#grumpy old man and disaster old man cuddling on the couch

[lazarus-afterdark]

Bad? Christ, no - ya look good, Lucas. Really good.

The words tumbled out of Lazarus before he could stop himself, heat flooded his face. Lazarus's composure seemed to crack, one hand running through his hair as he tried to backtrack.

I mean - the scars, they're not…

Fuck. That's not what I meant t'- ya don't look bad at all.

Lazarus's dark eyes darted away, his shoulders hunched lightly in embarrassment as a blush colored his face.

Sorry, mate. Didn't mean to make it weird.

“Makes sense t’me. Can’t bake f’r th’life ‘f me.”

Lucas went through the hassle of removing his hat. Placing the old thing down onto the arm of the couch. Humming at the other shifting around to get comfortable.

“Any interestin’ projects y’got goin’?”

He looked to Lazarus, checking over the others features. Eyes tired, but soft. Clearly relaxed in the space they’ve created.

[sunsetcurvecuddles]

Hello you told me not to hold back so I’m gonna be ANNOYING feel free to ignore indefinitely until you’re feeling it but I’m gonna send you like a bunch of prompts cause I can’t sleep and am stalling finishing my own fic.

First one: Bobby (obviously), Reggie or Luke or friends I don’t even care, tea and blankets

lol hi have a rebuke cuddle-puddle disaster, also available on ao3 here. warning for swearing and very vague allusions to physical child abuse.

i guess we belong to each other | reggielukebobby | 1.8k words

--

Luke has his guitar in his lap and his writing notebook by his side even though it's late at night. He's playing his acoustic, so that he has no chance of stirring Bobby's parents from where he's sat in their studio, and though he'd never admit it to anyone, it's cold enough that he's found one of Alex's hoodies in the back of the studio, a black one Alex never wears any more, and he's bundled up in it to try to fight off the chills. He regrets storming out earlier this evening — not because his parents might be worried, he's still too mad at them for that, but because he misses his own warm bed in a house with central heating.

But it's late, and he doesn't want to bother Bobby, who's already been generous enough as it is (and is exceptionally grumpy when he's woken in the middle of the night). So Alex's old hoodie, smelling vaguely of the dusty studio and distantly of Alex, will have to do.

A noise distracts Luke from his writing. Something outside the studio, maybe an animal, but it sounded like footsteps. Cautiously, he draws his guitar closer, running through what he could say if it's Bobby's parents, his heart suddenly rabbit-fast in his chest.

A head pokes through the door.

Luke's shoulders drop with relief.

It's Reggie.

He looks a little scruffy, not like himself, because usually Reggie pays such close attention to his appearance, fusses over his hair and colour-codes his outfits and shaves with the precision of a professional painter. But he kinda looks messy, which makes Luke's stomach feel even colder than the air around him.

“Oh! Hey, man,” Reggie laughs, putting on a big smile, and it'd fool anyone else — Reggie's too experienced at this for his own good. “I didn't know you'd be here!”

“Hi, Reg,” says Luke, sounding a little distracted even to his own ears as he carefully looks Reggie over. He's not walking like he's been hurt, and there are no visible injuries. So that's something. Jesus, Luke wouldn't know what to do if Reggie turned up here with a fresh version of the bruises Luke sometimes catches him trying to hide. “You, uh — you good?”

“Yeah, for sure,” Reggie agrees easily, saunters into the studio and slumps down on the couch next to Luke. The relaxed way he moves soothes Luke's worry somewhat. “The house was just — ugh. You know how they can be.” Looking over at Luke, Reggie adds, “Hey, isn't that Alex's hoodie? I was wondering what had happened to that.”

“Hey!” Luke sputters, a little defensive. “He didn't, like, loan it to me or anything, it was just here! I found it.”

“It is cold,” Reggie concedes, pulling his flannel a little tighter around him. “Wish I'd brought my jacket, but it was in the kitchen and I didn't wanna. I dunno. Didn't wanna get in the way.”

Luke nods, puts his guitar to the side so he can press up against Reggie's side. Hip to hip, his cheek on Reggie's shoulder, links their ankles together and puts an arm over Reggie's stomach. Almost automatically, Reggie links his arms around Luke in turn.

Honestly, Luke was intending to steal some of Reggie's body heat, but after Reggie's walk outside and in such a thin layer, he thinks Reggie's probably leeching his own. Luke lets him go ahead; Reggie seems to need it more than he does.

They sit for a moment, both unusually quiet, huddling and not talking. Not so much for a lack of things to talk about, but more because any topic that comes to Luke's mind feels insurmountably complex and emotional. There’s so much stuff he can't tell Reggie — so much stuff Reggie isn't telling him. So they sit together and try to create some warmth without the need for disclosure.

Until there's another set of scuffled footsteps outside.

“Not Alex too,” Reggie sighs, at a whispered volume so that the newcomer can't hear him, “he squirms so much in his sleep, man, I can't share this pull-out with him again.”

Luke muffles a laugh with the back of his hand, but he can't help worry it's Alex, too. Things have been... okay, he thinks, with Alex's folks since he came out, but he also knows Alex hoped for better. Suspects there are things Alex isn't telling them (so they all have that in common).

But it's not Alex. Preceded by an armful of blankets that he's almost tripping on, Bobby staggers in, still in his pajamas and with his eyes almost all the way closed. “Luke? It's fucking freezing, I thought I'd—” He stops when he gets far enough in to see Reggie on the couch too. “Oh, shit.”

“Hey, Bobby,” says Reggie, voice a little nervous. “I hope it's okay that I—”

“Shut up,” Bobby grumbles, and dumps the whole pile of blankets on top of Reggie. “You guys are stupid. You're both out here, in the freezing cold, and neither of you come wake me up?”

“We didn't want—” Luke starts, at the same time as Reggie insists, “You were sleeping—!”

“Idiots,” Bobby growls, rubbing his eye with his sweater paw and yawning. He looks stupidly cute, like a little kid. “You're idiots, and I hate dealing with you. I'll be back.” Turning to leave the studio again, he turns back and adds, “Hurry up and burrito yourselves in those blankets, I swear to god. And Luke, isn’t that Alex’s hoodie?”

“He left it—!” Luke starts, but Bobby’s already gone, leaving Luke with Reggie, cackling at him.

—

By the time Bobby returns, Luke and Reggie have folded the couch out into its bed form, and are snuggling under the several blankets, giggling together as they talk about how grumpy Bobby had been.

“We should have woken him up,” Reggie snorts, “I think then he would have been less pissed.”

“I would have,” Bobby agrees, sounding somewhere between menacing and amused, as he reappears over them. His hair is all shaggy in his face. He's carrying a teapot. And cups. “Sit up.”

Luke does right away, Reggie pulling himself up a little slower. Bobby sits cross-legged at the foot of the couch-bed, tucking his socked toes under his own legs to keep warm, and pours them each a mug of what smells like peppermint tea. Suddenly, Luke can't imagine anything better in the world. When Bobby offers him a cup, he takes it eagerly, wrapping his cold hands around it and enjoying the steam wafting up to his face.

“Wow,” says Reggie softly, eyes wide, “thanks, Bobby.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Luke echoes, letting out a sigh as he takes his first sip.

“Forget it,” Bobby says, a little bitey. Luke knows it's because Bobby hates being seen as nice, so he doesn't take it personally, and he knows Reggie won't either. He has his own cup, which he drinks as though it's done something to offend him, scowling off into the corner of the studio. Reggie nudges Bobby with his foot from under the layers of blankets, and a tiny smile tugs at Bobby's mouth as he nudges Reggie back with his elbow.

After the cup of tea, Luke feels better. He feels warmer on the inside, now, and sleepy too. Reggie is starting to get that dopey, slow blink that shows he's on the verge of sleep as well. Bobby clears his throat and holds out a hand, beckoning for their empty cups. Luke and Reggie hand them over.

“Okay,” says Bobby, after a pause. “G'night, guys.” He goes to stand, but Reggie leans forward and catches Bobby's sleeve.

“Would you stay?” he asks, as if he can't help himself, as if on sheer impulse, but he doesn’t look embarrassed afterwards.

“Reg!” Luke says, a little startled. “It's cold out here, he won't want—”

But he sees Bobby's face, and he stops himself. Because he can see it in Bobby's eyes. That he does want. He’s Bobby, so he won't say it, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his gaze fixed on some point behind Luke and Reggie's heads, but Luke has known Bobby for too long to miss something this obvious, no matter what else Bobby can hide from him.

“That being said,” Luke backtracks hurriedly, “it would be warmer with you here, Wilson. I'm happy to be a leech.”

“That's all I'm good for, huh?” Bobby snorts, but he's already setting the mugs down on the floor near the side of the bed, already shuffling the teapot down there too. He hops up for a moment, and Luke wonders where he’s going, before he realises Bobby is just switching off the light. When Bobby comes back, he pauses, like he's not sure where he fits, and Luke and Reggie make eye contact for only a second before they move apart, leaving a space in the middle.

Bobby looks even less sure of himself, eyebrows knitted, jaw tight. His hands flex and one of them twists in the hem of his sweater. Luke gets it. It looks too much like it's on Bobby's behalf, like they’re doing it to make space for Bobby. Bobby’s always had trouble accepting anything that seems like it’s for his own benefit.

“I already sucked all Reggie's warmth up,” Luke explains.

“Yeah,” Reggie agrees immediately, and Luke loves him, “and you're warmer than Luke anyway, man. I wanna huddle with you. As a penguin, you would be my first-choice huddle-buddy.”

Bobby barks a laugh. “The fuck? What does that even mean?” Finally, he wriggles his way under the blankets in between them, and rolls his eyes when they both throw limbs over him right away, twining legs and arms together and resting cheeks on his chest.

“Like, if we were penguins. You know? In the winter?” Reggie says, like this is totally obvious and self-explanatory. “If I was a penguin, I'd be looking for the Bobby-penguin in the winter huddle to stick close to.”

“Aaand I'm at my capacity for dumb shit,” Bobby says, closing his eyes pointedly, but it's a scam, because his hands come to run through Luke and Reggie's hair. “Goodnight, morons.”

“Goodnight, Bobby,” they chorus. This close, Luke could almost brush noses with Reggie, has to try to focus his eyes to keep Reggie from getting blurry. Reggie sticks his tongue out at Luke just a little, and Luke grins back, links his fingers with Reggie’s over Bobby’s stomach, rubbing over Reggie’s knuckles until Reggie’s fingers don’t feel so much like icicles. When Luke uses his free hand to tug the neckline of Alex’s hoodie up over his nose, the familiar smell of the third piece of his heart soothes him right down.

The feel of Bobby’s fingernails on his scalp makes Luke’s eyelids flutter, and before he knows it he’s dopey, the world feeling blurrier and safer and cozier. Honestly, more like home than his own house would have. He no longer daydreams of returning to his own warm bed. Instead, he feels the way Bobby’s chest rises and falls with his breaths, pushing his and Reggie’s joined hands up and down. If he listens closely, Luke can hear Bobby’s heartbeat, familiar and steady.

Maybe the cold isn't all bad.

--

other prompt fills here :)

jatp taglist (lmk if you want to be added/removed!): @queenmolina @nickalicious @bi-reginald @malecacidd @burntchromas @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight @chickwiththepurpleguitar @fairylightsandrainydays @joyandthephantoms @fighttoshine @michelangelinda @queenofthequillandink 

[just-trying-my-best-everyday]

Ahhhh! I loved your headcanons especially the one about their first touch - all the feels and it's just so intimate. And you can't just leave us hanging like that - tell us all about the first date, first kiss and how they got together headcanons as well!!

Mmmmm, this is a long ass list, but okay, if you insist...

Their first date was...

An absolute disaster, what can I tell ya?

Serves them right, after +10 years of beating around the bush.

Here's the gist of it: Shoko is tired.

Like very, very, very tired, of these two idiots bickering like a married couple and driving her up all the walls.

So she does the sensible best friend of both parties thing and sets them up on a blind date.

Hohohoho, Utahime's face when Gojo drops in the seat in front of her.

Unforgettable.

Gojo's an ass, so he takes pictures.

Those pictures end up in the video their friends make for their wedding.

Utahime is still grumpy about it.

The first fifteen minutes are pretty awkward, since they both think they should try to get along for once, now that they're on a date.

Then Gojo says something stupid and Utahime berates him and they're back to normal and thank God because they were moments away from smashing their heads against the pavement.

On purpose.

The rest of the date goes somewhat smoothly: they get dinner, then ice cream, then they have a walk through the park.

But this is not your ordinary, run of the mill park.

No, no.

This park has a pond.

With ducks.

That you can feed.

Gojo, being the five year old he is, insists on feeding them.

You can see where this is going.

Long story short, they fall in. Both of them. Because they're dumb.

The pond is not very deep, but they're still soaking wet now, and dirty too, because ducks poop in that water.

Gojo thinks Utahime's going to get all mad and kick his ass into oblivion.

But she starts laughing so much she can hardly breathe.

And she is so pretty, oh shit, when she laughs and he really, really wants to kiss her.

So he steps closer, brushes away some plants that are sticking to her face and kisses her.

She is a little surprised at first, but she kisses him back.

Soon they're kissing and laughing, still in the pond, water to their knees, but they're happy.

(Man, that's cute. Someone should write a one shot about it. Maybe it should be me. Hmmmm.)

The park keeper man doesn't have the heart to tell them they shouldn't be there.

They return to Utahime's apartment to get cleaned up but end up making out on the couch and passing out in each other's arms.

There's a little bit of confusion in the morning as to why the hell they're cuddling in smelly clothes and why there's leaves stuck in their hair, but they figure it out.

And so, they start dating.

They aren't hiding it.

They're just... Not not hiding it.

No one figures out until Utahime greets Gojo with a peck on the cheek.

Their students are all super supportive.

Shoko takes all the credit, Nanami wants to drive into a wall because Gojo + in love = kill him quick and painlessly, and Mei Mei makes a boatload of money off a bet.

It's win-win for everyone.

Except Nanami.

But he's happy for them.

They keep changes of clothes in each other's apartment.

There is a full miko get up in Gojo's closet and Utahime keeps a blindfold/a pair of dark shades in her nightstand at all times.

Remember that Utahime steals from him?

Well, now it's worse.

Nothing in his household is safe: his cups, his shirts, his shoes, his food.

One time, she even goes to a night out in Tokyo wearing just Gojo's clothes.

He would say something, but he thinks her wearing his things is the most beautiful thing in the world.

These two?

Cuddlers.

Most dates are just cuddling sessions with a movie or dinner.

Remember the touch thing?

Now that they're together, touch is everything.

Caresses, hugs, kisses, simply holding hands or tapping each other's shoulders.

Gojo stops having Infinity up when he's around her.

Like, sure, that means he sometimes receives a cushion full on the face, but he doesn't mind.

Pick up lines.

Oooooh, man, pick up lines.

Every conversation starts with something like "are your eyes the ocean? Because I'm drowning in them".

Utahime groans every time, but Gojo always catches a small smile as she turns around.

One day, she pulled out a pick up line of her own and he almost proposed right there and then.

She says "I love you" first.

Nobody proposes.

They just decide to get married one day.

There's no party they just go and fill out the paperwork for it to be legal.

They don't wear their rings on their fingers.

Too dangerous.

They carry them in chains under their clothing.

And that's pretty much it! Hope you enjoyed!

Read my other headcanons here.

[sydneyshipsstuff]

so uh last night at like 4 am i couldnt sleep, decided to walk my dog, and came up with this bad boy. It’s a rough draft, though. um @professional-benaddict read it and told me to post it, so whatever rafni says goes. 

-Little! Peter with like everyone lmao (platonically), but main pairing is Tony x Peter. everyone is 18+ and Littles are known. but yeah, I call this “uncanonically Canon AU” because it follows canon character tropes (except Peter).

----------------

so i LOVE the doctor trope w stephen and tony to death, like probably a lil too much, but hear me out

--canon tony and the avengers with not canon (aka powerless) little peter

--im thinking how they met is before peter became classified as a little, he was smart smart. so, he still gets the internship, but a real one this time.

--hes hanging out with the other interns when he feels himself regress. he freaks and goes to hide in a bathroom or something

--he runs into (probably pepper??) someone and they help him get out of the tower because he's obviously very vulnerable

--they (pepper?) take him to the hospital to get tested and find out hes a high care little. once they find out peter freaks out because omg he cant work like this

--(pepper?) assures him that they will figure it our, but with no CG, and just for plot sake, he also is living alone at this point so they dont feel comfortable sending him home, so he stays overnight, at least, in the hospital

--(pepper?) goes to talk to tony himself about this since hes the one who chose and hired the interns. tony isnt quite sure what to do because peter is one of the best in their group

--(pepper?) suggests that he go have a one on one talk with peter and see what the boy wants to do with his future, and also meet with the doctors to see what they think is best for his future

--now, tony has met peter a few times, and the kid is pretty cool, but he never really cared about him (harsh, but canon tony is pretty reserved so yuh) so, when he goes into the hospital room to talk with him, hes mentally preparing to never see peter again

--but, when he walks in, he sees peter sat on a cot carefully coloring in an avengers coloring book, and his entire aura is different and /adorable/

--as if he wasnt already kinda done for, when peter notices he's there, he looks up, eyes blown wide and a kid-like face on full of awe

--he sits on the end of the bed and they simply stare at each other before peter finally gets the courage to ask why tony is there, stuttering through it like an adorable mess

--tony freaks out, because as good as peter is, he planned on letting peter down, but now that hes here, all he wants is to see the boy.

--instead he smooths his nervousness and easily asks about how the boy is doing. he asks if peter has a CG, and predicably, peter just sadly shakes his head

--anyways i dont really know how this part would be worded, and it probably wouldnt happen in just one day, but eventually tony asks peter if he wants tony to take care of him

--peter is a cutie and accepts, again dont really have this part planned out, im akward when it comes to writing about the adopting of a little

--he goes with tony and since he lives in the tower, he also gets the avengers as glorified CGs. now this is the part i LOVE

***added part by Rafni:

"I’d imagine that Peter would just be kept in the hospital, like he doesn’t need any meds nor saline so he doesn’t even have a drip nor is he hooked up to any monitors. He is just there in the hospital pyjamas colouring and waiting for someone to take care of him🥺👀"

And since there’s no medical concerns (anymore) the nurses would have more time to just chat with Peter and make sure he is like mentally taken care of 🌸🌸

---

tony stark- he's obviously the main man and does all the main caring. hes the one who sleeps with peter and makes sure he gets food, and plans the days. he also sometimes will hand make little gadgets (safe ofc) to occupy peter. he gets peter little engineering/inventing kits and will hold back any groans he has as peter hits his leg with a plastic hammer and screwdriver. he also is the one who is ALWAYS there, when he cries, when he's happy, when he's sad.

thor- he lets peter play with his hair, and even lets the boy snuggle, and sometimes even chew on, mjolnir (because of course peter would be worthy)

steve rogers- he lets peter look at and hold the shield. one day he finds the boy curled like a cat dosing on the inside of it

natasha- she speaks in russian to him, and when he goes outside to the park, shes there making sure no one disturbs him

wanda+sam (i had an idea for them when i originally thought of this, but i cant remember it now :/)

bucky- he lets peter also mess with his hair, although more rare than thor, but he does let peter suck on his metal fingers when hes really small, and will scratch peters scalp with it, the metal scratching much better than normal skin. also if he ever gets a fever, the cold of the arm feels amazing on his forehead

bruce- not strictly canon since hes more sciency than doctor, but i imagine bruce is the one who does checkups and takes care of the meds when peter is sick

stephen- he doesnt do it often, plus he's not at the tower much, but hell do little harmless "magic" tricks to excite Peter and when peter gets grumpy, stephen will give him a little stress spell thing to calm peter down

peter quill- i imagine hes the one who is down to do lots of fun stuff, but is also the most reckless towards the actions suited towards littles, getting a lot of scolding from tony. also, he has great taste in music, so when peter has bursts of energy, he'll bounce around the room dancing to old 80s music

rocket- hes the closest peters ever gonna get to a pet, and with lots of bribing from tony, rocket /occasionally/ lets peter pet him and feed him "treats", sometimes peter will ask rocket to do a trick like jump or spin, but rocket with always decline...at first. peters trademark pouts do the trick because either rocket will concede and hurt his pride, or tony will see and threaten rocket into making his little boy happy. its always worth it to see the happy little squirms and claps

gamora- she's the resident story teller. when its bedtime, she'll share her cool space stories, leaving out the gory/scarier aspects. it always does the trick as hes out in minutes. sometimes hell catch her and peter q engaging in loving activities (ie kissing, hugging, whatever), and he'll just giggle away, and as embarrassed as gamora gets, not being an openly affectionate person, she might just go to the extreme to hear the cute giggles out of the little boy

clint- hes pretty chill with peter. he also likes to play games with the boy, playing things like peek-a-boo when he's super small, or playing darts when he feels older. tony isnt /too/ happy about it, but its better than quill so he doesnt say anything.

pepper is there too because i love the idea of tony working away somewhere and pepper calling peter in, handing him a few sheets of paper, sometimes actual documents, sometimes just scratch paper to entertaim the boy, before asking peter to deliver them to tony. she always has a smile when peter eagerly nods with his whole body before running to the office to give tony the papers. it almost always ends with peter in his lap, but it /always/ ends in tony praising him, saying something along the lines of 'theres my little helper boy. look at you'

---

--on any particular day peter wakes up aged up, he doesn't even miss his old internship because this life is so much better, although on these days tony actually lets him help with some safer stuff in the lab with him

--also, they are still the avengers and still have to save the universe. tony leaves him in the care of Happy or Pepper, trusting them both to handle him. sometimes, it ends in disaster. sometimes, they are lucky enough to find happy laying on the couch, with a drooling little boy soaking his suit

--no matter how things end up, it never gets old being able to come home and cuddle up with the reason tony wants to save the universe.

--its no surprise peter is able to help the man just as much as tony helps him. tony stops locking himself up so late at night so he can put peter to bed and cuddle up. he stops drinking when he's stressed, instead finding his boy and reading a story to him. his hookups end, he wants to be there for peter all the time. he gets more work done, the added bonus of having a pretty little boy in his lap helping keep his mind on track.

--tony still has his canon issues, but having peter there makes everything a little more manageable. and when he eventually gets too old to be ironman, its okay, because his universe is lying in bed, a red pacifier in his mouth, and a family of superheroes softly arguing about who the boy loves most

--and despite tony being a narcissist, he knows this is not that, when he thinks that without a doubt he is peters favorite. after all, peter helped him see the good inside the bad

---

so uh yeah thats all i had to say. maybe in the future it will become an actual thing, idk. i still have so many projects im working on first. feel free to add whatever you want to it though !!

[omnivorousshipper]

Deaged deckard? I wanna see of the other react

Hell yeah! I'm loving this fic!

Part 3

Warning: Mentions of past child abuse

Sitting on the couch with Owen, Hattie had scooted over to lay her head on his shoulder and relaxed even further when he wrapped an arm around her. She had missed just simply being able to cuddle up with her brothers and watch telly for a while. However, there was just one small annoyance.

She could still hear the water running from the kitchen as Deckard kept washing the dishes.

When the little boy had come up to her, asking if he should clean them, she had snapped and told him to leave it. But then, he wouldn’t stop fidgeting and glancing between her and the dishes. So, she had grabbed a chair and shoved it in front of the sink of the penthouse’s kitchen. Turning her back, she had left her small, older brother to wash the dishes. Why the bloody hell the kid wanted to clean instead of watch telly, she had no idea.

Lost in the show she and Owen were watching, Hattie didn’t notice when the water was shut off and the little boy had come over to them. It was only when she heard a small noise next to her that she noticed Deckard standing a short distance away, watching the TV.

“What are you doing over there?” She huffed and rolled her eyes when Deckard jumped and stared at her with wide eyes. “Get over here if you wanna watch.”

Clutching the hem of his dress, Deckard shuffled over to them but stopped right in front of the couch, once again staring. What was wrong with him? Hattie would have leapt onto the couch and cuddling right into them.

“Come here, Deck.” Owen said gently and scooped up the little boy with ease. He plopped Deckard down between them, forcing Hattie to readjust. Glaring harshly at Owen, Hattie stayed silent as a small, sharp elbow stabbed her in the ribs as Deckard curled up. Deciding to ignore the little boy, Hattie turned her attention back to the telly.

They made it through several episodes before Owen nudged her shoulder. Glancing over at him, she saw he was pointing down between them. Deckard was curled up fast asleep as he leaned against Owen, and even Hattie had to admit that he looked adorable with such a peaceful look on his face.

Carefully, Hattie stood up, making sure not to wake Deckard. She didn’t want to deal with a grumpy kid that would probably scream at being disturbed. Instead, she took her phone out and snapped a few pictures of Owen and Deckard.

“What are you doing?” Owen hissed.

“Just getting a little bit of blackmail.” Hattie smiled sweetly. Owen simply rolled his eyes.

“I’m going to get him ready for bed. Did you buy him any pajamas?”

“I think so.” She shrugged, busy looking down at her phone.

“How the bloody fuck don’t you know?” Owen mumbled under his breath as he scooped Deckard up. The little boy only made a small noise before curling into Owen’s chest even more.

Hattie was too busy sending a text to notice as Owen grabbed a pile of clothes and headed into a bedroom. She was just happy that she wouldn’t have to deal with Deckard during the night.

Smirking to herself, Hattie pulled up her messages with Luke and sent him the picture of Deckard and Owen.

Can you believe O and I have a little brother now? Deckard was so sweet at this age

Sending the text, Hattie didn’t have to wait too long for a response.

Wtf did you kidnap a kid??

Hattie rolled her eyes.

Nope. Went after Eteon and they fucked Deckard up. Now he’s a kid

It took a few more minutes before she got another text.

You and your brother should not be allowed to look after a child

You’re telling me

Hattie, can you bring him to me?

Why would I do that?

Because I actually know how to take care of a kid

Hattie thought about that for a moment. She had jokingly suggested that they just had Deckard off to Luke and his little crew, but if the man was actually offering, well she wasn’t going to say no. And she doubted Owen wanted to keep taking care of a little kid.

Sure. Be there in a day or two. Mum wants to see him

Don’t get him killed until then

She didn’t bother responding to that. Like she couldn’t keep a small, snot nosed kid alive. Standing, she got herself ready for bed herself.

--

Hattie had just fallen asleep when she heard noise outside of her door. Throwing off the blankets, she stormed up to her door and threw it open.

“What the bloody hell is going on out here?!” She shouted.

Looking out into the small hallway between the bedrooms, Hattie was met with an odd sight: Owen was kneeling down on the ground, Deckard clutching at him and his head hidden in Owen’s neck. Around them were several blankets and sheets, while a pair of pajamas laid not to far away. Owen glared at her over Deckard’s head and that’s when she noticed the little boy was shaking and she could hear small sobs.

Confused, Hattie stayed quiet as she gestured to everything, hoping to get some kind of answer. Instead, Owen mouthed that he would tell her later and waved her away. Shaking her head, Hattie left Owen to whatever disaster was happening and turned on her heel to go back into her room.

Half an hour later, Owen came into her room and looked absolutely exhausted. Hattie was sitting up in bed when he flopped down next to her and let out a frustrated noise.

“What happened?” She asked and gently carded her hand through his hair. She smirked as he relaxed instantly.

“He had a nightmare.”

“And?”

Owen sighed heavily.

“And he had an accident.”

Hattie scrunched up her nose in disgust.

“Isn’t he too old for that?”

“I don’t know.” Owen huffed. “But if I was turned into a kid again and then dreamt about killing my own ex-fiancé, I think I might have a few issues too.”

“Wait, what?” Hattie stared down at Owen, mouth hanging open. Owen sighed again as he sat up and met her gaze.

“He said he didn’t recognize Brixton, but he knew he was an important person. And then he saw every single detail as he killed Brixton: three shots in total, every drop of blood very obvious to see. When he woke up, he had wet the bed and freaked out. If I hadn’t still been up, no doubt he would have tried to hide the evidence.”

Hattie could only stare as Owen explained.

“But you know what the worse part was?” Owen’s voice grew quieter and Hattie could hear the underlying anger as his fists clenched tightly. “He thought I was going to use my belt on him. He even bloody asked if he could clean up before he got punished.”

“What?” Hattie choked on her words. “Why the bloody hell does he think you’re going to hit him? It was an accident!” “But I look like Da, Hatts.”

Hattie went cold.

Out of the three of them, Owen was the one to look like their father the most, even down the widow’s peak. But Owen never acted like there father, in fact personality wise, he was most like there mother. Hattie hated to admit it, but she was the one most like their father, even down to his drinking habits.

But, to even think that Deckard thought that Owen would hit him made her sick to her stomach. She might not like children, or even understand them, but she would never hurt one. She would rather gut herself that do that. And to think that her own brother thought that they would physically punish him made her want to hurt somebody. Preferably their father, if he was even alive.

“What did you do?”

“Got him cleaned up and put him to bed in my room.” Owen sighed. “I wasn’t sure if I could trust him alone in the bath, but he wouldn’t let me help him. Refused to change in front of me too.”

“You think there’s more there than him just being shy?” Hattie narrowed her eyes.

“Yes.” Owen looked away from her, a pained expression on his face. “Do you remember the first time you knew Da punished Deckard?”

Hattie shuddered. She would never forget that time.

“You think he left scars?”

“He left scars on us, didn’t he?”

Hattie had to force herself not to look down at her hands.

“You think Deck will sleep through the night?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to go check on him.”

Hattie could only watch as Owen got up and left her room, his stride slow as if he didn’t want to go back to Deckard. And she couldn’t blame him. It felt as if every moment with this small version of their brother made things even worse.

[ladyburuma]

Prompt # 113: Mitchell and Anders have to face it: it’s hard to be parents and still be lovers.

Going for digital prizes, please. (:

Before all the bottles, the diaper changes, the fussy feedings and burpings, before the late night comforting after monster-filled nightmares, before the children, it was just the two of them. Just Anders and Mitchell. Back when they were Norse god and repentant vampire, then two mortal men. Back when it was only two and not five, things were easier. Simpler. Though neither of them regretted adopting their three children, their son and twin daughters, sometimes they missed the quiet and peacefulness of before.

Before the children, Anders and Mitchell had a flat to themselves where they could make love whenever and wherever they pleased. Now, they owned a decent sized home but sometimes it felt filled to the brim with children, especially when they were watching Ty and Dawn’s two young children on top of their own brood. Before parenthood, Anders could pounce on his curly-haired husband and demand that he be fucked right there and then. If he tried that now, he’d be traumatizing the children and quite possibly even scarring them for life. Before their decision to adopt, the two men had far more energy and could go at it all night if they so wished. Now, however, they were lucky if they got five minutes to themselves. Most nights consisted of waking up to tend to the needs of their young daughters or to check on their older son when he screamed in his sleep about angry eyes and hands curled into fists, memories from his previous home.

The children were young and therefore needed every scrap of attention and affection they could wring from their parents. Arlo, their son, was a little over six. He was fiercely independent and at the same time heavily reliant on his fathers to fulfill his every need. The twin girls, Emilia and Eleanor, were two years old. In typical toddler fashion they wanted to do everything for themselves, in fact they insisted on it. But when either of them were tired or sick or just plain grumpy, they would demand to be waited on hand and foot, with arms crossed tight and adorable pouts on their lips.

Arlo had white-blond hair and bright blue eyes, his round freckled face perpetually covered in something, whether it be dirt or food, it didn’t matter. He was only two when Mitchell and Anders adopted him. He had been taken from his biological parents and put into foster care because they weren’t able to care for him properly. He was largely neglected as he watched his mother and father constantly argue and physically fight each other often. Arlo was a scared little thing when he met the two men who would become his new parents. Mitchell, who was unbelievably tall to the tiny boy and had fierce eyebrows that made him look frightening, was intimidating at first. But Arlo soon saw underneath what he assumed was a scary exterior; he saw the sunshine bright smiles and laughing eyes and felt the warm hugs and for the first time he felt safe and secure. It didn’t take long after that for the little boy to warm up to Anders and soon they were a happy family of three.

Emilia and Eleanor were adopted at birth four years later, given up by their sixteen-year-old birth mother who knew she wouldn’t be able to care for them financially at her tender age. The girls were identical with their ash-brown hair, usually tied up in pigtails, and jewel-green eyes. They were very loud for such tiny creatures and enjoyed giving their fathers’ frequent heart attacks on the daily (“Do you think it’s like frequent flyer miles? Like, will I get a free hospital stay after I reach one hundred of them?” Anders would say jokingly).

Anders and Mitchell loved their three children whole heartedly, but sometimes they missed the quiet of before. Anders especially missed the regular sex. Now he felt like he or his husband would have to pencil it in their busy schedules between work and homework and dance class for the girls. Neither man realized just how hard and time consuming parenting small children could be.

—————

Normally Anders didn’t work weekends. He usually stayed home with his family and attempted to watch movies and spend time with the kids, but the girls were always more interested in trying to climb the bookshelves while Arlo ran around the kitchen, demanding string cheese or a juice box. More often than not the adults ended up passed out the couch when the children crashed at nap time. Of course this only happened after a lot of howling and wrestling and promises of just for ten minutes, we will wake you up after ten minutes please just sleep.

Anders walked in the front door, just having gotten home after an impromptu lunch meeting with a needy client. As soon as he walked in he noticed his husband sprawled on his back on the living room floor, one arm flung over his eyes in defeat. The twins were climbing all over him like he was their own personal jungle gym and Arlo was staring entranced at whatever horrible kids show was on the television at the moment.

No one seemed to notice his arrival so Anders took the whole scene in, biting the inside of his cheek in a bid to keep silent. There were graham crackers strewn across the floor, crumbs crushed into the carpet, half-full sippy-cups leaking on the coffee table, and the girls yelling something indecipherable while they clambered over their prone father. Through all of this, Arlo stared at the TV with a blank expression on his face, his string cheese lay forgotten at his feet.

Anders shook his head and grinned. “I’m gone for less than two hours and this whole house falls apart,” he says.

Emilia and Eleanor immediately pause in their play and look up at the sound of their dad’s voice. Mitchell peeks up at Anders from under his arm, looking helpless and begging for aid. “Save me from this hell hole of naughty children.”

“What happened?” Anders asks as he steps around the food on the floor and hefts one piggy-tailed toddler under his arm.

Mitchell sits up and places the other girl on the ground next to him. “Emmy and Ellie thought if they held me down, I wouldn’t be able to force nap time on them.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I came home in time to rescue daddy and get you two rascals down for a nap!” Anders said as he tweaked Emmy’s nose. She giggled before realizing what he said.

“Noooo!” she whined, which in turn got her sister yowling, too.

Anders and Mitchell carried the two toddlers up the stairs during mid tantrum, all to the chorus of “no” and “please don’t make me” and “you’re a poopy-head.” All the while, Arlo was tuned out to the rest of the world as his show continued to play.

—————

After wrestling with the twins and reading a short story out of their favorite story book, then giving in to their demands of just one more please, Anders and Mitchell had finally gotten the girls to sleep for their nap. They quietly walked back to the living room to find Arlo had actually curled up on the floor in front of the television and fallen asleep on his own. Mitchell sighed in relief as he plopped down on the sofa as quietly as he could manage while Anders gently draped a blanket over their sleeping son.

“Thank Jesus,” he whispered, eyes closed and head resting against the back of the couch.

Anders smiled at his husband as he slipped down next to him, curling into his side and laying his head against the taller man’s chest, listening to his heart beat. “At least it’s quiet now.”

“Hmm,” Mitchell hummed tiredly as he wrapped an arm around Anders and lightly rubbed his back, making gently patterns with the pads of his fingertips. The two men fell asleep cuddled together on the couch, thankful for the silence and for sleeping children.

—————

The peace didn’t last long, however. It never did in the Mitchell-Johnson house. The twins were up a little over an hour later, energized after their nap and ready to cause more havoc and destruction. Arlo woke up to the sound of his sisters’ running around upstairs and hollering at the baby gate for someone to let them out. Now that his show was over, Arlo was back to his usual activities which included racing around outside barefoot in his pretend play.

Anders and Mitchell resigned themselves to cleaning the living room from the earlier disaster created while the blond was at lunch with a client. After they had vacuumed and wiped down the coffee table and moved all the toys back into the downstairs playroom, they went their separate ways to spend some time with the children and hopefully prevent more messes.

Mitchell made his way outside where Arlo was running around and jumping, engaged in pretend combat with fake pirates attempting to take over his ship. The Irishman quickly became the pirate in his son’s play and the two dashed around the backyard, thrusting styrofoam swords at each other and laughing.

Inside, Anders went into the playroom and was immediately given a plastic tiara to wear and forced to sit at the tiny pink table and have a tea party with Eleanor and Emilia. He sipped on the pretend tea (which was really just apple juice) as he chatted about princessy things with his daughters. They giggled at Anders’ attempt at a posh English accent and then Ellie tried it for herself which had Anders laughing in turn.

—————

After engaging in play with the kids for a couple of hours, Anders and Mitchell retired to the living room once more, cuddled together on the couch with a movie playing in the background. Arlo, Emilia, and Eleanor were playing together quietly in the playroom, giving their fathers’ some much needed peace.

“I love you,” Anders said quietly, his head once again resting against his husband’s chest.

“I love you, too, darlin’,” Mitchell replied as he pulled the blond in tighter against him.

“I miss being able to spend time with you, just us. No responsibilities outside of work, and doing whatever we wanted without having to worry about children.” Anders sighed, pausing for a moment as he listened to the beat of his husband’s heart. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the kids more than anything, but I miss you.”

Mitchell kissed the top of Anders’ head before replying. “I understand, I miss you, too. Maybe we can pawn the children off on one of your brothers this weekend for at least a few hours, that way we can do something just the two of us.”

“We could just stay here and fuck all day,” Anders said, looking up at Mitchell with a decidedly wicked gleam in his blue eyes.

“I like the sound of that,” Mitchell whispered huskily before kissing the blond, hard.

The two quickly got caught up in each other as they kissed, Anders’ fingers twined in Mitchell’s curls and Mitchell’s arms wrapped tightly around his waist. They were so wrapped up in their heated embrace that they failed to hear the small pitter-patter of children’s feet running down the hardwood floor of the hallway, heading for the living room. They broke apart suddenly at the sound of a loud gasp.

“Why are you eating each other’s faces off?!” Arlo asked loudly, his face a picture of confusion and concern. The girls yelling “eww!” behind him didn’t help matters much.

“Nothing, Arlo. We were just kissing,” Anders tried to explain to the little boy.

“That’s gross!” he shouted.

“Kissing is yucky!” Ellie agreed, Emmy nodding vigorously next to her.

Mitchell sighed dramatically, falling back against the couch and Anders could only chuckle at the expression on his children’s faces and his husband’s reaction to being caught kissing by his kids. “Little shits,” he said quietly after he shooed the three back off to the playroom with the promise of having dinner soon.

—————

The two men had to get dinner ready, which was never an easy task as the three children could never decide on what to eat and it usually resulted in at least one child pouting and refusing to eat what was on their plate. Being as tired as they were and hoping for an early bedtime for the children so they could spend quality time together, Anders and Mitchell decided to go with something quick and easy, something that children would all eat without kicking up a fuss.  

Hoping that grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup would do the trick, Anders prepared the food while Mitchell ushered the three kids up the stairs to wash their hands and whatever that sticky substance all over the girls’ faces happened to be. By the time Mitchell was finished with the water fight against the children, his husband had finished with dinner. The Irishman trailed behind the three rascals, his shirt slightly damp and his curly hair a mess. Anders smiled softly and reached up and gently ran his fingers through the dark tangles in an attempt to tame it once more.

Dinner was much enjoyed by Arlo and the twins and the three happily munched away on their cheese sandwiches, chattering like birds throughout the meal. Once they had eaten their fill, Anders took the three upstairs to help them brush their teeth and change into their pajamas. Mitchell would join him soon after clearing the dishes away to help hold the girls down so they could brush their hair out of the knots and snarls it had turned into throughout the day.

Finally Arlo and Emilia and Eleanor were dressed and brushed and ready for bed. The family of five trooped back down the stairs so the kids could watch a movie before bedtime. They bickered and pushed each other and called the others names, but in the end a Disney movie was chosen and they all hunkered down to watch it.

Thankfully by the end of the movie, the girls had dozed off and Arlo’s eyes were heavy with sleep. Mitchell picked Ellie and Emmy up in his arms and they cuddled closer against his chest. Anders scooped Arlo up and followed his husband up the stairs and into the kids bedrooms. He tucked Arlo in bed and kissed his forehead and whispered I love you, then went off to wish the girls sweet dreams as well. Once Mitchell had done the same, the two men changed into sweats and baggy tee shirts and brushed their teeth before collapsing on the couch in the living room once more.

“Please tell me one of your brothers has agreed to take on our small pack of wildlings this weekend,” Mitchell whined, his eyes begging his husband to give him some good news.

“Dawn and Ty are picking them up Saturday morning and bringing them back Sunday evening.”

“Thank the gods.”

—————

The rest of the week fairly flew by and Saturday morning arrived much to the delight of Anders and Mitchell. The packed overnight bags for the children and extorted promises that the three would behave for Auntie Dawn and Uncle Ty. The three were excited to visit their two cousins, Finn and Abby, who were close in age to them.

Ty showed up after breakfast and was welcomed with squeals and hugs by his nieces and nephew and grateful looks from his brother and brother-in-law. The three men managed to buckle the children into their car seats in record time and Anders and Mitchell bid farewell to their children before Ty drove off.

All plans of fucking the day away were forgotten as Anders and Mitchell fell on their bed and almost immediately passed out. The two men cuddled together as they slept without interruption for the first time in awhile and only woke up a few hours later. Even then they decided to get some deep cleaning done now that they didn’t have three little tornadoes whirling around behind them, destroying everything in their path.

By the time they got around to the one activity they were most looking forward to, night had fallen outside. Mitchell led his husband to the bathroom and turned the shower on, deciding they could wash themselves up after a day of cleaning and have hot, passionate sex at the same time. Two birds with one stone, he said.

Anders didn’t hold back his moans or curses like he normally would now that they had to the house themselves. The sex was loud and soapy and desperate, the sexual frustration that had been pent up between them for weeks finally spilling over as they collided, taking each other to new heights once more.

They spent much of the following morning and afternoon wrapped around each other in their bedroom. Not knowing when they’d have alone time again, Anders and Mitchell barely let the other out of their sights more than necessary. Only an hour before Ty was due to arrive with the kids did the lovers finally roll out of bed and made to get dressed.

Ty showed up with bags under his eyes and his short hair in absolute disarray. Apparently, he and Dawn didn’t get much sleep the night before due to the combined efforts of the five wee heathens making it their mission to be as loud as humanly possible. Anders stood at the front door chatting with his younger brother as Arlo and his sisters rushed into the living room to greet their Irish father.

Mitchell allowed them to tackle him to the floor and crawl all over him while screaming like barbarians. He would play wrestle one to the floor and hold them down while tickling them mercilessly and the other two would attempt a daring rescue of their sibling. Anders walked into high-pitched giggles from his children and a low chuckle from his husband. He leaned against the wall as he watched the four of them tussle about, wrestling and tickling and laughing, and at that moment, Anders knew.

He knew that as much as he and Mitchell complained that they didn’t get enough time together, that the children were sometimes obnoxious and caused headaches and horrible messes, he wouldn’t want it any other way. Watching Mitchell play with their children made his heart swell with so much love and affection for all of them. He knew the children would grow up quickly; soon they’d be surly and rebellious teenagers, having their hearts broken for the first time and learning how to stand up for themselves. Then they’d be young adults, heading off for college and preparing themselves for their futures and no longer needing their daddies to lean on and support them.

One day, all three children would grow up and leave the nest, leaving Anders and Mitchell to spend the rest of their lives together doing whatever they wished. But for right now, they were his babies. Arlo and Eleanor and Emilia were all small children who needed their two fathers’ to love and care for them and teach them as they grew. These three tiny people who held both Anders and Mitchell’s hearts in their little fists were the world to him.

Maybe Anders and Mitchell just had to face it: it is hard to be parents and still be lovers. But at the end of the day, it was all worth it.