#and eventually they have ashton ready to go but GASP

[antlereed]

Kissing reminded Laudna of how the sun felt on her skin. Warm and soft and all-encompassing, something she wanted more and more of as Imogen pulled her closer and closer. She gets pulled until she’s straddling Imogen, hands bracketing the now loose and wild purple hair as they part for a moment to really take in what just happened.

“Think they got the message?” Its whispered between them. The entire purpose for the little charade they’ve decided to audition and play the parts for back to the forefront of her mind.

(Imogen had announced she had a plan to get the room avoided, though she had been extremely tight-lipped about it around the others. No one had any other ideas, so Imogen’s mystery suggestion was the one they went with. They needed the room empty, and they needed any patrolling guards to give them a very wide berth while the entire group climbed up through the massive window.)

“Dunno, might have to try again just to be sure.” Imogen had that impulsive look in her eye, that same one she would get when contemplating a rather out-there plan. Her hands were still holding the front of Laudna’s shirt, keeping her close.

“Whatever keeps the room ours darling.” It’s Imogen, always Imogen, that pulls her back in and presses their lips together. Her lips are warm, chapped in a way that has Laudna thinking about getting her more water, and addicting in an unexpected way. Her hands find their way into Imogen’s hair, trying to get closer and closer, not wanting to stop until they’ve fused together. Her too-slow heart pounds in her chest at the thought, and Laudna pulls back with a shuddering gasp.

“Y’alright sugar?” Imogen sounds wild, voice low and rough and doing something to tie her stomach into knots as Laudna watches her lick swollen lips. Her eyes are dark and half lidded, fingers drawing small nonsense shapes on the nape of her neck and if Laudna didn’t know any better she’d believe she was fully under some spell.

(When Imogen explained her plan, a small part of Laudna was confused. Why not bring Fearne along, or Ashton? Why bring her, the person that inspired fear more than lust?

“I don’t think I’d wanna do that with either of them,” Imogen had been shy when questioned, refused to look up and at Laudna properly, “plus this ain’t really any different than when we’d pretend to be a couple for a room discount.”)

“Yes, just fine. Needed to catch my breath is all.” A lie, blatant and bold and Imogen clearly recognizes it. Her eyes do that thing, a faint dimming of the typically bright purple. Still, the hand that had crept under Laudna’s skirt retreats and Laudna takes a step back, hands already seeking out something to vent the urge to continue.

“I think we got what we needed anyways, heard a few folks go by. I’ll let the others know.” Laudna ignores the spike that shoots through her chest at the sound of Imogen, quiet and unsure, as she climbs up to the window and lowers the rope that had been waiting coiled in the corner.

It twisted something inside of Laudna, like a vertebrae in her lower back was out of alignment, watching her Imogen get the room ready for the eventual tossing as the rest of the party begins to climb the rope. Something burns in her chest, a thought shifting through her mind from a long-ignored portion of her brain.

“Imogen, darling, could I get your help for a moment.” It’s impulsive, but Pate was left with Sashimi and Caviar at the inn so she doesn’t have anyone else to talk her out of it. She doesn’t have much time, the rope already pulled taut under the weight of everyone climbing. Its her own impulse, and that’s enough for her to feel comfortable acting on it.

“Course Laud.” Imogen’s voice still has that too-soft quality, like exhaustion has suddenly crept up on her. That vertebrae, third to the bottom, twinges again and Laudna reaches out a hand, tugging Imogen closer. It’s impulsive, but its an impulse borne from nearly three years of unrecognized wanting, but she still presses their lips together. Its chaste, a far cry from the sloppy kisses they had shared moments ago, closer to a peck on the cheek in reality. Except she lets her tongue dart out for a moment, runs it against Imogen’s bottom lip before backing away slightly.

Orym crests the window first, and is immediately confused at the empty room he finds before him.

[wastelandcth]

Tomorrow Will Be Kinder - afi

summary: A brighter day is coming my way. 

author’s notes: I’m going to be really honest, this was @in-superbloom​ birthday present last week and I wanted to share it with her first before everyone else got to read it too. Inspired by this song!

warnings: angst, ashton is sad and that’s okay. 

masterlist || request

Ashton watched as the black clouds passed overhead, swirling into themselves before being spit back out. They were heavy with rain and at a moment's notice, prepared to flood the Earth with their torrential tears. If he was truly worried about the rain, he would've moved inside, found comfort in the warmth of the home he'd made for himself. He probably would've wrapped himself up in the fuzzy robe that was currently on the floor of his bathroom and laid around the house listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops against the roof and the windows. He would've sipped on a warm coffee and watched as the mountains he lived in disappeared behind the fog of rain and thunder, listening to the music that nature provided for him. If he was really worried about the rain, Ashton would've been more careful to no be in his pool, floating through the water as he tried to clear his mind the only noise around him was the muffled sound of thunder beneath the surface of the water.

But Ashton did not have a care in the world. Well actually, that was a lie. He had a lot of cares in the world and it was sinking him down further and further, weighing on him like a stack of brick placed on his shoulders ready to pull him deeper under the water, until the first raindrop landed against his forehead.

The past couple of days had been a whirlwind for him. His body and mind were completely apart and Ashton had, on multiple occasions, found himself doing things he'd never even remember starting. There was the day where Ashton looked up only to find himself in the studio with Calum, something he hadn't remembered planning or even getting up to do. Then there was the date night he'd gone to, where his eyes were focused on the screen for far too long before he realized that he'd been at a movie theatre. It seemed like his life was going on without him and Ashton wasn't too sure how to stop it. The raindrop, a heavy and cold presence on his skin, left him gasping as the world paused for just a moment, everything hanging in a suspended silence before the sky opened up and curtains of rain fell down on Ashton.

"What are you doing?" a voice called out, over the splashing of rain and thunder, bringing Ashton's eyes from the sky and over to the sliding glass door that had opened up much like the skies had a few seconds ago, "You're an absolute madman!"

Ashton watched her, her own wide eyes watching the scene in front of her, as she rushed over to the edge of the pool with a towel in her hands and her eyes squinting as the raindrops crashed against her skin. He was out of the pool before he could even register his body moving, his hands taking the towel and wrapping it around his shoulders, not that it made much of a difference. The dry towel soon became another weight on his shoulders, soaked with rainwater and the pool water that Ashton had dragged out with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked confused, his hands on her arms as he watched the soft strands of her hair stick to her forehead, "I thought you were out of town this week?"

"My meetings got canceled," she called out, her body jumping over the loud crack of thunder that shook the ground beneath them, "I called but you didn't answer."

Ashton frowned, his eyes searching for any sense of regret in her eyes, another loud crack of thunder finally spurring him into motion as his feet led both of them back through the glass doors. The whoosh of the doors sliding close, blocking out the rain storm from their shivering bodies, made Ashton's ears ring and with the silence that it left behind. His eyes watched his backyard, only hours before sunny and bright now covered in fog and clouds that felt more like his brain, the wind picking up and slamming down onto the ground. The trees around his house shook and swayed, dancing in the wind as the world shook around the storm.

"Ashton," her voice whispered, the warmth on her hand finding the cold skin of Ashton's back, the feeling sending goosebumps through his body as his eyes closed, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ashton mumbled, "I guess it's just been a bad day," he shrugged, his eyes finally opening to look over at her, a frown finding its way on his face as he saw her, "We need to get you into a warm shower, you're going to get sick."

Before she could answer, before she could throw a snarky reply back at him, Ashton took her hand and led her through the quiet of his house. Their footsteps echoed through the halls, the silence cut sharply when the shower was turned on. He knew he was being stubborn, that she was just trying her best to help him vent and open up with what was on his mind, but Ashton could barely put into words what exactly was wrong. The bathroom was soon steaming, the warm fog enveloping Ashton and her in the safety of the shower, melting down Ashton's stress and fog in his own brain.

"I missed you," Ashton whispered, his forehead leaning against hers as he breathed in the steam, letting it clear his lungs and his mind, "I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too," she whispered, her hands coming up to tangle in the curls Ashton knew she loved so much, "And you know that I'm always here for you. That the cloudy days are going to clear up."

Laying in bed, under the bedsheets with the warmth of her body next to his, Ashton looked out the tall windows that his bedroom had. He remembered when he'd first toured the place, the large windows almost made him skip the tour, he had never liked the idea of big windows because it meant that he'd have to buy large curtains and he wasn't even sure where to start looking for them. But he eventually looked past the troubles that came with large windows and  as he laid there in bed, listening to the soft breaths that left her as she laid her head on his chest, he realized that those giant windows were a blessing. The storm outside had slowly passed, the harsh wind reduce to a soft breeze and the black clouds now replaced with thin white clouds floating through the sky.

"I love you," Ashton whispered, knowing that the words would fall on sleeping ears and that he would eventually find the courage to scream them out when she was awake, "Brighter days are coming our way."

Because Ashton knew that the dark days had taken over and that they felt impossible to get away from, that the wind and the thunder in his brain would soon end and eventually, the sun would shine. He knew that the cold he felt in his bones would be replaced with warmth one day, much like the warmth he felt there next to her in bed, and that eventually the stars would align and Ashton knew that tomorrow would be kinder.

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[calmsweetcreature]

Making Out (BLURB 4/4)

A/N: These are little preference type things where someone sends me a prompt or title and I do a little blurb for each guy💙 send me ideas my lovelies! And let me know what you think! 

Warnings: Mainly fluff, might be a lil’ something smutty here or there.

Luke

I feel like with Luke it would start with you both cuddling Petunia on a warm sunny afternoon. 

***

You had been lounging on the couch for most of the day, listening to chill music and enjoying each other’s company. Luke had been staring at his two girls for a long time now, watching you nuzzle your nose against the top of Piggy’s head and kiss her ears.

“I’m starting to feel neglected over here.” Luke’s voice comes out husky from lack of talking, the two of you enjoying the silence and peace of the lazy summer afternoon.

“Awh poor baby,” you tease, grinning cheekily at your boyfriend as you leave Petunia’s side to crawl across the couch to lay across Luke’s lap.

“Damn right,” He smiles sweetly at you, stroking his fingers across your cheek. You lean into his hand, sighing contently as you both stare into each others eyes. Your eyes sparkle with a bright and happy love in them as you lean up to peck your man on the lips.

Luke instantly deepens the movement of his lips on yours and his fingers slide through your hair to hold your head close. 

Without parting from the kiss you move to straddle his lap, your hands on his shoulders. You both want to be as physically close as you can get, with your bodies pressed up against each others. You both moan against each others mouths as your fingers tangle in his curls to give little tugs while his hands grip your neck and his thumbs rub over your jaw.

It wasn’t so much intense as it was needy, both of you playfully going between shorter pecks and long tongue rolling kisses as you wrapped yourself around each other.

You could feel that Luke was affected by your kisses and you couldn’t help the giggle that spills out of your lips, causing him to pull away and glare at you playfully.

“What are you laughing at there missy? I know it isn’t my amazing kissing skills.” You roll your eyes at his words and tug on his hair hairder making him laugh.

“Not at all bub, I just feel flattered that my superior kissing skills have affected you so much.” To prove your point you wiggle your hips causing Luke to gasp out loud.

“You’ve got me there love. What do ya say we move this to the bedroom?” He wiggles his eyebrows and gives you an exaggerated wink, causing you to laugh out loud and lean forward so your lips are to his ear.

“Sounds like a plan, but I think that it’s only fair if...” You dip your head lower to leave a long lick along the sensitive part of his neck causing Luke to shiver. “...Last one to the bedroom is a couch potato!” 

You jump off of Luke’s lap and run towards the bedroom, cackling loudly as you hear Luke’s footsteps behind you.

“Hey no fair!” His shout echoes through the halls as he chases after his girl.

Calum

Our loveable soft boi at his finest

***

You had been standing in the doorway for the best part of fifteen minutes, watching Cal’s face intently concentrating on his computer screen. He had been messing around with a new song idea and had recorded bits and pieces to mess around with. He’d listen to the same ten second clip about forty times and was ready to pull his hair out. He takes his headphones off and leaves them around his neck as he adjusts his cap. He rests his head back against the chair and groans softly, his eyes slipping shut.

You sigh softly, walking over to your man and placing your hands on his shoulders. He jumps slightly before relaxing into your gentle touch as you try to soothe his tense muscles.

“Don’t think I didn’t know you were watching me, creeper.” His words are a soft murmur and you gasp, spinning his chair around until he is facing you.

“If you knew then why didn’t you talk to me?” You fake hurt for a second before a smile fills your face and you sit softly in his lap. His arms go around your waist and his hands settle on your thighs, drawing a lazy pattern up and down your legs.

“I’m sorry doll, I was concentrating extra hard. Not that it helped, I’m still not sure what to do with it and my heads fucked.” His eyes look so tired that you can’t help but clutch his face in your hands, peppering kisses all over his cheeks and mouth.

“What do you say we order food in, I run you a hot bath while we wait for it and then we sit outside with a few beers and some music and relax? You can come back to this tomorrow with a fresh mind.” You press your forehead against his and place your hands on his shoulders again, rubbing the tension away.

“You’re too fucking good to me, but you got one thing wrong sweetness.” His words are low and heavy which makes your stomach tighten.

“What’s that?” Your words are hushed as you stare into his eyes, sure he can see the longing in yours.

“You’re going to run us a bath, if I’m going to relax I’m going to need my girl with me.” You smile at his words, nodding your head softly before Calum reaches a hand to the back of your neck and pulls you in for a kiss. His plush lips move against yours softly and you sigh into the kiss. 

After a few seconds you both pull away and you can see a twinkle returning to the eyes of your thoughtful boy. 

“I love you doll.”

“Love you always my music man.”

Your lips meet again and you just enjoy being close, getting drunk on the taste of each other.

Ashton

I miss our cheerful man, so I couldn’t resist this scenario.

***

The music was blaring through the house as you stood at the kitchen counter, shimmying your hips and using the mixing spoon as your microphone, your cake mix starting to look as it should.

“Woah, we’re halfway there woah, livin’ on a prayer!” You spun around, your fuzzy socks sliding across the floor. 

“Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear!” Ashton’s voice makes you jump as his arms wrap around your waist as he spins you around.

“Woah, livin on a prayer, living on a prayer!” You both sing your hearts out, laughing as you fall to the floor in a heap. An egg drops from the counter, heading for the floor when Ashton’s quick reflexes stop it from hitting the ground.

“So I see you’re having a productive day,” Ash’s eyes are teasing but the big smile on his face is infectious and you grin back at him.

“I’m making a cake, half of it is in the oven and I’ve just finished the second half - it’s going to be amazing!” You say proudly.

“I can see that angel, just don’t burn the house down again yeah?” You gasp, hitting him on the chest as you climb on top of him.

“Take that back Irwin! That was one time and I’d hardly call it burning the house down... it was just a little smoke!” You can’t stop the blush rising to your cheeks as Ash laughs, sitting up on the kitchen floor. 

“That cake was delicious if I remember, charcoal was very on trend back then.” He smirks, planting a kiss on your nose as you growl softly at him in annoyance.

“Well let me get back to this one if you don’t want a repeat, I don’t need your distractions today mister!” You go to get up when one of his hands goes to your back to keep you in place.

“Not all distractions are bad ones.” He murmurs, his lips finding yours. You both battle for dominance but Ash eventually wins (duh) and he deepens the kiss, his tongue rolling against yours before he leans back to bite your bottom lip. You get lost in the kiss, your hand sliding under his tee to feel his chest when you hear and feel a crunch against the back of your head before a trail of slime falls down your hair. You pull away in shock.

“Oh. No. You fucking didn’t.” His grin tells all and you look down at his hand to see the remnants of a crushed raw egg in his hands. “You’re about to fucking get it Irwin.”

The two of you pause for a moment before you’re both scrambling to reach for anything and everything you can get your hands on, flinging flour and cake mixture at each other until you yet again slip and land with a crash on the floor, only this time you are both covered in food.

“Damn it Ashton! I have to start again!” You’re words are scolding but the grin on your face can’t be hidden as you stare down the love of your life.

He laughs, pushing cake mix covered hair out of your face and pulling you in for another long drawn out kiss. The oven timer goes off and he stands, switching off the oven to avoid another cake burning disaster.

“Now now my little cupcake. You know the best part about making cakes?” You shake your head, taking the hand he holds out to you and lifting yourself off of the floor. He picks you up by your hips and wraps your legs around his waist, carrying you carefully through the house. “Washing it off each others bodies.”

Michael

Our gamer lad, seemed fitting

***

You had been led in bed for over an hour waiting for Mikey to finish his game. You weren’t annoyed at him by any means but you were beginning to feel neglected and in all honesty, needy.

You come up with a master plan and start walking towards his office, shedding your sweatpants leaving you only in Michael’s hoodie, your undies and the knee high socks you know drive him crazy. You can hear him talking on his headset and you chuckle under your breath as you swing the door open slightly. He looks extra cute today in his stripey sweater and glasses, a beanie sat on his messy hair.

He pauses the game at the sound of the door opening and turns to look at you, choking on his breath when he sees what your wearing.

He lifts the mic away from his mouth, swearing under his breath.

“Uh hey baby, you okay?” He asks, his eyes on your legs as you walk over to him.

“I’m feeling needy M, can I sit with you while you play?” You don’t wait for his answer before you straddle his lap, your legs folded next to his as you bury your face in his neck.

“Of course baby, you don’t need to ask. Are you sure you’re okay?” He strokes your back softly, feeling you nod your head against his neck.

He pecks your shoulder softly before repositioning his headset and continuing his game. You sit quietly for the next ten to fifteen minutes while he plays, nestling against his chest and feeling him shake with laughter or rumble when something goes wrong.

As he really settles into the gameplay you start littering tiny kisses against his neck. You feel him tense slightly before resuming the game, every chance he gets he rubs his hand across your back. You start deepening the kisses, pecking over the stubble and occasionally finding a spot to suck on softly. You feel him lip the mic once again.

“Baby, what are you doing?” He tenses, although he tilts his head slightly to the side so that you can reach more of his neck and you know that your plan is working. 

You lick where his neck and shoulder meet and you feel him shiver which lets you know to initiate the next part of the plan.

You start to circle your hips over his crotch softly and a little moan leaves his lips.

“You’re playing a dangerous game sweetheart.” He murmurs. You giggle softly against his neck and he sighs, gritting his teeth and sucking in a breath as you grind particularly hard down onto the growing bulge in his pants. He quits the game, ripping off his headset and throwing it onto the couch behind him.

He grips your jaw in his hand and roughly pulls your face to his, running his thumb over your bottom lip.

“So when you said you were needy...” His words trail off as he notices the desire in your eyes, your hips fully rocking against him. 

He uses his thumb on your bottom lip to open your mouth wide, slanting his face and leaning in so that he can crash his lips hard against yours. You give in to him straight away, kissing him as hard as you can. Your tongues wrestle back and forth and its a filthy kiss with so much need involved that it sets your bodies on fire.

It’s a few minutes before you’re both pulling away and panting hard, your head resting on his shoulder.

“Do you want to go back to bed or shall we just stay here?” His words are hushed but he hears your whine and knows exactly what you need. “I got you baby.” His fingers curl your hair around his fist and he moves your head so his lips can attach to your neck as other hand trails softly under the hoodie your wearing. Let’s just say he knows exactly what buttons to press, your gamer guy.

[jobrookekarev]

I Double Dare You: Cousins Edition

Chapter One of One

Words: 6231

Summary: Link dares Jo to give him another godchild, and Jo dares him to back to give her another godchild as well. Alex and Amelia agree, and Luna and Scout become big siblings.

Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy

Relationship: Alex Karev/Jo Wilson, and Atticus Lincoln/Amelia Shepherd.

Characters: Alex Karev, Jo Wilson, Amelia Shepherd, Atticus Lincoln, Scout Shepherd-Lincoln, Luna Ashton, and Carina DeLuca.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences.

Additional Tags: Fluff, Pregnancy, Babies, Truth or Dare, Luna and Scout being BFFs, it’s a little crazy but just go with it.

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

AN: This was a crazy idea that we threw around in the GC, and I decided to pursue it, and it turned out pretty cute.

……………………………………………………………………

Jo’s laughter rang through the loft as she leaned against Alex. Her giggles were joined by his own roar of laughter as Link sat on the riding pony. Jo and Alex had got the two foot tall brown toy horse for Luna for her birthday last month. But the sight of her partner on the little pony was the best thing Amelia had seen all year as she giggled. 

“Yeehaw,” Link shouted as he rocked back and forth, waving around an imaginary lasso. 

His time ran out long ago, but he was having so much fun that he just continued on riding. The four of them were all sitting around as Amelia sipped on her soda while Link, Alex, and Jo, were drinking for the first time in what seemed like a year. Ever since Amelia and Link had Scout and Jo and Alex had adopted Luna, their social visits usually consisted of activities for the babies. Since Link’s parents were visiting, they eagerly offered to take both kids overnight, leaving the four of them to have the first adult only evening in over a year. 

The night started off with dinner and drinks and quickly turned into a drinking game of truth or dare with Amelia as the moderator, lest their drunken activities get out of hand. So far, nothing too dangerous or sexual had happened, although Alex’s hand was far too high on Jo’s thigh, and Link had nuzzled up to her pretty close, so it was only a matter of time.

After one last yeehaw, Link finished and came stumbling back to sit next to her on the living room rug. 

“I was a cowboy,” Link said, giving her a big smile as Jo laughed so hard that she started hiccupping.

“You certainly were,” Amelia smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. “It's your turn. Do you want to go?”

“Yeah,” Link said eagerly before he looked over at the three of them. “Um, Jo, truth or dare.”

“Dare,” Jo said as she struggled to contain her giggles and hiccups.

“Okay, umm, I dare you to umm,” Link scrunched up his face in an adorably serious look as he tried to think of something.

Amelia's phone dinged, and she looked down to see a quick text from her mother-in-law, Maureen, saying that the kids had gone down for the night. The text was accompanied with a picture of Scout and Luna sleeping side by side, holding each other's hands as their heads were turned towards each other. She smiled and turned her phone so that the rest of them could see the photo. Link smiled as Jo took the phone out of Amelia's hand to kiss the screen.

She cooed in between her hiccups as Alex rubbed her back. “Aww, she's so cute. It reminds me of when she was a baby. I miss her being a baby. She’s so big now. She's walking and talking.”

“And getting into trouble, yesterday she got into the shaving cream on the ledge of the shower and got it all over the bathroom!” Alex laughed as he smiled at the photo with his crooked grin. “She looks so little and peaceful when she sleeps.” 

Jo looked over at Alex and put a hand on his chest. “I want another one.” 

“Me too,” Alex said, staring at her with a crooked grin as they got lost in each other's eyes.

Amelia wasn't sure how much of this conversation they would remember in the morning or if they would actually go through with it. As of last week, Jo was still adamant about putting off having a second kid since Luna was still in diapers.

“That's my dare!” Link said, pointing at them, as Jo turned her head back to look at him. Suddenly, he got very serious and leaned forward to stare at her. “Jo, I dare you to give me a second godchild.”

“Don't I get a say in this?” Alex asked, looking confused before Link quickly shushed him. 

“Oh please, you've been trying to knock me up for years. Are you not excited to do it now?” Jo said, giving him a look.

Alex smiled and gave a shrug as he took another sip of his beer. “Fair enough.”

“This is so exciting. I'm going to get another godchild,” Link said, looking over and smiling at Amelia as she just laughed. 

“Okay, but since I'm giving you a godchild, you should give me a godchild in return. Then our kids could be double best friends, just like Scout and Luna are!” Jo said, getting so excited that she started to bounce up and down.

“Oh yes,” Link said, looking back at her.

“Okay, hold up, cowboy, I don't think we should make this decision while you're inebriated,” Amelia said, trying to rein them in before it got out of control. 

“Why not,” Link said, looking over at her with sad eyes. “Scout's over a year old, and I want him to have a sibling. Growing up as an only kid was so lonely. We said we would try for a second kid when Scout was older and if not now, then when?”

Amelia had to admit that she did want a second kid with him. She grew up in a big family, and although her family wasn't the best, she loved having a big brother. Derek was always there for her and she loved him. If they had another kid, Scout would be their big brother just like Derek was to her. She wanted that for her son and for her other child. 

“Okay, how about we talk about this in the morning, yeah,” Amelia said, stealing away the last of the liquor and going to put it away.

“That's not a no,” Link said, looking back at her with a hopeful smile. 

“No, it's not a no, but it's not a yes either,” Amelia said, pointing her finger at him, hoping that it would get through to his drunken brain.

“Oh, it's happening,” Link said before turning back to Jo. “We're both going to have another baby!”

“Yay, we're having twin cousins!” Jo said, throwing her hands up in the air as she squealed in happiness, while Alex just burst out laughing and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. 

……………………………………………………………………

A few weeks later, Amelia walked into the bathroom at the hospital looking for Jo in between the stalls only to hear her throwing up. She went over to see her hunched over the toilet right where Amelia had left her. She kneeled down and rubbed Jo's back as she continued to heave what little bile and water she had in her stomach. Eventually, Jo's nausea passed, and she sat back as Amelia handed her some toilet paper so she could wipe her mouth.

“Did you get it?” Jo asked, looking up at her.

“Yep,” Amelia said, holding up both pregnancy tests before handing one to Jo.

“How are you not puking right now?” Jo looked up at her as Amelia just smiled and bristled with excitement.

“I never really got morning sickness when I’ve been pregnant, and besides, I'm not pregnant,” Amelia said with a shrug as she struggled not to smile as Jo scowled at her.

“I hate you so much right now. I hope you're just as knocked up as I am,” Jo said as she glared at her.

“I'm not, but keep dreaming. Besides, you're the one who wanted to do this. You said, let's be pregnant together, it'll be great,” Amelia said with a smirk.

Instead of glaring at her, Jo squeezed her eyes shut as she put her hand over her mouth, and Amelia instantly regretted her words. Amelia's smile fell as Jo truly looked miserable. She had been throwing up all morning and, according to Alex, part of last night as well. Although she had never had much morning sickness, she knew how terrible it could be, and she felt for her. 

Jo finally moved her hand away from her mouth as she let out of breath and opened her eyes. Amelia helped Jo up and handed her the test. Despite her morning sickness, Jo smiled, and Amelia couldn't help but share her excitement. Regardless of whether she was pregnant, which she wasn't, she was excited to get another niece or nephew from Jo and Alex. She knew the two of them would be so over the moon to have a new baby. 

“Ready?” Jo said, smiling up at her as she tore off the packaging.

“I guess so,” Amelia said, with a shrug before she went over to the next stall. 

They remained silent as they peed side by side before they washed their hands and sat against the wall as they waited for the tests to develop. Jo sighed and leaned her head against Amelia’s shoulders as Amelia wrapped her arm around her. Although Jo was Link's friend first, ever since Jo and Alex had adopted Luna and Amelia and Link had Scout, the two of them had become good friends as they became new mothers together. 

Jo closed her eyes and sighed as they waited for the test to develop, while Amelia kept her eye on both tests. She didn't really think she was pregnant. She didn't have any of the signs. Then again, she didn't realize she was pregnant with Scout until she was ten weeks along. She was even further along when she realized she was pregnant with Christopher. Amelia was both excited and terrified at the thought of being pregnant again, but as she watched both tests develop two very dark pink lines, she couldn't help but smile. She gently nudged Jo as she picked her head up and gasped, putting her hand over her mouth as she stared at their pregnancy tests. 

“We're pregnant,” Jo said, looking at her test again before looking back at Amelia, her eyes wide and a large smile across her face.

“We are!” Amelia said before they both looked at each other and exchanged a smile before they burst out laughing as they hugged. Although, she was apprehensive about having another kid initially. Now that it was real, she was extremely excited. 

“Oh my god, I can't wait to tell Alex. He's going to be so excited, and Link too!” Jo said in excitement as she looked down at the test again. “Oh, we should do it together! Why don't we go see Carina, and we can get an ultrasound done, then show the boys the photos.”

“Okay,” Amelia said with a smile as she let Jo pull her up and out of the bathroom. 

Although she was a little apprehensive about getting an ultrasound first off, she was a little bit excited. When she had Scout, she was so scared that he would have anencephalic too, but Scout was a happy and healthy baby. She felt more excited than nervous this time around, and she just wanted to enjoy her pregnancy. So she let Jo drag her over to the maternity ward as she babbled about how happy she was to see their babies.

……………………………………………………………………

“No way,” Jo said, again still trying to process the information, while Carina and Amelia shared a giggle. Jo was slack jawed and wide eyed as she stared up at the ultrasound screen that Carina had turned towards her. “No way.” 

The two of them were sitting in the ultrasound room. Jo had completed Amelia's ultrasound and was happy to see that her little godchild was doing well and offered to be Amelia's OB, something she had eagerly agreed to. Now it was her turn, and Jo was currently laying on the bed with her legs in the stirrup and a sheet over her waist and knees. Carina moved the ultrasound wand inside her vagina to get a look at her currently very, very occupied uterus.

“No freaking way.” Jo was in her third year of residency for OB/GYN, and from the moment she saw the ultrasound of her uterus, she knew what was going on inside her, yet she still couldn’t believe it. “No freaking way.”

“I am just going to get a few more photos and once Alex gets here, I will let you two hear the heartbeats,” Carina said with a smile as she looked back at the ultrasound screen.

Amelia laughed again before she looked down at the picture of her own ultrasound. Jo couldn't believe that she was laughing and was about to call her out on it before the door opened, letting light into the dark room. Jo turned her head to see Link come into the room. 

“Hey… Whoa,” Link said as he stopped in the doorway, turning pale before he looked over at Amelia.

She held up her ultrasound photo to him with a smile and a little laugh. Link's expression immediately changed to excitement as he rushed forward to wrap his arms around her. Finally, Alex made his way into the room, and just as Link had, he looked at her, then at the monitor, and turned pale. He just stood there in the doorway and stared at her, which was extremely infuriating.

“Twins,” Jo said, sitting up on her elbows as she glared at him. “You knocked me up with twins Alex Karev.”

Alex's jaw dropped as he put a hand over his chin, rubbing his beard as he just stared at her. “You're pregnant?”

Jo reached back to grab the pillow she was lying on and chucked it at his head. Alex was so in shock that the pillow hit him square in the face, and he didn't even blink. Finally, he seemed to come out of his daze as he came over to her and sat down on the chair Amelia had previously occupied. Alex stared up at the ultrasound and then back at her before doing a double-take. 

“Twins?” Alex asked, his eyebrows nearly in his forehead as he just stared at her.

“Obviously,” Jo said, pointing to the two grey spots on the screen that held two little babies inside her uterus. 

“Wait, you're not having twins, are you?” Link said, looking down at Amelia before staring at the ultrasound screen.

“Considering that the ultrasound wand is currently in my vagina. I'd say I'm the one with two babies in my uterus,” Jo said, glaring at him as well before laying back on the bed and crossing her arms. “But no, Amelia just has one baby. I checked myself.” 

Link shrunk back and hid behind Amelia, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek as she smiled, as they both stared down at their ultrasound photo. Jo looked over at her best friends as they had a sweet moment together before she looked up at her husband, who was still in shock. Alex was still staring, slack-jawed at the monitor, but at least he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

Carina laughed at the whole situation before she pointed at the screen where she had labeled each baby. “This one is baby A and this one is baby B. Although it's too early to tell if they're identical or fraternal.”

“We're having twins. We’re having two more babies,” Alex said, looking down at her as tears collected in his eyes. “I love them already.”

“I love them too,” Jo said, instantly tearing up as well. 

Alex leaned down to press his forehead against hers as they both cried happy tears. He pressed his lips to hers as Jo let herself relax into his kiss. When Alex pulled back, he sat close to her and squeezed her hand as they stared up at their two babies on the monitor. She was both overwhelmed and extremely excited. Ever since they had started trying for a baby, they had both been so excited, but Alex was so ready for another child. He had already bought a dozen onesies, and Helen had sent them a dozen adorable large sized baby hats. However, they agreed to reuse most of Luna's things since half of her stuff was gender neutral anyway. At least now, the extra onesies would come in handy, as they would certainly need the extras of everything. 

“Those are our babies,” Alex said, looking up at the monitor was such an affectionate smile. 

“Our babies,” Jo whispered, looking up at the screen, studying each of her babies.

“We're going to need another crib,” Alex said, scrunching up his nose in excitement.

“We're going to need a new house, we can't fit three babies in the Loft. There's barely enough space for the three of us as it is!” Jo said with a shaking her head.

“It'll be worth it,” Alex said, leaning down and kissing her again, and Jo knew that regardless of how terrified she was to carry twins, it would be worth it.

……………………………………………………………………

“This is so not fair,” Amelia said as she stared at Jo, who was lying on the bed with a smile completely drugged up as her epidural kicked in. 

As the two of them entered their third trimester, they agreed that they were both done with being pregnant, and they had been pretty miserable in the last few months. They had been doing everything to try and induce labor, but to no avail, until now. 

They had been eating lunch together with their kids and whining together about being pregnant when Jo’s water had broken. Given that baby A was breech and both twins had large heads, Jo and Carina agreed that a C-section was necessary. Instead of being scared or anxious like Amelia thought she would be, Jo was actually excited to be in labor and had had a smile across her face ever since her water broke. Then again Jo had been an OB resident for a while now, and she knew exactly what she was getting into. So she just laid there, smiling and happily rubbing her belly. 

“Oh your just jelly I went into labor first, but I have two Karev baby’s inside of me that have been torturing me for the past nine months, and now they get to come out, and I’ll be free,” Jo said smirking up at her, extremely excited for her C-section.

“Yeah, until they're here and they’re hanging off your boobs 24/7,” Amelia said, as she rolled her eyes, and Jo just shrugged, still smiling.

“Mama, babies here?” Luna asked, looking up from where she and Scout were settled in the chair across the room, watching a show on the tablet. 

“Your sisters aren't here yet, Little Moon, but soon,” Jo reassured her with a smile. 

“Mommy, my baby's here?” Scout asked, having heard Luna’s question and looking up as well. He had been calling the baby his baby ever since they got him a baby doll that they used to teach him about the new baby. 

“Not yet bud, I guess they're still cooking,” Amelia said, looking down at her swollen stomach as she rubbed her belly.

One of the nurses Jo was friends with was supposed to be there any minute to take Luna and Scout back down to daycare. For now, they were all just hanging out in Jo's room. Luna slipped off of the seat and tottled over to Jo’s bed. To both of their surprise, Luna crawled up on the bed and settled next to Jo, who wrapped her arms around her daughter and cuddled her close.

“Hey babies,” Luna said, pressing her mouth against Jo’s belly to talk to her younger sisters. “Time to come out now.”

 Amelia and Jo both laughed as Jo pulled Luna back to hug her close and placed a kiss on her head in between her two little blonde pigtails. Luna seemed content to cuddle against her mom's side, and Scout came over too, missing his best friend, and Amelia pulled him up to sit on her ever small lap as they started the show again. A few minutes later, nurse Sophie came in to take them down to the daycare.

“Bye, Mommy,” Scout said, kissing her cheek before he hopped down and took Sophie’s hand. 

“Bye Mama, bye babies, come out soon,” Luna said, kissing Jo and then leaning down to kiss her belly before Sophie lifted her off the bed. Scout took Luna’s hand as they both waved to them as they left.

“I just heard from Carina, she is still getting the OR prepped, and I heard that Dr. Karev just got out of surgery and is on his way up,” Sophie said as she ushered the kids out into the hall.

“Thank you,” Jo said as Sophie closed the door before she looked back at Amelia with a smirk. “Still jealous?”

“Shut up,” Amelia said as she shook her head and looked away while Jo only giggled. 

Jo closed her eyes and enjoyed a little bit of peace and quiet before she had to go up for her C-section. To be honest, Amelia was a little envious that Jo had gone into labor already. This was her third pregnancy, and at 38 weeks, Amelia was ready to be done. Jo had also been complaining about being pregnant with the twins from the very beginning. At this point, she was measuring at 45 weeks, despite being only 37 weeks and her belly was the size of a beach ball, compared to Amelia's smaller basketball sized belly. 

Jo wasn't even supposed to be at the hospital, as she was technically on maternity leave, but Carina and Alex had her come in every day so that they could keep a close eye on her. Although, Jo was stuck at the nurse’s station doing paperwork and taking calls. Amelia, however, was eagerly committed to working up until her water broke. It was a good distraction from her frustration of not being in labor yet. Besides, she knew that when she went on maternity leave, she would miss surgery. So she had scheduled as many as she could and had two craniotomies later this afternoon.

A few moments later, Carina knocked before she came into the room. “Okay, Jo, the OR is ready.”

“Wait, Alex isn't here yet,” Jo pleaded, her smile disappearing as she frantically looked between Amelia and Carina. “I can't do this without him.”

“It is alright, Jo, you are only a few centimeters dilated, and your contractions aren't very close, so we're in no rush,” Carina said, coming over to reassure Jo as she placed a hand on her shoulder and Jo took a deep breath and relaxed. 

Amelia squeezed Jo’s hand as she looked back at her and took another deep breath. Carina came over and sat in the chair on Jo's other side and took her hand. Jo closed her eyes and laid back on the bed, trying to relax until Alex got there. Amelia had gone through her labors with both of her sons without their father's present. She knew how hard it was and was so grateful that her friends and Bailey had been there for her, and she was determined to stay with Jo throughout her labor and C-section. 

Ever since they had both gotten pregnant, Jo and Amelia had gone through most of their milestones together, although Amelia was a week ahead of Jo. Amelia had taught Jo all the tricks she used to make her pregnancy easier, although it was hard for Jo carrying the twins either way. They had found out together, they had gone to appointments together. They had even helped each other make up the nurseries as they had both bought houses side by side. Jo and Alex rented out the Loft to Levi and Link and Amelia finally moved out of Meredith’s place. Together, they combined their backyards to create one giant yard for all of their kids to play in together.  

Suddenly, the door swung open as Alex rushed in, with Link just behind him. Carina got up and moved from Jo's side as Alex scrambled over to her. “I'm here, I'm here, Jo!”

Alex cupped Jo's face with his hand and rubbed her cheek with his thumb as Jo’s eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. “You made it.”

“Of course I made it. I wouldn't miss this for the world and I got out of surgery as quickly as I could,” Alex whispered to her as he leaned over to kiss her forehead.

Link came up behind her as he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, placing the other on her belly as they felt the baby kick, and Amelia smiled up at him.

“Alright, now that the other Dr. Karev is here, are we ready to go up?” Carina asked as she placed her hands on the railing at the end of Jo’s bed.

“Meredith’s still good to take Luna tonight, right?” Jo asked, looking up at Alex as he squeezed her hand.

“Yep, I called her as I was running up, and she said she’d bring Luna up once you're ready for visitors. Then she’ll take her home for the next few days while you and the girls are in the hospital,” Alex assured her as he held Jo’s hand up against his lips and laid a kiss on the back of her hand.

“And she's going to be there too, right?” 

“Yep, she's going to meet us in the OR. Everyone’s there waiting for you.”

Jo nodded, signaling that she was ready to go and Alex helped Carina get Jo prepped to move as he put the hair net over her hair and checked her IV again before they took off the brakes and began to wheel Jo out of the room.

“Are you sure you're okay with all of us being there?” Link asked again as he gripped the railing and helped push the bed down the hall and Amelia walked beside him. 

The plan was for the four of them, including Meredith, to be in the OR. Although Amelia had heard that several other people would be up in the gallery as the whole hospital was eager to see the arrival of the Karev twins.

“Yeah, it's just surgery on my belly. It’s not like you guys are gonna see my vagina,” Jo said with a shrug as Alex and Amelia chuckled while Link turned red. 

As they walked down the hall, Amelia paused for a second, letting go of the bed rail as she clutched her belly. She had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past few weeks, but they had ramped up earlier this morning, although she thought they had slowed down. 

“Amelia, are you all right,” Link asked as he paused as well and put his hand on her back, rubbing up and down. 

“Amelia?” Carina's gentle voice reached her ear, but Amelia didn’t respond as her contraction continued. When it finally passed she thought it was all over, until she felt a trickling of wetness run down her thighs. 

“Oh boy,” Amelia said as she looked down to see her scrub pants turn dark as her amniotic fluid stained her pants.

“Your water broke. You’re in labor!” Link excitedly said, almost jumping up and down next to her. 

Jo smiled as she looked over at her and reached out to squeezed Amelia’s hand. “I told you the babies were in sync!” 

“Seriously, you too,” Alex said as he looked between Jo and Amelia. 

“Okay,” Carina said, taking control of the situation. “Amelia, you stay here, and Dr. Link can go get you a wheelchair. I know we planned for either I or Jo to deliver your baby, but it looks like we might have to have someone else. I’ll have a nurse page either Lebeck or Connie.”

“Aww, I wanted to deliver your baby,” Jo said with a frown.

“Not my first choice, but they're nice enough,” Amelia said with a shrug.

“Alright then, hey Jenny, could you please page the on-call OB,” Carina said before she looked back at Amelia. “They’ll get you settled and check on your progress. Then after Jo’s C-section, I'll come to check on you and hopefully be able to deliver your baby.”

“Sounds good,” Amelia said, looking over at Carina with a nod. “Besides, I've done this two times already. I know what I'm doing.”

“Keep us updated though!” Jo insisted, giving Amelia’s hand another squeeze.

“We will,” Link said, as he grabbed a wheelchair from one of the adjacent rooms and helped Amelia sit down. 

They waved Jo off as they continued down the hall before nurse Jenny took them back up to L & D.

“Ready to have a baby?” Link said, smiling down at her as his eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Yep,” Amelia said, smiling as she let his excitement fill her as well. She was so excited to finally have her baby. “Meredith and Maggie are going to be doing a lot of babysitting tonight.”

……………………………………………………………………

Several hours later, Jo was lying in bed with one of the babies on her chest with a newborn blanket covering them. Alex had the other newborn on his chest as he sat on the chair next to her. Her C-section had gone well and both she and the girls were healthy. She had been transferred into the postpartum ward, where she had breastfed them before the three of them took a nap. She had woken up a few hours later as one of the babies was fussing, but now they were doing skin to skin with each girl as they discussed names.

Still, she wasn't surprised when Carina opened the door to see that her new roommates were Link, Amelia, and their newborn baby girl as Link wheeled them into the room. Link had kept her updated on Amelia’s labor which had progressed normally, if not a little faster since it was her third. Yet, Carina had still had time to deliver the twins before going to help Amelia deliver her baby. 

“Hey, you three,” Alex said, smiling up at him.

“Hey, you four,” Amelia said as she looked over at them as Jo and Alex exchanged a smile before they looked down at the babies in their arms.

“Guys meet baby A,” Alex said, gesturing to the little girl in his arms before looking over at the little girl on Jo’s chest. “And baby B.”

Link parked them next to Jo's bed as she moved the blanket back so they could see the little girl resting on her chest. She had the purple hat Helen had knitted, and her sister had the green one as their heads were too big for the hospital hats. Alex moved to sit down at Jo's bedside, and they held the girls next to each other. They looked exactly the same, but they were identical after all. They had the same big heads and round cheeks, although they were both utterly adorable and looked exactly like her. According to Alex, at least although, Jo thought they looked an awful lot like him.

“Still no names yet,” Link said with a laugh as Alex chuckled too and Jo just shrugged.

“At least this one's got a birthmark on the bottom of her foot so we can tell them apart,” Alex said, pulling a little girl’s foot out of the blanket to show them a tiny birthmark on the sole of her heel.

“It looks like Pangea,” Link said as he tilted his head to look at it. 

“That's what I said,” Alex said with a smile as the boys chuckled, and Jo rolled her eyes.

“How are you doing?” Jo asked Amelia as Link and the nurse helped her into the bed.

“Exhausted and tired, but still kind of in awe,” Amelia said as she stared down with a little girl and her arms. “What about you?” 

“Very, very much in awe,” Jo said as she looked down at the little girl on her chest before looking at the little girl in Alex's arms. “And pretty sore, but only a little tired as the three of us just woke up from a nap.”

“Lucky,” Amelia said as Jo giggled.

“We’ll probably take another nap soon, but we have to decide on the names for them first,” Jo said, rubbing her hand up and down her baby’s back. 

“Do you want to know her name?” Amelia asked, transferring the newborn into Link’s arms. 

“Guys meet, Sawyer Carolyn Maureen Shepherd Lincoln,” Link said as he proudly came over and showed them the little newborn who was the spitting image of Amelia with her nose, and chin, and tufts of dark hair. 

“Poor kid is gonna have a great time with the paperwork on that one,” Alex said with a chuckle.

“Alex!” Jo lightheartedly snapped at him as she slapped his arm. “It's a beautiful name.”

“It's okay, he's kind of right. We could barely fit it on the birth certificate,” Amelia said with a shrug as Link came back over and sat in the chair next to the bed.

“What names did you guys have in mind? I know you were throwing around a few,” Link said, peering over at the little girls.

“Yeah, we have a few in mind, but we keep arguing,” Jo said, staring down at the little girl in her arms before adjusting the hat on her head as she thought of the names they had been throwing around. 

“Jo’s still loopy from the drugs. She wanted to name one of them Clover,” Alex said, making a face. 

“It's nice!” Jo insisted as she stared down at the little girl in her arms.

They had both agreed to do flower names as those were the ones they seemed drawn to. They wanted something that would be common but also unique enough that they wouldn’t have kids with the same name in their classes. So far, they had gone through a few names, but nothing seemed to fit. 

“Do we still like Lily?” Alex asked, staring down at the little girl in his arms.

“Lily, I’m getting some Harry Potter vibes there,” Amelia said, raising her eyebrow at him.

Alex just snorted. “Only preteen girls would care about that.”

"Alex, you work with preteen girls,” Jo reminded him with a raised eyebrow. 

He was already making plans to take the twins over to the Ped’s ward to show them off to all of his kids. They were eagerly awaiting the twin’s arrival, if not to poke fun at Alex for being a Dad of three girls.

“Oh yeah,” Alex's eyes went wide as he realized it. “Well, it was a long labor.”

“What are you talking about? My C-section was just an hour long, and all you did was pull them out and cut the cord. I've done all the hard work for the past nine months,” Jo said, glaring at him so hard she almost put him six feet under. 

Alex could tell that he had messed up on that one and gave her a sheepish look. “Sorry Jo, you did do all the hard work and I did nothing. You were amazing.”

Jo accepted his apology as he leaned forward and pressed to kiss to her cheek and her glare lessened. She looked down at her daughter and tried to think of how the name would sound on each of the girls.

“I don't really think either of them are a Lily, besides it's too common,” Jo said, staring down at the little girl in her arms. “I think this one's an Ivy.”

“Yeah,” Alex said, looking down at her, she looked up as their eyes met before they looked down at the little girl in Alex's arms. “What do we think about Rose? She seems like a Rose?”

“I like it,” Jo agreed as she reached out to hold Rose’s hand as her tiny fingers wrapped around Jo's big finger. “Rose Meredith Karev and Ivy Josephine Karev.” 

“My beautiful little flower girls,” Alex said, looking down at the twins before he leaned forward to kiss her.

Eventually, they all settled in, and Alex and Link lined up the bassinets in between their beds, placing the newborns inside of them as they quietly talked and took a few photos. 

Amelia smiled as she looked over at all of the babies. “I can't believe Link dared you into getting pregnant.”

“I can't believe you let him get you pregnant after I dared him back,” Jo said with a smile as they exchanged a laugh.

“Best game of truth or dare ever,” Amelia said as she reached out to where Sawyer's hand had slipped out of the swaddle and she ran her fingers up and down her tiny arm.

“Yeah,” Jo easily agreed as she looked over at her little flower girls before she looked over to see that Amelia had laid her head back in her bed as her eyes closed. 

Jo quickly followed suit as all of the girls got the nap they deserved while the boys looked over their daughters. Who would have thought that they would have ended up with three perfect little girls after getting drunk one night where Jo and Link dared each other to give the other another godchild, but neither Jo nor Amelia were complaining.

……………………………………………………………………

AN: I promised Coco that I would give her twins a while back and I finally did. Also, Jo really jinxes herself with this one. Let me know if you caught all the hints about the twins.

[talkfastromance4]

Hi! I LOVE your stuff sooo much<3 for your 13 nights could I request 4- Michael, 5- Calum, 6- Luke, and 12- Ashton ? <3 <3 Can't wait to read them :)

6. “I want to bite you, too.” “A human’s bite won’t hurt, it would probably just tickle.”

Not even going to attempt to make this short because 1) it’s luke and 2) i’m just not capable. oh well. This is also written in third person with she/her pronouns as it’s in line with my vampire fic with Luke

Warnings: involves biting and blood drinking (nothing gory) while in a sexual situation. 

• • • •

She’d heard being feasted on by a vampire was a very tantric, electrically charged and erotic moment. It was the ultimate high and while she and Luke became more physical as their relationship continued to flourish, she began to wonder more and more what it would feel like. 

The first time she asked Luke to bite her neck he was taken aback. She always gave him a shock factor with something, he’s never met a human like her. After his initial shock, he was adamant on a hard ‘no.’ His response was so clipped she didn’t bother to push him and buried down the rejection inside her. 

The second time she asked was while they were walking his grounds. He was in the middle of retelling an encounter with Elvis when she blurted out, “I want you to bite me.”

Luke sighed, took her hands in his and brought them to his lips so he could kiss them. His crystal blue eyes stare into hers, unblinking but trying to get a read out of hers.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says quietly.

“I heard it doesn’t hurt. I trust you. I want to...be connected to you.”

“You already are connected to me, lovie,” he rests his forehead against hers. Her sweet floral scent of her blood invades his mind, but he inhales deeply. “In more ways than you know. My heart doesn’t beat but if it did it would be calling your name.”

“Then why don’t you want to?” she asks sadly. Luke groans, he hates making her feel sad.

“Believe me, I’ve wanted to since I first saw you. You may trust me but I don’t trust myself. I’m already extremely careful with you, this would be even more...demanding of my willpower that always crumbles away when I’m with you.”

“Really?” she chuckles gently.

“Yes, silly girl. You drive me insane.”

“Well...what’s it like to bite a human?”

“For me or the human?”

“Both.”

Luke sighs, he never wants to keep anything from her but also doesn’t want to share this so out in the open. There isn’t anyone for miles within earshot but this topic is touchy. Feasting on humans is what caused the mask mandate in the first place. A vampire’s bite became the most highly wanted and most illegal “drug” there is. 

He took her hand that lead her inside to his trinket room. It’s where he feels most himself, surrounded by his most prized possessions but his most valuable is Y/N. Not that she’s a possession but she’s the most valuable companion. He sits down and she drapes herself across his lap.

“Tell me,” she demands. He pokes her nose. 

“For humans it’s like a drug. I’ve heard different reactions but each one always makes the human feel light, extra light and slightly dizzy but then increases as the feast continues. Some have hallucinated, some black out, and some say it’s the ultimate high. It’s a pure form of arousal. For me--vampires--it’s very replenishing. We almost get a little buzz as well but nothing compared to a human. We’re fully satisfied and in turn, the human wants to be satisfied in other ways. Sexually.”

“Oh. So...you don’t want to bite me because you don’t want to be...I’m sorry. I don’t understand why you don’t want to,” she shakes her head. 

Luke smiles and strokes the backs of his fingers against her throat. Her skin is warm, her pulse strong but fluttering like a hummingbird. 

“I’ve already told you, I do want to. It’s just...I don’t want it to be too much for you. What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t. Please, Luke. It can only be the one time, I swear. I won’t push you but I want to experience everything I can with you. You bite me anyway so what’s the difference?”

Luke lets out a loud laugh then squeezes her thigh affectionately. “The difference is that I bite you to get you aroused, I’m not drawing blood. But all right...next time, we’ll try it and see how it goes.”

“Is it next time now?” she breathes against his curls. She kisses his temple.

“No, now it’s time for your shift at the Bar.”

**

Luke had asked Michael for help on feasting and was surprised to find that Michael had only done it once with Kitty. It was a wonderful moment shared between them but he felt like he didn’t have to keep doing it and doubts he’d ever do it again. Kitty felt the same, saying it would only be for special occasions or of the mood called for it. 

Luke felt some reassurance from that but he made a promise to Y/N and he vowed to never break a promise to her. 

After Y/N’s shift at the Bar, he drew her a bath with some lavender salts and candles. He joined her and washed her hair, pressing gentle kisses to the space between her shoulder blades. The way her heart kept jumping he knew she was thinking it would happen right now, but this was all preparation. 

He wanted her completely relaxed, her head clear of all tension. When they toweled off, they remained without clothes and he brought her to his bed. He laid her down gently and began pressing his lips to her warm skin. 

“I promised we’d try but there are some rules first,” he says swiping his tongue over her nipple. 

“Rules?” she sighs, her body already aching for more of his touch. 

“Yes, rules. First one is that you tell me to stop if you need me to stop. Don’t worry about hurting me feelings, you say the word and I’m done, all right?” he asks, eyes burning into hers. She licks her lips and nods. “Second rule, I need you to stay completely still, I’m using all my willpower. Third rule--”

“This is a very long list,” she interrupts tucking a curl behind his ear. 

Luke snags her fingers in his hand, kisses her fingertips then sets them on the bed. “Rule number three is to not touch me, just in case.”

“I can’t touch you?” she pouts.

“It might jostle you or make me release my venom.”

“Were you like this with Celeste and Simone?” she asks quietly. 

“No, because I didn’t care about them as I do you.” He leans up and kisses both her cheeks, then her lips ever so gently. “Are you ready?”

“Ready,” she exhales, her heart hammering. 

“Tell me the rules...” he whispers stamping his kisses down her jaw.

“Tell you to stop...stay still and...” she sighs as his tongue strikes across the side of her neck, “and don’t touch you.”

“That’s my good girl. Where do you want me to do it?” his lips hover over her pulse point.

“Here,” she points with a shaky finger to the space just above her left breast. 

Luke hums then travels his lips in that spot. He removes her hand gently, then sucks lightly on her skin, bringing the blood forth. He’s hyperaware of her breath, the race of her heart and the stillness of her body. He opens his mouth wider, lets his incisors extend then punctures her skin. 

She gasps and Luke moans at the warmth of her blood, it tastes a thousand times sweeter than she smells and he begins to drink. Slowly. It warms him completely, fills him with a different form of desire. Her breathing hitches, small moans bubbling up from inside her and it’s music to his ears. 

He hears her fingers tap against the sheet, aching to touch him but she listens to his orders and stays still. He’s mindful of how much he’s feasting and after one last pull, he releases his fangs then licks the puncture wound so she can begin healing. He kisses that spot multiple times, it’s a combination of her warm skin and his ice cold bite marks. 

He lifts his gaze to her and she’s completely blissed out. Her lips are slightly parted, eyes fluttering. Luke hovers above her, cups her cheek and tilts her face to look at him. 

“How are you? Are you with me?” he asks softly. 

She sighs turning into his palm. He kisses her forehead, then her eyelashes before stopping at her ear. “Are you dizzy?” She makes a small grunting noise. 

He kisses her cheek then rushes to his cupboard downstairs that holds all of her favorite sweet treats. Sugar usually helps the humans after a feasting, it helps them come down. While he gazes at his supply she begins to cry for him, calling his name. 

He chooses a candy bar than flies back to his room where he finds her trying to fall off the bed. Tears fall down her cheek and he’s quick to cradle her in his arms. 

“I’m right here, lovie. Here, eat this.” He rips open the candy bar and holds it to her lips. “This will help.”

She nibbles on the chocolate, eyes still partially closed as she tries to swim through her head. Luke’s heard after a feasting the humans are in a sort of subspace. He’s never done after care with anybody else (especially with Celeste and Simone) but he cares deeply for Y/N. 

“Better?” he asks after she takes a few more bites. 

“Mhm,” she sighs nuzzling into his chest. Her fingers curl into his light chest hair. “I want to bite you, too.”

Luke smiles, kisses her hair and strokes her cheek with his thumb until her eyes open a bit wider. They’re glazed over. 

“A human’s bite won’t hurt, it would probably tickle.”

“Please?” her mouth opens the tiniest bit as she attempts to nip at his chest. She just ends up falling into him and Luke chuckles. 

“Let’s discuss this when you’re more coherent, lovie, okay?” 

She sighs again and Luke gazes out his window. The moon is high in the sky and the way it reflects on her skin, illuminating her, he’s come to a realization. He can’t exist without her, she’s officially become a part of him that has overridden the other feasting he’s done in his existence. 

Should he change her if she feels the same? They could marry and have children of their own while she was human but eventually she would die. This is also why he didn’t want to bite her, he knew the bond would be concrete, set in stone just like his heart that somehow still sings for her. 

• • • •

Taglist: @calpalirwin  @thecurlsofgod @myloverboyash @rotten-kandy @tea4sykes @jannimoeller3 @loveroflrh @iovehemmings @cxddlyash @princesslrh  @katiaw2 @g-l-pierce @fairyintheglass @gosh-im-short @banditocth @dezzym17 @koalacal @lukeisbaby @spicycal @mysticalhood @notinthesameguey @wastedheartcth @atlcalm @itjustkindahappenedreally @calumance @babylon-corgis @thew0rldneedsmcreycghurt @lanternlover2 @istaywithmyjonas @calteahood @sarcastically-defensive17 @another-lonely-heart @devilatmydoor @frontmanash @philthepegacorn @mantlereid @lukedorkyhemmings @addietagglikesbands @kikixfandoms @sanrioluke @mayve-hems @morguelth @haikucal @thatscooibaby @meghanrose05 @idontneedanyone @dinosaursandsocks @haveufoundwhaturlooking4 @suchalonelysunflower @burstintocolor @zhangyixingxing1 @dead-and-golden @mymindwide @everyscarisahealingplace @stardust-galaxies @blackbutterfliescal @redrattlers @lovelybonesetc @karajaynetoday @quasighost @i-like-5sos @creampiecashton @calpops

[allsassnoclass]

Kiss Me (x3)

Pairing: Luke Hemmings/Ashton Irwin endgame, Luke Hemmings/Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings/Calum Hood

Rating: Teen and Up

Key Tags: kissing, genuinely this is just a fic about Luke kissing his bandmates

Word Count: 4,896

Read on AO3

Summary: Luke likes kissing, and he likes his bandmates, so it makes sense that he likes kissing his bandmates.

It starts because Michael is being a whiny brat.

In all honesty, it probably starts because they’re all bored, but Michael’s boredom is manifesting itself into whiny brattiness, and Luke’s boredom is manifesting itself into getting annoyed at the whiny brattiness.

The tenth time Michael heaves a sigh and complains about having nothing to do, Luke snaps.

“Will you shut up?” he asks, looking up from his phone where he had been aimlessly scrolling.  Michael is slumped on the couch, watching a rerun of some network show on TV without really watching it.  Calum and Ashton seem to actually be somewhat occupied with the show and a book respectively, but Luke has seen Ashton’s grip on his book tighten with every complaint out of Michael’s mouth, so at least Luke isn’t alone in his annoyance.

“Make me,” Michael snaps.

“Yeah, make him,” Calum says absentmindedly.  He’s got the patience of a saint when it comes to Michael, probably from building an immunity given their years of friendship, but Luke doesn’t appreciate this new team they’ve made right now.

“Fine,” Luke says.  He stands, and Michael raises an unimpressed eyebrow.

“What are you going to do?” he asks.  Luke considers for a second, but honestly?  He’s pretty sure half of Michael’s problem is that he hasn’t had a girlfriend in a while, and therefore has no place to put his bottled up romantic/sexual tension.

“If I kiss you will you shut up?” he asks.

“I thought we were suggesting realistic options,” Ashton says, not looking up from his book.  Luke flips him off anyway.

“You won’t,” Michael says.

“Oh yeah?” Luke asks.  “If I do, will you shut up?”

“Fine.  But you won’t.”

Michael’s claim is not baseless.  They’ve teased each other a lot, but have never actually kissed before.  However, no other instances had included a whiny Michael and a Luke who is feeling a little bored and a little reckless and a little kiss-deprived himself.  As such, he marches over to Michael, puts one hand on the back of the couch to brace himself and one on Michael’s jaw to keep him still, leans in, and plants one on him.  Just like that.

It turns out that kissing your bandmate is easy once you actually put your mind to it.

The kiss is short, just a peck more than anything, but Michael looks shell-shocked when Luke leans back.  He blinks, eyes wide, then opens his mouth to say something.  Luke holds up a finger.

“Ah!  You said you’d shut up!”

Michael closes his mouth with a click.  Luke has never felt this powerful before.  He can feel Calum and Ashton staring at him, but he doesn’t spare them a glance, wanting to preserve the moment for as long as possible.  He just sits back down and picks up his phone again.  After a long moment Calum turns back to the show, but when Luke glances up Ashton is still watching him.  He returns to his phone and tries to hide his satisfied smile, okay with the weight of Ashton’s gaze.

The afternoon is quiet.  Luke keeps thinking about Michael’s lips, chapped and warm.

He’s really missed kissing.  Maybe he doesn’t have to anymore.

-/-

“Listen,” Luke says to Michael later, when they’re getting ready for bed even though Michael will probably stay up for at least another hour.  “It doesn’t have to be a big deal, but I really miss kissing people.  You obviously haven’t kissed anyone in a while, either.  I’m just saying that it could be mutually beneficial.”

Michael squints at him.  He hasn’t outright said no, so Luke has already gotten further than he thought he would.

“Just kissing?” he asks.

“Yeah.  I like kissing, you like kissing, it’s a win-win situation.”

Michael considers for another minute.  Luke stands his ground.

“Okay,” he says.

“Okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Michael shrugs.  “You said it.  I miss kissing.”

“Sweet.”

Michael blinks at him.  Luke blinks back.

“Well?” Michael asks.

“Why do I have to get up?” Luke says.  Michael rolls his eyes.

“Because you’re the one who suggested it?”

Luke rolls his eyes right back, but he gets up and moves towards Michael, sitting down on his bed this time so they’re on the same level at least.  Michael turns, tucking one of his legs underneath him so they can fully face each other, and Luke puts his hands securely on his shoulders and leans in.

Luke likes this kiss better than the first one.  Michael’s lips are a little tacky because he just put on chapstick, but he leans into it, meeting Luke step for step.  His hands eventually land on Luke’s waist, unfamiliar there but not unwelcome, and Luke doesn’t mind when their noses bump.  He doesn’t mind Michael’s breath puffing against his lips or the barest hint of tongue that sneaks into the kiss.

When they finally lean back, Luke is grinning.  Michael is, too.  Luke presses another quick kiss to his cheek.

“Goodnight, Mikey,” he says, sliding off the bed and to his feet.

“Night, Luke.  See you tomorrow.”

Luke falls asleep with a smile on his face and a new plan forming in his head.

-/-

Luke greets Michael the next morning with a kiss in the kitchen.  Michael doesn’t flinch away, much too used to Luke being in his space, but Luke watches his mind wake up a bit and figure out why Luke is suddenly kissing him.  Once he remembers their talk the night before, he smiles.

“What’s this?” Ashton asks from his spot at the table, frowning.  Luke almost hadn’t noticed him, which is a crime because Ashton is the type of person who somehow always looks amazing in the morning.

“Michael and I kiss each other now,” Luke shrugs.  Ashton’s frown deepens, if possible.

“You’re dating?”

“Nope, just kissing,” Luke says, getting down a mug for his coffee.

“Luke’s a pretty good kisser.  You should try it,” Michael says, voice gravely from sleep.

“Do you want to?” Luke asks Ashton, probably a little too enthusiastically.  He’s content enough getting to lock lips with Michael, but Michael’s not going to be around wanting kisses all the time, and Ashton is a great kisser.  Luke knows that he is, because every partner Ashton has ever had always seems a little dazed when he’s accidentally walked in on them making out.

This has nothing to do with Luke’s crush on Ashton, a persistent and annoying thing that he has successfully managed to regulate to the back of his mind in the past few months.

“No,” Ashton says.  “I’m going outside.”

He takes his plate of toast and heads for the door.  Luke shrugs off his disappointment and turns back to Michael.

“Oh well,” Michael says.  “You could always try to get Calum.”

“I might,” Luke says.  Calum seems like he’d be a great kisser, too.  Luke’s really lucky to be in a band of great kissers.  “Hey, do you want to make out after we brush our teeth?”

Michael grins and tugs Luke closer to kiss his cheek.

Luke is a genius.  This is the best idea he’s ever had.

-/-

“Listen,” Luke says, lounging on the couch with Calum on the other side.  He kicks him in the thigh to ensure that he’s listening, and Calum grabs his ankle and tugs him further down the couch so he can effectively trap his legs.  Luke’s not mad about it.

“You know how Michael and I are kissing now?”

“Yeah,” Calum says.  “I’m a better kisser than Mike, by the way.  You chose the wrong bandmate.”

“Prove it,” Luke says.  Calum narrows his eyes.  “Michael won’t be mad, or anything.  We’re not exclusive and there’s no feelings involved.  It’s just for fun.  I’m just saying, you could get in on this.”

Calum considers for a moment.  Luke’s got him hook, line, and sinker.

“What’s in it for me?” he asks.

“Free smooches whenever you want them.  I’ll even wear good-tasting chapstick for you.”

Calum tugs him forward again, and this time Luke goes willingly.

Kissing Calum is different from kissing Michael, obviously, because they’re different people.  Calum puts his hands in Luke’s hair and takes a bit more control of the kiss.  His lips are fuller and he’s not shy and he tastes different.  Not better or worse, just different.  Luke is thrilled at this turn of events.

For a first kiss, it’s not bad.  Not bad at all.

“Cool,” Luke grins when they lean back.

“Cool,” Calum says, amused, and pulls him back in.

-/-

Luke has never been kissed this much in his life, and he’s absolutely loving it.  He likes kissing, and he likes his bandmates, so it makes sense that he would like kissing his bandmates, but he didn’t anticipate liking it this much.  He gets good morning kisses and good night kisses every day, sometimes from Calum, sometimes from Michael, sometimes from both.  He gets kissed at lunch and while chilling in the living room and sometimes he gets to make out with one of the boys on one of their beds.

He likes making out best.  There’s nothing like kissing someone continuously simply because he wants to, both of them pressed close, hands wandering but not too far, lips maybe straying a bit but always coming back, wasting hours away at a time in the sensations until his lips are too dry and tingly to continue.  So many of his previous partners saw making out as a precursor to something else, but Michael and Calum aren’t like that.  He likes that they both appreciate kissing as much as he does.  He likes that once they’re done, they go back to being best friends and teasing each other and saying stupid things.

Luke has to buy so much chapstick.  There has never been a more worthy investment.

Michael and Calum approach making out differently, which is really cool.  Michael is playful, bruising Luke’s lips with little bites and keeping things fun.  He teases a lot, but the payoff is sweet.  He likes putting a hand on the back of Luke’s neck, thumb resting on the soft patch of skin behind his ear, and it makes him shiver.  Luke loves every tickling butterfly kiss and the way Michael gasps and laughs when Luke has enough of the teasing and pins him down.  He loves how familiar Michael is and how sometimes he’ll break the kiss in the middle to say some random thing he remembered he wanted to tell Luke.

Calum really likes to take his time.  He’s great at long, slow kisses that leave Luke feeling a little weak in the knees, and his hands are a grounding weight wherever they end up.  He’s thorough and intentional, and he never pushes things rougher but smiles when Luke does.  Luke discovered that threading his fingers through Calum’s hair and scratching the back of his scalp makes him gasp, and he loves the feeling of Calum lax and boneless against him as much as he loves the feeling of Calum caging him in on top of him or pinning him to the wall for a quick kiss that turns into minutes that turns into way too long for two people simply passing each other in the hallway.

Luke just really loves kissing.  He especially loves the casual cheek and forehead kisses that they’ve gotten in the habit of pressing into each other’s skin.  When Luke leaves a room, he likes saying goodbye with a quick peck to Calum’s cheek and a kiss to the top of Michael’s head, a small way to remind them that he likes them without interrupting whatever they’re doing.  Michael and Calum have started doing it back and doing it to each other, too.  It makes Luke happy.  It makes Luke wonder if Michael and Calum are making out with each other, too, and he kind of hopes that they are.  He wants them both to have that wonderful experience.

The only person who doesn’t seem to like the arrangement is Ashton.  Luke has been on cloud nine since he started getting kissed regularly; it’s even difficult to be grumpy in the morning when his two best friends are there to kiss him awake.  Calum and Michael have been in similarly high spirits.  Ashton, though, has taken to stomping around the house like a toddler.  He’s rarely chirpy anymore and things only get worse if he sees Luke kiss one of the others.

Luke doesn’t like being on the receiving end of Ashton’s glare.  He doesn’t like it at all, especially when Ashton’s smile makes him feel fuzzy.  This is the opposite, and it makes him feel the opposite.

Maybe Ashton’s jealous.  It’s the only thing he can think of, because Ashton hasn’t gotten kissed in a long time, either, and Luke, Calum, and Michael getting their fill probably makes it seem like they’re rubbing it in his face.  If Luke was kiss-deprived and saw his best friends making out, he’d probably be annoyed, too.  He can’t think of any other reason Ashton might be in such a foul mood, because things are typically fine if it’s just the two of them hanging out, and Calum and Michael have said the same thing.

There’s an easy way to fix this.  Luke just hopes Ashton will say yes.

-/-

“Listen,” Luke says, standing in the doorway to Ashton’s room.  It’s been hard to get him alone, but Ashton retreated back to his bedroom for some privacy half an hour ago.  Luke hopes he doesn’t mind the interruption, but Ashton looks refreshed and recharged and he’s not frowning or sighing heavily, so that’s a good sign.

“What?” he sighs.  Maybe Luke spoke too soon.

“Do you want to kiss me?” he blurts.  Ashton’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Excuse me?”

“Do you want to kiss me,” Luke repeats.  “You’ve been in such a bad mood lately.  Is it because I’ve been kissing Michael and Calum but no one is kissing you?  Because I’d really like to kiss you, and that seems like a good solution.  None of us are dating so no one would mind.  I promise I’m a good kisser.”

Ashton purses his lips and sits up.  Luke has a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“I don’t want to kiss you,” Ashton says flatly.  Luke ignores how much it stings.  “I only kiss partners or the occasional one night stand, and I don’t kiss people who are just going to turn around and make out with someone else the second I’m gone.”

“That’s kind of mean,” Luke says quietly.  Ashton sighs again.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he says.  “What you’re doing is fine, and you’re obviously enjoying yourself, so have fun.  Don’t ask me to be part of it, though.  I like kisses to mean something, and you can’t give me that.  It doesn’t make either of us a bad person, it just makes us incompatible.”

Luke looks down at his socks.  This is awful.  He should’ve let Ashton stay grumpy instead of trying to fix it.  Grumpy Ashton is better than grumpy Ashton who is also making Luke feel bad.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Ashton says, tone gentler.  “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but inviting me to join your little kissing group isn’t the way to do it.  I don’t really want a no-strings-attached thing right now, and I don’t think I could see someone who already has multiple partners.  It would make me feel like I’m not enough.”

“That’s not how Cal, Mike, and I work,” Luke says.  “If anything, I feel closer to both of them.  More appreciated.”

Ashton shrugs and looks away.  He’s starting to fold in on himself, like he’s trying to hide from Luke.  Luke hates it.

“That’s good for you,” Ashton says.  “I don’t think I can work like that, though.  At least not right now.  I already like someone and if we were to get involved with another person, I’d want it to be a decision we make together.  Something that we both agree to.  I wouldn’t want them to have someone separate from me, I’d want us to do it together with the knowledge that we still fully have each other.  I just-- I can’t start out like that, with them already involved with someone.  Not how things are now.”

Luke swallows and nods slowly.

“You… like someone?” he asks.  Ashton looks down at his hands.

“Yeah,” he says.  “I do.”

“Okay,” Luke says, trying to swallow the sting again.  This isn’t about him.  This is about Ashton looking small and miserable right now.   “Do you… why haven’t you asked them out yet?  Do you want me to help?  I can be your wingman, or something.”

“No, Luke.  I don’t think it’s going to work out with me and him.”

“Why not?”

Ashton stands, finally looking at him again.

“Because he keeps kissing my bandmates.”

Luke stares at him, words not quite processing.  He blinks.  The corner of Ashton’s mouth turns up, and he crosses the room, stopping right in front of Luke.  Luke’s heart is thudding.  He’s not sure if he’s breathing.  He’s not sure of a lot of things, actually, but he’s especially not sure of what’s going on.

Ashton leans forward and for a wild second Luke thinks he’s going to do it, that he’s going to kiss him after detailing all of the reasons he wouldn’t, but he presses warm, gentle lips to Luke’s cheek instead.  It’s devastating.

“I’m going for a walk.  See you at dinner,” Ashton says, still standing far too close.  Luke manages to nod, and then Ashton is gone, leaving behind a lot of confusion and the lingering ghost of a kiss.

-/-

“So,” Luke says.  “Ashton said he likes me.”

“That’s good,” Michael says, fiddling with a thread on his bedspread.  It’s been bothering him, and Luke has considered getting scissors to cut it, but it’s probably a good thing that Michael’s fingers are occupied right now.  “It’d suck to be friends with someone who doesn’t like you.”

“No, like… like likes me.  Romantically.  I’m pretty sure.”  Luke hugs a pillow to his chest.  Michael glances up at him.

“You’re pretty sure?”

Luke shrugs.  “He said that he likes someone, and that that person has been kissing his bandmates.  I guess it could be you or Calum instead.”

“Nah, Ashton wouldn’t say it like that if it was one of us,” Michael says.  “He wouldn’t try to confuse you.  Besides, Cal and I don’t really kiss in front of him.  We keep it in the bedroom, like respectable people.”

“Hey, I’m respectable,” Luke says.

“You tell yourself that the next time your tongue is down my throat in the kitchen.”

Luke bites his lip, and maybe something about the silence feels too heavy, because Michael looks up at him.

“Are we… not going to do that anymore?” he asks.

“Ashton doesn’t want to date someone who is already kissing other people, and I really like him, Mike.  I have for a while.”

“I know,” Michael says.  He’d found a way to weasel the secret out of Luke a long time ago, back when Luke was worse at hiding it.  It’s one of the reasons Luke is having this conversation with Michael rather than with Calum, although Calum definitely figured it out, too.

“That’s okay,” Michael says.  He sounds a little disappointed, but not too much.  It makes Luke feel better, because he’s a little sad, too, but he doesn’t want Michael to be unhappy.  “I can kiss Calum instead.  He actually offered me a blowjob the other day, which you would never do, so he’s already got a leg up on you.”

“Shut up,” Luke says, hitting him with the pillow.  Michael laughs and grabs it, throwing it out of Luke’s reach.

“Wait,” Luke asks.  “Did he really?”

Michael shrugs.  “It was one of those things he says as a joke, you know?  But he didn’t really seem like he was joking this time.  I kind of don’t want him to be.”

“So you two might be full-on friends with benefits?” Luke asks.  Michael shrugs again.

“Maybe.  We’ll see what happens, I guess.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing we’re stopping, then,” Luke says.  “Ash and I can figure our stuff out, and you two can figure your stuff out without having to factor in another person.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Michael says.  He’s picking at the bedspread again, shoulders slumped, so Luke cups his jaw and kisses him.  It’s been weeks since their first kiss and Michael knows what to do, hands familiar on Luke’s back, tugging him closer.  For a split second, Luke wishes he could stay in this moment forever.

“I’m going to miss this,” Luke murmurs when they part, not bothering to go far.

“Me too,” Michael says.  “But we’re still best friends, and that’s what matters.  We’ll still mess around and write music and cuddle.”

“Yeah,” Luke says, heart a little bit lighter.  “You’re right.”

Michael pulls him in again.  It’s bittersweet, but as far as goodbye kisses go, it’s not bad.

-/-

Calum takes the news about as well as Michael does.  He understands, just like Luke knew he would, and they spend a long time making out in the way Calum likes until Michael knocks and says it’s time for dinner.

That one isn’t a bad goodbye kiss, either.  Luke thinks he’s allowed to be a little sad, but Calum slings an arm around his shoulder as they walk to the kitchen and tells him a really bad joke to make him feel better.  It reminds him that he’s not saying goodbye to their friendship, and he’ll get kisses and a lot more with Ashton in exchange for stopping the kisses with Calum and Michael.  Besides, Michael kisses his cheek later on instinct when he leaves the living room, and Luke thinks that’s okay.  Ashton can’t be upset at something harmlessly platonic like that, and it makes everything feel a little less heavy.

Keeping those kisses, however, means that Ashton doesn’t pick up on the fact that Luke isn’t kissing the others on the lips.  Luke doesn’t know how to bring it up to him, because hey I broke up with our bandmates for you but it wasn’t really a breakup because we weren’t dating but it did kind of feel like a breakup except not because we’re still friends probably isn’t the best thing to lead with.  However, when he’s still kissing Calum and Michael on their cheek or the top of the head or even occasionally the back of the hand, he’s not sure Ashton is realizing that the lips are now an off-limits zone for them.

It’s kind of killing him.  He wants to be Ashton’s boyfriend, but he doesn’t know how to make that leap.  If they were officially dating, Ashton would be next to Luke on the couch right now instead of sequestered to the armchair.  They could be cuddling.  Luke could brush that stray lock of hair out of his eyes.  He could maybe, finally, figure out what it’s like to kiss him.

This movie is boring.  Luke knows that Ashton thinks so, too, because he’s been fiddling with his phone for most of it.  The other two are enraptured, but Luke is starting to get restless and he’s annoyed that he has neither a boyfriend nor free reign to kiss his friends and he’s ready to do something about it.

“I’m going to my room,” he says, standing up and stretching.  He kisses Calum’s cheek and leans over him to get to Michael’s temple.  As he’s rounding the couch, though, he pauses.

He really wants to kiss Ashton.  It doesn’t even have to be on the lips.  He wants to kiss Ashton’s cheek and nose and forehead and palm.  While he’s not allowed to kiss him on the lips yet, maybe one of those would be okay.  Ashton is the one who kissed him on the cheek last time, anyway.

Before he can second-guess, he leans over the back of the armchair and kisses the top of Ashton’s head.  Ashton blinks up at him.  Luke doesn’t know how to describe his expression, but he wants Ashton to look at him like that all the time.

“Can I talk to you?” he asks quietly.  Ashton glances at their friends, then nods and follows him to his room, closing the door behind them.

“What’s up?” he asks.

“I’m not kissing Calum and Michael anymore,” Luke says.  “Not on the lips, I mean.  I talked to them a week ago.  I still want to kiss them on the cheek and stuff, platonically of course, but if you don’t want me to I can stop, because I really like you, Ashton, and I have for a long time, and I really want to be your boyfriend, and kiss you, and do a million other boyfriend things with you and… yeah.  I like you.”

Ashton blinks at him.  Luke bites his lip and waits.

“Oh,” Ashton says.  “Of course you can keep kissing them on the cheek.  You don’t have to-- I wasn’t expecting you to talk to stop your…” he waves his hand around.  “Thing.  I don’t know what you guys have been calling it.”

“You said you don’t want to kiss someone who is kissing other people, too,” Luke says.  “I want you.  I’ve had a crush on you for forever.  You can ask Michael if you don’t believe me.”

“Oh,” Ashton repeats.  “Are you sure?  I don’t want you to regret this if you want to continue with Michael and Calum.”

“I’m sure,” Luke says.  “Honestly, I’ll miss kissing them a bit, because they’re great kissers, and I do love them, but I’m in love with you.  I want something with you.”

“Oh,” Ashton says again, but it sounds different this time.  It sounds important.  It sounds like the fuzzy feeling Luke gets when Ashton smiles at him.

“I’d like that,” Ashton says.  He smiles, then laughs, giddy and joyful.  “I’d like that a lot.”

“Good,” Luke grins.  “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Ashton nods.  There’s only one thing Luke can do in response.

Kissing Ashton is different from kissing Michael and Calum, and Luke loves it.  He loves that Ashton doesn’t have expectations, and he loves the way he pulls Luke closer until there’s no room between them.  When Luke puts a hand on Ashton’s lower back and lets the other tangle in his hair, Ashton melts.  Luke wants to sink into him, and when they part Ashton buries his face in the crook of Luke’s shoulder and holds him for a long, long time.

As far as first kisses go, it’s not bad.  In fact, it’s pretty fucking fantastic.

-/-

It turns out that dating Ashton is just as good as Luke imagined.  He gets good morning and good night kisses, and he gets kissed at lunch and while he’s chilling in the living room and they make out on each other’s beds.  On top of that, Luke gets more cuddles, more quality time, and sometimes Ashton will look at him so fondly Luke thinks he’s going to combust.  Dating Ashton is a wonderful new world, and Luke has loved every discovery.

Michael and Calum tease them relentlessly.  They’ve been spending a lot of time behind closed doors together and Luke has caught them cuddling more or walking around with pinkies hooked together.  Sometimes he misses the closeness that kissing gave them all, especially now that Calum and Michael seem to have something that he’s not part of, but they still kiss his cheek when they pass him and it makes him happy each time.  Ashton smiles each time it happens, too.

“Alright,” Michael says, shoving his feet into his shoes.  “Calum and I are going to the shops.  You guys need anything?”

“Take the list on the fridge,” Ashton says from his spot pressed to Luke’s side.  He’s reading a book over Luke’s shoulder, a fantasy selection that Luke’s mum sent, but Luke is having trouble focusing with Ashton’s chin on his shoulder.

Michael redirects to the kitchen to get the list, and Calum appears to give Luke his routine kiss on the top of his head.

“Hey, where’s mine?” Ashton asks.  Calum pauses.

“You want one?”

“Yeah,” Ashton says.  Calum shrugs and kisses the top of Ashton’s head.

“Oh, are we kissing Ashton now, too?” Michael asks, reappearing.  “Fuck yeah! It’s about time he got with the program.”

“Hey,” Ashton protests.  Michael leans over the couch to press a smacking kiss to his cheek, then miscalculates with Luke and ends up kissing his eyebrow instead of any normal part of his face.

“Okay, love you, bye!” Michael says while everyone laughs at him.  Luke sees him take Calum’s hand before the door closes behind them.

Luke kisses Ashton’s cheek.  Ashton looks at him fondly and gently knocks their heads together.  It makes Luke want to do something drastic, like learn how to fly.  He feels on top of the world.  He feels like things are working out, not just between him and Ashton or between Michael and Calum, but with all of them together.

Ashton kisses him again, and Luke knows that it’s one of a million more kisses that he’ll get.  He’s never going to be kiss-deprived again, and he’s loving it.

[kindahoping4forever]

Camping // Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings

We received the same prompt request for both Luke and Ashton and @cal-puddies​ thought it would be a fun idea if both stories took place in the same world! Cass asked me to fill the Ash request (because she’s a true friend) while she took on the Luke prompt and then we fit them together. So to clarify - this is not a Lashton fic but essentially an Ashton story (Crystal got a bit carried away, what a surprise) with a Luke epilogue. 

Prompt: "Do you think they can hear us through the tent?” “Yes we can.”

Warnings: Fun, fluffy smut. Slight auditory voyeurism/exhibitionism. Self-indulgent amounts of witty banter with Boyfriend!Ash. Cameo by Sassy!Calum. Afterword starring Horny!Luke.

Word Count: 2,358 

Cass & Crystal’s Collab Masterlist

Let  us  know  what  you  think!

————-

You stretch yourself across the air mattress and loudly groan. 

You and Ashton had recently discovered your shared love for camping and you were excited he was finally able to convince the rest of the guys to join you on a weekend getaway. Not to mention the fact that they'd be heading out on tour soon and you were looking forward to soaking up all the time you had left with your boyfriend before you had to share him with the world again.

The drive up was nice and the hike wasn't too strenuous but after what seemed like an endless ordeal of surveying the perfect terrain to set up camp and the actual building of your tent (because someone doesn't like to follow instruction manuals and has to figure it out himself), you were excited to relax your muscles and maybe indulge in a short nap.

"You realize we're sharing that, correct?" Ashton teases, zipping your tent shut behind him and crawling over to join you. 

"I'm pretty sure the box said 'queen,' thought that meant it was mine," you shrug, starfishing across the bed even further.

"Fair enough," he grins before climbing on the mattress and then climbing on you, draping his large frame across you to mirror your position.

You giggle and try to push his heavy body off of you, to no avail. "Noooo, you're all sweaty from putting the tent together," your complaint barely audible, muffled by his giant shoulder in your face. "You could've just asked me to move over, no suffocation necessary." You try to nip at his skin to get him to budge but he's got you pinned good and the best you can manage is briefly catching the edge of his tank top between your teeth. 

"Ask her royal highness to share? I would never," he faux gasps, laughing loudly at your struggle. "And I know you like me sweaty, baby, I saw you watching me build our palace." He lifts his face to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively at you and finally allows you to push him over to your side.

"I was watching you so intently because I wanted you to hurry up so I could come in and rest," you jab at his side.

"In-TENT-ly," he honks, his giggles increasing in volume. 

Ash's glee is contagious and you find yourself laughing along with him, "You're the worst, oh my god," you wipe tears from your eyes. "I heard Mike say he and Crystal were going to go rest too, you need to keep it together."

"You think they can hear us through the tent?" He asks, still trying to regain his composure. 

"Yes we can," you hear Calum's voice coming through clear as day. "And y'all are annoying as fuck."

"You're just mad because you're still building your tent, ya slowpoke," Ash fires back, cracking himself up and the giggles start up again.

Luke's high-pitched giggle can be heard in the distance, followed by an incredulous "Fuck off, mate, you're not done either!" from Cal. 

You shake your head and playfully shove at Ash. “Fuckin troublemaker,” you tease, quieter now that you know the others can hear you.

“Yeah? I’ll show you trouble, baby,” he smirks, pecking his lips across your neck and face.

“Oh my god, you are in a mood,” you giggle quietly, pushing him away again. “You can show me as much trouble as you want after I take a nap.” You settle in against your pillow and close your eyes. 

“Deal!” He chuckles and presses a kiss to your temple.

You’re stirred from sleep a short time later by the sound of your tent unzipping and open your eyes to see a wet-haired Ashton, clad only in black athletic shorts entering.

“Oh shit, baby, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to wake ya,” he says apologetically.

You take in the sight of him, sitting on the edge of the mattress, toweling off his hair. He looks good and you can’t deny the sudden desire you have to feel him close to you. You clear your throat casually, “Go for a dip?”

“Oh yeah, lake was real nice,” he enthuses, tossing his towel aside. “Mattress comfy?”

You shrug coyly, “You could come see for yourself.” 

He smiles smugly and crawls up to you, “Oh, you like me again? Thought I was a troublemaker?” He lays down next to you and moves in close.

You wrap your arms around his broad shoulders and pull him so that he’s inches from your face. “Well, who doesn’t like a little trouble?” You nip at his bottom lip. “Love, even?” 

You pull him in, kissing him hard and he instantly deepens it. You’re happy to lay there, enjoying the sounds of nature and the feel of each other; your lazy makeout is unhurried but your shirt and shorts get lost at some point and Ash ends up laying on top of you, in between your legs. 

Ash gently rocks his hips against your clothed center, earning a low moan when you feel how hard he is for you. “Feels like you’re about as ready for me as I am for you,” you muse, rolling your hips against his to illustrate your point.

He groans quietly and reaches down to pull your panties and his shorts off as you fling your bra to the side of the mattress. You gasp as he runs his cock along your folds, even stopping to tease your clit with his tip. Just as you’re about to start whining, he pushes in and you sigh in relief.

“Were you about to tell me to just fuck you already?” He grins and kisses you as he thrusts slowly.

“If you don’t pick up the pace, I still might,” you smirk, biting his lip.

Smiling, he shakes his head at you, lifts your leg up to hook around his waist and swats your ass while he’s at it. He begins pounding into you and taunts, “This better?”

You, of course, are unable to answer with anything but heavy breathing, which only encourages him to fuck you even harder. 

For the next few minutes, the air is still except for the sounds of skin slapping against skin and birds chirping in the distance. You’re digging your nails into Ash’s back and are about to slide a hand down to your clit to speed up your orgasm when a loud clanging and a grumbled “Fuckin hell” shatters the silence.

Ash stills his movements and you both stare at each other. “The fuck was that?” You mouth at your boyfriend, who is buried deep inside you.

“It’s gotta be Cal,” he whispers. “His tent still wasn't up when I got back from the lake.” He stifles a giggle.

“You knew he was out there and you still let me come on to you?” You reach to pinch his arm and accidentally moan at the way your movement drags his cock inside you. 

He snorts as you glare at him. "No one was around when I came in here," he protests softly. "Besides, baby, you were pretty determined to get a piece of me…"

A loud metal THWACK followed by more muttered profanities interrupts Ashton's teasing. Your eyes widen as you hear both Michael and Luke come out of their tents to offer Cal their assistance.

Ash knows better than to laugh at this point but you can see the delight on his face and you have to admit the situation is pretty ridiculous. You clench around his cock just enough to get him to close his eyes from the sensation. 

“You’re balls deep inside of me with all your friends less than 50 feet away and you want to make jokes?” You try to purse your lips in a pout but it ends up more of a smile.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asks you sincerely.

You listen to the rustling and light conversation of the guys working outside; they sound fairly preoccupied with what they’re doing. You look up into Ash’s eyes, a beautiful hazel pool currently filled with equal concern and amusement. You think about his hard cock nestled inside you and how close you were to cumming around it. You honestly still feel pretty close. You couldn’t… could you? 

You rotate your hips slowly, causing you both to exhale deeply. Ash raises his eyebrows to you, silently asking for permission and you offer him a passionate kiss in response. He gently begins rocking into you, careful not to move too vigorously, trying to minimize sound. You reach down and start working your clit; you bite your lip to keep from moaning at how instantly good it feels.

It's not long before his pace starts increasing and you can tell he’s nearing his end. “You gonna cum for me, troublemaker?” You can’t help but ask in a hushed tone.

A strangled moan leaves Ash’s throat as he buries his face in your neck and spills into you; hearing him lose control like that sets you off as well and you pant heavily as your orgasm washes over you.

He stays laid on top of you for a few moments as you both catch your breath as quietly as you can. Eventually he kisses you softly, pulls out and grabs his discarded towel from earlier to clean you both up. 

“I can’t believe you still wanted to finish with everyone right there,” he quietly teases. “Do you have a secret exhibitionist kink we’ve yet to explore or are you just that crazy about me?”

“Or maybe you’re just being exhausting and I didn’t know how I was going to get through the rest of the day without releasing some tension?” You taunt with a smirk, sitting up to pull your clothes back on.

He pulls his shorts on and moves to the corner of the tent to dig a clean shirt out of his backpack, pouting at your joke. You crawl up behind him and press light kisses to the tattoo on his neck until he giggles and swats you away.

You unzip the tent and peek your head out. “Coast looks clear,” you shrug, stepping out. “Cal’s tent is done though,” you comment.

“Fuckin finally!” Ash exclaims and pinches your ass as he exits the tent. “Took all goddamn day to finish.”

“Alright, troublemaker, that’s enough.” Cal’s voice appears behind you and you both whip your heads to see him walking behind your tent with an armful of firewood. “Never realized you got so excited about finishing.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke spent his day getting handsy after getting the tent set up. Which was fine, because you aren’t sure how Ash talked everyone into a camping trip anyways. But he did and you’re here. (You think Luke must have used some alternative actions to get you to agree to it.) 

He’s been especially handsy since he and Mike helped Calum build his tent and they overheard Ash and his girl having sex. Apparently that was exciting for Luke. 

You’re sitting in front of the fire, wrapped in one of Luke’s hoodies. It was a little after 11 and Michael and Crystal had already gone to bed.

Luke leans over, “Hey, wanna go down the lake?” He asks.

“Sure, baby,” you agree, grabbing his hand. He takes a couple drinks from the cooler and when you stop by the tent to get a blanket, he digs in his bag for a minute, retrieving a condom and a flashlight. 

You give him a questioning look but he waits until you get a little ways down the path to respond. “I think it’s already been proven you can hear what’s going on in the tents,” he laughs. 

“I see. So you think I’m gonna fuck you out in the open?” You laugh. 

“A man can hope,” he smirks. 

He hands you the flashlight and lays out the blanket, laying down and holding his arm out for you to lay down with him. “I like when we get to do this,” you murmur, resting your head on his chest. 

“Me too,” he kisses the top of your head and you look up at him for a kiss. It quickly turns into a make out session, and you realize pretty quickly that he wants it to go further. 

He reaches down and grabs your ass, pulling you on top of him. “You want me to ride you in the middle of the forest,” you chuckle. 

“You don’t have to ride me but I didn’t bring you to the middle of nowhere to not get laid,” he smirks. 

You laugh and shake your head, “I hate you.” 

“And that’s why your hand is on my dick right now?” He chuckles. 

“You know I like it when you’re hard for me,” you shrug. 

“I know you like it when I’m hard in you,” he laughs. 

“Yeah, I do like that,” you nod, smiling. 

“Sooo… middle of nowhere, under the stars?” He asks. 

“Yeah… but I gotta leave the hoodie on, it’s cold.” 

You lean up and start kissing him. Luke quickly takes your shorts off and pulls his down. He pulls you on top of him and you roll the condom on and guide him in. “Quick and dirty, the way I like it,” you laugh, starting a rhythm. 

“A little too literal,” he cracks. 

And then it goes quiet. He focuses on touching you and then it’s just moans.

“Fuck, Luke,” you moan and he can tell you’re getting close. 

“That’s it, baby… wanna feel you squeeze around me,” he encourages, bucking his hips up to give you more friction. 

You fall forward, pushing your hands against his chest. “Wanna cum for you,” you pant. 

Your ears perk up as you hear what you think are footsteps. You stop immediately. “Did you hear that?” You ask, eyes going wide. 

“No, baby, I didn’t. C’mon.” He swats your ass. 

“Luke, what if it’s a bear?!” You whisper yell. 

“It’s not a fucking bear! Just cum so I can go the fuck to bed!” Cal yells. “Y’all act like you’re the quietest fuckers on earth,” he groans.

—-

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[irwinkitten]

men of mayhem | a.i

notes: i had a few people yell at me for part three and this isn’t going to be any nicer. sorry.  warnings: mentions of death word count: 3.5k

donate to my ko-fi

part one, part two, part three

-

               Anne-Marie had managed to negotiate a smaller price of the remodelling by mentioning it was for the last member of the Morgan family. The town obviously knew Michelle and knew her ties with the Irwins, but also they understood how devastating this was for her and the community wanted to help.

Whilst they were getting measurements of the house for the redesigning and rebuilding, Michelle had gone to collect her parents and brothers' belongings from their workplaces and school respectively.

Ashton had stayed by her side, unwilling to let her too far out of his sight, but he also knew that doing this alone wasn’t fair on her. She’d taken the words of sympathy easily from her parents' coworkers. She knew them growing up and they understood what she was going through. Ashton had to tell them about the funeral time however—she’d been unable to get the sentence out from her lips—she’d choked on her words but they understood.

When she’d gone to Matty’s school, it was much harder. Seeing the fifth graders look at her with such sadness nearly broke Michelle to tears. Seeing his class sat silently, waiting for her to talk was something which made the situation so real for her. 

There were faces she recognised, their own older brothers and sisters having gone to school with both her and Ashton, and she briefly wondered if this was making it worse. In a small town like Charming, you knew everyone or at least their families.

“I wanted to thank all of you, for the cards that you’ve been sending me. I know that Matty was popular, and for a popular kid, he really loved you guys. Every time I came home from University, he had new stories to tell me every summer.” She could feel the first tear fall. The fact that these children were dealt with facing the prospect of their classmate dying so young, it hurt her.

One of the girls—Lana, she remembered—raised her hand.

“Will Matty be happy where he is now? Even though we miss him?” God she wanted to hug all of them, seeing the tearful faces. Even the boys. 

Ashton had been lurking in the corner. He’d ditched his club jacket for his plaid shirt and black muscle tee, knowing that the last thing he wanted was terrifying the children. A lot of them had seen him pick Matty up from school, so he knew that some of them had seen him in his full gear. But this time, it was a time for comfort.

He moved from his spot to take a seat next to Michelle, his hand in hers as she took in a slow, steadying breath. 

“I know that he’d be missing all of you. But he’s gonna be happy and safe, and when you’re sad and miss him, write a letter. You don’t need to post it, you can just keep it safe. But he’ll see the letter and know you’re thinking of him.” Her voice held a tremble and Ashton squeezed her hand gently.

“You’ve also got to remember it’s okay to cry. Even the boys. Your best mate is gone, and you’re allowed to miss him.” Ashton spoke quietly and he knew that the children were listening. 

“It’s really okay to cry?” One of the smaller boys asked quietly and Ashton nodded.

“You guys have probably seen me pick up Matty from school right? When I’ve got all of my biker gear on?” Lots of the children nodded. “And you probably think I’m a real tough guy who doesn’t cry?” More nods. “Let me tell you a secret then. I cry when I need to. If it’s too much for me, I’ll cry.” This earned amazed looks from the children and Michelle gave off a watery chuckle.

“He’s right. When we found out about Matty, he cried that night. If you miss him and you’re sad don’t think you’re not allowed to, okay?” She was met with more nods and the teacher, Alanah, gained her attention gently.

“We got a lot of Matty’s things together for you, but we wanted to ask if we could keep a few pieces of his work?” Michelle wiped a few tears away before nodding her head.

“I’m sure Matty would forgive me for letting you guys have some of his work.” This earned a few giggles from the children and Ashton kissed her cheek.

Lana had gotten up at the nod of Alanah and Michelle’s heart sank as she realised that Lana must've sat next to him and been his partner throughout the school year. She picked up the pile that had been put together nicely, tied with a small ribbon to hold it together.

“We wanted to make sure that it would be safe.” Michelle gave her a gentle smile as she took the package. “Would it be okay to hug you Mrs. Irwin?” She could only nod as Lana wrapped her arms around Michelle’s neck, and she held onto the young girl as tight as she dared.

“He couldn’t have asked for better friends.” Michelle finally got out when Lana had stepped back. The young girl gave her a watery smile in return before going back to her seat just as the bell rang. 

“How about you all head out for recess and when you guys come back, we’ll make more cards to take to the funeral. I’ve spoken with your parents and what we’ll be doing is your parents will bring you into school and then we’ll be heading to the church so we can say our goodbyes to Matty.” Alanah explained and the children—despite the solemn mood that had settled—chattered about what they would each put in their own cards as they headed out of the classroom, each of them stopping to give Michelle another hug.

Only Lana was brave enough to hug Ashton as well.

Once the door was closed, Michelle couldn’t stop the sob that escaped, her hand covering her lips as she tearfully gazed down at the package in her lap.

Alanah made her way over.

“The children have all been so good about this. Obviously they don’t know why Matty died, but they know that there was an explosion and that he was in it.” Michelle could only nod.

“What were the pieces of work you wanted to keep?” At this, Alanah smiled.

“A few pieces. You have the original works, but we’ve got it photocopied. The children want every future class to see the work that Matty did. Alanah held her hand out towards Michelle and she took it gratefully, standing up from her seat and allowing the young woman to guide her to the wall where there was a section that she hadn’t paid much attention to when she’d arrived.

The header—in bright colourful letters—read ‘Matty’s corner’. Underneath, she recognised the handwriting immediately. Various headers caught her eyes, moving onto each piece. It seemed that they had not only some of his essays that he wrote, but they kept some drawings he did, scattered between them. And she noticed small notes which told her that they were passed between him and his classmates. She giggled as her fingers traced one of them. When she reached the centre essay, Michelle had to pause, a gasp of air leaving her lips in shock.

‘Why My Sister Is My Hero.’ 

“I know that he looked up to you a lot, Michelle. When he handed this in, I had him read it out to the class because there were a few older children who made fun of him that you were never around anymore. After that, everyone in the class seemed to take a personal offence to those children making fun of him.” A smile tugged on the corner of her lips.

“Thank you Alanah. And thank you for what you’re arranging with the class for his funeral.” 

“He was a good boy. I put the point across to the parents of the class that this was not negotiable. They need to say goodbye to him because he was taken from their lives so very fast. When the parents realised that it meant that they wouldn’t have to take time off their jobs and take that stress away, they agreed it was beneficial for the children.” 

When they’d gotten home, it had taken all of three seconds before everything that she’d been holding back came flooding out. To see his entire class, be so accepting but to offer their own ways of comfort and remembrance, it was a lot for her.

The funerals rolled around soon after that and Michelle was reluctant to face anyone. To her knowledge, it had gotten to the Bulldogs of the plan for revenge, and so the club set up the newer members around the building to keep an eye out for any kinds of trouble.

Ashton had coaxed Michelle into eating some toast at least as they got ready. Bert and Anne-Marie had asked where she wanted them and she asked if they would sit behind her. She knew Ashton wouldn’t leave her side and she knew that Calum would take spot on her other side.

They had gone ahead and eventually Michelle pulled herself together, stepped out and met the hearses which held her parents and brother. It would be a procession through the town to the church and she nodded her head.

“We’re just waiting on one one more thing and then we’ll be off.” 

She looked to Ashton at the funeral director's words, confusion in her eyes and he could only shrug in return. And then the noise reached them before she saw them. In pairs, the club members drove past the hearses, and she could do nothing but lean into her husband, his arm wrapping around her as she let out a sob, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s what they deserve. They’re family.” He whispered to her as they looped around and came up to the house and she realised that they were escorting them all to the church. 

Once they were in the car that would take them, Michelle could only lay her head on his shoulder, tears already falling. She knew that today would be long. 

When they reached the church, they were just waiting on her. They’d already explained to her that they would let her brother's coffin rest in hearse for the first part, which would mean that she would have to make this trip twice. But she could only nod and go along with it as she led the procession behind the coffin. Ashton had wanted to be a pallbearer, but she’d all but begged him to stay with her.

And he couldn’t say no to her at all.

Her parents' service was slightly easier. She’d requested their friends to speak their eulogies, to tell everyone else of their achievements. They’d obliged easily and taken that weight off her shoulders. 

Once more she returned to the front of the church, but this one was harder for her to witness as she welcomed his classmates into the church. 

Her parents' coffins were already going to head towards the graveyard where they would have to wait for Matty’s service to be finished. 

She’d quietly requested Lana to sit with her, now knowing that the girl had been his best friend. She was almost certain that in another life, they would have emulated her and Ashton had he gotten to live past his eleventh year. But life was cruel. 

Lana had accepted the request and hugged both Michelle and Ashton tightly as they waited for the pallbearers. 

It looked so wrong, seeing the pure white coffin being carried in by four people. Lana’s hand gripped hers tightly stepping closer to Michelle as they carried the coffin past the trio. 

She carefully guided Lana behind the coffin, briefly wondering if she had any more tears left to cry. She had a brief moment of amusement as Lana stared at Calum for a solid moment before taking the spot next to him and holding out her hand.

“Did you love him too?” The question very nearly set Michelle off as Lana asked Calum. He gave her a sad smile, nodding his head as he took her hand and squeezed it.

“I did. His sister is like my sister, so he turned into my brother too.” Calum explained it softly as they waited for everything to get set up. Lana nodded once, her doe like gaze returning to Calum after she’d glanced to the coffin.

“I’m sorry you lost him too.” Ashton had a tissue for Michelle as more tears fell, answering her silent question if she had any more tears to cry.

That answer was yes. 

Lana very bravely stood up to the congregation, not only of her classmates, but complete strangers. She told them all how he was her best friend. How they traded flowers and cards every year. They’d made it a tradition when they both had gotten nothing the first year of school. That was when their friendship had been born.

When she returned to her spot, Michelle wrapped the young, tearful girl in a tight hug. 

“He’d be so proud of you Lana.” She whispered. The young girl could only nod as she stayed like that, her hand searching out for Calum’s. Part of her mind wanted to tease her best friend, to crack a joke. But she knew she couldn’t. Everything hurt too much to even try.

At Michelle’s request, she’d asked his classmates to come with to see him being put to rest. She wanted all of their cards to go with him. And Alanah had obliged easily. Lana had been reluctant to leave Michelle’s side and with Alanah’s permission, the young girl went with the couple. 

Ashton went ahead to the car with Lana whilst she stood with Calum for a moment, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Someone’s got a crush.” She finally muttered, a few laughs escaping before they turned into sobs. Calum held her tightly as she let it out, unable to even try to hold herself together. She knew there was no judgement from anywhere because the last thing anyone would want would be to bury the last of their family members.

“I’d take an adorable eleven year old crushing over me than some of the older women making moon eyes at me.” He muttered and it caused an almost hysterical giggle to fall from her lips as she managed to calm herself down enough to make her way to the car.

Once more they had the bike escort to the cemetery and Lana watched amazed from the car as they drove there. 

The last part of watching her family get lowered seemed to be her breaking point. Michelle leaned heavily on Ashton once the children had all placed their cards on Matty’s coffin and he’d been lowered into the ground. 

Lana had hugged them both and had bravely hugged Calum as well before she returned to school with the class. 

All too soon, it was just her and Ashton with the remaining club members scattered. She remembered that Bert was going to make apologies on her behalf so that she wouldn’t have to go to the wake. And part of her was eternally grateful to them as she allowed Ashton to guide her back to the car that was waiting. 

By the time that they’d gotten home, she was half asleep and it wasn’t much longer until she was passed out in her husband's arms, exhausted and drained.

The following week she’d been walking around in a daze until Bert had sat down with her. They’d been waiting for the contractors to start building and she knew that it was most likely not going to be ready before she left for her final year of university, but she’d accepted that with ease. 

“I’m going to hand over the reins to Ashton tonight. I want you to be there.” Bert’s words had pulled her from her stupor and after a moment, she smiled at Bert.

“Finally cashing in on the retirement fund, old timer?” She knew it was a weak joke, but the grin she got in return said much more. They knew she’d get better, but she just needed time.

“Since most of us old folks don’t get that retirement fund, absolutely. When can I expect grandchildren?” That had made her laugh, the giggle sharp and almost filled with relief. It’d been the first time she’d laughed since the funeral.

“Both you and momma are after grandbabies. Be patient! They’ll happen when they happen. Now, I’m not dressing up for this shindig tonight, but I swear to god Bert if you’re pulling in the other patchovers-” 

He knew the threat was empty but he laughed anyway.

“No, it’s just us. He’s ready. We all are.”

And she couldn’t argue that at all. 

Watching him receive the President patch, it was a moment of pride that made her heart swell as he selected Calum as his VP. Chibs didn’t argue this as he handed his own patch over. They’d already assumed that Ashton was going to have the mantle passed on, but Chibs also knew this wasn’t retirement for him like it was for Bert.

“If you all think that just because Bert here is enjoying the rest of his life with his lovely lady, that I’m gonna do the same, you’re in for rude surprises. Mostly caps to the asses and maybe a bottle over the head.” Michelle let loose a laugh with the others, and she knew that the sadness wouldn’t hurt over time. 

And being able to laugh with her family felt wonderful. 

Ashton had toasted to her for his successes, making the other club members laugh when she flipped him off in return. 

“Does this mean I get a shot?” Calum teased and Michelle had snorted before taking a swig of beer.

“The only shot you’re getting is something for any disease you might carry.” She fired back, and the mock look of hurt crossed his face despite the flush of his cheeks. 

“You wound my heart and my ego, my lady.” 

“Not your lady.” She pointed out and he grinned as he raised his beer in salute and surrendered. Ashton had laughed before slinging his arm over his best friends shoulders.

“Trust me mate, she keeps me out of enough trouble as it is. I reckon if she had to deal with you, you’d send her grey a lot quicker.” This had earned more laughter and Michelle looked thoughtful at that before nodding her agreement, to the laughter of the club members and embarrassment of Calum.

Even with all the plots of revenge and the plans to get payback on her behalf, Michelle took that moment to appreciate that they had her back no matter what the others said or complained about. She’d grown up with these misfits and she knew she’d be keeping her promise to make sure that they kept out of the system now that Ashton was taking over. 

It was that feeling of family that stayed with her as she said her goodbyes a few months later. It was time for her to return to university and work, as much as she was hesitant to do so. Ashton had already promised to visit her the following weekend and it was something small that brought a gentle smile to her lips as she kissed him softly. 

The boys had clubbed together and gotten her her own car. It wasn’t much, but it was a nifty little thing that would get her there and back safely. It didn’t stop the fact that Ashton had pleaded with her to let a couple of them be back up just in case. 

“Luke and Micheal. I would say Bobby, but he’d complain.” The tease was loud enough for the older man to roll his eyes, giving her the two finger salute. Michelle laughed in return.

“Chibs.” Ashton finally spoke up and she sighed before turning to Chibs who knew what was coming. The look on his face was apologetic at least, or so she thought.

“I was already prepared for it. He’d warned me a couple of days ago.” This earned Ashton a stern look and he held his hands up in surrender.

“Until they’re either behind bars or dead, it’s going to worry me. Just, humour me till you’re back home for good.” And she could see his genuine worry and concern, his eyes searching her face.

“Fine. But you owe me next weekend for it.” Ashton grinned at that as he dipped his head to kiss her softly.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, doll.” His words were for her and her alone, but the wolf whistles still came, making her giggle.

“Alright ya big lugs, time for me to get going or I’m never going to leave.” She finally called and Ashton followed her out. It was with another kiss that she finally pulled away from Ashton and climbed into the car, waving as she and her escorts made their way back to the big city.

She knew that when she returned, she was going to come back fighting.

-

taglist: @sexgodashton, @goth5sos, @malumsmermaid, @empathycth, @wildflowergrae, @calpops, @rosecolouredash, @cakesunflower, @loveroflrh, @clockwork124, @cal-puddies, @stellar5sosrecs, @ashtoniwir, @cthwldflwr, @cthla, @calmlftv, @spicycal, @liketheydidwithyou, @sc0ttish-wildfl0wer, @bluehairedtracii, @drummerboy794, @feliznavidaddycal, @ukulelecal, @thecurlsofgod, @converse-luke, @madbomb, @ccnicole02, @youngblood199456, @megz1985, @lukesidentitycrisis, @snapback-irwie, @neonweeknds, @666yourwitchyfriend666, @clffrd, @cashtonasfuck, @ashtaway, @conquerwhatliesahead92, @itjustkindahappenedreally, @kchillout, @damselindistressanu, @colormekaykay, @findingliam-o, @sublimehood, @singledadharrington, @sugarcoated-pain, @singt0mecalum, @calumspeachy, @colourfulcalum, @lostincalum, @burncrashbromance, @asht0ns-world, @flusteredcliffo, @ixcantxdecidexwhosxmyxfave, @fangirl-everythang, @lashtonswildflower, @lashtondaddies, @calumssunshine, @ambskiwi, @abundant-stars, @myescapefromthislife, @lmao5sosimagines, @beyoncesdragon, @jae-writes-fanfiction, @cxddlyash, @tresfandom, @niallisworld, @lietomevalntyn, @babylon-corgis, @monochrome44, @behind-my-hazeleyes27, @ghost0fy0u, @lyllibug, @bloodmoonashton, @ghostofmashton, @summerellaz, @a-little-less-sixteen, @cashworthy​, @smokeinherlungs​, @longlastingdaydream​, @h0tsos​, @sadistmichael​, @sugar-nico​, @sunnysidesblog​, @angel-cal​, @samros95​, @maluminspace​, @lukeinblue​, @britnicole11​, @gigglyirwin​, @everyscarisahealingplace​, @loverofcashton​, @iovehemmings​, @g-l-pierce​, @jannimoeller3​, @wildmichaelflower​, @lukeskisses​, @youngbloodchild​, @abb-lan-5sos​, @calumsbub​, @flameraine​, @here-for-the-uproars​, @mateisit-balsamic​, @ilovelukey​, @castaway-cashton​, @musiclover1263​, @alloutofcashton​, @tobefalling​, @sarahshepherdblog​, @cassie-sos​, @possesedperson​, @treatallwithkindness​, @thesubtweeter​, @pinkbubbles-and-bigtroubles​, @ashtonlrwin​, 

[kindofcashton]

𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕕  •  chapter 12  (Calum Hood AU)

SUNLIGHT GREETED ME when I fluttered my eyes open the next morning.  The curtains were open and bright light was streaming into the room, causing me to squint against the rays.  It must have been pretty late in the morning if it was this bright out.

Still groggy with sleep, I shifted my position and bumped into something warm and soft next to me.  Frowning as I leaned up, the memories of last night suddenly flashed through my mind and I remembered what had happened.  Or better yet, who had happened.

Calum’s lips, his hands, his voice, his touch.  It had all been real, despite feeling like a dream.  He had really kissed me like his whole life depended on it, and I had really invited him in to spend the night because I couldn’t bear the thought of watching him leave.

I propped up an elbow to lean on my hand, gazing at the man in bed next to me.  He was flat on his stomach, one arm hooked around me and the other bent by his head.  His long, thick lashes were closed in peaceful slumber, and I watched his back rise and fall with equal breaths.  I reached out my fingers hesitantly, not wanting to wake him up.  Gingerly, I moved a few curls off of his face and couldn’t help the small smile that came to my lips.  Weirdly enough, I had no thoughts running through my mind.  No worries, no fears, no concrete opinions.  I just felt tranquil, and it was all thanks to the boy in bed with me.

Despite my gentle actions, Calum began to stir.  He inhaled deeply, nose buried in the pillow as his eyes slowly peered over at me.  For a brief second he didn’t seem to recognize me, but then a tired grin stretched across his mouth.  He closed his eyes and sighed, mumbling, “Morning.”

I let my fingers drift down from his curls to his back, sliding across the smooth skin lazily.  He hummed in appreciation, and my heart soared at the sound.  “I think we overslept,” I whispered.  “It’s almost noon.”

Calum finally opened his eyes fully, and flipped onto his back to stretch.  I admired his sun-kissed muscles, lean and tone as he arched his spine.  My lips pursed as he sat up, the covers falling away from him and causing a billow of cooler air to invade our pleasant bubble.  He rubbed at his face, yawning.  I picked at the corner of a pillow, feeling the tranquil mood ebbing with each passing second.

He glanced down at me, and his crooked smile made me feel a little better.  “You think anybody noticed I wasn’t in my room?”  I pushed at his thigh, chuckling as I laid back on the mattress.  I was still exhausted, and wasn’t quite ready to leave our serene little set up.

But Calum clearly didn’t feel the same way.  He swung his legs over the side of the bed to stand up, leaving me disappointed and absent of his touch.  He hadn’t kissed me good morning, which I guess was fine.  After all, the heated make out last night had been more than okay.  But I sort of wanted him to show some sort of affection, which I knew wasn’t going to come now.

“Should we leave separately?” he asked, and I bit my lip, sliding up to lean against the headrest.  My nod was short, and I didn’t watch him leave in fear it would truly ruin the last of my good mood.

You’re expectations were way too high, I scolded myself as I got out of bed.  I changed into leggings and a sweatshirt as I tried to squash the disappointment slowly building inside.  I had no reason to expect anything more from Calum, and if anything I should have felt satisfied.  He’d opened up so much to me at the park, and then kissed me in a way that made me see stars.  Spending the night in my bed was a cherry on top, and so I shouldn’t have felt anything other than elated this morning.

Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I inspected the subtle dark circles under my green eyes and the way my reddish brown hair appeared tousled.  Calum had made out with this? I thought, grimacing at how exhausted I looked.  I should’ve gotten the best sleep of my life last night, but for some reason I felt more tired than ever.

Since it was so late we’d missed breakfast, I thought everyone would have already left for the day.  But as I stepped into the hallway and began to trod down the stairs, I heard the unmistakable voices of Ashton and Hannah yelling.  What now?  When had he come back?

“I don’t know why you’re yelling at me, I just came over to see my friends.”  This was Ashton, his tone cold and dripping with malice, like he was mocking Hannah.  I could see the frustration boiling off of her as I approached the living room, spotting Luke, Michael, and Calum sitting together like prisoners as they watched their friends fight.

“Because you won’t even talk to me!  I’m trying to make things better and you’re just trying to hang with your boys!”  Hannah was gesturing madly, the way she did when she was really angry.  Ashton’s expression was blank, and I could just imagine how frustrated this made her.

“I don’t feel like making things better when you’re lying all the time,” he retorted.  “I’d rather spend my time with people who don’t bullshit me for weeks.”

Hannah let out a scratchy laugh, raking her fingers through her hair.  “Do you hear yourself right now?  You’re such an immature child you can’t even try to make things work with a mature conversation.”

Something about this set Ashton off, and his voice got louder and harsher.  “Oh, I’m the immature child?  You’re the one who flunked out of school and lied about it!  You really think you’re the adult here?”

The whole room went dead silent; my jaw dropped, and I suppressed a gasp.  Even I felt how much that blow hurt Hannah, who visibly stumbled back away from the boy who was supposed to love her.  I couldn’t see her face from where I was standing, but I knew she was devastated.

Hannah’s hands balled into fists.  “So that’s how it is,” she uttered, her voice weak.  “I’m just too stupid for you to want to fix this.”

Ashton sighed loudly, as if his patience with her was wearing thin.  “Is that so crazy?  I mean, come on, tell me.”  He gestured to the guys for their opinion.  “Why should I put up with her bullshit?”

They said nothing.  Luke shifted uncomfortably, and Michael looked at the floor.  Calum’s face was unreadable as he watched the fight unfold.  After seeing their lack of response, Ashton turned to me.  “What about you, huh?  You’re also a liar, so maybe you understand Hannah better than the rest of us.”

I winced at his accusation, knowing it was true but shocked at how much it hurt.  My eyes shifted to Calum for a heartbeat, and maybe I imagined it, but I thought I saw him tense at Ashton’s scathing words.  Taking a deep breath, I stood my ground.  “I think Hannah was in an impossible situation.  I think she’s human, and she reacted the only way she knew how.”

Ashton shook his head.  “No, that’s no excuse.  People shouldn’t be allowed to lie because it’s the easy way out.”  His eyes were steely as he regarded me cruelly.  “You’re part of this problem, you know.  You’re a fucking liar too, and you let her lie to all of us.  This is your fault too.”

I felt all of the oxygen leave my lungs, and Hannah let out a cry of surprise.  Calum shot up from the couch, and pushed passed Ashton with a shove of his shoulder. 

“Figure your shit out,” he snapped at his best friend, glancing to Hannah next.  “Stop getting everyone else fucking wrapped up in it.”  He stalked over to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the line of fire and then out the front door.

“Calum--” I started, head whirling and heart pounding.  I’d never had someone be that mad at me before, and thinking of Ashton’s expression made me feel sick.  Calum ignored my plea as he got into his car and fired up the ignition.  I decided I should just go along with him, as anything would be better than staying to witness more fighting.

We drove for a long time.  I didn’t know where the hell we were going, and I didn’t really care.  I curled up in the passenger seat and leaned against the window, shutting my eyes in an attempt to shut out the world.  Calum’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel as he gripped it tightly, eyes glued to the road as we drove for miles down a highway.  The radio was off, for which I was grateful.  I just needed to breathe and collect my strength.  

Eventually he pulled off onto a quieter road and we stopped at a diner.  It was fairly run-down and crowded with truckers taking a break from a long haul, but I didn’t care.  We didn’t say much to each other, speaking only to order sodas and two grilled cheeses.  When the food came we had a good excuse to be quiet, and I ate my sandwich slowly in order to prolong it.  I didn’t want to get my hopes up about how Calum had practically jumped to my defense once Ashton got mean, how he grabbed my hand and took me far away from the pain in that living room.

When I’d eaten half my sandwich, I leaned back in the booth and looked through the window outside.  Cars whizzed by on the highway, and I watched them for what felt like years.  And then I turned back to Calum, meeting his eyes as he too paused in eating.  I guess we do need to talk.

My hands fidgeted on the tabletop, and I bit my lip before speaking.  “Do you think I’m a liar too?” I asked plainly, not beating around the bush.  I wanted to know if more people agreed with Ashton, that this whole mess was also my fault.

He toyed with the straw of his soda, clearly uncomfortable himself.  “Well, you did lie.  That makes you a liar.”  He sounded matter-of-fact, just stating the truth.  I guess I couldn’t hold this against him.

“But...do you understand why?  I lied for a reason--we lied for a reason.”

Calum shrugged.  “Yeah, but was it a good reason?”  I frowned at his rebuttal, but he continued.  “Shouldn’t you have trusted Ashton to be there for her?  After all, the two of them are in a relationship.  Relationships are about transparency and trust, right?” 

The way he was reflecting the question back onto me made me shift in my seat.  Hearing him talk about relationships made my skin hot, as I truly had no idea what to say.  Hannah thought she was doing the right thing, and my job as her best friend was to support her.  Besides, I didn’t know Ashton at the time, so I had no idea what kind of guy he was or if he’d be able to support Hannah through a hard time.

I picked at my grilled cheese crust, avoiding Calum’s expectant eyes.  “It’s just so infuriating.  All they need to do is talk to each other, figure out what the real issue is.  She lied because she felt embarrassed, but where did that embarrassment come from?  Obviously the relationship had flaws before all of this, so of course something big would blow it up.  I just--Ashton should be open to having a conversation about where it all went wrong, get to the root of the problem.  Yelling and being pissed won’t solve anything, if they’d just try to fix--”

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” Calum interrupted suddenly.  He sounded incredulous, and was looking at me like I had five heads.  “Why are you psychoanalyzing every little detail of their relationship?  It’s not your responsibility to fix them.”

I frowned.  “Yeah, but I want to help--”

“Why?  Why are you so goddamned obsessed with fixing people’s problems?”  Something told me he’d wanted to ask me this long before today, but the opportunity had only just arisen.  I swallowed a lump in the back of my throat, worried about how tense we’d both gotten.

“You’ve seen all my psych books,” I reminded him.  “Why do you think I’m studying them?  I was going to school to try to become a social worker, or a counselor.  I want to help people, I like helping people.”

He snorted, making me flinch.  “A social worker.”  Calum sounded so angry all of a sudden, his usual smirk replaced with a deep scowl.  “You know those people are goddamn useless, right?”

I felt like a weak little girl trying to stand up to a big bad bully.  “N-no, I don’t.  I think they’re important, they help people.  They help families when things are tough.  It’s a noble profession.”  I was almost self-conscious of telling him about my future career plans; they meant a lot to me, and were still what I strove to achieve every day.

Calum just shook his head.  “They don’t do shit for people, Scarlett.”

If I was self-conscious before, now I was just plain angry.  “Who are you to judge them, Calum?  You know, maybe you’ve got a problem yourself.  You’re so freaking closed off it’s infuriating.”

His fist slammed on the table, making our plates clank.  I flushed, feeling the stares of other diners on us.  But Calum didn’t care as he sent me a seething glare.  “You have no fucking clue what you’re talking about, so shut up.”  His voice was icy, but it only fueled my fire.

“No!  Don’t tell me to shut up!  I said something you didn’t want to hear and now you’re denying it so you don’t have to deal with it!”  Classic defense mechanism, I thought, but knew that if I said that he’d really lose it.

Calum let out a heaving sigh, clearly worked up and trying to contain his fury.  Normally I’d be scared of his anger, but now all I wanted was to confront it.  He looked at me without saying anything for a while, but I didn’t back down.  I faced him with my own glare, thinking about how the boy I’d slept next to was nowhere to be found.  How had those lips, set so low in a scowl right now, kissed me so deeply last night?  

I thought he wasn’t going to say anything else, he was quiet for so long.  But then he began shredding his napkin, and I knew something big was coming.  “Didn’t you notice how I didn’t mention my father yesterday?  That I only talked about my mom?”

I nodded, holding my breath.

“That’s because my father was a piece of shit who left us when I was five.  Just got up and left one day, never came back.  Made my mom about lose her fucking mind, to the point where she couldn’t take it anymore.  She was so distraught and desperate to find him, she told me to get in the car one day and we just drove.  For days, we drove to look for him.  We lived in the fucking car, slept in it and ate cheap food in the backseat.  And we never even found the bastard.  Of course, the fucking authorities found out and had a field day.  They claimed my mother was endangering a minor and wanted to take me away from her.  It was the social workers who blamed her for being irresponsible, who didn’t take into consideration that she was heartbroken.  The man who was supposed to be with her through sickness and fucking health had abandoned her.  How are you supposed to just get over something like that?”

As his words sank in, pain blossomed in my chest.  Pain for this damaged, angry boy who had to watch his mother fall apart at too young an age.  Who had to take care of her when it was her job to take care of him.  No wonder they barely spoke now; his face probably haunted her, reminding her of the man who left her.

Tears pinched at my eyes, as Calum finished his story hoarsely.  “In the end, my father leaving was the best fucking thing to ever happen to her.  She met a new guy, got married, started a happy little family with him.  She’s fine now, and I’m just the screwed up kid who no one wants around because I remind them all of him, and what he did to us.”  In a flash of anger, Calum threw money on the table to pay for our food and stormed out of the restaurant.  

Stunned, I stayed at the table for a few seconds just to breathe.  And then I stumbled out of the door myself, into the windy afternoon air.

He was leaning against the side of his car, hands shoved in his pockets as his stony eyes watched the horizon.  I walked up to him slowly, not wanting to startle him.  Like he was a wounded animal and one wrong move would send him running in the opposite direction, when all I wanted was to be close to him.

I stopped next to him, and leaned back to match his posture.  My shoulder just brushed his arm, a subtle show of solidarity.  I wondered if speaking was the right idea, if this moment needed any explanation.  I gave it a few minutes, letting as much of his anger seep out as possible.

Turning to face him, I pulled my lips into my mouth and contemplated which words to use.  I needed him to know how I felt, but suddenly I had no idea what to say, or how to say it.  Sighing, I finally decided.  “Calum...”  Just saying his name made a stab of pain hit my heart.  “I’ll never be able to understand what you went through.  I can try, but it’ll never be enough.  It kills me that you have to feel this way alone, but I’m telling you...”  I harnessed all of my strength in this moment, and stood tall.  “I want to make a change in this world.  I want to help kids like you, who felt alone and stranded and like the whole world was against them.  I want to heal families, not tear them apart.  I know I overthink things and meddle and try to fix everyone, but I swear I do it because I care.  Because I care about you.”

He didn’t react, which would usually discourage me.  But in this moment I had nothing to lose, so to prove my point I reached up and pulled his head closer to mine, and I kissed him.

Calum’s body tensed in surprise, but in a few seconds he relaxed into the kiss.  His arms wrapped around my body in a tight embrace, and I looped my hands around his neck to bring him closer.  The kiss wasn’t deep, and it wasn’t going anywhere, but more emotions were spilling out of us than ever before.  With every shift of my lips I wanted him to feel how much I cared, how much I needed him to know I was here for him.  

My body tingled lightly with his soothing touch, his hands grazing up and down my back.  I held his face in my hands, leaning back to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.  His eyes stayed closed, lashes fluttering as I finally pulled away, keeping our foreheads pressed together.  We breathed together, and even though he said nothing I felt the relief and gratitude pouring out of him as he held me, and it was all I needed.

The drive back felt like five minutes.  I wished it felt longer, so Calum and I could bask in this glow for infinity.  The way our bodies just fit together felt so right, and all I wanted was to take that kiss even further.  But we knew the reality of our situation, and so when we walked back into the house we mentioned nothing of our afternoon together.

Ashton was gone, and Hannah was downstairs.  Luke and Michael looked thoroughly confused when they saw us come in, and I could tell they had a million questions for us.

“What’s up with you two lately?” Luke questioned, making me panic.  What did Calum think about it?  What should we tell them?  What even was up with us?

But Calum looked more relaxed than ever as he flopped onto the sofa, switching on the TV.  “Nothing,” he replied nonchalantly.  “Just didn’t feel like listening to all the yelling.”

As I tried to ignore how much his simple nothing hurt, Michael sighed from the kitchen.  “Tell me about it, man.  Shit’s crazy around here.”

I couldn’t stomach the idea of listening to their stupid bro talk, too hurt by Calum’s unaffected attitude to stick around.  So I trudged down the stairs to meet Hannah, and what I saw surprised me.  She was all dressed up and ready to go, with a skin tight dress and heels that had only one destination.  When she saw me she grinned and threw a dress at me, along with a pair of heels.

Before I could say anything, she interrupted.  “Don’t object, don’t complain, just do it.  I need to go out, and I need you to go out with me.  Getting drunk is more fun with you, anyway.”  

I didn’t have the heart to say no to her.  So in a matter of minutes I had changed, swiped on some makeup, and put my hair up in a somewhat acceptable style.  I wasn’t really thinking about what I was doing, other than that Hannah needed me.  So when we went upstairs to say goodbye to the guys, I was surprised to see Calum’s expression turn from uncaring to almost angry.

He followed us to the front door, and spoke in a low tone so the guys couldn’t hear.  “Where the hell are you going?” he hissed, studying my face as I struggled to come up with an answer.  Hannah didn’t wait for me as she went out to see if the uber had arrived, and I rubbed my arm awkwardly.

“She isn’t feeling great, and so we thought we’d try to have fun...”  I realized how stupid it sounded, and I also realized how much I wanted to stay here with Calum.  His eyebrows raised disbelievingly at my reply, before he wiped all emotion from his face and backed up.

“Fine, do what you want,” he spat.  I ignored the pang of regret in my heart as I watched him storm away, waiting until he disappeared into the living room before stepping outside

[calumcest]

malum + “Do you want to talk about it?”

At precisely four fifty-three in the morning, Michael’s phone chimes. 

He’s half-asleep, but that means he’s half-awake, so he rolls over, slams his hand on his bedside table and gropes for his phone, lifting it up to his face and squinting at the bright light. 

It’s a text from Calum, which is a little unusual. Calum’s usually asleep at this time of night, because he gets up at fucking six a.m. to go for a jog and then follows it up with a yoga session with Ashton. That in itself is enough to make Michael unlock his phone, but it’s also a picture, which piques Michael’s sleepy curiosity even more. 

The picture takes a moment to load, and then, in all its glory, Michael sees Calum’s dick. 

And, okay, he’s seen Calum’s dick before. Calum’s not exactly a stranger to nudity, nor is he particularly in touch with his sense of shame. Usually, though, it’ll be after a shower, or while they’re getting ready for a gig, and accompanied by casual conversations about what he’s going to have for breakfast tomorrow - it’s not like this, not personal and intimate. Something about it makes Michael’s stomach flip, and he finds he doesn’t entirely hate the sensation. 

Huh, he thinks. Okay. So he likes Calum’s dick. That’s an interesting development. 

He’s not really sure what to do with the picture, though. Is Calum looking for a critique? Should he respond with some kind, encouraging words - nice dick, mate, solid 9/10 at least? Should he smash his phone and pretend he broke it before Calum sent the picture? Should he send one back? 

In the end, he does none of that. Instead, he calls Calum. 

“What the fuck are you still doing up?” he says, when Calum picks up. 

“How’d you know I’m up?” Calum says, and Michael can picture the frown on his face, brows knitted together. 

“You texted me a picture of your dick,” Michael tells him, because he’s not one for much decorum. Calum lets out a little gasp, and then there’s a (really fucking loud) noise as Calum tears the phone from his ear and fumbles with it. 

“Oh my God,” Calum groans, and there’s a thud that Michael thinks is probably the back of Calum’s head hitting the wall behind him. “Fuck. Sorry. Wasn’t for you.” 

“Figured,” Michael says, but he’s a little put out that it wasn’t intended for him, and something bitter swells in his heart for the nameless person it was intended for. “Nice dick, though.” 

“You’ve seen it, like, a million times,” Calum says, which is a fair point. Michael’s mouth’s never watered like that before, though. 

“Yeah, but you’ve never sent me a dick pic before,” Michael says. 

“Would’ve liked to keep it that way,” Calum mutters. “Anyway. You’ve seen my dick now. Can I go to bed?” 

“Who was it for?” 

“Hm?”

“The dick pic. Who was it for?” 

“Does it matter?” 

“Who?” Calum sighs. 

“Some guy, I dunno,” he says, and he sounds a little quieter. “Sent me a dick pic first. Thought it’d be polite to send one back, y’know?” 

“Oh,” Michael says, hating this faceless guy even more. “I could send you a dick pic.” Calum chokes on his next breath, and Michael waits it out patiently while he splutters something that sounds like you- Michael- I- we haven’t- are you-  

“I know what your dick looks like,” he says, when he’s recovered enough to form full sentences again. 

“Well, it wouldn’t be for, like, research purposes, would it?” Michael says, staring up at the dark ceiling. 

“Mike, c’mon,” Calum says, a little whiny, a little edgy. “This is fucking embarrassing. Don’t take the piss.” 

“I’m not,” Michael protests. “And it’s not embarrassing.” 

“I sent you a fucking dick pic, Mike, how’s that not embarrassing?” Michael shrugs, even though Calum can’t see him, because he knows Calum will know he’s shrugging. “Right,” Calum says, like he’s steeled himself. “I’m going to send you a bunch of pictures to get rid of it, and then I’m going to go to sleep.” 

“You don’t think we should talk about this?” Calum pauses, and Michael can almost hear him thinking. 

“Mike,” Calum says eventually, a careful edge to his tone that tells Michael that he’s hedging his bets, leaving room for him to laugh and say fucking dickhead, of course I didn’t mean it like that. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Michael hesitates. 

“Just think we should,” he mumbles. 

“Oh,” Calum says, sounding a little stunned. Michael swallows, and hopes the microphone doesn’t pick it up. “Mike, I-” 

“Don’t,” Michael says, because he doesn’t know if he can face the inevitable ensuing conversation. I don’t feel that way. Sorry. We can’t be best friends anymore, by the way, because it’s fucking weird that you like my dick. You’re insane, and I’m quitting the band.

“Okay,” Calum says gently, because he can tell when Michael doesn’t want to talk about things like that, to dissect his feelings and look at every thought from seventeen different angles and ponder why, when, how?, and Michael loves him for it. “How about this, then. You send me one.” There’s a moment of tense silence, and Michael doesn’t know if either of them are breathing. 

“A dick pic?” he says, just to make sure he’s understanding, and probably also to stall for time and hope his brain switches itself back on so he can actually come up with a coherent response. Calum, Michael’s best friend, is asking for a dick pic. 

“Yeah,” Calum says, sounding casual, but Michael hears the edge of nervousness to his tone. 

“Okay,” Michael says thickly, pushing the duvet down. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll send you one.” He hears Calum swallow. 

“Yeah?” Calum says, and his voice is barely more than a whisper. 

“Yeah,” Michael says, tugging at his pyjama bottoms. “Only so we’re even, though.” Calum huffs out a laugh, soft and beautiful and God, Michael loves more than just his dick. Michael loves Calum. 

“Only so we’re even,” Calum agrees. 

[malumsmermaid]

i wish u could write a fic about drunk cal and drunk reader! they’re not dding anyone at ashtons party & they’re pda-ing hands all over each other & r just so funny together saying ily & shit & taking drunk selfies of them kissing or just being cute, at the end sierra and luke help take care of them & put them in the uber to take them home & when they wake up or on a random day they post some of the selfies on insta with the caption: don’t party with us and see insta stories of them being drunk

Combining this one with another ask! I realized as I was rereading the other ask that the other was a night out without Calum whereas this one is partying with Cal, but they’re so similar and I have an idea where I can get both requests together!

The other ask:

Content Warning: Drinking

Send me an “I wish you would write...”

Ashton was having a little get together at his house to celebrate being able to see other people again. He’d come by your house to pick up you and Calum not long after lunch, the two of you having volunteered to help with set up when he pitched the party idea earlier on in the week. The three of you spent the entire afternoon in Ashton’s kitchen and living room, fixing up snacks, and two drink tables, one covered with alcohol and the other containing non-alcoholic options. 

Several hours into the party and you and Calum had both consumed several drinks. He was struggling to keep his hands off of you, lips finding their way to your cheek and the top of your head every few minutes. You escaped for a few songs, dancing with Sierra while Calum sat on the couch talking to Luke. Eventually you both made your way over to your boys, each taking a seat in their laps and you grabbed your phone, taking a selfie, Calum’s face nuzzled in your neck while Luke kissed Sierra’s cheek. 

Several hours later Ashton was ushering the last of the guests out of his house, watching them make their way down the drive, usually leaning on their driver or a friend as they walked to a waiting Uber. When he came back in it was just you, Calum, Michael, Luke, Sierra, and Crystal, hanging about the kitchen. You and Calum were both leaning against the island, staring at each other with drunken doe eyes, goofy grin covering your face. 

You all talked for another half hour before Luke and Sierra were ushering you and Calum into the backseat of Sierra’s car, Luke clambering into the passenger seat. She stopped at In N Out, all four of you ordering something to eat once you got home. Soon you were walking up your driveway, hand in hand with Calum, Sierra waiting until she saw you both step inside to make the drive back to her and Luke’s home. 

Duke looked up sleepily from his pillow, tail wagging lazily as he saw you both. You smiled, stumbling over to the couch to fawn over the small dog. Calum smiled, setting the fast food bag on the coffee table before going into the kitchen to get you some water. You both sat on the couch, munching on the greasy fries with HGTV playing in the background. 

You snuggled into his side once you finished your food, humming softly as you stroked Duke’s soft fur. Calum had sobered up slightly more than you had during the car ride home, smiling at you fondly as he rested his arm around your shoulder.

“Can’t wait to marry you someday,” you mused, gaining Calum’s attention. “I love you more than anything else in the world and I can’t picture being with anyone else. All in your own time, obviously, I never wanna pressure you, but you’re like...the best fuckin person I know, Cal.”

Calum smiled, leaning down and kissing you gently, “Love you,” he whispered, rubbing your shoulder as you both turned your attention back to the tv.

You continued drinking your glass of water as you watched the episode of House Hunters, gasping during a commercial break. “Needa made it home selfie! We gotta give the people the Duke content!”

Calum laughed softly, obliging you. You carefully scooped up the half-asleep dog, holding him to your chest as Calum grabbed your phone from the coffee table. You were snuggled up against him, giving him a peck to the cheek as he took the photo, setting your phone back down after sending the image to Ashton, though he was sure Luke would’ve confirmed the drop off to their friend right when it happened. 

When the episode ended you both got to your feet, going to get ready for bed. You crawled under the covers after Calum told you he was going to fix you another glass of water. He returned to find you already out, an arm resting on top of Duke. He smiled, putting the water on the nightstand before placing a kiss to the top of your head, tucking the covers around you more before going over to his side of the bed and crawling in, cutting off the lamp. 

When you both woke the next morning you let out a soft groan at the sunlight filling the room. Calum laughed softly, getting up and closing the curtain tighter while you sat up. You’d woken up a few times during the night, so now the water glass on the nightstand was half full, you let out a satisfied hum as you took a long sip. Calum smiled as he sat back down on the bed, pulling you closer to him.

You cuddled against his side, looking through the photos from last night. You gave him a pleading look as you opened instagram and he just nodded, kissing your cheek. You grinned, picking out a few of the cute, less blurry photos you’d taken during the night, captioning the post “Don’t party with us....just kidding, forreal it was amazing to get to see our best friends again.”

You smiled once they posted, moving over to look at a few notifications you had, mainly Michael, Sierra, and Crystal tagging you in their stories from last night. You made a content noise before Calum was ushering you out of bed, ready for breakfast.

[calpalirwin]

Choices

Summary: Ashton Irwin thought he had everything he needed in life in the form of his daughter. Funny the difference a choice can make.

A/N: Last chapter (finally!) Stay tuned for the epilogue to see how this all ends. Be sure to catch up on Chapters 1-7, up on my masterlist!

Content: I plead the fifth

Word Count: 1.7k

And away, and away we go!

__

Chapter 8

I decided not to tell my family about Taylor. To me, there was no point in arguing it. Taylor was back in my life because she was developing a relationship with Cassidy. It had nothing to do with me.

That didn’t stop my fingers from shaking as I made the drive to my parents or settle the churning in my stomach. “You okay?” Nic asked lowly, gripping my hand as we walked up to my parents door.

I offered her a wry smile. “Yeah,” I nodded.

“You sure?”

I nodded again before turning my attention to Cassidy. “Ready for your birthday?!”

“Yeah!” she cheered, jumping up onto the porch and pushing the door open.

“She’ll show up, Ash,” Nic reassured me. “She won’t let Cass down.”

I shrugged. If I thought I was having a hard time handling my nerves with the thought of Taylor being in my parents house again after all these years, Taylor probably had it worse. And as much as I didn’t want her to disappoint Cassidy, I couldn’t exactly blame her if she didn’t show up.

I could hear the chatter in the kitchen, voices high with excitement. I felt Nic’s hand tighten around mine- a silent assurance that I was working myself up in a frenzy over nothing, that she would stand by my side through it all. The tension in my shoulders eased slightly as I met her gaze, hopeful and warm. I raised our hands to graze my lips over her knuckles. “Well, here goes nothing.”

~~~

The party was in full swing. My parents backyard was filled with the joyful shrieks of kindergarteners while their parents milled around the edges of the lawn, watching the chaos or making small talk with other parents. 

There was a yelled, “Daddy!” followed by a hand tugging on my own. 

I spurted into my drink, looking apologetically at Calum as I shifted my gaze from him to my daughter. “Yes, love?”

“When can I open my presents?”

“Soon, love. Why don’t you go sit down, and I’ll get you some lunch. Do you want a hotdog, or a cheeseburger?”

“Momma!” Cassidy squealed suddenly, my question forgotten as she took over running. 

Taylor stilled on the back porch, crouching down to wrap Cassidy in a hug. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart!”

I felt the eyes of my friends and family burn into my skin. “Dude…” Calum was the first to make a sound, shaking his head sadly. 

“You’re talking to her again?” Luke asked.

“This isn’t going to end well…” Mike muttered under his breath. 

“What is she doing here?” Lauren demanded.

My friends, parents, and siblings looked at me, expecting an answer to Lauren’s question. “It was what Cass wanted,” I said in a tone that dared them to keep pressing the issue.

While my family swallowed their protests, my friends weren’t so compliant. “Ash,” Calum said lowly, nodding his head off to the side.

“Watch Cass for a moment?” I asked Nic.

“Of course,” she smiled encouragingly.

“What the fuck, Ash?” they immediately rounded on me after we stepped out of earshot.

“”It was what Cass wanted,” I repeated. “What’s there to explain?”

“You let a six year old call the shots, Ash?!”

“No! I supported her! She wanted to meet her mom. I made sure that happened.”

“Alright,” Calum accepted my line of thought. “But what does this mean for you and Taylor? For you and Nic?”

“Yeah, Ash. Can we even trust Taylor? Last time she left it wasn’t pretty,” Luke reminded us.

“You think I haven’t thought about that? If Taylor leaves again… I don’t know what I’ll do. All I want to do is protect, Cass. But she has a right to know her mom.”

“We all want what’s best for, Cass. But who’s looking out for what’s best for you?” Mike questioned.

“No one needs to look after me, Mike. I got this. I know where I stand.”

“Does Taylor?”

Mike’s words would haunt me for weeks to come.

~~~

About a month after Cassidy’s birthday, I let Taylor take Cassidy for a night. Even though this wasn’t the first night Cassidy hadn’t spent with me, I never got used to how silent the apartment was when she was gone. And while I was happy Taylor was proving herself, part of me wished she would fail so the knot in my stomach about possibly giving Cassidy up for longer stints of time would go away.

“You okay?” Nic’s soft voice pulled me from my thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“You look like you’re a million miles away. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I don’t know how I’m gonna go every weekend without her. I don’t know if I want to. I just-”

“You’re her dad. Nobody can take that from you.”

“It doesn’t make me miss her less.”

“I know.”

After a night tangled in the sheets where Nic did her best to distract me- and distract me she did- she left shortly after a lazy morning spent in bed. “So now you’re leaving me, too?” I pouted, watching her get dressed.

“Hey,” she turned to point a finger at me. “That’s not playing fair.”

I rolled across the bed to pull her down with me, her yelp of surprise bouncing off the walls. “You don’t wanna distract me some more?” I whispered in her ear, pressing my lips along the column of her throat.

Her response was breathy as she told me, “Oh, that’s really not fair.”

“Alright, alright,” I chuckled, letting her go. “I know you got work to do. You’ll be back later, tonight?”

“Fingers crossed,” she said, kissing my cheek and getting out of bed again.

~~~

It was a slow crawl to the middle of the afternoon before the knock on the door that got cut off by Cassidy barreling in, screeching, “Daddy!”

“Love!” I matched her enthusiasm, crouching just in time to catch her body flying full force at me, the momentum carrying me onto my back, both of us filling up the apartment with our laughter. “Did you have fun with Momma?” I asked, sitting us upright.

“Uh-huh! Can she stay for dinner?!”

“Uh…” I looked up and over at Taylor who hovered in the doorway, Cassidy’s bag still slung over her shoulder.

“Plllleeeeeaaaasssseeee?!”

“If she wants to, yeah, love.”

Cassidy bounded to her feet, running back over to Taylor. “Will you stay, Momma?”

“Sure, sweetheart. But just for dinner, okay?”

“Okay!” Cassidy agreed, and we all knew in that moment that Taylor would be staying for a lot longer than just dinner.

“Night, love,” I said a few hours later, pulling the blanket up snugly around my little girl.

“Night Daddy. Night Momma. Love you.”

“Night, Cass. Love you, too, sweetheart,” Taylor smiled at her from the bedroom doorway.

“Love you,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“See, Ash?” Taylor asked me as I pulled Cassidy’s door closed.

“See what?”

“This,” she gestured about. “We could be this. Raising Cass together in one house.”

I rolled my eyes, moving past her towards the living room. “Yeah, I tried that once. You didn’t want the same.”

“I want it now,” she said, following after me, her hand catching my arm. “Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Of course it does. Cass is happy.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Are you happy?”

“Yes… but even if I wasn’t, it’s not my happiness that matters.”

“So?”

“So, what, Tay?”

“So why don’t we try to be a family? I’m her mother, Ashton. Doesn’t she deserve to see us try? For her?”

“Don’t,” I warned, pulling back. “We tried us already. I’m struggling as is to trust you in Cass’ life. You think I’m crazy enough to trust you in mine again? You broke me, Taylor.”

“So you haven’t thought of it? Us being together again?”

“Of course I thought that!” I whisper-screamed at her. “I spent years hoping that you would call, or show up on my doorstep ready to be a mother to her. That you and I could be the way we used to be again. But you didn’t. And eventually I stopped hoping that moment would come.”

“If you hoped for it once, you can hope for it again. You said you didn’t trust me, but you learned how to do that again. What’s to say you can’t learn to love me again?”

“Because-” I started, but her lips were on mine before I could remind her that I was in love with Nic now, someone who never made me doubt what we had the way Taylor did.

I didn’t hear the front door open, just the soft gasp of a heart shattering like glass.

“Nic!” I pushed Taylor back, panic in my chest as I wheeled around, but she was already leaving just as quickly as she had entered. “Nic, it’s not what it looks like!” I called out as I ran after her.

“Doesn’t look like what, Ashton?!” she demanded, turning sharply around to face me, her face screwed up as she fought back against crying. “Doesn’t look like you were kissing, Taylor?! Is that what you were going to say?!”

“Baby, please!” I begged, not knowing where to even begin trying to get her to explain, just knowing that I needed to try, because in four months she had completely shifted my world on its head, and I wouldn’t know how to begin again without her in it.

“I stood by you while you kept your walls up because of Cass. I stood by every insecurity you had thinking you weren’t good enough because you were a dad, and had been hurt in the past. I even supported you through getting Taylor back in your life. God, Ashton, I fell in love with you, and your daughter! I fell in love with everything! And all I asked in return, all I ever asked was do NOT blindside me! And you couldn’t even do that!”

Each word pierced into me and I was useless to stop it. Again, I wracked my brain for the right words to say, but nothing could fix the look of betrayal in her eyes. A look I fully deserved because as much as I had tried to do right by Cassidy, I had ended up hurting the next most important love of my life. And she was slipping through my fingers, and I couldn’t stop it if I tried. “Nic,” I tried anyway, my voice sounding as broken as we both felt.

__

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[tchalla-rogers]

The Strangest Things: Part 1

An Avengers AU (x Reader) | all credits to the creators of stranger things for most of the writing and ideas in this story

soundtrack with character list | taglist: @thatnerdyaquarius @newtimewriter @reerrrrskillz @schwankyblock  @winksasleeplesseye  @mvmakki

1983. Sacred Hills, California

Clarice Engelton didn’t know what to do. It was Friday and she heard of some parties being thrown tonight. To her, the only good thing about high school was the parties at rich student’s houses. The only bad thing about high school was when the cops busted the underage drinking.

She stood in her bedroom, trying to figure out what to wear. It was almost Halloween and Autumn Daring was throwing a costume party. Clarice knew she needed to look her best, but she also knew that she waited until the last minute to think up an outfit. Her best friend Jesse Stark would be picking her up in twenty minutes and she had no idea which one she wanted to wear. She knew that Jesse had begged her to dress up as a “sexy school girl”, but her parents would also be downstairs before she left.

Therefore, she decided to pack it in her bag instead of slipping a jacket on top to hide it. Clarice made her way downstairs and thought she would make it out before her parents spotted her. Unfortunately, her younger brother was not letting her leave without saying something loud enough for her parents to hear.

“That’s your costume?” Ashton, her brother commented. He smirked because he knew that their parents were sitting in the living room, right by the stairwell.

“Shut up, you little shit.” Clarice shoved her little brother and moved to open the door.

Her Mom playfully pushed Ashton to meet Jesse before she left. “You’ll be home by 10, I hope?”

Clarice nodded and opened the door. “That’s what we agreed on.”

“Alright, love you. Enjoy the movies.” Her Mom pulled her in for a quick hug and Jesse made sure to glance at Ashton mid hug. He silently asked for some “shut up” money and stood there, looking like he was about to say something. Clarice rolled her eyes and mouthed that she would clean his room for the next week. Ashton grinned and her Mom was wondering why the hug was so long, thinking she would really miss her. “When did you hug me for this long?”

“Um...I...just wish you were coming to the movies, also? Love you, Mom!” Clarice ran out of the house and jumped into Jesse’s car. “God, I’m so ready to drink something.”

Jesse laughed and started driving towards Autumn Daring’s house, blasting some of her favorite songs. “You had to promise Ashton to keep his mouth shut, I’m guessing?”

“I have to clean his room for a whole week. And we both know how disgusting his room is,” Clarice groaned and turned up the song on the radio. She changed into her costume in the car, throwing her regular clothes into her bag. “Do you think Tony will be there?”

“When will you stop liking my dumb brother?”

“He’s definitely the smartest one in our class. I like a dude with a brain.” Clarice stuck her hand out the window, feeling the breeze send tingles up her arm.

“To make up for the one you lack.” Jesse looked over at Clarice and they both laughed simultaneously. They eventually pulled up to Autumn’s house and watched everyone walk up in their costumes. Clarice had no idea how the cops hadn’t pulled up yet from a noise complaint because it looked like the party had been going on for a while now.

When they made it inside, Jesse tried to scope out for the juice and alcohol mixture so that she could grab something to drink. “You want a cup?” Jesse asked before she went to grab some.

“Yeah, thanks.” Jesse pushed through the crowd and made her way to the “juice” bowl. Clarice stood there, bopping her head to the music and watching everyone dance with their friends. The heat of everyone’s bodies in the room had her already sweating. She saw Tony over by a group of girls, dancing provocatively with one. Clarice grabbed at her arm and groaned from how every girl was all over him. She saw a familiar face walk by her, giggling with none other than Steve Rogers.

“Y/N?” Clarice asked and grabbed at her arm. Y/N gasped and pulled Clarice in for a hug and she could already smell the alcohol on Y/N.

“Claaaariiiiiiice! How are ya, girl?” she slurred and stumbled a bit. Steve grabbed her and made sure she didn’t fall flat on her face. “Sorrrrrrrrrry. I drank…just a little wittle bit.”

Clarice rolled her eyes in a humorous way, giggling at drunk Y/N Antone. “Yeah...I can tell it was just a little bit. Steve, you’ll make sure she doesn’t drink anymore?” She trusted Steve with not taking advantage of her. They’d been dating for a long time and Steve was also one of her other friends. There was no way she would allow him to do anything and she knew he wouldn’t.

“Yeah, Clar. We’re about to head home.” Steve struggled to hold Y/N up and was ready to just drop her off at home. “We’ll see you on Monday?” Clarice nodded and watched them leave the house. She stood there for a while, wondering where Jesse even was.

She decided to step outside because the amount of people was eventually becoming too much. The drunk laughs, drunk people accidentally stumbling into her, the smell of alcohol that hadn’t yet graced her tongue. No one wanted to leave more than her at that very moment.

Clarice kicked at a rock outside of Autumn’s house, watching more people walk in and out of the house. She didn’t know how anyone could have the ability to drink so much that they couldn’t stand.

After a few minutes of waiting, the sound of sirens soon fell onto her ears and everyone else at the house. Everyone outside began to sprint in every direction, trying to leave the house before the cops showed up. At first, she just stood there and wondered what she should do before she knew that it definitely should be running from the scene.

She sprinted towards Jesse’s car that she thought was parked just a little farther away than the others. People were jogging way past where she was jogging to and she looked back at the cops finally arriving at Autumn’s house. Hopefully, they were too preoccupied with trying to catch some of the kids in the house to go scouting for the running teens.

Clarice ended up taking a wrong turn, not knowing exactly which street Jesse had parked on. She was panting and it was too dark to even find where she should be. She didn’t even check to see which street they had parked on. She walked around for a few more minutes, cursing to herself that she didn’t just wait for Jesse to run by her.

A rustle was heard from the bushes behind her and Clarice instantly turned around, looking for anything in the bushes. “Who’s there?” she asked, slowly stepping away from where the bushes were. Louder rustling came from the bushes as they shook erratically. Something dark pushed from the bushes and she almost let out a scream before darkness enveloped her and no scream left her mouth.

Y/N thankfully didn’t get caught in the cops busting Autumn’s Halloween party. Steve and Y/N immediately went home and she made sure she made it home safely. Her parents immediately questioned her as soon as she made it home but thanked Steve for getting her home safely. So, even though she didn’t get caught by the cops, her parents definitely chewed her ear off.

Now she stood in her high school hallway, waiting for Steve and her best friends, Heather Wilson, and Natasha Romanoff, to arrive. She heard everyone talking about the party, how they got busted, and how their parents gave them absolute shit.

She felt someone tug on her arm from behind and she turned around. “Oh, hey Jesse.”

“Have you heard from Clarice?” Jesse jumped straight to the point, holding tightly to her bag strap. She saw that Y/N definitely was lost and had no idea.

“No, sorry. Why?”

“We went to Autumn’s party together and I couldn’t find her,” Jesse explained, looking physically sick. “I drove around for thirty minutes, called her house when I made it home and she wasn’t there. I called Saturday and Sunday and no one has heard from her. Her parents have already filed a missing person report.”

Y/N couldn’t seem to process the words Jesse rambled about. She just saw Clarice and the fact that she knew everyone ran from that house, anything could’ve happened to her. “I saw her at the party...from what I remember we talked, but I left before I saw her leave the house.”

Jesse sighed and cursed under her breath, not knowing where else to ask. If only she was quicker with talking with Andy Johnston, her crush. He was flirting with her constantly that night and talked with him for a few minutes before the cops busted the house. Thankfully, she made it out of there without being confronted by them. “We’re having a search party tonight at 6. If you want to come tonight, we could use all of the hands we can get.”

Y/N nodded and saw Heather, Natasha, and Steve walk into the school. They said their hello’s to Jesse, who quickly replied before walking away. Steve hugged Y/N and kissed her as Natasha and Heather made gagging noises next to them. “Save it for a later time, there are children here.”

Steve laughed and pulled Y/N into his side. He noticed that she seemed a little off. “You okay, babe?”

“Yeah...yeah, um...Jesse says they’re having a search party for Clarice tonight. She’s been missing since Autumn’s party.”

“What? I didn’t even know she was missing…” Y/N slightly nodded her head. If she weren’t drunk off of her ass, she would’ve stayed with Clarice. Instead, Steve insisted that she went home because he didn’t want her to get into any more trouble. Heather pulled Y/N in for a hug. “I have nothing to do tonight. I’ll be at the search party.” Y/N hugged Heather tighter and squeezed her. She knew that the school would definitely find out about the search party. She would make sure of it.

Later on that night, she found half of the school at the search party. Word eventually went around at the school, especially after they announced the search party during morning announcements. Her mom told her that she had to stay with Steve the entire night until he dropped her off. She knew that her parents would be undeniably shitting their pants the entire night if the search party wasn’t most students and their families. Sacred Hills had a small population, but that just made their community even stronger. Even during the night of Halloween, everyone decided to participate in looking for Clarice Engelton.

It neared around three hours of searching and no one had come up with anything. Absolutely nothing. Some people left a while into it because of curfew and not being able to be out that late. After a couple hours, Steve noticed that Y/N was definitely beating herself up. She was best friends with Clarice since the second grade. Y/N knew that Clarice was closer with Jesse, but that didn’t stop their friendship. And after Steve, they didn’t spend as much time together, but they still knew they were best friends. “You okay?” Steve asked after the police stated that the search party would have to continue tomorrow night.

“Yeah. I just didn’t think the party would end in something like this.” She sighed and Steve pulled her into his chest. He rubbed her back, hoping to calm her down.

“You wanna go get a milkshake? My treat. Your parents said you didn’t have to be home until 11 tonight,” he said playfully.

Y/N chuckled and nodded and they eventually found Heather and Natasha. She knew that Natasha’s parents didn’t necessarily care what time she made it home exactly and Heather’s parents didn’t have the earliest curfew for her. They decided to tag along with Steve and Y/N.

When they made it to the little diner by Y/N’s house, she ordered a large chocolate milkshake. She tried not to think about the countless diner trips her and Clarice would make here when they were younger with their parents. She was thankful that her boyfriend and friends were here to take their minds off of it.

The sound of the diner door swinging open loudly made Y/N look over Steve’s shoulder. “Rogers!”

Y/N groaned and tried to keep her words back by taking a long sip of her milkshake. Heather chuckled at your distaste for Steve’s best friend but Steve nudged her to keep quiet. “Barnes!” Steve slid out of the booth, enveloping Bucky in a hug. “I feel like I haven’t seen you all day.”

“I was in the backseat of my car with some chick. Honestly, I don’t remember her name,” Bucky laughed and slid into the booth next to Heather and Natasha.

“You don’t remember many things, Barnes, it’s not anything new,” Natasha muttered. Bucky stuck his tongue out at her, snatching her milkshake from her grasp. He took a long gulp from it, shrinking away every time Natasha tried to grab it back. “You dick!”

“Relax, I’ll buy you another one.” He flagged down the waitress, ordering another one for Heather and Y/N glared at Bucky from across the table. “Why is your girlfriend looking at me with hungry eyes?”

“She would never. I think you forgot that she hates your guts,” said Heather from the end of the table. She glared at Bucky too when he decided to make a mocking noise.

“Alright, alright!” Steve tried to break up whatever was happening at the table. “So you didn’t go to Clarice’s search party tonight?”

“Clarice Engelton? Engelton is missing?” he gasped.

“Yeah, ya fucking moron. You were too busy banging every girl in our grade in the janitor’s closet to hear it on the announcements?” Y/N had just enough of his idiocy.

“I’m going to ignore that comment about me being a moron and let you know that, no, I was only banging one girl in the janitor’s closet today during morning announcements.” Everyone at the table besides Steve made a disgusted face. Steve decided to just roll his eyes at his best friend continuously digging himself into a deeper hole.

The constant bickering continued and Steve started to zone out from the conversation. He knew that they wouldn’t stop once Bucky made an idiot of himself. He looked at the lights flickering every few minutes in the corner above them, thinking it was just the normal thing. Old diners like this probably had some bulbs that he needed to replace. And he believed this until all of the lights in the diner went out. His eyes immediately went to check the rest of the diner as Y/N grasped onto his shirt.

“Wait...where the hell did everyone go?” Heather yelped, her eyes trying to adjust to the sudden darkness in the diner. The only noise they all heard was each other breathing heavily. Y/N even noticed that Bucky looked pretty shaken, from what she could see in the darkness.

“The lights are out on the street, too.” Natasha commented and pushed Bucky out of her way so she could get out from the booth. Steve decided to slide out from the booth too, to check the rest of the diner but Y/N held onto his arm and followed him to where he was walking. Heather was right, there was no other person in this diner besides the five of them. And Y/N did not want to be stuck with Bucky here.

“What do we do?” Y/N questioned, still holding tightly onto Steve. The lights began to flicker crazily and everyone began to yelp. Heather held onto Bucky quickly and didn’t even notice what she did. “Steve, I want to leave,” she whispered. Steve nodded, reassuring her that it would be alright and he watched as everyone began to pool together in the center of the diner. “I told my mom I would be home by 11, can we go...please?”

A loud hissing noise interrupted Y/N before she could say anything else. The lights stopped flickering and they slowly started to become brighter again. Everyone watched the lights but they still couldn’t understand why the street lights still weren’t illuminating the street. No one else was in the diner with them, too.

Y/N couldn’t breathe from how terrified she was right now. If it weren’t for Steve, she would definitely be losing her shit right about now. But, she definitely lost her shit when all of the bulbs in the diner became too bright and shattered, raining down on the five Sacred Hills High students. Steve protected her, hovering over her as glass fell to the tile ground. Bucky ended up ducking Heather and Natasha underneath him as they huddled together to protect themselves from the glass rain.

When it was over, all of them began to breathe heavily. Y/N felt stings on her skin from where her denim jacket didn’t cover her skin from the glass. Glass had lodged itself into her skin and she began shaking from shock. “Fuck.” Steve struggled to stand from wondering how that just happened. “Fuck, okay, we’re all leaving right now. I’ll take Y/N, Bucky take Heather and Nat.”

All of them ran to their cars outside. Each light on the street mysteriously popped on when their cars zoomed past to speed away from the diner.

[godlydolans]

Tumblr won't let me answer this ask so I'm doing it this way-Pt.3

This is some star-crossed lovers shit that I cry over! I argue with my parents about the whole marrying into your own caste bullshit almost everyday. I really hope and pray this way of thinking changes because it really is a pain in the ass 😤

Y/N was going through a rough breakup when she'd first met Grayson. The guy she had been dating was from her own culture, a Doctor and her parents really liked him for their daughter. While the initial one year had been great, she quickly realised he wasn't the right guy for her. He was too controlling, too busy, too toxic. She had to break things off despite what the society would say.

For the longest time after that, Y/N closed herself off. She only left her dorm to go to her classes, occasionally going to the nearby diner with her girlfriends to ger food and then back into the dorm. The happy go-lucky girl who loved to party on the weekends was lost somewhere.

It just so happens that the night her room mate literally dragged her out of the dorm and to a party at some club she didn't care to know the name of, was the very night Grayson also attended his very first 'college party' per say.

Grayson Dolan had never been to frat parties in his life because he never went to college but had definitely heard great things from his sister and some friends that went to UCLA. One of those friends had invited him and his brother to the party his friend was throwing and Grayson was not gonna let the opportunity pass.

So what if he didn't go to University? He could still say he knew what college parties looked like!

So it was on one of the three outdoor patios at Q's Billiard Club that Grayson and Y/N first saw each other. She was there because the loud music was starting to make her head ache (she'd gotten a little too used to the usual quiet of her dorm room). Grayson was there to catch some fresh air, the tightly packed club was making him a little claustrophobic. And it wasn't like they were the only two people outside that night, but still both of them couldn't stop their eyes from going back to each other.

Y/N had noticed the new face among her friends' group when everyone had gathered around the pool table and how could she not? His bright smile and loud laugh were both extremely hard to miss. She had noticed how charismatic and magnetic he was and she'd be lying to herself if she said her eyes didn't search for him while she was inside just so she could see him smile once again.

There was just something about that smile..

Grayson had also noticed her when she had been talking to some guy, smiling from ear to ear as one hand played with the ring on her little finger. She was beautiful. He could tell that much even under the horrible lights of the club but now that she stood just few feet away from him, he could really see how beautiful she was.

Jesus Christ.. he'd thought, she had such beautiful dark long hair, big doe eyes with long lashes adorning them, thick eyebrows framed her exotic face beautifully and let's not even talk about the 'voluptuous' lips, as he likes to put it. That sharp bone structure could cut a loaf of bread and he couldn't stop himself from stealing glances her way. Usually Ethan is the shy one, but that night, Grayson would swear cat had got his tongue. The poor guy was sweating bullets, trying to find something to strike up a conversation with Y/N, but whenever he would open his mouth to say something, his nerves would get the best of him and he would eat his words before they had the opportunity to come out.

She eventually went back inside, making Grayson curse under his breath for losing his chance to talk to her. Little did he know he'd be getting introduced to Y/N very soon by their common friend, Ashton. Bless his soul.

The majority of the night, Y/N and Grayson spent together, talking about everything from their aim in life to freaking politics. She was extremely intelligent and he was a great listener along with having an interesting mind. Neither could stop themselves from getting infatuated with the other.

After that night, they met again at next weekend's party, then the next one and the next one. Grayson had started counting the days untill Saturday, when he could see her again.

Y/N, on the other hand, was starting to get wary about these meetings because she knew she was starting to really like him and that's what she couldn't allow herself to do. She knew getting involved with Grayson would only lead to heartbreak because there would never be a future with him. But she didn't have the the will power to stop seeing him either.

Ultimately, she decided she would not think too much and let the chips fall wherever they may. She really liked Grayson and Grayson really liked her and if she was lucky, things would not get too serious to the point where she'd have to rope in her family.

This would be her little secret, that's all.

Only, that's not all. And her little secret would not be so little. What was only supposed to be just two friends-who-knew-they-liked-each-other hanging out, turned into a three year long serious relationship. What was only supposed to be a crush she thought she'd get over eventually, turned into something so much more serious and permanent.

Y/N fell head over heels in love with everything that makes up the man that is Grayson and don't think she didn't try to stop those feelings in their track!

In the three years they were together, they took a break three times, the first time because Grayson was afraid what his fans would do to her if they found out. The second time because of what Y/N's family would do to her if they found out and the third time was solely because Y/N didn't know what to do about the situation she had trapped herself in. (But they obviously found their way back to each other!)

The poor girl loved her family more than anything else in the world and she didn't remember ever hiding something from either her mum or her dad. And while she knew that she wasn't wrong for loving Grayson, not at all, because loving him and being loved by him seemed like the most right thing she'd ever done, but the fact that she was hiding her relationship from her parents for three years definitely gave her multiple sleepless nights.

She tried to tell them several times when things were getting serious between her and Grayson, but everytime she would chicken out because she wasn't ready to choose between her family and the love of her life. She knew her family would never accept him no matter how perfect he was because he didn't share the same cultural background as her and she knew that if she chose him, she would be disowned within a second.

If someone would have asked her to choose between any guy and her dad even two years ago, she would have chosen her father in a heartbeat. There was even a time in the early stages of her relationship where she had made those cute little 'open when' cards for Grayson, giving them to him on their one year anniversary. She had gotten the idea off of pinterest and she remembers hesitating while making the 'open when you're getting married' card because she was so sure she wouldn't be the one that'd get to marry that amazing man.

Y/N knew there was zero way she would get to have Grayson as her husband no matter how much she prayed for it, so she didn't know what to write in that particular card. After going over words and crumbling four pieces of paper, she finally wrote just five words in the card and folded it shut with teary eyes. Grayson had a tendency to misplace things and there was a high chance this card would never even be opened by him, but she still made it and gave it to him.

Now fast forward to two years later, Grayson stood before her with one knee bent, holding a beautiful diamond ring with both hands and saying the most beautiful speech while she stood infront of him, absolutely bawling her eyes out and covering her mouth in shock. It was the eve of her birthday and she had just gotten off the phone with her family, during which Grayson had stood silently to the side, making sure to not make a single noice because he couldn't risk being heard by your parents. The proposal had come as a total shock to Y/N but there was no doubt in her head that she had to say 'yes' when she saw him getting down on one knee and flashing her favourite smile in the entire world to her. She didn't think about how she'd tell her family that she was freaking engaged, or about how they'd react to having Grayson as their son in-law, or if they'd even want to see her after she'd break the news to them. All she knew in that moment was that Grayson was her man, the love of her life. No other man could ever take his place and she just had to make him officially hers. Staying away from him was out of the question. She'd tried that and failed miserably. At this point, she knew they were meant to be together, that's all she cared about.

"Yes," she'd breathed, a choked sob escaping her lips when a tear rolled down Grayson's cheek. She got down on both knees in front of him and launched herself into his arms. "Yes, yes, I will marry you!"

He had not wasted a second in taking her face in his hands and kissing her lips with everything he had. They had each other, that was enough for now.

That year when she'd gone home for her Diwali, she had asked her mum and dad to sit with her and with a pounding heart and shaky breaths, she had finally told them about Grayson. She was very aware that this would be her last diwali with her family but she knew her love for Grayson was nothing to be ashamed about. She hadn't committed a crime, she'd just fallen in love.

"I'm marrying him before new years, dad." Y/N had lifted her head up from her lap, pulling out from under her high neck top, the ring that she'd worn like a pendant around her neck. The sparkle of the diamond made her mother gasp. Her father sat in front of her, motionless, not even looking at her. She knew she had really hurt her dad and his teary eyes were making her heart break into a million pieces but she couldn't reach out and comfort him. She didn't have the right to, anymore. "Dad, trust me, he's an amazing man! You would love him if you met--"

"Tell her to get out of my house." He'd commanded her mother and stormed out of the room, without spading her a glance.

"Mum please--"

"Don't call me that! You clearly didn't think about your mum while you were messing around with that American--three years, Y/N?! You didn't feel ashamed of yourself?! And today you came here to invite us to your wedding?! How dare you?"

So yeah, she got kicked out of her house on the night of Diwali. At least she didn't get a slap to the face..? She just booked a room in a hotel near the airport, preparing to fly back to her fiancé at the crack of dawn. He was waiting for her with open arms when she came home the next day, letting go of her travel bag and absolutely crumbling into his arms. Her broken sobs were muffled by the fabric of his shirt as he held her head against his chest, placing kisses on her forehead every now and then.

"I'm sorry," he kept whispering in her ear, feeling awful for being the reason his girl got dsowned by her parents. "I'm so sorry.

"He didn't even look at me, Gray! Called me a disgrace!" The pain was unbearable. She couldn't breath, her heart seemed too heavy and the image of her father's pain stricken face kept roaming her mind. "They hate me, Gray."

"They are your parents, Y/N, they can't hate you. They are just mad. They'll come around eventually." He didn't know whom he was reassuring, himself or her. This isn't how he had imagined his wedding would be, with no family member attending from the bride's side. He really wished he could take some of her pain away, but all he could really give her was a promise to always be by her side through everything. He promised her he would never leave her. Never ever leave her.

They were bound by fate after all.

Just a day before the wedding, when Y/N was looking for the personalised cufflinks she'd bought as a wedding gift to Grayson, she stumbled upon a fat envelope on Grayson's side of the wardrobe. Opening it in curiosity, she found all the 'open when' cards that she'd made for him all those years ago. All the cards had been opened except for one.

Open when you're getting married.

The words were written in cursive on top of the card, the seal of it was still intact, meaning Grayson had really listened to her instructions, despite the curiosity nagging him everytime his eyes would fall on the envelopes. She didn't even know he had kept all the cards, Grayson tended to lose things easily.

Looking at the card, she remembered that day she'd sat down in her living room with all these papers scattered around her, doubting if she'll even get to marry Grayson. And now here she was, sitting in her future bedroom that she'd share with her soon to be husband. She would be marrying the man of her dreams tomorrow. And even though her day wouldn't be perfect because of the absence of her family, it would still be her day. The day she would finally be Mrs. Grayson Dolan.

Y/N took the cufflinks out of the wardrobe and held the card in her hand, walking over to Grayson's wedding suit that still hung on the hook of the wardrobe, just about of be taken to the venue for the wedding. Smiling with teary eyes, she slipped the card into the pocket of his coat along with the box that contained the cufflinks. It was a miracle that she found the card just a day before the wedding. It was all fate.

And the next day, while Grayson was getting ready, Ethan informed him that his almost wife had kept a gift in the pocket of his coat and had asked him to tell Grayson that. The groom had eagerly shoved his hand into his coat's pocket and found not just one gift, but two.

The cufflinks laid forgotten on the bed when his eyes fell on the card and he hastily opened it, finally getting to see what was written inside.

Just five words that brought tears into his eyes.

I hope it was me...

He smiled at the words, his throat tight and eyes filled with tears as he read the words over and over. Their love was powerful, they were meant to be together and together, they knew they could conquer anything. Yes, the path they had chosen to take was not an easy one, but he knew deep in his heart that things would get better.

And thankfully for them, Y/N's parents finally came along two years later. The cause of that was the little bundle of joy that Grayson and Y/N had created together. Things were starting to look up again, Y/N's dad was smitten with her little baby girl and her family loved Grayson once they got to know him. These days, her dad has been trying to get his son in-law into Cricket so they can watch together on TV when the World Cup rolls around. Grayson, on the other hand, has other plans. The Best Husband In The World is now set to earn the title of The Best Son In-Law In The World too, what with sneakily buying tickets for the whole family to watch the World Cup finale in the freaking stadium.

"I've got the best seats! He's gonna have a great view of the whole thing." He beams as she lays her head on his chest at night.

"You didn't have to do that, babe."

"Oh c'mon, he gave his freaking daughter to me, I know how hard that must have been now that I have my own, it's the least I can do for him."

Needless to say, Y/N's dad is over the moon, watching the match from the stadium with Grayson sitting beside him. Gray looks so cute and hot cheering for her country, she would definitely have pounced on his had they not been with her family, sitting among what looks like thousands and thousands of people.

But it's okay. They have all the time in the world for baby making. He's all hers just like she's all his.

[crownedbyluke]

Long Road Ahead (Chapter Nine)

Estelle Finley has been friends with Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings for three years. When the boys bring her along on a jam-packed road trip to Cape Cod with the rest of the band, their adventures are just beginning. Through long hours driving, exploring cities, and hidden secrets, something more is bound to happen on this journey. How will this road trip change Estelle’s friendship with the friends she’s come to love so dearly?

Word Count: 3,000 (i apologize in advance)

{Chapter One} {Chapter Two} {Chapter Three} {Chapter Four}{Chapter Five} {Chapter Six} {Chapter Seven} {Chapter Eight}

ESTELLE’S POV

My entire body felt like it hurt. I had spent most of the night crying into Ashton’s arms. As my heavy eyelids slowly opened, I wished that last night had been a dream. The memories of Luke’s confused expression as I walked away being the only thing I could see.

“How are you doing there bugs?” Ashton asked when he saw me stir in his bed.

I felt like I couldn’t move or sit up to look at him. My head was throbbing, a headache that felt it would be the end of me making itself known.

“I feel dead,” I said, my voice basically gone, the rasp in it completely taking over.

“Well you’re not. Do you want anything to help that dead feeling?” he asked, getting up from the chair.

It was sunny out, the patio door showing off how beautiful a summer in New York could be.

“Any pain killers?” I asked, closing my eyes instead of looking at the sunshine.

The world had decided to make itself look beautiful while I felt the rain from yesterday glooming over me.

“I can get you some,” he said, pressing a kiss to my forehead quick before walking away.

I closed my eyes again, not wanting to face the world or more importantly, Luke. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours of being able to love him out loud and I had already lost him. Ashton brought me out of my thoughts by sitting down next to me.

“Here. Drink it slowly though,” he said, handing me the two tablets.

I sat up slightly, my head instantly making me regret it. I groaned before carefully taking the pain killers. My eyes met his, understanding and concern evident in his hazel.

“I’ll be okay,” I said quietly.

He nodded, moving so he was lying next to me in his bed.

“I know you will be. Are you gonna tell Luke why though?” he asked, taking my hand in his.

The touch felt comforting, but brought me back to hold Luke’s hand, his rings biting into my skin from the coolness of the metal. The want to be holding his hand instead of Ashton’s hit me harder than I expected, almost bringing tears to my eyes again.

“No. I can’t,” I whimpered, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Shh, bugs, it’s okay. You’ll have to tell him eventually though,” he said, putting his head on top of mine.

“I know. I just, everyone is so mad,” I said, a few tears slipping out against my will.

“Hey, look at me,” he said, sitting up and turning.

I blinked a few times, wiping at my cheeks with my free hand.

“None of us are mad at you. We would never be mad at you for a couple of mean spirited people targeting you,” he reassured, putting a hand on my cheek to wipe my tears as they fell.

“But Luke-”

“Will understand when you tell him why you don’t feel like you two can be together right now,” he said, cutting me off.

“Ashton, my dad literally said he would end your career if I was seen with him again that way,” I said, tucking my lip between my teeth.

“I know, but you’re gonna show him one day that he can’t control you anymore and if it means that he takes that house from you, then fuck him. Luke and I, hell even I will just pay for the house so you don’t have to worry about it,” he said, confident with his actions.

“You don’t have to do that,” I said, afraid of what it would mean to have Ashton do that.

“I don’t, but if it comes down to that Estelle, I’ll help you keep the house,” he reassured, squeezing my hand.

“Why?” I asked, confused as to why he would offer such a thing.

“Because you’re my best friend and if you need me, I’m gonna be there and do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy,” he said, taking me by surprise.

I blinked a couple times as we made eye contact. Ashton was always more generous than he needed to be for those he cared about, but I was never ready for it when it came up. I knew he would do it behind my back if that’s what it took.

“Do you think Luke hates me?” I asked, unable to meet his eyes as I asked the question.

“No. Bugs, he could never hate you,” he reassured, moving closer again to wrap his arms around me.

“Are you sure?” I asked, still too afraid to look at his face.

“Yes. He loves you with his entire heart. He would never hate you no matter what happened between you two romantically. Answer me this,” he said, pulling me closer.

“What?” I asked, hanging my head.

“Do you want to be with Luke?” he asked, the question being the million dollar one.

I wasn’t sure anymore. I knew how much I loved him and I knew in my heart that I wanted to be the one he woke up to, but with the threat looming over my head, I lost my conviction. It hurt to think about losing him more than it hurt to think that I couldn’t get my head out of my ass to love him the way he deserved.

“I do, but I don’t want him to get involved with my father,” I said, the uncertainty taking over.

“Let me worry about that. If you want to be with him, you have to tell him,” he said, pressing another kiss to my forehead.

“Ash-”

“Go shopping with Crystal, go wild. Stay out of the public eye while doing it. Get some retail therapy in. I’ll talk to Luke,” he said, again cutting me off.

I nodded, watching him move through the room. He tossed me one of his shirts, a gray henley that was extremely baggy on me. I looked at him finally, our eyes meeting. He nodded to the shirt before walking over to me.

“I know it’s your favorite. Be comfortable today. I love you,” he said, certainty in his tone.

I smiled for the first time since yesterday, the smell of Ashton’s cologne taking over. He was right, it brought a sense of comfort to my disgruntled attitude. I looked up, seeing him watching me with a smile playing across his face.

“I love you too,” I said, rubbing the material between my fingers.

He turned, giving me the privacy to pull the shirt over my head. It wasn’t as baggy as I thought it would be, but it had the intended effect. My feet carried me over to Ashton, wrapping my arms around his torso.

“Thank you Ash,” I whispered, feeling him hug me back.

“Of course bugs,” he said, squeezing me lightly.

                                                     ➢➢➢

We walked with my head down and bags littering my arms. Crystal had encouraged me to buy anything I wanted, just to get it out of my system. Some of it were presents for the boys and some of it was for Aida, but a good portion of it was for me. She was right. I needed to do something to take my mind off everything Luke for at least a little.

“Nope, turn around. We’re going in,” she said as we walked past Bergdorf Goodman.

“Crystal, we’ve already bought so much,” I argued as she continued to walk in.

“And we need to find you a dress,” she said, pulling me through the store.

“For what?” I asked, letting her drag me towards the dresses.

“Well, there’s an art gallery opening while we’re in Cape Cod and despite you and Luke currently being on the fence, I’m making you two go,” she explained, having a sales clerk come over.

“Crystal, you can’t just-”

“Yes, this one and that one, oh and that red one,” she said, pointing at dresses as she walked around.

“Crystal, that’s-”

“And the green one and oh my god, absolutely this golden one. Thank you,” she said, tugging me along to a dressing room.

“Yes her bags can stay with me. Okay, go,” she said, pushing me into the dressing room.

“Crystal, I can’t just buy a dress for an event I’m not going to,” I said before the clerk could put the dresses in.

“Well, you’re going to the gallery opening with Luke and you’re trying on a dress for that opening and you’re going to look beautiful,” she said, not giving me any room to argue.

I sighed, letting the clerk put the six dresses in with me. I went through them, not really liking the ones I was wearing. I zipped the white and gold dress up, looking in the mirror. It fit perfectly, hugging my curves and making me look spectacular. Crystal was right, it was a dress that needed to be bought.

“Let me see!” Crystal said, clapping her hands a little.

I took a deep breath before walking out. Crystal’s mouth fell open as she looked at me.

“Do I look that bad?” I asked, feeling insecure as she stared at me.

“No. Estelle you look beautiful,” she gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.

“I do?” I asked, looking down at myself.

“Yes. Luke is gonna die,” she said, giving me a giant smile.

“Yeah?” I asked again, still unsure.

“Yes. The boy will fall even more head over heels for you than he already is,” she said, taking my hand and twirling me around.

“If he’s even speaking to me by then,” I said, still happy with the way I looked in the mirror.

“He will. I know he will,” she pushed, gently grabbing my shoulders as I stared at myself.

“Will you be purchasing this dress ma’am?” the clerk asked, giving me a small smile.

“Yes. I would like to buy it,” I said, giving her a nod.   

I took it off, putting it back on the hanger and getting dressed. We left, the bag feeling like it was a small weight on my arm. I guess all that was left was to make sure that Luke didn’t hate me.

                                                      ➢➢➢

LUKE’S POV

“I just don’t get it,” I sighed, lying on the floor.

Estelle had left me alone in her room without any explanation. Her words made no sense. Everything had been fine that morning and then somewhere in the day, she completely changed her mind.

“Luke, we know okay?” Michael said exasperated by my behavior.

“I’m sorry. I just, I’m so lost,” I said, resting my arm over my eyes.

“She probably has a good enough reason Luke,” Calum tried, his tone attempting to not have an edge to it.

I waited in her room until two in the morning and realized that she wasn’t coming back to it. Shawn’s “Where Were You in the Morning?” popped into my head, finding it relevant now. I almost scoffed at how my brain liked reminding me of I was hurt.

“Then why didn’t she tell me?” I asked, really just needing my friends to be there for me.

“Maybe she didn’t know how?” Michael suggested, even he was unsure of himself.

“What could be so daunting that she couldn’t talk to me about it?” I asked, not meaning to badger them, but needing answers.

“Luke, she wants to be with you, but she just can’t!” Ashton almost shouted.

I sat up instantly, staring at him. He knew something. It was clear that he was hiding something from me.

“What do you know?” I asked, watching him closely.

His shoulders tensed, his head hanging a bit.

“Ashton, what do you know?” I pushed, my eyes trained on him.

“I can’t tell you that. It’s not my place. Just let her figure it out okay?” he said, slight anger and annoyance in his voice.

“Figure what out? You can’t just drop something like that and then not explain,” I said, frustration running through me.

“I just said that I can’t tell you. Estelle just needs to work on things that don’t involve you,” he said, his hazel eyes meeting mine.

I saw how sorry he was, but that didn’t stop the anger from happening.

“So the girl that I’m in love with just talks to you about our relationship instead of me? Great, just great. Fuck you and your high and mighty bullshit Ashton,” I said, getting up and storming off.

It really shouldn’t have bothered me as much as it did, but here I was frustrated by the way that Estelle went around talking about me to people instead of just talking to me. I slammed the door shut, letting the anger and hurt radiate around me. I caught the sight of Estelle’s opal ring on my dresser, the simplest thing bringing back the feeling of her lips on mine. Something had happened that caused her to change her mind and instead of telling me so we could work through it, she went to Ashton. There was a knock on my door, bringing me back to reality.

“Yeah?” I asked, not opening the door.

“Wanna go out and get drunk?” Calum asked cautiously.

I thought about it for a second before I opened the door.

“Fuck yes,” I agreed, walking over to my closet.

I threw on one of my leather jackets and picked up her ring.

“One sec,” I said, walking into Estelle’s room.

I put the ring on her dresser, along with a note. I met Calum in the hallway, giving him a quick nod before we headed down the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Ashton asked as we walked by.

“Out. Don’t wait up,” Calum said with a wink.

The door closed behind us, the night air somewhat humid, but it felt like a breath of fresh air. My eyes met Calum’s and with a single head nod, we were in agreement. It was time to get absolutely shit-faced and not care about the world anymore. If that meant I didn’t have to think about Estelle for a few hours, I’d take it.

                                                      ➢➢➢

There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to make it so I wouldn’t see Estelle’s face in every girl with long blonde hair. Another shot burned in my throat as I set the shot glass down.

“Wanna dance handsome?” a girl with a husky voice asked.

I looked over at her, the blonde hair and bright green eyes looking like Estelle just enough that my drunken haze agreed. Her hands were all over me and while the alcohol made it feel nice, my brain knew that it wasn’t Estelle. No one was as good as her and no one could live up to the way she made me feel. I did my best to let go of Estelle in my head, to let the girl in front of me be the subject of my thoughts. I felt her lips pressing against my neck, the heat of it not being enough to take me away. She pulled my head down so I was looking at her, our eyes meeting. There was nothing in her’s, no lust, no excitement, just blank. There was no spark between us, no electricity, no dying need to be closer. The whole moment was empty, hollow. Her lips meant mine, reminding me that nothing would ever feel as good as the moment that Estelle and I kissed. I let it continue despite not feeling a damn thing for her. I could have sex with her if I really wanted to. What was stopping me? I pulled away, looking at her again. Still not Estelle. Nothing like her.

“Sorry. I just can’t,” I said, quickly moving away from her and off the dance floor.

“Luke? Hey, what’s wrong?” Calum asked when I pushed past him.

“Nothing. I just, I need to go,” I said, still walking.

“I’m going with you,” he said, following after me.

We walked out the front door stupidly, the flashing lights of cameras making it hard to see. Calum lead me through the crowd, getting me into a cab and telling the driver where we were staying.

“What happened?” he asked while we sped through the streets.

“She wasn’t Estelle,” I said simply, leaning my head back against the cab seat.

The buzz washed over me, making me slightly more tipsy than I wanted to be. I got lost in my thoughts, wishing that I hadn’t ever kissed her.

                                                     ➢➢➢

ESTELLE’S POV

“Give me the phone Estelle!” Ashton yelled as I ran into my room.

I closed and locked the door, scrolling through the mentions. They were popping up everywhere and even if I knew better, I still needed to see. The pictures weren’t high quality, but I could still clearly see what was happening in them. Luke was on the dance floor, some girl all over him and his lips attached to her’s. My heart sank as I stared at them. So much for I love you meaning something.

“Estelle! Open the door!” Ashton yelled, knocking furiously on the door.

I continued scrolling, more and more showing up as I looked.

@EFTeaches looks like you weren’t gonna last anyways.

The single tweet made all my insecurities blossom before I could push them aside. The tears fell immediately, unable to hide them anymore. Ashton’s phone slipped from my hand, causing a thud on the floor.

“Estelle!” he yelled again, worry in his voice.

I slowly fell against the side table, hitting the door handle so it wasn’t locked anymore. Ashton rushed in, finding me and moving so he was next to me.

“Estelle, don’t let them get to you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

“He’s kissing another girl Ashton,” I cried, shoving my hands into my eyes.

“Shh,” he whispered, rubbing my arm.

“He said he loved me and the second I’m not an option anymore, he’s just over me and kissing someone else?” I said, the tears falling faster than I wanted to.

“You don’t know that,” he tried, squeezing me a little.

“It’s right there on your phone!” I yelled, pushing it a little.

“And we don’t know the whole story,” he said quietly.

“I don’t need the whole story,” I cried, lying in his lap.

“Shh bugs, you don’t need to do this right now,” he whispered, playing with the ends of my hair.

“I thought he loved me.”

Oh well now I’ve done this and I am really sorry....kinda.

@24kcalum @thruheavenandhighwater @slimthicccal @notoriouslyhood @bbycal @tommossoccer @a-little-international @cashton-queen @thebookamongmen @jetblackyoungblood @kiss-the-kat @no-guilt-in-living

[irwinkitten]

men of mayhem | a.i

notes: here she is, part 5! we’re now getting to the build up of the final showdown. have fun! warnings: mentions of violence word count: 3.4k

donate to my ko-fi

you can find parts one thru five on this masterlist because i can’t be arsed to make a separate one for this series.

-

             When Michelle Irwin stepped out of the car, her eyes lingering on her new home, a rush of emotions swept through her as she took in the building. Looking at it five years on from the most horrific day of her life, no one would have ever thought that this had been the sight of an explosion. 

Her heart leapt in her chest as she felt herself get swept off her feet, a shriek escaping as her arms instinctively moved to wrap around Ashton’s neck. The grin on his face spoke volumes.

“Welcome home, Mrs Irwin.” She had expected this, he’d warned her years ago but she hadn’t fully believed him. But she should’ve known better as his lips found hers, an appreciative hum escaping her.

“It’s good to be home, finally.” She finally muttered and wondered if Ashton was going to set her down any time soon. 

The house had been decorated by his parents, or at least by Anne-Marie. She knew that Bert had been around purely for heavy lifting only. A slam of the front door pulled her attention back to him and the look on his face told her much more.

“Are we christening the house or just the bedroom for now?” The question was out of her mouth before she could really stop it and Ashton only paused for half a second before he began to make his way upstairs, his grip firm and unrelenting.

“Just the bedroom for now, doll. We've got visitors later and as much as I would love nothing more than to bend you over the dining room table, I’m not one for sharing.” This earned a giggle as the bedroom door slammed shut and he lay her on the bed, a grin on his lips as he tugged off his shirt.

Her eyes took him in, his physique only having gotten much better over the years of hard labour, but she couldn’t complain, especially as his hands grabbed her ankles, pulling her down the bed, leaning over her and resting his hands either side of her head.

“I think we could manage the bathroom and shower, don’t you Mrs Irwin?” His lips met hers and it was a moment before she pulled away to reply, his lips moving from her lips to her neck.

“Oh absolutely Mr Irwin. I want you to ravish me.” She gasped out as his lips worked her neck, his fingers making quick work of her mini skirt and underwear. 

By the time that they’d eventually showered and redressed themselves, lunchtime had come and gone, so they made a quick snack from the few non perishables they had in the cupboards before they began to bring in the rest of her stuff from the house in the city.

“I was going to question why you have so much stuff before I remembered that you’ve been living in that house for nearly a decade. I think it’s fair to say that it’s not as much as I’d expected.” Ashton finally got out after hefting a box of her books from the trailer to the living room. 

Michelle rolled her eyes as she eyed up the living room. Despite it being furnished, she knew they’d left enough space for her to bring a few of her own pieces into the house. 

It wasn’t too much later when the rumble of the bikes started to grow louder and casting a glance at Ashton, Michelle felt herself begin to smile.

Neither of them made to move when the roar of the bikes finally cut off, systematically unpacking the boxes that they already had. Ashton had argued to get all of the boxes in at once, whereas Michelle had pointed out that there wouldn’t be enough space. 

It took all of thirty seconds before Ashton conceded defeat and they did two boxes at a time. 

“Knock knock!” The familiar voice of Calum broke through the easy rhythm they’d fallen into and Michelle grinned as he stepped into the house, beelining for her. “There’s my favourite girl!” Laughter rang around as he swept her up into a hug, one that she readily returned. 

“There’s my favourite current VP.” She fired back, earning more laughter once she was back on her feet. Calum gave her a wounded look in return.

“You truly destroy my heart Missus Irwin.” He teased playfully, earning a punch to the arm before moving out of her way so that the others could greet her.

When it was realised that it wasn’t just the four hooligans she was used to, that was when they shuffled out into the backyard. Michael was quick to fire up the grill as the rest of the men welcomed her home and then moved through to the backyard.

“But we haven’t unpacked everything yet.” She complained to Chibs as he hugged her tightly. Bert laughed at her whine.

“Better to celebrate it now before the others come back from their gun run. We wanted to welcome you home unpacked or not.” Bert explained as Chibs finally let go of her and stepped away. “Welcome home lil’ lady.” 

She didn’t hesitate to let him wrap her in a tight hug. It reminded her of her own dad’s hugs, the feeling of safety she’d always associated with both her dad and Bert.

“It’s good to be home.” She murmured before pulling away and accepting Anne-Marie’s hugs. Since they were the last to show up, the door was closed and she got hustled through to the backyard where everyone had seemingly found their own spots.

“So no prospects and none of the newbies?” She questioned quietly. Music had already started up as she settled in the spot next to Ashton and Bert glanced to Chibs before nodding.

“We’ve narrowed it down, but there’s been no slip ups the last couple of years. Ash has ruled with an iron fist pretty much so I don’t think they’ve wanted to risk his wrath, especially after the diversion.” Chibs explained.

Michelle simply hummed at that.

After she’d left Charming after her parents had died, she hadn’t returned. It was better for them all not to risk it and give away where she lived since the boys, when they visited, always got themselves lost in the maze of the city before showing up to hers.

Two years after she’d left, they went ahead with the first part of the retaliation. The part that the Bulldogs had been expecting. Ashton had spent months planning with his three closest-Calum, Luke and Michael-before giving the group a five minute warning. There’d been no cells, no communication and the hit had been devastatingly brutal.

As promised, they’d made sure that no children were targeted or collateral. They’d attacked one of their known bases and hideouts. And because the main group involved in the original plan had split, the mole hadn’t been able to warn the Bulldogs. 

Fifteen members of the Bulldogs had been gunned down, their own loot stolen before the building was torched. Despite having been on edge for retaliation, once Michelle had been contacted, she began to work her magic. Six more members had been sent away, and with a small paperwork error, they were housed with rival gang members who were already serving time. 

The total loss of twenty one members put the Bulldogs crew down to nine, and it eased the anxiety surrounding a retaliation, but they also knew that over the last three years since, they’d been building back up their crew and numbers were creeping back up to their thirties once more.

Michelle still worked her magic. Charlie had kept his promise and after she’d graduated, when she returned home after the funerals, she threw herself into work. 

He’d been concerned for her mental wellbeing, but with the reassurance that she was relying on her own support system, he remained in the background, throwing the weight of his name behind her. It wasn’t often that an intern impressed him, but Michelle had done it and Charlie had wanted her to succeed. 

Jen had said the same and it was late one evening when they talked about opening their own firm together. That was when Michelle took the opportunity to talk more about her life in Charming.

“It’s a strange one, Charming. We have our own issues with gangs, but there’s one, SAMCRO, they protect the residents from outsiders.” The glass of wine had been untouched as Jen took in the information.

“What, like the mafia?” Michelle grimaced at her friend's description.

“Definitely more unrefined than them. Whereas the mafia are all about money and only the top are family, for SAMCROW, once you’re in, you’re in. Of course, no women, but the old ladies, we do more than just sit at home and wait for them to come home riddled with wounds.” 

Jen studied her friend carefully before realisation dawned across her features.

“That’s why your parents died, wasn’t it?” Michelle knew better than to look away. “Holy shit. Is Ashton in the thick of it?” This earned a snort.

“More like he’s the club President.” Jen let out a breath of air before her sharp gaze held Michelle’s, the glass of wine in her hands being set down as her body shifted forward to show she was listening.

“What have you got planned and how can I help?” 

From that day they’d come together and refined her plan to open a firm in Charming. The two of them made the decision to become a partnership, and Jen’s resolve only hardened when she learned about how and why Michelle’s parents died. 

That was when the two collaborated on any of the Bulldog cases that passed their desks. 

No one had suspected them and she was grateful for that. But now it would become very obvious if they weren’t careful. Thankfully, she had roped Charlie in on the plan to get all of the Bulldogs.

He was sympathetic for her desire to take them down, and so he used his own team to keep her protected from retaliation, and had told her to continue to send the cases his way until her and Jen were ready to stand their ground. 

“When’s Jennifer arriving?” Bert switched the subject and Michelle smiled. 

“She’ll arrive the day after tomorrow. She wants me to go in and set up the office tomorrow whilst she ties up her last case. Honestly, having her has been an absolute godsend.” 

The others chuckled at her words. 

The stress of setting up a business was certainly something that Michelle hadn’t anticipated but having a second pair of hands to share the stress, certainly helped. Not to mention that she had very good stress relief in the form of her husband. 

The rest of the evening passed quietly, the men helping her move the last of her things into the house. By the time that darkness had well and truly settled, she was not only exhausted but she was entirely unpacked.

When Ashton crawled into bed behind her, his lips finding her bare shoulder, she sighed and snuggled in closer to his embrace.

“Are you glad I took advantage of our time alone when we got here?” He teased, his voice playful, making her chuckle.

“Very. I don’t think I can keep my eyes open long enough to enjoy anything like that.” She murmured gently, her voice steadily getting heavier, words slurring together.

“Rest angel, I’ve got you.” 

She was out like a light. 

-

Hearing the door open, Michelle, half buried under her piles of work, found herself staring at a young teenager, one that she’d kept in contact with since her brother's funeral.

“Lana.” She greeted the girl easily, moving from behind her desk, greeting the teenager with a gentle but firm hug.

“Hi Michelle. Alannah said you were back in town and I figured I’d come to visit. It’s been a while since I last got to see you.” And it had.

The last time Michelle had seen the younger girl, she was fourteen, but now she’d not long turned sixteen and she was truly growing up.

“It has been a while, let me just text Ash to bring an extra portion of lunch with him when he drops by and you can stay and have lunch with me whilst I try to get some order to this chaos.” Lana took the offered seat as Michelle returned to her spot, sending a quick text before she began to organise the files. “How about you tell me what’s been going on?” 

“Things have been good. Greg decided to cheat on me with Taylor, so that avenue has long since vanished from my life.” Michelle looked up from the files at that, a frown forming on her features.

“I’m sorry about that Lana. How come you didn’t text me?” Lana seemed to hesitate at Michelle’s question.

“I didn’t want to bother you with some dumb teenage stuff.” She shrugged uncomfortably and Michelle sighed.

“Lana, how many times?” 

“I know. Bobby offered to give him a fright but I figured my own revenge was good enough.” At Michelle’s cocked eyebrow, Lana flushed. “Might’ve swapped his shampoo with the shaving cream during one of their football practices. Since he never bothered with his hair much, he didn’t find out till the next day in class when Miss Hart asked him if it was some kind of new trend he was trying.” It took Michelle all of two seconds before she started laughing at the grinning teenager.

“I’ve taught you well.” They snickered between each other before there was a knocking on the door and Ashton stepped in.

“There’s my favourite girl! And my wife.” He added on, making Lana blush whilst she laughed.

“Said wife is hungry, Irwin.” Michelle warned and he grinned, holding up the bag of goodies she knew was going to be her mother-in-law’s cooking.

“Don’t worry, I’ve brought extra for your unexpected guest. Jen’s portion is in there too. How’re you doing Lana?” He took the seat next to the teenager who shrugged as she accepted the wrapped dish from Ashton.

“I’m good. Just told Michelle about what I did to Greg. Figured I’d spend some time with her since I’ve not seen her in a while and texts can only do so much.” Ashton had given her a firm look which she found herself looking away from, which caught Michelle’s attention.

“What else am I missing?” Michelle asked warily and Lana sighed.

“I found out about the club by accident.” This prompted Michelle to turn her steely gaze to Ashton. “It wasn’t his fault!” Lana added hastily, having the stern glare fall back onto her. 

“What happened?” 

“It was after my revenge on Greg. He couldn’t pin anything on me, since you always taught me to have an alibi. But Taylor suspected something so tried to corner me at school. I made a point to tell her that she couldn’t scare me into admitting to an obvious lie. Didn’t think much of it till four weeks later and I got attacked.” 

“These bastards better be in jail or so help me god they won’t be able to pick up trash off the streets of Charming.” Michelle warned, her tone dangerous. Lana gave her a frightened glance to Ashton who nodded.

“Uh, Cal told me they were Bulldogs.” Michelle froze before taking in a slow deep breath. Lana found herself looking to Ashton, lost on what to say. He held his finger up, indicating to her to wait, so she did.

“I’m going to assume there is a very good reason as to why I wasn’t told.” 

“Let her finish the story, Chelle.” Ashton murmured and Michelle glared at him before looking back to Lana. The teen needed no prompting.

“I’d speed dialled Calum, after Matty’s funeral he’d told me that if I ever needed help, to call him. I’d just about screamed help down the phone before they doubled down on their attack. He saved my life, but unintentionally showed what the club actually was.” Michelle closed her eyes, half in annoyance, half in understanding.

“Once he discovered who they were, he killed them, didn’t he?”

“It was to protect me! And I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.” Lana protested but Michelle shook her head before opening her eyes.

“That’s not what I’m mad about sweetheart. I undoubtedly believe he saved your life by doing that, but he still killed them in front of you.” 

“Actually, he killed them once he’d gotten me on his bike. He made sure I wouldn’t watch him do that.” Michelle gave Ashton a flat look at Lana’s casual acceptance and he shrugged in return.

“I’m guessing it’s almost similar to what we had growing up then?” Michelle asked him softly and he nodded.

“Her parents were more angry that she got herself attacked rather than the fact she was attacked. So Cal kinda turned into her big brother no matter how much the others tease him saying that she’s sweet on him.” This caught Michelle’s attention and Lana immediately raised her hands in surrender.

“Not true. He’s treated me like a kid sister since I was eleven and also he’s not my type.” Michelle relaxed before giving a curious look to Lana who gazed at her lap and Ashton laughed.

“You know that Cal is sweet on our Jen anyway. However. Back to the subject. We now know that someone at her school has ties to the Bulldogs. Taylor had the shock of her life when police showed up at her doorstep. But we don’t know who else might have ties to them, so Cal does the school run,” Lana grumbled at Ashton’s words but said nothing, “and we’ve been teaching her the ins and outs of the club.” 

“It’s not enough.” Michelle mused and Ashton paused in his words, letting his wife come up with something that she would be comfortable to work with.

“I mean, I don’t mind being babysat I guess. But even then, they’ve gotta be careful. Ash told me why and I kinda understand it. It’s probably why I accepted and got over the fact that Calum killed my attackers so easily.” Lana murmured and Michelle nodded.

“It’s always about protection for us. Remember at Matty’s funeral?” The teenager nodded. “That was done to honour him as family, but also as a warning to those who would dare try to hurt us when we were that vulnerable. We need something that people wouldn’t bat an eyelash at and would be passed off as unimportant-got it.” Michelle had cut off her own thoughts, her eyes flickering around the store that was their home base.

“Do you think if we talked to old man Morella next door, he’d be willing to sell the building to me? We could expand it and that way we would be able to divide it into two offices and build as we build the firm?” Ashton understood fast what she was getting at and nodded.

“What would buying a building do for me?” Lana’s confused voice broke Michelle's musings and the older woman smiled at the teenager. 

“Lana Fayette, how would you like to work for my law firm as our general secretary and all around person assistant? You’d get paid a fair rate for working and we’d make sure that it won’t interfere with your schooling. We could work out a contract that would mean that any courses you wanted to-” 

“Hold on, what?” Lana interrupted, making Michelle grin.

“No one will question me offering you a job. Protection through obscurance. Only the core members know who Jen and I are. Of course, locals know me, but they also know that Jen is the one who represents in the cases. She meets with our clients. The perfect way to keep you safe and helps me out so that we can actually have our things organised.” 

Michelle was expecting resistance, but upon seeing almost the look of desperation in Lana’s eyes, she knew that she’d hit the jackpot. 

“You mean that?” Her voice was quiet, but Michelle understood.

“Absolutely. So how about it?” 

“Instead of working around my schooling, can we work around this? I’d rather take online classes than have to go back.” Michelle thought about it for a moment before nodding.

“If that’s what you want to do, we can do that. Our names have enough pull now so no one will really question our decisions. Now let's go and talk to your parents and my wonderful husband can coordinate whatever protection detail he wants. We all get what we want and we’re going to have a nice new shiny building.” The grin on Michelle’s face made Ashton laugh.

“Wait till you have to tell Jen what you’ve just done.” His tone was smug as he watched her face fall at that thought.

“Ah crap. She’s going to kill me."

-

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