#but today we’re doing presentations and i did mine first to get it out of the way

[roseworth]

trying to book a flight while sitting in class but my card is in my apartment and i can’t remember the number. so be honest if you’ve stolen my identity can you send me my credit card number so i can use it

[twice-inamillion]

Bunny Nayeon

Fluff, Smut (sex, penetration, creampie, bunny suit)

Chapter 229

1500 Words 

(The both of you go on a small trip together to celebrate Nayeon’s Birthday and having some quality time. Like always, this leads to a bit of fun and some fluff.)

You're taking a few days off to Jeju island with your girlfriend, Nayeon, for her birthday. She's been hinting at visiting the island for the past few weeks to take the first, and luckily, you caught on and reserved a short trip with her. 

During the first two days, both of you enjoyed some sightseeing around the island. That night after the second day, you and Nayeon enjoy dinner at the house. You both enjoy some barbecue and beers to celebrate her early birthday. 

“I love spending time with you alone, babe.”

“Yes, it’s been a while since we spent some time outside.” 

Nayeon shyly presses her chest against your arm and says, “How about having some fun together?”

“What did you have in mind?”

She gives you a small smirk, “you know…”

“You mean…”

“Yeah… I even brought a small surprise that I think you’ll like.” She continues to press her chest against your arm and can feel your dick waking up from its nap. She looks down and sees a small bulge. “Our little friend here seems to have woken up,” and she presses her hand on it. 

“You're being proactive today,” as you caress your hand under her chin.

“It's just that we're here alone. There's no one to bother us,” as she continues to stroke her hand on your bulge. She can see your member slowly wake up, “Wait here. I'll be right back.”

You get up, put the dishes away in the sink, and clean the tables down when you hear Nayeon shout from the upstairs room, “Can you come up here?” 

You’re mid-way to the hallway when you see Nayeon, and your jaw drops. “What do you think? Do you like it?” 

In front of you is Nayeon, wearing a white bunny costume. The outfit leaves little to the imagination: a one-piece suit with a bunny tail and an earpiece. Nayeon turns around, shows you her nice thighs, and shakes her small butt. She tells you to come over using her finger, and you drop the towel on the floor and rush upstairs. 

Nayeon runs towards the master suite, yelling because you are chasing her. You climb onto the bed to get to the other side, but Nayeon stops you. She places a finger on your lips, “It’s my birthday, so I want to unwrap my present that’s hiding under those pants.” She bites her lip, teasing you. No other words are needed as you start to take off your shirt and then your pants, leaving you in boxers. 

You’re now sitting on the corner of the bed with Nayeon sitting on your lap. She kisses you, twisting her long tongue throughout your mouth, even sucking on it. You grab her hips, smacking her ass which makes her yelp. She pushes you down and begins to grind on you. “Do you like that? Do you like it when I dry hump you?”

Your cock is starting to pitch a tent under your boxers, and Nayeon sees it, “You’re going to be mine tonight.”

”Yes, I’m all yours.”

”How does it feel not being the one in charge?”

”Hot. I love it when Noona rides me,” teasing her.

”Hey, who told you to call me that?”

“Just want to tease you.”

“You’re making me feel old.”

”How does it feel fucking someone younger?”

”I’m not old; we’re only a few months apart.”

”Haha, you’re still older.”

“Shut up,” and Nayeon pushes you down, attacking you by bitting your shoulder with her bunny teeth. She lifts her head and looks at you before going back and nibbling on your shoulder. 

After a while, she sticks out her tongue and licks where she just bit you. When she's done, you get up and see the area where she but you are completely red and wet from her drool. 

“You left me a mark.”

“Didn't give me much of a choice; you were making fun of me and calling me old.” 

“Sorry, baby.”

“Just don't do it again, and I won't bite you.” You nod, agreeing with her. She then starts to ride you again with her thin fabric rubbing against your groin. 

Nayeon looks at you with hungry eyes and bites her lip, “I'm going to eat that carrot of yours right up,” and moves the fabric that's covering her cunt. You see a thick amount of nectar drip and cover your stomach. She moves your pants and places your cock between her wet lower lips. Nayeon slowly rides you, her pussy lips coating cock with her nectar, “How does my pussy feel? Do you like it?” 

“Yes, it feels so good; it wraps around me so perfectly.” 

Nayeon smiles at your compliment and puts more of her weight on your cock. You place your hands on her ass cheeks and give them a good grab. 

She continues to tease you for a few more minutes until she feels your cock throbbing. “Oh no, you can't now.” 

She lifts herself up and grabs your cock with my hand, and aligns herself to her entrance. You watch as she traces her folds with your cock before penetrating herself. 

“Oh fuck… you're so big, I missed this feeling,” as the tip of your dick spreads her pussy open. She tries to adjust herself to your length, but you can't wait any longer. You grab her by the hips and pull her down, impaling her with your large cock. 

“Ah fuck!” Nayeon’s whole body spasms; her cunt clenches on your cock as she has her orgasm. You see her body shake violently, squirting you with love juice. Nayeon drops her body onto you as you hold her tight in your arms. 

You don’t give her a chance to rest as you begin to thrust inside of her. “Babe, I’m still sensitive, wait…” she whines out loud. She places her hands on your abs and tightens her thighs around your waist as you fuck her. “Fuck… you’re tightening your walls.”

”Ahh…ahh…just like that… keep on going.” 

It doesn’t take too long for you to reach your peak, “I’m going to cum, Nayeon noona.”

”I told you not to call me noona!” Nayeon tightens her walls, gripping your cock to the point of no return, “where should I…”

“Inside, breed me like a bunny!”

“If that's the case, then take it all!” 

You feel the hotness in your core disperse as you flood Nayeon with a large wave of thick cum. She arches her back, feeling your baby batter invade her hungry womb. The more you pump your cum inside her, the more her walls milk you. 

“Fill me up, mark this bunny pussy as yours, and let's have some bunnies,” as she digs her nails into your chest.

After having her womb filled with your cum she slips off your cock and onto the bed, rubbing her face on your chest. The two of you enjoy your time together before cleaning up and getting ready for bed. 

Coming out of the bathroom, she jumps onto the bed, “You filled me so much that I had a hard time cleaning up.”

“You told me to do it inside, so I did, haha.”

“I noticed you came more than usual. Did me telling you about making some bunnies turn you on?” 

You try to hide your expression, and you can see her smiling. “Haha, you do! Hahaha.” She rubs her face on the pillow and turns to face the opposite side of you, imagining the idea of having children with you. 

You lie on your side, embarrassed, and cover yourself with a blanket. After a few minutes, you feel a tap on your shoulder, “I wouldn't mind having your children, maybe sometime in the near future. As for right now, we can try having all the sex we want; I'll even let you put your cock inside me whIle we sleep” teasing you. She pulls her shorts down and spreads her cheeks, giving you a view, and sticks her butt out. 

“Do you want to put it in?”

You don't even need to respond as you take off your own shorts, grabbing your flaccid cock and pulling Nayeon closer to you. With one hand, you spread her cheeks a bit more and insert your cock inside her. 

She wiggles her butt and moans as she feels your cock, “Hmm… it’s not even hard, but it’s reaching deep inside.” Nayeon continues to grind her butt on your pelvis, making you hard and feeling you grow inside of her. 

“Ahh…so big.” 

She places her hand on her belly and rubs the small bulge on her pelvis, “You’re so big that it wants to poke out.” The two of you slowly fall asleep, embracing each other throughout the night. 

[angstywaifu]

The Lost Sister - Part 11

Synopsis: Xaden is known as an only child due to his sister who 'died' during the Rebellion. Little do they know she didn't die and has been so close this entire time.

Garrick Tavis x OC

A/N: Threshing is finally upon us! You finally get to meet Ophelia's dragon. Please let me know your thoughts on them. I would love to see it. I have left a photo of her dragon at the bottom, so if you do not want spoilers, do not go looking! The Lost Sister Masterlist | Masterlist

Threshing. The day we either walk out a rider or die trying to become one. Or come out without an dragon. And honestly I’m scared shitless. No amount of training can guarantee your survival, that’s all up to the dragons. As I look around the dining hall, I notice most of the first years are either eating small amounts of food or not at all. Some have even opted to skip the meal entirely. We’re all on edge today.

I force myself to eat another mouthful of food before pushing my plate away and making my way to threshing. I don’t get far before a hand grabs my arm and pulls me behind a pillar, my hands landing on the very solid chest of Garrick.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to pull you in so hard.” He says as he takes a step back, my hands falling to my sides.

For a moment we just look at each other, taking in the presence of each other. Besides me being dead for a few years, the last few weeks have been the longest we’ve ever gone without talking or being around each other. And judging by the slight shadows forming under his eyes as well as mine, it’s not doing either of us any good. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it at presentation day.

“Look, we don’t need to talk about that day. It can’t wait till after threshing.” He starts as he starts to nervously pace back and forth in front of me, his eye brows furrowed as he thinks about what he wants to say.

He stops in front of me, places his hands on my shoulders, his thumb tracing over the gauntlet patch that now adorns my uniform. A slight smile forming in his lips.

“But promise me you’ll do your best to come back out of there today.” His mouth opens as he goes to continue but he falls short as his eyes look down into mine.

He quickly pulls me into a hug tighter than the one he gave me on my first day here. I feel him instantly relax as I wrap my arms around him, and I’m sure he feels me do the same as I bury my head in his chest. He rest his head on top of mine, and I’m pretty sure I feel him press his lips to the top of my head.

“I don’t need to tell you good luck, you’re the best cadet in your year. Just make sure you come out alive, dragon or not. You’ve got this little one.” He whispers to me.

I don’t trust my voice right now with so many unspoken things between us. But I nod my head, which I know he feels by the way he tightens his grip on me for a brief second. Behind the pillar, tangled in our embrace, it almost feels like we’re in a world of our own. As if we’re far away from the reality of threshing that’s about to start. He releases his hold on me, and leans down and presses his lips to my forehead before departing. Garrick was never one to show emotion like that, so him leaving without another word doesn’t phase me. As he said we will talk after threshing. ———

The feeling I got in presentation day is back. Like something else is present in my mind. I look around for the glimpse of white but I find nothing. White dragons didn’t exist. I had to have seen something else that day. Another coloured dragon that had reflected off the sun weirdly. That had to be it. White dragons did not exist.

Are you sure?

The thought catches me off guard. Halting me in my tracks. I heard it in my head but it didn’t sound like my own. As if someone else was there. I look around the small clearing I’ve walked into but see nothing. I’m alone. Or so I thought.

Hot air cascades over me. The same hot air I felt on presentation day. Dragons breath. I turn slowly and come face to face with a large brown club tail dragon. It almost reminds me of Garrick’s dragon, but I know it’s not. Garrick has described his dragon to me before, and had even seen a projection of it in classes. Maybe Garrick and I would have matching brown dragons. But I know this dragon does not belong to me. It just doesn’t feel…. Right.

A loud thud echoes around the clearing, the ground shaking with it. The brown dragons eyes go wide before slowly stepping away. Almost as if it was… scared. In its eyes I catch a glimpse of white.

I slowly turn around, and behind me, perched on a large pile of rocks and boulders is one of the biggest dragon I’d ever seen. And the only white dragon I had ever seen. The white I’d seen on presentation day. But it’s not completely white. Its eyes, tips of its horns and dagger tail, and the webbing of its wings are all a bright crimson red. I’d seen red dragons before with white, or very light yellow bellies and under scales. But this dragon was the reverse of that. And honestly it was beautiful. I hear the brown club tail take off behind me, leaving me alone with the white dragon.

The dragon jumps off the rocks gracefully as it makes its way slowly over to me. Each step shaking the ground beneath me. When it’s close enough it leans its head down to me and looks me directly in the eyes. Up close I’m just reaching above its ankle.

Yes. You’re the one I’ve been looking for. Ophelia Riorson.

It’s the same voice I’d heard earlier. The same presence I had felt on presentation day. This was my dragon. The presence in my head changes to one of pride at my recognition of who this is. As if sensing the question I’m about to ask she speaks in my head.

You can call me Mealladh.

“Going to take me a bit to learn how to say that.”

She lets out a light chuckle at my remark. Good to know she can take a joke.

You will learn. We will hopefully have many years for you to get it right.

”I saw you. On presentation day. You were in the trees. Weren’t you?” I ask as I look her over.

Now that she is closer, I can see the underside of her is slightly darker than the rest. She’s grey underneath. Almost the perfect colour match to the clouds. She would be almost invisible from above.

She nods. I was there. I knew as soon as I saw you, that you would be my first rider. You are what I’ve been waiting for.

“Why me?” I ask her. She’s clearly not a young dragon. The way she holds her self, and the presence in my mind tells me she isn’t a new mature dragon. And if the leadership knew of a white dragon, we would have known about it. Why had she waited all this time? And why me?

Firstly I am not a white dragon. I am a red dragon. And the rest will come with time little one.

My eyes go wide at her nickname for me. The same nickname Garrick used for me.

She chuckles, hot air blowing over me. Now climb on, we have a show to put on. And I get the feeling we’re gonna cause a bit of commotion amongst your leadership when we land.

I climb up her leg with ease, and find my spot on her back easily and settle down. Clearly satisfied I’m in a good spot, she wastes no time on launching us into the air. In seconds we’re about the trees, soaring in the sky. In the distance I see the flight field. I didn’t realise how far I had walked. I must have been going faster than I thought. Mealladh puts me through a series of manoeuvres, seeing if I can keep my seat. But somehow I get it’s all for show, to please the leadership watching us down below.

A smile spreads across my face as we sore above the tree line, effortlessly gliding through the air. It almost feels like second nature to me. Like I was made for this. Made to be a dragon rider. But another part reminds me, Melgren had essentially trained me for this. I try to push the thought aside, but then it dawns on me. He will be in the flight field waiting. He will want to see if I survived threshing, and bonded a dragon he deemed worthy. Me bonding with Mealladh was definitely going to draw more attention to me from him.

As we start our decent I see we are one of the first ones back with only a few dragons down below. And I can feel all eyes on Mealladh and I. As we land nearly everyone takes a few steps forward as if they can’t believe what they’re seeing. I dismount from Mealladh with ease, and take a moment to look around the flight field. There’s only a handful of first years with dragons around me. None of them I recognise. I’m the first of my squad and wing to land.

Here goes nothing. I think as I start my walk down to the roll keeper and leadership, all looking at us with looks of disbelief.

You will be fine. Mealladh speaks in my head startling me. I’d almost forgotten she can hear my thoughts if I don’t shield her out. Not that I would want to.

About halfway to the roll keeper, a Brown Scorpiontail lands next to me, their rider dismounting in a rush, running around the front leg to look at me. Garrick. His eyes instantly meet mine and he smiles proudly at me. Relief evident in his eyes that I’ve made it back alive. Then his eyes shift to Mealladh behind me and his eyes go wide in disbelief. He looks up at Chradh who nods their head at Garrick, clearly having a conversation. Chradh must be why Garrick flew in so quickly. He must have sensed through the other dragons I had bonded.

I shift my focus forward as I near the roll keeper waiting for me. On her left is General Sorrengail. Violet’s mother. I had only met her a few times in my time at the college. She gives me a curt nod. On the roll keepers right. General Melgren. His eyes narrow at Mealladh and I.

“Interesting Dragon you have there Riorson. Different colouring for a Red Dragon.” Melgren states as I take my place. “Don’t think we’ve seen them before.”

I ignore his words and keep my focus on the roll keeper who is still staring at Mealladh behind me

“Ah, what is the name of your d-dragon? She stammers out nervously.

“Mealladh.” I state proudly before I turn to go back to my Dragon, not giving Melgren a chance to talk to me.

The entire way back I can feel his eyes on me. Watching my every move. I look up at Mealladh to see her glaring at Melgren behind me.

I don’t like him. A low growl echoes from her. I don’t have to turn to know she is talking about Melgren.

“Neither do I.” I swear I hear her chuckle at my response as I take my place beneath her as we wait for the other first years to come back.

Slowly the flight field fills with other first years and their bonded dragons. As I glance over the first years and their dragons, I see Garrick staring at Melgren who is still watching me like a hawk. Melgren is too focused on me to notice his gaze. If he did, Garrick would have a target on his back. Though something tells me he already does with the mark on his arm and how close he is to my brother.

It doesn’t take long for Melgren’s attention to deviate from me as Violet lands in the flight field with a dragon even bigger than mine. The unbonded black dragon at that. A flash of gold catches my eye and I spy the Golden Feathertail under the black dragons wing. The one others had talked about on presentation day. As Violet announces both the Black and Gold Dragon as hers, all hell breaks loose.

Part 12

@riorgail @going-through-shit @fw-gt @bbkissme99 @xceafh Ophelia's Dragon - Mealladh

[sparklefics]

Is it too much to ask?

Avengers! Bucky& Reader

WC:767

A/N: I don’t normally take naps during the day but today I did and apparently I woke up feeling inspired. This is just an outburst of fluff! 😘

Gif not mine

Warnings: emotional support, Bucky being a friend—we love to see it.

[Masterlist]

You could never find Bucky Barnes intimidating. Regardless of his past, regardless of his physique you couldn’t see him as a threat.

Which is why you were quick to befriend him. No one else on the team managed to bond with him as quickly as you did. At first no one wanted to be his friend, apart from you and Steve, but they quickly got over that when they saw Bucky take a bullet for you while on a mission.

Bucky was a good man. Sure he’d been brainwashed to commit crimes but at his core he was and still is a good man.

After he took that bullet for you he became more talkative, even if it was in private just the two of you but he was talking. He became your friend. He is someone, sometimes the only one, you turn to when you’re feeling blue.

I wish I was special to someone.

Today was one of those days. It was Morgan’s birthday and while everyone was celebrating the little girl’s 7th birthday you sneaked off to the indoor greenhouse. That’s where Bucky found you, because of course he was the only one to notice your absence.

He quietly snuck into the room while you were watering the daisies. “Hey you.” He whispered when he reached your side.

“Hey.”

He could tell something was off, you were being monosyllabic. Bucky took the watering can from your hands and set it aside, then pulled you into his chest for a bear hug.

Neither of you said anything for a while, you just stood there with your face nestled into his warm chest while he rested his chin on top of your head. Occasionally pressing a kiss to the crown of your head.

“You good?” He finally asked, still not letting go of you.

You simply nodded your head.

“Then how come you’re hiding out while everyone is up there having a good time? That’s usually my thing.”

You took a deep breath, “Special days have a special way to remind me that…well, I’m just me. You know?”

“I’m not sure I get it. Tell me more.” He encouraged you by rubbing circles on your back. “You know I won’t judge.”

“Okay. You know I'm happy for Tony and Pepper. They’ve figured it out, how to keep doing what we do and still have a life, a family. And while I know I’m Morgan’s favorite avenger—yes, I know that she loves you but she told me herself I’m her favorite— I still feel…inadequate. Incomplete and sometimes just unhappy, lost and like I just don’t belong… I guess I just wish I was special to someone.”

That hit Bucky like a ton of bricks.

He very much understood now what you meant. Hell, he could relate.

“Baby, you are special to me, to the team.”

He definitely slipped by calling you baby but he needed you to understand that you make a difference in his life. You truly are special to him, in more ways that he can even explain.

You dared to look up at him and found yourself hypnotized by the sincerity in his eyes. “You think I’m special?”

“You are the most special and important person in my life. And I know what it's like to want something…to want someone, to want someone to be your special someone.”

“Uncle Buck? Y/N?” Morgan interrupted the moment, “come on! We’re gonna open presents and have cake!!”

“Well we can’t miss that now can we?” Bucky said and pulled you by the hand and followed Morgan up to the main floor.

“Bucky,” you whispered as you stood by his side on the ride up the elevator. “What did you mean by that?”

His grip on your hand tightened, “Sweetheart, I’m saying you are my special, you have my heart and it’s yours if you want it.” He smiled at you then dropped a kiss to your cheek.

You felt like bursting into tears.

He wasn’t one to express his feelings so freely or openly so you knew he was serious about this. You didn’t get a chance to say anything back because just then the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

Bucky let go of your hand and whispered, “you don’t have to say anything…just think about it.”

You followed him out, almost had to jog to keep up with his pace. Once he was within your reach you grabbed his hand and laced your fingers. That stopped him in his tracks.

“There’s nothing to think about. It’s you and I, James. You have my heart too.”

[w1ldthoughts]

The Forgotten One Chapter One: Cheers to Four Years

Pairing: CEO!Jack Harlow x Amnesiac!Reader

A/n: First chapter of The Forgotten One Series! So excited to do my first Jack Harlow AU. It’ll be emotional and stressful but hopefully you all enjoy it!

Warnings: car accident description, hospital stay and description of injuries.

When your alarm sounded that morning, you were ready to go. There was so much to do today with so little time to get it all done. With a mental list in mind, you tried to sit up in bed to grab your phone and type it all out but a heavy weight pulled you right back down to reality.

“Don’t know where you’re about to go without a good morning kiss or anything? On our anniversary no less? My god.” Jack whines, pressing his lips to your bare shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” you laughed. “Happy anniversary baby, you’re the love of my life.”

“That’s better isn’t it?”

The man’s smile says it all. He pulls you further into his arms, allowing your upper body to rest on top of him. “This—this is better.”

“Ever since you moved in, I think I’ve slept a lot better. Having this be our home instead of just mine has brought me so much peace. You bring me peace. Happy anniversary y/n.”

The kiss started off slow, lips lightly brushing together and filled with anticipation. Jack’s hands roamed your body, his hands finding purchase on the small of your back. He drew small circles against the sheet that was still covering your body, deepening the kiss. “We should skip work today, spend some quality time celebrating. Four years is a pretty big deal, you know?”

“It is a big deal but I have a big meeting at work today that I absolutely cannot miss. So I gotta go before I’m late. You and I both know my boss is all about us being 15 minutes early or we’re late while he shows up whenever he wants.” You tell him with a giggle, poking his nose.

He watches you get up from the bed and huffs out a breath, looking miserable. “So you’ll leave your boyfriend in bed who loves you so much to go see your terrible boss?”

“Yes, yes I am. Because this is my dream job and on the bright side he’s very sexy. So at least I’ll have something to look at.” After getting ready, you give him one last peck on the lips and tell him you have a gift for him tonight after dinner.

Pulling into your parking spot at Churchill Downs Inc. will never get old. The company was a foundational part of the state of Kentucky and you were lucky enough to get a small HR position out of college and steadily worked your way up to Director of Operations. Another girl who started at the company at the same time you did had climbed the ladder with you along the way and without Cleo’s support and encouragement during some very trying times, there was no way you’d be where you are today.

After swiping your company ID, you took the elevator up to your office on the 13th floor, welcomed by your assistant Ben who held your favorite coffee in his right hand and an overview of who would be attending the meeting in his left. Cleo came in a few minutes later to give a numbers update for you to present to the board, and to make lunch plans.

“I’m probably gonna order us some Proof on Main because I’m not leaving here until 8 tonight. Need to meet with Elijah down in accounting to make sure we’re on track and he’s been kind of hard to track down so I’ll be here for a while.” Cleo sits down on the couch in the corner of the room. She claims it’s her designated spot. “What time are you and Jack going to dinner?”

“Reservations are for 6:30 I think. So I’ll probably head out around 4:45.”

“I seriously cannot believe you guys have been together for four years,” she laughs. “Do you remember when we—“

“We don’t have to talk about the dark ages. Not when we had cubicles by the bathrooms and packed tuna sandwiches for lunch because we had to save our money to pay bills.” A shiver went down your spine at the thought of living paycheck to paycheck while having to dress up for various fundraisers and galas on a very small budget.

“Those were the days. Wouldn’t want to spend my nights watching ‘Good Girls’ and eating ramen on the couch with anyone else. I love you and I’m really glad we get to do this together every day.” Cleo states proudly, wiping a fake tear from her eye.

You stood up from your seat to grab her hand in agreement. “I love you too. And I will see you in 30 after my meeting. Wish me luck.”

“Please, you don’t need luck. You run this shit.”

Walking into a board room to speak in front of a group of men lit a fire under you that was hard to explain. Yes, Cathy and Rachel were on the board as well but they had probably been sitting in these meetings since you were in middle school. You walked around to the front of the board room and handed out the information sheets, giving everyone access to the numbers you’d be referencing and where they came from in case there were any questions. The entire board was in attendance, except your boss. Of course he’d demand that everyone be early and he was nowhere to be found. After giving it five minutes to see if he’d show up, you began to speak.

“Okay so I’m going to keep it short and just go over some big picture things for you all so everyone is on the same page regarding the schedule. We have racetrack inspections starting Wednesday and the repair crew will come in some time after to give a final ‘all clear’ and—“

The door opens and he walks in wearing a beige knitted top with olive green pants and brown New Balance 550s. How wonderful it must feel to be a modern day CEO. And comfortable. He simply sat down at the opposite end of you and was immediately handed all the necessary paperwork to catch up.

“As I was saying, we’re starting the newest season in the fall. Sports books open back up in six weeks which means that we need to beat out the numbers from last quarter. You all know that we had record breaking numbers in both wagers at $796 million and profit, which was at $319 million. From where we’re at today this quarter’s target numbers are $803 million in wagers and $360 million in profit.” You looked to the table at the impressed faces staring back at you, feeling proud. There was a very limited number of questions and the meeting was adjourned, everyone heading back to their respective offices, except for your boss who stayed behind as you grabbed your stuff.

“What could you possibly have been doing to show up to this meeting 12 minutes late?” You questioned him as he scrolled through his phone, very unmoved by your annoyed tone of voice.

“I’m sorry,” he put his phone down and stood up, placing his hands on your shoulders, making you relax a bit. “My girlfriend and I have pretty big plans tonight and I just had to make sure that Sadie cleared my schedule. You know she forgets things sometimes.”

You scoff, feeling tension in your shoulders again. “That’s because she wants to fuck you. So badly. Everyone knows that.”

“Well sometimes good things happen when you have sex with your boss. Like a four year, extremely stable, healthy and sexy relationship? Best thing that ever happened to you?” Jack beams, kissing your forehead.

“Hm, I guess life with you isn’t so bad, boss.”

“Hey enough with the dirty talk y/n. We’re on the clock.” He states, walking in front of you, getting ready to open the door.

“I literally didn’t say anything remotely sexual.”

He stops right as his hand touches the door handle, turning around to face you. His ocean eyes filled with pure adoration. “You don’t have to say anything. Just know I want you, all the fucking time.”

“Good thing you have me all to yourself then, huh?”

Your boyfriend gives you a knowing look, “I can’t wait to show you tonight how grateful I am to get to be with you.” He pecks your cheek and fully opens the door, heading back up to his office.

Before you knew it, 5pm hit and it was time to head home and get ready for dinner. You opted for a black leather miniskirt, a black top with an olive green trench coat and boots. Jack was leaning on the kitchen counter, typing away on his laptop clad in an all black outfit. Of course. After showering you with compliments and sneaking in a few cheeky kisses, it was time to leave.

The two of you headed off to the restaurant and were immediately seated in a private section for some much needed peace and quiet. He never really drank but for this occasion, he ordered two glasses of their most expensive wine.

“Cheers to us. Four years down, the best time of my life.” Jack declared, a light clink of your glasses hitting each other the only other sound in the room. “Here’s to so many more adventures together. I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you too. Cheers bubs.”

He laughs, shaking his head at the nickname that secretly made his stomach tingle. “So…gifts. I know we said we wouldn’t make a big deal out of it this year but I feel like we’ve been working so hard and haven’t actually gotten to spend time with each other for more than a day outside of work in the last few months…”

“Jackman, what did you do?” You mused.

“We’re going to the Maldives in two weeks. Just you and me and a California king bed overlooking the second most beautiful view I’ve ever seen. The first is you being naked if I wasn’t making myself clear.”

“No, I got it.” You reassure him with a giggle. This was really the man you chose out of all others in this world. “And I think it’s a great idea. Thank you my love.”

“Anything for you, pooks.”

Now it was your turn. “I’ve literally been looking for something to get you for months because what the hell do you get someone who already has everything they could possibly want? And I figured it out. You’re always in the office until late and I miss you. So I got an upgrade for your home office and it’s being set-up as we speak. It's a noise canceling Livit Studypod so you won’t have to physically be in your office to get that quiet feel you need when you’re trying to focus. That way I can just be downstairs if you need a break or whatever.”

“That is actually perfect, you’re a fucking genius.”

“I know.” You respond, taking a bite of your food. “It’s why you fell in love with me, even if I didn’t like you. Not even a little.”

Jack sighs, thinking back to a time that felt like centuries ago. “And now look at you. Can’t get enough of me.”

“If that’s what you tell yourself so you can sleep better at night then I’m gonna let you have it.”

On the way home, you and Jack were belting out “Candy Girl” by New Edition. He remembered going straight right after the light turned green. Everything happened so quickly after that, but also the world seemed to be going in slow motion. The other car must have been going at least 60 mph when it hit the passengers side. There was glass…everywhere. His all black Aston Martin DBX spun eight times before smashing into the median, leaving behind an overwhelming smell of burned rubber and gas. Bystanders watched in horror as the Prince of Kentucky and his longtime girlfriend were pulled out of the totaled car, placed on stretchers and heaved onto different ambulances. The scene looked catastrophic and all anyone could do was pray and hope for the best.

Two days went by. Two days full of national news coverage about the young CEO of Churchill Downs Inc. and the accident. The man who hit them walked away with a few bruises on his face and a broken nose from the airbag as well as getting arrested for driving under the influence. The only sounds that could be heard in Jack’s hospital room was the steady beep of the machines and his dad Brian’s soft snores. It was the first time in 37 hours that he’d actually slept. His mom was sitting next to the bed, nursing her ninth cup of coffee in the last day.

The first thing he felt when he woke up was the searing pain in his left shoulder. Then the fact that his lips were chapped and he was in desperate need of some water. He blinked his eyes open and attempted a deep breath, groaning at the painful sensation that resonated throughout his entire body.

“Jack? Sweetie, hi.” Maggie whispered, tears escaping the exact same blue eyes that were now staring back at her. “You’re awake. How—” she blew out a breath that she’d been holding since she arrived at Norton Hospital. “How are you feeling? Are you in any pain? I can—I can call someone to give you more meds or—”

“I’m fine, mom.” He rasps out his voice hoarse from lack of use. “How’s y/n? I need to see her. Where is she?” Jack mutters, getting himself ready to stand up from his bed. His dad and Clay pop up immediately, broken out of their sleepy daze to ease him back down.

“You can’t go anywhere bro.” Clay tells him. “You broke your collarbone, a grade two concussion and got a pretty nasty cut on your shoulder.”

His dad places a comforting hand on his good shoulder, “just take it easy son. She’s just next door and we’ll take you to her when you’ve got a little more energy.”

“Fine.” Jack scoffs, feeling too tired to argue. “Is she okay at least? Can you tell me anything?” The trio exchange looks that make him feel like they’re preparing him for the worst. “Somebody please tell me. I can—I can handle it.” He whispers, trying to settle his breaths. And even though everyone in the room knew that he definitely would not be able to handle it, they had to tell him.

Maggie sat at the side of the bed and placed a hand on her son’s leg. “Honey, she’s not awake yet. And it’s not looking good. The—impact of the crash caused some swelling in her brain and they had to put her in a medically induced coma. They’re still running tests but she,” his mom pauses at the look in her son’s eyes. It was like the light had gone out in them and the more she spoke, the more despondent he looked. “You should probably get some more rest. We’ll grab you some water and food so you can get your strength back? How does that sound?”

He didn’t respond, just gave her a simple nod and reclined the bed back a little so that he could lay down more comfortably, even with his injuries. The thought of you sitting there helpless and in pain was ten times as painful as his collarbone or anything he was experiencing. His family stepped outside and he knew they were whispering about him but all he could hear was the consistent dripping sound of his tears onto the pillow under his head.

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[and-claudia]

His Heir pt. 40 (Darth Maul x pregnant! reader)

Hey guys... I am back. We're just not gonna talk about how my semester went there towards the end... Anyways, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!! Here is your present!!! The next part of His Heir!!

Wordcount: 2300+

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gif not mine

“Oh. I knew I forgot to tell you something about the plans for today.” Dasar said, upon seeing my shocked face. 

“What is he doing here?” I asked, voice shaking. I wasn’t sure if I was nervous or heartbroken to see him. 

“He’s here for you.” Was all he said. 

The boat was docked and Totin got off first. Maul stepped closer as I approached the side. He offered me his hand without a word and I took it. Dasar stood behind me as Maul helped me step over the small gap between the dock and the boat. It felt like the silence that surrounded our small group was going to kill me. 

“Well, Totin and I have a few things we need to check on.” Dasar said, breaking the silence. 

I looked at him with panic in my eyes. He took a dramatic deep breath to show me to breathe. I took a deep breath and nodded. 

“Have a good evening.” I said to them. 

“You as well,” Totin said before addressing Maul, “We’re glad you made it, Lord Maul.” 

Maul gave them a nod and we stood quietly watching them walk down the dock. Once they were gone Maul turned to me. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Fine.” I said quietly, I wasn’t snappy or short, it just felt like I had forgotten how to talk to him. 

“Words cannot begin to express how sorry I am, I fucked up.” He said looking at me with sadness in his eyes. 

“Yeah, you did, big time.” I couldn’t just forgive him, not this easily, “I can’t forgive you, not right now. I’ll be honest I could care less if you came to the wedding, what hurt the most was that you weren’t there for me and him when you promised you would be.” I said, placing a hand on my stomach as if to protect the baby from him. 

“I know, I cannot forgive myself for that either… I know I’ll have to earn back your trust. I know it won’t do much in terms of regaining your trust, but I am hoping it will at least score me a few points… I had a picnic on the beach prepared for us.” 

“You’re lucky that I am practically always hungry.” I said, cracking a small smile. 

He smiled as well and offered me his arm, “We’ll let’s not keep you waiting then.” 

I took his arm and allowed him to lead me down the dock. True to his word, a picnic blanket had been set up for us with an array of food. Maul helped me take off my shoes before he did the same. Then he carefully helped me sit down on the blanket. 

“How did you have time to get all of this planned?” I asked, looking at how beautifully everything was set up, even down to the vase to put the bouquet of flowers into. 

“Totin played a big role in it. He helped me get the kitchens to prepare the food, and then he obviously arranged for the servants to bring everything down to the cove and set it all up.” 

I nodded along as he spoke. Even though he had help, it was still such a sweet gesture, especially when it came to the consideration of what food had been prepared. As I gazed over it all, it was all of my favorites and not a single piece of food that I had any sort of aversion to. 

“Would you like something to drink?” Maul asked, reaching into the basket beside him and pulling out an odd-shaped decanter filled with a sparkly, deep green liquid. 

“Is that Emerald wine?” I asked in shock. 

Emerald wine was extremely expensive because the fruit used to make was only found in a few places. I had never actually had any before, but I recall it being had at certain events on Mandalore. 

Maul nodded, “It is. This particular one is non-alcoholic. It’s completely safe for you to drink.” 

“Well, in that case, I would love some.” 

The decanter made a pop when he opened it making me jump slightly. 

“Sorry.” Maul said, handing me my drink. 

“It’s okay, I think me jumping scared him more, honestly.” I laughed as I took the glass from him. 

I swirled the liquid around in the glass, watching the green glitter swirl around creating a mesmerizing pattern. Once Maul had poured his own glass he held it out to me and cheered my glass before we both took a drink. 

“Oh, that is good.” I said. 

“Have you never had Emerald wine before?” He asked. 

I shook my head.

“Well, once he’s here, I’ll be sure to get us the best bottle of the real thing for you to try.” 

“I’ll hold you to that,” I said before taking another sip, “Now, what all do we have?” 

We ate and made easy conversation, it was nice. I was almost able to forget about all the turmoil he had caused a couple of days prior. Almost. But not quite. Maul must have noticed this. 

“Please don’t think I am trying to distract you from what I did to you.” He said. 

“I know you're not… it's just… it’s hard for me when someone I trust to be there for me lets me down. I was so used to being on my own as a child and having no real form of support from anyone that as an adult it takes me a long time to let people in and when I do, it means I truly trust them, and to be let down by someone that I have let in… it hurts, to put it plainly… I really don’t know how to describe what it feels like.” I said as tears began to form on my lower lash line. 

Maul dropped his head slightly, “I’m sorry, my dear.” 

“I know… I know…” 

Maul reached over hesitantly and when he saw I wasn’t going to retreat away from him, he grabbed my hand. We weren’t looking at one another, instead we were both fixed on the horizon. The two moons had risen and were casting a beautiful glow out across the water. 

I wasn’t sure how long we sat in silence but eventually, it began to feel like my eyes were barely staying open. 

“We should probably get going. Tomorrow is the start of all the fun festivities, it best to get a good night's sleep tonight.” I said. 

Maul agreed and stood before turning around and helping me stand up as well. 

“Do we need to bring this all back with us?” I asked referring to the platers, blanket, and basket that had been used. 

“No, Totin said that the servant droids will come to take care of it.” 

I nodded before we began making our way back up the beach. It was quite a long trek back to the palace and by the time we got there, I was completely exhausted. Maul escorted me to the room I had been staying in but stopped once we got to the door. 

“What are you doing?” I asked, clearly confused. 

“I wasn’t sure how you were going to respond to me showing up like I did. So, a separate room was prepared for me.” He explained. 

“Oh… well, can you have your stuff brought here? It’s a large room… and I would prefer to have you here… with me.” My voice was quiet as I made the request, I was still hurt, but that didn’t mean our whole relationship had to stop. 

“Of course I can.” He said with the faintest of smiles graced his face. 

He followed me in and took in the room. I dropped my shoes by the door since they were covered in sand and Maul slid his off next to mine. Despite how tired I was, I also felt quite gross. Between the salty air and the sand, I felt grimy and really wanted to wash up before climbing into bed. 

“I am going to take a shower… care to join?” I asked, already heading to the bathroom. 

“Of course.” Maul said, following not too far behind me. 

The shower was nice. I was able to get all the grittiness off of my body, and Maul had even begun to give me a light shoulder massage. 

“This feels great, Maul, but I need to get out and get off my feet. It feels like they are going to fall off.” I said, leaning back into him carefully so neither of us would lose our footing and slip. 

He pressed a kiss to my shoulder after dropping his hands from them, “I can continue on the bed if you want me to.” He offered quietly. 

I nodded as I reached over to shut the water off. Then I carefully stepped out and grabbed my towel. Once I was dried off I grabbed the silk robe that was on the hook and put it on. I used the large vanity mirror to make sure it was adjusted correctly over my belly before tying it shut. 

“I’m going to go sit for a bit before getting ready for bed.” I said to Maul, looking at him through the mirror. He nodded as he adjusted his towel around his lower hips. 

“I’ll be out shortly.” He said. 

I nodded and made my way over to the bed. I could the baby moving a lot which was odd considering how late it was. Of course, his sense of time was thrown slightly by travel and being on a new planet with a different rotation time than back home, but I didn’t think it would cause him to be this off. By this time of night, he has usually settled down. I sat down with a sigh, glad to be off my feet. Then I laid back and put my hands on top of my belly. 

“Ik'aad, why are you so active, hm? Do you have any idea how late it is?” 

He seemed to move even more in response to my voice, which I took as him telling me no, he didn’t know how late it was. 

“Well, it’s past midnight. You should be settled down for the evening.” 

I got a kick in response. 

“It doesn’t matter that we are on a small vacation, your buir would like to get some rest without you moving around like that in there.” 

“Are you getting onto the baby for being too active?” Maul asked, leaning against the open doorway to the bathroom. 

“Yes, I am. Come here. Feel how active he is!” I said, tilting my head to the side to look at him from the side of my belly. 

Maul pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over. I was still lying down on the bed with my legs hanging off from where I sat down originally. Once he was close enough I straightened back up from where I had leaned to the side to watch him walk over. Maul stood between my legs and put his hands on my stomach. 

“Wow…” He said after a moment, “What’s got him so riled up?” Maul asked with a small laugh. 

“I don’t know… I hope it’s not like fetal stress or anything… I know that can cause a sudden increase in movements…” 

“It’s not that, dear. If something was wrong the medical droids would have told you and wouldn’t have cleared you to go on the trip.” Maul said and I nodded, knowing he was probably right, “Maybe he can just tell that you’re happier than you were a day ago…” Maul suggested. 

“Perhaps. Or maybe he just knows you’re back and he’s excited to have both his parents back together.” 

“That would make two of us.” Maul said. 

I shook my head, “Three.” I corrected him, causing him to smile softly. 

“Would you like me to continue your massage?” He asked. 

“Raincheck? We have a lot to do tomorrow and the following days. I know I’ll need one in the coming days.” I said. 

Maul nodded, “Of course, dear. Anything you need in the next few days, please don’t hesitate to speak up. I know you’re going to be super involved with everything, so anything I can do to make your life easier, let me know.” 

“Okay, well you can start by helping me up and changing to go to sleep.” I said, holding my hand up to him. 

He carefully helped me sit up before walking over to the wardrobe that my clothes had been put into. He found one of his tunics that I had brought to sleep in as well as a pair of sweatpants that the servant droids had unpacked from his stuff while we showered. He brought them over to where I was still sitting. Once I was standing, he undid my robe and gently pulled it off my arms before tossing it on the bed. Then he slipped the tunic over my head and pulled it down over my belly, running his hands over it to smooth out the fabric. He quickly changed into his sweatpants before collecting his towel and my robe, but before he walked them back to the bathroom, he pressed a kiss to my forehead with the promise that he would be right back. 

While he was gone, I climbed into bed and got situated under the plush comforter. When he returned he shut off the lights and pulled the curtains closed that would shine too much sunlight into the room come morning. Then, he climbed in beside me. I turned to face him. There were a few beats of silence as I just took in his features, softly lit up by the full moons. 

“Thank you, for coming.” I whispered. 

“Of course, dear. I promise to never abandon you ever again, okay?” He said, finding my hand under the covers and giving it a squeeze. 

I nodded, “Please don’t.” I whispered as I scooted closer to snuggle up against him. 

He held me close as we both fell asleep fairly quickly knowing we had a big day ahead of us.

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[thirstydiglett]

Haven’t posted a story in a while cuz I’m working on a BIG BOI. But I really wanted to do some fluff with Law, so I wrote this in like 45 minutes lol

Life is Full of Ups and Downs

Summary: Law has never ridden a roller coaster. Reader decides to change that.

Rating: G

Characters: Trafalgar Law, F!Reader (one mention of reader being a birthday girl, otherwise can be read as GN)

Warnings: none its just cute fluffy fluff ^_^

———————————————————————

“Law, hurry up!”

You tapped your foot impatiently as you leaned on the hood of the car, watching your boyfriend slather himself (or at least every part of himself that wasn’t covered by his black hoodie) with sunscreen.

“Look, just because you want to get skin cancer doesn’t mean that I do, dearest.”

You rolled your eyes. “I put mine on before we even got here. Thanks for the medical advice though.”

He took your hand, pulling you close to him and kissing you softly on the nose. “Anything for my birthday girl.”

You smiled, ignoring the tingle in your stomach when his lips had touched you. “So that means you’re going to ride all the coasters with me today, right?”

Law’s face flicked briefly in annoyance. “I said I would ride one roller coaster.”

“And more if you like them.”

“I’m not going to like them.”

As the two of you approached the park’s gates, bickering playfully, you looked up at the sight before you.

Dozens of massive steel and wood coasters loomed behind the park gates, the screams of excited riders filling the air with every pass of a car around a track. The best roller coaster park in the country, and you were FINALLY going to get to go!

Only problem was, your boyfriend had never been on a roller coaster.

Law was a man who liked what he liked. The same daily routines on his crew. The same black clothes and spotted hat. The same gluten free waffles for breakfast every single goddamn morning.

So trying to convince him to try something new was like pulling teeth. Finally, he’d relented when you told him he could make the trip (and his first coaster ride) your birthday present. But even getting him to commit to a single ride hadn’t been easy. You knew he wouldn’t back out on his word, but you hoped he wouldn’t be too grumpy about it.

—————————————————————

You were finally at the front of the line for your first ride of the day. A tall but straightforward steel coaster, mostly hills. You’d heard it was fun, and you thought it would be a good way to ease Law into riding.

“Jesus, that’s tall…you know what a fall from that height would do to you?” Law mused. “What if we did this later in the day? After I’ve already watched you ride a couple.”

“Law, it’s like getting into cold water! You just have to jump,” you laugh, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Oh look, it’s our turn for a seat!”

Law hesitated before following you on board, strapping himself into the seat next to you.

“I bet these handles never get sanitized. Remind me to have us wash our hands after this.”

You snorted. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Wait a sec, dude,” a voice sounded from nearby. Looking up, you noticed one of the ride operators. He was looking at Law.

“You’re gonna have to take that hat off while you ride. Unless you want it to get blown away.”

Law turned to you with a panicked expression, a child being asked to give up their security blanket.

“Babe, you’ll get it back! It’s only for like two minutes.”

Law swallowed and nodded, handing his precious hat over to the ride operator.

With a jerk, the coaster began to creep forward, slowly building speed until it reached the first hill and began to climb. Law’s knuckles were white as he gripped the handles, watching the car get higher and higher. You reached over and squeezed his hand, holding onto it tightly.

“You’re ok, Law. We’re gonna be just fine.”

He turned to smile at you appreciatively, and as he did so the ride reached its peak. Law’s face turned white as the roller coaster paused, ever so close to tipping down the hill, edging you for a moment.

“You can do this, hon,” you murmured to him. And then, the coaster careened downward, hurling you toward the ground at lightning speed.

You screamed with excitement, throwing your hands up in the air as the ride threw you up and down several more hills, around curves, into a corkscrew. You were so enamored with the ride that you nearly forgot to look over at your boyfriend beside you. Thank god you remembered.

Law’s face was stretched into a grin wider than you’d ever seen on him. His mouth was open, one hand loose from the handle, and as you looked at him he gasped softly with excitement. You’d never seen him so joyful, so thrilled to be alive.

The look on his face made you laugh despite yourself, and you grabbed his hand as the two of you laughed into the wind together.

———————————————————

“So, wanna ride another one?” You asked as you headed for the exit.

Law, his hat securely back on his head, grimaced. “What makes you think I’d do that?”

You laughed out loud. “Come on! You were having fun!” You wrapped your arm around his waist, bumping your head against his shoulder. He blushed and pulled you to his side.

“I wasn’t having fun. But I will ride another one with you ONLY because it’s your birthday.”

“Hey, a win is a win!” You giggled, glad to see that he was finally letting himself try something new… and truly enjoying it.

[moonlightspencie]

skeletons in both our closets

part 10 of ‘the sweetest con’

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.0k

A/N: mentions of a past toxic relationship!!!

<- PART 9

I sat at my desk with my head in my hands. Deep breathing didn’t quite work to calm my nerves, and I was running out of ways to try.

One screw up. Apparently that’s all it took for me to ruin things. I seemed to have a habit of that lately. I had just hoped it wouldn’t transfer to a relationship that was untainted with expectations I couldn’t upkeep in a job like mine.

— — — — — ->YESTERDAY<- — — — — —

The door swung open, and there she stood with that bright, beautiful smile of hers. I pulled the flowers out from behind my back to present them with a grin of my own.

“Happy two months?” I offered.

She laughed. “We’re doing monthiversaries?”

“Maybe I just wanted an excuse to give you flowers,” I shrugged.

She took them from me, giving me a soft kiss. I smiled against her lips, never getting tired of the feeling. She pulled away first, moving into her apartment to get her new flowers set up in a vase. I watched her as she moved around the kitchen, cutting the stems and arranging them the way she liked.

She turned to me, holding up the vase.

“There.”

I smiled. “Beautiful.”

She set them down on the counter, practically dragging me out the door. Her new favorite date activity had become early-morning breakfast before we went in to work. We’d take separate cars, but both leave from the same apartment. Usually hers.

“What are you getting today?” she asked me, looking over the menu.

“Has my order changed the past 17 times?”

She laughed softly, looking back at the menu as if she’d really get anything different either. We ordered as usual, talked over the light subjects we normally did before we went to a very heavy job.

“Dinner tonight?” she asked as we prepared to leave.

“Does eight still work?”

“Perfectly.“

“Sorry about it being so late, I just—“

“Don’t apologize,” she said with a shake of her head. “Jack comes first.”

I nodded. “Thank you for understanding.”

She smiled softly, taking my hand as we left the café.

The work day was relatively easy, with mine mostly consisting of playing catch up on some paperwork from our last case. The end of the day caught up to me quickly, and I hadn’t even realized the time until I heard a knock on the door. Her head popped in a second afterward.

“Hi.”

I snorted a laugh. “Hi.”

She stepped inside, closing the door behind her.

“So, I was thinking,” she started with a smile.

I watched her curiously as she wandered into my office, my own smile set in place as I did.

“About?”

“You’ve been planning on taking Jack out tomorrow, right? Before we leave?”

“Mhm,” I nodded along, sliding my work away from me.

“What do you think about me tagging along? You know, spending time with both of the Hotchner boys?”

She smiled, but my face dropped. I straightened in my seat. She furrowed her brows, but I spoke up before she could question me.

“We had a plan for dinner.”

She paused. “I know. I just thought it might be nice to be around the little guy. I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“It’s not a good idea.”

“Why not?” she asked with a soft voice.

“I—“ I huffed out a breath, shaking my head as I stood.

“What?”

She watched me carefully, looking like she was prepping for an argument. I wished she wouldn’t, but I felt it brewing just as much.

“I just… I want to keep work and family separate,” I said at last, frustration in my voice.

She took a step backwards, looking at me with a furrowed brow as her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was beginning to shut down.

“So I’m just a… what? A work colleague, now?”

“That’s not what I said.”

She scoffed. “It kind of is, Aaron.”

I let out a breath. Usually my name sounded sweet on her lips. Now, it sounded familiar in a way I didn’t want it to.

“Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“You said you wanted to keep work and family separate. How else am I supposed to take that?” she asked, incredulously. “All I asked is if we could take Jack out together. It’s been two months, I didn’t think it was ridiculous to ask to spend time with your son when I already know him.”

“It’s different now, and you know that.”

“What’s this really about? I made him his first baby blanket, it’s not like I’m a stranger. You’re acting like—“

I cut her off, “You really think Haley wants you around him?”

She stopped, her face dropping as well as her arms. She shook her head in disbelief, staring at me.

“So, that’s what this is?”

“That’s what this is,” I confirmed.

“So… So, what? Am I just the girl that took away dad? That’s all I’m gonna be to him?” she asked, scoffing. “I’m just fun for you to keep around for now, but I’m not ever going to get to really be a part of your life because of her?”

“Y/N…”

“No,” she stopped me, clearly fed up with my attitude, “You’ve said plenty, Aaron.”

She paused, looking out the window into the empty bullpen. She let out another breath, laughing humorlessly to herself, then took one more look at me.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I let myself be angry for longer than I’d care to admit that night. I paced around my office, trying to convince myself that I was right in the argument. It only worked for so long before I realized that I may have ruined one of the very few good things in my life.

I stared at my phone the entire rest of the night, hoping she’d text me, but I was still not willing to reach out first.

I went to bed with my stomach in knots, practically obsessing over the fact that we’d fought in the first place. It was nine at night. I was supposed to still be with her at that point.

I looked at my phone again.

“What?” she answered the call annoyed.

I swallowed. “We need to talk.”

“Clearly.”

I bit my tongue, almost snarking right back at her. I took a breath, then continued.

“Can I come over?”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

“I don’t want to argue over the phone.”

“Then don’t start an argument,” she countered.

I paused for a moment. “Please.”

She huffed a sigh. “Fine.”

I hopped out of bed, not bothering to put on new clothes before I was in my car and on the way. I calmed myself as much as possible on the ride, determined not to let myself make it into another argument.

She opened the door wordlessly, letting me past her and into the living room. I sat, waiting until she was next to me. I looked at her, quiet for another few seconds.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“Okay,” she shrugged. “That’s it?”

“I shouldn’t have said what I said.”

She crossed her arms. “Why did you?”

I looked away. “I don’t know.”

“Yeah, you do,” she said with a scoff. “I don’t want to fight, but I refuse to…”

I raised a brow. “What?”

“I refuse to let anyone blame me for their problems. I know you’ve been through a lot, but so have I.”

“I don’t blame you for—“

“You do. You’re letting me take the fall for what Haley thinks happened between us.”

My heart sank. I looked at her with eyes that rapidly started to water, but couldn’t get a word in before she was speaking again.

“You have no clue what I’ve been through. I’ve been used before. I’ve been… blamed like this before, and I can’t do it again, Aaron.”

“I wouldn’t…”

“You wouldn’t do the worst of it,” she shook her head. “But you already started doing enough to make me scared.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

She stopped herself from speaking, suddenly looking away. I watched her as the gears in her brain turned, unsure what to say. She cleared her throat a minute later.

“I can’t be with you if you’re still going to let her control your actions. I can’t be with someone who uses me like a doormat again.”

I took a chance to take her hand. She didn’t pull away, and for that I was grateful.

“I shouldn’t have done that. I wish I hadn’t, but it’s too late to take it back,” I sighed. “I’m asking for a chance to make it up to you now.”

“How?”

I sighed. “Any way I can. I’m sorry.”

She squeezed my hand softly.

“I should’ve told you that was a sore spot for me. It’s—“

“I shouldn’t have been so harsh in the first place,” I said. “It’s like I can’t get her out of my head every time I want to do something with Jack. She’s been on my back about you already, and when I thought about you being around him…”

“I know you don’t want to rock the boat. I just wish we could’ve actually had a conversation. Instead, it went right into an argument.”

“I know.”

“That’s on both of us, I know. Skeletons in the closets. But—“

“We need to talk about these things.”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“I am sorry,” I said again. “I need you to know that.”

She nodded. “I know. I am too.”

“Can we start over? Try again with all this?”

“Only if we’re just redoing today. I want the flowers again,” she said, hiding a smirk.

“Anything you want.”

The next morning I walked up to her door, knocking and waiting until that pretty little smile greeted me once more.

She swung the door open, smiling even wider when she saw the flowers in my hand.

I watched her pick out another vessel for the bouquet, setting up this one right next to the others. Her hand grabbed mine, tugging me along down the hall.

We ate our breakfast, shared a kiss, and went to work. I didn’t see her until lunchtime, but a soft feeling blanketed me all day. I was just happy to see her happy.

She walked in at noon with the lunch she’d promised to bring that morning, setting up shop in my office like she’d done a hundred times before.

“So, I was thinking,” I said, looking at her as I wiped my hand on the napkin.

She quirked a brow. “Uh oh.”

I smiled. “I have Jack this weekend. If there’s not a case, what do you say to a zoo day?”

Her smile faltered. “Please don’t do that. We talked it over, it’s fine. I don’t want you feeling pressured to—“

“I don’t feel pressured. I want to keep you around, and if you’re okay with sticking with me, I think you should be around him.”

“You’re sure? You’re not just doing this because of yesterday?”

“I’m positive,” I said, not bothering to fight the smile on my face.

She matched it, then sprung up from her chair. I stood with her, wrapping her in a hug before she even got close enough for her arms to get around me. She giggled into my chest.

“If days like today come from fighting, maybe we—“

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” I said with a chuckle.

She looked up at me with a happy smile. I couldn’t help myself.

I leaned down, kissing her softly, thankful that I’d had the foresight to shut the blinds.

“Oh.”

Unluckily for us, we hadn’t shut the door completely.

She broke apart from me, looking towards the door. JJ stood there, eyes just about popping out of her head.

“JJ, it’s not—“

“Not my business,” JJ said, hands up in defense.

We watched her walk away with an amused, though slightly embarrassed, smile on her face. I swallowed, my heart suddenly pounding hard for a different reason than it had a few seconds prior.

She turned back to me, eyes wide with a nervous smile.

“Oh boy.”

[callsignlucky]

talk to me, lucky (part 6)

summary: You're Maverick’s kid. You’re also Bradley Bradshaw’s best friend—or at least, you were. What lies between you two now is uncharted territory.

pairing: bradley "rooster" bradshaw/mitchell!reader

wc: 2.7k

a/n: good morning aviators! after a week, three revisions, and a power outage i present you with this monstrosity! enjoy :)

TIME ON TARGET -3:00:00

“Time is your greatest enemy.” 

Dad’s voice cut through the briefing room early the next morning. 

Something had shifted between Bradley and I, that was plain to see. Phoenix had commented on it in the lockers rooms and I gave her a half assed explanation of the bare bones before meeting Bradley outside and heading down to the War Room. Hangman eyed us as we sat next to one another, and I tried not to let the smirk on his face get to me as I kept my eyes on my father as he briefed us on the mission specs. 

“Phase One of the mission will be a low level ingress attacking on two-plane teams. You’ll fly along this narrow canyon to your target. Radar guided surface to air missiles defend the area. These SAMS…they’re lethal. They were designed to protect the sky above, not the canyon below.” 

Bradley spoke up to my left. “That’s because the enemy knows no one is insane enough to try and fly below them.” He said, and I looked from him to Dad as he turned from the screen to face us. 

“That’s exactly what I’m gonna train you to do.” Everyone exchanged glances, everyone in mild disbelief, while Bradley averted his eyes out the window. “On the day, your altitude will be one hundred feet maximum.” I felt my pulse quicken. That was low. Very low. “You exceed this altitude, radar will spot you, and you’re dead. Your airspeed will be 660 knots, minimum. Time to target—two and a half minutes. That’s because fifth-generation fighters wait at an airbase nearby.” In a blink, specs for those planes popped up on screen, and my father focused on them. Or at least he appeared to. “In a head to head with these F-18s, you’re dead. That’s why you need to get in, hit your target and be gone before these planes even have a chance at catching you.” Hangman turned his head to look back at Bradley, that smirk on his face as cocky as ever, and I gripped the pen in my hand tight. Rooster was unphased, simply gazing back at Hangman before looking head on and knocking his knee against mine. “This makes time your greatest adversary.” 

“You’ll fly a route in your nav system that simulates the canyon. The faster you navigate this canyon, the harder it will be to stay under the radar of these enemy SAMs. The tighter the turns, the more intensely the force of gravity on your body multiplies. Compressing your lungs. Forcing the blood from your brain. Impairing your judgment and reaction time. So today, we’re going to take it easy on you. Max ceiling, three hundred feet. Time to target, three minutes.” Looks of shock were exchanged, and I must’ve not had a very good poker face because Bradley knocked his knee into mine again. The sensation was a comfort, and I was suddenly very glad we got our shit straight when we did because that was added stress neither of us needed. Not when the mission was as high of stakes as this. 

Maverick wished us luck, and Hangman grinned lazily, head lolling to the side to look back at us. “Bradshaw’s already got his good luck charm. Don’t you, Rooster?” He asked, and I frowned, opening my mouth to say something, but Dad dismissed us to our planes before I could. 

Dad didn’t believe in luck. He believed in hard work and skill, but I knew he meant it, for each and every one of us. We were the top one percent of pilots in active duty. The best of the best of the best—and that course kicked our asses. 

Phoenix, Bob and Coyote were up first. Due to a miscommunication, Coyote broke the ceiling, and was shot down by a SAM. Dad wasn’t gentle in reminding them exactly how they failed. 

Payback, Fanboy and Hangman were next. As always, Hangman’s arrogance got them killed, speeding through the course and sending his wingman into a wall. 

“What happened?” Dad asked after we regrouped back in the War Room, and Hangman sat in his seat without a care in the world and it was getting under my skin very quickly. 

“Well, I flew as fast as I could.” He said with a tilt of his head and a smirk on his lips. “Kind of like my ass depended on it.” 

“And,” Bradley chirped up, “you put your team in danger and your wingman’s dead.” 

Hangman shrugged. “They couldn’t keep up.” 

I was next, with Omaha and Halo on my six. Everything was going fine, until they cut left too sharply and over corrected to accommodate, sending them directly into the canyon wall. All I could do was sit silently while Dad read them to filth in front of everyone, and was very glad he didn’t praise me for properly maintaining the course and making it to the target. 

Rooster and the Ivy Leagues were next, and I wasn’t anticipating anything fun from the briefing that followed. 

“Why are you dead?” Dad’s voice had an edge to it, and if I could’ve grabbed Bradley’s hand to calm him, I would have. “You're the team leader up there. Why are you, why is your team dead?” 

“He’s the only other one who made it to the target.” I snapped, before I remembered myself and adjusted in my seat. “Sir.” 

“A minute late. He gave time for enemy aircraft to shoot him down. He is dead.” 

Rooster’s jaw flexed as he straightened his back. “You don’t know that.” 

“You’re not flying fast enough.” Hangman drawled from our left, head leaned back against the seat almost as if he were bored. “You don’t have a second to waste.” 

Bradley was getting frustrated, and he wasn’t the only one. Tensions were growing by the second, split between my father, Bradley and Jake. “We made it to the target.” 

“And superior enemy aircraft intercepted you on your way out.” Dad snapped back at Rooster, but that didn’t sway him one bit. 

“Then it’s a dogfight.” 

“Against fifth generation fighters.” Dad said incredulously. I knew why he was doing this. Conjuring up reasons why Rooster failed, that’s the way his brain worked, worst case scenario. He wanted him to be prepared so he would make it home, I just hated he was doing it like this. 

“Yeah, we’d have a chance.” Rooster defended, and I shifted in my seat. 

“Bradley.” I whispered in warning, glancing between the two men as their voices raised by the second. 

“In an F-18??” 

“It’s not the plane, sir. It’s the pilot.” 

“EXACTLY.” Dad snapped out suddenly, and I felt my stomach drop as Bradley’s face fell. There was no way he just said that. Not in front of everyone. 

Bradley swallowed hard, gripping the arm of the seat tightly. “There’s more than one way to fly this mission.” His voice cracked. 

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Hangman retorted, drawing attention to himself. “On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back. No offense intended.” He said with a nod towards myself and Phoenix, and Bob leaned forward with an annoyed smirk. 

“But somehow, you always manage.” 

“Look, I don’t mean to criticize. You’re conservative, that’s all.” Hangman said with a nod towards Bradley. 

“Lieutenant.” Dad warned, but Hangman was on a roll with no signs of stopping. 

“We’re going into combat, son. On a level no living pilot has ever seen. Man, or woman. Not even him.” At those words, my stomach dropped to the floor. I knew where he was going, and my eyes darted around the room as I sat up straighter. 

“Jake, stop—“

“And yet, a woman is the only one who hit the target on time.” Phoenix cut me off to remind Hangman sharply. “Or did you forget?” 

“Right. Miss Lucky.” Hangman drawled out with a nod, looking back at me again. “Must be something in those Mitchell genes that makes you such excellent pilots. I wonder, was it your father who signed off on you going by your mother’s name? Or was it your godfather, Admiral Kazansky?” 

My blood ran cold. I felt everyone’s eyes on me, and suddenly I felt about two inches tall. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Coyote asked with a frown, while Fanboy leaned forward to look at me. 

“Hold on. Lucky, you’re—”

Phoenix turned in her seat completely, and it was the look on her face that hurt the worst. Betrayal, judgment…a mixture of both. 

“You’re Maverick’s daughter?” Bob asked, almost in disbelief with those puppy dog eyes trained on me and I couldn’t find the words while Dad tried to get the attention of the room off of me and back on him. Hangman, however, accomplished that quickly. 

“I’m just saying, Ponyboy.” He said, and Rooster slowly looked over at him. “It’s no time to be thinking about the past.” 

And just like that, Hangman dropped the other shoe. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” It wasn’t a question, it was a command, Bradley’s voice coming from somewhere deep in his throat. I felt for him, but I knew it was only a matter of time before someone found out. 

“Rooster,” Dad warned, but we all knew it was too late. There was no controlling this now, and it was like watching a train wreck. 

Hangman turned back around in his seat, satisfied by the chaos he caused. “I can’t be the only one who knows Maverick flew with his old man—“

“—Lieutenant, that’s enough—“ 

“—or that Maverick was flying when his old man—”

Bradley launched to his feet in a flash, and I was up almost as fast as shouting sparked through the room like the end of a lit fuse. Bradley got one good shove in before he and Jake were pulled apart, and I pushed him back by the chest, Phoenix and Bob each grabbing an arm as he pointed at Jake. 

“You son of a bitch!” Rooster shouted over everyone, and despite it all, Hangman started laughing, displaying his palms in surrender. 

“I’m cool, I’m cool,” he said as he shrugged Fanboy off of him, ignoring my father as he said that’s enough. I turned to Jake completely, standing between him and Bradley, and Bradley’s chest hit my back as Jake walked towards us. “He’s not cut out for this mission. You know it.” I planted my feet as Rooster tried to advance, and Dad put his hand on his shoulder in further defense. 

“That’s enough!” He yelled again, and Hangman turned his attention to him. 

“You know I’m right. If you’re gonna choose someone besides me, Maverick, your daughter is the obvious choice. Nepotism baby or not.” His eyes flicked down to me and I held my glare as he got into Rooster’s face before stepping back. 

“You’re all dismissed.” Dad said breathlessly, and he didn’t have to tell Rooster twice before he was out that door. Everyone else followed suit as I slumped down in the first row, looking up when Phoenix passed by without even turning her head. 

With a heavy exhale, Dad lowered himself into the seat next to me. “I’m sorry.” He whispered, but I kept my eyes trained at the floor, hands balling into fists in my lap. 

“Not your fault.” I whispered back, not trusting my voice to be anything but.

After a moment I stood up on impulse, squeezing his shoulder before heading out of the War Room to the locker rooms. Phoenix watched as I completely passed the women’s, rage carrying me along as I stomped right into the men’s. 

“Lucky!” She called after me, but I wasn’t listening. Coyote spotted me first with a little yelp of shock, snagging a towel to cover himself up. 

“Lucky, this is the men’s—“

“Where is he?” I knew they knew who I was talking about, and Bob quickly pointed towards the showers, hiding behind his locker door. I stalked in the direction he was pointing, turning the corner quickly. I found the only shower that was running and yanked the curtain open, not thinking about the fact that I was about to see Jake Seresin as naked as the day God cursed the Earth with him. He smiled down at me without a care in the world, standing in the spray of the shower, carding his fingers through his hair. 

“Lieutenant Mitchell, what a pleasure. How may I service you today?” He asked sarcastically, and I balled my hands into fists as a crowd slowly formed behind me.

“Fuck you.”

Jake raised a brow. “Here? In front of everyone? You dirty girl, Lucky.” For a moment, just a moment, I saw the appeal and understood why those air bunnies always trapsed after Jake with hearts in their eyes. I shoved him back by the chest and stepped forward into the shower, pointing a finger in his face. 

“I don’t give a shit about you exposing me in front of everyone, that’s your prerogative. But you keep Goose’s name out of your mouth or I will make you swallow your teeth. Do you understand me?” Behind me, I heard Phoenix call my name again, but it fell on deaf ears as Jake stepped forward, eyes alight with fire. 

“I don’t understand, why the sudden urge to protect little Rooster? Seems to me like you hated him a few days ago. What changed?” He propped his arm on the shower wall above my head, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, eyes glued to his. “Is this love, Little Mav?” 

“Love is for children.” I snapped suddenly. “I’m protective of a dead man’s good name. Not Bradley. He’s a big boy, he can handle himself.” 

“Riiight.” Hangman nodded slowly, the movement causing water from the shower head to spray onto my face. I blinked it away, and accidentally caught a glimpse of what I’d been avoiding, and quickly averted my eyes back to his. This only spurred Hangman on. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You can look if you want.” 

“Oh, fuck you, Jake.” I said with a roll of my eyes, cheeks dusted with pink as I took a step back. “You know, people would like you more if you weren’t such an insufferable prick.” 

He smirked wide, taking another step towards me. “I don’t mind a prick every once in a while, Lucky. How about you?” I took another step back, but didn’t anticipate the small lip of tile that separated the shower from the rest of the locker room. My foot slipped, but before I could fall, Jake’s hand snapped out to snag around my waist, pulling me back onto even ground with ease. “Careful there, Mitchell. Wouldn’t want you to fall.” He said with a wide grin, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as I smacked his hand away. 

“Don’t talk about Goose again.” I repeated myself sharply, though my threat seemed puny after letting Jake fluster me like that in front of everyone. I stepped down from the shower again and yanked the curtain closed, turning around to find Phoenix and Bradley had joined the party. Everyone else quickly looked away from me, and I headed out to change, with Phoenix hot on my heels. 

“What the hell was that?” Phoenix asked as soon as we were in the women’s locker rooms, and I groaned and let my head fall against the lockers. 

“Complicated.” I replied with a huff, before shedding my flight suit. 

Like the past few nights, everyone met in the rec room to make plans for the evening. The consensus seemed to be the Hard Deck with Hangman, but I wasn’t feeling much like drinking, which is why I could’ve kissed the ground my father walked on when he entered the room. Everyone fell silent, eyes on him, and I could tell he was debating in himself on whether or not he should do what he came to do. Apparently he resolved his conflict with a fuck it, and tossed me my motorcycle helmet. 

“C’mon, Birdie.” I glanced back at Bradley as I stood, holding the helmet to my chest. 

“Where are we going?” 

Dad took one last look around the room, eyes lingering on Jake for a moment, before looking back at me. “To see your godfather.” 

Despite it all, despite Jake Seresin ruining my reputation, I smiled wide and slid off the back of the sofa, following my father to the door. I stopped before I left, turning around to Bradley. “Big Gulps when I get back?” 

“Sure,” Rooster replied with a nod, smiling. “But you’re buying.”

[quillquiver]

Happy 2nd anniversary to those two old guys from supernatural [[ao3]]

Their room is a mess.

It’s not their fault; though they’re largely retired, Claire and Kaia needed backup on a nearby mystery monster situation. So Cas’d cracked open the books and Dean had packed a duffle and when they’d stopped hearing from the kids, they’d gone in after them. ’Course, by the time they’d gotten back they’d pretty much just shed their viscera-covered clothing and dropped into bed.

Bright winter sun streams in through the window, causing Dean to groan and Cas to burrow further into his pillow. The duffle has been thrown at the closet door, the thing busted open and swollen with weaponry. Cas’s angel blade thigh holster hangs off the bottom-right bed post and Dean’s gun sits atop the dresser. The room smells like sewage and monster guts, which isn’t exactly ideal for a second wedding anniversary, but Dean figures they’ve done worse; last year, Jack had been so sick they’d spent the day trying to stop his puking. 

But Jack is with Sam and Eileen today, and after a shower and a change of sheets, Operation: Oops We Did It Again can finally commence. Starting, hopefully, with a vat of coffee and Dean getting fucked silly as many times as they can swing it. 

“Cas,” he whines, eyes closed. He shakes his shoulder. “Coffee.”

“You do it,” Cas says.

“Did it last time.”

Cas slaps at Dean’s hands. “M’gonna burn it.”

“S’automatic, you loser.”

“Can’t.” He rolls over. Tucking his face into the juncture of Dean’s neck, Cas applies half-asleep kisses everywhere he can reach, mumbling nonsense about how good and strong Dean is, how he’s the best provider and so manly and wouldn’t he prefer to make the coffee?

Dean stumbles out of bed grumbling.

Cas smiles. “I love you,” he murmurs, eyes still closed. 

Yeah, Dean bets he does.

By the time he comes back with two mugs and his present under his arm, Cas has moved from his side of the bed to Dean’s, his head face-down in Dean’s pillow. Dean still has no idea how he manages to breathe like that. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. C’mon.”

Cas groans.

“Cas, seriously. There’s shit all over the room, I need you to grab this.”

He rises from the bed like a zombie from the grave, sitting up and offering his hands. As soon as the mug is cupped between his palms he sighs. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“Kiss.”

Dean grins. Pecks his mouth. “We’re so nasty,” he says. “Feel like I need to go through a human car wash.”

“Mm.” His blue eyes are only barely open. “Made it though.”

“Yeah by the skin of our teeth.” Dean frowns at his mug. “Gettin’ old.”

“For fighting, maybe. For everything else...” Cas shrugs. Smiles. “I think you deserve a real retirement.”

Dean purses his lips. They haven’t really talked about going whole hog on their apple pie life yet, and it’s not something he really wants to think about; if his family’s in trouble, he’s just supposed to sit around with his thumb up his ass? He’d never leave Jack, how could he leave Claire and Kaia?

“We don’t have to decide right now,” Cas says, clearly more awake. He shrugs. “It might be something to think about. I don’t like it, but Sam and Eileen’s network has been doing great things. And I think we scared Claire.”

“Yeah,” Dean chews his lip, distracted. “Maybe.”

“...Is that for me?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Smiling, again, Dean takes the badly-wrapped package from under his arm and offers it. “It’s, uh, nothin’, y’know. Just... yeah. Happy anniversary.”

Cas kisses him, soft and sweet. “What is it?”

“You have to open it, you dork.”

“Alright, well...” Cas stretches and reaches under the bed, bringing up a present of his own. “Happy anniversary to you, too.”

Dean grins. “Open mine first.”

Cas’s gift is a riotously coloured cotton sweatshirt and short set. The thing looks like it’s been pulled right out of the 90s, soft and bright and Cas smiles so big his gums show. “I’m going to wear it once I’ve showered.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.” He leans in for another kiss, grinning when Dean chases as he pulls away. “Open yours.”

Dean shakes his head, moving to press soft, wet kisses across Cas’s top lip. “Wanna make it last.”

Cas gives as good as he gets, shuffling until he’s practically in Dean’s lap. Their empty mugs have gotten lost in the dirty sheets somewhere, hands holding and squeezing and grabbing as the kiss deepens to something sexy and slow. Cas has this way this way of kissing that makes it feel like the main event. “Trust me,” he breathes. “We’re going to want what’s in there for the next part.”

“The shower?” Dean teases, leaning in again.

Cas nips his bottom lip. “The sex.”

Dean tears into the wrapping paper. 

“Oh hell yeah.”

Sheets. 

“Egyptian cotton,” Cas grins. “500 thread count.”

“Mm, talk dirty to me.”

“Single-ply,” he says lowly. “Hand-dyed.”

“Oh baby.”

They beam at each other. 

“Thanks, man,” Dean says. “I love ’em.”

“That’s only part of your gift,” he explains matter-of-factly. “I also plan to fuck you on those sheets. And to have pizza delivered later.”

“Hot.”

They make-out for longer than they probably should given how gross they are, until Cas is trying to hump him like some over-eager teenager and Dean is rapidly forgetting why they shouldn’t just add to the mess (the answer: that would be disgusting). “Sweetheart, we gotta—we should—”

“What if we just, ah, like this. Then later—”

Dean shakes his head. “Want it to last. I want—”

“I can do that. I can—fuck—”

“Cas, if you come without fucking me I’m gonna be pissed.”

Cas wrenches away, frustrated. “Then just let me—”

“Woah,” Dean interrupts. “What’s the rush? Sweetheart, hey. Castiel.” But Cas refuses to meet his eyes. Dean cups his face. Cas grips his wrists. “Talk to me.”

“I love you,” he blurts out.

Dean frowns. “Yeah, I love you, too.”

“I love you so much,” Cas says, like it’s a confession. Like it’s being ripped out of him. “I’m here. We’re married. We almost died. And I just—Dean, I don’t know—There’s something wrong with me, I—”

Dean’s eyes soften. “Nah, there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Sorry,” Cas croaks, squeezing his eyes shut as if to stop himself from crying. “I want you. I-I want—So I don’t understand why I’m—I was fine. I’m fine.”

“Yeah,” Dean agrees. “You are.” His dirty fingers thumb away tear tracks from the apple of Cas’s cheek. “Look, sometimes... we think we’re fine but we’re overwhelmed, y’know? S’okay.”

“I wanted to take care of you today.”

“Who says the day’s over?” Dean asks. “We’re gonna go take a nice long shower and I’m gonna wash your hair, and then I’m gonna go order like 40 pizzas and choose a movie, ’cause you owe me for coffee this morning. Then we’ll shove everything in the wash, and change the sheets, and you’re gonna fuck me so good I’ll feel it for the rest of the week.” Cas huffs a laugh. Dean smiles. “Darlin’,” he murmurs. “We’ll talk about hunting.”

Cas bites his lip. “I don’t want to die,” he breathes. “I only just got you back.”

The smallness of his voice hangs in the air between them. Dean feels something in him break. “...Yeah,” he swallows thickly. “I know.”

“But I don’t want to leave Claire if she needs help,” Cas argues with himself. “And you love hunting, I don’t want—”

“Alright well, first of all I don’t love hunting.”

“You know what I mean.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Dean promises. “We always do.” They’re quiet as he rubs at the cut of Cas’s jaw, a smile teasing at the corner of his mouth. “Not to change the subject or anything,” he eventually says. “But that was some serious real adult shit right there.” Cas rolls his red-rimmed eyes. Dean puffs out his chest. “C’mon, you gonna tell me I didn’t just make that conversation my bitch? I win at relationships, man.”

Despite the smile creeping across his face, Cas shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Whatever, I’m totally winning.”

Cas squints. “You routinely put things away without asking where they go. And then you forget about them, like a squirrel.”

“Please, you leave your shit all over the place. What am I supposed to do? Just walk right on by?”

“Yes! You...” Cas trails off, eyeing Dean’s shit-eating grin with a grimace. “Fine. Yes. Thank you. You’re very good at relationships.”

“Some would even say...” Dean prompts.

“They’d be wrong,” Cas says simply. “If the sample size is the rest of our lives, there’s no way to tell you’ve won yet.” A shrug. “And as we aren’t even through the whole day today, the jury still seems to be out on that, too. Sorry.” He doesn’t sound sorry. 

Dean hums. “So what you’re saying is, we should get in the shower to figure out who’s better.”

“As a start, yes.”

“Cool.”

Dean’s halfway to the bathroom when he suddenly pulled into a hug. Cas steps in and around until they’re pressed chest to chest, clinging to him in a way that would have broken bones if he was still an angel. He pulls away with a kiss to Dean’s closed mouth. “Thank you,” he says emphatically. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’ll never stop being thankful for it.”

A blush explodes across the bridge of Dean’s nose. “That’s cheating.”

“I meant it.”

Dean looks at him, helpless. “Cas.”

Cas stares his fill until he’s apparently done, nodding to himself before leading Dean, by the hand, into the bathroom. “Come.”

Dean does, for the record.

[x-heroesandvillains]

I Wouldn't Do That to You ~ *Kwak Jiseok*

Summary: You seem to be going through relationships like a serial dater, leaving you unsatisfied. However, an old flame has decided to waltz back into your life, like he didn't break your heart three years ago...

Pairing: Kwak Jiseok X G/N!Reader

Genre: Fluffyish Oneshot

Word Count: 1729

Warning: Swearing, hurt to comfort

Masterlist

Taglist: @foxwinter​

You sighed, leaning your head back as you dropped your phone. Your eyes closed as you tried not to get too annoyed at the present situation. Another relationship gone. That’s your third one in the past month. Seriously, people were going to think you were a serial dater now. Not that you cared.

To make it cliche, you hadn’t found the one yet. More specifically, you haven’t found the one you don’t find insanely boring or toxic yet. You’re still trying to find that one person who gets you on a more personal level and at least tries to be compatible with you. You know relationships have their ups and downs, so you’re not looking for anyone perfect. And you’re definitely not looking for The One yet, but at least someone to pass the time with.

“Another break up?”

Your eyes opened.

You know that voice from anywhere.

Glancing to the side, you see Jiseok giving you a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your little pity party. Please, carry on. Pretend I’m not even here.”

“Why are you even here?” You shot back, an eyebrow perking up in confusion.

You hadn’t seen Jiseok in forever. The last time you saw him was three years ago when he broke up with you randomly over text. While you were pretty frustrated that he didn’t seem to have the balls to tell you in person, you found out the reason a week later. Plastered all over your social media feed was news about JYP’s new band, with him as Gaon, the charming guitarist and vocalist. You begrudgingly forgave him in your head after that and never talked to him since. You knew he was training to be in a band, but you didn’t think he would abandon you just like that. Personally, you felt you had a good reason to feel at least a little betrayed.

Jiseok shrugged. “I was in the neighborhood and I didn’t have a schedule today. I thought I would visit my favorite place in the city.”

Without meaning to, your lips pursed. “Favorite place, huh? The place we first met and went on our first date is your favorite place?”

A guilty look flashed across his face before he cleared his throat. Standing up, he pointed to the seat in front of you. “Mind if I join you? I feel like we have some things we need to discuss.”

You shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Sitting down in front of you, he sipped at his coffee, not speaking. Obviously, he wanted you to start. Which you were more than happy to do. “Earlier you asked if I was going through another break up. What did you mean by that?”

He looked guilty again. “I may or may not follow you on social media. Not officially but I do look at your posts from time to time.”

“So you’re stalking me.” You couldn’t help but chuckle. “Gee, what I’ve always wanted: my own personal stalker. It’s like I’m living in fanfiction.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” He grumbled, though he sounded like he was trying to hold back from laughing. “No, I don’t stalk you. I just keep tabs on you, that’s all.”

“We’re not in a relationship, Jiseok.” You deadpanned, not wanting to beat around the bush. And maybe you were trying to convince yourself of the same thing, considering you actually still did follow him on social media. “You don’t need to keep checking up on me.”

He shrugged, but didn’t say anything. Instead he drank his coffee and avoided eye contact. Well, he was being oddly peculiar today.

“What about you though?” You asked. “Any secret love affairs I should know about since you apparently know all about mine?”

Jiseok’s eyes widened and he shook his head. “Nope. I abide by the rules.”

“You? Following the rules? Forgive me for laughing but you’ve got to be joking!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He sputtered, shocked and a bit offended, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.

You shook your head, trying to suppress your own smile that was already tugging at the corners of your mouth. “Nothing, nothing. It’s just when we were together, you seemed to find rules constricting, remember?”

He groaned, slumping down in his seat. “You’re as bad as Gunil.”

“But you admit I’m right?”

“I guess…” As you started to laugh, a smile grew on his face before he was laughing with you.

As your laughter died down, you felt a weird twinge in your chest. If you didn’t know any better, you’d say it was longing. You thought you squashed that longing for him years ago. But here it was again. A dull, throbbing ache, just begging for you to collapse into his arms and tell him how much you missed him. But you needed to be strong. You couldn’t break down. Not here, not now.

“I wouldn’t do that, you know.” Jiseok said abruptly, his voice serious.

You furrowed your brows in confusion. “What?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t break up with you like that, over the phone-”

“But you did.” You cut him off, maliciousness in your voice when you didn’t mean for there to be. “You texted me a week before you debuted that you wanted to break up and then you blocked me right after so I couldn’t respond and try to work something out. So yeah, you would do something like that to me.”

Jiseok shook his head again with frustration. “No, listen, I didn’t have a choice! When JYP found out about my relationship with you, they told me to cut it off right then and there. They watched me send the message, took my phone, and blocked you. They shoved me into a practice room right after where I pretty much stayed till debut.”

You didn’t want to say you were surprised, since it sounded exactly like something an entertainment company would do. Again, you begrudgingly forgave him for the sloppy text and for ghosting you. But the pain you felt when he did it still hadn’t healed yet, and you knew it was going to take some time before it would.

“I would have done it, you know.” You muttered, staring at your hands around your own drink instead of looking at him. “I would have waited for you, or hid our relationship.”

“Why? You think you could have handled all of this?” He snorted.

Your eyebrow shot up again, and you looked him in the eye. “Are you saying you’re too good for me now? Now that you’re a real idol and everything?”

“I’m saying you’re too good.” He answered quickly. There was a pause before continuing, slower. “You’ve always been too good for me. You’re perfect and I’m just a mess. I was surprised you even wanted to date me in the first place and was even more surprised we lasted over a year before that stupid text. I would have done it too, the whole secret relationship thing, because you are worth it. You’ve always meant so much to me and I’ve never stopped thinking about you.”

His words hung in the air like a cloud. You didn’t know what to say. Do you tell him that you’ve never stopped thinking about him either? That the reason you were striking out in all these other relationships was because you truly loved only one man? That you weren’t looking for The One was because you believed you might have already found him in Jiseok?

He sighed, becoming completely vulnerable, “I tried to forget you. I tried focusing on my work and everything I’ve accomplished. I’ve kissed other girls. Hell, I’ve kissed other guys and it never worked. I keep kissing strangers and pretending it’s you.”

Your breath caught in your throat but you managed to choke out some words. “I’ve done the same thing too.”

A look of shock hit him, but his lips were trying to smile. “You did?”

Nodding, you let your own small smile appear. “I did. I care about you, Jiseok. I really, really, really do. Hell, there are days I drive myself crazy with how much I think about you. You’re always there, but that’s probably because you’re a successful idol now-” you both laughed before you continued, “I like you, Jiseok. I like you so much I think I might be in love with you. But I don’t think we can be together. I don’t think your company would like it very much if we were.”

He took your hands in his and you both smiled. You liked how he held your hands. It felt like they belonged there, like two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly. That’s what you liked the most about him. No matter where you were or who you were with or what you two were doing, it always felt like you belonged there, right by his side. To be cliche, he was your home and after being away for so long, it still felt like you had come back home.

“It’s like you said earlier, I find rules too constricting and I don’t want to follow them anymore.” He confessed. “I’d be willing to break every rule and every law they throw at me just to be with you again.”

You smiled as you rubbed your thumb over his knuckles. “If you think you can handle a secret idol relationship, then let’s be together again.”

He returned your sincere smile before it turned cheeky. “So, earlier, you said you might be in love with me. Are you sure you just “might” be or are you actually in love with me?”

With a scoff, you replied, “Don’t push your luck, “Gaon”. We just met after three years. Let’s forget the past and treat this like a new relationship.”

“But I don’t want to forget our past.” He whined. “We had such good times together, I don’t want to forget. But if you want to go slower, I can go slow.”

You nodded before picking up your interlocked hands and kissing the top of his hand. “You’re lucky I care an awful lot about you or else I’d dump you for someone else like, I don’t know, O.de?”

“I care about you t- HEY! WHOA! O.DE? I’D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY!”

[justimagineok]

2:30 series - thank you

song recommend: thank you- sasha sloan

"what are you doing out here by yourself?", Jungkook sits by your side, his arms touching yours.

"needed air."

"I see.", he nods not saying anything else and staying by your side. You don't even have the energy to start a conversation even if it is with him, the easiest person on earth you could talk to.

"kook, it's cold out here. You should get inside."

"are going inside right now?", he questions looking at your face from the side.

"not right now."

"so neither am I. "

"I don't want you to catch a cold because of me, Kook."

He can feel that you're avoiding looking him in the eye. Jungkook knows this side of you very well. Sometimes you get really quiet and start to pull away from everyone, including him. At first, he thought that he had done something wrong, but you always were straight forward if he did something that upset you. Then he noticed that weren't any clear events that triggered your behavior. You had your seasons just like he did when he would get exhausted and upset and cried on your lap. But you always pushed everyone away, including him. But he always stayed by your side. Sometimes he'd distract you, sometimes he'd take you out to do something, sometimes he'd just sit by your side like today, but he always stayed. Until you came back again. Back to him, to the present. Until you noticed you hadn't been alone through it. He was there. And he'd stay.

"baby, can you look at me? please?"

You turned your face to him, letting him see your puffy eyes from crying.

"what's wrong, baby?", he dries your eyes and the tears on your chin and then he pulls you close, hugging you with one arm. You didn't say anything back. You rarely did when you were like this.

"wanna talk?", he tried again.

"no."

"want me to go?"

"no.", you said a little to loud.

"good, cause I wasn't going to. ", he laughs making you laugh too.

"jungkook?"

"huh?"

"thank you for loving me."

Jungkook pulls away, turning so he could hug you properly.

"thank you for letting me love you, YN. I love you so, so much, baby.", he confesses while hugging you tight against his chest, your head resting on his shoulder. "and what I'm gonna say right now is gonna sound cheesy as fuck, but I'm gonna say it anyway. My love for you only grows with each passing second, YN. I didn't know this was possible, but it is. And I'm so proud of the woman you are.. I can't believe you're mine."

"why me?" ,you ask him, in a whisper.

"what?"

"you could have anyone, Kook, so why me?", you voice one of your many fears to him.

Jungkook makes you look at him.

“…..Because you’re the only one I want, YN, you always have been…. Is that really so hard to believe?”

You look down, not able to answer him, but he insists. "don’t you know what you mean to me?"

"Sometimes I get scared I might lose you."

"You won't. ", Jungkook gives you a smile, like you were saying the most absurd thing on earth. "hey.", he touches your chin making you look at him again. "my heart is yours, YN. I don't want it back. And you," he takes your hand and place it above his heart. " you live right here in my heart. I carry you with me wherever I am. I'm here for you and I'll always will be."

"but what if-", you try again, but Jungkook stops you.

"uh-uh, no buts. I love you, kay?"

"okay.", you finally agree, letting his words sync into your heart.

“we'll always have each other. We’re inseparable. Till the end.”, he reassures you kissing your forehead.

"now let's get back inside. I'm freezing and you're freezing too. You know what that means..", he smirks, making you chuckle.

"cuddles?,"you suggests.

"hell yeah. "

- art from Gyung Studio- not mine

[the-fiction-witch]

Easy Bake

Media IRL Scandal Series

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster

Couple Thomas X Reader 

Rating Cute

Concept Easy bake oven

"Hello! Today we are reliving some childhood nostalgia or making some because I never actually had this toy even though I badly wanted it" y/n explained sitting at the kitchen island with Thomas beside her and a mysterious box to the side

"You didn't?"

"No. My parents assumed I'd burn the house down and honestly they may have been right"

"I mean… I didn't know you as a child but that seems accurate"

"I had attention issues"

"Had?"

"Shhh. But this is! The easy bake oven!" She smiled revealing behind the box the small vintage easy bake oven

"Magestic"

"Indeed. Would you like to tell the story just be careful it is heating up"

"I shall. So this specific easy bake oven is an original from the nineties as you can quiet clearly tell."

"I can it's smells like dust and old plastic"

"It' really does. But how we got this was not a random drunken evening on eBay but rather my mum doing a loft conversion so all the stuff in our attic had to be gone through and we discovered this"

"So this is the easy bake oven from your childhood Thomas?"

"Yes. It wasn't actually mine. It was Ava's and she very graciously when we asked if we could have it for the channel she said sure why not"

"Now we have it"

"Yes and we are gonna relive some memories or I will you can make some"

"Yeah I will finally get to play with the toy I was never allowed to have"

"What else were you not allowed to have?' he asked working on a brownie

"Polly pocket wasn't allowed that. Anything that like heated was a big no no. Anything like that was a hair tool"

"Your parents where mean"

"Or your parents where overly nice"

"I mean… both are true I think that's why we together are fairly good I don't think we're great, but we're good parents for the girls because we have that divide of how we were raised and it comes in together perfectly"

"I think we're good. So far anyway"

"Yeah we haven't got to the hard bits yet"

"True. Did you play with this as a child?"

"A little. I was often told off though for playing with it"

"Oh? Odd"

"Why?"

"Your parents don't seem like the, child toy gender thing"

"I think it was less of a don't play with an oven your a boy and more of a don't bother your sister"

"Ohhh yeah that makes more sense"

"It was never Thomas you shouldn't play with that more of just don't play with that it's your sisters go play with your own toys"

"More about you just being a dick to your sister"

"Yeah,"

"And you where a dick to your sister"

"I was. Older brother I have to be a dick to my sister sort of the rules"

"I guess so. Did Ava use it alot?"

"Yes. At one point I recall she had… like one of the plastic supermarket play things"

"Yeah the big plastic ones? They also made a kitchen"

"The very same. And she has this oven behind that and she would like stock the shelves with her baked goods and have like a little bakery"

"Aww that's cute"

"Then I would come and be her customer"

"Awww good big brother supporting your sisters business"

"I mean I was trading chocolate coins for easy bake cupcakes so I was loving it"

"Was this an Christmas present or just something she wanted?"

"Christmas and I was very jealous"

"What did you get that Christmas?"

"I think socks. No no I got like a little motorbike I would ride around the house with"

"Would you drive through the bakery?"

"I would yes. Drive through on my bike with my bear"

"You where such a little shit as a child"

"I've been told"

"So was I. By everyone who knew you as a child, the moment people found out I was pregnant with the girls first thing they'd say to me was ohh Thomas was a little shit as a child"

"I mean they all just asked to give you fair warning I was a shit child. But our girls are wonderful much better then I was as a child"

"Thank god. Or there might have been some issues" she says "and done. shall we consume? this thirty year old cake batter"

"Fine" he sighed giving it a taste "Humm"

"So?"

"well... its better then the barbie cake"

"Thats the bar?"

"Yes"

"Oh dear"

[shes-nott-me]

National Treasure chapt. two

Desc: Child star turned unhinged bombshell, Arabella King, tells her life story in her first interview in decades, She talks in-depth about (TW’s) her rocky past with her parents, struggling with body image and ED’s, coming to terms with her sexuality, and even her life-long relationship with ‘The King of Rock n Roll’ Himself Elvis Presley. 

MINORS DNI

Trigger Warnings: Ed’s, Body Image, Abuse, vomit

Writing this gave me the Ick

word count: 1.8k

If you haven’t read it, here’s the Previous Chapter

Present Day

Interviewer: Do you remember the first time you met Elvis?

Arabella: how could I forget, I was 15, he was 19, we were on the set of  ‘Love me Tender’  I don’t even know how I got the part of Cathy Reno, there was no way I was mature enough, especially in comparison to my competition. I guess none of that really mattered when your name was as big as mine, and alongside Elvis Presley, it was almost a guaranteed box office success.

Los Angeles, California 1954

“Nice to meet you.” I hear a thick southern accent come from behind me. I turn around to be met with blue eyes and dark hair. 

I give the boy a quick once over, He looks good, not flip my skirt and drop my panties good.  “Hey” He looks a bit shocked by my reaction, or should I say, lack thereof. “Close your mouth, you're gonna catch flies,” he mumbles something I didn’t catch. “What was that?” 

“Oh uh, nothing?” I cock my head at him, but I don’t question him further. “Since we aren’t filming today maybe, we could grab a bite to eat, you know work on our chemistry if you will,” he says, pulling himself together, flashing his signature smirk.

“That's fine, I just have to be careful, mama has me on a strict diet, to avoid food sensitivity and weight gain,” I explain popping a lollipop in my mouth. I grab the lunch my mom packed for me and we’re off to the races.

“There ain’t no way in hell that tastes good.” Elvis chuckles, looking at my unseasoned piece of grilled chicken, and dry salad. I nod quietly, popping a cherry tomato in my mouth. His face softens upon seeing my reaction. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend ya, y’can try some of my chicken if you’d like.”

I shook my head lightly. “Mama said I would get sick.” 

“Sick how?” I didn’t have a response, whenever I asked mama, she just told me that I asked too many questions and left it at that. I stare at my plate, just looking at it, I never gave mama's words much thought, I just listened to her. “Come on, a lil taste won’t hurt, and if ya get sick, I’ll pay the hospital bill myself.” I stare at his food, then back at mine, it is just chicken, same thing on my plate, just different. 

“Fine” I grumble

“Here y’go, bon appetit,” he says, sliding a drumstick towards me. Hesitantly, I take a bite, It’s delicious, it brings back memories of home, in Italia, with my Yaya and Nonno, memories I had lost over time, the warm feeling I had soon turned into resentment towards my mother, this chicken didn’t make me sick at all, it never did, and neither did pasta or chips, nor ice cream. I feel my breath get caught in my chest. I feel elvis’ presence behind me before he even speaks. I push the table away out of pure instinct, my breathing getting heavier, tears streaming down my face. A strong set of arms wrap around me and for the first time in a decade I feel safe, I sniffle, my vision beginning to clear, I look at the mess of food around me, I’ve never been so happy to be in a secluded area. “Are you alright?” He asks, I just turn to face him and put my face in his chest. Still sniffing. “Breath, In through your nose, out through your mouth.” I follow his instructions and slowly I begin to regulate my breathing. “We gotta get that temper of yours in check.” He chuckles, beginning to pick up the food scattered on the ground. “Did you at least like the chicken?”  I nod as he escorts me out of the picnic area. 

“Y’know, you don’t talk much.” He says as if he’s made the discovery of a lifetime. 

“Don’t have much to say.” 

“You are so interesting,” he says, looking directly into my eyes.

“Why,” I challenge his eye contact. “Because I didn’t throw myself at you when you walked through the door?” I take a step closer “Honestly I don’t get the appeal. You can sing just fine, I just don’t know how anyone could call that dancing.”

“Well, not everyone is a trained dancer, it just calms my nerves when I y’know,” he shimmies his hips, “Wiggle”  watching him do it, I laugh, I couldn’t help but feel like I was missing out on something, any girl my age would kill to be in my position, but just didn’t get what the deal was. “You never get nervous?” He raises a brow at me.

I shake my head “I don’t feel anything” 

“That’s a lie, y’sure as hell felt something at the park a few minutes ago.” I turn on my heels and begin to walk away. “Hey don’t walk away, why don’t we change the topic.”

“Do the wiggle again,” I say 

“Okay, okay” he puts his hands up “I knew you couldn’t resist” He smiles. He does the wiggle and mimic it best I can, laughing at myself

“You got that down, now, let's try the shuffle.” He comes behind me to show the movements and I get it down pretty quickly. While I’m enjoying myself I can’t help but feel something wrong, I enjoy his presence, but I know it's not how other girls my age do, this feels like a connection I need but I could care less if he kissed me or not, if I were being completely honest with myself I’d prefer he didn’t.

We get back to set and part ways. Mama was furious with me. “You ate the whole thing, Arabella.” I didn’t respond, just watched her throw things in her fit of rage as I changed into my pajamas, “ This is why, your face is so fucking round, and your thighs are so goddmn large.” she pauses to throw the salad bowl at me, I put my arm to block it. “And Arabella,” she walks up and slaps me across my face. “Would you for the love of God, WIPE THAT GODDAMN SORRY ASS LOOK OFF YOUR FACE, FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE.”

I bring my hand to my now stinging cheek. “That’s just my face.” you would think she would get it by now, she looks at me all the time. 

“No Arabella,” she turns to face me again. “It’s my face that you ruined.” she points an accusatory finger at me. “With your fat cheeks.” She speaks in a baby voice, pinching my cheeks. “And your fish lips.” she squeezes my face in her hand. “And your sad eyes.” she looks me in my eyes. “You're depressing to look at, and even more embarrassing to be related to.” She turns to face the door. 

“Mama, I’m s-” She cuts me off

“I am NOT your mama, not in public at least, with the way you look and behave, it’s shameful to be your mama.” She slams my trailer door behind her Shouting “And no dinner!” before leaving set altogether. I stare at my door, a seemingly endless flow of tears coming from my eyes. 

A few minutes go by, I peek out of my trailer, wiping my eyes. When I see no one around I sneak behind my trailer and shove my fingers down my throat. It doesn’t work, I don’t even gag. I sigh and walk to Elvis’ trailer. 

I knock five times, the door opens. “Hey, Ara-” Elvis cuts himself off. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing, it's just my face.” at least I’ll always have that excuse. He opens his mouth to talk. But I don’t let him pry “do you have a gallon of milk?” 

“Sneakin’ a late-night bowl of cereal?” He chuckles, I stare at him. “What, part of your mama’s diet for you?” He looks sad.

“I guess you can say that.” He looks confused at my response, but ultimately sighs and hands me a half-empty gallon of milk. “Thanks, this should be enough.”

I begin to walk away “Y’know if you ever need to talk, I’m here.” I nod. “I’m sorry, just overheard you talking with your mama.” 

I whip my head around. “What my Ma- Sophia says to me is none of your concern.” I start walking again.

“You’re gorgeous,” Elvis says softly, I keep walking.

“Everyone else seems to think so.”

Upon arriving at my trailer I once again hide behind it. I sniff the milk, I hate it. I chug as much milk as I can, as quickly as I can, until I feel everything I ate today begin to come back up. When I finish emptying the contents of my stomach, I walk back into my trailer, and brush my teeth. I stare at my face in the mirror, I pinch and pull at my cheeks, I swear my face gets bigger every time I look at it, I pull my face back, giving myself a temporary facelift. My fingers ghost over my lips, I make kissing faces at myself, I pinch my lips, in hopes they would shrink, they don't. I shake myself out of my thoughts. I grab a few bottles of water and head outside to rinse the ground off. 

While pouring bottles of water a familiar southern voice fills my ears. 

“That’s mighty wasteful don’t ya think?” I roll my eyes and go on rinsing the ground. “Just wanted to see if you needed a ride, I saw your mama leave.” I nod following him to his car. 

The car ride is dead silent, I stare at Elvis, perplexed, no one has ever treated me this way. “Like what ya see?” I roll my eyes, as he laughs, I close my eyes, a smile starting to play on my lips.

We pull up to the hotel, Elvis walks me to my suite. “Goodnight gorgeous.” He hugs me. “If you need anything, I’m down the hall.” He kisses the top of my head. I walk into my hotel room and pass out immediately.

Present Day

Arabella: I remember the next day in the papers all I saw were headlines like “America’s Sweetheart being corrupted by Rock n Roll Hillbilly?” or what have you.

Interviewer: What did your mom think of the headlines?

I hope y’all enjoyed this chapter, Next one is from EP’s perspective

Taglist: @smyleigh24

[emmy-dekarios-bg3]

Heart of the Weave - A Baldurs Gate fanfiction

CHAPTER 11 - GALE’S POINT OF VIEW

The glowing orange sun begins to set beautifully, causing an aura of lavender and rose in the sky, and I can tell Emmy has reached the point of overexhaustion. We decided to camp one last time before we make it home tomorrow; we thought we would make it home today. Luckily, we’re close and we don’t have much longer before we arrive back at our sweet home in Waterdeep. I already miss Tara, our comfortable bed, and the balcony that stands above the bright, glistening ocean with soft waves that sing such a calm song. I’m imagining the reflection of the moonlight upon the water with the love of my life beside me as we admire it. I’m picturing our new child being curled up on my chest as we inhale the air of the salt water. We haven’t been away long, but I already miss the romantic and calm aesthetic of our tower that stands above the sea. I’ve always appreciated it, but after being abducted by the nautiloid, I’ve learned to appreciate it even more.

Having Emmy in my arms as we rest is the most comforting feeling that I love, and will continue to love for the rest of my life as long as we’re both alive. I did not realize how exhausted I was. As I hold her close to me, watching her sleep in my arms, it isn’t long until the soft chirps of crickets cause me to pass out and drift into a heavy slumber filled with solace. I’m so tired, my body is practically numb and my eyes are full of tears from the constant yawning.

When morning arises, I open my eyes to see Emmy is not in my arms. She’s normally awake much later than I am, so I’m wondering if she just had trouble sleeping. I crawl out of the tent, noticing Karlach and Wyll eating, but no sight of my wife anywhere.

“Have you guys seen Emmy? How long have you been awake?”

“We’ve been awake for a couple hours now. We both went to snag some food for all of us, but haven’t seen her once,” Wyll says. “We assumed she was in the tent with you. Not a sight of her since we’ve been awake.”

“Oh my Gods… Do you think Raphael got her?” Karlach murmurs, covering her face with her hands. Fear sinks within me as I come to the realization that’s more than likely what happened, since she doesn’t appear to be nearby. It’s not like her to run off and not come back. My stomach begins to turn as I try not to think about what he could have done with her. Of course he would come when we least expect it and snag her when she’s most vulnerable, when she’s alone in the forest. He knows she’s weak, he knows she can’t fight. Devils are always watching.

“More than likely you’re correct,” I say. “She probably got up to use the bathroom and that’s when she was snatched. The opportunity presented itself when she couldn’t be protected. Damn it! How do we reach him? I should have felt her get up.” It’s taking everything in me not to have a manic episode, though it’s a challenge seeing as she could possibly be dead. No, Gale. She’s alive. She’s well. She’s pregnant with my baby – our baby – so it worries me that Raphael is getting exactly what he wanted, that maniacal, manipulative bastard. If I know anything about Raphael besides his diabolical tactics, it’s that he will hold her hostage and torture her like he did with Hope, a halfling we rescued from his home when we first broke in to steal the orphic hammer. It’s a long story, really.

“It looks like we have everything to summon ourselves to his home, but we’re missing the metal that goes in the center,” Karlach says, searching through her bag. “Son of a nutcracker, nothing!”

“Can’t we use a soul coin?” Wyll suggests. “It’s made of the same metal as the one we need for the summoning circle.”

“You son of a duke, that’s why I love you! Well, for other reasons too, of course.” Unfortunately, while I’m skilled in the arcane and would consider myself a rather good cook, I cannot draw a summoning circle for the life of me. Invading a devil’s home isn’t exactly a skill of mine that I hone.

“Could one of you draw a summoning circle and I’ll put in the material?” You can hear the hurt and brokenness in my voice, and Karlach and Wyll look at each other with worried eyes. Karlach places her hand on my shoulder, her eyes demanding my attention.

“Of course, Gale. Just so you know, it’s going to be alright. Deep breaths, Papa Gale, I’m sure she’s okay.”

“Thank you, Karlach.” As they draw the summoning circle, I begin to dissociate and visualize Emmy’s smile on our wedding day, the shine in her eyes as she stares at me with desire, the way her dark, curly hair falls behind her head as I say my vows. I can’t forget her cheek bones and the way they plump up as she smiles. The moment I placed my hand on her cheek before kissing her was my favorite moment to ever exist. I think about the moment she told me she was pregnant, how I suddenly got this overwhelming sense of protection. Fear sinks in as well as my protective instincts as Wyll shakes my shoulder gently.

“You ready, NightinGALE?” Wyll says, then immediately regrets his joke. I smile, still filled with worry and a pound of sickness within me as I walk toward the circle. It begins to light up, flames rising up as we’re being surrounded by flames, a horrific wave of magic causing our bodies to glow, and before I know it we disintegrate into the realm.

Being stuck in the in-between area of our world and Hell is quite a horrific trip I did not ever want to be in again, but for the sake of my wife and baby’s lives, I need to do what I have to do. I hear the deafening screeches of imps, piercing my ear drums as we drown into the Hells. I don’t know what lies ahead of us or what our ultimate goal is, but I really hope we can bargain with Raphael, though it seems our chances are rather slim given our past with him.

It’s like one giant flash of light, as if my soul is being transferred to the afterlife, my body being completely separated from what’s inside of me. Flames are consuming us for a minute, but I finally find myself in the home of Raphael. Luckily, Emmy is right there when we arrive, her body chained to the wall with soul chains. These are the exact same chains that were used to lock up Dame Aylin. Raphael, unfortunately, is also in the same room and it appears he’s interrogating her for something – maybe a deal of some sort. I gasp, watching her squirm for her life as the fiendish devil gets up in her face.

“You took EVERYTHING from me,” he snarls, his face up against her. His voice is stern and so deep that it’s spine-tingling. I can feel my blood boil as he speaks to her with such malice. “So for that, you will be my new ‘Hope.’ Locked here for centuries, begging for mercy, begging to be set free while your child will be my thrall, feeding off the souls of the unfortunate. It will be a slave, growing up to do my bidding, and then…you will watch as I tear it to shreds. A well-deserved punishment.” I wonder what he was speaking to her about before we showed up. Surrounding us are various cambions, staring us down should we make a single move. Though they don’t particularly make me nervous, the ill-intentions of Raphael sure give me a wave of stomach-turning anxiety. I can feel my face tighten, several angry emotions swirling within me as I try not to attack this bastard.

“I just didn’t want you to have the crown!” she pleads, her voice broken from all the cries. “We needed the orphic hammer, but we couldn’t allow you to have the crown. It was in everyone’s best interest.”

“Oh please, do you think I care about anyone’s ‘best interest’? No. All I care about is ruling over the Nine Hells and taking control of the devils, making them bow to me like the servants they are. They will have no power over me. Oh, silly girl. Mystra is a fool knowing damn well what she was giving up, who she was giving it to. Your husband worships a false idiot who claims to be all-powerful with magic. He’s just as pathetic as she is.” He touches her bare stomach with his hands, trickling it up and down with his index claw. I can hear him laugh as he’s thinking heavily on his next move.

“Let her GO!” I shout, approaching Raphael but he pushes me back with extreme force. It’s as if I lost all control and couldn’t contain my anger, which never happens. I fly in the air, feeling my back land on the hard floor beneath me.

“You will not interrupt,” he growls, looking back at Emmy. “She will be mine.”

“What do you want?” she cries out. “What can I give you to set me free?” Tears are dripping from her face as she struggles within the chains. Her body is weak, tired, and her face shows nothing but despair. It pains me to see her this way and it’s taking everything in me not to obliterate this creep.

“Emmy, my love,” I whimper, swallowing the words I want to scream at this devil’s evil face. I’m holding back screams and the urge to try and kill this fucker for good, but I know it won’t do a damned thing.

“NOW you want to bargain with the likes of me?” Raphael laughs, touching her belly with his sharp claw again, causing her to flinch. Her eyes widen as she begins to breathe heavily. I clench my fist and fight my words, but she might have him by a chokehold somehow.

“Raphael, please let her go,” I say. “What can we do?”

“Ah, the pathetic wizard who would bow down to the worthless and pitiful goddess that gave the crown to me. One of the people who destroyed me in my own home.” His piercing gaze is digging deep into me, but I’m not allowing it to intimidate me at all. “You’re all too late for any deals. Nice attempt, however.” He continues to trace his claw across her belly, laughing quietly but with a deep tone. He presses his finger deeper into her flesh, causing all of us to panic.

“Please!” Emmy begs, her screams nearly deafening as she pleads for mercy. Karlach and Wyll move up in front of me to face him, ready to fight but I pull them both back with my hands. I can’t let them attack him; it seems we’re close to being able to make a deal with the man.

“Gale, we need to fight this fucking clown,” Karlach says. “He won’t stop unless we destroy him again.”

“He can’t die, remember? Especially as a ruler of the Nine Hells, it will be physically impossible. That will only make this entire situation much worse. Please.” Karlach sighs, and she steps back with Wyll, feeling a sense of defeat by the looks of it. “Trust me, I know the feeling.” Silence fills the room as Raphael turns around to face me, finally moving his hand away from Emmy’s skin.

“Fine. I assume you’re not willing to part with your unborn child. So, give me the Orphic hammer back and promise to never set foot in the House of Hope ever again. This is your only warning. Barge in again and your soul will rot in the stench of Hell, with your body. Understand?”

“Yes, deal. Thank you,” Emmy says, and he releases her from the soul chains. She takes the Orphic hammer and hands it to him, knowing damn well she has no use for it anyway. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I look back at Raphael, noticing an evil expression on his face, as if he’s planning something diabolical, though I imagine it doesn’t involve us. He will still rule the Hells, but there’s nothing we can do. All I can imagine is that he plans on finding Hope again and feeding off her misery once more.I just know it. That’s what he’s known for – using people and feeding off their misery. We’re lucky we got away from him this time, but who knows if he has something nasty planned for the future?

We leave the House of Hope, which apparently is about to not exist in Avernus, and it will be rebuilt in the deeper depths of the Hells. If his plan is to recapture Hope, I feel so sorry for the poor girl. One can only hope that’s not part of his plans. We’re back on solid grounds, though I can safely say I did not expect us to get away that quickly. Emmy hugs me tight, as if she never wants to let me go. I can’t blame her.

“I thought we wouldn’t make it in time,” I murmur in her ear, feeling a tear leave the corner of my right eye. I almost lost her. I rub her back as she keeps her head placed on my chest.

“I love you Emmy, but damn girl, it’s scary how easily you can get away from an archdevil,” Karlach adds. “I have a feeling he has something else planned. If only we knew what. Let’s just…hope it doesn’t involve us.” I continue to embrace her, worried about the future of the world, what will happen, and the fear of surviving it all. We barely escaped Raphael’s clutches. Something tells me he was going to kill her.

“I’m just glad all I had to do at the time was give up the Orphic hammer, which I’m shocked I even had it on me at all,” Emmy says. “I could have sworn I sold it.” I often wonder why he didn’t just send one of his workers to try and steal the orphic hammer from us to begin with, but I guess he’s all about the theatrics.

I’m damn lucky we got away from our encounter with Raphael, but the question remains if it’ll happen again. There’s no way someone like him would let us off so easily, but maybe he knows he’s all-powerful and he already has what he wants. While we are more than ready to make it back to Waterdeep, all of us fear what we may come across again.

[slipping-through-my-fingertips]

In My Head, I'm Yours

Chapter 7: Maybe We Brought the Worst in Each Other

AO3

“I cannot believe you’re studying for finals already,” Thalia said, smearing cream cheese on her bagel.

Annabeth was sitting at the counter, textbook open in front of her next to her bowl of cereal. Underneath the counter was a notebook balanced in her lap.

“I asked to take this one early because it conflicted with my thesis presentation.”

“Of course you did.”

Leo came in, rubbing his eyes, “how long has she been awake?”

“Well, she’s showered and dressed.”

“And studying,” Leo commented.

“And sitting right here and can hear you,” Annabeth said, “I woke up around 8.”

“It’s Sunday!” Leo exclaimed, “why?”

“Actually, it’s Monday,” Thalia corrected.

“Oh well, still.”

“Not all of us can afford to sleep in on weekdays, Leo,” Annabeth said.

“First off, rude undertones. Second, I work nights.”

“Valid point,” she conceded. “Can we just agree that you’ll live your life and I’ll live mine?”

Leo shrugged and popped an everything bagel into the toaster.

It was a study trick of hers to leave her phone charging in a different room. No distractions. But this morning, she forgot to turn the ringer off.

Annabeth placed her notebook on the counter and walked to her bedroom when she heard the familiar ringing. She didn’t recognize the number but picked it up anyway.

“Hello?”

“This is Marc from Athenian, I am calling to speak to Annabeth Chase.”

She swallowed. “This is she.”

Athenian had been the one architecture firm she was looking forward to hearing from. It was right here in the city. They designed some of the most iconic buildings and Annabeth wanted to be a part of it.

By the end of the call, she had a final interview scheduled for next week to go over job responsibilities, get a tour of the firm, and meet her fellow employees. Her heart was threatening to burst.

So she did the only thing she could do, she screamed. Of course, Leo and Thalia rushed to her bedroom.

“Oh my god!”

“Are you okay?”

Annabeth looked up at them. “Athenian called. I got it. I got the job.”

“Oh my god!” Thalia repeated, “are you kidding?”

“Let’s goooo Chase!” Leo screamed.

Soon the three of them were hugging and jumping up and down.

Everything was finally paying off. She was going to be an architect and she’d be the best damn architect this city has ever seen.

“I hate to break up this party but I have to get to work,” Thalia said, pulling away. “But we will be celebrating tonight. I’ll pick up takeout from your favorite place, Annabeth.”

“Sounds perfect. Thank you,” Annabeth said.

For the rest of the day, she couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. Even when she showed up at 1 pm sharp to take her final early, she smiled through the whole exam. Her professor probably thought she was really enjoying those calculus problems.

It was while texting Thalia her takeout order for later when Annabeth realized there was one person she really wanted to see right now.

His apartment was only a subway ride away. And Thalia wouldn’t be home for another hour or so.

If everything was finally falling into place for her, maybe it was time she told Percy how she really felt. Maybe Annabeth really could have it all.

She made it to the apartment in record time. Which meant she had no idea what to say. Annabeth hadn’t planned to give a love declaration today. She didn’t even have time to talk to Hazel about this.

Gods, she should’ve gone to Hazel first, gathered her thoughts, and then showed up here.

It was too late for that though. She was standing at the door. Her hand was raised ready to knock but Annabeth heard voices. She paused outside the door. Even though she knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping. It was Piper talking.

“We have to get another E.P. out.”

“We’re partway through recording one right now,” Jason said. “Let’s finish it and put it out asap.”

“It needs a title still,” Percy said.

“We all know how good you are with names,” Piper teased.

Annabeth smiled remembering the band name story.

“Right, so if the tour begins on June 16th, we should get the E.P. out by mid-May at the latest,” Piper again.

Tour? They were leaving. He was leaving.

Annabeth had to get out of here. Her heart was thundering.

She needed air. Fresh air.

The elevator couldn’t come quick enough. She pressed the button a third time before giving up and running down the stairs. All she wanted was to get out of this building, away from the apartment, and put space between her and Percy.

She laughed humorlessly to herself, Percy was going to put plenty of space between them while he hopped around the country on tour.

She ducked into an ally a few blocks away. Caught her breath and tried to blink away her tears.

Why did she even care? Percy didn’t owe her anything. They weren’t anything.

Just two people, friends even, who had slept together a handful of times. It meant nothing, right?

It wasn’t like he knew exactly how to make her smile with his corny jokes, or made her heartbeat go wild when he walked into a room. Percy certainly didn’t save that look of admiration just for her.

Suddenly, the fact that Annabeth was fairly sure she was falling in love wasn’t so pressing after all.

This is why she always had a plan.

This is why she liked math. You could solve those problems. There was a clear way out.

How was she going to get out of this? How did you fall out of love with someone you weren’t even in love with yet? Someone you weren’t even dating? Someone who seemed to have taken over your life without even trying? Someone who with one glance…she shook her head.

Annabeth took a deep breath and wiped her face. She was Annabeth Chase. She could slay dragons if she had to. She could get over Percy Jackson.

Or at least, she hoped she could.

… Percy hadn’t spoken to Annabeth in weeks. He texted her. Lots. As the tour came closer, the more he wanted to see her.

To tell her. Though she must know by now. Jason would’ve told his sister and Thalia wouldn’t keep that from Annabeth. So why hadn’t she reached out?

No congratulatory text? No I’m happy for you? Nothing about their new music. Their lead single Talk Fast from the E.P. had just come out and was doing well. Though no one knew an E.P. was coming, they were planning a surprise drop.

Still, wasn’t she wondering if the song was about her?

Mostly, he just wanted to hear her voice. But she rarely answered. Those that did receive a reply were one worded. Three words at most.

On Tuesday, when he knew Thalia would likely be at work and Leo was out on a date Percy had set up for him (he knew a girl a few floors down who would be just Leo’s type), he went to see Annabeth.

When she opened the door, he hadn’t expected to see her wearing a cap and gown.

Shit.

“Percy?”

“Yeah, hi,” he said, lamely, “I didn’t know you were…um congrats.”

His annoyance was melting away. This is why she hadn’t texted right? She was graduating. How had he lost track of the days so badly that Percy didn’t realize graduation was upon them.

For him, he had one more semester. So it totally slipped his mind.

There were a couple more classes he had to take in order to graduate some dumb requirements no advisor had thought to mention.

“Thanks.”

Her blonde hair was in perfect ringlets falling onto the light blue gown. A color which only made her gray eyes stand out more.

“Are you heading there now?”

“Not yet. I’m meeting my family here in an hour, we’re going together.”

“Seriously Annabeth, congratulations. You’ve really earned this. I know we hadn’t known each other that long but you’re the smartest person I know. You’re going to do amazing things.” Percy wanted so badly to touch her, to hug her. But he didn’t think that was allowed.

There was tension between them. Not the good kind either. Like she was mad at him for some reason. It seemed to him that he had every right to be angry with her. She was the one avoiding him.

“I should go,” he said, finally. “Good luck, Annabeth.”

And it felt a lot like goodbye.

Percy turned to walk away when she grabbed his hand.

“Why did you come too see me?” She asked.

His shoulders fell. Now didn’t really seem like the time.

“Percy, please.”

She led him inside.

He had been right, no one else was home. And if Annabeth's family was as punctual as she was, they had an hour.

“I’ve been texting you,” he said, “I wanted to talk to you. I assume you already know about the tour. I wanted to tell you first.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

Percy avoided her eyes. If he looked at her, he was going to kiss her. Now really wasn’t the time for that.

“I wrote a song about you, you know?" He sang a little, "I’ll take what I can get from you. Talk fast, romance, burn, crash, I’m okay with that.”

She half smiled. “I thought maybe you had, I wanted to reach out but I—“ she trailed off.

Finish your thought. Please.

But she didn’t.

“You’re going on tour. That’s exciting right?”

“Yeah, it should be. Who knew we were blowing up in the West.”

“Your manager figured it out,” Annabeth said.

Percy shrugged.

“When’s the E.P. dropping?”

“Oh, we’re thinking about May 16th. Exactly a month before tour…wait how did you know an E.P. was coming?”

“Uh, I think Jason mentioned it?”

She was lying. Jason, Piper, and Percy had agreed to keep this under wraps. Even from Thalia.

It was going to be a surprise because Jason had decided to add a song about his sister that he wrote with Piper.

“No, he wouldn’t have. It’s supposed to be a secret, how did you know?”

“I, um…”

Percy felt that angry building back up. The endless texts she didn’t answer, the avoidance tactics, and now she was lying to him? Why?

“Annabeth, how?”

She bit her lip.

“I eavesdropped,” she whispered, “I was at your apartment when you were talking about the tour.”

“So Jason didn’t tell you that either. You found out on your own. Why didn't you tell me?” He tried to keep his voice level.

“I was so mad at you, for leaving, I couldn’t see you.”

“Without telling me you were mad? Annabeth, that’s so dumb. How could I fix things if I don’t know you’re upset? So you’re mad at me for something you shouldn’t have overheard in the first place.”

“I know, I shouldn’t—“

Percy cut her off, “you’re not even giving me a chance here. You’re not giving us a chance!”

“Percy, I told you I couldn’t do a relationship right now!”

“Shit Annabeth, I think it’s a little late for that. We’re already there in everything but name. You come to all my gigs, our friends have weekly movie nights, we see each other like twice a week and sometimes we don’t even have sex. We’ve been dating but you won’t admit it!”

He was aware of their voices getting louder.

“I’m going on tour,” he said, “I guess that’ll be that.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” She asked.

“It means you get your wish,” he said, lowering his voice. “No relationship.”

Annabeth’s eyes were watering. “No.”

Percy couldn’t believe he was saying this.

“We’ll be better off, we’re destroying each other like this. You can't do a relationship, well I can’t do this anymore.”

He walked to the door.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, I thought someday you’d realize what I already had noticed. I thought you were just being coy, I thought…”

You might really like me too.

“It doesn’t matter now. I meant it, you’re the smartest person I know but not smart enough to see me. Congrats again, you’ll make a hell of an architect.”

And he left.