#fun fact: vanessa is a peck neck

[moon-flower-cryptid]

Remember that you shouldn't sign your soul off to a ghostly burnt noddle of a lawyer man unless you have an deathwish then go right ahead.

[artificialqueens]

Hold Me Tighter (Even Closer) Chapter 7 (Branjie, Jankie) - Joley

Chapter Summary: Tensions suddenly come to a head between Jan and Jackie, leading the two of them to handle the fallout in very different ways.

ao3 link

When Brooke Lynn walked into her classroom and saw Jackie already there, pacing back and forth, worry was her obvious, immediate reaction. “Penny for your thoughts?” she asked after clearing her throat to get her attention.

Jackie managed to stand still and lean against Brooke’s desk to catch her breath. “Have you seen Jan’s instagram story?”

“No,” she answered as she sat down at her desk, “because on principle I tend to avoid my students’ social media. Why?”

“Oh, so that’s where you draw the line?” she scoffed as she got her phone out and opened the app. “Here, look.”

Brooke took Jackie’s phone from her and opened Jan’s story. From what she could see, Jan had gone out the previous Saturday with some of her Heathers castmates – the girls playing the title characters, if she had to guess, considering each post was captioned with ‘#theheathers’. They were drinking and dancing, the whole thing appeared to be relatively innocuous. It was typical college girl behavior. “Okay… seems like a girls’ night out, what’s the issue?”

“Go to the next one.”

With a roll of her eyes, Brooke obliged. In the next story, the girls were dancing and grinding on each other to a techno beat. But then the camera zoomed in on Jan and Nicky sharing an innocent enough close-lipped peck, though Nicky’s hands were on Jan’s ass in a pointedly non-innocent manner. They shared another couple kisses, both of them giggling the whole time. “Is that it?” she asked as she handed the phone back to Jackie.

Jackie looked at her incredulously, mouth agape. “What do you mean ‘is that it’? Were we not watching the same clip?”

Brooke shrugged. “She went out with some friends, got drunk, and got handsy with one of them. I don’t see what the big deal is - she’s nineteen, this is how kids have fun.”

“So you would’ve been fine if it were Vanjie grinding and kissing on some pretty girl?”

“First of all,” she put a hand up to stop her, “Vanjie was already my girlfriend at this point, comparatively. Whereas Jan is a girl you’re fucking because you’re allergic to talking about how you feel about her. Second of all, we did have a run-in with jealousy, but that’s another story entirely,” Brooke answered. “But we wouldn’t have gotten past it if we didn’t know how to fucking communicate.”

Jackie looked down, feeling like a child being scolded, and sat at one of the student desks. “Will you tell me the jealousy story?” she asked, voice meek. She had always seen Brooke and Vanessa’s relationship as perfect, above reproach. Knowing that even they could have a bump in the road made her feel a bit better.

Brooke’s expression softened. “Sure. So, Vanj was doing this big dance competition, as was this other dancer from Julliard. And I mean this girl is all over her from day one, pissed me the hell off,” she recalled. She shook her head because looking back, the story felt a bit ridiculous to tell, but maybe that would help even more.

“Jump ahead to this Halloween party she throws and invites us to, and once again she’s all over my girl. But what got me was how Vanessa bought into it. I got pissed and left and she admitted she was only flirting with her because she liked the jealous, angry sex we had so much.”

“I don’t know what I expected,” Jackie admitted with the slightest hint of a laugh, “but it wasn’t that. How’d you guys get past it?”

“Vanessa made a very sweet, if not a bit corny gesture and it led to this romantic little reunion in the studio,” she concluded. “So, from there on out we made sure to talk about our feelings instead of leaving things up to chance by hoping we’ll guess what’s wrong with each other. See? Different situations entirely, but we didn’t solve it by avoiding tough conversations.”

Jackie groaned and hid her head on the desk. “I objectively know you’re right,” she conceded. “I’m gonna talk to her, I promise.”

Brooke gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You got this,” she said with confidence as she stood up. “Now look alive, class starts in five.”

“I got this,” Jackie repeated to herself before focusing her energy towards shifting into ‘teacher mode’. It was always something that provided a good, if not necessary, distraction. When she was being a teacher, her personal life faded into the background. Even Jan turned into another student in the class, and God knows that was a weight lifted from her.

And class did go off without a hitch, especially since she spent most of it doing paperwork while Brooke led the class. Teacher mode gave her focus, tunnel vision. In fact, she hardly said a word until after Brooke dismissed the students. Then she did speak. “Hey, Jan, can you hang back for a bit?”

Jan seemed surprised but nodded quickly. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up,” she said to Gigi before turning back to Jackie. “What’s up?” she asked, not noticing that Brooke had quietly slipped out of the room along with her classmates.

It was then that Jackie realized she hadn’t planned out what she was going to say. Why hadn’t she spent some of those ninety minutes doing something more useful than grading texts? She was mad at herself and anxiety began bubbling up inside of her. Improvising it was. “I… um… saw that you uploaded some videos from Saturday onto your story last night…”

“Oh yeah, I went out with the Heathers. It was a cute place, great cocktails,” Jan chirped as casually as she would discuss the weather. To the untrained eye, it seemed like she was truly oblivious to what could’ve bothered Jackie about what she posted.

But Jackie knew better. She knew Jan was a talented actress, that she’d had since last night (or even since Saturday) to prepare an answer and that, for lack of a better phrase, she was trying to bullshit her. “Don’t get cute, Jan. You know what I’m talking about. What’s going on with you and Nicky?”

Jan tilted her head. “I never tagged her or told you her name, how did you know it?”

Fuck. Jackie could’ve kicked herself for that. Evidently, improv wasn’t her strong suit, and on top of that, she was a terrible liar, leaving her with no choice. “I happened to be by the auditorium during one of your rehearsals. You guys seem… close.”

“Maybe we are close,” Jan conceded. “I don’t see the problem, pretty sure I can get ‘close’ to whoever I want, right?”

She stiffened, clenching her jaw. “So you are fucking her?”

Jan clicked her tongue and scoffed. “No, I’m not. But who are you to get pissy at me about it? It’s not like I need to ask your permission to hook up with other people.”

“I’m not being pissy,” Jackie insisted, unable to avoid sounding defensive. “But if you want her, let me know. I’m not gonna waste my time.”

“Oh, so now what we’ve had is a ‘waste of time’ because I might be attracted to someone else too?” Jan snapped.

She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, no that’s not what I mean. I don’t-”

“Please,” Jan put her hand up and waved her off. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too, Jackie,” she hissed, then turned on her heel, leaving before Jackie could respond.

The hall was silent except for her heels against the linoleum. As she rounded the corner and headed out of the building, she fished her phone out of her pocket and made a call. “Hey, are you busy? Good, I’m coming over, I’ll be there in ten.”

Jan couldn’t even remember the walk from the main building to the dorms. A rush of anger-fueled adrenaline propelled her forward – it was like she blinked and suddenly she was banging on Nicky’s door.

Nicky opened the door. “Hey, what’s going on? You sounded-” she was cut off by Jan kissing her hard, fisting her hand into her hair and pulling her close. She blinked in surprise when her mouth was freed. “Um… What is happening? Am I fucking you? Is that where this is going?”

“You’re so smart and perceptive, it’s so sexy,” she breathed out before reconnecting their lips, kicking the door shut behind her.

“You don’t have to sweet talk me, babygirl. I’ve been waiting for this.”

Jan let out a small sigh of relief as she backed onto Nicky’s bed, pulling the blonde down with her. She immediately resumed kissing her eagerly, sloppily. There was a tangle of limbs as their clothes were yanked off and tossed every which way, she couldn’t seem to get naked fast enough. “Don’t be gentle with me,” she breathed out, “I need it hard, need you to fuck me til I forget how to think or feel.”

Nicky paused, her lips curling into a smirk. “Hard, huh? I think I know just what to do.” She got up and rifled through her drawer until she pulled out a harness and the dildo that strapped onto it. “I’m gonna take good care of you,” she assured.

Jan’s eyes lit up and she laid back readily, propping her legs apart and arching her hips up when Nicky got herself in position. Her body trembled in anticipation as she watched Nicky slick up the silicone cock with lube. The waiting felt like torture as her desire built up faster than she could deal with and it culminated with a sharp moan when Nicky finally eased it in.

“Good girl,” she gently praised, giving her a moment to adjust – it was one of her bigger ones and she knew Jan would feel it. Once she was certain the girl under her was ready, she switched to a rough, fast thrusting pace. One hand was roughly pulling on Jan’s ponytail, the other carefully wrapping around her neck, applying just enough pressure to make her whimper and squirm. If Jan wanted it hard and rough, she was more than happy to oblige.

And Jan was even more certain this was exactly what she needed. As she moaned and writhed about, all she could focus on was how good it felt. The tinges of physical pain were arousing, and enough to distract from the emotional pain that was trying to linger. She needed Nicky to choke her, slap her, pull her hair, anything to keep her grounded solely in the moment. “Yes, fuck, please don’t stop,” she begged.

Not that Nicky was planning on it. Her hips snapped forward with each thrust, the sound of skin smacking together filling the room, only to be drowned out by Jan’s moans when she hit her orgasm. “That’s it, come for me,” she encouraged, fucking her through it until she was certain Jan was completely spent. She looked down at the brunette as she pulled out, pleased with how utterly wrecked she looked.

“Fuck…” Jan panted breathlessly, laying flat on the bed and letting her eyes shut for a moment. Even with her eyes closed, she was seeing stars. “Thanks, Nicky. You have no idea how badly I needed that.”

“You don’t wanna talk about it, do you?” Nicky teased after she cleaned up and got under the covers with her.

Jan shook her head, then hid her face in the crook of Nicky’s neck. The last thing she wanted was to think about what sparked her urge to come here in the first place. “I don’t even want to think about it. Can we just… take a nap?”

“Perfect idea,” she yawned as her eyes closed.

The two of them slept in silence for about an hour, with Jan being the first to wake up. For a moment, everything was warm and peaceful, she didn’t feel anything but comfort and bliss.

Slowly but surely, however, the negative feelings of hurt, anger, and spite slipped back in and led her to grab her phone off of Nicky’s nightstand. She had to do something to make herself feel better. “The lighting is so good right now, we should take a selfie.”

Nicky yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Fine, but only post it if we look cute,” she warned before posing so Jan could take pictures. She then watched over Jan’s shoulder as she uploaded one to her instagram story. “Wow, who are you trying to give jealousy with that one?”

“Is it that obvious?” asked Jan, blushing.

“A little bit,” Nicky giggled. “But I don’t mind, if you’re going to use anyone for that, I’m a great choice.” She laid back down and got her own phone out to share it to her story. “Do you think it’ll work?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

——

Brooke sighed as she looked at her phone for what had easily been the tenth time since she left the apartment. “Still no answer, but I just know she’s at home. She has to be.”

Vanessa nodded as they walked. “In the whole time we known her, she never ignores your texts, definitely not your calls. That picture got her all sorts of fucked up.”

Normally, Brooke adhered to her own set of rules to a T, but she had to break them when she sensed something was wrong with Jackie. And sure enough, when she checked Jan’s story (from Vanessa’s account), everything made sense. That was what had them rushing to her apartment, despite it rapidly approaching the middle of the night.

“She ain’t gonna get mad about you using the ‘emergency only’ key, is she?” Vanessa asked as she watched her wife rifle through her purse.

“I would consider this an emergency,” she defended as she unlocked the door and let them in. “Wait here, I’m gonna poke my head into her room and assess the situation.”

Vanessa waited patiently, arching her brow when Brooke returned. “What’s the tea?”

Brooke had a concerned, unnerved expression on her face like she was still processing what she had just walked in on. “We have a code gray.”

She furrowed her brows. “Jackie’s a violent hospital patient?”

“What? No. Also, how do you know that? Nevermind,” Brooke shook her head as she tried to stay on task. “She’s code gray as in Conan Gray, come look,” she explained before quietly leading Vanessa to the partially opened door.

Jackie was sitting on the floor against the side of her bed. She was wearing a purple letterman jacket that Brooke and Vanessa could ascertain was accidentally left there by Jan. ‘Heather’ by Conan Gray was playing, most likely having been on loop for God knows how long.

Vanessa realized how bad this was, and looked up at Brooke, waiting for instruction as to where to go from there.

Brooke decided to take the lead, carefully walking into the room with her wife following. “You okay, Jackie?” she asked gently.

“I ruined everything,” Jackie replied in a broken whisper. “I couldn’t deal with how I feel about her and I pushed her into a French actresses’ bed.” She laid down on the floor and sighed. “I can’t believe I fucked in this badly.”

Brooke and Vanessa propped Jackie back up, both wrapping an arm around her. “Hey, don’t talk like that. This is just a bump in the road, it’s not over yet,” Brooke assured.

“How can you be so sure of that?” Jackie sniffled.

“I just know.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

Vanessa decided to chime in. “Ain’t it obvious what you gotta do?” She received blank stares from both Jackie and Brooke. “Jan just wants to know you’re all in with her. She’s clearly just using blondie over there to make you jealous… We’ve all been there.”

“Speak for yourself,” Brooke retorted playfully.

She rolled her eyes at her wife. “What I’m sayin’ is she wanted to get under your skin and it worked. Maybe too well, but she got what she wanted. Now you just gotta tell her how you really feel, how bad you want her.”

Jackie hesitated, fiddling with the sleeves of the jacket. “Easy for you to say. I can’t just do big romantic declarations… I overthink way too much for that.”

“Well, that’s where we’re here to help,” Vanessa chirped brightly. “Under-thinking is my specialty.”

“Do you think you’re ready to try?” Brooke asked gently.

Jackie chewed on her lip and looked down. “I just… I’m scared,” she confessed.

The girls nodded in understanding – neither of them could blame Jackie for her fear and apprehension. Both of them knew what it was like to have someone you’d risk everything for while having a terrible fear of the potential fallout. They knew how fortunate they were to have so clearly had mutual feelings from the beginning, but they hadn’t been free from a rocky start. And they had faith in Jan and Jackie, while neither could explain it, they had to see it through.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Brooke assured. “So, we’re gonna get you through this.”

“Will you guys spend the night?” Jackie asked after a few beats of silence, long enough for her to be sure she wouldn’t start crying. “It’s getting kind of depressing, and drinking alone would be the thing to push it over the edge.”

“You had us at drinking,” Vanessa joked, pleased to see it got a smile out of Jackie. “Don’t worry, we ain’t going nowhere.”

[heauxplesslydevoted]

The Night Before

Pairing: Thomas Mendez x MC (Marissa Day)

Summary: It’s the night before her custody hearing and insomnia has Marissa caught in a vice like grip. 

Warnings: NSFW. 18+

Tags: @princess-geek @chetachisblog @dorishi-desu @hatescapsicum@annekebbphotography @drakewalkerfantasy @seriouslyices @zambazeus @loilko @blackcoffee85 @randomchoicesblog @fortunatelywaywardsandwich@canknot @lapisreviewsstuff @akacalliope @senseofduties @badchoicesposts @ao719

~~

It’s the night before her custody hearing (or morning of, depending on your perspective) and Marissa Day cannot sleep. And it’s not for a lack of trying on her part because she’s tried everything. Warm milk, counting sheep, a sleeping pill, the works.

She rolls over and looks at the time on the alarm clock. 2:43 AM stares back at her in bright red letters, almost as if it’s mocking her. She has to be up in less than 5 hours, and she hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep.

Rolling over in bed, Marissa gently collides with the warm body next to her. Thomas is next to her, an arm draped loosely around her waist. The girls wanted to have another sleepover, and Marissa didn’t want to be left alone with her thoughts the night before the biggest day of her life, so she eagerly accepted another chance to sleep at the Mendez house.

He’s sleeping so peacefully beside her, and she almost resents him for it. How dare he sleep like a baby while she’s a neurotic mess?

She turns slightly and takes in his sleeping form. Thomas looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping. The stress of the day is gone, and he’s relaxed. His breathing is even, there’s no crinkle in his forehead, his muscles are loose. 

And while he looks like a peaceful sleeping angel, she still wants to wake him up, as selfish as it sounds.

“Thomas?” She calls gently. It doesn’t work and he stays asleep. “Thomas, wake up.”

Craning her head, Marissa leans forward and kisses his jaw, his stubble slightly tickling her mouth. He stirs, but doesn’t wake up. This time, she moves lower, leaving soft pecks on the column of his neck.

“Mhmm, Marissa,” Thomas mumbles. Marissa smirks in satisfaction. She has him.

She slips out of his grasp, and swings her legs on either side of his hips so she can straddle him. Her fingertips run along the smooth plane of his chest and his broad shoulders, and she feels him tense underneath her.

After a bit more coaxing, Thomas’s eyes slowly open. After taking a minute to adjust, they settle on the woman currently sitting on him. “What’re you doing, Riss?”

“I can’t sleep,” she confesses. “And misery loves company.”

“What time is it?” He asks.

“Very early,” Marissa replies. Thomas looks at the time and snorts. She wasn’t kidding.

“You need to go to bed,” Thomas says matter-of-factly. “We have an extremely hectic day ahead of us.”

Marissa knows that already. She resists the urge to roll her eyes and say “thanks, Captain Obvious,”—snark is one of her favorite coping mechanisms, but her brain simply won’t turn off. If she could sleep, she would.

Instead she just looks at. His hair is wild and tousled, his pretty blue-grey eyes are soft and droopy with tiredness. He’s so damn handsome, even when she’s depriving him of sleep.

Leaning down, her lips meet his in a soft kiss, and if he wasn’t awake before, he is now. He responds to the kiss quickly, his hands getting lost in her copper tresses as he pulls her closer.

Never one to miss a beat, Thomas rolls them over so he’s the one on top. His tongue invades her mouth quickly and she arches into the kiss. No matter how close they get, it’s not enough. It’s never enough.

Not breaking the kiss, Thomas slides a hand under the shirt Marissa is wearing. It’s his, a ratty old thing he got from his college bookstore, and it practically swallows the petite woman up. Her skin is warm and soft, and he can feel her shiver as he lifts the shirt up and his hand settles on her ribcage, holding her in place.

Breaking the kiss, Thomas kisses her cheek and across her jawline, paying special attention to the sensitive spot near her pulse point.

“I’ll never get tired of kissing you,” Thomas says. He nips at the skin, careful not to leave any visible marks. They still have court in a few short hours. The judge won’t appreciate hickeys.

“Then keep going,” Marissa pleads softly.

“I intend to.”

While he continues his assault on her neck, the hand that’s not pinning her down to bed idly traces circles into the skin of her outer thigh. Marissa writhes under him. They haven’t even done anything yet, and here she is, so fucking desperate and needy for his touch.

Thomas prides himself on being observant, and there’s not much he can’t sense about Marissa at this point. He knows she’s getting impatient, but he doesn’t speed up on her account. 

He nudges her legs open and she eagerly spreads them for him. “You know, I’m not a betting man, Marissa Day. But if I had to make one right now, I’d bet every dollar I own that you’re already wet for me.” His fingers skim the outside of the flimsy piece of lace she calls underwear. “Even better, you’re soaked.”

Marissa bites down firmly on her lip in order to stop the moan that’s in her throat from slipping out. The last thing she needs to do is wake up their kids with her extremely pornographic sound effects.

Her breath hitches slightly as she felt one of his fingers pressing against her. But it isn’t nearly enough and she rolls her hips in an attempt to create more friction, but he doesn’t stop, or speed up. When did he become such a tease?

Her eyelids flutter shut as he continues his slow torture. “Stop teasing me.”

Thomas chuckles softly, his breath tickling her neck. His tongue traces the shell of her ear before capturing her earlobe between his teeth. “Only because you asked so nicely.”

Deciding to keep her panties on, Thomas simply moves them aside and plunges two fingers into her without warning. Her lower half shoots off of the bed on its own volition and she mewls in satisfaction. “Oh, fuck!”

“Language,” Thomas chides playfully.

Marissa barely registers the fact that he’s still talking, much too caught up in what his incredibly skilled fingers are doing to her. Her fingers tangle themselves in the soft bed sheets in a feeble attempt to keep herself arching completely off of the bed.

A soft sigh followed by his name slips from between her lips and it might be hotter than any scream or moan Thomas ever coaxed out of her. He shifts his weight kisses down her stomach. “That’s it. Say my name again.”

“Thomas...,” Marissa repeats, her voice taking on a higher pitch as he curls his fingers inside her, twisting them slightly. “Oh god. Please. Please, don’t stop.”

She can feel her orgasm building, and she almost hates Thomas for it. For how he leaves her feeling a desperate, achy hot mess. For how good he is at this and how fast he can make her come. It isn’t fair. But she can’t, because she adores him for it all the same. Thomas knows she’s close too, her walls tightening around his fingers. His head moves lower until his lips wrap securely around their clit, sucking gently on the tiny bundle of nerves. She grips the back of his head, her fingers curling into his soft brown hair, holding him in place as her hips roll against him, grinding into his face as his fingers and tongue continue to work on her. And that’s all it takes. Before she can say anything, she’s hurtling, careening over the edge. Her eyes screw shut and she clamps a hand over her mouth, stifling the scream that threatens to leave.

Thomas removes his fingers from her slick heat and plants a single kiss on the inside of her trembling thigh. She shudders involuntarily at the simple action, way too sensitive and overstimulated.

When she finally regains the strength to re-open her eyes, she catches the sight of Thomas licking his fingers clean. “You taste like heaven on earth.”

 “You...are way too good at that,” Marissa pants. A blush spreads across his cheeks at the compliment. How is he blushing when he just had his head between her thighs?

“Happy to oblige.” Marissa reaches up in front of her, palming his length through his cotton pajama pants, but Thomas grips her wrist, putting a stop to her actions.

“What? You don’t want me to return the favor?”

“I’m good. As fun as it is to be woken up by a beautiful woman in my bed, you need to get some sleep. We have a huge day ahead of us.”

Thomas pulls her into his side as they settle back onto the bed. They stay like this for a few minutes, and Marissa finally feels herself coming back down to earth. Her heart isn’t racing as fast, and the room stops spinning.

Despite the orgasm Thomas just bestowed upon her and the heaviness in her bones, she’s still entirely too keyed up to go to sleep. Something might seriously be wrong with her if not even sex can make her sleep. “You’re going to hate me.”

“I couldn’t possibly hate you,” Thomas argues.

“I can’t go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Thomas rolls over and turns on his bedside lamp. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

“It’s been a hectic few weeks and yes, I’m absolutely exhausted, but I have the biggest day of my life ahead of me and–”

“And you’re nervous,” Thomas concludes.

Marissa snorts. “I passed nervous about 3 hours ago.”

“I can’t imagine how scary this has all been for you, but you have no reason to be nervous.”

“Really? Because it feels like the deck is stacked against me. Let’s count all the ways, shall we? I got fired a few weeks ago and the only place that wants to hire me is a fast food restaurant for a graveyard shift, Ivy has had two allergy attacks while in my care, and I’m broke, which is apparently a cardinal sin in this town, worse than murder. And no matter what I do, Guy and Vanessa have managed to spin everything in his favor. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t work during our marriage and that he took off. It doesn’t matter that he’s a gaslighting asshole, and he’s dating someone who is practically a fetus, and he didn’t take Ivy’s soy allergy into consideration, and he forgot our daughter’s birthday. He can do all of that and still come up smelling like roses. No matter what, he just seems to fail upwards.”

“I know in my heart that I’m the best parent for Ivy, but I can’t escape the dread I feel, th-this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that he’s going to snatch her away from me without as much as a backwards glance. I feel like I’m stuck in a nightmare and I can’t wake up no matter how hard I try.”

Marissa doesn’t realize she’s crying until Thomas catches a tear with the pad of his thumb.

“Every time I feel like I’m finally hitting my stride, Guy comes in and torpedoes everything,” she continues. “It’s how he’s always been.”

“It stops today,” Thomas says.

“How are you so sure?”

“Yes Guy has money, but having money has never been a good indicator of good parenting. You are strong, and selfless, and compassionate. You are Ivy’s best parent, her only parent. You raised a thoughtful, kind, brilliant little girl with no help from the sperm donor who left you. Ivy hasn’t just survived for 10 years, she’s thrived, and it’s all thanks to you. Guy and Vanessa are going to use your weaknesses and vulnerabilities against you but that only because they have absolutely no offense. They can’t prove on their own that he’s better, so they’re going to paint you as worse. But it’s not going to work. I still have a lot of fight left in me, and yes we’re close to the end, but I need you to stick it out. I will never let you lose your daughter. Never.”

Marissa inhales sharply, trying to let Thomas’s words sink in.

“Do you trust me?” Thomas asks.

“Of course.”

“Good. Then believe me when I say we’re going to win.” Marissa nods. “Say it.”

“We’re going to win.”

“Again.”

“We’re going to win,” Marissa repeats.

“Damn right we are.” Thomas grabs Marissa and kisses her softly. “I just need you to believe in yourself the way I believe in you, and see yourself the way I see you. I’m not kidding when I say you’re the best parent I know.”

Marissa leans forward and rests her head on Thomas’s shoulder. She sighs heavily. “I’m sorry that I ruined our moment. Nothing kills the mood quicker than talking about your asshole of an ex-husband and a custody hearing.”

“It’s okay. You’re always welcome to vent to me, no matter the circumstances.”

“Thank you. I needed this pep talk.”

“No need to thank me when I’m simply telling the truth.”

“And thanks...for the orgasm.”

That manages to get a laugh out of him, a deep laugh, one from his chest. “I think you’re the first person to ever thank me for something like that. You don’t need to thank me for that either. But you’re welcome.”

The two of them fall back into bed, a mess of tangled limbs. Thomas wraps his arms tightly around Marissa, giving her no wiggle room, no opportunities to toss and turn.

He kisses the top of her head. “Get some sleep.”

Ironically enough, being crushed underneath the weight of Thomas Mendez in his ridiculously large king-sized bed, for the first time in weeks, Marissa actually feels like she can breathe. And she finally does doze off to sleep.

[shadowthrone-ammanas]

Prompt-thing: Fire Spirits to torment Vanessa.

First, I can no long think about the Fire Spirits without also thinking about the Conductor, hope that’s okay. Second, another fic that’s probably in the same timeline as Guilt (I think I might just start calling it the ‘adopted timeline/au’). Third, this drabble fic thing ends sooner then I’d have liked it to but it’s almost 2am and I’m already running on like 6 hours of sleep (so if the end part is a bit more incoherent than other drabbles, that’s why) so that’s where it ended because I need sleep. It still wraps things up though, I think, and is a definitely at a point where I’d scene cut anyway. I might do a continuation later though, I know I would like to. And finally, thank you for the request!

Fire Spirits

The fire spirits were back. They always came back. If Snatcher didn’t know better, he’d say it was because they liked annoying him. But no, it was because the forest was a place of high spiritual energy, it attracted them like moths to a flame.

He couldn’t make them go away either. They didn’t listen to him and their brand of magical energy was resistance to his, making destroying them take a lot of effort. With how powerful he was, he could force it if he really had to but it was a pain and exhausting so he preferred to make contractors deal with them instead. He maybe wouldn’t have to this time though because he officially had an adoptive daughter he might finally have a real use for.

“Hey kiddo,” he said with a grin as he popped in on her as she exited her ship now parked in his forest. “I’ve got a job for you.”

Hat Kid’s face let up. “What kind of job?”

“The fire spirits are starting to come back. I would like you to take care of them before they start making themselves too much of a nuisance. Think of it as your way of earning you keep around here, a house chore or whatever.”

“Okay! But… I’ve always wondered why you don’t destroy them. I mean you’re like super powerful and stuff and they’re not so… can’t you deal with them? Are you just lazy?”

“No, I’m not lazy.” The fact that she’d suggest such a thing was a bit offensive but he’d let it slid for now. “The reason I don’t deal with them myself is it takes a lot of energy to take them out. They’re beings made of fire, meaning light basically. I’m a being made of primarily shadow energy. Not true opposites but throwing shadow magic at light beings doesn’t exactly have great results.”

“So… it’s like Pokémon? Your attacks aren’t very effective because it’s a poor type match up?”

“I don’t know what that means but… sure I guess, my attacks aren’t very effective against them. Hence why I prefer someone else to handle it so I don’t have to. So hop to it.” He clapped his hands twice to spur her on.

She didn’t move though instead she seemed deep in thought about something. “They’re fire spirits,” she mumbled to herself, “and going off Pokémon rules that would mean…” She trailed off as a mischievous smile spread across her face. An idea had occurred to her, that was almost never a good thing. “I have an idea,” she said, speaking to him again. “Instead of getting rid of them you should send them to torment your ex!”

Snatcher had been preparing to say ‘no’ but stopped. “Huh?”

“You should send them to torment your crazy ex,” Hat Kid repeated. “I mean they’re fire spirits with fire magic and your ex is an ice bitch with ice magic so they should be super effective against her. Don’t you want to mess with her? She’s a horrible wretched evil peck neck. You should burn her house down! I bet it’ll be fun!” She her smile was now more evil that mischievous. Good.

Snatcher had never considered doing such a thing before. He’d always been so focused on not having anything more to do with her, only fending her off whenever she decided to invade his forest, that he’d never considered trying to do anything to mess with them. It was honestly a huge oversight on his part.

“You know what kid, I’m suddenly glad I adopted you, you’re smart,” he said. She beamed at his praise. “There is a problem with your idea though, they won’t listen to me. I’ve tried to tell them to go away or take down their stupid fire barriers at least a hundred times over the years, if not more.” Probably more because the first time they’d appeared he’d still been trying to be at least sort of a good guy. They didn’t have souls he could eat – he’d tried but it had hurt him – and other than for the barriers – which weren’t intended to harm anyone and actually seemed to be just a byproduct of their rituals – they weren’t doing anything bad so he’d been reluctant to kill them. “I doubt they’d listen to you either because of how much time you spend with me and the Subconites, you reek of death and shadows.”

Her face fell. “Does that mean we can’t send them to torment Vanessa?”

“It means we can’t but I know someone they should listen to and that someone will listen to me.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“The Conductor.”

“Why would they listen to…”

Snatcher didn’t let her finish before teleporting away.

***

The Conductor was just about to leave his dressing room when he suddenly had the sense that something was behind him so he should probably turn and check. It was probably just paranoia but… It was Snatcher.

He couldn’t help jumping a little in fright and taking a step back. Not many people survived direct encounters with the infamous Snatcher. The Conductor was one of the lucky few but the thing he’d had to do to accomplish that feat had been abhorrent. So he wasn’t a fan of the ghost and was honestly terrified.

“What the peck do you want?” he said because no way was he going to let his terror show.

Snatcher grinned wide. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“I ain’t trying to kill the lass again, no matter what you say. You can eat my pecking soul, I don’t care.” He shouldn’t have cared the first time but… he’d been taken by surprise and terrified.

“Well good thing I wasn’t going to ask you to. Now, I would take your soul but alas I have a feeling a certain child now legally in my care would be rather displeased with me if I did. It’s annoying when she cries so I’d rather not deal with that.”

The Conductor had almost forgotten Snatcher had adopted Hat Kid because honestly, he didn’t want it to be true. Snatcher was well the Snatcher, he ate people’s souls, he’d tried to murder Hat Kid, had forced the Conductor and others to try as well. And yet Hat Kid insisted he was a good guy deep down inside and that he cared about her. She’d even shown the Conductor and DJ Grooves a copy of the adoption papers Snatcher had written up to adopt her. He had signed it though so Hat Kid’s claims had to have some truth to them even if the Conductor disagreed with the whole adoption. He’d no choice but to accept it and try not to think about it too much because he couldn’t do anything about it.

“Now,” Snatcher continued, “because of our history I know you probably don’t want to help me. And honestly, I don’t blame you, from your perspective things were pretty bad. But we’re past that now, right? So I need you to…”

“‘Pretty bad’? That wasn’t ‘pretty bad’, that was pecking…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Snatcher cut in, making a placating gesture with one had that made the Conductor’s blood boil with rage he couldn’t do anything with because he was facing Snatcher. “You’re an angry fire lizard, I understand. I’ll have you know though, the favor I’m asking you to do was Hat Kid’s idea. She’s actually really smart sometimes, would you believe it?”

“She’s smart all the time you peck-neck.”

“If you say so. Now, I need you to talk to the fire spirits in my forest and tell them to harass the Ice Queen Vanessa instead of me. They should listen to you because I’m pretty sure dragons are on the top rank of the fire beings, right? Even the small feathered ones like yourself.”

“What the peck are you talking about? I’m not a dragon.”

“Oh, you’re not? I’m pretty sure you are. I could be wrong though I guess because all I know for sure is you have fire magic. There are a number of ways that’s possible, none of them make a difference for what I’m asking you to do though so it doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” He snapped his fingers and the world around them shifted to deep purple.

“Peck you, you pecking peck neck,” the Conductor said instead of being afraid like he’d wanted to be because whatever the peck was going on here was not okay.

The purple faded and suddenly they were in the forest next to Hat Kid and her ship, now parked. “Uncle Con,” she said with a smile.

“Uh… hey lass,” he said, glancing around. The forest was dark and creepy, he did not like it especially since Snatcher was looming over them now that he had all the room in the world to do so. He was a dumb showoff, why couldn’t he stay a normal person size? He just liked being bigger and taking up more room than everyone else because he was bully and a peck-neck. Before the Conductor could say something about it though…

“Now go talk to the fire spirits for us,” Snatcher said. “It’s important, right kiddo?”

“Yes! I don’t know why they’d listen to you Uncle Con but if they do, go tell them to burn down Vanessa’s Manor!” The evil glee in Hat Kid’s eyes and voice was concerning. But was it because she was spending too much time with Snatcher or just how she naturally was and that’s what had drawn her to Snatcher in the first place?

“Why?” the Conductor asked to avoid dealing with that question.

“Because she’s horrible and awful and evil and just the pecking worst.”

Well if Hat Kid hated this Vanessa person so much she must be truly terrible, worse than Snatcher because Hat Kid didn’t hate him. And come to think of it, hadn’t the Conductor heard tales about an Ice Queen Vanessa? She’d frozen her entire kingdom, killing everyone in it, or something like that, right? So yeah, she probably deserved to have her house burnt down at least.

“Fine.” The Conductor sighed. “I’ll talk to them.” And they probably would do as he asked because in his experience, fire spirits tended to more often than not. He’d always assumed it was because he was half fire spirit but maybe it was something else like Snatcher had suggested? … Nah, no way. And he didn’t care anyway. He just wanted done with this business as soon as possible so he could leave the damn forest.

For this drabble event.

[conductor-peck-neck]

A crash, a yell. Conductor has made it to the third floor, Vanessa on his tail. The rooms and halls are confusing, and the papers over the walls scare him more as he wonders just how mad she must have gone.

“You are cornered, you m e n a c e.” He takes deep breathes as she stalks towards him, icy hand outstretched, ready to…

Whatever she was going to do, it wouldn’t be pleasant.

He spots the Snatcher on the wall behind Vanessa, a smirk plastered on their face. There is something in their hand. Conductor feels a flare of anger; Snatcher knew he wouldn’t be able to properly fight. Knew he was going straight to his end. That damned shadow wanted this to happen! He should have known!

“Now stay still.” Vanessa hisses - she is right in front of Conductor now, fingertips on his shoulder. The cold ignites the feelings he has been holding in for silence. The fear and anger.

“YE NO GOOD, ROTTEN, SOUL STEALIN PECK NECK!” He screams this, and a burst of shadowy energy from the ground slams in Vanessa, knocking her a good ways back, and stopping the flow of ice that had been crawling down Conductor’s arm. Snatcher- for just a moment- looks terrified, and quickly flees.

“I SHOULD ‘AVE MADE A DEAL TO RID ME FAMILY OF YE!” At this point Snatcher is gone, and so now Conductor’s anger is on Vanessa. “AND YOU! IF IT WEREN’T FOR YE AND YER STUPID JEALOUSY, I WOULDN’T BE IN THIS MESS!” That’s not really fair; it was a different Vanessa. But that’s not really the point is it?

“I AM SICK OF IT. I JUST WANT PEACE AN QUIET ON ME TRAIN!” He slams his hands into the ground, them rising a ways to try and slash at Vanessa - seems what could be mistaken for feathers were actually claws of some sort.

She can easily dodge it, and is glaring daggers at Conductor. God, what an insufferable creature he was! And bringing up her past? Who did he think he was?! He didn’t know anything about what she had suffered!

“YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!” she screams, running at him. What once may have been a slow and taunting death was now meant to be quick and very, very painful. But a clawed hand grabs her ankle and trips her, sending her sprawling to the floor. With her getting closer, Conductor has decided he is sick on depending on these stupid powers, and is going to take care of it his way.

“Ye want to freeze me ye wretch? Come and try it!” He is now brandishing a knife - oh yeah, that’s a thing he carries around - and is pointing it at her.

Vanessa lets out a low chuckle. “You think a mere knife can stop m e?” She gets back to her feet, and Conductor swears he can see a smile on her face. “I have taken down creatures that make you seem like a breeze! Now, face your f a t e!” She lunges again, ice aimed for his heart. Striking back with the knife, Conductor is surprised to see that it did not harm the ice-covered claws. But, it did stop her in her tracks. Worked for him.

In something no one could have expected, the two are going at each other, slicing with knife and ice covered claws. Vanessa gets more hits on Conductor, and he can feel the ice covered wounds sting him. But he gets a few hits to her here and there, getting a satisfying if not irritating shriek of pain out of her. Still, it did not make up for the fact that he was not the one with the upper hand in this fight.

Snatcher has come back to watch, thoroughly surprised; in all their years, they had yet to see someone actually fight the queen! A part of them wanted to interrupt the fight. Mostly to take Conductor’s knife - it was one of those things they never had been able to steal away for as long as they had known him. But they also wanted to... assist? Conductor? Really? Surely it was just because he was fighting Vanessa, and if Vanessa got taken out, only that nosy Moonjumper would be left to fight off! They had gotten what they wanted from the manor, anyways.

Conductor doesn’t notice Snatcher’s presence, too focused on not getting knocked back to do so.He had always prided himself at being great at defending himself, and having decent stamina for someone who spent most of their time on a train. But Vanessa had a darkness and magic to her that was simply impossible for him to keep up with. He was getting hit more, slowed more. His attacks were hitting her less too. He wasn’t going to win this, but he was too angry to stop.

By some sort of luck, Vanessa suddenly stumbles backwards, letting out a surprised shriek. It’s the sort of opening that Conductor needs, and he gets ready to strike. Something in him makes him stop though. How was this supposed to end? In him killing her? Considering he was just fighting for his life, it isn’t like anyone could really blame him. And it wasn’t like he hadn’t taken a life or two.

“Don’t just stand there! Get her!” Snatcher’s voice shakes Conductor from his thoughts, and he feels that anger again. No! He wasn’t going to do this to stop some terf war! Not to be used! Not-

“CONDUCTOR!” Without another moment, Snatcher erupts from the ground and wraps their hands around Conductor’s forcing him to lunge forward at Vanessa, who had been trying to get up. She can’t move quick enough to avoid the hit, and the blade hits her in the chest, very dangerously close to where her heart should be. The sound of pain she makes is so loud, so deafening, that Conductor falls backwards and covers his ears, curling up into a fetal position. Snatcher has to grab him and pull him into the shadows, leaving Vanessa to deal with the injury, if she can.

The silence in the air is thick enough to be cut with a butter knife, but no one chooses to say a word. Conductor is shaking still, the whole situation from merely hours ago stuck in his mind. Snatcher had tried to congratulate him, but it seemed to not register at all, and they eventually gave up on it. When one of the Express Owls had come to check on him, they had realized something was wrong, but couldn’t get a word from their boss, so they let them be.

Finally, Conductor seems to be able to pull himself together to say something coherent.

“Did I kill her?”

“Dunno.” Snatcher mutters, twirling the Conductor’s knife in their hands - there is a noticeable stain. “What’s it matter? Certainly you carry a knife for a reason, don’t cha?”

Conductor clenches his fists. “You used me. In yer stupid fight over yer stupid forest. You were goin to let me die.”

“But I helped you in the end, didn’t I? I helped you save yourself, you helped me defeat Nessy. It’s a win-win, really. Especially since you still have another version of her to fight. A stronger one.”

“...Git out.”

Snatcher blinks in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“I said, Get. Out. I don’t want ye near me right now. Go back to yer stupid peckin forest ye fight so hard for. Just leave. Me. Alone.”

Snatcher opens their mouth to make a retort, but decides against it. Conductor was no fun like this. And they did have their own business anyways. So, they actually leave, and Conductor can finally relax and properly unpack everything that had happened.

[evenifyoudontfic]

Even If You Don’t: Chapter 10

Previous Chapter

Mari’s POV

“Are you filming me again?” I heard Calum ask after I watched him look directly at my phone.

“What? Me?” I tried acting innocent, “I would never do that.” He stared at me for a moment before looking back down at his guitar, trying to hide the fact that he was smiling.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Mike,” he shook his head, beginning to strum the instrument again.

“You’re just jealous because that time isn’t spent with you,” I scoffed jokingly.

I posted the Snapchat to my story before putting my phone in my pocket and getting up off the couch. I plopped down beside Calum, leaning on his arm and listening to him play. I was always so mesmerized by Calum’s guitar playing, obviously being a fan before this tour, but I never thought I’d get to hear it in person – or this close up.

“You’re really good,” I murmured into his shirt, my eyes closed in content. He didn’t say anything, but I could hear him smile.

“You play?” he asked softly.

“No,” I chuckled, “I’ve asked Vanessa to teach me before, but I’m not very good. She’s a great teacher, but I just can’t pick up on it, I guess.”

“It’s not that hard once you get used to it,” he told me, “You probably just need more practice.”

Calum nudged me gently so I would sit up. Once I did, he moved his guitar to sit on my lap. He came over to sit on the other side of me, his arm wrapping around my neck so he could still reach the strings.

“We’re gonna go over the basics first,” he said, showing me where my fingers needed to go on the neck of the instrument.

Calum tried to help me for about half an hour – bless his heart – but I just wasn’t catching on. I think he could tell I was getting upset with myself because every time I grumbled quietly, he would press a reassuring kiss to my cheek and tell me I was doing just fine. Of course, that only made me more nervous, but I kept focus the best I could.

Well, until someone else came into the room, anyway.

“Trying to learn how to play guitar again?” Kaylynn chuckled as she and Ashton came into the room.

“Yeah, and it’s going about as well as it did when Vanessa tried teaching me,” I sighed. Calum laughed softly in my ear, making my heart skip a beat.

“We’ll just try some other time,” he said, “You’re getting frustrated and it’s not easy to learn that way.”

“Thanks for trying, Cal, but I think I’m just gonna stick to drums,” I shook my head, leaning back on him slightly.

“Well, we just wanted to see if you guys wanted to go walk around the city before soundcheck,” Ashton spoke up, “The others are taking naps.”

“I’m in,” I nodded, getting up, “Don’t think Cal could keep up with us though.”

“We’ll see about that, drummer girl,” he laughed again, standing up as well. We waited for him to put his guitar back in its case before setting off on our exploration.

~

A couple hours later, we all got lunch together before heading out for round two. The city was absolutely beautiful – I mean, it’s Italy – but I was most excited when we decided to head toward the woods. We had split up into pairs – Kaylynn went with Ashton while I dragged Calum along with me – and we found a random little treehouse somewhere along the way. It was just a large piece of wood wrapped around the trunk about halfway up with a sketchy looking rope ladder, but the little kid in me immediately ran to it.

Calum ran after me, having no idea where I was going, but he followed anyway. I climbed up the ladder as he was about halfway there, smiling happily as I laid down on the wood. I heard Calum grumbling to himself a few seconds later as he struggled to climb it as well, making me grin again. I rolled over onto my stomach so I could look down at Calum. He had almost made it to the top when he looked up, his breath hitching when he saw he was only a couple inches away from my face.

“What’s wrong, Rockstar?” I smirked, “Getting tired? Need to go back to the venue?”

“No,” he tried not to show his pout, “You just didn’t tell me there was going to be any climbing involved. I’m not wearing the proper attire.”

“We’re wearing basically the same thing,” I reminded him, giggling softly as we hadn’t even told each other what we were wearing that day but still ended up in jeans, band shirts, and high-top Converse.

“Yeah, because you stole my shirt after Ashton accidentally spilled his drink on you at lunch,” pulling at the flannel he’d had to button up so I could change.

“And now you’re my hero!” I informed before rolling onto my back so he could enter the treehouse. “Come on, Cal! Where’s your sense of adventure?! What fun would the world be if everything was flat and unclimbable?!” Calum flopped down beside me, happy to have something solid to rest on.

“You keep everyone on their toes, Mari, I’ll give you that,” he admitted, “I do have one question though.”

“What’s that?” I turned my head to look at him.

“Do you know how to get back to the venue from here?” he asked. I just shrugged nonchalantly. “What does that mean?” he said slowly, propping himself up on his elbow to face me. I simply shrugged again. “You don’t know how to get back? And that doesn’t worry you?!” he shook his head, “We’ve got a show in 5 hours! We’re supposed to back in 20 minutes for soundcheck!” I smiled at him, pushing a piece of hair off of his face that fell during his ranting.

“You need to loosen up, Cal,” I told him, barely catching the way he swallowed thickly when I touched him, “Save the seriousness for the music.”

“Music isn’t the only thing that needs to be serious,” he mumbled.

“What else could possibly need to be serious?”

“Us,” he said softly.

My heart skipped a beat, then started pounding as I dropped my arm onto my stomach – is he saying what I think he’s saying?

Calum’s POV

I couldn’t believe I’d basically just admitted to Mari that I like her. I mean, I was going to do it at some point, but I was hoping to be a lot smoother than that. Either way, though, as I watched her reaction – my heart pounding in my throat – I found myself short of breath when I caught her glancing at my lips. So I went for it. I leaned toward her cautiously, testing the waters to see if she would move away. When I paused, I heard her let out a breath.

She suddenly grabbed the back of my head and pulled my face to hers, kissing me roughly. I instantly lost my breath, not expecting her to be the one to take initiative. Clearly, I should have since she’d been that way since the moment I met her – not that I’m complaining about it now.

My left forearm came to rest on her right side, right up against her body, so I could hold myself up, not wanting to fall on top of her – not that I would complain about that either. I felt her smile as she twirled my hair around her fingertips – both of us just taking the moment to enjoy kissing each other.

However, our moment was only cut short.

“Hey!” we heard Kaylynn’s voice from below us, “You two lovebirds about done yet?!”

“Yeah!” Ashton added, “We’ve got soundcheck in 15!” I let out a quiet groan, putting my forehead on hers. I felt her giggle quietly in response to my actions, her fingers still playing with my hair.

“Would be a shame if something happened to your drums before you got back, Mari!” Kaylynn went on when neither of us made a move. Mari turned her head suddenly so she wasn’t yelling toward me, and my own head fell against my neck.

“If you put one finger on my drums, Kaylynn Marie, you can kiss that pretty little bass of yours goodbye!” she threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she growled.

“You’ve known me for 5 years, Kay; I will!” I heard her sigh and then stomp away, making my stomach shake as I chuckled lowly.

“Don’t be late!” Ashton warned us.

“We’ll be there, Ash!” I assured him, my voice slightly muffled by Mari’s skin. He followed Kaylynn back toward the venue, leaving Mari and I alone once again. “Not looking forward to dealing with no privacy all the time,” I commented, pressing a kiss to the base of her neck. Mari laughed softly, moving her hand to my chin and pushing my head back, only to reattach her lips to mine.

“Get used to it, Hood,” she murmured, “As soon as we get back to that venue, this is going to be our lives for the next six months.”

“And for the months after?” I whispered.

“I like to think we’ll have more privacy when we’re not all crammed into two tour buses and four hotel rooms,” she smirked, “And I live alone, you know.”  

"I like the sound of that," I grinned slyly, pecking her lips before sitting up. "But we better be heading back," I sighed. 

"I think we could stay for at least 10 more minutes," she commented. 

"You think we can find our way back in less than 5 minutes?" I cocked an eyebrow. Mari simply smirked and I fought back my own smile, trying to make it seem like I was upset even though I knew I wasn’t doing well. "You know how to get back, don't you?" I asked. Mari giggled with a small nod. "Then why did you let me think you didn’t?!" I laughed. 

"Because I like watching you squirm," she winked, only making me immediately start tickling her. 

ahhhh they finally kissed!!!!!!!! are u excited????? i’m excited.

Next Chapter

[artificialqueens]

Uprooted, chapter 3: A Sappy Ending (branjie) - writworm42

A/N: Last chapter: Vanessa found out that Brooke is her manager, and also decided that breaking HR policy is definitely worth it. This chapter: Vanessa and Brooke get together again at Brooke’s apartment. Fun ensues.

Thank you, Holtzmanns, for helping me cultivate my skills as a writer and beta-ing for me <3 Without you keeping me grounded, this fic could never have become as solid as it is… I know my puns drive you barking mad, but the fact that you could stay so sunny is amazing. Thank you!

“Sorry I’m late,” Vanessa explained sheepishly as Brooke led her inside, “I had to feed my frog.”

“You have a frog?” Brooke turned around to look at Vanessa, smiling with an expression that Vanessa couldn’t quite decipher. She blushed, nodding.

“Her name is Bertha, and I–”

“That’s a good frog name.” Brooke’s smile widened, “I love it.”

Vanessa exhaled deeply, relief calming the tension in her chest. Brooke loved it. She still thought Vanessa was cool.

“Can I get you anything, by the way?” Brooke walked over to her fridge, swinging open the door and peering inside, “I have juice, water, some Diet Coke, wine…” her tone changed when listing that last option, and she looked back at Vanessa with a coy smile and raised eyebrow. Vanessa rolled her eyes.

“Alright Mary,” Vanessa laughed, “Let’s see what kinda wine you got, red or white?”

–

They talked while they drank, slowly getting to know each other over sips of the chilled white wine that Brooke had pulled out of her fridge. At first, the conversation was awkward–work, the weather, whether or not Vanessa had had difficulty finding the place. But then Vanessa asked Brooke what had gotten her interested in arboriculture, and Brooke had perked up, and Vanessa knew she’d hit the money.

It was a pretty cliche story, actually. Brooke had grown up on a produce farm in Ontario, where her family had grown everything from apples to cucumbers to even daisies and sunflowers. But what Brooke had always loved the most was the peaches, or, more specifically, the trees that they grew on.

“It was always so quiet in the orchard, and the ground is always so much softer around trees. It was perfect for laying down and just thinking.” Brooke mused, taking a sip of her wine, “And it always smelled so good. Not just the fruit—the trees.”

“I know what you mean!” Vanessa cut in, bouncing on her chair, “Dry bark and all that shit, put that with the fruit smell and the leaf smell and it’s better than an orgasm or some shit.”

The minute she realized what she’d said, she reddened, her hands flying up to her mouth as if to remind her to shut it for once in her damn life.

If Brooke’s bemused expression was any indication, though, she didn’t seem to mind.

“Better than an orgasm, huh?” She cocked an eyebrow, her voice dropping low and taking on a seductive drawl as she teased, “You sure about that?”

“Dunno,” Vanessa breathed, the sudden awareness of who Brooke was and what they were hitting her in more than just her chest. “Should we test it out?”

Then Brooke’s lips were on hers, pressing down in a slow, inviting kiss that Vanessa found herself craning to keep going.

“What do you think, baby girl, should mommy take you to the bedroom?” Brooke muttered when they finally separated, bringing a hand up to Vanessa’s cheek to cradle it gently. Vanessa whimpered, then nodded.

“Yes, mommy, please.”

Without another word, Brooke scooped Vanessa up and carried her to bed, kissing her all the while. The minute Vanessa hit the mattress, her hands were up, clambering for any part of Brooke that she could reach, only to be pinned back down again.

“No, baby. If you want to touch me, you’re gonna have to prove you deserve it.” Brooke murmured against Vanessa’s lips, her grip tightening as she moved along Vanessa’s jawline, biting and sucking down to her neck. “Think you can do that for me?”

Yes, anything you want, I’ll do anything.

But when Vanessa tried to get the words out, they caught in her throat, coming out in only a breathless, strangled moan. Brooke laughed.

“Good girl. Now, what do you say we get rid of these pesky clothes?”

“Yes please.” Vanessa gasped as Brooke straightened up, letting go of Vanessa’s wrists in favour of the collar of her shirt, toying with her buttons in an almost mocking tease.

“Yes please, what?” Brooke hummed, bringing her fingers to a stop while she waited for Vanessa’s answer, grinned as Vanessa squirmed with impatience underneath her.

“Yes please, mommy.” Vanessa breathed out a sigh of relief as Brooke resumed her work, finally stripping Vanessa down to her bra and beginning to undo the buttons of her jeans. She stopped suddenly, though, once she had pulled down the zipper, a peek of Vanessa’s panties revealing themselves underneath.

“Frogs.” Brooke looked down and blinked, stunned. Vanessa followed her gaze, only to turn crimson red at what she saw.

In her rush to get ready that evening, after her shower, she’d grabbed the first pair of panties she could see in her drawer, without realizing that it was a pair covered in cartoon frogs.

“Oh my God.” Vanessa brought a hand up to hide her face, her chest practically caving in with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”

Perfect, just fucking perfect–Brooke would probably think she was some frog-obsessed weirdo, would probably laugh at her for still wearing stuff that was so juvenile.

But when Brooke did laugh, it wasn’t mocking at all–rather, it was light and affectionate. “What for?” she mused, leaning down to give Vanessa a quick, fond peck on the lips. “It’s adorable.”

Thank God. Vanessa felt herself relax, all her tension leaving her as she exhaled deeply. Brooke, meanwhile, settled back down, a gleam of lust returning to her eyes as she brought Vanessa’s jeans down a little further, fully exposing Vanessa’s panties and giving her room to cup Vanessa’s cunt through the fabric.

“That being said,” she purred, kneading the area and grinding her palm into Vanessa’s clit, “As cute as they are, I do think they’re in the way, aren’t they?”

“Yes, mommy, so in the way.” Vanessa agreed with a shaky sigh, unable to keep her eyelids from becoming heavy under Brooke’s touch.

In no time at all, Vanessa’s panties had been discarded on the floor, leaving her cunt exposed for Brooke to begin playing with.

“I forgot how pretty your little pussy is,” Brooke mused, beginning to ghost her fingertips along Vanessa’s inner thighs, “And it’s all mine to play with tonight, lucky me.” she stopped just short of Vanessa’s vulva before trailing her fingers back down slowly, practically buzzing with a cruel sort of glee as she felt Vanessa shiver in the wake of her touch.

“Poor baby, you’re just aching for me, aren’t you, angel?” Brooke clicked her tongue, finally bringing a single finger to Vanessa’s slit and tracing her way up to just below the smaller girl’s clit, toying lightly with the area and smirking at how it made Vanessa go rigid.

“Please, mommy, please…”

“Please what?” Brooke batted her eyes with feigned innocence, adding another finger and finally easing them up to Vanessa’s clit before resting them there, pressed down but not moving. “Use your words, princess.”

“Please, oh fuck, please, mommy, please play with my pussy, please–”

“Good girl.” Brooke began to move her fingers in slow circles, and Vanessa felt herself melt into the touch, a wave of relief and pleasure washing over her and making her whole body feel light. Satisfied with the effect she had on the younger girl, Brooke leaned back down to take one of Vanessa’s nipples in her mouth, speeding up the pace of her circles and matching the pace of her fingers with her tongue.

Vanessa hardly remembered what happened next–a stream of words she didn’t hear herself say, a response from Brooke that she barely processed, a tenseness in her eyes as they squeezed shut against her orgasm, a feeling so intense that she could barely stand it. But stand it she did, for a second and third time before Brooke’s fingers finally let up, Vanessa’s eyes opening just in time to see Brooke licking Vanessa’s juices off her fingers with a satisfied smirk.

“Do you need a break?” Brooke checked in, climbing off of Vanessa long enough to plant a quick kiss on her cheek and scoop her into her arms. Vanessa shook her head.

“Alright then,” Brooke smiled with approval, straightening up and spreading her legs as if to invite Vanessa to settle between them. “Get to work.”

Vanessa wasted no time in moving where Brooke wanted her, kissing and sucking her way down Brooke’s body until she reached the taller woman’s clit, her heart soaring with excitement as Brooke sighed with contentment when her tongue finally came in contact with it. Vanessa began with slow, broad strokes, a tease that brought karma right back onto Brooke until her hand was knotted in Vanessa’s hair.

“Stop teasing, baby.” Brooke growled impatiently, pushing Vanessa’s face even closer to her cunt.

Well. If that was what Brooke wanted, who was Vanessa not to oblige? Laughing just a little against Brooke’s folds, she moved her tongue faster, honing in on the older woman’s clit and alternating between light, precise strokes with the tip of her tongue and deep, sucking kisses that left Brooke’s legs shaking on either side of Vanessa’s head.

Adorable.

“You like that, mommy?” Vanessa mused, drinking in her power with absolute pleasure as Brooke moaned loudly, unable to restrain herself from letting out a gasp when Vanessa sucked on her clit again, “You like when I suck you like that?”

“Yes, baby, yes I do…” Brooke gasped, her grip on Vanessa’s hair tightening still, pushing her even closer, begging for her to go even harder. Vanessa persisted, humming as she sped up her movements to a merciless pace.

Brooke came hard, her entire body seeming to lurch as Vanessa licked her through her orgasm, ceasing only when she felt Brooke’s hand drop heavily from its hold on her. When she moved up to Brooke’s level and settled into the crook of her arm, Brooke looked utterly sated, her cheeks flushed and covered in a thin sheet of sweat, her eyelids still hooded with residual pleasure.

“So, just curious,” Vanessa planted a slow, lingering kiss on Brooke’s cheek, her chest blooming with affection when Brooke sighed happily at the sensation, “We countin’ this as a date or what?”

“I mean, I was going to ask you out to dinner,” Brooke smiled sheepishly, turning to Vanessa and pulling her closer before returning her kiss, “But this works, too.”

Not for the last time that night, Vanessa thanked God that they both had the day off tomorrow.