#not anytime soon i still have some things up my sleeve to show!!

[aurorangen]

After an eventful day at work for both of them, they shared what happened with each other. Vincent talked about Isaac while Renee expressed her frustrations with the useless cases she had been assigned to. He laughed at her lettuce story and smirked, "I could take your mind off things right now".

[onskepa]

Hey I wanted to send a request in for a type 1 diabetic reader with Neteyam and sullys I never see diabetes anyway, so I think it's be interesting for them to see her just inject something into her arm anytime she's eats something and at first their kinda like 😨 "what was that?" Before she has to explain. If you don't want to do thats okay ❤️ and have a good day !!

Hellooooooooooo darling! So I will say this up front. This request hits a bit personal for me, since my mother is type 1 diabetic too. So hopefully you enjoy this one along with everyone else!

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Tsan'ul

“I think we should have our lunch break now, doing chores all day really worked up and appetite” lo’ak says while wiping off the sweat from his forehead. Him and his siblings along with spider and tsan’ul all sat down together under a shade from the trees. 

“Finally” tuk sighs tiredly. Kiri and neteyam happily unwrapped the packaged meal their mother prepared in the morning. Handing everyone their portions. It was one of their favorites. Wrapped in steamed leaves, there was meat mixed with roasted fungi sprinkled with puffleaves for that yummy salted taste. Fortunately its the type of food spider and tsan’lu can eat without feeling sick.

Everyone ate their fill, they all relaxed and gathered their energy before continuing on. Spider however nudged at tsan’lu, “hey dont forget your insulin” he reminded her. Tsan’lu makes a popping sound and grabs her pouch. Everyone looks at what she is doing and takes out a long yet thin vile. 

“What is that…?” tuk asks in a bit of a whisper. Everyone silently observes tsan’ul as she takes out the blue cap of a needle. Lifting her sleeve up to the shoulder, a white patch is revealed. Removing the cover, tsan’ul injects the needle to where the white patch was. It only lasted a few seconds when she removed the needle to cover the spot of the injection. Rolling down her arm, she sighs in relief. 

“What?” she asks. 

The sully kids were staring at her wide eyes. 

“Die-ah-beetees…?” 

“Diabetes” 

Tsan’ul was giving a little lesson to the sully kids as they all gathered to know what they just saw. 

“Sooooo….there are two types?” Kiri asks, tsan’ul nods. 

“And you have type 1?” lo’ak asks soon after. Again, tsan’ul nods.

“So this whole…diabetes sickness. How does it affect you? Were you born with it? '' Neteyam asks, still feeling a bit confused. “And how come just now are we seeing this?” kiri adds. Tsan’ul felt a bit shy as they pointed it out. But if they are curious, why not share? 

“Well for me, I wasn't exactly born with it. But it does affect me in a slow manner. Right now I can be as healthy as I can be, but when I grow older things will change” tsan’ul explained. “How so?” tuk asks. “

Smiling a bit sad she replies, “because I have diabetes, my health may decline later on. My vision won't be the same, some organ failure or worse, my heart can weaken or other health problems. Since  my body no longer produces enough insulin. And insulin is very important for our human bodies. It helps control blood sugar. So, for example, since we just ate our lunch, I have to take this pen”. Tsan’ul takes out an unopened insulin pen to show to the kids. 

“Of course there are other ways to take this. But insulin pen injection is better for me, I can easily carry and already has the right dose for me to take” the human girl goes on. 

Lo’ak was close to touching it but tsan’ul pulls the pen away before he could. “Nuh uh, no touchie. This is only for me” tsan’ul gently warns as she puts away the other pen back in her bag. 

“You said you weren't born with it. So how did you get it?” Kiri asks another question. 

“That kiri, is a story for another time. Come on, we wasted enough time already, gotta finish our chores before the eclipse” tsan’ul tells. Everyone agreed their break was already long enough. Packing their things they head their way back to where they were. 

However, as everyone was quick to change the subject of the topic, neteyam wasn't fooled. When kiri asked her question, neteyam didn't miss the strange look in tsan’ul’s eyes. Clearly kiri touched something she didn't know and tsan’ul was not so keen on answering it. 

After everyone had their fill at the communal dinner, neteyam was chatting with his siblings when he noticed tsan’ul leaving with her bag. Spider is still here, perhaps to take her insulin medicine again. Deciding not to leave the girl alone, neteyam gets up and silently follows her to keep her company. 

So neteyam follows her to a little area both were familiar with. Not too far from the village. Tsan’ul sits comfortably on the ground, taking out her insulin pen. “Mind if I keep you company?” Neteyam says out of nowhere, it made tsan’ul jump startled. “Phew, neteyam you nearly scared me to death!” she says with a huff but a friendly smile. Neteyam returns that smile with his own as he sits next to her. 

“Are you going to take your…medicine again?” neteyam asks. Tsan’ul nods and starts to prep her pen. Removing the cap, it reveals a needle. Looks slightly different from the other needles neteyam has seen before. Tsan’ul removes the white patch from her arm and gives her skin a bit of a pinch and inserts the needle to the area. 

Neteyam stays silent, letting her concentrate on what the human girl has to do. And like before, after a few seconds, she removes the needle and covers the spot with the white patch. “There, all done” tsan’ul concludes. Putting away the empty covered pen back in the bag, she leans down to lay on her back, staring up at the starry night sky. “Thanks for keeping me company neteyam, you didn't have to” she thanks. . 

Neteyam gives her a little grin, laying down beside her, “didn't want you to be alone” he says. 

And they stayed in a comfortable silence together, enjoying the beautiful view. However, neteyam had to ask, he knew he would be touching a sensitive topic. “When kiri asked you…how you got the disease…you didn't answer her '' he says slowly. His large hand slowly reached her smaller hand. 

“We were wasting time and had a lot of stuff to get done, so of course I couldn't tell her” Tsan’ul answers a bit too quickly. “Couldn't? Or wouldnt” neteyam says, almost challenging her. There was a long pause between them. “We have nothing else to do right now. Maybe you can tell me? I promise I won't tell kiri or anyone else for that matter” he swears. 

Tsan’ul released a long deep exhale. And a slow blink. 

“My mom” 

Neteyam’s ears perked a bit to hear her correctly. 

“Your mother?” he repeats. 

Tsan’ul nods.

“My mom is also diabetic. For the majority of her life. She believes it's her fault that I got the sickness. A curse she would say. Always feeling guilty that I won't be as healthy or as strong as a normal human. I do my best to tell her it's not her fault, nobody, not her, not me would have guessed I would get it. Yet she can't help but feel guilty for a crime she never commited…” 

Neteyam listened very carefully. Tsan’ul’s voice carried sadness and a sort of guilt of her own. 

“Does it run in your family?” he asks. 

Tsan’ul shrugs, “I am not sure. But, I wouldn't be surprised. From what norm told me, being a healthy human is a luxury and a privilege back on earth. So I would assume it is normal…” 

“Hey, its not her fault. It is also not your fault either. How you got it doesnt matter, what matters now is that you are here and alive and thriving. So what if this diabetes has you, you can overcome it. You are strong tsan’ul. And I know you won't let this set you back. I have seen how you can be. So the only thing you can do is continue to be who you are and get better every day, "Neteyam encourages. Tsan’ul smiles, intertwining her hand with his. 

“Thanks neteyam, I needed to hear that ''

I may have used some real life stuff for it. Also I had to ask my mom so many questions for this. She did wonder why the need to know, I had to make an excuse. But I am happy how it turned out. So I hope you all enjoyed this one! Until next time! see ya!

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Tsan'ul = Improve, get better

[ask-the-crusaders-of-stardust]

Classic question but which one of you would win in a fight? 👀 Either with or without stands

Polnareff: "Ah! Why don't we spar!" He rises from his seat, shouting with great enthusiasm. "There's no better way to find out than with a bit of sparring!" Avdol: "Hold on a minute Polnareff." Avdol raises his hand. "It'd be wise for Mr. Joestar, Kakyoin, and Jojo to not engage in any fights right now, they're after all still healing from their injuries." Polnareff: He sits right back down again, dejected. "Right… s-sorry. I forgot."

... Joseph: "Hm, I wouldn't mind some sparring, I did do that quite a lot back when I was younger actually…but Avdol's right." Joseph's toothy grin suddenly grew more mischievous. "Good thing for you, otherwise I'd have gone old school on you lot. No stands? They didn't put hamon into the equation!" Jotaro: "Isn't ''hamon'' supposed to keep you youthful…" He stared blankly at Joseph. And his aging features. Joseph: "Wh-Hey!" Joseph uttered, offended. "If you use it regularly! It was too much work to keep up… and even so, I'm perfectly fine like this! Have you seen other men my age?" He crossed his arms tightly, turning his head away. Kakyoin: "Not that I know much about that ancient martial art of Mr. Joestar's, but if it were to come down to us having no stands… he does seem to have the upper hand. However-" Kakyoin's smug smile radiated confidence, speaking enthusiastically. "With stands, that's a whole other discussion." His eyes lit up. "No doubt would our confidence in our stands make for thrilling sparring, with the right strategy, I'd bet even Jojo could figure out a way to beat, say, my Hierophant Green's long range. Oh, but Avdol's also got a great arsenal of long-ranged abilities with his powerful flames… then I guess there's Polnareff's silver chariot, too, it does have its incredible agility." Kakyoin rambled. Jotaro: "Figure out a way?… Didn't I already beat you once?" He questioned. Kakyoin: "I wasn't In control that time." He tapped his forehead. "You may have deflected my Emerald splash, but that's not to say I haven't got other tricks up my sleeve I didn't get to use." Polnareff: "I think even I could deflect your Hierophant Green's ''Emerald Splash''! Were we to spar, Kakyoin." He chimed in with a cocky smirk. Kakyoin: "Even if it did, can one blade cut through a consistent barrage of them?" Kakyoin quipped back, suddenly looking serious. Polnareff: "Surely… You wouldn't even be able to tell how quickly and precisely my Chariot can cleave objects mid-air, were you to try it." He spoke with sudden gravity, returning the piercing stare.

"Or did you forget that quickly?"

Kakyoin: "…No, I haven't forgotten. But it's not just about if your stand could slice through my Emeralds or its speed, the moment chariot would move I'd have put up a web, and by then I could read your every move." Kakyoin's stare darkened.

"Would you have the strength and energy to keep up? I'd tire you out by the end of it." Kakyoin scoffed.

Polnareff: "Oh?" His brow furrowed considerably. "Well, Kakyoin. Unlike you, I don't reveal my secret technique so blatantly. Now when I know about your web, I already know what card I have to play to beat you!" His lips part into a confident sneer.

. . .

Avdol: "If I may, again-" Avdol stepped in between the two with a sigh. "While both your stands are undoubtedly powerful, I feel like this is very much a situation of circumstances. And, we will not be sparring anytime soon, so stop provoking the teenager." He shot Polnareff a look. Joseph: From further away. "Yeah! And uh, you didn't even mention my Hermit Purple, back with the… yeah!…" Joseph's gaze fell. Polnareff: He staggers back, seeming surprised. "Provoking him? Come on, we were just having fun! We were both in on it; I wasn't trying to provoke Kakyoin!…" He showed a lighthearted smile to ensure he meant what he was saying . . . "Did it come off that way?" He blinked, looking clueless. . . .

Avdol: "...Back to the point my friends, since we're recording all this into our answer, let's put it like this: all our stands have their strengths and weaknesses, and it'd take some deliberation to figure out. We cannot say for certain immediately, but perhaps the Speedwagon Foundation could run a poll among their employees about which of our stands they personally think would win." Avdol suggested. Jotaro: "You can take me out of the roster." He interjects. "Plus, gramps looks like he wants to be included. So to even the odds-…" He pauses. "I don't give a crap about this ''game'' anyway, is what I meant." (Totally). Kakyoin: "…Fine. If that is what we're doing." Joseph: "Oh! then how about we settle a vote between Kakyoin and Polnareff first? since that became a bit of a topic here." Polnareff: "Bring it on!" He cheers.

[Some afterwords after this rather long text post! For one, I'm really honored you read this far. Thank you! I hope people will enjoy script-heavy answers sometimes when I and mod Blueberry don't have the energy or time to illustrate a full-on comic when we really want to do a long response to an ask, like the one above.

-mod Moon]

[Credits:]

[Script by mod Blueberry and mod Moon]

[Art by mod Moon]

[dragongodryss]

Various Sting and Rogue winter designs.

Individual outfits with better quality and ramblings below the cut.

Ceremonial outfits vaguely inspired by my dislike of their outfits from the GMG afterparty (mostly Rogue's. It's technically alright but I don't like it). Obviously they wouldn't wear these there but yeah. Not sure where they would wear these. Probably to something in winter. I had a version without Rogue's coat and Sting's cape, but I merged the layers and didn't notice until like an hour later. I didn't want to undo an hour of progress so I cut my losses.

Basically Rogue has a moon-phase corset (idk why) (but the way the jacket and corset overlap still shows the idea so yay) and Sting is wearing a sleeveless shirt with high gloves. (I know it's supposed to be winter but the cape is warm and fluffy, trust me)

I decided to give them basically the same color palette minus the blues and reds. Their cape/coat are their own color (black and white) and the outfit underneath is primarily a muted version of their accent color (red/blue) and each other's main color. Gave them dull gold accents because their early designs had a lot of gold. I kept the colors more muted because winter, but I also used the brighter colors I used for their eyes in some parts to break up the outfits a bit.

Sting's cape design and color placement was pretty intuitive, I knew what I wanted to do with it. I mixed his fur collar with dragon/angel wings and gave him a sun motif. Everything else is pretty similar to what he usually wears except for the fact that I minimized the white. I added some chains to his earrings because I thought that made them look regal and I stand by that opinion.

Rogue's was a bit more difficult. The main outfit was fairly easy in terms of general clothing elements, but I struggled with color placement. But I like how it turned out, so it's fine. As for the coat, the only thing I knew I wanted was the transparent sleeves. The jacket part went through several changes. I considered giving him a recolored version of Future Rogue's cape/jacket/thing, because that was cool, and Rogue doesn't know what Future Rogue was wearing so he has no reason not to. I also considered merging the jacket with his skirt thing from his earlier designs, but I didn't want to cover the corset thing and couldn't make it look right, so I left that out. I struggled to pick the colors for that too, but it worked out. I gave him the low ponytail from the GMG afterparty because that's the only part of the design I really liked. I braided his bangs but left some hair falling out of it because I wanted to. Not sure it's visible but yeah.

Here I gave them more comfortable outfits. They're a bit stressed because I wanted to vary the poses. I guess they've got a lot to do, so they didn't bother dressing up.

Sting forgot to put his shoes on. He's not really dressed for winter but he's busy so he's not going outside anytime soon. He just grabbed whichever clothes were closest and rolled with it. Sting did not dry or style his hair. No one noticed because they're also stressed. His shirt says 'Shut the FUCK up and lemme SLEEP'.

Rogue does not care enough to change out of his crocs. You can pry his crocs from his cold dead hands. (which will be soon if the weather keeps up) He put a bit more effort into his clothes than Sting. Or maybe he was just cold. Who knows? His hair is up because he didn't have the time to brush it today.

They did not intentionally coordinate outfits. Rogue might have picked the same colors subconsciously while half asleep. They own several outfits in matching colors, but they weren't aware that this was one of them.

Also I drew Rogue's irises way too big so now he looks like a wet cat. Sting is slightly more jacked than intended so now Rogue looks small. So all in all he's not having a good time.

Finally the date outfits. They both brought flowers. Rogue's is a white carnation and Sting's are red and purple tulips. Sting will eat the flower. Rogue knows this. He would have brought more if they weren't going to eat on their date. Rogue does not have a history of eating flowers, so he gets a bouquet.

Rogue's outfit is more fancy and Sting's is more casual, but not by too much. Rogue's hair is a mess because it was windy, but Sting used hair gel so he's fine. They're a bit awkward but happy to be here.

[britt-kageryuu]

Leo is attempting to play a modded game, and for some reason somethings take real world time to manufacture. He shifts in his blue inflatable chair, and fidgets with his unicorn onesies sleeves. River is watching something on one of her screens.

"Okay, let's talk about something random! Why are people obsessed with our feet?" Leo shouts out of boredom.

"Yeah, it's not like any of you are trying for the part of Trilby anytime soon." River adds without looking up from her screen.

"What, and Who is Trilby?" Leo asked, "Because just about anything would be interesting right now."

"Trilby is a book turned movie where the author wrote the female lead to have 'Very Beautiful Feet' specifically the left foot." River starts to explain, before she continues,

"Wait how long ago did this book come out?" Leo interrupts.

"Originally 1894!" River replied, "Now when the book was being adapted for live action they realized that when casting they needed to get a Woman, or Man in some cases, with a lovely voice and beautiful feet." River brings up some of the articles from the time. "Thus actors would send feet pics when auditioning for the part!"

"So celebrity feet pics might have become a thing because this book was popular enough that many people wanted to be the female lead?" Leo questions, "Any other interesting things about Trilby? I still have like 10 minutes before I need to swap out a new batch to process."

River looked very excited to be aloud to info dump, " Do I ever, first off I learned this from a fashion historian Youtuber, so that's at least part of my sources." River brings up the channel she watched, "There is some proof that Trilby is responsible for the popularization of the pedicure!"

Leo sits up with interest, "Really. Tell me more!"

The stream continues with River talking about random things that came from Trilby, and replaying parts of the video she watched to show some of the sources.

Chat is enjoying this some throwing in their opinions, and a couple of people got knocked out for asking for feet pics, but hey whatever fills the void of needing g to wait 15 minutes for something to happen in game!

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

Masterpost

I watched a video by Nichole Rudolph a fashion historian Youtuber about Trilby. I wanted to have one of the turtles go off about this, but couldn't figure who would make sense. Then I remembered River is designed to look into random pop culture that suddenly catches her attention.

It's a short, but I didn't want to write her going over every odd thing that popped up when it came to Trilby. Like the foot shaped icecream molds!

[nomoreusername]

The Plan (Part 1)

Pairing:Aris x female reader

Summary:After months of hiding how everything started, Beth tells Aris the truth about your relationship.

It was an accident. Kind of. I knew that playing with his feelings was wrong, but at the time there wasn't another choice. For some reason, he was the only boy so we needed to know if he was up to something. We thought that maybe he was a spy, but we couldn't prove it. We also couldn't just banish him without evidence, and he sure as hell wasn't just going to talk to us anytime soon.

So a plan was made. I would become his girlfriend and find out what he knew.

It took a few months, around two, to notice him acting differently around me. To catch him looking at me before frantically turning away, tripping over his words, and overall just being barely a little closer to me.

At around three months we realized he wasn't going to make the first move. So I did. I took him away during the Blondie celebration and confessed feelings I didn't have. I made sure to fiddle with my hands and rock back and forth so he thought I was nervous about his reaction. Thankfully, it worked well enough for him to kiss me.

At six months, we realized he really is just like the rest of us. Only he's a boy.

I know that I have to either break it off or tell him the truth. The thing is though, while I was just supposed to be pretending to care about him I grew to feel so much more.

Somewhere along the way I fell in love with Aris. Seeing as he really likes me, and we're happy together, I knew I had to take this secret to the grave. There was no reason to destroy him. After all, ignorance is bliss. So I'll let him think he had my heart from the beginning. It's what's best for both of us.

I know that some of the girls don't agree with this. Any of it. Both that it should be a secret or that we should even be together. Still, nobody has tried anything. Besides a glare or two everything seemed normal.

Ironically, the Blondie celebrations are where we see each other the most. Hidden in the dark, I could lean my head on his shoulder and listen to him say whatever he wanted or nothing at all. As long as we are together I don't care what he does.

Tonight was one where he was just a little more talkative. With my head on his lap, I gazed up at him as he told me about his day. Every now and then he would look down at me and grin before going on with what he was saying. Holding the sleeves of his jacket, I got lost in his eyes, in his smile, and in his voice.

Just as he was about to ask me another question we heard footsteps in the snow. Seeing as we're usually the only ones who stay this far away it was definitely odd for another person to just show up.

Looking up, we spotted Beth approaching. After we exchanged a glance of confusion I sat beside him as we waited for whatever she was going to do or say.

"So you two are still going strong,"She remarked, her smile innocent yet her tone having an underlying callousness in it.

"Yeah,"Aris mumbled, shifting closer to me.

"That's just unusual considering everything,"She trailed off. That's when I knew exactly why she came over. She had one goal in mind, and no matter what it would mean and who it would hurt, who it would shatter, she was going to try and accomplish it.

"Don't,"I snapped.

"Don't what?"Aris asked.

"Yeah, Y/N? Don't what?"She taunted.

"It's over with,"I begged.

"What's over with?"Aris questioned.

"Oh, you don't know? That explains so much,"She drew out.

"Explain what? Y/N, what is she talking about?"He asked, looking at me. Feeling my mouth go dry, I just silently pleaded for her to not do this.

"You know? The plan,"She vaguely answered.

"Beth, please stop,"I repeated, hearing my voice crack.

"Wha-"

"You know how nobody trusted you when you first showed up?"She started.

"Yes, but-"

"And a few people randomly trusted you one day?"

"Of course."

"Well-"

"Please don't!"

"There was a reason for that,"She kept going. Holding back tears, I tried not to break. "Do you remember Y/N's sudden closeness to you?"She asked. His silence was all he needed. "Do you want to know why?"

"Y/N, what is she on about?"He whispered. I just desperately shook my head no.

"Y/N faked her feelings for you. She actually came up with most of the plan,"She explained.

"What plan?"He asked, moving away from me.

"Get you to fall in love so we know your intentions. Of course, nobody thought she would too. Then again, she can be all over the place,"She spilled.

Time stopped as he went completely still. Leaving us there, Beth left like she had done nothing wrong. Staring at the snow, I listened to the silence. Then, Aris stood up and started walking away. Regaining the ability to move, I followed him to the forest.

"Aris, I-"

"No. You've done enough,"He whispered, walking faster.

"Please, I didn't mean for this to happen,"I promised, grabbing his hand. Turning around, he just blankly stared at me. "It started out that way, but I really do need you now. If I could take that back I would. Because you deserve nothing but the world. I just-I-"

"Stop,"He demanded, pulling his hand away.

"Please, it was a mistake,"I begged. He didn't say anything as he stood there so I kept going. "You didn't deserve that, but I couldn't tell you. I couldn't lose you so I just kept it down. I never meant to fall in love, but I did. If I could make this better I would, turn back time so I didn't do this to you, I would. If I could change anything it would be pretending to care instead of realizing how incredible you actually are. Please, Aris. I love you so, so, so much. I love you more than anyone has ever loved everything."

Standing there in complete silence, I held back tears until he spoke up.

"Do you know what's worse than what you did? Do you know what's worse than you treating my feelings like a game?"He whispered. I didn't answer so he kept talking. "It's the fact that after you stopped toying with me, stopped loving me to my face and hating me behind my back, you did apparently love me. Or you say you do. Yet you still lied to me like it was nothing over and over."

"I never meant to hurt you like this,"I repeated.

"I wish I could believe that, but I learned your best talent,"He started, meeting my gaze. "You're a great actress, Y/N. Maybe they'll put your name on a screen one day,"He shrugged, wearing a bitter smile as tears fell from his eyes. Wiping them with his hands, he turned around and kept walking.

Despite wanting to keep chasing him, I fell to my knees in the snow and cried. Burying my face in my hands, I leaned over and sobbed until I couldn't. Then, I curled my knees to my chest and fell asleep in the freezing forest.

[sleepless-in-southlands]

Up My Sleeve (Off My Shoulders)

Ao3

Summary: Bdubs is a good right-hand. A great one, even. Some days, that feels more like a condemnation than a compliment. Content: AU- Mob Bosses, bittersweet/hopeful ending, emotional hurt; emotional repression, past/past relationships, bdubs having a Time and scar being a good boss-friend Pairings: Platonic Scar and Bdubs Note: Part five of Bloody Fruits au

~

Sometimes, Bdubs got tired of being good at his job.

Not that that made any sense, not when being good at his job kept him alive. Make no mistake, he wasn’t looking to get shot anytime soon.

He took pride in his work, too. If anything was running smoothly in the Glass Empire, it was always, in some part, because of him. Business papers, merchandise,  clearly defined borders, exterminated moles- you name it, Bdubs had a hand in it. Of course he did. He was Scar’s right-hand man. That was his job, to do a little bit of everything.

And, see, that’s where the issue was. Bdubs did everything. Sometimes he got tired of it- no, sometimes he got sick of it.

It wasn’t Scar’s fault. He entrusted Bdubs to do a lot, sure, but that’s how it worked. Bdubs was the only one Scar could truly trust, so he was the one who had the most to do. Bdubs knew that. Bdubs was fine with that.

Compared to some bosses, Scar was a soft-touch anyways. Most of them wouldn’t require a right-hand to take a break unless they were on their deathbed. With Scar, Bdubs got sent home if he pulled too many all-nighters in a row. 

Which meant it wasn’t a problem with the Glass Empire either. Even if it was, he wouldn’t want to work in any of the other organizations. He couldn’t imagine being a subordinate for Mumbo and Grian- because if Grian was just a right-hand like him, Bdubs was the mayor- where it was a miracle they noticed anyone outside of each other (and now Scar, apparently), the Guild was a puppet-show, the Armory was too aggressive, and the Seventy-Sevens-

Well. They were run by Doc.

Call him biased, but the Glass Empire was the only good group in the whole sludge of a town. So that wasn’t the issue.

Really, there wasn’t any issue, not one that was anyone else’s fault. Some days Bdubs sat at his desk and looked down at all the work he had to do, the papers on several different subjects, the notes about what he had to do outside of the office, the ever ticking clock that stood monument as a constant reminder of the mayoral election’s steady approach, and he wanted to scream. Not because it was too hard. Not because it was too much. Not because of anything that made any sense.

And because he was good at his job, he never screams. He buckles down and does his work and goes home when he must and ignores the way it feels wrong that he never tries to reach for a gun instead of the remote when he’s there.

All of which would be perfectly fine if it weren’t for one of the previously established facts: Scar’s a soft-touch. Not in business, but always with Bdubs. He’s close where the previous had been distant, and that means he notices things Bdubs doesn’t want noticed.

Which is why when he startled Bdubs out of his work with a seemingly random, “Is something wrong?”, that was a problem. Because something was wrong, and Bdubs didn’t want to talk about it.

“Our shipment’s been delayed again.” Bdubs answered in a way that wasn’t a lie so much as it was him ignoring the actual question. “I’ll have to call the manufacturer.”

Scar waved, dismissive. “Not that, that’s just business. I meant with you.”

Bdubs raised an eyebrow. “Even if it’s ‘just business’, I still have to fix it.”

“Aside from that, then. I doubt you’re that upset over making a phone call.”

“I’m not upset.”

If Bdubs had said that to anyone else, they would have had no choice but to accept it. He wasn’t tensed up, distracted, working slowly. At a glance or a stare, he seemed completely normal.

Unless the one looking was Scar, who had started to frown.

“Your clock’s smudged.” He pointed out, and Bdubs took a moment to look at it even though he knew exactly to what Scar was referring. A tiny glint of grease against the pocket watch’s face, accidentally left behind by someone’s clumsy touch. It had been there for hours, each hand taking a turn spinning underneath it. He would’ve cleaned it as soon as it happened if it weren’t for the fact he left its cloth in his car, and he didn’t trust himself to fetch it without also getting behind the wheel and driving for as long as his tank would let him.

“It happens.” Bdubs replied, trying to force nonchalance into his tone as he turned back to his papers. “I’ll take care of it once I’m done with this.”

A minute passed in silence, but to Bdubs it felt like an hour. He knew that Scar was still watching him. He also knew that Scar didn’t believe him.

“Bdubs, look at me.”

Bdubs obeyed despite the fact he would, at that exact moment, rather gouge his eyes out than meet Scar’s. He didn’t want to talk about this, but Scar was concerned and his gaze was searching and there was no escaping the head of the Glass Empire, not in his offices, not as his right-hand man.

“I’ve seen you, quite literally, drop everything to clean that watch.” Scar spoke slowly, as if waiting for Bdubs to disagree with him. Bdubs wasn’t quite desperate enough to make that mistake again. “So I’ll ask again: is something wrong?”

He wasn’t really asking. They both knew that.

“I already told you. Nothing is.”

He wasn’t really answering. They both knew that.

Scar sighed. Leaned heavier on his cane. Bdubs wasn’t sure why he had left his office, if he had needed to get something or talk to Bdubs for other reasons. Like usual, they were the only two left in the office after sunset. “Give me the manufacturer's number.”

“What?”

“You said that was the only thing wrong.” Scar held out his free hand. “I can make the call, I’ve got time.”

Bdubs knew what Scar was trying to do. He wasn’t being subtle. He wanted Bdubs to give him a reason to end the conversation. A simple one, even. All Bdubs had to do was give him the phone number and he would let the matter drop with no further argument. The worst he would do would be forcing Bdubs to take the next day off. They wouldn’t have to talk about it.

So, obviously, he refused.

“I can handle it.” Bdubs said with a half-shrug. “It’s just annoying.”

“It won’t be annoying for me.” Scar’s hand was still extended.

“It’s fine, Scar.”

“Not if it’s bothering you.”

“It’s not bothering me.” Bdubs’s voice was sounding dangerously close to clipped.

“I’d still like to take care of it for you.”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?” Scar said in faint disbelief that sounded more curious than angry.

Bdubs didn’t answer. He was realizing too late that he had been backed into a corner.

“Why not, Bdubs?” Scar repeated when Bdubs didn’t say anything for too long of a moment, and Bdubs was out of options.

“Because it’s not your job!” Bdubs snapped.

He regretted the outburst in the same second it happened, ducking his head and once again looking away from Scar before he could see his reaction.

“I- sorry. I’m sorry.” Bdubs fumbled out, hating how quiet his words sounded in comparison to the near-shout they followed.

More silence. Bdubs didn’t turn his head when it was broken by the sound of footsteps and cane taps. Scar leaving, not acknowledging any of this had happened- it would be for the best.

Except then there was the sound of rolling wheels, a chair being pulled away from a desk, and Bdubs looked up to find Scar still next to him, now sitting, cane put to the side. As Bdubs watched, he reached across his desk to carefully pull Bdubs’s pen from his grip, the groves of its design showing white against red as Bdubs uncurled his fist and let Scar place the pen down. He had forgotten he had been holding it.

“Bdubs,” Scar said, quietly, and Bdubs might’ve felt worse about being treated like a cornered animal if it weren’t for the fact he had been acting a lot like one, “talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“...Nothing. It’s nothing.” Bdubs admitted in unhappy defeat. When Scar didn’t understand, frown remaining, he tacked on, “What’s wrong is that nothing’s wrong.”

“I see.” Scar didn’t sound as if he truly did, but Bdubs appreciated that he accepted it, that he wasn’t going to try and argue whether or not that made any sense.

It didn’t, but Bdubs already knew that.

“It’s- how long do you think I’ve been doing this sort of thing? How long do you think I’ve been in this business?” He wasn’t sure what suddenly possessed him to try and explain it. It wasn’t something he knew how to put to words, wasn’t something he had ever wanted to tell someone else about. It was his non-problem problem that he kept silently tucked to his chest, never a concern to anyone but himself.

But Scar had noticed. Scar had made it his concern. It was the first time Bdubs had been asked about it, and maybe the fear that it would be his only chance to answer was what pushed him clumsily into attempting to define it.

“Well, you’ve been with the Glass Empire for quite a while. And you’ve always seemed to know a lot about the business, even as a lackey.” Scar answered thoughtfully. “I think you’ve been in this business for a very long time.”

“I have. And I’m good at what I do?” Bdubs phrased it like a question, for the sake of asking it, but he didn’t actually need to hear Scar’s answer. He already knew it.

“You are.”

“Right. And I- I do everything that needs to be done, and I handle everything that needs to be handled, and as long as I’m fine everything goes fine, right?”

Whatever worry Bdubs had managed to ever so slightly assuage by trying to explain his problem had returned to Scar’s expression as he continued with his self-evident questions. “What’re you getting at, Bdubs?”

“I know this life. I know this job. I’m good at this job, when I’m here, when I’m working. But when I go home…” Bdubs fumbled, not sure how to put into words what he was driving at, “I just go home.”

Somehow, Scar managed to pick up on what he was trying to say. “You can’t always be making shady deals and hiding evidence. Work has a way of following you home, sure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a life outside of the life.”

“Should I?”

“I’m not sure that’s a question either of us is really equipped to answer.” Scar half-joked. “But I think it’s better that you do. It eats you alive if you don’t.”

“But… it’s not something everyone can do, is it?” Bdubs glanced back to his pocket watch and the grease stain he had left smudged on its face for far longer than he ever had, trying not to think about it even as he watched its hands spin. “Is there a reason I can do it when other people can’t?”

Scar didn’t respond immediately, and out of the corner of his eye, Bdubs saw he had the same look on his face he got when he was sizing up customers and competitors alike. It was a harmless expression on the surface, idle thoughtfulness, but Bdubs knew his boss well enough to know it was more than that. In business meetings, Scar would follow it with a disarming smile and a throwaway comment that casually informed the other party that he knew exactly where to hit them hardest.

But in the backrooms of his empire, with only his right-hand man across from him, Scar didn’t bother with the formalities of friendly nonchalance.

“I’m sure you’re aware of this already, but the Glass Empire’s policy on inner- and outer- organization relationships is fairly flexible.”

Bdubs huffed a laugh. “Painfully.”

The corner of Scar’s mouth quirked up, amused. “I’m just saying, if there’s someone else… you can tell me.”

Bdubs hesitated. He knew Scar meant it, that he wasn’t trying to trap Bdubs into admitting something that he’d then turn around and kill him for. But things said couldn’t be nearly as easily unsaid, and Bdubs had built a new life in the Glass Empire out of a sole desire to never have to speak it- or think it- again.

The latter had never worked out though, and for once Bdubs was tired of keeping his mouth shut.

“It was in the past. Before I was with the Empire.”

“Oh?” Scar’s tone was that of mere polite curiosity, nothing more. Bdubs appreciated him pretending to be only mildly interested in the first bit of personal information regarding life before the Empire Bdubs had ever volunteered to share.

“I was still in Heremita, though. With a different group.” Bdubs glanced at Scar. “I was their right-hand too.”

It only took a few seconds for Scar to shift from contemplation to realization, and Bdubs could follow his thought process without him saying a word. The South hadn’t arrived in Heremita until after Bdubs was with the Glass Empire, not that they would be a real consideration either way. And the right-hands of the Armory and Gorgeous Guild were public knowledge. Which left only one option.

“You were Doc’s shadow right-hand.” Scar didn’t phrase it like a question.

“More than that.” Bdubs said before he could overthink it, watching as Scar’s eyes widened in surprise before turning his gaze back towards his pocket watch.

“...Doc does have a reputation for being a workaholic.” Scar offered slowly, when the silence had begun to stretch.

Bdubs let out a humourless laugh. “That’s an understatement.” He said bitterly. After a long minute with no follow-up response from Scar, Bdubs slumped down slightly in his chair, replacing the bitterness with exhaustion. “The business was always his priority. It didn’t matter where he was, what he was doing- he was always thinking about work.”

The minute hand on Bdubs’s watch ticked over a space, lining up right beneath the smudge. Bdubs dropped his eyes to the surface of his desk. “He never came home, y’know? Even when he was at home, he was still working. It was all he cared about.”

“Is that why you left?” Scar asked, quietly.

Bdubs nodded, moreso to the ground than Scar. “I wrote him a note, so he’d know I hadn’t been kidnapped or killed, but it was… professional. A resignation, nothing else. Meant to leave Heremita as a whole, but I needed funds, so I ran some odd jobs as far away from Doc’s territory as I could get.”

“The Glass Empire.”

“One thing led to another… and you know the rest.” Bdubs finally raised his head again, propping it up on one of his hands with a sigh. “I should have known better. In this line of work, not putting business first can get you killed. I can’t be that surprised he made his choices like he did.”

“There’s a difference between putting work first and putting everything else last.”

“Yeah, well.” Bdubs shrugged. “Not everyone gets that.”

Scar was silent, and for a foolish moment, Bdubs assumed that he was going to leave the matter there, an awkward not-so-secret secret that they knew but would never talk about, like Dolos or the way that Scar was clearly in love with both heads of the South (not that Bdubs hadn’t been trying to broach the latter subject, but Scar had been persistent in stonewalling his attempts). Outside of sympathetic platitudes, there wasn’t much else to be said.

But the analytic expression was back on Scar’s face, and while Bdubs knew it better than most, he had managed to forget just how perceptive Scar could be right up until the moment where he said something no one else in the room had even thought.

“Is that why you hate Mumbo and Grian?” Scar was kind enough to twist the observation into a question, softening the blow, but it still hit hard enough that Bdubs couldn’t keep meeting his eyes.

Bdubs had often found, with his line of work, you only ever had two choices when it came to personal issues that had the potential to interfere with business: you either took care of them, or you ignored them. He couldn’t make things work with the Seventy-Sevens, so he wrote a note and left. He didn’t like the thought of Dolos rotting in one piece, so he cut him into three and buried him on the territory of every Heremita gang (outside of the Empire) that had existed at the time. He got sick of seeing Scar turn down partnerships with the South on the same basis that middle schoolers used to pick teams in PE, so he bullied him into staying away until he was willing to make a decision.

He watched the way Mumbo never went anywhere without Grian at his side, both professional to a fault despite how clear it was that their only real priorities were the other, not their business, and Bdubs ignored how his chest twisted painfully at the sight.

It wasn’t fair to say Bdubs hated them, and he knew that Scar knew that. He had nothing against them or the South as a whole. What few interactions he had directly had with them had been civil and respectful. The only issue Bdubs truly had with them was just how close they were.

Professionally, the only reason Bdubs had any problem with that was because it made them unpredictable. Bdubs would never forget the look in Mumbo's eyes the day Grian had been kidnapped, the way he had threatened to ruin the organization responsible so vehemently Bdubs knew he wasn't exaggerating in the slightest. The goals of the South were always at risk of making a complete one eighty, subject to the mood and well-being of its boss and right-hand, and as such Bdubs always had to be on his guard with them.

As to any personal feelings, nothing good could come of hating Mumbo for doing what Doc never managed, of hating Grian for having more than Bdubs had even wanted, so he didn't. Nothing else to it.

(It was possible that that was different when Bdubs was home, far from work and professionalism, on the rare nights where it was late enough for him to entertain such thoughts. Late nights where he would do his best to convince himself he hated them, briefly giving into the hope that if he pretended it was true long enough, it would be. But Bdubs wasn't home right then, and the night wasn't dark enough.)

Bdubs managed a half-smile, shaking his head slightly as he tried for a light, joking tone despite the fact that he still couldn’t meet Scar’s eyes. “I don't hate Mumbo and Grian, I hate the way you interact with them.”

Scar pressed a hand to his chest, feigning offense. The deflection was so obvious Bdubs might as well have outright declared he was changing the topic, but Scar went along with it, accepting that they had gone as far into the conversation as Bdubs was willing to go. “I’m hurt. All my interactions with them are the epitome of professionalism, what about that could be so awful?”

“What about Grian cupping the back of your neck was ‘the epitome of professionalism?’”

“He was helping me keep pressure on my injuries.”

“I didn’t realize you had cut your lips as well.”

“He never-” Scar paused to clear his throat. “Your recollection of events seems to be somewhat faulty, Bdubs.”

“Something about the situation’s faulty.” Bdubs countered, though he didn’t try to push much past that. Any other time, he wouldn’t hesitate, but Scar was doing him a favour by letting Bdubs turn the tables on him. The least Bdubs could do was return it, if only for the night.

Scar chuckled, a tad awkwardly, before taking the opening to steer them away from the topic of the South (and his relationships within it). “Speaking of faulty, I think we've both been up past our bedtimes.”

“Smooth transition, Scar.” Bdubs quipped even as he started to put away his papers. Bdubs had learned fairly quickly that when Scar decided to wrap up for the day/evening, nothing short of a knife to his throat could make him change his mind on the matter. Bdubs wasn’t sure he was quite ready to face down his car and the thought of sticking the pedal to the floor, but arguing was futile.“Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

Scar waved him off long before he had the chance to so much as get up, however. “I won’t make you play chauffeur tonight. Plus, part of the reason I came out here in the first place was to give you this.”

Looking up from his paperwork shuffling, Bdubs expected to find another file or written inquiry he’d tuck away for the night and get to first thing in the morning. It was clear at a glance that his guess had been wrong, the small bundle of folded fabric and hemmed edges held between Scar’s fingers more familiar to Bdubs than any legal form or dark alley.

Bdubs took the proffered cleaning cloth from Scar, flipping it over in his hands to confirm what he had immediately realized- it was a watch cleaning cloth. Specifically, it was Bdubs’s watch cleaning cloth, the exact same one he usually had on hand, other than the fact that it was clean and unused and new. Which meant Scar hadn’t broken into his car to get it.

“I thought it’d be a good idea to have some extras.” Scar explained casually, as if there wasn’t anything noteworthy about it. “In case you lost yours, or something happened to it.”

“Some?”

Scar shrugged. “They were cheaper in bulk.”

For a moment, Bdubs couldn’t help but stare at Scar, who was continuing to act nonchalant. To anyone else, the gesture would likely be seen as small and somewhat meaningless. Nice, but little else.

Except it was identical to Bdubs’s cloth, which meant Scar had, at some point, gone through the effort of identifying the brand and make of a small square of fabric that was rarely in sight. He had bought multiple of it, hiding the purposeful act behind a white lie about cost (as if that was truly a concern for the Glass Empire), and had done so without ever mentioning it to Bdubs until he gave him one. Scar had done all that because he had realized it was something important to Bdubs, so much so that when he noticed Bdubs had neglected to clean his pocket watch for the better part of the day, he left his office to ask Bdubs what was wrong and present him with the cloth, with no indication from Bdubs that he was, in any sense, doing poorly.

It was almost too much. Bdubs didn’t know how to respond.

So, of course, Scar didn’t make him. “You can take the bed in the office, I’m going to check if we still have that spare sleeping bag in the storeroom. Your appreciation is implied.” Scar added to the end, voice light as though metaphorically brushing aside Bdubs’s stunned silence.

Bdubs remained quiet as Scar stood up, watching as Scar picked up his cane and pushed his chair back where he had gotten it from. He couldn’t even find the words to protest Scar’s declaration- the floor was worse on Scar’s back then it was on his, like hell he’d take the bed (though that, at least, was a point Bdubs could make later through light shoving and pushing)- letting Scar start walking off without saying anything.

Scar didn’t make it very far before he stopped, however, turning back towards Bdubs. He didn’t say anything immediately, hesitating as though he was considering his next move very carefully.

“For the record?” Scar’s tone was still light, but there was an undercurrent of something serious to it, something meaningful. His expression had softened as well, gentle in a way Bdubs couldn’t put an exact name to. “If you suddenly left the Empire, and your only goodbye was a resignation letter… I would come after you.”

Coming from any other Heremita boss, the sentiment would be a threat. A way of saying that Bdubs may have been able to do that to Doc, but he better not try it with them, that he better not abandon his job and their organization without a damned good reason personally presented to them.

But it wasn’t any other boss. It was Scar, who was looking at Bdubs with more feeling than had been contained in his words.

From Scar, it was a reassurance.

Scar resumed his trek to the storeroom, leaving Bdubs with the plausible deniability of privacy. A purposeful and gracious move, given the situation had officially become too much for Bdubs.

Because Bdubs was good at his job. He made sure that the cracks never showed- not for the Glass Empire, not for himself- because a seen weakness was an exploitable weakness, and it was better to never show anything rather than flashing an achilles heel at the wrong person. Scar knew that- he was good at his job too.

Which is why he walked away, giving Bdubs the space to stare at his desk, not really seeing it, as he idly thumbed a single tear out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t scream, didn’t sob, didn’t make a sound, just took full advantage of Scar’s discretion and let himself have five minutes where he wasn’t anything more than a heartbroken sucker.

“Bdubs, did you move the sleeping bag?” Scar shouted, presumably from the storeroom, giving Bdubs something else to focus on before he could sink too far into his own moping. He let out a breath, taking a moment to collect himself and straighten up as though Scar was present in the room with him.

“Don’t worry about it, Scar, just take the bed.”

“I’m not taking it from you!”

“It’s not my bed, you can’t take it from me.”

“Where’s the sleeping bag?”

“You’re not sleeping on the floor!”

“It’s my floor! I can sleep on it if I want!”

Despite himself, Bdubs laughed. He had, as a matter of fact, moved the sleeping bag, but he wasn’t going to be telling Scar that. Instead, he pushed himself to his feet, not wanting to shout his every rationale for why Scar would be taking the bed, actually.

He stopped by the edge of his desk as he went, picking up his pocket watch. The spot of grease glinted in the dim lights, but its presence didn’t mock Bdubs as it had all day. The cloth Scar had gifted him was still in his hand, and with a single swipe across the clock’s face, the smudge was dealt with, leaving the watch as clean and clear as it nearly always was.

Bdubs looked at it for a long minute before carefully placing it back on his desk, folding the cleaning cloth to put beside it. The watch kept ticking. The cloth didn’t vanish.

With a nod to himself, Bdubs continued towards the storeroom, where he could hear the sounds of Scar attempting (and failing) to find the hidden sleeping bag. There was a tightness in his chest, wrapped harshly around his ribs and heavy over his shoulders, that felt loosened in a way Bdubs had no intention of thinking very deeply on while at work. He had other things to focus on- papers to put away, an argument to win, a boss to subtly thank. Things that needed- and would get- his full attention.

After all, Bdubs was very good at his job.

[ladylooch]

Me every day visiting your blog waiting for more Timo & Emma 😂

What would Timo's reaction be like when he saw Emma wearing a jersey with his name for the first time?

BABE!!!!!!! I love you 😭 thank you!

The Devils won in deciding fashion for my first game back from Switzerland. I am tired. Making a baby and being sick all the time is proving to be a lot of work. But being in the second trimester has seemed to ease some of the worst parts. I haven't had a migraine in three days.

I am waiting for Timo to emerge from the locker room when Nico pops up next to me.

"Hey, good game." I give him a hug. He holds me a second longer than usual which makes my heart ache a bit. He told Timo he is worried about how sick I have been. I can feel it in his touch now.

"Thank you. How are you?" He asks.

"I am good today." I smile reassuringly. Nico sighs in relief.

"Good. What's this?" He fingers my jersey, noting the numbers are not his.

"A surprise." I grin. "I tired to show him at warm ups but I missed them because I slept too late."

"That's okay. You're doing hard work. Where is Lex?"

"Um, down there." I point to where she is with a few more WAGS.

"Thanks. Love you. See you tomorrow for brunch, ya?"

"Yeah. Love you." He gives me another squeeze.

"Have I mentioned how happy I am that you're here?" He asks as he walks backwards down the ramp, dimples pinching his cheeks.

"A couple times." I laugh.

It takes 10 more minute before Timo emerges. His hair is ruffled and wet, fingers still tying his tie back together.

"Sorry, babe. I had a lot of inter-" He stops, both his words and his steps. A huge grin takes over his face. "Is Emma Hischier wearing my jersey?" He steps forward, pressing me against the wall with his hips. My baby bump pushes against his belt.

"She is." I smile, accepting his sweet smooches immediately.

"You look so good with that last name. Might need to give it to you." I don't respond, just suck his bottom lip into my mouth.

"I think it's lucky too. Two goals from you? So hot." I kiss along his jaw, working to his throat. He leans his face into my head further.

"This means so much to me." He tugs on the sleeve of his jersey.

"I know."

"Like this is all real. You're mine. And you're having my baby."

"Both of those things are true." His hands can't help themselves and come to cup my belly under the jersey. He finds my jeans held together with a hair binder, chuckling into my hair. "When are you going to get maternity jeans, babe?"

"When I feel like it." I respond, biting my lip and looking back up at his face. Timo is staring at his numbers on my sleeve. "The baby wants pizza."

"Okay, pizza it is." He laughs, tossing an arm around my shoulder. I hook my fingers with his dangling off my body. He pulls back for a moment, looking at his last name across my back again. "Did you buy this?"

"Yeah! Wanted to boost your sales above Nico."

"I doubt that will happen anytime soon." Timo shakes his head as we walk out to his car.

[bumblepony]

for the ficlet thingy!

I finally got to your request @clickergossip, and I can not say how excited I am about it!!! Here is the story under the cut and cross-posted to AO3.

This is based in an AU that @mariatesstruther and @clickergossip created on Tumblr, where Maria is a superstar who ends up with Tommy as her fake boyfriend to appease the media. They soon become not fake boyfriend and girlfriend.

Joel Miller's Day Off

"Joel, it's so great to see you. Where are the girls?" Maria asks, taking some of the bags from Joel's hands.

"Sarah is tryin' to talk Ellie down from leavin' her swimmin’ suit in the car. She ain't too happy with what we bought at the store, but it was all they had after she left hers at the house." Joel says, looking back to the rental car where Maria can see the two girls arguing hotly.

"Oh, poor kid. Ok why don't you go in and Tommy will show you to your rooms. I'll talk to the girls and see if I can get this figured out." Maria says, moving away quickly. She's almost out of earshot when she turns suddenly and says, "Oh, and Joel, I invited one of my friends, Rose, along, if you see her, please be nice."

"When am I not nice." Joel responds, and Maria gives him a look like 'really' before moving off to the girls.

---

"So yeah, this is gonna be your room, and Sarah and Ellie are sharing a room down on the east side of the house. Kevin's room is over there, and little Mateo' is bunking in with Maria and I except on the nights the nanny is gonna be here." Tommy says, handing Joel a mini-map of the house with directions to all the different activities in the area. "You got this wing pretty much to yourself, except for Maria's friend, who's the next door down."

"Yeah, Maria was saying somethin' about her. Rose or somethin' like that." Joel says, dropping his luggage onto the bed so he can start unpacking.

"Yeah, Rose, that's her name." Joel hears a hesitation in his brother's voice, and he turns around.

"What? Are you gonna tell me I should be nice to her too? Maria already beat ya to it," Joel complains, putting his hands on his hips and popping his knee out in frustration.

"No, nothin' like that, I was more gonna say you might wanna watch out for her. She's ah, I can I say it. Your type." Tommy smiles when he sees Joel's face get flushed.

"What do you mean my type, I don't have a type." Jole grates and turns back to his bag.

"Well, we'll just see, won't we," Tommy says with a laugh before closing his door.

---

Joel comes out to the pool with black swim trunks on and a white t-shirt on top. He's just putting his bag down with sunscreen and water bottles when Sarah and Ellie come out of their side of the house. Sarah has got on a purple one-piece with sparkled detailing down the side, and Ellie is dressed in a black one-piece with white piping and matching black board shorts. She’s also wearing a bright lime green rash guard sleeve on her right forearm. He pushes his sunglasses up and looks her up and down.

"Where'd ya get that," Joel asks, his brow furrowing.

"Ah, Maria's friend gave it to me. She said she didn't need it she has another suit." Ellie flops down on one of the beach chairs. "This place is pretty bitching, it's gotta be nice having rich and famous relatives who can fly you out to that Bahamas for Spring break." She says enviously. Ellie was a foster kid who had been placed with him and Sarah about 6 months ago, and she was still getting used to the idea that she wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. It had been a rough go so far, but things seemed to be getting better.

'Yeah, it is nice, I'd say." He reaches into his bag and throws a bottle of 60 spf sunscreen at her. "Put that on."

Ellie moans when she looks at the bottle. "C'mon Joel, this stuff is like a damn sweater."

"I don't care, with your fair complexion, you are gonna burn at the drop of a hat, put it on." He says, his tone brooking no arguments.

Ellie groans again, and Sarah comes over and sticks her hand out. "Here, Ellie, give it to me I'll put it on for you, then you can help me with mine." Ellie huffs, but she hands the bottle over to Sarah, and they work together to get the job done. Joel can't help the smile that creeps on his lips while he watches the two of them laugh and joke like they've been sisters forever. He hasn't told Ellie yet, but he and Sarah had talked about it, and they had decided they were gonna try to make her placement with them permanent. He'd already reached out to Marlene at the foster agency and got the paperwork started for adoption.

He tugs his shirt off and starts to apply his own sunscreen when he gets to his back and is about to call Sarah over to help him when he hears a voice behind him.

"Would you like me to help you with that cowboy?" Joel turns around and nearly does a double-take. It's a woman, her skin brown and lustrous in the sun; she only comes up to about the middle of his chest, and now he understands how Ellie was able to borrow a suit from her. Though she's got a fair amount more going on in the top area than Ellie probably ever will, Joel immediately cuts his eyes back up to her face in embarrassment when he realizes he was staring a little too long. She's wearing a bright blue one-piece with cutouts in strategic places, Joel can feel the blush creeping up his chest and neck when she smiles at him, a knowing look on her face.

“What’s that?” Joel stammers.

She reaches up to push up her matching blue heart-shaped sunglasses, and Joel can see that she's got a set of long blue acrylics on her fingers. "I said, would you like some help getting your sunscreen on? Then you can help me with mine." She says, holding a hand out to him and wiggling her fingers as she slides her glasses back on.

"Oh sure, thank ya," Joel says, handing her the bottle. "Ah, you must be Rose then. Maria's friend?" Joel asks, turning his back to her.

"That would be correct," She says before sucking her teeth and hitting him gently on the shoulder with her hand. Joel turns his head to look at her his forehead creased with confusion. "Could you sit down, maybe, I don't usually climb guys on the first date, and there's no way I can reach your shoulders properly otherwise."

Joel blushes again and shuffles over to one of the beach chairs. He hears her make her way over and then her hands are moving on his back and shoulders, carefully rubbing the sunscreen in. Joel hears a snort and looks up to see Sarah and Ellie staring at him, their hands covering their mouths, holding back laughter. Joel gives them both a glare, and they turn around and run off laughing to the other side of the pool, where Maria has just come out with Tommy and a baby Mateo in his adorable onesie swimsuit.

"Those your daughters?" Rose asks.

"Ah yeah, Sarah, she's the taller one. She's mine by birth. Ellie, there is a foster, but we are hopin' to have her with us permanently soon. Ah, shit, we weren't tellin' anyone that yet, we want to talk to her first about it. Please forget I said anything." Joel's not sure why he told her that, she’s got him felling wrong-footed somehow.

"Don't worry, cowboy, I won't say anything." She slaps the bottle onto his shoulder, and he reaches up and grabs it. "My turn." Joel stands up and moves out of the way. She doesn't bother to sit down, knowing he will have no problem reaching her back and shoulders.

"Thank ya for lending Ellie a swimsuit. She left hers at home, and the only ones they had at the store were not her style. She’s a might self-conscious.” Joel says, working the sunscreen into the soft skin of her shoulders. The back of the swimsuit cuts down her back to an almost indecent level but lets up just before it reaches too low, Joel finds himself wondering what the rest of her body looks like under the swimsuit. When he feels an uncomfortable heat start to build up at the base of his spine, he moves his eyes back up to her neck.

“It’s not a problem. I remember what it was like to be a 14-year-old girl.” Rose says, waving her hand in a shooing motion like it really wasn’t a big deal. Joel moves his hands down to her back, managing to finish without sneaking any more peeks. He places his hand gently on her shoulder and squeezes when he’s done.

“Finished.” He says, and she turns and gives him a megawatt smile. “I’m gonna go dip my feet in the pool. Wanna join me?” She asks, resting a delicate hand on his forearm.

Joel gulps his adam’s apple, bobbing up and down, and he has to clear his throat before he can answer. “Ah, sure, I’d like that.” She moves off, and Joel watches her sway her hips as she leaves.

Shit, Tommy was right. Joel knows he’s in fucking trouble.

[palettepainter]

Not sure if you're still answering these type of ask. But do you have any Clifford headcanons? 👉👈

Maybe some about what Clifford and Zee's relationship was like???

my askbox is pretty much always open so people can ask for headcannons anytime! A heads up to longtime Clifford fans I've gotten a general idea of his character through watching episodes/clips from Muppets Tonight, so idk if theres other videos of him

-I did a post a while back with some Clifford headcannons so you can read them here: Palettepainter101 — Got any headcanons for Clifford? (tumblr.com)

-As for him and Zee overall they where a pretty normal, but fashionable, couple. From watching Muppets Tonight Clifford strikes me as the type of guy who is just trying to do his job, get paid, and put food on the table. If he's not dealing with some dumb shit backstage then he will be later. I kind of love him for that, he's just trying to run a show, let the man do his job.

-When they met Zee was just a singer and hadn't started her teaching career just yet. Zee sang at different joints more or less as a very passionate hobby, she was paid well but the gigs where far and few, so she wanted to get a fulltime job to make ends meet. She applies for a job at the Muppets Tonight studios for an actor, with her career as a dancer she was used to a stage and working alongside other muppets was a new change of pace that sounded fun to her. Since Zee was already a singer and proved to already have experience on a stage she got hired relatively quickly

-Zee had always preformed alone, so while it took a bit for her to adjust having acting partners she soon made quick friends with some of the other actors on the show. Being one of the oldest cousins to Zoot she's also naturally the mum friend of their group, so isn't afraid of rolling up her sleeves to get stuff down. Her and Clifford where pretty close by this point, since Zee was good at keeping a level head and people seemed to listen to her Clifford trusted her with a lot of other things he didn't have the time for.

In some bloopers for Muppets Tonight there's this one where Clifford gets into a fight with Johnny and his chimp Sal. I think it'd be funny if Zee see's this going down and naturally goes over to see what's wrong, manages to calm Sal down with nothing more then a few calm words and a smile, and the pair go on their way, before she turns to Clifford and probably asks "You good boss?"

-During the time when the two where starting to crush on each other there was a lot of flirting/playful teasing. Zee and Clifford could match each others energy, and their impeccable fashion tastes, but it took them ages to actually start dating. A lot of people on the show assumed they where dating long before they actually where because the back and fourth flirting game went on forever. The day Clifford actually went to ask Zee out stuff kept getting in his way, in typical, comical muppet fashion. Whenever he got round to talking with Zee something else would pop up, or Pepe and Seymour would interrupt him, then Zee would be called over by somebody else and he'd loose his chance. It wasn't until the end of the day when Clifford flops down in his office chair does Zee pop by with a coffee, probably with a "Sheesh, you look rough creampuff" comment (not unkindly). Clifford sighs, saying something about how the day was so hectic and how he looks like a mess. Zee chuckles, saying that he's still got his looks, and then Clifford asks her out

-The two where already flirty before they began dating, so adding dating to the mix felt totally natural for them. With Zee as his girlfriend Zee helped out a lot more with the operations of running the show, the stuff Clifford often handled alone with occasional help from Pepe and Rizzo. Zee's singing career had been pretty popular, but Muppets Tonight was really when it started to take off. Clifford made space for her to sing songs in-between acts to warm up the audience, and Clifford loves to hear her sing. The two where still very flirty even after dating, and might have snuck in a few make out sessions in Clifford's office during commercial breaks.

I want to say they dated for a handful of years, perhaps the two had started to share their own space (perhaps rumours of the two buying a new place together and settling down, only Zee and Clifford know for sure). But Zee was eventually approached by a business man to give her a brand deal with her singing, only issue is Zee would have to move. Clifford and her had a long talk about it, and at first they tried to make long distance work, but in the end neither wanted to hold the other back and decided to remain friends

[littleguyconnor]

Another addition to childhood au heehee. Cw for violence and murder, Simon kills someone.

“Hah. Go fish.” 

Felix rolled his eyes, drawing another card from the pool. 

“Ugh. You are such a cheater. I know you have my cards, you’re just hiding them.” 

“Non! I’m insulted you’d even accuse me of cheating!” 

“Liar! You cheat at every game we play, this one’s no different.” 

Simon smiled slyly to himself, observing his hand of cards. 

“Do you have a 5?” 

Felix glanced down, brow furrowed in frustration. 

“Nein. Go fish.” 

Simon drew from the pool fairly, shifting his cards to one hand as he crunched the last part of the lollipop he’d been holding in his mouth. The stick was discarded, and he took out another one from inside his blazer.

“Those were different. We made bets on them, this is just a simple card game.” 

“If it’s so simple then get those stupid cards out of your stupid sleeves!” Felix snapped, and then apologized almost immediately after. Simon thought it was more funny than anything and snorted in response. 

“Perhaps we should stop playing before you try to attack me.” He said, and Felix shook his head with a huff. 

“No, you’re my friend. …But yes, we should. The bells going to ring soon anyway.” 

Simon nodded, and the two boys set to piling the cards together in a stack to make putting them back in the box easier. The other boy didn’t help as much, more focused on watching his friend count each card in the deck before snickering when he suddenly stopped. 

“We’re missing five.” 

“Really?” 

“SIMON! 

Simon didn’t hear, too caught up in his fit of laughter. 

“Dein Mutter ist HÄSSLICH! I am leaving immediately! You know where to go if you manage to stop LAUGHING at your ABUSE!!” 

Felix was a little miffed, sure, but not nearly as angry as he was making himself out to be. He made a big show of packing his things and stomped out of the classroom among the crowd of children who also had leaving on their minds. Simon cleared his throat, having almost choked on his candy, and finally started to gather his things. He shook out the cards in his sleeves and tucked those into his blazer as a trophy, shoulders shaking with laughter again.

It had started to drizzle a little by the time he finally got out, and it had to of course be the one time Felix neglected his mother’s advice on bringing an umbrella. She’d get him for that, no doubt about it. It wasn’t too much of a concern, though. It didn’t seem like it was going to start pouring anytime soon. 

Felix followed his normal route carefully, a trail of pre-established back alleys and shortcuts that he made absolutely sure no one would find him through. There’d been too many instances of people following him home, so the route was made early on in the year. And so far, it’d worked. Simon and Misha were the only other two who knew about it, and they made sure to follow him as discreetly as possible when they were meeting up. Felix wasn’t the only one who had problems with bullying; they all did. 

Misha was too intimidating for anyone to start physical fights with or to say anything to his face. It was an emotional kind of bullying. Talk amongst crowds behind his back, excluding him, avoiding him, making it seem as if he wasn’t even there. For Simon, it was a lot more physical. He was smaller in frame than the other boys, so they’d rip him away from the protection of his friends to get him alone. Sometimes it’d get so bad it was like they were playing with a rag-doll. 

But, that was why they stuck together. They had to put some distance between them on the route home to avoid detection, but they always were following each other. No one was ever truly by themselves, and this was a method that wor-

“AAHG!” 

“Found you, freak.” 

Felix scrambled to get up and clutched his bleeding hands, crimson skid marks on the ground underneath him. A layer of skin had been scraped from being shoved into concrete. 

“How?! HOW?! I did everything I was supposed to! Why are you still HERE?” 

“Aw, poor baby. Are you gonna start crying? Gonna tell all your communist friends about it?” 

Glass crunched under the other student's foot. Felix’s glasses. 

“Leave us alone.” 

“You did this yourself. You dragged them into your stupid, pathetic life, and now they have to suffer just along with you. Don’t you get it? You ruin everything you touch,” they spat, shoving Felix back into the ground with the heels of their hands.  

This time papers and glass bottles clattered and spilled out of his bag, and when he shot his hand to grab them the strap fell from his shoulder. The other boy ripped it from him, dumping the contents out. More glass shattered upon impact, all the chemicals and ingredients he’d spent months collecting sinking into the ground.

“No!! NO! STOP IT!!” 

He couldn’t see. Everything was so blurry. 

“What the hell is all of this? You’re.. everyone was right, you’re a nazi!” 

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” 

He still had the same syringe in his pocket and with it he made a wild swing the boy, digging it straight into their calf. They screamed, and Felix dragged the needle down his leg until it snapped off the inside of his muscle. They grabbed his neck with both hands and crushed it, smashing him down onto the pavement. Felix clawed at their hands, ripping at the skin until blood piled underneath his nails. 

He couldn’t move. 

He couldn’t breathe. 

And he was alone here. 

“-OFF! GET OFF OF HIM! GET OFF GET OFF GET OFF!!” 

Simon drew his butterfly knife from his side, flipped it in his hand, and plunged it into the back of Felix’s attacker. 

And then again. 

Again, again, again, until a hand grabbed his wrist. 

“Simon! Stop it, that’s enough, please!” 

He blinked, only just registering his friend’s voice. He was gripping the knife so tightly it left dents, like he couldn’t physically drop it. Felix tapped his shoulder, and then shook him when he didn’t respond. 

“Hey-Hey, can you hear me? Simon. Look at me.” 

He did, although he couldn’t focus. 

“Can you understand me?” 

He nodded, made some kind of noise in the back of his throat. 

“Okay. Calm down for a second. Alright? Calm down. It’s.. okay. Things will be. Fine.”

“Felix.” 

The rest of what he said was inaudible. 

“What?” 

“I think I killed someone.” 

“Let’s go. We have to go.” 

Felix picked up the remainder of his belongings and grabbed his friend's hands, pulling him out of the alleyway. Both of them were covered in blood, and the walk home was completely silent. The sun had sunk low into the sky by now, the streetlights along the road acting as lighthouses. They were about 2 blocks away from home when Simon suddenly stopped walking and collapsed onto the curbside. Felix stopped and sat next to him under the light, everything quiet and slow except for the sounds of crickets chirping.

Simon was shaking uncontrollably. He had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist, clutching at his blazer to stop the tremors in his hands. He hadn’t said anything, he hadn’t done anything, he never cried. There was just this glazed, shocked expression on his face. Felix hadn’t ever seen anything like that before. He didn’t feel curious about it this time. 

“Draw something.” He said, cutting through the heavy, sick feeling silence. From his bag he pulled out a sketchbook and a pen, offering it to Simon. 

“…What?” 

“Make something, anything. You know, take your mind off things.” 

Simon took the sketchbook stiffly, staring at the blank page it was flipped to. He couldn’t get his fingers to hold the pen properly. 

“I don’t know what to draw,”

“What’s your favorite animal? Do that.” 

And so he did, making clumsy, shaky, marks along the page that hardly looked like anything at first. He kept trying, and eventually, he managed to make the icon of a cat. Circle for the head, triangles for the ears. Simple features. The more he repeated these shapes the more confident his lines became, and he started to draw more realistic cats further down the page. 

“Katze? Fitting.” 

“I used to have one, in France. We had to give her away before we moved, though.” 

“I’m sure she understood! Cats are very interesting creatures, intelligent too, but personally I like birds. Did you know pigeons were used as messengers? They would always find their way back home, even if they traveled to entirely different states.” 

His interest in birds led him to ramble a little more than he intended until he noticed his friend had gone very quiet next to him. 

“…Are you okay?” 

“I don’t know. I-… I killed someone today and I’m drawing cats. And you’re talking about birds.” 

He thought about what to say for a few minutes. Nothing he came up with sounded good at all.

“That’s true.” 

Another bout of silence. 

“What even started it?” 

“They- Called me something. I don’t want to say it.” 

Simon nodded. He didn’t have to for him to understand exactly what he meant. He’d heard all kinds of variations of that word, for different groups of people. Slurs, he remembered. Derogatory insults he’d only ever dealt with upon moving. It didn’t matter who the person was; if they weren’t originally from America, you were a target. 

And, in a way, the butterfly knife still in his pocket coated with the blood of someone he didn’t know, was justified. 

[threenorth]

Pizza thin base for crouncy bread crisp, thanks new York. But Chicago has it place. Unfortunately Colorado honey dipping wasn't on the table... But

Pasta sauce, fake monzerla cheese, fake bacon,

Pinnaple does belong on pizza, thanks cannda.

Red bell pepper and impossible mince with refried beans...

Dinner completo.

Then me and mom tried to work on a cover letter for a company out of Queensland, where I'm going to apply for four roles... Looks like a really good company... Anyway then we watched the walk, directed by Robert zemkiks.

I think he's good but this story isn't his best tale.

Gump, bttf1, bttf2, castaway, I'll put the walk here, who framed Roger rabbit, then lastly real steel.

JGL did really well acting as Frenchman, but cgi makes it sad to think of the towers, but good story, pretty nice overall but missing a bit of ompf of making kids think anything is possible rather than being daredevil I guess? I dunno...

In my minecraft world, I gotta redo my cabin as it never really worked out good and now I'm getting enough resources...and trying to figure out a good design for the cabin per say...

My bridge across the river. As I pulled it up as I might redo this.

My basic sugar farm I'll think of something for this farm land now... Or completely remove it.

And redo my villagers traders like trade hall... They seem to be out growing their make shift house...whoops.

I'm about 1/8th left on my iron farm to do, for now I'll just do one level... I need to finish that up, for hoppers for my next farm...

As I'm starting a sugar farm for paper now that I have an eltra, but my subway tunnel from main isn't deep enough and but I will need to find snow soon for snow golums, that will be used to make a creeper farm for gunpowder, but that's after.

Hopefully it will keep me busy for awhile till then... Mom wants me to go to Church tomorrow ugh...

Tonight is hot and mugy it was like 24c at 9? it's almost 1 now and it's finally cooling down...

Here's some messages...

I'm not proud of my life, but at least it's better then it use to be, question is... Will it be better more when I'm hopefully going to be getting a six figures salary, I hope so...but my life has been quite fun but last year has been pretty rough... Probably one of the worse years of my life but that's life...

Not a day goes by I don't think of you, you are in my phone and in my wallet... Missing you... Always.

You didn't hurt me, I'm just vulnerable with you, and you show me so many things... Let alone your smile, it speaks to me like the art at the gallery...

If I could I'd kiss you every minute we're alone. But for right now I'll settle on a kiss through the time and oceans and air via the stars and the moon kissing my soul.

Again, you didn't hurt me, I just wear my heart on my sleeve... And I guess you just know how to break my walls...

You want to start over? We can't change the past but I'll always be your present and future.

I'd really hope you'd pickup the phone, maybe your sunday... Mondays are pretty dull around here.

Follow me home? I'm still got my arms out. Hopefully I get a good job, I think you'll like Australia except for the heat...

She kept a little box, for little mommets, and I gave her some big gifts that couldn't fit in a small box but I know, the small things I should try enjoy, thanks colombus for that lesson in 2010 (zombie land)

You didn't let me down, if anything I think you flowered my mind and soul when I needed it the most.

To the moon and back, my dear were in far away galaxy's...I miss you and love you as a far as a lightyears.

You'll always welcome back, and like I said I wasn't going anywhere fast... I might have needed some time to recover from some things you said but I still am here, thinking and day dreaming about you. If you want another chance I'll always give you one, message me anytime you want.

I need you in my life, but here's not so good Auckland crime rate is getting crazy,... Last night at supermarket down the road was held up at gun point and all the staff held as hostages, how fun.... but here in my life even virtually would be a nice place to be in...

Things can be different, if you want to take a step I'll be going as fast or slow as you want but we both know the end game.

I'd like to read it if you still have it, but I don't know if I can well, we're see if I can read your hand writing...

It's always been you, my future is with you...

If you want to see me, you know where I'll be state side, maybe I'll be working and see if I can try get to Denver or dro... Anyway, if you want to see me virtually you have my Skype, Instagram, phone number, both... What's app/signal and Facebook and my snap.

The only thing that will change for me, is finding what we can both get into, but I'm not sure about horror still... But maybe... But I need to hug you snuggling up...

Your basicly my sister, but I love you so much you are my best friend, and I miss talking with you about allot.

Romantic things, I'd buy you flowers but I don't know where to send them...I'd have a candle bath if we can find a bath that fits two tall people... Even making dinner together like we said we would...

Freinds and lovers, remember juno... Part time lover full time freind...

I'll follow you wherever I can but I'd admit, only fans was fun right? 😂

Your my person, for lack of a better word everything person.

And rip, my phone web browser crashed...

Have a great Saturday

XO

R

P.S

Today at the gym a guy said I was pretty lanky but was like woah, you got some good numbers I said maybe I shouldn't of started on the squat press 😂

[twstedstoryshop]

Hello, congratulations for receiving 700+ followers! :D

I kind of wonder if that request is ok, since it isn't twst chara x reader whatsoever, but I'd like to ask for general headcanons(who they are and how they met each other) with Savanaclaw put into gaslamp fantasy AU(I imagine it as more of steampunk + high fantasy settings, because of my preference to Victorian aesthetic, but if you have more ideas with Edwardians, then go for it :) ).

This was a lot of fun to think about and imagine in my brain theater, hehe. -Shopkeep

Gaslamp Fantasy AU With The Savanaclaw Dorm

Of course still a prince in this universe, but continues down the path of a 2nd son that knows he won’t be in line for the throne anytime soon. But unlike our Leona who kind of just lazes about in NRC days, Leona in a gaslamp fantasy is busy scouring the skies in his airship.

While he may not be the next king, his family and brother expect him to still play a role in the royal family. While his brother takes care of official matters, Leona was given responsibilities as a protector of his kingdom’s people.

While Leona does indeed do his job, does he exactly do it right…? Not really. Think of it along the lines of, “Hey I’m a sky pirate to take down other sky pirates” “Leona, you can’t do that.” “Watch me.”

Also this just gives him an excuse to stay out of royal affairs and happily sail among the clouds. You can think of the Savanaclaw dorm being his rag-tag sky pirate crew.

I imagine unique magic is still a thing within this world. The properties of King’s Roar are still the same albeit rather than turning things into sand, he instantly causes his surroundings to turn to rust. This can be devastating especially within a world that relies heavily on metals for technology.

Though he puts up the front that he’s an uncaring, greedy pirate captain, we all know he cares. He could have easily gone down a path of abandoning his legacy and being a full fledged pirate but every treasure he eyed or adventure he craved, it always benefits his kingdom in some way. Whether people realize it or not.

Cheka is COMPLETELY enamored over the idea that his uncle is a cool sky pirate. He’s so intent on being a pirate too when he grows up and the family is trying desperately to not let him get too influenced by Leona.

Definitely has a get-up very similar to his Halloween outfit. Though he would have more of a ruffled shirt that’s still showing off a lot of his chest because… Yeah… Anyway, he may have to lose the eyepatch and nautical details, but I do like the hat. Just give him a bandana underneath it and bam, there’s our captain.

He may not be the proper definition of a king, but he’s a king among clouds and thieves and you know what? He likes that image a lot better than a prim and proper prince on a throne.

Oh you know Ruggie is gonna be our cute wise-cracking thief from the bustling city streets. He’s busy hustling through the crowds, pickpocketing snobby nobles and pulling fast ones on poor naive newcomers.

Knows a busy city like the back of his hand. Incredibly acrobatic and can shake any guard off his tail by doing some dynamic tricks. A slippery little guy!

I cannot get the image out of my head that his outfit would be so dang adorable. Like everything he wears looks too big for him. He wears overalls with so many patchwork pockets, chunky boots, his shirt has rolled up sleeves, fingerless gloves, and typical funky goggles around his neck. Also often dirtied with soot or oil.

I had this thought that besides finding coin or his next meal, Ruggie also often looked for scrap machinery and automatons that may have been thrown out. A part of Ruggie feels sympathy for the automatons that were thrown out entirely just because they happen to have one mistake in them or something.

He often fixes them up by himself and does some pretty amazing work, able to bring a machine back to full function. He often has these automatons work around in his makeshift workshop or he gifts them to any kids or families within the slums to make their lives easier.

Ruggie would never say this aloud but a part of him believes that the automatons he takes care of do indeed have consciousness and actually understand him. But he knows that’s a silly idea. What he doesn’t realize is that with this belief, he is tapping into his unique magic.

Laugh With Me manifests differently in that what should be an unfeeling and mundane automaton will listen to him and act on his command like a living being for a short amount of time before going back to their original state. He has yet to tap into this magic fully yet and will discover it over time.

Ruggie was picked up by Leona one day as Ruggie was bold enough to dare and pickpocket him. Though Leona was quicker, able to swiftly take back what was his. But he saw potential in Ruggie, seeing how quick witted he was and his talent in handling machinery. He always did need a shipwright…

With a promise for wealth and greatness, Leona offered an opportunity to Ruggie to come join him on his airship. It took a little convincing as Ruggie was reluctant to leave his family behind, but with enough convincing from his grandmother and the local kids, he boarded Leona’s ship and somehow naturally became the right-hand man of Leona.

The latest addition to Leona’s crew and a bit of an oddball compared to the grizzled and salty sky dogs. He definitely looks the part with his tall and strong stature, but his sense of duty and honor is quite a rarity among pirates of all people.

To some, this may be seen as a weakness, but to Leona, he values these kinds of qualities and why he wanted Jack on his crew.

Jack originally was a simple working man, hired as extra muscle for various heavy duty jobs like working around construction areas or factories. He worked these odd jobs to help bring food to the table for his family.

Sadly his family has fallen on some hard times as his parents are getting too old for work and his younger siblings are a bit too young to be working. Jack would rather see them get a proper education unlike him who got straight to work after basic schooling.

There was also… Another issue he was dealing with that made his life harder. A curse of lycanthropy, unfortunately given to him by a rogue werewolf that stumbled into the city and attacked him while he was making his way home from a late shift.

Jack hides this secret desperately and cages himself far away from his family every time the full moon rears its face.

It was during one of those nights that Leona and his crew found him. Leona had heard reports of some beast prowling in a city and a large reward was going to be given to anyone who could bring its head in to the city guards.

During that night, Leona witnessed that despite being such a feral beast that was half-man, half-wolf, Jack’s absolute instinct rather to protect than kill astounded the prince. He needed that kind of loyalty on his ship. The fact that he could turn into a powerful werewolf was a bonus.

At first Jack absolutely refused Leona, not wanting to take part in any piracy plus he had his ailment as a lycanthrope. However, Leona didn’t back down, showing that he didn’t care about Jack being a werewolf. He respected the man in the monster and promised that through their journeys, they may find a cure for him. Plus, sending his family money via the treasures didn’t sound like a bad offer either…

Jack gave in eventually, boarding the ship and making a place for himself as their newest member. He definitely has a lot of learning to do, but Jack would find in due time, he’ll fit right in.

Also, appearance wise, Jack would keep it rather simple but god, does he make it work. A loose shirt, tight fitting pants, a wrap and belts around his waist, and some solid boots. Please consider him also having facial and body hair…

[andrea-lyn]

look at me, I am old, but I’m happy

(for @christchex because I truly believe her to be #1 Sanders supporter)

The damn kids are keeping something from him. None of them are good liars at the best of times, but every time Sanders shows up when Michael’s friends are around, suddenly they go real quiet. At first, he writes it off as stupid youthful hormone shit. It’s probably something to do with that Manes boy that Michael doesn’t want to talk about. Only, then Alex Manes starts coming around, Michael’s a lot happier, and the weird behavior keeps going. Something’s up, and it’s something Michael’s actively not telling him. “You know, I ought to fire you,” Sanders says one Sunday, when he and Michael are working on the sunflower fields. Michael scoffs, glancing up from the seeding mechanism he’s been working to fix, but he avoids meeting Sanders’ eyes. He’s known this boy since he tripped out of a pod and he knows when he’s about to be lied to. “I’d like to see you try,” he mutters, but his curiosity is sparked. “Why are you bothering to do that when most of my time is volunteered?” “Because you and your friends are keeping something from me.” “We’re not,” Michael lies. “You’re a terrible liar, boy,” Sanders warns, but he lets him get away with it. Just this once, he lets him. Michael waves him off and grabs his bundle of sunflowers to take back to the Airstream. He doesn’t say what or who they’re for, but Sanders knows. It’s the Manes boy, who’s been lurking around and grinning like an idiot all the time. With Michael gone, Sanders is left to consider what it is that’s being whispered about behind his back. There’s enough alien secrets in this town to fill a gossip rag, but Michael’s been fairly honest with him recently, even if he’s been trying to hide how gone he is over his thing with Alex Manes. The truth is this -- he’s an old man. The boy he used to be is a memory and a distant one at that. He’s taken Walt and locked him away behind mountains of bottles and liquor. There’s so much trauma related to those days that he actively works as hard as he can to forget it, and that’s why it takes him so long to realize that maybe he actually knows a bit more than he realizes when it comes to one of those alien secrets.

The secret they’re keeping comes to roost soon after. Well, roost ain’t exactly the word. “They still allow relics like you in this place?”

When Sanders had still been a child and had been happy with Miss Nora and Miss Louise, he’d always recalled their tension around the man they called Jones. They tried to keep it a secret from him then, too, and it’s irritating as hell that history’s repeating it-damn-self. “Relics like me belong more than you do around here,” Sanders scoffs, tossing the wrench into the toolbox. “I’m looking for Michael.” Sanders turns to take in the look of him. He blames his age on the fact that Max Evans never made him feel that icy chill down his spine to spark recognition. All those years with that face in front of him and he never remembered Jones, not until the alien himself busted out and started scaring Sanders all over like he’s a kid. He’s not a kid, though. He’s an old man tired of this bullshit and he’s not about to let an asshole push him around. “Michael,” Sanders says sharply, “ain’t none of your business.” “He’s none of yours either,” Jones says calmly. “Besides, you’re right. It’s not business. It’s family.” It comes back in fits and starts. Miss Nora’s discomfort with Jones’ hand on her shoulder, but the possessive way Jones held onto her. The way Jones had always seemed more occupied with one of the pods. The possessive and keen look in his eye when he’d looked at Walt dismissively, like a human child that Nora took a liking to could never pass muster. There’s only one explanation that Sanders sees, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s crap. “You’re not that boy’s father,” Sanders scoffs. “Or, you might be by blood or whatever alien junk flows through those veins of yours. That boy needed a father growing up and I sure as hell didn’t do the job well enough, but at least I’ve been here. At least I’ve been trying. That’s a hell of a lot more than you can say.” He’s an old and very stupid man, seeing as he knows how much Jones can hurt him. That raised alien hand glowing furiously red is a bad sign, but Sanders decides that if this is how he’s going out, defending Michael is the way he wants to go. “I might have been late getting my act cleaned up, but I still gave him everything I could. I’d die for that boy,” Sanders vows. “For my kid.” Jones scoffs, amused by Sanders’ loyalty like it’s a joke, but then, he always has been an ass, hasn’t he? “Funny you should say that, because today’s your lucky day for getting what you want.” He approaches swiftly, but before he can seal that glowing hand on Sanders’ chest, he just … stops. Sanders refuses to blink. He’s going to stare down his death as long as Jones wants to kill him, which is why he doesn’t notice that he’s being held in place by someone else’s alien powers. “Try,” Michael Guerin snaps at Jones, where he’s holding a bundle of sunflowers in one hand, and holding Jones in place with the other. “You’re not gonna like what happens to you.” Sanders is pretty sure Michael’s bluffing and that when it comes to these two, Michael’s not the one with the upper hand. Still, Jones is playing some kind of long game, because he steps back and lifts both hands up, stepping back and away. “Just two old friends catching up,” he insists, a look in his eyes that says he’s coming back to find Sanders when Michael’s not around. Still, he goes. He goes and he doesn’t look back, leaving Sanders to exhale, slumping over the pick-up truck he’s been working on. “What the hell were you thinking?” Michael demands. “Taunting him like that? He’s an evil dictator! He’s…” “Yeah, yeah, I got the gist decades ago,” Sanders cuts him off. “All I know is what he’s not, and that’s any kind of father to you. Because I might not be the world’s best Dad, but when it comes to it these days, he doesn’t get to swan in and make you feel like you owe him anything. He doesn’t get to make you feel like you belong to him.” This is all getting too damn emotional for him, but he wants to make one thing clear. “I know I didn’t manage the way I should’ve, but if anyone’s a father to you these days, it’s me.” With that said, he gives a firm nod, and hopes that he’s not going to do anything embarrassing like start crying about it. Well, he might not, but Michael’s struggling to keep it together, by the looks of it, so maybe that’s exactly what it is he needs to hear. “What the hell are you doing back here anyway?” Sanders grunts, when the awkward silence drags on too long. Michael clears his throat, gesturing to the Airstream with the flowers (and conveniently wiping at his nose). “I forgot some papers that I wanted to go over with Alex,” he says, “Lucky I did, or you would’ve been alien dust.” “I got a few tricks up my old sleeves,” Sanders promises, even if he doesn’t have them yet. “So. You and Alex Manes, huh? You ready to admit to me that it’s a thing yet?” Michael wrinkles his nose, but he’s clearly not thinking about Jones anymore, so Sanders considers it a mission accomplished. “How about you start worrying about how much of a thing it is when Alex needs to come get permission from my Dad to marry me,” Michael quips, and he sounds free and happy and brazen and goddamn high. It’s the most that Sanders could ever hope for. “That likely to happen anytime soon?” Michael shrugs, ducking back out of the Airstream with the papers. “You know I don’t do things slow.” “Don’t I ever,” he mutters. “Just warn me before I got alien grandchildren running around the damn scrapyard, will you? The place needs to be alien-proofed.” The look of sheer glee on Michael’s face settles something in Sanders’ chest. He knows he’s happy. He knows he’s settled. He might have missed too many damn years when he was younger, but at least he’s trying now. “Go on,” Sanders encourages. “Go be with your friend,” he teases. “You gonna be okay?” “I’ve survived worse,” Sanders promises. “Now, get,” he insists, and watches Michael leave the scrapyard, off to woo his paramour. As for him? Well, he’s got a hell of a long drive ahead of him to get to the reservation if he wants to pick up some pollen, but after tonight, Sanders figures he ought to protect himself. He’s got a family to worry about, after all. 

[ladydaemon]

SICK DAYS

kaz brekker x female! reader

A/N: Yes, I realize how cliché and very non-Kaz this is. I tried my best guys, but I am in the mood for fluff and only fluff so yeah.

Summary: After a night in the rain, Y/N has a cold and it's up to Kaz to take care of her, a difficult task indeed.

Warnings: swearing, really horrible writing, not proofread writing, just me spitting out Words™ at three in the morning

Dangerous assassins do not need sick days.

It was an extremely hypocritical thought, and Y/N knew it. She thought the thought anyway, because at this point, there seemed to be no aspect in her life that was not fueled entirely by spite.

"Please, for the love of the Saints, go to sleep, Y/N," Inej begged, forcing the woman back onto the bed. "You are sick. You need rest."

"I do not need rest, I need caffeine and waffles," the wheezing woman replied stubbornly, trying to get past Inej, who was blocking the doorway of her room. The Slat, usually thundering with noise and chatter, was silent as the grave - it was one of the rare days in Ketterdam where it was sunny, and everyone was either out enjoying the weather or enjoying pickpocketing someone who was enjoying the weather. "I am a grown-ass woman who also happens to be very good at using the bang-bang machines we call guns so please move aside, I need fresh air."

It was arguably entirely Y/N's fault that she was stuck inside in the first place - first, she had stayed out in the rain too long, despite Kaz's numerous protests. Second, she had, in a grave act of stupidity, gone down for breakfast the next morning. Normally, this would not have been a problem. However, on this particular day, her eyes were red and swollen and itchy and her lungs hurt and it was generally very obvious that she had a cold.

These were the deciding factors which led to her ultimate demise:

House arrest.

Though the fact that she was notorious for her spontaneous, impulsive, reckless, throw-caution-to-the-wind nature (along with the fact that Kaz, from multiple bad experiences he would rather not repeat, knew that she had nearly no self-preservation skills) probably had something to with it.

Also she apparently needed a chaperone. Which was probably a good idea, but Y/N wasn't about to admit that anytime soon.

"You are seventeen and you have a window, darling," the smooth voice of one Kaz Brekker, the devil himself, interrupted Y/N's feeble excuse of an escape.

"But Kaz," Y/N whined, pouting. Inej gave the man an exasperated look as if to say, See what I've been dealing with?

"Darling, you'll only have to stay here longer if you don't try and get better."

"Still."

Kaz, lips twitching in a very non-Kaz way, turned to Inej. "You can go. I suppose I'll play nursemaid."

The Wraith chucked darkly, already stepping out Y/N's window. "Good luck with that."

As soon as she had climbed out the room and was well out of earshot, Kaz turned on his heel and walked out. Y/N, thoroughly confused, took a second to contemplate whether this act was meant that she was officially free, or that she was supposed to follow him. Her question was answered a moment later when he called out, not sparing her a backwards glance, "Are you coming?"

She sighed dejectedly, following him up the stairs to hid room. With a flamboyant and smug bow, he opened the door for her. "Ladies first."

She rolled her eyes at him but entered the room nonetheless. Kaz closed the door behind him and strode heavily to his desk, taking the time to shuffle and order some papers. Y/N stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, unsure as to what in the hell she was supposed to do. Kaz flicked his eyes up to her and jerked his head towards the black-sheeted bed that occupied almost a fourth of the room.

She stared at it for a moment. "You want me to sleep. On your bed. While you watch." It came out more an incredulous statement than a question.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I can't devote all my time to taking care of you, and I also can't leave you alone unsupervised while ill. This is our compromise," Kaz explained somewhat impatiently.

"I am not going to get in that crusty-ass bed, that, in case you have forgotten, belongs to my boss, AKA you. For all I know you sleep nude."

One of Kaz's eyebrows twitched. "The sheets were changed this morning. And for the record, I don't."

"Still not going to do it. That takes the creepy-o-meter to like, a thousand."

"You're a criminal who spies on brothels. This is nothing."

"Still not doing it. This feels fundamentally wrong."

"I'll buy you a nice dagger if you just shut up and get in the damn bed." Saints, he was already exasperated, and he had barely been here five minutes. A new respect for Inej found its way into his being.

Y/N went quiet for a minute, considering. "One of the serrated ones with the fancy gilded handles?"

"Whatever dagger your heart desires."

"Two daggers and a gun."

"One dagger and a gun."

"Deal," Y/N decided, plopping down on the bed. It still felt wrong, but she did need a new dagger - Wylan had blown hers up in a previous job.

She carefully peeled the pristine sheets and blankets away from the mattress, half expecting a dozen poisonous things to pop out. The only thing it released was the strangely comforting smell of wood oil and ink (and a bit of gunpowder, but this was Kaz Brekker we're talking about).

Y/N slipped beneath the covers, her head resting comfortably on the cloud-like pillows.

I bet this bitch sleeps like a baby every night.

"I can still beat your ass, Brekker," she mumbled. Yeah, she was sick, but she also had a reputation to uphold.

"On a regular day, I have no doubt about it. Currently, you are prohibited from doing anything that isn't sleeping, peeing, or contemplating life. Doctor's orders."

"Well, I'm going to go pee then. More freedom." She attempted to stand up from the surprisingly soft bed but the in the second it took for her to try and stand, Kaz, moving surprisingly quickly for a man with a cane, pinned her to the bed by her shoulders with an exasperated sigh.

"Just stay still. Please," he breathed.

"Get me a sweet bun and maybe," she breathed back, but didn't move. Despite her almost child-like demeanor, she was one of the original Dregs, here as a child even before Kaz. He had been the only one her age when he had joined, so naturally, she had befriended him (well, as much as you can befriend Kaz Brekker). She knew about his phobia of touch, and how much it meant that he was touching her, even with his gloves on.

Kaz released her with a sigh and stalked over to his desk where he rummaged around for a bit until he produced a small tin that looked abut as old as he was. He tossed it at her and she grabbed it, opening it to see some biscuits that looked as hard as rocks. "That's all I have, and all you're going get. Don't break a tooth."

Y/N sighed, staring at the biscuits mournfully before taking one out of the tin and gnawing on it. It would have been easier to bite on the barrel of one of Jesper's guns. "You're mean."

"You're acting like a petulant child."

Y/N made a disgruntled noise from the back of her throat, sinking back into the silk pillows and wrapping the blankets tighter around her. She had made no visible mark on the cookie, and had only succeeded in covering it with slobber. She put it back in the tin and noticed Kaz wrinkle his nose at her.

She doubted the biscuits would ever see the light of day again.

She watched Kaz do his paperwork, a surprisingly interesting thing to do. He had taken off his hat and jacket, and rolled up his sleeves. He even took his gloves off, preferring to use a pen without the ridiculous slipperiness of the leather. The papers shuffled in a soothing rhythm, and soon, Y/N began to feel less cooped up and a bit more relaxed.

Ever since she had been taken away from her family and thrown onto the tiny slaving ship, Y/N had always had a touch of claustrophobia (well, it was a bit more than a touch, but she wasn't willing to admit that just yet). The tiny room with a mattress on the flooor was really just a decoration at this point - she slept on the roof most nights and every waking hour was in Ketterdam, simply walking if there were no pockets to be picked.

Drowsily, she watched as Kaz scratched something out on paper, his face creasing ever so slightly. The pen made a nice sound, she found, and paired with the strangely calming scent of his room and the rustling of papers, it made her feel almost like it was rainy day, the kind where you curled up by the fire and read a book or cuddled with someone.

"I doubt staring at my face will help you fall asleep, love," Kaz noted without looking up from his work.

"Your face is the most interesting thing here."

For the barest fraction of a second, Kaz looked like he had short-circuited. The moment was gone as soon as it came, however, and he simply raised an eyebrow at her. "You're very immature sometimes."

"Thanks!" Y/N said cheerfully. "It was the trauma."

"Trauma hardens people, it doesn't make them softer," Kaz dismissed.

"I agree wholeheartedly. However, there's a difference between an excellent mask and incompetence," she replied. "Now come over here and show what's bothering you, I can see it on your face."

Kaz looked up at her, noting the fact that she probably wouldn't shut up unless he did as she asked. He rolled his eyes, hobbling over to the bed. As he sat, she could feel his weight pushing the mattress down.

Before he could say a word, she snatched the paper in his hands and began scanning it. "What's wrong with it?"

"The numbers don't add up."

She stared at the document for another second, then back up at Kaz. "Who are you and what have you done with Kaz Brekker?"

He blinked at her.

"You forgot to carry the one. The numbers don't add up because you... well, added them wrong," she explained softly. She looked up at him, concern crossing her features. "Do you need a nap?"

Kaz huffed out a breath. "I'm fine. You're just distracting me, that's all."

"We're going to ignore the fact that you think I'm distracting and instead focus on the fact that you have not slept in several days."

Kaz's nostrils flared slightly in indignation. Before he could speak, however, Y/N cut him off. "Kaz, I have known you since I was eleven. I'm also not fucking blind. Yes, I know you are essentially running a mafia at age seventeen. Yes, I know you are under pressure. Yes, I know there is at any given moment a bounty on your head. Yes, I know I am sick and it is technically your job to take care of me. But can we please just make a deal or a truce or something in which you get some fucking rest?"

Kaz was quiet for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitched. "Always the mother hen for everyone except yourself."

She was startled into a laugh. "What can I saw, I was a born hypocrite."

Kaz did end up getting a couple hours of sleep, even if it was at Y/N's insistence.

However, he almost regretted it when Jesper barged in and, with a gleeful cackle, found them both sleeping in the same bed with one of his legs pressed up against hers - Kaz's version of flat-out cuddling.

Almost.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

If I Fell For You (Part 8) - Good Days, Bad Days

Summary: The reader has a special birthday surprise for Jensen and starts to get to know Jared more. When Jensen returns home from Toronto for good though, he and the reader have their first big fight and make more moves in their relationship...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x nanny!reader

Word Count: 5,300ish

Warnings: language, angst, fighting, smut

A/N: Enjoy!

________

Thursday Night

“So how do you want me?” asked Jensen, leaning against his closet door in nothing but his boxer briefs. 

“Oh well that’s a dangerous question,” you laughed. “Jeans are fine for where I’m taking you.”

“Alright,” he said. He ducked into the closet and returned wearing only a pair of dark jeans, smirking at you with his hands behind his back.

“Being a little shit?” you asked.

“One of my best qualities,” he said. You hummed and went past him into the closet. “So what should I be wearing on this date out?”

“I’m kinda a sucker for you a henley and flannel. Not to let that go to your head at all,” you said.

“Oh you should never watch Supernatural then,” he chuckled, grabbing a long sleeve white henley off the hanger and pulling it on.

“I did sort of start watching it,” you said. “You look like a little baby that hadn’t hit puberty yet.”

“I got better with age, sweetheart,” he said, flashing you a wink.

“Oh yes you did,” you said. “I like it. It’s kinda scary but not too bad if you watch during the day.”

“It gets less scary pretty fast,” he said, putting on his red and gray flannel. “I all set?”

“You look very pretty,” you said, walking out with him on your tail. “So does the show end happy? Like they live? It’s got this angsty feel to it where I feel like something bad is gonna happen.”

“Do you want me to spoil it?”

“Dean doesn’t like die, right,” you said. He made a face and you frowned. “No. Why? He doesn’t deserve that.”

“Eh, calm yourself woman. Things could happen in the future...he might not have to die...or he might come back and I really shouldn’t be discussing these things.”

“You’d do more?” you asked.

“Oh for sure. On a streaming network where we get to do all the shit we couldn’t on cable. Get some fresh eyes in on the writing or maybe we’d even take a crack at it. It’s not really an if, more of a when so don’t go worrying about Dean. I like my new friends at work and everybody’s great but I miss Jared and my old ones. I’m definitely working with them again.”

“That’s great! Now come on, move that tush. We have reservations.”

“Reservations. Fancy,” he said. He put on a pair of socks and shoved his wallet in his pocket, following you out to the hall when you spun around. 

“Oh yeah,” you smirked. “You may also have a little birthday surprise waiting for your downstairs so eyes shut mister.”

“You’re devious. I like that. I like that a lot. We should explore that later in bed.”

“Tempting. I’ll have to take you up on that,” you said. “Eyes shut.”

You held his hand and he shut his eyes, going down the hall with you. You went slowly down the steps, Jensen’s arm around you the whole time. You grinned and walked him over to the family room before leaving him in place.

“Open,” you said. He blinked open his eyes, quickly landing them on a grinning Jared standing there.

“How the hell are you here?” said Jensen, Jared giving him a big hug he quickly returned. “Shit I missed you man.”

“Me too. But it’s someone’s birthday this week and I don’t have work tomorrow so I caught a flight up this afternoon. Y/N thought I’d make a good present.”

“Fucking awesome present,” he said, still grinning ear to ear. 

“You doing okay?” asked Jared, Jensen nodding. He gave him another hug and you smiled. “So how’s that crush on the nanny working out?”

“Shut up,” said Jensen, smirking as he pulled you into his side. “Jared. I know you guys met already but Y/N is your soon to be best friend just as an fyi.”

“Oh we’ve already started chatting,” you said, Jared chuckling. “He’s really sweet. I had to legit stop him from jumping on a plane that second when I texted him he thought something was wrong.”

“I think between the two of us we can keep an eye on him,” said Jared. “So you mind if I crash your date?”

“Not at all,” you said. “I’m taking both you boys out. My treat.”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” said Jensen two hours later while he excused himself to the bathroom. Jared finished off the last of his beer and smiled as he leaned back in his corner of the booth. 

“You know I’m totally covering this right,” he said.

“Dutch?” you asked.

“I’ll take the alcohol, you take the food.”

“That I can agree to,” you said, glancing over the dessert menu. “I’m really happy you were able to come up to hang out. I know you got your own family and everything and this was last minute.”

“He’s my family too,” he said. “I’d do anything for him. Literally. Don’t ever hesitate to call me, no matter when or where. I’ll be there for him like he’s always been for me.”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a smile on his face like that before.”

“I have. You just didn’t notice that night at the bonfire.” You shrugged and he cocked his head. “How long you two been dating?”

“A month or so,” you said. 

“You like him?”

“He’s alright,” you said, smiling before you took a sip from your glass. 

“Thanks for taking care of him lately.”

“Don’t need to thank me for that,” you said, sliding the dessert menu over to him.

“Yeah but I’m still going to,” he said. “I meant what I said earlier. Between the two of us he’ll be okay again.”

“He’s never gonna be the same. He’ll be happy and it won’t hurt as much. But it’ll come back and hit him time to time.”

“There’s a reason he’s my best friend and it’s not just because we worked together for so long. He’s always been there for me and I’ll be there for him. I feel better about him being up here when he’s got someone else watching his back.”

“You had the hard job, not me,” you said.

“He’s come a long way. Doesn’t mean this is a cakewalk though I’m sure.”

“No, you’re right about that,” you said as you spotted Jensen returning.

“You guys order dessert yet?” he asked, sliding in beside you.

“Why doesn’t the birthday boy pick,” teased Jared, handing the menu over to him. “You guys ought to come home for a weekend when you get a chance.”

“It’s kinda a long way to go with the kids for just a few days,” said Jensen. “But we’ll be home soon. Hopefully.”

“I can get you a gig on Walker anytime you want it dude, just ask.”

“Maybe. I kinda want to get with the guys and maybe work on that Supernatural stuff. I need good stuff to look forward to, you know?”

“I do,” said Jared. “As long as you come home eventually I’ll learn to live with just using your jet skis in the meantime.”

“See what I’ve been dealing with for over a decade?” asked Jensen.

“Oh yes. He’s horrible,” you teased. “We really shouldn’t have him sleepover then, should we?”

“You’re staying at the house?” asked Jensen with a grin.

“Duh. I didn’t just fly a thousand miles to not see you dude. I’m here all weekend. Let’s have some fun.”

“Boys I’m heading to bed,” you said around two in the morning. 

“Yeah we ought to go to bed ourselves,” said Jared.

“I’ll grab you some sheets and stuff,” said Jensen. You waved goodnight to Jared, heading down the hall towards your room when Jensen wrapped an arm around your waist. “I thought you were gonna sleep with me from now on.”

“I am. Want to check something real quick.”

“Hurry back,” he said. He kissed your temple and ducked into his room, leaving you in the hall. You went down to your own and checked your email, smirking when you saw what you were looking for. A rattling of fingers on the door made you glance up, Jensen smiling there. “Texting your other boyfriend?”

“No, I sort of...submitted one of my stories to a publisher. They’ve been talking to me this week and said they’d get back to me today on if they wanted to move forward. They want to do a five book deal. I already have the stories done and mostly drawn anyways. They gave me an offer just now.”

“That’s awesome,” he said. “Seriously. We’re gonna celebrate tomorrow for sure.”

“It’s no big deal,” you said.

“It really is,” he said. He picked you up and grinned, carrying you back to his room. “I’m proud of you.”

“They’re stupid stories,” you said.

“I love those stupid stories,” he said, setting you on the bed. “The kids do too.”

“You’re just saying that cause you’re supposed to say that.” You set your phone on the nightstand and crawled under the covers, Jensen pulling you into his chest when het got underneath.

“My children think their mom is really okay now. They don’t get sad anymore and they ask questions about her again and I don’t want to cry every time I talk about her because your story reminded me that the wolf dad can be happy again for him too. That’s really fucking important to me right now in life.”

“Okay Papa Wolf,” you said. You grinned and he returned it. “Night Jensen.”

“Goodnight sweetheart.”

Two Months Later

“Hey Jared,” you said as you answered your phone. “What’s up?”

“Jensen at work?”

“Yeah. Late night again,” you said. “He’s answering texts between breaks I think.”

“Cool,” he said.

“You need something?” you asked. 

“No, no. I’m good,” he said. “Thanks. I’ll catch you later.”

“You doing okay?” you asked.

“Yeah. Just want to talk to him for a minute,” he said. He was a little quiet and you sat down on the couch. 

“You want to talk to me?” you asked.

“That’s okay.”

“Jared...Jensen and I are starting to get serious which means we’re gonna be together a lot considering how you two can’t go more than a day without talking. We can be good friends too,” you said. He was quiet and you hoped you hadn’t sounded too corny.

“I uh, I have bad days sometimes. Really normal days can be bad days in my head. It’s kinda how I was built I guess,” he said. 

“Nothing wrong with that,” you said. “Today a bad day?”

“Kinda. Nothing happened. I had a normal day at work and home. I’m just off. He um...Jensen makes me feel better as lame as that sounds. Just talking for a few minutes helps my head get on track that somebody really does care.”

“He’s very good like that,” you said. “I know you mean the world to him. You’re his brother. It’s not lame that he makes you feel better. You make him feel better too. I owe you a lot for taking care of him after the accident.”

“I much prefer when I’m the one freaking out and he takes care of me,” chuckled Jared. “You guys coming home soon?”

“He’s got a few weeks left of filming but I might head down a little earlier, try to get the house sorted out down there with the kids and stuff,” you said. “He’s literally counting down the days.”

“He really likes working on the show though I thought.”

“Oh he does but he’s got a big circle on the calendar for the fifthteenth called Jared day. I think your boy is planning something fun.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “You mind if I ask a personal question?”

“Shoot, buddy,” you said, stretching in your seat.

“Do you love him?” he asked. 

“Going full throttle out of the gate I see,” you said.

“I know. I know how he talks about you though. There’s no...casual relationship with him.”

“Well I haven’t said it to him yet and he hasn’t said it to me so...maybe another time I’ll be able to answer that question.”

“It’s been almost four months. You get to spend more time together than most couples starting out. I’d think you know by now,” he said.

“I do. But he deserves to hear it before anyone else,” you said. 

“So you love him.”

“Most things I love have a habit of going away,” you said. 

“He won’t,” he said. “You do more than make him happy, Y/N. A lot more.”

“I just wish he didn’t hurt.”

“He hurts a lot less lately. Some of that’s time and some of it’s you. Enjoy being one of his best friends. He doesn’t let that many people in that close.”

“I know. We were supposed to be talking about you I thought.”

“Eh, sometimes I just need the talk. Thanks. I got somebody else I can call now too.”

“It’s never a problem,” you said.

“It’s getting late there. I’ll let you go. Thanks for talking, really. I feel better.”

“Anytime Jared.”

“You too, Y/N.”

Three Weeks Later

“Doug you’re a lifesaver,” you said as finished washing Jensen’s truck in the driveway back home in Austin. He smiled as he wiped off his hands and gave Arrow a wave goodbye. 

“I owed you for that 3am incident,” he said. “You got easy kids. Mine are vultures.”

“Yes, yes they are,” you laughed. He gave you a kiss on the check and smiled as he headed back for his car, another one coming down the open driveway. “Later Doug.”

“Later,” he said. Jensen exited the back of the car along with his backpack and a suitcase, the car pulling out, Doug following after.

“Hey. How was the flight?” you asked.

“Who was that?” he asked, dropping his bags on the pavement.

“Oh that’s just Doug. He’s a nanny. I needed an extra set of hands today watching the kids trying to finish up these chores before you got home and it was perfect timing,” you said. You smirked and walked over to kiss him, Jensen taking a step back. “Something wrong?”

“You kissed him.”

“No. I didn’t. He kissed my cheek,” you said. Jensen narrowed his eyes and you scoffed, wiping the sweat off your forehead. “Seriously? He’s my friend.”

“That kisses you.”

“He’s affectionate,” you said. “Also he’s kinda married so you can tone it down with the judgemental looks.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. You’re right. You should be able to kiss whoever you want despite being in a relationship,” he said. He grabbed his bags and brushed past you inside. You grumbled and went after him, finding him upstairs in his room. “What?”

“What stick is up your ass today? I haven’t seen you in almost three weeks. None of us have and you’re in a bad mood.”

“I was perfectly happy until I saw you kissing somebody else.”

“I wasn’t kissing him!”

“It didn’t look like that from my perspective.”

“Jensen.”

“Is this just a little game to you? You get bored of the older guy with kids finally?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Or maybe you just got caught finally.”

“I don’t cheat,” you said, getting in his face. “He kissed my cheek. I’ll call him to come back and explain this situation right now but I apparently you just think I’m a cheater.”

“Well maybe you are. Geez, we’ve been together over four months and no real sex yet? Cause that’s not sending red flags.”

“Because you weren’t fucking ready!” you shouted. “I’m not your wife and I’m never gonna be her. Don’t be mad at me for it.”

“No that’s for sure,” he said.

“The kids are in the front yard. Don’t expect me back today,” you said. You stormed downstairs and into your room, shoving some things in a bag before taking your purse and getting behind the wheel of your car. 

You were seeing red by the time you were out of the suburbs. You slammed your hand against the wheel and shouted.

“You fucking asshole,” you said. You sniffled and drove for a bit before finally pulling off. You drove down a long road, rolling your eyes when of course you passed by his brewery. You’d never been but he’d told you about it more than once. You kept going down the road, eventually finding a park to pull into. You shut off the car and shut your eyes, a knock on the window making you jump. You put down your window when you saw a cop there and did your best to wipe off your face.

“You’re double parked,” he said. 

“What?”

“You’re parked on the line,” he said. 

“Sorry,” you said. 

“Bad day?” he asked.

“Something like that,” you said. You could feel snot threatening to drip down your nose, the officer reaching into a pocket and handing you a tissue. “Thanks.”

“Best not to drive when you’re upset,” he said.

“Yeah. I’m just gonna sit here for a little while,” you said with a nod.

“Probably not a great idea to sit in a car next a playground,” he said. “The mom’s are kinda intense around here.”

“Of course they are,” you said, squeezing your eyes shut.

“Why don’t you move your car and you can join me on my patrol,” he said. “It’s only a short walk. Fresh air might do you good.”

“Last time I talked to another man my boyfriend sorta freaked out on me so maybe not a good idea,” you said. You blew your nose and realized what you’d said, the officer staring down. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Why don’t we take that walk so I can find out what you did mean.”

Two minutes later you were walking next to the cop. He had a baseball cap on and was in all black. You weren’t sure how he wasn’t boiling considering it was May in Austin.

“This boyfriend got a name?”

“You gonna run his name or something?” you asked.

“Do I need to?” he asked. You shook your head and he smiled. “He the jealous type? He get angry over you talking to other men?”

“It’s complicated.”

“If it doesn’t get uncomplicated I might have to pay this boyfriend a visit you understand.”

“His wife died last June.”

“Okay. I understand part of the complicated thing now.”

“Why’s he gotta be a dick? Called me a cheater,” you said. You crossed your arms and the cop chuckled. “Sorry.”

“As long as you don’t call me a dick we don’t got a problem. Did you cheat on him?”

“No. He...he works away and he just got home today and my guy friend was over helping me with watching my boyfriends kids while I did some chores and my guy friend is like, a really affectionate guy and he kissed my cheek as my boyfriend was coming in and my boyfriend thinks I was kissing him back and been cheating on him for the past three weeks.”

“Why don’t you just call the guy friend over to explain?”

“He got so pissed so fast and accused me of cheating. I’ve been dating him for nearly five months and he brings up the fact we haven’t had sex yet like that even matters when I’ve been holding back for him and he just blows up on me for fucking nothing,” you said.

“You’re both stubborn people, aren’t ya,” he said.

“Maybe,” you grumbled.

“Maybe this guy is scared and looking for a way out of the relationship. Or maybe he thinks you want out. You mentioned kids. That’s not easy.”

“He’s also...older. There’s an age gap. I was the nanny and now I’m the girlfriend nanny. He’s also kinda...famous,” you said.

“So there’s a lot of stress in this relationship then.”

“No,” you said, dropping your arms to your sides. “It’s not like that.”

“Maybe the dumb bastard just got scared of losing someone again,” he said. “Just a theory.”

“I wish he wasn’t scared,” you said. “I don’t know how to make him not afraid.”

“You ever think maybe he said that because you’re getting in there pretty good now and he’s getting real scared that losing you might hurt just as bad as this wife did.”

“He’s an idiot. But he’s my idiot,” you said. 

“Talk to him. Get an apology and try to forgive him.”

“I already forgive him. I know him. He was scared and I got mad instead of realizing after so many weeks apart all he needed was a freaking hug.”

“Then go home and give him a hug,” he said.

“Thanks,” you said with a nod. “I must have looked like a hot mess or something.”

“Oh for sure,” he chuckled. You smiled and he laughed. “That looks better.”

“Jensen probably left like five messages on my phone by now,” you said. The cop you were with paused and smiled. “What?”

“A kinda famous Jensen. There’s really only one of those in town,” he said.

“Oh. Yeah. Please don’t share that he’s dating. He really wants to keep things private for a lot of reasons right now,” you said.

“He’s my buddy.”

“Your buddy?”

“We went to school together,” he said. “In tenth grade he went for a slide on second base, ripped his pants right down the middle. His hanes bright blue covered ass still managed to get around to home base.”

“He split his pants in a baseball game?” you smiled.

“I know quite a few of his dirty secrets,” he said. “I don’t really know that whole acting thing but him I know and that must make you Y/N. You ever in trouble kid, ever just got a bad feeling and want a cop to come by, give me a call.”

“Thanks,” you said as you took his card. “You really think he’s a dumb bastard?”

“Oh knowing it’s him, 100%. Give him a break. We like him when he smiles,” he said.

“I’m gonna give him a call,” you said. “We should hang out sometime now that Jensen has a break.”

“Definitely. I gotta finish my patrol,” he said. “Take care Y/N.”

“Bye,” you said as you headed back towards your car. You pulled out your phone and saw seven missed calls and twelve unread texts. You tapped the screen and put the phone up to your ear, only ringing for a second.

“I’m sorry,” said Jensen.

“Me too.”

“I’m the one that...shit I’m so sorry, Y/N. I don’t know what happened.”

“You missed me and you were scared and seeing Doug probably hurt like a bitch,” you said.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t want to be the stupid jealous boyfriend.”

“I’m not too far from your brewery if you want to meet there. Get a beer. Blow this over,” you said.

“I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you. Stop apologizing. I want to give you a hug,” you said. 

“I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes?” he asked.

“I’ll see you soon honey.”

“Hi,” said Jensen as you sat at a quiet table in the back, sipping on a beer and eating a piece of pizza. You smiled and stood up, giving him a hug. He tucked his head down and sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey we survived our first big fight as a couple,” you said. “That deserves beer and pizza.”

He sat down next to you, forcing a smile on his face. You reached over and cupped his cheek, Jensen turning into it. 

“Please forgive yourself,” you said.

“I don’t really want to,” he said.

“You called me a cheater. I get what I want today and that’s for you to forgive yourself.”

“I don’t know why I said that.”

“Jensen,” you said, stroking his cheek. “I love you.”

He stared at you, a different look in his eyes, the tiniest sliver of a smile peeking through. You inched closer and slid your hand around to the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss. He felt softer than usual, lips barely moving against yours. 

“I love you,” he said. He wrapped his arms around you and grinned. “I have loved you for a very long time.” You kissed him again, Jensen returning it. 

He left his arm around your back, smirking when you did the same to him.

“Can we forget about earlier?” you asked. He nodded and rested his head on your shoulder.

“One last I’m sorry though,” he said.

“Just don’t call me that again and we’re all good, Jens,” you said. “Now eat some of this pizza so I don’t feel like a glutton.”

“I don’t have to slip into a superhero costume any more so dad bod here I come,” he chuckled.

“Does that mean Solider Boy meets some untimely end?”

“No spoilers,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ll be going back to that show. At least as often. I know I want to direct an episode of walker in the fall. I talked to Jared about it actually so that’ll be fun. I might do a duck and run guest appearance on it. I’ll line up something for next year but I want to be home for awhile, do work around here.” 

“I know quite a few people who would be more than okay with that,” you said. 

“Don’t make any plans for Saturday,” he smirked.

“I thought you were having your Jared day tomorrow.”

“Oh we are. Gen invited you and the kids over. She’d like to get to know you. You’ll love her,” he said.

“So what’s Saturday then?” you asked.

“I’d like to take you and the kids out on the boat. We haven’t been since before the accident. Maybe we can go out for dinner and put up the tent in the backyard, have a sleepover out there with the kids.”

“That sounds fun.”

“And...I’d like to maybe next week take you out for the day, just us, maybe...spend the night somewhere,” he said.

“Like a hotel?” you asked.

“Yeah. Or the kids can have a sleepover at Jared’s. Maybe.” He glanced down and you moved your arm from his back, reaching behind yourself to hold his hand. Green eyes flickered over to yours and you smiled. “I’m-”

“You know if you keep apologizing about earlier I’m not going to have sex with you,” you said. “That’s just facts.”

“Okay,” he chuckled. “No more apologies. Aside from...I really am sorry about what I said. I’m the one that’s been holding back and not once have you asked for more.”

“We said we’d take it slow and that’s okay,” you said. He squeezed your hand and nodded. “I don’t like you because you’re attractive or your hair is great or your arms are massive. Having fun with you is fun but that’s not why I’m here.”

“I don’t know if I can give you things you want,” he said.

“Just give me you and that’s good with me,” you said.

“Okay,” he said quietly. You scooted closer to him, Jensen tucking a stray hair behind your ear. “Let’s do it now.”

“Uh, what?” you said, taking a sip from your beer.

“The kids aren’t home and I don’t want to wait and-”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” you said, knocking back your beer and flipping the cardboard down over your pizza. He stared and you burped, picking up the box. “There’s like six slices left and this is too good to waste, even for sex.”

“You have literally never been more attractive than in this moment,” he said. 

“I could be.”

“I’ll see you at the house in twenty?”

“Yes you will Ackles.”

Forty minutes later you hand was slapping against his headboard, legs squeezed so tight around his waist you were shocked he wasn’t complaining. You moaned loudly as he teased your clit and he delivered one more hard thrust. He grunted as you gripped his shoulder with your other hand.

“Jensen,” you breathed out. “I’m right there. Please, please, please…”

You arched your back when he thrust hard, fingers rubbing just a bit rougher and you came all around him, every muscle tensed and riding out that high, long, deep, absolutely perfect orgasm. Jensen thrust a few more times before he groaned and rested his head on your shoulder, big panting breaths fanning over your skin. 

He was sweaty but pulled out slowly, plopping down on the bed beside you, hand resting on his chest.

“I don’t know about you but that was good,” he said. “Damn good.”

You giggled between breaths, nodding your head slightly. You tilted it over towards his, Jensen already staring at you with soft hooded green eyes. 

“Definitely damn good,” you breathed. His lips tugged up into a smile, warm and gentle, his head inching closer to you. You sat up and leaned down to kiss him, Jensen breaking off when he needed air. You trailed a finger down his chest before climbing out of bed and excusing yourself to the bathroom. After you cleaned up you found Jensen chucking the condom in the trash and wiping himself off quickly. 

“Come here you,” he said. He picked you up bridal style and carried you back to the bed, laying you down carefully. “I’m big on after sex cuddling just so you know.”

“I find that to be a very attractive quality,” you said as he lay down. He reached down to the end of the bed and grabbed the bunched up blanket, pulling it over the two of you. His arm slid under your head and he pulled you into his side, encouraging you to use him as a pillow. “You’re warm.”

“So are you,” he said. He kissed your temple and let out a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“I never thought I’d be able to do that ever again. Let alone not feel bad about doing it,” he said.

“You okay?”

“I’m great,” he said. “Really. I know Dee would have been telling me to not worry so I didn’t. I don’t...I feel like I can talk about her again, you know?”

“You used to call her your wife a lot. Recently you’ve been saying her name more. I think you really are healing, Jensen.”

“I knew the second you left earlier I messed up. I dropped the kids off at Jared’s and then I wound up at the cemetery. I saw these purple flowers there. It’s kinda a different flower but they were her favorite. I’ve only ever told one other person those were her favorites,” he said. You traced your finger over his pec and rested your palm flat on his chest. “Why’d you put flowers there?”

“Why wouldn’t I Jensen?”

“That’s how I knew I can stop being so scared when it comes to you. Purple fucking flowers. You’re just…”

“I love you too,” you said, giving his whole body a squeeze. He returned it, holding you for a long time, neither one of you saying a word. It wasn’t until you noticed the light starting to change in the room that you both moved. 

“Y/N,” said Jensen when you sat upright. You looked over your shoulder, a smile on his face. “Do you want to stay upstairs with me from now on instead of your room? It’s okay if-”

“I’d love to,” you said. “To be honest, I slept up here the other night.”

“You did?” he asked as you nodded.

“I missed you.”

“Me too,” he said.

“I know three little faces that really missed you too,” you said. He smiled and nodded. “Let’s go get the rascals.”

______

A/N: Read Part 9 here!