#Wholesome old married couple <3

[v-murderkings]

If I had an attention span and commitment I’d make a young Gwendolyn & Dell animatic, but I don’t (at the moment-) so have some wholesome imagery:

[mr-mr-mr-mr-mr]

BC what's a finished digital work without 87 versions of it??

---W/CANON SCAR DEPICTIONS BENEATH THIS---

[plutoasteroids]

PAC How Will Your Future Spouse View You

Pile 1 Pile 2 Pile 3

DISCLAIMER THIS IS A GENERAL READING TAKE WHAT RESONATES AND LEAVE WHAT DOESN'T.

Strictly for entertainment purposes.

PILE 1

So, before I get into the tarot bit of the reading the overall vibe I am getting is that you and your future spouse will be that couple that are still doing cute stuff together even in old age. You know those older couples you see on TikTok on dates still happy and very much in love, yeah like that. One word I can use to describe it is cozy, just very warm and affectionate basically feeling like this person is your home. It's going to be like 'I'd rather come home to you then be anywhere else'.

On to the tarot bit, Your FS sees you as someone very confident and optimistic (even if you don't see yourself that way). They see you as being positive and very wholesome. Again, before I pulled cards I channelled and I still got the warmth.

Oh my gosh, if any of you have read The Song of Achilles that's basically it. Before anyone points out to me they were a same sex couple .Yes, I know but I am talking about the relationship dynamic between Patroclus and Achilles.

You may have gone through a difficult time in your life and your future spouse will admire how strong and resilient you are, how you're able to adapt to challenges and changes in environment. You may be the type of person who is connected to both their divine feminine and masculine and they truly find that attractive.

They certainly view you as their other half and I know its cliche to say soulmate but that's all your future spouse is saying. You just give them so much happiness and emotional fulfilment.

'They are my home, my soulmate, my forever'

PILE 2

Ugh Pile 2 your spouse will literally worship you😩. Like you'll tell them your insecurities and they'll just sit there kissing every scar, mark, dimple anything you're insecure about they'll adore. If you're a female or a feminine reading this and you have thick thighs I heard them say 'Come here and crush my skull with those sexy thighs'. Whoever you are you have someone's poor child down horrendous for you.

I think they may be the type to just watch your social media whether you are getting to know each other, dating, engaged or married your social media pages, pictures and videos will always be on their phone screen and they won't go to sleep without listening to a little voice message you sent. Once they get attached baby there's absolutely no getting rid of them, I heard 'You'll have an easier time getting rid of bed bugs'.

When you meet them, they may be a party animal or a player.

Disclaimer it's not toxic obsession more like they will let you be your own person but at the end of the day they are yours and you are theirs, you are their spouse, and they are your spouse and they will forever put you on a pedestal not to the open where they will neglect themselves.

They see you as a prize (again not in a creepy way) You may have options when you meet this person but best believe they'll make sure to stand out and win you over. They see you as the best the world has to offer in terms of what a wife/husband/spouse should be. Your person may have had a few letdowns when it came to love and just know that they see you as a dream come true and again, I know that's very cliche but trust me when Isay they view having you as a spouse as their biggest accomplishment and they want you to know that they'll prove to you every day they are worthy to call themselves your spouse. They feel like you have gone through a period of depression and sadness, and they want you to know that they acknowledge it and they see you as strong every day.

The couple I channelled for you guys is Queen Charlotte and King George from Bridgerton.

PILE 3

First thing I heard 'Sugar Daddy'. This person will spoil you but love you even more. Yes, they may have money and give you gifts but this person truly does love you, care about you and respect you.

They may be older than you that's why people may think that they are your glucose guardian which is not technically wrong and not technically correct either. I feel like that will be a long term joke you two have about them being your sucrose supplier..

They will definitely view you as delicate, I want to say that they are the protective type but not protective to the point of you feeling suffocated by them. They want you to be comfortable and have what you like 'If my spouse wants that watch I'll get it for them'.

They will view you as fun loving, yet you have this air of power to you that they love. Sure, they view you as delicate and they want to protect you, but they also view you as strong and beyond capable of taking care of yourself and those around you basically your spouse is saying 'they want me, but they don't need me'. They know that you can walk away from them anytime and they like that you're always in your power no matter what.

Your spouse admires how you don't need them to feel whole or for financial gain they see you as a breath of fresh air, a change of pace, an adventure.

He may touch you a lot with your consent obviously, like a hand on your waist, shoulder or they may steal little quick kisses. Also, there may be a lot of friendly banter in the relationship.

The couple I channel for you guys is Fallon and Liam from Dynasty.

[feral-n-fanatic]

When someone is confused so I make a whole Bill x Ford diagram because I’m an analyst not a puzzle solver. <3 Book of bill spoilers!

When it comes to toxic behavior people are aware and sometimes people think it’s a fun story beat to work with (aka Toxic old man yaoi) That a big part of it! They have a lot of fun dynamics! They can both be toxic! They can be wholesome! They can be losers! They can be cool normal-ish! They can be a God and an scientist! They can be a triangle and a man! They can be divorced! They can be married! It can be one sided! The can both somehow like each other and never get together! They can be obsessed with each other!

But!!!! There are some “cuter” stories!

Before the break up (Can be Bill just fumbling the hoes by being evil.)

Happy ever after! (Bill doesn’t Betray Ford.)

I can be better. ( it’s a redemption arc)

That meat sack is cute. (Bill having a crisis.)

Evil Ford. (Can be non-toxic just evil couple!)

Anyways! If you want to expand add away! I’d love to discuss!!

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Shipping War - Grand Finale!

Propaganda under the cut.

Propaganda for Franky x Robin:

Do I really need to explain?

The old married couple who's healthy, Enies Lobby (and all their appearances) are their propaganda really.

It’s all about the maturity!

Their dynamic is perfect and their pasts are so similar. I love the chemistry between them as well as their introduction that helped build the connection and shared history they already have.

they are THE t4t bi4bi ship | franky telling robin "existing is not a crime" immediately puts this at number one for me | they are opposites (bright and loud + quiet and goth) but also they're both so eccentric and silly <3 | THEY WEAR MATCHING OUTFITS

Mom and dad Straw Hat

They are STILL the Mom and the Dad of the Straw Hats, this is the one thing I don't care what Oda says <3 Also their interactions in Enies Lobby and Thriller Bark are amazing.

In my eyes, they are married. Some of my favorite character interactions in the manga/anime and in official art.

Oda had Franky call Robin his wife at least once

Your honor they’re married

I'M GOING TO PUT LINKS IN MY EXAMPLES (Mod note: I linked to the whole post, the propaganda was going to get too long otherwise. But I will copy this line:...) They immediatly clicked in Enies Lobby, Franky saved Robin with both words and actions ("Your existence is not a sin!"), and then she grabbed his balls.

The duality of two kids who were just trying to chase their dream and having circumstances outside their control (the government) take everything they love away from them, but one choosing solitude and the other adopting every other person in a bad circumstance??? I love them. Plus they literally had couple moments from the first interaction.

The ultimate t4t couple idk what else you need theyre iconic

A wholesome ship of a woman who feels the need to be constantly on edge trying to relax and a man who is a 110% himself from the moment we see him. the joy of frobin is the causal domesticity, in many color spreads and especially post timeskip we can see them casually enjoying the others company.

Remember when Franky was in Chopper's body in Punk Hazard and every time he spoke Robin was like "Franky. Stop talking. Do not talk while you're in Chopper's body."

idk like. he's obsessed with her. she's his weird Goth gf and he's her himbo. they have matching outfits. I love them.

Look. It's Franky and Robin. Literally the only two characters that make sense to ship on the Sunny. Their arcs are inextricably intertwined (water7/enies lobby). Also LOOK AT THEM interacting, both during their arcs, but also thriller bark, or post time skip. I love them. Also robin crushed frankys balls.

funny big robot man & analytical smart research lady power couple... silly x smart... himbo x researcher... augh... so good

They are the ship for taxpaying adults your honor I LOVE them they’re literally freak4freak and they share such a fucking powerful arc together (Water 7).

that moment she let him sleep on her lap in punk hazard was sooo cute <3 -- The matching thigh highs and bottoms in film z can NOT be understated. -- Strawhat mom and dad -- Let's not forget the way robin convinced franky to join ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -- she also indirectly called his balls "treasure" so,,, -- the way their stories are so closely intertwined...they were both keys to destroy the world...the way they instantly connected over that...the soulmate-ism of it all...

they . them. girlboss and malewife. that's it.

She grabbed his balls. He totally liked it.

He's so silly and she loves it. She's so scary and he loves it. She grabbed his balls in public.

They will be endgame trust me. Franky doesn't treat any other girl like he treats Robin. There dynamic in Water 7 and Thriller Bark was and always will be one of the best in all of OP.

Propaganda for Nami x Vivi:

Yes, Nami has a new girlfriend on every island, but her heart belongs to Vivi. Vivi in turn refuses to marry, because her heart belongs with a pirate ❤

THEY’RE LESBIANS! IN LOVE! another point: my friends who are watching OP for the first time came to me and asked “so Nami and Vivi… they’re gay right?” So it’s pretty apparent to even newcomers

I just think they’re neat! And in love. Nami gave up money for Vivi that’s True Love

Anyone who saw them can just tell they’re gay. Like Nami gave up money for her

They're one of the rare lesbian ships in op, they care for each other so much !!

Lesbians

Lesbians

They were so gay that Luffy offered to share food to cheer Nami up when they were separated.

i dare you to read Baroque Works through Alabasta without shipping them. the way Vivi and Nami are so affectionate with each other, and Vivi putting saving her nation on hold to get Nami healthy again ???

Lesbians

Let’s go lesbians!!!!! Ok but actually, I think Nami saw a lot of herself in Vivi (ha) especially when Igaram “died” and then throughout their journey together Nami really encouraged her to open up to the crew. Nami showed Vivi it was ok to ask for help just like Luffy showed her.

Vivi was Nami's gay awakening and you cant change my mind. Nami was in love with Vivi and Vivi def had some kind of feeling for Nami. They were so close and they were more then just 'gal pals'

Lesbian Pirate Supremacy! they clearly care a lot about each other and considering when nami meets vivi she is probably one of the first close female friends she gets to have.

[authorbyfanfics19]

Hey I'd like to ask you something. Could you do some Aoba Johsai x reader head canons of how they'd meet her in person and what they'd think of her?

Why yes! Sure thing. I'll give you headcanons of how Aoba Johsai meets y/n! But there'll be some happy and wholesome timeskip moments and some will be very upsetting!

Oikawa Tooru

Oikawa thought you were really bitchy towards him at the first meeting he had.

But at some stage he later on thought about you in a different way that made him think you aren't that bad.

When on Valentine's day you got a river of letters and cards flowers and chocolates.

He didn't like it very much that you were popular amongst the guys at Aoba Johsai.

Especially with you being a third year both third year guys and second years would confess their love to you.

On the day that he remembered when you and Oikawa met he felt ashamed that he was so rude towards you.

He still blames himself.

Timeskip: You stood there next to your husband. Oikawa now thinks back to the sweet memories the two of you have made before you got engaged.

Iwaizumi Hajime

When you met Iwaizumi things just changed. How did you meet Iwaizumi?

Well it was through Oikawa that you met his childhood friend Iwaizumi Hajime.

It was really sweet of Oikawa to do something like that but later through the months you and him spent together.

You never thought you'd fall for Oikawa.. which broke Iwaizumi's heart.

When you announced that you and Oikawa are now dating, things took a real bad turn for Iwaizumi.

Timeskip: At the end you and Iwaizumi were married for four years and three months, you were pregnant by three months when he was in Japan as the Athletic Trainer of Japan's team.

While you were in Argentina at Tooru's apartment, you were four months pregnant.

Matsukawa Issei

When you met Mattsun, well let's just say you fell in love with him and his brown eyes.

You knew you just had a type of guy with black curly hair and brown eyes.

But how did you meet him?

It was during your second year of middle school your school and his had a camping trip.

You got lost at some point in the middle of the forest, how did that happen?

Well… you were chasing a butterfly and not looking if your friends were with you or if you'd gotten yourself lost.

And you did. You panicked but a guy about a bit taller than you with brown eyes came to find you.

Both Iwaizumi and Oikawa were relieved that he found you.

That was your best memory of him when you both were 12 years old. He still remembers that day you cried in their arms after your mind said you're lost!

Timeskip: You and Issei got married at 22 years old. You were 22 while he was 24 years old, they still joke about how he's two years older than you are.

Hanamaki Takahiro

You just graduated middle school when you both met, your mothers were best friends since elementary school.

How? You both never knew how they were friends at a young age like that.

But you remembered asking your mother and she just smiled at you saying figure it out yourself, love and just left you like ???? Which you still don't know.

Then you both got close when you were introduced to him at 3 years old.

You both don't really remember meeting at the age of 3 your mothers do.

Timeskip: Still to this day you both are now the most laughable married couple ever. Everyone thinks when they see you both around that you're the one who's joking with your husband.

When it's Hanamaki all along since you're about five months pregnant with your first child with him.

Yahaba Shigeru

How did you and Yahaba meet?

Well.. at a training camp you both met there.

It's a long story.. Aoba Johsai's setters in training went to this second year setter only training camp and you were there.

Later on, Yahaba had occasional private conversations with you when you weren't busy filling water bottles up for them.

But there is one thing that you do remember about Yahaba Shigeru and that is when you found him talking to a girl.

A girl that he might be dating soon… turns out you misunderstood the situation that had you crying in his arms.

Timeskip: You and Yahaba have been married for a year now, you're only seven months pregnant with your second child, a girl..

Kyoutani Kentarou

When you met Kyoutani it was an entirely different story to be told. He didn't like it when other second year guys talked to you!

No, no, no! They aren't allowed to talk to his GIRLFRIEND! The two of you have been dating in secret for a year and four months now.

None of his teammates knows about him and their manager dating in secret.

It's only been about three months that they still haven't found out yet.

Timeskip: You and Kyoutani have now a healthy happy marriage, your parents first thought of arranging a marriage for you.

But when he jumped in and said why do you want to do that to your beloved sweet daughter? I love her! Even if she knows that I don't show it through emotions but I show it with actions!

Watari Shinji

Really simple actually! You both met during class time, how though?

Well… you were in your second year and you somehow or not really got in the same class as Watari.

But when you started dating Watari things changed for the both of you.

You and him were always so casual with each other soft touches and sweet kisses were always between you both.

Timeskip: Watari knew that this would happen.. you laid there in bed asleep with another man that wasn't him you're married to another.

Kindaichi Yuutarou

With Kindaichi it wasn't all special. You thought meeting him was good news.

But you did bump into Kageyama during the meet up and got ready to see the match between Karasuno vs. Date Tech.

After the match Kageyama called you over to him to talk, he apologized to you after what he said to you in middle school.

You forgave him and he said about some rumuors of Kidaichi which you were shocked about.

Timeskip: When you confronted Kindaichi he said he doesn't know anything about such rumuors and doesn't know what you're babbling about.

Kunimi Akira

Kunimi knew that between you and him things would go the different way around.

Timeskip: When he saw Kindaichi cheating on you he was baffled and didn't want to tell you that your husband is cheating.

You were only six months pregnant with your daughter but the thing is you didn't tell Kindaichi that your daughter isn't his.

But your daughter has Kunimi's eyes and the color of his eyes.

The day that your daughter Aiko was born, Kindaichi was still cheating.

Kunimi was there through and through from when you announced that you're pregnant up until the changes in your pregnancy until she was born.

Right when you found your husband cheating with two women in your bed with him.

You yelled at him to get out and threw his stuff out with him and the women.

In about a month.. Kunimi got married to you and you let him move in with you.

You're now the happiest woman alive to have such a wonderful caring husband who wouldn't cheat on you ever.

There you go! If you have any other hcs you'd want please send some more to me!!

[kiwiikato]

Hi! I saw your requests are open so I need someone to write some Ken x reader ideas lol but first I wanted to know if you have any rules or is there anything you don't feel comfortable writing? 👉🏻👈🏻

masterlist

PLEASE DO TAG/CREDIT ME IF YOU USE ANY OF THESE IDEAS :3 i would love to read everyone’s work

i really hope this is accurate to what you want in your requests, so let’s go! i’ll try to get a good amount out for u :3

as for the comfortable part, i don’t really have any rules, just the usual avoiding really weird and socially bad topics

note! if anyone wants to request these headcannons as an actually drabble, i would be more than willing to do it. just pls be aware that i am hesitant on nsfw stories but i’d be willing to give it a try!

kenji sato x reader ideas!

divorced dad! kenji x preschool teacher! reader - very wholesome story, kenji takes his child to school and after a couple of interactions, he can’t help but get nervous and ask you out for dinner, finding your kind and loving nature for his child lovable.

baseball player! kenji x reporter! reader

married couple! kenji x reader - just a story of cute moments they have as a married couple, whether it be sleeping, cooking, dancing, showering, and so on. all these actions and moments pure and sweet.

kenji x old childhood friend! reader

kenji x ex-girlfriend/boyfriend! reader - the usual ex couple who runs into one another and can’t deny their remaining attraction to one another, giving it another shot

exhausted! kenji x sweet convenience worker! reader - on the days where kenji is more exhausted from taking care of emi, he takes a break picking out some snacks for himself to enjoy. the convenience worker there ends up feeling bad for him and giving him the snacks for free on you. this one time interactions becomes more frequent and he eventually asks you out on a date with a cute confession.

kenji x marine biologist! reader - kenji goes and asks you, a dr. in marine biology, specific weird questions, all correlating to emi (who you don’t know about). it isn’t till he keeps coming back more, that he finally introduces you to emi, making you become excited at the cute scaly kaiju.

kenji! x coaches daughter/son! reader

kenji x ami’s sister! reader

ultraman! kenji x robotics engineer! reader - a cute story of kenji always “accidently” breaking things and returning back to you to fix them, all as an excuse to see you.

ultraman! kenji x ultraperson! reader

kenji x architect! reader - kenji hires an architecture to help add onto his house, the constant meetings get you closer and closer

kenji x personal chef! reader

kenji x kaiju whisperer! reader - only one person really knows anything about kaijus, you! being the only person to actually have stumbled across kaijus, you begin to study them and grow your knowledge. when kenji first gets emi, he struggles to take care of her, giving in to searching for the girl who is rumored to be a kaiju whisperer. he eventually hires you and the two of you become closer over time.

kenji! x single mother! reader

kenji sato x reader angst ideas!

couple! kenji x reader - motorcycle incident - either the reader OR kenji get into a motorcycle accident and are sent to the hospital. the unharmed partner runs to the hospital in a hurry, panicking at the wounds they’re significant other have sustained. when they get to the hospital, they can’t help but to demand answers and cry as they wait for you to come back from the operation room.

cheating! kenji x reader

kenji x cheating! reader

divorced couple! kenji x reader

mourning kenji x reader - it’s been a couple months, maybe even a year, since his partner passed away due to a illness. each day is a reminder of how you’re no longer there in front of him and it tears him apart. sending him into grief and loosing his bonds and hobbies in the process.

kenji x reader - fighting and falling out of love

college playboy! kenji x reader

asshole celebrity! kenji x reader - kenji is getting interviewed, and in the midst of the questions, he is asked about his love life and calls you a temporary fling, hurting your feelings and making you leave his place saddened

ultraman! kenji x injured in battle! reader

kenji x kidnapped for ransom! reader

kenji sato x reader nsfw ideas!

dominant! kenji x submissive! reader

submissive! kenji x dominant! reader

sports rivals! kenji x m!reader

annoyed/sexually frustrated! kenji x reporter! reader - kenji is being watched by a reporter, you, so his normal routines are being disrupted, including sexual relief. eventually he catches you, lectures you, get frustrated, and you offer to do anything to not get sued. one thing led to another and BOOM! the nasties are done ;3

glory hole! kenji x reader

baseball player! kenji x assistant coach! reader

single father! kenji x babysitter! reader - kenji is a single father, struggling to raise his human child, he calls for a babysitter. you come into the picture and have now been working there for months, the both of you slightly eyeing eachother but staying professional. until one day, kenji’s kid is asleep and the two of you get some much needed alone time

ultraman! kenji x assistant! reader

[amhrosina]

Holidate (Frank Castle x fem! Reader)

MASTERLIST // TAG LIST REQUEST

A/N: Hi hi hi! Writing this was wild and took over my social life for a second there. This hasn’t been beta read, or edited yet (lmfao), but it’s 13k words and I’m very proud of it. Please enjoy! (Matt Murdock next????) 

Summary: Holidate – a prearranged fake date that you can bring to family holiday events to avoid awkward conversations about your love life.  

When reader realizes she’s the last single person in her family, a run-in with an old acquaintance sparks a genius idea that could get her family off her back once and for all. 

(Warnings: slow burn, pining, fake dating, brief description of a severe injury (it’s in the fourth of july section), cursing, eventual smut (p in v, oral (fem receiving)), no use of y/n, wholesome family content, Frank in a bunny suit, let me know if I missed any bc it’s 1:30am and I'm tired lmfao

New Year’s Eve: 

The bass of the club speakers pounded in your skull, sparking a fresh wave of annoyance within you. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. You were supposed to be somewhere nice, celebrating the new year with your loving and loyal boyfriend of four years, Ben. But Ben was an asshole who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants long enough to realize he had butt dialed you while he was knee deep in “the best pussy he’s ever had”.  

You rolled your eyes at the memory. You weren’t even that upset about it – Ben had become a dull and predictable aspect of your daily routine. The spark that had ignited your affection for him had died out months before you found out he was cheating. It was a brutal wake-up call, though.  

Your life, you realized, had become entirely too comfortable, which limited your ability to grow as a human being. The few weeks without Ben leading up to New Year’s Eve had taught you a lot about yourself, but you couldn’t help feeling a little lonely when you looked around and saw happy couples everywhere. 

Your sister was happily married to her high school sweetheart. Your mom and dad were disgustingly in love with each other, even after almost 30 years together. And your idiot baby brother had chosen tonight at dinner to announce his engagement to Kim, his girlfriend of 3 months.  

After the obligatory congratulatory toasts, your mother’s attention had fallen on you. You had tried so hard to get out of the room before she could open her mouth, but your mom had spent enough time with you to know your tricks and had managed to corner you by the bathroom. 

“Sweetie, I want to introduce you to someone. My OB/GYN has a new set of interns, and one of them is very cute.”  

“You’re worried about my,” you paused for effect, “vaginal health, Mom?”  

 “No, of course not, though you should probably get it checked out after the whole Ben fiasco. I don’t even want to think about where he put his pe-” 

“Okay, thanks for that, Mom. Really. I just have to pee now.” You slid against the wall until you could grab the doorknob and slip into the bathroom, effectively shutting the door in your mom’s face. You had hidden yourself in the bathroom for 15 full minutes before finally facing your family again. Then, Sammy had the bright idea to take all the siblings out clubbing to celebrate his engagement.  

That’s how you ended up here, surrounded by sweaty, drunk partygoers who apparently had so much to celebrate. It was 10 minutes to midnight, and you were doing everything in your power to make it to the exit before you had to be surrounded by sweaty, drunk, kissing partygoers.  

The club was so packed you had barely made it five feet before you gave up your efforts, deciding to chug the rest of your drink when the clock struck midnight as your midnight kiss. You watched the dance floor from your vantage point on second floor balcony. An overwhelming presence next to you had your back stiffening.  

You turned, ready to tell the guy off, but you lost your voice somewhere between “Fuck off, buddy” and “Not interested”. You definitely knew the guy from somewhere, but you couldn’t put your finger on where that might be. His size was intimidating, and you could tell he was absolutely ripped, but his eyes weren’t those of a drunk asshole. In fact, the look on his face told you he recognized you from somewhere, too.  

“Do we know each other?” You had to yell over the music for him to hear you.  

“You don’t remember me?” He was smiling, and you knew that smile, but you couldn’t put your finger on how you knew it. You studied his face, trying to remember. Dark hair and eyes, strong eyebrows, and a big nose.  

“Oh!” You exclaimed suddenly, “You’re Eagle!” 

His eyebrows furrowed. “What?”  

“You were the TA for my Psych class, right? Like six years ago? Frank, right?” You grinned at him.  

“You do remember!” He smiled wide for a second, but quickly furrowed his eyebrows in confusion again. “What did you call me? Eagle?” 

“Oh god,” you groaned, running your hand over your face. “We used to call you that. The girls in the class, I mean. You know what they say about men with big noses?” 

Frank let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back.  

“I didn’t think anyone in those classes even knew I existed. That was the easiest job I’ve ever had. The professor wouldn’t let me do anything, and I still got paid.” 

“So, I don’t have you to thank for the A, then?” 

“Sorry, I guess you did that on your own.” He shrugged, sipping his drink and smiling. “Did you come with someone? Where’s your date?” 

You raised your cup to your mouth, gulping down a mouthful of alcohol in response.  

Frank chuckled and nodded. “Ah, I see.” 

The clock began chiming, starting the 60 second countdown to the new year.  

“Where’s your date?” 

Frank smiled and gulped down the rest of his drink, copying the response you had given him. You raised your glass, and he clinked his against yours in solidarity.  

When the countdown got to 10, you awkwardly shuffled back and forth on your feet. The couples around you were gravitating towards each other, grabbing each other’s hands and holding their drinks up in the air. You and Frank watched as the clock hit 0, silver and gold confetti floating down from the ceiling and coating the kissing couples on the dance floor.   

Your brother seemingly appeared out of nowhere, tugging his fiancé behind him.  “Hey! We’re going!”  

You nodded, turning to Frank. “I have to...” you trailed off, pointing towards your brother with your thumb, “but it was nice to see you again. Happy New Year, Frank.” 

“Yeah, I’ll see you around.” He grinned, nodding. 

You waved at him as you walked towards the exit, wondering if you’d ever see him again. Fortunately for you, you didn’t have to wonder for long.  

A few days later, you parked your car in the mall parking lot, sighing as your mother continued her rant from the passenger seat. 

“All I’m saying, sweetie, is that you should get out more. When’s the last time you left the house besides New Year’s Eve? What about one of those dating apps?” 

“I don’t want to date anyone right now, Mom. I’m trying to find myself, you know?” 

She scoffed. “Oh, please.” 

You followed her into the mall, clutching the items you had bought for Ben before the untimely death of your relationship. Your one and only plan for the rest of your week off work was to return the gifts, but your mother had insisted on going with you, claiming she had some shopping to do. You couldn’t imagine what she could possibly need this soon after Christmas, but you didn’t want to argue with her about it.  

 It took forever, but you were finally at the last store you needed to make a return at. It would’ve been an easy in and out if your mom hadn’t stopped to look at every single sweater in the store. The sound of your name being called perked you out of your thoughts. 

“When I said see you around, I didn’t realize it would be this soon after.”  

Frank walked towards you, clutching a return receipt in his hand. You waved your receipt back at him. 

“You didn’t like a gift?” You asked, eyeing the receipt.  

“Oh, uh,” Frank scratched the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly, “No. I bought it for someone, but it didn’t end up working out.” 

Your eyebrows shot up. “Wow. Same. I think we may have more in common than I thought. Same girl that left you alone on New Year's?” 

“The one and only.” He chuckled, shuffling his feet.  

The sound of your mother’s voice so close to your ear startled you. You hadn’t noticed her standing next to you. 

“Who’s this?”  

She had a devious smile on her face, and it took everything in you not to outwardly groan. 

“This is Frank. He was my-” Frank cut you off, reaching forward to shake your mom’s hand. 

“Friend in college. Nice to meet you. We were just talking about regrettable Christmas gifts.” 

“Oh!” Your mom eagerly shook his hand, sending you a wink over her shoulder. “Well, I’ve been trying to tell her she needs to get out more. You know, her boyfriend ch-” 

“I don’t think he’s interested in hearing about my love life, Mom.” This conversation derailed far too quickly for your liking. 

“Honey, I’m just trying to help. Frank is very handsome.” 

You could feel the heat rising in your cheeks. You probably resembled a tomato more than a human being. 

“Thank you, Mom. Very helpful.” You gritted through your teeth. Your mother was nothing if not sneaky. She sent you a smirk and turned back to Frank. 

“It was lovely to meet you, Frank. I hope I’ll be getting to see more of you soon.”  

You gaped at her as she made her way back towards the cashmere sweaters, dreading having to look back at Frank. When you finally faced him, he was clearly trying hard not to laugh in your face.  

“I’m sorry,” You groaned, running your hand through your hair, “My mom can be very forward.” 

Frank let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “It’s okay. It sounds like she just wants you to be happy.” 

“She has an interesting way of showing it. I mean, being single on holidays isn’t that pathetic, right? Plenty of people are single. Like Emma Watson! She’s been single since forever and she’s thriving! Oh god, you probably don’t want to hear this either. I’m sorry. I ramble when I get nervous.” 

You regretted ever getting out of bed this morning. This was turning out to be the most embarrassing day of your life, and it wasn’t even 10am yet.  

Frank’s face had turned thoughtful. You were a little afraid to ask him what he was thinking about. 

“I have an idea,” he finally said, glancing between you and your mom, who was holding up a blue sweater and talking to an employee. 

“Okay?” You cocked your head to the side. 

“What if we dated?” Your eyes grew wide, “Just for the holidays, I mean. We show up together at events or parties and it keeps the questions at bay. Like a, um-” 

Frank searched for the right word, and you couldn’t help the word that came out of your mouth.  

“A holidate?”  

Frank snapped his fingers and pointed at you. “Exactly. A holidate. It’ll get your family off your back for a little bit, and you won’t have to worry about being single. For the day, at least.”  

You didn’t say anything for a long time, trying to fully comprehend what he was offering. 

“What’s in it for you?”  

“Same as you.” He shrugged. “My family’s like yours.” 

“And it’s just for the holidays?” 

“Mhmm.” 

“What about the smaller holidays? Like 4th of July.” 

“I’m fine with whatever you want to do about those.” 

“What if one of us meets someone we like?” 

“Then our problems are solved, right?” 

You studied him for a moment, weighing the idea in your head. You stole a glance at your mother, who was now standing out of Frank’s direct eyeline and smiling at you and Frank. 

You turned back to Frank, holding out your hand. 

“Deal.” 

The smile he gave you as he shook your hand sent a shiver down your spine. 

 

Valentine's Day: 

“Frank, you are not getting my mother flowers. She’s never going to let you leave.”  

“I can’t show up to dinner to officially meet your family without bringing something. My mom raised me better than that.” 

You were currently standing in the flower section of Kroger, picking out flowers to get your parents for their anniversary. Every year, they hosted a family dinner on Valentine’s Day to celebrate their marriage and the family that came out of it. This was officially your first go at this holidate thing, and Frank kept insisting that he had to bring flowers. 

“If you absolutely have to get flowers, don’t get red roses. My dad called dibs on those 30 years ago.”  

Frank grinned at your compromise and picked up the bouquet of tulips he had been eyeing. You had to give it to your mom, Frank was handsome, but the holidate deal was strictly platonic, so you turned and headed for the checkout lane.  

When Frank caught up with you, he was holding not one, but two bouquets. The tulips he had picked out for your mom were bright yellow. The other bouquet had a dozen red roses in it, and it had been carefully wrapped in expensive-looking brown paper.  

“Who are those for?” You couldn’t help but ask.  

“Well, I can’t get my holidate’s mother flowers and not buy my holidate flowers too. That’s just unclassy.”  

You followed him in stunned silence. You hadn’t been expecting that.  

When you finally arrived at your parents' house, you were nervously applying and reapplying your lipstick in the passenger side mirror. You didn’t know how your family was going to react to Frank. Obviously, your mom would be pleased, but you didn’t want to sit under your sister’s scrutiny for too long. If anyone was going to figure out what you were doing, it would be her.  

“You’re nervous.” Frank pointed out, watching you from the driver’s seat. “Why?” 

“I’m not nervous.” You scoffed, ignoring how easily he just read your body language. 

“Yes, you are, but you shouldn’t be. I’m the perfect gentleman. Parents love me. You’ll see.” 

He smiled at you and jumped out of the car, running around to open your door for you.  

“See? Gentleman.” 

You led Frank around to the side door, hoping for a subtle entrance. This plan was almost immediately foiled when your mom busted through the door, Cheshire grin planted on her face. 

“Frank! It’s so good to see you!” She brushed past your open arms, pulling Frank into a hug.  

“Hello, ma’am. These are for you.” He held out the tulips, smiling. 

“Oh, you.” She muttered, taking the flowers from him. She rushed through the door, calling out to your dad.  

“I think it’s safe to say that I've won over your mom.” He chuckled. “You ready?” He held out his hand in question. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” You sighed, intertwining your fingers in his. 

Dinner was as dramatic as you expected it to be. Your dad had kept up the “tough” act for a whole 30 seconds before Frank managed to win him over. All it took was a subtle nod to your dad’s “impeccable grill set-up" for your dad to shake Frank’s hand and ask him for help grilling the steaks. 

Speaking of grilling, as soon as Frank had exited the back door into your backyard, your sister immediately pulled you aside, demanding to know anything and everything about Frank. You kept your answers short but put enough detail into your responses that it seemed to win her over. Your brother had waved at Frank when you introduced him, and that was the end of that interaction. If only the rest of your family could be as relaxed as your brother was about the men in your life. 

When everyone sat down for dinner, your dad gave a long-winded speech about love and had everyone toast to your mom, who never failed to cry before dinner was served every year. Frank mixed in well with your family, holding conversations on his own with everyone at some point. 

The dramatics really amped up during dessert when your sister announced she was pregnant with her second baby. The room filled with gasps and excited squeals, mostly from your mom, and you watched as your mom wrapped her arms around your sister, teary eyed and smiling wide.  

When everyone had finished saying their congratulations and gathered in the living room for the annual “anniversary slideshow”, you settled against the back wall, content to observe the tradition from afar. Your mom snuck up beside you, pointed look on her face.  

“Don’t say it, Mom.” You mumbled, resting your head on the wall.  

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” She insisted, raising her eyebrows.  

“You were about to point out your lack of grandchildren from me, and I’m asking you to drop it, please.”  

“Oh, fine.” She joined your dad on the couch, snuggling into his side and pressing play.  

Your brother and his fiancé were also snuggling, whispering into each other’s ears and quietly giggling. It was sickeningly cute. Your brother-in-law was slowly rubbing your sister’s stomach, even though she wasn’t anywhere near showing yet. It was all annoyingly cute, and you sighed, wishing you could be anywhere else in the world. 

Frank sidled up beside you, bumping your shoulder with his. He was incredibly warm, and you couldn’t help but lean a little closer to him. You told yourself it was just because your parents kept the house cooler in the winter to save money.  

“What are you doing all the way over here?” He asked, lips so close to your ear that you couldn’t ignore the shiver racing down your spine.  

“I’m just standing.” You responded nonchalantly, pretending to be engrossed by the pictures on the screen.  

“Yes, but why are you so far away from everyone?”  

You didn’t respond, finally turning your head to look at him. His face was inches away from yours. You blinked, looking between his eyes. He was fully concentrated on you, and it was making you squirm. He was an expert at focusing his attention fully on the person he was talking to. This was something you had noticed about Frank before, but it never failed to affect you.  

“Do you want to go?” His voice was soft, full of concern.  

“Yes.” You breathed, trying not to look at his lips. 

“Okay. I’ll cause a distraction. You bolt out of the house, and I’ll meet you in the getaway car out front. But grab some of that pie on your way out.”  

He was smiling, obviously just saying something to make you laugh. You tried to stop the wide grin from forming on your lips, but when he was smiling at you like this, it was impossible not to match it. He was getting too good at reading you. 

“But seriously,” he started, still smiling, “I’ll say my friend accidentally cut his finger trying to seduce his Valentine’s date with a meal or something.” 

Frank did exactly that, and he handled it with such grace and confidence that even you caught yourself believing him for a moment. When he closed the car door behind you and began to walk around to the other side of the car, you studied him.  

There had to be something you were missing. This guy, who was seemingly full of green flags, was having the same relationship troubles as you? It didn’t make any sense. There had to be something seriously wrong with him. Otherwise, there’s no way in hell anyone would let him slip through their fingers.  

When he climbed in the car, he looked at you expectantly. “Where to, Miss Daisy?” 

“Want to get ice cream?” You asked, mouth watering at the thought. 

“What Miss Daisy wants, Miss Daisy gets.” He chuckled at his own joke, pulling away from the curb. The silence with Frank was comfortable, and you found yourself more relaxed than you had been in months.  

When you walked into the ice cream shop, you immediately regretted every decision you had ever made. You stopped mid-stride, and Frank very nearly ran into you trying to stop himself behind you. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, scoping out the store. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then again, to any normal person, it would seem like that.  

But you were focused on the couple sitting in the back of the parlor, sharing a bowl of ice cream. It was Ben, and he was spoon feeding ice cream to the girl he had cheated on you with. Frank narrowed his eyes at them, trying to put the pieces together.  

“I suddenly don’t have an appetite for ice cream,” you mumbled, turning back to walk out the door. Frank’s brow was furrowed, and the expression on his face read as pure confusion, but he followed you through the door without question. 

You had almost made it to Frank’s car when you heard your name being shouted behind you. Ben was slightly jogging to catch up with you, and you made a show of rolling your eyes.  

“Hey! Wait!” Ben called, waving his arm. 

Frank’s posture stiffened beside you, and you could feel the warmth radiating from him as he lightly pulled your waist closer to his side. Another shiver slid down your spine. You were going to have to get rid of that side effect as soon as possible.  

“Hey, I just saw you leave the shop. I wanted to see how you were doing after, you know.” Ben was slightly panting. He eyed Frank’s hold on your waist, standing a little taller than before.  

“I’m fine, Ben. Thanks. Bye.” You responded, looking anywhere but his face. You were not going to cry in front of Frank, and you certainly wouldn’t be giving Ben the satisfaction of an emotional breakdown at his expense.  

“Who’s this?” he asked, finally acknowledging Frank.  

“Frank, this is my loser ex-boyfriend. Loser ex-boyfriend, this is Frank. Are we good? Can we go now?” You asked, losing your patience. 

Frank stiffened, a signal that told you he had caught on to the situation. His hand crept across your waist and settled on your stomach, pulling you fully against his front. His movement was slow, barely noticeable to anyone else, but the trail Frank’s hand left behind would be burned into your memory forever. 

Ben looked between your face and Frank’s, scoffing. 

“Oh, I see. He’s the rebound.” Ben nodded to himself. 

Anger coated your tongue. You opened your mouth, ready to scream, when Frank’s voice cut you off. 

“Buddy, why don’t you fuck off, okay? She’s clearly not interested in having this conversation with you.” 

“Okay, buddy.” Ben responded, putting his hands on his hips. “I don’t think this is any of your business.” 

“You made it my business when you upset her.” Frank’s deep voice reverberated through your chest. “We’re going.” He opened the car door, guiding you into the seat with a gentle push from the hand on your waist.  

He didn’t have to tell you twice. You eagerly climbed in, squeezing the seatbelt as you buckled it. Frank joined you seconds later, starting the car and carefully pulling out of the spot. Your eyes didn’t leave your lap until the car was safely on the road again.  

“Are you okay? God, that guy’s such an asshole. Sorry about the ice cream.” Frank gripped the steering wheel with one hand, resting his other arm on the windowsill and running his hand through his hair. 

“I’m fine.” Your voice was meek compared to Frank’s deep one. 

“You’re not, but that’s okay. You’re allowed to be upset.”  

You stayed silent, counting the streetlights as you drove past them. Frank didn’t pry. He put the radio on a low volume and quietly hummed along to the Sum-41 song playing. After a while, he turned into a gas station parking lot, pulling into one of the spots in front of the store. You looked around, confused. 

“Stay here. I’ll be right back. Lock the door.” He moved to get out of the car, but stopped when you made a noise of discontent, raising your hands in the air in question. 

“Wait! What are you doing?” You asked, exasperated. 

“I promised you ice cream, didn’t I?” He smiled, climbing out of the car. Your fingers fell along the arm rest, pressing the lock button. You couldn’t help the smile that crossed your face as you watched him walk away from the car. 

 

Easter: 

Easter was a holiday that you hadn’t celebrated until you were a few years into your adulthood. Your parents didn’t press religion onto you or your siblings when you were growing up, but your sister had married into a somewhat religious family, so the annual Easter egg hunt they hosted had become a regular part of your Easter plans. 

When you called him, Frank had insisted that his family could spend the day without him. You hadn’t spoken to him much since Valentine’s Day, but you smiled when he immediately said he’d be there, holidate ready.  

He showed up, sporting a button-down shirt and slacks. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, and he had let his hair grow out a little. You tried not to stare as he opened the car door for you, ever the gentleman.  

“Have you been okay?” he asked, lightly tapping the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing on the radio. 

“Actually, yes.” For the first time in months, you didn’t have to lie when someone asked you that question. Ben was a memory you had all but forgotten about.  

“That’s great. I'm glad you called. My family was trying to force me into dressing up like the Easter Bunny for my nieces and nephews.” He shuddered at the thought. 

Your head whipped around. “You have siblings?” you asked, genuinely surprised. He had never mentioned them before.  

“I have a brother and a sister, like you. They both have a million kids. I love them, but they couldn’t pay me enough to dress up in a giant, fuzzy bunny costume.” 

You threw your head back against the headrest, laughing loudly.  

“You never told me that!” 

“You never asked.” He responded, raising an eyebrow at you and smiling. 

“Hmmm. Let’s change that.”  

You spent the drive asking him every question you could think of. His favorite color was purple, even though he didn’t own anything that even remotely resembled the color. He didn’t have a favorite tv-show because he didn’t ever turn the tv on in his apartment. He loves dogs, but never adopted any because he thinks they should have a big backyard to run around in. He has a perfect attendance record at work because he never gets sick.  

When you pulled up in front of your sister’s house, you still had a million questions for him, but your mom’s waving hand at the front door forced you out of the car. Frank grabbed onto your hand as you walked up the driveway and squeezed it. You tried not to blush. Why did he have to be so God damned dreamy? 

He pulled his hand away to give your mom a hello hug. She winked at you over his shoulder, and your eyes stung at the thought of the holidate deal coming to an end. She was going to be heartbroken. She really liked Frank. You and Frank hadn’t discussed how long you’d be each other’s holidates, but you knew he would eventually meet someone else and have to put an end to your deal. 

“Frank, I’m so glad you’re here. Uncle Steve was supposed to be the bunny, but he fell off his motorcycle last night and can’t walk without crutches. What a shame. But we really need an Easter Bunny.” She shook her head sadly, clasping her hands together.  

The cackle that came out of you was obnoxious, but you didn’t care. This was the best thing that could’ve possibly happened. Frank looked back at you, eyebrows raised.  

“You didn’t mention that your family also did the ‘dress up like the Easter Bunny’ thing.” He muttered, expectant look in his eyes.  

“You never asked.” You responded, wiping the tears gathering under your eyes. Another fit of giggles had you gasping for air. You clutched your stomach, taking deep breaths, and then immediately busted out laughing again when your mom appeared with the bunny head in her hands. 

You spent the afternoon laughing every time Frank walked by you in the costume. He looked so defeated, but he was putting on a good show for the kids, who loved him. When it was time for dinner, Frank fell into his seat next to you. He looked exhausted, but the grin he sent you was to die for.  

“You could’ve told her no, you know?” You said, patting his hand. 

“I know, but it made you smile, so I didn’t want to.”  

Frank said this nonchalantly, but you felt his words in your gut. The chime of a knife on a wine glass stole your chance to respond. Frank lightly ran his fingers along your hand, and you spent the entire speech and prayer focused solely on the feeling of his skin against yours. If someone asked you about the speech, you’d be at a loss for words. You didn’t hear a word of it. 

After dinner, you had drunk so much wine that you excused yourself to the bathroom. Your sister busted through the door approximately 30 seconds after you had entered the bathroom, slamming it shut behind her. 

“Okay, it’s not like I’m in the middle of peeing or anything.”  

“Oh, shush. I need to talk to you.” Her hand subconsciously rested on her stomach. She was showing a little bit, and her lilac dress showed off her baby bump perfectly. 

“What is so important that you couldn’t wait for me to finish peeing?” 

She smirked, leaning against the door. “It looks like it’s going good with Frank.” 

“Oh my god. This could definitely wait until I was done.”  

“We’ve all noticed it. I mean, come on. The bunny suit? He did that for you, not the kids.” 

“Yeah,” you mumbled, trying your best to nod enthusiastically. 

Your sister’s face fell. “What? Is he not good in bed or something?”  

“What? No! I mean, I don’t know. We haven’t-” 

“Oh, is he one of those wait til marriage kind of people?” 

“No! Well, I don’t know.” You threw your hands up in exasperation. You couldn’t imagine Frank being bad in bed, but that was something you had been strictly not thinking about. 

“What are you hiding?” She asked, eyeing you. You should’ve known she would see through this eventually. You rested your elbows on your knees, dropping your face into your hands. 

“It’s not...real.” You finally mumbled. “We’re just faking it on the holidays for our families. A holidate, ya know?”  

“A holidate.” She repeated, voice full of confusion. 

“A holidate.” You sat back, looking up at her. 

“But he doesn’t look at you like it’s fake.” She shook her head, crossing her arms. 

“That’s the point. It’s an act. You can’t tell anyone, especially Mom.” You pleaded with her. 

“This could end very poorly.” She said after a pause, concern lacing her words.  

“I know.” You nodded slowly, then sent her a playful glare. “Can I wipe, now? In private?”  

Your sister left, quietly shutting the door behind her. You stood in the bathroom for an extra few minutes, contemplating the decisions that led you to this point. When you finally rejoined Frank at the table, he was engrossed in a conversation with your dad. He didn’t look at you, but he grabbed your hand, pulling it into his lap. Your sister sent you a pointed look, which you promptly ignored. The pattern Frank drew into your skin burned so hotly that it felt like a brand. 

 

4th of July: 

The 4th of July was always a huge affair for your family. Your parents rented a cabin on the lake and invited everyone and their grandmother to spend the weekend there, and this year, you were being upgraded to your own bedroom, courtesy of Frank’s presence. In the years you were with Ben, he had never joined you for the 4th of July celebration, so you had always been stuffed into a room with someone else. But not this year.  

When you called Frank, it was the first time you’d actually spoken in over a month. The few text check-ins barely counted as a conversation, and they were usually brief. You had nervously paced around the room as you listened to the ringing on the other line, hoping it’d go to voicemail. It was a big step, even if it was technically fake. Not only would Frank be spending the night with you, but he’d also be sharing a bed with you, which was a terrifying thought. 

Frank picked up, panting into the phone. His grunts were downright sinful, and you momentarily forgot what you were calling him about.  

“Am I interrupting something?” You asked, mind immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. 

“I’m at the gym, but I didn’t want to miss your call. What’s up, buttercup?”  

You explained the situation, pacing back and forth around your kitchen when you got to the ‘one bed’ part.  

“Of course, I’ll come. I wouldn’t miss it. Do you want me to stay somewhere else?” 

Your eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?” 

“I can tell you’re walking a hole into your floor right now. We don’t have to share a bed if you don’t want to. I can stay at a hotel or something.”  

“No! I mean-” you paused, closing your eyes, “I just meant that if you would be uncomfortable, you don’t have to come. I didn’t want to pressure you into anything. I don’t mind sharing a bed if you don’t”  

You bit your lip, waiting for his response.  

“Cool. I’ll drive. What time are we leaving?” 

And that was that. Frank picked you up in his car, so giddy about the trip that he was practically bouncing up and down. The drive there wasn’t too long, but you spent the time catching up with Frank. Besides the occasional text, you really didn’t talk to him often when it wasn’t a holiday. After the conversation with your sister on Easter, you had set boundaries with yourself. You only let yourself think about him some of the time, and you certainly didn’t reach out to him. It was better if you distanced yourself from him on the regular days of the year.  

Frank insisted on unloading the car himself and wouldn’t let you lift a finger to help. He even carried your purse in for you. Your mom hugged him so tightly you winced out of sympathy for the poor man. Frank was a big man, but your mom could summon the strength of three grizzly bears when she wanted to. 

Frank said his hellos, shaking your dad’s hand and asking your sister about her pregnancy. Being only 2 months away from her due date, she was fully showing now. When you finally made it to the room you were sharing with Frank, you were so nervous you started to gnaw on the inside of your cheek.  

The bed was big, but so was Frank. He’d take up at least two-thirds of the space. You didn’t let yourself think about tonight, or the rest of the weekend. That was a problem for future you. Your brother bolted past the doorway, stopping only to invite you both to swim in the lake before he took off again. He was only a couple years younger than you, but he had the energy of a 12-year-old boy.  

“Do you want to go?” Frank asked, flopping onto the bed. He propped his head on his hands, which were stretched behind him. His shirt had risen up, giving you a full view of his happy trail. Your mouth dried at the sight. 

“Oh, sure.” You finally responded, shaking the thoughts from your head. “Do you?”  

“Whatever you want to do is fine with me. Your mom’s not going to make me dress up like a giant firework, is she?”  

You stifled a laugh, reaching for your swimsuit. “I don’t think so, but you never know with her.” 

Frank closed his eyes, settling into the mattress.  

“You can change. I won’t peek. Holidate’s honor.”  

The idea of being bare in front of Frank was not something you had prepared yourself for, and you could feel yourself begin to sweat. You slowly closed the door, which increased the heat in the room to suffocating levels.  

You studied Frank, whose eyes remained closed. He looked peaceful in this position, unbothered by the trials and tribulations of life. You slowly unbuttoned your shorts, pushing them down your legs. Your gaze remained on Frank, blissfully unaware of what he was doing to you. Heat pounded between your thighs, and you couldn’t help the image that popped into your head of Frank’s head dipped between. You bit your lip, watching as Frank shifted his hips on the bed and cleared his throat.  

The sound of your brother’s footsteps stomping past the closed door startled you out of your thoughts. A cold wave washed over you, chilling you to your bones. You hurried to put the rest of your swimsuit on, almost falling over in the process.  

You stepped out of the room, taking a deep breath. This weekend was going to be rough, and you had only been there for 15 minutes. When Frank joined you outside, you had to look away in order not to groan. Frank was unreasonably fit, muscles bulging in places you didn’t even know muscles existed. You focused on rubbing sunscreen into your skin, looking everywhere but at Frank.  

He stopped behind you, grabbing the bottle of sunscreen off the table. You froze when you felt his hands gathering your hair, moving it in front of your shoulders. He squirted sunscreen on his hands and began lathering it across your back and shoulders. You watched the group of people gathered around the lake, taking turns swinging into the water off a rope. The only thing that stopped you from turning around and slamming your lips against Frank’s was the horrible awkwardness that would settle between you for the entire weekend if Frank rebuffed your advances.  

His hands worked their way down your back, stopping millimeters above the waistline of your bikini.  

“All done.” His voice was husky in your ear. You slowly turned around, looking up at Frank. He brought his hand up to your shoulder, rolling the strap of your bikini between his fingers.  

“Purple.” He observed. “I like this color.”  

He stepped around you, taking your hand in his and tugging your arm. You tried not to stare at his ass as he led you down to the lake.  

Later, after hours of swimming and eating the burgers your dad had grilled for everyone, you stared at your reflection in the mirror. Even though the lake water had been freezing, and you had spent most of dinner leaning into Frank’s natural body heat, you had taken an ice cold shower. Frank was in the room, already showered and probably in bed. You prayed that he would be asleep when you finally got the courage to enter the room.  

You took a breath, stepping out of the bathroom and making your way down the hall. When you stepped into the dark room, Frank was lying flat on his back in bed, scrolling through his phone. 

You crawled into the bed, doing your best to avoid touching Frank. Frank was broad, though, and your shoulder ended up touching his no matter what position you laid in.  

“Jesus,” he mumbled, turning on his side and facing you, “you’re freezing.”  

You cleared your throat. “I’m fine.”  

He gave you a flat stare, pressing his shoulder into yours. You pushed back, settling against him. Your body seemed to have a mind of its own. Frank was warm, and you really were freezing after your cold shower, so you relaxed into the touch, shutting your eyes. The back of Frank’s hand brushed yours as you fell into a deep sleep next to him.  

The next evening, you watched as Frank and your dad set up the firework area that everyone would be gathering around soon. Your sister lounged in the chair next to you, fanning herself.  

“Why don’t you just date instead of faking it? You act like a couple already.”  

“Because that wasn’t the deal, and who says he even sees me like that?” 

“Do you see him like that?”  

 “I don’t know. No.” You shook your head. “It’s not like that.”  

“That suggestive sunscreen job I witnessed yesterday says differently.”  

You didn’t want to argue with her, so you remained quiet, watching Frank’s back muscles flex as he lifted a piece of wood and chunked it to the side. When he made his way back to you, he was coated in sweat, which somehow made him even better to look at. He smiled at you, stopping to press a kiss on the top of your head. Your sister shot you a look when he continued walking towards the cabin. 

When it was finally dark enough to shoot off fireworks, your dad counted down, setting off a huge firework when he got to zero. The night took a turn for the worse shortly after that.  

It had started with your brother jokingly shooting a firework near you that landed a little too close for comfort. Frank had a competitive side apparently, thus began an outright firework war that ended faster than it began. You ran for the cabin, stopping when you heard the unmistakable sound of Frank grunting in pain.  

He had fallen to the ground, clutching his hand to his chest. You turned on your heels, bolting to Frank and falling to your knees in front of him. His finger was missing, and you did your very best not to puke all over your severely injured holidate.  

“Oh my god. Oh my GOD. Frank!” You faintly heard the sound of someone calling an ambulance behind you. You clutched the sides of his face, trying to figure out what to do. Your brother was searching the ground around you, and you balked in horror when you realized he was looking for Frank’s finger.  

“Is it bad?” Frank asked, grunting when he tried to lift his hand. 

“Is it bad?” You repeated, incredulously, “Yes, it’s bad. Where the fuck is your finger, Frank?”  

He barked out a laugh, and then groaned at the movement.  

“You’re the only person who’d get mad at someone with a missing finger.”  

“This is totally karma getting us back for lying to my parents on Valentine’s Day!”  

The ambulance arrived shortly after that, and you jumped into the back with Frank before the paramedics could tell you any differently. You spent hours in the waiting room as Frank had his finger surgically attached, drinking shitty coffee and flipping through the months-old magazines on the table. When the doctor finally told you he was ready to be seen, you had to stop yourself from running down the hall towards him.  

He was in a recovery room, lying on the bed in a hospital gown.  

“How are you feeling?” You asked, plopping down on the chair next to the bed. The hand that had lost the finger was wrapped in pounds of gauze, propped up on a pillow.  

“Like shit.” He grumbled, taking your hand in his uninjured one. “I totally ruined your family’s holiday.” 

“Frank, my brother is the one that shot your finger off. You didn’t ruin anything. I’ve gotten about 75,000 texts asking for updates on you since we got here. They’re not worried about the holiday, they’re worried about you. ” 

“This is the worst holidate ever.” He moaned, exaggerating his eye roll.  

You giggled, resting your chin on your free hand.  

“At least you still have all your extremities.”  

He chuckled, looking at his injured hand. 

“Thanks for staying.” He squeezed your hand as he said it, looking over at you. 

“Holidates don’t leave holidates behind.”  

 

Halloween: 

Halloween was something you hadn’t officially celebrated in years, but your brother was finally getting hitched, and you were actually pretty excited about it. Frank was coming as your plus-one and holidate, even though technically the event wasn’t holiday related. It was the same weekend as Halloween, so Frank had insisted on joining you. He had even gone as far as pointing out that it would be strange for you to show up to the wedding alone, considering how long he’d been attending family events with you. 

Your mother had done all of the hotel booking, so you and Frank were sharing room again, but you weren’t as nervous this time around about that. The weeks after the finger incident had changed something between you and Frank. At first, you basically lived on his couch, waking him up throughout the night to give him the medicine his doctor had prescribed him. You had to help him button his shirts for work, a task you still thought about daily, and stocked his fridge with meals that he wouldn't have to fuss over with his injured hand.  

It was now a fairly regular occurrence to hear from Frank throughout the day. A random text every few hours, or a phone call during his lunch break was something you’d grown used to in your daily routine. You still didn’t know what you were doing. The idea of actually dating someone was terrifying, but you couldn’t decide if it was worse than the idea of not seeing Frank.  

Frank’s voice coaxed you out of your deep thoughts. 

“I can’t get this bowtie to sit right.” Frank called from the bathroom.  

You moved towards his voice, clutching the front of your dress.  

“Zip me, please.” You mumbled, turning your back to him. He obliged, running his cool knuckles up your spine as he zipped the dress up. You focused on the bowtie, undoing the ridiculous knot he had wound into it while trying to fix it.  

“You look great. Beautiful.” He sighed, looking you over. 

You smiled. “You’re only saying that because the dress I’m wearing is purple.” You didn’t mention that you had picked this dress out specifically because of the color. 

“I can like the color and also like you in the color. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”  

You retied the bowtie, patting his chest when you finished. “You look good, too.”  

“You’re making me blush.” He chuckled, leading you out the door.  

Your sister met you in the lobby, holding the newest addition to the family in her arms. She had gone into labor in the middle of September, bringing your nephew into the world a short 6 hours later. Frank’s first interaction with him had been so annoyingly adorable that your mother didn’t stop sending you meaningful looks for hours afterwards. 

The ceremony was short, but as weird as you expected it to be. Anything your brother was involved in guaranteed a strange experience, but Frank didn’t seem to mind. He spent the ceremony clutching your hand between his and toying with the fabric of your dress.  

The reception is when it got really interesting. You finally escaped the dance floor, where your dad was thoroughly drunk and had been whipping you around in circles for what felt like hours. You stepped off the raised floor, heading directly for Frank, who had been watching you dance with a bemused expression on his face. 

“That looked fun.” He observed, passing you the glass of water on the table.  

You gulped it down, all too aware of Frank’s heated gaze. You could always tell when he was looking at you. A fiery shock would slide down your spine and settle deep in your bones when his eyes were on you. You never got used to it, but tonight you decided to welcome the feeling.  

Maybe it was the champagne, or maybe you were just tired of sitting on the relationship fence with Frank, but you leaned over him, giving him an unrestricted view down your dress as you set the empty glass down on the table. He remained unfazed, glancing over your shoulder at the dance floor. 

You tried not to look disappointed. You had spent so much time with him that maybe you had created a false narrative about him. It had been 10 months since you’d reconnected, and he’d only ever been affectionate with you when you were in front of your family. Which, you reminded yourself, was the deal.  

You shook your head, ridding the thoughts from your head. You held out your hand in question, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Dance with me.”  

A goofy smile spread across his face. “It'd be an honor, ma’am.”  

You led him across the dance floor, swaying to the music that had changed from fast paced to slow and romantic. Your steps were clumsy and awkward, but that didn’t deter Frank.  

“Let me lead.” He mumbled, looking down at your feet.  

“I can’t not lead. I always lead.” You respond, trying and failing to relinquish your control. 

“Let me lead.” He repeated, squeezing your waist. “Relax.”  

You took a deep breath, following his steps as best you could. It was rather nice, dancing with a man that you could trust to guide you around the dance floor. With Ben, you’d always had to lead. He was a terrible dancer. Frank, though, was a natural.  

He effortlessly led you around the floor, pulling you closer every time he spun you around. Your chest was fully pressed against his, and he smiled as he rested his forehead against yours. You couldn’t hide the ridiculous smile that mirrored his. On any other occasion, you would pull away and stick to the holidate rules, but tonight didn’t feel like a holidate date, so you stayed exactly where you were, cheesing so hard your cheeks were beginning to hurt.  

His eyes darted down to your lips, and then quickly returned to your eyes. You couldn’t help it. You leaned in, just barely grazing his lips with your own. It didn’t qualify as a kiss. It barely qualified as anything, but the expression on Frank’s face had you reeling back. You couldn’t tell if he was upset, confused, or mad, but you opened your mouth to apologize anyways. 

“I’m-” 

The feedback from the microphone cut you off. Frank’s grip on your waist tightened as you whirled around, looking toward the stage. It was time for the ‘father of the bride’ speech, and you couldn’t believe how unlucky the timing was.  

You didn’t look at Frank as you made your way back to your family’s table. Instead, you grabbed your nephew out of your sister’s hands, rocking him in your arms as the speech began. You didn’t need to look up to know Frank was staring at you. He hadn’t stopped since you’d barely kissed him moments before. Heat traveled up your neck and across your cheeks. You felt like crying, but you didn’t know why. Did you just ruin possibly the best friendship you’d ever had by misreading the situation? 

The speech finished, and you went to hand your nephew back to your sister, when the worst possible thing that could’ve happened, happened. Your nephew, cute and as bubbly as could be, decided he wanted to projectile vomit all over your chest. You didn’t move for several moments, trying to comprehend everything that led to this moment. 

Your sister wouldn’t stop apologizing as she took the baby from you. The anxious ringing in your ears was back, and you couldn’t breathe. Tonight was going so poorly, and you were so overwhelmed with Frank that frustrated and embarrassed tears began pouring down your cheeks. You could feel Frank’s hand wrap around your wrist as you turned towards the exit, but you shrugged him off, moving out of the reception hall and towards the elevators in the lobby of the hotel. 

You knew you’d have to face him eventually, but all you could think about was getting out of there, away from his overpowering presence. When you finally got to your room, you couldn’t stop the overflow of tears. Your dress was ruined, probably cursed to smell like baby puke forever, and your makeup was so smeared it would have to be completely redone if you wanted to return to the reception. 

You decided you had had enough of dancing. You stripped your dress off, stepping into the boiling hot shower. You wiped your face, staining the white washcloth black. Your fists squeezed into tight balls as the bathroom door opened and shut.  

“Are you okay?” 

Frank’s voice was soft, and tears welled up in your eyes again at the sound of it. He was always so nice.  

“Why do I feel like you’re always asking me that?” You finally responded, resting your head against the cool tile of the shower wall.  

“You’ve had an off year. We all have ‘em. Are you okay, though?”  

The sympathy in his voice caused even more tears to fall down your face. You couldn’t even figure out why you were crying anymore.  

“I’m...I don’t know.” You mumbled, wiping your cheeks. “I don’t know. Is that okay?”  

“Of course. But you’re allowed to not be okay. I’m here for you either way.”  

You groaned, closing your eyes. “Happy fuckin’ Halloween.” You mumbled. 

You turned the shower off, drying yourself off with the towel hanging on the wall of the shower opposite the shower head. You opened the curtain, clutching the towel to your chest. Frank was sitting on the toilet lid, leaning against the back of the toilet, looking directly at you. His gaze was hard to read.  

“We don’t have to go back, do we?” You asked, stepping out of the shower. 

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” He stood, moving to lean against the counter next to you.  

You gazed at your reflection. A few tear paths, stained with mascara, were scattered across your cheeks. You rubbed them with the palm of your hand, trying to wipe away any of the remnants of tonight. 

“Beautiful.” Frank mumbled, looking at you through the reflection of the mirror. 

“What?” You asked, meeting his gaze. 

“You’re beautiful, even when your makeup is all over the place.” 

“Oh.” You breathed, turning away from the mirror to face him. 

He took a step forward, towering over you. His hand cupped your cheek, and he swiftly leaned in, pressing his lips against yours. The spark was electric, snapping the restraint in both of you. You pressed against him, opening your mouth for him to explore. He groaned, wrapping his arms around your waist.  

You didn’t let yourself think of the consequences as you dropped your towel, fully bare before him. He pulled away, looking your body up and down, before reconnecting his mouth with yours. You pulled on his bowtie, undoing the knot you had tied so many hours earlier. The buttons on his shirt slid apart easily, and suddenly Frank was tugging his shirt off, dropping it to the floor behind him. He cupped the back of your knees, hoisting you into the air as you gripped his back and wrapped your legs around his waist. 

He carried you into the bedroom, grunting as he fell on top of you on the soft mattress. His tongue made its way down your neck and onto your chest. He licked a path down your sternum and onto your stomach, planting kisses along the way. His path downward stopped suddenly as he lightly kissed and sucked on your hip, leaving what was sure to be a mark the next day.  

He lifted your legs, resting them on his shoulders. He looked up, lustful and heated in his gaze.  

“Can I?” He asked, squeezing your thighs. 

“Oh, please.” You responded, spreading your legs wider for him. 

He dove in, tongue lapping at your cunt. The moan you let out would surely wake whatever unlucky neighbors you had on either side of your room. You arched your back, giving him more access. His tongue made slow circles up your slit, settling just below your clit. He left kitten licks all around it, grinning every time you moaned. You scoffed when you realized what he was doing. He was teasing you. 

You let out a frustrated whine, arching your back further. 

“You need somethin’, darlin’?” He asked, punch drunk on your pussy.  

“I need you, Frank.” You whined, looking down at him. 

His gaze darkened, and you were almost afraid of what would come next. He finally, finally, circled your clit with his tongue. You saw stars, letting out the most uncouth moan you’d ever heard yourself make. He flattened his tongue, licking from your clit to your cunt and back again. Your legs began to shake, and he tightened his grip on your thighs. 

He drew figure eights with his tongue, sucking and licking you until you were so close you thought you might explode. He ate pussy like a man starved, and when your orgasm finally crashed over you, white-hot and all encompassing, you thought you might never reach that level of euphoria again. 

He rested his head on your thigh, grinning as he watched you come down from what was probably the best orgasm you’d ever have in your lifetime. Your heart was racing, and you let out several unsteady breaths. Your entire body was numb, and you couldn’t feel anything but bliss inside of you. Frank had wrecked you with his tongue, and all you could think about was doing it again.  

He crawled up your body, hovering over you. He ran his hands through your hair a few times before settling his gaze on yours.  

“Let's do that again.” You sighed, skin buzzing where he touched you. 

He chuckled, pressing a kiss onto the bridge of your nose. You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer to you. He was still wearing his dress pants, and you wiggled with discontent.  

“You’re too clothed, sir.” You said, grinning. 

“Yeah?” He asked, sitting back on his heels. 

“Yes.” You replied, watching as he slowly removed his belt. The sight of him kneeling over you, removing his clothes, was drool worthy. You had to remind yourself to close your mouth as he got off the bed and dropped his pants to the floor.  

The front of his briefs were stained with wetness, precum soaking through the fabric. Your mouth watered and you swallowed thickly as he stroked his hard cock, stepping out of his pants and underwear. Frank naked was a sight to behold. His cock was veiny and long, and your legs widened out of sheer shock.  

He smirked, pumping his cock again. You bit your lip to hide the moan crawling up your throat. He leaned over, pulling a condom out of his wallet. 

“Do you always keep condoms in your wallet when you’re a plus one to a wedding?” You ask, genuinely curious. 

“Only when my dates are incredibly sexy and wear my favorite color.”  

“Oh, so this happens often?” You tried to sound seductive instead of insecure, which is the feeling that began bubbling in your chest. 

“No. Not until tonight.” He shook his head, eyes following the curve of your hips and settling between your thighs. He slid the condom on and crawled over you again. 

Relief washed over you, and you spread your legs wider, inviting him to use you as he pleased. Your groans filled the room as he pushed into you, inch by inch until he was fully inside of you. It stung a little, considering how long it had been since you’d had sex with anyone, but he didn’t move, cradling your face and waiting for you to give him a signal that he could positively fuck you into the mattress.  

You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling his mouth to yours. His thrusts started slow, but the heat in your kiss sent another shock to both of your systems, and soon he was pounding into you. Skin met skin in a sinful, symphonic rhythm that overtook the room. He grunted into your ear when you lifted your hips, allowing him to push deeper into you.  

He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer to him with every deep thrust. Your heart pounded as he thrusted into you, over and over, pushing you closer to the edge. Your moans got louder, and that seemed to motivate him into fucking you harder into the mattress underneath you. He dipped his head into your neck, sucking the sensitive skin and leaving small marks in his wake. You squeezed your eyes shut, tears of pleasure rolling down the sides of your face. You’d never been fucked this good before, and the only logical reaction your body could think of was to cry. 

He kissed the tears, smiling as you clenched around him. He reached down, settling his finger on your sensitive clit. It took about 3 seconds before your body couldn’t handle the overwhelming pleasure washing over you. You moaned loudly, orgasm shattering through you. He groaned, squeezing you tighter against him. You both met your highs, hearts pounding wildly in your chests as you came.  

His thrusts slowed, until he finally stopped, breathing hard over you. Your body was so blissed out that it took you several minutes before you could open your eyes. Frank kissed your nose again, pulling out of you. You both groaned with oversensitivity. 

He disposed of the condom, falling onto the bed next to you. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, still breathing heavier than normal.  

You could barely hear him. The pounding in your chest had moved to your ears.  

“Mhmm.” You sighed, snuggling into the comforter under your head. “You?” 

“I’m in awe of you. I always am.”  

He grasped your hand, pushing the covers back and helping you crawl under them. He settled next to you in the bed, running his fingers through your hair. Your heavy eyelids tracked the movements, watching him watch you. The expression on his face was unreadable, but sleep was fast approaching, so you couldn’t find it in yourself to question it. You could barely keep your eyes open, the last thing you remember being the soft press of Frank’s lips on your forehead. 

// 

A pounding at the door woke you from your deep slumber. The hotel room was filled with daylight, and you shielded your eyes as you tried to find your bearings. Frank was next to you, lying on his stomach and hugging the pillow under his head.  

Another knock at the door had you jumping to your feet, grabbing an extra blanket and wrapping it around yourself as you made your way to the door. You opened it to your very concerned-looking sister.  

“You’re alive.” She observed, glancing over your blanket wrapped body, “And naked.”  

“Yes, thank you. Is that all?” You gritted your teeth, unintentionally snarling. 

She looked over your shoulder at Frank’s sleeping form and back at you. 

“Didn’t you agree with me that this would be a bad idea?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes.” 

“And you did it anyways?”  

“Yes.” You rolled your eyes, itching to slam the door in her face and crawl back into bed with Frank.  

“You’re going to get hurt. Or hurt him. Or both.” She stated, matter-of-factly.  

“I haven’t thought that far ahead, yet.” You admitted, leaning your head against the doorframe. 

Frank shifted behind you, and you looked at your sister incredulously. “Are we done?”  

“Check out is in an hour. That’s all I wanted to come tell you.” She said, floating down the hallway towards her room. You closed the door, rolling your eyes again.  

You turned, intent on forgetting the entire interaction, when you noticed Frank sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Hey.” You said softly, moving towards him.  

“Hey.” His response was blunt, voice hard and cold. He stood, sliding past you. He didn’t even spare you a glance as he rifled through his bag, quickly getting dressed. You sat on the bed, watching him move around the room and gather his stuff.  

You didn’t know what to say, or why it had gotten so awkward all of the sudden. You chewed your lip nervously. He finally looked over at you, resting his hands on his hips.  

“Can you check us out on your own?” He asked, seemingly annoyed.  

Your brow furrowed. “Um,” You started, trying to figure out where his coldness was coming from, “Yeah, I can do it.”  

“Okay.” He nodded, lifting his bag. “I’ll see you in a few weeks then?” His voice had softened a little bit, but the expression on his face was still cold.  

“Yeah.” You responded, not knowing what else to say. He walked out of the hotel room, not sparing a glance behind him. You watched as the door clicked shut, and you took a deep shuttering breath. Tears prickled behind your eyes, and you didn’t know what else to do besides packing your stuff. When you got to the lobby 20 minutes later, Frank was nowhere to be found.  

 

Thanksgiving: 

This was probably the most nervous you’d ever been to see Frank, even more than Valentine’s Day when you’d officially started being holidates. You had barely spoken to him since Halloween, which bothered you more than you thought it would. You’d grown so used to his daily texts and phone calls that the radio silence was increasingly frustrating. When you’d texted him to ask if he was still coming to your parents' house for Thanksgiving, he’d sent a simple ‘yes’ 12 hours later.  

You were perplexed by Frank’s behavior, but you chalked it up to overthinking your night with him. You’d never agreed to anything more than holidates with him, and you couldn’t just assume that Frank would be different with you after having sex with you. You had simply misread the signals he’d been sending you, and that was your fault.  

Your mother hadn’t stopped audibly sighing since you’d shown up on the front porch alone. You hadn’t talked to Frank about riding together, so you’d texted him that you were driving yourself. He hadn’t responded, and it was now 15 minutes past the time he was supposed to be here. 

“Are you sure he’s coming, honey?” Your mom asked, fiddling with the oven mitts on the counter.  

“He said he’d be here.” You muttered, trying not to look at the clock again.  

Your phone buzzed, and you read a text from Frank: ‘I’m outside.’ 

You walked out to the front porch, where you met Frank, who was holding two bouquets of flowers in his hands.  

“More flowers?” You asked, looking at the beautiful array of orange, yellow, and red flowers he had picked out.  

“Of course. You know I never show up empty handed.” 

“I’m surprised you showed up at all.” You couldn’t keep the bite out of your tone as you said what you’d been worrying about since Halloween.  

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Frank didn’t raise his voice, and for that you were glad, but the tone was definitely sharper than you were used to.  

“I just meant that you haven’t been very communicative lately. If you met someone else, that’s fine, but I need to know that stuff so I can tell my family we broke up.” You crossed your arms and shuffled your feet. 

“Is that what you want?” He asked, eyeing you. 

“What?” 

“To break up.”  

“We’re not together, Frank. It’s not real.”  

He inhaled sharply, nodding.  

“Okay.” He said finally, handing you both bouquets. He turned, stalking back towards his car.  

“Where are you going?” The tremble in your voice was entirely too noticeable, and you kicked yourself for being so emotional over this non-relationship. 

“Home. We're not fake-together anymore. Remember? Tell your mom sorry for the inconvenience.” 

He climbed into his car and pulled away from the curb at an alarming pace. You stood there, dumbfounded, watching his car until you couldn’t see it anymore. The tears that you’d spent the last few weeks holding in finally made an appearance, and sobs began to overwhelm your body.  

You had totally fucked everything up, and now you had to go inside and tell your family that you and Frank had broken up. The thought of it made you cry even harder.  

The door opened behind you, and you felt the soft embrace of your sister around you.  

“I’m so sorry, honey.” She mumbled into your back, squeezing you into a hug. 

“I don’t know what happened.” You said, clutching the flowers to your chest.  

“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.”  

She held you for longer than you care to admit before you finally went inside to deliver the news. 

 

Christmas: 

You layed on your parents’ couch, watching as your mom slowly decorated the Christmas tree in the living room. You usually helped her, but you’d been a wreck since a few weeks ago at Thanksgiving, and your mom hadn’t asked for your help, just your company. 

The tree came together perfectly – it always did when your mother was involved – and you tried not to think about Frank, or the fact that you hadn’t been able to sleep or eat since you’d seen him last.  

When your mom sat on the couch next to you, she sighed, which was always a sign that she had something important to discuss. You tried not to outwardly groan.  

“Honey,” she started, taking your hand in hers, “I know you miss Frank, but you can’t let this ruin your happiness. He is very handsome and nice, and I don’t know what happened between you two, but I need you to remember that you deserve a kind and forgiving love like the rest of us. If he can’t offer that, he’s not worth your time.” 

The overwhelming urge to come clean to your mom about the entire thing ate at you as you listened to her. You responded before you could lose the nerve. 

“Mom, I made a mistake.” 

She nodded, leaning forward to listen to you.  

“Frank wasn’t really my boyfriend. We were faking it, so that you and dad would stop worrying about me. Except, I think I really fell for him, and then everything went to shit, and I think I accidentally fell in love with him, and I don’t know what to do.”  

Your voice cracked, and another wave of tears fell down your face. The only thing you could manage to do lately was cry, and it was beginning to drain you of your will to function.  

“Oh, honey.” She chuckled, squeezing your hand against her chest. “We don’t care if you have a boyfriend or not. We just want you to be happy, sweetie. And I’m sorry if it came across like we were trying to marry you off. We just wanted you to find someone who could make you as happy as we make each other.” 

She pulled you into a hug and rubbed your back in a soothing pattern as you cried into her chest. 

“You know, we’ve never seen you as happy as you were with Frank.” She murmured. 

“It wasn’t real, Mom.” You muttered, shaking your head.  

“You can’t fake that. He looked at you like you hung the moon. And you looked at him the same way. Even if it started as something fake, that’s not something you can fake for long.”  

You stayed quiet, mulling over her words.  

“You should call him.” She suggested, shrugging her shoulders. 

“I can’t call him. We fake broke-up.”  

“You can do anything you set your mind to.” She stated, raising her chin. “I didn’t raise you to give up so easily.” She flicked your nose, smiling. “Do you want some hot chocolate? I’ll make it the way you like.”  

You sent her a small smile, nodding. “Yeah, thanks.”  

After she made it to the kitchen, you pulled out your phone. You weren’t going to call him, you weren’t insane, but you could text him. 

You asked him if you could talk and watched as the bubbles next to his name appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared on the screen. Your phone buzzed, and an uneasy feeling settled in your gut.  

‘Yes. Can you meet me at the Christmas tree farm off of Jones?’ 

You jumped up, pulling on your boots and yelling at your mom not to make the hot chocolate.  

“Where are you going?” She exclaimed, briskly walking into the living room. You were already a foot out the door. 

“Frank!” You yelled behind you, running to your car.  

The drive was frustratingly long, and you didn’t remember there being so many stoplights in town, and of course you hit every red light. 

When you pulled into the lot, you spotted Frank’s tall frame looking over a sad-looking tree. You got out, slowly making your way towards him. When you finally stopped next to him, you were convinced you might bite a hole through your cheek.  

“This looks like Charlie Brown’s tree.” You stated. 

“There aren’t any good ones left. I waited too long to get a tree.” He responded, shuffling his feet. You still hadn’t looked at each other. 

“Why’d you wait so long?” You asked, stalling. 

“I wanted to get one with you.”  

You looked at him, eyebrows raised.  

“With me?”  

He nodded, finally meeting your gaze. You didn’t know what else to do, so you wrapped your arms around him, pulling him into a hug. His arms tightly surrounded you, breathing you in for the first time in weeks.  

“I missed you.” He whispered, squeezing you for emphasis. 

“I missed you, too.” You murmured. 

When you pulled away, tears threatened to spill on your cheeks for what felt like the millionth time in the last month.  

“What happened?” You asked, confused at his behavior the last two times you’d seen him.  

“You told your sister sleeping with me was a bad idea, and I know I wasn’t supposed to hear it, but I took it as you didn’t want to be with me, and I freaked out. I thought we would be together after Halloween. Like seriously together, and then when you said that, I thought maybe I had been misreading everything since I met you. And then I realized what a dumbass I am, because the sad look on your face when I left on Thanksgiving told me that you actually did care about me. And then I didn’t know what to say to you, so I didn’t say anything. But what I should’ve said was ‘I’ve been in love with you since Easter, and I want to be your holidate for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me.’” He finished by throwing his hands up in the air.  

You smiled, eyes glistening. “Remember when I was the one who rambled when I was nervous?” You asked, giggling. 

He threw his head back and let out a loud laugh.  

“I do remember that, yes.”  

“Would it help if I said I came here to tell you that I fell in love with you a long time ago? And that I’m an idiot for ignoring it for so long? And that I love you so much that these last few weeks have been absolute hell for me?” 

He grinned, cupping your cheeks. “Yes, that does help a little bit.” 

“Are you sure?” You asked, leaning into his hold. “I could grovel more if you need me to. I came ready for anything.”  

“I’m sure, sweetheart.” He softly pressed his lips against yours, and you physically felt all of the pain of the last few weeks leave your body. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you.  

When you finally broke away, you were breathless and on cloud nine. You nodded towards the tree he had been looking at.  

“I like this one. Wanna get it?” You asked.  

He chuckled and nodded. “What Miss Daisy wants, Miss Daisy gets.”  

You giggled, pulling him into another kiss.  

If you’d told yourself a year ago that you’d be here, kissing Frank Castle in the middle of a Christmas tree lot, you would laugh at yourself. Frank wasn’t what you were expecting, but you had learned over the last year that the best things in life usually come when you least expect them to, and that when you have something good, you shouldn’t let go of it. You weren’t planning on letting Frank go anytime soon, or ever if you could help it, and the way Frank refused to drop your hand, even when you tried to get into your own car to drive to his house, told you he wouldn’t be letting go of you either.  

End Note: I really hope you enjoyed this! If you want to see this in a series with other Marvel characters, let me know! Also, can we please figure out how to get Jon into a romcom. I need that in my life IMMEDIATELY.

Tag List:

@xleiaorgana @mukbee @dilfs5678 @kokoterainonago666 @blackwidownat2814 @mymamalife @minervadashwood @emiemiemiii @h4rrys @messymissy @mylifeispainandiloveit @mossexe @fightmilk @spikedhe4rt @fictional-hooman @alexxavicry @hallecarey1 @km-ffluv @chiaraxtargaryen

[healer-pop]

STAR ANON I SEE WHAT YOU ARE!! /pos thats such a venture thing to do istg, I can't BELIEVE-

i also enjoy how we've all essentially decided they're a god damn tease and like to edge the fuck outta you <3 - feral

every day I crave writing a fluffy smut fic, where the two of you are in an long-term, established relationship, and it’s just the most endearing, loving, and goofy sex that you’ve ever read that makes you think, “these people are going to be head over heels in love until their 102. the way they act like an old married couple.” but then venture does the strap thing in overwatch and I lose my fluffy thoughts to p0rny ones. help.

i do think my favorite accepted headcanon for Venture is that no matter what, whether they’re serious or silly, they be teasing you non-stop. it’s like they have a sole mind for processing everything you do and churning out little things that make you pout so they can kiss your lips. just a wholesomeness and relaxed feeling about their relationship with you that makes you smile, you’re their best friend, they feel like they can joke around with you like that because they can never lose you, and they make it a point to bring light to your day. just inside jokes between two people who adore each other and can poke fun at each other, idk might be my ideal form of love. ❤️

and bringing that energy into the bedroom is so much fun, makes everything better. they can take it to a dommy state that just makes you completely soaked when they pair it with a “try me” kind of look, almost forcing a bratty partner to react or a subby partner to submission. they bring out the menace in all of us. best Dom EVER. and how they carry themselves?? so self-assured that they can almost feign empathy to your begging, you don’t even realize they’re edging you as they nod with their mirrored pout, “I know baby! Must be so hard, isn’t it? You want me to let you cum? Yeah? Awwww, so much… you’re taking so, so much, so much of my cock, huh? it’s probably just so big, stretching you out like that!”

on a completely unrelated note: VENTURE 100% THE TYPE THAT MAKES FUN OF YOUR TYPOS AND BRINGS THEM UP IN MIDCONVO.

[danmeiconnoisseur]

ranking mxtx couples from most to least healthy relationships

(0/10 least toxic, 10/10 most toxic)

1. lan wangji / wei wuxian (mdzs) 1/10 : they love each other so much they would never do anything to hurt each other the only reason they’re at a 1 instead of a 0 is because they need to have a discussion about safe and consensual sex

2. mobei-jun / shamg qinghua (svsss) 1/10 : theres a bit of a power imbalance but they’re cute and they love each other its wholesome

3. feng xin / mu qing (tgcf) 3/10 : sure they bicker and project their own insecurities onto each other and they’re both in denial about liking each other but i wouldnt call it toxic they’re just like an old married couple

4. jin zixuan / jiang yanli (mdzs) 3/10 : jzx is an asshole and jyl is too good for him but they do love each other. they’ve had some hiccups in their relationship but i wouldnt necessarily say its unhealthy

5. hua cheng / xie lian (tgcf) 4/10 : they love each other but their relationship is extremely codependent to an unhealthy degree but they would never do anything hurt each other they’re just a little blinded by love

6. shi qingxuan / he xuan (tgcf) 6/10 : so maybe hx killed sqx’s brother right in front of them and lied about his identity and originally befriended them as part of a revenge plot but they love each other okay? now that shi wudu is out of the picture they can be happy

7. luo binghe / shen qingqiu (svsss) 9/10 : extremely toxic, sqq is the DEFINITION of gaslight gatekeep girlboss and lbh has abandonment trauma partially from sqq its actually so unhealthy omg

8. xue yang / xiao xingchen (mdzs) 10/10 : xue yangs obsession with xxc is extremely unhealthy and he’s very dedicated in his mission to cause xxc irreparable psychological damage and murder everyone he holds dear

9. jin guangyao / nie mingjue / lan xichen (mdzs) 11/10 : literally jgy killed nmj and lxc killed jgy. need i say more?

[hogwartseighthyear]

lessons in apparition

“your girl” series: part 1 | part 2 | (part 3) | part 4

(can be read as a standalone)

pairing: neville longbottom x fem!reader word count: 1.9k tags: rated G, house-neutral reader, outsider POV, fluff, pre-relationship, injury mentioned but not in explicit detail, Y/N used summary: neville jumps to your rescue during an apparition lesson gone wrong. note: set in sixth year, it’s less neville’s friends knowing he’s stupidly in love with you and more so neville’s friends knowing you’re both stupidly in love with each other. i skimmed over chapter 18 of HBP for canon compliancy’s sake, and i had a lot of fun writing this one. enjoy and thanks for reading!   request: (anon) “Can I ask for a part 3 of your girl/part 2 of crush where we get more moments of nevilles friends knowing he's in love but in later years?″ [x]   (cross-posted here to AO3)

“I’m just saying, Ronald, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little more—”

“Ronald, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little more—”

“Oh, mocking me again? Hilarious, really. That one certainly never gets old.”

“It’s not my fault you’re too bloody uptight to take a joke!”

“And it’s not my fault you’re too empty-headed to come up with anything original!”

Harry sighed as Ron and Hermione descended into yet another petty fight. They’d been at each other’s throats for months now, ever since Lavender had firmly attached herself to Ron’s side (and attached her mouth to his mouth, constantly), and Harry was getting quite tired of it.

It was Saturday morning—the morning of their second Apparition lesson—and despite the fact that the three of them had walked to the Great Hall together, Ron and Hermione had been so busy having a spat that they hadn’t said a single word to Harry the whole way there. So it wasn’t at all surprising that neither of them seemed to notice when Harry stepped away and swiftly headed off in the opposite direction.

He loved Ron and Hermione dearly, of course, but if he had to listen to them fight for a single minute longer he was certain he’d go insane.

The wooden hoops were already spread out on the floor and all the other sixth years chattered amongst themselves as they filtered into the Hall and found their places. Harry was careful not to trip as he weaved through the room, scanning his classmates for a friendly face. He would’ve liked to have taken the chance to eavesdrop on Malfoy again, just like the previous lesson, but he and his Slytherin cronies weren’t present yet.

“Oh, hello, Harry!”

Harry turned to find Neville waving happily at him. You were also there at Neville’s side, as you often were, and you sent Harry a smile. Harry let out a breath of relief and walked over. Perhaps he was only trading one pair of oblivious friends for another, but at least the two of you were actually pleasant to be around.

“Hey, Neville, Y/N. Mind if I stand with you guys?” Harry asked.

“‘Course not, you’re always welcome. Are Ron and Hermione still…?” Neville trailed off with a grimace.

“Being complete dunderheads?” Harry filled in. “Yes, unfortunately.”

You and Neville peered across the Great Hall over Harry’s shoulder, where said dunderheads were still arguing. Ron’s face was flushed red with anger and Hermione’s hand gestures had become increasingly animated. People were starting to cast odd looks their way, and Professor McGonagall was already approaching with a stern expression. Presumably to break up their squabble and take away house points.

“Goodness. They fight like an old married couple,” you commented.

“A miserable old married couple,” Neville said.

Harry thought the comparison was a bit ironic. If any two students at Hogwarts acted like an old married couple, it was you and Neville—but in a more wholesome and heartwarming way. So much so that it was a little sickening at times.

Neville made your tea for you each morning at breakfast, just the way you like it. You straightened his tie and fixed his hair without being asked. You finished each other’s sentences and cry-laughed at inside jokes no one else could ever hope to understand.

Frankly, Harry thought it was almost offensive that you and Neville weren’t dating already, as did everyone else who knew the two of you. But whatever. It wasn’t exactly any of his business. And anyway, these days Harry already had to deal with enough unresolved romantic tension just by being in proximity of Ron and Hermione.

“Do either of you reckon anyone will actually manage to Apparate today?” Harry asked conversationally as the Heads of Houses gathered at the front of the Great Hall and began calling for everyone to ready up and find a hoop.

“Well it certainly won’t be me. But Padma told me she felt a ‘tugging sensation’ during the last lesson. She seems really determined,” you offered. “What about you, Harry? Nev said you’ve done it once before. Maybe you’ll pick it up quicker since you already know what it’s like.”

“Only a Side-Along,” Harry clarified. “I’m not keen to do it again, honestly. It felt awful. I’d rather take a broom if I need to go anywhere. Or, y’know, use my legs.”

“That’s understandable,” you said, nodding. “I’m still excited to learn how to Apparate, though. It must be so useful to pop from one place to another just like”—you snapped your fingers—“that.”

“I just hope no one gets Splinched again this time around,” Neville said with a little shudder. “Seeing Susan’s leg like that was—”

“��ghastly,” you finished. “Poor Susan.”

The sixth years in the Hall quieted down as Wilkie Twycross, the Apparition instructor from the Ministry, stepped forward and welcomed everyone to their second lesson. Without anymore preamble, he dove straight into the same lecture he had given a week before. Remember the three D’s! Destination, Determination, Deliberation!

Neville sarcastically mouthed along, making you giggle. In turn, Neville beamed at you like you’d hung all the stars in the sky. And Harry, watching the whole display, didn’t know whether the sugary sweetness of it made him want to smile or throw up. Still, your and Neville’s affection was leagues better than Ron and Hermione’s antagonism. So he really couldn’t complain.

Just like the week prior, the first few Apparition attempts yielded a great deal of staggering and stumbling, but nothing more. Harry still didn’t feel any sort of tugging or tingling. He just felt a bit silly, staring at a wooden hoop and spinning in place time after time to absolutely no avail.

“Merlin!” you huffed after the seventh attempt. “Why do we even have to twirl like this? I swear I’ve seen people Disapparate without twirling.”

Standing between you and Harry, Neville had squeezed his eyes shut and bent forward to rest his hands on his knees, trying to ride out his dizziness. “I dunno. Aesthetic and flare?” he guessed.

You snorted. “Imagine!”

“Determination!” Twycross was reminding everyone from the front of the Hall. “Feel the yearning to occupy the hoop throughout your body, mind, and soul. Let it overcome you.”

Nearby, Seamus had sprawled out on the floor with a defeated expression, and Professor Flitwick was worriedly holding a conjured bin in front of Terry’s face, which had turned a concerning shade of green.

After a short recess, the sixth years collected themselves as best they could and readied up for another go. There was a distinct, mounting tension in the air. This would be the class’s eighth attempt. Nothing had happened yet, but the trend had to break eventually. The question was who would be the first, and how.

Though Harry knew the universe had a penchant for repeatedly placing him in extraordinary situations at the center of everyone’s attention, he really, really hoped it wouldn’t be him. He would be just fine if he never Apparated again in his life, thank you very much.

“Alright, students. Once again, on my count,” Twycross announced. “One… two… THREE!”

There was a loud CRACK, followed by a shriek of pain.

Harry whipped around to see you standing in your hoop, teetering in place, with one of your shoes sitting a short distance away. But it wasn’t just your shoe. It was your shoe with the foot still inside, just past the ankle.

Neville shouted in alarm. There was a second CRACK. And all of the sudden, Neville was also standing in your hoop, wrapping his arms around you to keep you from toppling over.

“PROFESSOR!” he yelled as you held onto him with a death grip, crying into the front of his sweater.

It was unclear which professor Neville was calling out for, but it didn’t seem to matter. Out of the four Heads of Houses in the Great Hall, it was Snape who happened to be the closest, and he quickly strode over in a great billowing mass of black robes. To general astonishment, Neville didn’t flinch or shrink away. He barely even glanced at Snape. All of his care and concern was focused entirely on you.

With a sharp wave of his wand, Professor Snape cast the proper spell, which shot off with a bang and a puff of purple smoke. Once the smoke cleared, Harry saw that your foot had been firmly reattached to your leg, though you still whimpered and clung to Neville.

The rest of the sixth years in the Hall, who had all been watching in silent shock, started to murmur. Harry rushed over to you and Neville.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” he asked.

“I-I think— I think I need to sit down,” you stammered through your tears.

Neville immediately lowered you to the floor, not releasing his hold on you. Harry followed, dropping to his knee as the three of you huddled together. You trembled fiercely.

“Do you need to be escorted to the hospital wing, Miss L/N?” Snape asked, his voice even and unexpressive. You had been one of his more competent Potions students when he was still teaching the subject, which was enough to spare you from his usual nastiness, apparently, despite Neville and Harry’s presence: Snape’s two least favorite students.

You shook your head, sniffling and wiping at your cheeks.

“Are you sure? Even for a Calming Draught?” Neville asked worriedly, patting you down as if checking for any other missing pieces.

“No, no. Just… give me a minute,” you breathed. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”

Snape stepped away, allowing you to collect yourself. Neville rubbed his hands up and down the sides of your arms, and Harry placed one of his own hands on your knee, giving it a supportive little pat. He wasn’t too adept at comforting other people, but he tried.

“Sir! I think Longbottom just Apparated!” someone from the crowd finally called out to Twycross, and the murmurs exploded into excited, noisy chatter.

“Longbottom? No way!”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Oh, come on!”

“I saw it! He Apparated!”

“It’s true, Longbottom Apparated!”

Neville frowned and glanced around at all the gawking students. “What? No I didn’t.”

“Yeah you did, mate,” Harry said. Despite the fact that he still felt rather shaken by the whole ordeal, a wide grin had worked its way onto his face. “You didn’t even have to do a spin.”

You laughed wetly in Neville’s arms. “I knew it. The twirls are useless.”

Twycross had wandered over to peer at the lot of you on the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. 

“Ah, yes. An excellent example of sufficient determination at work,” he said. He turned to address the other sixth years. “Your whole entire being must want to move to your desired location, and you must be unwavering in that want. Now, while Apparition may come easier in moments of high emotion, it will do all of you well to remember…”

Harry tuned out the rest of Twycross’s lecture, suppressing an eye roll, and looked back to you and Neville.

Neville had turned quite pink, and the enamored smile you were directing his way certainly didn’t help matters. Harry’s own face heated in embarrassment at the sight, feeling as though he was suddenly intruding on something far too tender for his own eyes. He quickly removed his hand from your knee. You didn’t seem to notice.

“You know you’re amazing, right?” you said to Neville.

“I didn’t really do anything—”

“Don’t,” you said gently, and reeled him in for a hug. Harry heard a muffled thank you against Neville’s shoulder. He took a shaky breath and held you tighter in response.

Harry stood and returned to his hoop, leaving you and Neville behind for a moment of privacy. Yeah, that was enough unresolved romantic tension for him today.

[nordickies]

I just love reading your (and all the asks) takes on Fin and his relationships it’s just !!!! this fandom has had such a romanticised idea about Fin for so long, I love these more angsty analysis about his character and I totally agree. I’m also so here for angsty SuFin. Because their history is actually super angsty and there’s so much potential there!

I personally like to imagine Fin and Sve happily married nowadays and very lowkey about it (I think they get each other better than anyone else because they have been together [either as a kingdom or a couple] for sooo long) but I deeply dislike how the earlier fandom reduced them to this perfect married couple with no problematic aspects whatsover. Whether one imagines Fin and Sve as a couple or not, their relationship is very complex. I also wish people portrayed them more like an old couple that know all about the other’s most annoying character traits. Domestic fluff is cute but I crave banter between them!

I think Fin being a bit of a troubled person also makes sense because Finnish identity is complicated. Fin probably has somewhat of an ongoing identity crisis about his history and who he is the most close to, or wants to be close to. Like you and the other anon said, he wants to belong but also doesn’t want to lose himself which leads him to be closed off from others.

I love to hear it! I agree, Finland has always been a very one-note type of character. A bit boring, in my opinion, basically just serving the domestic married couple role with Sweden.

I want to remind that exploring these angstier topics and characterisations is not in any way diss toward the canon or people who enjoy Fin and SuFin in their canon form! I'm purely talking through my own boredom with the dynamic. My takes are just my takes <3

I think what still makes exploring Swe and Fin's relationship fun, with the flaws and all, is that there's still so much potential for positive and wholesome moments too? I know I've been focusing a lot on the negative aspects, but I'd say there are still a lot of cute references and examples to apply to them, even from the actual countries' relations. Because they basically grew up together, they both have parts about themselves that they got from each other - and there's nothing they can do about it

The odd thing is I could see their relationship actually working in today's time? So I totally see your vision. And I agree, the old nagging couple's energy is way closer to how I would imagine them. I don't think Sweden should put up and suffer with their situation; he would get back at Fin at times! They banter but still obviously care for each other

Their relationship wouldn't be all negative by any means!! But not perfect either. I think you said it the best, whether one imagines Fin and Swe as a couple or not, their relationship is very complex! Another amazing take anon, you guys are on fire today!

[correlance]

I just read your chalastor headcanons and that was so cute and wholesome

As an aroace im not much of a shipper

With charlastor i absolutely love the idea of them possibly becoming genuine besties on the next season. But ngl your headcannons were so cute a small part of me is thinking of making wholesome fluff ship art with them.

Im always platonic over ships but wholesome stuff like this do tugged on my heart strings <3

Thank you so much, my dear! As one of my old writing pals once told me, "Sometimes, your wholesome content is so sweet that it gives me diabetes and makes me puke rainbows at the same time." 😂

As for me, I am highly interested in seeing Alastor try to coax Charlie into realizing her full "potential", given she is "madly powerful". Series creator Vivienne Medragon (Vivziepop) also stated that "Alastor would make a good mentor", so I think we will see him fulfill that role for Charlie in canon in Season 2. Lucifer won't be happy about it.

As for the headcanons: If you feel inspired, please, feel free to explore your feelings through wholesome fluff ship art! Tag me if you post it.

My favorite part about being in a romantic relationship as an asexual person was literally just sleeping and physical touch, in a non-sexual context, with my partner. A lot of people don't realize that someone can also feel vulnerable while sleeping, and not just during sex, which is also why I think Alastor, per Medrano (Vivziepop), "doesn't sleep".

Additionally, because many asexual and aromantic people don't really seek out physical contact in a romantic sense, and a lot of allosexual people get their physical touch and other needs met by their romantic partner(s), being "touch-starved" is also a factor. I can absolutely see Alastor being "touch-starved", in the sense where he doesn't like to be touched without his consent, especially by other men, and prefers to initiate physical contact on his own terms, including with women.

However, he also probably hasn't experienced being touched in a long time, with the exception of Rosie and Niffty, because he keeps everyone at a physical and emotional distance. However, as we know, Charlie can be exuberant and more comfortable with touch, such as giving others hugs (i.e. Angel Dust in Episode 4), and she immediately hugged Alastor in Episode 8 because she was so happy he was alive. Alastor smiled at her in return, and seemed to enjoy her embrace.

Due to this, I think that Charlie and Alastor are building a unique bond, one where Alastor is slowly learning to trust Charlie, which includes allowing Charlie to initiate casual physical contact with him. In fact, Alastor becoming more comfortable with Charlie, and vice versa, will likely be used by Alastor to provoke Lucifer a bit in Season 2.

My headcanons were written with the mindset of Alastor meeting Charlie when he was alive and a human in the 1920s-1930s; and, as Medrano (Vivziepop) has stated, Alastor believes he is straight, even if he is truly asexual. Given this context, my post imagined a scenario where Alastor married Charlie because he genuinely enjoys her company, and deeply loves her more than anyone else in his life, even if he doesn't really experience sexual attraction or desire, like others.

There is also an underlying context of "Alastor married Charlie because it was normal for that time period"; and, even though Alastor and Charlie compromise on sex, their relationship is as healthy as it could probably be for a happily married couple in the 1920s-1930s.

However, people are always welcome to interpret my headcanon post as the characters in Hell or canon, or as demon Charlie and Alastor!

[royalsweetteaa]

Hi, if its still ok on the cevance character hc

What is it like to be married to them

Thank youu^^

This is such a wholesome idea for a HC.

I’ll gladly accept it! <3

CEVANS CHARACTERS & LIFE AFTER MARRIAGE

Steve Rogers

There’s nothing but joy that will radiate from the household of Mr & Mrs Rogers! Steve will not shut up about how you are a married couple and will through his sentences alone give a reminder of your vows as he can’t help himself.

“How was your day, my wife?”

“Good thing you have a husband who can handle the handy stuff around the house, am I right?”

He has always wanted to be a married man, and he embraces it by being a traditional husband, regardless of the relationship dynamic. He works hard outside the home, fixes things when they are broken, and he always takes initiative in asking you out to romantic occasions.

While he does have his work as an Avenger, he manages to balance it quite well to not keep the relationship distant as you are of high importance to him. Steve will ensure your happiness regardless if you choose to work or become a housewife.

Andy Barber

Your household as a Mrs Barber would be of a casual suburb, living like any other happily married couple and working your normal jobs per usual after your marriage.

Andy will brag about you more to his colleagues and his associates because he thinks you deserve to be recognized. “She is an amazing woman, and I couldn’t be more proud of having her as my wife.”

Andy is all about balance in the marriage. He takes care of things when they need to be taken care of in the house, and he can depend on you doing the same when he isn’t available. This includes cooking, cleaning, paying the bills etc. He doesn’t expect it, but that is what makes you compatible with how you help each other out. You enjoy still going on dates but spending time at home is where you find most comfort in each other after a long day of work.

Ransom Drysdale

Ransom has a lot to learn as he is used to only taking care of himself, but if he was willing to ask your hand in marriage, he is willing to do a lot of things and make many changes to ensure a happy marriage.

Ransom becomes even more protective of you now that you’re his wife, especially due to how it means you are a part of his family and you would have to deal with them more often.

“Yeah, she’s my wife now so you better not fuck with her or else you will all feel my wrath.” He will warn his whole family as he holds you around your waist. Luckily Harlan is nothing but nice to you like he has always been, and the old man makes up for joining the Thrombey family gatherings.

Jake Jensen

Despite Jake taking part of a special US forces unit, you are able to live a peaceful life together, even after marriage. Jake will take on more casual work on his plate so he can be with you more often as he himself feels the need to spend more time with you now that you have tied yourself to a life commitment.

Jake is an awesome husband, always down for whatever you, his wife wish things to be. If you want to take charge in decorating your new home, be his guest. If you want to start a family, he will give you a kid right away - and if you don’t, that’s completely fine with him too.

He wants you to live the life you want as a married couple, and it doesn’t matter which way because you have already fulfilled his only wish of having the perfect wife. Nothing else matters to him.

“God, I can’t believe I’m so lucky to have you as my partner for life. You’re like my Leia to Han Solo, and it’s just perfect.”

Ari Levinson

Ari being the busy man he is takes away days a week, but the times you have together are well spent in your household. While you miss him the days he is away, you being his wife makes it a given that you understand and respect his passion in helping people. He makes up for his energetic nature of being available when he comes home even after a long week of working.

“Sugar, I could run a lap around the lake right now without breaking a sweat. Don’t worry about me. I would love to spend time with my wife, thank you very much.” He will say with glee.

Ari wants to live a carefree life as a married couple and not follow a strict plan for the course of your lives. He thinks the best for the two of you is to enjoy life as it goes, and in that way you’re able to truly connect through good and bad. You take it upon yourselves to go places that gives you peace and spend time together, like the beach.

Johnny Storm

You know you’re a special woman when you get Johnny to settle down and get married. People are surprised when they find out that he had asked you and not the other way around.

Life is just about the same as it was before you got married, but Johnny will definitely be playful of calling you by your formal title now that you have his last name.

“What do you say we go for a ride, Mrs Storm?” He will say with a smirk, and it will earn him a chuckle from you as you accept his weekly invitation of riding his bike. With him, there are constant offers of sponsorships which means a lot of traveling to exciting places. You will have to expect paparazzis invading your personal space every now and then, but Johnny seems to take pride in showing you off, so you can’t say you completely mind.

Thank you @femefetalelevelingup for sharing your idea! It was enjoyable to write! ♥️

Check out my masterlist for more HCs below ‘common room’!

Hearts & Reblogs are very appreciated! <3

[alexandraisyes]

No pressure if you don't want to, but Kill Code ship ratings? I already know Solar Flare and Sun get a good positive rating with him... and (old) Moon probably gets a interesting rating since fictional toxicity is fun~

KILLCODE BELOVED OUGH I LOVE KC AND HE NEEDS KISSES. He's literally been shipped with basically EVERYONE by me and my friend group like we are insane about this eldritch man

Killcode x Solar Flare: 100 Stars - THEY ARE THE SHIP THEY ARE THE HYPERFIXATION THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE HUSBANDS THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH THEY WILL GET FUCKING MARRIED BECAUSE SOLAR FLARE IS SO DEVOTED TO HIM

Killcode x Sun: 5 Stars - HE LOVES HIM AND HES GOING TO FUCKING MAKE SURE HE KNOWS THAT HE IS LOVED AND THEY ARE SO SWEET AND WHOLESOME (and completely fucking feral bc KC doesn't give a shit about personal space, modesty, or privacy)

Killcode x Moon: 5 Stars - God the angst potential I love exploiting them. Moon was willing to do whatever it took to get KC under control and it left both of them with a lot of trauma every time

Killcode x Nexus: 4 Stars - They could and would be so wholesome like. Ough. I can't even explain it because I have so many different ideas but-

Killcode x Earth: 4 Stars - I was gonna say two stars again like I did on the earth ships but THEN I REMEMBERED MY RAMBLES AND IM LIKE HOLY SHIT NO I DID THEM SO DIRTY BECAUSE KILLCODE WOULD MARRY THAT WOMAN IN A HEARTBEAT

Killcode x Monty: 0 Stars - I have them paired for specifically one AU AND ITS NOT A GOOD PAIRING

Killcode x OG Computer: 5 Stars - No one who doesn't know the RESET AU understands this but they're so everything to me

Killcode x Ruin: 4 Stars - My friends really like them, and I have an AU where they're best friends (with benefits) so I also like them.

Killcode x Foxy: 4 Stars - Pls pls pls someone see the vision

Killcode x Miku: 2 Stars - He chose death over her

Killcode x Golden Freddy: 3 Stars - Old man yaoi real? Real.

Killcode x Glamrock Freddy: 4 Stars - Bearcode. I'm telling you. It's gonna be big and it's gonna be great and I'm gonna explode

Killcode x Solar (Nice Eclipse): 3 Stars - I'm still so curious about the logic behind this and so intrigued I wanna knowww

Killcode x Lunar: 4 Stars - No one understands my need for them they are so canon in Twisted Celestials and they mean everything to me they're silly little eldritch creatures and they're so curious about each other (they're also so canon to me for my bm and kc QPR AU where they're a couple of feral cats fr). Tall massive gentle giant x tiny little angry twink how the fuck can you not love it

Killcode x Helios (Dark Sun): 4 Stars - This could be so twisted and toxic and Helios could encourage him to be evil again I'm-

Killcode x Nyx (Evil Lunar): 5 Stars - His big guard dog that will tear his enemies to shreds and always come back at his call

Killcode x Gaia (Evil Earth): 2 Stars - She's the kind of person he hates to be honest. He'd kill her with no remorse.

Killcode x Crescent (Solar's Moon): 5 Stars - No one understands I have a MIGHTY NEED that has arisen from RESET AU. They're so so so ough I need them and I need them now he's KC's little mate he's so fucking playful and a little fucked up in the head but KC loves him anyways and jakl;fsdj;a

Killcode x Kronos (Lord Eclipse): 4 Stars - Objectively correct

Killcode x Crius (Servant Sun): 5 Stars - A SWEET LITTLE SUN FOR HIM TO DOTE ON AND LOVE AND KISS IM-

Killcode x Styx (Lord Lunar): 5 Stars - Thoughts about how possessive Styx seemed to be he would ask Killcode to stay so sweetly and of course Killcode would say yes (Styx is so fucking lonely bro KC feels so much sympathy)

Killcode x Moros (Servant Eclipse): 3 Stars - I am so intrigued but also I think Moros is too devoted to his Lord

Killcode x Icarus (Star Holder Freddy): 5 Stars - Bearcode but the bear is traumatized and that makes it better

Killcode x Eos (Lonely Sun): 5 Stars - ANOTHER SWEET SHY LITTLE SUN FOR HIM TO LOVE IM EXPLODING

Killcode x Khonsu (Feral Moon): 5 Stars - KC can fix him

Killcode x Angel (Solar's Sun): 5 Stars - ANOTHER SWEE-

[onepiece-polls]

One Piece Shipping War - Round 2 Side A

Propaganda under the cut.

Propaganda for Franky x Robin:

Do I really need to explain?

The old married couple who's healthy, Enies Lobby (and all their appearances) are their propaganda really.

It’s all about the maturity!

Their dynamic is perfect and their pasts are so similar. I love the chemistry between them as well as their introduction that helped build the connection and shared history they already have.

they are THE t4t bi4bi ship | franky telling robin "existing is not a crime" immediately puts this at number one for me | they are opposites (bright and loud + quiet and goth) but also they're both so eccentric and silly <3 | THEY WEAR MATCHING OUTFITS

Mom and dad Straw Hat

They are STILL the Mom and the Dad of the Straw Hats, this is the one thing I don't care what Oda says <3 Also their interactions in Enies Lobby and Thriller Bark are amazing.

In my eyes, they are married. Some of my favorite character interactions in the manga/anime and in official art.

Oda had Franky call Robin his wife at least once

Your honor they’re married

I'M GOING TO PUT LINKS IN MY EXAMPLES (Mod note: I linked to the whole post, the propaganda was going to get too long otherwise. But I will copy this line:...) They immediatly clicked in Enies Lobby, Franky saved Robin with both words and actions ("Your existence is not a sin!"), and then she grabbed his balls.

The duality of two kids who were just trying to chase their dream and having circumstances outside their control (the government) take everything they love away from them, but one choosing solitude and the other adopting every other person in a bad circumstance??? I love them. Plus they literally had couple moments from the first interaction.

The ultimate t4t couple idk what else you need theyre iconic

A wholesome ship of a woman who feels the need to be constantly on edge trying to relax and a man who is a 110% himself from the moment we see him. the joy of frobin is the causal domesticity, in many color spreads and especially post timeskip we can see them casually enjoying the others company.

Remember when Franky was in Chopper's body in Punk Hazard and every time he spoke Robin was like "Franky. Stop talking. Do not talk while you're in Chopper's body."

idk like. he's obsessed with her. she's his weird Goth gf and he's her himbo. they have matching outfits. I love them.

Look. It's Franky and Robin. Literally the only two characters that make sense to ship on the Sunny. Their arcs are inextricably intertwined (water7/enies lobby). Also LOOK AT THEM interacting, both during their arcs, but also thriller bark, or post time skip. I love them. Also robin crushed frankys balls.

funny big robot man & analytical smart research lady power couple... silly x smart... himbo x researcher... augh... so good

They are the ship for taxpaying adults your honor I LOVE them they’re literally freak4freak and they share such a fucking powerful arc together (Water 7).

that moment she let him sleep on her lap in punk hazard was sooo cute <3 -- The matching thigh highs and bottoms in film z can NOT be understated. -- Strawhat mom and dad -- Let's not forget the way robin convinced franky to join ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -- she also indirectly called his balls "treasure" so,,, -- the way their stories are so closely intertwined...they were both keys to destroy the world...the way they instantly connected over that...the soulmate-ism of it all...

they . them. girlboss and malewife. that's it.

She grabbed his balls. He totally liked it.

He's so silly and she loves it. She's so scary and he loves it. She grabbed his balls in public.

They will be endgame trust me. Franky doesn't treat any other girl like he treats Robin. There dynamic in Water 7 and Thriller Bark was and always will be one of the best in all of OP.

Propaganda for Rayleigh x Shakky:

They’re canon and very hot. These are facts.