#and then by the next time I go to see them I’ll be mostly forgotten about in their minds and I’ll have to go back to the beginning again and

[junicult]

Could you write about what it’s like when the bachelors and the farmer decide to try for a baby? Either the conversation they have about it or when they actually TRY 😉. Or both… No pressure tho! I love your work!

!! trying for a baby with the bachelors.

contains ; fem!farmer. nsfw! fluffff <33. talk of children / pregnancy. mostly talk, not much smut. some smut in harvey’s, sam’s, & alex’s. farmer wears a dress. breeding kink. not proofread! i’ll add more tags later & i apologize this is a bit rushed :,

harvey.

- alright so i basically talked all abt this on my last post,

- but i’ll happily elaborate further.

- first of all, this man dreams of being a father.

- he’s always wanted to be one, and may i just say he’d be the best father?? hello???

- if u don’t agree ur lying.

- so i wanna say the topic of children was first brought up when you were only dating.

- “would you ever want to have kids one day?” you ask, and it wasn’t so blunt that he was blindsided, but he was still a little taken aback by the question.

- standing next to you in his kitchen, mixing breakfast on the stove while you sat on the counter.

- he only looks at you for a sec, because ever the overthinker he is, he’s afraid he’ll say the wrong thing.

- “yes, i do. one day.” he feels the need to specify, before looking back down at the pan to avoid eye contact.

- he doesn’t see your smile, or the way you softly chuckle at his action.

- “me too. one day.”

- and now he feels beyond excited. so excited that he starts to grin without even realizing it.

- i feel like that’s as far as the conversation went for now, you changing the topic to breakfast and starting to get plates together while he displayed it all.

- but ofc the thought would always stay in the back of his mind.

- bc now, when you’re married and it’s actually clear that you would want him to be the father of your child, it’s easier to have the conversation without feeling worried abt rejection. for him, at least.

- i feel like it happens one night after work, and you’re both a little exhausted and just want to be together.

- ur all clean and full after showering and eating together, just spending time w one another before u finally finish up ur tiring day in bed.

- “do you want to try for a baby?” you ask.

- my fav part abt all of this is that u always ask at the most unexpected times.

- but he’s not as shocked this time around, cus he was literally thinking the same thing.

- “do you want to?” lmfao.

- “i do. i think we’re ready.”

- say no more, cus he’s absolutely ready.

- i mean, he’s literally been ready for the last like 15 years of his life so…yeah.

- i mentioned this my last post, but i’m gonna say it again. to really get the message across.

- ur married to a doctor. ur abt to try for a baby with a DOCTOR.

- ur not just gonna fuck until you make a baby. unfortunately 😞

- he’s gonna help you figure out ur ovulation schedule. and if you aren’t for a while, obviously you’re not just gonna stop having sex, but you’re not going to be actively trying as hard until you’re ovulating.

- and when u finally aarreee 😊😊😊

- tehehehe.

- imagine he comes home from spending like the entire day in the clinic, and he’s so tired and all he wants to do is be with you.

- like he’s literally spent the last three or so hours thinking about burying his face in the crook of your neck and just holding you.

- so picture his excitement when you finished up your work super quick, made dinner, and you tell him ur ovulating liikkeeeee.

- suddenly he’s forgotten all about his annoying day.

- his arms wrap around your waist, lifting you ever so slightly to meet his height while your lips are already molded together.

- try to tell me he wouldn’t lift u bridal style to take u to the bedroom. just try.

- hands softly running up and down your body underneath your layers of clothes, kisses trailing down to your neck and collar while he piece by piece helps you out of them.

- “love these lips, these cheeks, these ears,” he whispers all the while emphasizing each feature with a kiss.

- he’s so handsy, and he won’t let you hear the end of his praise.

- prep prep prep prep prepppppps you.

- he’s so grateful to be able to have you like this, ofc he’s going to make the most of it.

- plus, statistically, a female orgasm increases the chances of pregnancy.

- it wouldn’t hurt to up the chances by giving you a few, now would it?

sam.

- for sam, being a father wasn’t really something he spent so much time dwelling on.

- like, it’d just be a passing thought in his mind before he fell asleep,

- occasionally wondering what it’d be like to have a wife and kids, but not something he’d want to act on for at least a few years.

- he never found himself thinking about that kind of stuff, until he met you.

- and sure, you were both young, but the more he spent time with you, the longer he fell in love with you, the thought would continue to pop up way more often.

- he started to really think about it after seeing you interact with vincent.

- how his little brother would come running into your arms the minute you knocked on the door, excitedly latching onto you as his way of saying hello.

- “hey kiddo, how’s it been?” as if you didn’t see him literally yesterday.

- but that doesn’t matter, bc the way you ruffle his hair, entertaining his all-over-the-place conversation without even a hint of annoyance—makes sam feel all sputtery inside.

- it’s like vincent would be your main priority until he finished up telling you whatever it was he wanted you to know, and then you’d turn and greet your boyfriend with a small kiss on the cheek.

- like sam was secondary to the rest of his family, bc not to mention, you were also a sweetheart to jodi.

- vincent absolutely adored you. he’d always bother sam about you, asking when you’d come over or if he could tag along on your dates.

- i feel like his breaking point (if u will) was when he came home from work one day to see all three of you in his kitchen.

- his mom was teaching you how to make some special dish, and you had vincent propped on your back so he could watch.

- “sorry! i forgot you were working today but jodi just told me to wait here, and we kinda lost track of time.” you justify, face pinching in worry at his silence.

- that’s the exact moment it all clicked for him.

- he stayed dreadfully quiet while jodi finished up teaching you, and each moment you were growing increasingly worried.

- it wasn’t until you finally had alone time, and you immediately started gushing apologies when you stepped into his room.

- “i’m so sorry, sam, i didn’t mean to make it awkward for you, but your mom wanted to show me something and i was excited to learn and i dunno, i just forgot about—“

- “i wanna get married to you.”

- gn.

- you just blink back in awe, unsure of how to respond bc WHAT a bomb to drop rn.

- “…you do?”

- “so bad. i love you so much, i really want to be your husband.”

- so of course you ask him, “where is this coming from? i thought you were mad at me?”

- he just cups his hands on your cheeks, shaking his head. “are you kidding? how could i ever be mad at you spending time with my family?”

- and when he realizes you didn’t say anything, he goes all quiet and he’s like, “…do you wanna marry me?”

- duh.

- and so the topic of kids doesn’t follow long after, when you both mutually agree you want them, but at least not for a while.

- neither of u act on it until like a year after u get married.

- “vincent was asking about you. says he misses you and wants us to come over for dinner soon.” sam says, recapping his day while you wash your body beside him.

- btw, i like to think he waits until whenever u need to shower to shower with u.

- why? idk.

- anyways,

- “i’ll go visit him tomorrow. i miss the little guy,” you giggle.

- for him, he misses the way he’d see you interact with his little brother. how sweet, and kind you were. how you’d always include him in things, and despite him being a child, you didn’t really treat him as one.

- sure, you knew better then to say certain things around him, but when it came to all of you being in the same room together, you made sure he wasn’t forgotten about.

- he knows you’d be a great mother.

- “i wish we had a baby.” he blurts, a little frown on his face as he rinses the soap out of his hair.

-“really?”

- it’s not like it’s a foreign topic, but it’s still a little unexpected.

- “yeah! they’d have your hair and my eyes. with your cheeks, and cute nose.”

- he’s so cute i’m sobbing.

- you can’t help but grin at him as he goes on about how many kids he wants, and what they’d be named, and how they’d look.

- “yeah, i know vincent has jas but how cool would it be if he had another little buddy in town?”

- “i didn’t think you wanted kids yet?”

- “well, that was a year ago. we just haven’t really talked about it since.” he shrugs, and you can’t help but kiss his cute, rosy cheek.

- so from now on, ur gonna try for a baby🫡

- it’s definitely not as thought out as harvey.

- yeah, u guys are just gonna fuck until it works LMAO.

- but dare i say, you’ve never enjoyed sex like this.

- you’re all hot and sweaty, naked, hair clinging to your neck and staggered breaths all over his lips.

- “nggh, fuck, sam—feels s’good…” moaning into his mouth while he does the same, hips meeting yours at a eye-rolling pace.

- he’s already came twice, hardly enough energy to even bring himself to a third but yet somehow, here he is, fucking into you like he knows no better.

- and he won’t stop sputtering just pure filth in your ear,

- “mmgh—y’so pretty, so perfect. you’d make the prettiest babies.” “what are you doing to me? nnfuck, feels so, so good…”

- your fingers are feathered through his hair, arms wrapped around his neck to keep him close.

- you’re already so sensitive and overstimulated by the time he cums. you both are.

- so while he catches his breath, he’s holding you close and staying buried to the hilt inside of u.

shane.

- :,).

- i feel like it’s his little secret that he’s always wanted to be a father.

- but he never thought it’d happen for him.

- and after he met you, first of all he was shocked you liked him back.

- and as time progressed, and you’ve helped with his alcohol addiction, he’s really found that he fell in love with you.

- spending all this time together, despite you being so busy.

- you always make a way to fit him into your schedule, whether it be he comes over and helps you with some of your chores, or you meet him at the saloon.

- but as time progressed, and you were both were absolutely infatuated with each other, he couldn’t stop thinking about marrying you.

- but more importantly…having kids with you.

- i think, generally, he wants to be a good father, which is why he’s always kinda wanted kids.

- he wants to try to be there for his child, and wants to laugh with them, help them when they need it, watch them grow up and stuff.

- he wants to be able to nurture someone in a way he wasn’t really able to do for himself.

- but also, he’s a little possessive🤷‍♀️

- it’s sick, and gross, but the idea of you walking around with a pretty, swollen belly and everyone gets to know he did that. well.

- and he just knows you’d be the most amazing mom. with how you care for your animals, and you’re such a hard-worker…he’s gonna lose his mind.

- so yeah, despite him thinking about it constantly, you’re still the first to bring it up.

- “…can we talk about something?”

- instantly, he’s nervous. he feels like ur gonna break up with him or something.

- “a-about what?”

- you’re in the middle of washing dishes, so you use that as an excuse to avoid eye contact.

- since you’ve been dating for many months now, long past the point of exchanging “i love you”‘s and even closer to the inevitable possibility of marriage.

- but to make it this far and find out he doesn’t want children like you do, well that would be the most painful way to end things.

- “what are your thoughts on…like…kids?”

- he blinks.

- “kids?”

- “yeah, kids. like…children.”

- he’s quietly scratching the back of his head, trying not to let confusion paint across his face but yet here he is, eyebrows furrowed and head tilted.

- “i—i dunno. they’re pretty…cool? i guess? i like them…”

- he’s just staring at you, trying to read your expression in any way to figure out what the hell u are bringing this up for.

- he’s even more confused when you just nod instead of giving him an answer.

- “is that all you wanted to talk about?”

- it takes u another like 5 minutes to finally swallow your fear, and flicker your gaze to him.

- “no, i just…well i wanted to know if you’d ever be interested in, like, having kids….of your own—in the future! not now, or, whatever.”

- he thinks ur so cute.

- the way you’re purposely angling your chin down to hide your face, and despite the fact that you’ve already cleaned the same plate like seven times, you still continue to scrub it.

- he has half a mind to laugh a little, but he knows that’s only make you feel more nervous. so he just smiles quietly to himself, looking at you.

- “hmm, having kids?” he sighs, leaning against the counter, crossing his arms like he’s in deep thought to agonize you teasingly.

- “well, considering i have jas in my life, yeah. kids aren’t so bad.”

- the puppy-dog look you give him finally has him chuckling.

- “you’d want kids?”

- “yeah, someday. but you know, having kids is kind of a two person job.“

- now it’s your turn to giggle, fixing your gaze back towards a new dish you grab to clean.

- “oh, is it?”

- “mhm. they’re hiring, too. but not just anyone can apply.”

- “what’re the requirements?”

- he gently wraps his arms around your waist, pressing against your back and lowering to rest his chin on your shoulder.

- “hmm, we’ll they’re looking for someone who’s perfect.” he presses a kiss to your cheek. “have i told you you’re perfect?”

sebastian.

- much like sam, he didn’t really spend time thinking about fatherhood.

- it wasn’t something he dwelled on hardly, if not ever.

- he had other things to focus on, and unfortunately he didn’t really think that’d ever be a part of his future.

- and it didn’t change right when he met you.

- he really liked you for a long time before anything even progressed (nerves, i guess?)

- but eventually, you were steadily a very good couple.

- spending lots of time together, going on dates (more like ponder sessions by the rivers and beach but whatever) and just overall the early stages of falling in love.

- he’d come visit at the farm and wouldn’t leave for days. even when he told himself he needed to, it’d take him so long to actually leave.

- he spent so much time thinking about you too, that of course his mind began to wander.

- what would marriage be like, first of all.

- it didn’t take long before he decided he liked that thought. coming home to you every day, waking up with you by his side.

- his city dreams weren’t so important to him anymore. not if it meant leaving you behind.

- now, as for children,

- he didn’t spend much time thinking about it for a while. it was mostly just a passing thought in his mind.

- kinda like sam, you two definitely discussed it before getting married but it was a short, “if we decide we want to someday,” and that was about it.

- i feel like sebastian is a little possessive, too.

- he loves the fact that he’s married to you now. that he’s legally tied to you and he has a reason for wanting you all to himself some days.

- the longer you two were married, however, he had to get used to his mom’s constant remarks.

- “you know, i did build a nursery in her house, sebby. just something to think about.” robin grins in passing convo.

- which he can’t help but cringe at what his mom is implying, but he guesses she has a point.

- so as he got older, he started to think about having kids a lot more.

- because, yes, being married to him does kinda scream off limits.

- but wouldn’t having a child be even a much better indicator?

- how there’s actual living proof that sebastian is yours and you are his.

- yeah, he’s gonna be thinking about it a lot.

- “honey, are you okay? you’ve been really quiet today.” you wonder softly, wrapping your arms around his back where he laid with his face pressed against your chest.

- you know that sometimes he just likes to be alone, and it has nothing to do with you, it’s just his own personal preference.

- but he’s not usually like this. clingy, latched onto you tight while he’s lost in his thoughts.

- “hm? oh, yeah i’m fine baby. don’t worry.”

- you frown at his vagueness. “you can tell me anything. need me to step out? i don’t mind, sebby.”

- he loves u sm.

- “no! no, it’s nothing like that,” he even accentuates by squeezing you a little tighter, “i’ve just…been thinking.”

- “about…?”

- you feel him shrug, but he moves his face to bury into the crook of your neck, so you can’t see him.

- “i dunno, just like…us. i guess.”

- 😑

- “…okay…”

- and now ur kind like, sitting up to move away from him, and he’s not having that.

- he frowns, once again tightening his hold on you and burying himself deeper.

- “nothing bad, i promise.” he murmurs into you.

- “then what is it?”

- you never want to pressure him to tell you what’s on his mind, but when he’s like this, you feel like you deserve to know a little.

- he only answers with hesitation, taking long enough before you frown and squint your eyes down at him.

- “sebastian, if y—“

- “i wanna have a baby.”

- lol.

- now it gets real quiet.

- you freeze, hand pausing midway through his hair. you can almost feel the significant change in the atmosphere.

- “…what?”

- “i know we haven’t really talked about it lately, i just think it’s something we should talk about.”

- he keeps his face hidden away from yours, despite you attempting to look down at him.-

- but, if he was looking at you, he’d be able to see the smile on your plump cheeks, and how you were suddenly wrapping your legs around his torso.

- “i was thinking the same thing.”

alex.

- okay, so for this one,

- i feel like it’d be 50/50.

- one half of me says he’d never want kids.

- he saw the man his father grew up to be, and he despises him because of it.

- it scarred him enough to mess with his relationships with past women, definitely gave him commitment issues for a long while.

- so he never wanted to be a father. he can’t picture himself as one.

- but the other half of me says the opposite.

- he’s a man, who knows what it’s like to live with an abusive, absent father.

- and despite him still being kind of young, he couldn’t stop thinking about how he’d never treat his child, or even his wife like how his father did.

- almost like he’d want to prove people wrong.

- like, not all men end up like his father. most of them can actually become loving, supportive fathers and husbands.

- that’s the side of him i like to think abt most 😇

- but, i do wanna say though, when he met you, he didn’t really think that deeply about you.

- sure, he really liked you and how sweet you are. you’d always spend time with him, and make him feel better whenever he was down.

- most importantly, however, you weren’t shy to put him in his place if he ever said anything offhanded.

- you taught him a lot, and that’s when he really started to fall for you.

- it didn’t take long to confess his feelings. he likes being bold like that, and rejection doesn’t scare him.

- after you told him you reciprocated, he was instantly excited to call you his girlfriend.

- evelyn and george already loved you, (maybe evelyn a little more openly,) so accepting you into the family was a very easy task.

- he’d talk about you constantly. he’d find any opportunity to steer the conversation to you, and run with it for as long as they’d let him.

- and don’t get me started whenever he’s with you.

- he may act all tough, and above-it all the time, but i can promise you:

- whenever you’re alone, he’s just a big baby.

- smushing his face into your chest, wrapping his arms and legs around you so he could take a nap.

- and he loves when you’d lay like that, brushing your fingers through his hair and telling him about you day so he can just listen to your voice.

- now, that being said: i feel like he’s not scared to talk about wanting children with you.

- it was probably a conversation early on in your relationship, he just steered clear from stating he’d like you to be the mother of his child.

- “yeah, i’d love to have kids one day. babies love me!” kinda thing.

- and the longer you two were dating, and the more serious and committed it became, he was all for letting you know what was really on his mind.

- “you’d be the most perfect mom. our kids would be so smart, and gentle. plus, with our ridiculously good looks—unbeatable.” he grins, pop kissing all over your face as wraps his arms around you.

- behind your fit of giggles, you can’t help but counter, “please, alex, i need get back to work!”

- and he’s reluctantly sending you off to do your job, spending the rest of his hours making himself busy at home until he can repeat it all over again when you finish up at night.

- despite him talking and thinking about it so often, much like the rest of the guys he won’t act on it until you’re actually married.

- probably like a month after you get married he brings it up, but not like he used to.

- “hmm, what do you say about making a baby, pretty?” his fingertips slide through your hair, cupping the side of your face.

- he can’t help but place one calloused hand to your bare stomach, pressing down just slightly to watch the way your eyes pinch and lips part.

- his hips were stilled, cock buried deep inside of you after minutes of teasing you.

- “nngh? whaa—“ you’re hardly coherent, head lulling into his palm the moment he begins his slow drags in and out of you.

-“aww, you’d look so pretty carrying my kids, dontcha think? let’s make it happen baby, please?” “we wanna baby, right? c’mon, we’re ready. now’s perfect.”

- he’s gently nipping at your cheek, kissing down your jaw and neck to hear you whine on top of the way he’s pressing against you.

- “c-can’t, t’much,” you whimper, eyes rolling the minute his hips snap and his pace quickens.

- “yes you can, i know you can.” his voice is breathless and low in your ear, “why don’t you let me cum inside, hm?”

- his sweet gaze has your head spinning, lower lip puckered and wobbling.

- you’re so overstimulated even the slightest movement has your body twitching, throat swelling.

- yet somehow, you’re still bringing yourself to nod slowly while he grins above you.

- “yeah, knew you’d like that.”

elliot.

- he’s absolutely ready to be a father.

- it probably didn’t become something he actually dwelled on until he got older, but yeah, he’s absolutely ready.

- when he met you, not to say it was love a first sight but…

- it was love at first sight.

- he quickly became well acquainted with you, and spent much time with you.

- whether you were at his cabin, or he came to visit your farm, it didn’t matter.

- it didn’t take long before you started dating and fell in love.

- he’d find himself thinking about you at his desk instead of writing.

- or lying awake at night, missing you beside him and eagerly awaiting the morning when he could go and see you.

- he’d spend so much time picturing what it’d be like to have you as his wife and mother of his children.

- the topic of kids was definitely early on.

- “i’d want three. two girls and a boy. he’d be the youngest.” he hums, taking a bite out of a pomegranate you had just given him a few minutes beforehand.

- “yeah? three, huh?”

- he smiles, nodding.

- “well y’know, if she didn’t want three, then i’m fine with however many.”

- you were sitting on the foot end of his bed, while he sat beside you.

- “hmm, no, three is fine. i’m sure she wouldn’t mind three.”

- “you think?” he licks the fruit juice off his thumb behind his grin, before leaning back against the headboard.

- “oh, i know.”

[buckybarnesb-tch]

Heyy I totally understand how you would feel uncomfortable about the Ed one so could you please do the insomnia one shot i cant wait to read it if you do xx

Internal Clock in Smithereens -Klaus M.

(Sorry this one took so long, I completely forgot I had nearly finished it)

She tried so incredibly hard to hide it.

The first 2 months of their relationship she came up with every excuse in the book to not stay the night at his house. Forgotten things, appointments the next day, family emergencies, and she had to give Klaus credit for putting up with it for 2 whole months before he began taking it personally.

Admittedly he considered she was just more comfortable sleeping in her own bed and so he had gone shopping and gotten the comfiest bed he could possibly find. He knew she liked it because she had drifted off on it for many naps at the strangest times, naps he always felt bad waking her up from for some reason he couldn’t identify, though she never complained.

He had also considered that she was uncomfortable around his siblings and so he set out to ensure they behaved themselves around her and they all did. Elijah loved Y/n, he was thrilled to finally meet his brothers redemption in human form, he knew this girl was it for his little brother and he would do anything he had to, to make sure she stayed with him. Even if that means controlling Kol.

Shockingly enough, Kol loved her as well. She distracted Klaus and kept him off of the youngest Mikaelson’s back, she also kept him in a mostly good mood which saved Kol many a time when he had screwed up again. Rebekah also enjoyed her (though it took her a while to warm up) after learning that Y/n was much different than her Scooby Gang friends and didn’t judge Rebekah. Y/n enjoyed spending time with the Original girl, going shopping with her, having days out just the two of them, basically giving Rebekah the best friend she had always wanted.

All 3 of his siblings would have done anything to make sure Y/n was comfortable in their home.

It was actually Elijah that proposed the possibility of her having sleeping troubles but Klaus dismissed this as he had seen her fall asleep in the oddest places at the oddest times.

When Klaus finally just asked her if she had reservations about being with him, she gave in and stayed over. She didn’t want him to think that she didn’t love him, or that she was afraid of him so she pushed through her discomfort and packed a bag, staying with him for the entire weekend.

The first day after Klaus woke up he had planned a day out for the both of them and though she was exhausted, she powered through. The second night she laid there, staring at the ceiling all night long with Klaus’ arms around her without the option of even reading on her phone, only getting about an hour and a half of actual sleep.

It was the third night that she finally snuck from his arms and ended up in the family room, reading a book. Klaus woke up around 2am and ventured off to find her, thoroughly confused as he could clearly see how exhausted she was when he looked at her eyes.

‘Love? What are you doing out of bed?’ He asked and she jumped, startled as none of the vampires in this house make noise when they walk. She had gotten used to identifying everyone she’s ever lived with by their footsteps but she can’t do it here.

‘I couldn’t sleep is all. Go back to bed Nik, I’m okay.’ He shook his head, moving to her and taking her into his arms with no effort at all.

‘I’m not going without you. Come on, I’ll make you some hot tea and you’ll fall right asleep.’ She shook her head this time and tried to get him to put her down. ‘I can compel you to help you relax…is that what it is? Are you scared of being here? I promise you that my siblings-‘

‘Nik! It has nothing to do with your family, I-‘ she heaved a heavy sigh, forcing her way to her feet and sitting back on the couch while he crouched down in front of her, taking her hands into his.

‘What’s going on, Love? I don’t understand-‘

‘I can’t sleep.’ She admitted, actually feeling good about finally saying it out loud to him. ‘I have had really bad insomnia since I was a kid. It started when I was 6, it’s why I end up napping in such strange places. I get so physically tired that my body eventually just passes out…it made for some interesting jokes with my family my whole life. That’s why I didn’t want to stay here, it’s even worse in unfamiliar places and I didn’t want to keep you up.’ Klaus paused, just watching his girls eyes as they looked over his face nervously.

‘Why didn’t you tell me, Y/n? It’s not a big deal!’ He eyes hardened and she glared at him angrily. ‘Let me rephrase that. It’s obviously a big deal that you can’t sleep. It sucks and I wish you didn’t have this problem, but it’s not a big deal to me.’ He hated how she looked up at him in that moment and he wanted so badly to comfort her, moving himself to the couch and pulling her onto his lap, kissing her head tenderly.

‘It’s embarrassing. Do you know how funny everyone thought it was when I was a kid? They got annoyed that I would be up watching TV all night but then be laughing about a new picture they took of me asleep leaning against the couch standing up. It was like my issues were a huge joke to tell at parties. My parents showed those humiliating pictures to everyone that listened, she sent one into school for my yearbook childhood picture. I don’t tell anyone…I should have just told you but I didn’t want to risk you finding it funny. God knows Kol would never let it go-‘

‘No one here will tease you, I’ll make sure of it. Now, let’s go get you to sleep. I don’t know how long compulsion will last but you’ll be able to get some rest. No more embarrassment over this, you had me worried sick, do you hear me love?’ She nodded, allowing her Hybrid to sweep her off of her feet and carry her back to his overly comfortable bed.

It turns out compulsion only works for about 3 hours at a time but considering how shitty her sleep normally is, it does wonders for her. Klaus is more than happy to wake up and compel her once again into sleeping for a few more hours and now that he can, he all but moved her into his home with him.

Apparently even a fucked up internal clock doesn’t stand a chance against a hybrid.

(This isn’t my best work. I wasn’t really into it and I feel like it really shows (even if it was already meant to be a short fic) but I hope you at least enjoy it a little bit)

Klaus Mikaelson Masterlist

[bri-cheeses]

Letters and Pens - Part 3

| Rosekiller microfic | Word count: 636 | Part 3 | Part 2 is here |

-

Barty missed the first period of classes. Evan tried not to notice or care, but he failed miserably. History of Magic was simply brutal without his best friend to mess around with, sharing looks and whispering to each other as Professor Binns droned on and on in that boring voice of his. Evan wanted to stab himself in the eye by the time the bell finally rang, but he refrained. Just barely, though.

Barty showed up after the first period of potions. He practically crashed through the door, a cocky grin on his face and his bag thrown haphazardly over his shoulder. Slughorn muttered disapprovingly but took no further action, and Barty stumbled his way to Evan’s side.

Evan kept his gaze on the potion in front of him. Barty had left him alone for a significant amount of the morning, and he could handle the silent treatment for several minutes.

“Evs,” Barty said, and Evan could hear the grin in his voice.

He didn’t look up to see it, though, still firmly resolved to ignore him for a little while.

“Evan,” Barty tried again.

Barty moved closer to Evan, peering over his shoulder to see what potion had apparently captured his attention so thoroughly.

“Rosie?” Barty turned his face toward Evan, confusion written all over it.

Evan finally looked, and—no. Absolutely not. They were way too close, Barty having already been extremely close from peeking over his shoulder . And that was before Evan had turned his head.

Evan stepped away without saying anything. Barty recoiled in confusion, but Evan just went back to stirring and refusing to look at his friend.

“Alright,” Barty said, sounding a bit annoyed. “I’ll bite. What’s wrong?”

Evan clenched his jaw, but the words came out anyway.

“What’s wrong is that you completely ditched me last night as well as this morning without any prior warning.”

There was a beat of silence, then a teasing, “Aw, did you miss me, Rosie?”

Barty swayed closer in amusement, and Evan’s grip on the ladle tightened. His knuckles went white.

“Leave it,” Evan said tightly.

“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was drunk. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Evan snorted. “You could say that.”

And no, no no no no no, he wasn’t supposed to bring that up, not supposed to remind Barty or to make things awkward between them, it was supposed to just be forgotten and Merlin, why wasn’t Barty saying anything?

Evan finally turned his gaze on the boy next to him, who blinked.

“Ha,” Barty chuckled a bit weakly. “Yeah, I was really smashed. Don’t even really remember much.”

He coughed awkwardly. Evan ignored it, too busy hoping Barty didn’t remember… well, the entire fiasco, he supposed.

“Why?” Barty asked, and Evan’s attention snapped back to him. “Do I do anything stupid?”

He doesn’t remember, Evan thought incredulously.

“I—” he hesitated. He shook his head in order to clear his thoughts. “No, nothing out of the ordinary.”

Evan then allowed a false grin to overtake his face, feeling incredibly grateful for his ability to lie. “So don’t worry, your stellar reputation is still intact.”

His act was enough to get Barty to laugh.

“What stellar reputation?” Barty joked and knocked his shoulder with Evan’s, then turned to the cauldron. “So, what’ve we got here?”

Evan explained the task Slughorn had set for them, only a quarter of which he had completed. They’d be working from bell to bell for the next several days at the pace this was going. But Barty didn’t comment on Evan’s slow going—which, to be fair, was mostly due to having been busy wondering where Barty was. Instead, he got to work at Evan’s side, who couldn’t help but feel relieved to have Barty with him once more.

Barty didn’t remember. Things would be fine.

-

[sixhours]

One Day at a Time - Chapter 5 - Labor

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut Series tags: The Last of Us, The Last of Us (HBO), Joel Miller x f!OFC, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, SMUT, gratuitous smut, dubious consent (drunk sex), unplanned pregnancy, fluff, references to past miscarriages, angst, hurt/comfort, romance, age gap (~21 years), childbirth, fluffy baby stuff, I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

Charlie and Joel find a new routine, stumbling around each other in the early days–passing each other in the hall with stilted greetings, overly polite glances, two lone wolves sharing a den.

The hardest part of having her around is her insistence on doing things . He finds the laundry hamper in his bathroom empty, the dishes washed and put away in the cupboard, the floor swept and the bookshelves dusted.

“You don’t need to clean up after me,” he grumbles after finding a bunch of his shirts folded and pressed and stacked neatly on the bed in Ellie’s old room. “Didn’t ask you here to be a maid.”

“I have to do something,” she says from her place on the couch. “They have me on reduced hours. All I do is water plants and sort donations, and there are only so many books to read. At this rate, I’ll be halfway through the library by the time the kid is born.”

“That’s the point. You’re s’posed to rest,” he says.

“I haven’t bled in three weeks,” she says. “The kid’s fine. I’m fine. A load of laundry isn’t going to kill us.”

He winces. “Don’t say it like that. And I can do my own damn laundry.”

In a vain attempt to get her to stay put, he brings home stacks of DVDs from the library and makes movies a nightly routine. If nothing else, it keeps her off her feet for a couple of hours, and he already knows they have similar tastes. Sometimes Ellie joins them, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap, and their weird little arrangement feels almost familial.

On one such night, Charlie is fast asleep when the movie credits roll. Ellie bowed out halfway through, claiming she couldn’t take the cheesy dialogue for one more second.

Charlie’s head is propped on a pillow next to Joel’s thigh, and he resists the urge to push an errant strand of silver hair out of her eyes. Instead, he draws a fingertip down her cheek until she stirs.

“You missed the best part,” he murmurs. “And you’re droolin’.”

“Mmm.”

She wipes a hand across her mouth and blinks up at him. It’s a long, lingering look that has him brushing the hair from her eyes after all, eager to have an excuse to touch her, if only for a second.

He realizes with a dull sense of shame that he wants to gather her in his arms and carry her to bed. The liquor that put them here may have acted as a lubricant, but at a different time, under different circumstances, he would have tried to get her to bed regardless.

The thought is pushed roughly aside as he stands slowly, stiffly, stretching through the low-level ache in his back, ignoring the creak in his knees.

He puts out a hand to help her up and she takes it, using it as leverage to hoist herself off the too-soft couch, overcoming her unfamiliar extra weight. Her hand lingers in his once she’s up, just a second too long, and he feels that familiar spark of heat low in his spine.

He fakes a cough and takes his hand away, grateful she can’t see the flush creeping up his neck in the low light.

“C’mon…let’s get you to bed.”

He plods up the stairs behind her, purposefully looking at his feet instead of the sway of her hips ahead of him.

“G’night, Joel,” she yawns, lingering in the doorway to his bedroom.

Christ, even her yawn is cute.

��Night,” he grates out, ducking into the spare room and closing the door behind him. He’ll wait until she’s settled, then he’ll go to the bathroom down the hall and take his second shower of the day, because there’s no fucking way he can jerk off in Ellie’s old room.

~*~

It’s different from what Joel remembers. There is no attempt to outfit a nursery, no crib or cradle to put together, no paint swatches smoothed onto the walls. There is no discussion of names, of gender, of a future beyond the current day; just a nightly mark in his pocket calendar, one more day in a long countdown. He doesn’t know if it’s a shared fear of losing the pregnancy or of making it too real; probably both.

Instead, they refer to the baby as a fruit, based on the list in the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book that someone, probably Maria, dropped on their doorstep.

“How’s…is it Avocado?” he asks, returning home from patrol. Tommy must have pulled some strings with the council because he’s been put on daytime shifts only, no overnights, and nothing longer than six hours.

“I think it’s Pepper now. No…wait,” Charlie frowns, reaching for the book and flipping to a dog-eared page. “We’re up to Sweet Potato.”

He wrinkles his nose. “How is that a fruit?”

“I dunno, but it’s making me want fries.”

He does his best to stifle the urge to follow her around and pester her to eat, to drink, to relax, but tonight the question slips out before he can stop it.

“You hungry? Did you eat?”

“I was joking,” she sighs, and he catches the tail-end of an eye roll. “But no, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“Heard it’s pizza night at the caf. Prob’ly still have the good stuff if we go now. No mushrooms.”

“Sounds like heartburn waiting to happen,” she smiles. “But sure.”

They walk to the cafeteria together, a diversion from routine. Except for their nightly movie dates, they keep separate schedules, more like roommates than future parents.

”So, uh, you didn’t tell me before. How’s ‘Sweet Potato’?”

“Active,” she says, rubbing her stomach. “At least I think it’s the kid. Could be gas.”

He snorts a laugh. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. It feels like…bubbles. Like fizzy bubbles, popping,” she says.

He nods. “You’re, uh, what, twenty weeks? Halfway.”

“You’re keeping track,” she says appraisingly.

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

Her lips quirk in a smile. “I’m not.”

He’s managed to keep his head down and avoid the rumors, but he feels eyes on them when they enter the cafeteria together; the old man and the reclusive widow. It’s almost enough to make him turn around, but her hand is suddenly warm in his, steadying him.

“Maybe we should give them something to talk about,” she whispers, arching an eyebrow.

“Pretty sure this is ‘something’ enough,” he says, gently poking at her stomach with the edge of his tray.

They find a table in the corner, someplace Joel can keep his back to the wall and glare at anyone who offers more than a sideways glance. Normally the caf’s pizza is good, but tonight it tastes like cheese-covered cardboard. He’s head down, focused on cutting up his food into little squares when a familiar voice pipes up.

“Hey, lovebirds!”

He looks up to find Ellie standing at their table, holding her tray and grinning.

“Not gonna interrupt your date, just wanted to say ‘hi.’ I’m eating with Cat and Dina,” she nods to the other side of the room.

“S’not a–”

“Have fun,” she chirps. Then she’s gone.

“Sorry,” he mutters, pushing his food around on his plate. “She’s…a lot.”

“How’s she dealing with all this?” Charlie asks, gesturing between them.

“Same way she deals with everythin’,” he snorts. “Bein’ a wiseass.”

Charlie looks over her shoulder to where Ellie is now laughing with her friends.

“How’d she end up with you, anyway? You’re a bit of an unlikely pair.”

“Made a promise to a friend,” he says roughly. “Then she…stuck.”

“The unwitting father,” she says, smiling a little, then frowns. “I used to wonder what kind of mother I’d be…before this. Now I just hope we make it out of this pregnancy alive.”

“You will,” he says quickly because he can’t bring himself to imagine the alternative. “And you’ll do fine. The first years, it’s mostly just about keepin’ ‘em alive…stop ‘em from doing stupid shit.”

He’s watching Ellie as he says this.

“Then you love ‘em and hope for the best,” he says softly. “Not much else to it.”

“Sounds like you speak from experience,” Charlie says curiously, and a pit of anxiety burrows deeper into his stomach. Sometimes he forgets she doesn’t know about Sarah.

“I took care of Tommy,” he explains, flushing. “Our folks weren’t, uh, around much. It was just me an’ him for a long time.”

She nods. She’s finished her pizza and he’s still moving his around on his plate. He pushes his tray over to her.

“Here. M’not hungry.”

“You sure?”

He nods, and she takes the tray and picks up one of the tiny pizza squares he’s carved out, popping it in her mouth.

“Well, she seems pretty happy, all things considered,” she says, chewing thoughtfully. “You must be doing something right.”

He winces, thinking of Ellie’s dead weight in his arms and the despair in her eyes when he couldn’t tell her the truth.

“M’not so sure about that.”

~*~

The moan drifts across the hall, and Joel is out of bed and at her door in an instant. He’s only half dressed, hasn’t even put a T-shirt on. Ellie hasn’t had one of her nightmares in months, but he’s operating on pure instinct, something drilled into him from the time Sarah was a baby. It’s a honed reflex; he does it without waking, without thinking.

He stops at the threshold, blinking away the sleep before he can knock on the door to his bedroom.

His bedroom. Ellie sleeps in the garage. Charlie is here now, not Ellie.

Another low moan, a gasp…a sigh.

His face gets hot as he realizes what’s happening. He stands frozen in the hall, her breathing carrying through the door. Panting, another moan. Arousal sends a tight knot of heat to his groin.

Fuck.

He turns on his heel, eager to put space between them, to give her some privacy, but his foot lands on the squeakiest floorboard, the one he’s been telling himself he needs to nail down before someone trips on the damn thing, and the sound is unmistakable and deafening.

All sounds from his bedroom cease with a tiny gasp.

Shit shit shit.

He’s fixed in place. There’s the sound of her soft footsteps on the other side of the door, the creak of the knob as it opens.

“Joel?”

He turns around, fists clenching at his sides. “Sorry…I thought you were, uh…sick.”

She’s watching him intently, silver eyes burning into his in a way that takes his voice. She’s dressed in a thin tank top and underwear, the fabric clinging to her skin, dewy with sweat from the heat of the summer, or from…other things.

His brain goes fuzzy.

The lacy edge of the tank top barely covers her, swollen as she is, breasts and belly normally covered by an oversized button-down. His eyes are drawn to the naked swell of her abdomen over the crease of her thigh.

Then she’s reaching toward him, and he catches her wrist before her palm makes contact with his bare chest, but just barely. The heat radiates off her and he feels every single degree of temperature.

“I…should go,” he murmurs, but his throat has gone dry and it comes out as a croak.

“Joel–”

He’s still holding her wrist when she moves toward him and presses her face to the center of his breastbone, her breath like a blessing on his skin. He can’t stop her, can’t turn her away, even as his hand holds her wrist steady and apart, the rest of her slides against him. Her forehead presses at the spot under his chin.

It’s so slow–so painfully, breathtakingly slow, this connection.

“We–” is all he can get out when he feels her lips on his chest, an open-mouthed kiss to his pec, and he shudders. Her tongue peeks out, lapping once at the tender skin, tasting him.

His other hand cups the back of her bare neck, intending to pull her away, but he’s entranced by the softness at her nape, the warmth of the skin, the way the muscles and bones shift under his palm. She has deftly extracted her wrist from his grip and is holding the hand that was meant to keep her at bay, fingers laced together and tucked between their bodies like a secret.

She tips her head back, waiting for the last vestiges of his control to break. It’s her eyes that do it, silver and shining with want…and sadness.

I’m here, I’m here, you can have this.

Oh, he really should turn away.

He kisses her like it’s the first time because he can’t remember the first time; only that it put them here. Maybe it hadn’t been the alcohol after all, because he’s lost himself to the first sip of her mouth. She tastes like chocolate, sweet and rich and deep, and he is so achingly hungry when she licks the taste of herself into him.

She’s pulling him, or maybe he’s pushing her, guiding her to the bed. His bed. Where she’d been touching herself not moments before–

He groans and separates himself from her just as she sinks onto the mattress.

“I need…I need a minute,” he gasps. He feels insane, primal, out of control. He needs this to just slow down and give him half a second to think, but he can’t fucking think because the blood is no longer answering to the part of his body that controls decision-making.

Charlie gets to her knees on the bed, swaying a little as she adjusts to her burgeoning center of gravity. “You asked how you could help. This is how. You can be with me.”

“Is that…really what you want?”

She blinks at him, slow and measured. Her voice shakes. “I want…I want to forget, just for a little bit. I want to…pretend.”

“I’m old enough t’be your father,” he grits out, even as he’s drawn to her, even as his hand finds hers and closes the distance. He watches their fingers entwine as if enchanted, her narrower ones sliding between his thick ones, the clutch of her nails skipping across the ridges of his palm.

“But you’re not my father,” she says evenly.

“The midwife said no–”

“It’s fine,” she soothes, placing his hand on her waist. She’s so fucking close and she smells like sex.

“Please.”

The catch in her voice dissolves what’s left of his restraint and his arm slips around her more fully, pulling her into him, his hand finding the soft skin under her tank top. He holds her close, feeling the thrum of his pulse at his throat when she kisses him there, licking at the scruff of his beard.

Then she’s urging him onto the bed, straddling his hips with her own, draping herself over him, her skin melting against his like warm honey. He feels feverish with want, with need, so lost in the sensations he’s denied himself for months that he might as well be drunk for all the control he has.

He nuzzles at one breast, cups the other, dark-tipped and heavy in his palm. She arches and whimpers when his thumb grazes a nipple, keens when he licks and licks and sucks it into his mouth, feels the pebbled skin tighten under his tongue.

She sits up on her knees, urges his boxers down over him before he fully realizes what she’s doing. He tries to still her with a hand to her hip.

“I don’t wanna hurt–”

“You won’t,” she says, and then she’s pulling her underwear aside and sinking on his length with a gasp and a whimper, fingers gripping his chest to steady herself as she rocks against him, taking him inside with slow, careful thrusts. A groan wrenches itself from his throat and he has to stop himself from thrusting up into her.

“There, there,” she whimpers, finding the right angle, pressing against him, rolling her hips until his cock is stroking and hitting that spot over and over. It doesn’t take long until she’s panting, whimpering, please, please, yes there, please, as she uses his body to climb higher.

He’s murmuring now, soft words of encouragement and praise and nonsense at her throat, her neck, wherever his mouth can reach. He doesn’t stop even when she kisses him, rumbling into her mouth, laying the words against her tongue with his own like an offering, yes, baby, just like that, so good, take it, take it, I got you, take it.

She comes with a final roll of her hips, pressing him inside her as deep as she can and grinding against him with a wail. He feels the pulse and flutter of her contractions around him, her eyes clamped shut, blunt nails digging into his shoulders. Her lip quivers and she lets out what sounds like a sob.

She slides off him with a whimper, tucking into the crook of his arm.

“Just…a sec,” she breathes.

He’s dizzy with her scent, her touch, still not entirely sure how they got here…again. But now her fingers are skating over his stomach and down, taking him in her hand and stroking him, watching his face.

“You don’t…have to,” he grits out, rolling to face her and edging backward to give her space. But she’s shimmying out of her underwear and hooking her leg over his hips, pulling him closer. She reaches between them to stroke his cock through her folds, then urges him inside with a sigh.

Pleasure sinks its hot tendrils into him as she rocks against him, her face pressed to his chest, soft panting at his collarbone. His free hand roams the landscape of her body, the hard swell of her womb pressed into the softness of his stomach, the weight of her breast in his hand.

He feels her fingers at the base of his cock, slicking herself, and his hand follows, covering hers.

“Show me,” he whispers.

She does, and he picks up her rhythm, swirling the pad of his finger around her swollen clit, yes yes, like that, more . He’s surprised when she comes again almost immediately, so sensitive, clamping tight and nipping at his clavicle. She grips his hip and grinds against him, forcing him to fuck her through it until he’s cresting.

“Gonna…soon…” he pants, trying to pull out, but she locks her leg tighter around him.

“Inside,” she whispers, grabbing at his jaw and pulling his mouth to hers.

He groans, pulling back to see her face. “You sure?”

“S’the worst that can happen?”

She looks down at them, at the swell just above where their bodies are joined, and then tilts her chin up and grins, a coy, fucked-out smirk that makes his cock ache and kick and throb inside her.

“Oh…oh fuck ,” he whispers, and then he’s pouring into her.

Her hand is splayed on his cheek when he comes to, her eyes closed, nose pressed to his jaw.

“Y’okay?”

“Mmm,” she sighs, a tiny, breathy little thing. She’s already half asleep.

“Should I—“

“Stay,” she murmurs, leg still locked around him.

He does.

[ffc1cb]

Do you have any tips for drawing men/masculine looking faces? I love your style and that's specifically something I struggle with ;;;

hi anon! this ask has been sitting in my inbox long enough that you’ve probably forgotten you sent it (yikes!) but i swear that the entire time i’ve been trying to think of a way to answer it. 

first of all, i wasn’t entirely sure i could give you any helpful advice at all, considering that i personally do not think about faces in terms of masculine/feminine when drawing them (and this is not a gotcha or anything, i just genuinely don’t think about it on purpose; as in, i rarely go into drawing a face with explicit intent of making it appear masc/femme).

i also as of late have (mostly by accident) defaulted to drawing just these two face shapes, applying them to any characters as i see fit with slight adjustments:

so i figured that since i can’t give you any specific advice, i’ll just walk you through my overall thought process when constructing a face (of any gender).

first thing you should think about is the general shape of it all:

if you imagine these three feature groups as a diagram, you could play around with them & get a wide variety of facial shapes to pick from.

another thing you could modify is bone structure:

generally speaking, sharp features are often associated with masculinity, so i suggest you try experimenting with jaw & cheekbone shape. a face with more fat will hide the cheekbone and make the cheek appear lower and rounder; it will also make the jaw appear softer.

this next thing that i personally omit while drawing (purely as a stylistic choice) but could be of use to you is the brow bone and eye size:

i like drawing the brow & cheek as a straight line (just makes it look more fun and easier to draw), and the eye size varies greatly depending on what vibe im trying to go for. 

you could also play around with forehead size, sometimes it makes a big difference.

hope this helps! sorry it took me five million years to answer ^^;

[daryl-dixon-daydreams]

Words: 4,942 Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female!Reader Reader pronouns: she/her Era: S10, The Reapers Warnings: language, violence, gore, angst A/N: This is Part 4 of a series! Find all the parts on my pinned post, the Master List Summary: Daryl helps Y/N and DJ get settled in Alexandria.

Part 3

You walked beside Daryl, a teary smile on your face as you looked ahead at Judith and RJ running and playing with Dog. “It seems impossible that this little girl is the same chubby baby I fed pureed carrots to,” you laughed. “And RJ... They’re beautiful, Daryl.”

“Yeah. They are.” The softness on Daryl’s face was threatening to melt you into a puddle. His eyes turned to DJ next, and that softness remained.

You met his blue eyes again and your lips were drawn down in a soft pout. Tears brimmed in your eyes. “I’m so sorry,” you said. “About Rick. And now Michonne’s gone off… Maggie told me.”

“Yeah,” Daryl drawled, ducking his head and fighting the tidal wave of anxiety and grief and hopelessness that always crested in his chest when he thought of his lost brother. “‘M sorry too. Mostly for them,” he said, nudging his head toward the kids again. “But it’s been hard on everybody…”

“Including you, I’m sure.” Tears burned in your eyes again and you did your best to blink them away. Rick and Michonne were family, and you had hoped to reunite with them again too as soon as you’d found Maggie. The news about much of your old family had been hard to take, especially after losing everyone else at your community so recently. But you knew how deep and unhealing that wound must be for Daryl, losing a true brother…

Daryl hummed a response but you let the topic drop for now.

Alexandria was certainly left worse for wear since the Whisperers had briefly occupied it with their horde. Daryl cast a sideways glance at you as if worried about your reaction to the destruction and mess you were now walking through.

“Ain’t usually like this… ya just arrived at the end of a full-on war,” he said.

Far from seeing concern or judgement on your face, Daryl noted that you seemed to be seeing it with eyes that picked out the potential. He felt another swell of warmth for you. “If it’s home for you, then it’ll be home for us too,” you said. “And I’ll be more than happy to help however I can with the rebuilding.”

Home. It was true that Alexandria was home, and he would die to defend it and the people in it, but there was another home that he’d lost a long time ago, and it was now walking beside him… Then, he suddenly remembered what Carol had said to him at the wall. “Please tell me you aren’t going to stick them in some random empty apartment or house.” His feet must have faltered because you turned and glanced over at him immediately.

“Everything okay?”

“Uhh—yeah… I just—” he chewed anxiously on his bottom lip for a moment, and you nearly smiled. It was the same nervous habit he’d always had. “I was thinkin’, if you and DJ wanted to… I mean, ya could stay at my place. I’ve got a spare bedroom—s’where Jude and RJ usually sleep when I’ve got ‘em, but that ain’t no big deal. I can make ‘em up bedrolls on the floor in my room if they’re stayin’ or—” he was rambling nervously, “—if ya ain’t comfortable with that, I mean, stayin’ at my place, we’ve got plenty of other apartments and houses. We could set ya up somewhere else—I just thought, with DJ, might be easier—and maybe would be, I dunno, would be—"

“Daryl—” You stopped him with a hand gentle on his arm. “Of course we’d love to stay with you, if you’re okay with the extra trouble.”

He gulped. The last fucking thing he wanted now was to be parted from you and DJ, even if it was just by half a block. “Ain’t no extra trouble,” he drawled quietly, slightly transfixed from the touch of your hand on his arm.

You laughed. “You say that now… but you may have forgotten over the last decade, I can be a handful,” you joked. “And DJ? He takes after his dad in some ways.”

Daryl let out an amused exhale and shook his head. “Poor kid,” he joked, but you shot him a look.

“Lucky kid,” you corrected him. God, he’d missed that. You had always been so affirming to him. You had unwavering confidence in him and you told him and showed him every damn day. His internal monologue was often so dark, especially lately with things all seeming to go wrong. But you had always shown a light on him, always told him so earnestly that he was good and loved even when he didn’t believe it or didn’t feel he deserved it himself. He felt a swell of gratitude and emotion and fought against what felt like a huge bubble in his chest that was getting ready to burst. Your voice interrupted him.

“So. Which way is home?” You were looking at him expectantly.

“Uhh, this way,” he murmured, tilting his head toward the next street over. He let out a loud whistle and Dog turned and came rushing back. “Hey—Jude, RJ. Let’s go! We’re gonna help Y/N and DJ get settled, alright?”

“Uncle Daryl?” RJ said when he had trotted over, looking up with shining brown eyes.

“Yeah, bud?”

“I’m hungry,” he said.

Daryl ruffled a hand through his own hair a little anxiously. “Yeah… yeah, we’ll have to see ‘bout that in a bit. Let’s head home first and then I’ll figure that out, okay?”

You and Daryl exchanged a knowing glance. Keeping growing kids nourished was a constant worry.

“Mom?” DJ asked you softly. You looked down at him with a questioning look. He dug into his small bag and pulled out an apple. It was slightly bruised on one side, but shone bright red in the sun and seemed just as crisp as when you’d picked it for him a few days back. “Can I?” he asked. Your heart swelled and you nodded as you ran your fingers down one of the wavy strands of his brown hair.

“Of course. That’s a very kind thing to do,” you said proudly.

DJ trotted a few paces to catch up to RJ and then nudged him gently with his elbow, holding out the apple to him. RJ took it excitedly and thanked him with a broad smile. He took a huge bite and then offered it to Judith, who also happily shared it. Pretty soon the three of them were sharing it like old pals.

Daryl was smiling as he watched the exchanged. “That’s some kid ya’ve got,” he said softly.

“You mean that we’ve got,” you corrected him. “He’s your son, Daryl.”

Daryl gulped and looked down at you, his eyes still a little wide with disbelief. We. You’d said we. He wanted so desperately to read into that and allow his mind to run on with all his foolish hopes… He nudged his nose up in a shy nod and chewed on his bottom lip a moment. A son. He had a son.

The kids ran ahead, chasing after Dog and throwing a stick for him time and time again, until finally Daryl cleared his throat and nodded toward the nearest condo on the end of a small row. “This is me,” he said. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck nervously. “Yer place now too, if ya think it’ll work okay. And ya don’t mind a bit’a dog hair.” It was as if he needed to give you every opportunity to change your mind.

“DJ and I have been sleeping wherever I could find the smallest bit of shelter or safety for quite a while now. We moved every day. This is going to be a huge change for the better. Thank you.” You studied his expression again. “And I don’t mind the dog hair,” you laughed. Dog seemed to have heard you because he came and slipped through the space between your legs, stopping and leaning to one side, rubbing his body against your leg, looking up at you. You laughed and bent to give him neck scratches and he was soon licking your face.

“He likes ya,” Daryl said. There was a smile in his voice. He took that moment and allowed himself to take in the way the afternoon light was illuminating the hues in your eyes as you glanced back up at him and the shine in your hair. He felt like he’d been transported to some alternate dimension—he was so used to struggling to live every day without you and suddenly… here you were. Dog finally darted to the garage door, prancing anxiously on his front paws, and Daryl collected himself enough to go over and push it up. RJ and Judith raced in after Dog, but DJ waited back.

Your eyes went immediately to the bike parked there. “Oh my God,” you said, grinning. The light in your eyes now seemed to be sparking on his behalf as you strode over to it. You shot him a brilliant look and Daryl’s heart skipped a beat and then sped up. “This is amazing. Did you build this?” you asked, touching it here and there.

Daryl brushed a hand back through his hair and shrugged. “Yeah. Aaron, you’ll meet Aaron, he had been collectin’ parts for years before he brought our group in. He didn’t really know what to do with them. First damn thing I did after I was sure Alexandria was gonna be real, safe, was put ‘em to good use.”

DJ was looking at the bike with eager interest and excitement. “You built it? From scrap?” he asked again.

Daryl nudged his nose up in a nod. “Yep.”

“Can I have a ride?” he asked excitedly.

Daryl smiled. “Yeah. ‘Course. Uhh—as long as that’s okay with yer mom,” Daryl said, glancing your direction, resting a hand on the handlebar.

“Nobody safer to ride with,” you said, nodding. “As long as you wear a helmet, DJ. But not today. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather is good, alright?” DJ seemed satisfied with that and ran ahead into the condo after Judith and RJ. You glanced over at Daryl again and his eyes were already on you. He was wringing his hands a little anxiously. “Well, when do I get a ride from you again? It’s been a while. Maybe tonight?” Daryl’s mouth dropped slightly open and you laughed nervously when you realized the obvious innuendo. You felt your cheeks flushing. “The bike!” you said in a hurry. “I meant on—” you pressed a hand up to your face and ducked his gaze. Daryl was gulping nervously. “Jesus—I meant on the—” You sighed and laughed again, quite sure that your face was still bright red.

Daryl rubbed a hand over the back of his neck awkwardly, but he was also feeling a heat in his chest like you’d just struck flint and steel to tinder and he too let out a small, awkward laugh. Not to mention that intimate scenes he held dearly deep in his mind were suddenly rushing into the forefront like they’d been called. He could still feel the shape of your hip under his hand like it was just yesterday, or the softness of you as his fingertips dimpled into your skin… He could see the water cascading down your body as he pressed you back against the wall of the shower. He could hear your hurried breathing, the breathy way you used to say his name… The noises of pleasure he’d been able to pull from you. When he couldn’t sleep or when things were just too dark, he’d let his mind wander over those memories, but he had to limit himself. Otherwise, he would have run the risk of living entirely there in that daydream, forgetting the now, and then how would he have kept going, knowing it may be lost forever? And then suddenly you were made real in front of him again. Here. You were right here. Shit. Get it together, man. He refocused his attention on the expectant look on your face. “Uhh—lemme show ya inside,” he drawled.

You bit your bottom lip and followed him in. The kids were all piled on the couch, Dog in front of them, and your heart lifted to see DJ interacting with Jude and RJ so easily. There must have been a smile on your face because Daryl was looking at you with the corners of his eyes crinkled in one too.

“It’s been a long time since he’s been able to be around any other kids, before Hershel, I mean,” you said. The smile faded again and Daryl thought you looked suddenly veiled in sadness briefly.

“C’mon,” he said, tilting his head toward the small hallway. “Bathroom in there,” he said, passing the small room on the right. “Here’s the spare room,” he said. Out of habit he tried to flick on the light and then remembered that the Whisperers had trashed the solar panels and he flicked it back off. “Uhh… sorry. No power back up yet.”

“Haven’t had power in years,” you said. “Won’t even miss it.”

Daryl ruffled his fingers back through his hair again. “We’ll get it back up,” he said with certainty. “‘Til then I got plenty of candles and lanterns and stuff. Remind me before it gets dark. My room is just—” he pointed down the hall to the next door, “right there.”

You leaned on the doorframe next to him and looked in at the little room. A bed. A real bed. “Thanks for this.”

He ducked his head and nodded, shifting nervously beside you. “Yeah. S’nothin’. Dun need to thank me.”

There was a loud squeal from one of the kids and you both moved back to the main room. Dog had jumped on the couch with the three of them and was now laying fully across their laps. You hadn’t seen such a grin on DJ’s face in what felt like a lifetime. You glanced around the room, taking in the space and what Daryl had done to make it his. There were various antlers and pelts around, and the coffee table had a few old books on it, the top one about piracy. “Hmm,” you hummed.

“What?” he asked.

“Nice place you have here. It’s very Daryl,” you said, a small smile curving your lips. “It suits you. Though maybe a cabin in the woods would still suit you better.”

Daryl’s stomach suddenly clenched. A cabin in the woods. Fuck. He had to tell you. He had to figure out how the fuck to tell you…

“What do you think?” you asked him, and Daryl suddenly realized you must have been talking to him.

“Sorry, what?”

“Think the kids would be okay here on their own for a while so we can go try and find some food for everyone?”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah. Yeah, and we can ask Rosita and Gabe to look in on ‘em.”

Your face brightened. “Please, let’s go see Rosita.”

Daryl nodded. “Yeah, course. And—Gabriel ain’t the same anymore,” Daryl said. “He’s turned out to be real good to have around.”

You shook your head and let out a laugh of disbelief. “You remember what I said when he finally got down off that rock?”

Daryl snorted out a laugh and nodded. “Yeah. Ya asked if we could put him back.” You laughed again more earnestly.

“And—him and Rosita? Really? I mean, Maggie told me but it’s still hard to wrap my brain around…”

Daryl laughed again, fiddling anxiously with a rock on the side table. “I think that took all of us by surprise at first,” Daryl drawled. “But—” he shrugged. “They do seem to be doin’ good together. C’mon. Let’s get goin’ while we still got daylight.” He stepped farther into the room and managed to grab the kids’ attention. “Hey—Jude. Yer the oldest, so yer in charge, alrigh’? We’re just gonna go see about some dinner, okay? If we ain’t back when it’s startin’ to get dark, ya go to Aunt Rosita’s or find Uncle Jerry and Aunt Nabila at their place, okay? And keep away from that part of the wall tha’s down. I mean it. Ya can show DJ around, but I don’t want ya over there.”

Jude nodded and agreed. “Okay.”

“Dog, get down,” Daryl said, and the Malinois jumped back onto the rug. Daryl hugged Jude and ruffled RJ’s hair. Then he held a fist out to DJ, who eagerly bumped it with his own and grinned. Daryl knelt down so he was at their eye level again. “We’ll be back just as soon as we can, alrigh’? Ya’ll be good and stay safe. Jude, ya got yer sword? Good. You and DJ, watch out for RJ.”

Your heart felt like it grew three sizes just watching him reassuring the kids and making sure that everyone was alright for you both to leave. “We’ll try not to be too long,” you said, and you went and grabbed each of them in a hug, leaving a kiss on the top of DJ’s head too. “Keep your bow with you,” you told him. “Good. See you soon, hopefully with some dinner.”

The reunion with Rosita was emotional, and you cooed over baby Coco with her and lamented the loss of Siddiq when she told you what had happened in brief. By the time you were heading back to Daryl’s to grab his bike and head out, you agreed that Gabriel was an entirely different person than he had been when you’d known him. “Gotta admit… the eye and still wearing the stuffy outfit—it’s definitely a look,” you said, walking back beside Daryl.

He let out a small laugh and glanced over at you. “Like I said, he ain’t the same.” He strapped his crossbow onto the bike and slung his leg over, standing up so you could slip on behind him. Nervous flutters were already rising before you even climbed on, and when your hands finally settled lightly on his sides, he felt like his body temp rose a hundred degrees. He did his best not to stiffen with nerves and settled down on the seat. “Ain’t sure what we’ll find out there,” he said. “Those assholes brought a horde through ‘round here. Scared off most of the game.”

Your arms looped around him more fully and he gulped again. “Fish probably didn’t run away. Neither did the plants and fungi. We’ll find something,” you said ardently. “We always find something.”

Daryl started his bike and, for a brief moment, thought he felt your cheek press to the back of his shoulder. “Ya ready?”

“Hell yeah!” you yelled over the engine, and he could hear the smile in your voice.

_ _ _ _ _ _

“Having any luck?” you asked Daryl as you approached from out of the woods nearby again, a canvas bag that now seemed rather full clutched in your hand.

“Mhm… Carp. Gonna taste like mud,” he said, nodding to the huge fish lying on the grass beside him. “But they’re definitely better than nothin’. You?”

“Yeah. Found a good haul of mushrooms—chantarelles, oyster mushrooms, chicken of the woods. And a bunch of edible plants. Ramps?” you held up a clump of something from your bag.

“Uhhh—am I s’posed to know what the hell yer talkin’ about?”

You laughed heartily and Daryl’s heart skipped a beat, as it seemed to do damn near every time you did anything. “Ramps!” you said again. “They’re a wild onion. Taste kind of like a cross between garlic and scallions.”

“Hmm,” Daryl nod, turning his attention back to the river and shooting an arrow into the now writhing form of a dark fish. “Learn somethin’ new ev’ry day. I think I always just called them wild onions. No need to be fancy about it,” he teased you, grabbing his arrow and the impaled fish with it.

You gave him a look and then turned your eyes back to the pile of large fish on the bank. “I think we have enough here for quite a bit soup. We’ll be able to feed some hungry kids tonight.”

Daryl retrieved his arrow and grabbed a bag for the fish from his pack. “Tha’s what it’s all about,” he said.

You spun around as you heard a twig snap somewhere behind you in the trees. Daryl stood and grabbed his bow again, immediately on edge, and paced several steps forward in the soft grass until he was slightly in front of you. It was a protective instinct he’d always had… even now it came back like old muscle memory.

The snap of the dry wood was soon followed by a growing growl sound and the two of you both breathed sighs of relief. “Goddamn walker. Tha’s all,” he drawled.

“Yeah,” you agreed, though the worry didn’t leave your face completely. Daryl was again sharply aware that you’d been through some very serious shit very recently, shit he didn’t yet know the full extent of. “We should get back. It’s going to start getting dark soon.”

“Yeah. I was just thinkin’ the same thing.” Daryl unsheathed his knife and advanced on the scrawny and emaciated looking rotter ambling toward the two of you. He lunged with a perfectly placed strike and sunk his blade into its head. It crumpled to the leaf litter and laid still.

The two of you strode back toward his bike, side by side, and you glanced over at him when you felt his eyes on you. “Hmm?” you prompted him, adjusting your hold on the foraging bag stuffed full of ingredients over your shoulder.

He shrugged and looked back down toward where he was placing his boots. “Will ya tell me—uhh… ‘bout when he was born? I mean—where were ya and—guess I just wanna know ‘bout it all,” he said.

Your expression was soft as you looked back at him and Daryl relaxed some. “Yeah, of course. Daryl, you can ask me anything you want to about DJ. Really about anything. Ask me anything about anything,” you laughed. “I’ll do my best to answer. Oh—and remind me to show you the book when the kids are in bed tonight.”

“The book?”

You nodded. “Yeah. The book.”

He nodded, intrigued. “Alrigh’.”

You sighed, looking ahead and taking in the way the light was filtering through the leaves still clinging to the craggy oak branches. “When DJ was born, I was still in Georgia. You remember how I said people just were finding me or I was finding them?” Daryl nodded. “I had been trying to scavenge supplies from this huge department store, get ready for the baby and find some more vitamins and stuff. I thought there was a good chance there were supplies left inside because the parking area had been some kind of military checkpoint or something and the whole thing had these huge fences chain link fences topped with razor wire. I hadn’t seen any walkers in there… I found some fence cutters and made a way inside. Pried a door open and got into the building. I was right. There were supplies in there,” you laughed dryly. “But the reason I hadn’t seen any walkers was because there were people living inside.”

Daryl’s brow furrowed heavily.

“I was lucky—very lucky. They turned out to be good people, just a small group of survivors. A found family. They saw, immediately of course, that I was pregnant and one of them happened to be a midwife. They were all with me when I went into labor. We had left the store by then. There were getting to be too many dead in the suburbs and we’d headed away from the populated areas. We took a Jeep and a truck full of supplies and found this farmhouse and set up there for the winter. It reminded a little of Hershel’s farm. We had a decent stock of supplies and I had everything I needed for the baby but I was still terrified of course… especially after what happened to Lori. But everything went smoothly and after an excruciating 14 hours of labor, I delivered a healthy baby boy and named him Daryl as soon as I saw him.” Tears brimmed in your eyes as you looked over at him again. Your voice was soft and breathy when you spoke again and you’d had to fight to get the words out. “I wish you were there,” you said. “I wished that more than anything at the time and still. He was just this tiny little thing, all wiry arms and legs.” You sniffled and tried to pull yourself back together. “For a birth in the apocalypse, I was very lucky,” you said with a dry laugh.

You walked in silence for a while, each of you sinking into your own thoughts, but Daryl finally broke it again. “Those people—were any of ‘em still with ya when—were any of them with ya when yer community was attacked?”

The weight of it settled back over you and you nodded. “Yeah. Two of them were.” The only sound was the soft noise of the damp earth and leaf litter beneath your boots.

“‘M sorry,” Daryl drawled. “We’ve all lost a lotta people over the years, but I ain’t never lost everybody all at once like ya have. Not really. I mean, it felt that way when the prison fell, but I knew there were more of us out there. I knew you were out there, somehow.”

The muscle in your jaw tensed and you nodded, looking up again at the last bit of afternoon light waning against the tops of the trees. In a moment, the tension on your face seemed to pass and you glanced back over at him. “We’ve all lost people. Who’s to say what’s better or worse?”

On the ride back to Alexandria, Daryl swore you held on even more tightly to him than you had on the way out, and he knew he wasn’t imagining that you were leaning into him.

_ _ _ _ _ _

The fish and foraged ingredients had made a huge pot of soup, enough to feed all the kids in Alexandria and a good many adults too. Everyone’s mood was jovial with a full stomach as you sat around the little table with Daryl and the kids. It wasn’t lost on you that DJ and Daryl ate exactly the same; ravenously, unabashedly, and frequently using their sleeves as napkins. It had you smiling through most of the meal. Daryl had caught you staring at him once.

“What?” he prompted you, hurriedly wiping a sleeve across his mouth as if he thought he had food stuck there.

You smiled and shook your head. “Nothing.”

You’d tried to convince Carol to come for dinner but she’d insisted she didn’t want to intrude on your first night back. She gladly accepted some of the soup though, and you’d made her promise to come find you the next day. Now, you and Daryl were telling Judith, RJ, and DJ old stories and regularly cracking them up into fits of giggles. Dog was happily chewing a scavenged deer bone on the rug.

“Hey, what ‘bout that time,” Daryl had to pause and let out a gruff laugh, pointing at you. “‘Member, ya flipped the bird at that squatter? And then—”

“Alright!” you said standing up hurriedly, and cutting him off on purpose. “I think they can hear the rest of that story when they’re all older! Kids, help me clear the table please,” you said, grabbing Daryl’s plate and shooting him a look. His blue eyes were smiling and they followed you all the way into the kitchen as he leaned back in his chair.

Judith and RJ wanted to stay the night since they hadn’t seen their Uncle Daryl in so long (and you were definitely an added bonus) so you helped him set up bed rolls for them on the floor in his room before tucking DJ in in your own bed down the hall. You stroked his hair away from his face and kissed his forehead.

“Mom,” he started, yawning and sinking more deeply into his pillow.

“Mhm?”

“I think I really like this place. And… it’s nice to be around other kids again. This feels like a family,” he said and you nodded in agreement, smiling serenely.

“It does, doesn’t it?”

“So… can we stay?” he asked.

“What do I always say?”

“‘We can stay as long as we can stay’,” he recited.

“Right. But, if it makes you feel better, I think and I hope that will be a long time.”

[peoplesgraves]

Reset

Yandere Reaper X Reader

Your eyes open and you’re somewhere unfamiliar. As far as the eye can see is gray sand and an equally gray sky. The sand crunches underneath your feet and a cool breeze blows from the sky. Someone is holding your hand. His is skeletal and almost engulfed by the baggy black robes he wears but for some reason it doesn’t scare you.

“Where am I?” You look up at the much talller man and he looks oddly familiar.

“The barrens.” He starts right back down at her. His sunken gaze immediately softening at her confused face. “It’s where souls who have forgotten who they are go.”

You look out into the distance and manage to see people aimlessly wandering. Paying no attention to eachother or to the reaper. “Is this where I’m going?”

The reaper shakes his head and tightens his grip on your hand. “No. Never.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Even when you forget I’ll remember for you.” A bright light engulfs you and suddenly you’re in a field of wild flowers.

“Wow. Is this where people who remember go?”

The reaper nods “there are a lot of afterlife’s like this one. For now this ones empty so it’s just for us.” He leans down to pick a flower. He ends up with a pink one that smells like raspberries. He tucks it behind your ear and legs his fingers ghost over you for just a second longer then needed. “Beautiful.”

The two of you stay in that afterlife for a while. You weave him a flower crown and he blushes when you call him beautiful. Soon though things start to darken again.

“Who are you?”

The reaper sighs sadly. This was so much worse then asking where you were. “I’m a reaper.”

“Hmm. Are you my reaper?”

He smiles sadly and grabs your hand. “If you want me to be.”

“Just one more question” you grasp his hand tighter as if gearing yourself up.

The reaper was similarly unready. This was his least favorite question of all. He would rather be stabbed 1000 times then see this look in your eyes.

“Who am I?” Your eyes turn glassy and fear invades at the realization that you have no idea who you are.

Instead of answering the reaper takes you to another afterlife. The travel causes your memory to reset and the reaper is spared from your questions for a while.

You sit on the beach and all of a sudden a large mostly human figure is next to you.

You give the man a friendly grin. “Penny for your thoughts?”

“I’ve been hurting someone I love and I’m more sure how to fix it.” The reaper grabs a handful of sand and lets it fall through his fingers. He unable to look you in the eye, afraid your memory will suddenly return.

You frown softly. “Maybe it would help to tell me about it”

“Humans aren’t made to be traveling like reapers. I’ve been selfish and kept them with me despite knowing how negatively it’s affecting them. Now they’re memory is too far gone for me to send their soul to their afterlife” The reaper looks down guiltily and sighs “what should I do?”

“I think the best you can do is just to be there for them now.” You shrugs “if I was forgetting everything then I’d want someone there for me.”

The reaper smiles softly. “You’re right. I won’t leave them. Thank you” he kisses the top of your hand and can feel butterflies at the blush that coats your face. It was just like the first time again.

[triplexdoublex]

Chlorine and Nicotine

Pairing: Jaden Hossler x Reader

Warnings/tags: Smut , Age Gap (reader is in her 30’s) tipsy hookup (consent implied) mentions of prior divorce, pregnancy, c section and children. Body image issues /self conscious reader . Mention of coopers death/fentanyl poisoning.

A/N: 5.5k words! This one’s for the self conscious and tired mamas on this app. Go find yourself a Jaden lol

You and your two other friends, Ashley and Liz, had planned the perfect getaway to celebrate your messy divorce being finalized: A child-free, 7 day, all-inclusive, 21+ cruise to the Bahamas. Tickets were purchased, excursions were selected, trustworthy babysitters were hired and bags were packed, there’s only one thing you all forgot…

“Is it just me or are we like the oldest ones here?” You ask your friends, looking around as you all board the cruise ship.

“Yeah, I noticed that too— seems like mostly college kids for some reason?” Liz responds.

Just then you all notice the banner on the side of the ship ‘Spring Break 2023’!

The three of you, having been out of school for close to two decades already, had completely forgotten this week was usually spring break.

“Ugh,” Ashley groans, “I can’t believe we forgot. I was hoping we could all get some much needed rest and a full night's sleep this week without our kids, not be kept up by a bunch of frat boys and sorority girls partying.”

“Hey, you know what? As long as I’m with you guys I’m sure we’ll still have a great time, even if they do keep us up. Besides you know the saying ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. When was the last time any of us got to let loose and party a little?” You reply.

“True,”

“Yeah, you’re right,” your friends answer in unison.

“Ok,well now that that’s settled, first order of business is finding our cabin, changing into our bikinis, and working on our tans while we sip margaritas pool side.” You instruct. “Let’s go!”

**********

“Whooof!” You exhale. “I’m getting hot. I’m gonna go take a dip in the pool and cool off real quick. I’ll be right back.” You head into the pool.

“Ash, do you hear that? I think those guys next to us on the right are talking about Y/N. Listen,” Liz says, keeping her voice low..

“— yeah the one in the yellow floral two piece… right there … she just got into the pool… she’s a total MILF bro—“

“Okay, I’m back, mmmn that cold water was refreshing. Did I miss anything?” You joke, knowing you were only gone for a minute.

“You did actually,” Ashley speaks in a whisper “Apparently you’re a Milf!” Liz adds.

“Says who!?” You laugh.

“Shhhh! Liz warns. “That little cutie right over there,” She nods in his direction. “The one in the black swim trunks.”

Descretly, you turn to see who your friends are talking about.

“Oh my god, I’m pretty sure I have jeans in my closet older than him! You scoff before taking another look. “I mean… he is pretty cute though— solid body, lots of tattoos.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you actually do,” Ashley laughs. Which reminds me we need to go shopping and update that wardrobe of yours, I haven’t seen you in anything but leggings for the past 6 years.”

“Ugh I know! It’s because nothing fits! It’s been 6 years since I had the twins and I’m still not back to my pre-baby weight,” you sulk. “Plus I’ve been so busy taking care of them and putting them first, I haven’t even had time to think about me. And now with the divorce and paying my lawyer— money’s tight. If it wasn’t for you guys paying my share of this trip, I wouldn’t have been able to go, and lord knows I need the break. I can’t thank you guys enough.”

“Aww you’re so welcome,” Liz hugs you.

“You deserve it,” Ashley says, patting your shoulder.

“Sorry, I’m being a negative Nancy. Fuck all our problems! We’re here to escape them and have fun!” You state. “Anyone else getting hungry, I could totally go for a burger?”

**********

At night, the pool area transforms into somewhat of a night club, with drinks, dancing, swimming and fun events— tonight’s is a singles lap dance competition.

“Good Evening,cruisers!!! The lap dance competition is about to begin,” the event organizer announces. “I need three single people to volunteer to receive a lap dance, raise your hand if your single and would like to receive a lap,” he shouts loud and enthusiastically as if announcing a wrestling match.

“Oh my god y/n! You should totally do it!” Ashley squeals, trying to raise your hand for you.

“No way, are you crazy?” You laugh pulling your hand back down.

“C’mon y/n, you’re single now , and when was the last time you had a hott guy on top of you?”

“Not within the last eight years, I know that much!” Liz sasses, wide-eyed taking a sip of her drink, and making you spit out yours.

“Fair enough,” you cough out after practically choking. “Fine I’ll do it,” you agree,the liquid courage you’ve been sipping on, helping to release your inhibitions.

“Alright, I just need one more volunteer!”

You adjust your bathing suit and raise your hand.

“ Ok pretty lady, c’mon up,” the DJ calls out. You head up onto the stage, your friends laughing, screaming and cheering you on. “Now I’m gonna need some volunteers to give the lap dances. Let’s start with this pretty lady right here,” the DJ motions to you. “Who wants to give this beautiful woman a lap dance?”

You look out into the crowd watching as a few hands go up. One in particular catches you eye, and you try to place why he looks slightly familiar, and then it hits you; it’s the young guy your friends overheard calling you a MILF earlier in the day.

“Alright, take your pick,” the DJ tells you.

“Him—the one with the dark hair and tattoos,” you point into the audience, before taking a seat on the folding chair on stage.

“You heard her, my man, c’mon up,” the DJ calls him to the stage.

He stands in front of you wearing his black swim trunks from earlier but is now also sporting a white tank top and a forward facing baseball cap. You can feel his eyes looking down at you, checking you out while waiting for the other contestants to choose their lap dance partner.

“Let’s get it started!” the DJ announces. “At the end of the song, y’all are gonna help me decide the winner,” he says, speaking to the audience. “Let’s gooo!!”

Sam Smith’s ‘Unholy’ starts bumping from the speakers and your tattooed partner throws his head back in a brief laugh at the song choice, before locking eyes with you. He wastes no time getting close; stepping forward so that both of your legs are sandwiched between his wide stance. With one hand on your shoulder he begins rolling his body in your lap, his free hand quickly grabbing his hat and turning it backwards so the brim doesn’t hinder his view of you. He glides that same hand down his torso over his white tank to its hem, bunches the material in his hand and slides it up, exposing his perfectly toned abs. You smirk, pulling your bottom lip between your teeth at the sight. He removes his hand from your shoulder and uses both hands to peel his tank off completely, tossing it down on the stage. Then he slides his thumbs into the waistband of his swim trunks purposely lowering them, his prominent V-lines on full display, along with a fuzzy line of hair descending from his navel. Your eyes follow the trail down until it meets a small patch just barely visible peeking out the top of his swim trunks. Your mind wanders, imaging what’s below—imaging what he’s working with. The trance you’re in is broken when he places one of your hands flat on his chest, inviting you to touch him while he moves in your lap. You let your hand glide down over the topography of his body, your fingertips exploring the hills and valleys of muscle as you go, stopping when your hand reaches the horizon where flesh meets material, even though your hand craves to continue its descent. As if he can read your mind, he pushes your hand lower, pressing his half hard bulge against your palm as he rolls his hips insync with the last ‘unholy’ of the song before it ends.

“Alright it’s time to vote. Let me hear you give it up for couple number one,” the DJ instructs. The audience claps, cheers and hoots. “Alright, a alright, now make some noise for couple number two.” A slightly louder roar of cheer and applause echoes under the night sky. Your sexy partner stands behind you with his hands on your shoulders as you both await your turn.“And last but not least couple number three.” The crowd goes wild with thunderous clapping,and high pitched whistles —your friends cheers the loudest of them all. “We have a clear winner here tonight, folks,” the DJ announces. “Winning by a landslide…couple number three!”

Tattooed arms unexpectedly scoop you up off the chair, running bridal style off the stage and towards the pool with you. You playfully shriek and laugh the whole way until … splash... he jumps in the water with you. When you both surface again, your hungry mouths are attacking one another like prey: desperate and determined. He moves forward in the water, pinning you against the side of the pool with his body as you devour each other— all lips, tongue, teeth and flesh. His skin tastes like chlorine, his kisses- a hint of nicotine; and just as addictive. Underwater, he teases a hand up your inner thigh and begins gently rubbing you through the fabric of your bathing suit. You allow it, encourage it actually—rocking your hips to press yourself firmer against his fingertips. You can feel how hard he is through his swim trunks and you opt to help him out, grasping his hard cock through the thin veil of fabric. You work each other into a sexual frenzy and it’s not long before his fingers transcend the boundary of your bathing suit bottoms, pushing the fabric aside and inserting two slender fingers inside of you. You follow his lead, sinking your hand into his swim trunks and wrapping your fingers tightly around him.

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s a complete stranger who’s name you don’t even know, or that he’s much younger than you, or perhaps even because no one besides your ex-husband has touched you this intimately in years, but you feel a familiar sense of heightened arousal that can only compare to the giddy exhilaration of your first sexual experience. God the nostalgia!—Back when just the novelty of making out, and touching each other was enough. Back when foreplay still existed, before the busyness of life and motherhood had you trading sex for sleep. Or swapping making love for quickies during naptime.

Every swirl of his tongue, curl of his fingers, and flick of your wrist has you feeling renewed, awake and alive again. You never want this to end but your body is chasing after the high it so desperately wants bucking against his palm while his fingers caress that sweet spot inside of you. As your orgasm begins to build, your grip on him falters so he places his free hand over yours, helping you stroke him. The feeling of your walls squeezing his fingers as you cum is so sexy to him that he finishes shortly after you.

Since the moment he jumped into the pool with you in his arms, you’ve been in your own world, oblivious to anything or anyone around you. It’s not until you start coming down from your high that the outside world starts to trickle back in: the music, the people, the sounds of your friends cheering your name. You turn to the direction of the noise in search of your friends, but a series of cannonballs by a group of guys momentarily blocks your view before you finally spot them. When you turn back after locating them, the boy is gone.

***********

The next morning in line for the breakfast buffet you feel a gentle tap on your shoulder.

“Hey, sorry about last night. My name’s Jaden by the way,” he holds out his hand.

“I’m y/n,” you shake his hand. “What exactly are you sorry about? I may have been a little tipsy, but I remember having a great time.” You give a small smirk.

“Ok, good,” he smiles “I was worried I got a little too caught up in the moment and took things too far,” he admits. “But mostly I’m sorry I disappeared on you like that. My buddies almost drowned me with their cannonballs and I wanted to spare you from having to see me choke to death and squirt water out of my nose.” He laughs.

“Fair. You’re forgiven,” you joke. “Can I ask you something?

“Of course, ask away.”

“How old are you?” You brace yourself for the answer, but at least you know he’s at least twenty one.

“Twenty two, you?”

“Oh god, umm let’s just call it mid 30’s” you answer, slightly embarrassed, and worried about how he might react.

“Can I ask you a question now?” He asks.

“Sure.”

“I’d like to spend some more time with you today. Would you like that?” He asks.

“Wait, so your not bothered by me being much older than you?” You question.

“Not at all,” he smirks. “Sooo is that a yes then?”

“I-I dunno..” you're sure he just wants to hook up again , and you don’t want to give him that impression. Last night was just a heat of the moment thing.

“I just wanna talk, get to know you. Hands to myself this time, promise,” he replies as if he’s read your mind.

“Okay,” you agree. “My friends and I have a dolphin excursion during the day and dinner reservations at 6:00, so why don’t we meet somewhere around 8:00?”

“That works for me. Meet at the hot tubs?”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” You answer.

**********

You head down to the deck with the hot tubs after dinner; bathing suit on and towel in hand. You know you’re going to be a few minutes early but you figure you’d get there before they get crowed. When you arrive however you see Jaden already in one of the hot tubs; his elbows resting on the edge, and a cigarette between two fingers. You know it’s a nasty habit and not good for his health but fuck - why does he look so good doing it.

“Hey,” you say, grabbing his attention.

“Shit!” He blows out a mouthful of smoke and ashes the cigarette out on the edge of the hot tub. “Sorry, bad habit, tryna quit. I wasn’t expecting you for like another ten minutes, thought I could sneak one in.”

“No worries,” you smile, stepping into the hot tub with him. “I expected there to be more people out here, thought I’d come early before they filled up.”

“Yeah, same,” he says as you scoot over next to him . “But apparently there’s supposed to be a rainstorm some time tonight, so maybe that’s why. Although I don’t really see why it would matter, like you’re in a bathing suit literally sitting in water anyways.” He shrugs. “So anyways, tell me about yourself. I’m guessing you’re not here on Spring Break too.” He laughs.

“Nope, celebrating my divorce actually,” you admit, holding up your left hand and wiggling your ring finger— a lighter band of flesh, where a ring once sat.

“Ooh brutal, sorry to hear that. Did you guys have kids together?” Jaden asks.

“Dont be. I’m glad it’s over. And yeah twin boys actually. They’re six. My moms watching them while we’re gone.”

“Aww, sweet” he smiles.

“How ‘bout you? I already know you’re here on Spring Break. Sooo ummm—ooh I know, tell me about your tattoos, do they have any special meaning or anything?

“Some I just liked, and some have meaning but this one’s the most important to me,” he points to a scrawling of repeated sentences that goes from his chest down his side. I got it for my best friend Cooper who passed away from fentanyl poisoning last year. I just didn’t know what say, didn’t know what to do after he passed , ya know, it’s like — “ he pauses a moment and swallows hard . “Fuck, I’m sorry. Let’s just talk about something else,”

“Sure, no problem. I understand” you say supportively, placing a hand on his shoulder.

The rest of your conversation is much more happy and upbeat —sharing your favorite movies, music, and books, where you both live and what you do for work. Also telling silly anecdotes about your childhoods, college life, motherhood and so on.

And then the rain starts; which you both agreed was no big deal but, unfortunately this rain is accompanied by thunder and lighting.

“Ugh, I was having a great time talking with you. Sorry the rain cut our little date short.” You say, sounding disappointed as you both quickly exit the hot tub.

“Is that what this was?” He smiles.

“Maybe,” you answer coyly with a shrug and flirty smile.

“If you’re okay with it, you can come back to my cabin and talk a little more, hangout, watch a movie or something,” he suggests. “But I totally understand if you're not comfortable with that. No pressure.”

“Sure, I’d like that,” you agree.

***********

“Shit, I just realized I don’t have anything dry to change into” you state upon entering his cabin. “And my rooms like on the complete other side of the ship. Do you have anything I could just throw on for now?”

“Uhhhm, sure,” Jaden looks around the room for something to give you. “Here you can wear this bathrobe,” he says, tossing you the white, terry cloth covering before sitting down on the bed.

In the corner of the room you turn, facing away from Jaden, put on the robe, and then descretly remove your bathing suit from under it.”

“What, no show?” Jaden jokes.

“You don’t wanna see, trust me.” You say, sounding down.

“Oh, but I do,” he laughs, but then stops when he notices you aren’t laughing too. Hey, what’s a matter. I’m just joking.I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable that wasn’t my intention. I don’t want you to think that’s why I invited you back to the room. You don’t have to show me anything you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that. I’m just really not comfortable in my own skin these days—haven’t been for a while actually. I love my kids to death but let’s just say pregnancy didn’t do my body any favors. You're young, you can have any hott girl with a tight little body. Why would you wanna see mine, it’s nothing to look at, I promise you.”

“I promise you you’re wrong. Let me show you how beautiful you are.”

You’re not sure what that consists of exactly, but you nod in agreement anyways. Jaden makes you feel so safe, and you could definitely use a confidence boost.

“C’mere,” Jaden leads you by your hand into the bathroom, and positions you in front of the mirror. “Can I take this off?” He whispers in your ear from behind you, as he places a hand on each of your robe covered shoulders. You meekly nod yes and he slips the garment off your shoulders, letting it pool at your feet, leaving you completely nude. You fight the urge to cover yourself but the look of awe in Jaden’s eyes as he surveys your naked body helps melt away some of your insecurity. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he breaths against your our neck. “Now what I want you to do is look in the mirror with me,” he instructs. You flick your eyes up to the mirror meeting his in the reflection. “I want you to tell me what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror—give it all to me, the good, the bad, the ugly, then I’m gonna tell you what I see.”

“I see someone I don’t recognize anymore. I used to be pretty, but now I have crows feet by my eyes, and my breasts have lost the perky fullness they had before breastfeeding two kids. It’s been six years and I still haven’t lost all the baby weight,” You poke at your stomach. “And I have this C-section scar from when my body failed to do the one thing it was literally designed to do!“ You start getting emotional. “My hips are so wide now, and my ass is huge , and don’t even get me started on the stretch marks on my inner thighs,” you sigh, holding back tears.

“First of all, you ARE pretty, I think you’re absolutely gorgeous. When I look at your eyes I don’t see crows feet— I see a million smiles and childhood summers spent having fun in the sun,” he says, making you smile. “That’s a million and one now,” he teases playfully. “Now, before I continue, do I have permission to touch you?”

“Permission granted,” you snicker “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to feel your hands on me again,” you admit, blushing.

“And my lips too?” He begins kissing slowly up the side of you neck, making every hair on your body stand on end with arousal.

“Mmmhm, yeah, that too.” You giggle coyly.

“And these,..”he continues, cupping you from behind, “I see breasts that nourished two beautiful babies,and still look plenty perky to me, especially these nipples,” he rolls the buds between his thumbs and pointer fingers. “I love how erect they are for me.” He tugs on them gently before moving his hands to your stomach. “You don’t need to lose a single pound, all I see is curves and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not the 90’s anymore where women had to be rail thin to meet some ridiculous standard of beauty— all bodies are beautiful. And besides you don’t give yourself enough credit for growing two human beings inside you, this was their home for nine months!” He grips your soft belly tightly as he speaks. “And this scar,” he traces his finger over it, causing a ticklish chill to run through you at the ghostly sensation— you still don’t have much feeling there. “This is not a failure, it’s a reminder of how your babies were able to safely enter this world when things didn't go quite as planned.” Your eyes begin to well with tears again, not with sadness, but from the joy of a guy you met less than twenty four hours ago helping you fall back in love with your body and realize all its accomplishments. “And your ass and hips— fuck, that might be my favorite part of your body. Do you know how many women literally pay thousands of dollars to make their hips and ass look like this?” He rubs his hands over the swell of your backside. “It’s literally perfect.” He says with a firm squeeze. “And these—” he places his fingertips on the jagged pink and white lines on your inner thigh and begins to trace them upwards. “These are a map, leading me to where I wanna be the most,” he slides his middle finger through your wetness, “God damn you’re soaked and we’re not even in the pool this time,” he teases. “I think you want me here too, huh?” He begins rubbing slow circles on your clit, “and I mean more than just my fingers this time,” he smirks at you in the mirror before pressing his growing erection against your backside, and his mouth to your neck.

“Mhm, fuck—“ you moan, tilting your head and reaching back to run your hand through his dark hair while he marks you. “Mmmm, Jaden… do you… do you have a condom? I mean, my tubes are tied but—”

“I just got tested before the cruise baby—I’m clean.” He states breathily, before reattaching his lips to your neck, and pulling himself free from his swim trunks with his free hand.

“Okaay,” you moan. “I-I trust you.”

He slips in with ease; both of you releasing a shaky breath at the feeling. And while you haven’t exactly seen his dick yet, you can tell that it’s big.

“Fuccck, you feel incredible!” He nips along your jawline as he begins to thrust — one tattooed hand on your hip and the other, full of your breast, holding you against him so you can watch. He begins with a slow, gentle rhythm, taking his time to fully appreciate your warmth and tightness with each lengthy stroke.

“Ohhhh, Jaden!” You moan breathily.

“Mmmh yeah—am I making you feel good, baby?”

“Ss-so good.” And you mean that in every way- not just sexually.

“Keep your eyes on the mirror. I want you to see how beautiful you look while I fuck you,” he rasps in your ear.

You watch Jadens thrusts grow more urgent, his hands more hungry as he claws and grabs at every square inch of flesh he can get his hands on. Because of him you’re able to watch unashamed, as your soft body jiggles everytime Jaden’s hips crash against your backside, the movement spurring him on even more. You’re able to see the undeniable desire in his eyes, hear the truth of his words.

“God, you’re so fucking sexy!” He grunts through clenched teeth, increasing the intensity and depth of his pace even more, as he grows close to orgasm.

You grip the bathroom counter in front of you and let your head hang down in overwhelming pleasure. With a firm but gentle hold of your throat, Jaden lifts your head back up to face your reflection.

“Don’t want you to miss the best part,” he teases.

And with one final thrust, he cums hard, filling you to the brim. The warm eruption triggers your own orgasm, splashing against Jaden’s pelvis and dripping down his tattooed thighs.

“Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever came that hard before,” you admit after finally catching your breath, your legs still weak and trembling.

“I can believe that,” he laughs looking down at the mess you’ve made of him. “It was so fucking hott though…Shower then room service?”

“Sounds perfect” you smile, stepping into the shower with him.

The shower starts off innocent, with the intent of actually washing up and getting clean but when Jaden asks if he can help wash you, things heat up rather quickly. As he soaps up your breasts you feel something brush press against you and look down.

“Are you really hard again, already? You just came!”

“I’m young, I got the drive and the stamina to go all night if you want,” he smirks.

“I just might have to take you up on that,” you smirk back, reaching to grasp his cock. You give it a few teasing tugs before dropping to your knees.

He watches with his bottom lip between his teeth as you tease your tongue along the underside of his shaft , tracing the vein from hilt to tip. He lets out a low and breathy “Fuck” as the head disappears inside your mouth— the rest of his length soon to follow. He tastes of you, and the scent of chlorine still lingers on his skin, especially when you take him deep, your nose pressed into the neatly trimmed patch of hair on his pelvis. The same patch that was just slightly visible last night above the waistband of his low hung swim trunks. You remember the way your eyes followed his happy trail to it, your mind wondering what was below it. Now just barely twenty four hours later it’s been inside of you; first your pussy and now your mouth. Every bob of your head brings him closer, his pleasure building so much he can’t help but buck his hips, gently fucking into your mouth.

“Ohh, shit —Fuck, I’m gonna cum!” He moans out, grabbing the back of your head with both hands holding you in place as he spurts down your throat. “Mhgmmmmmmmmm” he lets out a long and pleasure-filled moan, still pumping his hips in short stokes, enjoying the last tendrils of his orgasm before pulling out. “God damn, that was so good!” He praises your skills, making you blush. “Ok” he starts with a laugh “let’s try this again, shower then room service”

*****************

By the time room service arrives after your shower, you’re at it again, this time riding Jaden in bed— a position you haven’t been brave enough to do in quite some time. You’ve already cum and Jaden is dangerously close when you both hear the faint knock followed by “Room service.”

“Shit, don’t stop,” Jaden whispers to you before shouting to room service “Just—fuck, j-just leave it by the door!”

Another roll of your hips and he’s done for, eyes rolling back, chiseled body twitching under you, calling out your name as he cums for the third time tonight.

*********

“We definitely worked up an appetite,” Jaden laughs looking at all the now completely empty pile of dishes on the room service cart. “You save any room for dessert?”

“No way, I’m stuffed,” you answer.

“Well I did.” Jaden smirks pushing you back down on the bed, and spreading your legs, his head disappearing between your thighs.

“Ohhh Jaden …”

**********

In the morning Jaden wakes before you, he can’t help but watch you sleep, sofly swiping a single knuckle along your cheek as he admires your beauty. The sensation stirs you from your slumber. Your eyes still heavy with sleep blink open and Jaden’s face comes into focus.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” Jaden says, his husk, sleep laden, voice sounding so sexy. “It’s just that you're even beautiful when you sleep.”

“S’ok,” You murmur, with a smile. “Gotta get up anyways,my friends are probably wondering where the fuck I am.”

***********

You put your key card to the door of your cabin and the door clanks open rousing your friends from their sleep.

“Shit, what time is it?” Ashley asks, squinting at her phone. “Ten thirty two, sorry we woke up so late. I think me and Liz had a little too much to drink last night. I hope you weren’t bored waiting around for us.” Ashley apologizes. “Have you already been swimming this morning?” she asks noticing you're in a robe with your bathing suit dangling from your hand.

“Wait!” Liz interjects, “That’s the bathing suit you had on when you left for your date with -with that college boy, what’s his face—“

“It’s Jaden” you remind her.

“— you’re just getting back now, aren’t you!! You spent the night!?” Liz exclaims accusingly.

The hue of your cheeks and your guilty smile give you away. You take a seat on the edge of the bed and wait for the slew of questions you know you’re about to get pummeled with.

“Oh my god, did you sleep with him?” Ashley asks.

You answer wordlessly, pulling back the collar of the robe, exposing the numerous wine colored markings that decorate your flesh.

“Jesus! I haven’t seen that many hickeys since highschool” Liz teases. “Ok, spill, how bad was the sex? I’m cringing just looking at your neck.”

“It was honestly the best sex I’ve ever had,” you blushed. “He made me feel like a fucking Goddess!”

“ There’s no way,” Liz scoffs. “How much experience can he even have.” She says with an eyeroll.

“Yeah I’m not buying it either,” Ashley laughs. “C’mom you don’t got to lie to us. We’ve all had our subpar hookups, especially when we were in college. Guys that age are all confidence and no skill.”

“No I’m dead serious, it was amazing!!!” You gush. “And not just his dick, but the way he made me feel…”

You proceed to tell them every detail of last night, from how he praised and appreciated your every flaw and gave you your confidence back, to just how good his dick felt inside you and how talented he was with his mouth and fingers. When you're done talking Liz gets up and starts walking towards the cabin door.

“Where are you going?” You ask perplexed.

“Going to find me one of these college boys” Liz laughs. “Does he have friends?” She jokes, making her way back to the bed. “Seriously though, sorry we teased you, that sounds amazing.”

“Yeah,” Ashley agrees. “I’m a little jealous— good dick AND body positivity, sign me the fuck up!”

“What are you guys gonna do when the cruise is over?” Liz asks, “You’ll probably never see eachother again.”

“Oh my god, that’s right! I forgot to tell you guys the best part! Earlier in the night when we were just talking in the hot tub we figured out that he only lives an hour away from us!”

“Holy shit, what a small world, that’s awesome.” Ashley exclaims.

“I’ll tell you what’s not small,” you smirk.

[mountttmase]

A Mountain To Climb - Part Seven

Note - welcome to your weekly sugar fix, I feel like this chapter is rather sweet if I do say so myself 😂 also the next two chapters you will love I promise, we’re almost there guys 😂 thank you so much for all your lovely comments and please let me know what you think of this one 💙

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 2.6k

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut & angst

Masterlist

You knew you wanted to text Mason but you didn’t want to seem to eager. It was only Monday and he said it would be nice to hang out this week but you thought texting him this soon might of been a bit too much.

You couldn’t concentrate at work though, typing out a few messages and deleting them before finally just biting the bullet and texting him.

Excitement rippled through you at the thought of seeing him again, it had seemed like forever since you’d like spent some proper time together and the thought of it being just the two hanging out made you happy but also extremely nervous.

You spent that evening fretting about what your excuse could be as to why you wanted to see him in the first place but after thinking over what you’d spoken about with Freya over the weekend, an idea popped into your head that you couldn’t get out.

You were filled with nerves sat on the way home from work the next day and the smell coming from the bag on your lap wasn’t doing much to help. He offered to pick you up from the station and you popped your things on the back seat before climbing in next to him where he greated you with a wide smile.

‘Here she is, it’s been a while huh?’ He laughed, starting the car and backing out of the space.

‘More than a while’ you commented, smiling back at him when he sent you a wink. ‘I’d almost forgotten what your face looks like in 3D’

‘Very funny, I’m worth the wait though right?’

‘I’ll let you know later’ you winked and he shook his head with a smile before concentrating on the road.

The drive to his house was quick and you walked into the smell of something cooking. Mason quickly ran off to check it was all fine and you met him in the kitchen a few moments later where he was just shutting the oven back up.

‘You’re cooking?’ You questioned with an eyebrow raised.

‘I can cook’ he told you defensively and you smiled at him before he walked over to you with his arms out wide. ‘Come here, I’ve missed you’ he moaned as he wrapped you up in his arms. He smelt like soap and mint but mostly Mason and you nuzzled further into his neck as he swayed you both from side to side lightly.

You wrapped your arms around his back and stroked up and down lightly which caused him to hold you even tighter and you looked up at him with a smile. ‘Missed you, too’ you whispered before he placed a gentle kiss on your forehead causing your whole body to breakout in goosebumps.

‘Sorry, was that too much?’ He whispered and you shook you head as you pulled back a bit. Mason always respected your boundaries, respected them too much sometimes but after you’d initiated that first hug after he gifted you the cookies you could tell it was hard for him to not be as affectionate with you as he was with other people so you figured it was only fair to let him push it a little bit further sometimes plus you actually quite enjoyed it and you’d missed his touch over the past weeks. ‘I guess I need to hurry up and get you that Chelsea shirt now you’re coming to games’ he winked as he let go of you and gestured for you to sit at the kitchen island. ‘I’m still so shocked you were there’

‘I am too’ you laughed and he looked over at you with a shy smile.

You sat and watched him cook, chatting about how your days had gone and he was impressing you with how comfortable he seemed in the kitchen. Every time he reached for something in the cupboard his shirt would rise up and you’d catch a glimpse of his tummy, making your heart thud and it got to the point where you thought he might be doing it on purpose as his skin was continually on show. He told you it was almost ready but to stay where you were as he disappeared around a corner. He kept coming back every few minutes to get something new before asking for your hand so he could take you to where he’d been.

You were confused as his dining table was in the opposite direction but he pulled you in front of him and told you to close your eyes as he led you round a corner. You didn’t know what was round here and assumed it was just an extension of the kitchen but when he said you could open your eyes, your breath got caught in your throat.

He’d set up a cute little table with a fancy table cloth and and candles and a few roses in some bottles in a secret little unused part of his kitchen. You gasped as you turned to him, a shy smile on his face.

‘Mason? What the hell is all this?’ You whispered as he pulled out a chair for you.

‘Well, my tables a bit big for two people so I thought this would be a bit nicer. Is it too much? We can sit out there if you want I just thought this was a bit more intimate I guess’

‘No it’s lovely, honestly. I didn’t even know the room went round here. Is this where you take all the ladies’ you winked at him as he set your plate down and took up the seat next to you.

‘Ladies? Not quite, but me and Chilly eat here all the time. You think this set up is for for you? Nah he absolutely loves red roses’ he winked and you let out a loud laugh at his silliness, loving how much effort he’d put in but still wanted to brush it off like it was nothing.

You were surprised at how good his cooking was when you took your first bite and you looked up to find him eagerly awaiting your response. Your mouth was too full though so you just nodded at him before he smiled brightly at you and dug in himself.

‘Speaking of ladies, what’s the current situation?’ You asked and he seemed surprised at your question.

‘What do you mean?’

‘Are you seeing anyone?’

You had no idea why you were asking, the thought of Mason with someone else made you want to die inside but the intimacy of this little date thing you had going on left you on edge. Thinking maybe if you mentioned other women it would remind Mason you said you two were just friends and nothing more even if your resolve had clearly been slipping away.

‘No, don’t exactly have the time right now’ he told you, trying to brush it off but now you were on the subject you wanted to know more about his romantic history.

‘When was your last relationship?’

‘Like two years ago?’

‘We’re you together long?’

‘I guess so. But we were young and once we’d grown up we realised it wasn’t meant to be’ he told you and you nodded at him with a smile. ‘Are you done interrogating me now?’ He laughed and you felt your face flush. You hadn’t meant to you were just curious but the look he was giving you you knew he was only teasing. ‘What about you anyway? I definitely know you’re not seeing anyone’ he winked with a laugh and you felt yourself go cold as you knew what was coming next. ’When was your last relationship?’

There was the dreaded question, the one you avoided with everyone and the one only you and Freya knew the answer to. You body language must of changed immediately and you felt his hand rest on your knee under the table.

‘It’s alright. Like I said before, you don’t have to tell me anything’ he told you gently and you felt your eyes prick at his words.

‘Sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just hard, you know? It wasn’t great and I want to tell you- I will tell you one day I promise, it’ll probably explain a lot but I can’t right now. I’ve held it in for too long to even know where to start’ you told him and he gave you a sympathetic smile to let you know it was okay.

‘It’s fine’ he smiled, grabbing your hand and placing a soft kiss to your knuckles. You melted at his gesture and the urge to close the small gap and kiss him was overwhelming. More overwhelming than it ever had been but you knew it wasn’t right so you shook the thoughts from your brain and gave him a soft smile before you both carried on eating. Mason thankfully changed the subject and you both moved on from the tense atmosphere as Mason told you stories that made you laugh until you had tears in your eyes for a whole different reason.

When you were both finished, he cleared the table and you helped carry everything back into the kitchen so he could clean it, making sure to blow out the candles before joining him.

‘So what did you want to drop over?’ He questioned as he placed the last plate in the dishwasher. You cheeks suddenly flushed as you remembered why you were there and you let out a nervous cough before grabbing the paper bag you’d brought with you to the kitchen and placing it down in front of him on the island.

You wanted to run, to grab your things and flea the scene as to not cause yourself any embarrassment. The only outcomes of this situation in your mind was a disaster, thinking he would laugh at you or think you’re weird but you willed yourself to be uncomfortable in the moment. Mason hadn’t let you down once and you trusted him not to now.

‘Open it then’ you laughed and he sent you a curious smile before peering in the bag before furrowing his eyebrows and digging in to grab out the box inside. You could feel your heart pounding in your ears as he opened it and his eyes met yours in confusion but you could tell he was happy so you dropped your gaze to the counter.

‘Cookies?’ He laughed as he picked one up and you gulped down nervously before nodding .

‘Yeah, you bought me some so I thought I’d make you some’

‘You made these?’

‘Yeah. And I know you’re on a bit of a strict diet so I found a healthy recipe but that doesn’t mean you get to eat them all in one go’ you laughed, finally looking up and he was gazing back at you in a way that he never had before. If heart eyes was a real emotion then a snapshot of Mason in this moment would be the reference. You felt hot and your skin prickled with nerves as he smiled at you, seeming loosing your breath under his stare. ‘What?’ You laughed and he shook his head at you in disbelief.

‘Thank you. Honestly this means a lot to me’

‘It’s just some cookies’ you winked, replaying his words from the night he gave you yours and he laughed shyly at the memory.

‘I know’ he breathed before pulling you into a hug. You were both silent, just holding each other as he rested his cheek on you head. You weren’t sure how long you were stood there for but the longer you were, the more you felt yourself well up. You hasn’t been held like this in such a long time, hadn’t felt this safe since you could remember and it was so overwhelming to feel your walls slowly slip around you as he held you together. You tried to sniff your tears away as discreetly as possible but he caught on, pulling back and holding you by your cheeks so you’d look at him. ‘Hey, what’s wrong?’

‘Nothing’ you laughed as he wiped a few stray tears away.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah I just… thank you’ you whimpered, letting your emotions get the better of you as his big brown eyes looked into yours

‘What for?’ He asked confused and you nestled back into his chest, not having the guts to look at him right now. He wrapped his arms around you gently and you’d never felt so safe with anyone. His touch giving you the courage to speak your mind.

‘I never thought it was possible to have someone like you in my life. I’m really glad we’re friends’ you told him through small sobs.

‘Please don’t cry, love’ he told you, the pet name slipping make you nestle further into him and he held you even tighter.

‘They’re happy tears’ you laughed

‘Come on’ he whispered, guiding you to sit on the sofa, draping you legs over his as he pulled you into him as close as he could. ‘You can talk me to me you know. About anything at all’

‘I know. And you can talk to me too’

‘Yeah?’ He laughed and you nodded whilst wiping your eyes. ‘Not sure you can handle all my problems if you’re gonna snot all over me’

‘Masonnn’ you scolded trying to make him feel bad but you couldn’t help but laugh. He always knew what to say to make you smile and you rested yourself back into him so he could hold you. You stayed like that for a little while, sat in silence as you found solace in each others warmth.

‘I didn’t get any dessert, but maybe we can have a cookie?’ He asked, and you nodded before jumping up off his lap.

‘Stay there I’ll get them’ you offered and popped two on a plate before sticking them in the microwave to warm up a bit. He smiled at you brightly when you returned and you slotted yourself in besides him, offering him the plate so he could take one as he wrapped his arm around your shoulders.

‘Fuck me, these are good. Are you sure you made them?’

‘Yes, Mason. Don’t doubt my abilities’ you laughed and he squeezed your shoulder in response.

‘We should host a dinner party, I’ll cook and you can make dessert? That sound fair? I think we’d smash it’

‘As long as Ben does the washing up then I think that could work’ you laughed as he rested his head on top of yours.

For the first time in a long time, you didn’t want to push him off or run away. You were comfortable in his embrace and his company, and seeing the relaxed happy expression on his features because of you made you feel all warm inside. You knew you couldn’t give him all of you, but seeing him happy because of you settled you more than you ever thought it could.

Tagged: @alwaysclassyeagle @ricsaigaslec @cinderellawithashoe @vip-access @majx00

[creation-key]

Drunken Calls

Part 2

Synopsis: accidentally confessing while laughing

Warnings: drinking mentioned, barely any cussing, mostly pure fluff/ maybe angst?

a/n: I don’t have any original ideas, that i want share 😏, so i have stolen this prompt from @mangocherri , thank you love for the inspo! And if I completely butchered it and you want me to take this down, I so will, don’t even worry about it. enjoy, we’ll at least try to 🥸

It’s Saturday night? morning? you don’t even know at this point anymore. Your best friend Sierra took you out that night to celebrate your doctorate’s degree in Psychology.

You’re not much of a party girl on your own, but when with the right people, you never want to sleep. And that is exactly what you’re experiencing in the present, only now, you’re sipping on some fruit drink, the taste of alcohol no longer prevalent because of how much you’ve consumed that night already.

You’ve all gathered at your house for the after party, you called it, which was really your smart sober part of your brain, long gone now, trying to keep everyone from driving home. With the night still young , it’s 2 am, you’re talking up a storm, just really spilling the beans on every secret you’ve ever had, including your crush on your sister’s boyfriend.

Everyone having already sobered up and drinking water gasp, granted it’s only 4 people, including yourself, but the gasp sounded otherworldly to your intoxicated brain.

Not fully understanding what you had just admitted to, you yawn saying you’re gonna “hit the hay,” you wink, for literally no reason at all, and stumble your way to your bedroom, tripping over air at least 27 million times.

You reach your room and plop down on your bed face down, completely ready to just fall asleep like that until your phone, which you had forgotten about, starts to ring loudly. You groan, begrudgingly getting up to answer it.

“hEllor?” You slur out, reaching for a bottle of water half drunken on your night stand, in hopes of quenching your thirst.

“Hey, y/n, wait are you drunk?” The unknown person says.

“No, this is Patrick,” You laugh, dying at your joke, slapping your knee for extra effect. You set the phone face up on your bed, pressing the speaker button.

“Well I guess that answers that, there’s no way sober you would such an awful joke.” The person on the other line giggles.

“Heyy, watch it mister whoever you are. I can and will kick your ass. You know I know karate?”

“Oh really?” Mystery man asks.

“Yep, my best friend Harry taught me once. Do you know Harry?”

“Yeah, I’d say I know him pretty well, he’s kind of a goof isn’t he?” The man questions.

You laugh out loud at that, responding in between laughter.

“Yeah he’s a goof, but that’s why i love him. He’s unapologetically himself no matter the situation. You know sometimes I think I relate to the Schuyler sisters more than I’d like to.” The man on the other line takes in a sharp breath, before moving around asking shakily,

“why is that?”

“Because sometimes I wish I had been satisfied and never introduced him to my little sister, oh well, at least i still have him in life. Maybe I’ll meet a rich man like Angelica and move across the sea only seeing them on major holidays and vacations! Yeahhh, that’d be ideal.” You sigh at the end, it quickly turning into a yawn, after hearing no noise coming for the other end you assume the man has gone to sleep, so you bid your goodbyes, hanging up the phone and going to sleep.

——————————————————————————

The Next Morning~

You wake up in the morning with a sticky taped your head- it reads

“Hey girl, we all left as soon as Harry arrived, don’t worry we called ubers just in case. Had fun last night, also about that little secret, it’s safe with us little miss doctor, Love you and can’t wait to do this again!”

You laugh, throwing the sticky note on your bedside table, sitting up straight only to be hit with a ton of bricks to your mental. Memories from the night before come flooding back as well as the mention of Harry being in your house, recalled from the sticky note. Getting up, warily, you make your way to the shower and get ready for the day, you put on pajamas.

Hoping that you’d taken long enough in the bathroom for Harry to have left, you make your way downstairs, only to be met with a nervous smiling Harry eating pancakes and fruit at your table.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” He asked with a worried look.

You look back at him embarrassed, but answer

“oh, i’m okay, just a little tired, and my head’s hurting, but i already took some medicine.”

“Do you, um- do you remember anything from last night?” He looks down at his plate.

You know with your own plate sitting across from him at the table.

“Uh yeah, all of it actually, in fact, this is so funny really, just as I was about to go to sleep some guy, i think, called me, but i never read his contact name so i had no clue who it was, plus the alcohol kind of distorted their voice so i couldn’t tell, anyways, I had a whole conversation with him.” You laugh as you recall the memory, giggling a little at end at yourself for being so silly as a drunk.

“What did you guys talk about?” Harry asked, his eyes now glued to the sink faucet.

“Oh nothing much, talked about karate and just spilled my deepest darkest secrets to him. Are you okay?” You look at him worried.

“Um, yeah. Why do you ask?” Him still not looking at you.

“Because you haven’t made eye contact with me since I walked in, and even then, it was only for a moment. What’s going on?” He looks up you and then back down at the floor, as if pondering what to say next.

“I love you too. I always have, honestly if I’m being completely transparent, I think that’s why I started dating your sister, I mean you guys are just so similar but so different in your own ways, but I just couldn’t learn to love the differences in her. And I know that sounds bad, but I cant ignore what i’ve been yearning to hear from you from the moment we met and not tell you how i’m feeling.” He takes a breath at the end.

You stare at him, trying to comprehend his words, trying to understand where he could have gotten this from, and the only thing that comes to mind is-

“It was you… you were on the phone last night. Weren’t you?” He nods. You stand up, almost knocking your chair over before backing up into a corner.

“y/n we can go somewhere, just us, a date. It doesn’t have to be weird love promise. I already talked to your sister, she under-“

You interrupt him-

“Harry i can’t do that to my sister. If you love me like you say you do, you know that i can’t and will not. I was fine with being in love with you in secret. And you told her? Why would you do that, you were both so happy. Always smiling. I can’t, please. Leave.” He starts shaking his head getting up to approach you.

“Harry leave before I lose it. I can’t do this right now, or ever. Please.” He opens and closes his mouth, defeated he leaves.

You fall to the ground, cupping your face to hold back your sobs from being heard from outside your door, where you sure Harry is waiting for you to let him back in. But you can’t-

you won’t.

~fin~

thoughts on a part 2, i enjoyed writing the angst hehe

[i-heart-yellowstone]

4 - Dutton’s and Lambert’s

Part 5

Raised Fair Share Of Hell

If y'all got any ideas for this especially moments with Alissa and Rip send them to my ask box 🤗

Tag list - @bvbwestfall @hcwthewestwaswcn @child-of-of-the-sunshine @elenavampire21 @keep-the-wolves-close

Standing in front of Lee’s freshly dug headstone and empty grave that he would be put in a few minutes later. I was wearing a short sleeve black dress that went down to my knees. “Alissa.” Opening my eyes I slowly glanced over my shoulder watching my husband walking up to me.

“What is it, Kace?” I questioned him when he finally stopped to stand beside me. He was wearing a full black suit, white shirt and a white tea shirt underneath with his dusty black Cowboy hat.

“How’s your ankle in that boot?”

My gaze lowered down to my left ankle in a doctor's boot that the hospital had told me I would have to wear for a while. “I’ll get used to it.” I answered his question not liking it but was thankful the surgery to remove the bullet didn’t go horribly wrong.

“That’s not what I’m asking. I don’t want you putting too much on it to be here today.”

Grasping his hand in mine I rubbed my thumb over the black wedding band on his left hand. “Kayce, I want to be here. For you and your family. Y’all have known me my entire life. Besides, Lee was like a brother to me. I need to say goodbye to him.”

“How did I get so lucky with you, Ms. Lambert?” Kayce asked, cradling the side of my face in his freehand.

Reaching down inside the front of my dress I drew out the necklace chain I wore with my wedding ring on it. “That’s Mrs. Dutton to you, Kayce John. And you got so lucky cause we’re best friends.” I decided to wear it mostly as a necklace too worried I’d lose the ring that meant so much to me.

“Looks like it’s time.” He squeezed my hand in his seeing the casket being brought close by one of the trucks. He removed his hand from mine, walking over and being a pull bear for his brother alongside John , Rip and a few other ranch hands.

The casket was set up and lowered into the ground before I noticed John walk up and stand in front of it. Each family member went up to say their goodbye leaving me and Faith the last to go. “I'm gonna miss you, Uncle Lee. Thanks for my birthday present - and I hope you are running a beautiful ranch up in the sky.” She laid some flowers over his casket stepping back crying into her father's jacket.

Lee had gotten her a tiny horse necklace for her birthday with the money that his father paid him.

“Hey, Lee. First off I - um I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry that this happened to you when I could've stopped it.” I felt some tears welling up in my ears and I gripped my ring necklace for strength. “I know I shouldn't put the weight on myself but I am because - because I'm going to miss you so much. I'm gonna miss you and my sister pretending like there's not a spark between you two. I'm going to miss you being Faith's favorite uncle. I'm going to miss our flour fights at 2am. Lee - I'm gonna miss you. But don't you worry I am going to make sure your name and memory aren't forgotten.”

Kayce’s hand touched my shoulder softly. “Alissa - easy now. I've got you - I've got uou honey.” I spun around throwing myself into his chest and he wrapped his arms around my shaking body. We just held each other for a little while until everyone slowly made their way back to the main house.

Gator had prepared dinner for both of our families to enjoy for the next couple of days. The sun was setting over the Dutton Ranch when I went to find my sister Alana standing on the front porch by herself. Pushing the door opened I walked outside. “What are you doing out here, sis?”

“Just needed some air. Today's been - rough. How are you doing?” She asked me rolling her shoulders before dropping them.

I came over leaning my elbows on the wooden porch railing. “Pretty much the same. Faith, just says she wants him back for her birthday. I actually told her that we'd celebrate somehow once all this dies down but she has to understand he's not coming back.”

“It sucks that she misses him so much.” Alana glanced at me, seeing my wedding ring dangling from my neck. “You know who's wedding ring that is right?”

“Yeah.”

She pressed on clasping her hands together. “And did you know that Lee proposed to me with that exact ring?”

“What! Why are you just telling me this now? Have you two been secretly married this whole time?”

She touched my hand seeing that I was getting worked up over her bombshell of news. “Let me explain. First off nobody in either of our families knew about it. We were going to announce it until the day you came home and told us you were pregnant. So Lee and I talked it over and he decided it was best for you and his brother to get married and raise the baby together more than that ring would benefit us at the time.”

“Alana, I - why didn't you tell me sooner?” I felt slightly heartbroken that she gave up her marriage to Lee Dutton for me.

She intertwined our hands together giving me a weak smile. “Because you were going through a lot. Dad was pissed and mom was busy preparing for the baby so it just didn't seem right.”

“So I was right all along about you and Lee?” I asked with a hopeful yet shocked smile on my face.

She nodded her head yes. “We just weren't so obvious the way you and Kayce were - better yet still are today.”

“We are not!” I scolded her.

My sister smirked. “It's nothing to be ashamed of if you want to climb into bed with him. You're already married anyhow.”

“Alana!” I turned my face away, blushing slightly, clearing my throat. “But you two still could have gotten married and had kids for both ranches. So why didn't you?”

She shrugs her shoulders in response. “Didn't ever seem like the right thing for us. Lee and I never wanted to talk about that since that's all our daddy's wanted to talk about.”

“God gave me two daughters and no sons so I'm gonna need them to give me some grandbabies to keep this land of ours.” I did the best impression of my father as I could, still deeply loving him.

Alana was in agreement with me. “We just wanted to enjoy the pressure being off of us, especially the day you got pregnant. You're my little sister so I did what was best for you even though it was making me lose some happiness.”

“I'm sorry.” I wrapped my arms around her in a hug and she hugged me back sniffing through some tears of her own.

“It's okay, Lissa. I was right about something though with our families.” She broke the hug slightly seeing confusion written on my face until she finished her sentence. “I guess Dutton’s and Lambert’s were always meant to go together.”

A few days after the funeral I was walking to the barn to saddle my horse so I could take Faith on a ride yet I halted in my tracks outside the door hearing Jamie and John discussing something inside. “Did they identify Kayce?”

“Not yet.”

“Who are the agents we're talking about?” John asked him.

Jamie responded. “It's, uh, Tom Reynolds and Aaron McReary.”

“Reynolds I can deal with.” He admits. “I don't know this McReary.”

“Yeah, he lives in the south end of the valley. Word is he likes his religion.”

John questioned his son. “As in "won't tell a lie" likes it?”

“Yeah, that would be my guess.”

“Find out where he goes to church. Anything else? Anything else? You said there were a few.”

“The medical examiner's report. You're not gonna like it.” Jamie began explaining.

“Who else has seen the report?” John pressed on for answers.

“The only ones who have seen it want it to change.”

My father in law muttered. “Then it'll change.”

“It means they're doctors. Which means they took an oath, and it wasn't to you. No matter what we do, the photographs won't change. The body won't change. It'll tell the same story - to anybody who looks.” Jamie snapped back at him mentioning some good points.

“The body's buried, Jamie. Relax.” John walked up near his son’s face.

Jamie tried to make him understand. “Yeah, but when they see the report…”

“When they see the report, what? You think I'm just gonna let them dig up my son?” John getting closer up in his face.

He explained to him with a heavy sigh. “When they see the report, they won't ask. They're just gonna do it, Dad. I think we should…”

John held a hand up to him. “No, don't say it.”

“I think we should beat them to it.”

John stomped forward shoving his son against one of the horse stalls behind him staying in his face. “All right, don't say it. Don't even think it.”

“Kayce shot him in the forehead while he laid on his back.” Jamie declares while I felt a nervous tightness in my chest form at his words, remembering the incident all too well.

John growled in his face in disbelief. “We don't know it was Kayce.”

“He was executed. Five bullets in a circle, like this. Name the livestock officer who could do that.” Jamie asked him the question John and I both feared he would say, pointing to his round lawyer badge on his shirt.

Turning my attention away from the door I threaded my fingers into my hair, beginning to feel powerless in this situation. “What are we gonna do, Kayce?”

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[slinket]

Smutmas Day 6

Prompt: That's so fucking hot.

Triggers: tentacle porn, technically.

They had done it.  It was shocking, but somehow Ominis and Sebastian were currently hidden in the underground herbology room, watching Professor Garlic tend to her plants down below.   It started when Ominis was looking for extra help one night.  He reached out to a ghost, asking them if they could check if Garlic was still awake and proper, and if so, could she spare him a moment.  When the ghost returned, they said that Garlic was MIA.  

This came up in conversation during lunch one day with Sebastian and MC.  Sebastian guessed that she was off somewhere, maybe ‘collaborating’ with Sharp over some potion ingredients.  MC rolled her eyes and suggested that Garlic may very well be tending to the several more dangerous plants down in the underground herbology room. 

“I had totally forgotten about that place!”  Sebastian exclaimed, and then his eyes closed slightly, giving that ‘I’m up to something’ vibe that MC knew to stay away from. “We should follow her some night, see if that is where she goes, maybe she is down there, and Ominis can get his help, or maybe we will find her ‘helping out’ Sharp.”  He snickered with amusement.  MC immediately opted out, but surprisingly, Ominis agreed.  He really was having a hard time in class.

The boys started to track her schedule, learning what days she got out early vs late.  On late days, she mostly went right to her quarters.  On early days, she disappeared after class and was not seen again until the next day.  They finally decided they would follow her the next time she had an early day.  Both of them arrived at the greenhouse right before Garlic’s last period was to end.  As the class dismissed, Ominis and Sebastian moved into the room, not being noticed in the chaos of students leaving.  They found their way to a more secluded corner and made themselves disappear, settling down for what may be a long wait.  Sebastian watched and commentated to Ominis about Garlic’s movements.  She was doing end of day care things, setting up her classroom for the next day, boring teacher stuff.  Eventually, she moved into the other room, and the boys followed.  Sebastian suddenly smacked Ominis on the arm, whispering to him “Oi mate, she is headed into that room I think, I hadn’t noticed that latch on the floor before!”

Stalking after her, they hid in the dark corners while Garlic made her way over to the large venomous tentacula.  “How is your venom today my beautiful friend?  “I think I may need quite a lot for tonight.”  She swiped her finger across the petal, the plant reacting.  Garlic brought a vial over, and the tentacula dutifully secreted its venom into it.

“What the hell is going on, Sebastian?” Ominis whispered.  “What does she need venom for?”  

“I’m not sure yet, just relax, I’ll let you know what she does with the vial.”  

Garlic collected a few vials, and then started making her way over to the devil’s snare.  She cast the lumos spell, aiming her wand towards the snare.  “I know my lovelies, I will put out the light, but you have to be good for me tonight.  The venom will help you to relax and enjoy it with me.”

Ominis was beyond confused at this point.  He leaned forward, ready to get up and sneak out, when Sebastian stopped him with his hand.  

“Ominis,” he whispered, “She's undressing.”

“What?  Why?”  They were quiet for a moment.  “Oh…oh no, oh dear…”

“You know what she is doing?” Sebastian questioned.

“I have an idea…” Was all Ominis would say.

Sebastian had not taken his eyes off of her as she stripped.  He stared at her body, the curve of her hip, her pert breasts, and when his eyes traveled back to look between her legs, he groaned as quietly as he could.

“She is so beautiful, Ominis - I wish you could see this.”  

“Honestly, if what I think is going to happen does happen, I’m happy to be blind.” Ominis replied.

Garlic lit a few lights near the snare, but not so brightly that it scared the plant away.  She stepped into the middle of the snare, letting the tentacle-like appendages come over her and pull her down.  

Sebastian’s eyes went wide as he watched her allow the snare to grasp onto her ankles and pull her legs apart.  The arms ran all over her body, poking at her nipples, running over her legs, moving closer to her core which was now displayed perfectly for him to see.  

“She’s glistening Ominis…” Sebastian barely got through his sentence without moaning aloud.  “One of the tentacles is probing against the hole in her pussy.” He paused and his breathing suddenly became quicker and studdered.  “Ominis….she let two of the tentacles push inside of her.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ominis turned his body away.  “I just wanted help with plant identification!”

“Mate, this IS plant identification.  We are learning about the sight, or in our case the smell and sound, of her delicate flower…oh oh man, that's so fucking hot.  Now she's got 5 of the tentacles thrusting into her hole.”

“Sebastian, I swear to Merlin, if you pull your dick out and start jerking off, I will know, and I will remove this spell and let her find you.”

“Nah, no worries man, this is getting imprinted into my brain so I can spend all night in bed reliving it.”

[quibbs126]

So uh yeah, Hazelnut Cookie

I’ll be honest, I wanted to draw more, but I couldn’t think of what else to draw, and I kind of just wanted to talk about her, but I wanted visuals too, so I just cropped the image and put the things I did draw there. Which is just two things

I think I had other ideas but they were at lunch and I’ve forgotten them

*sigh* I’m lazy

Anyways, let’s just talk about her

Oh right, I should probably give a bit of a refresher for people who don’t know who this is or have forgotten, since I only talked about her like one time in March

I’ll show you the original version as well

So basically she’s this kid Dark Choco finds on his journey post-CoD. He finds her in trouble out in the woods somewhere or something and helps her, and since she has nowhere to go, he lets her stay with him, and she basically becomes like his adopted daughter. Though I should mention I have changed it so that she currently does not call him “dad”, just “Mister Dark Choco”

So as you can see, I gave Hazelnut a redesign from her original. I put her hood down, since I showed her to my friend one time, and she said she looked better with the hood down, and specifically with the second hairstyle I had made

So I drew her with that second hair style, but I didn’t like how it looked, so I changed it up and I quite like how it looks. Though it’s a bit of a pain to draw and make symmetrical if I’m being honest, like I was struggling with the second drawing and her hair, and I think in turn her eyes ended up looking weird

Also part of the redesign came from me realizing maybe I was trying to emulate a hazelnut a bit too much, and she didn’t need to look like one

But other than that, really the only other change is giving her a pouch on her belt, and that’s because I’ve now decided to give her a slingshot as a weapon (I don’t recall if she had any offensive capabilities before). It was mostly because she’s a little kid and slingshots are seen as like a kid thing, plus she can use nuts for ammo, just like what she is

I don’t know, I thought it was clever

Going back to that post I made a bit ago where I said “Dark Choco would teach a child to fight”, yeah he probably decided she needed some form of weapon and she chose a slingshot. Then he showed her how to effectively use one

He probably made a bunch of makeshift targets for her to practice with. I imagine if she were in Ovenbreak, her Skill would be some mix of Beet and Captain Ice, in which she’s shooting at targets like Beet, but it’s more an aiming system like Captain Ice. And if she were in Kingdom, she’d be a Ranged Middle

I just imagine a scene in which Dark Cacao (and with either the other Ancients or just other people he’s traveling with like other Dark Cacao Warriors I dunno. But I don’t imagine him just by himself for some reason) encounters Hazelnut on her own, and she thinks he looks like some sort of threat, and so draws her slingshot on him, and I don’t know what happens next, but it leads to her shooting him in the eye (Dark Choco told her to aim for the eye if she can), and he’s just in shock, like “di-did you just shoot me in the eye?!” Granted he doesn’t do anything against her, considering she’s a small child that has no idea who he is, and honestly he can respect her for having the audacity to do that, considering he knows he can seem intimidating. And then later Dark Choco appears (probably Hazelnut mentioning him and then her leading Dark Cacao to where he’s supposed to be) and he sees Dark Cacao with one eye closed, and he looks at Hazelnut and goes, “you-you didn’t shoot him in the eye…did you??” To which she eagerly affirms she did, still unaware who Dark Cacao is

Other than that yeah, I think that was about it

Oh yeah, I remember one thing I was going to draw, it was an older version of Hazelnut, in which she lives in the Dark Cacao Kingdom now and has upgraded to a bow

Maybe I’ll draw that later and edit it in

Or I could just save this in drafts and do that now before posting so it’s easier for people reading the post and for them to not miss it after reading it now

But that’s too much effort. Eh

But yeah, hope you enjoy this

Edit: so I added in her future design. I talked about it in another post, which l’ll link

[sixhours]

One Day at a Time - Chapter 3 - Embryo

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut Series tags: The Last of Us, The Last of Us (HBO), Joel Miller x f!OFC, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, SMUT, gratuitous smut, dubious consent (drunk sex), unplanned pregnancy, fluff, references to past miscarriages, angst, hurt/comfort, romance, age gap (~21 years), childbirth, fluffy baby stuff, I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

Days become weeks without word from Charlie. Every time he sees her, she gives him a little nod. Nothing overt, just enough to send a message.

We’re still here.

After two weeks, he’d found an old pocket calendar from 2001 and put it by his bed, and he marks off each day that passes with a big X. He’s done the math, and there’s a date in mid-December circled in red pen.

He can’t sleep for shit under the best of circumstances, but lately it’s impossible. He’s given up trying, choosing instead to crash on the couch with a movie playing on a loop in the background until a fitful sleep takes him.

He’s parked like this on the couch one night when the knock surprises him out of a half-doze. He fumbles for the remote and pauses the movie before answering the door.

It’s Charlie.

“I’m bleeding,” she says in lieu of a greeting.

His stomach sinks.

He reaches out without thinking, hands on her shoulders; she’s shivering. He pulls her forward into the warmth of the little house, closing the door behind her.

“Midwife says it could be normal or it could be a miscarriage,” she says flatly. “No way to tell yet.”

He seethes. He remembers Maria and Tommy telling him about the Jackson midwife; she was competent, but her bedside manner was shit.

“Does it…feel like…” He doesn’t know how to finish the sentence.

“I don’t know, I’ve never made it this far. I’m not cramping. It’s not a lot of blood. I just…you wanted me to tell you, so I’m telling you.”

He nods, feeling stupid and helpless and hating it.

“Uh…sit,” he says, gesturing to the couch. “Want tea? It’s herbal. No caffeine.”

She nods warily. “Sure…I guess.”

He sets the water to boil, gets out two mugs, pulls the little canister of tea from the shelf, and fills the infuser with dried peppermint leaves. He can’t stand the stuff, but Ellie won’t drink coffee like a normal person, so they always have some in the house.

He glances at Charlie from over his shoulder as he waits for the water to boil. She’s on the couch, arms wrapped around herself as if she could hold back the thing she fears by force of will.

“You take milk or anythin’?”

“Just sugar, if you have it.”

He does. The kettle whistles and he pours the steaming water over the leaves.

She takes the tea with a small, hollow smile and sips at it. He takes a seat in the armchair next to her.

“Is there anything we can do?”

She shakes her head. “Midwife said to check in tomorrow morning. If it gets worse before then, I’ll go to the clinic.”

“Okay,” he says. “I can…wait with you.”

She nods, takes another sip, and sinks back into the couch. Waiting.

The silence presses in around them. It’s like torture, and Joel wracks his tired brain for something, anything to say. She saves him the trouble, blinking with interest at the television screen.

“Is this Gunz Blazin’ 2 ?”

“Uh…yeah…”

“I haven’t seen it since I was a kid,” she says, smiling a little. “My dad and I used to watch these movies all the time. They’re awful.”

He swallows hard, thinking of Sarah.

She looks at him and picks up the remote. “Mind if I…?”

“Yeah, yeah…sure.”

She hits Play and sits back, curling her legs under her and clutching the tea in her hands.

~*~

The credits roll a couple of hours later. Charlie has nestled into the couch with a blanket over her lap, empty mug resting on the coffee table.

“S’it as bad as you remember?” Joel rasps.

“Yes. Maybe worse. But in a good way,” she smiles a little. “Nostalgic, I guess.”

He nods. “How’re you, uh, feelin’?”

“Fine,” she says automatically, then laughs. “Not fine, actually. I’m exhausted and I’m sick all the time and my boobs are so fucking sore I could—“

She stops. “Shit, I’m sorry. That’s more than you needed to know. My husband used to say I was born without a filter.”

“S’alright,” he murmurs, his face burning. “You’re, uh, married?”

“Was…or what passed for marriage in the QZ, I guess. We were cordyceps orphans…grew up together after the outbreak, protected each other…kept each other out of trouble. We had 17 years together before…before our luck ran out.”

“So he, uh…you and he…wanted kids?”

“Yeah,” she snorts. “Sounds pretty stupid, right? Bringing a baby into a quarantine zone?”

He bites his lip and doesn’t say anything. He knew people still brought children into this broken world, but he’d never considered it. His interest in that life had stopped when Sarah’s heart stopped beating.

“I miscarried three times,” she murmurs. “We might have kept trying if we’d made it to Jackson together…I don’t know.”

“What happened to him?”

She shrugs. “We ran into trouble on the way here. He was bit. I…took care of it. We always said that was the deal, that we wouldn’t let each other turn. He…he didn’t even flinch when I pulled the trigger.”

She’s looking down at her stomach now, tracing her fingers over the ridges in her shirt, lost in thought.

“I wasn’t looking for this any more than you were,” she says softly. “But I want it anyway…I–I can’t help it. Is that foolish?”

Her eyes bore into his then, not sad now, almost…angry. Challenging him to deny her this.

Joel doesn’t know how to answer, but he huffs a soft, “No.”

She rubs her palm slowly across her lower belly. “This is the longest I’ve ever made it. I didn’t have morning sickness or the…other symptoms before, so I thought…maybe…maybe this time…”

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” he says softly.

He wants to take her hand. Instead, he gathers their mugs and takes them to the sink.

“Oh…it’s late,” she says faintly. “I should go.”

He frowns. “You shouldn’t be alone. You can stay here tonight.”

“Oh, no—”

He shakes his head, cutting off her protest. “If somethin’ goes wrong or if you get…sick…someone should be with you. I could come to your place if that’s–or call a friend if you don’t want, uh, me–”

“It’s not that, Joel, but I’ve been through this before–”

“By yourself?”

She swallows hard and ducks her head. “No.”

“Then stay,” he says. “Just for the night. I can put you up in–”

He falters, thinking of Ellie’s old room, still decorated in ugly pink stripes. Meant for a teenager but too close to a nursery.

“You can stay in my room,” he says quickly. “I’ll take the couch. Usually end up down here anyway.”

“I couldn’t–”

“It’s fine,” he waves her off. “Can’t sleep for shit no matter where I land. C’mon.”

He makes for the stairs before she can argue, and breathes a sigh of relief when she follows. He pauses outside the door to his bedroom.

“Just, uh…wait here. Gimme a minute.”

He ducks into the room, picking up clothes and tossing them into the hamper. He strips the bed and digs wrinkled but clean sheets out of the linen closet. After a pause, he picks up the calendar and the red pen from the nightstand and stuffs them into his pocket.

“Should be all good. The bathroom’s, uh, right through there,” he gestures. “All yours. There’s, uh, pain medicine if you need it.”

“Thanks…”

“I’ll be downstairs,” he says. “If you need anything, if anything, uh, happens…just come get me. Or yell.”

“Sure.”

“I mean it,” he says.

“I will, Joel,” she murmurs. “Thanks.”

“G’night then.”

He goes back to his usual spot on the couch and lies down, staring at the little cracks in the living room ceiling. He won’t be able to sleep now. He thinks about the raw need in her voice as her fingers traced her stomach, the hitch in her breath, maybe this time …

He throws an arm across his eyes, trying to block out the thoughts. A small, grief-blackened part of him hates that he cares. Before Ellie, he could numb the pain with booze and pills and a lucrative career in smuggling. But he’s not that man anymore. It would be so much easier if he were, if he couldn’t feel the little flicker of hope in his chest.

The calendar and pen dig into his hip, and he pulls them out of his pocket. It’s well after midnight, so without thinking, he uncaps the pen and crosses off another day.

~*~

He must have fallen asleep. When he opens his eyes, the room is lighter, and Charlie is nudging his shoulder.

He’s upright before he’s fully awake. “What is it? Y’okay?”

“I’m fine,” she says quietly. “I’m going to go. The midwife said she’d see me at 7:00. I need to go home and change.”

“Right, okay. Do you, uh…do you want me to come with–”

“No,” she says quickly. “I haven’t told her…or anyone…about you.”

“Right,” he blinks. “Um. Let me know…okay?”

She nods, holding her arms around her middle like she could protect herself from the worst. Without thinking, he reaches out and touches the back of her hand. She doesn’t pull away.

“Sorry,” he mutters, withdrawing. “I…I hope it works out,” he says lamely.

“Do you?” she asks, with an edge of bitterness in her voice. She’s immediately contrite. “I’m sorry. You’ve been kind, and that was…cruel. Missing my filter again.”

“It’s…fine.”

He wants to tell her he does have hope, despite himself, but she’s already out the door.

~*~

Charlie hasn’t been gone for five minutes when there’s a knock.

Shit.

He’s on the schedule for a construction job and he’d promised to meet Tommy early. Now he’s late.

“I’m comin’,” he mutters, wincing at the stiffness in his back. “Hold your goddamned horses.”

“Long night?” Tommy smirks on the other side of the door. “Thought I saw Charlie doin’ the walk of shame–”

“Shut it,” Joel growls, surprising himself at the bite in his voice. “Don’t say another fuckin’ word.”

Tommy’s hands coming up in mock defense. “Whoa, easy. Didn’t know it was like that.”

“It’s not,” Joel snaps.

“Alright,” he says, peering at his older brother curiously. “So…you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Lemme get my stuff.”

He’s distracted all day. The work is simple enough–framing a new barn for the sheep, to replace one that’s been infested by termites beyond repair. It should be easy, but he’s overtired and he can’t seem to make his hands behave. Tommy keeps having to repeat himself, giving Joel curious looks. 

“You’re losin’ it, big brother,” he says amiably when Joel brings him a jar of the wrong-size screws for the second time in a row.

It’s mid-afternoon when he brings the hammer down on his middle finger. He watches the whole thing as though in slow motion, knowing exactly what’s going to happen well before he feels the pain, but he’s powerless to stop it.

“Fuuuuuuuck,” he hisses, shaking out his injured hand. Purplish red blood is already blooming under the wide, flat nail. He resists the urge to stick the finger in his mouth to soothe the throbbing ache like a child.

“You break it?” Tommy’s looking over his shoulder.

“No,” he growls. “Just a bruise.”

“Yeah, right. Well, you’re done for today,” Tommy says. “Go home. Made good progress, anyway, we’re almost done.”

Joel shoots him a look, but it doesn’t affect his younger brother in the slightest. It never does. So he relents, packing his tools and trudging away, finger throbbing.

He sees her on the walk home.

Charlie is standing with someone just outside the caf. She looks about as tired as he feels, but then she sees him and brightens, the subtlest glimmer as she catches his eye. The look stops him in mid-stride, frozen in the middle of the street.

She gives him a little nod.

Warmth spreads through his chest, a flood of relief, and that blasted hope again.

We’re still here.

[charcoalhawk]

No Safe Harbor

He’s not surprised that his parents haven’t realized that he hasn’t been home in over a week, after almost seventeen years the pain of being forgotten barely registers.

This is my Truce gift to @lemon-snake, sorry about the wait and I hope you enjoy!

I ended up using two of your prompts: Danny discovering Vlad bugs his house and Vlad showing up to Danny’s parent teacher conference because Maddie and Jack are busy.

There is ectoplasm on the dining room table. There is, in fact, a lot of shit on the dining room table that should not be on the dining room table.

Danny carefully skirts around the edge of the kitchen towards the fridge, but once he gets closer he can see that the fridge is bolted shut. So he’s either going to have to pull from his stash of food hidden in his closet, or eat fast food for the next few days.

If Jazz was still living here she probably would have already gotten into a shouting match, she was always a lot more proactive about calling out their parents when they pulled shit like this.

But Jazz is off at college, finally able to enjoy being a young adult and dealing with boring normal human problems. She had asked Danny to keep her in the loop with what was happening at home, and to tell her if their parents got sucked down another research hole and he needed her to remind them to take care of Danny and themselves.

He had mostly held to that promise, but as the months passed it was just easier to stay with Tucker or Sam for a few days when his parents lost themselves to their research.

This is the first time Danny has been home all week, he was able to sneak over to stay at Tucker’s for a few days but after the second time he was caught brushing his teeth there in the morning he decided it was better to just sleep in The Zone.

“Oh hey Danno!” The front of his dad’s jumpsuit is rumpled like he’s been wearing the same one for multiple days, “sorry but the fridge is out of commission for a few days, we’ll order pizza tonight. You must’ve had a lot of homework these past few days, we’ve barely seen you!”

He’s not surprised that his parents haven’t realized that he hasn’t been home in over a week, after almost seventeen years the pain of being forgotten barely registers.

What is going to be painful is this.

“I-“ ancients Danny hates having to do this, “there’s a parent-teacher conference tonight, Mr. Lancer asked me to remind you guys about it because apparently you didn’t answer his email about attending.”

“Why would Mr. Lancer have you doing that Danny?” His mom sounded genuinely confused, reaching up to push back some hair that had come out from her hood and smearing ectoplasm after her. “It was just a general email letting all the parents know, there was no need to reply because we weren’t planning on going. Your grades are doing great, and you would have already come to us if something was wrong.”

Danny feels his stomach drop, and it takes considerably more will then he would like to stop himself from stomping out of the room right there.

Because that hadn’t been a general email. Mr. Lancer had kept him after class today to ask him to remind his parents about the meeting tonight, and judging by his barely suppressed frown it wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting.

“No actually, Mr. Lancer apparently really wants to sit down with you guys about some things, he said he mentioned in the email some of his concerns?”

———

Danny takes another glance at the clock on the wall, 4:45pm, his parents are almost twenty minutes late.

He’s left at least ten texts to each of them asking where the hell they are, but knowing them their phones are either dead or buried under a bunch of junk in their lab.

Mr. Lancer also takes a glance at the clock, and with a sigh begins to pack up the remaining papers from previous classes.

“I’m sorry for keeping you so late Danny, I’ll email your parents tonight and hopefully we can reschedule. Do you need a ride home?”

“No Mr. Lancer, I’m fine. Actually I was wondering if-“

His question is interrupted with a series or rapid knocks on the classroom door, and Danny foolishly hopes in that moment that his parents simply hadn’t responded to his texts because they had been busy driving, before it opens to reveal Vlad-fucking-Masters.

“Oh I’m so terribly sorry for being late,” Vlad gives his best normal human smile, “I had to practically run to get here and I was so worried about young Daniel here that I-“

“Mr. Masters,” Mr. Lancer’s face scrunches like he can’t decide whether to smile or grimace, “as nice as a surprise this is, I’m afraid this is a confidential meeting between myself and Danny’s guardians, now if you have concerns I’m sure we could find the time to sit down another day and discuss them in detail.”

“Oh I completely understand,” a wide smile, “but you see I’m actually here as a trusted adult for young Daniel here. Maddie and I decided it would be wise to have someone who lived closer by to be written down as an emergency contact in case either of the children needed it.

Like today, poor Madeline called me explaining that she had almost forgotten about this event, but due to an experiment at home would be unable to attend. And so she called and luckily I was visiting Amity this week and rushed over.”

Mr. Lancer seriously looks like he’s about to call bullshit, but a last glance at the clock has him slumping with defeat.

“Well, seeing as you were so kind as to actually show up, I think I could discuss some of my concerns here, Danny you’re welcome to leave-“

“Oh no Mr. Lancer,” Danny so wishes one of his powers was the ability to set things on fire with a glare, “if it's ok with you I’ll stay. I’d like to hear what good ol’ uncle Vlad has to say.”

———

It’s a rare night where the school is mostly empty, any after school activities had been canceled so that the conferences could be held, and now at almost six pm the entire school is abandoned.

Danny is able to keep quiet until they are out of sight of the school, but once he’s sure Mr. Lancer can’t see them; he surges to grab Vlad and hoist him up by his stupid suit, and in moments they are both transformed and hovering miles above the town.

“What the fuck are you doing here!”

Vlad gives him the look you would give a particularly stupid child, and given that Danny has spent more than enough time with Vlad over the past two years, he is unfortunately very familiar with that particular look.

With a casual swat he sends Danny flying back and moves to adjust his now missing tie.

“I am just trying to help you Daniel!”

“Oh bullshit. You couldn’t give less of a damn about my education, and you especially had no right to show up to a meeting like this. And what is up with that guardian crap? You know mom would never have put you down as an emergency contact.”

“Ah yes, I may have been stretching that a bit, but you see I am in fact listed as an emergency contact for you and Jazz when she was a minor. Jack,” and Vlad spits the name like it was an infectious disease, “was so kind as to add me when I expressed my concerns about it.”

And doesn’t that just make Danny’s blood boil. But regardless of his dad being way too damn forgiving, there’s something much more important he needs to know.

“You know what, I don’t even really care about that right now, what I do care about is,” He shoos his hand like he’s trying to chase off an annoying fly, ”how the hell did you know all that shit! I most certainly didn’t tell you, mom would rather shoot you then tell you something was wrong, and even dad isn’t that trusting.”

“Oh,” and now that it’s just them Vlad’s smile has become a thing of nightmares, “I have my ways Daniel.”

“What? Do you just always have a duplicate hanging around our house? You fucking creep.”

“Please, I’m too important to waste my valuable time with something that barbaric and simple.”

“What then? Spies, bugs- I swear to the crown if you have my house bugged Plasmius I’ll wring you by your stupid cape-“

“And what if I do!”

Where previously Vlad had looked smug and aloof, his gaze is now blazing focused, something that makes Danny’s skin crawl.

“You have not stayed in that house for over a week, Daniel! You barely stay more than a few hours and in the past three months you’ve been sleeping ancients know where in the Zone! You are constantly burdening you friends by forcing them to house you-“

“I’m not making them do anything!”

“I do understand not wanting to be in that house.” And here Vlad almost looks sad, “The mess, the weapons crawling out of every corner, being forced to live in the place you died. It can not be healthy for a young man. Regardless, that house is too dangerous, one wrong move and our, your secret will be discovered. And you know your parents, they will not take this kindly.”

“Oh fuck off! You don’t actually give a shit about me, you only care because it would put you in danger, and the fact that I’d rather stay anywhere that isn’t with you.”

“My home is open to you, and your mother and sister should they ever need it. I do care, little badger, don’t ignore an offer for help because you are too prideful and arrogant to accept it.”

This argument isn’t getting Danny anywhere, and he has one more question before he’s going to blast Plasmius in his stupid face.

“We’ll see how much you’re laughing when I tell Mom and Dad that you lied and said they called you about the meeting, when Mr. Lancer doesn’t follow up there are bound to be questions. How do you think mom will respond to knowing that you're spying on us?”

“Oh but that’s not what happened at all!” He’s right back to being smug, almost seeming to settle down in an invisible chair. “If your parents ask,” and here he looks doubtful, “you are going to tell them that you texted dear old uncle Vlad to come once you realized your parents accidentally forgot about the meeting.”

“And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because, the alternative is me going right now and possessing them both to make them think they called me, and we both know how tampering with memories can, ah, potentially harm an individual.”

Danny remembers, a few months after gaining his powers, overshadowing Mr. Lancer to make him think he had given Danny an extension on an essay he hadn’t bothered to finish.

Was it a frivolous use of his powers? Yes? Did he really care at the time? No.

He had thought everything had been fine, until a few days later when Mr. Lancer collapsed in class. Later it was reported that Mr. Lancer had suffered a brain bleed due to an unknown injury. There had been no physical evidence of anything having happened to him, but it hadn’t taken long for whispers of a ghost attack to start circulating.

After that Danny had been very careful to never overshadow someone, he had never been sure that what he had done was what had caused the injury, but he had wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

The threat finally forces the fight to leave him, and with one last venomous glare Danny leaves. Vlad doesn’t chase him, but Danny knows it’s because he’s already lost the battle for today.

———

“Oh Danny! We were wondering where you were, you said you were going to help with the lab this weekend.”

“I ah- was actually at the school.”

“The school- oh fudge the parent-teacher conference! Danno I’m so sorry we just got wrapped up in this experiment, I’ll go email Mr. Lancer right now and apologize, do you know when he would be willing to reschedule?”

“Uh, actually Vlad showed up for the meeting, apparently he’s listed as an emergency contact and uh, when I realized that you guys might have forgotten I reached out to him and luckily he was in Amity.”

“Oh good ol Vladdie! I’m so glad he convinced me to add him as a contact, he really is so kind.”

His mom’s face puckered like she had been force-fed an entire orchard of lemons.

“Yes, he does have his moments…”

———

As he’s lying in his room later that night his eyes catch a glimmer from the corner of the room up on his bookshelf.

After a second of deliberation he moves, reaching out to just barely snag the small object as it seemed to skitter away.

Holding it up the object at first seems incomprehensible, but after a minute Danny realizes with growing dread that what he has in his hand is a tiny camera with a microphone attached.

Without a second thought he crushes the device, if Vlad planted one he likely has at least a dozen if not more.

And its without a doubt the frootloop’s handiwork, no other ghost would bother with something like this, and the GIW doesn’t have access to enough ectoplasm to make devices capable of intangibility.

But what can he do about the rest? Vlad would expect him to destroy one if he found it, but then he would just set up more in new locations. At least if he knows where they all are he can know where to avoid.

Grinding the remains of the machine in his palm he slips intangibly down to the basement, glancing briefly at his parents who are both passed out over various diagrams and half formed weapons.

Looks like he’s going to be spending a lot more nights in the Zone.

[joes-sha-la-la-la-girl]

Love Bites: Chapter 11

Series Masterlist

It was no secret between Def Leppard and Ultraviolet that Joe and Y/N were seeing each other. They decided however, not to let members of the crew find out, mostly to protect Y/N’s reputation as she was still technically with Doug. 

The two of them spent every moment they could together, Joe even went on Ultraviolet’s tour bus a few times. When he was there, Tammy noticed the difference in her best friend’s behaviour, Y/N was more outgoing and confident around Joe. Everyone could see it.

However, Y/N had been so caught up in Joe that she had forgotten to call Doug in days. She was dreading the next phone call to him, having to pretend that everything was okay between them and that she wasn’t seeing Joe. Doug was already suspicious that Y/N was cheating on him and she had no idea how to hide that she was.

When they finally stopped at the next venue, Y/N decided to bite the bullet and call Doug.

“Where are you off to love?” Joe asked as Y/N wiggled her way out of his arms.

“I have to call Doug.”

Joe smiled sadly at her. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“I would say yes but I can’t let him know that I am with you and when you’re around I can’t stop smiling. He’ll hear it in my voice.” Y/N told him.

“Okay sweetheart. You know where I am.” Joe gave her hand a squeeze before letting go of her so she could call Doug. 

When Y/N dialled the familiar number, she was met with the answer phone. It was a bit of a shock to her because she didn’t realise that they had one, but she just shrugged it off that Doug had gotten one so he wouldn’t miss calls when he was out. Y/N left a short message on the phone before hanging up and returning to Joe.

“That was quick.” Joe spoke as he accepted her back into his hold.

“No answer.” She told him plainly before leaning up to peck his lips. Joe deepened the kiss, pulling her close to him by her waist. However, they were interrupted by mock gagging.

“My poor innocent eyes.” Phil joked covering his face and pretending to bump into things. Steve followed behind with uncontrollable laughter.

“There’s nothing innocent about your eyes Phillip.” Joe told him, slightly annoyed that they had been interrupted. Phil just looked at him in mock offence before he too burst out laughing. The two guitarists then left the room, off to who knows where, leaving Joe and Y/N alone again.

“We best get ready.” Y/N whispered as Joe moved to connect their lips again.

“Yeah, in a minute.” Joe then moved forward to kiss her again before eventually pulling away. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

*

A few days later they were in California. The one thing Y/N found about touring was that she was always so tired after spending nights on the bus. Nothing could take her excitement away, but she looked forward to the times she could spend either in a hotel or naps backstage if they arrived early.

California was better than Y/N could’ve imagined, Apparently Johnny was excited too because much like on the plane to America, he hadn’t shut up. Y/N wished that she could’ve joined Def Leppard on their bus just to get away from the over excited drummer. Their first Californian show was in Irvine. They were performing there for two nights before going to San Diego. 

Y/N still hadn’t managed to get a hold of Doug. She had tried to work out time zones so that she wouldn’t end up calling when he was asleep or at work but she could never seem to catch him. It wasn’t until after their first show in Irvine that she found out why.

Once Ultraviolet finished their set, like always they showered up and went back to watch Def Leppard perform. Y/N felt off for some reason. She felt like there was something different about this particular show compared to all the ones they had done before. It wasn’t until Gavin came around the corner that she realised what. 

“Look who I found.” The Ultraviolet manager announced unenthusiastically.

“Hello Y/N.”

*

Tammy had kindly said that she would tell everyone where Y/N had gone whilst she went to talk to Doug. 

“What are you doing here?” Y/N asked, obviously annoyed with her boyfriend’s presence.

“What, you're not happy to see me?” Doug asked with a smug grin on his face. He knew that Y/N didn’t want him on tour and he took much joy in the fact that he had given her no choice.

“How did you even know we were performing here tonight?”

“Well a guy from work mentioned about how his cousin had tickets to the first show in California so I booked a few days off of work and got last minute tickets. Though you should probably refund me, being your boyfriend and all.”

“That’s why you haven’t been answering.” Y/N said more to herself than anyone else.

“Anyway, aren’t you gonna hug me or something.”

“No. You should have told me you were coming. We have no room for an extra person. Or the money to accommodate them.”

“Not even me?” Doug asked with a faux pout.

“No. Not a single other partner has come along on tour. Not one person has invited themselves along either. What makes you so different?” 

“I need to keep an eye on you.”

“What?”

“Well it’s obvious Y/N. You don’t want me here so that you can sleep with whoever you want. I’m here to stop that from happening.”

“Is everything alright out here?” Y/N looked back and saw Joe make his way towards them. She could feel the nervous sweat pouring down her brow.

“Everything is fine. Isn’t it Y/N.” Doug wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She quickly moved away from him and closer to Joe. Not close enough though in her opinion.

“Actually it isn’t. Doug I can’t do this anymore.”

“Can’t do what?”

“This. You followed me halfway across the world to check on me, after I told you not to come. You dragged me out of a pub because you got embarrassed. You couldn’t even be happy for me when I started to get modelling jobs and that's only to name a few things.” Y/N took a deep breath. “I can’t do this anymore. We’re over.”

“You don’t get to decide that.” Doug laughed.

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t get to decide we’re over. Not after everything I’ve done for you.”

“This isn’t up for discussion Doug.”

Doug took a threatening step forward, however Joe stepped in the way. Up until that point he had kept quiet but he couldn’t let this idiot near Y/N.

“You heard her. Go.”

“Fine, I’ll go. But you're not getting anything out of my flat.” Doug tried to aggravate Y/N.

Before she could answer, Joe beckoned over security that the venue had and told them to ‘get rid’. 

“Let’s go find Tammy love.” Joe encouraged her and moved her back to the green room. 

After Def Leppard found out that Doug was there, they all gathered to wait for Y/N to come back. When her and Joe entered, Y/N immediately burst into tears in Tammy’s arms. Joe filled everyone in on everything.

“I’ll get my sister to get your stuff out of the flat before Doug gets back. Spare key still in the same place?” Tammy asked her as she passed the crying girl over to Joe so she could phone her sister. Y/N just simply nodded as she cried in Joe’s arms. 

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