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spnae · 2 years

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Chapter 13 Home Again

****** ******* *******

Spike pulled the car up in front of the castle and the two of them got out. “Doesn’t look like the girls are back yet,” he observed.

Buffy nodded as she finished up her conversation on her cell phone. “Thanks again Wil, let me know ASAP. I’d like to get started this week. Talk later, bye!” Buffy had called Willow and Dawn on the way home to fill them in on Giles’ accident and explain that it would be delaying their trip.

“That went better than expected…” Buffy said as she looked at her phone after hanging up and then up at the dark castle. “Wil said she’d get right on the mapping thing and let me know when she had something. They both seem oddly cool with the idea of us staying longer. Willow says Xander is planning on visiting them really soon.” She grabbed a flashlight from under her seat and the two of them made their way over to the duplex.

“You know, I’m really starting to wonder about them. Almost seems like there’s something going on doesn’t it?”

Buffy chewed her lip, “I’m glad Xander is going to be there, he would let me know if it’s something serious.”

“What are you thinking, Buff?”

She shrugged, “I’m thinking I’m probably paranoid.”

“To quote a new favorite book of mine, ‘Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face’.”

“God that’s a cheerful thought, what the hell have you been reading?”

“The Dresden Files by an American bloke called Butcher, they’re about a wise-ass professional wizard in Chicago. Only thing is that the vampires are nothing like the real thing, but still. The bloke is pretty brilliant. I’ve read the first five. I can’t wait for the next one to come out next month.”

“Oh my God, you actually are a geek!”

“Hey now!”

“It’s actually kinda cute- hot, I definitely meant hot.”

Spike narrowed his eyes at her, “Not sure how to take that one, Pet.”

“It’s a good thing, it means you have layers. Just accept it,” she grinned as she opened the door to the entryway, “Here we are!”

“Right, let’s test this out, ladies first,” he gestured towards the door. Buffy went in and stood waiting.

As expected, Spike was able to step right in, “Alright then, let’s see it.”

“We’ll be over here on the right,” Buffy opened the door stepping into the dining area, “Can’t you just see it?” She grinned.

“Didn’t expect this.”

“I know right? I think most of the crown molding is in good condition and the wainscoting in the kitchen is alright. The breakfast nook is going to need some help…”

“Should look into that Nacro-tempered glass Wolfram and Hart loves so much. Got to say, that stuff is bloody brilliant. I found out it’s actually a spell on the glass, bet Willow could pull it off.”

“That’s a good idea, Honey. Ready to check out the upstairs?” She asked as she pulled out a stake. Spike nodded as he did the same.

The two of them went up to the bedrooms, “What’s with the hotel setup up here? Are these rooms the same?”

“I know right? But still, that means Dawn gets her own bathroom over here and you and I get our own-“ she walked over to the second bedroom, “I figured this would be our room,” she continued walking through the spacious bedroom and into a little hallway of sorts that separated the dual closets and lead into the large bathroom.

“Privacy is the key here.”

Spike gave her a wolfish grin, “A new bathtub would be good in here.”

“See, now we’re on the same page,” she smiled.

“Out of curiosity, what would be the first thing you would do to really claim this place as ‘home’?” He asked her.

“Oh, that’s easy, I’d get rid of the dead critters. Then I’d get the leaky fireplace and the water damage fixed. And the bathrooms, then I would rip up the carpeting in the bedrooms. But first,” Buffy pressed Spike to the wall and started to unfasten his pants, “I’d give my boyfriend a good shag in our own private bathroom because the carpeting in the bedroom is seriously nasty.”

“Picking up on the lingo now are you?” he murmured as he kissed her neck and pulled her shirt off, “You know I’m always up for a good shag.”

In a matter of seconds half their clothing was littered around the dank and dirty bathroom but neither of them cared. They were too engrossed in each other. Buffy screamed as Spike held her pinned her to the wall, he held both of her hands with one of his. She relaxed as she wrapped her legs around him and allowed him to drive into her, sending her over the edge. Spike released her hands as he felt her shudder. Buffy grabbed his shoulders and tore at his back as he continued on. She kissed his neck and found his earlobe taking it in her mouth. Spike let out a moan that was more of a growl as Buffy spurred him on to completion with a gasp and another little scream of pleasure.

Spike kissed her tenderly as he released Buffy from the wall. She slid down still holding onto him as she found her feet. She kissed him again, “We still have a house to explore,” she teased.

“Should I bother with clothes or are you planning on claiming every room like that?” He grinned as he reluctantly let her pass him.

Buffy smirked and slipped on her jeans and underwear, “It was just an idea, don’t know if it worked,” she looked around at the bathroom, “In spite of the ugly tile, it does feel more like home,” she laughed.

“Hey, whatever it takes, Love. I’d be happy to repeat as often as necessary.”

They dressed quickly and continued on through the house as she had with Giles just that morning. As they walked through they discussed all the work that would need to be done and the things they would like to do. They spent some more time in the kitchen and living room going over ideas. Spike had some surprisingly good ones Buffy liked.

“I think when Callum comes to look at the elevator I’m going to ask him to come take a look over here.”

“Good idea, you can always call Xander to come take a look too. At least he’s going to be on this side of the pond now.”

“Oh I was already planning on doing that,” She said as she opened the basement door, “Ready?”

“Lead on, Slayer.”

However, the basement was empty this time. Buffy shrugged her arms, swinging them around her, “Well it’s not like we didn’t get a vamp tonight.”

“More ways than one for you, Love.”

“Rolling in the laughter here. So what do you think about the basement?”

“Let’s see this passage.”

Buffy went over to the lever, “Here we go,” she said as she flipped it.

“Sweet little addition, too bad it’s not a wardrobe.”

Buffy smirked, “We could always replace the shelves.”

“What do you want to do down here?”

“I was thinking it could be your ‘Spike-Space’. You know, a day time hangout complete with tunnel access.”

Spike made a circuit around the large space including the bathroom and utility/laundry room, “Needs some work, some comfy furniture, TV, put a fridge down here. Be almost like my crypt in Sunnydale.”

“Except with a bathroom and laundry!”

“Yeah what’s with that anyway?”

“Oh come on, laundry in the basement isn’t that weird.”

“I’m used to that. Bloody hell, I slept in close proximity to your little Fluff-n’-Fold for weeks. I’m talking about the full bath. Other side the same?”

“Pretty close, it’s arranged a little differently because of the tunnel but it’s basically the same.”

“Wonder if they put it in because of the tunnel. You know, kill a baddie, get all nasty and have a shower waiting right here next to the laundry.”

“Makes sense. Then they just did the same thing over there for symmetry? Then why isn’t it symmetrical?” Buffy shook her head and shrugged, you know what, it doesn’t matter. It’s awesome and had I known what it looked like in here to begin with, I’m not sure I would have ever gone to Rome.”

“Now she says,” Spike rolled his eyes.

“So are you in?”

“Course I am. Clearly you love it and I couldn’t hope for anything better. We’re going to be here longer than expected now so we might as well get started on it.”

Buffy beamed at him.

“God I love that smile, I’d do anything to make you happy,” he said softly as he cupped her cheek in his hand.

“You deserve to be happy too.”

“I really don’t, but thanks for saying it, Love.”

***** ****** *****

When Spike and Buffy returned to the castle that night, only Faith hadn’t returned yet. Most of the girls had already turned in for the night but a few, all four of the Level 4 girls that is, were still up.

“Uhh oh, what’s going on here?” Buffy asked when she saw them huddled in a corner.

“Everything alright?” Spike asked.

“Hey, Buffy, Spike…” Zari hedged, “We just wanted to touch base with you. How’s Mr. Giles doing?”

“He’s going to be fine, he should be home tomorrow, depending on some test results. Faith and I will go get him.”

She nodded, “Glad to hear it.”

“How did it go tonight? I didn’t get any calls so I’m guessing it went ok,” Buffy said as she and Spike sat down on the couch together. Buffy absentmindedly rested her arm on his leg as she leaned over in her seat. Spike sat back relaxed and placed a hand on the small of her back.

“Yeah, kinda slow actually. My group got two,” Zari offered.

“Three,” Wendy said, holding up three fingers for emphasis.

“Two for us,” said Addison.

“Two for us too,” Ursula added.

“See, including the one Spike and I got at the hospital that makes ten, total.”

“Not such a slow night after all,” Spike drawled.

“We’ll have to see how things went for Faith.”

“You got one at the hospital? While you were there with Mr. Giles?” Zari asked.

“Down in the morgue, it happens,” she rolled her shoulder tensely and Spike moved his hand to start massaging it for her, “Any injuries or anything weird to report?”

“Nothing any of us haven’t all had in training,” said Ursula.

“And your thoughts on team building?”

All four girls looked around at each other, “It was alright,” Ursula said.

“The girls are so— headstrong,” Wendy blurted out.

“I didn’t have any issues with Ava, Cora, or Aretta,” Addison countered.

“That’s good, I’m glad things went well for you tonight, but you don’t learn from smooth sailing. I’m planning on continued group sessions like this. We’ve been teaching you how to be individuals, the way we were taught. But I think this is important too. According to the records, I was the first Slayer to really have a group of friends working by my side. I can honestly tell you that I would have been dead a long time ago if it weren’t for my friends.”

“Would have, Love?”

“Spike is right. In fact I have died, twice. Both times my friends brought me back. The first time with CPR, the second time— well that was more—-“

“Devastating? Heart wrenching?” Spike offered.

“I was going with ‘complicated’.”

“Well yeah, it was that.”

“You were there?” Addison asked Spike.

“Tried to be, wasn’t.”

“You were there when it counted,” she patted the inside of his knee, “The point is, that without my friends, I would have just been one more dead Slayer. I wouldn’t have gotten to the point I am now in my life. You girls wouldn’t have gotten your power if I didn’t have these amazing people by my side.”

“So what’s next in our training?”

Buffy glanced at Spike, “It’s sort of a project. I have our witch working on the safety angle now and we’ll let you know soon.”

“In the meantime, you should probably work on getting to know your teammates a little better. What do you think, Pet, a little community service project?” Spike suggested.

Buffy smiled, “I like the way you think. Smart and sexy.”

“Dunno about smart, Love.”

Wendy and Zari snickered.

Buffy rolled her eyes, “Anyway we have a few things we could use help with, and I think this might be a good non-slayer way for you to get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to control your power in everyday situations.”

“What are you going to have us do?”

Buffy grinned as she straightened herself up, pressing into Spike as she did so, “You’re going to help us start our home renovation project.”

All four of the girls looked at them like, “What?” They said at once with very different inflections.

Addison and Zari both looked as though Christmas had come early. Ursula seemed utterly disinterested until she caught sight of her girlfriend’s face beaming back at her, “Oh all right, she mumbled.”

Wendy on the other hand, “You must be joking. You’re going to have us do physical labor? Slaying is one thing but labor…” she scoffed.

“No, I’m not and yes, I am. Slayers often find themselves in unfamiliar situations. Either on the job or helping out a friend. It’s important for you guys to get outside of your comfort zones and create these lasting relationships. Spike and I have friends around the world. If one of them calls needing help we would be there, no questions asked, because we know that they would be there for us too.”

Spike coughed dramatically, “LA!”

Buffy glared at him, “That was different, I thought Angel had gone all dark-side and I didn’t even know you were alive.”

“Peaches was playing it pretty close to the vest on that one.”

“I would have answered the phone for you, you know.”

“Paris…”

Buffy sighed, “Vacation… I was screening calls… and you’re not helping,” she glared at him. Spike ignored her. “Ok so yeah sometimes people have stuff going on and sometimes you have to make a judgement call, and it’s not always the right one. That’s also why it’s important to have a seriously long contact list. When you leave here, I want you to know you have people here you can rely on when things get tough, like apocalypse tough. Because we’ve seen a few. I really want you guys to still think of this castle as someplace you guys can come back to for help or to continue training. So yes I am going to have you doing a variety of things in your groups starting with cleaning up the house on the edge of the property.”

“When are we going to start this?” Wendy asked.

“Tomorrow morning. I think we’ll split you up. Two groups in the house and two in the training rooms. That way you’re all set when Faith and I have to go get Giles. Spike will be around but you know, sunlight is kind of a problem. So he won’t be making any outside trips.”

“Too right.”

“I thought vampires were supposed to sleep during the day.”

“Sleep when I can get the bloody kip.”

Buffy patted Spike’s leg, “Speaking of, time for bed, all of you.”

***** ****** ******

Soon the girls were upstairs and Spike and Buffy were alone. Buffy leaned back against Spike getting comfortable, “Spike?”

“Humm?”

“Think we should wait up for Faith?”

“Could watch some telly.”

Buffy reached for the remote, “Here, you pick.”

“Tired, Pet?”

“Long day.”

“Come here, Love,” he murmured as he readjusted on the couch so they could both lay more comfortably.

“Don’t mind if I do,” she said, curling up close to him. He turned on the TV and started searching for something to watch.

“Thank you.”

“What for, Love?” He asked absentmindedly.

“Being here, with me.”

He stroked the hair from her forehead, “No place I’d rather be, Pet. Now get some sleep, I’ll wait up for Faith.”

It was almost two hours later before Faith returned to the castle. Spike was watching an old horror film when she walked into the living room.

“Spike? You in here?”

Spike pulled himself up a little on the couch trying not to disturb Buffy, “Yeah, how was your night?” He asked in a hushed tone.

Faith came around the back of the couch they were on to sit down on the other couch. “Oh hey man, I didn’t realize Buffy was down here.”

“No worries, she was doing a mother-hen when the day caught up to her.”

“Figures.”

“Bag any monsters?”

“Two, you?”

“One. Makes a round dozen for team Slayer tonight.”

“Girls did good huh?”

“Yup. Went so well Buffy is keeping them in their groups for other stuff too.”

“Nice,” Faith looked around the room and glanced at the TV, “What’s this one?”

“What, this? ‘Horror of Dracula’, stumbled onto a Christopher Lee marathon.”

“So what, is this like nostalgia for you or more like a cooking show?”

“Sort of lost the thrill for the kill… mostly. More like a reminder of how much I hate that wanker Dracula, but yeah I am getting a wee bit peckish now you mention it.”

Faith gestured towards Buffy laying practically on top of him, “Looks like she’s got you pretty well pinned down.”

“Except she weighs about nothing,” Spike nudged her awake, “Up you get, sweetheart. Faith’s home safe and sound.”

Buffy mumbled “Oh good…”

“Hey there sleepyhead,” Faith chuckled, “Probably going to be another long one tomorrow.”

Buffy shook her head sleepily, “Got it covered, got a set-it-and-forget-it plan for the girls tomorrow.”

“Crock-pot teaching?”

Buffy yawned, “Ahh huhh…”

“That’s enough of that, let’s get you upstairs, Love.” Buffy groaned in protest as Spike gently pushed her up to stand. “You’ll thank me in the morning, Goldilocks.”

“I know…” she groaned again.

“I’m down for some serious sack time for sure,” Faith said standing up, “but I need food.”

“You hungry, Love?”

“Need…sleep…” Buffy said in a zombie impression.

Spike chuckled, “Bed it is for you then.”

“I can find our room all on my own, you stay. Eat.”

“Yeah alright, night, Beautiful,” he kissed her, “I’ll be up in a bit.”

“Night,” she replied, yawning.

The three of them walked together as far as the entryway, Buffy broke away from them and went upstairs while Spike and Faith went into the kitchen.

“She ok?” Faith asked as she dug around in the fridge for some leftovers. She set a couple of beers and a container of blood down on the work table in the kitchen.

“Ta, love,” he said, pouring some blood into a big mug. He popped it into the microwave for a few seconds and cracked open the beer Faith had set out for him. “Yeah, she’s just… she says she’s all healed up but I think the ribs are still a little sore. You know slayers. She just isn’t quite back to full strength yet.”

“Sure you didn’t knock her up, screwing like bunnies since you got back.”

Spike sipped his beer, “You off your trolley? Hello, vampire. Dead man walking. Blanks only. Not going to happen.”

“We’ve seen stranger things.”

“Not that, can’t happen,” He said, taking a drink of blood.

“It’s happened before,” Faith shrugged, “Course that was one vampire knocking up another, not a slayer,” she said, taking a drink of her beer.

“What are you on about?”

“Thought you knew. You mean you don’t know?”

“Clearly not.”

“Shit… I just thought...”

Spike finished the blood in the mug and set it down, “What’s this bollocks you’re on about, out with it…”

Faith took a deep breath, “Angel, has a kid…”

“Bollocks- If Angel had a kid I’d know about it.”

“Kid’s only about two or something but he looks like a teenager.”

“I just left him in LA…hang on…” Spike took a long drink switching back to the beer. Thinking, he shook his head, “That just can’t be right… how the hell could that even happen?”

Faith shrugged, “All I know is what Wes told me just before I came back to Sunny-D. Some kind of prophecy BS I guess.”

“Who the hell was the mum?”

“Some vamp, name a Darla.”

“Oh I know Darla alright. Angel’s sire. My great-grand-sire if you will. We all ran together when I was young… Angel staked her once. They brought her back as human and got Drusilla to re-vamp her.”

“Yeah we’ll apparently after that she and Angel got busy and then she staked herself so Connor could live.”

“Connor… Connor… I know that name… there was something about a kid at Wolfram and Hart… what was it?” He paused thinking, “I wasn’t really around much for that, but I did overhear something. I didn’t understand what it was all about at the time, but now… I bet that’s what they were talking about. Does this have to do with the soul? What is he anyway?”

“Near as I can tell… Well I don’t really know what the hell he is.”

“Human?”

“Ish… seems so. Definitely alive. Kid can fight, track like a vamp, seriously strong. Don’t know much else about him.”

“And just because Mr. Forehead knocked up Darla, you think- no, no, no… Not possible… I don’t know how the bloody hell he has a kid, but no. It’s not… I’m not… I can’t… Buffy— Oh hell. Does Buffy know about this?”

“Hell if I know. Willow met the kid so I assume Buffy probably does. But then if you didn’t… Dude, I didn’t mean to cause trouble in paradise.”

“Bloody hell.”

Faith shook her head, “Not like it makes much difference does it? I mean you two got the mutual crazies going on. If you’re worried, talk to her.”

Spike grunted non-committedly.

“So run me through this training plan you two got going on?”

Spike proceeded to fill Faith in on the last minute training plan Buffy came up with.

That night after finishing his conversation with Faith, they each went up to their respective bedrooms. Spike stood for a long moment watching Buffy sleep. His head hurt from the earlier conversation with Faith. He went over to the roll top desk and poured himself a drink. Then sat down on one of the chairs in front of the fire facing towards the bed and Buffy.

He was having trouble getting his head around the idea that Angel, his grand-sire and the only other vampire with a soul, had a kid… what if somehow having a soul made it possible… but how? What if it had something to do with their vampiric bloodline? That thought really hurt his head.

It was insane to even consider, he was dead after all. But so was Angel and Darla… and that hurt his head even more, especially Darla. Whereas Buffy was right in front of him, full of breath and life. Did that make it more or less possible? He didn’t know.

He finished his drink and got up to pour another. The other thing that was bothering him was the idea that Buffy might have known but hadn’t said anything to him about it. He needed some air.

Spike grabbed his long leather jacket and the new MP3 player Buffy had got him and headed out into the orchard for a smoke. It was a clear warm night, the stars were out. Spike laid down in the grass and took a long drag of his cigarette taking the time to clear his head. He put the earphones in and cranked up the volume on Sid Vicious singing ‘Pretty Vacant’.

The fact was that vampires couldn’t reproduce, not like humans. How many years had Angel been with Darla and nothing of the sort ever happened. Because it simply isn’t possible. Same with him and Dru… something that had continued to twist Drusilla’s mind long after she had been turned. Clearly something, or maybe a lot of somethings, must have been going on to make Angel’s son even remotely possible. He laid there in the grass listening to song after song letting the words and music roll over in his mind.

The Ramones, ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ came on as he took another drag of his cigarette. That had to be it, there had to be other factors involved, he thought. Surely it couldn’t just ‘happen’, that was just crazy. Then again… what if? He rolled his eyes at the thought, “Bloody hell, what am I doing?” he swore to himself as he got up.

Spike continued walking around the orchard and the large area they used for training grounds. ‘Are Everything’ by the Buzzcocks came on next. He lit up another cigarette as he continued to listen. The song ended and he dropped the cigarette butt, stomping it into the ground under his boot. “Oh sod this rot,” he said as he made his way back into the castle and upstairs to their bedroom. He stood in the doorway watching her. Buffy was still curled up on her side, fast asleep.

Spike sighed as he shoved the MP3 player into his jacket pocket and threw his jacket down on the back of the chair he had sat in earlier. He walked around to his side of the bed and stripped down to his boxers as usual before he climbed in. Pressing in close to Buffy, he wrapped an arm around her holding her to him. Chances were that he was just getting worked up over nothing.

***** ***** *****

In the morning Buffy gingerly slipped out from under Spike’s arm. She felt like crap as she started getting dressed for the day. She made her way into the bathroom and took a couple of pain relievers for her pounding head. Maybe breakfast would help.

Buffy went downstairs to grab something to eat and was surprised when Faith came in shortly after her.

“Morning,” Buffy yawned just as the coffee pot made a beeping sound.

Faith only waved sleepily and staggered over to the coffee pot. She poured them each a cup, threw some bread in the toaster and sat down across from Buffy and her bowl of cereal. They sat in silence for several minutes. Buffy finished her cereal and turned her attention to her own cup of coffee, drinking it slowly. After a few sips she broke the silence, “One of us should stick close to a phone today. I already told the older girls the general plan.”

“Spike filled me in last night. He came back down after you went to bed.”

Buffy nodded and sipped her coffee.

Faith eyed her, “How you feeling?”

“Me? Fine now, little rough getting up this morning. Stupid headache. Think I hit my head harder than I thought I did last night when that vamp knocked me down.”

Faith nodded, “Been there.”

There was a wave of commotion coming from the main staircase. Buffy stood up, “For the love of all things holy, here come the locust.”

Faith chuckled, “Damn B, you’re savage this morning.”

“Nothing another cup of coffee can’t fix.”

Shortly after breakfast, Faith and Buffy ushered the girls out the back door off of the kitchen into the training grounds behind the castle. It was a nicer day than either one of them had expected so instead of starting out in the training rooms they decided to complete morning exercises on the grounds before splitting the girls up into their teams as Buffy had originally planned. This way at least they were able to leave the kitchen door open so they could hear the phone ringing in case Giles or his doctor called from the hospital.

After the morning exercises Buffy took Addison and Wendy’s groups over to the duplex. Buffy was eager to get the girls started on getting the place cleaned out. First she had a couple of the girls go into the small stone garden-shed just off of the castle where the lawn equipment such as the tractor and other supplies were kept. She was really hoping they would find some extra cleaning supplies in there. Fortunately she was not disappointed. The girls came back with two large buckets, a couple of brooms, a pair of dust pans and a large paper grocery bag full of rags. It was enough to get them started at least.

Buffy gave the girls a cursory tour of the building, going over what she expected and set a team up on each side of the house. She had planned on having them start in the attic and work their way down, thus getting them started on cleaning out the worst of the dirt and debris. There were some complaints at first from some of the younger girls but Buffy shut them down quickly.

Buffy, for her part, split her time between the two sides keeping tabs on what was going on while simultaneously checking to see if Faith was still outside with the girls. Faith had her two groups , headed by Ursula and Zari, in the training ground splitting off into pairs practising moves. After several minutes of that she had the girls practice fighting in different configurations to get them accustomed to taking on multiple opponents at the same time.

It wasn’t until after 11:00am when Giles called. His doctor had been in to discuss his test results. He was sending him home that afternoon with a prescription for blood pressure medication. As well as strict instructions to rest with his leg elevated as much as possible. With the phone call, Faith called the girls and Buffy in for an early lunch break and to get the groups switched. Addison and Wendy’s groups were now practicing taking on multiple opponents and Ursula and Zari’s groups picked up where the first groups had left off in the duplex.

Before they left for the hospital Buffy went upstairs to wake Spike and let him know they were going. She was surprised to find he wasn’t in bed. Buffy opened the bathroom door, the shower was running.

“Spike?”

“Who else would be in here?” He grumbled.

“No need to get all pissy, just letting you know Faith and I are heading out to go get Giles.”

“Yeah alright, Love.”

“What’s up with you? Did you sleep okay?”

“Not particularly, Pet.”

“That sucks.”

Spike pulled the shower curtain aside to look at her, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, you?”

Spike turned off the water, grabbed this towel, stepped out of the shower and glared at her but didn’t argue. He shrugged one shoulder as he started drying his hair with the towel, “Sure you’re feeling alright?”

“If I had the time I would be…” Buffy mumbled as she watched him. Spike looked up into the bathroom mirror to see her staring at the blank spot where his reflection should have been. He grinned as she shook her head, “What was the question?”

He let out a low chuckle, “I was just asking if you were feeling alright, nothing out of the usual?”

“I woke up with a headache and starting to get a little crampy if you must know, but other than that I feel great, why?”

He looked at her, “Forget it, Pet, I’m alright.”

“Get some clothes on. The girls are all either outside or in the house so really not much you can do. Just go downstairs, stay close in case anybody hollers,” she shrugged.

“Yeah, alright. Doubt they’ll be much trouble though. Probably just watch some Telly.”

“Laundry is a good option too, you know. Could seriously use some clean underwear.”

Spike grinned, “I don’t mind the alternative.”

She swatted him playfully, “Gross. Now come on, it’s not like you don’t know how.”

“Yeah, yeah. No worries I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you.” She gave him a quick kiss, “You better.”

***** ***** ******

Spike was lying on the couch watching ‘The Comedy of Terrors’, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, and Boris Karloff, when they got Giles home from the hospital. Spike paused the movie and helped gather some pillows while Buffy set him down on the second couch. Giles gritted his teeth as Buffy stacked some of the throw pillows Spike handed her and tried to help him get comfortable. “Is that better?” She asked.

“Yes, thank you,” he said with a pained sigh.

Faith stood off to the side reading a paper from the hospital, “The nurse did say he’d be due for his pain meds when we got home. How ya feeling G?”

“I believe the young lady was quite correct.”

“I’ll get you some water,” Faith said, exiting the room.

“I do wish I were in my own bed,” Giles said a little grumpily.

Buffy sat down at the end of the couch by Giles’ feet, “It’s not going to be for long. We’ll get the elevator fixed. It won’t eliminate the stairs for you but it will cut them down and make things a little easier. So for now, you are just going to have to stay right here.”

Faith came back in with a glass of water and a little bell she found in the kitchen, “Here ya go, in case you needed anything. We’ll make sure someone is around. We were planning on taking the girls out, Wednesday but we can reschedule, it’s not like it’s a big deal.”

Giles laughed weakly as he accepted the bell from her, “I’m not an invalid you know. I can give Zara a call, her daughter often watches the store for her so there’s a good chance she can come over if needed.”

“I’d feel a lot better having someone here, since I’m going to be out too,” Faith reassured him. She handed him his medication and a glass of water, “Take those.”

“Now you get some rest, watch the movie with Spike. That’s an order. We have to go to check on the girls to see how they’re doing,” Buffy said as she patted him on the knee.

“Aww but mom!” Spike moaned mockingly as Buffy passed him.

She rolled her eyes, “Play nice with the other Englishman. If you’re a good vampire maybe you’ll get a cookie.”

Spike grinned and laughed, “We’ll be fine, Pet. Although I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to that cookie.”

“No clean socks, no cookies.”

“Load in the dryer and one in the wash.”

“Cookies it is.”

“Please let that not be a euphemism,” Giles said, removing his glasses.

“You’ve been through enough lately, we’ll spare you the naughty talk, this is seriously just about laundry.”

“Thank goodness,” Giles mumbled.

“Play nice you two,” Buffy said before heading out of the room with Faith.

Giles turned to the TV for the first time, “What monstrosity are you watching anyway?” He asked, “Good lord, is that Basil Rathbone? I loved him as Sherlock Holmes.”

“This ‘monstrosity’ as you put it, is a classic. Are you seriously telling me you’ve never seen this?” Spike asked incredulously.

“I— I might have years ago.”

“That’s it, I'm starting it over! I’m not that far in any way. And you call yourself an educated man,” Spike said, shaking his head.

***** ***** *****

Buffy and Faith made their way out to the training grounds. The girls were still hard at work.

“Addison, Wendy, front and centre,” Faith called. The two girls broke away as the mock fight they were currently conducting ended.

“What do ya need?” Wendy asked.

“Has everybody gone through all the fight configurations?”

“We have two more left,” Addison answered.

“Okay good, you guys finish up those two configurations and then hit the showers. Call it a day.”

The two Level 4 girls ran back to their groups and got back to work.

Faith turned to face Buffy, “They’re looking good. I think splitting them up in groups like this was a good idea. I had my doubts at first but it seems to be working out alright.”

Buffy put her hands on her hips and turned towards the duplex, “I guess you’re the only one that hasn’t seen it yet, huhh?”

“Guess so.”

“Alright let’s go fix that. I wanna see how far they got anyway.”

As they walked over to the duplex Buffy continued talking, “So what do you think about having Callum take a look at this project while he’s here tomorrow?”

Faith nodded, “I kind of figured you would. I’ll give Callum a call and see what he says. It might depend on how long the elevator takes but if it’s just a walk-through it should be okay.”

“Thanks, tell him I’d appreciate it.”

“Will do,” Faith hesitated a moment, “About Callum…”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“He knows… about us, Slayers…”

“He knows? You mean you’ve barely started dating the guy and you told him?”

“It sounds a whole lot worse than it is.”

Buffy stopped walking and looked at Faith aghast “Get explainy then.”

Faith went on to explain about Callum’s Aunt and how his mom overheard the conversation at the store.

Buffy’s jaw dropped a little, “You’re kidding me.”

“Nope, I'm afraid not. Guess we need to be more careful talking in shops. Who knew the acoustics were that good?”

Buffy let out a little whistle, “I guess it could’ve been worse, could’ve been a bad guy.”

“Yeah I think we lucked out on that one. From the sound of it Callum‘s mom has protected her sister’s secret all these years, even from his dad.”

“We might need to go back to her shop.”

“I was kind of thinking the same thing, but probably not for a while.”

Buffy started walking again, “How are things going with you and Callum anyway? You never said how your date was.”

“We made plans for tomorrow after they finish with the elevator.”

“Nice.”

“If he screws half as good as he kisses we might be there all week.”

Buffy looked at her again, “Surprised you haven’t done it already. Thought that was kinda your thing.”

“It is, for both of us… but we kind of decided we want to go slower with this one,” Faith added a little sheepishly.

Buffy grinned, “Yeah?”

“Third date rules.”

“So here’s the question, is this date number two or three?”

Faith couldn’t suppress her grin and bit her lip uncharacteristically, “Oh, we’re definitely calling tomorrow night date number three. I am going over to his place. As long as you and Spike are going to be okay with Giles. Are you still planning on taking the girls into the tunnels?”

“Yeah that’s the plan. Wil should have something for me by tonight and as long as Giles is comfortably squared away it should be alright but I think I’ll call his maybe-girlfriend Zara and see if she can check on him while we’re gone. Are you spending the whole day over there?”

“He has to work in the afternoon.”

“Playing on a school night, better not keep him up too late, he might have to call in sick.” Buffy teased.

Faith grinned, “Pretty damn sure he’s going to need to anyway,” she laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ve locked lips with a lot of guys, a lot… but damn, that boy…”

“That good huh?”

“I can’t even describe it B, it was super intense, like-“

“Electric?”

“You and Spike?”

“Oh yeah, big time. Not our first time around though… I think a soul is kind of a prerequisite for that kind of connection. First time we kissed post-ensoulment was…”

“Electric?”

“Still is.”

“Are you talking like soulmate type stuff here?”

“I dunno, maybe… I guess it would sort of make a kind of sense. I’m not really sure… I know I didn’t feel like this until after he got his soul, so yeah maybe that’s exactly what it is,” she jerked a shoulder.

“So you think this ‘electric’ thing means Callum and I are soulmates?” She asked doubtfully.

“It’s gotta mean something right? I mean in my case I’ve been in two VERY different relationships with basically the same guy. The first time was seriously toxic for both of us; this time… if I had to call it something; ‘soulmate’ would definitely be high on the short list. Spike says we’re ‘bound to each other’, I can see that too.”

“I’m just not sure if I believe in that kind of stuff. It just seems so—”

“Just give it a chance. If you two are anything like Spike and I, you’ll know pretty damn quick. I knew less than two days after we ahh, ‘reconnected’ in Sunnydale, but by then he was already gone and the dust had settled. That’s why things moved so fast between us in Paris after he came back.”

“Whatcha do, jump his bones the minute you saw him?”

“We talked first…” Buffy said, opening the door.

Faith walked inside, “Smart ass.” The entry had been swept out and the cobwebs were gone. It was already starting to look more like a home.

“If you think the electric kiss thing is good, just wait for the sex. I mean, seriously.”

“Well yeah, have you seen him? Can’t wait to see the rest of him, see what he’s hiding underneath it all. Kinda like this place, damn this is nice.”

“I’m serious. I have the benefit of a before and after comparison with Spike. Sex with soulless-Spike was… insane, super intense and seriously addictive. We’d go for hours, but it still doesn’t come close to what we have now. Now we have this… it’s like a visceral connection.”

“Don’t tell me that, I’m hanging on by a thread as it is. I haven’t been freaky with anyone since Robin. Then there’s you two going at it like animals in heat. I’m dying over here. Which side first?”

Buffy went to the left side she and Spike had already claimed as theirs, “Yeah, well pace yourself.”

“I think I know my way around a guy, thanks.”

“I’m not just talking about sex, not the physical. It’s way more than that. It’s emotional too. Not the same thing, but I guess you’ll find out the hard way.”

“Thanks for the concern and the sex lecture but I think I got this, B.”

“Fine, you do what you want. I just don’t want you freaking out when you figure out what it’s like when you go beyond just sex.”

“Can we just drop it? Let’s look at this love shack of yours.”

Buffy shrugged, “Here we go.”

The two of them spent almost an hour talking, discussing the house and the projects that would need professional help and the ones they might be able to do themselves. They checked on the girls and their progress. The initial cleaning was coming along really quickly. If the girls kept up this pace Buffy might be able to have them rip out the old carpeting before the end of the week. Faith found the tunnel in the basement just as fascinating as Buffy had. The tour of the other side went much faster and by the time they were finished Buffy was ready to call it a day. She sent all the girls to get cleaned up. The day seemed to fly by and by the time they had all showered and ate dinner, Buffy was ready for patrol with Spike that night.

#buffy the vampire slayer #bound #buffy fanfic #buffy x spike #fanfic #spuffy #spike x buffy

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allthingsdarkanddirty · 1 year

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*✦ NEW RELEASE & ePRIZE! ✦* Looking for a goosebump-worthy, low-angst M/M read? Then be sure to #oneclick your copy of THE LONER by Riley Hart - NOW LIVE!

THE LONER is a swoony, opposites attract, found family, M/M standalone, and is the first book in her engaging The Vers Podcast Series.

Don’t miss when friendship and deep emotional connection collide into a passionate and unbreakable, second-chance love story. Get your copy today! AVAILABLE NOW on AMAZON & FREE to READ w/ KINDLE UNLIMITED! Amazon Universal ~ https://geni.us/TheLoner

In celebration of Riley’s new release, enter her rafflecopter for your chance to score a $25 Amazon Gift Card here: https://geni.us/F4AIn

About THE LONER: Declan

As a founding member of The Vers, a queer podcast I host with my three best friends, I’m The Loner—quieter than the others, and except for them, I don’t let myself get too close to people. Most of them just let you down anyway, or maybe it’s just that something about me chases people away.

Infrequent, no-strings-attached hookups have always worked for me. Who knew my favorite one would become such a popular movie star? But Sebastian Cole and I made it work, meeting up whenever he was in Santa Monica and in the mood—until he called it off when he got a serious boyfriend. A boyfriend he later found in bed with another man.

Now Sebastian is back in California, taking a break from acting. He needs a friend, and for whatever reason, he decides that should be me. We’ve known each other intimately for years, and yet we’ve never spent much time together with our clothes on. When he starts taking me places, it feels suspiciously like dates…and surprisingly, I like it.

Despite our differences, Sebastian’s lonely, like me. The more we hang out, the more I realize I’ll never get enough of him.

A loner dating a celebrity doesn’t make much sense. I don’t know how to be someone’s boyfriend, let alone be in the public eye. But to call him mine, I’ll need to leave the past behind and finally allow myself to move forward with him. The Loner is an opposites attract romance about a movie star rethinking his career and a bar owner/podcast host who isn’t fond of most people. Expect Southern California sun, swoon, found family and once-in-a-lifetime friendships.#rileyhart #theloner #theverspodcastseries #releaseblitz #newbookalert #celebrityromance #oppositesattract #secondchance #foundfamily #mmromance #gayromance #lgbtbooks #forewordpr

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joyffree · 1 year

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THE LONER The Vers Podcast Series - Book One by Riley Hart Release Date: January 23, 2023 Cover Design: Cate Ashwood Designs Photo: Wander Aguiar Photography Genre: MM Romance Trope: Opposites attract, found family, second chance

The Loner is an opposites attract romance about a movie star rethinking his career and a bar owner/podcast host who isn’t fond of most people. Expect Southern California sun, swoon, found family and once-in-a-lifetime friendships.

#rileyhart #theloner #theverspodcastseries #releaseblitz #newbookalert #celebrityromance #oppositesattract #secondchance #foundfamily #mmromance #gayromance #lgbtbooks #forewordpr #win #rafflecopter

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cathygeha · 1 year

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REVIEW

Total Ship Show by Susan Renee

Love at Sea #7

A witty rom-com that actually made me laugh is rare indeed and this one had more than one scene that did that for me. By the end of the book, I was invested in the outcome and hoped for happily ever after for Aris and Adrienne.

What I liked:

* Adrienne Hart: smart, witty, independent, good friend, knows what she wants, willing to put herself out there, creative, has a sense of humor, liked her

* Aris McElfry: physician, intelligent, witty, strong sense of self, charming, easy to know, different sense of humor, good friend, communicates well, liked him

* Learning a bit about wildlife conservation that included learning more about turtles and beavers

* The meet-cute – had me laughing big time – sparkly pink, indeed ;)

* The agreement that Aris and Adrienne came up with and how it morphed into more

* That I could see Aris and Adrienne together as a good fit not only for the week but also beyond

* The supporting characters – friends and family

* Meeting a new-to-me author I would gladly read again

What I didn’t like:

* Can’t really think of anything…

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Will I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to the author and IndiePenPR for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

BLURB

My old college friends decided we need to take a group cruise, significant others included. There’s just one small hiccup…I’m woefully single. I ask a friend to come with me to pose as my boyfriend, but he backs out on me at the last minute. What’s a girl to do on a cruise as a single person? Wait…what? It’s a lover’s cruise? Oooh ship! No way am I spending the week with my friends as the only single in the group. I’ve got to find myself a hot, fake boyfriend, or better yet, a fake fiancé for the week. It can’t be that hard. There have to be plenty of single men on the ship. One of them is bound to say yes. I’ll just board the ship as early as possible and hope I bump into someone worthy. Okay, yeah. This could work. It’ll either be a genius move… Or a total ship show. Total Ship Show is a fake romance rom com, part of the Love at Sea multi-author series. Get ready to set sail through the Caribbean on Festival Cruises’ most alluring voyage with eight of your favorite authors - happily ever after guaranteed! *Author's note: This book contains material you wouldn't want your kids to read! It's some really steamy ship sooo keep this ship to yourselves!

#Susan Renee #Love at Sea 7 #IndiePenPR #Rom-Com #romance #travel romance #fake date romance #steamy romance

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trashforhockeyguys · 3 years

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Don’t Hold Me -14- Carter Hart

A/N: Hi. I’m back. This is easily my favorite part so far. So so fluffy. All previous parts are linked in my master list as always. Enjoy guys <3

A sense of tranquility settled over you for the next few days. Classes were a breeze. Kora was happy, Carter was more than happy. You were able to spend more time with TK and Ethan. Life felt normal. You didn’t even have space to worry for once. You were at almost every game with Ethan and Kora, all of you in various Flyers jerseys, you were of course in Carter’s though, and very proudly did you wear it. You were sure a couple of girls took a picture or two of you messing with the guys during warm ups. But somehow, you didn’t care. Carter made it all easy. So so easy. You loved him. You couldn’t say it….but you loved him.

“You have a dazed look,” Kora broke the silence that filled your dorm room.

“I don’t.”

“Yeah, you do,” She laughed, “You’ve been staring off into space for five minutes. Actually….not space, more like that picture of you and Cart.”

You felt your cheeks heat up as you looked back down at the drawing you’d forgotten about. Everything just felt right. You didn’t know how to explain it, but you felt lighter than you had in years. You were sleeping better, whether you were with Carter or not.

“Shut up,” You mumbled, feeling your face heat up.

“You loooooveeee him,” Kora half teased.

“Yeah, and?” You tried not to think about what you just said. What you were fully admitting to her. Because this was definitely crossing lines now.

“Wait, what? Seriously? You’d admitting that?” She sat down next to you, knowing this was a serious step for you.

“I mean...I haven’t said it. But I think we both know?”

She smiled softly at you and sat down on the edge of your bed. Although you and Kora didn’t get off on the right foot in the beginning, it was safe to say she’d become your best friend. Maybe even like the sister you never had.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” She asked, knowing this was something new for you.

You nodded, slowly like you were afraid of confirming it. Almost as if you were afraid of Carter hearing, even though he knew he was on the ice at the arena for morning skate. But saying it out loud, admitting how you felt about him...it almost seemed like it was too much for you to handle. You hadn’t meant to fall in love with Carter. You didn’t want to at first. You wanted to hate him and drive him away. But it seemed that being his friend was easy, and falling in love with him was even easier. It all krept up on you until you had no choice but to stop ignoring it.

“Yeah,” You mumbled, not much louder than a whisper, “I love him. Kora….I love him.”

Her smile grew, knowing you surely wouldn’t say it if you didn’t mean it. She knew that with Carter...you meant it more than you ever had before. This feeling with him was different than anything you’d known before. Easy to be friends….even easier to fall in love.

You held the stuffed animal that was almost forgotten on your bed. You didn’t bring it to Carter’s, especially not now that you often slept in the same bed with him. It was strange, to say the least. You weren’t trusting someone this much. Ethan and Travis, they were the only ones, and Nolan, but only after a lot of convincing on Travis’s part.

But enough to sleep next to someone, to trust them that much, was something new entirely. You felt safe when you were next to him. You didn’t have nightmares like you did when sleeping alone, almost as if he kept them at bay somehow.

You tried not to depend on him, you didn’t want to be that person. He had a job, responsibilities. You knew he couldn’t be there all of the time. You didn’t want to be a burden to him. But there was no denying how you felt about him. How much you loved him, even if you weren’t sure that you were ready for such a thing.

“So you’re going to tell him that then, right?” Kora questioned.

You shook your head, “No...no. Probably best if I don’t.”

“You are one of the most difficult people I know,” Kora stated, “Normally when you love someone, you’re supposed to tell them.”

You shrugged. Not knowing how to really put it all in words. You had too much going on in your head to really sort it all out. But the thought of telling Carter scared you more than you were willing to admit. Even now, you could still act like this wasn’t really happening. You could still try to protect yourself, minimize the damage.

“You realize you’re hurting yourself, and him, right?”

“It’s just easier…”

“Keep telling yourself that kid,” She sighed, “I gotta get to class. I’ll catch you later.”

“It’s game night, I’m staying at his place tonight.”

“Yeah, I know. Don’t have too much fun,” She said with a wink.

You watched as she left the dorm. You were left alone, trying to figure out where to go from here. Try though you might, you couldn’t figure out what to do. Nothing seemed to make sense to you. What happened if he really didn’t feel the same way, and you’d been kidding yourself this whole time?

You tried not to think like that, you really did. You didn’t like being this person, not when you fought too hard to leave it all behind when you came to Philly. But so much of it was just ingrained in your brain, it wouldn’t go away no matter how hard you tried.

You took a deep breath and grabbed your belongings before getting ready to head to your own classes. Midterms were coming soon, and you’d have to start thinking about your final projects soon. You weren’t sure if you were ready for all of it to be over yet. Not when it meant leaving Carter.

On the way to class, you were too distracted by thinking about your boyfriend, the man that you loved, to even notice the note that fell out of your books, or that there was someone watching you. You didn’t even feel the chill that ran through you, didn’t even worry. Because all you could really think about was Carter.

It was hours later when you finally made your way into the Arena and into your seat. You almost felt a little dazed. It seemed to be setting in, what you told Kora earlier in the day. Because even in the arena full of people, and a game about to start, you just wanted to run out to him and tell him. No matter how scared you were….you wanted him to know.

The thought alone was nearly enough to make you want to crap yourself, but you wanted him to know how you felt. He’d done enough to make you aware how he felt, without scaring you off by saying it. And you knew that. You knew he was doing everything he could to take it slow enough so that you wouldn’t run. He knew you’d scare easily.

You thought back on the last couple of months, and every moment you spent with him. He had a way of just bringing an overwhelming sense of calm to your life. You weren’t sure how he did it, especially since you didn’t make it easy for anyone. But he always seemed to manage. It was like he had some ability that allowed you to forget everything else when you were with him. You’d be lying if you said you understood how he managed it.

Your phone lit up with a text from Kora, telling you that you needed to tell Carter, with a ton of winky faces. Your face heated. You hadn’t really had time to think about how the conversation would pan out. You didn’t know...you just didn’t know.

Maybe you were thinking too much about it. You wanted to tell him the other night, when he stayed and just held your hand. But all you seemed to be able to say was thank you. You wondered if he knew just how weighted that those simple words were...just how much they really meant. You said he knew, because it was easier than thinking that maybe he didn’t. Maybe he had no idea.

Or maybe he did and just didn’t want to acknowledge it, just as you were afraid to. The fear bubbled up and threatened to spill over, filling you completely. Before...you would’ve let it. You would’ve let it take control and stop you from living your life. You would’ve hidden away and tried to forget...but not now. You weren’t that girl anymore, you fought hard not to be her.

You wouldn’t let yourself slip like that again. You would fight it, every step of the way. Because you didn’t want to hide anymore, especially not from Carter. Not when he fought so hard to bring you into the light.

Your nails bit into the palm of your hand from where you’d clenched them so tightly. You looked at the small marks your nails left behind...you hadn’t done something like that in years. It was a habit you somehow broke after getting out of your hometown.

You tried to force away the images that always seemed to flood your mind when it came to thinking about home. You once loved it. There hadn’t been a place where you felt more yourself. He took that away from you though. He made sure you didn’t get that feeling. Because all you could see were the pictures of your broken body that they used in court, to show just how badly he treated you.

All you could do was feel the cold room of the hospital as the police talked in hushed tones outside the door, wondering who could’ve done that to a girl….you were just a little girl. Seventeen when it happened. Still so young...too young. Truth be told, you were still so young. You knew that. But you were growing, trying not to be the scared little girl anymore.

You took a deep breath, not sure if you could sit through the rest of the game. You loved watching all of them play, but tonight you seemed to have too much on your mind. You couldn’t sit still long enough, barely making it through the first period.

You weren’t paying attention to how they were playing. Missed when Travis scored thanks to a beautiful pass from Nolan, missed the glorious saves Carter made...all you could think about was how badly you wanted to lay it all on the line. Tell him everything. Let him see all of the darkest parts of you.

By the time the game was over, you were practically running for your car. You sent a quick text to Carter, telling him you’d meet him at home. You didn’t even think twice about calling his apartment that...calling it home. You hadn’t realized just how much of a home it had become to you. All because of Carter.

You knew he wouldn’t be back for at least another hour, so you turned on the fireplace in the living room and cuddled up with your favorite blanket and a glass of wine. You just wanted to calm down a little, so you weren’t ready to practically crawl out of your skin.

What you hadn’t planned for though, was falling asleep to the sound of the fireplace crackling. The single glass of wine was enough to calm you down to the point where, with the fireplace, and the blanket, just seemed to be enough to allow you to drift off.

It wasn’t what Carter expected when he came home. He knew you were going to be there, because you always were after a game, and because you told him as much. But the apartment was quiet, no music or TV, just the fireplace. He found your shoes by the door and couldn’t help the soft smile that spread across his face when he saw your favorite blanket concealing your body.

He’d gotten the big fluffy blanket for you after you completed a rather hard project. He wanted to help you celebrate, and he knew how much you loved simple things like that. You were curled into a ball, an empty wine glass on the side table next to you. You were still in his jersey, which threatened to swallow you whole, but you refused to let him actually buy you one. Instead, opting for an old jersey of his. You told him time and time again that you’d rather wear his jersey than some random one from the team store.

He didn’t want to disturb you, but he also knew that you hated sleeping on the couch all night. You often woke up with aches all over your body. He knew that more often than not, the pain was from more than just sleeping on the couch, but you never said anything more than that. And Carter knew better than to ask questions about that part of your life.

He could see when you were thinking about it though. It was like a dark cloud settled over you. Sometimes you could shake it away, change the subject, but other times it was always lingering. He didn’t know how to fix it. More often than not, he felt a deep ache in his chest, knowing there wasn’t much he could do.

He knelt down to be at eye level and gently shook your shoulder, “Hey, wake up.”

You drew in a sharp breath as your eyes fluttered open, “You’re home.”

You started to sit up before he leaned down to kiss your forehead. There was a warmth in his eyes that you weren’t sure you’d seen before. Even in your half asleep state, you wanted to blurt it out. But you didn’t know how to go about it. How were you supposed to explain just how you felt with those three simple words?

“C’mon, let's get you to bed, okay?”

He didn’t give you a chance to get up, before he was scooping you into his arms. You held onto him, snuggling into his chest. You loved him. You loved him more than you probably ought to. You loved him so much that sometimes it hurt.

“Good game,” You said with a yawn.

He smiled, “You say that even when I play like shit.”

“No, I tell you when you play like shit.”

“I know,” he smiled, “And that’s just one of the things I love about you.”

He didn’t even seem to notice he said it. He set you down on the bed, still wrapped in your blanket, “I’m gonna go change, I’ll be right back.”

You changed when you got home, save for the jersey. You could hear Carter humming in the bathroom. You loved when he was like this. Post game and happy, you loved the simple moments that you were able to experience like this.

You snuggled into the bed by the time that Carter came back out of the bathroom. A small smile spread across his face again. You savored it, you savored every moment you had with him. You knew that time would run out before you wanted it to. So you savored it.

His warmth filled the bed. You instantly curled into his side, wanting to be as close to him as you could be. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you as closely as he could. Savor the moments indeed.

“I love you,” He whispered into the dark room, “You don’t have to say it back. But I just thought you should know.”

You wanted to say it back, more than anything. But you couldn’t form the words. So instead, you kissed him softly before rolling over. Your face was a bright shade of pink, you were sure. His arms tightened around you, like he understood. He kissed your shoulder, the top of your head, and placed a gentle kiss on your neck before settling down and getting comfortable.

“Get some sleep.”

That seemed to be all that needed to be said. He held you tightly as you began to drift off. You would never understand how safe you felt with him. How he was able to just quell all of your fears with just a few words.

You were warm and safe and...and you were loved. You couldn’t ask for anything more.

The light was starting to turn a dark shade of grey when your eyes peeled open. It was still too early to be awake, the city still seemed quiet. Carter was still breathing heavily, signaling that he was fast asleep. Normally he woke up long before you, it wasn’t often that you actually got to see him sleeping.

You tried to take in all of his features. There was a slight pinkish tint to his cheeks. Your chest tightened. How were you supposed to ever leave him? You smiled softly and brushed a stray bit of hair out of his face before softly kissing him. He stirred slightly before opening his eyes. He opened his mouth, ready to say something when you cut him off.

“I love you too,” You whispered, “I really...really love you.”

He sat up quickly, like that simple confession woke him up even more, “You didn’t have to-”

“Shh,” you whispered, pulling him down towards you, “Just kiss me.”

And in the early light of the morning, you and Carter showed each other just how much you meant to one another. Soft and loving touches. Whispers of how much he loved you. You clung to him as if he was the only thing in the world that mattered. Truthfully, you weren’t sure the world outside even existed anymore. It was just the two of you in the bed. And that was all that mattered. You….and the man you loved.

#carter hart imagine #Carter hart imagines #Carter hart fanfic #Carter hart fanfiction #Carter hart #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl fanfic #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #hockey fanfic #hockey fanfiction #flyers imagine #flyers imagines #Philly flyers #nicolewritesthings

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goodlucktkachuk · 3 years

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Cheer you up - Carter Hart

Summary: Carter was the best boyfriend you could ever hoped for. The two of you moved in together at the start of quarantine and with school starting up for you again, you’ve been super stressed. He decides to do something nice for you and he planned the perfect at home self care night. When he went shopping he grabbed the wrong kind of face mask and his reaction is more then enough to cheer you up.

Warnings: None this is just super fullfy and cute

Word count: 2k+

Back to school was your favorite times of year. There was something about buying new supplies and the rush of campus that made electricity flow through your body but this year was different. Not only were you cooped up in Philly with your boyfriend Carter but it was your last year of university which added some pressure.

You had met Carter when you guys were sixteen and it was the definition of love at first sight. You went to everyone of his games and were more then extatic when he got drafted to Philly. You had just started university so you stayed in Alberta while he got to live his dream. You guys made the distance work but you were definitely missing some of those quality time moments your friends took for granted in their relationships. When this whole mess of a pandemic started, Carter asked you to move in with him for the time being and you jumped at the chance.

The months before Carter was sent to Toronto were filled with you searching for internships and him doing whatever training he could do at home so you would usually do your own thing but together. The first few weeks of Carter being sent home from the bubble were hard but he had you there to cook him all of his favourites and spend endless nights cuddling to his favorite movies. It was exactlly what he needed to recover as the summer slowly faded away. Now as autumn filled the air it was once again your turn to be stressed.

It was a sunny September morning and you found yourself on your second cup of coffee in Carter’s home office. Your makeup was done perfectly and your hair was pulled up into a messy bun as one of Carter's worn out practices hoodies hung on your frame. You were thankful that your laptop camera cut out the fact you were still in your pjs with a blanket wrapped tight around your waist. As much as you liked the idea of Zoom lectures, the several hours of classes and meetings really dragged the fun out of your days.

Around 10am your boyfriend stumbled out of bed and you could hear the soft hum of music and dishes clanking coming from the kitchen as he made the two of you breakfast. After a few minutes you heard the door slowly creek open and you were met with a sleepy Carter. A smile covering your lips as you watched him make his way into the room. His hair was tousled in every direction and his pjs hung low on his waist giving you a clear view of his entire bare torso. You weren’t with Carter because he was a professional athlete but it was mornings like this you that you could appreciate all the hours he spent training.

You turned off your webcam as he put a smoothie bowl in front of you and planted a kiss on your temple, mumbling a soft I love you against your skin. You pulled him in for a quick kiss and he was gone again. This is how most days went. Carter would bring you breakfast and lunch and refill your water through the day while you worked and he knew when you finally stumbled out of the room it was time for dinner. He was more than happy to have you around but he wished you didn’t have to spend so many hours locked away.

This morning in particular he could see how drained you were and decided that tonight would be all about you. You deserved it with all the hard work you’d been doing. Slipping into your shared bedroom he got dressed and texted you quickly saying he was running to the store and he’d be back soon.

The one thing about Carter was that he prided himself on how romantic he was. He knew you like the back of his hand and used that to his advantage whenever he possible could. Whether it was expensive dinners when you were together, sending you bouquets of sunflowers when he was away or the odd care package full of his clothes with sweet notes in the pockets, the boy knew how to make you happy. Something the two of you had never done though was self care which in hindsight should’ve been one of your first dates because of how much you loved it.

This was the game plan. He was going to the store to pick up all the ingredients he needed to cook you your favorite food, some instant cookie dough for you guys to bake after dinner, face masks to do together and new vanilla soap to end the night with a bath together. After what seemed like the longest shopping experience ever he was met with the last stop, picking out face masks. It didn’t cross Carter's mind that there could be so many different kinds to choose from it kind of overwhelmed him. How could there be this much variety of things you put on your face? Why did they come in so many colors? So many scents? Lost, he randomly grabbed a black bottle for himself and a soft violet one for you and headed home.

When he returned you were still nose deep in books in the same position he left you so he knew you wouldn’t be finished anytime soon. He put the bathroom supplies into a cute basket he picked up and placed it on the corner of the counter as he started assembling dinner. After a few hours you were brought out of your daze by the smell of something delicious filling the room. Closing your book and laptop you decided to wrap it up for the day and see what your boyfriend was up to.

As you made your way to the kitchen you were met with Carters back as he was portioning something out onto two plates. You were in awe as you turned your attention to the table. It was perfectly set with a fresh vase of flowers and your favorite candles were lit to set the mood. You caught your boyfriends eye as he made his way over to the table to set down the two plates. Making his way over to you, he placed his hands lazily around you and placed a kiss on your forehead.

“Surprise babe!” He was beaming with pride as he walked you to your chair, pulling it out for you to sit.

“What is all this for?” You panicked for a moment thinking you forgot an anniversary or something important. Carter could hear the concern in your voice which made him laugh.

“Just wanted to do something nice for my girl that’s all.” He smiled widely as he filled your glass with white wine.

The meal was absolutely delicious and the company was even better. As you picked up your plate to clear it Carter sent you a look and you slowly placed it back down. He had a rule where if he cooked for you he refused to let you touch the dishes because it was his way of showing how much he loved you. The same rule went a few minutes later as the two of you struggled to make the world's easiest cookies.

“Carter you have to twist it!” You giggled as you watched your boyfriend struggle to pry the top off the cookie dough.

“That doesn’t make sense Y/n!” Tired of watching him struggle you snatched it from his hand.

“Hey! Give that back!” He yelled as he began to chase you around the kitchen. He eventually snatched you by the waist, pulling your back into his chest. At the same time you tapped the cylinder off the counter and cranked it with a hard twist and watched the dough split open.

Pouting into your shoulder Carter let out a sigh of defeat and exhaustion.

“See, if you listened you could have avoided the work out.”

“For you sweetheart, I’d run to the other side of the world .” He leaned down and brought you into a sweet kiss. Even after six years, fireworks still exploded in your stomach everytime his lips touched yours.

“Hey Alexa, play kinda freaking in love with you on spotify.” You placed the cookie dough on the counter and wrapped your arms around his neck as he placed his around your waist. You danced around your kitchen for what felt like an eternity. The two of you swaying and spinning, looking into the other eyes with such admiration. Both of you thinking of how sweet this moment would be at your wedding but keeping those thoughts locked up tight. Eventually the preheating timer for the oven went off and ripped the two of you out of your day dream.

“Come one the faster we make these the faster we can eat them!” He sprang out of your grasp and laughter filled the kitchen as you finished up.

Your favorite part about these kinds of nights with Carter was that it felt like you were in your own universe. The two of you were protected from the outside world and all that matter was each other.

Once you had cleaned up it was on to the third phase of the night which you knew was going to be your favorite. Grabbing the basket off the counter you skipped to the bathroom with your boyfriends hand pressed firmly into yours. You hopped up on the counter and handed him the purple bottle as you took the black one in your hand. Extending your leg, you half wrapped it around his and pulled him closer to you. Squirting some of the liquid into your hands you started slowly rubbing it into his skin.

“Ahh babe that's cold!” He chuckled as he tried to pull away.

“Just sit still! You’ll get used to it I promise.” He relaxed into your touch and stopped fighting you. Soon after you were done he followed suit, putting the light purple clay all over your face with only light guidance. You stayed like that while the masks dried. Your legs lazily tangled in his with his hands on your waist whispering sweet nothings with massive grins covering your faces. Hopping off the counter you pulled out your phone to snap a cute picture of the two of you and it was time to take off the masks.

“So all you have to do is start at the edge of your face and pull gently.” You demstraded, wincing slightly as it pulled on your skin.

“What do you mean pull? I thought you just washed these off with water?”

“Some kinds yes but you bought peel off ones.”

“I did?”

You reached down and placed the bottle into his hand. Examining it closely seeing you were right a look of horror crossed his face. You didn’t pay much mind to your boyfriend as you were pulling off your own mask. He had gotten most of it off his face with minimal mumbling of curse words but then he ran into a problem.

“Y/n…” his vice trailed off as he looked at you and you burst out laughing. Carter stood in front of you with his face mask clingy to his stubble making it look like he had bread and you couldn’t get enough of it.

“Y/n this isn’t funny help me!” He whined, causing you to laugh even harder.

“Okay, okay! Sit still muffin. This is gonna hurt a little bit.” a wicked grin covered your face as you worked.

You tried your best not to hurt him too bad and he honestly took it like a champ. When it was all over you peeled off your mask. You could hear the water begin to run in the other direction and you could also hear the sound of Carter’s clothes hitting the floor making your cheeks stain red. It wasn’t long before your clothes joined his pile on the floor and you were wrapped in the warm embrace of both your boyfriend and the water. You closed your eyes and relaxed into his touch and felt his chest rise and sink against your back. He placed a small kiss on your temple and pulled you in closer.

“I love you.”

“Love you more C.”

#carter hart #soft fic #carter hart imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #philidelphia flyers #flyers imagine #hockey

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buttercupjosh · 4 years

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Happy National Boyfriend Day to my fav hockey boys🎉. Every year, I highlight my favorite band members (i used to post about this on insta but i stopped and ya girl has never had a boyfriend) on this day and this year I’m going to highlight hockey players. (I know my chances of actually dating a hockey boy is super unlikely but it’s fun to talk about them).

Without further ado, in no particular order, here’s a list of hockey boys that are currently living rent free in my head/some of which, I would possibly take home to meet my family if I could:

-Carter Hart (THIS BOY RIGHT HERE IS MY CINNAMON APPLE, MY CREAM CHEESE CUTIE. HE’S TALL, HIS EYES ARE NICE, HE WORKS HARD, HE WATCHES FOOD NETWORK AND I JUST LOVE HOW HE’S SO HUMBLE AND SIMPLE AND HE GIVES BACK TO OTHERS LIKE THAT’S SO HOT AND HE’S SUCH A CUTIE)

-Vince Dunn (He may flex his wealth on us but I love the fact that he gives back to others and that he RESPECTS WOMEN and loves his mom, SUCH A CUTIE) (unrelated note: i can’t stand the goalie for the blues because he’s a douchey person but i like Vince)

-Andre Burakovsky (I think a lot about that video of him golfing at Top Golf, you know the one and also about him holding a baby in his Caps jersey. Also, this gif set is so cute)

-Quinn Hughes (Not gonna lie, I was a Jack girl at first but then I converted over to the SUPERIOR Hughes brother. Huggy bear is such a cute nickname and I want to embrace him in a hug. Also, we’re super close in age. Like Quinn is only a month older than me)

-Elias Pettersson (He’s moving in after seeing him in glasses and reading about how he advocated for his friends who were refugees. Also, he will always deserve the Calder over *redacted*)

-Mat Barzal (wears a chain, speed skater, the first guy I read fic for on here and will continue to read fic for. SUCH A CUTIE.)

-Anthony Beauviller (He has such beautiful eyes, he can bake and I wouldn’t mind raising a dog with him)

-Tyler Seguin (my favorite hockey himbo. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be on this side of tumblr)

-Jason Dickinson (moved in during playoffs and definitely stayed after kneeling during the anthem)

-Nolan Patrick (a rosy cheeked cutie. I love his friendship with TK, it makes me smile so much. I prefer him with short hair but long hair works for him)

Honorable Mentions because I reached my image limit:

-Travis Konecny (I love TK and his chaotic energy and I also love his iconic chirps and his friendship with Nolan.)

-Pierre Luc-Dubois (he’s anti-Trump, he’s basically a fridge and I wouldn’t mind raising a dog with him as well)

-Elvis Merzlikins (He just moved in a few days ago and I don’t know much about him besides the fact that he’s cute and has a adorable dog)

-Jake Oettinger (moved in during playoffs and he’s basically like the Stars version of Carter Hart. Also, he has the cutest nickname, Otter)

-Brock Boeser (yes, I know about the post and I’m upset about it. He just moved in last month and he listens to One Direction)

-Tyson Jost (loves his mom and that’s so cute)

-Ryan Graves (He’s also a giraffe who reads anti-racism books so)

-Mikko Rantanen (just moved in last month after seeing how thicc he is in shorts and I read a really good fic with him in it)

-Phil Myers (is a giraffe and wears a chain so)

-Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost (they moved in at the beginning of my hockey journey but I haven’t seen much about them or from them on here)

-Andrei Svechnikov (He moved in during playoffs after I saw him in a suit and we’re super close in age)

-Mitch Marner (He moved in the beginning but I don’t keep up with him as much as I used to but he’s still on the radar)

-Gritty (STRAIGHT UP PURE CHAOS THAT I’M HERE FOR)

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itsadamcole · 4 years

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graduation day pt.2

fem!reader x finn balor

It’s been two months since reader graduated college. Her and Finn’s new relationship is going strong. She’s applied for a position as teacher’s assistant at the college she graduated from so she has a reason to continue living nearby to be with Finn. The two decide to keep their relationship on the down low since he is her former professor. She finds out that it’s not easy to keep a relationship on the down low, especially when she finds out the teacher she is assisting is the woman that has had a thing for Finn for the longest time .... “you are so fucking hot when you’re jealous”

word count: 3.6k+

warnings: a former teacher/former student relationship, angst, smut

— here’s part 2 of “graduation day” that probably no one wanted. enjoy —

masterlist || part 1 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 ||request an imagine here

~ 18+ content below - read at your own risk ~

You’re getting ready for your first day of work when your phone begins to ring. You see that “finn ♡” has popped up. You answer right away.

“Look who it is,” you say, smiling as you brush out your Y/H/C hair before tying the natural waves up in a high ponytail. “I was just thinking about you.”

Your new boyfriend laughs over the phone and says, “I can only imagine what was goin’ through that pretty little head of yours. Anyway, have ya found out who ya are assigned to assist?”

As Finn talks through the phone, you put on your outfit for the day. When he’s done speaking, you say, “Not yet. I report to the English department head.” I did request to be put in the English department so there’s more of a chance that I’ll be put with you.”

The outfit you’re wearing today consists of a simple short sleeved black dress with converse black and white sneakers.

Finn says, “Well, stop my my office when ya get assigned. Maybe I can tell ya a little about the teacher ya were assigned to so ya know what to expect.”

You add some light makeup to your look as you say, “I will. I have to get to the school so I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Alright,” Finn says. “See ya in a bit.”

The two of you say your goodbyes. You gather your things, including phone, wallet, and little backpack in case you’re assigned to grade something.

It’s 7:30 in the morning. You woke up an hour ago to shower and get dressed. You don’t have to be at school until eight but you want to grab coffee from Dunkin.

You get into your car, throwing your things in the back.

The past two months have been anything but ordinary for you. Since graduation day, you and Finn have been attached at the hip. You're always at his place or he's over at yours. The new relationship between the two of you has needed some getting used to.

He convinced you to stay nearby by getting a job as teacher's assistant. You're getting paid a decent amount too because it's a private college. It was this or go home to New York, which would be over a thousand miles away. You were not interested in leaving Finn this soon. So you applied for the job.

Once you got hired, Finn told you that he wanted to keep the new romance between the two of you a secret. You immediately agreed. Finn's well known among the teachers and students and you had some friends in the grade below you. It wouldn't look good if it came out that you and Finn were in a relationship.

He's your former professor. You're his former student. You only graduated almost three months ago.

There's also an almost seventeen year age difference between you and Finn. You turn 23 in a few months and Finn is 39. Neither you or Finn care about the age gap. It just wouldn't look very good for either of you if the relationship between the two of you was public.

You think about the past two almost three months in the short ride to Dunkin. You go through drive-thru to get your coffee and two donuts.

A medium mocha iced coffee with some cream, sugar, and some extra mocha to make it a little more sweet. You get two glazed donuts to eat on the way to school.

You and Finn both embraced the change of relationship. You went from teacher and student to lovers. Some would find it weird, especially with the age gap, but it never bothered you or him. Finn definitely still moves like he’s in his 20s and not about to hit is 40s.

When you arrive at school, you remember the last time you were here. You pulled up almost three months ago to confess your feelings to your teacher before proceeding to sleep with him in his office. It was the best sex of your life. The few times you've had sex since have been good, but nothing compared to what happened in the office on graduation day.

You pull into a spot in the teacher's parking lot. You park in the back of the lot. Once parked, you reach back and grab your things out of the backseat before getting out of the car. You secure the backpack on your shoulders before walking toward the English building, half drank iced coffee in hand.

The campus has teachers and students roaming around. It's almost eight in the morning. You're sure a few classes have begun by now.

You take the elevator to the fourth floor, walking down the hallway. You pass Finn's office, which is only a few doors down from the head of the English department.

Once you're outside the department head's door, you knock four times then wait.

An older man, probably late 50s or early 60s, answers the door. He's dressed very professional.

"Ah, Miss L/N," he says. "I've been expecting you. Please, come in."

You give him a kind smile before walking into the larger office. You're not surprised it's a big office. He is the department head.

The name plate on his door said "Dr. Dennis Hart PhD. Head of English Department". You sit across from Dr. Hart at his desk.

Dr. Hart says, "It's always wonderful to see former students getting a job here at the school. You did phenomenal in your English classes over the last four years so this department is lucky to have you."

You give a little laugh and say, "I'm just giving back to the school that gave me an amazing college experience. It's good to be back."

The older man smiles and says, "Now. The teacher I've assigned you to is Miss Veronica Rodriguez. She's a wonderful teacher and has been teaching here for five years. She teaches 407 English to seniors and her classroom is right below us, next to Mr. Balor's classroom. I saw you had him last year for English."

You nod and say, "I did. How is Mr. Balor? He was one of my favorite teachers and I never got to say goodbye and thank you to him."

When you and Finn agreed to keep your relationship on the down low, you both also agreed to act like you haven't seen each other since graduation day to throw off any suspicions.

Dr. Hart says, "He's been good. Very excited to be coming back for his tenth year of teaching."

"Ten years, wow," you say, almost shocked. Almost. "That's a long time. I didn't even think he was old enough to be teaching ten years."

The older gentlemen laughs and says, "He's older than you probably thought. Alright, class begins in about fifteen minutes so head on down and introduce yourself to Miss Rodriguez before class begins."

You nod and thank Dr. Hart before leaving the room. You walk down the hallway, checking to make sure no one is behind you before you slip into Finn's now open office. He sits at his desk.

"Hey," Finn says, facial expression brightening when he sees you. "How'd it go? Who ya assisting for the semester?"

You sit across from Finn at his desk and say, "Veronica Rodriguez. You know anything about her?"

Finn blinks at you before he says, "She's been up my butt for years. She's had a thing for me since she started teaching here and it's not a secret either. It's also not a secret that I've been rejecting her over and over again. She's a good teacher. She just needs to leave me alone."

You raise your eyebrows and say, "Wow. Well, don't worry. I'll do everything I can to keep her away from you."

He smiles and you look at the time. Ten minutes before class. You stand up and say, "Well, I've got to go to class. Are we meeting up for lunch here?"

Finn nods and says, "Of course. I'll see ya then."

You smile and lean over the desk, pressing a very light kiss to Finn's lips before leaving the room.

You head downstairs, walking to the classroom.

When you reach your destination, you knock on the door before opening it.

Miss Rodriguez is a younger woman. She's probably early or mid 30s and she's beautiful.

She looks at you and says, "You must be Y/N L/N. Dennis told me I'd be getting a teacher's assistant this semester and he told me you were a former student."

You nod and say, "That's me, and yes I am. I graduated in May." It's now mid-August.

Miss Rodriguez says, "Well, it's nice to meet you. You can call me Veronica or Ver, whichever you like. You don't need to be formal with me since we're co-workers."

You give her a nice smile. She seems like a very nice person. She tells you the schedule of her classes. Two classes on Monday and Thursdays. One class on Tuesdays, three on Wednesdays, none on Friday, and a late night class on Saturday. The only very early classes are on Monday and Thursday at 8:20 in the morning.

As students start trickling in, Veronica says, "I teach seniors who aren't very awake this early. This can be a little tricky sometimes but you'll get the hang of it. When I'm out sick or visiting family, I'd like you to come in and just assign some work then you can dismiss the class."

You nod.

Right as Veronica begins class, you look over at the doorway to see Finn standing there. You try not to have a reaction as Veronica notices. "Mr. Balor," she says. "Nice to see you. How was your summer?"

Finn says, "Eventful." You have to cover your smile. "How was your summer, Ver."

"A little less eventful," she says. "I stayed in most of the time, reading books. Um, why didn't you return my calls?"

You raise your eyebrows a bit and Finn glances at you before he says, "Like I said, my summer was very eventful. I apologize."

Veronica says, "Well maybe we can just skip over the phone calls and you can take me out to dinner."

Jealousy hits you like a truck. You want to say something but you know you can't. All you can do is bite your lip to stay quiet.

Finn gives a breathy laugh and he says, "After class we'll talk. Oh, and Y/N?" You look at him. "Nice to see that ya keep gnawing on that lip of yours. I'd stop doing that before ya cut it open."

He said that to you on graduation day. Your face heats up a little bit and let your lip snap back into place.

The door to the classroom closes and class begins.

***

After class ends, you make your way up to Finn's office. He's still in class so you sit in the spiny chair behind his desk.

Several minutes pass before you hear his voice outside. Not only his voice but Veronica's too. You hide under Finn's desk as the two walk into the room.

"... didn't tell me no in front of my students," Veronica is saying. "I'm thankful for that."

Finn says, "I've told ya no many times. I'm not interested in ya, Ver. You're a nice woman, and I'd even say attractive, but I'm not interested."

Veronica is quiet before she says, "Is it because of a wife? Or a girlfriend? Because I don't care about that, Finny. You know this"

"Get out of my office, Ver," Finn sighs, clearly annoyed. "Now."

You hear someone leave and peek out to see only Finn in the room. He looks over and sees you peeking out from over the desk.

He says, "Ya can come out, Y/N."

Slowly, you make your way out from under the desk and walk up to Finn. "I don't like how she can openly flirt with you," you say, pouting.

Finn's hands intertwine with yours and he says, "I'm all yours, my princess."

You pout some more and say, "It's not fair, Finn."

He says, "Relax, Y/N. I have no interest in her whatsoever. It's only you." He presses light kisses to your cheek and you look at Finn. His light kisses make their way to your neck, making you sigh.

"We are not doing this in your office again," you gasp as Finn grips your thighs right under your butt.

He smiles against your neck and says, “I never said we would, love.”

You giggle and say, “Come by my place when you get off work and we can do that there.”

Finn says, “I’ll definitely be there at four then.” You smile and nod before pecking his lips.

“I should head down to the classroom to make sure everything’s okay,” you say. “I’ll come back at lunch.”

He nods and says, “I’ll see ya in a few hours. Maybe I’ll come check on ya to make sure ya are okay.”

You smile and say, “If you hear yelling coming from my classroom then you should come running because I might be about to kill Veronica.”

Finn laughs and says, “Don’t kill her, Y/N. Please.”

You peck Finn’s lips before leaving the classroom.

Veronica dumps a little work for you to do. Just to make sure that everyone did the in-class assignment and to mark people who didn’t.

Noon hits and you go to the cafeteria to grab your lunch. You are in line when someone comes up behind you. You glance behind you to see Finn.

“Y/N,” he says. “Good to see ya again. How was your summer?”

You nod and say, “Good. Very eventful. How was yours, Mr. Balor?”

Finn says, “Also eventful. How about ya come by my office and have lunch with me so we can catch up?”

As you grab your lunch, you nod and say, “That sounds good.”

Finn laughs softly as the two of you grab your lunch. You pay and Finn pays before the two of you head to the office.

You walk into the office and Finn closes the door behind you. You sigh and sit at Finn’s desk. You begin to eat and Finn says, “I can’t wait for this day to be over.”

“I agree,” you say, swallowing the bite of your veggie burger.

The door opens and Veronica walks in. She says, “We usually have lunch together, Finny.” She sounds like a child and it annoys you.

Finn has a look on his face and he says, “We had lunch together one time, Ver.”

Veronica says, “It’s a little inappropriate to have lunch with a former student.”

“We’re catching up,” Finn says. “And she works in the department now. She’s a co-worker now.”

You look back at Veronica and you say, “You know what’s actually inappropriate? Begging someone to go out with you when said someone isn’t interested.”

Finn’s eyes widen and Veronica says, “Excuse me. That’s no way to speak to me. I can have your job.”

You smirk and say, “Go ahead. Try to take my job, but imagine what would happen if I went to your superior and told them that you harass Mr. Balor here.”

Veronica says, “Dr. Hart spoke so highly of you and you are not what I expected.”

“Yeah, well, I can tell that Mr. Balor is tired of your shit and he’s too nice to say anything about it so I will,” you say, turning in your seat to face Veronica. “I’m telling you now because he won’t. Back off of him.”

She looks taken aback by my comment. Her jaw is almost to the floor and Finn’s hiding a smile behind his hands.

Veronica says, “Keep speaking to me in that matter and I’ll make your life hell for the semester.”

A comeback immediately comes into your head as you say, “It’s already hell because I’m assigned to you.”

Veronica has a pissed off look on her face and she says, “Whatever.” She leaves the office and you look at Finn. He’s looking right at you.

“Ya are so fucking hot when you’re jealous and telling someone off,” he says.

You giggle and say, “Relax Finny Boy. A few more hours then you can do whatever you want to me.”

“Oh, I plan on doing whatever I want to ya,” he says, smirking at me.

***

You get back to your apartment at 3:30. Finn won’t be here for a half hour so you decide to get into something a little sexier than this plain black dress.

You put on a white lacy bodysuit. The whole thing is a little bit see through and the neck dips down low, exposing your cleavage. You keep your hair up and lay across the bed, laying on your side and facing the door.

Finn has a key. You gave him the extra key you had so he can walk into the apartment whenever he wants to. He’s only scared you once and he learned his lesson.

At four on the dot, the front door to your apartment opens and you hear Finn call, “Y/N?”

“Bedroom,” you call back.

The door is open and several seconds later, Finn appears in the doorway. His neatly tied tie now hangs draped over his neck and the first few buttons on his shirt are now unbuttoned.

His eyes darken with lust when he sees what you’re wearing.

“Like something you see, Finn?” you tease.

He nods and he keeps staring at you. You get off the bed and you walk up to Finn.

You hook your fingers in the belt hooks of Finn’s pants and look up at him. You say, “You’re mine, Finn. All mine.”

Finn echos, “All yours, my love.”

You smirk and say, “Good. Now fuck me until I can’t walk.”

That’s all Finn needs to hear before he picks you up by your thighs and walks you over to the bed. His lips are on your neck as he walks over to your bed. You gasp and giggle.

He drops you on your back on the bed and kicks off his shoes while starting to unbutton his pants.

You bite your lip gently as Finn undresses himself in front of you. Your eyes trace every muscle on his body.

Finn’s down to his boxers when he crawls on top of you, hovering over you between your legs. His lips crash to yours and they move harshly. You move your hips so your crotch rubs against Finn’s bulge. He lets out a low groan into the kiss then pins your hips to the bed. “I don’t think so, love,” he says, pulling away from the rough kiss. Ya told me to fuck ya until ya can’t walk so no teasing.”

You pout as Finn gets on his knees between your legs. His fingers hook onto the straps of your lingerie and he pulls the piece down until your naked as the day you were born.

Finn smirks as he admires your body. His hands roam a bit and you smile, watching his hands. They dip below your waist and his fingers run through your folds. You gasp as Finn pushes two fingers into you.

“Oh, Finn,” you sigh. He moves his fingers hard into you, scissoring you open. Your gasps and moans fill the room. You grab onto the silky bedsheets.

Finn move his fingers in and out of you roughly and quickly for a few moments before he pulls them out. You whine and look at Finn.

“Patience, my love,” he says, pulling off his boxers so his erect member is free. You reach out for it and Finn pins your wrists to the bed.

Finn leans down and says in your ear, “Tonight’s about ya, love. I’m gonna make sure ya know that I belong to ya and ya only.”

As soon as he’s done talking, he pushes himself into you. You moan softly and you put your hand on Finn’s biceps. As he begins to thrust into you, you dig your fingers into Finn’s arm.

Finn’s hands are on either side of your head, propping himself up. Your legs are wrapped securely around Finn’s waist as he moves hard and deep into you. His forehead rests on yours.

He moves roughly but almost in a careful way. He’s never moved like this before.

You slide your hands to Finn’s cheeks as he moves. You kiss his lips slowly, moaning as his thrusts get faster.

After a second, you roll and straddle Finn’s waist. You lower yourself onto his member and move your hips. His hands are on your waist, helping you move your hips.

“I’m yours,” Finn moans. “All yours, Y/N.”

You echo, “All mine.” You ride Finn like you never have before. You move like he moved. Roughly but carefully.

Finn sighs, “Come with me, princess.”

You nod and Finn counts down from three. Both of you come together, like the first time the two of you had sex in Finn’s office. You moan and cry out as you release around Finn. He groans as he releases his seed into you.

You roll off Finn and lay beside Finn.

As you both lay on the bed beside each other, you say, “That felt different but a good different.”

He laughs softly and says, “It did. It felt really good. I loved it.”

“And I love you,” you suddenly blurt out. You quickly cover your mouth and look at Finn.

The Irishman smiles and he leans over, kissing your neck softly. He mumbles by your ear, “I love ya too.”

#finn balor imagine #finn balor smut #finn balor x reader #wrestling imagine #wrestling smut #wwe imagine #wwe smut #imagines #imagine #nswf imagine #smut

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frostbeees · 4 years

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Part 7

You probably know the drill by now. My weekly roundup of what I’ve read over the last week.

rhizomatic foundations by @blankvcrs - Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick (Mature, 26k) - The talking plant fic that I never knew I needed until I read it. The perfect balance of angst, tenderness, and maybe a little bit of crack... it is a talking plant after all. I think my favorite part is that Kevin questions absolutely nothing about Nolan moving the plant around the house, taking it outside and back in with him.

Something Wild by @linskywords - Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin (Explicit, 3k) - The absolute fact that Tyler not understanding what a girl on Tinder is asking him leading to an awakening hookup with his best bro. What a treat.

The Naked Truth by @princesstillyenna - Carter Hart/Nolan Patrick (Explicit, 3k) - Strip Shootout... that’s all. 🧡

You grip me like an animal by dearericbittle(dutchmoxie) - Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick (Teen, 15k) - It’s been a while since I came across a good werewolf fic! And honestly the banter between TK and Patty was just sooo on point in this. And an ending that I did not anticipate but definitely appreciated. Just so good.

heel by @aglowingthing - Nathan MacKinnon/Erik Johnson (Explicit, 8k) - sooo hot. and another one with great, realistic feeling banter. This has become one of my favorite pairings and there are just not enough fics so I am always happy to see more pop up.

Attitude Before Aptitude by @notthequiettype - Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick (Explicit, 2k) - (honestly can I make one of these posts and not include one of your fics? i’m not mad about it... i love them all so much 🧡) I think what I loved the most about this one was how raw and realistic it felt. There were so many little things too though. The Keith Urban. The mercury in retrograde. TK’s uncooperative butthole. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d write...

Mamma Mia! by @boringdrouin - Jack Eichel/Connor McDavid (Mature, 8k) - This was a revisit as I got myself into a major musical mood this weekend and remembered this fic existed and promptly tracked it down. It’s absolutely ridiculous and I love every second. The author summary really says everything you need to know: “Or: Connor gets cursed, he can’t stop singing, and it seems like everyone around him is gay.”

Romantic Motherfucking Best by lightgetsin - Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin (Explicit, 14k) - Another revisit. Jamie decides he doesn’t want to just hook up with Tyler anymore and wants to be boyfriends. And Tyler is, well, Tyler. Surprisingly tender and also just very hot.

BONUS:

So monday morning I decided I wanted to jump headfirst into reading Jeff Skinner/Eric Staal bc honestly it was just a pairing that I never cared about so I never read. So naturally I’ve already managed to read a handful and I have a feeling this is where I’ll be all week so I’m not sure what next week’s list will look like... BUT, out of what I read yesterday, here’s my favorite:

Enough To Crush Your Veins by doctor_denmark - Eric Staal/Jeff Skinner (Explicit, 69k) - AU where Eric is a hockey player but Jeff is a college student and live-in nanny for Eric/Eric’s kid. When I told @softgrantaire about my adventures in ao3 this was one of the first one’s he recc’d for me and it was perfect. It definitely shows it’s age a little (twitpics, anyone?). BUT if you can get me to yell “JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER DUMB-DUMBS” multiple times while reading thats an A+ in my book!

As always, if one of these is yours and you don’t want it on this post, please let me know! If you read any of these and wanna come scream in my inbox about them, PLEASE DO!

#fic recs #hockey rpf #men’s hockey rpf #i think this may be the longest list i’ve made so far #and i’m not mad about it #it was a great week for fic

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

Text

Us, January 25

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles and Jason Sudeikis

Page 2: Red Carpet -- drop sleeve romance -- Cynthia Erivo, Margaret Qualley, Aja Naomi King, Eiza Gonzalez

Page 3: Chloe Bennet, Keri Russell, Isla Fisher, Idina Menzel, Kaia Gerber

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Gigi Hadid vs. Khloe Kardashian, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley vs. Haley Lu Richardson

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Rowan Atkinson on cancel culture, Chrissy Teigen on why she gave up drinking, Busy Philipps on getting used to her 12-year-old child Birdie’s they/them pronouns, Joy Behar resuming her feud with fellow View cohost Meghan McCain who recently returned from maternity leave, Arnold Schwarzenegger on mistaking Chris Pratt for Chris Evans on an Instagram telethon

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: Hot Pics -- Angelina Jolie enjoyed a bit of retail therapy in L.A.

Page 11: Justin Bieber took an electric bike out for a spin while on vacation in Hawaii, Gavin Rossdale holding his beloved dog during an outing in Studio City, Selling Sunset’s Christine Quinn wore pink during a photoshoot in Bel Air

Page 12: Olivia Munn, Tori Spelling got a smooch from her and husband Dean McDermott’s pups in L.A., Emilio Vitolo Jr. and Katie Holmes walked arm-in-arm during a romantic stroll in NYC

Page 13: Emma Slater and Sasha Farber stepped out for some fresh air with their dogs Ruby and Grinch in L.A., Dua Lipa and Anwar Hadid spent their days soaking up the sun while on vacation in Tulum, Mexico

Page 16: Matt Damon was spotted without his wedding ring while visiting BFF Ben Affleck one month after celebrating his 15th anniversary with wife Luciana Barroso in L.A., Sutton Foster filming Younger with Nico Tortorella and Debi Mazar in NYC, during an outing Lisa Rinna took her dance moves to the streets in L.A.

Page 17: Diplo spent the day exploring the ocean during a scuba diving session in Tulum, Bella Thorne and boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo couldn’t keep their hands off each other while playing in the ocean in Tulum

Page 18: Jennifer Lopez works her monochrome magic

Page 20: Winter Wonderland -- ‘tis the season to bundle up -- Kellan Lutz sipping on hot drinks with pregnant wife Brittany in NYC, Irina Shayk posed with a snowman she built in NYC, Kylie Jenner and daughter Stormi kept warm and cozy in fashionable outerwear, Bella Hadid made a snow angel following a storm in NYC

Page 21: Martha Stewart in her snow plow in Bedford in New York, Rebel Wilson hitting the slopes in Aspen, Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma played with their daughter Banks outside in North Reading in Massachusetts, Ciara skiing for the first time during a trip with Vanessa Bryant, Laura Prepon building a snowman

Page 22: Stars They’re Just Like Us -- Wells Adams broke a sweat during an afternoon jog in L.A., Gabrielle Union donated items to her favorite organizations through the Amazon Smile Charity Lists in L.A., Jenny McCarthy checked taking out the trash off her to-do list in Chicago

Page 23: Ellen DeGeneres pedaled to lunch in Santa Barbara, between carrying a huge basket and walking his dog Kuma Justin Theroux has his hands full while out and about in NYC

Page 24: Love Lives -- Emma Stone baby on board

Page 25: Chrissy Metz and boyfriend Bradley Collins met on the dating app Bumble, after spending months in Australia Zac Efron has no plans to return to Hollywood because he’s loving life with girlfriend Vanessa Valladares

Page 26: Hollywood Moms -- Melissa Joan Hart on her three sons Mason and Braydon and Tucker

Page 27: Amber Rose’s sons Sebastian and Slash may be six years apart but she says they have the sweetest bond, Rachel Bilson’s daughter Briar has no idea that dad Hayden Christensen played Darth Vader, Melissa Rycroft has ruled out baby No. 4

Page 28: Hot Hollywood -- Duchess Kate Middleton’s family made her recent birthday very special despite the pandemic -- during her low-key celebration at Anmer Hall she felt the love from Prince William and their kids Prince George and Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and they gave her a bouquet from the kids and diamond and sapphire earrings from William which she loves -- she even received a card and gifts from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle which was a nice surprise and she may get to thank them in person as Harry and Meghan will reportedly return to the UK in June

Page 29: After months of dating speculation Michael B. Jordan and Lori Harvey finally confirmed their relationship via Instagram when Michael and Steve Harvey’s adopted daughter posted loved-up photos of each other on their accounts

* Nearly 17 years after the Sex and the City series finale aired stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis are reprising their roles for a revival called And Just Like That...Noticeably absent from the group is Kim Cattrall who’s had an ongoing feud with Sarah Jessica for years and has been vocal about her decision to never return to the show

* Keeping Up With Us -- Gwen Stefani’s annulment from ex-husband Gavin Rossdale has finally been granted by the Vatican which was a huge relief for Gwen who wants her marriage to Blake Shelton to be recognized by the Catholic Church, Meghan Markle’s estranged dad Thomas Markle says that he’s very pleased with daughter Samantha Markle’s upcoming tell-all book, The Grammys has been delayed to March 14 over coronavirus concerns, Shia LaBeouf and Margaret Qualley have called it quits on their weeks-long whirlwind romance, Dr. Dre said he’s doing great after being hospitalized for a brain aneurysm, Stassi Schroeder and fiance Beau Clark welcomed daughter Hartford Charlie Rose

Page 30: A Day in the Life -- Catherine Lowe

Page 31: Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson has a lot to look forward in 2021 -- not only is she releasing a new book this summer which is a historical fiction novel titled Her Heart For a Compass but the Duchess of York is also preparing to become a first-time grandmother to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s child -- though the little one’s arrival is still weeks away Fergie’s already started passing down her motherly wisdom to her 30-year-old daughter whom she shares with ex-husband Prince Andrew -- as for what she’s hoping to be called by her grandchild she says lots of her friends call her Duch so she thinks it will end up being Duchee

Page 32: Cover Story -- Olivia Wilde’s love triangle -- Olivia’s ex Jason Sudeikis is devastated as her new romance with Harry Styles heats up

Page 36: Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West behind closed doors -- as rumors of impending divorce swirl what’s really happening inside Kim and Kanye’s six-year marriage -- it was extremely draining to keep pretending that their marriage was OK when the whole world could tell it blatantly wasn’t and things between them have gotten so toxic they have no choice but to live apart

Page 38: One for the Ages -- it’s nothing but a number -- these couples don’t mind a May to December romance -- Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, George Clooney and Amal Clooney, Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles

Page 39: Leonardo DiCaprio and Camila Morrone, Jay-Z and Beyonce, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Holland Taylor and Sarah Paulson

Page 40: Natalie Portman’s lip service with Dior’s wildly popular Rouge Dior Couture lipstick -- she stuns in a series of images that evoke the splendor of Paris and peep the behind-the-scenes moments

Page 42: Entertainment -- The Bachelor Matt James teases what’s to come

Page 43: Dean Hashim of 90 Day Fiance on having a daughter with girlfriend Rigin Bado

Page 46: Fashion Police -- when bad clothes happen to good people -- Miley Cyrus, Bella Hadid, Alia Shawkat

Page 47: A$AP Rocky, Kate Flannery, Tessa Thompson

Page 48: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me -- Tim Allen

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5ivebyfive · 4 years

Text

pride month challenge - day fifteen - believe trimberly - frozen treats

For the longest time, Kimberly Hart didn’t believe that Trini Gomez existed. From the day Trini first walked into Angel Grove High and passed Kim in the hallway, their eyes meeting and gazes locking the entire time until they were out of sight, Kim was sure Trini couldn’t actually exist. The shorter girl walked in with her headphones around her neck, her long, luscious hair down around her shoulders, and hands deep in her pockets. She had a way about her that was a mix of uncertain but uncaring. And she was beautiful. There were plenty of good looking people at Angel Grove High, but none were beautiful like Trini.

Every time Kim passed Trini in the hall, then just the unnamed new girl, her eyes met Kim’s and the two girls held a deep stare until they passed each other. Never exchanged a word or a smile. And every time it made Kim’s heart pound and her palms sweat. She never saw anyone walking with Trini and she never saw Trini stop to talk to any friends. She was always alone. So Kim started to believe that the girl was a figment of her imagination. Either way, Kim couldn’t try to talk to her. Kim was at the top of the social ladder and Trini was no one. Kim shouldn’t have even noticed her. But she did. She got used to the exact times of day that they would pass one another, and she looked forward to each one. She never left class late or stayed too long at her locker, because she never wanted to miss it. She concocted stories in her head of who Trini really was, and she longed for the courage to stop and say hello. Or to just smile at her.

Over the summer Kim partied with her friends and pretended to have fun. It really wasn’t that much fun. None of it had been lately. She was tired of the whole thing. She was tired of the people she was surrounded with all the time. But she needed them. She needed her place in the world, and needed their attention. One day, a few weeks into the break, she and her friends went to the frozen yogurt shop. She got in line with the girls and talked and laughed with them, and soon the line cleared before them and they were at the front, and Trini was there behind the counter. She looked at them with a bored expression and raised her brows. No greeting. Just waiting. Kim wondered if she imagined the girl again, but then Amanda was talking to her; rudely. Trini didn’t seem to care how Amanda treated her. She just scooped the fat-free frozen dessert into a cup and handed it to Amanda. Then her eyes were on Kim, and she had the same bored look on her face. Like she didn’t recognize the girl she had passed every day in school. Kim swallowed.

“One scoop of strawberry, please,” she said. She watched Trini scoop it and hand it out to her. “Thank you.” She took the cup of yogurt and swallowed as their fingers brushed. And the girl felt so real, so warm. Maybe she did exist. Kim took her cup and stepped aside to let her other friends order, and the entire time she watched the girl behind the counter. She finally let her eyes stray from her face and fall to her name tag, and she saw the name ‘Trini’. The girl had a name. A pretty name. Kim wanted to introduce herself, but that would be too weird. She and her friends left after that, but she thought about Trini all day. There was just something about her that intrigued Kim, and Kim wanted to know more about her.

The next day she spent the afternoon alone, and she found herself walking through the door of the yogurt shop again. Waited in line, waited for a moment of Trini’s time. Their eyes locked again, unlike the day before, and Trini stared at her for a moment before furrowing her brows.

“You want somethin’?” Trini asked, and her voice was heaven to Kim. She wanted to hear more.

“What would you suggest?” Her finger dragged slow shapes against the cool glass.

“Ice cream,” Trini said flatly.

Kim ignored her. “Can I sample the key lime?” Trini only grunted in reply, but she got a sample spoon and scooped some key lime for Kim. When she handed Kim the spoon, Kim took it and their fingers brushed again. Kim drew her hand back slowly and popped the spoon into her mouth. She hummed. “Can I try the double chocolate?” She glanced behind herself and saw no one was in line and she smiled to herself. She went on to try every flavor the shop had so she could keep brushing her fingers to Trini’s, and to Trini’s credit she only seemed a little irritated with Kim. When she had tried them all, Kim thought about it. “I’ll have one scoop of strawberry,” she said. Trini rolled her eyes but scooped the strawberry and held out the cup to Kim.

“Three bucks,” Trini said.

Kim took out her card and held it out. “Thank you.” Trini nodded and ran the card before handing it back to Kim and sitting back on her stool behind the cooler. Kim smiled and went to find a table to sit at and she started to eat. She made sure she had a good view of Trini that wasn’t an obvious one, and she watched Trini with all the customers. When there were none, Trini read a book. She didn’t once look Kim’s way and that disappointed Kim. She decided she liked it best when kids came in, because Trini was friendly with the kids. She smiled at them and Trini had a gorgeous smile. When Kim was done she threw her cup away and slipped out the door with one more look over her shoulder. She caught Trini’s eyes flick up to catch hers before looking away again, and Kim walked off smiling.

For the next couple of weeks, Kim went to the frozen yogurt shop every day. She made her evening runs longer to compensate. She learned Trini’s schedule and left on days Trini wasn’t there. From there, she couldn’t help but go in every day she knew Trini would be there. She waited in line, got her strawberry yogurt, and sat and ate it while spying on Trini. It got to the point where Trini had her yogurt scooped the moment Kim walked up to the counter, and Kim loved it. She loved how, a month into her visits, she would be watching Trini behind the counter and would catch Trini glancing up from her book to look at Kim and quickly look away again.

It was about six weeks in when Trini came from behind the counter and sat down across from Kim in the empty shop. “You can’t really like strawberry frozen yogurt this much,” Trini said to her, the most the girl had ever spoken to her. “You and your friends Punkin’ me or something?” She looked at Kim suspiciously.

Kim stared at Trini, her spoon frozen halfway to her open mouth, and she didn’t know what to say for a moment. Then, with her hand still frozen, she narrowed her own eyes back at Trini. “...are you real?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Kim put her cup of yogurt down and set the spoon in it before folding her hands between her legs. “I like yogurt,” she said, hoping she sounded convincing.

“No one likes yogurt this much,” Trini argued. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is with me, but I’m just trying to-”

“I don’t have a problem with you, Trini.”

“How do you know my name? I’ve never told you my name,” Trini said accusingly. Kim smirked and pointed to the red name tag Trini wore and she looked down at it then looked back up. “Oh. Right.”

“I really don’t have any motive,” Kim said. “I just...like it here.”

“There’s somethin’ wrong with you,” Trini replied, shaking her head. She got up. “Well thanks for never leaving me a mess to clean up.” And she walked back around the counter, sat on her stool, and opened her book.

And Kim knew she needed Trini to talk to her more. The next day she came in with her own book, and she sat down at her usual table with her strawberry yogurt and opened it up. She snuck a glance towards Trini and saw Trini trying to read the cover of it and Kim tried not to smirk. She was only a couple of pages in when she heard the metal chair across from her scrape across the floor before Trini sat in it.

“The Outsiders?”

“Hm?” Kim looked up, pretending to be surprised. “Oh, hello, Trini.”

“You’re reading The Outsiders?”

Kim raised a brow. “Are you surprised I’m reading or surprised by what I’m reading?”

“Both,” Trini said simply. Her face was blank and Kim couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Well, I do read,” Kim said. “And this is one I read every summer.”

“Is it your favorite?”

“No, my favorite book is The Princess Diaries.”

“...really?”

“Really,” Kim insisted. “It’s funny. And what teenage girl wouldn’t want to find out she’s a real princess?”

Trini raised her brows. “I mean...you kinda already are, huh? Kimberly Hart, Princess of Angel Grove High.”

“You know my name?”

“Everyone knows your name,” Trini drawled. “Like I said, Princess of Angel Grove High.”

“You say that like you know me.”

“I do know you, Princess. I’ve been to three highschools, I know girls like you.”

Kim felt cold suddenly. She closed her book and set it on the table. “If you don’t want me to make generalizations about you, don’t make any about me.”

“I go by what I see,” Trini said, her voice stubborn.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t be so blind,” Kim said cooly. She got up and picked up her book and her cup of yogurt. She walked across the shop and threw out her yogurt and left. She wasn’t going to sit and listen to someone who knew nothing about her life tell her how perfect it was.

Kim didn’t go back. She spent the rest of the summer wrapped up in her friends and her boyfriend, and she tried not to think about the girl behind the counter at the frozen yogurt shop. She knew she had probably overreacted a little, but she had wanted Trini to be different. She wanted Trini to really see her, and she hadn’t. She didn’t see Trini again until school started back. There Kim was in her biology class and she heard Trini’s name get called, heard Trini’s soft ‘here’. She looked over her shoulder and sure enough, there was Trini. Kim turned forward and pretended Trini didn’t exist except for the daily roll call that had her waiting breathlessly for Trini’s voice.

A couple of months passed and Kim lost her boyfriend, her friends, and her long locks. It was only days after she had chopped it off in the school bathroom that she was sitting in biology class and zoning out. In a way, it all felt good to suddenly be a no one and not have everyone’s eyes on her, but in another it was torture. People’s eyes were still on her. People enjoyed her downfall and they liked laughing at her misfortune. And she had wanted to get back to where she had been, but as she cut all of her long locks off she realized she was better than them. She didn’t need them. But it was still hard to start over. So all of that plagued her mind as she sat there in class, barely listening to her teacher, and when the bell rang she slowly got to her feet. She wasn’t in a rush to meet her friends between classes. She had no friends. So she took her time packing her backpack as students shuffled past her. And then she heard a voice behind her.

“Do you believe a person can be wrong about another person and feel really bad about it?”

Kim froze. She knew and recognized that voice. She looked over her shoulder and saw Trini shifting awkwardly on her feet, letting her long hair get in her face to hide behind. Kim swung her backpack over a shoulder and considered Trini’s words for several moments. Her heart was pounding just from the proximity of Trini to herself. One corner of her lips lifted slightly. “Yeah,” she said. “If they can admit they were wrong.”

“I was wrong,” Trini said. “I didn’t know you. I just...knew other girls and I realized you’re not like them.”

“So far I don’t think you’re like any girl I’ve ever known,” Kim admitted.

“I think...maybe we could both use a friend...if you wanna try to know me.”

“I think I’d like that,” Kim nodded, smiling more.

“Wanna walk to class together?”

“Sure,” Kim nodded. She waved to let Trini lead the way, and as they headed for the door together Kim found herself asking, “Do you believe you can see someone for the first time and know they’re meant to be in your life?”

Trini was quiet as they made their way into the hall and walked side by side, then she nodded. “I definitely believe that...Princess.”

#trimberly #trimberly fic #my fics #pm2020challenge tag

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joyffree · 1 year

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THE LONER The Vers Podcast Series - Book One by Riley Hart Excerpt Reveal Release Date: January 23, 2023 Cover Design: Cate Ashwood Designs Photo: Wander Aguiar Photography Genre: MM Romance Trope: Opposites attract, found family, second chance

Declan

#rileyhart #theloner #theverspodcastseries #excerptreveal #preorder #celebrityromance #oppositesattract #secondchance #foundfamily #mmromance #gayromance #lgbtbooks #forewordpr

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suca-loca · 4 years

Text

slip of the tongue.

Pairing: Anxceit (Virgil/Janus)

Tags: Sympathetic!Janus, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: It was supposed to be a quick phone call. They found out Patton got a promotion - from a Facebook post of all things - so of course, they called to congratulate him. Had Damien known he’d end the call with “See you at Christmas, Dad” he would have just congratulated him in the comments.

Author’s Note: I completed this a week before Deceit’s name was revealed so... oops. That’s why he’s named Damien in this fic. Also, the Eleanor and Park book is kinda problematic. The quote I reference here really touched me during a hard time which is why I used it, although I do not recommend reading it because the representation is b l e g h .

————

“Holy shit.”

Damien hides his face in his hands.

“Holy. Shit.”

A sound eerily similar to that of a dying bear leaves Damien’s mouth.

Virgil laughs. He doesn’t even try to hide it. He explodes like a shaken Coca Cola can until he’s nothing but a mess of overflowing tears and fizzling out snorts.

Beside him on the couch, Damien grabs one of the pillows. “Oh, how I adore seeing you enjoy yourself over me acting like a fool,” he grumbles as he smacks it over Virgil’s head. “It really shows how great of a boyfriend you are.”

Virgil, unable to speak - because he’s currently bent over, clutching at his sides - responds with two middle fingers.

Damien reaches for the last remaining couch pillow.

“No!” Virgil somehow wheezes out, the terror in his voice terribly contrasting against the grin on his face. “I’ll stop! I’ll stop!”

Damien doesn’t believe him. He throws it without mercy.

He was right to see through Virgil’s lie because two minutes pass before Virgil finally gets it out of his system. All the while Damien waits at the opposite end of the couch, watching with a pout as his boyfriend begins to crawl towards him.

“That-“ Virgil wipes away one last tear from his eye - “was beautiful. Truly the greatest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. I would love to see it on the big screen, looping for ten hours.”

Damien gives him a (totally real) disgusted look as a kiss is pressed against his cheek. “You are insufferable.”

“Is that why you made my pancakes this morning in the shape of hearts?”

“You’re totally right! Next time I won’t go through the trouble of making the pancakes into different shapes. I’ll just poison them.”

Virgil chuckles.

“Don’t you start again!” Damien groans, looking like he wants the couch to become quicksand and swallow him up. “I’ll get up and grab the pillows from the floor. Watch me.”

“Sorry,” Virgil says in a tone that is definitely not at all sorry. “It’s just...You just called my dad, Dad. That’s, like, better than when you said you loved me for the first time.”

It was supposed to be a quick phone call. They found out Patton got a promotion - from a Facebook post of all things - so of course, they called to congratulate him. Had Damien known he’d end the call with “See you at Christmas, Dad” he would have just congratulated him in the comments.

Damien watches in horror as he sees Virgil’s shoulders begin to shake as the memory comes back to him.

“It wasn’t a slip of the tongue if you consider the circumstances!” He cries out, desperately not wanting to sit through another one of Virgil’s cackling.

He only realizes what he said when Virgil’s dimples disappear and are replaced with a curious look.

“Oh?” Virgil coos, smirking in the same way that made Damien fall in love with him all those years ago. “Care to explain what these circumstances are, D?”

Damien fiddles with the hem of his pajama shirt. He’s blushing.

“Well,” he inhales sharply, suddenly acting so small and nervous in a way Virgil has never seen from him in the four years they’ve known each other. “I should get used to calling him dad since he’ll become my father-in-law.”

Virgil stills. “What?”

Deceit stands up, only to then drop to one knee.

Now it’s Virgil’s turn to inhale sharply.

“Virgil Hart,” Damien looks up at him with clear adoration and a voice oozing with love from just those two words, “Years ago, for some odd - and very stupid - reason you risked sitting in a jail cell for a guy you didn’t know.”

Virgil blushes, the day they met coming back to him in pieces. He remembers sneaking out of his college dorm room past curfew to join a protest. Remembers how the protest turned south as sirens could be heard ten blocks down. Remembers the adrenaline that passed through him as he chucked an egg at one of the cops who was in the middle of arresting some guy. Remembers the adrenaline being replaced with fear as the cop charged at him, only to then be pulled down the street by the same man he rescued.

Remembers the two of them hiding in a thrift shop that sold dildos and smelled too much like weed. Remembers learning the man’s name was Damien from the slip of paper handed to him with a phone number. Remembers getting caught sneaking back into his dorm room and not even caring as the principal shouted at him because he was too busy thinking about what a great runner Damien was. He also remembers thinking how great it was to run behind Damien.

“And now,” Damien says as he presses a kiss against Virgil’s hand, “because of your lack of control that day, we sit here in this apartment that we share. With plates still in the sink that is your turn to wash, with two cats I gifted Patton curled up on our beds because you never told me he was allergic and with the insides of my favorite sweaters smudged with black lipstick because no matter where I hide them you always find them,

But, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Which I now realize, given my moral compass, doesn’t say much, so let me rephrase; I wouldn’t change it even if it meant I had to delete all my eat the rich tweets. I didn’t realize it then, but I fell in love with you the moment I heard that egg crack against the cop's helmet. I only continued to fall more in love with you as you sent me memes past midnight and the way you scrunch up your face every time someone admits to never reading one of Edgar Allan Poe’s work. You are an inspiration to me and I hope that you remain only my inspiration. Which is why, Virgil Hart, I ask you today...”

Damien slips out a ring. It’s all black, except for the purple jewel at the center, decorated with petals curling to where the diamond sits.

“Will you marry me?”

Virgil blinks.

“There’s cheeto dust on the hoodie I’m wearing.”

Damien raises an eyebrow. “Excellent observation skills.”

“Our cats’ assholes combined are in a better state than my hair right now,” Virgil continues.

“Thank you for the mental image.”

“I gained ten pounds this week!”

“I was wondering why our cuddling sessions felt better.”

“I’m pretty sure my breath smells like Remus’ room.”

“I’m well aware. I kissed you good morning, remember?”

“Then why the fuck do you still have the ring out?!” Virgil huffs, pulling his hands away. He gestures to himself. “Do I look like a picture-worthy fiancé?”

Damien raises an eyebrow. “So what you’re saying is… I should propose after you’ve taken a shower?”

“No!”

Virgil yanks his hands away. He does it so hard Damien is surprised the other doesn’t send him flying backwards. His temper flares and his mouth snaps open to say something snarky, but it shuts when his eyes fall on the emo’s face.

Sad isn’t the right word to use. It’s devastation. Even with Virgil burying his face against the knees hugged to his chest Damien can see how hard his lips wobble and the way his eyes blink rapidly against the incoming of tears.

“Why can’t you see I’m not worthy to be a fiancé?” He croaks, voice going weaker towards the end. “Much less yours?”

Damien wastes no time cradling Virgil’s face in his hands. He rubs the pad of his thumb against Virgil’s left cheek, knowing it’ll help calm him down.

“Eleanor was right,” he begins, voice softer than the most expensive silk money could buy. “She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice. It was supposed to make you feel something.”

Virgil’s breath hitches. “Eleanor and Park, chapter 28, page 165. My favorite quote.”

Damien clicks his tongue. “And yet the message escapes you. You’re not stupid, mi vida. So stop acting like it. You’re too good to fall for society's expectations of beauty.”

Virgil looks ready to interject, but Damien keeps going.

“When I bought this ring it wasn’t because I thought every angle was your best angle. It wasn’t because you lack fewer fat rolls than other people. It was because of how you showed up at my door with my favorite movie and snacks after I got a bad grade on an exam. It’s because of how you headbang and jump around the living room every time I put The Crow soundtrack on when we clean.”

Damien brushes Virgil’s bangs to the side. He presses a kiss against his boyfriend’s forehead. Virgil is quiet through all of this.

“And most importantly, it’s because whenever I picture myself happy it’s with you.”

A sob breaks through the silence. Tears, big fat crocodile ones, pour down Virgil’s face. For a second Damien thinks he said something wrong, but then Virgil swoops down to capture his lips in a kiss.

There’s nothing soft about it. Not even three seconds in and Virgil’s hand tugs at his long locks, making Damien see stars. Somehow he’s able to break through the daze and wrap his arms around Virgil’s back, pulling him close until there’s no space between them.

Besides the occasional growl and groan, there’s just the sound of their heavy breathing whenever they disconnect for a few seconds and then continue where they left off. Virgil plays dirty by wrapping his legs around the other’s waist, so Damien retaliates by biting at his lips.

When they break apart, eyes half-lidded and hands still wandering, they smile at one another.

“Brilliant idea,” Damien breaks the silence first, voice rough like sandpaper. “Kissing me while you’re crying. Now all I can taste is salt - ow!”

Damien rubs the spot where Virgil threw a pillow at him. All the while Virgil sticks out the same tongue just shoved down his throat a second ago.

“Well played,” Damien grumbles.

Virgil shrugs. “It was either the pillow or not saying yes.”

“Truly, what a difficult decision. Me versus your fragile pride.”

“Shut up and give me the ring before I hit you twice.”

Damien rolls his eyes, but there’s fondness behind them as he slips the ring on. All the while Virgil is smiling so wide and so hard he doesn’t know how his face doesn’t crack from the pressure.

Virgil knows for a fact that his eyes are puffy, that his nose is running and that his face is the same color as a cherry. But he doesn’t care. All he can focus on is the man in front of him, with his beautiful mind and a stunning smile currently aimed (and from now on always will be) only at him.

“I love you.”

Damien doesn’t hesitate. “I love you too.”

Damien watches with love in his eyes as Virgil’s eyes crinkle around the corners.

He then watches with confusion as Virgil pulls out his phone.

“Oh no,” Damien groans, “don’t tell me you’re going to tell your Tumblr followers the news first.”

“First off, fuck you. You’re just sour over the fact that Remus was the first person I told about my Tumblr account. Secondly,” Virgil puts the phone to his ear. “No, I’m not.”

The person on the other end of the line picks up on the first ring.

“Kiddo, I was hoping you’d call back! Tell Damien I don’t mind what he said. I take it as a compliment, truly!”

Virgil smiles. “I’ll do you one better. How about I give you the phone to talk to him yourself?”

He hands the phone over.

Damien, once again, doesn’t hesitate.

“Good morning, father-in-law.”

#Sanders Sides #Thomas Sanders #Anxceit #Virgil #Deceit #Patton #very briefly though #Sympathetic!Deceit #my fic

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