making his eyes go as wide as they can without being painful. “Uh so like I was saying today women are uhm allowed to propose to their boyfriends or whomever it’s a tradition so I figured I’d take this as an opportunity to tell you that I’m in love with you.” You let out a shaky breath as you finally look up at Eddie with the ring box open in your hands. “I’ve loved you for a while now…I can tell you the exact moment if you want? It was last year when we went to see the new Scream movie and you held my hand the whole time and fed me popcorn because I was too afraid to open my eyes…that sounds dumb saying it out loud but that’s just when I knew the feeling in my chest wasn’t going away and it wasn’t just a crush because you’re cute and nice it was…something more and I know this is an absurd thing to ask because we haven’t even been on a date or discussed how we feel about each other…but I was just wondering if you’d maybe wanna marry me?” Yours hands are shaking as you reach your arms out so he can get a better look at the shiny gold band inside the old beat up box.

“Holy shit.” Is all he can say as he looks at the ring and then looks at you and that’s the moment he watches your eyes get glossy as they fill with tears. “I uhm-”

“I’m such an idiot.” Your words are rushed as you lowers your arms and stand up. “I’m sorry just act like this didn’t happen.” You close the ring box but before you can put it back in your pocket and turn away you feel a hand on your wrist.

“I’ll marry you.” Your mouth drops open as Eddie gently takes the box out of your trembling hands. “I’m in love with you too.” You look up at him as he looks down at the ring in the box. “I uh have loved you ever since you spilled ice cream in the back of my van last summer and somehow in the process of cleaning it you just made it worst and it still smells like mint mixed with bleach when it gets hot.” You smile at the memory because he just spent the whole time laughing at your sad attempts to clean the mess. “I’ve always known you were perfect for me because you’re awesomely weird and I know you’re a little quirky but I never imagined you to be the getting on one knee on my front porch asking me to marry you because of an Irish tradition kinda quirky but…I love it….I love you.”You feel the tears running down your face as Eddie hands you the gold band and places the ring box in the back pocket of his jeans.

“You’ll marry me?” You ask making Eddie just chuckle as he nods his head. “Like for real? Or are you just saying that so I’ll stop crying because honestly I’m not sure when these tears are going to stop so you can say no if you want.”Eddie playfully rolls his eyes as he gently places both hands on your cheeks so he can cup your face and before another word can come out of your mouth his lips are on yours in a sweet kiss.

“This is the part where you put the ring on my finger.” He jokes as he pulls away and drops his right hand from your face. You smile and sniffle a little bit as you slowly slide the gold band onto his ring finger.

“Does this mean you take my last name?” Eddie just laughs as he pulls you in for another kiss but this time you wrap your arms around his neck pulling him closer to you.

[buckymorelikefuckme]

i ♡ caulk

inspired by a tweet i saw ages ago and have since lost rip.

steve rogers x bimbo reader

words: 2.3k

a/n: there is definitely an overuse of italics in this so i apologize in advance lol. any and all mistakes are my own! header made by me, and yes, graphic design is my passion, thanks for asking :') pls leave some feedback or come chat in my inbox!! ♡

part 2 ❀

The sound of high heels clacking against the concrete floor of the hardware store is more than a little unusual. Steve almost doesn’t register it at first, thinking maybe it’s part of the music playing overhead, but when the song changes and he still hears it, he glances up with a frown. He certainly isn’t expecting the sight that greets him.

The heels make perfect sense now. Steve’s eyes trail up from sparkly pink toenails showcased in strappy heels to, somehow, an even pinker flared mini skirt that is doing a fantastic job of showing off your legs, and a cropped fitted tee that reads MILF IN TRAINING across the front in, you guessed it, pink glittery letters. Everything about you is just… pink.

He doesn’t want to admit it aloud, let alone think it, because he tries not to judge based on appearance, but you look a little lost. Your doe-eyed gaze flits from one end of the store to the other, glossed lips pursed in thought.

Steve doesn’t mean to stare, honest, it’s just that you’re so dainty and bright in a way this dull, musty smelling hardware store isn’t. He doesn’t think he’s seen eyelashes that long before and he briefly wonders if they’re real. The tint to your cheeks definitely isn’t, but he thinks it's pretty regardless.

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts; that’s not important. What is important is that he does his actual job and helps a customer who needs it.

He wipes his suddenly sweaty palms on his ugly, orange work apron and is about to make his way over to you, but you spot him before he can. A smile spreads across your shiny lips and you quickly walk to where Steve’s been restocking boxes of nails, your perfectly styled hair bouncing with each step. Or, well, he was restocking the nails, until he caught sight of you.

“Hi,” you say in a relieved tone. He opens his mouth to say hello in return, but you continue before he gets a chance. “Could you please show me your caulk?”

Steve chokes on nothing, a startled cough wheezing out of him. “I-I’m sorry, what? My what?”

You tilt your head curiously, brows pinching slightly in a frown. “Your caulk? You know, the like, long thingy with the sticky, white stuff inside? Gets hard as it dries…?”

The hand gestures you’re using do not help the heat from rushing to Steve’s cheeks or his blood pressure that is suddenly skyrocketing.

“I… Ma’am, I-I don’t think—” he starts sputtering until you cut him off again.

“I really need it,” you say, almost whining, cocking your hip as you begin to explain, “because, like—okay, so, my apartment is nice, right? I totally managed to snag one of the better ones, and my friend said that I wouldn’t be able to because it’s, like, impossible to get a good one in the building I’m in, but once I spoke to the landlord he was super sweet and let me choose whichever one I wanted. Isn’t that, like, so cute? But anyway, it could definitely be nicer, especially after I noticed that the caulking around the bathtub needs some serious retouching, so, like, that’s why I’m here.”

Steve blinks a couple times to process the rapid pace of sentences thrown at him, and when it finally registers, he nearly smacks his own forehead.

“Oh!” Relief floods him so quickly he nearly collapses. “Caulk, you need caulk.” He probably over enunciates the word, but Jesus Christ. “Wow, okay, that… that makes much more sense,” he says, shoulders relaxing as he lets out a sigh.

“What did you think I meant?” you ask in confusion.

His cheeks flush anew as he clears his throat. “Uh, nothing, it’s nothing. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the—the caulk.”

“Thank you so much,” you gush, smiling widely.

He checks that you’re still following probably too many times, considering the click-clacking of your heels is prominent behind him, but you only grin happily when you see him looking. He takes note of the stares from other men, even some women, and is curious if you notice them, too, or if you just don’t care. You certainly carry yourself with the utmost confidence, your head held high and shoulders set in a gentle, relaxed slope. Steve admires it and maybe even envies it a little.

Which isn’t to say that he lacks confidence. He just sometimes still feels like that scrawny kid he used to be.

He almost walks past the right section, having let his mind wander, but he’s quick to direct his feet to the shelves that hold what you’re searching for.

“Is there a specific brand you’re wanting, or…?” he trails off, cocking an eyebrow curiously.

“Whichever one is the best,” you say sweetly.

Steve grabs the brand he personally thinks is better than the others and hands it over with a polite smile.

“Do you need a caulk gun, too?” he asks.

You wave a dismissive hand. “Oh, no, I have a pink one at home.”

Somehow, that doesn’t surprise Steve in the slightest, but all he says is, “Great! Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

You get a twinkle in your eyes, your smile turning playful at the corners of your lips. It makes him squirm a little in a way he’s not entirely sure he hates, like the anticipation of your reply could make or break him, and he finds that he wouldn’t mind staying in your presence a little longer. Your response, though, gets cut off by a random man behind you.

“I could do a better job helpin’ you out, baby,” he says suggestively, not even attempting to hide his lust as he leers at you.

You spin on your heel in a flash, hair swishing around your shoulders and sending a rather pleasant waft of what’s either your shampoo or perfume in Steve’s direction. The short skirt you're wearing fans out with your spin as well, riding up almost dangerously high. Your grin is now sharp, edgy, and your eyes are piercing in a way they haven’t been in the brief moments Steve has been around you, and he takes a cautious step back.

“First of all, worry about helping yourself with that receding hairline you’re sporting, big guy. Second of all, we weren’t talking to you, so you should mind your business. And lastly, if you ever speak to me again I’ll have this nice man beside me show me where the chainsaws are and I’ll chop off your fucking dick. M’kay?”

The man scoffs. “Bitch,” he grumbles under his breath.

Steve frowns and is about to tell him off for calling a lady a bitch, but you giggle and he stops in surprise.

“Takes one to know one, baby.” Your tone is mocking yet deceptively sweet as you give him an obvious once over. “I can see that ugly silver band on your left ring finger,” you note with a cute wrinkle of your nose, “so why don’t you get the rest of the shit on your honey-do list and head home to your, undoubtedly, extremely unsatisfied wife and leave other women alone.”

A snort of laughter sneaks out of Steve before he can stop it. The man, now red in the face, huffs before stomping away, wisely choosing not to say anything else.

“Tell her to call me if she ever needs a girl’s day!” you sing-song to his retreating back, smiling in satisfaction when his shoulders hunch higher and his pace picks up.

Steve is biting back his own smile, but his inner old man shoves his way to the forefront of his mind and demands to offer unsolicited advice.

“You know, you ought to be careful,” he advises. “Some guys won’t just walk away like that.”

You seem both amused and touched by his concern. “I can take care of myself,” you assure, flicking your hair, adding, “Plus, I have, like, a gazillion self defense keychains.”

You reach into your purse and pull them out, each one of them pink, sparkly, or leopard print, clinking noisily against each other. You pick out a specific one that looks like a castle, putting your fingers into the holes and holding it up for Steve to see.

“This one is like, super stabby,” you explain.

“The tips definitely look sharp,” he concedes, taking note of all the other defenses held together in your small hand.

Part of him wonders if you’ve ever used any of them, but a larger part of him sincerely hopes you haven’t. He clears his throat.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it. Let me know if you need help with anything else.”

He pastes on a polite smile and takes one last look at you, sighing wistfully internally, then heads back to finishing restocking boxes of nails. He’s hoping the monotony of the repetitive task will bring him back down to earth after such an interesting altercation.

You’re certainly a bundle of contradictions. Your appearance is all pink and sparkles and ruffles galore. Anyone giving you a passing glance would think like Steve did at first.

I doubt there’s much going on in that pretty, little head.

Of course, Steve feels guilty now. He should know better—not only because his Momma raised him right, but because people also make assumptions about him and his appearance too. Over six feet tall, broad shoulders, big muscles… He’s definitely had to deal with his share of rude people. However, he doubts any of his encounters hold a candle to yours.

He sighs to himself as he grabs the last of the boxes and places them neatly on the shelf. If he’d been braver, he would have asked you out. You’re very beautiful; kind of like a fairy or a princess, or… something. Definitely something like that. Damn. He really screwed the pooch on this one.

“Excuse me?”

Steve stills, heart picking up pace as he turns to see you smiling up at him. You’ve got a plastic bag with the store’s tacky logo on it resting in the crook of your elbow with your purchase inside.

“Yes?” he croaks. He coughs lightly and hopes his ears aren’t as red as they feel. “Did you need something else?”

You cock your hip again, twirling some of your hair around your finger, looking at him through your lashes.

“Yes,” you pout. “I was wondering if you knew where I could find this guy.” Steve’s stomach drops to his toes. “He’s got these like, stupidly pretty blue eyes, a very attractive beard, sandy blonde hair I can’t wait to sink my fingers into, and he’s about this tall.” You bite your lip as you step closer and hold your hand up, measuring Steve’s height with it. He gets another whiff of that tantalizing scent coming off of you and it kicks his heart right back into overdrive.

“What… What did you need him for exactly?” he asks carefully.

You drop your hand as you hum in thought. “Well, I thought we’d start with a date, but I’m open to almost anything,” you say, your smile turning sly.

“Oh,” he says faintly. “I, uh. I think he’d be okay with that.”

You giggle and fuck, he wants to hear that again.

“Good,” you reply as you tuck your hair behind your ear.

“Just for clarification’s sake,” Steve rushes out, “we’re talking about me, right?”

You let out more giggles (oh god) and cover your mouth with your tiny hand and Steve melts. He feels his own lips stretching into a grin, chest fluttering.

“Of course, you silly billy.” You’re still smiling as you reach into your purse, rummaging around and extracting a pen with feathers on the end of it and a tiny, glittery notebook. You scribble something down and rip the piece of paper out. “Call me?” you ask as you hand it over.

“Absolutely,” he replies, not believing his luck, staring at the numbers on the paper.

You reach up to tap on his name tag. “Oh, and Steve?”

His eyes are now glued to where your pink nails have trailed down to teasingly swipe back and forth on his pec. He’s pretty sure he mumbles something back to show he’s listening, but who knows, really. You lean in even closer, pressing up on your tip-toes.

“You can treat me like a lady and still fuck me on the first date,” you whisper, your warm breath fanning out across his ear and sending a shiver down his spine. When you pull back to meet his unfocused gaze, you’re smirking. “M’kay?”

He swallows thickly. “‘Kay,” he replies.

You tilt your head and stare at different parts of his face, biting your lip. Steve lets you, terrified to move, otherwise you might say gotcha! and take off. You sigh dreamily and give him a glossy kiss on the cheek. Then you boop him on the nose and step back.

“Ugh, you’re so cute. This is gonna be like, so much fun. I can tell.” He nods dumbly in agreement. “Don’t forget to call me, okay? I’ll be really, really sad if you don’t.”

With a beaming grin and wave, you spin on your heels and sashay away.

“Bye,” he says to the fading sound of your clacking heels, feeling bowled over and utterly lost, but knowing he’d be a fucking idiot to not call you.

With that thought in mind, he digs his phone out of his pocket, never mind the fact that he’s still on the clock and is technically not supposed to have his phone out, and dials your number. He double checks (and triple checks) he’s put it in right, then hits the call button. You answer on the third ring.

“Hello?”

Steve is pretty sure he can hear how you’re smiling smugly to yourself.

“So… Are you free tonight?”

“For you? I’m free whenever, handsome.”

[pinkanonwrites]

Hello! I see that your ask box is open and I’ve had a dumb idea for a bit. How would the first years react to maybe a rowdy fem crush flashing them to get a rise out of them. Like maybe they’re getting scolded by their dorm leaders and crush is behind the dorm leader like boom tiddie. This might be too dumb. I’m both ashamed and not ashamed.

YES this is so funny! Not too dumb at all, I promise. I hope you enjoy!

Fem!Reader, she/her pronouns, NSFW-ish

Of course you would doom him to even more trouble, waiting until Riddle was smack in the center of a lecture about how Ace has been shirking off on his dorm chores again. He notices the sly smile on your face as you creep up behind the housewarden, but he can't possibly be sure of what it's about until you tug up the hem of your shirt, giving him a flash of your chest without Riddle being any the wiser.

"WOAH-HO!" His eyes bug out of his head, and if he could look any more cartoonish you'd swear that steam would start pouring out of his ears with a train-whistle sound effect. Luckily you've already fixed your shirt back in place by the time Riddle has turned around, shooting you a baffled look to which you simply shrug in response. He turns back to Ace, fuming.

"Are you even listening to me!?!" "Hey, it's not my fault! Blame her for distracting me!" "How can a Heartslabyul student go around blaming everyone else for their own lack of discipline? OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" Later, Ace demands you let him rest his head on your boobs as repayment for getting him in trouble and stuck with one of Riddle's signature collars. He makes a big fuss about it, sighing all pathetically while you play with his hair, but really he's not too upset with the outcome from his position.

The situation may be the same as Ace's for Deuce, but his reaction is basically the polar opposite. When you flash him he freezes up like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide and mouth agape as you can watch in real time how his face gets redder, and redder, and redder.

"Have I made myself clear, Deuce?" "..." "Deuce?" "..! S-Sorry, Housewarden! Yes, Housewarden! Excuse me, Housewarden!" He bolts like a greyhound, all but leaving a smoke outline from where he was once standing. Riddle turns to see you standing oh-so-innocently behind him, quirking an eyebrow at you in a 'now what was that all about?' sort of look. Not like you'd ever tell him.

When Deuce gets to his dorm room he throws himself onto the bed, burying his face in the pillow and trying to decipher why the hell you would do such a thing. Did you know about his crush? Were you making fun of him? He didn't have an answer, but he felt all hot and wound-up and like his uniform pants were just a bit too uncomfortable, which only served to feed the hot flame of embarrassment in the pit of his stomach. How would he even talk to you with a straight face from now on?

He actually, straight up growls when he sees you lift your shirt and expose yourself to him, and it's probably one of the most embarrassing things that Jack has ever done. As soon as he realizes that sound actually came from him he flushes with heat, ears flattening against his head as he glares down at the floor like he's trying to burn a hole in it.

He immediately exits the conversation Ruggie was having with him mid-sentence, ignoring his upperclassmen's indignant "Hey!" As he storms over, grabs you by the wrist, and hauls you from the room. When he finally drags you to a quiet space for the two of you to talk he still can't quite look at you, fists awkwardly clenched as he stumbles through a reprimand.

"Y-You can't do that kind of thing here. If-If someone else saw they might have- I don't know if they'd- Just don't get in trouble. The boys here are animals." You can't help but notice that he isn't in any way trying to separate himself from that category. He's just as much an animal for you as anyone else here could be.

He somehow manages to be the most subtle about his reaction than anyone here, but given his company that's not saying much. While Vil is berating him and adjusting his posture and clothes you flash him a quick glimpse of your chest, and his breath noticeably stutters as his eyes grow wide and his cheeks pink. Rook pinpoints the change in expression in an instant, and offers Epel a smug smile as he redirects Vil's attention so the first-year can make a hasty getaway.

"Are ya crazy!?! Pullin' stunts like that with the Housewarden right there? It's like ya wanna kill me!" You and Epel's friendship has always been one of playful back-and-forth, so he's just barely able to hide his own fluster behind some scolding banter so you won't catch on to just how much you've thrown him off his groove. In truth he's screaming on the inside out of confusion and delight, half because he barely believes what just happened and the other half because, well, he did see it with his own eyes.

As embarrassing as it is, it's probably that interaction and that memory that helps Epel muster up the bravery to actually start appealing to you as a romantic interest and not just as friends. After all, you wouldn't have done something like that if you didn't like him even a little bit, right? That's his reasoning, anyway.

He straight up gasps, like a scandalized Victorian maiden. The tea set he was carrying for Lilia crashes to the floor in a cacophony of porcelain and sugar cubes and cream, and before you can even say a word he's upon you trying to babble out some mixture of scoldings and panic, but it's borderline incomprehensible.

Luckily you'd already fixed your shirt before that happened, so when he inadvertently drew all the attention in the room to the two of you, you were already decent. But you couldn't help but take a little delight in just how pink Sebek had gotten while he was trying to berate you, the sweaty nervousness as he struggled to even look you in the eye properly.

Literally can't sleep that night because every time he closes his eyes all he can see is your teasing smirk, your fingers curled on the hem of your shirt, the quick flash of you exposing your bare breasts to him. It drives him crazy, how one mere human can grab such a stranglehold of his psyche. But what is he supposed to do about it now?

[pretending-ican-write]

Cowboy Up - Pt.5

This is just a small, little filler to bring the relationship between the twins into/ y/n and Monica's friendship despite how John has treated them.

Pairing: Ryan (Yellowstone) x Dutton!reader (although he's not in this part) WC: 498

Previous part - Next part

---

A couple of weeks after the spring gather, y/n was sat on the porch of her brother’s house on the reservation watching Kayce teaching Tate how to ride.  She was chatting idly to Monica as they shared popcorn.  After a while they headed indoors to prepare dinner.

As she peeled potatoes Monica struck the conversation up again, “so Kayce said you’ve finally moved out of that trailer?”

“Dad hasn’t given up on getting me to move in since I came back so I figured I could give him something,” she explained, “although I made it clear that he doesn’t get any say in what I do and where I go.”

Her sister-in-law nodded, “you know that we’ll both support you in whatever you decide with your father.  At least with you Tate knows he has a family there.”

“I love that kid so much Mon,” y/n looked out the window to where they were walking towards the house, “in all our years I’ve never seen him as happy as he is with you and Tate.”

The door to the house was opened and y/n turned around to be greeted by her nephew.  Tate’s face lit up when he saw her in the kitchen and runs towards his aunt.  y/n crouches down in anticipation, taking the full force of the small body barreling into her.  She spun him around and put him down on the counter in front of her.

“Happy birthday auntie y/n,” Tate sang to her, “what presents did you get?”

Y/n laughed at her nephew’s priorities, “my friends at the ranch put together and got Comanche a new headstall which he likes.  Your uncle Lee and uncle Jamie are gonna take me to the rodeo in Billings next week.  Oh and Gator made me pancakes this morning.”

“Why did they get ‘Manche something for your birthday?” He asked curiously.

She smiled at his question, “well buddy he’s my horse and I love him very much so when people look after him they’re looking after me too.”

“Okay.  Can I go play now?” His aunt nodded and put him back on the floor, watching as he ran off to his room.

Kayce put a box in front of her on the counter, “happy birthday y/n.”

“Happy birthday Kayce,” y/n responded, handing him a small parcel from the pocket from her jacket.

He unwrapped her present to see a small framed photo of Kayce with Monica and Tate that had been taken at Christmas, smiling widely at the camera.  Y/n opened the box he had given her which contained an olive green cap with the words ‘long live cowboys’ embroidered onto it which made her laugh.

“Seriously?” She questioned, pulling the cap onto her head, adjusting her hair underneath it, “I’m never gonna be able to wear this around the hands.”

Kayce smiled at her. “We both know there’s only one hand you want to wear it around.”

“If Tate wasn’t within earshot right now,” she threatened.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Stars Beyond Number - Chapter 25

Leaning Together

Rating: M - Minors DNI

Pairings: Echo x Riyo Chuchi; Gregor x OFC Cerra Kilian

Wordcount: 3.5k

Warnings and tags: some angst; SMUT; fingering; orgasm control; fluff.

Suggested Listening:

Summary: Rex and Cerra have a long-overdue conversation; some things come to an end, while others are only beginning.

A/N: This is the final chapter of Stars Beyond Number; however, this is not the end of their story! I have a sequel planned, but since I've now caught up to canon, I have to wait to start writing it until after The Bad Batch season 3 ends. In the interim, I will be publishing more fics in this shared continuity, including a one-shot prequel featuring Fives x Reader x Cerra, a multi-chapter Crosshair x OFC set between "The Solitary Clone" and "Truth and Consequences," and a multi-chapter post-Umbara Dogma x OFC fic.

This story shares continuity with Martyrs and Kings, "Double, Double Boil and Trouble" (part 2 here) and "Do It Again," but all the fics can be read as stand-alones.

Start here | Previous chapter | Masterlist | Sign up for my tag list | Read on AO3

 We are the hollow men…

Leaning together

—T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men”

Cerra had no idea how long she slept. It could have been a few hours or a few days, for all she knew. When she awoke, she was famished and parched. No telltale snores or rustles came from the other bunks, and as she sat up, she could just make out the empty beds in the darkness: she was alone in the barracks. She yawned and stretched, then went looking for her companions. Outside the barracks, the garage was dim and silent. She made her way quietly to the refresher, then wandered into the kitchenette. 

Rex sat on a crate at the far end of the kitchen, studying a datapad, one foot propped up next to him as the other swung idly by the side of the crate. For a moment, in the faint light, he looked so much like Fives that Cerra nearly stumbled over her own feet. He glanced up and smiled, and the spell was broken. 

“She lives.”

“For the moment,” she said with a tiny grin. “Anything good in the conservator?”

“Dex’s,” he replied. “Had to survive without Gregor somehow.”

Sounds like a nightmare, she reflected as she rummaged through the conservator until she found a few takeout boxes. Opening the first container, she wrinkled her nose. 

“Acid-beet salad? I’m gone for a couple weeks, and you all fall to the Dark Side.”

“I’m just surprised there’s something in the galaxy you won’t eat,” Rex replied.

She grunted with disgust and tossed the container back into the conservator. Luckily, the rest of the takeout containers contained actual food, instead of crimes against sentients, and she settled onto the raggedy old sofa and dug into a cold bowl of spicy Gargon gumbo. The garage appeared to be empty aside from the two of them, which was just as well, since she had a feeling he wouldn’t want anyone to overhear what she was about to tell him.

“Where is everyone?” she asked around a bite.

“Scouting mission,” he replied. “Trying to chase down a lead on Omega.”

“Gregor told me what happened,” she said soberly. “Do we have a plan?”

“Workin’ on it.”

“What can I do to help?”

He smiled. “Start by getting healed up. We’ll know more when the boys get back.”

She hated not knowing what to do. She itched to act. But Rex was right; there was no point wasting energy and potentially drawing attention they didn’t need unless they had reliable intel. So she took another bite and pondered the best way to phrase her next sentence. After Hart’s departure, Rex had debriefed her about her experience with the ISB, but with the rest of the team also present, she hadn’t wanted to reveal such sensitive and dangerous information.

She cleared her throat. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Inhaling deeply, she began. “When Yularen was questioning me, he asked me about Ahsoka Tano.”

Rex froze, eyes wide. He didn’t respond, so Cerra forged ahead.

“They think she’s still alive. He said she had been on Raada when I was there. They thought I was working with her.”

Instead of the relief or excitement she expected to see on his face, a look of horror descended on his expression.

“She—she could still be alive,” she said. “I know you were close.”

“Cerra…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner, I just wanted to wait until I could talk to you alone.”

“Cerra—”

“We could find her. She could join us—we could protect her—”

“Cerra!” Rex cut her off emphatically. “Stop.”

She sat back, bewildered. “I thought you’d be happy to find out the kid was still alive.”

“I knew.”

She blinked. “What?”

“I knew Ahsoka survived,” Rex said in a deliberate tone that revealed he was weighing his choice of words with great care, “because I was with her.”

She stared at him uncomprehendingly, her brain utterly failing to process this new information.

“She’s the one who got my chip out,” he continued. “We escaped together. We were the only survivors of the Tribunal.”

Her mind whirled, and quite suddenly, she felt sick. A memory flashed in her mind: 

“Raada?”

“It’s an agricultural moon,” Fireball said.

“I’m familiar,” Rex replied.

“You knew she was on Raada,” she whispered.

His jaw firmed. “I knew.”

“And you sent me in anyway?” she asked incredulously. “Without full intel? Knowing that I could be walking into—”

“I was trying to protect you,” he interrupted.

“Me? Or the Jedi?” she asked sharply.

“Both of you. I had no reason to expect you to run into her. It’s a whole kriffing moon!”

“She is the reason the Empire came after me in the first place!” Cerra said furiously. “I’m nobody! Do you really think they would have given a shit about a missing supply officer and a clone trooper if there hadn’t been a Jedi involved?”

“She was never supposed to be involved!” Rex exclaimed. “It was just bad luck.”

“Why the kark didn’t you tell me she’d survived?” she demanded.

“The same reason you waited until now to tell me Yularen mentioned her,” he snapped. “It’s dangerous to know too much. I was trying to keep you safe—all of you.”

“It’s dangerous to know too little, gods damn it!” She sprang up from her seat and began to pace. “What if something happens to you? How are we supposed to defend ourselves from a threat that we don’t even know exists?”

“I did what I had to do to protect the soldiers under my command,” he said, gritting his teeth.

“We’re not in the GAR any more, Rex. There is no command! There’s just US!”

“Maybe so,” he replied, “but if you think we’re not at war, you’re lying to yourself.”

His voice was even, but she’d known him long enough to tell from his short, sharp breaths that he was keeping his temper in check through sheer force of will. She forced her clenched fists to relax and took a long, deep breath before she replied.

“I. Know.” She ground out the words. “You think I don’t know? I just spent two weeks in their hands. So don’t kriffing talk to me like I don’t understand the stakes, Captain.”

“What do you want me to do?” he asked. “How would you suggest I proceed, Lieutenant?”

“You could start by trusting your team,” she replied.

He reared back as though she’d slapped him. “You think I don’t trust you?”

“What else haven’t you told me?” she demanded.

He hesitated.

“What else?” she pressed. “I know there’s more. You might as well tell me now; seems unlikely anything could be as sensitive as the location of a known Jedi fugitive.”

He glowered at her for a moment, but at last, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “There is something else. Intel Echo got from the Bad Batch. It seems the Empire has cloned the creature that attacked Coruscant early in the war. We don’t know why. At least, not yet.”

Cerra felt a brief stab of betrayal that Echo had kept the intel from her as well, but she shrugged it off. She hadn’t been exactly open with him, either.

“Is that all?” she asked.

“That’s the only thing that was my decision to keep from you,” he hedged.

“So there is more,” she said.

“Nothing that affects this group,” he replied. “You know as well as I do, Cerra; some things will always have to be kept secret. Some information is just too sensitive to share.”

She sighed. “I know. But when it compromises the safety of everyone on this team? I can’t stay if you’re going to keep secrets that could get us captured or killed.”

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I can’t promise that I’ll be able to share every piece of intel I get, but… I’ll do my best to make sure something like Raada doesn’t happen again.”

She let out a long, slow exhale before she replied. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t perfect, but Cerra knew it was the best promise he could make. The worst part was, she understood exactly why he’d made the decisions he did. She didn’t envy him. Being a leader was never easy at the best of times, and in the growing darkness and danger of the galaxy, it seemed to become a nightmarish balancing act of having to choose between bad and worse options.

Thank kriff it isn’t me.

“Hungry?” she asked.

Rex smiled slightly, accepting her peace offering. “Maybe. What’s left?”

“Acid-beet salad.”

Something smelled good. Scratch that; something smelled amazing. A burst of laughter echoed through the garage, loud enough that Cerra heard it from beneath the navigation control panel in the cockpit of the freighter. She set aside her hydrospanner and wandered out of the ship, drawn inexorably by the savory aroma and the sounds of merriment. 

In the kitchenette, she spotted Gregor. He was working efficiently: chopping, stirring, cleaning—multitasking with ease, even as he bantered and giggled with Fireball and the other clones who hovered around his workspace like vultures. A large pot on the stove appeared to be the source of the intoxicating scent; she could hear the telltale sizzling, and every so often, Gregor would add some mysterious and unidentifiable ingredient to the mix.

He had his sleeves rolled up over his forearms, and Cerra took a moment to ogle him—er—appreciate the view before the others spotted her. Holy kriff, how had she not noticed the way he handled a knife before? Her mouth went dry as she watched his deft movements. He glanced up, and his mischievous smile told her he’d caught her in the act. His gaze flickered briefly down her body, and quite suddenly, the garage felt very warm.

Fireball called out a greeting and snapped her attention away from Gregor, and she plastered an innocent smile on her face as she approached the kitchenette.

“What’s cooking?” she asked, taking a position next to Fireball. “Smells great.”

“Joopa roast,” Gregor replied. “Been in the freezer since our last market trip.”

Ah, yes. The market trip when he—

“It has to cook for hours,” Fireball said mournfully. 

“It’ll be worth it,” Gregor replied. “Trust me.”

“It’s not nice to torture people,” Fireball complained. His eyes widened suddenly and darted toward Cerra as he realized what he’d said. “Uh—I mean…”

She snorted and nudged him with her shoulder. “Please. You’re not wrong, anyway. An hour of smelling Gregor’s cooking, and I would have folded like a cheap sabacc deck just to get a taste. Nobody tell the Empire. Might give them ideas.”

Gregor set the roast in the oven and began to tidy up the kitchenette. “How’s it goin’ in the freighter?”

“Coming along,” she replied. Suddenly seized with inspiration, she added, “Could use some help clearing the fresher tank if anyone is free.”

Identical expressions of revulsion descended on the faces of every clone assembled, and they all suddenly remembered urgent business elsewhere. As they drifted away from the kitchen, Cerra leaned closer to Gregor as he wiped down the countertops.

“I guess that just leaves you,” she murmured quietly. “Want to give me a hand in the freighter?”

He froze for an instant as his eyes met hers, and then he began scrubbing the countertop with renewed vigor.

“Sure,” he replied. “Give me a minute to wash up, and I’ll meet you inside.”

“It’s a date,” she said, causing him to glance around the garage to see if any of the others had overheard her. “Be sure to seal the entry hatch when you come in. Wouldn’t want the fresher tank smell to get out into the garage.”

Fifteen minutes later, she heard the sound of the freighter’s hatch sealing, and she turned around just in time for Gregor to pull her into a hungry kiss as he pressed her back against the durasteel bulkhead behind the cockpit. His mouth consumed her, warm and soft, as his tongue grazed between her lips and his hands roamed over her body, cupping her breast through her coveralls, pulling her tightly against him. He broke away from the kiss, only to drop his lips to her throat, setting her entire body alight with arousal.

“Please tell me that was a euphemism,” he whispered hotly in her ear as he tugged down the zipper of her coveralls.

“It was a euphemism. I’d never subject you to—oh, kriff!” She gasped as his fingers slid down her body and unerringly found their way between her thighs.

“Shh,” he whispered, kissing her softly. “You did say you wanted a hand.”

She clung to his shoulders, whimpering quietly as he touched her with a gentle deftness that nearly made her knees buckle. With his free hand, he held her head, stroking his thumb across her jaw and his fingers down her neck. He kissed her everywhere: her lips, her face, her shoulders, her chest, lavishing her with pleasure as her body flooded with heat.

She slid her hand down his torso, reveling in the feeling of his warm, solid chest and abdomen as she reached for his cock. She could feel him straining against his trousers, warm and hard and perfect. He let out a tiny, hushed grunt as she took him in her hand, massaging him through the fabric. As she fumbled with his belt buckle, though, he shifted away from her, releasing her jaw and gripping her wrist in a gentle but inescapable hold. He pinned her wrist to the durasteel wall next to her head.

“Next time,” he murmured between kisses.

A fresh wave of arousal swamped her. Gregor’s breath caught as he felt it, and his fingers slipped into her effortlessly.

“Do you like it when I take control?” he asked quietly, gazing into her eyes.

She nodded, unable to form coherent speech, but letting out a hoarse moan of affirmation.

“Shh, love.” He pressed his lips to hers to muffle her sounds of pleasure. “I love to hear you, but the others are still outside.”

“I can’t help it,” she gasped. “I’m close—”

“I know,” he whispered. “Can you hold it back for me?”

She jerked her eyes to his, startled. “But—”

“Will you?” he asked, intensifying his caress to the point that she felt like she was losing her mind.

“Please, please—”

“You can trust me with your pleasure,” he murmured. “I promise. Will you wait until I tell you?”

She panted, her eyes wild and desperate. “I—yes—”

“Good girl.” He pressed his lips to her temple, then abruptly shifted to her mouth, stealing her breath and sending her head spinning.

She focused all her effort on holding back the tide of pleasure, but Gregor didn’t make it easy. He found and exploited her every weakness. His fingers, his lips, his teeth, his tongue: he used them all to work her into a frenzy of arousal until her body shook, her lungs heaved, and she could no longer contain her tiny moans of ecstasy, no matter how hard she tried.

He moved his fingers inside her, pressing deep and finding a place that wrenched a cry from her throat. Abruptly, he released her wrist and clamped his hand over her mouth, resting his forehead against hers as he gazed into her eyes. She pleaded with him silently, her body at the very limits of her control.

“Let go,” he whispered. “Let it happen.”

Her last coherent thought was an overwhelming sense of relief, and then her consciousness splintered into a million pieces as her body jerked and spasmed in his hand. He worked her through it, teasing every last drop of pleasure out of her body. He pulled his hand from her mouth to wrap around the back of her head as he claimed her lips in a kiss that stole her breath and drove everything from her mind except his taste, his scent, his touch.

His hand gentled and slowed as the tension in her body began to ebb, and then he carefully withdrew his fingers from her body and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as she melted against him. She rested her head against his shoulder, breathing hard. He smoothed his palm down her spine between her shoulders, again and again, the movement draining all the energy out of her muscles and making her body go limp in his embrace. He pressed his lips softly to the side of her neck, inhaling deeply.

As he exhaled, he whispered, “I never knew I could love anyone the way I love you.”

Her fists tightened reflexively, clutching his shirt in her hands as she buried her face against his neck to hide the tears that suddenly stung her eyes.

“You don’t have to say it back,” he said. “I know last time was a mistake—”

“I love you,” she interrupted. She kissed his neck and jaw frantically. “It was an accident, not a mistake. I love you.”

She kissed him again and again, desperately, her lips finding a way to communicate everything she wanted to say when words failed.

“Loving you could never be a mistake,” she whispered.

That sofa is laughably beyond capacity, Riyo reflected as she observed the scene before her. Cerra snuggled on Gregor’s lap as Fireball tucked her sleeve up around her elbow and began to doodle on her forearm. Riyo had no idea what was going on with that particular trio, but they seemed cozy. Next to Fireball, Nemec and one of Howzer’s men squeezed onto the sofa as the rest of the team sat on crates around the holotable. She made a mental note to earmark funds for more furniture for the garage. The team only continued to grow, and things were starting to feel crowded in the repair shop.

“Tell me again, what’s the point of this?” Howzer asked. “It seems a little… Odd.”

“Just trust us,” Fireball said. “It shouldn’t work, but it does.”

The opening jingle of the Great Galactic Bake-Off began to play, and Riyo tried to ignore the pang of sadness that Echo wasn’t there to watch the finale with them. In fact, she hadn’t heard from him in weeks—not since the day he’d commed to tell her that he would be staying with the Batch indefinitely. Riyo understood. Of course she did. There was an element of risk every time they exchanged comms, and his mission was dangerous. But understanding didn’t make it sting any less.

The truth was, her situation was a lonely one. She had more political allies than actual friends, and very few people whom she could trust. Echo had been all three, and now he was gone, and she didn’t know if or when she would see him again, or if things could ever be the same between them again. He hadn’t ended their relationship—at least not officially—but they seemed to be in a strange and apparently indefinite holding pattern. As a result, she’d been surprised when Cerra had commed her to invite her to the garage to join the watch party. 

“Echo mentioned you’re a fan,” Cerra had said, as though that explained everything.

In fact, it explained very little, but Riyo wasn’t about to question the invitation. It was the first time anyone aside from Echo had asked her to visit the garage for something other than plotting the Empire’s demise. She’d accepted immediately, and here she was with three of her bodyguards, eating some sort of pastry that Gregor had baked. He’d called it a Corellian ryshcate, and it was delicious. Riyo had to hold herself back from taking a second, though she couldn’t resist casting a longing glance at the platter.

“I still can’t believe Garr Tevv made it to the finale,” Gregor said in a disgusted tone.

“What’s wrong with Garr Tevv?” Riyo asked. “I was hoping he’d win.”

Gregor, Fireball, and Cerra gasped in dramatic horror, and Riyo felt a moment of brief panic that she’d made a faux pas. Then Cerra and Fireball burst into laughter while Gregor shot them both exasperated glares. Cerra wrapped her arms around Gregor’s neck and kissed his cheek. His face softened immediately into a smile.

“Team Runa,” he declared. “She deserves it after everything that happened this season.”

“Agreed,” Cerra said as she snagged another ryshcate—her third—and snuggled back against him. “Any other result would be a gross miscarriage of justice.”

She looked at Riyo with a hint of speculation in her eyes. “Just how much influence does a senator have? You know, if, hypothetically, the unthinkable happens and Garr Tevv wins. Could you have him arrested, or something?”

Riyo choked back a shocked laugh, but then she saw the teasing light in Cerra’s eyes and relaxed. “Oh, yes. I’d just have my guards detain him. That definitely wouldn’t cause an interplanetary scandal or end up getting me removed from office and tried for gross misconduct or abuse of power.”

“It’s settled then,” Cerra grinned as she dug into the bucket of ice next to the sofa and retrieved two bottles of ale.

She offered one to Riyo, who accepted, feeling a strange sense of warmth unfold in her chest as she settled in to watch the show.

“Who is Garr Tevv, and why don’t we want him to win?” Howzer demanded.

“Long story,” Fireball and Gregor said in unison.

“Jinx, you owe me a Coke,” Fireball said immediately as Cerra laughed. “Now everybody shut up. It’s starting.”

The End.

[eggcompany]

Neighbors to Fucking

Someone new moves in next door to the Cobblepots. Oswald just hopes their better than the loud downstairs neighbors. Luckily for him it's someone sweet, hot, and very bold int what he wants. One thing leads to another and suddenly Oswald's standing in his binder tell Ed he wants everything the other boy can give him.

“Mother, I think someone’s moving in next door! Do you care if I go see?” Oswald called to his mother as he pulled on his maroon sweater. 

“Of course baby, be careful though. Might be some hussy coming to try and take you away! My very handsome baby boy!” Mrs. Kapelput said and pinched at Oswald’s soft cheeks. Her boy smiled and pulled away. 

“I know mother, I’ll be okay. See you later.” Oswald said as he fixed his sleeves and took a glance at himself in a small mirror. 

He opened the door and poked his head out. There were only two apartments on this floor. Theirs and one more. It had been empty for a while. 

Perhaps though someone cool was moving in. 

Hopefully someone quiet. 

The people below them were loud. Talking, stomping, bad music, rude language, loud sex. It was dreadful. Horribly dreadful. 

Oswald was always quiet and light on his feet. He’d been told a quiet child was a good child when he was a toddler by his babysitter. It had stuck with him. 

He snuck out to the hallway, absentmindedly squishing his bottom lip between his teeth. 

The door was open a crack and a box was set outside of it. Oswald ventured closer to it to heard some commotion inside the room. He peaked to see if he could see but then the door was wide open and a disheveled looking boy was standing in it. 

Oswald was surprised but couldn’t take his eyes away from the beautiful brown eyes, neat brown hair , void of a few loose strands, high sharp cheekbones, the boy was taller than him by at least half a foot. All slim and sharp and neat and pointy. 

Finally the other boy finished looking at Oswald in the same way and smiled and stuck out his hand. A sparkly perfectly paper white smile, all straight and amazing…

“Edward Nygma, nice to meet you.” Oswald smiled and shook his warm tanned hand. A very nice hand, strong and warm, and oh his heart was on fire.

“Oswe- Oswald Cobblepot, I live in the other apartment with my mother. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new neighbor.” Oswald struggled, face painted a deep red at both the fact lord pretty boy very pretty boy and that he nearly screwed up his own name. 

Edward stood there smiling down at him for a moment before clearing his throat and looking away. Oswald came back to himself and huffed a breath and recovered. 

“Do your parents live here too or…?” Oswald asked nervously as he twiddled with his cuffs. 

“Oh no I moved out by myself. I’m apprenticing at the GCPD.” The burnette chuckled out, he found it amusing that the boy thought he was younger. 

“Oh… how old are you? I’ve gotta be older than you.” Oswald said and put a hand on his hip. There was no way Edward was older than him. His laugh kinda got under Oswald’s skin too, it made him want to sass. 

“I’m twenty.” Edward stated and Oswald just shook his head. 

“No” Oswald stated. 

“Um… yes I turned twenty a while ago actually. Why? How old are you?” Edward asked, curious about the shorter boy. He was an odd duck. Looked like an odd duck, spoke like an odd duck too. 

“Nineteen. You look like a baby! You’re like twelve, you're just tall.” The black haired boy teased and looked the other up and down. 

“You are the baby though. It’s only a year though… I bet we can hang out or something. If you wanna get outta your place you can help me unpack if you like.” Edward offered. He had only met some of the men who worked in the GCPD. No one his age, no one half as cute as the other boy. Plus he had a lot of stuff to unpack.

“Oh yes! Sounds fun, I like being nosy.” Oswald said giddy as he hopped gently on his good leg. 

-0-0-0-

“Can you play it again? I was almost asleep.” Oswald jokes from the other boy's couch. Ed was so good at playing the piano. He loved to come over after dinner and listen to him practice. 

The smooth rhythm always lulled him into a near sleep, he’d never slept over anywhere other than his own house but Edward’s lovely playing on the old piano always got him nearly there. 

“If you want you can sleep over here. We could watch a movie or something?” Ed offered from where he was stretching his arms above his head. He liked hanging out with the other boy. He was cool, knew a lot about odd stuff, was good to talk to, and yeah it was nice having such a cute guy around. Especially one who gave such nice hugs. 

Edward was sort of sleepy himself. He’d made a pretty filling dinner and he’d walked all over the city during the day. A movie and a sleepover seemed like a great way to end the day. 

Ed turned to see Oswald pulling his shoes back on and nervously backing toward the door. 

“Oh I’m actually- I have stuff to do tonight actually so I better get going actually. Bye Ed!” Oswald said in a hurry and slammed the door behind him, leaving the brunette in a bit of a shock. 

“Oh alright. Bye Ozzie see you tomorrow” Edward said to the backside of the door. Well… he could always watch a movie by himself. 

But as he watched some stupid old gangster movie with his old blanket wrapped around just himself he realized he sort of… craved the other boy’s presence. 

-0-0-0-

“I want to kiss you.” Ed said and looked at Oswald who was sitting in the chair. Oswald coughed choking on air and looked over at Ed and his perfect posture and sculpted arms. 

It was a warm day, too warm, scorching really. Ed’s terrible air conditioning barely kept it below baking in the small apartment so they were in the Cobblepot residence. Oswald had only slightly better air conditioning and had his standing fan. 

They were dressed in only slightly above skimpy clothes. Since Mrs. Kapelput was out, Ed was dressed in his plain white undershirt and his boxer shorts adorned with small green and black stripes. Oswald tried not to oogle but he’d given up. Edward was very pretty. Strong, lean, tan, handsome, manly… very nice on the eyes. 

Oswald himself was wearing his own boxer briefs, dark purple with black elastic at the top, and a three sizes too big t-shirt with a penguin embroidered on the breast. 

“What!” Oswald croaked, his face turning to a burning red, and Ed patted the seat next to him. As if it was just an offer to share a soda. 

“Kissing. I want to kiss you.” Oswald stared at him with his mouth open a bit and his eyes wide but moved to sit in the spot Ed had patted. It was as if his feet moved on their own, his heart racing and his mind blank. 

“I like you Ozzie, I think you’re pretty, I want to kiss you. Do you want to kiss me?” Edward asked with a light hint of amusement in his voice. 

Oswald got a sick feeling in his stomach and he nervously pushed his arm against his side where his binder dug into his squishy side. 

“Just a little one, a little kiss” Edward coaxed and brought his hand up to the side of Oswald’s face, cradling his warm cheek. 

“Okay” Oswald breathed and let his eyes close as Edward leaned in. 

-0-0-0-

“Can we kiss again tomorrow?” Oswald asked dreamily as he held Edward’s hand by the door. Edward leaned down and kissed his cheek.

“We can kiss every time you come over. We could do more than kissing too.” Ed whispered into the other’s ear which just made Oswald blush a cherry red and turn towards his own door. 

“Oh um… kissing you is good.” Oswald mumbled and walked back to his own door, leaving the older boy to get ready for work. Definity not because he was getting ideas about… more than kissing . Definitely not. 

-0-0-0-

“Ed, Ed, quit.” Oswald struggled to pull away from his boyfriend's warm body. His lips and teeth felt so so good but were just getting too low on his collarbones. 

Ed pulled back with a disappointed look and looked up at his boyfriend who sat so perfectly in his lap. Oz was just so soft and warm and that ass … fucking plush . 

He was plush all over. Covered in the gentle scent of baby powder and plain shampoo he used. And the small whimpers and pants he let out only drive Edward closer and closer to tearing his jeans off. 

“Too much baby?” Ed asked and rubbed his thumbs on the others hips, bones covered by a perfect layer of pudge. He didn’t want it to be too much. It wasn’t nearly enough for Ed. He wanted more. Needed more. 

“I just it’s-“ Is all Oswald could get out before tears started rolling down his face. He wanted Ed so bad. His thighs were sticky with how much he needed Ed. 

Ed pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. Salty tears sticking to his lips when he pulled back. 

“It’s okay, we don’t have to. You know I love doing this too.” Ed said in a smooth loving way and Oswald just shook his head and whimpered out a-

“I want to” and Ed just rubbed his back and hummed. Vibrating up through his chest to Oswald’s, like salve on a burn, Oswald just sniffled. 

“I want to also. But I don’t wanna see you cry. Well at least not like this.” Edward said with just a hint of innuendo at the end as he nuzzled into Oswald’s cheek. 

The black haired boy wiped at his face and almost chuckled to himself. 

“I just like you so much” He said and let the scent of Ed’s kiwi body wash float up into his nose. It always seemed to calm him down. 

“I like you too.” Ed said and let himself trace up the side of Oswald’s pale neck, teeth grabbing onto skin every so often creating little marks in their wake. 

“Would you like me if I wasn’t a boy?” Oswald whispered so quietly Edward barely even caught the anxiety riddled question. He pulled back and looked into the denim blue eyes of the other. 

“I’d like you if you were a cat… but I’d rather not have sex with a cat.” Edward tried to ease the other boy’s palpable anxiety. 

-0-0-0-

“You take off yours first.” Oswald said and watched Edward smoothly pull his plain white t-shirt up over his head to reveal his tanned slightly toned body. Beautiful tanned toned muscular manly body with a light trail of brown hair leading down his pants and a deep v-line basically begging to lead somewhere down below his jeans…

“Well that’s not fair.” Oswald said and looked down at his own soft tummy covered by his black button up and dark purple sweater. He never specifically felt bad about his body in that way but ugh… he could never compare. 

Ed smiled and unbuttoned his black slacks.

“Will it be fair if these come off too?” He said and started to push them down over his ass. 

Oz nodded and chewed on his bottom lip, watching Ed push them down over his thighs and kick them off when they pooled on the floor. He was only wearing a pair of green boxer briefs. 

Long slender tanned legs, a few small scars on knees and a longer one across his thigh. 

Beautiful.

Ed flexed a bit and turned to show off his body. Smooth, tan, muscular, perky ass, and noticeable bulge making Oswald feel even more inferior. 

“Fair enough to get a peek at you now?” Ed asked and moved to stand in front of the fully dressed boy. Oswald swallowed and conceded. Barely able to keep his eyes above his collarbones. 

“Just… ugh I hate you” Oswald said and Ed snickered as he watched Oswald pull off his sweater then hesitate on the buttons of his shirt. 

Ed stepped up to him and kissed him, slowly and warmly, lovingly , grabbing his pale clammy hands and moving them to his own sides. 

“It’s alright. Wanna feel your skin on mine.” Ed said and Oswald could barely breathe as he felt the dips and curves of Ed’s body, all the way to the paths leading down to his soft short happy trail. 

Ed was so warm, strong feeling, sturdy, his breathing was even and his heart was beating steady and true, it nearly made Oswald dizzy. Ed was everything . 

Ed kissed him gently and thumbed open the top two buttons and moved to suck a mark on Oswald’s shoulder. Until he got stopped by a strap and then he simply moved to the other side and thumbed open the rest of the buttons. 

Ed stepped back with a kiss to the shorter man’s lips. Noticing Oswald was trembling, tears lazily running down his face, he looked like he was holding himself there by sheer willpower. Like he wanted to run away. 

Oswald stood there, shirt open exposing his soft porcelain pale belly and purple binding top. 

“Adorable” Ed said before pulling Oswald chest to chest with him and kissing him deeply again, their tongues mingling together. Their mouths tinged with the taste of salt from the short boy’s tears but was soon chased away with the iron whisper of blood as Edward sucked harshly at Oswald's bottom lip as he pulled away. 

“Can I take it off Ozzie? It’s not safe to keep those on during such… strenuous activities.” Edward asked and ran his fingers along the bottom band of the binder, noting in his mind that it was indeed far too tight and far too worn. A proper new one would have to arrive in the mail soon. 

He was lost in thought he nearly missed his boyfriend’s whispered question. 

“Am I still a good boyfriend?” Oswald asked in such a serious way it nearly hurt Ed’s head to hear. 

“’Course” Ed whispered back and looked into the ocean blue eyes that were still red rimmed. Oswald swallowed, audibly, and nodded, pulling a brave face. 

“Go ahead.” Oswald said and relaxed his arms, allowing Edward to pull the bottom of the binder up and over his head and over his arms. 

Oswald closed his eyes, looking as though he was anticipating a slap to the face or worse. 

“The best boyfriend,” Ed said, kissing Oswald’s eyelids. The shorter boy gasped, his lips falling open a bit at the gentle touch. 

“Most handsome” he said and kissed down the side of Oswald’s neck, hands laying on his hips. Gripping only so gently, squeezing just to feel the warm flesh between his fingers. 

“Brilliant” Ed said and kissed down the other’s collarbones and toward the center of his chest. Ed was bending down on his knees, one small drop and he could be face to face with the treasure hidden under Oswald’s black jeans. 

However Oswald’s trembling hands on his shoulders drew him back to stand. 

“And all mine” Edward said and pulled Oswald toward him and kissed him deeply. 

Their chests met and Oswald gasped as his tender nipples grazed across Ed’s torso. He whined and almost whimpered at the way his breasts squished against Ed’s flat stomach. 

Oswald wasn’t… well he was. He was busty . He hated it ever since he started developing breasts. They were big and heavy and in the way and made his shoulders hurt and made bra straps dig into him and he just hated it. He hated them even more when he figured out he was a boy. They were like neon signs saying he was born a female. 

However, Edward was like a dream. 

Nearly E cups and Ed was ignoring them. He rather let his hands run up and down Oswald’s back, warming trails under them, down the dip to his waist, where his whole body pinched in in a rather feminine way, and to grab a handful of ass. Oswald jumped when Ed’s hand creeped into his back pocket to grab his ass. 

However he was getting lost in the way Ed’s hands were traveling across his body, the way they were pressed together, the way Ed was fucking moving and grinding against him. 

When he moved again to kiss at Oswald’s ear and suck on his earlobe. 

“Are you okay with it?” Oswald whispered, needing reassurance as his thighs became sticky and his body burned alive with need. He couldn’t even help that he rocked his hips up with the rhythm Ed had set. 

“What’re you okay with?” Ed asked and pulled back from where he was mouthing and biting, to give Oswald another deep kiss. He moved his hands back up to cradle Oswald’s face. 

“I dunno… want you to- to touch me. Wanna take my pants off” Oswald said quietly and Ed chuckled. 

He let his hands move to lay under Oswald’s breasts. Heat practically radiated from them, begging to be played with and held. Oswald looked down at Ed’s hands, and back up to his eyes a few times in confusion and shock. Rosy faced and kiss swollen lips causing Ed’s cock to throb in his underwear. 

“Ozzie, do you want me to touch these?” Ed asked, fire in his tone. 

“Yes” The other boy breathed out and Ed was on him again. His hands gently cupping his breasts and thumbing at his nipples. Oswald winced and Ed pulled back only a bit. 

“Tender, um the binder it makes them tender.” Oswald explained breathlessly and Ed nodded and kissed him a few more times before moving to take a knee in front of him. Ed kissed around his slightly fuzzy stomach as he unbuttoned and unzipped his dark jeans. 

He yanked them roughly down off Oswald’s pale legs, loving the way his thighs jiggled with the motion, the way his lavender briefs were discolored with wetness, the way his scent was so intoxicating Ed barely noticed his hair was being pulled. 

“ Yes , please Ed, just, ah, just touch me. Touch me there.” Oswald begged as he gripped the brunette's gel wet hair. Ed bit into one of those plush thighs and hummed. 

“Bed, bed and I’ll make you really cry.” Ed practically growled out and Oswald let out a high whine and pulled at Edward, his hair, his shoulders, his hips, until they were kissing again. 

Then Ed was pulling Oswald forward as he took steps back until Oswald was breathless from kissing and being spun around and laid flat on the bed. 

“Say you want it, say you want me, tell me what I can give you” Edward panted from the foot of the bed. He was burning up. 

His cock was straining against his underwear as he stared down at his beautiful boyfriend laid out and wanton. Oswald was… more beautiful than anyone else Edward had ever been with or had ever even seen. His blushing pale skin was lightly dusted in barley there freckles, traveling from his cheekbones down over his shoulders and few adorned the top crest of his breast where they laid against his rapidly rising and falling chest, each breath making them move like waves, his pink nipples pointed and hard in the cool apartment air, his belly begging to be nibbled at, caressed, and at the precipice of his tender plush thighs where his briefs laid low on his hips, the wet fabric clung to the delicate skin underneath. Ed salivated at the sight of Oswald’s folds under the thin fabric. 

Oswald didn’t know what to say, what to do, he was melting and freezing all at once, gripping at Ed’s soft worn sheets. He’d never let anyone see him like this, let one touch him. It was… Ed. 

Ed was everything. 

“Everything, Ed. I want you to give me everything.” Oswald finally begged and watched as Ed grinned and climbed onto the bed like a cat. He was hovering over Oswald, letting their noses caress for a moment. 

“Ozzie, I can’t hold myself back anymore. You’re killing me.” Edward said in a near begging voice and let one hand grab at the other’s underwear. 

His mind was rolling, twisting and bending all at once. He was made of need. His cock was taking over his brain, it was terrifying. 

And exciting. 

Oswald was nodding and let his own hands push at the offensive green fabric of Edward’s underwear. 

“Yes, yes, off, off ” Oswald moaned out and finally let himself be okay with what was happening. He was going to have sex with Ed. 

“What a good boy” Ed whispered into Oswald’s ear before sitting back on his heels to pull both their underwear off. Kicking his own off the bed. 

Fuck… Oswald was somewhere else when that left Ed’s lips. Some other planet. Somewhere where his cock was throbbing and Ed was the only other thing that ever existed. 

And he didn’t come back to actual Earth until Ed was cradling his weak, melted body against his own panting chest whispering in Oswald’s ear. 

“Eddie…” Oswald whispered in a thick fog of wondrous pleasurable afterglow. 

“Hey, my love, are you okay? Are you awake now?” Ed asked and rubbed his hands across Oswald’s belly. The short boy hummed and rolled onto his side to nuzzle into Ed’s chest. He then realized three things. 

He was wearing a pair of underwear that were absolutely his own. 

He was wearing a shirt that was absolutely not his own. 

His insides fucking hurt. 

“Eddie, ugh, hurts” Oswald whined and pushed at his own stomach, low over where his cervix was bruised and slightly bleeding. The small mark in his underwear later would confirm that, yeah, Edward made him bleed. 

“I’m sorry, baby. Was I too rough? You just sounded so… oh , so beautiful.” Ed said and rubbed his hands across Oswald’s back covered in one of Ed’s own oversized sleep shirts. Oswald just whined and felt very very tired. 

“Wanna sleep Eddie. Wanna snuggle.” Oswald said in a whiney nearly childish voice and shoved himself harder into Ed’s body. 

Ed just hummed and relaxed back onto the bed, letting Oswald lay half on top of him. He’d fucked Oswald till the other boy had actually cried so no wonder Ozzie was so tired. He’d cum at least twice with Ed’s cock buried inside him and the brunette playing with his small cock. 

-0-0-0-

[sillygoose067]

Over the 7 Seas

Ch.11

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Author’s Note: the fluff really starts hitting here. I felt the butterflies in my stomach writing this— because hey, a girl can dream, can’t she? Honestly, I think this is pretty light in terms of what I have in store, so hang on tight!

You nod shyly and your hands brush together before you both finally intertwine fingers. You look away with a soft smile and a blush. Charles asks you if you want to take his car to the restaurant or walk. “I’d like to walk, if you don’t mind. Monaco is full of so many beautiful sights”, you respond and he smiles at you with a satisfied look in his eyes. Everyone always saw Monaco for its wealth and splendor, but no one really took the time to appreciate its beautiful culture and people. In Charles’ eyes, so far, you had checked every box (and maybe even added some) he had classified as green flags. 

As you walk through the block and avidly discuss Charles’s career, you feel his thumb brush over your knuckles and feel a wave of affection for this man that you’ve barely known for a week. Either he was a really good player, or he was truly a gentleman who knew how to treat women right. You opted to believe the latter. 

Noticing that you’ve spaced out a little bit, he brings you back gently. “Have I told you how beautiful you look right now?”

Escaping your reverie, you bounce back this time. “And have I told you how absolutely gorgeous you look today?”, you counter. You slap a hand over your mouth with wide eyes and your head snaps toward him in shock. You are appalled by this sudden lack of “feminine grace”.

“I’m so sorry”, you apologize profusely as he stares at you with wide eyes, mouth hanging open, and a faint blush painting his cheeks. You’d stopped walking out of shock and were staring at each other. “I am sooo sorry”, you say again. “I’ve really done it now, huh? No wonder no one ever wanted me…”, you say sadly. 

This makes Charles recover, and he struggles to regain his ability to speak. “Non non, ma Chéri! Don’t think that! I was just surprised.” “No one has ever called me gorgeous, so I was just caught a little off-guard. B-But I liked it!” he blushes a deeper shade of pink. He grabs your chin and lifts your face to look up at him gently. “I think I would like you to let loose like that more often”.

When your eyes meet his hesitantly, he raises his eyebrows in question, asking if you’ve understood. You nod and he grasps your hand once again and you resume your walk to the restaurant. 

…

Before you enter the restaurant, Charles pulls you aside. “Y/n, I need to clear some things with you before anything becomes too serious”. He takes a deep breath. “Because I’m an F1 driver, and I don’t mean to sound conceited, but, people tend to follow me around and capture every little thing about my life to post on the media”. He lets out a frustrated huff. “And often, this was the reason why my past partners left me. They couldn’t handle the constant spotlight and paparazzi. I don’t blame them, really, but it hurt knowing that my career made them leave the relationship”. Charles brushes his thumb over your knuckles again and looks at you. “I just want to give you an out before we’re too invested. I understand it can be a lot to take”. This time, he’s the one ready for rejection.

Feeling fearless, you reach up and cup his face, brushing your thumb along his cheekbone. He leans into your touch. “Thank you, Charles. But I think I’m enough of a big girl to handle these kinds of situations”, you say softly. “With a mom who was extremely well-known in the community, I grew up with somewhat of a spotlight myself. I know how to handle things when they get complicated”, you reassure him. “I also think that if we want to make this work, we need to disregard what other people think. If we do become a couple, we mustn’t let others define our relationship– Then it wouldn’t be OUR relationship, don’t you think?”

Charles hums appreciatively. “When did you have time to collect all this wisdom, hmm?”.

You make a move toward the entrance of the restaurant, but he pulls you back to him into a hug. You freeze, but reciprocate nonetheless. “Merci, ma Chéri. Truly”

[mlmxreader]

Bleeding Heart (To Be Home) | Bob Saginowski x gn!reader

『••✎••』

↳ ❝ anonymous asked: Bob Saginowski Hiya! Hope all is good 🖤. May I please request something using the following prompts for Bob Saginowski X non-binary, male, or gn!Reader: “You’re bleeding” ❞

: ̗̀➛ Bob always liked the fact that you were gentle, a bleeding heart. He just never realised that it would mean he was finally home, too.

: ̗̀➛ bleeding, swearing

•──────────────────★•♛•★─────────────────•

You had been working all evening, and it was safe to say that by the time you had gotten back to Bob’s place, you were absolutely exhausted; your things were still littered around his little house.

Boxes and bags strewn about in every room, only a few things actually put away here and there, some of the edges of the boxes torn and frayed by little dog teeth that had been ripping and pulling at them in excitement and boredom. Bob had done his best between shifts, as had you, but there were still so many boxes and bags.

It would take days, but at least you were officially home; it had only been a few weeks since Bob had asked you to move in with him after about a year of being together, neither of you could be blamed for the slow progress of things.

You usually took care of it in the evening while Bob often sorted everything out in the morning - both of you were often home in the afternoon so you took care of little pieces here and there when you could; nobody had told you that moving in together would take so long just to unpack everything.

But at least you were home now.

At least when you walked through the door and kicked your shoes off, you knew that you were home. The sight of Bob, hunched over slightly as he focused his efforts on making something to drink - from the smell of it, strong coffee.

Rocco sat at his feet with big wide brown eyes and a wagging tail, not realising that what Bob had was not edible.

It made you grin, all exhaustion and tension built up from work immediately dropping from your shoulders as you hummed, making your way over to him. Slowly, you wrapped your arms around Bob’s waist, and pressed your face against the back of his neck as you leaned into him, sighing contently.

Bob’s hand rested on yours as he smiled to himself; his house had never really felt like a home without you. Nowhere did. He had never known someone to be his safety and his security, his strength and his weakness, his happiness and his content.

He might have been whole without you, but with you?

He was happier than he could ever admit. Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to admit it - he desperately did, but he could never find the proper words that he was happy enough to use; he kept searching, he always would, but words never came easily when you were pressing your body against him.

Reminding him that he was home, and so were you. Within the embrace of one another, you had found the one thing that mattered above all else: home.

No matter where you were, no matter what you were doing or what was going on, you and Bob would always be home as long as your skin was on his and you could hear his soft breaths.

But then you frowned as you felt the plaster on his finger, concern washing over you as you pulled away, forcing him to turn around; he was trapped between your body and the counter, but he didn’t really care much.

“Bob?” You sounded more than worried, and he despised it. “You okay?”

Bob nodded, working up a smile as he cleared his throat. “Yeah, I, uh, I caught my hand on a latch at work.”

You hummed, bringing his hand up so you could look at it; the plaster was already starting to leak a little. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” he promised. “It’s just a nick.”

“At least let me change it,” you told him, flashing the puppy dog eyes that he so often used against you, knowing he wouldn’t resist. “Please?”

He nodded slowly, daring to laugh softly as he took a seat at the table and held his hand up slightly, resting his wrist against the oak; he watched with great gentleness in his eyes as you peeled off the old plaster, but his smile soon faded when he saw how worried and concerned you were. Swallowing thickly, Bob quietly cleared his throat and sighed softly.

“It was just a latch at work,” he explained, “doing stocks, I caught it.”

You were a bleeding heart, Bob knew that from the day he had met you when he saw you take pity on the smallest of worms; picking it up and carrying it all the way over to his house so you could gently set it in the soil instead of the cold and rigid asphalt outside.

It was no wonder that you were so gentle with him when you gently washed his finger out, apologising quietly, riddled with remorse, when you applied the antiseptic. A bleeding heart.

Bob always liked that about you; it was well matched with his quiet violence. So gentle, always so gentle with him even though you knew the things that he had done; you didn’t seem to care, though, it never changed how you looked at him.

Never changed how gentle and tender you were with him; never made your bleeding heart suddenly clot. He smiled, biting at his lip in an attempt not to laugh when you gently kissed his finger before applying the new plaster; he wanted to laugh, but he knew that if he did, you would lose your focus.

He didn’t want that to happen, even if he knew that you would tell him it didn’t matter much. Your touch was so gentle when you ran your fingertip across the plaster to ensure that it was smoothed down. You smiled at him once again, and Bob knew it for more than good the second that his eyes met yours.

You were both home, for good. 

Sure, you would leave in the morning for your shift at work, and he would leave in the evening for his own - but at the end of it all, you were both home the second you were together again. 

[ashcal99]

Certain Things : Leah Clearwater IV

Chapter Four

"Something about you, It's like an addiction, Hit me with your best shot honey, I've got no reason to doubt you, 'Cause certain things hurt, And you're my only virtue"

Summary: Conner Swan moves to Forks Washington in hopes to help his sister Bella through her breakup with Edward. In hopes to find happiness again. He finds much more.

Warnings: Eventual smut (18+ only), mentions of death, depression, loss, antidepressants, general angst, slow burn, mentions of suicide

Words: 4.3k

A/N: Comment if I missed any warning or anything plz thnx.

Soundtrack

Previous Chapter

Series Masterlist

——————

March 4th, 2006

It had been weeks since Jacob had gotten sick, and yet, Bella had heard no word from the boy. As far as she knew, he had come down with mono, or so Billy had told her. Day after day she called, but it was always Billy who had answered, claiming the teen was still too sick to come to the phone. Eventually, even Billy had stopped picking up, and soon, the voicemail box had been filled. Bella had felt helpless. Fearing that she had lost the one true friend she had. The pain came back with a vengeance. Now that Jake had left, the hole in her heart seemed to grow twice the size. 

Conner saw the pain return, as hard as she had tried to hide it, and he was furious. It was clear that the Quileutes had been using the sickness as an excuse to avoid the girl, that much was obvious, as the silence from the teen had gone on far too long. He was just unsure as to why. Frankly, he didn’t exactly care what the excuse was. All he saw was the progress Bella was making in healing going to waste. 

It was a Saturday, his day off, when Bella finally decided to confront the boy. Conner had made plans to go fishing with his father and Harry Clearwater, but he suddenly regretted making the plans. He turned to Bella. “Look, I don’t have to go fishing today.” He started. 

Bella waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah, you do. What are you talking about?” She asked. “Just be careful.” She said directing the words to her father and brother.

“We always are.” Charlie spoke up, giving the girl a reassuring smile.

Harry spoke up. “Those bears won’t get the drop on me, Bella.” He joked smirking. “My kung foo is strong.” He added teasingly, earning a small chuckle from the other two men. 

Conner nudged his shoulder. “Yeah, right. Your reflexes are so lightning fast.” He said laughing. 

Harry scoffed. “I have no idea what you mean, I’m practically a chetah.” He smiled proudly as the three walked out the front door, to Harry’s truck. Conner leaned down, picking up a pebble on the driveway, quickly chucking it in the man’s direction. The tiny rock hit the man right in the middle of his forehead, his eyes going wide. Charlie and Conner doubled over with laughter, seeing the shocked look on Harry’s face. 

The tree climbed into the truck, setting their fishing gear in the bed. Conner sat silently in the back seat as the two other man held light conversation, staring out the window as the trees blurred past. Charlie had been talking about Jake, complaining of the teens absence. “I just don’t understand what happened. It’s been over a month now.” Charlie said exasperatedly. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Charlie. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually.” Henry said dismissively. 

Charlie sighed. “I hope so.” He said, staying silent for a moment. “Anyway, how are Leah and Seth doing? How’s high school going for him?” He asked changing the subject. 

“He’s doing great. Straight A’s.” He said proudly. “Leah’s okay, still keeping to herself mostly.” He said, voice dropping slightly. “She’s still pretty broken up over Sam. I think she’s mainly angry at this point.” He continued. 

Conner’s eyebrows furrowed, not sure what the man meant. “I didn’t know you had a daughter.” He interjected. He hadn’t spent a lot of time with the man, usually spending the days he came over working or busying himself with yard word to distract himself. He had found out about Harry’s son, having overhead a previous conversation, but a daughter was news to him. He found himself uncharacteristically intrigued by the topic. 

Harry glanced towards the man in the rearview mirror of the truck. “Yeah, Leah. She’s about your age I’d say. Doesn’t get out much besides work, I’m sure you haven’t met before.” He said. 

Conner quirked an eyebrow. He hadn’t known any of Charlie’s friends had any kids closer in age to him, granted he didn’t get out much himself. The only friends he had was Bella and Jake, and clearly the latter wasn’t going too well. Conner sighed, dropping the subject and turning back to gaze out the truck’s window.

——————

March 11th, 2006

Another week had passed since the fishing trip, not much having changed on the Bella and Jacob front. She had come home that night, upset from whatever Jake had said to her. She claimed to not want to take about it, but she was clearly upset from whatever had happened. 

It was a rare sunny morning when Bella decided to go back to the reservation to see the boy. Conner had just finished off drying the pan he had used to cook breakfast when she came running down the stairs in a rush. He whipped his head in her direction, shocked to see her with such energy. She had spent the majority of the past week moping around, so he had wondered what had changed. He stepped out from the kitchen, blocking her path. “Where are you going?” He questioned, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. 

She huffed. “I have to go talk to Jake.” She rushed out, clearly in a hurry for whatever reason. 

Conner’s face dropped, the crease between his brows deepening. “Okay then, I’m coming too.” He stated determinedly.

Bella begun to panic. There was no way she was getting her brother involved in this whole mess. She had finally remembered about the Quileute legends and she wasn’t about to drag Conner into it too, knowing it would be dangerous. “No.” She answered bluntly.

Conner huffed in annoyance. “Bella I’m not going to let you go over there alone again. Last time you came back in tears.” He reasoned. “I’ll stay in my truck, but at least let me drive you.” He concluded.

Bella sighed in defeat. “Fine.” She agreed, in too much of a rush to argue with the man. 

The scenery whipped past the truck as Conner sped down the winding road. Bella had already made it clear that she was in a rush, so Conner drove swiftly thought the turns, trying to get the to house quickly. His tires slid slightly on the gravel road as his truck came to a halt in front of the Black residence. He turned to the girl. “I’m right here if you need me, okay?” He reassured. Bella nodded, quickly swinging the door open and dropping her feet to the ground. Conner sat there, watching as she pushed herself past Billy and into the house. 

He had started to grow antsy, not having a view of his sister when his attention dragged to the girl storming from the house towards a group of shirtless guys. Okay? It definitely wasn’t that warm, he thought. He gripped the door, throwing it open as he watched his sister get in one’s face, yelling angrily about something. He slammed the door, rushing towards his sister. The tanned male started shaking violently, his entire body vibrating. 

“Bella!” Jake yelled, bursting through the back door of the house. He sprinted towards the girl, his body starting to shake as well. 

“Run!” Bella screamed, turning and sprinting towards the boy. “Jake, run!” She repeated. Conner stopped in his tracks, jaw going slack as he watched the scene play out in front of him.  

A growl ripped through Jacobs throat. In a burst of fur and and shreds of clothing, the two shaking figures were replaced with gigantic menacing wolves. The two snapped their jaws at each other bearing their teeth threateningly. Conner watched in awe not knowing how to react.

WHAT THE FUCK

The two wolves tackled each other, chasing themselves out of the clearing. The two siblings stood there for a moment, mouths agape. So much for keeping Conner out of it. 

Conner stepped forwards to the other men, sucking in a deep breath. "So are you guys gonna turn into giant dogs too, or should I wait for another time?” He asked unease gripping his throat. 

——————

Conner stepped slowly through the narrow doorway of the house. He hadn’t received much of an explanation on the way to Sam and Emily’s, the others claiming he would get his answers soon. “Can someone please explain to me why I just watched a boy that I've known his whole life turn into a very large dog?” Conner asked, growing impatient with the silence.

Jared smirked to the man. “It’s kind of a long story.” He explained.

Conner huffed impatiently. “I’ve got time.” He reasoned. He needed an explanation before he went insane. It's not everyday that you witness a close friend randomly morph into an animal.

The woman in the kitchen turned, spotting the to two siblings. “Who’s this?” She asked, sending the two a small smile. Conner glanced over to the woman, eyes pausing on the long jagged scars running down her face. This must be Emily, he decided, quickly diverting his gaze, not wanting to seem rude from staring. 

“Bella and Conner Swan.” Jared explained.

A smirk grew on Emily’s face. “So, you’re the vampire girl.” She said. Conner’s head shot to his sister. First wolves and now Vampires? What’s next? Big Foot?

Conner turned to his sister, gritting his teeth. “Vampires, Bella? You have a lot of explaining to do.” He seethed, glaring at the girl.

Bella grimaced, turning to answer Emily. “So you’re the wolf girl.” She said, ignoring her brother. She would clearly have to spend time later explaining things to the man, but for now, she focused on getting some answers of her own. 

“Guess so.” Emily smirked. “Well, I’m engaged to one.” She clarified, setting a heaping plate of muffins on the table. Hands swarmed the plate, grabbing muffin after muffin. “Save some for your brothers.” She chastised the boys. “And guests first. Muffin?” She added, offering the plate to the two siblings.

Conner reached forwards, snagging one of the warm pastries. “Sure, thanks.” He muttered softly. 

“So, that explanation you wanted.” Embry started, mouth full of muffin. “We’re descendants of wolves.” He stated simply, as if that explained everything. Conner supposed that was the best he was going to get, coming to to the conclusion that he should just except the fact that he didn’t live in the world he thought he had. There was clearly a lot that he had been oblivious to previously, and he planned to get some more answers out of Bella later. 

He sighed, pulling a chair out from the table, giving up, as he slouched over, stuffing the muffin into his mouth. His eyes widened, a soft groan falling from his lips. “Compliments to the chef.” He said, eyeing the muffin. 

“She is pretty amazing isn’t she?” A voice coming from behind said. A large muscled man made his way towards the woman, taking her scared face in his hands, planting a kiss to her lips. This must be sam, Conner concluded. He turned his focus to the muffin, feeling like he was intruding on something he shouldn’t be seeing. 

——————

The siblings returned home a few hours later. Luckily, their father was still out, having left to go hunting again with Harry. Slamming the front door behind him, he followed his sister, deciding now was as good as any to talk things through. 

Bella looked to the man apprehensively. “Conner… I can explain.” She said hesitantly. 

Conner scoffed. “How could you lie to me like that?” He asked, anger filling his voice. 

Bella stared, eyes wide. It had been a long time since she had seem him so angry, him usually being so timid. “Technically,” She started hesitantly, “I didn’t lie, I just didn’t tell you everything.” She explained. 

Suddenly it him. “Is that why?” He asked, earning a confused look from the girl. “Is he why you stopped answering my calls?” He clarified. His heart ached in protest, not sure if he wanted to hear the truth.

“I-I knew I would end up letting it slip on accident, and I couldn’t chance you being put in danger.” She said, trying to justify her actions. 

Conner pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to push back the building tears. “Bella, have you ever stopped to think about the danger this put you in?” He asked. 

Bella looked down to the floor. “That’s not the same.” She muttered in defense.

Conner scoffed. “Not the same? You know what, you’re right. It’s worse. Bella, for fuck's sake, he's killed people. The whole family has.” He yelled, throwing his hands in the air. His voice raised in volume, quickly losing his temper with the teen. All the years he had spent trying to protect her, meanwhile there she was willingly endangering her own life.

Bella’s forehead creased in anger. ”He's not like that anymore, they don't feed on humans.” She tried to defend.

The man looked at his sister in disgust. “Do you even hear yourself?” He asked.

“Anymore, Bella. He’s killed before, and it’s clear that you know that. You're trying to justify killing. He's a murderer, Bells.” He said bluntly, glaring at the girl. 

“Don't talk about him like that.” She said shortly.

Conner felt like he had been stabbed in the heart. “Does your life really mean that little to you?” He asked sadly. “Are the people that love you that expendable to you?” Bella stood for a moment, mouth open, looking for an answer that she knew she couldn’t find.

"Con-" He flinched at the nickname. Nicknames were for close relationships, not strangers, and right now he didn’t recognize the girl standing in front of him. "I'm sorry." She said.

Conner felt the tears begin to spill from his eyes. "Bella, I lost the love of my life. You know what that kind of loss feels like, but she didn't just leave me like Edward left you. She died. Died with my child. A child I didn't even know about until she was gone." He paused, his voice cracking. "And on top of all of this, the one person.” He sucked in a breath “The one person I thought I could count on left me too. Made me feel like I was the burden” He cried out, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. 

"Conner, I'm sorry, I-" Bella started.

"No." Conner interrupted. "Sorry isn't good enough anymore. I thought our relationship meant more than that to you, but obviously it doesn't mean shit." He ended, turning, walking out the door, and slamming it behind him.

——————

March 18th, 2006

A week had passed since Conner had found out the truth. A week of awkward silence and cold shoulders. Charlie could tell something had happened between the two, but wasn’t sure how to approach the subject. Conner had been working non-stop trying to avoid the teen, having only been home to sleep as of late. If he wasn’t working, he was over in la push, having been spending more time will Billy. After everything that had happened, he felt like the man was the only person who would understand even a fraction of what he was going through, even if most of what they did was watch sports games together. If anything, it was a good distraction.

He had just finished a shift at the diner when he received the call. Looking down at the illuminated screen, he read Jacob’s name. Clicking to answer the call,  he brought the phone to his ear.“Hey man, what’s up” He asked casually. 

“Bella just almost died.” The teen answered bluntly, causing Conner to stop in his tracks. 

His heartbeat pounded in his ears. “W-what?” He stuttered out, blinking rapidly.

Jacob took a deep breath. “She thought it was a great idea to try out cliff diving today.” Conner heard Bella saying something about it being not that big of a deal in the background. Of course. The girl had a death wish.

Conner sucked in a breath “Jesus.” He said.

“She's okay. We're heading back your place now.” Jake reassured. 

Conner let out a heavy sigh. “I'll be there in ten.” He stated, hanging up the phone. Leave it to Bella. He climbed into his truck and hurriedly pulled out of the parking lot. He tried his best not to get a speeding ticket on the way home, knowing that would be an awkward conversation to have with his father.

No matter how mad he was at Bella, he still loved her, and the fact that she had almost died just in the last hour made him uneasy. He would've never forgiven himself if he had lost her. The last conversation they had, having ended with the both of them screaming at each other.

The man blew out a breath relief as a pulled up to the house, spotting his sister’s truck in the driveway. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he noticed the other car parked horizontally on the side of the road. He wasn’t too familiar with cars, but he knew this one looked expensive. He didn't know anybody that would've even had the money to rent a car like that.

Conner approached the front door hesitantly. Twisting the knob, he found it to be already unlocked. He stepped in slowly.”Hello?” He greeted cautiously, turning the corner to the living room. Jacob stood glaring at Bella who was wrapped in two pale arms. Conner looked up to the pale face of the girl, chills running up his spine. Vampire. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. There was just something about the girl. She was unnaturally perfect, just like he remembered Edward to be. 

The short pixie-like girl glanced up. “Oh, hi. You must be Conner.” She greeted. “I'm Alice Cullen.” Conner's back tensed. So he was correct.

“I had a vision of you.” Alice said, turning her attention back to Bella. “You jumped off a cliff. Why in the hell would you try and kill yourself?” She asked angrily.

“I didn't try to kill myself. I was cliff diving. Recreationally. It was fun.” Bella reassured. 

“I have never met anyone more prone to life threatening idiocy.” Alice huffed out in annoyance. 

Conner scoffed. “I wholeheartedly agree.” He said irritatedly.

Bella started again. “Did you- did you tell him?” Edward, he assumed.

“No. He only calls once every few months. He said he wants to be alone…and what is the god awful wet dog smell?” She asked, turning up her nose from the stench.

Conner crossed his arms, watching the two amusedly. “That's probably me, or Jacob.” Bella said bashfully.

Alice seemed confused. “Jacob who?” She asked.

“Yeah, Jake's a giant dog.” Conner teased. 

Bella added awkwardly. “Jacob's kind of a werewolf.”

“Bella!” Alice shouted. “Werewolves are not good company to keep!”

“Hey! Speak for yourself!” Jacob started.

Conner stepped up. “I'm gonna have to agree with him on that one.”

He suddenly noticed the absence of his father. He furrowed his brow, knowing the man had the day off and as far as he was aware, hadn’t made any plans for this night. “Where's Charlie?” He asked.

Jacob's face fell, staying silent for a moment. “Harry Clearwater had a heart attack.” He said finally.

“Oh my god. Is he okay?” He asked panicked. Jacob hung his head, shaking it ‘no’. He had just seen the man. It didn’t seem real. Conner’s heart sunk. Jesus, his poor kids.

“His daughter phased in front of him and I guess his heart couldn’t take the shock. We’ve never had a female in the pack before. We didn’t even know it was possible.” He said solemnly. Conner’s face scrunched up, poor Leah. That was horrible. 

He was soon ripped from his thoughts as Bella yelled. “Stop!” Alice and Jake glared darkly at each other. If looks could kill, they'd both be six feet under. Assuming the vampires could die, this he wasn’t completely sure of.

Alice let out a sigh, rolling her amber eyes. “I will give you one minute.” She stated pointing a thin finger at the girl.

“You're not going anywhere, you're gonna come back , right?” Bella asked panicked. She wouldn't let Alice leave her. Not again. Not after so long waiting so long to see the vampire again.

A smirk found its way to the Cullen’s face. “As soon as you put the dog out.” She teased. Her gaze then flickered over to the older sibling, signaling to leave the two alone for some privacy.

Conner huffed, following the immortal girl out towards the back yard. He stepped into the cool air, unease settling in his stomach. ”So you're Conner. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you." She said a large smile gracing her delicate features. She looked kind enough, but still, something stirred in Conner’s chest, putting him on edge.

He looked towards the girl, thoughts whirling. ”Um-yeah, and you're Alice. Edward's sister?" He asked, looking for clarification. 

Alice grinned, showing her bright white teeth. ”That’s me. It's great to finally meet you. I've seen that we're going to get along great." She said grinning widely. A little weirded out, Conner blew the comment off. She'd seen? What is that supposed to mean?

Conner stared blankly for a moment. ”Yeah... Why is it that you're just now coming back to see Bella? You know, she's had a really shitty time getting over you and your family. Why pop back up now that she’s finally getting better?” He asked defensively. She wasn’t gong to get off easy by just being polite. Not after everything Bella had been put through.

Alice frowned. ”I needed to see if she was okay. I worry about her..." She faded off, her face becoming blank and eyes glossing over. The air between the two went silent as she as her attention drifted off elsewhere.

Conner quirked an eyebrow, waving a hand in front of her face, looking for some type of reaction ”Um, hello? Are you okay?" Conner asked unsure, attempting to regain her attention.

Alice's eyes widened to an almost comical size as she breathed out a gasp of air. "Oh god." She muttered turning quickly and rushing back into the house at an inhuman speed. Conner blinked rapidly, trying to decide if he had just hallucinated the whole interaction. The wolves hadn’t been kidding when they said vampires were fast, in fact he now realized that was definitely a major understatement. 

After coming to his senses, Conner turned on his heal, rushing back into the warmth of the house. As he crossed the threshold of the kitchen, Bella coming into view. Her face was white, as she looked like she had just seen a ghost. Her face quickly morphed into utter rage as she turned on Jacob, beginning to yell at the boy.

"Bella, it's Edward." Alice interrupted, panic filling her voice. "He thinks you are dead." Bella gaped at the girl. "Rosalie told him why I came here." Conner’s mind whirled as he tried to process this information. 

Bella turned to Jacob utterly furious. "Why would you- why didn't you let me speak to him?” She asked angrily.

"He didn't ask for you." Jacob stated stubbornly.

”Bella." Alice interjected hurriedly, trying to gain her full attention. "He's going to the Volturi." Conner of course had no idea what this meant, but still, the word set an ire chill in the air. Shivers ran down his spine as the word invoked a visceral reaction from the man. "He wants to die too." Alice finished. 

Bella sucked in a breath, eyes widening. ”We have to- we have to go." She stuttered out.

Conner’s heart dropped, putting a hand up to stop the teen. ”Hold on. Where are you going?" Conner interjected incredulously. "You're not going to just get up and leave again." He recalled the year previous when Bella had left Forks in a rush only to end up in the hospital a day later. The pain she had put Charlie through.

"He left you Bella, remember? He didn't want you anymore." Jacob pleaded with the girl.

Bella let out a frustrated grunt. "I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt." She said determinedly. She glared at the two males. She knew all they wanted to do was protect her, but she’d be damned if she let Edward die while she stood by and did nothing. 

Conner ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm his building nervousness. Wherever it was that Bella was planning on going, he knew would be unsafe. Anxiety gripped his lungs as he began to struggle to breath. “Bella you can’t leave again.” He said, eyes pleading with his sister. “Charlie needs you right now.” He tried reasoning.

He looked deep into the girl’s eyes, instantly knowing that it was no use. Whatever grip this family had on the girl was too strong. In truth, he should have known this from the start, but he had tried to hope. Hope that she had moved on from Edward enough to value her own life, but he should have known. That was where her loyalties lied. Not with the family that loved and supported her throughout her darkest times, but with the boy that had broken her heart.

Conner nodded his head slowly, seeing there was no use in trying to convince her to stay. He turned his face from the girl, pain etched across his features. The fact was, family wasn’t a priority for her anymore. It hadn’t been since she had met Edward. His shoulders sagged in defeat, the sting of betrayal sinking in. And the she was gone, without even a second glance. 

He planted himself on the couch, taking his head in his hands. It was suddenly way too silent in the house, and his thoughts began to overwhelm him. 

What in the world was he going to tell Charlie?

Next Chapter

[hocenimlatine]

The Summer of 86 Pt III

A/N: I’ll do my best to update and I will be pulling from season 4.

Y/N entered the video store once more to rent another video and, as you hated to admit, to catch a glimpse of Steve.

When he wasn’t embarrassing himself in front of you, he was kind of cute. It also gave you something to do, nothing much ever happened in Hawkins, which is also another reason your dad agreed to let you go for the whole summer. So, a cute face could make up for it.

The bell atop the door rang out and much to your surprise, there was no one there. No customers, no workers, no Steve. Clutching your wallet, you decided to peruse around the store looking for any new titles.

As you read the words of each one, the sound of a slightly off-key rendition of Prince’s ‘Kiss’ began to grow louder, you turned to see Steve with a box piled up high of candy as he tried to reach the same notes. The corner of your lip tugged up due to how embarrassingly cute it was. Like a creep, you watched him from behind the stands as he danced and spun around until brown eyes landed on you.

“AHH!” A quick scream erupted from him as the box and its contents flew up in the air before landing on the floor creating a mess.

“I—” was all you said before you fell into a fit of laughter.

Steve wanted to be mad, really, he did! He wanted to tell you off but not when that adorable sound you made had his heart fluttering more or how beautiful your bobbing shoulders looked thanks to your off the shoulder top. Shoulders? Really, Steve? He thought to himself. How can someone have cute shoulders? He didn’t know, but somehow you did.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m pretty sure from your view it was very funny, finish laughing so you can help clean this mess you made.”

It was meant to be sarcastic, as he bent down to collect the things. But there you were, kneeling in front of him with wide brown eyes with tears threatening to spill from laughter. Clearing your throat, you apologized and bit back your smile as you helped him.

“You know...you know, I wasn’t serious. You don’t have to help me.” He said as the pair continued to put the candy back in the box.

“I know,” Y/N said, quickly looking at him then back to her previous actions.

“Ho-How are you Erica’s cousin? You’re so nice!” Steve exclaimed.

A chuckle fell from your plump lips and Steve smiled widely, knowing it was because of him.

“We get that...A LOT!”

They both began to laugh.

Steve cracked his knuckles unsure of what to say next, he was finally having a conversation with her without making a fool of himself. Well, a complete fool by earlier account.

“So, are you enjoying Hawkins so far?”

You looked up and nodded.

Damn, no response. He was about to open his mouth when she spoke.

“There’s not much to do unlike back home in Detroit, but you knew that already.” Y/N teased.

He let out an embarrassed laugh as he pushed the free strands out of his face.

“Sorry about that, Dustin told me when I asked who you were. I promise all I know is your name, your cousins, and your hometown. I don’t know anything crazy like your cat's name is Mittens.”

Y/N’s face scrunched up as her tone turned serious: “My cat’s name is Mittens!”

A stuttering Steve held his hands up, swearing he didn’t know before she fell into another fit of laughter.

“Oh my gosh, that was a joke? That was,” if he wasn’t already head over heels for this girl, this definitely would’ve done it.

Standing up, he stretched out his hand to help you. Accepting it, you found yourself just a few inches shorter than him, which wasn’t too bad. His brown eyes held a steady stare with yours before he glanced down to your hand.

“Well, since it is my job, I can also help you with that too.” He held out his hand and you placed the tape in his. Rounding the counter, he began to ring you up.

“ Raiders of the Lost Ark ?” He said. “Good choice.”

“Thanks,” you grinned. “I’ve always liked a little adventure.”

Steve looked up and man, were you perfect and the way the sun shone behind you made it even more obvious.

“Hey, I know there’s not much to do here, but there’s a carnival in town, if you’re not busy this weekend, we could go check it out. Don’t want you dying of boredom before the summer even begins.” He smiled and you couldn’t help but to too. You began nodding your head before you answered.

“Y/N?” The voice of your friend Nancy caused you to turn around.

“Hey, Nance, what are you doing here?”

“Just dropping off a video, hi Steve, how are you?”

“Good Nancy, you know you could just leave it in the dropbox, right?” He said.

“Yeah, I know,” Nancy trailed off looking between the two. “Did I—Am I interrupting something?”

Seeing Nancy reminded you that these two had dated, granted he wasn’t asking you on a date, but it just seemed wrong. Even with her blessing, plus you had other crazy things going on in your life, you didn’t need to add some boy in your mix.

“No, I was just leaving. Thanks, Steve.” You waved as you and Nancy left a defeated Steve. You had to remember why you wanted to come to Hawkins, nothing ever happens in Hawkins.

[gotatext]

JUDE & ANGEL— DAY THIRTY-NINE.

location :  kitchen

time :   jude and angel talk about the hideaway. after jenny asks jude to be exclusive, he finds himself wondering if she’s too keen. 

featuring :  angel  /   @dobits

angel reid

"mmmmmorning," angel sing-songs, physically unable to remove the wide grin from his mouth as he strolls into the kitchen, bushy-tailed and bright eyed. he's still only in his undies, just made a quick stop at the pisser before seeking out judey. he affectionately scruffs the back of his neck as he walks past, trying to play it oh-so cool for as long as possible. "get good sleep?" 

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

jude's in the kitchen, lovingly preparing a granola-yogurt smoothie situation for jenny and a fry up for him (plus an extra few sausages for when jenny inevitably wants one). he's still on a mission to make her a better smoothie than josh had, more out of pride now than any weird paranoia that that's still a thing, focused intently on the sizzle of his pan when angel slides in from behind (cheeky). "alright, mucker? so she took you to the hideaway, then?" jude asks, yet to turn and give angel his full attention. when he does, it's clear from the shit-eating grin on angel's face than they did more than just hash things out. "you dirty fucker." the spatula's already down, heat turned off as jude starts jumping across the kitchen to grab hold of angel's shoulders and make him jump with him. "you got some! second night in a row, bro, you're fuckin' coming for my crown!"

angel reid

there's no shot these two would react to getting laid on the outside as they do in the villa, and it's not helping angel beat the virgin allegations, but as far as he's concerned it's a rite of passage and precisely what he's expecting out of jude. "brooo," angel hypes in a fit of laughter, jumping along with him. his head hangs back in his chuckles, bit bashful. "i thought we were just gonna fight, honestly. like, we were both pretty pissed at each other, but -- dude, oh my god, there's a stripper pole in there." thumb jerks back over his shoulder, a general gesture to the hideaway. the meaning is clear - who can manage a fight in proximity to a pole? then his gaze floats over the counter, jude's morning spread littering the space and angel's mouth quirks with a knowing smile. "for wifey?" a little teasing, he pushes his shoulder into jude's chest. "you guys are really all cuffed up, huh?"

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

“don’t even say that shit, man. i’m so jealous,” jude groans, returning to the hob to flip his eggs, tossing them up like it’s a pancake rather than a fry-up. “jenny’s been hankering for hideaway since the day we coupled up. i’m out here dreaming of the hideaway, bro.” they’re not exactly quiet in the bedroom, but the opportunity to be in a soundproof box stocked like a lovehoney warehouse? nice. “yeah, for wifey. although that shit’s kinda weird right now actually. you’re not gonna believe this right, but jenny kinda asked me to be exclusive.” jude turns off the heat, picks up the pan, and slides the contents of it onto his plate. “and i, like a fuckin’ dick, said no? or at least, not yet. i’m kicking myself about it now, but i feel like it’s the best choice. i don’t want her rushin’ that shit to distract me from the fact that she kissed victoria. that ain’t just a plaster you can slap on and make everything okay.” he’s pretty sure angel and callie are closed off, but it feels different with them, somehow. they haven’t had the same hurdles. “also, we’ve known each other, what, like, ten days? i like her a lot, but it feels a bit keen.” 

angel reid

“i’m just glad i got in there before you two freaks,” he says affectionately. angel knows what jude and jenny get up to under the covers in a room full of people, he doesn’t wanna see the aftermath of them finally, truly alone. “not enough disinfectant in the world, my guy.” there’s a comedic pause as he watches jude arrange the plate. “— i thought i was wifey.” the pout is playful, is very aware that at the very least he’ll get jenny’s leftovers. then angel’s distracted by the absolute blindside of jenny wanting commitment. “i mean… you guys are already pretty exclusive, no?” spoken out the side of his mouth, like he’s trying not to say the quiet part out loud. “no, i mean, i feel you. you want it to be for the right reasons. i’m just like… well, i feel like jenny’s the kinda chick who would say it was distraction, but actually totally mean it low key.” plus it was just one silly little kiss on a first date, but he’s not gonna tell jude that, ever the loyal number two. instead he nods, cants his head. “yo, if you aren’t there yet, then honesty’s the best policy and you did good. but i think you should, like, consider the fact that jenny just wants you, dude.” a pause, he smacks jude’s arm with the back of his hand, a playful scowl wrinkling his features. “and ten days so isn’t too soon to wanna be exclusive with somebody, thanks.”

𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘆.

jude’s already smirking, shaking his head with a low laugh in his throat. “mate, they’d have to fuckin’ blitz the place. disinfectant wouldn’t cut it, you’d need a baptism of fire on that shit. better yet, just knock the whole thing down and build a new one from scratch.” didn’t they do that with the villa each year anyway? or at least, the layout seemed to change year-on-year. this one’s definitely not the version siobhan made on the sims when she heard he was going to be going on the show, a goofy little sim of him that she said she’d use to recreate his journey. kinda fucked now he thinks about it, but makes sense given her whole medic with a god complex vibe. “man, family day can’t come soon enough. obviously, i want jenny to meet them, but i need you to meet ‘em, bro. my mum’s gonna end up as your second mum, fo sho.” at angel’s pout, jude leans in, catching his jaw in his hand and placing a deliberately curt kiss against his lips. “you are wifey. what the girls don’t know won’t hurt ‘em.” jude plucks a sausage from his plate and swallows it in two bites, giving jenny’s smoothie another zhuzh in the blender before pouring it over some ice, two raspberries and a mint leaf. “looks like a dick, that,” he notes, with all the sincerity of david attenborough, serious crease between his brows. considering angel’s words, jude’s stomach curdles a little, feeling even more like he’s fucked up by tactlessly shooting her down. “yeah. yeah. we basically are exclusive. i dunno why i don’t want the label, it’s not like it makes a difference. i’m basically her boyfriend, bro. i think when we seal it off, though, i want it to be a moment i can show my nan, you get me? the big movie moment. can’t exactly show my nan a clip that borders on porno, now can i?”

[stevethehousewife]

This Covers 2 spots on my July Break Bingo card and our Stoncy Server’s monthly challenge.

AO3 Link Ship: Stancy (Pre-Stoncy)

Steve wrings his hands a few times, mouth opening and closing as he tries to say what he needs to, but the words don’t come out. Instead, he’s left gaping at Nancy like a moron until he finally smears his palms over his cheeks and mouth, and stands up from the couch, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

He feels her eyes follow him as he starts pacing, running his hands nervously through his hair, he’s shaking, god, he’s gonna be sick.

“Steve, please, sit down, you’re making me nervous,” she pleads and he glances back to see her wide eyes watching his every move.

He wants to stop, he wishes this didn’t make him as nervous as it does, but he’s terrified. He doesn’t want to lose her, not when he only recently got her back. But instead, he keeps pacing back and forth, wearing shape into the carpet before finally sitting on the edge of the coffee table and reaching out to take her hands in his, “We’ve been good for each other, lately, right?”

“Yeah,” she says with apprehension, searching his face like she’s waiting for the bomb to be dropped.

“Right,” Steve agrees, wetting his lips, “I thought so, I-”

“Are you breaking up with me?”

Steve nearly swallows his tongue, his stomach twisting, “What? No! That’s not what I said, I said ‘I thought so’. I’m agreeing with you. I think we’ve been good together, really good.”

“I know what you said, I just…” she takes a breath, brows narrowing, “The way you made it sound, I don’t know, it just… it sounded like you were talking about it in the past tense. Like we aren’t good for each other now. Like you're having second thoughts or something.”

“Well I’m not, not ever, not in a million years. And we are - we’re good for each other,” Steve insists, gripping her hands a little tighter in his, “I love you, are you kidding? No, I’m not breaking up with you. I mean, no offense, but you first.”

Nancy stares at him, her eyes following the motions of his body, and he sees that small sliver of a smile peeking through.

“Can’t have my six little nuggets if I ditch the most perfect woman on the planet, now can I?” Steve asks, watching her face go red and he reaches up to cup her cheeks, drawing her in and pressing a soft, sweet kiss to her lips.

When he pulls back, he’s somehow even more nervous than before, especially now that he’s put all that out there again as well. He can be confident about what he wants and still lose it all in the blink of an eye.

“I just-” he sighs, looking back down as he takes her hands once more, “I don’t know, maybe I’m worried what I wanna ask is gonna make you… think differently of me. Maybe you’ll break up with me. Or… or want to, or maybe you won’t think I love you the same way.”

He can see her trying to put it together, trying to figure it out, so he saves her the effort. It’s now or never, he either does this… or he doesn’t.

Steve leans down and grabs a box he’d slid under the coffee table earlier, pulling it up and setting it on his lap, he starts to drum his fingers, thinking of what to say, but then he puts it beside him instead and looks up to meet her eyes again, fingers tapping on his thigh, “I… it’s… what I want-”

Nancy reaches out and touches her fingers to his lips, then she takes his hand, “Whatever it is…” she trails off, glancing to the box, “It’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” he sighs.

“It will.”

God, he hopes.

“You… remember that time when you walked in on me…” he starts shaking, visibly shaking.

“I’ve walked in on you a lot of times,” Nancy says and giggles, “Jonathan’s walked in on you a lot of times, too.”

Steve clears his throat, his cheeks burning, “Yeah, I still feel bad for putting him through that. That’s what he gets for not knocking in this house, but still, the guy's seen a lot of things he shouldn’t have. No, this… this time you would remember. Specifically…” he gives her a look.

Nancy squints at him, “Are you talking about that time when you wouldn’t move away from the headboard until I left the room?”

“Yes,” Steve says gravely and she stops smirking at him, her expression sobering, likely from his tone, “Sometimes, when you’re away and I have a good idea how long you’re going to be away for-”

“Are you cheating on me?” Nancy asks, “With Jonathan?”

“With-what? Cheating!? No!” Steve says defensively, “No, god no!”

“Only cheaters get defensive. And he lives with us, and I wouldn’t be upset, you know I wouldn’t. Honestly it might even be kind of-”

“I was fucking myself with a dildo,” Steve shouts and Nancy’s eyes go wide, totally wide, too stunned to speak and Steve reaches up to scratch the back of his neck, “I’d never cheat on you, god. No. But I, you know… I might be… kinda… you know… into that kind of stuff.”

Nancy nods slowly, looking over to the box and down to her hands, “So when you wanted to eat my ass, you weren’t just into doing it to me… because-”

He nearly grinds his teeth from the nerves alone, “No.”

“And… all of the times we’ve had anal sex-”

“You should know by now that I don’t do anything halfway,” Steve says, not able to look at her anymore and fiddling with a tear in his jeans.

“So… if that’s what this conversation is about…” Nancy muses out loud and Steve can’t even glance at her to try and get an idea of where her head is at, “Are you… wanting to implement that into our sex lives?”

“Kind of,” he mutters.

Nancy rubs the back of his hand with her thumb, “Look at me, baby.”

Fuck.

Steve swallows and looks at her immediately, nervous, a little sick, eyes and nose burning. God, he’s terrified, he hasn’t felt like this since he saw her and Jonathan standing together that night in the woods, when he was with the kids. And he knew… he thought he’d lost her forever…

“Tell me what you want.”

“I want…” Steve breathes in through his nose, his heart racing, “I want you to fuck me.”

She looks confused first, blinking, then her eyes widen in realization and she looks to the box, “Is that…” she reaches out for it, “Can I see?”

Steve turns and grabs it, offering it over to her and watching her open it, calmly and patiently pulling the lid away and looking down at the straps, the dildo, and she reaches down to touch it curiously.

“I just… I thought… maybe-”

“I wanna do it,” she says and Steve’s eyes snap up to hers again just from the sound of genuine excitement in her voice, “Let’s do it, how do we get started? Do I put it on beforehand? Should I take some time? Finger you? Can I eat you out?”

Steve nearly chokes on air from her line of questions, his heart rate climbing, “I-yeah… if you-... if you, you know, want to… to do that?”

“Now?” Nancy asks him, one hand coming up to touch her lips in that way she does when she’s thinking about questionable things she wants to do to him. God, she’s thinking about this.

Steve starts to stand up and she mirrors his movements, clutching the box tight in her hands, “You’re really excited about this?” he asks before he can stop himself, part of him just wanting to be sure, another part of him confident that it’s too good to be true.

“Of course!” she tells him, “If you want this, I want to give it to you,” he watches the smile spread on her face, the shine to her eyes, “I know how much you like doing it to me, and I know how good it feels. I want to give that to you.”

God he loves her. He really does.

Steve takes the box from her and grabs her free hand with his other, tugging her from the living room while listening to her excited footsteps behind him. He’s almost at the landing when he feels her hands on his backside, smoothing down his jeans. He nearly backs up against her, humming in approval from the feeling and letting out a low moan of surprise.

Nancy’s hands move to his hips as they pass Jonathan’s bedroom door, slipping into theirs and locking it behind them.

He’s barely inside when she turns him around, taking the box and tossing it onto the edge of the bed, reaching up to grab the collar of his polo shirt so she can drag him down into a kiss. Steve moans weakly the moment their lips lock, wrapping his arms around her small waist and holding her close as he steps backwards to the bed.

She shoves him back on the mattress and motions to his pants, “Take those off,” she says as she removes her shirt and reaches down to her own jeans.

Steve drops his hands to the button on his pants, unsnapping, unzipping, and kicking them down his thighs, he barely has them off his feet before she’s climbing into his lap and shoving him back down, tugging his shirt up and tossing it away.

“I love you,” he says breathlessly as he wraps an arm around her, snapping the hook on her bra, his lips pressed against hers as they share fevered, desperate kisses, their bodies flush together as they move.

Nancy kisses him back, panting into his mouth, “I love you,” she responds, rocking her hips down, “I wanna eat you out.”

Steve shivers, eyes wide as he pulls back to look at her, “God, I’ve never wanted you more.”

She smiles, cheeks red with color, “I don’t know how,” she admits, looking at him through her lashes, “Tongue first, right?”

He nods and turns when she motions for him to do it, rolling onto his stomach and pushing down his briefs for her. He doesn’t expect her hands to immediately start touching him, palming his ass and spreading him open, and he nearly jumps when he feels the quick brush of her tongue swipe over his skin.

“Nance-” he sighs out, grinding his hips down against the bed and resisting every urge to contort his body so that he can see what she’s doing. Just feeling it isn’t enough.

He pulls his lip between his teeth as Nancy drags her tongue over the tight, sensitive ripples of muscle, working him open as he closes his eyes and focuses on relaxing. It doesn’t take much, he’s pretty used to it by now, but it still feels different with her tongue, and not just… what he has on hand.

Steve’s about to give her advice on the next part when she speaks up, pulling her tongue out of his ass to speak up, her voice somewhat hoarse and breathless already, “Can you get the lube?”

He whimpers, making his best attempt at an affirming sound before reaching around in the tangled sheets to find where he’d last seen it, just under the corner of Nancy’s pillow. He hands it down to her, glancing back to meet her eyes, “Warm it in your hands.”

“I know,” she says and winks up to him, licking her lips, “I got it covered. Should I put the uhm… dildo… what’s it called?”

“Strap-on.”

“Should I put it on?”

“Sure,” Steve says, more breath than words and then he watches as she climbs down from the bed and grabs it, checking it out first and then stepping into it. He offers to help, but she handles it like she’s some kind of pro, positioning it and testing it and running her fingers over the shape of the dildo buckled firmly in place.

“I like it,” she says confidently, climbing back onto the bed.

He hears her open the bottle of lube and relaxes once more, curling up against one of his pillows as he feels her fingers start spreading him open, one first until he tells her that it’s okay to start with two - they’re thin, after all, and he does this often enough that it won’t be difficult to get him ready.

Steve lifts his hand to show her what he’s done to her in the past, “Spread them like this. There’s also, if you push forward, towards-” his words cut off, hand dropping to grab a fistful of the sheets under him, “Nance,” he moans out, reduced to sounds shortly after as she rubs against his prostate mercilessly. She finds that spot, finds how he responds to it, and she doesn’t stop until he’s coming, completely untouched, skin slick with sweat and legs shaking.

“Can I fuck you now?” she asks and he can hear the smile on her face without even looking.

“Please,” he mutters numbly.

He listens to her opening the bottle of lube again, likely to pour a generous amount of it onto the dildo and then he waits. Patiently. Impatiently. Festering somewhere in the middle until he feels the blunt tip kiss his puckered entrance and start pressing inward.

It’s different, having someone else do it other than himself, having Nancy do it, his Nance. It takes a little more adjustment to will the muscles to relax, but they do.

“That’s right, baby,” she says, touching his back soothingly, “You’re perfect, you’re doing perfect.”

Steve’s mouth drops open, his toes curling, “Please-”

“I’ll take care of you,” Nancy assures him, “Just tell me if I hurt you. I can slow down if it’s too much.”

“It won’t be.”

“Are you sure?”

Steve looks back to her and nods, “I want it fast,” he begs, “Fast and hard.”

“If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure.”

She doesn’t hold back after that, dull nails digging into his hips as she guides him onto the dildo, her hips snapping forward and she leans over him to grab his hair, “I thought you… looked good under me before,” she pulls and teases, her nails dragging over his scalp, “But look at you now. I can tell you’ve had practice, with how well you take me.”

She’s going to kill him.

Steve shivers under her, so hard at this point that he’s leaking a constant drizzle from the tip, back arching low to the bed and spreading his legs just a bit more to adjust the angle.

And then he’s seeing stars.

Every thrust runs through him like electricity going straight up his back and Steve’s left screaming her name until he’s spent, his orgasm punching him in the gut so hard this time that he feels a tear slip down his cheek.

He slumps to the mattress, barely even twitching when Nancy pulls the dildo from him and Steve blinks through the haze as she turns him over. Even as weak as he is, he goes easily, doing the best he can to turn onto his back for her.

Nancy’s hands drop away for a moment and he peeks down to see her taking off the strap-on, setting it aside and peeling off her panties. She climbs into his lap, and then higher, and Steve lets out a staggered breath before she straddles his face, combing his hair back underneath her before pinning his head down.

Steve tilts his chin for her, breathing when he can, but otherwise holding it as he curves one arm up and around to rub at her clit.

“Steve!” she bucks desperately, and he drags his tongue over her folds, satisfied with how wet she is just from fucking him. He hasn’t even had a chance to put his hands on her and she’s dripping.

She doesn’t last long, even suffocating him under her thighs as she is, she gets off before he runs out of breath though, quivering around him and grinding against his face as she screams his name.

Steve smooths his hands along her thighs, glancing up to meet her eyes when she pulls away.

She drops down, grabbing his jaw and kissing him hard, his lips, his cheeks drenched in her, and he’s still catching his breath but he kisses her back, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her close.

He pulls back after a moment, tucking her hair behind her ear and staring into her eyes, “I love you,” he says, smiling wide, “God I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she says and kisses him again, “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

Nancy smooths her hand down his chest and then looks towards the bedroom door, “Maybe we can go down and get a snack.”

They let each other go, Steve grabbing a quick pair of pajama pants to put on and Nancy takes up the shirt he was wearing before, throwing it on and she nearly makes it to the door before he scoops her up off her feet and carries her.

The sound she makes the moment her feet leave the floor is something he’ll cherish for a lifetime, and then she grabs his neck and kisses him, humming against his mouth as he carefully makes his way downstairs with her in his arms.

He sets her back down on her feet, Nancy helping to grab a few things so that he can make them sandwiches.

Just as he’s cutting them in halves, handing one over to her, where she’s seated up on the counter watching him, her eyes turn and Steve looks to see Jonathan walking into the kitchen.

Shit. When did he even get home? Hopefully he didn’t… hear too much.

Steve’s suddenly self-conscious of his nudity. Nancy’s fine, but he normally does his best to dress decently around Jonathan. And there’s no doubt claw marks left behind from Nancy… not to mention they probably smell like sex.

“Want a sandwich?” Steve asks, trying to seem as normal and totally not nervous at all as possible.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Jonathan says as he moves to the refrigerator to refill his drink. He sets it on the counter and Steve can feel his eyes on him while his back is still turned, slapping the bread together and cutting it the way he knows Jonathan prefers.

Steve offers the sandwich when it’s done and Jonathan takes it, but then his eyes drop to Steve’s chest and he chuckles.

Steve looks down as well.

“She does that to me, too,” Jonathan says, motioning to the bright red marks, “They look better on you.”

Steve nearly short circuits when Jonathan reaches up to touch his hair - Steve’s hair - tucking it back out of his face before he turns to Nancy, leaning in to kiss her.

He watches them until he can’t, and then he turns back to make his own sandwich, his stomach twisting up in all kinds of weird ways. It’s just Jonathan. It’s not… like he wants to date the guy.

They’re both with Nancy, it’d be weird if-... and Steve’s not interested in him anyway.

He finishes making his sandwich, taking a bite out of it as Jonathan pulls back and steps away, giving Steve this look like he can read his mind or something. Then he takes his drink and leaves, and Steve’s left standing there like some mindless asshole, wondering what Jonathan looks like with their girlfriend’s marks on his back.

This fic is also up on AO3. For full releases early, you can go here. Otherwise, I post semi-sporadically here on tumblr and on AO3.

[stellar-waves]

staring down the sun [13] *

⏯ chapter index

⚠ warnings: mentions of death and grief/mourning

. . .

turn my bones to sand

. . .

Rubbing his eyes, Connor smells the night air falling around him and Murphy as they walk down the street. They spot a payphone, laughing to themselves when they see FREE THE SAINTS had been spraypainted on the side. But then the phone rings, and the twins look at each other, confused. Connor picks up the receiver, answering with a slow hello. 

“Connor, is that you?” 

He recognizes that thick Irish accent anywhere. 

He can’t help the lump forming in his throat as he locks eyes with Murphy. “Ma?” 

Murphy’s face falls with shock, and Connor instinctively angles the phone for his brother to listen. They press their shoulders together and huddle close to the payphone box.

“Yer brother there, too, yeah?” 

“Aye, I’m here, Ma,” Murphy confirms.

“I need ye both to listen to me,” her voice is profound, her words clear and not soaked with alcohol for once. “Ye made me proud.”

The boys pause, wondering if they heard her correctly. “What do ye mean, Ma?” Connor asks.

She lets out a long sigh, and they can hear her smiling on the other end. “I mean it. Ye boys made me proud. Ye still do. Yer good boys that are protecting all that which is good.”

“But, Ma…” Murphy swallows hard. “We thought ye disapproved of what we were doing. Because of Da.”

“Oh, Murphy, my son. Truth is, yer father tried to do what he thought was right. He just…well, ye know now, yeah?”

They nod simultaneously, choking out their agreement together. “Aye, we do.”

“There’s one more thing I need from ye,” she says firmly. “Keep each other safe.”

Connor and Murphy look at each other, tears stinging their eyes as they smile. “Yes, mother.”

“And not just the two of ye lot. Take care of those who are helping ye as well.”

“We will,” Murphy softly replies. 

“Promise,” Connor assures as he blinks away the tears. 

Ma draws her voice out like smoothing butter on toast. “There’s my boys.” She laughs lightly, and the boys listen to her for as long as they can, missing her with every breath. “Oh, and Connor?”

He raises his eyebrows, hopeful she’s about to tell him he’s the older twin. “Yes, Ma?”

“A little bird tells me the sun is shining bright in Galway.”

. . .

Connor and Murphy wake up fast, looking at each other with wide eyes in the early morning sunlight. They each rub their faces and steady their breathing, letting their eyes focus before staring at each other again. Neither one says a word aloud; they don’t have to as muted smiles curl along their faces. 

Then Murphy’s brow creases slightly, and he utters one question he’s still wondering about. “Galway?”

Blinking hard, Connor shrugs and shakes his head, honestly not sure what their mother meant in saying that.

He reaches for his t-shirt while Murphy slides on his jeans. “I miss her,” Murphy admits as he sits back on the bed to tie his boots. 

“Me too.” Connor steps into his jeans and fastens his belt. “I wish we could have gone back to Ireland sooner, ye know, before…”

Murphy presses his lips together, nodding slowly. Connor sits on his bed, pulling his boots on finally while his brother avoids eye contact. He sees it in Murphy’s face: the memories, the regret, the grief. 

They had gone into hiding for around six months following the Yakavetta trial, after revealing themselves to the world, sending the message that evil would fear the Saints of South Boston. For six months, they hid with their father on the outskirts of town until they got the call from Uncle Sibeal. They didn’t believe it initially, thinking it was just another elaborate practical joke their mother wanted to play on them. But when Sibeal appeared at their door and showed them her obituary and prayer card from her funeral, Connor and Murphy lost it. “I’m so sorry we had to have the service without ye, boys. We wanted to keep ye safe,” their uncle explained as tears streaked down their faces. Da had quietly disappeared to his bedroom, unable to come out for some time. That night, they heard their father crying, praying, and begging for forgiveness. 

It took a couple of weeks for Sibeal to arrange for the MacManus men to travel to Ireland. Before they left, they called Smecker one last time. He asked Connor when they would return, but Connor couldn’t answer. “Be careful,” Smecker told them as Connor held the phone so Murphy could hear. And that was the last thing Smecker would say to them before he…

Connor smiles, laughing a bit at how memories can change. Murphy raises an eyebrow toward him, curious about what’s on his twin’s mind. “Oh, it’s just,” Connor starts, “Ye remember when we made it to Ireland? And when we went to the cemetery?”

Murphy’s face falls slightly, almost angry that Connor is still on this. “Aye…”

“Ye remember that flower arrangement that was by Ma’s gravestone? And that it had a card signed—”

“—signed by Smecker. Yeah, I remember that.” Murphy places his hand over his mouth, the memory flooding back and returning the light to his eyes. “He had written some poem and then signed it, ‘Your friend, Paul.’”

Connor walks to the other side of the room, fumbles with his coat to find the inside pocket, and pulls out a small, plain white card. His voice is gentle as he hands the card to Murphy. “Didn’t have the heart to leave it there only to get rained on.” He watches his brother’s smile grow as he studies the card, the edges showing years of wear. Though it’s typewritten from their hometown florist, the words are still from Smecker’s heart. 

“How the fuck did ye keep it all this time?” Murphy asks.

Smiling still, Connor returns to his coat, pulls another small card from the inside pocket, and hands it to his twin. “This might have been the saving grace when we got arrested.” It’s the prayer card from Ma’s funeral, and the edges also show years of sitting in Connor’s coat pocket. 

Murphy lets out a slow sigh, not out of sadness but of comfort. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

“Lord’s fucking name!” Connor barks, sounding just like his mother. 

They both laugh, giggling like little boys again. As Murphy calms down, he hands the two cards back to his brother, only for Connor to hand the prayer card back to him. 

Doesn’t matter who was born first…Connor will always be the unspoken big brother.

He lightly pats Murphy’s shoulder, quietly reminding him they should get going. They pull on their coats and go outside, their stomachs already growling for breakfast at the diner up the highway. Another “devout follower,” Duffy said of the diner’s owner, and that she agreed to “close for a private party” whenever the group needed to blow off some steam. Today is one of those days. 

The others have already left, so the boys stand at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for Elena. Murphy lights up a cigarette and hums a familiar tune that Connor can’t quite place yet. 

“Morning, boys,” Elena greets them with a modest smile, sliding her jacket on as she descends the stairs. “You sleep well?”

Murphy nods as he takes a drag, still humming. He presses a hand to his chest, surely to confirm Ma’s prayer card is still safe in his pocket, close to his heart. 

The three walk along the gravel to the car, and Elena hands Connor the key. “What about you, Connor?” she asks gently. 

He shakes his head, chuckling at the irony that after sharing the same dream, the twins have different opinions on the quality of their sleep. By the car, he answers as his brother climbs into the backseat. “Sort of.” 

Connor watches Elena as she slides on her black wayfarers, his breath catching in his chest as the sun lights up her face. She smiles, glowing beneath her sunglasses. “Sounds like you and I need some coffee, yeah?”

His cheeks feel warm as his grin spreads, and he can’t tell if it’s from the sun or Elena. That is if there’s even a difference between the two anymore.

. . .

. . .

⏮ [12]

[14] ⏭