#mobile house skirting

[penisbilt]

the bittersweet but absolute flood of relief that comes from admitting defeat at living independently, to have to move back in with parents. we tried! we gave it our best shot for almost 3 years! but living like this (being on our own) is just not possible for us at this time of our lives. we've finally proved it to ourselves that we can't do it. it'll be okay to let ourselves rest now

[littleladybaker]

Part of my Wild Family AU. The whole family has fun on a trampoline.

Story time!

I had an autism moment while wearing my favorite outfit and went out on our old trampoline. I then decided I wanted to draw Raine in this outfit having fun on a trampoline. But why should they be alone? So I decided they should be with Eda. But why not add Luz?

Poof!

The entire Wild Family is there now and all wearing skirts! Left to right: Raine, Luz, King, Eda, Amber, Evan (Hunter), Lilith, and Darius.

[apute11as]

Hurt - Alexia and Jenni x child!reader

Summary: A trip to the park before a match leads to disaster and an emotional revelation.

Warnings:⚠️swearing, injury, hospitals, shouting

Based on this request🤍

Words: 2765

P.s. Any feedback or requests is always welcome in the comments or ask box! Both are very helpful in terms of writing more fics :)

~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful sunny day in Barcelona, you were at your favourite park with Tia Alba, Mama and Mateo’s other Mommy. You’d met up with them before the match where you’d watch Irene and Mami.

You knew Mama was now 6 months pregnant which meant that she couldn’t play football anymore. It also meant that she was less mobile and couldn’t move as quickly. There was an incident a couple of weeks ago with some pushy fans that wanted Mama’s autograph when the two of you were walking back from school. You shouted at the people like you knew Mami would if she was there, protecting your Mama and baby sibling. An older woman came to the rescue, ushering the invasive fans away and walking with the two of you for a bit.

Alexia hadn’t planned on mentioning the incident to Jenni but when you came out with an unprecedented “mean people shoved mama”, causing Jenni to flip out. After that, Alexia felt that she had to tell the story to diffuse her wife’s growing anger but in actual fact she made it worse. Jenni has become hesitant for Alexia to leave the house alone, knowing all too well how invasive the fans are of player’s private lives and more so, personal spaces.

However, she was fairly confident today that Alexia would be fine, being with her sister and Irene’s wife. Although, she would find that Alexia wasn’t the one she had to be worrying about today.

——

As the three women watched you and Mateo playing on the climbing frame, Alexia started to feel some discomfort. Nothing out of the ordinary, just a sign that she’d likely be needing to pee pretty soon.

“I’m going to go and see if I can find a bathroom, baby is making me uncomfortable” stated the blonde, attempting to hoist herself upwards which was hard due to the considerable bump she was now sporting.

“Are you okay Ale?” asked Lucia, alba was too preoccupied staring at a woman she found attractive.

“Yeah yeah fine thank you, just baby making me need to pee 24/7” chuckled Alexia.

“There’s an ice cream shop around the corner, I’ll come with you if that’s okay and we can get the kids an ice cream?” Questioned Lucia

“Yeah sure,sounds good! Albs can you watch the kids whilst we’re gone?” Alexia asked her younger sister.

“What? Oh yeah watch the kids of course” she replied, as if she’d been paying any sort of attention.

With that, the pair left in search of the ice cream shop, leaving a distracted Alba to watch over you and Mateo.

“Hola guapa” said the older brunette that Alba had been making eyes at

“Hola” replied Alba with a smile and the two began a conversation, distracting Alba further so that she failed to notice you planning to jump off the top of the tower to show off to Mateo.

——

“Look Mateo I’m the queen of the castle and you’re the dirty rascal!”

“Are you coming down now” groaned the boy

“Yes I’m gonna jump from the top!” You beamed

“That’s really high y/n what if you fall?”

“I won’t I’m a big girl!” You insisted

Then with little more warning, you lept off the high ledge of the climbing frame, falling to the floor and crumpling into a heap with a snap.

“AGHHHH” you screamed in pain.

Alba was oblivious to it all, putting the screaming down to being just children playing.

A couple of other mothers rushed in yours and Mateo’s direction on instinct after hearing the scream, being able to tell the difference between playful and pained. You lay on the floor, clutching your arm as the mother’s reached you.

“Are you ok sweetheart?” One asked

“Where’s your mommy?” Another said

“Mama gone!” You cried out

“Are you okay y/n?” Asked Mateo “shall I go get your Tia Alba?”

“want Mamaaaa!” You wailed

Mateo had ran off to tug at Alba’s skirt now and pointed in your direction to which Alba apologised to the woman and followed the little boy.

“Oh bebé are you okay?” asked alba cradling your face

“Are you her mother?” Spat a woman who looked to be in her late 30s.

“No I’m her Tia” Alba spat back “what happened?”

“She jumped and fell off the climbing frame which you would’ve noticed if you were paying any sort of attention!” shouted the woman.

“EXCUSE ME?” yelled Alba

“Tia Alba I want Mamaaaa” you cried

“Okay bebé, she’ll be on her way soon!” She assured you, turning her back to the mother she’d just argued with.

——

Alexia and Lucia had just returned from the shop, holding two ice creams. However, alexia quickly thrust the one she was holding into Lucia’s hand upon seeing Alba hunched over your small body. She ran as fast as she could to reach you.

“WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED ALBA?” She demanded, dropping to her knees at a pace that would’ve had Jenni scolding her for her carelessness.

“She jumped and fell” said Mateo from beside you.

“Oh Bebita come here” she said cradling you into her chest.

“Alba was talking to the pretty lady over there” said Mateo, telling on the brunette.

“Oh for fucks sake Alba really?” Alexia scolded furiously. “What hurts mi amor?” Alexia turned to you.

“My arm Mama” you whimpered, cried muffled by Alexia’s body.

——

After another trip to the ice cream shop bathroom to clean you up and a lot of arguing between Alexia and Alba, the group finally made it to the game, albeit a little later than intended.

You found your seats without much fuss, in the family and friends section of course. Mama sits beside you, you stand on your seat anytime anything interesting happens. Mama tries to join your standing up when the goals go in, but is reminded of her condition when the baby harshly kicks her in the ribs.

“Ouch!” She yelped

“Okay Mama?” You asked, brow furrowed in concern.

“I’m okay mi alma, bebé is just celebrating in there too” she assured you, rubbing her bump.

——

The game ended a comfortable 3-0 win over Sevilla, with your Mami scoring two of those goals. Your arm was hurting still but you didn’t want to tell Mama because she might start shouting at Tia Alba again. Mami and the team had just started to come out of the changing rooms to thank the fans and sign some stuff, when Mapi spotted you. She bounded over to where you were sat, dragging ingrid along with her.

“Hola mi chica how are you?” She shouted over the railings as Ingrid greeted Alexia, enquiring about the baby.

“You won Mapi!!” You cheered

“Si we did, your Mami scored two goals!” she reminded you

“Hold on bebita I’ll lift you over the railings and you can go see Mapi and Ingrid okay?” Questioned Alexia.

“No Ale you shouldn’t with the baby” insisted Mapi. Alba was at the bathroom and Lucia and Mateo had already excused themselves to go and greet Irene.

“I’m pregnant not frail, I can lift my daughter over a barrier” huffed Alexia, hoisting you to meet Ingrid’a waiting arms.

“OUCH” you yelped

“What hurts Elskling?” Ingrid questioned, concern flooding her face

“My arm” you sobbed

“She fell off the playground today and hurt her arm, because Tia Alba was too busy flirting with a married woman to pay attention” ranted Alexia, causing Mapi to burst out laughing at Alba’s discrepancies, earning her a slap of warning from Ingrid.

“Oh dear bebé is your arm alright?” Asked Ingrid

“It’s ok I guess let’s go I want to see Mami!” You urged

“Are you coming too Alexia?” Asked Mapi with a furrowed brow

“Si it might take me a minute to get down though” she laughed

“You go ahead with y/n Maps, I’ll help Alexia down and we’ll follow you” assured the Norwegian.

Mapi took you off Ingrid, carefully and started a fast walk over to the team. Upon reaching them, you were greeted with smiley faces of all the girls. You spotted Mama signing a fan’s jersey and waited patiently for her to be done.

Shortly after, she noticed you stood behind her, wearing a Barça jersey with her name on it.

“Oh mi amor there you are!” She exclaimed, tuning to face you.

“Mami! I loved your goals!” You beamed

“Did you, well there was one for you and one for Mama!!” She smiles back, reaching to pick you up. As she did, you felt a shooting ache spread through your arm.

“OW MAMI STOP!” You yelled, gaining the attention of some if the girls nearby.

“What bebita what hurts?” She asked, alarmed at your sudden pain.

“My arm, it feels floppy!” You burst into tears.

“Oh bebé come here!” she urged, carefully picking you up on the other side, avoiding the arm you cradled.

Just as you’d gotten into her arms, Alexia and Ingrid caught up with you. Upon noticing your tearful expression, she picked up her pace to meet you and Jenni.

“She’s hurt her arm Ale, I don’t know what happened I just picked her up and she started crying!” Jenni stammered

“It wasn’t you, she fell at the park earlier and landed on her arm, she’s complained about it a few times now, maybe we should go get it checked out” alexia offered

“Oh no bebita” she fawned over you “Yeah we should probably go to the hospital I mean it can’t hurt surely?” Jenni agreed.

——

The three of you made a swift exit out of the building, Jenni grabbed her bags whilst you and Alexia wandered to Jenni’s car. Jenni and Alexia told the girls what had happened and where they were going, which everyone seemed to understand.

You helped Mama into the car by rushing ahead to open her door, like you’d watched Mami do countless times. Mama thanked you by kissing your head with a smile and calling you a gentlewoman. Mami returned with her bags shortly after and the three of you made your way to the hospital.

Alexia was stressing throughout the whole car journey and was making some rather vulgar comments about Alba for leaving you alone and allowing this to happen. Jenni placed a steadying hand on her thigh, reminding her that you were fine and safe in the car with them (and that your little ears were likely picking up the string of words flowing from her mouth).

When you got to the hospital, you were trembling. The building was big and everyone was walking around in white outfits. You could feel that your Mama was stressed too with the way she was gripping your hand tightly and muttering through her teeth at your Mami for taking too long parking the car.

Upon entering, you were directed to the accident and emergency unit and were told to wait in the child’s waiting room. You got some funny stares from people, likely because you and Mama were dressed in matching “Jenni hermoso” Barcelona jerseys and Mami was wearing her Barça tracksuit.

“Erm hi could me and my brother maybe have a picture with you two?” Asked a timid girl that looked to be around 7 or 8.

“Of course!” Smiled Jenni taking the phone and positioning it to snap a selfie of the four of them, whilst you played with the blocks on the floor.

“Thank you so much!!” Grinned the girl.

“No problem” replied Jenni

“y/n putellas-hermoso” voiced a nurse from a nearby room, signalling that it was your turn to go in.

The nurse was pretty, she had long ginger hair and hazel coloured eyes that reminded you of Mama. She smiled at you, constantly asking if what she was doing was okay as she poked and prodded your arm. You yelped in pain couple of times, which lead her to the decision that you needed an X-ray.

You walked hand in hand with Mama and Mami to the next waiting room outside the X-ray. Mama clutched her belly in discomfort which caused Mami to worry more than she already was. You decided that you really didn’t like hospitals.

“¿Estás bien amor?” questioned Jenni

“Si just baby kicking around in there” she half smiled, half winced.

“And you bebita are you okay?” Asked Jenni looking down at you.

“I’m scared of the x-Ray machine are you coming with me?”

“Yes of course bebé!”

Around 20 minutes passed, you were playing candy crush on Alexia’s phone, Jenni was looking through a home magazine and Alexia was biting her nails anxiously.

“Stop stressing Alé it’s bad for for the baby” urged Jenni

“Wow thanks Jenni, all my stresses are gone from you saying that!” She snapped, rolling her eyes.

“Y/n Putellas-Hermoso?”

The three of you stood up to follow the new nurse, this nurse was different. She was an older lady and she had raggedy teeth and a mean glare. You didn’t like her she was scary.

Still you followed her, clutching onto Mama’s sleeve as you did. You reached the door to the X-ray area, it looked like a dungeon, your stomach felt bubbly and your hands felt warm.

“Now, it says on my records that you’re pregnant Mrs Putellas?” the scary nurse demanded.

“Erm yes?” Alexia replied, confused.

“Well radiation exposure from x-rays can be damaging to a foetus’ development so we have to ask you to stay out here” she gestured to a set of chairs. “However y/n is under 5, we need someone to oversee her x-Ray so you’ll have to accompany her” she signalled to Jenni.

“Yes okay that’s fine” assured Jenni

“Okay I’ll just get the details from the doctor and the we can begin, I’ll be just a minute” and with that she left.

“Mama why can’t you go with me too?” You huffed in annoyance.

“Because it is bad for the baby for me to go in there pequeña” explained Alexia.

“But I’m your baby too and it’s bad for me if you stay outside!” You demanded

“Hey it’ll be okay Mami is going in with you!” Alexia assured, making concerned eye contact with Jenni.

“You promised you wouldn’t love baby more than me and you already do!” you pouted, crossing your arms.

“Oh no bebita that’s not-“ she was cut off before she could finish.

“All ready?” Asked the nurse

“Si she is” spoke Jenni

——

The X-ray showed that you had in fact, broken your arm. Mama looked stressed when you came out of the X-ray. Mami filled her in on what the doctor had said about your arm. Mama fussed over you, apologising for it happening and trying to reassure you that she loved you so much. You however, chose to ignore her and took to fiddling with the makeshift cast you’d been given.

A pained expression overtook Alexia, her eyes were tearful (the hormones making her more emotional). She looked at Jenni with a pleading expression, to which Jenni sighed and spoke to you.

“Bebita, I promise you me and Mama don’t love the baby more than you, we love you both so much! Mama only couldn’t go in the X-ray room because the special machine in there could hurt her and the baby. We don’t want Mama or baby to be hurt do we?” Jenni rambled, crouching down to your level.

You thought about it for a second. You didn’t like the idea of the new baby taking your Mama and Mami away but you didn’t want it to be hurt and you certainly didn’t want your Mama to be hurt.

“I understand Mami” you said looking at your feet. “Sorry for shouting Mama and sorry for making baby hurt” you frowned.

“It’s alright bebé but you didn’t make baby hurt what do you mean?”

“Mami says ‘stress is bad for baby’ and you stress because of me.” you sulked

“I was stressed yes but I am always going to stress y/n and baby is just fine, come here baby’s kicking” she beckoned you over, placing your small, cast-free hand on her swollen stomach.

You felt a small poke from under her skin, your mouth was agape. Jenni and Alexia shared a smile at your reaction to the kicking.

“It’s a baby brother!” You declared

“What do you mean?” Asked Jenni

“I think it’s a baby brother!” You repeated

“Well we’ll see pretty soon pequeña” laughed Jenni.

——

And sure enough, when baby was born, he was indeed a baby brother.

~~~~

Thank you for reading! My other works are found here ✨

[doctorbitchcrxft]

Home | Supernatural Series Rewrite | Dean Winchester x Reader

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader (Eventual)

Warnings: canon violence, canon gore, mention of parental death, mentions of abuse

Word Count: 4388

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You sat cross-legged on the floor of the boys’ motel room, sipping a coffee you’d run out to get earlier that morning. Dean was on his computer, and you were responding to the potential cases he’d found.

“A fishing trawler found off the coast of Cali—” Dean started.

“Ooh, I like Cali,” you cut him off.

“—Its crew vanished.” He finished.

“And, uh, we got some cattle mutilations in West Texas.” 

“Meh, that’s boring. Let somebody else handle that one,” you dismissed.

Dean noticed Sam hadn’t spoken in just about the last hour. He was frantically scribbling on a notepad.

“Hey,” Dean called to his brother. “Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?”

“No. I’m listening. Keep going.”

He clearly wasn’t.

“And, here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head. Three times.”

“Ooh, I like that one,” you said. 

Dean leaned over and waved a hand in front of Sam’s face. “Any of these things blowin’ up your skirt, pal?”

Sam furrowed his eyebrows at his notepad. “Wait. I’ve seen this.”

“Seen what?” you asked.

Sam got up from his bed and began rifling through his duffel bag. 

“What are you doing?” Dean eyed his brother strangely.

The younger brother pulled out a photo from the bag and held it up next to his drawing. You couldn’t quite see what he was looking at from where you sat.

“Guys, I know where we have to go next.”

“Where?” Dean asked.

“Back home. Back to Kansas,” he responded.

The older brother was surprised. “Okay, random. Where’d that come from?”

He showed the photo to the two of you. “Alright, um, this photo was taken in front of our old house, right? The house where Mom died?”

“Yeah…?” Dean still had no idea where he was going with this.

“And it didn’t burn down, right? I mean, not completely, they rebuilt it, right?” 

Dean— as well as you— was still lost. “I guess so, yeah. What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“Okay, look, this is gonna sound crazy but… the people who live in our old house— I think they might be in danger,” Sam rushed out.

“Why would you think that?” you questioned.

“Uh… it’s just, um… look, just trust me on this, okay?” Sam turned away.

“Wait, whoa, whoa, trust you?” Dean shook his head and stood to follow him. “Come on, man, that’s weak. You gotta give us a little bit more than that.”

“I can’t really explain it is all,” Sam shrugged.

“Well, tough. I’m not goin’ anywhere until you do.” 

You turned to face Sam as he began to explain. “I have these nightmares.”

You nodded. “We’ve noticed.”

“And sometimes… they come true.”

Dean was stunned. “Come again?”

“Look, Dean… I dreamt about Jessica’s death— for days before it happened,” Sam explained.

“Sam, people have weird dreams, man. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Dean sat back down on the edge of his bed. 

“No,” the younger brother protested. “I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything, and I didn’t do anything about it ‘cause I didn’t believe it. And now I’m dreaming about that tree, about our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean, that’s where it all started, man, this has to mean something, right?”

You felt overwhelmed, and so did Dean. “I don’t know.”

Sam sat down across from his brother. “What do you mean you don’t know, Dean? This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica!”

“Sam, slow down—” you urged him, knowing Dean was about to go through the roof.

Sure enough, Dean stood and started pacing. “I mean, first you tell me that you’ve got the Shining? And then you tell me that I’ve gotta go back home? Especially when….”

“When what?” you asked.

Dean’s voice broke for the first time since you’d met him. “When I swore to myself that I would never go back there?”

Sam’s puppy dog eyes appeared as he spoke softly, “Look, Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure.”

Dean nodded. “I know we do.”

***

You looked out at the boys’ childhood home and followed them up to the front door.

“You gonna be alright, man?” Sam asked his brother who didn’t respond.

“Jury’s still out on that,” you muttered in response.

Dean knocked on the front door, and a young woman answered. You could see a look of recognition pass over Sam’s face.

“Yes?” the woman said.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, but we’re with the Federal—”

One Winchester cut the other off. “I’m Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean. We used to live here. You know, we were just drivin’ by, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place.”

The woman seemed surprised and smiled. “Winchester. Yeah, that’s so funny. You know, I think I found some of your photos the other night.” She turned to you. “Are you a Winchester, too? I didn’t see a little girl in any of the pictures.”

You shook your head. “No, no. Just a friend. (Y/N).”

She smiled at you. “Nice to meet you. Come on in.”

Inside the home, a girl who looked to be around seven sat at the table doing homework, and a little boy who was presumably two jumped in his playpen.

“Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!” the toddler called excitedly.

“That’s Ritchie. He’s kind of a juice junkie,” Jenny explained, taking a sippy cup from the fridge and bringing it to her son. “But, hey, at least he won’t get scurvy.” She walked back over to her daughter. “Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and (Y/N). The boys used to live here.”

“Hi,” the shy girl said quietly.

You waved.

“So, you just moved in?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, from Wichita.”

“You got family here, or…?”

Jenny’s smile faded. “No. I just, uh… needed a fresh start, that’s all. So, new town, new job— I mean, as soon as I find one. New house.”

“So, how you likin’ it so far?” Sam questioned.

Jenny laughed awkwardly. “Well, uh, all due respect to your childhood home— I mean, I’m sure you had lots of happy memories here—”

You discreetly turned to see Dean smile weakly. 

“But this place has its issues,” she finished.

“What do you mean?” you asked.

“Well, it’s just getting old. Like the wiring, you know? We’ve got flickering lights almost hourly.”

That caught your attention. “Oh, that’s too bad. What else?”

“Um…sink’s backed up, there’s rats in the basement…” She trailed off. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain.”

Dean shook his head. “No. Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?”

Jenny looked at him quizzically. “It’s just the scratching, actually.”

Sari tugged on her mom’s shirt, who stooped down next to her. “Ask them if it was here when they lived here.”

“What, Sari?” Sam asked.

“The thing in my closet,” she whispered as if the thing would hear.

“Oh, no, baby, there was nothing in their closets.” Jenny looked up to you and the boys. “Right?”

They shook their heads.

“She had a nightmare the other night,” Jenny explained.

Sari’s voice suddenly got louder. “I wasn’t dreaming. It came into my bedroom and it was on fire.”

The boys seemed too shocked to speak.

You took over. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. You’re okay now though, right?”

She nodded.

“See? It didn’t get ya. It was only a dream.”

You knew it wasn’t. A pit filled your stomach after saying your goodbyes to the family and heading out of the door. 

“You hear that? A figure on fire,” Sam reminded the two of you.

“And that woman, Jenny, that was the woman in your dreams?” Dean asked.

"Yeah. And you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just freaked out that your weirdo visions are comin’ true,” the older brother chuckled humorlessly.

“Well, forget about that for a minute. The thing in the house, do you think it’s the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?”

“I don’t know!” Dean responded.

The brothers were only making each other panic worse at this point.

“Well, I mean, has it come back or has it been here the whole time?” Sam inquired.

“Or maybe it’s something else entirely, Sam, we don’t know yet.”

“Both of you need to calm down,” you told them, simultaneously getting in the car. “We’re gonna get those people safe. Whatever’s in there is not gonna hurt you or those people.”

“Thank you, Dr. Phil,” Dean remarked.

You snapped into a more intense tone, leaning over the backseat. “Look, dude, you’re gonna get your shit together. The two of you are only ramping each other up. Now, you are going to get a grip or I will do this job on my own.”

Sam and Dean both nodded.

“You’re runnin’ low on gas, Dee.” You patted Dean’s cheek before sitting back against your chair. 

***

“We just gotta chill out, that’s all,” Dean said as he pumped gas. 

“I’ve tried telling you that eighty times since we left that house.”

He ignored your snide comment. “You know, if this was any other kind of job, what would we do?”

"We’d try to figure out what we were dealin’ with. We’d dig into the history of the house,” Sam sighed.

"Exactly,” the older brother began, “except this time, we already know what happened.”

"Yeah, but how much do we know? I mean, how much do you actually remember?”

"About that night, you mean?”

"Yeah.”

Dean paused. “Not much. I remember the fire… the heat. And then I carried you out the front door.”

You looked at the floor, knowing how hard this must be for him to open up.

“You did?” the younger Winchester asked.

"Yeah, what, you never knew that?”

"No.”

“And, well, you know Dad’s story as well as I do. Mom was— was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her.”

“And he never had a theory about what did it?”

“If he did, he kept it to himself. God knows we asked him enough times.”

"Okay. So, if we’re gonna figure out what’s goin’ on now…we have to figure out what happened back then. And see if it’s the same thing.”

You decided to add your two cents. “Yeah. We can talk to your dad’s friends, neighbors, people who were there at the time.”

Silence blanketed the three of you for a moment, the air feeling heavy. 

“Does this feel like just another job to you?” Sam piped up.

‘Of course, it doesn’t,’ you thought.

Dean kept quiet for a moment. “I’ll be right back,” he finally said. “I gotta go to the bathroom.” He walked away, and you watched him turn the corner around the gas station. He looked back for a moment, and you assumed it was to see if anyone had followed him.

You furrowed your brows. You allowed a few minutes to pass before you announced to Sam, “I’m gonna go check on Dean.”

While you turned the corner, you saw Dean exiting the bathroom door. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. When he noticed you, he tried to shoulder his normal attitude.

“You stalkin’ me?”

“No, actually, I came to check on you.”

“Well, I’m fine.” He went to brush past you.

You grabbed his bicep. “Don’t lie to me.”

He stopped, looking you over. “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

“Then what’s this?” you gently brushed your first finger under his chin, picking up a tear he had forgotten to wipe away. You held it up for him to see.

Dean opened his mouth to say something before snapping it shut again. He gently pulled his arm out of your grip. “C’mon, let’s go.” He started walking away from you.

You caught up to him, asking, “Are you sure you don’t just want me to do this one by myself?”

He nodded sharply. 

Sam gave you a curious look while Dean got in the car.

You shook your head before the two of you ducked into the Impala simultaneously.

***

The three of you spoke to a man who had owned a car garage with John years ago. You learned how much John had changed before Mary’s death versus after, and you began to understand why Dean was the way he was. You also learned that he had been going to see a palm reader in town. Dean recognized the names of one of the palm readers Sam had read from a compiled list: Missouri Moseley. The three of you went over to her house and waited in her foyer as she finished with her last client.

She guided the client out of the door. “Alright, there. Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing. Your wife is crazy about you.”

The man thanked her, and she closed the door behind you.

She addressed the three of you. “Whew. Poor bastard. His woman is cold-bangin’ the gardener.”

You giggled.

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Dean asked.

“People don’t come here for the truth. They come for good news,” the woman explained. You stared at her, as did the boys.

“Well? Sam, Dean, (Y/N), come on already, I ain’t got all day.”

You looked at Dean. You knew you hadn’t told her your name. The three of you followed her into the next room. 

“Well, lemme look at ya,” she smiled at the boys. “Oh, you boys grew up handsome.” She pointed her finger at Dean. “And you were one goofy-lookin’ kid, too.” 

You giggled again. You liked her a lot.

“Sam.” Missouri grabbed his hand. “Oh, honey…I’m sorry about your girlfriend. And your father— he’s missin’?”

“How’d you know all that?” Sam asked her.

“Well, you were just thinkin’ it just now.”

“Well, where is he? Is he okay?” Dean questioned.

Missouri’s smile faded. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t know? Well, you’re supposed to be a psychic, right?” 

“Boy, you see me sawin’ some bony tramp in half? You think I’m a magician? I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can’t just pull facts out of thin air. Sit, please.”

You smirked at Sam and sat down.

Missouri snapped at Dean. “Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table, I’m ‘a whack you with a spoon!”

“I didn’t do anything!” he responded.

“But you were thinkin’ about it.”

Dean raised an eyebrow, and you and Sam smiled.

“(Y/N), honey, I didn’t mean to completely disregard you,” she smiled at you. “(Y/L/N)... where do I know that name from?” She pondered for a moment and her smile faded. “I knew your dad. Mean ol’ bastard.”

Your throat clenched. You could feel the boys looking at you, but you kept your eyes on Missouri. 

“I don’t mean to embarrass you,” she went on. “I’m just sorry about what he did to you. And your brother? You poor thing.” She tsked. 

Tears welled in your eyes. 

Sam knew he should change the subject. “Okay. So, our dad— when did you first meet him?”

“He came for a reading. A few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you could say I drew back the curtains for him,” Missouri explained.

“What about the fire? Do you know about what killed our mom?” Dean questioned.

“A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin’ I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing.”

“And could you?”

You tried to focus on the conversation, but your throat was still choked up. You could vaguely register them talking about what Missouri sensed in their house and how she had been keeping an eye on the place since Mary’s passing. All you could focus on were the memories you were being pulled back into. Memories of what your father put you through and how your mother just stood by. Memories of defending your brother against your father’s wickedness. You tried your best to pull yourself back to the light; you knew Missouri could hear what you were thinking. You wouldn’t let yourself be weak enough to let your father hurt you eight years after his death.

“Baby, you are not weak.” Missouri’s voice pulled you back to shore. “I’m sorry I brought all that up for you.”

You nodded at her, voice too weak to respond. Sam squeezed your hand, and you could feel Dean’s gaze boring into the side of your head. 

***

You and the boys headed back to their childhood home with Missouri. You still couldn’t register what was going on outside of your own head. You knew Missouri hadn’t truly brought anything up for you; these memories were all just buried under the surface for you. Hunting didn’t exactly leave much time for you to dwell on your emotions. 

Jenny allowed Missouri to come into her home and showed her and your trio into Sari’s bedroom. You were beginning to come back to earth and could focus on the conversation happening around you. 

“If there’s a dark energy around here, this room should be the center of it,” Missouri explained, walking around Sari’s room. 

“Why?” Sam asked.

Missouri turned to him. “This used to be your nursery, Sam. This is where it all happened.”

Dean pulled out his repurposed walkman.

“That an EMF?” Missouri asked.

“Yeah,” Dean answered.

“Amateur,” she deadpanned.

You noticed the EMF was beeping frantically. 

“I don’t know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved, but this ain’t the thing that took your mom,” Missouri told the Winchesters.

“Wait, are you sure?” Sam furrowed his eyebrows.

She nodded.

“How do you know?”

“It isn’t the same energy I felt the last time I was here. It’s somethin’ different.”

“What is it?” Dean asked.

“Not it.” Missouri opened the closer. “Them. There’s more than one spirit in this place.”

“What are they doing here?” Dean asked.

“They’re here because of what happened to your family. You see, all those years ago, real evil came to you. It walked this house. That kind of evil leaves wounds. And sometimes, wounds get infected,” Missouri elaborated.

Sam shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“This place is a magnet for paranormal energy. It’s attracted a poltergeist. A nasty one. And it won’t rest until Jenny and her babies are dead.”

“You said there was more than one spirit.”

“There is. I just can’t quite make out the second one.”

Dean’s voice became hard. “Well, one thing’s for damn sure— nobody’s dyin’ in this house ever again. So whatever is here, how do we stop it?”

***

After Missouri taught you how to pack small protection bags that you and the boys were to place in the cardinal points on both floors in Jenny’s house, you had to get Jenny and her kids out of harm's way.

“Look, I’m not sure I’m comfortable leaving you guys here alone,” she told Missouri.

“Just take your kids to the movies or somethin’, and it’ll be over by the time you get back.”

You could tell the woman was still unsure, but she followed orders anyway. And with that, the four of you got to work.

When you were halfway done with the job, things started to get ugly. Just as you were about to place your second and final bag in the wall of Jenny’s bedroom, a cord snaked around your neck and pulled tightly. You dropped the bag of herbs to the ground; unable to get it into the wall in time. You gasped for air, frantically reaching for the bag but the spirit’s hold was too strong. Your vision began to spot and your face contorted in discomfort; doing the best you could to get air in your lungs. It was no use. Just when you thought it was over, Dean rushed to your side.

“(Y/N)!” he cried, pulling at the cord with all his might.

You clawed at your neck with one hand and motioned to the bag of herbs with the other. Dean understood what you were trying to say, and kicked a hole in the wall. He quickly put the bag inside, and your neck was released. Your head fell to the ground gasping for air.

Dean pulled you into a fierce hug that left you breathless. He pulled back from you, holding your face on either side. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, still trying to catch your breath. He gingerly touched the place where the cord had undoubtedly bruised your neck. “Can you stand?”

You nodded again. With Dean’s help, you made your way down to Missouri and Sam who stood in the middle of an extremely messy kitchen. Jenny’s kitchen table had been turned on its side with knives driven through the top of it, assumedly by the ghosts. The refrigerator door was swung wide open, and various items from the pantry had spilled out all over the place. 

“You sure this is over?” Sam asked the psychic.

“I’m sure. Why? Why do you ask?”

Sam sighed in response. “Never mind. It’s nothin’, I guess.”

The front door opened.

“Hello? We’re home,” Jenny announced when she walked into the house. She came into the kitchen, dumbfounded by the mess. “What happened?”

"Hi, sorry. Um, we’ll pay for all of this,” Sam told her.

“Don’t you worry. Dean’s gonna clean up this mess,” Missouri added.

Dean stood glued to his spot.

“Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop.”

He glared at Missouri, but began walking away nonetheless.

“And don’t cuss at me!”

***

You remained confused by how Dean had hugged you for the rest of the night which you spent in the Impala parked in front of Jenny’s house.

“Alright, so, tell me again, what are we still doin’ here?” Dean asked his brother.

“I don’t know. I just… I still have a bad feeling,” he responded.

“Why? Missouri did her whole Zelda Rubenstein thing, the house should be clean, it should be over.”

“Yeah, well, probably. But I just wanna make sure, that’s all.”

Dean slumped down in his seat. “Yeah, well, problem is I could be sleeping in a bed right now.”

You slumped down in your seat, too, only to see Jenny screaming and banging on her bedroom window. “Guys, look!”

The three of you rushed into the house.

“You two grab the kids, I’ll get Jenny,” Dean said.

You nodded and sprinted to Ritchie’s room. The sleeping toddler was startled when you woke him up, but allowed you to carry him downstairs nonetheless. You met Sam by the front door who said to Sari, “Take your brother outside as fast as you can, and don’t look back.” She obliged and took the little boy from you. 

Before the two of you could do anything else, you were slammed to the ground and dragged backward across the tile floor. You could hear poor Sari screaming as you and Sam were dragged away. 

You were pinned to the wall by an invisible force and pushed up toward the ceiling. You could hear presumably Dean hacking away at the door, trying desperately to get in as a figure on fire approached you.

Dean made his way into the home and called your names frantically. He raised his gun at the fire figure when he caught sight of it.

“No, don’t! Don’t!” Sam cried.

“What, why?!” you asked.

“Because I know who it is. I can see her now.”

And then, the fire vanished revealing who you recognized from pictures as Mary Winchester. She was wearing a white nightgown and her blonde hair billowed softly around her. Her feet were bare, and her aging skin was only slightly wrinkled.

You could see tears rising in Dean’s eyes as he lowered his gun. “Mom?”

The woman smiled and stepped closer to him. “Dean.”

She walked toward you and her youngest son. “Sam.” Her smile faded. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked. 

She looked at him sadly, but said nothing.  

The woman turned to you last. “Thank you,” she said. 

You smiled back at her, though you weren’t quite sure what she was thanking you for.

She turned away and looked up toward the ceiling. “You get out of my house. And let go of my son.” Her hair and nightgown were swept up into flames once more. The fire licked up to the ceiling, growing larger before disappearing entirely. You and Sam were released from the wall at once.

“Now it’s over,” Sam muttered.

***

The sun had risen while you and the boys were in the house. You called Missouri back to the Winchesters’ childhood home, and she sat on the porch talking with Sam.

You were standing with Dean by the car looking through his old family photos.

“Thanks for these,” Dean told Jenny.

“Don’t thank me, they’re yours.”

Dean put the trunk of photos and family memorabilia in the car.  You and Dean bid Jenny, who thanked you, goodbye before leaning against the car together. The two of you knew you had a lot to talk about, but you weren’t brave enough to start the conversation.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked you.

You couldn’t look at him. “Why do you ask?”

“I think you know.”

You paused a moment before turning to face him. “I promise I’ll tell you, just… not today.” You stuck out your pinkie for him to take.

He chuckled at you. “What are we, five?”

“Just do it, asshole,” you smiled back.

He linked his pinkie with yours, shaking your hand back and forth lightly. The two of you stood there for a second, staring at each other and getting lost in the moment. Before long, you both realized what was going on and jerked away from each other.

Dean scratched his head. “Sam, you ready?” he called.

Sam nodded and came over to the car.

“Don’t you kids be strangers,” Missouri told you.

“We won’t,” Dean responded. 

“See you around,” the woman winked at you.

You smiled at her before getting in the car and driving away. 

Series Rewrite Taglist: @polireader @brightlilith @atcamillanorrman @jrizzelle @insomnia-bookworm @procrastination20 @mrs-liebgott @djs8891 @tiggytaylor @staple-your-mouth @iloveshawn @jesstherebel @rach5ive @strawberrykiwisdogog @bruhidkjustwannaread @mxltifxnd0m @sunshine-on-marz @big-ol-boat @mgchaser @capncrankle @davina-clairee @chervbs @thepocketverse @simpingdeadcharacters @elqsiian @stillhere197 @stephshaww @tearsforhan @take-it-on-the-run @iloveyou2mia @maxinehufflepuffprincess @doublecrazyyymofo

[little-dragon-cj]

Imagine moving into your own house/apartment and being able to decorate your own littlespace nursery/play room!

A nice big comfy bed, filled with soft blankets and all your favorite plushies. A safety bar around the bed so your tiny little self doesn't fall out! A mobile above the bed to stare at with wide eyes as it spins prettily. Glow in the dark stars cover the ceiling, resembling the fascinating night sky. A nightlight next to your bed, and one in an outlet near the floor to protect you!

A little bookshelf close to the ground, filled with baby books, picture books, and coloring books too! Atop the short shelf sits bins, each filled with crayons, markers, and colored pencils. There are more bins with craft supplies like glitter, glue, colored paper, and more!

There's a cute dresser, stuffed with all your favorite clothes! Onesies of all sorts of patterns, comfy hoodies and sweaters, pyjama pants and shirts, skirts and shorts too!

Don't forget all of your toys! A toy chest filled with musical toys, toy food, cars, and more! There are cute wall shelves to display all of your favorite dolls and figures!

A table in the center of the room on a fluffy rug surrounded by chairs. The perfect spot for coloring, crafts, and obviously tea parties!

There's a soft puzzle piece floor, a small kiddie pool on top filled with plastic balls, perfect to play in!

Thanks for reading! It's entirely written by me :3

[aboredindividual]

Omega Fashion

The main difference between omega fashion and other dynamics is the division they use. In alpha and beta fashion, the clothing is divided by the first gender, male or female. In omega ones, the clothing is divided by development stages of the omega in question: Immature -> Mature and Unmated -> Mature and Mated -> During and Post pregnancy. Those stages show significant milestones that omega hit and every transition from one to another is often celebrated by their families.

The clothes in question have the most variety and complexivity of all the secondary genders. They often make a point to show off omega's social status in question, resulting in razzle dazzle type of clothing, regardless of division. The unsaid social rule states that omegas' overall image represent the wellness of the house, ensuing a custom where omegas are often pampered with multitude of robes, jewelry and trinkets.

Immature Omegas

Omegas typically wears those clothes from their presentation up untill the age of 18-19 where they will then be considered mature. The clothing style consists of Long, multilayered skirt, a long sleeved underrobe,strap tank and an overrobe with short wide sleeve. The clothes are to show off omegas innocence and childishness ( that they have, lets not forget that they are under 18 and considered a child). They are often easy to wash and breathable. When it comes to an omegas neck and wrist areas, they are often covered by simple neck necklaces and wrist warmers.

Mature and Unmated Omegas

It's the stage where omega is at 18 years of age and considered eligible for mating and marriage. The fashion favours many layers and body modesty. The clothes are often elaborate and eye-catching where omega's beauty is accentuated with careful layers and jewelry. They range from body fitting to loose, light to dark coloured etc. During this stage there will be time where omega will start to court people. You can discern fully single omega and courting one by one difference- the jewelry. Single omega's jewelry around ones neck is often simple but covering omegas neck fully with matching wrist bracelets covering their scent glands whereas courting omega's jewelry will be more elaborate and detailed. There is also a trend in fashion where omega will wear nail jewelry, that is small and unasuming but adding elegant touch.

Mature and Mated Omegas

This clothing stage focuses on showing off shoulder and neck area, where mating bite resides. This fashion division makes it known that omega is off limits and dazzling with happiness. There is present large amount of decorations, jewelry and layers. Those mated omegas often really invest in how they look to show off themselves and their mates as a sign of pride and fullfilment. Furthermore this fashion isnt only reserved for omegas without children, Omegan mothers can fluidly switch between the maternal fashion and mated one as both of them kinda coexist together, it is matter of preference tho which fashion individual omega prefers. The nail jewelry is also present where omegas lets their nails grow to bigger lenghts while still being unobtrusive when permorming tasks.

During and Post Pregnancy

This fashion is reserved for expecting and present mothers, where they want to show off omega's belly and neck area on full display. Those clothes offer more mobility and freedom than all previous divisions and try to put omegas in ,,godlike'' clothes to represent their strength and beauty while carrying their young. Even omegas who are after childbirth often still remain in those clothes to show off their ,,mom bod'' and fertility.

Edit: I shifted Ming dynasty clothing up to the post pregnancy region because i kinda thought about it. While the two piece clothing that shows belly is fine, it would be pretty irresponsible to wear it on cold weather. Plus the Ming clothing covers whole body, doesnt obstruct belly and looks pretty cozy (at least on pictures), hence the change :)) Toodles

[mistyheart]

WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT

featuring ✿ toji fushiguro x fem!reader

you enter a sugar daddy/baby relationship with Toji thinking it would be a quick-grab-his-money-and-go, but he unknowingly proves you wrong

terms and conditions ✿ non-sorcerer au so it doesn’t follow the plot, very ooc!toji I think, child Megumi makes an appearance, Toji is domestic-ish, implied pregnancy (sorry I’m ovulating😕), nsfw (it doesn’t get into detail tho), age gap (early to mid 20s reader, mid 30s toji), bad writing (not proofread)

disclaimer ✿ this isn’t smutty, toe-clenching or whatever, this is on the softer domestic side and includes reader having a child with Toji because I’m a family oriented person. So if that ain’t your cup of tea please don’t interact with this post

signature ✿ low key inspired by a tiktok I watched weeks ago, I didn’t save it but it was about a young mother with a rich husband.

ALSO, IS IT JUST ME OR IS TUMBRL NOT SHOWING THE COMPLETE POSTS EVEN AFTER YOU RELOAD? (ON MOBILE)

Sugar daddy!Toji…

…who met you in a dating app, you were fresh out of college with three million yen in debt and just enough money in your back account to afford three months rent of an apartment studio in a dangerous neighborhood

…who, like any sugar, offered to aid your financial problems in exchange for one simple thing—make him feel less lonely.

…who insists on date night every other day, however, instead of going to fancy restaurants with expensive wine and food with names you couldn’t pronounce, takes you to amusement parks and fairs, star gazing on the beach, and car rides that end up with both of you trying ice creams combinations while talking about how listening to non-Taylor’s Version songs should be considered a crime and how Stefan Salvatore deserved better.

…who gives you everything your little heart desires. That new dress at the mall? You go it, three pairs of shoes costing twenty thousand yen each? They’re all yours. Want to paint his nails black? Ehh… that’ll take a little more convincing.

…who finally invites you over to his house after a two months of seeing each other. You shaved, did skincare, and put on your sexiest lingerie under a mid-thigh length skirt and a cute top. You knocked on the front door, he opened it, led you to his living room, and…. introduced you to Yasu, his American brown Akita who doesn’t like strangers. It ended up being a movie night, not a sexy night.

[blueberrypancakesworld]

Forced move

++++++++++++++++++++

warning : tiny comfort, darker themes , little yandere behaviour , obsession , obsessed love , mutual love , little swearing , tiny mention of blood , nervousness , angst , love , kissing , touching eachother , nothing graphical in smut and blood , little drinking , blackmailing basically , open ending , make out, minors don't interact

Charlie Walker/Ghostface x fem reader

masterlist

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The evening was dark and relatively cool when the small pling from her mobile phone made the eighteen-year-old look up. Glancing up from her homework and books, she picked up her phone and typed on the small screen.

It was a message from one of her friends. Party at the barn.Stabathon-free alcohol come over she read the message and sighed slightly. Not that she wouldn't want to come. But the exam period was coming up and a party compared to the anger of her parents would be something she wanted to avoid.

On the other hand, a little fun and a little alcohol would be a deliberate distraction. And the old, big barn was not too far away. A short drive. A little fun never hurt she thought and decided to finish the sentence before changing.

The thought did cross her mind because of the murders that had been committed in the last few days. Actually, her parents had hung up an exit spear after eight o'clock in the evening. But she thought this was a bit exaggerated.

Uncertainty lay in her gaze as she looked at herself in the mirror. There are still other people here, said this little voice calling for a party. Suddenly the doubts were gone and the fun was there. She looked at herself again in the mirror a loose outfit not uncomfortable but not a looker either.

Simple and appropriate for a horror party. With another pling on her mobile phone she picked it up. Charlie is here too ;) she read the little extra message and a smile flitted across her lips. Charlie Walker, the acknowledged nerd of the group, film club leader and her crush.

Ever since she had seen him at Woodsboroo high school she couldn't get away from him. His friendly, cheerful manner when he talked about movies. How much he knew about movies, his whole being attracted her. Only the glow in his blue eyes when Kirby even spoke to him was something she noticed.

Kirby Reed she knew, no everyone knew that Charlie had a thing for the blonde. He seemed to be attached to her like a dog. She's just using him she thought after hearing this herself as the girls walked by. She knew the girls only briefly, most of all she had to do with Jill.

They had been assigned to several school projects together and even then they got along quite well. But now that she was already going to a party where Charlie was and not Kirby, she could take advantage of the situation. Maybe he'll notice me she hoped and opened her wardrobe again.

She had tried on everything from her normal everyday clothes to her pyjamas and communion dress. All except two things. ,,This is a bit extreme," she muttered and took the short leather skirt and the loose blood-red blouse out of the wardrobe. Holding the two items up, she pondered for a moment. ,,So what?" she decided and put on the clothes she had once bought for Halloween as a joke.

At that time she wanted to go as a hooker with all her friends just for fun. Teenage fantasy she thought and smiled as she turned in front of the mirror. The clothes just looked a lot better than they did a few years ago. It accentuated her curves, her legs were visible all the way up her thighs.

The red blouse made her décolletage clear. He's going to notice me she thought resolutely and grabbed her leather jacket before grabbing her mobile phone and car keys. Walking out of her room, she listened in on the house. She heard the sound of the television downstairs in the living room. A good sign.

Creeping slowly down the stairs, she peeked around the corner into the living room. Both asleep she thought happily as she heard her father snoring lightly and her mother snuggled up to him. Creeping along, she took the black high heels before taking her car key from the small key bowl and opening the door.

Pulling it quietly behind her, she hurried to her car and got in. ,,Done" she muttered in relief and started the engine before driving off towards Stabathon. The drive didn't take long - she was on the road for about ten minutes before she heard the relatively loud noises.

Parking the car, stuffing the key in her jacket pocket to her handy she headed for the barn. This looks good she thought and grinned when she saw all the decorations and slightly dressed up people. Even though her outfit definitely stood out from the others.

She didn't have a knife stuck in her chest, or a ghostface mask, or even the jacket of her football team. She was dressed relatively inconspicuously for the party. She tried to find her boyfriend but gave up after a few minutes.

Too many people with too many of the same costumes and too much alcohol. Looking around she finally found the bar with the drinks.

Heading for it, she found the alcohol in a large glass bowl before grabbing one of the red plastic cups. ,,Y/n the best animatress of our film club in her gorgeous outfit" she suddenly heard a voice next to her and jerked around. ,,You scared me Robbie," she said, shaking her head slightly.

Robbie was the second boss of the film club and Charlie's best friend. She knew he was recording her and it was being streamed live. ,,Don't do that," she said, taking the first sip of alcohol as he looked her up and down with his camera for the third time.

Defensively, he raised his hands and chuckled. ,,What? It's not often you come out like that, a real beauty," he said, but quickly fell silent as he heard the warning look from his classmate. ,,Thanks Robbie, you really are a gentleman" she said rolling her eyes and swearing inwardly. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here after all.

She took another sip of the drink and was about to leave when Robbie walked around her and cut her off. ,,Sorry, I didn't mean that, come on, let me get you a VIP seat," he said with a smile and pointed to the stage. Nodding, she followed him and quickly arrived at a ladder leading to the upper area. ,,Are you serious straw?" she asked and took one of the stalks between her hands.

Before she threw it at him, which Robbie returned with a roll of his eyes. ,,No, go up and sit or stand on the railing so you can see everything," he said, seeming slightly excited as he looked at his watch. ,,Thanks" she murmured as he left to start the welcoming speech before she made her way upstairs. He's right, she thought, leaning against the wooden railing where she could see everything. A small smile flitted across her lips as she listened to their speech, paying more attention to Charlie than anything else.

Regardless, she took another sip of the alcohol and looked at the first staff for a while. Before she suddenly heard a creaking behind her. The creaking of wood, someone coming towards her. She put the cup down on the railing and spun around. She was already prepared for a prank in the worst case scenario.

To her surprise Charlie showed up. ,,Hi Charlie," she said, slightly surprised, and smiled at him. He was leaning against one of the stacked bales of straw. The white button-up shirt clung loosely to his torso. The grey shirt underneath which was slightly visible through the slightly open collar.

The long brown hair that always looked so soft to her. Almost fluffy. The small smile on his lips and the piercing look of his blue eyes. He was perfect. ,,Hey, I didn't think you were coming," he said, walking up to her before standing next to her.

She felt how nervous she was, how fast her heart suddenly beat, her fingers tangled in her skirt and she stared at him. ,,Yeah, me neither...well a friend texted me to come" she admitted and quickly looked away as he looked from the film to her.

In the corner of her eye, she saw his eyes pass over her form. He's looking at me, she thought excitedly and grinned slightly. ,,You think this stabbing is so funny?" he asked with an amused tone in his voice when he saw her smile. Protectively she put her hands up slightly, ,,No...I um just had to think of a joke" she said hastily and would have preferred to sink into the ground. He nodded slightly in disbelief and turned back to the film.

She continued to watch him and felt almost stupid after five minutes of endless waiting. Do something she urged herself, because one thing she couldn't do was flirt. Or even make a real move. She had once asked him if she should stay for the break to help with the club, or have a coffee. She had even asked him for homework, but at the last moment she withdrew her book with the note for a meeting.

The idea came from Jill and not even from her. ,,Hey, I've got to get back to Robbie's for the next film, see you later," he said suddenly, pushing himself slightly off the railing. ,,Um, yeah, have fun," she mumbled and would have liked to push herself down.

He had just disappeared behind the bales of straw and she was already thinking about finishing the alcohol before she plunged down when he suddenly reappeared. ,,Hey, if you're up for a little party at Kirby's house, why don't you come?" he said hurriedly and she called after him with a ,,I will, thank you!". It's at Kirby's...but he invited me she thought happily and decided to go in search of her friends again. Not knowing that the evening would be all the more exciting.

Not only had Gale turned up, but the real Ghostface and the sheriff were all here. But when the first shot was fired by Dewie, she had run outside with the crowd for fear of being arrested.

As well as becoming another victim of Ghostface. ,,What a night," she muttered as she started the engine and drove down the road to Kirby. Parking the car and getting out, she saw the lights on in the house.They must have left earlier she thought, her high heels clicking lightly on the street before she went inside.

The door was open. But after only a few steps inside she heard voices and a slight relief spread. ,,You knew the door was open, didn't you?" she asked as she walked in and looked into the faces of Robbie, Kirby, Jill and Charlie. Only the latter gave her a small smile. Almost as if he was relieved that she was here.

But she could have imagined that. ,,Y/n, what are you doing here?" Jill asked in surprise and stood up before pulling the other into a light hug. ,,Charlie invited me," she answered briefly and Robbie handed her a bottle of high-proof alcohol. ,,Drink to the survival of my masterpiece," the camera man ordered and she took a light sip. ,,Whatever I invited you...we're watching Stab Seven now," Charlie announced and took care of the film.

Jill sat back on the couch next to Kirby who hadn't said a word to the new girl. Robbie moved a few feet away to the kitchen and continued to complain, mumbling. And Y/n sat down on the left, on the other side of Charlie.

Not that she didn't want to be with him, but Kirby seemed to be looking at her with a look she knew too well. Get out of here, the blonde seemed to say. As best she could, she tried to ignore the look and took a few more sips of the alcohol.

A few minutes had passed and Stab was in full swing when she slowly felt the warmth in her body. She was not drunk if at all slightly tipsy but the warmth told her she had had enough for now.

Putting the bottle on the table, she took off her leather jacket and her red blouse stood out as an eye-catcher. ,,Someone has made herself pretty," she suddenly heard Kirby say. The blonde looked at her carefully and smiled charmingly. But there was annoyance in her eyes. ,,So what?" she asked back and raised an eyebrow before standing up.

Grabbing the bottle, she took another step towards Kirby. ,,Nothing...nothing the question is for whom?" she probed further and Y/n became more uncomfortable by the second. She didn't like the way the evening was going. ,,For no one but me," she countered and walked past the blonde to hand Robbie the bottle and grab a glass of water.

Walking back she just saw a shadow coming from the right before she bumped into someone coming in with firm steps. ,,Ouch...Trevor?" she said as she stumbled back slightly from the force of the older and taller man. Surprise showed on everyone's faces as the one they didn't think was coming appeared. ,,Great" she muttered and looked at the stain of water on her blouse.

Right in the area of her bust and the black lace of her bra pressed against it. ,,The bathroom is upstairs," Robbie said, averting his gaze from her and his camera. ,,Peeping Tom" Y/n muttered, slightly annoyed, and went up the stairs. A few moments later she heard Jill leaving with Trevor, looking for her mobile phone, and Robbie going out onto the terrace. Only Kirby and Charlie stayed behind.

Finding herself in a house and hallway with endless doors, she was baffled. ,,Just great" she mumbled before sighing and opening one door after the other which seemed to take forever. How rich is she? she asked herself when she found the third guest room and the second walk-in wardrobe. Before she finally found the bathroom with another door. Turning on the light she grabbed one of the towels and tried to dry it somehow.

She wanted to avoid walking around in a visible bra all evening. Taking the towel off her clothes, the stain had only receded slightly. Sighing, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her bra was still slightly visible on closer inspection, but otherwise it was fine.

Leaning on the sink, she ran her hand through her hair. Did he even look at me? she asked herself and decided to go back downstairs. The evening was not over yet, even though she could hardly hear any sounds coming from downstairs. Walking down the corridor she suddenly heard a creaking sound like a door.

Looking around, she saw that a door to the guest room was slightly open. Did Jill go in there? she asked herself and decided to check. She hoped it was Jill or just a pet and not a stupid prank by Kirby.

That was the last thing she wanted. She opened the door a little wider and slipped inside before taking a few steps inside and standing in the middle of the room. ,,Hello?" she asked into the darkness but got no answer.

Suddenly the light from the bedside lamp came on and gave the room a slight orange tint. Not bright enough to dazzle but not too dark to see anything. Only the shadows of the furniture and things seemed more threatening.

She had flinched and scurried around as the door closed and suddenly Charlie was leaning against the door, causing it to close. ,,Charlie...you scared me," she said, grabbing her upper body before a small unsmiling smile came to her lips. ,,Is everything all right? It's pretty quiet down there?" she asked and took a step towards him. For the first time, however, it seemed that something had changed in him. His gaze remained on her, not avoiding her, and there was no Kirby in his blue eyes.

He seemed to be looking only at her. An engaging feeling, she found. ,,Everything is fine, Jill is outside with Trevor. Robbie is on the terrace recording and Kirby...she's asleep on the couch" he said after a short silence and walked away from the door with a click. Did he lock it? the question entered her head, but she could have imagined the click. ,,That's good...and you?" she asked and continued to look at him. Her heart seemed to have never beaten so fast as she realised how close they were.

Alone together in a room. No party, no friends, no Kirby, just her and Charlie. ,,Oh, I just wanted to check on you, I was worried, you know? You can't be too careful about the killer, can you?" he asked and slowly approached her. The question took her slightly by surprise.

Ghostface. She had been aware of him. But she as a victim. Why? Because she drew for the film club, read books and had a crush? No, she wouldn't be a victim. ,,That's true, but if he's really copying the original murders, then well, I'm not a suitable victim, I don't have a role in all this," she said, gesturing around her as if the others were here.

An amused chuckle crossed his lips as his blue eyes continued to look at her. ,,Are you sure? I mean the killer could also think of something new...something unexpected" he said and took another step towards her.

He was standing in front of her now, looking at her and not seeming to want to let her go. Her heart seemed to jump out of her chest as she looked into his eyes. ,,And what?" she dared to ask as she felt him twirl a strand of her hair between his fingers. Her heart beat even faster.

His look was amused, almost pleased with himself. As if he had accomplished something. Something important. ,,A move," she heard him say before he came closer and closer before kissing her. She felt his other hand on her hip, pulling her slightly closer. She sighed and her hands went to his torso.

He was gentle and careful she was uncertain and reluctant. It was apparently the first kiss for both of them. But it was incredible. Her heart was full of love. She had closed her eyes but noticed the small smile on his lips when he broke away. Through the light he seemed to tower over her even more.

As if his shadow enveloped and covered her. Enchanting her and keeping her close. It was a pleasant feeling, there was only the two of them. She saw the small blush on his cheeks as he carefully let a hand wander over her breast. ,,Oh man," he murmured as he squeezed gently and she couldn't help but smile.

He was completely fascinated by the new feeling and she felt herself falling for him more and more. Dare said her inner voice and she reached for his other hand and brought it to her lips before giving it a soft kiss and placing it on her other breast. ,,That's wow - I mean, am-am I hurting you?" he asked suddenly, almost startled as he seemed to sense her brief shudder.

It was true that she was as good as inexperienced in the area of intimacy. At least as far as contact with twits was concerned, but now there was no better chance. She leaned forward and gave him another gentle kiss.

Before she told him, ,,No...please go on, it feels good," even though she also felt the warmth on her cheeks. They both seemed to have to overcome their insecurity little by little. With caution and uncertainty. She felt him deepen the kiss and his hands continued to run over her body. Exploring every inch and yet with a caution. With a caution almost out of fear of hurting her or out of rejection.

She noticed how he detached himself from her and his gaze went to the guest bed. Suddenly she realised what he meant but the uncertainty she had felt was almost gone. Instead, she felt comfortable, comfortable with the thought of what it could lead to.

Nodding slightly, she took his hand and he led her to the bed. Standing in front of it, he engaged her in another kiss just as he was about to say something. ,,I-" she started before suddenly a clang and a scream could be heard from below. ,,What was that?" she immediately asked in alarm and looked at Charlie who was looking at the door.

Walking past Charlie, she wanted to look outside. ,,If it's Jill, then-" she couldn't get any further when a hand suddenly came down on hers and he gently but firmly pulled her back. ,,It's only Kirby, she must have dropped a bottle," she heard him say, but his voice seemed to have almost changed.

The tone of lightness was gone. It seemed almost commanding, controlling. He's going to keep me here, she thought, feeling her heart beat fast.

But whether out of love or slight fear, she couldn't tell. ,,Are you sure? I mean, there's a murderer on the loose here," she admitted to her concerns and she flinched in surprise when she felt his lips on her neck. He laughed lightly. ,,It's a good thing we're together," he whispered and he seemed different.

As if his nice, friendly, almost sometimes retiring manner was to some extent an act. She felt him continue to spread kisses greedily and needily on her neck. His hands ran lightly over her breasts and he traced the lace of her bra. Goosebumps spread over her body.

A pleasant feeling. As if he was hiding behind something, knowing that he knew something. That he knew something she didn't. ,,Yeah...but here," she stated a little uncertainly and gently pushed him away from her. She knew that maybe it was a one-time moment and yet something inside her told her that something was wrong.

But what? She looked at him again. His eyes seemed darker, still blue, but the good seemed to be gone. His gaze held hers as if he was proud. But proud of what? ,,Are you sure everything is alright with Kirby?" she asked, trying to read his reaction. To her surprise, he almost sighed in annoyance. As if the talking was annoying him and he wasn't nervous at all.

As if he saw it as annoying. ,,The bitch is fine!," he said suddenly, upset but full of resentment. What happened? she asked herself again as she realised that something was definitely wrong. But he immediately realised his mistake as the girl took a step back. Away from him, back away from him. Out of fear. ,,Charlie...what have you done?" she dared to ask and her hands clawed at her skirt in fear of the truth.

Defensively he raised his hands and came towards her trying to explain himself but stopped when she pointed at his shirt. ,,Is-Is...that blood?" she asked, slightly afraid when she finally noticed the small dark spot on his white shirt. Astonishment was in his eyes as he wiped his fingers over the stain.

She saw him lick the substance from his fingers and an uncomfortable shiver came over her. ,,You-you are", ,,Ghostface" he finished her sentence before a knife bored into the wall next to her head, blocking her way. A short cry escaped her lips. Fear had a grip on her, devastating fear. Fear of dying, fear of being hurt. Fear of him in a mix of attraction.

It was scary. ,,Please Charlie," she tried, but whimpered as she felt his fingers brushing against the strands of her hair again. ,,Do you know how long I have waited for this moment?" he asked and seemed to be waiting for her answer.

But he didn't get it and only an anxious shake of the head. ,,No? Well, let's say long enough to know that you're just like me," he said with a happiness that couldn't have been more inappropriate. Not when the cold steel of the knife next to her head could still mean her death. ,,I didn't kill anyone," she dared to say, wincing as he laughed and his eyes darted briefly to the knife.

As if he were weighing when he would kill her. ,,Oh no, I don't mean that... no, I mean our kind, our feelings, you know? I mean we were both just too shy to talk to each other all the time" he explained what he meant and slowly she understood. Slowly she understood him.

Slowly she realised that her crush was a crazy serial killer who had wanted her as an honourary victim all along. She had been the victim for months. ,,And now you're going to kill me?" she asked, looking back from the knife into his eyes. Again he smirked and seemed to enjoy it.

Enjoying having the confidence, enjoying having something and not just being a plaything. He let go of her hairline and his hand moved carefully, almost shyly, over the warm skin of her neck.

Before he lingered there and slowly and gently put his hand around her neck. ,,No, no I would never kill you. Not like Kirby, that fucking bitch...I just didn't want to believe it until now. And now we finally have each other" he began to whisper softly, audible only to them both.

But clearly understandable. Has he had this side all this time? she asked herself, seeming to see this side of pent-up anger, hatred, disappointment and all the emotions only rarely if ever for the first time. And it fascinated her to a small extent inside.

Fascinated and frightened her. ,,I-I...was always afraid that you would never look at me," she suddenly admitted. For fear that they would be her last words. For fear of never having confessed to him. ,,I have always seen you, my precious girl" he murmured and gave her a soft chaste kiss on her lips.

As if he was going back to his old self for a moment. ,,What did you want to say to me earlier?" the question seemed to come back to his mind. But there was a certain impulse in his eyes. As if he was afraid of getting the wrong answer. As if he was afraid that she had even played with him. Suddenly the grip around her neck became slightly stronger.

Not strong enough to cut off her air but enough to give her a warning before he picked up the knife again. ,,I-I wanted to say that I...love you," she admitted. They just looked at each other for a moment. For a moment in which he seemed to be weighing whether he could trust her.

A moment in which she decided whether she could trust him. A moment was enough before he pulled the knife out of the wall and kissed her. The metal clanked to the floor, but it was nothing. It didn't matter that he was Ghostface, it didn't matter that she was actually afraid.

It was the realisation that they loved each other that penetrated them both and made them forget their situation for a moment. ,,I love you too" she heard him say and it was the first time in the night that she felt hope next to fear. Hope that when all this was over she had a chance at love with Charlie. A chance that everything would turn out well.

Because she knew if she didn't make it out of here he would keep her for himself. Because underneath his friendly, cute, nerdy exterior, he was a hurt, scared, insecure serial killer who found redemption in her. And they both seemed to know that she could give him love.

The love to forgive him for what he had done. She was his and whether she wanted to or not he would not let her go. His sweet, dear, beautiful light of hope. No she would never leave him. He would make sure of that.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[ivorivet]

So I recently went to two fiber festivals and now have six fleeces in my house that are varying degrees of stinky and need to be processed. I have a project deadline coming up, so of course my brain decides now is a ~great time~ to procrastinate and wash a stinky fleece!

Here is a Jacob fleece that I picked up for the sole purpose of seeing if I could spin each color in the coat separately, then weave it back together into something with both colors. I took lots of video of the washing process but Tumblr mobile is a nightmare so I'm going to have the stick with stills.

The first step was separating the black and white sections from each other. I couldn't remember if the fleece had been skirted (had all the really horrible bits and poop removed) because I bought it in a novelty-induced dopamine haze, but it turns out it was! So that was lucky. I ended up having a lot of locks that were both black and white, so I made a third pile of mixed locks that I didn't feel like separating further.

Next was the washing/scouring, which I did in a plastic tub in my backyard. The fleece wasn't incredibly dirty but still immediately released a bunch of brown muck in the water when I submerged it.

Wet fleece!!

I did two 20-minute soaks with the hottest tap water I could get and Power Scour (I actually have more of that than Dawn dish soap in my house rn), then a 20 minute rinse soak in hot water. I spun it out and laid it out to dry on this nifty herb drying rack thing.

It was dry enough to work with today and I couldn't resist combing out some of each color. I think it looks pretty neat!

I think I'm going to comb the rest of the fleece because I really like spinning from combed top, and I'll probably make it worsted for easier weaving. I'm waiting on the final weights of each color before deciding what draft to do.

[violetswritingg]

Thunderstruck

Tyler Owens x OFC!

Description: When cowgirl meets cowboy after a year of no-contact and chaos ensues during storm season!

Rating: M (Mentions of blood and death in Tornadoes and storms alike, angst and loss of loved ones, car accidents, Tornado aftermath, and injury to characters, slight age gap (5 years))

Want to read the other chapters?

Click here

2

May, 2010

Oklahoma

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and they would be right. And twelve year old Riley St. James was anything if not her father's daughter. She had grown up watching him chase storms, had been in front of the camera for a little more than some of it. The older chasers out there remember her as Rocket. Always causing chaos whenever her dad brought her around, getting under people's feet and just always wanting to be in on the action.

Not much has changed as she got older, if anything, it only got worse. She had been in front of the camera yes but she had been limited to watching from home with her grandma in bed, her Aunt tucked beside her on the couch, holding her hand and both holding their breath to see if Nathan would make it back to them in one piece. Even though most people would find that stressful the St. James family was anything but normal.

"Riley Josephine Thornton-St. James! Get back in this vehicle right now!" Her dad's voice barely carried out the open window of the Warlock, affectionately nicknamed the St. James mobile by the fans. The 'truck' was more of a tank. 3 inches of steel layered on the outside, a lowering capability on the suspension, a steel skirt around the bottom to keep out air flow and x-wing doors, three-foot-long spikes set up to pierce into the ground to anchor them in should a tornado get to close, or they want to get in the eye of it. Not to mention the double paned, double layered three-inch think Plexi-glass windows.

A street legal tank. In other words.

Riley's grin was bright, even though her baby hair was plastered to her face, despite her effort this morning to make sure it was all braided back when they had left the house, clothes soaked, but she had never been happier.

"One sec!" Riley was never one to be too far from her camera in moments like this. The expensive machinery wrapped protectively in its own little rain poncho and was snapping photos as fast as it could.

The storm they had been tracking since this morning had been playing with them all morning, looking like it was going to touch down and then not, moving on and doing it again. They had been trying to intercept but missing every time, it was shifting its travel and wind speed and making it hard to keep up. She saw something though, and her smile got even bigger, "Dad! Look!"

"What are you seeing Riley?!" Her dad, Nathanial St. James, called, leaning as far in her direction as he dared while in control of the car.

"It's gonna touch down! Go go go!" Her free hand slapped the top of the Warlock, clear Plexi-glass under her palm, layered with steel armor and providing the best views of a storm from the safety of inside and flying debris.

"You heard her." Nathan chuckled and shook his head, pressing on the gas and making the next right. On a muddier dirt road now, trying to get in the path of the storm. It didn't take long, Riley started to climb back in reluctantly knowing her dad wouldn't let her stay out there much longer, she was already pushing it as is. But then she noticed the spin of the clouds.

"It's trying dad! Look at the rotation!"

"I see it Nugget! I see it!" They both watched as the storm spun and spun, both holding their breath as the dark clouds descended little by little. Until-

"And we have tornado Gensis!" She screamed and Nathan whooped as it touched down, roaring to life and taking off. Running from them. Riley once again having her camera in her face and snapping away.

"Alrighty! We have a chance here to complete our objective for today here folks and that is getting those telemetry probes into this tornado here and getting a deeper picture of what it's like in the inner vortex of a tornado. We only have a couple sets of this kind of data and with each new set we expand our understanding of these kinds of storms, and when we understand them, we can start trying to figure out how to stop them or disrupt them."

"Why do you have to make everything so boring?!" Riley laughed like a madwoman, only looking away from her view finder for a second to roll her eyes at her dad through the Plexi-glass roof. The older man narrowing his eyes.

"Watch it." Riley just grinned and stuck her tongue out. "Real mature. We could go home ya know?"

"No, we can't. Besides, like you would just leave a chase right after one touches down in front of you." His daughter knew him too well. He chuckled and shook his head. "Are you seeing this dad! It stopped! Slow down!"

Nathan had seen it a second after his daughter, glancing at the video recorder set up beside him, attached to the panel beside the windshield and aimed inside the cabin of the Warlock. People like to see what was happening inside the vehicle too. He knew it was capturing every second and grinned before looking back at the tornado.

"It seems we are witnessing a tornado stand still here folks, what a time to be alive! And what better time than Rocket's first chase! Just a note that this kind of behavior isn't normal for the majority of tornados. It's only been witnessed once before by a friend of mine in last year." Nathan beamed as he started to take his foot off the accelerator. Doing as his daughter asked. Knowing another camera was catching it directly from the view out of the front windshield at the same time. Allowing him to focus on this moment.

The lens caught the proud look bubbling in the father's eyes as he watched his daughter laugh in the rain. Her camera abandoned around her neck as she stuck an arm out, the other securing her inside the car. Her head tilted back as she let out a happy scream. Her mind stuck on how the cold droplets stung her cheeks and made her feel like she had been struck by lightning. Her smile is wide as the sky, feeling the wind pulling at her clothes. Strands of hair getting pulled loose, but she couldn't care less. Skin sticky with humidity that dripped in fat drop along with the rain and small hail pieces that had just started to drop down and sting her skin with every strike.

"It's still not moving. Why is it not moving? It's not going to dissipate, is it?" She yelled over the wind, coming back to the moment. Looking down into the Warlock as much as she could. Her dad's eyes were on the tornado, though, his grin had faded and something settled poorly in Riley's stomach. "No, that's not right, the rotation is still going and – oh shit." She saw the vertices along the storm and her stomach sank. Vertices, to Riley's best understanding, were the streaks of little tornados you see when it's a strong tornado. And she could tell the wind had picked up.

Something dark moved in the corner of her eye and she screamed, dodging something, it was too fast to tell what. But she had a feeling that was a lot closer than her brain was letting her process at this moment, and she could feel the shift in the air.

"Inside. Now!" Riley immediately had her ass in her seat. Harness and seatbelt on and the double layered windows locked up in their storm position. "Good girl, hold on." Her dad reversed.

"No, no, no! Dad the storm is moving north!" Riley pointed to the obvious direction of the tornado, her voice approaching a shrill cry.

"The team already reported it, NWS has it and warning have been issued. We have to get out of here. It's starting to pick up speed." His voice was no-nonsense. Anyone of his team members would nod and follow the orders but not Riley. Because why would his daughter ever listen to him?

"No, we don't! We're still miles out," Throwing her arm to the front, chilled fingers pointing at the distance as if her dad couldn't tell for himself just fine, but she didn't care, she had a point to prove, "Besides, it's still going slow enough right now that we can catch up, get in its path, anchor, launch the probes, and get the data. But only if we go right now! There is nothing in its way, no towns, no nothing. It's the perfect tornado and you know it." She started to rummage around in the back, finding what she was looking for and wrapping a blanket around her.

"Riley." His tone was a warning, too bad his daughter took after him.

"Dad please. I'm not scared." Riley pleaded, "The car will protect us. That's what it's here for yeah?" Looking at him with her big blue eyes was enough to kill him, the father simply crumpling. He had taught her well; she knew what to do. He had to trust her.

"If it gets to be too much, you tell me, we turn around. Got it?" He checked in, needing her to know they would still turn around if she needed them too. No arguments, just fleeing the storm he's usually driving into.

"Got it." Riley nodded, her grin stupidly bright, practically vibrating, "Now North."

"You're gonna kill me one of these days kid." Her dad chuckles and shakes his head. Looking to the video recorder, "You heard her guys. Missions still on." He grabs his walkie and gets in contact with the other half of the team coming up around the back of the storm system. Getting a check-in of all systems go.

"Okay, here we go." Riley muttered after a couple more turns and a shift in direction they had managed to catch up. The swirling streams of air were dark and ominous and Riley shifted in her seat, Nathan noticing, Riley grabbed the tablet from the glove box, it wasn't huge, but it was new and she could see the doppler and radar readings on it. She looked to her dad, seeing what was happening and feeling her chest twist in anxiety, but she didn't show it. She trusted the Warlock, she trusted her dad. they would be okay.

"It's not an EF1 anymore dad." Riley informed, looking to the man with a worried downturn to her young eyebrows.

"I know, trust me I know." Nathan grit, white knuckling the steering wheel, his foot still on the gas. "Hold on!" He called as he sped up.

"It's right there dad!" The mam came to a screeching halt, pulling to the shoulder.

"Warlock lowered, Deploy spikes." Nathan spoke into his walkie, Riley reached to the center console and hit the button that did so. The sound of the hydraulics lost in the cacophony of wind and rain. "Rocket loaded," Nathan muttered into the walkie again, his finger hovering the launch button watching the roof, waiting. Riley watched him in awe, looking up at the tornado, wishing she could understand what was happening fully, but she still had a lot to learn.

The Warlock withholds and Riley is shaking. Her head felt like it was about the explode and the roar of the wind was all she could hear along with her dad screaming that the probes were launched and him telling her to hold on. The wind started to pick up more and the car groaned.

"Dad!" Riley's hands were white knuckling over her harness straps.

"It's okay! Just breathe baby girl. Just breathe! You're doing amazing!"

The car started to get pulled and tilt, Riley screamed as they were rolled down the side of the country road, landing upside down in an irrigation ditch as the tornado continued to push them around in the field. The heavy chassis is the only thing keeping them on the ground at this point. Nathan wanted to curse everything. What happened to the light EF1?!

"Hold on! We're caught in the back draft!" Riley grimaced as they were pulled back in reverse and then spit forward. She could feel the weight of the Warlock shifting and so did her dad. Nathan thrown an arm across his daughter's shoulder's to hold her steady as the Warlock was picked up. The tail end of it lifting up first. When they were fully in the air they didn't stick around long in the tornado. Getting tossed after about 10 seconds inside.

All Riley could see was grey, and dark. Debris flying all around them, her pupils blown as her adrenaline spiked and her palms began to sweat. Her throat closed up and she gripped onto her father's arm for dear life. It was over in the blink of an eye, but it felt like an eternity. And next thing she knew she was weightless before feeling the violent jolt. A crash. And then they were rolling. An involuntary scream left her throat and her dad held onto her tighter.

They rolled until, but by some stroke of luck, they rolled right back onto their tires. The tornado moving away from them now, but instead of demanding to follow it Riley was silent. Her chest fluttering with every sharp breath. Blue eyes wide, pupils blown wider as she shook in her seat.

"Riley? Baby? Look at me, are you hurt? Any blood. Hey, hey!" Nathan's matching irises searched his daughter's face as he questioned her. He was a little shook from that, he can't imagine what she's feeling. It was his raised voice and his hands on her face forcing her eyes to meet his that broke her out of her frozen state. Nathan's eyebrows scrunched heavily in the middle of his forehead, his every pore bleeding worry, fear, for his kid. Normal parent things. He could never tell what she was going to do and she did what she always does, send him for a loop, as she started laughing. Throwing her head forward against her dad's chest. Loud cackles leaving her as the adrenaline hits heavy and leaves her system fast now that they weren't in danger and her shoulders shake. Her dad grins a little but is still trying to find any injuries.

"I'm okay dad, I'm okay." She breathed, letting him push back some of her now dried hair, now much frizzier than before but that was the last of her worries, "I promise. But holy shit!"

Nathan was going to scold her but the water in her eyes cut off his harsh tone in his throat, tears were falling down her face as she kept laughing. And his eyes softened, petting her hair gently.

"I'm right here. We're okay. Just breathe for me, okay? Can you do that?" Nathan knew better than most what adrenaline can do to an adult body, but for kids as young as Riley it was something completely different. "Follow me." He mimicked a breathing technique he had learned early on to help him cope with this himself. He still did it after rough chases, or a close call. It helped ground him.

"Did we get the data?" she breathed out and her dad grinned. Grabbing his daughter's chin lightly and moving her head to annoy her. handing her the tablet with his other hand.

"I don't know, why don't you check?" Her dad smiles down at her softly, still keyed up for adrenaline and fighting off his own shakes.

Now that he knew Riley was okay, he got out of the car, leaving her to have fun analyzing, she didn't fully understand all the numbers yet and that was to be expected, she was 12. But she liked to watch them roll in, it meant they had accomplished something.

"Baby," her dad whispered as he opened the driver door up, motioning for Riley to come to him, holding a hand out. She scrambled over the center console and all it's switches and buttons. Her dad laughing at the excitement in her eyes. "There's something I think you'll want to see. Grab the camera."

When she had the camera in her hands and was on her feet in front of him, looking up at him like he hung the stars in the sky, he smiled softly down at his daughter. Brushing some of her hair down before placing his hand on the back of her shoulder and leading her out in the muddy field. Her boots squishing in it with every step. She followed where her dad was pointing and her breath was stolen from her lungs. The hail in the storm causing a bright blue glow among the shelf clouds feeding into the storm. It reminded her of a clear blue lake, perfect.

"Yeah, it is. You knew what you were talking about huh?" Her dad chuckled as Riley startled, not knowing she had said it out loud. Throwing his arm around his daughter's shoulders and pulling her into a brief side hug after she pulled her camera from her face. Both of them enjoying the moment, Riley's smile soft but content, her temple against his shoulder as she leaned into her dad. "If you feel it?" He whispered into her hair

"Chase it!" Riley chirped and giggled, Nathan following suit until they were both hunched over and gasping. Clinging onto another to keep upright. 

It was perfect. It was.

Until it wasn't.

[breella]

I love your work!!!!! For a Trystan idea maybe you can do something with Tristan feeling the mate bond with Bryce’s new friend where he hits on her all the time but she thinks he’s just being nice because she’s friends with Bryce… then he sees her all dressed up at one of their house parties talking to a guy and gets very jealous and gets in a fight because she’s his mate and it ends with him taking her upstairs and smut

Thank you so much!! I love this idea! I hope you enjoy it!

Mates

A/N: This is my first request and I love it so much! Written on mobile so sorry for any mistakes.

Content warnings: sex and language.

You had just moved into your new apartment a few months ago. You lived across the hall from Bryce. The two of you met in the hallway one day and you instantly clicked. You quickly became best friends. She had introduced you to her friends and brother and you really enjoyed spending time with them as well. Especially Tristan. You had developed a strong connection with him. He was constantly flirting with you but hadn't made an actual move or asked you out. The first few times you hung out with him, you hoped it would lead to something more, but it never had. You gave up hope on anything beyond a friendship and figured he was just nice to you because you were Bryce's friend.

Bryce had invited you to another party at Ruhn's tonight. You had decided that you weren't going to spend your night chasing after Tristan this time. You were going to dance and have fun; maybe even meet a male. You hadn't been with anyone since you and your ex broke up almost a year ago. Bryce told you it was time for that to change which is why she was currently at your apartment tearing through your closet to find you the perfect outfit.

"This!" Bryce squealed as she handed you a short black leather skirt and a low cut black body suit to go with it.

"Are you sure?" you giggled. This skirt is really short. I don't want to accidently flash someone."

"So what if you do? I'm sure they wouldn't mind. You're really hot." Bryce laughed.

You rolled your eyes and went into the bathroom to change. You had to admit the outfit did look good on you. It accentuated all of your best features. You walked back out so Bryce could see.

"Damn! Tristan won't be able to resist you in this." She giggled. You had made the mistake of drunkenly telling Bryce about your crush on him one night and she was never going to let you live it down.

"I don't care what Tristan thinks" you sighed. You wanted it to be true but you knew deep down it wasn't. It was silly how much it bothered you. You had only known him for a few months, but you felt so drawn to him for some reason. You couldn't stop thinking about him, and it hurt that you didn't think he felt the same. You promised yourself that tonight you were going to have fun without him though. You were going to drink and dance and meet new people.

...

An hour later you and Bryce walked into Ruhn, Tristan, and Dec's place. Hunt was working and promised Bryce he would meet her there later. You both spotted Ruhn right away. He waved and walked over hugging Bryce first and then you. "Glad you guys came" he said. The three of you chatted for a minute before he returned to the people he was talking to before. You had looked around but hadn't seen Tristan anywhere. You weren't going to go out of your way to look for him. If he wanted to talk to you, he would have to come to you.

"Let's go get drinks" Bryce exclaimed. The two of you headed into the kitchen to grab whatever concoction the boys were serving today. "Flynn is probably in the living room. I'll help you look." Bryce teased.

"No thanks" you said before taking a big drink. "I told you I'm not worried about him tonight. I'm going to have fun. He can find me if he wants."

"Playing hard to get? I like it." Bryce giggled.

You rolled your eyes at her "Let's dance."

The two of you headed into the other room. It was crowded and the music was super loud. You usually avoided this area during parties. You much preferred to find a quiet corner and talk to your friends, but you promised you were going to put yourself out there more so here you were. You and Bryce had been drinking and dancing for a while when a really cute guy came up to you. "I just wanted to say you are absolutely stunning" he said.

"Thanks" you blushed.

"I'm Sam"

"Y/N" you replied.

"I'm going to go grab another drink if you want to come with me" he replied.

He was hot. Maybe not as hot as Tristan but you shouldn't even be thinking about him. Sam could definitely be a nice distraction for you tonight.

"Sure" you smiled "I need a refill anyways." You motioned to show Bryce you were leaving and she just wiggled her eyebrows in reply. You really hoped Sam didn't notice. The two of you chatted for a while in the kitchen. He told you about how he had recently gotten a job with the aux and you told him about how you had just moved to Crescent City a few months prior. He made you laugh and you really enjoyed talking to him.

After talking for a while he asked if you wanted to go back and dance with him. You agreed and he put his hand on your lower back to lead you to the dance floor. "You have less than 10 seconds to get your hands off of her" a voice came from behind you. You instantly froze.

"I'll gladly move my hand if she asks me to" Sam replied turning to face the male. You turned with him. You were still in shock.

"Tristan?" You had never seen him look so angry. You didn't understand why he cared.

He didn't make eye contact with you. He didn't even acknowledge that you had spoken to him. His focus was fully on Sam and the look he had in his eyes was terrifying. He took a step forward closer to Sam. You had to give Sam some credit; he didn't back down even though any sane person would have with the way Tristan was looking at him like he was ready to kill him. "I suggest you remove your fucking hand from my mate before I break it." He growled.

Your head was spinning. Surely you had misunderstood him. There was no way he just said you were his mate, right? "Sorry man. I didn't know." Sam removed his hand from your back and walked away. The few other people in the kitchen also had enough sense to leave. Leaving you and Tristan standing there staring at each other. Your mouth was dry and you felt like you were frozen. You didn't know what to say or how to feel. On one hand, Tristan was your mate and you were ecstatic. You knew you had felt a strong connection with him and this just validated your feelings. On the other, he had hid this from you for who knows how long and was acting like a completely possessive alphahole.

"Y/N I-"

"What the fuck was that?" you shouted. Finally processing enough to speak.

"I'm sorry." He sighed running a hand through his hair. You stepped closer to him. You weren't even sure why you were doing it. You should be mad at him. You were trying to force yourself to be mad at him but it wasn't working.

"How long have you known?"

"A couple months."

"Why didn't you tell me?" you were scared of his answer. What if he was upset that you were his mate? Maybe that jealous display was just instinct but he really didn't want you. The thought hurt more than you thought possible.

"I wanted you to figure it out on your own and..."

"And what?" you replied subconsciously moving closer. You were about as close as you could get without touching him now.

"And I was afraid you would reject me and the mating bond." He sighed looking down. he looked almost defeated. It hurt something deep inside of you to see him looking like that. Before you even knew what you were doing you moved your hands up to his face and pulled him down to kiss him. It started slow at first but quicky became more passionate. You moved your hands to rest around his neck. His hands were roaming your body like he couldn't get enough of you. He finally broke away from you and rested his forehead against your. "I've wanted to kiss you for so long" he panted.

"Are there any other things you've wanted to do to me?" you batted your lashes at him feigning innocence.

"Fuck yes." he replied grabbing your hand. He pushed through the crowd leading you upstairs to his room as you giggled.

Once you got to his room he wasted no time. He slammed the door behind you and locked it. "I'm going to make sure every male here tonight knows you're mine he growled. "You look so fucking hot in that outfit. You've been driving me crazy all night." He was suddenly pushing you against the wall. His lips crashed into yours again. your hands tugged his shirt up and over his head breaking the kiss. You needed to feel his skin. As soon as his shirt was out of the way his lips began attacking your neck. Little moans escaped your mouth and you knew he was leaving marks. He trailed his mouth all the way down your cleavage until he got to the top of your bodysuit. He grabbed your legs and wrapped them around his waist so he could carry you over to his bed. He laid you on your back and his hands reached for your skirt. He paused to look at you with a questioning look in his eyes. You nodded and he quickly removed your skirt and bodysuit.

"Shit" he said admiring the lacey red bra and panty set you were wearing. "You're perfect." One of his hands traced over your slit through your panties and you bucked your hips wanting more. He smirked down at you. "What's wrong?" he teased.

"I need you, Tristan." you breathlessly replied.

He pushed your panties to the side and and began running slow circles over your clit. You moaned closed your eyes, desperate for more. he pulled the cups of your bra down to expose your breasts. His mouth quickly attached to one of your nipples sucking and biting as he increased his speed on your clit. You were already embarrassingly close to your first orgasm and you had just started. "First you're going to cum on my fingers, then your going to cum on my face, then you're going to cum on my cock. Understood?"

"Yes Tristan. Please. I need more." you practically begged.

He smirked at you again and inserted 2 fingers inside of you while still circling your clit with his thumb. The stretch from his fingers combined with the pleasure from your clit had you coming undone in no time.

He gave you no time to settle before his mouth was attached to your clit. "Oh my gods" you moaned. Your hands were in his hair pulling him closer. You were so sensitive from just cumming on his fingers. The pleasure was absolutely overwhelming. You were sure the whole house could hear the noises you were making but you didn't care. Your mate was driving you wild and you were loving every second of it. You were seeing stars as you felt your second orgasm of the night building. He placed his 2 fingers back inside as his tongue continued its attack on your clit. This was enough to send you over the edge again. He licked and sucked you through your high not stopping until he was sure you were finished.

"That was... I... wow" was all you could say. He chuckled as he removed his pants and boxers.

"Ready for round 3?" He smirked.

This was going to be a long nigh and you couldn't wait.

[madhattervanessa]

...and Lady’s Slipper

Pairing: Benedict Bridgerton x f!Reader

Summary: After the ball, you and Benedict make haste to show each other just how much you have missed each other in the off season.

Warnings: Smut!, Creampie but kind of with protection- otherwise, you’re good

Words: 2654

prev. Chapter

Masterlist - Mobile Masterlist

He helps you out of the carriage at the final destination. The cool evening air is a brief shock, conversation and wine had previously made the air feel much warmer. You lift your hand from Benedict’s grasp as you let your eyes climb the building in front of you.

“This is Anthony’s bachelor apartment, is it not?”

Benedict’s brows jump and furrow in quick succession and you know that quirk of his lips, having caught his train of thought before he can return his expression to that handsome and appeasing smile. 

“Oh don’t look at me like that, Benedict. We both know I simply do not have the time for two Bridgerton pups at the hem of my skirt.”

You stride forwards to the door with him close behind. You wait for him on the stoop, brows raised as he opens and closes his mouth, one foot already on the steps as he looks at you.

“I did not-”, he stops before he reaches your side, the key already in hand. He sighs, turning the key over in his hand. “I apologize.”

“You never were good at hiding your thoughts.” Your soft, teasing tone makes the tension in his shoulders ebb. You wish you could reach out to soothingly rub his back but his handyman is still watching the two of you.

“I hope you accept my apology.”

"I do. Don't worry about it."

He opens the door to the house and quickly ushers you up the few flights of stairs.

He gently grasps your arm as you pass another door to make you stop in front of the right one. You bump into him and giggle, eliciting a quiet laugh from him before he shushes you.

You get lost in the way the corners of his eyes crinkle as he does and lean into him, still smiling as you press a kiss to his lips.

He raises his hand to your chin and tugs you closer, his nose nudged against yours as he returns the kiss with a sigh.

He barely parts from you as he speaks again in a hushed voice.

“Darling- let us get inside, at least.”

“I am waiting for you”, you mutter before pressing another kiss to his lips. He wraps his arm around your waist and all but lifts you off of your feet with this one. He presses you against the door and you gasp as you collide with the hard wood. He uses your parted lips to his advantage to indulge in another deep kiss, his tongue brushing against yours.

Suddenly, the door behind you gives. Instead of gracelessly falling, Benedict hauls you against him, actually lifting you this time and managing to pin you to the other side of the door, his hands quickly locking it. 

As soon as the safe cocoon of the apartment surrounds you, you both leave what little inhibitions you still had, behind. His lips quickly move from yours, down your jaw, to your neck.

“I’ve missed you, greatly, darling, like the flowers in spring yearning for the first showing of sun.”

You laugh, breathlessly, your eyes opening slightly to watch as he adorns the swell of your breasts with gentle kisses. His warm hands splay over your back, wandering freely as you melt against him.

“Benedict- I… I have missed you, as well, but please, let's try to get to bed”, you manage to whisper. He looks up at you and before you know it, he lifts you off of your feet to carry you into the next room. You press another kiss to his jaw, your eyes flitting around the rooms you’re being carried through.

He lets you down in one of the largest rooms: One of the walls is completely filled with a bookshelf, and your eyes stick to a beautiful chaise near it. You’re set down close to it, and while Ben sits down behind you, you are distracted by the bookshelf spanning the wall opposite of you. You distantly feel him kissing the nape of your neck just as you spot the easel and the table next to it with bunches of papers and sketches.

“Is that yours?” You are quick to escape his grip to pick up the sketchbook on the table, your fingers already working the leather bindings open to manage a peek inside.

He sighs and you sneak a glance at him on the chaise over the pages you thumb through them - beautiful still lives, a few sketches of Anthony, his youngest siblings in the garden or Daphne at the piano forte. 

“Maybe. Yes. Yes, but they are nothing important-”

Nestled in between the bound pages are loose papers and you remember quite a few of those days in quite different context than depicted - that is, until you turn towards the back of the sketchbook and oh, those you do remember quite well.

You meet his gaze and he stays pinned in his spot, his eyes nervously flitting back and forth between you and the paper.

“What is this, Benedict?”

“Sketches”, he very flatly states, swallowing hard as you smirk at him.

“I should hope this is a private sketchbook and not one you think of preparing for being granted access to an art school.”

You let your fingers drag over one of the flowers sketched next to your likeness - peonies, beautifully captured after several attempts scattered around other pages.

“It seems you have paid quite some attention to my constant blabbering concerning my work.”

“Now you are insulting the both of us”, he scoffs and turns towards the decanter and glasses on the table next to him. He gently fills two glasses as he watches you casting critical looks onto the pages in front of you.

You smile at the way he had taken to freely filling your glass with whatever hard liquor Anthony seemed to spoil his brother and himself with - a delicacy for you, something you would never drink in public or in front of your father.

“You are not just blabbering”, he starts before turning towards you. He hands you one of the glasses and gently clinks them together before you both take a small sip. You hum at the taste and lick over your lips briefly before turning towards the chaise in the room.

“And these are quite beautiful.”

“You flatter me.”

“What can I say, other than that I like stroking your ego from time to time.” 

He shoots you an amused look before walking over towards the empty easel to put a canvas on it.

“Would you like to try?”

You hum, intrigued by the offer, and take another sip of your drink before you join him.

“I’m not sure my hand is worthy of such a big canvas”, you murmur as you stare at the blank space. 

“Then start small.”

He hands you a small piece of coal before pulling you towards his chest. He lets his chin rest on your shoulder, an inquisitive brow raised at the canvas as you lift your hand. 

You think of the flowers of the night’s arrangement and start trying to get their shape onto the canvas.

He sits, patiently, occasionally sipping from his glass or pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

They don't come out quite right, yet you keep going until there is a diagonal arrangement of them decorating the canvas.

"You should consider taking lessons, young Miss. We might still make a painter out if you", he drawls against your ear.

You giggle, quite unladylike, if you recall the words of your late governess correctly.

"Just this evening you called me an artist." You turn your head towards him and your noses brush. 

"You are. But there is no shame in broadening one's horizon."

He nudges his nose forwards and your lips touch, barely. Your breath hitches and you close your eyes. 

"Is that our plan for the rest of the evening or are you going to tutor me instead, Mister Bridgerton?"

He bites at your lip and your heart slams against your throat.

"I seem to remember someone becoming very distracted by my sketchbook while I was attempting to do something else entirely."

"They are very enthralling."

"I shall make sure to invite you to one of mister Granville's… outings. So you may admire the art. But for now", he takes the glass of liquor from your hand and sets it next to his own on the table next to you. When he turns back, his arms wrap around you entirely, his nose pressed against your cheek. "Let us finally retire to bed, darling."

He makes you stand and turns you in his arms. You lean in for a kiss. He returns it, softly, his hands gently guiding you backwards through the apartment. 

"I have missed you. Every day."

You laugh quietly into the kiss before letting him move on.

"You already told me", you whisper and he acknowledges it with barely a hum. 

He stops you and his fingers go to open the front of your dress. You reach for the back but he simply turns you again, his fingers making quick work of the buttons and ribbons as his mouth attaches to your neck.

As soon as your dress falls, you reach for him. Your lips meet wetly and you feel his tongue nudge against yours.

You both gasp when you fall onto the bed. A mess of hands and fabrics ensues. When you finally manage to take his shirt off, you meet eyes in relief. He buries his nose in your neck and you feel a pleasant tingle at his needy inhale against your skin.

You turn your head and tug the lobe of his ear into your mouth, biting softly at it and the shuddering moan that he breathes against you is exhilarating. 

"Ben- please-"

He is all but ripping his pants off, panting into your neck as he pulls them down. You lean up onto your elbows, one of your hands helping to push the fabric off.

"You're still taking that tea?" He mutters, already kissing you again, stealing your breath.

"Yes, of course", you whisper back between kisses, the wetness on your lip tingling as you speak. Your eyes meet, conspiratorially.  

"I missed you", he admits, again, his arms pushing your legs up until they are resting in his elbows. The tension makes you blush, even more as you watch him swipe the length of his cock through your wet folds, coming away glistening- his lips part and you grasp his shoulders, feeling an overwhelming need to have his mouth back on yours. He kisses you deeply, muffling your moan as he stretches you with his cock.

You dig your nails into his skin. Any attempt to roll your hips into his is fruitless, his hand and arms keeping you perfectly still as he thrusts into you.

Your hands fall to the sheets and you fist the soft fabric when Benedict covers your body with his, his hips rolling into yours relentlessly, drawing moans out of you that you can’t hide. 

"This is just the way you like it, yes?", he groans and you throw your head back. He follows with his lips close to your ear. "Tell me." He doesn’t leave you any room to breathe, kissing you more and dragging his tongue over yours as he plunges his cock into you. You writhe underneath him and he parts before repeating his demand for an answer in another whisper close to your lips.

"God, yes, please don't stop", you gasp. 

“Say it again.”

“Don’t stop- please.”

You happily let yourself be buried underneath him as he presses you into the mattress with his weight, his thrusts growing harsh.

"I'm not going to last-"

"I don't care", you gasp and tug on his hair, exposing his throat to you. He groans when your lips meet his neck, his hand underneath your thighs gripping harder until you bite at him.

His thrusts send you up on the mattress, two, three, until he smacks his hand against the headboard and you feel him spill inside of you.

You both breathe heavily, your teeth still dug into his neck when he loosens his grip on you. You gasp and let your head fall back while he kisses your brow. He lavishes your chest with more of his kisses and you frown before opening your eyes to stare at the ceiling. His lips keep wandering and you gasp when he reaches your hip but continues lower.

“Ben- what are you doing?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he latches his lips to where he had been fucking into you just moments ago. You all but sit upright at the warm shock of it; your hands reach into his hair immediately before you level a look at him.

He has closed his eyes, brows furrowed as he licks into you.

“That’s- too much- Ben, it’s too much”, you sigh and he lifts his face off of you for a moment, pressing a sticky kiss to the inside of your thigh.

“I just wanted a taste, dearest.”

He lays down beside you, an arm already extending to fall around your shoulders and you squirm away from him.

"You are hot as an oven, Ben, get off-", you laugh but he is ruthless and tugs your naked body back to him until you're draped over his chest.

"Come here."

You melt into him as he splays his fingers over the back of your neck. The gentle motion makes your eyelids droop and you can hear him murmur something but sleep takes you before you can think about answering him.

-

You blink against the sun falling through the window as you wake up. Your eyebrows twitch as you stretch your legs, the evening slowly coming back to you.

Behind you, Benedict has buried his nose deep in your neck, his arms wound around your waist. As you move your hips a bit, he huffs and immediately tugs you back towards him.

“Just a moment longer, dearest. Then we can discuss your plans for the day, yes?”, he murmurs, his lips pressing another kiss to your neck.

You sigh but smile anyways, happily letting him nip and kiss at your neck. Your eyes follow the sunbeams towards the window where the curtains gently sway with the breeze.

You turn your head towards him and he grumbles. As he lifts his head to kiss you, you both hear the lock of the front door rattling loudly.

Benedict parts from you and curses under his breath. He kicks the covers off immediately, continuously cussing, only stopping to cover you with the bedding again. 

You watch with great amusement as he stumbles out of bed and scrambles to get into his pants. As you sit up in the bed, careful to cover your chest as you do, the culprit of the interruption finally exposes himself.

“Benedict- brother, where are you? I heard you came here last night, I need you for something!”

You let your head fall back with a big grin, more amused than embarrassed. Much like with his mother, there was seldom anything that could get past the Viscount Anthony Bridgerton.

“Ben.” He turns towards you, his head just passed through the collar of his shirt.

You crook your finger at him and after a short, panicked look towards the door where Anthony can be heard muttering to himself, he walks over to you. You drag him into a searing kiss by the collar of his shirt.

He grunts but a short, soft noise follows as you lick over his lip.

When you part, his eyes seem to light up before he turns towards the door.

“I’ll return shortly.”

You hum, delighted at the sight of his flushed cheeks as you watch him peek out of the door.

He throws another wink at you before slipping out and greeting his brother.

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 2 - Prompt: Luxuriate @pandalilymicrofics

February Daily Series - 695 words

**TW: brief mention of a parent’s transphobia**

<<<Previous Part

James mentioned a woman named “Lily” specifically. Why?

Pandora paused her frantic packing and grabbed her phone from the dresser. She needed more than a first name. After a thorough search through Sirius’s recent Instagram posts, she found one that was tagged @ lilyflower, but her profile was private.

“Aren’t you lovely?” she whispered, opening the photo of the pretty redhead dancing with Sirius.

“Where are you going?”

She ignored her brother’s question as she stuffed her mobile in the pocket of her skirt. Thankfully, this one was vintage and actually had usable pockets sewn in. Pandora tucked in the last few bits and bobs, then closed the bulging bag.

“Shut up and help me,” she huffed, tugging on the zipper.

Evan appeared at her side to lean on the top of the bag. “Don’t be snippy. Mum said you were ‘abandoning us for that girl,’” he imitated, scowling as he added, “so I assume the old cow meant Regulus.”

“Yes, I was invited to Wales to meet his new boyfriend. He’s from Scotland, I think, so taking a train to Wales was more convenient.”

“Can I come too? You can’t leave me here with them, Pandora,” he chastised, hitching his thumb over his shoulder. “You know as well as I do that their ‘party’ is complete shite.”

Pandora shook her head. “I didn’t buy the ticket, James did. Besides, I’ve had enough of you for one holiday.”

“Come on! I’m bored!”

“That’s what happens when you dump your boyfriend.”

Evan glared at her as she pulled the suitcase to the floor. “You know perfectly well why I had to do that! I didn’t want to. He’s just…”

“Toxic? An arsehole? A lying, cheating prick?” she suggested, smiling brightly.

“Says you! He wasn’t that way with me.”

“Then why did you break up with him?”

Evan ducked his head and grumbled under his breath. “Because he hurt Regulus.”

“Exactly!”

“But I didn’t know that when we started dating! We met at the shop, and it was long-distance most of the time. You didn’t know either, until you spoke to him,” he defended.

Pandora shrugged, then pulled up the handle on her suitcase. “Never met him in person and Reg didn’t like to FaceTime back then. That doesn’t change who he is. When you know better, you do better.”

“So what? You’re punishing me now? I have to stay here in hell while you luxuriate in some lush Welsh Inn?”

“I doubt it’s posh, Evan. It’s Wales, not Versailles.”

“I miss Versailles. So many pretty blokes,” he said wistfully. “We should go back.”

She waved him off as she searched for her purse. It was a bright green bag that she’d crocheted herself when she was in her yarn phase. “Then go back. No one’s stopping you. I’m quite happy in London. I have a decent job and a nice flat with Reg and Dorcas.”

“You don’t have to rub it in.”

“Sure I do. You made your choice, Evan, and I made mine.”

“I like my job! I just hate it here.”

She threw a hand up to stop the incoming tirade she’d heard on repeat since coming home last week. “Enough. You’re an adult, act like one.”

He closed his mouth and snatched up the handle of her luggage. She knew he was frustrated, but she’d hit her breaking point. Even compassion had its limits.

“Look, I’m sorry for leaving you behind. I just need to enjoy a little of this holiday. As much as I love you, you’re infuriating!”

“Me? You’re the one ripping my head off and hiding in your room!” Evan shot back, roughly yanking her suitcase down the stairs.

The case barely survived its perilous journey to the front door, and Pandora was grateful she’d remembered to tuck her glasses into its hard case for once. With a stern warning to stay awake to watch for “train hooligans,” her mother hugged her and shooed her away. Outside the house, a town car that James insisted on sending idled. Before she knew it, she was staring through double-paned train windows in first class as the world flew by while her mind fixated on one name.

Lily. Why did he mention “Lily?”

Next Part>>>

[animehouse-moe]

Mobile Suit Gundam - The Witch From Mercury S2 Episode 11: Unrelenting Tenderness

Ah, nothing like being stressed out for an entire episode as to whether or not Suletta will succumb to the high permet score, or if Guel will end up killed by Lauda or kill another family member, or if our Elan will go off and die like the others, or this that and the other thing, all to get faked out for the real danger/moment. Incredible work on the episode that skirts around a more high level narrative to instead approach characters head on to unify them for this "final" episode to come, so certainly lots to talk about!

Well actually, sort of unexpectedly, the episode starts with a Calibarn vs Aerial fight that's showing off to the max. Of course, Suletta and Eri are having their chat about ideals and what's right/what they should be doing, but I'm pretty sure most people understand what's going on, so I'll just share how absolutely cool the fighting is for these scenes.

The pacing is wild, and given the scale of the combat, I think the decision to take the objects further away from the viewer so details matter less was a great idea. It allows for incredible pace in the fight without worry of being perfect, or taking absolute ages to complete. Plus, the way the fight's constructed in three dimensional space, you still get close ups and flybys past the camera that allow you a closer glimpse into the combat. Just really, really well orchestrated combat for the feel that was desired of it.

Similarly, I love how well designed the combat style of the Calibarn is. If you notice through the sequence, Suletta isn't actually retaliating against the Gund Bits at all, rather she's purely evading them. As you'd expect of Calibarn. It's main form of movement is also its source of combat power as the, as I like to call it, "broomstick" is used for high powered propulsion through the fight. And I think that's a super cool idea for a design, especially with how this episode show it off.

But anyways, the fight rages on as Lauda engages with Guel, the Earth House + Elan + Bel, and Felsi all sortie to enter the fray as we cut to the opening.

Following the opening, and a bit more dancing around with various characters to establish where they are/what they're doing, the data storm of Quiet Zero suddenly begins to wane/fail. This is a really cool piece that reminds viewers of where Quiet Zero began. Under the supervision of Miorine's mother Notrette. It also reminds viewers about the fact that Delling Rembran continued the Quiet Zero project in secrecy, but disavowed the existence of Gundams. Anyways, I present to you the notion that Notrette still exists in the Data Storm, and that she's the one interfering with Prospera and Eri. Ericht's frustration in regards to the data storm stalling out are directed at someone, nothing something, but another person that shares a similar goal/ideal to Ericht. Prospera's comment on pest control. It all implies a lot of things, and there's not many others that would check enough boxes aside from Notrette.

We temporarily shift from Quiet Zero towards a very interesting conversation with the Space Assembly League. Given what we've known with the last while in regards to the league, I wouldn't say it was expected, but it was certainly a possibility that they would stick their nose into the situation in full. What I find most interesting about it is how much this opens up the world of GWitch. The existence of a massive space laser that's a "tool for transferring energy", and the idea that civil unrest and discord still exists on Earth, coupled with the fact that Shaddiq's character arc hasn't actually been concluded. There's a lot of moving pieces that say, "but we're not done yet!", so I'm very curious to see what comes from their involvement and the various politics surrounding the league as well as Earth.

Now, onto the most nerve-wracking and stressful part of the episode: Lauda vs Guel. My heart was in my throat this whole time. The conversation, the Gundam vs Mobile Suit, the flashback. So much of it. I'd been stressed since we saw Lauda show up in the last episode, and they certainly drew it out in today's, but the character development for Lauda in particular was outstanding.

The whole idea of the being the younger brother that just wanted to stand beside his sibling but never could rings so clearly with his words. That Guel chose Miorine over his own brother, that Guel killed their father and never told Lauda, that Guel left Lauda just as quickly as he returned. All he wants is the big brother that accepted him all those years ago, the big brother that give him the gift of a family, someone to look up to, someone to go running to when times were tough. It's an incredibly emotional piece that builds off of Guel's similar encounter with his father. It had me so scared. Going back into Lauda's memories to find Guel hug and accept Lauda, and then returning to see Guel's Dilanza embrace Lauda's Schwarzette in the same way as sparks fly and you sense the end of Guel.

I'll never forgive GWitch for scaring me that badly, but thank God Felsi had already rocketed out in her mobile suit to break up the fight. But yeah, Gigabob continues his tear of being the best boy this season, and brings his little brother Lauda under his wing finally. Incredible piece that gives Guel the chance to right the wrongs of his past with his father, and to step into the light with his burden lightened.

So with the most nerve-wracking sequence finished, we return to Earth House and Co who have infiltrated Quiet Zero and are trying to shut it down. It's tense and high stakes, and there's great moments like Bel standing up to Prospera, who represents the sins that Bel herself bears.

The real moment though is Miorine (and Notrette to a degree). Miorine is tasked with inputting the shut down code for Quiet Zero, which was originally 'Quod Erat Demonstrandum', or in the literal translation 'What Was To Be Shown'. Typically, it's used at the end of math proofs as a way to conclude them, so an interesting addition in the form of originally 'concluding' Quiet Zero while staying true to Notrette's penchant for latin phrases.

Of course, Prospera changed the code so it doesn't work, but like Eri hinted at earlier, Notrette isn't completely gone, and is still helping her daughter Miorine by providing a backdoor to which only she would know the answer: part of the genetic code of the tomatoes that her mother left behind. A really sweet piece that speaks to Notrette's love for Miorine, but also like I said further proves the existence of her within Quiet Zero/the Data Storm.

Truthfully, I think the introduction of Notrette via the data storm helps bring Suletta (and by extension Prospera) and Miorine closer as lead characters. Giving them something that's been lost, and that they struggle with through similar aspects allows them to be placed on equal footing while providing different approaches/ understandings to their unique situations.

But anyways, Quiet Zero gets shut down and the Benerit Group/Earth House/sorta Space Assembly League succeeds in their goal of defeating it. But the Space Assembly League at the top has a different idea, as they turn that weapon on Quiet Zero and fire, leaving Eri on her own to protect everyone.

I really like this piece, specifically because it's Eri's decision. It's Ericht moving to protect her mother and her little sister, and their friends and family. It's not Eri acting for the sake of Prospera, or under her order or wishes, it's one of the few scenes where Eri acts under her own agency and desire. And within that, it's incredibly ironic that she ends up destroyed.

And our episode ends here. Aerial destroyed, Quiet Zero shut down, no defenses, no protections as they stare down the barrel of the universe's most dangerous weapon.

A dire situation, one that seems to have little hope of surviving for our characters involved, but let me show you these details first.

Starting off with Prospera, her permet pattern is different. The shape is decidedly different from the usual that we see from all the other pilots/characters. Alongside that, she's not actually piloting or directly interacting with a Gundam or anything, so it shouldn't be visible in the first place. So why can we see it, and why is it different? Well, for one, she seems to use it as a way to connect/interact with Ericht and Aerial, but more than that I feel it's connected to Carbo Nado and Prospera's past with her that was teased in the prologue.

Secondly, I think it's easy to forget how Suletta refers to Aerial/Ericht, and how we're shown the girl/Gundam. Suletta commonly uses 'Miina' to refer to Aerial and her Gund Bits, which means "everyone". Suletta sees, experiences, and understands Aerial as a multitude of Ericht's, and we see them that way as well. Even in this episode we see several Ericht's that take the place/form of Gund Bits.

And if you pay attention to the wreckage, you'll notice that some of the Gund Bits from Aerial are still intact, floating around Suletta and Calibarn.

So I'm sure most know what this means, but Eri is still alive. Aerial is gone, but Ericht lives on through her Gund Bits, and will ultimately integrated with Suletta and Calibarn to form a defense against the Giant Space Laser ™️.

And that's the end of the episode, this time. For sure. Definitely. I'm really quite interested to see what they do with this final upcoming episode though. There's the potential to expand the scope of GWitch to place further focus on Earth through the Space Assembly and Shaddiq, but there's also the opportunity to call it a day with the final episode with whatever the outcome may be from that. It's a good position to find themselves in, and I think I'll be relatively satisfied with whatever they do there. So many character arcs have been resolved, and goals reached between them all. But it also doesn't mean there's an entire world for them to explore out there, for new challenges to arise or progression to be made, particularly with characters like Shaddiq and Miorine. Only time will tell though, and with a countdown of one week, we won't be left waiting long to find out.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Emergency Medical Hologram

By Ames

Please state the nature of the medical emergency. For a hologram who was never constructed to be left on indefinitely, the Emergency Medical Hologram sure does get a lot of development. He starts off Voyager as an insufferable computer program, grows to learn to fight for his own agency, and ends Voyager as an insufferable computer program of an entirely new ilk! What an arc!

Your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By are quick to cringe at some of the Doctor’s squickier moments (that are interestingly heavily weighted toward the final seasons of the series), but there’s a lot to champion him for as well! The EMH makes us view artificial lifeforms like him as people, in the same way that Data did on TNG. So make sure your mobile emitter is firmly attached as we dive into the Best and Worst Moments of Voyager’s chief medical hologram below and on this week’s podcast episode (activate at timestamp 1:05:06). Hey, I’m a blogpost writer, not a doctor.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Best moments

Inside you there are two Beowulfs For the first chunk of the show, the Doctor is confined to sickbay for the most part due to his holographic nature, so when he gets to do a hologram-appropriate mission in “Heroes and Demons,” it’s an adventure unto itself! He romances the bonny lass Freya. He solves the mystery of the disappearing crewman. He literally lives out an epic tale and it’s so engaging!

Before I met you, I was just a disease If you liked the Doctor’s relationship with Freya, you’re going to love his relationship with Danara Pel in “Lifesigns.” It’s probably the most genuine we’ve seen the Doc so far, as it’s clear he wants to do what’s best for the diseased Vidiian woman who hates her own body. But he urges her to keep fighting and keep healing because he loves her, the real her.

A physician must do no harm Boy, do we love it when our chief medical officers get righteous about their patients. We saw it with McCoy, we saw it with Crusher, and we saw it with Bashir. And now the EMH ends up being the only person on the Voyager to not silently condone splitting Tuvix in half in “Tuvix.” Sure, he doesn’t do anything to stop it either, but he makes it clear that what Janeway is doing is wrong.

You’re too sick to get better We’ve given B’Elanna and Tom some credit for helping the Doctor experience what it’s like to have a family in “Real Life,” but the actual growth we see is all his own. Deciding (with some encouragement from his friends) to be with his holo-daughter Belle as she dies is heart-breaking, but also encouraging for the Doc to treat the situation so realistically.

Two holograms, alone. Romulans on one side, Starfleet on the other. Alarms beeping everywhere. We see time and again the EMH use cleverness to resolve a situation, even when he’s severely out of his depth as he was in “Message in a Bottle.” But that’s where two EMHs are better than one! He and the EMH Mark 2 are able to take control of the Prometheus back from Romulans, keep the ship from exploding, and even reconnect with Starfleet in the Alpha Quadrant!

History is written by the victors Hands down, one of the best episodes of Voyager is “Living Witness,” and the EMH (or his backup program, who is essentially the same guy) really gets to shine throughout. Awoken 700 years in his future, he saves the reputation of the Voyager that the Kyrians and Vaskans have misrepresented, empowers Quarren to think critically, and keeps the two species from civil war.

Luke, I am your father We still can’t get over the fact that, when the Doctor went down to the planet in “Blink of an Eye” to perform some reconnaissance, he comes back claiming that he somehow had progeny. We never learn in what capacity and by what method, but it definitely blows up our skirts to know that the EMH somehow had a son whom he sadly had to disappear on.

You have the audacity to turn a house of worship into a prison? Jake just loves this little moment from “Spirit Folk” to death. It’s just the line delivery of the EMH as Father Mulligan in the Fair Haven holoprogram storming into the church and shouting “Sinners!” at all the Irish townsfolk who’ve taken Harry and Tom prisoner. He does get captured too and his mobile emitter gets swiped, but what a great line delivery from Robert Picardo.

Extremely Marginal Housecalls When the EMH’s creator, Dr. Zimmerman, is terminally ill in “Life Line,” our hero packs his bags for a trip to the Alpha Quadrant to cure him. And it takes a lot of coaxing and even some covert subterfuge to get to two egomaniacs to see eye to eye, even if all of those eyes belong to the same actor. But the Doctor succeeds! Turns out you can teach a Mark One new tricks.

My Treatment Coefficient is one When he’s kidnapped and forced to work on the Dinaali hospital ship in “Critical Care,” the Doctor is quick to observe the unethical medical practices, classism, and hypocrisy in their systems. And not only that, but he finds a clever way to work around their tight regulations to force the medical administration to care for all of its patients, not just the elite.

Hoshi, eat your heart out Though not the linguist that Ensign Sato is on Enterprise, the EMH is able to create a language that Fantome’s people can use to communicate in “The Void.” It’s no surprise that it’s derived from music which both the Doctor and Fantome share an affinity for, but it’s also a great moment of empathy when Doc and Seven determine these alien pests are more than they appear.

The holoprograms have nothing to lose but their chains We’ll go off in our next section about how the EMH is kind of a twat when he writes his holonovel, Photons Be Free in “Author, Author.” But on the flipside, his words also prove to be empowering to other sentient holo-people like the obsolete EMH Mark Ones out there. His depiction of subservient life as a holo-person may just start opening minds to their human rights.

—

Worst moments

The Strange Case of Dr. Doctor and Mr. Doctor Whoever gave the EMH the power to tinker with his own programming was just asking for trouble. One of the first things he does in “Darkling” is turn himself into a Mr. Hyde who is even more appropriate to the Robert Louis Stevenson novel than Kirk in “The Enemy Within.” And he somehow becomes even grosser around Kes than usual, which is saying something.

You are out. Auf wiedersehen. Fascinatingly, almost all of our Worst Moments take place after Seven of Nine has joined the crew. Maybe it’s because the Doctor starts getting more to do, and that includes more BAD things to do. Maybe it’s because he spends way too much time sexualizing Seven, as he does in “The Gift” by designing for her the ugliest, cringiest, most uncomfortable catsuit we’ve ever seen. Maybe it's something else. Let’s explore this trend…

Now you will cluck like a chicken And we already have a really awful example in “Retrospect” when the EMH peddles really problematic pseudoscience on Seven instead of impartially investigating the circumstances. He’s not even a little bit unbiased when he surveys the Entharan lab for evidence. But what we can’t forgive the Doc for is literally hypnotizing Seven – some mystical claptrap with no science behind it!

Rise and shine! The EMH has always been a bit of a prick, but usually he knows how to compromise for the good of the crew. So it’s actually a big negative to see how selfish and rude he is to Neelix and the other displaced crewmembers in “Demon” when the whole ship is bunking up to save energy. Dude, everyone is being inconvenienced here. The least you can do is let them sleep.

By George, I think she’s got it! Here’s another example of the Doctor treating Seven of Nine like a sex object instead of a peer! We’ve already given Tom grief for this one, but in “Someone to Watch Over Me,” the EMH recasts himself in the role of Henry Higgins to Seven’s Eliza Doolittle, and it’s just upsetting! Why can’t these men let Seven have her own agency without making it all about themselves?

Yep, here’s your problem: someone set this thing to evil It really shouldn’t take just turning off the EMH’s ethical subroutines for him to turn into a psychotic torturer like he does in “Equinox.” Does he not have common sense or the Hippocratic Oath or even anything better to do than torture Seven just because he’s told to? Just because he now CAN do unethical things apparently means he can ONLY do unethical things.

The dream dreams the dreamer… in bed I admit, I can’t judge someone for their private thoughts since no one other than telepaths would even know what they are. But the sheer concentration of the Doctor’s perverse daydreams all through “Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy” is a little much. When you can tell that he’s painting Seven in the nude just to titillate the audience, that might be bad writing, Berman.

Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, DOLT There’s something about seasons six and seven that turns the Doctor’s insufferableness up to eleven. When the Qomar inexplicably fawn all over him for his singing ability in “Virtuoso,” the ol’ doc really lets it all go to his head and is ruder to the crew than ever before. He’s even prepared to stay with the tone-deaf aliens because they unconditionally treat him like a celebrity.

This one takes the [cheese]cake Everything from “Body and Soul” paints the Doctor in a really ugly light and, especially in the final season of the show, it makes it hard to come back from the impression of him as unsympathetic, self-centered, and abrasive. So when Seven expresses that he has violated her body while he was possessing her and his response is to blame her, that is starkly unforgivable.

Anything you can do I can do better – I can do anything better than you This is the same as one of the extremely out-of-character moments from Harry Kim’s Worst Moments list from last week, but it warrants repeating. What the hell was the deal with the dick-measuring contest between the ECH and Kim in “Workforce”? For that matter, what is the Doc even doing as the ECH right now? Chakotay is back and in command! Step down already!

Once upon a Seven of Nine We gave the Doctor credit for speaking for holo-people in getting Photons Be Free published in “Author, Author,” but the way he workshopped it left much to be desired. How freakin’ hard would it have been to make the characters in his story more randomized and NOT just exaggerated, cynical versions of the crew? It would’ve been so easy to save face, my dude!

One Po-turd-o, Two Po-turdo-o, Three Po-turd-o, Four! I may be alone in my hatred of the turd people in “Renaissance Man,” but I maintain that the EMH shouldn’t have so eagerly (and boringly!) helped them. But what we can all agree on is that his confession to Seven when he thinks he’s dying is disgusting and a terrible impression for his character to basically go out on:

“You have no idea how difficult it's been, hiding my true feelings all these years, averting my eyes during your regular maintenance exams.”

VOMIT!!!

—

Computer, deactivate Emergency Medical Hologram. That’s all from the EMH, until we maybe revisit him when we get around to character spotlights for Prodigy which you are surely watching because it is stunning. For now, we’ve got some more Voyager characters to spotlight here and some more Enterprise to watch for the podcast over on SoundCloud or wherever you listen. You can also give us your medical prognosis over on Facebook and Twitter, and maybe tone down the “I’m a doctor, not a”s a little bit.

[novaauster]

@rwnjun's cowboy andreil fic inspired me so here's a snippet I wrote set somewhere after their chapter 7

When Neil is lucid but barely mobile enough to sit up on his own, Katelyn makes her way into the guest room and sits heavily in the chair beside his bed.

“‘Morning,” Neil says, mildly polite but not quite hiding his curiosity at Katelyn being here alone. Of the adults at the ranch, it may well be that she is the one who knows him least. At least Erik’s path crosses with his at work.

Katelyn smiles at him. It's the tight, pitying smile that tends to be offered to the infirm the same as stitches and gray porridge. “Good morning Neil. I’m sure you’re wondering— I just came by to say that I helped Doctor Abby fix you up.”

“Um,” Neil says. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Katelyn waits for him to come up with a real reply, beyond the niceties he scrounges up for her and the children.

“Why,” he eventually says.

“Because women ain’t scared of the sight of blood,” Katelyn says simply. 

Neil connects the dots: she knows. “Who have you told,” he snaps, abdomen clenching as he tries to surge forward but doesn’t find the strength.

Katelyn shakes her head. “Doctors don’t gossip about their patients. Midwives like me don’t neither. I’d say all who knows is me, you, Andrew, and whoever else we laid in the ground.”

“Andrew?” Neil tries to feign confusion. It doesn’t work too good, judging by the eyebrow he raises. 

“He ain’t usually scared of the sight of blood—that man fears neither devil nor God, as you well know— but I never saw the look on him he wore when he found you. Narrowed us unafraid ones down to the women, like. And besides, I do know how a Minyard acts in love.” She delivers this speech calmly, as if she practiced it beforehand. Her hands rest folded on her skirts. 

“Don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that,” Neil says. In love is a strange way to call a game of questions and a few rounds of barn sex, but he’s not sure of much these days. All he knows for certain is that Andrew doesn’t hate him like he hates his real enemies. 

“I would,” Katelyn says simply.

“If it pleases you.” In love is a strange way to call the fact that Andrew barely says a word when he visits Neil, if he visits him at all, but in love seems like a bird in the hand when he touches him.

“You make sure he pulls out in time, now,” Katelyn adds. “We got our hands full with my kids and runaways, no need for more.”

Maybe Neil wouldn’t blush so furiously if it hadn’t been a woman like Katelyn saying such a thing. She never had cause to be so presumptuous before. “I think you misunderstand what you’re speaking to, ma’am,” he manages. “No matter what you saw.”

“Oh I don’t pretend to know who I’m speaking to. That’s Andrew’s mystery to unravel, I’ve heard loud and clear. All I’m saying is if you ever need anything…”

“I don’t.”

“If I can’t say it woman to woman I can say it at least to a friend.” Steel lines her tone. Not the gunmetal of his mother, but some echo still of someone who’s led a hard life in a hard place and knows exactly what she’s earned the right to. 

Not much to be done, though he was not previously aware that they were friends. “You can say it, then.”

“If you need anything,” she repeats. “I’d like you to listen to me: you don’t have to set aside your secrets to live in this house, heaven knows the kinds of stories we all brought here and never told. If you’re Andrew’s then you're family. Even if you aren’t his you might well still be ours, so long as you stay with the herd instead of getting dragged off by bandits a second time.”

“I do not plan on it,” Neil assures her seriously. 

“A good thing too. Nicky likes to think he knows all the gossip to be had, but I think for all the work he put in raising the twins, if he found out about you two he wouldn’t have a damn clue which one of you to point the shotgun at while he planned the wedding. Never did have a good sense for tradition, did he?”

Neil just nods. “If that’s all…”

“You must be tired,” Katelyn agrees, and stands up as slowly as she sat down. “You get your rest.”

“Thank you.” When that doesn’t feel like enough— in love, family, you might well still be ours— he tries again. “You have my gratitude.”

“And you have my welcome.” Katelyn nods, and shuts the door behind her.