#TW only apply to the dream though

[lestappenforever]

I feel like a lestappen 26 and 35 can work together quite nicely 😊

I must say I agree with you. 😉

Also, I will add a trigger warning for dark dreams with mentions of death here. I promise it's only a dream, though.

---

26. "Just breathe. Like that. That's it.", and 35. "I don't know who I am without you." "That's easy. You're the best person I've ever met."

Max always dreams.

Every night, he dreams. But he can count the amount of times he has woken up actually remembering a dream on one hand. And the few times he does, it's never good.

The touch of a front wheel to a back wheel on a slowly drying track.

A red Ferrari spinning out in Eau Rogue at Spa and being hit by another car coming up behind it, sending it flying, the car turning upside down and crashing against the barriers at high speed

A radio message going unanswered, again and again and again.

A red flag being waved almost immediately.

"Who is it?" Max demands into his radio.

"It's Leclerc, Max," Gianpiero tells him.

Max's blood runs cold.

"Is he okay? Is he out of the car?"

"Standby, waiting for a visual."

Gianpiero doesn't speak again until Max is turning into the pitlane.

"He's unresponsive, Max. They're working on getting him out of the car."

Max parks the car and as soon as he's brought into the garage, he climbs out, throws off his helmet and takes off running.

A myriad of people try to stop him, but none of them suceed.

He runs and runs and runs, not caring about his own safety, not caring about the race. All he cares about is getting to Charles and making sure he's okay.

He reaches Eau Rogue just in time to see stewards putting Charles' lifeless body on a stretcher and loading him into the ambulance. He meets the gaze of one of the paramedics and he just knows.

Max wakes up with a scream.

"Jesus Christ," Charles gasps next to him, startled awake and blinking rapidly.

He looks at Max, sitting upright and gasping for breath, and it springs Charles into action.

"Hey, Max, it's okay. You're okay," the Monégasque tells him, as he moves to position himself behind Max on the bed, his legs on either side of Max, running his hands gently over the Dutchman's shoulders, down his arms.

"It was just a nightmare."

Max's body is trembling, cold sweat coating his face, his neck, his chest.

Charles wraps his arms around him, pulling Max back against his chest and kissing his shoulder.

"Shhh, it's okay. Feel my breathing," he instructs, as he takes a deep breath in. "In, two, three, four."

Max tries to mirror him as best he can.

Charles exhales. "Out, two, three, four."

It takes him quite a few tries but eventually, Max manages to calm his breathing enough to match Charles' steady breaths, aided by the solid warmth behind him and the way he can feel Charles' chest rise and fall against his back.

He can feel Charles' heartbeat against the back of his shoulder, reminding him that it was just a dream. A horrible, terrible dream.

But a dream nevertheless.

Charles' arms tighten around him, and Max closes his eyes.

"Just breathe. Like that. That's it."

In, two, three, four.

Out, two, three, four.

"You're okay, mon chéri," Charles murmurs against his shoulder, pressing another kiss there.

"You were gone," Max eventually finds his voice and when he lifts a hand to feel his cheek, it's wet with tears. "You crashed and you weren't responding on the radio, and then you were just gone."

Charles makes a sympathetic noise against his shoulder.

"But I'm not. I'm right here."

"You were gone, Charles."

"It was a nightmare, chéri. Just a nightmare."

Max takes another deep breath.

In, two, three, four.

Out, two, three, four.

Leaning his head back against Charles' shoulder, Max looks up at the other man.

"I don't know who I am without you," he admits, voice small and quiet. Charles meets his gaze in the darkness of the bedroom.

"That's easy," Charles counters, a small smile on his lips. "You're the best person I've ever met"

A surprised chuckle escapes Max at that, and some of the tightness in his chest finally eases.

"But, lucky for you —," the Monégasque begins, trailing one hand gently up and down Max's stomach and chest. "— you'll never have to be without me. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Relief washes over Max, and he nuzzles his face against the side of Charles' neck, letting his eyes slide shut again.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Max mumbles, and he feels Charles smile against his hair.

"I would expect nothing less."

A while later, they fall asleep in that exact position; Charles leaning back against the headboard with Max between his legs, resting back against Charles' front.

And if Max dreams this time, he thankfully doesn't remember it.

[ectonurites]

ZACH TAYLOR & DARYL HARPER | HOLY GHOST BY MODERN BASEBALL

[lains-reality]

hi :) i hope you’re having a wonderful day

you’re literally the only blogger i trust when it comes to non-duality, and your advice has been the one i’ve been most easily able to apply/understand. I hope this doesn’t come off as a vent, but it probably will just because this question is so complicated and problem riddled, and tbh idek if you’re actually going to respond, but yea. it’s like star wars you’re my obi wan kenobi! my last hope lol

basically i’ve put my life on hold and procrastinated everything i’ve needed to do. (TW: death?? health problems/sa?) I went through a really bad year, last year. the human character i identify with (non-dualistic terms, bc ik this character isn’t me?) was sa’d in the beginning of the year. really traumatic. i dropped out of school, i couldn’t go out of the house because i feared for my life. i became super paranoid. i reported it and filed charges, but the justice system is fucked so.

anyways, after because the amount of stress i was experiencing, i became very ill. my biological father wished death on me, and i believed it at the time, because my sibling wished for me to get raped, and then it happened. i can see now, how my belief may or may not have been the cause of what happened. i then got cancer. the doctors couldn’t figure it out for months, and even ridiculed me- saying how i relied on google.

i finally went to a specialist who was immediately concerned, and then confirmed my suspicions. i was sort of friends with a blogger on here who got into the void and manifested their dream life. they went into the void for me and affirmed that i no longer had cancer, and that i could tap/wake up in the void. the next day, the huge lump/tumor on my neck was gone. all of my ailments- trouble breathing, patchy and rough skin ceased. i literally told my mother what happened which made her start believing in the power of “manifestation”.

because of the paranoia, and then cancer- i didn’t go to school my last 2 years of school. i switched to online, but never felt the need to complete my classes because i knew i would get into the void. i’ve gotten into the void, both by waking up/tapping into it but i haven’t been able to change my awareness, or “manifest” bc i was just mumbo jumbing words or poetry. i didn’t apply to university, because i thought i’d enter the void before then and revise my school grades + make it so i got into the university of my choice.

now, i have a week left before i have to finish my classes- which i have 7 of them, and so many assignments. i have to move out in the middle of august because i lied to my parents and said i got into university, because i thought i would’ve already changed things with the void by now. my life was fucked, then i fucked my life. after discovering non-duality i gained hope that i would be able to turn things around by now, yet i haven’t. i don’t know what i’m doing wrong, because i was able to show myself the truth of reality (as lester levinson said).

i am really stressing because now everything is falling down on itself. i try to forget my problems, and don’t give them life by letting go, yet it’s so hard when teachers are bombarding me with messages how i have to finish the classes, or how i have to move out soon. i know this is probably ego driven, but i feel as if i can’t see a way through because of how attached i am to this. my health has also been abnormal, which makes me fear that the cancer has returned. what should i do?? im kinda freaking out.

anyways, i am so sorry if this came across trauma dumping/venting. i am just at a point where i do not even know where to begin to conceptualize this into understanding. this took a lot of courage to type, as im a bit afraid still- that people who hurt me from last year will see this (even though i know they won’t, but still). i totally understand if you wish not to post this or answer it, as it is very long and limiting. thank you though! i hope you have a wonderful week:)

this was quite difficult to answer as i've never been through so much turmoil all at once. i hope this answer helps and you'll continue taking care of yourself! (i'm sorry i linked way too much lol just don't read it all at once!)

firstly i want you to rest.

you've been through a lot and you've also been putting off a lot to get into the void. stopping life for manifestation is common it seems, its not healthy either. so much pressure is coming from time. you put all your expectations on a method, and i'm gonna guess that you also put so much onto your mind to get you into the void.

practically: your biological father sounds abusive and so does your sibling, i would be more careful around him. idk if your not around him anymore, it sounds like it? but you need to plan accordingly for your lie. are you gonna tell your parents or ?

theres a massive chance you'll just go crazy trying to figure out all these moving parts, so i suggest do what you can and leave the rest. do the minimum to keep you safe, then figure out the rest as it comes. do whatever you need to do, just remember to not take on too much at once.

ask for breaks on work at school for medical reasons, maybe think about jobs, etc. you see how much more could come into the picture? but this is all the body-mind can do. its easy to treat it as god, but its not god.

"but i feel as if i can’t see a way through"

You fail to do the works of God, because you take the body to be God. - Ada B. [4dbarbie]

take a look at these meditations:

butter meditation

peace meditation

surrender meditation

un-identification exercise

crying meditation

i'd like you pick one of these exercises:

feel all the shit. feel bad. just do it. let all the bad feelings out. put on sad music and fucking cry. cry it all out.

let yourself rest, with no problems. if a thought or feeling comes in just let it, because its not a problem remember? :) just put on some calming music or visualise a calming place. and let yourself have some time with nothing. no conditions. no perfection. no obligations. no 'have to' 'should' 'must'. let that go for this time

feel as if you've died. feel as if you've been completely forgiven, feel as if there was a powerful white light that washed you away of all the crap. really feel as if the divine came down, hugged you and said 'i love you and forgive you'. its all over. finally its all done. you can rest. (i suggest kickstarting this with imagery or music, its hard to generate feeling such grace on you own. i saw a jesus holding a baby lamb picture that made me burst out in tears and realised that all i wanted was just to be, no obligations. i imagined waking up in a heaven, in a gaint flowerfield. do what you want)

one time i did the 1st and 3rd exercises (i made it up on the spot) and it was worth it. the next few days felt much better. its like an exercise in rebirth. let yourself be reborn.

some days you'll just do one or all 3. pick what ever feels right in what ever order. but i suggest that 'feel as if you've died' or 'no problems' comes last! the whole point is to let the painful emotion pass through and settle in a neutral or grateful place.

"after discovering non-duality i gained hope that i would be able to turn things around by now"

here's the problem, you went into a philosophy intending to manifest. yes,, (1) you can do that (2) its okay, AS LONG AS YOU DONT MISS THE POINT. the point being that there is no person! the character is a character, not you. manifestation is just another concept, you can use it as long as you understand that its not real. thats why i shared the BOOKS, you need to READ.

"i try to forget my problems, and don’t give them life by letting go"

don't force yourself to forget (don't say you're not forcing it, otherwise you never would of wrote "TRY"). just let them be. deal with it when it comes up. the mind'll want to make a bazillion plans and stress. if you can make plans without spiriling, then do it. if you can't, don't. there will probably be some things you need to plan and thats okay. but everything else, leave it.

you haven't actually let it go, you're here in my inbox. you do not need to force letting it go. you naturally let it go by realising who you are in relation to it all. if you think you're the body-mind then its impossible to let go, because its your life and it involves you and if you let it go to shit, you might die!! - says the mind. but if you're Self, then this is not you. all those stories mean nothing compared to Infinity, Absolute Perfection and Love!

the Self is who you truly are. Self is still underneath it all, it is all. its imagining itself being a human. the character is the wave, YOU are the ocean. ultimately this is about realising all the identities, images and roles that "you've" taken on and used as reference are not you. how can a story be you? how can the past be you? are you the past? are you currently living in the past? you can be if you keep bringing it into the now.

when you stop using the past as a reference point, how much more posibilities come up now?

this is because the mind only knows what it knows. it cannot know anything more than what it knows right now. it can't access infinite intelligence. that's why it'll try to project into the future, and make plans. but it doesn't truly know. all it does is give suggestions based off the past. it is a combination of identity based off feelings, thoughts and memories that is collected and turned into a habit.

the past, memories, feelings, thoughts, identifies, roles etc all pass through you. they all come up like waves and then leave on THEIR OWN. if you hold onto these (which the character wants to do, it thinks thats all it is) it'll be painful when they are threatened in some way. a simple remark of "oh you look xxx" can be so painful for some characters because they based their whole life on a singular identity that WILL go.

Most of you can't change because you are so desperate TO change... but there is nothing to want to change. Things just are. Don't work with changing self, just realize who self actually is. [4dbarbie]

this is not a forcing thing, its just a rememberance. its done out of love, passion, a desire to just be free! with no ties to whatever identity! its takes courage, not convincing or denial.

Disbelieving you are Vanessa and denial are not the same thing. Denial is when you deny reality to something you're already giving reality to. Disbelieving was meant as an experiment, you never thought yourselves to be anything but this body, what will happen if you did? What are changes in your psyche, do you feel more confident, do you feel like you could take on the world? Don't you love Vanessa now that you know that she always was a choice? Even if she wasn't the greatest, what's so wrong with her? She is just somebody, she just lives a life. Things are only so serious when you're identified with her, you get scared, you get hurt, you feel stuck. But when you know that she can't hinder you? That she was never you? Don't you just want to laugh and hug her? [4dbarbie]

are you sure you're reading books and posts? a lot of this is already answered. your case is just more to deal with, but the point is still the same: you are not the body and mind, see what would happen if you questioned them.

just KEEP IT SIMPLE!

i'd like to leave you with this.

Once a young woman came to Hafiz and said, “What is the sign of someone knowing God?” And Hafiz became very quiet and stood in silence for nearly a minute. Lovingly looking deep into the young woman's eyes, he then softly spoke: “My dear, they have dropped the knife. The person who knows God has dropped the cruel knife so often used upon their tender self and others.” [source]

some extra resources

eft - health fear

eft - afraid to feel

we cannot practice letting go

heart of an emotion

i want to wake up with everything

hafiz - love's victory (PLEASE WATCH IT)

trust yourself

"You think you're doing it all for nothing, that's why you don't do it. But is freedom from pain really nothing? At least you are, for once in your life, sighing from relief from all this never-ending sense of doing."

health anon

apply

"All the process requires is letting go of thinking you are Vanessa."

behaviour

letting thoughts and emotions pass

challenge yourself

stories

everything brings you back to your Self

you've been through a lot and i'm glad you still are full of love! otherwise you never would've tried in the first place to change anything. use that love, take any anger and turn it into love for freedom! for Self! i know you can do it!!

also: the feeling of bad health coming back is a sign to me. you've put so much on hold: your healing from the sa, the healing from your family, the lying, LIFE in general. you can't keep doing that. turn inwards. the fear won't consume you.

[legendofmorons]

The LU boys and superstitions

Once again, I was thinking about things I grew up with/ learned about and applying it to the boys. I might add the colors and dark link later, I just couldn't think of any for them rn

Tw: mentions death

Fierce

Oh, he's so old he probably has a bunch he follows

He never leaves an empty rocking chair rocking.

He keeps any hanging horse shoes hung right side up (ends up so it's able to hold the luck)

Fierce also believes in wishing on shooting stars

First

Throwing salt over your left shoulder after you spill it

He will NOT wash clothes or clean things on new years day

Refuses to walk under ladders

Covering mirrors when someone dies in a building (stops them from becoming stuck in the mirror)

Four

Horseshoe hung up so the luck won't fall out

Breaking mirros is bad luck to him

He dosen’t have a whole lot, he thinks most wide spread superstitions are common sense

Hyrule

Ooooo boy

Faerie boy? He has some.

I think he's probably a summer /seelie fae so he probably has some superstitions around harvest time

Bottle trees keep away haints/ghosts/spirits

If your ear rings someone is talking about you

He HATES all horseshoes (iron is BAD for the fae), but if he must be near one, he would like it to be right side up

Legend

Breaking mirrors is bad luck

Rocking an empty rocking chair? No thanks, he's not inviting unknown spirits or death.

He keeps a mirror outside his house to keep away evil/the devil/ (demise??)

He eats black eyed peas on new years

He sweeps out the back door (never the front and NEVER when it's dark outside)

Will ward off evil with the three finger sign I always saw

Stays away from cross roads at night

Ravio

If you thought Legend had a bunch, Ravio has more

He has all of the one Leged has ofc

He also believes walking under ladders is bad

He covers mirrors AND stops clocks if someone passes away in his home

Holds his breathe while passing a grave yard

He always goes out the same door he came in through

He believes death comes in threes

He only walk beside his loved ones when going around a post never letting it go between them

Probably has many more

Sky

Not that superstitious actually. He tries to avoid breaking mirrors but not much else

Isn't a huge fan of black cats, but that's more because of nighttime remlits than anything

Time

By the end of his first adventure he has none

The superstitions he had believed were proven false over the years

Tries not to break mirrors but that's because he hates broken glass

Will participate in superstitions if someone he cares about asks. He knows it's out of love

Twilight

He dosen’t like empty rocking chairs that are rocking

He has a horseshoe hung up in his room to keep away bad dreams

Not too superstitious at heart, but so many people in his town are that it is basically habit for him

Warriors

Knocks on wood to keep from jinxing himself

Dosen’t gift knives to loved ones because he dosen’t want to sever the relationship

Wild

He remembers a few but isn't too superstitious

Likes four leaf clovers for luck though!

And he dosen’t clean on new years

Wind

He will knock on wood

He also likes to pick up a green rupee for luck! (Originally a penny)

He also probably wants a luck rabbit's foot

[honeystwiggypeach]

Accidentally a giant secret!

Dad!Eddie Munson x Mom!Reader

Tw: Reader looses her job and cries a bit, reader and Eddie have their baby really young like she’s fresh out of high school, also getting married without thinking.

Mini dad!eddie masterlist!!

Eddie didn’t mean to not tell his friends that he had a wife( which is amongst a few of his other big secrets…)he really didn’t, just the way it happened so fast it didn’t allow for him to really tell anyone too much.

You had just graduated high school but Eddie hadn’t which disappointed the both of you because you both had big plans to move out of Hawkins together into a city near your dream college but obviously that didn’t happen, you didn’t get into your dream college anyways not that you would have been able to do much by the time you got the rejection letter you were six months pregnant. Yeah maybe his precious baby girl was amongst the few big secrets that happened to slip his mind fairly often, but not because he wasn’t thinking about the two of you ever waking moment of his life because he sure thinks he is.

The tiny eight month old baby girl had been named Lucille because as much as Eddie protested and pleaded you didn’t want to name your baby girl anything that would come back to bite you two in the ass when she would have to apply for jobs. Thankfully for Eddie he figured out he would get to call her Lucy and was delighted at the idea that at least he could play the beetles for her! So for your whole pregnancy when you laid in bed Eddie would run to the dresser snatching up his headphones to put them over your bump and play ‘Lucy in the sky with diamonds’ smiling like an idiot the whole time watching as Lucille would kick at the headphones while you tried to convince Eddie it meant she hated the song(like you began to do after the tenth time he insisted he play it)

Before all of this though, when you first found out you were pregnant the day after graduation you told Eddie that you thought the two of you should just get married! So that’s what happened, Eddie dressed in a pair of his nice jeans and you wore some dress you pulled from your closet, and Eddie drove you to the court house with one of the office workers that neither of you knew being the witness. It was very rushed and something you would later regret doing so quickly, you didn’t regret marrying Eddie, if anything you regretted not being able to celebrate it more.

Anyways, you picked up a good job and attended the nearby community college until you were around seven months pregnant than you just went to work until you were eight months and went on maternity leave.

While you were on maternity leave you and Eddie moved out of his uncles trailer into a trailer nearby that had gone for sale. It was a small two bedroom trailer not much different from the one he and his uncle had lived in if anything the layout was the same main difference being the color pallet but that was something that had been changed in the two months you two had to fix it up at least a little before Lucy would be born.

Once she was born everything fell into a rhythm, you continued going to college and continued with your job(Eddie’s uncle would babysit Lucille in the mornings until Eddie got home from school) and Eddie picked up another job besides his dealing that paid decent.

Now Eddie isn’t sure how his friends never noticed his little family, his wedding band was the only gold ring on his hands and he made an effort to always treat it better than the rest, always admiring it over the others. He isn’t sure how they didn’t know he had a baby either, some days would be rough and he’d have dark circles, others he’d have spit up on his shirt, and sometimes he’d literally write lyrics about having a wife and daughter yet no one thought anything of it, so Eddie didn’t tell.

That is until one night you walk into Hellfire, eight month old Lucille babbling about on your hip with tears in your eyes. The moment you walk in all heads are turned to you and Lucille especially when Eddie gets up panicking as he has his hand on your back comfortingly, the quickly switch between his usual dramatic and playful self into this domestic family man confusing everyone. He gently guides you into the hallway with him as you cry into his chest while Lucille climbs onto him babbling before seeing your tears and triggering her own so now both of Eddie’s precious angels are upset and he isn’t sure why, I mean he knows why Lucy’s crying, whenever her parents are upset you can count her in so it’s no surprise to Eddie that she’s crying right now.

“Sweetheart, angel” Eddie tries to gently push you away from the grip you have on his shirt so he can ask you why you’re crying.

“What happened?” He knows something must have happened for you to come into hellfire.

“They fired me Eds” he’s almost certain his shirts gonna be stained with your tears as he realizes what your so worried over.

“Oh angel, it’s gonna be alright. I’ll pick up another job or something” he comforts trying to get you to let him go so he can tell the hellfire group that they’re dismissed.

You sniffle a bit, “really?” You look up at him through wet eyelashes and he just can’t tell you no as he nods.

“Alright than I’ll let you get back to your stuff.” You try to take Lucille back but she simply pouts and hides her face in Eddie’s neck.

“It’s fine angel why don’t you just join me?“ you nod apprehensively, you’d been invited to hellfire a few times especially by Dustin who had tried to recruit you during his freshman year a few times without realizing you were a cheerleader(you mainly hung out with Chrissy and Eddie during school)

Honestly when Mike Lucas and Dustin saw you come into the room with Lucille sat on your hip who so clearly looks like Eddie with her wide brown eyes and pretty little curls they were shocked to say the least because they’re almost certain that’s not just Eddie’s baby that you happen to be babysitting or something because while yes Lucille does look like Eddie in some aspects, she also looks like you, the perfect little mix of you two. So even if that had been the case they’re not sure that’s much better because Eddie has a baby. But the baby is also with the popular pretty school cheerleader, the one who they just heard basically become a stay at home mom? Dustin knows that aspect is wrong because he’s almost certain that as soon as you get your degree you’ll get a job that’ll probably support the whole house.

Eddie sits in his chair and pats his thigh, you sit on his thigh and he gently holds Lucille with the utmost care like she’s a porcelain doll as he softly wipes the tears from her chubby cheeks.

When Mike clears his throat from the end of the table Eddie is reminded that while he knows exactly who his family is, these boys have no clue.

“Guys this is my wife, (y/n)” their jaws drop, they were expecting girlfriend because while Eddie may be husband material, to them he’s boyfriend at best.

“You’re married?” Dustin is the first to speak and you giggle a bit.

Eddie nods proudly, “and our daughter Lucille, or Lucy for short.” He holds her like she’s the best trophy he’s ever won but at the same time like she needs to be hidden and protected from the scary world.

“Like the beetles song?” One of the guys asks and Eddie nods smiling a bit.

“Played it her whole pregnancy” he sounds so proud of himself you don’t have it in you to tell him it aggregated you.

You smile as Lucy reaches for one of Eddie’s curls before grabbing a handful of them and tugging lightly.

Eddie simply leans over her and tries to have the club continue their game but he’s got them far to invested in his life for them to just go back to D&D, the first one to ask a question is Dustin.

“Dude when did you get married?” Eddie turns to you with a little smirk.

“(Y/n) here proposed to me the day after her graduation, and she was just so excited because I said yes that she practically dragged me to the court house!” You roll your eyes lightly.

“Does that mean you’re Mr. Munson?” Dustin shivered lightly at the idea of ever calling Eddie that as Eddie made a noise of disgust.

The rest of the night was filled with questions about your marriage and your baby which Eddie happily answered as long as they didn’t get too invasive after all he’s kept this severely for quite a while he supposes if the cats out the bag it might as well be all out.

Anyways I’ll probably write a few more like parts of this and like turn it into a little au or something just about there lives!

[orokay]

I know it's silly for this to really only be hitting me now at almost 26 but man no one really talks about what a demoralizing nightmare it is to be a person without a 'dream' (tw suicidal ideation, self harm, negative talk, honestly this is just a huge vent don't worry about it I have therapy later and im on my period and this got away from me a bit lol)

I know I started feeling it in little ways since I was a kid because I distinctly remember being asked in elementary school what I wanted to be when I grew up for an activity and just saying 'nurse' because it's what my best friend at the time wanted to be. Then for a long time it was volcanologist even though I literally never really expected that to be possible for me. I started really feeling it when I had to choose for a class in high school where we spent the semester researching a job we wanted to go to school for and planning out what schools we'd apply to for it, etc etc. I had no plans & no idea of what I wanted. I have no idea why but I just arbitrarily chose archivist. When it came time to apply for college, it wasn't a huge deal because I was starting off at community college, but I thought for sure I wanted to do forensic anthropology. Obviously my community college didn't have that as an option so now I have a 90% finished associates in social sciences. The whole million years I've been working on that degree I've bounced around considering animal sciences or conservation or radiology or mortuary school or this or that as I worked different jobs and figured out what I liked doing, what I was interested in, and what I wasn't. I've thought about accounting just to have a good paying job but I know myself and I can't go through school for something that I have no interest in even if that degree would get me out of my parents house. I'm already almost always feeling on the verge of suicide.

And this year. With OVR I was sat down and told. Tell me what you want to do and make it realistic. We can help you with school but we can only give you $3000 for it and you can only have that if you're doing school full time. We can help you get a job but without a degree we can't get you a good paying job. You need a degree. You need to choose. Tell us what you want.

I thought I wanted this training opportunity and I do. I felt amazing for a while after starting it but there's a part of me that's looking ahead at the end and seeing the same pit I've been hanging over for years and realizing this has been my whole life and I just hadn't known it yet. I hate call center work. I need a job that makes me feel fulfilled but I've given up on feeling like it's an option. Part of this training is work readiness training and again they're asking me what do I want. I need to choose. Tell us what you want so we can help you get it.

I don't want work. I want work, but not like this. I want to be happy. I want to have money to survive. I want my parents to be here forever. I want to spend time with my friends and draw my characters. I want someone to love me and I want so badly to love them back. I don't want to lose my insurance because I want to keep taking my meds. I want to stop cutting. I can't keep living like this. This can't be forever.

[sexysapphicshopowner]

🤎 Context/AU (Alternate Universe): Big news for the dreamgirls!! Aftermath of 'Twenty Foreplay'

🤎 soft!wife!dreamgirl!sevika x wife!dreamgirl!reader

🤎 CW/TW: abuse, violence, death, murder, child sexual abuse, adult language, pregnancy, lesbians, pet names, fluff, angst, abortion attempt, sevika has a tragic backstory, eating disorder, drug use, mentions of alcoholism, sorry if I forgot any, not proofread/edited so excuse any mistakes

🤎 A/N: It's late, I know, life happens. I actually cut it short bc it was starting to get a lot heavier than I wanted and the flow was starting to get a bit sloppy. So have this.

🤎 Notes: Um, I cried while writing most of the flashback parts. I love the dreamgirls.

🤎 Word count: 12.4k

Aromatic wisps of rosemary and sage wafted through the bathroom, the scents intermingling with that of the light and warm, semi-bubbly milk bath your wife had drawn for you when she’d gotten home for the day. You let out a soft sigh, your head barely hanging over the edge as you sunk further into the calming water, trying to let as much stress seep out of you as possible. 

Familiar and comforting hands found your shoulders, a kiss being planted on your temple as she spoke, voice barely a rumble over the neo-soul that was playing from the speaker on the sink counter, “How are you feeling, dream girl?” 

“Better now that you’re in here,” you hummed as you looked up to her, pressing a kiss to her chin as she massaged your shoulders. 

Her laugh was quiet as she ducked lower to press an upside-down kiss to your lips before kissing up the bridge of your nose. The playful little pecks turned reverent as her lips landed back at your forehead, peppering across the area as her hands moved. 

Fingers splayed out over your neck and partially your collar as she pressed her thumbs behind your ears, rubbing in circles. You all but melted in her hands, letting your eyes slip closed once more as you enjoyed her touch and kiss. 

“Have you started yet? I dropped last night.” 

You shook your head, letting out a little sigh, “Not yet, though I wish it would hurry up. These body aches are killing me and if I keep gagging, I’m gonna throw up and that’s gonna make me cry.” 

She cooed, thumbs now tracing down, applying a slight pressure as she dragged them along the line of your jaw, “My poor little mama...” 

“Why poor me? You’re the one that’s actually on. I should’ve been the one drawing a bath for you when you got home.” 

“Sure, but if you never drop then, you know what that means,” she hinted. 

You rolled your eyes playfully, humming, “True... we’ll see. I’ll let you know what happens. We both know my cycle is still very off and weird.”    “Right, right. Now about this gag-” 

“No.” 

“You didn’t even let me finish,” she pouted. 

“I don’t have to. You were about to ask if it’s too bad for me to suck a lil’ dick. You’re so sick and twisted and completely un-slick, little nasty,” you shook your head, pushing her face playfully. 

“Well, you’ve got me there. It was worth a try in my book,” she shrugged. 

“Uh-huh. You disgust me.” 

“Do I? Do I really,” she asked playfully, as you looked up, leaning your head back just a little further. 

You beckoned her closer as you leaned your head back a little further, “Kiss, kiss.” 

She happily obliges, leaning down to meet your lips as you stretch up just the tiniest bit. The kiss isn’t long, but it was enough to sate you until you could kiss her properly later. She mumbles against your lips as she pulls away, “I’m so in love with you and everything about you...” 

Your breath caught as you looked up at her, finding that same indescribable flame that always burned within her silvery eyes. Somehow the color still hadn’t dulled against the harsh reality of life as a Zaunite. Even more, that loving look in them only seemed to be larger every time you caught her eye. 

You were swooning. 

It wasn’t until her lips pressed to your forehead that you were pulled out of your reverie, blinking up at her as you turned around in the tub to look up at her properly as you leaned onto your arms, folding them over the edge of the bathtub, “I love you more.” 

“Yeah?” 

You nodded, beckoning her closer with the crook of a finger, “Uh-huh. C'mere. I’ll show you how much I love you.” 

She all but fell back into your lips, sighing into your kiss as it consumed her, your nails raking over her scalp as your fingers slid into her hair, thumbs tracing her jaw just in front of her ears. 

In a very uncharacteristic move, she pulled from the embrace before you could even deepen it, huffing, “You can’t kiss me like that, dreamy...” 

“Why not?” 

She shook her head to clear it, wiping her face, “Because then I’m gonna wanna get into the tub with you, then I’m gonna fuck you and I’m supposed to be focused on doing other things right now.” 

“Such as?” 

She just chuckled in response before planting a much more chaste kiss to your lips, following it with another to the tip of your nose, the final one touching your forehead as she stood, “What fun would it be if I just told you, mama? I’ll be back in a sec with some sparkling white grape. Just in case I did knock you up, which... not to toot my own dick, but I’m pretty certain I did.” 

Your laugh was more of a splutter as you choked on your spit and air at the same time, “For Janna’s sake, Sevi, it’s ‘toot my own horn’. I can’t stand your nasty ass sometimes.” 

“Then it’s a wonderful thing you’re in the tub right now, isn’t it?” 

“Girl- just hurry up, I want cuddles when I get out of here.” 

She blew you a final kiss from the doorway before disappearing into the rest of the house to do whatever it was she was hiding from you. As promised, she’d come back with the sparkling juice, to which you accepted gratefully with a little kiss before sinking back into your bath, lazily holding the champagne flute over the side of the tub as you sipped on the drink idly.

Sevika doesn’t like men. 

All the men out there who’ve ever wanted to fuck her can thank her father for the aversion. 

You see, when your childhood consists of being pimped out to strange men to pay your alcoholic father’s gambling debts, constantly getting into street fights, and then getting your ass handed to you once you get home- you don’t have much time to really discover yourself. 

Maybe in a different universe- one where Sevika wasn’t born in Zaun... where her father wasn’t abusive... where she wasn’t sex trafficked by the very man that was meant to protect her... she might’ve been attracted to men. 

But this wasn’t that universe. 

Her fear of relationships with men quickly grew into an outright disgust of them. 

And then it got worse. 

For Sevika, it started with the vomiting. 

For probably all the ladies living up Topside, the first sign would’ve been a missed period. Thanks to life in the Lanes, however, Sevika was pretty used to her period not coming at all sometimes. It never came with a baby before though. 

She’d been dancing the line of unknown pregnancy scares since she was 11. Now she was 21, still under the thumb of her father, and even worse- pregnant.

It wasn’t long before you were wrapped in a fluffy robe, feet slid into your house slippers as Sev guided you into the kitchen with her hands over your eyes under the guise of ‘driving you’ to her secret little surprise. 

You stumbled a bit and she took a little pause, “You okay?” 

“I smell food.” 

Her chuckle was hearty and you could almost hear the head shake that accompanied her words, “I’m sure you do. Almost there, dream girl.” 

Her hands were removed from your eyes without warning and allowed your eyes to adjust as she leaned her face over your shoulder, hands coming down to their usual home base of your waist as you took in the ambient, candlelit dinner she’d put together for you guys, “Sev...” 

She shook her head before you could continue, “Yes, I’m on my period and that’s your favorite time to spoil me, but I wanted to treat my wife.” 

You poked your lip out as you turned your head to look at her, “Sev...” 

She giggled, peppering the side of your face with kisses, “Don’t cry, mama... it’s just dinner. I can’t even cook like you.” 

You sniffled, fanning your eyes, “Shut it, my emotions are just everywhere right now. It’s not about your cooking skills, even though we both know I’ve taught you well... It’s about the gesture, and you know it.” 

She nodded, lips now at your shoulder, “I know... hope you love it.” 

“Of course, I love it... I love you...” you mumbled, holding a hand against her cheek. 

“Alright, alright, sit and eat,” she prompted, pulling your chair out with her foot. Before you could protest as she sat you down, she pressed several kisses to your face, “And I love you too. Never forget it.” 

You had a stupid smile on your face throughout the entirety of dinner.

Emetophobia. 

The fear of vomiting or seeing others being sick. 

Sevika had experienced her father’s violent reactions to her throwing up before. 

The first time was when she was 6. 

It was a particularly bad winter in Zaun. The smog was thicker, the cold seemed to seep into the very core of the Lanes. 

She’d been battling the sniffles and a nasty fever for days, all the while still being forced to ‘put herself to use’ by her father. 

Then it got worse. 

Then she began to throw up. 

At first, she hid it well. She’d swallow it down when she couldn’t get out of his sight. When she could, she’d always go out to an alley, ducking and weaving through bodies of what the little girl only hoped was just drunkards and junkies who’d passed out on a bender rather than what a six-year-old Sevika knew in her heart were either already dead or close to it. 

Up until this point, the extent of physical abuse coming directly from her father was a slap across the face or being picked up by the front of her shirt and shaken around. 

Then she brought him breakfast and didn’t make it out of his room fast enough to go puke out back. 

That was the catalyst for the abuses that would be-fall her for the next few decades of her life. 

Throw up tastes disgusting. 

It tastes even worse going back down after being licked up off your father’s grimy boots. 

Even worse, the feeling of wanting to re-release those fluids again when you were forced to lick those same boots clean until they were no longer grimy. 

Sevika trained herself to hold her throw up in after that.

Your music from the bathroom was moved to one of the counters in the kitchen, incense burning in the holder as you and Sevika cuddled up into each other, you perched up on her lap with the two of you picking from the same plate in between soft kisses and intimate looks. 

It was just you and your wife, enjoying the presence and company of one another in the midst of the meal she’d prepared. 

You leaned back against her chest, letting out a happy sigh, “You know... I’m so proud of you for this.” 

“Yeah,” she asked softly. The softness of her voice, the genuine question in that one word was so cute. You turned in her lap, sitting sideways atop her, cupping her cheek in a hand as you smiled warmly, pressing a kiss to the bridge of her nose. 

You kept your voice at the same level of hers as you responded, “Of course, I’m proud, baby. You pan fried the rice properly and everything. I’m so very proud to see you picking up cooking a little more.” 

Your heart broke a little at the tears that glossed over her silver orbs as she looked up at you, “Really? You mean it?” 

“Yes, baby, I mean it. What’s wrong,” you cooed, bringing your other hand to her cheek to stroke both of them with your thumbs, “Talk to me, baby.” 

She shrugged, looking away, “I dunno... I just... I feel like I’ve been struggling to eat lately. Like I’ve been having to force myself to eat so I just... I wasn’t sure if I was in the right headspace to be cooking tonight, but I wanted to treat you, you know?” 

“Sev...” you began. 

“Don’t... it’s okay, doll. I’ll-” 

“Sevika,” you stopped her, keeping her face turned to yours as you moved again, this time to straddle her, “Will you look at me? Please?” 

She shook her head in your gentle grip, tears beginning to well, threatening to spill over as she fought hard to blink them back, “I can’t...” 

“And why not?” 

“I don’t want to see you disappointed in me...” she whispered, voice barely the ghost of a whisper. It was the smallest you’d heard her voice in a while. The last time was... you softened, further, bringing your voice to a warmer tone. 

“I’m not disappointed in you, baby. And I never could be, especially not for something like that. I’m actually proud of you. Very proud that instead of shutting down, you’re talking about it. I know how hard that is for you, especially when it comes to your eating. So with that being said, will you please look at me?” 

Watery eyes met yours as she nibbled the inside of her cheek, whispering, “Promise?” 

“Of course, baby. I promise, I’m not disappointed.” 

She took a shuddery, breath, closing her eyes as she leaned her forehead against your chest, “I love you...” 

You pressed a kiss into her hair, rubbing her back, “I love you too, baby. You wanna try and eat a little something more for me? Or do you just wanna talk? What did you eat today?” 

“Um.... I had a few bites of the lunch you made me, but then I.... let Ran eat the rest... I’m sorry...” 

“Baby, you don’t have to keep apologizing. Can you at least drink some water and eat a little something? Just a couple of bites?” She whined and you let out a little sigh, running your fingers through her hair, “Have you smoked yet?” 

“Mhm.” 

“Didn’t help?” 

“No.” 

“Okay... You’ll try again later?” 

“Sure.” 

“If you can’t that’s fine, but you gotta promise me you’ll try and eat well tomorrow, okay?” 

“I promise...” 

A plaintive silence fell over the two of you. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just... somber. You didn’t comment when she began to pick a few bites off the plate again, simply smiling that she was getting some form of food in her, even if it wasn’t a lot. 

At some point, Sevika had stopped eating, hands gripping at your waist, hips and thighs as she pressed kisses along the line of your neck and shoulder. Her hands strayed to your stomach as she mumbled, “Hey, mama?” 

“Yes, my love?” 

She chuckled as you stuffed your face with food, wiping some from your cheek, “What if I really did knock you up in one try?” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, how many times did you nut in me? And we were both ovulating around that time too. It was like perfectly timed for us to actually end up with a baby.” 

She didn’t say anything else for a few moments, and you went right back to eating before she rested her chin on your shoulder, tracing your side with her mechanic hand, “You make me want a family...” 

“Yeah?” 

She nodded, “Yeah... even with life down here... the work that I do... you make me wanna have something to leave behind... a little family that’s like... a legacy of our love. Like, yes, I wanna be a mother and give our kids the things that I never had, but I also want people to see our kids and know that those are our kids. Like... they know that our kids have two loving moms that are actively in love.” 

You let out a little giggle, turning to the side in her lap to wrap your arms around her neck, pressing a kiss to her cheek as you held her other one, stroking your thumb over her cheekbone, “You’re so cute... I love you, and I would love to have your babies, and I know what you’re trying to say, I promise.” 

She relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief as she leaned into your hand on her face, “Thank Janna, I thought I was just rambling stupidly.” 

You shook your head, pressing more kisses to her face and lips, “No, I understood you perfectly.” 

“Have I told you how much I love you today?”

You giggled, nodding, “Yeah, a little bit. You always remind me that I’m loved... it’s why I married you.” 

“Really?”

“Of course. Baby, you told me you loved me within our first four dates. It was so cute because you were still learning to navigate love and healthy relationships... we both were, and still are, but here I had the big, scary lady of Zaun and she was looking at me like a puppy and telling me that she thought she was falling in love with me. I think that was the moment when I truly felt like I had found my person in you. And well... the rest is really history. By the time you asked me to marry you, I couldn’t say anything but yes.” 

She had idly reached for her wedding band that she always wore on a chain around her neck, fiddling with it as she looked up at you in her lap, “You never once like... entertained saying no? Or maybe waiting a little longer?” 

“Never. I knew when I met you that I had to snatch you up and it was just my luck that you seemed to have the same thought process when it came to me. I love you. And that’s not changing. So yes, I mean it when I say I wanna have your children, or that I love you more than anything, or that I’d do anything you asked of me because you’re... you’re everything to me, Sev... and I know that when it comes to us talking about kids it’s hard for you... but you’ve given me so much and I wanna give you the same thing in return. If given the chance, I wouldn’t change a thing about our relationship... well...” 

Her eyes snapped up to you from her ring as worry laced through her features, “Well?” 

You snickered, placing a gentle kiss to the bridge of her nose, “If I could go back, I would make sure I’d asked you to marry me before you could ask me.” 

“You’re so,” she rolled her eyes, unable to hide her smile as you shut her up with another little kiss. She pulled you further into her lap with a happy little sigh, “I love you, dream girl.” 

You leaned into her, resting your head on her shoulder as you wrapped an arm around her, your other hand coming up to her chest, fingernail tracing along her collarbone, “I love you too.” 

“Done eating?” 

You nodded, patting your stomach, “May or may not be a baby-baby in here, but there’s definitely a food baby in here.” 

The way she perked up almost like a little kid was too cute as she asked, “I did good?” 

The sated and full sigh you let out was all the answer she really needed, but you furthered it as you spoke, “Fuck yes...”

She rubbed your back with one hand, her other one grabbing hold of your hand to kiss each of your fingertips, “You’re so cute. It wasn’t even all that, mama.” 

“Uh-huh, it was gourmet. My compliments to the chef.” 

She raised a brow, voice full of ulterior motives and that all-too-familiar lilt as she muttered, “If you weren’t clearly about to fall asleep, I would ask for some better compliments, you know.” 

You quirked a brow sleepily, looking up at her through low and hooded eyes, “Huh?” 

“Alright, c’mon. To bed with you,” she prodded, adjusting her hold on you to pick you up with your legs wrapped around her waist. 

You instinctively looped your arms around her neck, pressing a few kisses to it as you hummed, “I love you.” 

“So I’ve noticed. I love you too.” 

“I love you.” 

She chuckled, “I love you too, baby.” 

“I love you.” 

She used her foot to push open the door to your shared bedroom, nodding as she used her foot to close the door once more, “Uh-huh, I love you too, dreamy. What’s up?” 

You shrugged as she sat down on the edge of the bed with you in her lap again, “Just feel like I haven’t said it enough today, you were at work all day, baby. Gotta reach our quota.” 

“We have a quota?” 

“Mhm,” you nodded against her shoulder, eyes closed as you planted lazy kisses against whatever skin was closest to you. 

Her breath hitched in her throat and she assumed a firmer grip on your hip as she hummed, “And what exactly would that number be?” 

“We say ‘I love you’ at least 76 times a day. And we kiss at least 280 times.” 

She chuckled, hand stroking along your hip and thigh as she nodded, “And where did you get these numbers from? Your ass?” 

“I’ve always counted.” 

That shut her up before she asked her next question a few moments later, “Are these exact numbers?” 

“An average. I did say ‘at least’.” 

“Huh.... you’re gay.” 

“Okay, but you married me so what does that say about you?” 

“That I did.” She turned to press a kiss to your forehead, just below your hairline before resting her head against yours, “I love you, dream girl.” 

You melted in her arms, nuzzling into the crook of her neck as you tightened your hold around her waist, “I love you...” 

“I love you,” she called again with a soft lilt in her tone as her thumb traced circles at the side of your hip. 

A heavy blush was creeping up from your chest, your skin growing warm as you let out a shaky breath, “I love you...” 

“You okay?” 

“Uh-huh...” 

“Words, mama.” You huffed and she shook her head, “No, ma’am. Talk to me. You goin’ to sleep on me?” 

“No.” 

“No?” 

You shook your head against her, “Mh-mh.”

She just chuckled, rubbing your back with one hand as she cradled the back of your head with the other, pressing kisses into your hair, “Whatever you say, mama.”

Sevika’s pregnancy scares were probably a lot more than she realized, but with little actual knowledge of her body, and the compounding factor of probably the world’s most irregular cycle, she spent the majority of her tween, teen, and young adult years none the wiser to any of the times where her body was seemingly contemplating the creation of a child. 

Until it started. 

At first, it was just a random nausea spell here and there. 

Then the nausea grew constant, the smallest smells setting her off with this horrible gagging. 

And then she threw up. 

All she could think of was what she was supposed to do when her father found out. No, no... he couldn’t find out. 

Flashbacks of that day when she was 6 have been haunting her since the first day of nausea. The intensity all but doubled when she woke up running for the toilet. 

Terrified didn’t even begin to cover the amalgamation of emotions Sevika was feeling when she realized what was going on with her. 

She thrust herself into ‘working’. Unsure of how far along she was and unable to actually find out, she decided to swallow down her daily morning sickness whenever it cropped up if she could, and when she couldn’t, she was straight to the nearest toilet. 

That didn’t stop her father from finding out. 

Sevika was sat on the bathroom floor, groaning under her breath after being unable to force herself to swallow her vomit back down. She was too weak and out of it to scramble and get herself together. 

If it wasn’t bad enough that she’d thrown up- didn't even get the chance to flush the toilet yet- her lack of reaction to his presence only further incensed the already drunk and irate man that called himself her father. 

It was a shitshow. 

Sevika was hemmed up by the collar of her shirt, his fist shaking as he barked in her face, questioning if this was why she’d been ‘underperforming’ lately. Too stunned to speak and reeling from the sudden yanking up from the floor, she sputtered, dizzy with a pounding headache as she tried to form a response. 

The more she floundered to actually engage with him, the more angry and downright belligerent he became. 

As always, he didn’t see his daughter, shaking under his grip of her collar.

No, he saw the extra mouth he’d been having to feed.

He saw the reason his wife was dead. 

He saw red. 

By the time Sevika found her words to even begin attempting to answer his barrage of questions and demands, his fist was already connecting with her face, his grip on her shirt the only thing saving her from ending up sprawled on the bathroom floor. 

It was going to be a beating for the books.

You didn’t even realize it when she’d laid you down in the bed on the pillows, tucking you in, until she was sliding into bed next to you, wrapping her arms around you from behind with a kiss to the back of your shoulder, “Hm?”

She shook her head, reaching a hand into your robe to hold one of your breasts as another kiss was planted to the side of your neck, “Go to sleep, mama. I just had to go get out of my work clothes.”  

You let out a little groan, turning in her arms to nestle into her, your face tucked under her chin as you mumbled, “Hmmm... g’night.... love you...”  

With a little chuckle she pressed kisses into your hair, rubbing your lower back as she whispered against you, “Good night, my love. Sleep well.”  

You didn’t sleep very well at all.  

Along with the aches and random pains in weird places in your body- a tugging in your lower abdomen that also had a random stabbing along with it, back pain, an almost constant headache, and just a general discomfort and ache in your body- you also had this constant metal taste that was like having a mouthful of rusty change in your mouth at all times.

You were constantly waking up throughout the night from the discomfort, the violent urge to brush your teeth to purge your mouth of the vile metallic tang plaguing you. This, compounded with your incessant gagging, had you growing nauseous with the mere thought of your toothbrush starting to make you want to dry-heave.

You were presently standing over the sink, tears in your eyes as you tried to prepare yourself to gargle some mouthwash after having thrown up for about the fifth time since you woke up in the middle of the night.

Sevika, ever the stony sleeper, had no idea until she rolled over, finding your cold spot in the bed next to her. She groaned, calling out in a sleep-filled voice, “Baby, what’re you doin’? Come back so we can cuddle...”

You huffed, gripping onto the counter of the bathroom sink, fighting the urge to dry-heave again, “I’ll be back in a second....”

You could hear her trudging footsteps coming closer to the bathroom until she was coming up behind you, rubbing your back and pulling hair out of your face, concern and sleep both written on her features, “What’s wrong, baby?”  

“I just.... I’m fine, I’ll be fine,” you shook your head, pushing her hand away before grabbing the capful of mouthwash.  

“You can’t lie to me, dream girl. You’re crying, you’re pale... you look like shit and you’re supposed to be asleep right now. Talk to me.”  

“I’m in pain, gagging now has nausea with it, I just threw up, so now I gotta wash that out of my mouth, but that’s still not going to get rid of this fucking taste in my mouth and I just-”  

“Hey,” she moved to stand right in front of you, hands on your arms as she rubbed them to try and calm you back down, “Avalanche, you’re spiraling, dreamy. Take a deep breath with me and we’ll go sit down and talk, okay?”  

You nodded as you looked up at her, taking a shaky but somewhat deep breath along with her as she nodded along, continuing to rub your arms with her thumbs tracing circles.  

You let out a hiccup when you went to exhale and the second the tears started to brew again, she shook her head, “No, no, eyes on me... You’re safe... you’re okay, I promise. I’m here. You are okay, you’re doing so well, my love. Let’s try again, okay? Deep breaths.”  

It took a few more tries before you finally relaxed in her hold, wrapping your arms around her. She brought one hand up to play in your hair, the pads of her fingers rubbing your scalp as her claws on her mech hand trailed lightly up and down your back.  

She ended up taking you to the kitchen, sitting you down as she made you a glass of water with two and a half ice cubes- just the way you liked it after an episode like that, holding your free hand and kissing your knuckles and fingertips as you drank with your other hand.  

When you sat the glass down, she stepped between your legs, still stroking her thumb over the back of your knuckles, “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll talk. If you don’t wanna talk, we can go back to sleep. If you want a distraction, we can watch something, or I could read you something. Just let me know, okay?”  

You nodded, reaching up with your other arm for her to come closer. She pressed a kiss to your cheek before leaning into the embrace, wrapping you up in her arms. The two of you remained that way for a few quiet moments until you looked up at her with a sniffle, your chin on her chest, “Sev?”  

“Yes, dreamy?”  

“Can you read to me in bed?”  

“Absolutely, baby. Do you wanna stay with me while I grab a book or go get comfy?” You held onto her tighter and she nodded, stroking your hair, “Alright, I got you.” She moved so that she could give you a piggyback while she grabbed a book. She ran her finger over the titles, moving on to the next one when you let out a little ‘mh-mh’ sound at each one until giving a nod when she got to a book you wanted to hear.  

Once you were both back in bed, Sevika sat up against the headboard with you lying on your stomach between her legs curled up into her chest, she started reading the book, her voice still rather raspy from sleep. She held the book in one hand, her other one up at your face, stroking your cheek with the back of her fingers and only moving to flip the page.

Eventually, you closed your eyes, enjoying the vibrations of her voice in her chest beneath your head and the feel of her fingers on your face. Unconsciously, you took hold of her hand, fiddling with her fingers. She paused in her reading to check in, “You okay?”  

“My mouth feels empty,” you lamented softly, the traces of whining laced in your voice.  

She kissed your temple, “You’ve got my fingers, mama. Do you want me to keep reading?”  

Sevika was no stranger to your occasional bouts like this. You hadn’t had a panic attack like that in a while, but usually when you did, you came out of them feeling very subby, not saying much, and your oral fixation would kick up, usually leading you to say things like ‘my mouth feels empty’. 

You nodded in response to her question as you closed your eyes again, softly sucking and gnawing on her index finger. She smiled as your breathing evened out, setting the book aside as she pulled the covers over you both, allowing you to keep her finger before she picked the book back up.

A little groan left you as you took one more finger into your mouth, shifting atop her with your right arm wrapped around her. She shushed you softly, pressing a kiss to your hair, “I’m right here, dream girl... I’ll never let you go... promise...”

First, he punched.  

Blow after blow into her face.  

To this day, Sevika still has the slightest taste of blood that crops up in her mouth for no apparent reason from time to time.  

It was clear that he was just making himself angrier with each hit, the strikes growing more violent and frenzied the more he spoke, barking at her about bringing another unwanted mouth into the household, about how she was still going to have to work. How could she be so foolish as to allow something like this? Half of his yelling barely made any sense but one thing was clear- he was saying that she’d gotten pregnant on purpose, trying to get out of pulling her weight around here. 

His grip started to shake on her collar until he’d thrown her to the floor, too lazy to bend over and keep using his hands, so here came the infamous worker’s boots, smashing into her stomach and chest with seemingly reckless abandon- yet somehow still managing a concentration of kicks to her stomach. Sevika curled in on herself slightly, instinctively going to guard her stomach which left her chest open.  

There was a sick crunch with each kick there, blood bubbling up out of her mouth as her body was wracked with coughs, the blood spattering across the floor with each one. Her father stopped for a few moments, leaning against the wall to catch his breath as he wheezed. 

"You... are fuckin'.... pathetic..." he huffed, turning back around to prod her face with his foot. 

He spat down at her as she lay there, voice gruff as he all but growled, “Get the fuck up.”  

Sevika was already weak when he came in, having been throwing up essentially all morning before he'd come in to find her when he got home. It hurt to even breathe, ribs threatening to puncture her lungs with every shallow breath she managed, let alone for her to actually get up off the floor. 

She didn’t move.  

He gave her a shove with his foot, pushing her onto her back as his voice got louder, “Did you not hear me, bitch? Get the fuck up!”  

Tears brewed at the back of her eyes. She always says the back because she learned early on not to cry. He hated that almost more than he hated her. 

With a great amount of effort, she rolled onto her side, then her stomach before bracing her hands against the floor to push herself up, low grunts and huffs escaping her the whole way.  

She barely got a few inches off the floor before he used his foot once again to kick her, knocking her back down, “Get up.”  

It was getting harder to hold those tears.  

She wasn’t foolish enough to hope that actually ending up pregnant would change things. She never hoped for anything. But some subconscious part of her did. While she had no plans on keeping the child, not that her father would let her anyway, something deep within her secretly wanted to.  

Her arms were wobbly, weak as she started to push up again. Each time she started to get up as he was demanding, he’d kick up under her, right into her stomach.  

She knew what he was doing.  

She didn’t want to lose the baby.  

Not like this.  

But she couldn’t do anything.  

For years after his death, she berated herself for not killing him sooner.  

After all if she had...

To say you had a disgusting cocktail of things seemingly going wrong with you would’ve been an understatement. 

You were locked in an almost unending cycle of sorts. First, you’d feel so nauseous it was almost like you were seasick. Then you’d throw up, which meant you had to brush your teeth after, lest the unceasing metallic taste be joined by vomit, which meant more gagging and possible throwing up. Then to make you feel even worse, now your gums were bleeding. 

And there was the pains. 

Sevika could barely keep up, but she was doing her best. She went into work less often, explaining the situation to Silco. When she did go in, he kept her for shorter hours, having her back home to you before afternoon. 

You guys were still awaiting your now questionably late period when you called from the bathroom one morning, “Baby?” 

“Yes, mama?” 

“Can you bring me a liner from the closet?” 

“You dropped?” 

“I think?” 

She entered the room with a liner in one hand and fresh panties in the other, “You think?” 

“It’s never been this light before. It’s not spotting, but it’s not my usual first day either,” you explained, letting her see the red and brown that now stained the panties you were wearing initially before you tossed them across the bathroom and into the hamper, taking the fresh ones and the liner from her with a soft ‘thank you’ as you changed.

She leaned against the sink, clearly studying you, trying to rack her brain for any sort of explanation. 

“This just started?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Hm.” 

“What are you thinking about over there? I’m not dying, am I?” 

She looked at you like she could kill you before whatever this was did, “Don’t talk like that. I’m just trying to make sense of this. Perhaps we should visit your mom...” 

The last line was muttered more to herself, but you responded all the same. Your mother was a doctor. More than that, she was a pretty damn good one, and she specialized in childbirth and care. She’d helped numerous women through what could’ve otherwise been fatal pregnancies, not to mention you come from a very... fertile line of women. 

“Would that make you feel better if I did?” 

She nodded immediately, “Yes, please. If anyone will know what’s going on with you, it’s definitely her.” 

“You know that’s a six-day trip, right?” 

“Don’t care. I’ll work something out with Silco if need be, but I need to know what’s going on with my girl. Start packing when you get out of here, I’ll be back in 45, okay?” 

You huffed, grumbling to yourself, “Watch it just be somethin’ stupid."

“Nothing’s stupid when it comes to you, dream girl. Don’t make me fuck a reminder into you when I get back.” 

“You’re leavin’ without my kisses? Do y’even love me anymore,” you wailed dramatically. 

You could almost sense her playful eye-roll as you heard her steps clunking back toward your shared bedroom. She bent down to meet you as you placed the liner into your new panties, pressing two kisses to your lips, “Happy now?” 

“No,” you pouted, your bottom lip poked out as you looked up at her sadly. 

She stooped down to your level, face softening, “What’s wrong, my love?” 

“You only gave me two kisses....” you whined, dead serious. 

Her face fell and she pushed your knee, “Don’t scare me like that, I thought something was really wrong, dreamy. Mmmmwah, better?” 

You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped you as she planted a very audible kiss on your lips, nodding, “Yes, thank you. And insufficient kisses it very much serious business.” 

“Yeah, when it’s you depriving me, not the other way around. Hurry and get ready, okay? The sooner we figure out what’s going on with you, the better.” 

“I know, I know. I’ll be fine. Go talk your way into going with me,” you waved her on, getting up from the toilet as you flushed with one hand, turning the sink on with the other to wash your hands. 

She got maybe three steps away from the door before she was back in the bathroom, tugging your face to hers for a searing- almost teasing- kiss as she muttered before pulling away, “I love you, lock the doors and windows, I’ll be back soon, okay?” 

Despite already missing her presence with her standing right in front of you, you managed a smile, pecking her lips once more, “Hurry, Sevi. The longer it takes you to leave, the longer I have to be here by myself.” 

“Say it back first,” she mumbled against your lips, the two of you still trading kisses back and forth. 

You pressed a lengthier kiss to her lips, looking up at her with a whisper, “I love you...” 

She tilted her head to rest her forehead against yours, closing her eyes, “I’ll be back, okay?” 

“Sev-” 

“I’m fine. I’ll be back.” 

She quickly suppressed the brewing tears, heading to go ask Silco for some time off to make the trip.

Sevika spent that night on the bathroom floor, bloodied and bruised, still coughing up blood periodically as she cradled her stomach, praying to whoever was out there that she didn’t die on that floor. 

She didn’t die. 

Even more, neither did her baby. 

Sevika wasn’t excited. 

She wasn’t happy to be bringing this life into the world. 

Sevika was petrified about the mere idea of it all. 

If she kept the baby, there was the chance her father would kill the baby, or worse, the baby would end up being abused just as she was. She couldn’t have that happen. 

But did she truly want to give it away? 

If the baby was lucky, it would end up being sent topside to Piltover. It’d be safe there as much as she hated to think about her child ending up being a topsider. 

But more likely than not, the kid would end up just in the system. Sent off from home to home around the Lanes. Or even worse, the kid could end up being one of the many orphans on the street. 

Sevika didn’t know what she wanted. Or what she would do. 

To make matters worse, her father acted as if she weren’t even pregnant in the first place. 

She was still working, now having to do even more ‘work’ to make up for the “lackluster performance” from the week she first found out she was pregnant. She was also working at home again, something she hadn’t done much since she’d become an adult. 

It took months for her to begin showing, and by the time she had, it was almost as if her father intended for her to keep the baby. The physical abuse was now reduced to the occasional slap or hair snatch here and there, and though the verbal and emotional abuse intensified in its place, he’d begun seemingly making room for the new addition. 

He was by no means happy about the prospect of his daughter having a child. But the way he saw it, that was another worker to bring money in to fund his drinking, gambling, and other vices. 

The way Sevika saw it? She'd rather die than let her child go through the same things she did. Whether this was something she wanted or not, she knew that if she had to have this child, she’d protect it with her life.

It’s nowhere near the first time you’ve had to make this trip to see your mom. 6 days there, 6 days back. 

The majority of your journey is spent with your symptoms playing a twisted game of roulette, alternating between which ones will be your biggest issue that day. 

You’re a constant mess of tears, throwing up, gagging, whining, and for the life of you, you cannot stop peeing, only to end up releasing barely a trickle if even a few drops. 

You’re tired. 

Sevika is also tired. 

Your wife wasn’t much of a caregiver when the two of you met. She wasn’t the worst, but it was clear that she was still very much learning. By now she's got it pretty much mastered.

She’s been holding you through everything, offering up massages, cuddles, and her fingers whenever you’re starting to get too overwhelmed by all the different compounding symptoms of what’s looking more and more like a pregnancy. 

That’s when the nosebleeds started. 

You’ve never had a nosebleed before. Aside from getting your nose broken that one time, you’d only ever dealt with Sevika’s nosebleeds that she gets during the winter from her nostrils drying out. But you? Never had it happen. 

However, you knew what it meant. 

It ran in the family. Bloody noses and sensitive- sometimes bleeding- gums were some of the earliest pregnancy symptoms within your family. If you didn’t know based on your other symptoms, all other weird yet slightly common symptoms of pregnancy, you definitely knew now. 

You were both in your hotel room, the last stop before the final half-day stretch that would get you to your mother’s house, your back to her front as she trailed her fingers over your stomach, muttering affirmations and praises under her breath at how good you’d been holding up when you felt what you thought was your nose running. 

You reached up to swipe at your nose with a sniff, pulling your sleeve away to find red now smeared across it, “Oh no...” 

She sat up with you, eyes going wide, “Baby?” 

You held your nose, pinching the bottom of your nostrils as you cupped your other hand under your chin, holding your head forward while running to the bathroom. 

It’s not an overwhelming amount of blood. You’ve seen Sevika come home with much worse from particularly bloody brawls at The Last Drop for sure. But to your wife? You may as well be dying. 

Sev is right on your heels, a face towel in her hands already being run under some warm tap water as she pulls you in front of her, taking hold of your chin with her mech hand and assessing the situation as she cleans your face with the towel in her other one. 

“This isn’t normal.... d’you think we can leave tonight? Get a jump on some answers? I’m worried about you.” 

“Baby, it’s just a nosebleed. I won’t bleed out by morning. It’s not even bleeding anymore.” 

She shakes her head, turning your face side-to-side face for signs of any bruising or other things that may be outwardly wrong with you. When she finds none, she starts to gently prod at your nose with a finger, pushing against the bridge and around, “You don’t get it, dreamy. You don’t get nosebleeds. I get those like an orphan gets the cold and flu. Not you... I don’t know a single person in the Lanes who’s just never had a nosebleed like you... I’m scared.” 

While you were now very certain about being pregnant, you wanted to wait to tell her, so you simply took hold of her arms- standard panic protocol between the two of you- as you spoke gently, “Baby, there’s a lot of things going on with me that just aren’t normal for me, but that’s why we’re on this trip. We’ll get answers in the morning, okay? Breathe for me, deep breaths.” 

Sevika’s barrage of questions and worries fizzle out on her tongue as she locks in with you, mumbling a small, “Avalanche,” as she takes a deep breath in time with your own. 

“There we go, my love. What can I do for you to make you feel a bit better right now? If you wanna get back on the road, we can. Or we can go cuddle and I’ll braid your hair. Or we can watch our show. Whenever you’re ready, just let me know, okay?” 

She closed her eyes as she took a final breath, opening them once she blew it back out, “Can you braid my hair and we watch our show?” 

“Of course, baby. Come on, relax time. If my nose bleeds again tonight, we’ll get up and head on immediately.” 

The two of you ended up back in bed, Sevika’s head in your lap as you gave her a few braids to pull back into two little pigtails in place of her usual half pony, you guys’ show playing in the background of her giving you updates on the things she’s gotta do for Silco when you two return back home. 

“And then he was literally all whiny talking about how he needs me to come in at some point when we get back so I can go head up the factory and take stock.” 

You snickered, pulling a hair tie around her first little pigtail, “We need to get this man a calculator class or something. Oh, remind me it’s time for a trim when we get home, your undercut is practically long enough for me to braid it too.” 

She rolled her eyes, rolling over in your lap to face you so you could do the other side of her hair, “Oh hush, it’s not that long.” 

“Nah, I’m just being extra.” 

“I love you...” 

“I love you too.” 

She squeezed her eyes closed, gritting her teeth, “I love you...” 

You noticed the tense in her jaw, voice softening, “I love you more, baby.” 

“Avalanche,” she said meekly, fist gripping your shirt.

You set your comb aside, pulling her up and into your arms as you wrapped your legs around her, allowing her to bury her face in your chest. Slowly rocking side to side, you stroked her hair with one hand, holding her tightly with your other arm as you pressed kisses to her temple and along her hairline, “I got you, Vika.... I’ll never let you go.... never leave... You’re safe... I love you... I’m always going to love you... nothing you do will change that... We’ve been married for so long now... We’re planning babies... We’re still gonna get our homestead... And you can have your animals... I’ll have my fruits and veggies... Me ‘n you, baby...” 

You kept whispering little reassurances, reminding her about you guys’ life plan, the things the two of you have already accomplished together, the ones still to come, all while rocking her and playing in her hair. She was holding onto you for dear life. You’d been waiting for it to hit her again, knowing what time of year it was. 

When her breathing evened out and her grip on you relaxed just the tiniest bit, you pulled back slightly, cleaning the crust from her eyes with your shirt before pulling the article off, tossing it to the floor. You finished her cute little pigtails while she slept, pausing to press a kiss to her nose every time she started to stir a little bit. 

You watched a few more episodes of you guys’ show, making sure to put it back to where it was when she fell asleep before you relaxed as well, pulling the covers up over the two of you. 

With a final kiss to her nose, this one earning a soft smile in her sleep, you leaned your head against hers before following her to sleep, mumbling, “Sweet dreams, my love... You’re gonna be a great mother...”

Pregnancy was... well... 

Sevika wasn’t sure how to describe her pregnancy. She was in such a weird place after the initial day of her father finding out that she wasn’t sure what to make of anything. 

One moment, he was “caring” for her- which really just meant not beating the shit out of her and pimping her out- and the next he was either acting like she didn’t exist or, again, human punching bag. 

As far as symptoms, her vomiting didn’t last very long, took her maybe two weeks after that day for her to get a handle on forcing her morning sickness back down no matter what. 

She really didn’t get the chance to think about it much. Sure, she had aches and pains. Sure, she had cravings. Sure, she was in and out of bathrooms like it was nobody’s business. But, those were all just minor- trivial things that ranged from annoying to slightly inconvenient at times. 

The hard part was delivery. 

Sevika delivered her daughter herself. 

Alone, in a back alley, deep in the very heart of Zaun. 

Giving birth hurt more than anything she’d ever felt before and anything she’d ever feel after. 

Sevika didn’t know much about her body. 

Besides the hateful things spewed about it from her father, the lustful words from her “clients”, and the few things she’d managed to sneak and read back when she was younger, she actually didn’t know much about how her body worked, let alone pregnancy. 

But something seemed to come over her. 

It was as if suddenly she knew everything she needed to have her baby safely. 

Yes, she was giving birth in a dirty alleyway- the whole of Zaun was dirty, it was unavoidable- but even through the pain she was... calm. 

She wasn’t worried about someone finding her and interfering. She wasn’t worried about her father. 

All she cared about was making sure her baby made it out into this world. 

And she did it. 

With nothing but a lighter, a shoelace, a pocketknife, and some stolen whiskey, she delivered her baby. 

A girl. 

She always wanted to have a daughter when she was little. 

She told herself that she’d have a girl so she could give her all the love and care that her father never showed her. 

She named her Mieko. 

Sevika didn’t know who the father was before now. 

And even though Mieko was but a newborn, she knew. 

This baby belonged to her father.

The next morning was a rush. 

Sev wanted to get to your mom’s as soon as possible. She didn’t say anything about last night aside from asking if your nose had bled any more after she fell asleep, and you didn’t mention it either. 

But the cloud still hung. 

You noticed her fiddling with the two shell casings that hung from the same chain as her wedding ring. Every so often her hand would stray up to her neckline, fingers practically searching for the items that sat just beneath the fabric of her shirt. Each time you just gave her mech hand a little squeeze, kissing the back of it just the same as you would her flesh hand. 

She was thankful you didn’t pry. You never did, actually. Sure, you knew what the casings held within them, and even more you knew exactly what it meant when she started to play with them, but you didn’t bother her about it. You gave her breath and space to grieve in her own way, never pushing for answers, never making her feel weak for showing her sadness. It was one of the many reasons she loved you so much. 

Naturally, the somber mood slowly started to lift the closer the two of you got to your mother’s place of residence. You knew Sev was only mostly trying to distract herself, but you also knew how much she and your mother adored one another. 

Presently, she was still fiddling with that chain of hers, rubbing the casings between her fingers as she spoke, “D’you think she’ll try and keep us here if it turns out we’re just having a baby?” 

“As if you’d be opposed. The way you two act, people would swear I was the one who married in.” 

She chuckled, sticking her tongue out at you, “Don’t be mad at me because moms prefers me. I’m just that guy.” 

You rolled your eyes, playfully mushing her in the face, “Literally die. Don’t ever say some stupid shit like that again.” 

“Or what?” 

“No booty.”

“What?!” She cried incredulously, immediately on her knees, “C’mon, mama, you know I was just playing. ‘M sorry...” she trailed, looking up at you with puppy eyes. 

You couldn’t help the snicker that escaped you as you pulled her up by her chin, being sure to press your lips to hers when she got close enough before she was once again standing over you, “You gotta be nice to me, okay? I’m 65 percent sure mom wrote me out of her will to put you in it.” 

She rolled her eyes playfully before leaning down to kiss you once more, “Oh, please, even if she did you already know I’d just give it all to you anyway.” 

“True, true.” 

“You ready?” 

“Yeah, are you?” 

“Hell yeah. If you end up not being pregnant we’ll just try again when we get home... so long as you’re not dying or something.” 

“What if I was?” 

“Don’t make me beat your ass, dreamy.” 

You gasped dramatically, “You tryna eat my ass?!” 

“I most certainly would hope not.” 

The two of you immediately forgot about the little argument that was about to start as you both raced to get to your mom first from where she stood on her porch. 

“Mommy,” you exclaimed as you launched yourself into her arms. 

She let out a dramatized grunt as she wrapped you up in her embrace, squeezing you tightly, “I wish you’d have told me you were coming before I felt you. Would’ve made your favorites.” 

“Sorry, it was kind of an emergency.” 

Sevika cut in, tugging you out of the way, “Yeah, kinda like you hogging moms right now.” 

Your mother snickered, squeezing Sev just the same, “You two need to be nice and stop fighting over me all the time. You both know that I love you equally.” 

“But Sev’s not even-” 

“What did I just say, gummy?” 

You huffed, folding your arms as you grumbled under your breath, “I can’t stand either of you.” 

When the two finally released each other, your mother turned her attention back to you, raising a brow, “Sevi, baby, can you do me a favor?” 

“Anything, moms.” 

“Go to the garden and gather the vegetables I’ll need for stir fry, please. I’ll be in the kitchen after I finish with this one,” she requested, eyes never leaving you as she seemed to be scrutinizing you. Sev left with a kiss to your cheek and another to your mom’s temple before she practically skipped away into the garden like the overgrown kid she really was. 

“Do you have something you wanna tell me?” 

“What do you mean, ma?” 

“You’re choosing that card? Step into my office, gummy.” 

You bit your lip as you followed after her into her home office, fiddling with the hem of your hoodie, “I swear to you, I don’t think I’ve got anything worse than a cold-” 

“Sit down,” she instructs, not looking to play these games with you. You shut up immediately, sitting back as she takes your vitals, “Last period?” 

“9 weeks ago.” 

“6 weeks late, huh?” 

“I know what you’re thinking and-” 

“Did you know I’ve been dreaming about fish for a month now? Tiny little fish swimming around with tadpoles.” 

You looked up at her as she handed you a cup, “Seriously, ma? I’m literally your only gay child.” 

She raised a brow, “What does that have to do with me? Piss. I’m testing everyone, it hasn’t just been you.” 

“So you tested Ky?” 

“Sure did.” 

You rolled your eyes the moment your back was turned, a slipper promptly smacking you in the back of the head, “Ow! I didn’t even say anything.” 

“You rolled your eyes and you were grumbling in your head about me making your brother take a pregnancy test. Obviously, I tested his wife, genius.” 

You smacked, rubbing the back of your head, “I didn’t even-” she raised her other slipper and you promptly shut your mouth before grabbing her slipper from earlier, handing it back to her. “I started getting the nosebleeds,” you mumbled softly. 

She looked up from her clipboard, voice and eyes softer than before, “Dear, why you know-” 

“That it means I’m pregnant? Yeah... I know...” 

She set her things aside, wrapping her arms around you, “Oh my little girl... all grown up... about to have a little girl of her own.” 

You chuckled through the tears that had begun to fall, “We don’t even know if it’s a girl yet. Not even close to finding that out.” 

 She waved your argument away, rubbing your back, “Did you forget who your mother is?” 

You didn’t answer, holding her a little tighter. Your mom softened, voice quiet as she questioned, “What’s wrong, gummy?” 

“I’m scared...” 

“Of?” 

“All of it.... being a mom... having a kid in the heart of Zaun... what if... what if Sevika falls out of love with me? Or I fuck up and lose the baby somehow? Or-” 

“Excuse me? I know this isn’t how I raised you to think.” 

“I know, but-” 

“No buts. You’re scared of being a mom? Comes with the territory. You’re scared of having your kid in the heart of Zaun? Guess what, baby girl, that’s where my mom had me, and look at how I turned out. You think you’ll somehow breathe wrong and lose the baby, I already know because I know you- you won’t. I’ll check you two out properly before you guys go back home just to be sure everything is fine and in working order with you and your body and the baby.” 

“As for Sevika? Sweet girl, if you think that girl is going anywhere away from you, then you clearly have a lot of learning to do. She looks at you like you’re the very air she needs to breathe; as if you hung the sun, moon, and stars just for her. That girl loves you even more than I do, and you’re my baby,” she chimed, playfully pinching your cheek, “Make no mistake, there’s nothing that could make her fall out of love with you. Not this one. And by Janna, if she does- call me.” 

You chuckled through your tears, letting out a little sigh, “I got this?” 

She gave you a kiss to your forehead, “Yes, sweet girl. You’ve got this. And I’ll be here the whole time, okay? And you’ve got a wife that loves you... You’ll be okay. And if you ever want to move back up here at any time during your pregnancy or after, let me know. My door is always open, you know this.” 

“I know....” 

The two of you stood like that for a good while before you mumbled, “Mommy?” 

“Yes, gummy?” 

“Thank you.” 

She let out a soft sigh, shaking her head as she held you a little tighter, “Anything for my girl. I’ll keep the news to myself so you can tell my other daughter, alright?” 

“Thanks... I love you.” 

She planted an audible kiss to your forehead, “Of course, little one. I love you more. Now clean that pretty little face and get yourself together. I’ll tell your wife you’re using the bathroom while we get dinner going, okay?” 

You let out a happy little sigh, giving your mother one last good squeeze, “Thanks, mommy.” 

She gave your stomach a little pat before turning to leave, “Don’t take too long or you know she’ll come find you. Also, you have a cold, sit your ass on the couch when you come out and don’t you dare set foot in my kitchen, you hear?” 

“Yes, mommy. I’ll be out in a second.” 

The door closed behind her and you placed a hand on your stomach letting out a little breath, “Now I’ve gotta figure out how to tell your mom about you, angel.”

2 years. 

Sevika had been hiding her daughter from her father successfully for 2 years. 

She doesn’t know how he found her. She didn’t know then and, to this day, she doesn’t know now. 

She’d returned to her childhood home from a day of “work”, heart falling from her stomach as Mieko came tottering to her, wrapping around her leg. 

For the longest time, fear was the only word she could use to describe that day, but no... it was something more than that. Sevika wasn’t just afraid. She was horrified. Petrified even. 

How long had her daughter been alone with her father? How did he find her? How long had he known about her? Was this his first time coming into contact with her? 

A million questions and terrible scenarios ran through her mind, the soft pat of her daughter’s hand on her leg pulling her from the slow descent into panic. She couldn’t help but smile at her baby, picking her up and smothering her in kisses as the little girl dissolved into giggles. She could feel her father’s eyes watching her every move. 

“You take her to the back room.” His voice was gruff as always, words short and to the point. 

Sevika froze. She knew what was coming for her if she let go of her daughter and faced him alone. She didn’t move, arms clutching onto her child as her heart raced even faster than her thoughts. 

There had to be a way out of this. 

Her father hated repeating himself. His anger was palpable, a churning storm ready to roll through the house as he slammed his fist down, “Back room, now!” 

The loud noise and his elevated voice scared Mieko. She started crying. He hates crying. 

Sevika slowly backed toward the front door, holding a crying Mieko to her chest as she tried to quiet her. 

Wrong. 

Her father was in front of her in an instant, large hands reaching for Mieko. Sevika went to turn around, run back out the door, only to have her face smashed into it, her daughter torn from her arms by his other hand. He shook the crying child, screaming at her to shut up. 

Disoriented with blurry vision, Sevika stood on unsure feet, trying to reach for her daughter back. 

She felt that familiar tiny hand clutch her finger for the briefest of moments before a shot rang out. 

She saw red.

Sevika’s hand strayed to the shell casings around her neck frequently throughout dinner, her eyes misty and sort of far away. Your mother looked to you, wondering what was up with her daughter in law, but you waved off her concern, stroking your thumb over Sevika’s thigh in a show of silent comfort each time she withdrew from the conversation. 

After dinner was finished and the dishes had been put away, your mother left for bed with a kiss to each of your foreheads. You sat on the couch with your wife, rolling a cigar for her as she curled around you, her flesh hand at your stomach, tracing patterns over the bit of skin poking from beneath your top. 

You placed the ‘gar between your lips, lighting it before taking a hit and holding it out for your wife. 

She took it, not hitting it, but studying it before she took a hit, sighing upon her exhale of the smoke. 

“How are you feelin’,” you asked softly, playing with her semi-wavy hair that had been freed from the braids and pigtails you’d made the night prior. 

“Stressed... worried...” she trailed off, voice falling quieter as she passed the blunt back to you, “sad...” 

“Where do you wanna start?” 

She shrugged, unwrapping herself from around you to sit up beside you, “Dunno... it’s all just a lot right now...” 

You leaned your head on her shoulder, taking a couple more hits of the blunt before you passed it back to her, taking up interest in her mech hand as you started to fiddle with the metal, “Okay.... what’s got you stressed?” 

“Everything...” 

“But in particular at this moment?” 

She didn’t answer for a few moments, eyes clouding over again. You gave her mech hand a squeeze, whispering gently, “Hey...” 

“Hm?” 

“You keep leaving me... Talk to me...” 

“Is it possible to miss someone you’ve never met?” 

Her mom. 

You gave a small nod, “Entirely possible.” 

“It’s like.... this longing... But it’s more than that because how can you long for something you never truly had? Even worse to miss someone who... who’s not here anymore because of you...” 

Her last sentence was like a ghost, the words dissipating the moment they left her lips. 

“Sevi...” 

“It’s fine, I’m-” 

“No, you aren’t, baby... And you don’t have to be. It’s okay to not be okay... But I wish you’d stop faulting yourself for that...” 

She let out a sigh, holding the blunt out for you, “I know... Just.... can we talk about something else? Or just cuddle and smoke?” 

You nodded as you took another hit, “We can do that.” 

The silence that fell was comfortable, the two of you sharing the blunt back and forth until it was nothing but a roach left. You leaned to place it in the ashtray on the coffee table before moving to lay aginst Sev’s chest. 

Your body was buzzing. It had been a while since you last smoked and you felt that familiar sensation of both floating and sinking into your wife’s body as you lay atop her, her arms wrapped loosely around your waist, flesh hand trazing lazy patterns along your spine. 

You tilted your head slightly to look up at her, her eyes fixated on the ceiling, but not really- she was thinking. 

“You have such pretty eyes,” you whispered. 

Her grin was immediate as she moved her vision down to you, those silver orbs darkened in her high state, “You think so?” 

You nodded, curling further into her as you closed your own eyes, “So pretty... I hope the baby gets your eyes.”

Sevika is known for being a woman who revels in violence. 

The Scary lady of Zaun. 

She’s the one who kicks ass and takes names- no questions. 

But it wasn’t always like that. 

The shot flipped a switch in her. 

To be quite honest, she’s not sure what exactly killed him. 

Maybe it was her beating him. 

Maybe it was her bashing his skull into the wall. 

Maybe she’d broken his ribs with her kicks, punctured a lung or even better his heart. 

She didn’t know. 

But when the rage had settled and her father lie dead on the floor, she saw her little girl. 

She crumpled, those tears she’d been holding back for so long in her life ripped from her as she held her girl in her arms. 

Those tiny fingers wrapped around her pinky for the last time, matching silver orbs growing dim as Mieko took her final breath in her mother’s arms.

Sevika’s heart stopped in her chest as she froze beneath you. 

You sat up, looking down to find her eyes glossed over, a single tear escaping, “Sev?” 

Her eyes were wide, heart hammering away in her chest, threatening to burst from it as she just barely managed to speak, “You... you’re...” 

You took her hands, nodding as you whispered, “Yeah, baby... I’m pregnant.” 

You were holding back tears of your own. You’d only seen your wife cry once, and that was on your wedding day. Sevika crying was as rare as you getting a nosebleed. 

You cupped her face in your hands, wiping away her tears as they fell. She seemed frozen, eyes faraway again as she whispered feebly, “You...” 

Sevika didn’t know what to say. She had dreamed about this moment, played it out a million different ways in her head. She just knew she’d wrap you up in her arms, a mess of kisses and giggles. But now that it was here, the two of you under the light of the fire in your mom’s living room, she was stuck. 

Her eyes focused on you as you spoke, tears in your eyes, “Hey, come back to me? You okay?” 

No, she wasn’t okay. 

“You’re pregnant...” she whispered, still sounding like she didn’t believe it. 

You let out a soft chuckle, nodding as you leaned in to kiss a line down her nose, ending with her lips, “We made a baby, Sev...” 

There were stars in her eyes as she stared at you. She was never one for flowery language, she’d tried, but she always stumbled over her words or felt like she’d just come off cheesy. Her hands moved to your waist, thumbs stroking the sides of your stomach as she looked up at you, “We did...” 

“We’re gonna be parents...” 

“We are...” she whispered, her words thick as she blinked away a fresh batch of tears. 

You didn’t wipe them away this time. Instead, you pulled her closer, wrapping your arms around her as she tucked her face into the crook of your neck. If you felt her tears soak through your shirt, you didn’t say anything, fingers combing through her hair as you rocked softly. 

Sevika was swimming through her thoughts in her mind. She was petrified and ecstatic at the same time, but the fear seemed to overtake the happiness by an astounding wave, causing her to press further into you. You simply wrapped your arms tighter around her, pressing a kiss into her hair as you rubbed her back to keep her grounded. 

Her mind was running about a million miles a minute. Flashbacks of her own pregnancy, her labor and delivery in that cramped alley... the few moments of peace and happiness shared with her daughter.... Mieko’s eyes as the life leaked from them... 

Then she thought about you. The life the two of you have settled into together. The day that started all of this when the two of you decided to try for a baby. About all the shit you’ve had to put up with thus far and all the things to come. 

She pulled back to look at you, silver eyes glistening still in the lowlight, pupils blown as she found her voice, whispering under her breath, “Thank you...” 

Your eyes caught on your mother, a soft smile on your face as she mouthed, “I told you so.” 

🤎©️ All work belongs to sexysapphicshopowner. Do not use or repost my content in any way without my consent or permission. Thank you! 🤎

🤎 Taglist 🤎:

@certainlynotasimp @trafalgardvivi @love-sugarr @archangeldyke-all @fyeahnix

[samalong1]

Eddie gluskin x blind m!reader

Tw reader is male but eddie refers to them in female terms,feminization,slight abelism from eddie,Eddie's surgery mentioned,slight delusions from eddie

Catagory:fluff

Takes place outside of Mt massive

Despite being independent eddie woudnt care

Your his bride blind or not he's supposed to care for you

Though being blind will make him assume your in need of constant assistance

He's constantly worried about you hurting yourself with all the sharp glass and rubble on the floor

While he thinks his wife should be cleaning this is clearly a special case so he'll be cleaning wearing a pink flower apron

Of course when you inevitably try and convince him how independent you are he'd only give you all the cleaning now that all the rubble is cleaned up and the dishes

When he was trying to replace your family jewls and another patient fought him he lies and says he won and proudly defended your honor even though you probally know he lost but your jewels are still intact

He secretly likes your cane he finds it soothing hearing it glide over the floors and occasionally hit the walls. It reminds him that he has a "wife" wondering around the house maybe doing her wifely duties or getting a snack it just reminds him his dream has come true

He watches you like a hawk when you cook he knows you can cook that you have methods for when chopping and little gadgets to know when the water is boiling

He still worries about your saftey (even though he nearly chopped of your dick)

He loves sewing you dresses and while saddened that you can't see them but he loves describing it to you in a poetic way comparing red to roses blues to waterfalls and White to the purity of his bride

If you have a seeing eye dog he'll respect them when their working though at the store of you send them to grab something he'll get jeolous and grab it himself

Let him help you even if you don't need it

But when their not working he treats them like the family dog him petting their head while reading the newspaper

He doesn't let them on the furniture unless their working

Even though you can apply your makeup and do your hair he insists that he does it

It's a exuse to do your makeup and hair he'd find one even if you weren't blind or could still see since blindness is a spectrum

After startling you by accident he starts to walk heavier to alert you when he's hear

Still trying for a baby through anal but you can just lie and say somehow your blindness or what caused it made it extremely rare to conceive he's already shitty on anatomy and will just assume it's a woman thing

Just find a baby doll to feed delusion or steal a baby

Don't say it's impossible to have kids cause then you get surgery by him

Whenever pavement is cracked and uneven making it hard to navigate him being a chivalrous king will just scoop you up bridal style and carry you

He just wants to carry you bridal style he could easily help but he loves carrying you like his bride

Occasionally swaps your dresses with one's that resemble a 50's housewife you know but don't want to argue with him

[jwirecs]

Recommended BTS Fics of August 2022💖

hello, hello! here are my bts recs of august! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

The Dimple Theory || @e-cm​🔞💕💔✅

↳ You’re in your final year at university. You almost have your dream graduate job. If only your arch nemesis, Kim Namjoon, wasn’t applying for the same job at the same firm…

The Millionaire and His Lover || @gukyi​​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ over the course of your lifelong friendship with jungkook, you can’t say that you’ve ever had the greatest ideas, and a fake relationship with the boy you’ve been in love with for years is no exception.

Please Love Me || @ahundredtimesover​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ As the only unmarried Jeon and Kim children, your families propose a union to symbolize your unbreakable bond that spans generations. But despite developing an affection for Jungkook growing up, he never returned it; he never seemed to like you, actually. You’re okay with the proposal, but surprise surprise, he isn’t.

Stand By Me || @jeonsweetheart​​​💕💔✅💯💯💯

↳ anonymous requested: “could you do some min yoongi fluff with stand by me by ben e king?” (not really childhood friends to lovers but you know i’d like to imagine it to be)

White Lies || @noteguk​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ in which Jungkook lies his way out of and into trouble. But he can’t tell white lies when it comes to you.

About You || @magicshopaholic​​​💕💔✅

↳ There's something Namjoon isn't telling you. After finally getting out of him, though, you find yourself wishing you'd never asked. (TW topics)

As It Was || @zehakoo​​​💕💔✅

↳ you and your husband have constantly been arguing due to the change in his behaviour and you start to wonder where it all went wrong.

Can’t Help It, I Love You || @kookslastbutton​​​ 🔞💕✅💯

↳ Finally getting a day off, your boyfriend takes you out on a date. Everything is sickeningly sweet until you visit a cute little lingerie store. All he wants to do now is get busy in the dressing room.

Don’t Leave Yet || @kookslastbutton​​​🔞💕✅

↳ "Shh baby,” he breathes against your lips. “Focus on us right now.” or Jungkook doesn’t want you to leave for work so soon. Especially since it’s your birthday

Charade || @ughcore​🔞💕💔🔄

↳ “Why would you help me? What are you gonna get out of this?” Taehyung looks you up and down, the humour twinkling in his eyes like the fairy lights he helped you hang above the TV. He tucks his hands into his armpits, assessing you for a few more moments that leave your skin hot and itchy. “It’ll be nice to see you out of those fuzzy slippers for once,” The double entendre lacing his words is nothing new. The tingles in your stomach, however? Yeah, those are brand new.”

Calico || @horanghaejamjam​​​ 🔞💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ Now that he is a successful business owner and financially stable, Yoongi felt it was finally time to welcome a hybrid into his home. What he didn’t expect, was a chance meeting with the young calico that would steal his heart.

Kitty Thief || @yoon2jk​​​💕✅

↳ Jeon Jungkook was a meticulous man with a specific love for hoodies. So imagine his shock and anger when he finds out that his cute little neighbor is stealing his hoodies.

Pawn to King || @outrohxte​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ wanting her own son to take the throne, jimin's stepmother marries him off to the ruthless human queen of a far away kingdom, said to despise the existence of hybrids. what she didn't expect was for the tables to turn so drastically - her hopeless pawn coming back as a king, to rightfully claim his throne.

Playful || @chimyoung​​​💕💔✅💯💯

↳ requested scenario: “Hello hello I wanted to praise you on your Secure Yoongi fic! It was the best! Also wanted to ask if you could do an imagine with a hybrid reader, She’s a fox hybrid and very mischievous and loves to play pranks. Taehyung is her owner/boyfriend. One day she decides to prank the boys and it goes a bit too far and Taehyung yells at her and for a few days she doesn’t act like her normal self, shes become very quiet and then he goes to apologise and fluff ensues?? ☺️☺️”

Who You Are || @ausblack​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ requested scenarios: “For the hybrid plot you asked for, usually they make the reader go near or live by the woods & meets wolf hybrid namjoon. Instead, you can write about wolf hybrid namjoon going to live in the city for the 1st time to study for uni & meets the reader who’s actually a bear hybrid or such but takes suppressants to hide her scent & disguises her bear ears with cute beanies or hats like a beret. Idk why but I find that cute. He starts to have interest in finding out more about her but she’s vague af.”

BTS Mafia Reaction || @dreamescapeswriting​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ You’re Not Financially Stable

Enemy || @bonny-kookoo​​​ 🔞💕💔🔄💯

↳ The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Or alternatively: Jungkook has no idea what to do with you.

Gotcha || @sweetestofchaos​​​💕✅💯

↳ After a few days without their daughter, Namjoon’s wife decides to surprise him

Keeping Up With The Kims. || @strawberriescherrieskiwi​​​💕✅

↳ So here is Namjoon and his little family on his daughter’s 3rd birthday.

One Summer In Paris || @dreamescapeswriting​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ Jeon Jungkook had always loved Paris with its amazing views, incredible museums and the small Bookshop right across from the Effiel Tower. It was were he spent a lot of his summer breaks as a kid so he loved it well into his adulthood. There was one bookshop he rented a room in the summer that changed his life. It was a place where he felt happy and at peace whenever he had the chance to stay there. Where he fell in love for the first time and had his first heartbreak, a lot of firsts for him were in Paris. But what happens when he goes back to the same book shop four years later and finds the love of his life in the arms of another with a daughter who looks suspiciously like him…

The One With The Bows || @yoon2k​​​💕✅💯💯

↳ yoongi’s hair is getting too long, and he’s constantly having to push it out of his face. Luckily, his daughter just bought a new set of hair ties from Claire’s and is dying to use them. (STOP THIS IS SO CUTE)

Daisies || @silverlightqueen​​​ 🔞💕💔✅

↳ You’ve had a long-running feud with fellow idol Park Jimin, saving all the anger and bitterness for the yearly award shows and shooting each other a few dirty looks, not bowing when you walk past each other, or just generally throwing shade. After one particularly obvious encounter between the two of you, the fans start to notice, just in time for The Rose Tour!

Empty Apartment || @jjkscafe​​​💕💔✅

↳ in which y/n moves in with jungkook who just so happens to “forget” to tell her his apartment is highkey haunted

Realize || @theiris-storyvault​​​💕💔✅💯

↳ What happens when you start to fall in love with your son's best friend's father?

All Roads Lead Back To You || @raplinesmoon​​​ 🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ Namjoon doesn’t remember the moment he went from a powerful business tycoon to little more than an aimless wanderer. Tired of the path his life is going on, he boards a train, not knowing where it’ll lead him. What he doesn’t expect is to meet you on board, the girl that would change his life forever.

Broken Bottles || @xpeachesncream​🔞💕💔🔄💯 (ON HOLD)

↳ fed up with the fact that trouble seems to follow his son everywhere and his lack of motivation to do better for himself, taehyung’s father asks his dearest friend to help him land a job at his company. he promises taehyung will be on his best behavior and that he will do what it takes to get the job done properly. and sure, taehyung believes he can pull through with no issues. however, when he finds out that he’s paired up to work with you, the CEO’s daughter and VP of their skincare brand, he realizes that it’s not as easy as he thought it would be.

The Love After || @ahundredtimesover​​​​🔞💕💔✅

↳ Every werewolf has a fate, interpreted by Amma and guided by the Moon. In this world, there are 2 Supreme Fates fully determined by Her - serve in the Wolf Warrior Clan or find your True Mate. You and Jungkook have neither. You both lost the loves of your lives to live out their Supreme Fates and it’s why you both hold resentment towards the mating system. Until the Ceremony happens and you and Jungkook are fated to each other, connected only by heartbreak, pain, and the long lost belief that you could ever love again.

Do check out all of the other BTS Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

[lol-jackles]

Sorry if you've already spoken on this but here is my question:

Concerning TW, why did Jensen drop the ball so bad on this? While screwing over Jared and SPN's legacy over a hot mess - I thought he wanted to show he could do good without Jared and create a "SPN"ish world with himself at the centre. But he barely did any marketing for it, seemed unbothered during press time (irritated even w/ Danneel) and seemed to not care about the story, characters or the shooting. I mean the man didn't need to make something to memorable but he seemed to not even try while putting his post-spn reputation on the line.

He even brought his wife as a partner on a show (spn) she never cared about. It couldn't have been simply a big F U to Jared for being the actual lead of SPN. If it was simply narcissism, that man is deep in it then... or he is simply as simple-minded as his wife (no offense... but after hearing her talk... gosh darn)

Jensen’s business model has always made my eye twitch, it's why I keep offering to manage his career for free. There's a reason why most actors should never be in charge of their own projects.

As actors we're supposed to do research, research, and more research. Jensen doesn't do research because he has tons of raw talent. But to quote Einstein, "Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work". Without hard work, that talented kid is just going to be a normal kid. Jensen's acting method is largely instinctual, and he applies the same method to his business model. When Jensen acts, he doesn't go into a scene looking to do a scene, instead he goes in to give over to how the other person makes him feel, he doesn’t worry about how he’s going to say his lines, he says them intuitively. That's fine for acting, up to a degree. That doesn't work in business.

"but he seemed to not even try while putting his post-spn reputation on the line."

Like most celebrities, Jensen's idea of being a businessman is slap his face and name on a product, let others do the work, and sit back and wait for the royalties to start rolling in. Just look at how he handled his first #SPNFamily tee-shirt campaign in 2015, it was barely the default minimum.  And that’s fine, a lot of celebrities do that. But it’s not ideal for somebody who wants to create something.  It’s easy to have ideas, but it’s very hard to turn an idea into a successful product.  

To actually run a business on a day-to-day basis is not Jensen's forte. Like how some people are enamored with having their dream wedding and not thought about the work that goes into a marriage. Post-SPN, Jensen doesn’t have a Jared to pick up the slack for his under-functioning handling of his prequel project.   We saw the preview of this during the YANA campaign:

Jensen & Misha: Hey guys we're launching YANA! And click the link below.

Fandom: Cool, so what is YANA?

Jensen:  *puts his head on Misha’s shoulders* There’s a link below!

Fandom: But what is YANA about?

*Literally 20 minutes later*

Jensen and Misha: *clowning* Don’t forget to click on the link be….

Fandom: Fuck you, assclowns!  Where’s Jared?

*24 hours later Jared explained what YANA is about on his Facebook even though he’s not part of the YANA campaign*

Fandom: Thanks Jared! Wow that only took 2 minutes.

Me: It literally took 2 minutes.

As for Jensen bringing on Danneel into the $PN brand, they’ve been trying to raise Danneel’s profile for at least 5 years and thought ingratiating her into the $PN fandom that she had no part in cultivating would be a swell idea.

[sharpfamily]

Per Aspera Ad Astra

Happy Birthday to our favourite ex-auror potions professor! Three birthdays in the life of Aesop Sharp, brought to you by@tea-withjamandbread and @aesopsharpmybeloved. Part of collections A New Chance at Life as well as The Sharp Family Chronicles. Aesop Sharp x (adult) MC!reader

word count: 9.4 k

tw: mentions of alcohol abuse, depression, suggestive content, tooth-rotting fluff

July 1st 1881

It’s been a few days since he’s been released from St Mungo’s. Again. Dinah still had a few more days to attend to her responsibilities in Hogwarts, however, for the time being, she seemed to trust Aesop not to do anything too crazy until the term officially ended. Aesop soon discovered that all of his liquor bottles, both empty and full, had disappeared. Wonderful. There was not a single drop of alcohol left in his house. At first he felt annoyed. Irritated. Already trying to think of a way to get at least a single drink, just a little something to take the edge off. 

He didn’t have an owl, and he couldn’t exactly Floo, much less walk to some shop or pub. Not in his current state. Wiggenweld potion could only do so much, and while it did heal the smaller cuts and scrapes and helped with the pain, his hands were still bandaged in order to keep the healing balm applied to them from drying up while it restored his mangled hands. If he didn’t look miserable before his breakdown, he absolutely looked miserable now.

There was no way he could go anywhere like this… and there was no way anyone would be willing to bring him anything either. Aesop didn’t know how many people knew about his collapse - he was certain Dinah would make sure the number was minimal - but he was absolutely certain his mother knew. Abraham too, possibly. And the very thought of flooiong one of his (now former) colleagues to ask them to send him a drink? He shuddered. No. They’d ask questions. They’d possibly come over. They couldn’t see him like this.

Dinah was right. As she usually was, of course. He probably should lay off the booze for a while. Aesop wheeled himself throughout the downstairs of his childhood home. The mirror in the ground floor bathroom was left nothing more than a frame - Dinah probably vanished all of the broken glass. As he slowly rode through his kitchen, a picture frame caught his eye. In it was a photograph, and Aesop almost couldn't recognise his own face in it. 

He didn’t even know why Ashley would get a camera - probably to take photos of her son, first and foremost - but she had brought it to his birthday dinner last year. She wasn’t a particularly good photographer, but a few nice shots were taken that night a year ago. This was one of them - he was standing by the bar in the Leaky Cauldron, actually looking quite handsome and very confident, Dinah next to him and Abraham on the other side. The photograph was moving like they were moving back then - grinning, laughing, clinking their glasses together.

And then, suddenly, Ashley appeared, peeking out from the corner of the photo, wanting to be in the picture while taking it. She looked like she always did - carefree, optimistic, confident. Her wild streak has lowered somewhat since she and her wife got their little boy, but she was still the kind of person who walked into the room and lit it up with her mere presence.

He wheeled over to the photograph and placed it face down on the shelf where it stood. He couldn’t look at it anymore. Those happy memories had been his reality only a year ago. To him, though, it felt like a century had passed. The man whose birthday was being celebrated in that photograph was someone else. A happy man with his whole life ahead of him. A man with a successful career, who still struggled with his love life to be certain, but who hadn’t given up on his dream of settling down and raising a family in the home in which he himself had spent his entire life. 

A family? He wasn’t sure he could even… Not that anyone would ever want that from him anymore. Who could see him as any more than the cripple that he was. That dream of having a family of his own died the moment he stepped on to that godforsaken ship. It had vanished the very moment he had led his partner, his oldest friend, the one he was supposed to protect, to her death. His hubris having cost her all of her dreams and plans as well.

He decided that the birthday captured in the photograph Ashley had taken would be the last one he celebrated. He would have more birthdays, of course, Dinah having knocked some sense into him after his breakdown. He had already been the cause of enough pain and suffering for those he cared about the most. So he would make a point to survive, to continue existing, for them, but he saw no need to boast about having circled the sun one more time. Not when his partner hadn’t circled it with him.

Suddenly he heard the door open. He wasn't expecting company, in fact he had specifically requested that no one visit him today. He didn't want to worry anyone but he also didn't want to face their feeble attempts at cheering him up, at making him feel special on the anniversary of his birth. He didn't want to see the sadness and pity in their eyes. They did their best to hide it, of course, but he knew it was there. He was a pitiful sight indeed. He wheeled himself around as fast as he could manage and drew his wand, not that it would do him much good in his current state, the bandages on his hands making his grip awkward. If it came to it, he didn't know if he'd even be able to defend himself and his home in the event of an unsavory intruder.

He recognized the footsteps instantly and pocketed his wand.

Of course she'd show up anyways. The nerve.

Dinah bloody Hecat.

He heard the door close and wheeled himself to greet his guest. He'd at least give her that courtesy. When the younger, now older looking woman appeared in his line of sight, he saw she had come armed with a large bag of groceries. She looked at him.

"You look like hell."

"Lovely to see you too."

Dinah walked right past him, heading straight for the kitchen. Aesop thought she might have walked straight into him if he hadn’t quickly wheeled himself backwards. He supposed he still retained some of his Auror reflexes even after everything.

Dinah set down her bag and started unloading everything, pulling out potatoes, carrots, parsnips, various herbs, a jar of broth, some dried mushrooms and a large piece of meat out of the bag. Aesop knew instantly that she had come here on someone else’s errand. She had never been much of a cook herself after all. Aesop however, recognized his mother’s venison stew when he saw it, even in its currently disassembled state. 

“Mum sent you, didn’t she."

It wasn't a question.

“She’s worried about you, Aesop. Especially today of all days”

“There’s nothing special about today. It’s just… a day”

“It’s your birthday, Aesop”

“Why does that even ma-“

Dinah dind't give him the time to finish, fixing him with a stare so intense, he had to stifle a tremble.

“It matters because 34 years ago your mother labored for about the same number of hours in order to bring you into this world. She then raised you along with your father until he was gone. Then she somehow found the strength to raise you AND provide for you by herself while grieving her own husband. It matters because she made sure you had everything you needed for your education, because she saw you through your Auror training AND career and earlier this year, she thought she’d be laying you to rest next to her husband instead of the other way around. So today, on the anniversary of your birth, even though YOU don’t want to see her, she STILL wanted to make sure you got to eat your favorite meal, so I am here, Aesop Theodore Sharp, on HER errand and I WILL see this through, even if I have to bind you to that infernal chair of yours and force feed you myself.”

Aesop pinched the bridge of his nose. He knew his mother deserved better than the worry he had put her through not just this year, but during his entire career as an Auror. And as much as he hated to admit it, he knew that Dinah could, and would follow through with her threat. Hell, the woman could have taken him down at his peak, let alone the sorry state he currently found himself in.

"Dinah-"

"As I was saying, I'm not here to celebrate. I’m here to make sure you don't starve to death. Also this house needs tidying up… you know I'm always afraid of tripping over something or another when I visit you nowadays. My balance isn't the worst for someone my…well for someone with the body I have, but it's not getting any better"

It was easy for Aesop to forget that Dinah, while exhibiting a strong facade and with her fierce personality, still hadn’t fully made peace with her own career-ending injury. Although she had remade herself as Hogwarts’ Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, he knew this was not her first choice. He would have to remake himself in due time, the pension he received from the Ministry barely covering his living expenses, but he wasn’t ready for that. Not yet at least.

Dinah busied herself browning the meat for the stew when she addressed her friend once more.

"You need to bathe, Aesop, you smell quite terrible."

"I… it's been a few days."

"I can tell. Do you need my help or can you manage on your own?"

"I think I can manage."

“Good."

Aesop wheeled himself to his bedroom where he carefully got undressed and discarded his clothes in the now overflowing laundry bin. Well, it wasn’t exactly his bedroom, the room had originally served as a study, however, following his injury, ascending the flight of stairs that led to his bedroom was no longer an option, so his mother had conjured a bed and had attempted to make the room as cozy as she could. He appreciated her efforts, but it just wasn’t the same. Nothing was, come to think about it. 

With a towel around his body for some semblance of privacy, he slowly made his way to the bathroom and took the bandages off his hands. They looked a little better today, but he would still need to reapply that healing balm for another week according to the Healers at St Mungo’s. He sat on the bench that had been conjured in the shower and turned the water on. He carefully went through the now considerably lengthy ritual of lathering his hair and body, being careful not to irritate his hands too much. 

The scars on his leg and face used to be excruciating, however the passage of time as well as rigorous desensitization as part of his shower routine had made them almost painless to the touch. If only his blasted leg would have improved in the same manner he’d maybe have a shot at a fulfilling life. However, he had been told to get used to it, to “learn to live” with his injury. He could never get used to this. He would never get used to it. Perhaps there was something out there that could help him.

He put those thoughts aside and shut the water off, dried himself and opened the door leading to his hopefully temporary bedroom. He instantly noticed that the windows had been opened, a warm summer breeze gently blowing in the large bedroom. His bed had been made, the overflowing laundry bin had been emptied and there were clean, comfortable clothes laid out on his bed, next to the armchair he sat on while getting dressed. 

That woman truly was incorrigible. As he got dressed though, he realized how nice it felt to breathe the fresh summer air that was cleansing the room, as opposed to the stale air he had been inhaling ever since he had been discharged from St Mungo’s. He hadn’t been opening the windows at night like he used to before his injury. In that moment, he remembered how much he enjoyed it, though. Tonight he’d make a point to open his bedroom windows before turning in. He also realized how his shower, how the simple turned not-so-simple act of washing his body had put him in a slightly better mood. He applied the healing balm to his hands and bandaged them before making his way towards the door.

As Aesop left his bedroom, he could already smell the stew Dinah had prepared, which had just started to simmer. He could also smell the freshly brewed tea she had prepared. As he approached her, seated at the dining room table, the chair that would normally be next to her having been vanished in what he assumed was an invitation to join her, he noticed she had already poured them both a cup, and that she was currently poring over his mail, which had accumulated over the past week. He hadn’t bothered to sort through any of it since returning home.

“Still only cream in your tea?”

“Of course”

Dinah handed him his cup as well as a pile of letters

“These require your immediate attention”

“I’ll… make sure I deal with them, then”

Dinah handed him a quill, barely looking up from her organizing.

“No time like the present, Aesop.”

Aesop took the quill without argument and started filling out the various forms Dinah had given him. Applications for additional disability pay from the Ministry, tax forms, appeal letters to send to the Ministry requesting they cover the various experimental treatments he had received to attempt to heal his injury sustained in the line of duty. Once in awhile Dinah added a form or two to his workload, while sorting out the mail she deemed as rubbish.

“This one appears to be an offer letter fo work for the Auror recruitment program”

“They told me to 'take all the time I need' but they’re really hoping I don’t need time at all don’t they. That I’ll just bounce back, so to speak.”

“It would appear so”

Aesop sighed. “I’m not ready, Dinah. I can barely take care of myself at the moment. I can barely even walk from here to the front door of my own house. How could I-”

Dinah placed her hand on his

“You don’t have to accept the position right now, Aesop. I read the letter and they appear willing to wait for you to recover more before you’d-”

“I’m not sure I even want that job. I don’t think it would be right for me to take it”

“You can think about it later. For now, let’s get us some fresh air.”

Dinah stood up and made her way towards the side door, past the kitchen, where the stew she had prepared was still simmering. Aesop followed her outside. She sat on the stone bench closest to the house, overlooking the now quite unkempt garden. Aesop wheeled himself right next to her, a difficult feat on the uneven terrain. He really ought to get walking again, lest he spend the rest of his life confined to his house. They sat in comfortable silence.

“That stew does smell delicious. You did a great job.”

“Well, your mother was very clear in her instructions. All I did was follow.”

“You did so much more than that.”

“I know you’d have done the same for me. You did, in fact, if I remember correctly.” Aesop had been there for her when Dinah had been wounded on the job. He had been there at the hospital, and had helped her tremendously when she moved back to her home. He had even offered for her to move back in with him. They were no longer romantically involved, but he had still been ready to put his life and plans on pause to help her in any way he could. She had declined his kind offer but appreciated it nonetheless.

“Yes, well… that’s what friends are for, I suppose.”

They had been through so much together. A failed romantic relationship turned friendship for the ages. They had each seen each other at their worst and would eventually make peace with their respective situations, and see themselves at their best once more. For now, though, the present moment was all that existed.

"You know, you told me I'd hate you come September… you're going to try a lot harder to get me to that point."

"Term just ended. I have plenty more time now to be a thorn in your side."

Aesop chuckled, perhaps for the first time in a long time

"Thank you for being here today."

July 1st 1893

The last week of school flew by in front of Aesop’s eyes. Exams were done, and both teachers and students could breathe a sigh of relief. He had helped his sweetheart settle into the little house she rented at the edge of Hogsmeade throughout the last few days, her various books and tomes, the majority of her clothes, the little knick knacks and memorabilia she collected during her three years at Hogwarts. 

And, of course, the beasts. Some would be released back into the wild, as the poachers throughout the Highlands severely lessened in numbers, following this insane (former) Ravenclaw student crashing into their operations. A few more vulnerable ones would be found new homes, as would be the girl’s new apprenticeship at Brood and Peck, and some she simply wished to keep and care for herself. With Aesop’s help, they transfigured the inside of a large chest into something of a Sanctuary for the beasts his love would be keeping. Deek aided in their relocation, having a hard time saying goodbye to them. (F/N) had promised the elf he was welcome to visit them whenever he wanted.

The Seventh year’s ball rolled around, then graduation, then the teary-eyed departure of most of the students on the Hogwarts express. Aesop wouldn’t admit it, but he too had shed a few tears all those years ago, when he boarded that train for the last time. 

Today, however, was not a day for tears. It was Saturday, which meant his sweetheart had two more days to settle in and get her bearings before officially beginning her adult life and her new job. She usually woke up before him, but it seemed the turbulent few days left the young woman in a state of exhaustion. It was the first time she spent the night in her new abode, and Aesop graciously agreed to help her find  out if the bed was any good. 

Well, it definitely wasn’t as good as the bed he slept in at Hogwarts, nor the one in his own house, being softer than he was used to. However, he noted that his back wasn’t troubling him upon waking up, which was a small victory. Much bigger victory currently craddled in his arms. His beautiful young lover was curled into his side, her breathing soft and even, her hair matted and messy with sleep, and a bit of drool was dried upon her jowl. The potions master thought she looked like a dream come true. 

He took in his surroundings, the room was unfamiliar and had yet to be lived in, but it had every bit the potential to become a very cozy bedroom. The floors were straight and firm, the wallpapers pleasant to the eyes, the windows let in a lot of natural light. Speaking of the windows, they were currently open to let the fresh summer morning air in, and Aesop could hear the wizarding village waking up and coming to life. In a few hours, the streets would be filled with people enjoying what was looking to be a sunny Saturday. Aesop closed his eyes again with a content little hum, burrowing further into the light smooth sheets and his sweetheart’s arms.

It all still felt rather surreal, really. Every single night he went to bed with the lovely Ravenclaw, he expected to wake alone and realize it's all been nothing but a dream. And while he did wake up alone on quite a few mornings, it took only a few seconds for him to know that it certainly hadn't been a dream. There was the faint floral scent of his lover's perfume clinging to his sheets, to his pillows, to him. It was all around him in this intoxicating vapor, mingling with the cool air around him. There was sometimes a note, carefully folded upon one of the seats of the large leather sofa, directly in his field of view from the bed. There was the absence of the shirt he wore the previous day…

Even now, when she was resting in his arms, soft, warm and absolutely real, Aesop bit into his bottom lip to make sure it wasn't a dream. He was startled then, as a sudden loud sound came from outside, followed by some more commotion and the frustrated voice of Zonko's shopkeeper. Probably a firework gone haywire. The young girl stirred against him, groaning quietly.

"Good morning, you," Aesop said softly, a smile appearing on his face on its own accord. His beloved tilted her head and her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was Aesop, and he felt his heart throb, when her own face stretched in a smile, her sleepy eyes immediately filled with love and devotion. She looked around the room then, an adorable little line between her eyebrows as she slowly began to realise she wasn't in Aesop's chambers, nor was she in her dorm. 

And then it hit her. The young woman released a breathy chuckle and her legs curled around one of Aesop's own. The potions master felt her warm cheek on his collarbone, he felt her hands caress his furry torso. It was then he had a little realisation himself - his sweetheart was also making sure she wasn't dreaming. And it was this knowledge that made him drop his head back onto the pillow, his eyes closing in bliss. 

“Good morning, Aesop,” she whispered before raising her head a little to place a kiss between his jaw and his chin. She released a soft sigh then, gently resting her forehead against his collarbone once more. Aesop’s heart beat loudly in his chest, and he was certain she knew it was only for her. “Merlin, it's so strange… no homework, no essays, no studying… so strange to wake up and know that I don’t have to do anything...” On her mouth was a content smile, very much reminding Aesop of a kneazle that got the cream. “Oh, yes,” he answered, voice light and teasing, “for exactly two days. Then off to work with you!” The girl snorted against his skin, and when she lifted her head again, Aesop was nearly certain she was keeping herself back from sticking out her tongue at him.

“Besides,” he continued, his large hands stroking over her sides and back, relishing at the feeling of her silky soft skin under his calloused fingertips, “don’t forget that you’re not in Hogwarts anymore. There are no house elves - you cook for yourself, clean after yourself, the full deal.” She was lazily twirling strands of his chest hair around her index finger, her face absolutely relaxed: “I can do that. I think. I can cook a little, and I tend to keep things tidy. It’s just… Well, my household spells are still a bit shabby. I think I’m going to get frustrated trying to wash the dishes using magic, and will end up just doing it by hand anyway.” Aesop chuckled, the girl atop his chest bouncing softly with the motion. “All in good time,” he said, “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and just like everything else, household spells need to be practiced in order to be perfected. I can help you with that.”

They lay in the girl’s bed, legs entwined, just enjoying the calm summer morning. “What will you be doing, by the way, now that you’ve no classes to teach and school work to grade for the next two months?” She inquired curiously. “Me? Oh, I’ll be staying in your bed every day, teasing you that you have to go to work!” the potions master grinned and promptly received a playful smack to the chest. “No, no. I still have some unfinished things at Hogwarts, not to mention my trunk’s still in my chambers, terribly unpacked, I'm afraid. There’s several teacher meetings during the summer as well. I’ll be brewing potions for the hospital wing throughout the two months so that it’s all stocked up for the following term. I'll be revising the curriculum - though I hardly ever make changes to it - and I also need to tidy up the house a bit. It does get dusty after ten months. However, that all can wait. It can definitely wait for the two free days.”

And so Aesop Sharp and (F/N)(L/N) spent the beautiful July day simply enjoying their freedom and their company. The young woman insisted on preparing their breakfast by hand, and while it was ‘just’ scrambled eggs and some toast, Aesop was certain they were the best scrambled eggs he’d ever eaten, simply because they were prepared by her and he was able to enjoy them in her company alone. 

Afterwards he showed her how to properly clean the dishes with magic, starting with a single teacup. They picked up and cleaned the singular dishes back and forth, until everything was clean. A single flick of Aesop’s wand summoned a towel from a hook, which promptly began drying the dishes clean. Another flick, and the dry ones floated to their respective spaces and stored themselves. With a smile, he observed his young lover’s awed expression. “No worries,” he promised, “you’ll have perfected it before the year is done.”

They decided to go for a little stroll along the banks of the Black lake later, talking softly, basking in the sunlight. Aesop, whose entire wardrobe was still at Hogwarts, chose to only wear his trousers, shirt and waistcoat, opting to leave his jacket and overcoat behind, as it was entirely too warm to wear them. He still applied a little cooling charm on all articles of his clothing for comfort. When his sweetheart got dressed, he realised that it really had not been often he saw her out of her uniform or her adventuring ensembles. He certainly couldn’t wait to remedy that, he thought, as he observed the dress she chose for their outing. It was light, sleek and simple, and it complimented all of her curves perfectly. She saw him staring and actually twirled for him with a wink. Little minx.

Aesop offered his arm to her, and his heart squeezed tightly at the display of emotion he saw in her eyes when she immediately accepted it. They walked all the way to the spot she brought him during their late night hippogriff flight. “You know, back then I had to use all of my energy not to just turn my head and kiss you,” (F/N) laughed quietly, a small blush on her cheeks. Aesop grinned and looked towards the dark, murky water, remembering that spring night. He could almost see the memory in front of his eyes. His sweetheart skipping stones at the shore, him standing behind her, longing.

A shuffle next to him brought him out of his thoughts. The young woman was currently pulling off her summer dress, baring the skin of her legs. “What are you doing?” he asked, eyes as big as saucers. Normally, her taking off her clothes would get nothing but positive feedback from him, however, seeing as they were out in the open, in broad daylight, he very much doubted the woman had some tender fun on her mind right now. She grinned at him giddily as she finally managed to escape the fabric and folded it haphazardly. She disposed of it on the same boulder he leaned against over a year ago, her shoes already sitting on it, and, with a wink, began running towards the water, in nothing but her chemise and drawers. 

“No way…” the potions master shook his head, even as the corners of his mouth began twitching. And then, with a single tiny squeal, (F/N) threw herself head first into the Black lake. He was smiling fully now, finding her youthful playfulness and unadulterated joy incredibly endearing. He walked closer to the water’s edge. His sweetheart emerged a second later, drenched from head to toe, grinning wildly. She was slightly flushed from the cold, but otherwise looked in utmost bliss.

“I hope you don’t expect me to jump in after you,” he said wryly, crossing his arms over his chest. The woman laughed with all the meriness of a child. She swam closer to the shore for a bit, so that she could stand while she pushed her wet hair out of her face: “Honestly, I was rather hoping you would, but I’m not going to force you. Although I’m telling you, you’re missing out!” And with that, she leaned back and began idly floating on her back. 

Aesop looked at her form. The white chemise was clinging to her body, her skin showing through the wet material. Dropping the cooling charm he put on his clothes, he noticed just how hot the day turned. Suddenly the water seemed all the more appealing. He admired the curves of his lover’s body, his hands already itching to trace them as he unconsciously pulled at his own clothes. He knew she was watching him out of the corner of her eye, actually saw her roll her eyes a little as he conjured a small leather holster for his wand and tied it around his bony ankle and shin. 

She rolled around to look at him fully when he took a step after step towards the water. Despite the hot weather, the water was cold, and it nipped at his skin, but Aesop didn’t let that stop him. Another step. The water was now at his calves, then knees, and getting higher. He winced slightly when he was half submerged, baling his hands into fists as he battled the cold. But then he saw her little smirk, the challenge still shining in her eyes. With a huff, Aesop dived under the water. The sudden shock his body experienced was quickly overcome when he saw his sweetheart’s legs underwater, kicking slowly to keep her afloat. 

He grabbed her just above her knees and rose above the surface. He faintly heard her little squeal before a pair of arms wrapped around his neck and her playful eyes connected with his own. Her legs found purchase around his waist and he released them in favour of curling his own arms around her waist. He stared triumphantly into her eyes for a moment, before chasing her lips in a very wet and a little cold kiss, prompting a happy humming sound from his beloved.

Aesop was done with missing out.

It was late afternoon when they returned to (F/N)'s new abode. They spent the better part of the day by the water, swimming, playing, and simply relaxing. While his sweetheart busied herself with conjuring up a blanket for them to sit on on the bank, Aesop cast just a few protective wards around them, so that they could enjoy themselves in solitude and safety. He couldn't even remember the last time he's had a day like this. They swam, they rested on the blanket, they swam some more. It was so simple, and yet Aesop's heart was fluttering with absolute contentment. Once they dried themselves, got dressed, vanished the blanket and dropped the wards, they simply apparated back to the little house. The potions master prepared a dinner for them with magic, since they were both starving by the time they arrived.

His sweetheart watched in amazement as some of the various food items she brought over to her new home the previous day floated about, cut themselves up perfectly and arranged themselves around a small baking dish. Chicken legs with roasted vegetables it was. Within just a few seconds, their food was ready, looking amazing and smelling even better. They ate their fill in a comfortable silence until: "You know, this is spectacular, and I'd surely like to learn how to do it," she said quietly, "however, I actually quite enjoy cooking by hand." Aesop chuckled, piercing a baked potato onto his fork: "So do I. Many people do, this is just quick and convenient. And while it tastes alright, you'd be moaning at the taste was I to prepare it by hand," he spoke confidently. His young lover giggled into her food: "You can still make me moan tonight, if you want to."

Aesop very much wanted to.

Later, as they were coming down from their highs, snuggled perfectly in each other's arms, the professor took some time to reflect. He really could not remember the last time he had such an amazing birthday… he tended to even forget he had one, not having celebrated it since that fateful day twelve years ago. But today, despite his sweetheart not knowing that on this day, 45 years ago, Aesop Theodore Sharp took his first breath, she very much made him feel like the birthday boy.

He cuddled up even closer to her, his strong arms squeezing her frame, still hot from their previous activity. His lips found hers in a deep kiss and afterwards, the professor rested his forehead against her own, breathing the same air as her. "I want to thank you…" he said quietly, only for her ears to hear, "this was the best birthday I've had in years."

He could feel her body tensing immediately. "Today's your birthday?" she asked, raising her head to look at him. Her beautiful eyes were wide and filled with panic: "Why didn't you tell me? I don't- I don't even have a present for you." He quickly pulled her up for a kiss, stroking her back in a calming matter. "I haven't celebrated my birthday for a long time... And as for a present - why, you already gave it to me!" His sweetheart fixed him with a curious gaze and Aesop sighed: "To be able to hold you, kiss you, love you… this entire day was the greatest gift I could've asked for. To have your heart in my hands, that is the most precious thing I've ever been given." 

The young woman sighed as well, and wrapped her delicate arms around him, nuzzling into his neck momentarily before raising her head up again, a brilliant smile on her face, a smile of love, devotion and incredible joy: "Still, we should celebrate. You deserve a day to be spoiled rotten!" 

"You are already spoiling me rotten!"

"Hah, I try to, but we should still celebrate. Let me take you to the Three Broomsticks tomorrow for a meal. We can have a good bite, champagne, who knows, perhaps Sirona will be able to get us a cake!"

Aesop chuckled, his cheeks warming up somewhat. It was strange - the idea of actually celebrating his birthday after he hadn't done so for so long. However, as strange as it felt, he could already feel the pleasurable tickling of anticipation. "Alright…" he breathed then, "if you want to. But know that I would've been happy enough to just spend the day in your company." 

His sweetheart fixed him with an intense gaze, her eyes sincere: "I want to. Because I finally can. We spent so much time sneaking around, I long to finally be able to show how I feel openly. I want to grab your hand in mine when we walk together, I yearn to be able to kiss and hold you whenever I wish. And I really want to celebrate that on this day, the most incredible man was born. I don't know what I'd do without you here. Perhaps I wouldn't be here myself, if you hadn't gone to the Astronomy tower that day. You are an exceptionally beautiful existence, Aesop Sharp, and your birthday should be celebrated."

The potions master swallowed heavily, willing away the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. Her confession shook him to his core, and, in that moment, there was nothing he wanted more than to hold her in his arms. Aesop truly did not think he'd ever celebrate his birthday again. Since Ashley's death, he really thought that he wasn't entitled to do so. But perhaps his sweetheart hadn't been entirely wrong. Perhaps him saving her life tipped the scales a little. If Ashley could see him now… well, she'd probably smack his shoulder very hard and tell him to pull his head out of his arse and seize the chance he's been given, like a proper Slytherin would. In that moment, he felt a sense of peace wash over him, and his breathing slowly evened out.

"Alright, my sweet," he said only, as her face once more nuzzled into his shoulder, more than content to stay there. Aesop breathed out slowly, his arms wrapping around the young woman's body in a protective manner.

The room was dark and Aesop could hear sounds of the village outside falling asleep. He could hear faint music coming from the Three Broomsticks, and he heard silent voices caught in a conversations, as their owners passed by the little house. The air smelled sweet with the sun having warmed it the entire day. Aesop closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of love, of comfort.

The next day, his sweetheart did exactly as she promised. She walked with him into the Three Broomsticks, hand in hand, looking proud and happy. She kissed him out in the open, before they even opened the door to the pub, absolutely uncaring to whoever saw them. The look she gave him afterwards… Aesop realised that she did want to do that for some time. That the fact that she was his own filled her with pride. That the young woman, who defeated a troll during the first week of her studies, willingly gave her heart to one ex-Auror potions professor. In a moment of giddy madness, Aesop grabbed her around the waist, dipped her ever so slightly, and snogged the living daylights out of her.

"Are you quite done? Your stew's getting cold," came the voice of Sirona Ryan, who was leaning against the doorframe with a mischievous look in her eyes. Aesop fixed his sweetheart with a curious look. 

"I may have written to professor Hecat to ask what's your favourite food when you were still sleeping," she admitted with a shy smile, "and I also may have written to Sirona, asking her to prepare it for you, as well as get us a cake afterwards." Sirona watched the scene unfold before her eyes, a big smile on her face: "Happy birthday, Professor Sharp." "Thank you, Sirona." 

It truly seemed his life was to be filled with strong-willed and strong-minded women. He was quite the lucky man.

July 1st 1908 

It was morning in the Sharp household and a summer breeze gently blew through the open window of Mr and Mrs Sharp's bedroom. The gentle sound of birds chirping could be heard but didn't wake the occupants of the bedroom, currently soundly asleep in each other's arms. A sound did manage to rouse Mrs Sharp though. The pitter patter of little feet and the creaking of floorboards. 

Someone was awake. Actually, judging by the sound of it, more than one of the children was on the move. She knew the children had been looking forward to surprising their father with breakfast in bed for his birthday, but she hadn't managed to piece together much more than that. She didn't know what they were planning to prepare, and thought it would probably be best if she made her way downstairs to assist or, at the very least, supervise.

As gently as she could, she tried to extricate herself from her husband's grip without waking him up. It was still early and she wanted to let him sleep for a little bit. Aesop had other plans though, having been woken by his wife's feeble attempt at leaving their shared bed. 

"Where do you think you're going, darling?"

He pulled her towards him and held her close, her back completely flush against his front. She could feel his morning arousal as he kissed her neck. 

"You weren't just going to leave me to wake up by myself, today of all days."

He continued gently nipping at her neck, his fingers drawing lazy patterns on her skin. With a sigh, she melted into his embrace and he took the opportunity to gently turn her on her back, moving his hands along her body and moving his kisses to her collarbones, her body semi-trapped underneath his large frame.

It had taken some number of years, but eventually (F/N) had managed to convince her husband that his birthday was a day that deserved to be celebrated, and he eventually got to enjoy being the center of attention for just this one day a year. Perhaps a little too much at times! It seemed as though he was already quite eager to unwrap his birthday present from her.

This morning, though, as much as she enjoyed the way his kisses and touch were slowly lighting her body on fire, as much as she wanted to give in and give him what he wanted, what they both wanted, she knew she needed to make her way downstairs, before their children would have the chance to set fire to the kitchen. However the feeling of her husband's very experienced hands making their way towards her more sensitive areas, the knowledge that his mouth would soon follow, was enough to make her momentarily forget about the possible disaster that she would find downstairs should she choose to indulge her husband.

"Aesop I-"

"Hmmm"

Aesop knew what he was doing. He trailed kisses down her abdomen and she knew then and there that she had lost the battle. She'd deal with the chaos later. Right now there was only one person that existed in the world and that person was about to…

CLANG!

The loud sound coming from the kitchen put an instant end to the couple's morning's activities, their arousal instantly replaced with concern. Concern for the structural integrity of their home, as well as the safety of its occupants. Aesop begrudgingly made his way back up to the head of the bed.

"I should go investigate that."

"Probably a good idea. Let's go see what the rascals are up to now."

"YOU are going to stay right here, sir, and act surprised when the children bring you whatever it is they planned on making you for your birthday breakfast. I will go downstairs and make sure we still have a house by the time they're done."

Aesop gave her a mock pout as his wife quickly got herself dressed for the morning.

"Don't worry, love. I'll make sure you get to unwrap your birthday present… after the rascals are in bed."

One quick kiss from his wife before she swiftly left the room and quietly closed the door.

Aesop heard his older son speak right outside the bedroom door, he had probably been on the way to ask for his mother's help with whatever it was the children had planned.

"Is he still asleep, Mum?"

His wife whispered

"Still sound asleep, dear."

"Brilliant!"

"Shhhhhh"

Eleazar lowered his voice

"Right. Quiet"

"Let's get downstairs"

Down they went and Aesop was left with his thoughts. He could hear the faint buzzing of his family in the kitchen, his wife no doubt deferring to their children's plans for his breakfast and letting them do as much as they were able to manage on their own. He remembered his birthday breakfast in bed from the previous year with fondness. A half burnt over-salted omelet along with biscuits (slightly undercooked), tea (weak) and a bowl of strawberries he ended up having to surrender to his 3 year old twins. It had been quite unpalatable, but seeing the pride in his children's eyes when they had told him they had cooked everything themselves had made the meal the best birthday breakfast he had ever had. He knew the children would outdo themselves this year.

He had been a father for a whole decade by now, but sometimes he still couldn't believe that the rambunctious bunch that was currently being supervised by his darling wife, those four bundles of joy and chaos, were his. That this was his life now. He had known as a young man that he wanted children and had given up on this dream at one point of his life. He had never expected though, that he could love these four little people as much as he did.

He was pulled out of his reverie by the smell of bacon. Wonderful, he thought, one can only mess up bacon so much! He knew his family would enter the bedroom any minute now to “wake him up” so Aesop laid down on his side of the bed, turned away from the door and closed his eyes. He heard the door creak open.

“He’s still sleeping”

“Shhhhh”

“Wait, no we need to wake him up!”

“I can do it!”

“Alright dear but be gentle”

“Okay Mum”

“Thedodore don’t jump on-”

Aesop felt the bed dip and braced himself for what he was sure was an incoming tackle from a rambunctious four year old.

“Hmphhh”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!”

“My birthday isn’t until next week Theodore”

The boy stood up and looked at his mother in confusion

“He’s just pulling your leg, dear”

“That’s right, I’m just” Aesop physically tugged at his son’s legs, causing him to land flat on his back on the soft bed and dissolve in a fit of giggles “messing with you!”

The former professor looked at his family. Everyone was still in their pajamas, some of his children's clothes bearing the proof of their efforts in making his breakfast, little spots of dried batter the most evident. Both his daughters' hair were still in the braids he had woven the previous evening, now with stray strands sticking out in odd directions from their slumber. Theodore obviously hadn't brushed his hair yet, while Eleazar looked as put together as he usually did, wearing a light dressing gown and bearing the least bits of Aesop's breakfast on his clothes. He caught his wife's eyes - they were shining with pride. She was, of course, completely clean, her silky dressing gown as pristine as it had been before she left the bedroom. 

Four pairs of his own brown eyes stared up at him with excitement and anticipation, and Aesop felt his heart swell when he saw the perfect mix of himself and his wife in each of their beautiful children.

Maggie approached her father with a tray.

“We made you breakfast in bed!”

Aesop took a look at the tray from his daughter and from what he could see, the children HAD outdone themselves. He was right about the bacon, there were also scrambled eggs, pancakes, a lovely fruit salad, a cup of tea, and a small bowl filled with chocolate chips. 

“I cooked the eggs and the bacon and I tried to flip the first pancake, but it didn’t turn out nice, so we tossed it, then Mum helped me make the second one but the one on top I did all by myself!”

“That’s wonderful Maggs.”

“And (F/N) and Theo were in charge of mixing the fruit salad and filling the chocolate chips.” 

“That salad looks expertly mixed, thank you. Eleazar, what did you do to help?”

“I measured out everything for the pancake batter AND I brewed the tea. I even used the scales like you taught me!” 

Eleazar spoke with great pride. Last year his father had started to teach him the basics of potionmaking and the lad had taken to the craft like a fish to water. Aesop took a sip of his tea.

“That’s some very good tea, Thank you Eleazar”

The boy beamed.

The twins each sat on one side of him and Aesop made sure to grab himself a handful of chocolate chips before the inevitable happened and he’d have to surrender the sweets to his youngest children. 

“Alright, everyone, let’s let Dad eat his breakfast in peace now. Then we can all have fun. Shop’s closed today so we get to keep Dad all to ourselves for the day.”

(F/N) herded the children out of the bedroom and handed Aesop what was left of his little bowl of sweets. 

“Enjoy your food, darling, I’ll get the little ones dressed then we can do whatever it is you’d like.”

She gave him a kiss before leaving the room. Aesop was pleased to find out that everything had been seasoned well this year, most likely due to Eleazar’s precise measurement of ingredients. Once his breakfast had been eaten, Aesop got dressed and did his morning hygiene before joining his family downstairs, empty tray in hand. The weather seemed nice, perhaps they could go to the beach for a picnic and a swim.

The potions master walked into the kitchen, which actually bore less signs of the breakfast preparation than his children's clothes did. No doubt his wife's prompt work with a wand. His eyes were caught by the sight of many moving photographs displayed on a shelf. Aesop stopped for a moment, looking at the pictures fondly. The photo with Ashley taken 28 years ago on this very day was proudly standing among other happy photos. There was a picture of him and his wife on their wedding day, grinning at each other,  both looking incredible as well as incredibly in love. His sweetheart still looked at him this way, even 12 years after that beautiful June day, and he knew he did as well. There were the newer pictures, his children at various ages, from mere babies and toddlers, to a very recent photo of Maggie holding a very fluffy Puffskein. And then, there were some older ones, too. A moving photo of young Aesop, taken the day he got into the Auror program, looking proud and confident, as well as a single completely still photo of his dear wife, taken by a Muggle camera.

Aesop deposited the tray into the sink and with a flick of his wand, the dishes got to cleaning themselves. His wife walked towards him and put her arms around his abdomen, pressing herself against his back.

“You’re not supposed to be doing any dishes today.”

“It’s nothing, besides you already have your hands full with the children.”

“They can take care of themselves… mostly.”

Aesop turned around to face his wife. They had circled the sun many times together but she still looked as young and beautiful as the day he married her.

“I was thinking I’d like to take everyone to the coast for lunch, let the children play in the water.”

“Only the children?”

“I suppose we could also go for a dip, for old time’s sake.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

He leaned in and captured her lips in a quick kiss, before being interrupted by Maggie and Eleazar. 

"Dad, how old are you turning?" Aesop decided not to volunteer that information. The former teacher in him made him want to make his children work for the answer.

"Well let's see. I was born in the year 1848 and this is the year 1908."

The children to looked at their mother "Don't look at me, you know how to subtract."

The two eldest rushed to find the nearest quill and parchment and got to work, eager to get an answer to their burning question. 

Aesop let out a sigh. He was hitting a milestone today. "Oh come on, dear. If it makes you feel any better you don't look a day over fifty."

Aesop chuckled and pulled his wife close. "Thank you. It's strange, though. I don't feel old. Merlin knows I feel better now than I did for most of my thirties. My life significantly improved in my forties"

“I wonder what happened then”

“I met this incredible woman, you see, got to know her, fell in love with her, somehow she decided she’d entrust her heart to me. Sometimes I still don’t understand what she saw in an old cripple but - don’t give me that look, that’s what I was at the time - in any case, loving her was what turned my life around for the better. And now we have these incredible-”

“SIXTY!”

Both parents chuckled. “Well done, you two.” “That’s… six times as old as I am!” “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that Magdala Dinah Sharp”

Later that day, the family of six found themselves at the beach, all four children playing in the water, both older siblings keeping an eye on the younger children whose swimwear had been enchanted to keep them afloat. Aesop and (F/N) sat on a blanket basking in the sunlight and taking in the scene.

The gentle rocking of waves filled the air around with a soft fizzing sound, broken by the cries of seagulls. Aesop could hear other birds singing from somewhere behind them in the trees. The sounds of nature combined with the giddy squeals and chattering of his children was like a symphony of absolute peace in Aesop's ears. He looked at his beloved, and saw her eyes reflecting the same utter contentment that was held in his own.

A thought crossed Aesop's mind and with a mischievous smile, he whispered in his wife’s ear “I’ll bet you a kiss I can beat you to the water”

She looked at him, her smile matching his own “Hmm I don't know… I wouldn't want to make you look bad on your birthday” she teased, but standing up as to indicate she accepted his challenge "We'll see about that…" the potions master teased back

The children watched with amusement as both their parents suddenly broke into a full blown sprint towards the sea when suddenly a faint “pop” was heard and Aesop disappeared, immediately appearing in the water, a few meters behind the children.

“You cheat!”

“We never said apparition wasn’t allowed” Aesop swam over to the children who were all giggling. (F/N) finished making her way towards the water before taking a few steps in. Once she was able to, she dove in and swam over to meet the rest of the family.

“I’ll be claiming that kiss now”

“You cheated. I think that kiss is mine to claim”

“As you wish”

Aesop made his way over to his wife, gently kissed her lips before moving around her and wrapping his arms around her waist, both of them watching the children resume their play, Eleazar and Maggie having apparently decided on a little swimming race of their own as the twins tried to keep up.

“Thank you.”

“Whatever for?”

“For today. For every day we get to spend together.”

A few days from then, Aesop and (F/N) would celebrate his birthday once more, sans children, in a private room at the Three Broomsticks surrounded by their close friends. Today, though, Aesop couldn’t imagine spending the day in better company. 

Years had passed since the incident that took his partner’s life and nearly took his own. Years had passed since the simple task of making it through the day appeared monumental. Years had passed since he had made the decision that another circle around the sun wasn’t something to celebrate but rather something to feel guilt over. Today however, he felt nothing but gratitude for those who had pulled him out of the abyss where he once dwelled, who had patiently walked beside him, and who had lifted him higher than he ever thought possible, so high, in fact, he swore he could touch the stars.

Fin.

@aesopsharpmybeloved: I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this story, and I'd especially like to thank @tea-withjamandbread who wrote with me. Being able to read the wonderful words she used and build this story (that I frankly love and will re-read many times myself) has meant so much to me and brought me a lot of joy. To everything we'll yet create together! <3 -Tess

This story is also be available on AO3. We'll be very grateful for any feedback!

[milky-mink]

Ran as your Sugar Daddy Benefactor 

Disclaimer: Kinda OOC Ran since he is much older on this one and I would think that he would mellow out over the years. So basically DILF and husband material Ran.

TW: Yandere, Manipulative Behavior, Power Imbalance, Grooming, Controlling Behavior, Stalking

You just graduated high school last month and are finally on your last day at your job before going to university.

You are excited to be attending uni since you are the first one to attend in your family.

Your family, although isn’t poor, certainly cannot afford to attend one since it's expensive. Your mother works as a maid to the mayor’s family while your father works as a manager at a fast-food joint. Although their salary can pay the bills and give the whole family a few things here and there, their salaries can’t afford such a high tuition fee. 

 But that didn’t stop you. Although you aren't academically gifted or have the resources that your classmates have; that still doesn’t let you down from getting to your goal.

Studying hard, taking free after-school classes, and even joining various clubs and groups so that you can be at the top of your class and add an impressive amount of achievements and transcripts in your application form to be able to have a scholarship to university. 

And it is no surprise to you when most of the universities that you’ve applied to have approved your application, most of them also approved you to be in their various scholarship programs.

When you announced the news to your family, this caused a huge celebration. Not only for the first time that someone in their family is going to a university but also attending it for free. 

Add to the fact that you have also applied to the benefactors' program at the university that you are attending. Which not only paid for your other expenses in university, which includes a solo apartment and a full payment of your other fees, but also monthly pocket money to add into the mix. 

It was a dream come true for you, unlike before. You do not need to worry about payments or bills like you used to; instead, you now only worry about your grades and your school work, which is an immense relief not only for your body but also for your mental health as well.

Years of worrying and pushing yourself so hard causing you many health problems, most of them are now only addressed due to you putting your money on your hospital bills instead of the family budget. While your mental health has been only subdued due to the fact that you aren’t pressured that much anymore (We are in Japan people, mental health awareness is just a buzzword for many of them, sadly) 

You quickly go back to your house after your shift. Your manager has now paid you for the month and you submitted your resignation letter a month ago. There is nothing that could make you stressed right now, other than what you are going to wear on the orientation day on campus. 

Honestly, it's so refreshing that you have a problem that doesn’t relate to the budget or your schedule, which is a whiplash for you. From worrying about your family finances to getting worried about your outfit, honestly- it's a big change. 

The next day, you woke up early in the morning with your family. Because of your work, the day that you can move to the apartment is the day before the orientation. 

All of you drove to the apartment, which is a small walking distance from the university, but very far away from where your family lives. 

All of you arrived at the apartment building. Even though this is not the first time that you saw this place, it doesn’t mean that this building didn’t impress you.

Unlike your house, this place looks, well, for those students with rich parents. Which makes you uneasy but also fascinated by it.

It's true that you felt guilty living here while the rest of your family goes back to your home, but they assured you that it's alright and think just about your future.

You're glad that you have such a supportive and loving family

You gave all of them a tight hug before they went back home, leaving you all by yourself in the apartment.

You really can’t believe that you are going to be living here for the next few years. The apartment is as big as half of your house and it's all fully furnished already, so you don’t really have to worry about your living arrangements.

You then put your bags in the bedroom and ‌take out your belongings, then place the items in their respective cabinets and tables. 

After you’re done placing your belongings, you then hear your phone ringing. You quickly walk up to where your phone is and answer the call.

It turns out that it's the university dean himself, telling you about a sudden meet-up with your benefactor this afternoon. 

He then apologized for such inconvenience, but you assured him that it was alright, you would finally meet the person who blessed you with the privileges that you have right now. 

But during the time when the dean talks to the phone, he sounds really nervous, as if he is afraid of someone or something.

But you shrugged it off, it's probably the stress of running an enormous university.

While you wait for the time being, you then go back to organizing your possessions into your new dwelling.

 When it's afternoon, you then walk to the place where your dean has told you to meet your benefactor. 

To your surprise, it’s a small cafe that both the university faculty and the students often go into. 

It’s small and quaint, the cafe is squished between two of the university buildings.

You then entered the cafe and sat on the chair at the far end of the store, then waited for your benefactor. 

As you wait for your benefactor, you then hear someone approaching your table. You then looked up for the person and saw a man with striped lilac hair and purple down-turned eyes, looking at everyone with an amused but apathetic expression. He wore a light purple suit with a matching pink tie and black leather shoes. 

You felt intimidated by his presence, but you can't judge a book by its cover- right?

“Are you Miss (L/N)?”

You shyly nodded, answering his question. He then smiles at you and then sat on the nearby chair, facing you directly. 

He then introduces himself as Haitani Ran, your current benefactor and the person who is going to fund your education through your University days. 

When he finished introducing himself, the two of you then talk and got to know each other. Which surprisingly went well, considering that you are really nervous right now and almost stutter your words every time you talk to him.

The meetup ends on a positive note. Which is a relief for you, considering how nervous and jittery you are meeting him and trying not to make him upset or angry. 

You arrived at the apartment and tried the bathtub in the bathroom, then do your simple skincare routine. You wanted to look your best for tomorrow. After all, you wanted to make a good impression on your first day.

When you are done, you quickly got dressed and go back to sleep for the next day

Your first day at university is a breeze. You get to know many people from various backgrounds and places. Some are friendly, while others are plain rude to you, which is alright because you can't really expect people to be pleasant most of the time. It's so fascinating to see how it's so different compared to your high school.

The rest of the week is also the same, aside from your usual meet-up with your benefactor, where the two of you catch up and talk with each other. 

Months passed by, and you are now conditioned with your timetables and your other schedules. Although the workload in the university is overwhelming for most of the students, you mostly finished your papers early since the amount of workload in the university is smaller compared to what your workload is in high school. 

Your college days are so easy; you meet up with your new friends at the local hotspots or the nearby mall to hang out, do hobbies that you don’t have time to do while you’re in high school, and meet with your benefactor while finishing your school work earlier than the rest of your classmates. You're just a few months in and it's like you are now living in a whole different world. 

You still joined various organizations and even voted as a representative for your class, which is what you did previously in high school. They are much more challenging, yes. But it is fun, considering that it's the students themselves that mostly manage all the activities, and professors only look at it at the start for its approval. 

Even if you are busy enjoying your college days, you still meet up with Ran on certain days of the week. The two of you had gotten closer to each other, to the point where you don’t see him as a benefactor but as a close friend. 

Well, more than a close friend, but you’re just glad that you have a relationship with him, even if it's platonic. He would certainly turn you down when you would confess to him since you are just a poor first-year student with no successful background other than your academic records. 

Even so, you two not only meet in the cafe but also in ‌different locations as well. Like the university gardens, the nearby museum, or even the city's various art exhibits. He sometimes drags you into Roppongi and shopping in various stores that have price tags that shook you to the core. 

You wanted to refuse the items that he bought for you. The price of the stuff that he brought is astounding. You are sure that these items cost more than your parents' yearly salary combined. Which made you feel guilty. Here you are, having these luxury items, while your family still lives in squalor. 

Because of your regret, you refunded some items that Ran bought for you and sent the money to your family- which you are sure that they really need right now. The money is enough for them to buy new things and even afford payments to go to the hospital for checkups or treatment. 

You felt ashamed of what you did, but it helped your family so it's not a problem, and Ran would understand. He’s been such a gentleman that he would probably brush it off and move on- even without you telling this to him. 

Well, if you thought that’s the case, you are certainly wrong

Ran, although is generous and often kind to you - doesn’t take your actions well

The items that you’ve refunded are the things that he specifically chose for you, and you alone. So that is why it stings when he finds it out when the men who managed his bank and finance reported it to him. 

He would admit that he is getting old and sentimental. Unlike his younger self, which would just toss you aside after a few days for not satisfying his carnal needs, and would jump off to another person- he wants to find someone that he could connect to; both emotionally and even sexually, and it surprised him that you are that person. 

He just did this benefactor program as one of his covers to get the pigs out of his back for a while, and just randomly selected one of the poor scholarship students at random. He was glad when he accidentally chose you out of many students in that program since he really can't imagine his life without you. 

He honestly felt a deep connection with you. Even though you are a young and naïve university student, you aren’t also ignorant of hardships and struggles in life. He relates to you in some way- when you mentioned how much you’ve sacrificed for your family. It may not look like it, but in their earlier gang life, he and Rindou would often share scraps of food or stay in a run-down apartment just to survive for the day. He even gave the remaining scrap of food to his younger brother, so that he wouldn’t be hungry.

You are intelligent but also dense at the same time, which he finds endearing but also attractive at the same time. 

He decides to pursue you in an old-fashioned way. Going on dates, gifting you stuff ‌he knows most girls love (well, the once that he ‘dated’ in the past anyway) basically just spoiling you rotten.

He doesn’t know how to form a relationship - since he’s used to getting what he wants and would toss it after he’s done. The only form of love that he has is with Rindou, which is unsurprising since he literally raised him. 

So it's no surprise that it hurt him when he finds this out. it's not that you returned it that hurts him- it's the fact that you didn't tell this to him personally. 

This caused Ran to be much more possessive and obsessive, to the point that he observes almost every aspect of your current life. From your university schedule to your free time- he knows what you are doing, wanting to know if you have things that you aren’t telling him about. 

Although you sensed someone is watching you, you just brushed it off as your imagination- even though it still unnerved you. 

You met Ran again at your usual time and place. Although he acts the same, his mood and vibe suddenly change. 

It made you uneasy, although he is still as gallant as ever, he seems to be much more controlling; prodding you about your whole week, even the food that you ate on specific days, which made you paranoid but at the same time - very guilty.

Did he find it out? Who knows, maybe he did, since he is much more clingy and guarded to you.  

“Maybe, it's just the guilt, yeah, just that” you just thought as you felt weird when you were with him, every time the two of you go out. 

Even if you try to hide the guilt for so long, your subconscious still brings it up, adding to the fact that Ran tried to be with you every time. It’s no wonder that you finally broke down in front of him after months of hiding it from him- explaining your reason why you returned the items that he bought for you.

While you are crying after you’ve explained your side of the story, you are surprised that he hugged you and tell you that it’s okay and you should have said it earlier. Assuring you that he is not mad at your actions. 

This caused you to cry more as he then envelops you in his embrace. 

Ever since then, the two of you started to become lovers. Instead of hanging out together, the two of you go on dates, not only in Roppongi but also in other areas of Tokyo; and even to other cities like Kyoto, Osaka and even touring the Nara prefecture during your break in University, which made you flustered but at the same time, guilty that he did all of this to you. 

But Ran just brushes off your worries since he also wants this for himself. After all, not only that he is spoiling you and providing you with needed opportunities and riches that you deserve, but also he has his hands wrapped around your whole life.

Not only that he supports your whole life in university but also your family. Both your parents are now in jobs that have high-paying salaries due to their promotions for their years of excellent work and diligence in their job, which is bullshit because he just gave a word to their bosses and they quickly oblige because their business has something to do with Bonten, well actually- most businesses in Japan are connected with Bonten in some ways, which is neat because he doesn’t want to separate and talk to them himself. He would be separated from you. 

You only have him in your life. He would mold you to be your best self, which is becoming his wife in the future. You’ve worked so hard in your whole life, and now- he wants you to just relax and let him do anything for you.

Including staying with him for the rest of your life as his spouse. 

“Oi Ran! Where are you going?” Ran then look back and saw his younger brother running up to him, his suit still stained from their previous ‘job’ earlier this night. “Oh, you know, going back to my wife, why do you ask?” he replied with a playful tone in his voice. As expected, his brother groaned in annoyance. Being irritated not only by his tone but also by his attitude right now. “Ran, not this crap again, I know, (Y/N) is a fucking wonderful person and you're lucky to have a wife as caring as her. You don’t need to shove that fact into my face every time,” Rindou said while Ran looked at him with an expression that only annoying older siblings give to their younger ones, which further irritates Rindou as a whole. “Ugh, I’m just going to hand you this, asshole,” Rindou cursed as he handed a small note that have the messy but familiar handwriting of their boss. Ran then quickly snatched the note from Rindou and read its content. As usual, it's the same old job but with an important person as a subject. When Ran finished reading it, he grabbed his lighter from his pipped pocket and quickly set the paper on fire. “Thanks, Rin, now I’m going to head back to my (Y/N) then, good luck on your job tonight” Ran said as he then waved goodbye to his younger brother while playfully hinting at the paperwork that Rindou is going to do tonight. Which caused the younger Haitani to give him the middle finger, too tired to rebuke his older brother as he exits the abandoned sea port warehouse. 

You yawned as you walk down the stairs, waking up early to do your morning activities. Which consists of making breakfast and exercising before doing your papers related to your job. You graduated four years ago and quickly landed a job in a prestigious advertising company; which is a surprise to you since not only did you land a job so quickly, but also the starting pay is tremendous. It's like the salary for an experienced worker. It's also incredible that the company even lets you work in your home- your boss telling you that the company provides working at home as an option for their workers. This baffles you a little since as far as you know, this company does not provide for one. But who are you to deny this opportunity? It would be a hassle to you anyway and you don’t want Ran to be lonely if you came home late from work. So you quickly took that option and now, you work at home and you are doing a great job not only at work but also maintaining the house. Which is not that hard anymore considering that there are helpers that would come to your house to clean every two weeks, which gave you less hassle other than sweeping the floor clean or making the house look organized.

When you arrived at the kitchen, you then heard the front door open, which means Ran came home early from work. You heed no mind as you knew that he would head towards the kitchen after he took off his suit and have a relaxing shower for his early morning dinner.

While you are in the middle of the cooking, Ran walked to the kitchen and grab cold water to drink. “Sorry dumpling, but the rice isn’t done yet,” you said as he sat on the countertop chair in front of you. He then smiled and told you that it was okay and pulled out his phone to read something as he drink his water- waiting for the rice to cook. When the rice cooker finally beeped, you then opened the lid and wait a few seconds for the steam to rise before scooping some rice for your breakfast. Well, in Ran’s case- for his morning dinner. The two of you ate your respective meals while talking about your usual day, him on his desk job at the company he works at and you on your suggestion about the upcoming advert for a snack company about a new chip flavor in the market. Ran talked from time to time, but you are the one that always rambles on about your day- even if you mostly stay at home. As you ramble on about your work, Ran can't help but to smile about his current life right now. Even though he is past his prime, he still got a very lovely spouse that he actually cares about (which would stun his younger self, if he’s being honest); a younger brother that has his back, and a job that he certainly enjoys. He would admit that this is not the life that he imagined when he was younger. Sure, he imagines that he would be in a gang but not the idea of being married and actually in love with his spouse. 

He thought that he would continue hopping from person to person until he dies from either being killed by someone or being tortured to death. But now, he can’t imagine being far away from you for more than a day, which is torture in itself. 

He would admit that the cover-up sponsorship program is one of the best decisions that he made in his entire life. Without it, he would not have met you in the first place- or maybe not at all. He really can’t imagine his life without you, really. After he met you, there are emotions that he can’t really describe, but he would just call it ‘love’. He knows that he should not have those emotions to be called ‘love’, but he can’t help it. Normal love would not make him feel like stalking you is an obligation as your lover. Normal love would not make him feel addicted to spoiling you daily, and most importantly normal love would not make him feel like controlling every single aspect of your life is his duty as your spouse. He supposed he hasn’t changed that much really, even though he isn’t as apathetic and nonchalant as before- he is still as greedy as ever. 

Did he feel guilty manipulating you, a vulnerable college student that only relies on her scholarships or whatever charity that people might give?  

Yes. Absolutely. 

But did he regret it?

Not even a little bit

You see, he is a Haitani. He would take whatever he wants by all means necessary. Even manipulating someone into loving them and making them dependent on it. He would hurt, lie, manipulate, steal, and kill someone just so he could get something or someone that he desires- and that someone is you. 

"I love you, (Y/N), and I'll always be with you" 

[russellsppttemplates]

New around here (Charles Leclerc)

Note: english is not my first language

I realised I did not have any pieces wirh Charles where the reader wasn't already in a relationship with him so there's this

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and although I'm not taking requests per se, if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so!

Tw: mention of a previous car accident (non F1 related) and injuries (does not go into too much detail)

Since you could remember yourself as a proper Formula One fan, you would always tell your father, who was the one that made you watch the races in the first place, that one day you were going to grow up and do what that lady was doing, interviewing the drivers. And soon enough, thanks to hard work, persistence and a bit of luck, you managed to land yourself a job at Sky Sports, going through all the ranks of being just an intern pushing cables and wires around and writing notes for presenters to being sat in the room waiting for your colleagues Naomi and Natalie.

"Y/N, dear, how many times have we told you that you don't need to be so tense about things?", Natalie arrived and gave you a hug, seeing how you had already scribbled a few things down on the notepad ahead of the meeting, "today is a slow day at least, because this weekend we're back in the paddock, and you're coming with us!", she cheered as Naomi made a little celebration dance. And yet you stayed stiff as a board, if you were still a little bit tense in the mornings everytime reality downed on you that you were working with your idols, no one can imagine the nervousness that installed in your core at that revelation, "I'm going to SPA with you guys?", you asked, still unsure wether you had caught it correctly, "Yes! Myself and Natalie feel like you're ready, the rest of the team think so too, so you're coming with us, you'll do a few broadcasts, show your face for a change", she chuckled. You had participated in a few races' broadcasts, giving your opinion through audio only, sitting comfortably in the studio away from the cameras, and despite live TV broadcast being your end goal, you were still unsure. "Don't worry, we'll be there, the whole team will be there too, it's going to be great!", Natalie assured you as the three of you sat down and started discussing the plan for the weekend ahead.

Arriving in Stavelot on Thursday, the day was already scheduled down to the fullest since there was a lot to report and to find out after the summer break, making you drop your personal luggage quickly in the hotel room you were staying in before heading to the track. Even though you and your father had the tradition to go to a few races every time you could, you had never been to Spa-Francorchamps, leaving you to take in the view of the and from the track in awe, "Quite spectacular, isn't it?", Natalie said from behind you, "yeah, it feels like a dream really", you mused. You started arranging everything for the next day, going over the schedule and practicing some lines for the eventual broadcasts you'd be in.

Friday morning rolled around, your alarm waking you up and making you go and get ready for the long day ahead, picking an outfit that was presentable enough for television but also comfortable, knowing how long the day would be. You arrived in the paddock, scanning your pass and making your way to the place where you would be broadcasting soon, "And today we have a new face joining us", Naomi said, "her voice should be known to all of you by now as Y/N Y/L/N has been with us for the last 8 months commenting from the studio, and before that she was writing up our guidelines, so here she is! Y/N, tell everyone a little bit of your way here!", Naomi introduced, "like you said, I have been with Sky Sports since before I even graduated, I used to apply for summer jobs and I guess they liked me enough to keep me for my internship and now my full time job! I used to go karting up until I was fourteen but due to medical reasons I had to stop", you said referring to the car accident you had that left some damage on you back that, despite not being a trouble for day to day life, made you leave karting behind, "but I've always been a fan of Formula 1 so I'm very excited to be here this weekend!", you smiled as you kept discussing the day and what you expected to see around the paddock. Wrapping up the broadcast, the team all clapped and whistled, "Congratulations on your first broadcast girl, that was amazing!", Natalie cheered before getting a group hug from everyone, "You're a natural Y/N, well done!", Naomi finished before bringing you in a hug.

The cheers caught the attention of George, Charles and Lewis, who saw that Naomi was out of broadcast and excused himself from the group, making his way to where you stood, "Naomi, hi, how are you?", he greeted her before waving at the team, "Oh Lewis, this is Y/N, she's new on the paddock team", she said as Lewis stretched his arm, your won stretching too and meeting his fistbump almost out of memory muscle, "Hi, how are you?" before the short conversation came to an end, the team now needing you in the media pen, "You'll be there too?", Lewis asked, "yeah, and be nice to her Lewis, or she'll ask mean questions", Naomi teased before bidding goodbye. Lewis Hamilton had just fistbumped you and held a casual conversation, you could not wait until your dad heard about this.

The interviews in the media pen went smoothly, and you were waiting for the last one before Free Practices began, Charles Leclerc the last name on your notepad, "Hi, I'm Y/N for Sky Sports", you began asking your questions away, waiting patiently for Charles to give his final answer before you thanked him, "You're the new one, right?", he asked you, only managing to nod before he interrupted you, "Sorry, I thought I would've recognised your face if I had seen you before, and- and I heard the cheers back in the paddock", he quickly said, not wanting to come on too weird, "yeah, it's my first time at a GP", you smiled, "Well, I hope I'll see you around, I- I- mean, hopefully it's not your last", he replied as a slight pink tiny coloured his cheeks before he excused himself to get get ready.

Saturday had a whole another atmosphere going around, more fans in the circuit and just a genuine thrill for the qualifying sessions, everyone speculating how the new changes in the cars would change the grid positions. Finishing the final broadcast of the day, you felt a tug on your pants, making you look down to find a little girl no older that 7, her light brown hair in a braid and a huge coat protecting her body from the colder weather, the sun playing the usual tricks in Belgium. "Hi, how are you? I'm Y/N", you said crouching down so you were face to face with her, "Hi, I'm Emilia and when I grow up I want to be like you", she said sweetly, making you melt inside as you looked around to see any adult that seemed to be in charge of her, "thank you Emilia, that's very kind of you! Are you here alone?", you asked her gently, "No, daddy brought me here with him, he's an engineer, look, that's him in the red t-shirt!", she pointed happily to a group of men dressed in Ferrari team member clothing, a wave from one of them being the actual only way to find who her dad was. "One day, I'm going to have a microphone and talk about the fast cars to the camera too", she beamed, looking at the one you had in your hand, and a quick look around the team prompted you to make her an offer, "Do you want to hold this one?", and the little girl squealed in excitement as her wide eyes looked at you, "really? Can I go show daddy too?", she asked and you nodded, handing it to her and following her to her father, not wanting to be responsible for broken equipment on your first day. As she was showing the microphone around the group, you heard a French accent behind you, "What do you have there, Emi?", he asked, "Charles, you're here! How do you feel about the race tomorrow? Do you think you can get in the podium?", Emilia said into the microphone before nearly shoving it in Charles' face. Earning chuckles from everyone around, the monégasque answered, "I think tomorrow will be difficult, we seem to be off the pace a little bit but we're going to see what we can do about it", he replied as if he was in a serious interview, you vaguely remembering the same answer he had given Natalie that afternoon when she asked him a similar question, "You're going to take me out of my job darling, that was very good, very well done, voice placed correctly too, maybe next time just put the microphone a but further away from his face", you smiled at the little girl as she handed you the microphone back, her father thanking you for the opportunity, "Don't think she will shut up about it now!".

The race, as always in Spa, was full of action, Max making it to the podium from the back of the grid pretty easily as you watched Charles in particular, knowing how his season had been going and paying attention to the strategies, one of the things that made you fall in love with the sport, "Did I ever tell how how much I wanted to be a strategist when I was younger? I used to borrow my cousin's laptop and draw graphs on the screen and pretend they were stats from the race, and my little cousins would be driving their toy cars around the living room", you commented earning a chuckle from Natalie, "Seems like you would do no worse that Ferrari have been", she sneered slightly, taking the opportunity that she wasn't live or reporting to discuss with you the different points of view.

After the race, you were in the media pen checking your order as you nodded over to the communication advisor next to Charles, him signaling to Charles to head your way, a tight lipped smile on his face as he felt another interviewer tug on his arm, "Oh sorry, I'll talk to you after talking to her", he said politely despite the unhappy look on the other man's face.

You had already finished your interviews for the weekend and were now helping the team gather the equipment, making sure that nothing was left behind when you heard your name being called, "Ah, Y/N, you're still here!", Charles said, approaching you as you zipped the last camera bag and handed it to your colleague, "So, how was your first GP as an interviewer? How do you rate the experience?", he asked and you stood still for what felt like an eternity to Charles. Maybe it was weird for him to come back here, maybe he shouldn't have listened to Carlos when he said he had nothing to lose in checking if you were there still, until you spoke, "Oh, it's like I expected it to be, so tiring but so worth it! The atmosphere is so different from just being a fan out there, watching everything happen up close, truly the best thing ever", you exclaimed, the crinkles around your eyes more visible since your smile was the biggest it had ever been, making Charles' heart flip for a second. "Well, why don't we make it even better and swap numbers so we can have dinner when you get to Monza?", Charles tempted, knowing that worst case scenario he would get a no and would have to run away from you for the rest of his career, a small price he would have to pay for at least trying. Smiling at him, you took your phone out of your pants' pocket, handing it to him, "I'd like that very much", you said shyly as he gave you his phone, writing your number down and smiling at the prospect.

[childofthewargod]

"𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝙲𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚗 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝"

(TW!: Mentions of blood, possibly some dark thoughts, heavy-ish character death)

Crimson staining what were once normal painted gloves, not from spray paint or acrylic paint, crimson from someone dear, to be specific. The sky becomes differing shades of blue, yet the concrete ground is red. Light blue webs connecting with gray buildings, subtle twips resounding the supposed silence. 

The words she used were signs of what would occur, “te voy amar para siempre”, this doesn’t seem like forever. Forever doesn’t require blue and red lights, tape saying ‘crime scene do not cross’, that’s not forever, that’s the end. 

Praying to whoever was up there, praying that what was happening is nothing but a mere dream. Something that he can brush off, a bit of laughter when looking back at it. 

The sirens were what put him back in reality.

Plump lips meeting those of hers, a goodbye kiss, el ultimo beso. To hear his laugh she’ll never be able to, to feel his hands on her cheeks she’ll never be able to, to smell his vanilla scent she’ll never be able to. For she wasn't breathing the same air as he was anymore. 

His parents knew just how much, how long, he’s loved her. They never knew, however, what was going on in her head. No matter the kisses, the hugs, the affection wouldn’t heal the scars. 

Fingers intertwined with each other, pressing their lips on their knuckles, a gentle breeze passing by then going. 

“Miles, the hardest thing about this job is you can’t save everybody.”

That was supposed to apply when he lost his uncle, it wasn’t supposed to apply to his fiancée. The mere thought of experiencing another loss, losing her, it hurt. 

No, no this wasn’t what you may have thought it might’ve been. 

It’s not any better, though.

The deep voice he uses to mask himself further, it wasn’t there when his father wouldn’t let him see her. He never got physical with his parents, always well mannered and wouldn’t dare to push them. He couldn’t stop himself. He pushed his father, pushed his father to the side, to cross the tape.

To see her again, to see her mask removed. 

‘An accident’ as they called it, this wasn’t an accident. A sacrifice, that’s what they should’ve called it. He knew, he knew how selfless she was, putting everything above her. 

He couldn’t cry, couldn’t cry out loud knowing his father might hear, might recognize his son. He could only look at her, could only hold her with the glass eyes of his mask not going back to its original size. Her eyes were losing its spark day by day, today, it was completely gone. 

And it’s like back when he was 13, holding the hand of his uncle in the Spider-Man suit that didn’t fit him. 

“Just keep going.”

Without her? 

It wasn't supposed to end like this, she could've done a different strategy to avoid it. It's nice to be selfless, to care about those around you, it can be too nice. 

It's not always a superpower, it's a weakness at times. A weakness the culprit took advantage of, the bullet piercing right where it has always hurt. 

Her heart. 

Is this what he felt, to see his life slip away from him between his fingers, to fall into a hibernation that would last more than the winter months. Death would join, it would cradle you in its arms like a mother would with her infant. Was that what he went through as well? 

To witness it was something distinctive to experiencing it yourself, yet the same. To feel it, to hear it and smell it. Everything hurt, that's what he must've thought, too. It's not the same, though it was painful. 

The golden trim around her finger, shining beautifully underneath the street lamp. It's as though she is going through it once more. It's familiar to her. 

Could it be that death has paid her a visit before, that it has held her in its cold embrace more than once? That her name was written on its scroll of old papyrus, it has reached its point of knowing her well. 

She had these thoughts, mentally unwell would be what she told him, thinking through the years it might get better. It did, for a while, at least. She hadn't thought that far, for she was content with what she used to call her life. Before it was taken from her. 

Death shows no mercy, it's cold, cruel and often it's unpredictable. Death is harsh and death is… Well, death. And it can be quick, it can be fast, but it will always be painful. And this hurt, it hurt but for different reasons. It hurts, because she's leaving against her will. She couldn't decide for herself, not when the scythe to reap her soul was in her back. 

She didn't have a choice, this wasn't her decision to make, it was in the hands of the multiverse. Her life was connected with webs, weaved into its design until it was dusted away. Leaving her nowhere to climb on. 

“Being spiderman is a sacrifice, that's the job. That's what you signed up for.”

This wasn't what she signed up for. 

“I can do both, spiderman always-”

“Not always.”

They were right. 

Achoo @fallingwaynes @intriq oh oops my finger slipped.

[dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night]

Not so Strange Bedfellows part one

TW: nonconsensual affection, referenced murder, referenced attempted genocide, referenced necrophilia, implied kidnapping, human whumpers, vampire whumpees

Note: This is the first chapter of a crossover between You can't Follow Your Heart if there's a Stake Through It and the Eden Vampire AU. Colt and Jacob are going to get on like a house on fire.

Moving down to Idaho was the only reasonable solution to Jacob's problems. He didn't have such a horrible reputation there. Or any reputation at all. After nearly a decade spent dreaming of the day he would escape those who had scorned him, he was finally doing it.

He considered Washington State as well. But for a blue state, the politics sure were waving red flags. A so-called "vampire rights" movement was going strong among liberal circles in Seattle. Jacob had to protect Rurik from human politicians who would use him for their propaganda.

Getting Rurik from Alaska to Idaho wasn't as difficult as one might think. Apparently, if you flash your vampire hunting license at the officials running the airport, they let you check a vampire's casket under the plane during a daytime flight.

Jacob had never flown before, and spent the whole trip staring out the window, terrified and whimsical in equal measure. Part of him wished Rurik were awake to take in this view, but the smarter part knew that Rurik would have a panic attack within five seconds of the plane taking off.

Their new house was… nice. Not that Jacob had much to compare it to.

He hadn't lived in an actual house since he was taken into foster care as a teenager. Besides, his childhood home was forever marred by memory of his mother's body. Dolled up by his father as though she were still alive. Sitting at the dining room table...

Yes, his new house was much nicer than all that. He made short work of unpacking his few belongings.

His bed and Rurik's casket went in the master bedroom, of course. Food, both for himself and Murzik, went in the kitchen. Most exciting of all, there was a spare room for Jacob to convert into an art studio.

Murzik was confused by her new surroundings, and chose to take a nap on Jacob's bed until Rurik woke up. Victoria was still locked in Rurik's nearly airtight casket with him, and Jacob hoped she would stay there.

But even harder than keeping pets from escaping was the matter of keeping Rurik from escaping. Jacob figured anything that kept vampires out of a house would surely work as well as keeping them in.

The dried garlic looked nice hanging over every outside facing door and window, in any case. And it was better than having exposed silver around as a threat. It might repel vampires, but it didn't burn them.

All that was needed today was for him to get established with the local vampire hunting guild and return home before Rurik knew he was gone. He had no idea what the work environment would be like, but hoped it would be significantly less toxic than the one he had just escaped.

•••

Jacob sat nervously across from Ilya, the head of the vampire hunting guild he had applied for. This was the first time in over a decade he had to apply for a job. Somehow, he doubted whether this was going well.

"Your record looks good, for the most part," Ilya said, his Russian accent reminding Jacob of Rurik. "Fourteen years spent vampire hunting. Kill count almost as high as my own…" He smiled sarcastically. "The only problem I see is the multiple past charges of necrophilia."

"I've had a rough life," Jacob said, trying to wiggle his way out of this tight spot through trauma dumping and making shit up. "My mental health declined quite a bit after my parents died. Dear old dad kept mom's body in our house for over a year before he hung himself. I ended up committing a few acts of… um, necrophilia during a mental breakdown. I assure you, I'm doing much better."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ilya said. "You have a lot of potential. As long as you can avoid future necrophilia charges, I'd love to employ you."

"Thank you," Jacob said. "I've heard that vampire hunting guilds vary from place to place, but I've only ever worked for one."

"Our operation functions much differently than Miss Chandler's. Unlike her, I don't personally believe exterminating vampirism is necessary. This guild kills any vampires who murder shamelessly and show no desire to atone for their actions. But we also do community service, including ethical blood drives and education programs for vampires who want to rejoin society. It's a dangerous world for peaceful sorts, and we don't want to make it worse."

"That sounds wonderful. I didn't know there were any social programs for vampires, except for those hippies over in Portland and Seattle trying to pretend that vampires are just like humans."

"Humans and vampires are very different. Both in physical and mental aspects. Understanding that is the first step towards achieving peace."

"I'm assuming you'll be more specific about assigning me bounties, as opposed to Chandler's 'just bring back proof of a kill and I'll pay you' style."

"We have more thorough forms of investigation, and you'll usually be given at least an address of your target. We pay for singular bounties, instead of having monthly paychecks."

"I'm used to that last part. Shouldn't be too difficult. Do you want me to do it alone or with a partner?"

"We'll assign you a partner unless you would prefer to go on your own. Teaming up is much prefered, for safety reasons."

"I've always worked with a partner. I think I'd prefer it."

"Excuse me then."

Ilya left the room, giving Jacob plentiful time to think over his prospects.

This was shaping up to be a glorious opportunity, and one he hated the idea of blowing. He'd have to be more secretive with his necrophiliac tendencies, obviously.

The door opened, and Ilya sat down behind his desk, another man hurrying after him. He looked Jacob over with slightly judgmental interest, choosing to lean against the closed door rather than sit down.

"Mister Amity, meet Mister Spearing," Ilya said. "His hunting partner died a week ago, and I'd like you both to work together."

Jacob stood up to shake his new partner's hand. "Hi, I'm Jacob Amity. It's really nice to meet you."

"Colt Spearing," he returned, an unpleasant smile on his lips. "I'm sure you'll be fun to work with."

You can't Follow Your Heart if there's a Stake Through It taglist: @hugh-lauries-bald-spot @heavenlyeden @whumpsday @whumpshaped @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @whumpytine

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