#i mean i have mac n cheese but no butter either

[sarahowritesostucky]

📖"Merry & Bright"

Part 3 - Family Fun Night

Merry & Bright Masterlist

Rated: Teen

Pairing: Bucky x Steve

Tags: a/b/o, omega Bucky, alpha Steve, kid fic, Karens

Summary: Bucky and Steve go to their daughters' school play.

(If your name is Karen, I'm sorry and sending warm hugs)

Bucky’s been able to ignore the encroaching Holiday season for longer than usual this year. 

Between the warm-ish fall weather and his continuing therapy appointments, the ceaseless calls from his publisher and that guy from Warner Brothers, and the move and the overwhelming demands of a newborn, it’s just hard to believe that it could already be Thanksgiving next week.

Steve’s next text coming through just about drives a bulldozer through that delusion:

Steve: Hey, I’m at the store right now. You want me to pick anything up for this ‘Friendsgiving’-extravaganza? I know Jarvis said he’s got it handled, but I feel like we should have backups for the girls? Just in case Tony’s picked out some sort of weird, avant garde menu? Becs really has her heart set on pumpkin pie. And Sarah, well …

Bucky: You could ask Pepper. I think we’re safe as long as there’s mac ‘n’ cheese and rolls. Anyway we’ve got over a week to sort it out.

Steve: … Babe, today’s Tuesday. We’ve got two days. 

Bucky immediately checks his phone calendar, and sure enough, Thanksgiving is this week, not next. Fuck. 

“Ohshit,” he breathes, eyes bugging out of his head as he realizes that this means tonight is the school play, not next Tuesday. “Fuck. Shit!” In his hands, his phone chimes.

Steve: So, pie?

Bucky texts back a harried ‘yes’, thinking that he’s got to get his butt back to the tower immediately. He very suddenly has only about nine hours before his children need to be fitted with their (as of yet not even near-to-finished) homemade costumes. Becca’s paper mache drumstick still needs spray painted, and Sarah’s supposed to be a scoop of mashed potatoes that Bucky still needs to find something to act as the pat of butter on top.

“Jarvis, help.” Bucky says as he hoofs it back in the direction of the tower. 

 Jarvis’ voice emanates from his phone: “Mr. Rogers. How can I be of assistance?”

Bucky rattles off the craft supplies they’re going to need. “And if you know anyone on Stark’s payroll who’s good with a needle and thread, that wouldn’t hurt either.”

It seems like only yesterday they were dressed up as Buzz and Woody, letting Bo Peep and a very bossy Jessie drag them around from house to house. They’d trick-or-treated in the Cobble Hill neighborhood where they technically don’t live yet but will soon, once the house is finished being refurbished. Bucky had carried Gabe strapped to his front as one of the Little Green Men alien squeaker toy thingies, and Steve had pulled a wagon along for when one or both of the girls inevitably became too tuckered out to—

Anyhow, point is: it feels like they were trick‘or’treating all of two seconds ago.

And now Thanksgiving is in two days? What the everloving fuck?

Bucky spends a very brief amount of time that afternoon being irrationally mad at his husband, as if it’s Steve’s fault that his pregnancy brain has apparently extended into the postpartum period and allowed him to lose track of time. He grumps privately that Steve should’ve somehow magically known that he was mentally operating in the wrong week, and should have thus alerted him that the holiday was imminent! Stupid Steve. What the hell is the alpha good for, anyway?

Later that evening of course, he realizes how ridiculous that is. He comes to terms with the fact that he’s actually upset with himself—partly because of the mad scramble he’s left with to get ready for Coulton-Chestor Preparatory Academy’s family fun night, but even moreso because of the 5k he now has to face up to in less than forty-eight hours. (What real, qualitative difference one more week of jogging in the park was really going to make, Bucky can’t say, but he’d been counting on it to help him work his confidence up about the whole ordeal.)

It’s not like he wouldn’t back out of it if he could, but he absolutely cannot back out. This is the first ever Brooklyn Bridge American Heroes Turkey Trot, co-sponsored by Stark Industries and Barnes Prosthetics (yes, Bucky is the genius who thought it’d be fine and dandy to plan a 5k less than half a year after giving birth). Together, he and Tony have started a foundation for veterans and civilian victims of the regime years, to help provide them access to the high quality, bio-integrative prosthetics that Bucky’s company makes.

Since it’s not exactly cheap to weld a robot arm onto somebody, Bucky and Tony have partnered with Wounded Warrior Project for this charity run; done to raise funds for vets who don’t happen to have a spare ninety grand lying around to fund their surgeries. The limbs themselves are, of course, all provided free of charge by Barnes Prosthetics, and the overall costs are at least somewhat ameliorated by various amenities provided by Stark.

As the visible face of the charity, Bucky’s got no choice: he needs to show up, show off, and show support. He’s expected to be there to make nice with all the other amputees who’ll be running, and to show off how happy and perfect his life is now that he’s got the Asset IV prototype cybernetic implant attached to his body. It is a bitchin’ arm, and Bucky is excited to get to hand one of those gigantic cardboard checks over to the Wounded Warrior guys, but he really, really wishes he’d thought to postpone the Foundation’s first run until next Thanksgiving. 

At least he’ll have Steve there with him, he thinks. His Alpha has promised not to outpace him to any embarrassing degree, Darcy is fine with keeping Gabe until they get back, and Tony has even arranged to have the girls set up for the Macy’s parade with a disgustingly VIP viewing situation on Central Park West. But aside from those few hours on Thanksgiving morning, Bucky’s daughters will remain under his purview for the holidays this year. 

And the hubbub begins with Family Fun Night that evening. 

Bucky alone has to deal with Sarah’s anxiety problems leading up to the curtain call for this stupid fucking school play. “Hold still, Honey,” he begs, speaking past the safety pin he’s got held between his lips as he kneels there and uses both of his hands to try and do a last minute costume fix. “Sarah I said hold still.”

“Fix it daddy, fix it!” 

He’s crouched next to his youngest daughter in the school’s hallway, trying to better secure the pat of “butter” (a folded yellow tea towel) to the top of her not-so-great mashed potato costume. Steve is off somewhere with the drumstick, helping her to not be scared about walking out on stage. “Baby, please. I can’t fix it if you keep moving around,” Bucky growls, but his frustrated tone only makes Sarah get more hysterical about her role in the play being messed up by a floppy tea towel. She starts to cry about how she doesn’t want to do this anymore. 

“Sarah Winnifred, I swear to God, if you don’t hold still, you’re gonna have a new hole poked in your head!”

He and Steve sit proudly in the fourth row back and watch the play that their children’s overpriced prep school is putting on before it lets out for Thanksgiving break.

At the end of the final song, when all of the students are lined up on the stage like a demented paper-mache buffet of human-sized food items, bowing hand in hand, Steve and Bucky rise with all the other parents for a standing ovation, humongous smiles plastered on their faces. Steve tries to do a finger whistle with middling success, then he leans over to Bucky’s ear and cheerfully whispers, “That was so dumb!”

Bucky laughs, still clapping and beaming with absolute pride for his daughters. “Yeah it was friggin’ awful!” 

The curtain falls, and he and Steve exit the auditorium to go backstage and congratulate the girls. A very excited drumstick and mashed potatoes run up and start talking over each other to tell their fathers all about the play that they just performed. “Papa! Daddy! Did you see me?! Did you see my song?!!” 

“What about meee?!”

“Sure did, Becs. You were really good!” 

“The best turkey drumstick ever.”

For being such excellent thespians and to celebrate their acting debut, they present the girls with two foil-wrapped tulips that they bought out in the lobby. Becca especially, seems very proud of her flower, twirling in her drumstick costume and holding it to her nose again and again. Bucky’s smile wavers with emotion as he gets that warm, shot-of-whiskey feeling once again, and he remembers that Life is Good. He catches Steve’s eye from over top of the mashed potatoes, and they share one of those silent “I Love You” moments. Steve shoots him a wink.

It being family fun night, Darcy appears as planned and ushers the girls away to go change back into regular clothes before they head over to the kids’ party in the gymnasium. Meanwhile, Steve and Bucky go to the reception that’s been put together for the parents. Bucky isn’t super keen on attending, but he promised the girls that they could play games with the other kids for at least an hour, so he and Steve make an admirable attempt to mingle amongst the other parents.

Coulton-Chestor Preparatory Academy is an exclusive elementary school on the Upper East Side. Due to its sheer proximity to Stark Tower, and since bussing the girls all the way to Brooklyn for an entire year would’ve been too much of a hassle, Steve and Bucky chose to enroll them there. It’s only temporary, until the renovations on the Cobble Hill house are complete and they’re able to move back to Brooklyn. Bucky is looking forward to being able to walk his children the two picturesque blocks between their house and the neighborhood school each day.

But until then, it’s the more snobbish parents and overzealous PTA moms of Coulton-Chestor that he has to navigate at functions such as tonight’s. Bucky’s been taking some time off work ever since things got very pregnant-and-miserable in about month eight, but he still considers himself a working father, and as such there is an awkward disconnect between him and the more … involved stay-at-home parents who surround him at the reception.

At least there are hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, which give him something to do with his hands. Steve starts chatting with a few of the parents who are running the silent auction, and Bucky avoids getting drawn into bidding on overpriced theater tickets by heading over to the refreshments table. He’s just finished loading up on a bunch of mini quiches and cocktail weenies, when the one person he’d hoped to fully avoid at this function makes her attack. Bucky turns around with his little plate of foot and startles as he’s suddenly faced with a familiar, blonde-haired woman. 

“James!” She’s got a tea-length dress, an overly-whitened smile, and a ponytail that’s been curled to within an inch of its life. It’s Karen.

(No, her name is literally Karen.)

And in Bucky’s limited experience with her, she has an uncanny ability to make every social interaction the exact opposite of what Bucky would like it to be. It’s just a gift some people have.

She swoops in with two other omega parents by her sides, introducing them as “Jill” and “Nate.” Bucky plasters on a smile to match hers while she air kisses his cheeks in that way that rich people who think they’re cultured always do.

“You made it,” she coos, acting pleased to see him. In all fairness, she might be. Bucky’s never point blank told the woman that he finds her insufferable, and she always seems to make a beeline for the more well-to-do parents. Ever since she found out that Bucky and Steve not only rub shoulders with Tony Stark, but are actually living with him, she’s been eager to make Bucky one of her besties. “It’s been too long. How are you, darling?”

“Oh, you know,” Bucky says, gesturing with his plate of cocktail weenies. “Hanging in there.”

“And how is that gorgeous new baby of yours doing?” she asks, nudging Jill to announce, “James is married to Commander Rogers. They have three children.”

Jill and Nate make a polite fuss over that, while Bucky tries to act gracious and think of a way to correct Karen that “Commander” isn’t Steve’s title, and if he ever hears her referring to him as such, he’ll be offended. “How is your family doing?” Bucky asks, more to get the topic off himself rather than due to any real interest. 

Like most of the Coulton-Chestor moms, Karen is married to a well-to-do Alpha, has precisely one child, and spends her time trying to climb as high in Manhattan “Mommy” society as possible. Having a living child at all is automatically a foot up in terms of social standing, Bucky’s learned, and the moms of Park Avenue lord their accomplishments higher than most. Most times Bucky’s met her, Karen’s been wearing diamond solitaires with designer workout clothes and brandishing her own fertility like a damn merit badge. 

Karen brags about her son for a few minutes, and when it seems like everyone in their small group is necessitated to take a turn with regards to their own offspring, Bucky throws some random fact out about how the girls have been doing. Jill and Nate start gushing over Bucky’s grand accomplishment of having three kids, which is practically unheard of. 

“You must be so proud. How lucky to have three healthy children!”

“What were yours in the play?” Jill asks, and she seems friendly enough so Bucky makes an effort to tell her about how he’s responsible for the turkey leg and the mashed potatoes. She giggles and nods and says her son was one of the pumpkins.

“Oh, ha, yeah. They had quite the little dance routine, didn’t they?” 

Bucky’s smile turns annoyed when Karen feels the need to point out, “Yes! And your little Rebecca kept up alright, didn’t she? She seemed able to follow along with the other kids quite well!”

“Yes,” Bucky says peevishly. “She’s very talented.” 

“Isn’t it wonderful here? I just love how inclusive Coulton-Chestor is,” Karen simpers. She turns to the other moms and starts telling them about how Becca is in her son’s “regular” class, and how she’s always so sweet, and so helpful to the other students. She talks about Becca like she’s a little mascot, or a class pet, and it rankles Bucky’s nerve to no end.

Since the fertility crisis began, there’s been more stigma placed on children with any sorts of disabilities, and Bucky’s had to deal with a lot of thinly-veiled prejudice due to his daughter’s special needs ever since he started advocating to get her into the same high-quality school programs as Sarah. The public school system still hasn’t recovered, and with limited slots available in all childcare-related fields these days, people are more ruthlessly competitive for their children than ever before. 

“Yes, we like it here,” Bucky agrees. “Though we’ll be switching to a different school next year, when we move to the new house over in Brooklyn.”

“You’re not leaving The Tower?” Karen gasps, as if that’s the most horrible, ludicrous decision. Given that she makes it sound like Bucky and his family are choosing to move out of friggin’ Buckingham Palace, Nate and Jill predictably get curious and ask:

“The ‘Tower’?”

“Stark Tower,” Karen chirps, excited to tell the other two omegas, “James and his husband live there.”

 Nate’s eyebrows go up. “They live there. In the tower?”

“Oh yes! Didn’t you know? Why, they’re friends with the Starks.”

“Really? Oh, I’ve heard such good things about that Pepper Potts,” Jill gushes. “Seems like a lovely woman. How do you know her?”

Bucky smiles, pained. “Actually I knew Tony first. We work together.”

“You work?” Nate sneers. Bucky ignores him. 

“Yeah, I met Tony back during the, ah … well, during the regime years.”

“Gilead? Oh. Huh.”

(“Wonder what the Starks were doing, back then? Were they married then?”

“You never do hear what celebrities got up to during all that, do you?”

“No, you never do.”)

Bucky hums, not intending to get into a conversation about it, but Karen forces his hand by volunteering, “Wasn’t that all in your book though, James?” 

“Um,”

Karen enthusiastically tells the others, “He was one of those resistance fighters, can you believe it? That’s how he lost his arm.” (Everybody’s eyes not-so-surreptitiously fly to where Bucky’s left hand is sticking out of his sweater, holding onto the plate of hors d'oeuvres.) “And he was a vessel. His husband was one of the commanders down in Washington. That’s where they met!”

“Really?”

“Steve wasn’t a real commander …” Bucky hedges.

“Oh he wrote a whole book about it! You really must read it.” Karen rattles off the title and both Nate and Jill make sounds of recognition. 

“Ooh. You know, I’ve heard of that book.”

“Great,” Bucky mutters. He has to smile along politely and answer them as they start asking him fascinated questions, with Karen supplying details every time he tries to demure and change the topic to something less sensational. 

“He’s just being modest!” she simpers, laying her hand on Bucky’s arm in an overly familiar way. “James, tell them about how you were on the View.”

Bucky reluctantly does, and Jill and Nate nod along, enthused to hear about how he’s been on television and met the hosts of the show. “It really wasn’t all that exciting,” Bucky insists. “I wasn’t the main guest. They had, you know, real celebrities that went after me. Reese Witherspoon and stuff.”

“You met Reese Witherspoon?”

“No, no. I didn’t. I was only there for like, two minutes. It wasn’t even important.”

“Oh I don’t know,” Karen prods smugly. “A little birdy told me that Netflix was trying to buy up the film rights to your book.”

Bucky doesn’t even care, he openly shoots her a withering glare this time. “I can assure you that’s not true.” (It’s HBO, and it isn’t Bucky’s fault if she doesn’t have her details right.) 

Karen continues to gab to the other two parents about it anyway, insisting that some omega heartthrob actor whom Bucky has never heard of would be the ideal casting choice to portray him in the film version of his book. “And Chris Hemsworth. Oh! Wouldn’t he just be perfect to play your Steve?”

“Nobody’s making a movie out of it!” Bucky snaps, fed up with her incessant gossiping. “It’s not happening.” He looks around awkwardly at the end of his outburst, aware of Nate and Jill’s surprised expressions. “Um, I just mean: the studios were shopping around,” he mutters. “But I said no.” 

Of course this is very disappointing to Karen, and she tries to tell Bucky what a mistake that is, talking about how interested everybody would be in the subject matter. “I just saw an episode of the Dr. Phil show where they were talking about it,” she says. “They had wives and some of those vessels on. Even a commander.”

Bucky hums dispassionately. “Sounds like trash tv to me.” He’ll be damned if he lets Karen know he was asked onto that program as well. “Just people trying to make a spectacle out of it.”

Karen titters awkwardly and agrees, but Bucky can tell that she’s annoyed at him for shutting her gossip down. “Well, it’s all very controversial, of course,” she excuses. “And a commitment like that would just be so much more on your plate.”

Bucky nods, glad that she’s dropping it. “Yeah. Exactly.”

“After all, you’re already a working mother,” she says, saying ‘working’ all hurriedly and quietly, as if it’s something not to be mentioned. “I’m sure you just want to focus on your family, now. With the new baby and all.” 

“Congratulations,” Jill gushes. “Did you have a boy or a girl?”

“A boy. Gabe. He just turned four months old last week.”

“Oh, how wonderful.”

“Another omega for your family?”

“No, Karen,” Bucky says, annoyance audible in his voice. “We haven’t had him tested. We’re just going to wait and find out the old fashioned way.”

“Oh. I see.”

They all seem taken aback, because it’s very rare for a newborn not to be tested for designation these days. Much to Bucky’s chagrin, gender roles only seem to be becoming more emphasized than ever. Jill chuckles awkwardly and tries to lighten the mood. “Well, that’s so progressive of you. Dan had our little Archie in an alpha playgroup by the time he could crawl, I swear.”

They all titter over that, and Bucky tries to scan the room for any sight of Steve without being too obvious in what he’s doing. He spots him over by the punch bowl. “Um, I’m sorry,” he excuses. “I think I see my husband calling me.” He starts to make his escape, but Karen grabs him just as he’s turning.

“Oh, James, wait! We wanted to ask if you’d help us plan the Winter Gala.”

“Oh, I uh.”

“We’re going to have the children do a nativity scene. And I was thinking a candlelight service. Wouldn’t that just be picturesque?”

Bucky makes a face. “Sorry, Karen. My family isn’t very religious.”

“Oh, no but it’ll be interdenominational!” she insists with a big grin. “You celebrate Christmas, of course!”

“No.”

“... No?” 

“Not really,” Bucky grunts. “I mean, we do a tree and a menorah and all that, but ..."

“Menorah?” she says, and the way she squinches her eyes sets Bucky’s nerves on edge. “You’re not Jewish?”

Bucky pulls his arm back to himself. “Culturally, yes. Steve’s family is Catholic, mine’s Jewish. But we’ve decided that organized religion isn’t what’s right for our family.”

“Oh! But you can still come to the church service!” Karen says brightly. “It’ll be—”

“We’re not religious,” Bucky blurts out, sick of stepping around the issue and having lost his patience. He’s tired of politely fielding other people’s invitations for him and his husband and children to come and check out ‘this congregation’ or that, and figures he’ll just squash any chance there might be of him actually getting roped into planning holiday festivities with the Coulton-Chestor evangelical set. “We’re pretty much raising the girls Atheist,” he tells Karen, watching as her smile flickers like a bulb hanging on by its very last filament. He feels a degree of nasty satisfaction at having perturbed her. 

Disturbingly, the Christian Right has continued to grow in popularity—culturally, if not politically—these past few years, and Bucky has very little tolerance for it (he tried to show tolerance before the regime, and look how that ended up). He knows his family is in the minority, and it’s very apparent how this information makes the friendly light in even Nate and Jill’s eyes dim somewhat.

“I’m sure you’ll plan something great, though,” he excuses brightly, turning around to go and find Steve and see if it isn’t too early to make their escape. “It was nice catching up!”

Masterlist

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This has been a fill for:

@steverogersbingo

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Square D3: Slice of Life

@marvel-smash-bingo

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Square I5: Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers

@stuckyversebingo

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Square C4: alpha/omega relationship

[magnet-rise-anon]

fuck it

i feeling like oversharing today, so im gonna let y'all in on how I like to make box mac n cheese

step 1: get box of mac

step 2: boil water in a pot

step 3: remove cheese powder from box

step 4: dump pasta in boiling water

step 5: cook for slightly less time than the recommended time listed on the box. might want to turn the heat down a bit if you don't want it to overflow; id recommend keeping an eye on it. having it al dente is healthier and I like the firmness

step 6: remove pasta from water or remove water from pasta idgaf. just make sure you have a big container to put the mac in

step 7: get out some milk, some butter/margarine, and some shredded cheese. i recommend mac n cheese blend (yes it's a thing), paldean blend, or stuff like parmesan or mozzarella

step 8: add a little milk. by a little, I mean no more than 1/3 of a cup. you really don't need that much if you don't like it runny

step 9: add a good scoop or two of butter/substitute in there. around a tablespoon or a little more is a pretty safe amount. makes it creamier without making it runnier

step 10: add cheese powder

step 11: mix up stuff in pot

step 12: add in as much shredded cheese as your heart desires. as long as it's still warm, you can always add more as needed. mixing it in isn't a bad idea either

optional: i like adding some garlic powder, black pepper, and storebought breadcrumbs too, if you want a little more pizazz

diced meat also goes well, especially if you have leftover steak or chicken that had spices on it

can't say I recommend adding sauce, but I know some people like it, so go nuts

enjoy

[wuxiaphoenix]

Behold, the Pepper!

Many things in the world are either much older or much younger than most people imagine. The idea of a 360-degree circle? Dates back to the Babylonians, about 2400 BC. The humble market strawberry? Still less than three centuries old, a result of crossbreeding between a European berry and a species from the Pacific Coast. Sweet bell peppers? Still haven’t hit their first century. Records conflict, but they date back to the 1930s at the earliest, and didn’t make it to American markets until the 1960s.

I’m trying to picture many of my favorite meals (jambalaya, spaghetti, pizza) without bell peppers. Ouch.

And a justified ouch, because peppers are amazing.

In most temperate climates they’re grown as annuals. This works, but they’re actually frost-tender short-lived perennials. If you can keep a plant from freezing during the winter, odds are it’ll bud out in spring again and give you a second crop. Though, noted, this is more reliable with hotter peppers. I’ve gotten an habanero through the better part of three years, bearing more fruits than I could use. Bell peppers, a bit less than two.

They’re not fussy about pollinators, either. You can do it with your fingers. You can let the bees handle it. Or, if you’ve got them on an enclosed porch because you’re trying to keep them from freezing, the ants will do it for you. If by some chance you don’t currently have ants, put in a pot of impatiens! Ants love the nectar in their spurs, and will appear out of thin air. Of course odds are they’ll also bring aphids to all your other plants, so consider what you can live with.

(Okay, I may still be cranky about the aphids.)

But peppers themselves are wonderful, adding taste, texture, and nutrition to dishes. I love the fruity element habanero adds to a tomato dish; you just have to add it in very tiny amounts....

One of these days I want to make habanero powder. I bet the mac ‘n cheese would be awesome.

It’d probably also make killer foot powder. Capsaicin is not just tasty heat, it’s medicinal. Antifungal, antibiotic, and a good pepper-up of the immune system in general. It doesn’t actually set your mucus membranes on fire, BTW. What it does is set off a reaction so your nerves think normal body temperature has suddenly become being slow-roasted by a flamethrower. Kind of the opposite of mint tricking your body into feeling cool. You can either wait for the capsaicin to degrade or apply quantities of lipids to pry it off your poor nerves. This is why milk and buttered bread work, while water is not an optimal solution. (So to speak.)

Still, if you’re going to use peppers in a fantastic world, check your time period. They’re native to the Americas, meaning if you’re doing a historical fantasy they won’t be anywhere else until the early 1500s. Though they started moving fast after that! Korea definitely had them after 1592, by way of Japan, who likely got them from China, who got them from the Spanish and Portuguese... you get the picture.

And now you know why MDZS fans who love history crack up at Wei Wuxian’s favorite foods including hot chilis. Yes, it’s a fantasy China, but that’s no more historical than the potatoes... oh dear....

[cheapvewor]

Bread crumb macaroni and cheese

#Bread crumb macaroni and cheese full

#Bread crumb macaroni and cheese mac

And while Macaroni & Cheese was a depression-era meal and is lauded as a “soul food” even today, Macaroni & Cheese is no longer a “cheap” or a budget meal. For one, it can be pretty pricey, if you want it super creamy and oozing with cheesy flavor. Saving Money on Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Herbed Bread Crumbs: You don’t want to take all day about it, either, just briskly add it and whisk it in. That’s going to ensure your sauce doesn’t break or turn grainy. It’s a lot, but be patient and let each clump of cheese melt into the sauce before going on to the next. It’s very important, after making the White Sauce (the mixture of butter, flour, and milk) to remove it from the heat and add the cheese in small handfuls. There’s something about panko that’s dull and lifeless and it will never give you the gorgeous color and just-right texture of a homemade breadcrumb. Make your own bread crumbs for the topping.The cheese has to have a lot of flavor but not be so sharp it loses that great meltability. You’ll want them with just a bit of resistance.

#Bread crumb macaroni and cheese mac

Cook the noodles just right if not they’ll either be mushy or soak up too much liquid, leaving the mac & cheese dry.

There are a couple of tricks to making a great Mac & Cheese: Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Herbed Bread Crumbs Making Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Herbed Bread Crumbs: Just a little something to enhance the whole dish. That crispy, crunchy topping should contrast with the texture of the macaroni and contrast with the taste. Hey, if they don’t know Cheddar in Great Britain, where do they know it! And then there’s the herbed topping. There are a couple of little ingredients that always boost the flavor of the Cheddar and creamy sauces, and that’s why you’ll see them so often in classic cheese recipes like the British Cheese Rarebit. That being said, you don’t want the cheapest cheese, either.Īnd while my Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese is a nod to Mac & Cheese from generations past, that doesn’t mean it’s dull or plain. I’ve even had some Macaroni and Cheese that was actually difficult to get down, not so with this creamy dreamy Ultimate Mac & Cheese. The sharper the cheese, the drier the taste. So it’s kind of counterintuitive that the “Best” cheddar doesn’t necessarily make the Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese. The thing is, though, for the best meltability, the Cheddar can’t be too sharp, too dry. Because if Parmesan is the King of Italian cheese, Cheddar has to be the King of cheese in the States. I know a lot of recipes use different cheese other than Cheddar, but my ultimate Mac & Cheese has Cheddar. And while some people rely on processed cheese for that smoothness, I didn’t want to – simply because I wanted all the real cheese flavor I could pack into this casserole. It should be a sauce so gorgeous, you’ll literally want to lick your plate. And that sauce should be smooth, creamy and luscious. It will hold together only minimally and the sauce, well, it should still be saucy. So what does make a Mac n Cheese fantastic? In my mind, first of all, the macaroni has to be just perfectly done when the dish is finished they still need to be distinct, not a solid mass. (Only better!!) About Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Herbed Bread Crumbs:

#Bread crumb macaroni and cheese full

And over the years, having tried many variations and many “Cheffy” touches, I came around full circle and am right where I started! I’ve come “home” to the Mac & Cheese of my childhood. So the funny thing is, on my quest for the Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese, I left the basic old school recipes behind me. You might notice as you read the recipe that this is really an Old School Mac n Cheese. So I know that’s kind of smackdown talk, to claim this is the Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese! You’ll just have to give it a try and see what you think. It has not been tested for home use.The Ultimate Macaroni & Cheese with Herb Breadcrumb Topping This recipe was provided by a chef, restaurant or culinary professional. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Bake the macaroni and cheese until it is warmed through. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a baking pan and top it with the Bread Crumb Topping. Season, to taste, with salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the shredded cheeses and mix until melted. Strain this milk mixture into a heat-proof bowl. Strain the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir until it's thickened and smooth. Add the flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the diced onion and carrot and saute until tender. In a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. While pasta is cooking, in a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the milk, clove-studded onion, thyme, and bay leaf over medium heat. Cook the pasta according to package directions drain and set aside.

[startledbirb]

,

[dimpledcherry]

Mechanic!Eddie Headcanons

except this time he had a partner!!! 

‘Can I read the previous parts’ you ask? ‘Show them the tapes, You honour!’ I bellow:  Part 1 Part 2

(( Ohmy! lookie here... An Eddie Masterlist! ))

*cracks knuckles* lesss-mfing-gooooo

✁ he has his own work station, so slung into multiple drawers are photos of you both, your staple lippy, some hair bands that are actually yours but he says are his

✁ the photos definitely range from cute candid hill top picnic dates right down to pure unadulterated filth... cuffs, hands, bruises, body fluids...

✁ he absolutely loves you visiting him on his breaks

✁ you meet up outside the garage, him sitting on his bonet always smoking a ciggie, legs dangling out -> you job is to bring the lunch

✁ lunch is always some form of left over hearty family meal you had from the night before -> a cold roast / fresh Mac n cheese / fajitas 

✁ Eddie gives me vibes of a good cucumber sandwich lover ---> he can never deicide if yous or Waynes are better tho 

✁ when you join him for lunch, he’ll always take an extra 10 minute longer break 

✁ he will always tell you about the things he’s fixed that day - even if you don’t understand:

“Oh! Dave - yakno the guy in the corner shop, sells cigs to the kids, weird head shape, looks a little too pale to be healthy? Yeah! Right! Him. Well he come in, and I don’t think ive heard a car scream for help as much as that thing! His cambelt was ruined- practically non existent!”

You nodding along as best as you could, getting completely stupped on one word “Cambelt?”

“Sits in the engine, literally looks like a belt. makes the car move. like so when you press a pedal, the car moves smoothly. makes a little pour noise when it’s old.” He lists, pulling a finger out with each sentence, and making a purring / clicking sound with his tongue at the end. 

You nod. He immediately regains his enthusiasm, spiking his posture up, “Well, that! It was finished! Y/n, sweetheart, if a car could cry tears, she was sobbing. I’m actually surprised it still drove!”

✁ Sometimes if you were bored you'd surprise him and just come down to sit with him through his shift. 

✁ that’d mean you’d either be keeping him company while he spoke in car to you mostly rambling to himself, you’d get to be his little tool passing slave, you’d get to offload your drama and personal stress while he was head deep in an engine ✁ “Sweethearrrttt, you know you love me?” *queue the Eddie Munson butter-wouldn’t-melt grin*

“What do you want me to get?”

“a round headed screwdriver and 3 screws, top draw on the left.”

“you’re lucky I love you, munson”

✁ oh my god- TELL ME HE WOULDN’T TEACH YOU HOW TO DO SOMETHING?!

✁ like change a tail light or something so small and delicate 

✁ he’d froth at the mouth teaching you!! leant up behind you, guiding you hands around the place, if you got oil on them, you’d just rub them over his uniform like it was nothing AND HE’D GO CRAZZZZYY

✁ None of you can’t convince that you wouldn’t be there enough for the other boys to love having you around too!!

✁ STOP- wait one of the younger lads didn’t know you were Eddie’s partner and kinda sorta had an infactuation for you and totally learnt the hard way you were taken..

✁ yes I am talking about Eddie catching some sort of wind about this and like brutally and almost totally unexpectedly throwing you against something and just kissing the breath out your lungs. 

✁ Maybe you’re telling him about your day and the kid walks on the floor, Eddie catches him looking over and he just.. in milliseconds goes from kneeling on the ground changing a tire cap to having you pinning to the bench you were sat on, lips lost in his !!

✁ I imagine if you enjoy an oil stained, gasoline smelling Eddie, he’d relish in it. Like you’ve just met him on the floor and you just kinda flat line for a moment as the vibe / smell / aura of him just drowns you. He obbbbviously knows so he just stands there googley eye staring at you with this stupid smug smile. 

✁ little does he know your knees are weak! your tummy is a home for all the worlds butterflies! you could get on your knees and not get up for a week whenever he’s like this

[baroquebucky]

fool for you

bucky just wants to be with you forever

word count: 1.9k

masterlist

a/n: hi bffs !! hope u are all well <33 pls enjoy this v fluffy one shot inspired by own post :’ ) let me know what u all think !!

You were tired, your eyelids felt heavy and you struggled to pay attention to the tv. Your head falling to the side as you drifted off, eyes shooting open when you realized you were falling asleep. You got up quickly, splashing your face with water and settling back on the couch, rubbing your eyes and focusing on the tv again.

1:57 a.m.

You checked your phone in hopes of a “five minutes away :)” text from bucky, but there was none. You yawned again and changed the channel, flipping through some channels to try to wake you up before deciding to just switch to netflix instead.

You smiled as your favorite show played, nuzzling into the blanket bucky had given you and focusing on the show. The sound of keys rattling woke you up, you hadn’t even realize you had fallen asleep.

“shit” bucky whispered as the door slammed into the wall. “sorry” bucky spoke, apologizing to the wall before dragging his suitcase as quietly as he could. He kicked off his boots and his eyes landed on you asleep on the couch.

“buck?” you mumbled, willing your eyes open. Your vision was fuzzy and you could hear the tv still playing, you moved a little, forgetting you were on the couch and slipped off the edge. You couldn’t even process that you had fallen by the time bucky caught you in his arms, smiling at you.

“hi doll” bucky smiled at you, kissing your forehead gently and easily lifting you in his arm. He turned the tv off and carried you into your shared room, gently placing you on the bed.

“what time ‘s it?” You mumbled, rubbing your eyes and yawning, finally waking up.

“almost 3” he smiled at you softly, rummaging through his drawer and taking out a change of clothes. You nodded as he pulled out a black t shirt and some boxers, walking towards you and kissing your temple.

“I’m gonna shower doll, you can go to sleep” he assured you and you nodded, knowing full well you’d end up waiting up for him anyway.

“don’t slip” you smiled and he rolled his eyes, waving you off with a small smile on his face.

“it was one time!” He groaned before closing the door to the restroom.

You smiled to yourself as you heard the shower turn on, rolling over to your side and closing your eyes. The sleep that had been taking over you earlier was nowhere to be found. You kicked the covers off you and groaned, frowning as you stared at the ceiling. You grabbed your phone from the nightstand and scrolled through Twitter for a while, waiting for bucky to finish showering so you could cuddle up to him and fall asleep.

You could feel yourself growing hungry, glancing at the time on your phone you frowned a bit, it was already 3:07 am. you drank some water and tried to fall back asleep, cuddling into your pillow and letting out a soft sigh when you finally got comfortable. Right as you were finally going to sleep bucky opened the restroom door, the sound making your eyes shoot open and heart race. 

“did I wake you?” bucky whispered, a frown on his face as he heard your heart rate quicker than usual. You shook your head with a small smile. He knew you were lying but he didn't say anything, he just threw his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and settled next to you under the covers. He threw his right arm around you, pulling you closer to him and kissing the top of your head. 

“g’night doll” he mumbled and closed his eyes, already falling asleep from how exhausted he was. 

“goodnight buck” you replied softly, closing your eyes and relishing in the feeling of his arm around you. It was silent, with only the sounds of the city flowing through the Brooklyn apartment. 

Then your stomach growled, causing bucky to looked at you with wide eyes and you stifled a giggle. You mumbled a ‘sorry’ before closing your eyes again, hoping it wouldn't keep growling. 

You were wrong. Your stomach was relentless, and finally you got up, slipping from Bucky grasp and scurrying into the kitchen to find something to eat. Bucky felt your absence almost immediately, he opened his eyes and frowned, getting up and making his way into the kitchen. 

“didnt mean to wake you angel” you apologized as he walked towards you. He shook his head and wrapping his arms around you, letting his chin rest onto of your head. His eyes fluttered closed as you relaxed into him, your arms snaking around his waist and leaning your head against his chest. The sound of the microwave made you pull away from him, grabbing the hot cup of Mac and cheese and setting it on the dining table, Bucky soon following you and sitting next to you. 

“now im hungry” he frowned and you laughed, giving him some of your Mac and cheese which he gratefully ate. Within minutes the small bowl of Mac and cheese was empty, the two of you still hungry.  You stared at bucky, a small smile creeping onto both of your faces. You were both thinking the same thing. 

“no we shouldn't” you shook your head and bucky agreed. 

“yeah no its almost 4 we should get to bed” he replied, you both got up, making eye contact before bursting into a fit of giggles and smiles, heading straight towards the kitchen and definitely not bed. You pulled your phone out and put on some music. 

“you were thinking about French toast right?” you asked and bucky smiled, already opening the fridge for the ingredients, you grinned and you opened the pantry to get the other things you needed. You both sang along to the music softly, swaying to the beat. 

As bucky made the mix you grabbed the bread and two plates, heating up the pan and putting some butter on it, letting it melt. You moved easily in the kitchen with bucky, ever since you had moved in together everything just seemed to work for you guys. 

As you dipped the bread into the batter before putting it in the pan. Turning to bucky and using the spatula as a microphone, singing along to some 40s song you had added for bucky. You smiled as he took the spatula from your hand, setting it down and grabbing your hands, dancing along to the song. 

Bucky had the brightest smile on his face as you followed his lead, letting him twirl you around as the song played. You looked up at him as he danced with you, meeting his light blue eyes. Your eyes met and bucky couldn't stop himself. 

“I can't wait any longer oh my god” he rushed out, letting go of you and rushing back into the bedroom, leaving you along in the kitchen. 

You frowned, did you do something wrong? You focused back on the French toast, flipping the slice so it wouldn't burn before placing it on Buckys plate. You frowned as you looked for the powdered sugar. Realizing you hadn't taken it out you turned around to get it, your back to the bedroom door. As you searched for it your mind raced, was he breaking up with you? Was he just really tired?

Meanwhile Bucky was rummaging through all his drawers, wondering where the hell he put the ring he picked out with Steve seven months ago. His heart was racing as he heard you cooking the french toast, confused as to why he left you. Finally he found the black velvet box in the back of his sock drawer, smiling as he ran back out to meet you in the kitchen. 

Bucky saw you facing the drawer, so he wasted no time sneaking up behind you and getting down on one knee silently, opening the small box to reveal the ring. 

You finally found the powdered sugar, opening it and turning around. You turned quickly, eyes immediately landing on bucky, right in front of you. 

On one knee. With a ring.

You dropped the powdered sugar, causing it to land all over you, bucky and the ring. Your hands flew to your mouth as he smiled at you brightly.

“are you joking? this is a joke right?” you questioned and bucky shook his head, still on one knee despite having powdered sugar all over his shirt. 

“y/n I love you so much, I wanna spend forever with you. Everything feels so right with you I just- its like we’re just meant to be, I can't imagine a life without you. I wanna make you happy, I wanna travel the world with you, I wanna dance in the kitchen at 3 am and make French toast at ungodly hours with you for the rest of my life” he rambled, you felt your ears burning as he continued, your mind still processing that he was actually proposing. 

“-I love how competitive you are and how excited you get over anything and everything, I just love you so much-” he cut himself off when he looked at you for the first time since he started rambling, smiling softly up at you as you looked at him, fondness in your eyes and a tear rolling down your cheek. 

“will you marry me?” he spoke, breathless. 

Never in your life have you nodded so quickly. 

“yes, of course yes” you whispered and bucky smiled, jumping to his feet as you cupped his face, crashing your lips onto his, smiling into the kiss. You pulled away with a sniffle, smiling as he took your hand and slid the ring on, he blushed at the sight of it. 

You looked at each other with a smile, kissing once more before you realizing the french toast was cold by now. You pulled away quickly, grabbing the powdered sugar bag from the floor and sprinkling some lightly on your plates. 

“sorry about all that” you laughed, motioning to the powdered sugar all over the two of you and the floor. Bucky just grinned, waving it off as the two of you ate the French toast, a smile never leaving either of your faces. Both pf you giggling as the sun came up and birds began to sing. 

Not long after you finished Bucky cleaned up your mess, you changed into one of his t shirts and slipped into bed, a smile on your face as he walked into the room, taking his shirt off and slipping out of his sweats before moving into bed next to you. 

You wasted no time as he laid on his back, moving his arm so you could rest your head on his chest. He cradled you gently as you got comfortable, kissing the top of your head once you settled in. 

“love you so much angel, can't wait until we get to spend forever together” you mumbled with a smile on your face, already drifting off to sleep. Bucky smiled at your words, letting his fingers run through your hair. 

“and I love you more than yesterday” he whispered, “but less than tomorrow.”

Bucky meant his words. He meant them with everything he was. He fell in love with you everyday. He always found himself falling deeper and deeper, but he never complained. Now could fall in love with you for the rest of his life.

[bitches-who-write]

Can you do headcanons siblings of the gang ? Like, how they act with them and how they treat them and how they let the gang act with them ?

Somewhat important note below~

So we know we said we take requests on a first come, first serve basis; however for the sake of time today (and due to the fact that we did not post anything last week) we decided to take on this request early. PLEASE do not be offended or upset if you are still waiting for your request! We promise we will be getting to them ALL. After this post now, we will go back to our fist come, first serve rule.

We have a few requests which we'll be writing longer stories for vs casual headcannons. Stories typically take us several hours to complete since your 2 lovely bitches who write do not live close enough to one another. We write together via FaceTime and Google Doc. We appreciate all your support and patience with us as we write you guys the best content possible! Enough rambling now, Enjoy these headcannons!!!

Patrick With A Little Sister-

Oh boy… Patrick is crazy over protective of his little sister.

Maybe the word should be obsessive and controlling instead~

He watches her every move. He even comes into her room as she sleeps just to occasionally check on her.

Whenever she gets out of Belch’s car heading to school, Patrick keeps a close eye on her again. Mentally noting everyone she talks to.

He makes sure everyone is in line. It doesn’t matter if it’s an adult or a kid. If they do something Patrick doesn’t like, they’re getting fucked up.

Patrick refuses to let guys talk to her. Only Henry, Vic and Belch are allowed to.

When Patrick isn’t around, he puts the other Bower’s Gang members in charge of her. And she knows well enough to listen to them.

He sometimes makes inappropriate comments about her, resulting in a smack off the head by the other guys.

Patrick LOVES to mess with her.

Always holding things over her head so she can’t reach.

Laughs as she tries to jump up and grab it from him.

He’ll lean down and rest his arms on the top of her head since she’s so much smaller than him.

When she doesn’t listen to Patrick, he will literally just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder and laugh as she struggles to get down.

Even though she’s a girl and a few years younger than him, doesn’t mean she’s safe from how rough Patrick gets.

He still wrestles her to the ground and puts her in a damn headlock.

Definitely gets a few bruises from Patrick playfully hitting her. (Patrick doesn't realize his own strength.)

One word… tickled. Patrick is always tickling the shit out of her to tease her.

It’s even worse when the entire Bower’s Gang joins in on torturing her.

Look… this is Patrick. So he still has a mean, sadistic side.

He gets off on fear so he loves to scare her anyway he can.

Whether that is by jumping out at her, or doing something dangerous and reckless like picking her up and dangling her over the cliff edge to the quarry. (she hates heights and doesn’t know how to swim.)

“Uh no! You’re slipping! Better hold on, sweetheart. I know you don’t know how to swim.” He chuckles darkly, smirking down at her as she grips onto his forearm tightly and cries.

Patrick doesn’t hesitate on the low- blows, either. Making comments that he knows will make her cry.

If she threatens to tell their parents on him, Patrick will grab her from behind agressively, making her gasp as he covers her mouth tightly and whisper tauntingly in her ear:

“Now, Now.. Just why would you say that? You know that only gets you in trouble, little one..” He chuckles darkly and tightens his grip in a painful manner.

Patrick With A Little Brother-

…… I think we all know how this ended…. Patrick disliked his little brother, Avery… a lot. You see, Patrick likes being the only male sibling. It’s less competition and less hassle for him. Only Patrick is allowed to make (more like break) the reputation of his family’s name in the small town of Derry, Maine. Bottom line, if Patrick had another little brother, it would result in the same outcome as Avery. Sorry.

Belch With A Little Sister-

Very protective. Does not let her out of his sight for a second.

Hovers over her when they walk in the woods so she doesn’t trip or fall down.

He brings her along when he goes out with the guys sometimes, unless he knows they will be partaking in illegal activities.

Keeps snacks in his car for whenever she rides with him and always makes sure she eats 3 proper meals during the day.

Not only does he have extra snacks but he has a first aid kit, too.

He’s always prepared knowing she’s small, so there’s a good chance she’ll accidentally get hurt hanging around the guys.

And yes, it has happened on more than one occeasion.

He checks on her during school and makes sure no one is messing with her.

After school, Belch makes sure she does her homework but never really helps her with it. Why would he? He doesn’t even do his own assignments.

For the most part, he’s pretty sweet but sometimes the big brother power goes to his head.

He makes her do her chores and his around the house.

If she ever did something wrong, Belch goes right to blackmail.

“I won’t let mom know about that F on your report card… only IF you wash my car everyday the rest of this week.

Henry purposely spills his drink on the hood of the car right after she just got down cleaning it.

“Opps.. looks like you missed a spot. Better get to it, kid.” Henry says mockingly as he ruffles her hair walking by.

Belch always makes sure she’s safe in bed by the end of the night though.

He even kisses the side of her head when the guys aren’t around.

Belch With A Little Brother-

He takes him under his wing.

Loves to talk about cars- the makes and models, horsepower, you name it.

Even though his little brother isn’t old enough to drive yet, that doesn’t stop Belch from giving him driving lessons.

But bet your life he threatens him before taking off. “I swear to fuck though man, if you crash my car, I will end you. Okay, now put it in reverse. Let’s go”

Belch watches sports with him and even plays in the backyard, as well.

Belch acts as if he’s his coach to prepare him for the school’s team.

He also teaches him how to properly lift weights and spots him, too.

Belch told him “the ladies love a man with muscles, so to keep lifting bro.”

Speaking of girls, Belch was the one who gave him ‘the talk’... in very elaborate and explicit detail leaving his brother shocked, disgusted, and intrigued all at once.

Although he does hang out with his brother from time to time, sometimes Belch chooses friends over family and takes off for long periods of time.

Belch for the most part tries to be patient with him, but still gives his brother tough love as a form of preparing him for the real world.

Overall, Belch is a pretty decent big brother.

He means well but sometimes misses the mark.

Henry With A Little Sister-

Their father works long shifts, often resulting in an absence in their home life.

Henry’s dad basically tells him he’s fully in charge of his little sister.

Henry acts pissed off about that like she’s a bother and interrupts his life but deep down, it makes him feel important for once in his life.

Henry is both very strict and protective over her.

He’s also very controlling such as who she’s allowed to talk to or what she’s allowed to wear.

Nothing short or low cut is allowed. She better not even think about talking back, either,

Henry doesn't have much patience for anything and his temper is even worse.

For example- Her short legs means she walks slower than the rest of them.

Henry rolls his eyes and ends up dragging her by her wrist or sometimes just throwing her over his shoulder because he can’t stand waiting for her.

When it comes time for school, Henry makes sure everyone knows she’s a Bowers. If anyone (child or adult) even just so much as looked at her funny, Henry is throwing hands.

Speaking of school, Henry doesn’t help her with any bit of projects or homework. “Don’t fuckin’ ask me! You do it, or don’t, I don't really give a shit.”

When it comes time for dinner, Henry makes simple stuff like peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, mac n’ cheese, or sometimes just fixes a bowl of cereal. But he always makes her clean up the mess / dishes after.

If she talks back, Henry has no problems getting in her face and yelling loudly.

Sometimes when his anger gets the best of him, he’ll smack her across the face.

He stiffens up when he sees the tears form in her eyes. Sometimes he just walks away and doesn’t want to deal with it, and other times he stands there stiffly and gives her an awkward hug.

“Sorry kid. I didn’t mean to hit you. You just pissed me the fuck off.”

Henry would never let anyone ever see this but occasionally he gives her a quick kiss to the side of her cheek when he’s feeling extra guilty. 

Similar to Patrick, Henry loves to get on her nerves.

Tripping her as she walks by.

Embarrassing her in front of the other guys just to see her blush.

Smacking her off the head as he walks by- her angry face makes Henry laugh.

Tickling her to make her admit something or as a form of punishment because he knows she hates that.

Barges in her room without knocking first.

Warns her she's never, ever allowed to have a boyfriend. And if she has a crush on either Vic, Belch, or Patrick...she’s dead meat.

Won’t allow her to drink alcohol or smoke. If she sneaks and does it, Henry teaches her a ‘lesson’.

“Find you wanna drink? Then here, take it. But now you have to drink the entire thing.”

He smirks and watches her get sick from the alcohol thinking that actually taught her a lesson and will deter her from it in the future.

Speaking of drinking-

When their dad comes home drunk, Henry is the one to take all his shit just to protect her because deep down he does care about her even though he calls her a “little fucking shit” daily.

Henry With A Little Brother-

In Henry's warped mind, his brother is a guy too, so he doesn’t need to be coddled like his little sister does.

If Henry has to withstand hits and verbal abuse, then his little brother should too. “Why should he get a pass?” Henry scoffs.

Henry gives him a lot of tough love.

He tries to make him ‘stronger’ by saying some really rotten shit to him. “Builds character, get used to it, kid.”

Henry does teach his brother how to fight though. “Put those stupid fuckin’ books down pussy. Books can’t teach you how to be a fucking man, but throwing punches will.”

Henry gave his little brother his own knife for his birthday.

He told him since he’s a Bowers, he's a target so it will come in handy~

Gives his brother “advice” on girls and sex; telling him which girls around town ‘put out’ the most.

One day when his brother asked Henry about a particular girl Henry responded with: “Ooh yeah, (random girl’s name), the only thing good about her is her pussy. Face is busted.”

Overall, Henry isn’t too bad towards his brother but once again, when his temper is raging, no one is safe from him.

Vic With A Little Sister-

Overly cautious and protective of her. He’s basically like a helicopter parent.

When the guys are swearing around her, he covers her ears and tells the guys to cut it out.

“Guys! Language!”

“I’m only a few years younger than you guys, I’m not a child!” she retorts.

Patrick, being classic creepy Patrick circles around her. “Just give it a few more years babe. Based on how your mom looks...” Patrick licks his lips envisioning Vic’s mother until Vic smacks him in the balls making Patrick hunch over in pain.

Vic likes to keep her in sight so right after school, he goes straight to her locker and makes sure she rides home with them, too.

When they get out of the car to bully some kids, Vic tells her to stay put. He doesn’t want her involved in anything.

When walking through the woods to the quarry, He always has a hand around her upper arm for support when climbing down the embankment.

He watches her like a hawk when swimming, so paranoid something will happen. Again, think helicopter parent

While he’s sweet for the most part, there’s times he just loses his temper.

He’ll explode and begin yelling at her, only inches from her face.

Sometimes when she does something really, really out of line, Vic will shove her into Henry and Patrick.

“Here guys, teach this little bitch a lesson for me. And don’t go easy on her.” Vic says walking off to calm down.

A part of him feels a little guilty when he sees her cry but other times he feels it’s justified.

He isn’t overly affectionate with her around the guys, the most he does is put an arm around her shoulder.

Sometimes sneaks behind her and tasers her sides and laughs when she jumps and collapses to the ground.

But when no one is around, he 100% gives the best hugs.

When she’s going to a sleepover at a girl-friend's house, Vic tells her to be safe and mumbles, “love you.”

Back at home before bed, Vic will tease her for being paranoid as she makes her way around the house, triple checking to make sure all the windows and doors are locked.

“What? Afraid the boogeyman is gonna getcha?” Vic mocks.

If she’s having a nightmare and calls for Vic, he’ll come and sit on the bedroom floor next to her bed until she falls asleep again.

Vic With A Little Brother-

Vic isn’t as protective over his little brother as he is with their little sister; but he still cares for him.

He just feels that his brother is able to hold his own while his sister needs more protection/ guidance.

He let’s his brother tag along with the guys. They all don’t mind. If anything, they refer to his little brother as Vic number 2.

He genuinely listens to his brother’s interests. Okay.. sometimes he zones out when he drones on and on but he always acts interested.

Vic is pretty book smart so he helps his brother with school work, especially in math.

Tries to make his brother more confident when it comes to talking / picking up girls.

Basically acts as his wing man.

The guys try to give his brother tips on how to pick up girls...Vic usually tells him to ignore everything they say because all that's gonna earn him is a slap in the face.

Tells him not to listen to Henry or Patrick for girl advice.. EVER.

He does teach his brother how to fight though.

Just because Vic is one of the sweeter ones in the gang; that doesn’t change the fact that he’s in a gang to begin with…

When his brother told him he was being picked on, Vic taught him how to fight, but also got involved himself.

Nothing like sending an intimidating message to a few assholes.

When Vic and his brother fight with each other, he doesn’t hold back just because that’s his little brother.

Overall, they get along for the most part and Vic is a pretty decent older brother to his siblings.

[hangovercurse]

Long Days

Pete comes home after a long day at work and just wants to cuddle

Request: “heyy i love your pete writing!!!! could you write some domestic or boyfriend pete pls 🥺 hes always talking about how much he loves his partner when hes in a relationship its so soft”

Pete Davidson x Reader

Word Count: 1671

You yawned, looking down at the time on your laptop and realizing it was well past 3 am, Pete’s usual arrival time. You frowned, checking your phone to see if he had texted you that rehearsals were running late.

And just as your fingers touched the plastic phone case, the door to Pete’s apartment-basement opened, revealing the man himself. He looked exhausted, even for himself. The bags under his eyes sunk deeper than usual and his slouch was worse than ever.

He found you sitting up, blanket over your lower half, laptop in lap, and he smiled lazily. He slumped over to the foot of the bed and fell face forward into the mattress. You giggled as his face landed next to your waistline, moving your laptop to the small table besides you as Pete kicked his shoes off. You reached and pulled Pete by his forearms to lay his head in your lap, the man making no effort to help you except flipping over to look at you.

You ran your fingers through his hair, smiling down at him. “Hi baby,” You spoke softly as he snuggled further into your body. “How was work?”

Pete hummed, eyes closing at the feeling of your gentle fingers combing through his locks. “Long. Lorne was in a bad mood and the host made us rehearse everything like 3 times.”

You frowned, “I’m sorry.” You shifted so your back was resting against the headboard and pulled Pete so he was cuddled into your chest, back against your front. You wrapped your arms around his waist, rubbing his stomach with your thumb.

Pete shrugged, hands moving to sit on top of yours. “It’s not your fault, just sucked.” You nodded, leaning down to press a kiss against the side of his head. “What did you do all day?” He asked, looking up at you.

“Zoom meetings with clients mostly, nothing too interesting. I saw this really cute puppy on my walk today, though!” You reached over and grabbed your phone, finding the picture you had taken and showing it to him. “Highlight of my day until you came home.”

He smiled, taking the phone from your hands, and gazing at the picture. “Almost as cute as you.” He mumbled, making you giggle. You pressed another kiss to the side of his head, and then another, and then a few more in quick succession, making him laugh.

You loved to hear him laugh, especially on days like these where he was feeling down. “Did you get a chance to eat?” You asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

“No.” He followed his statement with a groan, “I worked through dinner and wanted to see you as soon as possible so I didn’t stop.”

You nodded with a smile on your face, touched that he was so eager to come home to you. “I can make you something,” you offered. He rubbed small circles to the top of your hand and let out a small hum of agreement. “What do you want?”

“Do we have stuff to make mac n cheese?” He asked.

You let out a small giggle at the childlike sound of his request, “I can check. You just want mac n cheese?”

“I have been craving mac n cheese for like three days.” You laughed at his confession, moving your arms, and trying to get out from under him.

He refused to let you leave, laying over your lap completely to keep you sitting. “Pete I can’t make anything if you don’t let me stand up.”

He groaned, turning to hug your middle, his head buried in your stomach, “don’t want you to leave.”

You let out a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair, “do you wanna come cook with me?” He shook his head no. “Okay well I have to get up, so you have to let go of me.” He shook his head again. “Pete, I will drag you to the kitchen if you don’t let go.”

He laughed, looking up at you with tired eyes. “I’m like a koala bear.” You could hear in his voice just how tired he was, and you weren’t sure if he would be able to stay awake long enough to eat any food you made.

“Yes, you are, babe.” You sighed, using all your force to move your feet to dangle off the bed, Pete’s hands still around your waist. “Pete, let go.” You said, giggling lightly.

He let you go long enough for you to stand up before standing up himself and wrapping his arms around you again, this time from behind you. You sighed, leaning your head back against his chest, knowing he would make you walk in this position.

The two of you waddled to the kitchen, Pete pressing lazy kisses to your neck the entire way there. You got out the ingredients for mac n cheese, setting them out on the counter. “Is cheddar okay?” you asked, turning your neck to meet his eyes, and finding a soft smile on his face. He nodded, pressing a quick, sweet kiss to your lips.

You preheated the oven and set a pot of water on the stove to boil, Pete finally moving off of you to jump onto the counter, grabbing handfuls of cheese as you began to grate it. You gave him a joking glare, which he returned with a wide smile.

Once the water began to boil you added the macaroni, mentally making a note of what time you would need to take it off the stove. You put butter on a saucepan, letting it melt as you measured out the milk, flour, cheese, and half and half. You added the ingredients and mixed, draining the noodles after six minutes and adding the sauce.

You moved to one of the cupboards above your head, searching for a dish to put your mixture into. You could see the glass pan above you, but you knew reaching it would require you growing an extra three inches. You frowned, preparing to jump up onto the counter when you felt a hand around your waist. “imagine being short.” Pete said with a chuckle, grabbing the pan with ease.

You turned around, pouting at him as he set the glass on the counter. His arms went to rest on the counter on either side of you, leaning down to be closer to you. “You’re mean.” You said, crossing your arms.

He laughed, pressing a kiss to your lips. “And you’re adorable,” he mumbled, kissing you again. His lips moved so well with yours, fitting perfectly together. Pete deepened the kiss, making you lean backwards with a smile. He whined, trying to kiss you again.

“Food, Petey.” You said, pointing to the stove. He sighed, moving his hands to let you move back over to your spot and finish making the food. Instead of returning to his counter, he followed you, wrapping his arms around your middle  from behind and resting his head on your shoulder. You continued to work despite the man weighing you down, swatting his hands away when he tried to take pieces of pasta.

You pushed him back as you opened the oven, placing the glass pan with macaroni in it and setting the microwave timer for 20 minutes. Once you were done, Pete spun you around to face him. His hands rested on your waist, and you put your own around his neck.

“Dance with me” he mumbled, forehead resting against yours.

You giggled softly, “there’s no music.”

“We don’t need music.”

Pete started swaying you both gently, slowly spinning around the room. Your eyes were on each other the whole time, nothing else mattering but each other. Despite the lack of music and the tiredness in both of your eyes, it felt magical.

You didn’t notice Pete’s mom enter the kitchen, nor did you notice the smile on her face as she took out her phone and recorded the two of you. You didn’t notice anything other than Pete.

“I love you.” You whispered; a smile spread on your face.

Pete’s lips connected with your own, the kiss slow and sweet and lazy and perfect. “I love you too” he whispered after he pulled away.

You were brought out of your fairytale when the microwave beeped, alerting you that the mac n cheese was ready. You pulled away, grabbing an oven mitt and a towel, and pulling the glass pan out of the oven. Pete noticed his mom in the kitchen doorway.

“I came to get a glass of water but I didn’t want to interrupt your moment.” She said, a fond smile on her face.

A blush rose to your cheeks as you set the pan on the towel. “Do you want any?” Pete asked motioning to the dish.

She laughed, “at 4 in the morning? I’m good. But if there’s leftovers I might take some to work tomorrow.” You nodded, mentally noting to save her a piece. “Y/N made it, right?”

You nodded with a smile, laughing when Pete let out a “what is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m gonna get to bed, have fun you two.”

“Goodnight.” You called softly as she moved to her room before moving to grab a spoon, two forks, and two bowls. Pete left to the room, turning on the TV and flipping through Netflix to find a specific movie. You put the dishes in the sink, promising yourself you’d do them the next day, and then served yourself and Pete. You wrapped the remaining food and placed it in the fridge, walking to where Pete was.

You found him on the couch, blanket sprawled over him, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World queued up to play. You sat next to him, handing him his bowl, and smiling as he instinctively leaned into you. You spent the rest of the night eating and watching comedies on Netflix until you both passed out on the couch, wrapped in each other’s arms.

[bomberqueen17]

motherfucking CASSEROLE SEASON

It has finally begun to cool into autumn up here in the northeastern united states of whatever we are now, and in celebration I am going to start posting about CASSEROLES.

I fucking love casseroles, they are like. *chef kiss* the epitome of cuisine, if you ask me. You take a bunch of foods-- ideally, everything you need to eat in a meal-- and you do whatever you gotta do to ‘em and then you put them in a cute enamelware dish if you got one or like one of those stoneware ones with the patterns or, if you’re me, an unadorned Pyrex or a cast iron Dutch oven your mother found and literally mailed to you because why wouldn’t you mail a cast iron Dutch oven-- or whatever you’ve got-- and then you put them in the oven and then your whole house gets warm and steamy and then in a bit you get to eat like. Love on a plate, that’s what I think of when I get a casserole.

Some casseroles are not what you’d call haute cuisine. They are not the kind of thing that is trendy. They do not have, what you say, very much of seasonings in them. But they taste like food.

(I do not come from hot dish people and have never had hot dish, but in my heart I believe that such a thing must be wonderful. Just, every time I read a recipe I’m like uh. no. that sounds bad. But the concept of hot dish sounds great to me. So if that narrows it down-- yeah no I’m from the Northeast, we don’t do hot dish. Someday I’ll experience it but I have not yet.)

So, without further ado, posting Number One: Classic Mac N Cheese.

This bears no resemblance to Kraft dinner besides the name. This is also an invaluable casserole because it is the sort of prototypical one, in my experience. From this model you can expand to include any ingredient you see fit to use.

SO, the basic recipe-- this is just a sauce mornay over cooked pasta. (And sauce mornay is nothing more than a basic bechamel with cheese melted in, though purists would insist on specific cheeses. We are not purists, we merely remark on it because even quite fancy cooking can rest on these very simple bases.)

My recipe was hand-written for me by my mother, probably copied out of her late 70s edition of Fanny Farmer; I’ve made the Joy of Cooking version too, before I finally memorized it. My undiagnosed, untreated ADHD is so bad now I can’t follow a recipe anymore, but having memorized this means I can make any casserole that follows this basic technique. And so I present it to you, as a base from which to experiment.

THE VERY BASIC RECIPE:

Bring water to a boil and cook your favorite small pasta according to package directions. (Bowties, rotini, radiatore, small shells, wagon wheels, penne, ziti, elbows, etc. Long pasta like spaghetti or fettucine would structurally work but would be weird. Knock yourself out.) I think this recipe makes enough for half a pound, which would feed one person, or two without leftovers.

MEANWHILE. Make bechamel sauce:

2 Tbsp fat-- butter, bacon grease, lard, vegetable oil-- heated in a saucepan. Once melted, stir in 2 Tbsp flour. (White, whole wheat, gluten free, whatever.) (If your fat is unsalted you’re gonna wanna put salt somewhere in here. I don’t think it matters where. You can also put in cool things like nutmeg and bay leaves and whatever, either now or when you add the liquid.)

Whisk or stir together into a paste, heating over medium-low heat. Watch carefully. As soon as it begins to brown, add 1 c of milk or broth or a combination thereof. Whisk or stir briskly-- a whisk or fork will help you break up lumps-- until it is smooth. Cook, stirring, until it begins to thicken. This is the hardest part of this whole thing but practice makes perfect, just don’t walk away or burn it, it’ll boil over if you leave.

Once this has begun to thicken (pick up your stirring spoon and draw your finger through the sauce on the back of it; if it’s thick enough to cling so that your finger leaves a defined trail, it’s thick enough. If it’s so thin you can’t see the difference, you’re not there yet) dump in cheese. (If you had a bay leaf you can take it out now. Or not, and have it be a surprise for someone later.) I use about a cup of shredded cheddar. Munster works well, or colby or colbyjack or pepperjack or gouda. A square of fake American cheese food cheese melted in there makes it a creamier sauce less likely to break on reheating.

Melt the cheese into the sauce. (Optional, melt half into the sauce, reserve the other half.) Then decant half the pasta into the dish, scatter half the reserved cheese over it, then put the rest of the pasta in, and pour the sauce over the top. Spread the last of the reserved shredded cheese over the top of the casserole.

Optional crumb topping: Microwave 2-3 Tbsp butter and 2-3 Tbsp breadcrumbs, mix together into a uniform glop, spread over top of casserole in thin layer.

Bake casserole in a preheated 375-degree oven for like half an hour until bubbling and browned slightly on top. Eat.

VARIATIONS:

This is where it gets good. The thing I now do every time is that I’ll chop and brown an onion in the fat before I add the flour. Sometimes I’ll branch out and cook more aromatics-- onion, then add a carrot or two, and put in some garlic just before I add the flour. And then along with the cooked pasta, I’ll add kale, or swiss chard, or beet greens. You can put as many vegetables in as you want, just sort of categorizing them by ones that will need quite a bit of cooking (aromatics, hard things like beets or turnips) and thus should be sauteed in the fat before the sauce is made, or ones that don’t need much cooking (braising greens, spinach, leaves, things like broccoli) and can just be thrown in with the noodles and cooked just as the casserole is heated through.

Meat too-- I often cook bacon to render the fat, and then make the sauce atop that. Or I use ham, or bacon ends or pork jowls; those are the classics, and the sweetness of cured pork goes exceptionally well with the cheese. But you could branch out and try other meats-- shredded cooked leftover poultry could be added at any point, for example.

EXPERT SECRET TIP AS A GIFT TO FUTURE YOU:

Something I’ve learned as well is that many casseroles can be made way way ahead, and frozen whole. This is an old meal-train-for-bereaved-family trick, but I use it for my lazy self. If I’m going to the hassle of making myself a whole casserole, now, I’ve got several recipes like this one where I’ll just make double, and then put half in my Pyrex straight into the oven, and then the other half either in my other Pyrex and saran-wrap the crap out of it, or if it’s not super layered, I’ll throw it in a tupperware thing and put that into the freezer.

You need several days to defrost something like that, though the microwave will help you speed that up, but there is no greater feeling of empowerment than facing down a busy week, looking at your schedule, and then pulling out a casserole from the freezer and sticking it in the fridge and saying “in three days, I will be able to come home, throw this in the oven, lie around for 45 minutes, and then feast.”

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t going to save your ass last-minute, casseroles aren’t good for that, but if you’ve got time for Sunday night existential dread about the coming week, that’s when you pull this out and stick it in the fridge as a gift for Wednesay you, who will have had a hard week.

(And I’m just saying, if you’re the type who works, say, retail, in a place where Christmas is a particular kind of hell-- now is the time for you to put some of these into the freezer, as a sweet little future-gift. One now, for cold sad October you, and one to save the ass of exhausted December you.)

[slashersins]

Hi, I love your work, I do not know if it is too much to ask but could make my request if it is possible Brahms fall in love with The Os who is friends with Greta?Where the S/O went to help Greta in her work too and because she was worried about her sanity (she knows about the things that happened at the beginning of the film).Note: The S/O has a personality almost of a mother/sacred person (attentive, affectionate and patient will also buy from an angel).

this is . . . an amazing request . oh my god i’m so pumped , i’ll be more than happy to make this happen !

hi , I love your work , i do not know if it is too much to ask but could make my request if it is possible brahms fall in love with the s/o who is friends with greta ? where the s/o went to help Greta in her work too and because she was worried about her sanity ( she knows about the things that happened at the beginning of the film ) . note : the s/o has a personality almost of a mother/sacred person ( attentive , affectionate and patient ) .

saving grace . 

part one .

( part two )  ( part three )  ( part four )   ( part five )

greta needed you . plain and simple . you hadn’t wanted her to go to england . at least not alone , even if it was for a baby sitting job with amazing pay . it’s not that you didn’t trust her , you were just worried . she’d been through so much recently . and she was your best friend . so no sooner did greta call and tell you of her troubles did you bye a ticket and board a plane . greta needed you .

the happy , relieved laughter that left not only you but greta when she opened the door to you seemed to echo in the quiet of the estate . and oh , it felt like forever before you let go of hugging each other . but once you pulled away and took in the state of your friend did your inner mother hen come out . cupping greta’s face you looked over her , sighing and taking her inside . 

“ have you been sleeping ? eating ? what’s been going on ? tell me more about it ? do you think this place is haunted or that your just too lonely ? you should have called sooner , you know i would of been down here so fast . ” you may have no idea where anything was in this house , but that didn’t stop you from making yourself busy around the kitchen you stepped into with greta . the first thing in order was making food and something to drink .

greta couldn’t help but laugh as you fussed over her ,  it was refreshing after the happenings she’d been dealing with . and she relaxes for the first time in weeks , opening up with more ease than she could with malcolm about everything happening . 

“ and if i don’t follow the rules , it get’s worse . ” greta took on a nervous tone , glancing just outside the kitchen where a chair sat with the doll you’d yet to be introduced to . greta was nervous to even have him near you , but technically a rule was being broken , so you only hoped that introducing you to the haunted doll would help lessen the tantrum and disturbances to come . 

still fussing over the hot stove top , you hummed in acknowledgement , glancing back a moment to give a soft smile , “ then i guess i’m gonna have to follow these rules too ? since i’m staying . and i am staying . you’re not doing this on your own anymore , greta . it’s taking too much out of you . no if ands or buts , okay ? ” you try to follow her gaze , but your place in the kitchen didn’t allow you to see what it was your friend was looking at . 

“ you okay , greta ? ” the softness and mother like tone  of your voice caught her attention and she gave you a soft smile and nod . taking a deep breath , greta stood and walked over , giving your hand a soft squeeze . 

“ you’ll need to set the table for three . i’ll go get brahms . ”

believing in ghosts wasn’t something you stuck your nose up to . you never had your own experiences , and had always been interested in other’s stories . so you didn’t doubt anything greta had told you , but you also couldn’t say that it wasn’t some part of distress . either way , you’d trust greta , and treat this haunted doll with seriousness and respect . anything for your friend . 

“ y/n , this is brahms . brahms , this is my best friend , y/n . she’s . . . going to be staying with us for a while . . . ” greta’s voice was shaky as she held the porcelain doll in her arms , facing you . 

“ it’s nice to meet you brahms . ” you wiped your hand on your apron , cleaning it of cooking before taking the small hand of the doll and shaking it . “ i hope you like mac and cheese ! ” your smile went from the doll to greta before turning back around to finish up the dish .

the rest of the evening went smoothly . rules explained , the uneaten dinner left in the fridge for brahms . greta , holding brahms rather uncomfortably , showed you around the house and tucked him into bed with a good night kiss . the entire thing felt so forced , and you worried all the more for your friend . 

no sooner were you locked away in greta’s room and comfortable did the two of you jump onto the bed and cuddle . no doubt greta needed the affection and you were ready to smother her in it . it wasn’t long between talking and laughing and comforting that the pair of you drifted to sleep , unaware of the man in the walls watching with anger . 

brahms was angered the moment you’d stepped into his home . greta had only just started following the rules to the letter . and she’d broken them . he wanted to throw a fit . to come out of the walls and chase you away . even now as the pair of you slept in a tangle of limbs his desire to come out the walls and tear you two apart , jealousy fueling him . when he had finally had enough of stewing in his anger in the walls , he left . he’d find a way to get you to leave .

he was careful in how he acted , how he moved the doll around , how he misplaced your things or moved items when you weren’t looking . even going as far as doing so when you were both in the same room with your back turned . it unnerved greta , worried her to no end about your safety . it took no amount of cooing and calming on your part to ease greta . and though you were a bit spooked by everything , and most certainly sure that the doll was in fact haunted , you felt you were handling everything well . 

it got on brahms nerves that you didn’t seem as affected as greta had when he’d started acting up like this . every time the doll showed up in the same room , you’d smile and greet it , picking him up and letting him join you in whatever activity you were doing . if he moved things around you’d just sigh and ask brahms to please stop moving your things . there was even a time that you laughed and asked if brahms wanted to play hide and seek . it was irritating that you tried to deflect every move he made . even when the spent time tearing the kitchen apart . all you’d done was sigh , roll up your sleeves , and clean the room before setting down the brahms doll . you’d scolded him , punished him without dinner before bed .

it had completely shocked him . to be reprimanded in such a way . and never once had you raised your voice . he even felt shame at causing you so much trouble , and that shocked him . it even shocked greta when the next morning there was a small apology left outside the room for you .

“ he did it for me once . he left me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich after he threw a fit .does . . . does this mean he’s accepting you ? ” greta sounded hopeful , relieved . this was great . things would get easier now . in a way they already had been getting better and easier . and for once in a long time greta didn’t feel as scared . 

greta was so thankful of your presence . especially when you started taking over more duties for brahms , leaving her more free time to talk and flirt with malcolm . it was something that you encouraged , noticing how they looked at each other . it was time for greta to get back out there , and into a healthy relationship .

so when greta asked if you could watch brahms for a day , and possibly into the next morning by yourself , you’d been over the moon and excited . you spent time fussing over greta and helping her prepare for her date , all while holding brahms . you’d made her promise to text you and call you . which she jokingly responded to with a ‘ yes mom ’ that you’d both laughed at as you waved each other goodbye .

“ well brahmsy . . . it’s just you and me . wanna go read a book ? i’ll let you pick ! ” you smiled down at the doll in your arms , happily making your way upstairs to the library . “ what are you in the mood for today ? ” you bounced brahms in your arms , half expecting to hear a reply . sometimes brahms would speak , but he seemed quiet today . “ okay , brahmsy , i’ll close my eyes and you can pick out your book okay ? ” setting him in his favorite chair , you sat across from him on the couch , and closing your eyes . 

brahms should have been furious at how greta started ignoring him . he should have thrown so many tantrums . but you’d been distracting him . he wanted to make you leave so he could have greta to himself . she was supposed to be his . his parent’s promised . you weren’t supposed to ever have shown up . it broke the rules . and yet now , for some reason , you were the one he spent most of his time with . the one who followed all the rules . the one who started becoming more of his nanny and less of a house guest . 

so instead of getting jealous that greta was going out with the delivery boy and not taking care of him , brahms followed you into the library . carefully , oh so carefully , he moved out of the walls , going to the shelves and quietly picking a book . he re-positioned the doll holding the book before moving back into the walls . “ this one , please ? ” the child’s voice was clear , and you opened your eyes smiling at the doll . 

tugging the doll into your lap , you cuddle up and get comfortable in the couch . the book in your hands held so both you and doll brahms could see the pages . brahms was pressed against the wall listening as you read . sometimes you’d stop and ask a question about what he thought of the book . and he’d answer in his child voice , smiling to himself when you seemed happy with his replies . 

[babbushka]

Reunions

Clyde Logan x Reader 

3k ; Minor angst (Military past/reuniting with military buddies) it’s really very fluffy I promise

(originally posted on AO3 12/28/2018, cross-posting here for my tumblr friends)

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

Most Monday mornings found you in the front lawn, tending to the flowers you had planted there before the heat of the day set in, and this particular Monday was no exception. 

The birds were chirping brightly, your watering can was full, and the day just seemed glad to see you. Clyde was back in the small house the two of you shared, and was just waking up. 

He always slept in late after the weekends when Duck Tape was at its busiest, so you had taken up this routine as a way to be productive while letting him get some much needed rest – on days where he let you out of his python grip, that was.

A bonus to being outside early was you got to greet the neighbors and various people passing by your property. People walking their dogs or taking their kids to the nearby school all got a friendly greeting from you as you tended your garden, and the mailman was no exception. You usually had a small token of appreciation for him on Mondays, as a way to start the week off nicely.

“Good morning ma’am! Only a couple letters for y’all today.” The mailman said as he pulled up in his truck outside your house.

You brushed your hands off on your gardening pants and took the small stack from him with a smile. You knew you were the last house on his route, he had told you as much one morning a few months ago, and so you didn’t worry about the fresh loaf of homemade bread getting squished or damaged in his care. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with butcher’s twine like it was every week, with a small paper tag on it that you wrote down this week’s flavor – roasted garlic and rosemary.

“Thank you Patrick, here’s something nice for you and Shelley. Have a good day!” You handed him the loaf and he didn’t hesitate to take in a big sniff, the garlic was pretty strong but he grinned like it was Christmas morning.

“You’re always so kind (Y/N), thank ya! It smells delicious, you have a good one.” He gave you a small wave before driving down the block.

Heading back towards the house, you started leafing through the letters. One was the cable and internet bill, another was a weekly newsletter of the local community that you had subscribed to, but the third was addressed to Clyde specifically.

It was small and rectangular, and a little dinged up, but it looked like it had traveled a long way to get to Clyde. His name and address was inked in blue pen that had gotten a little smudged, and you could only wonder how many times it had gotten delivered to the wrong place before it finally arrived to your humble home.

“Clyde honey, something came in the mail for you today.” You said as you walked through the door. Your boyfriend was fully awake and munching on some frosted flakes at the kitchen table, reading through a new book he picked up at the library.

“Just put it in the pile, I’ll sort through it later.” Clyde responded sweetly, making you giggle.

“It’s not a bill, someone sent you a personal letter.” You leaned over the table and gave him a morning breath kiss, placing the letter on the table next to his book. “Return address is from Utah, do you know anyone from there?”

You had thought all of Clyde’s family was here in West Virginia. Well, now with Jimmy across state line that might no longer be true, but still you had never heard your man talk about anyone from all the way across the country.

“Can you get me a butter knife?” Clyde asked, his voice gone quiet as he stared at the letter.  

“Sure thing honey.” You said with a slight frown, grabbing one from the drawer and handing it to him.

Clyde didn’t respond, using the butter knife as a makeshift letter opener to tear through the envelope carefully. Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded into thirds, and was completely covered in more blue ink. From your angle you couldn’t make out the writing exactly, but Clyde’s reaction to it was more concerning to you than the contents.

“Is everything okay? You look a little pale.” You asked, sitting down next to him and hugging yourself close to his arm, the scarred one. He hadn’t yet put on his prosthetic since he had just woken up, but you didn’t mind in the least. You liked that he trusted you enough to be comfortable around you.

“I’m okay.” He said with a deep breath, folding the letter back down and tucking it under his book.

You didn’t want to press the issue, so you just gave him a kiss and moved to the cabinet to get a bowl so you could have some breakfast with him and spend the rest of the morning together.

The next day, Clyde came home early from work and surprised you with takeout from your favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner. You had been watching TV, waiting for him to come home, and at the sound of the front door unlocking you were already running across the house to jump into his arms and cover his face with kisses.

“Honey you’re home!” You grinned, laughing as he lifted you and spun you around.

“Yup, I felt like spending the evening with my favorite lady.” He smiled back at you, giving you one long kiss before releasing his hold on you.

You giggled, still dizzy from the spinning, and took the heavy takeout bag from him. He followed you into the living room where you laid out the spread of containers, and you caught him fidgeting with the buckle on his belt – a nervous habit of his that you picked up on pretty early on.

“(Y/N)?” Clyde said, and you frowned slightly at the apprehension in his voice. “I was wonderin’…if you wouldn’t mind accompanyin’ me to a function this weekend.” He finished, and you were relieved that you didn’t have to prepare for dreadful news.

“You know I’ll always join you wherever you want me to.” You said, sitting on the couch and inviting him to his favorite spot: his head in your lap. “Is this about your friend from Utah? Are they going to be in town?” You asked, thinking about the letter.

“Yup. It ain’t just Tony either, it’s…” Clyde trailed off with a sigh, and your chest tightened for him. You knew there were a lot of things in Clyde’s past that you didn’t really know about, because he had had such a hard time living through them. The last thing you wanted to do was to make him deal with something he wasn’t ready for.

“You don’t have to tell me if it’s hard Clyde.” You said, stroking your fingers through his thick and luscious hair.

“I want to tell ya because it’s hard.” Clyde said, sitting up and taking your hand. He took a deep breath and looked you in the eye, something he was trying to be better at when he was nervous. “I know I don’t talk about it a lot, especially with me losin’ m’ arm and all, but I made some good pals overseas in the special forces. Some of them are having a bar-be-cue, a reunion of sorts, and I’ve been invited to go.”

He looked at you almost like he was afraid you’d say no, but you couldn’t help the smile that crept onto your face, and he felt a little more relaxed.

“Do we need to bring anything? I can whip up my famous mac n’ cheese.” You said, wanting him to know that you accepted every single part of him and his history.

“You don’t mind bein’ around a whole bunch of tough military types for the day?” Clyde asked, sounding slightly incredulous.

“If they mean a lot to you, they mean a lot to me.” You said, leaning in for a kiss.

Clyde’s heart soared, grinning against your lips as he kissed you back. He hadn’t spoken to his army buddies in a long time, at least since he had gotten a phone – otherwise he would have given them his number to call instead of having Tony send him a letter as the only way to reach him. He was nervous showing you more of that side of him, the side that had gotten injured and all the baggage that came along with it, but you had always been supportive and understanding, willing to listen and to help him through all the other bad parts of his life, he should have known you would be there for him during this too.

For the whole week leading up to the BBQ Clyde was nervous with excited energy. He had done a fashion show for you of different outfits he might wear, wanting your opinion on how he should wear his shirts. Should he shave? Should he cover his arm? Hat, or no hat?

You were patient and glad to help, giving your honest thoughts, like he should wear his shirts how he always does; tucked into his trousers and buttoned all the way up. No he shouldn’t shave, he looks handsome with the scruff he’s got, and no hat, it’ll get too hot.

You were an angel, and Clyde kept telling you that on the three hour drive up to Pittsburg, where Emmanuel lived and was hosting this whole thing. Before you two got out of the car, he gave your hand a firm squeeze, and you simply brought it to your lips and kissed the knuckles with a warm smile.

“Clyde Logan, you gentle giant how are ya?” A stocky man emerged from the front of the house when Clyde’s car beeped locked.

“I’m doing alright Emmanuel, it’s good ta see ya, you’re lookin’ pretty fit.” Clyde said, his demeanor immediately lightening up as he was crushed in a bear hug. The man, Emmanuel, ducked his head in a mock shy manner, before flexing and showing off his muscles.

“Thanks buddy! I’ve been spending a lot of time at the gym; they say swimming helps the back.” He shrugged, and Clyde just laughed. It was the first time he had laughed at something other than a corny joke you had made, and it made you grin.

“Clyde you never told us you had a smokin’ hot girlfriend!” Another man stepped out onto the front lawn, he was taller than Emmanuel, but not as tall as Clyde. You were pretty sure Clyde was always going to be the tallest man in the room, even among these guys.

“Shut up Mick,” Clyde teased without any real malice.

“Come on out back and come meet everyone!” Mick said, and the two of you followed him and Emmanuel through the house to the backyard, where it looked like a picture perfect scene out of a movie.

All the guys who were able rushed over to Clyde, and you couldn’t help but get emotional at how they all pulled him into a hug. It was clear to you that they hadn’t been together in a long time, and it warmed your heart to see them still caring about your man.

He managed to push through their wall of affection, and held out a hand for you, which you happily took.

“Everyone, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), this is Mick and his wife Kayla, Tony and his wife Anna, Ozzie, Emmanuel, and Reuben.” Clyde introduced you, and you shook hands with everyone, leaning over to give them kisses on the cheek like you had known these people your whole life.

“It’s so nice to meet everyone.” You said truthfully.

“I bet Clyde’s told you nothin’ about us!” Ozzie laughed, giving a playful elbow to Clyde’s side. “He still the strong silent type we knew back in the day?” He asked with a grin.

“I’m afraid you’re right. But I wouldn’t have him any other way.” You said, making Clyde blush scarlet. He kissed your cheek and the whole group of men wolf whistled, but you didn’t mind, you liked showing off how in love you were with this handsome man. “I brought mac n’ cheese, I hope that was alright.” You suddenly remembered the huge tinfoil covered tray you were holding.

“Damn Clyde, she’s gorgeous and brings food? You got yourself a keeper.” Tony winked, making Clyde wrap his good arm instinctively around your waist.

“You keep your hands to yourself now Tony.” Clyde warned, but he still had that smile on his face.

You stuck by Clyde’s side the entire night. You didn’t say much, but you didn’t have to. It was the men’s night to reconnect with one another after all these years away. Clyde wasn’t the only one to have gotten injured in the roadside mine that took his arm; it took Reuben’s right leg, and had caused Tony to go deaf in his left ear, and partially blind. None of them paid any attention to anyone’s prosthetics, unless it was to comment on how nice Clyde’s arm looked, with how high tech it was.

As the day progressed and more beers were consumed, they started to reminisce about the days when they were together overseas, each one having a different version of the same story. You couldn’t help but laugh at how Clyde seemed to be the mediator whenever two men bickered over minor details in a story, he had always been the calm and collected one in the group, that much was easy to tell.

Emmanuel brought out his tripod and camera, and they set up a timer to take a couple big group photos right when the light was golden, and you offered to take some photos of just the men. Tony had taken the camera from you afterwards, and told you to go stand over by Clyde, and he snapped a couple pictures of the two of you, grinning at one another like the love sick fools you were.

Everyone talked about what they were up to in life. Mick and Kayla were starting to try and have a baby, Emmanuel was the regional manager for a real estate firm in the area, Ozzie and Reuben were both working on memoirs of their time in the war, and Tony had just gotten married to Anna not five weeks earlier.

Clyde was very humble about his life with you, only saying that he was the owner of a bar back home, and that he spent every minute there or with you. You felt like the luckiest lady in the world with the way he smiled down at you, all you could do was sing Clyde’s praises and tell them about the wonderful things he does for the folks back home.

With the evening came s’mores and the passing around of old photo albums. You couldn’t help but snuggle close to Clyde on Emmanuel’s couch as you tried to get a good luck at a young Clyde with nearly shaven hair and a boy’s face. It struck you then just how young all these guys had been, but how young Clyde was in particular. He looked like he joined right out of high school. Clyde’s grip on your hand tightened as they flipped through the pages, some a little older, one in particular of Clyde showing off the tattoo he had on his forearm. You simply put your other hand on top of his, and squeezed back, silently letting him know you were there for him.

Not so long after that came the somber goodbyes, seeing as you and Clyde had three whole hours to drive back home. It was bittersweet, no one knew when they would all have time to coordinate like this again.

“I’m real glad you came.” Tony said, as he held out his hand for a goodbye shake.

“I’m glad y’all invited me.” Clyde said shyly.

“Are you kiddin’? I went through hell tryin’ to find out where to mail that letter! You’re not an easy man to find Clyde Logan.” Tony laughed, deep and scratchy, like he had been smoking a pack a day since the war.

Clyde released your hand for the first time all evening, to pull out a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Here’s my phone number, I want you to give it to all the guys. In case y’all ever want to call or something.” Clyde said, addressing the whole small party.

As Clyde started to say his goodbyes to the folks he had missed, you went around the room and hugged everyone goodbye yourself. As you pulled away from Mick he discreetly slipped the photo of a young Clyde Logan into your hand.

“I don’t know what you’ve done to him,” Mick started with a hushed voice, “But you’ve lit a fire in him like I’ve never seen before. I’m glad he has you.” He said.

“I’m glad to have him.” You said back, with a heartfelt smile, as you hugged him again.

A week or so later, the mailman brought you a small package from Utah, and some postcards from all over the country, no doubt sent by the other members of Clyde’s group. This time you happily recognized Tony’s handwriting and left it for Clyde to open, as he hadn’t come down for breakfast yet.

You had gone to work, but when you came home you noticed a few additions of décor to your kitchen; framed photographs of Clyde and his friends from the BBQ. One of the group, one of just the men that you had taken, and one of the two of you, smiling down at each other.

Clyde’s arm and tattoo was on full display, but so was the love you two had for one another, and that outshone anything else in the world.

[hongism]

skinny dipping - jjk

➻ pairing: jungkook x reader

➻ wc: 900

➻ genre: fluff/crack

➻ rating: pg/sfw - a bit of ~nudity~

➻ warnings: none!

➻ summary: jungkook says you need to lighten up some. his next suggestion is one way to relax.

➻ anonymous asked:

Jungkook + Vodka (Maybe reader needs to loosen up so he helps her do something wild?)

➻ a/n: again bls be gentle with me as idek how to write crack in the slightest eep credit to @jeonstime​ for the idea of skinny dippin hehe

☽     ☾

“You’re tense beyond belief,” Jungkook mutters, hands coming down to rest on your shoulders. His deft fingers work at the knotted muscles there and push the strains in attempts to loosen them up. It’s to no avail though because the muscles are so stiff under his grasp that nothing moves.

“I’m just stressed.”

“Always?”

“Always,” you mutter back. Jungkook hums and pulls his hands pack. He stands up straight.

“We are supposed to be on vacation, Y/N. Vacation means relaxation, not school or work.”

“I only know how to be stressed and do schoolwork though.”

“Well… I have an idea. A relaxation technique so to say?” Jungkook pushes your seat around so that you can be face to face with him. “Let’s go out to the lake. We haven’t been to it all week since we got here.”

You frown at him but the plea in his tone pulls you in and urges you to join him. Jungkook grins down at you. His hands fall over yours, latching onto your wrists and pulling you up with a gentle tug.

“Please?” He begs with a minuscule smile. “Please~”

“Ugh, fine. Fine! But not for long!”

“Yes! Of course, of course.”

“And let me change into my swimsuit first, at least.”

“No! I mean, wait! You won’t, uh, you won’t need it. I have an idea.”

“Jungkook, I swear to–”

“Trust me,” he pleads as he begins to pull you from the chair. A sigh of defeat leaves your lips as he pulls you away from the chair and out the room. He doesn’t even give you the chance to slip a pair of shoes on. You don’t have time to argue his antics any longer either because next thing you know, he’s dragging you out into the cool autumn weather.

The lake looms before you, still aside from a the light breeze that washes over the waters. Jungkook tugs you over to the shore, fingers linked with yours, then pulls away right when your bare feet touch the waters.

He steps away with a crooked grin on his lips. Eyes find yours for a moment before he strips his shirt and tosses it onto the rocky shore.

“Come on, Y/N. You too!” His pants fall to the ground next, leaving him solely in a pair of boxers, and you choke on your saliva despite having seen him in this state many times before.

“Skinny dipping?” You ask, tone incredulous, as Jungkook slowly drags his boxers down as well.

“This is just unfair, Y/N! I’m in the nude, and you’re fully clothed.” A huff of disbelief escapes you. Nonetheless, the cheeky smile stretching across his lips is infectious, and as you watch him wade backwards into the waters, you give into his desires. Your shirt drops beside his on the shore, followed by your pants, then your underwear makes its way to the ground as well.

The water freezes against your warm skin as you wade further in. You drop your arms over your chest when the cold hits your waist, goosebumps dancing over your skin. Jungkook meets your halfway. His hands fall to your waist, right where the water stops, and he gently pulls you until your chests are flush against each other. A moment of silence passes between you.

“You’re so cute,” Jungkook mutters after a few seconds. You slap his bare chest, water splashing up against his face.

“Take that back!”

“Why?” He asks, words broken by his laughter.

“You’re being cheeky again!”

“We’re literally naked in a lake!”

“Stop it,” you say, trying to maintain a straight face as Jungkook twirls you around in the water. You drop your legs around his hips and hold on for dear life as his pace speeds up, head falling back as you laugh along with him. “Stop!”

“No, you’re having fun. I want you to have fun, so I refuse to stop.” Jungkook pushes his hands further down, cupping your bare ass and lifting you up high against him. “You’re so cute. Perfect.”

“Stop it. I’ll get flustered.”

“Maybe I want you to get flustered. You’re so adorable when you’re flustered. My little baby.” Jungkook stretches up, pressing a quick kiss against the tip of your nose. A shriek of denial leaves your lips, but you decide to return the kiss with one of your own. You plant it atop his lips, teeth getting in the way a bit because of his smile.

“Thank you, Jungkook,” you mutter against his lips.

“For what?”

“For helping me relax. Even if you are a cheeky bastard, I love you to pieces.”

“I love you like… oh, what’s the cheesiest thing I can say? You’re the peanut butter to my jelly, the mac to my cheese, the sun to my moon, the milk to my cereal, the uh, I’m running out of comparisons.”

“Don’t strain yourself there, buddy. That cute brain of yours can’t work that hard.”

“Hey! Is that an insult?”

“What? Me? Insulting you? Never.” You grin down at him, hand splashing a bit of water up and hitting him in the face.

“Oh, it’s on.”

“Jungkook, don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking dare. Jungkook, I’m – Jungkook!” You shriek as he tosses you off him, colliding with the water in a large splash. Jungkook continues laughing as you emerge from the water, soaking from head to toe. “Alright, bring it, pretty boy.”

☽     ☾

[stevesnailbat]

Okay feel free to ignore if you want but could you do one where reader gets drunk and Steve takes care of her but the whole time is super worried she’s going to break up with him like Nancy did but before she falls asleep she tells steve how much she loves him or something like that? Tysm

warnings: underage drinking, little bit of angst & fluff

word count: 1.0K

Steve knew his girlfriend was an emotional drunk, that’s for sure. But, he had never see her be this emotional before. They weren’t even at a party, either. She had come over earlier in the night and wanted to get drunk with him, but he didn’t want to get as drunk as she did. He still drank, though, but only enough to keep a buzz while he took care of her. The amount of alcohol she had consumed took a toll on her emotions typically, she’d always become more sensitive with every shot she took and that terrified Steve.

“How much have you drank?” he asked her around midnight, as he hadn’t been paying much attention to how many shots of her own she had taken after they took the first few together.

“None of your business, Stevie.” she giggled as she sat on his bed, a drunken glaze over her eyes as she peered over at him.

“C’mon, baby. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t get alcohol poisoning on my watch, okay?” he said as he pulled her over to him on the bed, cupping her cheek softly. “How much?”

“I’m not telling you because you’re being mean.” she replied, her mood changing drastically as he saw actual tears pooling in her eyes. “I just wanna have fun and you’re acting like my father or something.”

“Hey, hey, c’mon! I’m just trying to take care of you! You love when I take care of you, you even asked me to this time!” he retorted, running his thumb along her cheek as she frowned up at him. “Okay, I’ll stop asking you how much you’ve drank if you tell me what’s wrong. Why’d you want to get drunk so badly?”

He knew something was bothering her, that was why she asked him to get drunk with her. It scared him that she was already crying, because he didn’t know if things would end up going to shit like they always seemed to with other girls. His heart was beating out of his chest at this point, prepared for heartbreak to ensue again. The situation was too familiar, but he tried to tell himself that Y/N actually loved him, unlike Nancy.

“Because I’m sad.” she replied with a pout, but her expression changed drastically to a smile after her sentence. “Let’s go make mac and cheese!”

Before Steve could protest, she was running down the stairs and into the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinet for her materials. When he reached the kitchen, he saw her carrying milk, butter and cheese from the fridge to the counter with a smile plastered on her face. She turned the stove on, coming a little to close for comfort to the heat.

“Woah, okay, okay, hey.” he rambled, grabbing her hands to stop her from getting any closer. “How about I handle the noodles and you can mix everything together after? I really don’t want you burning your hands tonight.”

She pouted up at him but nodded, knowing in the back of her mind that he was right. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before filling the pot with water to boil. As he did, she found a spot on the counter, watching him with admiration in her eyes as he tried to avoid looking too concerned.

“Stevie.” she whispered to him, reaching over to tap him on the shoulder.

“Yes?” he asked, a halfway amused smile on his face as she waved her hand for him to come to her.

She smiled drunkenly at her boyfriend before kissing him deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he found a spot between her legs, his hands snaking around her waist. He couldn’t fully enjoy the moment out of pure confusion from the situation, though. So, he told himself that she was just being drunk and her emotions were all over the place, which would explain her random moods during the night.

“Are you gonna tell me why you’re sad now?” he mumbled after pulling his lips from hers, brushing some of her hair from her face.

“I’m ready to graduate.” she replied after thinking about her answer for a while, shrugging her shoulders as she pouted. “I wanna get out of Hawkins High, I hate that place.”

“I know you do, but you’re strong. You’ll make it, there’s only three months left, yeah?” he asked with a small smile, watching her as she smiled sadly at him and nodded.

“I wanna leave Hawkins.” she said bluntly, tears threatening to spill from her eyes again.

“How about we make that decision when you’re sober? You don’t wanna do anything you’ll regret tomorrow.” he pleaded as his heart felt like it was threatening to break; he didn’t know if she meant she wanted him to come or not.

“I don’t wanna do anything I’ll regret tomorrow.” she repeated to him after nodding in response to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They finished making the mac and cheese and ate in a peaceful silence, enjoying each other’s company. Steve was fully convinced at this point that she’d leave him when she was sober, but her mind was in another place. After eating, he carried his tired girlfriend back upstairs and convinced her to change into one of his t-shirts before going to sleep.

“This shirt smells like you.” she slurred, smiling over at him sweetly with heavy-lidded eyes. “Can I keep it?”

“Of course you can, baby.” he replied after turning the light off, sliding into the bed with her as he kissed her cheek. “It’s all yours.”

“Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” she said while cuddling up to his chest, making his heart skip a beat. “And I can’t wait to get out of this place with you someday.”

“I love you too, Y/N. And that day will come soon enough, don’t worry.” he replied as his fingers traced along her back soothingly, a feeling of relief finally washing over him.

[kaimelia]

amelia having bad morning sickness but link isnt there for her. (maybe Mer was with her) link later returns and feels super bad for not being there for amelia

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the delay, school is a lot of work right now. Thank you to everyone who is liking/commenting/sending messages and requests! I’ll do my best to keep posting a bit more frequently.

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

Meredith walked back into the bathroom, holding a bottle of water which she handed down to Amelia. The brunette smiled softly, taking it and drinking a large sip. “Thanks,” she muttered, setting it on the bathroom floor next to her. Meredith crouched down next to her.

“How do you feel?” Amelia shrugged.

“Like I just spent the past 20 minutes puking,” she brushed a strand of her hair back from her forehead. “This sucks.”

“Do you want me to call Link so he can come over?”

“No, he’s in surgery now. He said he’ll come over after work, though.” She let out a large sigh and leaned back against the cold bathtub behind her. “Do you have to go to work today?” Meredith shook her head.

“Not until tonight, I’ve got the night shift. I’ll stay here and be your boyfriend to hold you and make you feel better until Link comes.” They both laughed softly. Meredith sat down next to Amelia on the floor. “How far along are you?”

“Uh, about 10 weeks, now.” Amelia looked down at her stomach. She and Link had started to notice a small curve arising in her midriff, his excitement evident as he wanted to talk to the baby every night. He’d place his arm over her stomach before they fell asleep and rub soothing patterns on her tiny bump as she relaxed each night, calm in his embrace. “We have the first ultrasound on Saturday, and Link’s really excited.”

“When I was pregnant with Bailey, Derek was so excited all the time. He just wanted every picture of the baby and to talk to him all the time.” Amelia smiled faintly before turning to look at her sister.

“Link does that too, he wants to tell everyone already and buy baby clothes and everything. I told him to wait until after the first trimester but I know he’s slightly annoyed with that. He keeps taking care of me at work, bringing me water and stuff, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts carrying around a box with prenatals and everything.” She placed her hands on the ground on either side of her body. “Can we go to the kitchen? I wanna find something to eat that I won’t puke back up.” Meredith stood up and held out a hand to help Amelia off the floor, holding her arm as she gained her balance. “I’m going to get my robe, I’ll meet you down there.” She quickly grabbed her robe from her room and wrapped it around her body for some warmth as she carefully walked down the stairs, a hand gripping tightly to the banister.

“Do you want some tea?” Meredith was standing in the kitchen with a mug in her hand, placing a tea bag into it for herself.

“Sure, maybe some chamomile?” The general surgeon sat down at the table with Amelia a minute later, placing the steaming cup of tea in front of her. “Thank you,” Amelia muttered, picking up the mug and blowing some steam away from it.

“What about something to eat? You’ll feel worse with an empty stomach.”

“I’ll make some noodles, maybe some butter.” Meredith stood up.

“I can make it, you relax.” Amelia shook her head at Meredith’s statement and laughed softly.

“No, you burned mac and cheese the other day. I’m not dying, I can make myself some pasta.” She slowly stood up from her chair and walked over to the sink, filling a pot with water and placing it on the stove. “You can go find something to watch on Netflix if you want. I’m in the mood to just lay on the couch and not do anything for the rest of the day.” She soon heard soft noise coming from the TV as she finished cooking her pasta, placing it into a bowl, and trudging into the living room. She laid back onto the couch and kicked her feet up, enjoying the movie and being able to eat something.

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

“Meredith, I’m-” She threw up again, feeling Meredith pull her hair back behind her head. Amelia paused over the toilet bowl before sitting back and sighing. “So much for that pasta.” Meredith offered her a sympathetic smile.

“I mean, you lasted a few hours. My morning sickness went away after my first trimester, so you’ll probably feel better soon.”

“My morning sickness is all day sickness. I can’t eat anything.” They heard a knock on the door and Meredith quickly stood up.

“I’ll be back in a second, try not to puke everywhere.” Amelia could hear the front door open, a grin creeping onto her face as she recognized the voice that was greeting Meredith. He soon stood in the doorway, looking down at her with a sympathetic smile.

“What are you doing in here?”

“Your child doesn’t like it when I eat food.” Link pouted and stepped into the bathroom, sitting down next to her on the cold floor. He pushed back a strand of her hair and took her hand.

“You should’ve texted me, I would’ve come over earlier to stay with you.”

“It’s okay, Mer was here with me.”

“Do you feel any better? Like you’re gonna puke again?” She shook her head. “Okay, wanna go lie down?”

“Sure, just give me a minute to get up.” He stopped her with his hand as she attempted to lift herself off the ground. “What?”

“I got you.” He slid an arm under her back, the other under her legs, and lifted her off of the ground. Amelia wrapped her arms around his neck while laughing. She waved to Meredith as he carried her up the stairs and into her bedroom, tossing her lightly onto the bed.

“Come lay with me,” she whispered, pulling his arm until he was laying down next to her.

“Next time you’re sick, you text me, okay?”

“It happens like every day, Link. It’s not a big deal.” He moved closer to her and threw his arm over her body.

“I know, but we’re in this together. You don’t ever have to be alone.” Amelia hummed lightly.

“Together. You promise?” She could feel him nodding behind her.

“Of course. We’ll always be together.”

[bqstqnbruin]

Apparently I’m in a weird wedding mood, which I don’t understand, but here we are. I now have two weeks off from the school I teach at because of the governor of PA ordered all of Montgomery County schools to close, and guess where I teach !! And SJU is also online starting Thursday until Easter, so maybe I’ll be writing more assuming I also get my grading and done. 

But here we go _________________________________

Sometimes you just want to come home and do nothing. Especially today. You had a hard day at work and nothing would make you happier than sitting down on your couch and watching Gilmore Girls even though you knew your boyfriend would try to get you to watch something else. 

As soon as you open the door, a smell of cinnamon hits you like a brick.

You go straight to the kitchen, expecting the worst. “What the fuck?” You see your boyfriend, Mitch, covered in flour and butter, sugar covering the counter, various other baking items scattered across the kitchen.

“I tried to take a nap. But I couldn’t sleep and couldn’t think of anything better to do!” 

“So you make several dozen cookies?” You ask him, walking around to the other side of the counter as he was beaming at his accomplishment.

“And a few loaves of bread!” 

You can’t help but laugh because he looks so cute and proud of himself. You go up to him with a cookie. 

“Babe. You don’t know how to bake,” you say, moving him aside to look for the cleaning products you keep under the sink, “how on Earth did you manage to make all of this? Do you expect us to eat all of these before they go bad?” 

“What if I said people were coming over tonight?” he says like a child, batting his eyelashes. 

“What if I said no?”

“I’ll be sad and we’d be forced to eat all of this on our own and I know for a fact you’re not going to like at least half of the kinds I made because they have peanut butter in them.”

You roll your eyes at him. “Who’s coming?”

“Some of the guys from the team.” 

“If they’re your friends, you’re cleaning up, and I’m going to watch Gilmore Girls for the next two hours in our room. Call me when they’re here,” you tell him. 

“I get no help?” He starts to pout, knowing that doing that almost always gets you to gladly cave in to what he wanted, never regretting it. 

But this time, you were too tired. “Sorry, you know the rule: you make the mess you clean it up,” you kissed his cheek and rub some of the flour off his face with your thumb, “You really are adorable like this, though.” You kiss him again, him trying to grab your waist to pull you in for more, but you wiggle free, running to your room and jumping on the bed. 

 You fell asleep without trying to, and you woke up to Mitch rustling around looking for new clothes to put on. “Hey, sorry, Y/N,” he says, plopping down onto the bed to put new socks on, “the guys should be by soon, I don’t know if you want to change or go back to sleep, because you look great either way.” 

You smile, knowing he’s only saying that because he feels he has to. He probably believes it, too, but he still says it anyway. 

“I’ll change into something else,” you say, sitting up, giving him another kiss. He tries again to pull you in for more, his hand grabbing your thigh, “Ok, as much as I would love more right now, your friends are going to be here very soon and I would rather them find us completely clothed since I know at least one of them has a key here.”

“I could call them and tell them to stay away,” he says, really thinking about it. 

“If you didn’t bake enough to fund a small bakery for a year, then fine,” you laugh, getting up to look for a new outfit to change into, “What about this?” you turn around, showing him the sexiest outfit you had. Obviously you weren’t going to wear it with his friends coming, but seeing him actually drool like that made you laugh.

By the time you had settled on some fun pants and a plain white t-shirt, some of the guys were starting to show up. Apparently Mitch had planned it so they all brought food; a potluck brought to you by a bunch of guys who could barely cook to begin with. It was just a normal night.

“Hey, Y/N, long time, no see!” Auston comes up to you, handing you a plate of mac and cheese. The only thing all of the guys seemed to know how to make was some variation of pasta and cheese. Instead of a pot luck, it was a pasta luck. 

“Hey, Auston! I’ve missed you!” you take the plate and grab him in for a hug, “You’ve been doing pretty well, I’ve heard?” Mitch talks about Auston and William almost nonstop; you didn’t even have to meet them to get to know them. But, thanks to Mitch talking about them, and him apparently talking about you, you guys were really close without even trying.

“How’ve ya been? I mean, he doesn’t stop talking about you ever, but I’d rather hear it from you for once.”

“Good, works been hard, but it’s worth it.”

“If you love what you do -” “Then you’ll never work a day in your life,” you say in unison. The two of you laugh and continue talking and eating various pasta dishes as Mitch and Will came up to join the conversation.

You must’ve been talking for almost an hour when you noticed Mitch fidgeting more than usual. You pull him away, “Hey, are you alright?” you ask him. He almost looks nervous about something.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” he says, almost unable to make eye contact with you.

You didn’t believe him, but you had to trust him. He hasn’t lied to you before that you know of, and he wouldn’t start now. If he had to tell you something, he would do it when he was ready. 

You went back to talking to some of the other guys, glancing at Mitch as he kept fidgeting and looking nervous. You’ve seen him look nervous before big games, like when they would play teams like the Bruins, or the Habs. 

“Hey, everyone?” Mitch finally says. Everyone stops talking around him, turning to him to listen, “So, I told everyone that I just wanted you guys to come here and hang out like a normal night, but I also wanted to do something more than that. I’ve actually wanted to do it for a while, but it wasn’t until Auston pretty much told me ‘it’s now or never.’”

You turn to Auston, “what’s he talking about?”

Auston just smiles as Mitch continues, “So, when I was around five-years-old, my parents took me to meet the new neighbors that had just moved in across the street. My mom told me the family was the mom and dad, a girl around my age, and two younger brothers. I thought I would like the two brothers, but it turns out the girl would become my best friend. 

“I moved away for hockey, and she eventually moved away for college, only for us to keep in touch over the phone or Facebook and Snapchat. It wasn’t until she decided to go to law school up here that we saw each other for the first time since we were about fifteen-years-old. I asked her out, and for some reason, she said yes. And since then, I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been.

“But something was missing. She was my girlfriend, but I wanted her to be something more.” He says, walking over to you, taking your hand. You couldn’t help but start to ugly cry at this point. Thankfully this is something he had seen before, so he was left unphased. He got down on one knee and pulled out what was quite possibly the most gorgeous ring you had ever seen. 

“Y/N. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” 

The boys around you started clapping, you hearing Auston and Will starting to yell and cheer as you pulled Mitch up into a kiss. This time you didn’t pull away.