#haylie hearts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spicywhenspeaking · 9 months

Text

If I'm There: Chapter Eighteen

read from part one here!

summary: Noah and Natalie met in high school and developed a relationship through their love of music and art. Falling in love, innocent and young, they think nothing can keep them apart. However, sometimes in the pursuit of your dreams the things we love the most get left behind.

warnings: alcohol use

this is a complete work of fiction, some characters while based on real people are totally made up. :)

edited by me ....soooo if you see something spelt wrong no you didn't.

taglist : @lma1986 @cookiesupplier @notingridslurkaccount @blackveilomens @thisbicc @thebadchic @jessitpwk @samanthasgone @laurpartyprogram @myownthoughts12

Ryan, our receptionist has the biggest shit-eating grin on his face. He’s thinking that he’s just setting me up with a band I don’t like. Ugh. It’s not his fault, nobody here knows Noah is Erin’s dad. Only Haylie and my family know. Although I never confirmed with my dad who Erin’s father is I know he knows.

As I frantically attempt to clear my workstation of anything Erin-related I look down and notice that because of the rip in my jeans, you can perfectly see the “Erin” script tattoo I have over my left knee.

“Fuck” I quietly exclaim to myself, no way of hiding that. My phone is cradled in my shoulder as I continue to lose my mind with Haylie. “I’m freaking out! Oh my god, ten years and everything I’ve worked so hard to overcome just walked through my fucking door.” I’m breathing in and out heavily as I look back up over the partition to see Noah watching me with peaked interest as he offers a small awkward wave while the rest of his band mates finished their paperwork. I quickly duck back down and continue to freak out with Haylie on the phone.

“Okay, hold on! He’s there? How did he know you were there?” Haylie Questions. “I have no fucking idea. Oh my god! Erin…she’s at fucking Six Flags having a great time and I just agreed to tattoo her fucking father! That doesn’t know about her, that she’s never met. That I’ve never told her about, god, I’m the worst mother-'' Haylie cuts me off “You need to breathe. It’s going to be okay, just try to remember everything Dr. Grady taught you'' she reassures me.

“Okay,” I breathe out. “Okay, I’ll be fine. It’ll just be like seeing an old friend. That took my virginity. And got me pregnant and left me all alone”

There’s a long pause “..….you could always sneak out the back door?” We both laugh at the absurdity of the situation. I have to laugh because otherwise, I would have a full-on breakdown. “I’ll be okay. I can do this. I can totally do this” I tell Haylie and also myself. Can I fucking do this?! We say our goodbyes and I return to my breathing technique as I try to calm my racing heart.

A few minutes later I hear their footsteps approaching my workstation followed by his voice, that’s only gotten better with time. “I can’t believe you’re here” he almost whispers. “What are you doing here?” Noah asks me quietly.

“I work here” I state calmly. “I moved here after graduating early and started an apprenticeship with a friend of a friend, worked my way up,” I say, trying not to break my words as I look up at him, and oh my god how did he get even better looking? I’m totally fucked. I attempted to shake myself out of whatever daze being around Noah has brought me into so I can get through this.

“I could say the same to you? Of all the tattoo shops in Texas, you just happen to walk through my doors” I half joke. “Must be fate” It’s Nicholas Ruffilo that pipes up this time, coming around to hug me. “Long time no see Nat,” he says, eyeing me up and down. “You’re looking good,” he mentions with a soft smile. I’m not at all the girl I used to be, my hair is darker and I have multiple visible tattoos. My neck tattoo is visible and you can see the evidence of a stomach tattoo poking out the bottom of my tank, if I turned around they could see my dueling dragon back tattoo peaking past my shoulders and through the holes in my jeans, you can see a view of my full leg sleeve. “Really digging the tatted look,” Nicholas remarks with a friendly tone. He’s always been a good guy. I wish I had stayed in contact with him more all these years. But I couldn’t even keep in contact with Noah, despite trying, so that was wishful thinking.

“Yeah, you too buddy,” I tell him, returning his hug.

Turning to face Noah I give him a once over “You cut your hair.” When he left it was down past his chest but the short hair looks really good on him and I’m forgetting everything I’m supposed to be mad at him about.

“Oh yeah,” he reaches back and scratches the nape of his neck “it was just getting to be a lot to deal with.”

I huff out a laugh and think about my life with Erin and how hard it’s been raising her as a single mother and remember the anger I’ve felt all these years. “yeah, i know how much you hate when things get complicated” I say and he slightly bristles. I ignore it and turn to the two unfamiliar faces.

“Hi! I’m Natalie, I went to school with these two so it’s an impromptu reunion.” I stick out my hand to shake hands with Nick Folio and Jolly, the final members of Noah’s band, Bad Omens. “Two Nicks? Doesn't that get confusing?” I ask. “Yeah, people call me Folio, but you can call me anything you’d like,” Folio says with a smile and wink. Noah tenses at his friend's joke and eyes him with a glare. Choosing to ignore whatever that was, I turn back towards the group and ask, “So what are we doing today? I overheard a little, just some line work?”

“Uh yeah,” Nick replies “I unfortunately lost my tattoo bag with my gun and needles, or else I would have done it myself.” He’s still the same Nicholas I knew so I can tell when he’s bullshitting. “Okay…and if you told me the truth? What would that be?” I give him a serious look, the same one Erin calls my “Mom means business face.”

“Okay so I may have been looking online for tattoo shops in the area just for fun and maybe I came across an article about a certain women’s owned tattoo shop and thought I recognized one of the girls in the group picture.” He fesses up finally. “You knew she would be here?” Noah asks his friend, shock written on his face. “Why didn’t you say anything” he asks at the same time I question, “So you knew I was here? So much for fate huh?” I joke and push his shoulder back. “You didn’t think to call first? At least warn me?” I ask him. Noah pipes up “Well he didn’t tell me either if that helps.”

It doesn’t.

“What? So you could be conveniently out of the office? Yeah right Natty, I’m not stupid. Or so you” he gestures at Noah “could find any way out of seeing her, no way” Nicholas’ cheshire cat smile tells me all I need to know. He wanted this to happen, for us all to see each other again. Thinking maybe it was just old friends catching up or love birds reuniting. Unfortunately, all he really did was throw my life completely upside down by unknowingly walking the father of my child straight back into my life.

“Well, we will have some time to catch up while I work,” I say, “let me just pull up some more chairs so y’all can sit.” I walk and grab two folding chairs to add to my workspace.

I notice Noah looking at all the photos on my walls. Some of me, Kyle and Maggie all grown up, me with other musicians lying on my tattoo table getting something done. “Is that fucking Oli Sykes!??” Noah asks, pointing at a picture pinned on the wall. I laugh and nod “Um yeah, that’s a crazy story. My roommate Haylie ran into him after a show and they made a bet during a darts game and next thing I know I’m getting a call at 3 am about giving Oli a tattoo.” I laugh because it was actually pretty crazy, Haylie has stayed out later than me but I was lucky that Gwen had already agreed to babysit that night since it was our monthly girls’ night out so I knew Erin was safe. Having the lead singer of the Bring Me The Horizon on my tattoo table. That was crazy. “That’s amazing Natty, we’re touring with them next year.” Noah smiles when he says it, I know it is a huge accomplishment to be touring with a band he’s always loved. “Wow, that’s great Noah. I’m happy for y’all.” It’s not a complete lie, I have always been proud of Noah but it doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

Several minutes later I have my station ready and I’m prepping Jolly who’s volunteered to go first. They want the symbols for death, peace, and mind to commemorate their most recent album.

Jolly sits in the chair in front of me and is very nice, he offers a little small talk as I align the stencil and prepare the ink and tattoo gun. “So you’re the girl?” Jolly says and I see Noah lean his head back and mutter a nearly silent “Fucking Christ.” I start up the tattoo and huff an awkward laugh. “I’m not sure how to take that. Noah and I are exes if that’s what you mean?” I try to break the tension by addressing at least one elephant in the room. “Sorry, I don’t mean to make things awkward, I just mean I have heard a lot about you, though they failed to mention how incredibly beautiful you are,” Jolly says and I can tell he’s just playing and trying to get under Noah’s skin.

“You’re full of it Karlsson, I did too mention she was beautiful” Noah blurts out, surprising us both. “I mean..like objectively I mentioned it, years ago. Let’s just drop it okay?” He fumbles out and we all try to stop the laughter from bubbling out.

I finish up Jolly and Nicholas’s tattoos easily and next is Folio who is funny but a very playful flirt, he also asks a lot of questions.

“So how long have you been here?”

“Austin? Or this studio?”

“Both”

“Austin about ten years and this shop about the same, it kind of all came together at the same time”

“Why did you move?”

“Lots of reasons. I wanted a fresh start”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No girlfriend either”

“Kids?”

If the tattoo gun had been on his skin it would have flown across it leaving a massive black mark along his arm. Everything stops and my mouth completely dries. I finish the last bit of the mind symbol and place the gun down and slap his shoulder, “alright that was fun but I have to switch to the next contestant now, maybe we can finish 20 questions later” I smile and give him a wink and then Noah is taking his seat in front of me. “Let me just clean up and get ready” I stand to re-sanitize everything before tattooing him next. He looks up at me through his lashes, “okay, I’ll be right here” he says and there’s a fire burning low in my gut.

You can do this Natalie. You got this. No more running. No more hiding.

After sanitizing everything I’m ready to begin, “so I’m pretty much covered all over my arms and hands, but I was thinking somewhere on my ribs? I have some space there.” He says while lifting his shirt to show me and damn. He has definitely been working out but, I push all those thoughts away and just nod like an idiot. “I’m yeah, ribs are a good placement, well just need to move to the bench,” I say and point behind us where Jolly and Nicholas are sitting. They hop down and I move to quickly wipe it down with disinfectant and then Noah is lifting his shirt up and lying down on the table and then I realize I’m going to have to touch him.

I pick up the stencil and as I’m about to place it Ryan comes rounding the corner with the shop phone, “Sorry Nat, but it’s Erin. She said she tried to call your cell but you didn’t answer” he tells me. Shit. I take the phone and move to stand just on the outside of my workspace. “Hey Sweets, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” I try to keep my voice casual, “Ashley asked me if I wanted to go with her to the zoo tomorrow and have a double sleepover. Can I please??” Erin practically begs and I put my hand on the receiver as I look back at the guys. “Sorry, this will just take a second,” I say and walk towards the back of the shop. “Can you put Ashley’s mom on?” I ask Erin. I talk to her mom to make sure it’s genuinely okay before telling Erin it’s okay. Ashley’s mom is happy to take Erin with her, “oh we love it when Erin joins us, she is such a sweet and respectful girl.” I can’t help but beam at the praise for my daughter, “Thank you, I’m just so glad she and Ashley get along so well, and I will send you some extra money on Venmo so they can get some fun trinkets.” I end the call with Erin thanking me ecstatically and rejoin the group.

“Sorry about that,” I say and sit back down to finish applying the tattoo stencil. As I sit the Erin tattoo is fully visible on my knee and I see Noah clock it. But he doesn’t say anything.

In a few minutes were ready to start the process and I have to lean into his personal space, smelling his clean, woody scent, and try not to fall under his spell. “We’re playing a show tomorrow, you didn’t happen to get tickets did you?” Noah asks as I start to tattoo his skin. “Oh, um no I didn’t. I hadn’t planned on going.” I mumble out. “Oh, well if you wanted to we could get you a ticket. Or two if you want to bring someone?” Noah says and his eyes are boring into mine. “Um, yeah maybe. My d-. I mean, I’ll be free so maybe.” I squeak out and force my mouth shut so I don’t say anything else on accident. I know that I need to tell him about Erin but in private.

The tattoos are finished and Folio is asking me more questions, “so what are you doing tonight? We need something fun to do.” he asks and I chuckle. “I’m going to a masquerade rave with some girlfriends, It’s a pretty good time if you’re interested.” I say and Folio’s eyes light up with interest, “Oh hell yes! We are 100% in! And we can be incognito.” Nicholas and I exchange numbers and Noah looks like he wants to ask for it as well but doesn’t. Nicholas sends me two backstage passes for the concert tomorrow night. I guess I’ll go with Haylie.

After cleaning my station again I finally make it home with plenty of time to get ready for the masquerade. I texted Nicholas all of the information and he sent me a thumbs up and told me they were all excited. Haylie was freaking out more than I was about the whole situation. “Okay, well you need to boost the sexiness of your outfit up by about 10000%.” Laughing we have fun getting ready for the party and I try to figure out how to tell Noah about Erin. I’m finishing my makeup and were having a few drinks. I don’t drink often so on girls night it doesn’t take many to get me tipsy. “Okay I obviously can’t do it tonight” I say as I button the front of my corset top, pushing my boobs up higher. “I think presenting him with your huge rack will really ease the blow of finding out he has a kid.” Haylie always has a way of saying the most shocking things and making them hilarious. “Funny.” I deadpan and down the rest of my vodka soda.

A couple hours later we are walking into the immaculately decorated warehouse with our lace masks on. Mine is black to complament my red strappy corset dress and Haylies’ is purple to match her colorful outfit. Haylie’s sister Rachel and my boss, Anna are with us as well and we walk towards the bar to grab some drinks before heading onto the dance floor.

After a quick round of shots and another vodka soda we file onto the dance floor together and start moving to the music. It’s upbeat and energetic so we’re having fun jumping around and dancing together. I love girls night, it’s a night that I can let loose and have fun knowing Erin is somewhere safe. She called before we left to say goodnight. I love that girl.

At first I think I’m dancing on Haylie but then she appears in front of me and I look behind and notice it’s a guy. I shoot in closer to my girls to try and make space but he gets closer so I wave him off, “I’m good dude, no thanks” I try to yell over the music. “Come on baby!! You look so hot! Dance with me!” I roll my eyes and Haylie lightly pushes the guy back “go on dude, she’s not interested.” He huffs an arrogant laugh but there’s another taller figure behind him, “yeah dude she’s not interested.” I instantly recognized the voice as Noah’s. The guy turns around and notices Noah’s towering height and holds up his hands in defeat “all right man, she’s all yours,” he says and I can’t help but laugh. The rest of his friends appear and we all attempt to exchange hellos but on the crowded dance floor it’s difficult. We end up all just dancing and at one point I think Haylie is behind me and Folio is in front of me and I’m having and amazing time. Noah is swaying to the music next to Nicholas and my other friends. Our eyes keep meeting and it’s like he’s has his own gravitational pull because we all suddenly end up in a massive cluster. I’m loose and warm from the drinks so I’m dancing and having a good time, not noticing I’ve now plastered myself against the front of Noah’s body. He doesn’t seem to mind and with the music blasting I can’t seem to care. Eventually we all make our way back to the bar, the guys head towards an area designated for seating to find us all a place to chill.

Me and the girls are grabbing more drinks and chatting loudly to hear each other over the music, “so Natty, where’s the little one tonight? Will we be seeing her at shop more now that school is out for the summer?” Anna asks with a big smile, shes like a grandma to Erin having been apart of our lives since she was born. “She went to Six Flags with a friend, so I’m a free mommy for two nights!” I cheer and raise my glass into the air to toast our night.

I take a step back and bump into someone, “oh sorry!” I call out as my drink spill over onto my arm slightly.

I turn around and apologize to who I ran into and it’s funny how little masks actually hide someone's identity. “Oh Nicholas, sorry! You snuck up on me” I laugh and grab some napkins to wipe the drink that spilled on my arm. The pregame drinks plus the drinks I’ve had here to loosen up have definitely done their job. “Hey Nat,” he says over the noise. “Um I’m sorry, did I hear you say you’re a free mommy tonight? You have a kid?” he asks and I feel my vision black out. “Um. Yeah.” I mumble out. “What? Sorry, it’s loud.”

“Yes!” I yell out louder and he nods slowly. “Wow! How old are they?” he asks innocently and I dont know what to do. I don’t want to lie but I don’t think it’s right to tell Nicholas first. “Um my daughter is almost 10.” I say and slurp down the rest of my drink and put it down on the bar. He nods again and then his eyes shoot up at me and I feel like I might throw up.

“10? Wow, thats, thats..shes 10? So you met someone when you moved?” Its starting to feel like an interrogation and I think about just running away, quickly realizing how stupid that would be. “No, no. I didnt meet anyone when I moved.” I offer up honestly. “So it’s someones from home?” I feel like he’s just chipping around the truth until I spill what he’s after.

I pull out my phone and show him my lockscreen which is a picture of Erin on halloween dressed up like a fairy to celebrate Haylie’s book launch. Nicholas takes my phone and I see his eyes go wide behind his mask. Hes just staring at it for minuets before I reach to take my phone back and put it back in my pocket.

“Don’t say anything yet, I will tell him. I promise, I will tell him.” I start to sound frantic and I feel myself growing into a flob sweat. “How could you keep something like this from him for ten years Nat?” He asks and I can hear his voiced lined with a dark edge.

“Excuse me? You don’t think I tried?” I ask shocked by his tone. His face is scrunched in confusion, “how hard could you have possibly tried? I mean you had his kid Natalie? And you didn’t tell him?” Nicholas voice seethes out in an inflection full of judgment. I’m drunk enough not to care who hears me when I say, “I told you I’d tell him and it’s really none of your business, so drop it.” There’s acid in my voice. “He has the right to know, you owe it to him to at least tell him the truth” Nicholas argues back.

“Did you forget that you both just left? You left too, Nicky. You both just picked up and left me. You don’t know a THING about what I went through! You have no idea how hard I tried to tell him, to get to him. When at every corner he was running further from me. You have no IDEA! Don’t talk to me about what’s owed Nicholas. You don’t want to go down this road with me.”

Our voices are starting to carry over and I see Noah look over from where him and the other two guys are sitting. He seems to notice our raised volume so he gets up to walk over and in a hushed voice I say “you’ll say nothing about this to him, I’ll tell him. Just leave it alone” It comes out as a warning and I walk away and pass Noah.

He stops me lightly by the shoulder to ask “Is everything okay? Were you and Nick just yelling?” I shake my head and slap on a fake smile “Everything’s fine, I’m just gonna go freshen up” I shrug off his touch and head towards the bathroom, grabbing Haylies hand and dragging her along with me.

What the fuck am I going to do? The timeline of needing to tell Noah has multiplied exponentially. I can’t make Nicholas keep the secret forever, not that he would. I’ll go to the show with Haylie tomorrow and tell him them.

divider from here

oh lord!!! It’s getting MESSY!!!

next chapter -> here

#noah sebastian #noahsebastian #Noah Sebastian smut #noah sebastian x ofc #Noah Sebastian angst #Noah Sebastian fluff #bad omens fluff #bad omen smut #bad omen fanfiction #bad omen fic #noah sebastian fanfiction #bad omens fanfic #bad omens rpf #bad omens smut #noah sebastian fic #lf Im there noah #rpf fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic

56 notes · View notes

idontgiveaflyinggrayson69 · 2 years

Text

Life As We Know It | Part 21

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69

Tagging: @thirteenisles @matbaerzal @mcmo-anon @texanstarslove @matbarzyy @hockeywocs @ggggmoneyyyy @tysonjost-taylorsversion @toplinetommy @fiveholegoal @itrocksmysocks @joelsfarabee @barzysreputation @iangiemae @stlbluesbrat @c-tangerine @canadianheaters @jeylia-haj @roopehintz @dreamsndior @beauvibaby @2manytabsopen @nazdaddy @sorryjustafangirl @fallinallincurls @pastelpapermoons @hockeybabe87 @kayt-marie @heatherawoowoo @islesnucks @whoeverineedtobe @ohpuckyeah @tpwkstiles @mf-mightyducks @day-dreamerr @ficsilove10 @notaccurateornice @rapidfever @hoodpankow @oopsiedoopsie23 @haylie-mcc @jostyriggslover96 @newlibrary @honestreputation @the-philthepill13 @justanotherfansblog @simpgirl-lat @hockeypuckspost @great-puck-work @yzas-stuff @sidscrosbyy @teenagekook @svechnikolan @lovethepreds @strong134 @dylancozzys @gravyoverall @lena306 @caelum-the-part-time-acosmist @taiter-tots @canesjedi31 @kq9003 [let me know if you want to be added!]

Word Count: 8k

Warnings: Alcohol. Sexual references?

Comments: I know this took a million years and I’m so sorry!!! I hope it’s worth the wait!!! Thanks again to everyone who stuck with this story despite it being WAY too long between updates. And remember, Beau is an Islander for life in this story 🧡💙

Tess loved Valentine’s Day.

As long as he knew her, Tess had adored Valentine’s Day. Tess loved all the hearts and flowers and teddy bears and the idea of love that came with it. Not to mention, Tess had never really had a serious boyfriend, one that would spoil her with chocolates and roses and tell her 365 different reasons why he loved her. Anthony would be the first, and if he was lucky, her only, so he knew that he had to do something special for their first Valentine’s Day together; he knew he had to make it worthy of her. Even if he had never really been a fan of Valentine’s Day himself.

It wasn’t that Anthony didn’t like Valentine’s Day or had any personal vendetta against it. For several years he had played the boyfriend role perfectly with dinner and gifts and flowers, he just had never really been a fan of the holiday. Valentine’s Day marketed love and buying gifts to show that love, but Anthony firmly believed that, if you loved someone, truly loved them, you should show them every day, not just one day out of the year.

You should take them out to dinner just because, buy them flowers because the tulips reminded you of them, get them the bracelet or book or knickknack because you knew they’d like it, or go out because you love being with them. Love wasn’t something to expect or market, but something that should be given whole heartedly.

But Tess loved Valentine’s Day and he loved Tess with every ounce of his being, so he would make it the best damn Valentine’s Day he could.

The Islanders were on the road the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, so he had a lot of time to think about how he’d woo Tess. Most guys slept on the plane or played on their phone, but Anthony spent every second trying to plan the perfect day for Tess. And it didn’t take him long to realize that it was a lot easier to draw up a play than it was to come up with a Valentine’s Day plan.

Tess…

Tess was loving and kind and amazing and perfect and he knew how she used to dream of a perfect Valentine’s Day and happily ever after and he wanted to give her everything. He had let down a lot of people in his life, sometimes it felt like he still was, but he could never let Tess down. Come hell or high water, he’d do whatever he could to make her happy.

The plane wasn’t enough time to make the perfect plan, especially after he asked Barzy what his Valentine’s Day plans were and he shared a way too detailed description of all the different sex positions he was thinking of for him and Connor. “You know, the best thing to give a woman on V-Day is a mind blowing orgasm,” Mat said without looking up from his phone, and he only forced his eyes away from the screen when Anthony didn’t reply.

“Yeah, I’m not sure that’s on the menu,” he finally replied.

“You guys still haven’t?” Mat asked at the way Anthony’s lips tightened and he winced when Anthony shook his head. “Damn, I really bought that pack of condoms for nothing…”

“We’re going slow,” he shrugged. “Tess asked for slow so we’re going slow, we’ll get there when we get there. I mean…” he took a deep breath. “She’s never even mentioned sex before, for all I know…”

Mat’s eyes bugged a bit, “you think?”

“I don’t know,” Anthony replied firmly. “So, we’re going slow. So, yeah, I’m not sure mind blowing orgasm is on the menu, but I could totally give her one if she wanted,” he added quickly when Mat opened his mouth.

He was quick to close it before he shrugged. “I mean,” he started. “Are you sure? It has been a while. I could refresh you on where the clit is and how to—”

“Mat.” His voice matched the sharp look in his eyes. “I know what I’m doing. And plus, I know Connor has you by the balls. She tells Tess everything and Tess tells me everything.” His smile grew as Mat’s flush did and he contently leaned back in his plane seat as Mat went uncharacteristically quiet.

Maybe one of the married guys would yield better advice for Valentine’s Day, Anthony thought as he closed his eyes. Like Nelly or Bails or Pager. They had to know how to get Valentine’s Day right if their wives stuck with them.

Anthony’s mind was still racing when they landed in Tampa, and he was distant enough during dinner that the guys noticed, so distanced and caught up in the thought of Tess that he didn’t even hear Nelly’s question.

“He’s still in the honeymoon phase,” Mat smiled brightly as he wrapped his arm around Anthony’s shoulders. “Tess consumes his every thought.”

“Shut up,” he grumbled and pressed his thumb into Mat’s ribs hard enough to make him yelp. “Like Connor isn’t the only thing on your mind.”

“Not the point,” Mat replied and tried to jab he back, but Anthony easily blocked him.

“Whatever,” Anthony rolled his eyes. “What was your question?”

Brock shared a knowing look with Anders before he shook his head. “I asked you what you were going to order.”

“Oh,” he whispered and felt his blush creep up his neck. “Um, the steak sounds good?”

“Yeah,” Brock nodded. “I was between that and the salmon.”

“Salmon would be lighter, depends on how the flight hit you, I guess,” he replied, but suddenly he was thinking of whether steak or fish would be better for him and Tess. Or maybe chicken. Or duck. Or—

“Beau,” Anders’ voice cut through his thoughts and he winced as he looked to his captain.

“I will have my head on for the game tomorrow don’t worry,” he reassured Anders.

Anders shook his head. “I’m not worried about that,” he replied. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, offer any advice if you need. I mean, it must be difficult balancing this new phase with Tessa while trying to juggle a 12-month-old, I think I speak for all of us when I say those are a handful on their own.” Those with kids agreed with a soft laugh and Anthony nodded.

He knew he’d probably be chirped into next week for it, which is why he’d rather go to Anders or Nelly or Bails one on one, but he resigned himself with a nod, “Valentine’s Day is coming up and Tess adores Valentine’s Day and I want to make it special for her without it being cheesy.” When the table was quiet, he took a big drink of his beer and shot Mat a death glare.

It was Brock that broke the silence. “Flowers,” he said. “Girls love flowers, but not any kind, their favourite kind, that’s very important.”

“Yeah,” Anders agreed. “And you’re a pretty decent cook, aren’t you? So cook her dinner instead of taking her out, that shows you care, and girls find that romantic as fuck.”

“And jewelry,” Bails tacked on. “It sounds cliché, but they really do love it, if it’s good. Don’t get what you like, you have to get what they’d like, even if you don’t understand it. And for the love of God, there is a huge difference between yellow gold and white gold and do not make that mistake.”

Anthony blinked back at him as he nodded, “right, got it, thanks.”

“And don’t forget the condom,” Anders added with a wink and teasing smile that made Anthony rest his forehead against the table with a groan.

“One time,” he grumbled to himself. “One fucking time…”

“One time too many,” Mat cackled as he shook Anthony’s shoulder.

Once he got back to the hotel room, he stripped down to his underwear and crawled into bed and Anthony looked up jewelry stores and florists between texts to Tess while Friends played in the background. He had always liked the show, but now it was an ever present reminder of her that made him love it so much more.

Planning the perfect Valentine’s Day kept him up at night and, despite his earlier promise to Anders, it took him longer than he wanted to admit to find his legs during the game the next day, but he finally came up with a plan and he only hoped it would live up to her expectations.

Luckily, the Islanders were home for Valentine’s Day, so the day began like any other: Tess wrapped up in his arms. Sure, she had her own room and own bed, but the only place Anthony wanted her was his arms. Once he knew how perfectly she fit in them, he’d never be able to let her go. So, Valentine’s Day began with Tess waking with her face pressed into Anthony’s chest and his arms wrapped around her and she smiled as she tried to snuggle closer. He had always been the best teddy bear she could ever ask for and she felt rather than heard Anthony’s laugh as he tightened his hold on her.

“Good morning,” he breathed, his voice thick with sleep.

“Shh, sleeping,” she mumbled and buried her face into further his chest, making Anthony laugh harder as he trailed his hand up and down her back.

“Okay,” he hummed. Tess made a soft sound against his chest and he tightened his hold on her. Perfect wasn’t a good enough word to describe her, she was his everything. His past, his present, his hope for the future, his family, his everything. All that he was began and ended with Tess. And Valentine’s Day meant a day off, so he was more than happy to stay wrapped up in Tess’s arms as long as she’d allow, or as long as Sorel would allow.

Which, of course, is exactly how the morning went.

He didn’t know how long they stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms before Sorel’s crying came through the monitor, but it wasn’t long enough. He loved Sorel more than he had words to describe, but sometimes all he wanted as an extra five minutes with her mom. They had spent longer, much longer, as friends and parents than they were as a couple and Anthony was desperate for any moment alone they could steal.

He hated jostling Tess when Sorel cried, but he knew it was long past her normal wake up time and she needed to be changed and feed. He murmured an apology when Tess groaned as he slipped out of bed before he went to get Sorel, and by the time he emerged from her room in a clean diaper and outfit, Tess was up. Her hair was messy and fluffy, and she had a sleepy smile on her lip and his shirt dwarfed her frame, all of which made Anthony’s heart flutter.

“Sit,” he told her and put Sorel in her highchair. “I will make you coffee and breakfast.” He smiled before he kissed her cheek and directed her to a chair at the island.

It didn’t take long for her coffee to finish brewing and he added the milk and sugar before he slid it across the table and started making his own. “Bacon and eggs?” He asked. “Or maybe waffles and berries?” He smiled when Tess’s face light up and reached under the island to find the waffle iron. He couldn’t remember the last time he used it and he hoped it still worked as he pulled it in and gathered the ingredients for waffles, and he gave Tess a hard look she tried to get up to get the fruit from the fridge.

He prepared the berries and fruit after he mixed the batter and the waffles didn’t take long after he added them to the iron. He added strawberries and blueberries to Tess’s plate, along with a mountain of whipped cream that made her laugh and he stole a kiss as he sat it down in front of her.

“Thank you, it looks amazing,” she smiled back at him.

“Not as amazing as you,” he replied without missing a beat and his smile widened as she blushed, and when his own waffled was ready, he added strawberries and banana.

Anthony tisked Tess when she reached for the dishes after breakfast. Today was her day, one of them at least, and he wouldn’t have her lift a finger, and he was in the middle of dishes when the florist knocked at the door.

The knock at the door surprised Tess and she furrowed her brows as she looked at Anthony but he did his best to shrug her off. “Can you get it?” He asked and she nodded before making her way over.

As soon as she answered the door, she was faced with a delivery boy and a large bouquet of flowers. “Delivery for Tessa?” He said with a smile.

“Uh, yeah, that would be me,” she replied with a confused expression and the guy handed her the big bouquet of flowers to her before he wished her a happy Valentine’s Day and got on his way. Tess was frozen for a moment as she held the flowers close to her before she took a deep breath in and her smile grew as she closed the door when she was able to give them a good look and smell. It was a bouquet of pink and red roses and lilies and other filler flowers and soft green leaves around the edges and, of course, beautiful white orchids.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he told her softly as he leaned against the counter and his shoulders softened at the way she smiled when she finally looked up at him.

“They’re beautiful,” she told him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied and pushed himself off the counter to step closer to her. “But they’re not as beautiful as you.” Tess opened her mouth to argue but he pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “They’re not,” he repeated.

His smile grew at Tess’s blush and he got her a vase for her flowers so they could sit in the middle of the island, and they were more than happy to spend the afternoon together watching Sorel’s favourite TV shows and playing her favourite games. They were a family. Forever and always, they were a family.

When it was time, Anthony pulled everything out and started to prepared dinner before Tess could ever ask, and maybe pinot noir wasn’t the best pairing in the cookbook, but it was Tess’s favourite and her smile meant everything to him. He made her garlic parmesan chicken breasts with steamed veggies for a side. He wanted to refuse her help, wanted to make it special for her by doing everything for her, but he gave in every time she gave him her puppy dog eyes so he let her prep the veggies while he did the chicken and he couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was to work around each other in the kitchen and how mundane it was.

Finally, the dinner was severed and Anthony smiled as he moved everything to the table. “After you,” he said and only took for himself after Tess had served herself and Sorel. And, to only mild surprise, the dinner was actually really good and Tess couldn’t stop shaking her head as she smiled.

“What?” Anthony asked with a soft laugh.

“I’m just really happy,” she told him. “I can’t count the times I thought about us spending Valentine’s Day with you and now it’s really happening.”

Anthony softened as he looked at her before he raised his glass of wine. “To us,” he said and smiled as she raised her glass too.

“To us,” she echoed and clinked her glass against his.

The rest of dinner was nice. Anthony talked about the roadie and his week ahead while Tess spoke of her plans with Connor and Anthony helped Sorel with her dinner which always made Tess look at him with soft, loving eyes.

Tess fell in love with Anthony years ago, but it was a totally different, deeper love watching him with Sorel. She always knew he’d be a good father, but it was something else entirely seeing how amazing a dad he really was. For so long, Tess had dreamt of having a family with him that it felt surreal to actually have it. There was so much love in her eyes watching him feed Sorel with a smile on his face and Tess meant every word when she said she had never been so happy in her life.

She finally had everything she could ever want.

After dinner, Tess tried to help with dishes but Anthony refused her help. So, instead she played with Sorel on her play mat while Anthony finished the dishes and then they started getting her ready for bed. Tess would have bathed her, but it was Valentine’s Day and dinner had been later than usual and Tess didn’t want to keep her up later than usual. Sorel really took after her dad and could get really cranky when she was tired so, yeah, her bath could wait till tomorrow.

Once Sorel was down, Tess changed into something more comfortable—one of Anthony’s old Islanders shirts and some sleep shorts—and she didn’t think twice about curling up next to him on the couch.

“I’ve never been a huge Valentine’s Day person,” he confessed softly.

“I know,” Tess replied and looked over at him. She had seen him through multiple girlfriends, as painful as it had been, and it had always been about what they wanted rather than about them.

“But I get it now,” he told her. “I like being your Valentine.”

Tess ducked her head as she leaned into him. “I really like being your Valentine, too, Anthony. I really like you,” she teased and Anthony kissed her temple before he gently carded his fingers through the ends of her curls, and he murmured an apology as his fingers tangled in her hair before he pressed another kiss to his temple.

When he pulled back, he held her eyes, her beautiful coffee eyes he fell in love with, before he whispered, “I got you something. I’ll just be a second while I get it.” Tess’s brows furrowed as she watched him get up and disappear into his room, but he came back a moment later with a big red gift bag and Tess’s shoulders relaxed.

“You didn’t have to,” she said softly.

Anthony gave her an almost offended look and handed her the bag before he sat back down next to her. “Like I’d fuck up our first Valentine’s Day,” he scoffed. “Now go on, open it.”

Tess laughed softly but opened the bag and she was surprised at everything in it. “Anth—“ she started but Anthony waved her off.

“C’mon, open it,” he encouraged.

Her eyes shined and the corner of her lips twitched up as she nodded and started to pull everything Anthony had stuffed into the bag. First there was a candle that smelt like vanilla. Then there was a set of bath bombs that Tess definitely didn’t think about using with Anthony and blushed when she sat them down on the coffee table. There were two sets of chocolates, and a Tiffany’s box. Just like the bracelet and the ring before, Tess’s breath caught in her throat and she looked up at Anthony. He worried his lip between his teeth but nodded and Tess looked down as she opened it and her smile softened immediately.

Had had gotten her a bracelet and a ring, it was only fitting that he got her earrings too. They were simple and beautiful, small silver, or maybe white gold, hoops with dangling pear diamonds.

“They’re beautiful,” she whispered and looked up at him. “Thank you.”

Her heart twisted knowing she hadn’t gotten him anything thinking he didn’t care about Valentine’s Day and she put the earrings down to hug him, pressing her face into his neck as she tried to pour her love for him into the hug. Anthony’s eyes closed as he melted into the hug and he buried his face into her hair. “You’re welcome,” he breathed.

Tess pulled back from the hug after a moment and cupped his jaw to kiss him softly. “You’re making me feel terrible for not getting you anything,” she told him but Anthony shook his head.

“You’re the only gift I could ever want,” he told her and kissed her again.

Tess’s thumb ran over the arch of his cheek and she couldn’t stop smiling as she pulled back from the kiss and Anthony was so incredibly in love with her. Sure, they had only really been together for a handful of weeks, but they had been friends for years and he honestly couldn’t imagine his life without her.

Tess continued to run her thumb over his cheek and the soft look in his eyes stirred something in her. Her eyes dropped to his lips and she leaned into him before kissing him again, deeper than before. Anthony was taken back but he quickly melted into the kiss and let his hand rest on her hip.

He didn’t expect the kiss to last long so he let her control it, but Tess didn’t pull back. Maybe it was the wine or the gifts or the fact that it was Valentine’s Day, or maybe it was just Anthony, but Tess didn’t want to stop and when Anthony broke the kiss, she quickly chased his lips and kissed him again. Anthony made a soft sound against her lips that sent a wave of heat through her body and Tess pressed herself closer to him, as close as she could be still sitting next to him.

Anthony kept waiting for her to pull back but she didn’t. Instead, she threaded her fingers through his hair and let her chest rest against his. She wasn’t wearing a bra, she never really had to, so Anthony could feel her breasts and the hardness of her nipples against him and he couldn’t get enough. His neck strained as he deepened the kiss and Tess made a soft sound against his lips that had his hand moving from her hip to her thigh as he pulled her onto his lap, her knees on either side of his thighs bracing her weight as her hips rested against his.

Tess broke the kiss with a gasp and looked at Anthony with wide eyes. “Sorry… Is this okay?” He asked, letting his hands rest on the bare skin of her thighs, terrified he had read her signals wrong and had gone too far.

It took Tess a moment to answer as her heart raced and her lips parted as she looked at him. He was warm beneath her and she settled her weight on his lap before she ran her hands up his arms to rest on his shoulders. “Yeah,” she nodded and kissed him again, pulling a soft groan from him.

Anthony let her control the kiss for a moment before he deepened it and pulled her hips flush against his and Tess couldn’t help the moan that slipped from her lips. It was the first time he heard her moan and it went straight to his groin and he wanted to pull more beautiful sounds from her. When she didn’t pull back from the kiss, he let his hands move to her ass and he gently kneaded the soft flesh. It would be so easy to grip her ass as she—

He shook the thought from his head as he nipped at her lip and moved his hands up to her waist. Her skin was warm and she kissed him again just as deeply as before which only spurred him on as he trailed his hands higher on her rib before he broke the kiss to trail his lips down her jaw. Never in his life had he wanted someone as badly as he wanted her and Tess threaded her fingers through his hair and titled her head to the side to give him move room as she moaned softly.

Anthony felt himself start to harden and in the back of his head he knew they should stop and talk about it. Fuck, he didn’t even know if this was something she had done before, but Tess wasn’t stopping him and he didn’t want to stop. All he wanted her.

His lips found where her jaw met her throat and he grazed his teeth over her skin before he sucked softly but not hard enough to leave a mark and he hadn’t realized his hands were moving up until the tips of his fingers brushed the underside of her breasts. Tess’s grip on his hair tightened and she tensed, pulling him from his thoughts and Anthony immediately moved his hands back down to her waist and leaned back to look at her. “I’m sorry,” he told her, his jaw slack and eyes dark.

Her chest heaved and her heart raced but she shook her head. “It’s okay.”

As much as it killed him, Anthony said, “we should stop.”

“No, Anthony, it’s okay,” she told him.

Anthony’s breath caught in his throat as he looked at her and the look in his eyes sent a wave of heat to her core where she could feel him beneath her. “You sure?” He asked breathlessly and Tess nodded, a soft throbbing starting between her thighs as Anthony held her gaze and trailed his hands back up.

He let the tips of his fingers brush the bottoms of her breasts for a few moments before he slid his hands up to cup her chest. Her breasts fit in the palms of his hands and her nipples were hard but not as hard as he was. He swore he had never been so hard in his life and Tess could feel every inch of him through his sweats and the thin material of her sleep shorts.

“Okay?” He asked breathlessly and Tess nodded.

“Yeah,” she replied shakily.

Anthony gave both of them a minute as he held her chest in his hands, feeling her heart racing against his touch. Tess’s chest heaved against him and his lips were parted as he held her gaze before he pinched her nipples between his fingers.Her eyes closed as she moaned louder than before and Anthony was addicted to the sound. His bottom lip was red and worn and a moan slipped from his lips when Tess rolled her hips into his. “Fuck, Tessa,” he said breathlessly and rolled her nipples between his fingers.

Anthony had always stirred something in Tess but he was doing a lot more than just stirring and she couldn’t get enough of him. She had been terrified that it wouldn’t be good, that it would be awkward, but she was wrong. It was amazing having Anthony touch her. Her hair was a mess as she arched into him and when she ground her hips against his, she pulled a strained groan from him that made clench around nothing.

The more Anthony pinched her nipples, the louder her moans got and it was the hottest thing Anthony had ever heard and he wanted nothing more than to take her apart and see how loud he could make her. But Sorel’s room wasn’t all that far away and they couldn’t wake her. “Tessa,” Anthony breathed. “I need you to quiet a bit.”

Her hips immediately stilled and she looked at him with flushed cheeks, “fuck, I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” Anthony replied immediately and pinched her nipples again, pulling a sharp gasp from her. “I just don’t want to stop so please don’t wake Ellie.”

Tess knew he was right, but it was so hard for her to be quiet when he was touching her like that and she could feel how much he wanted her. She rolled her hips down against his, creating beautiful friction which pulled a loud moan from her and Anthony tried to quiet her with his lips but he just ended up moaning against her.

Slowly he broke the kiss to kiss down her neck again as he pinched her nipples, pulling another moan from her and he was about to ask to take her shirt off so he could see her as well as he could feel her when the sharp sound of Sorel’s cries cut through the room.

“Fuck,” Anthony cursed and leaned his head against Tess’s shoulder with a groan before he let his hands fall to her hips. He was finally going to have her and of course Sorel had to ruin it. “Maybe she’ll cry herself out?” He tried and Tess nodded. But no matter how long they sat there, Sorel didn’t stop crying so Tess slowly untangled herself from him with a sigh.

Her hair was messy and her skin flushed and all Anthony wanted to do was ruin her.

“I’ll get her,” she told Anthony and gave his thigh a pat before she made her way to Sorel’s room, leaving Anthony alone on the couch. He ran his hand over his face as he sunk into the couch, his desire for her clearly visible through his sweats. He had been cock blocked before, but never like this.

And Sorel was usually so good so he expected it would be a quick check in and put down, but the minutes ticked by and Tess didn’t come back out. Anthony groaned and threw his head back against the couch before he got up to check on them, after he adjusted himself of course.

He found Tess swaying with Sorel in her arms while Sorel gripped her shirt tightly. “She doesn’t want to let go,” Tess sighed as she looked over at Anthony.

“You were pretty loud,” he replied softly. “Maybe… Maybe she thought I was hurting you?”

Tess couldn’t help but burst out in laughter as she blushed, but it… It wasn’t that far fetched at all. Ever since they got together and Anthony had been showing more affection toward Tess, Sorel had been getting fussy with Anthony and pushing him away, so it wouldn’t be that hard to fathom that Sorel did think he was hurting her mom… Even if he was doing the opposite.

Anthony sighed and stepped forward to take her from Tess, even if he had to gently pry her fingers from Tess’s shirt. “Daddy wasn’t hurting mommy, okay? Now why don’t you go back to sleep so mommy and daddy can go back to what they were doing.”

“Anthony!” Tess scolded as she gave him a pointed look but he just shrugged. And, of course, Sorel only cried louder as Anthony held her and reached her hand out to Tess until she took her back.

It took them too long to get Sorel back down, she really didn’t want to let go of Tess, but once her door was closed behind them, Anthony let his hand trail down Tess’s back as he bit his lip. “So…” he started. “Where were we?”

Tess took a deep breath and scrunched her nose up before she looked up at him and she didn’t have to say anything for him to know the moment was long gone. “It’s late,” Tess told him. “Tonight was fun, but I’m tired and honestly I think I’m getting a headache from the crying and I just want to go to bed.”

Anthony took a deep breath as he nodded, “yeah, yeah, of course.”

Tess gave him a soft smile and kissed the corner of his mouth before she gave his chest a pat and went to brush her teeth, and Anthony flopped onto the couch with a groan as soon as she closed the door.

He loved his daughter dearly, but fuck.

It had been over a year since the last time he got any and it was Tess and he could still feel her on his lap, the warmth of her against where he needed her most, and how perfect her breasts were in his hands. Tess was perfect, he had always known that, but feeling her, hearing her, having her like that… He hadn’t realized how truly perfect she was and—

“Are you okay?” Tess asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Huh?” He replied, looking up at her like a deer in headlights.

Tess laughed and gave his thigh a pat as she sat down next to him. “I asked if you were okay because you were staring out into space,” she said.

“Oh,” he replied softly. “Yeah, I’m good. I mean, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little… frustrated, but yeah, I’m good.”

Tess blushed and looked down as she fiddled with her shirt. “Sorry…” she said softly but Anthony shook his head.

“You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for,” he told her. “We tested the waters tonight and it was good, right?”

Tess nodded, “yeah.”

“Then we’re good. And you should never apologize for being as hot as you are. If anything, I should be the one apologizing because I’m probably going to end up hard against your ass tonight.”

He made Tess laugh at least and she leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I love you,” she told him after a long moment.

Anthony softened and wrapped his arm around her, “I love you more.”

“Not possible,” she told him and kissed him before he could argue. Anthony melted into the kiss and gently cupped her cheek. She could disagree with him all she wanted but Anthony had never love anyone the way he loved her and he knew he’d never love anyone else the same way.

It was Tess for him.

It was always going to be Tess,

His Tess.

She bit her lip when she pulled back from the kiss and Anthony tilted his head as he looked at her, knowing she had something in mind and already feeling like he wasn’t going to like it. “Tess—” he started but she cut him off as she patted his thigh.

“We need to tell our parents about us.”

Anthony’s groan may have even been louder than her moans and he leaned over to press his face into her lap, “please don’t talk about my mother when I’m still hard.”

Tess’s laugh warmed his chest and she gently carded her fingers through his hair. “Sorry,” she whispered. “But we do, you know we do.”

“I know,” he sighed and rolled onto his back to look up at her. “You know they’ll never let us hear the end of this, right?”

Tess breathed a laugh and let her hand rest on his chest and Anthony was quick to cover it with his own. “I know. But we need to tell them before they figure it out themselves, and my mom’s gonna know the moment she sees us. Connor did.”

Anthony ran his thumb over her knuckles as he gave her a lopsided smile, “love me that much, huh?” He laughed when she scrunched her nose up and when she shoved his chest, he tightened his hold on her hand and leaned up to catch her lips in a soft kiss. “I love you that much, too, Tessa.”

She scrunched her nose up again at the use of her full name and to still the butterflies he still gave her. “So, we’ll tell them then?” She pressed.

“How about we tell yours and leave mine till the summer?” He tried and Tess shook her head.

“Mine first, but we’re not waiting till June to tell your family. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your parents.”

Anthony scoffed and pushed himself up to sit beside her, his hand on her thigh. “Please,” he started. “My mom loves you almost as much as I do. I could tell her we eloped and she’d just be happy to have you in the family.” Tess could see the gears begin to turn behind Anthony’s eyes and he continued, “now that I say it, we should wait until—”

“Absolutely not,” she cut him off. “We’ll tell my mom first then you’re calling your parents to tell them.”

“What if I send her a picture and turn my phone off?” He suggested, though mostly just to rile her up some more, finding her persistence adorable.

“What if I didn’t kiss you until you told your parents?” Tess replied without missing a beat and bit her lip as she looked over at Anthony, proud of herself.

“You wouldn’t,” he breathed as his face dropped. He was right, she wouldn’t. Now that she had had a taste of him, she didn’t she’d ever be able to give him up. But Tess shrugged and Anthony made a strained sound in his throat before he pulled her back onto his lap and kissed her again. “Now that I’ve had you, I can’t go a day without you, so, okay. We’ll call my mom after we tell yours.”

Tess’s smile lit up his whole world and when she kissed the corner of his mouth, he cupped her jaw and redirected her so he could kiss her properly and deeply. She made a soft sound against his lips and fisted his shirt as she felt him again. “Anthony,” she breathed a warning and he pressed his face into her shoulder with a groan.

“I know, I know. I can’t help it,” he told her. “You just do things to me.”

She blushed as she shook her head before she patted his shoulder and pulled back to sit beside him. “TV until your friend calms down and then bed,” she told him and reached for the remote. “We’ll tell my mom the next time we see her.”

Anthony rolled his eyes but nodded, “fine.”

And he was right, even after watching TV he ended up hard against Tess’s ass that night and the next morning, but this time he didn’t pull back and Tess didn’t get flustered or push him away.

---

Tess was right, Lisa knew as soon as she saw them.

It was on Anthony’s face.

It had always been in his eyes. The last couple times they had come over, he had looked at Tess with hope and possibility, but this time… This time it was different. He held the door open for her and let his hand rest on her lower back as they toed their shoes off, and his touch lingered as Tess stepped toward Lisa with Sorel in her arms, and she just had a funny suspicion.

“How’s my grandbaby?” Lisa asked as she took Sorel from her daughter and Anthony ducked his head as he smiled.

Sorel giggled and Tess smiled before she glanced back at Anthony for a moment. “She’s good. Been having some issues sleeping through the night, but she’s good,” Tess replied and blushed softly as she remembered the exact reason Sorel hadn’t slept through the night the week before.

Lisa kissed both of Sorel’s cheeks as they moved into the living room. “Issues sleeping, baby girl?” She asked Sorel in a playful voice that made her laugh again. “What kind of issues?”

“Wake up in the night, crying, that sort of thing,” Tess shrugged as she sat down on the couch and Anthony sat down next to her and gave her thigh a reassuring squeeze, though whether he was reassuring her or himself was up for debate.

“Oh,” Lisa hummed as she looked at Sorel. “Have you tried putting socks on her for bed?” She asked and looked back at Tess and Anthony.

Tess looked over at Anthony and he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. “No, we haven’t,” he replied. “But we certainly will,” he quickly added. “Thank you.”

Lisa pressed another kiss to Sorel’s cheeks and looked back at her daughter and Anthony. They were sitting closer together than normal and his hand rested on her thigh and Tess didn’t knock it away or seemed to have a dark blush to her cheeks like she’d always get. She watched as Tess pushed her hair behind her ears, a long time anxious habit, and Anthony looked over at Tess at the movement.

Lisa had seen Anthony look at her daughter a lot. She had watched his gaze go from friends to something else; watched as his eyes went from hope and possibility to confidence and sure. His thumb rubbed soft circles on her thigh and the corner of his lip twitched up as he looked at her even though Tess wasn’t looking back at him, and Lisa watched as his gaze dipped down to Tess’s lips for half a moment and his smile grew.

Lisa smiled as she settled Sorel on her lap. “So how long have you two been together?” She asked, making Anthony’s head whip toward her and neither of them had to say anything for her suspicions to be confirmed, Anthony’s deer in headlights look said it all.

Slowly, Anthony looked back at Tess and she covered his hand with hers as she smiled before she looked back at her mom. “Almost a month,” she answered, making Lisa’s smile grow.

She always knew her daughter’s feelings for Anthony, Tess had had them for years. If she was being honest, she wasn’t always fond of Anthony with him being a hot shot hockey player and all. She was terrified that he was going to break her daughter’s heart beyond repair, but she had to admit that he had really proven her wrong over the years and she was glad he did. She was happy for them.

“We came here to tell you, but…” Tess continued and looked at Anthony. “You kinda figured it out.”

“Anthony kinda made it obvious,” Lisa laughed and scrunched her nose up as Tess gave Anthony a playful shove that made Tess’s smile grow.

“I knew it,” Tess muttered and Anthony smiled as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“No, you didn’t, you thought you’d give it away,” he replied as his smile widened.

“Shut up,” she muttered and leaned into him in a way that definitely said she wasn’t mad at him.

“I’m very happy for you,” Lisa told them. “The two of you…” She glanced at Sorel before looking back at them. “You’re good for each other.”

“I try to be,” Anthony replied without hesitation. “I just want to look after my girls.”

Lisa’s smile softened as she looked at him and she kissed Sorel’s cheek before she set her down on the carpet and Anthony gave Tess an unsure look as Lisa disappeared into the kitchen, but Tess could only shrug. She didn’t know either. Lisa was only gone a moment before she came back with a bottle of wine and three glasses. “This calls for celebration,” she grinned as she set the glasses and bottle down on the coffee table and Tess pressed her face into Anthony’s shoulder as she groaned. “Well, it’s not every day my daughter starts dating an NHL player.”

“Mom, please,” Tess begged and Anthony gently ran his hand up and down her back.

“What?” She asked as she poured the wine and handed the glasses to them before she settled back into her chair with her glass and crossed her legs. “Can a mother not be happy for her daughter? And come on, I want all the details.”

Anthony laughed at the very large drink of wine Tess took and kissed her temple. “There’s not much to say,” he answered for her. “It was after Ellie’s birthday and I couldn’t stop looking at her and I just couldn’t keep my feelings to myself any longer.” His gaze softened as he looked over at Tess and she smiled despite the blush clinging to her cheeks.

They continued talking over their glasses of wine while Sorel played on the floor, and it honestly didn’t take long before Anthony ended up on the floor with her, managing only a few sips of wine between Sorel and the conversation. And once it was time for Sorel’s afternoon nap, Lisa headed to the kitchen to start preparing for dinner while Tess took Sorel up for her nap.

Anthony followed Lisa, picking up his and Tess’s glasses along the way. He was happy to help however he could and he washed the veggies as Lisa pulled everything else out. She thanked Anthony as she took the veggies from him but shooed him away when he tried to help.

She had just started to half the cherry tomatoes when Anthony took it upon himself to refill her wine glass and Lisa gave him a soft smile before she put her knife down and turned to him. Anthony’s smile slipped at her expression and he put the bottle down before he leaned back against the counter. “I meant it when I said I was happy for you two,” she started, making Anthony take a breath, sensing a ‘but’. “But she’s still my daughter, and without her father…” Lisa sighed before she shook her head and pushed her chin back up. “If you hurt her, I will kill you.”

Anthony breathed a small laugh and nodded. “If I hurt her, I’d let you,” he told her honestly. “But I don’t intend to do that, I promise.” He looked down at his hands as his smile softened. “I’ve never felt this way before, and I know we’ve only been together for a month, but I mean it when I tell you that I hope to marry her one day.”

Lisa softened and she nodded as she stepped closer to him and she gently squeezed his shoulder, “I hope you do, too. But that doesn’t change my warning. I like you, more than I ever thought I would actually, but she’s my little girl.”

His expression softened as he nodded. “I know,” he whispered. “I’d expect nothing less.”

“Good,” Lisa nodded and squeezed his shoulder again. She knew he meant it when he said he wanted to marry Tess, she could see it in his eyes, and though it was early, she meant it when she said she hoped he would. She could still remember the first time she realized she wanted to marry Tess’s father and her heart ached as she pulled back from him.

“And while I have you, don’t get me wrong I love Ellie, but I do hope that you and Tess are using protection. I’m not ready for another grandbaby,” she continued and Anthony’s eyes bugged as he flushed and he opened and closed his mouth as he looked at her, struggling to find his voice as Lisa turned back to preparing dinner.

And, naturally, that was when Tess stepped into the kitchen and she slowed in her steps as she took in her boyfriend’s flushed appearance before she looked to her mother. “What are you two talking about?” She asked slowly, not sure if she really wanted to know.

Lisa gave her an innocent smile that made Tess’s heart drop to her stomach. “I was just making sure you two were using protection,” she replied simply and Tess felt her heartbeat in her ears as she blushed.

“Mom,” she said sharply.

“What?” Lisa asked with a shrug. “One grandbaby is enough for at least another year. Then maybe you two could start trying for another. You don’t want to have them too far apart in age, you know.”

“Mom,” Tess begged, unable to look in Anthony’s direction, but Lisa’s smile only grew and she watched her daughter carefully as Anthony reached out to pull her close and Tess pressed her face into his chest, unable to meet either his or her mother’s gaze.

Young love, Lisa couldn’t help but think to herself. Such a beautiful and precious thing.

#anthony beauvillier #anthony beauvillier imagine #anthony beauvillier story #anthony beauvillier x oc #anthony beauvillier x reader #isles #islanders imagine #new york islanders oneshot #hockey #hockey rpf #hockey imagine #nhl #nhl imagine #mine #Life As We Know It #mat barzal

158 notes · View notes

scotianostra · 4 months

Text

youtube

Happy Birthday Bernard Joseph "Benny" Gallagher born June 10th 1945 in Largs.

There's very little about Benny online, his working life started in the Glasgow shipyards as a marine electrician and in his spare time played bass guitar in local semi-professional beat group The Bluefrets, which featured Graham Lyle on lead guitar.

Gallagher's first published song was "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead", which he co-wrote with Andrew Galt. This was recorded as a single for EMI-Columbia in 1964 by Dean Ford and the Gaylords,the bulk of which later became chart-topping outfit Marmalade.

In 1966, Gallagher and Lyle – who by now had forged a songwriting partnership – moved to London in search of a publishing deal. Both continued to hold down day jobs, Gallagher as an electrician and Lyle as a shipping clerk, while waiting for their big break. After an abortive contract with Polydor, which yielded one unsuccessful single, the pair joined the Apple record label of Beatles fame, writing songs for Mary Hopkin.

Gallagher and Lyle first saw success as members of McGuinness Flint, a vehicle for ex Manfred Man member Tom McGuinness. Gallagher and Lyle left to work as a duo. Gallagher was credited as Bernard Gallagher on sheet music copies of early songs such as these, but later shortened his forename to avoid confusion with golfer of the same name. Although now playig as duo the pair also spent a short time in Ronnie Laine's band Slim Chance, making several TV appearances on a couple of songs.

In 1976 Gallagher and Lyle finally hit the big time with the help of US producer David Kershenbaum who has worked with Cat Stevens, Joan Baez Elkie Brookes and Supertramp, his work Brookes and has yielded multiple Grammys and an Oscar nomination.

The stand out singles from their album Breakaway, , "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart on My Sleeve" both hit the top ten and made the charts in the US. Two more songs from the album spawned big hits in the States for Don Williams, Stay Young,and Art Garfunkel with the title track Breakaway. The duo's next album, Love on the Airwaves, also produced by Kershenbaum, went silver in the UK but yielded only one minor hit single, "Every Little Teardrop". Their final two albums, Showdown and Lonesome No More – the latter issued on Mercury – failed to chart.

Gallagher and Lyle split in 1980, leaving behind an unreleased ninth album, Living on the Breadline. A song recorded for this set, "A Heart in New York", subsequently became another hit for Garfunkel.

Gallagher kept a low profile for much of the 1980s, but re-emerged in 1992 as bassist with The Manfreds, a mixture of ex members of Manfred Man, although not enjoying chart success they toured the world for several years before Benny left in 1999. . During his tenure in the band, he co-founded and served as chairman of the royalties campaigning body PAMRA, which was set up to ensure that musicians received a fair share of royalties from recordings and performances. He then spent a year or so with one of my favourite groups Dr Hook before he embarked on a solo career as a singer-songwriter, touring the folk club and festival circuits.

In 2010, Gallagher reunited with Lyle for two concerts in their former hometown of Largs in aid of Haylie House, a residential care home in the town. They then did a couple of gigs "The Big Gig" at Glasgow's Barrowland nightclub, alongside Marti Pellow, Jim Diamond and Midge Ure and and the MOARE Festival in Faversham, Kent, which was headlined by former Average White Band man Hamish Stuart.

In 2012, Gallagher and Lyle undertook a sell-out tour of Scottish venues, under the banner of "The Homecoming Tour"; their 22-song set included all their British chart entries and both their US chart-toppers, since then they seemed o have been popping up all over place at Festivals and on tour.

Gallagher has lso released two solo albums on his own OnSong label: On Stage and At The Edge Of The Wave. The latter set includes "Tusitala", a tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, the name coms from RLS's time in Samoa, meaning "teller of tales" - by the local villagers. Journalist and writer Tam Cowan has also used Tusitala as tribute, naming his house at Swanston on the outskirts of Edinburgh Tusitala.

Gallagher and his wife Diane have four children: Dillon, and Paul (twins) and Julian and and Claire (twins). Both Dillon and Julian work in the Music industry, Julian has written songs for the band Five, Kylie Minogue and a couple of The Spice Girls solo songs.

There's nothing really new to say about Benny, I don't know if he has maybe retired, he did give an interview to the local newspaer in Largs, the Largs & Millport Weekly News where he said how he is indebted to Sir Paul McCartney for his musical career. He dd however play a gig last year with Ted Christopher for the Guardians of Scotland Trust His Facebook page hasn't been updated since January this year.

#scotland #scottish #history #musician #guitar #singer #songwriter #happy birthday #Youtube

9 notes · View notes

thereadingchallengechallenge · 9 months

Text

JOMP BPC - Dec 31st - Favourite Books of the Year

my Top 24 for 2023! I read so many good books this year and it was so much fun to narrow them down to this list. I highly recommend every single book on this list but be sure to search the title or author on my blog for my reviews of them if you want more information 🥰

(books are listed in alphabetical order by author surname)

Take Me With You When You Go by David Levithan & Jennifer Niven

Imogen Obviously by Becky Albertalli

The Feast Makers by HA Clarke

Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote

I’ll Let Myself In by Hannah Diviney

The Lightness of Hands by Jeff Garvin

Girl Mans Up by ME Girard

Because of You by Pip Harry

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson

Wherever Is Your Heart by Anita Kelly

Ryan and Avery by David Levithan

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

We Didn’t Think It Through by Gary Lonesborough

Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw

If You Still Recognise Me by Cynthia So

Breathe and Count Back From Ten by Natalia Sylvester

Violet Ghosts by Leah Thomas

The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride by Hayli Thomson

Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken by Nita Tyndall

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Katzenjammer by Francesca Zappia

#2023 #justonemorepage #jompbpc #booklr #bookblr #trcc original #portraits

9 notes · View notes

laplacesdevil · 1 year

Text

The peculiar new hire and ecstatic cashier, Kale Schmidt! A wondrous guy, I can say.

MAIN REF:

Kale is fine being called whatever anyone thinks he is and doesn't care for labels either! He uses any pronouns, althought most people refer to him with he/him or it/its. His age and nationality are scratched out. He is 6'8"/203 cm.

TabbyKat's Playground's new hire!

Tends to talk long and flowery

Has extremely good hearing

ALWAYS wears an animatronic head, in and out of work. Changes it each day.

Looking for Fazbender's last owner, Jack Kennedy.

Hates liars!

Usually found around Naomi and Aster

Has dotted tattoos(?) around body

OUTFIT REF:

[Diagram]

Kale has his arms outstretched, showing off his markings. His whole head is overshadowed, with only a white eye and a toothy grin visible. A necklace is shown next to him, reading "ALWAYS worn under his shirt." On the bottom are two braided bracelets, orange and purple. A note is under them and reads "Kale wears these matching bracelets from Aster on his left wrist!"

A clear diagram of all of Kale's markings! Think of them as sectioning off body parts. There's ALSO the marking around his neck

There's NEVER a situation where he'd need to be bare, but y'know. Just to keep in mind

His chest and arms are hairy! I just left it bare to show off his markings fully

[Base]

Kale is now fully dressed, although his head is still obscured. There's a note next to him that shows how his hair can be drawn, with the steps in colored order.

His hair... it's strange. picture waves. The inside can be described like horns

Sorry guys! Kale told me that it's a little camera shy today, teehee! No full face! XP!

VERY RARELY changes out of his work outfit. Seen with it in and out of work

Kale had to redo his name tag a few times. They were too big!

[Terry]

Very commonly worn head! The one he started with!

Somehow got the hat off of Terry...?

[Ramona]

Kale wears the head of Ramona, a red robin with a curvy black marking on her face and a yellow beak.

The visor should be a little bit harder to adjust with her head, but Kale manages just fine...

[Haylie]

Kale wears the head of Haylie, a light blue hyena with a blue mullet, pink nose, and underbite fangs.

Kale's favorite head! (Thought Haylie was some kind of blue dog before Naomi clarified)

He likes to fluff the hair sometimes with Haylie and Beth's heads

[Beth]

Kale wears the head of Beth, who has a black bob. She has pale pink skin, a heart-shaped nose, and brown patches on her face, as well as a little snaggletooth.

Kale's fuck ass bob <3 He had no idea what beth was at first

#Kale Schmidt #TabbyKat's Playground #TKP #Phone Arts #I LOVE THIS BEAST #cue me trying not 2 refer to him as cute anywhere in the caption. the struggle! (lighthearted

3 notes · View notes

bluev0id · 1 year

Note

what’s the vibes for next year

i’m not in love with you-oh my girl

“I think about you, I’m so nervous

And out of breath

Am I getting confused? I’m going crazy

These feelings I’m feeling”

New things happening that make you nervous. fate taking over your life.

haylie, how will october go for me

100 gecs - ringtone

"My boy's got his own ringtone. It's the only one I know. It's the only one I answer"

marching church- king of songs

"People will rise for me. Put out their eyes for me. Hey now. People will die for me. Fantasize about me"

The vibes im getting are almost like an obsession, so you might end up focusing on a specific thing this October and feel passionate about it, imagining yourself once its all finished or reached and how proud it will make you feel. i can also see it being a person and you having a connection with someone that's powerful, and your heart demanding attention from them the same way you're ready to give it to this person

#reading exchange #shufflemancy game #shufflemancy

5 notes · View notes

pridepages · 1 year

Text

Gallows Humor: The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride

I just finished The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride by Hayli Thomson. I have thoughts...

Here there be spoilers!

In a time is love isn’t love and pride is sliding closer to protest than parade, I wanted to have a month where I immersed myself in queer joy. So what better time to read Hayli Thomson’s The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride? The novel was pitched as the tale of an aspiring funny girl who finds herself in the wacky situation of being chosen as a finalist for a diversity internship at SNL...but hasn’t come out to anyone yet. The tone felt absurd: funny ha-ha.

That is...not what I got.

Our heroine, Taylor, is an open wound. From tearing up a defaced Ghostbusters reboot poster because of a slur to ripping into herself in self-disgust for masturbating to Fried Green Tomatoes, every page of this novel howls with her pain.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t jokes. Describing her questioning period, Taylor snarks “my sexuality was still Amelia Earhart-themed--I had no idea where it was going to end up.” The experience of falling in love was watching her crush play a Salem witch and feeling her “phantom touch...reaching all the way to the back row of the theater and strangling the lingering breath of heteronormativity right out of me.”

Spot the pattern in her jokes? they’re perfect examples of gallows humor: jokes used as a defense mechanism because everything is so horrible that the only way to cope with the pain is to find something absurd to numb the pain. There’s a reason old-fashioned anesthetic was called ‘laughing gas.’

Rather than being notable for its humor, novel’s at its sharpest, its most viscerally impactful, when Taylor speaks directly about her suffering.

When she yearns for romance “self-loathing took me by the throat.” Describing her experience of being closeted, she says she’s “constantly tearing at the seams...If you’re lucky, you get a few miserable, desolate moments to pull yourself back together...You hope that the seam won’t split further. You hope everybody will buy what you’re selling--that you’re totally fine.” But she isn’t simply hiding from homophobia. She’s also busy internalizing it: “soaking in shame and self-hatred for so long that my heart had turned prune-y...Hating myself for who I was and who I loved was the only was I knew how to adapt...Shaming myself was the only way I could grip the seawalls without floating away.”

If the reader is hoping for some relief when Taylor finally, inevitably, comes out...well, prepare for disappointment. This is no Love, Simon fantasy. Her experience is closer to what most of us find in the beginning...especially if we live in a less accepting environment:

“Coming out wasn’t quite sugary sweet. It tasted like lemon icing when you’d been expecting vanilla. It felt like racing toward a crossing and skidding to a stop at the exact moment the walk signal turned red--you had no choice but to pause and watch the traffic move around you. But there was the promise of that green light to come, and that just had to be enough.”

In a way, Thomson’s brutal honesty makes this novel a timely wake-up call to that person who thinks that being gay in 2023 is ‘no big deal.’ The kind of read you hand to the ignorant friend who rolls their eyes at the idea that we ‘need a whole month’ to ‘celebrate what we do in the bedroom.’

But me? Even if it’s naive, I think I’d rather step off that gallows and immerse myself in unfettered joy. Even if--for now--it’s just a fantasy.

#the comedienne’s guide to pride #hayli thomson #wlw #sapphic #lesbian #lgbt reads #queer lit

2 notes · View notes

agilneanrose · 2 days

Text

Stormwind nobles are a menace to society.

And yet.. here she was! A big, although well-dressed, hypocrite. Having joined the gaggle, she found herself seated at a somewhat round tea table with two handfuls of the city’s lessor noblewomen gathered about. Each lady dressed as if the more ruffles one had applied.. the higher ranking they were - at least at the table.

While her own attire was woefully lacking in ruffles, she did well to match them in outlandish style and had shied away from the expected pastels of an afternoon tea dress. Instead, she picked a deep crimson with gold trim, her corset tight and stitched with the house’s emblem right on the front. A shield and sun, lest anyone mistake who her father and people were.

Not that it mattered here.

The Dalaran event was enchanting, a tea party set up in a garden environment with only the tower-filled sky and flowers as a view. And quaint.. until the gossip began.

A faint smile plastered to her lips as she listened to the tales that circled the table at lightning speed. But instead of joining in on the nonsense, she kept her position and visage demure and her gaze fixed on the untouched cookie-like treat that sat untouched on the plate before her.

“…she married a stable boy, and he is not even handsome! He waddles.”

“He does not WADDLE, Lady Mary – he is a war hero, he has a limp..”

“…A war hero that is now a stableboy? Please. He is after her inheritance for sure.”

“Would that not be a stableman?”

“Did you hear…”

“…. I heard the King is dead.”

The table collectively gasped.

“Hush your mouth, that is treason if it is not true!”

“Lady Caldesene, please!” This was a terrible idea, why had she agreed? Oh, that is right. She had been sweetly begged and had fallen victim to a soft heart. Her stare flicked from her plate to give a once-over of the gathered noblewomen before her attention settled on the object of her ire - well, mock ire.

Lady Hayli Vionnet. Rosemarri took a moment to study the other woman, the one face she knew, while the others clucked about treason. Petite, a halo of red curls pinned back from her face with golden pins and green eyes sheltered by thick-framed glasses. She had chosen a pastel green today and it gave her the appearance of meek and sweet.Little did anyone here know that the mouse quiet noblewoman was a hellion on the open sea. Her husband was an infamous pirate lord and that tanned skin was the result of many adventures in open water.

She grinned at the memory of the initial conversation, the stomping and raging. Her beloved pirate lord was positioning for a pardon from the House of Nobles and had placed his lady wife in the right circles to help his path. Much to Hayli’s displeasure.

“Have you heard of the pirates that have come forward for pardons..” Rosemarri spoke up, adding to the gossip mercilessly.

Another table-wide gasp.

“Surely not..” An older woman with a feather-laden hat wobbled.

Hayli stared, first at the woman and her way.

“And why is that Lady Caldesene.” Hayli challenged. “Surely you believe in redemption.”

Rosemarri’s grin widened. Now the tea party would be interesting…

“My Lady?” A soft voice sounded from beside her. “You have a messenger.”

Drat. She would miss everything.

“Pardon me a moment, ladies.”

“Lady Rosemarri…” Hayli protested, but it was too late. Rosemarri allowed herself to be led fron the garden room and the awaiting courier.

The seal was Sunshield and she wordlessly vowed that if it was Haven asking to join her.. again.. she would hang the girl by her toes in the cour–

“What is your name..” She whispered, unable to pull her stare from the letter as she spoke.

“Anson, my lady.”

“How delayed are you? When was the letter sent? I see no date.”

“Week about, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

Rosemarri twisted the letter in her gloved hands. Choices. Choices. Her escort home wouldn’t be here for some time yet but what if..

What if he was already in Dalaran and just waiting for her to arrive? Decision made, she turned toward the gentleman waiting to escort her back to tea. “Forgive me, please deliver my regrets back to the table and Lady Vionnet. Something has come up and I must depart.”

“Yes, my lady, I will. Shall I arrange an escort for you?”

Her lips parted to protest, surely she was safe on the streets of Dalaran. Nonetheless, she gave in to the voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Adamar and accepted with a little nod. “My thanks.”

#War within intro #Jaxson approved!

1 note · View note

rookthorne · 2 years

Text

Today marks my ONE YEAR anniversary of writing! 🥳🥰

God, it feels like just yesterday that I decided to sit down in my lounge room, with my ancient laptop in my lap, absolutely terrified for what I was about to do. That day I started what would be The Outlaw’s Heart - the very first chapter. I had Red Dead Redemption ambience playing in my pink noise cancelling headphones, I had my water bottle next to me, and I had this gut feeling that what I was about to do was big.

I never, ever, imagined just how much that single decision - to put my fingers to the keyboard and just type - would change my entire life. In the biggest, and best way.

I remember writing about 900 words, and I remember feeling on top of the fucking world. The first chapter was done. I went screaming to my best friend, @d-desrosiers, and lost my mind. I remember just crying.

I was crying because I was happy, and I felt proud, for what I had just accomplished. For someone with my limited capabilities, fuck, it was a lot. And I did it.

When I first got into this fandom I never would have imagined ending up where I am. I was well aware of what fanfiction was - having read many video game and band fics in my past - but actually creating them? I never would have thought that would be me, but here I am. Sitting on an approx 300k word count, and counting; I have 3 collections published, but several sitting in my WIPs that you guys are yet to see; I have 2 fully written fics ranging between 14 to 25 chapters sitting in my drive that you guys are yet to see; I have handfuls of oneshots that are yet to see the light of day.

It is insane.

And the friends I have made? Fucking hell, I have never in my life been amongst such amazing, kind, and thoughtful people. These people are my friends for life, and they all know every time I talk to them how much I love and adore and cherish them.

It is gonna get sappy as FUCK under the cut. So buckle in.

@buckyismybicycle, my very first idol - the woman that I looked up to well before I started writing, because she is beyond fucking talented. Not only that, she is the kindest, sweetest (when she’s not laughing at my misery) person there is. HR, you have been through thick and thin with me, and it still stands for disbelief that I get to call you a close friend. My idol, my friend - that is INSANE. Here’s to many, many, many years more of friendship, of laughs, of brainstorming, of love. I love you. 💗

@writing-for-marvel… wow. It’s at this point I get speechless. I found you thanks to my most favourite Ari fic, and it’s just been heaven since. We bonded first over the fact that we were Aussies (a rare breed in this fandom)! I don’t know how, but we just evolved and I have never had such ease, such comfort, with someone as I do you - and I am so fucking grateful for that. We are one another’s cheerleader, and we are one another’s shoulder to cry on. We are so much more but frankly I would be sitting here typing for hours and I would become very nonsensical because I’m emotional (sue me). You will always be my baby, and I wish I could just hug the shit outta you. I love you. 💗

@duckybarnes1917. Haylie, Haylie, Haylie. Girl, where have you been all my life? You are chaos in a cauldron overflowing with thots and thoughts. I don’t know where I’d be without you. We have become such fast friends, and thanks to that, I have someone that I trust so intimately with my thots and thoughts. You are a space that will always be free of non-loving judgement (because I know you do, but lovingly 🤣) and you are always fun. We may live continents away from one another, but your love is the warmest hug that I could ever get. I love you. 💗

@sgt-seabass, my faerie. It was like finding me in someone else when we found one another. You have been the light in some of my darkest days. I love our calls so much, and talking with you is always the highlight of my day - whether we’re just chilling or whether we’re brainstorming or whether we’re venting, it doesn’t matter. I know I can come to you for anything, and you to me, and that is so special. I am so grateful that the universe brought us together. I love you. 💗

@wifeofbarnes. My little menace. The fuel to my thots, the sweetness to my fluff. It still amazes me that all that time ago, that I recognised you when you found your way back to me - and fuck, I’m so happy you did. Not only have you been an endless source of inspiration, but you are now a dear friend that I adore. You’re always down for my ideas, and you always lend an ear or kind words when I need the support. I love you. 💗

@navybrat817, holy shit. I’m gonna start off by saying that this is insane to me, that I even get to talk to you (okay, starstruck moment over). You have been a blessing, and I am ever so grateful to call you a friend. Brainstorming with you is an out of this world experience and you always bloody know how to murder me, every single fucking time. It’s amazing. Not to mention your support, for which you are ever so generous with, for literally anything; whether that be moral, hyping me up, or just listening, and let’s be real, there’s been times that I’ve been so out of it when I’ve messaged you and you still manage to decipher what I’m saying, so kudos to you! 🤣 I love you. 💗

@buckycuddlebuddy, I don’t know where you have been all my life, but holy shit. We have not been talking for very long at all, but look at us - I feel like I’ve known you for so long and the way our chaos matches so perfectly? 👌🏻 it’s amazing. Your patience and your kindness have been a blessing, and I appreciate you more than I can express. I love you. 💗

@jen-with-a-pen, MY OUTLAW WIFE, bound in holy matrimony with our husband, Arthur. God, to tell you I was over the moon when I found out you loved him as much as I do, it would be an understatement. Not only are we in a thruple marriage, you are also a dear friend. Your excitement for everything gives me life and so much joy, it’s beautiful. I love you. 💗

This last bit is to all my beautiful followers and moots - fuck, I am grateful for you all. I am grateful for all the support this past year, and your continued support in the future. I hope that as a content creator, I get to push my boundaries even further than I have in the past 6 or so months. There was a time when I was terrified to write smut, now look at me! 🤣

Thank you all for coming on this journey, and may we have many, many more years to come.

I love you all. 💗💗💗

#Lana’s rambles #milestone #LOOK THIS IS SAPPY AS SHIT #AND I CRIED WHILE WRITING IT #do with that what you will #😭😭😭

40 notes · View notes

its-a-beautiful-start · 2 months

Text

Hi. I haven’t written a blog in a while.

But I always feel it’s good to reflect on past experiences to live and grow as a person.

I can’t actually remember the date where my fiance bought his used taxi because that was what he could afford. He just lost his second job at Amazon. The reason for why he lost his second job was unknown. While his primary full-time job had a pay cut and hours decreased.

It was really hard since we had to find a way to work. This is during the first few months of pandemic. It was already a lot since I couldn’t see him daily, maybe I could only see him once or twice in two weeks. I guess each time I get a text it makes me feel happier, like a stone lifted off my heart.

One day he told me got a used car, which was a used taxi. I had mixed emotions because I never expected to sit inside a car that was dirty and had so many issues. He spent 3k on the car which was able for him to commute to my house to see me more often. I was really happy, he gets to drive me home, take me to nice places insteading of ubering. I guess the only issue when life passed, was only going to the mechanic to fix the car which had major issues which got me so riled up. I felt like we spent more money fixing the car than we paid for the car. Until the car broke down one day and couldn’t even drive anymore. We finally scrapped the car and got a couple hundred dollars back.

Once we sold the used taxi, Ford Escape 2011. I started to tear up because that car has so many memories. A car once I didn’t like made me realize how much I miss the memories I have in the car. It really makes me really how lucky I am to have a man who is so insistent on saving money which can teach me a lesson. I will forever miss the Ford Escape 2011.

Check up on my new journey with my fiance and his new 2024 Toyota Corolla NightShade SE.

Anyhow. It's time for me to end my post.

Check the post soon.

-Giselle Haylie

#my post #blog #self reflecting

0 notes

schoolofseasonshq · 3 months

Text

Sorting

"Attention everyone, the sorting has commenced...please give us a moment, and allow the book to speak." Came a voice, as the lights in the hall dimmed. Standing there, was the Headmaster, the God Loki his green cloak billowing behind him. He summoned the book, and opened.

"I, am your headmaster...Loki, now when the book calls out your name, you will be sorted into each of your houses. Some of you will be in these houses permanently, others will change. It all depends on the choices you make, and on what the book tells of your future. The future however, is not set in stone...and whatever paths you may or may not take will determine the outcome, but this...is only the beginning of your story." Said the Headmaster, "There are four houses named after the four seasons. Spring for those whose futures are neutral, Summer for those who are good, Autumn for those who are undecided, and finally Winter.....for the evil among us."

"You mean the people who know how to have a good time." Says Harley with a laugh.

"In any case, never forget that your ending...is what you make it." Said Loki, before stepping aside. The book called each name, assigning each student to their houses.

House Spring

Lily K., Daughter of Alice

Beatrix. Daughter of Dionysus

Rosemary, Daughter of Jack Sparrow

Lily A., Daughter of Archie and Veronica

Jace, Son of Buffy Summers

Astrid, Daughter of Skwisgaar Skwigelf

June, Daughter of Daria Morgendorffer

Katie, Daughter of James Norrington and Scarlett the Redhead

Sarah, Daughter of Sarah Sanderson

Miranda, Daughter of Drak Jr.

Edward, Son of Chuck and Blair Bass

House Summer

Aziz, Son of Aladdin and Jasmine

Charity, Daughter of Edmund Pevensie

Leonard Son of Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler

Lana, Daughter of Carlisle and Esme

Chad, Son of Cinderella and Prince Charming

Julie, Daughter of Donatello (2003)

Jake, Son of Michelangelo (2003)

Lucy, Daughter of Raphael (2003)

Buffy, Daughter of Shaggy

Ben, Son of Belle and Beast

Henry, Son of Belle and Beast

Hunter, son of Dean Winchester

Ruby, Daughter of Rapunzel and Eugene

Audrey, Daughter of Aurora and Philip

Blossom, Daughter of Steven and Connie Universe

Hope, Daughter of Emma Swan and Killian Jones

Sierra, Daughter of snow White and Florian

House Autumn

Cora, Daughter of the Queen of Hearts

Mason, Son of Madam Mim

Lance, Son of Leonardo (2003)

Chanel, Daughter of Chanel Oberlin

Annabelle, Daughter of Gaston

Emily, Daughter of Max and Allison Dennison

Kayla, Daughter of the White Queen/Duchess of Spades

Hakon, Son of Hans

Miranda, Daughter of Drak Jr

House Winter

Haylie, Daughter of Hades

Raphael, Son of Frollo

Hala, Daughter of Jafar

Draco, Son of Maleficent

Dominic, Son of Chernabog

Ianthe, Daughter of Poison Ivy/Pamela Isley

Ava, Daughter of Mammon

Faith, Daughter of Dr. Facilier

Alexis, Daughter of Chernabog

Zachary, Son of Chernabog

Maddy, Grandaughter of Madam Mim

Mal, Daughter of Maleficent

#soshqannouncement

1 note · View note

askwonderlandsprincess · 9 months

Text

Coronation Day: Part 1

Cora stood in her dressing room, arms held out to the side as two ladies in waiting helped her with the complicated gown. While Cora had gradually begun to wear more and more of the traditional layered attire as she spent more time in public, running her campaign to persuade Ben and the rest of Auradon to cede her queendom back to her, this gown might be the most complicated she would wear in her entire life. Consisting of thirty-five layers of silk and velvet, it was studded in rubies, garnets, diamonds, and onyxes, cloth of gold and silver creating vibrant embroidered symbols on the bodice. Some were characters in Wonderlandian, some were features of the Four Great Houses, but the largest was the emblem of the House of Hearts. While Wonderlandian fashion was always more eccentric than that worn in Auradon, this gown was extravagant, even by Wonderlandian standards. But that was fitting, as it had once belonged to Ilystrezana of Wonderland, first Queen of Hearts. Legend held that she had worn it to her coronation, and certainly, later portraits of the day supported that assumption, but archivists couldn't be sure. They had been able to date the gown to Ilystrezana's lifetime, but while it may not have been worn on the actual day of her coronation, it had become tradition for any female descendants to wear on it on the day of her own ascension. Now, startingly, it was Cora's turn. She gazed at herself in the mirror, trying to find the frightened, nervous princess who had first attended Auradon Prep so long ago. Instead of the brokenhearted and bitter girl who had felt betrayed both by her friends- for Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie had left the Isle and never looked back - and her health- for she could never control her slips -she saw a determined woman ready to give herself, body and soul, for her country. Cora had defied all odds.

For years, the Princess of Hearts had been the object of taunts in school, then later, a smear campaign (started by Audrey, she suspected), designed to present her as a crazed killer unworthy to be in Auradon itself, let alone worthy of the throne of Wonderland. She'd sat in her dorm, in disbelief as she scrolled through InstaRoyal, reading the hashtags and playing the reels, utterly despondent as she listened to the opinions of commentators on the news. Unsurprisingly, many supporters of Alice clung to Audrey's tale, and further conservative Auradonian nobility- those who had opposed the taking of Isle VKs to the mainland in the first place -ran with it. "How could we ever allow another Queen of Hearts?" Snow White had queried, "We've seen what the last one did. Sympathy for a child is one thing, but putting power back in the hands of that family- are we ready to risk that?" "How is this any different to bringing down the barrier?" Queen Leah had sniffed, "We may as well give the girl her daggers back and tell her ourselves to behead us! This is not a decision any of us can condone." Then there were the anonymous comments, supposedly from students: "I've seen her slips. Are we going to let a psycho be queen?" "How is she supposed to rule when she's falling to the floor all the time, seeing colors that aren't there? She calls it 'slipping off the edge of sanity,' but what happens to the rest of us when she's not sane?" Cora had hurled her phone at her vanity mirror at that jab, the silver shattering as she'd burst into tears. While it was true she'd cried that night, the next day she'd already realized she would have to continue. Since the reality of the situation didn't matter to these people, since everyone else's claim to their thrones- their royal blood -seemed to be irrelevant in her case, she would need to not only assert her birthright. She would have to assert herself.

Cora had started small, creating a Wonderland club at Auradon Prep. Ever the loyal best friend, Haylie had come with her, and Mason, ever the supportive boyfriend, had used his charm and wit to make the meetings the talk of the school until other students- some out of curiosity alone- started to show up. They studied Wonderlandian, played croquet, and prepared tea. Rarely, politics were discussed, with Cora adding insight she'd heard from her parents and Henry in order to counteract Auradon's propaganda in the textbooks, but also acknowledging the rationale of the Duchess of Spades, Kayla's mother (as for Kayla, she had an open invitation to the meetings, but Cora knew it would take time for her to feel comfortable attending given the girls' complicated friendship and feelings towards their heritage). Over time, she'd managed to get Chad to come, and Evie attended every once in a while. While Evie had never formally apologized for leaving her on the Isle, when the Evil Queen's daughter offered to help the club replicate some traditional Wonderlandian attire for their first visit to the realm, Cora knew it was her way of saying sorry. The club visited the queendom every few months (always under strict supervision from Fairy Godmother, for the land still had pockets of turmoil), but Cora snuck away far more often. The princess took care to speak to the Wonderlanders in their native tongue whenever possible, actually sang to the flowers, and went from village to village. She could not truly criticize her mother's actions while the Queen of Hearts still lived- and given the sophistication of Palaterra's old spy network along with the queen's post partum psychosis, Cora could somewhat understand Ardenzana's paranoia all those years ago -but the fact of the matter was, the average Wonderlander had suffered under the civil war. A true queen would try to alleviate their suffering. And so Cora tried, going from town to town, painstakingly rebuilding structures from rubble, taking most of her allowance (all the VKs had a meager allowance granted them by Auradon Prep, supposedly to help maintain their tuition) and giving it to the still-living families of soldiers (on both sides) who had fallen in Wonderland's civil war. Audrey had chattered this was nothing more than a PR exercise and bribery, but Cora honestly knew of no other way she could help as a student. The Princess of Hearts and the Princess of Auroria had nearly come to blows over the debate, but Audrey managed to refrain, citing etiquette, and Cora blinked as hard as she could, bidding the neon to recede from the corners of her eyes. When that didn't work, she ran into the corridors and hid until it was over. ~

Perhaps most shockingly, Cora then visited the homes of known Alicists and supporters of the White Queen. Cora did her wickedest to ignore the propaganda of her own childhood during these visits, because rebellions and wars did not flourish in a happy populace. If Ardenzana had- wittingly or unwittingly -created circumstances where war could break out, where her claim could be questioned, and where people could die like pawns on a chess board, Cora saw it as her duty to identify the circumstances and fix them. There was no other way to do this without speaking to them. "I don't like you going there alone, Angel," Mason had told her. Her boyfriend lounged behind her on his bed, one hand tugging at her curls as she leaned into his shoulder. "I know you don't, but some of them already think of me as a violent pretender. How do I get them to respect me if I see them with my mischievous, wizard boyfriend at my side, ready to turn into a dragon at the slightest hint of danger?" Mason raised an eyebrow, "There are many reasons they should respect you, and while yes, your taste in me as a boyfriend is definitely one, I worry you could be walking into a trap, Angel." "You don't think I can defend myself?" Cora asked, turning her head to face him in surprise. "I know you can," Mason reassured her, planting a kiss on her forehead, "but I don't think you should have to. Nor do I think you killing them would help you. Even if it were self-defense and you'd walked into an ambush, they'd be seen as martyrs, and that wouldn't help you in the end." Cora froze, "The end?" While she and Mason had been seeing each other for nearly a year now, the concept of having a partner to rely on was still new to her. She loved the light he brought into her life, the pranks, the playfulness, the kisses- God, his kisses -but the way he spoke was so...final. This wasn't about tests and studying anymore, or things she'd expect an "average" boyfriend to do, like helping her reputation around Auradon Prep. If she was understanding him correctly, this was about kings and queens on an international level. Which meant Mason appeared to want to stick around. And after everything that had happened with Raphael and Hakon, that was something she hadn't let herself dream about. Not truly. She'd always thought they could take on the world together, but she'd never thought he'd actually stay. Mason blinked, "You getting your throne back, of course," then, with a smirk, he added, "Plus, I am looking forward to a much larger bed in the palace." He'd kissed her as she gaped at his audacity. ~ Cora had ended up conceding the Mason could keep watch in the trees, though he was not to turn into a dragon unless things seemed truly dire. Mason insisted she ingest a potion that would depict a replica of the proceedings inside the cottage for him, and while it was not nearly as delicious as Mim's Mercury, Cora agreed. She'd downed the liquid as she sat atop Henry, slipping the vial into her pack. Her Bandersnatch friend had agreed to let her ride him to her appointment- she needed to simultaneously show that she was not to be trifled with, yet also had respect for Wonderland (with Wonderland showing her respect) -and she stroked his spotted coat once for wicked luck. Good luck, Henry had told her, but be prepared. You will hear things you may not like. Cora nodded, ruffling the fur behind his ears one more time. "Thank you," the princess whispered. "Corazana?" Cora turned to face the man exiting the cottage before her. Somehow, he managed to make her name sound like dirt. While nominally he had asked her a question, it was clearly a statement, and his opinion of her- and her family -could hardly be lower. His dark hair was flecked with streaks of gray, and his blue ears were hard as ice: "I thought we agreed there were to be no shows of force today." The princess swallowed, schooling her features into a smile as she slid off Henry, "We did-"

"Then why are you riding a Bandersnatch?" Cora blanched with surprise, "This is Henry. He's a friend. We met when I fell down a rabbit hole years ago. I asked him to give me a ride today because I didn't want to be late," regaining her composure, Cora nodded, "The distance from Auradon's major rabbit hole to your home is far, Elatus. I want to thank you for seeing me today. I meant no disrespect." Seeing Elatus was still clearly suspicious, Cora removed her daggers from her person, sliding them into a second pack Henry had obligingly worn around his neck. Cora's spine prickled with unease- it felt like she was removing some of her own limbs by taking off the daggers -and she knew it made her vulnerable. But Elatus had said he'd never meet with her if she wore her weapons, and Cora could only pray the Alicist leader was as honorable as he thought himself. Otherwise, she would end up dead. Cora spread her skirts, showing Elatus clearly there were no weapons hidden in the petticoats or pockets, then bid Henry to go wait with some of the singing flowers in the grove. "You'll forgive me if my trust in the House of Hearts is minimal," Elatus said. He reached for Cora's arm, yanking her forward and beginning to search her garments himself. Cora held her chin high as she submitted to the breach in protocol, just barely shaking her head at the tree where she knew Mason was hidden (and had to be fuming). The leaves in the tree had only barely stopped shuddering when Cora met Elatus' gaze with a curt: "I hope even if your trust in my House is minimal, your trust in me is at least somewhat wickeder?" Elatus conceded, "Not a chance, but I am glad you respected the agreement." He gestured for her to enter his cottage with an exaggerated courtly sweep of his arm, and while Cora's instincts screamed at her to search him in turn, she knew that if she sunk to his level, she would lose any chance of gaining Elatus' insight. Cora swept into the cottage. It was simple, by Wonderlandian standards, made mostly of stone with a thatched roof. There were few pictures on the walls- none of Elatus or his family -just a few photos of a blonde little girl Cora had been raised to hate and the Alicists saw as a hero. Idly, Cora mused they were likely both wrong- Alice, in the pictures, appeared to be an oblivious child. She was so...young, hardly either the dashing head of a Rebellion the Alicists saw her as, or the blatant lawbreaker the Queen of Hearts viewed her as. Shaking her head, Cora refocused on the situation at hand, raking her eyes over the rest of the interior. The chairs and seating were low to the floor in Wonderlandian style, and a tea set was laid out, smoke already curling from the liquid. Cora frowned. It would be rude of her to refuse him- and he was clearly hoping she would, so he could cite breach of tradition -but it was also possible he had poisoned it. She had no way of knowing, and comforted herself slightly with the thought that if it was poisoned, Mason was nearby (whether with potion or true love's kiss, she had no doubt he could revive her). Elatus shut the door behind her with a click, then took his seat at the head of his table. He stared at her, his gaze cutting. He was clearly doing his wickedest to irritate her, trying to trigger the famous Hearts temper. While Cora could not deny she was annoyed, she also wasn't going to fall into the trap so easily. Accordingly, she smiled, ignoring the breach of etiquette by him sitting down first, gracefully settling into a pillow. "I would say 'welcome,' but we both know that would be a lie," Elatus began. He gestured for Cora to pick up a teacup, and firmly reminding herself that if the former Alicist leader tried to poison her, Mason was nearby, Cora managed to still the shaking in her fingers as she picked up the cup and took a tiny sip. The liquid burned her throat- and goblins, how she hated the taste of tea -but now was not the time.

#solo para #ongoing draft #coronation day: part 1

0 notes