#not me having to pretend to be excited about spending Christmas together with my loved ones

[wheresmulder]

.

[harrysfolklore]

holidays with tom would include - headcanon

Christmas is one of your favorite holidays, mostly because you get to be at home with Tom and enjoy your time together

Tom and you love spending evenings baking gingerbread cookies and trying out new festive recipes together in the kitchen, him annoying you by putting frosting on your nose and making a mess with the ingredients on purpose.

During the lead-up to Christmas, you both embark on a mission to find the perfect tree. Tom insists on cutting it down himself, claiming that he’s strong enough to handle all the hassle. You end up getting one from the store like every year but you couldn’t love it more once you decorate it.

Cocoa by the fireplace is a must. Almost every evening, you would curl up in the living room wrapped in soft blankets and snuggle while you sip on your hot cocoa cups and snuggle as close as possible.

Holiday nights are dedicated to watching your favorite Christmas films, Tom complaining about how cheesy they are but watching them with you every single time because he loves when you get excited about your favorite parts.

Tom definitely tries to impress you with what he calls his “talent for crafting homemade decorations” by making ornaments for your tree, however, his clumsy side comes out and he ends up messing his own crafts.

You usually have to beg him to take you to the local ice skating rink but he ends up giving it every time, mostly because he gets to catch you when you trip and then tease you about your skating skills (or lack thereof)

You hold a friendly competition to see who can wrap the better gifts, Tom pretending he's not that good at it but secretly taking extra care to make yours look perfect.

Every year, you participate in charity drive, whether it’s volunteering at a shelter or donating toys to children in need. It’s something you’ve always been passionate about and it makes Tom’s heart absolutely melt.

You both create your own holiday playlists and take turns playing them during your baking sessions, cozy evenings, or while decorating the house. Tom insists his selection is much better and yours is cheesy (you might or might not added ‘Santa tell me’ by Ariana Grande more than four times) but secretly, he loves some of the tracks from your list.

On New Year's Eve, you have your own tradition of writing down wishes for the upcoming year and saving them on a small jar that you open the following year to see which ones you accomplished.

It’s no secrets that Tom writes “I wish to have my girl by my side for another 365 days” every year, and it never fails to make your heart jump on your chest over how much love you have for him.

short but sweet 🥹 happy holidays to everyone ! i hope you like this

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

[thetriumphantpanda]

i've got my love to keep me warm | joel miller

Summary | Joel agrees to spend Christmas with your family, away from the warmth of Texas, and it takes him a little while to warm up to the idea.

Pairing | Joel Miller x F!reader

Word Count | 1.4K

Warnings | Grumpy x Sunshine vibes, some sweetness, some suggestive thoughts but nothing explicit, mentions of consuming food and alcohol.

Authors note | For @yeollie-plz- It's your @pedrostories secret santa!! I really hope you love this because it was good fun to put together! Happy Christmas to you!

“You know, you could at least pretend to be happy?” You tease, nudging your elbow into Joel’s side.

With the way he’s bundled up in his big coat, you’re not sure he actually feels you do it, but he grumbles all the same. Whatever he says in incoherent, but you can discern the meaning perfectly. What’s the point in being here as grown adults? What’s the point in wandering around, looking at lights and getting excited about Christmas, when, for the first time in years, there won’t be any children around?

“Come on,” You beam, taking his gloved hand in yours, “Maybe a drink with a little something in would make you happier?”

“What would make me happier would be sat indoors outta this snow.”

You roll your eyes, pulling on his hand to get him to follow you. He walks by your side, gloved hand sitting in yours as you weave through the crowds of people. Joel had wanted to stay in Texas for Christmas, something about the familiarity of it, not wanting to spend too much money on travelling at this time of year, but knowing it was his first Christmas without Sarah, now that she was all grown up with her own family, you knew that he’d be miserable, no matter that you’d be there with him, so you’d put your foot down, told him the two of you would spend Christmas with your parents up north, somewhere cooler, more festive.

He’d met them plenty of times before, they loved him, thought the sensible, stoic man was good for you. He had his head on his shoulders, a home of his own - settled, is what they’d called him. A far cry from the other boys you’d chosen in the past few years, and they were overjoyed to have a house full of people this year - your brother and his wife, you and Joel, a real family affair.

The centre of town always reminded you of being a child when you came back at this time of year. The streets filled with small stalls - some selling food, some filled with little trinkets from small businesses, all set around the main square, with its big tree, lit up and sparkling.

There’s one stall you zero in on, a small line that you stand in, still gripping at Joel’s hand as you step further towards the front each time someone walks away. You remember the first time you’d stood in this line - you were eight, and your dad had passed you a cup full of warm hot chocolate, a towering swirl of whipped cream on top. You’d sipped it so slowly, savouring the cream and the sweetness of the chocolate, and anytime you’re here, you have to get it, it’s just that these days, it’s always spiked with something.

Joel, of course, orders an Irish coffee - black, bitter coffee, split with cream and his favourite whiskey. You watch closely as he pulls one of his gloves off with his teeth, slipping it in his pocket so he can feel the warmth of it in his palm. He’s watching you just as closely as the lady hands you the cup of hot chocolate, mixed with Bailey’s, still with that tower of whipped cream too.

You both step away, standing off to the side as Joel takes the first sip of his drink. You can see the slight softening of his expression as he goes in for another sip, this one bigger than the first. He’s watching you as you dart your tongue out, taking some of the sweet cream into your mouth before you sip the drink, hissing when it burns your tongue a little.

“That’ll be hot, baby.” He teases, earning a little glare from you as he drinks his again, seemingly unaffected by the steam that rises from his own cup.

“It’s good,” You muse, holding it out to him, “Try it.”

“I don’t want none a’that,” He shakes his head, “Too sweet.”

“Joel Miller,” You chastise, pushing the cup closer to his face, “It’s Christmas, for the love of God, try the hot chocolate.”

He sighs, shakes his head in that way he always does when he knows he can’t win the battle. He hands you his drink, laughs a little when you wrinkle your nose at how strong it smells, takes yours from you and brings it to his mouth, taking a big sip, and when he pulls it away to hand back to you, you can’t stifle the giggle that falls from your mouth.

“What?” He asks, as your giggle falls into proper laughter, “What the hell’s the matter with you?” He snatches his own drink back sinking his neck down into his coat to keep the biting wind from his skin.

“Y-you’ve,” You choke out, pointing at your own nose, “You’ve g-got something here.”

You bring your hand up to his face, running the pad of your thumb over the tip of his nose, swiping the cream from his face. You go to pull it away, to wipe it away on the leg of your jeans, but Joel has other ideas, gripping your wrist to still you. He brings your hand to his mouth, enveloping your thumb into the heat of his mouth. You suck in a breath, feeling the tip of his tongue dart out against the skin, licking the cream off, before he drags your thumb from his mouth with a soft pop.

He drops your wrist from his hold, but you’re stuck, staring right at him, with the familiar throb of want settling across you.

“Thought it was too sweet for you?” You raise an eyebrow when you’ve composed yourself enough to speak.

He shrugs, takes hold of your hand and starts walking you back towards the tree, “If you’re gonna laugh at me, I ain’t gonna make it easy on you.” That familiar tone of grump is back, but you know he doesn’t mind really as he walks slowly, guiding you both to a bench that looks directly at the tree, dressed in red and gold, icy lights casting that familiar festive glow across everything.

He wipes the snow from the bench, makes sure it dry enough for you both to sit on, draping his arm across the back of it, encouraging you to curl into his side. The two of you sit for a while, watching the people come and go - young children excited to stand in line for the chance to meet Santa in his grotto, men on their own going from stall-to-stall, clearly shopping for last minute gifts, and couples, just like the two of you, wrapped up in nothing but each other as they hold hands, point things out to eat other.

“Thank you for coming,” You speak softly into his shoulder, looking up at him as he looks down at you, “I know it’s not really what you wanted, but I like that you’re here.”

“Of course it’s what I wanted,” He speaks just as softly, leaning down to press a featherlight kiss to the tip of your nose, “I only ever want to be where you are baby,” He motions his head to the scene in front of you, “Even if it is in the freezing cold, surrounded by too many people, wherever I’m with you, I’m happy, okay?”

You smile at him, tilt your head slightly, as his lips come down onto yours, cold and chapped from the winter air, but oh-so familiar as they slant across your own. You open your mouth against his, let your tongue meld with his own, the bitter of his coffee mixing with the sweet of your own drink. It’s soft, gentle, and over far too quickly. He pulls away, places two more soft pecks against your mouth, and then settles back against the bench, his hand now resting on your shoulder.

A shiver settles across your bones, something to do with the fact that even a few years into your relationship, he still sets you on fire without even trying, but mainly because it’s fucking freezing. Leant against Joel’s body, you feel him shiver a little too.

“Home?” You ask.

He looks back down at you, smiling a little with a nod, “Home.”

[justagalwhowrites]

Halcyon - Ch. 10: People Might Think You Care About Me

You and Joel spend the holidays together. A continuation of Halcyon from the prologue through Ch. 9, a modern no outbreak AU TLOU fic found on Tumblr here.

Again, I'm here begging HBO to give me something to use for young Joel PLZ

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Mention of dieting and diet culture. Modern No Outbreak AU, No use of Y/N, Slow burn, 18+ only, Minors DNI

Length: 5.8K

AO3 | Main Master List | Prologue | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“I can’t believe my kid is going to like you better than me,” Joel said, sitting in the middle of the living room floor with a roll of wrapping paper spread out in front of him. “Scissors.” 

You handed them over before grabbing the tape, putting a piece on the tip of your finger before folding the paper around the box - a friendship bracelet kit - that you were wrapping for Sarah. 

“I mean, first of all, your kid already likes me more than she likes you,” you teased, turning the box to do the other side. “She has good taste…” 

“You’re the worst.” 

“Second,” you said, ignoring him. “It is a joint gift, you’re getting tons of cool dad points out of this.” 

“She’s gonna know it was your idea,” he said, adjusting the gift he was wrapping. “Hell, she’s gonna know that only one of us could have gotten tickets and it ain’t me.”

As if on cue, Swiftie - Sarah’s kitten - pounced on the box Joel was wrapping. 

“Yeah, this one knows, too,” he said, scooping her up with one large hand and setting her down. “I miss when she wanted Barbies. Shit was easier.” 

You laughed. 

“Be happy she’s excited about anything enough that she’s going to freak out over Taylor Swift tickets,” you said. “She’s about to be a disaffected teenager, enjoy it while it lasts.” 

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” he muttered, “She’s stubborn enough as it is.” 

“You’re in for it, Miller,” you said as your cat, Puck, climbed on your lap. You reached around him to finish taping the package you were wrapping. “She’s going to give you so much shit…” 

“What if she’s just like you, hm?” Joel teased. “Gonna have a nerd for a kid…” 

“Hey, I was a nerd who snuck out at night to go get drunk with the boneheaded jock,” you teased back. “You really want her to be just like me?” 

“Jesus, you’re right,” Joel shook his head, finishing wrapping his present. “I’ll have to keep her far away from anyone like me for the sake of us all.” 

You snorted and finished wrapping your own gift before scooping Puck into your arms, nuzzling into his fur and giving him a kiss on the head before settling with your back against your couch as you looked at the lights on the tree.

It was Christmas Eve, the first one in years you were spending without Gale and you’d never been more thankful for Joel. 

Last year, you and Gale were separated but you’d felt so alone that you’d texted him the afternoon of Christmas Eve and spent most of the night and next day in bed. You’d tricked yourself then, pretended there was a chance in hell of the two of you getting back together and things going back to the way they used to be. 

That hadn’t happened. You’d spent New Year’s Eve in bed, too. Except that time, you were alone. 

You’d been afraid that was going to happen for you this holiday season, too. You asked Anna what she had planned for Christmas, fully expecting her to want to spend the day together. She had other things in mind. 

“Honestly, ever since Mom died?” She’d shrugged. “I love using it as a day to just chill. Binge watch TV I’ve been meaning to catch up on, eat a pile of Chinese food, maybe take a bath… It’s pretty boring but I love it. And since I’ve got this little bundle on the way, I’m extra looking forward to it this year.” 

“Oh,” you forced a smile, trying to hide your disappointment. “No, that sounds great.” 

“Oh God,” she clamped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide for a moment. “Did you want to do something? I’m so sorry, I should have…” 

“”No,” you waved her off quickly. “No, you’re good! I don’t want to disrupt your plans…” 

“You can join if you want!” She said. “I mean, for everything but the bath part, that might be a little much now that we’re not kids anymore.” 

“No,” you said again. “You have fun! Tradition is tradition and you need the break. Maybe I’ll do the same.” 

You should have known that she would have her own way of doing things. You’d all but abandoned her during your marriage, sending perfunctory text messages and holiday cards and flying her up for a long weekend every year or so but, otherwise, you went weeks without talking. Of course she had Christmas plans that didn’t involve you. Why would she have any that did? 

Joel, however, had done what he’d always done since you’d moved back to Texas: Made room for you in his life. 

“Know you and Anna probably already got plans but,” he’d shrugged two weeks earlier. “If you don’t… want to spend Christmas with me n’Sarah? Tommy, too, assuming he doesn’t con his way into dinner at some girl’s house. S’OK if you don’t, just figured… I dunno…” 

You’d smiled, bigger than you’d really meant to. 

“You want me to spend Christmas with you?” 

“I want you to spend most days with me,” he shrugged. “But you know, we gotta go out in the world and make money and shit. Anyway, Christmas. You in? Could just move in until the New Year if you really wanted…” 

The last part wasn’t going to work with your obligation to go try to write a book once Christmas was through. But you had spent the last two nights at Joel’s, bringing Puck over to play with Sarah and Swiftie as the three of you watched Christmas movies and binged cookies. No papers to grade, no lawyers calling because your attorneys’ offices were closed, no pressure because you already had time set aside to write. You could really relax for the first time in what felt like an eternity and relaxing with Joel and Sarah was quickly becoming your favorite thing in the entire world. 

But all that relaxing had meant there was a small pile of presents that weren’t wrapped that needed to make it under the tree. It was Christmas Eve and time had run out. 

“You need to stop procrastinating,” you said, getting your egg nog that was now mostly liquor off the coffee table and taking a sip. “Can’t get away with that shit when you’re a business owner.” 

“Just watch me,” he teased. “Besides, you’re one to talk, you made any progress on that book?” 

“That’s what next week is for,” you said, giving the cat a kiss just as he started to get restless in your arms. You set him down. “Fingers crossed having nothing else to do will make me churn out the words.” 

“Wild to me that you make money from what’s in your head,” Joel came and sat next to you. “Not that I think you shouldn’t, if anyone should it’s you. Just that anyone does at all is insane.” 

“Well, I may not make money off it for long if I can’t write anything else,” you sighed. “Know what? Let’s not talk about next week. I want to live in this moment - the one where we don’t have any worries and the presents are all under the tree and Sarah is passed out - for a while longer yet.” 

Joel hummed in agreement and you leaned your head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly. You could smell his skin and cologne and there was still a little bacon scent from when he’d made breakfast for the three of you that morning. 

“Think she’ll have a good Christmas?” Joel asked quietly, the two of you watching the lights twinkle on his tree. 

“Hell yeah,” you smiled a little. “You really are an amazing Dad, Joel.” 

He scoffed. 

“I’m serious,” you peered up at him. “You’re lucky to have Sarah but she’s lucky as hell to have you, too. She’s going to love it.” 

“Speaking of parents… anything new in the Anna situation?” Joel asked cautiously. 

“It’s a girl,” you sighed. “But she seems to be keeping up with everything, thank God. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe this is the kick in the ass she’s been needing…” 

“Was for me,” Joel shrugged, making your head rise with his shoulder. 

You sighed again. 

“Just seems like an awful lot to put on a kid,” you said. “And you might have been young and dumb but you didn’t have the shit Anna’s got on her plate. It’s a bit of a different story with her.” 

“She might surprise you. But either way, we’ll make up a room for the little sucker here,” Joel said. “Just to be safe.” 

“Regardless, that’s next year Goldie and Joel’s problem,” you said. “And thank fuck for that.” 

“Yeah, fuck those two,” you could hear the smile on Joel’s voice. “Let’s put the wrapping paper away and go to bed, something about Santa and knowing when you’re sleeping and all that.”

You cleaned up the living room and tried not to pay attention to the nighttime routine you’d fallen into with Joel in the few days you’d been staying with him. You had your own sink in Joel’s bathroom, one that had your hair products and face wash lined up alongside it. You had your own side of the bed with your own nightstand where the book you’d been reading the last few days was nearing its end and waiting for you. If you thought about it too much, you’d miss it when it was gone. If you thought about it too much, it might seem like something you could keep.

Joel made his customary space at his side and you nestled into him, your head on his chest where you could hear his heart beat. His fingers trailed up and down your arm. 

“There are upsides to a kid, you know,” he said quietly. “Christmas morning is one of ‘em. Just wait.” 

You smiled a little. 

“Stop keeping me awake and we won’t have to wait long,” you said. 

Joel snorted. 

“Yeah yeah. Night Goldie.” 

“Night Joel.” 

Sarah came careening into Joel’s room before 7 a.m., slamming into the bed so hard that it made your teeth rattle. 

“Dad! Aunt Goldie!” She shook you both. “Wake up, it’s Christmas!” 

“Yeah, alright,” Joel groaned, taking his warm arm from its place around your shoulders. You groaned, too. “You stay here with Goldie while I go put the coffee pot on and get set up to record you…” 

Sarah groaned. 

“Seriously?” 

“Seriously,” he said. “Sit tight, five minutes.” 

You rolled onto your back and blinked the sleep from your eyes, Sarah bouncing impatiently on the bed. You lifted your head enough to look at her, curls sticking every which way, and you dropped back down onto the pillow with a groan. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute, kid,” you said. 

“Yeah, that’s what my dad says,” she said cheerfully and you could picture her smile as she did. 

“Alright, come on out,” Joel called from the living room. Sarah rocketed off the bed and you laughed as you got up yourself, trailing behind her and trying not to yawn. 

“Oh cool!” Sarah flopped down beside her stocking and started going through it as you got to the living room. Joel was sitting on the couch, his phone set up on a tripod in the corner and pointed at the tree. “These are those face mask things I said I wanted! And the headbands for soccer!” 

“I do pay attention now and then, baby girl,” Joel said, rubbing his eyes. 

“Don’t you mean Santa pays attention?” You asked, sitting next to him on the couch. Joel handed you a cup of coffee, made exactly how you liked it.

“I know Santa’s not real, Aunt Goldie,” Sarah rolled her eyes and gave you a look. “I’m 11, not a kid.” 

Joel snorted. 

“Sorry,” you said. “My mistake.” 

“Don’t spoil Santa for Goldie,” Joel said before reaching down on the ground next to him. “Speaking of which…” 

He handed you a fat stocking and you frowned a little as you took it. 

“You made me a stocking?” You asked, tears pinching at your throat. “No one’s made me a stocking since I was in high school…” 

“Then you’re real overdue,” he smiled a little and went back to watching Sarah as she unwrapped a chocolate Santa and stuffed the entire thing in her mouth. “Alright, let’s not eat all the candy in one sitting…” 

“But it’s Christmas!” She said, voice muffled around the chocolate. 

“Still gonna get sick,” he replied. 

You started unpacking the stocking, pulling two pairs of fuzzy socks out of the top. 

“Because your feet are always freezing,” he said, looking back at you. “Figured one pair for here, one for your house…” 

“Thank you,” you smiled, going back into the stocking. There was some of your favorite candy, one of the face masks Sarah had, a bottle of gold nail polish. 

“We can do a spa day!” She beamed. 

“We can,” you laughed, looking at Joel who just shrugged, a small smile on his face. 

At the bottom of the stocking was a chunky gold pen, thick plastic encasing glitter and you turned it over in your fingers, frowning for a moment at just how familiar it felt. 

“Saw one like the one you had when we were kids years ago,” Joel said. “Bought it on a whim, thought you might want it.” 

You wanted to say thank you but you couldn’t seem to make a sound, the words caught in your throat. Instead, you just threw your arms around his neck and he laughed a little when he caught you, his hand sliding over your side and around to your back. 

You stayed close to Joel and watched as Sarah tore through her presents, the envelope with the concert tickets safely in Joel’s possession. 

“Hey Sarah,” you said eventually. “Can you hand me that box under there that’s for your dad?” 

Joel frowned as Sarah got the box, setting it on the coffee table in front of Joel and hovering as he went to open it. 

“Didn’t need to get me anything,” he said. 

“Too damn bad,” you said. “Don’t get too excited, it’s nothing crazy.” 

He opened it. Inside were two shot glasses, leather wrapped with a monogrammed M burned into it. 

“I thought you needed some accessories for the flask,” you smiled. 

He laughed. 

“We gotta break these in,” he said, looking them over. “They even look like they match…” 

“May have gotten Tommy to send me pictures,” you said. “Keep going, one more thing in there.” 

He shifted the tissue paper before pulling out a cassette tape, frowning at it for a moment. 

“What…” 

“I know your stereo is old enough that it plays tapes,” you said, palm out. “Hand it over.” 

He laughed once but obeyed and you went to put the tape in, adjusting the volume so it wouldn’t be too loud. It crackled a bit at the start and then Joel’s voice - almost 20 years younger but still so familiar - filled the room.

“My name is Joel Miller,” he said. “I play guitar and sing, mostly rock, little country…” 

Joel gaped at the stereo before looking to you. 

“Is this that old demo tape we made when we were kids?” He asked. You laughed and nodded. “Holy… where the hell’d you find this thing?” 

“I kept one,” you shrugged. “Thought it might give you a nudge toward playing again.” 

The Joel on tape started playing and Sarah came and sat between the two of you on the couch, looking up at her dad. 

“So that’s you?” She asked. 

“Sure is,” he said. “Long time ago, I was closer to your age then than mine now.” 

“What’s it for?” She asked. 

“Well,” Joel looked over her head to you and smiled a little before looking back at his daughter. “I always liked playing, wanted to be a singer for a while. Goldie here talked me into making some demo tapes to give to places around here that had open mic nights so I could actually play for people. Worked, too. Had a few places I played pretty often for a bit in there thanks to that tape.” 

“Why’d you stop?” She frowned. “You were good.” 

Joel shrugged. 

“Bigger things to do,” he kissed the top of her head. “Though speaking of music… think there might be one more thing for you under the tree.” 

Sarah’s frown deepened and she went to look around, picking her way through wrapping paper and but not finding it. 

“There’s nothing over here, Dad,” she said. “Are you sure?” 

“Oh, right,” Joel said, giving you a wink and pulling the envelope out of the pocket of his pajama pants. “Here it is.” 

She jumped over some of the boxes scattered over the floor and took the envelope from him, her eyebrows knitting together as she read the writing on the front. 

“To the swiftest music fan?” She said, looking up from the envelope and at the two of you. 

You just shrugged. 

“Gonna have to open it, kiddo,” Joel said. 

She slipped her fingers below the seal and pulled out the card, two pieces of paper falling to the ground before she had a chance to read it. She picked them up and unfolded them, reading the first one. 

“It says we have a hotel room in Dallas?” She looked at Joel. 

“Gotta read the other paper, baby girl,” he said. “That’s the important one. And the one from Aunt Goldie.” 

She flipped to that page next and only held it for a moment before shrieking and throwing herself at you, knocking you back into the couch. 

“You got Eras Tour tickets?” She pulled back, half on top of you and half on the couch. You just laughed and nodded. “Oh my GOD, thank you thank you thank you, you’re the best! OH MY GOD!” 

“Well your dad is the one getting us there and making sure we have a place to stay,” you said. “So hug him, too.” 

“Thank you!” She threw herself at him, too, and he laughed, catching her and giving her a squeeze. “This is the best present ever, it’s going to be the best time, I can’t wait! We’re going to see Taylor Swift! Oh my GOD, I have to tell my friends!” 

She shot off to her room to get her phone and Joel laughed, looking over at you. 

“OK I don’t even care that she likes you better n’me now,” he said. “She’s that happy? Worth it.” 

“We’ll see how we feel after a few days wrangling her for the Taylor Swift concert,” you said, watching where she’d disappeared up the stairs. “But… yeah, definitely worth it.” 

“Hey,” Joel said, voice oddly earnest. You looked over at him. “Thanks for loving my kid.” 

You smiled a little. 

“She’s yours,” you said. “How could I not?” 

Tommy came over a few hours later, once the turkey was in the oven and the wrapping paper was cleaned up off the floor. He gave Sarah a five pound bag of Sour Patch Kids and said “don’t tell your dad” before kissing the top of her head as she scampered off to stash her hoard in her room. He greeted you with a hug with a tight squeeze on the end and you still couldn’t quite get used to just how adult he was. There was part of you that still saw him as the little kid who trailed after you and Joel, the one who sometimes begged to go to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard. Now, he was nearly as tall as his older brother, drinking a beer and talking to Joel about a woman named Maria he’d just started dating. It was an odd reminder of just how much time you’d lost with Joel, just how much had changed. 

The four of you had dinner - Tommy teasing Sarah more like a loving older brother than an uncle, making you smile - and, before too long, the day was done. 

Sarah insisted on listening to Taylor Swift while she got ready for bed and Joel read to her from an Artemis Fowl book, you eavesdropping on Joel doing the voices from your place in the living room while the cats curled up around you. 

A keen sense of belonging settled over you then, as you held a mug of cocoa in one hand and the other rested on the back of your large, orange cat. This, you thought, was where you belonged. In this space, in this time, alongside these people. 

How could you ever hope to find this anywhere else? How were you ever supposed to recover from this stubborn crush if Joel was the place you felt most like home? 

“You OK?” Joel asked, hovering toward the top of the stairs, his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. 

“Yeah,” you smiled and gave Puck a scratch and let yourself have the feeling. “I’m good.” 

You got up early the next morning, Joel barely awake enough to help carry your bags to the car. 

“See you New Year’s Eve,” he said, his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants and his hair in total disarray. “Better have that damn book done by then.” 

“Do you really think you can write an entire book in a week?” You asked, brows raised. 

“I dunno,” he said. “You’re the smart one, you tell me.” 

You rolled your eyes and he laughed a little. 

“Alright, I’m goin’ back to bed,” he said. “Text me when you get there, have fun being a genius.” 

“Hey,” you called to him as he made it halfway back up his walk. He turned to face you, frowning slightly. “Thanks. For being my friend.” 

An expression you couldn’t place passed over his face before he smiled a little. 

“Careful,” he said. “Talk like that enough, people might think you care about me and shit.” 

“Well, we can’t have that,” you said. “See you in a few days.” 

He watched you drive off and you made your way to the hill country and the cabin Stephanie had reserved for you. You’d insisted that it have extra bedrooms and a hot tub and were surprised that she hadn’t pushed back on it. 

“Whatever you need to get the job done, you’ve got it,” she said after sending you links to some cabins. “I’m just here to facilitate.” 

You stopped on the way for groceries, stocking up so you wouldn’t need to leave the house once you settled in. You went with most of your standbys for cooking for one and watching the careful diet you’d been on for years but then thought of Joel bringing you tamales and plying you with cookies over the last few days. Maybe he was right. Maybe you did need to live a little. You got the stuff to make the bagel sandwiches, too. 

The cabin was damn near idyllic, all stone and wood with huge windows looking out at the brush leading down to the lake in the backyard. The hot tub was set on the back porch, a fire pit in the yard and rocking chairs out front. The kitchen was large and reasonably well equipped and there were enough bedrooms that Joel, Tommy and Sarah could have their own when they all joined you for New Year’s Eve. There was even a desk set up near a window that overlooked the water and you set up your laptop and charger and got out your notebook with the pen from your Christmas stocking, arranging everything just so. 

“Alright,” you said to no one after you got the groceries put away and made yourself a cup of coffee before settling in at the desk to write. “Let’s do this.” 

And… you tried. You really, truly did. 

Day one, you got most of an outline done. Enough of one that you went to bed feeling somewhat accomplished and felt good treating yourself to a bagel sandwich in the morning. But then, when you sat down to work on the next part for day two, you weren’t sure you liked any of it anymore. You pressed on, anyway. Day three, you tried to write the first chapter and you made some decent progress, at least feeling like you were getting to know the characters a bit as you settled into the story. But, day four, you read what you’d written the day before and wanted to claw your way out of your skin. What were you doing? Why did you think you could do this at all? Had you ever made anything worthwhile on your own? Why would you suddenly be able to do it now? 

The text came through when you were taking a break for lunch, desperately avoiding the gnawing feeling of failure after days of accomplishing fuck all when you really had no excuse not to. You sighed and opened your texts, fully expecting from Joel or Anna or even Stephanie. 

It wasn’t. 

Hey Doll

You dropped your fork in shock and it clattered to your plate as you blinked at your phone in total shock. He was texting you. Why was he texting you? He hadn’t texted you in months, not since you’d left Rhode Island. Why now? Did you want to know? Could you resist knowing? 

Hi Gale

You propped your phone up against your half empty can of Diet Dr. Pepper and stared at the screen, waiting for the next shoe to drop. 

It didn’t take long. 

How’ve you been doing? 

Your hand shook as you replied. 

Alright. I like the new school. You?

He responded almost instantly. 

Not bad. Was just thinking about you. Miss you. 

You froze, your heart in your throat. 

He missed you. How could he just say that? The collapse of your marriage had been one of the most painful things you’d ever gone through, happening in slow motion as he pulled further and further away and you desperately tried to dig your nails in to keep him close. You’d all but begged for him to miss you for years and now he was just texting it to you out of the blue. How could he just say that? How could you pretend like it wasn’t what you wanted to hear? 

You went to his Facebook page and checked his relationship status, one of the upsides to being with an older man meaning that his social media presence was pretty limited. He was still listed as in a relationship with Carla, a woman he’d met in much the same way he’d met you. The thought made your stomach churn, that you’d been so easily replaced by the younger, thinner, prettier version who had been dropped on his desk, practically gift wrapped. 

You went back to the texts. 

How’s Carla? 

There was a longer pause that time. 

She’s not you. 

“Jesus,” you said, setting the phone down and closing your eyes for a moment. You tried to think, forcing yourself to be practical. This wasn’t the time or the place to be having this conversation. You couldn’t have this conversation, not when you’d just been sitting her wondering if you could do the only thing you’d ever felt like you were supposed to do without his help. 

I don’t want to talk about this now. I’m in the middle of working on my book. Maybe another time. 

You stared at the phone, waiting for him to respond. He never did. 

“Yeah, sure seems like you missed me,” you muttered, finishing your salad and cleaning up from lunch, settling back in at your desk to write for the afternoon, trying not to think about the very real possibility that your writing career had ended when your marriage did. 

“I’m losing my mind over here,” you said, breaking down and calling Joel on day five. “There’s only so much I can say to a wall, you know.” 

“We’re comin’ your way tomorrow,” he said. “Be praying for some peace and quiet once Sarah and Tommy are there, trust me. Still like pecan praline ice cream, yeah?” 

“Blue Bell?” You asked. 

“Course it’s Blue Bell,” you could hear him roll his eyes through the phone. “What kind of animal you take me for?” 

“Oh, my apologies…” 

“Anything else you can think of?” He asked. “I can always stop on the way, too, but it’s easier while I’m here.” 

“I still think it’s silly to buy ice cream an hour away and then drive it out here,” you said. 

“That’s what coolers are for,” he replied. “Stop finding shit to worry about. Just give the writing one more shot, see how far you get. Who knows, you might surprise yourself.” 

“Yeah,” you sighed, chewing on the inside of your cheek as you remembered your texts with Gale the day before. 

“Goldie,” Joel said, tone serious. “That all that’s on your mind?” 

“Stop trying to read my thoughts,” you said. 

“Tell me,” he said. “Or I’ll show up early and make you.” 

“That a threat?” 

“That’s a promise,” he said. “What’s goin’ on?” 

“Gale texted yesterday,” you said, fidgeting with the handle of your coffee mug, the coffee itself going cold an hour ago. 

“Gale?” Joel asked, tone sharp. “Fuckin’ Gale? The fuck did he want?” 

“I don’t know,” you sighed. “I’ll show you the texts when you get here, maybe you can translate them for me since he’s not making any damn sense.” 

“That asshole better not be making any trouble,” Joel said. “I will find him and kick his ass, Goldie, just say the word…” 

“I know you will,” you laughed a little. “But don’t worry about it right now. And I should let you go…” 

“Yeah, go write your book,” he teased. “Change the world and shit.” 

There was a knock at your front door and you frowned, staring at it. There was a window to the side of it but all you could see was a shadow. 

“Hey, Joel?” You said. “Hang on one second, there’s someone at my door.” 

“What?” He sounded serious now. “Were you expecting anyone?” 

“No,” you said quietly, approaching it slowly and trying to see through the frosted glass. You couldn’t make out who it was. “So just stay on the line and make sure I’m not axe murdered…” 

“Need me to come out there now?” He asked. “If you ain’t safe…” 

“I’m sure it’s fine,” you said, unlocking the deadbolt. “Probably just a neighbor, but…” 

You opened the door and peered out through the crack, phone clutched against your head. 

You still almost dropped it. 

“Hey Doll.” 

***

“Hi Gale.” 

Joel’s heart dropped. 

“Gale?” He said, pressing his phone tight against his head and trying not to yell in the middle of the line at the HEB. “Fucking Gale? He’s there?” 

“I have to go,” you said quickly. “Talk later.” 

You hung up before he had a chance to say goodbye. He tried calling you back but you ignored it. 

Joel stood there, staring at his cart for a moment, his head swimming. 

Was he freaking out because it was you and he didn’t want you alone at some romantic looking cabin with your ex-husband? Was it because he knew that you weren’t in a place to handle this right now? Was it because he knew - knew - that your ex was a goddamn predator? 

He’d bitten his tongue about that fact since you’d been back, that the man you’d married had been more than twice your age and you’d only been a legal adult for all of a month when he’d met you. It didn’t matter that it was you, that Joel had gone searching for you and found you there with him all those years ago, he’d want to beat the shit out of a man like that regardless of who it was. A man like that couldn’t be trusted. 

He especially couldn’t be trusted with you. 

Joel checked out as fast as he could, calling Tommy as he drove. 

“Hey, need you to do me a favor,” he said quickly. 

“You always need me to do you a favor,” Tommy said. “One of these days I’m gonna cash in.” 

“Yeah, who got you the only job besides the army you’ve kept longer than a week?” Joel asked. 

Tommy sighed. 

“Fine. What’s up?” 

“Need you to take Sarah tonight.” 

“Joel, come on!” 

“M’serious,” Joel said. “Goldie’s ex just showed up at the fucking cabin…” 

“Oh, not that fucking asshole from the funeral,” Tommy cut him off. 

“That’s the one,” Joel said. 

“Fuck that guy,” Tommy said. “He needs to stay the fuck away from her.” 

“Yeah, somethin’ tells me he ain’t gonna make that choice on his own,” Joel said. “So I need you to pick up Sarah and take her for the night. And bring me my shit tomorrow. I’ll text you the address where Sarah’s at, she’s at her friend’s playing right now, needs to be picked up about five…” 

“Yeah, I got it,” Tommy said. “Go save the day.” 

Joel drove as fast as he dared, not familiar enough with where cops liked to hide to go too fast. He pulled up in front of the cabin you’d sent him the information for a week and a half earlier. He’d have admired it, in another circumstance. He’d always wanted a place like this, someplace quiet where there was enough space to live a little, maybe hunt. A place where Sarah could run and play and get to know nature a little. 

But in that moment, he was too pissed to take it in. 

He grabbed a bag out of the trunk - pretense more than anything else - and stalked up to the door before knocking on it, his fist coming down in heavy thuds on the wood. 

You pulled open the door, a surprised look on your face and your ex-husband at your back. 

He looked just about the same as Joel remembered him from before. Tall but not as tall as him, a refined air about him that made Joel want to deck him, a smug look on his face. His hair was gray and his face was wrinkled and Joel fucking hated him. 

“Joel,” you said, staring at him. “What are you…” 

Joel did the only thing he could think to do, fucking Brad standing so close to you with a hand between your shoulder blades like he fucking owned you. 

“Missed you too much, baby,” he said, watching your eyes go a little wide at the word. “Couldn’t wait until tomorrow.” 

He reached out and cupped the hinge of your jaw, his fingers wrapping around the back of your neck and he tugged you closer, his heart beating so fast he was sure that your fucking ex could hear it. 

But he didn’t care. 

All he cared about was the way your lips felt on his when he kissed you. 

Next Chapter

A/N: I mean we can all agree, fuck Brad/Gale.

But also... his presence does get results.

THANKS FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME! Love you!

[peachhcs]

because will surprised sam i think sam should tell will that her parents said she couldn’t go to Sweden but she actually is going with like ruts girlfriend and surprises him

a surprise in sweden

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

samy surprises will in sweden for the world juniors!

1.4k words

warnings: like the smallest tiniest illusion to sex, two kisses, mostly fluff though

this was so cutie to write. woo i'm posting again to make up for my lack of posts. i know kayleigh didn't actually go to world juniors, but let's pretend she did for this haha. pls keep requesting i enjoy writing these :)

au masterlist

“did you hear? did you hear?” will's excitement made samy smile from her end of the phone. the girl giggled while nodding her head even though her boyfriend couldn’t see. 

“i did hear. i’m so excited for you. sweden sounds awesome,” the u.s. team picks for world juniors came out only minutes ago and in two seconds, the blonde eagerly called his girlfriend to tell her the happy news. 

“god, i can’t believe i get to play for my country for what might be the last time. leno, perreault, fort, minnetian, and cut are all coming along to,” will was most definitely rambling, but samy didn’t care. she loved hearing him so excited about something to the point where he couldn’t stop talking about it. 

“you guys are gonna dominate. rut, sean, gav, and nazar got picked too. i'm excited for you guys to play on the same team together,” the brunette chuckled a little. It was almost ironic how her two worlds of hockey were colliding on the same team in a few weeks. 

“oh god, mcgroarty’s gonna pick me apart isn’t he?” will groaned, but samy giggled again.

“he won’t, trust me. i’ll make sure they lay off you and won’t ask embarrassing questions.” 

the umich guys knew all about will and were definitely eager to meet the guy that stole their little sister’s heart. they only had ethan and mark’s words to go off and you could guess the things they said only playfully poked fun at the blonde, so will was determined to prove himself so the other guys could properly get to know him. 

“i’m sorry i won’t be in the states for break. i know how excited we were to finally see each other for more than two days,” will changed the subject, his tone laced with a hint of disappointment. 

samy smiled, “it’s okay. this is a big deal for you and i’m so proud of you. i’ll just watch you from the comfort of my living room.” 

her words had a grin spreading across the boy’s lips along with a small chuckle. “you’re sure you can’t convince your parents to let you come with me?” it was worth a shot to ask even though will knew how much samy loved spending the holidays with her family. he didn’t even wanna ask if she could come along knowing how much the holidays meant to her. 

“i doubt it. i know they trust me, but an entire like three weeks in a different country with my boyfriend..i don’t know if they’d be so keen on that idea,” the girl laughed, a slight blush coating her cheeks. 

a similar pink color spread across will’s face as well, “okay, just thought i’d ask. i’ll miss you. i’ll send your gift in the mail so you’ll hopefully have it.” 

“i’ll see if i can get yours to boston before you leave. i’m still waiting on something in the mail.” 

“i hope you didn’t go overboard. we said not to,” will said despite the smile on his lips. 

“even if i did, it’s the first christmas that we’re together and not getting each other gag gifts,” samy stated. 

“when have i ever gotten you a gag gift? i think my gifts have been very thoughtful no matter what our relationship is,” the boy quickly defended himself. 

“well whatever. i think you’ll really like my gift,” samy chuckled. 

“i think you’ll like mine too,” will eyed the unwrapped gifts sitting on his desk and he couldn’t help but smile thinking about samy opening them in a few weeks. 

the two stayed on the phone for the rest of the night just mindlessly talking and getting to hear one another’s voices. there was one thing will didn’t know though and that was samy texting with kayleigh as they bought plane tickets for sweden—their trip already thoroughly planned out because the two predicted very early on that their boyfriends would make the US team, they just needed the confirmation before they bought their tickets. they couldn’t be more excited to fly out and surprise everyone with the hope that ryan and gabe knew how to keep their mouths shut. 

—

will sat in his hotel room making an attempt to get some of his school work done, but the tv playing as background noise was taking more of his attention than he thought it would. his eyes were glued to the show, computer open because if it was open, then at least it seemed like he was being productive. 

samy followed gabe and ryan to the 5th floor, unbeknownst to will. her and kayleigh landed about an hour ago and the girl was trying to shush the boys before the surprise was ruined. Her and ryan shoved themselves against the wall while gabe knocked on his friend’s room—their surprise plan setting into action. 

will lifted his head when he heard the knock. he walked towards the door, eyes still flicking back to the tv as he pulled the wooden frame open. “what?” the boy asked gabe on the other side. 

“can you come to my room real quick? I think i broke something,” the dark-haired boy muttered. 

will raised his eyebrow, “what do you mean you think you broke something?”

“like, i was trying to open up the cabinet under the tv and the handle like snapped off in my hand.” 

ryan and samy struggled keeping their laughter from slipping out as they stood a few feet away from will’s door. the blonde crinkled his nose, “dude, i’m not getting involved if you broke something. you’re gonna have to pay for that shit.” 

“can you just please come look? i don’t know if it’s actually broken,” gabe tried. 

“how do you not know if something is broken? it’s either broken or not broken,” will argued a bit, not knowing gabe was only trying to get him into the hallway where he’d see samy. 

“please just come look? for like two seconds.” 

a sigh escaped the blonde’s lips along with a shake of his head thinking how stupid his friend was. he shuffled into the hallway ready to head down to gabe’s room when samy suddenly popped out from behind ryan, “surprise!!” 

will jumped back, a small screech falling from his mouth. it took him all of ten seconds to take in his girlfriend standing two feet away from him, ryan with his camera out, and gabe snickering to himself to realize what was happening. when it did finally click samy was swept into the boy’s arms. 

“what are you doing here? i-i thought you weren’t coming?” will could hardly form any coherent thoughts. it felt like he was dreaming or something. 

“i was coming all along. i said i wasn’t because i wanted to surprise you,” samy explained, giggling into the blonde’s shoulder. 

“what about your parents? Your brothers..” 

“they were cool with it. kayleigh and i have been planning this for like weeks,” the brunette pulled back so she could properly see his face. she brushed his little curls away, a blush spreading across his cheeks at her gentleness. 

his eyes slid towards gabe and ryan who nodded. “we knew all along,” gabe snickered. 

"i’m surprised you two could keep a secret as big as this,” will teased them knowing how bad they both were at keeping things from other people. 

“oh shut up. we got your girl here so now you can stop moping around,” ryan rolled his eyes which earned the middle finger from will. 

another giggle escaped samy’s lips as she squeezed her boyfriend’s waist, putting his attention back on her. “It’s good to see you,” she hummed. 

“you too. I’m glad we get to spend a few weeks together,” not caring that ryan and gabe were still watching, the hockey player connected their lips into a sweet kiss. 

“yooo, save that for the room. Iim out of here. don’t be too loud,” gabe mumbled before retreating back into his own room. 

samy and will shared a laugh. ryan quickly escaped as well, promising he’d send the surprise video. that left the couple standing in the hallway together, loving smiles on each of their lips. 

“you’re sure you’re okay with not spending the holidays with your family?” will wondered because he didn’t want to be pulling her away. 

the girl cupped his face, “i’m sure. mom and dad were cool with it and my brothers are hardly home anymore anyways. plus, how could i miss something like this?” 

her words convinced the boy for now. he planted one last kiss on her lips before pulling her inside his hotel room—a very long night ahead of them.

[lnfours]

* ✰. — make a friendship bracelet

OH MY GOD i saw “champagne problems” and jumped and screamed and everything🥲

you’re so real for that actually

join the 11k celebration!

you sat at the table, fidgeting with the white table cloth as you watched everyone enjoy their evening. couples in the middle of the room, laughing and smiling and sharing dances. the room was decorated for christmas, the joy in the air not being enough to cancel out the sadness that sat in your heart.

you had joined lando to dance a while ago, dropping his hand and muttering an excuse to escape the crowd of people. he nodded in understanding, another note to add to the mental list of the things he noticed going on with you lately. how you would be the first to back away from a kiss, how the hugs weren’t as long or as tight as they used to be, how ‘i love you’s turned into ‘love you’s.

but the ring box was burning a hole in his pocket. the next big step for the both of you after all this time. even if it only has been a year of being each others number one supporters. he couldn’t help it, he was more than excited to finally ask you to spend the rest of your lives together.

you took another sip from your champagne glass, eyes wandering before they found him making his way to you. you swallowed harshly, sending him a fake smile as he offered his hand to you, “come with me,”

despite your mind telling you not to, you did anyway. following him out to the balcony, the cool december air like a smack to the face. the moonlight shining down on the both of you as the snow started to sparkle on the ground. the noise from inside now muffled by the closed doors and walls.

“what’s up?” you asked, wondering why he decided to bring you out to the balcony in the cold.

he played with the ring box in his pocket, “looked like you needed some air,” he turned to look at you now, “plus you look like you’ve been thinking hard about something. you alright?”

you sighed softly. was now the best time to do it?

“lando, i-” you spoke but stopping when your voice cracked. you didn’t want to do this, not here, not now, not ever. but you had to. for your sake and his own, “we need to talk.”

his heart dropped, looking over at you as a tear rolled down your cheek, “about?”

“us,” you breathed, “i just- i feel like…” you trailed off, suddenly lacking the words to describe your feelings. all of a sudden fighting back the urge to say forget about it all and just fall back into his arms.

“what’s wrong?” his eyes searched yours for answers, but be already knew the answer. no matter how long he had tried to convince himself he was wrong, he knew.

“i think we need to break up,” you said, suddenly not having the nerves to look him in the eyes, “i just, i can’t do this right now. not with everything going on in my life, i can’t sit here and pretend that everything is okay when it’s not.”

he stood in silence, looking back out to the snow. he knew how the past couple of months have been taking a toll on you mentally. things in your own life now making you feel like you need to shut everyone out. but most of all, he felt guilty. he couldn’t give you what you needed right now, and he desperately wanted to. but with the constant traveling and trying to make things work, it wasn’t the right time.

he didn’t say another word, turning to the balcony doors. you turned after him, “lando say something, please.”

he couldn’t. he couldn’t find words after you had dropped his fragile heart. now you were the one feeling the guilt as you chased after him through the crowd, people stopping to look at your distraught, tear stained face.

he walked to the table where his family was sitting, slipping the box out of his pocket and placing it on the white cloth in front of his mother. she only stared at it before looking up at her son, who’s once happy face now wore nothing but pain, tears and sadness. when her eyes fell on you, you let out a quiet sob.

“thanks anyway, mum.”

“lando,” she called to him, watching him make his way through the crowd. your feet stayed glued to the floor, eyes locked on the black velvety box.

you had just broken the heart of the one boy you ever truly loved.

[overtrred28]

Joining the club | Jen Beattie x reader

Summary; 2023 and the start of 2024 seem to have something in common already; everyone in the WOSO community seems to be getting engaged. And when you bring this up to your long term partner Jen, it seems she has nothing to say, or does she….

Pairings; Jen Beattie x famous!reader

Words; 2.5k

Warnings; pure fluff, swearing

A/N; It seems to be the season of getting engaged and even though I am way off getting engaged and very very single, I thought I would pretend and imagine that I was getting engaged to the one and only Jen Beattie. There is also a lack of Jen fics on here and I feel the need to write one for her. Enjoy!

First it was Steph and Dean all the way back in January. Lynn and Marley finally did it back in May. Then in June it was Emily and Kat, and Katrina and Clara just a few days after. Kristie and Sam finally revealed theirs from September after months of teasing. Chloe Kelly and Millie Bright got it within the same week, sharing photos with their partners around christmas. And finally a surprise from Ellie and Daan on the first day of a new year. 

It seemed 2023 and now 2024 was the time for engagements in the world of women’s football and you were quite caught up in all the news. 

“Oh my god babe, another one!” You let out a gasp as the post from Ellie and Daan popped up on your instagram feed, stopping your pre-dinner scrolling as you paused and assessed the picture. It was from a few days ago, and you were seeing it now because you had been away with Jen and her family, avoiding social media to spend time with them and only now catching up. 

“What?” Jen’s voice called from the kitchen, you jumping up from the couch with your phone and running quickly into the kitchen. 

“Look.” You aggressively shoved your phone into her face and she adjusted to the bright light as she tried to look at the photo. 

“Oh wow, congrats to them.” Jen smiled quickly before turning away and back to the food on the stove. You frowned at her quick response and disinterest at the post.

“Do you not think it’s funny?” You asked with a small laugh from beside her. 

“What is?” She asked whilst moving around the kitchen to find the rest of the ingredients for your dinner. 

“That everyone in the footballing world seems to be getting engaged at the moment?” You asked again and she didn’t respond with any excitement, again.

“Oh, guess I didn’t notice.” She shrugged and continued to stir the pot. You opened your mouth to talk again but she got there before you. “Could you grab me some bowls, love?” She asked while keeping her eyes on the pan. You paused for a second before grabbing two clean ones from the dishwasher and placing them next to her. “Thank you.” She smiled at you briefly before beginning to dish up the pasta that was now done. 

“You’re welcome.” You snapped out of your trance and silently moved to grab some glasses and the wine from the fridge. She waited for you to finish pouring your drinks before she grabbed both bowls and headed for the couch, you following close behind her. 

“What are we watching tonight, love?” Jen asked as she sat beside you on the couch, now both holding your dinner and the wine glasses on the coffee table. 

“I don’t mind, you pick.” You shrugged before taking a bite of your food and now it was her turn to frown at you, normally you always took control over what to watch together. 

“You okay?” Jen asked simply and you nodded silently while eating and staring at the screen in front of you. “ Okay, how about Bridgerton? We still haven’t finished season two.” She suggested and once again you nodded silently from beside her. 

You weren’t sure why you were feeling slightly off after Jen’s reaction to the post and your comments, but you still snuggled into her on the couch after finishing your pasta and wine.

The episode finished and you could feel the both of you drifting off after a long day. Jen had been back at training after winter break and your schedule had been hectic since returning from time off. You were an actress and your new movie was about to come out so all the promo shoots and interviews were now in full swing, though you were grateful it began in London so you could still go home to Jen every night.  

You met Jen a few years back at an event in London you had both been invited to, catching her eyes from the other side of the room and instantly knowing you had to go talk to her. You knew who each other were, an actress making her name in the world and a famous sports star who silently followed each other in their respective lines of work. One conversation and you knew there was something there, and so did she. You both knew it would be hard with your professions and the distance you would have at certain times, but you wanted to make it work, somehow keeping it from the public eye for two years before hard launching it on your anniversary and sending both sets of fans into a frenzy. 

“Ready for bed love?” Jen spoke softly into the dark living room, smoothing your hair softly. 

“Definitely.” You yawned and sat up, rubbing your tired eyes as Jen stood up and held a hand out for you. You smiled at the gesture and met your hand in hers, pulling yourself up and making your way to your bedroom together. You both had already showered when you got home earlier so all that was left to do was to brush your teeth together. 

Your night routine was almost the same every night, no matter what was going on in your separate lives, you always spent those last few minutes together before crawling into bed. So once you both finished in the bathroom, you hopped into bed on your chosen sides but made your way closer to the middle and each other, Jen opening her arms to you as you laid your head on her chest.

“Sorry I’ve been quiet, tired.” You mumbled into the darkness against Jen as she drew small circles against your back. 

“It’s okay, me too.” Jen looked down at you to meet your soft eyes. 

“I love you.” You smiled and snuggled into her chest once more, eyes drifting closed. 

“I love you too.” Jen placed a kiss against your head before closing her own eyes and drifting asleep. 

The topic of last night's conversation was mostly forgotten in the morning, or at least it wasn’t brought up again between you too. That didn’t mean it wasn’t brought up with different people. Jen arrived at training and as both Steph and Beth walked up to her, they could tell something was on her mind. 

“You alright there Jenny?” Steph bumped her shoulder as herself and Beth joined her sides. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah.” Jen nodded at them but went silent straight after. 

“You sure?” Beth dragged out her words and brought her face as she could to Jen’s, their height difference proving to be a little difficult.

“Yeah, just thinking.” Jen tried to brush them off again but these two were persistent and she knew she wasn’t going to get very far if she didn’t tell them. She stopped her walking and sighed before speaking. “Last night, Y/N brought up how it seems like everyone’s getting engaged at the moment, and I didn’t really say anything back. And then she seemed upset for the rest of the night, but she said she was just tired, which I know she has been, but I also think I might have upset her in some way.” She let out in almost one breath as Steph and Beth tried to process her words. 

“Well she’s not wrong, especially in the last few weeks.” Beth added with a shrug. 

“Do you think she’s ready?” Steph ignored Beth’s comment and looked at Jen.

“Well, I wasn’t sure before, but after last night I think she is.” Jen looked between the two of them. “Just the way she was talking about it and then when I didn’t really say anything…” She trailed off and looked down. 

“I think she’s ready.” Steph spoke with a smile. She had watched from the beginning of your relationship with Jen just how happy you were with one another, and how easy the relationship seemed even when spending time apart due to work. 

“Are you?” Beth asked sincerely, her and Steph awaiting Jen’s reply. Jen was silent for a few seconds, bringing her eyes back up to look at her best friends. 

“I bought the ring like 2 months ago.” She mumbled but they still heard it and instantly started beaming at the Scottish woman. 

“You sly little bastard.” Beth punched Jen’s arm softly as they began to walk again so that they wouldn’t be late for training. 

Throughout the whole day the three of them, mostly Steph and Beth, were coming up with ideas on how she should propose but Jen kept shooting them down. She wanted it to be private, special and a surprise, so anything that involved taking you out somewhere would instantly make you suspicious. 

While Jen had been conversing her thoughts and plans with her best friends at training, you were in your head all day thinking about last night. Which wasn’t really helping especially when you were trying to film press interviews all day and talk about your movie. 

You could have talked to your co-stars about it, after all they had become close friends while shooting and now being with each other everyday for promo, but the only person you really wanted to talk to was Jen; it was always Jen. 

Jen got home long before you, taking her time to deep clean the flat and cook dinner for you once again, knowing you would be exhausted from your long day of work. 

She didn’t hear you opening the door and making your way through the flat, she had been vacuuming with her headphones on and dancing around your bedroom. You stood in the doorway for a few minutes after spotting her, admiring her and waiting for her to see you. And when she did, boy did she get a fright. 

“Ah fuck!” Jen almost jumped out of her skin when she finally turned around and spotted you lurking in the doorway, using one hand to remove her headphones and the other to turn the vacuum off. “How long have you been standing there?” She dropped the vacuum and began to walk over to you. 

“A few minutes. I was admiring your hidden dance skills.” You smiled and stood up straighter, welcoming her into a hug like you do every day. “Hi.” You mumbled into her shoulder. 

“Hi love.” She pulled back and leaned in for a soft kiss. No matter how many times you kiss Jen, it feels like the very first time all over again, even after 4 years. “Busy day?” She asked as you parted, taking in your tired expression. 

“Busy day.” You nodded and smiled at her. “How was training?” You asked as you walked hand and hand to the kitchen. 

“Good, good to be back with the girls.” Jen smiled at you before letting go to retrieve dinner from the oven. You stood at the counter, simply watching her as she moved about wrapping up dinner. “Go put something on, I’ve got it.” Jen smiled and placed a kiss on your temple before ushering you to the lounge room.

“Okay bossy.” You laughed before making your way to the couch and switching the TV over to Netflix to finish the final episode of Bridgerton. You wait patiently for her on the couch, looking over your shoulder every few seconds to see if she is coming around the corner. 

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Jen is trying to hide her anxiety and nervousness as she plates up dinner and feels her pocket one more time. With two champagne glasses now full and a tray full of food she finally makes her way to you, letting out a final breath before entering the living room. 

“Dinner is served.” She places the tray down on the table and bows which makes you laugh. Your eyes fall on the glasses and you’re instantly confused. 

“What’s with the champagne? Decide the wine wasn’t good enough?” You joked and she let out a small laugh shaking her head. 

“Some nights are a little more special than the others.” She cryptically says and has you even more confused but you leave the comment alone and hit play on the remote. 

You eat dinner together while watching the episode, silently watching with a bit of commentary along the way before cuddling up after eating. The episode finishes and you can feel Jen’s heart beating particularly fast, her fingers are nervously playing with one another and she hasn’t spoken in a few minutes. You sit up silently and look at her, she doesn’t look at you. You’re about to fill the silence when she beats you to it. 

“You know how much I love you, right?.” Jen rushes out and leaves you slightly bewildered. 

“I know. I love you just as much.” You reply. “What’s wrong?” You bring your hand up to brush her hair back into her low bun. 

“I’m about to do something and I hope you don’t think it’s random and forced because it’s not and I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I didn’t want to make a massive deal about it because it’s just you and me and that’s all that matters.” Jen speaks in one long breath and you need a second for your brain to catch up but before it can she’s pulling you up off the couch with her and standing in front of you. She holds your hands in hers and looks directly at you. 

“Wha-” Before you could even think about finishing your sentence, a giant gasp leaves your mouth at her next action. She drops down to one knee whilst still holding holding your hands, smiling up at you as tears well in your eyes. 

“My love, I could go on and on about how much I love you but you already know. There is no one else I would rather spend the rest of my life with, no matter where it shall take us. So,” She let go of your hands, you bringing them up to your face and hers reaching down into her pocket. She fishes the small, black box out, opening it to reveal a sparkling ring and looks back up at you. “Y/N Y/L/N, will you-” 

“YES!” You interrupt her before she gets to finish causing her to laugh and shake her head. 

You just stand there admiring her as she gets up and removes the ring from the box. She brings your shaking left hand from your face and slides the ring on. Your jaw drops at the ring before you jump into her arms, causing her to react quickly and grab hold of your legs. “I love you so much Jen.” You cry into her shoulder as she holds you before you lift your head up, meeting your eyes with hers before pulling in for a kiss. 

The rest of the night is spent in one another's arms just admiring each other and talking softly with each other about the rest of your lives while wrapped up in your sheets.

yourinstagram and jbeattie91

yourinstagram we joined the club 💍

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stephcatley so happy for you! welcome to the club 😉

bethmead_ about time jen jen. congrats 🥰

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THE END!

[landos-meat-rider]

1999, part one

ok. this is my very first fic and the first time ive done any creative writing that isnt for a gcse english writing exam. this is part one of a mini series called "1999" (inspired by beabadoobee's song). im literally making it up as i go😍🙏.

please lmk what you think: should i scrap it or keep going? anything i should change?

and maybe repost if you feel extra generous :))

warnings: none!

conrad fisher masterlist

masterlist

     ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

Summer had always been a time Belly, Steven and I had looked forward to. Sure Christmas and Easter were beautiful and memorable, but there was something about spending our summer at Cousins Beach. We'd been doing it ever since we can remember. For a whole three months, the Conklins and the Fishers did everything together. It was like while the rest of our year was shit, summer was always there to turn it around. We watched fireworks together, surfed, barbequed, and pulled all-nighters out in the backyard in tents pretending we were far away from our parents in some other country when in reality they were only a few feet away drinking wine and talking. We spent every waking hour together for those three months. And now that we’re all older, we party together.

After Belly and I turned sixteen we started seeing the boys in a different light. It was like they were the same boys we’ve known all our lives but somehow different. 

Steven would make fun of us for what seemed like years on the car ride to Cousins whenever he heard us giggling and whispering about how Belly and Jeremiah were destined to be since he posted a reel with her favourite song (he can't even remember her favourite colour for the life of him). But whenever she’d ask me about Conrad I’d shake my head and blush trying to convince her I didn’t like him like that.

Conrad was…complicated. He was gorgeous and tall and perfect and way out of my league. Hell, he probably saw me as a sister to him and nothing more. I had seen him go through girls year after next and had slowly started to lose hope of there being an ‘us’ anyway.

My thoughts get interrupted by yet another loud sigh by Steven. I swear if I don't end up strangling him by the time we get there…

“I’m boredddd”, Steven sighs.

“Steven that's your tenth consecutive ‘I’m bored’  in a row, can’t you think of anything else to say?” Belly all but yells at him.

He lets out another sigh before I wack the side of his head from the backseat.

“Hey!” he yells out trying to get me back from the passenger seat while Belly laughs and starts recording the moment on her phone.

“Alright, kids can we dial down on the domestic abuse, please? I’d like to go at least a few hours before having to swallow another paracetamol from your headaches.”, Mom says obviously getting fed up with us.

Instead of arguing back I try and shut Steven up by asking him questions.

“So Stevie,” I start, giggling as he annoyingly groans at the nickname Belly, Taylor and I made up for him, “what are you…most excited for this summer?” I ask making up the question off the top of my head.

Steven thinks for a minute before answering, “Surfing for sure.” He nods.

“Drinking wine with Susannah.”, says Mom smiling at the thought of her best friend.

“Fourth of July.”, says Belly.

“You sure you’re not most excited to see Jere?” I nudge her with my elbow as she squeals and looks away.

“What about you honey, what are you most excited for?” Mom asks, looking at me through her rearview mirror.

“The bonfire.” I say, smiling.

I’ve always loved the bonfire. Everything about it, it's always such a vibe. The kegs, the fire, the songs, the smores. It's always been my favourite part of the summer.

Until this summer, when I brought my boyfriend to Cousins.

༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

“You guys ready for the bonfire, should we go down?” Conrad asks as he enters the living room. I look up at him from my position with Belly on the couch. God, I’d forgotten how pretty he was.

Conrad comes behind the couch and wraps his arms around my neck giving me a slight hug before pulling away, “I missed you.” he says looking down at me.

Before I can reply Steven speaks up, “Aw Connie, no worries man I’m here now,” he says smiling enthusiastically as he pulls Conrad towards the door by his shoulders while everyone laughs at his misunderstanding.

Conrad looks at me expectantly and takes out a small box from his pocket.

“Let's go, man,” Steven says to Conrad before pulling on him again, “I wanna show you this really cool trick I learned the other day…” He drones on as Conrad’s eyebrows furrow and he looks back at me, “Aren’t you coming?” he asks pointing at me questioningly.

I give him a sad smile before responding, “I’ll join you guys later, I’m gonna wait here for Dean he should be here soon.”

Just when I thought they couldn’t, Conrad’s eyebrows furrowed deeper.

“Who’s Dean?”

“Oh didn’t we tell you?,” Belly responds, “Y/n has a boyfriend.”

Conrad and Jeremiah’s faces were a sight to see. Eyes wide, mouths agape and eyebrows straight up, staring at me as if I had told them I got my eyeballs tattooed.

“Okay, you don't have to be that surprised…ouch.” I wince.

Conrad and Jeremiah straighten up and Jeremiah looks at me and smiles before saying, “No, no that’s…uhm that’s great Y/n.” He looks at Conrad halfway through his sentence as Conrad looks down at his feet and puts the box he was holding, in his pocket before turning to Steven and talking to him about setting the keg up for the bonfire and walking out the door without sparing a glance to me.

“That was weird.” I say to Belly as she leans in to give me a hug,

“Totally. What’s his deal?” she responds.

“Beats me.” I shrug before yelling “Have fun! Use protection!” out behind her and Jeremiah before Belly turns her head around and flips me off which just makes me and Jeremiah laugh harder.

I sigh and turn the tv on. With Mom, Susanna and everyone going out, I was the only one left to wait for Dean. I wonder how long he’ll be, I can’t wait to go to the bonfire. Luckily I got a text from him just as I decided on watching Gilmore Girls.

'hey, i'll be there in five :)'

whew that’s part one done! here’s part two!!

1999, part two

[ithebookhoarder]

Spending Thanksgiving with Matt 🍁 (Matt Murdock x F!Reader)

A/N: So I'm gonna confess right now that I'm from the UK and not American, but my flatmate is and she has been cooking up a Thanksgiving feast all day - so this is how I'm spending the holiday... writing safely on the couch, and staying out of the kitchen 😅 Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

Warnings: Faint smutty references, references to alcohol, tooth-rotting fluff, I think that's it.

Masterlist

You and Matt have had a variety of Thanksgivings together, each one completely different, so you don’t really have any set traditions. 

It’s more about spending the day with the people you care about, even if for just an hour, so you can share your gratitude at having them in your life. Or that’s what you tell Matt when he tries to argue that he doesn’t see what’s so important about the holiday. 

“But sweetheart-”

“Don’t sweetheart me, Matthew Murdock. I just want five minutes with you to eat some stupid Pumpkin Pie and pretend to be normal. Ok? Please? Else I’ll just have to come out on patrol with you so I can annoy you into coming home.” 

Needless to say, Matt gives in pretty quickly once you start begging. So, you both make the promise to honour that, even if it’s late or if the world seems intent of getting in the way. You will at least get to spend some time together, being grateful and taking a moment to celebrate what you’ve built together. 

That has led to some pretty interesting holidays together over the past few years. 

For instance, you’ve had one Thanksgiving where you’ve been sat in his office working on an important case, eating whatever take-out you’ve been able to find that was still open during the holiday. 

It was like so many other days you’d spent together but you make the best of it, with Foggy and Karen insisting you have the Macey’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background on a laptop. 

You also take it in turns to go around and list the things you’re grateful for between chunks of research - and you all have a lot to be thankful for. 

Another Thanksgiving was spent at Foggy’s parents’, after they’d insisted on hosting you all at their shop. 

You spent the day eating more food than you could possibly imagine and enjoying the Nelson family chaos. 

Matt may have pretended not to be excited at the prospect of sharing the day with the Nelson clan, but you could see the way he lit up the entire time you were there. Hell, you thought he was about the explode with happiness when the youngest Nelsons decided to start clambering over him and telling them about school and their plans for Christmas that year.

Matt has always had a soft spot for children and you can’t wait to start a family of your own to spend the holiday with - something Foggy’s parents seemed to be encouraging too, considering how they clucked and fussed over their boys. 

In fact, they lectured both Foggy and Matt on how they didn’t seem to be eating enough and that they needed to settle down and get married sooner rather than later.

“She’s a keeper, Matthew,” Mrs Nelson had teased, not too subtly. “You boys should both put rings on these gorgeous women. What are you waiting for?”   

Thankfully, Matt and Foggy were saved from answering by the sounds of cursing coming from the kitchen as something began to smell a lot like it was burning. 

“Ah, a lecture from my loving mother. Now it’s a true Nelson holiday,” Foggy had groaned, reaching for the nearest un-opened beer. He had been quick to hand one to you, Karen, and Marci as well. “Cheers.” 

“Cheers,” you’d laughed, a chorus ringing out from the group of amazing human beings you now called yours. 

The following year you made sure to host them at your place. Yep, your place. As in both you and Matt had decided to move in together and now shared the apartment you called home. 

Somehow, by a divine miracle, Matt had managed to have the day off, not being caught in the middle of some crazy life or death situation that would steal him away. Instead, he had somehow taken on the role of sous-chef and was surprisingly talented at it. 

You blamed his blood-hound like senses for telling him what the perfect amount of certain ingredients was, or when something was ready in the oven. 

“You could use more sage in that - and oh, I think the pie is done.”

“Damn, Matt. You’ve been holding out on me. All this time I’ve been living with a gourmet chef and we’ve been living off take-out?”

Matt laughs, pressing a kiss to your lips by way of apology. “I’d hardly call myself gourmet, but I’ll take the compliment.” 

There is clearly no end to his talents.  

Speaking of talents, Matt soon tries to use his other talents as you’re both pressed together in the confines of the kitchen, weaving in and out of each other, hands brushing… hips bumping…  

It takes a lot of self-control on your part to remind him you had guests coming in a matter of minutes. 

“What can I say, sweetheart? I’m just trying to show you have grateful I am for you. That’s the point of the holiday, right?” he purrs, his devious smile all too tempting. 

“Well - as tempting as that is, and I swear if we hadn’t spent all morning preparing this dinner I would be dragging your ass over to bed - but you’re gonna have to save this show of gratitude for later, Matt.” 

“Now who’s not being festive?” 

You’re quick to swipe at him with the dish towel but he’s faster, saved by the knock at the door that announces your guests had finally arrived. He ducks past you, making for the door and hastily ushers everyone inside. 

What follows is probably the best Thanksgiving you’ve ever had and the group photo Foggy insists on taking at the end of the night is soon framed and put pride-of-place on your bedside table. 

You ate until your sides hurt. You drank until the bottles ran dry. You laughed until tears poured from your eyes. 

By the time you and Matt actually do make it to bed that night you feel like you're floating.

"Thank you for today," he whispered, much to your surprise. You knew deep down he wasn't always the biggest fan of holidays, a lifetime of trauma and a never ending quest to protect his city had taken the sheen off of them long ago... or, it had, until he'd met you. Now, he could see the appeal of them. Of spending them celebrating with you.

You brought a light back into his life, as well as a reminder of what he was actually fighting for, and fighting to protect, every time he put on the mask.

"I love you... Happy Thanksgiving, sweetheart."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Matt."

[bookshelf-dust]

a camaro and a tree.

billy hargrove x gn!reader

word count: 2,764

warnings: swearing, innuendos/billy being a flirty asshole aka being himself, mentions of neil, fluffy/lovey shit

a/n: hii :)) happy holidays! i hope that you’re enjoying whatever you celebrate, and if you don’t celebrate anything, i hope you are enjoying life in general. i’d been tossing this idea around and around in my head for forever, and i finally wrote it! i really hope you enjoy it. billy and readers first christmas while living together? yes, yes i think so. i love you all! <333

————

“You know, there’s a whole ass couch that you could be spread out on in any way you please, Hargrove. I’m not entirely sure why you must splay yourself out on me.”

Billy shook the bag of Skittles in his hand around, presumably looking for the red ones. Those were his favorites, and he insisted they were better than all the rest, though you were adamant that a random handful of them was just as good—no need to be picky.

Billy crossed his legs at the ankles in response to your statement.

The both of you were sat on the sofa in your living room. It had started out with you curled up on one side, but the moment you stretched your legs out to settle on the coffee table, Billy had appeared. It was like he had a Spidey-sense.

And now he was on the other end, legs stretched out over top of your own. This is after he’d lifted the blanket from you to tuck his legs in with yours. Only he had shorts on, so now the warm skin of his calves was stuck to that of your thighs.

Billy was continually sinking further into the couch, and now snatching a pillow out from under your ass to put behind his back.

You rolled your eyes at his continued use of your space. He was surely making himself comfortable.

“You’re like a fucking house cat, you know that?”

Billy let out a breath of a laugh, eyes now on the television.

Maybe it wasn’t very “adult” of you to watch Full House during your free time, but Uncle Jessie had good hair (you seemingly had a type), and Stephanie had an excellent sense of humor.

It was more of a surprise that Billy put up with it at all, since he wasn’t keen on Growing Pains, and liked to stubbornly pretend he didn’t enjoy The Golden Girls. But he laughed at both Dorothy and Uncle Joey, no matter how many times he’d try to deny it.

He also requested you fill him in any time he missed an episode because he was home late from work.

You snuck your hand under the blanket to rub up and down Billy’s leg, fingers tracing from below his knee and across his thigh. He hummed his appreciation.

Eyes wandering from the tv, this being an episode you’d already seen, you realized how empty your living room looked.

Now maybe that was partially because the both of you did not have an abundance of furniture—a couch, a table, a stray oversized chair—but also because it was those slow few days before December began and you didn’t have a tree up.

This was the first Christmas that Billy and you would be spending in your shared little apartment, and you were rather excited about it.

Christmas hadn’t always been peaceful at home, for either of you, people being picky or whiny or just assholes in general.

But living with Billy made you feel whole. You felt safe with him, and he you.

It was just that this time, Christmas was up to you. You could do whatever you wanted and cook your favorites, or maybe not even at all. You could decorate however you pleased.

You turned to Billy, watched as he lifted his arm, pulling the chain on the floor lamp next to him, muscles shifting under the yellow light.

“When do you want to get a Christmas tree?”

He set his Skittles down, pulled his legs out from under your blanket. He propped his head up against the back of the couch with his arm, looking dreamily at you.

“You mean like buy one? I don’t imagine picking out a boxed tree is gonna be that hard.”

You sat up. “Ha! Oh no, baby, we are not getting a fake tree.”

You watched his brow furrow. “I’m pretty sure we dragged the same shit tree, box and all, from California to Indiana. Neil Hargrove was not keen on the idea of having to take care of a me, let alone a tree.”

You grimaced, and he continued. “You want to pick out a real one?” He tracked the movement of your head, your excited nod. “I’ve never done that before.”

You sat up on your knees. “It’s fun! We did it every year. Sometimes we’d pick one that was too tall and we could barely get the star on. I guess I thought we’d get to pick one out too. But if you’d rather an artificial one, that’s fine Billy.”

His hands found your face, callouses rubbing at your cheeks.

“No, sugar, a real one is fine. I assume you know where the hell we go?”

————

It took some driving around, but eventually you wound up at Merrill’s, wandering through the lanes of pines with all the other families and too loud children.

Billy walked behind you, hands stuffed in the pockets of your coat. Not only did you have little hand warmer packets, but Billy had yet to get a good pair of gloves.

He had finally relented and started wearing layers when it snowed, though that did not mean he’d done it without pouting.

So now, as the both of you sidestepped a stray toddler barreling through the thin layer of powder on the grass, the only bit of him that wasn’t actually warm were his hands.

You walked him to the shorter section of trees, thinking about how small your home actually was.

“What do you think about this one?”

You reached through the branches to grab hold of the the trunk, pulling it out and spinning it around to check all the sides.

“Stand next to it,” you told him.

“Sorry?” he questioned, obviously confused.

“You’re my size reference. Don’t,” you raised a hand, stopping him because he’d already opened his mouth, “make a dick joke. You can touch the ceilings when you raise your hands, so this is my measuring, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Billy gave you a two finger salute and moved next to the tree, it being just about the same height as he was. “Good?” He raised his eyebrows in question.

“Yep.” You heaved the tree back into its place, glancing at the aisle number before meandering through to look at a couple more.

Most of them were too tall, and because of that, too expensive. Even some of the shorter ones would’ve cost a pretty penny because of how nice they were: perfect shape, a dark, rich green, branches thick with needles.

“I think I liked that first one best, baby.” Billy’s breath was warm against your neck where he’d leaned over your shoulder to speak, what with a family of six standing right next to you, chatting exuberantly.

“I was thinking the same thing, Mr. Hargrove.”

You grabbed hold of his belt loops, tugging him along with you in search of your first tree.

Luckily, it was still there, and you made sure to put your hands on it, because there was a frightening looking woman eyeing it from across the way.

You hugged the tree, which brought out that sweet sweet laugh of Billy’s. “Let’s get this one then, huh?”

You nodded before pulling away, realizing you now had tree sap in your hair, not to mention an abundance of needles that you’d probably still be brushing out later.

Billy retrieved a cart to set the tree on, and you watched him lift with ease, wishing that was you he’d thrown over his shoulder.

“You’re staring.”

You pushed the cart towards the tree-trimmer, ignoring his statement.

Billy’s hands snuck up to the back of your neck, and then he was tickling you, cold fingertips dancing across your skin.

“Ignoring me now?” His voice was gravelly from the chill in the air, throat gone dry.

“Never. But I think the staring is allowed when we live together. You’re much too pretty for me.”

“I am gorgeous, aren’t I?”

You rolled your eyes at him, knowing you’d set yourself up for that one, and he planted a chilly kiss to your temple.

————

The drive home was short, but slightly terrifying. The Camaro was not built for having a tree tied to the top of it, and you were fidgety the whole trip.

Billy glanced your way before he pulled into the driveway. “You doubt my rope-tying skills, Y/N? Frankly, I’m offended.”

You opened your door before he could, which only spurred him on.

Billy pulled a pocket knife out from the glove compartment, flicking the blade open and cutting the ropes on your side of the car.

“I think we both know I excel at tying things up.”

“Billy,” you groaned his name, holding onto the tree so it wouldn’t slip while he cut the other side.

You could hear him laughing to himself, clearly enjoying his ability to fluster you.

The both of you slid the tree off the roof of Billy’s car, and he tossed you the keys.

You ran up the few stairs, unlocking the door and propping it open before going back to help him bring it inside.

While you were halfway through the door and feeling brave, you spoke. “You better behave yourself or we’re gonna find out how good my rope-tying skills are, Hargrove.”

You set the tree down, flying back out the door to get the stand out of the car before he could say anything.

Upon your return, Billy grabbed you by the waist, pinning you against the freshly closed front door.

“That’s not really threatening when you know I’d let you do whatever you wanted.”

You could feel yourself burning, and you tried to bury your face in his chest, but he caught your chin, quickly pressing his lips to yours.

When he pulled away his lips were that devastating shade of pink, and he was looking at you like you were everything in the world and more.

“Don’t go all shy on me now,” he propped his arm against the wall above your head, “now that we live together and whatnot.”

You grinned at him, and he kissed you silly for it.

————

It took a few days, but the tree had been successfully watered and kept alive, though it was still bare of any ornaments.

The lights had been easy to choose at Melvald’s, and Joyce had helped you pick out some she liked to put outside too.

So, gradually, both Billy and you had been bringing home a menagerie of bulbs and things for the tree, determined to make it your own and not have some shop-window-looking thing in your home.

One afternoon Billy gets off work early, but comes home to find you out and about, having left a note on the counter for him.

When you do come home, he’s in pajama bottoms and an old shirt, staring into the fridge like something’s going to hop out and prepare itself for him.

His face lights up when you emerge into the kitchen, arms immediately reaching for you, but you stop him with a raised hand. He practically frowns.

“I got you a prize, Billy baby.”

He propped his head up, hand under chin. “A prize?”

You nodded, wrestling with the bag on your hip, finally pulling something free.

“Hold out your hands.”

You plopped a small ornament into his hands. Specially a square one that looked like a vinyl sleeve, the tip of the record itself sticking out the side.

The sleeve was black and red, tiny writing across the top that said Metallica. It looked like the Kill ‘Em All album.

Billy looked up at you, eyes glossy. “Where’d you find this?”

“At the record store. They had a big tree with assorted ornaments for popular bands on it, I thought you’d like it. Do you?”

You watched as Billy flipped the ornament over in his hands, ran his thumb over the edge of the little black record, the top of the sleeve.

“‘Course I fuckin’ like it, baby.” He was giving you that prize-winning and swoon-worthy smile. The one you tried to tell yourself didn’t work on you. But that would just be a lie.

He scooped you up in his arms, squeezing you tight, lifting you just enough that your feet left the floor.

“The guy at the counter gave me a discount since we come in so often. Got myself one too.”

Billy set you down, walking to the living room to find a spot on the tree for his prize.

“I don’t get to see that one too?”

“Well yeah, sure. I was just excited about yours.” He watched you reach down in your bag for the other ornament you were supposedly housing. Sometimes with the way you searched for things in there, Billy thought you might as well be Mary Poppins.

You pulled out a simple gold ball that had the Queen logo on it in a black glossy film.

“That’s cute. Can I put it on?”

You nodded your assurance, watched dreamily as he put in on the tree.

Part of you couldn’t help but picture a smaller, much younger version of Billy doing the very same thing. Maybe with his mother.

“What’re you thinkin’ about, hon?” Billy’s voice broke you out of your stupor.

“You. What Christmas might’ve been like for you when you were younger. I was gonna ask if you even like it at all or if you’re just doing this for me.”

Billy continued to decorate the tree, opening a pack of Scooby-Doo ornaments that he’d found the other day—all five of them and a small Mystery Machine.

“Hold out your hands.”

You did, and Billy placed the ornaments along your palms so he could slip hooks in them.

“I do like Christmas,” he started, put Velma on the tree. “It was just always an ordeal, you know? First with my mom and Neil and then Susan. What we were gonna eat, if we had the money for presents at all, if I deserved anything.”

Shaggy and Scooby went up. Then Fred.

“It was just miserable, I guess. Everything was always such a big fuckin’ deal. But I don’t know, I guess I liked the atmosphere, or some shit? I guess the world feels a little more calm this time of year, though I know it’s not.”

Daphne. The Mystery Machine.

“And when we were in California and had to go see the little bit of extended family that we had, it was always ‘Billy you better behave,’ or ‘Don’t be an disrespectful,’ or anything that made sure I wasn’t going to fuck things up.”

“So I don’t think I ever had a chance to enjoy it. Not until you.”

He was silent for a minute plugging the lights in on the tree. “I better not turn around to see you giving me those watery eyes.”

He spun around, locking eyes with you. “No dice, huh?”

You shook your head. “Can I have a hug?”

Billy didn’t respond, but scooped you up his arms anyways. “You can have a hug whenever you want, baby.” He pressed a warm kiss to your forehead.

Billy’s hugs were all-consuming, the kind where there isn’t anything else in the world except for him. He tucks his cheek against your temple, wraps one arm around your shoulders and the other your back, hands rubbing all over, running down places they shouldn’t.

“So you liked your ornament, really?” Your voice was muffled where you face nuzzled his neck, metal chain warm on your nose.

“Yes. I love it.” His hands found your face, pulling you up from the safety of his chest.

“I love you, you know. And I meant what I said about enjoying this with you. Because I am.”

You pushed your hands under his shirt, the fabric coming with it because of how your arms were raised, trying to leech the heat from him.

“Kiss?” Billy was using that sultry tone, the one that made his words all slow. The one he used to butter you up.

“You can have a kiss whenever you want, baby.” He rolled his eyes at your mimicking of his earlier words.

You planted your lips firmly against his, enough that he sighed into it, breath warm on your face. You kissed him once, twice, three times before you pulled away, looking up at him, his lashes kissing at the corners, frown lines forming because you’d let up.

“I love you too, you know,” you told him, and his mouth was back on yours within the second.

————

please let me know if you liked this! feedback is always appreciated!! comments and reblogs mean more than you know. <33

[tearfallpixie]

Make Mama Happy - Chapter 6

Tags: @nerdraging4point0 @thesazzb @synthetic-wasp-570 @circle-with-me @beaker1636 @itsjustemily @witchyweeb34 @agravemisstake @cookiesupplier @cncohshit @faceless-mirror @nonamessblog @yournecessaryevil @black-damask1999

@lyschko666 @vinyardmauro @skulliecadaver-blog @some-daniela @latenightmusiclover @rye14-blog1 @somewhere-diamond @Shilohrosechicken @abiomens @awkwardalex @miss570

“Mama Mauro! Thank you so much for inviting me.” Heather said, hugging Rosa when we walked in. Rosa hugged me next and pulled us both inside.

“Come in. Its so cold out there. I already have hot water on for coffee or hot chocolate.” She told us. We all went into the kitchen and got our drinks before going to the living room and sitting down. “How are you handling being without our Vincenzo dear? This is your first tour separated from him, right?”

“It is. I miss him every day but having Heather with me helps. Especially since she’s missing Ricky.” I murmured, hoping my voice sounded convincing.

“I’m sure calling him every day helps. He tells me how he misses you too.” I raised my eyebrows in shock.

“Uhm, yeah. It definitely helps. I’m ready for him to be home at the end of the week.” The words felt sour in my mouth, but I forced a smile and pretended that I was excited. How could I keep this up if every time we talked, we devolved into bickering about something stupid?

“I’m sure you are. Lets get this place decorated so when he comes home on Thursday he can be surprised.” She led us to the attic where we pulled down the boxes and took them to the living room. “Lets go ahead and pull down the Christmas tree but we wont put it up until Friday. Vinny has an issue with it being up before Thanksgiving.”

“Oooh. I like him even more now. I respect all the holidays and I hate seeing Christmas stuff overlapping.” I giggled. I pulled tinsel out of one of the boxes and wrapped it around the banister of the stairs, while Heather put a wreath up on the front door.

“What about you dear? Are you missing Rick?”

“Of course. Since they are ending their tour right before the holiday, I am flying to Washington Tuesday and meeting him there.” Heather told her.

“Well tell him we say hello and to have a wonderful holiday.”

“Will do Mama Mauro.” Next we decorated the fireplace with pumpkins and candles and while doing that Vinny called his mom.

“Hello Vincenzo! Nichole and Heather are here.” She exclaimed when she answered.

“Hello Vinny. I can’t wait until you are home.” I forced out.

“I can’t either baby. I could really use a hug right now. Hello Heather.” There was some shuffling in the background and an ‘oof’.

“Heather? Hi!” Ricky spoke. “I cant wait to see you Wednesday.”

“Hi Ricky, I miss you.” She giggled, making me roll my eyes. It was one thing for me to pretend to like Vinny but hearing her genuine sickening puppy love was worse.

“Hello Ricky.” I called and there was a pause.

“Hi Chole. How are you?” He said in a friendly tone.

“Oh just so wonderful. I miss you so much.” I fake sobbed.

“Haha. I miss you too brat.” There was an underlying hint of amusement in his voice and it made me smile. “Hey, sorry for stealing your girl for the holidays.”

“I guess I can let you have her for the weekend. But don’t expect me to be nice about it again.” The silence that followed that was awkward and I cocked my head.

“Baby, did you not tell her?” Rick asked.

“Tell me what?” My eyes flicked from the phone to Heather and she wore a guilty expression.

“Well, we decided that this year I would stay up there with him until the new year.” She said cautiously.

“That’s a month and a half.” I sputtered. “We always spend Christmas together!”

“I know. He’s parents asked though. Its just this year. Next year will be just us. I promise.” I shook my head in frustration.

“No, no! Its supposed to be us.”

“I thought with you seeing Vinny, that this year you would spend it with his family.” She explained, cautiously flicking her eyes at Rosa. I was about to pop off but bit my tongue.

“They don’t know me. It would be weird. I need some fresh air.” I muttered. I grabbed my jacket and dashed out the front door before they could say anything else. I pulled my hood up and walked down the street, enjoying the way the cool air burned my lungs. My phone rang and I glanced at it to see Vinny calling me but I really didn’t want to talk to him right now, so I hung up and turned my phone off.

~~~~

MM: I will see you at our place at 10am dear.

I groaned as Rosa texted me Wednesday morning. She made it clear that she would not take no for an answer even though I had tried to get out of thanksgiving dinner. I really didn’t want to talk to Vinny at the moment even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. He had been trying to contact me all weekend and I had been avoiding his calls.

N: I will be there. I promise.

I dreaded driving through the snow that had piled up over the last few days but Mama Mauro had spoken so I wasn’t about to piss her off. I put on a cute red velvet dress and grabbed my peacoat before going out to my car and driving to the house.

“I’m here.” I called when I entered the house. I heard shuffling in the kitchen and Rosa popped her head out.

“Oh perfect timing! Come in here and help me with these cookies, wont you?” I hung my coat up and joined her to see several different cookies laid out on the counter. There were peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodle, chocolate chip and plain cookies to decorate with frosting. “You don’t have any allergies, do you?”

“No ma’am.” She beamed and handed me a tray of different color frosting tubes to decorate with. We spent the morning decorating and chatting about Vinny getting home in a few hours making the time fly by. I had never decorated cookies before so I was absolute trash at it but I found myself laughing and enjoying the holidays more than I could ever imagine.

“Why don’t you visit your family for the holidays dear? You seemed very upset when Heather said she wouldn’t be around.” Rosa asked.

“My family and I don’t talk so she’s been my only family for the last 8 years. We always spend the holidays together so it just kind of hurt. I know I should let her go to Ricks place since they are getting serious and all but I’m just not ready to be alone.” I shrugged, putting a crappy smile on the pumpkin I was drawing.

“Well you are always welcome here.” I smiled but internally my heart was screaming. I was trying so hard to get back at Vinny for being an asshole to me that I was about to break his mothers heart. The door opening tore me from my thoughts and I set down the frosting I was currently using, brushing my hands off on a towel before heading to the front room. What I saw when I got there was a disheveled drummer who looked way too exhausted and was lugged down by three bags. The moment he saw me, they dropped to the floor.

“Vinny!” I exclaimed, running at him and throwing myself into his arms. I wrapped mine around his neck and his squeezed my waist, lifting me into the air. I knew his mom had followed me, so this was all for show

“I’ve missed you so much baby.” He said. I felt the floor returning to my feet and he pulled back a little before leaning the short distance down to press his lips against mine. I kissed back as best I could but forced it to end quickly.

“Vin, your mum.” I mumbled, trying to play it off. He let go of me and went over to Rosa, pulling her into a hug.

“Sorry mama.” He chuckled. “I missed you too.”

“It’s ok dear. I understand that you missed her more.” His mom laughed. “Why don’t you go up stairs and shower and then come back down to help us finish the cookies.” With a nod and a kiss to my cheek the drummer disappeared up the stairs.

[moonlightazriel]

Family habits /// A Elucien Fic

Summary: Lucien introduces Elain to his favorite solstice tradition.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 931

Notes: HEHEHEHEH guess who decided to write a Elucien gift just for you? This fic is a tiny Christmas gift for @fieldofdaisiies, it’s the least I can do for her after all she helped me go through. She is such a good friend, I love her really much. Everyone should have a friend like her. I really hope you like it.

Main Masterlist

The art used here do not belong to me, it belongs to Meabhd but I couldn’t find their social media to tag.

Solstice morning came, bringing a chill to Lucien’s spine. He got out of bed, on the tip of his toes as he walked to the kitchen, slowly pulling out the ingredients to prepare a chamomile tea and some pancakes. Elain’s favourite breakfast.

The sweet scent filled her nostrils, making her scrunch her eyebrows together as she opened her eyes. Lucien wasn’t in the room, so she followed the scent, finding her mate shirtless pacing around in the kitchen. Flipping pancakes and pouring tea on her mug.

“Good morning, handsome.” She greeted, making him turn to her, a few loose strands escaping the low bun he had made to keep his hair out of his eyes. He smiled at her.

“Morning, my sunflower.” He placed the mug and the pancakes in front of her, she happily sipped, moaning in delight.

“What are the plans for today?” She asked as Lucien sat in front of her, eating his own breakfast.

“I can’t tell yet, but dress warmly.” He winked, making the bubble with excitement and curiosity.

An hour later Elain was getting her gloves, a knitted hat gifted by his mom covering her head, a scarf matching her brown coat, cotton pants and high boots.

“You look beautiful, my love.” He greeted, wearing pretty much the same clothes as her, but his hands held a ribbon. “Now turn around.” He demanded.

Elain happily did so, the soft ribbon and his warm fingers brushed the sides of her face, and she felt herself go blind, the ribbon obstructing her vision.

“Now we are ready to go.” He whispered in her ear, grabbing her hand and winnowing away.

⋆˙⟡☾𖤓☽ ⟡˙⋆

Cold, that was the only thing she could tell about the place they were, winds roared, whipping her hair around, but she trusted him, trusted him with all she had. But curiosity was bigger than trust, forcing her to try and peek just a little.

She didn’t have to wait much longer as Lucien removed the ribbon, and she let the light set in. They were in a valley between snow covered mountains. Standing on the shore of a frozen lake, only the two of them were there. The place was beautiful.

“When I was a kid, solstice mornings meant sneaking out to Winter Court.” He reached for the bag she didn’t notice he was carrying. “Eris would get all of us here, so we could spend the morning together, without Beron’s grip on our throats.”

Lucien pulled out two pairs of ice skates, Elain looked at it even more curious than before.

“He taught us how to do it, it was our moment of freedom and happiness. Where my brothers could be themselves, without having to pretend.” He extended her hand, kneeling in front of her as she sat on a log, removing her boots. He helped her get into the ice skates, tying it for her.

He sat by her side, tying his own pairs, Elain was nervous, she never done that before but she wanted to try, it felt like a beautiful tradition.

“After playing for hours, he would sit us here, and we would share the cinnamon rolls he stole from the kitchen, and drink hot coffee.” Lucien got up, slowly sliding along the lake.

He moved graciously, a leaf going with the wind, he looked beautiful. His red hair flying behind him as he moved with his arms open, eyes closed and a small smile on his lips. Memories flooded his head and he let himself sink on them for a bit.

His eye opened, and he saw Elain watching him. He slid close to her, extending her arms for her. Elain slowly grabs, trying to get up on uncertain legs. Her whole body was shaking with both excitement and anxiety, afraid of falling.

“Please, Lucien. Don’t let me fall.” She begged as they went further closer to the center of the lake.

“I will never let you fall.” His voice was serious and Elain smiled happily, he never once let her fall, and he wasn’t about to start doing it now.

They soared over that lake, sliding around to the sound of the wind, Elain felt her heart swell with happiness, Lucien sharing his childhood with her meant a lot. Once she felt confident enough, she started to go on her own, but he always went close to her.

Hours passed by, and she loved every second of it. Lucien guided her back to the shore, and they sat there, watching nature and sharing cinnamon rolls and a mug of coffee.

“I can’t wait to share this with our children one day.” He blurted and she blushed, the thought of having kids with him always made her all red and giggly.

“I’m sure they will love it.” She reassured him. “I did.”

“You did?” He leaned closer to her.

“Thank you for sharing this with me.” She leaned more, closing the gap, his lips tasted like icing and coffee beans.

“Maybe we can do that again? Same time next year?” He suggested with a tint of hope lacing his features.

“Maybe we should invite your brothers, it’s a beautiful tradition to have, you should keep doing it.” He smiled at her.

“My beautiful mate, always with the best ideas. I love you so much.” He squeezed her hand.

“I love you even more, my sunshine.” She replied and Lucien blushed at the nickname. “Can we go again?” She inquired.

“The whole day, if you want to.” He got up, pulling her with him and going back to the lake.

[outsideratheart]

1 Decorating the tree with laia aleixandri

A/N: Day one of the Christmas advent calendar.

Laia had been dropping not so subtle hints at wanting you to spend Christmas in Spain with her since you put the Halloween decorations away. At first she started to talk about the future and how your Christmas’ would look together and then when her parents visited Madrid they just so happened to bring some photo albums with them. You were excited because you loved seeing photos of baby Laia but when you saw the cover of the album, the one which was covered in red and green and had a huge Christmas tree on the front, you knew Laia had brought in reinforcements.

In the end you said yes, it wasn’t as if she had to persuade you that much. All you wanted her to do was ask you and not drop hints. You needed to hear her say the question so that you knew it really was what she wanted.

You wasn’t sure what the rules are in Spain. When do they put up their trees, when do they start decorating the house? This was the first Christmas you would be spending in Laia’s apartment which was now technically your apartment too.

You had stayed back at training with Lola to practice set pieces whilst your girlfriend left at a reasonable time along with the rest of the team. You opted out of showering at the facility in favour of wanting to get home as soon as possible.

Safe to say the last thing you expected to see was Laia on the living room floor surrounded by every type of Christmas decorations.

“Baby, what are you doing? It isn’t even December or do the Spanish decorate in November” you tease as you steal a kiss before getting a glass of water from the kitchen.

“I’m decorating”

You salute for her for being captain obvious.

“You asked and we have training, you have that Cupra event in Barcelona then we play Seville the weekend of the 1st. Now is the only time we can do it”

They were valid points and it wasn’t that you didn’t want to decorate, it’s just that you had planned to spend the night of the sofa cuddling with your girlfriend.

You walk away to get a shower.

“Hey! You can’t leave me to do it alone. This is our apartment now” Laia stands and chases after you.

“Calm down Mi Amor. I’m sweaty so I’m going to shower. Care to join me?” With your arms around her waist, you pull her close.

“Y/N I have too much organising to do” she kisses your nose before running back to her place in the living room.

You can only laugh as you leave her to do her organising.

When you emerge from the bedroom half an hour later you are shocked to see double the amount of decorations.

“I may have only lived here for just over 10 months but where on earth have you been hiding all of this?” You move some of the stuff to the floor so you can sit on the sofa.

“I’d tell you but it’s where I hide your birthday presents so…” Laia pretends to zip her lips.

She then proceeds to give you a to do list. With your eyes wide you count 11 tasks.

“Build tree. Decorate the top of tree that my amazing girlfriend can’t reach” you raise your eyebrows are her self compliment “hang Christmas lights”

“Vale. You have a long list but it’s only the things I can’t do” Laia tries to defend herself.

“And you want all of this done by….”

“Tonight. Don’t look at me like that, we have a game tomorrow”

“Well then we better get started. I take it ‘put the Christmas music on’ is on your list?” You ask and Laia nods enthusiastically.

With a mixture of both English and Spanish music playing in the background you and Laia both work through you lists, laughing and joking around as you do so.

The last thing you both do is decorate the tree as this is something that you can do together. Laia opens the box full of decorations. Some of the baubles are basic and traditional, others are from Laia childhood that her parents had given her.

It takes 45 minutes to get the tree just right. You and Laia dramatically collapse on the sofa as you admire your hard work. The apartment was perfect, it wasn’t over the top but it definetly had the Christmas spirit.

“It’s perfect” Laia tells you as she snuggles into your side.

“Wait” you rush to your feet and run to the bedroom.

Laia hears you rumbling around in your draws and mumbling to yourself.

“One more thing to add to the tree” you open the box and show Laia.

Inside the box was a ball shaped bauble with the inscription ‘our first Christmas” with the year below it.

Laia places it at the front and in the middle of the tree so everyone can see it.

In the weeks that followed, Laia showed everyone the bauble and told them that you planned on starting your own collection and that this one was the first of many.

[absolutebloodychaos]

i just neeeeed bojan and kris being soft but sassy boyfriends🙏💅

Thanks @alainsthoughts so much for the ask, I loved writing this and I hope that you like it too:)

I did not mean to make this into a Christmas fic but hey, this is what happens when you listen to too much Mariah Carey in October.

I wrote most of this while listening to the Cher Chrismas album and it is absolutely fucking AMAZING. I was also listening to “Щедрик'' or “Carol of the Bells” which is my favourite Christmas carol.

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

It was Christmas Eve and the Cvjetiguštin household was getting ready for the holiday with vigour.

Due to their busy touring schedule, Bojan and Kris hadn’t had the opportunity to prepare for Christmas until now, but they were making the most of the time they had.

Mistletoe was being hung, baubles strung, tinsel wrapped, and trees decorated by the two men who were excited to spend their first holiday together as a proper couple.

Kris and Bojan had been pining over each other for years but both had finally caved and gotten together earlier that year around the same time as their first stadium show.

Each man was head over heels with the other and had moved in together pretty quickly, Bojan liked to joke that it had something to do with Kris’ lesbian like behaviour but in reality it was because they had known and loved each other for so long that there was no point waiting around anymore.

As their shared apartment was quite small, the decorating didn’t take much time, or shouldn’t have if Bojan hadn’t kept trying to wrap Kris up with tinsel or kept stopping every three minutes to hang a red bauble off of his nose and pretend to be a certain reindeer.

All the messing around made it more fun though, and Kris couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. 

The last few decorations were put up; the mistletoe taking ages as they kept on getting sidetracked by kissing every time they hung a new sprig, and the topper going on the top of the tree last, Kris boosting up the other man so that he could reach the top.

“I’m not actually that short you know,” Bojan said standing on Kris’ bent knee.

“You sure darling, I saw you struggling to hang the baubles on the higher branches,” Kris said with a smirk.

Bojan didn’t say anything once he got down, just gave the other man an adorable pout, but Kris could tell from the fact that he could see the other man trying not to smile that he didn’t mean it.

It took about twenty seconds before Bojan gave up and the pout slipped from his face, and for Kris to lean in and capture the shorter man’s lips with his own.

“Okay, you’re not that short, I do admit that we did get quite a tall tree but you know that I could have just put the topper on, I would have been able to reach,” Kris said as he pulled back to catch his breath after a few minutes.

“You can put your topper on me,” Bojan said with a lewd grin and Kris shook his head.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” he said with a fond look and another short kiss that would have been longer if they didn’t have other things to do that day.

“Come on, we’ve got a lot more to do today, I can’t cook my famous gingerbread that you love ever so much if I just spend the rest of the day here kissing you,” Kris said and he could see Bojan visibly weighing up his options.

“If you come with me to the kitchen I’ll let you decorate as many gingerbread people as you want, any way that you like, I won’t even stop you from making rude ones,” Kris said knowing that he’d won the argument.

Also, no one ever said that they couldn’t kiss more while they were baking; Kris had no doubt that by the time the biscuits were in the oven there would have been many kisses stolen between the two men.

Many gingerbread people were made over the next few hours, Kris’ ones resembling cute little fully dressed ordinary people, and Bojan’s more PG ones representing something out of a fever dream (others representing things that were less appropriate for public consumption).

“Bojan, surely you could have made some ones that we could give to other people,” Kris said with a fondly exasperated sigh.

“We could give these to other people, they might just get the wrong idea,” Bojan said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Kris smiled and wrapped the shorter man in his long arms.

“Yes, and we wouldn’t want that, would we,” he said and Bojan just gave him a suggestive look before leaning in for another kiss.

After the baking the next task was wrapping presents and the men wrapped their joint presents together having already wrapped the presents they were going to give to each other.

Over the next hour many presents piled up and were moved to be placed around the bottom of the recently decorated tree.

This year everyone had agreed that Christmas was to be celebrated at Kris and Bojan’s house, and their friends would be arriving the next day for lunch and presents.

But that afternoon and evening were spent just the two of them, cuddled up in bed with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, watching some of their favourite Christmas movies; Die Hard, Home Alone, White Christmas and Meet Me In Saint Louis.

The next day Kris and Bojan woke up wrapped in each other’s arms and lovingly made out until they decided it was time to exchange presents.

Kris among other things had gotten Bojan a necklace and matching bracelet to replace his beloved chain that had snapped a month previous during a particularly energetic gig.

In turn he received many presents from his boyfriend with his favourite being a scrapbook full of memories from their lives together, most memorable being the diary entry Bojan had made the first day that they’d met and pictures from the day they first got together.

A while later they left bed to have breakfast and start getting ready for when the others would come over later.

Lots of food was made, too much probably given that Jure, Jan and Nace had all promised to bring a dish along too, but that just meant that there would be good leftovers for the week ahead.

Bojan set the table as Kris pulled the last things out of the oven and the finishing touches were made just before both men heard the doorbell ring, revealing their friends covered in snow from the trip over to the apartament.

“We bring gifts!” Jure said with a grin and Kris ushered them all inside with a short but sincere hug for each man, telling them to put food in the kitchen and drop presents under the tree.

Bojan, who had just finished getting ready in the bedroom came out and seeing the lingering traces of snow on his guests clothes bolted out the door quickly greeting his friends and then yelling “SNOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!” with Kris trailing closely behind.

The second he got outside Bojan practically reverted back into being a child, making snowballs and snow angels, and trying to create a snowman.

“Love, you should probably come back inside, you’re going to catch a cold,” Kris said but with a sweet smile and love shining from his eyes.

Bojan ran over and took Kris’ hand, dragging him out of the warm doorway into the cold of the snow, and Kris loved the look of pure wonder and happiness that decorated the other man’s face.

“Okay, in a minute, let’s just enjoy this for now though,” Bojan said and pulled Kris into a kiss while the snow fell lightly around them, decorating each man’s eyelashes with the small white flakes.

Kris knew that this was the first of many similar Christmases to come, and he couldn’t wait to spend each and every one of them with the man he loved.

[xxsycamore]

—𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳'𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨

► SYNOPSIS:

Jin wakes up in your shared bed and reminisces about the events leading to you and him getting together.

But is the other side of the bed truly not empty, just like he remembers it being after many nights spend under the sheets with someone?

[Part two of Mine For A Christmas Night.]

▍jin x reader (not belle) ▍rating: M for implied sexual content ▍tags: Drama & Romance; plot for a multichapter fic told in just two parts; possible spoilers for jin's route; Getting Together; First Kiss; Sharing a Bed; Some Humor; Pillow Fights; Fake/Pretend Relationship; Alcohol; Implied Sexual Content; Morning After ▍wordcount:  2,307

▍masterlist

▍a/n:  Welcome to the multichapter fic that never happened. I'd love it if you tell me if this made you feel like you've been reading it for a long time! This "accidental plot" thing went too far... The previous part left out too many unanswered questions, and for the people who were asking for more, I decided to write a proper ending. Special tags for @leonscape @randonauticrap @pieground

It's my final fic for the year and I want to use the chance to thank you for all the support in 2022. If you're here, no matter if just for this fic or maybe for every one before that, Thank you.

Written for mine and @voltage-vixen’s ‘Tis The Season For Love challenge! PROMPT: "Those clichéd traditions are exciting for me, now that I have you."

Light penetrates into the room through the open blinds in the late morning.

Jin didn't bother to shut them the night prior; either he was too used to the gray skies of late December being unable to shake him from slumber as they were; or, he simply had other things on his mind while making his way to the bed last night. Of course, the answer is the latter, the unforeseen sunny morning of New Year's having nothing to do with it. But he wishes he could turn the sun off for the sake of another five minutes of shuteye. It's tough to have the motivational rays of the fresh beginning of the year pouring down on you when you're hungover, and his arm is getting numb way too fast when he uses it to block the light. He rolls over.

In the bits of his mind that are sober and awaken, he thinks about his approach; you should be right there next to him in this very moment, a breath away. You're very, very quiet, even if his ears buzz with enough noise to block out your soft sleeping breather. He doesn't want to open his eyes yet, he's not prepared to face you in your full morning glory, freshly made love to and with his marks all over your skin. He'd do something awfully out of his character and lose his wits; maybe retreat under the sheets, or stare dumbfounded, or be very, very quiet. All of it stuff that he hasn't faced in the course of his, erm, abundant experience of bedding someone.

He doesn't mind discovering new sides of himself; new year new me or something? He doesn't want to get reminded first thing in the morning of motivational quotes he's heard around the palace or the faces attached to them, not yet.

And last night, well, that's another story. Jin could stay in bed all day, connecting the pieces between one vivid scene and the other in the reel of his mind. The alcohol in his system failed to wipe out anything related to you, and lucky him, his whole world revolved around you last night. Just as it has been the day prior, and the other, backwards on the calendar to one fateful Christmas night and then some more.

He grins into the palm of his hand as he tries to rub some awakeness into his eyelids. He did put his mouth on yours last night as the fireworks set off in a picture perfect first kiss, too bad that you already shared one before that. He had commented out loud a few times now, how he was hoping to rewrite that memory for you. But deep down you both know that that kiss in the tavern was special in its own way.

He now allows himself to look back on it with a different taste in his mouth. Things start to have shapes as he remembers the empty tavern after closing time when he stayed until late in the night to help you out, as promised. The blinds were shut and you were isolated from everything beyond the four walls of the tavern, and it's easy to forget how life goes on out there. In one second he was laughing together with you, in the next, your chin was caught in his hand. Lips meeting lips. A miscalculated spur of impulsivity, as it is normal for those to play out. Not short enough to call it an incident, with both parties prolonging the act. As confusing as it was for him, he understood not to linger as you gazed away from him and bid him goodnight.

It's not like all of these days were having this bittersweet aftertaste about them, on others Jin found it way easier to sleep at night. On one, chasing after you here in the palace had been quite tiring, as his brothers kept showing you things around. Those who were willing to, anyway. No, he was glad that you showed some interest in the life of the royal palace, slipping in role as his partner for the course of the tour. You told him that night, that you had a great day and then cut the conversation short. Then a barrier of pillows was assembled in the middle of the bed you were rightfully expected to share with him.

Somehow, he was able to make it up to you - about that kiss and all that. Turns out being honest and admitting his on you crush was maybe the right thing to do. He explained about the plan with the pretend date being his way of testing if what he felt for you was really love. Which, it is. He let himself slip too, opened up about some things, about old tales of forbidden love and how they might not be so old, after all. He's just thirty, mind you.

He didn't mean to make you cry for him. Heck, he didn't even expect you to look at him with anything other than hatred.

The wind has been harsh that day, and the sky darkened, but snow never fell.

You were clutching hard into the fuzzy inside of his warm coat as if instead of hugging him you wanted to curl up and disappear whole into it. He found it adorable, but he also wanted you two to be even, so he hurried to take you back into the palace where it's warm. He'd opened up a whole lot already and it looked as if you had some old tales of your own to share. Maybe over a cup of your tea of your choice, granted that they have it in the palace's kitchen. And the possibility was high.

It felt like more than a week.

If his brothers thought they saw him the most triumphal he's ever been in his life when he walked with you under his arm on the grand Christmas ball, they had to see him doing the same but on New Year's eve. Well, they were told to expect that, but why would they? As unbelievable as your relationship was at the beginning, the moment the champagne purposefully flew from your glass directly on Jin's clothes, they had abandoned all hopes for something to come out of it. Not that those hopes were theirs to begin with. They only cared so much because Jin made a big deal out of finally settling down, for some reason.

On New Year's eve, you shined with more than the intricate jewels adorning your form. It was either very real and Jin had found his perfect partner, or, maybe it was the perfect partner for his little theater. The conspirators went on through the whole night, with the majority of the princes joining forces to prove that this absurdity is but a game, and they were the audience soon to be tricked into falling for it. Even Chevalier would reasonably refuse to be laughed at by Jin of all people, simply because he was asked his opinion of the legitimacy of all of this, and he gave a positive answer. Yves tried a roundabout way to nudge you into tactically giving him a sign if you've been made to do something against your will. You were either dumb or you were really enjoying yourself in Jin's company.

By the time it got late into the night, all seven of them were working together for the mutual goal. They knew their time was running out the less remained of the year; and by the time the fireworks went off and they witnessed a kiss on a remote corner of the large terrace from their makeshift hiding spots, Leon silently told the rest to leave the two alone. The expressions on their faced varied from regret for the lost time to disappointment to full shock, but there were some genuinely relieved ones.

Of course, Jin knows all of that because Leon already shared it all, finding it hard to keep this brilliant comedy to himself. There'd hardly be a second chance of hearing about Chevalier joining the bunch in hiding behind tall potted plants. It was the only five minutes Jin spend away from you that night, and even after the good laugh he still missed you.

The rest of the celebration was nice. After that, it only became nicer.

The pillow barrier was dissembled in a show of flying feathers and a play-fight that started more clothed than it ended. Mutually disarmed from your pillows, you both knew that there must be a better thing for two adults to do while drunk on New Year's night. Especially if they were inlove. The first few steps of this dance Jin was familiar with. The rest, you had to show him.

Laugher rumbling deep into his throat and accompanied by the hints of raspy morning voice, Jin realizes he's producing sounds loud enough to wake you. It's time to face the consequences of being inlove, no more hiding.

His lashes flutter as he struggles to focus his eyes in the way too bright room, but soon they're open. The first thing Jin sees by his side is…nothing at all. The bed looks as if noone at all has slept in there during the night other than Jin himself.

Panic creeps its way into his now fully awakened senses, and he raises up his body enough to scan over the room. You're nowhere to be found. His bare toes touch the cold tiles beneath as he pays no attention to where his slippers might have been kicked to, and he's diving in the cold world of his morning reality as unforgiving as he remembers it. Empty bed. The coldness of crossing the room without a single article of clothing on your body, but said coldness coming from inside out.

Maybe it was all another miscalculation, an impulse. Jin and you had become a real couple, something amidst it all, with a proper asking out on his end like he's never done before. You had agreed without much thought; an answer coming from the heart maybe, or maybe just an equal spur of impulse on your end as on his. The morning is wiser than the night and the latter always seemed to be when the two of you took most of your decisions. It's doomed to end like that.

"Jin, are you awake?"

The way the door was opened in one precise, silent motion, it's normal that Jin didn't hear anyone entering. The creaking of its closing which accompanied that question is what got to his ears. And the question was dressed in your voice, an unmistakable sound for his ears. Strong enough to pull him out of this delirium he created in his head.

"You are…"

"Late for morning cuddles, I know. Don’t fret, I'm sure you'll get your cuddles one of these mornings… I plan on keeping waking up here, after all."

Jin stares at you propping yourself on the armrest of the sofa, holding your cup to your mouth with both hands and enjoying the scent of the freshly brewed warm liquid inside. He feels like he can't talk anymore, or at least cannot say anything of matter right now.

"Did I, uh…ask for morning cuddles?"

"What, you don't remember?"

Jin's eyes follow the cup as it's being set on the nearby table, and in the next second warm hands wrap around his sides. When did you get this close?

"Don’t be so dense now! Here, you can have a hug for starters."

This is all a little too much for his heart; emotions fighting each other inside him but none of the negative kind. It's still not enough to keep him upright, and it's good that the bed is right there behind him.

"Oof!"

Your fall is saved in the extra softness of his chest and the bed underneath. Jin giggles first, surrendering to the absurdity of the situation. He really just thought here for a second that you abandoned him, when in reality, you probably woke up first and sneaked out of your warm bed for your favorite tea that you cannot resist. He keeps your head pressed down to his front because that's enough running away for the morning.

You giggle too, between struggles to get out of his gasp, and it only results on you coming up to the level of his face.

It's a kiss that noone has to think much of beforehand. Yet Jin puts it on hold, sucking on a breath. He discovers that he misses a damn lot of pretty sights of you up close while busy kissing you.

"Are you sure about that? If you stay here with me, you'll have to attend a bunch more of those banquets. Christmas, New Years, these are just a small portion of the occasions… it gets old after awhile. And all the stuff that comes with them, too. Traditions, customs…"

"Shhh, Jin." You put your finger in front of his lips, catching his mouth frozen while it stays in an "o" shape. "Quiet. Those clichéd traditions are exciting for me, now that I have you."

His lips tickle your finger as he moves his mouth, unable to keep shut after such remark.

"Liar."

You're done playing this game with him. You'd rather save your energy for all the little things you'd need to get him used to in a normal, proper relationship - with nothing pretended this time! And it was just yesterday when he was the one teaching you how to carry yourself as his girlfriend around the palace. Satisfied with the entertaining way the tables seems to have turned, you're now going to resume the kiss, and Jin better not have anything more to say right now.

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[eyesfromhell]

The bad sweet ending of Leverage: Redemption S2E7 "The Big Rig Job"

If you don't remember the episode, here's a summary:

There's a trucking company run by Nick Stewart who was a Santa guy, who loved his workers and every Christmas donated toys to orphans.

Fast forward a few years later right before Christmas, Nick is long dead and his children run the company, doing bad labor practices and running guns for the mob. The Leverage crew learn this and try to squeeze in a job right before their Christmas plans - Harry going on vacation with his daughter and Breanna and Parker going to visit Nana.

During the job they meet Janice, Nick's lover who still donates toys to orphans and dislikes Nick's children's treatment of the workers.

The job takes too long and they decide to spend Christmas eve together as a Family instead of on a plane going to see their families. They also send the bad guys to prison and make Janice into CEO of the company, so she can treat the workers well. The final shot of the episode is of the crew entering a building together as Family with Christmas cheer.

I have two problems with this ending, that requires you to agree to three points:

1) the ending is supposed to be a good and sweet ending - it's easier to watch the final 2 minutes of the episode than to read the explanation, but basically Janice and the Victim are grateful to the crew, and then there's a shot of Sophie smiling and Parker and Breanna skipping, with a backdrop of Christmas lights.

2) the problems in the episode were created by the good owner's death - it's also pretty obvious from the text. Nick was a good owner, he died, his children inherited the company, and they turned it shady.

3) it's good for the crew to be with their family - this one I have to prove, but you might not agree with me. Lots of episodes end with the crew hanging out, because they're Family and they love each other. But the characters should also make time for their loved ones, right? I'm not saying the crew hanging out during Christmas or Thanksgiving is bad, but this episode specifically said they're together instead of their original plans to be with their families. There are two empty seats at Nana's table and Harry's daughter probably expected her father to snowboard with her. You could argue that Nana sent them pies and they'll see her at New Year's Eve, and that Harry was joining his daughter on her vacation instead of taking her on vacation, but I still think a good ending would've been them going to see their families.

My first problem is this: they didn't solve the problem in the episode. Janice will one day die and her successor could once again hurt employees and smuggle guns. Not only that, this episode specifically says a good boss doesn't prevent problems. Unlike other episodes with a Bad Boss&Good Employee, where by the end the Boss goes to jail and the Employee becomes boss, where you're encouraged to assume it's good that the Employee is in charge, here the text of the episode says it's not the end, and yet there's a heartwarming ending. They delayed the problem by a few years and have the Christmas equivalent of walking into the sunset.

My second problem is they missed seeing their family on a major holiday to spend time with their co-workers. The good ending of them hanging together forgets how excited Parker was to see Nana and how Harry really wanted to snowboard with his daughter. There isn't much to add beyond what I wrote in (3).

This episode is just very emblematic of a big problem with Leverage: Redemption - they are aware the systems aren't good, with how many corrupt CEOs and politicians and grifters they take down, and their constant talk about how the System failed the Victims and allowed the Bad Guys to continue their bad behavior, but they can only take down one Bad Guy at a time and can't change the system. Most episodes pretend to have a good ending when the episode's problem could just happen the next day. The characters know there is a problem, know what the problem is, want to help and have the ability to help, but the show can't let them.

(Leverage was also very aware the systems aren't good, but they were led by Nate who hated Bad Guys more than he liked helping people, so the problem didn't exist as much)