#leather briefcases for women

[eskein]

When it comes to footwear, quality leather footwear isn't just a luxury—they're a game-changer. Investing in quality leather footwear is a decision that goes beyond mere fashion; it's a choice that brings numerous benefits and value to your wardrobe. 

eské has curated a luxurious variety of footwear to help you up your style game without hurting your foot.

[gatudiartcraft]

[creativeartandcraft]

Handbag Cowhide Hair-On Tote Bag Shoulder Bag 

[noda09]

Black Tote Bags for Women at Noda: Your Stylish Companion

For contemporary women, tote bags have evolved into an essential piece of gear. Tote bags combine style and functionality with their roomy layout and trendy appearance. black tote bags for women are particularly notable among the many tote bag options because of their classic elegance and adaptability. Whether you're going to a casual get-together, heading to work, or running errands, a black tote bag can easily match your outfit and hold all your necessities.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Black Tote Bag

There are a few things to consider when choosing the ideal black tote bag to make sure it fulfills your needs. First, think about the tote bag's dimensions and capacity. Ascertain whether you will use it frequently or only on special occasions, then select a size that will fit your belongings comfortably. Additionally, consider the bag's durability and material. Choose durable materials that can resist regular wear and tear, such as leather or sturdy canvas.

Versatility of Black Tote Bags

The adaptability of black tote bags is one of their best qualities. These bags go well with many different outfits and change from day to night with ease. A black tote bag provides enough room for your wallet, keys, phone, and even a small umbrella for daily use. A chic black tote bag is the ideal accessory for meetings and presentations because it radiates sophistication and professionalism in professional settings.

Styling Tips for Black Tote Bags

Black tote bags serve as a versatile accessory that can elevate any ensemble. For a casual look, pair your black tote bag with jeans, a cozy sweater, and ankle boots for a chic, effortless vibe. Alternatively, for a more formal occasion, such as a business meeting or dinner party, opt for a structured black tote bag paired with tailored trousers and a crisp blouse for a polished appearance that commands attention.

Top Brands Offering Black Tote Bags

Purchasing a black tote bag requires careful consideration of brand. Seek out companies recognized for their fine craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail. Reputable luxury labels such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada provide a range of black tote bags made from high-quality materials with classic styles that radiate sophistication and elegance. A variety of black tote bags that combine fashion and functionality at a more accessible price point are available from modern brands like Michael Kors, Kate Spade, and Coach for those looking for more economical options without sacrificing style.

Affordable Options for Black Tote Bags

Although luxury brands are unmatched in terms of quality and status, those on a tight budget can find many reasonably priced alternatives. Black tote bags can be found in many fashionable designs for a much lower price at fast-fashion stores and internet retailers. Even though they might not be as well-made as their more expensive counterparts, these affordable options nonetheless offer good value and let you stay fashionable without going over budget.

Maintenance and Care Tips

Correct upkeep and care are crucial if you want your black tote bag to stay in perfect shape. As for upkeep and cleaning, refer to the manufacturer's instructions depending on the material of your bag. Use specialized leather cleaner and conditioner for tote bags to keep the material supple and stop it from drying out or cracking. Spot clean canvas or fabric black tote bags for women with a mild soap and water solution, then let them air dry completely. Your black tote bag can fade and discolor over time if it is exposed to dust and sunlight, so when not in use, store it in a dust bag or cover.

Get In More Information :

Business Name: NODAlt

Phone.: +370 (601) 11756 E-mail: info@noda.lt

[kodiakleather]

Women's Leather Backpacks and the Best Leather Briefcases at Kodiak Leather

Indulge in sophistication with our exquisite collection of womens leather backpack and the Best leather briefcase, available at Kodiak Leather (kodiakleather.com). Our expertly crafted backpacks offer a perfect blend of style and functionality, ideal for the modern woman on the go. Additionally, explore our premium leather briefcases, meticulously designed for professionals seeking unparalleled quality and durability. Made from top-grain leather, our products exude luxury and class, ensuring longevity and timeless appeal. Elevate your style with Kodiak Leather's exceptional craftsmanship. Visit our website today and experience the epitome of elegance in leather accessories.

[mensmessengerbag]

The Crossbody Bag: A Fashion Essential

The crossbody bag has firmly established itself as a fashion essential, seamlessly merging style and convenience. In this article, we'll delve into the world of crossbody bags, exploring their versatility, iconic designs, and how to make them a statement piece in your wardrobe.

The Versatility of Crossbody Bags

Hands-Free Convenience - One of the standout features of a crossbody bag is its hands-free design. The adjustable strap allows you to wear it across your body, distributing the weight evenly. This feature is a game-changer, especially when you're on the move, running errands, or traveling.

Perfect for Every Occasion - Crossbody bags come in various sizes and styles, making them suitable for a wide range of occasions. From compact and minimalist designs for a casual day out to elegant and embellished options for formal events, there's a crossbody bag for every outfit and mood.

Iconic Designs

The Classic Messenger Bag - The messenger bag, with its rectangular shape and flap closure, is the quintessential crossbody bag design. Originally favored by couriers and messengers, it has evolved into a timeless fashion piece that complements both casual and professional looks.

Boho Chic with the Saddle Bag - Saddlebags are characterized by their curved shape and often feature rustic details. They are perfect for adding a touch of bohemian flair to your ensemble, making them a favorite among free spirits and fashion-forward individuals.

The Mini Crossbody - For those who prefer a minimalist approach, mini crossbody bags offer style in a compact package. These tiny yet trendy accessories are perfect for carrying just the essentials and add a playful touch to any outfit.

Styling Tips

Casual Charm - Pair your crossbody bag with a relaxed outfit, like jeans and a cozy sweater. Opt for earthy tones or vibrant colors, depending on your mood. This effortless combination exudes casual charm.

Office Elegance - Upgrade your work attire by choosing a sleek leather crossbody bag. It adds a touch of professionalism while keeping your essentials within easy reach.

Evening Glamour - Transform your look for a night out by selecting a crossbody bag with metallic accents or intricate embellishments. It's the ideal accessory for carrying your essentials while dancing the night away.

Caring for Your Crossbody Bag

Regular Maintenance - To keep your crossbody bag looking its best, practice regular maintenance. Wipe down leather bags with a damp cloth and use a leather conditioner to prevent drying and cracking. For fabric bags, spot-clean them to remove stains and maintain their pristine appearance.

Rotate Your Collection - If you're an avid crossbody bag enthusiast, consider rotating your collection. This not only extends the lifespan of your bags but also allows you to showcase a variety of styles throughout the year.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the crossbody bag is more than just an accessory; it's a fashion statement and a practical companion for your daily adventures. Its versatility, iconic designs, and styling options make it an essential piece in any wardrobe. Whether you're heading to the office, going out with friends, or embarking on a journey, the Rustic town crossbody bag is your stylish and reliable partner.

[unfortunatelyiamasponge]

If I'm not an English/history college professor in my 30s with a mysterious past carrying around one of these bad boys what's even the point

[fortheloveofwonderland]

Somewhere to Belong | 3/3 | S.R

Part three of my Family Challenge fic.

Part 1 | Part 2

A/N - I am almost positive this is not how the adoption system works but hey, it’s fanfiction, I make my own rules.

Summary - You reveal your master plan to Spencer and the two of you begin on your journey together. Will you be able to help Spencer bring Wren home where she belongs? And when the time comes, will you have what it takes to walk away?

Pairing - Spencer Reid x BAU Fem! Reader

Warnings - confessed feelings, tears, mostly just domestic fluff, making out, allusions to sex but still SFW, crying child, swearing, happy ending.

WC - 9.4k

Part 3

The wheels of your plan had been slow turning, painfully so. You’d started to think you may never reach the end of this goddamn road. 

But finally after months, all the pieces had fallen into place. 

When you received the phone call you were already halfway out of the door before the person on the other end had even finished their sentence. It was the phone call you’d been waiting for, holding your breath every time the device rang. 

And now it had happened, it was time to go and see him. 

You drove out into the suburbs, a manilla folder full of paperwork in the passenger's seat. You parked next to the curb by the house with the canary yellow fence and green front door. 

Before you could exit the car you saw the door open and Spencer let someone out the house. The women had a briefcase and wore a smart pants suit. Definitely a social worker. 

You watched the woman head to her own car and once she was inside the vehicle and starting the engine you stepped out onto the street, bringing your folder with you.

As you headed for the yellow gate your phone buzzed in your pocket. Slowing your strides you retrieved it and read the text message on the screen. 

📱 Spencer Reid: I think it’s over. There’s another couple who have shown interest in adopting Wren and I don’t think I can compete with that. I’m ok, I’m not craving or anything. I just wanted you to know. 

You stuffed the device back in your pocket and looked up at the house, a single light coming from the downstairs window. 

Since you’d accompanied him to Beltway, the two of you had been in touch more regularly. Spencer texted you nearly every day and you spoke on the phone fairly often. 

You’d seen him a handful of times for coffee but you’d never been out to his home in Woodbridge. It was a really nice house, a family home just like the team had described to you. It was a complete one eighty from his old DC apartment. 

You unhooked the gate and slid past it, hugging the folder to your chest as you made your way along the front path and up the steps. 

Before you could talk yourself out of this, you knocked on the green front door. 

Soon you heard it being unlocked and then it tentatively opened. Spencer’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion when he saw you. 

“Y/N hi,” he opened the door slightly wider. “I just texted you.”

“I know, I was…in the neighbourhood?” You shrugged. “Can I come in?” 

“Yeah, of course.” He nodded, stepping aside to allow you entrance to his home. 

You walked inside while he shut the door behind you and you glanced around the living room. 

You recognised his leather couch and armchair from his old apartment as well as his record player and chess set. The coffee table was the same but other than that this was not the home you pictured Spencer Reid living in. 

He waited for you to take it in and only spoke again once you looked back at him. 

“Can I get you a drink or anything?”

“No, I’m good.” You nodded, feeling oddly nervous. 

He motioned for the couch and the two of you crossed the room together and sat side by side. You laid the manilla folder in your lap and ran your fingers over it. 

“Whatcha you got there?” He asked, nodding at the file. 

“Uh, well you see…” you trailed off, unable to find the words to communicate what you wanted to say. “How about you have a look.” 

You handed him the file. For a moment he just stared at it with a frown before he cautiously took it from your hand. 

He opened it and started one by one going through the pieces of paper inside. 

The first was an application with a large red stamp proclaiming APPROVED in the bottom right corner. There were several sheaths that documented personal information about you, health checks, financial records, questions and answers relating to your childhood. 

There was a rental agreement renewal for the address in which you lived which had gone unsigned as though you were hesitant in continuing your lease. 

Multiple pages he’d seen before, floor plans of his own home, summaries of home visits at this address. 

One sheet was a letter signed off by BAU Unit Chief Emily Prentiss agreeing to a cut in field hours. Two more sighed letters followed, both dictating what an upstanding human being you were, one signed by SSA Luke Alvez and the other Doctor Tara Lewis. 

He read through them quickly as you knew he would but it still somehow felt like a lifetime before he was neatly tucking the pages away and closing the file. He looked up at you, eyebrows furrowed heavily. 

“I don’t…” he swallowed, his hands starting to shake. “I don’t understand.” 

“Yes, you do.” You nodded. “You’re a genius aren’t you?”

“I…is this a joke?” His eyes flooded with unshed tears as he rolled his bottom lip between his teeth.

“It would be a pretty cruel thing to joke about.” You shrugged.

Spencer rubbed his eyes, trying to push away his tears before they could fall. 

“Just to confirm,” he swallowed thickly, his eyebrows still knitted together in his confusion. “Because I don’t want to misunderstand what’s happening here…”

“Spencer,” you placed your hand on his knee and he noticed you were shaking too. “I would do anything for you. Anything. If this can help you bring that little girl home, then I’ll do it.” 

“You…you’ve gotten approval from the adoption agency.” He croaked. 

“Yes.”

“You’ve done the interviews, cut down your hours at the BAU, not renewed your lease and had Alvez and Lewis write you character references.” 

“Yes.” You nodded. “I still don’t think I’m ready for a family, Spencer. But I can sign on as Wren’s adoptive mother on paper, just so you can get her home. Once she’s home and the paperwork is finalised they can’t take her away from you. We can figure out all the rest once you’ve got her home, I can terminate my rights or whatever. But by then it won’t matter.” 

“W-why would you…” he trailed off again, swallowing. “Why would you do that for me? That’s…crazy. Why would you want to go through all this trouble just so I can have a better chance of adopting Wren?” 

You inhaled really deeply, your chest heaving as you did so. Spencer blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear the new batch of tears from his eyes. 

“I should have said it back.” You mumbled with a shake of your head. “Months ago, you told me you loved me and I should have said it back. But instead I walked away and let you believe I didn’t feel that way about you. But I do. Just because we aren’t together doesn’t make that any less true. And if I can help you bring Wren home I will. Because I love you.” 

The room fell silent while Spencer worked to comprehend everything that was happening. His head spun as though he was drunk, making it harder for him to understand all of this.

This couldn’t have been some idea you’d just come up with, weeks if not months of work had gone into this. You were willing, on paper at least, to be Wren’s adoptive mother when you weren’t ready to have kids. 

You’d told Emily, Luke and Tara at the minimum of your plans. You were willing to give up your apartment, cut back your hours at a job you adored to help him. Because you loved him. You loved him so much you were willing to put his happiness before your own. 

“It’s too much.” He shook his head. “I can’t ask you to do all of this.” 

“Good job you never once asked then.” You smiled at him. “It’s all temporary. Once Wren is home I can pick back up my regular case load, I spoke to my landlord about subletting my apartment for a few months so I can move back in once everything is settled.”

“You plan to live here?” He suddenly made the connection. 

“Well I’ve got to live somewhere. And you know, us living in the same house gives the impression of a happy couple who want to adopt a child, don’t you think? It won’t be forever.” 

“What am I supposed to say to my social worker? I forgot to tell her that I had a partner?” Of course he’d try and pick holes in this, it was what Spencer Reid did best. 

“We say we were together but I didn’t think I was ready for a family. But now I am. We tell them I met Wren and fell in love with her and now we want to adopt her together. It’s pretty much what I wrote in my application.” You’d considered every outcome, every bump in the road.

“But you haven’t met Wren.” He shook his head. 

“So I will.” You chuckled. “Spence, stop trying to put blockers in the way when there aren’t any. Let me do this for you, please? Let me help you bring your little girl home.” 

Spencer stared at you silently, blinking frantically as he tried to understand what was happening. He didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them dashed again but you seemed sincere. 

He still didn’t understand how you would be willing to go to such lengths for him but he supposed it didn’t matter. What mattered was you were willing to and he could use all the help he could get. 

Suddenly he threw himself forward, arms flying up to wrap around you. He pulled you close, holding you tightly as he started to loudly sob.

“T-thank you.” He cried into your shoulder as you returned his hug.

“You’re welcome, Spence. You’re so very welcome.” 

You continued to hold him while he sobbed, stroking his back in an attempt to calm him. It was over a half hour later when he finally shed all of his tears, sniffed heavily and sat back to look at you. 

“You really are my most favourite person.” He smiled shakily at you. 

If you didn’t love him so much there was no way you would have even considered helping him adopt a child even if it was only on paper. 

But love makes us do crazy things. And this might just be the craziest.

***

Two days later you anxiously sat in the passenger's seat of Spencer’s Volvo while he drove the two of you to Wren’s halfway home. 

You played with your hands in your lap, barely speaking as you tried to comprehend meeting this little girl who had become Spencer’s whole world. 

You’d agreed to tell Wren you were Spencer’s friend it was the truth and much less complicated than explaining everything to her. You would test the waters with her first, see how she felt about it before broaching it with the social worker. 

Your legs wobbled a little as you got out of the car and Spencer was regarding you curiously. 

“Are you sure about this?” He asked softly, his fingers brushing across your knuckles. 

“Yeah.” You forced a smile. “She means so much to you, I’m just worried she won’t like me.” 

“She’s going to love you. Trust me.” 

The look he was giving you made your stomach coil into knots. Your knees buckled and your heart yearned for him. 

It was such a cruel world that you could be so in love with someone yet not be destined to each other. 

As you started towards the building he slipped his hand in yours and it was so easy to pretend this wasn’t all for show. 

He led you inside, saying his hellos to some of the people working in the halfway home, clearly he’d been here a lot. He carried on through to a larger room filled with kids of all ages, your heart bled for them all. 

As your eyes cast around the room, you were quickly snapped back around when you heard someone calling Spencer’s name. 

“Spencer! Spencer!” 

You looked back just in time to see a head of dark curls you remembered from when you’d seen her sleeping on Spencer’s lap at the BAU running right towards the two of you. 

He let go of your hand so he could outstretch his arms for the girl who happily fell into them. 

“Missed you.” She tucked herself in his arms. 

“I missed you too, pumpkin.” He sighed in content as he hugged her. 

You watched the way he seemed to light up the moment Wren was nearby, how all the weight he carried on his shoulders slipped away. As he cuddled the five year old, he seemed at peace. 

And you knew you were doing the right thing. 

Wren stepped back from his embrace and looked up at you, head tilted to the side in a curious fashion and little dark eyebrows furrowed. 

“Who are you?” She asked, pouting a little. 

“This is my friend, Y/N.” Spencer spoke for you. “Y/N, this is Wren.” 

“Why is she here?” Wren looked back at Spencer in concern. 

“I thought you’d like to meet her.” Spencer’s tone completely changed when he spoke to her, you’d never heard him like it before. 

It was soft and sweet, obviously it relaxed the young girl. Usually. But it was clear by the concerned expression in her face it wasn’t working today. 

“But I like spending time with you.” Her lip jutted out. 

“I’m still here aren’t I?” Spencer chuckled, tucking a rogue strand of her hair back off of her rosy face. 

“Hey Wren,” you crouched down so you were the same height as her, garnering her attention. “I heard you love Halloween?” 

She looked between Spencer who was still standing at his full height and back to you before looking back at him again. 

“It’s ok,” he encouraged her with a smile. 

She looked back at you once more, a hint of scepticism in her bright eyes. 

“Yes.” She nodded feverishly. 

“And you love books too, right?” 

“Yes.” She nodded again. 

“Well that’s perfect because I just so happen to have a book all about Halloween!” You grinned at her whilst reaching into your purse.

Spencer frowned a little, you hadn’t mentioned this on the drive over. He watched as you pulled a book out of your bag, a brightly coloured hardback depicting cartoon pictures of ghosts, witches and monsters getting ready for a spooky party. 

The title read The Night Before Halloween. 

Neither of you could tell what Wren was thinking, for a five year old she was amazing at masking her expression even though she probably didn’t realise she was doing it. 

She looked from the book to your eyes then to Spencer and around in the same loop a few times before settling on Spencer. 

“Do you want me to read it to you?” He asked her, trying to prompt her to speak. 

“No.” Wren shook her head and turned back to you.

You tried to hide your disappointment. This was your only play, your only way in with her and you’d blown it. 

But then the little girl smiled at you. 

“I want Y/N to read it to me.” She reached out her little hand for you and you pushed yourself back up to your full height and took it. 

She led you over to the couch with Spencer following close behind. You glanced at him over your shoulder and he was smiling at you as he mouthed the words, good job.

***

Two more visits with Wren and she had warmed up to you the same way he had with Spencer. By the third visit she even hugged you. 

And you saw exactly why Spencer loved her. 

By the time September rolled around you’d moved into Spencer’s suburban home - in the spare room - and had multiple visits with Jenny who struggled to grasp what was happening at first. 

Understandably she was sceptical about your sudden involvement but after more rigorous interviews she started to warm up the same way Wren had. 

As you weren’t travelling with the team so much anymore and mostly working cases out of Quantico, you and Spencer spent a lot of time together. 

He was always home before you, his classes at Marlborough never running past four pm. And as much as you hated to admit it, having someone to come home to everyday was delightful in its domesticity.

When you did travel with the team, usually around every one in four cases, Spencer would call you everyday and send you photographs of him and Wren when he visited her. 

Spencer was learning to cook for Wren so the poor girl didn’t have to live off of cereal, coffee and ice cream, or as you always referred to it: The Doctor Reid Diet. 

He tried out his new recipes on you and at least eighty percent of them were edible. 

You’d been allowed to take Wren out on more day trips, with Jenny in tow of course. The two of you took her to museums and book stores and ice cream parlours; to the park, once to a carnival and anywhere else her little imagination could think to go.

It was midway into October when you arrived back from a case in Florida in which you’d been gone for six days. You knew Spencer had waited up for you as he’d called you to tell you he would. 

When you let yourself in the green front door of the house that was feeling more like a home by the day, it wasn’t the messy haired genius who met you. 

What did meet you certainly had messy hair, but its dopey expression told you it was no genius. 

The creature trotted over to you, tongue hanging out of its slightly lopsided mouth and offered you a single bark whilst nuzzling against your shin. 

You stared at the scruffy dog using your leg as a scratching post with wide eyes. Somewhere in the house you heard footsteps and you glanced up to see Spencer appearing from the kitchen. 

“Hey, how was your day?” He smiled at you, completely ignoring the confusion on your face. 

“Uh, it was perfectly normal until I came home and was greeted by this.” You pointed down at the mutt who was staring expectantly at you. 

“He. Not this.” Spencer padded over and quickly scooped up the small, messy animal in his arms. “This is Rover.” 

Rover licked Spencer’s cheek and much to your confusion, the germaphobe didn’t even bat an eyelid. 

“Last I checked Rover was a stuffed animal. This creature seems to be very much alive.” 

“Wren decided she wanted a dog. I said we could go to the pound and look, just look. But, uh, she kinda fell in love with this little guy and I can’t say no to her.” He shrugged, scratching Rover behind his ear. 

“So you now have a dog.” You hung your bag up by the door.

“We have a dog.” 

“Oh no.” You shook your head, walking past him towards the kitchen. “I’m outta here once Wren’s home. The dog is your problem.” 

Spencer placed the creature, which you thought more resembled a gremlin than a dog, on the floor and followed you. 

“He’ll grow on you.” 

“He most certainly won’t. I’m a cat person. And last I checked you weren’t all that keen on dogs either.” 

“But Wren is. So I guess I’m a dog person now.” He leant against the counter in the kitchen while you grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. 

You turned back to look at him as you uncapped it. You had a curious smile on your lips.

“What? What’s that look for?” He frowned a little.

“It’s just funny,” you took a sip. “Six months ago I would never have imagined either of us to be here.” 

“Me either.” He agreed with a smile. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy before.” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before.” He started towards you. “You’re a big part of that, you know? I know this is all for show and we’re just doing this until Wren is home, but, uh…I like having you here.” 

“It’s not all for show.” You placed the bottle on the counter behind you as you felt a little dizzy with the way Spencer was looking at you. 

“No?” He reached you, stopping a few feet in front of you. 

“I like being here too.” You confessed, your legs shaking a little due to the look he was currently giving you. 

“I’m glad.” He swallowed and your eyes were drawn to his Adam’s apple and the way it bobbed deliciously beneath his flesh. “I’m, uh, I’m on the verge of doing something very dumb.”

“How do you know it’s dumb until you do it?” You had a pretty good idea of what he was talking about. 

“Because I’m a genius and my brain is screaming how dumb it would be.” He chuckled, stepping even closer to you. 

“Maybe for once, don’t listen to your brain, Spence.” 

To encourage him, you reached for him, placing your hand on his shoulder. He swallowed again as he stepped nearer to you still. 

Cautiously he raised his own hands and placed them on the sides of your face, eyes darting back and forth between your eyes and your lips. 

“Don’t listen to my brain?” He whispered, wanting confirmation.

“Just this one time.” You offered him a smile and it was all he needed to close the space between you. 

When his lips gently brushed against your own, your hand quickly moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck to keep him close.

You parted your lips and he replied in kind by deepening the kiss. 

He pushed his body flush against you, pressing you into the counter. He held your face delicately but soon the kiss was growing frantic. 

It wasn’t at all long before he was manoeuvring you away from the counter and towards the kitchen door, never tearing his lips from yours. Not at least until his back collided with the door.

He broke the kiss and started to laugh, you did the same. He reached behind him and opened the door, taking your hand pulling you along with him.

The two of you were giggling like a couple of teenagers as you ascended the stairs, neither of you paying much mind to the dog asleep in his bed. 

He led you to his room and once inside he pushed you back against the wall and kissed you ardently again.  

He rolled his hips against yours so you could feel the bulge in his slacks and you moaned into his mouth. 

And then he was leading you to his bed as he helped you out of your clothes. 

It was only then as you lay beneath you realised how much you’d missed him. And you knew when or if the time came for Wren to come home and this little domestic bubble popped, it was going to be hard to drag yourself away. 

***

You fell asleep wrapped in Spencer’s arm after several hours and multiple orgasms. When you woke in the morning he was already awake, staring at you with a smile on his face. 

“Hey,” he stroked your messy hair behind your ear.

“Hey yourself.” You smiled back, inching closer and placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

“Last night was…” he trailed off searching for the right word but finding none that did it justice. 

“Amazing?” You laughed lightly.

“That’s certainly one word for it.” He agreed, hand cupping your cheek. “So I don’t wanna be the kind of person that asks this but, uh…did that mean something? Was it just sex or did it mean something? Because I would…uh…I’d really like it to have meant something.” 

His nerves were tangled in his words and you could see in his eyes that he hated asking you this. You smiled and ran your fingertips lightly over his bicep. 

“Well I guess that…” you were stopped by the sound of Spencer’s phone ringing and he pulled a face of frustration. 

“Shoot,” he let go of your face. “To be continued?” 

You nodded and watched him roll over, grabbing his cell phone off the nightstand and putting it to his ear while sitting up on the edge of the mattress. 

“Doctor Reid,” he spoke and then was silent for a moment or two and his back straightened. “Seriously? You…I…seriously? Uh, yeah of course. Today? Gosh…yes. Ok. Ok. Thank you. Goodbye.” 

His hand holding the phone fell to his lap limply but other than that he didn’t move. You rolled closer to him with a frown, wrapping an arm around his waist when you were close enough.

He slowly turned his head to look at you and you couldn’t read his expression.

“Spence?” You croaked. “Is everything ok?” 

He exhaled through parted lips, his eyes widening a little before he slowly started to nod. 

“Y-yeah,” his voice cracked. “Yeah everything’s great. That was Jenny. Apparently we’ve been approved for placement under supervision for Wren. It might not be permanent and Jenny will visit every week. But they wouldn’t let us bring her home if there wasn’t a strong possibility of us being able to adopt her. She’s coming home, Y/N. Our little girl is coming home.”

His tears overflowed when he reached the end of his speech and the smile that adorned his lips was brighter than the sun and all the stars in the sky combined. 

You jumped up and threw yourself into his lap, wrapping your arms tightly around him. 

“Oh gosh Spence, that’s great!” You felt your own tears well in your eyes as he held you. 

And for some reason when he called her our little girl, it didn’t freak you out in the slightest, 

***

Wren was an excitable blur of hand gestures and bounces in her seat as Spencer drove the three of you home later that afternoon. 

She’d only ever seen photographs of the room Spencer had put together for her and she was buzzing to see it with her own eyes. 

It was only once he got close to home driving through the neighbourhood she had lived with her parents whom she watched die, that she clammed up.

You sat in the back of the car with her and watched the way her eyes turned down at the corners as she looked out the window at the familiar houses. 

You reached out to her, held her hand.

“It’s ok if you miss them, Wren.” You whispered and her head whipped around to face you.

She was gnawing on her bottom lip, perhaps trying to stop from pouting. 

“But I don’t want to make you and Spencer sad.” She spoke in equally hushed tones. 

“Hey now silly girl,” Spencer’s right hand appeared between the front seats, blindly reaching for her knee. “You could never make us sad. You have no idea how happy you make us, pumpkin.” 

“But you will miss your mommy and daddy and we want you to be able to tell us when you do, ok?” You added, squeezing her hand. 

“O-ok.” She nodded, turning back out of the window. 

Soon enough Spencer pulled the car to a stop outside of the house with the canary yellow fence and green front door. 

He exited the car and rushed around to open Wren’s door while you unbuckled her seatbelt. He lifted her in his arms, spun her around twice, and planted her on her feet on the sidewalk. 

She instantly reached for you both, gripping Spencer’s hand in her left and yours in her right. 

You and Spencer shared a smile over her head as you led her up to the front door. 

The second the door was open a messy haired small mutt ran at full pelt towards the three of you, practically crashing straight into Wren. 

She giggled and threw her arms around the dog. 

“Rover!” She screeched, burying her face into his matted fur. 

Spencer took her bag from her and unzipped it, pulling out the toy Rover and holding him out towards the girl and her dog. 

“Rover meet Rover.” He spoke and Wren beamed brightly as she took the toy from him. 

She held it in front of the real dog's face and he licked the toy feverishly, making Wren giggle again. 

“I think they’re going to be friends!” She cheered happily. 

“That’s a relief.” Spencer chuckled, hand naturally slipping in yours. 

“Would the Rover’s like to see your new room, honey?” You asked Wren, entwining your fingers with Spencer’s.

“I think so!” She jumped up and down. “Come on big Rover, come on little Rover.”

You and Spencer shared another smile as you led the way, hand in hand, up the stairs and towards the room at the end of the hall. 

One of the Rover’s was held by Wren around his neck while the other followed of his own accord. You both stepped aside and motioned for Wren to open the door. 

She looked positively giddy with excitement as she reached for the handle. She pushed open the door and Spencer reached inside to flick the lights on. 

Her eyes widened as a dozen strings of pumpkin fairy lights cast their glow across the warm autumnal walls, thick cream carpet and everything in between. 

She took a few steps inside the room and the two of you watched her eyes flicker between the My Little Pony bed sheets, her name placard above the bed, the bookshelf stuffed full of books, another shelf packed with stuffed animals. 

They moved between the dog bed meant for little Rover which big Rover was now already making his way to, to the dresser under the window with a little mirror and her very own chess set. 

They made their way to the wardrobe which Spencer had stencilled with falling leaves and little brown birds of her namesake. 

Her eyes danced from here to there, there to here and back again. When they finally came to a stop on you and Spencer, they were full of tears. 

“This is…for me?” Her bottom lip pouted. 

“I don’t know any other little girls called Wren.” Spencer smiled at her. 

She suddenly dove at the two of you, one arm wrapping around each of you and nuzzling between you. You felt her small frame racking with sobs and it made your heart melt. 

“T-thank you.” She cried, squeezing you both as tightly as she could. “I love you.” 

You looked at Spencer, you both had tears welling in your own eyes. 

And god dammit if you didn’t love her too. 

***

The three of you ate ice cream for dinner on the floor of her bedroom at Wren’s insistence. 

You and Spencer played with her and her new collection of stuffed toys, as well as the real life Rover before you took turns reading to her until she finally fell asleep. 

Rover was already curled up in the dog bed at the foot of Wren’s bed so you left him there and the two of you quietly crept from the room. 

With the day's events you hadn’t had a chance to talk about what happened last night and now you were in the corridor, you weren’t sure what room to go to. 

Clearly Spencer didn’t either. 

He awkwardly scuffed the toe of his candy corn print sock on the carpet whilst rolling his lip between his teeth. 

“Should we, uh…talk?” He shrugged. 

“Most likely, yes.” You nodded and silently he led the two of you back downstairs to the living room. 

You were both quiet, not meeting the others' gaze as you sat in the armchair and him on the couch. The air was thick with tension, and you didn’t even know where to begin with this conversation.

“I know you don’t want to be Wren’s mom.” He suddenly blurted out. “And I’d never ask you to. But I love you and last night was…it was perfect. I don’t want to choose between having you and Wren in my life. I know it wouldn’t be easy because if everything goes to plan I will have a child at the end of it. You think there’s any chance you’d want to date a single dad?” 

He was talking so fast all of his words merged into one and it took you a few moments to ascertain what he was saying. But before you could really catch up, he was talking again.

“We get Wren home permanently, you can give up your rights just like you planned. You move out and you go back to your normal case load but maybe…maybe we can work things out? I know it won’t be easy but I don’t care. 

You clearly mean a lot to Wren and I know she would love it if you were still a part of her life after all this, even if it’s not as her adoptive mother. And I hope that you can still be part of my life. As my partner, my one true love. 

Wren will be my reasonability, I won’t expect anything from you in regards to her. But I don’t want to be without you, even if it means our life is separate from my life with Wren. I don’t think it’s entirely beyond the realms of possibility to think we could make it work. I just think-”

“Spencer,” you had to cut him off or he would spend the next hour rambling. “I don’t think it’s entirely beyond the realms of possibility either.” 

“You…you don’t?” He inhaled sharply.

“It’s not going to be easy,” you pushed yourself up and moved slowly closer to him. When you reached him you lowered yourself so you were sitting in his lap. “It’s going to be hard in fact, really hard. But dating a single dad doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world. Especially when that single dad is you.” 

His hands glided across your back, settling on your shoulder blades and holding you firmly in place, 

“We’ll make it work.” He smiled at you, inching closer.

“We’ll make it work.” You repeated just as his lips pressed against yours. 

***

The day after Wren was placed with you and Spencer, he and the little girl started excitedly decorating the house for Halloween which was two weeks away. 

The house was a menagerie of fake cobwebs which you kept walking into, strings of little ghosts hanging in every doorway. A newly carved pumpkin appeared on the porch every single day you returned home from work. 

By the time Halloween rolled around the three of you had fallen into somewhat of a routine. 

You had tried to distance yourself from parental activities, as soon as the paperwork was finalised you would be moving out and you didn’t want Wren to get too used to you being around. 

The last thing you wanted to do was confuse a child who had already lost her biological parents. 

Spencer dropped her at school on the way to Marlborough everyday and picked her up on his way home. 

He cooked dinner which the two of them ate together and he saved leftovers for when you arrived home. 

Nine times out of ten Wren was already in bed by the time you got home from Quantico which helped. It also gave you alone time with Spencer. 

Usually you wouldn’t even be in the door more than ten minutes before he was leading you to the bedroom. You’d been sleeping in his room since Wren had come home, although there was usually little sleeping happening. 

You’d both quickly learnt how to be quiet, not wanting to further traumatise the girl by having her hear the two of you having sex. 

The routine seemed to work for the three of you, it allowed Spencer and Wren to grow closer whilst allowing you and Spencer to grow closer. 

On Halloween night you got out of work slightly earlier but still expected Spencer and Wren to be out trick or treating. 

He’d promised the little girl months ago to take her and she’d been so excited for tonight, talking about it non stop since she’d come home with you. 

He wanted to make her a costume and you tried to teach Spencer how to sew but when that didn’t work you showed him how YouTube worked so he could learn that way. 

He’d slaved over creating her a pumpkin costume which was a little lopsided and probably could have been neater but he was so proud of his creation. 

Wren had insisted he dress up too so you arrived home to find Dracula in your living room. 

“What happened to trick or treating?” You asked as you stepped in the door and hung your jacket up.

“Oh hey,” he smiled brightly as soon as he saw you, moving closer to you. He went to kiss you but then remembered the fake blood on his mouth and refrained. “We’re about to leave, Wren is just getting dressed.” 

“Did she love her costume?” 

“You have no idea. I’ve never heard a five year old scream before and I’m not sure it’s something I want to relive in a hurry.” He chuckled, straightening up his cape. “Now you’re home you can join us.”

“I don’t think so.” You shook your head. 

“Oh come on, she’d love it if you came.” Spencer gave you his puppy dog eyes which you tried to ignore. 

“You’re the parent.” You reminded him. “And besides, someone should stay home with Rover.”

“Rover is ten years old and sleeps all day.” Spencer rolled his eyes. “He’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know. I just-” 

You were cut off by the sound of Wren running down the stairs. When she appeared in her pumpkin costume, complete with orange painted face, she was smiling from ear to ear.

“Y/N!” She jumped up and down excitedly. “I’m a pumpkin!” 

“Oh wow, you look great!” You cheered. 

She beamed, happily showing off her costume like a proud parent. 

“Are you coming trick or treating with us?” She asked with expectant green eyes. 

“I don’t think so, sweetheart.” 

“Please! You have to come!” She jiggled, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. 

“Yeah Y/N,” Spencer smirked at you. “You have to.” 

“I don’t have a costume.” You shrugged. 

“Leave that to me.” Spencer stepped closer to you and took hold of your hand. “Wren give us five minutes and we’ll head out, ok?” 

“Ok!” She nodded, moving aside so Spencer could lead you upstairs. 

You let him lead you to the bedroom, which he’d done countless times before but you knew this wasn’t for the reasons you would like. 

“I took the liberty of picking something up for you at the costume store when I was getting mine.” He let go of your hand so he could open the closet. 

“Of course you did.” You sighed. 

He pulled out an outfit in a costume bag and turned it to face you. Inside was sheathed all the makings of a witches costume. 

A long, flowy purple crushed velvet dress with long, billowy sleeves. A black wig. A pointy hat. 

You rolled your eyes as you took it from him, trying to ignore the stupid look on his face. 

“Fine, I will wear it. But you are not painting my face.” 

“Deal.” He grinned, in a smug way knowing he’d won.

***

Ten minutes later the three of you were out the door. Dracula, the witch and the pumpkin. 

Wren was full of excitement as she skipped on just ahead of you, swinging her little bucket she hoped to fill with candy. 

“She’s your problem when she won’t sleep tonight because she’s hopped up on sugar.” You spoke as Spencer slipped his hand in yours. 

“Fair enough.” He chuckled, eyes never leaving the back of the curly haired pumpkin. “Thank you for coming.”

“Did I have a choice?” You joked. 

Spencer briefly glanced at the side of your face before focusing back on Wren who was now making her way up a front porch of one of your neighbours houses. The two of you hung back by the gate. 

“You don’t like spending time with her.” He looked back at you while Wren was busy getting her candy. 

“That’s not true. I love spending time with her, she’s an amazing kid. But I don’t want her to get used to me being around all the time. She lost her mom and dad, I don’t want her to see me as a parental figure only to lose me too.” 

Spencer’s hand slipped from yours and he quickly pocketed both of his hands. You frowned at him as he turned away from you. 

“Right. Of course.” He watched Wren smile and thank Mrs Taylor for the candy. 

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” You glared at him.

“Nothing. I just forget sometimes what a hardship this is for you.” 

“Spencer, I never said-”

“What did you get, pumpkin?” He cut you off as Wren came running back over, his tone lightening as he regarded her. 

Wren showed off her haul and soon you were continuing on. Spencer walked with Wren now, holding her free hand while you hung back. 

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this would get complicated. But why did it? 

***

The night ended worse than it started. When your rounds of the neighbourhood took you past the old Briar house, the home where Wren watched her parents die, it came to an abrupt end with tears. 

Spencer carried her home while she sobbed in his arms. He put her to bed and spent a long time coddling her while she cried for her parents. 

He found you in the living room, your wig and hat on the coffee table. You stood from the couch when he entered the room. 

“I don’t really feel like company tonight so maybe you should just stay in the guest room.” His jaw was clenched tightly as he spoke. 

“Right, sure.” You nodded. 

He turned away from you, started towards the stairs before quickly turned back around.

“You know what actually, maybe you should look into moving back into your apartment. This place is kinda crowded. You only need to be here when Jenny visits anyway, there’s no point in you being here all the time. And that way Wren won’t get attached to you and it’ll make it easier all round.” He turned again but before he could get too far you grabbed him by the wrist. 

“Spencer, please don’t say that. We talked about this, we had a plan, we-”

“Stop it, please.” He cut you off. “I can’t do this right now, ok? I have a little girl upstairs who I had to rock to sleep because she couldn’t stop crying about her dead parents. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with all this right now.” 

“Fine.” You clenched your jaw to stop the tears falling. “But let me just say it isn’t fair for you to act this way when we had an agreement. You knew what my involvement was going to be in all of this and the plan was never for me to be her mother!” 

“The plan?” He suddenly spat. “The goddamn plan? You make it sound so clinical!”

“I thought it was.” You rolled your eyes. “Did you expect that I was going to wake up one day and change my mind? Was that what you hoped for here? That I’d play happy families and realise this is what I wanted?”

“Yes,” he shrugged. “Yes, that's exactly what I hoped would happen. Excuse me for believing that two people who are as in love as I thought we were could raise a child together.” 

“Maybe I should move out.” 

“Good.”

“Great.” 

“I’ll help you pack.” With that he turned again and this time you let him go. 

You watched as he ascended the staircase, clearly wanting to make more noise about it but not wanting to wake Wren. 

Once you heard his bedroom door shut you fell back to the couch and your tears unleashed. 

What had possessed you into thinking this would be a good idea? You’d wanted to help Spencer and never once stopped to think of the ramifications. 

Like it or not you and Wren had grown close, despite your best efforts. Your leaving would be hard on her. And it would be hard on you too.

You’d come to care for that little girl even though you’d tried so hard not to. You weren’t ready to be a mom, or so you thought, but Wren had wormed her way into your heart. 

And now you were going to lose her and Spencer through your own stubbornness. 

Well done, Y/N, you thought to yourself as you cried. You’ve really gone and fucked this up. 

***

The following day Spencer dropped Wren off at school, thankfully in a much brighter mood than she had been the previous night. 

You both had the day off work for Jenny’s weekly visit and if she noticed the awkwardness between the two of you she didn’t mention it. 

Spencer was amazing at keeping his emotions in check when he needed to and even you believed he was happy. 

You sat amicably and drank tea while Spencer filled the social worker in on your Halloween night, glossing over all the bad parts. 

It struck you that Jenny wasn’t taking notes like usual, didn’t even have her notebook out. You weren’t sure if Spencer noticed or not or if he was too busy pretending he had the perfect family to notice. 

When the tea dried up along with the conversation, Jenny pulled a manilla envelope out of her briefcase and proffered it forward. 

Spencer took it with a frown, in the corner in black ink it read simply: Re: Wren Briar - Reid Y/L/N.

“Uh,” he ran his fingers over the envelope and looked up at Jenny with a frown. “What is this?” 

Jenny smiled softly, a smile that reached all the way to her eyes. 

“Congratulations,” she spoke sincerely. “That is your official adoption papers. Wren is now formally in the care of the two of you.” 

You felt a flurry of emotions all at once and you didn’t know which one to focus on. But you were distracted from that when Spencer, out of nowhere, started sobbing. 

“S-seriously?” He stuttered, tears streaming from his eyes. 

“Seriously, Doctor Reid.” Jenny smiled. “I know it’s been a long and difficult process, but it’s over now.”

“Oh my god.” He grabbed your hand and squeezed it tightly. “Oh my god.” 

Seeing the happiness on Spencer’s face made your own tears fall and you gripped him tightly. 

“We did it, Spence. We did it.” You cried. 

Jenny saw herself out as the two of you continued to cry. At some point Spencer wrapped you in his arms and sobbed into your shoulder while you did the same into his chest. 

Eventually both your tears started letting up and he sat back and wiped the stains on your cheek. He was smiling shakily at you and you returned the gesture. 

“Don’t leave.” He whispered, voice cracking with emotion. “Please don’t leave. I don’t want to do this without you. I know this wasn’t part of the plan but-”

“Screw the plan.” You cut him off. “Plans change. I can’t ignore the feeling of elation and relief I felt when Jenny told us. Goddamnit I love Wren, I love her so much. And I want to be her mother, Spencer, I really want that.” 

“You…” he choked. “You do?”

“Yes. This wasn’t the life I envisioned for myself but life isn’t straightforward. Things happen, plans change. I found my family. And it’s you and Wren.” You smiled as your tears started up again.

Spencer was quick to tug you back into his arms and hold you tighter than you’d ever been held before. He nuzzled against your neck and placed soft kisses on your flesh. 

“I love you so much.” He cried. “And I love our little found family.” 

You stayed like this for some time, until you needed to pick Wren up from school. For the first time you and Spencer went together. 

When you told her the news she jumped up and down and squeezed you both as tightly as her little arms would allow and it filled your heart to the brim. 

There was no doubt in your mind that this was where you were supposed to be. 

As she planted big sloppy kisses on yours and Spencer’s cheeks, you heard him whisper, welcome to the family little pumpkin. 

***

Four Months Later

The noise from the backyard filtered in through the open door, little voices chattering, the occasional screech of excitement, giggle from tiny lungs and small feet pitter pattering in the grass. 

You poured yourself a glass of water and sipped from it while you observed the chaos. 

It was Wren’s sixth birthday and damn near every child in her school had descended on your home. The BAU team members and their kids were all in attendance and you wondered if your garden would ever be the same again. 

There was a bounce house in one corner, a magician in the other - for which Spencer had begrudged paying for when he could have done it himself. 

You’d insisted he wanted to be more present for the event, really enjoy the memories made today on her first birthday as your daughter. 

Rover had long ago distanced himself from children pulling his matted fur and retired to his bed in Wren’s room. You couldn’t blame him, you’d half contemplated joining him. 

You were exhausted from all the planning, from the demands of motherhood and still trying to hold down your job at the BAU, albeit only part time now. 

You hadn’t even stopped to consider how tiring the party would actually be. 

You felt a presence behind you and spun on your heels to find Spencer smiling at you as he sidled up to you. He moved in close and placed a chaste kiss on your lips.

“Are you as tired as I am?” He chuckled. 

“I don’t think anyone is as tired as you, you’re the life and soul of this party.” You teased him. “I saw Wren dragging you on to the bounce house.” 

“It’s been a long time since my old knee injury hurt this bad.” He grumbled a little. “But it’s worth it to see her happy.” 

“I can’t believe she’s six already. The months are flying by.” You sighed wistfully. 

“She’ll be eighteen and going off to college any day now.” He laughed.

“Bringing boys home.”

“Don’t you dare!” He gasped. “Do not put that idea in my head.”

“Sorry,” you smiled sweetly. “It’s a long way off.” 

“It better be.” He shook his head. 

“So, uh…I got you something.” You reached behind you and grabbed the small, neatly wrapped gift off of the kitchen counter. 

Spencer frowned at it as he took it somewhat cautiously. 

“You got me a gift? For our daughter's birthday?” He ran his fingertips over the wrapping paper curiously. 

“Just open it and be grateful.” You rolled your eyes playfully. 

Still with a frown on his face, Spencer tore the gift wrap, the same kind as you used to wrap the obscene amount of gifts you’d brought Wren. 

You held your breath and waited, your nerves getting the better of you and you leaned back against the counter top as your legs shook a little. 

Spencer’s deft fingers made quick work of the paper, tossing it aside like the excited six year old had with her own gifts. 

Once opened he stared at the item in his hand. Approximately five inches long. Thin. Hard plastic. 

You watched him stare at it as if it was a completely foreign object, patiently waiting for him to look up, to say something. 

His hands started to tremble and when he finally did look up at you, tears swam in his eyes. 

“Is this…for real?” His voice cracked with emotion as he spoke. 

“It’s like the fifth one I took so I’m fairly certain.” You nodded, feeling your own eyes fill with tears. “Wren’s going to be a big sister.” 

Pregnancy test still in hand, he suddenly threw his arms around you and squeezed you so tightly you felt the air leave your lungs. 

“We’re having another child?” He whispered against your neck.

“This family just keeps growing.” You laughed as you wrapped him in your arms. 

You wiped away your tears, not wanting to be seen crying at Wren’s birthday party. But soon your moment was over, and you were being forced away from each other. 

“Mommy, daddy, is it time for cake?” Wren’s voice carried in from the garden.

You sprung apart and stared at each other, a new batch of tears in both of your eyes for completely different reasons. 

“Did she just…” you breathed, voice slightly horse.

“I think so.” Spencer sniffed, a delighted smile on his face. 

Thus far Wren had always called you both by your names which was entirely understandable. Spencer had always told her she could call you mom and dad if and when she felt it was right. 

“As if this day wasn’t perfect enough.” He wiped his eyes, pocketing the pregnancy test after giving it one last look. 

“We better go, daddy.” You winked at him and went to pass him but he grabbed you by the waist. 

“Oh jeez, why is that so hot when you say it?” He growled, bowing his head and placing kisses on your neck, making you giggle. 

“Really?” You smirked. 

“Really.” He hissed, stepping back and nodding to his crotch where you can instantly see the bulge forming in his slacks. 

“Hmm, I’ll bear that in mind daddy.” You chuckled and he let out a soft low moan.

But before he could reply, you were summoned again. 

“Mommy, daddy!” Wren hollered from the yard. 

“Ok, not so sexy anymore.” He shook his head, stepping further back. “I’ll get the cake.”

“I’ll get my phone so I can film you and your horrible singing.” You gently kissed his cheek before he walked away. 

Spencer lit the six candles on the pumpkin shaped birthday cake and cautiously carried it through to the yard while he began singing happy birthday. 

All the kids and adults joined in as Wren beamed from ear to ear as all eyes were on her. You held your cellphone steady, hovering by the back door where you filmed the chorus.

When the song was over everybody cheered and Wren sucked in a huge breath before blowing out the candles. 

You watched on as Spencer placed a kiss in her messy dark hair and she smiled brightly at her dad in return. 

You couldn’t take your eyes off the two of them, Wren bouncing excitedly in her chair while Spencer went about cutting the cake into slices for all the children. 

Spencer handed her the first slice and she gorged on it, stuffing the cake in her mouth and leaving icing smudged around her lips.

It was crazy how much things had changed in such a short space of time. Six months ago you never would have pictured yourself here, a mother to a six year old and growing another child inside of you. 

Life has a funny way of giving us exactly what we want at exactly the wrong time. But for you and Spencer and Wren, the world had worked its magic and done you all the biggest favour. 

It had given the three of you the kind of love you all so sorely needed, it had offered a home to three people who were out in the cold. It had created a family, who in eight months time would have a new addition to it. 

Ultimately all we really strive for in life is to find somewhere to belong, and although it may have been unexpected, it was safe to say that you, Spencer and Wren had found that somewhere with each other. 

@ultragirrl @wittlewowa @bxtchopolis @coldheartedmar

[cinnamoon-roll2]

The Famished Doctor and Their Devoted Ghost

Danny takes on a new murder case for the Roseville Gazette that people presume is his, but he's never taken the organs of his victims. His curiosity gnaws at him, he needs to know who is this new homicidal partner he shares the town with, and who is this new girl that's making him doubt about his future plans.

Chapter 3: So… Wanna be friends…?

Chapter summary: Quick fatigued breaths were what they both shared at that moment, their gazes under their respective masks were focused on each other, what they were going to do at that moment.

Chapter Trigger Warnings: explicit mention of murder, cannibalism and violence, a crow and a ghost fighting, authors voice kink showing, slight mention of SA

Wc: 4,7K

AO3 Link. Previous

Taglist: @mariamyousef702 , @weaponxgames

Their gazes met for it felt like a thousand seconds, Fanny felt the adrenaline release in her blood system, her mind started racing a hundred miles an hour, God, if she existed, what would she do now, run, fight, or start fangirling over meeting the other famous murder in town.

She watched as Ghostface cocked his head curiously at the position he was in, she gave a quick glance at the prosciutto to verify that he could no longer move anything but his eyes or his breathing. She raised her hands in surrender in the direction of the ghost, before taking a quick jog towards the bathroom of the flat.

Danny didn't understand what a person dressed as a plague doctor was doing in his victim's appartement, he had been watching him for a week and a half, he paused two days of watching him because he was trying to gather more information about Luna, he wanted her to be his brightest star (yes he understood that the moon was a natural satellite, even so, the context was understood), which would make him remembered and feared for the rest of Roseville's history. Curiously he made that little gesture, which he couldn't help making every time he didn't understand something, he tilted his head at the image in front of him, he saw the doctor raise their hands in front of him in a sign that they were not a threat to him.

As he was about to enter to come face to face with this mysterious individual, they began to run away from him towards a room in the flat. As he entered the room he noticed how John was lying on the floor, he approached him and moved him with his boot, he only noticed the terror in the eyes of this robust man, he looked so weak, exposed, so powerless, in a different situation he would have laughed at him for the situation he was in, but now he had to focus on trying to make the other character come out of their hiding place.

Before approaching where they had gone, he wanted to investigate more about whatever the person had done in the place, first he went to the kitchen, he didn't see anything very out of the ordinary, until he saw two black boxes, he knelt down next to those boxes and noticed that one was a cooler and a leather briefcase, When he opened it he saw many medical tools that seemed to be used to extract something or operate on someone, oh who would have thought that his luck had finally changed, he had already found the beloved organ sucker,  a little nickname that had occurred to him with the facts that he had seen the first time he met this individual, now he understood why they both went for John.

Both saw that he was a perfect specimen, in the case of the organ sucker, since he was healthy, they must have been looking for excellent quality content. What he was looking for in that typical high school jock was a challenge, he needed something that would revive his assassin essence, something that would make him feel that adrenaline rush he was addicted to, that would make him feel the satisfaction of seeing all his senses fill with red, and then ruin his reputation after he was dead, revealing how he had no respect for women, how he had more than once taken advantage of the fact that he had to escort the drunken housewives of millionaires back home, the very thought of it caused him a mortal disgust that would make him want to stab him all at once and not even wait for the other killer.

However, now he could no longer see any fun in this scenario, John was totally paralysed, he didn't prove to be a fucking threat to him, now what fun would it be to stab him if he couldn't even seem to speak, let alone cry for help or mercy He sighed at this fact, he was distracted by hearing a loud moan, which caused him to cringe, yes he could have carnal desires, but at this level of letting everyone know that you had someone to satisfy them, that was disturbing the poor lives of others. Keeping that disgust he continued towards John's main room, there he saw a very clever move, it was a small speaker that sounded very loud, what a clever guy. If John struggled with it, he had no way of disguising what was going on, but this cunning little organ sucker was bringing a distraction, God this guy is unbelievable, should he take him out or ask for an alliance? Fuck, he didn't know what to do with this madman, but he seemed like an excellent addition to Roseville. He was about to approach the speaker to see how much playback he had left until he heard a door opening.

Steam was all he could see through his mask, he felt his breathing quicken in that state of panic, he paced in circles in the small space that was the bathroom, he paced and paced in that nervousness. Her brain was screaming between all the divisions inside her, she listened to the thousands and thousands of ideas that were formulating in her head. What will be the damn solution of this matter?

She untied the mask straps to improve her breathing, turned her gaze to the mirror, looked at her light blue eyes full of despair. She looked at the inside of her mask, seeing the bundle of herbs at the end of the spout, inhaled sharply before taking some toilet paper to clean the lenses of the mask. When she was satisfied with the result of her cleaning, she placed it back on her face.

She decided to take a seat on the toilet seat reflecting a little more deeply on what she was going to do with her life at this point, it was time to be positive, positively she was going to get out of that flat without getting hurt, no that was a clear lie, fuck, damn brain think what the hell are you going to do at this point.

She in her reflection managed to hear Ghostface's footsteps outside her hideout, from the direction she assumed he was going to John's room, maybe if she were quick enough, she could run away from that situation, no she couldn't her cruel life hadn't bred a coward, she continued to take deep breaths. She had decided; it was time to face the lion in the room.

The door opened, Ghostface immediately peeked out from the entrance to see what was going on there, both were surprised as the first time to find themselves face to face again, again they were facing each other with the same gesture, the stoic raven mask and the permanent scream tilted in curiosity, or was it confusion, it was uncertain. The tension between the two felt too thick, so thick that either of them could cut it with a knife.

"I seem to have taken the one who appeared to be your next victim, shame on me for getting in your way." She held up her hands in a sign of peace, as she watched Ghostface who was still in that stoic position, who seemed not to move his head and continued to watch from that position. "This is a very strange way of a first impression, I hope that a good relationship will be achieved between us, Mr. Ghostface." She moved her hands, one behind her back, the other to the front waiting for a handshake.

But of course, not everything can go as smoothly as it seems, if her reflexes had not saved her, she would have surely received a nice stab in her right hand, reflexively jumping to her right side, she took a big step to be on the other side of the sofa. At that moment she needed to keep as much distance from the other man as possible. She saw out of the corner of her eye John's motionless body in the middle of the kitchen-living room.

She heard Ghostface's boots approaching her position, purely on impulse, pulled her hand to where she had dropped her cane, held it tightly in her left hand and stepped out. She ran towards the window from where she had entered, in the corner of her eye she saw Ghostface following in her escaping. She placed her staff in her belt, and began to climb quickly to the rooftop, she hoped he would last longer climbing and chasing her.

She finally saw the light at the end of this madness, she looked up at last at that flat floor of the small rooftop of the building, she took a good push to get more distance from the ghost. Being about four meters away from the entrance of the staircase she saw Ghostface peeking out, he was peacefully entering the rooftop with his knife in hand. Fucking hell, she was fucked, really fucked.

It was very curious for Danny to see someone who had done something as cruel as harvesting another human's organs run away from his self. As he climbed up to the rooftop he noticed that the medic was a long way from the entrance, it was amusing for him to see how that person who took organs from others was afraid of someone as simple as him, well that was in his words he considered himself just a stalker who finished off his victims in a very artistic way. The raven had reached the edge of where they stood, the crow had no choice but to raise its hands again in surrender. He playfully cocked his head again, he wanted to challenge them to go against him, he wanted to face the reality of this guy, how strong they were, could they go against him, he wanted to see if the organ sucker was what he was looking for, someone strong to look to for inspiration, an alliance or another body to leave tonight.

Fanny had her mind in desperation, if you wanted a reference she felt like thousands of office workers running around like mad trying to save the most important documents from a giant fire in the building, she still had her hands up she had to show a bit of submission to who she assumed to be a man, she still had her cane in her belt and her two knives in each boot, it was a matter of Ghostface letting his guard down and her acting with speed.

Danny still had his trusty hunter's knife in his hand, still holding his head in the same position, he approached with small steps. He had managed to hear the voice of the raven, yet through their mask it was difficult to identify the gender of whoever was under that suit.

Both criminals just stared at each other, again they were in that trance of looking at each other. This was finally broken when the taller of the two lunged at the other, the doctor was quick to dodge him and drew their baton to hit a painful area for Ghostface.

Danny was smart enough to bend down, avoiding the metal of the tip of the baton that his adversary possessed, he tensed his jaw to try again to stab or even graze the raven. The result was again a dodge and another attempt at a lunge for the baton. They went at it for quite a while until the mismatched eyed one decided to play a little dirty and took the staff to push his opponent to the ground causing them to fall to the ground just enough to stab them perfectly.

Even so, he didn't count on something that the raven was quicker to roll to the other side and avoid his attack, just when she was thinking of getting up from the ground she was pulled towards him by the ankle, that pull made her be dragged towards the assassin, the only thing her instincts thought was to throw a kick towards Ghostface's middle abdomen, if she succeeded it would be an accurate hit right in his diaphragm causing him difficulty breathing, his lungs would have spasms that would take all the air out of them.

However, no matter how hard she tried to hit Ghostface in the abdomen, she only succeeded in getting his hand up to her calf, pulling her body harder. With her upper torso still free, she decided to take her staff with all the force she needed for a good blow and threw it at the dominant hand of the man dressed in black, causing the knife to fly out of the man's hand.

Upon the act, the man was taken by surprise, giving the raven a chance to kick him in the face and speed away from him. However, as she was planning to leave, she felt Ghostface also pull her baton away from her. The man slowly picked himself up, the raven was in a perfect attack position to deliver blows to anyone who came at them with speed. He assumed a similar position, taking note of where his knife and the other person's staff were, they were far away from each other, they had no choice but to return to melee.

Fanny stretched her neck sideways, her fists were placed diagonally, the right one in front of the left one, the situation of her legs was the opposite, her strongest leg was the left one, keeping it in that position she could create a quick strike to any part of her adversary's body.

Danny analysed very curiously the posture of the crow in front of him, this person has experience in some martial art, he took a similar but different posture, he used his own posture, he used his fists at the same distance, he kept his legs at the width of his shoulders.

At that moment Fanny decided to take a few quick steps to proceed with a Muay Thai style kick, which was aimed at a person's half guard, liver, and ribs.

Danny managed to run before the impact but managed to grab the woman's calf to make her lose her balance, what surprised him was to see how she took advantage of the situation to pull him to the floor with her body weight.

Both on the floor struggled for who would take control of everything, the raven had managed to position himself on top of the ghost with the intention of taking his wrists to prevent him from dominating the situation again. While Ghostface sought the same point of power.

Both circled the floor in their quest for dominance, though in the end the medic had won again, taking advantage of the situation to deliver a punch to, where she assumed it would be, the man's nose. Danny felt the sting of the blow, though it had been somewhat muffled by the mask.

Fanny quickly got up from where she left Ghostface and went for her cane, she had to get out of this place, she didn't want to keep fighting, she didn't want to get in trouble, maybe she could go from this town to North Carolina, they said the bears helped keeping the bodies from being found by eating them, she could leave this town alone for Ghostface.

"Stop where you are." A deep voice said into the air, sounding before her, that was Ghostface, the voice of the father of death. It sounded synthetic, made through some device she assumed was inside the screaming mask he wore.

She had such a situation in front of her that she could only follow the other guy's order. Danny was in pain as he felt the choppy breaths he took as his nostrils ached from the impact; he had taken a few moments before. He had finally spoken after not saying anything during the long standoff the two of them had had that night.

Sore Danny got up from where he stood, if he had to accept anything it was the raven had good strength and combat experience. He felt some of his joint’s thunder as he stood up, he analysed where they both stood, the raven seemed to have intentions of retreating from the spot, he didn't know whether to be flattered that the organ sucker was terrified of him.

"Well, well, Crow, are you afraid of ol' Ghostface." He said mockingly as he watched the raven still standing stiffly in his place, he now standing fully upright, he played a little with his hands thundering his fingers.

Fanny had her head like a Windows of the moment, stuck and unable to function very well, she felt bad to be stuck between swords, but that deep voice hit that troubled relationship she had with her father, she felt the blush burn the entire strip in the distance between her ears. Fuck me, concentration was what she needed not to be attracted to that maniac. Every word that came out of him mesmerized her, whoever had made the voice synthesizers she was grateful with all her heart.

Danny analysed the raven's body language well; he thought well his words what he was going to say to lighten the situation between the two of them. After some time in his head, he decided to give his opinion on the subject.

" Let's make a little deal little crow, you leave the guy downstairs as good as new, without the shit you put in him, and I'll leave you alone, what do you think?" Ghostface started walking towards where Famine was in her paralysis, she was still in that trance in front of this powerful and dominating being.

"I'm... I'm afraid that the effect of the cocktail of drugs I gave him will take an average of 12 hours to stop being active in the body of the affected person." She said with that nervousness of coming out of being focused on who she had in front of her, her accent was thickening with her stuttering at the start of the sentence. She herself was disgusted to hear that she sounded like someone from Birmingham.

"So, you can talk then, eh, little crow?" Danny mocked at the nervousness the doctor seemed to be displaying, processing a little of the data he had given his person. "I mean you left that idiot paralyzed for almost half a day, and for what?" He questioned as he circled her at least five feet away from her, it was like a predator enclosing its prey in a circle of intimidation.

"It... it facilitates extraction and my work; I don't like the difficulties when it comes to extracting supplies." Fanny explained herself to Ghostface, it was complicated to operate with tensed muscles because of what she had previously done to the victim, she knew that doxacurium chloride was widely used in operations and medical procedures. Besides, in an emergency, she could give them another drug and cause a lethal reaction.

Danny was impressed by the medic's words, so if it was true that they stole the organs of their victims and their medical knowledge was professional, maybe he had a professional in front of him.

"Any other suggestions, Crow, speak now or you won't speak again for a good long while." His patience was slowly wearing thin, this was getting them nowhere, he estimated it was now just a little before 3am, there was almost no time to conclude this.

Fanny heard the anger coming out of him, her mind was still in crisis, so she let it plan as quickly as possible a solution to this conflict.

"An alliance... let's have an alliance, Mr. Ghostface, you can kill the gentleman below, I'll take just a little of his blood, we could inform each other about each other's targets so this event will not happen again." Playing with her hands Fanny speaks in nervousness, which was the only plan she had produced in her mind.

His mismatched eyes did not believe what was coming before them, an alliance was that possible, he had thought it, but it had never occurred to him that it would come true, under his mask he had a very curious facial expression, he was amazed and confused, this organ sucker was a box of surprises.

"Oh, no, no, that good-for-nothing is of no use to me in the fucking condition you left him in, Raven." Ghostface continued to circle the woman as he saw the signs of nervousness in his opponent. "Keep what you already damaged, but next time, I hope you get me a victim just as good as that idiot down there, then you'll have your alliance." He stopped his circling to stand in front of the doctor, cocking his head again to convince him.

Fanny was shocked by the fact that the stupidest plan her head had ever made in a moment of stress, she took a deep breath, she nimbly mulled over all the pros and cons it would take to start collaborating with this being of evil. She sighed softly proceeding to speak.

"Mr. Ghostface, I find it an excellent deal sir, I really do re-express my apologies about this incident." Fanny played a little with her belt, she disliked showing a feeling of weakness at times like these.

Danny was pleased to see the submission that the raven took before his person, it was curious to see how at a few simple words they were already allied.

"Well Raven, gather your stuff, it's time for you to show me if you're worth it." He turned to start going for his knife after it had been ejected from his hands during the fight. He turned to look out of the corner of his eye noticing how the medic took slow steps of hesitation towards where their baton was.

Being the gentleman that he was he decided to let the other go down before him, gradually Famine came down the same staircase they entered. Both went down patiently until they returned to where the future corpse was.

The doctor entering through the window, went to where she had left her briefcase, during the entire process she felt Ghostface's gaze on her back. Her posture was now calmer, she was in her comfort zone, this was what she was dedicated to her could not fail, it had to be perfect, peace, peace that was what she needed.

Her expert hands opened the kit, she extracted her main tools as she sat on her calves next to John's paralyzed body, she saw his terrified look before her, she adjusted her gloves a little, she felt him sweat from the effort he had made during the struggle with Ghostface.

She inhaled deeply to cut John's shirt with the scissors from the kit, she saw the scalpel she had in her dominant hand, she brought it close to the man's neck, a clean cut was what she needed. And that's what she did, she cut the man's jugular vein leaving a container where she began to collect the blood that began to come out of his neck, she heard how the man's breathing began to become difficult, she had to act carefully for what was coming.

She went to the torso, agilely took the scalpel to stick it in the beginning of the sternum and began to lower it to where his hip began, she took out her autopsy scissors to break the man's sternum, took the scalpel and began to cut the connections of the organs she needed for her supplies, took the rest of the vials she brought with her and filled them.

With discretion she turned to see where the other murderer was, he was mesmerized by every movement she made from how she moved her hands on the scalpel, to how she extracted everything from the chest cavity that was edible, to her collection of blood. Turning her focus back to her work she pulled out the thread and her metal needle to proceed to sew up the opening she had made in the man, with her hand she steadily began to penetrate the skin and cell the damage she had done to it. When she managed to finish closing the entire incision in the thorax, she proceeded with the neck incision as she saw a little more than half of the vessel filled with that thick red liquid.

Seeing her work finished she got up from where she was sitting and went for her cooler to put the necessary contents, when she finished, she turned to see Ghostface face to face, waiting for at least a comment on her actions.

"Interesting, you're an excellent surgeon for a bird, Crow." Danny commented observing from his position the retouching the medic had done on the corpse, he was impressed, he needed a picture of this work. "Dear Raven, I hope you don't mind me documenting with a photo your artistic work we have here, do you?" he questioned the other, his only response being a nod.

He pulled out his trusty instant camera, Philly, and proceeded with the captures, he wanted to leave rune on the scene as a small clue that he had also been present at the scene. To Fanny this fact was somewhat strange, why he wished to see and preserve her crime, it would be to later extortion her if things went wrong, but she decided not to comment on it.

"It's time to go, Raven, I hope you are satisfied to know that we now have an alliance, at some point I will give you the details of our meeting points, until the next funeral, dear Raven." Danny being happy with what he had witnessed and documented decided it was time to withdraw from the scene altogether, though he decided to add something before he withdrew completely. "Oh, by the way, a little warning, betray me and you'll end up gutted like a fucking fish, got it. Bye." He modified his tone to emphasize the seriousness of the matter to Famine, made a stabbing gesture with his knife with his hand and proceeded to retreat out the window with that cute "Bye" that elongated the "e" at the end of the expression.

The blue-eyed girl was impressed by what she had experienced that night, she was watching the terrified look of the corpse she had caused, she sighed and went to close his eyelids so he could finally rest after all the stress he suffered that night, she bent down next to the body and lifted it with both of her arms, she took the body and went to John's room to leave him there.

She placed him in a pose where it looked like he was sleeping peacefully, she arranged him and covered him with his sheets, she took out her card leaving it on John's bedside table, she was happy thinking about the recognition that could come out of this.

The downside of tonight was that now she would have to find someone with the same profile as John to make amends for her problem with Ghostface, she would have to balance very well how she used the supplies she extracted from here.

Ha, who would have thought she would now be friends with another serial killer. She had to go to sleep if she wanted to function a bit the next day. She took her items and proceeded to go out the window leaving everything locked, except the door which she had unlocked so it would be easier to find the body.

Now she would love to get to her bed and proceed to go into a comatose state until she had to go to work, unless she gave the excuse that she woke up sick and couldn't go.

Friends, eh, how bad could it be to have a friend.

[dkakapizzaboy]

Darling I’m a Nightmare Dressed Like a Daydream (Part 1)

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Pairing: Conman! Minghao x Fem! Reader

Words:1.2k Genre: Crime/Mystery (Suggestive! MDNI) Synopsis: Minghao has had a pretty easy life…partly due to his sharp looks, but mostly due to his even sharper mind. His day job, you ask? Oh, just your average little joe conning wealthy women out of thousands of dollars …until he meets you. Warnings: Deception, lying, Morally Grey Hao, Morally Grey Reader A/N: Hello, this is extremely overdue but this is my contribution to @svthub's 70steen Collab! Please read the rest of the stories as well! I really wanted to finish the story in one go but I wanted to do it justice and take my time with it. So, it is just Part 1 for now, but nonetheless, I hope it still is a fun read!

A big thanks to @playmetheclassics for your input on the banner 🌼

Feedback always helps!

Minghao saw you through the front window of Tiffany's, purchasing a pair of solitaire studs, which were, from his guess, at least 1.5 carats each. His eyes scanned through your appearance next, mid to late 20s, affluent, judging by the Chanel briefcase and tweed suit, understated in jewelry except for the dainty yet elegantly crafted diamond bracelet. 

He'd found his next target.

He made his way into the store and immediately caught your eye, along with everyone else's. Well, it was pretty easy: a tall, handsomely dressed man with a striking long neck and sharp features who would give Elvis a run for his money. 

He made his way to the counter you were standing by, his leather boots clicking on the wooden floor- drawing even more attention to him, and timidly made eye contact.

"Sorry to do this miss, but can I ask you for a favour?" 

He maintained eye contact, his gaze had started to make you uncannily hot on a chilly autumn evening.

"Y-yes" you stuttered, mentally cursing yourself for sounding so frail.

"It is my mom's 60th birthday and I want to buy her something special but so many choices confuse me. Could you please help me pick something?" 

The group of girls standing on the necklace counter audibly swooned, making your upper lip twitch in amusement. 

"Oh, umm sure... I guess." 

He took your shyness as a sign of apprehension and decided to persuade you further.

"Sorry I wouldn't have asked but my brother and I have this unspoken competition every year, who will get Mother the better gift. I've been losing for the past 3 years but this time, with your help hopefully (he looked down and gave a shy smile, a seasoned move on his part), I have a feeling I can win against him."

He knew he was bullshitting his way through, but it'd always worked in his favor. ‘Just charm your way forward: the key is eye contact.’ was his mantra in life.

Little did he imagine that his further explanation had created more trouble for him than he bargained for. 

"Oh really, and how do you decide who wins?" You asked, with your eyes full of suspicion. 

It's funny because you were just messing with him but since Minghao had almost never been cross-questioned by one of his targets, he was completely caught off guard. 

He racked his brain, looking for the best answer to give you... he didn't want to blow his cover but the more time he took thinking of an answer, the more nervous he became- internally of course, as it hadn't even been a few seconds.

He suddenly gave you a crooked smile, unknowingly making your heartbeat a bit faster and your underwear a tad bit wetter.

He'd found the perfect answer.

"Oh, believe me…….. you know." He said, boring those beautiful cat-like eyes into yours, sirening you to him.

This story is actually full of funny things. While Hao was trying to seduce you with those smoldering looks of his, there was a mischievous twinkle in your eyes that sucked him in. It was like he was drowning deeper and deeper into those beautiful orbs, only realizing he was sinking into you when you averted your gaze.

This was weird.

But Minghao was here for work so he didn’t ponder too much. 

You helped him pick out a beautiful set of white pearl earrings, with diamonds encrusted around the pearl. 

“I think you should give them a try, just to see if they’re as beautiful as they’re on the display.”

He didn’t wait for an answer and proceeded to grab your wrist and slide the earrings in your hand, his fingertips gently brushing against your palm, sending a jolt of buzzing current down your spine.

Well, I guess I have to try on the pretty earrings, you thought bemusingly.

After he had purchased his earrings, he insisted on getting you dinner, or breakfast, or lunch, or whatever you preferred. You blushed as he confessed he’d really really like to see you again.

You made plans with him for the weekend. Since night had already fallen and, in his words, it would be against every fiber of his moral being to let a pretty lady like you go unescorted home in the crime-ridden streets, he basically forced you to let him drive you home.

He opened the passenger side door of his shiny black impala with a cheeky ‘M’lady’. You talked all the way home, about anything and everything. You also observed how his boot cut trousers hugged his thighs, and the slight indent of his-

Yeah, focus on something else girl! You turned to look out the window, hoping that the cool air of the night will calm your hot face, and even hotter heart.

He pulled up to your front porch, impressed at the location of the street and the size of the house. 

You would be his most prized possession till date.

He smiled at you as you thanked him, and then gulped audibly as the skirt of your suit hiked up a little to reveal, what he could describe as probably the softest skin he had ever seen, as you got out of the car. He got an almost primal urge to pull you back to the seat and feel if the skin of your thighs was as soft as it looked. 

He got out of his daze as you said, “I meant to say this earlier, but you honestly don’t really look like a Jun, I don’t know, just something funny that came to mind. Bye now, see you Saturday.”

Good thing you didn’t see his shocked face as you skipped back into your house.

….

Minghao made his way back into Tiffany’s, looking for his liaison.

“Here you go. Come’on now hyung, you really think I’ll cheat on you, It’s been five fucking years.”

“And one can never be too careful” Wonwoo replied as he inspected the pearl earrings though a microscope, who knew, the conman could very well con his partner. After inspecting its authenticity, he gave Minghao his money back, after taking a 5% cut, the usual fees for ignoring his shenanigans at his store. 

“So, do you want to grab a beer?” Minghao asked hopefully.

He didn’t really know why, but since dropping you off, he’d been feeling uncannily lonely.

“I really don’t want to extend our relationship beyond business, sorry.” Wonwoo replied quite blandly as he put back the pearl earrings on display, and to be very honest, it broke Minghao’s heart a little bit.

 But Minghao knew life wasn’t really sunshine and roses all the time.

…

You made your way into the living room after taking a shower, a cold one as your nerves still sizzled thinking about Jun. 

“So, did the asshole buy it?” Your best friend asked as you handed her the beautiful, shiny studs you’d purchased earlier using her cheque book.

“He ate it from the palm of my hand, darling,” you replied coyly.

No matter how sexy you thought he was, or how gorgeous his long neck was, or how stunningly captivating his eyes were, it was time for payback, Xu Minghao.

A/n: this is loosely inspired by a Bollywood movie Ladies vs Ricky Bahl!

[eclairfair98]

Pensacola’s far more crowded than the little Pete’s seen of Lemoore. Definitely more crowded than his own hometown in Texas. And somehow, it feels like a real city, a blare of noise overwhelming him at every turn.

Even the streets seem different. Much wider than he’s used to. Smoothly paved, crisscrossing everywhere. Pete watches the cars bolting past: a Corvette Stingray, an Aston Martin Vantage, a Chevy Camaro. Their windows gleaming golden under the bright winter sun.

Buildings with glass windows reach towards the tall blue skies, laced only by a few wispy clouds hovering in the distance.

He doesn’t know where he’s going. There’s too many streets, too many cars, too many sounds: the music twisting out of radios, the voices talking intently at one another, all blurring together into one.

There’s too many people. Men in sharp suits carrying leather briefcases. Women wearing dark sunglasses and rustling skirts.

All important-looking people, who walk past him quickly. As if on urgent business.

And all of a sudden Pete finds himself wishing that he was wearing something better than the sweatshirt and trousers he’d taken to borrowing from Tom’s wardrobe, once his own clothes stopped fitting him. That he was a couple of inches taller. That he had shinier hair and prettier teeth.

He finds himself wishing that he didn’t feel like a stranger in his own body, most of the time.

“You don’t know, Pete,” his mother had once told him, turning her tired gaze to the window. Her small pale hand tapping the space above her heart. “What it feels like. In here. You just don’t know.”

At the time, he’d wished he could know. What it felt like. What was in her heart. Wished he could erase the sadness lining her delicate face. Bleeding into her pretty eyes.

But maybe, Pete’d been better off not knowing, after all.

He blinks up at the sky, at the blanket of blue tingeing his sight. Thinks about pretty things. About how they don’t last in this world.

A stray cat with big green eyes slinks by. Pauses. Looks up at Pete expectantly. He leans over the swell of his abdomen to pet the soft spot between her ears. Feels the smile tingling at the corner of his mouth when she runs her prickly tongue over his fingertips. Nuzzles her little pink nose into the curve of his palm.

“Hey… you hungry? Let’s see if we can find you some food.”

The feeling inside of him doesn’t linger.

It floats away. Becomes smaller and smaller and then disappears, as the syrupy-sweet warmth of the afternoon settles back into his limbs.

The cat slips away from under his heat-stained palms. Tail swishing in the air as she darts down the sidewalk.

And Pete finds himself stumbling after her, socked feet slipping on the smooth soles of his worn-down shoes.

Warmth tightens in his chest as he runs down the paved concrete. Heat clinging to the afternoon air like crystallized salt. Washing everything with it’s golden touch.

It’s easy like this. To imagine that if he lifted his legs just a little higher, his whole body would float amongst the clouds.

Pete passes a group of little girls skipping rope. An old man with a newspaper tucked under his arm, who smiles at him when he races past. A boy about his age with a pile of heavy books in his hands, probably on his way home from the library.

He sees streets lined with shops selling flowers and pastries and suits and toys. Smells salt and smoke and the bewildering scents of the dozens of people around him.

Sweet notes of someone’s joy mingling in with the sharp bursts of someone else’s nervousness. Excitement and anticipation and worry and relief, all overwhelming him, all at once.

He turns an abrupt corner, his ears buzzing, pulse fluttering in his mouth, eyes darting from one unfamiliar end of the block to the other, when he sees a little kid crouched down on the crosswalk.

It’s an empty road and the few pedestrians who are rushing by, either don’t notice or don’t care to see the boy.

“H-hey,” Pete calls out, voice hoarse, color high in his cheeks. Each breath coming in heavier than the last as he looks up at the crosswalk signal. Sees the neon green numbers blinking down at him. Indicating he has plenty of time to get to the child. To bring him back to the sidewalk. “Are you alright?”

His feet feel swollen inside his sneakers. Protesting every step he takes down the pristine white lines marking the hot concrete, like thick stripes of mint candy.

There’s a sharp stitch in his side from all the running he wasn’t supposed to do. His doctor’s disapproving face growing bigger and bigger in front of his eyes, as the thick humid air makes a wheezing sound at the back of his throat.

Pete presses a shaky palm to the curve of his belly. Feels a furtive kick against his heat-stained fingers, the smallest outline of a foot.

Remembers the softness melting in Tom’s steady blue gaze. The careful press of calloused fingers against the stretched pink of his skin. The barely-contained wonder. The tender press of a mouth against the ever-growing swell of his abdomen. Against the curve of his lips.

I love you.

The wind rises, blows the shorter uneven bits of his hair outta his blurry eyes.

There’s a voice in his head. A voice that sounds remarkably like Tom’s. Telling him to stop. To turn around. To call for help.

The whites in his vision dance in a frenzy.

But he’s almost there. The boy is right there. Pete’s tired but he can’t stop now.

Big brown eyes blink up at him slowly. He can’t be older than five, maybe six. Pete wonders where his parents are.

Are you all alone?

The child doesn’t respond. Pete touches his lips — closed — doesn’t know whether he’s spoken aloud.

He notices the thick glasses lying in a crunched heap on the ground. The dark red blood plastered on skinned knees.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Pete tries again, kneeling down as deftly as his body will allow, breathing around the heat crumbling his larynx. Like it’s coming apart and sticking together all at once. “Why don’t we get off this road? And then, you can take me to your parents.”

“I’m B-Bernie, and I w-want my dad.”

The boy is scared. It’s thick in his scent, in the quiver in his chin, in the wetness pooling in his eyes. And it’s an awful feeling. Seeing a child so little, so scared. But it distracts Pete from the heat, the unsteady beat of his heart, the prickly discomfort creeping up his arms and legs.

If he can focus on Bernie’s fear, maybe he can drown out his own.

“Hey Bernie, I’m Pete. And I also want to find your father. Why don’t we go look for him together, huh?”

Bernie sniffles as he holds out his arms. Presses closer, the tip of his damp nose tickling Pete’s ear as he hiccups, “You’re s-scared… I can smell it. Please don’t be scared. After we find my dad, he’ll help us find your dad too.”

A wet laugh punches its way out of his aching chest as he hoists the boy up on his hip. Gently wipes the trails of dust and tears off his round cheeks. “Sure, kid. We’ll do that. Now let’s get off this road, okay?”

Bernie tugs on the sleeves of his shirt, hands stronger than they look. Burrows his wet face into the curve of his neck. Whispers a quiet thank you.

The signal tells him he has another forty-five seconds to get off the crosswalk.

Deck the halls blares out from the open window of a toy store.

The baby inside of him kicks hard, sending little shocks of pain down his spine.

And in the end, it’s far too late by the time he sees the speeding car peeling down the street.

His voice is silent, nowhere in his throat as his whole body curls around the boy in his arms. Around the little life in his belly.

Heaven and earth tumble, he grasps for the wind, and the streets fall away.

And then, there’s the sky — the fluffy white clouds like rabbits dancing across its spotless blue expanse.

He imagines reaching for them, swirling them around a stick, catching sunlight in each pristine wisp. Making tiny little rainbows all of his own.

Pete raises his hand to reach for the light, it feels sticky and warm.

Deafening wails threaten to pierce his eardrums.

Bernie.

There’s a sharp blinding pain in his chest, as though there’s a knife scraping the inside of his esophagus with every wheeze of air struggling to make its way to his lungs, but he can’t focus on that right now because: Where is Bernie?

Distantly, Pete realizes that the screams are coming from above him. That there’s little hands pressed against his chest, a torso huddled against his belly. That the hot tears rolling down his cheeks aren’t his own.

Are you hurt? Please, don’t be hurt. Don’t cry. Please.

The world seems only half real through the inky blackness seeping into his vision. Like a reflection of a reflection. Like something out of a story told long ago. Nearly-forgotten. Moulded by time into something else entirely.

At a glance, Bernie looks mercifully unharmed: moving all of his limbs, his scent untainted by the bitter notes of pain.

Dirt smears his forehead in a wide arc. Pete reaches out a hand to wipe his face, belatedly sees the bright crimson smeared across his own palm.

It dawns on him ever so slowly. As though the whole world has frozen around him. As though time’s come to a complete standstill. Like one of those films on tape that you can pause with the press of your finger.

Bernie’s screaming at the sight of blood. Pete’s blood. That’s soaking right through his clothes. That’s pooling around him.

And all of a sudden, he feels cold. Very cold.

Panicked voices surround him. Suffocating in their proximity. Someone tries to lift Bernie off of him, but the boy refuses to let go, holding onto his neck with a strength that can only be fueled by adrenaline.

There’s a cacophony of sirens in the distance, but Pete can’t move, he can barely breathe.

It’s like being choked by a noose steadily tightening around his neck. He wants to comfort Bernie, to ask for help — Tom, he needs Tom — he can’t stay here — the baby —

He places a weak hand on the swell of his belly, hoping for a kick, a movement, a flutter, anything.

His baby is frighteningly still as the last vestiges of consciousness leave his body, and there’s nothing between the sky and the ground but endless black.

[eskein]

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[l2bbocsstuff]

ASAMI’S ANNOYANCE

I thought dealing with Raiko was a pain, but this guy is something else. 

“Mr. Mayor, this discussion is getting us nowhere.  I’ve dealt with your assistants, your council members and now with you.  I have said the same thing to all of them and now I will say it to you – you can either have the upgrading of the monorail system in Ba Sing Se done correctly or done cheaply – you can’t have both.”  Asami plastered on her fake smile and stood up from the meeting table.

“Mrs. Sato, I still believe we can come to an equitable agreement.”  Mayor Won-Yee glared at Asami.  He placed both his hands on the table and leaned over it as he stood.

Asami was not intimidated in the least.  “Unfortunately, I do not.  Future Industries will not put its name on anything that is not 100% the best it can be.  The corners you wish to cut during this improvement do not fall in line with the way my company does business.  Therefore, I shall take my leave.  Good day, Sir,” with that the CEO stacked and ordered all the paper in front of her, put them into her leather briefcase, turned and left the meeting room.  Her assistant, Rei followed a respectful two steps behind her.  Rei glanced back over her shoulder to see Mayor Won-Yee looking apoplectic.

Once the two women were clear of Ba Sing Se city hall, Rei asked, “Do you wish to return to our branch office?”

Asami responded in the affirmative and they walked the three blocks back to their office.  This gave Asami time to calm down.  She knew she had been away from her wife and their daughter for too long.  The two weeks she had been in Ba Sing Se seemed like an eternity.  She was sure no three-year-old should be without their parents for that amount of time.  Asami felt defeated, a fortnight away and she had nothing to show for it.  Once she and Rei stepped back into their temporary workplace, all the employees turned to look. 

Asami spoke with as gentle a tone as she could muster, “I’m sorry everyone.  There was just no way to make the Mayor’s demands work.  I wish Future Industries could have helped your city but as you know, we only manufacture the best products.  This would not have been one of them, so I left the meeting.  I’m sorry that you may be bearing the brunt of some bad press for the next few days.  I want to say that I appreciate all the work that everyone in this office put into creating the plans, blueprints, and agreements for this project.  It just wasn’t going to work for the price and demands that the Mayor made.  Rei and I will be staying one more night and we will be returning to Republic City.  If there is anything anyone wants to show me before we leave just knock on my office door after lunch.”

The employees began to clap and Asami blushed.  The middle-aged branch manager known as San said, “We know you tried hard ma’am, but no one here would disagree with you pulling out of the meeting.  Future Industries is the most forward-looking company in the world and if you don’t think the project was right, it wasn’t right.”  He walked over and shook Asami’s hand.

She and Rei entered the temporary office they had been working in.  Asami slumped into the chair.  “Rei, please make all the arrangements for our airship flight back home.  I want to get there as soon as possible.  We can leave at first light.  I’m sure the flight crew wants to get home too.”

Rei dialed the phone and within ten minutes everything was planned.

Just one more night.  Thank the spirits!!  Then home to Korra and Akari.  This trip was a monumental waste of time.

Lunchtime had come and gone and suddenly there was a knock on the office door.

Asami’s assistant called out, “Come in.”

San walked in and behind him stood a bespectacled young woman.  She couldn’t have been more than 25 years old, and her smile lit up the room.  San introduced his co-worker, “Mrs. Sato, this is Kira Blanchard and she has been working on, what I think, is a million yuan idea.”

Kira stepped forward and shook Asami’s hand.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”

“I guess I need to say it again.  It’s Asami.  That goes for both of you,” she said with a wink.  “So, what’s the idea?”

“I’ve been designing and experimenting with electronics ever since I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering from university and this, I think, may revolutionize the industry.  We can miniaturize radios!!  With the work the company has already done on circuit boards and transistors, Future Industries can make radios portable.”  She handed the blueprints to Asami.

Asami was astonished.  She stared at the papers in disbelief.  “That’s amazing!! And astounding!!  And awesome!!”

Kira continued, “There are still a few bugs to work out, but I think I can complete this project and have a working prototype within 6 weeks.”

“It certainly is more than a million-yuan idea.  Make sure nothing about this gets out to the public.  We’ll make this portable radio the next big thing, after all, we’re called Future Industries, not present industries.  Well done to both of you.  When the prototype is complete and working get yourselves to head office.  I will inform the Board of Directors about this.  I am so glad that the two weeks I spent in Ba Sing Se wasn’t a complete bust.”

The day ended on a high note and Asami could barely sleep that night.  Not only because of the new radio design but also because she was going home to see her wife and daughter.  The only thing that upset her the next morning was when she saw the newest edition of the Ba Sing Se Bulletin, the largest newspaper in the city.  The headline screamed, Cabbage Corps to Upgrade Our Monorail.  Asami just shook her head.  Whatever!! She thought.

With the flight time and the time changes, the CEO knew she would get home in the middle of the afternoon.  She pulled her Satomobile into the garage and stepped into the mansion.  It was quiet, almost too quiet.  Asami went looking for Korra and Akira, whose nickname was Lights.  They weren’t on the first floor, so she headed upstairs.  She walked past Light’s room, and it was empty.  Then she peaked into the master bedroom.  She couldn’t help but smile as both Korra and Light’s were partaking in an afternoon nap.  They were covered under a duvet.   Asami toed off her shoes and removed her jacket.  She calmly crawled in beside her daughter and reached over to touch her wife.  Korra awoke and seeing the love of her life just smiled.

“Lights wouldn’t go down alone and who am I to refuse a nap,” Korra’s eyes twinkled.

“I won’t refuse this nap either so …sssshhhh.  Let’s not wake her up.”

“How’d it go in Ba Sing Se?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Love you. I’m glad you’re home.”

“Love you too and I’m glad too.”  Asami’s frustration forgotten.  The warmth in her chest and her gratitude for her life was overwhelming.  Some tears leaked out before she fell asleep.

[they-deserved-it]

Pomni opens the briefcase, giving the knives a quick once-over. There were five, each more wicked than the last: Some were serrated, some had jagged tips, a ballistic knife, a curved switchblade. Each were specifically designed for one purpose only: to inflict crippling pain.

"You like knives Ragatha. Take a look at these and check to make sure their the good stuff." Pomni says, briskly strolling over to her bed, picking up her phone which she had tossed there.

"Gangle says she'll meet us in the usual spot in 30." She says, shoving the phone into the pocket of her jeans.

"...Hpmh." Ragatha mutters, tracing the edge of one of the knives. The former jester looks up.

"What? Something wrong with the knives? God, don't tell me I got scammed." She muttered, making her way to her girlfriends side.

"No, everything fine. It's just..." Ragatha gives a dramatic sigh. "You've never gotten me any fancy knives..." Pomni rolls her eyes.

"Well...maybe I can ask my contact if they have any cheap one, and I'll get you the past one I can afford, ok?" She says patiently, closing the briefcase. "Now, we should get going." She grabs the case and goes to head out.

"Wait! It's chilly out, you'll need a jacket." The older women says quickly, grabbing a nice leather jacket and helping the other girl put it on.

"Thanks." Pomni says, heading out of the house. It wasn't until she was opening the car door that she realized something was off.

"Is this new?" She asked, looking down at the jacket.

"Mhm!" The former ragdoll says proudly. Pomni stays silent for a moment, before giving her partner a rare, genuine smile.

"Its...nice." She says quietly, before hopping into the car, putting the case in the backseat. "Ok, now we really need to hurry."

[noda09]

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