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rising-volteccers · 4 months

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So this is just a self indulgent piece exploring a silly idea I had, where Friede latches on to the closest warm object when he's out of it. Thanks to @gem-in-the-horizon for giving me the idea to write up a sort of 5+1 piece and for inspiration on some of the scenes written here! I decided to fully embrace the self indulgence by framing some parts from the perspective of polycule Volt Tacklers (a ship between Friede, Orla, Mollie and Murdock) + a bit of Friede being a dad towards Roy haha!

Oh and Amethio gets to suffer a little too. Anyway, hopefully it's an enjoyable read! Spoilers for HZ033-HZ034.

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Friede, Ludlow, Orla, Mollie, Murdock, Roy and Amethio

---

Ludlow was no stranger to how unpredictable the seas could be. Seeing a smattering of gray clouds in the distance, he knew it was time to leave. While it was a shame to cut their fishing trip short, Ludlow preferred to be on land when the storm inevitably hits.

“Huh? We're heading back already, Gramps?” Friede questioned once he stored away his fishing rod.

“Mmhmm. The weather's changing. No sailor wants to be out on stormy seas if they could help it,” Ludlow explained, shuffling his way past Friede towards the helm.

“It's going to storm? Doesn't look like it.”

“Hohoho. You best not underestimate nature.” Ludlow’s hands were on the wheel. He lifted his head, peering at the clouds slowly encroaching. After a beat of silence, he opted to release his trusty Quagsire.

“We might need your help soon, my friend,” Ludlow spoke to his Quagsire. The amphibious Pokemon waddled past Friede who joined Ludlow by the helm.

“Is it really going to get that bad?” Ludlow caught the undercurrent of worry in his voice. He turned to look over his shoulder, his thick mustache lifting alongside the smile he flashed towards Friede.

“Don't worry. I'll make sure we get back to shore safely.”

True to Ludlow's claim earlier, they were met with rough, choppy waves once the storm fully rolled in. He masterfully steered the Asagi–with Quagsire’s aid in guiding through larger waves–back to Porto Marinada.

Once he docked the Asagi by the main port, only then did Ludlow release his hands from the steering wheel. Shoulders slumped alongside his soft sigh, it took several seconds for him to recall Friede's presence.

Looking behind him, Ludlow spotted his young charge huddled by the corner, knees drawn to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. It didn't take much for Ludlow to realize that this was possibly a terrifying experience for him. They were never out on the seas with anything less than perfect weather before this after all.

Feeling his heart twinge with concern, Ludlow shuffled his way towards Friede. He gently placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“Friede… it’s alright. We're back–ough!?” Ludlow's eyes briefly flew open when Friede's arms suddenly wound up around his small frame. Pulled against his chest, Ludlow didn't even think about struggling once he noticed the light trembles.

Ludlow relaxed his body to make it a bit more comfortable for himself. He raised a hand to gently pat Friede's back, offering quiet assurances for however long it took for him to calm down.

–

When Orla poked her head into the meeting room, her gaze softened upon spotting Friede fast asleep on the spare couch. From the scattered pieces of paper all over the ground, it seemed that he really was studying hard to earn his pilot license.

On the days where Orla worked on turning a fool’s dream into reality, Friede busied himself in Rustboro’s flight school, clocking in his flight hours and doing tests every other week. He returned periodically, both to see her progress and let her know of his own, all beaming smiles and wild hand gestures that never failed to draw out Orla’s own smile. His excitement was infectious, while his genuine awe and gratitude at her handiwork caused warmth to blossom in her chest.

Quietly closing the door behind her, Orla got to work in picking up the papers, stacking them on the table so she didn't accidentally step on it. After that, she grabbed a spare blanket from the pile of boxes tucked at a corner before making her way back to the couch.

Looking down at his slumbering form, she couldn't help but find him rather cute like this. Messy bangs covered one side of his face, lips parted slightly from the soft snores slipping out–she just about resisted the urge to reach out and brush back his bangs.

Orla briefly shook her head, then began the process of carefully draping the blanket over him.

When Friede shifted underneath it, she froze, hands still on the blanket. Orla looked at his face to see golden eyes slowly opening, blinking a couple of times before they flickered to her.

“Orla?” he mumbled, voice thick with sleep.

“Hey Friede, sorry for waking you up,” she began in a whispered voice. “I was just–”

Orla didn't get to finish her sentence. Faster than she could react, arms suddenly shot up from underneath the blanket, wrapping themselves around her back before pulling her down.

She let out an undignified yelp, just about throwing her hands out to prevent a collision with Friede's chest. Orla’s heart rate picked up when she realized the position she was in; half sprawled over Friede, her cheek pressed against his torso.

“F-Friede! What are you–!?” she squeaked, feeling her cheeks warm up. Orla tried to push herself up but Friede's arms trapped her in place.

“Mmm… warm…” came his confusing response before his breaths evened out, falling back into slumber.

Orla took a few deep breaths to calm down. Right, so it seemed that in his half awakened state, Friede decided to latch onto the closest warm object. She knew of his sensitivity to the cold, craving warmth even if he was struck by a simple breeze. That was why she wanted to cover him with the blanket, knowing full well that he'd whine about it later.

She knew that the best course of action was to pry herself loose from his arms. Orla still had a lot of work to do if she wanted to finish the airship on schedule.

Yet when an experimental wiggle prompted Friede to rest his cheek atop her head, mumbling cutely about passing his tests, she didn't have it in her to disturb his slumber.

Orla heaved out a deep, resigned sigh. Despite her feelings on the matter, a smile still curled her lips. Might as well get comfy if she had to play the part of an oversized Teddiursa bear.

(When his steady heartbeat eventually lulled her to sleep, Orla found herself dreaming of her childhood, to a time when they were two small kids with big dreams, where their whole worlds revolved around one another).

–

With a small paper bag tucked underneath her arm, Mollie exited the infirmary with her Chansey toddling behind her. She headed towards the living quarters located on the lower deck, passing by several of the wild Pokemon that opted to join them on their travels. Mollie flashed them a light smile before schooling her features once she spotted Orla standing outside.

“Hey, thanks for keeping watch,” Mollie said in lieu of greeting. “He didn't try to make an escape again, did he?”

“No problem! And nope, think he got the message last time. Or at least he’s finally exhausted himself enough to just stay in bed,” Orla replied, slightly shaking her head. “Honestly, he should have done that in the first place but…”

“You and I both know that he's incapable of staying still for long. Still, he needs plenty of rest if he wants to recover quickly.”

Mollie quickly learnt that Friede, when under the weather, became quite the menace of a patient. She wanted to believe that he wasn't intentionally crossing her orders but she could only take so much of his escape attempts before enough was enough.

She had a responsibility for the health and safety of this ship's occupants, which included making sure the sick stay in bed even when they really didn't want to. Luckily they were docked for a few days while waiting for Friede to get better, so Mollie employed Orla's aid whenever she had to grab stuff from the infirmary.

“It's pretty quiet in there so my guess is that he really did fall asleep. Means you'd have to wake him up.”

“Shouldn't be too hard,” Mollie uttered, passing by Orla to give gentle raps on the door. From the lack of a response, she slowly pushed it open and peeked her head inside.

True to Orla's assumption, Friede was fast asleep on his bed. He had his back to the wall, giving Mollie easy access to his peaceful, dozing expression.

Momentarily she felt guilty to wake him up but it was necessary that he took the medicine on time. Mollie switched on the light before crossing the short distance to his bed.

Looming over his form, Mollie placed a hand on Friede's shoulder, giving it a few light shakes.

“Friede, wake up.”

“Mmm…?” It appeared that she roused him from his slumber. Friede raised a clumsy hand to swipe at his face, yawning.

“C’mon, it's time for–”

Mollie would deny that she made any sort of noise when Friede, faster than she could react, reached up to wrap his arms around her. She’d insist that she did not squeak upon realizing the precarious position of being on top of him flushed against this chest. It was just the surprise that increased her heart rate, the close proximity to his fevered skin that made her cheeks warm.

Mollie had little chance to free herself. Friede already had more (defined) muscle mass in the first place. His surprisingly strong grip with his (toned) arms reminded her of an Octillery that caught its prey (not that she'd see herself as one but–)

“Orla help!”

“Mollie? What happened–oh.” Orla had rushed in at the call but paused once she took in the sight. Much to Mollie's rising embarrassment, Orla stifled her giggles behind a gloved hand.

“It's Friede he just–grabbed me like this!”

“Yeah he does that sometimes. When he's out of it, he tends to grab the nearest warm object within arm's length. In this case, I'd say you were unfortunate. Or maybe fortunate…?”

Mollie didn't think it was possible for her cheeks to get any redder. In any case, Orla did eventually help her out (but not before snapping a photo).

–

“Hey Murdock. Muuuurrdooock…”

Murdock paused in his task of drying off the plates. He mentally counted down from three in his head before looking over his shoulder, expression schooled into a light smile.

“Yes Friede? What is it this time?”

“Nothing. Just wanna–wanna say you’re preeetttyyy….”

Arceus above please grant him strength. Murdock fought to keep his smile in place even as warmth crept up his cheeks. He nodded once in response, then went back to his task before any more distractions cropped up.

Who would've thought that Friede was such a lightweight? After the success of a rather lucrative mission, the crew decided to celebrate. Murdock had the chance to make some nice cocktails as a rare treat, though nothing too strong as per Mollie's request.

It became apparent after the first glass that Friede didn't hold his drink very well. He became a rather giggly sort of drunk, spouting off whatever that came to mind. So not too different from his usual self.

Except he lacked even more of a filter, or maybe he was honestly revealing his true thoughts when he waxed tales of how beautiful Orla’s eyes were, how much he loved Mollie's hair and–oh boy, did Friede have some words to share about him.

Murdock tried not to melt underneath the barrage of drunken compliments. It didn't help that Mollie and Orla joined him, being in various degrees of tipsiness themselves. Though not as nearly gone as Friede.

In the end, Murdock convinced his partners to get some rest before they partied too hard. After he made them drink some water first, that left him alone with Friede, who was far too sloshed to make it to his room safely. Murdock wouldn't put it past him to trip and break his leg or something in his drunken stumble.

Hearing him babble about anything and everything was rather endearing, albeit distracting. Especially when Friede felt the need to call for him, just to spout off a compliment about how pretty he was for the umpteenth time.

It never failed to make Murdock feel a tad embarrassed, not used to such words given to him. He was still finding his place in this relationship, and while he didn't feel like he lacked anything in comparison skill wise, he just didn't think he was as physically attractive as his partners.

So while Friede was influenced by alcohol in his system, Murdock didn't doubt the sincerity of his words. That was one of the reasons he fell for his captain in the first place after all.

Eventually, Murdock cleaned the kitchen enough to be satisfied. The only thing left to do was to bring Friede back to his room before retiring to his own quarters for the night.

Murdock approached his drunken partner, who by that point had fallen into a light doze. Friede rested his chin atop folded arms, a healthy flush coloring his cheeks. Maybe Murdock could see about having him drink water too later.

For now, he gently placed a hand on Friede's shoulder, giving it a light shake. That appeared to rouse him, so Murdock got a nice view of Friede blinking sleepily, one hand clumsily swiping at his eyes.

“Hey, how about we get you to–woah!” Contrary to how he looked, Friede's reflexes didn't match his drunken state. Murdock suddenly had to offset the abrupt weight clinging to his front, his arms automatically wrapping themselves around Friede.

“Murdock! Murdooockk missed you!” Friede giggled, and Murdock just about short circuited when he felt the nuzzling against this chest. He didn't think it was possible to get any redder than he did earlier but clearly, he was mistaken.

After he took a few breaths to calm down, Murdock decided that it'd be a waste of effort to try and get Friede to let go. He heard stories of how strong his grip could be, and Murdock just didn't have the energy to deal with that right now.

So what he ended up doing was hooked his arms beneath Friede, pulling him up further so Murdock could carry him. At the shift in position, Friede wound up wrapping his arms around Murdock's neck, resting his cheek against the crook of it, still giggling softly.

“Murdock. Muuuurrdooock. Love you…”

While Friede might not remember this in the morning, Murdock still responded with, “Love you too.”

–

Crossing paths with the Rising Volt Tacklers meant an inevitable clash against their infuriating captain. Amethio wasted no time in issuing his challenge when he came across Friede, who foolishly parted from his crew upon realizing his approach.

“No need to drag anyone else in this. This shouldn't take too long,” came his simple reply, lips set in a challenging smirk.

Amethio’s left eye twitched from that taunt, though he kept himself composed to release Ceruledge. Friede mirrored him by bringing out his Charizard. For a moment, no one issued any commands, both Trainer and Pokemon staring down their respective opponents.

Friede broke the stalemate by ordering a Dragon Claw. Amethio ordered Ceruledge to block it, thus activating its Weak Armor. Now with the speed advantage, he had Ceruledge use Psycho Cut to create some distance.

Predictably, Friede ordered Charizard to pull back in order to dodge the psychic blade.

“Night Slash!” Amethio took that brief moment by having Ceruledge press its advantage, dashing towards Charizard with its glowing arm blades.

“Tch–Air Slash! Don't let it get close!”

Charizard did as such, its wings briefly glowing white before a bevy of air slashes were fired off towards Ceruledge.

“Now, use Phantom Force!”

Ceruledge parried one of the air slashes with its blade before jumping back towards the formed portal. Both Charizard and Friede paused, eyes going this way and that to seek out where Ceruledge would pop out.

“There! Spin tail before using Dragon Claw!” Just as Ceruledge emerged behind Charizard, the dual-type spun around, using its hefty tail to nail Ceruledge. Though before it could follow that up with Dragon Claw, Ceruledge's Weak Armor activated, granting it another speed boost to just barely avoid those glowing claws.

“Psycho Cut! Don't give it any breathing room!”

Ceruledge first jumped back to create distance once again. Then it fired off several blades of psychic energy towards Charizard.

What Amethio didn't take into account was the Pokemon’s distance from Friede. Charizard dodged or parried most of the Psycho Cuts but one did veer dangerously close to Friede.

Amethio saw how the older Trainer dodged, causing the blade to hit the bush behind him instead. There was a miniature explosion from the impact, though nothing that would stop the pair from their battle.

That was, until an angry looking Shiinotic popped out from the damaged bush. Amethio found himself calling out a warning instead when the Grass-type puffed up.

Friede turned around just in time to get a face full of glowing spores. Charizard and Ceruledge paused in their battle at the eruption of coughs, and Amethio felt a small chill trail down his spine when moments later, Friede just… collapsed.

As much as he wanted to beat him, Amethio didn't want Friede to actually get hurt. His steps carried him towards Friede's fallen form while Charizard angrily chased after the Shiinotic, furious at its attack on its Trainer.

Amethio fell to his knees, eyes immediately roving over still body. At least Friede seemed to be breathing based on the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He couldn't tell how badly affected Friede was from the spore so Amethio took off a glove, intending to check for his pulse.

That proved to be a huge mistake on his end. The moment Amethio leaned in and had two fingers to the side of Friede's neck, an arm suddenly shot up to wrap around his waist. Moments later, Amethio collided against Friede's chest when the guy abruptly pulled him close.

That moment knocked the breath out of Amethio but it didn't take long before he started struggling.

“What are you–let me go!” he snarled, any hints of concern evaporating once he heard the soft snores. This guy was just fast asleep! How dare he grab him like this?

Amethio didn't expect such strength from Friede's lanky arms. No matter how much he struggled, the guy held on like a Grapploct. Even Ceruledge just sort of stood nearby, uncharacteristically hesitant in the face of its Trainer’s desperation.

Briefly Amethio considered ordering Ceruledge to Bitter Blade Friede's butt into next Sunday but his pesky morals kept buzzing at the back of his mind. He released an aggravated sigh, then redoubled his efforts into freeing himself from the Vice Grip.

At some point, Amethio thought that getting into a different position would give him enough wiggle room to slip out. His plan of rolling on their side backfired horribly when Friede (who remained infuriatingly asleep) lazily rolled half on top of Amethio instead, one leg now pinning both of Amethio's in place.

As if to add insult to injury, Friede lightly nuzzled the top of Amethio's head, messing up his hair.

Only Ceruledge saw how apoplectic with rage he became. If Amethio elbowed the guy in the stomach or kneed him at a spot where the sun didn't shine, well, it was entirely deserved.

Maybe if he got lucky, Amethio could get out of this mess before anyone saw him.

(He was not lucky. Amethio very nearly considered asking for Spinel’s expertise in erasing a snapped picture that now existed in one of the RVTs Rotom Phones but he wasn't that desperate. Yet).

–

After his talk with Diana, Friede quietly left the observation deck, mind filled with various thoughts. Today had been more action packed than usual, filled with danger that they narrowly avoided.

Had Terapagos not… shifted like it did, Friede wasn't keen on their chances of getting past Rayquaza unscathed. He already had his hands full in keeping Roy back, and after the Legendary became enraged at Amethio's abrupt challenge, he didn't think even Charizard and Cap could stop its rampage.

Speaking of Roy, he recalled the surge of fear when he saw the shockwave heading towards the boy. Roy might not have gotten badly hurt but Friede didn't want to risk it, his body surging forward to cover Roy in a protective embrace.

He remembered the growing frustration of his insistence in fighting Rayquaza. Roy did have a one track mind when it came to the Legendary but he didn't realize it was to the extent of not recognising the danger they were in. While Friede typically supported his goal, that wasn't a moment to let Roy do what he wanted.

Friede promised his grandfather to keep Roy safe after all.

Above all, Friede couldn't shake off the mild concern at Roy's despondent mood throughout dinner time. Sure it wasn't as lively as usual (unsurprising considering the day they had) but seeing Roy eat only two servings as opposed to his usual three was rather surprising.

Roy waved off Murdock's worried question, citing his exhaustion for the lack of appetite. No one pushed him about it, so dinner ended with everyone choosing to retire early for the night.

Well, mostly everyone.

Sighing softly, Friede raised his hand to gently scratch Cap underneath his chin.

“Guess we should get some sleep too, eh Cap?”

At the nod, Friede made his way to the lower deck. Just as he rounded the corner towards the living quarters, he paused in his steps.

There, sitting right outside of his room was Roy. He was hugging Fuecoco to his chest, chin resting atop the Fire-type’s head. Even from where he stood, Friede could tell that the boy was fast asleep.

Now the question was why did he come here?

Friede quietly approached the boy, glancing down at his half slumped form against the door. He crouched down till he was eye level with Roy before placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a few light shakes.

“Hey Roy, wake up. It's more comfy to sleep in your room–huh?”

Friede barely had time to react when one of Roy’s arms suddenly shot up, hooking itself behind Friede's neck, his other one still holding on to Fuecoco. Roy then pulled himself close to Friede, tucking himself against his torso.

On Friede's end, he just about kept his balance from the sudden added weight. He remained crouched, one arm going around Roy’s body to keep him secured, an instinctive gesture for the most part.

“Pika?”

“Ah… guess I'm in a bit of a pickle,” he murmured, eyes flickering to Cap. Then it went to Roy, who remained blissfully unaware of the predicament he placed himself in.

Briefly Friede considered his options. In the end, he decided that it was easier to just bring him back to his room instead of waking him up. With that plan in mind, Friede hooked one arm underneath Roy’s knees. Using the wall for balance, he slowly rose to his feet, carefully adjusting his grip on Roy until he was standing upright.

Roy merely nuzzled his cheek against Friede's chest. Once he got to Roy’s room, getting the boy to let go had been quite the challenge but he managed it in the end. Just as Friede tucked Roy and Fuecoco in, he just about caught faint mumbles that sounded suspiciously like thank you.

Friede didn't know if Roy was even awake but it sparked something warm within his chest, a feeling that he carried with him all the way back to his own room much later.

#Pokemon Horizons #Anipoke #Pokeani #Professor Friede #Orla (Pokemon)#Mollie (Pokemon)#Murdock (Pokemon)#Ludlow (Pokemon)#Amethio (Pokemon)#Roy (Pokemon)#RisingVoltTacklersShipping #Hana writes stuff #Just going to use that as the ship name for whatever pieces I write about this polycule in the future

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jeankluv · 9 months

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Snow on the beach || Trafalgar Law x fem!reader

Chapter I: The new girl

Words count: 3,8k

Warnings: none(?)

Notes: this is inspired by one of my fav books, it will be a multiple part story, I still don’t know how many but please enjoy. Sorry if there are any mistakes English is not my first language.

Materialist || Next chapter →

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

You still didn’t know what you were doing in that place, it was freezing, isolated and without any coverage. But you need it, you need to be away from everyone you knew, you need to find yourself and leave those toxic thoughts and people.

You took a deep breath and looked at the map, the house you were going to be staying, it was far from the station, really far.

“Shit…” You said under your breath. “I really booked the most isolated house in the whole town, didn’t I?”

You sighed and started walking, carrying your bags. Despite the freezing weather there was no snow, so you were grateful for it or else you wouldn’t make it to the house.

There wasn’t a single soul in the streets, you could understand why, the weather was freezing. You should’ve called a taxi or a Uber, although it was probably impossible there were any around here. You kept walking, making small stops to catch your breath. It was until a car passed you by and slowed down parking a few meters away from you. You froze, you have seen enough crime documentaries and films to know how this works. The man that got out started walking towards you, waving his hand. Before reaching for you, he slipped and fell to the ground.

“Eh?” You let out.

“Auch!” The man sat and started sobbing his head. “Always the same…”

“You okay?” You said without moving. Holding strongly to your suitcase, just in case you need it to throw in his direction and run away.

The man then stood and started walking towards you. I’m going to die, y/n you have to react! He is much bigger than you but you are faster!

“Young lady! My name is Rosinante, I’m a police officer in the town!” He said, once he was close enough.

A police officer? Dressed like that? You thought about looking at his clothes. He was wearing a heart shirt and… a dark red hood with two heart-like shapes hanging?

“Oh! I know I don’t look like one but here, look!” He said showing his license, he really was a police officer. “Sorry if I scared you! But I was going back home from my shift and I saw you carrying those suitcases with you. Where are you heading to, young lady?”

“It doesn’t matter… Now, if you let me I would like to keep going, sir.” You said starting to walk.

“I can take you. It seems like we are heading in the same direction!” He smiled.

You were really hesitant, could you really trust him? But the sun was already setting and you were still far from the rented house, so it could be a good option to accept his offer, besides he didn’t look like a bad guy.

“Okay… thank you, sir.” You said.

He took one of the suitcases and started walking to his car. “Please call me Corazon or Cora-san. I’m not that old to be called sir.”

You simply nodded. Corazon? Is it because of all the hearts in his shirt?

“You don’t talk too much eh?” He said once both of you were in the car. “What’s your name?”

“No sorry, I’m just tired… my name is y/n.” You smiled.”

“Nice name and tell me y/n, what are you doing in this small town?”

“Getting away from everything, I guess.” You really didn’t want to talk your head hurt and you didn’t want to bother a stranger about your personal problems.

You just wanted to get in a bed and sleep for the next 24 hours at least, your body was exhausted after traveling so much.

“You came to the perfect place then.” He smiled. “This has to be one of the most remote places on earth. Getting away from the busy and fast life of the big cities will be easy here.”

You wished it was only getting away from that type of life but it was much more than that. He didn’t say a word after that, you guessed he understood that you didn’t want to talk about it, so he stayed silent.

“You’re staying in the house that is in front of the beach right? The old lady that used to live there moved back with one of her sons and now it’s for rent, so I guess you will be staying there.” He spoke after a couple of minutes.

“Yeah…” You simply responded.

“That’s great! We will be neighbors!” He said. You gave him a small smile.

The trip continued for a couple of more minutes, until he stop on the side of the road. You looked outside the window and saw the same house that you found on the website when you were searching for a place to stay. Corazon helped you getting your suite cases from his car and take them to the door of the house.

“Thank you, for helping me.”

“Don’t mention it, now that we are neighbors you can come and ask for anything. If I’m not at my home, I will probably be at the police station.” He said placing the suite case in the floor.

“Thank you again Corazon.” You smiled at him.

“Alright y/n! It was nice to meet you! I hope we can get a long.” He smiled.

You both said goodbye and you entered your new house. You took a deep breath, you were exhausted and the house felt so cold, not only for the fact that outside there was probably five degrees and inside there must be like ten or so but because everything looked so empty and lonely.

You sighed, at search for a heater or something to warm the house. You looked around but you couldn’t find anything, there was only a chimney but you didn’t know how it worked.

“Shit…” You murmured.

You opened your suite and took a jersey from it and took one of the blankets that you found in the house. You covered yourself with it and prepared a tea, there wasn’t almost anything in the house. Tomorrow you need to go to the town and buy food. But for now, you could only drink that tea and go to sleep.

You were exhausted, so falling asleep that day wasn’t difficult and almost after throwing yourself into the bed you fell completely asleep. It wasn’t until the next morning you woke up with the sound of someone banging on your door. You looked around, a bit confused after sleeping so much. Checking the clock you saw it was ten in the morning. You drag your feet to the entrances and look who was outside, it was Corazon dressed in his police outfit.

You opened the door and greeted him. “Good morning Corazon.”

“Good morning y/n! Did you sleep well?” He smiled at you.

“I did, thank you again for yesterday.”

“Stop thanking me. I’m here because I’m on my way to the town and I assumed that you would need to stop by the supermarket. So if you want I'll take you there.”

“Oh! But you probably need to go to work, I can go on my own. So please don’t worry.”

“Y/n, if I’m offering it’s because I can and I want, so please don’t worry.”

You considered his offer for a moment, it would really help if someone could bring you closer to the town, you knew there was a bus but it passed every hour, you had discovered it the hard way when you arrived at the station yesterday. It is true that you could wait for it to happen again but Corazon really seemed determined to take you. So you nodded and told him yes, he told you that he would wait for you outside while you got ready, so you went to get ready quickly, you didn't want to make him wait too long either.

You cleaned up and put on something a little warm, you really didn't know if you were going to be able to get used to that climate at some point. When you decided to come here it was because of the beautiful beach and the tranquility that seemed to exist, not because of the cold and winter had not yet arrived, so you were really afraid of what winter would be like in this place.

You left the house and saw that Corazon was already in his car. You got in it and Corazon started the car to go to town. The trip to the town was quiet, Corazon told you about the town so you could get to know it better, she also told you that you could go to the police station if you had any problems.

"This may be very nosy of me, but do you plan to look for a job in town?"

“Oh… yes, I have money saved but it will eventually run out, so if I would like to look for a job. Do you know any place that is looking for a worker?” You turned your face, looking at him.

He stood there for a moment without saying anything. “Mmmm… I think the restaurant of the town might be looking for a new waitress. You could ask the owner, Zeff, if they need a new worker.”

“I will, thank you for your help Corazon.”

“Do not mention it and I know I already told you but if you need anything, you can always come to the police station.” He stopped the car, you already arrived at the center of the town. “If I’m not in the police station you can either ask for Sengoku or in the hospital ask for my son, Law. But don’t worry, everyone is really nice around here, I’m sure you will get along really well.” He smiled.

“I will keep it in mind. Now I will go and start exploring the town.” You joke. “Thank you for the ride. I will see you around.” You said leaving the car.

“Bye bye y/n!” He said and left with the car.

You looked around, Corazon left you in the center of the town where most shops were, well actually the few shops. You decided to do the necessary shopping first and then go to the restaurant to ask if they needed people. You entered what seemed to be a supermarket, the establishment was relatively empty, you knew that few people lived in the town but it was also quite early, so it was normal that it was almost empty. You began to look and take what is necessary to start in your new "home". The people who came across you greeted you, almost as they had known you all their lives, Corazon was really right. With what you need already in the car, you paid for everything and left the establishment. Time had passed faster than you expected as you went from store to store, buying what you needed, until you arrived at the restaurant that Corazon had mentioned, the only one in town. You entered it, finding yourself in a cozy environment full of noise.

“OI SANJI!!! I WANT MORE MEAT!” You heard someone screaming from the other side of the restaurant.

“Give me a damn minute!” A blonde guy who was serving responded.

“You’re too slow stupid cook” Was a green haired guy who talked this time.

The blonde guy stopped what he was doing and turned around to face the guy. “What did you say stupid bastard!”

You watched them as they fought, wondering what to do, everything was so crowded and everyone there seemed busy at the moment.

“Excuse me.” You approached one of the people there. “Do you know anyone named Zeff?”

“Zeff? Yeah he…” But the person was cut out before ending the sentence.

“Hello beautiful lady.” The blonde guy from earlier appeared right next to you, making you jump. “My ask, my lady, why are you looking for that old man?”

“I was told that they might need people to work here, so I’m looking for him.”

Before the blonde guy could speak and an old man appeared from inside the kitchen, he was told that he had a long mustache.

“Sanji, stop bothering the young lady.” The old man told the blonde guy, Sanji sighed and murmured something for himself while the old man approached both of you. “I’m Zeff. So you want to work with us?”

You nodded. “Yes I just moved in and I’m looking for a job. I was told that you might have a job for me here.”

“Yes we have a place for you, since this little bastard is always getting distracted.” He pointed at the blonde guy named Sanji. “Your help would be very useful.”

“Thank you so much sir.”

“Please call me just Zeff. Would you like to stay for a bit and see how things work around here? Don’t worry I will be paying you if you stay.” He joked.

“Oh yeah, of course. I would like to start as soon as I can.”

“Alright, Sanji, teach the new girl how things work out here and when your friends leave, come inside to show her everything.” Sanji nodded. “And don't flirt with her, you understand?”

“Yes old man.” He said with a sigh.

“You know I will kick your ass if she mentions feeling uncomfortable or anything right?” Sanji looked in another direction ignoring Zeff. “By the way, I haven’t asked you your name.”

“It’s y/n.”

“Well y/n welcome here.” He said and left, leaving you with Sanji.

“Well my lady.” He turned to look at you with the biggest smile on his face. “Come with me, I will show you around this shitty place.”

Sanji started to show you around, how the things worked there, he also showed you the kitchen, where you had the opportunity to meet the rest of the workers.

“You’re the only waitress here?” You asked him when both of you got out of the kitchen.

“Yes, I’m actually a chef but most of the time I’m out here working as a waitress. Weekends are busier since a lot of people come to spend their days near the sea, but now that you’re here my lady, everything will be easier.” He smiled.

You were about to respond when an orange haired girl spoke. “Sanji, stop flirting with everyone you see, the poor girl will end up running away.”

“It’s okay… don’t worry.” You looked at her.

“Please don’t be so polite.” She smiled at you. “I’m Nami. And these two are Luffy and Zoro.” She pointed at the two boys behind her, you recognize them as the loud boy screaming for meat and as the green haired boy that was fighting with Sanji earlier.

“HI!! You’re new in town right?!” The black haired guy said with a bright smile. “I’m Luffy, let’s be friends alright?”

His energy was overwhelming and his smile was so calm and heartwarming.

“Luffy, you will scare her.” Nami told her friend. “Sorry for that, he is always full of energy.”

“I can see but it’s nice. Nice to meet you Luffy.” You smiled at him.

The particular group chatted with you for a few minutes, mainly Luffy and Nami spoke, the green haired guy named Zoro, only said a few words. Nami mentioned that you needed to meet the rest of the gang and join them from time to time since you were new in the town. They all made you feel welcomed. The three of them said their goodbyes and left, leaving you and Sanji to clean and work for the rest of the missing day

“Where do you leave y/n? It’s already getting dark outside so I could…”

“Don’t worry Sanji, I will take the bus. Don’t worry.” You told him.

Sanji nodded and you both said goodbye, you went to the bus stop to go back home. Unlike your hometown, the bus stop did not indicate what time the next bus would pass. So you sat in the seat to wait for the only bus that took you home to pass. The minutes began to pass when you noticed that you hadn't taken your shopping bags and your bag with your keys and everything were in the restaurant. You cursed yourself and ran back to the restaurant, but as you feared, it was already closed.

You tried to call, hoping that someone was inside and that they would open it for you, but nothing, there was no answer.

“This has to be a joke…” You whispered. “Fuck!”

How was it possible that whenever things seemed to be going well, everything would break down and go to shit? You didn't want to upset Corazon, but in those moments he was your only option and salvation. Hopefully he was still at the police station. With heavy feet you headed for the police station, trying to think of how you would tell Corazon that you had been clueless enough to leave all your belongings in the restaurant.

“Are you going to go in?” A deep voice spoke behind you.

You turned to see a tall, dark-haired young man. Waiting for you to step aside so he could pass and enter the station.

“Oh… yes. Actually, do you work here? I’m looking for Corazon? He told me I could find him here…”

“Corazon?” He softly spoke. “He is inside.” He said and moved to get in.

You followed him and heard him calling Corazon in a familiar way, they were probably close. You then saw Corazon appearing from the corner with a big smile.

“Oh kid you’re here already? Did your shift already end?” He said and hugged the dark-haired guy.

The guy nodded and said something that you couldn’t heard from where you were. Corazon then looked in your direction.

“Y/n!! Hello, I didn’t see you there.” He approached you. “How are you? Did you enjoy your day in the town? Met a lot of people?”

“Yes, it was really fun and I already got a job.” You smiled. “But I have a problem… I left all my belongings at the restaurant, I can’t go back home or enter it.”

Corazon stared at you and you could also feel how the tall boy that Corazon had hugged was looking at you. Barely 24 hours had passed since you met Corazon and he had already seen your clumsy and clueless side. Stupid y/n you thought to yourself.

“Really? Oh my y/n, you went back to the restaurant to try and take it back.” You nodded but Corazon was already answering his own question. “Of course you did, silly me. Well don’t worry, it happens all the time…”

“No it doesn’t.” The tall guy spoke.

Corazon looked at him and then to you smiling. “Don’t worry y/n, it happens. You can stay with us tonight, we have a spare room where you can stay.”

“I’m so sorry for …”

“y/n stop apologizing, okay?”

“But…”

“No buts, now I will go and get my things. You two.” He said pointing at you and the guy. “Wait for me outside. And Law smiled a bit more, you will scare y/n with that face.” He smiled and left.

So that’s Law, Corazon mentioned him in the morning. So this is his son? You looked at him.

“Are you going to come or are you going to stay there?” Said getting out. You followed him silently and stood next to him.

“So… you’re Corazon’s son?” You tilted your head. He didn’t respond and simply stood there watching the entrance of the station. “He told me you work in the hospital.”

“I do.”

You hummed, he was nothing like his father. Corazon came out and the three of you got in the car to go to their place. Corazon was the one making the conversation, while you talked from time to time. Law didn’t say anything during the whole trip and when you arrived he was the first one to leave the car without a word. You and Corazon got out of the car to go into the house. You were really having blind trust in Corazon, but somehow being around him made you calm, safe.

Upon entering the house you noticed something different from yours, it was that warmth and feeling of home that yesterday when you entered your new home there was not. The walls had pictures of Corazon along with some people you didn't know and Law. You stared at an image of what appeared to be Law as a child holding a frog and a scalpel.

“Law has always been a big fan of surgeries.” Corazon laughed behind you.

“Is he the surgeon here?”

“No, he is just a doctor, we don’t have the equipment to do operations in this small town, you have to go to a bigger town or city.”

You kept watching the pictures, noticing that there weren't any pictures of Law as a baby or Corazon and Law together when Law was little.

“y/n come here.” You went where Corazon was. “You haven’t eaten anything right?”

“I eat something at the restaurant before closing.” You told him.

“You sure you don’t want to do anything? We have plenty of food.”

“No it’s okay, I would like to go to sleep.”

Corazon nodded and showed you the bedroom where you were going to spend the night, he also gave you some old clothes that he had so you could sleep with. When he left, you changed and went to sleep. You woke up hours later, you knew it only had passed a few hours because it was still dark outside but you really needed to drink some water, so you went for a drink. Not expecting to find anyone you walk to the kitchen but there he was Law, reading a book in the middle of the night in the kitchen.

“Hi…” You whispered, not wanting to disturb Corazon who was probably sleeping.

You didn’t get a response, but you knew he heard you because he looked at you. Why was he like that?

“Isn't it too late to be reading?” You asked him while drinking the water.

“You ask a lot of questions you know?”

“And you don’t respond to any of them.”

He stayed quiet, reading and passing the pages of the book he was reading.

“Are you always this rude? I’m trying to be nice and…”

“I don’t want you to be nice or be your friend.” He closed the book and stood up.

“You…” But before even speaking he left the kitchen and disappeared in the darkness of the hallway.

You tried to be positive, that he was just probably tired and that’s why he had that attitude towards you, after all you were a new face, who appeared out of nowhere and was staying the night at his house. You would speak again with him in the morning to fix everything and start all over.

“Be positive y/n.” You told yourself before falling asleep in the bed.

————-

And that’s it for the first chapter, please let me know your opinion on it 🫶

See ya ❤️

#trafalgar law x y/n #trafalgar d law x reader #law x reader #trafalgar law x you #trafalgar law x reader #one piece x reader #trafalgar law #trafalgar d water law

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sirianasims · 3 months

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I was near my due date when Griffin called a house meeting.

“Listen guys, as much as I love living here with y’all, I’ll be moving out in a few months. Daria and I are getting married, can you believe it? So we’re moving in together, probably buying a house in the suburbs where we can pretend that we’re real, functional adults.”

Jessica squealed with excitement.

“Whaaat? You proposed to Daria?”

“Of course not. She proposed to me.”

I was stunned. I mean, it wasn’t like it was against the law or anything, but I didn’t know any other girls who had done that.

“Freya, stop looking like you’ve seen a ghost. Daria is a woman who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to get it. Why should she wait around for me to stop slacking? It’s one of the things I love most about her. She takes charge. Everywhere.”

He winked.

Jessica punched him in the shoulder.

“Too much information, Griffster. It’s more than enough that we can hear you guys sometimes.”

“Sorry, I’d ask her to keep it down, but the gag makes it hard for me to speak, you see.”

“Griffin!”

“And the handcuffs make it impossible to remove the gag!”

We all laughed, but I couldn’t quite let the mental picture of Griffin and Daria go.

We had all been unfortunate enough to walk in on them by accident. It was definitely something you only did once before you learned to always knock, even if the door was ajar.

Samuel and I were quite the opposite. He was so careful with me, like I was something fragile, or an easily spooked animal. And not just because I was heavily pregnant, it had been like that since the first time.

And he wasn’t just controlled in bed. Sometimes, if he was frustrated about something, he felt like a tightly wound spring that could go off at any time, but he never did. Samuel was always measured, composed, and polite.

I wanted to make him lose that control, just a little. The sex wasn’t bad, not that I had much to compare with, but we had definitely never been at risk of disturbing the neighbours the way Griffin and Daria did.

That night, I was awakened by a dull ache in my back, much stronger than the small twinges of pain I’d been feeling for a few days now. I woke Samuel up.

“I think it’s time.”

“Is she asleep?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

Samuel came over and put his arms around me. For a moment, we just looked at her.

Hailey. Our daughter. We’d made her and now she was here. Even though it had been almost a month, the thought still blew my mind. And scared me.

When I learned to drive, someone told me what to do and what not to do, and gave me a license afterwards to prove that I knew what I was doing. There were no licenses for babies. They just let you take them home from the hospital by yourself, expecting you to figure it out.

It was terrifying. And amazing.

“Samuel, I want another one.”

He let out a quiet laugh.

“Another baby? Freya, we just had Hailey. Not only would your body benefit from at least a full year to recover, we also need to figure out what we’re doing when Griffin moves out.”

“I know. But I want more, I want at least two or three. And I don’t want them to be ten years apart like me and my sister. I want them to be friends.”

“I get that, but still. And don’t you want some time back at work before we have more kids?”

I looked at Hailey. She was so tiny, so fragile. She depended on us for everything. Back to work meant endless training, weekends and evenings spent on matches. And Samuel would work long hours when he became a resident doctor. We’d be leaving Hailey with strangers for most of the day.

“No. Samuel, I don’t want to go back. Could we… could I maybe stay at home for a while? I don’t want to get a nanny or send her to daycare. I want to be there for her. And you’re going to be so busy when you start your residency, she’d never see either of us.”

“Freya, are you sure? If you skip out on your contract, you risk never getting signed again. What if you can’t go back? And how long would you stay home? Have you thought this through?”

“Samuel, this is really important to me. I don’t care about the contract. I want to stay home until we’re done having kids, maybe until the youngest gets ready for kindergarten. And if that takes ten years, then I’ll figure out what to do then. I just – I don’t want to abandon our baby.”

“Daycare is hardly abandonment. I know you have some issues, but I promise she’d be perfectly fine. But listen, this is your decision, your career, and I’m not going to argue. If you feel this strongly about it, we’ll make it work.”

“I do. Thank you.”

He put his arms around me again, pressing his cheek against mine.

“I guess I better look for residency somewhere affordable, then.”

beginning / previous / next

#duchellilegacy #duchellichapters #duchelligen4 #freya duchelli #jessica clemons #samuel ward #griffin hart #daria moon #hailey duchelli

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cottagegay · 2 years

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Autistic Trans Man in Recovery Needing Financial Help

Hello all! That's right, just like it says on the tin, I am an autistic trans man in recovery from substance abuse and alcholism in need of financial help. Most specifically I have been spending these months in recovery/sobriety reorienting my life and getting things in order for myself to be in a better place than I have ever been. There have been good days and bad days, but I am still going regardless.

I am currently going through a program to go into trade school and things are going well! I've taken my aptitude test and have two seperate entities who are willing to reach out for work in the short term until I am able to start my apprenticeship. Problem is, the process could take up to two weeks before I get a call back and possible job opportunities.

In the mean time, I have needs that have to be met:

- Food & water.

- Transportation to medical care namely gender affirming care/HRT and my first ever OBGYN appointment to date.

- Transportation to temp work when it becomes available to me.

- Apprenticeship licensing fees/training fees/other application and set up fees.

I will include below the cut specifics of my situation and costs but if you are able and willing to give even a small amount my PayPal is one of the easiest ways to give. I also have venmo, zelle, and cashapp if you want to message me directly for information.

Tldr for below the cut; My rent is taken care of but I have an upcoming doctor's appointment I will have to Uber too costing about $60-$80 round trip and a $20 apprenticeship licensing fee that needs to be finished before I can get my job as well as costs to keep myself fed before I can get this job. Anything helps!

So! To get to the nitty gritty! I have an upcoming OBGYN appointment (my first ever) on Sept 19th. Due to it being at an LGBT+ outreach center and my qualification of being in sober living the appointment itself is free. Problem is, any follow up treatments and most notable *transportation* isn't. Where I'm currently located there is no access to public transportation and no one able to transport me, basically just leaving ride share as my only option.

This is the current estimate for a one way trip to the clinic. Prices can change depending on surge pricing, available riders, and so forth. Having had to take this exact trip before I've seen it range from as low as $29 to $40. I might be able to call in a favor to be picked up by someone after the appointment but have no one to rely on to get me to the appointment. This appointment and any food costs take utmost priority with any money given as this is my health and well being.

The next priority would be the apprenticeship licensing. I am required to have this to begin working as a full apprentice in the trade I am going to school for. In the meantime I can work as a helper for lesser pay but can't start the schooling part of the program without the license to work.

The cost for licensing is $20 and is the bare minimum of what I need to have done before starting work. Other fees I can work on paying and doing after I begin work but include things like OSHA 10 certification (~$40), and hand tools (~$100). These are NOT musts or time sensitive!!! Just context for what money will go toward once my needs are met.

Finally, transportation to and from temporary jobs: I have a bike and have been getting myself where I need to go that way. Problem is this can be exhausting and just unreasonable for jobs that can be more than an hour out while riding under less than ideal circumstances (busy roads, highways, alongside traffic, adverse weather, etc) any extra money will be going toward ride shares to get to work (most rides average about $7~15 one way) or allow me to help others with gas in exchange for rides. For context, once I am able to work for the trade school I already have two seperate employers who have offered to transport me to and from job sites until I have been able to save up enough to begin getting my license and car.

At the end of the day, every little bit helps! I can't explain how despite all of this, how good it feels to be in a much better place now than I have been in years. I am healthier mentally and physically and emotionally than I have ever been and I am on my way to be starting a career and living a true adult life. I just need to learn to ask for help in constructive ways to get there.

If you managed to read all of this, thank you, and feel free to reach out for details I'll be happy to give! Thank you.

#asking for money #paypal #donation post #I fully posted this first with no tags bc I am dumb and a little worried even asking for money rn (:#don't know if this will even show up in tags now but uhhhh #boost please?#every little bit helps #in recovery #actually autistic #donation #boost

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sparkles-and-trash · 1 year

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Bookstore AU (dabihawks, tddk, spinneraki, togachako)

dabihawks art -

notes: yet another little au that won't leave my brain, but at least I'm writing again, so... a win is a win! maybe I'll do something more with it (one-shot?), maybe not, time will tell!

Dabi is the owner of Clandestine Books and Beverages, a small bookstore and coffeeshop that lies on a street corner on an ordinary street corner in a medium sized city

it doesn't really look like anything too special, your standard cozy store with dark mahogany shelves and too many plants and nice big windows that lets in the sunlight of the few days it doesn't rain around there

also, the owner is pretty damn grumpy

to be fair, he got really tired of people trying to flirt with him when he first opened the store

having white hair, turquoise eyes and being a member of the Todoroki family, mixed with the fact that he has this dark and mysterious aura going with the whole bookstore owner thing made people kinda crazy

but rumor got out pretty fast that flirting with him got you nothing but an uncomfortable stare of death

at first, he really built his clientele on having a lot of rare books, and if he didn't have what you were looking for, he would find a way to get it for you

when his friend from college approached him about the idea of starting off a small coffeeshop in the store, however, the customers really started pouring in

Tenko might be a bit awkward and strange, but he makes the best coffee in town, hell, maybe in all of Japan

pretty soon, Touya had to accept his fated hire a few other employees

...he hired two of his friends, but hey, he still did it, so it counts

Spinner was kinda hesitant, he was nervous that having a animorph working for him would set Touya and Tenko back, but they wouldn't hear a word of it

now, Spinner actually knows a lot about literature, and while he's a little shy, he's also great with the customers

also he gets to look at Tenko all day, which is worth more than the paycheck for him lol

Toga, on the other hand, didn't really care about books if they weren't overdramatic romance novels, but her sunny disposition did wonders with the customers

one of Touya's favorite things about the stores location was how close it was to UA High, where his youngest brother was enrolled in the hero program

now, Shouto is 18 now, and he has a hero license and all that jazz, and he's taller than Touya, whatever, he's still his little brothe r and Touya enjoys the chance to judge all of his brothers friends when he brings them there for coffee

sadly for Touya, most of his brothers friends are pretty cool

however, because of the close proximity to UA, another hero have started hanging around the shop lately, and it's annoying Touya to no end

Touya obviously knows who Hawks is, he's a pretty popular and successful hero, and the big, red wings are a dead big giveaway

at first, Keigo had just gone to the bookstore and coffeehouse because Tokoyami insisted they had the best coffee in town, but his eyes met the owners eyes once, and that was that

which frankly feels like some form of cosmic joke, that Keigo had spend his whole life without having crushes on people, and the one time he gets one, it's on the most unapproachable and grumpy guy ever

normally Keigo is pretty good at talking to people, and he gets along just fine with the other employees, but just one steely game from Touya and he freezes

so naturally, he hangs around the store constantly now

Spinner and Toga is secretly telling him about all of Touya's favorite books etc to give him an edge, but it doesn't help much when Keigo is too busy looking at Touya over the books to actually read

once Touya actually caught him looking over at him while holding a book upside-down

Touya will never admit it, but he's starting to get used to having the big bird there, and might even get a little bit sad on the days he doesn't stop by

when Shouto mentions that he wants to find a weekend job to make some of his own money while still in school, Touya tries to make him come work for him

but Shouto declines, saying that it's too easy to just work for his brother

Touya damn near loses his mind when Shouto shows up at Tenko's coffee bar

according to Shouto, that's more than far enough removed from his brother for it to count as a real job

it doesn't help when Shouto's green haired friend starts hanging out there every day Shouto works, mooning over his brother very obviously

...obvious to everyone but Shouto, who is obviously feeling the same, but has no idea

and when Izuku starts bringing his friend with the brown hair and rosy cheeks whom Toga has a huge crush on, there's almost too much crushes around him for Touya to be able to stand being at work

...including his own

oops this got long alskhflkshf

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sofiasfanartcollection · 4 months

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( @the-starry-seas Hi! I was working on a reply to your lovely ask but when I saved it as a draft, it seems to have disappeared, so I hope you see this. )

Hello!!!! Thank you for the interest, I don’t have commissions open at the moment—but I am hoping to soon, once I figure out some things. (I have wanted to do commissions but I often get overwhelmed with figuring out payment methods, if I need a business license etc.) I will be sure to let you know if I get commissions set up :]

And thank you so much, I would love to talk about River!!!

She’s my mutant-sona for Rise of the Tmnt, and was a human mutated to be part white-tailed deer by one of Draxum’s oozesquitoes. Her power from that mutation is growing and controlling plants. (She can grow any plant if she knows what it looks like.)

She was then mutated a second time with split gill mushroom dna (although she attacked the oozesquito with a venus flytrap and was only partially mutated.) Because the mutation wasn’t as complete, River can’t really control her second set of powers—which are ghost-like abilities. She can float, turn transparently purple, shrink, and summon a misty substance. However, these things tend to happen when River’s stressed, scared, or sad and can be hard to stop. They are more of a hindrance than a power most of the time. (You may have seen these, but here’s some art of her ghost-like form: https://www.tumblr.com/sofiasfanartcollection/732748080571613184/ghostly-here-are-some-doodles-and-a-rough)

(Also, I’m not sure how far you looked back, but here is my first main post for River with info about her: https://www.tumblr.com/sofiasfanartcollection/711553332660076544/my-rise-sonamutant-sona-river-river-sheher )

River was an aspiring children’s book author and illustrator, and had come to New York, from California, to pitch one of her ideas. After the whole being a mutant situation though, she lost the confidence to push on with that dream. She was homeless for a while, and grew lots of small gardens for fellow people living on the streets. Later, she meets Todd, and they become friends, and she moves into the woods near him. They go on lots of nature walks together, and she often volunteers at his puppy sanctuary. https://www.tumblr.com/sofiasfanartcollection/735215068459024384/one-of-the-quickest-ways-to-befriend-river-is

She’s friendly towards the turtles, though it takes some time for her to feel comfortable around them, since she’s a pretty quiet and anxious person and they are vigilantes basically and are so full of reckless energy. She connects with Mikey over a shared love of art, sews little accessories for Raph’s plushies, enjoys Leo’s jokes, and grows exotic plants for Donnie to study. After the movie, she and Todd both spend time supporting them and their family as they recover.

River does not get along with/is very scared of most of the mutant villains, but does kind-of accidentally befriend Hypno and Warren. When she first meets them, she finds a lost and trapped Warren (I have a headcanon that he gets lost every once and a while, being so small) and helps him get back to Hypno. Seeing them together, River instinctively feels that they are safe people. (Of course, they’re not safe really, even though they don’t mean her any harm. But River can be a little too trusting when her anxiety calms down.)

She meets them again when she is running a flower stand at the hidden city, and they become repeat customers.

Then, after she hears about the run-in they had with Draxum (in Warren and Hypno Sitting in a Tree) she goes to check in on them. After that they meet up every once and a while to visit and play board games. (At this point, she knows they are thieves, but isn’t judging that since being a mutant makes getting by really hard. She doesn’t know they have tried to kill the turtles.)

However, later on she ends up getting in the middle of a fight between Hypno and the turtles. She is devastated to learn that Hypno and Warren would put people’s lives in danger, especially since the turtles are kids. (Superheroes basically, but still kids.)

River avoids Hypno and Warren for a while after that, but when Hypno goes missing before Battle Nexus New York, Warren calls River and she comes to try and help.

She ends up giving friendship with them another chance after hearing about how Hypno helped Donnie (and how Warren helped April save the turtles from his twin in that unaired episode).

[This intersects with an AU of mine (though River is more of a minor character in the AU), that I’m working on but haven’t posted much about yet, where Hypno and Warren get a redemption arc. (It seemed like they were leaning that way in the show too.) Once River knows that Hypno and Warren have been enemies of the turtles, she’s only really willing to be friends when they start working towards setting things right.]

After the movie, River trusts Hypno and Warren when they say they didn’t know what that artifact was and remains their friend as they grapple with the guilt of being part of that disaster.

River had a flower stand at a marketplace in the hidden city, while Todd sold lemonade nearby. (He gives most of it away though, and doesn’t end up working there for long.) River works her flower stand for a year or so and then switches to creating flowers and plants for someone’s (a yokai oc who is a work in progress, maybe a kirin?) shop. She still helps with arranging flowers etc, but it’s less stressful.

When it comes to other people River gets to know, there’s a few yokai working at the market that are nice to her. She enjoys when April is around when she visits the turtles, and River likes to listen to some of Splinter’s stories. Casey Jr. has joined her and Todd on nature walks sometimes. She doesn’t really know Bullhop or Casey Sr. She always loves visiting with Franken-Foot. And she gave Harold a new little corpse flower plant.

River can barely tolerate Draxum. If she’s around him for much time at all, little thorn bushes will start growing near her. She has found out though, that she can take control of the vines he grows.

#this got really long I hope you don’t mind #thank you for the ask #it was fun to get some more of my thoughts about river and how she fits into rottmnt written down #and thank you for the nice comments in the tags of my latest art of hypno :]#i will let you know when i post something about the illusion beast #I have already worked on the design #hope you are having a great day!#sofia’s writing #sofia’s art #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #mutant sona #rise sona #rise oc #my oc

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bridgyrose · 6 months

Note

More "A Schnee to Love?"

(You ask and you shall receive)

Weiss walked over to Ruby, leaning against the balcony railing next to her. “You do know its warmer inside than it is out here, right?”

“I do,” Ruby answered quietly as she looked out over the city of Atlas. “But its easier to think when I’m out here.”

“And what do you have to think about right now?”

“What isnt there to think about? There’s someone out there impersonating me, I have a hearing in a couple days with General Ironwood to get my license reinstated, Ozpin has been giving me missions that havent exactly been clear cut on what I”m supposed to be doing, Yang’s been avoiding everyone while searching for her mom… and now I’m feeling… lost.”

Weiss sighed and leaned against Ruby. “Maybe its time to rest and put huntressing aside for now. Settle down, put everything to the side-”

“And let someone continue to impersonate me and cause even more trouble?” Ruby pulled away from Weiss and started to pace around the balcony. “I cant sit down and let that happen. Not that I can do anything anyway right now while I have to wait to get my license back. This is who I am, what I’ve wanted to do. I’m a huntress and I need to be out there helping others!”

Weiss watched Ruby pace around, the small smile she had dropping as she listened to her old partner. “So you’re what, going to worry about all of this while you cant do anything? What’s the point in that?”

“What else did you expect me to do?!” Ruby yelled out, stopping in her tracks. “When I went to Beacon, it was to be a huntress and nothing else! What did you think I was going to do? Become a huntress and then go off and run a business like you did? Hunt down answers from mom like Yang? I just want to help people!”

Weiss turned to look over Atlas again, her grip tightening around the railing. “You make it sound like running the SDC was my choice. This was something that was chosen for me, something I dont have a choice in. I want to be a huntress, bring honor back to my family name the right way. The way my grandfather would’ve wanted. But instead, I’m trying to change the direction my father took things, trying to undo the damage that’s been done. Its not like I wanted to stop. If anything, I wanted to travel around with you and Blake.”

“Oh. I… I didnt know.”

“I know you didnt.” Weiss looked over to Ruby with a sad smile. “I wanted to continue to be the best partner you had, and then I was pulled away a year after we graduated.”

Ruby sighed and made her way back to the railing, quietly tapping it. “Why didnt you say something? Blake and I would’ve tried to help you.”

Weiss turned around and leaned against the railing, letting out a heavy sigh. “Father died and I was overwhelmed with responsibility. There were papers that had to be signed, decisions had to be made, dust orders had to be filled… I didnt have time until recently to finally reach out to you. If I had known Yang was going to rush off after I left, I would’ve tried to go after her.”

Ruby nodded. “I would’ve too, but Ozpin… Ozpin wanted Blake and I to check out some grimm activity. And once we got back, that’s when we heard about the imposter. I still dont know why anyone would want to impersonate me.”

“Because people trust you.” Weiss motioned for Ruby to follow her back inside, slowly opening the door for her. “I’ve heard about your endeavors, the people you’ve saved from grimm, the people you’ve helped on the streets. You’re a beacon of hope to people, not just in Vale but down in Mantle too. You’ve become the hero that you wanted to be.”

“And its still not enough.”

“It’ll never be enough.” Weiss closed the door after Ruby came in. She grabbed the wine she had offered to Ruby before, offering it once more to her. “No matter what you do, you’ll always be in an endless loop of helping others. Its not a bad thing, but all I’m asking is for you to relax and to rest.”

Ruby carefully took the wine glass and sat down. “Relax, huh? Doesnt sound like me.”

“Trust me when I say you could use it.” Weiss motioned to Blake sleeping on the couch with a smile. “Even Blake needed some rest.”

“You’re right.”

Weiss smiled as she watched Ruby take a sip from the wine glass, gently raising her own to her lips. All she had to do was wait just a few more seconds for the serum in the wine to kick in, and then Ruby would be hers. Once she saw Ruby stumble as she got up, she put her glass down. “Everything okay?”

“I… I guess I’m a bit more tired than I thought,” Ruby said as she dropped back onto the couch, spilling wine over her shirt. “That’s… that’s going to stain…”

“Its a good thing you wear a lot of red and black.” Weiss slowly got up and walked over to Ruby, giving her a small kiss. “Now rest, my love. I’ll take care of the wine you spilled.”

“But I’m… I’m not… your love…” Ruby’s words started to slur together as she drifted to sleep, leaning against the arm of the couch.

Weiss gently stroked Ruby’s hair, pulling away once she was sure Ruby was asleep. “Once you wake up, you will be.”

#rwby #ruby rose #rwby ruby rose #weiss schnee #drabbles #a schnee to love #a schnee to love au #nothing like a little love potion to help get things moving #rwby newspaper #ruby x weiss x blake

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fletchervanhall · 2 months

Text

Ink & Hearts | Flavier

Featuring: Fletcher Van Hall & Xavier Mitchell; mentions of others here and there Location: The Ink Tank; San Francisco, CA Time Frame: Friday night, March 1, 2024 Notes: Fletcher gives Xavier his first tattoo, during which they have a meaningful conversation about The Oscars, relationships, and future plans. @xaviernottheprofessor

XAVIER

Seb had asked if Henry could stay over to check out a new video game with Leo and Winter had a Sweet 16 to attend. It was the season. After dropping Henry off, Xavier made his way to the Ink Tank. The tattoo he'd be getting was small and he was excited about it. He had others he wanted to consult with Fletcher about. He was also happy to be seeing the tattoo artist and getting some time together. There was a lot to catch up on and there were things on his mind he wanted to talk to him about. Fletcher seemed to be very level-headed and the type that would listen and give good advice. Maybe he could help soothe some of Xavier's concerns regarding the Oscars. When he arrived, he waved at Tanya and smiled at her. "How are you doing, girl?" He leaned in against the display, listening to Fletcher's needle. "I know I'm early so I'll just wait out here with you for a bit."

FLETCHER

Fletcher was at one of the semi-private stations, finishing up the refreshing old ink on a repeat client's shoulder blade. The two were chatting casually on and off throughout the appointment and when Fletcher finished, he cleaned and coated the piece with an antibacterial solution and let the client know he was done. "You wanna see it or..?" The man shook his head, "I'm not worried about you fucking anything up. And if you did, I'll bitch about it later." Fletcher chuckled and dryly replied, "Can't wait." He went ahead and covered the refreshed piece, and then slid back on his rolling stool to take off and throw away his gloves. "Alright, Tanya'll get you squared away. See you next time." His client left Fletcher a tip on the work bed and then headed to the front of the parlor, giving a greeting nod to Xavier before striking up a conversation with Tanya and taking out his wallet to pay. After Fletcher finished cleaning the work station and washed his hands, he headed to the shop front, a crooked smile forming on his lips at the sight of Xavier. "Hey, you," he spoke, gesturing towards the back where the 2 private tattoo stations were. Because Xavier told him he wanted to talk, Fletcher already had one of the rooms reserved for them. He opened and then shut the door once he and Xavier were inside. "How are you?" he asked, twining their fingers together and kissing his palm.

XAVIER

Xavier smiled politely at the client and checked his phone to make sure Winter made it safely to Judith's Sweet 16. He trusted her with driving but on the inside, , he was very much a concerned dad. Be home no later than midnight. Gives you an hour to get home. His daughter texted him a kissing emoji and he rolled his eyes with a smile before pocketing his phone once more. "Hey yourself." He grinned at Fletcher, following him towards the station. His fingers interlaced with Fletcher's and Xavier smiled affectionately at the kiss before taking a few steps forward to embrace him. He rested his head on Fletcher's chest for a few seconds before pulling back and allowing his gaze to settle on the older man's face. "I'm alright. My kid's social calendar is booming so that's nice." He chuckled and then kissed his lover on the lips. "Mm, I believe I owe you a few of those. How's work? Hopefully not too grueling?" Xavier removed his light jacket and folded it before placing it on an empty chair. "Where do you want me, handsome?"

FLETCHER

Fletcher wrapped his arms around Xavier and then met his gaze when he drew back. "Sounds like you'll be busy too then. After all, Winter only just turned sixteen. She's still got a license to get, and the probation period before she can drive anyone around, so that'll still mean you getting them to their activities, yeah?" He assumed Xavier might have had assistance with that or a separate vehicle that could transport the three ofnthem around if need be. He bent his head and met Xavier's lips. "If you say so. I won't turn down a few of those." His shoulders shrugged as he sat on the wheeled stool in the room. "Nah, it's been am easygoing day. A couple of piercings and a re-touched tat." Reaching out to pat the tattoo bed, he smirked, "I thought you already knew I'd want you in bed."

XAVIER

"Maybe more on the domestic front. It's been nice being home a lot longer than usual. I get to see my favorite people." he smiled at Fletcher and nodded. "She has her permit so she's got to go for the provisional license, is that what it's called here? Eliza volunteered to drive with her and teach here a lot for a while if I can't do it. I asked her if I could drive her to the party tonight but ..." He shrugged with a smirk. "Teenagers, I guess. Good thing you have some time before that chaos ensues. ALSO, I should tell you that Winter thinks you're what was the wording? 'He's giving, perfect dating material. if you know, you know, Dad.'" Xavier imitated his daughter, perfect American accent and all. "So she thinks that by 'letting me' come see you here, she's helping in pairing us together. because she thinks I should have you as a backup to the current guy I'm dating that she has no idea is you. Fun, right?" He chuckled and then moved to sit on the tattoo bed. "Ah, right." He grinned. "How can I forget?"

FLETCHER

"I'm happy for you," Fletcher replied in cool earnest. He knew he and Xavier both led busy lives in different ways and even without knowing his kids well, he was sure his kids were especially happy to be seeing more of him these days. He nodded here and there, listening to Xavier as he took his seat and then shuddered a bit at the thought or Phoebe being a teen. "Yeah I'll be ripe for the crotchety old man shtick which should pair nicely with her hormonal teenage self," he dryly joked. But his brows arched a little at hearing Winter's thoughts and he chuckled from Xavier's imitation. "Glad I've got her approval already as your first, unbeknownst to her, and your backup choice for boyfriend. She's a good kid." Wheeling back a bit to grab a folder, he had some mockups of what Xavier said he wanted on the stencil paper but before he opened it to show him, he asked, "Remind me again where you wanna get your ink today? I've drawn up a few ideas but I'm curious where you're getting it."

XAVIER

He chuckled at Fletcher’s words. “It’ll be great.” He knew Fletcher would have teenage Phoebe handled. He was already such an amazing father. “Yeah, she doesn’t like many people so it’s nice she approves. I’ve got good taste. She really is a great kid.” Xavier slid back and made himself comfortable on the bed. “After careful thinking, I was thinking of my chest left side by my heart. What do you think?” Xavier pulled his shirt off to show Fletcher where. He was eager to see what was in the folder and he tried to peek with a small smile. “I’m really excited to see your work. I think you’ll do a beautiful job. Also, after all this, I want to talk to you about another piece I’d like to get after we get back from the Oscar’s.”

FLETCHER

"I can relate to her on that--not liking many people. So I'm honored to be on her short list, especially where you're concerned." He listened intently to Xavier and watched him remove his shirt, letting his eyes linger on his bare chest and abs for a little longer than necessary before returning his gaze to Xavier's eyes. "I think that sounds great for this piece. Now you just have to decide what you wanna do." He opened the folder and handed it over to Xavier so that he could see the four different designs he'd drawn up. "Another piece? Alright. How are you feeling about that by the way? The Oscars, I mean."

XAVIER

He smiled at Fletcher and leaned in to kiss his temple. “I’m glad I’m on your list.” Xavier’s smile widened when he caught Fletcher watching him. He took the folder and placed it on his lap so he could browse through the four pieces. “These are beautiful, love. You’re so talented.” He took his time admiring each piece, letting his fingers run over them but when he saw the date on the breast cancer awareness ribbon that curved as a heart , he knew that was it. “That one. That’s the one. That’s stunning.” He looked up at Fletcher. He knew he could count on him to create something significant. “Yeah. A lot more elaborate.” The question made him pause a moment and Xavier leaned back once again onto the bed assuming he’d have to get into position soon. “Ah, well…I had to pull over on the expressway yesterday. I was listening to this podcast tear me apart and it got me thinking, what if I’m not that good? This crowd, baby…they’re tough.” He chuckled softly and shook his head. “I had an anxiety attack. Couldn’t breathe. Just felt awful, terrible. Like an elephant was stomping on my chest.” He looked up at the ceiling. “My ex, I never told you but he broke up with me during a commercial break while I was hosting. He then went on social media and trashed me and my friends. Mostly me. I had to take a break after I finished hosting. I couldn’t really do interviews. So l, I got a lot of flack. I don’t even know how I got invited back and apparently there are people also questioning the Academy’s decision to bring me back. I don’t care about Jeremy or anything that concerns him. But I care about my work, my art. Ya know? I don’t know. I can’t fuck this up.”

FLETCHER

Fletcher smirked, "I'm glad you are too or else this would be awkward as fuck." He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees while Xavier looked at the drawings he'd done based on what Xavier described to him. "Thanks," he replied to the compliment and then craned his neck a bit to see which one Xavier had chosen. "You got it, babe." He took hold of the folder so that he could prep the stencil to go on Xavier's left pec, measuring the size with his thumb and index. But as he listened on, he'd gotten intrigued by this more elaborate tattoo. They could talk about it later though, like Xavier had said. For now, he divided his attention between prepping the area on Xavier's chest where he'd be working and listening to Xavier some more. He'd been in the middle of pulling on some black latex gloves but paused upon hearing what Xavier first told him. His brows furrowed sternly while his eyes were full of concern. "Jesus, Xavier," he whispered after hearing what his anxiety attack was like.

His expression hadn't changed at any point when Xavier went on and when he finished, Fletcher had pulled the one glove he'd had on off his hand and set them both aside on the counter behind himself. Facing Xavier completely, he took his hand and closed both of his hands around it. "Your ex is a pile of horse shit and I hope he gets ass fucked with a cactus." He hadn't cracked a smile once as he went on, "I know I've been the hold up on us having a boyfriend label so I don't have any right to make any demands of you, but if your anxiety gets to you again and there's something I can do like talking you through it or something, call me, alright?" He squeezed Xavier's hand with both of his, adding, "No matter what time it is. I mean it." Keeping one hand in the younger man's, Fletcher reached up and cupped Xavier's cheek, "And if I had to guess, The Academy and the network invited you back to host because they like you. Whatever bullshit your ex tried to stir up wasn't enough to distract them from how fucking talented you are. They could've asked a lot of people. Hell, they could've asked some other repeat host back. But they asked you. And you're not going to fuck it up. The doubters aren't the majority--just a loud minority with too much time on their hands." Fletcher leaned in and pressed a kiss to Xavier's forehead. "And who the hell can even vouch for this podcast? Seems like just about everybody has a goddamn podcast these days. Doesn't mean they're good or they're right. So fuck 'em. You're going to have your friends in and outta the industry there. You're gonna have your kids rooting for you. Your family across the pond is always in your corner. And you've got me. If I get stopped by some reporter after the show and they ask me about how you did, you know damn well I'll tell them the truth. I saw you at that school fundraiser. And I've seen what you can do on SNL now." After a tender kiss to Xavier's lips, he murmured, "You're going to be great, X."

XAVIER

He'd never actually shared this vulnerable side of himself with anyone he was seeing or dating. Xavier feared it would be seen as some sort of red flag or a turn-off. While that fear did creep up in the back of his mind, there was no hesitation in telling Fletcher. He had no reservations about being completely honest with him and to have that with anyone was something he'd always wanted. He just didn't realize that until now. Xavier was always the comedian, always making others feel good, always the life of the party. In truth, he had gotten lost in his own words, brown eyes fixed on the lighting in the booth. How would Fletcher respond? And that's when he felt his partner's hands in his. His gaze broke away from the ceiling and he met Fletcher's gaze instead. A small and brief chuckle fell from his lips at the mention of the cactus and Jeremy. "I know. He really is such a piece of shit," Xavier agreed, nodding as Fletcher spoke with no signs of amusement on his face now just a mix of adoration and sadness. His eyes filled up with tears mostly because this felt like some turning point. Even if they had never gone down any sort of romantic path, Xavier would have been lucky just to have someone like Fletcher in his life. "You did come to mind. Admittedly, you were the first that came to mind but I didn't know how you'd react and I didn't want to disturb you. You've never seen me like that and..." He didn't finish his phrase but he figured Fletcher got it. The warmth in his neck rose and he hated how vulnerable he felt in that moment. "Shit..." Xavier whispered and wiped his tears. "I'm sorry..." After Fletcher finished, Xavier closed his eyes and brought the heels of his hands up to hold them there for a few seconds. "Thank you." he sniffled and then removed his hands. When his eyes adjusted and he got a good view of Fletcher's face again, he pulled him in for an embrace, his fingertips massaging the hairs on his nape.

It was a silent realization and it felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on him yet he felt the lightest he's ever felt. He did have massive and fervent feelings for Fletcher after all. It wasn't like he didn't know it but he wasn't taking the time to think on them much. Even now, he'd just bask in them. Xavier didn't need the same in exchange. He promised they'd keep a pace and that was fine for him. "Uh...that means a lot to me. That you'd want me to call you and just...well, everything you just said. I know that you have this way about you that's kept your guard up and that's--, I understand why. I use my comedy for example." He smiled. "You have a beautiful heart, Fletcher. I just want you to know that. I do think that about you. Thank you for hearing me out."

FLETCHER

Fletcher felt a pang in his chest when Xavier began to cry. He would have grabbed a couple of tissues but Xavier had already begun wiping the tears away. "As far as how I'd react... hell, I'd just try to help you through it. I'm not some licensed pro in that but I'd sure as hell try. And as far as disturbing me, don't worry about that anymore. If you call me, I'll answer or I'll call you right back." With a few shakes of his head, he said, "Don't apologize to me, sweetheart. You haven't done anything wrong." And he gladly let Xavier pull him to him. His face nuzzled Xavier's neck and he kissed him sweetly there a few times. And when the 2 drew back and were able to look at each other again, Fletcher listened on. "Listen, the only guard I really keep is where my loved ones are concerned. I don't wear my heart on my sleeve all the time just because it's not how I'm built--it's not my personality. I don't lie whuch you know, but I'm also not gonna open the flood gates of my life to every person I cross paths with, especially if I dont know someone because why do they need that side of my honesty or know every single thing about me right off the bat? But I get what you're saying." He leaned in and kissed Xavier's temple. "And the more I like you, the more I'll share with you as things just naturally come up or if you straight up ask, and the more I'll show up for you. I'll be here for you however you let me be here for you, X, alright? Whether it's as your friend, your lover..." He reached up and ran a thumb beneath Xavier's eye to wipe away a stray tear, "Or your boyfriend."

XAVIER

For whatever reason, hearing Fletcher call him 'sweetheart' made Xavier want to cry all over again but he didn't. It was probably the stress of keeping all of it in. Even if he had hashed out his issues with his relationship with Jeremy followed by the inevitable breakup, there were still a lot that made him feel burned, and having any positive attention made him feel sensitive all over again but in the best way. "Well, I admire you for that and it's a good thing. You're right about not giving away all the intimate details of your life right away especially when some people will take advantage. And I love how fiercely protective you are." Xavier loved a lot of things about Fletcher. He'd have to be careful throwing that word around even if it was genuinely placed. The pacing was dire. Every kiss and touch made him feel better and whole and these were times Xavier excelled at writing things other than comedy. He'd be able to formulate into words exactly how this felt. It'd be more elegant and not some mish-mosh of new feelings. "I appreciate that. The more you like me, the more you'll share. I like learning about you, your family, the things you like or don't like." He closed his eyes when Fletcher wiped away his tears and felt a slight bolt of electricity run through his body as he processed everything Fletcher was saying. "All the things. I want you here as all the things." He kissed Fletcher's lips. "Can't be a good boyfriend if you aren't a good friend or lover." He chuckled onto his lips and kissed him again. "Whenever that brilliant heart of yours is ready for silly ol me." He chuckled again and leaned back. He was starting to realize he'd wait for Fletcher for as long as he had to and that in itself was brand new.

FLETCHER

Fletcher continued listening to Xavier and, hand still holding one of Xavier's, glided his thumb across Xavier's skin. Hearing Xavier say he wanted all the things with him had Fletcher smiling softly. He returned the kiss and then for a moment, gave the younger man a puzzled look, only to smooth out his features and chuckle a little, dropping his head as he did so. "See, this is why subtlety isn't my thing." He lifted his gaze and then clarified, "That was my way of trying to ask you to be my boyfriend, Xavier. I want you, and to be 'all the things' for you and with you."

XAVIER

"Oh." Xavier felt sheepish. This is why his parents encouraged the comedy route. Throughout his adolescent life, he wasn't exactly the most social with his anxiety creeping up at the wrong times. Probably why his cues would be messed up. He couldn't help but laugh at himself and shook his head. "Nope. That one was all me, I promise. Okay, do over." He smiled at Fletcher, the enthusiasm still pretty evident even if it didn't click at first. "so no more secret beau." He grinned. "Except around Rodrigo until the Oscars because I know we're trying to make him squirm." He chuckled and leaned in, cupping Fletcher's face. "I'd love to be your boyfriend. All the things with you and only you." He kissed his boyfriend and pulled back only to offer him the sweetest smile. "It has a nice ring to it, right?"

FLETCHER

"No. Except for Rodrigo because fuckin' with him is too hilarious," Fletcher agreed, loving his best friend and brother, but also loving to mess with him from time to time. He returned Xavier's kiss and when he pulled back, Fletcher smiled crookedly to him. "Sure. I know we're still figuring things out and we're only about a month into being anything to each other, but I'd like us to keep figuring that out and getting to know each other more as boyfriends to one another." He kissed Xavier's lips a few more times and then murmured as he drew back, "And now that I've got you feeling warm and fuzzy, I think it's time we got started on your first ink, yeah?"

XAVIER

Xavier laughed softly at the idea of Fletcher teasing his best friend this much. It was a nice dynamic. Reminded him of true brothers like his relationship with his twin. “We have to plan how we will reveal it to him for ultimate shock then” Xavier grinned. “Yeah, I do like the idea of that.” He enjoyed every kiss and chuckled softly at the words. “Okay.” He sat up and then leaned back onto the tattoo bed. “I’m ready. So how badly does the first time hurt?”(edited)

FLETCHER

"We'll see what comes to mind. Maybe we don't need to plan anything and it'll just spontaneously be revealed. Or I can just walk up to Rodrigo, tell him I'm your boyfriend now, and then walk away like I just told him the sky is blue." Fletcher made the comment so nonchalantly while getting the antibacterial solution and wiping it on Xavier's pec. He then went back to the gloves to put them on while the solution air-dried and only considered Xavier's question for a second before chuckling, "I'll be honest, everybody's different. You're getting inked in a somewhat sensitive spot so it's gonna hurt, mostly when I get to the shading on the ribbon, but it's not the most painful spot to get inked either. And I don't know your tolerance for pain." He picked up his tattoo gun, already prepared with black ink to start, but he leaned over and pecked Xavier's lips once again. "Mm. Listen, we can take as many breaks as you need. Just tell me and I'll stop, okay?" He paused then said, "I'm gonna start with the outline, okay?"

XAVIER

Xavier laughed, relieved for the levity. The thought of it be a spontaneous reveal made him grin. “Poor guy. He really has no idea. Could have sworn we were dead give always at Winter’s birthday party.” Xavier watched Fletcher prepare everything. “Thanks for the honesty.” Xavier had done some research too so he knew about the area being sensitive but he was glad that a professional was telling him too and that he wasn’t about to bullshit him either. “My tolerance isn’t so bad so hopefully it won’t be too excruciating.” He smiled when Fletcher reassured and kissed him. It was kind and gentle and he felt lucky his first tattoo would come from him. He nodded in response and added, “okay, love.” He then smiled, keeping his gaze on Fletcher and trusting him fully. “Go for it.” Xavier waited for Fletcher to begin, enthused by the idea that he was going to get such a meaningful tattoo created by someone he cared for in such little time.

FLETCHER

"He'll live," Fletcher replied casually with a sly smirk. "He's observant as hell but food, especially good food is his kryptonite. Or blind spot. Both, I guess." He waited for Xavier to let him know that he was ready and as soon as he got the go-ahead, Fletcher nodded. He could've ser the stencil on Xavier's skin first but he'd familiarized himself so much with each of the choices he'd drawn that he knew freehanding it wouldn't be an issue. Turning on the machine with a foot pedal, Fletcher spread his left thumb and index across Xavier's pec and said, "Here we go," positioning the tattoo gun like a writing tool and pressing the needle to his skin, starting at the base of the ribbon. His focus was on what he was doing but he spoke up over the non-stop buzzing, "Doing OK there?" all the while continuing with his curved line.

XAVIER

"Oh, good to know if I ever do mystery theater or if I need to bring him down in match of any game." He chuckled. "Rodrigo is a fine lad. He's good friends with my mate, Emma and I adore Jade She's a great girl. It's funny how often we've been in the same room you and I." From that to this was quite a story. Thinking about it, it was better things developed now. "It's just really great that we're all in the same circles like some giant Venn Diagram." He watched Fletcher do what he does best. When the gun was turned on, he did feel some nervousness build up but it wasn't enough to change his mind or hesitate. When the needle touched Xavier's skin, he braced himself for any possible pain and while the start was slightly painful, he was still rather relieved and calm. "Yeah. doing okay." He smiled, looking down at his chest, amazed by Fletcher's ability to freehand. It did feel like such an intimate moment and he smiled thinking about what he was about to say, "I can't believe it took me this long but I guess better late than never."

FLETCHER

"Yeah, he's one of the best people I know. And Jade's a sweetheart. I didn't realize it at first when the two of them got involved but I'd met her before she and Rodrigo met. She made an appointment with a member of my crew to get her first tat." He smiled a little bit thinking about how often he and Xavier were at the same functions but never really talked until recently. " It doesn't hurt that a lot of folks were on Ship-Wrecked and those of us who weren't knew at least one person who was." Fletcher concentrated but was still being mindful that this was Xavier's first tattoo. During a short pause, he plucked some wipes from the nearby tray and wiped the excess ink and bit of blood away. Keeping the used wipes lightly balled in his palm, he repositioned his thumb and index and then pressed the foot pedal to continue on with the outline. "No shame in waiting. Besides you're what, thirty-two?" He smiled a little as he worked, "Some people don't pop their ink cherry until they're in their forties or fifties. The whole midlife crisis, YOLO mentality kicks in."

XAVIER

"Wow, what a small world." He nodded in agreement to the Ship-Wrecked comment. "That's also true. God, that was a dark time in my life," he joked. "If you ever watch it, we'll skip past the cringy scenes, yeah?" A small chuckle fell from his lips. He felt a tiny sting and hissed softly but shook it off shortly after. "Yeah? I've always wanted one especially in high school but I could never figure out what my first one would be so I figured I'd wait until I knew. Next thing I knew, time had passed and it hadn't happened yet. Besides obvious reasons, I'm glad I met you though because it inspired me to go for it." Xavier thought it was nice to have someone he trusted and knew in the artist's chair. He kept his gaze on Fletcher doing his work. He was curious and enjoyed watching the other man's concentration. That and he figured being chatty would be too much of a distraction. It was such an art and Fletcher deserved every bit of praise for his work.

FLETCHER

Fletcher chuckled, "Tell me about it. Especially for a big city like this." He listened to Xacier and jokingly quipped, "So we'll just skip watching the whole show?" And then he smirked, coolly adding, "I don't watch much reality TV, but if there's something you want me to see from it, I can check it out." Hearing the hiss from. Xavier, he paused a d wiped away at his chest. "Need a break?" He asked turning to toss the wipe in the biohazard bin. He plucked a clean wipe and said, "I'm glad to be so inspiring to you." He made sure Xavier was alright before continuing and then finishing the outline of the ribbon with a heart added. Lastly, he added the date to the curve of the heart. After wiping away more of the excess, Fletcher swiveled in the chair to change the needle and clean out the remaining black ink inside the gun. He had the pink ready to go, in two different shades for Xavier's skin and to correctly get the shading right on the ribbon. "Alright, gonna get some color going. I'm gonna do the general pink of it all and then go back to do the shading. That's gonna hurt more but there's not a lot to do, so hang in there, alright?" He tugged a fresh wipe to hang onto and then got started with filling in the ribbon.

XAVIER

“Exactly my thoughts.” Xavier chuckled at Fletcher’s quip all the while watching what he was working on. “Listen I’m okay with that if we don’t watch it ever. There was this one bit where we had to parade around in lingerie though to do a scavenger hunt. I was in these Lacey bootie shorts and leather belts just …lord. You’d have to see it” he laughed thinking back on that time. Even though it was weird with Jeremy being a part of that, it was where he met a lot of his friends. When Fletcher asked him if he needed a break, Xavier shook his head and let him know he can’t continue. He listened intently to Fletcher’s direction and was glad that he was understanding and gentle. “Okay, yeah. Let’s do it.” He braced himself for the pain and while it did hurt more, took a few breaths, bringing his right arm up and behind his head. He was glad to have done the research and for all of Fletcher’s warnings. It definitely made for a smoother experience. Xavier bit down on his lip as Fletcher continued, the pain picking up here and there but nothing he couldn’t really handle.

FLETCHER

Fletcher intentionally slipped his foot off the pedal and stilled, except for his gaze flickering up to Xavier's face when he heard the description of the lingerie that he'd worn on the show. "Okay, I'm backpedaling on what I said about not watching. I wanna see that episode." He smirked and then kept going after Xavier settled from his laugh and then he got to switching the needle and ink. After trying to prepare Xavier for what was to come with the increase in pain due to the color and eventually shading, he nodded and advised, "Just remember to keep breathing, sweetheart," he said and then looked back to what he was doing. He got some of the color impressed upon Xavier's skin and then wiped the blood and excess ink away before continuing on. "Tell me about your day today, before you got here," he said, figuring that getting Xavier talking could help as a distraction. "Also, are you gonna tell your kids about us when you get home?"

XAVIER

Xavier laughed some more at Fletcher’s reaction. “You just wanna see the bootie.” He smirked and then added, “I’ll show you scenes from that episode. I was doing yoga every morning so I was definitely more in shape.” He grinned, letting out a soft sigh. It was nice to have these tiny little breaks. It helped with the pain and it helped keep him settled. Xavier gave Fletcher a silent nod when he was reminded to breathe. It hurt more now and Xavier kept his cool but the stinging was a nice reminder of what he was doing. “Hm?” Once again, Xavier was glad for the distraction. He swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat and placed his attention on the top of Fletcher’s head. “It was a pretty constructive day. I did some work around the house that needed to be done, did a Zoom table reading to make sure my pieces were okay for tomorrow’s show. Even if I’m not in the episode, I wrote four sketches…” Xavier breathed in and out. “ then picked up the kids, took them to this Mediterranean place by the school and signed them up for camp for Spring break. They’ve been begging for it so they’re happy.” Xavier smiled at the last question. “I am. You’ll hear Winter squeal from your house I’m sure. Are you telling Drew and Emiliana?”

FLETCHER

"So?" Fletcher shamelessly replied. "Besides, it's not like I haven't seen that juicy ass of yours before. Now I just wanna see it in this lingerie you brought up.' He smirked and theb continued on with his work, occasionally gathering more ink to dispense in Xavier's skin, and wiping his skin clean. He listened to the day Xavier had had so far and raised both brows when he mentioned writing 4 sketches. "Jesus. 'A pretty constructive day' he says," Fletcher muttered loudly enough to be heard over the buzzing. "What kinda camp are they doing for their Spring Break?" he asked, filling in more of the ribbon. Xavier's response about telling the kids about the two of them being a couple, he chuckled, "After her birthday party and meeting her, I'm having a hard time imagining her squealing. But I'll listen for it. And yeah, I'll tell them. I'm pretty sure they think we're already a couple so I don't think it'll surprise them much. Tanya'll give the biggest reaction, second only to Rodrigo when he finds out."

XAVIER

Xavier chuckled, shaking his head some at Fletcher's response. He'd show him a couple of scenes after their session was over. There was bound to be some sort of snippet on YouTube. The reaction to him writing four sketches, had Xavier chuckling again. "When I get in a mode I can write a good amount and being home has helped with that. Better to write at home than in a hotel, I think." Xavier smiled with his mind off the pain for now. "The school offers some nice camps. Winter wanted to do the arts and drama camp for teens and she enjoys that Ziggy lad who runs it. Henry wanted to do hockey camp with Leo. He hates sports but loves his friends." Xavier laughed softly. "So, they plan on staying busy. Oh and don't be fooled! Winter is still very much a teenager. Very brooding but also loves and will squeal if her father gets a boyfriend. She might even give herself all the credit for us." He grinned, listening to Fletcher speak about his family and friend's reactions. "Drew and Emiliana know what's up." Xavier thought about Tanya and Rodrigo's reaction and smirked. "I like Tanya. Can't wait for their reactions." He looked down at Fletcher with a gentle smile. "Thank you for making this so--for being so--well, tranquil."

FLETCHER

Fletcher nodded, "Makes sense. Home should be a haven so if you're not able to get creative there, then you've got a problem." He then admitted while working, "I've only stayed in a hotel a few times in my life. Once was for a school trip to Disneyland in high school. Once was for some tattoo convention I'll hopefully never do again. And once was a disappointing hook-up." He listened to Xavier talk about the camps that Winter and Henry were going to participate in over their spring break and nodded a little bit. "Those sound like they'll be good times for them both. It'll be nice to meet Henry sometime soon. I feel a little bad asking you about making us official and I've barely met your daughter, haven't met your son and you haven't held Phoebe once yet. And I still would like to take you on a damn date." He gathered a little more ink to finish the lighter shade of pink and then chuckled a little, "Drew and Emiliana are nosy-asses. But I love 'em. And yeah, Tanya's great. Doesn't hurt that she was already a big fan of yours before we got close. The first time you came by here, I thought she might start catching flies with her mouth hanging open at the sight of you." He smirked a bit and then took his foot off the pedal to make adjustments to his needle and the color of ink, preparing the tat gun for a slightly darker shade of pink. "You're welcome. I try to keep that the atmosphere here for the shop and anybody who visits it. Drew had it that way too--inviting and chill."

XAVIER

"Exactly!" Xavier agreed with Fletcher and since being home longer, it's felt like that's where he should focus more. "Those sound ghastly except for the Disneyland trip, maybe? Let me know if I'm wrong. Before all this...T.V. stuff, I didn't either. Well, nothing like what I've experienced recently, I guess. I think you'll like where we'll be staying in Hollywood and I'd like to be spending most of my time there with you once the pomp and circumstance is done with." He grinned but it softened at Fletcher's words. "Well, you're more than welcome to meet Henry and get to know Winter. I cannot wait to hold little Phoebe and spoil her which reminds me, I have something for her two-month non-birthday. It's a thing just go with it." He chuckled. "We can have a family dinner at my place? I'd love to cook for you all or you and I can cook together or we can go to your place and cook together there. And! You've been busy. Me too. We talked about this early on. I know and understand you're a new dad. A lot comes with that title. You can take me out on a date whenever you want and can. I'll be excited and I'll let you wine and dine me and maybe just maybe you might get lucky. Can't make any promises though." Xavier laughed at Fletcher talking about Drew and Emiliana. "Very parental of them to be nosy-asses. Look, you haven't met my parents yet and I assure you, they'd get along great with Drew and Emiliana." He smirked. "So Tanya has no idea, huh?" He watched Fletcher ready the tat gun and then smiled at his words. "Then you're making that man proud."

FLETCHER

Fletcher chuckled, "Yeah, Disneyland was good. The hotel stay for tat convention wasn't the worst but some folks in the industry are shitty." He didn't feel the need to talk about the hookup anymore. As he continued working, he listened to Xavidr talk about where they would be staying while in Southern California for The Oscars. Fletcher hadn't even thought about that--the 2 of them staying together--but it spoke volumes to how easily he found the relationship between Xavier and himself. "I like how that sounds. I can help you unwind from it all." He didn't know what all went into hosting an awards show, especially one as famous as The Oscars but he'd imagine that if Xavier was going to spend time with him afterwards instead of partying, he'd want to relax in some fashion. "I'll have to make the time to do that. And next time I come to your home or you're at mine, I'll make sure you hold Phoebe." He raised his brows questioning a 2-month birthday and Xavier having something, "You're gonna be as bad as Drew, aren't you?" His uncle was constantly ordering things--mostly clothes--to be delivered to the house for Phoebe. "A dinner date sounds nice. My place would be easier for Drew. When it's not business-related he's the embodiment of a creature of habit, which just makes his Parkinsons that much harder for him to deal with." Wiping away the excess again, he lifted his foot off the pedal and added, "And I wouldn't mind cooking for you and your family, especially if you're willing to come over to me."

His foot pressed on the pedal again and he continued with the color shading, nearly finishing with all of the color. He would complete the tattoo with a little of the black to add to the ribbon and heart's curls, giving the curves a little more dimension. Xavier was right about him being busy. Phoebe was only 2 months old but he'd rapidly changed much of his life for her in that time, while also losing a lot of sleep. But he was enamored by Xavier and wanted to keep exploring and growing what was budding between them. "The way you talk about your parents, especially your mom, I've no doubt about that." As he finished off some finer details, he asked, "No idea about what? You and me? She knows. She's gonna help me out while I'm gone to the Oscars with you, so that everything doesn't solely fall on Emiliana." And after taking his foot off the pedal and setting the tattoo gun in its holster, Fletcher wiped the area of the tattoo a final time and slid back on the stool. "Alright, you're done. Take a look," he said, tilting his head in the direction of the full body mirror in the corner of the room. If Xavier liked the outcome, he would protect his tattoo and go through aftercare with him.

XAVIER

“Good! I’ve only gone once but I’d love to take the kids. Are they really shitty? That’s awful.” Xavier smiled, listening to Fletcher telling him he’d help him unwind and then it dawned on him, “you know, it’ll be our first time having an extended period of time together? No one needs to go somewhere. Just us two.” He paused a moment and then added, “that sounds nice.” Xavier chuckled and nodded confidently. “Yep. I’ll definitely going to bed just as bad. Every month, I’ll get her a monthly birthday present and probably little things here and there just because.” He listened to Fletcher talk about what would be easier for them all and also continued watching Fletcher finish up. “If it’s easier for Drew then that’s what we’re doing.” He looked at Fletcher and smiled. “He’s important to me too you know.” Saying that meant something to Xavier. In such a short time he had realized that Fletcher’s circle was going to be a significant part of his life and if things went his way, it would hopefully be that way for a long time. “So um…” Xavier grinned a toothy grin, not wanting to make a big deal out of anything. “What are you doing this Sunday then?” Xavier watched Fletcher completing his work all the while listening to him intently. “I know people say a lot of things just because or because they feel they have to but you going to the Oscar’s with a newborn and all the things you have to take care of means the world to me. I know it’s a big commitment. So thank you. And I’m incredibly grateful and excited to show you off a little. I say a little because like I said our appearance at the after party will definitely be brief.” Xavier waited for Fletchers to finish and checked out his work in the mirror. His smiled grew as he admired the art and he looked over to Fletcher. Tears began to fill his eyes and chuckled as he looked in the mirror again. “I love it. I absolutely love it. My mum is gonna flip. Thanks, baby… it’s perfect.”

FLETCHER

"Some are, but that's probably true in every field and industry out there," he supposed. Without lifting his gaze from what he was doing, he smiled a bit when Xavier pointed out at that the Oscars trip would be their first time truly alone for more than a few hours. "I didn't realize. Guess we'll have to make the most of it, hm?" And he merely shook his head at his boyfriend’s shameless admission that he would be as bad as Drew when it came to spoiling Phoebe. When asked what he was doing on Sunday, Fletcher thought for a moment and then replied, "Grocery shopping. Which I guess is good timing if we're going to all have dinner together." He paused long enough to wink at Xavier and then finished up the new body art. Taking in Xavier's understanding and gratitude, Fletcher told him, "I'm glad I'm able to go. Plus, being your date for the event's an honor." As he watched Xavier go to the mirror and inspect his work, Fletcher peeled the gloves off carefully and disposed them in the biohazard bin. He was about to grab the aftercare materials but paused and stood from the stool to stand behind Xavier, placing his hands on rhe Brit's shoulders and bending to kiss his cheek. "Good. I'm glad you love it." It was what mattered most to Fletcher. "I'll get a picture of it on your phone for you now if you want, or you can take a selfie with it, because I'm gonna need to bandage it and you're gonna wanna keep it covered for a few hours."

XAVIER

"That's true. I could definitely tell you about some not so nice people in Hollywood. More on that later." He chuckled. "Yeah, absolutely. Room service, music, chill environment, completely naked of course." He laughed again and it melted into a smile. "Yeah?" He grinned widely at the idea of his kids meeting Fletcher's family and getting to hold the baby. "I'll make my famous peach cobbler anddddd something else. I'll figure it out tonight." He smiled crookedly at hearing Fletcher say that it would be an honor to be his date. It was already so different than last year where Jeremy behaved as if he was being dragged through all the circles of hell. "I'm really glad you think that. It's nice to hear." At the kiss, Xavier turned his face and smiled at Fletcher's gesture. "Yeah, let me send a photo to Clayton so he can properly yell at the top of his lungs. I'll tell him my boyfriend did it so he can yell some more. And I'll send it to the group chat so mum and dad can see it." Xavier pulled his phone out of his pocket and photographed the art, sending it off to his family with a chuckle. "And now I wait for the millions of notifications." Xavier moved back to the bed, this time he sat, facing the stool so that Fletcher could cover it up. "Okay." He knew Fletcher would give him aftercare instructions. "I'm going to leave the best google review." He smirked and waited. As predicted, his phone went off a few times and he laughed, shaking his head. "Good morning, Brits."

FLETCHER

"I believe that, easily," Fletcher said. He didn'tactively follow all things celebrity gossip but he also didn't live under a rock. And there was Tanya who did keep herself informed about Hollywood happenings. Smirking a little, he told Xavier, "Don't go nuts. The cobbler should be enough for a few adults and a couple of teens." He would have made more affectionate touches to Xavier but his hands were gloved and he was going to need to bandage the tattoo and clean the tattoo gun first. He chuckled at what Xavier said about his family's reactions about the tattoo and him now having a boyfriend. As Xavier sat back on the bed, Fletcher pulled on fresh gloves and picked up a tube of ointment they used in the shop for tattoo aftercare. As he flipped the cap open and applied a light coat directly across Xavier's raised skin while explaining, "Try to wear some loose-fitting tops for a few days so your skin can breathe and heal. When you're showering, be gentle over your tattoo. Don't scrub there." He then grabbed some gauze big enough to cover the whole tattoo. Using some medical tape, he secured the gauze over Xavier's chest and finished, "Treat it like a wound and moisturize it. Most people just buy some A+D or Aquaphor. I don't recommend either of them because of where your tat is though. It'll get on your shirts. We sell this," he pointed to the tube he'd used, "And some other aftercare products but just stay away from scented soaps and lotions on it until it's fully healed." Hearing Xavier's phone repeatedly ping had Fletcher smirk again and shake his head, "Jesus. Lucky you."

XAVIER

"Okay, got it. Loose fitting tops. Sorry, Fletch no more sex icon fashion for a bit." He chuckled but nodded as he listened intently, taking the instructions seriously. "I won't scrub there but I will buy that." He pointed to the tube. "And whatever else I need to purchase, I'll get it." Xavier made mentl notes to not use scented soaps or lotions around the area unti lits fully healed. He laughed, shaking his head at the notifications. "They can stress about it in the group chat until a little later. They do it to me all the time." He smirked and looked over to his shirt. The Henley wasn't too tight fitting, thankfully. Carefully, put it on and rolled his shoulders back as it fell over him. "Can I hang around a bit until you close up?" He was glad to be Fletcher's last customer. He could spend a few minutes with his now boyfriend before he had to go home. "Let me go pay in the front first."

FLETCHER

Fletcher shrugged, "I've got a good enough imagination and besides. The clothes don't make the man. The man makes the clothes." He winked to Xavier again and then finished telling him the care instructions, trying to keep it simple but informative. When he finished and Xavier repeated the highlights back, Fletcher nodded a couple times. "Okay. Just let Tanya know and she'll hook you up with some. I've gotta clean up in here and then I'll be out. But yeah, stick around. I'm still curious about this other tattoo you want me to do for you, and you know I'm always glad to have a little of your time."

XAVIER

"I like that. Wise words." Xavier pulled his wallet out of his pocket and nodded at Fletcher. He'd tell him about his ideas and see what he thinks. He was glad they'd get to spend some time together especially now that they they were boyfriends. The thought made him feel warm inside and his lips pulled up into a smile as he made his way out ot the front. "Hey Tanya! So, can you hook a guy up with all the necesary after care items? You can ring me up for those and the tattoo. I'll pay those with card but the tip in cash if that's alright?" He figured it'd be easier that way. Xavier pulled out his card, ready to pay and a folded $100 bill for Tanya. He handed it to her and smiled. "For being so kind and all. Thank you for that." He would wait for Fletcher to come out to give him his tip. "Any plans tonight, Tanya?"

FLETCHER

"I wish I could take credit," Fletcher quipped with a smirk. He shamelessly watched Xavier go and then got to work disassembling the machine gun to dispose of the needle and clean all of the ink out. He sanitized the tattoo bed, the stool, disposed the extra ink and sterilized the tray He had everything sitting on. Once he was done cleaning everything and having it all prepped for use in the morning, Fletcher shut the lights off in the room and slipped into his office to use the bathroom and wash his hands. In the front of the shop, one of the other artists had gone home while Fletcher was working on Xavier's tattoo. Tanya had been cleaning around the shop, singing along to song after song playing overhead and checking that all the more open but partitioned stations were all sanitized and ready for a new day. But she paused when she heard the door to one of the 2 private rooms open. It was the only one occupied so Tanya beamed--her pierced dimples glinting--when she saw Xavier. "Heya! Sure can," she happily replied, making her way behind the counter to take down a bottle, tube and cream container from the shelf. As she rang each item and put them in a small, paper bag, Tanya called out, "Hey, Fletch!" "Yeah?" he called back from the depths of his office. "How much is Xavier's tattoo?" There was a long pause before Fletcher replied, "Eighty works," loud enough for Tanya to hear. "Got it!" she replied, more than familiar with the shop minimum. She tapped the amount in on the digital POS system and then swiveled the screen around for Xavier to insert or tap his card at the slot at the top of the screen. Tanya hadn't looked at the folded bill so she hadn't seen the amount. Nevertheless, she beamed all over again as her inner Xavier fangirl bubbled up. "Oh God, thank you so much!" Slipping the bill in her back pocket, she said, "Actually I've got a date tonight! First time so we'll see how it goes. His profile pics are pretty cute and we're going bowling!"

Fletcher emerged from his office, rubbing in lotion on his hands as Tanya gushed about her date, "Why don't you go on and head out, Tanya? I can close up the rest tonight." Tanya smiled to him and then Xavier and then back to him, "If you're sure?" Fletcher waved her off, "I'm sure. What's left to do?" Knowing that Fletcher was immaculate with cleaning and resetting the stations, she hadn't worried about having to go into the previously occupied private room tonight. "Just settling the register, cutting the music, shutting off the lights, locking up and setting the alarm." She was a little more than a foot shorter than Fletcher but it didn't stop her from hugging him around his middle and then she dashed off. But she paused once she had her purse, long enough to say, "You two having a good niiiiiight!" in a sing-song voice and an added wink before hurrying out of the front doors. Fletcher shook his head and then fixed his gaze on Xavier as he made his way around the counter to start settling the drawer and print the POS system report. "Still wondering if she knows about us or not?"

XAVIER

“Thanks, love!” Xavier took the bag from Tanya and waited for Fletchers to call out the amount. For some reason he expected it to be a lot more. He inserted his card chip first and when the tip amount came up, he decided to add it on there in case Fletcher didn’t take his tip or something. “I’m going to actually add Fletcher’s tip here. He punched in a 40% tip and smiled at Tanya. “And you’re welcome ! Oh you’re gonna have to tell me all about him next time I come around. Bowling sounds like the perfect first date actually! Have fun!” Xavier watched as Tanya hugged Fletcher and then made her way out. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her enthusiasm and waved at her, laughing at her words. He walked over to the counter, leaning his elbow so that he could support his arm and cup his cheek and looked up at Fletcher. “She’s subtle, huh?” Xavier chuckled, gaze still on the other as he did what he had to do. He felt a twinge here and there at the tattoo site but it wasn’t all too bad. “Did you drive here or are you walking home?”

FLETCHER

"You got it!" Tanya replied while a thrilled feeling shot through her at chatting about her date with Xavier Mitchell. She finished ringing him up and gave him his receipt. After Tanya flounced out of the shop like a teenager with a crush, he chuckled too. "Yeah, as subtle as a lit firework." Fletcher knew Tanya could be discreet but if she didn't have to, then she most certainly wasn't. He removed the money from the register. As he organized the bills, he told Xavier, "I drove. I don't live close enough to walk and if something was wrong with Drew or Phoebe, I wanna be able to get home as soon as I can." As he took out a bag to collect and seal the money in after it was counted, he asked, "Why? Were you gonna give me a ride?"

XAVIER

Xavier really did like Tanya. She was perky and funny and the perfect person for the front desk. He laughed again at Fletcher’s comment. “It’s great.” Xavier shifted his position and just leaned against the counter, looking out the store front as Fletcher did his thing with the register. “That’s smart. I’d do the same thing.” It was probably rough always being on alert for someone else. Xavier felt that when his mother was first diagnosed. He was always on alert and worried that he couldn’t get to her on time. It worried him when he was away for long periods of time and his kids were with Louise. At the end of the day, he’d want to be there for them if they needed him. He looked over his shoulder when Fletcher was not looking and organizing bells and smiled. He was a good man that matched his morals and that meant a lot more than he could put into words. When Fletcher spoke again, Xavier faced him and nodded. “Aye. Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to drive my car.” Xavier pulled away from the counter and made sure he left no marks or prints. “But you can do that Sunday.” He smiled, excited all over again.

FLETCHER

Fletcher nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind taking the bus sometimes and I used to, to save gas and all. But since Drew's diagnosis and now with Phoebe, it's just easier to make sure my car's with me." As he was finishing up with balancing the register and having it ready for the next day, he heard what Xavier said about driving his car and groaned, "Ugh, damn. That would've been great too. Does that bad boy have rear seating?" He'd been too in awe of the car being in his driveway to really take notice before. But Xavier mentioning Sunday had him smiling, and not just because of the car. "Speaking of Sunday, do your kids have any favorites, food-wise, and are they allergic to anything?" Fletcher knew Henry and Winter were from Korea but he figured he would ask and not assume anything.

XAVIER

“See? Told you that you were an environmentalist.” He quipped, thinking back at their first time together. “But that makes a lot of sense to me. I love how much of a hard worker you are and how much you give to the people you love. It’s beautiful.” Xavier chuckled at Fletcher’s reaction. “I got that baby literally right before they approved my house for foster care and I was like damn I need a family car. So that’s my next purchase. It’s a three seater but that newer models will be four seaters. I’ll probably get like a SUV or something.” He shook his head at the question about his kids. “They will eat just about anything. No allergies. So don’t worry about going too crazy. They will love whatever you do. Do you need me to bring anything else besides dessert ? Drinks?”

FLETCHER

Fletcher snorted, "I'm thinking about the cost of gas, not the environment here." Still, he smiled, amused by Xavier's comment. His compliment was met with s simple nod from Fletcher, who'd begun counting the money that wasn't going to be left in the register. And as he recorded each denomination, he said, "An SUV, huh? So you mean to tell you're not an environmentalist?" Jokingly, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. And as he sealed the money bag, he smirked, knowing that hybrid and electric family cars were becoming more popular than before. Deciding to close the shop a little early, he held the money bag while coming from around the counter to shut off the 'open' sign and lock the front doors. The music was still playing but Fletcher didn't mind it. "A couple kids after my own heart," he commented with an easy smile, leading them to his office to drop the money in the safe. "Nah, the dessert and your appetite's enough to bring." Leaning against his desk, he asked, "How's your chest feeling?"

XAVIER

He chuckled, digging his hands into his pocket as he walked around the space and checking everything out while Fletcher closed out the register. "yeah, no fuck this planet." He laughed and shook his head. "Kidding. I'm sure I'll find something that won't destroy us." Xavier smiled at the comment about his kids and nodded. "Yeah, they're pretty easy and just grateful, good children. You might have competition with Winter. That girl can eat! " He followed Fletcher into the office. "Alright, I think you'll be a little floored with my baking abilities. Not to toot my own horn or anything." He playfully plucked his shirt and grinned. Xavier walked up to Fletcher and then looked down at his chest. "I mean, it's always a little accelarated when I'm around you because I want to kiss you all of the time so..." He paused, biting his bottom lip and then laughed softly. "Ohhh you mean my tattoo?" He feigned innocense and then shrugged, laughing again. "I'm doing okay so far. Strange little twinges of...I wouldn't call it pain. Just a reminder that it's there and new." He reached up to push some strands of Fletcher's hair back. "Tired?" His gaze met his boyfriend's eyes and smiled. "I'm sure you're glad your day's over, hm?"

FLETCHER

Fletcher shook his head with a small smirk and then said, "Shouldn't be hard to find something you like and checks all the boxes you need checked." His smirk lingered hearing more similarities between him and Winter. And when Xavier talked about his baking skills, he replied, "I'm sure you're talented and I'm looking forward to trying your goodies. Again." And Xavier's flirtatious joke about his chest made Fletcher roll his eyes, smiling. "You are so damn cheesy." He tenderly kissed Xavier on the lips and then hummed, "I'm always tired these days but I'm fine." It was the truth and Fletcher knew if he'd been too exhausted to work, he would have rescheduled his earlier appointments and stayed home with Drew and Phoebe the full day. He reached out and ran a thumb just along the seam of Xavier's bottom lip, "I didn't mind the work day. Did a few piercings before touching up a regular's tattoo, and then I got to give you your first tat, after making things official with you. So, no complaints about the day."

XAVIER

"Again, he says." He chuckled softly, enjoying the easy banter. Xavier stayed close, his gaze on Fletcher as the other spoke. "Hey, listen you like it and just asked me to be your boyfriend so what does that say about you?" He kept his smile even after the kiss but it slowly turned into a tiny frown learning that Fletcher was always tired. "I'm sorry, love... I know it's easier said than done but try to take it easy whenever you can. As Phoebe gets older, she'll start getting into a routine and it may help. And don't let me be too much of a distraction, either." He smiled genuinely and leaned in to kiss Fletcher's neck before looking up at him again. He enjoyed any time he got with the older man and all of his touches. "That does sound like a pretty good day." He grinned and let out a soft sigh. "Don't forget to take a mental health day if you need one and if there's anything I can do to help in relaxing you, let me know...ok?" Xavier's voice remained soft and calm.

FLETCHER

"Yes, he does say," Fletcher replied with no shame in his double entendre about Xavier's 'goodies'. His smile was crooked as he replied, "It says I'm a glutton or some kind of magnet for cheesy, charming, lovable goofs." His thumb stayed close to Xavier's lower lips while listening to his concern. "Yeah, Drew and Emiliana have been telling me a lot about keeping to routines and how much that'll help Phoebe. Don't worry about me though. I might not've had the hands-on experience much before Phoebe, but I've been around enough parent friends to know sleepless nights were part of the newborn parenting gig." His hand slid down to the column of Xavier's neck, and then he moved it to around his waist. "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, X. Really. I'd actually been considering getting a support dog for Drew. You know, one of those dogs that's been trained to be helpful if he drops something or knows to get help if he's hurt or something. I think it'd help Drew feel a little independence from Emiliana and me from time to time. I'd talked to him about it before late last year, and he didn't seem to care one way or the other." His other hand came up to the back of Xavier's head, fingertips brushing along the short buzzed part of his hair. "But I haven't gone ahead with it yet because it'd be someone else to take care of."

XAVIER

Xavier smirked, thinking about their Valentine’s Day and how he had missed being with Fletcher in that fashion since then. “Mmm gotta balance things out, right? I’m glad you think I’m all those things. And you can be my dark, witty, brooding, and also very charming man. Which I happen to be a magnet for. Didn’t stand a chance.” He enjoyed the brush of Fletcher’s fingers against his lower lip. The slight twinges of pain on his chest were long forgotten and replaced with the fluttering inside of it. “Yeah routines are super important and you’re right about the sleepless nights but you’re doing great. Xavier felt the jolt of electricity running through him As Fletcher’s hands slid down his neck. His knuckles caressed Fletcher’s arms and he closed any gap between them, locked in the other’s embrace. “I love the idea of a support dog for Drew. It really would help him and he will love them once they’re in the house. I say do it.” He closed how eyes at the gentle touch against his head and smiled. “I mean I can help you. Look into applications, print all that out for you. And I just know Winter would be down to help walk them here and there. ” He reopened his eyes and smiled. “We’ll figure it out.” He loved this. Loved having someone to talk to about their days, their lives, their kids. It felt so real and so natural. Unlike anything he’s ever had before.

FLETCHER

"Eh, I guess so," Fletcher replied before his easygoing smile returned to let Xavier know he'd been joking. "Damn, brooding? I'll have to see what I can do to replace that one with angsty or intimidating. Blunt dick even." He listened to his boyfriend and mumbled a low, "Thanks," at his compliment and encouragement, still awkward about taking compliments but working on it. He was enjoying the closeness with Xavier and being able to take in the perfumes from him--whether it was cologne, aftershave, lotion or something else, Fletcher couldn't get enough of smelling it from Xavier's skin. "Yeah, it wouldn't be a bad idea but I'd put it on hold. Winter helping out would be great, but if she's sick or has a lot of homework, or just wants to spend time with friends, then I don't want her to feel like she can't do those things because of the dog. And I don't wanna put another thing on Emiliana's plate. She's got her food truck and she's already been helping me a lot more than I could've asked for." Tipping his head down, he kissed the top of Xavier's head and said, "Your support's nice though. Thank you."

XAVIER

“Oh angsty is a good one. My emo boyfriend” he chuckled, looking up at Fletcher and then wrapping his arms around the other’s neck. He knew Fletcher didn’t do well with compliments and understood that so he wouldn’t linger for too long or make him more uncomfortable than he needed to be. “I can understand the apprehension but if you do want to revisit the idea, I can absolutely help with a schedule for the doggo. I’ll even pitch in, come help change his food or water whenever I’m here. And I do plan being home more so.” He smiled. “You can add us to your village. If that’s okay?” Xavier smiled at the kiss. “Of course. Always.” He slid his hands down to cup Fletcher’s cheeks and kissed him on the lips for a couple of minutes before nuzzling his nose. “Missed this.”

FLETCHER

Fletcher sighed, "Alright I walked into the emo label by throwing 'angsty' out there. Goddammit." After cursing himself, he shook his head but softly smiled at Xavier. "I'll keep that in mind. I know you're planning to be home more, and I hope you're able to enjoy it without feeling like you've got more obligations." He met Xavier's lips and returned very second of his boyfriend's kisses.--the occasional, brief moan passing through his lips. He shut his yes and rested his forehead to Xavier's. "Me too. This is... I like getting these moments with you." He stole another brief kiss and then said, "I think I'm officially addicted to your lips."

XAVIER

“Okay Dashboard Confessional” Xavier teased Fletcher and chuckled. “I’m sorry, love to see your eyes roll…” he nodded when Fletcher said he’d keep his offer in mind. “I don’t care. I’ll see you more and the baby and Winter gets a chore she will thank me a hundred times over.” He laughed softly, not wanting to get rid of this closeness anytime soon. After a few pecks, Xavier closed his eyes too. “I spending time with you. Making out, the sex is… incredible but this is…I like feeling close to you. Hate seeing you go.” His lips linger closed to Fletcher’s almost as if they possessed a gravitational pull. “Good. They’re yours and only yours. Do with them as you please.” Maybe it was having small, short intervals of time together that makes the desire stronger. What was that saying about distance? Or maybe there was a pull that Xavier couldn’t resist. All he knew was that Fletcher was always literally taking his breath away.

FLETCHER

Fletcher deadpanned and then relaxed his features. "You're lucky I like you." He smiled a bit and chuckled, "Seeing Phoebe's a good plus. And if I go ahead with it, I'll be sure to let you know and see how things can get worked out. I know Drew's not completely helpless but I also know that him being left alone for long isn't good." He'd make a decision about a service dog and he would talk with everyone who'd be involved before filling any applications out. For now though, he was enjoying his time with Xavier. He smiled a little as he listened to him. "I like this too. I know we've texted a lot but getting to spend time together is the best." Fletcher knew he'd have to lock up and set the alarm still, but he was savoring all the time he would have with Xavier until then. At his boyfriend's invitation, he tilted Xavier's chin up and kissed him some more, acting a little more fervently than before.

XAVIER

“I am lucky. That’s a true statement if I ever heard one.” He winked at Fletcher. Seeing his family more would be good for the both of them. Xavier not only wanted to be helpful but he had learned quickly that Fletcher’s heart belonged to them and that meant they were important to him too. Xavier listened with adoration. Fletcher was better than all the kids Drew had. And he knew Drew had done so much for him. “I agree. We don’t want him to be alone. Drew is phenomenal. I don’t need to know him long to know that. A dog will only provide some companionship and an extra layer of support.” Xavier smiled softly. “The real thing is always better. The best.” He felt that flutter again. Xavier knew it would be time to go soon and he already didn’t want to say his goodbyes but he was glad for this. Hungrily, Xavier glided his lips against Fletcher’s, letting his tongue swipe against them, begging for an entrance. He’d be careful not to start anything they couldn’t finish but for now, he’d be more than content with tasting Fletcher’s tongue before he had to leave.

FLETCHER

Fletcher chuckled a little and shook his head at Xavier. "Yeah, he's a good man. And I agree, with all of that." But as much as he loved his uncle, he didn't want to spend time thinking about the man while making out with Xavier. He lingered Xavier's tiny curls while parting his lips and letting their tongues dance together. He moaned a little and held some of Xavier hair before parting for air. "Ugh. I hate having to leave like this." He kissed Xavier's lips a few times and then muttered, "Damn time constraints."

XAVIER

His hands remained guarding Fletcher's pulse, fingertips caressing his neck. Every single time, Xavier felt as if he could never get enough of the other. Everything about Fletcher made him want to pause time. He was drunk on his scent, his caresses and the taste of him. Xavier pulled him closer every chance he could get and felt himself getting lost in their kisses. He reluctantly let Fletcher pull away, trying to muster up a single thought. "Me too." Xavier crashed onto Fletcher's lips, gently nibbling on his bottom lip before kissing him on that spot. "Damn time constraints is right. We'll figure something out. I'll come here more, spend a night if you want me to here and there. You come to me. ... you say I'm addictive. I think we both have a problem here..." Xavier's gaze flickered upwards. It really was nice. The perfect end to their evening, getting to come down from the day. As the music played in the background and Xavier kept his closeness, he was unable to speak. He just wanted to take Fletcher in. So he did. He loved this song. "When do you have to go?"

FLETCHER

"We're like some reckless teens, I swear," Fletcher chuckled and then paused, hoping he didn't start Xavier worrying that he'd have to deal with this with Winter anytime soon. He kissed his temple and then was going to kiss his nose but Xavier snatched his bottom lip between his teeth and Fletcher lightly gasped, followed quickly by a groan. "I like how that sounds," he started to say in between catching his breath. "We'll figure something out," he echoed. He hadn't argued with Xavier saying they had a problem; rather, he encouraged said problem by beginning a trail of kisses down the column of Xavier's neck, fingers curling slightly into both hips. "Mmm..." He hummed thoughtfully and then mumbled against his skin, "Ten." The shop normally closed then but he'd been closing early so he technically wouldn't need to leave to head home until then. There was still the matter of locking the doors and shutting off the "open" sign so no walk-ins entered the shop at this point but he currently wasn't sure what time it was, or how much time that'd mean they had.

XAVIER

"I wasn't even this reckless as a teen." Xavier laughed but his mind did go to teenager and preteen in his life. Winter had shown interest in two people already so he knew it was coming. With Henry staying at Seb's and Winter out with Eliza until midnight today, it was starting so quickly. He was glad for the distraction from his boyfriend. Xavier would want to make the most of their time. That was always his goal. "Figure something out..." He repeated in a whisper as Fletcher kissed one of his most sensitive spots. He sighed softly, a smile forming on his face. "I like that..." Meaning the kisses on his neck He lolled his head to the side, finding comfort in all of it. "Ten..." Xavier moaned. He had no clue what time it was just that this felt so good. Maybe they had a few minutes left. His fingers reached to get lost in Fletcher's dark hair but not before caressing his ear. "Where've you been all my life, hm?"

FLETCHER

"Making up for it now then," Fletcher quipped with a smile. He certainly didn't mind being a part of this bit of reckless indulgence with Xavier. He continued leaving languid kisses down his boyfriend’s jaw and neck despite not knowing how much time they still had. And hearing Xavier tell him he liked what he was doing had Fletcher begin grazing his skin and occasionally letting his tongue brush his smooth flesh. His fingers kept Xavier close and for a moment, he opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly, searching for the clock on his wall after hearing the tome he'd need to leave echoed in an alluring British lilt. "Half an hour," he mumbled. There was a lot they could do in that amount of time, yet it still wasn't enough but he'd take it. He smiled against his beau's neck where he replied, the movement of his lips along his skin. "Right here, sweetheart. Right here." As he increased his nips and grazing, and started adding some intentional pulls with his kisses, Fletcher was sure he'd end up leaving a hicky somewhere on Xavier before they parted ways tonight.

XAVIER

"I think that's exactly what's happening." A throaty chuckle fell from his lips. He'd never be the one to fall fast, even going to the island, Xavier never thought he'd fall at all. He was being reckless. Reckless with his heart, his words, and his approach. He had easily found himself wanting to be around this man more, wanting to learn everything about him, and wanting him. That was reckless. He'd never felt such a pull toward anyone. Ever. The uncontrollable desire coursed through his veins as Fletcher kissed, sucked, and nipped his neck. The more he revealed his weaknesses, the more it was used for his pleasure and Xavier was consumed by it all. Eyes closed, he allowed himself to get lost in the moment, soft moans falling from his lips as his fingers remained lost in Fletcher's hair. Hearing they had thirty minutes, filled him with the excitement of making them as fulfilling as possible. Right here How he wished he'd known that before. Groaning at the bites against his neck, he smiled soon after realizing there'd be a mark there. It would be a little reminder of Fletcher. Xavier personally loved those. "let's make the best of these --" he breathed steadily as Fletcher continued. "thirty. I--don't know what I'm saying."

FLETCHER

Fletcher continued kissing and loving on the column and groove of Xavier's neck. As he listened to Xavier trail off and admit to not knowing what he was saying, Fletcher grinned and lowered a hand to cop a feel on the younger man's ass. "Let me go lock up really quick and then I'm all yours." He nipped and tugged on Xavier's bottom lip, gave his ass a quick smack and then slipped away to and out of the office door. After finishing his keys out, he locked the front doors from the inside and tugged the pull switch on the neon "OPEN" sign. On his way back to the office he decided to leave the music on so the two of them weren't in complete silence and to remind himself to also set the alarm before leaving. He returned to his office and Xavier, "Now where were we?"

XAVIER

He had practically turned into putty and Xavier didn't mind it one bit. "Okay...like the sound of that." He took a deep breath and attempted to keep his feet grounded. The ass smack made him chuckle and he groaned the moment Fletcher's teeth released his bottom lip. He leaned against Fletcher's desk, trying to pull himself together as his hand roamed over his neck, smiling at the idea of there being marks he'd have to conceal later. When his boyfriend appeared, Xavier looked up, letting his hands grip the desk. "You were having your way with me." His mischievous smirk danced against his lips and for a moment, his mind went back to the last time he was in the office with Fletcher. "Turning me on, marking your territory, you know the usual."

FLETCHER

"Oh, right, right, how could I forget?" he jokingly asked, closing the door with his foot. By the time he finished thoroughly loving on Xavier--making out some more, leaving a couple of love marks on his neck and moving south for a little more oral affection--it was 5 minutes to 10pm. Fletcher had just kissed Xavier deeply, letting him taste a bit of himself in the process and when he drew back, he gave a devious smile. "It’s too bad we have to wait until Sunday to spend together again and wont get to continue this then, but hopefully you've got plenty of nice thoughts to think about." He kissed Xavier's lips again and then hummed thoughtfully, "Can I walk you to your car?"

XAVIER

Time had gone by so quickly yet slowed down at the right moments. Xavier kissed Fletcher back with deep affection and desire, cupping his face to keep him close enough or as close as 2 minutes allowed him to. When Fletcher pulled back, Xavier took a deep breath and let out a breathy chuckle. "Definitely a lot of thoughts to play around with." He smiled at the last kiss and quickly straightened himself out and fixed his disheveled attire. Looping his belt back properly, he nodded at the question. "Yeah, I'd love that. "

FLETCHER

Fletcher really did find Xavier's lips and kisses addicting. He could spend an afternoon laying in bed, giving Xavier lazy kisses and having occasional makeout sessions and be content if time allowed it. While Xavier adjusted his belt, Fletcher gently fixed the younger man's shirt collar and held Xavier's jacket and bag of purchases for him. Once Xavier was ready, Fletcher stepped around his desk and lifted his own jacket from the back of his chair. He threaded his arms inside and stuck a hand in one of the pockets where his car and house keys were. He opened the office door for Xavier and then went to shut off the shop music. When he punched in the alarm code, he knew there were thirty seconds before it was actually activated. He unlocked the front doors, held one open for Xavier, and then fished out his shop keys from his pocket to lock up behind them. "Did you have to park far down the street, or- nevermind. I see your baby." He smirked and walked beside Xavier. "What've you got going on tomorrow?"

XAVIER

“Thank you. For well, everything.” He smiled at Fletcher and took his things, sliding his arms into his jacket. He followed Fletcher out to the shop and exited the store. Xavier looked over his shoulder to the where his car was parked and chuckled at Fletcher’s question. “Looks like you got lucky too.” He gestured toward his boyfriend’s and kept his pace walking a few cars down to where Xavier had parked. “Tomorrow? Have to get Henry from Sebastian’s and they both have art and violin. Then bumming around before I start baking.” Xavier stopped at his car and pulled his keys from his pocket. “You?”

FLETCHER

"My pleasure. You coming by was a nice way to end the night. And it was an honor not only giving you your first ink, but what it is and means to you." He chuckled a little, "I usually park around back when I'm here earlier since it's where the shop owners around here can park. But there was space up here this afternoon, so," he finished with a shrug. After listening to what Xavier had to do tomorrow, he commented, "Sounds like it'll be a good day. I'll be home with Phoebe and Drew, and if it doesn't rain, I told Drew I'd help him out in his garden before I come back here for the evening. Got two appointments--a piercing and an ink one--and then I'll be around for any walk-ins." His head shook, "I'm not one to judge on the piercings people want, but I hate when people end up wanting Prince Albert or Christina piercings. You know what they are?"

XAVIER

"I'm glad I came and I'm really happy with your work by the way. I'm not saying that just because I happen to be biased now." He smiled at Fletcher. " Oh, that's nice that there are designated spots. Parking can be such a nightmare." He opened the doors to his car and tossed his bag to the passenger seat before giving Fletcher his undivided. "That really sounds like a nice day. The garden and spending time with the baby and Drew. When Fletcher mentioned the piercings, his expression changed as he said, "oh yikes. I definitely doknow what those are. I'm not one to judge either but I'm assuming they're a bit complicated, definitely painful and maybe clients haven't thought it all the way through among other reasons why they may not be a favorite of yours to do." he answered empathetically, leaning against the street sign post. "is your piercing appointment one of those?" The night was absolutely blissful. "I'll text you some ideas for the ink I want next. Looks like you've made an addict out of me." He chuckled. "I'm not stopping at one more so I'll come by a lot more. And just to see your face, bring you something to eat, fill up your Reece's bowl." Xavier sighed, already missing Fletcher. "I should let you go though. I know you've got the most beautiful girl in California waiting for you."'

FLETCHER

"Thanks," Fletcher smiled a bit, "Glad you're not just saying that out of a bias." He figured by now that Xavier had seen his work on his Instagram or the shop's page and he'd had an idea of what Fletcher was capable of. But he'd agreed about his plans for the next day. It wasn't one of his busier days and for that, he was grateful. But the piercing appointment was what he looked forward to the least. "Yeah, a Prince Albert. I hate them mostly because the majority of the people who get them think that I'm somehow suddenly interested in their sex lives or how high they think their pain tolerance is when I really couldn't give two squirts of duck shit about either." He'd seen enough of people's most intimate body parts not to be fazed but the babbling on while trying to flex or, in some cases, flirt with Fletcher was uninteresting to him. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you're gonna text me though." He then chuckled, "You've been bitten by the ink bug. Congratulations, bae." And then he paused and shook his head, "Alright I dunno how I like that one. Bae? I thought I'd try it out but it makes me feel like someone old trying to sound young." He shook his head again and then stepped to Xavier, Bending his head to kiss him. "Hey don't sigh and pout. Knowing us, we'll end up texting a shit ton until we see each other again. Tomorrow will go by quick." He stole another couple of pecks and then said, "Get your ass home safely, yeah?"

XAVIER

"Nope, never," he replied genuinely. Xavier had seen a lot of Fletcher's work on the shop's Instagram and when he had visited the store last. Also the glimpse of his sketches was enough proof that Fletcher was more than capable. He was incredibly talented. "Oh God. A Prince Albert. I'm sorry. That sounds exhausting when you're just trying to do your work like ma'am this is a Wendy's." He repeated the old vine knowing Fletcher would get it. He shook his head and sighed. "Look, I've already seen a client flirt with you so I just KNOW that shit happens often." He wasn't super jealous especially when he trusted Fletcher but there was a small, tiny part of him that hated the idea." He did smile thinking about telling Fletcher about his future tattoos. Arching a brow with a smirk at the new pet name, Xavier grinned. "Bae. yeah, I don't know either." He laughed at his boyfriend's reasoning for not liking it to much. "You sir are definitely not old." he welcomed the kiss and looked up at the other. "I'm looking forward to all of that. Tomorrow will go by quick," he echoed and chuckled at the pecks before pressing his lips against Fletcher's a little longer. "You too. Text me when you get there just to make sure you're okay. yeah?" Xavier climbed into his car and looked over his shoulder. "Behave!"

FLETCHER

Fletcher chuckled a little at Xavier's Vine reference and then said, "Yeah, if I had to take a guess the person who booked this appointment is getting it purely to peacock in the bedroom. He sounded the type when he made the appointment. So I guess this is me judging. But not feeling bad about it." He listened to Xavier and then admitted, "It does, but I'm with you now. And even before we became official tonight, I haven't been fazed by flirtatious clients in a while." It was true, thanks largely to Xavier consuming much of his thoughts on the romantic front. Ever since that kiss at the school fundraiser. Before that, his focus had been on his daughter and his new adjustments but the fundraiser happened. Their unexpected first kisses happened. When talking about the 'bae' pet name he said, "I guess it wouldn't bother me in writing or text but out loud it just sounds weird coming outta my mouth." He then quickly argued, "I am old and I can accept being your old man." He watched Xavier head to the driver's side of his car while saying, "Will do," and then he stepped away from the curb and turned to leave. But when he heard Xavier's last comment, Fletcher chuckled once. "Not likely to happen!" He called back while walking up the sidewalk towards his own car, pressing the 'unlock' button on the fob.

#Xavier #Ink and Hearts para

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detective-giggles · 1 year

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TWP word of the day prompt (lots of words)

Hahaha. Okay, hear me out. This started as a post 3x06 fill for camp. Then I ended up including: hate, cold, tasty, watching, and forever. All in 1000 words.

💜💜💜💜

“Get up.”

TK groans as Carlos nudges him. It’s far too early for Carlos to be that awake and that cheery and TK pulls the pillow over his head.

“Get up.”

“Come back to bed,” TK pleads. “I’ll make it worth your while. In fact, remember when I-”

“My dad’s here,” Carlos interrupts.

TK bolts upright, immediately on alert. “What happened? What’s going on?”

Carlos chuckles and climbs onto the bed next to TK. “Remember when you told me you’ve never been camping with your dad?”

“Yes…” TK says slowly.

“I think it’s something every kid should do with his dad at least once,” Gabriel pipes up from the doorway. “But we should get an early start.”

TK looks between Gabriel and Carlos for a long minute. “Oh.”

***

Carlos and TK lay the tent on the ground and TK kneels in front of the bag that holds the tent poles. “We’re not gonna have to, like, fish or anything, are we?”

Carlos shrugs. “I mean- we don’t have fishing licenses, so no.”

“Good.”

TK and Carlos assemble the poles and put the tent up in just a few minutes. TK stands back, watching as Carlos uses a mallet to nail the tent stakes into the ground, and they do the same to Gabriel’s tent a few feet away.

“What’s next?” TK asks.

“Firewood.” Gabriel and Carlos say at the same time.

“Right,” TK mutters. So far this camping thing is a lot more manual labor than he expected, and he’s not quite sure which part is supposed to be fun or relaxing.

“Come on,” Gabriel says. TK glances at Carlos who just shrugs, and he follows Gabriel into the forest.

“There’s a lot of poison ivy around,” TK mutters as he and Gabriel search for kindling and larger logs to keep the campfire going.

“Good catch. I hope you didn’t learn to identify that the hard way?”

TK chuckles and shakes his head. “Nah.”

“So, your dad’s not the camping type?”

TK shrugs. “He was just always busy. You know how it is with work. I mean- maybe if I had asked he would have made time? But probably not. And anyway, New York apartments are small and it seems dumb to keep a tent and stuff when you might only use it once a year.”

“I used to take Carlos when he was younger. I don’t think he enjoyed it much. Never could get him hunting with me.”

TK pauses. “Do we have to worry about hunters?”

“Not this time of year,” Gabriel shakes his head. “But we have plenty of wood, we can head back.” They make their way back to the campsite and Gabriel keeps up the small talk. “So how’s your brother? He’s what, a year old?”

“Not yet.” TK beams as he tells Gabriel about his last video call with Gwyn and Jonah. “I’m pretty sure he has no idea who I am, but I’m determined to make TK his first word.”

They return to the campsite and make a couple of haphazard stacks of wood. Carlos has already set up some chairs, filled the tents with their sleeping bags and pillows— and snuck into the snacks Andrea had sent with them.

There are sandwiches for lunch, and some sort of tinned stew for later— in case Gabriel doesn’t catch enough fish this afternoon. They eat quickly, and then TK and Carlos go for a little walk (and if they wind up making out behind a tree for a while, no one has to know.)

By mid-afternoon, they join Gabriel on the dock. He’s caught two trout, which are small and not TK’s idea of a delicious dinner. But they have a seat and watch him fish for a while longer and then clean what he caught. He tries valiantly to make them help, but Carlos holds firm on his you catch ‘em, you clean ‘em policy.

“Can I clean a fish?” Carlos mutters. “Yes. Do I want to? No.”

It takes longer than TK expects and he’s bored and restless by the time Gabriel’s done and gets the fish on the fire.

“I’m not eating anything that came out of that lake,” TK murmurs to Carlos. “We’ll wind up with a parasite.”

“No!” Carlos makes a face. “It’s fine. I promise.”

TK shrugs but ends up eating the fish after all. It’s not bad, but he knows Carlos could have done it better.

“Oh, one more thing to make your camping trip complete!” Carlos pulls graham crackers, chocolate, and large marshmallows out of his bag.

“S’mores!”

TK’s appalled that Gabriel likes his marshmallows burnt, while Carlos prefers his completely untoasted— which TK’s certain that defeats the purpose of a s’more and he toasts his own marshmallows to a perfectly golden hue.

“What do you think?” Carlos asks.

“Tasty,” TK says. “But it’s not like I’ve never had a s’more before.”

“But it’s part of the experience,” Carlos says. “They always taste better when you’re around a campfire.”

They sit around the fire and talk for a little longer, but it’s dark and getting cold and there isn’t much to do so they say goodnight a little early.

TK puts out the fire— dousing it with water, then stirring the ashes and pouring a little more water before he follows Carlos into the tent.

Carlos had zipped the sleeping bags together to make one large bag so they could snuggle when the temperature dips and they both change and then crawl into the bag.

“So,” Carlos whispers as he curls himself around TK. “What do you think of your first camping trip?”

“I hate it,” TK admits. “But thank you. I love experiencing new things with you. And your family.”

“Yeah, it kind of sucks, doesn’t it?” Carlos laughs. “And I love that you’re willing to experience new things with me. But babe,” he says, pressing a kiss to the back of TK’s head.

“Hmmmm?”

“They’re your family too. You’re stuck with us.”

“Forever?”

“Forever.”

Taglist: @plaidbooks @tarlosweeklyprompts

#twpmarchdailyword #post 3x06 #more tooth rotting fluff #family feels #camping #911 ls fic #tarlos

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yukidragon · 1 year

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Our Life Mini Moment - Christmas Shopping

In the spirit of the season, here is a little bit of Christmas-themed fluff with a teenage Cove and Jamie from Our Life: Beginnings & Always, set between steps 2 and 3.

Merry Christmas to you all, and I hope you have a lovely holiday season.

@gb-patch

...

Christmas time in southern California didn’t match up with the traditional image of the season touted in TV shows and movies. Instead of blankets of snow covering the ground in pearly white, there was green grass and sunny days that rarely got nippy enough to require a sweater. Still, most houses and businesses got into the spirit of the season, stringing up lights along the edges of buildings, as well as the occasional palm tree as a substitute for the traditional pine.

The mall especially went overboard when it came to decorating for the holiday season. Red, green, and white practically dominated the décor, with some stores lining their windows with fake snow and icicles to give a true ‘winter’ feeling. Christmas music rang out through every nook and cranny, and there was no place to look without seeing some colorful poster reminding shoppers that there were only so many days left to shop before Christmas arrived.

For as noisy, gaudy, and crowded it could get during this time of year, Jamie still enjoyed browsing around the mall, taking in the sights of the season. Even something as hectic as shopping for Christmas gifts was nicer for the surroundings. What made it even more enjoyable was sharing the experience with her partner.

Jamie turned away from a waving inflatable Santa in time for Cove to finish his transaction with the cashier. “Ready to go?” she asked once he stepped away from the line.

“Yeah, all set,” Cove said as he looped his newest bag onto his arm to go with the others. He beamed, his sunny smile sparkling brighter than the decorations around them. “That was the last gift I needed. I’m ready for Christmas.”

“That’s great,” Jamie said brightly as she looped her arm around Cove’s, mindful of the bags they were carrying.

Cove let out a pleased hum at the close contact even as a blush graced his cheeks. “What about you?” he asked once they left the store behind. “Did you get everything you wanted?”

Jamie was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. “I’ve still got to get a gift for my aunt and uncle.” Another sigh escaped her, one more put upon and overly dramatic as she flopped her head against Cove, her cheek squishing against his shoulder. “I have no idea what to get them.” She let out a small huff. “What do you get for the couple that has everything and enough money to buy it all over again?”

Cove chuckled softly at his girlfriend’s theatrics, though he caught hints of real frustration underneath it all. He readjusted his hold on his bags so that he could give the arm she wrapped around his a gentle pat. “It’ll be okay. Some store is bound to have something they’ll like.”

Jamie looked up at Cove, her cheek still smushed against him. “I hope so.” She straightened up, her exaggerated drama fading to a more genuine concern. “It might take a while though, and it’s already getting pretty late. How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay,” Cove said. Though his answer was sincere, he had to admit that spending an entire day dealing with a crowded mall full of frazzled shoppers was slowly wearing him down. The only reason he lasted so long was likely because of the special person by his side the entire time. “How about you?”

“I’m okay too, except for this present thing,” Jamie said before letting out a quiet sigh as she spotted a nearby clock on the wall. “Elizabeth is probably going to be meeting up with us soon. I’ll probably have to ask her to bring me back here tomorrow, or see if one of my moms can do it.”

Getting around without a driver’s license was rough, but Jamie still had a couple more weeks before she turned sixteen. Even then, it didn’t mean she was necessarily going to get her license on her birthday, and it might be a while longer after that before she could start driving herself around to various places. Cove had recently turned sixteen, but he wasn’t too keen on getting a license of his own yet. He didn’t feel quite ready to drive, needing more time to mentally prepare himself for all the responsibility and risks it entailed. This meant that the two of them still depended on others to give them rides if they wanted to go someplace outside of walking distance from home.

“I don’t mind coming back with you to help you finish your shopping,” Cove said as he offered Jamie a gentle smile.

Jamie relaxed a little at the reassurance and returned the smile with one of her own. She had been hoping Cove would keep her company if she had to come back to the mall, and she gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Thanks. You’re the best partner ever.”

The praise and affection sent Cove’s pulse racing, and he faltered for a moment, stammering out half words before he could manage a response. “I’m not… you’re the one who’s so…” He trailed off as he found himself tongue tied and red faced, fumbling for a way to put into words just how amazing Jamie was to him.

Despite his fumbling, Jamie still received the message loud and clear. Her gaze softened with affection, and she stepped closer to press her lips against his. The kiss was brief, but wonderful, and for the moment they lost themselves in it, the crowd around them practically melting away to leave the pair in their own little world.

When the kiss ended, a soft, happy sigh escaped Cove, and for a moment he had to stop to admire the flecks of light that sparkled in Jamie’s dark blue eyes, a glittering sight that put all the Christmas decorations around them to shame. As tempting as it was to simply stay lost in her eyes, he knew that their time was running short. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s try to squeeze in one more store before Elizabeth comes to drag us home.” He forced himself to look away, scanning the area for any places that looked promising. “How about that one?”

Jamie looked to where Cove nodded his head and spotted the store he indicated - a rather sizable gift shop full of many miscellaneous items for various occasions. It seemed promising. “Okay, let’s go.”

#Our Life Beginnings & Always #Cove Holden #Jamie Last #Jamie Leimomi #Our Life #olba #My Writing

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writersfearofrecognition · 1 year

Text

Ignorance is bliss

Summary: Jacob and his childhood best friend slowly realise their feelings while trying to survive the quarry.

Pairing: Jacob Custos x nameless/female!OC

Warnings: jealousy, cringe dialogue, miscommunication trope, pure ignorance

TW: none i think (i hope, please tell me if there are i will gladly tag them)

A/N: back after some time :) hopefully fast updates once i’m done with exams but i won’t promise anything lol...

Chapter 2:

„and then she jumped off the banister, to defend me. she berated the bully until he ran off and that’s how we because friends.“

suddenly huge arms fall over mine and Kait’s shoulders.

„And after they became friends, they noticed they needed a muscle man for their brain and beauty, so they chose me. of course.“

the kids giggle and we groan at the very embellished story.

in reality he was one day not leaving our side anymore and he was too sweet to be mean to him, well in my opinion, Kaitlyn has always been mean to him. then our parents became close friends since our hometown was small anyways and then we never left each other’s sides again.

it was obvious Jacob had a soft spot for both of us, i was very open with my affection and care for them and Kait…had her own way of showing it.

in the year book we were crowned golden retriever and black cat friendship.

no wonder why.

and even now we were all going to the same college, it was a coincidence for Kait, but Jake and I actively tried to get into the same college. (and Kait secretly too, she just didn’t say that to us two.)

Kait throws Jacob’s arm off her and tells him he smells again, which he retorts but i am too busy with something else to listen.

who was the brain and who was the beauty in his story?

the kids drag me out of the lodge before i could come to a conclusion and before i know it, i’m singing campfire songs between Abigail and Ryan.

i was the entertainer of the counsellor group, not the cool one like Emma, more the…compassionate one.

i sang and clapped and danced with the kids until the night fell, Mr. H. excused himself and Ryan got out one of his famous ghost stories.

some kids didn’t want to listen, so Kait, Abi and i went on the mission to get them to bed without the nightmares Ryan’s story brought them.

Emma wanders to me while i was again, getting all the kids to brush their teeth in the shower house.

„we always meet here it seems…“ Emma says with a smile. she was up to something again, i could feel it in my bones.

the kids swarm her and she halfheartedly talks to them, before asking me a question.

„what are you up to tonight?“

„what do you mean?“

„i mean, it’s the last…real night. tomorrow is going to be the party and the next day we’ll be packing the whole day.“

i give her a look that means ‚not-in-front-of-the-kids‘ and she laughs but nods.

once the kids were in their lodges, i still couldn’t escape her question.

„because we were thinking…to go swimming.“

„in…the lake with the big red sign of ‚do-not-go-swimming‘?“ Emma scoffs, „when have you ever listened to a red sign?“

„in public traffic, Emma. in public traffic…do you have a license?“

she shrugs with a smile, „maybe yes, maybe no…what does that have to do with swimming?“

i can’t help but laugh.

„okay Ems, you convinced me with your theatrics.“

she laughs, a real laugh for once.

„theatrics?“

„no one can fool me, i am the overseer as the kids call me.“ now i was playing yourself up while we were walking back to the campfire.

„sure.“ she smiles but goes quiet for the rest of the walk, until we were right at the fire.

„except Jakeyboy. he fooled you for a long time.“ she says louder than necessary and laughs when Jacob turns around with a shocked expression. i shrug at him and sit down next to Dylan, since Ryan was now between Kait and Dylan. Jacob tries to catch my gaze but i don’t look at him, too busy listening to another not so scary story, so he stares bewildered at Emma who giggles again with an innocent look on her face.

Nick finally comes back from his kitchen duties and sits down next to mw with a small sigh.

He leans his arms on his thighs and looks at me from below.

„hey. how’s going?“

„good. last normal day huh?“ i whisper, trying not to catch the attention of the kids so we could have a normal conversation.

he hums and looks into the fire.

„it’s going to be weird. not being here.“

i smile.

„i think the same.“

he looks at me surprised, „really? all the others can’t wait for it to be over.“

„yeah…it has its downsides but…i don’t know. the whole thing is pretty…“

„cool.“ he finishes my sentence. „yeah.“

we smile at each other.

„hey Nick, you wanna arm wrestle?“ Jacob yells from across the fire, already pushing up his sleeve.

Nick huffs and stems himself up, two kids were already at his side and drag him by his hands to Jacob.

Abigail comes back at the exact moment from the bathroom and sits down next to me.

„what going on?“ she asks whispering.

„just a testosterone competition.“ i whisper back.

she giggles and watches Nick roll up his sleeve. it’s…decent. Jacob most definitely has more strength but who knows. he’s easily distracted.

i force my eyes away from Jacob’s forearms and look at Abi, who’s still living out her middle school dreams in her head.

„you have something for him huh?“ „what? no-.“

„abi…“

she looks away from me and into the woods.

„its too late anyways. we only have a few days left.“ „and? get his number.“

„i-…i have his e-mail.“

i laugh.

„oh abi…e-mail? maybe a pigeon next?“

she laughs awkwardly and leans away from me.

„if you don’t do it yourself, i’ll get a group chat going with all of us, there you can get his number.“

she looks at me with her wide open eyes again.

„you would do that?“

„duh? i want to see you succeed. even if i think Nick is a bit of a manwhore but yeah…if you like him.“ she smiles and leans against my shoulder.

„thanks.“

„no problem.“ i put my arm around her and two girls across from us mimic it instantly.

Jacob had won 2 to 1 and made a victory lap around the fire while Nick shook his head and tried to scoot next to Abi.

i stand up so they could be together and Jacob grabs my shoulders from behind to get me to celebrate with him.

„Jake!“

„i won, i won!“ I laugh, „okay Jakey-,“ i pause before finishing the nickname, i promised him not to say it in front of the kids since yeah. kids are ruthless.

„Jakey?!“ the kids yell instead. „are you two in love???“ one asks and we halter in our movement.

Emma laughs loudly at us but hold a hand in front of her mouth once the attention shifts to her.

„hey! weren’t you and Jacob together?“ a girl next to her asks and she pauses.

„well uh. you know, sometimes things don’t work out. we have different plans after this camp.“ she explains with a confident smile.

i can feel Jacob’s hands cramp around my shoulders and i put my hand on his right one, signalling him that its alright.

„and sometimes, people misinterpret their feelings.“ she looks at us again and her eyes fall to my hand, which i pull back again instantly.

the kids stay silent, waiting for us to say something.

„yeah. it just wasn’t…the right thing. that happens sometimes. like when Jamie went home early, this camp also wasn’t the right thing for him. it happens. and you learn from it.“, Ryan interjects making a lesson out of this embarrassment.

„i miss Jamie…“

„yeah. we all do.“ Dylan finally saves us, „alright one last song, then we go to bed, it’s already late.“

the kids moan but Dylan starts singing and they get out of their mood again.

Jacob still hasn’t let go of me.

„Jakey…“ i whisper and he finally lets go. „sorry.“ „still thinking?“ „yeah.“

i nod with a smile and sit down on the almost empty log next to Nick and Abigail’s.

Nick smiles at me and i smile back, Jacob pushes me further to the right so he doesn’t sit next to Emma, i guess, and plants himself down right next to me. our thighs touch, but that’s nothing new. we always had a more touchy friendship. especially in contrast to Kaitlyn.

two kids were quietly moaning about how they had to change the marking in a tree but we were too busy with singing to really understand what tree they were talking about.

Emma grabs my hand before i could run off after all kids were inside their cabins. „we are going swimming.“

„well. i don’t have to go into the water right?“

she shakes her head.

„but you have to get naked.“

i frown but comply since everyone else agreed, except Abigail and Ryan, who leave for the cabins.

Emma’s the first one in her underwear and in the water, Nick and Kaitlyn follow shortly behind.

i laugh while watching at the deck, next sitting next to Dylan, who Emma also forced to get undressed.

Jacob was somewhere behind us, gathering towels.

we watch the three in the water playing around.

„Last time huh…“ Dylan mutters and i sigh. „I…really don’t want to go. i really like our group.“ „yeah. it’s fun. Mr. H. is weird but yeah.“

„don’t let Ryan hear that.“

he laughs.

„yeah…i won’t change my opinions because i like someone that has another one.“ i nod, „true. same. you have to be true to yourself…and you most definitely are that.“

he laughs and shrugs.

„well, sometimes…other times…not so much.“

i hum and want to ask what he means but he is gone before i can ask.

i shriek when the water splash hits me and Jacob giggles behind me.

„Jake, don’t you dare.“ i knew he would try to push me in next.

„i know i know…“ he crouches down next to me and pushes my wet hair out of the way.

Dylan emerges from the water.

„dude, a warning.“ „that was for fucking with me in the shower.“

Dylan smiles, „okay that was pretty funny…“

Jacob huffs, gets up and steps away.

„what did you do in the showers?“ i ask while turning to see what he does and he runs by me and lands with a bombshell behind Dylan in the water.

„woooho!“ he yells and we all laugh.

„Come on girl, we need a strong legged woman to save us from the depths of the water,“ Emma yells and teases me, while i roll my eyes and hang my legs down the dock again.

„the lifeguard’s never in the water, Emma. but good try.“

she sighs and goes under water. i tug my legs back up the second she emerges under me.

„you mother…hubbard.“

„god i can’t wait to stop censoring myself again.“ Dylan mutters to himself and i laugh.

Jacob notices and goes under the water as well.

i put my legs down again and sigh, looking at the star. it’s almost full moon.

wasn’t there some myth about sex on the full moon being special?

something was touching my foot.

SOMETHING-

i scream. like never before.

everyone turns around to me and Jacob starts laughing.

Kait starts to berate him but he only grins up at me.

„You- you know what i would say if Mr. H.’s rules didn’t exist.“

he shrugs.

„Dunno.“

i kick at him and he grabs my foot.

„Jake…“

„what? the water is nice. nothing will happen. i promise.“

i sigh and he tugs at my foot, opening his arms for me.

i pull back my foot, take a run-up and plunge into the dark water.

i can’t see anything so i dive up quickly, already getting the jeebies.

the water-shy kids loved that i also wasn’t a fan, but my colleagues…not so much.

well Kait protected me so they never said anything but it was quite clear that they thought it was unnecessary.

Jacob swims to me, once i emerge again and puts his hand on my waist.

„okay?“

i hum.

„hey, how about one of us puts her on our back?“ Nick asks and swims towards me but Jacob turns around before he can and almost drags me to hold onto his back.

„Fear not fragile female, Hurricane Jake is here!“

i roll my eyes and laugh while gripping his shoulders tighter.

Emma swims up as well and grins at us.

„see. nothing bad.“

„sure. until something nibs at your foot.“

Dylan smirks and wanted to dive down but Kaitlyn grabs him before he could.

„don’t.“

„what could be down here? the long lost brother of Mr. H.?“ „it’s a lake in the woods Emma. everything could be in here.“ „sure, girly, sure.“ she swims around and cherishes the waters while Jacob swims closer to shore and therefore to Kaitlyn and Dylan.

Nick swims to Emma instead.

„What’s the plan for tomorrow?“

„no hiking.“ i say exhausted and they laugh.

„yes. no hike,“ Kait agrees, „mostly art i think, drawing and voting for the best counsellors all that schtick…and the football match.“

Dylan gave me a look and i laugh.

„what?“ Jacob asks, out of the loop.

„Dylan said i’ll win the vote. i doubt it but he insists.“ „dude, of course you will.“ He gets excited again and i let go of his back, not wanting to get swept around in the lake too much.

he calms down once he notices i was gone and swims right next to me, our bodies almost touching.

„i don’t know…i think Emma has a bigger chance. they all love her.“

Kaitlyn scoffs, „and what’s with me?“ „you’re too bossy.“ Jacob laughs and she dunks him under water.

„and you’re too dumb.“ she says once he’s up again. „hey.“ i say quietly but they don’t hear me, they were too busy egging each other on.

„Do you wanna do the morning announcement with me tomorrow?“ Dylan asks and leans against the ladder to…look more smooth. „Not with Ryan?“ „he doesn’t like them…“

„oh. then sure. we will make him like them. if he wants to or not," Dylan laughs, „consent?“

i shove him, „hey, i didn’t mean it like that.“ „sure.“

he swims a bit away from me and i splash after him.

Emma was the first one out of the water again.

she was grinning down on all of us and posing for jokes while we cheered her on.

Jacob was weirdly quiet this time, probably since he was a little heartbroken, even if he tried to suppress it.

i climb up the ladder next and immediately start to freeze.

„fuck.“

Emma gasp at me and i laugh.

„if a kid heard me, they have bigger problems than a little swearing.“

„She just said fuck!“ Emma yells across the whole lake and i shush her but it was too late.

everyone still in the water gasps as well and educated me on the ‚Importance of manners in this camp‘ as Mr. H. said it.

when Jacob climbs up the latter reciting the most important rule i push him back down, but he held onto the ladder and manhandles me once he was up.

he paraded the ‚rulebreaker‘ as i was, once again, on his back defeated.

Emma winks at me when he sets me down on the benches inside the boat house.

„one day i’m going to puke on your back.“

„wouldn’t be the first time.“ Kaitlyn says while walking by and Jacob almost falls on the floor from laughing before giving her a high-five.

i sigh trying to defeat the flashbacks of my first drunk incident.

Dylan was laughing as well, but stops when he sees a light source walking up from the lodge.

„fuck. Mr. H.“

everyone wanted to educate him first, but with the name of our boss, everyone gasped and scrambled.

Jacob grabs my arm and drags me with him.

up the stairs.

and into Ryan’s instructions room.

we close the door quietly and Kaitlyn fumbled with the keys to lock it, quietly swearing as well.

Mr. H.’s footsteps walk up to the boathouse and Kait finally manages to lock the door.

Emma exhales and crouches down, then giggles before holding a hand over her mouth.

Jacob’s grip on my arm tightens again and i take one step away from the door, right into his…really firm chest.

he held my waist so i wouldn’t stumble around when we clash together.

Kait switches looks with all of us and raises her finger to her mouth.

the footsteps grow louder.

he was coming up the stairs.

i hold my breath, Jacob’s also stopped tickling my neck.

Emma looks right up at the door with her eyes wide open and Dylan and Kaitlyn freeze in their movement, Nick’s leaning right by the door against the wall and closes his eyes quietly panting.

Mr H. stops at the door, tucks down the handle and huffs.

„well.“ he says and walks back down the stairs.

Dylan scrambles to the look out and hides behind the wall, to see where he was going.

„our clothes.“ Nick whispers and we gulp.

we could be easily identified by those.

„he’s walking back to the lodge.“ Dylan says louder and we sigh in relief.

„never again.“ i say and point jokingly at Emma who laughed.

„but the adrenaline baby.“ she says and stood up, cleaning off her backside before throwing her arm over her head to let the adrenaline flow through her body.

Jacob rests his head on my shoulder and sighs again. still thinking huh. „we should go. before he searches the cabins.“

we hum and Kait unlocks the door again.

i gather my stuff and run to the cabins, only stopping once we were right in front of your doors.

there we wave at each other, Emma blows kisses and bows while i and Kait laugh and Dylan yells out a small cheer before the three men disappear in their cabin.

Abigail wakes up when we open the door with a giggle.

„where were you?“ „bathing.“ Emma says with a grin.

„Mr. H. almost caught us.“ „Oh my god.“ Abigail gasps.

„who was with you?“

Emma smirkes, „wouldn’t you like to know?“

Kait’s changing behind her bunkbed, kinda hidden from us three and sighs at Emma’s antics, while throwing on her sleeping shirt and patting her hair dry.

„Jake, Dylan and Nick.“

„oh,“ Abigail says quietly as i get changed and climb up my bed, now on the same height as she was.

„don’t worry. nothing happened.“

„sure.“ Emma smirks.

„nothing with Nick,“ Kaitlyn corrected.

„hey, nothing else happened.“ „you and Jacob?“ Emma asks and Abigail sits up fully, she loved listening to our boy-gossip, and me and Emma had loads of it from high school and middle school.

„Eh? that was just…childhood friend stuff. right Kait?“

Kait scoffs from under me as she lays down.

„true childhood Jake would have pushed you in the second you said no.“

„no…he doesn’t do that anymore since that…guy almost drowned me during that party.“

„huh?!“ Emma and Abigail ask at the same time.

i sigh and Kait explains while her mattress creaks around.

„pool party, some guy was crushing on her, they were in the pool, he pushed her under and drunk as he was, almost didn’t let her get up in time. Jake threw him out after that.“

Well, he grabbed him by the neck to drag him out of the pool and onto the streets but that wasn’t the best anecdote. „It wasn’t even his party but he still threw him out. i think the owner was in his team i don’t know,“ i continue.

„Damn.“ Emma whispers and starts braiding her hair into two braids.

Abigail doesn’t say anything, she was just shocked.

„It nothing.“ „you could not be here with us today because of some guy!!“

„okay Ems, but it didn’t happen. let’s not jump into parallel universes. i’m too tired for that.“

Kait laughs.

„same. i’m going to kill Dylan if he interrupts my beauty sleep again.“

„i’m going to make the announcement with him tomorrow.“ „it’s actually already today.“ i hum, slightly annoyed, „right Abi. anyways. I’ll sleep. good night.“ „good night.“ sang Emma as she jumps into her bed and i laugh one last time before sleep takes me.

A/N: next chapter is going to be...more than this, that’s all i can say lol. hope you liked it <3

#jacob custos #jacob custos imagines #the quarry fanfic #jacob the quarry #Jacob Custos fanfic #idk how to tag stuff

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