#curly haired ethan my beloved

[sk3letical]

Eepy Ethan

Also a clearer version for details

[smoooothoperator]

Beautiful Stranger

Daphne's first love and heartbreak

a/n: Hello loves! As you may (or may not) know, my characters will be on @elisysd new story Gold Rush! They won't me important, but on the prologue she talked about Daphne and I wanted to do her point of view of that part of the story! I hope everyone likes this!

Summer of 2042

Greece was a place she always loved.

Every summer since they met, her parents went to that country to spend their summer holidays, making it a family tradition. All the Norris rented a house in Parga and then a boat to go around the coast.

On a shelf of her house there's an album of photos from all those vacations. She always opened those albums when she was a kid, watching how her parents used to be, how her mom used to look like. 

There are pictures of the first time they met, both of them on a camper traveling together. Then there is a picture of them hugging, her mom with a beautiful engagement ring on her finger. Then pictures of their wedding, and their honeymoon.

And then the first time she was in Greece: inside the womb of her mother.

One of the reasons she loved going to Greece was because she felt like she belonged to that place. She never met her mom's family, only an old woman she considers her grandma.

When the old woman started to get sick, Lando and Lily decided to be with her on her last moments.

Lando was now retired, and Lily was a well known artist in Europe. But, even if he had three championship titles and she had her paintings in important art galleries all over the globe, luck and fortune weren't always by their side.

In 2039, the Norris family moved into Parga, wanting to spend the time and make memories with the woman that welcomed them as her own kids the first time they stepped in the town. 

But unfortunately, Nora Makris died in January of 2041. Leaving the family with a hole on their hearts 

Now, in the summer of 2042, after the death of the beloved woman, they were on a blanket with snacks and drinks in front of them, sitting in front of the grave of the woman.

"So… we wanted to tell you something, Nora" Lando smiled weakly, hugging his son on his lap. "Will you say it, buddy?"

"I am on a karting team" the eight years old boy said, hugging his dad. 

Daphne smiled weakly looking at her brother Percy. He's the exact copy of her father, with the same smile and same curly hair.

Otherwise, Daphne is the reflection of her mother, but with her father's eyes. She loves art, she loves Greece. Some of her parents' friends joked around saying that she saw her mother painting while she was in her womb, because since she was little she already showed her will to make art.

"I miss you, Nora" her mom sighed, making her dad hold her hand and kiss her head. "We all miss you, mom"

Daphne sighed and left a flower in front of the grave, tracking the name and numbers with her fingers.

R.I.P. 

Nora Makris

Your family will always remember you

"Come on, kids" Lando sighed, helping his son get up and then he did it. "It's time to go"

Daphne looked at her family. Her brother held her hand tightly, hugging her while they walked away from the cemetery. She looked back, how her dad hugged her mom's shoulders kissing her temple.

Since she was little she always dreamed of having someone that could love her how her dad loves her mom. 

"Are we going to Santorini?" Percy asked his dad, holding his hand. "Will Louis be there?"

"Yeah" he smiled, picking him up. "Come on, the rest of the group is already on the boat"

That summer, the Norris family boat will be full with the Leclercs, the Gaslys and the Vestappens. The four families will spend their summer together, going by boat to Santorini and staying in a house together.

"Julia!" Daphne smiled, hugging her childhood friend.

"Dane!" she smiled, hugging her back.

The Gaslys had twins, but she never got along with them a lot, they were always with Ethan, the Verstappens' son. 

Julia Leclerc is her best friend. Even if they live in different countries and study in different places, all the time they went to the races to support their fathers, they spent time together. She's like the old sister she never had, and she loves her as a sister.

"How are you?" Julia asked with a weak smile.

"Yeah… well… I mean, I miss her" she smiled weakly. "It is hard. She was there since I was born, but now she's not…"

"I get it, Dane" she sighed. "She was part of your family. I miss her too, but I totally get it that you feel this low now"

"Yeah" she sighed.

In previous summers, Nora liked to have the kids with her when their parents went out to have fun as adults. Julia and Daphne always sat on the floor in front of her learning about Greece and the history of it. Thanks to that woman they know and love this place.

"Come on, I bought some things to spend time here" the older girl said, walking in front of her.

The yacht wasn't big enough for the four families to sleep there, so they had to share rooms to make sure there wasn't a problem.

"How is Louis going?" Daphne smiled weakly, watching the little Leclerc sitting next to her mother, wearing noise canceling headphones. 

"Nice… he goes to therapy and they are trying to find a way of communicating with him" Julia sighed. 

Daphne nodded and walked with her friend, looking around. She saw the Gasly twins and Ethan, looking carefully at Julia to see her reaction. Since she was little she remembers the arguments the two kids had, how Ethan tried to make her angry and how upset she reacted.

"I hate that he's here" she heard Julia groan, making her chuckle softly.

After they got changed into their bikinis, they went to the living room together, sitting on one of the couches.

"Sometimes it makes me sad to look at your brother trying to get closer to Louis" Julia sighed, watching how Daphne's brother was sitting meters away from Louis.

"He brought a book about insects, you know?" Daphne said, smiling softly. "And he even bought some small plushies of bugs for him"

"Really? That's so sweet" Julia smiled weakly. "Do you want me to ask him if he wants me to give them to him?"

"Would you do that for him?" she smiled softly. 

"Sure" Julia nodded, nudging her side.

Julia is a wonderful person. Daphne knows she suffered from bullying, she saw how her friend changed. One week she was friendly with her and the next one she tried everything to keep a distance with her. But she tried to keep contact with her, until she discovered what happened.

She saw how Julia got up and sat next to Percy, hugging him and playing with him to make him laugh. If there's something true about the older Leclerc is that no matter what, she will always love and protect her family and loved ones. And because she has known the Norris since she was born, she feels they are part of her family too.

"A bird told me you have a gift for my brother, hm?" Julia chucked, tickling Percy.

"Oh, yeah" he laughed. "Is a plushy of his favorite bug"

"Yeah? Do you want me to give it to him?" she asked. "I'm sure he will like it, you know he likes the gifts you give him"

"But he doesn't know those are mine…" he sighed. 

"Percy, he knows you want to be his friend" she smiled weakly. "But you know how he is… it's hard for him, yeah? But you are doing an amazing job"

Daphne smiled looking at them. She's grateful for her father, because thanks to him she has a big family. Charles and Lyanna are her godparents, and Louis her parents' godson. She's happy to be part of the Leclerc family.

Spending the day on the yacht was borning, because they couldn't go to the water since the boat was moving. 

"Hey" Daphne heard him sit next to her. 

"Oh, hey" she nodded at him, the Verstappen sitting next to her made her blush.

"So… are you having a good time?" Ethan asked, showing interest in her.

"Well, you know how it is. We can't go to the water" she shrugged. "And you just interrupted an interesting book"

"Oh, sorry" he laughed. "What were you reading?"

"Oh, one of my mom's favorite fictional books" she said, showing him the book. "Lore. Did you hear about The Hunger Games?"

"Eh… no" he laughed. "What's that? Guys being hungry?"

Daphne wanted to hit him with the book. How can someone be so stupid?

"No, idiot" she laughed. "Is like a dystopia where a country had a rebellion and the president of that country decided to make every year something like a show that made two people, called tributes, from all the twelve districts fight in a random place until one of them is alive"

"Oh… I never imagined you would like something as bloody as that" he laughed. 

"Yeah well, it's a classic" she said, rolling her eyes. "The thing is that in this book the author mix that with the Greek mythology"

"Ah yeah, I get it" he nodded. 

She doesn't use to talk with Ethan. Julia always tries to keep her away from him, but it's inevitable to not look at him. She always thought he was good looking, like one of those illustrations of her mythology books.

Something inside of her, like little tickles on her stomach, made her blush every time she found Ethan looking at her while the twins talked with him.

During the days on the beach in Santorini, she could feel his eyes on her. He talked with her when they were alone, and she casually started to feel things for him.

"I swear, I really think he likes me, Juls" Daphne sighed, laying on her friend's bed. "Sometimes I catch him looking at me"

"He's disgusting, Dane" Julia sighed. "Come on, I'm sure he's having dirty thoughts while he looks at you"

"I don't think he's like that" she frowned. "He's sweet with me… maybe I can make him be a good guy"

Oh, she really believed that. She heard all the things Julia said about him, how bad he is since he was born. But, as the teen she is, she really thought that she could change the bad guy and make him a good guy. 

Some days he would flirt with her, talk till late and then walk with her to the door of her bedroom. Somehow, she started to fall for him.

Is he her first love? Would he be her first kiss? First boyfriend?

Then, that night came.

They went to have dinner, and since none of the kids, except Louis and Percy, wanted to stay in the restaurant, all of them decided to leave and go to the house.

In that moment, Ethan was with her, walking next to her on the beach. She thought it was romantic, being alone with him under the stars.

"It's a beautiful night, right?" She smiled, looking up at the stars.

"Mhm" he nodded, standing in front of her.

Then he did what she was dreaming about for the last few days. He pressed his lips on hers.

It was a messy kiss. Sure, he knows how to kiss, he did it tons of times with random girls at school. But she never kissed someone like that, so she just let him lead the kiss. It was something she never expected, to feel his tongue and his hands on her ass.

But she didn't care. Ethan Verstappen was kissing her.

She went back to the house with a silly smile, going immediately to Julia's room and telling her everything.

But of course, not everything is perfect.

Even if he spent the next day with her on the beach, kissing her sometimes when she noticed no one was watching, the next day things changed.

He was distant, not looking at her and ignoring her. 

Somehow, that hurt her.

But what hurt the most was going to the beach at night, hoping to find him there and ask him what was wrong and why he was ignoring her. 

Dane couldn't believe what her eyes were watching. She really didn't want to believe that was real.

Ethan kissing a random girl.

"Ethan?!" she gasped, making the boy pull away from the kiss and look at her. "What the hell is this?"

"Oh, you" he laughed, holding the waist of the girl. 

"Why are you kissing her?! After everything you said to me?" she exclaimed.

"Ah… come on! It was just to have fun!" he laughed. "Nothing serious. You really should calm down. I would never be with someone like you"

She could hear her own heart breaking. It was so cruel, she was one of the many girls he played with. She was part of that long list he likes to brag about with the Gasly twins. 

When she went to the house, she ran inside Julia's room, jumping in her bed with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"He… he just said that he would never be with someone like me" she mumbled, hugging her friend. "What does it mean? Why?"

"Don't listen to him, Dane…" Julia sighed, running her back and brushing her hair. "You are better, too good for him, okay? You deserve to be with someone that makes you happy"

"It hurts… I thought he liked me" she mumbled.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something and I really want you to listen carefully" Julia sighed. "Ethan Verstappen is not good news. Now you know what happens… don't look at him, okay? Ignore him"

Since that day, Ethan Verstappen was a man she never wanted to talk to ever again. She was dead for her.

taglist

@lestappenloverr @racinggirl @roni-midnights @livster8 @kakorrhaphiphobia @starkeyellow @celestialpierre @ophcelia @msliz @lorarri @ironmaiden1313 @imsorare @mycenterfold @im-an-overthinker @soosheee @karmabyfernando @landoyesrizz @sticksdoesart @beatricemiruna @nonameishere @flwr-stella @lordperceval-16 @arisainz

[fromepiximagines]

Be Still My Heart (Kenny Liu x fem!reader)

Summary: Kenny is relieved to see you safe after the awful night he spent at the station with Sara.

Word count: 920

Request: Hey theeeeeere! Thank you for replying to me and good luck with uni! Soooo ofc do it whenever u can and pls take your time! But I would reaaaally love smth fluff with Kenny x fem reader anything you want! Also 3rd person it's perfectly fine I love it don't worr about anything love💗💗💗

Rating: T

Warnings: spoilers for s2e9 and 10 of From, swearing, reader wears glasses, hugs, use of (Y/N), one (1) kith.

“This sucks.” (Y/N) mumbled.

Hidden in Victor’s old hideout, the one he so kindly showed her a few days before – ‘In case you wander too much’, he said -, she tried not to make any noises. There was no talisman inside, which meant the monsters outside could get in if they managed to unlock the tailgate.

It has been many, many hours since she got here alone, after going out to empty her head; people were dying, one after the other, more than ever before, and now they couldn’t sleep.

“Keep your eyes open, shitstain.” The woman whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes, back leaning against the metal wall. Her sight was trained on the tailgate, wondering why in the fuck she would wander off near nighttime – never again.

And then, a sliver of light passed by a tiny opening on the metal.

Too bright to be a flashlight.

(Y/N) scrambled up, face dangerously close to the cold metal, and peeked out.

“Sun, my beloved!” She shouted, and turned around. With ever raising excitement, she opened the latch and slid up the tailgate; the warm rays of sunshine hit her face with full force, and she leaped down onto the dewy grass.

The woman ran down the familiar path towards the town; by the diner, she waved at Mrs. Liu, Victor and Ethan, smiling as she saw the familiar faces.

“Morning, Jade!” (Y/N) shouted, slowing down as the curly-haired man left the bar with a frazzled look, some book in his hands.

“Where the hell have you been?!” He shouted back, brows furrowed.

“I was taking a walk, dude.” She replied, staring at him. “Where the fuck are you going, looking like my conspiracy theory uncle?”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Don’t die!”

Jade grumbled something under his breath and left as (Y/N) headed, now walking at a decent pace, towards the Liu’s house.

The familiar sight of closed windows and an open door greeted the woman as she neared the place. She saw Sara leave the house with Boyd; nodded at them, and did her best to ignore the way her heart ached as her eyes focused on the man right behind the duo.

“Kenny.”

The ex-deputy looked up as (Y/N) whispered his name, brown eyes widening as he took in her messy appearance. Her hair was sticking up in weird angles, dark circles adorned her eyes (nothing new there, to be honest), and her glasses were kinda askew on her face.

A few seconds was all it took for the freckled man to run up to his friend and pull her into a tight hug. His arms circled her shoulders, and she sighed; he was warm. He smelled good. He was soft, comfortable-

She was sleep deprived.

“You’re alive.” Kenny said softly, nose nestled in the juncture of her neck and shoulder.

“Last I checked, yes.”

“I was worried, you dumbass.” He leaned back, staring into her eyes.

The tension between them was palpable as they locked eyes, the weight of their emotions hanging in the air. Kenny's words had hit her hard, stirring a whirlwind of worry within her. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

Her hands trembled slightly as she reached up to cup his cheeks, her touch gentle and filled with a mixture of affection and regret. Her thumbs traced tender circles against his skin, feeling the warmth gradually spread beneath her touch, a sign of their shared vulnerability.

With every passing moment, their faces drew closer, their breaths mingling. Their noses almost brushed against each other, creating a delicate connection that mirrored the fragile state of their hearts. It was a moment suspended in time, charged with longing and the unspoken desire for solace.

She mustered the courage to ask, her voice filled with a blend of uncertainty and hope, "I'm sorry... Can I kiss you?"

Kenny's response was barely a whisper, yet it carried the weight of his longing, "Please."

In that instant, their lips met, a gentle collision of souls seeking solace and reassurance. It was a tender, tentative kiss, born out of a shared understanding of their vulnerabilities. Their worries and fears melted away, replaced by a rush of affection and the undeniable connection between them.

Time seemed to stand still as they lost themselves in the softness of the moment. The world around them faded away, leaving only the sensation of their lips moving in sync, a dance of tenderness and forgiveness. It was a kiss that spoke volumes, expressing their unspoken apologies, their longing, and the depth of their feelings for one another.

In that single, stolen moment, they found solace and healing, their hearts intertwining in a profound embrace. And as they pulled away, breathless yet content, they knew that their bond had grown stronger, fortified by the power of their shared vulnerability and the healing a simple kiss could offer.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Boyd’s voice rang out, and the couple finally remembered there was an audience near them. “But we need Kenny right now, (Y/N).”

The woman felt her own face warm up now, and slowly let go of her friend’s face, arms hanging limply by her side.

“I’ll see you soon.” Kenny whispered, a small smile on his handsome face. “Really soon.”

“Be careful, okay?” (Y/N) whispered back, gaining a nod and a grin in response.

“Always.”

Right then and there, as she watched the trio walk off towards the forest, the woman sighed, with a lovestruck smile on her face.

“Be still, my fucking heart.”

Permanent taglist: @tiredwritersworld

I forgot the taglist, sorry guys :')

[redahlia-writes]

before sunrise. | steven grant x reader

Abstract: He thinks ten, twenty years into the future, lets his mind wander. A job he’s starting to lose interest in, a marriage that hasn’t even happened yet losing its energy, and him regretting the things he didn’t do all those years gone by. In the midst of it there’s this - a train leaving, you, Vienna. Something so sweet he just missed out of fear.

Words: 2.1K

Content: fluff, meet-cute, please don’t get off the train with strangers

A/N: pictures are not meant to depict the aspect of the reader, i tried to keep it as neutral as possible - june 16th, the day jesse and celine met, could i really pass on the opportunity to write a little au with our beloved steven grant? yes i am aware of the utter irony of ethan hawke playing the male lead, no i absolutely do not care - i wrote this in a rush and it is not edited

also on AO3  - masterlist

It is so incredibly difficult to focus on the book in your hands when the couple sitting across the aisle from you keeps arguing.

They’re speaking German, you’re sure, and he keeps waving his newspaper around to emphasise his words - until she smacks it right out of his hands, the sound so loud it rings in your ears and convinces you to get up at last, recovering your bag and quickly walking away from them.

Row after row you look around until you manage to spot an empty seat across from a man with curly dark hair, his gaze cast down towards the book on his lap. You put down the bag, quickly glancing at the man that returns your gaze - a quick nod of acknowledgement, both of her and of the absurdity of the situation, before returning his attention to his book, allowing you to try and resume your own reading.

It ends in failure once more, as the wife gets up with an angry noise and more muttering and mumbling in German, the man following her shortly to continue their argument across the entirety of the train.

You follow them with your eyes, and notice the man doing the same, eyebrows arched and lips slightly parted - after the couple passes you, he makes another quick eye contact with you, mouth moving in a silent uh-oh at the woman closing the door of the car in her husband’s face. You snort quietly, shaking your head before looking down at last to the page you’d lost your sign.

“Do you have any idea what they were arguing about?” his voice is low, with a strong British accent, and you train your eyes up towards him, temporarily dazed. You see his eyes widen a bit, just a hint of panic in his gaze before he clears his throat, stuttering a bit. “Do you speak English?”

“Yeah,” you reassure quickly, leaning towards him. And then, “no, I’m sorry - my German is not very good,” you confess, and he sighs, nodding slightly before leaning back, his gaze turning towards the window and the scenery outside. You smile to yourself, arm resting on the empty seat at your side. “Have you heard that as couples get older they lose their ability to hear each other?”

He blinks in your direction, fazed, lips parting again.

“No,” he muses, finding a smile starting to bloom on his face. “Really?”

“Supposedly, men lose their ability to hear high-pitched sounds,” you explain, the fact sprouting from your memory out of nowhere. “And women eventually lose hearing on the low end. I guess they sort of nullify each other, don’t they?”

“Must be nature’s way of allowing couples to grow old together and not kill each other, I guess,” he notices you grinning at the corner of his eyes as he takes in the information, and mentally slaps himself for his own words. So he clears his throat, awkwardly shuffling in his seat to face you before tipping his chin up. “What are you reading?” he’s noticed your eyes falling down towards the book, but cannot help himself attempting to salvage this half-conversation, possibly keep it going. There’s something enthralling about you, and he’s spent so long on that train that he just cannot let the opportunity for good company slip past him.

You hold up your book, an old battered copy of a French novel. He nods, humming, and you smile again.

“How about you?” he picks up his book - a textbook, really, the Ennead in gold foil blinking back at you. Your eyebrows arch in curiosity, but you do not comment on his reading choice.

Still, your lips part, and you’re about to ask a question when the door of the car slides open again and the couple comes back, still arguing, still loud. You both cringe at the sound, following their return to their seats with your eyes before once more looking at each other.

“Listen, I was thinking of going to the lounge car sometime soon,” he offers, eyeing the couple. “You wanna go?”

“Yes, please,” you exhale in relief, immediately standing up and stuffing the book in your bag. Then you pause, frowning to yourself before clearing your throat. “Uh, nice to meet you,” you extend your hand in his direction while he’s still getting up, and it takes him a moment to catch on.

“Steven,” he blurts out, holding your hand for a few instants. “Sorry - I’m Steven, nice to meet you, too.”

  —

Steven is absolutely mesmerised.

He’s looking at you sitting in front of him and cannot seem to think straight. There’s something in your mannerism, in the way you speak, that has him eating out of the palm of your hand.

And surprisingly enough, he doesn’t feel the need to measure every word he says, to turn the words over and over in his head before actually saying them - he can just talk, and you’re sitting there with your glass of water and empty plate sitting askew on the table listening to him.

“So, where are you headed?” you ask all of a sudden, and that bright smile of yours leaves him dumbfounded for a moment.

“Ah, back to London - I’m starting working on Monday, so I’ll get a flight from Paris,” he outright beams. “Been visiting a friend in Italy for a few days, borrowed a few books for my lessons, then decided to take the long way home - do some sightseeing from the window.”

“You’re a teacher?” there’s genuine curiosity in your words, head resting on your closed fist. He nods, and you eye the book poking out of his backpack. “Egyptology?”

“Yeah - I used to want to be an archaeologist,” he confesses, and your eyes light up with newfound curiosity. “I’ll have to admit, I’m not made for field work,” he gives a sheepish smile, which you return quickly. “What about you?”

“I just got my PhD and decided it was time to allow myself to travel across Europe for the first time,” you shrug lightly. “I’m not really thinking about work these months - not until I go back home, anyway. Next stop is Vienna.”

“And what do you want to do, then?” he asks, and your eyebrows arch carefully, attempting to not let your smile take over. He mutters something under his breath, quickly shaking his head. “Right - sorry, sorry. No work, got it,” you grin at him, nose scrunching up with the motion. “So why allow yourself? How come you never travelled around Europe before?”

“I just -” you pause, sighing as you drop both hands on the table. “I felt this constant pressure of just doing good, you know? Like -” you pause again, clearing your throat a little as the confession builds up - it’s been so easy to talk to Steven in the past few hours. “My parents have never really spoken of the possibility of my falling in love or getting married or having children. Even when I was young, they wanted me to think about a future career, to focus on what I wanted to do.”

“Did they expect a lot of you?” he frowns lightly, a slight sense of guilt building up in his chest.

“I mean, you did get a PhD,” he points out, his head tilting ever so slightly, causing a curl to fall across his forehead. It makes you want to reach across the table and sweep it back, so you move your hands back and onto your lap. “And you’re visiting Europe - isn’t that something someone great would do?”

“No, that’s the thing - it wasn’t demanding, they just assumed I’d be someone great,” you chew on your bottom lip absent-mindedly. “I’d say to my dad I wanted to be a writer and he’d say journalist. I’d say I wanted to have a refuge for stray cats and he’d say veterinarian. I’d say I wanted to be an actor and he’d say TV newscaster. It was this constant conversion of my fanciful ambitions into practical money-making ventures - it was a subtle pressure they probably didn’t even realise was there.”

The laughter leaves you before you can fully register it - he seems to have this ability of making you feel at ease that feels so rare, so difficult to find in such a short time.

“I suppose,” you muse, nodding slightly before taking a slow, deep breath.

“Maybe the problem is that if you have parents that never fully contradict anything you want to do and are basically nice and supportive, it makes it harder to officially complain. Even if they are wrong,” he offers, and you nod again, the smile starting to make your cheeks ache in the most welcomed way.

“Europe is my way out of thinking I owe them - or anybody else, for the matter - anything,” you declare at last, and watch him straighten a little, as if absorbing the pride in your statement. “It’s a slow process, but luckily it’s a big continent,” he grins at your statement, and almost goes in to reply when the train starts to slow down.

“Oh,” he slouches down again, smile faltering. “I think this is Vienna.”

“Yeah, it is,” you rest back on your seat, sighing quietly. “I wish I’d met you earlier - I really like talking to you,” you murmur, and his eyes widen a little as if in surprise.

“It was really nice talking to you, too,” he confesses, voice lower.

“God - I hardly talked to anybody in weeks,” you mutter, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “The perks of travelling solo,” you click your tongue then, and reach over to grab your bag resting on the empty surface of the table between the two of you.

It hits Steven like a flash: he doesn’t want it to end. Not like this. Not right now.

His hand shoots out on its own accord, and he’s resting it over yours over your bag, quickly looking up at you just as you open your mouth to speak again, and for a moment you just stare at each other.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, but doesn’t move his hand.

“I have an admittedly insane thought,” you retort instead, face flushing at the mere idea - because you don’t want it to end, either. “And I know it might come off as absurd, but it’s one of those things that will haunt me forever if I don’t ask you.”

“What?” he’s somewhere between perplexed and concerned, his hand shifting so his palm rests under yours, fingers curling gently around your own.

“I really want to keep talking to you,” you admit, and his quick smile caught him off guard as well. “I mean, I have no idea what your situation is, but I do feel a sort of… connection.”

“Yeah, me too,” he agrees, and you find yourself exhaling in relief.

“Good,” you mutter, mostly to yourself. “Because I really want to hear about your job, and that book, and how Italy was and -” you shake your head to clear it from the rambling ready to fall from your tongue. “Why don’t you get off here in Vienna with me?”

“What?” he smiles at the thought, but there’s some hesitancy in his expression.

“It’s Thursday, right? You don’t start until Monday, and we can just see the city today and you get the next train for Paris tomorrow,” you explain, shifting a little on the seat as people start to unboard. “You’ll still make it in time for your flight, and we’ll have some extra hours.”

He thinks about it - really thinks about it.

On one hand it’s outright insane to even consider it: getting off a train with a stranger in a city he doesn’t know, with no plan as to what to do or where to go.

On the other he can’t bear the thought of letting this -  you  - slip through his fingers, of watching the train leave the platform with you walking away, your back on him, bag slumped over your shoulder.

He thinks ten, twenty years into the future, lets his mind wander. A job he’s starting to lose interest in, a marriage that hasn’t even happened yet losing its energy, and him regretting the things he didn’t do all those years gone by. In the midst of it there’s this - a train leaving, you, Vienna. Something so sweet he just missed out of fear.

You’re still looking at him, eyes wide and expectant, a newfound giddiness as you eye the window and the people still leaving, nibbling at your bottom lip, waiting, waiting.

Steven smiles, his chest lighter, his head clearer.

“Let me get my bag.”

[emeraldbabygirl]

We’re all aware of the lil panties Damiano wore at the ema’s correct? What if they just all wore lil panties like that? They’d all pull it off so well. Ethan’s lil butt and then Thomas! the bean and Victoria my beloved she looks wonderful and so so cute in everything she wears. But Thomas’ fit was so cute, like a lil jester. I like him he’s such a bean! I saw that lil bit where Ethan goes shopping and he’s super cute and precious and I love love the sound of his boots clicking on the floors and sidewalk but REMEMBER when he comes home and Lil Thomas answers the door and he’s in this cute lil sweater and he looks like such a bof!

Btw on a total side note the way they all look now is perfect. Victoria without bangs and curly hair wasn’t it for me and I def think Thomas looks so much better with his long hair like please don’t cut it ever or at least not yet. And Ethan remember when he had those weird three way twisty braid things? No thank you. I love love absolutely simply heckin adore his long hair he’s such a beautiful hooman and his hair is so heckin gorgeous ugh. I wanna put lil braids and lil clips in it. Why is he not in a L’Oréal cf? Bitch he’s worth it. Like when he does those cool drum things and his hair is everywhere but he still kills it? How? Like skskssksk HE WOULD LOOK SO CUTE WITH LIL PIGTAILS LIKE THAT ONE GUY ON TIKTOK. I’m sorry but it’s amazing to watch him drum and see all that wonderful hair just vibing. I love he! Damiano looks good with short or long hair like he had in Torna Casa but I really like his long hair the best.

[jawlinedolan]

Sugar Cane Nymph (G.D.)

Sugar cane nymph (G.D.)

disclaimer-> i’m colombian so english is obviously NOT my first language. i’m fluent and generally have non-terrible grammar but I usually just  write academic stuff in english. i have only ever written fiction in my mother language before this so please bare with me while i get used to this.

this took a while to write omg it wasn’t supposed to be this long, anyways enjoy and PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE let me know what you guys think about it?💓💓🎊🎊

TELL ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE A PART TWO

summary: Grayson meets his mom’s new neighbor after an unexpected for legged visitor ivades Lisa’s Garden.

word count: +5k

warnings: some minor swearing, a whole buch of flustered grayson and hopefully a bit of humor? also i did not proof-read this sorry

Poor Grayson. For the millionth time that night something was disturbing his peaceful sleep. First the frogs and now his mom chooses this moment to do laundry.He thought half asleep. His hazy mind couldn’t for the life of him imagine any other reason for the incessant rumbling that was currently penetrating the walls of his tiny bedroom. He was mad. All of that crunching and crashing outside had taking him out of his amazing dream.

Oh, and was it an amazing one. So beautiful, just like her. He didn’t even know her name yet her image had managed to plague his every waking moment and now it seemed his slumber too. Not that he minded though, his dream had brought them closer.

He needed his sleep because he needed to wake up early, otherwise he would miss it, miss her. He had discovered her on his first morning run ever since coming back home. He always thought that Jersey had the prettiest countryside in all of North America and now he was sure of it. How could it not be with such a gorgeous nymph galoping around bareback on top her trusty steed. She was out there every morning at exactly 5:50 a.m.

Dammit. When had he became such a sap? Grayson knew he was attractive and he definitely knew how to use it. He had never encountered trouble wooing the ladies before. But this one, oh this one was different. There was something about her, he didn’t even knew her name but he just felt a certain way when he was around her. Well, more like spying behind a particularly dense bush that surrounded the little clearing where she ended her ride every morning. And that he had found on pure coincidence . If you could count trying to conspicuously keep up with a galloping horse for a quarter of mile as coincidence, that is. In his defense he just couldn’t let her get away, it was like she was pulling him without even knowing.

Each morning she would ride up there and he would be waiting behind the bush to watch the show. He could hear it’s powerful hoves before he could devise the big black stallion. Even her horse was different. It had a beautiful shinny black coat that the women at his mom’s beauty salon would envy. It’s mane and tale cascaded down his body in actual curls. Just like hers. He had never seen a horse that didn’t have straight hair.

It was sort of funny, one of the first things he noticed about the mysterious girl was her long and lucious curly hair. And she looked so in sync with the beast. With the dark curls and big brown eyes they almost looked like family.

She was short thing, as he noticed when he saw her stading next to the horse for the first time. He reckoned she would reach to his chest or his shoulders, at best. Her thick thighs hugged the animal’s torso right before she jumped off its back, squatting on her landing which made her delectable ass stretch her jeans. It all looked pretty profesional and innocent, still, he couldn’t help but imagine those beautiful legs wrapping around his waist while his big hads supported that delicious bottom.

Was he seriously getting exited at a half asleep memory or was it just morning wood?

He ignored that thought and kept his eyes closed, continuing with his hazy recollection.

Their conection was amazing, it was just her and her beast. She didn’t use a saddle or tack. She simply spoke to it, like one would another human being, and then she would scratch it’s neck. After that the thousand poud animal did everything she asked. It reared and bowed at her comand and, sometimes, she would let her hair down and they would spin and jump around almost like they were dancing.

No matter how many times he hid behind that bush to watch them, Grayson was in awe at every single thing she did. To him, she was completely mesmerizing.

So mesmerizing, in fact, that he could never bring himself to step out from behind his reliable bush to say hi. She seemed nice enough, surely she wouldn’t think he was some sort of creepy stalker, right? Except, at this point, he kind of was. But his little nymph didn’t need to know that.

Giving up on sleep he decided that if his mom felt the need to do the laundry two days in a row he better find a way of his own of being productive. But upon opening his eyes he was surprised to be greeted by darkness and those stupid frogs chirping outside. He tapped around until his long fingers got a grasp on his cellphone and squinted when the damned thing nearly blinded him with it’s brightness.

Then suddenly the laundry room was shaking again.

“The fuck” he groaned sleepily.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the light emanating from the screen of his Iphone he let out another groan, silently cursing the digital clock that read 4:25 a.m.. His alarm would be ringing in less than an hour for his morning run and he was super tired because some frogs had decided to serenade him until one in the morning. How come they aren’t sleeping yet?

Then there was that rumbling again. But when he realized that his mechanical roommate would be empty of dirty clothes at such unholy hour he began to worry. It’s not like the house was near the street, whatever or whoever was causing all that ruckus had to be in the property. He crept out of his room barefoot trying to be conspicuous and stealthy, even though the cold floor was torturing his toes.

He reached the front door after a quick stop at the kitchen to grab his mother’s big trusty iron frying pan in case he needed to attack. He made a mentan note to not leave everything that could be a potential weapon inside his building shed next time.

After taking a fortifying breath he grabbed the doorknob and turned it as delicately and silently as man his size could manage.

At first glance nothing on the porch seemed out of the ordinary, but when he turned the lights on he noticed it. An overturned plantpot which used to contain an colorful flower that, according to his mom, was an exotic plant that her friend had brought her from her vacation in the caribbean. His mom couldn’t stop talking about her colorful little flower when they showed her her new garden and how she was going to give it a special place in it. And now some rascal had savagely munched on it leaving only the dying stems amongst the dirt.

Suddenly the early morning was eerily silent again. Grayson tried to slow his breathing while straining to hear anything tha would give away the position of the invader. His heart was just about to beat out of his chest, the house was in the middle of nowhere, anything could be out there.

When he finally heard something he couldn’t believe his ears. High pitched and clearly irritated he barely recognized it.

Was that a neigh?

He followed the sound and finally got his answer upon glancing at Lisa’s Garden. The animal that appeared tu be stuck near one of the flower beds looked like a horse, kind of. It had a mane, a tail, four hooves, pointy ears and it was distinctly neighing, everythig pointed that it was a horse. Except for the fact that it couldn’t be any taller than three feet. It seemed he was in presence of a miniature horse.

Quickly running to his building shed he grabbed his diagonal pliers to cut the wire that had most likely trapped his hoof. But when he came back to help the little guy found him with his head deep into the nearest flower pot casually having a 5 a.m. flowery snack.

“Hey! Stop that!” he yelled trying to separate the little beast from it’s colorful victim. “YOU LITTLE FUCKER” Grayson yelled when the animal actually bit him for trying to take away his meal. Weren’t horses suposed to be vegetarian? Well if it liked flowers so much who’s to say it didn’t have other bizarre tastes... like fucking human flesh.

Waking up from all the noise Lisa walked outside to see her 6ft tall 200lb son wrestling a mini horse for a pot of half munched flowers. And she knew their equine visitor very well.

Grayson looked up from his struggle to see his mom walking out of the house with her phone in hand. He looked at her pleadingly and she just chuckled.

“Don’t worry sweetie I called his owners, Emperor’s mom is coming to pick him up as we speak” She told him.

“Wait you actually know where he came from?!” He let go of the animal and marched up to the woman comfortably clad in whool robe and warm slippers while he was out there shirtless and barefoot, hair stuck in every direction, trying to defend their home.

And of course in that moment his beloved brother decided to join in the fun from his bedroom window. Ethan let put a loud snort at his twin’s dishiveled appearance.

“Dude, what happened to you?” he asked in between laughs.

“Shut the fuck up E!” Grayson yelled looking up to his brother. “It could’ve been a murderer or some shit” At that Lisa couldn’t contain herself anymore and let put a loud laugh. She walked towards him with his coat in her hands that she had retrieved while the boys bantered.

“Oh realx sweetie! I don’t think you can die from cuteness overload” She paused while Grayson snatched his coat and glanced at the small black horse. to speak to it in a baby voice. “Ain’t that right Emperor?”

He put on his coat over his otherwise naked torso and and ran his hands through his unruly hair, exasperated. His mom speaking to the little monster briefly reminded him of his beautiful nymph and how her horse actually seemeyto listen, unlike this urchin that had breakfast on his mom’s flowers. He sneered at the animal before speaking.

“So you know the owners, ma?”

“Yeah, they’re sugarcane farmers. Our neighbors up north.”

“Up north? That’s dairy farm?” Grayson replied maliciously. Of course it would be dairy people that would own this mini horse devil. It just made sense.

Lisa just chuckled again at the grave look on Grayson’s face. Ethan just observed carefully from above how Emperor finished a pot of tiny purple flowers and was stretching his little neck trying to reach the next one containing daisies. Or at least he thought that’s what those were, either way it was simply hilarious.

“That’s north of the road, Gray. I’m talking about north of the property, they grow sugarcane organically. ” She explained exitedly.

“Oh... well whoever they are they better come get their poor animal soon.”

“They are already on the way, I just sent Denisse a text” She replied sternly, her sons could be the biggest men-child sometimes. “And even though they’re not vegan, I can assure you they take real good care of their animals.” Since Grayson didn’t seem all that convinced she continued, “Especially their horses, Denisse’s daughter has wall full of horsemanship thophies and first place ribbons, that girl spends hours everyday tending them.”

“Well apparently not enough” He grumbled brooding. “This one is clearly not that educated”

“Oh, Emperor is just a bit... energetic”

Oh hell no. She was actually gonna deffend it.

“ENERGETIC?!” He snapped. “ He ate your exotic flower and destroyed the garden! He’s a monster in a small package!”

“Gray it’s okay. And you’re exaggerating he didn’t destroy anything he just turned a few flower pots.”

“What about you exotic kayacka or whatever it’s called!” He kept on yelling. “HE ANNIHILATE IT”

Grayson was seething at this point. He loved animals and nature, he had gone vegan for God’s sake. But this was just too much, nature had basically trampled him in the last 12 hours. First the god forsaken frogs screaming their slimy little lungs out kept him up half of the night and now this!

This annoying piece of horse flesh had not only awoken him at the fucking asscrack of down, but it had also destroyed the garden he had busted his back to buid for Ma, who was currently laughing at his missery. And as if that wasn’t enough he was more than likely going to miss his secret appointment with his beautiful nymph.

“It’s called a cayena and he didn’t do it intentionally , Gosh, calm down” She pinned him with a stare “And it’s not that big of a deal, there’s more where that one came from I’m sure Denisse wouldn’t mind. Plus her daughter will more than likely begg to help picking up this mess, like I said she always looks out for the horses” She pursed her lips starting to get a annoyed at his irrational fury. “As mother would, she’s always picking up her childs messes”

“Well if she is such a great horse mom, how come her child is a freakin flower eating tornado” Grayson replied grudgingly, feeling like a scolded child for something he didn’t even do. Was he seriously talking about this horse like it was a person?

In the middle of his ire he looked down. Now that the sun was starting to illuminate the early morning he could see it had a kinda nice chesnut color and his beady ayes were staring eagerly at the daisies, that were just a few centimeters out of reach. If it hadn’t been such a nightmare Grayson could almost see himself looking for his allergy pill after petting the cute tiny thing. But it had messed with his garden and managed to get stuck, now he was going to have to ruin the chicken wire to cut him free. So no, Emeperos wasn’t all that cute anymore and after looking at the redish bite mark on his hand he definitely didn’t want to pet it. Lisa’s voice interrupted his musings.

“Listes, go put on you shoes, get yourself some breakfast and try to calm down. Denisse’s daughter shouldn’t be more than a few minutes away, I’ll look after him in the meantime”

“Oh no no, I’m gonna have a word with this chit and she’s gonna fix this immediately.”

Lisa was about to stop Grayson’s angry rambling until she spotted a rider and horse closing in on the house from the north trail.

“I mean, who the hell does she think she is? Letting her animals trample around and how long tilll-“

“Oh my Gosh! I’m so sorry Mrs Dolan I can’t believe he’s done this again.” A female voice rung melodically behind him accompanied by the resounding thudding of heavy hooves on grass. “Emperooor” the voice groaned “ what was it this time?”

Grayson knew that voice, and even if he had never heard her giving soft commands to her intimidating black stallion he would have recognized the feeling she stirred in him. That fluttering on the left side of his chest, the earthquake of butterflies in his stomach, that familiar sense of calmness that only her could bring him. 

Lisa´s voice brought him back from his momentary day dream.

“Well son it looks like your wish came true” she said so only he could hear and the raised her voice to greet the girl rapidly approaching them on horseback. “(Y/N) , sweetie, hello!”

Grayson turned around utterly speechless. Astounded by her beauty and awed by the mere sight of her as she dismounted  gracefully from the familiar black stud, who was actually saddled this time. 

She stepped away from the huge beast and walked towards where they were standing near the garden. With every step closer that she took Grayson felt his lungs closing up on him. What was I supposed to say to her, again? The mini horse, right. 

“I’m so sorry Mrs. Dolan. I don't know what to do with him anymore, ever since we moved up here he seems to find new ways to scape stalls and squeeze to fences daily” (Y/N) kept babbling out her sincere apologies while she come to hug the older woman whose garden had been vandalized by her favorite Shetland.

“(Y/N) I’ve told you a hundred times it’s Lisa, and don't worry about it I understand you mother is always telling me how hard you try to keep Emperor in check” She replied glaring slightly at Grayson whose jaw had fallen slightly ajar, she elbowed him discreetly bringing him back from whatever dreamland he was in. “Can't speak for the big man here though, he was a little distressed earlier”

As if he wasn't having a hard enough time (Y/N) shiny browns eyes peered up at him shyly stilling his lungs once again, and a lovely blush spread on her chubby cheeks. He followed the rosy trail with his eyes to the top of her round breasts wondering how far down her body would it reach. And when she spoke softly to him, he was a goner.

“Oh... I’m so sorry, I promise I will fix it up right away” When he didn't reply she added “I'm not as great as Lisa but I’m a pretty decent gardener, I swear its gonna look  brand new” Gosh, this was embarrassing. He was so handsome and she has just let her mini-horse ruin his mother's garden. 

Lisa’s elbow once again spooked him out of his catatonic state.

“Oh don’t be modest, I bet it’s gonna look better than before. Right, Gray?” Seeing the look in his eyes, she quickly decided that (Y/N) would have a little help fixing her plants. “Sweetie, I know you've made good friends with Cameron but I don't think you've met my sons before”

“No ma’am, I don't think I've had the pleasure” (Y/L) replied in a low voice very unlike herself.

“Okay this is Grayson and that nosy one with his head stuck out the window is his twin brother Ethan” (Y/N) glanced in the direction Lisa was pointing and sure enough there was buzz cut head sticking out the second floor window with a smirk plastered all over his angular face, ready to yell a greeting to his brother’s dream girls. Gray had described her so many times with so much detail that it was scary but it also allowed him to tell right away when he saw the curly haired girl atop the black horse.

“Why good morning Miss Horsey Neighbor (Y/L) it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance” Ethan yelled with a flirty smirk that he knew was sure to infuriate his twin.

“The pleasure is all mine, good sir” (Y/N) replied with a laugh, following along on his joke. Ethan seemed like a funny guy, she could see them becoming friends. The other brother though, they had the same sharp jawline and handsome features, but Grayson’s intense stare was definitely something else. She felt intimidated yet...exited?

Grayson stuck his hand out dumbly trying to get her attention back from his brother.

“I’m distressed and it’s okay, I wasn't Grayson” he vomited his words while trying to produce a smile that ended up looking like a grimace. (Y/L) offered him a blushy smile back none the less.

“It's a pleasure Distressed”

“Huh? Oh, fuck!” Nice job champ let her think you're fucking retarded “ it’s Grayson! I’m Grayson and  was not  distressed. I was just um...” He trailed off looking to his mom for help bur she merely shrugged “I was uh... worried! For the mini! Poor little guy just wanted a snack and ended up stuck in the chicken wire.” 

He stuttered and stumbled trough his explanation but (Y/N), who was usually very perceptive, was still so embarrassed and flustered that she didn't notice he was lying.

“Okay. So, he shouldn’tbe snacking on flowers, anyways, he knows that” (Y/N) mumbled walking towards Emperor who had stopped  struggling towards the white daisies and was now waiting for attention from his favorite human. “Alrighty pal, what did you get yourself into” She kneeled on the ground and started inspecting Emperor’s little hoof stuck on the wire. She tried to pull it out but it was too tight, the wire had tu be cut.

Meanwhile Grayson stared amazed at how the little horse devil had turned into horse putty in (Y/N)’s hands. His ears pointed towards and he rubbed his furry neck on her arm looking for scratches. No sign of the Shetland that had rudely attacked him earlier. He looked down at his hand and noticed that the bite mark was barely visible now, maybe Emperor wasn't that bad after all. Maybe.

“It’s too tight if we don't cut the wire he could hurt himself” (Y/N) announced looking up towards Lisa but the taught about it and directed her glance towards her son, who already had a cutting plier in his hand. “Do you think I can borrow that?”

“Yeah, sure, here you go” He was about to hand her the tool when Lisa widened her eyes at him at pointed her chin to the girl crouched con her garden. “Actually, let me do it” He corrected, kneeling down right next to her so that his strong shoulder thighs brushed against her blue jeans. He heard vaguely a big impatient snort behind but paid no mind to de large stallion that stood where (Y/N) had tied his reigns to the garden fence. The thing was so big it could probably pull the fence right off the soil, but instead stood patiently waiting for his master.

“I live in farm y’know I think I can manage a pair of pliers” She replied slightly annoyed that he wouldn't hand her the damned thing.

“Oh, don’t mind him honey he just loves playing with his tools” Lisa pitched in from above them. Grayson prayed nobody noticed his flushed face, but his nymph was deliciously close to him for the first time. Never before he had had the chance of perceiving her intoxicating scent, it was sweet almost like melted sugar right before it turns into caramel.

“I don’t play, ma! I build stuff”  He looked up at his mother with a look half annoyed/half pleading. “Besides, I’m sure you're more than capable of cutting some measly chicken wire, I just thought you could keep him calm so that-”

“Oh my God! You're totally right.”

“I am?”

“OF COURSE, he could run around as soon as he's free and continue to dismantle this poor place. Good thinking, Grayson” 

Was that even his name she just pronounce? He didn't remember ever sounding so good.

“Yup, yeah. That's it” Yeah I totally wasn't trying to show off for you, nymph.

(Y/N) resumed scratching Emperor with one hand while the other pushed on his neck  to give Grayson as much room to cut the wire as possible. Since the kids seemed to be getting along quite nicely Lisa decided to make herself scarce.

“Well guys I’m gonna get inside and make some breakfast” She received two distracted hums and with that she left, not without throwing a pointed glance up at Ethan who immediately stuck his head back inside.

A few minutes later Emperor was a free and happy Shetland. Since he had already eaten, clearly, she decided she could get a head start on the mess the mini had made before riding back home for breakfast. She attached a lead-rope she had brought to the his halter, that he was miraculously still wearing, and tied him to the fence. Grayson just watched her, still kneeling by the dirt bed, she moved so naturally between the mess.

“I’m so sorry, really. For the life of me I have no idea how he came to eat flowers  on the first place, I will bring over some seeds later but I’m gonna start cleaning this now, do you have some gardening tools I can borrow?” She was a little breathless after spurting out all of that, she was so nervous now that they were alone. 

He got up and dusted his sweatpants.

“Sure, they are in my building shed” He replied puffing out his already beefy chest, his building shed was his pride and joy. “Just let me grab my boots real quick”

“Oh that’s okay I ca-” but he was already running inside.

A few minutes later after running a hand through his hair numerous times to tame his bedhead in front of the living room mirror, they were walking a bit closer than necessary to the shed.

“So, you like building a lot?” At that Grayson put on full display his million dollar smile.

“You could say that” He said looking around the shed for the gardening toolbox.”I build my mom that garden, I mean me and my brother did it but he was more like an.. assistant” Grayson could have swooned when he heard her laughter but instead focused on grabbing the box from the top shelf. 

“Are you kidding? I could have sworn that was made by a professional?” She replied, seemingly impressed while they walked back. 

“Why thank you, n- (Y/N)” He put the box down next to the first overturned plant pot “I appreciate that” Oh he appreciated it, alright.

“You know, you don't need, it was my horse after all” she sat criss- cross and started rummaging trough the box.

This was it, Grayson needed to pull his shit together if he wanted to make a good first impression on this gorgeous nymph that was eagerly staring up at him, waiting for an answer that his dumbass was unable to produce. With his shaking hands conveniently hidden inside his pockets, he stared confidently into her deep brown eyes and pulled his most charming smile.

And then they got to work. All coquettish smiles, blushing faces and casual hand brushings. They talked about building, horses, video games and even the process of cultivating high quality sugar cane without using pesticides. Grayson was over the moon being the sole focus of her attention, he had waited so long for this. He watched  as she pulled away from her face the rebel curls that scaped from her ponytail wishing he could run his hands through the luscious strands and wondering if her round cheeks would be as soft as they looked if he were to touch them with his rough fingertips. He was so immersed in her that didn't realize that their work was done when they picked up the last of Emperors victims, the cayenne on the porch. 

Standing on the recently clean porch steps they took a minute to admire their hard work. Or at least for Grayson they were to admire her.

“Well, this is it, thank you so much for you help Gray, you didn't have to” Did she just called him by his nickname? He had to be dreaming.

“It’s okay” he murmured observing how she had to crane her neck up to look at him, she was such a shorty yet when she spoke she appeared larger than life. She was simply amazing. “Time flies when you're having fun” He replied while they started walking towards the horses that were snorting impatiently.

“It was kinda fun, wasn't it?” she untied the big black horse and with one hand she held Emperor’s lead rope while the other pulled on the saddle Horne making for a swift effortless mount. Grayson stood a few steps away looking at the stallion curiously. “You can come closer, Spirit is a perfect gentleman, he likes firm pats like this” He smiled at her demonstration and brought his own much larger right  hand to Spirit’s thick neck and let his left one rest cheekily above her knee.

“Spirit” he tested the name on his tongue “Is that his name?” he was looking up at her, for a change, and its was making her breath speed up.

“Well his registered name is actually Indomitable Spirit, my grandma rescued his mom with a poachers arrow on her side” (Y/N) cringed at the memory of the beautiful mare covered in blood “She didn’t have any hoseshoes and her teeth looked like they had never been floated, she was skittish around people... but not as much as the tipycal wild horse. It was like she was scared but she still wanted something from us. Then we realized it was because she was heavily pregnant, it only took us a couple of days to figure out she was close to due date. A month later she gave birth to the most adorable foal with a coat as black as onyx stone” Grayson basked in the glow of her radiant smile remembering how her horse came to this world.  And when her face fell, his did too.“It was a  difficult labor and she wasn't fully healed yet from her old wounds. The blood loss was fatal, she was too weak to even stand but she pushed through until she was done and the she just closed her eyes and never opened them again. Later on we confirmed she was a mustang so we named him in her honor. You know, most pregnant mares are nightmares, but not her, it was like she knew we would take care of her baby.” She paused at the dreamy look on his face ”Sorry, you probably didn't need the whole pony tale story, I blabber a lot sometimes... a lot of times, actually.”

“No its fine its fine,” he replied hurriedly “I love it, I mean, the story- its quite beautiful,”

“Glad you liked it” She blushed again and Grayson could have pulled her down from the saddle right then and there to cover her cute ass face with kisses, but he contained himself and tried to focus on what she was saying. “Again I’m so sorry about the garden”

“Actually, now I’m looking forward to Emperor’s next great scape if that means i get to hang out with you ” There it was, he had laid out the bait, he could only pray she take it.

“That could very well happen, but I would hate to destroy your garden again” She chuckled nervously

“It would be worth it if I can see you again, soon” The hand on her knee squeezed and his eyes stared hopeful into hers. “Or maybe, we could just grab some vegan ice cream sometime”

“That sounds nice” She started turning her horse around to hide her very obvious blush, but he saw it and it had his heart fluttering and a big cheesy smile appearing on his face. 

“Vegan ice-cream it is, then”

[godlydolans]

Something Borrowed {e.d.}

Summary: Y/N Y/L/N was the woman Ethan Dolan cheated on his wife with and between the wife and the mistress, the wife always wins. Well, three years later, the wife is no longer alive and Ethan has recently found out he has a son with the woman he had left.

Warning: Angst and a confusing plot.

A/N: Guys, I am so sorry for this mess of a fic. I've been building this universe in my head for almost a year but I seriously can't write so please enjoy whatever abomination I've written down and do feel free to ask me any questions you may have about the plot, characters, etc. I know I haven't done a good job explaining everything in this fic.

At 9 o’clock on Christmas night, Y/N found herself in Elijah’s room, somehow squeezing her form into his bed with him tucked into her left side while Irina was laying her head on Y/N’s right side. Y/N couldn’t quite fit into the bed which was meant for her three year old little boy, but she still managed. Her legs dangled over the edge and she basically had to lay Irina on top of her in order to fit all three of them together but she really didn’t mind.

“And finally, they got Cinderella to try on the shoe.” Her son didn’t like to go to bed without hearing a story from her. Elijah was very much like her in that aspect, he loved hearing stories just as much as he loved telling them. When Y/N was young, her grandma was the person who’d tell her all these exotic tales before she’d go to sleep. Since her son didn’t have a grandma until recently, Y/N took on the role of the storyteller, reading baby books to him ever since he was in her womb. Usually, Elijah didn’t ask to hear princessy tales because he had already heard lol of them so Y/N always did her research on new stories so she could deliver her son with stories he’d never heard before. But since his beloved sister was spending the night for the first time and it was her wish to hear Cinderella’s story, Y/N launched right into it. “And guess what?”

Irina’s little head popped up from Y/N’s arm and she gasped, her blue eyes wide in wonder. “The shoe fit her?!”

“Yes!” She answered with equal enthusiasm. “The shoe fit her perfectly because it was made especially for her by her fairy godmother, you know?”

“And so the Prince married her?” Asked Elijah, making Y/N turn her head to look at her son. He had heard the tale many times but the smile he wore on his face at this part of the story always made her heart happy. Her precious boy always beamed with joy when poor Cinderella finally got her happy ending. Elijah was a sucker for happy endings.

Much like she used to be when she was his age.

“Yeah babe, the Prince was informed by his soldiers that they found his Cinderella and he came to her house in his white horse, took her to his Palace and made her his Queen.” Y/N smiled, pulling Elijah closer to her. The temperature outside had dropped below freezing. Snow could be seen falling from the sky, through the glass window the curtains of which were not drawn completely.

“And she lives happily ever after?” Irina grinned, hope laced into every word.

“And she lived happily ever after.” Y/N confirmed with a smile on her own face.

“The Prince was handsome, Y/N?” Was Irina’s next question.

“He was very handsome, babe. And he was very kind-hearted. He loved Cinderella and he never let anyone hurt her ever again.”

“He was handsomer than my daddy?” Irina stared up at y/n with wide, inquisitive eyes and Y/N’s heart sank.

Was he 'handsomer' than her daddy? Y/N looked at the curly hair on top of Irina’s head and immediately got reminded of the times she spent with Irina’s daddy’s head on her bosom while she lazily ran her fingers through his curls. She looked at Elijah and the hazel eyes he fixed on her made her remember all those nights she spent talking to his daddy about anything and everything, wrapped up in her white sheets and his strong arms. Her son looked heartbreakingly similar to his father. Irina had bits and pieces of her mother’s features in her, but Elijah almost didn’t possess any physical features from Y/N.

It was something that had made her cry overwhelmed tears when she’d first held him in her arms after bringing him into the world. Ethan was etched into every feature of her son. That fact just made pushing his memories out of her head that much more difficult. She still managed to do it though and she is proud of that fact.

“He was handsome like your daddy, sweetheart.” Y/N settled for the simple answer. She didn’t want to tell Irina that the Prince was more handsome than her father. That might have started an argument if she’d have gotten offended. Also, Y/N didn’t want to say yes to a question like that because if she was being honest with herself, there really could be no one more handsome than Ethan. Yes, there could be people just as handsome as him, but not more handsome than him.

Elijah was slowly dozing off beside Y/N and Irina had yawned twice since the story ended. They had had a long day today. It was Christmas, after all. Elijah had been the happiest little munchkin the whole day, spending his first Christmas with his father and his family. A happy Elijah meant a hyper Elijah. He had been so hyper the whole day, the poor boy had exhausted himself by the time dinner rolled around.

“Y/N?” Irina whispered, her hand came up to Y/N’s cheek and she turned the older woman’s face to look down at her. Y/N raised an eyebrow and smiled at Irina’s cute gesture. Y/N hadn’t known the little girl that long, but she noticed how Irina liked to hold people’s faces while talking to them. It was like she didn’t want the eye contact to break. She didn’t like it when people looked elsewhere while talking to her. “You are very pretty.”

Y/N’s eyes widened at those words.

“Like a princess. And I like your voice.” The little girl was smiling with her eyes and she looked exactly like her mother when she smiled. Y/N’s heart squeezed painfully at the resemblance. This little girl was adorable and she liked Y/N. If only she knew how much her mother had hated Y/N, she wouldn’t be smiling up at her with twinkling eyes.

Irina would hate her too.

Y/N was no princess.

Blinking back the tears that were slowly gathering into her eyes, Y/N cleared her throat and managed to push out a small smile. Hers wasn’t as genuine as Irina’s. Then again, she wasn’t an innocent little girl like Irina.

“Thank you, Irina. You are really pretty too.” Y/N brushed her curly hair back and kissed her forehead. “And it’s time to sleep now, okay?” Irina nodded. “If you need anything, come to my room.”

Giving a sleeping Elijah a kiss good night, Y/N slipped out of bed and covered the little kids with Elijah’s blanket. Turning the lights off, she turned for the door but halted when she found Ethan leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed at his chest and a small smile on his lips. Y/N blushed to the root of her hair. “Ethan?”

He pushed himself off the doorframe and began walking toward her. “Just wanted to say good night to the kiddos.”

Y/N nodded, stepping aside so he could get to Irina. She watched silently as he leaned down and kissed the side of Irina’s head, causing her to smile and kiss his cheek in return.

“Good night, princess.”

“Good night, Daddy!”

Ethan then walked over to Elijah’s side and gave his forehead a kiss. Y/N curled her arms around herself, the tears coming back up. She had never thought her baby boy would ever get to experience a father’s love. She didn’t think he would even get to meet Ethan. Watching Ethan with Elijah never failed to make her eyes water. Ethan was smiling down at his children, watching Irina turn to her side and throw her arm around Elijah as she closed her eyes. He thought he would break down in tears right then and there.

“I love you two.”

Feeling like an outsider watching Ethan interact with his children, Y/N quietly exited the room and decided to distract herself with cleaning up the table and doing the dishes. It worked for some time before Ethan decoded to join her there too. She didn’t even have to turn and look to know he was in the kitchen. She could sense his presence, feel his molten honey gaze on her back. Closing her eyes, she sighed.

She had spent three long years mastering the art of blocking off each and every thought of Ethan’s from her mind. When he had left her, it had felt like her whole world had stopped. She hadn’t been the woman she used to be before Ethan and she certainly was not the woman she was with Ethan. He had left and he had forever changed a part of her. It felt like he’d almost flipped the switch of emotions in her when he’d left her. The only person she loved from that day till today, was her son.

Yet, she still managed to sense his presence whenever he entered a room. She didn’t like that one bit.

Without lifting her gaze from the bowl she was cleaning, Y/N said, “Thank you.”

“For?” Ethan inquired. She had put her hair up in a bun which made her slender neck look longer from the back. Y/N had always been stunning but she somehow got even more beautiful in all these years she spent away from Ethan.

“You know what for.” Y/N turned just enough to flash him a barely there smile. It took him by surprise because although it was barely a smile, her lips had still tipped up and that was the most he had gotten from her recently. Y/N Y/L/N didn’t smile. Not at Ethan, she didn’t. Ethan dared to walk closer to her until he was standing beside her. “You didn’t have to bring Elijah back but you did.”

Y/N wasn’t close with her parents and she had no siblings so she and Elijah only had each other to celebrate Christmas with. Her baby boy never had any family besides herself in all the three years of his life because his father had left her before she even knew she was pregnant with his child. She had tried to tell Ethan about her pregnancy after she had found out but he had never picked up her calls. After giving birth to Elijah all alone, no one there to sit with her and hold her hand as she went through the worst pain of her life, Y/N had given Ethan one last call.

That one had been picked up but not by Ethan. It had been his wife on the line. The same wife he had cheated on, with her. Y/N had never called his phone ever again.

Three years later, life so cruelly brought Ethan back to her doorstep and he found out he had another child besides his precious daughter. Y/N let Ethan into her sons life because he was his father, he had the right to know his son. She didn’t want to take away Elijah’s chance of knowing his father either, so with Ethan came his extended family and Elijah finally had a big family.

He adored his uncle and aunt and, oh lord, did he love his grammy Lisa with all his heart. Today was the first Christmas Elijah was to spend with Ethan and his family and Y/N had allowed Ethan to keep him for the day.

There was no chance of Y/N tagging along for the celebrations because none of Ethan’s family liked her. Why would they? She had been the other woman in Ethan’s marriage.

The thought made her wince.

Y/N had been totally prepared to spend Christmas alone but late in the afternoon, the doorbell had rung and she had opened the door to a very hyper Elijah, a smiling Irina and Ethan wishing you a merry Christmas.

He had brought Elijah back for her but when he and Irina began to leave, Elijah started crying. He had been so happy all day, Y/N didn’t want to be the reason for his tears so she asked Ethan to stay.

And now here they were.

“I couldn’t take away your son from you on Christmas day.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say.

Her eyes came up to his for a split second before she looked back down. Ethan wanted to take both her hands in his and place a kiss on each hand. He wanted to take her face in his hands and make her look into his eyes. He wanted to lean in and kiss her rosy lips until she smiled.

She always used to smile when he used to kiss her. Ever since she came back into his life, Ethan had barely seen her smile if she wasn’t directing it at her son. It pained him to see how hollow her eyes always looked when she wasn’t looking at her son.

He had broken something in her when he’d told her he couldn’t continue to see her because he’d gotten his wife pregnant, three years ago. He had seen the colour drain from her face that day when he’d told her he was going to mend his marriage and the first step in that direction was breaking things off with her. She hadn’t said anything then, just like she doesn’t say anything now.

Ethan wished she would let him mend her. He wanted to fix what he had broken all those years ago. He desperately wanted back the Y/N who had mended him when his strained relationship with his wife had broken him.

It’s ironic how Y/N came into his life when he was at his lowest and she helped him feel again. She offered him a shoulder to lean on when he desperately needed one, she offered him her beautiful kind smiles, her welcoming arms, her encouraging words, her heart.

It’s funny how Iris never did.

And it’s sad how he threw it all in her face and left.

“Y/N,” Ethan reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. She frowned at him when he extended it to her. “Merry Christmas.”

Y/N was looking at him with confusion swimming in her eyes. It was like she couldn’t fathom why he’d get her something for Christmas. God, what had he done to her? She questioned every little thing people did for her, like she could simply not stomach the fact that people could still offer her things without asking her for something in return.

“You didn’t have to do this.” She spoke barely above a whisper and her hands remained at her sides. She didn’t once try to take the present from Ethan.

“I wanted to.” He admitted, adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed in nervousness. His cheeks were feeling hot.

“I didn’t get you anything.”

“You have given me Elijah. What gift can be more precious than that?” Ethan genuinely didn’t deserve to slide into her and Elijah’s life as easily as she let him. He had honestly thought Y/N would be difficult about him spending time with her son. She had single handedly raised him thus far, Ethan had never even known he had a child apart from Irina and it wasn’t Y/N’s fault he hadn’t known. It had been him who had ignored all her calls when she’d tried to tell him. He had thought she would just ask him to see her again, that if he got back in contact with her, she would somehow convince him to fall back into her and he couldn’t let that happen. He had promised Iris that Y/N had been a mistake and that he would never do anything to jeopardise the relationship he had with her again.

Well, Iris was now buried in St. Jude’s Cemetery and Y/N ?

It seemed like he had killed a part of the woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Right now, she was staring at him with an expression he couldn’t comprehend. She looked pretty indifferent still, but those eyes held a spark in them. And then she spoke what was on her mind and Ethan’s heart shattered. “Are you giving me this as a payment for having Elijah and and raising hi-“

Ethan’s eyes widened and he instantly dropped his hand back to his side. “What?! Y/N, is this how low you think of me? I would never-I just wanted to give you a Christmas present, that was it.”

“Why though? I’m not your family? I’m not your friend? I’m basically a stranger to yo-“ There it was. That flicker of emotion in her eyes. She didn’t look indifferent anymore. She looked angry.

“A stranger?” Ethan whispered in disbelief, every word that came out of her mouth slicing a gaping wound into his heart. “After everything we’ve had-“

Ethan noticed how Y/N locked her jaw at his words and crossed her arms across her chest. A defensive stance, a brace to protect her heart.

“What have we had, Ethan? Huh?”

“Y/N.”

“I’ll tell you. We were nothing but fuck buddies.”

Ethan winced, bile rising to his throat. His fist tightened around the velvet box exactly how Y/N’s words tightened an invisible fist around his heart.

“We fucked and you used me to numb the pain your alcoholic wife caused you and when you didn’t need me anymore after her recovery, you left. Simple as that.” Y/N’s throat felt chocked up, revisiting the darkness that had started in her heart and slowly spread everywhere, both inside and out. She gave him everything she had, went against everything she had taught herself about self preservation, brought all her walls down so he could enter and ruin her. He did exactly that. “I was the other woman and women like us get exactly what I got. I got you for a few months and I dared to forget that you would always belong to your wife. You did the right thing, going back to her. You did the right thing by not leaving the woman you married for the whore you cheated on her with.”

“Stop!” Ethan saw red when she called herself a whore. She didn’t even flinch, didn’t even blink. She just stared at him with the same indifferent look in her eyes that haunted him in his dreams. Those eyes held the entire universe once. Now, there wasn’t even a flicker of light in them.

What had he done? Had he really made her feel like she deserved what she got? Did she really think herself to be a whore? Ethan couldn’t even bare to think of the word and there she was, saying it like it meant nothing.

“Ethan. You don’t have to do all this for me.” Y/N pointed to the present he’d bought her. She didn’t even see what the box held inside it, she didn’t want to. “When you said you wanted to be in Elijah’s life, I understood we’d have to see each other sometimes. I’m his mother, you’re his father, that’s the only relationship we have. You don’t have to build another one.”

Ethan just stood there, stunned into silence while Y/N just turned right back to the sync and began loading up the dishes into the dishwasher. He couldn’t believe this was the same woman who was telling bedtime stories to his kids just a few minutes ago. She was a different person around Elijah, even Irina. It was like she only turned on her emotions for the kids and the rest of the world got her ice cold glare.

He didn’t realise he had been standing beside her, looking at her like he was trying to look for traces of the old her, but he got snapped out of his train of thoughts when she cut him a cold look and announced, “I’ve prepared the guest room for you. There are blankets and pillows and two water bottles. Ask me if you need anything else, I’ll be in my room.”

In direct words, she meant to say, “Leave me the fuck alone.” So he did just that. With a heavy heart, Ethan pocketed the necklace he had bought her, feeling hurt beyond measure that she didn’t even open the box and see it. Then again, what did he expect from a woman he screwed over so bad? He stole one last glance at her, hoping to find her looking at him but she was still very much engrossed in the dishes. Ethan pressed his lips together and made his way into the guest bed room.

That’s what he was in her house. A guest.

What had he done?

[adolanables]

Linked (E.D.) Part One

Summary:  In Hailette, humans are separated by class. Upper, lower, and bottom. The most important day for anyone in Hailette was dependent on your gender - male or female. On a woman’s eighteenth birthday, she would meet her soon-to-be husband. On a man’s thirtieth birthday, he would meet his soon-to-be wife. ***   Disclaimer - I don’t agree with any of the things in this story! Ex. two genders, discrimination, etc - it is a fiction story.

In Hailette, humans are separated by class. Upper, lower, and bottom. The most important day for anyone in Hailette was dependent on your gender - male or female. On a woman’s eighteenth birthday, she would meet her soon-to-be husband. On a man’s thirtieth birthday, he would meet his soon-to-be wife. The pairing would be determined on a boy’s twelfth birthday - a list of potential newborn baby girls was provided to the boy’s parents. From this list, the boy’s parents would select a girl from another upper class family to secure for their son to marry when he turns thirty. 

Both the boy and the girl were forbidden to know their match before the reveal day. The twelve year age difference is to ensure the man and wife are unable to cross paths before being wed. Once the boy turns eighteen and becomes a man, he is granted permission to fraternize with the lower and bottom class. It is up to every individual man on what he wants to do with the permission, but most use this as an opportunity to get out their hormones and wild side before they must marry. Every upper class boy was put into military-type school at age 5; they were taught etiquette, military techniques, and an expansive amount of in-depth education by highly qualified professors. Every upper class girl was also put into strict reformatory school at age 5 - their curriculum was quite different. Learning how to cook, clean, and raise children was at the top of their list. They were also provided with a top notch education in order to be able to harbor the same environment for their future children.

For the last twelve years, Ethan Dolan has been on what many would call a rampage. The day he turned eighteen, he and his twin brother Grayson had ventured down to the lower class area of town immediately. The two of them got right to practicing for marriage, drinking their restrictive childhoods away. Every day after that, the two men were absolutely dreading their thirtieth birthdays. They were in no way ready to settle down. Their father assured them by the time they entered their late 20s, they would be ready to start a family. Grayson found his father’s words to be true, by age 25, he was aching for a wife and children. Unfortunately, it was not a possibility to settle down early - although he attempted to convince his brother Ethan that impregnating a lower class woman would be the solution, Ethan wasn’t having it. 

Grayson withheld having a child with a random woman from the lower or bottom class while Ethan worked everyday to overcome his fear of marriage. So, when the men woke up on December 16th, each had very different reactions. 

As Grayson rolled over in the bed and peaked his eyes open at the alarm clock, he immediately shot up - sprinting to his older brother’s room to express his excitement. Each man was provided with an apartment on their eighteenth birthday, but Ethan and Grayson opted to live together until their impending marriage. 

“E!” Grayson laughed happily, shaking his sleepy brother awake. “It’s the day!”

“Huh?” Ethan groaned, flickering his eyes open to stare into the beaming face of his brother.

“It’s the 16th!” Grayson smiled again, smacking his arms onto Ethan’s shoulders. “We get to meet our wives today!”

“Oh.” Ethan cleared his throat, sitting up in the bed and running a hand over his bearded chin. “That’s today.”

“Yes - it is!” Grayson screamed again, jumping around the room as if he were ten years old again. “We are supposed to be at mother and father’s at 10AM - get up!”

Ethan begrudgingly got out of bed and into the shower, taking his sweet time washing his hair and body. As much as he was dreading today, he knew his mother would be horrendously disappointed if he showed up looking disheveled. He took the time to perfectly sculpt his beard and style his hair. He slipped on the navy blue suit he and his brother had been provided a few weeks prior - a commonplace in Hailette. 

-

“Anna - wake up!” 

The hands of her younger sister - Margaret - shook her aggressively. “Anna!”

“I’m up, I’m up.” She grumbled, reaching up to rub the sleep out of her eyes and press down her curly, disheveled hair. Margaret was straddling her on the bed, her braided hair tied up in a knot on her head. 

“You only have two hours to get ready, Anna!” She shrieked, hopping off the bed and heading towards the closet. “Your dress has been pressed - you just need to get up and shower.”

Anna nodded, letting out a sigh as her younger sister left the room. As the door shut, Anna pushed herself up out of bed, glancing around the room she knew she would be leaving forever shortly. The past few months had been mentally destroying Anna. From the time she learned of her future and the way Hailette functioned, she wished she could leave. Finding out she would never get the opportunity to find her true prince charming was hard for her, she often wished she was a lower or bottom class woman so she could marry whomever she wanted. Throughout her entire childhood, she had worked hard in school so she could be sure she had the best education with hopes that someday she would be able to leave and start a new life somewhere. 

Beyond being upset, Anna was honestly petrified. She knew her future husband would be twelve years older than her - nearly a father figure to her. It was so strange - she had never been around boys for extended periods of time. Having to dive straight into a life with a full grown man was terrifying. 

As Anna rinsed her body, she felt her hands shaking and her stomach churning - this was the most dreaded day of her life. Well, tomorrow would be. She wouldn’t actually be wed until tomorrow, but she would meet her future husband today. Slipping into the light pink fitted gown was surreal. She had seen her older sister wear a similar gown on her birthday five years ago - a day that was burned in her mind forever. 

She hadn’t seen her sister again since her wedding day - her husband was not fond of his new wife’s family and refused to be associated with them. Anna’s worst nightmare was to be kept from Margaret who had two more years until her eighteenth birthday. As she twisted her curly hair into a tight bun at the nape of her neck and put on some chapstick - makeup being absolutely forbidden for upper class women - she let the smallest tear run down her cheek. 

-

“Ethan, Grayson - happy birthday, my boys.” Mrs. Dolan engulfed her boys - now fully grown men - into her arms. “I can’t believe the day has finally come.” She had a daughter - a few years older than the twins, but she was given away at age eighteen and only came around for holidays and special occasions. She would most certainly be in attendance at the wedding tomorrow with her husband and three children. 

“Thank you, mother.” Grayson smiled widely at his beloved mom, pressing a kiss to her cheek before slipping past her to shake his father’s hand firmly. 

“Perk up, Ethan.” Mrs. Dolan spoke softly to her eldest son, understanding his worry for the upcoming days. “You are starting a family - it is a wonderful opportunity.”

“Yes, mother.” Ethan nodded his head and hugged the small woman once more before following Grayson to grip his father’s hand. 

“Not as excited as Grayson, I take it?” Mr. Dolan smiled knowingly at his son - it was not always easy for every man to give up the life of luxury. 

“I don’t think anyone in the history of Hailette has been as excited as Grayson.” Ethan smiled at his father, letting go of his hand and stepping back. 

“Well, I hope the two of you are prepared to take control of Dolan Industries in the upcoming months.” Mr. Dolan smiled at his sons; it was common for the sons of a household to take over the role of the father upon their marriage. By the time a son reaches age thirty, their father would surely be the age of retirement. If a family had more than one son, each would receive an equal share of the company on their wedding day. “I am looking forward to my retirement.”

“Yes, of course, father.” Grayson beamed, stuffing his hands in his pockets before glancing around the foyer. “What is the schedule for the day, may I ask?”

“The wives and families should be arriving any minute now, so both of you - please - head up to your old rooms to await the reveal ceremony.” Mrs. Dolan ushered her sons up the stairs, her heart swelling at memories of the boys running up the stairs to play. 

-

“Anna, dear, please try to calm your nerves.” Mrs. Watson held her daughter’s hand tightly as they sat in the back seat of their vehicle. 

“I don’t see why you’re not excited.” Margaret sighed, resting her head against the window as her father peered at her from the passenger’s seat - glancing at their driver to make sure he wasn’t eavesdropping.

“Margaret, please be respectful of your sister’s feelings.” Mr.Watson sighed, folding his hands in his lap as he prepared to give another daughter away. “This is a precious day and it is important for all of us to leave fond memories of our last day together.”

“It won’t be our last day.” Margaret groaned. “Just because Sarah’s husband was cruel, doesn’t mean Anna’s will be as well.”

“Quiet, please.” Mrs.Watson tapped her youngest daughter���s knee for her to hush. “Anna, breathe - you’re perspiring quite a lot.”

“I’m just nervous is all.” Anna assured her mother, sinking back into her seat and letting out a shaky breath. They had already been in the car for over thirty minutes - she hoped the home they would be moving into wasn’t quite this far from her own family. 

“I know it is hard, dear.” Mrs. Watson spoke softly. “You will learn to love him - or you may fall for him like I did with your father. Don’t be so hateful towards the process.”

“Yes ma’am.” Anna smiled faintly, swallowing down the lump in her throat as they finally pulled up to the shiny gold gates. 

-

“Sylvia, will you please let the guests in and lead each of the family’s into the separate waiting areas when they arrive?” Mrs. Dolan instructed the family housekeeper. “Grayson will go first; I do believe the Somerfield’s are a clan of bright blondes - if you are confused - please ask last names.”

Sylvia simply nodded at her employer, smiling softly as she padded up the stairs to wait with her sons. When a knock on the door sounded, she opened the grand wooden door to a family that most certainly was not the Somerfields.

“Hello, you must be Sylvia.” Mr. Watson extended his hand to the older lady, a smile on his face as she guided them through the large house. “We are the Watson’s - Anna here is preparing for the reveal.”

“Very nice to meet you, Watson Family.” Sylvia smiled politely. “We actually have a set of twins participating in the reveal today, I will come to get you when it is time.”

As Sylvia’s steps faded away, the Watson family looked at each other with confusion. “Twins?” Margaret spoke for everyone. 

“They must have twin sons.” Mr. Watson furrowed his brow, wishing the girl’s family was allowed to know her fate the way the son’s family was able to select their match. Unfortunately, the entire daughter’s side was kept in the dark until reveal day. 

-

“The Somerfield Family is all gathered in the ballroom.” Sylvia spoke to the Dolans quietly upstairs. 

Mr. Dolan nodded at his family, gripping his wife’s arm in his own and leading her down the staircase. Ethan followed shortly behind - making sure to change his suit coat into a matching red one with his father so the family did not mistake him for the husband. As Sylvia pushed the door to the ballroom open, the bright blonde family came into view. Mister and Mrs Somerfield stood side by side in the center of the room, arms interlocked. Two young girls and a very young boy stood up against the wall, all of them in matching blue outfits. 

“Mr. Somerfield.” Mr. Dolan extended his hand to the man in front of him - he had hand selected this daughter of the Somerfields years ago. He knew them to be a successful and intelligent family, a match any upper class man would be grateful for. 

“Mr. Dolan.” Mr. Somerfield beamed at his daughter’s placement. It was always a nervous moment for the parents on reveal day. Perhaps the girl they had chosen years ago didn’t turn out the way they had hoped; perhaps the man their daughter was set to marry was a complete screw up. Mr. Somerfield couldn’t be more pleased with either of the Dolan sons.

“Mister and Mrs Somerfield, I present to you -” Mrs. Dolan and Ethan re-opened the doors of the ballroom to reveal Grayson standing on the other side. “Mister Grayson Dolan.”

The Somerfield family bowed at their new son in law, large smiles on their faces as they greeted him. After a few minutes of introduction, the families stood on opposite sides of the room, Grayson dead center. Sylvia slipped back into the room, nodding at Mr. Somerfield to let him know his daughter was ready. 

“Mister and Mrs. Dolan, I present to you - “ Sylvia opened the door, revealing a tall blonde girl in a flowy pink gown - her hair done up in ringlets. Bright blue eyes filled with excitement and a large smile on her face. “Miss Kennedy Somerfield.”

The families clapped, the Dolan parents exchanging small words of praise at the sight of their new daughter in law. She was everything they could have hoped for Grayson. Ethan on the other hand was watching his younger brother intently - the wide smile on his face as he saw the girl on the other side of the door made him happy. Ethan was never excited about this day, but he knew his brother was and he would give him that. 

The reveal for Grayson ended shortly, the Dolans explaining to the Somerfields that they had an additional reveal to do for Ethan and that the wedding times could be discussed later that day. Grayson remained with his new found family while Ethan and his parents returned upstairs. Sylvia ushered the Somerfield’s into an additional waiting room while preparing the Watsons for their reveal.

-

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.” Anna whimpered, bent over in a chair in the corner, her hands wrapped tightly around her stomach. 

“Oh, Anna.” Mrs.Watson sympathized with her daughter. A spitfire of a girl who felt she was forever ruined by this god forsaken country. Mrs. Watson knew her daughter was capable of so much more than being a housewife - the closer this day got, the sadder she saw her daughter become. She could only hope the man her daughter was set to marry would support her ambitions as much as he could. 

Margaret sat on the couch opposite of her sister, her head resting in her hand as she burned with jealousy. She would be the last Watson sister to wed, and seemed to be the only one actually looking forward to it. She couldn’t wait to be a mom and a wife - it was the only thing she had ever dreamed of. She was jealous of Anna’s pink gown - one of the only dresses an upper class woman was ever allowed to pick out for herself. Although the light pink color was non-negotiable, Anna had chosen a tight, mermaid-style dress with no straps to show off her light brown skin. She loved the color pink, she felt it complimented her skin and her light green eyes. The family’s color - teal - Margaret despised. She hated the frilly dress she was wearing - it made her feel like a child. 

“Mister and Mrs Watson - the ball room is ready for you.” Sylvia spoke quietly from the entrance, a look of concern on her face as the young girl was clutching at her stomach.

“Thank you, we will be right out.” Mr. Watson smiled, taking a few steps over to his middle daughter to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Everything will be alright, my Anna Bear.” 

Anna glanced up at her father and mustered a smile, his endearing nickname always able to make her feel better. Each member of the Watson family pressed a kiss to Anna’s cheek as they exited the room, preparing for their own reveal of the extended family. Grayson managed to sneak away from the Somerfield’s for a moment, not willing to miss his brother’s reveal. 

“Miss?” Sylvia spoke from the doorway, her hand extended to the young girl to guide her down the hallway.

“Thank you.” Anna breathed, her heart beating out of her chest. Sylvia slipped through the door to let the families know Anna was on the other side. 

Soon enough, Anna heard her father’s proud voice. “Mister and Mrs Dolan, I present to you-” The doors flung open, revealing a wide-eyed Anna, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. “Miss Anna Watson.”

Both families clapped, Anna found Margaret’s eyes quickly - the bright smile on her face assured her that she approved - for now. Next, she locked eyes with her mother who also seemed pleased - her father was beaming at her from the moment she walked in. Finally, she let her eyes rest on the man in a navy blue suit in the center of the room. The pair stood a few feet apart, both unsure of how to approach one another. Finally, Ethan took a few steps forward, extending his hand to grasp Anna’s hand in his. He slowly brought the back of her hand up to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to it. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Anna.” Ethan spoke softly, his lips just barely turning up into a smile as he swallowed down his nerves. “Ethan Dolan.”

“P-Pleasure to meet you too.” Anna sputtered, her heart had not stopped pounding since she left her family home earlier that day. 

Grayson introduced himself to Anna before quickly slipping out to return to Kennedy and her family. It was clear to the Dolan parents that Grayson was going to soak all of this in with excitement, while Ethan was going to go through the motions to please everyone else. With that being said, they could not be happier with the girls they had selected for their sons. The Watsons were a generous and kind family, Mr. Watson owned Hailette’s most renowned hospital - working his way up from a surgeon to the CEO. Mr. Dolan knew his daughter would be kind and attentive to his future grandchildren; her beauty was an added bonus. 

-

After the reveals, each son is expected to socialize with his new family. The Dolan parents are free to roam between the families, but it is preferred if they remain in their own quarters - letting the sons stake their place as the heads of their soon to be household. 

“So, Mr. Dolan- “ Mr. Watson stood next to his future son in law, a whisky neat in both of their hands. “I need to ask you a very important question.”

“Yes, sir.” Ethan nodded his head at Mr. Watson - wishing he could just get the fuck out of there.

“Will you allow Anna to visit us occasionally?” 

“Of course?” Ethan glanced at him with a furrowed brow, confusion on his face at the question. 

“Oh, thank you.” Mrs.Watson breathed, placing a hand on her chest as she let the relief of not losing another daughter wash over her. “Our eldest daughter was not so lucky to marry into a family that would allow her to see us.”

“I see.” Ethan clenched his jaw, wishing to voice his disagreement of extracting someone from their family, but settling for. “My family is very important to me, so I believe Anna should see her family as much as she pleases.”

“A good man.” Mr.Watson shook Ethan’s hand once again, a large smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Anna was sat in the corner of the room once again - her hand wrapped tightly around a cold glass of lemonade. Margaret stood next to her, her hands on her hips. “You seriously got one of the most handsome men in Hailette and you’re sitting here moping?” 

“Quiet, Margaret.” Anna hissed at her sister, taking a sip of the lemonade. Not bothering to explain why she was feeling so distraught - Margaret would never understand. 

“Anna, dear-” Mrs.Watson waved her daughter over from the far side of the room, a look of displeasure on her face. “Come socialize, you are not to sit on the sidelines for your own reveal.”

“Yes ma’am.” Anna squeaked, letting out a sigh as she lifted her dress and padded over to the group. 

Although Anna was now standing near the group, she was rarely spoken to. The conversation consisted mostly of her father asking Ethan questions. She and her mother stood by their sides, nodding along with whatever they said. She felt as though she would rather die than do this for the rest of her life. 

-

After the socialization hour, the families are to return home to prepare for the wedding day. The Dolan’s were preparing for two weddings in the same day - the back of their house was an absolute wreck as Sylvia and Mrs. Dolan prepared. Each brother was determined to be in each other’s weddings, so Grayson spoke with the Somerfield’s who were kind enough to let him attend his brother’s wedding after his own. 

Since it was considered bad luck for a man and wife to stay under the same roof before their wedding, each daughter returned home to remain under the roof of their father for one more night.

[mysteriouslyzealouspandalov-blog]

Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez's relationship timeline, from secret romance to 'power couple'

New Post has been published on https://relationshipguideto.com/must-see/jennifer-lopez-alex-rodriguezs-relationship-timeline-from-secret-romance-to-power-couple/

Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez's relationship timeline, from secret romance to 'power couple'

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have been together now for more than a year. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were a match made in New York City — literally.

The beloved New Yorkers found love with one another nearly a decade after first meeting at a baseball game in Queens, though A-Rod has hinted in the past the pair may have met even earlier than that. At first, the pair kept it quiet but their silence was short-lived. After just two months of dating, they went public, and they never looked back.

From gracing magazine covers to attending events on behalf of their significant other, the pair have quickly grown to be known as one of Hollywood’s biggest “power couples.”

ALEX RODRIGUEZ SHARES SIGNED JENNIFER LOPEZ PHOTO FROM ‘ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO’

Here’s a look back at the couple’s flourishing romance.

2nd-anniversary, February 2019

Arod and JLo marked two years together in February.

On Feb. 4, the day after they officially became a couple, Rodriguez posted a romantic tribute to his love.

“I can’t believe it’s been two years. Only 730 days, which have flown by, but it feels like we have been together forever. We are meant to be, and how much you mean to me cannot be put into words,” he wrote, in part. “From baseball games, to traveling across the world to shows in Vegas. We have done it all together and every moment with you is cherished. Where this road will take us next is unknown but there is no one else I would rather have by my side. The journey is just beginning and I am excited for what’s ahead.”

Rodriguez gushed that there’s “no one like you” while posting a slideshow of some of his favorite moments over the past two years.

Likewise, Lopez also humble-bragged about her number one fan in a sweet post.

“Two years of laughter. Two years of fun. Two years of adventures.Of excitement of growing and learning. Of true friendship. And so much love!! You make my world a more beautiful safe and stable place… in the midst of our ever-changing, ever-moving life… you make me feel like a teenager starting out all over again… Every time I think I have you pegged, you surprise me in the most wonderful ways reminding me how blessed I am to have found you now in this moment at this time… our time… Te Amo Macho,” the singer wrote on Instagram.

Wedding bells ringing? November 2018

Lopez shut down engagement rumors on Ellen DeGeneres’ show in November. The television host joked about Rodriguez texting her prior to airing that they were planning on getting hitched.

“He did not say that. He did not say that! Let me see the text,” Lopez joked.

When asked whether she believes they will ever get married, Lopez, who has been dating A-Rod for “a couple years,” said she wasn’t sure.

AMAs, October 2018

The couple attended the American Music Awards together in October 2018.

“There’s nothing this woman can’t do,” Rodriguez wrote on Instagram, tagging Lopez’s upcoming film “Second Act.”

Birthday girl, July 2017

Rodriguez celebrated his girl’s 49th birthday with a series of never-before-seen snapshots of Lopez.

“When we were kids, birthdays were exciting because it was all about the gifts we would be getting,” Rodriguez captioned an Instagram gallery in July 2017. “A new bat, dance shoes, maybe a new CD (yes I’m old!).”

The 42-year-old continued, “I see firsthand how that’s changed for Jennifer, and how she’s found joy in sharing with others. For someone who has been about giving everything she has 365 days a year—to our children, our families, the world—I hope today, we can give you all the happiness you deserve. I love you mucho Macha 13.”

Cover girl, March 2018

Described as being “on top of the world personally and professionally,” Lopez was named one of Harpers Bazaar’s spring cover stars.

“He sports-metaphors me to death, and now I do it to everyone else,” Lopez joked.

A-ROD’S GIRLFRIEND JENNIFER LOPEZ FLAUNTS HUGE DIAMOND WHILE ON DATE NIGHT

“Baseball is just like life,” she added. “All you want to do is hit a home run.”

Happy 1-year, February 2018

Before performing at a pre-Super Bowl LII show, Lopez took a moment to give her boyfriend some praise.

“We’ve been together for one year today. I don’t want to get all mushy or anything, but baby, this song’s for you. I love you,” she said, according to E! News.

She later explained to E! why she felt compelled to give her beau some love.

“It was our little anniversary, so it was a special night. I kept thinking ‘Oh, God—February 3! That’s our day. Oh, my God! It’s been a year.’ It was more spontaneous than anything else. It wasn’t too planned. I thought about it, and I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll do it; maybe I won’t,'” Lopez said. “But it was a great show, in general, and…I don’t know. We felt really good.”

Workout king and queen, August 2017

J-Lo and A-Rod both work hard to stay in shape. The singer-actress posted a candid of the pair after a yoga session in August 2017.

“You push me I push you…” she wrote.

Cover models, December 2017

It’s true. “J-Rod” made their magazine cover debut in December 2017, landing the front page of Vanity Fair.

The couple opened up about their relationship and spilled the tea about how they first got together. Lopez recalled spotting Rodriguez while eating lunch in Beverly Hills. Though nervous, Lopez got the courage to walk over to Rodriguez and say hello.

“I had just come from a promo for my show, ‘Shades of Blue,’ so I’m dressed like my character, like a boy—Timberlands, jeans, curly short hair. He looks at me. I say, ‘It’s Jennifer.’ He says, ‘You look so beautiful,'” Lopez revealed to Vanity Fair.

JENNIFER LOPEZ POSES HALF-NUDE IN A SEQUINED CAPE

The pair later discussed their first date: dinner at Hotel Bel Air. At first, the couple had mixed signals — unsure whether it was a real date or not. But eventually, it was crystal clear. And the rest is, well, history.

“I understand him in a way that I don’t think anyone else could, and he understands me in a way that no one else could ever,” Lopez gushed.

Red carpet debut, May 2017

The couple made their first official red carpet debut together at the 2017 Met Gala in New York City. At that time, J-Lo blasted out a series of photos showing the couple enjoying themselves at the event — from snapping selfies in the car en route to the event to blowing kisses at the dinner table.

“You’re never fully dressed without a smile,” Lopez captioned one of the Instagram posts.

Secret romance, March 2017

Rumors began to swirl around March — about a month after the pair reportedly started dating. At first, they attempted to keep their relationship a secret. Lopez and Drake split around that time after just two months of dating, Us Magazine reports.

“She is his dream girl.”

— Source to People

The news wasn’t completely shocking. Apparently, Rodriguez has always been attracted to Lopez.

JENNIFER LOPEZ FALLS DURING LAS VEGAS ‘ALL I HAVE’ CONCERT, GRACEFULLY RECOVERS

“A-Rod has always been taken with the beauty and personality of Jennifer Lopez,” a source told People in March 2017. “She is his dream girl.”

First sight, May, 2005

The pair first met at Shea Stadium in Queens back in 2005. Lopez stopped to shake Rodriguez’s hand before the first pitch, People reports.

At the time, Lopez was still with her ex-husband Marc Anthony. They even all posed for a picture together.

Jennifer Earl is an SEO editor for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter @jenearlyspeakin.

On Our Radar

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/

[utterlyinevitable]

Do We Have A Future?: August

Part 1 | Part 2: November | Part 3: January | Part 4: April

Paring: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Rebecca Lao) Word Count: 2.3k Warning: Adult themes, mental health triggers, themes of depression, pregnancy complications and termination Summary: Rebecca told Ethan and now they have to live with the aftermath of their decision.

Author’s Note: Sensitive subject matter means I really suggest only reading if you are 18+ years old... I can’t believe it’s over. This story is deeply personal and I never imagined it to be this long - I wrote the first part on a whim. Thank you for reading and encouraging and inspiring me to get my feelings out under the cloak of Becca and Ethan’s love. This has been so cathartic. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you 💗

Taglist: @ohchoices​​ @dulceghernandez​​ @aylamwrites​​ @binny1985​​ @ramseysno1rookie​​ @interobanginyourmom​​ @queencarb​​ @imactuallytheceoofthecompany @rookiefromedenbrook​ @eramsey28​ @choicesficwriterscreations​ @heauxplesslydevoted​ @schnitzelbutterfingers​ @purpledragonturtles​ @ramseyandrys​​ @ermidc​ @mrsdrakewalkerblog​

________________________________________

She finally stopped crying at the memory of the incident and at any infants she’d come in contact with throughout her daily life. It had taken nearly a year for Rebecca Lao to get to this point. 

But how long are you really meant to grieve for the child you never had? 

As her boyfriend Ethan was wary of her every single day, just waiting for the moment that her hard coated exterior crumbled right down in front of him. Some days he noticed how her tear ducts began to swell and her back stiffened whenever they were faced with an unhappy diagnosis. 

As her boss, Ethan eventually let her work on a preeclampsia case with baited breath, watching her like a hawk every step of the way. Every time she’d visit the patient’s room he wouldn’t be more than five steps behind. Whenever she’d assess the lab results, he’d be right there with her ready to break her fall. And when she left the mother’s side Ethan kept in time with Becca, his hand caressing the small of her back as they moved through the motions and onto another case. 

She handed the whole thing better than he could have ever anticipated. Becca didn’t need him at all, not anymore - but she’s damn thankful for the support, however overbearing. In the end, the mother and premature daughter lived happily ever after. Even with all of her self-mending practices, the sight of the infant still stung deep down in Becca’s core. Ethan didn’t notice as he held her hand outside the NICU, her curated mask keeping her emotions at bay. Although she fortified the walls around her heart strong enough to carry out her daily life, still not a day goes by that Becca doesn’t think about what could have been. 

It’d be different if we weren’t together and planning a future. If we broke up maybe it’d hurt less? 

Planning a forever seemed futile when they’d thrown a family away not so long ago. Coming from a broken home, the little doe eyed and innocent girl in the back of Becca’s mind desperately wanted a functional, loving family. A family that put their collective happiness first and nobody ran away. The silver lining to the termination meant they had the option to try again. Properly, when time aligned. When would that be? Would it ever happen? We haven’t had sex since...

Months ago, Ethan finally stopped asking her if she was okay and if she wanted to speak to someone about the experience. As always Becca dutifully declined - the fantasy world she built in her head was all the solace and consoling she needed. 

When the two of them are cuddled on the couch watching a film the phantom daughter of her mind’s eye would emerge. Becca would welcome her beloved mirage by nestling it right across her unchanged chest, coddled safely between her arms and protected from the world around them. 

In the silent and lazy Sunday mornings her phantom would be cuddled close to her heart as Ethan sleepily spooned the love of his life, blissfully unaware of the dream playing out before him on her side of the bed. Happily, Becca would be caressing the thick and curly hair that mirrored her own off of her daughter’s rounded face and giving soothing rubs along her back. Letting herself trail little bits of love over the soft and unweathered skin of her child. A hollow smile forms as the illusion plays out in front of her under the blanket of dusk. But once the strong daylight of reality peered in through their large windows, the tableau vanished. These little moments kept Becca grounded in the present. She needed a happily ever ending. 

As the weeks passed by and the delusion began to solidify into a distant memory, Becca finally had some gusto in her. She didn’t need to hide anymore. Ethan and her were able to joke and chide and taunt each other in the best of ways - just like old times. They were finally opening back up to one another. They let themselves be unashamedly intimate once again. 

The hurricane between them had seemingly passed, the damage was done and swept away at a political pace. There were still some cracks in the roads, but they’d weather them together. 

Becca was making blueberry pancakes one Sunday morning. Ethan sat at the kitchen island with his expert cup of coffee, struggling to breath through his laughter. Becca had just told him the worst joke - so bad that not even the corners of his lips perked up in pity. When she tried to explain why it was funny and Ethan still wasn’t understanding, her face scrunched up with a loud Humph and a stamp of her foot. Her little outburst caused her to slip on a few now-crushed blueberries, tossing what was left of the batter into the air. 

Ethan couldn’t contain himself. The cracks and wrinkles from years worth of living came alight with his bellowing laughter. His ocean eyes shut tightly as he gripped at the center of his bare chest. Once his diaphragm settled he rose to find his girlfriend now laying spread out on the wooden floor in defeat; Becca’s hair spewn over her grumpy face, her hands still holding onto the bowl and spatula but the contents were artistically gracing the lower cabinets and surrounding area.   

He grabbed a kitchen towel from the front of the oven and began to clean up the rogue splatters of batter, utterly bemused. 

The situation caught up with her and Becca chuckled as she discarded the equipment and made a faux snow angel on the floor, letting the lighthearted breath of fresh air take control - it was a stark contrast from the uncertainty and hopelessness that surrounded their every waking moment the last few months. 

“I hope our kids have my sense of humor,” she lamented during her motions.  

Ethan gasped loudly feigning hurt, “What’s wrong with mine?” 

Becca lifted her head slightly to observe him. His blue eyes shining bright with amusement meeting her matching light brown. 

“It’s terrible! You’re such a grump!” she exclaimed, mentally noting all the times she told him a pop culture reference he didn’t understand just like moments ago. Becca placed her head back on the cool wood and said, “Your dad jokes have improved though.” 

Ethan playfully rolled his eyes. I missed this.

He stood and bounded over to her with that silly smirk still plastered on his face. “I hope they have my good looks and intelligence,” He told her, offering his hands to help her to her feet. “They can have your…” he paused for dramatic effect, looking her over - taking in the way she still looked so unbelievably stunning even with batter smeared all over her face and hair wildly pointing every which way. 

“Chromosome.”  

Becca’s jaw dropped at the insult. 

Squeezing his hands hard she sassed him right back, “Ethan Jonah, are you saying I have no qualities you’d like reflected in our children?” 

His eyes softened as he assessed the magnificent woman before him. He had a lopsided grin as he spoke;

“I’d like them to have your curly hair,” he pushed a few strands behind her ear. Her completely enamored brown eyes fluttered closed as she melted into his touch. “Your little button nose,” he booped her nose. “Definitely your spunk and heart,” he gave a nod in certainty as his finger lingered. “And attitude;” her eyebrow rose encouraging him to continue that thought. In complete honesty he told her, “You are a better person than I.” 

It was something he showed her again and again. 

He regretted how self serving he used to be at the start of their partnership and felt entirely undeserving of how she continuously was there for him during his darkest of times - with Naveen’s diagnosis, with his mother and father, the near decimation of his life’s work. She never left his side. He was in awe of how, on the job, she did all she could for those around her, every stranger mattered in her eyes. She found the loopholes for their patients he was too stubborn to see - to make a difference, an imprint on all lives she comes in contact with, for the better. 

Becca’s heart was always in the right place. She had a courage and impulsive intuition he fiercely admired. In these last months she made the decision to save her own life, and she seemingly held her head high. Ethan knew he could never be that strong - if they had swapped places he couldn’t even fathom what sort of mess would have become of him. Ethan remembered how he wasn’t able to be there for her in the ways she needed during the Mrs. Martinez debacle because of his pride and personal ethics. He never forgave himself for letting all those months of what could have been slip through his fingertips and spent every moment of every day of every week in these last few months making sure she knew how important and special and loved she is. Dr. Ethan Ramsey is hopelessly devoted to Dr. Rebecca Lao. Whatever incidents befall them in the future they will tackle together. They’d be strong together. 

They’ve been strong together all this time. 

“I am,” she agreed, her eyes darting open to accompany her sly smirk. 

The two held one another’s gaze, their shoulders relaxing in unison and letting the bright and carefree morning swaddle them. Their worries all seemingly distant. All that mattered was them, their love and the abandoned pancakes. 

The last few months have aged them more than they have realized. The dark circles under Becca’s eyes held a weight she will never be rid of, a lasting reminder of what she’s been through and all she has overcome. She held herself a little higher now - she was done hiding and feeling ashamed. Ethan had a few more worry lines etched into his chiseled features, and next to default indifference of his natural gaze his eyes held clarity at the forefront - as if he had finally solved the mystery of his existence - his morals and personal ethics were damned.

 Becca playfully wrinkled her nose as she said, “They’re definitely not having your big head.” She wasn’t sure if it was the idea of giving birth to a large headed baby that sent a chill up her spine or Ethan’s calloused fingertips gingerly tracing its curvature; up and down, up and down. 

They both knew they had no control over genetics but he smirked anyway as he cradled his arms tightly around her back, “I’ll do my best to keep that from happening.”  

Becca softly touched his cheek, “That’s all I ask. I like my vagina too much as it is.” 

He laughed. A genuine, wrinkle-glowing laugh that rivaled the earlier comedic-induced laughter. She moved closer to hold him in a tight hug, listening to the comforting palpitations of Ethan Ramsey’s heart and feeling of the subtle rise and fall of his chest. There was a certain kind of euphoria in feeling the warmth of his back under her manicured palms.  

I missed this, she thought, tightening her grip.  

The laughter settled and she whispered ever so softly, he wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t so entranced by her, “I think... I think I’d want a c-section.” A small part of Becca found solace over the last few months in knowing she made the right decision - childbirth is terrifying and she definitely was not ready for a baby if she can’t even wrap her head around getting it out.   

He pulled away just enough to raise an eyebrow at her.  

“I don’t think I’d be strong enough,” it came out with a breath of air she was holding in, quiet and earnest. Just as easily she joked, “And not being able to control my bladder for the rest of my life is not appealing in the slightest.” 

They laughed it off. It was a jovial statement they knew as truth. 

But it didn’t matter anymore. They could speak about these things - they could speak about the future and pregnancy and babies and cravings, genetics, birthing plans and even last rights. They didn’t need to hide anymore. No secret wishes or manifestations suffering in silence, and not wanting to disturb the grieving process of the other. Everything now out in the open to share together. Revel in together. Carry together.  

The last year was absolute hell and Becca chastised herself for letting all that time slip past. She could never get that time back. She still was not fully at peace with her lost child but accepting it for what it is - it will always be a part of her. 

Through the internal turmoil Ethan and Rebecca grew as a couple and as individuals - they became stronger. They can talk about it and dream their new nuclear dream together. A dream that could quite possibly include a picket fence and a few certificates. 

Becca will never forget her phantom child, but hopefully she can lay her to rest. It had taken months of grieving in the dark depths of her mind and now was the time to face the sunshine. It was time to look forward to her career and enjoy having Ethan to herself, the serenity uninterrupted. The ability to continue making impulsive decisions, whims without any regard, and pulling unapologetic all nighters at the hospital whenever they pleased. There’s many things Becca would like to do before they have a family. 

Me and you. Just us two… For another two years at least. 

They have their entire future ahead of them.

_____________________

A/N: although my story’s a bit different from becca’s, it’s taken almost two years for me to finally be at peace with the fact and mentally move on. no matter your demons, please seek help. whether it be a friend, family or trained professional talking it out helps as i’ve just learned - even if it makes you feel small and stupid. if you need anything please drop me a line - i’m here and will support you, unconditionally.