#and we were about to walk down the driveway into the garden so she could pee there and then i was going to close the gate & try to find the

[fingertipsmp3]

Had a dream last night that two of my best friends came to stay with me and also Mabel was alive 🥹

[hearts4golbach]

more johnnie guilbert x reader enemies to lovers smut but more time where they hate each other before anything happens between them PLEASEEEE i adore your writing

It's Harder Breathing Next to You.

pairing:

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

a/n:

Tara's sister au 👅!!

proofread

warnings:

fanfiction logic, 18+ smut, biting, reverse cowgirl, hairpulling, pet names (slut, whore, ma, mama), teasing, spanking, no protection (wrap it before you tap it)

word count:

4.5k

You hated going to see Jake. You didn't hate him. You hated his best friend. Johnnie had to have been the biggest dick you had ever met. You glared at Tara, giving her the deadliest look possible. "Do we really have to go over? Or, do I have to go over?" You clicked in the seat belt, sinking down into the passenger seat.

"Well, I don't want you rotting in your room all damn day." She sighed, pulling out of the driveway. "Just ignore Johnnie."

"It's hard to ignore him when he doesn't know how to shut his fucking mouth." Your profanity seemed more aggressive than usual, it always was when it came to Johnnie. You pushed away the thought of how soft his lips always looked.

"I don't know what to tell you." She shrugged, furrowing her eyebrows. "You can wait in the hot car if you want."

You let out a loud sigh, "No, I haven't seen Jake in a while."

"Okay, well, if you just gave Johnnie a shot, maybe you wouldn't find him as annoying." She glanced over before returning her eyes to the road. "He's a really great person, Y/n."

You crossed your arms, looking out of the window. "Whatever."

Johnnie plagued your mind for the rest of the ride there. It was a short ride, thankfully. You deeply considered what Tara said. Maybe he wasn't as annoying as you thought he was, but he really struck a nerve within you. You weren't completely sure if it was annoyance, but you didn't know what else to call it. Just the thought of him looking at you sent shivers down your spine. You hated those bright blue eyes. They reminded you of the ocean, and you dispised the ocean. But, god, were they beautiful.

You climbed out of the car, following Tara up to the front door. She opened it with her spare key and walked inside. It was cozy, per usual. The smell of musk and vanilla filled your nose. 'How could there be three guys in one house, and it smelled this nice?' You asked yourself. You wondered what Johnnies room smelled like.

Jake stood in the kitchen, basically hitting a Dress to Impress pose as he stood at the counter. He had a large coffee in his hand and his phone in the other. He looked up and smiled at the two of you. "My two favorite girls!" He smiled. You walked over and he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "You need to come around more often. Get some sunlight." He teased.

You squinted up at him. Jake always kept all of the windows wide open, making the sun peer through nearly every crevice in the house. "Yeah, well, you guys stink, so.." You teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, your favorite person in the world is upstairs taking a shower, so you won't have to see him for a minute." Jake emphasized 'favorite person.'

As if it were a competition, you rolled your eyes in return. "Okay," you couldn't come up with a better response before you pulled away.

"We were thinking about Olive Garden for dinner. Does that work with you guys?" Jake looked down at his phone. "I can call and make reservations now."

You simply nodded as Tara responded with a yes. You pulled up a chair to the counter and sat across from Jake. Tara leaned next to you. You zoned out when Tara started ranting to Jake about her busy schedule for the next month. You wondered what Johnnie was thinking about. Did he even know you'd be at dinner with the four of them. Did anyone even want to tell him? A small part of you hoped his mood would change, and maybe you'd have a peaceful interaction with him. You hated wishful thinking. You hated a lot of things, and you felt like the root was Johnnie. That wasn't fair to him. You knew that. But, it seemed as if your downfall was after you met Johnnie. You never seemed to stop thinking about him no matter how hard you tried. You greatly disliked that fact. It was one you'd take to the grave if you had to.

Tara tapped your arm, snapping you out of your thoughts. "What?" You cleared your throat, caught off guard.

"I said that you don't need to worry about paying anything. Me and Jake are splitting the bill." She repeated herself, a clear annoyance in her voice. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, fine." You flashed her an unsure smile. You rested your head in your hands.

You heard thudding coming from the stairs. Your head whipped around, knowing who it would be. Johnnie stood at the bottom of the stairs, in his usual skinny jeans and a 'The Cure' shirt littered with holes. You instinctively scrunched up your nose before looking the opposite direction.

He greeted Tara with a smile, not bothering to acknowledge you or Jake. "Did we pick a place to go eat?" He asked, sparing you a glance before returning his attention back to Jake.

His messy, wet hair made your heart skip a beat. "Uh, yeah." Jake spoke, briefly looking towards you. His eyebrows turned to at your expression before returning his attention towards Johnnie. "Olive Garden, like we said earlier."

You stood up, walking toward the cupboard. You reached up to grab a glass before you felt a gentle hand on your hip. You looked behind you to see Johnnie squeezing past you. His groin brushed your ass, making your eye twitch and butterflies erupt in your stomach. This wasn't the first time this type of interaction would happen, and you knew it definitely wouldn't be the last. Johnnie seemed to get a kick out of teasing you, and you found it unbearable. You didn't know he knew, but he did.

"Sorry," he muttered, quiet enough so that only you could hear.

You didn't respond, furrowing your eyebrows together as you filled up the glass with water. You took a long sip, hoping the cold drink would calm you down, to no avail. You shot Tara a look, seeing as her eyebrows were raised nearly to her hairline. She shot you a wink, which made you groan internally.

You were so flustered, you could barely think straight. You needed to talk to Carrington. That wasn't a weird thought for you, seeing as he was your best friend. "Where's Carrington?" you asked suddenly.

"He's in his room." Jake responded, gulping down the rest of his coffee. "He might be asleep. When he's awake, he's usually streaming."

You laughed, "I know." You walked towards the stairs, feeling a pair of eyeliner decorated eyes burn holed in the back of your head. you shuddered at the feeling, continuing your journey up the stairs.

You knocked a few times on Carringtons door before walking inside. He was cuddled up under the covers, also scrolling on his phone. "Hey," you sighed, taking a seat on his bed.

He stretched, letting out an exaggerated groan. He ended it with a high-pitched moan before greeting you. "Hey, you okay?"

"The usual," you implied. You had ranted to Carrington many times about Johnnie. Sometimes, you even woke him up in the middle of the night to whine to him about Johnnie.

Carrington knew what you never wanted to admit. After knowing him for so long, even before he was even associated with Jake and Johnnie, he knew you like the back of his hand. "Y/n," he said in a scolding tone. "Please, for the love of fuck just accept it. You like Johnnie and saying you hate him won't change that."

"Oh my god, I don't!" A twinge of pain shot through your heart. "Even if I did, which I don't, he hates me just as much."

He rolled his eyes, "So, what you're telling me is that the glances he sneaks and the small "casual" touches are hate? Get a grip, Y/n."

"You're actually the worst, you know that?" You let out a weak laugh, meeting Carringtons eyes. "Fuck you."

"I'm the best, and you need to accept it. It's gonna ruin you."

You didn't have the energy to argue, letting out a small 'I know' in response. You couldn't keep lying to yourself. You had always known you didn't hate Johnnie. You hated how much you craved him.

"Whatever, get ready to go to dinner. I'm starving." You attempted to end the conversation on a lighter note.

He groaned, pulling himself out of bed. "I'm serious, Y/n."

"Okay, okay. I get it." You huffed. "Get your ass dressed."

"Okay, fatso." He cackled at his own words.

You peeled yourself from your sitting position and made your way back downstairs. Whenever you made it down, Tara and Jake were still talking in the kitchen. Johnnie was nowhere to be seen.

Carrington met you downstairs a couple minutes later. He sat next to you on the couch, smacking your phone out of your hands so you'd pay attention to his words. "By the way, no one talks about someone they "hate" as much as you do." he added air quotes.

You huffed at his response. "Okay, and-" You stopped mid sentence as Johnnie walked into the living room.

"Don't let me interrupt, what were you saying?" Johnnie asked rhetorically. His hair was now teased and straightened as it always was. You couldn't help but stare before forcing yourself to peel your eyes away from him.

"Shut up." You looked down at your feet, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

"Oh god." Carrington muttered before getting up off of the couch and walking back into the kitchen.

"Make me." He smirked, laying on the couch and resting his calfs on your knees.

You shoved his legs off of you, "I bet you'd like that."

"We're leaving!" Jake called into the living room, jingling his keys before walking out of the front door.

You practically ran out of the room, trying to get away from Johnnies gaze as fast as possible.

You climbed into the back seat of Jake's car, ending up sitting between Johnnie and Carringon. Tara took the front seat, as well as control of the music.

You looked the opposite way of Johnnie and stared out of Carringtons window instead. Johnnies hand brushed against your thigh, making your heart skip a beat.

The car ride seemed to last a century before you finally made it to Olive Garden. Whenever you stepped out of the car, you felt like you could finally take a deep breath. It was harder breathing next to Johnnie.

The whole group walked ahead while you stayed in the back, coincidentally walking next to Johnnie. "Your outfit is really fucking cute."

You whipped your head to look at him. "What?" You raised your voice a little louder than his.

"I said your outfit looks like shit." He grumbled, amused by your response.

You huffed and walked faster. You caught up with Tara and joined the conversation she was having with the other two guys in the group.

Johnnie caught up to you and walked behind you. You felt his eyes rake over your body, making your face flush. Shivers ran down your spine before you finally got seated at the table.

Johnnie sat across from you, while Tara and Carrington were on either side.

You looked up at Johnnie, who was already looking at you. His pupils were dilated as he stole glances at your lips. You grabbed a napkin and grabbed a certain pen that always seemed to be in your pocket. You scribbled 'do you have a staring problem?' on the napkin before sliding it over the table to Johnnie.

He smirked at the note before crumbling it up and putting it in his pocket. His foot rested against yours, hidden from the rest of the group. Your face heated up for what felt like the millionth time that night.

You realized Johnnie was always like this, always showing the smallest bit of interest affection in the smallest ways. You thought back to the time everyone had gone home except you and Tara. Jake was upstairs asleep while Tara was crashed out on the couch. Johnnie sat with you in the kitchen, keeping you silent company. He watched as you worked on an article for your job, only checking his phone once the whole time. His knee was rested against yours, and when you mentioned it, he made a sour rebuttle before going silent again. He had never moved his knee until you got up to go lay with Tara. Afterward, he made the trek back to his room without a word.

This thought made you glare up at him again, but he was looking at Jake as he spoke. You hated his stupid, sexy fucking face. His noticeable jawline and smudged eyeshadow made you weak in the knees.

The rest of the night went by in a blur of Johnnies lips, his gaze meeting your lips, his watercolor eyes burning into your own.

The whole group walked out of the restaurant, stomachs full and giggling at a joke Carrington had just cracked. From the outside looking in, it was a picture-perfect moment.

Johnnie was walking dangerously close to you. You could smell the mix of cologne and cigarette smoke on him. You weren't sure if you wanted to slap him or kiss him. You truthfully wanted to do both.

You sat in the same spot, stuck between a never-ending giggling guy and the silent emo. His clothed thigh was rested against yours gently, keeping the physical contact he almost always had with you-- when he had the chance.

You walked into the house, respectively, exhausted from the long day you had.

"Are you gonna sleep on the couch with me?" Tara yawned as the curled up on the couch.

You sighed. "I guess so."

Everyone said their goodnight and went to their rooms. Tara fell asleep almost immediately while you stayed up and scrolled on your phone.

You were giggling at a Reddit story and didn't even realize Johnnie was leaning on the couch behind you. "What the fuck are you watching?"

You jumped at the sudden noise. "Oh, fuck you. Don't sneak up on me like that."

His hands slithered over the cushion and gripped your shoulders gently. "Come on."

"What? Why?" You looked back at him. "I'm perfectly fine right here."

"'m gonna give you a better place to sleep. I hate seeing you cramped up on this small ass couch." He gave your shoulders a squeeze.

"That's hilarious coming from you. Stop messing with me and go to bed for the love of everything holy." You roll your eyes and return your gaze back to Instagram.

"Don't make me change my mind." He replied in a stern tone. "I'm serious, come on."

You let out an exaggerated sigh. "Uhm, okay?" You peeled yourself off of the couch and followed Johnnie back to his room. "Someone's feeling a little too lonely."

"I'm being considerate. Use your brain." He spat as he began to walk back up the stairs.

You hummed in response, not far behind him. When you were in his room, he shut and locked the door.

"Why'd you lock it?" You asked with raised eyebrows. You crossed your arms over your chest, suddenly extremely nervous as his gaze fell onto you.

"I always lock my door. Get a grip," he mumbled.

"Just makes me think you're trying to-"

"Shut up," he cut you off, clearly not interested in hearing the end of that sentence. He sat on the edge of his bed, looking up at you as you took your stance in front of him.

"Make me," you smirked. You really needed to come up with a better response to 'shut up.'

"Don't fucking test me." His voice was barely above a whisper.

You hummed once more, not knowing what to say as you looked down at him.

"Stop looking at me like that." Johnnie mumbled. His eyes raked over your body, which was barely visible in the dimly lit room.

"Like what?" Before you could think, you spoke your thoughts aloud. "Like I wanna do you?"

"Are you trying to turn me on right now?" You raised your eyebrows at Johnnies words. "Because it's working."

You scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure." you figured his was joking. He had always made small, dirty comments in a 'joking' manner.

"Kiss me." he said, looking up at you with those tempting eyes that you could never get enough of.

You laughed, looking away as you felt your face heat up tenfold. "What?"

"Kiss me." he emphasized. He gripped your hips and pulled you closer.

His hand wrapped around your neck, not adding much pressure as he pulled you down to meet his lips. The kiss was desperate and messy. His hand moved from your neck to your waist. His fingers dug into the soft flesh as he pulled you down into his lap. You tangled your fingers in his raven colored hair as the kiss became needier by the second. You gave a slight tug on his hair, making him let out a soft grunt against your lips. His tongue swiped your lower lip, begging for entrance. You slightly parted your lips, allowing his tongue to lick inside of your mouth. He tasted like mint and nicotine-- a heavenly combination.

Johnnies hard, clothed member was pressed into you. Feeling him against you turned you on even further.

His hands slid up your shirt, snaking behind your back, and unclipped your bra. You grinded down against him, making you let out a small whimper against his soft, puffy lips.

"You're such a fucking slut, already so damn needy for my cock." He muttered against your lips, making quick work of your T-shirt.

His hand moved up to cup one of your breasts while the other toyed with your nipple. You let out a soft moan in agreement as your only thoughts were about Johnnie finally getting inside of your pants.

He removed his hands from your chest and began to unbutton your jeans. Your hands met the hem of his shirt, "Lemme take this off." You pleaded, your voice coming out as a whine.

"I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you, ma?" He teased, trailing his fingers along the inside of your waist band.

"Fuck, Johnnie." You muttered.

"You don't know what you do to me," his eyebrows were knitted together as he looked at you. His eyes were blown black as he looked at you like he was starving.

You helped him slip his shirt off before helping you out of your ungodly tight jeans. You were back in his lap in nothing but your lacy pair of wine red panties. He could've drooled at the sight of you in his lap. His lips attacked your neck, peppering it in hickeys.

"Everyone's gonna see how much of a little whore you are for me," he smirked against your neck. His hand slowly slipped inside of your panties and began to circle your clit. You bucked against his hand at the sudden contact. "Shit, you're so wet.."

"Bite me," you rebuttled sarcastically. He let out a low chuckle before gently digging his teeth into the soft flesh of your shoulder. You didn't expect him to take you seriously, but there was a lot happening that you never really saw coming.

He continued his pattern, biting and sucking at your collar bone as his fingers ran through your folds. You buried your head into the crook of his neck, letting out moans as he collected your slick on his fingers.

"You trying to let the whole house know how good I'm making you feel, baby?" Johnnie dipped his middle finger inside of you, making you yelp.

"N-no." You choked out, keeping your voice barely above a whisper.

"That's what I thought. Be a good little slut and stay quiet for me." He mumbled, placing a kiss on the side of your head. He lifted you up off of his lap and flipped you around so your back was against his chest.

His hand slipped back inside of your panties before he curled his long, slender finger inside of you. You bit down into your lip, moaning quietly in his ear as he pleased you. You tossed your head back onto his shoulder as his finger slowly thrusted inside of you.

Johnnie slipped another finger inside of you. You let out a louder moan before his hand slapped over your mouth. "I can't fucking stand you-- you think I can fuck some sense into you?" He mocked in a sultry tone. His question was more rhetorical than literal.

His fingers held a quick pace as the sounds of your pussy squelching filled the room. He curled his fingers to perfectly hit your g-spot, making your legs shake. You attempted to say something in response, which proved to be pointless. His hand was covering your mouth, after all.

As your walls spasmed around his fingers, he could tell you were close. "You close, mama?" He pressed a kiss into your temple. You nodded eagerly, causing him to remove his hand from inside of you. You whimpered at the loss of contact. "Take your panties off."

You acted quickly at the command. You stood in front of him and pulled off your panties at a teasingly slow pace. You heard his belt jingling and his pants hit the floor before you even got them off. He did the job for you, eagerly pulling your panties down around your ankles.

"Someone's eager," you comment. Johnnie laid a hard slap on your ass in response.

You jumped, letting out a soft yelp as a mix of pain and pleasure coarse through your veins. "Shut up," he barked, "you're the one who'd drop to your knees for me, isn't that right?"

Before you could argue back, he gripped your hips and pulled you back down onto his lap. He gently moved your hips, his hard cock grinding through your wet folds. He let out a soft groan at the proximity.

"You gonna be good and shut your fucking mouth?" his hands moved up your waist and cupped your tits. "Only good sluts get what they want, baby."

You let out a quiet moan as he pinched your pebbled nipples. "Yeah-- yes. I-I'll be good. For the love of God, please.."

"Please what, ma?" He whispered in your ear, biting your earlobe gently.

"oh my god, fuck me already." You accentuated, grinning down onto him harder.

Johnnie hummed in response, positioning you to where he wanted you. His dick slipped inside of you without warning, making you let out a loud moan. "Do you even know how to listen? Open." He instructed as he guided his fingers to your mouth.

You took his fingers into your mouth as you sank down onto his cock. You sucked harshly, gulping back the noises that threatened to fall from your lips.

"Good," Johnnie purred, "now move."

He interspersed kisses along your shoulder as you began to bounce on his cock. You bit down on his fingers gently as you stayed quiet, following Johnnies wishes. Your fingers dug into his bare thighs, desperate to hold onto something for stability.

"You look so good like this," he muttered against your skin. "Y'so fucking tight."

He bucked his hips up to meet yours, greedy as all he wanted to do was fill you up. "You're such a bitch," you mentioned, muffled by his fingers.

You felt him chuckle at your teasing. "But you're sucking my fingers while riding me, funny."

"Fuck you," you spat.

"Mama, I don't know if you noticed, but you already are." He snickered against your neck, sucking a dark hickey.

Both hands moved to your hips as he quickened your pace. Sounds of skin slapping together and quiet moans filled the room.

Your walls clenched around him, making him let out a low whimper into your ear. "You're so fucking good, fuck." You choked out between moans.

One of his hands moved down to cirle your clit, making your legs quake with pleasure.

"I'm s'fucking close." You breathed, your ass meeting his hips as you bounced against him assiduously.

"Come on, baby. Cum on my dick." He smirked into your shoulder.

The knot in your stomach snapped at his remark, releasing your juices all over his cock. Your body went limp as he kept fucking into you with the same passion. Your overstimulated moans became louder as he worked towards his own orgasm. "Doin' so good. Almost there, ma."

You crashed back into his chest, letting out a whimper as he filled you with his seed.

After you both came down from your highs, he gently helped you lay on the bed next to him. He peppered kisses all over your face before going to get a wet wipe to clean you up.  He cleaned you with care, making sure to be gentle around your sore cunt. He placed miscellaneous kisses on your inner thighs as he did so, treating you as if you were the only woman in the world.

He helped you into a clean pair of underwear and the same T-shirt he had worn that day.

He cleaned himself up as you whispered sweet nothings to him. Johnnie slipped on a clean pair of boxers before climbing into bed next to you. You cuddled into his chest with a content smile on your face as his fingers brushed through your messy hair.

"Don't act like I didn't know about your little crush on me," Johnnie flashed you a toothy smile, one you thought you'd never see directed towards you.

"Oh, shut up," you said in a joking manner. This also shocked Johnnie, seeing as you always meant it.

"Then kiss me."

You smiled, leaning up to kiss him before resting your head back on his chest.

-

You woke up the next morning with no Johnnie in sight. You pulled yourself out of his bed and stole a pair of his pajama pants off of the floor. You slipped them on.

You trudged down the stairs to find Carrington and Jake standing in the kitchen. "Mornin'." You greeted.

"Good morning, sunshine." Carrington greeted. You also earned a good morning from Jake. Carrington looked you up and down. "I see that all of that tension was resolved." He couldn't help but laugh, and Jake joined him.

"Heard, too." Jake added.

"Suck me." You rolled your eyes.

[cosmos-coma]

My Sun, My Star- Part 3

A/N: I feel like I’ve been writing and editing this forever but I think I’m finally done! I had a lot of requests for the Winter Soldier meeting his baby and so here we are! Besides a small epilogue this will probably be the last direct chapter of My Sun, My Star. Hope you’ve enjoyed!

Pairing: Bucky X Reader / Winter soldier!Bucky x Reader

Words: 4996

Warnings: Blood, fear of kidnapping/death, threats of violence, swearing, pregnancy/labor/birth, GN reader (no pronouns), but pregnant reader, blood, canon-level violence, rare use of Y/n (let me know if I missed things)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Epilogue | Bucky Masterlist

Buy me a Ko-fi?

________

“And you promise this is safe?” Bucky asked tentatively, his brow drawn together as he frowned in concern. His arms would have been crossed tight across his chest had one hand not been occupied holding yours. 

“It’s the safest thing anyone could do,” Maria assured him from across the table, “it should only take about 40 minutes. We just need someone to make sure everything is set up properly in the safe house. There's some light cleaning and we need to make sure that the locks are good, the thermostat works, and the signal jammers are functional” she explained at length. 

Today they were receiving a low-tier HYDRA agent that had recently defected. Fearing for his and his partner's life they sought refuge with what remained of SHEILD, promising to spill whatever secrets he needed to keep them safe. However, in the off chance it was all a ruse, they set up signal jammers so there’d be no chance of the agent alerting HYDRA or anyone else that may compromise the location.

“If it helps we can even keep the house under surveillance just in case. There’s plenty of cameras on the surrounding houses we can use to keep an eye out,” Maria continued, looking across the table to you this time.

You rubbed your enlarged belly, nearly bursting at the seams as you were due just a few days from now. Bucky had been the perfect companion while you were stuck at home, getting you anything you could possibly need, making sure you didn’t tip over, and keeping you entertained while you were mostly couch and bed-bound. 

But now you were bored out of your mind, beyond tired of sitting on the couch at home all day and night, so why wouldn’t you take an easy job and the bit of money that goes with it? You can waddle around for a while to check some things out. You might be a little slow, but it couldn’t be more than an hour at most. What’s the harm in that?

 “I’d love to, when do I start?” 

Bucky did not have a good feeling about this.

____

It started as any other day; fairly quiet and mundane, and although it would be boring to anyone else, you were just happy to see something other than the inside of your apartment. You pulled the car to a stop in the driveway, looking up at the nice yet bland little house that sat before you. It was a good-looking neighborhood just an hour outside of the city, with decently spaced houses and gardens dotting the lawns here and there. And if you were anybody else it’d be your perfect suburban dream.

After a brief moment of struggling to squish your belly past the steering wheel you finally managed to hobble out, “Ha ha! See? Pregnancy isn’t so hard… I make this look easy,” you boasted to yourself with a grand smile as you stepped out of the car. You took a moment to dig your knuckles into your lower back as you exited, trying to chase away the pain you felt. It had started aching something awful on your way out here, cresting and falling in small waves, but it was nothing you couldn’t work around. You’d lay down eventually and you're sure it would right itself in no time.

You waved to the cameras pleasantly as you walked to the front door, clicking the key into the lock and punching in the ever-changing security code Maria gave you. Unlocking with a lighthearted mechanical chirp you stepped inside and looked around.

It was pretty bare bones; just the basic necessities- food, water, a couple of games, and a shelf of books to pass the time with. Curtains were drawn tight over the windows, keeping the place veiled in shadowy darkness and prying eyes out as you took your first few steps in. Closing the door behind you with a soft click you pulled out your phone to text Maria.

‘Testing testing 123,’ you sent, pausing a moment before giving a satisfactory nod as it refused to go through. The jammers seemed to be working just fine. 

Bucky had been thoroughly against it when he heard there’d be signal jammers; he did not want you anywhere you couldn’t contact him with your due date so soon. But Maria assured him (as much as she could) that you’d still be able to call if needed- and vice versa- but that you’d have to use the tapped landline hanging inside the kitchen. 

You hummed softly as you went about your work, ignoring the discomfort that ran down your back and stomach as you moved. You were just about halfway through your list when you felt your belly begin to quake, “Ohhh, hey. Okay, I know you probably wanna sit down, but we’ve barely started,” You winced as you rubbed your stretched-out skin, only to be met with a sharp kick. 

“Ow! Okay! okay, maybe 5 minutes on the couch first…,” You held both your back and your stomach as you waddled toward the couch slowly, surely looking like quite the sight had anyone been around to see it. 

Clink clink clink

You paused as you heard the front door jiggle. 

No one was supposed to be here for hours yet.

It jiggled again, and this time you heard the voices of several people standing outside. 

“There’s a car outside, he’s got to be here” you barely made out as the first voice mumbled, “if not him, then his partner- And I won’t be going back empty-handed,” another chimed in.

“We’ll find a way to keep him silent. Whether with his blood or theirs.”

Your stomach dropped.

They must’ve been HYDRA agents. Were they here for the defector? How on earth did they find this place? 

But there was no time to think as the landline rang loudly from the kitchen. Wincing, you prayed to anyone who would listen that they wouldn’t hear it- but no such luck.

The door rattled again, violently this time, and was followed by mumbled threats to an agent you had never met.

Panic coursed through your body as you waddled quickly through the house, head turning this way and that as you searched desperately for a place to hide. 

‘Can’t fit under the bed, the bathroom is too obvious, the kitchen is too open, I can’t go outside, and I can’t fight my way out…’ Your brain ran through endless possibilities, unhappy with each one as you clutched your stomach.

Pew pew

You recognized the sound of muffled gunshots immediately, they were quieted by a silencer- a terrifying thought- but you recognized them all the same as they shot through the security pad outside the door. 

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck,” you cursed as you bolted toward your last choice, darting into the closest bedroom and tucking yourself behind the closet’s sliding doors, pulling them closed with a swift slam just as the front door busted in. 

‘Deep breaths… Deep breaths…,’ You tried to slow your frantic breathing as footsteps entered the otherwise silent house. You desperately wished there were clothes, anything, in this closet you could hide beneath but it was as bare as the rest of the house. Sitting down, you curled into the furthest corner of the closet you could, forcing your heavy breaths into silence as you raked your brain for any solution you could.

‘Ah! My phone!! I can text for help!’ You scrambled to pull your phone from your pocket and quickly typed out a message to Bucky. Hopefully, he’d alert the others and be the first to come to your rescue. 

“No, no, no, no…” you groaned quietly, “Why isn’t it sending?” You shook your phone angrily as it continued to refuse you and sighed in defeat when you finally remembered the jammers set up throughout the house. Your only hope now was the landline in the kitchen….

“Spread out,” the HYDRA leader commanded as he made his way into the house, picking up your bag that you so carelessly left out, “Find whoever’s here, and do whatever you need to bring them in. As long as they’re breathing, I don’t care how they come back,” He ordered, several pairs of feet breaking away immediately to search through the house. 

You pulled your knees as close to your chest as you could, tears prickling your eyes as you tried to think of a way out. You weren’t even sure when the tears started to run, your mind growing numb as you thought of bad ending after bad ending. Doors slammed on the floor above you, making you flinch as you knew that at any moment it could be yours. You were trapped

But you had to be calm- Bucky would want you to remain calm. You could think of a way out, you knew you could, you just needed to take a deep breath. What would Bucky tell you to do? 

 You had just managed to get yourself somewhat calm again when a sudden wetness took over your lower half. Panic set in again as you scrambled to see over your ballooned belly, fearfully wishing this wasn’t what you thought it was. But as an even worse pain tore through you, like knives jabbing into your pelvis, you knew you weren’t mistaken. 

Your water just broke.

——-

Technicians clacked away at their keyboards with lightning speed as Maria Hill entered the room. They had called her not too long ago, alerting her of an urgent matter- but even she couldn’t have guessed what this was about. 

“There’s been a security breach…” the head technician announced as she flicked across their various screens to show her. “They weren’t subtle about it, I’m not sure if they wanted us to know or if they just didn’t care, but-“ 

“What did they take?” Maria interrupted, trying to get to the point.

“That’s the thing… they bypassed all our important files, the only file they actually opened was the one containing the safe house addresses…” she looked up at Hill with an expression that could only be described as nauseous, “We tried calling Y/n, but there was no answer…,” she bit her lip as she finished, even she obviously expected the worst.

Maria’s jaw clenched. She knew Barnes was going to kill her as soon as he found out, but she couldn’t just keep it from him either- “Pull up the security footage of house #6… now. Right now….” Her pen clicked nervously in her hand as she waited for it to come up, her stomach dropping as she saw a dark SUV in the driveway, the front door left partially open, and the security panel completely down. 

“Rewind it…” she ordered, clicking her pen faster and- “Shit. This is…. Not ideal…” Maria said, obviously trying to keep her voice level and professional. 

She stood behind her technicians, watching the back-tracked security film play the video of trained agents pulling up to the safe house and shooting in the door. 

“Alert the team… I need to make a call.” 

She slowed the clicking of her pen as the phone rang, barely getting out one full ring before it was immediately answered.

“Where do I need to be?” His voice was low, anger barely being held back on its tight leash. He already expected the worst and unfortunately, this time he was right.

“Sargeant Barnes, we have a situation... I’m sending you the address now.”

————

Horns blared as Bucky swerved onto the shoulder, speeding past traffic as he made his way to the safe house. His knuckles were a ghastly white as he gripped the steering wheel like a vice, the creaking of steel beneath his hands the only thing keeping him connected to the present.

He should have never let Maria talk you into it, or at the very least he should have been there to help you. 

“Sergeant Barnes, we have a situation… I’m sending you the address now” Maria said.

“What kind of situation…?” His voice had been deathly low, barely restraining the anger it held. He made a beeline for the car as soon as he saw Maria’s name flash on the screen. He’d had his phone in hand all morning just for this exact scenario.

He could hear her frown through the phone and his skin burned with worrisome anger as she spoke, “HYDRA’s broken into the safe house… we’ve tried to contact Y/n but there was no answer. They’re still there, no one has left, and as far as we know there’s been no shots fired besides at the front door.”

He nodded curtly as he hung up, putting the car into gear and peeling out of the lot with a roaring screech of his tires. He couldn’t count the number of laws he broke as he tore through the city’s endless streets racing against an invisible clock.

Out of nowhere his arm jerked to the side, pulling him from his thoughts as he narrowly missed a stopped car before him. Stunned breaths caught in his chest as he realized what a close call it was, literally inches from disaster. 

His body had acted without thinking, moving almost like it had a mind of its own… it was only when the back of his mind began to itch and squirm did he know why. 

 “Shit...” he sighed. The Winter Soldier must’ve sensed what was going on, digging himself toward the forefront of Bucky’s mind to take over. Bucky was still in control for now, but he wasn’t sure how much longer it would last.

“I guess I owe you a thanks,” he begrudgingly mumbled to himself, focusing once more on the road ahead. He was just 25 minutes out and he prayed he’d get there in time.

Continuing down the road he shifted uncomfortably; the Winter Soldier’s presence didn’t fade, but it didn’t press any further either. It was almost like he was… waiting for permission? 

Bucky shook his head. 23 minutes out.

He knew you trusted the assassin, and after watching the videos of your last interaction he… trusted him too- to a point. But even with this iota of trust, his instincts still had him hesitating to relinquish control. What if it didn’t have a happy ending this time? What if he went too far? What if he couldn’t come back…?  The fear had been ingrained in him so long ago that he wasn’t sure he could ever fully give it up. 

But he may not have a choice anymore. If what Hill said was right then there were at least 6 agents waiting for him and he was completely unarmed. There was only one person he knew that could bring both of you out in one piece…

“Fuck,” Bucky swore. He knew what he had to do. Speeding passed the last car in his way, he pulled out into the empty straight-away before him. Bright blue eyes stared back at him through the rear-view mirror as he sighed, “Don’t make me regret this…” 

Pain rippled through his skull, ringing as if his head was stuck inside a church bell. Haze crept into his sight as the edges of his vision blurred and he let himself fully slide into the backseat of his consciousness. His shoulders shifted slowly, rolling as he gripped the steering wheel even tighter. The soft material caved under his metal fingers with a wretched creak, leaving ripples in the leather-covered metal. 

As the cloud of pain finally passed, burning away like early morning fog, he pulled the rear-view mirror down. A familiar dark aura surrounded his gaze as he watched himself, trained and sharp as he nodded to his reflection. 

He wasn’t Bucky anymore.

“Вы не будете [you won’t].” 

————

“No no no no…. Not right now, please. Anything, but this-“ you paused your mumbling as footsteps passed right in front of the room, “-Okay maybe not anything, but still….” 

You held your breath, tensing as another contraction passed through you and you willed yourself not to make a sound, but it was getting harder and harder each time. It dawned on you that you must have been having contractions this whole time. That pain in your back when you started driving down, the quaking of your belly, it was all a part of your labor- you just didn’t realize until your water finally broke.

Tears flowed freely from your eyes, not at the pain but at the horror of your situation; There was no way to get out without being seen, you were far too slow for that in your current state and you were bound to be bagged and shoved in a van as soon as they caught you. However, you couldn’t wait and hope to give birth in this closet either; the moment she comes out she’s going to be a screaming mess and then you’ll both be in a vulnerable state.

‘Where is Bucky…?’ You thought as tears clouded your vision, your fingers redialing him from memory alone even if you knew it would never go through, ‘please, please… I have to do something…’

You dug the heels of your palms into your eyes as you furiously rubbed the tears away, again trying to remain calm. ‘Okay, think… think… maybe I can slip out through the window…? If I’m quiet enough maybe I can take my time with it?’ You thought as you peeked through the slats in the closet doors. 

You hoped that the windows wouldn’t be locked as you looked down at your phone again, trying to time out your contractions, ‘Okay…. After the next one hits we’ll just make a break for the window.. that should be more than enough time to get myself out, right? Thank god I hid on the first floor.’

You waited until your next contraction hit, biting down on your lip to keep yourself quiet. You breathed furiously through your nose to try to keep your composure and began to taste iron as blood spilled into your mouth.  But you didn’t care- you couldn’t afford to.

“Shit, shit, okay…” you breathed as it finally passed, slowly shifting onto your hands and knees, reaching for the knob when- 

Click

You heard the door to the room click open and footsteps come inside. Quickly covering the gasp that threatened to escape, you eased back down slowly. Fear froze your entire body, you didn’t even realize when you started holding your breath, but you weren’t about to let it go now.

You wasted your time and now you were stuck here; dear god were you gonna die in a closet? This is not how you imagined yourself going. 

Through the slats in the closet doors, you watched the agent check the room, under the bed, under the desk- he had just started to leave when he stopped in front of the closet doors, his feet turning to face you.

Your heart squeezed painfully as every part of you waited with bated breath. You heard his hand fall on the knob. This was it. The moment he opened it he was bound to see you. You had nowhere left to hide. 

You only hoped it would be quick. 

You closed your eyes as you heard the closet door begin to open. You were sure you had been seen until- 

“Hm?” The agent said as he turned toward the commotion happening in the other room. His hand left the knob and you watched as his shadow quietly slink away toward the sound of growing struggle and gunfire. 

Was now your chance..?

BANG

‘NOPE!’ You screamed in your head as gunfire went off right outside the room's door, accompanied by the heavy thud of a body and cloth on tile as it was dragged away. Boots squelched against the hall's sleek floors, coming closer until they transitioned to the sound-absorbing carpet of the room. 

Braving a peek through the thin slats you saw blood-covered boots, different ones than the agent just before, but the same terror filled you as you noticed them facing you. 

Your breath burned as you held it still in your lungs, your whole body tense with anxiety. Did someone hear you? Did they know you were here? You had kept yourself so hidden, how did they know?

“Ты не сможешь спрятаться от меня, дорогая... Я узнаю свое солнце где угодно [you can’t hide from me, darling… I’d know My Sun anywhere].”

You knew that voice... You knew that voice..!

Cautiously, holding your stomach close you peeked past the sliver of an opening, “My Star…?” 

He was covered in smatterings of blood from his head to his boots, yet thankfully none of it seemed to be his own. Despite his slightly battered and blood-covered appearance, his darkened eyes swam with reverence and relief as his strange little smile shined brighter than his namesake. You couldn’t be sure exactly when the assassin’s persona had come out, but you were beyond glad he was here.

“My star!” You beamed and scrambled to your feet to launch yourself at the Assassin, only making it halfway off the floor before crumbling back into a tight ball. You yelled, tears flowing once more as you finally put voice to the pain of your contractions, they were coming on much quicker now. 

Obvious worry flashed across his face as he rushed in to catch you, gently easing you onto the floor. Hands roamed over you in a cursory search as he spoke, trying to find the source of your pain, “My Sun? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” 

You whimpered as the pain lingered, wisps of it swirling across your stomach and hips before finally settling away, “Ah…. No, I’m fine- mostly fin…” you shuddered as you clung tight to his arms, trying to stand. 

“I’ve got you…” The Soldier soothed with a murmur, his voice surprisingly sweet in your ear as he whispered soft words, “You’re okay now….” Careful eyes scanned over your body again as you were scooped off the ground by two strong arms, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he saw you were indeed unharmed. 

You couldn’t find it in yourself to care for the way blood stained your clothes and smeared across your skin as you were held fast against his chest. He held you like you were everything delicate about the world, and to him you were. Turning his face into your neck he breathed in every part of you- the fear, the sweetness, the grime, the love; he wanted to breathe in every moment that he had missed.

“My Sun, how long has it been..? You’ve grown so much…,” Adoration pooled in his once frigid eyes as they washed over you. As steady as he could manage he settled you on the small heap of pillows making their home on the bed. His large warm hand was like a godsend as he pressed it against your aching belly, his touch seeming to quell everything- even for just a moment. 

“4 months…” you replied, all your focus was on breathing through your nose while your hands absentmindedly went to remove your pants, finding difficulty when your nearly 9-month belly got in the way. 

“4 months… so this-” His voice paused as he stepped in to help remove your pants. His eyes cast down to your belly, seemingly searching for a moment before looking back up at you, and for once you saw the Winter Soldier’s darkened gaze filled with never-ending light. “I finally get to meet her..?” his voice was uncharacteristically soft as he spoke, his words filled with disbelief, “I get to meet our girl…?” he whispered as if he was scared that speaking too loud would surely jinx it. 

Your lips cracked into a small smile as you watched him, your heart fluttering all the more as he spoke in hushed tones. You nodded as you took his hand against your quaking belly, “It’s time… But I can’t do this on my own,” you looked up at him with big eyes, ones that spoke of urgency and need, “I don’t know if anyone else is coming, and I don't know if we have time to wait for them either,” you said, looking at him in hopes that he’d begin to understand. “I need you to help me when she comes, okay? I… I think I need you to deliver her.”

Light-filled blue eyes faltered as he looked from you to your stomach and back again. His hands were used to taking life from this world, not bringing it in. Not to mention that, unlike Bucky, He did not have the time nor the resources to read parenting books; he was completely unprepared for a mission like this and for once he actually found himself scared. 

“Ah… My Sun, I-” he started. What if he messed it up? What if he hurt her? … What if he really was only good at one thing- killing? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if this went wrong- and he knew his gentler half wouldn’t either.

“I’ll try to walk you through it, okay? Please?” you begged as you squeezed his hand. You were terrified, plain and simple, but between the two of you- you were the only one with hours of anxiety-filled Google searches under your belt and for now, that would just have to do.

His eyes shot back up to yours, searching your gaze for a moment before nodding, “Okay, My Sun… anything you ask…” he promised. And he did, anything and everything you asked of him he was quick to get, whether it was more pillows, washing the blood from his face, or giving you his hand so you could break it as you squeezed.

Your contractions began getting closer and closer until they were only mere minutes apart. Pain ripped through every fiber of your muscles, every shard of your bone, and every cell of your organs as your baby girl squirmed to be free. 

“I can’t… I can’t hold her in anymore…” you said wearily, your hair probably this way and that, but all you knew was how tired you were already. Your eyelids hung half-lidded as you looked up at him, pressing his cool metal hand further into your flushed cheek. You were a mess, you were damp all over and red in the face and grouchy beyond belief but you were still a shining sun in the vibrant sky of his blue eyes.

He nodded and quickly moved between your legs, not letting the sight phase him as he readied himself exactly as you instructed. He was going to be calm for you, despite the way the assassin inside him yelled that he was unprepared. He had done plenty of missions with only a sliver of knowledge to go on- he wouldn’t let it stop him now.

“You’ve done great, My sun. The long part is over and now you have just a little bit more,” he said, giving you words of encouragement- just as you instructed. “You're going to do amazing, and I know that she is going to be as perfect as you in every way,” Despite your request for encouragement there was nothing but complete honesty in his tone. He believed every word he said to you and for the first time in this entire pregnancy, you truly thought you could do this too. 

It took only 4 pushes and the cost of feeling in the Soldier’s fingers before the most blessed cries filled the air. Your baby’s sweet chubby face wailed the world’s sorrows as the Soldier held her delicately in his once-bloodied hands. Despite her red face and angry cries, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He would have taken down a hundred agents- a thousand if it meant he got to see her face for the first time again. 

“Моя прекрасная девочка... Несмотря на то, что ты плачешь и кричишь с первых вдохов, ты - самое замечательное существо, которое я когда-либо видел. [My beautiful girl… even though you cry and scream with your very first breaths you are the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen],” he whispered to her writhing little form, quickly cutting and tying the cord before wrapping her snuggly in your jacket. Her cries quieted and her kicking feet slowed to a stop as the soothing rumble of his voice reached her ears- almost as if she recognized it. 

After a few more frustrated grunts, her formerly closed eyes slid open. Radiant blue’s gazed back at him, like a still ocean they seemed to reflect his own perfectly. “У нее мои глаза... Дорогая, у нее мои глаза [She has my eyes… Darling, she has my eyes],” he looked up at you with a joy so innocent you could never have imagined the things he had done in his lifetime. There was another piece of him in the world now, a piece beyond the bloodshed and dark shadows he knew- something clean and new, and perfect.

Your heart swelled beyond measure as you watched the Winter Soldier hold his tiny daughter, his gaze filled with adoration as if he had never known anything less. He was a sight to behold as he leaned in, his forehead resting gently against her little one as she gazed up at him in wonder.

Despite the tiredness you felt deep in your bones you fought hard to stay awake, utterly transfixed by the scene before you. In all your life you couldn’t have imagined today going the way it did, but you couldn’t have asked for a better end to it. 

As you watched the once fearsome Winter Soldier laugh as she gripped his finger with all her might, you could think of nothing to do except pull your phone out and snap a photo- you were going to cherish this photo forever as a memory that would always last.

__________

Bucky Taglist:

@writingmysanity@simpxinnie@mirtaqueen@blackhawkfanatic@mcira@aagn360@nialiuwanderlust@waywardhunter95 @goldylions

thanks to everyone who wanted to be tagged this chapter! If you want to be added to the general Bucky taglist please DM me!

[hollyseb]

BARTENDER (PART 4)

You need to make ends meet. How far are you willing to go?

Warnings; violence, blood, swearing

No permission to copy my work

AN; thank you for all the love. And the story will get saucier i promise!!!! Also, happy new year :)))

Part 3 here: https://www.tumblr.com/hollyseb/738091620032987136/bartender-part-3

“There’s been a hit placed on your girl. $10,000. Dead or alive.”

Fuck.

The mobsters from the other night, the ones he beat, must’ve seen him shield you from their attack. Fuck.

The blood in Bucky’s ears was thumping. He could no longer hear Steve. They were going to kill you.

Bucky pushed past Steve, shouldering him out the way, running to the lift. He was disgruntled, fearful, his hair sticking to his forehead, before turning around to Steve.

“Steve, I need you and Sam to organise a watch schedule. She will be surveilled 24/7, and then I need you to contact Rumlow. I’m going to kill him with my bare hands.”

Bucky couldn’t get out of his office fast enough, rushing into the underground garage and into his blacked out Mercedes. He tried to ignore the way his hands were shaking as they locked onto the steering wheel, speeding towards your apartment block.

You had just gotten home, unashamedly lightly touching your lips. He’d kissed you. That was the best kiss you’d ever had. You’d just sat down on your sofa, reaching for your phone to message Nat about the encounter. Your front door was kicked down with a bang.

What the fuck? Your head whipped around to the door, practically jumping out of your skin at the commotion.

It was Bucky. You could tell he was distraught, “you know you could’ve just knocked, right?”

“Honey, you need to come with me right now”, he rushed over to you, cradling your face in his hands. Relief was pouring from his body, his eyes raking over you for damage.

“W-what? Bucky, I’m fine? What’s going on?” Your eyebrows furrowing at his panic.

He was lifting you from your sofa, “go and pack a bag, you need to stay with me for a little bit”.

You pulled your hands out of his, “Bucky, what is this? You can’t just bust into my apartment and-”

“Go and pack a bag. And come with me. Now.”

What the fuck? You didn’t like this. The way he was pushing you. But he had a desperation you hadn’t seen in his eyes before. Was he… scared? You just nodded, grabbing a duffel bag and packing your clothes.

Bucky was scoping your apartment, checking outside the window, his hand on his left trouser pocket. He was erratic.

You emerged from your bedroom, Bucky grabbed the duffel bag from your shoulder, his hand wrapped around your waist as he guided you out of your apartment, he was holding you plush to him. You were finding it difficult to walk. He couldn’t take his hands from you.

He placed you in the passenger seat, buckling the seatbelt for you. He rounded his car, before speeding off.

“Bucky, I want to know what’s going on.”

“Just… just wait okay. We’re going to my house. I’ll tell you everything when we get there, okay? The most important thing is that you’re safe”, he reached across and gently laid a hand on your knee. A sharp, calm contrast to how he was acting.

He was just so relieved he had managed to get to you.

The drive to his house was quiet, other than his mobile ringing off the hook.

He pulled up to this house, you couldn’t see it at first. It was completely gated, and the garden fenced with tall trees. The driveway was long, and you couldnt help the gasp that escaped your lips when his house came into view.

It was huge. Gorgeous. Simple but eloquent. The garage opened automatically and again, he helped you out of the car. You tried to stop yourself from ogling his other cars. God, how rich was this man?

He guided you into the foyer, a high ceiling with a huge chandelier. Sam and Steve were standing in the centre of the room, around a table, pieces of papers scattered everywhere, both completely enthralled in what was in front of them, lifting their heads to give a stern nod to Bucky when they saw you.

They were looking at maps, blue prints, criminal records, identifiers. You’d never seen them so serious. You knew something was wrong. Terribly wrong. You were itching for Bucky to tell you.

Bucky guided you up the stairs, into the master bedroom. It was simple, but cozy. Grey hues, with books scattered around. A huge wardrobe with you assumed held all of his suits.

“Please sit, and I don’t want you to panic”, you could only nod in response as you sat on the edge of his bed.

He kneeled between your legs, rubbing circles into your knees, “Honey, those men from the other night. They have… they want to … take you.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

“They have placed a hit on you. They saw you with me, and they are using that as leverage”, the words barely sounded in your ears, he could see the panic rising in your face, “but look, you’re here, I’ve got you. You’re safe, as long as you’re with me”

Bucky explained the security system in his home, the bodyguards, the cameras, the protection. You were overwhelmed. And scared. What would they do if they got their hands on you?

You couldn’t help the fearful tears that threatened to fall.

“No, no, no honey, don’t cry”, Bucky stood up, still crouching to meet your eyes. His hands rising to cradle your face, and wipe your tears with his thumbs.

“I’m just scared Bucky”, your hands shaking.

“Shhh”, he pressed sweet kisses into your hairline and he wrapped his arms around you. He hated how scared you were.

Bucky whispered, about how he was going to protect you, how Sam and Steve were tracking down the assailants to take them out. He instructed you to get changed, still sitting in the skirt and sweater you wore to meet him earlier. That felt like a lifetime ago.

You tugged your clothes out your bag, a cozy set to try and smooth yourself.

Bucky left the room so you could change. You didn’t want to admit it but you felt a little less safe with him just standing outside the door.

Despite the weight of the topic at hand, he couldn’t help the stiffening of his cock at the sight of you sitting on the edge of his bed. So innocent, so small. He wanted to devour you. He could see your nervousness, the way you lightly perched in the corner. God, he wanted you in the middle of the bed, spread, your hair falling around you like an angel.

When he knocked on the door, you were tugging your hair from your sweater. He thought you looked beautiful.

You followed him downstairs, back to the room where Sam and Steve were scheming.

“How you holding up, bartender?” Steve said, a soft, supportive smile on his teasing face.

You couldn’t help but smile, “I’m fine, really. I think it’s this guy that you need to be worried about”, you motioned to Bucky, standing in the kitchen, shoulders drawn with tension and jaw constantly twitching.

He looked over his shoulder and sent you a small smile while Steve smirked. He had never seen Bucky so stressed.

He walked over and pulled out a chair and motioned for you to sit down, returning with a hot cup of tea in his hands and placing it beside you with a hand on your shoulder. He rounded the table to sit with Sam and Steve.

It was magnetising, really, the way he was so involved in his work. Instructing Steve to produce blueprints of the warehouse they assumed the opposing mob was inhabiting, and the way he instructed Sam to devise a discreet plan of entry. He was so… dominant. Leading. It was… hot. I wonder if he’s like this in the bedroom.

You tried to shake the thoughts, and the way you couldn't take your eyes off of him, reminding yourself the reason you were here. You turned your focus to the tea.

Bucky was constantly looking towards you, checking you were okay. He smiled when he noticed your eyes becoming droopy. You were tired. You felt safe enough with him to let yourself drop off. He adored it. It was… unexpectantly domestic.

He nudged you, “come on honey, let’s get you to bed.”

You nodded into his chest as he guided you back to his bedroom, peeling the covers back for you and helping you step in, “I’ll be downstairs, come down if you need anything, okay?”

You could only nod, your eyes heavy with sleep. You were exhausted, overwhelmed… and very comfortable. The sheets smelt like his cologne, as if he had his arms around you.

Meanwhile, Bucky, Steve and Sam were downstairs, quietly discussing and scheming how they were going to take down this mob once and for all. He knew they would never stop coming for you after they had seen how much he cared.

Tonight. It had to be tonight. Before more people recieved wind of the hit, and to show others what happened when they messed with Bucky.

They stacked up their guns, loading them into the back of the matte black SUV. Sam and Steve were built for these moments.

You softly drifted off to sleep, until you heard the floor creak open. You barely opened your eyes, assuming it was Bucky back from the warehouse. You expected to feel a kind hand rub your shoulder, or maybe a kiss pressed into your hairline. When a hand was placed over your mouth and nose, your body instantly kicked into overdrive, gasping for air and flailing under the hand.

Your legs kicked out at the tall man, as his other hand worked to grab your wrists.

“Shut the fuck up, you little bitc-“, the gritty voice seethed.

You could feel yourself becoming light headed at the lack of oxygen. No, no, no, no. You began to pass out. Where the fuck was Bucky?

AN; next chapter is ahhh!!!!

TAGLIST

@melsunshine @scott-loki-barnes @differenttyphoonwerewolf @mrsevans90 @kandis-mom @blairbibi @pattiemac1 @urmom222 @km-ffluv @casa-boiardi

[thebeast-dennis-etcetera]

The One

Prompt: Hours away from your wedding, you visit Gibbs, needing to ask him a question that’s been on your mind for years.

Various family members had come in and out of your room, helping you get ready for your wedding that was set to happen in 6 hours. It wasn’t a big venue, just mainly close family and friends and their plus ones. The location was a botanical garden your fiancé’s parents had decided on, even after you had voiced that you preferred it in a small church. During most of the wedding planning you didn’t get much say at all, all of it being organized by your future mother in law who felt she knew best.

Your fiancé was too submissive to go against his parents wishes, not wanting to ruffle anyone’s feathers at the cost of making you feel unimportant.

You looked at yourself in the mirror, hair finished as your curls fell over your shoulders and sighed. Something was keeping you uneasy all morning. You could just blame it on cold feet but that wouldn’t explain why you couldn’t stop thinking about a certain someone that wasn’t your husband to be. You looked down at the multiple unanswered texts you had sent him throughout the day, telling him you really wished to see him at the wedding.

He was your friend of 5 years, you two met on a joint operations case between the FBI and NCIS. The both of you kept in touch, meeting up for a quick cup of coffee and chat almost every week. You would be lying if you said you never thought of him more than just a friend but for whatever reason, it never exceeded friendly conversations and occasional late night cafe dinners. The last thing you wanted was to ruin your friendship by catching feelings that most likely weren’t returned.

4 years later and multiple bad breakups later, you found the one you wanted to marry. Or at least think you did. Sure, the two of you weren’t as compatible as you’d like but it’ll work itself out with time, right?

Another big sigh from you, it became clear what you were gonna have to do. Getting up and dressing into something casual, you grabbed your keys and left your room. No one stopped to see where you were going, all too worried about whatever task they had been given by mother in lawzilla, so getting in your car and leaving went smoothly.

The drive wasn’t long as you pulled into the quiet neighborhood and parked just outside his house. His old truck parked in the driveway told you he was there as your hands suddenly became clammy with nervousness. You got out of your car and made your way up to his door. You knew it was unlocked and all you needed to do was walk in but you were frozen. You hadn’t thought your plan all the way through and now your head was filling with doubts.

As if your body knew something you didn’t, your hand opened the door and your legs carried you in. Surely, he had heard you come in so there was no turning back now. The house was quiet except the sound of power tools being used from down below.

The floor creaked as you walked towards the basement and began to descend the stairs. You were going to call out his name in announcement but he was already standing there looking up at you. Dressed in a plain blue plaid button down and some cargo pants slightly dusted in wood shavings, it was a good look for him.

“Hey Jethro,” you started.

“Hey Y/N.”

You made it to the bottom of the stairs and continued until he was only a few feet in front of you.

“You haven’t been answering any of my texts.”

He licked his lips and looked down guiltily before responding. “I know.”

Feeling antsy, you walked over to the boat and ran your hands over the newly sanded edges. He took that time to grab two small glasses and pour 2 fingers of his whiskey in them, handing you one.

You took a bigger sip than necessary, hoping it would help the building anxiety.

“I can’t believe I’m getting married in less than 6 hours,” you said, leaning against his workbench.

“Lucky man,” he responded flatly.

“Is he?” He gave you a look of inquiry. “I mean we don’t have that much in common. His parents don’t really like me and..”

You stopped, refraining yourself from finishing the sentence and took another sip of the whiskey.

“I don’t know. I mean did you think your ex wife was gonna be the one when you married her? Marriage is a big deal, you don’t just go and marry anyone. What’s so special about me?”

“I don’t think I’m the one to ask about marriage,” he said with a short chuckle. “But I’m sure he has many reasons why you’re special to him.”

“I don’t know Jethro. I never really thought in depth about our relationship until now. It almost feels as if the last year and a half was a blur, nothing standing out too much. Our relationship isn’t like what they describe in all the romantic books and movies. Sometimes I feel like he’s more of a platonic friend than fiancé.”

“Then why say yes to marrying him?”

You didn’t have a straight answer for his question. The proposal had gone so fast and in public, you didn’t have much time to think about it without looking like you were gonna say no.

“I don’t really know. Because it was the logical choice? We’ve been together for almost 2 years now.”

He shook his head and swirled the amber liquid in his mason jar, taking a step towards you.

“You don’t marry someone because it’s logical Y/N. You marry them because you can’t see yourself with anyone else and want nothing more than to spend every day coming home to them. You marry all of their traits that you fell in love with, including the weird ones. Marriage is a team effort and if you aren’t both absolutely on the same page, it’ll never work.”

Tears welled in your eyes, his words making you realize just how dumb you have been. You knew your fiancé wasnt your soulmate. You had more in common with Jethro than him. And that’s what bugged you the most. Being best friends with the person you wanted something more from and not having the courage to say anything. But now it’s time. It’s time for you to know if there could’ve been anything between you and Jethro.

“I just need you to answer one question Jethro. Is there something more between us than just being friends? Because every time I’m with you, I can’t think straight. I enjoy every moment we spend together and can’t wait for the next one. You always make me feel so happy and cared for but am I alone in those feelings?”

He sighed and finished his drink, turning to walk away.

“Don’t ignore the question Jethro! Please. Just talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say Y/N? That I’m jealous that your boyfriend of 1 year gets to marry you instead of me? He doesn’t know you. He doesn’t know that you like to look up at the stars at night when you’ve had a bad day at work. He doesn’t know that you actually have a PhD in science but don’t tell anyone because you don’t want to feel like you’re better than anyone else.”

He turned back, now headed your way, confessions continuing to spill from his mouth.

“I bet he doesn’t notice the way you arch your eyebrow when you’re lying. Or how you pour half a gallon of milk into your coffee after adding a cup of sugar. You’re right Y/N. There is something more between us but it’s too late. You’re gonna marry him and I’ll be there for you just as your friend.”

You let the tears fall, elated and heartbroken at the same time.

“But I want to be the one,” he said cryptically, /settng his whiskey down.

“One what?” you asked as he came closer, causing your breath to hitch.

“The one to kiss you before he takes you away from me,” he breathed, closing the gap between the two of you. Almost reflexively, the glass you had dropped to the floor and overcome with so many emotions it made you light headed, you kissed him back, holding onto him for support. One hand on the back of your neck and the other holding you tight, your tongues met and danced with each other until both of you were out of breath.

Both of you let out heavy breaths as you pulled apart but he didn’t let you go. He placed a gentle kiss to your forehead, your nose, your jaw and your neck, making your eyes flutter closed. He then released you and took a step back. His words and actions had changed everything.

You couldn’t get married now knowing what you knew. You weren’t sure how to put it into words but something told you that Jethro knew that as well.

“Thank you,” you finally answered. You were sure your makeup was ruined from all the crying and stress but it didn’t matter any more. You pulled him in for a hug, arms wrapping around his neck and just breathing him in. Without hesitation, his arms held you close again. Yeah, you could get use to this.

[allthelovehes]

Easter Egg Hunt

Summary: Just a little blurb about Harry and Y/N having an easter egg hunt with their little niece.

Pairing: Harry x reader

Word count: 1.3K

Warnings: Pure fluff

Taglist: @justmystyles @bitchybabyharry @harrysslut7 @swiftmendeshoran @lucasandharold @harrysbabycherry @htaylor18 @rose-garden-dreamz @myalovesharry @mellamolayla @hsonlyangelxo @yousunshineyoutempter @heartateasee @blueheisenbergtragedy Let me know if you want to be added to my taglist! 🤗

Support my work by joining my Patreon!

A/N: My plan is to post content every weekday for the next four weeks so bear with me lol. We are starting off slow ;)

Masterlist

“Let's get these.” Harry says as he picks up a bag of small Easter eggs. He is so excited for this year's Easter as Gemma's daughter, Hailey, is finally old enough to go hunting for Easter eggs.

“Those are way too small for her.” Y/N says and points at the package he has in hand. “Here, try these. They're just the right size.” She then hands him another bag that has bigger chocolate eggs.

“These will look huge in her tiny hands.” He laughs and puts pack in their cart. “What else do we need?”

“Baskets.” Y/N says and starts to push the cart towards the next aisle.

“I'll grab a few. Do you want the wicker ones or plastic?”

“I think we should go with plastic they last longer.” She looks over at him. “And then we can still use them when we have kids.”

Harry's head snaps up to meet her eyes. “Really?” His voice cracks as he asks.

“Well yeah, I mean one day. We talked about this and I thought that was the plan.”

“We are, but I didn't know if you were ready to talk about having kids.” He says as he picks up some of the plastic baskets.

“It's not like we have to do it right away. But we should be thinking about it. We should probably start looking for a new house before we start a family.”

“Y/N.” Harry says, stopping her from grabbing any more candy and pulling her into his chest. “Are you serious? Are we really going to start looking for houses and have a family?”

“If that's what you want.” She smiles up at him and then looks back over at their cart. “Do you think that's enough candy?”

“Oh god, Hailey is going to eat all of these and then throw up all night.” He laughs and wraps his arm around her shoulders as they make their way back towards the cashier.

“I'm sure Gemma will have enough common sense to not let her eat them all at once.”

“She is her mother's daughter, so I wouldn't be so sure.”

Y/N giggles and shakes her head. “Maybe you're right, but she's a kid, they're supposed to have candy.”

***

It's Easter morning and they are on their way to Gemma's house for the big hunt. Y/N is holding the basket in her lap and playing with the ribbon while Harry drives. He's been watching her out of the corner of his eye and is smiling the entire time.

“What's on your mind, love?”

“How cute our kids are going to be. Hailey is such a cutie and I can't wait until we have one.”

“Yeah.” Harry sighs. “Me too.”

“Have you thought anymore about moving?”

“I have. I'm not sure if I want to live in London anymore. I was thinking we could find a house near Gemma, so our little one can grow up with their cousin.”

“Harry, that would be so sweet. I bet Gemma would love that.”

“Me too.”

“Okay, so after Easter we should start looking.”

“Deal.” Harry smiles and pulls the car to a stop.

Gemma is standing in the driveway with a smile and waves to them. Little Hailey is standing beside her, excited to welcome her favourite uncle and aunt.

“Uncle Harry!” Hailey yells as she comes running towards them. Harry jumps out of the car and kneels down with his arms wide open for her. She runs straight into his arms and wraps her little ones around his neck.

“Happy Easter, Bunny.” Harry says and hugs her tightly.

“Where's my hug, sweet girl?” Y/N says with her arms outstretched.

“Aunt Y/N!” Hailey smiles and lets go of Harry. She walks over to her and gives her a quick hug. Y/N wraps her arms around her and picks her up to carry her inside.

“Wow, you're getting big, aren't you?”

“My mummy said I'll be as tall as you soon.”

“Oh, did she?” Y/N laughs and nods her head.

“I can't wait. I can't wait for the egg hunt, and then the chocolate.”

“Are you sure you're not excited about the chocolate?” Y/N laughs and sets her back down when they get into the living room.

Harry goes into the backyard after he greets Michal. Anne and Darren are supposed to arrive any second now and knowing how excited Hailey is, he wants to have the hunt set up so they're ready to go. He scatters the eggs and hides a few little stuffed bunnies for Hailey to find.

“Look at my pretty girl.” Anne says as she enters the living room. Hailey's face lights up when she sees her grandma and she rushes over to her. 

“Granny!”

“Hey, baby. How's my beautiful girl doing?” Anne picks her up and kisses her cheek.

“She's excited for the egg hunt.” Gemma says. “You're the last ones here, so let's get it started.”

“Where's Uncle Harry?”

“He's setting up outside. Are you ready?” Y/N explains and Hailey nods her head as she squirms in her grandmother's arms. Anne carries her outside and Harry greets his family. Most of the treasures are hidden in plain sight as Hailey is only three, so he didn't want to make it too difficult for her.

“Ready, Bunny?” Harry says as Anne puts her with both feet on the ground.

“Yes!” She beams before her little feet start running towards the first egg she sees. Everyone takes a seat and watches Hailey scurry around the yard, picking up every egg she can find. Harry makes sure to stick close to her, in case she trips he is right there to pick her up. Every time she finds an egg she runs over to show someone. When she finds a small bunny she squeals and runs over to Y/N to show her.

“Oh wow! That's a really good find.”

“Thank you.” Hailey smiles and then takes off again.

When all the eggs are found, Harry brings the basket full of candy inside and Hailey sits down on the floor. All the adults gather around her and watch as she digs through her basket. She picks up each egg, inspects it, and then sets it back down. Her little tongue is sticking out as she concentrates. She does the same thing with each and every egg. She's so focused on finding the biggest one, not even the chocolate is tempting her.

“Hailey, what are you doing?” Gemma asks as she sits down beside her.

“Trying to find the bestest egg.”

Y/N is helping Anne in the kitchen to prepare the Easter brunch. They are keeping an eye on the ham in the oven while the rest of the food is on the stove. Darren is sitting at the island drinking his coffee while Harry and Michal are setting the table.

“Mummy, it's hard!” Hailey whines and pouts her lips.

“What's wrong, sweetheart?”

“I can't open it.”

“Let's save it for after we have some proper food.” Gemma tells her, taking the chocolate from her hand and putting it back in the basket. She sets the entire basket aside and helps her up off the floor. “Go wash your hands and then we can eat.”

After a big brunch and a lot of candy, Hailey is getting tired. She's lying down on the sofa with her head in Y/N's lap, nearly falling asleep. Harry sits down next to her with his arm draped across her shoulders.

“I can't wait for us to have a little one like her someday.” He whispers into her ear.

“Me either.” She smiles and leans her head against his shoulder. “You'd be the best daddy.”

“And you'll be the best mummy.”

“We'll be great together.”

“Yes, we will.” Harry says and kisses her cheek.

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Strawberries and Cream Presents: ✨Garden Variety✨

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x Reader

Word count: 3k

Notes: You ever just…. Stare into the distance, while eating chicken fried rice and go… “Imma right another mini episode instead of finishing six”

Eddie is lying on his back in the driveway, it’s the morning so no one is really home anymore so he can make some noise. He’s got everything laid out neatly, all his tools in order, a little sample of your favorite shade of pink paint, and the instructions in hand. 

Too bad the instructions are stupid.

It’s all pictures and very minimal words and you’d think that would be great! But it’s not because do you put the little disky thing first or not

“Good morning Edmundo!” 

Eddie sits up, flipping his sunglasses back down over his eyes as he gets up off the ground 

“Good morning Mrs. Bennett” Eddie waves as he walks over to the older woman. They’d been his neighbors since he’d moved into the place and they were sweet, very nice, and helpful. He’d had dinner at their place often. Not to mention Mrs. Bennett was the only person he knew who called him Edmundo. 

“What’s going on here?” She gestures with her cane and Eddie sighs, putting his arm around her waist to hug her but also steady her a bit. 

“I’m trying to put together a raised garden bed for my….uh friend. She’s moving in today and I just thought this would be a nice little housewarming gift. I know how she feels about her plants” 

“Your “friend” huh?” She scoffs “That little thing we’ve seen coming in and out of here in Buck’s Jeep?”

The Bennett's loved Buck. Even he’d come over for dinner sometimes. 

Eddie’s cheeks flush and he rolls his eyes playfully 

“Yeah, my friend and coincidently Buck’s cousin” 

She huffs at the word friend again and he chuckles under his breath 

“A pretty girl like that, and you’re calling her a friend” she scolds him and he facepalms 

“Well I really do have to be getting back to work,” He says sassily, purposely ending the conversation and she hits his leg with the tip of her cane 

“Go get your lawn chairs for me and William I’ll be back” She turns to walk down to her house and Eddie follows her 

“No really it’s okay, I hate to “ 

“You’re not gonna be able to put that thing together by yourself. Go do what I told you to do”

She wiggles her cane threateningly at him and he puts his hands up 

“Alright alright I’m going” 

Eddie is just setting up a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses on a mini table when the Bennetts come walking about his driveway. Honestly, he’s surprised they’re both almost in their 80s when they barely look 70. Mr. Bennett is a bit more spry than his wife but god she makes up for that in attitude. 

“Good morning Eddie” He waves as he helps his wife walk up the driveway, she fusses at him to let her go but he doesn’t and it makes Eddie’s heart flutter

They’re cute sometimes. 

He’d bought these lawn chairs specifically for them actually, they were high enough that neither of them had to sit very far down and comfy enough that you all could sit there for hours talking, just like they liked. 

“Good morning Mr. Bennett” 

“My wife tells me you’re failing at putting together a flower bed for your girlfriend? Man we thought you’d never get a girlfriend” 

“Eliza!!” Eddie yells and she cackles while grabbing her lemonade cup 

“She’s not my girlfriend! She’s my friend”

“You mean that pre-“ 

“Yes! That “pretty little thing” that comes in and out of here in Buck’s Jeep is his cousin and my friend” Eddie finishes Mr. Bennett’s- William’s sentence and stresses friend again. God, they love to roast him constantly 

“His girlfriend’s moving in today so we better get started,” Eliza says and whacks Eddie’s butt with her cane. He sits on the ground, handing the instructions to William because he knows these two and there is absolutely no fighting them

“Tell us all about her! And why neither of you has introduced her yet” 

“You can meet her today for sure. And we didn’t mean to not bring her over, it’s just been kinda go go go these last few weeks you know? Ever since I met her there’s not been a dull day” 

Eliza and William look at each other as Eddie grabs a couple more boards 

“She’s so funny and very intelligent, I think you’ll like her. And I swear she’s the sweetest girl I’ve ever met, that's why I call her Sugar Cube. I’m a little excited about her moving in… I like being around her you know? Things are kind of brighter when she’s here. She also has the biggest attitude I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. She acts all shy and demure and then karate chops me out of the way for the last slice of pizza”

The Bennetts watch the way he talks about you, sharing a look with each other. 

Yeah. You’re totally not his girlfriend. 

“Have you made enough room for her in your closet? You’re gonna have to utilize your spare room closet that’s for sure” William says as he hands Eddie the hardware in the right order and his mouth drops open 

“She’s not moving into my room! She’s using the spare room!”

“Why would you put your girlfriend in the spare room” William asks 

“Maybe they want to make sure they have space. Moving in is a big deal” Eliza answers him and Eddie grumbles as he drills the two boards together 

“She’s got her own room because we are not dating” William hands him another set and he keeps working “Buck doesn’t exactly have the space for her… and I do”

“Get ready for her to redecorate your entire house” William snickers and Eliza glares at him 

“I don’t care if she does, I’m sure it’ll look good anyway. She has good taste”

“She’s dating our boy, of course, she has good taste” Eliza pats his shoulder and he lets his head fall against the boards 

“Yup! She is! And she’s got great taste!” He gives them a thumbs up, completely giving up on trying anymore. 

“So have you decided what flowers you’re gonna get her?” Eliza asks as she looks over the pretty pink paint 

“I thought she’d want to fill it on her own, she’s got like a tiny forest at Buck’s place” 

William shakes his head as he holds the boards in place for Eddie and Eddie’s eyes wander over to Eliza who’s giving him a hard stare 

“Is that… not what I should do?” He looks at them and she shakes her head 

“Hurry up with this we’re going to Home Depot when you’re done” 

“Yes ma’am” 

After putting it together, which actually was easy once William got him on the right track, Eliza helps him paint it while William puts the tools away 

“I hope she likes this shade, I know she wears it a lot” 

“She’ll love it. It’s pretty cute! Have you thought about putting something on it?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“William and I have some white paint left over from when we all painted the den last month. It’s in the garage, go get it for me” 

She takes Eddie’s paintbrush from him as he goes jogging over to their house. He steps into the garage, finds the can pretty easily, and grabs an extra brush from the work table before walking back over. William and Eliza are whispering about something and he narrows his eyes 

“What are you two planning?” He asks as he sets the can down and sits back down on the ground, accepting his brush from Eliza 

“Oh, nothing. Just married stuff, none of your business” Eliza tells him, finishing up her sides of the bed. William gets to work finishing installing the lining and Eddie finishes painting the legs 

“Alright, when we get back I’ll finish up with the white. Go wash up Eddie and meet us over at our house once you’re done”

“Yes, ma’am” Eddie salutes her as he heads into his house. 

Eddie sits in the backseat of their Toyota Highlander, their car is nice and very clean. He has no leg room but it’s a short drive anyway. He always enjoys their company, he even teaches William how to hook his phone up to the Bluetooth system at a longer red light. 

They pull into the parking lot and Eddie opens Eliza’s door, helping her out. She takes his arm and they walk straight to the home and garden section while William goes to find a cart 

“Now we’re only gonna get a couple, just as little starters for her so she knows you care about plants too. Even though you clearly don’t, I’ve seen your hostas” 

“Hey! I take care of them!” 

“No honey, I do” She pats his arm as they walk through the large rows of flowers. She points out a few that are pretty and some that will come back yearly 

“Hey, what about this?” Eddie walks over to a pretty hibiscus bush, it’s literally not anything they’re looking for but he just seems so enamored by it “Oh she’d love this” He says softly, holding one of the blooms in his hands “They’re her favorite and I know she doesn’t have any…”

He picks it up, looking it over“Maybe I can put it next to the bed for her. You think she’d like that?”

William and Eliza are standing together, watching him and how happy he looks hugging the giant plastic pot to his chest 

“Yeah, I think she’d really love that,” William says, putting his arm over Eliza’s shoulders 

Eddie puts it carefully in the cart with the other dozens of flowers (some that Eliza is sneaking home for her own garden) and goes off to look for a cute pot to put it in 

“I don’t think I’ve seen him that in love in all the years we’ve known him,” William says as he kisses Eliza’s head 

“No, I don’t think I have either” 

Eddie is kind of starting to get into this, and he picks flowers for his own beds too, ones that he wants to leave to plant with you so you guys can have something to do together. He knows how much you love gardening. They fill the cart with all kinds of different colors and types, and he learns way more plant-based things than he’d ever thought he’d know in life. 

But it makes you happy, and he’s more than happy himself to learn to take care of things you love 

Once they all get home they pull into Eddie’s driveway and he smirks. As much as this shopping trip was for him… it was definitely also for Eliza, who gets a playful scolding from William.

As soon as they’re done hauling Eliza’s plants over to her front yard and Eddie dumps the soil bags into the bed, he checks the time, wiping his hands on his pants 

“I don’t know if I’m gonna finish in time… I’ve gotta get to Buck’s soon”

“You let us worry about this, you’ve done enough. Go wash up and wear something nice, show a little skin 

“Oh my god” 

“I still have to add the white anyway, and I’ll plant the flowers for you because lord knows they’ll be dead if you do it”

“It’s literally putting flowers in the dirt!” Eddie protests and she pats his shoulder, steering him toward his house 

“I know honey. Now go get washed up” 

Eddie comes out of the house again a half hour later and walks over to the Bennetts. William is planting the flowers while Eliza is panting on the front of it 

“Is this to your liking?” He asks sassily as he holds his arms out, doing a little spin for her. 

They both look up at him and William chuckles, breaking up the soil pod on the geraniums. 

Eddie has on a black tank top, it’s not tight like he normally wears, it hangs on him, showing off his arms and more of his chest than normal, his black sweatpants hang low on his hips but they’re tighter on his legs. He puts his hands in his pockets 

“I feel like a slut” 

“Perfect”

“Eliza!” Eddie groans and gestures to William 

“I didn’t marry her 'cause she was tame,” he says, carefully planting the geraniums. 

“I’m leaving now” Eddie rolls his eyes and turns away, walking over to his car. 

“Thanks, guys… honestly” he waves and they wave back 

“Anything for you! Go get your girl!” 

Buck pulls into the driveway just as Eliza and William are finishing planting the flowers in a corner of the bed. He hops out of the car, literally leaving it running, and goes running over to the Bennetts 

“William!! Eliza!!” He yells as he hugs them both 

“I haven’t seen you guys in weeks!!” He puts his hands on his hips and William chuckles, patting his shoulder  

“That’s because you stopped coming over” Eliza scolds him and he puts his hand on his chest 

“Don’t blame me!! Blame Y/N! She has my car constantly!! Has Eddie introduced her yet?” 

“No, he hasn’t,” Eliza says in a cheeky tone. “Already yelled at him for it too!”

“He says they were just friends?” Buck asks in a low voice and Eliza nods 

“Didn’t believe him for one second” 

“Watch how he introduces her” Buck giggles as he offers his arm to Eliza and they walk over 

You’re still in the back seat, giggling about whatever Eddie said. He’s holding the frame of the car and leaning in, kissing your nose 

“Whatcha guys doin'?” Buck says cheerfully and Eddie pulls away fast, turning around 

“Ummm nothing” He steps aside and helps you from the car, and you brush off your shorts, standing in front of him. He shuts the door and puts his arm around your waist

“Y/N these are my neighbors and close friends, William and Eliza Bennett! Uh… guys this is my second “ he looks at Buck who nods happily “Best friend, Y/N” 

“Hi!! It’s nice to meet you” You back into Eddie a little shyly and he smirks down at you, holding you a bit closer to him Buck rolls his eyes sighing loudly 

You shake their hands and talk for a little, it’s very pleasant and you’re happy to meet them, though admittedly it feels like meeting Eddie’s grandparents. 

“So you’re dating our boy?” Eliza asks and Eddie pinches the bridge of his nose. You freeze a little, feeling your cheeks flush, and Buck snickers 

“Uh n-no! We’re totally just friends” You put your hands in front of you, shaking them “We are just friends” 

“Right… right” Eliza nods and Eddie’s mouth pops open. 

“Oh come on! You’ll believe her?!” 

You giggle and stick your tongue out at him and he swats your butt, your mouth drops open and your eyes nearly pop out of your head with how wide they go 

“Edmundo Diaz!!” You hit his chest and he takes your hands, laughing as he holds them to his chest. Buck walks by with a box in his hands 

“I literally have to deal with this daily you guys. Eddie can you show her your surprise so she can help me unpack the Jeep” 

You perk up, beating on his chest for an entirely new reason “Oh yeah!!! My surprise!! Can I see it? Please, please, please?!” 

Eddie turns you around, covering your eyes with his hands 

“Alright come on, walk forward” 

“How do I know you’re not gonna try and kill me” 

“Literally why do you think that every time” He walks you over to where they’ve placed the flower bed and kisses your head 

“Alright ready?” 

“Ready!!! Come on!!!” You squeal and he chuckles 

“Alright, you big baby” he uncovers your eyes “Surprise!” 

You stare at the pink flower bed, with beautiful white swirls and flowers painted on… and the name Diaz in large calligraphy right across the front 

“Oh Eddie it’s beautiful” You whisper, you’re eyes tearing up a little and he blushes deeply, scratching the back of his head 

“Hey, I can’t take all the credit. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Bennett’s”

“Nonsense,” Eliza says behind you both and you turn around 

“It was all completely Eddie’s idea! I just happen to write better than he does” 

You hug her and Mr. Bennett anyway, thanking them both profusely, and turn around, walking over to it. You get on your knees and take a closer look at the details. They’re so pretty. You smile at them and turn around when something catches your eye 

“Oh my god!!!” You screech and Eddie flinches 

“Jesu- What??” 

“A hibiscus?!?!!” You cry as you crawl over to it and hug the pink pot to your chest 

“Oh my god, I totally forgot I bought that”

You get up and run over to him, jumping into his arms and knocking you both down, he laughs loudly as he holds you tightly to him while you pepper kisses all over his face 

“You’re the bestest friend I’ve ever had in my entire life” You squeal and Buck barks out a laugh as he piles another one of your boxes into the front porch 

“Yeah! Because I tackle my friend over and kiss him when he gives me gifts!” He shouts over to you two and Eddie tilts his head back looking at him 

“Buck, you literally do this all the time! You did this like last week when I bought you new sunglasses as a gift because you broke your old ones”

“Oh yeah…okay never mind this was a terrible example Carry on” 

Eddie sits up with you in his lap, squeezing you tightly 

“You really like it? I just wanted you to feel at home”

“I love it!!!” You hug him back just as tightly and kiss him passionately, mussing up his hair and he grins against your lips, loving the way you tug gently 

You pull away and nuzzle your nose against his “I already love living here, thank you” 

“Well fuck if you’re gonna kiss me like that, I need to give you presents more often” 

Buck puts his hands on his hips, staring at you two in the grass 

“Okay. Well, now I know I sure as hell didn’t kiss you like that!!” 

[heavyhitterheaux]

Teenage Woes

First Babies of Private Garden Fic

Synopsis: You and Jack need to get on the same page when it comes to disciplining your three oldest children

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

Requested by: a gorgeous anon 🥰

First Babies of Private Garden Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

The car ride was absolutely silent as you pulled out of the parking lot of the triplets high school and started to make your way back home. You were fuming on the inside and decided that you would let them have it once all four of you got home.

Jack was due to be home later that evening since he had to fly to Boston for an event over the weekend and told you that he would be back today. You were kind of hoping that he landed early so that he could hold you back from ripping your three oldest children a new one. They knew that you were pissed off and didn’t dare utter a single word.

You were five minutes away from the house when you finally broke your silence.

“I just find it funny how not one, not two, but all three of my triplets that I carried for thirty three weeks and gave birth to decided to all get suspended for five days on the exact same day.”

“But…”

“Axel, did I ask you to speak? I don’t think I did.”

“Mom, we….”

“If I didn’t ask Axel to speak, what makes you think I asked you Ivy?” You asked her while looking at her in your rearview mirror and she immediately looked down.

Once you pulled into the driveway and turned the car off, you turned to all three of them and told them to get out.

“Get out of my car and go sit in the living room because I am about to tell all three of you about yourselves.”

All three of them did as they were told and you walked into the house to see your husband already sitting in the living room. He looked at your face and then the three of them before looking down at his watch and seeing that it was only noon.

“Umm, what did they do?” Jack sighed before resting his head on his arm as he leaned on the couch.

“Oh, just wait until you hear this. Ivy decided that she would talk back to her teacher and cuss her out and explain to her what she was not going to do in class today, Axel was caught smoking weed in the bathroom with Anthony, and Autumn decided that she was going to fight another girl knowing that she is already failing all of her classes and already on thin ice with us as it is. Oh, I forgot the most important part, all of them got suspended for five days.”

“What the…. What is wrong with the three of you? I mean seriously?” Jack asked while having a look of disbelief on his face.

“Daddy….” Autumn started to say, but you immediately cut her off.

“No, do not ask daddy to come and save you like you always do because this takes the damn cake. I have had it up to here with the three of you and how you have been acting and I’m not going to deal with it any longer. We are literally doing the best that we know how in order to raise you to make good decisions and look how that is turning out. So, Ivy no going out with Damion, Ax, no soccer games and you can absolutely forget about going to Anthony’s birthday party., and Autumn. I don't even know because you were already grounded so let’s just add another month on top of that. No cell phones, no driving, no laptops, no tv, no ipads, and no allowance. Autumn already has a part time job and the two of you will get one too. I honestly think all three of you wake up in the morning and you’re like okay what can we do to stress out our parents today? And none of you better open your mouth to speak because you will meet Jesus earlier than expected and you know I’m very good at keeping my word. Forget about knocking all three of you into next week, I’m knocking you into the next century if you even fix your mouth to open.”

When you were reprimanding the triplets, you didn’t notice how Urban, Jess, and Blanca had walked in and slid in behind you and sat next to Jack and all they did was look over at him wanting an explanation, but all Jack did was shake his head. 

“Babe, just relax for a second.” You heard Jack say from behind you and you turned around to look at him in disbelief.

“Are you serious? Did you not just hear what they did? How can I relax when I am convinced that the three of them want to give me gray hair.”

“Well daddy already has it.” You heard Ivy mutter and quickly shot her a look.

“He’s had it since we were twenty so it doesn’t count. And anyway don’t all three of you have homework to do? Give me every single electronic device and your car keys. It worked out that neither of you drove to school today and who knows? You might not even get these keys back until you’re twenty. Better yet, I have no hesitation to sell your cars and make you work and save up money to buy your own.”

“MOM! Seriously? Dad, help!” Axel exclaimed while looking over at him.

You shot Jack a look and he quickly held up his hands in defense.

“You literally always let her do this! She never lets us do anything and it seems as if we have to ask you if we want something because nine times out of ten she’s going to say no. Daddy’s my favorite parent for a reason.” Autumn said to him and you were about to get on her, but he quickly did. It definitely hurt what she said and you were staring at her in disbelief.

“I do it because I care about you!” You exclaimed in response, but she just rolled her eyes.

“Could’ve fooled me. People in prison get treated better than we do.”

“Oh no the fu-....” Jack quickly got up and put his hand over your mouth before trying to take hold of the situation. 

“Because all three of you don’t know how to act sometimes and it’s beyond me as to why. When you leave this house, you’re not only representing yourselves, but us and we for damn sure raised you better than this. You don’t even realize the sacrifices that your mother had to make for all three of you so the fact that you continue to be disrespectful towards the both of us needs to be dealt with. You can do whatever the hell you want when you’re out of my house, but until then as long as you’re under my roof, you will abide by my rules. Ivy, we have always told you to respect authority so you cussing out your teacher was one that I did not see coming and you will write a letter to her and apologize for what you did. Axel, out of all places you decided to smoke in the bathroom where there are vents and the smell can carry and not to mention that you literally smell like a walking blunt and I smelled it before I even saw you. Autumn, do it again and you are not going to like what is in store for you. Try me if you want. What you said was uncalled for and you need to start with an apology to your mother.”

“I’m not apologizing if I don’t mean it. You two taught me that.”

You immediately got flashbacks when you and Urban had gotten into a disagreement which had the two of you at odds and it was months before either of you spoke to each other. Because he had said the same exact thing to you.

“Autumn Danielle…” Jack said, but you immediately cut him off.

“No, babe. It’s okay. She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t mean it, but she should just know that there are children in this world who would do anything to have someone care about them as much as I care about the three of them. But since you’re their favorite parent, you can deal with them. I’m taking my youngest children shopping once I pick them up from school since they’re the only ones that I have that appreciate everything that I do for them.”

“No it’s not okay! You didn’t carry them and give birth to them to be disrespected!” Jessica said and you turned around to look at her since you didn’t even know when she got here.

“She didn’t even push us out, we were cut out.” Jack did a double take to look at Autumn who had her arms crossed and all Ivy did was cover her mouth with her hand as Axel’s eyes went wide.

“Disrespect your mother one more time in front of all of us and I swear that I’m going to need bail money.” Blanca added while Jack was running his hands through his hair clearly frustrated with how they were all acting. 

All she did was remain quiet because she knew that both of her Aunts would have no hesitation to set her straight.

“I’m absolutely done.” You said without another word as you took the steps two at a time. Jess and Blanca were going to follow behind you, but wanted for you to have a few minutes for yourself.

“Jack, get your kids before we do because it won’t be pretty if you don’t.” Urban said while looking at all three of them and shaking his head. 

“I was going to try to get your mother to cut down on you being grounded, but not anymore. Autumn, the fact that you opened your mouth to even say that is beyond me. Do you not even know how dangerous a c-section is? Shit, even being pregnant is dangerous and you said that out your mouth like it didn’t mean anything. I’m so disappointed in all three of you and that is something that I never thought that I would say. She does all of this because she cares and loves all three of you and always tries to do things that are in your best interest. When I’m not here, who keeps the house in order and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks? She literally does everything you need her to and the three of you are so damn ungrateful. As of right now, none of you are going on our family vacation. If you want to change my mind, you need to earn it. For right now all three of you need to bring me every device you have including your car keys and get out of my sight.”

A few days later, you saw Axel with his phone in his hand and you were staring at him in disbelief not understanding where he had gotten it from since you had made it clear that all of them were grounded for a month.

You didn’t say anything, but simply went downstairs to the studio where Jack was. He heard your footsteps and knew that it was you and quickly turned around in his chair to greet you, but that went out the window when he saw the look on your face.

“Baby?”

“Why does Axel have his phone?”

“Oh, I gave it back to him. I gave Ivy hers too. And I told Ax he can play on Saturday.”

“Why?” You asked again, waiting to hear an explanation.

“I just…. Autumn is the one we need to be hard on, not the other two.”

“But all three of them got suspended so I’m not understanding.”

“Babe, they don’t need to be grounded for a month for that.”

“Why is everyone in this house so against me?” You asked while crossing your arms and looking at him.

“Baby, that is not true and you know it.”

“We have to be on the same page. If one of us decides on a punishment, but yet the other one goes and tells them that it’s fine and can have all of their things back, how does that make me look?”

“I-... I was going to ask you about it.”

“When? It looks like you clearly already made a decision.” You said while throwing your hands up in disbelief. 

“Baby, please. I don’t want to fight or argue with you. I’ll fix it, okay?”

“You know what? It doesn’t even matter. Since no one wants to take me seriously this is what you’re going to do. Go and get every single electronic back from them and put it in our room and you can use your fucking hand for a month. Everyone in this household has me fucked all the way up except my youngest babies so yall can fend for yall selves. Don’t ask me to cook, take them anywhere, help with anything because clearly what I say doesn’t matter.”

“Now wait a minute, babe!”

“No. I’m done. I’m going on a girls trip with Jess, B, Taylor, Saweetie, Sza, Megan, and Normani. I am leaving tomorrow morning. Do not call me, do not text me. You’re the favorite so you should have it down pact. Figure out what to feed your spawns for dinner because I’m going to pack.”

“BABY!”

Without another word, you slammed the door to the studio and went up the steps to your shared bedroom and began to throw things in your suitcase while putting all of the details in the group chat. 

About ten minutes later, Jack opened the door with Axel and Ivy’s phone and car keys in his hands. You didn’t even acknowledge him as you continued what you were doing.

“Baby, I’m sorry, okay. I know we have to be a united front when it comes to them.”

“It’s fine, Jackman.”

“No it’s not because you used my full name. You’re pissed at me.”

“All I try to do is be a good mother, but clearly I’m not doing a good job so….” You said while throwing one of your bras in the suitcase and starting to cry.

Jack quickly embraced you as you cried into his chest. He rubbed your back soothingly as you continued to let the tears flow.

“You’re an amazing mother and it’s just typical teenage behavior. They’ll see how much you did for them when they’re older, I know that they will.”

“I sacrificed so much for them and this is what I get in return? Disrespect?”

What you didn’t know was that Autumn was in the hallway and heard you since the bedroom door was slightly open.

“I always put everyone else first and I have done it since I was a teenager. First with you then with PG and now with them but I get it because they’re my kids but when is it going to be my turn?”

“Everything is going to work itself out because it always does but you need a break and cannot keep doing this to yourself. You deserve to be put first just like anyone else in this house and I’m sorry that you feel that way because I’m obviously not doing my job as your husband. I told you that years ago. If you ever feel that there is something that I can do better, I want you to tell me.”

Your back was facing the door and since Jack was still hugging you, you didn’t see Autumn slightly open the door and attempt to make her way inside. Jack quickly shook his head no at her as you continued to cry and she slowly closed the door and made her way back down the hallway to her room. 

She could admit that she said what she said out of anger and she knew deep down that you did only want what's best for her. She had no idea how to begin to apologize to you since she also cringed when she thought about when she said that her and her siblings were cut out and not pushed out.

She had been in the delivery room for the last pregnancy and stared on in amazement at how strong her mother was. She had to come up with a plan in order to apologize to you and would get her siblings to help her do it. 

When Autumn had woken up the next morning, she quickly went downstairs to hopefully see you in the kitchen to talk to you but looked confused when she only saw her dad and him feeding her youngest siblings.

“Dad, where’s mom?” She curiously asked while looking around.

“In Aruba.”

“What? Since when? For how long? I need to talk to her.” She was lowkey starting to freak out because she didn’t want this going on any longer than it had to. 

“I think you’ve done enough lately. You can talk to her when she comes back. In two weeks.”

“But that’s too long! Why can’t I just call her? Doesn’t she have her phone?”

“She does, but you don’t and I’m not giving it to you and you aren’t using mine. You don’t even know how bad you hurt her with what you said.”

“I know, that’s why I want to talk to her and apologize. I… she does so much for me. Both of you do and I’m sorry for the way that I’ve been acting.”

“Do you know that she had a miscarriage before she had the three of you? We were scared the entire time she was pregnant hoping that it wouldn’t happen again. I still remember the day before her c section when we left the doctor’s office to make sure everything was okay and all she started to do was cry. She was crying because she was happy that she carried the three of you all the way up to when you were due to be taken out. She essentially put her career on hold, the both of us did in a way to be able to take care of the three of you.”

“I… she never told me that. Can you help me plan something nice for her when she comes back?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Daddy, come on. We all know the way to mommy’s heart is a Birkin bag.” 

“The way you’ve been acting we’re going to need at least ten of them and you'll have to do a lot more than that to get back in her good graces.”

“I… good point.”

Liked by jackharlow, urbanwyatt, taylorrooks, 2forwoyne, nlechoppa, champagnepapi, quiiso, and 2,038,182 others

y/ninsta: jackharlow added SpongeBob in that first pic lmao

Aruba living with my girls 💕

jackharlow: I mean I thought it was a nice touch, but um... can you come back already?! I miss you. DAMN MY WIFE IS GORGEOUS. 😍 autumnharlow: but he doesn't miss you more than I do and eww dad jessicakelce: autumnharlow could've fooled us smh urbanwyatt: tell Yasmin to answer her phone! softtcurse: urbanwyatt no. girls only. see you in two weeks blancahood: yasss! multiple babies where?!?! face card never declining! jackharlow: autumnharlow what the? how are you on here when I took your phone? and how do you think you got here?! autumnharlow: grammy let me use hers jackharlow: autumnharlow log out now or I'm adding another week autumnharlow: jackharlow fine. axelwyatt: mom, dad is feeding us peanut butter chicken again jackharlow: axelwyatt not you too. LOG OUT. y/ninsta: axelwyatt hmm not so fun without me huh? ivyharlow: mommy please come back because I cannot take another second of your husband's cooking jackharlow: HOW ARE ALL THREE OF YOU ON HERE? CLAYYYY! claybornharlow: little baby is hereeee! y/ninsta: claybornharlow my only baby that doesn't give me a headache smh jackharlow: Y/N! SERIOUSLY? jackharlow: claybornharlow you're behind this aren't you? claybornharlow: the triplets volunteered to wash my car so...... jackharlow: claybornharlow I'm grounding your ass for a month too smh claybornharlow: jackharlow I heard that you got grounded for a month also 👀 urbanwyatt: wait! they need to wash my car next! jackharlow: claybornharlow I'm on suspension there's a difference jessicakelce: he can look but can't touch lmao jackharlow: JESS! NOT HELPING! umm babe, I'm catching the next flight out maggieharlow: jackharlow no. you are not leaving me with all of your kids. wait until she comes back. druski2funny: damn mama harlow said hell nah lmao 2forwoyne: PG, I'm getting flashbacks neelamthadhani: NO quiiso: some things never change, last time it was only a week, now she's gone for two? jackharlow I know you're getting on yall kids nerves with how much you miss your wife jackharlow: and? they're the reason why she took the girls trip in the first place so they have to deal with it. y/ninsta baby.... can you come back a day early? y/ninsta: jackharlow I'm turning off my phone smh I love you and my children but HELL NO

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Damn Those Dog Tags - Part 5: Everybody Wants To Rule the World

📜I'm so sorry for being AWOL. Sitting for two days at a conference for strategic planning for the first time in 3-4 years is extremely exhausting. I swear, if someone utters those words any time in the next few months, I will lose it. Mental burnout is the culprit for the late delay, so I made this one slightly longer because of that. Hopefully, you enjoy this part!

Beware the warnings!

❗️18+, strong language, angst, talk about a death of a parent/sibling, talk about abusive family members/partner, talk of an abusive relationship, godmother reader/original female character, and sexual themes.

# 6k+ words

Part 4 | Masterlist | Part 6

“What do you want to eat on our hike, Bug?” you shouted down the hallway from your bedroom door. 

You were attempting to multitask, coming up with ideas for lunch for your hike with Sadie while ripping through your closet for something to wear. Finding something you wouldn’t overheat in tomorrow was proving to be a challenge. 

Her voice echoed from somewhere in the house. “Ham and Cheddar, please!” 

“You don’t want to vary it up?”

For ages, Sadie had always asked for Ham and Cheddar sandwiches on hikes. No matter how often you offered to get her something else, she'd never change her mind. It didn’t surprise you went she offendedly called back, “No way, nothing beats ham!” 

Then she begged, “Can we get sour keys, too? Please?” 

You shook your head, “Only if you promise to eat an apple on the way there!” 

You thought you heard a grumble before she finally called out, “Fine.”

Chuckling to yourself, you went back to pulling out hangers and glancing through your sweaters. Settling on a brown button-up, your mind shifted towards what Sadie could wear as you put everything you had lazily thrown on your bed back in your closet. You cursed when a cardigan came off its hanger, falling to the bottom of your closet and wedging itself between miscellaneous boxes and running shoes. Huffing out a breath, you bent down to pick it up, pulling at the red material to find the tag at the back. Then you saw it out of the corner of your eye. 

The shoebox. 

It was the one thing you could never put in the storage locker with the rest of her things but could never bring yourself to open.

The box was calling out to you, sticking out amongst every single thing littering the bottom of your closet. You were unable to move, your eyes tracing the red tape covering its edges, its mere presence fixing you to the floor.

You knew what it contained, but you could never bring yourself to open it. Even as your hand flexed forward, fingers unconsciously stretched out, causing your cardigan to fall again to the floor. 

No, you couldn’t open it. Not yet. 

“Come on, we need to pick up the basket from Aunt Penny’s!” Sadie’s voice echoed down your hallway. 

You slammed your closet door without a second thought. 

___

It wasn’t unusual to see the Daggers at Penny’s house.  Pete often called on them to help with random tasks, whether it be repairs to her house, gardening, or even assisting in decorating. As soon as you parked, Sadie noticed Rooster’s Bronco in the driveway, shooting out of her seat and sprinting inside Penny’s open front door like she hadn't seen any of them in years.

You caught the tail end of Sadie's shout for Penny as you walked through the door, Penny's reply of 'In here' from her kitchen causing Sadie to backtrack out of her family room and down the hall.

You followed her, seeing Penny spin from her spot in the kitchen and affectionately call out, “Sadie Bug!” as Sadie wrapped her arms around her waist. Penny pressed a kiss to the top of her hair, the sight warming your heart.

A hammer thumped somewhere from outside in her backyard caught your attention. Peering out her back window, Phoenix was nailing a wooden beam into the floor of Penny’s back deck, Mav helping to hold them in place. You spied Bob and Coyote working on the garden beds next to it. Then your eyes caught Jake sitting on a bench, sanding down a piece of wood from the pile next to him.

“What are they doing?” you asked her.

“The railing on my deck collapsed a few months ago with the storm. Pete asked if they could help. Made it some team-building thing,” Penny shrugged.

Give it to that man to turn anything into a team-building exercise, you thought. Sadie let Penny go, eager to go look out the back window.

Spying the picnic basket on the table, you walked over to open the top, only to find a bag of sour keys tucked safely inside. You shot Penny an amused look, who simply shrugged and replied, “They’re her favourite.” 

“Did you kick anyone else out yesterday?” you joked. “Any angry customers I have to watch out for?” 

“I didn’t have the manpower. Coyote and Jake didn’t stick around for long after you left. I think Jake got lucky with that girl in the blue dress.” 

So Jake picked up where he had left off and spent the night with that girl from the bar. Having Penny confirm your suspicions made you feel uneasy. You really didn’t have the right to feel upset about it. Who Jake decided to spend his nights with was his business. You knew his reputation the moment you met him. What did you say to him? He was a wham, bam, thank you, mam? 

Clearly, whatever happened with the dart at the Hard Deck was a one-off.

Penny’s voice pulled you from your thoughts. “You want to stay for lunch? I have enough food to feed the rest of Top Gun.” 

Nodding, you picked up a few of the plates sitting next to the basket and brought them outside, Penny and Sadie following with napkins and utensils. You were about to ask what else she needed help with before you spied Rooster coming around the side of the house, a skinny piece of wood slung over his shoulder. 

“Can you watch Sadie for a second?”  you asked, never taking your eyes off him. “I got a bone to pick with Rooster.” 

Penny’s eyes widened, looking down to Sadie. It was going to get ugly. There was no question.

“Come on,” She urged Sadie, wiggling her fingers as she reached out for her hand. “I’ve got sandwiches I need help making and could use a partner in crime.”

“You mean you don’t want me seeing my Aunt rat out my uncle for something.”

“That too.”

Jake was in the middle of sanding down a piece of wood when he heard your voice crack like a whip across Penny’s deck.

“Lieutenant Bradshaw!” 

Rooster turned immediately, looking up to see you standing on Penny’s deck, hands on your hips, and an angry scowl etched across your face. 

“Oh shit,” Bradley grimaced, the piece of wood dropping to the ground. The rest of the Daggers snickered and whistled in response as you loudly stomped down the steps.

Jake stood up and crossed his arms, a smug smile on his face as he watched Rooster panic. Bradley swivelled on his heel, looking for an escape route. Finding it in the path Penny had carved out to the beach, he booked it. He didn’t anticipate Jake blocking his path, even as he tried to go around him. Any way Rooster went, Jake followed, stopping him from leaving.

There was no way Rooster was going to escape whatever you had planned for him.  

Hey,” you angrily called out. “I have a bone to pick with you!” 

Rooster pleadingly looked to Jake, only for him to shake his head, glancing between you and Rooster.   

“Don’t look at me,” Jake replied, still smug. “This is just getting good.”

“Asshole,” Rooster muttered, bowing his head in acceptance. Grabbing Bradley by his shoulders, Jake turned him, placing a hand between his shoulders to roughly push him out to greet you. 

Jake attempted to shoot you a warm smile as you made your way over to the pair, but for the brief second you met his eye, you seemed set on ignoring him, even with Rooster at the end of your rath.

“Courtney Slack, are you out of your freaking mind?” you yelled, smacking Rooster upside the head, who winced. “Her daughter bullied the hell out of Sadie. How could you?!” 

Rooster stepped to the side, holding his hands out as he started walking backwards. “Liz, she came on to me. I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“Turn on your heel!  Walk away! Find Lyssa, I don’t know! But flirt with her?” you shouted. 

Bradley figured staying silent was the best, risking him saying anything else that would make you upset enough that you’d threaten to revoke his Sadie privileges, not that you would. 

“What was the rule?” you pointed your finger into his chest, “The one rule I gave for you to pick up Sadie from school.”

Bradley stretched his arm up, scratching the back of his head as harshly exhaled, “Don’t flirt with Courtney Slack.” 

“Don’t flirt with Courtney Slack!” you repeated back, throwing your hands up. 

“Even I know that Rooster,” Bob pipped up from his spot next to Penny’s flower beds. 

“Not helping Bob!” He called over his shoulder.  

“How could you, Rooster?!” 

“Yeah,” Jake spoke from behind him. “How could you, Rooster?” “Stay out of this Hangman. This doesn’t concern you.” 

“Uncle Roo!”

Sadie’s voice, not that you would admit, was a welcome relief. The minute Sadie said his name, everyone watched as she launched herself off the deck, sprinting toward Bradley with her arms outstretched. Bradley stepped away from you to reach for her, picking her up and spinning her in a circle as she laughed.

“Aunt Penny said I needed to come to save you,” she said, hugging his leg once he put her down. Bradley pressed a hand to his heart, dramatically leaning back as he shouted, “I’ve been saved!” 

Pressing your head into your hand, you let out a loud groan. The rest of the Daggers laughed, returning to whatever they had been doing before you showed up.

Sadie smiled at your reaction, knowing Rooster would get off easy for whatever he was in trouble with now she was present. But then her eyes landed on Jake, who was smiling down at her fondly.

"Hangman!" She called out excitedly, much to the displeasure of Bradley, as she let go of his leg to stand in front of Jake.

"Hey, Bug! How's the math homework?"

"My tutor is still an idiot," she grinned up at him. "Only this time, I proved it! I corrected him!"

“Alright!” He exclaimed, giving her a high five. You couldn't deny he was good with her.

"Whatcha doing here?" he asked her.

"Picking up a picnic basket. We're going on a hike tomorrow."

"A hike. That sounds like fun."

"Why don't you come with us?"

Oh shit, there she goes again.

You could tell Rooster was gobsmacked. Nobody was invited on your hikes, not even himself or Natasha. Hearing Sadie’s invitation was just another indication that you ignored every warning the squad had given you. Sadie was just as willing to play along with you.

Sadie looked up at her uncle, “Are you having trouble crowing, Uncle Roo?” 

“Sadie!” 

“What? He looks as red as a Rooster!”

The last thing you needed was Jake Seresin interrupting what would have been a peaceful day, thinking of absolutely nothing. Certainly not the blonde pilot standing before you. 

“I’m sure Jake’s busy, Bug,"  you offered for Jake, who was looking between you and Sadie somewhat judgingly.

“Why? He has no friends.” 

You gawked at her. Her audacity never failed to surprise you. Shooting Sadie a look, you urged her to join you. She shuffled her way over, arms crossed and her face stern. 

“Really?” you asked her. 

You weren’t about to tell your ten-year-old niece Jake had plenty of friends to keep him company, especially at night. But she glared at you, placing her hands on her hips in a matter-of-fact way, before sarcastically replying, “Do you honestly think someone like him has real friends?”

“What about the Daggers?” you pressed her. 

“Rooster hates him, Auntie Nat calls him Bagman, and the rest want to take the nearest thing and whack him over the head.”

“He’s friends with Coyote?” 

“Uncle Javy is friends with everyone. That’s not the point.”

"Sadie, you just can't invite people at random to things this late notice."

"Please, Aunt Elizabeth."

Damn.

You could feel your resolve weakening. Rarely did she ever call you by your full name. You didn’t understand Sadie’s obsession with Jake, but when was the first time, besides befriending Will, did she feel this strongly about anyone? She really knew how to pick them.

You sighed, casting your eyes down to a piece of wood resting against Penny's new railing before meeting Jake's eyes.

“Wanna tag along?” you asked reservedly. “I promise I won’t hold it against you if you say no.”

Jake was still glancing between you and Sadie. He didn’t know what he did to make you act so cold towards him. Maybe you didn’t want him intruding on your time with Sadie.

But Sadie’s face was so hopeful, and he still wanted to question you on why you were so upset last night.

The look on Rooster's face alone was enough too.

“Why not? I’m not busy.”

___

You assumed Jake wasn’t serious about joining you on the hike, even after exchanging numbers and him texting his address.

But at breakfast, you were surprised he texted, asking you to let him know when you were on your way. The surprise only lasted so long. The logical part of your mind going it made sense he’d want to know. Your heart, however, wondered who he was shoving out of his bed before you arrived.

With Sadie bundled into your car in her red jacket, you drove to Jake’s apartment, pulling into the roundabout and sending him a text to let him know you were there. Sure enough, a few seconds later, he emerged from the building with a black hiking backpack. Sadie rolled down her window, sticking her head out the window as she shouted out his name and waved.  

Jake hopped in your car, uttering a greeting as he pulled his Ray-Bans off his face, turning to face you holding up a thermos with a smile. Coyote wasn't kidding when he said Jake wasn't a morning person.

“Coffee?” you asked. “Javy said you liked it black.”

Jake made an appreciative sound, reaching out with grabby hands and uttering a thank you as he took the first few sips. So far, so good, you thought as you pulled out of his apartment building and onto the highway.

While Jake loved music, he certainly couldn’t carry a tune to save his life. Sadie tried to hold in her giggles and keep her comments to herself as Jake belted out whatever was playing on the radio. You shook your head as you drove, window rolled down to feel the wind caress your face.

The hiking trail was only an hour and a half away, and after parking, you were eager to stretch your legs. Jake got out first, waiting for you to open your trunk and then unloading your picnic supplies. Of course, he went for the heaviest item, the picnic basket, but you slapped his hand, grabbing it before he could grasp the handle.

"No way, you're the guest," you had told him. He protested but quieted down when you allowed him to carry the blanket.

The three of you started on the trail, Sadie running ahead of you to peer up into trees and looking at the flower bushes while holding onto her camera.

“What’s with the polaroid camera?” Jake asked, watching as Sadie crouched down next to a bush, angling her camera at what you thought was a caterpillar.

“She loves bugs.” You shrugged as you walked. “She has this book where she puts all her polaroids and tries to identify them.”

"Do I sense somebody is a nerd?"

“So what? Everyone is obsessed with something."

"You're totally a nerd."

" There's no shame in being passionate about something, Jake," you sighed, swapping the basket into your other hand. "I could say the same about you and flying. You practically make it your personality."

Jake stopped in his tracks. "You did not just call me a nerd?!"

You laughed. "It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Hangman!”

Not bothering to look back to see if he was following you, you continued forward, watching Sadie pull back bushes and grab low-hanging branches as she searched for her next photograph. Then she stopped in the middle of the path, audibly sighing as she stared up a tree. 

“Bug?” You questioned. 

“There’s a cool butterfly I haven’t seen before on that branch.” She pouted. “And I’m too short.”

You were about to ask if she wanted you to take the photo before Jake suddenly surpassed you, stepping up next to her while trying to follow her line of sight. He lowered himself to the ground beside Sadie, resting on his heels.

“Where is it?” he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Sadie pointed with her finger. Sure enough, a blue butterfly was sitting on a leaf just out of reach of her and her camera.

“Do you trust me?” He asked her. She peered up at him with questionable eyes before nodding. As Jake stood, he hooked his hands under her armpits, hoisting her up and over his head. Sadie giggled as she flew in the air, coming to rest on his shoulders.

You could feel your heart jump out of your chest, watching Jake carefully step around stuck-out tree roots and sharp rocks, navigating himself closer to the butterfly so Sadie could reach up and take a photograph. When she grabbed the photo from her camera, she held it out for Jake, who took it to shake.

Sadie stayed on Jake’s shoulders for the rest of the morning. You hung back, watching the two interact. Sadie would point out bugs, and Jake would ask her questions about each and every one. Or she’d ask him about his accent, and he’d tell her about the ranch he grew up at. Coming to the spot you wanted to set up lunch, a grassy spot on a hill overlooking the valley, Jake and Sadie helped you set up the food. Jake unrolled the blanket dramatically, and Sadie dug around in the basket before triumphally holding the bag of Sour Keys in the air.

"Oh, give me those," Jake called out, making a show of faking an attempt at stealing them out of her hand. Sadie squealed, throwing her hand back and shouting. "No way!"

While you laughed at the two of them, you were suddenly struck with the idea there was a chance this may be the last time you could take Sadie on a hike. Even as the three of you ate, your mind raced with the worry something as small as an error in the paperwork for Sadie's guardianship could threaten to take away more moments like these.

When Sadie wiped her hands on the blanket after finishing her sandwich, scrambled to grab her camera and stood up, proclaiming she was going off to search for bugs, and you warned her not to get too close to the edge of the shoreline below, you fought to keep the worry from your voice.

She saluted you before turning on her heel, giggling while racing down the path to a grassy spot. You didn't laugh like you normally would.

All of this didn't go unnoticed by Jake, who finally decided he needed to let you know he knew, just by how much you were forcing yourself to smile.

“Liz, what’s going on?”

He caught the tiny downward twitch of your mouth as you faced him. He was sure you didn’t even know you were consciously doing it, even as you managed to ask, “What do you mean?”

“Coyote spoke with Penny. I know about the review.”

You swallowed hard, dropping your head.

“Tell me.” He encouraged.  

“I’m not sure what it means. It sounds like it’s just reviewing the paperwork. But it’s not an internal review. Somebody requested it on the outside, and they cannot tell me who.”

“Do you have any idea? Any at all?” 

“No,” you started to say, pressing your forehead to the back of your knee. “There’s nobody around to care about something like that.” 

“What about Sadie’s father?” 

You squeezed your eyes shut. Tyler was the one person you refused to speak about when you could. He was the person who shall not be named. The person who still, to this day, haunted your dreams with the threat he could still take Sadie away from you. The Daggers knew enough, but not the full story. They just assumed Sadie’s birth father was an absent asshole.

Sensing your hesitancy, Jake quickly doubled back.  “You don’t have to..”

“No, um, it’s okay,” you interrupted him, lifting your head and taking a deep breath. The words still felt difficult despite having told the full story once before, only to Penny. It was one that always left you more exposed to the world than you felt comfortable, even knowing you had nothing to be ashamed about.

But Jake? Telling him about that period in your life, you didn't know if you were about to self-sabotage what little friendship you built with him or let him know exactly what he was getting himself into.

 “Ah, Ridley got pregnant in her twenties. She had been seeing this guy while in nursing school. Same school as her and all that. There on some sports scholarship.”  You couldn’t bring yourself to look Jake in the eye as you recited the story. “I never approved of him, but she was my sister. She was so stuck in her ways. Then, one day, she came home with bruises, and I knew the fucker hurt her.”

The image of Ridley clutching her side in the front hallway of the house you both had rented close to her school came to mind, finding yourself stroking your wrist with your fingertips. She had come home late one night with a bruise around her wrist, eyes dry and rimmed red, as she struggled to even utter a single word to you without bursting into tears.

“A friend and I got her out of the relationship pretty quickly after that, but then she discovered she was pregnant," you sniffed. “I was there the night he found out, the asshole. Called her a bitch for tying him down and slammed the front door without another word. We never saw him since.. and she was terrified to do it on her own, but god, she wanted Sadie so badly.” 

Jake’s voice was solemn as he asked, “What about your parents?”

You played with the hem on the sleeve of your jacket. “We left home when our Mum died. My father… Well, it’s not a pleasant story.” 

Jake thought back to the night in your kitchen when he hesitated to tell you the story behind his call sign. Then your words echoed in his head.

“I’m not here to judge. Truly.”

He caught one side of your mouth turning upwards, eyes fixing on Sadie below. You finally managed to say, “Well, to state it plainly, he was… is a narcissist.”

There was no stopping you now. Just like the time you told Penny, once you started, the relief in telling another person was too great to ignore.

“We were never perfect enough, didn’t try hard enough. Any chance he got, whether it be a birthday party or a dinner or a vacation, he’d try to ruin it. Mom wasted away, thinking it was her fault when he was just gaslighting the three of us every chance he got."

You shook your head hard at your words.

“Last we managed to find out, he was back in his hometown. Shacking up with one of the women he cheated on her with.”

You smiled down at Sadie, watching her pull back a few stones in some of the wetter areas to see underneath.

“They don’t know Sadie exists,” your voice broke, the strength to hold back your tears becoming too much. “We swore Sadie would never have to face that trauma, face them, not as long as either of us could prevent it.”  

Jake felt you startle when he touched your back, slowly rubbing up and down to soothe your tears. It silenced you, the warm and unexpected comfort nearly making you crumble harder.

Coyote’s words to Jake in the car suddenly made sense, though he wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘fragile’ to describe you.

You were powerful, not because you feared what was to come, but because you went about things so strongly and kindly, despite having gone through so much. As much as he envied you at that moment, he knew he’d do whatever he could to help you keep your promise no harm would come to Sadie.

“Sorry,” you laughed sadly, reaching up to wipe at your face. “This probably isn’t how you imagined your Sunday turning out.” 

Where you thought Jake would have told you to suck it up, that it was in the past or you needed to let it go, he didn’t. Instead, he continued to rub your back, letting you compose yourself before quietly uttering, “I’m glad you told me.”

Needing to clear the knot in your throat at his reply, you reached for your water absent-mindedly. The minute you grasped the bottle, you felt something cool and scaly graze your hand. 

A scream clawed through your chest as you shot your hand back, scrambling backwards to escape, unexpectedly crashing into the side of Jake’s chest in a panic. Jake fell with a grunt, his arm that was already stretched out, pulling you to the ground with him in reflex. It made it so much worse, his arms holding you in place, trapping you in the path of one of your worst fears.

Jake rolled the two of you off the blanket, trapping you underneath him as he called out your name. It did nothing to calm your horror, squirming in his hold as you managed to gasp out, “Sn..snake! There’s a snake.” 

Jake turned his head, spying on the cause of your fear, uncoiling itself from your water bottle. It looked like a common garden snake, interested in the condensation from your bottle. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t encountered in the hay bales growing up on the ranch. Sure in his decision to reach out and pick up the hissing creature just below its head, he tossed it far enough in the opposite direction it wouldn’t be a bother again. 

Covering your face with your hands, your chest racked with sobs as you fought against your flight response. Eyes slammed shut, you thrashed back and forth against the ground. Even as Jake tried to calm you down, your mind still perceived the danger was still there, your emotions from before making it all that much worse.

“Liz, it’s gone,” he gently pulled your hands away from your face, placing them on either side of your head, holding them down into the grass. You whimpered, feeling exposed.

“Easy, Darlin,” Jake drawled.  “I got you.” 

Your breath caught in your throat as you felt Jake’s hand on your cheek, his thumb gently wiping at the tears pooling under your eyes. You froze, eyes opening at his touch, greeted by the sight of him staring down at you with concern.  

“Is it gone?” you asked meekly. Holding your face, his thumb gently tracing your cheekbone, Jake softly replied, “It’s gone.”

Nodding once, you blew out a breath, finally allowing yourself to relax somewhat. Jake still held the side of your face in the palm of his hand, and you found yourself leaning slightly into it.

You watched as he grinned down at you. His dimples were infectious as the heat rushed to your checks in embarrassment. Then he jolted, once, and then twice.

Jake was restraining himself not to laugh, shoulders shaking and corners of his mouth turning upwards. You bit your bottom lip to stop your smile, failing miserably to control your face as Jake finally allowed himself to laugh.

The whole thing was ridiculous. The thought of you freaking out over a silly snake and Jake having witnessed your freak-out was humiliating enough. But you knew he wasn’t laughing at you. He was laughing with you, your giggles matching his own as the pair of you lost it.

But as soon as the laughter died down, Jake was more than an inch and a half away from your mouth. His eyes were flickering over your face, searching, until they softly settled on your lips.

You could feel his breath warming your face, his body resting heavily against yours. Every time you took a breath to calm your remaining nerves, you could feel his chest, hard and sculpted, grazing against your breasts every time you heaved.

This thing happening between the two of you had no label. You knew nothing about him beyond what he told you and what Nat and Rooster had claimed.

Could you even classify Jake as a friend? Not since you’ve spent a better part of yesterday morning shopping for groceries listing all the reasons why Jake was bad news. Why he was unavailable. Why is he bad for you. Why he might have slept with the bartenders before you.

But then, Jake was leaning down, eyelids heavy the closer he got to you, hand moving from your cheek to cradle the back of your neck.  And you, tilting your chin up slowly, anticipating the moment his lips might finally meet yours. No hard deck bell, no Daggers, no voices in your head.

Jake was going to kiss you. And you weren’t going to stop him.

“Aunt Liz!” 

Wide-eyed, you quickly unrolled yourself out from under Jake, who pushed himself off you after hearing Sadie’s voice. You sat up just in time to see her sprinting up the hill, scared and stopping in her tracks to find the both of you. She picked herself back up into a run, arms stretching out the closer she got to you.

Collapsing into your lap, she threw her face into your shoulder. Her arms wrapped themselves around your body as she shook. You tried to shush her, running your hand up and down her back as she worked through her blubbering mess of ‘are you okay’ and ‘what happened.’ 

“It’s okay, Bug.” You spoke, holding her tight. 

“I heard you scream!” She gasped, shaking like a leaf and struggling to breathe. 

“We’re okay. It was just a snake,” you pulled back to place your hands on her cheeks, smiling softly at her. She scanned your face to find any indication that you were hurt or something was wrong. 

“A snake?” She sniffed, using her sleeve to wipe at her face.  “Is it gone?”

“Yes,” you nodded, turning to Jake. “I have my knight in shining armour to thank for that.” 

Sadie followed your glaze, scrambling out of your hold to throw her arms around Jake’s neck. “Thank you for protecting my aunt,” she said as she tugged him closer.

Jake’s face was a mess of emotions. Shock? Acceptance? Worry? You weren’t sure. But nothing could beat the ache in your heart when his arms slowly came up to return her hug lightly, his head dropping to her shoulder as he faintly managed to say, “Of course, Bug.”

___

On your journey back to the car, Jake’s hand occasionally brushed against yours as you walked side by side in silence.

That was until Sadie shouted out, “Wait!” as you walked past an overlook to the mountains. She shoved her polaroid at you before standing next to one of the safer flatter rocks overlooking the valley, slowly climbing up to sit on it. She hugged her knees, turned her head to view the scenery, then shouted, “Take my picture!” 

You shook your head, laughing while placing the basket on the ground. Jake’s face lit up in confusion as he stared at her sitting on the rock. 

“Pride & Prejudice.” 

“What?” he asked, turning to look at you as you started to position yourself behind Sadie.

“Ridley’s favourite movie. Ever since Sadie saw it, she’s been obsessed with the shots of Kierra Knightly standing on the cliffs.”

You lifted the camera up to your face before snapping the photo, pulling it away to grab the picture to shake it. Sadie climbed down, reaching for the printout with a beaming grin, only to pocket it with the others in her jacket and eagerly take off back to the trail.

Shaking your head, you reached down to grab the basket but found nothing as you grasped at air. Jake had beaten you to it, the basket now firmly being held in his hand. He shrugged as you glared at him.

Jake helped you pack the car back up when the three of you finally found your way back, getting Sadie's door and shutting it carefully behind her. He did the same with you, and as you climbed back into your car, suddenly, you realized you didn't want the day to end just yet.

“Hey,” you said softly, getting his attention once he had settled into his seat. “You have time for one more stop?”

___

Jake had no idea where you were taking him when you pulled off the main road and up a curvy hill into a densely wooded area, the road rough like it hadn’t been paved in years. He had to trust you knew where you were going, but it wasn’t until he reached for the ‘holy shit’ bar above the passenger side window he decided he wanted to be put out of his misery. 

“Where are you taking me?” 

You smirked gleefully, refusing to spoil the surprise. “I’m not going to murder you if that’s what you’re thinking.” 

“Liz..” 

“You’ll see.” 

Jake rolled his eyes. But the minute he saw the sign on the side of the road, he suddenly felt humbled. 

Stitches & Murray Thrift Store looked like a misplaced cabin that didn’t belong on the side of some random highway. White paint was peeling off the walls, strung lights had a few missing bulbs, some shrubs were overgrown, and there was a tree so desperately bare it needed to be removed. In lesser words, it should have been dead centre in the middle of some forgotten woods.

Sadie had taken off inside the minute you had given her the all-clear, whereas you took your time walking next to Jake, who held the door open as you reached the entrance, resulting in a bush spreading across your cheeks.

Whatever it looked like on the outside, the inside couldn’t compare, Jake thought. The place shouldn’t have been called a thrift store, with walnut-coloured floors and red paint on the walls, racks of interesting-looking jackets with the price tags still on them and creates of music lining a table. He thought he spied some first additions on the floor-to-ground bookcases spanning the entire wall. Even some Navy memorabilia was encased on the back wall.

He understood why you liked it here.

“So, this is the place.”

He watched as you lowered yourself down next to an old wooden crate of vinyl, pulling back the sleeves gently, your eyes lighting up when you came across certain ones.

“Ridley and I’s accidental discovery," You said absently mindedly as you flipped a case over to read the back. Putting it back, you went to stand up but lost your balance, Jake holding out his hand as you reached for something, if anything, to pull yourself up.

You shrugged almost shamefully once you found your balance, Jake still holding your hand longer than you could have deemed necessary. “They have the best vinyl here.”

“I ain’t complaining, darling,” he said, slowly letting your hand slide from his.

Jake followed closely behind as you wandered around, watching as your hand reached out to glide over the shoulders of brand-new coats on hangers, how you almost climbed a bookcase to look at a higher shelf, how your eyes looked for Sadie every two minutes.

You picked up an older pair of chromatic aviator ray bans, adjusting them on your nose before facing Jake, attempting a cocky grin and pulling your best impression of a Texian accent. 

“Hangman, best there is, don’t let my ego fool you. I’m only here to show you a good time.” 

Jake shook his head, both unimpressed by your antics and slightly amused at your attempt.  “I’m the best, Darlin. Don’t you forget it.” 

“What did you say to me before? You need to put your money where your mouth is?”

Jake smirked, stepping forward, intent on reaching for those sunglasses before a voice interrupted him.

“I’ll be damned, is that Ms. Lizzie Beck?”

Hearing your name being called, Jake watched as you pulled the glasses away, quickly whipping around to greet an older man with a wide smile.

“Hi, Mr. Murray!”

The older man approached you with a toothy grin, holding out his arms as he went to hug you. You went willingly, happy to see him.  

“How are things? How’s Margret?” you asked, returning the hug.

“Keeping me on my toes, that darn witch.”  You pulled back to smile at him, patting his arm before taking a step back.

“We heard about your sister. I’m so sorry, my dear. Such a way to go in a storm like that.”   

Jake saw you grip your forearm at his statement, nails digging into the fabric of your coat, body curling forwards just a bit as you nodded at him.

Sensing your discomfort, Jake quickly stepped up next to you, an arm wrapping itself around your waist as he pulled you into his side from behind. You stiffened but forced yourself to relax when you realized what he was trying to do.

Mr. Murray’s eyes fell on Jake, then back to you. You knew exactly what he thought when he saw Jake’s arm around your waist. Jake was drawing the attention away from Ridley and onto himself.

“Now, who is this handsome fella?”

“Mr. Murray, meet Lieutenant Jake Seresin. He’s a naval aviator stationed at Top Gun. Jake, Mr. Murry owns the shop with his wife.”

Mr. Murray held out his hand, Jake grasping it as the older gentleman solemnly stated, “Thank you for your service, son.”

Sadie was nearby listening to the conversation, spying Jake's tense nod with his arm around your waist as she looked at a panel of jean jacket patches on a stand. She was happy you gave in to her request of Jake joining the two of you, even if it appeared her uncle seemed against it. 

Jake liked you. It was obvious to her the second he saved you from that snake. And she thought you liked him, though yesterday morning proved you’d need a little more convincing than she originally thought.

She just wondered why everyone got sad when someone thanked her aunt and uncles when they mentioned they were in the Navy.

_____

Despite your conflicting feelings, Sadie’s instance of Jake suddenly being involved in things was playing on your mind as you drove home.

Dropping Jake off at home had been a quiet affair, you pulling into the roundabout in front of his building, he getting out to say goodbye at your rolled-down window.

“I had a good time,” He offered.

Stretching your arm across the edge of your open car window and resting your head back on the seat, you softly smiled, replying, “I’m glad. Sadie’s persistent.”

He looked behind your seat, Sadie passed out with her head against the window before resting his hand on your wrist, squeezing it lightly.  “Thank you for telling me. And for letting me come.”

You frowned. Did you really come off as that mean to Jake yesterday morning if he had to thank you for letting him come?

“I know I’m an asshole, but if you ever want to talk, I’m here.”

"Jake.."

He knew what you were going to say by the tone of your voice, yet he interrupted you, shaking his head. "Let me say the right thing for once."

You nodded. Squeezing your arm one last time, Jake retreated to the door of his apartment building, head down, and his bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Hey Jake,” you called out, watching as he turned around, a hopeful look on his face. “I hope you come next Saturday night.” 

He softly smiled. “Where else would I go on a Saturday night?”

The minute you arrived home, Sadie eagerly waited for the moment she could collapse into her bed, using every chance she got to yawn dramatically or drop her head to the kitchen table as if she would fall asleep again. After a quiet dinner, you tucked her in but found yourself pausing at her bedroom door before you decided to call it a night. 

“Hey, Bug?” You asked softly. 

“Yeah,” she sleepily replied, her back facing you. You pressed into the door frame, your voice low as you asked, “Why do you like Jake so much?” 

At first, you thought she didn’t hear you. But then she lifted her blanket and turned to face you, softly calling out, “They left him out.”   

“Who did, Sweetheart?” 

“Auntie Nat and Uncle Roo. I heard them at the campfire while you were washing dishes.” 

You sucked in a sharp breath. She continued, “They don’t want him near me or you. They said he is a bad person. That he will hurt us.”  She pulled the blanket closer to her chest, her voice muffled as she said, “I don’t think he’s a bad person.” 

“I don’t think so either, Bug. I think he’s just a complicated one.” 

“He deserves a chance, right? To know he has people that care. Like how everyone was there for us?” 

“Yeah,” you breathed out, trying to keep your voice from breaking. It wasn’t Sadie speaking to you at that moment. It might have been her voice, but those were your sister’s words. 

“He does, Bug.” 

Sadie snuggled deeper into her pillow at your reply, tugging her blanket under her chin as she yawned. “Thank you for telling me, Bug,” you said quietly. “Goodnight.” 

“Night, Aunt Liz.” 

Closing her bedroom door, you pressed your forehead into the wood. Ridley always believed everyone deserved a chance. It was the reason why she wanted to become a nurse.

It was what she taught you as an older sister. It’s what she clearly taught Sadie as a mother.

Hearing those words come from Sadie, it felt like Ridley was there standing with you.  Helping people was just who she was. Jake was a complicated person, but he did deserve a chance. As conflicted as your heart was about letting him into your life and Sadie’s, you couldn’t refute that.

After finishing your nightly routine, you went to plug in your phone while climbing into bed, noticing a text notification from Jake. Seeing his message, you couldn’t stop the giddiness from building in your chest. 

Attached was a photo of Sadie sitting on the cliffside in her red jacket. He must have taken it while you snapped a photo with the polaroid. Yet, while the photo was the reason behind your smile, it wasn’t responsible for the feeling in your chest. 

No, it was his accompanying message. Even if he looked it up, he wouldn’t have understood. The reference was far too specific for him not to have not seen the movie. So that night, you fell asleep knowing a little bit more about Jake Seresin than you did yesterday. 

The caption? 

Sadie on the top of the world.

For those of you who haven’t seen the film with Kierra Knightly, there is a scene where she is standing on a cliffside and a score called Liz on Top of the World plays. 

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Wickett ;)

[thepladinsheart]

betty (byler's version)

"Okay, okay, everyone settle down!" Mike laughed into his mic as everyone was still cheering at the last song they played. "We have a new one for you and guess what?" Mike asked as he quietly strummed his guitar. "It's a new one!" Mike dragged out the last "e" in his sing-songy voice.

As everyone cheered, he looked over to very far left of the stage to see his boyfriend, Will, in the very front row, as close as he could get to the stage. Just like he promised he would be.

Mike waved and looked back to the center of the crowd where a bright stage light was waiting to blind him.

"This one is called betty." Mike smiled and looked back to Will who smiled up at his boyfriend and started cheering again.

Mike looked behind him to make sure everyone was ready to play before he started singing.

"Honey, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom. But I think it's 'cause of me." Mike began then stepped away from for the mic to shoot another glace at Will, who was already staring at Mike in awe. He smiled and stepped back up to the mic, singing.

"Honey, one time I was riding on my skateboard when I passed your old house. It's like I couldn't breathe." Mike looked back, this time holding his eyes on Will like he was the only one there.

"You heard the rumors for El and you can't believe a word she says most time, but this time it was true." El? Will thought.

"The worst thing that I ever said, was what I said to you." As soon as Will heard this line sung in Mike's sweet voice, he somehow was back in Mike's driveway and somehow, it's summer of '85 and it's pouring down raining and Mike just said, "it's not my fault you don't like girls" right to Will's face. But wait, this song is about him.

"But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden?" Mike sang looking back to the center of the crowd, deciding that he was staring at Will for too long.

"in the garden, would you trust me if I told you, it was just a summer thing? I'm only seventeen. I don't know anything, but I know I miss you."

Oh, Mike and Will's first fight as an actual couple. It wasn't a "real" fight. They weren't mad at each other it was just a lot of miscommunication and angst. There might've been some yelling but there were definitely a lot of tears. Mike didn't know what to do he threw himself on his bed and Will's following him.

"I feel like I don't know anything anymore." Mike cries as he can feel Will's weight sink in the bed next to him. "We're only fifteen, we both don't know anything." Will says sweetly as he reaches out to touch Mike. "I know that I love you." Mike whispers, quiet and crushing. "I love you too. And that's all we need to know right now." Will scoops up Mike as he starts to cry into Will's chest.

Will was so deep into that though he feels like he gets thrown back to the place he been in all along as Mike sings. "Honey, I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playing from the far side of the gym." Mike looks back at Will and jokingly rolls his eyes.

Will knows why. He laughs because he knows how insufferable he was when they were both little, listening to "Should I Stay, or Should I go? By The Clash on repeat until he couldn't anymore.

"I was nowhere to be found, you hate the crowds, you know that, plus I saw you dance with him." Will laughed again, remembering all those times Lucas would pull him off the couch at the parties he would throw after winning his basketball game. "Wow, Lucas, lookin' good." Mike said in his sarcastic tone and acts like his jealous.

Mike sang the chorus again, sounding sweeter and sweeter to Will the more he sung. but everything in the room went quiet as Mike began the bridge and the music started to get faster.

"I was walking home on broken cobblestones, just thinking of you when she pulled up like a figment of my worst intentions. She said "James, get it in. Let's drive." Those days turned into night. Sat and talked to her but, I dreamt of you all summer long."

Will knew he was talking about everyone's favorite, Max. never calling Mike by his middle name because "James just fits him better" as she put it.

Mike ripped the mic off his stand and walked downstage to the very front of the stage all the way to the right.

He sings as he looks down at the people that were in the very front row, almost pushed up against the stage. "Baby, I'm here on your doorstep and I planned it out for weeks now but, it's finally sinking in."

He slowly makes his way back to the right center of the stage. Will's laughs because he walks around the stage singing like he's performing standup comedy.

"Baby, right now is the last time I can dream about what happens when you see my face again." Mike sings and looks up again, locking eyes with Will and inching closer to stage left.

Mike keeps his eyes on Will, not caring that anyone else in the room with them. "The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you."

"So, I showed up at your party." Mike stopped as he reached stage left, stopping in front of Will. She sat down on the end of the stage, right in front of Will.

"Yeah, I showed up at your party." Mike reached a hand out and took Will's. He looked away from Will and back to the crowd.

Mike gave Will a look that basically said, "can I pull you on stage?" Will nodded aggressively, excited.

As the tempo of the song changed again, Mike dragged Will up on stage and started singing again and both of them reached center stage, right where Mike left his mic stand.

"Yeah, I showed up at your party, will you have me? will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch, in front of all our stupid friends?" Mike laughed as Will smiled at him, beaming.

"If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I'm only seventeen, I don't know anything, but I know I miss you." Mike continued dragging Will around. This time, down center stage.

“Standin’ in your cardigan. Kissin’ in my car again.” Mike continued as he sat in the middle of center stage, pulling Will down with him.

Will sat down next to Mike, he decided to lay in Will’s lap. “Stopped at a street light, you know I missed you.” Mike finally finished.

Only looking at Will, who smiled down at Mike as he heard everyone cheer for his boyfriend.

“Well, everyone, this is my boyfriend, Will.” Mike said, holding the mic up to Will’s mouth. “Hi!” He spoke into it. 

DAY ONE OF 100 FOLLOWER SPEICAL!!

tags!

@hollarious2

@artsyna

@wallywise

@lebylershipper

@ash-the-wise

@tender-emotional-music

@willbyerswatch

@hearteyes-wheeler

@paloma-ascends-into-hellfire

@willbyerslove

@drowninginideas

@sunflowerbyler

[meadow-roses]

Meet the Family - Part 3

This scene is around three years old, and was started as a character study/exploration for Grace and her friends to get a feel for how they are involved in Felix’s backstory plot. This is not a scene in the actual story and a lot of the “plot” is not canon, but I thought it would be fun to share with you guys! Enjoy!

Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4

*******

Dinner with Grandma. A very normal family event. Why Grace was taking him to meet her Grandma before her parents was making Felix rather curious, but he had baked a batch of cookies and gone over his alibi in preparation for all the nosy old lady questions.  He was nervous, but he was ready.

He had offered to do the driving, but Grace had politely declined. He was still recovering from an accident, she said, and she was happy to drive for him. Felix felt the familiar tinge of guilt at her belief in his lie, but he had shrugged it off with a smile and thanks. Hopefully soon the world would be safe enough for the truth to not be dangerous. 

Felix watched the city pass by out the window of Grace's old-fashioned car. He realized, as each turn brought them closer to the more shady parts of town, he really should have asked her where they were going and given the address to someone just in case. Although, if Grace wasn't to be trusted it would be unlikely she'd give him the correct address. Kidnappers aren't known for being particularly honest people. And while he trusted Grace, his agent wasn't going to be happy about this. 

The city looked very different here in the outskirt neighborhoods. Instead of the uniform rows of identical houses, exact replicas of each other down to the matching hedges underneath the front window, the homes here were all unique, reflecting the personalities of the people who lived inside. A hodgepodge of shapes and sizes in various states of repair, their roofs were dwarfed by the colossal skyline of the rest of the city behind it. They drove past disheveled apartment complexes, cozy looking cottages tucked behind fairytale gardens, homes of painted wood, plastic homes with their faded colors, metal homes with rusted tin roofs, some that looked inviting while some… that didn't. 

He shifted his grip on the arboform tub of cookies in his lap. He could trust her, right?

"Speedbump!" Grace called out cheerfully as the wheels hit a bump of cement in the road.

The little blue vehicle jostled its passengers against their seatbelts as it tumbled itself up and over. Felix was watching the street signs pass by, making careful note of their route so far. It had been a long time since he had last been in this section of the city- on this specific street actually. He wondered who was living in Edward's house now, and if they would have taken down the ridiculous looking flamingo in the front lawn. 

Oddly enough, he realized after a moment's thought, it had actually been only a little over two years since it had all started. Strange how much could fit into such a small amount of time. 

"Well, here we are," Grace said, gently easing down on the brakes as she turned into a cracked asphalt driveway. 

The car shuddered and lurched in protest until it finally came to a stop. Felix made a mental note to remember to take a look at her rotors. 

Grace turned the key in the ignition and shot him a grin before jumping out the door. An exceptionally wide grin, Felix thought, as he opened his own door. She must be really excited for me to meet her grandma. 

Felix slammed the car door shut and took a look around. 

He had been here before, to the house next door. He stood for a moment staring at the faded lawn flamingo with its plastic santa hat. Someone had added sunglasses and drawn a mustache over its beak. That was… weird.

"You coming?" Grace called from halfway up the walk. 

"Uh, yeah!"

He caught up to Grace at the front door. She looked *really* happy now, practically bouncing on her heels with excitement. 

"I forgot to mention this earlier," She said, overemphasizing her hand gestures. "But Grandma invited over some extended family for a quick goodbye party and because they wanted to meet you too. I hope that's okay?"

Felix tried not to express the sudden twist of apprehension he felt in his stomach. They were Grace's family. He *did* actually want to meet them- maybe with a bit more time to prepare himself- but surely it would be fine.

"Oh yeah, that's fine," he said. 

"You sure?" Grace asked, her hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah! A little more warning would be nice, I'm not sure if I'll have enough cookies," Felix laughed nervously. "But I would like to meet your family."

Alarm bells were going off in the back of his head, but he ignored them. If this was an ambush why would she have warned him ahead of time?

"Great!" Grace grinned. "Let me know if you want to leave, sometimes they can be a little much."

Felix grimaced internally and wondered what exactly that meant as Grace turned to knock on the door. Maybe he had enough time to text the address to his mom, but it was already too late. Grace had skipped the knocking step altogether. She punched a four-digit code into the lock- too fast for Felix to catch the combination- and threw the heavy front door open. 

"We're here!" She announced loudly as the door banged against the opposite wall.

Felix heard shouts and the sound of chairs squealing across the floor and footsteps thundering down stairs. It sounded like a few more than just "some" extra people. 

He clutched the container of cookies closer to his chest as Grace beamed in expectation. 

He was prepared to be assaulted by an exuberant crowd of loud, running people, but instead they filtered into the room from the various hallways and down the staircase completely silently. This he found was almost more intimidating, especially paired with their curious, friendly smiles. 

Not a single person entering the room looked like they could be directly related to Grace, or even to each other for that matter. 

The alarm bells in the back of his head took this as an opportunity to remind him of their presence. 

Once he was thoroughly surrounded, Grace put a hand on his shoulder and gestured wide to the crowd.

"Everyone, this is Felix! Felix, this is my family!"

Felix made his best attempt at a smile and waved to the group with his free hand. 

"Uh, hello. I brought… cookies." He held out the tub of cookies to the crowd as though it were a peace offering to a group of uncertain natives. 

The crowd of people made no move to accept this offering.

 Felix threw a glance in Grace's direction to find her practically glaring at the group of people arranged in front of them. 

She mouthed the question, "*What are you doing*?" 

The members of the crowd smiled broader in response.

Felix threw another uncertain glance in Grace's direction, but the moment he took his eye off of them the situation changed. 

The two people standing directly in front of Felix stumbled to the side with shouts of alarm, attempting, and failing, to shield their heads from the cane waving wildly in the air. 

The lady on the other end looked particularly fierce, glaring at the startled assembly behind wisps of unruly curls.

"What in the world are you all doing?" She shouted, making a point to catch a tall blonde man over the top of his head with a solid thunk. "Are you trying to terrify that poor man?"

Felix was feeling like the old lady with the walking stick was far more intimidating than the silently smiling crowd.

Huffing, she slammed the cane down on the floor in front of her and threw one last glare around the room.

Grace made a wide gesture around the room. "What the heck are you guys doing?"

"I don't know," the blonde man said, wincing and rubbing the top of his head. "We were told to not be intimidating, so I suggested we try being quiet and friendly. Like making friends with a cat."

"Seriously?" A woman towards the back of the group asked as she crossed her arms.

Grace threw her hands in the air in exasperation. 

The man shrugged apologetically in Felix's direction.

"That was, not what I was expecting for sure," Felix said, choosing his words as he spoke. "But I do appreciate the gesture."

This situation was nothing like the one he had been imagining and mentally preparing himself for. 

None of the people in the group seemed like they could be secretly malicious as they all chimed an apology and the old lady nodded approvingly. 

He realized how tightly he was holding the container of cookies and loosened his grip, allowing the feeling to rush back into his fingers.

"Um, I made cookies," he tried again, hesitantly offering the tub to who he assumed was Grace's grandma. 

"I wasn't expecting this large a group so I'm not sure there will be enough but-"

She cut him off with a smile and wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about that. You're our guest here and we made plenty of food. You can hand that to Lyra if you'd like and she can take it to the kitchen, or I suppose you could continue hugging it like a teddy bear."

Sheepishly Felix handed the tupperware to the girl that stepped forward.

She had long, silky, black hair and amber-gold eyes set in a completely expressionless face that seemed familiar somehow. She accepted the tub and was gone the next moment, slipping between two people and through the doorway into the kitchen.

With the tub of cookies relinquished, Felix awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets.

"So you're Felix then," the old lady said, taking several steps closer. 

Grace beamed.

"Uh, yeah." Felix held a hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you."

"My name is Kate," she said, giving his hand a strong but firm shake. "But most everyone calls me Grandma. You're welcome to do the same." 

"Thank you."

"Well," she said with a sharp inhale of satisfaction. "Make yourself at home, ask a lot of questions, tell a lot of stories, and have a good time. Don't let these wackos strange introduction bother you too much."

Felix gave an awkward laugh, unsure of how else he was supposed to respond.

Kate gestured down the hallway towards an open doorway. "Go on everyone, to the den. Let's not make things weird by just standing around in the doorway!"

Grace grabbed Felix's hand and led him at a brisk, excited pace to the indicated room.

“Come on guys, I want to do introductions!" She called over her shoulder to the others. 

Kate took up the rear with a well pleased smile on her wrinkled face.

She hardly seemed to need the cane, Felix noted. He wondered if she carried it mainly to hit the unruly youngsters.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Ring doorbells suck.

It was like 23:10 or something like that, and the doorbell goes off, sending a notification to me and my mum so we open the app and there’s a man really far into our front garden and he was bent over in the grass “looking” for something, but he was there for like 2 seconds and we couldn’t see what he picked up, or if he even picked something up. Then he walks out and a woman comes into frame and it looks like he puts something down near my mums car, which is parked on the street because we don’t have a driveway and in England you don’t normally have garages, and it looked like he was dropping an air tag or another tracker.

I’ve heard a lot about car theft recently and this is something that happens so they can name the air tag the car model and decide when to steal it.

When he was in our garden and bending down, his phone light or some other light was flashing, and if we looked over to the neighbours you could see similar light that goes if when a car drives by. They have pretty good cars, so that fits with the whole car theft thing.

I was so anxious because my anxious and autistic brain that can’t process shit, so I go back into my mums room and tell her that I’m anxious because my room is at the very front of the house, so she says I can sleep in her room so I feel better.

Hope you enjoyed the ramblings of an autistic and paranoid 13 yr old

✌️

omg that is scary! I guess it's good you have the doorbell, though, so you're aware people were nearby! I know it's scary to see people doing weird things, but it's much better to know, IMO. Could you perhaps call the non-emergency police line and just let them know you caught something suspicious on video?

[gayassbish]

FIREWORKS IN THE SNOW WITH YOIMIYA! MODERN AU

From the CHRISTMAS event! Find it here! | 1.6k Words

Genre: Fluff

Reader: Gender Neutral

Synopsis: Celebrating your girlfriend's family's winter-tradition!

YOIMIYA recently remembered how there’s a special tradition in Naganohara family.

Whenever Yoimiya was a kid, her dad would light up these specially crafted fireworks- made especially for the winter times.

The were special in the sense that they could be visible even amongst the brightest, plummeting snow. As a child, Yoimiya loved seeing the white sky illuminate with the even brighter light of fireworks.

However, Yoimiya will admit it has been a while since she’s done that. Moving out of her parent’s home and the years getting busier with the trials and tribulations of adulthood has led to her no longer continuing that tradition. But, being with you has really taught her that it’s important to embrace your inner child and reminisce those memories.

So on the day forecasted of the first snow of the year, Yoimiya invites you over. It’s been several months since the two of you guys have been dating (after being friends for a while.) And Yoimiya decides what better way to celebrate than reimbursing an old tradition!

Hence, why here you are- walking up the driveway to Yoimiya’s house. But before you can even ring the door bell, she bursts the door open. “Oh my god! You’re finally here,” Yoimiya gives a quick peck to your check before pulling you by the hand. Running behind her through the halls of her house, she gives you a big smile and says “Come on! I got it all set up for us.” And before you can even register everything that happened you’re already in the backyard of her beautiful house.

You stand in the middle of it in awe. “It’s so… romantic.” You take in your surroundings and look toward Yoimiya who wears a proud smile. What were once orange maple trees, are now naked without their signature warm leaves; and a lit with golden Christmas lights. There’s a stuffed animal-filled tent, placed in what was once a flower garden of marigolds, that is facing the direction of the trees. But it is not without the big brown cardboard box in the middle of the yard filled with various of fireworks.

“I may have went a little over board.” Yoimiya says sheepishly while rubbing her neck, “But I really wanted to make this special… for us you know?” She looks back at you with a soft smile that you can’t help but return.

“It’s perfect.” You hold onto her neck and give her a quick peck. “Even better than I imagined!” You say cheerily and watch your girlfriend beam as she wraps her arms around your waist.

“Just wait till we get these bad boys in the sky!” Yoimiya says all giddy. “Oh, and I set a tent for us so we could wait till the snow comes out!” Yoimiya takes you by the hand to the her cozy tent.

Free from the chilly breeze you enter inside first and sit down on the blankets and pillows Yoimiya prepared for you. Yoimiya comes in and zips the tent up to keep the cold air out.

“This is so cute!” You hug onto a lion plushie and watch Yoimiya turn a faint red.

“Ha.. a little embarrassing to admit but I’ve had Leo since childhood.” Yoimiya flusters in her own memories of sleeping alongside her lion plushie, Leo.

“Aww and you even gave it a name! I think that’s even cuter!” You put down the soft toy and continue to ask about the various other plushies inside the tent.

While Yoimiya takes a trip down memory lane, you watch the tent get darker. Small little dots fall onto roof of the bright tent and Yoimiya pauses in her story to look at you.

“It’s snowing!” Said in synchronous excitement, Yoimiya quickly unzips the tent and you follow.

The light snow melts quickly into the palm of your hand. Yoimiya tries to catch a snowflake onto her tongue as you can’t help but giggle at her silliness and snap a selfie with her acting all goofy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever caught the first snow before! Is this a sign of good luck?” You ask as you watch Yoimiya fumble in the box of fireworks.

“Hmmm… I’m not sure to be honest. But whenever I’d shoot these babies into the sky, I’d make a wish!” Yoimiya holds up several different types of rockets- that make you question their legality- but with Yoimiya's assured smile, you can't help to think they are.

“Well, let’s get them into the sky!” You grab some of the fireworks from her to help her out and watch her light them one by one with a matchbox.

“Step back a bit.” Yoimiya protectively holds her arm out to push you back. As you both wait intensively for the first one to light up into the air.

“Okay ready? Three… two… one…” The crackling noises come to an end as the first of the fireworks goes into the sky, “Quick make a wish!” And the other fireworks follow up into the air and explode.

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!* They pop into the air as you watch Yoimiya close her eyes and cross her fingers and you do the same, secretly wishing to come to do this again next year.

When you open your eyes again, you see a view that’s even more beautiful than you’d imagine from what Yoimiya described she saw as a kid. The fireworks light up the pale white sky with a hue of yellowish orange, and it almost looks like the stars are amongst the snow. It's breathtaking.

“Wow…” You gape in awe and Yoimiya chuckles.

“It’s pretty amazing, right?” Yoimiya turns to look at you as she takes in the beautiful view of the sky alongside you getting lost in your own world.

“Yeah…” You get lost into the view while Yoimiya lights up hand-held sparklers.

“Here, take ‘em!” Yoimiya hands you two sparklers and quickly runs to the back of her house. “Wait right there! I’m coming back.” And before you can even ask what’s she’s doing.. she’s off.

You take the time to enjoy the sparklers in your hands, watching them fizzle out and putting them alongside the rest of the used fireworks.

Yoimiya comes back with a blanket bundled up under her arm as she drapes it over your head.

“What’s this for?” You giggle, pushing the blanket, so it doesn’t block your view.

“You were so lost in the sky that you didn’t even notice you were shivering, silly!” Yoimiya grabs the ends of the sheets to wrap it around you securely. She tugs on the ends and nods to herself to make sure you look ‘warm’ enough to her. “This will do.” She smiles at you and sits down on the dead grass, patting the area beside her as you join her.

“Don’t you want to come in?” You open the blanket and offer for her to snuggle alongside but Yoimiya shakes her head.

“I’m good at this temperature, but can I lay my head on your lap?” She gets comfortable on your thighs- before you can even agree. Already using your legs as if it were her own personal pillow.

“Hey! I didn’t say you could yet.” You fake an offended pout and Yoimiya laughs, shifting more of her weight on your legs.

"Oho, am I no longer allowed too, hmm?" Yoimiya pesters you teasingly and you can't help but give in.

"I never said that! Just that you couldn't... yet." You mumble looking away, already admitting defeat, but Yoimiya can't help herself but to press on.

"Hmm? What was that? I couldn't quite hear you?" Yoimiya grins cockily.

You scoff, "Ugh you heard me!" You scowl down at her and Yoimiya laughs, putting her arms up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, you got me... I'll stop." Yoimiya laughs and looks at you semi-earnestly, "...for now anyways."

"Yoimiya!" You squeal and watch Yoimiya laugh. She just can't help herself to stop teasing you. Your reactions are much too adorable to her, so much so, that even when you guys were still friends harboring crushes for each other, Yoimiya really had to have immense self-control to stop herself from making you into a flustered mess whenever she got the chance to.

But if it wasn’t obvious enough, she's really happy you reciprocated her feelings. Being with you has allowed a sense of calmness in her colorful life. Your presence is always a soothing one to her, she'd say.

Which leads to where you are now. Yoimiya comfortable on your lap, watching your face peek out from the blankets and the snow still falling from above. She finds herself thinking that this is a sight she could get used too.

"Hey, Y/N?" Yoimiya interrupts your thoughts as you got lost in the view above, yet again.

You look down at her, "Yes, Yoimiya?" You ask jokingly, trying to lighten up her serious face.

"Thanks for doing this with me." Yoimiya says out of the blue, and before you can comment on her needless gratitude, she continues. "I've wanted to get back into recreating my old memories for nostalgia purposes but... I guess I sorta lost motivation, being so far away from home," Yoimiya reaches out for your hand inside the blanket and you clasp her hand back, tight.

"I wouldn't want to recreate or create new-old memories with anyone else." You gingerly look at her to which Yoimiya gives you a big smile- one that reachers her eyes.

"Why don't we do this again next year?" Yoimiya sits up to meet you eye level. "Would you like that-"

"I'd love it!" You cut her off, too excited at the sound of her words. "It can be our new-old tradition!"

Yoimiya laughs, "Yea, it will."

The night comes to a close with more laughs and snuggles, but you can't help but wonder if wishing on fireworks really does make a wish come true.

__

A/N: I’M SO SORRRY THIS IS LATE... I don't like making excuses either so... yeaaa

[lolanoelle]

One Drunken Night - Part Four

This part has some suggestive text in it, so only read it if you’re comfortable. :)

You had spent the last few days slowly moving everything from your trailer to your new home. Thankfully Eddie still had his van, so it made the process easier as you could pack more boxes into it than you could your own car. Today you were tackling one of the more fun tasks you had planned out for your new house, painting Ellie’s room. You had decided on a lilac color for the walls. You were on your 2nd coat and it was coming along nicely. You were putting the finishing touches on the last wall in the room when Eddie walked in.

“Hey I was thinking about ordering pizza for dinner. Pepperoni okay with you?,” he asked looking around the room.

“Sounds good to me,” you smiled at him, setting the paint roller into the tray and wiping your hands on your sweatpants. ,” Is Wayne still okay with keeping Ellie for the night until the paint is dry?”

“Oh absolutely. I talked to him about an hour ago and she’s having a blast over there. Just know she’s gonna be spoiled when she gets back,” he chuckled ,”It’s looking great in here. I’m almost done with the living room, wanna see?”

“Lead the way,” you say cheerfully and follow him into the living room. You had both agreed on a subtle light gray for the living room instead of the outdated wallpaper that was there previously. You looked around and couldn’t believe the progress he had made in such a short amount of time. “Looking good. Hey what did you ever decide on for your room?”

“I’ll show ya,” he grabbed your hand and led you to his bedroom. Stepping into the room, you were impressed with the hand painted mural he had done on one of the walls.

“Ed’s this looks amazing!!,” you say studying the details he put into his work. ,”Can I actually ask you a favor?”

“Anything,” he responds

“Could you put a few butterflies on Ellie’s walls?,” you asked bashfully.

“I would be honored,” he says, dramatically bowing while accepting the task. ,” but first let’s order dinner in starving”

He orders a large pepperoni pizza and before you know it, there’s a knock on your door. While you eat, you talk about the plans for your backyard.

“We should start a garden!,” you say excitedly.

“That would be cool. We have to make sure we leave enough room for the swing set Wayne’s getting Ellie for her birthday,” he responded ,” But don’t tell him I told you that” You further discuss your plans and once you’re finished eating, Eddie follows you to Ellie’s room to start painting butterflies over one of her walls. You spend the rest of the night joking with your best friend and for a minute it feels like old times again.

A couple of days later

You were getting yourself and Ellie ready to go into the daycare for the day. You set her down to eat breakfast and packed your lunches while she ate. Eddie walked into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee while you did so. He had been getting up earlier even on his days off and had synced with your schedule.

“Hey Eds could you pick Ellie up from daycare today? I have to stay late for a staff meeting and don’t want to keep her out too long.”, you asked

“I would love to spend some time with this little cutie later today,” he said, putting his finger under her chin and tickling as she let out a high pitched giggle.

“Thank you so much,” you respond. You had both agreed that even when he was off, she would still go to daycare with you so she could socialize with other children her age more often. Once Ellie is finished eating, you get her into your car Eddie comes out to give her a kiss before you head off to work.

“I’ll see you pretty girls later,” he said, causing you to blush as you back out of the driveway and make your way to work. Once you arrived, you go get Ellie set up and she plays with blocks as you go to help check other children in. One of your regulars came in with his son Jonah and came up to check him in.

“Now Jonah, you be good for Miss Y/N today okay buddy,” he says crouching down on his sons eye level. He was a few years older than you and always helplessly flirted when he dropped his son off. “I’ll be back this afternoon beautiful” he said to you, shooting you a wink as he left.

“I don’t know why you haven’t jumped all over that yet, I know I would,” your coworker Amy admitted as she came up behind you and checked the sign in log.

“He’s all yours Amy, I have no interest in dating,” you replied, taking the log back from her.

“Then you’re crazy,” she teased. He was a fairly good looking guy and nice enough, but you still didn’t have any romantic feelings for him. “ Are you dating someone else and not telling me?”

“I promise I’m not dating anyone Amy, I just want to put Ellie first,” you reply ,” and I promise if that changes I will let you know.”

The last of the parents roll in to check their children in and you get started with your day. You do crafts, have nap time, have lunch and break up a fight between two toddlers and before you know it it’s already almost 2, meaning parents would be rolling in any minute to collect their children. Most of the children have been collected when Jonah’s dad comes in and flashes a smile at you.

“Hello Miss Y/N, I am here to pick up my troublemaker,” he says, leaning one arm on the counter while and looking down at you.

“I will be right back with him Mr. Williams,” you respond cordially and go to get Jonah. You pick him up and carry him back over to his dad. ,” He did start a fight today over a book Mr. Williams. We have been working really hard on sharing and he did take it from another child. Does he show..”, but your sentence is cut off when Ellie goes running towards the door.

“Daddyyyyy,” she yells as Eddie crouches down to pick her up.

Eddie starts to walk over to you at the same time that Jonah’s dad asks for your number. You can see Eddie’s eye shoot over to the man standing in front of you in anger. They are approximately the same height, Eddie just being a little taller and he glares down and him.

“Do you need me to sign her out?,” he interjects, his gaze moving to you.

“No I’ll take care of it,” you respond.

“Tell mommy bye Ellie,”he instructs your daughter.

“Bye mommy,” Ellie says. You lean over and kiss her cheek and tell her you love her.

“We’ll see you at home honey,” Eddie says as he kisses your cheek and leaves. You don’t even notice that Mr. Williams has taken Jonah and is also leaving.

“You absolute liar,” Amy pronounces as she comes to stand in front of you ,” No wonder you don’t want anything to do with Jonah’s dad when you have that hottie to go home to.”

“We’re just friends who are coparenting Amy,” you respond as a look of annoyance crosses your face.

“Mmhmm, I saw the way he actedwhen Jonah’s dad was hitting on you. He totally just put his mark on you in front of him,” she said wiggling her eyebrows at you. You roll your eyes at her.

“We have to go to our staff meeting, which is more important than my dating life,” you say as you walk away from her.

After your meeting ends, you make your way home and pull into the driveway. You enter the house and don’t see Eddie or Ellie anywhere.

“Hello?,” you call out as you make your way through the house. You come to the hallway and hear a soft singing coming from the bathroom. You come to the doorway and see Eddie bathing your daughter and singing her a soft song as he does and your heart swells with affection. You feel yourself wanting to go up behind him and wrap your arms around him, but instead you stay glued to the doorway watching the scene in front of you. Ellie finally looks up at you and waves her hand at you as she says hi.

“I didn’t even know you were home,” Eddie says turning around to meet your gaze, a slight blush creeping up on his face. ,” I’m just getting her cleaned up after dinner and I was going to put her to bed, she’s been pretty tired since we got home.”

“Yeah she didn’t really get much of a nap in today at daycare, she was pretty excited when I told her you were coming to get her today,” you respond, smiling at the two.

“Well I was just as excited pretty girl,” he says scooping Ellie out of the tub and wrapping her in a towel. He presses kisses into her cheek making her giggle, and you think of the similar one he gave you earlier in the day. ,” I made you a plate and put it in the fridge.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” You walk out of the bathroom with him and follow him into your daughters room. He gets her dressed and tucked into bed and kisses her goodnight. You lean down beside him and do the same.

“Good night baby, I love you,” you say to your daughter.

“Love you mommy and daddy,” she responds, rubbing her eye with one of her hands. You exit the room and Eddie follows suit. You go to the kitchen and warm up your dinner and sit down to eat.

“Hey, uh, sorry about earlier today. I just thought by the look on your face that maybe that creep was bothering you,” he said, sitting across from you but staring at his hands.

“I actually appreciate it Eds, he’s being flirting with me ever since I started and I’m definitely not interested, so you made it easier on me,” you say, enjoying the dinner he made for you. ,” and thank you for dinner this is delicious”

Eddie’s heart beats a little faster in excitement as he hears your confession.

“Hey, we’re playing at the Hideout in a couple of days if you would wanna come, I could see if Wayne could watch Ellie for the night. Only if you’re up for it that is,” he said to you, obviously nervous.

“I would love to! I haven’t seen you guys play in forever.,” you respond to him. You finish your dinner and get ready for bed. As you try to fall asleep, you replay the events of today in your head and can’t help but get a giddy feeling inside of you.

The next couple of days go by in a blur. You were currently getting ready to go to the hideout to see Corroded Coffin play, who you hadn’t seen play a gig in years. Eddie was already there and you couldn’t seem to pick out the right outfit. You had called Robin over to help you out.

“Oooh what about this,” she says, holding up a red dress that you would usually wear to weddings.

“No I can’t wear that Robin, I don’t want to be overdressed,” you respond running your hands over your legs.

“Oh my god, you’re nervous. You want to look hot for Eddie,” she said, her voice lined with surprise. A blush rises up on your face.

“I do not want to look hot for Eddie!,” you exclaim. “Can you please come with me Robin? He’s gonna be on stage for a good chunk of time and I don’t want to be there by myself.”

“Okay, but I know what you’re wearing, and I’ll only go if you wear this,” she said looking in the back of your closet. She pulls out a t-shirt that Eddie actually made himself. It was a Corroded Coffin t-shirt that the band used to sell after their gigs.

“Oh my gosh I can’t believe I still have that. It probably doesn’t even fit me anymore since I had Ellie. My boobs alone grew a whole cup size and the shirt was low cut when I was 18,” you whined to her.

“Oh you have to try it on now, here wear these pants with it,” she says as she hands you the shirt and a pair of black jeans. You grumble as you take the outfit and go to the bathroom to put it on. You’re in there for a few minutes before Robin starts knocking on the door. ,”How’s it going on there?”

You slowly open the door and step out. “I look ridiculous Robin,” you say, crossing your arms over your chest and rolling your eyes.

“You look hot!!! Look at those things!!,” she says eyeing your chest.

“I’m definitely not wearing it,” you say turning around.

“Y/N, you are 23 years old, not 60. Show off your assets while you got ‘em!,” she says encouraging you.

“Fine, but I’m wearing a jacket with it,” you say, grabbing your leather jacket out of your closet and putting it on over top of your shirt.

“Nothings gonna be able to hide those puppies,” Robin mumbles as you do. You put on a pair of black combat boots to finish the look and grab your purse.

“Let’s go,” you say, heading towards your front door. Robin decided to drive you guys in her car and the whole way there, you were a nervous mess. You had never had so many butterflies in your stomach at once. She pulls into the parking lot of the bar and you both enter. It was just before 9pm and Eddie and the guys should be going on any minute. The lights were low and you found some seats to sit in.

“I’ll be right back,” Robin said. She returned a few moments later with shots of tequila.

“Are you trying to kill me??? I haven’t had tequila in years,” said state.

“Oh don’t be a baby. You’ll be fine. It’s to take the nerves out of you,” she responds shoving a shot into your hand. You’re taking your second shot when applause breaks and Eddie and his friends walk onto the stage. He greets the crowd and their set starts. You see his eyes scanning the crowd until they land on you and he smiles wide. The longer you’re there, the more shots you take (thanks to Robin) By the time the set is over, you are feeling very tipsy. Eddie and the guys come out to meet you at your table and when his eyes land on you, he stops dead in his tracks. You looked amazing.

“Eddiieee!!! You were amazing,” you jump up and hug him around his neck. He hugs you back and butterflies erupt in his stomach.

“Thank you kindly,” he says pulling away and smiling at you.

“What are we chopped liver?,” Gareth asked.

“Never!!,” you say as you make the rounds and hug the rest of the band. Eddie feels a twinge of jealousy as he wasn’t the only hug you gave out. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you guys! How have you been???”

“We’ve all been good. We’ve heard a lot about Ellie from Eddie and we’d love to meet her soon,” Jeff says.

“Yeah of course! She’s with her grandpa tonight and I’d rather her not see me after too many tequila shots,” you giggle out “but definitely soon.”

“Speaking of shots, I’m gonna go get some for the whole table,” Gareth says walking over to the bar.

“Y/N I actually have to go, I have to work the morning shift tomorrow and Steve is here to pick me up,” Robin says.

“I’ll give her and Eddie a ride home, don’t worry I’m the DD tonight,” Jeff responds.

“Alright well I’ll catch you later,” Robin says as she leaves.

“Byeee Robin,” you yell taking another shot when Gareth comes back to the table with a tray of them. It doesn’t take Eddie long to catch up to you as he was pregaming before and during his set. Before you know it, the bartenders are calling out last call and you pout and audibly boo the man just trying to do his job. Jeff rounds all of his drunk responsibilities up and puts you all into the back of Eddie’s van, which Eddie lent to him so generously. Before you know it he’s dropping you and Eddie off at home. You both stumble through the front door after struggling to get it unlocked. Eddie plops on the ground to take his shoes off and you laugh at the dramatic way he does it.

“Pull mine off when you’re down there please,” you say batting your eyes at him dramatically.

“You’re so needy,” Eddie teases as he takes one of your boots off. When he goes to take the other off, you stumble and fall on top of him, laughing the whole way down. You are chest to chest laughing and you look into Eddie’s eyes.

“I’m so glad I came back here. I really missed you” you say.

“I missed you more than you could ever know,” he says. Looking back into your eyes. You both glance at each others lips and this time there’s nothing stopping you from closing the distance. Your mouth melts into his as you kiss each other softly. He rolls you over so you’re underneath him and deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue into your mouth. You sigh into his mouth and he pulls away. He stands up and offers you his hand which you take willingly. When you’re standing, you crash your lips back into his. He pushes you up against the wall and starts kissing down your neck. You lean your head back and moan softly when he reaches a sweet spot under your ear. You tug on his shirt and he gets the message and helps you remove it. You take your own jacket off as you reconnect your lips. You start walking him backwards to your bedroom and once inside, you push him onto your bed and climb on top of him.

“I can’t believe you still have this shirt, you look so hot in it,” he says as he slides his hands over waist, slowly putting his hands underneath the fabric “but you’ll look even more hot with it off” He says as he removes your shirt and pulls you down into him to kiss you again.

“Eddie wait, are you sure you want this?,” You say pulling away ,”Last time you said it was a mistake and I don’t want this to be a mistake”

“I want it if you do. I only thought the first time was a mistake because I thought you regretted it,” he said, brushing your hair behind your ear.

“I never regretted it. I love you, Eddie and I have for years,” you admit with the help of liquid courage.

“I love you, too Y/N.,” he says and brings his lips up to meet yours again.

The Next Morning

You woke up with your with a little amount of sunlight coming through your blinds. You turn over in your bed and are greeted with Eddie’s bare back. The memories of the night before come flooding back to you. You’re naked in a bed after getting drunk with your best friend again. Only this time, you remember everything clearly. You remember the drunken confessions and how you had both agreed to this. You only hoped that he would remember it also. You get up and make your way to the bathroom trying not to wake him. You brush your hair and teeth and remove your makeup from the night before. You put on your robe and then return back to your bedroom and see Eddie sitting up in your bed, looking around.

“Good morning,” he said to you. You looked down and nervousness ran through your veins as you saw the hickeys you had left on his chest.

“Morning.,” you say slowly making your way back into the bed. You turn towards him. ,”What do you remember from last night?”

“I remember taking a bunch of tequila shots, riding back home in the van, you confessing your undying love to me, waking up in your bed,” he says nonchalantly. You look at him panicked. ,” I remember everything, sweetheart.” He states taking your hand in his and kissing the back of it.

“You’re an ass,” you tease.

“But I’m your ass because you lovveeee meeeeee. ,” he says as he puts his head into your neck and jokingly bites down.

“Edddieee stop teasing me,” you whine.

“It’s okay baby, I love you, too, remember?,” he says bringing his eyes to meet yours. He pecks your lips and brings you down to lay with him. “I called Wayne when you were in the bathroom and he’s already agreed to keep Ellie until 2 so mom and dad can get cleaned up”

“That’s good bc you’re a mess,” you joke laying your head on his shoulder.

“You’re the reason I am honey,” he responds wrapping his arm around your waist. “By the way, when did you get that tattoo on your hip?”

“A couple of years ago. Why do you like it?”, you ask him, tracing the tattoos on his chest with your fingers.

“I love it. It’s hot,” he says, rubbing your hip through the blanket. “You know, we still have a few hours before we have to get Ellie. We can always practice making her a sibling”

“Yeah and maybe this time we’ll remember procreating,” you tease him. You could not be any happier than you are right now.

Taglist

@teriolan-blog @applepiewithbacon @corrodedcoffincumslut @stokleycienna @plk-18 @1paire2vans @blueberry—lemon

[hotforharrysheart]

Forever

Harry drives you the short distance back into town and pulls into the long drive of the blue cottage. He hoists the bags out of the Rover and leaves them by the boot, grabs your hand and you both walk to the front door.  

Helen opens the door and greets you both, her smile as big as you’ve ever seen it. You furrow your brow because everyone seems a little off but when Thomasina rubs against your leg you forget all about it and pick her up, kissing her face and scratching behind her ears. Ron comes in and greets you both and whisks Harry away leaving Helen to show you the tomatoes she picked from the garden and the honey she got from the farmers market.

You kiss Thomasina one last time and set her down when Bennett comes bounding in and gruffly nuzzles his nose into your knee.  

“Bennett! I’ve missed you!”  

He licks your dress by way of response and you and Helen both laugh at his antics. “You’re a silly beast but we love you!” Helen teases him as he barks loudly, tongue wagging.  

Harry and Ron come in from the porch about that time and Ron assures you he’ll have the Rover back tomorrow.  

You walk back along the driveway and grab your bags and walk slowly back to the pink cottage.  

He can’t help but look over at you as you walk as his fingers slowly fiddle with the rings in his pants pocket.  

You catch him staring and smile. He’s happy here, you think and that makes you look down and blush.

He unlocks the door and steps in the foyer. He drops his bag and smiles. It’s perfect, he thinks. There are electric candles strewn down the hall and a path of rose petals.

You come in behind him and drop your bag and then look down the hallway and then at him. “What’s all this?”

He shakes his head. “I dunno. Shall we?” He asks, grabbing your hand.  

You nod and you walk down the hallway to the kitchen and follow the petals to the kitchen and then to the back door. You both gasp as you see the backyard. “Oh my god! It’s so beautiful!”  

“It really is,” he says, amazed at how masterfully Ron and Helen had decorated. There were electric candles everywhere and fairy lights strung on the trees and flowers everywhere.  

You look up at him. “Ron and Helen?”

“Has ta be. Probably wanted ta thank us for their weddin’. Ron’s been askin’ wha’ he can do ta make it up ta me.” He smiles. “Do ya like it?”

“I love it!”

“C’mon let’s go out an’ see it up close.”

He unlatches the door and you walk out and look around, mouth open. It’s like something out of a movie.  

You see the blanket with the electric candles set up at the same time and you walk slowly over to it. There’s sparkling water on ice, glasses and a small basket.  

You kneel down and pull back the napkin and smell lemon. “Mmmm…lemon drop cookies. Helen only makes these on special occasions.” You pull one out and sit down and he sits down next to you. You hand him the cookie and grab another one for yourself.  

He taps his cookie to yours. “Cheers!”

You giggle. “Cheers.” You take a bite and close your eyes. “Oh my god…these are amazing!”

He smiles and takes a bite. “Damn…these are good.”

You finish your cookies and he pours the sparkling water. “I want another one!”

He laughs his breathy little laugh. “Ok, but ya have ta move closer ta me,” he says spreading his legs and beckoning you over.

You wiggle back against him finding your comfortable place as he’s perched against the railing on the deck. He draws up his knees on either side of your body then wraps his arms around your shoulders and torso. He closes his eyes and takes a breath to think about this moment, the sounds, the scents, the feel of your body snuggled back against his. He noses against your ear. “Love ya, baby.  Mmm…smell like sugared lemons an’ the sea…could eat ya up,” he says play biting your neck. You smooth your hands down his arms around you and squeeze his forearms then turn your head toward his face, “oh yeah, bet I taste like lemons too,” you say pouting your lips out for a kiss.  

He happlily acquiesces and places an open-mouthed kiss on your lips making sure to lick his way inside. Holding a final bite of cookie in your hand you pull back from his lips and hold it to his mouth. He opens as you pop it onto his tongue making sure to swipe your finger on his wet lips as he sucks the sugary crumbs from you. You then pop the wet finger in your mouth and suck his sugary sweet saliva off it.

“Jesus, baby, ev’rythin’ ya do makes me hard, ya cripple me,” he says bucking his pelvis slightly for emphasis. Sure enough, he’s hard as steel against your soft bum.

“Harry…” you whisper softly and lean your forehead against his chin.

“Are ya ‘appy, ma love?”

“Yes, it’s so sweet to have something like this to come home to, I need ta bake something for them…do something to thank them.”

“I thin’ tha’s a sweet idea, baby.”

You slide your hands closer to his and his heartbeat picks up. He again leans his lips in to your ear leaving small kisses and inhales deeply trying his best to remain calm as your hands run over his. You softly stroke his hand and rest your head back on his shoulder talking mindlessly about getting back to work

next week and something about making sure you hang up your swim suit from the boat today so it’ll dry. Your hand finally begin fingering his rings and he gulps audibly.

“Did you like it?” You say and Harry remains quiet. “Harry? Did you hear me?” You say running your forefinger over the ring on his forefinger, then moving to his middle finger, and so on. You turn your head to capture his attention and he’s just staring at your hands.

You follow his sight, shrug and say, “Harry…honey, are you ok?”

“Uhh… yeah, ‘m…’m s’sorry, wha’ d’ya ask?” he says shaking his head slightly and plastering a smile on his lips.

“I was wonder what…,” you stop when your fingers get to his pinky, and you feel it. His eyes close for a moment and he inhales deeply. “…What’s this, is this new?” You ask as you turn your attention to his hand, tugging at his pinky finger so you can get a better look at the new ring there.  

You find a six carat round solitare set in a octagonal setting with a filigree band. The art deco design is stunning. “I didn’t know you got any new jewelry,” you murmur and squint your eyes trying to get a better look at it.

He smiles broadly and props his arms on his knees dangling his hands in front of you. “Well, baby, was wan’in’ ta talk ta ya abou’ tha’ ring? Like it?” He reaches up to brush your hair behind your ear. His eyes hold yours captive, both of you glassy with emotion. No words, no actions, just a communication of lover to lover…a realization, an audible inhale and exhale of each other. He leans his nose to yours and nuzzles, then places a soft kiss to your forehead holding his lips there. Your hair smells of the sea and coconut oil. “You…,” he says squeezing your cheeks and kissing down your nose to rest his forehead against yours. “Ya ma everythin’. Take everythin’ else away an’ it’ll always be…you an’ me.” You feel his eye lashes flutter against your brows, “‘S always been hard fo’ me ta jus’ communicate ma feelin’s other than in ma music, but wi’ you, I’m jus’ free…I breathe wi’ ya…ma heart knows its home is wi’ ya, I ‘no ya like I ‘no ma own body…ya smell, ya sounds, the way ya feel on ma fingers, the way ya taste on ma tongue…’S jus’…” He sniffles and rolls his forehead slightly against yours, “like we have tha same blood runnin’ in our bodies… an’ everythin’ ‘ll ever need fo’ the rest of ma life is right ‘ere in ma arms. God, I never wanna lose this mo’.” He closes his eyes, inhales deeply as a tear drops from his eye to your cheek. “An’ I wanna protect this – need ta hold it…hold ya, keep ya…an’ tha family we’re makin’ tagether, righ’ ‘ere, righ’ now away from anythin’ tha’ could ever hurt it,” he rasps with a low, thick accent. “Who ya are is who I am an’ all I ever wan’ be. Gonna be mine, no…fuck tha’, ya ARE mine.”

“Oh, Harry…,” you mutter with a soft whimper, hands grasping his on your cheeks.

He gently pulls your left hand down and wiggles the ring from his pinky, sliding it on your ring finger.

You look at it, tears of joy sliding down your cheeks. It’s beautiful and you can’t believe he did this.

The ring on your hand catches his eye, “Fuckin’ love tha’ ring on ya,” he says just before his tilts his head and opens his mouth to yours.  

You open for him and his tongue slowly traces your teeth and darts in to taste yours. His thumbs pull at the skin on your cheeks as his mouth closes to suck in your bottom lip. He tilts his head the other way to take your mouth from a different direction. “Mmm…,” he moans deeply savoring your taste. He draws a hand down your neck and strokes your pulse point with his thumb back and forth, back and forth as his mouth devours yours. He pulls away breathless, “I jus’…fuck, ‘m such a bastard…,” he says stopping to squeeze his eyes shut and chastise himself.  

You pull away slightly and squeeze his wrists. “Wait, what…what is it, H?”  

He opens his eyes and you see the fire that’s burning through him. “Fuckin’ wan’ ya…need ya in nothin’ bu’ my jewelry,” he kisses your lips softly and fingers his initials on your necklace, “on ya neck, an’ ya ankle, an’ ma ring on ya finger.” He moves in to kiss your ear and whisper, “Nothin’ else. Ev’ry inch of ya bare ta me.” Pulling away he nods up toward the second floor of the cottage, “In tha bed where I first took ya after months, fuck years, of wantin’ ya, watchin’ ya… Won’ matter how many times I hav’ ya…never be like it will be tanight when ya ‘ave tha’ ring on fo’ tha first time.”

You swallow the lump in your throat at the way he’s bearing his soul, “Harry, don’t you know that’s what I want too?”

“Come, babe…let’s celebrate,” he says placing a kiss to your nose and lacing his fingers in yours.

He’s silent as he leads you through the door. He stops to lock it behind him relying on muscle memory to place the latch as he can’t keep his eyes off of yours. No words, just eyes on each other, the air thick with anticipation and desire. Clasping your hand, he slowly leans in to kiss you just inside the doorway. “First kiss in our cottage wearin’ it,” he says running his thumb over your ring.

Your body is on fire for him. His sentimental way…the way he loves making a memory as much as you do. You cock your head to one side searching his eyes, wondering if he has any idea how much you love him…want him.

“Yeah, I know,” he says as if he read your mind in some supernatural way. Your eyes go wide at his mind read.  

“My god…,” you whisper. Perhaps you’ve never been so in tune with each other; it makes the hair on your arms stand and your nipples crinkle and harden. He raises his hand to cup your neck; his thumb feeling the steady thump of your heartbeat; his eyes skim down your neck to your shirt where you feel his glance on your breasts. He might as well have placed his hands on you because his eyes are having the same effect. Rather than shy away from the obvious arousal, you slightly bow your back pushing your chest out reaching for more of the stimulation only he can provide. “Want you, Harry,” you whisper.

“Le’s go, love,” he says pulling you toward the stairs. Unlike any other time where he would have you walk in front of him, he takes the stairs slowly, one at a time, ahead of you while he has your hand tightly clasped in his. He’s taken control, he’s leading…and whether he intended the move or not, he’s showing his dominance by pulling you to your bedroom. And you couldn’t possibly be any more aroused by his actions. He’s an incredible lover - tender when necessary, dominate when the time is right…his ability to read your needs, to fuck your soul…that is the best foreplay.  

“Harry…,” you whisper as you reach the door to your bedroom.

“Yes, love?”

You flex your thighs together slightly, “I’m so wet.”

He pulls your hand up to his mouth and kisses your fingers, “I know, baby, I know. Got ma honey all over ya, huh, Jezebel?”

You simply nod, blushing and smiling softly. “Are you hard?” You ask sheepishly.

“As a rock,” he says pulling your hand down to press the back of your palm to the front of his crotch.

“Show me,” you say stepping past him…switching places and pulling him into the room to the bench at the foot of your bed. You sit down in front of him and pull up his shirt so you can kiss just below his bellybutton.

He crisscrosses his arms and grabs his shirt and strips it off. His golden skin over taunt abs is warm to the touch. He leans down to strip your dress from your body leaving you in a pale pink sheer strapless bra and matching sheer bikini panties. He runs his fingers through your hair as you work to unbutton and unzip his shorts. You slide your left hand down his tummy and his hand covers yours to stop you. You look up and he’s just staring at the ring on your finger. He opens his mouth as if to say something then closes it and shakes his head.

“I’m yours Harry,” you say reassuringly with a tear rolling down your cheek as he pulls you up to your feet.

You see him gulp and clench his jaw, “tha’s right, fo’ fo’ever.  

You lean forward to kiss his chest over his heart, “I love you so much.” You rid him of the rest of his clothes. He wasn’t kidding, he was hard as a rock…his thick cock so hard it’s straight against his tummy even as he stands. You can’t help but suck in your bottom lip as you trace the prominent vein on the underside up to the ridge around the edge of his leaking head. “So hard…” you murmur. He inhales loudly and places his hand over yours to stop you and holds your stare as he thumbs your engagement ring.  

Finally, he reaches around to undo your bra and licks his lips when your breasts fall out of the confines. “God damn, baby, this body…,” he says scanning your breasts. “Lifetime ta learn all tha ways ta please it,” he says running a finger down your sternum, abdomen, tummy to the waistband of your panties, “Map ev’ry freckle, kiss ev’ry inch over an’ over…still won’ be long enough. But, fuck, ‘f ‘m not gon’ try.”

He bends down to take your panties off. Once you’ve stepped out of them, he pulls them to his nose as he straightens and inhales deeply unashamed to close his eyes and savor your scent. You blush furiously and look away, embarrassed at how wet they are.

He hooks his finger under your chin and pulls your eyes to his, “I don’ wan’ ya ta ever be shy about ya body or the way I worship it, fuckin’ love tha way ya smell, how wet ya get fo’ me.”

“Okay,” you whisper.

He drops your panties on the bench and wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you up to his chest. “Can feel ya nipples pressed against me, we’re both hard for each other, hmm?” he says with a chuckle. “Crawl up on tha bed, baby, lay on ya back, please.”

You turn and start to crawl up the foot of the bed. “Wait,” he whispers as you stop on all fours. He leans forward and kisses the dimples at the base of your spine then lower to each bum cheek. You want more so you lay your head down on the bed and position your body so your pussy is on full display for him. “Wan’ ma kiss here?” He asks running his finger along the cleft between your legs.

“Yes, Harry kiss my body like I’m all yours.”

“Jesus, babe…” he mutters before he bends down to run his tongue through your wet pussy. “Touch y’self, show me ma ring on ya finger,” he demands.

You reach your left hand between your legs and run your middle and ring fingers through your slit, back to where the solitaire reflects the lamp light in his sight.

He groans and reaches forward to touch your fingers…to touch the ring, “Love tha way it looks on ya finger ‘gainst my cunt. Turn over, swee’heart.”

You turn over and he helps you plant your feet flat on the bench the rest of your body resting on the bed. You can’t help the way your hips swivel missing the stimulation. “Harry, touch me…please…”

“Wanna taste, baby… please I need a taste…,” he says as he kneels down. He begins with soft kisses on the inside of your knees and down the insides of your thighs. He places open mouth kisses on your pussy lips. He reaches up to place your left hand on your pelvis and runs his fingers along your ring as his tongue circles your sensitive bundle of nerves. He stops long enough to say, “Wan’ ya eyes baby, watch me….”

Your breathing picks up and your back arches off the bed, “Haahhh…Ahhh...Ahhh...Ahhh!” You grab a fist of his hair and grip it tightly.  

He pops off your clit and growls, “Christ! Harder, babe,”  

You grip the fistful of hair tighter as he pulls one long suck on your clit at the same time. Your head and shoulders come up off the mattress, “Oh my god! Harry!”

“Cum fo’ me, baby, come on…I’m right here…show me how good it feels!”

You whimper loudly as the contractions shake your body to your core and your legs try to close up, but his shoulders hold you open. You release his hair and replace it with a handful of the duvet, unconsciously pulling and twisting it.

“Awh, yeeaahhh…there’s my girl…keep goin’, baby…yeah don’ stop…s’fuckin’ beautiful…s’sexy when ya cum fo’ me…these orgasms are mine…”

Your breathing starts to slow and you turn over on your side and curl up trying to regain some control over your body as the shivering sets in.

He stands and crawls up behind you. “Baby? Ya ok? Ya all curled up on me…swee’heart?” he asks kissing your shoulder.

“Mmm…,” you respond on a shiver.

“Let’s get ya under tha blanket,” he says as he stands and tucks his hands under your knees and behind your shoulders to help scoot you up the bed and under the duvet.  

You nod, panting still, “Just don’t stop Harry, it’s not the same without you inside me…please, it’s good, but I need to feel you. Please tell me you want me still…are you hard?”

“Shh…shh…baby, feel me…,” he says grabbing your hand and pulling it behind you and placing it on his hard leaking cock. You shiver at the action and let out a long sigh as your eyes flutter back in your head. “Feel how much I need ya…jus’ wan’ ya ta calm d...Ooooo…baby, tha’ feels s’good,” he says as you massage his cock. You turn over so you can get both hands on him and your left hand wrapped around his cock and your right-hand massaging his balls. You slip your middle finger along his perineum, and he groans at the stimulation.  

“That feel good?” You ask as he bends one knee to give you better access.

“Feel’s fuckin’ fantastic, like nothin’ I ever felt be…hahh…fore,” he says with his brows furrowed and jaw slack. “But righ’ now I wan’ inside ma fiancé…I wanna put ma cock inside ma future wife, wanna fill her up.” You turn over on your back under the duvet, open your legs and pull your knees up. Harry slips into the cradle of your thighs. “Ready fo’ me?”

You push up to kiss him, “Yes, please.”

He grins, “So polite…”

You return his smile as he guides himself to your wetness. He slides his cock up and down through your wetness before he positions himself at your entrance and pushes in slowly.

Your back bows and your head digs into the pillow, “Unnnghh…” you groan as he pushes in.

“Ya gotta relax babe, s’tight on me. Look at me.” Tears in your eyes you stop and look into his eyes.

“Hi baby,” he says with a smile he reserves only for you, “Ya so wound up…shhh…can ya breathe fo’ me, love?”

You nod then take a deep breath and slowly release it, opening your body as much as you can so he can slip in the rest of the way and he holds still deep inside. He presses his forehead to yours, “How ya feelin’ my Jezebel?”

“So good…” you reply swiveling your hips.

“’M gon’ fill ya up like this ev’ryday fo’ the rest of our lives. Fuckin’ love bein’ this deep in ya, when ya so tight,” he kisses your lips, “warm,” he kisses your cheek, “an’ wet,” he whispers in your ear grinding his pelvis against your clit.  

You wrap your legs around his lower back and that pulls him in just that much farther. Wrapping your arms around his waist, your hand slides down to his bum. “I love you, H. I love you so much,” you say pulling him in close.

He pulls out and pushes back in slow and deep, setting a steady pace. “Ah…” you gasp and let out a small sigh.

“’S like comin’ home, innit?”  

“Yessss…I can feel your heartbeat inside me when you move this slow. it’s racing right now, just like mine,” you breathe out meeting his stare.

He shifts to slip a hand under your hips, “Jesus, baby…feel so good,” he says picking up the pace with a swivel and grind of his hips on every thrust.

“Mmmm…Harry, promise me…,” you squeeze him tighter as he pumps inside you, “don’t let me go, please don’t ever let me go…”

“Fuck baby, never…never…I love ya s’much,” he says feeling the tingle at the base of his spine.

“Haahh..Har-ry..Har-ry, I’m gon-na cum again…I’m so close,” you call out quietly.

“No, look at me, don’ ya hold back, no’ tanigh’, wanna hear ya…” he says on a particularly deep thrust.

“AH! AH! AaaHhhh!”

“Good girl…Fuck, fuck, fuck…cummmmming!! Love ya so fuckin’ much!!” he growls out before going still and holding deep. You can feel him pulse inside you as he empties himself on a held breath. Finally he collapses a panting heap that feels so incredible.  

“Babe, am I hurtin’ ya?” He whispers in your ear.

“No, please, don’t move, stay there. Wanna feel you as long as I can.” You smile up at him, your fingers playing with the damp curls on the nape of his neck.

He smiles back and kisses you, pressing soft open mouth kisses against your mouth. He rolls off you and reaches down to grab a T shirt and meets your eyes as he gently cleans you up.  

Your left hand subconsciously moves to finger your initial necklace and you bite your bottom lip. You can’t believe this is happening. It’s everything and more than you ever wanted and it’s overwhelming.  

He moves back to lay down next to you, watching mesmerized as your ring catches the light. “C’mere,” he says, pulling you closer to him. He grabs your hand and gently rubs his fingers over your ring.  

You can tell he’s thinking about something.  

“How do ya wanna tell everyone?”

You hold your finger over his mouth and says, "not tonight, honey. Can we please just live in the moment for tonight?"

He grabs your hand and kisses your fingers. “Give ya anythin’ ya wan’, Jezebel, know tha’.”

You smile. “I just want you, Harry. It’s always been you,” you say, snuggling into his chest.  

“G’night, Jezebel,” he says kissing the top of your head.  

“Goodnight.”  

He smiles and kisses your head again. She’s mine forever, he thinks as he closes his eyes.

The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon when you felt the niggle of morning calling you. Still relaxed from a sweet rest you could barely manage to lift your eyebrows much less crack your eyes. You took a deep breath and stretched your legs, pointing your toes under the sheet. As awareness began to dawn, you felt Harry’s back to you as he lay sleeping.  “Little spoon,” you whisper and smile as you drag your hand over his side from where you had wrapped yourself around his back. As you did, something caught on the sheet…you frowned and raised your head to look down, then you remembered…THE RING! You quickly prop up on your right elbow and hold your hand up in the air as you squint to get your eyes to focus. There it was. And it was gorgeous. And the man laying little spoon to your big spoon next to you had given it to you. Harry…your Harry had asked you to be his for the rest of your lives. And you had without a shadow of a doubt, joyously said you would be honored to be his partner for life. Dreams really do come true. They really, really do.

You lean forward and place a sweet kiss between his shoulder blades. He still smells of sunscreen and the sea. A quick review down his body at the rumpled bed reminds you of the way he’d made love to you after, how much you needed each other…celebrated your love. He might be a singer himself, but he also knew how to make you sing like beautiful exotic bird. You shiver at the memory…shiver from the roots of your hair down to the tips of your curled toes. You smooth his left shoulder and slide your arm down his to where it lays relaxed against his lower abdomen. He inhales deeply and lets out a soft groan. You couldn’t help but smile against the back of his neck.

“Honey?” You ask watching the little wisps of hair at the edge of his ear blow softly with your breath. “You won’t believe the dream I had?” you kiss his shoulder, “dreamed that this incredibility handsome, talented man asked me to be his wife,” you kiss between his shoulder blades.

“Ya did, hmmm?” he rasps in a low very husky morning voice.

“Mm-hmm. And look?” you say pushing your hand forward in front of his face, “Woke up and this stunning ring is on my finger?! Isn’t it beautiful?” you mutter against his skin just before you giggle.

He grabs your hand and pulls it toward his mouth and smiles against your palm. He turns his head just enough to say, “S’ tell me abou’ this lucky bastard…’m thinkin’ I may need ta ‘ave a ‘lil talk wi’ ‘em?” He mumbles sleepily.

“Oh, he’s pretty fuckin’ amazing, he’s talented, thoughtful and kind…” you say as your kiss along his shoulder and ear.

“Sounds fuckin’ borin’ ta me…” he teases.

You squeeze his hand, “God no, last thing he is is boring…he’s also, funny, and romantic, passionate and sexy,” you say threading and unthreading and admiring the way your ringed hand looks in his, “he an incredible…lover,” you kiss his tricep, “he plays my body, like he plays any one of a zillion instruments.”

He turns over and props his head on his hand as you lie back on the pillow, “He does, hmmm?” he smirks and leans forward to nuzzle his nose on yours. You nod your head. “Does he touch ya tha way ya wanna be touched?” he asks pulling the sheet down your breasts.

You nod and whisper, “Yes.”

He cups your cheek and continues to nuzzle his nose on yours but adds his lips to the equation, rubbing them across yours as he speaks, “Mmmm, an’ does he kiss ya in all tha righ’ places?”  

“Yessss,” you slur bringing your hand up to card through the curls on the side of his head.

“Can he make ya cum over an’ over again?” he asks as his finger circles your nipple.

Your body shivers and goosebumps rise all over your body. “God, yes,” you whisper biting your bottom lip.

“So beautiful,” he says as his eyes travel down to your breasts, “Does he know ya like ya this?” he asks before he nips at your nipples.

“Haahhh…hahhh…mmmm!”

“Does he know abou’ ya honey…hmm, love? Does he know how good ya taste?” he says against your breast while his eyes stare into yours. He moves his hand down to your tummy, “Can he make ya cum on his tongue?” he asks just before he sucks your nipple in to his mouth.

“AHHH…AH…AH…AH…A…”

His teeth nibble your nipple just like you like and you cry out, the fingers of your right hand digging into his curls. “Well, can he make ya cum on his tongue?” He asks, popping off of your breast.  

“Yes! His tongue is so so good!”

“Hmmm…” he says, kisses trailing down your stomach and situating himself between your thighs. “Let’s see if I can do better, yeah?”  

He licks a hard stripe up your slit and suctions his mouth to your clit. Normally he’d tease you for a bit but he just wants to make you cum.  

You’re panting above him, fingers twisting in his soft curls. “Oh! Fuck!”

He pops off, your honey glistening on his chin. “Gonna cum fo’ me?” He uses the point of his tongue to lick your clit quickly.  

“Ahhh! Oh god…please!”

He smiles. “Eyes on me, Jezebel,” he says, grabbing your left hand and intertwining your fingers.  

You look down at him and follow his eyes to your interlocked hands. Then he bends his head to you once again and sucks your clit back in his mouth, tongue working quickly.  

You’re writhing and squirming and he uses his other hand to hold you down. You arch your back as you feel your orgasm approaching. “Ohhhhh….ohhhh…ohhhh….Hahhh…fuck cumming!” You cry out as your hips jerk and you cum for him, tugging his hair hard causing him to groan against your sensitive nerves.  

His lips curve into a smirk against you but he keeps licking and licking until he feels you push his head back. He kisses back up your body until his lips are hovering over yours. “Can he do tha’, darling? Or is tha’ jus’ me?”

“You know it’s only you…it’s only ever been you and now it’ll only ever been me an’ you…forever,” you whisper raising your lips to meet his. “Make love to me, Harry, fill me up, like only you can…hold me forever and don’t ever let go.”

“I love you so much, swee’heart,” he says leaning on one elbow and grabbing your left hand. “S’much,” he says kissing the ring before he grasps it with his forefinger and thumb while it’s still on your finger. “’S a never-ending symbol, no beginning, no end,” he says emphasizing the circle with a furrowed brow and clenched jaw.  

You smooth your other hand on his cheek, “I love you so much, Harry.”

He presses your hand to his lips again then pulls it between you, “Put me inside you, babe…please,”

You hold him tight in your hand, savoring the feeling of his hardness.

He closes his eyes with the feel of your hand on him and exhales heavily then rests his forehead on yours.  

“Feel good?”

“So fuckin’ good.”

You swipe his hard cock through your wetness, back and forth, drunk on the feel of his velvet cockhead rubbing against your sensitive clit. “My god, H….”

“Can feel ya clit, s’like a lil pearl…ya so wet, leakin’ all ov’r ya, baby,” he whispers against your lips as he swivels his pelvis every so slightly. You can tell he trying not to rut. “Please, love…,” he groans.

You whimper as you position him at your entrance and catch his eye and you nod a silent encouragement to push in. You can feel his abdomen flex and his pelvis press in as he enters you just an inch. He stops and sucks in a deep breathe and closes his eyes briefly, “Fuccckkk….”

You hold your breath for just a couple of seconds as he pushes in further, his blown out, lusty eyes looking deeply into yours. “More,” you gasp as your hand grips his side.

He pushes in deeper and deeper still as you both move gently rock up on the mattress. Once he’s bottomed out, he reaches down to pull your left thigh up high on his waist. Grappling for your left hand he threads his fingers and holds it over your head. Propped on his elbows, he smiles down at you. “Love ya sounds, tha way ya relax when ’m deep.”

He rolls his hips causing him to pull out slightly and push in again, the ridge of his cock running against your g-spot. You furrow your brows and open your mouth slack with a breathy moan. “Tha’ good? Tha’ our spot…my spot?”

You lift your head slightly and bite your bottom lip, nodding yes. “Ahhh…yes, s-s-so good, do it again….yeah…like that..s-slow…Ahhh,” you drop your head and grin, “Ahhh…yeah, that’s it…just like…mmm…” you whimper fluttering your eyes and digging your head into the pillow.

He kisses down your jaw to your ear, “Fuck ya slow an’ deep…start ev’ryday buried deep inside ya. Ya like tha’, hmm? Wanna wake up wi’ me inside ya ev’ryday?”

“Yes, yes…mmmm…” you moan in his ear causing goosebumps to break out all over his body.

“Fuckin’ hell, baby…so warm an’ wet,” he says pumping in and out deeply in a slow, but deep steady pace. “Christ, I love fuckin’ ya like this…can feel ya squeezin’ me. Move wi’ me, babe….yeah, jus’…jus’ like tha’… ya gon’ cum fo’ me, hmm? Can feel ya flutter…Come on baby, wan’ ya ta cum first…”

“Harry, can’t last, I-I-I just…oh god,” you say on a particularly deep thrust that has his pelvic bone hitting your clit. “I’m…I’m! Hahh! Hahh!... Har-ry! Har-ry! Love you love you”

“Come on, love…cum for me, gonna cum with ya…gonna cum wi’……ya….!” He groans as his body stiffens deep inside you, his warm cum deep and leaking down the sides of your channel.

You both collapse, panting, “Don’ wanna hurt ya, but wanna feel ya finish…ya still flutterin’,” he says against your neck.

“No stay, stay… please don’t move, sorry if the bed’s wet…I’m just so wet and I can feel our cum leaking out.”

“Jesus, love, I don’t fuckin’ care abou’ a wet spot, think ‘s sexy when I fill ya up. Wan’ fill ya up as much as I can…” he says smiling and kissing your nose. “Got no business havin’ sex if I can’t handle a ‘lil wetness. Got ya cum all ov’r me…wan’ it all ov’r me. I love ya so much.”

“Mmmm…I love you too,” you tell him, pressing your lips to his. You close your eyes and bite your lip.  

“Know tha’ look. Bet if I moved jus’ righ’ ya’d cum again, wouldn’t ya?”

You smile and nod your head.  

“Reach ya hand between us an’ rub ya clit fo’ me.”  

You both watch as your hand moves down your throat and then down your body. You gasp as your fingers find your clit.  

“Rub it fo’ me.”

Your fingers circle your clit and your breathing picks up. “Mmmm…”

He bites his bottom lip. “Fuck, can feel ya flutterin’ ‘round me harder now. Ya close, righ’?”

You nod and move your fingers faster. “Ahhh!!! Mmmm…oh god…I’m cumming!”

He watches in awe as you throw your head back in pleasure and grimaces as he feels you pulsing around him. “Fuck! Ya body is incredible. The way ya can jus’ cum an’ cum. Amazin’,” he says pressing his lips to your lips.  

“Mmmm…it’s you. You do this to me. Jesus, H,” you pant out.  

“Lemme get ya cleaned up. Be righ’ back,” he says, getting up, grabbing a warm washcloth, and gently cleaning you both up. He crawls back in the bed next to you, bringing your left hand to his chest, fingering your ring.  

You sigh. “I’m so happy to be engaged to you but can we keep it between us for a while? I just…I want it to be our secret.”

He smiles. “Yeah…tha’s wha’ I think too.”  

You hear a knock on the door and Bennett barking and you both smile.  

“Guess we better get dressed.”

“At least we can celebrate with them!”

He smiles and kisses you quickly.  

“Can we call Anne later and tell her too? I…want to celebrate with her too.”

He kisses you quickly. “Tha’ means a lot. C’mon, let’s get dressed.”

You throw on clothes quickly and Harry runs down the stairs and opens the door to see Ron with his hand up ready to knock again.  

“Oh sorry Harry. We thought ya maybe didn’t hear us.”

Harry smiles shyly. “We were…uh…well, we weren’t up yet,” he says, cheeks pink.  

You bound down the stairs. “Good morning! H, why haven’t you invited them in?!”

He kisses your temple. “Jus opened tha door woman. Bu’ yeah, please come in.”

“No, no we can’t. We were jus’ droppin’ tha car off an’ brough’ ya some breakfast,” Ron says.

“Please come in. We want to thank you for the set up last night and celebrate!”

The Chapmans’ look at each other. “Well, if we’re no’ intrudin’, we’d love ta,” Helen says and Harry pulls the door open for them to come through.  

Harry takes their jackets and then there are hugs and kisses all around.  

Helen pulls back and grabs your left hand. Her hand flies to her mouth. “It’s beautiful. I’m so happy fo’ ya both,” she says, pulling both of you to her in a hug.  

Ron pats Harry on the back and pulls you in for a hug. “My sweet girl,” he says, hugging you tightly.  

Tears of joy are streaming down your face as he lets you go. “Let’s see the ring,” he says, wiping his eyes.  

You hold out your left hand and Harry places his hand underneath yours.  

Ron and Helen lean over and examine the ring again.  

“Thank you for everything you did for us last night. It was perfect,” you say, eyes meeting Harry’s before looking back to Ron and Helen.  

“We were happy ta do it,” Ron says. “Ya belong tagether.”  

“C’mon, let’s go have some breakfast,” Harry says, smiling his most radiant smile. “Love ya, my Jezebel,” he says, putting his arm around you and heading into the kitchen.

[omnybus]

Dream Sketches: Rat Family Christmas

Last night I had a rough time sleeping, feeling rather sick and ended up sleeping in short bursts of a couple hours each. Each one had a dream of some kind, but the last bit of sleep I got was the only one I could actually remember, and it was quite vivid and surprisingly wholesome.

t;My dream started off with me walking down the road to a house that used to be my grandmother's, on my mom's side. About twenty years ago IRL, my family and I lived in this house with my grandmother when we first moved here, before buying and settling into our own house a couple years later. After my grandmother died my mom inherited and sold the house to another family, though sadly they ended up leaving the house in terrible disrepair, letting the lawn get overgrown and strewn with junk, as well as doing half-assed, unfinished "renovations" that left the house with exposed plywood and heaps of dissused wood on the lawn. It wasn't our responsibility at the end of the day though it still makes me and my mother sad to look at the state the house is now in. It was a very old but otherwise nice little house.

History lesson aside, in my dream I was on my phone talking to this demolitions company who rented out giant monsters for people to take control of to use for demolishing buildings. I arrived at the house and found this massive, forty-foot Godzilla-like creature standing intert and lifeless in front of the house's driveway. It looked like a mashup of several different dinosaurs and had seven digits on its hands and feet.

I told them that the monster they had sent was there and was ready for me to take control of to destroy the house, but then I looked over and saw that the house was completely different from what I remembered. Namely it was much nicer-looking and seemed completely different, looking like a mashup of several parts of a fancy old manor. It was asymmetrical but well put together, with a lovely garden and fresh paint and even a bell tower.

I told the demolition company I'd call them back and hung up, walking towards this new house to speak to the owners. I was originally going to just smash the house down as no-one was supposed to be inside, but I wanted to see what the deal was with this new look. As I eventually found the front door, I was greeted by a cheerful anthropomorphic rat lady dressed like a vampire. Her outfit seemed to be a mashup of a Halloween and Christmas dress, having a spiderweb motif but decorated with glittery baubles in red, black, and green. She invited me inside, and I obliged.

The interior of the house was much like the outside, fancy looking in shape and decor but put together in a haphazard yet solid way, with staircases and hallways going in every direction and countless rooms of every shape and size. All of it was decorated in orniments typical for both Halloween and Christmas, with strings of multicolored lights strug everywhere and little plastic bats, skulls, and pumpkins mixed with candy canes, holly, and jingle bells. As the rat lady led me deeper into the house she told me she was so glad to have a guest over and wanted me to meet the whole family. I ended up running into more anthro rat people of different ages, all dressed as vampires in Halloween/Christmas themed garb. Everyone I ran into was very friendly, greeting me as if I were one of their own- one big rat fellow, the "uncle", gave me a big hug and said "Glad to meet ya, champ!" while an elderly "grandpa" rat slapped me on the back and invited me to play cards later. Eventually I ended up in a huge room where dozens of rats were all gathered around, the whole family coming together to greet me. There were tables laden with snacks and drinks, a roaring fire, and a big Christmas tree decorated with shiny baubles, lights, and an iron chain garland witg what looked like a medieval morningstar on top. Several rat children of varying ages ran up and looked at me with excitement, as if expecting me to give them presents. The "triplets" were the most memorable here, popping out of three cardboard coffin-shaped gift boxes.

Once the rat lady got everyone to settle down, I managed to introduce myself, telling them my name and explaining that I used to live in this house. I told them that originally it was ordered for demolition because it was assumed no one lived here, but since it was clearly occupied, I told them I was going to call the whole thing off and join them for their Halloween/Christmas celebration. Everyone rejoiced at the news, and I headed out to take care of the demolitions company, getting several hugs, handshakes and high-fives along the way. I was really excited but at the same time slightly worried the monster outside would go rogue and attack anyway, but I figured I could enlist the help of this vampire rat family to stopping it. Either way I ended up waking up.

Overall, one of the most wholesome and colorful dreams I've had in a while! A lot of my dreams lately have been rather unpleassnt, with gorey and disturbing imagery or just a really melancholic or dreary tone, especially the ones I have when I fall asleep immediately after waking up. This is a nice little change of pace. I especially liked the giant house it took place in- honestly, ever since I was a little kid I wanted to live in a huge house or manor with lots of different hallways and hidden passages and stuff. The rats especially were fascinating, looking as if they were my own drawings but animated.