#and it would get EXTRA bad if he heard me calling him abusive so um. y’all are the only people i can say anything to

[peninkwrites]

Before: Karl and Quackity (don't) Date - Ch 3 of ?

Karl and Quackity go see a movie. Karl learns some things.

(CW: abuse, Schlatt.)

crossposted to ao3

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 4

The Mafia AU

~

Karl calls Q first.  “Hello?”

“Hey, Q!  It’s Karl,” Karl paces his one room, twirling the cord through his fingers.  “I was wondering if… if you’d be free tonight?  I was thinking we could go see a movie?  I dunno how much you keep up with that stuff, but you ever heard of Monty Python?  It’s really fun.  I’ll… I’ll buy the popcorn?”

There’s only static over the line and Karl feels absolutely jittery.

“Um.  Yeah.  I can… I could go tonight.  Is it cool if we go to a theater across the river?  Do you know the one around Kings Park?”

“Across… yeah!  Yeah, sure.  I know it.  That’s cool,” Karl has no idea if it would be more expensive over there.  He doesn’t see why.  “Meet you there at like seven?”

“Okay, great.  Yeah– Yes, I’ll meet you there,” a weighted pause.  “And if… if I don’t show, don’t take it personally, alright?  Didn’t mean I didn’t want to come.”

“Oh,” Karl hopes he doesn’t sound too surprised.  “Okay.  Uh.  Well.  Hope I see you there..?”

“Okay, good.  Yeah, uh.  Me too.  Goodbye, Karl.”

“Bye, Q!” The phone clicks as he hangs up.  “Yes!” Karl punches the air, falling back onto his bed and kicking his feet.  “Okay, okay good.  You just gotta… gotta get there.”

Karl agreed to go to a theater across the river.  He does not have a car.  If he’s meeting Q at seven, he’d better start walking.

Quackity has his own troubles getting to Karl.  Schlatt hadn’t explicitly asked him to go to his place tonight, but Quackity doesn’t know if he can get away with several hours out of contact.  Last time he’d stormed off, Schlatt could easily assume he’d gone home and felt miserable alone, he’d let Quackity get away with just an apology because it had been their anniversary apparently.  The first time, Schlatt had known he was going to the police station, so that extra hour hadn’t been enough to raise suspicion.  Quackity needs an excuse if he gets back and Schlatt’s boys are waiting, saying Schlatt had been trying to get ahold of him.

Ask forgiveness or permission, huh?

Permission, Schlatt could just say no.  Obviously his request would be a lie, going out with classmates, something boring, with people he’d already established with Schlatt that he hated.  He’d already warned Karl it was a possibility, him not showing up, but he wanted this.  He didn’t want Schlatt to decide for him and to spend the rest of the night with him thinking about the other way it could have gone.  But forgiveness… forgiveness could get ugly.  Schlatt gets really impatient, Quackity comes home and gets dragged to his place, Schlatt asks where he was, that old lie of “I fell asleep at the library,” had stopped working when Schlatt had asked which library and had started calling him there, not that Quackity had known that until he’d seen Schlatt next and he’d asked him why the library clerk hadn’t been able to find him when he called, “didn’t think you were a heavy sleeper, huh?”   That had gotten ugly.

So maybe Quackity says something innocuous like “oh, some boring dinner with a professor, the whole class was there, it would’ve looked bad if I hadn’t gone.  I’m so sorry I forgot to tell you, I almost forgot about it at all.” some nice, desperate groveling.  But he still pays for it.  Quackity needs to decide if going through with this, if he’ll be able to hold onto that, whatever happens when he comes back to Schlatt.

It’s a fucking movie.  You should be able to go see a fucking movie without being this scared.

With something almost vengeful, Quackity grabs his keys.

He parks down the street from the theater.  Quackity spends too much time on the West side.  That’s where the University actually is, the housing he’d ended up living in because it was cheap and closer to Schlatt is off campus, but again, he has a car.  Maybe he should feel safer this side of the river, Schlatt doesn’t have any power here, but it’s all so fucking uptight and fancy and the cops act like they own the place.  Quackity can blend in relatively well.  He owns a few suits, he can name the fancy law school he’s attending, but that only holds up in conversation with these people until they ask him what do your parents do for a living?  He’s meant to be a lawyer.  He’s good at fighting with his words, especially with the fucking idiots in charge over here.

Quackity stands outside the theater, it’s much bigger than any of the ones on the East side, newer.  He feels agitated.  What if Karl had already gone inside?  It’s after seven.

“Q!” Karl shouts his name, drawing many looks.

“Jesus Christ– Karl, don’t–” Quackity puts a hand over his chest.  “Don’t scare me like that–”

“Sorry!  Sorry, I didn’t want you to think I didn’t show,” Karl says breathlessly.

Quackity stares at him.  “You walked here?”

“Uh, yeah.  I don’t have a car.”

“There’s– You could’ve gotten a cab, or–”

“No!  No, it’s fine, really–”

“I could’ve picked you up, man, what if you’d shown up here and I hadn’t been able to come?” Quackity frowns.

Karl shrugs.  “I dunno.  Don’t worry about it, okay?  I made it, and so did you!  It’s only like, ten after, we probably just missed the previews, come on,” Karl grabs his hand and heads up to the booth.

Quackity feels startled, staring at Karl’s hand holding onto his.  He doesn’t pull away.  The movie is good.  Karl looking at Quackity every time he laughs is better.

“So?” They leave the theater, and Karl is looking at him too hopefully.

“So, what?”

“Did you like it?”

“Oh, oh, yeah.  I did,” Quackity nods.

Karl smiles at him and Quackity feels honored.  “Okay, okay good!  Did you know coconuts do migrate?”

“What?” Quackity laughs.

“Yeah!  Yeah, they float between islands!  That’s migrating!” Karl says excitedly.

“I mean, I guess?!”

“What’d you mean guess?  It’s a fact!” Karl grins.  “Hey– Hey, d’you want to head over to Kings Park?  It’s still early and I am so sick of sitting still now.”

“Uh,” Quackity glances down at his watch.  It’s almost 9.  The sun hasn’t even set all the way yet.  He should leave.  He doesn’t want to.  “Yeah, yeah sure.”

“Okay, okay cool!” Karl goes skipping ahead to the park across the street, Quackity following more slowly, hands buried in his pockets.  It’s cooler now, the summer days punishing, but this is easier.  He doesn’t know how Karl keeps that coat on.  No wonder he gets stopped by the cops, wearing a coat right now is bound to look shady,

Karl hops up onto the low stone wall circling the park, walking along it with careful balance.

“Careful, dude you’re gonna fall on your ass,” Quackity doesn’t know why he feels worried for him as he tilts dangerously.

“Nope!” Karl says brightly.  “If you’re nervous why don’t you come over here?” Karl waves his hand, offering it to him.

Quackity hesitates only for a moment.  He takes it, letting Karl use him for balance as he continues to walk along the wall.  Quackity looks up at him, face too soft, too young, as he stares at his footsteps with utter concentration, lit by the shop windows across the street, he glows.  Quackity’s chest aches, bittersweet, as he marvels at something surely not meant for him.

“You gonna catch me?”

“Why would I have to c–”

Quackity’s yearning is replaced by panic as Karl almost falls on top of him, Quackity grabbing his waist out of panicked instinct and helping him back onto even ground.

“What the fuck– you can’t just drop in on me like that,” Quackity says flusteredly, quick to let go, even as he’s holding back a laugh.

“Aw but you did such a good job!” Karl smiles goofily.

“A little more warning next time,” Quackity tries to scold him, but he’s smiling too, even with those words, next time, echoing in the back of his head.  “Hey, uh, I just… I just want to apologize again.  For the other day.  Me calling you like that, it wasn’t cool–”

“You don’t have to apologize for that,” Karl sounds too sincere.

Quackity laughs nervously, “uh, well, it’s not something I normally do or was planning on doing, and was kind of a shit second impression, so, just let me say it, okay?”

“Okay, I mean.  Yeah, you can say what you want, but you don’t have to,” Karl shrugs, sauntering deeper into the park, Quackity close behind him.  Karl runs ahead up to the bridge over an artificial pond.

He turns around, planting himself in the middle of the bridge and holding out a hand to block Quackity’s path.  “Stop!  Who would cross the bridge must answer me these questions three, uh,” Karl fumbles for the rest of the line, “if the other side to see?”

Quackity laughs, “really?  I mean, I’m not really on a quest for the holy grail, am I?  It’s a public park.”

“No,” Karl shakes his head.  “That’s the rule!  You gotta answer my questions, or I won’t let you across.”

“Okay, fine, go on, what’d you got?  The capital of Newfoundland or something?”

“What is…” A weighted, well measured pause.  “Your name?”

Quackity immediately falters.  Karl is still lighthearted, he doesn’t mean anything by it and Quackity doesn’t have to answer, but it’s not fucking fair that just answering honestly feels dangerous.

“Um, do you want to phone a friend?” Karl whispers.  “I can give you the first and last letter.”  The pause continues.  “And all the letters in between, I guess, Technically.”

“Quackity.”

“What?”

“My name.  It’s Quackity.”

Karl looks surprised for a moment.  “Oh!”  He doesn’t seem to know what to do now.  “Do you… do you want me to call you that, or Q?”

Quackity shrugs.  “Either works.”

“Okay, cool.  Guess I couldn’t have told you all the letters, then,” Karl is staring at him, eyes too wide, too earnest.  Everything about Karl feels like too much.  He’s too kind, too attentive, too fun to be around.

“Do I get to cross the bridge now?” Quackity teases.

“It’s three questions.  Unless you wanna fight your way across,” Karl raises his fists, giving a few fumbling jabs at the air.

“Shit, dude, has no one ever taught you how to throw a punch?  Or are you kidding right now?” Quackity is almost amazed by his clumsiness.

“Um, I’m supposed to ask the questions, actually,” Karl says pompously.  “And why do you think I’d know how to throw a punch?  In what situation?”

“Dude, you’re– You’re running around the city with a bunch of expensive shit in your jacket,” Quackity says exasperatedly.  “Do you at least carry a knife?”

“No?  The cops have enough to fine me for when they pick me up without adding a knife to things,” Karl scoffs.

“Fuck, man.  You’re hopeless,” Quackity sighs.  “Come’re,” he nods Karl in front of him.  “Show me what you just did again.”  Quackity winces.  “Okay, now try like this,” Quackity slowly demonstrates, “turn your wrist and move forward as you do it.”

Karl watches him carefully, making a hesitant attempt.

“Let me,” Quackity steps up behind him, his hand covering Karl’s, curving his fist for him.  Karl glances back at him over his shoulder, looking almost mesmerized, his cheeks are dusted pink, but maybe they always are.  Quackity is suddenly aware of Karl against his chest, their faces inches apart.  He steps back.  “Like… like that,” he doesn’t look at Karl’s face now.  

“Cool,” Karl’s voice comes out a little hoarse.  He clears his throat.  “I’ll be a boxing champ before you know it.”

Quackity laughs dryly.  “Uh, it’s getting late, I should… I should probably go,” he shifts from foot to foot.

“Yeah!  Yeah, for sure.  This was really fun, dude.”

“Yeah, uh.  I mean, d’you want a ride home?” Quackity offers.

Karl is still especially smiley.  “Yeah, that’d be great.”

They’re quieter on the drive over.  Quackity parks outside Karl’s building, but Karl doesn’t get out just yet.

“You could come up, if you wanted.  Not for…” Karl pauses.  “Just to like, keep talking…”

“I, uh.  I gotta get going,” Quackity says it like an apology.

“Okay,” Karl nods, getting out.  “But… you have my number, and I have yours, right?  I’ll call you.  Or you’ll call me.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Karl gives him another smile, too soft, too gentle, why is he so gentle?  “Good night, Quackity.”

Quackity feels a shiver run up his spine.  Quackity.  “Good night, Karl.”

Quackity drives home feeling this irritating mixture of content and uneasy.  He had fun tonight.  More fun than he’s had in a long time.  It also feels wrong.  He hadn’t kissed Karl tonight, but he’d stood so close to him, he’d held his hand, and somehow that almost feels worse.  Before Quackity can make up his mind, to be happy for himself or not, he finds he doesn’t have have a choice.  Three unpleasantly familiar faces have made camp outside of his building, smoking and talking amongst themselves until one of them points out Quackity’s car.  Quackity could leave.  He could fucking reverse out of here and make himself Karl’s problem for the night.  He has no right to do that.  Quackity parks the car.  Schlatt’s boys don’t come closer, they wait.  They know he’s not stupid enough to run.  Quackity no longer needs to worry himself with his conflicting emotions, instead it is easily drowned out by dread.

~

It’s been a few days and Karl doesn’t really know what to make of… whatever the past few days had been.  Quackity is entitled to his secrets, it’s not like Karl is squeaky clean.  He had called Quackity again, another flatmate had answered, shortly said “he’s not here.”

Karl had asked him to take a message, the response had been irritable and dismissive.

“I’ll do it, but he probably won’t be back to see it for a few days,” and hung up.  So he’ll give it a few more days.

Karl keeps himself busy.  He is good at his job, better than most, but half his profits go to his debts, and what remains gets divided between the cheap rent he gets staying in a one room apartment the size of a generous closet and scrounging enough together for food.  Karl is getting more tempted to give up on paying rent and take up Tina’s offer of her couch.

Karl has also, annoyingly, had to move street corners.  A cop had been watching him all morning.  Here he is, in a new part of the city he’s not used to working, feeling irritated that last week he had to cough up all of that day’s earnings to keep out of jail.  That had set him back enough to warrant a breakdown.  Although apparently not enough for him not to waste most of his food budget on buying a pizza for the drunk guy who had called him out of nowhere.

Karl had been called sweet before, less often had he been called cautious.

He sees a couple of guys in suits out of the corner of his eye and turns toward them.  Then he sees a familiar face.  “Oh hey Q–!”

Quackity’s eyes widen, he looks horrified, quickly shaking his head.

“...Uh,” Karl doesn’t know what to do now.  The man beside Quackity turns to face him.

“This guy bothering you, sugar?” He puts his arm around Quackity’s waist, pulling him close.  He’s older.  Probably in his 30s.  His voice is rough and unfriendly, his mutton chops add to the aggressive energy he exudes.  He gives Karl a once over, scathing and unimpressed.

“C-Can I help you?” Quackity’s words come out almost disinterested, if not a bit hoarse, as he still stares at Karl, begging him for something, or rather begging him for nothing, begging him to say nothing, to do nothing, to get out now.

Karl is distracted from Quackity’s pleading gaze by a ring of purple around his neck, so blatant that Karl can see where his thumbs dug into Quackity’s throat.  He looks between Quackity and the stranger and feels nauseous.

“The fuck do you want?” The man sneers.

“Um,” Karl is trying so hard to think.  He doesn’t know what he’s meant to do, or how to help.  So he goes with his default.  “...d’you wanna buy a watch?”

The man laughs, harsh and loud.  Karl sees Quackity flinch.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Um. No?”

The man still only looks amused.  He smirks.  “Sure you don’t recognize the name JSchlatt?”

Karl pales, feeling as if he’d skipped a step going down the stairs.  “…oh god.”

Schlatt laughs again and Karl isn’t sure why but he feels humiliated, he thinks, fleetingly, that Quackity might too from the way he’s staring at the ground.  “Yeah, yeah.  I’ll let you go this time just for the fuckin’ look on your face, but next time be careful who you try selling to,” Schlatt pulls Quackity in closer, keeping him literally pinned to his side, “you never know who they might belong to.”

Quackity doesn’t say anything, staring at the cracked concrete like a puzzle he’s struggling to solve.  He lets Schlatt press a messy kiss against his temple.

“Right.” Karl feels frozen, he’s staring at Schlatt’s hand on Quackity’s waist, the way his fingertips dig in.  “Sorry.”

“Okay now get the fuck outta here.”

Karl is frozen for another moment.  He thinks about how Quackity had showed him how to throw a punch.  He turns and leaves.

Karl doesn’t know where he is going.  He doesn’t know what he’s thinking or what he’s supposed to do, but now he understands what “taken, sort of,” means.  It means one of the most dangerous men in the city has him in an apparently literal stranglehold.

Karl also now understands “get shot hurt.”

That fact echoing in the back of his head is the only thing stopping him from turning back around and telling Quackity, “please come home with me, and don’t ever leave,” even if he barely knows the guy.  Somehow the more he learns about him, the less he feels like he actually understands.

How did Quackity end up dating JSchlatt?  Quackity is surely his age, early 20s, and Schlatt is definitely not that.

Quackity had called him, drunk and desperate.  Karl had arrived and it had taken minutes for Quackity first try to kiss him and ended up crying not soon after.  That, combined with the smug face he’d seen today, almost scared him more than the bruises.  The bruises really scared him, though.  Karl doesn’t know what to do.  So he goes home, and he waits for a phone call.  He falls asleep still waiting, and the following morning has to decide if he’s going to try and earn some money today or keep waiting for a phone call that might not come.  He didn’t have a bunch of roommates to irritatedly take a message for him.  So Karl leaves, and hopes he doesn’t miss it.

Quackity isn’t planning on calling Karl, and he certainly isn’t expecting a call from him first.  He’d ruined it.  Ruined something he shouldn’t have had in the first place, as if he’d ever had it at all.  It had been a pipe dream, a stupid, fleeting choice that had been doomed to blow up in both of their faces.  This is better, surely.  Quackity would let Karl fade from his mind, if only remembered for the brief horror at the sight of him accompanied by Schlatt.  Quackity had done his best not to look at him, but he still saw, of course he fucking saw Karl staring at Schlatt’s hand on his hip like it was something dead or monstrous.

It was humiliating.

Quackity hadn’t planned on leaving the house at all that day.  He’d been stuck at Schlatt’s since he’d been dragged there after his date– not a date, his whatever– with Karl.  Whether or not Schlatt had believed his excuse of some boring dinner with his class was irrelevant.  Quackity had still paid for it.  He’d called his professors and said he’d come down with something, his ragged voice was more than enough to convince them.  So he’d stayed at the house, tiptoeing around Schlatt and trying to get back in his good graces.

Tubbo, the only other person to talk to in that house, had avoided him like the plague, like Quackity’s ability to incur Schlatt’s wrath might rub off on him.  Still, even if Tubbo wasn’t much for conversation or company, he was still something.  The boy moved silently through the house with well-practiced precision, the closest thing to an interaction the two of them had had was Tubbo padding into the kitchen at the same time as him the morning after the worst of it.  He’d gone to the cabinet at the right of the sink, had placed a bottle of aspirin in front of where Quackity sat at the counter, head in his hands, coffee going cold in front of him.  He’d left the room before Quackity had even noticed it.

Schlatt had been perfectly civil most of the time, but there was still that edge of warning that made it painful for Quackity to swallow, for more reason than one.

Schlatt had said, “let’s go out.  You’re turning into a fucking shut in, d’you know that?” despite being the primary reason Quackity was waiting for permission to leave the house.

Quackity hadn’t wanted to.  The bruises weren’t yet faded.  It was summer, he couldn’t get away with a scarf.  But who is there to run into on the East side?  All of his colleagues would be on campus across the river.  And of-fucking-course out of all the people to see, it had to be Karl.

“What a pathetic lookin’ guy.  Did you see the look on his fucking face?  Thought he was gonna piss himself when I said my name,” Schlatt laughs, arm still around him, still digging in enough to bruise.  Maybe his behavior is just overprotective, more like territorial.

“Yeah,” Quackity replies as he’s expected to.  He almost wants to turn back and see if Karl is still in his line of sight.  He doesn’t dare.  You ruined it, HQ.  Because of course you did.  It wasn’t yours to fucking ruin anyway.  Quackity is swallowed by shame.  He doesn't know when he became this passive in his own captivity.

“Why’ve you been so mopey lately, babe?” Schlatt responds to his reservations with patronization.  Schlatt hasn’t taken his hands off of him since they left the house.

They’re in public.  Quackity knows no one can really stop Schlatt, if they tried, again, all it took was Schlatt’s name and they’d leave him to it, but maybe it just makes him a little bolder to think there would be witnesses.

“I dunno, maybe I’m just a little sullen, ‘cause you fucking choked me out for not telling you exactly where I was 24 hours a day?” Quackity snaps, pulling away from Schlatt’s hold on him.

Schlatt holds on tighter before he can break free, arm wrapping around Quackity’s ribs and squeezing like he’s trying to crush the life out of him, he leans in close, his beard scratching Quackity’s neck as he whispers through gritted teeth, “maybe I wouldn’t have to choke you out if you remembered your place, eh?”

Quackity remains rigid as a board, not deigning to retort when Schlatt seemed already close to cracking a rib.

“Huh?” Schlatt goads him to snap back.  Quackity refuses, refusing to even flinch when Schlatt jostles him like he’s a rag doll.  Schlatt still takes too much satisfaction in his silence.  “That’s what I fucking thought.  You’re my bitch.”

Quackity is furious.  All he can think of is the look on Karl’s face, even as Quackity had tried to ignore it, when Schlatt had said he belonged to him.

“No, I’m– No, I’m done for today,” Quackity, with a sudden burst of fight, squirms free of Schlatt’s hold, stomping on his foot a one point, and pushing Schlatt hard enough that he almost stumbles, just to get him to let go.

“Done with fucking what?!” Schlatt snarls, grabbing onto Quackity’s wrist with a vice-like hold.  “Don’t you walk away from me!  Were you not listening?”

“No!  No you’re gonna fucking listen to me, Schlatt, you’re pushing too far.  So I am going to go home for today, and I will call you tomorrow, okay?” Quackity twists free.  He knows how to turn his wrist so Schlatt is forced to let go, even if he knows his grip is already going to bruise.

“You don’t decide that shit, you got that?  You’re fucking pathetic– You think you can boss me around?  Maybe if you try lifting a little more, sweetheart, but you’re like a fucking baby bird–” Schlatt makes the mistake of going to grab onto him again.

Quackity snaps.

With expert precision, he swings at Schlatt’s jaw, fist turning with his wrist, just as he’d shown Karl.  Schlatt doesn’t fall.  He does stagger back, leaning against a streetlight to keep his balance.  Quackity doesn’t wait around for Schlatt to return the favor.  Quackity thinks turning and running might be the bravest thing he’s done in the past two years.

[boldlyvoid]

Amoreena | chapter twelve

Chapter Twelve

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: spencers mom has a bad day at the doctor's and so spencer thinks he's going to have a bad day too but he ends up having the best day of his entire life.

talk of pregnancy, celebratory sex, oral (female receiving), grinding, no penetration, serious deep talks after sex about their most depressive episodes, sharing trauma and making sure they know the other is loved regardless of what goes on in their mind. it's a rough one so read with caution

word count: 4.5K

from the beginning <3

He was up before Amoreena, awaking for the second time that morning to the sound of his alarm, kissing Y/N on the forehead before leaving their bed, she simply laid there and watched him get ready.

Most of his clothes were here now, every time he was near his apartment he brought more and more things home with him. Because that wasn’t his home, it hadn’t been for a long time, even when he lived there it was just a trove of books and a bed he slept on occasionally.

They were probably going to move all his stuff over in the summer, after the second wedding… after the girls meet Taylor, and hopefully when Y/N’s actually pregnant and not too sick or tired to help.

“Come here,” she whispers before he can slip out of the room, “kiss your wife.”

He can’t help but smile as he bounds towards the bed, jumping in and wrapping her up in his arms. He smothers her face in kisses, making her laugh, still half asleep as she let him manhandle her.

“I love you,” he reminded her.

“We love you too,” she replied with a smile, answering for Amoreena even though she was still asleep down the hall, “don’t wake her up yet, she needs all her rest for today.”

“I’ll be quiet,” he responds with a smile, kissing her again before he finally gets out of the bed, if not he would have stayed there forever.

He tiptoes down the hall and into Amoreena’s room, kissing her sweet little forehead lightly before exiting just as quietly. It was like he was never there.

He snuck down the stairs quietly, locked the door behind himself on the way out, and took off down the driveway in his old blue Volvo amazon, paying extra attention to the path for any kitties or Rufus out on their morning strolls.

It didn’t take long for a happy day to go sour when he was in a doctor's office with his mom. Those were the worst places he could go with her, especially on a bad day. Her mind was playing tricks on her, she really didn’t like hospitals or government buildings, even lawyers' offices stressed her out.

Today she was convinced he wasn’t really her son, Spencer, and that he was actually leading her to be a government experiment. It was hard to see her struggle, especially on a day they needed to ask her serious questions while she sat still. It was the fact she had to stay awake for 24 hours that triggered the episode, the EEG requiring her mind to be deprived of sleep. It was rough, she barely knew him. They wouldn’t have the test results for a while but he already knew it wasn’t good.

He dropped her back off at the home as quickly as he could, not able to deal with the verbal abuse any longer, he didn’t even say goodbye. The woman he dropped off was his mother on the outside but not on the inside today. It was really hard to look at her and know her, but not see that same look in her eyes.

By the time he’s returning to the farm, it’s 11:45 and he’s exhausted.

He finds Y/N in the bedroom, lying in bed in just a t-shirt and her underwear, completely sound asleep with the blankets thrown off the bed. She looks so beautiful, he slips out of his clothes to match her, sliding into bed beside her and just looking at her perfect face.

He presses a kiss to her shoulder that startles her awake, “oh god, Spencer!” she places her hand on her heart as she calms down.

“Sorry,” he smiles, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in closer.

“How’s your mom?” Her tired words meet his ears and his smile dies.

“Not great, really don’t want to talk about it yet,” he was honest with her, snuggling in closer as she hummed in agreement to drop it. “How was Amoreena’s morning?”

“I told Amoreena I wouldn’t tell you, but I don’t need to you to freak out in front of all the kids or cry or pass out in front of all them, but there’s a positive pregnancy test on her all about me project,” she explains it like she’s about to say it’s just Amoreena’s from 8 years ago…

He pulls back slowly, looking into her eyes as she smiles wider and wider, “you’re pregnant?”

She nods her head as her smile gets bigger and toothier, she’s wrapping her arms around him so tight it’s like he can’t breathe for multiple reasons.

“We did it, Spencer, I made you a daddy again,��� the words carry from her mouth in a beautiful tune.

He’s holding her back so gently, afraid to squeeze too hard and hurt her and the tiny little life that’s starting inside her. He’s silent, overjoyed but absolutely dumbstruck at the fact it’s real. A month ago he thought about walking into traffic after work and just seeing what happened, now he was a father of 2 with a wife and a happy farm and a life that was good.

A life he deserved.

All thanks to a beautiful little girl with an interest in dinosaurs and making new friends. Amoreena was an angel sent from heaven, improving both of their lives greatly, and now they were making another.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, oh my god yes, I’m just,” he didn’t know what words to say and it was evident. “Amoreena knows?”

She nodded softly, “she now knows girl parts make eggs, boy parts make sperm, and that adults have sex but you can only make a baby at 25, she really didn’t seem to be all that interested in the science, but she’s excited to be a big sister.”

“Wow,” it all caught up to him then, he placed his hand on her stomach softly, “hi little one.”

Y/N laid back against the bed, pulling her shirt up so he could see the barely-there bump, “It’s mostly leftover’s from Amoreena, but yeah, there’s another one in there.”

He couldn’t help himself from running his hands over the curve of her stomach, thinking about Amoreena being in there once upon a time and how tiny she must have been. It was even weirder to think that a part of her was once even in him.

“It’s strange to think that I jerked off into a cup and you made the most perfect kid on earth with it… it just feels like it doesn’t add up. She’s so perfect I can’t believe she was once a part of us both,” he can’t help but let his inner monologue seep out, she didn’t mind it, she loved hearing how his mind worked.

“I can’t wait to see you holding this little one,” her hands joined his on her stomach, the shape of her forefingers and thumbs making a heart over her bare belly.

Spencer leaned in and kissed right in the middle, beside her belly button, in love with whoever was in there already.

“Amoreena had a dream last night too,” Y/N cuts into his little moment, “guess how many sisters she said she had.”

“8?” Spencer can’t help but smile.

She nods, “I don’t know what it is about this house but the good dreams always come true, who knows how many babies are in there right now.”

“I hope just one for now,” he says in all honesty, “I really want time with just one little one, you and Amoreena. A family of four for a bit and then the twins, that’s how it was in the dream.”

“Did they have names?”

“You called them Elly, Junie, tho and Cordelia, and you said there were 3 sets of twins, two after Cordelia,” he remembers it all as if he was really there, whispering all the words against her stomach, his cheek resting on the band of her underwear as he laid between her legs with his arms around her.

“Amoreena, Elizabeth, Juniper, Theodora, and Cordelia were all the options I was choosing from last time,” she says with the widest smile, “how the heck did your mind know that?”

“It felt very real, which is why I was so worried about where I was, I don’t know how I could have missed anything but now I know that part was just my anxiety,” Spencer rationalized it. “Amoreena probably had the better version of that future in her dream last night.”

“I was having a great dream before you came back,” she teases him, running her fingers through his hair as he continues to kiss her stomach.

He loops his fingers around the band of her underwear, sliding it down just low enough to really kiss where that baby of his is hiding out. She lifts her hips into the contact, letting him slip them down her legs and completely off, she spreads her legs even more.

He takes his time pressing a kiss to every single inch of her, her skin is soft, her leg hair is prickly on his hands and his cheeks but it’s nice, he rubs his face against her like a cat marking his territory as she continued to scratch his scalp.

He spread her open with two fingers, he presses a soft kiss to her clitoris and all the way down to her opening before licking a wet stripe up the sensitive skin. The moan she releases is the loudest one he’s heard on her yet, it was really the first time he’s been allowed to really enjoy her.

“It’s important for your partner to help with the stretching in the third trimester,” she teases him, “but they don’t mention anything about starting too early being a bad thing.”

“I don’t want to disrupt anything in there,” he worries aloud, letting her decide if it’s okay.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she laughed, “I don’t think you’d reach them, but if you’re really worried there are other ways to help.”

“Such as,” he asks, lowering his face back down to her wet heat, continuing to explore her with his tongue as he expects her to talk.

“You, um you can, shit, wow,” she props herself up on her elbows to get a better look at what he’s doing as she stalls for a few minutes, “just rub yourself over me, Spencer please, I want more of you.”

She grips him by his cheeks and pulls him up into a kiss, both of them rushing to push his boxers down and off his legs, she spreads her own once more so he can press against her.

His hard cock resting flat against her, rubbing back and forth as he spreads her wetness around with him. The head gliding over her clit just the right way as she held him close to her body, kissing down his neck and sucking marks all over his chest.

She was desperate for him and who was he to deprive her, so he rocked into her more, grinding down harder against her body and making her shaking lightly. It felt better, more intimate, more euphoric than any other sex he’s had, just being close to her had him on the edge faster than he expected to get there.

She’s chanting his name then, head tossed back against the pillow as she digs her fingers into his asscheeks, holding him so close to him he can feel her orgasm rush through her. She stills, bucking up into him one last time as he finishes all across her stomach.

His hands are curled around her cheeks then, holding her perfect face in his hands as he hovers over her, using everything in his power to not crush her or the baby. He’s trying so hard to steady his breathing, so is she, they just smile at each other, laughing lightly at how in love they are.

“I love you,” he says on impulse, “you’re so good to me.”

“Look at all the good you’ve given me,” she whispers, “it would be wrong for me not to love you for everything you’ve done for me, whether you were aware of it or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not going to tell you about my depression while your cum dries between us like glue,” she laughed at how crude it sounded.

He laughs lightly too, rolling off her to see just how much of a mess they made. “Tell me in the shower?”

“Seems appropriate,” she agreed, taking his hand and following him into the bathroom.

He loved the old feel of her bathroom, the green linoleum and floral wallpaper, the pink towels and bright orange shower curtain, it was happy and bright and the perfect place to laugh for half an hour as they washed each other.

She has him pressed against the shower wall then, water trickling over them gently as she stares into his eyes, “I don’t know how to say it without it coming out really scary,” she finally resumes the conversation they were about to have in the bedroom.

“I’ve probably been in the same mental state, I’m not going to judge your method of choice,” he explains it in a way that she’ll know he really, really gets it.

“I had a few suicidal thoughts when my grandma went to chemo before I chose your sample and before I did all the hormones, I was thinking why should I stay and bring another life into my misery when I could just die first and not have to see her go through that anymore,” she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth as she stops, letting him digest all the words.

“Did you try anything?” He’s not sure why he’s asking.

She shakes her head, the best no he’s ever seen in his life. “My grandma noticed on my birthday when I wasn't coming down for breakfast like normal, I was really depressed and so we went out and talked and had lunch together for the first time in forever cause she wasn't feeling sick, I’ll never forget it. It was the best and worst birthday of my life.”

“I’m the worst husband ever,” he says, taking her by surprise, “I don’t even know your birthday.”

It makes her laugh, taking her out of the sadness as she realizes he really doesn’t judge her, he gets it completely. “January 16th, 1986, three minutes after Evan,” she manages to say it with a smile.

“That’s the date Maeve died,” both of them stare at each other in shock, wondering just how many other coincidences they had out there to figure out.

“How many days after did you donate?”

“On the 19th,” he confirmed without taking a breath, “holy shit.”

“We both were suicidal on the same day,” she covers her mouth with a wet slap, laughing at the worst thing she’s ever said, it’s the shock and the emotions of everything catching up to her right then and there.

“Oh my god,” he laughs in response, both of them laughing as they hugged in the corner of her green shower. “we are fucked up.”

“Soulmate things,” she shrugged, holding him even tighter.

He wished she could see his face then, the looking that overcame him as he heard the word soulmates. She just called him her soulmate. He licks his lips, taking it all in and almost hyperventilating, she can feel the way his breathing changes as she looks up with concern.

“What?”

He shakes the thoughts out, swallowing sharply as he makes eye contact with her, “nothing.”

“No, I know that look Spencer, what did your brain say to you this time? I will go in there and kick its ass,” she pokes his forehead then, threatening his anxiety to fuck off.

“I never thought I’d get to hear someone say that to me, it’s stupid,” he felt too vulnerable suddenly, sky and closed off.

“Who hurt you?” She asks in complete curiosity, wanting to know why he can’t imagine someone loving him.

“My parents,” it slips out before he can catch it, “I love my mom. I always have to preface that, she did what she could but it was nowhere near enough. I don’t hold anything against her, I just hate that that’s how it was, that she had bad days at all because they always shine brighter in my memory than the good days.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed you,” she worries this time, seeing the hurt on his face and feeling like she fucked up, he can read her micro-expressions easier than anyone else.

“I would have told you soon enough, my dad left because of my mom's illness and he made sure I knew he didn’t want me. I don’t care that he kept up with me on the internet, the fact he didn’t even care to let me know he lived 10 miles from me my whole life makes me feel sick. I was 14 point 6 miles away from Amoreena this whole time and I would give all my fucking organs to go back in time and be with her from day 1, I don’t get how he could just not love me?” The rant comes out of his mouth for the first time ever, the same thoughts that have been there building for 40 years bursting at the seam.

She reaches behind them to turn off the water then, stepping away from him while he cools down a bit, “Yeah, no I get it, I hate him too now. That's so fucked up, honey, I'm so sorry.”

It makes him huff out a laugh, “I’m sorry, you’re not my therapist you don’t have to deal with all that.”

“I’m your wife, I deal with that regardless. In sickness and in health remember?” She reminds him, “depression is just as real of an illness as cancer. I don’t want you to keep these thoughts from me. I want to know about every paper cut, every splinter, every bad thought that crosses that beautiful mind because I love you.”

“As long as you always remember that too,” he makes sure that she knows he feels the same. “Don’t keep anything from me thinking it’ll ruin the happy atmosphere of this kingdom, Amoreena would tell you that a castle is only as strong as its weakest brick. If you crack we all tumble.”

“My foundations are strong, if not Derek’s a renovator right?” She raised her eyebrows, making another joke. They were always going to be okay.

“Speaking of, how are we going to house all 12 of these children you plan on having?”

"We, smartie pants, we are having," she tosses the shower curtain out of the way then, stepping out and wrapping herself in a towel, “I was thinking we add a few more rooms, nanny and pop were always adding on to this place, it would be nice to fix it up a bit.”

“I can see if Derek wants to help, or we can find a contractor?”

“Well, Alli still has another 8 weeks till her baby comes, so you might as well do something with Derek here in that time,” she agrees with a smile, “my nanny left everything to me, so I have a decent amount saved still for whatever you guys think the house can handle, I just want it done safely, and it has to match.”

She was bossy, he loved every second of it. “Yes ma’am,” he smiles as he steps out, drying off beside her.

Y/N couldn’t stop smiling at him as she watched him fluff his curly wet hair in the mirror, “how would you like to go out and get our first kid a big sister present before the graduation?”

“We never had a chance to read on Saturday, would you want to get her a big sister book and read at the tree?” Spencer suggests, making eye contact with her reflection in the mirror, even backwards she’s beautiful.

She nods with a smile, “sounds great, daddy.”

He wraps his arms around her before she can leave the room, kissing her neck and shoulder as she squirms, trying to get away from him but failing on purpose. “Spencer, seriously we have to go.”

“Then don’t call me daddy,” he whispers in her ear, and he can physically feel the way it excites her.

“We will revisit this later,” she says with a stern look as she pulls away finally, dropping the towel on purpose as she walks towards her new closet.

She was going to be the death of him, and hopefully, that wasn’t for a long time. Hopefully, he thought right then and there, that the moment he finally does die, he dies is beside her. Happily in his sleep, as they’re in their 90’s, and in a perfect world she’d slip away with him.

“Can I ask a dumb question?” He rushes the words out, taking her up on that offer of hearing all the bad thoughts.

“Always,” she smiles.

“When we get to heaven, stay with me? Pick me instead of Stephen for the forever part?” He’s not sure why he’s crying, or why he’s thinking about it. But it’s where his mind went and she said she’d always follow.

She tilts her head to the side, dropping her shoulders as she sighs, “we can set Stephen and Maeve up with each other.”

It makes him smile, she always knew what to say. “Who knows, they could be the reason all this happened.”

She nods then, “I like the thought of that, they deserve to be happy together, I’m sure they would like each other.”

He really believed they were soulmates then, that something bigger set up all these dominoes and he was so excited to watch them fall. To see where they landed, the beautiful pattern that they would reveal. The wonderful world he was creating with her was always going to be amazing because something greater than them said so.

—

She looked more beautiful than he’s ever seen her as they rolled up to the school. She was physically glowing, her hair was perfect, her dress laid over her stomach in the right way that he could see proof she was with child, even if she called it leftovers from the last one. It was his favourite part of her, it was where she made the best person they knew.

They walked around to the back gate, hand in hand, smiling wide as they walked into the little classroom. There were balloons and streamers everywhere, they had little cupcakes all set up and all of them were in matching blue caps and gowns.

Amoreena waved at them when she saw them, not allowed to leave her seat from where they were practicing their ceremony. It was unbelievably adorable, Spencer couldn’t help but be that Dad who took a million photos on his cellphone. He was never going to miss another moment.

JJ wrapped her arm around him sneakily, startling him as she hugged him, “hello Spencer Reid, father and husband,” she teased him. “Still weird thinking of you as a dad.”

He wanted to tell her, but she’d know soon anyway once she saw the all about me project, “shit,” Y/N says from behind him as she realizes too. “Tell her.”

“We’re having another one,” Spencer whispers in JJ’s ear before she can even react.

She smacks his side as she pulls back, staring at him with her mouth wide open. The same face Henry made when he saw Y/N for the first time, completely shocked and nervous, “oh my god?”

He nodded, “we’re not telling anyone, I was supposed to find out on her all about me project but she didn’t want me to pass out in front of all the kids.”

It made JJ laugh, shrugging as she agreed with the idea, she pulled away from him and wrapped Y/N up in her arms, hugging her ever so softly. Y/N closed her eyes and pressed their cheeks together as she accepted the thank you, knowing JJ was just happy to see Spencer succeed.

She placed a hand on Y/N’s tummy before pulling away fully, “I always hoped I’d see the day where Spencer made a little genius, I still can’t believe Amoreena is his sometimes, that hasn’t really hit me yet, but this… this is real. I’m so happy for you.”

Y/N cried a little, wiping her eyes as she laughed it off, “okay, sorry this is a big day for me, my first baby is graduating, this baby is trying to grow a heartbeat, it’s all a lot.”

“I get it, believe me,” JJ agreed, placing her hand on Y/N’s lover back and holding her close to her side. Bonding in that moment, making Spencer’s heart swell.

“Where’s the cowboy?” She changed the subject, looking for Will.

“Oh there’s a case in Kentucky, I missed Henry’s graduation, so I’m here for Michaels while he’s on the case, it’s only fair,” she explained with a smile, content with how their life and relationship worked.

“Do you want to sit with us?” Y/N offered, pointing at the folding chairs, taking a seat with JJ in the front, sitting between her and Spencer so she could talk to both of them before the ceremony.

It was lovely having them become friends, his first love and the last one he'd ever have.

They passed out tissues (thank god) before the ceremony, Y/N and Spencer both using at least 5 as they watched Amoreena get her tiny scroll of paper, move the string on her hat to the other side and then wave at them. Spencer took at least 100 photos of her, unable to stop how proud he felt that he made her.

What Amoreena failed to mention was that she was chosen to be the class valedictorian, surprising them with a tiny speech at an even tinier podium. It was so cute, both Spencer and JJ recorded it to remember for later.

“My class chose me to talk to everyone because I’m the oldest, lots of my classmates like to think of me as an older sister,” she smiled right at her parents, hinting at the fact she knew when she thought Spencer didn’t yet.

So he played along, looking surprised at the word choice.

“I’ve had the best two years with all my friends in this classroom, Miss Kennedy was the nicest women they could pick to make sure we learned everything we need to before grade school starts,” her words were definitely chosen by her, possibly reworded by her teacher but definitely from her heart.

“My mom taught me the alphabet, she taught me how to spell and count, she taught me lots of things that miss Kennedy taught in here, at first it was hard being the kid who knew more, but then it was fun getting to help everyone else learn,” she continued with the most enthusiastic voice, going off-script as she thought of more. “My dad, though, he’s taught me how special our family is. How special it is to get to meet new people and learn about the world with them, I’m so glad my parents made me so I could learn with all of you these past 2 years.”

All the parents were crying, she was able to touch the hearts of everyone around her. At the age of 7, she was more well-spoken, more understanding and grateful than any of the adults in that room.

“I’ll see you all on the big kid yard next year!” She cheered, jumping up and down and clapping, all her friends rushed to the stage for a big group hug.

His little girl was so unbelievably loved, the way she deserved.

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

[heyitsmerose]

Ateez Reaction to their s/o calling them when they’re in danger (maknae line)

TW: Sensitive content and mentions of abuse

Word Count: 2.6k

Mature Language*

San: (creep at the beach)

(From the perspective on San’s Girlfriend - read pt.1 for Yunho’s girlfriend’s pov)

You and San were at the beach with the rest of Ateez and their girlfriends. It was a nice way to get away from their busy lifestyles as idols and for everyone to just have a day off. You and Yunho’s girlfriend were quite close and decided to go shell collecting together.

The rest of Ateez’s and Ateez girlfriends were taking pictures, building sand castles and having fun, while Yunho and his Mingi went to go get ice cream for everyone.

You were laughing and giggling with one another, collecting sea shells, and comparing one another’s like kids, until two tall men interrupted the both of you.

“Hey ladies! are you here at the beach to have a fun time?” One of them said. You, being the bubbly and friendly person that you were, decided to respond and make conversation.

“Yeah, we’re just collecting seashells” You smiled back at them 

“with our boyfriends” Yunho’s girlfriend added

“Hey, it’s alright they’re just being nicee” You whispered back to her

“You never know” she just shrugged back

“Anyways, do you girls know where we can pick up some hot ladies” At this point, you looked a little uncomfortable. Who just comes up and asks you stuff like that?

“There’s a bar up ahead, hope you find what youre looking for, it was nice talking to you” Yunho’s girlfriend sternly said. You were glad to have a stricter mom friend like her, she was quick to take charge. She grabbed your arm and turned the opposite direction, and you gladly accepted.

“Hey, no, no wait up, we just want to talk” The other man grabbed her wrist.

“Let go of me” She sternly said. You tried prying his arm off of her wrist but to no avail. You were starting to get a little scared. It was surprising how she was able to keep her composure

“We need to go back now, let me go!” Yunho’s girlfriend yelled at him. At this point your eyes were watering. This was such an overwhelming and scary situation, not to mention, these men were way taller than you and could easily do anything they pleased. That thought gave you shivers.

The man holding Yunho’s girlfriends arm looked to his friend and his friend then looked at you. He walked closer, and you tried taking a step back. Before you could however, he gripped your chin and neck with one of his hands while the other was one your shoulder. You felt disgusted and at this point, the tears were already flowing out your eyes.

“Let go of me!” You yelled at him, trying to step back, only for his nails to further dig into your shoulder

“Let us go!” Yunho’s girlfriend yelled at the both of them. She then managed to kick and shove the one holding you onto the ground and you were free. You looked back at her with watery eyes, she just nodded at you and told you to call someone for help. Looking at the situation you both were in, you got more overwhelmed and fell to the ground with your phone in your hands fumbling on the dial pad, trying to call someone. You called Yunho, as you were scared for his girlfriend. 

[Yunho-yah] You cried on the phone

[Hey, hey, hey, Y/n, what’s wrong]

[We were collecting seashells and these 2 men started talking to us and touching us, please come get us] you tried getting the words out

[What the hell!? both of you stay right there, me and San are coming to get you, don’t worry. Stay on the call with me okay, you’re going to be alright]

[Please hurry, they’re hurting her] You sobbed loudly scared for your friend.

You then looked up to see the one that was holding you before was walking towards you. You tried to stand up, but your legs would not cooperate. The man abruptly pulled you up by your waist as you tried to get out of his grip. 

“Already falling for me, eh?” He said creepily

“No, please let me go” you tried saying as sternly as you could, only for it to come out as a bare whisper. He then proceeded to slip his hands under you white sundress, as you tried getting away. 

“Don’t touch me please! Im begging you!” you tried reasoning, while sobbing loudly.

“Y/N!” you heard your boyfriend San’s voice and relief flooded in. Yunho kicked the guy holding you and then ran to his girlfriend. As soon as the man let go of you, you fell to the sand crying and sobbing. San crouched down to your level and took you in his arms, sitting you on his lap. You hid your face from him trying to look down, however he grabbed your cheeks and made you look at him. You were surprised to see tears in his eyes too, flowing freely.

“What the hell is wrong with those creeps” San yelled as Yunho and his girlfriend both felt bad for the situation you were in. This man had inappropriately touched you, and you were scared.

You were hyperventilating and flinched at his touch and San had never felt more devastated.

“Baby, follow me okay” He guided your hand to his chest to feel his breathing. Soon enough, you started taking longer breaths and were no longer hyperventilating.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to protect you” He said, voice cracking at the end

“It’s not your fault” you reassured him leaning into him further. The last thing you wanted was for him to blame himself. 

For the rest of the afternoon, you noticed how two members had followed you at all times, and how San, specifically never let you out of his sight.

Mingi: (kidnapper)

You and Mingi had just started dating, it had been a few months and you were slowly falling more in love with him. None of you had said it yet though. You lived separately and took turns to go to each other’s houses. You always looked forward to your week, when you had to visit his house though. Upon reaching his house, it was like heaven, it smelled like him and you couldnt have asked for more. Today, it was your turn to go to his house and you were excited to say the least. 

You quickly packed some gum, extra leggings, your phone and a charger with you. You plugged in your favourite song and began skipping down the streets carefree. It was around 4pm so you weren’t really too worried, however one thing that was weird was how empty the streets were. Shrugging it off, you began humming and walking to his house. It was a few blocks away, so you didn’t mind walking. 

After a few turns, you came across an older man, supposedly in his 40s with a young kid. It was quite normal to bring your kids with you on walks around the neighbourhood, so again you just decided to not pay to much attention to it. As you reached closer however, you could hear them arguing over the music, while the older man tried pushing the kid in your direction. You looked away, trying to be less awkward in this situation. The little kid shook their head a few times at the man and he glared at her. She soon ran up to me and tapped your leg. 

“Um, miss, I think you’re really pretty, here is a chocolate for you” The little kid gave you a chocolate and ran away back to the old man. He pat her head and they both turned away. You should realised how big of a red flag this was but, just shrugged it off and ate the chocolate. In a few minutes, you started feeling dizzy. Mingi’s house was still around 5 minutes away, so you just decided to call him to pick you up. You called him and he picked up after a few rings.

[Mingi-ah] You weakly said

[Hey Y/N? you usually never call me like this is everything alright?] he replied

[I don’t know I feel light headed, I’m about 5 minutes from your house, and I-] as soon as you said that you fell to the ground due to weakness.

[Y/N! I heard a thud are you alright?]

[No, I can’t get up, my legs and hands feel numb] you whispered

[Okay wait there I’m coming to get you]

[Okay] you whispered weakly, after which you closed your eyes and passed out.

[Y/N, stay on the call with me okay?] he called out to you

[Y/N?] He asked a little louder

[Y/N?!] He was frantic at this point, shuffling heard through the phone.

He tried reaching your location as quick as possible. When he did he noticed a strange man trying to carry you off the ground.

“Listen you bastard, let my girlfriend go!” Mingi yelled at the man pushing him off of you.

You were still out cold, unaware of what was going on around you. 

When you wok up, you were in Mingi’s bed with a cold cloth on your head and water by your side. Mingi was also sitting on the bed just looking outside, not realising you had gotten up.

“Mingi-ah” You said weakly

“Oh my goodness, Y/N” he engulfed you in a tight hug not letting go of you

“I thought I lost you, I love you so much”

“I love you too Mingi”

Wooyoung: (break-in)

You and Wooyoung had just fought. It was some stupid reason, however both of you being the petty people you were, didn’t back down and it resulted in Wooyoung stomping out of your shared apartment. You stared at the door as he did, too paralysed to do anything. You had never had a fight this big before. You decided to cook dinner to hopefully cool off, eventually Wooyoung would come home right? You decided to cook dinner for the both of you. 

You put something on the stove and left it to cook for a bit while going to the other room to set up the table. While setting the table up, you couldn’t help but regret what happened earlier, you felt guilty for letting escalate so far and let a few tears fall. As you kept setting up the table, you decided to check on the food cooking and once it was done you plated it nicely, adding a heart of sauce to Wooyoung’s plate, and simply sitting at the table waiting for him to come back. After a while, you got tired of waiting for him, and decided to just call him. You called him once, but he didn’t pick up the first time and so you tried calling him again, which he picked up.

[Y/N, I thought I told you not to call me] He said sighing

[I know but I made dinner, and I was just waiting for you to come home] you whispered out feeling guilty for bothering him.

[Alright then, I’m coming home, we can talk it out] he said, you were relieved and happy that you would be able to sort it out, but also nervous to face him again.

[Okay, Woo-] You were interrupted by a doorbell ringing, and you went to go check the door.

[Wait, Y/N who is that?] Wooyoung said

[Isn’t that you?] You asked him back.

[No it’s not. Check through the peephole]

[It’s a random man, do you have any friends coming over?]

[No, they’re all here, don’t open the doo-]

You both were interrupted by a noise on the door, banging. You gasped and spoke to Wooyoung again.

[Woo, I don’t know who that is, and I’m scared, please help]

[Stay on the call with me! Don’t hang up and lock yourself in our room, Don’t come out until I get home!]

[Wooyoung you can’t come home, what if they attack you or something?] You said voice breaking at the end, even the thought of Wooyoung getting hurt was so hard to think about.

[Y/N, are you crying?] He asked lovingly

[No] you replied whispering, not trusting your voice. Wooyoung video called you, and you covered your face.

[Baby, there’s no need to worry, I have Seonghwa and Yeosang with me too, now show me your beautiful face please, I’ve missed you] You looked up showing your tear stained face, gaining a gasp in return

[Why is my baby cryinggg] he whined over the phone. You giggled, and were quickly interrupted by police sirens, suggesting they called the police and were here to save you.

The second you saw Wooyoung outside, you ran out the house into his arms, jumping onto him, wrapping your hands around his neck, and legs around his waist. 

“I missed you” you cried into his neck, “I was so scaredd”

“Aigoo, I promise I won’t ever leave you alone again alright? Now let’s go have dinner”

And that promise was definitely fulfilled as her tried to stay with you whenever he could acting clingier that usual fro the next few weeks.

Jongho: (creep at night)

You and Jongho had gone out for a late night stroll as you finally got time to spend with each other. Oftentimes, he was busy with the band, or couldn’t leave the house. At night like this however, you were both content. You were calmly strolling around a park when you decided you go pick a few flowers. Not going too far, you saw these blue and purple flowers that you quite liked and further ventured into the park to get them. Jongho was still on the bench of the park eating some ice cream you had gotten together. 

You decided to to sit down and collect a few flowers so show your boyfriend you you made yourself comfortable and sat comfortably. After a while, you heard shuffling behind you and saw a strange man walking towards you. Warning bells ringing in your head, you tried standing up to walk away, only for the man to come up to you and hold you down your shoulder. He was squatting down, so you had to look up at him.

“Excuse me sir, I don’t know who you are or what you want, please let me go” You tried saying as nicely as you could. Despite this however, the man just grinned at you as he inched closer and closer. 

“I like the innocent ones the most” He said sneering

At this point, you were scared as hell and were struggling to get out of his grip to no avail. You started breathing heavier and started getting worried, no one was around, what would this creep do? 

“What do you want, ugh!” You tried squirming out of his grip, only to be shoved back to the ground. 

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll let you go after I’m done” He said wickedly. At this point you had had enough

“Jongho!! Help! Please help me!” You yelled as loud as you could. No response. 

“Guess your little boyfriend over there, doesn’t mind either. Now where should we begin?” He asked trying to trail his hands towards your neck, only to get shoved to the ground by Jongho. 

“You bitch!” Jongho yelled. Kicking him a few times as well.

“How dare you touch my girlfriend!”

Jongho picked you up and took you back home. Although you didn’t show love to each other physically too much, it was moments like this where you realised how in love you were with him. you were thankful to have such a protective boyfriend.

[springday-aus]

Disney Prince!AU with Seonghwa

★ Seonghwa as Disney’s Prince Charming ★

moodboard link

Group: ATEEZ 

Member: Park Seonghwa

Genre: fluff, romance, hints of angst 

part of the Disney Prince Series - could also be a prince!au

Type: Bulletpoint AU 

Word Count: approx. 3k

A/N: I had to spice things up a bit bc after a rewatch of Cinderella, I have realized they have no flavor and got a bit carried away—so enjoy! 

Warnings: family death + mentions of abusive family - you know the classic princess storyline. 

Seonghwa….. is not your average prince

but it’s not depicted in a negative light

so, he’s the prince other nations wished they had

he’s very involved with the state of affairs, often spends time in the villages and conversing with the townsfolk, and often visits schools to read to them or just watch them and it’s so……...wholesome

*cut to him struggling to sit on the carpet with the kids bc his legs can’t fold*

basically everyone loves him because he’s got this angelic aura around him that just makes you feel like you can trust him with anything

and I mean anything

mothers would probably offer him their babies if that was appropriate

he’s just super sweet and tries to remember what he learns in order to take it back and make use of it with the current policies that the parliament is trying to endorse or something

obviously, this is the main image of him to the public

and it’s not fake

but those in the palace know he can get a bit mischievous and sassy

it’s only really seen by those who are close with him, or have been around for a longer time

like assistant!Hongjoong and head butler!Wooyoung

since they’re all close in age and grew up together too, they’re much more comfortable with one another

Hongjoong: *hits his head on a doorway*

Seonghwa: “......... are you an idiot?”

guard!Yeosang and butler-in-training!San: laughing

no, but for real, all of them know he’s basically an angel

the amount of shit he’s putting up with them, but like they make for great entertainment lmao

anyways

the older workers at the palace find him adorable

like when Seonghwa tried to sneak-eat the freshly picked strawberries

“my prince, did you just eat a strawberry?”

Seonghwa with a mouthful of them: “no”

he’s like the grandson they all want (and are trying to get, but we’ll get to that later)

other than his charities and visits and public outings, he’s also known to be a good horseback rider

like real good

Wooyoung: “this is the most princely we’ll ever see him”

he’s kidding, but he’s also not kidding

bc lbr: Seonghwa in a horseback riding fit with the shoulder pads and the helmet and the wind and

Wow

many gather to see him in his glorious, sweaty state afterwards

it’s funny bc he’s so handsome and there are times when he’ll acknowledge it and other times when he doesn’t

especially since the ateez boys just ignore him or tease him

now it just depends on how he feels that day as to how he’d react

since he’s got such a good reputation, you know what that means?

lots of treaties and lots of marriage proposals

on one hand, many nearby countries know how nice Prince Seonghwa is—and some thought he was naive enough to be deceived by them

and that led to a few wars, but they lost real bad bc they assumed he was too nice

when, in actuality, he’s very knowledgeable since he takes a lot after the king and the queen

that allowed much more respect for the kingdom, especially since he’s the first in line for the throne once he’s married

which leads to the second thing: he gets lots and lots of marriage proposals

have you SEEN him?????

do you know how CAPABLE he is????

helloo?????

anyways

the royal family kind of milks this—not in that way tho

it’s in the sense that it’s because they want him to find someone soon and there’s more time for them to learn the ropes about ruling a kingdom

that means lots of balls are thrown in hopes of Seonghwa finding someone to ~catch his eye~ and whatnot

but Seonghwa just uses this as a diplomatic advantage, you know? like a chance for him to meet other royals and build these relationships

and while he has good intentions, the rejected royals are kind of bitter, but they know better than to mess with the Royal Family

meanwhile, party planner!Yunho is lowkey racking in the dough from these events, so he’s fine throwing all these balls lmao

this is where you come in

but, it’s not how others might think

so, you used to be the daughter of a well-of-ish family—you had money for a house and caretakers who adored you and you with parents who loved you dearly

you lived in your own little bubble of love

but then your mother died

when she died, it was almost as if she had taken the lively atmosphere of the household with her

your father buried himself into his work, rarely making time for you anymore and…. there was a drift

one day he came home with a mysterious woman, proclaiming her as your stepmother

along with her came her two daughters, who were as ugly outside as they were on the inside

while you could have done without her passive-aggressiveness, it was nice to see your father happy

but lo-and-behold, you lucked out and he died on a business trip, leaving you alone with strangers to become your only family

it only got worse from there as they openly started to mock you, shame you and push you beyond your boundaries

as they could no longer pay for the staff, they also forced you to clean after them, cook for them, and make all the arrangements that they demanded

or, as your oh-so-lovely stepmother said “you’re below us and you will always be below us”

at first, you put up with it because there’s nowhere else for you

but, slowly, the idea of running away was starting to sound better

and the opportunity came as the palace was starting to look for more servants who would stay in the servants’ quarters

you immediately packed away your things, which wasn’t much to begin with—your mother’s locket being the major trinket you possessed

and ran off to work as a housekeeper, who hid away behind the palace walls and the public eye

since you clean for the palace, it also means cleaning after the balls

other than television appearances, you never really saw the royal family

even as you did work in the palace because……………. they’re running a goddamned country

but, of course, there are rumors and gossip with the other housekeepers which all come from reliable resources

**cough cough definitely Wooyoung cough cough**

so there’s a lot of what you heard, not really from what you’ve seen, despite what some might think when working in the palace

that was until you were called to work at your first ball

which meant you were cleaning after the tables and in the kitchens, going in and out of the ballroom and between dinner tables

getting glimpses of some of the royals

and picking up on some of their juicy conversations

(apparently this one duke almost had an affair with this king’s secret mistress… all the tea)

anyways

you get the point

every once in a while you have to work at the balls when they need the extra help

but, there was one that was…………. different

a lot of the balls are for the royals to take and engage and whatever, but there have been so many and Seonghwa………….

Seonghwa hasn’t been interested in a single one despite the purpose being to help him find someone

Hongjoong: “what’s wrong with them?”

Seonghwa: “there’s nothing wrong with them, I don’t want just someone”

Seonghwa: “I want it to happen naturally—call me old fashioned but if this is someone I want to spend the rest of my life with, it has to be someone who knows me”

Wooyoung, in the corner: “that is old fashioned, hasn’t he heard of tinder?”

advisor!Mingi: “I don’t think it would be a good look for the country if the prince is on tinder”

guard!Yeosang: “we should test it out”

butler-in-training!San: “omg reverse pretty woman”

Hongjoong: “everyone get out, you’re all useless”

okay, but like real talk: he’s such a romantic and the whole unofficial arranged marriage is just………. too much

so, his parents were like: so, you want more options?

Seonghwa: “not what I said”

and they expanded the invitation list for one night, meaning ANYONE had a shot with Seonghwa and

well

he is very popular, so you can imagine how many people were planning on coming and the staff (i.e. you) had to prepare for everything

for the week, the castle was bustling and you were running around to help out and it……. it was all so insane

and then it happens

you’re minding your own business and working and eavesdropping as one does when one works

because everyone is there and who doesn’t love listening to drama that isn’t just from fancy people

but since everyone is here

you failed to remember that a certain group of people were also there

the group of people being your step-mother and step sisters

instinctively, you ducked and hid, moving away from the main room that was swarmed with people who were all trying to obtain Seonghwa’s attention

(who was also trying to hide from everyone else and instinctively failing)

eventually, you found yourself in the gardens, where you tried to make yourself busy

but it ended up being a small walk through the gardens, picking up the occasional liter and small talk with the gardeners

the garden is huge, so you get a bit lost as you wander—physically and emotionally

meanwhile, Seonghwa managed to escape from the others with the help of the other ateez boys

major shoutout to Yunho and Jongho, who insisted on leading the cupid shuffle and cha cha slide

also Yeosang for blocking off people who were trying to shoot their shot with a tired Seonghwa who did not want any of this

he ended up in the gardens as well, walking down a small path with Yeosang trailing a bit farther behind

he spots you on a bench, admiring the flowers under the bright moonlight

and you were absolutely breath-taking

not wanting to disturb your peace, he tried to leave

only to knock into a garden gnome and catch your attention as he tries to not break it

You: “um”

Seonghwa: “I’m so sorry, I was just going to leave, I didn’t mean to disturb you”

You: he looks familiar

You: “I know you from somewhere”

Seonghwa: literally in the most extravagant suit and sparkle make-up as he’s still crouched on the ground trying not to break a gnome that cost like $5 at a Target

also Seonghwa: “have we met before?”

you exchange names and that’s when it clicks

You: “OH MY GOD. MY PRINCE.”

immediately, you try to curtsy or bow or whatever the royals make you do to the ground bc Seonghwa’s still at ground level

and Seonghwa’s just…………. scrambling to try to get you off the ground with flushed ears at you calling him your prince

Seonghwa: “please, you literally do not have to”

You: “I don’t want to be beheaded”

You: “plus, isn’t it like, illegal for me not to?”

Seonghwa: “well, I’m technically giving you orders not to…..”

You: well, can’t argue with that

you slowly get up and dust yourself off, unable to look at him in the eye

even from the corner of your eyes tho, you can see what the fuss is about

bc Seonghwa in that suit and hair swept back is hot™

You: “Prince,  I apologize if I’m speaking out of line, but shouldn’t you be inside?”

Seonghwa: “couldn’t I ask you the same thing?”

You: “but this is in your honor, not mine”

Seonghwa: “is it tho?”

Seonghwa: “I keep telling everyone I would like to fall in love on my own and yet………. everyone keeps meddling and making plans and now everyone in the kingdom is after me when I’m just trying to do my best for our citizens”

you’re a bit silent, unsure as to how to respond

Seonghwa: “I’m sorry for just dumping this on you, but, everyone keeps telling me I shouldn’t be so worried”

You: “well, Prince, I think what you need to hear is that your feelings are valid”

You: “it’s only natural for you to want to find someone on your own—freedom is something everyone wants, which is why it’s so hard to obtain”

there’s a bit of an awkward silence

for one bc you didn’t know what he was really like and if you were allowed to say something like that

two being that you didn’t know if you should leave

but he speaks up

Seonghwa: “you’re right—I did need that”

the air loosens a bit between the two of you

Seonghwa: “so, are you also hiding from an influx of suitors?”

you laugh a little, playing like a twinkling melody to Seonghwa’s ears

You: “no, but I am hiding from people”

Seonghwa: “it’s okay, you don’t have to share if you don’t want to”

you two get to spend a bit more time together, just chatting and getting to know one another

he’s really sweet, but also kind of goofy with a handful of cheesy pickup lines that definitely comes from spending too much time on the internet but also Wooyoung

the time is short but sweet

bc, before you know it, it strikes 12 and Hongjoong has a hold on him by bulldozing past Yeosang who just blinks at the small gust of wind

Hongjoong: “Seonghwa! your parents are looking for you! we gotta go!”

he greets you hastily, before grabbing a hold of Seonghwa and dragging him away—in which Seonghwa is still trying to get one last look at you before you disappear off into the night

or, in your case, back to the kitchen to avoid your stepfamily

the rest of the night passes as expected, at least for you as you busy yourself with washing dishes in the kitchen

but Seonghwa found himself like a mercat, poking his head around trying to find you every once in a while

the time you’d spent together was short, but it was the most fun he’s had at these balls

and it showed, as noted by Hongjoong and Wooyoung with the week that followed after

he was spacing out, wondering what could have been if things were different

basically, homeboy was sulking bc he didn’t know when he could see you again or if you had someone or if you were even interested

Hongjoong: “how are we supposed to help him when we don’t even know who it is?”

Mingi: “didn’t you get a glimpse?”

Hongjoong: “I was busy with other things”

Wooyoung: “so you didn’t even ask for a name?”

Yeosang: “it’s (Y/N)”

all the boys:

Hongjoong: “how do you know that?”

Yeosang: “I was eavesdropping”

San: “um—”

Wooyoung: “wait, we know (Y/N)”

Yunho: “so am I throwing another party or?”

Wooyoung: “we can find (Y/N) first and then throw a party”

so, they kind of hunt you down to where you’re cleaning for the day

and Wooyoung asks you about Seonghwa

lowkey bc he wants the tea but also bc he wanted to make sure you’re not one of those insane people that are completely obsessed with him

(considering what he had to witness during that last ball)

and after passing his vibe check

he sends you to the library “to clean”

which is odd because you already cleaned it for the week but

Wooyoung: “I’m technically your boss, so go”

You: weirded out

also you: “okay”

little did you know, Seonghwa was already there, occupying himself with some new books while Hongjoong and Yeosang were keeping an eye out for you

who was lowkey trying to hide in the shadows and failing miserably bc of all the goddamned windows

Seonghwa spots your shadow, quickly getting up and following you

Seonghwa: “wait! (Y/N)?”

you turn around, a bit startled from the call out

Seonghwa: “I thought it was you”

you give a small bow to greet him

You: “my prince”

Seonghwa: “you can just call me Seonghwa”

Seonghwa: “I didn’t know you were here”

You: “I didn’t know you were here either”

he lets out a small chuckle

Seonghwa: “I meant I didn’t know you were staying in the castle”

You: “I’m not just staying here, I work here prin—Seonghwa”

Seonghwa: “well I guess that makes finding you a bit easier around here”

You: “you were looking for me?”

Seonghwa: “well, I like your company”

You: flushed

Seonghwa: “do you enjoy mine?”

You: “I’d be glad to bask in your presence”

and for a moment, it’s just the two of you

*cut to Hongjoong and Yeosang high-fiving in the back*

after that, the two of you spend more time together

it’s cute bc Seonghwa also likes to clean (which explains why there were never housekeepers needed for him)

so it means he also helps you clean and still have fun doing it

speaking of which, you got to find out how domestic he is and it melts your heart every time

especially when he’s interacting with children who visit the castle

so you can tell he really wants a family

bc he’s so good with kids and knows how to take care of people and what more can you really ask for

he’s also a great listener 

like he really knows what you need based on what you tell him

and when you opened up to him about what happened at home

he was just such a big sweetheart about it, asking if you’re okay and checking with you emotionally and it 

I LOVE PARK SEONGHWA SO MUCH 

anyways

so his parents did find out bc Wooyoung has a big mouth and def blabbed to San and everyone else in the goddamned kingdom who knows Wooyoung

rip Seonghwa

also rip everyone in the kingdom who found out bc again

Seonghwa is very desired amongst many

which also led to a lot of jealous people who gossiped about you but jokes on them bc you still have Seonghwa at the end of the day and they have jack shit :) 

back to what I was saying 

when his parents found out, they were totally accepting of it considering how happy the two of you are

(also you were lowkey fearful they were just gonna straight up kill you bc you aren’t royal, but also, they’re good rulers who care about people) 

which also meant they wanted to train you to help him run the kingdom but that’s a different story

anyways, prince charming!Seonghwa is indeed very charming

and gentlemanly and all that other good stuff

[mandoalorian]

Sugar and Spice [Maxwell Lord x Reader] - Chapter 1

Summary: When you are evicted from your apartment by your toxic ex boyfriend and have no place to go, who do you turn to? Alone in the city as the countdown to Christmas begins, you find yourself applying for a job as the assistant of the world’s biggest entrepreneur; Maxwell Lord. Little do you know, he has other intentions for you. No doubt about it, this Christmas will truly be like no other.

Word count: 4k

Warnings: Eventual smut, mentions of a previous verbally abusive relationship, typical 80s misogyny (but very little of it), mentions of food and drink, alcohol consumption. This is a sugardaddy x sugarbaby fic soooo... a daddy k!nk too oops.

But in this chapter - mentions of a verbally abusive relationship

Author’s note: Happy November 1st! Here is chapter one of December Magic. I am so so grateful for how many people have asked to be part of a taglist/enjoyed the prologue. It makes me so happy. If you want to be tagged in future parts please let me know! Enjoy x

MASTERLIST | SUBMIT REQUESTS

PREVIOUS - CHAPTER ONE - NEXT

Waking up on December 1st, you had no idea what was in store for you. You had no idea how the coming month would change your life forever.

It was that time of the year again. Your favourite time of year, and boy were you a sucker for tradition. Any excuse to light your cinnamon and pinecone scented candles and wear the cosiest wooliest sweaters you could find. The time of year where you would search around in storage for your favourite cashmere gloves, tartan scarf and faux fur hat. It was the time of year where you had to have your car defrosted every morning. The thought of your peppermint mocha warming your hands as you did your Christmas shopping was something to look forward to all year round.

The crisp cool air hung above your shoulders. Washington DC felt bigger than life when you were amongst the bustling December crowds, city life filled with people running around trying to get sorted in time for Christmas. The whole city was painted in thick layers of white snow and an abundance of glittering fairy lights. WHAM’s new Christmas song was a number one hit and the catchy melody filled up the department store on every main street corner. But this year was different to any other.

“You can’t pay, you can’t live here. You have three days to box up your stuff before you’re evicted.” Your landlord, Tristan, said sternly, his voice completely monotone and with no empathy whatsoever. You knew it was coming. You had determined that this was your karma.

“Please, it’s Christmas and I’ve just been laid off from my job. You know my family don’t live in the state and-”

“Not my problem,” Tristan snapped back, a small smirk playing on his lips. He had a habit of interrupting you, but doing so at this very moment irked you like no other time. “You’re a big girl. Figure it out.” And with that, he slammed his door in your face.

You stood there momentarily trying to process the confrontation that had just occurred between not only your landlord, but also ex-boyfriend, Tristan. You consider yourself lucky to have a place as nice as your apartment. It was located right in the centre of Washington DC, a two bedroom, one bathroom, with an outstanding view of the city. You always admired how it looked at night, with eccentric tall buildings lighting up the skyline. But now you were essentially made homeless, and you knew for a fact that Tristan was getting a rise out of making you suffer like this.

That’s exactly why you broke up with him. He liked to have power over you, and everyone else he met. He wanted to be the top man. He wanted to be feared; and by the rest of the people in the building? He was. But by you, not so much. His attempts to make you scared were foolish and you wouldn’t stand for it. You’d think for someone who made a living from robbing people of their hard earned money, they would be able to afford a better anniversary dinner than Pizza Hut— but no. The two of you sat in the restaurant and you were lazily dipping your nachos into the cheese sauce when he came out with something preposterous. 

“I’m thinking about upping rent,” Tristan informed you with his signature smile. “By forty percent.”

You almost choked on your food. “Forty percent?!” you gasped, covering your mouth as you coughed slightly. “You can’t do that!” You knew that you could get out of paying it because, girlfriend privilege. But you were also aware of the financial status of your neighbours. The family of five who could barely afford to put food on the table, and the teenage boy who had to drop out of school to work and make an earning so he could provide medication for his sick mother. They were already struggling and with a rent rise, you just knew they wouldn't be able to take it.

“And why not?” Tristan raised an eyebrow quizzically, taking a bite of the floppy slice of pizza. You scrunch your nose up as you watched him eat with his mouth open, bits of cheese falling out and onto the table.

“Because it’s not fair,” You told him. “It’s greedy. If you need extra cash you could always look for another job. Even if it’s just part time! I heard Black Gold Cooperative are hiring and you just know the pay will be good-”

Tristan slammed his fists on the table, making you jump at his sudden movement. A few heads turned to face you both and you felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “Black Gold Cooperative?” He snarled. “And work for that self righteous asshole Maxwell Lord? I don’t think so, sweetie.”

You sighed at his audacity to call anyone else self righteous before giving the chance to check his own behaviour.

“It was just a suggestion.” You mumbled, avoiding eye contact with him.

“Right, because you don’t think being a landlord is a real job.” Tristan said nastily. His tone of voice sent a shiver down your spine. He was doing it again. He was speaking down to you because it was the only way he could exert power over you. “Says the girl who pours coffee all day and only works twenty hours a week and barely makes enough to avoid a goddamn bowl of pasta from Pizza Hut.” He pointed at your bowl of nachos that you had selected from the Starters menu.

You were getting really sick of his attitude. “It’s dishonest work.” You growled back at him. “You overcharge families and people who can barely get by just so they can have a roof over their head! Don’t you see how immoral that is?”

“Someone has to do it.” He shrugged cooly, taking a sip of his red wine.

“But you’re going about it the wrong way!”

“Right.” Tristan stood up and grabbed your arm. He pulled you out of your chair and dragged you outside of the restaurant. 

“Let go of me!” You cried out, yanking your arm out of his hard grip. You rubbed where his fingers had dug into your skin and had no doubt it would leave a bruise.

“Oh, I’m sorry, is the broke ass barista telling me how to do my job? You’re the one to talk. You’re nothing. And you’d be nothing without me. Look at yourself,” Tristan scoffed, and suddenly he was making you feel very self conscious. “You were foolish enough to think you could move to DC and make something of yourself. You have ambition but you don’t know how to use it. And the way you tried to embarrass me during our anniversary dinner…” He was doing what he always did. Villainsing you.

“I never want to see you again.” You spat, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. Your voice was shaky but you didn't want to break down in front of him. You didn't want to give him that satisfaction.

“That’ll be hard since we live in the same building,” he rolled his eyes and tried grabbing your hand again but you flinched away, fear prevailing in your eyes. “Oh come on baby.”

“Don’t call me that.” You said through gritted teeth. “I’m calling a cab. And don’t bother calling me. See you around Tristan.” 

And that was the last time you had seen Tristan, until today— talk about bad break-ups. 

You shuffled upstairs back to your apartment and slumped against the door trying to figure out how you were going to find a new place to live in three days. Maybe if you found a job you could persuade Tristan to let you stay a little longer. You knew that's what he wanted. Everything he had done, everything he said, was to scare you. But Tristan was attached and despite threatening to evict you, he didn't want to see you leave.

You wanted out. Your apartment was filled with bad memories and maybe this was your opportunity to start fresh. This could be your calling. But judging from your current situation and the time of year, you figured you’d be lucky just finding a roadside motel to spend Christmas day in— and you really didn't want that. You grabbed the phone book from under your coffee table and walked over to the dial up phone hung by the kitchen door. Locating one of the most popular property marketplaces in central DC, you dialled up and found your fingers twirling in the telephone wire.

“Hey,” you greeted.

“Hello!” an older sounding lady chirped on the other end of the line. “How can I be of service?”

“I um, I gotta find a place to live— and fast. I’m getting evicted and my budget, well, I don’t have a lot-” your eyes scanned the living room as you weighed up possible things you could sell for just a little more cash.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear. We’re shut for the holidays and there's no place in DC that will help you find a place before new year,” She said sadly and you couldn't believe your bad luck. No place at all? “It really is a shame that you're being evicted, but if you drop into our store after the new year, I’d love to help you find a place that is suitable for you and your budget!”

You were left rendered speechless. “I- I’m going to be homeless.” you said to yourself, the fact finally dawning on you. You knew that you wouldn't ever be truly homeless and that Tristan would be more than happy to let you stay with him during the holiday season but the thought of having to go back to him knocked you sick. You’d rather freeze on a street corner than feel his embrace once more. You wondered if you could travel back home to see your family. “Hey, are there any train trips or flights to Oregon?” you asked.

“Nope,” the lady popped her p and she sounded far too cheery for your liking. “Tickets have been sold out for months. I could get you a flight for January 12th?”

“No.” you mumbled. “My car broke down… but what are the chances I could get a cabbie to Oregon?”

“You want to get a cab to Oregon?” The woman on the other end laughed in disbelief, and you supposed that could be justified. “You can't be serious. Besides, Astoria bridge has been closed down due to last week's snow storm and I can't see it reopening until after the snow has cleared. Heaven knows when that will be.”

Tristan had really caught you in a loop. “So there is no way I can find a place to stay, nor travel to Oregon, at all, this month?”

“I’m sorry dear.”

“Okay, well thank you for your help.” You said wistfully, feeling dread forming in the pit of your stomach.

“Merry Christmas and have a hap-” You hung up on her.

You weren't ready to give up hope just yet. If there was one thing you always clung on to, it was faith. Your belief that everything happens for a reason and everything is sure to work out for the best in the end. You figured you could go job hunting and then tell Tristan you would be able to pay him double once you got your first paycheck. No, it wasn't ideal but what other choice did you have?

You grabbed your jacket and purse before leaving your apartment. Did you have a plan? No. You didn't even have your resumé with you.

You plodged your feet through the snow, your socks dampening even through your boots but finally made it to the bustling main street. You looked in the windows of all the different department stores and in desperate search for hiring signs, even going inside and inquiring with members of staff— but there were no positions available.

Just then, you found yourself outside of Black Gold Cooperative and you remembered that they were hiring. Granted, you didn't know what the position was, and figured you almost certainly didn't have the qualifications to work for such a prestigious business.

You looked up at the tall building, always feeling like an overwhelmed tiny insect when you stood next to it. It sparkled a sleek black and in a large, gold, cursive font BGC was displayed so high it looked over the whole city. It was certainly the tallest skyscraper you had ever seen with your own pair of eyes. In that moment, you almost backed down. But this wasn't a choice anymore and you had to shoot your shot. Just roll with it. You told yourself.

You were able to take a peek at the lobby in the double door entrance. Everything was marble with gold embellishments. If you hadn't known any better, you would've thought it was a palace. Trodding over the red carpet, you were stopped by a man’s arm, not allowing you to enter. “Name and business?" He asked, his voice rough. You looked up at him. Tall and broad, no hair and dressed in all black. A doorman that looked like a nightclub bodyguard. If you weren't intimidated you would've laughed.

“Sorry?” you asked, trying your best to sound as innocent and polite as could be.

“Name and business.” He repeated, his tone of voice the same. He didn't budge— still standing there with his arms folded against his chest. You weren't even sure if he was looking at you, with his black sunglasses hiding his face.

“Uhm,” you stood on your tip toes and took a glance at the clipboard which was pressed between his forearm and chest. Names that had been typewritten were printed on the page and most of them had been crossed out— bar one. You read out the name. “Barbara Minerva.” you said confidently. He looked at you for sure this time and pulled his glasses off, narrowing his eyes. He took the clipboard and checked for your fake name and sure enough, there it was.

“You’re Barbara Minerva?” he beckoned, raising an eyebrow.

“The one and only.” you lied with a charming smile. “And my business is…. actually I'm here for a job interview.”

“Oh!” the man grinned, like something had clicked in his mind. He scribbled out Barbara's name on your clipboard and ushered you inside. “Mr Lord’s office is on the top floor. Best of luck Ms Minerva.”

When you entered the lobby, warmth washed over your body and you couldn't help but smile. It was all lit up with yellow fairy lights and an enormous twelve foot Christmas tree in the centre. The tree was decorated with red and golden baubles. It was simply magnificent and looked like it was straight out of a catalogue.

You walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. No way would you be walking up 22 flights of stairs to the top floor. You really couldn't believe you were even granted access to the building, nevermind the fact you now had an interview with the self acclaimed and prestigious mutli-billionaire Maxwell Lord. A feeling of dread filled your stomach. What if he caught on? What if he figured out you weren't this Barbara woman? Could you go to jail? You tried your best to shrug the feeling off and remain confident. To be honest, you'd rather spend Christmas locked away in a cell than with Tristan. You promised yourself that this would be worth it.

The top floor was sleek, a long and wide corridor with an office at the very end. Marble statues were dotted around, and the walls were filled with oil paintings bordered with solid gold frames. At the front, not too far from where the elevator had dropped you off, was a help desk. Three women with sleek hair and matching pencil skirts scoped you out, almost glaring at you. You were sure you noticed one of them stifle a laugh. But you were too mesmerised by your surroundings to care. Everywhere you looked was just so magnificent.

"Can I help you?" one of the ladies snapped you out of your thoughts. Your head bolted in their direction.

"Oh!" you exclaimed, pulling off your faux fur hat and sliding the gloves off your fingers. You shoved them hap-hazardly in your coat pocket. "I'm Barbara Minerva," you introduced yourself with the politest smile you could muster. "I have an interview with Maxwell Lord?"

The three girls gawked at you in silence. It was like you had grown a third head. "You have an interview with Mr Lord?" one of the women raised her eyebrows. She flicked her blonde long ponytail and settled a hand on her hip.

You hesitated, considering her rude attitude for a moment. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do."

The three girls started at you for just a beat too long before one of them, with the sleekest ebony hair you had ever seen, handed you a document. "You need to sign this NDA." she said simply, rolling a pen over to you.

Your eyes scanned the document which just so happened to be very vague. "Why the need for a non disclosure agreement?" you beckoned. "It's just a job interview."

The blonde girl snorted and the ebony haired girl slapped her arm. "Yeah, just a job interview." The blonde assistant rolled her eyes, a small smirk playing on her lips. "We don't make the rules, Mr Lord does. And we know better than to question him."

This was really odd. You wondered if it was really worth it but you had already come this far— you couldn't just walk out now. You sighed and signed your name over the NDA. The blonde girl let out a cackle.

"Is there a problem?" you questioned, stone faced and unamused.

Your heart was racing. These ladies were so pushy and you were certain that if it was going to go wrong at some point— it would be now.

"No, not at all," a girl with chestnut hair smiled. "That's just Stephanie being a bitch as per usual." The blonde girl, who you now could identify as Stephanie gasped.

"I am not a bitch!" Stephanie cried.

"You kinda are." The ebony haired girl shrugged her shoulders.

"Shut up Amanda!" Stephanie spat. Amanda rolled her eyes and blew a bubble of gum before analysing her nail beds.

"Brittany started it." Amanda accused and before you knew it, the three girls began to cat fight each other.

"I- I'm just going to take a seat over there." You said, trying to speak over the girls who were shouting at each other.

"Amanda you know Mr Lord hates it when you blow bubbles with your gum!" Stephanie accused, narrowing her eyes.

"She does it because he still won't let her blow him." Brittany cackled.

"That is not true." Amanda gasped again, shaking her head.

You felt yourself waver out of their little argument, truly taken by surprise at how unprofessional they were being. You expected higher standards from people who were employed by Maxwell Lord. You shuffled into the black leather sofa, trying to get cosy when the double doors to his office opened. You adjusted yourself, watching as a young looking girl walked out. She didn't make eye contact with anyone, her movements were almost robotic.

"How do you think she coped?" You heard Stephanie whisper.

"Look at her," Brittany replied. "She's a mess. I better go check on Mr Lord."

"No, I'll check on Mr Lord."

"NO, I'll check on Mr Lord."

Once again, you muffled out their argument and paid close attention to the girl. As she neared you, you saw her lipstick was smeared to one side and her cheeks were tear stained— black kohl eyeliner smudged just as much as her lipstick. Had she been crying? You felt your nerves increase and you picked up on the fact that she was walking with a limp. Noticing the three girls race to Maxwell's office, you took the chance to approach the young girl. You stood up and held your hand out.

"Hey, are you okay?" you asked her, taking a compact mirror out of your purse and handing it to her. She shook her head, rejecting your sentiment. "What- uhm, what's he like?" You asked her hesitantly.

"He's just the way you imagine him to be." She told you with a shaky exhale. You rolled your shoulders back as you contemplated her words. You hadn't really thought much of Maxwell Lord. Of course, everyone in the world knew who he was. For generations, the Lord family had shares in the oil drilling enterprise, but Maxwell Lord IV made a name for himself when he bought out 90% of the oil fields around the world; his father only owning a measly and yet still impressive 15% before him. The front page of Forbes magazine three years in a row— practically the face of 80s television with his cheesy infomercials being broadcast on every channel, every time of the day. Everyone knew his face, they knew his voice, they knew Maxwell Lord. Stories about him graced the tabloids, speculating who his latest lover was, whether or not there had been a new strain on his family and what his financial earnings looked like circa 1984. "He's just getting cleaned up now," the girl informed you with hazy eyes. "Maybe do yourself a favour and bring yourself tissue."

"That bad huh?" you bit your finger anxiously.

"No, he's amazing." the girl swooned. "I just hope I get a call back."

Okay, now you were really confused. "Well, good luck." You offered her a warm smile but she just bit her lip and continued limping to the elevator. A few moments later, the three girls who manned the main desk approached you. Stephanie took a step forward, offering you quite possibly the fakest smile you had ever seen.

"Mr Lord will see you know."

Taglists: [comment or drop me an ask if here if you would like to be added]

December Magic: @goth-topic (im so sorry it won’t let me tag you) @kiwi-the-first​ @100layersofdaddyissues​ @mrschiltoncat​ @honeymandos​ @thisisthe-way​

Permanent: @supernaturalgirl​ @phoenixhalliwell​ @ah-callie​ @luvzoria​

[youtuberswithalex]

Period

Summary: Swallowing his panic, he tried his hardest to take a deep breath. He grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped, hoping to scurry to his room and get rid of the evidence of any injury before anyone could find out, but it came back soaked in just as much deep, dark blood as before. Tears sprung to his eyes as he let his hyperventilating take over. 

“Daaaaaad!”

(Trans!Virgil; Adoption AU; Romantic Logicality, Paternal Moxiety, Brotherly Prinxiety, Creativitwins)

Warnings: Blood, periods, crying, explanation of the menstrual cycle, brief mention of sex, implied/referenced past child abuse, brief mention of past character death, Remus Antics (brief, non-graphic mention of a gory scene in an old movie)

Word Count: 2316

A/N: So, this has been a fic I’ve wanted to write for 12+ years, a fic that’s transpired fandom after fandom after fandom: an explanation of what a period is, to help others who won’t get/understand an explanation from other sources. I know this gets a little info-dump-y, but I tried to make it understandable. This fic is for you kids who are nervous about getting yours for the first time, like I was, and I hope seeing characters you love going through it, too, can help!

This is also the first fic I’m posting, I guess, of this Adoption AU I’ve had in my head for a while! I’ve got a couple other ideas in mind, including a part 2 to this focusing more on Roman and Virgil, sooo hit me up for some AU questions, if you have any!

-----

It was true that Virgil hadn’t really been feeling well in the past week.

He didn’t know what it was, but everything just felt… off. He didn’t want to socialize with anyone; being around people had been making a fire of rage burn in his chest, and the fact that he didn’t know why just made it ten times worse. He was exhausted to the point of nearly falling asleep in class, and would have slept through his alarms twice and been late if it hadn’t have been for Roman waking him up when he didn’t come for breakfast.

Speaking of, he hadn’t had much of an appetite, and he’d hardly been eating because of it. Even the idea of eating anything had made him feel a little gross. And his stomach had been cramping a lot.

Realistically, Virgil knew this was something he should tell Patton or Logan, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It didn’t matter how many times Roman reassured him that their dads wouldn’t be angry at him for getting sick; until he saw it for himself, he wasn’t going to be able to believe him. So what if Patton was a nurse? So what if Roman and Logan had butted heads dozens of times since Virgil had moved in, and it had never dissolved into a screaming match? That didn’t mean they wouldn’t turn on him, or that he was a good enough kid to avoid getting on their bad side!

Besides, he wasn’t throwing up or running a fever! He was just going to waste their time if he said anything. They had more important things to worry about than him. It’s not like he was dying or anything.

…Or, so he’d thought, until Thursday afternoon when he went to the bathroom and found his underwear covered in blood.

Virgil almost screamed at the sight. As soon as he recovered, he frantically searched his body for any sign of a scrape or scratch that could have left such a mess. There was nothing. Maybe… Maybe it had already healed?

Swallowing his panic, he tried his hardest to take a deep breath. He grabbed a wad of toilet paper and wiped, hoping to scurry to his room and get rid of the evidence of any injury before anyone could find out, but it came back soaked in just as much deep, dark blood as before. Tears sprung to his eyes as he let his hyperventilating take over.

“Daaaaaad!”

Footsteps came rushing to the door faster than he’d ever heard in this household. “Virgil, are you okay?”

He choked back a sob. “I-I’m bleeding…!”

“Okay, it’s going to be okay, kiddo,” Patton soothed. “Can I come in?”

Virgil looked at himself, still on the toilet, and set the wad of toilet paper on the tank. He scrambled to stand and pull his pants up before whimpering out an “Uh-huh”.

Patton calmly came in and shut the door behind him. “Alright, where are you bleeding?”

“I-I don’t know!”

“You don’t know?” he asked with a frown.

“I…” Virgil picked up the toilet paper and showed it to him, lowering his voice to a whisper despite no one else being in there with them. “It was all over my underwear,” he explained. “And when I wiped, I…”

He trailed off as Patton tilted his head to inspect the blood, and then understanding faded onto his face as he looked away in thought. While it was only a few seconds, it felt like an eternity; his stomach started to cramp again, and Virgil found himself trembling.

“I-I haven’t been feeling good this week,” he admitted. “My stomach’s been hurting, and—and all I want to do is sleep, and I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to bother you guys, and I’m sorry, I should’ve said something, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to be sick, I don’t want to have to go to the hospital, please—!”

Patton shushed him and ran his fingers through Virgil’s hair. “Hey, hey, relax, it’s alright! You’re okay, Virgil. You’re not going to die, trust me. Especially not on my watch.”

He leaned over, put the toilet lid down, and gently pushed Virgil to sit on it before kneeling in front of him. He took a few seconds to chew on his lip in thought.

“Virgil,” he started, “At your old school, did your teachers ever take an afternoon to talk to you guys about puberty?”

Virgil shook his head.

Patton let out a breath and nodded. “I guess they probably think it’s a little too early to talk about it, huh?” he muttered. “Am I allowed to touch your stomach, honey?”

Virgil hesitated, but he nodded after a moment. Patton reached up and placed his hands on Virgil’s lower belly. When he flinched, he used his thumb to rub gentle circles into it.

“Okay, so, in your body, right down here, you have this thing called a uterus,” he softly explained. “When people are pregnant, that’s where the babies grow before—”

“Am I PREGNANT?!”

“No, no, no—!” Patton had to hold back a laugh, taking his hands away to cover his face for just a second before returning them to their original position. “You’re not pregnant, Virgil, don’t—don’t worry about that!”

Virgil snapped his mouth shut, lower lip still trembling. Patton offered him a reassuring smile as he continued.

“Your uterus has these two things connected to it called ovaries.” He used his two index fingers to draw out where they would be. “They hold a bunch of tiny little eggs inside of them that eventually would turn into people—but only under certain circumstances, at certain times, usually involving another person. If you were to get pregnant, you’d know, understand? It’s not going to happen randomly.”

Patton didn’t move on until Virgil nodded.

“Okay. Now, about once a month, one of these two little guys is going to let one of their eggs go,” he said, “and it sticks to the wall of your uterus. And your body goes…”

Patton threw his hands into the air and waved them around. “’Yay! We’re gonna have a baby!’” he cheered in a cartoony voice. Virgil let out a weak snicker. Patton counted it as a win.

“It starts to get ready for this potential baby by building up this lining around the walls, so that it’ll be extra protected from harm. And for a little while, if you… Ah…” Patton’s face turned red. “Do… certain things, with certain people, that egg might get fertilized, and that’s how pregnancy starts.”

“Like… kissing?”

Patton hummed. “No, you’d have to do a little more than that. More, uh… adult stuff.”

Virgil nodded, looking at the floor very seriously. “Taxes.”

It was a fight to keep his laugh in. “R-Right. Taxes.” He cleared his throat and continued. “Um, anyway, if that egg doesn’t get fertilized, your body says, ‘Oh, darn! Well, maybe next time!’, and it gets rid of the egg, and then it gets rid of that lining so it can make a fresh one for the next egg.” He pointed to the bloody toilet paper still gripped tightly in Virgil’s hands. “That’s what that blood is. It’s not a cut, and it’s certainly not an omen of death. It’s just a sign that you’re growing up.”

Virgil stared at the toilet paper for a long moment. “…Am I going to have to do this every month?”

“Well, not at first,” Patton replied, putting his hands on his knees. “This is a brand new feature in your body right now, so it’ll take a bit for it to fall into a real cycle. For a little bit, you might have a couple within a month, or you might not have it for another three after this. But, eventually, yeah, the body will balance itself out.”

“How long is that gonna take?”

“It depends on your body. If it takes a while, or it doesn’t seem like it’s going to balance at all, we can look into some options to help, like birth control or hormone therapy. Modern medicine is a great thing,” he said with a wink. “How about we save that conversation for a little later, though? See how this pans out for now?”

There was a beat, and then Virgil slowly nodded. He shifted and tipped his head away. “What do I do about my underwear?” he whispered.

Patton hummed and sat back, looking up at the ceiling. “Well… I’ll be honest, kiddo, I can talk your ear off about anatomy and the medical side of things, but I don’t have a clue about the products and stuff. How would you feel if I called Remus’s mom and asked her to come explain that stuff to us?”

Virgil wiped at his eyes. “Okay.”

Offering a gentle smile, Patton held his arms open; there was a moment of hesitation, and then Virgil leaned forward and wrapped his smaller arms around him. Patton held him tight and rubbed his back.

“Thank you,” he whimpered.

“Of course, sweetie. That’s what your Pop and I are here for,” he reassured. “And don’t you ever worry about bothering us if you’re not feeling well, okay? We care about you more than whatever silly things we might be working on. We want to take care of you, okay?”

Virgil shuddered in a manner that was suspiciously similar to that of a repressed sob; when he spoke next, his voice was tight and high-pitched. “Okay.”

They sat like this for a moment, with Patton holding his son close, rubbing a hand over his lower back, until he pressed a kiss into his hair and pulled back.

“Alright, Virge, I need to go call Mrs. Drake,” he said. “Is your stomach still hurting? Or anything else, for that matter? I can get you some medicine to help, if you want.”

Virgil nodded, scrubbing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Patton nodded and climbed to his feet. “Okay. I’ll be back as soon as I can, promise.”

He stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaving Virgil alone with his thoughts again. He was still shaking, yes, but the terror of thinking he was going to die was settling into the more manageable fear of learning a new routine…

And maybe, a little, the risk of starting to put his trust into someone.

But maybe there wasn’t so much to fear in that one.

Virgil leaned forward and finally dropped the bloody toilet paper into the trash.

----------

The front door slammed open; Logan and Roman both nearly jumped out of their skin from where they sat at the dining room table.

“Virgil, we got your little butt-diapers!”

There was the sound of a light swat, and then the snatching of a plastic bag.

“Stahp, Remus, he’s already having a hard time with it!”

Snickering echoed through the entryway as the two climbed the half-flight of stairs leading to the main floor. As Remus made a beeline to tackle Roman out of his chair, Logan adjusted his posture to be more formal and nodded at Mrs. Drake.

“Good afternoon, Alya,” he called.

“Hi, boys,” she quickly responded. “Are they still in the bathroom?”

“I believe so, yes.”

Mrs. Drake nodded and hurried off just as Roman wrestled Remus off of him. He glanced at the hallway, and then between his twin and his father.

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“Your baby bro’s anus is bleeding for the first time!”

“No, Remus,” Logan scolded. He turned to Roman. “He’s experiencing his first menstrual period. Your father called Mrs. Drake to help teach him the technical aspects of how to best handle it.”

Roman blinked and sat up straight. “Oh! Is he going to be alright?”

“Yeah, Mom brought a bunch of stuff to help,” Remus replied, waving his hand as he plopped into the open seat next to Roman. “Pads, painkillers, heating rice bag sock things, the whole shebang. And a bunch of chocolate and candy and stuff!”

“Ah, good. I’ve seen studies that dark chocolate helps with cramps,” Logan stated.

Remus sighed. “A shame. I was hoping we’d get to see Virgie’s tiny baby rip out of his stomach. Like that scene in Aliens!”

Roman let out a whine and swatted him. “Dude, that’s my little brother!”

“Oh, come on! Your other dad’s a nurse! He could stitch him back up in no time!”

“That is not how nurses work!”

Logan hummed and adjusted his glasses, turning back to the papers he was grading. “Astounding. In less than two minutes, you’ve expressed your ignorance in both anatomy and the careers of the medical field. I suggest you brush up on them both if you truly wish to study in the field of dentistry.”

“Haa, brush up,” Roman laughed.

Logan shot him a glare over the rim of his glasses; Roman and Remus high-fived.

“Do your homework, Roman.”

Roman grinned and turned back to face his homework, but his mind instead floated back to Virgil’s condition. He bit down on his lip and shifted before looking up and tapping his pencil end against the table.

“Seriously… Virgil is going to be okay, right?” he asked.

Logan let out a soft breath. “Your brother is going to be just fine,” he gently reassured. “This is a natural thing for many people who possess uteri. He might be in pain for a little while, but ultimately, he will be alright.”

“My mom deals with it every month, and she’s not dead yet,” Remus pointed out. Then, with his grin fading a bit, he added, “Our mom probably had them, too. She must’ve, if she had us.”

Roman watched him for a long moment, and then he nodded, swallowing the lump that had snuck into his throat.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Okay.”

---------

Second A/N:

Hey, folks-- So, as it turned out, I made a bit of a mistake in explaining this. So sorry about this! Thank you so much to @romanslunchbox​ for pointing this out and correcting me:

“ It isn’t a huge mistake. However, in your fic you stated that the egg gets stuck in the lining of the uterus. But that is only possible with a fertilized egg. An non-fertilized egg dies in the oviducts before it can even reach the uterus. After the egg dies certain hormones are released to start the menstruation about 2 weeks later (how that works is an entire shit show of hormones and stuff). It takes a while for these hormones to be released, so the uterus keeps producing more lining for the egg to get stuck in. When the uterus finally gets the signale that there is no pregnancy, that is when the menstruation starts. “

[an-absolute-travesty]

Secret Santa fic!

Heya @all-eternity it was me all along! I hope you enjoy this :) very much looking foward to actually being able to follow you after this without looking sketchy lmao

Also shoutout to my lovely beta reader @keepersandqueens as if I don’t talk about Salas enough here lol

Warnings: underage drinking, drinking in general, hangover, drugs/medication mention (not abused, basic over the counter stuff dw), mentions of vomit (not described)

Pairings: Kam, background marelinh, ex titz

About: Kam coffee shop college au 

Word count: 5,205

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed): @cadence-talle @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlyvacksen @percabetn @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42​ @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e @mistythegenderqueermess @we-have-no-bananas-today @we-wont-dissapear @jadenightthewriter

Tam stumbled into his first 8 am class, anxiety making his heart feel like it was pounding out of his chest and stomach doing backflips.

If he could survive bouncing between foster homes, a short stint at juvie, and worst of all high school, he could survive college.

Well he thought he could until he saw a familiar person right next to the only available chair in the room.

God fucking damn it.

"Hey Bangs Boy!" Keefe waved him down, causing a scene. Tam had no option but to sit beside him, both because of the lack of chairs and the fact that everyone was now staring at him.

Not a great start.

"What a coincidence! I notice you still haven't taken my suggestions on your hair, I'm telling ya' you'd get all the girls and or guys and nonbinary pals with a man bun." Keefe looked smug at the fact he'd be able to taunt Tam for another semester, minimum. Tam was already making a mental note to check when he could swap out of classes.

"Keefe, if I knew you were going here I would've just gotten myself back in jail, oh wait, you were the one who got me in there in the first place." Tam shot him a look, praying that he'd suddenly develop superpowers and shoot lasers from his eyes.

"Hey, just because I came up with the idea...and helped with some of the execution, doesn't mean I'm responsible for you trashing your parents house. Besides, you were only in there for like 3 days max before you got out," Keefe said, shrugging as if 3 days in jail was no biggie.

"Most peaceful 3 days of my life," Tam sneered, turning back to the front of the room as the professor walked in.

"Good morning class!" the prof turned to the white board, writing his name. "I am Dr. Harding," he tapped it for emphasis.

The class was silent.

"And you say good mor..."

"Good morning Dr. Harding," The class said in unison, they all sounded tired and bored.

This wasn't going to be fun.

~*~

"Grande ice vanilla latte for...Hen-are-y?"

The man shot Keefe a look as he grabbed his coffee.

"Henry." He dropped a tip in the jar, fifty cents. How generous.

He had come in before, and never left good tips. Keefe made it a game to pronounce the names of anyone who wasn't a college student and left bad tips wrong, no matter how much they came in. It was a wonder he hadn't been fired yet.

As he turned preparing another drink, the bell at the top of the door rang. He ignored it at first until he heard a quiet, "Fuck," come from behind.

"Bangs boy!"

"Why are you here?"

"I work here obviously," Keefe walked up to the counter. "Now, what'll it be?"

Tam sighed. "Iced caramel macchiato with two extra shots of espresso."

"Size?"

"Venti."

Keefe whistled thinking about how much caffeine that was as he wrote down "Bangs Boy" on the cup.

"Alright, that'll be 5.75, may I ask why the insane amount of coffee? I believe I remember you saying caffeine makes you anxious in high school."

"Yes, but it also helps me focus, and I have a quiz tomorrow I haven't studied for."

"Fair enough," Keefe said, going to prepare the drink. "It'll be ready in five."

Tam nodded, walking off to the side and scrolling on his phone. Keefe made the drink, occasionally sneaking looks over at Tam. He didn't seem to notice, thank God.

Soon after, they finished the transaction.

"See you at class," Keefe said, he was trying to be genuine, but it came across more taunting.

Tam grimaced, muttered "Thanks for the coffee," and walked out the door.

~*~

The class fell silent as a disheveled Dr. Harding walked in, a pack of gatorade in one hand and bottle of tylenol in the other. He popped one as he sat down.

"Hello class it seems today I have the worst headache imaginable, just give me about 5 minutes of silence and we will go over your assignments."

Keefe leaned over to Tam's desk.

"Well, we know what he got into last night," he whispered. "Heard the bar on the corner of 5th was giving out two for ones for professors."

"Isn't that place run by the alumni?"

"Exactly. Gotta thank Alvar tomorrow, Fitz said it was his idea."

"Wait Fitz goes here too? Why did I not-"

"Boys!" Dr. Harding practically yelled. "I am tired of the racket." He put his face in his hands where his elbows rested on the desk, bald spot showing to the world.

"We were whispering!" Keefe made a 'what the hell' sort of gesture. Tam glared at him, hoping he could communicate 'I will kill you myself if you say another word' with just his eyes.

"Sencen, do I look like I care?"

Keefe winced a bit at the use of his last name. That was something Tam could understand.

"Look, boys," Dr. Harding stood up and turned to the chalkboard, writing something down. "If you all like talking so much, you'll love this next project."

He walked to the side, revealing the board, that read '10 page essay, due the 25th'

"With the person next to you, you'll be writing a 10 page essay on um...the importance of keeping your oil changed in your car. You'll then present it to the class. It's worth 25 points."

A student raised their hand.

"Luka?"

"Sir, I thought this was a psychology course?"

"It is. You are all excused."

With that, he left the room with his tylenol and gatorade in his arms. The students glared at Keefe and Tam as they all got up, muttering amongst themselves about the pure bullshittery of it all.

"So..." Keefe said, slowly standing. "Does the library tomorrow at 3 work? I have work until then, so it can't be any earlier."

"Yeah, sure." Tam promptly walked out of the classroom as fast as possible, he didn't know why but his anxiety was spiking. He tried to tell himself it was just because he was a useless gay that didn't know jackshit about cars, yeah, surely that was it.

Just a useless gay.

~*~

Tam waited at a table in the library, it was 3:05, Keefe was late.

He didn't know what else he expected from him, he always seemed to do stuff like this. At the same time, Tam didn't have the energy to be particularly mad at him. This was going to be the stupidest essay ever written in the history of man, might as well put it off.

The library door slammed open, and in came Keefe. He balanced a large stack of papers and books along with four drinks. He stumbled over to Tam and practically threw them down on the table.

"Sorry I'm late, I thought it would be nice to, like, get you a coffee, but I didn't know how much caffeine you wanted, so I got one decaf caramel macchiato, one normal, and one with an extra shot, and also hot chocolate for me."

He sat down in the chair by Tam, as if getting three different coffees for someone you were forced to do a project with was totally normal.

"Um...thanks, I-I can pay you back-"

"Don't worry about it." Keefe turned to him and smiled, bright and friendly. Tam was frozen. "Okay, now it's car time." Keefe turned back to the desk.

"Yeah."

They were silent for a while as they researched, Keefe going through his piles of papers and books and Tam on his laptop like any sane person would.

Tam finally worked up the nerve to talk.

"So um...this is out of nowhere, but I think you mentioned Fitz went here?"

"Oh, yeah." Keefe put down the absurdly large textbook that was set up in front of him. "He's my roommate, he uh thought it would be best not to tell you after everything, I guess."

"That's fine," Tam shrugged like he didn't care. "I'm over it."

He was, really. They only dated like 2 weeks, sure it ended with a...pretty big fight after Fitz claimed he wouldn't be able to date someone who had gone to jail and Tam reminded him it was his best friend that got him in there in the first place, but he was still over it. There was still something bothering him, nothing to do with Fitz himself but...something. He just couldn't put his finger on what.

"Alright, I'll take your word." Keefe shrugged, setting his giant book back up in front of him.

Tam felt the need to start talking again, but didn't. They were mostly silent for the next 40 minutes or so, just researching and the occasional word exchanged between them.

Keefe checked his phone.

"Shit," He got up. "Work emergency, I gotta go. Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah that works."

"Chill, see ya' later."

"Bye."

Keefe waved (with a wide grin Tam would've called idiotic in high school) as he went out the door.

Tam found himself with a smile on his own face, he quickly stopped, hoping no one saw.

~*~

Keefe hurried into work, pulling his apron on as he saw the absurdly long line and a panicked Marella frantically making coffees behind the counter. She sighed with relief when she saw him.

"Thank God," She said as he stepped behind the counter with her. "There was a scheduling error, Forkle's useless at that stuff."

Mr. Forkle, their well-meaning but often mistaken manager, was out of town at the moment. The fate of the Starbucks rested on two college kids, what could go wrong.

And so they went, Keefe taking orders and Marella fulfilling them until there were no more to serve.

Marella, quite literally, threw in a towel she had wiped her face with. Promptly going to the back, presumably for her break. Keefe followed her.

"Alright, I think you can probably go back to whatever you were doing before this now if you'd like," said Marella, inspecting the small braids in her hair in the nearest shiny surface.

"Nah I was just doing a project with Tam for Harding's stupid class, he's probably left by now, I might as well rack up some overtime."

Marella turned back at him, clearly caught off guard at the name.

"Tam? As in my-girlfriend's-brother Tam? As in you-had-a-massive-crush-on-in-highschool Tam? As in dated-Fitz Tam? As in you-got-him-in-jail-"

"Yes! Yes! Why does everyone remind me of that, it was one time."

"When you get someone in jail, people tend to remember," Marella went silent for a second, thinking, before looking Keefe in the eye. "Wow, that must be awkward as hell, I mean seriously, if I were you I'd straight up file a restraining order just to avoid him. Maybe move to another country. I hear Estonia is lovely this time of year."

"Eh, it's not as bad as it seems. I mean it was awful at first, mostly because I tried to resume right where we left it on the taunting front, but I think it's ok now."

"Hm. Well good luck with that," Marella turned back to go to the front, but Keefe grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Uh, actually I need your advice on something. It has to do with Tam."

"Shoot."

"Well I was thinking of maybe, I don't know, asking him out or something? Look, yeah, it's an awful idea but is it 'he never wants to talk to me again' awful or 'he attempts to strangle me' awful?"

Marella looked him up and down, eyes uncomfortably cold, as usual.

"I mean, no hetero, but despite your annoying qualities you're a decent looking guy. Plus Tam's, like, super anxious according to Linh, so maybe he'll be too awkward to say no. You can probably squeeze at least one date in there."

"Wow, thanks Mare," Keefe mumbled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, I try. Also don't call me Mare."

"Alright Ella!" Keefe called as the front door's bell rang, signalling a new customer. Marella went off to take care of it, unable to respond she growled back at him.

~*~

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Tam glared from across the table.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

Keefe looked up, muttered a simple "Fidgety" and went right back to it, tapping his pen against the table. Tam said nothing more.

Keefe had been quiet for this entire meeting, something highly unusual for him.

"Ok, seriously dude, what's up? I haven't seen you this quiet literally ever."

He only seemed to get more fidgety at this question, his bouncing leg shaking the library table.

"I...um..." he looked down, running a hand through his hair "I have a test I need to cram for and no one to study with and keep me accountable. Y'know, ADHD issues."

Tam didn't overthink for once in his life but the moment the sentence was out of his mouth he regretted it.

"I have a test too, maybe we could study together?"

Keefe smiled his annoyingly charming smile.

"Sounds good."

"Good."

Tam quickly looked back down at his computer, trying to look like he was still doing car research when in actuality he was processing he just actively offered to spend more time with Keefe Sencen.

If Linh found out about this he'd never live it down.

He didn't think he cared.

~*~

Dr. Harding walked through the classroom door, clearly much less hungover than his last appearance.

The students waited, would they get an apology? Any sort of remorse?

"Alright, who wants to read first?"

Apparently not.

Keefe raised his hand with too much confidence for what their essay looked like. Tam gave him a confused look. He had his scheming face on, never good.

"Mr. Sencen!" Keefe winced at the use of his last name by the doctor. "What an amazing start, it's only appropriate. One of you boys come up and present."

Tam gave Keefe a look of 'do you want me to do it?' Keefe just smiled and got up from his chair. This would either be really good or really, really bad. Tam was all too familiar with the scheme face.

"Doc, I did depart from the source material a bit here, hope you don't mind. And I use 'I' because Tam had no involvement in this, he deserves full points for his essay."

Keefe cleared his throat, the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"Doctor Harding deserves to get fired: an essay. (And it's only been a week!) Paragraph one, his drinking problem-"

"Sencen! Back to your seat now. I will see you after class, or I will not see you in my next class, understand?"

Keefe gave a thumbs up as he sat back on his chair with a thud.

A few minutes later, in the middle of another student's essay, he passed Tam a note with his loopy handwriting.

"The amount of comebacks I had for 'see me after class' is absurd but if I get kicked out there's no way Elwin is helping me pay tuition a second time."

Tam tried not to smile, certainly failing, as he wrote his response.

"Yeah I think the time you talked back to Miss Cadence she wanted to expel you. Lucky Principal Alina had a thing for pseudo-dad Alden."

"Oh God I haven't talked to him in a whiiiiiile."

"?"

"You haven't heard? Yeah, he sorta found out like ALL his kids were ell gee bee tees and freaked out. Della found herself a new gf though!"

"Sounds like a lovely extra punch in the gut for a queerphobe."

"Yep. Honestly I recommend looking through his Facebook sometime. Just a million rants about how the gays destroy everything, great entertainment."

"Duly noted."

At that point it seemed like the doctor started to take notice of their note passing, and they stopped quickly. Tam wouldn't be surprised if he did the whole high school read in front of the class thing with the way he had been acting so far.

Tam was 100% sure tenure was the only thing keeping this guy's job intact. Apparently being a drunk asshole wasn't near enough to get a person out of their position. He tried to ignore the professor's annoyingly smug face for the rest of the class.

~*~

Keefe sat in his usual spot at the library, Tam sitting across from him, his brown eyes dancing across the textbook page and lips mumbling along the words. He didn't have much to do, often finding himself just staring at Tam, quickly looking away if he seemed to notice.

Eventually he sighed, sitting back.

"Ugh, this test is in a week and I have so much other crap to do, I'll never get this all memorized by Friday."

Keefe silently thanked his brain for managing to get around the having to study thing. Yay, photographic memory!

"Oh, uh, well I'm free to study more tomorrow if that would help? We could do, like, flashcards or something."

Tam seemed to repress a smile. He did that a lot. Keefe always noticed.

"That's okay, I'm sure you have better things to do. The Starbucks is always pretty packed."

"Eh, sometimes you have to get away from Marella. She's mean to me."

"Not just you, once she told me if I ever made fun of Linh's cat's name again she'd make me cut off my own bangs."

Keefe nodded sagely. "The shorter you are the closer to hell. That's why you're worse than her."

"Hey!"

Tam flicked a stray rubber band at Keefe.

"I'm at least 2 inches taller than Marella...we measured."

Keefe thought up about 12 inappropriate jokes he couldn't make before flicking the rubber band back.

"Two inches only counts in roller coasters, none of which you can ride."

Tam stuck his tongue out before returning to his studies. Unlike Tam, Keefe didn't hide his smile.

~*~

Tam strolled into the Starbucks that Friday morning, no longer surprised to see Keefe working the counter. He could barely hold still in line as he thought about the amount of cramming he'd have to do in the next few hours.

When he reached the counter, Keefe said nothing, just busily worked making a drink.

He stuck it right out at Tam.

"One venti iced caramel macchiato with 2 extra shots of espresso because you have a test today in political science and still haven't studied everything and also a muffin because you probably haven't eaten today. On the house. Good luck with the studying."

Tam froze.

"I- um- th-thaks. Y-you too...sport."

Oh, you fucking idiot.

He quickly scurried out of the Starbucks with drink and muffin in hand. Wow, he had screwed that up.

But...

Keefe...

He...

He remembered his order and that he had a test and that he forgot to eat when he was stressed holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit-

Okay, deep breaths Tam, you got this. You can totally handle a frustratingly cute guy showing care for you this is fine...

Not fine, not fine, gotta tell Linh.

He called Linh with no forewarning. Despite the fact that she was currently across the country at a different university, and it was about 3 am for her, she picked up. He barely let her get out a groggy "Hello?" before explaining everything. She only seemed to think a moment before responding.

"Hm. Well it's good to know that college is going good for you. Do you need advice or comfort?"

"Yes."

"Well, first of all, everything's gonna be okay. And I know that doesn't help much but just try to remember we're eighteen, and it's not the end of the world. Second of all, try to ask him out or something. It doesn't have to be framed as a date, like Marella and I got together on a walk in the park, seriously it can be anything."

"Thanks Linh."

"No problem, also can you hug Marella for me?"

"If she doesn't try to kill me first, yes."

"Nice. Okay go do what you gotta do, also don't wake me up at 3 am again or else I'll sic Purryfins on you, I had just gone to bed."

With that she hung up and Tam continued on his way, still trying to not completely freak out.

~*~

Keefe stared blankly as Tam walked right out of the door. Marella appeared by his arm.

"So, how'd it go?"

"Well, he called me 'sport'."

Marella inhaled through her teeth.

"Yikes. Comfort, advice, or distraction?"

"Distraction, please." Keefe replied, absent-mindedly preparing a cup for the next customer.

"Uh, well I meant to ask you what ended up happening with that ass of a teacher, but I got a bit distracted at your attempt to woo Tam-"

"Hey I said distraction not reminder. But basically I just got a slap on the wrist because, and I quote, 'Your father is Cassius Sencen! He wrote half the books we use in this class, I'm sure he can straighten you out!'"

"There's absolutely nothing papa Sencen could do to make you straight, I'm pretty sure he tried that, and it obviously didn't work."

"He actually tried a few times and it most definitely did not. Lucky he doesn't have my number anymore or else I assure you he'd keep trying."

Marella laughed.

"Well, moving on from grade A assholes, I'm supposed to tell you there's a party tonight. I'll have to send you the address later, I have it on my phone though, I am told there's gonna be booze, so I'm going."

"Eh, I'll probably go. Just to get my mind off everything."

"Thata boy." She lifted her phone. "And my shifts over in three, two, one, and I am out of here! See ya' tonight Hunkyhair."

"That's Lord Hunkyhair to you."

She just rolled her eyes and clocked out, leaving Keefe to deal with both the customers and his own thoughts.

~*~

Tam sat in his dorm room alone, constantly refreshing his grades for the possibility that his 70-year-old professor would post the test results at 1:30 am.

His roommate was gone for the weekend, actually he was gone most of the time. Tam didn't think they'd even had a full conversation before.

He jumped as his phone began to ring, a call from Keefe of all people. He hesitantly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Tam! Tam Tam Tam Tam Tam" Keefe's slurred speech was too loud for a phone call, Tam held his phone a bit away from his ear. "...fuck wait why did I call you..."

There was a long pause, neither said anything.

"Oh yeah! I needed to tell you something...but uh I uhm I forgot what it was."

"Keefe, where are you?"

"At a paaaaaarty, well, actually just outside a party because it was hot in there, but now it's cold out here so uh yeah."

Tam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, send me the address, I'm coming to pick you up. Wait right there and don't move."

"Okie dokie."

Tam heard a thud sort of sound and the rustling of grass from the other line before Keefe hung up and soon after got a message of his location.

After 20 minutes of walking in the cold, Tam came up to what seemed to be a frat house with Keefe sitting on the lawn in criss-cross, patiently waiting in short sleeves and basketball shorts, way too little clothing for the weather. His ruddy face smiled as he saw Tam approach.

"Tam! I remembered what I was going to tell you." He stood up, face falling right after. "Oh no wait I forgot again. Ooh! You need a drink."

Keefe grabbed Tam's hand, pulling him towards the house. Tam stayed in place.

"Hey, let's get you home dude."

Keefe pouted.

"I don't wannaaaa."

He slouched down, pulling on Tam's arm like a child having a tantrum.

Tam pulled him back up to his feet.

"C'mon, if you go to your dorm without fuss I'll buy you ice cream tomorrow."

Keefe seemed much more ok with going along with Tam with the ice cream deal. He pulled off his own coat and placed it around the very drunk boy, he didn't complain.

Keefe began humming some annoying song from the early 2000s that was playing from the house earlier as they walked back in the direction of the dorms.

Suddenly, Tam remembered something.

Fitz was Keefe's roommate.

Shit.

"Hey uh do you think Fitz is at your dorm?"

Keefe nodded confidently.

"Yep! Said he was gon' study. Wouldn't come to the party because of his 'reputation' or whatever."

Around reputation he did exaggerated finger quotes, nearly knocking Tam's jacket off his shoulders.

"Hm...in that case let's go to my dorm, ok?"

Keefe shrugged, apparently willing to go along with most things in his current state. Thank goodness Linh had made Tam bring extra pillows and blankets to college, he could sleep on the floor and just hope Keefe didn't get sick on him in the night.

It was ridiculously hard to lead Keefe back to his dorm. He tried to pull down his pants halfway there and Tam almost had to carry him up the stairs but soon enough they got there. He sighed with relief as he led his inebriated friend into the room.

"Okay, you can stay here for the night. I'll sleep on the floor."

Keefe plopped himself down on Tam's bed laying flat for only a moment before sitting up with a snap and a look of realization in his eyes.

"OOH! I remember what I was gonna tell you again!"

"Oh?" Tam said playing along, expecting him to forget again.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed, Tam continued to play along, sitting next to him.

"So Marella said that I should just tell you this, and it worked for her, so I'm gonna. And uh and you have to promise to listen 'cause I'm not sayin' it again."

At this point Keefe grabbed his face with both hands, staring right in Tam's eyes and squishing his cheeks.

"You're listening right?"

Tam nodded, mostly to shake Keefe's hands off his face.

"Okay."

Keefe took in an over dramatic breath as if he was preparing to preform in the Olympics before getting another grin on his face.

"I really like you."

"You really like me?"

He nodded mumbling "mhm".

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I like you. Like, like like you."

"Like...as a friend?"

"I said I wasn't gonna repeat myself. As a booooyfriend." At this point Keefe fell back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Tam's cheeks were burning.

"How long have you liked me like that?"

"Mmmm..." Keefe seemed to ponder for a moment, "Prolly high school."

"Oh um...good to know. You should get some rest. I'll be down here if you need me."

"Alrighty."

Tam shut off the lights and Keefe started snoring quick. Tam could only stare up in the darkness, unable to sleep.

~*~

Keefe woke up that morning in a room he didn't recognize to a killer headache and dead phone.

He turned to the side, seeing a pile of blankets and pillows with a large gatorade, bottle of tylenol, and a note next to it. Suddenly last nights memories came flooding back.

Oh, shit.

He scrambled out of bed, headache and nausea hitting him harder as he stood up.

Despite the fact his head was spinning, he picked up the note from the ground and read it.

Hey, meet me at the reservoir around 6, we need to talk -Tam

F. U. C. K.

Had he really said all that stuff last night? Surely it was a dream, right?

Oh God.

He gathered his few belongings, plus the things to help the hangover, and left the dorms as fast as possible. Only having to stop once along the way to throw up in one of the campus trash cans, hopefully no one would notice.

Keefe didn't have anything to do and he really didn't want to face Fitz so he went about his day in last nights clothing. Then again, it was a college campus. Someone walking around with rumpled clothes carrying a gatorade probably wasn't that big of a deal for most people. By 5:30 he sat impatiently in the empty park where the reservoir was located, it was colder closer to the water.

Just as promised, at 6 o'clock he saw Tam approaching on the horizon.

~*~

Tam was damn near a panic attack as he walked around the park attempting to find Keefe. Eventually he found him, sitting on a bench still in his clothes from last night, face once again ruddy from the cold. He sat next to him wordlessly.

"So," Keefe started.

"So," Tam replied, looking down at his lap.

"Tam I-" Keefe turned to face him. "I'm sorry about everything last night, I probably just made everything super awkward. Not to mention it's a giant violation of the friend code to even have a crush on your best friend's ex-"

"Yeah, about that."

"What?"

"You're gonna maybe kill me for this but uh," Tam pulled on his bangs. "I sorta talked to Fitz about it, I figured you wouldn't and apparently I was right. He said he was okay with it as long as we were ok with it."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Tam sighed, "Perhaps."

Keefe once again wore that shit-eating grin of his.

"Can I hear you say it?"

"Why don't you have to say it?"

"Already said it last night! Your turn now. Why did you take care of me while I was drunk?"

Keefe stared at Tam excitedly waiting for the answer. Tam sighed.

"Because I love you, little shit."

"Ooh you said it-"

Tam smashed his lips against Keefe's, both quickly melting into it. After only a moment they pulled away.

"Agh, you taste like gatorade and vomit."

"Well you taste like salt so really what's worse."

"Definitely the vomit."

Despite this, Tam leaned back in. This kiss was a moment longer than the last, and when Tam pulled away Keefe chased it.

"Ok, look I'm sorry but you look like shit Keefe you have to go change." Tam removed his jacket, throwing it around Keefe once again and helping him up from the bench. Keefe laughed.

"Yeah, you're right. Ooh now that we're a thing you need a new nickname!"

"I do?"

"You do, how about 'Bangs Boyf' ooh or maybe you can be my 'provoked partner' or my 'snappy spouse' my 'agitated accomplice' perhaps."

"Do you just have these ready and prepared for any situation?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"You aren't Houdini, you're an 18-year-old boy that currently reeks of frat party."

"Eh that's basically the same thing. I've seen some 18-year-olds at frat parties preform tricks Houdini could never dream of."

Tam sighed dramatically. "It's a good thing you're pretty, you know."

"Hey!" Keefe jokingly shoved him.

For the first time Tam's smile wasn't repressed.

[chris-evans-indian-fanfic]

Unhinged

One-Shot

This one-shot is my entry for @jtargaryen18 's super spooky Haunted House writing challenge! The prompt was - A celebrity haunted house for charity will be open one night only, Halloween night. You spent days trying to get a ticket online for the event. Thanks to a bad day on Halloween, you get there only a minute before the line closes. You’re the last person to go in and thinking that’s either really bad (everyone is tired or would be in a hurry to see you out) or really good (maybe you’d get some extra time with the one you came to see). You are never seen again.

I had extremely fun writing this story with Mr Freezy! 😍 I hope you guys enjoy it! Please click here to check out all the other wonderful entries!

Description: Villain!Reader meets Mr Freezy aka Robert Pronge and, let's just say they don't get along well.

Warnings: Torture, mentions of murder, non-consensual acts of sex, abusive language, dark theme. ONLY PROCEED IF YOU ARE 18+

Word count: 4300~

My Main Masterlist

I don’t consent to have any of my work published or featured on any third party app, website or translated. If you are seeing this fanfiction anywhere but Tumblr and AO3, it has been reposted without my permission. In that case, please do share the link and let me know.

…

You looked at the pale, lifeless face of a certain Mr Patterson. Skin shriveled up, eyes gouged out, side of the face smashed in and the mouth permanently set in a horrified expression, Mr Patterson laid on the table in front of you as his widow sobbed beside him.

"I-I can't ev-even look-k at hi-him," she croaked between her tears, "My sweet-sweetheart, who-o would d-do this-ss to yo-you?" she wondered rhetorically as she completely broke down in the arms of her daughter, a woman of closely your age.

The daughter couldn't bear to look at her deceased father as she consoled her other parent. She looked at you with sadness, "Can you, maybe, make him look, a little, a bit, presentable?" she inquired quietly, "It's not going to be an open casket funeral. But we, we just want him to, you know, look a little…like slightly, better."

You almost laughed at her face on the request, but years of working at a funeral home as a makeup artist to the dead had trained you not to gawk any client's requests.

You successfully suppressed your laughter, and instead donned a sincere expression, "I will surely try my best ma'am. I am sorry for your loss, please accept my condolences."

As the mother-daughter duo left the room, you turned to face Mr Patterson. "Condolences my ass," you muttered as you spat at his face. It was ironic how the majority of your victims found their way to the funeral home where you worked. Take Mr Patterson here for example, not less than 48 hours ago he was begging you to spare his life, and now, here he was, laid out in front of you, lifeless.

You considered him for a moment, then decided against wasting your good makeup on this pervert bastard. Or maybe he might have been innocent? Who cared, he was dead now. Maybe he was truly looking at the Halloween decorations hung around the house behind you that night, or maybe he was just ogling at you. It was dark so you couldn't get a good look. But hey, you had a suspicion that he was checking you out, so you obviously had to teach him a lesson!

You still remembered killing your first victim. It had been your piano instructor. That lecherous pedophile had forcibly pulled you down on his lap, stating that sitting on him will make you a better pianist. You had grabbed the nearest glass vase and brought it down multiple times on his head, until the carpet beneath was red and his screams were all but an echo in the living room of your parent's house.

Since then, murder had become an activity from which you rarely partook in, then turned in to a pastime, a hobby, a passion and now finally, it was as natural and as necessary as breathing for you.

It didn't matter whom you killed anymore. Whether it was an old man looking at his neighbor's Halloween decorations, a dull attendant at the supermarket, an enthusiastic door-to-door salesman, a college student listening to irritating music on their headphone, or an incessant toddler crying for attention in the store, you didn't care. Anybody who irritated you, or pushed your buttons in the wrong way, or just, was at the same place at the same time with you doing something you disapproved of in your mind, you made sure to dispose of them.

The world had enough idiots, you didn't need any more of them around you.

You quickly wound up your work and left. Halloween was tomorrow and you had to make a quick stop to a local celebrity haunted house that you hoped had already been set up. It was being organized by an NGO for some God knows what charity and the tickets had proven to be difficult to procure. So you had just decided to break into the establishment a night prior.

Unfortunately, the exhibit was still being set up when you reached the venue and so, you decided to try again tomorrow night.

🎃

"OMG I can't wait to see him!" the teenagers standing in the line for the exhibit squealed as you watched them from the shadows. You looked at them with disgust, open contempt. Bloody fucking teenagers, you thought as you regarded their extreme enthusiasm. Clad in rhinestone studded clothes which sparkled under the streetlight, all the teenagers were busy on their iPhones. You rolled your eyes as each girl went live on either Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok or God knows what app. Fortunately, they were the last group to be admitted inside the exhibit, and if you could just time everything right, then you could maybe pull this off.

Gingerly, you approached the one who was facing away from the group, her front camera facing her with the entrance of the exhibit behind her. You cleared your throat, "Hi, um, excuse me, could you please help me?"

The teenager looked at you and flashed a wide smile, "Sure what's up?"

You smiled in relief, this would be easy, "I think my car keys fell somewhere back there, and my phone died so I can't really find them. Will you please come with me? I could use your phone's flashlight."

"Oh sure absolutely! Hey guys," the teenager called her friends, "Let's go and help her find her car keys."

"Oh no no no that's not necessary," you said urgently as her other friends grinned kindly at you, "I really just need one person. You guys stay here and hold your position in the line. We will be back in a few minutes."

"Are you sure?"' inquired another girl from the group.

"Yes yes," you smiled back in a reassuring manner.

The teenager who came with you - Ashley - looked at the grass and sidewalk at your request. If you hadn't want to enter the haunted house so much, then you would have considered sparing poor Ashley's life. Meh, you thought as you slowly crept up behind her, life wasn't always fair.

"Hey Ashley, please look under this car. I think it might have gone underneath it," you requested with a sincere expression.

She nodded as she got on all her fours, "It's not here."

"Try inhaling a big whiff of air. The keychain has a strawberry scented air freshener on it. Maybe you could smell it?" you suggested, knowing full well that the cyanide sprinkled under the car by you would instantly kill Ashley.

Your plan worked almost too well. As she painfully writhed on the floor gasping for air, you took her smartphone, hid her hideous rhinestone phone cover in your pocket and headed towards the exhibit.

Ashley's friends were waiting for her at the entrance when you reached. You told them that she was on a call with someone and would join them soon. While they still waited for her, you showed the guard the e-pass on Ashley's phone and entered the haunted house.

You were thrilled at seeing your most favorite characters almost alive in front of you! The animated wax statues bore close resemblance to their movie counterparts. Whether it was the Ghostface from Scream, the creepy Annabelle doll, the weird guy in the hockey mask, the Nun, Pennywise the Clown or the long-haired lady from The Ring, they all looked truly horrifying and you were loving it!

As you ventured further, you were surprised to see Chris Evans' character Mr Freezy or Robert Pronge. The movie wasn't exactly popular, but you figured they had maybe included this character now that Evans was all the rage thanks to the uptight stick-in-the-ass Captain America character.

Mr Freezy was standing besides his ice-cream truck, inviting you to enter it in repetitive robotic movements. His face with his signature long hair and glasses smiled at you vacantly as you looked on.

You vaguely remembered watching this movie, hell, you had even copied the cyanide idea from Mr Freezy himself! Just when you squinted your eyes, hoping to remember more parts from the movie, you heard noises behind you.

"She came inside, Officer," said a voice that sounded like one of the girls from the group. Shit! They must have discovered Ashley! you panicked as you looked for a way out. The door ahead of you had been mechanically locked shut, and the voices behind you were growing louder by the minute. The bright lights flickered on and the animations of the objects around you completely stopped.

Except for Mr Freezy.

His movements increasingly sped up and his eyes grew wider. At first, you thought it might be a malfunction, but you were shocked when he whispered your name, "Enter the truck to escape. NOW!"

As if on auto-pilot, you opened the door and hurriedly stepped in. The dry ice engulfed you, the voices lessening in volume behind you. A moment later, the entire truck shook violently, causing you to blindly hold on to the sides and yelp in surprise.

Suddenly, someone pressed the brakes and you lurched forward. The dry ice cleared inside the van as you stumbled towards the driver's seat. You heard someone close the door and walk towards the back of the truck. A moment later, the backdoors of the van were opened by none other than Mr Freezy himself.

Your jaw dropped to the floor and he mirrored your expression, the pair of you taking in each other's appearances.

Your modern 21st century clothes were completely out of place in the 1960s America that was home to Robert Pronge. His blue eyes from behind his long curtain of hair seized you up as he recovered from shock.

"Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing in my van?" he broke the foreboding silence.

You cocked your head to the side, your brain unable to comprehend the reality of the situation. Did you just appear on a movie set? What sort of time-space travel bullshit was this?

"ANSWER ME YOU CUNT," Mr Freezy's voice was loud enough to break you from your reverie, but the strong, tall, well-built man hardly intimidated you.

Instead of cowering as he expected you to, you raised your eyebrow, "So you are one of those method actors huh? Sorry I appeared on your set unannounced Mr Captain Evans," you said with spite as you walked towards him and crouched down to be at his eye level, "I will be on my fucking way now."

"Mr Capta-what? Who the fuck sent you? How did you come inside my van when I locked it? You weren't in there when I left Atlantic Avenue. What the fuc-"

You punched him in the face before he could finish his sentence. Though you liked his deep, smooth voice, his incessant cursing and hostility had started to get under your skin.

As he stumbled backwards from the force of your punch, you looked around him and noticed the absolute absence of large lights, cameras, large crew and any kind of set whatsoever.

You jumped from the van and looked at Chris Evans again as you landed on your feet. He looked exactly like his character in the movie. But something didn't feel right. That's when you heard the small click of his revolver.

Before he could aim it at you, you hit his right palm that held the firearm and twisted it, effectively breaking it in the process. He screamed in pain and tried to move away from you, but you weren't done yet.

Pulling him towards you, your knee brutally met with his pelvis and you punched the air out from his stomach. He doubled down with pain, his eyes watering as he tried to regain balance. But one swift blow to the back of his head turned his world dark.

You were panting when Mr Freezy finally lost consciousness and collapsed on the ground. You looked around again. The streets were isolated and there were barely any houses lined on the sidewalk.

You felt around your pockets for your belongings, but found them empty. You waited around for a few minutes, hoping to get some sense of clarity for your situation as Mr Freezy drooled on the street.

Finally, you resigned and hauled his heavy ass back into the van in the passenger's seat. Desperate for some sort of explanation, you put your hands inside his pants' pockets. You were rewarded with his wallet, some keys and a bunched up paper with an address roughly scribbled on it.

The year on the license was 1963 and the city stated was Jersey City of New Jersey.

Just as you secured his unconscious body with the seatbelt, you took a close look at his face. Despite the creepy hair, he did look handsome. Afterall, it was Chris Evans! Or some sort of alternate-universe-reincarnation-asshole version of his. His soft plump lips looked a bit dirty, so you looked down at his crotch. The pants had riddled up when you had placed him on his seat, giving you a clear outline of his dick.

And my was it a sight!

His thick member was struggling against the uncomfortable position of the pants. The rotund rod was anything but flaccid. You squeezed and rubbed your palm over the semi-hard member, cherishing the disgruntled noises that escaped his lips.

After about 5 minutes, you decided to drive his van back towards the line of houses. You guessed you were at the outskirts of the city and right now, you needed to find how to blend in with the people.

Soon enough, you were deep within the city and found a dress shop. All the signs on the shops which you passed seemed to fit the 1960s, thus leaving no doubt that you had actually time traveled into the past, that too in a completely different timeline.

You considered breaking into the shop and stealing a few clothes, but then decided against it. You were absolutely against stealing. It was probably the only crime you couldn't excuse.

The only time you hadn't paid for your stuff was when you wanted to buy a yellow dress. The lady shopkeeper with kind eyes had told you that the colour purple suited you better than yellow, and insisted that you buy the same. Later that night, you had calmly walked over the old woman's dead body and grabbed the yellow dress that you had loved.

You looked at the dresses in the shop window and decided to come back tomorrow. That's when you noticed the sign "WHITES ONLY".

You went back to the van and grabbed the revolver. Three suppressed shots from the silenced gun destroyed the sign, the wreckage of which witnessed you breaking into the shop and literally stealing everything that was on the premises.

Two. There were two crimes you wouldn't excuse.

You turned the van around and headed back towards the outskirts of the city. It was almost morning by the time you reached the address that you had found scribbled in Mr Freezy's pocket. It seemed to be some kind of a cold storage facility in a dilapidated building.

As you managed to make your way to the second floor with his limp, but still heavy, body, you remembered seeing a similar storage facility in the movie where Mr Freezy stored the dead bodies of his victims.

Your suspicions were proven correct when you picked the lock and entered the room. You found the tub where he cut the bodies of his victims and the chains he used to tie their bodies with.

As you ventured further, you found the dead body of the girl who had been force-fed pufferfish. That you remembered well, because you had tried to buy one but couldn't get your hands on the costly bugger fish.

Looking around, your eyes fell on the chains again and an idea popped into your head.

🎃

Robert Pronge woke up to find himself naked, spread eagle on his table, hands and legs wide apart, tied to the table with secured chains. The worst part? Large chunks of ice were wrapped around his palms and feet, rendering them numb. Waves of painful, frostbiting cold passed through his body. Hardly any sounds escaped his gagged mouth as he feebly tried to recollect what had happened last night.

He vaguely remembered you, a strangely dressed woman who had suddenly appeared in his van and knocked him unconscious.

He tried to look around him, a painful but necessary moment, and he realised he was in his own facility.

After what seemed like a few hours, he heard the door open and the clickety-clack of a woman's heels came near him.

Still shuddering with cold, he looked at you with his hooded eyes, the blue irises filled with hatred.

You chuckled at him. This was going to be fun. "Good morning Robert. Or should I call you Mr Freezy? Do you have a preference?" you cheerfully asked him as he kept staring at you.

You were wearing a yellow dress with white polka-dots, and a small artificial bouffant completed your look. Basically, you were dressed like any other cunt in 1963.

"Oh silly me," you scoffed at yourself, "I forgot about the gag."

A slew of profanities escaped his plump lips as you removed the gag, "You fucking whore! Untie me right now you bitch. Who the fuck do you-aaarrgghhh!" He shut up mid-rant when you slapped his cold naked dick.

"I will not tolerate any bad language. Let's take it from the top, shall we?" you reprimanded him and gave him your name.

He tried to spit at you but failed, his body dehydrated with the cold.

"You have no idea who you have messed with bitch. When my friends find out-"

"Friends?" you asked him, feigning surprise, "I thought you worked alone. Or has Mr Freezy gone all softy for The Iceman?"

Watching Robert gulp in anticipation gave you immense satisfaction. You went away from him, the dull clang of the metal chains filled the air as you heaved and huffed. Finally, he heard you crank the lever and the metal rattled as something huge was hung upside down on the metal hook.

Richard's dull, muted musk reached his nostrils before his dead body came into view. His feet were secured on the hook while his lifeless eyes stared into nothingness. His arms waved around a bit before the metal conveyor belt was brought to a stop.

"See? Richard found you," you claimed excitedly as Richard Kuklinski or The Iceman's body slowly turned above Mr Freezy.

Robert went still. Too still. A different chill had now consumed his body, his heart. He recognised the ugly emotion. He was scared. Terrified. It had been a long time since he had felt this horrible emotion but now, he lay motionless consumed by it.

His desperation grew when he heard you hum lightly, "You don't own me, I am just not one of your many toys". He had to get away from this place, from you.

As soon as he saw you disappear inside the freezer storage, he started struggling against his bonds once again. But the chains did anything but budge. "Now now, that is no way to thank me for making sure you meet your friend,* you scolded him, returning with a heavy block of ice.

"Let me tell you-UGH," you irritably shoved aside Richard's limp body as you came to stand beside Mr Freezy's horizontal torso. "Let me tell you how this is going to work. I want the names and addresses of those dusty, old, poor excuses for flour sacks 'Mafia Bosses' who apparently rule this city," you emphasized with air quotes.

Mr Freezy regarded you carefully. He knew by now that you were dangerous, but even he had his doubts that you would be able to destroy the mafia families in New Jersey. "Rot in hell bitch," he managed to spit weakly.

You rolled your eyes, "Men. Why do they always have to be difficult?" you muttered as you placed the heavy block of ice on his chiseled abs, and he immediately started writhing with the cold. "What did I tell you about your language? Tut-tut, looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson."

And with that, you made your right hand travel down his stomach and towards his thick naked member. Upon the contact, Mr Freezy tried to still his body, but the unbearably cold chunk currently resting on top of him made it impossible for him to stop moving.

You played with the hair surrounding his trunk, twisting and pulling almost teasingly, your eyes searching for his, but unfortunately, Richard's body hung between the two of you, blocking the view. So Mr Freezy couldn't see you and you couldn't see him. But who said there was romance in maintaining eye contact?

You gently wrapped your fingers around his length, making him gasp. "Someone likes this huh?" you cooed as you sped up your gestures, his length soon hardening under your touch.

"St-stop," his command was almost a moan.

You laughed at him, at his pathetic state and at his measly little request, "I don't think you want me to," you teased him as his member was almost erect now. You increased the speed of your strokes, your hands applying more pressure to thick rod that was now bulging with veins.

His hips and thighs tightened, indicating that he was close to the finishing line. But you were not done with him. Not yet.

You completely stopped your ministrations and lifted your hand. A small groan escaped his mouth before Mr Freezy caught himself.

"N-now you lis-listen to me you bit-AARRGGHH" he tried to speak between his pants, but shrieked when you roughly slammed an ice cube against his penis.

"What did I tell you about the swearing?" you chided him as you pressed the ice cube further to his length and balls.

Mr Freezy started fighting his bonds again, and frankly speaking, his refusal to accept his fate had started to get on your nerves in a bad way. You decided to keep the chunk of ice between his legs and grab some early lunch.

You returned in about 2 hours, just to find him in the same position as you had left him. The only difference was that all the ice had now melted. Oh, and there were huge, deep, red cuts on his wrists and ankles, probably due to all the fidgeting.

He was still slightly shivering though. Eh, it wasn't your problem anyway.

"Let's try again shall we?" you asked him as you got a fresh chunk of ice from the freezer. Richard's body was still hanging exactly where you had left it when you reached for Mr Freezy's lollipop again.

He tried to shake his hips, his length dancing along with his movements, as if to discourage you. "No," he muttered through gritted teeth, "No. Stay where you are. Don't you dare don't you fucking da-"

He shut up as soon as you started stroking him again. "We need to do something about your swearing Mr Freezy. Is that the language you use when you talk to kids? Huh? Looks like I will have to teach you some manners."

He soon started feeling the knot in his stomach, ready to unwind at any second, but you stopped. Completely. Again.

Even though he was mentally prepared for the cold hard ice to be rubbed against his genitals, his body wasn't.

This continued for 4 times more before he gave up. As you tried reaching for him for the sixth time, he almost pleaded with you, "I will give you their names, addresses, fucking every detail you would want about the mob bosses. Just let me go."

You laughed at his admission. He nearly jumped out of his skin as your sickeningly sweet laughter filled the isolated room. "Do you really think it's about that now?" you asked him, am incredulous expression on your face, "Ooooh Mr Freezy. I can get that information from anyone! Sure it would be convenient if I got it from you. But that's not what all this is about."

"Wh-why?" he asked, as if he already knew the answer and was terrified by it.

"Because I like breaking strong men," you replied with a pleasant, innocent grin. "Now, let's get back to work. Hhmm?"

"No no wait. I can. No. I will give you whatever you want. You want me to kill for you? I will-"

"Do you think I need a handy boy?" you interrupted him. "You want to give me something? Fine. Then stop swearing!"

He nodded eagerly, "Done. Not a single bad word. I will stay quiet. I promise. Just let me go."

You regarded him carefully, "No," you shook your head, "I don't think you have learned your lesson yet," you claimed decisively as you headed towards his legs.

With what bare minimum strength that was left in him, he shook his body again, hoping to get away from you. "Stop touching me! Stop!"

"It's funny that your mouth says stop," you grabbed his member again, "but your dick says the complete opposite." You bent down to kick a wet stripe from his balls to the tip of his mushroom, giving it a gentle suck as you reached the tip.

Mr Freezy's breath hitched in his throat. While he felt filthy and dirty everytime you touched him, the organ between his legs was aching for your attention. A tear escaped his eye as he realised this was probably the end of his life, that he might never see his son again.

As you set to work on him again, the part of his mind which had refused to accept his fate, slowly started succumbing to your sinful torture. His rebellious spirit was only left with one thought now. To be afraid. Very afraid. Of you.

__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__--__

Permanent tag: @donutloverxo @notyourtypicalrose @just-one-ordinary-fangirl

Chris Evans and his characters taglist: @onetwo3000 @bluemusickid @badbo1-evans (unable to tag you ☹️)

Taglist open! Just comment, send an ask or message!

[mrslittletall]

Time for my Ghost of Tsushima Review: Graphics To make it short, the game looks absolutely GORGEOUS. It goes with a realistic style. I didn’t had trouble with the character models, they looked good and unique and the facial expressions were well done. What got me, though, is the scenery. Tsushima is lush with nature and there were trees, flowers, pampas grass. You clearly could see what was a japanese settlement and what was a mongol camp, though I have to argue that they resuded a lot of assets for the buildings, like if you you knew one of them, you knew all of them, but that is nitpicking.  The water looked great, the fire effects looked great, the foxes were cute, the flowers were gorgeous. It was a joy to look at and I made some scenery screenshots which I all forgot to upload, oh well...  The last area was a bit duller though, because it was full of snow, but I like snow and we got footprints in the snow, so I was fine with it ^^ Sound/Music Sadly this game suffers from western Triple A problems... the music is generic and doesn’t stand out. I think I remember one song of the entire OST and that was in Yarikawa, when you unlock the Ghost Stance.  The music is generally played with japanese instruments which was a very nice touch though. It wasn’t there all the time also, leaving you room to listen to the atmosphere, which was nicely done. It never really was quiet in Tsushima, but it made me feel at ease. I am also amazed at the voice acting. The voice acting was really really good, though both me and my husband had one gripe with it... Ok, so I put them on english, but they are still talking japanese with each other, it’s just dubbed for our listening comfort, so why... why did so many VA’s speak with a fake japanese accent?! That didn’t make any sense at all!  It got even more hilarious when I read the names of the credits and Jin, one of the few who doesn’t sport a fake japanese accent was spoken by a japanese man! That was the only gripe I had with the voice acting though.  Gameplay  The game feels like a classic Open World game. I heard a lot of people got tired by it, but they probably have played like a hundred Open World titles already. I only played Breath of the Wild and Death Stranding (and Death Stranding is not a typical Open World title), so it felt all fresh and new enough for me. I am a person who really likes to see progress in games, so it always felt great for me when I found one of the locations in Tsushima that would give me some extra and make my Jin stronger. I loved the exploration part of the game.  The quests of the games? They were a bit generic, at least the optional quests. Lots of the same to do. The story quests were more interesting, for they sometimes forced a certain playstyle on you or gave you certain weapons to use. Like, sinking the ships with the hwacha was really cool and having to sneak out of the shogun’s castle was nerve wracking. I wasn’t bored with them though, for I liked the little stories behind the quests.  The combat was really fluid and played well, though the standoffs at Act 3 got ridiculously hard. I thought it was my problem, but I wasn’t the only one failing the standoffs in Act 3, the game really just made them super hard, apparently to encourage stealth? Yeah, but I don’t want to stealth the mongol patrols...  The boss battles in the game... they kinda felt like a dance. You had to find out what your opponent does and react accordingly and if you did it right, it felt like a beautiful rythm of a sword battle. I was pretty impressed by how fluid it felt when I didn’t mess up. The stealth mechanics were good. I hate stealth in games where you normally don’t do stealth, but here the stealth was a big part of the game. You had a lot of options for stealth, you could hide in grass or behind walls, you could assassinate the foes one by one, you could hide on a roof and shoot them with your bow, you get access to poison later in the game (shooting a brute with hallucination dart was always fun) and and and. It really hammers home that your character took up the practices of a shinobi to save his home.  The early game hell was pretty bad though... you start with not much of course, and that made me almost give up on the game because I did nothing but die... only when I found out that I can run up to archers and hit them with my sword instead of having an archer battle, I had fun again. Like, the game starts you out with low health and resolve and then gets you into missions with five archers shooting at you at once? You are dead before you could even aim!  Overall, I had fun with the gameplay.  Story/Characters Ok, that will be complicated, because I like the story and I dislike the story at the same time... But let’s talk about the characters first. I loved most of them, especially Jin, Yuna, Kenji and Norio. Every main character got their own questline which you could follow and it showed a lot about them, also that none of them a honourable hero or anything, but they all had their flaws and troubles... Especially Lady Masako’s quest made me thinking... for it was extreme that her family got slaughtered like that, but after hearing that she left her sister in an abusive marriage I couldn’t hate Lady Hana for it... she must have tremendously suffered and sadly all her negative energy got channeled at innocent people... Their stories went through the whole game and were a good thing to deepen them, because in the main story they felt a bit side lined in favour of Yuna’s and Jin’s friendship as well as the storyline about Ryuzo and the relationship between Jin and Shimura.  Ok, let’s talk about the story now.  The story is set on the 13th century of the island of Tsushima with the mongol invasion. Because the mongols fight not fair, the honourable Samurai lose the battle... almost all of them. Jito Shimura gets captured and Jin gets dragged away by thief Yuna who nurses him back to health. Of course he makes the decision to save Shimura, who is his uncle, but now he hasn’t an army in his back, he’s only one man. So Yuna teaches him the tactics of stealth and dirty fighting. More and more over the span of the game, Jin takes up the practices of a shinobi, with a lot of Ghost Weapons that get unlocked and a stealth based game play.  Jin, who has been raised as honourable samurai, has trouble with this and can’t accept his new role at first. He tells himself he stops doing it once the mongols are driven out, but...  A legend is getting spun. The Legend of the Ghost. I really like how this happens, for Jin does nothing supernatural to get the mongols down, he simply changes his tactics. But the people hear about it and they rumour and soon after they call him “The Ghost” and everything gets exxegerated a LOT. That is pretty much how legends must have started, so I loved this aspect.  And I loved how we see Jin’s inner struggle and how he thinks about the land first and his honour second and that there is a friendship with Yuna which never turns into romance, which is a plus as well. Act 2 was really epic and I loved the whole Yarikawa moment, when like everything screamed “For the Ghost”, that was POWERFUL. What I dislike is the story since the end of Act 2 and in the start of Act 3.   See, there’s Ryuzo. Ryuzo is Jin’s boyfriend childhood friend and he is a ronin. Jin asked him to join his forces, but Ryuzo betrays him and joins the mongols for his men hunger and the Khan did promise him food.  And during the second act, Ryuzo and his strawhat ronin act like secondary villains... and I was very much hoping for a redemption arc for Ryuzo, but instead the story lets Ryuzo pathetically cry for his life and Jin has to kill him. Um, what was that?! You missed a GREAT opportunity for a redemption arc here and it feels like you didn’t use the potential of Ryuzo at all...  And then Act 3 happened... see in Act 2 there is a mission where Jin gets poison and it is a powerful weapon, most players will probably use it. But there is a scene where Jin uses it without player control and his uncle is like “WTF Jin?”  The issue comes when we enter act 3 and now the mongols use the poison that Jin used on them... And the story turns into a “Oh Jin used poison, how horrible that is! Now the mongols have poison! Why did you use poison, Jin? You are clearly the villain now.” Which I am like... “No? What the fuck? This guy saved thousands of people because he decided that life was more imporant than honour and the narration wants to tell us that poison is bad? What?”  In the end, I liked that Lord Shimura came to help though and the ending tale... had some very powerful lines “You have no honour.” “And you are a slave to it.” Beautifully delivered those lines. My decision in the end was to let Lord Shimura leave, but not for the reason Jin had, for he said he wouldn’t kill family. My reason was the following: “Live! See the pain and suffering of your people and help them. Live with your shame and survive, because that is what Jin does. You don’t get an easy way out, old man.” Yeah, my reason was lot more spite...  Anyway, I wish the story in the later acts would have been better... it started so strong... Overall This isn’t a perfect game of course. But I had my fun with it and I wanted to explore the map and see the end of Jin’s story. Characters were adorable and fun, gameplay is smooth once early game hell is over. I would totally rec this game if you aren’t fatigued of open world titles.

[outerbankslut]

Here For You... JJ Maybank

Summary • One afternoon after seeing a certain blond pogue hurt you are left confused and worried for him. So you set out to figure out exactly whats happened to him or more like what happens behind the closed doors of the Maybank residence.

Warnings • Swearing. Cannabis abuse. Mentions of abuse(from the show)-And please if you’re going through anything like that please talk to someone. My doors always open if you need to talk <3

Word Count • 4.3k (Imagine)

Masterlist

(GIF isn’t mine, let me know if it’s yours)

    FLOUR ENCASED YOUR clothing as you finally slid the greased up tray into the oven, dusting your hands off after. John B and your friends were out on the boat for the day which you declined to have the day to yourself to bake cookies and do homework in peace without the likes of John B your brother and JJ your best friend. He stayed around a lot and at this point he basically lived there but you didn't mind. Truth be told, you had a big fat crush on the boy. But it was the opposite of all teenage love stories. He didn't love you back. You often found yourself happy to wake up and see the boy sitting around the house drinking beer or smoking a joint. He gave a sense of comfort in the house that felt so empty without your dad.

You and John B being twins shared most things—one being friends. You had known the blond since you were in third grade, and that was when the crush bloomed but you could tell by his constant hookups he didn't know nor reciprocate those feelings. He only thought of you as a friend.

Then there was Pope. Occasionally you worked down at his dads shop for extra money for rent if your uncle didn't come through with it as well as groceries since he didn't seem to care if you or John B starved. Pope was the sweetest and smartest boy you had met. When your brother refused to show you how to drive a boat the Pope showed you on delivery once. Though it got you in trouble with Heyward when you turned back up late to the shop.

And Kiara. She was a Kook. Got a taste of both sides of the jungle. The kooks didn't sit well with her so she ended up an honorary pogue. She was your best friend as soon as she joined the group since you'd never had a girl to talk to since your mum left and your house was filled with boys.

You sighed as you settled down atop the counter looking at your phone as you added a timer since the one on the oven was broken. It was all quiet apart from the low hum of the oven fan until a door was shoved open and stumbling footsteps walked round the house.

Everyone else was on the boat, so who the hell was this?

You picked up the wooden base ball bat from that leaned on the wall just in case and held your phone ready to call 911 and inched towards where the sound was coming from.

And the bathroom light was on, you furrowed your eyes brows in confusion.

Then when you pushed open the door you caught a flash of golden blond locks as the boy quickly turned around putting his shirt on quickly.

"JJ?"

A bruise had formed just beneath his eye and along his cheek bone, mixed arrays of blues and purples splashed with the cream colour of his skin. You gasped as you saw it. His lip was busted and there was a small cut just above his eyebrow.

You reached forward to get a better look at his face as you finger lightly grazed over the bruise and he flinched away slightly making you frown.

"Sorry." You pulled away looking at the boy who had nothing to say in that moment but normally was not the quiet type. "Wait, why are you here? I thought you were on the boat with the others."

"I decided not to go today. I—um, had to help out my dad with some stuff at home." His voice wavered as he spoke leading you to believe he was keeping something. Then he turned his eyes to you. "What about you? Didn't think anyone would be here."

"I have homework to do. But that's beside the point. What happened to your face?"

He panicked. You couldn't know. As much as he wanted to wrap his arms around you and just stay there forever in your safe arms he couldn't. He couldn't drag you into his mess of a life. If would be best if you stayed just outside of it. You couldn't get hurt because of him.

"Homework. And I thought Pope was the nerd." He was deflecting. You rolled your eyes at the act. Something was definitely up. If this was just a small run in with Rafe other other Kooks then why would he be hiding that?

You sighed deciding not to question him for a second. Though you wanted to know who did it so you could punch them, he could tell you in his own time.

"I can help clean you up, got some frozen peas in the freezer. And some antiseptic wipes for that cut. But after that I want to know what happened."

"You know, I forgot I've got to get back to work and stuff. I'll see you later, Lu." He rushed past you away from the bathroom he had sought refuge in, where he thought he was alone but the prying eyes of Lucie Routledge never once left his.

"Wait, JJ!"

But he didn't stop. He carried on until he was perched on his bike and you were walking down the porch stairs.

He ignored you pulling on his helmet though when doing so his shirt rode up slightly and you got a glimpse of how bad it really was. How bad his homelife was. Though you didn't connect the dots just yet.

You gasped with a hand over your mouth seeing bruises all down his side, a messy painting of purples, blues and greens mashed together. But before you could say anything he sped away leaving you in your thoughts about what the hell happened.

The rest of the night you filled the out the pit in your stomach with chocolate chip cookies and empty thoughts. Since then you couldn't concentrate on your homework having given up an hour ago just when John B came back with Pope and Kie.

Your brother barrelled into your room a cookie in hand and jumped onto your bed as you winced hoping it didn't break.

"Did you guys have a good day?"

"Yeah. Especially since you weren't there." He joked taking a hefty bite of the cookie just as you threw your pillow his way.

He noticed your expression after that. You were distracted and confused and seemed distant.

"What's up with you?"

You sent him a puzzled look. "Nothings up with me. I don't know what you're talking about."

He rolled his eyes before standing up and messing up your hair with his hand which you promptly slapped away. "Well if you want to talk then I'm just next door."

Except you weren't part of the thoughts plaguing your mind. It was JJ.

    THE NEXT DAY when everyone was round at the Chateau JJ didn't even look at you. His gaze was focused either on the ground or towards whoever was speaking except from you. You could never get him alone to talk to him since he made sure you were never alone in a room and would spark up a conversation with literally anyone before you could utter a word.

It was midday and you were out on the HMS pogue with them all sitting next to Kie. John B was fishing, JJ was smoking as usual on the other side of the boat, Pope was reading and Kie was on her phone while you were braiding your hair. If the others weren't here you would definitely be able to cut the tension between you and JJ with a knife. If he was going to ignore you for wanting to help him then so would you. Two can play at that game.

The others could sense something was wrong though and were choosing to ignore it. They could tell since JJ had only flirted with Kie all day. He'd willingly had a conversation about science stuff with Pope. And none of them had seen either of you speak a word to each other.

As you sat with your eyes covered by sunglasses and body clad in a purple bikini you heard a squeal emitting from beside you and turned to see John B tipping fish out of a net right next to you and Kie and you felt a small splash on your legs of water from the dead Sea life.

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that." JJ commented.

Kie grimaced scouting away as she moaned at the boy for putting it so close to her. "Ugh, John B."

"Been all bait for, like, three weeks." Then John B threw a fish at JJ landing beside him.

"Gross."

Then your brother turned to you holding a fish in his hand and you scooted further away practically laying on Kie. "John B, do not thr—"

You were interrupted by the slimy fish landing on your lap after it had hit your face. JJ erupted with laughter at that as you narrowed your eyes. Practically the only interaction he had today with you. You narrowed your eyes on JJ before turning to John B and throwing the fish back at him as he ran to the other side of the boat.

Then JJ tackled down at the bow of the boat laughing before Pope jumped on top and Kie joined.

"Incoming." You yelled as you flopped down on the four people pile hearing groans in response with muffled laughter.

"I think you guys squished my organs." John B muttered as JJ nodded but you couldn't help but lie there and wish that this would be the way your life was for ever. The boat adventures, surfing, island life and doing whatever the fuck you wanted.

"Uh... Lu?" Kie muttered nudging your side and you jumped off realising you had just been sitting and staring into space. You noticed JJ wincing slightly as you all got up and felt guilty. Though he did jump into it himself. Literally.

"Sorry."

"No problem, my lungs may no longer work but it's fine." John B said and you flicked him on the forehead when he sat up.

Kie looked to you as though she got an idea and smiled. "Food at the wreck? I've got a shift in like...an hour."

"Not gonna turn down food. Especially from the wreck my favourite place on earth."

"My dads not gonna give you a discount for ass kissing." Kie deadpanned to JJ who looked dejected as you laughed. "You can have leftovers from are lunch menu though if I can convince him."

"Score." He pumped his fist in the air and you rolled your eyes. This was going to be a long day if he kept this up.

    AT THE WRECK the table could not been more awkward. The only seats left were next to each other that both you and JJ were forced to take while the other three sat on the other side of the round table laughing and joking around. It was like they did it on purpose. You picked at the fries in the small basket while JJ entered the conversation and you kept mulling over yesterday. The thought of JJ hating you felt horrible—like you were about to throw up every passing second. It may seem an overreaction to him ignoring you all day but why else would he be. Maybe you did something yesterday. Maybe you said something wrong. Maybe you—

"Lu?" Kiara stared concerned from beside you. Maybe you'd been lost in your thoughts for too long.

"What's up?"

She pointed to your hand and you looked down to see in your ranting thoughts you hadn't paid much attention to anything else and had squished a few fries in your hand. "You murdered some poor fries." She pouted as you laughed.

"Oh. Oops." You dropped them into the basket and by impulse sent a fleeting glance towards JJ who stared at his own food eating slowly which was unusual for him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

Kie nodded in response slowly not really believing you.

"Okay, well I have to go start my shift now. So I’ll see y'all later." You all waved goodbye to the Carrera girl before finishing your food and heading back out on the boat from the docks by the wreck.

First it was dropping Pope off at Heywards to help his dad and then you headed back to the chateau, a silence among you until your brother coughed awkwardly looking between the two off you.

"Okay, none of us said anything earlier but you guys are acting weird. First it was you guys not speaking a word to each other. Then it was your fry mass murder. What's going on?"

"Nothing." JJ shrugged nonchalantly. Yep absolutely nothing was wrong. It was all fine and dandy.

"Whatever you guys want to think." John B shrugged not pushing anymore.

Once you got back to the Chateau John B docked up the boat just as JJ walked off down the dock to the house. You sighed. Could you give him anymore time? This couldn't go on for much longer. Surely.

    HE WAS STILL ignoring you the next day and it was just pissing you off now. So you stormed out to the porch where he had laid himself across the couch smoking. John B was out at work so it was just the two of you there and he was actively avoiding you.

"JJ!"

Still nothing. So you did something he would definitely respond to. You went up to him and before he realised, you had snatched the joint from his fingertips.

"Hey!"

"So now you talk to me." He scowled before attempting to take the joint back but you moved backwards sending concerned eyes to his rigid figure. "I'm worried about you JJ. You come in with bruises and avoid telling me why or letting me help you and then you ignore me all day yesterday. What's going on?"

His eyes softened as he focused his gaze on you and ran a hand through his hair turning around. And just when you thought he was going to open up to you he stopped the softness in his eyes dissipating into emptiness.

"What’s wrong is you just don’t know when to let off. You need to mind your own business Lu. You’re fucking annoying getting in everyone’s business all the time.” His voice was angry but it didn’t reach his eyes. The frustration didn’t reach those baby blue eyes. In fact they were filled with a sea of guilt and regret. But it was done now. He couldn’t go back now. And he knew he’d royally fucked up when he saw your face melt into a melancholy frown. But what did he expect?

So it was your fault. You were too nosey? But you were truly just worried about your friend. Is that a crime?

“Are you joking or something?” You laughed to ease the tension but the coldness in his face didn’t break. “You’ve been mad at me because I care? Your my friend, of course I care. I’m not going to apologise for getting into your business if it means that you’re okay.”

“It’s getting unbearable! You’re getting unbearable and annoying. I can’t—I just needed—need a break! So forgive me for not wanting to talk to you today! Because no one asked you to help them, it’s not your fucking place!”

“I know no one asked thats just what you do as a friend. You support them no matter what. Those bruises are clearly from something bad if you don’t want me to know. So I’m sorry someone actually fucking cares about you JJ!” Your voice raised towards the end but then cracked at the tears building in your throat suffocating you.

It broke JJ. He was causing this. He was the idiot that made you think you were anything less than amazing. But it was for your own good. Right?

Your best friend and unrequited love, thinks your unbearable and annoying and intrusive. And yet had never mentioned it all this time.

“I just need a break for a bit, I need you to leave me alone for a bit and so I can cool off. Is that too hard for you?!”

“What? Our friendship? You can’t just put something like that on hold. You can go fuck yourself cause when your ‘ready’ and ‘cooled off’ I won’t fucking care. Find yourself some new friends who don’t care about you cause it won’t be hard for me to leave you the fuck alone!” You spat at him. Was it too harsh? You were scared it was but he was harsh first. He didn’t say anything after. Just stayed quiet as you scoffed, salty tears sliding down your cheeks.

"You're a fucking asshole JJ Maybank." You shook your head and shoved past the boy. Your mind had completely forgotten about the bruises now. If he wanted to stay out of his business then so be it. You would remove him completely from your life.

The rest of the day you lounged around the house. After the argument you hadn't given JJ his joint back so you got high the rest of the time and it helped. For a few hours and then you were back to mourning your friendship. Thinking about all the good times you’d had. All the times when he didn’t seem to hate you. The blond hadn't resurfaced. He left just after the argument going somewhere but obviously you didn't ask.

It was days after that and you were laying in your bed that was pressed up beside the window and staring at the sky thinking about the blonds words over and over.

A loud knock startled you out of your gaze and you looked down to see the figure of the boy you had been thinking about all day. Your eyes settled on him narrowed and blazing until you saw his face. Littered with more bruises than the day before. More than you could count.

He stood looking so much smaller than any other time than you had seen him. His eyes were watery and red and you could see him trembling slightly. You immediately wanted to take him into your arms and hug him tight. But would he want to?

You quickly went and opened your window allowing him in as you scooted backwards in your bed. When he got in you immediately went and hugged him not even asking for an explanation this time. He was upset and hurt and what he needed then was comfort not an interrogation.

As soon as your arms wrapped around his body he shook with sobs his tears running down your shoulder.

You rubbed his back and made soothing circles as tears of your own leaked out. After 10 minutes he moved away looking down not feeling like he could even look you in the eye after earlier and him crying to you.

"I'm so sorry, Lu. I didn't mean to hurt you and I didn't mean anything I said. I just didn't want you to know. I didn’t want you to know—to see how weak I was. I wanted to push you away so you wouldn't get involved in my messed up life." You nodded slowly as more tears fell. Tears of relief but also sadness. Sad that he didn’t think he could come to you. To confide in you and that instead he pushed you away in the worst way possible hurting you both.

JJ felt like shit. Emotionally and physically. He couldn’t believe what he had done to you days earlier. It was like his mind was in autopilot not allowing you to do anything by watch as you both argued.

He still avoided your gaze until you softly put a hand under his chin lifting his gaze to your as you smiled sadly at him. "It's okay J. I just wanted to make sure you were okay so I could help or stop it somehow. But right now there's more important things than that and I need to get some first aid stuff."

Just as you got up his hand reached out to yours holding it softly and stopping you in your tracks.

"It was my dad."

You froze tears gathering at the hoarseness of his voice and the crack that echoed when he said it. His dad. Though you never liked Luke Maybank, you never thought he would stoop this low. Beating his own child. It would take a lot of willpower not to go over there and give him a taste of his own medicine. The one person that’s supposed to take care of him. To love him. Beats him instead.

You didn't say anything except hug him once more time. Holding him tight but careful around the bruises areas. The thought of his dad putting those bruises and scars all over his body made you sick to your stomach. How dare he. How dare he think he had any right to lay a hand on his child like that.

You left when he sat perched on the edge of your bed no longer crying. It broke your heart since JJ was a tough nut to crack half the time. But this was obviously going to be his breaking point. It would be anyone’s.

You gathered all the thing you'd need and took JJ to the bathroom careful not to wake John B as you did.

"Tell me if it hurts okay?" He nods and you take an antiseptic wipe towards the new cut on his cheek dabbing it gently to clean it. There was another cut on his arm and his split lip which you cleaned as well as the boy stared at you intently. You felt redness spread across your cheeks as you finally looked into his eyes.

"What?" You asked and he just shook his head a small smile appearing.

"I'm just realising how much of an idiot I was pushing you away this morning. Your my best friend—no you're more than that and I shouldn't have done that I just didn't want to get you caught up in this mess."

"Exactly JJ. I'm your best friend. A best friend is meant to be there for you in moments of weakness or through things like this. I don't care about being caught up in all this I just care about you. I’m here for you. Always." You carried on cleaning his open wounds carefully. JJ realises in that moment. You were the one person who stood by him when he got beat up in 4th grade by a bully or when people were hanging up on him and you stood up for him. You stuck around when he did crazy shit that the others didn’t stick around for. He realised that as much as you were there for him, he wanted to be there for you. He wanted to be loved by you. Not by his lowlife dad. Or his random Touron hookups. He wanted them to be you. Always you. He loved you.

"I love you." He spurted out and you stifled a gasp as you stood silently, your hand frozen in air millimetres from his face as you stared at each other. The way he said it didn’t sound like just a friend I love you. It sounded like something more. Some more which you reciprocated but you didn’t think there would ever be a day when he would say that.

"I love you too." You laughed it off.

"No Lu, I—I love you more than a friend."

“I love you more than a friend too. JJ Maybank.” His eyes widened in happiness the corners of his lip turning up and stretching as he grinned despite his split lip.

He looked like he couldn't believe it. But you had been crushing on him for longer than you could remember but you always thought it was one way. That he thought of you like a sister or something.

But maybe this whole time you had both been oblivious to each other’s blatant feelings. At least it was out now.

He placed two hands softly on your cheeks and gently pulled you in closer smashing your lips together. You could taste the metallic blood of his cut as your tongues brushed over each other’s but you didn’t care. You both pulled away breathless as you smiled into his touch. JJ looked dazed. Though the thoughts of his injuries still plagued your mind as you pulled away running out of the room to get an ice pack and some tylenol.

The bruises running down his body made you more angry by the second. But you couldn’t be blinded by that. Keeping a level head for the boy was what was important.

When you came back the boy grinned shaking his head.

“You didn’t need to get me that. What we just did was enough of a pain reliever. Though it did make me wanna relieve myself in another way if you—”

“JJ. No.” He pouted as you said that like a sad puppy.

“Another time?”

“Yeah whatever.” You rolled your eyes but couldn’t help but smile. Somehow even through this JJ managed to smile and joke around. He had his bad days. Like the last. But he was strong. And you loved him for that. “I’m always here for you if you need me. In that way and any other way. Also you’re not going home.”

“Of course, Milady. Why don’t we go watch Netflix and—”

“Do not finish that J.”

“Awe, come on.”

Note • This is so long Jesus. And it took me so long to finish writing and edit and I still kinda hate it but I don’t think it’ll get better than this. Oh well. Oh I forgot that when I was writing it I gave them a name rather than y/n and I cba to change it now.

[dinosaurtsukki]

prompt 69 (nice) for akaashi, would love to see him SNAP at someone 👀 -🍙

69 is the magic word onigiri-anon akjdjakfd. also OMG YES I LOVE THIS PROMPT i just read it, thought of akaashi, and thought of the perfect thing!

Akaashi + 69

69.  “You’re going to burn in a very special level in hell. A level they reserve for child molesters, animal abusers, and people who talk at the theater.”

There are approximately 1,010,300 words in the English language, but you could never string enough words together to properly explain how much you wanted to hit the Karen standing in front of you with a chair. Just when you thought that taking the eight to ten pm shift at Starbucks couldn’t get any worse, you just had to deal with a Karen.

“Ma’am, the cups with the new logo are the only ones we have in stock. We do not have a collection of ‘hidden, reserved cups with the old logo’ stashed ‘in the back,” you responded calmly to the woman in front of you, directly quoting snippets of her complaint.

“The store near my area has them,” she argued. “I’m not taking my drink until you serve it in one of those cups.”

“Ma’am, you already paid for your drink,” you said, biting back a sigh and a snappish remark, opting for the tone you used when talking to toddlers. 

“Then I want a refund!” she practically screeched. 

“We made the exact drink that you ordered so it goes against our policy if you ask for a refund,” you said. 

“You’re stealing my money.”

“Ma’am, it is not stealing when you paid for it.”

“Jesus, all this for a cup?” you heard someone say. Thanks to the raging lady in front of you, you almost forgot about the boy standing behind her. You recognized him as a regular visitor during your shifts and he seemed like the run-off-the-mill tired college student who needed caffeine. This time, he seemed even more in need of caffeine. 

“Excuse me?” the Karen turned around and narrowed her eyes at the young man.

“It’s literally just a cup,” the guy enunciated. “What are you, fifty? Don’t you just feel a little pathetic about fighting with someone who’s probably half your age about a cup?”

“Shut up, you’re not even part of this conversation,” Karen snapped at him. “I can call my lawyer right now.” 

“Ma’am that won’t be necessary,” you almost pleaded. Thankfully, mister tired college student didn’t lose his cool for one second.

“Go ahead, call them. And then, your lawyer will come all the way here to this very Starbucks because their client has the emotional ability of a toddler. Then, they’ll magically make that special cup that you can’t drink any other Starbucks from appear. And then you’re going to go home with your Starbucks and spend the rest of your life harassing young employees so that when you die, you’re going to burn in a very special level in hell. A level they reserve for child molesters, animal abusers, and people who talk at the theater,” they said, calmly, coolly, and with each syllable dripping with venom. It was absolutely wonderful. You smiled for what was probably the first time during your shift. Karen’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“F-fine. I never liked ordering at this Starbucks anyway,” she tossed her head around with a huff, clutching her purse close to her as she left the store.

“Um, I don’t know what to say,” you let out a laugh. “But, that was amazing.”

“Thank you,” the tired college student tipped his head just a little. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. “Are you... gonna take that?” he asked, pointing to the drink that Karen left behind. “Because technically she didn’t pay for it so... oh but if you want it, go ahead.”

“No thanks. Triple, venti, half-sweet, non-fat, caramel macchiatos aren’t my thing,” you shrugged.

“Great,” the guy swiped the cup off the counter. “If there’s one other thing I hate about myself, its that me and that lady kind of like the same things.” With that, he took a long sip and sighed.

“Don’t feel too bad,” you chuckled. “So, are you good with that or is there still anything you want to order?”

“Yeah. Here’s an easy one. Just a grande Americano with maybe three extra shots of espresso,” he said, narrowing his eyes at your name tag. “Y/n,” he added.

“Alright,” you typed up his order and picked up a cup. “Name?”

“Akaashi.” You smiled and penned his name down, committing it to memory. It was the last drink you had to make of the night and you were more than ready to go home. But, ending with a customer like Akaashi wasn’t so bad.

“Here you go,” you smiled, genuinely this time and not with the forced one you used around customers. 

“Thanks,” Akaashi accepted the drink, slotting a paper bill through the tip jar. “I’ll see you around, y/n,” he smiled at you, holding his cup up as if to toast. 

“Hopefully next time there won’t be a Karen,” you joked. Akaashi laughed and you felt the slight eruption of butterflies in your stomach as you watched him leave. Akaashi. You were definitely going to remember that name.

taglist (open to anyone who wants in):  @oikaw-ugh​ @montys-chaos​ @miyumtwins​ @strawberriimilkshake​ @pocubo​ @sugawara-sweetheart @akaashisbabydoll

[spaceskam]

another part of my kid fic universe for @zuluoscarecho ❤️️

warning: mentions of past abuse and deportation

“I spy with my little eye something... brown.”

"Um... Alex's hair?"

"No! His hair is black!"

"Definitely brown.

"Let's say both," Alex chimed in, smiling easily as he listened to Michael and Isaac play their billionth round of I Spy as they made their way to Texas to pick up Isaac's things from his Tía Ellie’s house. 

It took a bit more negotiating that expected. Turns out, she’d never directly witnessed Isaac actively using his telekinesis, but she’d been getting suspicious that there was something off about him. She loved him, she’d said, but she was no longer comfortable housing him. She’d been getting in contact with a social worker and Isaac had overheard which led to him hunting down Michael in hopes he’d be a safe place to go. Alex had to take over the phone call at that point.

“Okay, okay,” Michael agreed, humming as he looked around for something brown. His hand was locked with Alex’s, resting on the center console of Alex’s truck. Alex gave his hand a soft squeeze. “My hair?”

Isaac erupted into unprecedented giggles, “Not everything is hair!”

“Well, shit, I don’t know what else comes in brown, dude, the tree trunks?” Michael asked, smile getting wider by the second.

Isaac had only been staying with them for a week so far, but he got comfortable fast. They’d set up his room and he would be starting school that following Monday, so it was clear he had no reason to not get comfortable. Besides, he and Michael had little telekinesis lessons and that seemed to help a lot at making him feel safe there. Alex made sure to add a little more to that safety by working on making sure Daniella had a constant, trustworthy line of communication to talk to Isaac every day. So far it’d been a little rocky, but he was working the little bit of magic he could manage.

He was determined to be a good father figure.

“No,” Isaac said.

“Okay, I give up, what is it?” Michael said.

“My hair.”

Michael laughed and turned in his seat to face him, looking some where in between impressed and baffled.

“You totally tried to throw me off course.”

“Duh.”

“You hear that, Alex? We’ve got a fuckin’ trickster in our backseat,” Michael said, huffing a laugh as he settled back into his seat, “He’s gonna outsmart us all.”

“Wouldn’t shock me,” Alex agreed, pulling his hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to his knuckles. His heart felt so full in a way he couldn’t quite articulate. Michael leaned over and kissed his cheek for extra measure.

“Me neither,” he agreed, looking back to Isaac when he pulled away, “How’d you do in school, by the way? Forgot to ask.”

“Good,” Isaac said, shrugging, “As and Bs.”

“Trying or not trying?” Michael clarified. There was a few seconds of silence and Alex could picture the distinct, guilty grin on his face that mirrored his father’s. “Well, I always say if they know you’re better than them without even trying then you’re doing something right.”

“Okay, no, that’s a horrible lesson,” Alex butted in. Michael scoffed in disagreement as Isaac just let out a soft laugh. 

Isaac hadn’t really struggled to understand the fact that two men could be together (another thing they had to thank Daniella for) but it had been an adjustment for all of them and they had a conversation about the barest definition of Michael’s sexuality to nip any complicated questions in the bud. That had been preceeded by a talk with Danielle herself who said ‘that would explain a lot, good for you’. 

In times of banter, though, he happily sided with whoever he felt could make the situation funnier.

“Yeah, Mr. Michael, bad lesson.”

“This whole teaming up against me thing is not gonna fly. You both seem to forget I could throw everything with my brain,” Michael said, more pouty than serious and only getting more laughter from the boy in the back seat, “And stop calling me mister, it makes me feel old.”

“You are old,” Alex told him. Michael stuck his tongue out at him, but didn’t argue. They hadn’t quite had the whole alien conversation yet. That felt like more a month milestone or something.

The rest of the drive to Texas went like that, conversation and jokes and listening to music. It took about three songs to realize that Daniella seemed to have only one flaw in raising Isaac and it was his lack of music taste. Alex put on Panic! to educate him.

Around the two and a half hour mark, Isaac had passed out against the window and Michael was laying over the center console to put his head on Alex’s shoulder. It was quiet and peaceful and so damn domestic that Alex could almost imagine they were taking a family trip to Disney World.

“I love you,” Michael whispered for no reason, fueling his little fantasy even more.

"I love you too.”

They arrived outside Ellie’s house around 1PM. The neighborhood wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, but it was nice enough. Lawns were manicured, kids were playing outside, people were walking their dogs. The fact that Daniella had been successful enough to have a house in a neighborhood like that and still got deported was a quick reality check Alex didn’t enjoy.

“Wake up, bud,” Michael said, reaching into the backseat to gently shake Isaac awake. It took him a minute but he rubbed his eyes and slowly came back to life.

They all climbed out of the truck and walked towards the front door. It opened before they could even knock, a small, white, blonde lady on the other side. By looks alone, it was difficult to tell how old she was--she could’ve been 23 or she could’ve been 45.

“Ellie?” Alex clarified.

“Yes, Sir,” she said, eyes landing on Isaac as he hid behind Michael, “Hey, Isaac. You scared me running off like that. I’m glad you’re okay.”

His small hands clutched Michael’s, hanging off him slightly. Michael didn’t seem to mind.

“We’re just here to grab his things or anything you managed to keep from Daniella’s house. We’ll keep it until she’s able to come back,” Alex said. Considering Michael had personal reasons for disliking this woman, it seemed best that Alex took over.

“Right. Everything I could save is in the guest room,” Ellie explained, moving out of the way to let them in, “Could I get you guys coffee? Water? Anything?”

“We’re okay, thank you,” Alex said.

She led them to the small room that Isaac had slept in when he was there, nearly every square inch of the room covered in things. Most of it was small trinkets and personal items and Alex considered that maybe he should’ve asked if he needed more boxes.

“I’ll go get you some newspaper to wrap some of it up,” Ellie said, quickly walking out of view.

“I... I was not expecting this,” Alex said carefully, looking around the room before looking to Isaac. He was still clinging onto Michael, looking either scared or embarrassed or both. Alex managed a warm smile. “It’s okay, I’m not mad. Just surprised, ‘s all.”

Slowly, they began making trips to the truck. Alex had a few boxes and they filled them with newspaper-wrapped trinkets and mugs, handling them all with care. Then they got to the other stuff like his clothes, some of Daniella’s clothes, multiple sheet sets, curtains, a quilt Daniella made from his baby clothes. Then they got his books, toys, etc. It was just a lot. It had the entire backseat full and the trunk not too far off. It took three hours.

“You sure you don’t want anything? I can make lunch,” Ellie suggested. Alex politely declined.

“We’ll pick up something on the way home. Thank you, though, for taking care of him for so long,” Alex said. She nodded, but grabbed his arm to keep him in place after Michael and Isaac said their goodbyes and headed to the truck. “Is something wrong?” 

“Be careful with him,” she said, voice hushed even though they weren’t in ear shot, “There’s something off about that boy. Daniella hid it well, but once you have him in your house... Things start happening.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Alex said, again trying his best to be polite. She knew enough, they didn’t need her discovering more. 

“Just be careful,” she said sincerely, “I tried bringing him to church but--”

“Thank you for watching him, but we’re good now,” Alex cut her off, not really wanting to hear more. He knew she hadn’t done what Michael’s religious foster family had, but how much longer until she had? That was just something he could keep to himself.

Alex made his way back to the truck where Michael and Isaac were already waiting for him, both silent and probably for two entirely different reasons. So, Alex suggested food.

They ate in silence as well as they started their drive back to Roswell. Isaac looked drained which was probably his main reason for silence, but Michael looked out of it. 

By the time they started driving through long stretches of empty desert, Isaac was sound asleep in the backseat. It was when the sun started going down, though, that Michael couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“You okay?” Alex asked softly, squeezing his hand as he heard his breathing slowly begin to escalate. He looked over at him and saw that his bottom lip was quivering and his eyebrows were drawn taut, everything showing that he was trying to not cry mixed with his breathing becoming more and more erratic. A quick look in the backseat proved that Isaac was still asleep.

So Alex pulled over into the desert.

He got out of the driver’s seat and went over to the passenger side, all but pulling Michael out of the truck. He broke down as Alex pressed him into the door, trying to hold his face and get him to calm down.

“Hey, what’s going on? What happened?” Alex asked softly, hands on his cheeks. He hated seeing him like this, yet loved that he was being so open with his feelings. It was a strange juxtaposition.

“After the house he grew up in was foreclosed, but before they had people go in and clean it out, he’d break in to get his and his mom’s things. They wouldn’t let him go in and get his shit after they took his mother, Alex. He had to break in,” Michael admitted, choking on a sob as he recounted it and meeting Alex’s forehead with his own. Alex frowned and that secondhand sadness seeped into his veins. “He shouldn’t have had to do that.”

“No, he shouldn’t have,” Alex agreed softly, weaving his fingers into his hair, “That’s fucked.”

“I feel so guilty,” Michael admitted, “I-I should’ve known about him. I should’ve been easier to reach, should’ve been the first person they called when they needed somewhere for him to stay.”

“How could you? Daniella didn’t tell you,” Alex assured him, “Which, honestly, was probably good for both of you. He didn’t need to get to know you when you were at your lowest.”

Michael sniffled, seeming torn on whether he could agree or not. Alex just continued to do his best at soothing him.

“But it doesn’t matter. We can’t change what happened. He found you, that’s all that matters.”

“God, I can’t... He was so close to ending up like me,” he said, clutching Alex’s shoulders, “I don’t want him going through that shit.”

“And he won’t, okay?” Alex promised, “He’s got us and we’re not going to let that happen.”

“Never let any of that happen,” Michael insisted, “He’s gonna have a good life.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s already got a ton of people who love him and want him,” Alex assured him, “We just need to make sure he knows that.” Michael sniffled and nodded his head. “You’re wanted too, by the way.”

Michael huffed a laugh, “It’s not about me.”

“Kinda is,” Alex said, “And that’s okay. It’s okay to be scared of what might happen to someone else and want better for them. That gives you a drive to be better for yourself.”

Michael breathed steadily a few times and Alex carefully dried his face, grounding each other easily. Alex moved just enough to kiss his forehead and Michael relaxed a little more. 

“Sorry,” he said once he calmed down. Alex shook his head.

“Don’t apologize. It’s okay to cry and be sad,” he whispered, “It’s okay to be scared.”

Michael managed a smile and he whispered, “Have I told you I love you lately?”

“Yeah,” Alex said, “But I still like hearing it.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They met in the middle for a soft kiss that led to another that led to another before they slowly stopped. As easy as it would be to let it turn into something else, the truck was still running and they had a sleeping 10 year old in the backseat.

“You’re gonna be a great dad, Michael.”

“So are you,” he said, his hands sliding up to his neck before he pulled him into a hug, “You’re already great.”

They held each other for a moment before deciding it was okay to let go and climbing back into the truck. Michael leaned back over the center console to lay his head on Alex’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his bicep. 

Alex really started planning that trip to Disney World.

[voltagesmutter]

Ota - Pregnancy [Fluff]

Cute fluff with Ota and his pregnancy

Ngl, sobbed whilst writing this because it was just such a cute idea to play with

Dear god what is that smell? You didn’t even make it out of your bedroom door before you was running to the bathroom, emptying the contents of your stomach, leaving you feeling groggy. This kept happening and was driving you mad. You freshened up and left, finally making it into the kitchen but nausea hit you again.

“What is someone cooking?” You gagged and held your nose, seeing the bidders sitting around, Soryu had managed to burn toast. 

“Dear god Soryu, just let me,” You sigh and push him gently out the way, him muttering under his breath how it wasn’t his fault. You throw the burnt bread away but the smell of it is too much and you unable to make it to the bathroom and you ended up vomiting in the sick, your back turned to the bidders, tears running down your face in embarrassment. 

“Shit, shit I’m so sorry, I’m just really sensitive at the minute to smell,” You groaned, cleaning the sick down, preparing for the onslaught of abuse you was about to receive but it never came. Instead the bidders looked at each other then back to you.

“You seem to be sensitive a lot kidda, yesterday you threw up when I lit a cigarette,” Mamoru yells across the room.

“That’s because the smell was strong,” You reply.

“But you use to smoke,”.

“Yes but-”.

“The other day it was my cologne princess,”

“And my lunch,”.

“You threw up in my bin when cleaning my office because the books smelt too ‘leathery’”. All the bidders chiming in and you stood there slightly speechless, you didn’t realise how much you had been throwing up lately.

“It’s fine, I’m just sensitive,” You protest, everything was fine. But really it wasn’t. Ota had been on a tour of new venues to release his work, he’d been gone almost nine weeks and you felt so lonely. The night before he left was filled with passion, he was determined he wouldn’t leave until he had filled you with the last drop of him which was heaven but left you feeling so alone since. He wouldn’t be back for another three weeks, another agonising painful, lonely three weeks. 

Eisuke cocked an eyebrow to you, he wouldn’t admit it out loud but he was concerned for you. You went about as you before until a dull pain shot across your breasts and you whimper slightly, clutching them with your hands trying to relieve the pain.

“Breakfast and a show, this is what I signed up!” Baba said, ogling your movements. You hissed at him but was in too much pain to reply.

“Bella, seriously are you okay?” Soryu asked with a blush on his face and you gave him a nod.

“Yeah, I just keep getting this pain in my boobs, I don’t know what wrongs but my bras don’t fit either, has someone changed the washing powder because I swear they’ve all shrunk,” You say, your hands still firmly on your breasts and all the bidders stare in shock at your statement.  Normally you would be embarrassed, but the pain and uncomfortable feeling you was suffering took that away. 

“I think you should see Luke,” Eisuke says, not a question, a statement. 

“It’s fine, Eisuke honestly it's just ‘that time of the month’ issues,” You say and the case is quickly dropped, all four of the men becoming flustered. Only it wasn't the time of the month, you were late something you never ever was and it worried you slightly. Brushing it off you waited until all the men dispersed and waited for Eisuke to enter his office before knocking on the door and entering.

“Hmm?” He asks, not looking up from his computer.

“I think I need to see Dr.Foster,” You state and Eisuke looks up with a smirk.

“He’s already on his way over,”.

“Thank you,”.

“No need to thank me, the soon you know whats going on, the sooner you can get back to making me coffees without vomiting at the smell,” He smirks and with that you leave the office.

“What do you mean I’m pregnant?” You ask in slight shock at the doctor who sat in front of you.

“Well, when you and your partner have been having intercourse, sper-” He starts but you quickly cut him off.

“Yes, yes I know how to get pregnant, but your telling me I’m pregnant?”. Luke gives you a nod.

“Yes roughly 9 weeks I’d say, but we need to do a ultrasound to confirm the dates,”. Shit.

You thanked Doctor Foster for coming and he swore on client confidentiality to keep it between you two. You paced the living room, pregnant? You? Your breath started to race with your heart beat, you loved the idea of having a family with Ota but he was so busy at work, would he have time to raise a family with you? You press a hand to your stomach as your pace continues, how much would tell Ota? More importantly when? ‘Oh hey hunny, just to say you know the night you left? Well congratulations, we got pregnant!’, no you didn’t want to tell him over the phone but he wouldn’t be back for nearly another month and by then you would be beginning to show and couldn’t just wait for him to come home to tell him. Tears began to leak from your eyes, you were happy, so happy, ecstatic. It was just finding a way to tell Ota that made you nervous. 

“Princess? Hey, hey whats happening, come on breathe, breathe,” Baba yelled as he had entered the room, you too lost in your own thoughts to release, your breath was beginning to hyperventilate as your mind began to wonder. 

“Baba? Shit sorry, sorry I was lost in my head,” You say, whipping your eyes and removing the hand from your stomach quickly. 

“What did Luke say? Is everything okay?”. You give Baba a nod but he was your boyfriends best friend, he knew you almost as well as Ota did. His kind smile broke you and your began to cry.

“I’m pregnant,” You muster through tears and Baba pulls you into his arms, hugging you tight.

“Is that bad princess?” He asks and you shake your head.

“No, no it’s wonderful, it’s just-” You start before confiding into him about your fears of being alone, how to tell Ota and how your scared that Ota will be angry at you, tearing him away from his work.

“Princess, I cant speak for Ota, but he loves you more than this work, you need to talk to him,” He reassures you. 

You looked at your clock, it was 11pm, it should be lunch where Ota was, taking a breath you dialled his number.

“Kiro? I was just about to ring you! I have an hours lunch and well,” You hear him unzip his jeans. 

“I had a dream about you and the stuff we did over the phone, I’m ready to make it happen,”. You can’t help for giggle slightly, he had always to do have phone sex with you, but right now you wasn’t in the mood.

“Ota, I’m really not in the mood for this, I’m exhausted, can we please just talk?”.

“Ohh okay Kiro, but you owe me when I’m back! Why you exhausted, Eisuke making you work extra hard since I’ve been gone?” You hear him zipping back up his jeans.

“No, um in-fact Ota theres something I want to -” But you interrupted.

“Shoot Kiro, I have to go someones calling for me, we’ll talk tomorrow I promise,” And with that he was gone.

He had come and gone as quick as you could blink, this how your conversations had been lately with his busy schedule. You weren't even sure if you were going to tell him right now but you just wanted to hear his voice but even the lack of that made you burst into tears. You couldn’t help but sob, how was you expected to raise a baby with this man? You knew he couldn't help being busy with work but still, it was dominating his life and a baby just wouldn’t fit into his lifestyle. You sobbed into your pillow and slowly fell asleep, you loved Ota more than anything but your child needed to have a father in their life and quite honestly, that didn’t fit into Ota’s schedule. 

The next morning started like no other, you didn’t even leave your bedroom before vomiting before leaving the room. You held your stomach, sighing, you had never felt so alone in your life. As you walked into the kitchen a familiar scent filled your nose, it was husky but with a sweet tone and you looked around and there stood Ota, a gleaming smile on his face.

“Kiro!” He yelled excited and he made his way to you. You wanted to run into his arms but his smell, something you loved made you sick to your stomach and just like the day before you threw up in the kitchen sink. Brilliant, fucking brilliant. 

“Hey, its okay I’m here, wow Baba wasn’t joking when he said you hadn’t been well,” Ota softly whispers to you as he leans over you rubbing your back softly. As sweet as he was being you knew the noises of you being sick was making him gag slightly. 

“It’s okay, I’m okay, thank you,” You reply, cleaning the mess up. 

“Ota what are you doing here?” Your eyes were wide in shock, still unsure if he was in front of you.

“Baba rang me yesterday night, he said you weren't well and he heard you crying? Kiro, why was you crying?” He softly whispers and strokes your face. He came home to check you was okay, oh this man, this perfect perfect man. You began blubbering, unable to get your words out and he pulled you close to his chest whispering sweet whispers. 

“I’m cancelling the rest of my scouting, I found the perfect location,”.

“You did? Where?” You smile to him.

“Right here,” He whispers, his embrace tightening around you. He made your heart melt into millions of pieces, he really was an angel.

“Ota, I’m pregnant,” Your voice was barely above a whisper and Ota froze, did you break him?

“W-what?”.

“I’m pregnant, I found out yesterday, thats why I’ve been throwing up and my boobs feel swollen and my bra’s don’t fit,” You whined slightly at the last part. 

“We- we’re having a baby?” His hands press instantly to your stomach, his eyes wide open and you give him a nod.

“O-only if you want too, I won’t make you be involved if you don’t want I know how busy you are-” But you was cut off with a passionate kiss, you felt wetness against your cheek and you realise he was crying.

“Don’t say anything like that again, this is the most important thing in my life, you and our baby,”. 

“Now, I heard something about sore boobs? I didn’t want to say it when I walked in but they’ve definitely grown Kiro!” He says as he sweeps you into his arms, you giggling at your classic Ota.

You couldn’t thank Baba enough for him talking to Ota and made him cry when you said that the baby will have the best uncle ever. Naturally your announcement came as a slight shock but excitement to the other bidders, Eisuke making comments about how you made a baby in his penthouse but you all brushed it off. You teased him and said if he wasn’t going snarky, then you’d take him off making him a god-father and his attitude quickly changed. The pair of you moved out from the penthouse and into a luxury apartment with an inbuilt studio so Ota could continue his work but staying as close to you as possible. You agreed when Ota had to be away, you would stay with the other bidders for Ota’s concern. One day when you was helping Ota in his studio, you were play fighting with the paint when he proposed to you, which you clearly said yes too. He took photos of your stomach everyday, even though you protested saying how chubby you looked, to his remarks ' You're carrying our child, your radiating beauty,’. 

One your pregnancy was highly visible, Ota had booked to do a unveiling of his newest paintings and insisted you was by his side for it. He insisted you kept hidden until the paintings had been shown, he wanted to get work out of the way before showing the world your beautiful news. You stood hidden behind a curtain, cradling your bump, watching your beloved fiancee practically glowing across the stage. He dropped the curtain of his first painting and you began to sob, it was you holding your bump, positivity glowing from you. The second was a photo of your bump with Ota’s handprints on it in black and white. 

“This is my favourite piece,” He says as a video drops behind him, all the images you had been taking everyday were pressed into a montage showing the development of your bump with ‘to be continued’ at the end as he revealed his last image; a black and white photo of you in his shirt, him hold your bump from behind with your hands pressed over his, showing off your beautiful bump and engagement ring. You were deeply overwhelmed with emotions and sobbed where you were standing before Ota pulled you onto the stage with him, the room filled with applause and sobs. 

“I love you so much, this is all so beautiful,” You managed through tears.

“I love you too, both of you,” He whispers back, his hand tightly on your bump and you both feel for the first time the life inside of you kicking.

[generic-blog-name-69]

Your fanfics are AMAZING! I was wondering if you took requests? Anyway um if you could do a Jack Kelly x reader where the reader has a limp like maybe an old injury from the refuge or something like that that would literally make my day! Love ya friend!

A/n: Sure! Sorry this took a little while. I hope this is what you ment! This is unedited, so read at your own risk.

Warnings: abuse, mentions of abuse

Words: 1,268

I’s Is Never Letting Go

“Paper! Paper! Get your evenin’ pape here!” you shouted at the passerby. You only had one more pape, and you really wanted to sell it. 

You thought up a crazy headline and yelled it out. “Man killed in the kitchen while making toast” You hoped it was interesting enough to get one customer. Sure enough, a man walked up and bought the paper from you. 

Giving a sigh of relief and wiping your brow, you started back towards the Lodging House after a long day of work. 

“Ow, ow, ow,” you muttered with each step. Normally, your leg didn’t hurt this much, just sort of a dull ache that led to you limping slightly. There was nothing “slightly” about the way you were limping now, however. Your limp had been a result of your time in The Refuge. Maybe because it was hurting especially bad, or maybe for some other reason, you were suddenly lost in the memories of your time in the sorry excuse for a prison. 

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

You were on the street, mourning the death of your father, trying to find food and a place to sleep for the night, when a rather large man came out of the darkness. 

“What do we have here?” he snarled, taking a step closer to you. You backed away, frightened. 

“What are you doing out here all alone, missy?”

You shook your head, mute out of fear. 

“Nothing good, that’s for sure! Gentlemen, take her away!” He nodded to the two men on either side of him, who had materialized out of the darkness. You still had no idea what was happening, growing up in a middle class family with enough to eat and a warm bed every night. Your mother had died giving birth to you, but your father didn’t blame you for it. He had just died, thought, leaving you out on the streets with no food, no bed, and no home. 

Your thoughts of your past life were interrupted by rough hands shoving your hands into handcuffs.

“H-hey!” you stuttered as the men grabbed you by the arms. “What did I do?”

The man glared at you, then nodded to his men. They started walking away from the man, taking you with them.

“Hey!” you called out, hoping that someone would hear and would come to save you. You had no such luck. You started to call out again when a boot came crashing into your stomach. Despite being held by the two men, you doubled over in pain. 

“Don’t you be making a racket,” one of the men said quietly. They took you the rest of the way to The Refuge. You didn’t make another noise. 

A month later, you had gotten used to life in The Refuge. You were starving, but not as hungry as you once might have been, so you gave most of your small portion of food to the younger kids. You were weak from malnutrition and abuse. The guards came in every day to give you a new collection of horrors to haunt your nightmares. This day was particularly terrible. You didn’t remember exactly what happened. You didn’t want to remember. But by the end of the day, your leg was twisted in a way that was not normal. It was three weeks before you could even stand on it again, and another two before you could walk on it. Even then, you were sure you were not supposed to be walking on it, but the guards made you.

Two months later your sentence was finally finished. You felt terrible leaving all the other kids to the mercy of the guards, but the only thought in your mind as you left was the fact that you were free. Free. 

You went to the only place you knew that you could stay: the Newsboy Lodging House. You knew a few of the newsies; in better times you had bought a paper from them everyday. You knocked on the door and were greeted with a place to stay and a job. And now here you were, heading back to your home. 

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

“Hey, (y/n),” Buttons called out in greeting. 

“Hey, Buttons.”

“You’re leg hurtin’ extra bad today?” 

“Yeah, I dunno why,” 

Romeo grinned. “Was this the day of ‘The Accident’?” he asked mockingly. You gave him a half smile and continued to your bunk, longing to sit down. 

None of the newsies knew about your time in The Refuge. You feared that if they knew they would treat you more delicately than they already did. They were already your extremely protective older brothers; you didn’t need them to become even more protective. 

You sat down and started rubbing your leg. Sometimes that helped, sometimes it didn’t. Today was not one of the days that it helped. Jack was the Lodging House’s resident “pain treater”, helping whatever newsies needed to escape the pain. You looked around and saw that he wasn’t there. He was probably up in the penthouse, but you didn’t want to make an unnecessary trip somewhere. 

“Where’s Jack?” you asked. 

“In the penthouse,” Race answered, nodding towards the roof. You nodded acknowledgment at him and started towards the rooftop.

“Jack?” you called out, hoping to not startle him.

“(y/n)? You haven’t been up here in a long time.” He laughed good-naturedly. 

“Yeah, I know,” you laughed slightly, looking around you. Not much had changed, except that Crutchie was staying up here, too. He and Jack had started sleeping up here to make room for more kids. They said they didn’t mind the fresh air. Jack sometimes said that it was like what he imagined Santa Fe to be like. 

“So, what’re you up here for?” Jack asked, drawing you back into the present. 

“My leg was hurtin’ real bad today, and I was wondering if you could help me?”

“O’ course I can.”

Crutchie stood up. “I’ll leave you guys alone for a bit,” he said with a smile. 

You both watched him leave, hobbling away on his crutch. Your limp wasn’t so bad that you needed a crutch, but sometimes you wished it were. 

“So, your leg?” Jack asked. It hit you that you were alone with him up here.

“Um, right. So, um, right here is where it hurts,” you managed, extremely flustered all of a sudden. Jack gave you a little smile that told you he was a little confused, but didn’t think much of it. 

“You ever gonna tell me how it got like this?”

You felt your face go white. “I-I told you. In the accident.”

He leaned in slightly. “(y/n). I know there wasn’t no accident. How’d your leg get so messed up?”

You could tell he wasn’t going to let it drop until he heard the truth, so you saw no reason trying to hide it from him any longer. 

“Fine. It was- it was from when I was in The Refuge.”

The playful smile fell off of his face and he turned white. “You wanna talk ‘bout it?” he asked gently. 

You told him everything, from your father dying to finally getting out and coming to the Lodging House as soon as you could. You were in tears by the end, and you could tell he was trying to hold himself together for your benefit. A few tears leaked down the sides of his face, escaping his control. He pulled you close to him, with you hiccuping slightly from sobbing. 

“Shhhhh, (y/n). You’se don’ts got ta worry about that anymore, see? I’s gotsa ya, and I’s is never letting go.”

[staruplatinum]

hello, I’ve been slow with these commissions and I’m terribly sorry! this is the first of 3 Ill be posting throughout the week. This commission is for the lovely  @calamityismyspecialty ! ♡

Bruno Bucciarati x f!prostitute reader ♡

word count | 3.8K words

warnings: angst, soft smut, creampie, graphic depictions of abuse, violence. 

quick summary: reader helps Bruno escape from a sticky situation, saving his life. he decides to return the favour.

                    You couldn’t say you enjoyed your job, but you couldn’t say that you necessarily liked it either. Being a prostitute in the mafia was no easy task. Often times you were abused, tricked and involved in other illegal practices, events and parties that you really had no interest in. However, as sad as it was, it was good money, and yet despite that - you really didn’t have a choice. Your family had owed a debt to Passione long ago, so now you were forever their property. 

Despite the dirty men you had to be sold to night after night, that wasn’t nearly as bad as being “eye candy” for some Mafioso while he conducted business meetings. You were always forced to sit on his lap, in revealing clothing, and only being told to speak when spoken to. It was like you were a shell. A nobody, used only for other men’s pleasure. It wasn’t uncommon that some of these men would even take turns on you after these meetings, reducing you to nothing more than a whore. Oh- and they didn’t pay you extra, either. That was how the mafia underworld was - unfair. 

One particular warm night in Naples, as you were getting ready for another client, you overheard something. 

“I am going to kill him!” 

One of the men in the other room shouted. Now, usually you minded your own business. After all, you were just a whore in their eyes - your opinion meant nothing. However, you couldn’t stop yourself from feeling concerned. Who did this man want to kill? Why? You could only hope that whenever this was to happen, that it wasn't going to happen while you were there. You had seen a lot in the Mafia, from drug-dealing, to flat out seeing men beaten. But murder? How could someone see that and be “okay”....

Nevertheless, you went about with your night. But the thought lingered. You looked at yourself in the vanity, admiring how well you applied your eyeliner and mascara and went on to finish the rest of your face. Before you knew it, you were all done up like a doll. For a moment, you almost felt proud of yourself and your looks. If you didn't know better, you’d surely be mistaken for a model. Too bad that wasn’t your life…

A sudden loud bang at the door knocked you out of thoughts, and you turned behind you to see a man in a dark suit staring at you angrily while adjusting the gun in his pocket. 

“Lets go puttana, you have work to do.” 

You turned your nose up and practically scowled at the thought of having sex with this man, but this was your job. Sighing, you turned off the vanity light and made your way to the door frame, where the man forced you to hold onto him as you walked downstairs. 

As you both entered the large meeting room, there were a bunch of  men you didn’t recognize. One in particular, who stood out to you was wearing a white suit with a tear-drop print on it and various gold zippers. He had the most odd hair (you couldn’t help but think!) and his eyes were as blue as the ocean. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t find him attractive. Like always though, every man in the room had their eyes on you, mainly from lust. But the man in the white suit - you could already tell he was different, the way he looked at you wasn't from lust. It was more like curiosity and pity mixed into one.

Sitting down next to your ‘lover’ for the night (if you could even call him that) you found yourself sitting directly across from the man in the white suit, whom you later found out that his name was Bruno. Bruno Bucciarati. He was a poor boy who grew up in the suburbs of Naples with his father, who was a fisherman. Unfortunately, his father ended up dying from a drug-related incident. He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing this hurt your heart, it was such an awful way to be brought into this life. You truly felt bad for Bruno.

Like always, you sat next to your client and kept your mouth shut while they conducted business. The men talked over and over about various things going on in Passione, be it new missions, weapon trades, drugs, etc. You, however, had no idea that Bruno Bucciarati was against nearly all of these things and that is the reason why your client wanted to kill him. As the night proceeded on, things started to get more tense in the room you were in and you started to wonder if tonight was even going to end well for anybody. Almost every man in the room had a gun on him, and you started to worry. Soon, Bruno stood up asking to excuse himself. The others agreed, and as soon as he left the room you could hear everyone else talking about the easiest way to assassinate him without his team being involved. Oh no. Your heart began to race, and you sat up from your chair, asking for permission to use the washroom. 

Your client complied with your wishes, and you hurriedly got up to leave the cigarette-smoke filled room. It took you a moment, but once you were out of everyone’s sight you finally had a moment of peace in the hallway - and that’s when you saw Bruno. 

You tried to avoid eye contact, thinking it was awkward. Afterall, you really didn’t want him thinking that you were following him - even though you were. In reality it was all to help him in the end. You turned to look in one of the hallway mirrors, decorated with fake plants, as you pushed your hair behind your ear. You took a moment to breathe in before turning around to face him. 

Bruno stared at you for a moment, but his eyes never left your face. Unlike most men, he didn’t check out the tight black dress that fit all your curves perfectly and showed off your cleavage. Bruno wasn’t like that. 

“Hi…” You managed to say, voice hoarse.  It felt like it was the first time you had even spoken in the last few hours. 

Bruno smiled, reaching out his hand to shake yours. 

“Ciao” 

You smiled slightly, leaning against the hallway sideboard and shaking his hand. Though you wanted to talk with him more, this was no time for small talk. Yet you couldn’t stop the words leaving your mouth. 

“I um.. I like your suit!” you said happily. 

“Grazie, Bella. I like how well done your hair is. Did you do it yourself?” Bruno asked.

Again, you were shocked by him. You were sure he wanted to compliment your dress, but it was awfully nice of him to compliment something else.

“Yeah.. I um.. Always do my makeup and hair.”  a pink blush began to form on your face, ad Bruno leaned closer to you, admiring your features. If anyone else came in, they’d think it was a scene straight from a movie. The way you two looked at eachother was no different than a couple who was in love.  As much as you wanted to lean closer, and perhaps kiss him, a sudden loud bang made you both jolt. 

“That was a gunshot….” you mumbled, looking up at Bruno in fear. “You.. You have to leave here. It isn’t safe.”you added.

Bruno cocked an eyebrow and let a faint chuckle escape his lips. 

“Why do you say that, Bella?” 

He was in the mafia since he was 13, hearing a gunshot was no surprise to him, yet he suddenly felt worried too, mainly for you. 

“I think the men in the other room may be plotting to kill you...” You said sternly.

Bruno was taken aback by your words. How did a girl like you even know this stuff? Were you lying? Were you being sincere? He was very good at finding a liar in a crowd, unfortunately his method for testing lies wouldn't be in his favor, seeing that you were taken by another man. He had no idea, however, that your situation was exactly the opposite.

“I suppose that’s a pretty good reason to leave then. But how can I trust you?” Bruno asked you, looking around the hallway you were in. “I’ve been in the mafia for a long time, men carry around guns all the time to assert dominance and show off. I even have one.” He added, pointing to the bulge at the side of his pants. 

“I’ve worked here for 5 years now, Signore” You said, firm with your word. “I’ve seen many meetings like this end bad. You don’t have to trust me, but please. I overheard them discussing it earlier…” 

You were practically pleading with Bruno at this point, tears welling up in your eyes.

Bruno grabbed both of your arms gently, pulling you closer to him. He studied you face, and something inside him told him that you were being genuine. There were many possible ways he could get out, and especially with his stand ability (that you knew nothing about!) he could easily get out of a sticky situation like this. Besides, if you did lead him to danger at least he knew in the end that you were in fact a liar, and not worth his time.

“Alright then, Bella. How do I get out of here?” He asked, gently caressing your bicep with his thumb. 

You swallowed heavily,  pointing behind him. 

Regretably, it was near the garbage bins but it was better than having his life lost over some stupid disagreement. “Right through there”

As Bruno nodded and let go of you, the two of you walked towards the exit you pointed to. As if on queue, from the end of the hall you heard another gunshot, and the sound of heavy chairs scraping the marble floor. The sound of mens deep voices started to fill up your senses and you knew that the meeting was “over”. They’d be coming to get Bruno any second now.

“You have to go now, I’ll distract them! Go!” you whispered.

Bruno smiled at you and grabbed onto your hand. “Wait!” he shouted. “I never got your name?”

“It’s Y/N.” 

Bruno thanked you for saving his life. He had asked you for one last thing, which was your phone number. If he were anyone else, you would have said no. But something about Bruno made you want to see him again, and so, impulsively, you wrote your number down on his hand before shoving him out of the door. 

Just as you did that, the men you were with caught up to you. You fixed your dress, pressing down any seams and pretending to fix your hair as they made their way to where you were. They were quite stupid, and luckily they didn’t even suspect that you were helping Bruno. To them, they thought that you had just went to the washroom like you had asked. If they knew the truth, you would have surely been beaten, or worse. Exactly as you suspected, as soon as you returned to your seat you could hear the men arguing over how Bruno escaped. The tension in the room was high, and you wanted to leave. But you couldn’t. After all, you were still sold to this man for tonight, and you had to follow through with your promise…

The thought of Bruno calling you was the only thing that kept you going. He was your only hope.

__________

              Two weeks had passed since you last saw Bruno, and only a week prior to that did the men realize you had been the reason for his escape. Security cameras could be a bitch… and you paid greatly for that mistake. Your black eye and bruised arms showed for it. Still, there was no word from Bruno. 

You sighed heavily as you stared outside your bedroom window, a single tear rolling down your face. Today was Sunday, the only day you ever had to yourself from this wretched business, and as you watched the people walking amongst the streets of Naples, you felt so lonely inside. If only your life was different. You could have been married; possibly to someone like Bruno! If only.. 

From your apartment door, you heard a knock. “One minute.” you sighed as you slid on your housecoat and slippers and walked to the door. You made sure to keep the chain-lock on, since lately men were forcefully bringing themselves to your apartment. They had to make sure you were going to “pay” for letting Bruno escape. As you pulled the door open, you hid your left eye behind the door, not wanting anyone to see. You were shocked to see that the man at the door was Bruno. 

“Ciao, Y/n. May I come in?” Bruno asked, a genuine smile on his face. 

You wanted to tell him it wasn’t safe, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to let him go again. Nodding, you undid the chain-lock and let him inside, keeping your head down in shame.

As Bruno entered your apartment, He could see how clean it was, yet despite that, the place was really run-down. His heart hurt seeing this. He turned to you, and gently lifted your chin up so that your eyes met with his. 

He gasped.

“y/n! What happened? Who did this to you?!” He practically shouted. You had no idea, but in those two weeks Bruno was ‘gone’, he had done research on you. He knew exactly why you were a prostitute, that it wasn’t your choice, and he knew all about your debt to Passione. He knew about the men you were with and how awful they treated prostitutes, as well as how badly you had to pay for saving him. Needless to say, he was furious. 

“It’s nothing, I just-” You were cut off by Bruno silencing you. 

Bruno’s soft hand groped the left side of your cheek, his thumb gently caressing the dark purple spot that formed under your eye. You weren’t used to such sweet affection. In fact, you couldn’t even remember the last time anyone treated you this nicely. You allowed yourself to relax, and you leaned into his touch - using your hand to caress his forearm.

Bruno looked down at you, smiling. 

“Let me take care of you, Bella.”

Those words were all you needed to hear. It was almost as if Bruno saying this was enough to fix all your problems. Though it wasn't true, it was still nice to believe so..

Bruno leaned down and kissed your lips passionately. He didn’t waste any time in asserting his dominance by running his tongue along your teeth ; asking for entrance and engulfing your mouth in a warm, erotic kiss. You gladly complied, letting him take control. The two of you made out passionately for several minutes until you felt his hard cock straining against his suit pants. You smirked a little, realizing where this whole situation was headed and you gently pushed him off of you. 

“Bed..?” you asked curiously. 

Bruno just nodded, and before you could even take a step further, he picked you up bridal style and brought you over to your bed, laying you down gently. 

You sat up, removing your slippers and housecoat - leaving you only in your gown - and you slid down the sheets, onto your knees.

“What are you doing?” Bruno asked, as he removed his suit top , tossing it to the side.

“I- um… about to suck your dick?” you replied, not sure if you should state it as a fact or a question. 

“No” Bruno said. “You have been treated like shit for the past 5 years of your life, all because of a stupid debt. It’s not fair that this has to happen to you. Please, let me take care of you, and you’ll be free from this place.” 

Hearing his words nearly made you cry - but now wasn’t the time. Both of you wanted to have sex with each other, and that is how your night should go. Pillow talk can come later. Little did you know, that Bruno had already arranged for his gang to wait outside so that they could all rescue you. You see, the men you worked for were ranked lower than Bruno’s position in the mafia. And even though they wanted to kill him, It would be quite a hard feat considering they’d have to get through multiple stands to lay a finger on Bruno, or you.

Bruno undid his belt and pulled his trousers down, revealing his hard cock in his pants. He pushed you on your back onto the bed gently and pulled down your white-lace panties. You tried your best to relax, seeing that this hasn’t happened to you for years. 

He leaned down, cupping your thighs and leaving light kisses up them as he pulled your core to his face - finally pressing his lips to your wet folds. He began to lick slowly and kiss you - almost in a teasing way! You were sure that just from his light treatment, that you’d cum instantly. But Bruno didn’t want the fun to be over just yet. 

Bruno continued his actions, licking between your folds, sucking your clit and swirling his tongue around, while adding two fingers inside of your core. His fingers curled upwards and he pressed against you g-spot over and over as he ate you out. 

You let out a soft moan, gently pulling on his hair. 

“OH! Bruno…” 

You bit your lip as you felt heat pool in your core, and before you know it you were arching your back in pleasure. Your eyes saw white as your thighs trembled, trying to ride out every last second of your orgasm. Boy, was Bruno good with his tongue.

When he finally pulled away, he licked your juices off of his fingers, smiling as he did so. “Just as I thought, you aren’t a liar after all.” he chuckled. You, however, were still too caught up in your post-orgasm to even acknowledge what he had said.

Bruno laid on top of you, kissing you slowly again. His hand traveled from your sides, down to you legs, where he gently spread them for him. You didn’t even realize he had taken off his underwear. When did that happen? Was he so good that you lost track of time? You looked into his beautiful-blue eyes, filled with lust and admiration, you grabbed his cock, lining it up with your entrance as he slid into you. 

His brows furrowed at you hot tightness. He was big, bigger than most men you had slept with, but the stretch felt nice. It was like he fit you perfectly. He began to thrust slowly before increasing his pace. As nice as he was being, he was still a man and the only way to chase his release was to fuck you fast, which he did. At least he was fucking you in a more intimate position! Most men just took you from behind, forcing your face into the bed sheets. 

Bruno slid his hand up to your breast, gently cupping it before taking it into his mouth and sucking on your hardened nipple. The way his cock was hitting your walls was making you moan in pleasure, you couldn’t believe how good it felt. 

“Bella, you feel so good. So hot and tight for me” He moaned out, holding your hip as he thrust into you again. He bit his lip as he watched your breasts bounce in unison with his thrusts, and the slight bulge that purged at your naval region, showing just how deep he was going. You could feel him hitting your cervix. 

Bruno fixed his position and kissed you passionately once again. Only pulling away to compliment you once more.

“It’s like your pussy was made for me and only me, cara” he hissed through clenched teeth as he fucked you faster and harder. You could only moan in response. 

Bruno angled his thrusts just right, hitting that special spot inside of you that made you see stars.

“I-Im gonna, cum!” You shouted, scraping your nails gently down his back. Bruno smirked. 

“Already? Is my cock that good that you’re already going to cum?” 

You nodded in response. 

“Yes it feels so good!! I have never been fucked like this before..” 

That sentence itself was extremely hard to even say clearly. 

You can tell by how erratic his thrusts were getting that he was close to cumming soon, as were you. You kept moaning with every thrust, biting your lip each time you got close to cumming since you wanted to time it just right. Bruno leaned down and kissed your forehead, his blown out cerulean eyes gazing down on you. 

“Look at me when you cum, dolcezza. I want to see how beautiful you look.” 

His words were enough to throw you over the edge, and your walls spasmed against his hard cock once more, riding out your orgasm again. You looked at bruno as long as you could before you arched your back again, and moaned out his name in pleasure.

The feeling of your tight walls squeezing Bruno was enough to make him cum as well, and he did. He finished inside of you, moaning your name as he painted your walls and cervix white with his cum. 

Truth be told, you couldn’t remember the last time you had an orgasm, let alone two! You needed a moment to breathe and relax, as did Bruno.  His hips slowly faltered and he pulled out of you, watching as his cum  leaked out. You stroked his hair lovingly, looking into his eyes.

“Thank you.” You said in a faint tone of voice. 

“For what?” Bruno asked as he placed a chaste kiss to your lips. “I told you I am going to take care of you. You will never have to worry again from now on. I promise” 

Your eyes watered as you heard his words, and you couldn’t help but let a few tears fall. Bruno wiped them away with his thumb and he kissed you once more, faltering when he saw the deep bruise that covered your left eye. 

“I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”

[fluffy-marshmallow-heart]

Two Lost Souls -ch 17

The Elementalists au

Beckett x Oriana

Words: 3447

Series Master List

Complete Master List

Series Warnings: Will contain NSFW content. TRIGGER WARNINGS: Physical, Emotional, Sexual, and Domestic Abuse. Death.  Rape, Violence, Manipulation, Drug Abuse, and lots and lots of Angst.

Chapter Warning: Slightly NSFW

By Reading you are acknowledging you are 18 years of age and older.

A sequel to Secret Studies

8 Years ago, Beckett and Oriana Harrington graduated Penderghast College.  A year after that, tragedy struck, and they haven’t seen each other since. What happens when their paths cross once more? Is it coincidence? Or is it their souls trying to find their way home?

Oriana’s POV

Oriana woke up early, 4am, slipping out of bed and grabbing some clothes. Everett was still snoring on the floor, and she didn’t want to be here when he woke up. She stopped at a bakery near her flat, picking up some fresh donuts, fruits, and coffee. She was at Beckett’s penthouse by 5 and brought the bags to the kitchen area. There weren’t any lights on and there was no movement in the house, so she knew Beckett must still be asleep. Tiptoeing back out to the living space, she saw Zephyr sleeping on the couch she’d picked out and had delivered the previous day.

She grabbed herself a coffee and some fruit before heading into the office space. Flipping on the light, she sat down in her new chair, pulling out her necklace from under her shirt and taking it off, staring at it. She didn’t quite know what to do with it. If she wore it back home, Everett would certainly see it at some point, and she couldn’t have that. She watched the metallic wildflowers sway before she heard a door open. She quickly shoved it in her desk drawer. It would do for now.

“Why are you here so early?” Beckett’s cold voice startled her. “What have you been doing? I didn’t ask you to come in this early, you’re not getting paid any extra for it.”

“I, um…” Her voice failed her as she took in his appearance. His blondish brown hair was all mussed up from sleep, he wore light blue pajama pants that were hanging dangerously low on his hips, and he had no shirt on. She couldn’t take her eyes off his ripped abs. He always had nice abs, but holy cow, this was doing something to her already.

“Um?” He demanded. “Didn’t think this would be an issue, but I guess I’ll tell the desk not to let you in unless I say so.”

“You gave me a key.” She finally looked into his eyes. His beautiful, silver eyes, which were currently lasered in on her.

He smirked, sauntering into the room and closing the door before going behind the desk. He turned her chair to face him, and she inhaled sharply. God, he smells as good as his body looks…absolutely delicious. Placing his hands on the armrests, he leaned in, murmuring in her ear. “See something you like?”

She took a shaky breath. “Yes, actually, I think the furniture I picked out is quite nice.”

“About that…” He drew his head back, eyes focused on her lips. “I said shop for the office, not shop to decorate my entire penthouse.”

“It needed color.” She told him defiantly.

“I could have provided that for myself.”

“But you didn’t.”

“You don’t live here, Oriana.” He growled. “I want you to return everything except what’s in this room.”

“You’ll thank me someday.” She breathed.

“Why on earth would I do that?”

Oriana bit her lower lip. She was ready to head into new territory, and can only hope it doesn’t blow up in her face. “Because you love me.”

Beckett blinked, clearly taken aback by that sentence. He stood up tall, his abdomen in line with her eyes now. She couldn’t stop herself from ogling again. “I love who you used to be.” He said tightly, backing away.

“I’m still that person.”

“You’re still engaged to that dick you call wonderful. It’s masochistic, and I don’t approve.”

“Approve?” She laughed shortly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I needed your approval for anything.”

Beckett scoffed. “You know what? I don’t need you today. Go home, Ori.” He whirled around, reopening the door and leaving the room.

“Wait.” She dashed after him, cornering him in the hall. “You and Zeph didn’t give me much of a chance to talk yesterday.”

Beckett shrugged, looking away. “Actually, you seem to talk way too much. Go home to your lover.” He finished with a bitterness in his tone.

Oriana’s eyes narrowed. “Yesterday you were kissing me, wanting me, desperately craving me…and a few hours later you’re practically shoving me out the door. What the hell is your problem? You’re always telling me I have to come in early. I’m only doing what you’re constantly telling me to do.”

“My problem is you.” Beckett glared. “And I told you, I don’t need you today. I’m taking Zeph sight-seeing.”

“You don’t want me to answer phones calls or emails or…”

“Frankly, Oriana, I don’t want you here at all right now.”

She felt like the wind was knocked out of her. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to go home; she hates it there. Everett suffocates her.

“Maybe she wants to come.” Zeph appeared, yawning. “Can the two of you shut up until I get my coffee? I can’t deal with you until then.”

Beckett snickered and Oriana shot him a Look. She was originally really happy that Beckett still had Zeph. But right now, it was pissing her off, because Zeph clearly would only take Beckett’s side in everything.

“She can’t come. She’s got a busy day returning all this crap she bought yesterday.” Beckett smirked. “Although I stand by my statement. You can just go home and deal with it tomorrow.”

“You ordered food already? How long have you been up?” Zeph asked, grabbing a donut.

“Actually, I brought it.” Oriana huffed. “Thought I would do something nice, but silly me, thinking I’d be appreciated.”

“You mean Everett doesn’t appreciate you, enough? Seems like he does, the way he can’t take his hands off you.”

“Fuck you, Beckett.” She spat. “You don’t know anything about it.”

“I don’t need to know. You’re my employee; I only need to know that you can follow directions. Like leaving, for example.” Beckett snarled, stepping into her space.

A loud groan came from Zephyr, his head falling back in exasperation. “Seriously, you guys? If I leave, can you just have sex already? The tension here is killing me, and it’s way too early for me to see you both attempt not to rip each other’s clothes off. And I’m kind of afraid you’re going to do it front of me anyway.”

“It’s not my fault that Oriana’s been drooling over my muscles all morning.” Beckett shrugged. “I take care of myself, this is my house, and I don’t feel the need to cover up.

She couldn’t believe the audacity this man had. He was pretty much the same guy she met as a freshman in college, except now he had more power; more money; his ego was even more inflated. Well, since Beckett needs to be knocked down a few pegs again, she really only had one decision to make.

“Ya know what?” She glanced at Zephyr. “Sightseeing sounds fun. Count me in.”

 Beckett’s POV

Beckett grumbled as they made their way to Hampstead Heath. He’d attempted to bring Zeph to one of London’s plethora of museums, but he was vetoed immediately.

“I’m not here to stay inside.” Zeph told him. “There’s plenty other places, BookBeck, a museum isn’t the most fun.”

“Depends on the person. Personally, I find the National Gallery quite enticing.”

“Of course, you do.” Oriana giggled. “Some things certainly don’t change.”

“Are you mocking me?” Beckett asked incredulously.

She put her hands up in defeat. “Not at all. I’m just saying hello to the Beckett I know.”

“Ha ha ha.” Beckett rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard Hampstead Heath is also nice, but there isn’t anything to do or see.”

“Actually, it has great views.” Oriana mused.

“Oriana, how long have you lived here?” Zeph asked.

“Um…I’m not completely sure…” She trailed off, averting her gaze.

“So, a long time.” Zeph supplied. “And, Beckett, how often were you here before you were forced to come?”

“Once or twice.” Beckett mumbled. He’d tried to come more, but Katrina would always tell him she was too busy. One time, he decided to surprise her, but when he arrived his sister was already trashed, and it ended up being quite unpleasant for them both.

“Wow, this is huge!” Zeph gasped, turning his attention back to the park they were entering. “It’s like London’s version of Central Park!”

“Way better though.” Oriana told him. “There are tons of places to get lost here.”

“Should we do it?” Zeph asked excitedly.

“Do what?” Beckett asked skeptically.

“Get lost! It’ll be an adventure!”

Oriana laughed and Beckett tried really hard to not let it affect him, but after they left his penthouse, her mood seemed to lift…she seemed different today. She was looser, more laid-back, more easy-going…the way she used to be. He couldn’t figure out what her game was. He also couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was breathtaking, even wearing a simple pair of jeans and a v-neck green tee.

“There’s one place in particular I want I bring you first…it’s a bit of a popular area, so there will probably be lots of people, but trust me, it’s worth it.” Oriana grinned.

She began leading them, and Zephyr shrugged at Beckett, following her.

“So, Zeph, I’m really sorry about yesterday.” She started.

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to.” He replied shortly, and Beckett couldn’t help the chuckle that came out of his mouth. It felt amazing to have someone like Zeph on his side. Oriana’s missing out.

The whole thing seemed surreal. He and Oriana used to spend every minute together, but after not seeing her for so long, it felt a bit odd. And not in a bad way. But odd in a ‘I can’t believe how natural this still is’ kind of way. He’d lost everything, but somehow, after all these years, he was strolling through a large park with his best friend and the woman he loves more than anything else in the world, like it was the most common thing for him to be doing.

“Okay. Wow. I admit this is pretty cool.”

Beckett snapped back to attention, seeing they’d come to a stop on a large hill, looking down on a perfect view of the city. Oriana was beaming.

“I come here when I don’t want to feel alone. There’s lots of people, yet it’s still your own experience. And looking down at all that life…it makes me remember that I’m not actually done with mine. There are lots of people just like me, and I take comfort in that.”

“Not just like you.” Beckett muttered under his breath.

“Why do you find yourself feeling alone?” Zeph asked.

“I think everyone does, at one point or another.” She responded.

“What’s next?” Beckett piped in. He didn’t want to get into a conversation about being alone. He’s by himself far too often and wasn’t proud of it.

“The viaduct.” Oriana stated immediately. “You’re going to love it. Both of you.”

After another trek, the three friends approached a large pond, with a brick structure jutting out of the water. “The viaduct was supposed to be an entrance to an estate, but the estate was never built.” She explained.

“What a shame, it would be great space to own a home.” Beckett murmured to himself.

“Yes, well, the majority of the population disagreed.” Oriana countered. “And if it had been built, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Beckett furrowed his eyebrows, taking in her appearance. She seemed contemplated; lost in thought. He wanted to get inside her pretty head and see what she’s thinking. The three of them talked a bit more, though it felt a bit forced at times. Zeph filled Oriana in on everything he’s been up to since they last saw each other, and she was hanging onto every word of it. For the next hour or so, the small group continued walking aimlessly around, until coming to another pond, this one with a small dock leading out into the water. There were a few people swimming, and Zeph stopped short, eyes wide.

“Oh. My. God. I have always wanted to do this.”

“Do what….?” Beckett began to ask, but Zeph had already shoved his phone into his hands and taken off down the bank and onto the dock. He stared in horror as Zeph jumped off the end and into the water.

When he emerged, he pumped his fist into the air. “Woooooooo!”

“And now we have to get him out. What do you…” He trailed off again at the look of excitement in Oriana’s eyes.

“That looks like fun!” She grabbed Beckett’s hand. “We should do it!”

It took him a moment to compose himself from the strike of lightning that flew when their hands joined. “Ori, please, I’m not jumping into some pond I’ve never been to. I need to take samples and get them analyzed first, to make sure it’s safe.”

“There’s other people in the water. It’s a mixed swimming pond.”

“And maybe they’ll catch diphtheria.” He shrugged.

“You really forgot.” She spoke softly, dropping his hand.

“Forgot what?”

“How to be spontaneous.”

Before he could reply again, Oriana gave him her phone, and took off just like Zeph, leaping into the water, leaving him gaping behind her.

“Come on, Beckett!” Zeph laughed. “It feels great!”

Grumbling, Beckett walked down the dock. “You’re going to spend the rest of the day in wet clothes?”

“Well, you might have an easier time getting Oriana’s clothes off than you would mine.”

Beckett’s jaw dropped as he turned a deep crimson. “T-that’s preposterous, I wouldn’t…I mean, I couldn’t…”

“Why don’t you jump in and find out?” Oriana teased.

Suddenly feeling extremely hot, Beckett warred with himself. Something was most definitely different today. Did him knocking out Everett somehow loosen her up? Or maybe Zeph’s outburst did. Either way, as Zeph and Oriana raced around splashing each other and laughing, he set the phones down and began unbuttoning his shirt. He’d chosen a white button-down shirt with khakis today. He figured he wanted to look nice in case he ran into anyone important, but wanted to be comfortable bringing Zeph around the city.

Swallowing hard, he let his shirt flutter onto the wood. He was shaking in anticipation. He hasn’t done anything like this…well, since he was living with Oriana. He’d be stupid to let this opportunity go by. He felt Oriana’s eyes on him as he pushed his pants off next.

“Uh, it’s deep enough to jump in, right? I’m not going to land on some rocks?” He asked nervously, staring into the murky water.

“That’s all part of living dangerously, my friend! But the fact that Oriana and I didn’t scream in pain is probably a good indicator of what’s to come.” Zeph winked, nodding his head towards Oriana, who wasn’t saying anything…but her hazel eyes were still roving over his muscular body shamelessly.

Beckett dipped one toe into the water, willing himself to just jump. He met Oriana’s gaze as she cocked her head to the side.

“He’s going to wimp out. I’m heading over there; they’re playing some sort of game.” Zeph started swimming away as Oriana swam closer.

“What’s the matter, Beck? You sunburned already?”

“What?” He gasped, looking down at himself quickly. “I look perfectly normal, why…” He trailed off as she laughed.

“You might have forgot how to have fun, but I gotta say…making you blush is still so easy.”

Oh. Now he gets it. Narrowing his eyes, he glared at her. “I’m heading home. You two can come whenever.”

He reached down to collect his clothing, but suddenly Oriana was wrapping her arms around him and pulling him down into the water with a splash.

When he came back up to the surface, he was sputtering in shock at what just happened. “What the heck, Ori? I could have hit my head!”

“On what? Water?” She asked incredulously.

“You’re going to get it.” He growled and she shrieked, turning around and swimming further away from the dock, Beckett right on her heels. Finally, he caught her foot, forcing her to stop swimming and pulled her towards him, his arms holding her tightly, her lips just a breath away. She was still giggling, and it was so contagious; his grin must have been a mile wide. He felt like he’s been living someone else’s life and was finally coming back home after far too long. He forgot how lonely he’s been without her.

His eyes fell to her luscious lips, his heart pounding. God, he’s missed her. He’s missed everything about her; her smile, her warmth, her laugh…even her tears. She was his home, there was no question of that. He crushed her body into his and crashed their lips together. One of her arms snaked around his neck, while the other travelled to his ass, grinding their hips together.

“B…Beck…” She whimpered, and he groaned, feeling himself harden in an instant, all rational thought flying out the window. He needs her, needs to feel her, right here, and right now.

He unbuttoned her jeans and she gasped as his hand slipped in and beneath the waistband of her panties. She was trembling, forehead resting on his, no longer kissing him, but lost in his eyes, still clutching him for dear life. Before he dared to go further on his own, her fingernails dug into his back intensely; her breathing became erratic…and he knew exactly what that meant. It was one of her tells.

“Yesss…” Her voice was quiet and breathy as his fingers lightly reached her center, stroking once along her folds.

But they sprang apart when a loud whistle came from the shore, the lifeguard yelling something to another swimmer. And then Zeph reappeared.

“Isn’t this so much fun? I think I should move here, too. How kick-ass would that be? You’ll give me a job, right Bucket?”

“Uh…yeah, sure…” Beckett said sheepishly, feeling scrutinized under his gaze, his cheeks dusted pink.

“Did…I…did I interrupt something?”

“No!” Both he and Oriana cried in unison.

Zeph stared at them and Oriana shifted even further away. “Um, there’s a pub nearby, we could…”

“Your clothes are soaked.” Beckett reminded.

“Oh, right…my…clothes…that are still on…because they weren’t taken off.”

He rose an eyebrow. “I did try to warn you about that.”

“I definitely interrupted something.” Zeph was still staring.

“You interrupted nothing.” Beckett muttered, turning around and heading back to the dock. Pulling himself out of the water, he grabbed their belongings and walked off into the grass. He couldn’t believe that just happened. They were having so much fun; it was just like old times. And then making out and fondling her in a public area, like they were the only two people there…his eyes darted to where she and Zeph were getting out of the water, chatting amicably.

How can she act like nothing happened right now? How can she act like he wasn’t touching her intimately? God, why did he do that? She’s an engaged woman. Her heart belongs to someone else. According to her, anyway, even though it was completely obvious she didn’t want Everett at all. She was shivering when she approached.

“Cold?” He asked, avoiding her gaze.

“Just a bit.” She replied shakily. I think I’d like dry clothes now.”

Beckett nodded. “We can take you home first.”

“No, that’s okay, I have a few outfits in your penthouse.” Her eyes widened, like she didn’t mean to say that.

“Why do you have clothes in his penthouse?” Zeph mused.

“Well, Beck said we’d have some late nights, so I just wanted to make sure I had something clean there. To, you know, stay presentable.”

“Where are they?” Beckett asked. This was news to him. It’s not like she’s been there a ton so far.

Oriana shrugged. “They would have been delivered yesterday, so, probably in one of the unopened boxes.

“That’s verrry interesting. Hear that Beckett? She decided to keep a change of clothes at your house. You didn’t know?” Zeph asked slyly.

He shook his head. He hadn’t had a clue she had clothes there. He wondered what else he’d end up finding in his penthouse that he hadn’t discovered yet.

“Well, Oriana, you apparently still have the best clothes, so I’m excited to see the little numbers you keep at Beckett’s. You know, maybe this home office was a really good decision. I admit I had my doubts but…sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Do you stay over often, Oriana? I wasn’t offered a second bed…”

Beckett felt the tips of his ears burning.

Oriana started coughing as though she’d swallowed wrong, and you couldn’t wipe the shit-eating grin off Zeph’s face if you tried.

“Yup. I definitely interrupted something.”