#Totally didn’t wildly smile at being called a muffin

[ollies-moving-castle]

Henlo you absolute muffin how goes your day??

I made more onigiri the other day and fried it

:] my day has been good slept most of the morning away but now m’doing school just mindless work so far

The onigiri looks so good! Never knew you could fry it tbh

[spkothdvldotmp3]

so remember last july when i thought to myself, "haha, wouldn't it be cool if i made a mechsona?"

well, turns out a year of living with that thought in the back of your head will only get you 4,977 nearly 5,000 words of backstory and a spotify playlist, so, solid 7/10 experience

(okay look, Day 2 of the Mechtober prompts was the most coincidentally perfect overlap of "Mechsona" and "Blood," so I finally decided to stop being a coward and actually let people who aren't my classmates see this. ALSO, quick warnings for violence and death, if you're a bit squeamish about those sorts of things. So, with that said, the story itself...)

Introducing!

La Vie en Rouge

Dear Reader:

In this strange world, so bright and so bold

You may, somehow, find a Tale Yet Untold

You could read one now, if you so choose

This Tale- of the Blood-Red Dancing Shoes.

It had started like any other day. And not even an interesting kind of “any other day,” like a Saturday, which always promises adventure, or a Thursday, which has a tendency towards mystery. No, this was a Tuesday kind of “any other day,” which merely meant inescapable boredom.

At the very least, that’s how it started.

However, as Adeline Troffea was leaving her house, she heard the trumpets that signaled Lord Vitus’ arrival. She groaned. A visit from Vitus- sorry, His Most Esteemed Lord Vitus, she snorted as she mentally corrected herself- never went well. He was a deeply unpleasant person to be around, as he looked like a spoiled child and acted twice as bad. Additionally, he was usually about two seconds away from screaming nonsensically at any townsfolk who bothered him, like some sort of Saturday-morning-cartoon villain. Sometimes Adeline was sure he must be doing it on purpose- his ridiculous moustache (twirled oh-so-carefully at the ends), his pale skin and delicate hands (that had clearly never done anything harder than gesture dramatically from the shade provided by his servants), the too-fine crowns and jewels and capes his draped himself in (who even needed more than one crown? Isn’t that too excessive, even for Vitus?)- he couldn’t be for real, right?

Reader, Lord Vitus would prove himself to be more real than Adeline could imagine before this story’s end. But we’ll get to that in time.

Hopefully, Adeline thought to herself, walking down the well-trodden path into town, I can be in and out of the market before Vitus takes a single dainty step out of his carriage. Fabien, her best friend (practically an older brother, really) as well as the town’s shoemaker, had promised her something special today- an early birthday present, he had called it the day before, as the birthday in question was “an entire week and a day away” and he didn’t know if his “poor, old heart” would hold out that long.

“Fabien, you’re barely 30!” she had protested, shaking her head.

“I know, Addie, I’m ancient!” he’d moaned, before adopting the affectation of what was probably supposed to sound like an old man, but instead sounded more like a wheezing duck. “I can feel my brittle bones crackin’. They ain’t what they used to be, I tell ya. You know, when I was just a boy, I had to walk to school every day? Uphill! In the snow!”

“Both ways!” Adeline joined in before they both dissolved into laughter.

So now, here she was, in front of Fabien’s shop, feet tapping on the ground in a sort of nervous excitement. Gingerly, she opened the door.

“Hello?” she called. The response came from somewhere in the back of the shop.

“Ah, Addie! What a surprise! What sort of thing-that-I-totally-don’t-know-about brings you here today?”

She rolled her eyes as she began to make her way through the shelves and around the cobbling stations to the back of the building. “You know, it’s a funny story actually, but my best friend- well, former best friend, I should say-” she was cut off by a sharp laugh as she turned the next corner and came face to face with Fabien, holding a beautiful red box.

“‘Former best friend?!’ Is that any way to treat someone who’s gotten you such a spectacular present?” he asked, schooling his face into an over exaggerated pout.

“It is if they’re going to be stupidabout it,” she replied, yanking the present from his hands with ease. Fabien made a wounded sound, and Adeline stuck her tongue out in response before opening the lid of the box.

Inside was the most beautiful pair of tap shoes Adeline had ever seen. The leather they were made of was white as freshly fallen snow, and the perfect balance between flexible and sturdy. She turned them over in her hand and gasped, brushing her finger over the engravings on the metal taps.

“Roses,” Fabien smiled softly, “because I know they’re your favorite.”

Overwhelmed, Adeline could only set the shoes aside for a moment and tackle Fabien in a hug. And for that one shining moment, everything was perfect.

“Oh, I simply must have these!” a haughty voice sang out behind Adeline, who jumped at the sudden noise. Standing there was none other than Lord Vitus himself, bedecked in his finest golden cape, and holding- oh no, absolutely not. Before she could even register her own movements, she yanked her shoes back.

“No, you simply mustn’t have these, actually,” she quipped in that same snooty tone, stuffing the shoes back in the box, before suddenly realizing what exactly she had done. Refusing the Lord? Taking things right out of his hands? Mocking him to his face? How could she possibly get out of this?

Clearly, there was only one answer.

She bolted.

She heard Vitus’ petulant cry of “After her!” ring out from behind, and then the heavy sound of soldiers’ footsteps, but she dared not look back. Instead, she ran harder, her mind racing almost as fast as her feet. There had to be someplace to hide. She turned a corner, onto a smaller side street. She couldn’t go home, it was too far away.She burst out onto another street before turning abruptly, one hand wrapping around a streetlamp to keep her momentum as she flew back where she’d just come from, the soldiers falling over themselves in their confused haste. But there were so many soldiers, and there was no way she could outrun them forever.

She ducked into a dark alley for a moment, throwing herself behind a couple of barrels just as the men appeared at the mouth of the alley. She held her breath as they hurried past her, trying not to catch their attention with her heaving gasps. And this is why I’m a dancer, not a runner, she thought, half delirious on a cocktail of exhaustion and adrenaline. Could it have been minutes? Hours? All the streets had blended together long ago, and her muscles ached with exertion. Unintentionally, she closed her eyes, just for a moment.

A strong hand clamped down on her shoulder and Adeline’s blood turned to ice in her veins as her eyes shot open again. Her despairing cry was cut short as another hand covered her mouth. She shook her head wildly, terror taking over, before she caught the gaze of her captor.

Fabien.

Adeline felt her entire body sink back in relief with his appearance. Slowly and ever-so-softly, Fabien removed his hand from her mouth, making a shushing motion before Adeline could even open her mouth to ask what was going on. He carefully undid the buttons of his cloak, taking if off of himself and wrapping it around Adeline. It dangled loosely from her small frame, making her look even smaller. A disguise, she noted distantly, hiding in plain sight. Once he’d secured it around her shoulders, Fabien began to explain.

“Everyone’s pretty proud of you, you know, standing up to Vitus like that. I know you’ve always been a bit of a wildcard, but that was even better than expected. You should have seen his face when you ran, oh my-”

Adeline made a small noise of distress. She hadn’t been making a statement, she’d been making a mistake! It was all a big misunderstanding, and now she was going to be killed, or worse, and she hadn’t even had the chance to wear her beautiful birthday shoes, and-

Fabien shook her gently, murmuring comforts, and she took in a shuddering breath, focusing back on him.

“You’ve been brave enough today. Let me take a turn, okay?” he said softly, gesturing at the shoebox. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed it from her still shaking hands. In seconds, he had pried open the lid, taken the shoes out, and tucked them into the inside pockets of the cloak Adeline now wore, continuing to talk as he did so.

“The village has been giving Vitus the run-around all day, trying to keep him off your trail, and honestly, I’m not sure he’s noticed. That man is so far up his own ass that I genuinely think he can’t even comprehend the thought of people working against him.” Fabien smiled a bit as Adeline giggled weakly. “Just keep a low profile. We won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”

For a moment, Adeline was so overcome with emotion that felt like her legs might give out underneath her. Instead, she threw herself forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could.

“Thank you, so much. For everything.”

Fabien squeezed her in return.

“Nothing to thank me for, Addie.”

It was at this moment the sound of soldiers came rushing back, hurling them both back into reality. In a flash, Fabien pulled the cloak’s hood up, casting Adeline’s face in shadow. He gave her a little push towards the other end of the alley, nodding reassuringly. Adeline took a deep breath, steeling herself, before walking, confidently as she could, back out onto the crowded street.

There were soldiers everywhere, knocking on doors, stopping bystanders and asking them about Adeline’s whereabouts. A customer just coming out of the bakery- Monsieur LeClair, she noted- was having one such conversation… if one could call “a man taking obnoxiously large bites out of a muffin and then speaking with his mouth full, spraying bits of food directly into the soldiers’ faces” a conversation. As the soldiers hurriedly excused themselves, disgustedly wiping the muffin bits from their faces, Monsieur LeClair caught Adeline’s eye and winked. She smiled and bowed her head in return before scurrying off again. As she made her way to the town square, she passed at least a dozen or so variations on this conversation- townsfolk left and right making excuses, even outright lying to the soldiers, distracting them long enough for Adeline to slip away, towards the town square.

Vitus was exactly where she thought he would be- right in the middle of the town square, complaining loudly to anyone who would listen (and all those who wouldn’t). She leaned against the brick wall of the closest building, trying to make herself look as small and unassuming as possible. She bit her lip as she thought through possible escape scenarios, keeping Vitus in her peripheral vision, right up until-

“We found the shoemaker, Your Lordship, but no sign of the girl or the shoes.”

Adeline felt her heart stop as her head turned on autopilot. A crowd had gathered in the square, following three figures that Adeline loathed to recognize as Fabien and Lord Vitus’ men. One soldier shoved Fabien down roughly, while another threw the shoebox down with such force that it popped open, revealing its empty inside.

Vitus rolled his eyes at Fabien, looking bored out of his mind. “Where are they?” he sighed.

“Where are what, My Lord?” Fabien asked through gritted teeth.

At this, Vitus seemed to revert to an overgrown toddler.

“My shoes! They were so very pretty and I wanted them, but that little wretch stole them from me and ran off and I want them baaaack!”

Fabien, still on his knees, snorted.

Vitus blinked, clearly surprised. Suddenly, another laugh joined in, and another, and another, and in seconds the entire crowd was laughing at this grown man’s tantrum. Even Adeline found herself giggling, albeit shakily.

It was as though Vitus had only just now realized what kind of a predicament he was in. No one was going to give up the shoes, or the girl, and to make matters worse, they weren’t going to take him seriously either. He glanced nervously around the crowd for a moment before his lip curled and his nose scrunched up, as though he had just smelled something particularly unpleasant. Standing to his full height, he raised his voice.

“You have one week to hand over the shoes! If you do not, there will be, shall we say… severe consequences.” He turned around dramatically, which reignited the snickering, and quickly made his way back to his carriage processional.

As the carriages rattled away, Adeline was struck by an idea. It was a bad idea, she knew, and probably too risky, but she had already defied the odds once today, and with the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she felt unstoppable. She nimbly climbed to the roof of the nearest building to pay her respects, so to speak, waving in the direction of Vitus’ window. She ripped off her hood dramatically, snorting when Vitus’ face contorted in rage. And as her heart sang with love for her town and her people, her feet were helpless to dance along for all the world to see. From her perch on the roof, she watched the other townsfolk join her in celebration, dancing in their own little ways. Madame Beaumont lifted her son Jean into the air, spinning him around as he giggled. Michel Rousseau was doing a little shoulder shimmy. Even Old Lady Coralie was dancing a little two-step. Adeline beamed at them all before turning toward Fabien. Several people were still gathered around him, making sure he wasn’t too hurt, and Adeline almost climbed right back down to join them. But, as though he could sense her worry, Fabien looked up suddenly at met her eyes. He smiled at her before winking conspiratorially. Relief flooded through her as she winked back- a sign that everything was going to be okay, and one she believed wholeheartedly.

Just before she climbed back down to go home, she chanced a glance back at Vitus’ carriage. For a second Vitus met her eye, his glare an ice cold promise of revenge. Adeline shivered under the threat, before gathering herself just enough to make a rude gesture back at him. The distressed shriek that followed was music to her ears.

That pompous man-child had it coming anyway, Adeline thought, and resolved to put the matter out of her mind. Of course, Reader, it wasn’t so simple as that, but let it not be said that she didn’t try her best to hide her misgivings from everyone, even herself.

After what was probably too many hugs goodbye, even for her, Adeline finally made her way back home with her new shoes. The moment she closed her door, she slumped against it and slid down to the floor, exhausted and terrified. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she recalled the look in Vitus’ eyes as he took his leave. She was no fighter! She had no money, no strength, no prospects- no hope. How could she possibly try to stand up to the army Vitus would surely bring back with him? And she couldn’t- wouldn’t- put her people in danger like this, not after they’d already done so much for her. That’s it, she thought, rubbing her eyes, she would go right back to the village and work something out with everyone else, something to keep everyone safe and out of harm’s way before Vitus could return.

But as she opened her eyes again, her gaze fell upon the shoe box, lying on the floor beside her. The shoes themselves had tumbled out from her little outburst, and they almost seemed to be calling to her, begging her to at least try them on, to dance in them. And after so much trouble, how could she possibly refuse?

The shoes were a perfect fit- of course they were, they were literally made for her, she thought as she snickered a little under her breath. Watching herself carefully in the mirror, she raised her right foot ever so slightly before kicking it forward in a test shuffle. She smiled. The sound of metal against the waxed wood floor was perfection. Unable to help herself, she hummed a little tune, matching each note with another step- a cramp roll here, a paradiddle there, a set of triple time steps- she was in her element as she lost herself to the dance.

Dancing in the shoes filled her with such joy that she really could almost forget about the whole thing with Vitus. Adeline knew he wouldn’t take this lying down, and with his power and resources- she knew she had to be prepared. First thing in the morning, I promise I’ll figure out a plan, she reasoned. It’s not as though he could even attack tonight anyway.

So she danced and danced and danced, until the day finally caught up with her, and she quite abruptly fell asleep, not even bothering to take off her new shoes.

That night, Adeline had the strangest dream. She- no, the whole town, was dancing to song unlike any she’d heard before. It almost… hurt, in a way, to listen to, and yet she was sure it was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. It felt as though it had wormed its way into her soul, her very existence, and intertwined itself so deeply that it might never leave. For a moment, Adeline felt fear, the likes of which she’d never known. She tried to wake herself up, to scream for to someone to help her, to do something, anything to stop this, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop-

And then Calm washed over her completely, every other thought and sensation lost to the ocean of the strange melody as it lulled her back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, it was to find that the song had followed her into the waking world. She knew something was wrong, but as she tried to figure it out, every thought was just out of reach. She stumbled out of her room, towards the front door, but her limbs felt almost disconnected from her, almost as if they were being of their own. She slammed face-first into the door, and, for a split second, the ringing of her ears overpowered the music enough to. I need… help, right, that was it, I need help because of…

Because of……

The music, the music, the music- it consumed her every thought. Every step and every breath taken in time with that exquisite, unending song. Every note whispered sweet nothings in her ear, asking, pleading, begging her to join them and become beautiful too, until she was helpless to resist any longer. Until finally, she began to dance.

And dance, dear Reader, she did.

She found herself completely at the mercy of the music as it maneuvered her around like a marionette. She was only vaguely aware that she had somehow made it to the town square, and that several of her concerned neighbors were trying to talk to her, but nothing could break through the haze of the music.

As the day went on and on, passersby occasionally stopped to try to rouse her from her state, all to no avail. It seemed there was no way to reach her, and as night fell, they stopped trying. The light of the moons illuminated her as she danced, and were it not for the sound of the metal in her shoes they might have assumed her some dark spirit. Perhaps some still did. But the fact remains that all the townsfolk, save one, eventually found their way to sleep, secure in their ignorance of the events to come.

The next morning, as the suns rose over the horizon, the people of Strasbourg woke to the sight of not one, but two figures dancing in the square. By breakfast, it had been made a dozen. By lunch, it was nearly half the town. And by 8:46 pm, on the dot, all 398 residents of Strasbourg had found themselves unwilling victims of the dance.

Reader, there are many things I wish I could tell you.

I wish I could tell you that the dancing stopped just as strangely and suddenly as it began, and it became a scary story told for many generations. Or else, I wish I could tell you that the townsfolk found a way to weaponize their dancing and rose up against Lord Vitus, and discovered the cause of their dance- a machine of Vitus’ cruel creation, designed to transmit an almost imperceptible signal into the minds of those who heard it and drive them to madness. Picture it now, Reader: Vitus, stroking a gloved hand down the side of the machine as its whistles blew and the steam that rose from the spouts shrieked, the sound of his dastardly laughter barely audible over the chaos, until it was suddenly cut short by the doors to the hall as they opened with a BANG, and Vitus would finally come face to face with the consequences of his actions.

But more than all that, I wish I could tell you Adeline never remembered what happened as she danced. That for the seven days and seven nights that she danced in the town square, without food, without water, without rest, she was never aware of the fact that everyone she had ever known lay dead or dying at her feet.

None of these things are true, of course. The dance continued, the machine was not destroyed, and as the days passed Adeline slowly became more and more conscious. She watched, helpless, as all around her, her friends, her family, fell to the ground to dance no more. She yelled, screamed, pleaded to anyone who would listen, to anyone who could help- and the only response she got was the answering cries of her village, getting smaller and smaller.

By the sixth day of the village’s dance, there was only one other person still dancing beside her. It was Fabien, because of course it was Fabien- she didn’t know if this was supposed to be a blessing or a curse, though she was leaning heavily towards the latter. His steps had been slowing and his wheezing had increased exponentially in the past few hours, and Adeline knew what was coming, even if she couldn’t bear to say it aloud. Fabien, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

“I did warn you,” he rasped, after a coughing fit had nearly sent Adeline into a heart attack of her own, “That I wouldn’t make it to your birthday. My heart is just so-”

“God, shut up, please, for once in your life just shut up!” She screamed, her voice breaking. Her outburst seemed to shock him, and she turned away before she could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath before barreling on.

“Fabien, this is all my fault, I’m so sorry, I should have-” he made a sharp noise and she cut herself off, choking back a sob.

“Don’t you dare think, for even a moment, that this is your fault,” he whispered, sounding more serious than she had ever heard him. “We all made our own decisions, you and me and everyone else. This is not on you, even a little bit. It was my choice, and I would choose it in a million lifetimes, okay? I just-” Fabien dropped to his knees, gasping, legs shaking almost imperceptibly, and Adeline felt her heart shatter.

“Addie, I’m so sorry,” his every word sounding like it had been ripped from his throat, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

And with that, he, too, was gone, and Adeline’s last remaining hope had died with him.

Oh Reader, what could she do but cry? So she cried. She cried for Fabien, for Monsieur LeClair, for Madame Beaumont, for Michel Rousseau, for Old Lady Coralie, for every lost soul of Strasbourg, until only one remained- and only then did she cry for herself, dancing alone once more.

The tears still streamed down her face when Lord Vitus returned with only a small squadron the next day, a full week after Adeline’s dance had begun. Towering over them from atop his horse, Vitus called out to his men.

“Oh ho, what have we here? An entire village, destroyed by some sort of plague, it seems. What a tragic end… But look! It seems one still suffers. Let us put the poor thing out of its misery, shall we?”

The largest of their number stepped forward, an axe readied in his hands. An executioner, Adeline realized tiredly. He made his way towards her, gingerly maneuvering around the corpses littering the town square, and Adeline wished she still had the strength to huff out a laugh. To show respect for the dead, on the path to kill another? How utterly ridiculous! Without a sound, the executioner raised his axe above his head, and Adeline closed her eyes, prepared to meet her end.

“Wait!” Vitus’ whining cut through the air. “Bring her to me first! She has something of mine that I want back.”

The executioner shrugged, before lunging towards the unsuspecting Adeline and hefting her over his shoulder with a grunt. She struggled against him, as much as one can struggle with a body that refuses to stop dancing, but it made no difference- he was simply too strong. Within moments, she was set down before Lord Vitus.

“The shoes,” he demanded. “Hand them over.”

“Are you kidding me? All of this for some shoes?” Adeline whispered hoarsely. “Hundreds of people, an entire town, dead, because you couldn’t stand the thought of someone else wearing these stupid fucking shoes?”

Vitus sneered at her. “On the contrary- I’m killing you because of the ‘stupid fucking shoes,’ as you’ve so crassly called them. Everyone else was… shall we say, collateral damage.”

Adeline’s breath caught in her throat. Her village, her friends, her family- they weren’t even some kind of fucked-up punishment for her, to drive her mad with grief and guilt. They were just “collateral damage,” not even worth an afterthought in the mind of their murderer. Her rage boiled inside of her, and had Adeline been able, she would have killed the man herself just then.

“Oh no, look!” Vitus sounded so genuinely miserable that for a moment Adeline was taken aback. “You’ve gone and ruined them!”

She glanced down as Vitus gestured towards her shoes and saw it was indeed true. The once-pristine white was long gone; now the leather was completely stained through by her own blood.

Reader, do you know what she did then? Why, she did the only thing she could.

She laughed, Reader. She laughed for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, all her frustration and sorrow and fear and anger and fatigue welling up from within her as she faced this utterly ridiculous man. She laughed. And as Vitus’ disappointment turned to shock, then to an angry pout, she laughed even harder. Even the dance, for a moment, seemed to laugh with her, each shuffle taking on the tone of ha-ha, ha-ha.

Finally, Vitus had had enough. He struck her, clean across the face, and for a moment, the laughter ceased as she gasped in pain.

“You know, I think they look better this way,” she drawled after catching her breath. “The red really brings out my eyes.”

Lord Vitus, clearly having expected Adeline to fall to her knees and grovel for forgiveness (fat chance, she thought, even if I hadn’t been cursed), puffed up like a particularly unpleasant frog as he spluttered through some sort of retort. Even his stupid moustache seemed to puff up with him, Adeline noticed in tired amusement, as he finally settled on, “W-W-Well, I never!”

He turned away from her sharply and caught the eye of the executioner. Adeline’s stomach dropped as Vitus’ face returned to that arrogant smile. He looked back at her, malice gleaming in his eyes, and addressed her once more.

“I do soapologize, it seems that I have forgotten myself for a moment. I am, however, fully prepared to make it up to you. You see, I do, in fact, possess the antidote to your little ‘Dancing Plague,’ as it were, and I would be delighted to offer you the cure.”

Adeline couldn’t see it, but as she felt movement at her back, she knew what was about to happen. In one final act of defiance, she spat at Vitus, who squealed as he tried, and failed, to avoid it. He huffed once more as she laughed at him, before screeching his final command.

“A PERMANENT CURE!”

And with that, Adeline felt pain explode in her legs, near blinding in its intensity. For a moment, a scream overpowered the music, and it took a moment longer to realize the scream was her own. She blinked though unnoticed tears to look up -when had she fallen- at Vitus, but she couldn’t quite focus on him -or anything else. She felt so -tired sick- dizzy, and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and –die- rest. But the pain in her legs screamed for her attention, and as she dragged herself up, she realized why.

At its simplest, a cure is just a way to remove a problem. It doesn’t need to be as advanced as a vaccine, or as complicated as the witches’ remedies of old. In fact, Lord Vitus’ antidote was both exceedingly simple and remarkably effective.

The permanent cure for the Dancing Plague? Simply remove the problem.

Namely, the legs.

How strange, she thought, in that last moment of lucidity, as she stared at the legs- her legs- lying on the ground a few feet away. I almost expected them to keep dancing.

And with that, she fell, lifeless, to the ground.

But Reader- she did not die.

[percywinchester27]

A lot like ‘Us’ (Part-12)

Word count: 5.4K

Pairing: Sam X Reader AU

Warnings: Feels, pining, fluff ;)

Series Summary: Y/N Y/L/N is eager and honestly, still in awe that she managed to get herself an acceptance from Stanford Law School. On the face of it, her life seems as put together, mysterious and independent as one might hope for. On the insides, she carries the burden of past that haunts her till date. Seemingly, she’d left it all behind; that is until she sets foot in the class of the Law School’s youngest, most promising professor.

A/N: I am so excited to see what you think of this chapter! I haven’t made a secret of the fact that this is one of my absolute favorite chapters. I had a lot of fun writing it <3

The story employs two different timelines. The present timeline for the story takes place in 2014. Please let me know what you guys think :)

Beta: @deanssweetheart23​​. You are a goddess. I love you <3

A lot like ‘Us’ masterlist

Sam regretted it the moment he stepped into the bar. The lights were dim, the music was hip and it was too full of people. What was more, a lot of those faces seemed familiar. Maybe he had seen them around the campus?

Sam found a corner booth, away from the bar counter and the pool table. It was isolated and about as quiet as any table was going to get. He drew out his phone and texted Jody.

“I’m here. Where are you?”

Sighing, he locked the screen on his phone. Sam was beyond exhausted. He had stayed up the night, driven for close to twelve hours in total to and fro from LA, and went cut to cut with one of the fiercest attorneys he had ever met. At least, James was out for good. The look on his face at the sight of Sam had been worth everything. Sam had been so scared that he wouldn’t be able to get the kid out. Now that he had, all he wanted to do was fall in bed and not wake up till Sunday. 

Even as that thought took shape, he knew he was lying to himself. More than anything, he wanted to find Y/N and thank her for her help last night, let her know how the hearing went. If someone at Acton Gris had helped him, he would have taken them along for the hearing because the effort deserved it. A part of him had wanted to ask Y/N. She would be allowed, since she was a law student accompanying the attorney, but Sam didn’t think he could handle being in her presence for so long. Besides, she’d had classes in the morning. Either way, she deserved to know the verdict. He had contemplated emailing her, then thought better of it. Maybe he would drop by at the library to see if it was her shift. It was only 12. The library would be open for at least two more hours.

He banished the thought as quickly as it appeared, though, physically shaking his head. He needed to factor in the consideration that she probably didn’t want to keep running into him all the time.

His phone pinged. It was Jody letting him know that Alex was yet to get home from some party of her own and that she would be late, if she came at all. 

Fantastic. Simply fantastic.

He should have just gone to bed. Being in bars at midnight? He was too old for this. It had been Jody’s idea to begin with! She was the one who had made plans for the weekend and was standing him up now.

“Professor Winchester?”

Sam groaned internally before seeing who had called him. It was a glimmeringly clad freshman from his class. 

Could the evening get any worse? He had to run into his students.

“Ohmygosh! I can’t believe you’re here,” gushed the girl. Sam vaguely remembered that her name was Staten.

The other girl whose name Sam didn’t know at all nodded vigorously. “You’re so cool!”

Both of them were bright eyed and obviously tipsy. That was a combination for trouble if Sam had ever seen one. 

He got up. “Nice to see you ladies,” he said sliding out of the booth. “I’m going to step out for just a second. Y’all have fun.”

“Mr. Winchester,” one of them called, but Sam was out the back door. Few years of teaching had taught him enough in that department. During his early days, years ago, when he first started as a visiting faculty, he would insist that the class call him by his first name. He had been ignorant about how it came across and only after a couple of students had made a pass at him had he grown wary and stuck to being addressed by his last name. It never got less weird, having people address him as ‘Mr. Winchester,’ but he was used to it now.

Stepping outside, Sam breathed in the cold air, wondering again what the hell he was doing here.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Jody.

She picked up on the second ring. “I’m so sorry, Sam!” She apologised profusely. “Alex’s tyre gave out and she’s stranded a couple miles out.”

“Shit. Do you want me to pick her up?”

“No, it’s alright,” she reassured. “She’ll feel awful about you driving out to get her. I’m heading out now. Please just wait a little longer. I feel horrible about keeping you waiting, especially since it was my idea.”

He looked at the watch. It was quarter past twelve. “Jody…” he sighed.

“Okay, wait for just fifteen more minutes,” she bargained. “If I’m not there by then, you can go home and I’ll owe you drinks for the rest of the year.”

“Rest of your life, and we have a deal,” Sam smiled despite himself. “Okay. Fifteen minutes.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” She said, clearly amused. “That’s how you become a good lawyer. Okay, Fine.”

Sam laughed.

“You know I love you, Winchester.”

“I know you do!”

Sam put the phone back in his pocket. He wouldn’t have known what to do with his life if Jody hadn’t stepped in and taught him how to look after another person who was solely dependent on him. She was the best friend and mentor he could have asked for.

He slid back inside the bar, determined to avoid any and each student he saw. Especially the drunk ones. Luck was on his side. The whole freshman gang had moved to the pool table, removed from the main area. This late he would have expected the crowd to thin out, but hoards of people were on the dance floor moving their bodies to the rhythm of the song. Taking advantage of the crowd, Sam went over to the bar counter.

“Jack. Neat!” He asked the woman behind the counter. She had long dark hair and a mischievous smile.

“Coming right up, handsome!” She winked.

Sam smiled awkwardly as she slid the glass.

“Hey, Mister! Repeat this one!”

Sam’s head snapped in the direction of the voice. It was loud and bossy and Y/N’s.

“Y/N?” The bartender in front of him squinted at the girl two benches from him, clearly surprised.

Sam would have moved sooner, but he was awestruck at the sight of her. Y/N was wearing a silky, satiny top that was cut low and clung to her body like a second skin over tight jeans and heeled boots. Her hair cascaded over her bare shoulders like a nymph’s. Sam’s throat went dry.

The bartender rushed over to her. “Christ, Y/N!” she said. “What’re you doing here?”

Y/N looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. “Pam! OH MY GOD, PAM! It’s you! 

“Yes, I work here,” the bartender, whose name was apparently Pam, said. “Rob, how much has she had to drink?”

The guy shrugged. “One vodka, three tequillas. I don’t know about before.”

“Y/N?” Pam patted Y/N’s face. “Are you by yourself?”

“Kinda!” Y/N giggled, tossing her hair back in a smooth flip. Sam’s heartbeat spiked at the sight. He absolutely couldn’t wrench his eyes away.

Y/N bent over the counter, then jerked her thumb at the freshman gang and whispered conspiratorially. “I’m with those guys over there, but I don’t think they care if I wander off. Can I tell you a secret? Most of them are douchebags anyway.”

“Rob!” Pam barked. “Do we have a standby? Rinny? Or just anyone else?”

“It’s just us tonight.”

“Well, fuck!” Pam swore.

“Y/N, honey,” she tried to get Y/N to listen to her, but Y/N was already trying to sit up on the bar, blowing kisses at Pam. “You’re the best, Pam. Just the absolute best and I love how much you love my cookies.”

“Everyone loves your cookies, honey, but you need to get down.”

“Okay… Okay,” Y/N winked. She slipped as she tried to get down from the counter. Reflexively Sam moved, catching her before she crashed to the ground.

“I got you, don’t worry,” he said in a low voice only to her and she looked up at him with wide confused eyes. 

“Hey, get your hands off of her, Mister.” Pam hissed, looking scarily angry. “I said, let go of her. Right now.”

Sam did so immediately, but Y/N didn’t let go of his shirt. “I know her,” he tried to explain to Pam, who looked like she was on the verge of calling the bouncers.

“Yeah, that’s right, you know her,” Pam grimaced. “Very believable.”

“I swear, I know her,” Sam said, wildly trying to explain. “Her name’s Y/N Y/L/N. She’s a law student at the university. First year, hails from Kansas and feels insanely cold.” Sam started spewing random facts he could think of. “Her favourite book is To kill a mockingbird. She bakes amazing muffins-”

She likes her coffee with very little milk, is scared of ducks and has a birthmark in the middle of her lower back. She likes listening to classical music and waking up early…

Meanwhile, Y/N was still looking at him in wonderment, shushing herself.

“How do you know all that about her?” Pam looked at him with suspicion and mingled curiosity.

“I’m her-” it hurt to say- “ her friend.”

She still didn’t look completely convinced.

“Y/N?” Pam asked the girl in Sam’s arms. “You know this man?”

Don’t be that far gone, Sam prayed internally. Please don’t be that far gone.

“Pfftt,” Y/N scoffed, with such force that she lost her footing again. “It’s Sam! I’d sooner forget myself than not know him! What sort of dumb question is this?”

Sam.

She had said his name. It had caressed her lips. Was it even possible to be jealous of your own name?

Pam  raised her eyebrows.

“Look,” she said, “I can’t leave my shift to drop her home and no one I can call will be up this late. Y/N clearly knows you. Do you think you can drop her home?”

“I-I don’t know where she stays!”

Pam quickly wrote down an address. “It’s just a couple blocks away. I’m going to call her cell in a while, so you better not try anything funny.”

Sam wanted to roll his eyes, but he was too terrified at the prospect of being left alone with Y/N. He glanced around to see a couple of looks coming their way.

“Yeah, I’ll take her,” he said finally. “The hangover will hit her hard in a while, it’s better that she’s home then. Trust me, I know.”

Pam took one look from his face to Y/N wrapped around his torso. “Thanks, man.”

He nodded and then slowly guided Y/N out. “C’mon. Let’s get you home.”

“You know where I live?” She asked, tilting her head to one side.

“I do now.” Fortunately or unfortunately it was right next to Sam’s street. 

He adjusted her so that she was tucked under his side. Her fingers were still boldly clutching at his undershirt, sending shocks of sensation throughout his body. 

“This way, c’mon,” He guided her forward.

“Stop pushing me. I. Can’t. Walk. Any. Faster!” She whined. “These shoes suck.”

“Okay, let’s just sit for a while.” He slowly steered her to a bench on the street. It wasn’t right outside the bar, hence, out of clear view. Sam lowered her onto the bench and she promptly pulled her feet up, trying to slide the zipper on her shoes. They honestly looked like a death trap of sorts. The zipper stuck out adamantly as she yanked at it with all her might.

Hands trembling, he caught hold of hers. “Wait. Let me.”

Slowly, with a steadier hand, Sam dragged down the zippers on both her shoes- carefully, to not touch her skin- freeing her feet. She drew into herself, massaging the reddened skin on the arch and the back of her heel. 

“Stupid Meg,” she muttered. “Shouldn’t have let her put me in these.” 

She massaged her toes. “It hurts.”

“Will you let me take a look at it?” He asked hesitantly. Y/N twisted her body and put both her feet straight into his lap. 

“Here! Look all you want.”

Her hair was fluttering lightly in the wind and despite the chill, she wasn’t reaching for the leather jacket. Looking at her was like looking at the sun. He wanted to, but couldn’t, because it hurt at the same time. The satin of her blouse was kissing her soft skin in all the right places.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Y/N teased collusively. She scooted closer, almost sitting completely in his lap now. “Can I tell you a secret? I think about it, too.”

Sam pushed her away lightly and God it hurt to do it, but she wasn’t in her senses right now. Sober, she wouldn’t have wanted any of this.

“We should get you home!” He said in a tight voice.

“No!” She was adamant. “Why are you in such a hurry to get away from me?”

Oh the irony. “You were the one who left me, Y/N.” 

Y/N not having heard a word of it was scooting closer to him again. She laid her head on his shoulder, and snaked her arms around his waist. Sam stilled, not even daring to breathe.

“Let’s just stay here forever. You and me.” She laughed all of a sudden. “This is literally the best dream I’ve ever had. I can actually feel you.” She hugged him tighter to prove her point. “See?”

“Is this what your dreams are made up of?” 

“The good ones, yeah,” she sighed tiredly. “But mostly they’re just bad and I’m cold and there’s so much water, Sam. There was so much water.”

Suddenly she started shivering and Sam pulled the jacket over her shoulders.

She looked up with tears in her eyes. “Sam, the water! And there’s so much glass. It hurts.”

A deep pain and grief that he hadn’t felt in years threatened to swallow Sam whole. “Oh, baby,” he said, at last throwing his arms around her. “It’s not real. It happened a long time ago.”

“I can’t breathe. There’s too much water.” Her words were slow and slurred. Despite that, the picture she painted was horrifying.

The memories all flashed before his eyes like it had happened yesterday. But he refused to go under. Not now.

Sam allowed himself to comfort her and be comforted by her. In this one thing, they were together. He held her as close as he had dreamed for years, yet not truly believing that this was actually happening. She smelled just the same, and the way her body curved into his hadn’t changed at all.

Sam held her like that for an immeasurable time. It felt both like an eternity and mere seconds all at once. A crazed traveller wouldn’t be more desperate for an Oasis than Sam felt for her touch. And knowing that this would end soon, that these were stolen moments made it heaven and hell at the same time.

“Y/N,” he tried again. “We need to get you home.” I need to get you home.

She didn’t reply.

“Are you asleep?”

“Yes!” She muttered and in spite everything Sam had to stifle a laugh. 

She had no footwear on, after getting herself out of those insane shoes. Sam removed his flip flops and slid them under her feet. They were way too big, but it was better than nothing. 

“Up you come.” He hoisted her slowly to her feet.

“Whoa!” She said, “everything is spinning so fast.”

“Just hold on to me. The spinning will go away.” He guided her slowly. “This way now.”

Her grasp on his shoulder slipped, pulling his shirt down with him.

“Oooohhh fancy,” she snickered, trying to touch the thin chain around his neck.

Sam fixed his shirt with the other hand so it wasn’t visible. She didn’t need to know.

It must look absurd, the two of them walking down the street. Sam, barefoot, carrying a pair of her heels in one hand and holding her by the waist with the other. Meanwhile, Y/N was humming lightly to herself, giggling at silly things, slipping and sliding in his flip flops.

At long last, they reached the address that Pam had given. Sam knew the building, he walked past it everyday to get home. The building had a solid, high compound wall, covered in vines. Keeping a tight hold on Y/N, he pushed the wrought iron gate. It creaked as it opened, leaving Sam staring at a beautiful front yard. There was curving shrubbery around the small circular garden and a mermaid shaped fountain flowing water in a circular basin with seating around it.

“Hahahaaa Judgy Judy isn’t too pleased with us,” Y/N told him sagely. “She hates people who drink even more than people who turn up late.”

“Why did you drink anyway?” He asked. “You don’t even like doing it.”

Y/N broke off, stumbling into the path. She glared at him. “Oh, so it’s okay for you to go out on dates with other people but it’s not okay for me to drink?”

That’s what she thought? That he had been in the bar for a date? Was that why she had drank?

Sam’s mind was reeling. If what she was saying was true, it meant that it mattered to her what Sam did or didn’t do with his life. Unless she still cared.

“You really think I would do that?” Abruptly, he was angry. If she cared enough to be mad with him, why had she left him to begin with?

Y/N had already moved on from the conversation. She was staring up at the mermaid’s face.

“Sam? You remember that time we went to the fair and rode the ferris wheel?”

He did remember. “You fainted immediately after.”

“Yeah, this feels exactly like that…” Y/N staggered on the spot and Sam rushed to catch her. The minute his hands found her arm, she threw up spectacularly on the front of his shirt, retching till there wasn’t anything left. Then, she promptly passed out in his arms.

He stood there for a second, looking about him, but no help was going to arrive at 2 in the night.

This was bad, very very bad. He had hoped to drop her home and then go back to his own place to wallow about how unfair the world was. What was he supposed to do now?

He had no clue if she stayed by herself. He couldn’t just leave her by herself when she was sick.

Slowly, he led her to the seating around the fountain. She laid down on it, groaning lightly.  

Sam removed his shirt, bundled it up and using some of the water from the fountain, wiped the puke from his jeans and Y/N’s feet along with his flip flops. Then he bent down and swooped her in his arms, carrying her inside the building. Getting into the lift and to her apartment was easy enough. Wrestling the key out of the purse and then unlocking the door all the while supporting her wasn’t so much.

It was pretty clear to Sam that there was no one else in the apartment when he entered. All that noise would have brought someone out by now. He barely looked at the living room, before laying Y/N down on the sofa there. There was a kitchenette to the right side. Sam poured a glass of water, added a spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt after looking through the jars. He walked back to where Y/N was curled up on the sofa and coaxed her to drink it.

She made a face, refusing to take a sip.

“Trust me, you’ll thank me tomorrow.”

“No.”

She was so stubborn sometimes. “Please? For me?”

“For you?” Her expression was guileless, it was almost his undoing, but Sam pushed on. “Yes, for me.”

She took the glass from him and downed it in one go, distaste clear on her expression.

The phone started ringing right when she put the glass down. Sam had to fish it from her purse. The caller ID read ‘Pamela Barnes.’

“Here,” Sam handed the phone to Y/N. “It’s for you.”

“Hello!” She sang. “Yeah, yeah… I’m home…”

Sam didn’t hang around for the rest of the conversation. He returned the glass to the kitchen and made more of the Sugar-salt solution in a bottle.

Y/N was idly playing with a lock of her hair.

“Can we go to bed now? Please?” She mumbled drowsily.

“You,” Sam stressed “are going to bed. Which one is your room?”

Sleepily, she pointed towards the door next to the kitchenette. He lifted her once more in his arm, thinking how bizarre all of this was as he walked towards the room. It felt nothing short of euphoric to hold her like this, like he was on some sort of wild once in a lifetime adventure, even if touching her like this used to be normal for him once upon a time. He gently laid her down on the bed. She stretched out on the sheets immediately, a smile on her lips.

He could have stared and stared. Sam decided to take one long look at her, memorising the exact color of her hair, the fullness of her lips and the rhythm of her breaths. Just as he turned to leave, Y/N’s hand shot out to grab the hem of his T-shirt.

“Why? Why did it happen to us?” She said, her face drawn in lines of anguish. “We were good people. You still are. Then, why?”

Sam took a deep breath. “Because life isn’t fair. You of all people should know that by this point. And I’ve hardly been a good person since.” 

“Shhhhh….” She put a finger to her lip. “You’re the best, Sam. You always have been.”

“Then why did you leave me? Why couldn’t you trust me enough to stay? Have enough faith in me to know that I could make it okay for us? I loved you more than anything, Y/N. And you left me anyway.” He knew full well that she wouldn’t remember a thing in the morning, she was barely even listening now. So how did it matter what he said?

“Don’t go,” she moaned. 

“Y/N… you know I can’t stay.”

“Please… Nothing’s right when you’re not here.”

In an odd twisted way, it was the truth. Nothing was right when she wasn’t with him.

“Please, Sam,” she sighed. “Don’t leave me. Promise me.”

He gave in. How could he not? “I promise,” he said finally. “I’ll stay tonight.” 

She smiled contentedly and her breathing evened out soon after.

Slowly, Sam disentangled his t-shirt from his grip.

In the bathroom, he washed his bundled up shirt, cleaning it completely, then used it to wash off whatever was left on his jeans and t-shirt. Thankfully, Y/N’s clothes hadn’t been spoilt and didn’t need any cleaning. The apartment had a beautiful balcony that overlooked the garden below. He hung his shirt on the railing to dry it in the breeze. 

Sam checked on Y/N once more under the guise of placing the water bottle next to her bed. She was splayed wildly now. The straps of her blouse had slid further down her arm, revealing the tops of her breasts. He looked away. As lightly as he could, Sam freed the covers from beneath her and drew them over her, tucking her comfortably underneath them. Then he made his way to the living room sofa, closing Y/N’s bedroom door after her. 

The sofa was much too small to accommodate him, but Sam managed to lie on his back, legs folded and body wedged between the two armrests. After a while of twisting and turning, he rested his head on one armrest and threw his legs over the other, staring at the apartment walls and decorations. Most of it was too delicate, like the filigree on the curtains and the carved screens dividing part of the kitchenette from the rest of the living room. That certainly wasn’t Y/N’s taste. Either it came with the apartment or her room mate had put it there. There were some things, however, that were distinctly Y/N- the flowers and plants in the balcony, the solid wood coffee stand and the classy oven. The little China decorating the kitchen bar must’ve been her grandmothers. Nothing… absolutely nothing in the house proved that he had ever played a part in her life. Sam decidedly curbed the disappointment and bitterness he felt.

So, she had moved on from him. Hadn’t the past month taught him as much? 

A month ago he wouldn’t have believed that he’d end up a room away from a very drunk Y/N. So close, yet so far. He closed his eyes, recalling how it felt to have her arms around his waist, feel the press of her body against his as he lifted her in his arms. He could live out the rest of his life holding onto those memories, even if it never happened again, even if she never remembered it…

“Who the fuck are you?”

Sam’s eyes snapped open. A girl was standing over him with a ferocious expression.

He sat up groggily, disoriented about his surroundings. Who was this girl?

“I asked who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my apartment?”

Sam groaned, blinking his eyes in the still dark room. “I’m Sam. I helped Y/N home last night.”

“Where’s she? Is she okay?” 

The shift in her tone was sudden, from angry to concerned.

“Yeah, she’s fine,” Sam yawned. “She just had too much to drink.”

“And how do you know her?”

“I’m her- “ It physically ached to not say it. “I’m her… friend.”

The girl, who Sam assumed was her roommate, Meg, raised an eyebrow. “Friend, huh? How come she’s never talked about you before?”

Because she doesn’t care anymore.

Suddenly Sam was very tired. “Look, I’ve known her since a long time. We lost touch a while ago. I met her at college.”

Meg didn’t seem very convinced. She harrumphed and crossed her arms.

“I’m going to head out, now that you’re back,” he said, standing up and straightening his back. It was completely screwed. He walked over to the balcony and retrieved his now dried shirt. Meg eyed it dubiously.

“You didn’t try anything with her, did you?”

Again, the irony of someone else being concerned that he of all people would try to harm Y/N twisted his mouth into a bitter smirk.

“Look, mister…” Meg started and Sam put his hands up. He was too exhausted to hold this argument. 

“I just put her to bed. That’s all,” he said. “Heads up, she has terrible hangovers. You might want to keep the bathroom accessible and the Advil ready.”

With that he stalked out of the room. 

It wasn’t a long walk to his home from there, barely even five minutes, but Sam’s head was buzzing with thoughts. Last night everything had been so hurried and he was the only one who could have helped her out. But what now?

He and Y/N had barely started talking. He still didn’t know what was going on in her head. Last night had changed all of that, at least for him. If it had been hard to not think about her before, it was damn well impossible now. She was consuming his every thought, shadowing every emotion. What if she remembered everything she had said last night? What if she’d actually meant those things?

“Don’t go” 

“Please… Nothing’s right when you’re not here.”

“Please, Sam, Don’t leave me. Promise me.”

Each time his name had fallen off her lips, it was like she was resurrecting his long dead heartbeat. He wanted to dare, he wanted to hope and believe that there was some chance.

But what if she didn’t remember anything at all? Sam knew that he would die inside if that happened. It was one thing to not feel hope, and another altogether to kill it with one's own hands. 

His mind was a cacophony of noises and emotions all warring against each other as he reached his house. On the door steps, sat a solitary figure, waiting for him.

“Jody?”

The sky was just starting to lighten. What was she doing here?

He frowned at her, wondering what on earth could have brought her here this early in the morning. She stared back evenly; there was none of the usual warmth in her eyes, instead they were full of distrust and disappointment.

“Jody, is everything okay?” 

“You tell me, Winchester,” she said, coming to stand right next to him, her stature severe.

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“Really?” She spat. “Don’t you think you’ve been acting differently? At first I thought, being by yourself was getting to you.”

“Jody, I seriously don’t understand.”

“Fine I’ll cut to the chase. Where were you last night?”

It was the last thing Sam had expected. He couldn't tell her the truth. Where would he even start with the truth? “I was-”

She raised her hand and Sam flinched at the hostile expression on her face. “Save it, Sam. I know exactly what you were doing last night. I saw you sitting on the bench outside the bar with that girl.”

Sam jerked upright.

“I’ve known you for years, Sam. Years. I taught you everything I knew. I’ve never been prouder of any student I’ve had and this is what you do with all that trust? This is how you abuse your power?”

Her words rang louder than they should have in Sam’s ears. “Jody-”

“Don’t even try to make excuses. At first, when I saw her in your office, I didn’t think anything of it. Sure, she looked close to tears, but a lot of freshmen are always anxious. But then I saw you in the library with her. The way you looked at Y/N? That’s not how a teacher looks at their student!” Jody looked disgusted. “And tonight? Y/N was clearly drunk, for Christ’s sake! How can you possibly justify the way you were holding her?”

“Because she’s my WIFE!” He shouted, breathing hard, feeling the heat coming off of his face. “I married her and I love her!” 

It was beyond cathartic to finally say those words out loud. Up until this point Sam hadn’t realised that since he had seen Y/N in his class, those very words had been strangling him, poisoning him. Now that he had finally said them, the strength in his legs gave away. He sat down on the steps with a thud.

Jody’s face had gone very white. “Sam…”

“Tonight was nothing more than me helping a girl who needed it. Nothing more than that,” he said through gritted teeth, blinking rapidly at the wetness on his lashes. “You know I respect you, Jody, but even you don’t get to tell me if I can hold my own wife.”

She sat down next to him, now at a complete loss of words. “Is this the same girl…?”

Sam nodded, unable to form words.

“Sam, I’m so sorry,” she said, drawing him close. “I didn’t know. You should have said something.”

“Said what?” He said through a thick throat, angry with himself for showing weakness now when he had held it together for so long. “That my wife who walked out on me years ago because she didn't trust me to save our marriage is suddenly back? As my student after six years? Is that what I should have declared when I didn’t even know if she wanted to see my face? Is that what I should’ve said?”

“Oh, you sweet boy. I’m so sorry,” Jody ran her hands over his shoulders. “Sorry that you’ve been suffering and sorry that I doubted you at all. You don’t need to say anything now. C’mere.”

Firmly she drew him towards her and threw her arms around his neck. Sam hugged back, closing his eyes tightly so that the tears rolled over into the cotton of her shirt.

“Shhhh…” she said. “It’s going to be alright.”

Sam didn’t know if there was any truth in her words, but he allowed himself to be comforted, allowed himself to draw some warmth from his oldest friend here. Allowed himself to start healing.

**************************  

A/N 2: *Wiggles eyebrows* Who all saw it coming? ;)

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[psychospeak-blog]

Won’t Go Slowly // 67

A/N: I’m so sorry once again that this took so long!  I so appreciate you guys being so patient and kind with me - you’re the best :)

 One // Two  // Three // Four // Five // Six // Seven // Eight // Nine // Ten // Eleven // Twelve // Thirteen // Fourteen // Fifteen // Sixteen // Seventeen // Eighteen // Nineteen// Twenty // Twenty One // Twenty Two // Twenty Three // Twenty Four// Twenty Five // Twenty Six // Twenty Seven // Twenty Eight // Twenty Nine // Thirty // Thirty One // Thirty Two // Thirty Three // Thirty Four// Thirty Five // Thirty Six // Thirty Seven // Thirty Eight // Thirty Nine // Forty // Forty One // Forty Two // Forty Three // Forty Four // Forty Five // Forty Six // Forty Seven // Forty Eight // Forty Nine // Fifty // Fifty One // Fifty Two // Fifty Three // Fifty Four // Fifty Five // Fifty Six // Fifty Seven // Fifty Eight // Fifty Nine // Sixty// Sixty One // Sixty // Sixty One // Sixty Two // Sixty Three// Sixty Four// Sixty Five // Sixty Six

It was almost perfect.

You had a perfectly poured ice coffee, a muffin that you hadn't yet bitten into yet, the sun shining on your legs while you watched Gerry play in the water at the shoreline, while Marshall had found himself a spot in the sun, the sleeping baby on the baby monitor.

Really the only thing that would make it better would be if Tyler was home to share that muffin with you.

"Hi Sweetheart," your mom answered the phone, and you could instantly picture her curled up on the couch in her front room, likely a cup of tea next to her.  "Is Bentley sleeping?"

"Yes, he's napping," you said gratefully because you were at Tyler's house and a little worried about messing up Bentley's routine with having to sleep in the playpen that you had stashed in Tyler's bedroom, but he didn't seem to notice any difference.  "How are you?"

"Good, I'm good," she said, "Tell me about your trip."

"It was great, it was really relaxing," you said, telling her about all the hikes you'd gone on, and the cute little stores and incredible wine. 

"You'd almost wished you'd never left," she joked, and you smiled, using your bare foot to rub Marshall, who was never too far from your side. 

"Almost," you said, "Although it is kinda nice to get back into a routine, you know?"  

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said, and then paused a moment.  "Are you at home?"

"No, we're at Tyler's," you said, breaking into a smile, because you loved being here when he got home and having something ready for him to eat more than you'd ever thought you would, suddenly loving the whole domestic thing.  "He's at the gym."

"Are you out back?"

"Yeah, we are, I just made muffins," you said, smiling because it was just easy to move between your and Tyler's house, and it just further solidified how well your two lives fit together, even with the baby now, and that only just reaffirmed your decision that you could step away from this place you'd always called home, that you'd been certain Bentley would call home, knowing that you'd get to come back.  "So....ummm...Tyler asked us to move in with him, Mom."

You ran your hand through the hair hanging out of your pony tail, hearing nothing but the blood circulating through your ears.  "In Dallas."

And now your Mom's laughter filled your ear.  "Yes, I know you meant in Dallas," she said, "I thought he might."

"You did?" you asked, with such shock that Marshall raised his head to look at you.

"You didn't?"

"Well, I didn't -" you said, trying to put the swirling in your brain into words.  "I don't know, I guess I just didn't want to think about what was going to happen when summer was over."

But now you'd be leaving her, rather than him leaving you.

"I said yes," you said, simply, tentatively, like when you'd told her you'd been accepted in University, and that you'd be moving out.

"I know you did," she said, and you couldn't get a sense of her emotion through her voice.  You really should have waited to be in person to tell her, but you didn't want to go to long without her hearing.  "It's just going to be for the season though, and I'll be keeping my house, for now anyways, so I'll be flying back with Bentley to visit, and you can totally come down, too, if you wanted."

"Well, yeah," your mom said, like you didn't have to explain any of this to her.  "That's great, sweetheart, I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah?" you asked, your voice lifting up now.

"Of course I am," she said, her voice steady like she would be anything but.  "It'll be great for all of you. You, and Tyler, and the dogs.  And Bentley..."

"Yeah," you smiled, your chest constricting because you truly didn't know how you'd ever had been able to have him be apart from Tyler now.  

And he wouldn't have to be.

"I know he won't really know that he's apart from him yet, but they change so much during the first year, and I think it's really..." your mom said, "I just think it's really important that Bentley is with his --- "

You let out a laugh at her speechlessness, and yet you smiled looking at Tyler's backyard, one of Bentley's blankets hung up over the railing of the deck, his stroller parked at the side of the house, knowing there were toys for him just inside the door.  "His Dad-to-be?" You asked.

"Yeah, that," she said, and now you could hear the smile in her voice.

"It's important to me that he knows his Grandma though," you said, your voice kind of breaking a bit because you wouldn't just be able to drop him off or pop by for a couple of hours on the weekend.

"Oh, he will," she said reassuringly.  "It might just mean that I get to spend a few days with him at a time rather than a couple of hours, and I'm totally okay with that."

"Yeah," you said, smiling, and thinking that maybe he'd learn to get so excited to come home and spend the summer with Grandma.

You'd still have the summers.

And you could work on little art projects to send back home, to get him to start practicing his letters when he got older.

It was just this year, for now, though.

You jumped a little when Bentley's cries came through the monitor, the soundbar moving wildly, and now you shifted, listening to see if he was going to put himself back to sleep.

"Do you need to go?" your mom asked.

"Umm.." you said, your eye still on the monitor, and you could see Gerry eyeing you like he didn't believe the sound coming out of it.  

"What's up, bud?"  you heard Tyler's voice come through the monitor, even over Bentley's cries.  "Are you done with your nap? Or are we going to get in trouble if we get you up now?"

"No," you smiled, even though your mom couldn't see you.  "Tyler's got him, he must have just gotten home."

"Did I wake you up?" you heard Tyler ask in a soft voice, followed by a shuffling of fabric that made you think he was picking Bentley up.  "Oh, you stink.  Where'd Mommy go, huh?"

You didn't even realize that you were leaning forward like you were about to stand up until you heard Tyler's voice through the monitor, loud like he thought he had to be right up against it to be heard.  "I got him, babe."

You laughed, despite the fact that he hadn't heard you, using your one hand to pull on Gerry's toy, which he was nudging into your lap, finally getting it free so you could throw it for him.

"So - "

"Okay," you heard Tyler huff, sounds like he was dragging the diaper bag across the floor, all the while making soothing noises to try and shush Bentley, and you couldn't help but think it was adorable, even though Bentley was crying through it all.

"He sounds really confident," your mom laughed.

"He knows what he's doing," you said.  Although truth be told,  you'd never actually watched him change a diaper, only because you didn't want him to think you weren't confident in his abilities or make him second guess his instincts.  But you'd never had any problems, so you knew he could handle it.

"Oh, I know," your mom said, "he just doesn't sound like he knows he knows."

"Yeah, he's...still a little bit intimidated sometimes," you said, "he's way better,

 now though, like he was too nervous to even pick him up before, now he's just..natural."

That was the word for it, really, the change from the awkward way that he held Bentley before like he needed to cater to the way the baby was laying, like it was the only way that the little bundle would stay calm, to now where it was like Bentley's body molded to his like he needed him for comfort.

"A lot of men are kinda like that in the beginning, though, I think just because they're bigger they just....need time to grow into each other or something," your Mom said.  "But any guy who talks to a baby like he's an actual little person is gonna be hands on."

"Yeah,' you smiled, thinking back to when you got to bring him home together when the first thing Tyler had wanted to do was to make sure that Bentley got to see his room, like he wasn't in that sleepy newborn stage or like his eyes could actually focus on the pictures hung on the wall across from him.  

"That's why I think it's going to be really good for you to be together and for Tyler to get that time with him," your mom said, and you laughed under your breath as a wail broke through the monitor again.  

"Cash, you gotta move bud, I gotta get in there," you heard Tyler said, and you smiled, leaning forward to turn the volume up, leaning forward.  You knew he could change a diaper, obviously, but you'd never actually watched him doing it because you didn't want him to second-guess himself or have you hovering over him, but just the thought of him caring for Bentley made your heart swell.  

You bit your lip harder, trying hard not to laugh, like Tyler could actually hear you, your mom's snickers coming through the phone.

"Bentley, you gotta work with me, bud," Tyler said, "I'm trying to help you out, c'mon."

"Just wait 'till he can crawl and get away," your mom laughed.

"He can't even roll over yet," you said, laughing at Tyler mumbling under his breath.

"Shh...shh...sh..." Tyler whispered, "K, all done, all better,  let's get your clothes back on, hang on, bud.  Why does Mommy always put you in these things with the really little zippers?  What other outfits did you pack?"

Bentley's cries grew louder, and you could almost picture his little fists waving in the air, his pissed-off, scrunched up face, clearly unhappy with being half undressed for so long.

"Hey, hey, Bentley, Bentley Bear," Tyler said, half-singing, and you smiled, "Awe, look at this, you're stylin'.  You want to go find, Mom?  Do you miss her?"

You had your mom off speaker, phone back to your ear by the time that Tyler pulled open the back door, Bentley snuggled up in his arms, a few tears still settled on his cheeks, Cash trailing after them..  "Hey," you said brightly.  "Is he okay?

"Yeah, he's great, he just didn't like the outfit you put him in," Tyler said, smirking as he leaned down to shut the monitor off, leaning in to kiss you on the cheek.  "Who are you talking to?"

"My mom," you said.

"Hi Mom!" Tyler said loudly, and then in an impossibly high-pitched voice, "Hi Grandma, I miss you!"

"Oh, I miss you too," your mom said, like it was actually Bentley speaking to her, and you smiled, eyeing Tyler.

"He was actually hoping that you would be able to babysit on Friday or Saturday," you asked, hopeful.

"I will babysit him anytime," she answered, and your body relaxed at the excitement in her words.  "What are your plans?"

"We're planning a double date with Danielle and Jeremy," you said, smiling at Tyler, half excited and half nervous for going out for so long without Bentley.

"That sounds fun," she said, "Not as fun much fun as Bentley and I will be having, but, still fun."

"Yeah," you grinned big, unable to resist the urge to tickle Bentley's toes.  "We'll drop him at your house so you can have lots of time to play."

"You can bring the dogs, too," she said, adding, "if you don't want to leave them alone for too long..."

"Do we need someone to watch the dogs?" you repeated, looking up at Tyler, who just kind of shrugged.  

"Cash, definitely," Tyler said, loud enough for your Mom to hear, "He will judge all your baby watching skills."

"I'll look forward to it," your mom said, and you laughed at Gerry jumping up on Tyler, Bentley still whimpering a little, Tyler trying to fend the excited dog off, your arm instinctively reaching towards Bentley.  

"You want to go see Mama for a bit?" Tyler asked, shifting with him as if he was waiting for a response, planting a kiss on his cheek and then shifting to settle him in your arms, and then immediately bending over to give Gerry some attention, ruffling his ears until he darted off to grab his ball.  Tyler stuttered his step to try and get Gerry even more excited, pausing only to reach and pick off a piece of your muffin, his eyes sparkling towards you as he chewed.

"Hey!" You said, using your foot to playfully sway at him since your hands were full, Tyler laughing as he grabbed your ankle and held it, getting himself another bite.  

"Good muffin," he said, settling your foot back down only so he could teach for Gerry's toy as he circled back around, wrestling it free and then tossing it towards the lake, running after him and trying to get Marshall and Cash to come to play, too.

You ended up Facetiming your mom now that Bentley was up and Tyler was keeping Gerry busy so she could see the baby, no longer really talking, but enjoying the way that Cash and Marshall kept nosing at Bentley, finally getting some soft smiles out of him when you ran your fingers over his belly.  When Gerry finally came back, panting and laying down to stretch out on the deck you had your eyes trained on your screen, looking away long enough to pat him on the side.  "You need a drink, Ger?" You asked, laughing at the way he was almost looked like he was smiling.  "Did you check your dish?"

"I think he drank enough lake water to keep him going for a bit," Tyler said, and you instinctively turned your phone away from him and he frowned, leaning towards you. Your hand tilting your phone up.

"What are you doing?" He asked, laughing awkwardly.

"Nothing," you said, moving to set your phone down beside you and interact with Bentley like Tyler would just forget all about it, but he stood there, looking at you with an amused grin on his face, moving to cross his arms casually.

,"You know, I'm not going to be mad at you for looking at porn."

"I am not looking at porn!" You reacted in shock, Tyler's giggles making it clear that was the reaction you wanted.  You sighed, picking up your phone and turning it over and the screen illuminating with what you'd been looking at before, Tyler's eyes widening, taking a step back and then forward again.

"You want to get a puppy?"

"No, I don't want to get a puppy," you said, your arms already full with a baby and the full-grown puppies that had become your own, even more over the last year, as you and Tyler had become each others.

"Then why are you hiding from me that you're looking at puppies?"

"Because..." you said, and then you shook your head, realizing you didn't actually need to, but it seemed like it should be a secret.  "I don't know, I was looking for my mom."

"You were looking for your mom?" Tyler asked, now, sitting down next to you.

"Yeah," you said, looking away from your phone now.  "I'm moving.  And I'm taking her grandson with me."

"Yeah, but you're going to come back though.  And she can come down.  We're gonna be here all summer, too."

"No, I know," you said because the last thing you wanted to do was make him feel like you were second-guessing your decision.  "She's happy that we're gonna be living with you.  But she just lives alone, and she loves having something to take care of, and I want her to have company.  And having these guys visit me made it so much easier for me to be away from you."

Tyler gave you a sweet look and then moved his head to rest on your shoulder, reaching for your phone to scroll through the website you were looking at.

"Well, we should get her a puppy then."

"I'm not trying to get her a puppy, I'm just thinking about how I can try and suggest to her that she get a puppy," you said, "Like maybe if we take the boys over there with Bentley and they all have a good time, I can just casually mention to her this breeder that I saw."

"Why don't we just buy her a puppy though?" Tyler asked, his finger running over the screen.  "That one's super cute.  Do you think she wants a girl or a boy?"

"You can't just buy someone a puppy, Tyler."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a big responsibility, it's not just something you throw on someone," you said.  "Like there's dog food, and toys, and vet bills, and like actually needing to take care of it."

"Which is why we'd get all the dog stuff for her when we surprise her with the puppy," Tyler said like it was that simple, and you gave him a look, to which he just laughed, kissing you on the nose.

"Tyler," you repeated, "You can't just -"

"You can't just give people your sperm, Tyler," he imitated, leaning over to kiss Bentley and then you once more, somehow managing to rub Marshall's ears at the same time.  "Jesus."

******

"Are you ready yet, babe?" Tyler asked, stepping into your bedroom and pretty much immediately going to sit down on the bed next to Bentley, who was stretched out on your bed, just waiting to go.

"I thought we were going to leave at 3:30?" you asked,  stepping out from the bathroom to double-checking the time on your clock to make sure you weren't running late.

"We did, but I really, really want to get going," he said with a sigh.

"Why?" You asked.

"Because my sisters are trying to tell me about this guy they think you'd really like and they want to set you up with, and they want me to offer to babysit when they bring him up to encourage you to have a night out."

Between that information and the dejected look on Tyler's face, you burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," he said, clearly over the whole thing. 

"It's pretty funny," you said.

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side," he said, pouting his bottom lip out like he wanted a kiss, which you gave him, but you still pulled back with a grin on your face.

"You're the one who wanted to wait to tell him," you said, your hand slowly moving away from his face.

"Because the look on their faces is gonna be the best," Tyler said, "and you didn't get to see their reactions when I got to tell them you were having a baby."

"Are you saying that because you mean it, or because you just want me to agree with you that they're being annoying and try to get them to stop?"

"Both?" Tyler asked, a half-sheepish grin on his face, and you gave him a look to let him know that you may be in love with him, but that didn't mean that you were going to take his side on everything, and he sighed, rolling onto his side to look at Bentley.  "That's what you're for, huh?  You're so cute you'll distract your aunties and they'll forget to bother me, right?"

"Well, your back-up is ready to go,  I'll just be like two minutes."

"Is his stuff ready?" Tyler asked, eyeing the diaper bag on the floor.

"Yeah, I packed his stuff already," you said, thinking it over.  "Actually, can you double-check he's got a pacifier in there?"

"Mhmm.." Tyler said, gingerly crawling off the bed, while you went back into the bathroom to finish putting your hair up.

"What is this?" Tyler asked, holding the offending item in front of the ensuite door.  

"What do you mean what is that?  It's his swimsuit."

"This isn't his swimsuit," Tyler said.

"I'm pretty sure it is," you laughed, the little blue wetsuit covered with sharks that you kind of couldn't wait to see Bentley's chubby little legs sticking out of.

"No, he has swim trunks," Tyler said, and now you remembered the little shorts he was talking about.

"I think he's too little for those, Tyler," you said, and you could have laughed at the way his bottom lip pouted out, and you could only imagine Bentley pulling the same thing in a few years.

"But they have a tie and you always say how big he's getting."

"I know, but this one will protect him from the sun."

"It's gonna  be in the shade, babe."

"I know, but he's too little to wear sunscreen though, I don't want him to get burnt, the sun can still peek through."

And now Tyler gave you a dejected look, a small smile creeping across his face and he stepped towards you, moving to wrap his arms around you and placing his chin on your shoulder.  "How about if we bring a shirt for him and then he can wear a shirt with his shorts if he needs to," Tyler said, like he was trying to entice you to do something for him other than negotiating your son's clothes, "And I'm sure you packed a ridiculous hat for him."

You didn't even have time to answer before Tyler continued.  "And I'm gonna wear mine and I'm gonna look really stupid if he's not matching me."

"Okay," you said, laughing at Tyler's triumphant "yes!" , "but he's wearing a shirt if there's too much sun."

"Deal," Tyler said like that wasn't something he cared about anyway, "not that this other thing isn't cute, but he doesn't want to wear it right now.  He can wear it in Dallas when his other suit is in the wash."

"Mmm.." you smiled, looking at Bentley who was still stretched out on the bed.  "What do you think, Bentley? Are you gonna like swimming so much?"

"Yeah, it's like the bath but way more fun because there are more people," Tyler said, and then looked at you with a smirk,  "Well, sometimes you can have guests in the bath with you."

 You shook your head and tried hard not to smile, Bentley's gurgling in response to the conversation.  

"Yeah, I know, I like taking baths with your mom, too," Tyler said, laughing at your reaction and the way Bentley seemed to get more excited.

"You already got the kicking part down for swimming, don't you?" you smiled, Bentley's legs kicking out from under him, content as could be.  "Kick, kick, kick.  Don't kick Cash though."

"You need to go like this," Tyler said, going back over to the bed and taking Bentley's hands in his, moving them in the air, which only made Bentley more excited.  

"Are you practicing your doggy paddle?" You asked, giving Bentley and Tyler a smile before going about getting dressed, Marshall circling your legs as he already sensed you were getting ready to go somewhere.

Tyler had picked Bentley up when you came back out of the bathroom, giving you an interesting look when you bent down to add Bentley's towel to the diaper bag, seeing that Tyler had already thrown in the pacifier along with the swim trunks and an extra shirt.

"What?" You asked, trying to decipher the look on his face.  

"That's short," he said simply.  

"Well, it's a cover-up, I have a bathing suit on underneath."

"Well, it's not covering much up," he said, stepping closer now, using one hand to flip the bottom up and down. 

"Stop," you laughed, pushing his hand away as it came to playfully cup your ass, half glad Bentley was too young to know any different, but also kind of anticipating the way you'd laughed together when Bentley was old enough to be grossed out by the fact that his mom and dad couldn't stop kissing each other.  "Are you gonna be like this around your mom?"

"Depends what bathing suit you have on underneath," he said with a quirk of his lips like he had that line prepared.

"It's my "Mom taking her baby swimming for the first time" swimsuit."

"Makes sense, I guess," Tyler said, "But do you also have "Hot girlfriend who happens to be a mom" swimsuit."

You shook your head vehemently.  "I threw it out as soon as you got me pregnant."

"I don't know, that little bikini you were wearing in Dallas was, like pretty much nothing.  You should definitely  pull that out again sometime and show your boyfriend how hot you are," Tyler said, and you gave him a look, "What? When you wearing it before you were supposed to be my friend and I wasn't supposed to be checking you out.  Now I can look.  And touch."

"Are you sure your sisters' comments aren't getting to you?" You laughed, your hand moving over his.

"Other than the fact that they're being annoying as hell?  No."

"You seem a little possessive," you said because he was somehow managing to touch you while also holding onto Bentley.

"Babe, I've always been protective of you, you know that."

"So you're not jealous?" you asked, leaning in to kiss him because you could.

"Am I jealous of a fake guy that my sisters made up to piss me off?" Tyler asked.  "Babe, I'm the idiot that set up on numerous dates, and like met all the guys and actually liked them.  I was actually friends with your boyfriend, for god's sake."

You started laughing because the past year had been such a whirlwind that you had almost forgot how deadset he'd been on trying to find you, someone.  

"I guess you did find me a boyfriend," you said, quirking your lips.

"Yeah, if only I'd known how easy it would have been, then I probably wouldn't have made myself look so dumb," he said, opening his mouth like he was going to say something else and then laughing under his breath.

"What?" you asked.

"I was just gonna say that would be a really funny story to tell our kids one day, but..." Tyler nodded towards Bentley, lifting him up in his arms.

"Yeah," you smiled, your finger coming out to brush Bentley's cheek, "we can't get anything by him, you've been here the whole time, huh?"

"Good thing he was," Tyler said, turning his head to kiss Bentley's cheek.

"Oh, you're so smiley today," you cooed, and Tyler grinned, tilting his head against Bentley like he was the one you were talking to.  

"He says, "I'm gonna pick up so many babes by the pool today, Mom.'" Tyler said.

"I know you are," you said, and then to Tyler, "Can you put him in his car seat and I'll grab the bags and the dogs?"

"Oh sure, make me the bad guy," Tyler said but did it anyway. 

But you were pretty sure that you were the bad guy because it was you who was trying to keep Bentley content while Tyler was driving, your hand quite often in the backseat holding pacifiers or toys, both you and Tyler singing in a way that would likely have everyone judging you had they not known that you had a baby in the backseat.

Both Bentley and the dogs were whimpering by the time you pulled up on the street that Tyler had grown up on, although the dogs' noises were clearly from excitement, Bentley's noises only signaling that he wanted to be anywhere other than buckled into his car seat.

You weren't really surprised to see the front door open before Tyler had even shut the car off, dropping his hand to run over yours and raising his eyebrows like you were sharing a secret, his hand moving away when his sisters came close to the car, both of you reaching for your respective door handles.

"Is that Bentley?"  

"Mhmm," Tyler answered, opening the back door and you leaning in, quickly unbuckling him and avoiding his errant fists, pulling him into your eyes and standing back up, Tyler's eyes softening, simultaneously trying to sway back and forth with the baby and offer him his pacifier.  

"Awe, he's so sad."

"He'll be okay in a second, he just really hates his car seat," you said, your eyes catching Tyler's, your faces both leaning into towards Bentley, singing animatedly.  "He only loves his crib and his mom, he's sorry."

When you pulled away from pressing a kiss to Bentley's forehead you noticed Tyler's sisters sga4inf a glance and then giving you an interesting look from behind their mom, and you advertised your eyes quickly, knowing if you made eye contact you wouldn't be able to keep it a secret anymore.  

"Did you give your aunties a smile?" You asked Bentley.  "And Grandma Jackie? Are you telling them you missed them?"

"We missed you, we haven't seen you in so long," Jackie said, and handing Bentley over to her, smiling at the way that she so easily pulled him into her arms.  "You're getting so big."

"I know," you said, "We would have seen you sooner but we weren't doing too much when he wasn't feeling well."

And while you and Tyler were discovering this new part of your relationship.

"And he has no ill effects?" Jackie asked.

"No, he's all back to his normal self.  Well, his new normal self, he's even more awake and engaging with stuff now," you said, "But he's perfectly healthy.  Those antibiotics work miracles."

"And he had the best mom taking care of him," Tyler said, stepping around from where he'd been letting the dogs out, and then looked at his mom, rethinking himself, "I mean, she's his best mom, you're still my best mom."

Jackie just laughed, and Tyler grinned at Bentley, moving away from where he was giving his mom a half hug, his hand brushing against yours like he was reaching out to hold it, but then he thought better of it, taking the diaper bag from you like that was what he was planning to do the whole time.

"We were really lucky that we had Tyler to help, though, I was losing my mind," you said, looking at him rather than who you were talking to, "And with his shots, too..."

"Yeah, how come you never told me how horrible it is to make a baby get shots?" Tyler asked his mom.

"Well, you didn't ask," she shrugged, with a smile.

"You told me it wasn't that bad!" you guffawed at Tyler, following the group back into the house.

"Oh, no, it was horrible," he said seriously, smiling slightly, "I only said it wasn't that bad because you were freaking out."

"He's gonna have to get more shots, Tyler."

Tyler looked at you for a moment.  "He'll be fine," he said, giving you a squeeze on the shoulder, an incongruous look on his face, and you inhaled, yet knowing it would probably be okay if he came with you again.  

"You went with them to the doctor?" Candace asked. 

"Mhmm, Y/N needed help because Bentley was just getting over being sick," Tyler said, "And you know how she hates needles."

"That was nice of you," Cassidy said, and Tyler smiled.

"You just seem to be spending a lot of time together this summer," Candace said, words which might seem judgemental had it not been for the look in her eye, the subtle uplift of her lips. 

"Well, of course we're spending a lot of time together, she's my best friend," Tyler said, "I'm not gonna ditch her because she has a kid."

"Well, no, I didn't mean.."

Jackie looked over wearily like she might have to intervene in a disagreement between her adult children.

"I just like hanging out with her and stuff..." Tyler said dryly, his hands suck in his pockets, which meant you weren't prepared for it at all when he spun around and pressed his lips hard to yours, your hand moving to his bicep to regain your balance, trying to contend with the fact that he had somehow wrapped his leg around yours, making a show of it, and yet you could feel his lips turning up against yours.  You squealed as you were knocked off balance, Tyler laughing as his arms came back around you, his feet walking back against yours, planting one last kiss on your lips.

"I knew that was your hand!"

You laughed, your and Tyler's arms moving around you, looking at the combination of shock and excitement on Tyler's sister's faces, Tyler's mom smiling steadily, even though your face was heating up at the thought of Tyler's attention-grabbing display of affection.

"Yeah, so I hope you're okay if she's spending a lot of time around here," Tyler said coyly, met with just an eye roll from Candace, and then you were meant with open arm hugs, your arm momentarily breaking away FL Tyler to hug his sisters again, even though you just had moments before, but the hugs were even tighter this time.  

"This is so great," Candace said, and Tyler cleared his throat loudly, garnering attention.

"Oh, of course, it's great for you, too," she said, going to hug him, "Actually probably

 better for you than her."

"I mean, I'd argue with you, but you're not wrong," Tyler said, smiling at you over top of his sister's head.

"Awe,"  his sisters said in unison, Tyler tilting his head like he knew just how adorable he was, lips turned up in a smile until the moment was interrupted by the sounds that Bentley made when he started to cry. 

"Oh, what?" Jackie asked him softly, swaying back and forth with him.  

"You fed him before we left, right, babe?" Tyler asked, walking towards the source of the cries as you were, arms instinctively opening up as if to cradle him.

'Yeah, he shouldn't be hungry yet," you confirmed, your eyes on that scrunched up sad little face.  "He might just want his pacie."

"It's in the side," Tyler said, nodding towards the diaper bag in his hands still, and you took the whole thing from him, wanting to pull out a toy or two as well for something to entertain Bentley with.

You smiled at Tyler and his mom talking to Bentley while you searched through the bag, not really rushing because you knew he was getting attention and Charley was realizing that company had arrived.  You were just about to stand up with the items you'd grabbed when the abruptly cut off with a couple of shuddery breaths, Tyler still taking Bentley from his mom, Bentley settling like he'd been content the whole time.

Tyler frowned, looking back between the baby and his mom.  "What was that about, dude?" He asked, moving Bentley make towards his mom again until he started to cry again, and then Tyler shifted him so he could look at Bentley.  "You like Grandma.  Well, I think you do, she gives you lots of presents.  You should like her."

"He's probably just not used to me holding him, Tyler," Jackie said. 

"She's held you before, bud," Tyler asked in a soft voice, "Did you forget?"

"It's been a while, he probably just needs time to warm up, it's okay."

And even though you obviously wanted Bentley to be happy with Jackie, you kind of couldn't help but love the way that Bentley was finding comfort and familiarity in Tyler.  

"Usually he's just a Mama's boy," Tyler said, and you weren't sure if he actually believed that or if he was trying to make his mom feel better like she didn't understand just how temperamental babies could be.

"He looks pretty happy to me," you said, running your hand through Bentley's hair, handing a couple of his toys to Jackie so she could play with him until he got a little more settled in this new environment.  She suggested going into the living room to have some lemonade and let Bentley calm down from his car ride before you introduced him to the new experience of the pool and, although the girls were distracted by the baby, you could tell that Tyler was itching to tell them the other bit of the news.

"So...." he said, a means to attract everyone's attention, "there's kind of something else that we wanted to tell you guys, too."

You shared a knowing glance with Tyler's mom, Candace and Cassidy now transfixed on Tyler.  

"Do you want to tell them babe, or should I?"

"Awe 'babe'," Cassidy echoed. 

"I've been calling her 'babe' for forever, that's not new," Tyler snickered. "Only difference is she calls me 'babe' now.  It's super cute."

And honestly, the way he was looking at you only made you want to say it more. 

"You can tell them, babe," you said exaggeratedly.  "You're the one who asked me."

"Yeah, but you're the one who said 'yes',"  he teased.  

"Wait, what did you-" Candace started, only to be interrupted by Cassidy finishing by blurting out, "You proposed?"

Yeah, you were pretty sure your heart just stopped and then restarted all in the same second.

"What? No, no," Tyler said, his voice surprisingly even, "We've only been a thing for like a month, just, like, chill out a bit."

"Sorry, it's just you said you asked a question..."

"Yeah, I should have said it differently," Tyler said, "you guys would know about that though. I would need so much help."

You looked at Tyler, somewhat surprised at how he was handling this because it had always just been a common belief that you'd get married before he did.

And now...

"I asked her to move to Dallas with me," Tyler said, "and Bentley, obviously "

"And you said yes?'" Cassidy asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure, now you ask before you get all excited," Tyler said, with a roll of his eyes, but you caught the smile on his face.

"Yeah, I said 'yes'," you said, your smile mirroring Tyler's, your shoulder's raising in a combination of giddiness and a little bit of feeling shy because you weren't used to having the attention on you quite like this in this house. 

"That's so great, you guys," Cassidy said. 

"I'm so happy for you guys," Candace added, "And only a little bit mad that you're taking them away from us."

"Well, you guys can come to visit whenever you want," Tyler said, "Whenever I'm not there."

He started laughing even before he finished talking, earning him a head shake from you and a kick from his sisters.

"Ow, ow," he said, like it was actually hurting him, "I'm just kidding.  Although you can overlap it so you can hang out with Y/N too, so she has company.  Well, company that isn't a baby or dogs."

"I would," you said because it was kind of awesome to already be friends with your boyfriend's sisters and feel like you were a part of the family, and any sense of familiarity in a place that you were used to visiting but that you would hope would come to feel like home would be welcome.  

You couldn't really talk to them like you usually did though, not until Tyler offered to take Bentley upstairs to get the both of them changed into their swimsuits, and you could see his sisters just pleading with you to try and get him to leave so they could actually find out what happened, even though, of course, he just laughed at gave you a "babe, I know."

It was just as soon as he was out of earshot that Candace leaned in, "So, like, he finally said something to you?"

"Yeah," you said, smiling at just the thought of it, "it was when Bentley was sick."

"Really?"

,"Yeah, I was... it was a lot, and I was really starting to just lose like he wouldn't stop crying and I was just exhausted and couldn't even think about what to do," you said, your body shifting like you wanted to pull Bentley to your body, but instead just settling for pulling your legs up.  "The only thing I could think to do was call Tyler."

And, honestly, the way they were looking at you was enough to make you want to cry, just like you'd been on the urge of doing all of that night.

"He was so good, though, like he calmed me down, which helped me calm the baby down, and he just....stayed," you said because that was the easiest way to put it, that he'd been in it with you, fresher that you were, of course, but in a way that just made you feel like you were in it together.

And he'd really never left.

"You think Bentley being sick made him say it?"

You thought about it for a second and then shook your head no.  He would have told you eventually, you thought, but the catalyst seemed to be more being cooped up inside with each other and realizing that not only were you able to make each other laugh while you were going through it all, but that also you really worked well together.

"Bentley was starting to feel better when he told me," you said, which really should have been a clue because there wasn't really a need for him to stay after the first night, not when he had his own responsibilities and Bentley was at least able to get some rest.  "It wasn't even like anything happened.  I put Bentley to bed, Tyler ordered us pizza, and then I went out there and he'd lit candles and dimmed the lights and poured us wine..."

"Awe...."

'And then we just sat there for 45 minutes and watched TV before he said anything," you continued with a laugh, because he'd had to have at least figured he wanted to say something with the way he'd tried to set the mood, and now you were wondering if he'd even watched the show, or if he'd just been running through the words in his mind.

Or maybe he'd just been getting comfortable and enjoying spending time with you.  "I don't know, he did stuff like that a lot?" You said, answering the unasked question.  "Like, when I went to go visit him in Dallas he planned this whole picnic thing, and took me to the aquarium-"

"He took you to the aquarium?" Cassidy asked, "He always says that's the lamest date ever."

"Yeah, well," you shrugged, blushing just at thought of the way he'd held your hand like that was something you did every weekend, the way he'd talked about wanting to bring the baby there.

"You guys are actually so cute," Cassidy said, and you felt your smile grow even bigger because you couldn't even remember Tyler ever being like this with anyone either.

"How about you, though?  How's Brian?" you asked because you could honestly foresee yourself gushing about your relationship the whole time you were there, and you wanted to get the details while Tyler was gone.

"Oh, yeah, he's fine," Cass said, stumbling her words and you frowned.

C"What do you mean he's fine?" You laughed, watching her eyes until you heard Tyler clear his throat, realizing that she must have heard him coming before you did.

"Oh my God," you heard Jackie say, but it was all you could do to take in Bentley and Tyler in their matching pineapple print swim trucks, both of them wearing nothing else, although you noticed he  had Bentley’s shirt tucked under the arm he  was holding Bentley in.

"Super cute, right?" Tyler asked.  

"The cutest," you agreed, Tyler catches your eye, even as his fingers tickled along Bentley's belly.

It was almost as cute when Gerry started jumping up at Tyler like he knew it was time to go swimming, making your way outback.  

"So whose Brian?" Tyler asked, feigning simple curiosity.

"Nobody," Cassidy said.

"Yeah, he just helped me the last time I went into Cassidy's work, I was just telling her about it," you said casually, easily putting an end to the conversation.

"No, he's like actually nobody," Cassidy said, "he doesn't exist."

"What do you mean he doesn't exist?" You asked, watching her eyes dart towards Candace.

"We...made him up," Candace answered.

"What do you mean, you made him up?" you laughed, both of them looking half guilty towards you.

"We just thought that if you... thought about being into someone and not telling them, it might give you a nudge in the right direction."

You barely even had the chance to process that when Tyler burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," you said, even though you were laughing.

"Oh, it's funny," Tyler confirmed, "Especially when you were making fun of be before- wait, you guys knew that she liked me?"

He addressed the last part to his sisters, and now was your time to laugh.

"You guys are supposed to tell me stuff like that , Jesus," Tyler said, his head only turning to acknowledge all of Bentley's baby sounds.  "Yeah, bud, you tell them."

"We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't answer us when we asked if you liked her."

"Because I'm not gonna say that and then make you guys get all emotional and crazy, " Tyler said, "You could have just given me the head's up, at least."

"We're not telling you that if you didn't feel the same way," Candace said, like that was obvious.

"You guys are supposed to help me out," Tyler said, half-whining, and you laughed, causing him to look at you, his lips curling up in a smirk. "And you and I need to talk about the fact that you're supposed to be on my side even more now, and tell me all these Brian's or Ryan's or whatever."

You scrunched your nose up, shaking your head as you smiled.

"Can one of you guys take the baby?" Tyler asked, arms already coming out.

"Tyler," you warned, trying to push his hands away but he out-muscled you , working your straps down your shoulders, while you repeatedly tried to place them.  "Well, don't take my dress off."

"You've got a bathing suit on underneath, it's fine, " he insisted, "you've got your boobs out all the time anyway, like,  we go to the movies, boobs out."

"I was feeding the baby," you clarified, cheeks heating up because you knew he remembered what else you'd done in the movie theater and if he made some type of comment about that, you were going to turn into a babbling mess.

Which kind of worked in his favor, because then your mind was distracted momentarily, meaning that you weren't quick enough in fighting him off when his arm wrapped around your legs, shifting your body off the ground.

"Tyler," you laughed, but he just ignored you. 

"Can someone get the door?" he asked, nodding towards the sliding door, open other than the screen,

"You're on your own there, honey," Jackie said, and Tyler huffed, using his foot to try and push open the screen.

"Stop," you said, trying to wiggle free but Tyler had somehow managed to get door open, Gerry running through and then jumping right into the pool like he thought this was all part of some game.

"Why?" Tyler asked into your neck, your body getting closer and closer to the ground, his body bent over.

"Because I don't want to be wet when I get in with Bentley to get him used to the water."

"Fine," Tyler said, his arms letting your body move so your feet hit the floor, yet his arms remained around you.  "But don't think I'll forget this."

"Neither will I," you said, looking over Tyler's shoulder to where Candace was holding Bentley, propped up so he could look around., your eyes moving back to connect with Tyler's, dark chocolate pools of playfulness, "Just wait till I teach Bentley to splash you."

"Oh, you don't play fair," Tyler laughed, his arm coming around you and planting a kiss on your cheek, Tyler looking at Bentley now too. "Are you watching Gerry swimming? Are you gonna try it?"

You watched Bentley's lips turn up, a silent form of communication.

"I think that's a 'yes'," you said softly, your fingers reaching out to tickle his toes, letting Candace hand him back to you, because although you were psyched for them to play with Bentley in the water, too, you wanted to be as close to him as possible when he experienced the pool for the first time.

"Do you have your phone, babe?" you asked Tyler, "Can you take some pictures or a video or him?"

"I can do it," Cassidy offered, "then you can both go in with him."

"Thank you," you said gratefully, Tyler already dipping his toe in the water. "Is it cold you asked?"

Tyler should his head, "I think he'll be okay."

"Wait, wait, I got some pool toys for him," Jackie said.

"Awe, really?" you asked, "I brought a couple of his bath toys, but all of his pool toys are in Dallas."

"Well, you can leave these here and then he can play with them when he comes to visit Grandma's pool," Jackie said.

"See, I told you Grandma would buy you lots of presents," Tyler said to Bentley, running his finger along Bentley's cheek.

"Woah," you said to Bentley, smiling excitedly as she showed him the little boat and all the fishes.  "Can you say 'thank you'"?

Bentley cooed, his lips turning up in a smile, right on cue.  "Oh, you are so welcome," she said, leaning over to kiss him on the top of the head.  "We'll have to keep them away from the dogs, won't we?"

"And Tyler," Candace said, and you realized that Tyler had already taken the toys from his mom.

"He's too little to know how to play with them, I'm just helping," Tyler defended, laughing at himself, getting Bentley's attention as he walked into the water.,Gerry circling around him. 

"Gerry, c'mhere," Cassidy called, and  it wasn't long before he was running around with Charley, your eyes moving between Tyler and Bentley, slowly walking into the water until your legs were covered, running your free hand back and forth through the water, crouching so Bentley's toes were near the water.  

"You've got paparazzi," Tyler said, nodding towards Candace and Cassidy crouched down by the side of the pool, phones extended in front of him, tickling Bentley's toes and then slowly scooping water over them to get him used to the water.

"Whatcha think?" You asked him, lowering your body further into the water, watching Bentley's curious expression, his eyes wide, starting to fuss just a little bit and you started to sway back and forth with him.  "Baby beluga in the deep blue sea, you swim so wild and you swim so free."

"He's doing well," Jackie said from the edge of the pool.

"Yeah, he's pretty easy-going," you said, looking at exactly where he'd gotten that disposition from.

"And he loves the water," Tyler added, and you took the few steps to close the gap between the two of you.

"You want to take him?" You asked, Tyler making a noise of agreement, cradling his arms underneath yours, pulling Bentley to his hip, settling him.

"Are you swimming?" Tyler asked him, taking the boat and making noises as he drove it through the water in front of him.  "It's pretty cool, huh?"

You smiled, eyes still on Bentley's and just a smidge of Tyler watching him, only to be distracted by Gerry, who was running around the edge of the pool, crouching down like he wanted to jump in, and then jumping down the line.  

"You can come in , Ger, come here," you said, calling him over to the stairs, searching for one of the dogs' toys so you could tempt him away from getting his nails too close to Tyler and Bentley.  "Did you want to come play with Daddy, too? Were you getting jealous?"

"Jealous he didn't get a new toy," Tyler said, taking the fish toy and filling it with water, squeezing it so it sent an arc of water into the air, Gerry's tail wagging in the water.

"Careful," Jackie said, the water getting too close to outside of the pool, which really was the wrong reaction because Tyler just grinned, squirting more water in their direction, Bentley letting out a pleased squeal.

"See, it's funny," Tyler said, planting a kiss against Bentley's cheek, and you laughed at how skeptical Marshall looked at the whole situation, saying over to give him a pet.

"Well, you're getting me all wet."

"He wants you to come in," Tyler said, changing the way he was holding Bentley so his hands were under his arms, the baby facing forward, stepping through the water.  "Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo, baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo doo."

Your eyes were on Bentley's face as he "swam" towards you.

"Is he smiling?" Tyler asked, and you nodded.  "Mommy shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

Mommy shark.  Where's Gerry Shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo, Gerry Shark? Oh there's Grandma Shark, hi Grandma shark."

Tyler carefully passed Bentley over to Jackie, who swayed back in the water with him, clearly transfixed, the rest of the family joining in not long after.  You quickly discovered that while Bentley didn't mind being in the pool, he was not a fan of his little floatie even though Tyler had spent awhile blowing it u for him, much preferring to be in someone's arms, although he was also quite content on someone's lap outside of the pool to warm up a bit, and you were quite happy that Cassidy managed to get a picture of Tyler and Bentley lounging together in their matching swimsuits on one of the lounge chairs before you took Bentley inside to change him so he wouldn't get too cold. When you came back, everyone was clearly looking at something on Tyler's phone, although he looked up at you when you came back outside, tilting his head.

"Someone looks sleepy."

"Yeah, I thought he was gonna fall asleep while I was getting him dressed, he's tuckered out," you said, turning him in your arms so he was laying down, starting to rock him as you stepped closer, although you were getting an odd look from Tyler.  "What are you guys doing?" You asked.

"Looking at stuff for Bentley's room," Tyler answered, which wasn't surprising because you knew that it had been something that him and his mom were working on, but it usually wasn't happening right in front of you.

"Oh?" You asked casually, "so you decided on a theme then?" and Tyler only nodded.

"It's so cute" Candace added, to which Tyler smiled quickly and the shushed her.

"Babe," Tyler pleaded, and you frowned, continuing to shift Bentley.

"What? I didn't ask."

 "Yeah, but you're giving me that look," he said, " and if you keep giving me that look then I'm gonna give in and tell you and I really wanted this to be a surprise. "

 "Okay," you answered, because you could see that this was something that he was really excited about, but it was also becoming more and more real that you were going to be moving to another with a 4 month old, and you were almost getting that same feeling about needing to have everything ready and I'm place like you had before you gave birth.  "I just want to make sure that we have all the stuff we need for him."

"We will, you just tell me the big things we need, and I'll make sure it's all ready," Tyler said, because you'd already talked about how he'd go down before you to not only deal with what he had to do before the rest of the guys arrived for training camp, which would give him the chance to take the dogs down and decorate Bentley's room, and then he'd come back to help you travel with the baby.  "I already picked out a crib and a chair for his room, I just need to find something for him to sleep in our room."

"You don't want him to sleep in his own room?" you asked because while he was still in your room, Bentley would be older by then, and while you pictured him staying in your room with you for more of his first year, that was when it was just the two of you, when adult activities were the furthest thing from your mind.  And now, of course, your eyes were wandering over Tyler's bare torso, your free hand quickly making like you were brushing your hair back from your eyes, trying to focus back on the present moment.  

"I mean, eventually, yeah, because his room's gonna be awesome," Tyler said, grinning at you, "But, I don't know, we don't have to decide now. I just thought you'd at least want him in there with you when I'm gone.  Or if he's having a rough night or not feeling well or whatever, then we have somewhere for him to sleep."

Maybe Tyler wasn't that anxious to get Bentley out of your room, either.

"Yeah, okay," you agreed, because that was at least one transition that you could ease into.

"And obviously we need a stroller for down there," Tyler said, you noticing the way the corner if his lips turned up and his eyebrows raised, your mind flashing back to the pre-baby shopping you'd done with him and the way he'd gravitated to all the high-end stuff and the way he shopped for toys like he was shopping for himself. 

"Maybe we should set a budget," you said, and Tyler's expression uplifted even more, laughing as he shook his head.

"No, we're not setting a budget, this is my thing," Tyler said, his eyes flashing with the realization that he had support for his argument.  "We agreed that I would take care of this."

"Yeah, but," you said lamely, trying to figure out the words, but you were distracted by squirming and whining in your arms, the rocking clearly not enough as Bentley let out an annoyed cry, and you turned your attention to talking to him, only looking up at Tyler briefly.  "Do you know where his pacifier is, babe?  He had it when he came in."

"I think it's on the dining room table," Tyler said, already moving to sit up.  "You want me to grab it?"

"No, I'm good," you said honestly.

"I'll help her," Jackie said, her hand already moving around you to open the door, and you hung back around the entrance moving back and forth with Bentley as she went to go grab it, shifting him in your arms so she could give it to him.

"Is that better? You're so tired, huh? Did you stay in the pool a bit too long? Or are you getting hungry?" you said, running your thumb over Bentley's cheek.

"He'll probably nap really well," Jackie said, "That was my secret weapon, take the kids to swim lessons and they're out for the afternoon."

"Yeah?" you smiled, "I might look into that when we're in Dallas for something to do with him."

"You should, he seems to like the water," Jackie nodded, "and it'd give you a chance to meet some other families."

"Yeah," you said softly, running your hand through Bentley's hair, still trying to get him off to sleep.

"I think he's just excited," Jackie said.

"Hmm?" You asked, looking up at her and thinking she was talking about Bentley, who was really anything but excited right now, hos body still half fighting rest, but started to suck on his pacifier., but Jackie was nodding towards the door.

"Tyler?" you asked.

"Yeah, about having Bentley coming to live with him.  And, you too, obviously," she said, meeting your eyes and then looking behind you, like she was trying to think of just how to say this.  " I know he helped you get the nursery set up and get ready for the baby, but it wasn't his decision, really, you know? I think he's just having fun looking at all the baby stuff and thinking about what Bentley might like when he gets older.."

You thought about what she was saying, remembering that feeling you had when you went shopping for everything, and the hours that you'd spent imagining this life scrolling through nursery ideas on your phone, and the way now that Tyler was now, giving you a sly smile even as he shielded his phone away from you.  

It was about more than just things.

"Do you want to take him for a bit?" You asked, noticing the way that Jackie was reaching her arm out towards Bentley every time he made a noise like she could help him in that way. 

"I can give your arms a break for a minute," she said, and you smiled at the way she downplayed that she was dying to hold him,moving him so his head was resting against Jackie's shoulder, running your hand over his back, his breathing growing slower and deeper.

"Are you comfy cuddling with Grandma?" You asked him, satisfied that he was settling, "I think you're right.  He just..  always wants to buy him stuff."

.

Which you did too, really, just not on quite the same scale.

"Yeah, he can go a little overboard sometimes."

"Who?" You asked, feigning surprise, "Tyler?"

"Yes, Tyler," she laughed, leaning towards you, her hand steady on Bentley's back, "I'll reel him in though once we start making decisions.  Remind him that he doesn't need to get all the toys right now and to save some stuff for birthdays and Christmases and that he's going to be just as happy if you spend five minutes talking to him than getting him a cool new toy.  Or that he can really only sit in one stroller at a time."

"Yeah," you laughed under your breath, looking at her eyes.  "Thank you."

"Of course, honey," Jackie said, "he's so happy to have you about having you go with him, I think he just wants everything to be perfect for you."

 "Yeah, me too," you said, "really all I need is my five boys though and I'm good."

"Five boys," she repeated, "That sounds like a lot when you put it like that."

"I know, but I love it though," you said, laughing at the way that Cash was standing at the door, his tail wagging while looking up like he was curious about what was going on.

"Oh, are you checking on the baby?" Jackie asked, walking over to open the door and stepping outside, Cash already sniffing up at her, "I think he's sleeping right now."

You leaned over, checking to see if Bentley's eyes were closed, his cheek pressed up where he was rested his head.  "Yeah, he's sleeping."

"Awe," Tyler said sweetly, from where he was still sitting, Jackie crossing the deck, and every so gently sitting down with Bentley, and you took the opportunity to tuck his blanket under his chin. 

"Ty, can you pull one of those other chairs over for Y/N?" Jackie asked.

"Mmmmnope," Tyler said, a smile sneaking onto his face, moving his legs to create room, "we can share."

"Do you actually have to sit in the same chair now?" Cassidy asked while you were just frozen there, trying to not make anyone uncomfortable with this new dynamic.

"Yeah, we do have to," Tyler laughed, reaching for your hand, Cassidy rolling her eyes at his comment but smiling, and you let yourself sit down on the lounge chair, shifting until you got comfortable, Tyler's head curving around yours, lips brushing your neck and then stopping just breaths from yours.  "Hi," he said, soft enough like he only wanted you to hear.

"Hi," you answered, pressing your lips to his, like he'd just gotten home, not like you'd seen him just minutes before.

"Why are you guys actually so cute though?"

Tyler just shrugged, laughing against you.  "I don't know, we're just adorable."

"Seriously, I can't believe that you actually made her a picnic."

You could feel Tyler under his breath from behind you.  "That's like the move, huh? She tells everyone about that."

"Because it's sweet."

"And yet she still didn't realize I wanted to date her," Tyler said, "Like I kissed her and she was still clueless."

"What, he kissed you?" Candace asked, leaning forward in shock, "like before we talked on Mother's Day?"

"Oh yeah," Tyler answered, his voice half cocky.

"Tyler," you said, your face already heating up when you turned to look at him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know it was a secret," he said, his thumb running over your arm like he was trying to be reassuring.  "Especially since you let me kiss you at the airport in front of everybody."

"Stop," you laughed.

"Okay, okay," Tyler said, leaning around to kiss your cheek.  

"Can you do that one more time?" Cassidy asked, her phone raised to take a picture.  

"Mmm.. I can do it as many times as you want," Tyler said, planting a series of playful kisses to your cheek, and it was one of those pictures that you just knew was going to turn out good with the way you were laughing, relaxing with your fingers intertwined with him, the sound of Tyler's phone repeatedly pinging with notifications the only thing interrupting the comfortable silence.

"How many times  did you send me that picture?" Tyler laughed, asking Cassidy.

"I haven't sent it yet," she answered, and you felt Tyler shift behind you, reaching for his phone.

"Well, everyone I care about is here so," he said, a pause as he scrolled through his phone.  "Awe, you let her post that picture of us," he said to you, and you didn't know what he was talking about until he shifted to bring his phone in front of you, that Cassidy had taken earlier of Tyler and Bentley filling the screen.

"Oh my god, I didn't even ask, I just thought, I can take it down," Cassidy said, stumbling over her words, already reaching for her phone.

"No, it's fine," you reassured her.  "You can leave it up."

"She just doesn't always want pictures with his face in it on Instagram," Tyler said, and you watched Cassidy's face get even more concerned.

"No, I just worry about you posting pictures with him on Instagram," you said to Tyler.

"What? Why me?" Tyler asked innocently, like you hadn't already discussed this.

"Because you've got so many followers and her account is private," you said, looking back at Cassidy, "I don't mind if you post Bentley at all.  We're just trying to keep Tyler and I being together on the down-low.  For now."

"And you don't think the kid and me wearing matching swimsuits is a giveaway?" Tyler asked, laughing.

"No," you laughed, shaking your head, "You had those before we were even a thing, we're all friends, I'd be here anyway."

Really, you weren't sure if you were trying to convince her or yourself.

"Tyler's just annoyed because I don't let him post the baby as much as he wants to," you said.

"Well, can you blame me?" Tyler asked, "It's not my fault he's so adorable."

"A little bit your fault," you clarified, "I love that picture though, you should leave it up."

"I haven't even seen this picture yet," Candace said, looking at her phone with an "awe", and then frowning, looking back and forth between Tyler and the picture.  "Did you get a new tattoo?"

"You guys," Tyler said with exasperation, laughing.  "Yes, I got a new tattoo, I told you guys I was getting one for Bentley before even Y/N noticed."

"No, not that one," Candace said, waving him away and moving her fingers like she was zooming in on the picture before remembering the real thing was right in front of her, "The one on your shoulder.  What does it say?"

"Oh," Tyler said, a smile in his voice, his hand squeezing yours.  "It says 100%."

"What-"

"It's for Y/N," Tyler said, his lips pressed into your hair.  "It's like our thing: before we decided to... do this whole baby thing, when we made all the decisions like telling you guys, when she was having the baby, and then when we decided to do the being together thing, we both agreed we had to be in 100% or we wouldn't do it."

"Oh my god, that's so cute."

"And here you said you would never get a tattoo for a girl."

"It's not for a girl," Tyler said, "It's a friendship tattoo, I got it before we were a thing.  So it's not gonna be bad luck."

"He got it on my necklace, too," you said, your hand playing with the charm that was pretty much always pressed against your chest.

"Awe."

"Yeah, it's just because we've been friends forever. I think it's pretty fitting, too, she's probably the only reason I ever got 100% on a test in school. Now I just need to get a heart with 'Mom' in and I'll have all my favourite women," Tyler said, laughing at himself, ""What are you frowning over there for, Mom? I did graduate, remember? Or you don't want me to get a tattoo of your name?"

"No that's not what I'm thinking," she said, and then smiled, shaking her head, "Well, no I don't want you to get a tattoo with my name on it."

Tyler laughed, "Why are you making that face then?  Does the baby need his diaper changed? Because you know where we left the diaper bag."

"Ty," you said, which only made him laugh harder, his arm locking you in even as you tried to turn to see if she needed help.

"No, he's fine," she said, running her hand over his back and kissing him on the head as if to illustrate that point, "I just don't think I bought corn."

Now Tyler gasped.  "How can we have dinner without corn?"

Jackie laughed.  "Someone started talking to me, I got distracted."

"I'm sure it'll be fine without," you said.

"I know, I just had this recipe for Mexican street corn I wanted you guys to try," she said, "I got everything but the corn."

"Well, I can go grab some," Tyler said easily.

"Well, you don't have to..."

"It's fine, Y/N forgets stuff all the time, I'm used to it.  Must be a mom thing," Tyler said, tapping at your thigh.  "Come with me?  Make sure I don't get lost."

"And leave Bentley here?"

"Mhmm.." Tyler said, "Actually, you got any references, Mom?  Before we leave the baby with you?"

"Yeah," she said, laughing, pointing at her children, "They're called you three."

"I don't know," Tyler teased, "You think that's gonna be okay, babe?"

You ignored his comments, looking at Jackie and then the girls.  "Are you okay with him?"

"Oh yeah," Jackie said reassuringly, waving you off like it was really no trouble at all, and you tilted your head, looking at Bentley's sleeping face.

"I think I'll just pump some milk for him really quick before we go; he hasn't eaten for a while and he might wake up staving," you said, sliding forward, and you felt two large hands across your chest.  

"Yeah, you need to, these things are really full," Tyler said, your face turning red as you pushed his hands away.

"Okay," you said, "So I'll just --"

"There's a good chair in Tyler's old room," Jackie said, "But wherever you're comfortable."

"Yeah, I'll come to keep you company," Tyler said,

"Keep the door open when you have a girl in there," Candace said. 

"Haha," Tyler said dryly. "She's taking care of her kid, it's not that exciting.  Do we need anything else at the store?"

"Marshmallows," Cassidy said, "For s'mores."

"Oooh, we should get dark chocolate," you said, leaning into him.

"And Reese's," Candace added, and Tyler made a face.

"Bentley, these girls are crazy," he whispered, and you shook your head with a smile.

"Can you want to grab the Dockatot from the car?" You asked Tyler once you got inside, "So they have somewhere to put him down if they want?"

"Babe, there's three of them, there's no way he's not being held the entire time," Tyler said, before stretching out in the bed, head propped up in his hand, watching you dig through the diaper bag for what you needed.  "Never did I think you'd be pumping milk in my old room."

"I know, right?" You laughed, looking at Tyler laying on the bed like he had so many nights when you'd been watching movies, or doing homework, or talking like you had so many nights that summer after he'd won the Stanley Cup, you completed your first year of university paling in comparison.

"Hey, are you actually okay with my sister posting that picture?" Tyler asked, and you nodded.  "Because I know she's private but...stuff still gets out."

You looked at the way he was looking at you and thought back to the number of notifications he'd gotten, which was a lot, even for him.  "Has it?" You asked, to which Tyler simply nodded.

"I can talk to her about it if you're not okay though," Tyler said, his lips turning up in a slight smile.  "Be the bad guy."

"No, it's okay, I would have said something before if I didn't want people taking pictures or sharing them," you said, your eyes still on Tyler, "Are you okay with it?"

"Me?" he asked, "Well, he's your kid..."

You didn't say anything but gave him a look.

"We talked about that already, didn't we?" Tyler said, "I said it didn't bother me if people see me with him and like, talk, or whatever..."

"No, I know," you said, "I meant how do you feel about having his picture out there on social media?"

"Oh," Tyler said quietly, his eyes bouncing back and forth like he was thinking, his hand running over his chin, "I mean.. I think what we've been doing has been good?"

You didn't respond, but waited, because you wanted to know just how he felt about it, too.  You didn't want this to just be your decision anymore, not if this was going where you hoped it was.

"I just, I guess with you guys moving down with me, I want to share stuff of him because I want everybody to see how awesome he is?  And I want people to see that and focus on who he is then like gossip about who his dad and how he got here and everything."

"Yeah," you said, and now he looked at you rather than off in the distance.

"Does that make sense?" Tyler asked, and you thought about it, and then nodded.  "I think we should just kinda keep putting stuff out there gradually with him.  'Cause you know you guys are coming to everything with me in Dallas."

"Yeah," you smiled at the way he was looking at you like he had a lifelong date, and then you just had this vision of taking Bentley to one of Tyler's games, of being surrounded with your baby, with Tyler too far away on the ice.

"Why do you look so freaked out at that?" Tyler asked, and you bit back a laugh.

"Nothing," you reassured him.  "It's just a lot, you know?  I never thought I'd be dating a professional hockey player."

"Well," Tyler said, grinning.  "I'm still the same guy you used to spend so much time hanging out with in this room, you know.  Smarter, richer, better looking.  But still the same guy."

You laughed at his expression, completely cocky but his eyes will soft for you.  "We'll just take it slow and figure it out, babe," Tyler reassured you, propping himself up even more.  "I think it'll be good for us, moving.  Like I know we're together all the time here.  But you and Bentley kinda already had a routine going.  And now we'll get to make our own routines."

  "Yeah?" you asked.

"Mhmmm.." Tyler answered, still looking at you like he has something on his mind.  "You did it again, you know."

"I did what?"

"You called me 'Daddy'," he said, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"What?  No, I didn't."

"Yeah, you did," he insisted.

"When?"

"In the pool," Tyler said, "You said 'go play with daddy' or something."

"Oh," you said, with recognition now.  "I was talking to Gerry."

"Since when do you call me 'Daddy' for the dogs?" Tyler laughed.  

"Since you've had dogs."

"No," Tyler said, his voice teasing, "That was always 'your dad'."

You laughed, your head moving back against the top of the chair, looking at Tyler's amused expression.  "What? You can call me 'Mama' and 'Mommy', but I can't call you 'Daddy'?"

"No, I didn't say that," Tyler said, his voice still light, "It's just different, that's all."

"I guess I kind of say it more when you're not there," you said.

"What do you mean?" Tyler asked.

"Like when you're gone and I have the boys, I tell them when I'm talking to Daddy on the phone, or like ask them if they miss you because Daddy's gonna be coming home soon."

You half expected Tyler to make fun of you, but he didn't, his gaze soft towards you and you would have gone over to kiss him or run your hand through his hair had you not had bottles attached to your chest.  

"Do you do that with Bentley?" he asked softly, and you smiled, nodding.

"Even more because he can understand more - or will be able to understand more -," you said, "Like when you went down to Dallas earlier this summer, we talked about how you were going golfing with Papa, and we looked at pictures of you playing hockey with the kids. And we counted down the days until you got home."

"I like that you do that," Tyler said simply.

"Well, I'll keep doing it," you said, looking at Tyler's eyes, which looked full of emotion, and you almost wanted to say you just hoped that you'd get to tell Bentley what Daddy was up to rather than Uncle Ty-Ty, until Tyler cleared his throat.

"You almost done?" Tyler asked, "We should go before the kid wakes up and realizes we left him."

You nodded, and now Tyler got up, coming over and pressing his lips to the top of your head.  "Maybe we can even swing by the baby aisle," he said, his voice wavering with laughter, even as he raised his eyebrows up and down, "'Cause I think we're almost out of butt cream."

"So romantic," you laughed.

"Yeah, I know," Tyler said with satisfaction, laughing as he pressed his lips to yours.

[mother-snake]

welcome to gravity falls!

(this is what i get for being in too many fandoms at once...)

tags: @idkanameatall @imma-potatoo @girl-with-many-fandoms warnings: swaring, drink abuse mention(?) janus angst words: 1173 next: n/a

-welcome to the mistery ‘s’hack-

He left… he actually left him?

He looked at where Virgil had been standing moments before… he watched as his son slammed the door behind. Shaking the apartment harshly. “he’ll come back,” Remus said, pulling him in into a tight hug as he stood there frozen, silent tears poured as he watched his pride leave. this… no. he closed his eyes. If this is what made Virgil happy… then. Yeah. He could be happy too… right?

“come on, he won’t be gone for too long. He will come back, I'm sure of it,” Remus grinned wildly, “that ass won’t stay a week with the fuckin lights!”

He let out a slight laugh at what his friend had said. the lights had always been at their necks when in high school, even after when they had gone their separate ways… it was no lie when he said that one of them had been bold enough to almost get him fired from his job... it had not been a good month from the start…

Now? They had taken his son, lied and deceived their way into taking him away and possibly never to be seen again. --

How long had he been struggling? Drink cans and bottles piled around the apartment. The eviction notice in hand. tears poured down his face as he picked at the sleeve of a cardigan. A small grumble filled his stomach.

He looked around the apartment. This had been his home for such a long time… now… this was it. he had nothing left. he had gone from having everything to not even being able to pay for his bills… “I'm sorry,” he whispered to himself as he looked over to a picture hung on the wall. a perfect family, in his mind at least… it had been stable enough for him. or well… he thought it was… now. He needed to find somewhere new… but where would he begin. He already handed in his work notice a week ago. His final pay check would last him only a week on the road.

Looking around the broken apartment a thought struck… maybe that would work? he could only hope.

--

He wasn’t sure how long he had been on the road for. A hastily packed bag had been thrown in the back and his wallet was running out of cash. He would need to find a place to settle down, and it would need to be soon.

He looked around for signs or directions He looked ahead with a grin as a water tower came into view, what looked like a… muffin? Was spray painted in red. a sign just in front read ‘welcome to gravity falls’ he knew he would need to spend the night here. The thick forest around felt calming. he hadn’t been on a camping trip… well. Ever.

A small smile crossed his face as the sun began to start setting. the drive didn’t take him too much longer. he stopped in front of a place that looked rather worse for wear. He wasn’t even sure how it was still standing in full honesty. He let out a yawn as he opened the door, grabbing the bobble of his wrist and pulling his hair up from its place on his shoulders.

He snapped his head over to the bushes as he heard a rustle. Eh. Most likely a wild animal. he closed the door and looked up at the building, getting a better view. There was a massive sigh that read’ the mister hack’… looking down to the ground, a giant red painted s laid off the floor… mystery shack? Sounded interesting.

He opened his wallet. He had enough spare, finger crossed this was going to be interesting. he closed the front car door and opened the back of the car, pulling out a jacket. Black with a small snake stitched into the bottom right of the zip.

No… it wasn’t worth thinking about. he slipped it on and locked up his car. The cold chill in the air sent a slight shiver down his spine. It didn’t help that the feeling of being watched.

The door opened with a small click; a bell rung above the door. The smell of mould was straight away noticeable. he stopped himself from turning back as he felt the warmth from inside. With his car heater broken, it would be the most he would get for a while.

“soos!” a voice called, “we’ve got a customer!” he looked over to see a red head walking in from the back.

A taller man walked in next, a red fez sat on his head and an eyepatch over his left eye. “yo, welcome to the mystery shack!”

“how much do tickets cost?” he asked, looking around at the very pricey merchandise on display. “todays a special day. No tours for now,” fez, most likely the soos red was talking about. “I see,” something caught his eye, “are you looking for a new handy man?” “yeah douge,” soos replied. “qualifications?” he asked. “none, if you want the job, your hired!” soos said throwing a top, “what’s your name?” “um, Janus. Are you sure about this?” “totally!” he cheered.

“welcome to the mystery shack, I'm Wendy dude,” plaid shirt said looking into a magazine from the desk.

Janus looked at them with a smile… maybe things would get better after all. he followed after the rather baby-faced man and looked around what he guessed was the back space. It looked homely. Nothing he was actually used to.

He was led up some stairs and towards what looked like an attic. Some noise was coming from inside. A boy and a girl from what he could guess. Must be some noise they dealt with.

But they didn’t get to the stairs before a rather old looking man walked out of the hall fallowed by another rather similar looking one. Twins, ah… this was going to be interesting.

“ah! Soos, you finally found a new handy man?” “yes Mr. pines, Janus this is the old boss,” Janus gave a small nod. Not really trusting himself to say anything.

“don’t worry Janus, this place may seem strange, but I assure you. wait until you see what else there is to discover outside,” the twin in a lab coat smirked, placing a six handed hand on his brother’s shoulder. “where’s he stayin’ soos?” Mr. Pines asked. “I'm thinking either with the twins or another spare room sir’s,”

The six handed twin looked at Janus a few times, “I think the kids would do,” he nodded before walking down the other way of the hall.

“twins?” Janus asked soos. “witch set?” soos laughed in response. “what’s that supposed to mean?”

He waited a few seconds before following soos up the stairs and to the attic’s door. Much to his own surprise the door burst open and soos was met with a tackle hug from something shiny. “what the hell have I gotten into?” Janus muttered horrified to himself.

[artificialqueens]

Lemon’s Misadventures in Dating, Chapter 2 (Lemon x Everyone) - Mermelada

(Formerly called The Tinder Chronicles)

A/N: I’m back back back again! Thanks again to everyone who left feedback and sent me lovely messages about the first chapter! As a reminder, this fic is set in a universe without Covid-19. Please remember to socially distance and avoid physical contact with people not in your immediate household or support bubble. The sooner we wipe out lil miss ‘rona, the better!

“Oh my god you went for the lemon drizzle cake, you have good taste! Although I already knew that ‘cause you picked me!”

If you had told Lemon yesterday that just 15 hours after downloading Tinder, she’d be on a date, she’d have probably laughed and cried simultaneously. But sometimes life has a habit of accelerating things. She’d matched with two girls in the space of an hour, so decided to try her luck and chat to them. While she had been left on read by Kiara, Kyne had replied to her generic opener of “hey cutie!” immediately. And again. And again. Even more surprising was when she found herself accepting the student’s offer to meet for coffee the next day. So here she was, sat opposite the bubbly younger girl, praying to any god who’d listen that she wasn’t about to be lured into a murderer’s lair.

Kyne, so far, had been very chatty. Incredibly chatty. She had shown absolutely no nerves at all about meeting a stranger from an app, immediately pulling Lemon into a hug and kissing her on the cheek. She launched into a one-sided conversation about the café they were going to, her class that morning, her messy roommate… and Lemon just tried her best to keep looking interested, even if she sometimes caught herself thinking about what she was going to have for dinner once she made it back home.

As Kyne took a bite of her muffin, Lemon took advantage of the lull to try and steer the conversation to something a bit more relevant to herself.

“Have you ever been to the Portuguese place around the corner from here? They do the best custard tarts, I used to go there to study and I’d somehow manage to eat five in a day!”

The Filipina looked at her through her furrowed brow, wiping a crumb from her lip with her knuckle. “Didn’t you do dance at college? What would you need to study for?”

Trying her hardest not to roll her eyes – she had had this conversation before, but it had never been put to her so curtly – Lemon sighed. She had decided a while ago that the date wasn’t going well due to Kyne’s apparent disinterest in anything but herself, and now her mocking tone was the icing on the cake. Nevertheless, she squeezed out a small, horizontal smile. “Obviously it was mostly practical work, but we had classes on dance history and theory, like different choreographers and schools, and quite a lot of anatomy and physiology.”

Lemon always tried to see the best in everyone, it made life so much easier when the positives were amplified. But it was becoming increasingly difficult when Kyne scoffed at her reply. “Yeah, but it’s not as if it’s real studying, is it? I probably could’ve passed the exam without taking the classes!” And just like that, she began on another tangent about how her Grade 9 science teacher would give her college-level homework for fun. Unfortunately for Lemon, she was far too polite – and Canadian – to think of an excuse to wind things up early.

Eventually, just an hour after they’d first met at the subway station, things seemed to come to their natural conclusion. Just as Lemon was wrapping her scarf around her neck, Kyne spoke up again. “Listen, Lemon, I’m sorry. I can tell you haven’t enjoyed this one bit, I’m really not good at social stuff.” For the first time that day, the brunette actually seemed sincere, which took Lemon completely off guard. Damn it, she cursed herself, why am I so soft? Look at those big, sad eyes, how could I be mad?

“It’s okay…” she began, but Kyne stopped her.

“No, seriously, shit, I panicked when I first saw you because you are just as gorgeous as your profile and I had no idea what to talk to you about, so I went into overdrive. I’m really sorry for wasting your afternoon.”

“Kyne, seriously, don’t worry. I’m totally new to this and would’ve had no idea what to talk to you about either.” Lemon’s inner voice was saying something completely different to her outside one, her sudden change of heart shocking herself. Where has this come from, you were desperate to escape a minute ago! Stop being so nice! Maybe she was just flattered by Kyne calling her gorgeous, maybe she was just a lonely lesbian who was desperate for any sort of spark. Whatever it was, she now wished she could stay a little bit longer.

Pulling on her coat, the younger girl subtly wet her lips, meeting Lemon’s eyes in an alluring gaze. “If you don’t have plans now, you could always come back to my apartment and I can make it up to you?”

Kyne’s forwardness should have surprised her, but in an odd way, she had expected this to happen: they did meet on an app, after all, isn’t that what most people use it for? Lemon quickly weighed up her options. They always say that the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, and judging by today, Kyne would definitely want me under her, so that might be fun… but then what if she lives in a dungeon and nobody ever sees me again? I’m not ready to be on a True Crime podcast… Glancing back across the table at the short girl in her zebra-print jacket, still watching her expectantly, she decided that she was genuine. Plus, she was so petite that Lemon could definitely take her down if she had to.

“Fuck it, why not?”

Kyne’s eyes crinkled as she grinned wildly. “Great news, because my roommate is working ‘til late and my vibrator died last night!”

The blonde couldn’t hold back a cackle at her companion’s eagerness, and for the first time, she felt somewhat at ease around her. “Perfect, just let me text my parents that I’ll be out late.”

“Oh, so she likes to take her time, duly noted!” sniggered Kyne, earning herself a light slap on the shoulder.

Fishing her phone out of her handbag to text her parents (and Jan, just in case), she noticed two bold notifications.

Congratulations! You have a new match!

You have received a message from Rita!

[dreamyjoons]

open house // jhs

Synopsis: your boyfriend Hoseok is stressed about running his first solo open house, and you’re determined to help him relax.

Genre/warnings: smut! pwp, established relationship, soft dom!Hobi, oral (m receiving), throatfucking, swallowing, lil rough, fingering, spanking, ring kink?, dirty talk, praise kink, orgasm denial, unprotected sex, swearing, pet names.

Words: 3.2k

A/N: finally putting out a Hoseok fic!! Let me know your thoughts. Enjoy! 🧡

You push open the front door the large house, the bright white walls almost blinding you in the morning light. The smell of fresh coffee and muffins drifted through the house, textbook techniques that your boyfriend was finally getting to put to use.

“Hoseok?” You call out, shutting the door behind you gently as you look around the empty space.

The house was new on the market, and when they had approached Hoseok about selling it for them he nearly passed out from excitement. Weeks of prep later and here you were, on the house’s first open day with buyers to arrive within the next hour.

When Hoseok had left that morning, he was as excitable as ever, a spring in each step as he prepared for the day ahead. That was, until you got. Frantic call half an hour ago saying that he needed your help to finish the house. Apparently the cleaners hadn’t fully done their job.

Fast movements can be heard from upstairs, and you see your boyfriend almost throw himself down the staircase in his blind panic as he races to you.

He barrels into you, yanking you in a tight hug. You sway with the impact, letting him cling on to you before you step away from him, checking that he was okay.

His muted yellow suit jacket that he was required to wear by his realtor company hung snugly over his shoulders as if it were tailor-made for him. Silver rings decorated his slender fingers, and his chestnut hair was silken and styled to damn near perfection. But his usually smiling lips were pulled into a nervous line.

“Thank you for coming, baby. I need your help.” He rushes, and you nod, taking in the serious glint in his soft eyes.

“What can I do Hobi?” You ask softly.

“Vacuum?” He asks cautiously, a small smile creeping onto his face. Despite your total distaste for vacuuming, you wanted to ease the stress your boyfriend was under, so you nod. He sags at your words, relief evident on his face.  

“Sure. Show me the tools.” You smile. He almost skips, locking his fingers with yours and dragging you to where the vacuum was kept.

You drag it out of the cupboard - kept stocked as part of the supplies left in the house to maintain it - and plug it in.

“The first people should be here in like forty-five minutes, that should be plenty of time.” He mutters, more to himself than you, but you nod anyway.

“It’s gonna be fine. You got this.” You tell him, snapping his attention back to you.

He gives you a wide heart-shaped smile and a kiss on the forehead before he skitters away, determined to finish his other checks.

You end up vacuuming the whole house, much to your distaste. But you did it for Hoseok so you kept quiet and cracked on. When you were finally done, you tucked the hoover back into the closet and went looking for Hoseok, mentally preparing for new tasks.

You find him in the empty master bedroom, pacing with a dark look on his face. You could see the nerves rolling off him in waves.

“Hobi, you doing alright?” You ask gently, making him snap his head towards you.

“Hmm? Yeah, yeah I’m okay.” He nods, giving you a small smile. You step up to him and weave your fingers with his, squeezing slightly.

“You’re gonna smash this, baby. You don’t need any other associate - you’re gonna sell the hell out of this house, and make a lot of people happy like you normally do.” You smile, letting your sincerity sink into each word.

“I know, I'm just… I dunno.” He stumbles, nervously bouncing on the spot. His fingers tapped on the back of your hand, and his eyes wouldn’t stop shooting around the room, searching for imperfections.

“You got it. What else can I do to help?” You ask, letting go of one of his hands to bring it to rest on his face.

His eyes snap to yours, his movements stilling.

“I mean… no, it’s dumb. It’s okay baby, I'll be fine.” He rambles, a blush creeping on his cheeks as he tears his eyes from you.

“No come on, what can I do to help you relax?”

“We could always… y’know.” He smirks, flicking his eyebrows up and down. You scoff, shaking your head at him.

“Here? In the house you're about to sell in like fifteen minutes?”

“What’s the matter? Don’t think you can do it in that time?” He asks cockily, and you’re stunned at how quickly his demeanour changed. It always turned you on how fast he switches, and he knew that, too.

“You know I can baby, but I don't think it’ll be a good idea to for potential buyers to see you with your dick down my throat.” You say dryly, but he gives you a dark chuckle, sliding his hand to knot his fingers in your hair.

“I don’t think I'd mind.”

“I think you would.” You smirk, eyebrow raised. He takes a minute to soak in your words before nodding.

He presses a small kiss to your lips before looking down at his watch. His forehead creases as he his worries slowly start to plague him once again, the lack of distraction bringing him back to reality.  

Rolling your eyes but with a giddy tingle running through you, you push him back against the wall, your hands resting on the waistband of his pressed pastel trousers.

“Wha-”

“Just shut up, before I change my mind.” You smirk, leaning forward to kiss along his jaw.

You move along to his lips, seizing them in a kiss. His threads one hand through your hair as he takes control, the other coming to rest on your ass, pulling you flush against him.

“We gotta be quick baby.” He says breathily between kisses, and you nod.

You hastily undress, pushing your jeans to the floor, shirt flying off, underwear dropped. You stood bare in front of him, whereas he only had his jacket thrown across the room and his trousers down slightly, length exposed. The contrast between you send shivers down your body. After an appraising look he’s back on you, pressing you to the wall.

His hands move quickly to your slit, running feather-light touches along you. You shiver slightly before you let your hand wander to his semi-hard length, running him through your hands to bring him to attention. He keens under your touch, a smile sliding onto his face. You drag your thumb over his tip, ghosting just over the little slit. He shivers, a light laugh falling from his lips. In retaliation he presses a harder finger between your legs, breezing across your clit and down through your wetness, the drag of his rings across your heat making you feel practically feral.

“You gonna open up for me, Y/N?” He practically purrs, and you obey. Widening your legs as you lean back into the wall, you press your hands behind you for support.

He runs a slender hand across your lower stomach, the cool of his rings biting into your warm skin. His hand stops lightly to flick over your clit, making you suck in a breath through your teeth. He barely touches you this time, teasing as he kisses along your jaw.

Almost without warning, his finger slides through your wetness before circling over your clit, selfish and rough. The wet noises you make bring heat flushing to your cheeks, but he loves it, placing bruising kisses across your skin.

“Hobi…” you whine, but he merely smirks into your neck, increasing the speed of his fingers at a mind-numbing pace.

His free hand slithers between your leg, gathering your wetness on his fingers before he gently begins to press one inside of you. You throw your head back and moan, and you hear him giggle.

“That’s my girl. Taking what I give you.” He whispers beside your ear before nibbling gently at your lobe.

You can feel your wetness dripping over his finger as he fucks it into you. Your hips roll off the wall as you move to hold onto his arms, but he tuts at you.

“No hands, baby.” You go to protest, but get cut off by a guttural moan that rips through you as his finger curls into your soft spot inside.

You slam your arms back to the wall, fingers scraping against the white paint for any kind of support. There was none, so you were left panting and moaning, completely under his control as his finger fills you.

He pauses for just a moment and you cry out in annoyance, only for two fingers to slide back inside you. Your head lulls back, the stretch making your groan, his rings occasionally grazing against your hole.

Pressing his body into yours, his hand rubbing your clit slips away to knead at a breast. With the hand of the fingers inside you, he slides a thumb up to brush wildly over your clit. The bite of his metal rings add an extra sensation, and soon you’re seeing stars. Using the wetness from his fingers, he rolls your pebbled nipple in his hand. The sensation of his vice grip on your breast and in your hole was too much.

“Hobi, I’m so close.” You whine, your breathing rapidly climbing.

“That’s my girl, pussy dripping on my fingers. God you’re so tight.” He whispers between kisses on your throat, your neck fully exposed to him.

You’re so close, teetering on the edge of your orgasm when his hand slips from you, leaving you needy and dripping. You stare at him, your mouth dropped and you core throbbing, crying out to cum.

“Hoseok? What the fuck-”

“Now now, that’s no way to get what you want, is it?” He smiles, pulling back to fix you with a smirk. “Besides, like you said, we haven’t got time.”

You frowned at him, your body highly sensitive and tingling at being left so close. He didn’t care, though - in fact he seemed to relish in it.

“Turn around baby, we don’t have long.”

You give him the dirtiest look you can muster, but he chuckles, grabbing your hips and pulling you against him, his hard length pressing into your stomach.

“You’re not defying me, are you?” He asks sweetly, but his voice drips with a command that you don’t want to disappoint.

“I was so close Hobi, I was gonna cum.” You whine. He smiles then, running a soothing hand across your forehead before sliding it down to your chin. He pulls you forward and pressed a soft kiss to your lips, tender and loving.

“Then do as you’re told baby. I’ll make you cum so hard you won’t be able to walk out of here. Now turn.” He growls, and extra hard grip of your ass to solidify his words.

You do as you’re told, turning your naked body away from his embrace. He presses your face against the wall, ass out, exposed before him. He runs a soothing hand over your ass, tracing the body he knows so well before he reels back and slaps your cheek. You gasp at the sting, buckling slightly against the wall. He rubs a soothing hand over the spot, the slight cooling of his rings messing with your head.

“Now, if you stop having a tantrum, I'll make it up to you.” He sighs, running his hands up your back and down again to grab your ass. “Show you and that soaking little pussy just how much I love you.”

Another slap on the other cheek, and you silence your gasp by biting your lip. He moans contentedly, letting his fingers dust over your reddening cheek.

“Are you gonna be good and help me get off baby?” He whispers into your back, pressing soft kisses along your spine as he lines himself up, running his tip in your wet slit. You almost growl in anticipation, the ghosting of his length across your clit too much to bear.

“Yes, yes Hobi.” You grunt, rolling your hips to get him to move faster. You knew there was a time crunch, but there was no way you would cut this short - you couldn’t.

You feel him beginning to push in, the graze sending your mind reeling. After an agonizingly slow drag, he finally bottoms out inside you, letting his length sit inside your pulsing walls. He lets out a hum, his fingers flexing on your soft skin as you both grow accustomed to each other. The calm before the storm. Slowly he begins to slide back out, almost fully, before he drives home hard, the force pressing you harder against the wall.

You brace yourself and groan at the impact, his tip gliding through your wet core as he begins to work himself up, the snap of his hips getting harder and harder.

He grabs a handful of your hair for stability, his fingers digging into your hips as he thrusts. The mixture of moans and breathing is pure sin, your whines and his grunts bouncing off the walls.

“So good, so good to me Y/N. Taking my dick all the way.” he grunts, an endless spew of words falling from his lips.

When he could no longer form coherent sentences, he dips his head to your shoulder, biting as his hips reach a brutal pace. You were already starting to get sore, the hardness of the wall and the pace that Hoseok was fucking into you was making your legs shake, but it felt so good you couldn’t do anything but whine for him.

The slapping of your bodies barely covers your moans, the drag of Hoseok’s length hitting you just right leading to all sorts of noises from you. He laughs breathlessly into your skin, his fast pace rocking you both higher and higher towards your edge.

“I’m getting so close baby.” He practically whines, And you nod dumbly, feeling yourself slipping closer to the edge too. He snakes his hand from you hip to your clit, ringed knuckles barely brushing the sensitive bud.

Your impending moan is cut off by the sound of a knock downstairs causing Hoseok’s hips to completely still, his length fully sheathed inside you. The knocking continues, causing him to swear under his breath.

His slides out from you, and you bite your lip to keep from whining at his absence, the teetering orgasm rapidly vanishing. Your core throbs, your clit aching for the job to be finished, to finally get your orgasm. He looks down between you, His erection still full and red, panic wild in his face. He was freaking out about having to hide it, you could tell.

You knew you had to act fast.

You turn to face him and sink to your knees, pumping his length slightly before running your tongue up his length. His eyes blow wide as he looks down at you, his gasp caught in his throat.

“Y/N-”

“This is what you wanted, right?” you wink, and he shuts his eyes tight, swearing. “Just go for it Hobi, I can take it. Just be quick.”

His eyes fly open to look at you, double checking he’d heard correctly.

“Fuck me.” You moan, eyes latching on to his.

He simply nods, so you open your mouth and taking him down as far as you can go. He lets out a breathy whine, his length already throbbing in your warm mouth.

You both hear the front door open, and the first guests calling out for anyone.

“I’ll be down in just a moment!” He cries, before locking eyes with you and giving you a smirk.

He draws his hips back and begins thrusting down your throat, his fingers knotting in your hair as he uses your mouth. You relax your throat as much as you can, simply focusing on your breathing and angling your tongue so that it hits the vein on the underside of his cock.

“Yes baby, so dirty for me, such a good girl letting me use your mouth like this. Fuck, so close...” he whispers, an endless ramble of praise that you adore.

You can tell he’s close by how hard his hips stutter, and you ignore the water that starts streaming from your eyes as apply extra pressure with your mouth, sucking as he thrusts. You can hear the footsteps downstairs, the thought of you and Hoseok being caught making this all the more hotter.  He obviously felt it too, his eyes fluttering closed as he thrusts into the back of your throat. Your core was soaked, dripping down your leg desperate for the release you so clearly needed. But this was about your boyfriend - you will get repayment later. That, or payback.

He mutters your name in warning before hot liquid gushes out of him, coating your mouth and forcing its way down your throat. You hold back a cough, swallowing the white liquid as his hips stagger to a stop. His body slackens above you, completely still but for the gently stroking on the back of your head.

He pulls his length out of your mouth and help you wobble to your feet, a smile on your lips despite the burn in the corners. You wipe away a drip that had spilled out of the corner of your mouth, and having nowhere to put it you simply lick it off your finger, making him groan once more.  He places a quick kiss to your lips as he hastily zips up his trousers and tucks in his shirt. He steps away from you and throws on his jacket, sending you a quick wink and walking to the door.

“I’ll pay you back with at least three orgasms tonight baby, I promise.” He smiles, and you roll your eyes.

“Good luck Hobi.” You whisper. He grins at you, your favourite sunshine smile before he finally dips out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

You hear him cheerily greet the people downstairs, and holding back a snigger, you hastily redress yourself. Pressing your ear to the door to check that the coast was clear, you open it and sneak down the stairs - careful to avoid making any noise. With one final check, you bolt to the door, but not without casting as eye back through the house.

You lock eyes with Hoseok over the shoulders of the couple in the room beside you, and you throw him a quick wink. He giggles and hides it subtly behind his hand, passing it off as a cough. You bite your lip and sneak out, letting the door shut quietly behind you.

As you make your way to your car out front, you begin to think of how you were going to claim those orgasms later. Your throat was already feeling a little sore, and you could feel yourself soaking through your panties - he definitely owed you.

[winterromanov]

we will grow taller together - bucky x reader

PART FOUR - YOU CAN’T DO NOTHING ON THANKSGIVING

parts: masterlist

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

extract: “Bullshit. Sorry. Not having it.” You focus, expression serious, so he knows you mean it. “James, you work a full time job to provide for her as her only parent. It’s going to take time for things to fall into place, and blaming yourself isn’t going to help anyone. You do what you have to do—the only thing you can do. Until you met me.”

genre: nanny x single father!au

taglist: @blindedbyyourgrace17 @verygraphicink @chubby-dumplin @igotkatiepowers @welcome-to-my-studylife @bi-bi-bi-bisexualz @mywinterwolf @mychemicalimagines @sunmoonandbucky @missdragon-1 @s-0-ldat @jitterbuck @ellaenchanted91 @eversinceeharry @grumpylittledoctor @captainmaka @andreagf956 @damnnlukee @jenlrose @booktease21 @nerdy-bookworm-1998 @eves-library @heirofashandfireheart (still open, send an ask/reply to be added)

You’ve not always known you were good with children. You’d actually had very little to do with them until your mom got sick about ten or so years ago, leaving you almost solely in charge of your seven (at the time) year old sister. Your dad was constantly toting to and from the hospital and while you did have other relatives, it was just simpler to leave her with you. Consequently, you’d learnt a lot of difficult life lessons in the confusing, horrifying months after the diagnosis. Mostly in how to deal with a little girl who didn’t understand her mom was probably dying.

Fortunately, your mom went through treatment and meds and enough appointments to block out whole months in red on the family calendar, and you didn’t have to have that nightmare situation of grieving yourself whilst teaching your little sister what grief meant. The pain still sits in your heart—watching your mom almost wither away, your little sister’s chaotic tears—but you’d got through it. Everything turned out just fine.

Clover Barnes does not have that privilege, but you see what could have happened to your own family all those years ago. What you’d prepared for. You still have the remnants of a disaster plan in your back pocket, what to do if a unit goes nuclear. Sure, you didn’t expect you’d ever need it again, but you have a feeling it might come in useful when dealing with James and Clover Barnes.

“So,” James says, leaning back in his chair, “What happens now?”

It’s now only a few days before Thanksgiving, but after Steve and Nat’s party you had both decided to meet as soon as possible to discuss the future. He’d messaged you, asking if it was okay to meet at a Starbucks not far from his apartment while Clover was at his sister’s. The scene from the bathroom still agonisingly fresh in your mind, you’d agreed, and now you’re sat in a booth near the condensation-fogged window clutching a hot chocolate and a pumpkin spice muffin halved between you.

“What do you want to happen now?” you ask, throwing the question back at him. “What exactly did Steve suggest to you, you know—when he brought it up. What I could do for you.”

“Ah…” James replies, thinking, running a hand across the side of his face. He’d shaved, since the party. The stubble-marked cheeks were now smooth. He looks younger. “I guess we should probably look more into the professional side of things, but… I just need someone to help look after Clover. It’s no good, me tossing her between friends and relatives and people I barely know in my building while I’m working. She hates it. It’s why she plays up so much when she’s not with Becca or Steve and Nat. She trusts nobody. And it’s my fault.”

“If I’m going to work for you, Barnes, you’re going to have to stop blaming yourself for everything. Otherwise I’ll quit.”

He smirks a little at that, bringing the mug of his coffee to his lips. “You’re quitting before you’ve even started? Promising. Blaming myself for how my daughter feels is kinda my job, (Y/N).”

“Bullshit. Sorry. Not having it.” You focus, expression serious, so he knows you mean it. “James, you work a full time job to provide for her as her only parent. It’s going to take time for things to fall into place, and blaming yourself isn’t going to help anyone. You do what you have to do—the only thing you can do. Until you met me.”

James is quiet, looking out the clouded window for a moment or two. A flurry of yellow cabs blur past. The sound of New York. Eventually, he sighs, looking over at you. “Damn. It’s really frustrating that Steve is always right, right?”

“You’ll come to realise that Steve isn’t the only one who’s always right.” You rummage round in the backpack placed next to you on the chair, producing a notebook and pen. “But I meant what I said. I’m here. I’m here for as long as you want me—Steve was also right about how much I hate my job, by the way. I’d much rather look after your daughter. She sounds a lot more fun.”

It looks as if James might make a joke out of that, something along the lines of when she’s not screaming the place down she is, but his love for her is so beautifully unconditional he can’t seem to form the words. He doesn’t want to joke about how much Clover means to him. You can see it in the way his jaw is pressed in a pensive half-smile, the way his shoulders are set. He’s here, speaking to you, because he loves that kid so fucking much.

You flick through your notebook until you come across a bullet-pointed list you’d scrawled down last night when you couldn’t sleep. You wordlessly push it across it to him, and he quizzically picks it up, scanning each carefully crafted statement.

“I jotted down a few potential ways I could be useful. If there’s any you don’t like, or one’s you want to add, fire away. I just thought it would be easier to figure it out that way, rather than us two just blindly rambling about the void.”

-

(Y/N)’s Wildly Long List of (Potential) Duties for Clover (and James) Barnes

·       Take/pick up Clover from school on days that James is working

·       Prepare and cook Clover (and James?)’s meals

·       Watch Clover while James is working or grading papers

·       Help Clover with her homework when James is unable to (n.b. – I’m pretty smart so should be able to do this.)

·       Could also take Clover on Fun Educational (or Non Educational) Outings when James is busy (museums, parks, etc)

·       Help put Clover to bed when James is working late

·       Could teach the ins and outs of basic level philosophy if Clover is interested

·       Do any household cleaning, washing, laundry

·       Anything else James sees appropriate

-

“(Y/N)…” James eventually says, a curiously pained look crossing his features. “This would all—this would all be amazing. Perfect, even. But I can’t… I can’t let you do our laundry, or make our meals. I should be doing all of this myself. I should be capable of at least that.”

“I’m not saying you’re not capable, James. I’ve never said that.” You smile tries to be affirming. “I’m trying to make things easier for the both of you and when things are easier, we can change the agreement. But if you really don’t want me to, I won’t.”

He mulls it over for a while, chewing his bottom lip. He knows this will make his life infinitely easier for him, because you’ve heard from Steve that Clover has her dinner at Becca’s house or his house and James is not the most talented of cooks. Having Clover eat in her own apartment at a set time will guide her into a routine that James should be able to slide into too, eventually. It’s one step closer to her feeling more settled. In learning to trust the solidity of her surroundings—no-one is going anywhere.

“No. I do. I do. This is for the best. Because I say—I say I should be capable, but I’m not. I’m really fucking not.”

You’re reminded of a moment stood outside an open bedroom door, a child sleeping soundly from within. James’ hand feels just as rough in your own as it did then. Just as tense. “Like I said. It’ll come.”

-

The agreement on what exactly being employed by the Barnes family entails is fairly easy. Aside from your list, James is fairly keen on just taking your lead and seeing what happens. Actually moving out of your apartment and into someone else’s is more difficult. This is an act of at least semi-permanence. This is committing to a total change of career. If you can call whatever this is a career.

(Handing in your notice at Vormir Coffee is virtually liberating, however. Your boss near begs you to stay—because you’re the only one insane enough to accept such ridiculous shift patterns—but when you confirm that no, adding a dollar onto your pay isn’t going to convince you to forget your resignation, he doesn’t even want you to work out a notice. You’ll get your last wages at the end of the month but you are not to set foot in his establishment again. Ah, well. You’re not going to be losing sleep about that.)

The move is settled for the Monday following Thanksgiving. You spend the remaining days in your scummy rental place packing up the few belongings you’ve brought over from your family home in California, wondering if you should bother saying goodbye to the mildew spattered along the shower curtain or the mouse that lives behind your television.

You do worry about how James is going to negotiate your moving in—and your place in her life—to Clover. She’s been through enough change. This might just tip her over the edge. But you remember the way she looked at you through her tears on the bathroom floor, and her blind trust in you for those few minutes.

For some reason, you don’t think Clover is going to completely reject you as, for want of a better word, her carer. There is something in you that opened her up, even if she didn’t quite realise what was going on.

Also—at least packing gives you something to do whilst everyone else is enjoying the holiday.

“I never asked,” Bucky says, in one of your many phone calls leading up to your arrival, “What are you doing Thanksgiving?”

You snort, your phone clamped between your ear and your shoulder, as you try and figure out which books should go to charity and which are coming with you. Unsurprisingly, your charity pile is desperately small. “Absolutely nothing at all.”

“What? Nothing? You can’t be doing nothing on Thanksgiving!”

“I can, and I am.”

“Sorry if I’m prying where I’m not wanted, but—I was under the impression you were close to your family. Steve said you and your sister speak constantly.”

Just as he says that, your eyes settle on a metallic, gold photo frame with hand-painted birds on it on the shelf above the television: a gift, from your sister, displaying a photo of the two of you on vacation three years ago. You’re both grinning, sun-kissed and carefree and kind of beautiful. You smile, but everything about it is so awfully sad. “We do. It just couldn’t work out this year, with me all the way over here. It’s a shame, but not a lot I can do about it.”

You hear him hum on the other end of your line. “Well. You could spend Thanksgiving with us.”

“What? With you and Clover? Haven’t you both got family?”

“Not a whole lot, actually. Becca has been invited to her girlfriend’s and I wasn’t going to make her miss out on that. Also didn’t want to intrude on Steve and Nat, so… We’re kind of stranded, too. And I have no idea how to cook a turkey.”

Your smile is a little more genuine at the thought of him trying to wrestle a massive bird into his oven with absolutely no direction on what to do with it next. “It’s a good job you’ve got me, then.”

“Funny. You say that a lot.”

“Only because it’s true, James. I can finally showcase my culinary expertise.”

“We both look forward to it,” he says, then a pause, “What exactly do you need to buy for Thanksgiving dinner, anyway?”

You roll your eyes at your wall, still grinning. “Relax, moron. I’ll make a list, you bring your wallet, and I’ll meet you at the grocery store tomorrow morning before all the good shit is gone.”

He laughs, muffled and disjointed down the phone-line. “Okay. Agreed. I’ll see you then.”

“See you then, James.”

You hang up first, holding the phone in your hand for a second, before promptly logging in to your laptop and googling Thanksgiving Menu Ideas. You’ve got to make this one special.

[tactickle]

Hi there! Got any kiribaku headcanons for bnha?

i’m very weak for kiribaku… you got me.. they got this super slow burn friendship going on like holy fuck is it killing me. let them be stupid in love. kirishima is my muffin okay and bakugou is such a cutie pie too but in a more fussy puff your cheeks out way (i mean lowkey a demon but he’s so.. cute. he’s shorty chub face over there like calm down creampuff).

so.. They dating. it’s a weird relationship without a legit label but they’re romantic in their own ways. kirishima is very good at expressing affection. he initiates everything cause bakugou deems it weak to indulge in any cute activities. unless kirishima starts it and now he can call it a contest.

kirishima likes physical contact quite a bit for starters. the first sight of any tickles started up when kirishima thought it’d be funny to just blow a raspberry to bakugou’s cheek while he was just chilling. and he was greeted with a smack and a scream like “GET OFF ME” which kirishima giggled at and was like alright alright omg sorry bud! didn’t mean to scare you!

but it leaves off cold for a bit. until one day kirishima offers bakugou a massage. he’s talking about how baku needs it and it’d feel great he promises. baku’s all, sure whatever i don’t care. cause! tickling doesn’t even cross his mind at all like he doesn’t even wonder.

so, they get in bakugou’s room when they have any days off and kirishima is proud of his massage skills and ready to get to work ((also lowkey baku’s mom is like…. ya made a friend. How tho)) but yeah! they’re alone and it takes baku a year to agree to lay down on his stomach on the bed and be vulnerable and let kirishima work on his back. just cause they’ve had a couple kissy sessions doesn’t mean it isn’t awkward as hell still.

btw they’ll have weird romantic confession moments like real late at night for some reason aka bakugou yelling out and swearing while kirishima is more timid and is trying to declare his love passionately but can’t quite do it right.

but back to it. kirishima is real good and bakugou can’t deny it. he’s good at working bakugou’s shoulders into mush, so much so that he’s beginning to drift in and out of a nice nap. and while dealing with all the knots baku has, he can be rough with kneading. so far so good, until kirishima decides the next area to massage at is bakugou’s lower back. he’s like oh he’s not as tense here so i’ll ease up the pressure. and the massaging suddenly feels a lot more like ticklish prodding.

like fucking magic, bakugou shakes out of his nap and starts struggling and yelling wildly like HEY HEY SHITHEAD LET GO in that way that he does. and kirishima being a sweetheart is like augh fuck sorry did that hurt? here hold on how about this? and he tries rubbing small circles down his lower back instead and bakugou makes a bunch of odd choking noises and twists and throws kirishima off of him and onto the bed to his side.

now cue all the “what the fuck did you think you were doing” type statements. and kirishima is dumbfounded. he doesn’t know what he did. but he realizes it when he looks up to see bakugou’s disheveled hair and red cheeks and he starts recalling all the weird noises he was making and the way he was squirming like a kid. he just rubs the back of his head goes “ohhhhhhh. hey, sorry was i tickling you? didn’t mean to, man!”

and the quickest response of “no you weren’t, and i’m not” comes right out of baku’s mouth. and kirishima’s thinking to himself like uh.. i didn’t ask if he was ticklish so what’s with the defensive ‘i’m not’ comment?? so now he has 2 options. to drop the convo or unintentionally tease bakugou by trying to communicate. and he goes with the second one.

kirishima has both of his hands up to let baku know he doesn’t mean anything and goes “no need to be embarrassed, like, everyone is ticklish. i am too.. my underarms are off limits i understand don’t worry" and baku’s all “… i didn’t ask and i SAID I’M NOT get it through your thick skull asshole” and this is the exact personality kirishima dated him for, he thinks it’s cute so he’s like “alright alright whateverrr just lay back down” and bakugou REFUSES

and cue the “oh why, are you afraid i’m gonna tickle you???” and bakugou is so bullshit right now he’s like “I’LL KILL YOU” and it doesn’t end up in a tickle fight yet it’s more of a bakugou is just consistently slapping laughing kirishima. plus kirishima doesn’t even end up starting it, like a week later baku does. they’re wicked slow burn chic.

so.. when the tickle fight first starts, it’s cause kirishima has a nightmare while he’s sleeping in baku’s room. he wakes up super upset and he’s all insecure. when he shoots out of bed he’s already crying and it ends up waking bakugou up. at first he’s like “what the HELL it is 1AM lay back down STUPID” and kirishima turns around like HHHAAHA it’s nothing but he’s sniffling super hard and bakugou swallows his pride for his fuckin bf for once to try and cheer him up, or do anything really.

and he’s like uhh uh oh shit what do i do and he’s running through all the things kiri does for him when he’s out of whack. and he thinks of something. more than he’d like to admit, the cheek raspberries kiri always does are kinda… well.. fun. so bakugou grabs kiri by the shoulder and pecks his cheek. and then after a couple of seconds he blows a huge raspberry.

and kirishima makes the most pleased sounding screech. he’s giggling like W-WHAT OH MY GOD?? in just total awe. and tears are streaming down his face from before still. and bakugou is like aight it keeps making him smile just a couple more blows. but like, he’s having fun. and the next thing he knows he thinks back to their earlier convo where kirishima mentioned his underarms. so he stops the kisses and hooks his fingers under kirishima’s arms and squeezes a bunch of times.

now, kirishima was gonna try and tickle bakugou at one point but never in his life did he think bakugou would stoop this low. he’s like “aaAAH you’re cheating!!” and he’s still recovering from crying and kind of snorting. he falls back and basically crushes baku but he doesn’t care like as long as kirishima isn’t crying anymore. and ngl he really is enjoying this stupid play fight. he’s all smug and proud of himself as kirishima rolls around trying to get baku’s fingers out of his armpits and he’s like “bakugouUUUUU!!!!!! MERCY” and dying.

bakugou does finally stop and kirishima is still laying on baku’s lap and panting like a dog. but he has a big smile on his face. and bakugou goes “–alright. now shut up will you” and plops back down thinking it’s OVER.

when kirishima finally recovers he snuggles up closer than ever and gives bakugou his fav type of kisses, the ones that are like just little pecks on the corners of his mouth. and we all know… that kirishima is a sweet boy so of course he’s like “AAA thank you for all the love i love you so much you’re so good to me” and bakugou is like “!! FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE SLEEP ALREADY”

and kirishima just laughs and is like “god i can’t believe you TICKLED me, you’re going soft dude i thought you were gonna blow me up instead” and after he finishes his sentence he scratches at bakugou’s tummy a couple times to punctuate. kirishima isn’t necessarily trying to start shit he’s kinda like that dude who tasers his friends for fun y’know. and baku yelps and immediately grabs kirishima’s wrist and grips it SO HARD.

he’s like “STOP” but kirishima is like “aw come on you started it” and bakugou hates to admit it but he’s super weak to affection so he feels like mush but he’s so determined not to lose his attitude. but he’s not doing so well. he’s turning into a lovesick teenager. 

and all of a sudden bakugou’s having flashbacks to all the times his mom used to tickle the hell outta him for being too much of a brat. and how he… never really did so hot with tickles. he is SO fucked rn. cause now kirishima is using a syrupy voice like “what’s the matter?” like OVERLY syrupy like he’s talking to a grumpy kid (well i mean) and bakugou is like, 100% tryna get out of those blankets.

luckily for bakugou he has both of kirishima’s wrists in both his hands, so it’s kinda like a deadlock moment. but, kirishima has this moment of bravery and even though they’re still super awkward with romance he goes in for some neck kisses. but not firm ones…… the dastardly soft ticklish kisses. cause kiri is so desperate to make bakugou laugh. and it WORKS cause now baku tries to let go of kiri’s wrists and back off but kiri just interlocks their fingers tight so he can keep kissing.

BAKUGOU IS SO OFF HIS GAME ATM. cause he keeps trying to threaten kiri but his voice keeps going all weird and giggles are occasionally pouring out of his mouth as he’s DESPERATELY fighting against the tickling. bakugou keeps going “STOP” and growling and kirishima’s like “whaaaaa why can’t i tickle you come on let me it’s fun” and he pretends to stop but then a second later he dives under the covers and goes for his belly. and ohh my god here we go

it’s a mess of constricting blankets and baku trying to kick them off so he can make an attempt at escape. and he’s also trying to grab kirishima but can’t really find him like he’s aware of where he is but he keeps moving and is under a comforter and he can’t grab him correctly. and he’s really ticklish okay so he starts laughing really damn loudly. his laugh is a little rugged and concerned sounding just cause he’s a baby. and he’s always frustrated so he yells the whole time. but, not quite as loud and boisterous as kirishima’s was, it’s more of a screaming squeal for help rather.

but he stops kinda quickly! and honestly bakugou feels kinda lost for a second like he realizes he’s stupid in love to let this happen and he’s in a daze. kirishima comes up and is like “see, wasn’t so bad” and starts with the kissing again but bakugou’s like “okay it’s somewhere in the morning idk when and i’m out of breath you dumbass” and kirishima’s like “HHAH… you right.. can we still hug” and bakugou just turns over like “whatever i’m sleeping” so passively letting kiri snug him.

this is long as FUCK but here it is to match the NUMBER OF REQUESTS kiribaku is real popular! ❤ thanks to everyone who asked!

[bevioletskies]

20 questions [7/20]

characters: peter/gamora, guardians-centric

fandom: avengers academy/marvel cinematic universe

summary: wasp has a new competition in store for the students of avengers academy, and there’s money involved. so obviously, peter and gamora have to pretend to be a couple in order to win. wait, what?

chapter preview: there’s a proposal, a child, and a kiss. yes, in that order.

word count: 4627 | total word count: 118k

a/n: i’m nearly done writing this giant of a fic (there’s a LOT more after this, trust me) but chapters seven and eight are probably my favourites, simply for being fluffy as HECK. that being said, warning for the slightest allusion to dub-con that didn't actually happen.

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The insistent buzzing of an AC system - the honking of horns - the vague smell of still-warm tomato sauce and cheese - the faint smell of deodorant and medical equipment? -

Peter shot up once again in confusion, looking around wildly before realizing the scent of medical equipment was probably because of the girl lying next to him, clutching at the bandage on a small cut on her arm from her training session with Nebula yesterday. It was already stitching itself up, but Nebula seemed to have gone at such an angle that had left Gamora’s muscles to repair themselves as well. Despite being asleep, she looked as if she were deep in thought, her brow furrowed, arms wrapped protectively around her stomach, knees slightly bent, as if she were ready to spring up at any moment. She’d moved much closer in the night, neatly tucked against his shoulder like she belonged there.

He rolled over to grab his phone off the nightstand before he could think about it for too long. 10 AM - whoa, they had slept in way past their usual call-time. It was probably a good thing, though - the week had weighed heavily on them, what with the buildup of work, and of course, the funeral rattling even the toughest of students. Still, it was probably time to wake her up.

“Gamora,” Peter whispered. “Hey, we should grab some breakfast and go on that supply run now.”

Her eyes flickered open slowly, large and dark, considering. “Ok,” she hummed, her voice hoarse with sleep. “What are we eating?”

“Free food downstairs, of course,” he said, sitting up a little straighter. She looked a little wary at the way he was hovering so closely. “It’s kind of late, so I was just gonna grab a muffin and some coffee.”

She glanced over at the clock and let out a panicked cry. “Quill! Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

He held up his hands defensively. “Hey, I just woke up, too. This bed is nicer than the ones on the Milano and in the dorms.”

“Maybe that should be one of our expenses from the prize money,” Gamora yawned, rubbing absent-mindedly at her eyes. “Mattresses for the Milano that don’t remind me of Sanctuary.” Peter winced slightly at that - Gamora had only sparingly told stories of her time with Thanos, but he remembered her talk of sleepless nights on beds of rock and debris.

They moved around the room in companionable silence, brushing their teeth, getting changed, and packing a small bag for the day (“It’s not a purse, it’s a knapsack,” Peter insisted as Gamora tucked her own few belongings into her utility belt). The breakfast room was thankfully mostly empty, aside from a sweet elderly couple who got excited upon seeing them and started babbling away about the Incident (“We weren’t even on Terra yet, why are they thanking us?” “Just smile and nod, Gamora.”).

“And your hair, it’s so beautiful,” the woman said, her eyes twinkling. “You are a vision, my dear.”

Gamora looked taken aback at being referred to in such a manner, at first thinking the woman was confusing her for the actual Vision. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you,” she said with a gentle smile. “It was lovely to meet you both.”

After they left the hotel and got into the car, Peter commented, “You are getting pretty good with people now. I mean, really, I could trust you to handle civilians in dangerous situations more than anyone else. Except maybe Mantis, if they’re like, super scared.”

“You already leave Mantis to handle civilians,” she reminded him. “Unless there are beautiful women involved.”

“Sometimes, a beautiful woman wants a good-looking guy to tell her everything’s gonna be okay,” he boasted, and Gamora groaned.

“You haven’t even started the engine yet, and I already want to get out,” she sighed. “Just start the car, Quill.”

______

They arrived at the SHIELD base twenty minutes later, Academy passes at the ready. The building was nondescript - fully glass exterior, an underground parking lot that led out onto the street, looking like any other office building in any number of cities. People were aware of SHIELD having headquarters on the Academy campus, but SHIELD wisely knew that civilians would be more nervous knowing that there was another building among them, storing secrets that would even make Natasha’s head spin.

They checked in at the front desk with someone that Peter decided to refer to as “Generic Good-Looking SHIELD Agent #5” in his head, a tall, slim-framed man in his 20s with a stylish undercut and a jawline that could cut glass. The man was looking at Gamora’s ID card for a little too long. Peter was about to call the guy out for his rudeness (he’d witnessed some pretty hostile behaviour towards Gamora and other non-Terran students from SHIELD agents before) until he looked up at her with an oddly...amorous light in his eyes.

“Is this your first time here, Miss Gamora? Don’t think I’ve seen you before,” he said, his voice slightly deeper than it had been fifteen seconds ago.

Gamora seemed unbothered by this. “I’m here every four months with Quill. Maybe you just weren’t working on those days.”

“I definitely would’ve remembered you,” the receptionist nodded, agreeing with some statement she had never made. He stood, making sure to smooth his hands down over his uniform as if to brush away creases that didn’t exist. The man then reached over as if to guide Gamora, his hand hovering near the small of her back. “If you’ll follow me over here through the security check - ”

Peter groaned. “Dude, you’re so not subtle.”

The man paused in his overly-salacious speech, dropping his arm. “I’m sorry, Mister Quill, I don’t follow.”

“Can we get another agent to perform the security check on my girlfriend instead?”

Gamora turned to look at Peter, then back at Generic Good-Looking SHIELD Agent #5. Her hand went to the blade tucked into her vest, though she didn’t move to unsheath it. “Were you about to take advantage of me?” she said, her voice dangerously low.

“I - no, Miss Gamora, I - ” Number Five (Peter couldn’t be bothered with the full title or an acronym at this point) turned to look at Peter pleadingly. “Mister Quill, I promise that’s not - ”

“Don’t look at me, man. It’s her you should be worried about,” he said, relaxed now that Gamora had understood what was going on.

Petrified, Number Five moved to press a button on his monitor. “Can we get another agent down to reception, please?”

After passing through security (in which Peter gave Number Five a sarcastic wave goodbye), Gamora reached over to grab Peter’s hand, squeezing it. “You are still not supposed to protect me,” she said. “I doubt he meant much harm. But I’m grateful for it. Thank you.”

“He would’ve touched you without your permission,” Peter shrugged abashedly. “That’s not a cool thing to do.”

They were interrupted by another agent, gesturing for them to follow her to the armory. The three walked in silence, though Gamora held Peter’s hand the rest of the way, telling herself that it was because their fake relationship had to extend past the confines of the campus, and not because she had already gotten so used to the weight of his fingers tangled with hers.

______

After being given the usual droning speech about how to write up their own invoices for the inventory they took, to not touch any of the triggers on any of the weapons, and to be careful not to blow anything up, the agent left them alone, though not before pointing at the plethora of security cameras in a threatening manner.

“We’ve been here so many times,” Peter complained after she left. “She should know by now we’re only here for special batteries. I mean, seriously, they really should transport some of this stuff back to base on campus so we don’t have to come here so often.”

“At least we get a bit of a vacation out of it this time,” Gamora said, sitting on the floor in front of the shelf of energy-blast casings. “Maybe we should do this again, instead of just driving in for an afternoon like we usually do.”

“Like a team thing, or a you-and-me thing?” She turned to look at him, but he was looking down at his blasters, inspecting one of the dials intently, though she knew they were perfectly fine.

“I’m fine with either, but I think I’d prefer if we were alone,” she said softly, watching as Peter blushed and turned away to busy himself at another shelf full of weapons they definitely didn’t need. Wisely, she decided not to comment. “Three boxes of these, correct?”

Peter shook himself a little and tucked his blasters away. “Yeah. And then we need some more of that special liquid metal for Rocket’s newest BFGs - yeah, those vials over there - and Pepper told me there’s some new automatic blade sharpeners that I thought you and Drax could try...”

______

An hour later, they were on the road again (but not before Peter slid his arm around Gamora’s waist and winked at Number Five on the way out), this time to a Wal-Mart to get non-lethal supplies. Gamora did her best to ignore the stares of people who caught glimpses of her, and Peter did his best not to gawk at seeing her in terrible fluorescent lighting. It was hard to remember she was the deadliest woman in the galaxy when she was wearing an “I <3 NY” cap, standing next to a giant cage filled with people-sized teddy bears. To keep her distracted from one particular middle-aged woman who was giving her the hairy eyeball, Peter kept up a running commentary as they walked around, pushing their grocery cart full of random household goods.

“We should really lecture Groot about not making nests out of our pillows because these things are freaking expensive. Or maybe just talk to Pepper about keeping these in stock somewhere on campus.”

“Mantis’s sweet tooth is really gonna run us dry - I mean, the amount of Twizzlers she eats is ridiculous and her teeth are gonna fall out someday - ”

“Oh, hey, it’s the dollar bin section, we should look at the movies!”

They left with a frankly excessive amount of Twizzlers and DVDs among their other necessary items, returning to the hotel to freshen up and have lunch before heading out for the rest of the day. As they got changed, Gamora felt foreign in Janet’s clothes, this time wearing a cold-shoulder blouse and a pair of palazzos that Mantis had dug out of her closet. “It will be good for the park and the theatre,” she had said eagerly. Peter also looked uncomfortable in a red dress shirt and dark slacks, which were particularly tight.

“Oh, damn,” he sighed. “These pants are like a cheap hotel.” She blinked at him. “Y’know. No ball room?”

“That was a terrible joke and you should be ashamed,” Gamora said dryly, surprising another laugh out of Peter. “Let’s go.”

Mantis had directed the two towards Shakespeare Park, citing it as a particularly romantic spot that would be good for photos. Gamora was uncertain about how romantic it would be - after all, she and Peter smelled like the worst combination of their greasy McDonald’s lunch and motor oil, and it was blisteringly hot for early summer, causing him to immediately sweat upon getting out of the car. By the time they made it to the entrance of the park, he had already thrown his leather jacket back on to hide his armpit stains.

People were looking at them, but in a way that suggested they’d seen it all before. After all, many superheroes passed through Central Park often - the Defenders, all the spider heroes, even the Young Avengers sometimes had picnics here. Still, Gamora looped her arm through Peter’s, and reminded herself that she had at least four blades hidden in her boot.

“We should do two more questions while we’re here,” Peter said, looking over at her as they neared Turtle Pond. “The show doesn’t start til 8, so we’re probably gonna pass out the minute we get back to the hotel.”

Gamora nodded, opening her mouth to start, when she was startled by the sound of a big brass band playing nearby. They both looked over to see what appeared to be a flash mob, surrounding a couple of people. The blonde woman looked confused, but the darker-haired woman was staring at her with such devotion in her eyes, Gamora was surprised she didn’t see what was going on.

“Looks like a proposal to me,” Peter murmured, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Let’s watch.”

The band was playing a song that Peter identified as Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, while a few ribbon dancers on roller skates went whizzing by, encircling the pair, large cheesy smiles on their faces. It wasn’t the biggest flash mob in the world, nor was it particularly well-coordinated (they cringed in sync as one of the dancers nearly skated into the trombone player) but it seemed just right for the blonde, who was starting to understand what was going on and began to cry.

“Why is she crying?” Gamora asked, confused. “Isn’t she happy?”

“She’s crying because she’s happy,” Peter said, letting go of Gamora’s hand to drape his arm over her shoulder. “You never done that?” She shook her head, her eyes fixated on the couple as the dark-haired woman got down on one knee. Other park-goers had stopped to watch them as well, including a group of tourists who were filming the whole thing. The blonde could only nod, clutching at her quickly-reddening face as a mess of tears smeared everywhere, throwing herself onto her knees beside her now-fiancée and flinging her arms around her with abandon. Peter awwed. “That is awesome.”

The band began picking up the song again, and the dancers twirled away as the couple began kissing, the dark-haired woman scooping up the blonde woman in her arms, bridal-style, as they got to their feet. People applauded, cheering and whooping away for complete strangers, something Gamora couldn’t really fathom. Marriage on other planets didn’t seem like nearly the big deal it did here on Terra, where other people got involved so easily just by spectating on proposals and other public displays of affection.

“Excuse me, miss.” Gamora looked down to see a little girl, tugging on her pant leg. “Are you one of the superheroes from that school?”

“I - I am, yes.” Gamora cleared her throat. “My name is Gamora. I’m from the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

The little girl’s eyes widened. “You’re from space!” she said excitedly. “What is space like?”

Peter watched Gamora’s face carefully, curious. Adults, she could handle, but children? Aside from Groot, who was a rather unique case, when was she ever around children? “Space is very big, and very colourful,” Gamora said, her voice gentler than usual. “There are all sorts of weird creatures out there.”

“With lots of teeth?”

“Hundreds, or maybe thousands,” Gamora said dramatically, and the little girl giggled. “And some with no teeth at all. There are aliens with no eyes and too many eyes, or ones that look like spiders with lots of long, skinny legs.”

“I want to go to space someday,” the girl said, continuing to giggle at Gamora’s descriptions. “I want to see!”

A woman came running over, breathless. “Nadia! Nadia, there you are. I turn around for one second and you’ve gone running off.” If the mother seemed phased by coming face-to-face with Gamora, she didn’t show it. “I am so sorry, I hope my daughter hasn’t been bothering you.”

“Not at all, ma’am,” Peter said. “Nadia was telling my girlfriend that she’d like to go to space someday. And if you study hard in school, you can become an astronaut and do just that!”

Her eyes were the size of saucers. “Really? And then I can be a Guardian, like Gamora?”

“If you work hard enough, you can,” Gamora said very seriously, resting a hand on Nadia’s shoulder.

The girl fell silent for a moment, contemplating, before digging into her bookbag and pulling out a pad and a pencil. “Can I get your autograph?” she said shyly.

“Nadia, she doesn’t have time for - ”

“I don’t mind,” Gamora smiled, reaching for the items. Dear Nadia, she wrote, You will make a great Guardian someday. Be the best that you can be, and that will always be enough. Your friend, Gamora.

“Thank you so much,” Nadia squealed, clutching to the notepad like it was her most prized possession. Her mother thanked them hastily before pulling her daughter away, citing that they were late for an appointment.

“That was...awesome,” Peter said, almost breathless, his eyes sparkling in a way that made Gamora feel somehow shyer and stronger in some odd paradoxical way. “I think I know what my questions for you are now.”

“Should we sit?” Gamora asked, her face warming. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to ask, too. After they managed to find a bench, Gamora pulled out her phone to check her notifications before they began the little game of theirs that she had grown to look forward to. “I have a message from Janet...apparently people have been posting on Twitter about us.”

“Yeah? Like what?” Peter leaned back on the bench, allowing Gamora to sit closer to him, tucked under his arm once again. It reminded him of how they’d woken up this morning. She turned her phone screen so they could both see, scrolling through the array of tweets that Jan had taken screenshots of.

“I think I just saw two members of the guardians of the galaxy in central park lol?? #weird”

“little girl just went up to the guardians and asked for their autograph...super cute!!”

“peter quill and gamora are on a date in shakespeare park would it be awkward if i send my snapchat videos to tmz”

“We’re totally the cutest couple in school,” Peter said, dramatically dragging out his vowels in his best impersonation of a valley girl accent. “It’s good. People are talking about us.” He stretched, enjoying the breeze that was passing through, before sitting back up. “So. First question today - have you ever been in a relationship before? It’s just, you were having some interesting reactions to that proposal. I guess it’s not something that you’ve seen happen a lot.”

“The extent of my social life is what you’ve seen at the Cosmic Conservatory and here,” Gamora said. “So no, I’ve never been in a relationship. I never really wanted one, until...well.” She trailed off for a moment, looking rather secretive. “Thanos used me to seduce targets - his employees referred to me as his most attractive child.” Peter winced at that. What a gross thing to say about a kid, he thought. “I never did anything much beyond kissing the targets, though. I never had to, though if it had to come to that, I suspect Thanos would ask it of me.”

“That sounds awful,” Peter sympathized, squeezing her hand. “I mean, a lot of things that Thanos did to you guys was really shitty, but forcing underage people into sexual manipulation? It really messes with people’s lives. And breaks like, tons of intergalactic laws.”

“It's unpleasant to think about,” she agreed. “And not something I want to reflect upon too closely. So, Quill, what would be your ideal girlfriend?”

Peter blinked. He had expected her to turn the question back around on him as she had done before, but maybe Gamora thought he had been in relationships. Maybe she thought Carol was a fluke, a bad experience, among a string of girlfriends. He wasn't sure whether to be pleased or disappointed in her assumptions.

“Super hot,” he began, and she was already rolling her eyes in displeasure. “Funny. Thinks I’m funny. Likes the same kind of music and movies. A good dancer, someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously, you know?”

“You sound like you're attempting to describe yourself and failing, aside from the last bit,” she teased, absorbing the new information. Of course he wanted a girlfriend who liked dancing.

“Hey,” he chuckled. “And, uh, the thing with the kid. That was...really cool. Do you like kids, want to have kids?”

“Groot is an ideal child. He says three words and requires little assistance,” Gamora said, eliciting another laugh from Peter. “I don’t necessarily like children more than adults, though they tend to be more honest. And I don't think I'd ever considered children a possibility, even now. I don't find parenthood sustainable in our line of work, though I know some people can prove me wrong.”

“Smart,” Peter nodded. “I love kids, but they'd definitely be difficult to handle when we have to jet off across the galaxy all the time. I’d have to find the right person to share that experience with.”

Gamora twisted at her rings again - it was a relatively innocent habit that would never leave her muscle memory - and thought over her last question of the day. “Who is your favourite person at school? Student, faculty, whichever.”

“Thought it was obvious,” Peter said. “Who else gets the honour of being my best friend?”

“Follow-up question then,” she countered, trying not to smile too hard, “why am I your best friend?”

“It’s not really a specific thing that makes you my best friend, although the fact we have to spend a lot of time together covers a lot of it,” he said thoughtfully. “I mean, you’re really asking why I like you. You’re cool, and smart, and as it turns out, really interesting to talk to. That’s not what I would’ve thought when we first met, you were the strong silent type back at the Conservatory. But you’ve opened up a lot in the past year, and you’ve been there for me the way that I hope I’m there for you, and I just...you’re my best friend, I dunno. That’s a really terrible way to end what was supposed to be a heartfelt speech, wasn’t it?” he laughed, shaking his head.

“Hardly your worst,” Gamora allowed. “Janet is requesting another selfie, and I have an idea. Just trust me.”

Peter pursed his lips and shrugged, allowing her to lead him to a particular area of the park, stopping them in the middle of a pathway, Her arm wound across his back, their heads close together, she held up her phone and adjusted the angle for a few moments before she seemed satisfied. “You're taking a while, what’s going on - mmf!”

Gamora had kissed him.

He heard the click of her camera, along with that of many other people who were nearby, whispering to each other about it being “that couple from the freaking Guardians of the Galaxy!”, but all he could feel was her mouth against his. Her lips were rougher than that of the other girls he'd kissed - she wasn't wearing makeup, so they lacked the tacky texture of lipgloss or smoothness of lipstick - and she tended to bite her lips in concentration, especially during battle. It lasted for but a moment, as she took a few quick shots before pulling away. She smiled up at him, pleased, and handed him the phone.

It was well composed, something Gamora had clearly picked up from Janet. Their arms wrapped around each other in a possessive manner, smiling into the kiss, and behind them, a beautiful view of the gardens with a glimpse of the skyline, and in the upper left-hand corner, a specific plaque:

“What's in a name?

That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.

Romeo and Juliet, ii, 2.”

“I like it,” Peter said, his voice hoarse as if he'd been talking for hours. “Even Instagram-worthy.”

She grinned wider and took his hand again. “I'm glad you think so.”

______

The pair returned to their hotel room at what felt like the witching hour, exhaustion settling deep into their bones. Peter was much more drained than Gamora, nearly falling asleep standing up as he brushed his teeth, but she felt oddly melancholy after the show. Musicals were not her thing, though she would never tell Peter that she didn’t actually mind Footloose, but the thought of being trapped in time for years with no one who could help you felt rather claustrophobic.

She changed into her sleep clothes with little regard for Peter standing nearby - she had long stopped pretending there was any pretense of privacy when it came to being a Guardian - and flung herself down on the bed, arms spread. “You’re gonna have to give me more room than that,” Peter teased, though he was so tired that it felt like his tongue was interfering with his ability to enunciate, causing his words to slur together.

Gamora rolled a little bit, blinking up at him with an uncharacteristic sense of innocence, and he felt his heart beat a little faster at the sight of her like this. She was in an oversized T-shirt and gym shorts, her dark red hair spilling out of its hastily-done topknot. He could still see remnants of injuries spelling out her history across her body, including the slightest of scarring on her thigh where the glass had sliced through her just a week ago. There was a softness to her face, her jaw more relaxed than usual, her eyes not as fierce as they always were. Peter hoped it was a sign of comfort around him, and not just because she was tired.

“Is that one of your favourite films you’ve seen since coming back to Terra?” she asked sleepily. He climbed in next to her before he did something stupid, like lean in closer. “I think I’ve heard you talk more about this one than any of the others that people have recommended to you.”

“It’s a classic,” Peter said, allowing his head to drop onto the pillow, though he angled himself so he could watch Gamora’s face as her eyes drifted shut. “It’s got humour, it’s got romance, and dancing...what’s not to like?”

“Is dancing that common on this planet? I swear I’ve never seen people so obsessed,” she said, involuntarily letting out a snort. “Or maybe it’s just you and all the films you’ve shown me.”

Peter hummed. “You don’t know the one, who dreams of you at ni-i-ight,” he sang softly, chuckling more to himself than to Gamora. “Dancing is awesome, okay? It’s something that anyone can do, whether they’re good or bad at it, it brings people together, and you can do it with someone you love or someone you never met before. I mean, how many activities can you say do the same thing?”

“Every context I’ve seen has been for courtship,” Gamora replied. “So it’s something that couples do?”

“Sure.” He shrugged, though since he was lying down, all it really did was shift the bedsheets around, causing Gamora to huff and smack his arm with a pillow. “I’d imagine like, me and my girlfriend - my actual girlfriend, who exists out there somewhere - would totally love dancing. She could quote all the movies that we watch together. Hell, she could recite them forwards and backwards from memory. Wouldn’t that be super cool?”

Gamora fell silent for a moment, choosing not to respond. Then she glanced over at the clock. “Hey, Quill,” she murmured, her voice so low that he had to shuffle himself closer, their noses nearly touching. “It’s midnight. Today is tomorrow.”

a/n: “my actual girlfriend” peter pls she’s right next to you ok

some random links:

peter and gamora’s outfits

the version of the song playing during the proposal

the plaque in their kissing photo

the movie scene gamora quoted to peter (i see you, girl)

[potter---imagines-blog]

Why Not Me

James Potter x Reader

A/n: Probably gonna do a part 2 if you guys want one because I feel like I could keep going with this. Warnings: some swearing, a little angst. Words: 2155

 You had known James Potter since you were three years old. You lived in the house next to his and you two had grown up together. After being best friends with someone for 13 years obviously you get attached, and it’s natural to be protective of them. That’s how you were justifying you’re feelings at this point, but it wasn’t working out too well. It wasn’t painfully obvious that you felt more then friendship towards James, everyone knew you two were close so no one suspected a thing. Especially not James, he was too head over heels for Lily Evans. Lately he hasn’t played you a lick of attention, he was too busy trying to catch hers. It’s not that you didn’t like Lily in fact you two were very close friends, you just envied her. You envied how easily she captured his attention and had him wrapped around her finger with a few simple words. It was just so frus-”Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!” Your other best friend Victoria was frantically waving her hands in front of your face standing in front of where you were previously spaced out sitting at a library table.  “Yes” you replied in a monotone voice, still in a daze from your little disconnection from reality and a little thrown off  by your thought path. “What are you doing I’ve been looking for you forever!” she shrieked. “Why what’s wrong?” I asked. “No. You’ve just been missing for hours and everyone was getting worried. It’s almost curfew and no one had seen you since last class. Did you skip dinner? Have you been here the whole time? I swear I checked here at least five times.” She bombarded you with a tsunami of words. “Wait is it really that late I didn’t even realize” I said as I rushed to pack up all my books and parchment. Had I really been zoned out for that long? “Well hurry up I don’t wanna be caught out past curfew I already have detention for what feels like the rest of my life” she overdramatized. “Okay, okay I’m going as fast as I can” I said as we made our way through the halls back to the commun room.

When we entered I felt nauseas at the sight of Lily and James basically snogging each others faces off on one of the sofas. Victoria saw you quickly look away and whispered in your ear “Just ignore them.” Linking your arms together and ushering you to your dorm. Your other roommates were all sitting around in the room doing their own little things. “Finally you found her!” exclaimed Abbey. “Wait honey what’s wrong?” asked Cara as she looked up form her book seeing your solem expression. “Ah it’s not because of that Potter boy again is it? You just need to get over him,” stated Abbey matter offactly. You didn’t even respond, instead just flopping down on your bed. “Look Y/n it’s gonna get better you’ll get over him,” said Victoria sitting down next to you. “How am I supposed to get over my best friend, I've known him for so long?” I asked “Well first you’ll realize that he’s a bloody bloke if he decided to choose her over you. Then you’ll find a new boy and you won’t even give Potter a single thought.” Abbey said as if she just solved a difficult math question. “It’s not that easy Abbey” victoria chastised her. “No she might be somewhat right. What if you found another boy to get over James, like a rebound?” Cara offered. “Is it really a rebound if we were never together?” I asked still replaying the scene from the common room over in my head. How happy they looked together. “It’s the principal that counts” Cara said. “Yeah that’s a great idea! It doesn’t have to mean anything. You can find a boy Saturday at the party after the quidditch game’” Abbey was way too fond of this plan. “I don’t know guys, I don’t even think i’ll go to the quidditch game” I said sitting up. “Now that’s just ridiculous of course you’re going to the qudiditch game and for once I actually agree with Abbey.” Victoria said “Well thanks for letting me know how you really feel about me,” Abbey mocked hurt.

It was Saturday night and the Hufflepuff team were down by so many points that they couldn’t even win if they caught the Golden Snitch. Of course it was James who was scoring all the points as he was ‘the best chaser in Hogwarts history’ as he liked to refer to himself. There he goes scoring yet again as the seekers continued to chase the golden snitch around the pitch. It wasn’t long before Gryffindor caught the golden snitch and the crowd went absolutely ballistic. James being the cocky bastard he was did a victory lap around the stands winking at me as he flew by. Everyone started making their way off the stands and towards the players to congratulate them. It seemed like Lily was the first one down, throwing herself into his arms like you used to when he still paid his “best friend” a care in the world. Using that term loosely now considering he hasn’t given me more then a handful of acknowledgments since him and Lily stated their little love affair.

Meanwhile I was still sitting on the bleachers next to Remus, the rest of our friend had been lost in the crowd. “So I assume you’re going to the party?” he inquired. “I don’t really know yet I'm not in a party mood tonight,” I replied in a slight daze, James and Lilys display having thrown me off. “That’s exactly how I feel but Sirius would have my head if I don’t attend the ‘most legendary party ever’ as he’s been calling it” he said. We both laughed lightly because only Sirius could make such a big deal of one of the hundreds of partys thrown every year. “Well I suppose if you’re going it wouldn’t hurt to give you some company” I said with a slight smile somewhat distracted from my previously gloomy thoughts.

We walked together, in no rush, back to the Gryffindor common room. By the time we got there the party was already in full swing and it seemed that Sirius was already wasted as he stumbled up to the two of you “What a surprise my two favorite people,” we said while balancing his entire body weight on Remus, leaning against him with an arm swung over his shoulder. “Where’ve you two been? James was asking ‘bout ya” he slurred his word together at the end making his words barley eligible. “Why was he looking for me?” remus asked confused. “Not you Moony the pretty one” Sirius said grabbing a lock of your hair twirling it around his finger and winking at you before he went prancing off sloppily to some other people. “We should probably try to slow his drinking,” you said. “There’s no point trying, you take a cup of fire whiskey out of his hands and the second you turn around he’s got two more.” He joked even though we both knew it was true. Shouldn’t you go talk to James anyway, find out what he wanted?” He more so pointed out then actually asking. Just then as you looked across the room you spotted him a cup of alcohol in is hand and Lily perched on his lap. Averting your gaze “I think I’ll enjoy your company much more.” you said and he gave you a goofy grin.

As the night went on you and Remus had found a couch that wasn’t occupied by drunk couples trying to get it on. You were slightly intoxicated, that’s putting it lightly. Your friends kept popping up to have a quick chat and handing you different concoctions every couple minutes. Remus on the other hand was sober as could be, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t enjoying the beautiful giggling girl hanging off his arm and practically sitting in his lap going off about how her little brother once brought a niffler home and tried to keep it as a pet. His cheeks blazing at the extremely close proximity. You hadn’t even noticed how close you were to him, not really being aware of anything all your senses were slowed and your brain was fuzzy just saying anything that came to mind. “We should go for a walk” you said giggling again even though you hadn’t said anything funny “It's getting really stuffy in here I need some air” Grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the exit before receiving a reply. You two were in the hallway in no time, you prancing around and Remus trying to keep up. “It’s still so hot out here,” you exclaimed cursing your clothes. You ripped your sweater off and threw it away, Remus scrambling to pick it up while you keep gallivanting away. “Woah Y/n maybe you should slow down” You stopped abruptly and turned on your heels grinning wildly as he skidded to a stop right in front of you. Your breath fanning across his chest before you looked up to his eyes “Thank you Rem, you’re a real great guy” looping your arms around his neck, your fingers playing with the little wisps of hair at his nape. “Why are you thanking me I haven’t done anything” he stuttered out, trying desperately to not stare at your chest that was pressed against his “Oh but you’ve done so much for me” you said barley above a whisper but it was loud and clear to him. His heart racing a mile a minute as you leant closerand closer until your lips met.

You tasted of fire whiskey and sweetness. He placed his hands on your hips as you kept tugging on his hair. Neither of you hearing the loud steps comig your way. Your reaction was slow when Remus was so quiqly pulled away from you and pushed against the wall by a fuming James Potter. “What do you think you’re doing mate.” He yelled at Remus. “Woah Prongs calm down” Remus tried to defuse the situation but if anything he just made James more livid. You still drunk off your ass decided it would be a good idea to jump on his back to try and stop him “Rem run i’ll hold him off,” you said in a panicy tone “and see ya tomorrow save me a muffin at breakfast” you giggiled totally forgetting how paniced you were a moment ago. Remus jogged off down the hallway you still on James’ back.

“What the bloody hell do you think you were doing with Remus of all people” James pried you off his back so he could face you “What’s that supposed to mean?” you questioned giggling because of James furrowed eyebrows. “You two were just snogging in the hallway, you can’t just going around doing that Y/n” he elaborated still so very angry. “Why not you and Lily do it all the time? Why am I nto allowed to do it” you started getting upset, all the suppressed emotions rising up in a fury. James soffened as soon as he saw you getting upset “look Y/n I’m-” he tried apologising but you interrupted him “No James tell me why can’t I be happy? You think you can just leave me and i’ll stop everything I'm doing until you come back? No James I’m done. I am so over always being second to that Lily Evans.” You were now yelling hysterically, tears streaming down your face, completely inconsolable. James was shocked into silence not knowing how to respond to your outburst. “Why not me? Why wasn’t I good enough? I loved you so damn much and you picked her. You chased after her all these years while I was here the whole time. Then as soon as she acknowledges your existence I’m completely throw aside, I get replaced by some stuck up red head who ignored you for years!” It was all coming out now, your body racked with sobs. James pulled you into to his chest ignoring your attemps to push him away just holding you close whispering “I’m so sorry” and “I didn’t know” over and over like a broken record. “Do you know how much it hurts? I loved you. I love you, and you don’t even care about me, all you care about is her.”

That’s how the remaider of your night went. Not really coming to a resolution, just letting it all out as James held you, and when you finally fell asleep he carried you back to your dorm placing you in bed. This was a conversation for tomorrow, when you were sober, right now you just needed to sleep. To live in your dreams and shut out reality.