#but the scratchiness at the start makes ivy glare at him and it is a little funny to me

[janebonbon]

DID can be so annoying and very isolating sometimes but then other times I get to laugh at fronting switches making our sketches look... very funny. Different alters having slightly different methods to their own madness etc etc

[erodasfishtacos]

mlb!harry or ceo!harry mrs coming home from a night out with the girls, drunk af and wanting her man would be super cool.

When I Come Home (mini blurb)

I’ll do both (no sex though cause H isn’t a creep. Remember if someone is under the influence they can’t consent!)

—

CEO!H (married but pre-Ivy)

—

It’s just so funny because H is so no nonsense all the time except with YN.

She went out with her friends from college, it was a Thursday night, and Harry was stuck in their home office working on a contract.

He hears the front door open with a muttered, “Fuck.”

That’s all it takes for him to know she’s smashed.

Before he can even finish his sentence he’s typing, YN appears in front of him, heels kicked off, and eyeliner starting smudge.

“Hi H,” She smiles widely from the door before sauntering in - trying to be sexy despite her clumsy feet.

“Hi, m’heart,” Harry responds with a humorous smile, letting a puff of air when she plops heavily on his lap like dead weight.

It only takes a moment before she’s starting to swivel her hips down onto his, she was always a horny drunk.

“C’mon pet,” Harry chastises, strong hands coming pause the motions, “Y’been drinkin’.”

“Please,” Her words whiny, “Get me off, baby.”

“I said no,” Harry says firmly, kissing her shoulder to ease his harsh words.

YN let’s out another spoiled whine of displeasure when she can’t move her hips even an inch, can feel him naturally responding to her.

“Don’t be a brat,” He reminds her, tapping his finger against her lips.

She can also be a crabby drunk.

“Wha’s a husband for if you’re not gonna get me off?” YN bites, slipping off his lap and muttering, “Do it myself.”

Harry grit his teeth at the jab of his husbandly duties but grunts, turning back to his computer screen, “Cheers.”

“Dick,” YN whispers to herself, not quietly at all, as she leaves the office without another glance his way.

Harry goes about his own business but it’s mere minutes later when he hears his wife call for him impatiently.

When he steps into their bedroom, YN is sat on the bed with a furrowed brow and pouty lips as she glares at him.

“I can’t get my dress off.”

“Y’just called me a dick. Now you want my help, hmm?” Harry hums with a teasing smirks, widening when his wife glares.

“Help me,” She simply demands, no manners whatsoever.

But Harry’s in love with the pouty, spoiled woman in front of him and he really can’t say no to her when she needs help.

He stands her up, hands brushing the caps of her shoulders before slowly taking the zipper down on the back of her dress.

Harry helps her step out of it, just in a soft cotton thong and he unclasps her bra to let it fall limply to the floor.

She turns around, leaning in to kiss his lips softly, and her hands come to the hem of his tee and lifting it up until the hard muscles of his stomach are revealed.

“Sweetheart,” He says with a disapproving frown but she’s hushing him quiet until she’s pulling it over his head and slipping it over her own.

It makes him soften, “M’so gone for you.”

YN just snorts and says, “Good thing I agreed to marry you then.”

-

MLB!YN.

The three boys were already fast asleep for the night.

Harry was waiting up for his wife in the living room, spread out of the further couch.

The couple had an app where they could track each other’s location and he was making sure that YN was okay constantly.

He must have dozed off because he is a bit disoriented when the front door closes a bit loudly and the sound of shoes being kicked off echos.

Then he sees his missus, looking absolutely gorgeous in a pair of tight high waisted jeans and a lacy bodysuit tucked into it.

“Hi mama, y’look so good,” Harry mumbles, rubbing his eyes and sitting up a bit more to drink in the sight of his wife.

By the bright twinkle in her eye, he could tell she had a nice buzz going still from most likely the blackberry margaritas she loves.

He couldn’t lie, he quite enjoyed when his wife was a bit tipsy. She was already cuddly and sweet without alcohol but it just intensified it.

Harry’s mouth went a bit dry when she shucked off both her tight jeans and body suit. It left her in a strapless bra and nude thong.

YN is quickly making her way to her husband and complaining, “Make room f’me.”

Harry does, wriggling onto his side and moving until his back is against the cushions.

She waste no time in laying down next time him on her side, facing him and nuzzling happily into the curve of his neck.

His hands can’t help but roam her now bare skin, tickling up her sides, squeezing at the plush of her hips, rubbing circles on her tummy.

“Missed you,” YN murmurs against his skin, sleepiness already coating her tone as she hums as he gives her back a few scratches.

“I missed you too. I thought about y’all night, mama,” Harry tells her truthfully, ducking down to kiss her nose.

YN sighs loudly, hands coming behind her to release the tight bra and tossing it to the ground, smushing her breasts up against Harry’s bare chest - it was sexual but it was still intimate.

“Why the sigh, darling?” He asks against her hair, it stills smelled like his shampoo, sandalwood and cinnamons.

“The girls were…talking about how they can’t believe how loyal you are to me because we’ve been together since college and you have all these other girls who are so gorgeous who want you,” YN usually doesn’t struggle with insecurity but every once in awhile a comment would make her unsure.

Harry pulls back and pulls her gaze to his, “The reason I’ve been so loyal t’you since college is because I’m fuckin’ bloody obsessed with you.”

“H..”

“Let me finish, don’t even have time to think about any other woman. I’m too busy thinkin’ about the next time I get t’fuck you, cuddle you, love on you.”

“I love you,” She smiles softly, letting the nasty quell of feelings dissipate.

“Plus, put three babies in you. Gonna put more in you. Best mama, best wife, nobody compares t’you. You’re m’soulmate,” Harry whispers against her lips before lightly brushing them together.

“Speaking about fucking me,” YN giggles coyly, taking her husband’s hands and moving them to her arse.

Harry groans, graciously squeezing the firm muscle in his palms, “Don’t tease me, know we can’t when y’tipsy.”

“Tomorrow?” YN asks hopefully, whimpering at the harsh grip he has on her bum.

Her husband lets out a honking laugh, “Y’act like i don’t try to get your cunt whenever I can.”

“Filthy mouth,” She chastises sleepily, thumb coming to drag along his full lips, dragging down a bit.

“Let’s get you up to bed, darling,” Harry nips at her finger, “Don’t want one of the boys getting an eye full.”

—

The next morning, it’s barely even dawn when Harry’s waking his wife up with suckling, wet kisses along the expanse of her tummy.

“H, fuck,” She groans, luckily not feeling hungover from the night before instead arousal pooling in the pit of her stomach.

“Mornin’ mama,” He rasps, voice scratchy - telling her he just woke up too.

“Did you just wake up and automatically start making a move?” She giggles quietly, running her fingers through his messy curls.

“Mmm,” He agrees without an ounce of shame, “Fuckin’ dream about you, can’t help I wake up wanting y’on my tongue.”

“Okay, go on then. Remind me why I married you,” YN teases but it gets cut off with a moan when he pushes her panties to the side and laps at her clit.

“Remember why you did now?” Harry replies cockily against her folds before dragging his teeth against the sensitive bud.

—

[harveywritings92]

Soulmate AU: Shay Cormack X Reader

Au: your Soulmate gets a scar, you get a tattoo in the exact same place it disappears once your soulmate kisses it , Reader's tattoos resemble ivy vines with a small black flower with red tips blossoming on the ends.

 Y/n frowned as she heard giggling coming from behind her back, Her older sisters were laughing at her again or to be more specific her soulmate's mark, ever since it showed up they've been more rotten than usual, possibly out of all them she wants to meet her soulmate instead marrying the first rich sod that blinked at them.

Their parents obviously shared Y/n's churning as both were soulmates and always encouraged their daughters to seek out their soulmates. however, when the scars started showing on the twins there was no rejoice in their eyes; just disgust and annoyance. when they did meet their soulmates they laughed in their faces, declaring fate be damned they would never be with "the help" or some low waged dock worker!

Sara the oldest twin who soulmate was a stable boy in Lexington, She married the prominent banker's son and lives in New York. Who's unbeknownst to Sara cheating on her with his actual soulmate who is a man, Y/n was the one who caught him, but won't say anything because she knows what will happen to those poor boys should anyone find out. 

while Lana the younger of the two whose soulmate was a quartermaster and large shipping vessel, is a mistress of a disgusting plantain owner who was a two decades older her who claims he's going to leave his wife for her. (good luck with that!)  

They mock and chastised Y/n for chasing a pipe dream and rave about how ugly and poor her soulmate must be and he's probably a smelly drunkard for getting such an ugly marks on the y/ht woman's body, Y/n just kept a straight face while they and their gaggle of high-class hens peck and squawk at her supposed misfortune.

As their mother & father chided twins for picking on their sister, Y/n sighed and decided she needed a break from this posh gig and being mocked. The y/ht decided to take a walk, after changing out of her dress and into a shirt, jacket and trousers and wandered out into the streets of New York enjoying the silence, when a black blur suddenly slammed into her knocking the y/hc woman to the ground bringing whoever it was down with her. 

The y/nat woman wince and looked up to see what hit her y/ec met brown Y/n was suddenly forcibly hoisted up to her feet a man and dragged away as distant sound of several angry footsteps came barreling in their direction, the stranger dragged her into ally and covered her mouth "Don't make sound do as I say..." a hoarse voice hissed in her ear as a flask suddenly found it's way in her field of vision, the y/ht swallowed then awkwardly nodded. 

When the guards turned the corner they were met by two men one tall and y/ht awkwardly walking down the alley reeking of alcohol and the barely conscious one was just barely holding on to a flask, [Shay had tossed his jacket into a hay pile] "Oy you two," the y/nat 'man' turned to look at them while struggling to keep 'his' friend steady. "Eh, w-whaz ya wunt?" the annoyed soldier grimaced at their hoarse scratchy voice and assumed they were a young lad. "Did you see a man run by, wore a black hood?" Y/n stared blankly at the group leader trying to register what he had said then slurred out "Him rynning vy n' knuck meh n' frewns ohver.." the men looked very confused. "What?" another soldier answered.

" I believe he said 'he ran on by and knocked him and his friend over' sir." 

"oh.. did you see where he went?"

" waz halpin hin upf bot i tink i zaw 'im goh dat wah [points an unsteady finger towards the docks.]'

"Hmmm?!"

"He thinks he went that way {points in the same direction Y/n pointed in]"

"Thank you, Oh and lad? [Y/n and Shay tense.] take it easy with the ales..."

The y/ht woman awkwardly nodded as Soldiers rushed down the alleys towards the docks and Y/n sighed in relief when they finally left them alone, the man next to her stood up to his full height nearly dwarfing you in comparison; you were shocked that you were able hold him up giving the bulk on him,

{taller reader] you sighed annoyed seeing your were almost the same height if this man, if he knew you were female he'd surely be intimidated by that, almost all the men you've met felt threatened by your height... they avoided you like the plague. 

You sighed ready leave when your new "friend" suddenly moved your h/c bangs out of your face staring intently at your tattoos... your face felt hot when you realized he had the scars to match them, after a few seconds of silence the man broke the silence with a smile.

"I have to say, this was definitely not how I thought to meet you...Lass." You starred at him shocked that he guessed your gender, he chuckled before awkwardly pointing out that your neck tie had come lose and could you didn't have an Adam's apple. 

So needles to say the walk back to your home was a lively one Shay told you he was bounty hunter who worked for a private company, he seemed pretty interesting. you wanted to ask about this company? but were abruptly interrupted by the snobby laughter of your sisters and their friends having their little party. 

You grimaced debating if you should bring him inside however your Mother saw you through the window and waved.  You sighed annoyed walking up the porch and towards the firing squad...

third POV

The snobby whispers and giggling from the girls soon died down when Y/n walked in with a very handsome and well dressed man, the tall/petit woman grimaced seeing her sisters eyeing Shay like hungry bobcats, as her mother & Father stood up and walked over curiously eyeing the man next to their youngest daughter warily. "Y/n dear would you introduce us?" the older woman press hope was clear in her voice as Shay stood up a bit straighter.

"Shay Patrick Cormack ma'am, I'm uh...*ahem* Miss Y/n's soulmate." immediately Y/n's sister's expressions shifted into annoyance and jealousy they processed Shay's word's "I would like to know if I have your blessing.? I wish the court Y/n." He asked as Y/n's father eyed him reluctantly as his older daughter's whispered and boasted about this whole thing being a ruse, Y/n paying mister Cormack, but the second Mr. L/n noted the matching scars he knew this was real.

"Very well Mr. Cormac you may court my youngest, But be warned should you hurt her..." Shay assured him that he would never harm his fated one, before kissing Y/n on her cheeks making her tattoos disappear, causing the women in attendance to ooh and aww while her sisters glared venomously at her...  Of course Y/n could care less about what those harpies thought, from then on out she knew she'd be happy for as long as she was with Shay.

[raziroo]

Kania | The Maze Runner Trilogy

Prologue [Dream; स्वप्न]

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe.

Why?

Water in her lungs. Yes, water. All around her, her fists banging on something, her feet not finding stable ground, water in her lungs, she couldn't breathe.

'Let me out,' she wants to say, to scream.

There are people watching. Why are they watching? She's not a circus act, why're they watching her? And, wait – if they're watching, why are they not helping her?

Help her.

Help her, help her.

Someone please help her. She's losing sight now, there are black spots in her vision. Her weight seems to have increased tenfold. She can't bang her fists, it's too tiresome. Her feet have found ground, but she's unable to stand.

Black in her vision. It's increasing, it's increasing, she's losing sight, she can't breathe, she's too heavy, someone help her.

She sinks down to the floor.

. . . . .

She's semiconscious.

Her eyes are closed, but she can very well hear it.

The deafening noises around her. The screeches, the bangs, clangs and churs that ring out for seemingly forever. She can sense the harsh light on the other side of her eyelids. She doesn't want to lift them.

She does, anyway. That's just the in-built curiosity in her. And the water in her lungs.

She coughs, she chokes. She spits out the water. Where the water goes, she isn't sure, because it falls through the rail that the box is made of. Intercrossed metal, that's all this cage is.

She looks around. There's boxes. Wooden, cardboard, a metal one too, as far as her deduction skills work in the dark.

She coughs a bit more.

She would like to scream for help, but her throat is scratchy. It feels as if it's on fire. She doesn't want to use it, even her lungs burn. Breathing feels like a task too, but that's necessary, so she doesn't try to stop breathing. That would cause more problem.

She shakily stands up, clutching the "walls" around her tight. So tight, it's making indents in her fingers. That pain stabilizes her a bit. The gravity of the situation dawns upon her.

She tries to comb through her thoughts, as to decipher how she ended up in this mess, but with the sheer adrenaline in her body, it takes a bit of time.

And these blaring lights. Even when her face is scrunched, eyes closed, this noise and lighting disturbs her quite very much.

She opens her eyes and looks up.

Oh no.

The cage is rushing up at inhuman speeds, and the pace is only increasing steadily. She falls to her knees. She screams.

Her shrieks don't help, not at all. It only just leads to more burning in her throat, but the position she's in is very scary.

She's rushing up, up, up, someone help her, her eyes close.

She falls down to the box's floor.

. . . . .

Her eyes snap open. Her chest is heaving. Above her is a clear sky.

It was all just a dream.

Her relief lasts only so long, because when she observes her surrounding once more, fear settles in her stomach like a pit of stones.

All around her are walls, legitimate this time, and all at least a hundred feet tall. They are all made of solid stone and cement, she is sure, and so is the floor. Much of the walls' surface is covered by ivy and plants. She looks down. The ground beneath her feet is mucky as well. There's dirt, and grime, moss, weeds growing through cracks, and something slimy in the mix too.

Her breathing comes in shallow pants, yet her chest heaves. She's panicking.

Calm down.

Calm down, calm down.

...

Someone help her.

No, calm down.

Calm down.

Calm down.

Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm-

Someone help her.

She wants to call for the help she so desperately needs, but she can't. Her voice won't work, she knows. In the midst of all this chaos, she knows her memories have been stolen. She's eerily calm about that, because first, she needs to calm down about the walls, and get out of here; she can have a panic attack about her memories later, even though it's taking her a lot of self-restrain to not start sobbing and wailing on the spot.

Calm down.

There's danger in the air. She can feel it. The presence of something perilous, she can feel it in her bones.

Calm down.

Calm down.

...

She's calm now, or as much as she can be. Her mind is working again, and not running a mile a second with probabilities and possibilities of what ways she can die in here.

She starts walking. What else can she do?

One step, two step, three step – right foot in front of the left one, then the left foot in front of the right one, then the right foot in front of the left one, and so on.

Her pace increases every sixty seconds.

Wait – sixty seconds? No, no, let's rather call it one minute. Yes.

Her pace increases every minute.

Soon she's walked for about ten minutes, and she's figured out one thing – these walls make a maze. And as far as her understanding goes, mazes are supposed to be fun. A little mind-boggling, too, but mostly fun.

This isn't fun.

She's jogging now. Right turn, then left turn, then right, then right, another right, right, right, left – She's going in whatever direction she feels like.

Her shallow breaths and routine footsteps have formed a kind of beat. She tries to keep jogging on that beat, her eyes on her feet.

1...4, 3, 2, 1...4, 3, 2, 1...4, 3, 2, 1...4, 3, 2, 1...4, 3, 2, 1...4, 3 –

She's collided with something. Someone. She's fallen back on her bottom, but she quickly gets up. The ground is dirty, and she knows she was sleeping on it a little bit ago, but she doesn't want to dirty her pants more.

She quickly gets up, and dusts her pants. She hadn't made much of a sound on falling – the same couldn't be said about the other person. They had let out a grunt. A loud grunt.

She looks up to see it was a boy, with dark hair, pale skin, eyes too difficult to make out in the glare of the sun, and he was sweaty. He is decent looking, she thinks. That thought sends her mind reeling to look for other male faces she could compare his to, to say if he really was decent looking or atrocious, but that was a fail.

She doesn't know how she looks.

He has an expression of sheer, pure, shock on his face. Why? Is she that ugly? She hopes not.

At least she knows she's a girl.

He's opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, appearing sort of like a gold fish.

What is her skin colour? She quickly glances at her hands. She has tan skin. What is her hair like?

The boy closes his mouth and blinks hard. He closes his eyes. 1, 2, 3 – he opens his eyes again. He still looks stunned.

Lifting a piece of her hair, which had a bit of grime on it, she deduces she had black hair. Not a lot of deduction skills needed there, but oh well.

The boy turns around. He turns back. He narrows his eyes and scrutinizes the girl. He brings out a water bottle from a backpack he was carrying, and gulps down a generous amount of it.

The girl's hands are very bony. Were everyone's hands this bony? Maybe. But what about her height-

Stop it.

Apparently, during her inner battle, the boy had gone crazy, for he was now holding a somewhat large dagger in his hand, and was about to strike the girl with it.

Her eyes widen.

She hightails out of there before the boy can process anything.

Right, right, right, right, right, left, right, left, left – the girl pauses for a breather. She must've lost him, because she couldn't hear footsteps. Not even distantly.

She begins jogging again.

The girl is growing tired. The sun had reached its peak and dimmed down, but the girl had kept jogging. Fortunately, she hadn't run into any more psychopathic teens, so that was that.

She's been jogging for quite a while now.

She reaches a turning and plops down against one of the stone walls. She closes her eyes. Now might be a good time to break down.

No.

She can hear footsteps. And voices. With her eyes closed, she can make out sort of chaotic noises. But the footsteps and voices aren't coming from the same place.

Wherever they might be coming from, she needs to hide. Quick.

She gets up, and as silently as she can, runs behind a wall. Peeking her head out the tiniest bit, the girl sees two boys running out of a corridor and into another. One of them is fish boy from before – the other is an East Asian guy with mussed up hair. She stays hidden behind that wall until she's sure the footsteps have faded fully. She sits back down.

Closing her eyes, the girl rests her head on the wall she's resting against. She thinks. She breaks down.

She doesn't remember anything. Why? She has no recollection of her past, no understanding of her future – what is going on? She meets this boy who looks at her like she's an abomination, and he goes to strike her with a dagger.

But wait a second. What if she really is an abomination? Some freak of nature no one wants around? As far as she can understand herself, she doesn't have any tentacles, or horns. She has skin, like humans do. Hair, a face, teeth, an elevated chest – girls are supposed to have that, she knows of that. She isn't dumb. So why...?

Tears leak out her eyes. She lets out a sob. It echoes around a tad, and that makes her feel lonely, so she presses her hands against her mouth, trying not to sob.

A noise interrupts her.

It's a deep, bellowing rumble of sorts, as if the earth itself is shifting. It's very loud, and makes her jump. She gets up shakily. She wants to get out of here, and get away from these walls. What if they fall down? She doesn't wish to get crushed, so she stays sharp, and quickly prances to the corridor the boys had headed into. Their footsteps had faded completely, so maybe they had left this nightmarish excuse of a maze. Maybe all of this was just an attraction at an amusement park, and she'd somehow got amnesia all of a sudden – that seemed to be a good enough answer for her just then. Maybe her parents are waiting for her outside. Yes.

So the girl jogs into the corridor, and is stunned by the sight before her. Two walls, not unlike the others she's encountered thus far, are the cause of this blood-curdling noise. They're closing in on each other. She gets over that quickly, and glances down.

She sees people moving here and there, all seeming busy.

Seeming panicked.

She quickly walks forward four steps, but pauses.

Someone's spotted her. It's another boy. This one is short and chubby, with curly hair atop his head. He calls to someone else. Pretty soon, there's a crowd around the entrance, but they aren't entering the paved ground. They're all boys.

They exchange bewildered looks.

Another person pushes forward. It's fish boy from before. His eyes widen.

The boys are all saying something, and it only rises in volume, but she can't hear anything because of the noise. She's forgotten getting out, and remembers it only when she catches the hazel-brown eyes of fish boy looking panicky. The walls close.

She runs.

She's been running for some time now. Night has fallen. The maze grows even more eerie, as if that was possible, and the silence is deafening.

She turns a corridor when she hears another noise. A hair-raising, bone-chilling, completely petrifying noise.

It's a mix between a growl and a loud screech, and is animalistic in the sort that it raises goosebumps.

She runs.

She runs and runs and runs, until she skids to a halt because there's a dead end.

It's not the sort of dead end you'd expect, however.

There's an outright gap in the ground, and there's zero sounds emitting from it. Just a white light.

She takes a few steps forward, and is just about to take a peek when –

SCRAWR!

The girl whips her head around and looks to see a monster – a gizmo – it's half machine, half creature, and the creature part of it is absolutely revolting.

It's heading towards her at alarming speeds, and before she can even think properly, she jumps - into the pit, not above it, because it's way too big for that.

A feminine scream echoes through the Maze and the Glade.

[dykedteach]

another prompt from this list series, where I’m determined to turn every angsty prompt into pure fluff, this time with a Christmassy twist! a flinthamilton modern au, with added maxannejack (jackannemax? maxjackanne?), and babies. lots of baby talk.

"I lost the baby."

Eleanor clung onto his arm for support, swaying slightly while her heels betrayed her.

"-and fuck him if he thinks that sending me a fucking postcard from the Bahamas counts as a Christmas present, did I mention that the last time he gave me an honest-to-god wrapped Christmas present I was fourteen? It was a stationery set, James, fucking stationery!" she yelled over the music, somewhere south of his ear. He patted her shoulder with his free hand.

"You did mention it, once or twice actually." he said softly, eyes scanning into the hallway. Spotting his husband's head towering over the small crowd, he extracted his arm from Eleanor's tight grip, guiding her towards Madi who was walking nearby. "Eleanor, you've told Madi about your father, haven't you?" he said, raising his voice slightly as they approached the woman. Madi pursed her lips, looking Eleanor up and down before meeting James' eyes. He silently pleaded with her, and Madi gave in, shaking her head gently with a smile. Hooking one of her arms through Eleanor's, she took the woman towards the garden.

James could still hear Eleanor's voice over the music as he snaked his way through the mass of people in her living room, finding his way back to Thomas. Leaning against the staircase, cheeks pink and a grin spread over his face, he made for an irresistible picture. He was embroiled in an animated conversation with one of Jack's friends, and cradled a large glass of red wine in one hand.

James slid up next to him, standing on tiptoes to hook his chin over a shoulder. Thomas tilted his head, grin spreading even further before he considered his husband for a moment and kissed him on the tip of his nose.

"Hello there, darling." Thomas purred, nuzzling in towards James. "I’m having a lot of fun, but I'm afraid I lost the baby somewhere along the way."

"I had noticed, as a matter of fact." James sighed, bringing an arm to wrap around his waist, fingers twitching against the scratchy wool of Thomas' hideous Christmas jumper, hand knitted by Miranda years previously. "Are you going to tell me where she is?"

The hand not holding a glass of wine was raised, and Thomas pointed towards the kitchen. "Somewhere over there. Anne stole her."

"Anne stole her?" James echoed, frowning at his husband. Thomas gave him a cheery grin, and then reached back into the pocket of his jeans.

"I have a present for you..." he said in a sing-song like voice, shaking out a bright piece of paper. It unraveled, revealing a vivid green hat, which he loosely placed on James' head. "Pulled a cracker with Billy while you were gone."

He sighed, knowing full well Thomas wouldn't be happy until he wore it properly, and tugged the paper securely over his head.

"Thank you, love. I'm going to find Ivy." he said, bending up to kiss Thomas on the cheek. He leaned in towards his ear, whispering as the music pumped in the background. "Be good while I'm gone." he said, the corners of his lips curling upwards.

Thomas raised an eyebrow as he stepped away, before fixing James with an amused grin.

"I'm a fucking delight, and you know it." he said, voice raised above the music. A few heads turned to look at Thomas, and James sighed as he walked away, leaving his husband to giggle against the staircase railing.

It didn't take long to find her. As soon as he entered the kitchen he saw the four of them, squirrelled away in the corner. Anne was sat on the counter, one ankle hooked around Max's leg and the other swinging to and fro, Jack hung beside them taking pictures on his phone, and Max stood in the midst of it all with Ivy in her arms. Jack waved at him as he got closer.

"Managed to get away from our darling hostess, have you?" Jack asked, leaning back against the counter. James snorted.

"More or less." he said, coming up beside Max and Ivy. Max took one pale, chubby wrist between her fingers and waved it at James.

"Look who it is! It's papa! Say, hi papa!" Max cooed in a sing-song voice. Ivy garbed, her bright eyes finding James, and her face split into a toothy grin. He smiled and put one finger out, letting her curl a fist around it. He had decided he didn't want to deprive Max of her joy just let, she had looked so happy with the baby.

"Has she behaved? More to the point, has her darling father while I’ve been gone?"

"Last I saw him, he'd snuck out for a smoke with Silver, when he gave us Ivy. She's been good as gold though, ain't you?" Anne said, leaning forward to tickle Ivy's cheek. James had been truly stunned to see how much of a natural Anne had been with the girl. He hadn't expected her to have much of a maternal instinct, and yet every time him and Thomas needed a babysitter, Anne would drag either Max or Jack (on rare occasions, both) at her insistence to look after the child. They got on incredibly well. He wondered if it was their shared hair colour.

"I didn't think Thomas smoked anymore?" Jack quipped with a frown. James tssk-ed, raising his fingers to brush through Ivy's soft ginger curls.

"He doesn't, technically. Only on the rare opportunities he gets to have a proper drink. He certainly seems to be enjoying himself tonight, at least." James said with an affectionate chuckle.

"He's not the only one, you know." Max laughed, balancing Ivy on her hip and dancing in time to the music with her. She sang to her as the girl giggled, bopping her head as she tried to copy Max.

"Belle of the ball, that one. Think it's clear which father she's inherited that particular trait from." Jack said, nudging him in the side with one pointy elbow.

"You should see him dance with her at home, he's at it all the time, it's no wonder she's picked up such a good sense of rhythm so well this young." he sighed with a happy smile.

Anne stepped back from the dancing pair, squeezing her way between the two men and leaning her head on Jack's arm.

"Always knew she'd be good at that sort of shit." Anne said, nuzzling into Jack's shirt. He brought an arm up behind her, wrapping it around her shoulder.

"You're both bloody fantastic with her, I never expected to see you so moony-eyed over the little tyke." he said. He pressed a kiss to her head, rolling his eyes at James in the process.

"You're not telling me you're thinking of getting one yourself, are you?" James joked, flashing Anne a bright grin. "They're damn expensive, dangerous too."

Anne didn't answer him, choosing instead to keep her eye trained on where Max and Ivy were spinning in circles around the kitchen island. Jack coughed, his spare hand coming up to rub at his cheek.

"Nothing is exactly...solidly decided, shall we say. But things have been..." Jack began, trailing off when Anne gave him a sharp glare. "...discussed."

He looked between them, quickly understanding that neither of them seemed to be joking around anymore. He picked up an abandoned bottle of beer from the counter and started idly picking at the wet paper with his fingers, tapping a foot to the beat of the music.

"You'll all be wonderful at it, you know." he said, much quieter now than they had been. "Whatever you decide to do. You've got enough of us here for support if you need it, you all certainly have helped us with Ivy. She'll enjoy having a little friend."

"You tell anyone-" Anne interrupted, voice low. "Anyone, even Thomas, and you're dead."

He held his hands up to her, earnest. "Not a word."

"On that note..." Jack said, looking at his phone as he pushed himself up from the worktop. "Charles has just sent me a text, apparently Eleanor has brought out the candy cane jelly shots in the dining room. I'd like to try one before they both swallow down the lot, ideally."

"Sounds like a plan. You coming?" Anne asked him, jerking her head in the direction of the door. He shook his head, stretching to check his own phone.

"I should be finding my darling husband, wherever he may be. We'll likely be making tracks soon, don't want to get home too late." he said, looking at his phone clock and finding that he'd misjudged the hour entirely.

"Fair enough. I think Madi and Silver are still having everyone over for coffee and mince pies Christmas Eve afternoon, so we'll see you then." Jack said, clapping him on the back as he left. Anne came to stand in front of him, eyes narrowed dangerously as she jabbed a finger twice into his chest.

"Remember, not a word, McGraw."

"I heard you the first time." he sighed, leaning down slightly as she gave him a tight one-armed hug.

He hadn't long finished drafting a text to Thomas, asking him where he was and when they could leave, when Max appeared at his side, a sleepy bundle curled up against her chest.

"The little princess is past her bedtime, I think." she said with a sigh, stroking a hand up and down Ivy's back. Seeing her father, the girl extended her arms, grabbing her hands at thin air while making tired little grumbles.

"Straight to sleep for you when we get home, hm?" he said, wrapping her up in his arms. She burrowed into his shirt with a yawn.

"I can go and find Thomas, if you'd like?" Max offered.

"It’s alright, I've just sent him a message letting him know I'm here, he shouldn't be long." he said, smiling at the woman. "Thank you again for playing with her for a bit, you didn't have to."

"Ah, it is my pleasure, as always. She's delightful." she replied, a wide grin spreading over her face and lighting up her eyes. "It has been a fun night."

"It’s still reasonable early, I'm sure Eleanor will keep the party going until almost dawn. Just try not to let her hurt herself maybe, or drunkenly call her father." he chuckled, before looking up to see Thomas coming into the room. He was frowning at James, eyeing him up and down.

"Where's your hat?" he asked, sounding slightly disappointed. James patted his head with his free hand, before spinning around and looking to the floor.

“I had it a moment ago, I promise.” James said. He continued to scan the ground, before a single delicate tap to his shoulder alerted him to Max standing right behind him.

“It was on the counter.” she said, sounding amused as she held the lurid green paper hat dangling from one finger.

“Ah, excellent!” Thomas said with a clap, taking it from her to position it on James’ nest of hair. He tried to stay still as Thomas fussed, but Ivy soon noticed the activity above her and wriggled against James’ chest. “Hello, darling. Daddy and papa will get you home soon.” he said, tickling her pink cheek.

“What have you been up to?” James asked him, rocking Ivy in his arms.

“Been outside with John. I know what he’s getting you for Christmas.” he said, a bright smile spreading over his cherry red cheeks.

“Do you now.” he said dryly, raising an unamused eyebrow at his husband.

“You’ll love it. Or hate it, maybe. He loves it. Madi isn’t so sure, apparently. I, for one, can’t wait to see your reaction.” Thomas said. He looked at his husband, happy and animated, and felt a surge of affection. He never got tired of Thomas’ seemingly endless enthusiasm for anything and everything he came across. He was particularly bad when it came to Christmas, his spirit practically infectious. 

“Right. Well, I should probably make the rounds and say goodbye to everyone quickly, let them know we’re off. C'mon, why don’t you cuddle with daddy for a bit.” he said, pressing a quick kiss to Ivy’s curls before handing her over to Thomas.

“Hello, my sleepy little angel.” he whispered, bringing her to his chest. Her head found his shoulder almost immediately. 

James stepped back, sneaking a picture on his phone while Thomas wasn’t looking, too busy tucking errant russet curls behind Ivy’s ear. He felt a presence at his shoulder, and saw Max looking at the screen.

“Truly adorable.” she whispered to him, face crinkled. “I won’t say goodbye to her, don’t want to disturb her. Come, I’ll follow you into the room, I should find Anne again.”

She took his hand in her slim one, leading him back in towards the party as they left father and daughter together sharing a peaceful moment in the kitchen. 

---

He’d already been awake for around twenty minutes by the time Thomas stirred, already shifting to seek out the heat of James’ body before he opened his eyes.

“Morning, love.” he hummed, moving his arm so that Thomas could snake underneath and rest his head on his bare chest. He put down the paperback he had been reading, checking the time again on his phone. 

“Morning.” he mumbled, the syllables almost entirely swallowed up by James’ skin. “Up long?”

He shook his head, carding his fingers through wheat coloured hair. 

“Not really. I’ll get up when I hear Ivy, take her down with me while I get breakfast started. Let you have a bit of a rest, at least.” 

Thomas chuckled. stretching his legs out under the sheets with a groan.

“Could use it. My head feels rather delicate.” he said with a wince. 

He reached over to the bedside table, retrieving a box of pills and a glass of water he’d left there last night in preparation. Thomas sat up, his face beaming as James handed them over wordlessly.

“What on Earth would I do without you, dear.” he sighed contentedly, before popping out some painkillers.

“Perish, surely.” James said, watching him as he swallowed the pills down. He looked over to the baby monitor, seeing Ivy still happily sleeping away in her crib, before bringing himself up to sit fully upright against the headboard.

“Spoke to Anne and Jack last night.” he began, fiddling with the corner of the duvet as he spoke. “Said that they’re thinking of having a baby, the three of them.”. He brought up a hand to his face, scratching his nails through the beard there. He’d need to trim it properly before Christmas, it was looking far too messy of late. “Of course, you know nothing of this, because I swore to Anne I wouldn’t tell you. So you haven’t heard a thing, naturally.”

“Naturally.” Thomas repeated, returning to his spot on James’ chest. He drummed his fingers on a pectoral. “It’s lovely news. They would make a wonderful family.”

“Like I said, they’re thinking still. You’ve seen how they get with Ivy, though.”

“Baby fever.” Thomas chuckled. “We’ll be surrounded by them soon. I’m sure it won’t be long before John and Madi get pregnant, too.”

He hummed in agreement, gazing up at the ceiling, lost in thought all of a sudden. When he’d been silent long enough, his train of thought was interrupted with the slide of Thomas’ lips against his, slow and languid in the chilly winter air of the bedroom.

“You’re off somewhere else, I can tell. You’re practically oceans away.” he whispered against his mouth, stroking along his beard. James grinned, giving him one last peck before pushing him back onto the pillow.

“Do you ever think about it?” he asked hesitantly. He opened his mouth to elaborate, before Thomas finished his sentence for him.

“Another baby, you mean?” Thomas said, stifling a yawn into the crook of his arm. “We could have matching ones. A little miniature version of you, and a little version of me.”

“Something like that, yes.” he chuckled softly. 

“The only way we’d likely get a mini-me is if it was another blonde. It was a fluke having your genes push through with Ivy, I doubt it would happen again.” he gave James a gentle shove with his elbow, grin crooking up at the side of his face. “You think Eleanor would be happy to carry this time?”

“Hey, I’m not stopping you from asking her. You do so at your own peril, however.” James said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. Thomas dragged him down into another kiss, slipping his tongue past his lips.

“You know...” he said, the words spilling out against James’ mouth. “Miranda always said she’d be willing do it again. We’ve got enough room, and Ivy would make a brilliant big sister.”

He rubbed his stubbled cheek against James’, pressing kisses near his ear. James arched into the touch, keeping one eye over his shoulder as he caught movement on the tiny screen.

“We’ll think about it, hm?” he said, watching the bundle start to toss and turn at last. “Right now, your darling daughter needs me.”

“I need you, James.” he breathed, grabbing ahold of his wrist and bringing his hand to the hardening crotch of his pyjama bottoms. No sooner had he touched Thomas, before morning cries began to fill the upstairs hallway and the crackly speaker of the monitor. 

“Later.” James said, holding Thomas’ face between both hands and kissing him on the slope of his nose. “There’s coffees and breakfasts and daughters and nappies to be seen to, I’m afraid.” 

He slumped face down onto the bed sheets, snuggling into the pillow below him. James dragged himself out of the bed, wrapping an ancient dressing gown around him before stepping out into the chilly hallway. 

“Love you!” he heard called after him, muffled through the pillow. He huffed out a laugh in the empty hallway. Maybe he’d bring Ivy back to bed with them for a little while after all. She could crawl around on top of the duvet for a while, bring in some of her blocks to play on the bed. Besides, it would be a lot warmer if they were all snuggled up together, he rationalised. Even if her father would rather have a lay-in.