#he deserves tiny waffles that he gets to make

[tifixation]

i didn’t think post nut clarity existed until juno “and sometimes, when the whole thing feels too much, it’s tempting to lie down and let all the other runners trample you” steel happened

[asexualbookbird]

insert Imagine Dragons Radioactive Gasp Here

Hi. Coming up for air. I'm surrounded by yarn ends and fabric scraps I'm sweaty and covered in paint. I was a tiny bit productive this July! Made lots of progress on the Irish Lullaby Blanket, painted our balcony, started a few projects I really shouldn't have, and oh yeah! READ EIGHT BOOKS?? Who am I. I'm twelve books ahead of schedule according to goodreads, eleven by StoryGraph standards. It's wild. It helps that my library is holding an adult summer reading bingo contest and I fully intend to fill out the entire board.

The City We Became by NK Jemisin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- WAOW. I initially rated this four stars, but sitting on it and coming back to it now, it was absolutely a five star read. I would love to reread it, the world was intriguing, and the AUDIO NARRATOR WAS STUNNING! I do try not to judge the contents of a book by it's narrator, but what a performance! When library bingo is over, I'm listening to book two ASAP.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh look! A Classic I actually enjoyed! I don't want to judge horror on whether or not I'm scared, because it IS kind of tough to get to me, but this was fun! I could see the spooks! Even if it wasn't spooky For Me, Personally, it was still a fun time!

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh. Ouchie. A shortie, but a goodie, I'm kicking myself for returning the ebook immediately because I would've liked to go back and reread bits of it if not ALL of it. A not exactly new take on fae, but an interesting one that I actually enjoyed.

Starling House by Alix E Harrow ⭐⭐⭐⭐- I did NOT intend to read this directly after Hill House but I am SO glad I did. THE PARALLELS!!!! The circular story!!!! THE STARLINGS!!!! I laughed, I cried, I yelled at Arthur, there were surprises I genuinely didn't expect, but made so much sense in hindsight. I don't exactly buy the romance, but I'll let it slide this one time.

Ghost Station by SA Barnes ⭐⭐- Two stars is Very Generous. And I'm sticking to it because the concept is still intriguing and if you squint there was some Leech stuff going on. Maybe I should just reread Leech. Sigh. Ophelia was hired to do ONE. JOB. To make sure none of the team members have Want To Murder Disease. And then Birch shows signs of Want To Murder Disease and she KEEPS IT QUIET BECAUSE *checks notes* HE KNOWS HER DAD HAD WANTS TO MURDER DISEASE. Everyone is stupid. They're scientists and everyone is fucking stupid. It wasn't scary, because EVERYONE WAS FUCKING STUPID. Biting all of them.

Thornhedge by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh T Kingfisher, you have never disappointed me, why do I read anything else. Another fun take on the fae! It's so hard to get me to like a fae book, so GOOD JOB KINGFISHER! I liked the new take on Girl Locked In A Tower, I liked that Toadling was surrounded by love and still encouraged to do what makes her happy. Again, I almost reread (listened. Whatever) this immediately just for funsies. Another banger from T Kingfisher.

The Sun and The Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐ - I've been waffling on this rating a LOT. Disclaimer that I haven't read any of Riordan's stuff since the OG Percy Jackson series, and that was ages ago so I can't compare this to that. This was a fun little book, but it felt a little heavy handed with the themes even for a middle grade. It doesn't make me want to read more, but I'm not mad I read it at all.

The Scapegracers by HA Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Okay. Listen. Look. Look at me. Was this The Perfect Book? No absolutely not. Was it a banger? Did I have fun? YES ABSOLUTELY YES! It's a book I could've needed in high school, but I wouldn't have been mature enough to appreciate it so I'm glad I have it NOW. Angry Queer Teen Girls will run the world. And I'm here for it. So looking forward to the rest of the series, I need to know what sort of mischief these girls get up to. I hope they curse another fuckboy. They deserve it.

BONUS! I also watched The Haunting of Hill House on netflix! One bingo square said "read a book then what the movie" and I really thought Mike Flanagan's Hill House was a movie but no it was ten (10) hours of spooky fucked up family dynamics. Also Nate Ford was there. Naturally. It was good! It was creepy! I wanna watch it again JUST FOR THE TREE HOUSE. I was skeptical when I first started because who the hell are you people (Steve, Shirley) but no it was fun! But also. Fuck Steven and Shirley. Congrats to Theo and moving in with her girlfriend of one week, peak lesbian stereotypes. Biggest complaint is with Mike Flanagan and his need to not only kill cats, but get close up shots of said dead cats. What's up with that my dude. What did cats ever do to you?

Plans for August (how am I saying that) are The Bone Season side by side comparison with the first edition and the tenth anniversary edition. I'm counting that as two books, I think, because it IS two books, and looking at them next to each other, there's a pretty sizable difference in page count! No clue about word count. This is part of book bingo (reread a book you didn't enjoy the first time), and this has helped me realise that I've been avoiding this for a Reason. I truly and surely did not enjoy The Bone Season and have no desire to experience that again. Don't know what to do with this information. So. I'm rereading it. Yay.

I have a few sewing projects I'm working on, and I am SO CLOSE to finishing the Irish Lullaby Blanket! It's exciting! So lets go!! Bring it on, August!!

[stargazer-sims]

The Art of Redemption

(part 20)

previous // next // story index

—————

"I didn't realize it'd be this easy."

Nikolai watches in fascination as Ginger slides the iron along the length of a damp towel spread over her ironing board. Underneath the towel is one of his medals. He can see the silver peeking out from under the edge. Tiny wisps of steam rise up from the towel, and the iron emits a soft sound that's somewhere between a sigh and a hiss, as if it can't make up its mind whether it's proud of a job well done or annoyed that this particular job is necessary.

They’re in Ginger’s kitchen with its cheerful yellow-painted walls and a large window that faces her apartment building’s courtyard. He’d spent last night here at her place and he'd slept remarkably well on the pull-out couch, with Tangerine tucked into the crook of his arm. This morning, Ginger made tea, waffles, and fruit salad with cottage cheese for breakfast, and then they went to the rink together. Afterwards, as Ginger had promised, she took him shopping for the things they’d need to restore and preserve his skating memorabilia.

Ginger smiles as she lifts the iron and sets it upright at the end of the ironing board. "I didn't say it'd be difficult. All I said was that it'd be a bit of work." She peels back the towel to reveal the medal. Its ribbon looks as good as new. "You've got a lot of medals. This isn't exactly a ten-minute task."

"Sorry."

"Don't say that," she admonishes. "I'm glad to do it. They deserve to look their best. Here." She lifts the current medal from the ironing board and passes it to him. "I'd be furious if anyone damaged my medals, but I know you'd help me fix them."

"I would, if I'd known this trick." He carries the medal to the table and lays it on the leaf of white tissue paper he'd already set out for it. Wrapping it carefully, he puts it in the plastic storage box he'd bought earlier that day. "Can I try doing the next one? Give your arm a break."

"Sure," Ginger agrees. "Shall I show you what to do, or has Beth-Anne been teaching you how to iron as well as teaching you how to cook?"

He shakes his head. "She irons my shirts. I don't think she trusts me with it. But I do know how to wash my own laundry now."

"She truly is your second mother, isn't she? Teaching you how to cook and do laundry. What else has she taught you?"

"I'm getting pretty good at cleaning my own bathroom. Apparently, she doesn’t do, uh… smelly man bathrooms, I think is how she phrased it.”

Ginger laughs. "Lord help us. Is she as bossy teaching you housekeeping skills as she is on the ice?"

"Surprisingly, no," he says. "I'm actually seeing a whole new side of her, living under the same roof, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. She has more mom qualities than even I imagined."

"I'm glad it's working out," Ginger says.

"Me too. She’s letting me stay there until I finish my coaching courses, at least. We'll see what happens afterwards."

"So, you're doing that, then? Coaching, I mean."

"Yeah." He joins her by the ironing board as she pulls another one of his medals — a gold one this time — out of the cardboard box on the counter. His breath catches a little when he recognizes which one it is. "Ginger, I really have to fix this one myself."

She glances down at it. "ISU World Figure Skating Championship 2010. Yes, I can see why you'd want to sort this one out yourself. The 2006 and 2009 ones as well, I expect."

"When you find them, yeah," he says.

She gives the medal to him. "All right. Lay it flat, and press the ribbon as smooth as you can with your hand. Then we'll put the towel on."

"Okay." He does as she instructs. "How's this?"

"Good. Now, the towel. Don't cover up the gold bit. You don't want to iron that."

"Got it."

“Press down firmly, but not too hard.” Ginger positions herself behind him and places her hand over his to guide him for the first couple of strokes with the iron. "Yes, that’s the way. Well done.”

He concentrates on what he's doing, but that doesn't prevent him from thinking about the world championships. The competition was in Italy last year, and a record number of Canadian skaters had qualified, four of whom were from their very own Brindleton Bay Skating Club; himself in the senior men's category, Ginger in senior women's and their friends Hunter and Juliet in pairs.

Their coaches had considered it a triumph for so many of them to have made it in. However, by the end of the week, their elation at qualifying paled in comparison to the emotional high of what sports journalists had dubbed 'The Canadian Sweep'.

It hadn't really been a sweep, of course. That would've required Canadians to win gold in all four categories. In reality, Canadian ice dancers won silver, and although Juliet and Hunter didn't have a top-three finish, the other Canadian pair in the competition took home bronze. Ginger, who'd received her citizenship the previous summer and was finally able to officially compete for Canada, won gold in her category, and Nikolai had also claimed gold in his. It was his second Worlds gold in a row.

Would I have made it three in a row at Worlds this season? he wonders. Is Ginger going to be able to get her own double gold?

Like him, Ginger has more than one world championship gold medal, and also like him, she won her first and second ones in non-consecutive years. Nothing would excite him more than to see her earn back-to-back titles.

He hopes she's ready. She hadn't skated yesterday, and from what he'd seen from her in practice today, she doesn't appear to be concerned at all. Stan didn't seem particularly bothered either. He'd been going easy on her.

But, maybe that shouldn't have been a surprise. Ginger looked flawless on the ice. Nikolai tried to observe every move she’d made, and he hadn't noticed a single thing he thought she could improve on. Her performance was powerful and beautiful and technically perfect.

Don't worry about her. She's got this, he tells himself, but the directive only partially works. He's still going to worry, not just because he wants her to do well, but because he wants her to be safe, to not be careless or overconfident.

This year's world championship is being held in Russia, in Moscow, and it's taking place in just a couple of weeks, near the end of March. It's been more than a year since Nikolai has been to his grandfather and parents' home country, and he's overcome with the sudden, crazy notion that he could go and watch the competition. He's not a fan of flying, and he'd have to pay for the trip out of his own pocket, but he's certain it'd be worth it to see his best friend skate her way to a spot at the top of the podium.

"Nikolai." Ginger's voice inserts itself into his thoughts.

"What?"

"I think it's done."

"Oh." He sets the iron aside, and then pulls away the towel to find that it is indeed done. It looks as pristine as it did when the ISU official had draped it around his neck last spring in Turin.

On impulse, he picks it up and puts it on. Somewhere in the back of his mind, an imaginary crowd cheers and tosses bouquets of flowers onto the ice, and O Canada plays. He swallows convulsively.

Ginger's palm comes to rest on his back. She rubs gently between his shoulder blades. "You okay?"

He nods. "I'm... I guess I'm just a little sad. All of this has been a lot."

"I can only imagine," she says. "It's okay to be sad."

"I know." He touches the medal hanging around his neck. "I'm getting better, though. My leg's getting stronger, and I'm feeling better about most things. Going to the rink with Beth-Anne every day has helped me a lot."

"I think mostly everyone is glad to see you there."

"I'm glad to be there," he tells her. "I really do want to coach, you know. I wasn't sure at first, but I realized I don't want to leave the sport even if I can't compete. This seems like the way that makes the most sense since I discovered that I really like helping people learn new skills. Beth-Anne says I'm good at it too. She thinks I'll be a great coach."

"For what it's worth, I'd tend to agree with her."

"Thanks. Your opinion's worth a lot to me, if you want to know," he says. "Anyway, the other reason I want to get into coaching is kind of a selfish one."

"Oh?"

"There's this one little kid..."

"Eden?"

"Yeah, Eden Seong. Have you seen him skate? He's only ten and he's absolutely amazing. He's going to be a champion some day, and I want to be there for that."

"He's one of Beth-Anne's students, right?"

"Right, but Beth-Anne says he might be my student in a couple of years, once he’s in Junior division.”

“And how does little Eden feel about that idea?”

“He’s into it. I think he’d want me to start coaching him right now if we were both ready,” Nikolai says. “I've been helping Beth-Anne with Eden’s individual lessons, and with one of her Novice students, and the group classes. She thinks I'll be able to teach a preschool group class by myself by September."

"That's brilliant," Ginger says. "Do you think you're ready for the challenge of teaching four year olds how to skate backwards and how to stop without colliding with something?"

He grins, remembering the antics of the five little skaters in the Saturday preschool class. "Well, I already taught one girl how to stop without crashing into me or into the boards, so I think I'll be fine."

"Helmets are mandatory, I hope."

"For the preschool kids? Yeah, definitely."

Ginger laughs. "I meant for you."

"With the way they bounce around, I think hockey shin pads might be more useful for me," he says.

"When Beth-Anne gets back, I'm going to come and watch you in action," Ginger declares. She pokes around in the cardboard box and retrieves another medal. "Here's Worlds 2009. I'll look for 2006 as well. Can you do this one on your own?"

"Yes," he confirms. "Do you really want to watch me work with the kids?"

"Adorable children and adorable you? Why wouldn't I?" she says. "The only thing that'd make the entire scenario any cuter than that would be if you brought the bear."

"I could make that happen."

"We should go to Build-A-Bear and see if we can find some skates for him."

Nikolai laughs. "He actually has some already. Workout gear and costumes too. If you want to come to my house with me later, we can find all his stuff and dress him up."

"Sounds like a project for tomorrow." Ginger looks both amused and pleased. "I had something else in mind for tonight."

"LIke what?" Nikolai asks.

"Ordering Korean food and watching the opening ceremonies of World Juniors. You did tell Brett you were going to watch, didn't you?"

"To watch him skate, yeah. I honestly didn't think about the opening ceremonies, but I’m liking this plan. Korean food because the competition's in South Korea?”

“Exactly so.”

“I like it. Can I sleep over again?"

“I think you’d better. South Korea’s twelve hours ahead of us and the ceremony’s on at half-past nine. It’ll be your bedtime by the time it’s over.”

“Yours too.”

“Mine too,” she concedes.

"What are we going to do between now and nine-thirty?" he inquires.

"Finish this, for a start." Ginger gestures at the ironing board where he's pressing the ribbon of his Worlds gold from 2006. The other two are around his neck, and they clink together gently each time he moves. "I've got dance time this afternoon, and Uncle Stan's probably going to be there. You can come along, if you like. Are you allowed to dance yet?"

"As long as I don't jump or put all my weight on my bad leg, I don't see why not," he says. "Nobody specifically said I can't dance, and I'd love to dance with you. It can replace my time on the treadmill."

"How much time on the treadmill are you allowed to do?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Right, then." Ginger nods, as if settling something in her own mind. "After thirty minutes, you've got to stop, and if you get tired or your knee starts hurting before thirty minutes, you stop."

She looks so serious, he has to put the iron down and cover his mouth to smother his laughter. "Are you channelling Beth-Anne right now?"

She folds her arms across her body and arches an eyebrow as she gives him a mock glare so reminiscent of Beth-Anne that it's uncanny. She manages to smooth out her English accent somehow as she demands, "Nikolai Pavlenko, are you questioning my coaching decisions?"

He snorts inelegantly in his futile effort not to crack up, "Oh my God..."

Ginger obviously tries to maintain her stern expression, but she dissolves into giggles too. "We've all spent way too much time together, I think."

"No," he says, once he catches his breath. "There's not such thing as too much time spent with you. Or Beth-Anne, for that matter. Or Uncle Stan. We're family."

"I love that sentiment, honestly," she says.

"Me too." Steady enough to resume ironing once more, he finishes another medal and then puts it around his neck with the other two. "There. That's my third Worlds gold done. How many do we have left?"

Ginger peers into the box. "About eight or nine. Are you going to put those three away before you press any more, or do you plan to wear all your Worlds medals at once?"

He considers for a moment. "All at once. Do you see the silver ones, or did we already get to those and I didn't notice?"

"Let's see... Here's 2007 and 2008," Her hand emerges with the two silver medals, and she sets them on the ironing board. "We're only missing 2004 now. Just give me a second."

"No problem. These'll take me a few minutes. I'm not as good as you at ironing yet," he says. "What time is your dance session, by the way? I can drive us over there."

"It's at three o'clock," she answers. "But, I thought perhaps we could take the bus."

"And... keep riding past our stop on the way home?"

"Hmm... For a couple of hours, perhaps."

"Let's do it," he says. "Do you want to stop to pick up food on the way back, or should we just order in?"

"Order in. That way, we can put our pyjamas on and settle in for the night, and if we happen to accidentally fall asleep on the sofa bed together, at least we'll already be dressed for it."

Nikolai smiles. More and more, he's learning that situations don't have to be monumental or momentous to be significant. Today's been a good day so far, an ordinary day. Nothing dramatic had to happen for him to find some sort of meaning in it. All he needs to understand right now is that he feels safe and that he’s content to be with his friend. Skating on TV, spicy noodles, and a sleepover. What more could he possibly want?

He and Ginger continue to chat amiably while they finish the task of getting all the wrinkles and creases out of the ribbons. Then, she takes a bunch of silly pictures of him with all six of his world championship medals around his neck at once, and they post them to their social media accounts with the most ridiculous captions they can come up with.

When they're done playing, they wrap the remaining medals and tuck them into the storage box. Ginger says she can keep the box here, if that'd make him feel more comfortable, and he agrees. He trusts her. If anyone would take care of them as if they were her own, it'd be Ginger.

Nikolai is just nestling the last small tissue paper wrapped bundle into the plastic container when his phone beeps for attention. It's a text alert. His phone is on the counter next to the microwave.

"Can you check that for me, please?" he asks Ginger.

"Sure," she says. She crosses the kitchen and scoops up the phone. A second later, she utters a half-spoken, half-groaned, "Ugh."

"What is it?" Nikolai inquires as he snaps the lid onto the storage box. "Or do I want to know?"

"It's Anya," Ginger holds out the phone at arm's length, as if it's giving off a bad smell. "She's written part of it in Russian, but I assume it's something disgusting if the string of pink heart emojis is anything to judge by. The other bit says, 'did you get our cat back?'."

"Our cat?" Nikolai echoes, incredulous. "Since when is Tangerine 'our' cat? She's mine. Anya barely tolerates her."

"Would you like me to send a reply to her?" Ginger asks.

"No, just delete that message. I'm not about to have a whole conversation with her through texts, and you shouldn't have to either."

"Do you really just want to delete it?"

"Yes," Nikolai says. "I'm determined that we're going to get to enjoy our plans for the rest of the day, and there's no way I'm going to let her mess it up."

[bae04xx]

“fuck off!” i screamed, my voice hoarse from being half asleep, while i pushed my brother away from me. rolling over to the other side of my bed, i ignore his giggles,

“bastard, wake me up again and see what happens..” i mumble into my pillow, sensing his spine shoot up after hearing my threat.

“woah! y/n’s cranky aren’t you?” he cackles, before slapping me against the head and strolling out, as if he hadn’t been annoying the living fuck out of me, as if he was completely innocent!

ben being my brother had its perks, like ultimate protection from him and his weirdo gang, but it had a lot more cons. like some bitch at school looks at me the wrong way? oh well, it doesn’t matter to me, ben sees? she’s dead.

they’re so overdramatic.

and trust me, i haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since we moved into this hell hole. either i’m kept up by screaming, ben, gunshots or the lads bringing some random women back- that’s definitely the worst one.

everyone here had a purpose, i didn’t, my brother was some magical ghost that could hack into anything. i didn’t know shit about him, he would refuse to tell me, but he managed to work a deal so i could stay here, to keep me ‘safe’, because what’s safer than being around deranged serial killers? i was just deadweight, and while most people here tried to ignore that fact, considering i took care of them all fairly well, i knew it. my cooking, cleaning and caring skills were not nearly as useful as the dangerous shit they did.

but i’m sure they appreciated a home cooked meal after a long day of work, it calmed me down after a stressful day at school. winding down with them was something i loved, especially with jeff, we got on very well- despite ben and his rivalry. i ignored their petty arguments, and stormed off whenever they attempted to include me into them. i loved seeing how calm jeff could be around me, he was always so on edge, fierce, ready to pounce on anyone, but with me it wasn’t like that.

i could sit with him and just talk, sure he wouldn’t open up to me about anything, too closed off and stuck in his defensive mind to do anything of the sort, but he could relax with me- and i enjoyed that.

i missed normality a lot more than i let on, and ben could see that in me. the way i stared at the photos of us when we were young, how we would get high and i would ramble on about our old memories, he saw through my facade, and knew how much i missed my past life.

but this was me now, taking care of my shitty brother and his coworkers? friends? housemates? whatever he called them.

what pissed me off the most is how i was the only person in the house that still had to go to school. ben insisted on me getting an education, making something of my life- i think it was because he didn’t want me living in this shithole forever like he had to. i would come home from school everyday and waffle to toby about everything, he understood better than anyone. he could tell that deep down i did care, i cared about everything, too much. while i pretending to not give a fuck about the bitches i had to deal with, i would come running to him, crying in his arms after a hard day. i didn’t want a solution to my problem, i wanted a distraction, comfort. and ben couldn’t wrap his tiny brain around that, but toby could.

“they’re.. all just so horrible..” i sobbed as toby stroked my hair softly, holding me tightly in his arms, suddenly flicking his wrist from his ticks, he quietly cursed himself.

“i know, y/n, it’s going to be ok, i promise,” he whispered, gently wiping the tears from my face.

“they’re nasty because their jealous of you, jealous of your beauty and your confidence.”

“but.. i just want them to be nice to me..”

“i know baby, you don’t deserve this.”

toby was like a brother to me, unlike jeff who found comfort in me, i found comfort in toby. he was like my very own safety blanket, he would wrap me up in his arms and let me cry all my emotions out, carrying me to bed when i fell asleep in his arms and tucking me in. he was like the dad i had always wished for.

when everyone would argue, i would lock myself in my room. i hated it with every cell in my body. the boys would scream, yell, punch walls, kick doors in- and the dreadful sound of shots being fired. it would send me into a panicked frenzy. there was one particularly bad argument between ben and jeff once, over something stupid i can’t even remember.

“y/n- knock some fuckin’ sense into your deadbeat brother!”

“don’t bring my fucking sister into this- just because you’re in love with her! don’t think i can’t tell you fucking deranged pervert!”

“fuck off ben, like i would ever want to be with someone RELATED to you. if i had it my way you would be dead were you stand.”

i listened to their harsh words as jeff knocked on my door, making the walls vibrate.

“i don’t want to be involved! go away!” i screamed, tucking myself under the covers on my bed, pulling a pillow over my head to tune out their shouting- until i heard the familiar bang of masky’s gun.

i thought my heart fell out of my chest in that moment, my blood ran cold as i fumbled out of bed and ran to my door, swinging it open to find a hall in the opposite wall to my bedroom. i had never felt more relief in my life.

“stop fucking arguing. you’re keeping me awake.” masky said coldly as ben and jeff just stared at the bullet in the wall.

i hated living here.

[sterekbros]

@sterekweekly prompt family, @sterekbingo square taking care of a child, @warmandfluffybingocards square kiss on the hand, @domaystic day 23 small couch.

Green Eggs & Ham by Winchesterek

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Characters: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Eli Hale (Teen Wolf), Original Hale-Stilinski Child(ren) Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Mates Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Established Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Alpha Derek Hale, Omega Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale is a Softie, Married Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski are Eli Hale's Parents, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Stiles Stilinski is a Nice Thing, Fluff, Family Fluff, Kid Fic, Family Feels

It had been about a week since Stiles had been home with his family, having spent that time at the Omega post-birthing center. His second time around had been just as good as the first time, getting care after baby Ava was born, but he’d missed his family terribly.

Stiles was glad to be back home, able to be with his children every moment of the day now. He smiled down at baby Ava in his arms, carefully rocking her and tucking her against his chest as she nursed. He hummed his mother’s favorite song to her, the tunes of Hey Jude filling the brief silence of their house.

He walked out of the nursery and headed into the living room where Elijah was sitting on the couch with Derek, tucked against his mate’s side as they read a book together. Elijah was learning how to read so fast and Stiles was so proud of him.

But there were only so many times that Stiles could read Green Eggs and Ham. On top of that, Elijah had wanted him and Derek to start cooking him Green Eggs and Ham. Eggs and ham colored with green food coloring was the least appetizing thing Stiles had seen in the last few months.

“Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am! And I would eat them with a goat… and I will eat them in the rain!” came Derek’s voice excitedly from the couch as he enunciated each word.

It made Stiles smile and he tried his best not to laugh because it was the most adorable thing ever and he knew sometimes Derek was self-conscious about things like that. It had taken him a long time to be comfortable doing silly things with Elijah and even to be playful with Stiles when they’d first started dating.

Stiles moved over to the couch and carefully sat down with them, curling his legs under him as Ava continued to suckle and he smoothed a hand over her head, holding her close

“And I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them anywhere! I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you, thank you, Sam I am!”

Elijah cheered as Derek finished the book and looked at the pictures. Derek chuckled and kissed Elijah on his head, his arm wrapped around their son as he hugged him close.

“So, that’s the end!” Derek said, closing the book and setting it aside on the end table.

Elijah looked up at Derek with those big eyes that were the same kaleidoscope of colors as Derek’s, but today they looked green. “You have to make me green eggs and ham now, Dad!”

Stiles did his best not to make a face as he thought about the green eggs and ham and Ava gave a tiny sound of protest as he squeezed her a little too tight.

“Sorry, baby,” he told her softly. She seemed to forgive him as she focused on nursing again.

“Green eggs and ham again?” Derek asked playfully and gave a heavy sigh in show.

“Yes!” Elijah said excitedly and jumped off the couch. Derek laughed and smiled at Stiles. “You want anything while I make our son something that looks like it came out of a swamp?”

“Well, if we’re having breakfast, I think I could go for a waffle… or waffles.” Stiles looked down at Ava and she’d fallen asleep, so he eased her back and wrapped her in her blanket again. “I could also go for some non-green eggs.”

“Your wish is my command,” Derek replied, taking Stiles’ hand and kissing the back of it. “I’ll be right back. I better go catch Elijah before he manages to get the eggs out of the fridge and breaks them all.”

Derek sounded amused more than anything else as he smoothed a hand over Ava and stood up, leaning over to give Stiles a kiss on the lips, and then hurried into the kitchen.

Stiles listened to them chattering about the book, Elijah talking up a storm about green eggs and ham.

Stiles looked down at Ava as she slept curled against his chest, running a finger across her soft cheek, her little hands gripping at his chest. “Love you, baby girl. You and your brother and your father. More than anything in the world.”

This was his family and they were perfect.

[pixeechix21]

Pt2 Königxreader

Summary: after you both finish, he takes you to a waffle house to sober you up. And at the end you learn just how dangerous he can be under that gentle demeanor.

Fluff like dancing and prancing on a cloud fluff.

Tw: mentions of sex, really nothing hut at the end it's a bit graphic could be worse tho

Waffles 2:

TOP NEWS TONIGHT (Mon)

Renowned lawyer was found in an alley bloodied and naked with the words carved on his back, "leave no evidence" he was found barely able to breathe due to a broken nose and ribs. No one knows who could have done this, if you have any information please call.

You nearly choke on your coffee as the tiny TV at work announces this. . König.

Sat:

Passing by the lights flash blurred, like in a fever dream. You can feel the light shaking of your legs as a result of before. It intrigues you at how he's just humming along, after the total mess he made of your guts. A small smile rests on your face as his thumb absentmindedly makes circles on your thighs, imprinting his hand.

Entering the dinner there's a little tinkle of a bell above you, then a thump and ring as you look behind you and König rubs his head. In the corner you slide into a bright red booth, across from you, you laugh as he tries to squeeze in. "Hi uuh, wait sorry," more squeaking of the leather booth.

"Take your time sweetheart, we're open for 24hrs," she says warmly," she says pulling out her writing pad. Once he settled down you state your order half drunk feeling the hangover setting in.

"Can I have a stack of waffles and Strawberries,"

"And for me chocolate and blueberry pancakes," he looks at the menu

"So for you two darlings, one waffle, and one chocolate blueberry pancake," as she goes away he corrects timidly, "no could it be two pancake stacks one chocolate the other Blueberries," she looks at him and nods.

As he looks at your face he explains "what it's very tiring trying to please you Schatz." You warm at him naming you, treasure. For the next hour you chat happily about whatever that comes up. The food comes and goes and the sun rises over the skyline. "Why do you want to forget so bad?" He looks sadly at you. "Did he hurt you?" You sit quietly contemplating opening up to this stranger. Looking out of the window you weigh the dangers. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me," he reassures sweetly. You give him a small smile, "no no it's okay I was just searching for words." A spotted cat jumps up out of nowhere to his lap and he leans back trying to distance himself, arms up as if in surrender to Meatball. "Haha Meatball likes you, she doesn't bite. Well…" you kid watching him widen his eyes sucking in his breath, "I'm joking she's sweet." He hesitantly starts to pet Meatball, getting a soft purring from her. "He didn't hurt me physically, 'never leave visible evidence he'd say. It was always more personal you know, like emotionally he'd hurt me," you blurt out. It was the first time you admitted that. "Lawyer?"

"Yeah how'd you know?"

"Wide guess," he shrugs his shoulders. Looking down admiringly at the cat massaging his chest with its claws. "You know you deserve better, no jerk should treat a lady like that," he says definitely, you loosen your grip on your legs and relax. Feeling the sleep coming to get you. "Come it's late I'll take you home."

Sometimes in the car you fall asleep and only briefly remember strong arms wrapping around you and hoisting up. "Goodnight I'll teach him about leaving evidence," he whispers before a small kiss is placed on your cheek.

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

The Last Word

Thank you to @graham-cheshire for the list of names, it made my job a lot easier 

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing.\

Naktan was carried on the back of shields, his body, anointed and prepared by temple acolytes, wore no armor, though his yellow warpaint had been freshly applied in sunlight streaks over his black chitin. His hands had been folded solemnly over the haft of his spear.

Drev didn’t hold funerals.

Not usually.

Naktan had died righteously in battle, with a spear in his heart and blood choking his lungs, but by drev standards there could have been no more worthy a death. In the way of the old traditions, his body should have been abandoned to rest where it fell, the corpse crawlers and carrion feeders welcome to pick at his bones. All across the fertile belt, the bleached white skeletons of a thousand other warriors lay still under a quiet sky, propagating moss as the years turned into centuries. 

Somewhere, the bones of Sunny’s father Lanus lay, bleached white by the sun, his armor and cape absent.

But not for Naktan.

As guardian of the sacred mountain, and the teacher of Drev saints, he was more than a simple warrior, and thought his end was an end in glory, there was still grieving to be done.

Sunny Lanusdaughter, saint of the sun, felt herself caught between two warring emotions joy, and sadness, though a third unrelated emotion, guilt, seemed to be winning out. Even standing by Naktan’s pyre she couldn’t shake the joy, turning her head downward to look at them:

Adam, tall for a human, with aged white hair he had fought to deserve, a strong jaw, and an iridescent green eye, that couldn’t quite be matched by the mechanical fabrication, wide shoulders, narrow hips, and a beautiful pattern of stripes and swirls across his skin, invisible to the human eye but a pleasure for her viewing. He was strong, despite looking both dazed and bedraggled.

And with him, their first born, Kay: a chubby child of four years old, with big green eyes, and his grandfather’s color, shining gold in the early morning dawn. He clutched at Adam’s leg holding tight to his father by both arms looking up in both concern and fascination, an expression shared by the two large dogs that sat at his side, One of them, old and graying around the muzzle, wearing a Jeffrey snake like a boa scarf, and the other, large, black and desperate to wiggle out of her skin, though she valiantly stayed in place. All four of them looking up with both wonder, concern, and curiosity taking rounds across their faces.

Waffles sniffed the air, and pancake sat back on her hind legs to get a better look.

Kay tugged on his father’s arm insistently enough that Adam finally relented, and gently lowered to one knee, tilting his arms so they could all see.

The two new additions to the family:

Astra

Nyx 

The first pearl white, and the second a deep purple, a color she had inherited from her grandmother, and a fact that Sunny and Adam hoped no one would hold against her. Sunny had been pleasantly surprised and pleased with the names Adam had selected. They were both human names, but at least she could pronounce both of them.

As of now both of them were asleep, tiny bodies tucked into either of Adam’s arms.

Krill had arrived later that night when he heard the news, miffed that Sunny had gone off and given birth on the edge of a volcano, but a stern look from her had shut up any of his protests. A thorough examination, done in the early morning, seemed to indicate that the twins had not gone without some difficulty, but they were otherwise healthy.

Nyx’s missing hand was simply absent and didn’t pain her to Sunny’s relief.

Adam was already making plans to convince his daughter that she needed an arm cannon, or a multipurpose hand like the cook/kind-of-villain from treasure planet. Or a multipurpose hook hand that could turn into a hand cannon because that was one of its purposes.

And still both the guilt and pride welled up in her as she looked at them. Sunny had never thought she’d have a brood of her own, never thought it possible, and even had herself convinced at one point that she had never wanted it in the first place, but now, looking at them, she knew this is what she had always wanted even if she never knew it.

She looked back down at Naktan, lying atop his pyre, and the warring emotions came again.

Naktan was dead, killed by Kazna, and though death had stopped meaning much to them over the past few years, she knew that the old guardian would not  be so lucky. Kazna had killed him, his Anima was forfeit, and they could only assume being used to harvest energy.

So one question remained.

Why?

Why had he sacrificed himself?

The clouds parted then, drawing back across the sky as Chal made her grand entrance. Light burned down from above, bathing this section of the fertile belt in beautiful golden hues, and as the sun burned downward, a torch flared up next to her.

She was flanked on either side by four separate pairs of Clan Sentinels and their religious Magnates.

It felt strange to be surrounded by the old traditions of her past: armored Drev warriors some wizened with age and draped in tattered robes, others young and bright, clad in shining armor.

Never had  gathering of Drev Consisted of so many leaders and not broken into violence.

It was impressive to see her own people have such restraint, a virtue for which they weren’t often known.

Sunny sighed, and looked down, one final time, at Naktan’s body.

If she had believed in prayer anymore, she might have said one on his behalf, but, somehow she felt that the Architect had better things to do. She didn’t know if she believed in the spirits of Anin anymore, and it felt hollow to ask them for safe passage on his behalf when she well knew where his Anima was going.

She reached out with a solemn hand, the sadness winning over for the moment as she took the torch.

And lowered it to the dried os beneath the pyre.

The dry kindling caught instantly, and burned with a sweet pale smoke.

A forest of spears rose slowly into the air as the pyre began to burn.

Sunny lowered her head, taking a step back as the flames kicked up through the dry kindling and caught at the coiltree wood upon which his pyre sat. Flames crackled and licked at the air, filling the silence as a thousand bodies stood in a cluster around the small hill.

This was it.

This was goodbye.

Sunny continued to watch as the flames crawled upward, encasing Naktan in a wall of licking flame.

“Be at peace.” She said softly, though she knew that was unlikely to be an option.

Flames licked up and around the edge of the pyre spilling upwards onto the flat tabletop where Naktan’s body rested.

Seering orange flame rolled in great waves over the Pyre now, and the heat was almost unbearable. The first tongues of flame began licking their way over Naktan’s body, and the moment the first flame caught, A shock wave seemed to emanate outward From Naktan’s corpse. The ground below her feet shook and she staggered backward, feeling herself falling even as her vision went black.

A field of stars.

A twisted planet with two suns.

A towering black spire reaching upwards, impossibly high into the sky, dark black ruins crawling with void creatures. Golden energy poured inward from the top of the spire, filtering downward until it was spat back out as sickly orange light. Inside her head she could feel the screams and the pain as Anima were torn apart and knit back together.

Her head swam 

The field of stars repeated again, and again, and again until a voice, soft and even appeared in her head.

“This was the only way…. To find the source.”

And then came the eruption.

Sunny felt herself being flung back, landing hard on the ground and rolling. Her tired, aching body protested, even as her sight was returned to her. When the fuzz faded from her vision, the world resolved itself at all the wrong angles, the sky was up and the ground was down, and for a moment, she didn’t know where she was.

Not until her brain finally oriented enough to realize where she was.

Lying at the blackened edge of a crater.

Naktan’s body was gone, destroyed or scattered she didn’t know.

All around her other Drev were staggering to their feet, capes tattered and billowing, eyes dazed and confused. Those who maintained their feet had drawn spears, and were now looking confusedly for the source of the attack. Sunny’s roving eyes sought something else, and she sighed deeply in relief when she saw Adam kneeling with his back to her body curled around all three of their children.

In his arms the two little ones gave off startled cries and then began to squall in confusion and fear at the sudden loud noise. Adam did his best to comfort and hus them, Kay clung to him fear apparent in his own eyes, though he did not cry.

Sunny staggered to her feet a hand to her head, but as she did, Adam gave her a grim look, and she didn’t need to ask to know what he was saying.

They had both seen something.

Something that Naktan had wanted them to know. In fact, the thing naktan had died to let them know.

The location where the void harvested Anima for their energy.

Sunny couldn’t have said how Naktan knew, how he manipulated the world around him as he did, or even how he could have left such a message, but it had taken death, specifically by the hands of kazna, forfeiting his own life and Anima to be altered, for them to find this information.

And despite her simple desire to take her family home and be happy.

She knew there would be no rest.

She would have to leave her little ones sooner than planned. 

[buckyalpine]

Sprinkle

18+ minors dni Bucky x f reader

@cadencejames87 this was adorable, I love shy Bucky, that bb deserves to be protected forever, FOREVER (pic of the whole request posted below💕)

Warnings: FLUFF, Implied smut Word count: 2.6k

You ran down the hall, your arms full of documents you had to print out with information about the team’s latest mission. You’d only been working at the compound for a few months and in all honesty, it wasn’t as stressful as one would expect. You spent most of the day quietly keeping things in order behind the scenes, rarely seeing any of the avengers. Not that it mattered. Maybe it mattered just a little. There was one that you wouldn’t mind seeing more of. Handsome. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Blue eyes. Pink lips. Brunette. Sharp nose. Metal arm. Metal arm.….Dear God, focus y/n.

You laid out the papers in the conference room, restocked the cups for the coffee machine, and set out some snacks. Today you opted for sprinkle donuts, deciding the team could use a drop of happiness in their day instead of the boring bran muffins the previous intern always left. You did a quick once over of the room, making sure everything was in place before the team walked in.

Your heart stopped working as you saw him in his all black outfit, your absolute favourite. You quietly slipped out of the room, your heart racing; the heat on your cheeks could have warmed frozen waffles. He was so fucking handsome. You went about the rest of your day, happily floating on cloud nine; it was rare you got to see him in person. Could you just go up and talk to him? Of course. Did you have the courage of a chicken nugget? Also of course. Happily admiring from afar would have to do…for now.

*****

“These are so cute!” Nat giggled, popping some of the sprinkles that fell off the donut, into her mouth. The donuts definitely made all the difference; most of the meeting went by with everyone giggling at sprinkles that clung to their lips.

“Mhm, that would be y/n’s doing” Tony chuckled, taking an extra donut for Morgan. Bucky smiled at the colourful little sugary confection; he never had a sprinkle donut before and it was delicious. And sweet. And soft. And bright. And bubbly. And adorable. And beautiful. With a cute smile. And so thoughtful. And he was no longer thinking about the donut, for fucks sakes Barnes. Bucky shook his head, trying to focus the meeting again but his mind was still distracted by…something…

Sprinkles.

*****

You shuffled through your closet, deciding to slip on your new dress (it was not a coincidence at all, that it was Bucky’s favourite color). It wasn’t something you’d usually wear to work but was a special day. His special day. You paired it off with your black boots that had tiny gold zippers, touching up your makeup before making your way to the office. With your heart heating out of your chest. Because it was his birthday today. And you had a plan in mind.

As the intern, you always made note of everyone’s birthday’s, sending out reminders for the rest of the team, arranging for catering and organizing the events for them. You never actually had to get anything for them.  But Bucky was different. You knew just about everything there was to know about the team; parties were not really Bucky’s thing. He wasn’t big on extravagant gifts. Most of the time he walked around looking like he just needed a hug. Bucky deserved more than that.  

You bought a large gift basket, hand picking items you knew he loved. You had his favourite tea and coffee, a box of candies that came from a store that packaged their sweets the same way from the 40’s, new leather gloves (with a note: if you ever need to feel safe; but you never have to hide), a few records of old music he listened to and a bunch of other little items that you hoped he’d enjoy.

You make it to the compound, waddling down the hall way carrying the gift box nearly the size of you. You went to the common room, pausing when you saw him talking to Sam and Steve. That wasn’t part of the plan but fuck it. You took a deep breath, marching right to him, wordlessly handing him the basket before turning away.

Bucky’s cheeks were dusted pink as he held the gift, his mouth opening and closing, words refusing to come out, what the fuck Barnes, say something. The three men stared at you, blinking, mouths gaping as you rounded the corner, disappearing out of their sight.You looked gorgeous. You always looked gorgeous but today was something else, Bucky’s eyes never left you, the colour of the dress complimenting you skin beautifully. Your boots made your hips sway as you walked.

“You’re blushing like a school girl” Sam snorted, looking at Bucky with a shit eating grin plastered on his face, “Just missing a little daisy crown and little pig tails-Ow!”

Bucky flicked Sam’s ear before setting down the giant box, carefully trying to inspect its contents without opening it in front of his best friend and best pain in the ass, though it was already probably too late. His not so secret crush was out in the open and he clearly didn’t hide it well.

“So this is why you keep taking so long to come back to our floor, I was wondering why you spent so much time wandering around that section of the tower” Steve wiggled his eyebrows, his smile growing wider as he remembered more. “WAIT- this is why he started getting coffee from the little French bakery y/n goes to!!”Both Sam and Steve cackled and clapped their hands madly, piecing together every single time Bucky had tried to slyly “run into you”.

Bucky’s heart raced as he contemplated the 101 ideas that were bouncing in his head. He should go after you. Or not. Yes he should. No. You were so fucking pretty. Bucky no. Wait, he didn’t even say thank you. Where were his manners, his ma would have served him on a platter.

He ignored Sam and Steve as they continued to snicker, running after you and jumping in the elevator just before it could close. You felt your heart in your mouth, the both of you standing in the elevator as the door closed. You nervously bit your lip, seeing him holding the large box in his arms, this was not part of the plan. Nope. Nope. No.

“Hi” You squeaked, eyes growing wide, you didn’t anticipate having to actually say anything to him but seriously, who the hell does that. You could have said happy birthday…happy birthday Bucky…you gorgeous, sexy, beefy, so hot you should fuck me sideways super soldier, I think you’re beautifu- nope. Never mind, this is why you didn’t speak.

“Hi” Bucky looked down at you, a shy smile playing on his face “Didn’t you want to see me open it?”

You jumped as the elevator dinged, coming to a stop on Bucky’s floor. Bucky looked to you, grinning when you nodded, his heart racing as you followed him to his room. He opened the door, setting the large box down, unable to control the smile that nearly made his cheeks hurt. It could a have been an empty box and the fact that it came from you would have still been the best gift he’d ever received.

You nervously fidgeted as he tore the paper away, lifting the lid, what if it was too much, what if he wouldn’t like it, what if-

Bucky gasped, stepping back as tons of little brightly coloured balloons flew out of the box, a little note on top of your care package that read

A Box of Sunshine to Brighten your Day

Bucky wordlessly stared at you, his expression unreadable. You bit your lip, worrying you’d over stepped; you were about to apologize when Bucky began speaking.

“Y-you did this all for me?” Bucky whispered, looking down at the little note and back to you. “This means a lot, really. It meant a lot. I- uh, you should come to Stark’s party tonight” He looked at you hopefully, his bright baby blue eyes sparkling. “It’d definitely make it worthwhile for me to go if…if you came?”

You smiled at your feet, feeling your entire body heat up; pinching your skin a little to be sure this wasn’t all a dream.

“I’d love to go but isn’t it your party? I wouldn’t want to impose-

“Every party is a Stark party” Bucky snorted, “But you’re right. And that means I can decide who I want there. I’d really like for you to come..Sprinkle”

*****

“You look fine punk” Steve cocked an eyebrow, watching Bucky nervously fidget with his shirt, a hand running over his beard, the blush of his cheeks growing stronger. “I’m sure your little sprinkle would agree”

“It’s not like that” Bucky groaned, regretting letting the name he had for you slip out in a conversation. You were a sweet heart, but that was just who you were. You were a little drop of sunshine for everyone. Just because you got him the perfect gift with every little detail perfect, right down to his favourite brand of gloves meant nothing special. You would have done that for anyone. Not that you did before but…

“Uh huh, so you changed into ten different shirts for no reason? This coming from the guy who hasn’t enjoyed parties in the past 80 years” Steve gave his friend a pointed look, chuckling when Bucky refused to make eye contact.

“Shut up” Bucky mumbled, poorly hiding his little smirk as they both made their way downstairs.

*****

You fixed your hair for the 8th time, triple checking your dress in the mirror before slipping your heels on. You were excited as hell but also nervous… Bucky had invited you to his party. The very Bucky Barnes. You’d organized hundreds of these parties but you never went to them. This would be the first one. You giggled to yourself, thinking about the puppy like wonder Bucky had on his face when the balloons flew out of the box. The way his face flushed asking you to come. The way he called you sprinkle.

Calm down y/n.

He was just being nice, he’d always been such a gentleman. You decided not to read into anything, failing to keep the little smile off your face, fuck he was adorable.

*****

Bucky sat on a lounge chair, sipping on his whiskey, his heart stopping as he saw you shyly making your way towards him. You were in another perfect dress, the material wrapping around your body perfectly, another thing he’d love to unwrap- stop. Bad Bucky.  

“Happy Birthday Soldier” You whispered your eyes unable to move from his handsome form. He was already gorgeous on a regular day but now? His eyes gazing at you, his tongue daring out to lick his bottom lip, those lips…so..soft…stop. His legs were slightly spread apart and what you would do to curl up right on his lap- fuck, stop. You took a seat beside him, keeping some distance between you both, mostly because you were sure his super senses would detect how warm your body was.

“You-you look beautiful y/n” Bucky smiled, swallowing thickly when you giggled, oh god that sound.

*****

The team carefully watched you both from a corner, making sure to keep their distance so they wouldn’t be seen.

“How long till they get together”

“I give it 1 hour tops, they’re both giving each other fuck me eyes”

“Barnes is one second away from combusting; can his old heart actually handle having a crush?”

“They’re both shy, you think they’ll at least hold hands?”

“Y’know he calls her sprinkle? Cause of the donuts?”

“AWWW I ship them”

“What the hell does that mean Parker”

*****

“Did you want to get a drink?” Bucky nervously shifted beside you, you were so precious and you were making it impossible for his nerves to calm down.  You smiled, nodding, taking his extended hand, the both of you walking towards the bar. You both took a seat at the stools that were off to a more secluded area.

“I really loved everything you got me” He whispered, not telling you that after you left, the tears fell freely, no one had ever gotten him something so thoughtful. “No one’s ever gotten me something so special”

“You deserve it Bucky” You said sincerely, sucking in a breath, placing your hand gently on top of his. You relaxed a little when he didn’t pull away, your heart racing when he held your hand instead. Don’t over think it, don’t over think it. Conversation started to easily flow between you both, and on the outside, it looked like everything was going great.

On the inside, the both of you shook, unsure of how the other felt, unsure if there were any mutual feelings, unsure if you were reading into things, maybe there was something? No, probably not…maybe?

*****

“Is it everything you ever wanted it to be” You giggled, looking at the wild party that was taking place, a Stark part indeed.

“There’s…there’s one more thing…that I’d like…” Bucky’s eyes shifted, his cheeks blushing as he played with your fingers. You cocked your head urging for him to continue. “Dance with me?”

You both swayed on the dance floor, his hands gently holding your waist, your hands resting on his chest. You were glad he was holding you because if not, you would have definitely collapsed. His cologne and distinct scent that made him Bucky evaded your senses and you nearly felt light headed, nothing would ever smell as good. The warmth of his fingers, playing on the bare skin of your back gave you goose bumps.

“Thank you for coming” Bucky whispered against your ear, his lips gently brushing against your skin. You perfume was driving him inside and it was taking all his super soldier strength not to throw you over his shoulder. The softness of your skin against his lips was something he wanted to feel every night and every morning when he woke up.

“Thank you for inviting me” You smiled up at him, your eyes darting from his lips to meet his eye sand back to his lips fuck they were so perfect. Your heart raced as he hesitantly leaned in, his hands gripping you harder when you stood on your toes to meet his lips. His soft lips moulded perfectly against yours, moving slowly, savouring every second of the kiss, the both of you forgetting you were still in the middle of the dance floor, not that anyone seemed to mind.

*****

“THEY’RE KISSING, I REPEAT THEY’RE KISSING!!”

“Oh shit, he made a move!  Get it tinman!”

“They’re so sweet!”

“100 bucks says they bang tonight, who wants in”

“Don’t be gross. I’m in”

“I’m in, but my money’s on Sprinkle”

“Y/n is too sweet for that” 

“Whatever you say” 

*****

“S-sorry” Bucky pulled away before he went any further, his hands twitching, trying so hard not to grab you. “I just- you’re so- I, I really like-” Your lips cut off his flustered rambling as he moaned into the kiss, his tongue happily exploring your mouth, his hands coming to cup your face. You need more. If he wasn’t going to throw you over his shoulder then-

Fuck it.

Bucky stared at you, wide eyed as you took his hand in yours, dragging him out of the party and to your room. You both look at each other for a moment before clothes were thrown off, his hands flying to pick you up and wrap your legs around his waist, dropping you onto your bed.

“Enjoying your party now?” you giggled breathlessly, biting your lip feeling his body weight rest on top of you, his eyes sparkling as he gazed down at you.

“Best. Birthday. Ever, Sprinkle” Bucky sweetly kissed your nose before trailing kisses down your body, he was going to savour this all night.

Back at the party

“I told you sprinkle would make a move”

Please let me know if you want to be added or removed! (also this is an 18+ blog, I can’t tag nameless/ageless blogs)  

Tags: @glxwingrxse​ @hungryyeyes​ @sebsgirl71479​ @beabutterfly987​ @teambarnes72​ @witchy-whore​ @jamesbuckybarneswify​ @slutforsexyseabass​ @chrisdrysdale​​ @littlemarvelmenfan​​ @buggy14​​ @whimsyplaty92​​ @sergntbarnes​​ @inkedaztec​​ @pono-pura-vida​​ @moonlightreader649​​ @brooklynscherry-z​​  @elle14-blog1​​ @littlelightnings​​ @psychomanniac-blog​​ @happyt0exist​​ @emmabarnes​​ @bethyruth​​   @matchat3a​​ @cjand10​​ @getwellsoontana​​ @cherryschaos​​ @lokisasgardianvampirequeen​​   @ashenc-blog​​   @buckybarnessimpp​​  @potatothots​​ @goldylions​​   @high-functioning-lokipath​​  @morganemorgane​​ @peaches1958​​ @kingfleury​ @spiderman-stilinski​ @peaceinourtime82​

[freshabogados]

Birthday Boy

Because Matt is a sweetheart and I am in love with him and he deserves the whole universe.

Tags: Matt feels loved and cared for, reader is the most thoughtful person on the planet, mentions of death and grief, pure fluff.

Pairing: Matt Murdock x gn!reader

Matt doesn't celebrate his birthday like any normal person would do. But then, anything Matt did was not normal.

Matt usually went to Clinton Church and spent some time with Father Lantom. After his demise, he sat in one of the pews towards the entrance and prayed silently. He'd then go on to visit Maggie in St.Agnes and give away a few candies to the kids there.

Foggy and Karen tried and failed throwing a party for Matt.

"Karen, I'm a little old for a birthday party don't you think?"

"No one's ever old for a birthday party Matt!" Karen couldn't understand why he was always ready to run whenever she brought up this topic. He would specifically ask Foggy and Karen to not get him any gifts but would pick something extremely sentimental for their birthdays.

All of this "no birthday celebration" rule ended when you stepped into Matt's life. You brought so much joy to him. He felt like everyday was an occasion with you. You engulfed his dark and fiery life with sweet smells and spring breeze. He would never pass up a chance to celebrate your victories, even the tiniest of them. A prolonged hug, an innocent yet passionate kiss, and words of affirmations were his way of celebrating you.

Foggy had told you about Matt's birthday rituals when he was a kid and it had left you heartbroken. But you understood the reason behind it. Matt and his dad an elaborate birthday tradition. Going to the church first thing in the morning, getting ice cream and then playing some ball in the park, and later heading back home and cooking dinner together. When Matt lost his sight they would walk around the park while Matt's dad described what everyone was doing. After Jack died, Matt didn't feel like his birthday was worth celebrating and he let it be just another day.

You wanted Matt to feel special. He made you feel like the brightest star in the galaxy, everyday, and the least you could do was to make him feel atleast a tiny bit comfortable on his birthday.

Matt's birthday was months away but you had already drafted a plan. You respected his boundaries. No crowds, no loud music, no going to the pub, and not getting blackout drunk. It was an easy list.

Matt's birthday was tomorrow and you weren't able to sleep the previous night with all the excitement bubbling in you like lava.

You decided to cook his favorite breakfast for him- waffles with white chocolate, and avocado toast. You were vigilant with your steps, making sure to not wake up the birthday boy. But you were sure he'll be up once you start mixing the waffle batter.

Damn his heightened senses.

You worked quickly and presented the food on his plate. You were proud of your work. Gordon Ramsey would approve. You were admiring your work and forgot about the Main Man.

Why hasn't he woken up yet? Did his olfactory senses go wonky?

You carried the plate in one hand and a glass of grape juice on the other and made your way to the bedroom.

Matt was comfortably sprawled on the bed with a schoolboy grin plastered on his face.

Of course he was up.

"Happy Birthday, Matty boy! You're awfully old!" you greeted him with enthusiasm. A playful laugh escaping your lips.

"Awfully old? Ouch!" Matt teased.

You put the plate and the glass down on his bedside table and sat next to him.

"Happy Birthday, my love" you said, kissing his face from forehead to chin.

Matt was blushing in all shades of red. He never dreamt of waking up happy on a day he dreaded the most in the past.

"Thank you, my sunshine. I love you." he said bumping his nose against yours. He meant every single word. He was thankful for you, he thanked God for blessing him with you in his life. You were his sunshine. You brought warmth on a cold day, hope in darkness, and life to his dead world. And he loved you. He was sure of it not the tiniest bit of hesitance when he said it.

"I made your favourite breakfast!" your voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm...I can smell that. Can I dive right into it?" Matt knew you were big on hygiene but hoped you'd let it pass by this time because he really was hungry.

"Fine! but only because it's your birthday."

"I wish it were my birthday everyday" Matt chuckled and reached for his plate before you grabbed it first.

"Nu-uh. Open your mouth. You deserve to be pampered!"

Matt opened his mouth and took a bite out the waffle. The flavors of vanilla bean, white chocolate, and coffee melting on his tongue. The tips of his ears and nose were flushed pink with happiness. He was a sight for sore eyes.

You both got ready to spend the day in the city. You didn't want to do anything Matt wasn't comfortable so you decided to run him through the plan first.

You both walked around the park for a while and decided to sit on a bench facing the pond. Matt took his glasses off and left a shaky breath, closing his eyes.

"Hey, you alright?" he never took his glasses off out in the public.

Matt turned his head towards you, a small drop of tear escaping the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm just really happy. I haven't been here in years. I didn't think I'd ever come back to this park. My dad and I used to sit on this very bench and he would illustrate everything going around. He'd try his best to give the smallest details. Thankyou so much for bringing me here, love." a grateful smile played on Matt's lips.

You held his hand in yours and gave it a gentle squeeze before kissing him on his cheek.

"You don't have to thank me, ever, Matthew. I love you, you know." and he knew.

You spent a few more hours walking around the park. Matt would occasionally ask you to look in a certain direction to point at something interesting. He showed you a squirrel's nest and described what they were doing. You stole glances of Matt as you both walked hand-in-hand. A permanent smile tattooed on his face. He was really happy and that warmed your heart. It was almost evening when you decided to head back home.

Matt wanted to make his grandma's recipe of Colcannon paired with caramelized onions and mushrooms. He told you stories about everytime his dad cooked this for him and how they'd almost always burn the onions.

"It's a very simple dish yet we messed it up all the time." Matt said laughing out.

You exchanged stories about your childhood and favourite dishes over dinner. You liked seeing Matt like this. Vulnerable, funny, skilled with his utensils, and content.

You were done putting away the washed dishes when you remembered that you had almost forgotten about his present.

"I have something for you." You said walking towards Matt, who was seated on the couch, with a small package in your hands.

Matt heard the faint crumple of wrapping paper between your fingers.

"Babe, you really shouldn't have. This day was more than enough of a gift for me."

"I know. I know. But I wanted to! I spent a lot of time designing and getting this made. I just wanted you to be more responsible."

"What did you get me?" Matt moved towards the the corner of the couch. He was intrigued.

"Why don't you open it and find out for yourself?"

Matt tore the wrapper and opened the long rectangle box gingerly. He felt the shape of your gift with his fingers. A walking cane.

A walking cane?

"You bought me a walking cane? Sweetheart, I already have enough of them." Matt couldn't contain his giggles.

"Don't get so smart, Murdock. It's not just any cane. It's a cane for Matt Murdock and for Daredevil."

Confusion took it's stance on Matt's face.

"Care to elaborate?"

You took the cane from his hands and went on to demonstrate it's purposes.

"So when you open it out, normally, it's a regular walking stick. But when you pop the top and bottom off and you get your billy club. Wanna know the best part?"

"What's the best part?"

"You click these button on the bottom of the billy club and you get this wire out and BAM! two billy clubs that can double up as a nunchaku!"

Matt was awestruck with how thoughtful you were. You had given him hell about his irresponsible "cane disposal" behavior.

"You're leaving a trail behind you Matt!" you had told.

His heart multiplied in size with the amount of love you relentlessly gave him. He was lost for words.

He reached out for you and pulled you in for a warm hug. He held on to you tightly, not wanting to ever let you go. You rested your head on his shoulder and soaked in the moment. He placed a few kisses to the side of you head and whispered I love you's.

You were grateful for Matt. He'd say you were his solace. But so was he to you. You whispered a sincere I love you and let this moment dissolve into your souls.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my Matt-thots <3

Tag List: @matt-erialgirl @shedaresthedevil @mindidjarin @e-dubbc11 @sobachka-korol @1800-fight-me @alrighty-matty @star-spangled-man

[eddiemsbitch]

Step up or step down- Eddie x Reader

Summary: your relationship with Eddie was slowly becoming old news to Hawkins high, you were a newer senior who came in at the start of the 86’ school year, and had immediately clicked with Eddie, and now you had been together for three months, and yet you were still hiding a huge part of your life from him.

Warnings: cussing, Eddie being the best motherfuckin dad in the entire world I swear.

A/n: I’m gonna use a filler name for your daughter and if it ends up being your name I can always go through and change it to an easier prompt, either way you are always welcomed to fill in your daughter’s name.

You were jolted out of your bed by a tiny human, your 3 year old, Athena Grace, she was your entire definition of beautiful, she was exact exact opposite of her father, the man who was your entire reason of moving to the middle of nowhere until Hawkins. Ever since you saw him release his anger on your daughter you had sworn to make it your life’s duty to protect her.

You trusted Eddie, but you just didn’t want Athena to get attached to somebody especially if it doesn’t last “mommy?” Her soft voice filled the room waking you up enough to actually open your eyes and take in your surroundings, why the hell did you smell food? “Yea sweetheart?…are you playing with the microwave again?” You asked getting up quickly lifting her onto your hip, Eddie’s hellfire t-shirt hanging past your hips covering your boxers, they were a lot more comfortable to sleep in than thongs or other girly underwear. “Mommy there’s a man in our house he says he knows you” she said smiling at you playing with your h/c hair, you stopped in your place face falling grabbing the small toy bat your daughter used just the other day to hit you for missing her dance recital to work. Your breath felt like it was stuck in your throat until you saw your curly haired boyfriend hovering over the table trying to perfectly place plates of food, even using one of Athena’s princess plates “he let me pick my own plate, mommy!” She cheered pointing at her plate with a stack full of waffles, Eddie jerked up screaming at the sudden sight of you and Athena standing in the kitchen making you scream aswell, Athena just giggling loudly at the both of you. “Mommy?” Eddie teased smiling knowingly at you making your face heat up “I was gonna tell you but I just..wanted-“ he cut you off with a giant smile “I understand, don’t wanna make things awkward if we ever ya know…but! You’re a keeper and you’re daughter here is an absolute joy to be around” he smiled kissing your forehead “h-how…how did you get in my house?” You asked sitting down on one of your dining room chairs “well…I think little thing there has learned how to unlock your door, I thought it was you and then I saw her and thought something happened to you a-and I came in to check everything was okay, saw you were still sleeping and thought you deserved to sleep In and wake up to a nice breakfast” he explained nervously scratching the back of his neck “I-I can go if you want” he added quickly to which you quickly shook your head, Athena shouting no in protest already attached to Eddie at the hip. “No no no, it…it feels nice..finally being completely open with you, Ed, and it’s obvious Athena adores you” you smiled watching the taller man blush “y-you think?..she’s a great help in the kitchen b-but you probably know that” he mumbled looking at you in awe “you are..doing an awesome job with her, she told me a lot about your guys’s playtime because she wanted to know how we met, and I may have brought up dnd….but I didn’t say anything scary about it I don’t want her to have nightmares” he said looking at you smiling.

You felt like your heart was going to explode, here you were, constantly panicking thinking Eddie would despise you for having a child at 16 and yet here he was, helping your daughter eat pancakes while talking about a trip to the park so they could play Princess and Zombies. “Y/n?” Eddie asked smiling at you snapping his fingers a bit “huh?..sorry..” you smiled looking at them noticing Athena giving you the face she did whenever she really wanted something “is it okay?..if we go to the park?..” he asked almost like a kid himself “of course Eddie, it’s Saturday and Her and I don’t have anything else planned” you said laughing a bit whenever Athena squealed and kicked her feet happily “did you hear that Ebbie! Did you?! Did you!?” She squealed shaking your boyfriends arm, Eddie laughed loudly nodding his head “I’m so excited! We can play any game we want or go on the swings, or chase mommy with bugs” he whispered to your daughter making her giggle loudly. “Alright..Athena Eddie and mommy are gonna talk really quick while mommy gets dressed, yell for mommy if you need anything and..don’t unlock the door again..please?” You asked watching her nod eating another bite of her breakfast, you pulled Eddie towards your room leaving the door cracked incase Athena needed anything “y-y/n As much as I love your body and trust me, I do, I don’t think nows the time with her right outside” Eddie whimpered nervously looking at you watching you slip on jeans and some socks “Eddie baby…I wanted to tell you…don’t feel pressured to feel like you need to step up in her dad’s place or anything…it’s only been three months and I just…don’t want you to feel like you..I dunno…I don’t want you to have to feel like you have to stay with me now just because my daughter doesn’t have a dad” you whispered knowing it wasn’t really ever a subject you brought up with Athena, you didn’t want her to know about the bad in the world or the bad people in the world, not yet. Eddie just smiled at you and shook his head kneeling in front of you grabbing your hands “Y/n, these three months, I haven’t been the least bit miserable anywhere, you are the first girl I’ve ever had interest in that treats me like a person with feelings and not a freak who’s still in high school and plays a fantasy game with kids like four years younger than me” he explained looking at you “I didn’t think I could possibly love you anymore than I did, and to find out, my girlfriend, was fucking badass enough to bring a kid into this world and raise her into an amazing caring person and you still have time to balance between being the best mom and the best girlfriend and friend, baby I feel like I’m gonna die from loving you too much” he explained looking at you “I /want/ to be here for my girls” he whispered hugging you tightly kissing your head gently “and Athena promised to be a fill in for Sinclair tonight” he whispered smiling at you, you knew he wouldn’t actually let her play, but let her be involved in the story telling, most likely. Hearing Eddie call you and Athena ‘his girls’ almost made you wanna squeal and kick your feet like a little girl again “I love you..oh my god Munson I fucking love you” you mumbled standing up hugging him back letting out a breath you had no idea you were holding.

“Ebbie! I’m all done!” Athena yelled from your dining room, making the both of you laugh a bit, this felt like a dream, like at any moment you were going to wake up and this all never happened, but you and Eddie still walked back towards your daughter with smiles on your face. The three year old stood in her chair smiling at you both, her face grimaced though seeing Eddie peck your lips before going to find Athena’s room with her clothes, figuring he could help you out while you cleaned her up. “Mommy?” She asked once Eddie had disappeared down the hall “yes baby? What’s up? Do you need a drink?” You asked wiping some of the syrup off her hands and face “why did Ebbie kiss you? He’s not your baby?” She asked pouting at you, your lips just curled into a soft smile glancing down the hall towards Athena’s room “cause..Mommy and Eddie are dating…and that means we love each other very very much and take care of each other” you explained throwing away the baby wipe picking her up “he’s mommy’s boyfriend” you added on carrying her towards her bedroom “Mommy?..is he be my daddy?” She asked, again you stopped in your tracks looking at her, this was awkward, especially with the curly haired Eddie looking at you from his spot in front of Athena’s dresser holding her outfit for the day “Um…well…” you sighed sitting her on her bed grabbing the clothes from Eddie starting to dress Athena, smiling at Eddie and giggling as he turned around respectfully while covering his eyes as his back faced the both of you, now was better than ever, you could explain lightly to Athena while giving hints to Eddie on a slight idea of where her biological dad was. “Sweetie…when we moved to this house..Daddy didn’t wanna come with us..because he wanted to stay with his mommy…and mommy knew I needed you more and loved you more than anybody in the world, so you came with me to Hawkins…and I suppose…one day..if you want Eddie to be your dad, and he wants to be..he could…just cause somebody helped make you doesn’t mean their your mommy or daddy…mommy and daddies are people who love you more than anything else ever thought of, and who take care of you and make you happy..” you explained being careful on what words to choose “did you understand that?..or do you need mommy to explain it different?” You asked softly watching Athena stare intently at her pants “can we go to the park?“ she asked again making you sigh, at least she didn’t start asking Why repeatedly like whenever you told her she couldn’t play outside in her night pull-up.

Eddie turned around slowly uncovering his eyes whenever Athena ran over to him pulling on his denim jacket “ready Ebbie!? Ready?” She asked jumping up and down in her spot, you just looked at him smiling “I have to get her car seat..” you explained going to a hallway in the closet, you didn’t have a car due to the son of a bitch breaking down halfway to Hawkins, thank god for the movers you hired being right behind you on the interstate or you would’ve never made it to your new home, and never met Eddie. It only took about ten minutes to get her car seat buckled into Eddie’s van and her in the car seat, it was the fastest you had ever gotten your child in a car.

You sat in the back, Eddie driving towards the park close by his house, it was small but nice and it wasn’t crowded with other kids who were probably covered in germs and snot. Eddie found himself deep in thought, he hated younger kids, they were covered in snot and germs and were always annoying, yet he found himself already willing to murder somebody for the small toddler in his passenger seat. He didn’t realize you were actually at the park until said toddler started squirming in her seat trying to get out ready to run to the playground.

You stayed at the park until the sun went down, watching Eddie and Athena play for hours, sometimes you joined to play and other times you sat making lunch or other snacks you had packed in the diaper bag for the two of them. Around 6:30 Athena stubbled over to you whining loudly on the verge of tears “mommyyy” she whined as you lifted her up assuming she’d be tired by now “athena!? Where’d you go!?” You heard Eddie’s panicked screams closer to the small pond down the hill from the playground where they were skipping rocks. You walked down the hill watching him pace screaming loudly before letting out a cry of relief seeing Athena safely with her mother, her head resting on her shoulder after half asleep from the walk “she went to find me, honey, no need to freak out” you said calmly pecking his lips as an attempt to calm his panicked state. “I-I thought she had fallen in or something I-I turned around for just a second” he rambled his voice cracking and shaky “Eddie. Eddie. It’s okay, she’s okay you didn’t lose her or anything, come on…she needs some dinner and some sleep” you whispered grabbing his hand with your free hand, using your other arm to hold Athena up on your hip. Eddie followed quietly beside you holding your hand closely to his body as he walked with you to his van.

By the time you were back at your place Athena was fast asleep, a half eaten takeout fries sitting on her lap as she slept quietly in her car seat. You and Eddie slowly got out meeting by the passenger door, he offered you a small smile as he held your hips “I had a lot of fun with you guys today..just..promise me no more hiding secret children from me?” Eddie said softly kissing your forehead “I promise…but do you really have to leave?..” you whispered holding his hands “well..if you don’t mind..hosting hellfire..at your place..I could staaaay, just gotta go pick up the guys” he explained looking at you “As long as you boys can be quiet” You said before kissing him softly “wanna feel the best feeling in the world?” You whispered to him motioning to Athena “carry her inside” you added on watching as he nodded nervously opening the door and very slowly unbuckling her. “What if I wake her up?..” he asked quickly holding his hands away quickly watching her shift “if she does she’ll just hold you and go back to sleep” you assured him rubbing his back as he slowly picked Athena up carrying her towards the front door of your house, you watched Athena slowly lift her head up to glance at who was holding her before sticking her hand in Eddie’s tangles of hair falling right back asleep.

Whenever you got inside and into Athena’s room Eddie was kneeled by her bed kissing her forehead gently, you leaned against the doorway watching him quietly “night night daddy” you heard a faint whisper then Eddie squeal, only for Athena to smack his arm telling him to ‘Shh’. You shook your head giggling as he walked out smiling “she called me daddy! Is that okay?” He asked you quickly stopping his excited jumps up and down “of course baby, if that’s what you two decide then who am I to stop you” you explained hugging him tightly “okay, I’m gonna go grab the boys and I’ll be back!” He smiled rushing outside to his van after seeing the time.

You just sighed leaning against the wall, feeling a lot more at ease with your relationship with Eddie especially now that you were secret free, and happy now that your daughter actually gets to experience a male role model other than your dumbass friend Steve.

Should I make more stories about Eddie being a dad or is one tooth rotting enough?

[shouldershimmycity]

It's Not Easy Pt. 4.5 (Rooster x Reader) Family Blurbs

Suggested by @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel : "please tell me we can get a few blurbs on their kids because I'm a sap for family".

Ask and you shall receive. I hope you like it :) Could also be read as a stand alone.

*****

You and Bradley waited to have kids. You didn’t want to leave the skies quite yet, but eventually you had decided it was time and you and your husband began trying. Three kids later, you and him were both beyond overjoyed with your little hellions, Carole, Nick, and Pete. Pete was a surprise, and a good few years apart from his older brother. Obviously Mav had been back in your life for a while now, but when he came back into Bradley’s you couldn’t have been happier. 

Carole was the oldest. She was the spitting image of her father and you would kill anyone who gave her shit, without question. Bradley was the same way, and he absolutely adored his daughter. He would bring her some flowers from the grocery store every now and then. You never doubted that she would know how she deserved to be treated, and her father wanted to set a good example for her. When you had Carole, Mav had cried when he held her for the first time, having flown in for a quick visit while Bradley was away. The only time you were thankful Mav wasn’t around as much was when Carole started to get mischievous. You remembered all the shit you and Bradley used to get up to, and you didn’t need Pete encouraging that for your own children when they were too young; but Carole loved her GrandMav, and you knew it was bound to happen anyway. You had snorted and almost peed your pants when Carole had popped that name out of her tiny mouth. Mav, surprisingly, loved it. She was thrilled to get to spend time with her GrandMav more when he was back around. 

Nick was Bradley’s little shadow. He usually went along with whatever Carole was up to when his father was gone, but when he was around he was glued to him. He loved to put Nick in his lap and play the piano with him. He was the funniest little boy, and would say things that made you and Bradley (and eventually Mav) crack up. The three of you joked that he was Goose reincarnated. You wouldn’t be surprised, he loved seeing pictures of his Grandpa Goose. Nick would frequently walk around the house shouting, “Great Balls of Fire!” whenever he was inconvenienced, and needless to say it was hysterical to hear his tiny voice sound so grown up. Not being able to suggest Pete for a middle name for Nick had you crushed, but you didn’t want to make it a point of tension with Bradley at the time; having just welcomed your son and opted for your own father’s name instead. 

Little Pete made his appearance a year post uranium plant mission, and you had slapped the option into the name pool faster than Bradley could even blink. Of course he agreed. Pete Thomas Bradshaw was your little angel. He was six years apart from Nick, but you and Bradley were happy he joined your family all the same. He smiled so much at everyone and everything, but he had a soft spot for his mommy. Waffles was his best friend, and if he was napping on his play mat on the floor, you’d soon find the dog next to him.

Currently, Pete was on your hip as you held your camera in one hand. Both Bradley and Mav stood with their backs to you in the living room. Outside, the sound of children trick or treating was filling your street. Pete was dressed in a little green t-shirt and matching cargo pants, and Bradley had half stuck his helmet on the almost one and a half year old for a picture earlier, which you had told him not to put the full weight on him and he made sure not to. He was little Rooster for Halloween. Carole and Nick had insisted on keeping their costumes a secret from Daddy and Mav, who didn’t put two and two together with Pete’s costume, and you had helped them with their outfits. The sound of them clamoring down the stairs had you stepping to the side to let them through and into the living room.

“Okay,” you sang, bouncing Pete on your hip making him giggle, “are we ready?”

The children in front of you whooped and gave you a thumbs up, ready for countdown.

“Three, two, oneeeee,” you dragged the last word, which was the signal for Bradley and his uncle to turn around. 

“Oh my God! HAHAHA!” Mav and Bradley had the exact same reaction to their costumes, and the little kids giggled proudly. 

They were wearing little flight suits that you had gotten from the halloween store, but you had stolen some pairs of old velcro patches from one of Mav’s old suits and stuck them on both the little costumes. (Of course you would return them, you made a point to promise Mav). You had to make a custom one for Nick, which said Goose instead of Maverick. The helmets were not your best work, as you couldn’t really get their real helmets without ruining the surprise; so you had used skateboard ones and painted them with the matching red and black designs that Goose and Maverick had on theirs. Nick had a little fake mustache, and of course they were both sporting aviators. Needless to say, the costumes were a hit with everyone that year.

Throughout the night, the two kids could be heard shouting to each other as you walked up and down the long street. 

“Talk to me, Goose!” Carole shouted.

“We’re running low on fuel! We better get more candy!” Nick shouted back, “Great Balls of Fire!” God, they were too damn cute.

“Knucks, you did real good,” Mav laughed, patting you on the back, and making a silly face at his namesake. Handing him off to his grandfather, you turned to see Bradley watching your kids go up to a house. 

“It was their idea,” you explained, proud of their creativity.

The rest of the night went smoothly, eventually they tuckered themselves out and Bradley took his mini me into his arms to put him to sleep. Later that night, you and Bradley sat on the couch munching on leftover candy. 

“Those were amazing costumes, honestly,” Bradley was going on about how creative you were, and you kissed him for every compliment he gave you, “I loved seeing them all dressed up like that.” The two of you sat quietly for a while, the Nightmare Before Christmas playing on the screen quietly. 

“I love our kids so much,” you said, smiling at Bradley, who grinned in return.

“I do too… I also love that they’re in bed fast asleep right now, Bradshaw,” he said, leaning in to kiss you on the couch, the movie soon forgotten.

*****

Dropping your bags next to the floor, you closed the front door and leaned against it, sliding to the ground in relief as you did. Your first day back at work since having your kids was exhausting. It wasn’t the navy, but teaching people how to fly a little Cessna was draining. Often you found that they didn’t listen nearly as well as those you used to work with, which resulted in you trying to desperately keep calm while fixing boo boos that the students didn’t even know they made. 

That’s when you heard the singing in the backyard, lifting your head off the back of the door and trying to place what it was. Standing, you shuffled your way into the kitchen and to the back door. Opening the sliding glass, you saw your older kids skipping around, and Pete trying to follow them as best as he could on his chubby little legs. Rooster was chasing after him, singing along to the cadence with Maverick, to which your kids responded every other line.

“I wanna be a pilot!” the men shouted rhythmically.

“I wanna be a pilot!” the kids responded enthusiastically.

“Gonna be a pilot!” Mav and Rooster shouted.

“Gonna be a pilot!” the kids shrieked, and little Pete screamed in joy.

“Flyin’ for the Navy!” the last word was bellowed with pride.

“Flyin’ for the Navy!” the kids mimicked.

“That’s what I’m gonna be!” the Mav theatrically pointed to Rooster who pointed to himself, leaning in to scoop up his youngest son.

“That’s what I’m gonna be!” the kids finished the cadence cheering. Bradley held little Pete out and flew him around the yard like an airplane, making all the sounds while the other two chased after him. Mav spotted you and waved as you stepped fully out onto the deck. Waffles, your golden retriever who was a little older now was chilling on the wood, and you leaned down to give him ear scratches.

“I love the cadence guys!” you shouted to your kids who were now pestering their GrandMav, while Bradley jogged over to you to kiss you in welcome and ask about your day. You gave him a quick rundown, saving the more negative talk for later, when Pete bobbled over to you two, happy to see his Momma. Climbing off the steps, you knelt down to scoop up your little man. 

“Hi sweetie!” you sang, and he hugged you happily. The other two came flying over, grabbing you by the legs and Bradley quickly braced you so that you didn’t topple with the baby. Maverick laughed when he watched the kids launch themselves onto your legs.

You could definitely get used to coming home to this.

*****

You glared at Bradley next to you, who gave you the exact same look back. The two of you were breathing heavily.

“Not. Happening,” you growled.

“I beg to differ,” he spat back.

“You’ve done this to me TWICE! TWICE ROOSTER!” you all but shouted.

“Uh, guys. I don’t really think it’s that big of a deal,” Mav was leaning against the kitchen counter, fighting off laughter and watching the both of you in front of your son, Pete, who was watching you both back with curious eyes.

You had walked in on Rooster talking to your son, who had begun babbling things that sounded like but not quite words shortly after his 11 month mark, trying to get him to say ‘dada.’ Not one of your children has said mama once, and you were determined for Pete to be the exception and not the rule. Bradley knew what he was doing, and it pissed you off.

“Mav! I have not had one of my children say mama! Because he,” you pointed a finger accusingly at your best friend and husband, “always coaxes the little traitors into saying dada first!”

“It’s not my fault I’m cooler,” Bradley mumbles, and you whip around to look at him.

“Excuse me? I am way cooler than you are!” you fought back.

“I fly planes! Our kids just think that’s cooler!” he said, and Mav purposely stepped forward to hold you back if necessary. Your eye twitched and Bradley realized he screwed up. 

“IFLEWPLANESTOOYOUASSHOLE!ISTOPPEDTOBIRTHYOURFREAKINGCHILDREN!DOYOUTHINKTHATWASFUNFORME?PUSHINGTHEMOUTOFMYVAGINA???” breathing heavily, nostrils flaring, you pointed at your son.

“I hope he says mama before he says dada! I hope he says Mav before he says dada! I hope he says every name! I hope he even says GOOSE!” you shouted, while Bradley shrunk back trying not to crack up.

“Goo!” Pete clapped in his seat, and every adult in the room looked at the small baby. 

“What?” you whispered, and the three of you converged on your son, surrounding him intently.

“Goos!” he squeaked happily, finding the name funny. The word wasn’t fully formed but it was clear what he said. 

“His first word was Goose!” Mav melted, and Bradley was going to start crying. Pulling your husband into a hug, the two of you cried while Pete repeated himself over and over, delighted at the reaction he got. 

“He said Goose!” Bradley said happily, and never one to stop teasing, “he still didn’t say mama!-- Ow… Knuckles you’re kin– you’re squ e e z i n g me a l i t t–le tight.”

"I know, Bradley. I know."

[sokovianheadtilt]

Father's Day

Bucky Barnes x black!reader

Summary: Bucky’s first fathers day 

Warnings: None

A/N: Bucky deserves everything <3 ENJOY!!

Word Count: 1.1k

SERIES MASTERLIST

It was Bucky’s first ever Father’s Day and you wanted it to special. You had gotten him gifts you’d hoped he’d like, was gonna make him breakfast in bed, then you were going to take the whole family out to dinner where you have another surprise in store. 

Slipping out of bed was easy since Bucky slept like the dead. You went to check on Logan  who was still sleeping yet you knew he wouldn’t be for long. You left him alone before going downstairs and grabbed the ingredients you needed to make breakfast. You had decided on blueberry waffles, sausage and eggs, Bucky’s favorite. You started mixing the pancake batter when you heard tiny footsteps coming towards you, then seeing Logan come into the kitchen. 

“Hi mommy, what you doing?” He said as he rubbed his eyes 

“Well you remember what today is?” You looked down at him and watched as he grinned “Daddy day!” 

You giggled and nodded “Yeah! So I’m making him breakfast so we can eat it in bed together, how does that sound?”

Logan smiled and nodded “Okay, I wanna help” You nodded and grabbed his little stool so he could reach the counter “Wanna stir that for me?” He took the spoon and starting stirring the batter before grabbing the sausages and starting to cook those. 

Once breakfast was done, you set all the plates on a tray and brought it up to Bucky with Logan following you. He was still sleeping and you watched as Logan ran over to him, shaking him and poking his cheek “Daddy, wake up!” Bucky stirred and opened his eyes, moving his shoulder length hair from his eyes as he smiled at Logan “Hey little man” Logan grinned “Happy Daddy Day!” Bucky kissed his forehead “Thank you” he looked over at you and smiled “Hi gorgeous” You smiled softly and went over to set the tray in his lap once Logan move to lay next to Bucky “Happy Father’s Day, I made your favorite” you kissed his cheek and went to sit on the other side of Logan. You gave him his little plate before grabbing your own as you all started to eat breakfast, watching a morning cartoon, feeling absolute peace. 

Once breakfast was done, you grabbed all the dishes and went to clean them at Bucky’s annoyance as he wanted to help but you just stated, ‘It’s fathers day you’re not lifting a finger’. While washing the dishes, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. Brock was never indulge in father’s day so you’ve never properly celebrated, opting to just spend the day with Logan doing whatever he wanted, but now he has the chance to do that. 

You had went and grabbed the gifts you’d hidden around the house and went back to the room where Bucky and Logan were laying on the bed cuddling. “I have some stuff for you hun” you sat by his legs, setting the gifts down before handing him “Open it”

Bucky grinned and sat up, opening the gift, revealing a new leather jacket. “Aww honey I love it” he took it out the box and held it up to look at it “Thank you” you smiled softly “You’re welcome” you grabbed the next gift and handed it to him, it was smaller than the last as he opened it, showing a scrapbook. “What’s this?” He looked at you “Open it” you said as he did as told, seeing a few photos of you, him and Logan   throughout some of the pages, the rest of them being blank “I think we can just fill them up until its full then if you want we can get another” Bucky looked through the pictures and teared up before looking back at you “I love it” he leaned over and pecked your lips “Thank you sweetheart” you smiled softly “You’re welcome darling” Logan gasped before scrambling off the bed “Wait! Got somethin’ too” he ran out the room. You looked at Bucky and shrugged before Logan came back holding a piece of paper “Here” he gave it to Bucky. It was a project his class did of their family trees. “That’s you, mommy, and me! Supposed to be our family”

Bucky looked at the picture absolutely speechless. He wiped his eyes before pulling Logan into a hug “I love it so much, thank you” he kissed his cheek as you watched them fondly, your two favorite boys. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You had made reservations at a nice restaurant downtown which were extremely difficult to secure but you were determined, everything had to be perfect. You, Bucky and Logan were seated at a booth, looking through the menu’s and picking out what you wanted. You ordered your drinks, two waters and a margarita for Bucky. 

“How was your first fathers day?” You asked Bucky “It was perfect doll I loved every minute” he grinned as you smiled as well “Good, because I had one more gift for you” you reached into your bag and pulled out a small box, handing it to him. “Another one?” He took it from you “Yes, now open it” you bit your bottom lip anxiously. He opened the box, inside was a picture of an ultrasound. Bucky’s jaw dropped a bit as he picked it up, staring down at it before looking at it. “Are you-“ you nodded “Surprise?” you giggled “Are you- do you want this?”

Bucky got up and went over to hug you tightly as he teared up again “How far are you?” You pulled back to look at him “13 weeks, I found out two weeks ago, today seemed like the best day to tell you” he smiled softly “It was” you giggled and kissed him before turning to Logan “Guess what? You’re gonna be a big brother” you told him “Really?” He said excitedly “Brother or sister?” “We don’t know yet, it’s too small right now to tell but once it grows some more we’ll know” Logan nodded “Where is it?” “It’s in mommy’s tummy” Logan’s nose scrunched “Did you eat it?” You let out a laugh “No no sweetie that’s just where babies grow” “Oh! Okay” 

You looked back at Bucky and rested your forehead against his “I love you so much” you whispered to him “I love you more doll”

[rev-pirate]

the house symbolism?

I talk about the house in the affectionately dubbed peer pressure manifesto but i do feel like it deserves a post of its own.

When Ranboo came to the commune he built a shack tucked away in a mountain and said it would “probably remain a shack, honestly.” Because it was about being as small and unobtrusive as possible, taking up little space, taking up little attention. Ranboo walked on eggshells every day, scared out of his wits. He didnt want to be evicted, he didnt want to give techno reason to evict him because yeah Phil invited him to live there but was Techno okay with that??? (What Ranboo will never know is that Techno was the one who told Phil to invite him). So he panicked about taking a stack of dirt from techno’s chests to fill in the creeper holes he was also scared would upset Techno. He traded with the villagers then panicked about doing so without explicit permission, leaving behind all the emeralds from the trades in a chest in the basement. He lived out of this tiny shack that was more like an awning with a fence around it that one day had a basement installed in a panic attack. He did not call this shack a home. Just a temporary place to live. He was Sure that it would be temporary, that at any moment the shoe would drop and Techno would kick him out. Why build a house if you’d one day be forced to leave? When questioned about this or just thinking aloud to himself he’d say that “walls feel like a commitment, like permanence.” Why add walls when your stay is sure to be temporary?

But that changed one morning. When Techno spotted the ender eyes in his chest and felt the guilt of having them after the Calerencio incident weighing on him. He glanced out his window at his neighbor and knew he Had to give them back. So he picked up the eyes and trotted across the lawn. Ranboo was confused about why Techno had them to begin with and found it strange but took it for what it was: an olive branch. An apology. An acknowledgment that things had begun to change between them as their friendship grew and that things would continue to be different from the way they were when the clarencio incident took place. As Ranboo offered Techno some cookies, Techno took in the sight of the shack and told him to add walls. Ranboo waffled through saying the same thing he had before: “walls feel like a commitment, like permanence.” Techno asked him if he was sure.

Ranboo added walls two days later.

And this is HUGE. Imagine how hearing that from Techno must have felt for Ranboo! What a relief. What an assurance. Even if Techno had No Idea. To hear from him that he Should Add Walls when for Ranboo Those Walls Meant So Much. Those walls were always about Techno, so of course Techno was the only one who could convince him to build them. It was a symbol of this understanding that Techno was never going to hurt him, that Techno was never going to be the one to make him leave, that Techno Wanted Him To Stay. Techno wanted him to add walls, to make his stay permanent. And that was all it took to get Ranboo to start to unwind. To relax a little bit. To stop treading on as many eggshells. He adds walls to his shack and calls it a home.

And from there the development continued! Because while the shack now had walls it was still small and tucked away. Ranboo gains another woodland mansion map and acknowledges that he does not think Techno trusts him yet so he wants to invite him to come again like last time because he Wants To Make An Effort To Change That. He wants Techno to trust him. And the next time he sees Techno he excitedly shows him his upgraded shack and newly installed walls and Techno gives his approval. They then go on their Excellent Adventure and things change between them forever

It’s after this that Ranboo builds his house as we know it today. That three story stone brick home, loud and proud. No longer afraid of being intrusive. No longer afraid of being unwanted. No longer afraid of being kicked out. This House is here to Stay, and so is he. This house means Permanence.

[hamliet]

Hi! What are your top 5 qaf characters and why?

Ahhhh so hard to narrow it down!!

Um. Well. I'm going to cheat a tiny bit because there are some ties. :P

5) Ben Bruckner

Is he the deepest character on the show? Not exactly. But I loved his character--how he deals with having HIV, how he's such an idealist who stumbles in practicality. That latter part is fairly relatable to me lol. He seems highly confident, but he's insecure about his health, his writing, and more. Yet he also knows that he deserves to be loved and appreciated as he is, flaws and all, and never wavers from this. This belief in turn makes him the perfect match for Michael, a character who waffles between fantasy and reality.

Ben loves Michael for who he is and understands Brian and Michael's sometimes unhealthy bond precisely because of his ideals: everyone should be loved as they are (a major theme of QaF as a whole). He just doesn't really apply that to himself, which is very, well, human. This results in him messing around with steroids, pushing people away at times, clinging at others, and in the end accepting vulnerability and failure as part of being human.

5) Debbie Novotny

I love Debbie. She's kind of the group's wise and loving mom, the voice of conscience and reason and kindness. She's a good person, and the show really dug into that and explored this aspect of her character to a rewarding degree. See, Debbie being so convinced she needs to be a good person is precisely where she's most flawed and thereby what makes her so interesting. Is she a good sister to Vic and mom to not just Michael, but Brian, Emmett, Justin, Ted, etc.? Yes. But she's also super flawed and unable to see past herself sometimes, and that's why she's great.

Debbie defines herself by her relationships with others and is determined to stick up for her loved ones. Unfortunately, that means she sometimes doesn't realize that--while she often does know best, often isn't always, and she has to let go and allow characters like Michael and Vic to live their own lives. It's easier for her to let go with the other boys, but not so much with Michael or Vic, because they're clearly the closest to her.

Debbie concocts this elaborate fantasy father for Michael because she needs to be a good person who married a hero rather than a scared teen who fooled around with a drag queen who wasn't sure of his own identity . But the thing is, she's a good person as she is, despite growing she still has to do. Her choosing to raise Michael with love and acceptance, to stand by Vic and nurse him through the worst of his illness--she's heroic for those things.

I love that the narrative calls Debbie on her "good person" complex. Firstly, she almost lets it interfere with her finding love with Horvath, when the point is that she has to help Horvath grow--and thereby accept that she herself needs to grow. Secondly, of course, when Vic moves out and she has a terrible fight with him, and he dies before they can reconcile.

4) Hunter Novotny-Bruckner

Hunter's iconic, from the classic "YOU F*CKED A MURDERER?" “What’s the big deal, I used a condom” scene to his comments about ending up in jail for opening Ben's letter. He's also a terrified teenager who's been through far more than he should have had to. His journey--how he pushes buttons with Michael and Ben precisely because he fully expects them to give up on him and wants to see how far he can push them and still be welcome--is so very true to trauma, especially in young kids.

Hunter's also very self-aware in ways Michael and Ben really aren't, which makes him a good fit into the family dynamic.

2-3) Michael Novotny

I wrote a whole meta on Michael so there's not a lot to say that I haven't said there, but I will reiterate that Michael gets an unfairly bad rap from the fandom. Like I've barely been in it and seen a lot of negative takes on him that I think do a real disservice to the story as a whole. Michael is a jerk sometimes, sure, and whiny, but he's an integral part of the story and part of the reason Justin and Brian work so well together (as opposed to the hindrance I've seen a lot of takes posit him to be).

2-3) Justin Taylor

Yeah, he and Michael tie and it varies by day, but for today, Justin's got the edge. I love his arc and his flaws. I do wish more had been done with certain plot lines (like the Pink Posse one, which falls into a category of 'makes sense and could work but doesn't develop organically and isn't fully explored').

Justin's a great character because he's not just a representation of sunshine or innocence like he could have been--what honestly most writers would have written the new young initiate to be. He's young, but he also has all the flaws of youth too. He's thereby a great foil for Brian and Michael in that he doesn't actually treat people much better than either of them do.

The show never glorifies Justin's immaturity, but neither does it patronize him. His wants and goals are taken just as seriously as the older characters, and his choice to love Brian forms the crux of what the show says love is. He's treated like a human being first before being a teenager/inner child, all while his teenager-ness is never denied (99.99% of teenage characters do NOT act like any teenagers I know; Justin absolutely does).

1) Brian Kinney

Is it really surprising to anyone? He's the show's central character and one of my favorite archetypes: the Byronic hero. Mad, bad, dangerous to know, but with the additional element of a heart of gold under all those layers.

What I love about him as a character is how contradictory and human he is. He's really a wounded child who is a hedonist to avoid going after what he wants (love, justification to be alive). The crux of his issues come down to how his father told him that he wished Brian was never born and tried to coerce his mother into having an abortion. Imo, there's a part of Brian that genuinely fears/even at times believes that he should never have existed (hence his constant wrestling with the idea of growing old/dying and yet weird attraction to dying young/quasi ideation like jumping on the edge of a roof in episode 1). Brian's determined to make his existence known as part of an attempt to prove he does deserve to live because he desperately wants to.

Seeing him come to accept love--not just accept being loved and admitting he loved, but knowing that time (always his biggest fear) wouldn't change it--that was a beautiful arc. He's really well written.

Also, shout outs to: Ted, Blake, Emmett, Melanie, and Lindsay. Ted I think is in the top group for well-written characters especially, and Melanie just won a special place in my heart after she screamed “I don’t CARE what men think about their dicks!” In episode 3. Mood Mel mood.

[chitsangenthusiast]

accidental baby acquisition au where druk comes home from one of his worldly flying trips with a baby and now zuko has to debate the ethics of renaming her as they try to frantically search for her family

(he immediately gets yelled at by sokka for waffling so hard on this issue)

"you can't just keep calling her 'the baby' zuko! how would you feel if i just called you 'some dude' every time you walked in the room?"

"i don't call her the baby, sokka," zuko snaps, slightly distracted, as he's currently also trying to figure out how to digest the information that what he thought was a three-month-old is actually six months old. "i call her baby. it's a nickname!"

"terrible nickname," sokka declares. "terrible idea. you're going to confuse her if you keep it up."

"she's six months—" and so tiny for her age, zuko blearily thinks— "she doesn't even know what words are, probably."

sokka dramatically rolls his eyes. "bumi and kya were also like six months old when they started responding to their names. she may not know, but she also knows, zuko. you've gotta give her something."

"then that makes it even worse since we don't know her real name!"

"no," sokka says after a moment of quiet consideration. "we don't. but she does deserve to have a name for herself, for as long as she's here with us."

the mention that they don't know how long this is going to go on for makes zuko a little woozy. but sokka is right (unfortunately), and with a heavy sigh he looks down to the bundle in his arms and scrunches his nose in thought. there are so many options, too many, he doesn't know how parents can do this—

he stares into her pale gold eyes, at the navy hand-me-down blanket that katara had gifted. at the little curls already springing up, at her little mouth, her little eyelashes, her little hand that he had been holding inside his own the whole time sokka was yelling at him.

and then he knows.

"okay," he finally says, then looks up to meet sokka's curious gaze. tilting his arms slightly, he presents her to him. "then this is izumi."

(cut to 30yrs later, where the newly-crowned fire lord izumi can't escape her dads' proud, emotional, and excessive hugs, no matter how hard she tries lol)

[finelinevogue]

could you write something about the readers parents not liking her and harry comforts her please

ok this is going to be quite sad and angsty so hold on tight!

Y/N was crying in her room. Again.

This was turning out to be a daily occurrence now. Wake up. Get shouted at. Go to school. Learn how to dissect a frog and master how to write the perfect essay. Come home. Get shouted at. Sleep. The weekends, she didn’t get all the good in-between stuff, it was just waking up to be shouted at.

For what? Well not even Y/N could answer that.

Her parents had despised her since the day she was born, or at least Y/N presumed. She was never allowed to go out without permission from her parents. She was not allowed to eat certain foods, because “she didn’t need to be any fatter”. She wasn’t supposed to wear anything inappropriate. She wasn’t allowed relationships. Although that last one, she cheated on.

Harry had been Y/Ns best friend all through high-school, until they reached college and Harry couldn’t wait any longer to make her officially his. He wanted her so badly. She was his best friend but he craved for more. It took Y/N a lot of persuading, but it was the best thing she’d ever done for herself. Harry was kind to her. He treated her with respect and love - something she’d never had from her parents.

Having a relationship whilst being instructed you weren’t allowed one, made things very difficult. Harry could only see Y/N when she allowed him to. After finishing chores she would tell her parents she was going to grab food or cleaning supplies from the grocery store, only to go and spend a few hours with Harry in his treehouse. She would always come back with a bag full of shopping and made sure she covered the hickeys on her neck well. It would be hard to explain their origin of those marks to her parents.

“Y/N!”

Her mum had never provided her with a nickname, only ever calling her by her proper name. Harry gave her nicknames and pet names galore; baby, honey, sweetheart, lovie, darling and petal to name but a few.

You had learnt that shouting back was “never okay” so you left your bedroom and walked down the stairs to find your mum, who’d just shouted for you.

“Yes mum?” You timidly asked, standing at the door with your fingers fiddling with each other.

Your mum turned and scoffed at the sight of you. “Oh Jesus Y/N! You look horrible. That dress is disgusting.” It just so happened to be your favourite dress - a simple, long - as necessary - white dress with pretty flowers embroidered in baby pink and blue across the skirt. It made you feel like a weightless princess. “Don’t you agree?” Your mum asked your dad.

“Oh yes. Too much fat showing.” Your dad lovingly commented back.

You looked down at yourself, thinking that maybe it was showing a bit too much skin and therefore showing off your fat. Harry always told you that you were completely beautiful - an angel - but it was hard to believe on days like this. You crossed your arms over your chest in discomfort. Speaking back would only make things worse, so you took the verbal abuse as it came.

“Now,” your mum sat up a bit more, “i’m finding it really hard to look at you right now, Y/N, because i’m hurt by you.” Tears, fake of course, were forming in her eyes.

“W-why?”

“Mrs Tucker said she saw you and a young boy kissing outside the grocery store the other night - the same night you said you were going to pick up cleaning supplies.” Your heart dropped to your feet, because it was true. You had been with Harry. You’d never thought about anyone catching you, mainly because you thought no one cared about you enough. Mrs Tucker does like a good gossip though, dammit.

“A boy Y/N!” Your dad shouted in reiteration, making you flinch to the noise.

“Now I told Mrs Tucker that was being silly. That lady will do anything for a natter.” You stilled, thinking you were off the hook, but you should ‘t have been so quick to let your guard down. “Until your dad and I followed you to the grocery store the next night, although we never reached the store did we Y/N? No we were outside a house instead.”

Oh no. You are so dead.

“A boys house, Y/N? You weren’t raised to be a whore.” Your dad spat at you, turning away from you as if the sight of you was disgusting.

“God knows who he is or what you’re doing with him, but it stops. Right now, today.” Your mum gritted through her teeth, obviously trying to keep her calm.

“But—”

“No!” You mum screamed. “I will not be seen as the mother of a daughter who sleeps with random boys, instead of studying and working hard for her family!”

This was so 1800s. This was your life.

You had actual tears forming in your eyes now, unlike those your mum bared. It was so silly that this was making you cry but you were so upset that they thought they could control your life this way. It was devastating.

“I-I.. I love him though.” You choked out between tiny sobs, “I love him.” You whispered - that having been the first time you’d told someone else other than Harry. It actually felt good. Relieving. To declare your love for Harry made the world feel possible.

“Love? You no nothing about love.” You dad rolled his eyes and you couldn’t help but laugh at his words.

“The only reason I don’t know about love is because I never got it from either of you.” You started to fight back. This was a battle you were determined to win. No more hiding behind a timid figure. You were willing to stand up for yourself - no one else was going to.

“Because there’s nothing to love about you!”

You didn’t recall who this came from, all you remember is your heart dropping below the floor and fleeing from the room. Fleeing from the house. Fleeing from a family who didn’t see you as anything but a human being. You weren’t a daughter to them. You were nothing. Your heart called elsewhere. It yearned for the person closest to you.

It wasn’t until you were met with Harry’s front door that you realised where you were and what had happened.

“Oh Y/N! Hi lov—” Anne greeted you, until she saw that you were crying heavily and your chest was rising rapidly. “Harry!” She shouted into the house, leaving you a brief moment to collapse onto the floor in front of you. You didn’t care for the pain that ran through your knees from the impact - only the pain in your heart from the break it had just suffered.

“Woah angel, hey, hey.” Harry was by your side within seconds, completely incasing his body around you. Your head laid buried against his warm chest and his arms hugged you close to him like never before. His smell was one of home. He encompassed you and made you feel safe and loved. You weren’t alone.

“I-i’m unloveable.”

“But I love you.” Harry whispered against your hair, warm air softly kissing your skin.

“Yes, but—”

“No, “but”. I love you, Y/N L/N, I really fucking do. You’re my other half, baby.” He kissed your forehead a few times, knowing that’s your second favourite place to be kissed. “Your parents don’t deserve you, they really don’t. They’re cruel and cold-hearted, but that doesn’t mean I am. I think you’re beautiful, clever and kind. I think you’re everything i could ever want. And I know that you can’t be unloveable, because i’m, so deeply, in love with you.”

Harry continued to rock you, as your cried into his chest. You’d never believed in yourself before meeting him and you never thought that he could be so genuine towards you. He couldn’t care less what your parents think, as long as he helped remind you that you’re none of what they think of you. You’re so much better than mindless words. You make you you, not your parents. Harry’s helped you discover who you are and who you want to be. Even though your miles from becoming who you want to be, and you have your setbacks, you’re proud of how far you’ve come.

You cried against his chest, until the pain softened and your could regain your breath again. You unburied yourself from his hold and looked up to him with love in your eyes.

“There’s my beautiful girl, looking like a princess in you pretty dress.” He smiled down at you, even though you knew you had puffy eyes, red cheeks and a snotty nose. He loved you and all your perfect imperfections.

“Thank you, H.” You said with a wobble to your lips, really meaning your words.

“I know, baby.”

“I really do love you too.” You made sure he knew. His heart fluttered a little faster over your words. He leaned down to kiss you gently, minding all the salty water and grimy snot that laid on your face. His kiss sent butterflies swarming through your stomach and a new type of red appeared on your cheeks.

“Waffles anyone?” Anne asked as she stood at the door, the smells of sweet honey and cream only hitting you now. It was that moment that you realised your heart had never belonged with your parents, your heart belonged here, with Harry. Forever and always.