#mm pepper poppers

[dropanostalgia]

I gotta admit, I used to hate Shane a lot when I first started playing be he was so mean. BUT, you just gotta befriend the sad chicken man!!! Trust!!!

This was just something I thought up while working on another video LOL

(Featuring Farmer OC Serenity :) )

[sdvharveybby]

Hello!! I absolutely love your work. Do you think you can do prompt #50 (“Every time I think I’m close to finally figuring you out you end up surprising me.”) with Shane and a female farmer please? Thank you!

*sniffles* thank you so much, bby! I do try my hardest when it comes to these. I’ve always wanted to provide content that people enjoyed. I appreciate you saying this.

Anyways! Inspiration for this was rewatching one of my very first anime’s, Fruits Basket. The show is just stupid adorable and I recommend giving it a watch!

HERE YOU GO THEN! HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT.

Word Count: 1345

The farmer woke up one beautiful Spring morning. The sunlight cast through the curtains creating shadows and creating a warm glow amongst her furniture. It was day 20 and she specifically planned to give Shane something homemade for his birthday! Between the farmer and Shane, it was a rocky relationship- he constantly struggled with his doubts and self-worth, but she was determined to help him through it and be there whenever he needed it. And boy did he need it. Finding him on the cliffside completely wasted shook her to her core, but it was an impactful moment when she realized she adored him. Even through all his faults, anxiety, and depression- she wanted nothing more than to bring a smile to his face and see this through to the end. Shane warmed up to her day by day; less grouchy and he always got excited when he’d see her. She was helping to change his life for the better and he’s unbelievably grateful for it.

The farmer stretched that morning with a smile on her face, I want to completely blow his mind! He’ll be like, “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted!”, she thought to herself, absolutely giddy at the thought. She bounded towards the fridge and began gathering ingredients, “Okay, he likes pizza… Mm, pepper poppers… Yeah! That, I’ll make pepper poppers. He’ll be so happy!” With a determined smile she began her work. It didn’t take long as the peppers she had frozen from last summer stayed fresh and spicy. “I want to make him so happy he’ll never stop smiling.” The farmer’s eyes were sparkling- it was a drive to make him focus on all the good in his life. Instead of the doom and gloom before, she wanted to show him that there was so much good in life to look forward too! In her head, she tried to plan out every interaction they would have together this day. She wanted nothing to go unchecked, and she wanted this to be a great birthday! He deserves this, she thought before placing the peppers pots into a container.

The sun shown bright in the sky when she stepped outside. Not a cloud in the sky and the faint smell of flowers and growing plant life filled her nostrils, making her even more giddy to see him. It was beautiful outside- the wind calm and the noises of wildlife filling any silence that winter had had last season. She started down the path towards town, hoping to see him walking around. Currently 1:30pm she figured she would try at Stardrop Saloon as Gus quickly became a bit of a counselor to Shane whenever he felt like he wanted to drink. It was a request from Marnie and the farmer herself to get Gus to stop serving him alcohol. She walked in, the sound of music, that equally made her excited and calm at the same time, filled her ears. “Hey there farmer! What could I grab you?” She smiled and shook her head, “Nothing for me today. Have you seen Shane? It’s his birthday and I made him some food.” Gus smiled from ear to ear and gave a small chuckle, “Haven’t seen him, but Marnie came in just a bit ago to drop off some product. She said that Shane’s been at the barn all day, but he won’t show anyone what he’s doing.” He laughed again and began cleaning off one of his glasses. The farmer gave him a puzzled look, but turned to walk out the door, “Thanks, Gus!”

The farmer admitted that she didn’t expect him to still be at the barn, but she was curious to see what he had been working on. She remembered him saying that he wanted to pick up better habits and hobbies now that he was recovering- something to keep his mind off alcohol. The farmer was perplexed, but she made her way towards Marnie’s place.

Before she even knocked on the door, it opened to reveal Shane. He seemed excited and a bit sweaty, but he gave her a big smile, “I was hoping you’d arrive! There’s something that I want to show you…”  She followed him through the house into the kitchen and came upon a door. Was that door always there? I don’t remember seeing it… What’s he on about...? She didn’t know what to expect. Shane was a man that kept people on their toes, and it made her a bit nervous at times, but he seemed so happy that she didn’t want to overthink anything.

Inside was actually a coop with several chickens running about. On the wall was a sign freshly painted red that said, ‘Fresh Eggs’ “I’ve been working on this for a while now.” It was pretty spacious, and it smelled of hay and paint. She was surprised to say the least- it was as if question marks appeared over her very head. “Shane… this is incredible. I knew you liked chickens, but wow!” He beamed at her; his big smile made her heart skip a beat. “I thought you’d like it. I’m sorry I kept it from you, but I didn’t know how this, and the chickens would turn out.” He admitted as he walked in, petting some chickens nearby. What caught her eye was that there were sky blue chickens running around. Their colors were vibrant and beautiful- unlike anything she had ever seen. Her eyes were wide as she bent down to pet one, “Oh, yeah! Those are my special blue chickens. I’ve been specially breeding them to be mild tempered and with blue feathers.” The farmer opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. The feathers were soft and she couldn’t keep her eyes off of them. “Hey, we should sit. I made this up just a bit ago.” She turned to see a blanket, decorated with chickens on it, and a picnic basket. It had plates, a few glasses, joja cola, and some sandwiches in it. He sheepishly looked at her, blushing a bit, “I- uh, I know it’s not like a picnic outside or anything, but you know… Maybe we could spend some time together… If you- If you want to that is.” Shane didn’t give her eye contact as he said this- he was flustered and blushing madly. He was nervous of her reaction, but as the farmer had been so helpful to his recovery, he wanted to do something special. She smiled so warmly to him that it made him blush even more, “Every time I think I’m close to finally figuring you out you end up surprising me.” She laughed as she said, blushing herself, but it was true. The farmer didn’t know what to expect whenever she saw him- his dates were never “normal” but they were always thoughtful and sweet.

She handed him the container of the pepper poppers, “Happy birthday, Shane. Although you surprised me more than I did you- I hope your birthday today made you smile.” His eyes were wide and mouth agape when he realized what was in the container. She snapped him out of his own excitement when she pressed her lips against his cheek, kissing him before she sat down on the blanket. Shane was certainly stunned at this; his whole face was red and he looked off into the distance.

“Thank you for that,” He choked out before trying to collect himself and sitting down.

The rest of the evening was fantastic! They spent time together eating food and being in each other’s company. Before they wanted to retire, he introduced to her to all the chickens in his coop. Giving special attention to his favorite, Charlie. It was a great day to spend together, something the farmer wouldn’t ever forget.

His excited smile and hopeful eyes made it all worth it.

[chain-unchained]

July 11

Summer was well and truly upon the valley by the time of the Luau, making the escape to the beach for the festival a welcome relief from what would be the hottest day of the year; the salty breeze coming off of the ocean helped to cool the festival area down to manageable levels, but it was still hot enough to be quite uncomfortable. Still, that didn’t stop Pelican Town’s inhabitants from flocking towards the delicious scent of food wafting up from the shores. 

Carrying a platter of stuffed tomatoes, Ashe nervously made his way there himself; even though he thought he was an okay cook he’d never had other people try something he’d made before. The fact that this was the first time he’d attended a Luau only compounded his anxiety, even though he kept telling himself it was going to be fine and he would have a good time. If things got to be too much, he could always just hang out with Shane, since Shane tended to stay away from everyone anyway.

The beach was lively, decorated with a sort of tiki theme to give it a tropical vibe. The star of the whole affair, the massive potluck, was being lovingly tended to by Marnie in the middle of the beach, with Mayor Lewis and an unfamiliar, portly man standing nearby, watching and chatting with one another. Off to the left, a makeshift dance floor had been set up south of Elliot’s hut, with a pair of massive speakers pumping out some beachy dance numbers; there were several people enjoying the setup, including Jas and Vincent who were doing a very cute little dance together—but they were almost completely overshadowed by Emily, who was performing such an elaborate jig that it was hard to tell if she was just having fun, completely drunk off her rocker, or was in the middle of a strange seizure.

Off to the right, meanwhile, was the buffet, setup in a series of long tables covered in pristine white tableclothes and laden with delicious looking food. Just from a quick glance, it was clear to see what was home-cooked food from the likes of Marnie, Jodi and Caroline, and what was prepared by arguably the best cook in town, Gus. That wasn’t to say that the food made by everyone else wasn’t good, but Gus’ cooking was in a league of its own—in fact, he’d once told Ashe that he’d had a few cooking competition wins under his belt. Just as Ashe had anticipated, Shane was getting all up in the foodie offerings, following the trend of the rest of the townsfolk in wearing warm-weather clothing and trading in his hoodie for a loose fitting shirt to go with his stretchy shorts.

Almost as if he could tell that Ashe had been looking at him, Shane tore his eyes off of the deviled eggs he had been eying, waving a little to indicate he’d seen him. Relaxing a little at the sight of his best friend, Ashe began towards the buffet—

“Ah, Ashe! Ashe!” Lewis called, noticing Ashe before the farmboy had a chance to take more than three steps; hearing his name, Ashe immediately froze in place, visibly tensing up. ‘Drat.’ He thought with an internal sigh as he turned on his heel and started towards the mayor who was gesturing him over. “This is the newcomer I was telling you about, Mr. Abbott. Ashe, this is Mr. Abbott, Stardew Valley’s governer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Abbott.” Ashe greeted with a friendly smile, as every cell in his body yelled at him to get his happy butt over to the buffet where there weren’t so many people around. He knew that would be extremely rude to do, though, and kept his feet firmly planted where they were.

“The pleasure is all mine.” At least the governer seemed like a friendly enough man, sweeping off his purple bowler hat to bow courteously to Ashe. “It certainly is good to have a face to put to the name, though I can’t say that you look at all how I expected.”

“What’s even more unexpected is just how much he resembles his grandfather when he was that age.” Lewis commented with a laugh. “Sometimes I forget what year it is and think that I’m speaking with Yogi again. But the boy’s got his old man’s green thumb. You really should swing by the farm before you leave today and see for yourself the kind of products that Ashe is putting out—”

The sound of a throat being cleared cut off Lewis’ enthusiastic gushing. “Pardon me for interrupting,” Percy spoke with a smug smile as he strode over, bearing a platter of fancy-looking drinks, “but I would be doing Pelican Town a huge disservice if I let the governer believe that Muhinyi’s farm is the best that we can offer. I think you would be quite pleased if you stopped by my ranch and got a first-hand experience there, Mr. Abbott.”

As he spoke, Percy offered the men the drinks on the tray, all smiles and charming charisma. “Oh? And who might this be, Lewis?” Abbott inquired, graciously accepting the offered beverage.

“Ah, yes, forgive me for not introducing our other newcomer as well.” Lewis too accepted a drink from Percy. “This is—”

“Percy Wellington III, at your service.” Percy placed his hand against his chest and bowed deeply to the governer. “Truly, it is a pleasure to make your esteemed acquaintance.”

“There was a…. minor dispute over the farmland.” Lewis explained to Abbott as Percy practically blocked Ashe from their view. “Percy and Ashe decided to settle it with a friendly little wager to see who could make the best use of the land in three years’ time.”

“I see, I see.” Abbott nodded his head. “I daresay that was a brilliant solution to the problem. May the better man win.”

Realizing that nobody was even talking to him at that point, Ashe gave up and silently left, sneaking over to the potluck to deliver a half-dozen of the tomatoes he hadn’t used for his dish before finally getting over to the buffet table. By the time he got there, he felt completely exhausted, even though the day wasn’t even half-over yet.

“Oh, there you are.” Shane commented as Ashe practically dropped his platter onto an empty spot on the buffet. “… Yeah, that’s how I feel too bud.” He looked over to where Percy was effortlessly schmoozing with the mayor and governer. “That guy really knows how to kiss ass, huh? I bet that silver tongue of his can convince the governer to actually donate this year.”

As Shane had been talking, Ashe poured himself a cup of punch; hearing that last bit, however, he paused mid-drink. “Donate?” He asked, coughing a little as a few drops went down the wrong tube.

“Yeah. The only reason Lewis holds the Luau every year is to try and get Abbott to give the town some money.” Shane popped a deviled egg into his mouth and closed his eyes in bliss; half of the reason why he came to the Luau was just to eat Gus’ legendary eggs.

“I… Is the town really that strapped for funding?” Ashe’s brows furrowed together in concern; Lewis had mentioned once or twice that money was a bit tight, but he never made it seem like things were dire.

Shane shrugged his shoulders. “It’s impossible to know since Lewis never gives a straight answer.” He answered simply, setting his plate down to get himself a bowl of hot pepper chutney. “But that’s just the feeling everyone has, considering most of the requests made during town hall meetings never get fulfilled.”

“…. I see…” Ashe gazed down to his punch as he fell quiet. ‘… That’s it.’ He thought, an idea hitting him after several seconds of deep contemplation. ‘When I win grandpa’s farm back, I’ll donate every bit of G I have to Pelican Town.’ He certainly wouldn’t need the money; nearly everything he needed he could get for himself on the farm, after all.

“Mm-MM. Damn, this chutney’s good.” Shane’s ecstatic praise of the food brought Ashe out of his thoughts. “Here, try some.”

He offered a taste to Ashe; seeing the excited look on his friend’s face, Ashe couldn’t bring himself to turn down the offer, despite being a huge wuss when it came to spice. “Ah, thank you~” He chimed, happy that Shane was happy and wanting to share with him. He could smell the spice even before the spoon got to his mouth, but that didn’t stop him from popping it right in. “…. Mm!”

It was a mixture of ‘tasty’ and ‘ouch’ that made the ‘mm’ sound; in the brief moment before the spice kicked in, Ashe enjoyed the rich, slightly sweet flavor of the peppers—and then the heat ramped up to 11, making his entire face red. “I-It’s delicious!” He commented with a laugh, as beads of sweat ran down his face. “I’ve never t-tasted anything like this before!”

“Pfft…” Shane saw right through the tough-guy act. “It’s fine if it’s too spicy for you. You don’t gotta pretend like you liked it. That just means there’s more for me, hehe.” He had to admit, though, it was pretty cute, the way Ashe was trying to play tough. “Here, try one of Marnie’s goat cheese poppers. Dairy cuts through the burn like nothing else.”

He grabbed a few of said poppers and set them on a plate for Ashe before handing it to him, taking pity on him since he was quite clearly suffering. “Th-thanks.” Ashe sputtered, wasting no time in gobbling up three of them; Shane could see the exact moment that the dairy cut through the capsaicin, as a blissful expression came onto Ashe’s face and his entire body relaxed. “Mmm…. These are so good~”

“You’re so over the top sometimes.” Shane snorted with a grin. “You better be sure to tell Marnie you liked them.”

“I will~” Ashe helped himself to some more. “… Just not right now. I still need to recharge before I’ll be up to talking with other people again.”

“Man, I get that feeling.” Shane felt that; it was how he felt right then, after all, and how he felt pretty much every day. But talking with Ashe didn’t drain his batteries like it used to; in fact, it was actually kind of nice to be able to bullshit and make jokes with someone during these festivals. “So what is this that you brought?” He asked, finally moving to look at Ashe’s dish.

Having just popped another popper into his mouth, Ashe hastily swallowed it so he could answer. “O-Oh, uh—it’s just some stuffed tomatoes.” He laughed nervously, as Shane stabbed one with his fork and set it onto his plate. “You don’t have to try them. I-I doubt they’re actually any good.”

“Ashe,” Shane looked to his friend with a deadly serious expression, “you should know by now that if it’s on the buffet table, I’m going to eat it. Besides, there’s only one way to find out what it tastes like.” He used his fork to cut into it, making sure to get equal amounts of the roasted tomato and the stuffing inside it before he popped it into his mouth.

“… No good?” Ashe asked meekly as Shane chewed with a contemplative look on his face.

In response, Shane held up a finger as a ‘wait a second’ gesture. “…. What makes you think this isn’t good?” He asked, once he’d swallowed his mouthful. “This isn’t half bad, Ashe. You grew the tomatoes, right?”

“Ah…” Ashe looked completely surprised that Shane liked it. “Y-Yeah, I… actually picked them this morning... It really tastes good?”

“I think so.” Shane took another bite. “You could seriously give Gus a run for his money with this. What’s in the stuffing?”

Bolstered a little by Shane’s praise, Ashe straightened up as his face brightened. “Bread crumbs, some herbs, a tiny little bit of hot peppers, some garlic and some parmesan. It’s one of my mom’s recipes, but I never made it before so I didn’t know how it would turn out.”

“You should tell her that it’s damn good. Marnie would probably kill to get the recipe from her.” Shane went to get another one, unaware of the knife he’d unwittingly stabbed into Ashe’s heart with his comment.

“… I’ll definitely let her know.” Ashe continued to smile despite it, not wanting to ruin the good time. “I’m sure she’d be happy to hear how much you liked it~”

Thankfully, Shane didn’t seem to notice that anything was off with him; before long, Ashe was able to get over it, forgetting about everything as the two of them chatted over good food and mutually kept each other in check about their weaknesses—there was an ample amount of booze available that was continually tempting Shane, and Gus’ signature cornets were present as well, practically calling out to Ashe in their sweet little chocolate-filled voices.

As the Luau began to wind down, Lewis gathered everyone for the main event: the potluck. As with every year, Abbott was given the ‘honor’ of having the first taste, taking his time to let it mull over his tongue before declaring that it was a pleasant soup indeed. Nothing groundbreaking, but he seemed to like it well enough. Whether it would be enough to secure a donation to Pelican Town’s coffers remained to be seen.

When the leftovers had been distributed to everyone, and the party setup was being torn down, Ashe spotted Percy leading the governer off, presumably to give him the ‘grand tour’ of the farms. “….” For some reason, it really ruffled his feathers that Percy was basically using politics to try and get even more of an edge over him, rather than letting his farm work speak for itself.

“Ashe.” Lewis spoke, getting the farmboy’s attention. “If you need to leave, you can. You don’t need to stick around to help with the teardown.” He too had seen what Percy was up to, and was just as perturbed that the man had basically stolen the spotlight from him.

The offer was nice, but… “Uh-uh.” Ashe stubbornly shook his head. “Everyone else is helping to clean up, so I should too. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

No matter how desperately he wanted to win the bet, Ashe refused to let the win come at the expense of others. He would win through his own blood, sweat and tears, even if such a resolve made the task all the more harder. And now, even more than that, he wanted his work on the farm to benefit everyone in town, not just himself.

“….” Lewis smiled a little at Ashe’s insistence on staying. “You’re a good kid, Ashe.” He commented, patting Ashe’s shoulder lightly. “Thank you.”

He sincerely, fervently hoped that Ashe would win. Driving Joja out of town once and for all was his dream, and had been ever since they’d set up that godforsaken supermarket. It weighed heavily on his mind that such a heavy burden rested on such young shoulders, but with every passing day, he found himself believing just that little bit more that Ashe could pull it off.  

[madaraism]

Tourists – Liam x MC (NSFW)

A/N: Happiest of birthdays to my fellow Aussie, @topsyturvy-dream. Knowing you has been such an amazing journey, one of which I can be the complete salty, questionable bogan that I secretly am. I love talking about the joys that is Liam and Riley with you, and all the possible places that they would have chill dates with in Sydney. Please go check out her blog, she is an amazing person to talk to, not to mention her artworks for the Choices fandom is fantastic (she also gives the most extensive fanfic reviews ever, which ultimately gives me LIFE). Love you Nikki! You still owe me a woolies mudcake, even though it’s your birthday.

Also additionally, look at me, trying to break away from the angst-writer stereotype.

Summary: The royal couple has a little rendezvous in the land down under.

Rating: Mature – NSFW and language.

Inspiration: Adore by Ariana Grande

Perma tag: @topsyturvy-dream @hellospunkiebrewster @umccall71 @blackcatkita

Tagging people who might be interested: @never-ending-choices @laniquelove @hhiggs @cocomaxley @bobasheebaby @boneandfur @alicars @captainkingliam @kawairinrin @hopefulmoonobject

Such a peaceful place, Australia.

Full of different cultures and languages, festivities and curious eats, the bustle of other tourists, the relaxed and joyous atmosphere of other Sydneysiders.

The lead up to their trip down under was purely for relaxation; she had talked about it for years about visiting, desperate to explore places other than America and Europe, a point that she had shared with Liam when she brought him to that secret cove back in New York the night they met.

It had been a running gag for the past years.

She had lived with her extended family back in The States, sure, but deep down she missed the time she had spent growing up in the land down under.

It had started off with her vocabulary, the certain way that she would say things, and especially the accent that would slip out when she got angry or frustrated.

The whole crew would then laugh about it and joke about her accent with terrible imitations. They had spent so many years talking about it, letting her reminisce about her time spent there. She found it funny, seeing all their reactions and laughing at how misconstrued their idea of Australia was; Hana being squeamish with the sizes of certain insects, Maxwell foolishly, yet not surprisingly, believing in the existence of drop bears, Olivia boasting about the Cordonian Ruby being better than the Australian Pink Lady. At least Drake seemed to be interested in the extremely relaxed and much-loved drinking environment.

She remembers it all very clearly, correcting fiction with facts, teaching them certain slang, correcting inaccurate tourism ads with a rather frustrated, “We don’t even say shrimp on the barbie! What even is a shrimp? It’s a damn prawn!”

And Liam, being Liam, loved the idea of exploring a new country, especially one that meant so much to her.

So he spends months to plan the perfect trip for her birthday, finding the excitement bubbling within him when he realises that it falls within a certain period where the city of Sydney is dressed in different colours, bright lights and impressive art instalments for the three-week-long art festival called Vivid.

Liam makes a trip out of it, hoping to maximise their stay there to take in all the sights by opting to stay at the lavish Park Hyatt with uninterrupted views of the Opera House instead of the delegated Cordonian houses.

She discovers his surprise when she steps onto the plane; expecting another tedious journey to some state dinner in some European country, only to be greeted with the pop of multiple party poppers from the crew and the king himself; gold and green streamers covering her hair and the carpet underneath her feet.

“Surprise, my love. Have you guessed where we’re going yet?”, His eyes sparkle and he flashes his signature loving yet cheeky grin.

The gold and the green… the national colours…

“Noooooo…”, She gasps as it sinks in, taking around the comfortable attire of everyone.

Liam can only continue grinning as she wraps her arms around him, “We’re going down under.”

-

The flight was excruciatingly long. Not because of the travel, no, but the joke of it all being brought to reality was about to send her into madness.

It was a series of the usual discussion topics, only much more intense.

“For the love of god, Maxwell, if you play Down Under by Men At Work one more time,”

“No, Olivia, I don’t know why they don’t accentuate the ‘r’s in every word, maybe you can ask them when we get there.”

“Fairy bread is an Aussie staple, Hana. All you need is bread, butter and rainbow sprinkles. No, it’s not a dessert. It’s breakfast. It’s party food. Pavlova is a dessert.”

“No, Drake, Tasmania is not actually connected to Australia. I’m sure we can get you a bottle of Sullivan’s Cove in Sydney. …No, I didn’t know they won the World’s Whiskies Awards in 2014, I actually like having a functioning liver.”

Liam can only laugh, his fingers working along her back to untangle the stress induced knots in her muscles.

-

Perhaps it was the excitement of being in a different country; the truth in her words when they realised just how genuinely laidback the people were.

With Vivid on, the buzz and excitement was immeasurable. The different art instalments throughout various suburbs and in the central business district, the way different moving artworks illuminated the white sails of the Opera House, seeing people interacting with the moving sculptures and instalments… She missed it all, but sharing it with Liam and the others meant so much more to her.

She cringes but laughs at the way Maxwell tries to blend in into the Australian crowd with supposedly ‘Aussie streetwear’ – namely a singlet with his hippo tattoo proudly showing, board shorts and flipflops – or thongs, as he now calls it to fit in.

She laughs at the way Hana would drag the reluctant Drake and Olivia over to explore various art statues that would make musical notes when you hit them a certain way.

But most importantly, she loved how Liam’s eyes would sparkle, admiring how such beautiful displays were admired by everyone, tourists or not, and that they were all so interactive and interesting, taking in the ideas and hoping to start something similar in Cordonia in celebration of the arts when they return home.

At times, however, she would notice how distracted, almost frustrated he was.

Perhaps it was the crowds of people, she wonders, the way they all pushed in curious groups, making Liam’s arm cling around her waist, making sure they wouldn’t get lost.

Or maybe it was their incessant chattering, she wonders, the complaints from Olivia and the dry retorts from Drake and the endless questions from Maxwell and Hana, how the group was so insistent on travelling everywhere together as a pack with her as their tour guide.

But she didn’t care, she realised, because all those moments accumulated to Liam finding the opportunity to pull her away from her role of their delegated tour guide, when the rest of them finally got distracted with the colourful festivities amidst the other crowds.

From an aerial perspective, the Opera House stands tall and proud by itself at the end of the Circular Quay walk. People only pay attention to the front of the landmark, taking in the long flight of stairs that led up to the entrance and the white sails. The Vivid Light walk takes people around the front of the Opera House and to the right, leading them into the Royal Botanical gardens that overlooks the Harbour Bridge and the city skyline.

No one ever ventured around to the back of the Opera House. There was no need to.

And even if they did, there were just so many nooks around the landmark, the shadows and cold winter breeze by the sea acting as their curtain.

The wall pressed against her back is cold and hard, but his arms around her and the peppered kisses along her jaw makes her feel incredibly heated.

She knows that look too well; dark eyes hazed over with lust, lips swollen from shared kisses.

His voice was deeper than usual, raspy and desperate, groans leaving his lips at the feeling of her body against his, “I couldn’t wait until we got back to the hotel…”

She grins at his words, gasping when his fingers pull at the collar of her sweater, his kisses moving to behind her ear before trailing down across her collarbone and her décolletage.

His hands that followed the curves of her body, tugging and pulling at her clothes had made their way underneath and between her legs, fingers coy and toying.

“Why? I thought you… ah… enjoyed… mm… their company…”, Her words are slurred, her own hands pulling at his hair as his fingers work in tantalizing circles at her heat.

“I do…”, He mutters as his fingers continue to please her, delving further into her wetness before curling upwards familiarly, teasing. “But they wouldn’t stop asking you questions about this or that… They haven’t left you alone with me for more than five seconds…”

His finger is still curled within her, his thumb mirroring the pulses of pressure against her clit with emphasis at each word, “…I want you. All. To. Myself.”

Her hips buckle into his fingers, head tilted back into the wall with her eyes closed, bottom lip between her teeth. “Ah, fuck, Liam…”

Liam presses his forehead against hers, eyes half lidded, so dark and so full of want as his other hand moves to hoist her leg up, wrapping it around his waist. He groans out her name as he grinds into her core. “Don’t stop looking at me, my queen, I want to see you come undone…”

And his fingers quicken their pace; in, curl, rub, out, in, out, repeat. His thumb, putting more pressure but not too much that it becomes painful on her clit, switches from slow circles to faster ones.

Her brows are furrowed, mouth open in quiet ecstasy, legs trembling and hips rolling, but her eyes never leave his. His lips meet hers for a quick second before his teeth cling onto her bottom lip, tugging, his other hand moving from her hoisted leg to her thigh, up and up to squeeze her ass.

When she comes, she is writhing. Her ears are hot and her eyes are stinging as she refuses to blink, to tear her gaze away from his. She is quiet, his name rolling off her tongue in a frenzied, heated whisper.

Liam smiles at her, stepping back slightly after kissing her forehead which was now sticky from sweat. His actions are quick, unbuckling his pants and letting them pool at his feet. His hand, still wet from her high, strokes along his own hard length.

At times, their lives can be so happy and simple, full of laughter and pleasant, innocent kisses. The sense of normalcy is so heavily craved when their life is filled with duties of ruling a country and managing a duchy.

Her bottom lip is caught on her teeth, her mouth dry as she looks at the sight before her; Liam, standing tall with his broad shoulders and straight posture. The shadows were supposed to be their curtain, yet it complimented the dark, lusting look on his face so well.

In a sea of commoners, he is a king.

A master of body language.

So in the rare circumstance that the duties of country and court are not overtaking their lives, his art of kingship is more prevalent.

“Strip.”

She shudders, her fingers quickly and diligently working at pulling her pants off before moving back up, making quick work of pulling her sweater off and unbuttoning the shirt underneath.

Such a simple word, but spoken with such power.

He is the king, and he doesn’t let her forget that.

“Good girl…”, He steps back in, kissing her as he caresses her cheek with his free hand. Her other hand meets his along the length of his hardness, pumping him hard and slow; down and up with a slight twist right at his head and back down.

Liam groans into her touch, his hips moving slightly along with the work of her hands. “My Queen…”, His voice is emphasized in a hiss as her thumb grazes along his tip.

His hands are now on her hips, hoisting her up and pressing her up against the wall. It forces her arms to hold onto his shoulders instead of giving her the pleasure of pleasuring him back.

She finds herself void of complaints however as she feels his head slide tantalizingly slow against her folds. She clings onto him, letting her lips kiss his as she tries to push him into her, praying gravity would be on her side against the strength of his arms wrapped around her frame.

She growls when he doesn’t give in, “Liam, for the love of Cordonia, fuck me.”

He tuts at her, letting his weight and an arm hold her in place above the ground while his other hand continues teasing her. He doesn’t stop, pushing just the head of his length in before taking it out again.

She is whimpering, she is wanton. Her hips try to buck in her favour when he teases but it is no parallel to the strength in his arms.

“Is this how you speak to your king? Even after neglecting him?”, His eyes are so unbelievably dark when he is teasing; he lets himself slide in just a little bit more this time, before sliding back out. Liam looks at her expectantly.

She lets out a small cry, “I’m ah… sorry, my king, for getting distracted ah!... by… the others… fuck.”

“Good… Now let me show you just how much I’ve missed you, my Queen.” His forehead is on hers as he finally slides himself fully into her, the mewls that leave her lips music in his ears. He closes his eyes for a brief second, relishing at the feeling of her warmth around his length. “Fuck, my love, you are so wet.” His eyes open again, making sure that she keeps her eyes on him as he begins to move.

His thrusts are slow, hard and deep. His eyes are intense and his voice deep, muttering, “Fuck, my Queen, did you miss me? Did you miss me being inside of you? Filling you up?”

Liam’s free hand caresses and squeezes at her breasts, groaning at the mewls that she tries so hard to silence.

He is powerful, and each thrust force her up against the wall slightly, body falling and moving in time to his movements; his grips are now on her waist, holding her tightly so she doesn’t fall.

“Keep moaning my name, my love.”

“Liam… Liam… fuck, my King…”

“That’s it… You’re so wet for me, my Queen… Did I make you this wet?”

She is gasping and clawing at his back, clinging on to his body, taking in every powerful thrust. She wants to roll her head back in pleasure but she doesn’t dare, admiring the look of concentration in his eyes, the focus he has on his face. Both their foreheads touching, hair clinging onto their faces, wet and sweaty.

He moves just slightly, mouth latching onto her neck, sucking and biting as his other hand grasps onto her ass allowing him to angle his thrusts deeper. She lets a loud gasp slip and he smirks against her neck, moving back up to look at her.

“Fuck! Liam…!”

“I love pleasing you, my Queen… I fucking love hearing you call my name…”

Liam picks up his pace, head delving back down to leave kisses on her décolletage, her breasts and she is so thankful of the wall behind her, supporting their weight as he fucks her. The tightness in her stomach grows with his increased speed, the hotness appearing again in her head with each thrust, pushing her closer and closer to the edge; her ears must be red as she calls for him to look at her.

His name is a mantra on her lips, a hand of hers now on her clit, rubbing desperately as his speed increases, pushing her to her high.

Her rhythm matched his rough thrusts, the look of her pleasuring herself almost setting him off. She is writhing in his arms when he growls out her name, the thrust that accompanied it pushing her over the edge; her back arches into him and he takes the liberty to leave marks on her chest, his other hand digging into her ass.

Liam does not stop, thrusts still hitting her as he lets her ride out her high. Her chest is heaving and her eyes are heavy when she comes back down, her hand moving away from her core to rest on his shoulder again.

He lets her legs touch the floor but keeping a strong hold on her as she struggles slightly to maintain her balance. His voice is still raspy as he mutters, quickly turning her around so she is facing away from him, the both of them away from the wall so they wouldn’t get hurt.

“I’m not quite done with you yet, my Queen.”

His hand grasps her hair into his fist and his other pushes her back so her posture is bent; his knees spread her legs apart and he angles himself against her before thrusting back in.

“Shit, Liam…!”

He is almost merciless as he picks up the speed and the intensity of his thrusts again. His grasp on her hair is dulled by his other hand on her shoulder, holding her in place as he takes her from behind.

Liam peppers kisses along her upper back and shoulders, whispering ‘I love you’s into her ear as his other hand now moves to the front of her body, nipples between his fingers, flesh in his hands as he squeezes and caresses.

If he wasn’t supporting the weight of it all, she was convinced she would be collapsed on the floor at that very moment. She leans up into him, feeling the knot in her stomach make its return for the third time that night.

“Liam… Liam… fuck, baby, keep going… fuck, Liam…”

His hand now takes place on her clit, rubbing in harsh circles, edging her on. He is so incredibly hard and rough, biting down on his own bottom lip as his fingers brushes against his own length, feeling himself thrusting into her, the wetness of her folds, listening to her pants of his name disappearing into the cold, winter night.

He knows she is close and he lets go of her hair, making her tilt her face towards him as he kisses her. Both of their eyes boldly open yet so clouded with love and lust.

“I’m so close baby, please don’t stop…”

He curses in his mind, wishing there was a mirror in front of them so he could show her just how he makes her come undone once more.

“Come for me, my Queen…”

He urges her on and he can feel her walls tighten; his thrusts are desperate but not lacking, hitting the very spot in her over and over as his fingers work magic on her clit.

When she comes again, her walls are clenched around his length and he comes with her, spilling into her as he rides out his high.

His thrusts are slow and sluggish before it comes to a stop, their bodies still as one as they just stand there, catching their breath. Their hair is a sweaty mess and he presses lazy kisses on her shoulder and along her neck, not caring the slightest as he smiles into her skin.

She loves these after moments. Her laughter starts off as nothing but a soft giggle but he soon joins her, both of them in the post-sex high.

“I love you, my queen.”

“I love you too, my king.”

Liam can’t help but grin.

He pulls out of her and thus begins their clean up routine; pocket tissues serving their duty to tidy, Liam picking up her clothing and helping her dress first so she stays warm before dressing himself.

He presses his lips against her forehead once more once they are done and he takes her hand, the both of them stepping out of the shadows to stroll back towards the front of the Opera House.

When they check their phones, they realise they’ve received at least twenty missed calls and unread messages from a worried Maxwell who seemed convinced they’ve been killed by drop bears, more worried texts and missed calls from Hana, a few from Olivia and the latest one being from Drake – “If you two don’t get your fucking asses back here to shut Maxwell up, I swear to fucking Zeus I will set the apple orchards on fire again. Cordonia can flounder for all I care, I’m moving to Australia.”

Liam lets out an almost nervous laughter as he quickly texts him back, letting him know that they got lost and will be waiting for them at the top of the steps of the Opera House.

They sit at the top of the steps, Liam directly behind her with his arms around her frame. It was a glorious view before them; the bustle of people still very much evident, lights and music coming from the Royal Botanical Gardens on the left, excited screams of children down near the front of Circular Quay, the changing colours of the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the right with the colours controlled at some distant panel somewhere by the crowds as part of the festival and the warm glow of lights from the Opera House behind them.

“I’m so glad we came here, my love.” Liam speaks almost absentmindedly as his fingers try to brush through her hair.

“Yea? I’m glad too, Liam. I’m happy I was able to share a part of my home with you…”, Her smile is soft as she leans into his chest, looking up at him.

“It was the least I can do… It’s not fair for you that you threw everything away to move to Cordonia and me being unable to return the favour.” Liam leans down to kiss her upside-down nose.

She grins, “It was very considerate of you to book us rooms at Park Hyatt… Having sex with you with Opera House in the background and actually doing it at the Opera House is quite different.”

Liam chuckles and raises an eyebrow at her, “Are you implying we come back here for round two later?”

“Nah, there’s other famous Sydney landmarks that I want us to visit.”, She winks at him.

“…And I’m the kinky one?”

Her smile is so blindingly bright and beautiful. She reaches up to caress his cheek, admiring the feel of his peppered stubble under her fingertips. “Thank you for this amazing surprise, Liam. I love it, and I love you.”

He stares down at her with such love in his eyes, she feels like she is going to melt.

“You are most welcome.”, Liam leans down once more to press his lips onto hers. “Happy birthday, my love. Here’s to many more.”

[pictostory]

Jacki Li, Penguins In The Big City

"Popper's Performing Penguins are sweeping the nation!" rang out from the tinny commercial. This was accompanied by footage of their dancing—black and white, as with everything else broadcasted, but at least not much was lost here. "Snap up those tickets as soon as you see it hit your local theater! They won't last long!" It faded away with a long shot on the apparent lead, Captain Cook.

"That coulda been me," said Tux, wiping mayonnaise off his beak.

"Yes, dear," Pepper said from the kitchen.

"He just got lucky. Some jerk ships him to the right money-grubbing human and he gets a show? Coulda been me." He took another swig of beer.

"Yes, dear."

"Captain always was a jerk. Ppth. 'Cook'," he added with derision. "Who came up with that?"

"Yes, dear."

"Are you even listening?"

"Yes, dear. Would you go wash up? My mother will be here any minute."

"Oh, god, not Lulu!" He wiped the crumbs off his belly. "You gotta warn me about these things, Pepper!"

"I did, honey. I told you last night."

Tux stood up and waddled over a few steps, unintentionally allowing the Popper's Performing Penguins poster across the street to enter his view.

"Goddamn that Cap... wasn't even that good a dancer. All he and the other jerks do up there is slap their feet, I could do that." He demonstrated, nearly tripping over discarded blankets and beer cans. "Timmy... Timmy woulda been good. He woulda had me come with him."

"Mm-hm."

"Ima call him again. Good egg, that Timmy."

The door swung open. "Hellloooooo! How's mah favorite daughta?" Lulu waddled over to Pepper and wrapped her fins around her, who smiled and hugged back. Thick lipstick was smeared all over her beak, and her perfume filled up the place to the point of claustrophobia.

Tux was ignored completely, as usual. "Yeah, well... I was just about to call Timmy, so..."

"Pah!" Lulu said, turning to him. "Ya know he only treats ya good 'cause he's scared'a you, right?"

"Oh, this again! Right away, huh!? As soon as you walk in!"

"'Cause ya're still you! Nevah good enough for Peppah, and yah nevah will be!"

"Mother..." Pepper said, trying to gently pull her back.

"Hey, I'm perfect! Amazin'! I'm star material! At least she sees that!" Tux said. "Y'know what? I don't have to stand here and take this! Timmy's always there for me!" He waddled off in a huff, his feet slapping against the cork flooring, and slammed the bedroom door behind him.

The phone was next to the window—which also had the Popper's poster in view. Tux pulled the curtains closed in disgust, leaving the phone and waddling to the bed instead. Only in his sleep could he return to the good ol' days.

"Cap... who needs him." He closed his eyes, quickly dreaming about lazing on the sand and pushing penguins off of docks. His beak curled into a smile.