#holding carol's hand by the end of that issue

[biitchcakes]

i do love it early on when she heroes other heroes. . .

The woman falls without a sound, 250 feet straight down toward the roiling black water of the Golden Gate. She never reaches it because Spider-Woman is there to catch her.

❝ I don't know who this character is, or what he's done ⸺ but I'm taking him out of here ! He deserves better than to be fodder for your unholy experiments ! ❞

Streaking Earthward like a scarlet missile, The Spider-Woman intercepts her falling adversary. . .

i love it especially when it's their first time meeting each other.

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Forgotten Nest (Part 2) - Rooster

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw / Mitchell!OC (Cora)

Word Count: 4.4k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ Only

Warnings: Past Unplanned Teenage Pregnancy; Angst; Absent Father Figures; The 'He Didn't Know About the Pregnancy' Trope; Repeating Trauma Cycles; Crying; Carole Would Be Disappointed; Named Mitchell Daughter OC (Cora) and Named Mitchell-Bradshaw Son (Nickie)

Summary: The Daggers start preparing for the mission. Rooster does some searching. Nickie keeps another secret from his mom.

A.N. There are references to a previous unplanned teenage pregnancy (between two eighteen-year-olds) in this fic. There won't be any flashback scenes to the pregnancy, but the references are still there, so if that makes you uncomfortable, please do not read.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Epilogue

Master List

Maverick stepped out onto the tarmac with his helmet in hand. Bradley was a few paces ahead of him and Maverick picked up his pace to catch up to the younger aviator. After watching Bradley’s reaction to his arrival and his briefing, Maverick knew that Bradley was still holding tightly to the past. And that could only lead to issues.

In the air anyways.

“Bradley,” Maverick called out to him. Bradley didn’t pause or turn around, continuing on his way as if Maverick was just a stray bird flying through. “Bradley!” Still no response. Quickly getting to the end of his rope, Maverick barked out, “Lieutenant Bradshaw.”

That seemed to get Bradley to finally turn around. Rooster stood tall with his shoulders squared, looking like he was preparing to tell a crack head to fuck off more than talk with the man who helped raise him.  Maverick stopped in front of him, noting how Rooster’s jaw clenched and unclenched.

“Yes, sir,” Rooster returned mockingly.

“Let’s not do it like this,” Maverick sighed, causing Rooster to look away for a moment.

“You gonna wash me out?” Rooster asked, turning back to Maverick.

“That’ll be up to you. Not me,” Maverick replied calmly.

“Am I dismissed?” Rooster grunted out after a moment, itching to get into his cockpit already.

Maverick’s jaw ticked with annoyance. There was plenty more that he wanted to say to Bradley. Plenty more. But he couldn’t say any of that without giving away Nickie’s existence. And even though Maverick had his own opinions about the situation between his daughter and Rooster, Nickie was her son and it was her decision at the end of the day how she wanted to deal with Bradley. Not his.

“Keep your head on out there,” was all Maverick stated before Rooster stormed off.

Maverick watched Rooster walk off, his jaw ticking with annoyance yet again before he turned for his own plane. Climbing up into the cockpit, Maverick went through his pre-flight checks. Unzipping one of the pockets in his flight suit, Maverick pulled out a singular photo and quickly taped it to the side of his cockpit, out of the way of the dials.

Cora, dressed in her college graduation attire, beamed at the camera with Nickie, who was just about to turn six, perched on her hip with her cap on his head. Cora was holding her son like he was the prize, like he was her diploma. Ice and Sarah stood to one side of Cora and Nickie and Maverick stood to the other with Penny, who had Amelia in her arms, standing right beside him.

It was truly a moment of triumph for Cora—graduating college even though she had a baby on her own at eighteen. Maverick was so proud of her and it was all written in the tear tracks that were drying on his cheeks in the photo. He had been so worried that Cora would get stuck—through no fault of her own—and never go to college or any kind of training.

But she did it. Despite the odds, she did it.

Glancing over at where Rooster was preparing to take off for the training exercises, Maverick forced himself to steel his emotions. He wouldn’t let Bradley’s undoubtedly petty drama from close to seventeen years ago to influence him now. He had a mission and he had six aviators that he had to train to complete that mission.

But that reminder still stuck with him—if Bradley was any other guy on the planet, Maverick never would have shown him mercy. Not for what he did to Cora and Nickie.

~~~~~

Rooster sat out on the tarmac for another good fifteen minutes after Phoenix gave up on trying to snap some sense into him. He told her that he was fine, that he had it handled. And even though she didn’t look like she believed him, Phoenix left him be.

That was why their friendship worked so well—they knew when to leave each other alone. And right now, Rooster really needed to be alone with his thoughts.

He wasn’t expecting Maverick to be in Miramar. Not like this, at the very least. There was always a chance that Maverick would be in Miramar to see or be around Cora. Rooster had partially prepared himself to run into Maverick in the grocery store or on a drive around town. But on base? As his instructor? Rooster wasn’t prepared for that.

And what the hell was Maverick doing as an instructor at Top Gun? Didn’t they learn their lesson the first time around? It had Ice written all over it. Rooster would have bet every penny to his name that Ice was somehow involved in this scheme.

Focusing on his breathing to calm down, Rooster eventually picked himself up off the tarmac and started trudging for the locker room. It was empty when he arrived and Rooster wasted no time in stripping down, showering, and changing out of his flight suit.  Pulling out his wallet, Rooster slowly unfolded it and reached into one of the card holder slips.

He pulled out a simple piece of paper that looked like it had been ripped from a larger page. It came from one of the letters that Cora sent him years ago. Maybe seven or so after he left. He hadn’t kept the rest of the letter, which was just Cora begging for him to forgive Maverick and come back to Miramar, but he kept the end of it because of two important pieces of information.

Cora’s phone number. And her address.

Now, Rooster wasn’t sure if either of them were still accurate. She could have changed her number—he did, after all—and she could have easily moved. And his attempts to do research on Google didn’t really get him anywhere with either her address or her number.

Rooster wanted to try and verify them before he reached out, knowing that he had about half of a first impression to probably convince Cora to talk to him. And he was pretty sure that showing up at the wrong house or calling the wrong number wasn’t going to do him any favors.

Picking up his keys, Rooster closed the door to his locker and headed out of the locker room.

~~~~~

Nickie walked out of school late, having stayed late to try and get his pre-calc grade up a little bit more. Looking around for his mom’s car, Nickie paused when he heard the familiar hum of the Kawasaki. The mischievous smile that he definitely inherited from his grandfather quickly tugged at Nickie’s lips as he watched the Kawasaki roll around the corner.  

Maverick waved to Nickie and slowly came to a stop in front of him. Nickie walked quickly over to his grandfather, ignoring some of the incredulous looks thrown in his direction. Maverick set up the kickstand and slipped off the Kawasaki, turning to greet his grandson.

“I thought that Mom was supposed to pick me up,” Nickie stated, though he wasn’t complaining.

“Apparently, they’re running late over at the office with all their appointments,” Maverick replied, taking Nickie’s backpack from him. “And I had the time.”

“Does Mom know that you’re picking me up on your bike?” Nickie asked as Maverick securely strapped down his backpack.

“Well, she never specified which vehicle I had to pick you pu in,” Maverick returned jokingly. Tugging on the straps that secured Nickie’s backpack to test them, Maverick turned back to his grandson. “But you know the rule.”

Maverick held out a helmet to Nickie, who quickly took it and put it on without complaint. His mom ingrained in him from a very young age to never get on a bike without a helmet. Unfortunately, in Cora’s opinion, that teaching didn’t seem to move up generations. Maverick climbed on first and Nickie climbed on after him. Nickie held tight to and turned to see several students staring at him.

“Hey,” Nickie called, waving at them.

“Don’t even think about it,” Maverick warned his grandson, noting the girls that Nickie was waving at.

Maverick started the engine and shook his head before starting off down the road. Nickie clung to his grandfather as they drove along far slower than Maverick would go if he was by himself. It didn’t take long, however, for Nickie to realize that they weren’t heading home.

“Where are we going?” Nickie called over the wind.

“I need to make a pit stop on my way home,” Maverick yelled back to Nickie.

“Where?”

“The Hard Deck. I owe Penny some money!”

“I think that you owe her more than that!” Nickie shouted, causing Maverick to frown.

“Have you been listening in on your mom’s conversations again?”

“What!? I can’t hear you!?” Nickie yelled loudly, causing Maverick to chuckle and shake his head.

“Good answer.”

A quick ten minutes later and the two Mitchells pulled up to the Hard Deck. Maverick parked towards the front door and turned off the Kawasaki. Nickie got off first and pulled his helmet off. Running a hand through his short curls, which caused Maverick’s gut to tighten after watching Rooster do something similar that morning, Nickie moved to undo his backpack from the straps.

Maverick led the way inside the Hard Deck, which was left unlocked. Nickie broke off from his grandfather’s side to hang up his helmet on one of the hooks by the door. Maverick headed into the main area of the bar and smiled when he spotted the guard dog on duty.

“Hey, Theo,” Maverick called, bending down to greet the lazy dog. “You’ve gotten big.”

“Hey, Mav,” Amelia greeted him, causing Maverick to slowly stand up.

“Amelia?” he asked, taking off his sunglasses in disbelief.

“I know, I got big,” Amelia replied, already turning back to her homework.

“Hey, Amelia,” Nickie returned, walking into the room a couple seconds after his grandfather.

Amelia glanced up with surprise at the sound of Nickie’s voice. Nickie was a year ahead of Amelia and he was one of the first kids around her age that she met when her and her mom moved to Miramar from Hawaii after her parent’s divorce. Cora always told Nickie to look out for Amelia and that seemed to continue even though they were both nearing the end of high school.

“Hey, Nickie,” Amelia responded in a softer tone than she used with Mav. But as Maverick walked around the bar, Amelia quickly focused on her homework again. “Bar opens at five.”

“No, I just came by to pay off a debt I—”

“—Mom!” Amelia immediately called, causing Nickie to hide a smirk behind his hand.

“Hey, how’s your dad?” Maverick asked, trying to fill the silence.

Nickie, almost as a reflex, reached out and smacked his grandfather on the arm, earning an incredulous look from Maverick. When Nickie shot him a look that screamed ‘shut up before you get hurt,’ Maverick stared at his grandson with a confused expression.

“What?”

“With his wife. In Hawaii. Mom!” Amelia yelled louder than before, causing Nickie to wince, his point proven. Penny walked through the door to the back of the bar at her daughter’s annoyed call, causing Maverick and Nickie to turn around. “Mav says he owes you money.”

Maverick held out a wad of cash to Penny, who immediately tried to refuse it. And Nickie quietly wondered how his grandfather wracked up such a tab on a single night. He wouldn’t have disrespected a lady and certainly not the Navy. So, he must have left his phone, which Nickie set up for him, on the bar. Like Nickie’s mom warned him not to do.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Penny insisted, but Maverick held the money out to her again.

“I insist.”

Nickie shared a look with Amelia, who stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes as Penny instantly softened and took the wad of cash from Maverick. Nickie glanced up and around at the photos and memorabilia hung up round the bar, fighting a knowing smirk.

“Thank you, Captain. Consider your tab closed,” Penny stated, heading around the bar to deposit the money in the till.

“Captain? Still?” Amelia asked Maverick.

“She’s got you there,” Nickie replied, turning to his grandfather.

“A highly decorated captain,” Maverick stated, knowing that Amelia and Nickie were just teasing him.

“Finish up,” Penny told her daughter, leaning on the bar top and tapping the top of Amelia’s book. “We have to get the boat to the yard.”

“I can’t go,” Amelia replied, causing Penny to frown.

“What do you mean you can’t go?”

“Test tomorrow. I have to study. They only told us today,” Amelia explained, causing Penny to raise an eyebrow at her daughter.

“Mr. Lissette’s class?” Nickie guessed, causing Amelia to turn to him.

“How’d you know?”

“Because he did that at least fourteen times last year when I took his class,” Nickie replied, corroborating Amelia’s story to her mom.

“Well, I can’t sail her alone,” Penny continued, turning back to her daughter.

“Just use the engine.”

“Why’re we taking her to the yard?” Penny asked, shooting her daughter a look.

“To fix the engine,” the two Benjamin women recited together.

“We can help,” Maverick offered, volunteering himself and Nickie for service.

“But he’s grounded,” Penny stated, pointing over at Nickie, who winced in reply.

“You know about the ticket?” he asked, cracking his eyes open slowly.

“There’s not much in this town that I don’t know about,” Penny replied, straightening up.

“And your mom told her,” Amelia explained, causing Nickie to sigh.

“I’m never going to live that down,” Nickie whined, rubbing his face.

“Well, considering your driving instructor,” Penny drawled, glancing over at Maverick, “I’m surprised that it wasn’t worse.”

“I’m a great driver,” Maverick insisted, causing Penny to scoff teasingly.

“Mom can just pick me up after work,” Nickie offered, causing Maverick and Penny to turn to him. “And I know that she wouldn’t mind taking Amelia home.”

“Alright,” Penny stated, tapping her fingers on the bar top. Walking around the bar, Penny grabbed her keys and turned to Maverick. “Get moving, Sailor.” As Maverick turned to lead the way out of the bar, Penny turned to Nickie and Amelia. “Jimmy is in charge. And don’t forget Theo.”

“Mom, we’ll be fine,” Amelia insisted, already looking back down at her homework.

“Don’t do anything that I wouldn’t do,” Maverick directed at Nickie. “And definitely don’t do anything that I would do.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Nickie replied, mock-saluting his grandfather.

Penny and Maverick headed out of the bar as Nickie walked over to where Amelia was sitting. Setting his bag down on the bar, Nickie pulled out his pre-calc textbook and started on the problems that he left off on with his math teacher just a few minutes earlier.

“You stayed late again?” Amelia asked, glancing over at his homework.

“Trying to get my grade up,” Nickie explained, copying one of the problems from the textbook.

“Is your mom grounding you for that too?”

“No, just the ticket,” Nickie sighed, turning to Amelia. “Does everyone know about it?”

“Well, your mom called my mom about the whole thing last night. She was wondering if a month was too harsh of a punishment, since you already paid it off yourself.”

“And?” Nickie pressed, hope building in his chest.

“My mom said that it was fair.”

Nickie let out a groan and slumped against the bar top, causing Amelia to laugh. Shifting in her seat, she turned to face Nickie fully on the bar stool and poked him on the shoulder.

“It’s your own fault. Everyone knows that cops like to hang out under that underpass.”

“I forgot,” Nickie sighed, shaking his head at himself. Forgetting his pre-calc homework for a moment, he turned to face Amelia. “My mom freaked out.”

“She’s probably worried that you’re turning into Mav,” Amelia stated before quickly trying to retract her sentence. Suddenly sheepishly, she stammered out, “I didn’t mean it like that, just that—”

“—No, no, I get it,” Nickie assured her, knowing that she meant no harm. Turning back to his textbook, Nickie picked up his pencil and started writing again. “And, hey, you have to protect your mom. I get it. Really, I do.”

“Is your mom still going out with that Neil guy?” Amelia asked curiously, causing Nickie to snort.

“No. I don’t know why she was with him in the first place.”

“My mom seemed to like him.”

“Your mom’s just nice,” Nickie brushed off, scribbling away at his homework. “He was boring as hell. And my mom might freak out about me or my granddad doing dangerous or stupid stuff, but she would have died of boredom if she stayed in that relationship.”

“Have you ever liked one of your mom’s boyfriends?”

“Of the three that I’ve met? Hard no,” Nickie stated, shaking his head. “Have you?”

Amelia glanced in the direction that Maverick and Penny left in, which caused Nickie to straighten up a bit more. Setting down his pencil, he turned to face Amelia.

“I’m sorry that he brought up your dad.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” Amelia lied, waving her hand to the side, as if to dismiss Nickie’s concern. “Besides, Mav was there for more of my birthdays than my actual dad. I counted. So, I guess he’s entitled to a slip up.”

“Yeah, he does seem to be filling in a lot,” Nickie murmured, mostly to himself.

Amelia turned to Nickie with a confused expression when the door the Hard Deck opened again. Nickie instantly picked his head up and stood up from his chair when he spotted a stranger entering the bar. Theo had moved to sit in the sun, but he rolled over to stare at the new arrival.

Rooster slowly stepped into the Hard Deck, glancing around for Penny, when he spotted two teenagers sitting at the bar. Nickie walked around the bar a bit, eyeing up Rooster as if he was trying to discern the level of threat that Rooster posed to him and Amelia. Rooster stopped at the front of the bar, noticing Nickie’s defensive posture.

“Can we help you?” Nickie asked calmly, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Bar opens at five.”

“No, I know. I was just wondering if Penny was around,” Rooster explained quietly.

Rooster eyed Nickie curiously, feeling like he had seen the teenager somewhere before. Hell, Nickie was probably just a local kid that Rooster had seen on the boardwalk the day before. But Rooster wasn’t even convinced with his own explanation. Not really. There was just something that was scratching at the back of his head about the teenager.

Nickie viewed Rooster as nothing other than an intruder. Amelia clearly didn’t recognize Rooster, so he obviously wasn’t a close friend of Penny’s. Theo wasn’t reacting harshly to Rooster, but Nickie was also pretty sure that Theo only barked after the fact. And, well, his mom stuck it in his head very early on to always be aware of his surroundings and the people occupying them.

Amelia froze a bit in her seat, glancing in between Nickie and Rooster, and noting the similarities in their appearances. They had the same nose. And the same chin. Rooster was taller and far more built than the teenager, but Amelia didn’t doubt that Nickie would get there eventually. Their hair looked to be a similar texture. And hell, were their eyebrows also that similar?

“She’s not here. Jimmy’s here, though, if you have some kind of . . .” Nickie eyed Rooster suspiciously before meeting his gaze again, “. . . business question.”

“No, no,” Rooster replied, already backing away.

Well, there went that plan. Not that he was expecting Penny to give him a concrete answer. Not without getting to dump a drink on top of his head first, at least, since Rooster knew that Penny and Cora were still close to this day.

“Sorry to bother you.”

Nickie nodded firmly and watched as Rooster left the Hard Deck. Slowly sliding towards the door, Nickie subtly locked it before walking around to watch Rooster drive off. It took some time because Rooster kept staring back at the Hard Deck with an odd expression, he eventually hopped back into the Bronco and took off, heading in the direction of the naval base.

“Who the hell was that?” Nickie asked Amelia, who stared at him with a bit of disbelief.

“What?” she questioned, blinking rapidly.

“Did you know who that was?”

You mean the guy who looks freakishly similar to you?

That was what Amelia wanted to say. But then she remembered what her mom told her about Mitchell boys. Their heart was always in the right place. Their brain on the other hand . . . sometimes it wasn’t exactly where it should be.

“No, I don’t,” Amelia settled on, glancing between Nickie and the window again. “Do you?”

“No,” Nickie replied, as if it was obvious. “And who the hell has a mustache anymore?”

~~~~~

“Bye, Amelia!” Cora called, waving to the Benjamin girl as she hopped out of the car.

“Bye, Cora. Thanks for the ride!”

“Any time!”

Amelia shut the door behind her and grabbed Theo’s leash before heading inside her house. Cora waited until Amelia was safely inside with the door shut behind her before pulling away from the curb. It was a short drive between the Benjamins and the Mitchells even with the afternoon traffic.

“How was pre-calc extra help?” Cora questioned, turning onto the main road.

“It helped. He’s bumping up my grade on the last test, so I’m getting closer to an A.”

“And while I’m very happy about how seriously you’re taking your studies, don’t worry if you don’t get an A. Everyone says that pre-calc is difficult,” Cora assured her son, keeping her eyes trained on the road in front of her.

“I know, Mom. I just want to do well for my college apps,” Nickie stated, glancing out the window.

“Speaking of which, you need to give me a list of colleges that you want to see during Spring Break so that I can take the time off work and we can sign up for tours,” Cora replied, causing Nickie to subtly sink into his seat. “Especially if you wanted to see ones farther away.”

“Like the East Coast?” Nickie approached the subject, causing Cora to pause for a moment.

“If you want,” Cora replied softly, glancing over at Nickie. “What schools did you have in mind?”

“Nothing specific,” Nickie lied, staring out the window again. “There’s just a lot of good schools out there, you know.” 

“Okay,” Cora trailed off, raising an eyebrow at her son. “Well, you still have time. Just something to think about once in a while.”

“Yeah . . .” Nickie agreed, looking forward. Cora continued to drive down the road as Nickie slowly turned to look at his mom. “Sean asked me about the Surf Team again.”

“What about it?”

“Just about try outs are and everything,” Nickie stated, causing Cora to nod slowly. “Mom.”

“What?” Cora asked, shooting her son a look.

“You’re doing that thing where you pretend like you agree with me but you actually don’t but you don’t want to say it because you don’t want to play the bad guy all day,” Nickie complained, causing Cora to sigh. Slowly coming to a halt at the next light, Cora turned to Nickie as he continued. “Why can’t I join the surf team? You put me in surf lessons, remember?”

“I remember, Nickie,” Cora sighed, fiddling with her fingers.

“So, why do you always pull that face when I talk about the surf team?” Nickie asked as the light flashed green in front of them.

“I don’t pull a face,” Cora huffed, earning a groan from her son. “It’s just . . . Nickie, why are you so obsessed with being in the water lately? I mean, when you quit basketball that was one thing because—and I love you and support you, sweetie—but you weren’t the best at that.”

“Mom.”

“I mean, you had the height but none of the hand to eye coordination,” Cora continued, causing Nickie to pout and slump in his seat. “And soccer, well, you always seemed to just do that because your friends were doing it.”

“So?”

“But baseball?” Cora emphasized, turning to her son with a concerned expression. “Nickie, you love baseball. It’s been your favorite sport for forever.”

“I can like new things,” Nickie defended himself.

“I didn’t say that you couldn’t, but . . .” Cora pulled down a side street and came to a slow stop at the stop sign a couple hundred feet down the road. Glancing over at her son for a moment, Cora asked, “Is there something that you’re not telling me?”

“Mom, I just want to surf because I’m good at it,” Nickie half-lied, half-told the truth. He glanced out the window as Cora continued to drive them home. “I just don’t want to sit on JV as a junior.”

“There’s no shame in that. They only need so many catchers on varsity.”

“I know, but . . .” Nickie trailed off, trying to come up with something to appease his mom’s concern, “. . . but what if I can get a scholarship for it? Or for swimming or water polo and surfing helps me stay in shape for that?”

“Why are you worried about a scholarship?” Cora asked before growing more serious. Pulling into their driveway, Cora parked the car before turning to her son. “Nickie, you know how I feel about you worrying about money.”

“I know, Mom,” Nickie replied softly, guilt eating away at his gut.

“You just focus on being a kid for now, okay?” Cora stated, grabbing her son’s shoulder gently. “Please?”

“I will, Mom.”

“Good. You hungry?” Cora asked, reaching for her purse.

“Yeah,” Nickie murmured out, trying to not suffocate himself from how bad he felt for lying straight through his teeth to his mom.

“Alright. I think I’ll just make something simple tonight,” Cora stated, causing Nickie to nod.

They walked inside the house together and Nickie headed to his room. Setting his bag on the ground, Nickie squatted down and let out a breath. Slumping slightly, Nickie unzipped his backpack and pulled out his science textbook. He flipped through a few pages before pulling out a pamphlet that he got at lunch with ‘NAVY’ printed at the top of it.

If and when he ever told his mom the school that he wanted to attend . . . Nickie was starting to worry that it was going to kill her.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Epilogue

A.N. A special thank you to everyone who read and either commented or reblogged the first part! It's the most actual interaction I've had on a fic in a long time and it really motivated me to churn Part 2 out!

[Also, I forgot to put a note at the end of Part 1 about tagging, so I just tagged the peeps that asked, but if you want to be tagged in Part 3, just reply or reblog with a comment, but please have your age in your bio/pinned post or I won't tag you. Thanks again!]

Tags: @xoxabs88xox @eternallyvenus

[sinsandsweetness]

Vigilant (sex and zombies- chapter 8)

pairing- {Rick x fem!reader x Daryl}

summary- Rick may or may not be developing some minor control issues.

warnings- 18+ content, MDNI! threesome, dp, anal sex, very filthy rickyl threesome

notes- Fully just an excuse for a threesome <3

You couldn't help but feel a little frustrated at the newfound lack of privacy within the prison walls.

It wasn't something you'd thought about before they all settled in, but the complete invasion of space and privacy had hit you hard with the acceptance of the newest community members. And since the prison had filled right up, it made sneaking away with Rick more and more difficult with every night. Your visits had become less routine, and more of an occasional thing. And while that bothered you both, there really were larger issues at hand.

The clusters of walkers were a never-ending threat to the safety of the entire prison. Glenn and Maggie mentioned over supper that they had passed a construction depot a few days ago, and decided that would be the best bet at finding some supplies. The reinforcements on the fence needed to be dealt with immediately, and everyone could see it. So as the crew was gearing up to leave in the morning, you joined them with your bag on your back and a machete in your belt.

"No." Rick glanced up from loading his gun when he saw you approach. "You're staying here."

"What? Why?"

"There's too many of us going already. You can stay here and hold down the fort."

"But Carol's already staying. And Hershel and-" You countered. You needed to leave the walls. You were beginning to feel like a zoo animal. Every day, rotting corpses watched you garden through their viewing point at the fence.

Before Rick could object again, the sound of wheels on the gravel grabbed your attention.

"Hop on." Daryl rolled his bike towards you both, motioning you to join him.

"Absolutely not." Rick stood his ground. You couldn't help the scoff that left your mouth. He could be so unreasonable. You wanted to leave.

"She can hold her own, man." Daryl spoke up before you had the chance.

"I know that. I just think she should stay here with Carl and Judith, there's too many of us leaving and if something-"

“Why don’t you quit tryna make decisions for her. You ain't in charge anymore, remember?"

Ricks jaw clenched and you wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep forever. Too much testosterone in this prison. It wasn't the first argument between them in the last few weeks, and definitely wouldn't be the last.

Daryl was becoming more and more irritated with you and Rick as the weeks went on. His frustrations taken out in the form of snide comments and rolled eyes.

Maggie, Glenn, and Michonne watched the encounter from the trucks on the driveway. If you did join, the whole trip would be a 'who's dick is bigger’ contest for the two men. And you didn't really care to be the the judge anymore. But you were sick of both of them thinking they could tell you what to do. When it came to the bedroom, you were more than willing. But Daryl was right, you could hold your own. And you actually wanted on the run. You needed some fresh air. Away from all the kids and former Woodbury citizens who never shut the hell up. You missed your original group and the quiet solitude that came with them. The privacy...

"I'm going ok? I'll ride with Maggie and Glenn." You started to make your way to the car at the gate. The sound of the men bickering was still behind you as you passed the courtyard gate. 

"Hey!" Rick called your name from behind you. Jogging to catch up next to you. "Why can't you just stay here where it's safe, huh?" He moved in front of you, blocking your path.

"I feel like I'm trapped inside this fence Rick. And these people and their bratty children are driving me insane." You crossed your arms and looked at him with a defiant stare. "It's just a run, something I've done a hundred times before. If it's so unsafe then no-one should be going, don't you think?"

He scowled and looked around at the group waiting for you both at the gates. After a moment he rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He knew you didn't need permission, but he gave it to you anyway. He placed his hand on the small of your back, leading you down the rest of the gravel path. "But you're riding with me." 

You bit back your smile as he opened the truck door.

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

"All right everyone, let's focus on getting the trailers filled first. We're grabbing all the lumber and tools we can fit. Then we can focus on the rest. Weapons, batteries, appliances, anything you think could be of use, and that fits in your bag." Rick announced to the group, circled around the main entrance of the hardware store. It was huge. And for whatever reason, seemed to be skipped when the initial shitstorm of an apocalypse had hit. Once you all entered, it didn't even look like it had been raided at all yet.

The group cleared the dozen walkers in the store effortlessly. Once Rick and Glenn finished with their thorough check of the building, you decided to venture off on your own. Towards the sign reading 'garden centre'. If Rick was going to keep trying to turn you into a farmer, you at least wanted a slightly more diverse palette of fruits and veggies to tend to. And to eat. Well mostly to eat.

While sifting through the packets of seeds on a stand, you daydreamed about eating raspberries, freshly picked and still warm from the sun. The thought of their sweet juice made your mouth water.

You grabbed the entire shelf full of seeds, and began packing them into your bag. 

“Radishes?” Daryl’s voice made you turn. He was holding a packet of seeds that fell into the floor. 

“Mhm, they’re good for you.” You snatched the packet from him and zipped up your bag. Moving towards the aisle with the gardening tools. 

“Gross.” He followed you closely, as you inspected the tools and fertilizer on the shelves.

“They can actually be really good. I didn’t think possums were very tasty before I met you, but here we are,” 

You could practically hear Daryl roll his eyes.

“Rick sure has you working out there a lot, you some kind of farmer now? How do you like being his little minion, picking weeds all day?”    “Beats skinning squirrels with your ass.” You shot back. As soon as you stopped sleeping with him, his attitude went right back to how it used to be. Picking fights and being a prick.  “You’re eatin’ the damn squirrels.”

“Oh shut up, seriously what is up your ass lately?” 

“What’s up my ass? What’s up yours? You were all over me a few weeks ago and now you can’t even handle a little friendly banter.”

Daryl opened a door at the back of the aisle.

”We didn’t clear that room Daryl it could be-“

But he ignored you. Instead took off with his bow up, and ready. You swore under your breath and went after him.

“Seriously?”

Daryl had already taken the two walkers down, and was retrieving his arrows from their rotting skulls. The room was windowless, and contained a bunch of shelves. Most were empty, and a few were filled with cardboard boxes.

“Okay there’s nothing here so let’s just go back,” you tugged on his long sleeve. But instead of listening he just used your hand and dragged you further into the dark storage room.

”Daryl we should go back it’s not-“ 

With your attention on Daryl, a cold hand grabbed at your shoulder.

”Fuck!” You stumbled at the sudden pull on your arm and twisted around, quickly grabbing the machete from your belt. You could hear Daryl telling you to move but you swung instead, your blade slicing through the things skull like butter. 

"-as I was saying," you pulled the knife out of the walker with a splat of blood hitting your face, "It's not safe in here." The body thunked to the ground.

He was only looking at you, crossbow loaded and ready to fire. But there was a hint of amusement written on his face.

“You’re no fuckin' fun anymore.” He gently approached, urging you backwards, until you were shoved up against a storage shelf. The metal cold on your skin.

"Daryl can we please just get out of here."

”You used to be so fun,” his voice was low and suggestive, “Before, when he barely payed any attention to you. You used to sneak around and do whatever bullshit I wanted.” 

"Yeah well, things are different now, so just… get out of my face.” You turned your head but he brought his hand up, and his fingers closed around your jaw, pulling your attention back to his face.

"Yeah they are different now. He ruined you."

"Excuse me?"

"You know exactly what I mean. You're his little puppy dog now. Never used to take shit from me, but you will from him? What could he possibly be doing to have you actin’ like such a loyal little slut-"

"Daryl." There was a warning in your voice. His eyes widened.

"Oh my god. I'm right aren't I? He's fucking you isn't he?" He must have sensed some sort of confession through your uncomfortable demeanour. "Makes sense I guess. The way you've been avoiding me, turning me down."

"Can we drop this please?" You grabbed at his wrist, and pulled his grip off your face. 

"Did he tell you not to see me anymore?"

"No," you smacked at the hand trying to grab at your jacket. "I chose to stop ok? He didn't force me to do anything."

From the doorway, you both heard the faint sound of someone yelling, trying to get the group rounded up. Daryl's eyes rolled and shook his head. You pushed him away and started to make your way to the door. He kept up with your pace, right at your side.

"You've always been obsessed with him, I shoulda known." His voice was almost a whisper and you just wanted to smack him.

"Fuck off. Can we please just keep this between us?"

He huffed but couldn't hide the tiny laugh that escaped. "Typical." 

"What happened?" Rick asked as you approached his truck. His hand came up to your face and wiped the tiny smear of blood.

"Nothing she couldn't handle." Daryl brushed by him on the way to his bike. Rick's face twitched in irritation but he kept his attention on you. 

"Get inside." He opened the door of the truck and nudged you inside. Slammed it, walked around, and got in on the other side. 

The ride back home was uncomfortably tense. 

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

The team got the new reinforcements up in two days. They seemed to be working really well. Looked and felt sturdy enough. Only time would tell.

You watched a small cluster of walkers gnaw at the fence from your viewpoint up on the watchtower. Your attention suddenly caught by some movement around the inside fence. No one should be out here except for you. You squinted at the figure in the dark.

Typically Rick didn’t like you being on watch outside all alone, but he had no good excuse as to why you shouldn’t. You really could hold your own. And even he knew it.

Besides, most nights nothing happened. The point of watch had turned into making sure the fence and reinforcements were actually holding. Stabbing the walkers through the fence during the day only did so much. But now someone was in the yard. Setting your rifle up on the ledge of the railing, you peered through the scope, trying to get a better look at who might be out there. 

Finally they moved again. And the crossbow on their back gave them away. 

Just Daryl. You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding. He had some small furry animal in his hands. Probably on his way back from checking a trap. Kind of late for that though. 

You waved at Daryl once it seemed like he might be able to see you from the yard. He did, but didn’t wave back. A few moments later you heard the door to the watch tower creak open and you were joined by his company.

“Hey,” he sat on the desk in the tower. A dead rabbit plopped down right beside him. 

“Hey…” 

“Didn’t think you were even allowed up here. Let alone at this hour.” His passive aggressive tone accompanied by a scowl. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

A dry laugh escaped his lips. “Oh come on,” 

You raised your eyebrow. You knew what he meant but you just wanted to hear it. 

“He’s controlling. It’s toxic.” 

Now it was your turn to laugh. Toxic. Rich coming from Daryl. The one who used to pick fights only to fuck an apology out of you the same night. 

“He is not toxic. And trust me he is not controlling.” He might have been a bit protective as of late but he didn't control you. Not the way Daryl was implying. Rick made it clear that you were the one that makes decisions for yourself. It didn't mean he was happy about it when you decided to go against what he might want. But that rarely happened anyway. The run to the hardware store was the first time you really had to put your foot down.

“He’s just… protective.” You put the rifle down, propped up against the wall of the tower. You should be watching the yard, but you really missed Rick lately. He'd been busy putting up the fence reinforcements and hadn't really spoken to you since the run. So if Daryl wanted to talk about him now, you didn't care to object.

“He is controlling. That’s exactly how he is. He’s a cop, that’s like their thing. Hell It’s his whole personality, are you kidding?” Daryl’s voice raised slightly. “And you know what? When I confronted him about it, he didn’t even deny it. Didn’t make a single excuse. You just don’t see it cause you’re too dumbstruck by his-“ 

“You talked to him about me?”

“Oh don’t flatter yourself.”

“Daryl seriously...”

“What we ain’t allowed to talk? Just cause we’re both fuckin' you doesn’t mean we gotta be sworn enemies or some shit,” 

“Then what is the big deal? He's a good guy. He's protective and caring and-”

“He doesn't want you to do anything except pick weeds for Christ's sake! It’s getting in the way of the important shit.” 

“Why the hell do you even care? It doesn't affect you! Are you mad or something? That I listen to him better than I ever did to you?”

That struck a nerve. 

“I had you first don’t you fuckin’ forget it-“ 

“Don’t be so crude.” You were in front of him now, settled between his legs as he sat on the desk. “‘Sharing is caring’ right?”

“Oh fuck off,” his tone had settled. He wasn’t really mad. He glanced down your shirt. A clear view from his angle. He was just sexually frustrated. You hadn't seen him in weeks. Not alone anyway. Not like you used to.

“He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to me. That’s all.” 

“So?! I don’t want anything bad to happen to you either but I wouldn't wanna keep you locked up in here like some pet ,” he nearly spat the last word. 

“Daryl he doesn't…” 

“What do you even see in him?” 

Jealousy was an interesting look on Daryl. Something you never really thought you’d see. And for some unknown reason, it turned you on.

“See in who?” A voice from the doorway startled you. An adrenaline surge straightened your spine, and you turned to focus on Rick's face. 

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” you pointed out. But Rick wasn’t looking at you. He was looking at Daryl. You backed away as he slid off the desk. Leaning against it instead. 

“You should be watching the yard.”  

“I am.” 

“Seems like you're gossiping with Daryl.” 

You rolled your eyes, reaching back for your rifle. But Rick grabbed your shoulder and pulled you back towards him. 

“You know,” he started. Hand reaching up to caress your cheek gently. “Me and Daryl here get along a lot better than you might realize,” Rick's hand was pulling your chin up to look at him. Wanting to lean into his touch but avoiding it due to the audience you had. 

“Isn’t that right Daryl?” He glanced at the man, now standing in front of the desk. A weird cloud of tension filled the room. 

You looked over at Daryl but he was hard to read. He wasn’t uncomfortable. But he seemed a little shy. The nod of his head almost escaped your notice. 

"He only really acts like an asshole when you're around." 

Daryl only scowled. 

Rick turned his attention back to you. "We're actually pretty good friends most of the time. When you aren't here at least. Funny isn't it." 

You stayed silent. Unsure what Rick was getting at. His hands started to make their way down to your hips, pulling you towards him, 

“Rick what are you doing?"

Instead of answering, he looked over at Daryl.

“I'm not sure that she believes me. Why don't we show her just how well we can get along."

His tone was suggestive. And you don’t even know how to feel about the whole situation. But before you could react, Rick turned you by the shoulders and urged you towards the other man with a gentle push. 

You hesitated, and looked over your shoulder. Assuring his permission. Rick's nod and lust filled eyes were all you needed.

You reached a timid Daryl, still leaned against the desk. Slowly you grabbed his hand and placed it around your waist. Closing the space between you. Daryl’s eyes kept shifting. Torn between wanting to focus on the attention you were about to give him, and the hot gaze of the man behind you.

You closed the space between your lips, kissing him softly. Something you’d hardly really done despite your history together. His other hand instantly went to your neck. Pulling you in deeper. 

You reached for his belt. What the hell were you doing.

Once you had Daryl’s buckle undone and a hand palming his hard on, you felt Rick's body press against your back. Lips going to your neck and hands holding onto your hips. You could feel his cock through his jeans, pressed up against your ass. Begging to be inside of you. 

Daryl moved his mouth down to your chest, nipping at the sensitive skin. Allowing you to turn your head back and catch Rick's lips. You could feel the smirk on his face. He kissed you over your shoulder and peeled your shirt up and off, discarding it onto the ground. 

The men shared a playful look before your jeans were being pulled down. Adding to the pile of clothes on the floor. You were positive that Daryl would be able to feel your heartbeat through your chest. Nerves heightened by the two men who knew your body the best. 

“Sit down” you hear Rick order at Daryl. Fortunately, Daryl was too busy anticipating a potential orgasm to be bothered at the aspect of being bossed around. 

So he sat in the office chair beside the desk, and Rick's hand on your shoulder pushed you down to your knees right in between Daryl’s legs. Putting you exactly where you belonged.

Daryl lifted his hips slightly to allow you to tug his jeans far enough to reach what you needed. And taking his cock in your hand, you focused on his face, holding eye contact while you licked and kissed your way up his shaft. It was something you didn’t even know if he enjoyed, since you usually just went straight into it. But the way he threw his head back and tangled his fingers into your hair assured you that he did.

You knew Daryl well by now. You could generally make him come in under two minutes. But for some reason, Rick's presence made you want to put on a show. You wondered if he liked it. If it turned him on to watch you with another man.

The hands peeling off your panties, hinted at an answer. Rick was knelt right behind you, and his fingers were tickling their way up your legs, brushing your clit and teasing your entrance. 

You decided to quit teasing Daryl and allow his grip on your hair to pull your mouth fully onto his cock. Bobbing up and down in a rhythm you’d perfected so well. A moan escaped you before you even realized what had touched you. A tongue making its way up your slit.

Rick was eating you out from behind. And with a cock in your mouth and a tongue on your cunt, you were fucking aching. You looked up through long lashes to see Daryl watching the show behind you with slightly parted lips. 

He was close already. 

You could hear his labored breath and grunts. His arm muscles continuously flexed, holding you down. Your moans intensifying as Rick switched to use his fingers. Fucking you from behind. You slowed your pace on Daryl and eventually replaced your mouth with a hand, catching a breath and turning back towards Rick. 

“Please…” you needed to be filled. His fingers were skilled, but he knew what you really wanted. 

Instead of shoving his cock in you and fucking you senseless, he shook his head. 

“Unless Daryl has an issue with you being told what to do, you better focus on him. Not me.” 

You could see Daryl scowling when you turned around but the second you continued sucking him off, he couldn’t be bothered. 

The determination to receive his reward had spit running down your chin and sounds you’d normally be embarrassed to have made, pouring out of you. As you kept going, Rick kept going. Pumping his fingers in and out. You could hear him tear open a condom. And finally, the fingers were replaced with his tip. 

“Fuck I’m-“ Daryl tried to warn you. As Rick pushed into you from behind, Daryl came in your mouth, hand gripping your hair so tight your eyes watered. Keeping your mouth wrapped around him until the final drop. You swallowed it all. Coming up for air you moaned at the feeling of the forceful thrusts. Face immediately buried into Daryl’s thigh. 

Rick only gave you a moment before he reached over top of you and pulled at Daryl’s shirt, urging him downwards onto the floor. You took the hint and helped Daryl maneuver underneath you, while Rick continued to fuck you. Daryl moved into a position, underneath you, where you were basically straddling him. Kissing him sloppily in between moans. His dick already getting hard again. 

Rick slid out of you and pulled you up by your hair. Earning a small yelp from you. 

“Ride him.”

It was an order. 

And since you were such a good girl who does as she’s told, you obeyed. 

You guided Daryl’s cock to your slick entrance and even Rick noticed the gasp he made when you sunk down onto him. 

“Fuck,” the man underneath you muttered. 

You turned back to Rick who was slowly stroking himself, watching you intently. Daryl started to buck up into you. A surprise sob leaving your mouth from the new angle. Rick ate it up with a wide grin. He aligned himself with your ass. 

“Wait no I-“

“Shhh-“ he kissed you, one hand grabbing your face and the other attempting to stretch out your hole. The one that wasn't being pounded into from below. 

“It’s not gonna fit-“ you tried telling Rick but the digit moving inside of you proved otherwise. 

He spit on his hand, lubing himself up for you. At least he cared about your comfort right? 

“I’ll go slow I promise,” 

And he did. He inched his way into your tight hole, stretching you to a limit you’d never experienced. It was honestly painful. 

Until it wasn’t. 

“Oh my god.” A low whine dragged from your throat. 

With two cocks stuffed deep inside you, the men took it on their own to create a rhythm. Coordinating their thrusts for your absolute pleasure.

At your sweet moans of gratitude, Rick kissed your shoulder. 

“Such a good girl for us. Isn’t that right?” 

“So fucking good,” Daryl agreed with him. 

“Yes, I- " you started to respond but he pulled you down to kiss him. Shutting you up for the moment at least. 

As they fucked you, the noises you made were downright unholy and there was nothing you could to do stop them. Rick finally forced a hand over your mouth in an attempt to muffle them.

An orgasm ripped through you quicker than you’d ever know possible. 

And yet both men continued to pound into you until you were a writhing, crying mess of sobs and tremors. 

You squeezed your eyes shut as your final orgasm took over and you felt Rick come, his hips jutting forward as he buried himself inside of you. Daryl pulled out and came with a moan, on both of your stomachs. 

Shaking and coming down from your high, you mustered up the strength to lift off of Daryl's lap, and as soon as Rick pulled out and tossed his condom away, the three of you collapsed onto the floor of the watchtower. Though it wasn’t the comfiest thing, you were too tired to object. While you caught your breath, Rick covered you with his jacket, and sweet kisses fluttered down your neck. His touch had turned ever so gentle as you melted into him. 

“Are you okay?” He wiped a tear you hadn't registered off your face. You felt like you’d run a marathon. Every muscle in your legs hurt. 

“Uhuh” you nodded and caught his lips, desperate for more, even after being destroyed. 

“And you?” Rick pulled away, only to look over at Daryl who had zipped himself back up with a crimson blush covering his cheeks. 

He grunted in response, and sat up slightly against the desk behind you. Your bodies still touching. 

“Still think I’m controlling?” Rick gave Daryl a smirk. All that did was make the other man roll his eyes. You couldn’t help but notice the slightest pull of a smile at his lips.

You didn’t remember falling asleep. But it was obvious in the morning that someone had dressed you and carried you to your own bed. Tucked you in with a kiss and never brought it up the following day. 

Your ass hurt for a week after that.

[scarebats]

WIP Master List

read finished fics here! 

EVERYTHING IS CURRENTLY ON HOLD.

feel free to ask me questions about any of these!!<;3

if you ask nicely, i will post a sneak preview of whichever fic had been requested on any day (including wip wednesdays).❤️

Pierce My Heart

slicemav because there isnt enough

flower & tattoo shop au cuz all the other ones aren’t finished

love at first sight kinda thing but slider and ice make it like a competition yk

probably gonna have a generous amount of smut

mav and goose are ex-navy (they discharged together after top gun)

will probably turn into a multi-chapter fic

Holding Close

ice invites (read: forces) mav to come with him for christmas

ft. ice’s little sister having a puppy crush on mav

love confessions and fluff!

Bitter With a Hint of Sugar

coffee shop au!

employee!mav and customer!ice but its very possible that ill switch the roles around

ft. slider, goose, & carole over their shit (slooserole)

mav being a cutie and ice having a crush (mav too)

will most likely somehow end up with smut somewhere in the mix

So Much Time

touch starved ice

maverick to the rescue

ice’s love language is touch and mav is there to provide it

tooth rotting fluff with a pinch of angst

Not Quite Over the Edge

sea sick maverick

protective and worried ice

goose lives au!!

sickfic (obviously) with angst

No More Bandages

mav has a burn on his leg from his motorcycle

he doesnt tell anyone cuz yeah

eventually ppl find out and they mad and worried

angst then it turns to fluff

Another Hand To Hold

ice gets married to sarah

mav rlly upset

slider helps physically and emotionally

lots of feelings and angst

icemav pre-fic then slimav during-fic

Catch Me If You Can

‼️NOT THE MOVIE‼️

mav is an instructor at tg and ice is a student (mav would be like early 30s and ice same age as he is in the og movie)

slider being a good friend but at the same time teasing ice

mav definitely knows smth is up but otherwise is oblivious and thinks ice is just being nice

will probably turn into a multi-chapter fic

takes place in the early 90s

goose lives!! (but is no longer in the navy)

In The Car? (I Just Can’t Wait)

dagger!ice w daddy issues

22!mav that ice finds endlessly attractive

he does in fact have a daddy kink for mav

smut featuring top!mav & bottom!ice

will probably turn into a multi-chapter fic

ice is like 34 in this and is a top gun graduate from when he was 28

age difference, which is 34 & 58, don’t read if you’re not comfortable

ft. slider still as his rio

takes place during tg:m, but will most likely end before the mission events

[steddie-fanfic-recs]

Dancing with our Hands Tied

by deanybaby

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationship: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington/Tammy Thompson Character: Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington's Parents, Eddie Munson, Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, Tammy Thompson, Original Characters, Gareth (Stranger Things), Jeff (Stranger Things) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Steve Harrington, Gay Eddie Munson, Mutual Pining, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Period-Typical Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Mental Health Issues, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Demisexual Steve Harrington, Demisexuality, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, POV Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington-centric, Tommy Hagan Being an Asshole, Tammy Thompson gets a full personality, Confessions, Steve Harrington Needs a Hug, No beta we die like Barb, Background Hellfire Club (Stranger Things), teensiest mentions of corroded coffin, Eddie Munson is a Sweetheart, tammy thompson is an ally, steddie, slow burn so much it hurts, No Smut, Abuse of italics Words: 92,957 Chapters: 24/24

Summary

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. Steve Harrington was a sophomore at Hawkins High. He'd always felt different from the other boys, but for sixteen years he'd managed to blend in, doing what's expected of him. He was the star of the swim team, the most popular underclassman, and could date any girl he wanted to. But the mask he always wore was fragile; one good hit from the right person, and it'll all come shattering apart. Between tense relationships and the upcoming prom, Steve tries his best to hold his façade together. But Eddie Munson makes that very difficult. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. A non-supernatural AU. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[steverodgerslater]

My girlfriend’s mother

I was 22 at the time and my ex girlfriend was 21. We had been together for 3 years and this Christmas her mother had invited me to spend Christmas with them. My girlfriend was still living with her mother who was divorced and in her mid 40s.

My ex, let’s call her Steph, was on meds for her mental health and drs had strictly advised her not to drink whilst on her meds as those could cause serious issues for her. I went to her house around 8 on Christmas Eve. Her mother, let’s call her Carol, opened the door and greeted me. She looked visibly upset. I asked her where Steph was and she told me that she was in her room with her childhood friend and that she had been drinking. Carol asked me if I could stop her from drinking because Carol tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen. I went to her room and they were both sitting on bed, with glasses of wine in their hands. She greeted me and I could tell she has had a few already, however, her friend ‘let’s call her Sarah, didn’t look as drunk.

Steph’s glass was almost empty, she grabbed the bottle for a refill but I took the bottle and told her that maybe we should end the drinking now but she was persistent and took the bottle from me. She was already too drunk to care. Sarah was equally worried and told me that she wouldn’t listen to her either and Steph has had quite a few more drinks than her.

Evening progressed and she kept drinking and then things went a little out of hand. she was out of her mind. She started screaming and shouting, her mum came to the room asking what the hell was going on and at this point she was throwing things around. It turned ugly, she was out of control. We had to call the ambulance because she was clearly having an episode and when they heard what was going on, they sent the police too so she couldn’t hurt herself or others. Police arrived before the ambulance and at this time she was completely out of control. Police restrained her and kept her on the bed, one officer was basically sitting on her to hold her down. Then the ambulance arrived, they gave her sedatives which calmed her down. They took her in the ambulance and the police left.

Carol, sarah and I were all pretty shook and Carol was just crying uncontrollably. We had to go to the hospital so Sarah left and went to her home and Carol and I were driving to the hospital at 11 at night on Christmas Eve, both pretty exhausted. We spent the next 4 hours at the hospital where things weren’t so good for most part and it took drs a while to get her under control. They eventually let all three of us go home. Steph was pretty sedated. She could hardly walk or talk and she had been sick. We brought her home and sat her down on the edge of her bed. Her mum took fresh pjs out of Steph’s clean laundry. I helped Carol change my girlfriend. It was a bit awkward when she took my gf’s top off. She wasn’t wearing any bra so having my gf topless in front of her mother was definitely a weird thing for me. We both put her into fresh clothes and laid her down on bed. Steph was talking pretty much nonsense the whole time. It was 4 am and all three of us were exhausted. Her mum said that she was going to change into her pjs and I should too and get comfortable. She went to her room to change and I got up and changed too.

I changed and sat down next to my gf who was now a bit calm and close to falling asleep. Honestly, I was hoping that she fall asleep sooner rather than later because the night had been extremely stressful and traumatic really. Her mother came back to the room. She had changed into her pjs and she was wearing a rob. I said to her that I can go to the spare room to sleep if she was going to sleep too. (When she invited me she told my gf that we we were not allowed to sleep in the same room).

“It’s fine you can sleep here”, she obviously got very close to me after the events of the night and wasn’t bothered about making me sleep in the spare room. She continued talking. “Actually, I was thinking to shut my eyes here for a bit if that’s ok with you. I don’t want to be apart from her tonight”, she said and of course I couldn’t have had any issues with her. It was her house. She switched on the lamp of the bedside table and turned the main lights off.

A point to note here that I always found my gf’s mother very attractive. I often pictured her when fucking Steph and found those orgasms the best. Carol took her rob off and I saw her in her pjs for the first time and I couldn’t stop staring at her breasts. I could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra and the shape of her breasts were unreal. Maybe I was tired or I just didn’t care, I just kept looking at her breasts like it was the only time I was going to see them like that and I really needed to take a mental picture. Her breasts were bigger than I had imagined. Every time I visited my gf, Carol was always dressed up conservatively so I could never really make out what her body looked like. And now I was unable to stop looking at her. I’m sure she noticed me looking at her but I couldn’t tell if it bothered her.

She came and sat down in bed next to Steph rubbing her hands in her daughter’s hair. Steph was now in the middle laying down facing the ceiling, I was on her right side facing her and her mother was on her left side facing her too. She had finally fallen asleep. It had been a long night and it actually felt very peaceful at the time with the dim lights. It was extremely quiet, Steph was resting which made the environment more peaceful. After a while, I got comfortable in bed and laid down, I was under the blanket with Steph and had my arm around her and I was gently rubbing her arm which was on Carol’s side. A few minutes later, Carol laid down too. She was resting on her right arm facing her daughter and I felt her body on my hand as she settled. Just a few touches of her body gave me a really hard cock. I found the situation extremely arousing. I kept rubbing Steph’s arm with my hand gently. A few minutes later, Carol moved a little and hugged Steph closer. Carol was still laying on her side and she had one arm around Steph’s waist. When she settled, I felt her body on the back of my hand which was rubbing against Steph’s arm.

It took me a second to realise that it was Carols breast that I was touching with the back of my hand, the softness of the flesh was telling me that it couldn’t have been anything else. I knew Carol was awake. I could feel her hand moving on Steph’s waist gently. I kept going back and forth on Steph’s arm, massaging it and kept feeling Carol’s breast on the back of my hand. She never moved away, in fact, couple of times it felt like she was pushing her breast down on my hand. I was extremely tired and exhausted and I was also extremely horny and just wanted to cum but obviously I wasn’t going to touch myself there.

I kept rubbing my hand back and forth, but now I wasn’t even touching Steph’s arm. I was just pushing the back of my hand into Carol’s breast and she was letting me do it. I then finally lifted my hand a little and just when my hand was up, Carol moved closer and the next thing that I felt was her breast on my finger tips. I felt her breast, I was so fucking hard. My heart was pounding. I was pretty sure my cock was dripping of precum. I felt her soft breast all over.

The next moment things got even better. She grabbed my hand lifted it a little and placed it on her other breast. I had lost it pretty much by now and I was now squeezing her breasts whilst my gf was sleeping between us. It lasted for a few minutes. I kept feeling both her breasts. I wanted more so I slid my hand under her shirt and felt her bare breasts. Her nipple was so hard it could cut glass. My cock was so hard it felt like it could snap in two.

A few minutes later, Carol got up. I looked at her and I still remember the look on her face. She looked exhausted, eyes red from crying but also, there was a kind of lust on her face that I hadn’t seen before. She pointed me to come out of the room, I got up and came out. Carol laid Steph on her side in case she gets sick again, switched the lights off, came out and closed the door. She was now walking towards her bedroom which was on the other side of the house and I was following her. I looked her from behind and she had the most amazing figure ever. Imagine the most perfect milf possible, she looked 10 times hotter in that moment and I had just felt her breasts.

We both entered her room and she closed the door behind me. We both stood there and looked at each other for a second and then almost simultaneously, we started kissing. I took her top off and omg, her tits were so fucking amazing. They weren’t saggy but they weren’t firm like an 18 year old either. She had a handful of the most perfect pair of tits that I’ve ever felt. I sucked her nipples, squeezed her tits standing up. Then she pulls my pjs down and sat me down on the edge of her bed. She got down on her knees and started to rub my cock gently. I’ve always found her very lady like, the way she dressed and the way she spoke was always very polite and gentle. And now she was down on her knees gently stroking my cock. I was looking down at her and she was looking at me cock. She kissed my cock from top to bottom. She kissed my balls. Then she licked the shaft, pressed my cock against her face like she was cleansing her face with my hard cock and then she licked the tip of my cock and eventually, slowly slid it down her mouth. It was by far the best blowjob I’ve ever had. I was already on the edge and I wasn’t going to last for long. In my defence, I was 22 at the time, tired, extremely horny and this amazingly sexy, clearly experienced, older lady was sucking my cock with tits hanging on my thighs so you can probably understand why I lasted just a few minutes. My cock first started to throab in her mouth and then I started to shoot my cum. Rope after rope of thick cum exploded in her mouth and she wasn’t phased by the amount of cum that I had just unloaded in her mouth. I didn’t see a single drop of my cum dripping out of her lips. The way she swallowed my cum was very clean. She licked and sucked my cock clean and swallowed every last drop.

I was drained. We both laid down in her bed. She looked pretty emotional at the time. We hugged for a few moments which felt really good and then the flash of thought came to my head and hit me like a lightening bolt. I wondered what her pussy tastes like. I felt me mouth water with just the thought of licking her pussy. I kissed her and she kissed me back and then I moved down. I could actually feel saliva building up in my mouth. I was dying to taste her pussy. I kept moving down, sucked her nipples, licked and sucked her belly and then pulled her pjs and panties down in one go and buried my face between her thighs. I had never eaten pussy like this before. I devoured her. I licked it passionately, sucked her clit, fingered her and licked her juices off my finger. I wasn’t the most skilled at eating pussy at the time but the reaction she gave was unbelievable. She was trying her hardest not to moan but she was breathing heavy and moaning as quiet as she could. I actually felt her cum on my mouth. It felt like I was having an out of body experience. She then pulled me up and gave me a kiss, tasting herself off my lips.

I was rock hard again by this time and she was pressing on my hips to get my cock inside her. She had her legs wrapped around my waist pushing me in. I tried pushing my cock inside her but struggled to find the hole. She grabbed my cock and guided me and placed the tip of my cock on her pussy. Once placed correctly, my cock slid inside her pussy with the slightest of push. I slid inside her and kept sliding. She was extremely tight and extremely wet. We both let a long breath in when I went all the way inside her, both our mouths were open gasping and looking at each other. Her wet pussy was tightly wrapped around my cock and I kept moving back and forth, in and out, faster and harder. We were both trying to be as quiet as possible. I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to cum inside her. My cock was throabing and I was close. I told her that I was about to cum and she wrapped her legs around my waist even tighter, pushing me as deep inside her pussy as possible. I couldn’t hold for any longer and shot ropes after ropes of my think cum deep inside her. I was out of my breath and so was she. She didn’t let me go even after I had cum and kept her legs wrapped around my waist and kept my cock plugged into her pussy even after it had went soft. We stayed like this for a bit and then I pulled my soft cock out of her pussy which felt amazing. We laid down next to each other for a bit and then I went to the spare room to sleep.

It was around 7 in the morning now and the dawn was breaking. The dimensions of our relationship had been changed forever with the new day but I didn’t feel any regret.

(2) My girlfriend’s mother : sexstories (reddit.com)

I went to the spare room and crashed on the bed and fell asleep in seconds. I woke up around 1 pm, I had slept like a baby. I came out of the room and went to Steph’s room. Her bed was empty. I went to the kitchen and found Carol cooking. She exchanged an awkward smile and she told me that Steph just woke up and went for a shower. She also told me that Steph was tired but felt much better now.

I walked up to Carol and leaned forward on the kitchen island where she was working and asked her what we were going to do about last night.

“Let’s just try to get through Christmas, we can decide tomorrow how to handle this”, she said this in a pretty cold voice and I wasn’t going to argue with her.

I sat down in the kitchen and started to read a recipe book which was sitting on the table next to me. Steph came out of the shower, she had a towel wrapped around her body and a separate one around her head. She looked very pretty freshly out of shower but I could tell she was feeling tired. She came to the kitchen and went to her mother and hugged her.

“I’m sorry mother. I’m really sorry about last night. I don’t remember much but I know I ruined your Christmas. I’m really sorry”, she chocked apologising to her mother and I felt terrible about the whole situation. Little did she know that what she had done was nothing compared to what her mother and I had done behind her back. Carol was consoling her, reassuring her that it’s ok. Everything is going to be fine. I knew very well that nothing is going to be fine. I was mentally preparing myself for the end of the relationship and I felt devastated about the whole situation. I had potentially ruined her family.

Steph then came to me and gave me a hug and apologised. I hugged her back but I couldn’t say a word. I felt extremely ashamed for breaking her trust in the worst way possible. She left and went to her room to get changed. Carol and I looked at each other. I felt miserable in that moment and the look on her face wasn’t any different. Neither of us had a clue how to handle the situation.

I went for a shower too and got ready and then Carol got ready too and three of us had the dinner together, exchanged presents, watched some tv and snoozed on the sofa. For a little while, we forgot about last night and it felt like a normal Christmas. It was around 11 at night when Steph said that she wanted to lie down in bed and asked me to come join her.

I looked at Carol awkwardly. She said “It’s fine, you kids go relax, I will clean up the kitchen.”

I went to her room and we both went under the covers. She hugged me and placed her head on my shoulder. She kept apologising to me about last night. she was gently rubbing her hand on my chest. I just kept repeating that don’t worry about it.

After a while, she moved her hand down on my cock and looked up at me smiling. Her head was still resting on my shoulder.

“Let me try to make it up to you”, she said whilst unzipping my jeans.

My heart was pounding at this point. Am I really going to go through with this after last night’s events? Would it not make things more awkward? I was having conflicting feelings but Steph had now pulled my jeans down and taken my cock out. Those conflicting feelings became less conflicting and the next moment we were kissing whilst she rubbed my cock. She then went down and slid my cock in her mouth. She was deep throating my cock. I was gasping for air, my eyes were shut and I was picturing last night’s events when her mother had my cock deep inside her mouth. I was too horny just for a blowjob. I was having those animalistic urges where I just wanted to fuck her brains out. So that’s exactly what I did.

I took my cock out of her mouth and flipped her body. She took her top and bra off whilst I was pulling her jeans and panties off. I bent her over, and within seconds slid my cock inside her pussy. “Aaaahhhhh”, she screamed which was undoubtedly loud enough for her mother to hear. I didn’t care. It felt that I wanted her mother to hear us fuck. And seemed that Steph didn’t care how loud she was either. She moaned really loud the whole time.

I pounded her pussy from behind, I spanked her ass. I fucked her so hard, the sounds of our bodies slapping together would’ve been heard loud and clear by her mother. I guess both of us were too horny in that moment to care and neither of us were trying to be quiet.

I took all my frustration out on her which I felt in the past day and a half. I thought about how her selfish behaviour made our night a living nightmare and the more I thought about it, angrier I got and that anger was making me fuck her even harder. I fucked her like I hated her. She wasn’t moaning, she was screaming at this point. She was extremely wet and I felt little droplets of her cum splashing back on my thighs every time our bodies slapped together. She had cum multiple times and I was nowhere close to finish.

I kept fucking her harder and harder. Her head was hitting the bed rest with every push (it was cushioned), which shook the bed even harder. She was so hot, I mean she was so horny in that moment, her body was hot to touch and she was sweating like crazy. Her breasts were moving back and forth uncontrollably which I cupped now and then. I had been spanking her ass throughout. I had been spanking on the same place of her right asscheek from the moment I bent her over with increasing intensity. First she didn’t care and let me do it but after a while, started putting her hand on her asscheek to get a small break. Her asscheek was red raw. I bet she had a burning sensation and probably felt pins and needles. She was now sweating so the wet spanks sounded so fucking hot.

She was begging me to cum at this point. I closed my eyes and imagined fucking Carol from behind. Just in that moment, I spanked her ass really hard one last time, she squealed like a pig, I pushed my cock deep inside her at the same time and her whole body slammed into the bed and that’s when I just exploded inside her. The orgasm was so fucking intense. I actually groaned when I came. I was squeezing her asscheek hard with one hand and cupping and squeezing her dangling breast with the other. Moments later I collapsed on Steph who was out of her breath and had her face buried into the pillow. Her body glistening in sweat, face blushing and her asscheek was now turning blue.

We stayed like this for a few minutes, me on top of her. I had pulled my cock out but it was still resting between her thighs. Then I got off of her and she turned to her side and we kissed. It was a very tender moment. She didn’t put her clothes on and just pulled the covers on top of her and closed her eyes after we both said “love you” to each other.

I stayed there for a few minutes and then decided to go to the bathroom to pee. I was fully naked too so I put my boxer shorts on and came out of the bed. Steph turned around and got comfortable under the covers, she was half asleep already.

I came out of the room and found Carol standing outside the kitchen. The kitchen wasn’t too far away from Steph’s bedroom. Was she just listening to us fuck? She was in her pjs, just a shirt and shorts and she looked really hot in it. I walked to her, we weren’t breaking eye contact and the next moment, we were kissing standing right there in the hallway. If Steph had decided to come out of the room, us kissing would’ve been the first thing she would have seen. I got on my knees, pulled her shorts down, she was wearing red laced panties. I buried my face between her thighs, kissing and licking her panties, which were soaking wet. I pulled them down too.

She was now standing against the kitchen wall in the hallway with her leg spread apart and I was licking her pussy like there’s no tomorrow. God, I was addicted to the taste of her pussy. She rubbed her clit whilst I had my mouth open with my tongue out just below her pussy. She effectively masturbated into my mouth with my tongue rubbing all over her wet pussy. She came hard. It wasn’t as quiet as it should’ve been with us being so close to Steph’s room.

I got up and we kissed. I was getting hard again at this point which she noticed when she grabbed my cock in my boxer shorts. She took me to her room, sat me down on the edge of her bed and went down on her knees. She pulled my boxers down and my hard cock emerged. My cock was covered with her daughter’s dried up pussy juices and it was turning me on so much that she was now going to taste her daughter off my cock.

My thighs, cock and balls were covered in her daughter’s scent and I’m sure she could smell it. It seemed to have turned her on because she was licking me all over. She licked my cock from too top to bottom. She licked my balls. She licked my cock clean and then sucked on the top of my cock and slid it inside her mouth. She took my cock deep in her mouth and kept sucking it. My cock was throbbing at this point. I would’ve never guessed she was this good with her mouth. She was drooling all over my cock, it was covered in her saliva and drool.

I was cupping her breasts the whole time. I took her top off. I loved the way her breasts dropped coming out of the top. I pulled her closer and placed my cock between her tits. She knew what to do. She squeezed her tits around my rock hard cock. The sight of her breasts pressing on my cock was amazing. She rubbed my drool covered cock between her tits which felt soft and slippery and soon, I was shooting my cum between her tits. Her breasts looked amazing covered in my cum. I collapsed backwards on the bed with my legs hanging by the edge of her bed. She licked my cock clean and then got up and cleaned up her breasts with a wipe. I got up and left her room without saying anything. I used the bathroom and went back to Steph’s room who was fast asleep. I got naked and went into bed beside her, wrapped my arms around her naked body and soon, I was sleeping too.

(2) My girlfriends mother [part 2] : sexstories (reddit.com)

[cevansbrat0007]

Hello World: The Barber Twins

Summary: The twins decide to make their appearance a little earlier than Reader and Andy likes. Andy Barber x Black!Reader

Warnings: Pregnant Reader, Distress, Fluff, Babies, Minors DNI.

A/N: Please welcome the twins! Let me know your feedback. All mistakes my own!

___

It was too soon. 

Your water had broken too early. 

The girls were at school. Andy was in court. 

You were almost a month and half too early. This couldn’t be happening. You grip your belly as a force of pain washes over you. You’d been through labor before - twice now - but this was something altogether different. 

Lord, fuck, it hurt! Shit, it hurt! Where was your cell phone? You had to call someone. Dear God, you couldn’t drive. 

You grab your phone off of the counter before giving into your urge to curl up on the floor. You hit Carol’s number, your nextdoor neighbor.

Thankfully she answers. “Hey there, Y/N. How are you - ?”

You’re quick to interrupt her. “Carol - Carol, I need help. Oh, God!” Another wave of pain hits you. “I think it’s the babies! Please!”

“I’m comin’, honey.” She promises. “I’m comin’ right now. I’m runnin’ out the front door for you. Can you unlock it for me?”

“I’m tryin’! I’m tryin’ to get there!” You swear as you crawl towards the door. Taking a small moment, you reach into your pants to feel at the unwelcome wetness. 

You pull them out and look at your fingers.

Blood.

“I’m almost at your door, kiddo. C’mon! I just need you to unlock it for me!” Carol tells you.

You keep crawling. You crawl until you can unlock the front door. 

And Carol is standing right there.

“Hi, sweetheart.” She kneels down beside you.

“Carol, there’s blood, you tell her. There’s blood.” You grab her shirt. “These babies are not due for another month and a half. It’s too soon! I keep telling them it’s too soon!” The tears won’t stop falling. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” She grabs your face. “We’ve got this. Everything is gonna be fine. We’re not gonna panic. Because at the end of this, you are going to have two more brand new babies. And I’m going to be selfish on behalf of myself and Walter, so that means two more babies to come and read to us. Two more babies to watch out for on Halloween.” She calls 911 and tells them about your situation while you try to breathe. 

“Really, you’re doing us a favor, honey.” She tells you as she holds the phone to her ear. “And yes, that’s her address.”

“Oh, god it fucking hurts!” You twist in Carol’s arms. “Shit! They’re coming, Carol! And it’s too goddamned soon! I need Andy!” You press her hand to your belly as the tears drip down your face. 

“Relax, relax. I know it hurts. An ambulance is on its way.” Carol coughs. “You guys gotta hurry. She’s really hurtin’!”

“We’ve got a team en-route.” The dispatcher says.

___

Three Hours Later…

You’re resting. Carol keeps stroking your hand until Andy walks in, looking all kinds of tousled and unkempt. 

God, you were tired.

“Thank you, Carol.” You watch as he grabs her in a hug. “And I please thank Walter. I mean, I’ll do it when I see him too, but him grabbing the girls before my Mom could get them… God…”

“Don’t you worry about it.” She pats his cheek. “We were glad we could be there. And we’re glad Y/N knew something wasn’t right. That is why we’re here. Family isn’t just based on blood, baby.” She pinches his cheek. “Call us. Let us know what you need. We’re here. If you need someone for the girls, call us. We're gonna call, you anyway."

“Thank you.” And whispers as he kisses her hand. “Thank you so much.”

“Baby girl, how are you?” Your husband asks as he sits down next to you. “How do you feel?”

“They gave me something to slow down my labor and contractions.” You stroke a hand over his face. “But baby, they’re coming. The twins…” You tell him as you try to hold it together. “It’s too early. We could be looking at any kind of issues - I keep talkin' to 'em., tellin' 'em no..."

“Stop. I mean I'm glad your talking to them.” Andy growls. “But we thought we were gonna have issues with Katrina. Didn’t we?”

You nod. 

“And what happened? She’s just the most delightful, wonderful little peach that I’ve ever met. No issues. And, Bianca was totally fine when she was born. We are two for two.”

Andy leans down to kiss you over and over again. “I need you to be positive, baby. I’m going to share a secret with you. You are the barometer for myself and this family. You tell me things are going to be okay, and I believe you.” His phone rings. "You are the literally flight attendant for this house. If you say it's going to be okay, it's gonna be okay. So it's gonna be okay. Repeat that for me."

"It's gonna be okay." You respond back as you squeeze his hand. Just in time for him to get a call.

“Hi, Mom. Yes, Y/N is okay. She’s right here. The babies want to talk to her?” You nod your head at him. “Put them on the phone for their Mama. She wants to talk to them too.”

___

If someone told you to push one more time, you were going to kill them. They’d told you to not push when you’d initially gotten to the hospital. And then they’d given you something to turn it off. Because you had wanted to push. 

And now you’d been given somethin else that made you body want to hurt everything. 

“Come on, baby! One more good one. Come on!” Andy coaches you.

“Shut up.” You grunt. “”Oh, my fucking God!”

“Don’t care. Give us one more.”

“Listen to your husband, Y/N. Just this one time. I’m sure he’s stupid just like me, but just breathe. Give me another push and —” 

“Aahh ahh ahhh!” You scream.

“Girl number one is out!” Dr. Wilson yells. “Hallelujah, girl number one is out! Whoo boy, is it a good day! “He allows you to rest for a few minutes. 

“C’mon, Y/N another push - maybe two more and – ohh here we go! Girl number two is coming! Girl number two is - oh God…”

“What?” You whisper, exhausted. “Andy what’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

“Dr. Wilson - “ Andy starts… 

His heart is in his chest. Your heart is in your chest.

“Daddy, Mama, relax.” Dr. Wilson looks over at your husband. “It’s just that Baby Girl number two is really Baby Boy number one.”

“Huh?” You both utter at the same time. 

“It means you are the proud parents of a boy and a girl.”

Andy looks at you before he begins to wither –

“Daddy’s going down! Get him! Catch him!” “The staff moves quickly to shove a chair under your husband’s wobbly feet. Yes, he almost passed out again. 

“We have a boy?” You whisper. “They said girls. We only have girl names.” You try to take a deep breath. “But they said girls, and I don’t have another name..”

“Yes, okay. I know and sometimes - " Wilson starts… “That’s hard and…Mr. Barber…” 

“Isa’ boy…” Is all Andy garbles out as he sits in a chair. “A boy.”

They kay both babies on your chest. “Hi. Hi babies. Hi my sweet girl, and hi my little man. Why’d you hide so much, huh? Why you gotta make big entrance like that? We don’t even gotta a name for you cuz’ didn’t tell us you were comin’!”

“So no names yet?” Someone asks. You look over at your husband who needed to keep breathing. “We have a name for her, not this one yet. He surprised us. We’ll work on it.” 

____

The Next Day…

You sit there and look at your twins in their little incubators. They were small, but thankfully not too small. They should maybe be able to go home in a couple of weeks. 

“Are you sure about the name?” Andy asks you. “I mean, are you sure, sure?”

“I am. This little man needs one. And I loved the one we picked.”

“You picked it.”

“But you said yes. If you’re not okay, that’s alright, but tell me now.” You tell him as you stroke his jaw.

“I’m okay with it. I love the name. And I love them. And I love BiBi and KitCat. And, most of fucking all, I love you.” Andy presses a kiss to your hand. 

At the end of the day, your little family was complete. You had your Andy Bear…

But then, you had your Bianca Maria…your “BiBi”.

And then you had your Katrina Claire…your “KitCat”.

And now you had your Aurora Rose…your “Rory” or “RoRo”.

And now you had your Andrew Jacob Barber Jr. - “your A.J.”

BiBi. KitCat. RoRo. A.J.

Life was good.

END

[not-in-the-library]

So I watched the amazing colossal man and I am so emo over it, first order of business is a rewrite in the form of a list

We don’t start right in the action, we see Glen interacting with his peers, I’m thinking he’s a bit younger, not a colonel

The experiment and incident might be the same, but I’m debating whether or not he’s military at all. He is for now

He keeps his hair and it continues to grow with him, it’s a pain to keep cutting it but it pays off in the end

Carol reveal stays the same, but much more tense obvi

He’s still in a coma for a few days, but doesn’t wake up fucking huge, I reckon he’s anywhere from 8-11 feet tall, enough to freak out but be manageable

He wakes up surrounded by doctors, not understanding what’s going on until he notices something is Not Right, he has a panic attack and they sedate him

He wakes up later, a little bit bigger and still freaking the fuck out, he asks that Carol not see him like this

He’s cooperating with doctors to figure out what’s going on and he’s very respectful and hopeful

Carol eventually finds him and they are both freaking out

She???? Maybe faints??? And is gaslit into thinking that never happened???

Or maybe drama??? She wakes up and starts fighting to see him and she’s almost to him when he steps in?? Idk, maybe not. Either way she’s seen too much and he’s not doing great mentally so she stays with him

I want to see how he interacts with staff, doctors, soldiers, security, I think he feels stifles but knows why this is necessary

That scene where he flips his shit over the chair minus the screams,, maybe he puts his hand down to hold himself up and breaks it,,, he picks it up but he is going to vomit,, he never properly clocked that there was a consequence to him not being gentle

He’s trying to make the most of it, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, but it is just. A lot.

He’s hanging out in an underground storage facility

Yes they know he might grow out of it

Pfft no that can’t happen pfft

His growth spurts we see on screen, except for potential time skips

Carol is still very supportive through all this and becomes friends with some of the staff there

Arranging dates and such the whole time

His heart is still an issue, and his brain is starting to deteriorate, but he’s never aggressive towards anyone like he is in the movie, his issue is much less his life and freak status,, more so how he’s a destructive thing and he is trying his damndest not to be

He has to hold on…. For Carol……….

As his brain begins to deteriorate, he gets super anxious and paranoid

He hears about his heart but assumes they’re doing it to him on purpose, and starts plotting for him and Carol to leave

As he’s started to slip, he’s stopped cutting his hair

Hes being super clingy and looking over his shoulder all weird, blocking doorways from Carol and generally caging her in

Once they get a moment if privacy he tells her that they plan to kill him and they need to leave (they are on the brink of a cure)

Carol tells him this and he’s like nonnononononononono you don’t understand, they’ve tricked you, you don’t know what you’re saying

She’s obviously creeped out and is going to go snitch to the doctors but decides not to

Meanwhile he is freaking the fuck out trying to figure out how to leave when his guard buddy is trying to be chummy and bro is in tears asking for help and when soldier bro isn’t really giving him the keys outta there he grabs him and is honestly pleading, not wanting to hurt him, but it’s enough to trigger some kind of panic button and immediately security pulls up and bro FLIPS

Carol is there, she wants him to stop but security is trying to get her out of there,, Glen swats the dude away and grabs her, and starts trying to escape, completely tearing through the entire wall the door is on

Crawling through hallways,, tearing shit up, it’s hell

Cut to them on the surface, glens face and hands are bloodied, you don’t know if it’s all his own or not, all kinds of glass and metals are stuck in his skin and he’s just basking in the fresh air for the first time in months

Carol is in his fist, unhurt, a bit banged up, bruised and scraped but fine, she’s in tears

He just holds her to his chest and lumbers away without direction

He’s walking nonstop, no plan on resting, it isn’t until Carol yells at him to stop that he does

He lets her remove as much debris as they can, but he’s still pretty bad.

He just stares. At her. It’s creepy.

He’s been quiet but she talks to him anyway, mostly being reassuring, but she’s afraid he’s gone

She asks him to lay down and try to sleep which he does, but all the while he’s still trying to corral her with his body

His hair is very long and still growing, just like him.

All throughout this time he’s having intense chest and growing pains, but recently they’ve gotten worse

He wakes up in the night, writhing in pain as he just,,, expands

Carol is horrified

Military arrives and it’s a fight

He’s animalistic, rabid, and afraid

In his head, he’s saving Carol, but he’s careless and she’s hurt in some way

He stops and just takes whatever’s coming to him

IDK HOW IT ENDS!!!!

LMK ANY IDEAS!!!

[domesticblisss]

midnight love

steve harrington x female reader (mentioned billy hargrove x reader) rating: nc-17 word count: 2360 summary: reader is in a rocky relationship with billy and steve, her best friend, hates that he can't do anything about it. warnings: angst, a whole lot of angst and fluff. friends to lovers, mentions of domestic violence (nothing explicit or graphic), cheating, name calling, self image issues, dustin being a little shit and pet names (sweetheart). i guess that's all, hit me up if i missed anything. inspired by girl in red's "midnight love"

“Steve… Can I come over?” his best friend sobbed on the other side of the phone. 

“Yeah.”

Steve got that call at least once a week. Well, at least since when she started dating Billy. 

Steve hated seeing his best friend being treated this way. 

He had lost count of how many times he greeted his friend crying, how many times he held her in his bed while she sobbed to sleep, or how many times she promised it would be the last. 

It broke him. 

The doorbell rings and Steve knows it’s her. As he opens the door, he takes in her image. Her usually neatly styled hair was a mess, her sparkly eyes were filled with tears, mascara running down her beautiful face, lips swollen from biting them too hard, and she held her left arm, finger shaped bruises already forming. 

Steve let her in silently, guiding her to the kitchen where he already had prepared some chamomile tea, in hopes that the warm drink would calm her down. 

She sat on the table, warming her hand on the teacup before drinking it. She couldn’t look at Steve. 

“Billy cheated on me with Carol. I went to his place and Max tried to stop and warn me but I found him in bed with her,” she sobbed, “he started screaming at me like I was the one doing something wrong and…” Steve’s mind was going 100 miles per hour, her voice completely muffled by his thoughts. As she went on, his body filled with rage and resentment. 

“Steve, are you listening to m–“

“I can’t do this anymore.” he interrupted her. 

“What?”

“I said I can’t fucking do this anymore.” The tone of his voice startled her and tears soon filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry for raising my voice. But I can’t do this anymore, sweetheart.”

“Steve–“ her voice was timid. 

“I can’t be your second best. I can’t be the one you come to whenever you have a fallout with Billy, only to watch you go back to him again. I can’t! This hurts me too and I’m tired.” He sighed. “I’m so fucking tired. How many times have I told you he’s a piece of shit? He’s hurting you, sweetheart, hurting you! And still you go back to him and every time it gets worse and worse and I can’t do anything about it. It hurts me too and I’m tired… I’m so tired..”

She nodded and got up, her shaking hands cleaning the tears that had started to spill.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry.” he said as he tried to hold her hand. 

She shakes her head, stopping him, “It’s okay, Steve. You’re right. I’ve just been blind this whole time hoping Billy would change.”

“I won’t bother you anymore.” 

“Sweetheart, please–“

“Bye, Steve.” she said as she left his house. 

꙳⸌♡⸍꙳

Two months.

It has been two long months since she and Steve had last spoken. Two long months of Steve watching her sit alone in the cafeteria during break, two long months of only getting any news of her from the kids. 

“Erica said she has been a little off lately, she’s barely even playing with her anymore, Steve.” Lucas told Steve when he asked if she still babysitted for the Sinclairs. 

“I don’t know, Steve. Ask her yourself! She hasn’t been around since the whole Carol incident, Billy even tried to go after her a few days later and nothing. I think they are done for real this time.” Max told him one night while he dropped her off. 

He even went after that Buckley girl she always hung out with during P.E. “Depends on the day, Harrington. Sometimes she’s fine, we talk about random things and watch a few movies, somedays she’s quiet and all she can think about is you, and if we end up talking about you, she goes to the bathroom to cry.” 

“She refuses to sit with anybody else during lunch, it’s insane!” Robin sighed and continued, “She misses you and is terrified she might have lost you… fuck, she’s going to hate me for this so please if you do talk to her, don’t tell her it was me who told you, but she loves you, Steve. Like love love, nothing platonic.”

“But– I thought– Billy–“ Confusion took over Steve’s face. 

Robin let out a chuckle “God, you really are just as clueless as she says you are. It’s not on me to tell anything else about her feelings, but Billy was just a distraction.”

“Distraction?”

Robin laughs.

“Look, Steve, I’ve got to go,” she got up, gathering her belongings. “But talk to her, okay?” she squeezed his hand hard, “Promise?”

Steve nodded. 

꙳⸌♡⸍꙳

Thursdays were ice cream night for Steve and Dustin and for her. Well, at least it used to be since everything went down. 

These past few months Steve tried to keep some sort of normalcy to it, he would go out to Scoops Ahoy with Dustin, grab the biggest ice cream available and talk the night away with the boy just like they always did. The only difference was that Steve would always buy her favourite flavour to go and give it to Dustin so the boy could give it to his neighbour. 

Dustin had been going on and on about the summer camp he would be going to this year for at least half an hour, and Steve couldn’t pay attention to one word the kid had said, the only thing in his mind was Robin’s voice saying “She loves you.”

“Earth to Steve! Earth to Steve!” Dustin said as he snapped his fingers on the older boy’s face. “Have you listened to one word I’ve said?”

“She loves me.” Steve said, his eyes and voice looking and sounding completely lost. 

“Who?”

“Sweetheart.”

“Yeah, no shit Steve!”

“How did you kn–“ Dustin cut him off. 

“Anyone with two eyes could see it, Steve!” the kid said exasperated. “Who told you this? Did you finally talk to her?”

“I talked to Robin today an–“

“Who’s Robin?” Dustin cut Steve off again, his mouth full of chocolate ice cream. 

“Jesus, Dustin will you let me fucking finish?” 

The boy motioned for him to keep going. 

“Robin does P.E. with her, anyway, I talked to Robin today and she told me.” Steve’s hands goes to his hair, making a mess while he sighed, “I fucked up, dude.”

“What are you waiting for?”

Steve raised an eyebrow at the boy. 

“Do I have to explain everything to you? Get her favourite and go talk to her.”

“Now?”

“Now, Steve! Let’s go!”

The ride back to her place was quiet except for the sounds of Steve nervously drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. 

Steve parked between hers and Dustin’s house and panic slowly set in. 

“Here,” Dustin said, interrupting the imminent panic attack that was coming, and handed him the ice cream tube. “She’s probably waiting for me to bring it to her, so it probably shouldn’t take long for her to answer.”

“Okay, okay.” Steve nodded. 

The boys got out of the car and Steve slowly made his way around it to get to her pathway. Dustin stopped him. “Her mom is now taking the night shifts at the hospital, so you don’t have to worry about her getting in the way.”

“Was that supposed to make me feel better? I don’t know if I can be alone with her.”

“Steve, go! Everything will be okay!”

“Okay, yeah! I’m going.”

Steve finally made his way to her door and knocked on it. The ten seconds it took her to answer the door was the longest one of his life, as his throat was dry and his hands sweaty. 

“Dusty– oh.”

“Hey.” Steve said, nervousness clear in his voice. 

“Hey.”

“I got you ice cream.” Steve brought the tube to her eye level. 

“Thanks.” she said as she took the tube from his trembling hands. 

They kept staring at each other, her grip on the door handle so tight her knuckles were turning white, and Steve’s mind going miles per hour, the speech he had formulated on the way to hers completely scrambled. 

“Can we– umm, can we talk?” he asked. 

She nodded and told him to come in. “Just let me put this in the fridge.”

Steve sat down on her kitchen table’s chair as she put the ice cream away. 

“So…”

“So…” they said together. 

“You first.”

“You first.” they spoke together once again, earning a shy smile from both of them. 

“You first, Steve.”

“What happened to ‘ladies first?’” Steve joked, making her giggle. 

“Well, you’re the one who came around asking to talk.”

He nodded and laughed a humourless laugh. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I acted that day, I shouldn’t have talked to you that way, I shouldn’t have pushed you away.”

“Steve–“

“Please, please, let me finish.”

She nodded. 

“I had this whole speech planned out, you know.” Steve laughed. “I just– I love you, I’ve loved you for so long and never did anything about it because I was terrified of losing you, you know?”

“And then Billy came along and a part of me was pretending it would be okay because then I could move on, but god I was so jealous of you, and even more so, worried. Worried because you wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to warn you about Billy… and then I became your second best, I became the one that you ran to when shit happened. And don’t get me wrong, I loved that you trusted me enough for it, but it hurt me so bad seeing the way I did, seeing you crying, seeing you bruised.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, sweetheart.”

She sat down next to him, taking his hand on hers, playing with his fingers. 

“Billy started out as a distraction, you know? You were always going out with other girls, prettier girls, and you always made sure to state that we were just friends,” she wiped a tear before continuing “and you know I’ve never been a hit with boys so… so you can only imagine what went on my mind when this super hot dude from California arrived out of nowhere, asked me out and showed some interest on me.”

“I love you too, Stevie, so fucking much. I’ve loved you since fourth grade, when I fell from the jungle gym and you ran to help me and take me to the nurse’s office.” They laughed at the memory. “I just… I felt like it was too late, you know… so I just kept going back to him. You kept going on dates and in my mind you would find someone nice and settle with them, so I just took what Billy had to offered and ended in this fucking cycle of– of whatever the fuck that was.” She started crying and Steve pulled her into his chest. His lips found the crown of her head, depositing little soothing kisses and shushing her, promising everything would be okay. 

Her arms found their way around his waist as she rested her head on his chest, his steady breathing helping her calm down. 

“I haven’t seen him since that day, I mean, anywhere outside of school at least. He came around one day and tried to talk to me, but my mom was around and told him to leave, and that if he tried to come around here again, she would call the police.”

“Good.”

Silence engulfed them and Steve cherished the moment. She was sitting on his lap, hugging him. His arms holding her tightly to him, as if she would run away if he let it a bit looser. His left hand held her shoulder, as the right caressed her back, inside her shirt. Steve could feel the goosebumps form on her skin, and he relished the way her nose bumped on his throat and neck as she looked up at him. 

“Can I kiss you, Stevie?”

Steve nodded and silently closed the gap between their lips.

The kiss was shy at first, just two best friends finally admitting their feelings towards each other, but it wasn’t long before it got full of passion and urgency, full of need to make up for lost time. 

Soon the need for air came and they broke the kiss, Steve resting his forehead on her own. 

“Hey.” He said, a dopey smile adorning his beautiful features.”

“Hey, Stevie.”

“Sooo…” Steve stretched out the syllable, hinting that he was nervous with what he was about to do. 

“Yes, Stevie.” She said playfully, giving a little love bite to his chin. 

“Does this” he motioned with his hands to the state they were in “mean that I’m yours and you’re mine?”

She laughed, not a mean laugh, but a happy and emotional one. 

“I’m yours, Stevie. Only yours, always yours.”

Feedback is welcomed and appreciated 🤎

[crissiebaby]

The Padded Palace Act III: Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: This story contains diaper usage, crossdressing, inappropriate language, humiliation, masturbation/diaper sex, and other ABDL themes. Be sure to check out the link in the description if you need to start all the way back from the first chapter in Act I! I hope you enjoy!

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

“Old MacDonald had a farm!”

“Ee-I-Ee-I-O!”

“And on that farm, he had some cows!”

“Ee-I-Ee-I-O!”

Singing back and forth in tandem, Latasha and Skye were making the most out of their time on the road by singing along to a children’s CD together. While kiddy songs weren’t something that Latasha or even Skye listened to on their own, car trip sing-a-longs were a favorite pastime amongst the Padded Palace crew. It was the perfect exercise to keep Littles active and engaged, preventing any road trip boredom from causing civil unrest.

For Skye, she was more than happy to play along with her Mommy. It wasn’t even a half-an-hour after they departed from the Palace that all thoughts of her “feud” with Latasha over Connor were left in the rearview mirror, washing away any bitterness she may have felt toward her caregiver. Meanwhile, the nebulous anticipation of going to her first ABDL convention in a few years was slowly shifting to something more tangible as they drove closer to their destination. “Awe we dere yet, Mommy?” she asked as Old MacDonald began to fade out on the car’s stereo.

“Still a good couple of hours,” said Latasha, reaching down to the console and silently skipping the next song before it could start playing. Seconds later, a whimsical version of Baa Baa Black Sheep began to echo out of the car’s speakers. She signed with relief before continuing to speak, “How’s your diaper holding up, sweetie?”

Shifting in her seat, Skye’s butt could be numb and the noise alone would be enough to tell her she was drenched. Luckily for her, she was able to feel every squelch that her diaper created, causing her to blush like crazy as she responded, “I-Ish pwetty wet buh I fink I gud fo nows.” With her eyes locked on Latasha to make sure she didn’t see anything, the pervy Little’s hand slowly slipped between her legs as she ran her finger along the crotch of her diaper, biting her lip seductively.

Believing herself to be extremely stealthy, it would come as quite a shock if Skye were to find out that Latasha was well aware of what she was doing even without having to look. Crinkly diapers had a way of letting Bigs know when their Littles were getting too handsy. Luckily for Skye, Latasha had no interest in disrupting Skye’s fun. It was a lengthy trip for anyone, especially a Little. As a seasoned Big, she knew in moments like this, it was best not to discourage self-exploration.

Still, it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Latasha that Skye’s horny nature was popping up more and more recently. Whether it was during naps, at lunchtime, or in the nursery, Skye’s hands were constantly slipping between her legs to grab a big, naughty handful of diaper fluff. She’d considered sitting Skye down to address the subject but decided against it out of fear that Skye would end up regressing back to her old, isolationist ways. Though, if things continued to escalate, she’d be left with no choice. The best thing to do for now was to cut her off nonchalantly when needed without tipping her off to the reality of how noisy her solo play sessions were. And since they were alone and on the road until at least 6 PM, she had no issue letting Skye go to town on herself.

As her breathing picked up, Skye began rocking back and forth in her car seat, her hips thrusting as her sex drive overwhelmed her senses. Due to masturbating two to three times a day on average now, Latasha had one massively horny baby on her hands. Ever since that weekend with Carol and Ellie, her arousal had become too much to control, causing her to crave similar treatment whenever her kitten began to moisten. Only, as much as she loved Latasha, she didn’t want that kind of relationship with her, but with Connor. She imagined his hand on her diaper as she pushed herself into a climax, emitting the tiniest of squeaks as she exploded in her diaper.

“I’m gonna be stopping for lunch soon. Does a Happy Meal sound good?” said Latasha, waiting until she heard Skye finish before asking about food.

Sitting up straight in an attempt to act casual, Skye nodded shakily, still coming down from her pleasure high. “Uh, y-yes! Dat souns yummy!” she responded, feeling like the naughtiest girl in the world as she recovered from her “secret” orgasm. Looking out the window at the wide open plain filled with countless rows of corn, she sighed contently, knowing this would be far from her final orgasm of the weekend.

Seeing Skye’s satisfied expression in the mirror, Latasha could only smile at her precious, lustful baby girl. It had been far too long since it was just the two of them and with this weekend already starting on a high note, their time at CrissCon 2023 was bound to be a memorable experience. Her only regret was that Little ConCon could join them for his first con. She hoped he was having as much fun running the Padded Palace on his own as she and Skye were having.

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

“This is pure misery,” thought Connor, sweat beating down from his forehead as he rushed back into the kitchen to check on lunch. It had been an eventful morning for the freshman caregiver, to say the least. After two months of working as Latasha’s pair of extra hands, he had failed to realize just how much of a Herculean task it was to operate an adult baby daycare center on his own, “Seriously, how did Latasha pull this off for months on end?!”

Opening the oven, Connor looked at the pan filled with sizzling dinosaur chicken nuggets, nodding his head affirmatively as he shuttered the oven again and began setting out plates on the kitchen counter. “Perfect, another two minutes and those should be good to go,” he said to himself, the tiniest feeling of relief creeping up on him as he’d nearly managed to cross one thing off his extensive to-do list.

“CONNOW! I NEED HEWP!”

As he set a third plate on the countertop, Connor exhaled solemnly, lowering his head as an over-energized Little’s voice bellowed out into the hallway. “One sec!” he shouted back, barely hanging onto the kind, patient voice he tried to maintain at all times.

Exiting the kitchen, Connor jogged back into the nursery to find Ellie and Stacy playing tug-of-war with a long, caterpillar stuffy that had all 26 letters of the alphabet on its stubby legs and the numbers 1 through 12 lining its back. “Teww Stacy ta give him back!” shrieked Ellie, pulling on the plushy with all her might.

Clinging to the caterpillar’s lower half, Stacy’s hold on the stuffed animal was nigh unbreakable thanks to the way she had it clamped between her thighs. “My tuwns nod over yet!” she barked back, lifting a hand off the fluffy friend and pushing Ellie backward with a big shove.

The direct attack caused Ellie to instantly release her half of the stuffy, sending her tumbling backward onto her padded rump. It wasn’t long after that the waterworks kicked up. “WAAAAAAAAAAH!” she yelled mercilessly, forcing everyone in the immediate area to cover their ears.

Braving the reverberation of Ellie’s cries, Connor approached the wailing girl and brought her in for a comforting hug. “Shhh, shhh, shhh! It’s okay. It was an accident,” he said, lowering Ellie’s tantrum from all-out screaming to sniffling in seconds. Patting Ellie’s back to console her, he closed his eyes and soaked in the momentary silence, using his hug with Ellie as his own source of comfort.

“Why does Ewwie gets da hug?! I da victim hewe!” shouted Stacy, dropping the caterpillar to her feet as he placed her hands on her hips in a huff.

Connor glared as he turned to look at Stacy, letting his emotions get the better of him as he found himself unable to maintain impartiality. “I don’t care who started it. You know better than to get physical,” he said, continuing to pet Ellie’s hair.

“Connow’s wite,” chimed in Riri, who was contently minding her business as she knelt in front of the easy-bake oven working on her overly-sprinkled cookies, “Pwus, chus did pwomise ta let Ewwie have it wike an howr ago.”

Sticking her tongue out at Riri, Stacy was less than pleased with how everyone in the nursery was gaining up on her. “Chu weren even a pawt of dis, sho shush!” she said assertively, pointing a harsh finger in Riri’s direction, “It don even madder anyways cuz Connow towd me I cood have dis stuffy aww day if I wanted! Wite Connow?” She swiveled her head Connor’s way, narrowing her gaze and shifting her eyes down to his crotch for a split-second as a rotten smirk grew on her face.

As much as Connor wanted to call out Stacy’s obvious bullshit, he knew outing her lie now would only result in her outing the pull-ups he was currently dawning. Begrudgingly, he had no choice but to relent. “Sorry, I-I forgot I said you could all day if you wanted,” he said, his heart filling with unfettered guilt as he stared into the shocked expressions that Riri and Ellie now wore.

“See? Towd ya!” said Stacy, presenting her tongue once again to Riri, this time in victory. Sniffing the air, her sadistic smile only grew as the scent of char filled the air, “By da way, it smewws wike sumfings buwning.”

With his eyes going as wide as the empty plates he had set out on the kitchen counter, Connor released his grip around Ellie’s shoulders and jumped to his feet. Dashing toward the kitchen, he beelined straight to the oven and pulled the door open, only to be met with a puff of smoke and two dozen nearly-black dino nuggies spaced out evenly on the metal tray. He shut the oven door quickly so as not to allow the smoke to set off the fire alarm. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath, leaning his head against the microwave that was built in the space over the stovetop.

“I-Is evewyfing okie?”

Whipping around, Connor was disheartened to find three sets of concerned, hungry eyes. Well, more like two sets. Stacy was still smirking up a storm, which somehow made Connor feel even more incompetent than if she just felt sorry for him. Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he knew there was no way to cover up the mistake he had made. Flashing a wide grimace, he did his best to stay positive in the face of mounting anxiety, “So uh…w-who’s up to order pizza?”

TO CONTINUED…

« PREVIOUS l FIRST l NEXT »

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

Heyyo! Can't wait until next week for more Padded Palace!? Subscribe to my Patreon, where you can get early access to main series chapters like this one, as well as exclusive content you won't find anywhere else! Join my dollhouse at patreon.com/crissiebaby!

Edited by AllySmolShork

[cottagecore-onceler]

Chapter 4 / Onceler x Reader

(Laura Les - Haunted playing in the background)

This time, the journey was quick. You weren’t making stops or looking back, you just wanted to get to your cabin. April was particularly warm, but that day the morning air was cold and you were shivering in your light jacket. You didn’t care. Over the past half a year you and Onceler had become so close, you needed to see him to know it was real. Nothing could stop you now. 

You felt anger. Not at him, at yourself. But it wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling. It felt empowering. Like you owned the world and had the power to do anything you pleased. Haunted was blasting on your airpods, practically shattering your eardrums. You felt hysterical, in a sort of good way though. As if you felt everything at once. As if you felt everything at once and it wasn’t an issue at all. The anger quickly vanished, leaving you energised. You felt good. You were gonna get him, no matter what.

You could see your cabin on the horizon. There it is, your little corner of the world. And there he was as well. Standing in front of it, looking at you with a smile. There was something different about him. For starters, he seemed taller, which you initially thought was absolutely impossible. His clothes were different as well - he was wearing green, tailored pants and an elegant shirt with a green tie. What seemed like a matching coat was laying on a bench at your doorstep. He ran in your direction.

- I didn’t expect-

He didn’t let you finish as he grabbed your face and pushed it into his. His lips were soft and tender, as was the unexpected kiss. His hands were warm and precise, caressing the back of your neck. You put your hands around his waist pushing him closer, as if muscle memory took over your body, still dwelling in the memory of that bike ride 6 months ago. You felt calm. No questions had to be answered. This was all you needed to know.

- 6 months - he said after what seemed like eternity of kissing - we’ve lost 6 months. But we’ll get them back. Just don’t leave, ever again.

- I won’t - you whispered, holding onto his body.

...

(Carol - So Low playing in the background)

You shed a single tear.

Onceler’s head was still lying comfortably on your lap. He looked confused.

- Y/n? Why are you crying? - he sat next to you and wrapped his arms around you - it’s okay. It’s good. 

A big, fat lump emerged in your throat. Unable to speak, you curled up in his arms.

This memory. This particular memory hurt the most. As years passed, it felt increasingly more like a cancer, growing in your brain, taking over bigger and bigger parts of your neglectful mind. It was the beginning of your new life and the end of a version of you which died with it. You had every reason to hate her - she was weak and unambitious. She couldn’t have accomplished what you have. You had to let her go. Nevertheless, that week the two you had spent together when you came back was the best time of your life. All of the joyful, naive innocence of your past self was preserved in it, forever.

...

(strongboi - honey thighs playing softly in the background)

You woke up to the smell of pancakes. 

- Where are you sneaking off to? - you yawned, stretching your arms. 

Onceler was fully dressed and preparing breakfast, while you were still lying in bed. He looked adorable with an apron over his suit. Last night assured you about the realness of your relationship. You two were definitely a thing now. 

- I think you might’ve forgotten that I need to go to work - he laughed - but I’ll be back around noon.

- Can’t you take a day off? - you insisted.

- Not today - he flipped a pancake - I have a very important meeting. But we could go to the lake when I get back.

- I’ll consider it - you grinned - wait, when did you get groceries? Everything in the fridge must’ve rotten when I was away.

- Yesterday, before you arrived - he said with a smile - your kitchen is now fully equipped, no need to thank me.

- Wow, okay - you were impressed - you can take my bike to work, it’ll be faster than walking.

- You can’t bike in a suit - he laughed, handing you a plate of pancakes - I called a cab. You get some rest and unpack, I’ll be back as soon as I can.

- You need to show me your new workshop - you said, biting into your breakfast.

- Yeah, sure - he replied with a hint of anxiety in his voice - but it’s under construction now. We had an accident last week.

- What accident? Everything all right?

- There was, um, a fire. But it was small, we just need to… repaint the walls. That’s all, nothing serious.

- Okay - you said - then we can go see it together when it’s ready.

- We will - he put on his coat, came up to you and gave you a kiss. You didn’t want him to go anywhere - but in the meantime, get some more sleep.

You finished your breakfast and took a shower. It was 6 A.M. “Why would he wake up so early?”, you thought. The thneed business must’ve been going well. You cleaned up around the cabin, unpacked your stuff and went outside. You laid a blanket on the freshly grown grass and started reading a book. Spring in the Truffula Valley was beautiful - the trees were blooming and you could hear birds chirping all around. You put the book aside and laid on your back, gazing at the sky. Subtle rays of sunlight had reached your skin from in-between the blossoming Truffula tufts. You missed this place so much. It seemed almost unreal how everything was suddenly going your way. 

- Y/n! - you suddenly heard Onceler’s distant voice - where are you?

- Backyard! - you yelled.

- Meeting finished earlier than I expected. And guess what! - his slender silhouette emerged from in-between the trees - I took a week off. 

- That’a amazing! We can pretend to be on vacation - you grinned.

- Hey, I’m not pretending! - he laughed and sat next to you - this actually is a formal vacation.

- Don’t remind me about my unemployment - you sighed - I don’t think the cinema will take me back. I should start looking for something soon. 

- Not yet - he kissed your forehead - let’s just enjoy the vacation for now.

- We could stay at your cottage as well, you know - you covered your eyes with your hand, as sunshine brightened -  I don’t mind.

- I actually think I prefer it here - he smiled - this part of the forest is way nicer.

- As you wish - you smiled back at him.

- Aaaand… before I forget - he reached into the pocket of his coat - I thought it would be nice to get you a little welcome home gift.

- You shouldn’t have! - you got up, excited.

He took your hand and put a bracelet around your wrist. It was a string of big, irregular pearls, each different from another, all glimmering in the sunlight.

- No! - you looked at him, stunned - no way! It’s beautiful!

- It’s hand made and one of a kind - he said, still holding your wrist, surprisingly gently, as if he was afraid he could break it - I’m glad you like it!

- I love it! - you kissed him, wrapping your arms around his waist.

That was the first time you noticed he smelled different. His usual perfume was spicy, with a little hint of tabacco leaf sweetness.You remembered it exceptionally well after the night you had spent together in his cottage and you could swear you smelled it in the morning, when he was getting ready for work. You really liked this scent. Now he reeked of something industrial, like car fumes or tar. It was almost suffocating.

- Hey, what is it? - he asked, noticing your wry expression.

- Um - you tried to be delicate, but the odour only seemed to intensify becoming more and more nauseating - you stink.

- Ouch! - he laughed nervously and for a moment you felt really stupid - it’s probably because of the construction. After the fire. You know, paint smells.

- What are you painting with? Sulflur? - you covered your nose mockingly.

- Now that’s just mean - he scoffed - I promise to wash my suit, happy?

- Very much so - you replied - so, what’s in the itinerary?

- How bout that trip to the lake?

- We could do that. But first I need to go to Greenville for some oatmilk.

- You don’t drink regular milk? - he seemed surprised.

- Do I not look like I’m lactose intolerant? - you laughed.

- Well, since you eat cheese, I assumed you’re not - he scoffed.

- Cheese doesn’t count. It’ll take me an hour tops. Then we go to the lake.

- How about - he kissed your bare shoulder and made that amazingly adorable smile - we go to the lake now and I’ll get oatmilk tomorrow morning. I need to get something from my cottage anyway.

- Can I come with you? - you asked.

- I’m pretty sure you’d hate it - he replied - the construction workers are everywhere, it’s a huge mess.

- Okay then, let’s go to the lake - you said - just, please, change your stinky clothes.

...

(The Cranberries - Dreams starts playing in the background)

Just like that memorable evening 6 months ago, he hopped on the bike and you sat behind him, wrapping your arms tightly around his waist. This time you didn’t feel nervous at all. For the first time in your life you were truly, fully happy. Everything was going your way and nothing could disturb your new-found peace of mind. Moreover, for the first time in your life you felt calm thinking about the future. It wasn’t mysterious and anxiety-filled anymore. Future looked fun.

The lake was only 30 minutes away from your cabin, in the opposite direction to Onceler’s cottage, which was also why he’d never been there. 

- Turn right! - you screeched as he almost hit a tree, not knowing his way around this part of the forest - if you break my bike, I’ll break you.

- Will you relax for a second? - he laughed - I know how to ride a bike.

You were relaxed. How could you feel any different? Holding onto him, your entire body felt at ease. You dreamed about this moment for half a year, entrapped in this stupid town with no one to talk to. The tingly sensation in your chest which accompanied your daily phone calls was now spread all over your body. You’ve never felt this kind of joy. You’ve also never been truly in love before. It was a new kind of high, completely unknown to your confined perception of reality. As moments passed, you forced your brain to focus and remember each and every detail. The softness of his hands, the tone of his voice, the warm wind in your hair and the way he’d constantly look around his shoulder to check if you were still there, as if you could just vanish into thin air. You wanted to experience everything as intensively as humanly possible.

When you arrived at the lake, Onceler was amazed.

- This is the most beautiful place, okay, I have ever seen - he said, looking into the clear, turquoise water. 

You smiled - that was your exact same reaction when you accidentally found this place almost two years ago now. The lake itself wasn’t very big. It was connected to a stream which ran through the entire Valley, from the eastern parts, near the lake and your cabin, to the west, close to Greenville and Onceler’s cottage. Its water was extremely clean as there was no city nearby. Actually, pretty much no one would come here at all. Truffulas growing in this area were way taller than regular ones, their tufts were also slightly bigger. Must’ve been something about the water and its healing properties. They grew densely around the clear, perfectly blue lake, making the scenery exceptionally charming.

You immediately took your clothes and the bracelet off - exposing the prettiest set of lingerie you could find in your closet -  and jumped into the water. You got so warmed up during the ride, the cold water felt exceptionally refreshing. 

- Come on in! - you shouted to Onceler sitting calmly on the shore.

- Na-ah, not yet - he winced - isn’t it freezing?

- It’s perfect.

You relaxed your arms and legs. Your body was floating on the surface of the lake, gently, undisturbed. The sun was shining directly into your face, which made the cool temperature of the water feel slightly warmer than it really was. A weak current was slowly sweeping you away from the shore.

“He seems anxious”

This thought appeared out of nowhere, almost as if someone else said it in your head. You took a deep breath and dived into the water.

“Why does he seem anxious?”

You really couldn’t shake off this sudden, intuitive feeling that something is wrong. You knew you were probably just overthinking, but he really did seem different. Like there was something he wasn’t telling you. Could it be possible that he changed his mind about you? It really didn’t seem likely - he gave you all the reasons to trust him. You knew damn well that if you let yourself worry about it too long, your mind would spiral out of control. God, what if he only started dating you as a prank? “You’re better than this”, you thought, deciding to simply confront him about this instead of succumbing to your anxiety-filled brain.

- Hey - you stepped out of the water, wrapping a thneed around your shoulders - you seem nervous.

You sat next to him, feeling his warm hand grabbing yours.

- Nervous? I’m not nervous - he scoffed.

- What is it then?

- First of all, your hand. It’s super cold - he smirked - I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be outdoor swimming in April, I know it’s really warm in the sun, but it’s just not the same…

- Stop joking - you interrupted him - I can see you’re worried about something. Be honest with me.

- Is it that obvious? - he looked at you with a half-smile.

- I guess - you sighed - is it, um… something about me?

- No! - he grabbed both of your hands and looked you in the eyes - don’t ever say that. Don’t ever think that - he took a deep breath - This… us… it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.

- What is it then? - your face was inches away from his. 

- Let me finish - he smiled - I am crazy about you, y/n. I have been ever since that evening half a year ago. Do you… do you feel the same way about me?

- I do - you whispered - but you’re changing the subject again.

- I’m just… worried about the company. That’s all, really.

- You can go back to work if you want to.

- But I don’t. I want to spend this week with you. I’ll try to stop worrying, I promise - he laid his soft hand on your cheek and brushed it through your hair.

- You could talk to me about it too, you know? - you said with reproach.

- Yeah, and bore you to death? - he laughed.

- It’s not that boring. I mean, when we talked on the phone it seemed pretty exciting. 

- It’s not… that exciting - you could sense that peculiar hint of anxiety in his tone - no work talk yet, okay? I promise to let you in on every possible detail of my business next week - he smiled before his lips pressed softly against yours with a short, but tender kiss - now let’s just enjoy our vacation.

...

The next 5 days felt almost unreal. You passed time walking around the forest, swimming in the lake and playing cards in the dim sunlight of early Spring evenings. Each morning you woke up wrapped securely in his arms, covered in warm rays of sunshine coming from your curtain covered windows. Your cabin was soaked in the smell of pancakes he made every morning. 

You used to think you were happy before. You used to find comfort in your loneliness, seeing yourself as perfectly self-sufficient. You really thought letting anyone into your small, sheltered world would shatter it forever. He became such a vital part of your life so quickly, you couldn’t imagine living this way anymore. Suddenly it seemed like there had been a longing in your soul and body to which he was the only right answer. Everything has changed.

You fell asleep with your head on his chest. You had some wine this evening, which must’ve been the reason why that nightmare returned. Onceler was once again sitting in a ridiculously large chair, in a top hat and a suit, with giant, endless piles of money behind him. You weren’t in the room with him. Once again, you were standing outside, watching him through a window. Paralysed, unable to move or speak. Suddenly everything started spinning.

You woke up covered in cold sweat.

- I just had the worst…

He wasn’t there. You were in your bed alone.

You immediately stood up, startled. His book, his clothes and toothbrush were still there. His coat was gone. Your heart was pounding out of your chest. Maybe he went outside for a midnight stroll? You went outside - he wasn’t there.

- Onceler! - you screamed hysterically. 

Dead silence.

You went back inside, started brushing your teeth, preparing for organising a search party. Feeling completely and utterly helpless you decided to go through his stuff. Between what seemed like hundreds of dirty, plain white shirts your fingers stumbled upon a creased piece of paper. It was a blueprint.

The toothbrush fell out of your hands.

(Mareux - Perfect Girl playing in the background)

[hellomynameisbisexual]

“back for a minute. i’m bi. congrats for forcing an 18 year old to out himself. i think some of you missed the point of the show. bye,” the British actor wrote.

His declaration came following months of relentless speculation, discussion and obsession from fans around the actor’s sexuality.

Heartstopper premiered on Netflix earlier this year as a streaming adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel of the same name. The series follows two boys in high school, Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick (Connor) as they fall in love and navigate friendships, coming out and questions of identity. The series was praised for its sweet and warm depictions of young love— particularly the exploration of Nick’s bisexuality—and for its diverse cast of queer and trans youth.

But until now, unlike many of his castmates, Connor hadn’t publicly identified his sexuality. And many fans seemed to take issue with that absent label, particularly when images of Connor holding hands with actress Maia Reficco circulated in September with suggestions that the actor was straight playing gay—despite bisexual people who date other genders definitely being real! Connor temporarily left Twitter due to the public scrutiny and accusations that he was “queerbaiting.”

Ultimately, this entire situation shows a fundamental flaw in our cultural expectation of what makes for “good” queer representation onscreen and off, and how we still have some work to do in its understanding of identity and representation.

What does queerbaiting mean?

The notion of queerbaiting is pretty nebulous these days, with fans quick to use it in reference to everything from Harry Styles’s magazine covers to Madonna’s TikTok.

But in its origin, queerbaiting was meant to describe a marketing technique, often for a piece of media, that hinted at queer content, but didn’t actually follow through. For fellow members of my very specific generation on Tumblr, the prime example is Supernatural, a show that teased a central gay relationship between Dean and Castial, but didn’t pay off until the series’ end. Or the BBC Sherlock series that features its fair share of longing glances between Watson and Holmes, but no actual acknowledgement of anything queer going on.

But it’s a lot more complicated when we start talking about real people. Were Queer Eye stars Jonathan Van Ness and Antoni Porowski queerbaiting when they teased a new brand partnership with language and social media posts that hinted they were dating last month? Is a straight—or at least apparently straight—actor queerbaiting when they play a queer character?

To put it simply: no! A straight or straight-passing actor playing an openly queer character is not queerbaiting! It’s a whole different thing, and the fact that that term has continually been tossed around shows fans’ fundamental misunderstanding of what’s going on here. The entire situation with Connor highlights a reductive sense of identity politics when it comes to queer (or not) actors and the portrayal of queer characters. In 2022, it’s not as simple as queer actor playing queer = good, straight actor playing queer = bad.

When straight playing gay is okay

Yeah, there have been some pretty egregious examples of straight/cis (or apparently straight/cis) actors playing queer or trans characters (hi, Eddie Redmayne), but there are a slew of actors who are celebrated for playing queer despite all indications that they’re straight. Fans cheered when director Rian Johnson described Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc from the Knives Out films as being queer. And Cate Blanchett (who my partner described as being married to the most boring-looking man in the world) is garnering rave reviews and Oscars buzz for her climactic turn as a lesbian in Tár—just as she did a decade ago in Carol.

Those two know what they’re doing, have stated who they are and have also demonstrated a fondness and allyship to queer folks again and again (just look to Blanchett’s many interviews on the subject and Craig’s noted adoration of gay bars alongside wife and fellow frequent player of gay, Rachel Weisz).

“I will fight to the death for the right to suspend disbelief and play roles beyond my experience. I think reality television and all that that entails had an extraordinary impact, a profound impact on the way we view the creation of character,” Blanchett told the Hollywood Reporter in 2018.

Blanchett’s comments speak to the ideal world I and many others aspire to when it comes to representation in film: queer actors can play straight just as a bisexual actor can play gay or a straight actor can play bi, so long as they’re doing it right. I like to optimistically think we’ve moved past an era of queer people only getting cast (and paid) for queer roles.

But one key thing separating Criag and Blanchett from Connor is age. He’s 18. I don’t know about you, but when I was 18 I thought I was a very different person and used very different labels to describe myself than I do 10 years later. At that time in my life I leaned toward avoiding labels altogether, because I didn’t know which one quite fit.

One of the great things about the progress we’ve made as a culture in LGBTQ2S+ representation is how we don’t have to put people into neat boxes any more. Genders change. Sexualities change. The words we use to describe them and ourselves are constantly in flux. It’s an exciting time to be a young person, because ostensibly you don’t have to have all of the answers right away. You don’t have to “come out” as straight or gay or anything until you’re ready. It’s part of the reason young people are increasingly identifying as non-binary: why stick to one gender and box yourself in?

It’s the sort of utopia so many of our queer and trans ancestors who came before us have fought for. Or so it seems: what happened to Connor shows that fans haven’t moved as far forward as maybe we’ve hoped.

I ran a fandom Tumblr account for years, so I understand how important and meaningful it can feel for the person who made your favourite piece of media that reflects your identity to also reflect your identity themselves. But it’s more complicated than that, and we’ve got to remember that performers are real people—and in this case a young person just coming into adulthood with this huge spotlight on him. Give them time, give them grace and celebrate the fact that they get to figure this out on their own.

When they’re ready, they’ll tell us.

[in-a-faith-forgottenn-land]

I posted 9,421 times in 2022

That's 9,421 more posts than 2021!

98 posts created (1%)

9,323 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@taylorswifff

@daylightsimon

@spaghett-onaplate

@allineedisabook-18

@zee-has-commitment-issues

I tagged 2,427 of my posts in 2022

#harry potter - 170 posts

#ginny weasley - 119 posts

#young royals - 105 posts

#yes - 99 posts

#heartstopper - 97 posts

#the song of achilles - 89 posts

#hinny - 88 posts

#lmao - 53 posts

#hermione granger - 47 posts

#james potter - 43 posts

Longest Tag: 96 characters

#😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

“i don’t care” by ed sheeran and justin bieber is giving me hinny at ministry events vibes

14 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

#4

Me on May 2nd: I can’t believe this is the day lupin and tonks died and teddy wasn’t even a month old, the day Fred left George, Colin was so young… Also me: guess who died today??? Snivellus Snape! Bellatrix and Voldemort!!! Hahaha!! Let’s celebrate people!!!!!!

28 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

#3

What are your favorite blogs? :))

hi anon!! <33

i have a lot so here buckle up:

@allineedisabook-18 @taylorswifff @that-was-a-bit-stupid-of-you @moony-to-ur-pads @spaghett-shitposts @celestialsapphicc @zee-has-commitment-issues @youngroyalsascats @incorrect-patrochilles-quotes @maraudersupremacyyyyy @the-chronicles-of-a-bookworm @vahnithedreamer @were-all-just-stories @altruistic-meme @greekmyths-and-swifts13 @sliced-grapes @wille-simme @books-books-smolderinglooks @pipedreams13 @paranoiahaven @the-navistar-carol @myyoungroyalsblog @just-some-bookworm @ohmygodshesinsane @thaliasthunder @littlebabywille @daylightsimon @prince-simon @moonepiphany204 <33

41 notes - Posted October 13, 2022

#2

i just finished anne with an e and omg, it’s so so so good and funny and heartwarming. the ending was *chef’s kiss* wonderful, i love it.

AND IT IS MUCH GAYER THAN THE BOOK SERIES AND I LOVE IT. anne is so bisexual, like the way she and diana were holding hands, blowing kisses, and saying that they love each other is so gay??? aunt josephine is a lesbian and cole is gay?? i fucking love it.

im in depths of despair because the show is cancel and there wont be a season 4

122 notes - Posted June 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

no because the fact that patroclus gave achilles figs and a statue of him playing patroclus’ mother’s lyre as a sixteenth birthday present is fucking adorable 😭. i’m fucking crying

204 notes - Posted July 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[skyler10fic]

To Have and to Hold: Ch. 8 Picture It

By Skyler10

Summary: Invitations spark some angsty feelings for Carol in the morning, but then their photo shoot with Bobbi and Hunter ends the day on a happier, romantic note.

Read on Ao3

As April bloomed into the fullness of spring, plans continued to become reality. All of the wedding party had appropriate ceremony clothing that fit properly, the ring bands had arrived, and they had taken Bobbi and Hunter to see the venue for both decoration and photo planning purposes. Now, Carol and Daisy spent their spare time addressing and mailing invitations. As they sat at their kitchen table surrounded by pens and envelopes and return address labels, Daisy got a text from Bobbi that she had an opening for the boudoir shoot, using their secret code that there was “a tech issue” she needed Daisy’s help with. Daisy’s next task was to make sure Carol happened to be busy that day with Maria (who Daisy texted next for her phase of the plan). 

Carol got a text from Maria, not-so-coincidentally a few minutes later to offer a hangout day. 

“Saturday afternoon. Want to come?” Carol offered. 

“Oh man, I have a kickboxing class on Saturday, but you go ahead.” Daisy put her phone face down on the table and resumed sticking invitations in envelopes. 

“I can suggest another day if you want.” Carol paused between addressing the ones Daisy had already sealed. 

Daisy played it cool. “Nah, you go be a good godmother and help Monica practice being a flower girl.” She finished a stack of envelopes and switched to crossing the ones Carol had finished off their address list. Daisy’s heart sank when she noticed a line Carol had skipped. “Babe.” 

Carol stayed focused on adding their preprinted return labels and stamps to the ones she’d just addressed. “Mmhm?”

Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?” 

Carol’s eyes flicked to where Daisy’s thumb was positioned directly under Carol’s parents’ address. Daisy hadn’t crossed it off because Carol hadn’t addressed an envelope to them. 

“They seem to have made it clear how they feel.” Carol stacked the finished invitations and made sure they were each facing the same way. 

“You don’t want to at least give them the chance?” Daisy reached for Carol’s hand, but Carol picked up her pen and leaned over the table to write more. 

“Can I have the address sheet back, please?” 

Daisy complied but sat silently, watching her write. 

“What?” Carol gave in. 

“I totally get it if you don’t want them there. I’m not saying I do either.” Daisy held up her hands in peace. “Just—don’t let them have that ammunition to hold over you. They can go around saying their daughter didn’t even invite them to her wedding. Don’t let them have that power.” Her words were strong, but her tone was gentle. Still, Carol leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes with her fingertips. 

“What if I send it and they don’t come?” Carol opened her eyes and turned her head toward Daisy. Daisy could see the pain in her expression as she asked such a vulnerable question. “That’s just more ways they can reject us.” 

“Then at least you’ll never have to wonder,” Daisy insisted. “I honestly hope they don’t come. We do not need their drama, and if they don’t approve and don’t want to be there, we don’t want them there either. But if you send it, then you know your hands are clean no matter what. They can’t say shit. It’s your choice though. Whatever you want to do, that’s your decision to make.”   

Carol set aside a blank envelope with an invitation inside. “I’ll think about it.” She held up the one she had just addressed. “I am sending one to my brother, though.” 

“That’s good. He seemed at least a little supportive, maybe. Do you think he’ll come?” 

Carol raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Who knows. He’s not really one for weddings or parties even when they don’t come with family conflict attached, so I’d say it’s not very likely. But, like you said, at least I tried.” 

Daisy reached again for Carol’s hand, and this time Carol didn’t shy away. “I wish so much I could fix all of this for you. I’m so sorry I can’t.” 

“I just wish they could see how happy we are, you know?” Carol furrowed her brow. “Before you, before coming out to myself even, I was so angry and sad and alone. Surely they can see that difference over the last four years. The way I’ve changed. And the ways I’m better with you. But they can’t see it because they can barely look at us. You saw how my mom acted in that store at Christmas.”

“I remember,” Daisy agreed and soothed her thumb over the back of Carol’s hand.  

“She said she didn’t want to know about us and not to tell my dad we were getting engaged. I haven’t heard from them since.” Carol knew Daisy knew all of this. But she was still trying to process it months later. After a few seconds, the corner of her lip turned up as she remembered the rest of that week. “Yours, though. You know, when we first met I was so jealous of you and your parents. And then I didn’t have to be jealous anymore because they loved me too.” 

Daisy hummed happily. “Mmhm. They were almost as excited as I was when I told them we were dating, you know. They were big fans from the start.” 

Carol tilted her head in thought. “And now with our gay moms, Aunt Wendy and Victoria, I’ve somehow ended up with more parents despite not really having the original set anymore.”   

“God, I love them. If you need help deciding whether to invite your parents, call them. They would know what to do.” Daisy released Carol’s hand and they went back to their work sending out invitations and telling happier stories of the guests they were inviting. 

Daisy delighted to see Carol brightening despite the heartache. Daisy knew that hurt would always be there, but she’d do anything she could to ease the burden. It helped that Daisy’s mom was a safe place for Daisy to bring her own grief over it. Carol was obviously the one who mattered most in this situation, but Melinda eventually got Daisy to admit she also felt rejected by Carol’s parents and guilty for being the reason for so much of Carol’s pain. Melinda helped her see it wasn’t her fault, and anyway, it was Carol being gay that was the issue for the Danvers. Without Daisy, Carol would have had to either continue hiding herself from her parents or come out alone without the Coulsons’ love and support and safe place to land. Still, Daisy’s heart hurt not only for her bride but also to be the secondary target and major trigger of her future in-law’s homophobia. 

Externally, they dropped the issue, but internally, Daisy hesitantly stood by her encouragement for Carol to send her parents an invitation to emphasize it was their choice—not Carol’s—that they were estranged. But Daisy still prayed to whatever deity was up there that they wouldn’t actually come. Or preferably, that they wouldn’t even respond at all, especially if they were going to say something to make things worse. 

With the invitations done, the relief of another major item checked off their list lightened the mood for the day, and they moved on to making lunch and getting ready for their bridal shoot that afternoon. 

—---------

They couldn’t have asked for better weather for their photoshoot with Bobbi and Hunter. Only a few wispy high clouds floated across the late afternoon blue sky. Behind the pond on the studio property was a small wooded area, which provided a romantic setting for the more casual shots. Hunter showed Carol how to lean against the thick trunk of a tree with Daisy standing close. They reversed their positions, and Carol put out a hand to brace herself against the tree. 

“Move that arm a little lower,” Bobbi instructed. When Carol did so and leaned in, Daisy had to resist pulling her in for a kiss that would ruin the shot. Bobbi noticed, with her gift for reading body language that had led to her quick success in this cutthroat industry. “Okay, Carol, move that hand to Daisy’s hip. Daisy, now grab her shirt in your fists and pull her toward you slowly, but Carol, don’t kiss her yet.” 

Carol accepted the challenge. She followed Daisy’s lead but paused inches away, then closer, but not touching. The magnetism between them was palpable, even to the photographers, which would show in the shots. 

“Yes, that’s it! Okay, now you may kiss the bride,” Bobbi said while shooting rapidly. They obeyed—but only lightly. There was still a camera on them and lipstick to keep from smearing. 

Hunter whistled, making them laugh and part. They walked hand in hand through the woods and then down the pathway to the pond, Bobbi shooting away the whole time. They took several with the water in the background, some standing on a bridge over the pond, and more with the trees behind them. The sun was getting lower, though, and it was time to change into their bridal gowns.  

They had to be very careful taking outdoor shots in their white gowns. First, they split up one on one—Bobbi shot Daisy while Hunter shot Carol—and then they brought them together for the classic romantic bridal poses. Bobbi switched between two cameras: one digital and one black and white film. She swore it was worth the extra effort and equipment for the depth and quality the film could provide, in contrast to simply making the digital photos black and white in Photoshop. 

Daisy was more worried about them getting their dresses dirty outside. She noticed Bobbi was careful to keep them on the wrap-around porch of the cottage, on the stairs leading down from the porch, or on the paved pathway, but Daisy still was sure to lift up her hem when they moved to a different location and remind Carol to as well. It wasn’t as fairytale in reality as the photos turned out to be.

“Ugh, too much stuff to think about,” Carol complained while trying to keep her dress from skimming the ground, with her flowers in one hand and their wedding band boxes in the other. “This is why I don’t wear dresses.”

Daisy turned back and tilted her head in curiosity at Carol’s juggling act. “Just put the ring boxes in your pockets.”

“In where? In case you haven’t noticed…” Carol gestured to her gown. 

“Your pockets, you goober. Right here.” Daisy tapped the side of Carol’s hip with her bouquet of the (very real-looking) fake flowers Bobbi had assembled in their wedding colors for the photos. 

Carol stopped walking and blinked at her in surprise. “Wait.” She felt where Daisy had indicated and stuck her hand with the ring boxes into the folds of fabric. There was indeed a satin pocket hidden along the seam. She left the boxes there and switched the bouquet to her now free hand to search for the pocket on the other side. There it was, just as Daisy had implied. Her mouth gaped open as if she’d just been given surprise tickets to Disneyland. “What?!”

“Yeah!” Daisy laughed at Carol’s shocked expression. “You didn’t know?”

“I knew yours did because you had them added in the alterations, but I didn’t know mine came with them!” Carol laughed. 

“They’ve been there the whole time!” Daisy dabbed at her eye makeup, trying not to ruin it with tears of laughter.

Carol’s voice softened in awe. “You knew when you picked out this dress, didn’t you?” 

“Yes!” Daisy noticed Bobbi had quietly started shooting photos of their moment, but it didn’t distract her from Carol’s delight. “I didn’t mean it to be a big reveal. I thought you knew!” 

Daisy’s laughter faded into a happy sigh as Carol, now with a free hand, drew closer and brushed a fallen strand of hair away from Daisy’s forehead. 

“But the point is, you knew. You knew this dress was going to be mine before I even knew I was going to wear a dress. You know me so well.”

Daisy shrugged. “I didn’t know for sure about the dress. I just knew if you were going to try it, it would be that one. That’s all. And it would need pockets.” 

“Uh yes, now that I know that’s an option, I’m never wearing another dress again that doesn’t have them. You’ve spoiled me,” Carol warned. 

“That’s my job.” Daisy smirked.   

Hunter interjected, “This is adorable, ladies, but we’re behind schedule.” He shifted his camera bag, heavy with lenses, and they got the message. 

They continued with their shoot, and Bobbi made sure that the boxes were out of Carol’s pocket when they were shooting so they wouldn’t ruin the shape of the dress. When they grew tired or their feet got sore in their heels and they needed genuine smiles, Daisy would stick her hand in Carol’s pocket and act surprised until it became an inside joke between the four of them. 

As the sun lowered, Daisy grew nervous about their dream photo, but she didn’t need to be. Bobbi assured her they would get it. It was one of her most popular shots, and she’d had plenty of practice to get the location, timing, and lighting just right so the sunset was at the perfect angle and colors. She even had Hunter unfold a long, dark mat for them to stand on so their dresses wouldn’t get dirty. It wouldn’t be noticeable in the shots, but it saved them a lot of worry about needing to get their dresses cleaned before the big day. 

Since Carol was only an inch taller, they tried it with both Daisy’s hands on the back of Carol’s neck and their hands on each other’s waists. It took a bit of shuffling, but they found exactly the right position to stand in.

Bobbi instructed them to forget about her and Hunter, who stayed silent for this part and hung back away from the action. Bobbi cued up Norah Jones’s “Come Away With Me” on her phone and told them to just do what felt natural, whether it was kissing or touching their foreheads together like the original shot on her website or just holding hands and enjoying being close. They did all of the above, leading to what they would later discover was not just one but a series of dreamy silhouetted shots that displayed their love. 

For the moment, though, they didn’t have the final results to swoon over. It was time for indoor studio shots with their gowns and then the cocktail attire dress and jumpsuit and blazer.

All day, Bobbi went above and beyond, helping them with hair ideas that would look best on camera or makeup that would look natural with their setting. And Hunter helped them feel at ease on set as he adjusted lighting and props and executed Bobbi’s vision. He shot secondary as well, but it was their seamless teamwork that was most impressive. As a couple, they bantered at each other and were fluent in sarcasm, but as professionals, they could anticipate what the other needed when and fluidly work as two parts of a whole. 

They couldn’t exactly be classified as “couple goals,” but their dynamic provided interesting food for thought for Daisy and Carol, who had always worked at the same company but never on the same projects. 

While they had on their bridal gowns, after the more formal indoor shots, Hunter put on music, this time “Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes, and it helped to loosen them up from the gravity of taking photos that would be significant for the rest of their lives. The playlist continued, and Bobbi had them dance along to help with natural movement and authentic smiles. 

“Dip her!” Hunter shouted out, not caring which “her” but just feeding them ideas. 

Carol swung Daisy around and dipped her low and brought her back up so she could lean in and kiss her. 

Bobbi and Hunter whooped and whistled, provoking more laughter and smiles from Daisy and Carol when they were fully upright once more. The next song, “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You,” was softer, and their happiness calmed into contentment. As they slow danced, Carol kissed Daisy’s forehead and Bobbi instructed her to hold it there. 

“Now look into each other’s eyes again,” Bobbi directed. When they did—just as the chorus played, “Take my hand, take my whole life too because I can’t help falling in love with you”—a wave of emotions overtook them. Daisy’s eyes welled up with happy tears despite knowing that their wedding day wasn’t here yet and that Bobbi was still shooting away. Daisy hugged Carol tight, and Carol’s arms held her close. Daisy’s closed eyes with a watery streak down her cheek and a soft smile over Carol’s shoulder ended up as a gorgeous black and white shot by Bobbi, as did Hunter’s shot of their whole bodies embracing. 

They took a break to change into their final outfits, the semiformal but fun jumpsuit and little black dress, and as soon as they were ready, Hunter cued up “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli, breaking the mood into a more joyful tone. Bobbi arranged them in elegant and sexy positions in various locations around her furnished studio, with Hunter adjusting lighting as she directed. The playlist took a 2000s rom-com turn into early Kelly Clarkson and throwback boy band hits, then “Marry Me” by Train, then “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole, and the night ended with “At Last” by Etta James. Before they left, Carol asked Hunter for the link to the playlist so they could consider the songs for their reception, and Bobbi gave Daisy the business card of a friend of hers who did hair and makeup for the day of the ceremony (and, while Carol was distracted, Bobbi snuck in a few tips for what to bring to the boudoir shoot).  

Daisy and Carol’s exhaustion caught up with them as soon as they were alone in their car, with gowns and cocktail attire in their wardrobe bags carefully laid in the trunk and their duffle bag of accessories in the back seat. Daisy leaned her head back against the headrest as Carol started the ignition.

“It’s 8:30 and we haven’t eaten dinner yet,” Daisy noted. “No wonder it feels like midnight.”

“Burger Barn drive-thru on the way home?” Carol suggested. 

“Yes, please.” Daisy searched on her GPS for the closest location on their route, and they pulled away from the cottage hoping their photos would turn out as good as Bobbi promised they would be. 

Little did Carol know, Daisy would be driving back out to the cottage studio in a few days for her secret photoshoot that Carol wouldn’t know about until they exchanged gifts on their honeymoon.

[riainceol]

Kemrit - Track by Track

Deeply concerned that the amount my Id runs my music is going to be unavoidable if i write in depth about it but let’s talk about my debut EP.

First off we’re gonna define an EP, what makes an EP different to an album? For me there’s generally two things. Length and cohesion. Kemrit is not a cohesive record, so it’s not really a representative of what I’m writing. It’s a collection of moods and vibes, basically. It’s also less than 7 tracks. 7 tracks is iffy but if it’s 8 or more, by my standards we’re veering into album territory. I know that traditionally an EP was made for a 6” or somewhere between rather than a 12” but honestly… it’s 2022.

The artwork is a photo of the inside of my jeans pocket that my phone took by accident, but I thought it would be funny to use it as artwork, I also thought it would be funny to name it Kemrit. “Hello, Kemrit thee forg here!”.

I’m giving away all my secrets.

The idea was basically, I’ve written this stuff and I need to get it out. So it was a very soft release. But I’m still happy with it.

In the Bleak Midwinter.

I wanted to write a song that was about the White Wall of Whale. I love Moby Dick, the idea that Melville tries to push in the book, that not only is Ahab’s revenge ultimately destructive, of himself and his crew, but is also pointless, as all creatures are equal and nature doesn’t care one way or the other because we’re part of it, had a big impact on me. The motive behind this track was, let’s write a song about dying in the snow. It interpolates Carol of The Bells and it’s just good riffage, but very simple.

I tend to want to do more. You don’t have to, it’s kinda better to be more quick, centred and simple with music but I have these stupid fucking standards for my own stuff. This song kills live though so my standards are clearly wrong.

Uisce (Water)

A lot of my inspiration is from nature. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Ireland is a fucking beautiful place. I’ve grown up not far from the coast, and have always loved the sea. Uisce was inspired by the push and pull of the waves on the shore. I deliberately kept this simple, along with the other more atmospheric track on this EP. I was having an issue about trying to force it, lyrically. Thankfully that’s not as much of a problem, especially when I write heavier stuff. But I wanted to make a mood more than write songs.

The Hound

This is the weakest song on the record, I’ll hold my hands up and admit it. I got too in the weeds, I didn’t do a good enough job with the vocals and the production and I got too enamoured with the lead lines but this is a LEARNING exercise. We’re gonna fuck it, it’s okay to fuck it.

I wanted to write a one note riff like Lamb of God and ended up writing a fucking weird abnormal time sig Tool style riff instead. That should have been my first clue. I like wolves, I like the idea of wolves as both an animal and as a metaphor for dissidence. We used to have wolves in Ireland, we kept them as pets the same as dogs. In part of Cromwell’s efforts to “tame” Ireland he killed them all.

I don’t think I would play this one without some major rewriting.

Oíche Maith (Good Night)

This was the first full piece of original music I’d written in 8 years. I wrote this piece of music looking out the window at nature and the sunset, and decided I was going to just do my own music again.

So here’s the thing, I WAS recording covers. Here’s one of them.

https://on.soundcloud.com/LVLA6S9rZ9cgawsD7

I had been playing covers in 2019 acoustically and I wanted to have some recordings I could point to and say “hey this is how I am, these are the kinds of versions I do” but then the pandemic happened. And it was like, “you can make music, it doesn’t have to be songs, it could be a mood, something as simple as this.”

And so I did.

I’ve never played this out but it’s only because I haven’t got the right setup for it. I love this piece.

Ashes.

I never got to learn Irish in school. Due to circumstance and stuff like that. I grew up in the north, then the nature of my schooling kept me from having lessons (there are plenty of people in the North who learned Irish in school). I have always been bitter about that. You might have noticed that I’ve been working on that somewhat. But this song is about my anger and my impotence about my native language.

My native language is an unfamiliar tongue. As it is for anyone who doesn’t come from a native family or was raised and schooled in Irish. That shit fucks you up so bad.

I could never write verses so I ended up butchering the Our Father as Gailege, and drowning it in effects to represent the distance to the language I felt. That might change in the future, both the way the song is written and my relationship to my language. But this was a big cathartic song for me and it’s the one I’m most proud of on the EP. Even if it’s not where I’d want it to be now.

That’s a track by track on my first EP. It’s been fun looking back at these with a bit of distance, thanks for coming along with me for the ride.

[millassundries]

@promiseofdawn

She found herself stumbling along through a city she barely recognized. It reminded her so much of Shang Mu, but it was distinctly different wasn't it? She was as a guess far from her home, and far from Avalice as she could get. She touched the gem that hung about her neck, at least her attempt at replicating the Gemerald seemed to work? Well no replicate wasn't the right word. More like steal some of Carol's gem's power and stored it during the time she was allowed to study it. It let her continue her studies without the Gemerald in her possession. Of course she didn't expect it to whisk her off to some other world seemingly of its own will! But Carol to had same issue once didn't she? She'd need to create some kind of device to keep it from doing that---but first she needed to figure out where she was at.

She turned a corner and and ended up walking straight into the stranger with a thump! She'd been so focused on the gem she barely noticed him! She wasn't very tall, only about 4 foot so most folks tended to dwarf her back home. She was quick to step back and hold her hands up defensively as she wasn't normally so absent minded. Perhaps it was more side effects of her tonic. Either way, she was very much apologetic.

" Oh... Sorry Sir! i was just--- nnn distracted? "

the smells didn't help her poor nose was so overwhelmed right now, to many new smells to focus on.

" I was just-- and i--- oh and... umm i'm very sorry! "