#now his mom is asking who his gym buddy is

[johnlockdynamic]

medical emergencies reveal true colors more than anything else right .

[clarissesrealwife]

Sub tomboy reader x soft Dom! Abby or Hazel

Rest is up to you! 💗

Tell ur girlfriend☆

A/n - yall this MIGHT suck but js work with me okay😢😢(there's a cliffhanger but I promise there will be pt.2🥳🥳)

Warnings - breakups, making out, cheating🌚, reader has a bf, arguing

Summary - you and hazel were originally js study buddies in relationships but things escalated...

Last month you had realized your grades were dropping, thinking nothing of it you continued your life as normal. But last week you had failed your history test, this resulted in a hour long lecture from your parents and a long call with your best friend hazel who offered to help you with your work everyday after school.

"So we still studying tonight?" Hazel asks as you two walk to hazels next class "yeah of course!" You reply. Your about to say something else when Hazel's girlfriend(Mia) walks over, Taking hazels hand in hers while standing on her tippy toes to give Hazel a kiss on her cheek, she's so annoying I don't understand how Hazel puts up with her I just wish she would breakup with her alre-

Your thoughts are interrupted by your boyfriend hugging your waist from behind "hey babe" he says while kissing your cheek.

"oh hey! I heard you got a A on your test?" You question playfully while turning around to face your boyfriend of 7 months.

"Yeah I did and my mom said as a reward we're going out of town for the weekend so I don't think we can hangout tomorrow" you could tell he was hiding something or atleast wasn't telling you the full story but you didn't want to question him about it right now as you had to finish your conversation with hazel.

"Oh well I have to go talk to haz-" your words slow down as you turn around and don't see hazel anywhere. mia must've taken her to makeout.

"Nevermind I guess her and Mia left. Wanna walk me to class?" You ask Lucas.

"Of course babe".

After your last class was finally over you decided to go and wait outside the gym as you know she has a fight club or whatever they call it after school.

30 minutes and it's finally over. Hazel walks out and you call her over as she didn't see you.

"Hey haze! You ready to go?" You ask her while slightly tilting your head in a questioning way.

"Yeah let's go I have lots of homework to do".

"Shit" Hazel says while searching her backpack as if she's lost something.

"What's wrong haze?" You ask as your getting worried by the expression on her face.

"I just forgot my phone in the gym" she says while leaning back into the seat. You start admiring her, wondering how some 3/10 girl who is to "girly" in ur opinion pulled a gorgeous 10000/10 women who you would let do anything to you

Your slowly processing her words as your to focused on her facial features. But once it finally hits you your quick to offer getting it for her.

"I could go get it" you say a little to fast, fast enough she giggled while saying "Yeah that's fine with me".

A little flustered, you get out the car and go back into the building as it was still open.

Walking to fast for your legs liking you finally reach the gym. After 3 minutes of searching you find the familiar phone that you've seen and used many times as you have a habit of forgetting to charge yours.

Just as your about to walk out you hear people talking. As a natural instinct of a person who has social anxiety you decided to stay there until they leave.

2 minutes have passed and they're still there. You started actually listening 30 seconds ago as you realized it was your boyfriend, Lucas and his friends.

"Shes kind of stupid I don't know why she would belive something like that" one of Lucas's friends say. Assuming they're talking about someone else's girlfriend you continue to listen.

"Yeah honestly I didn't think it was gonna be that easy. I'm just excited to hangout with Maddie tomorrow" You recognize this voice, This is a voice you've talked to many times, A voice you trust, no trusted because you realize this is your boyfriends voice your hearing.

Although tears are beginning to form in your eyes you continue to listen as you want to get the full story.

Another 4 minutes and they finally leave. You open the door to the gym slightly and look around to make sure no one is there. When confirmed you walk to the main school doors. Quickly jogging to Hazel's car.

"Here" you say bluntly as you hand Hazel her phone. "What's wrong y/n?" Hazel says as she tucks a peice of your hair behing your ear.

"Can we talk about this later?" You say as you look into her eyes. Your eyes are red so she can obviously tell you've been crying.

After a few seconds of her debating whether to drop it or not she decideds she'll just bring it up later at your house

It's been 2 hours and hazel had just finished her last sentence for her homework. You on the other hand finished it in 30 minutes. Scrolling on tiktok waiting untill she's done. She finally says "I'm finished!".

"God that took forever" you say while rolling your eyes. "Shut up you love my company" she says while pushing ur chest away in a playful way.

It was just silent for a while after that, nobody knew what to say or maybe they were just preparing themselves for what was next to be said.

"So what happened ealier" Hazel said quietly, you almost didn't hear her, but you did which means you had to answer.

"Hes cheating on me" You say with a loud sigh.

"WHAT WITH WHO?!?" Hazel practically screams. You slightly luagh at her loudness untill you remember what this conversation is about.

"With Maddie" You slightly shift so you're in a more comfortable position on the bed

"Really? I didn't even think they talked"

"Me neither, but here we are"

It's silent.

Not an akward kind of silence though.

One that makes you want to go to sleep.

The one that makes everything okay.

You find comfort in the silence with hazel.

Untill she speaks up.

"I'd never do that to you" she whispers. Your face heats up what did she mean by that you wonder, but right now your main focus is making sure she doesn't see how red your face is.

"What do you mean?" You question while sitting up, putting all ur weight on your elbows while staring at her, trying to keep eye contact but she just won't look at you.

"Cheat. I wouldn't cheat on you" She finally looks at you. But all of a sudden your confidence dissappears and you lay back down and turn away from hazel.

Hazel doesn't like that and grabs you so you're facing her again. You're both laying on your sides staring at eachother. Your eyes flick to her lips and back up God I hope she didn't see that . "Whatcha thinking about?"

"You"

[luveline]

if you’re up to it!! maybe a single dad!steve w twins? i cant stop thinkin about one of your posts saying he’d have a really rambunctious lil girl and a sweet shy lil boy 🥺 maybe a meet cute with r? or the lil boy warming up to r and letting her hold him for the first time? idk!! also no worries at all if you’re not feeling this! just thought i’d throw it out there okay ilysm mwah

thank you for your request, this was so fun, and I'd been thinking about the twins for a little while now so it was fun to actually write them!! ♥︎ single dad!steve x fem!reader 2.2k

"Sarah," Steve says loudly, "you gotta hold my hand, or we'll have to go home." 

Sarah's eyes widen and she grabs for Steve's bigger fingers. Her palm is sticky with ice cream. No part of her remains unscathed from the disastrous dairy — her blue dress is now purple in splotches, bubblegum ice cream stains like fingerprints, and her blonde hair is darker towards the tips where she'd accidentally leaned into her sundae. Steve doesn't mind, she looks like she enjoyed herself, and her little sighs of joy had proven it, but he worries other people will look at her and think he isn't looking after her properly. 

He's lucky in some ways to be a single dad instead of a single mom. Most people commend him for doing the bare minimum. He's a saint for 'giving mommy a break'. Oh, please, he thinks, rolling his eyes internally each time. 

"But, how come Charlie doesn't have to hold your hand?" she asks, pouting at the injustice of it all. 

"Your brother does need to hold my hand," Steve says. 

"He's holding onto your pants, dad," she grumbles. 

It would be more accurate to say Charlie is hiding behind Steve's pants, rather than holding them. 

He frowns. "Come on, buddy," he says softly, stroking the downy hair from Charlie's face. "It's alright. We're gonna go on the swings." 

His mentioning of the playground has Sarah's hand straining in his. She tugs her small family with huge willpower down the path until the top of the swingset and jungle gym are in sight, and she lets go of Steve's hand. Steve grabs her as kindly as he can. 

"Hey," he says, leaning down. His backpack shifts against his back, their water bottles no doubt crushed under the weight of their coats and lunchboxes. "What's the rules, Sar-bear?" 

She fizzes up like a can of soda as he brushes sticky strands of hair behind her ears. "Um, to be nice. And to not go where you can't see us, and," —she pauses as Steve wipes her mouth, the old spirit and polish marring his shirt sleeve— "to, uh…" 

"To be careful," he finishes for her pointedly. 

"Yes!" she agrees. 

Steve would ask for a kiss here but Sarah's already jumping on tip toes to give him one, her little kiss print more spit than anything else against his bottom lip. He snorts.

Sarah rushes through the gates and Steve and Charlie follow. There's only one other parent at the playground, a mom with a book in her hands and a stroller by her knees, a child Steve assumes to be hers swinging on the swingset. It's too many people for Charlie regardless, not half as eager as his sister.

Steve sits on the bench opposite the jungle gym where Sarah's already climbing, and Charlie holds his arms up to be lifted into his lap. He does so obligingly.

"You don't wanna play?" Steve murmurs warmly in his ear. 

"No," Charlie says succinctly. He's adorable. 

"I can push you on the swings?" 

"Not for now," he says. 

The twins are at mostly all the same developmental milestones. They sound clumsy when they talk, but they talk, big vocabularies and sentences that make Steve well up because they're getting older so quickly. Sarah tells stories like nobody's business. They're good enough to capture even her brother's attention, full of animals and magic and people. Charlie likes listening, will sit enthralled at her feet, and most people who meet him think he's quiet because his sister is so loud, but it's not true. Charlie likes to talk too, he's just timid. Only at home does he come out of his shell, playing out scenes with imaginary characters, singing gibberish karaoke at the top of his little lungs. 

Steve doesn't mind that Charlie's shy around others. He's grateful to see his baby boy's loud side at home. He wishes Charlie would put himself out there, though, for his own sake. 

"The little boy won't mind," Steve insists. "Come on, baby, it'll be fun. We don't wanna sit here watching Sarah all day, do we?" 

Charlie tips his head back against Steve's chest. "I like Sarah." 

Steve laughs, an extreme affection warming his heart. He wraps his arms around Charlie's front and rubs his baby's head with the tip of his nose. 

"I like Sarah, too," he says. His smile is audible and catching. 

They sit there for a while. The sun shines down, the sky a bright blue and dotted with eggshell clouds. Sarah races over rope fixtures and spring boards until she finally reaches the monkey bars. Steve regrets letting her up there when he realises how tall it is and how small she is, shepherding Charlie with him to stand at the side. 

"Daddy," she says, clearly pleased at his arrival and talking with near factual efficiency, "I need your help." 

"Yes you do, honey." 

He puts his arms out. She grabs one bar and tests it to see how her weight will feel, her bottom lip disappearing between white shiny baby teeth. 

"You want me to hold your waist?" he asks knowingly. 

"I think so." 

"I think so too." He holds her waist, her legs against his chest, and tries not to make it too obvious that he's holding the majority of her weight. "Have a go, honey. One hand at a time." 

Sarah 'swings' from handhold to handhold until she gets to the other end of the bars, where she uses his chest to push herself up onto the metal floor. She cheers and rushes to sit down at the top of the slide. 

Charlie stands at the bottom. Steve has to pluck him from in front of it before Sarah rockets her Mary Jane's into his chest, which makes Sarah laugh and cheer even more. 

"Woah, Charlie! I almos'd kicked your face!" 

"You want a turn?" Steve asks him. "We'll use the other side to go on the slide, should we?" 

Sarah had chosen the hard way up to the slide via monkey bars. Charlie takes the easier side, a gentle wooden ramp with a rope for him to hold onto. He climbs to the top of the slide, sits happily at the precipice, wind ruffling the hair out of his bright eyes, and Steve thinks he's going to be brave for a moment. 

Charlie looks at Steve worriedly. "You'll catch me at the end?" 

"Yeah, I'll catch you." 

Charlie slides down to the end, the metal squeaking under his pants, and Steve catches him before his feet can hit the floor as promised. 

Sarah is ecstatic, already at the top waiting for another turn. "Go Charlie!" she shouts, pushing down and slamming into Steve's knees at the end. 

"Excuse me?" 

Steve turns, one kid clinging to his chest, the other his legs. 

You're standing at the gate with a stack of fliers in your arms. Steve's worried he's about to get cold called, thinks, wow, she's a little too pretty to be selling vacuum cleaners curbside, as you hold out a flyer. 

"I'm looking for my friend's cat," you say. "I'm really sorry to interrupt you. Her name's Evangeline and she's orange. She's kinda chubby. Have you seen her?" 

Charlie's pressing his face as far into Steve's neck as physics will allow him to while Steve draws closer to you. His breath warms Steve's skin in hot puffs. 

"I don't think we have. Did you see a cat today, Sar-bear?"

Sarah holds her arms up for a flyer. A smile flickers across your face, and Steve can tell you're immediately indoctrinated into the Sarah fan club. She has this charm about her that can get just about anyone on her side, even Hopper. 

It helps that she's beautiful. Steve will admit to parental bias, sure, but Sarah is gorgeous. 

"Thank you," she says, mumbling but not shy as you give her a flyer of her own. 

LOST CAT, the poster says. PLEASE CALL THIS NUMBER IF YOU SEE ME. I AM VERY FRIENDLY. EVANGELINE, SEVEN YEARS OLD, GINGER. I DONT BITE BUT PLEASE DONT PET MY TUMMY, IM PREGNANT.

"Oh no," Steve says.

"Daddy, what does it say?" Sarah asks, pert nose wrinkling in confusion. 

"It says," he begins, "that she's a really nice cat, and she's about to be a mommy." 

"Ohh… I didn't see'd her today." 

"No, I didn't think so." Steve's arms are aching from holding Charlie for so long, but knows from experience he won't be put down. Steve doesn't bother trying it, just shifts Charlie on his hip to encourage his gaze to you where you're standing, patient and a smidge awkward. 

"How about you? Have you seen any cats today?" he asks Charlie. 

Charlie peeks up from Steve to assess you. You're wearing jeans and a dark green jacket, unzipped. There's a smiley face on your t-shirt, black against grey-white. Charlie sees this, sees the very real, very gentle smile you wear on your lips, and relaxes just a touch.

"I don't remember, sorry," he says quietly.

You visibly weaken. Steve gets it. His kids are ridiculously lovely. 

"Don't be sorry, babe," you say sweetly, leaning down to meet his eyes. "Can I ask you for a favour?"

Steve rubs his back. Charlie nods. 

"Could you keep an eye out for me, would that be okay? We don't want Eva to have her kittens by herself. Maybe if you see her daddy can call the number on the poster?" 

You look to him with a different kind of smile. 

"Sure we will!" Sarah says, eyes fixed on the black and white photo of Evangeline.

You fish a pen out of your pocket. "Maybe you could call me." You smile. "You know, if you find her." 

Steve blinks. It takes a second for his body to remember how to talk to girls, pretty girls who want to talk to him. It's been a while. 

"Uh, sure." He hates himself. He can still save it. "What's the reward?" 

He can't save it. 

"If you find Evangeline? We were hoping whoever helped get her home would do it from the goodness of their heart, but I think I could make an exception." Your eyes flit between the twins. You scribble down something Steve can't see on a new poster and offer it to Charlie with an encouraging nod. "Hey, thank you. Any help at all means the world. You guys go on and have a good day, alright? Thanks, handsome." 

"You're welcome," Steve says, a millisecond after he realises you'd been talking to Charlie. 

You laugh and wiggle your fingers at his kids. You're gone as quick as you came down the stone path to the ice cream parlour. 

Steve's boiling. It isn't from the sun. 

"What'd she write, daddy?" Sarah asks. 

He tears his eyes from your retreating figure and lowers Charlie to the ground with a tired groan. He sits on the end of the slide and the twins follow him as they always do, like magnets since the days they learned to crawl. They all squeeze on the end of the slide together. 

"Can I see yours, bud?" he asks.

Steve puts Charlie's flyer on top of his own. Next to Evangeline's chunky body, you've written a tightly packed message. Your handwriting looks like your voice sounds. Steve doesn't know how to explain it. 

You've put down your phone number. Under it, you've written a sloping message: 

find her and maybe we can celebrate! ♥︎ 

"Dad?" Sarah prompts. 

"Oh, right. It says if we find the cat we can celebrate."

"What's 'celebrate'?" 

"Uh, we can celebrate, we can have a reward and a little party."

"A party?" Sarah asks with a gasp. 

"Well, not always?" he says, his heart still pattering from the sight of your number. 

It's too late to amend what he's said. Sarah's heard party, and she wants a party, though her definition of what a party is inaccurate. She thinks parties with Aunt Robin are better than Christmas, movies and popcorn and jiffy pop and Depeche Mode singalong. 

"Dad, we have to find that cat!" 

Steve's thinking the same thing. Any excuse to call you is one he wants to take, not just because you'd been pretty, but because you'd seen him and the kids at the same time. He doesn't wanna be presumptuous, maybe you write your number on all the posters, but even as he thinks it he doubts it. 

Your biro heart feels like a beckoning. 

Or Steve's an idiot. It wouldn't be the first time he was.

"Can we go look, dad?" Charlie asks. 

Steve has a lot of chores waiting for him at home, laundry and dishes and bills he has to do over the phone. He doesn't have time to look for a wandering cat, even if you were super pretty, and you'd talked to the kids like they were golden, and the smile you'd given him at one point felt heavy with something unspoken… 

"Let me get my bag," he says, standing up. "You guys are gonna need your jackets if we're staying out. It's getting cold." 

The twins rush to join him. 

—

my requests are open so if you'd like to see more of steve and the twins let me know, hopefully they can find poor evangeline! and if you enjoyed please consider reblogging, it means the world <3<3<3<3

[cevansbrat0007]

How would aj and Andy feel if his friends call his mom a milf ( gp!reader) aj is in his teens

Summary: You're a wife, a mother, and apparently...a MILF.

Warnings: Fluff, Female Objectification, Mentions of Violence, Cursing, Minors DNI

A/N: This drabble is part of my Growing Pains Series. All mistakes are my own. Likes, Comments, and Reblogs are appreciated. ___

"Dude! It was just a joke, bro!" The young man sputters as his friend, A.J. Barber, unceremoniously thrusts his gym bag and water bottle into his arms. "I wasn't being serious."

A.J. simply shakes his head as he brushes by his buddy, Max, to open the door before gesturing for him to step outside.

"DUDE!"

"That was my mom, man. My MOM!" The younger Barber huffs, pointing an accusatory finger at Max. "And I don't know how old she is because I'm afraid to ask. I saw my Dad do it one time and it did not go well, okay? But she's not - she's so not a...a..."

A.J. trails off, visibly shuddering as he's unable to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere comes another voice, this one belonging to the Barber family patriarch.

"What's all this commotion about, gentlemen? I can hear you from the kitchen." Andy strides into the foyer, wiping his wet hands on a navy blue dishtowel.

"Nothing." His son grumbles, blowing out a breath as he tries to resist the urge to thrust his friend out the door and slam it shut in his pencil-mustached face. "Max was just leaving."

Andy raises a concerned brow. "Before dinner? But we're making tacos in the wok tonight. Well, your mother is. I'll just be there to supervise."

And by "supervise", he meant hang out in the middle of the kitchen while you cooked so that he could occasionally accost with you kisses. While he thought of it as his own version of moral support, you maintained that he just liked getting in your "fucking way".

Your words, not his.

"He's not hungry." A.J. grunts at the same time as his pal utters the words "I could eat".

"Uh huh." The older man casts them both a suspicious look before crossing his arms over his rather impressive chest. Even in his fifties, Andrew Barber was still easy on the eyes. The budding silver-fox still managed to attract female attention wherever he went, whether he wanted it or not.

But he never paid it any mind, because he was also a happily married man who wore his wedding ring with pride

"Mrs. Barber is a phenomenal cook. My mom can't cook worth shi- I mean crap." Max laughs nervously, his hand going to rub the back of his neck. "She - my mom. Her food is not great, like at all. But, uh, maybe we could eat by the pool like we did last time."

"He's really gotta go, Dad."

"It's okay A.J. - I can stay. Mom's cool with it." Max calmly pats A.J. on his shoulder, trying to ignore the fire burning behind his hazel eyes.

"I mean...I suppose we could do that." Andy responds, a hint of skepticism in his tone. "I wonder if Y/N feels like making her homemade salsa too. I probably oughta ask..." His short, trimmed nails absently go to scratch at his bearded chin that now sported flecks of gray.

For the life of him, he couldn't seem to figure out why his son was turning such a spectacular shade of red. Or what now had him typing so furiously on his phone.

"She definitely should." Max tosses his bag back at Junior as a grin spreads across his smug face. "And you know, they say that a little sunshine does a body good."

"That it does." Andy agrees, noting of the sudden tenseness in his son's shoulders.

"And I know it's true, because the last time I saw Mrs. Barber outside she looked amazing."

Now that stops Andy quick, even as A.J. makes what sounds like a distinct choking noise in the back of throat. But the young man - Max - keeps talking, seemingly unaware of the danger he's just placed himself in.

"I was just telling A.J. here that your wife is definitely a MILF, sir. We talk about it all the time at school. And you can totally tell she works out or whatever, because she doesn't even look like how most Moms look. "

Suddenly, Andy's twitching eye mirrors his son's own.

"Hey, how old is Mrs. Barber now? Like 40?"

Andy clears his throat before casting a withering glare in the direction of his son's friend. "A word to the wise, young man - never ask a woman her age. Especially not if you want to live long enough to see your way through puberty."

A.J. nods along before returning his attention back to his phone.

"Even I don't know how old my wife is, mostly because I'm not stupid enough to ask."

"But then how do you -" Max interrupts, clearly confused by the direction of this conversation.

"If I think I need to know, then I guess. And when I guess, I err on the side of caution. Because I'm smart, and I've come to understand the meaning of the phrase happy wife, happy life."

"Oh."

"However, even without knowing just how many times Mrs. Barber has made the journey around the sun, she's still out of your age bracket. And therefore out of your league." Andy places a hand on Max's bicep, squeezing just hard enough to make the younger man gulp.

"And I would appreciate it if you didn't disrespect my wife and the mother of my son like that ever again. Do we have an understanding, Maximilian Robert Greenwell?"

"Ye-yeah. I mean yes, sir!" He quickly amends when he notices the way the elder Barber's nostrils flare. "Sorry about that. And, um, my bad, A.J."

"I took the liberty of texting your mom. She'll be here any minute." Andy's namesake interjects. "I suggest you wait for her on the front porch."

Without offering up another word, he opens the door and points toward the street. Taking the hint, his friend gathers his things once again and traipses outside. "Guess, I'll just see you at school -" He tries, only to be cut off when the door slams in his face with a satisfying thud.

"You alright, son?"

"Yep." He huffs before flipping the lock.

"You sure?"

"When he wasn't going on and on about Mom, he also threw in how KitCat and Rory were kinda hot, especially for a couple of nerds. But I shut that down fast. But then he just had to go and call Mom a MILF..."

"I understand. I've seen a lot of men do and say plenty of stupid things because of your mother, but Max..."

The two men share a look of quiet understanding. It lasts a full beat before they finally speak again.

"Max is dead to me, father."

"Good man." A.J. smiles when his father affectionately claps him on the shoulder. "We've got to watch out for the women in this house."

"We do. Plus, they'd eat a guy like Max for breakfast. I mean the level of violence I've been subjected to alone - I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy, including him."

"Mhm." Andy wraps a muscled arm around the younger Barber, pulling him close to drop a brief kiss on top of his head. "Believe me when I tell you that your Mom's silverware throwing ability has seriously improved over the years. Shit is scarily accurate now."

A.J. simply nods, choosing to take his father at his word. "Well, now that that's over, is it almost time for dinner? Protecting the women in this house can really take a lot out of you."

The elder man sniffs the air, his nose detecting the delicious aroma of fresh herbs simmering in hot oil.

"I think it is. Smells like your mother's cooking now, which means I need to get in my spot." Andy bestows one last kiss against his boy's temple before playfully pushing him to the side. "Besides, I don't think I've given her a reason to fuss at me yet today. Gotta keep the spark alive somehow, kid."

Throwing his son one last wink, A.J. then watches as his father jogs off in the direction of the kitchen bellowing "here I come, baby girl".

With a sigh, the youngest member of Barber brood turns and begins climbing the stairs, laughing when he hears his lovely mother's annoyed shouts coming from the other side of the house.

His parents were crazy about each other, that much he knew. But the older he got, the more he was beginning to realize that there was a little more to it. They were actually still in love with one another.

And that was cool. Sometimes, it even made him the envy of his friends whose folks were either divorced or barely tolerated each other. He was cool with that too.

Just don't ever call his pretty Mama a MILF. Because that shit right there...that wasn't cool no matter how you spun it.

END

[billthedrake]

PRE-FROSH (CHAPTER ONE)

This story is a sequel to "Dad's New Life."

I was prepared to take a good amount of teasing, and maybe more, this weekend. But the guys in the Sig Ep house were cool, I had to admit.

I didn't think I was going to be able to visit. But my older brother Connor swore to my parents he'd keep a hawk's eye on me and keep me from drinking or doing anything I shouldn't. I got along OK with my brother, but growing up he was always kind of bossy, taking advantage of being three years older than me and more of the popular kid in school.

He was still that guy, only now I'd grown up, taller than Connor now, and had really bulked up. I'd say it was basketball and lacrosse, but a lot of it was just obsessively working out and keeping my growing teen body fed with enough protein to put on muscle. I still had a young face - and I had a good idea it would be a while before I could pull off a fake ID - but I was starting to get a strong build for my 6'3" frame.

I now sat in a big sofa in the rec room of the fraternity house, watching some dumb TV. Connor plopped himself next to me with a knowing grin. He had two beer cans in his hand and offered me one. "Not a word to Mom and Dad, Squirt," he admonished.

"Course not," I said, gratefully taking the beer. I took a few sips. It was cheap beer but I didn't care, I loved it.

"Hey O'Brien," one of the brothers said. Alan I think his name was. A senior and a stocky, goofy dude who I discovered was one of Connor's close buddies in the house. The Four Musketeers they called themselves, and Alan was the crudest of the bunch. "Is the pre-frosh gonna partake of Mike's services?"

I wondered if Mike was a drug dealer or something. I figured my older brother wouldn't be into anything too wild. He was the studious one in the family.

Connor got an uncharacteristically shy look. "Dude, it's my baby brother we're talking about."

"I'm not a baby," I objected. I'd turned 18 a couple weeks earlier.

This fraternity brother just gave me a sly wink before turning to my brother. "Like your brother doesn't get his dick wet. The young dude's a fucking lacrosse player fer Christsake."

Fuck, they were talking about sex. With a dude. I smirked, and Connor laughed when he turned to see my expression. "You don't even know what you're grinning about, Jase," he teased.

I shrugged, showing off as much teen bravado as I could. "I figured if it wasn't fun, you wouldn't be acting like I wasn't ready for it."

I could sense my brother was frustrated, cause he didn't object or act bossy, he just gave me a pale grin. "All right. Just remember. No talking about what happens this weekend. Promise?"

"Yeah, dude," I said, annoyed. "I fucking promise."

It was a half hour before Mike showed up. I heart his booming baritone voice coming down the SigEp house steps to the basement before I saw him. I don't know what I expected, but the guy was older, a lot older. Like, dad's age. And buff as hell. He didn't quite look like an ex-athlete, not like Coach Carson, but he was big and beefy and muscular, more of a gym-pumped build, but he clearly took real good care of himself. He wore a snug polo shirt and faded jeans and had a Chicago Bears ball cap on. His shirt was all filled out with huge pecs and big guns. I had jerked off to some bi and gay porn, maybe more than I'd like to admit. I never thought of myself as into older dudes, but something about this guy got me going.

Particularly since I was putting two and two together and realizing this buff older man really was somehow providing some kind of services to the fraternity brothers. Maybe just a handjob or something, and I wondered if he was actually a fucking hooker the way the guys acted so nonchalant.

"Hiya, fellas, how's it hanging?" he asked, giving Dale a fist bump. Dale was another one of the Four Musketeers.

"About six inches soft," Dale wisecracked.

It may have just been banter, but this was not what I was expecting for my pre-frosh weekend on campus.

Mike gave a soft chuckle and looked around. "Same room?" he asked.

"Yeah," Alan replied. "We set it up to make it extra comfy for ya."

Mike smirked but didn't take the bait of the taunt. He just asked. "Who's first?"

"Let the prefrosh have first dibs," said Kyle, a sophomore soccer player who had a whole stoner vibe about him.

I looked over at my big brother Connor, like he was going to object. He just shrugged in a "you wanted it," kind of way.

So I acted like I wasn't some dumb young high schooler and stood up. I felt the guys' eyes on me, almost giggling.

I followed the big guy up the stairs and down the hall. I don't know whose room we were using... one of the brothers', but Mike seemed at home, like he came here regularly. As we stepped in, I started to get nervous, my bravado going right out the window. The man caught on.

"I've not seen you around the house before," he said.

I stood awkwardly in front of him, shifting on my feet some. "I'm just visiting," I explained. "I'm still in high school actually," I added, then immediately regretted it. I was probably blowing my chance for a handjob right then.

But the man didn't seem fazed. His blue eyes twinkled beneath the brim of his ball cap and a smile formed on his handsome face. Up close I could now see the silver flecks in his stubble and for some reason I found that really hot. "Is that right, buddy?" he asked. "Not too young for me are ya?" he asked. Kind of flirty in his question.

"No sir," I replied. Feeling dumb for calling him that. "I'm a senior... just turned 18 a couple weeks ago."

He nodded with that sexy smile of his and now openly looked me up and down. "You're big for 18... you lift regularly I bet."

"Yessir," I said. I wished to hell my parents hadn't instilled that deference to elders thing in me so hard. I probably seemed like an idiot to this guy. "I'm a typical jock, I guess. Hoping to get a lacrosse scholarship somewhere." God, I was blabbing now.

"Nice," was all the guy said and like that he was crouching down in front of me. I'd lost any chub I had with the nervousness and the small talk, but now I knew instantly I wasn't gonna have a problem getting hard. I felt that horny tightness in my chest and throat as I watched this hunky guy get in position and run his hands along my legs.

Mike looked up at me. I tried to gauge his age. Late 40s to mid 50s. He was well preserved for sure, but also had a tan that made his face look more ruggedly handsome. "I bet you get a lot of attention from men."

I shook my head. "I wish," I replied. It was refreshing to be honest, even if I didn't even know this guy.

Mike's paw now massaged the growing boner in my shorts. "Just send out the signals, stud, and I can guarantee you'll get as much attention as you want." It was wild to hear his words in such a deep baritone of a voice, the Chicago accent thick as hell.

"Signals?" I asked. In addition to a handjob, maybe I could get some advice for hooking up. If I had the guts to back in my small hometown.

"Yah," he explained. "Eye contact, body language. Letting a guy know you're open to his advances." His fingers were now undoing my shorts. "I wasn't sure about you, actually. You seem the shy type."

"I've never done anything like this," I admitted.

"Na? Ever have your cock sucked, buddy?" he practically growled.

I shook my head. My heart pounded more. Maybe this was gonna be more than a handjob.

I watched as he pulled my shorts and underwear down. My cock flopped out, hanging in midair for a second before it bounded up into a hard upright position. I was hornier than I realized.

"Hot damn!" Mike gasped. "Cherry and hung as fuck." His hand wrapped around my meat, sending shock jolts of pleasure to my balls. The man's eyes seemed fixed on my dick. "Hell of a cock you got, buddy," he said. Then looking up, he asked, "You Connor's brother?"

"Yeah," I replied. Blushing some. I guess I figured Connor partook of Mike's services, but this was crazy to think about. My dick enjoyed the idea of my big brother getting sucked, though. It jerked in Mike's mitt.

He returned his attention to my crotch. "I could tell. Though you're even bigger than him.... fuck!" He paused and licked his lips. "God, I love virgins."

And like that I watched, almost as if in slow motion, as this middle-aged hunk leaned in and started taking me into his mouth. He used his mouth to wet me down at first, just an inch or two, but it felt incredible. Pleasure but also the novelty of sensation. I'd not been entirely truthful. I'd fucked a couple of chicks, that drunk fumbling at parties kind of fucks, and I'd dated one girl who let me feel her up and she'd give me a handjob. THIS, though, was another world. Mike knew what the fuck he was doing.

The kicker was when he pulled back a second and took in a breath then swallowed me all in one go. His throat felt snug and tight but it was the nastiness of the action which caught me off guard.

Not as much of a shock thought as a voice in the room.

"How is he, Pre-Frosh?" It was Craig, a fit, muscular junior, a kind of typical popular frat dude. The fourth guy in the Four Musketeers group my brother hung out with. I'm guessing he was sent in to keep an eye on things and make sure I was OK.

"Fuck," I gasped. Switching personalities now that I was trying to impress one of Connor's brothers. "Dude knows how work a cock."

Indeed, as I spoke Mike was bobbing up and down on me with slick sounding mouth strokes, his spit running down my balls.

I got a better view of Craig as he stepped up. He always wore his longish dirty blond hair under his ball cap and I saw his cute-handsome face examine my own. "You gonna nut soon, bro?"

I shook my head. "I could. But I want this to last." It was my first time out, and once I got over the fear of a quick trigger I'd settled into enjoying the rising and cresting pleasure without quite orgasming. Though I felt it could come any second now.

"You up for sharing?" he asked. Cautious. I had a sense if it was any other brother, he would have butted right in. But I was Connor's kid brother.

I pulled back and we both laughed as Mike tried to follow me, latching his lips on my meat before I finally broke free.

Craig was already pulling down his sweatpants to reveal his hard dick. He was regular sized, with a good looking cut cock. I enjoyed seeing it but also was proud I outmeasured this college bro.

"Hot," Mike gasped as he moved from his crouch to a kneeling position. Craig played host by offering a folded towel for his knees. The man pulled off his ball cap and tossed it aside. His hair was short and showed a good bit of gray on the temples, but he had enough length on top to give that matted-tousled look from his cap. Mike was still in his polo and jeans and his muscle looked pretty amazing as he scooted toward Craig.

"Fuck yeah," the fraternity brother grunted. "Suck my fucking cock dude."

Craig's eyes were down on Mike, eagerly watching the big guy do his work. Craig's smaller size meant Mike could go wild, battering his own throat with hard and fast movements of his skull.

I didn't know where to keep my eyes. On Mike and his slutty thrill in sucking cock. Or on Craig, who was clearly responding to the sexual stimulation in his face and whole body.

Craig finally reached down and held Mike's head, steadying it and slowly pushing him off.

"It's O'Brien's turn," he said with a chuckle. "I know you like the big ones, Mike," he added.

"I do," the man admitted without shame. He gave Craig's tool one more lick then watched as I stepped up to where Craig had been.

Somehow his BJ now had warmed him up for me. It wasn't just the deep throat that got me off. It was the swiveling motion of his head and the milking suction. Involuntarily I gripped the sides of his head to brace my body.

"Oh SHIT!" I cried. I was entering orgasm now, one that put my previous ones to shame. I saw white for a second and felt light headed. Like Mike was sucking out my consciousness along with my cum.

I heard Craig laughing. "Go for it, bro!" Then. "Niiiccce."

Mike finally spat out my prick. "If you want seconds, stud, you know where to find me," he winked.

Craig meanwhile was practically pushing me out of the way, eager for his turn, his dick reddened and leaking in excitement. "Tell the next guy he's up," he said as he thrust back in between Mike's wet lips. "It won't take me long."

I found my shorts and underwear and put them back on, taking one more view of Craig, who was actively fucking the big burly dude's face.

Everything about this was so crazy and so exciting. A couple of the guys on the team had bragged about gangbanging Kelsey Myers, but I think they were bullshitting. And here was an out-there gangbang happening in my brother's fraternity house.

I was still flush and breathing heavy when I returned to the den. "Who's next?" I said, as I plopped next to my brother on the couch and picked up the beer can, which hadn't warmed up too much. I took a sip of the cheap watery stuff, which for whatever reason tasted like the best goddamn beer I'd tasted.

I could tell Connor was watching me, trying to read me. I turned to him. "What, bro?" I asked, maybe acting more annoyed than I was.

"You OK, Jase?" he asked in a low voice.

I nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?" I said, trying to play it cool. "That was awesome."

He paused and took a sip of his own beer. "You won't mind if I go in there soon?"

"Fuck no," I said, getting the courage to make eye contact with my brother. We were two O'Brien men experiencing the same cocksucker. It was a strange bonding experience for sure. "I'd feel bad if you didn't on my account."

Indeed Connor's turn was next and he got up off the couch, a boner already forming in his sweats. I had never thought of my big bro like this, but indeed he had a pretty big tool.

He was gone about ten minutes. Good for him. When he came back he was flush like I was, the Irish genes making his cheeks rosy pink after sex. I could tell he was embarrassed to have done that with me there, and I enjoyed being the laidback one for a change.

"Seriously, bro," I whispered. "Thanks for letting me do that. You know, for not getting all protective and shit."

He shrugged. "Just don't tell Mom and Dad," he warned.

"What the fuck would I tell them?" I said with a chuckle.

Connor laughed. "You got a point there."

We were watching some dumb MTV reality show, but mostly my attention was on the brothers as one by one they got up to go partake of Mike's services. Alan might have been the last to do so, and when he came back he asked, "Anyone up for seconds?"

I heard the guys laugh as I stood up.

"Pre Frosh is going back!" cried one of the guys. I hoped I wasn't embarrassing Connor or anything, but I had tasted the forbidden fruit and wanted another bite while I still had the chance. I ignored the taunts and made a beeline back to that room.

The door was ajar and I pushed my way in. I saw Mike's polo shirt before anything else. It was on the floor, a few feet away from where that folded towel was, and his discarded jeans.

The man was lying on the bed, face down and ass up in a dreamy quiet repose. I underestimated how muscular he was. That ass alone jutted up in two round hard globes and his back dipped down then swelled up in an amazing mass of lats and rear delts. The back was tanned and totally smooth, a contrast to his pale but furry buns.

I was taking off my shorts and underwear when Mike turned and looked over at me. "I was hoping you'd come back, buddy," he said in his deep soft voice. "You eager for the full ride?"

I wasn't the brightest guy I suppose but it was dawning on me what he meant. At least one of the brothers had fucked him and Mike was now asking me if I wanted to fuck him too.

"Yeah," I said. Like it was a normal occurrence for me. My dick was rock hard again and I fisted it a little.

Mike gave a smile as he watched me get closer to the bed. "Damn, I'm gonna feel that in me good, aren't I?"

Somehow he knew how to be flirty as hell in a masculine way that got me rock hard. Before this weekend I would have imagined I'd enjoy having sex with one of Connor's fraternity brothers instead. Living out some SeanCody or CorbinFisher fantasy. But this older guy was pushing my buttons big time.

"Yep," I said, trying to act cocky like Craig or the other guys had. Only I didn't know where to start when it came to fucking. Surely it wasn't as easy as in the porn videos.

Thankfully Mike seemed to read my hesitation. "Just climb on buddy. Daddy's all lubed up for that big monster."

I wasn't sure what I thought of the daddy thing. But this man was so hot and so clearly in heat, humping the bed some and hiking his meaty ass up for me as I got onto the mattress.

His muscle felt warm beneath me as I stretched my body on top of his, trying not to put all my weight down on him, but just enjoying this. It was so different than fucking a chick, the complete lack of hesitation as Mike reached back and gripped my tool long enough to guide me in place.

"You have an amazing body, stud," he hissed. "Hot fucking high school senior."

My prick felt the wetness of the lube. Then as I pressed in past his recently fucked folds, I knew it wasn't just lube. I'd heard the phrase sloppy seconds of course but it was insane how sloppy Mike's ass felt. Tons of fraternity cum awaited my dick as I bored inside him. I knew not to just ram it in him, and in a way I savored the slow inching in and the way the man's cuts clung to me.

"You have a great body, too, Mike," I said, now letting my chest press more against his back muscle. A thought occurred to me. "You let guys do this a lot?" I asked.

He leaned his head back up against my neck. It took me a second to realize he was moving his ass back against my hips too, doing some of the work to penetrate his ass with my long cock. "Yeah, I do," he replied, matter of fact. "That bother you, buddy?"

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "I guess it's kind of hot.... thanks for letting me do it."

Mike let out a deep growl. "Anytime buddy... that dick of yours feels AMAZING."

I sawed some inches in and out then decided to go for it. Sending my hips forward I pressed all the way inside him. I'm thick and long and I know Mike really felt that.

"Oh FUCK YEAH, buddy!" he grunted, pushing his chest up a little as if to challenging me to press him back down to the bed. I did, accentuating my movement with another thrust into him. "Love that horse meat ya got."

I would have loved this anyway. Losing my virginity with a man. Having my first ass fuck. But Mike was gonna spoil me, I knew. The man just loved sex and his love was infectious. I held on to his shoulders and started fucking. Not hard but with a steady deep pump. Maximizing the pleasure on my cock but also aiming for that vocal response from him.

"Take that dick, man," I growled in his ear as my hips now worked faster. Mike was bigger and more muscular than me but I had the leverage position to hold him steady while I nailed him, as well as the sex adrenaline pumping in my veins.

I worried I was going too hard, but the harder I nailed him the more he seemed to get into it.

"GODDAMN! High schooler fucks like a porn star," he growled.

I worried the brothers could hear us mate. Then I hoped they could hear everything. I was riding that excitement of my first piece of ass, and I was rising to the occasion. I now knew why my lacrosse buddies were so excited by pussy, but this was even better.

His ass was slick and I could feel the wetness along my cock and balls and had a good idea all that cum was frothing up his furry crack. A few of the fraternity brothers had fucked and bred Mike's hole. Connor was probably one of them, I thought.

That idea I was fucking on my brother’s load made my balls tighten immediately. "Holy fuck," I gasped, my cum working up real quick. A part of me wanted to slow down and enjoy this more. That part of me lost out, though. I held on tighter to Mike's beef and just went to town, cumming deep inside the man's guts.

"Get it, buddy!" Mike cried, eager for my seed. I had no idea if he was going to get off. Maybe he did earlier. Right now it was just about my spurting prick and my pure need.

I rode out the cum and finally slowed my roll, now kissing along the man's neck and feeling up his body.

"Hmmm," the man muttered. "You sure that was your first, Stud? You fuck like a champ."

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Hell of a first time, too," I said. "I'm gonna remember this one for a long time."

"I'm glad, bud," he said. "Damn... it feels like I got a baseball bat wedged up inside me."

"Sorry... I can pull out," I said.

"Don't on my account," Mike said, softly, almost shyly. "I mean, I figure an 18 year old jock has another in the tanks, right?"

My dick wasn't going soft and while I wasn't 100 percent sure I could come again soon, I knew I wanted to get as much Mike time as I could. It might be a long time before I had a chance to fuck a man again. "Yeah," I replied.

I humped him some more, before Mike asked if I wanted to try some other positions. We didn't do them all, maybe, but I had a good number of firsts that afternoon. Missionary, cowboy, reverse cowboy, standing. But we finished in doggy, which might have been my favorite.

I felt like a total stud when I finally dismounted and saw how much cum I'd added to Mike's hole. I gave his rump a gentle pat which made the man laugh.

He watched as I got dressed again. "You around town for long?" he asked.

"Just the weekend," I said.

He grinned and looked me up and down. "If I give you my number, will you hit me before you go?"

This is not how I expected my college visit to go. "Hell yeah," I said.

Mike slid out of bed, his beefy body looking amazing all naked and some wiry silvery hair in his chest fur. His dick was pretty soft but I could see the trickles of fresh cum dripping down the insides of his hairy thighs. He found his wallet and fished out a card to hand me.

It read “Daddy Mike” with a phone number, Insta and Twitter handle and OnlyFans URL.

"Are you a porn star?" I asked in surprise. I now felt like a small-town hick for sure.

"Just like to have a little fun," he said. "If you're the jealous type don't look me up online," he said. "A couple of dudes learned that the hard way." He seemed weirdly apologetic to be warning me.

"If what we did just now was a 'little fun' I'd hate to see a lot of fun," I joked.

"The weekend is still young, Pre Frosh," he winked.

I was a little lightheaded and thirsty when I got back to the den. A couple of the guys razzed me for taking so long and I notice Kyle and some other dude get up to go into together.

Connor seemed quiet, not pissed off but in a strange mood. Later, after dinner, we found ourselves sitting alone. My big bro decided to check in with me.

"I guess I shouldn't have been so worried about you with Mike," he said. An edge to his tone, like maybe he didn't approve. I don't know.

I sighed. "I'm gonna call him up tomorrow, you know, go hang out with him." It was a weirdly euphemistic way to say I was gonna fuck Daddy Mike again.

That hit my brother the wrong way. "Come on, Jason. I'm supposed to be watching out for you."

"Dude, it's gonna be fine," I countered. I didn't know if I could convince him of that, or if he needed convincing. Maybe he just felt guilty things had gotten out of hand.

"You know," I added. "I'm into dudes, Connor."

"Clearly," my brother laughed. OK, he wasn't THAT pissed off at me if he was joking around.

That made me laugh, too. "I mean, like, I know that's what I want. I'm gay."

"Oh," he said. "That's cool." Then, "you know I still worry about you, Jase. It's what brothers do."

"Yeah," I conceded. I shot him a wry grin. "And thanks, bro. I wouldn't have it any other way."

[wildlife4life]

Fuck-it Friday

Tagged by the lovely @thewolvesof1998 and @heartbeatdiaz

This amazing collage was done by the just as amazing @thewolvesof1998. And to go along with this is a snippet from mfy NFL Buck and Firefighter Eddie secret relationship.

It’s not until the Eddie’s second week and a 7.1 earthquake do the 118 learn that he has a son. Ravi Panikkar, their probie notices the Texas native persistently trying to get calls and text through his phone.  “Who are you trying to get a hold of?” Ravi asks. Diaz looks up at him, hesitating to answer, “My son.” “You have a kid?” Hen perks up, “How old?” Eddie pulls up a photo on the screen, show casing a pre-teen leaning on red crutches with cropped curly hair, bright blue eyes, and the brightest smile, “Christopher, he turned 13 a month ago.” “Very handsome. My son Denny is going to be 13 in September, and my wife and I are not looking forward to the teenage angst.” Hen laughs. Eddie chuckles, “Well with the big move from Houston and trying to find a suitable home aide, we’ve been letting it slide for now.” Chimney immediately caught on, eyes flickering down to the ring free finger, “I’m guessing he’s at home with his mom then?” Immediately, Eddie tensed up and roughly shoved his phone into pocket, “Um, no. His mother died a few years back. Hit and run.” Everyone in the truck cabin winced and went silent, but he continued, “My um, partner’s sister is with him, but they’ve never experienced an earthquake and the last natural disaster we all went through was hurricane Harvey, so yea.” His team nodded, but didn’t push further on the matter, “As long as your home is up to code and not on a fault line, your son and sister-in-law should be plenty safe.” Bobby tried assuring from the front of the truck. Diaz chewed on his bottom lip, “And what about gyms, here. Like the real fancy ones?” “Um…a lot of gym equipment should have emergency protocols and like every other building, as long as their up to code and not a fault line, your partner should be fine as well.” The fire captain answered. Very little tension left Eddie’s shoulders and Hen could tell everyone wanted to ask about a thousand more questions, herself included.  But they had a job to do, and Eddie didn’t look to be in the mood to answer any more than he already had. The truck came to a stop and Bobby called out, “Alright 118 let’s get to work!”

Tagging (no pressure!): @prince-buck-diaz @bekkachaos @thekristen999 @elvensorceress @lizzybizzyzzz @alyxmastershipper @911onabc @transbuck @cowboy-buddie @ebdaydreamer @shortsighted-owl

[prettyboybuckley]

30, for buddie please?

hi anon ❤️ thank you for the prompt! exhaustion got to me so it took me a little while to write it, but I hope you like it!

from the soft prompts: ‘this is my husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner etc.’

Eddie never really figured out how to introduce Ana as his girlfriend without feeling awkward. It didn't surprise him at the time, because he'd felt the same about introducing Shannon as his wife, for a long time, at least.

So he'd always assumed that was kind of the norm. That he'd always feel awkward introducing his partner, or that maybe that's how most people feel doing that, even. 

In hindsight, that was a stupid thing to assume, probably.

The point is that when he and Buck start dating - and holy shit, they're actually dating - he expects it to be as awkward as it's always been. Perhaps even more awkward, considering that yes, this is Buck, but he's also never dated a guy before. He's never introduced anyone to his boyfriend before.

(Well, that's not entirely true, but those were all people that already knew Buck. It wasn't so much introducing Buck as it was telling those people that they were dating now.)

And then comes the PTA meeting.

Eddie doesn't particularly like PTA meetings, they are long and boring and half the shit that gets discussed is pretty much trivial. He goes anyway because he cares about his son's education, and it's polite to show his face and interact with the other parents. 

He doesn't expect Buck to see it on the calendar on the fridge, turn to him with a bright but somewhat hesitant smile, and ask: "Can I come with?"

"Yeah, of course," Eddie answers without even having to think about it for too long. It'll be much more fun with Buck by his side. 

The realization that he's going to have to introduce Buck to all these parents - at least the ones that haven't met him before - doesn't cross his mind until they're already getting out of the car in the school parking lot.

It's probably a good thing that it doesn't, or he would’ve been all up in his head about it. As it is, he freezes right there next to the car, watching couples and single parents alike make their way into the school.

"You alright?" Buck's voice sounds, suddenly right next to him. He must have walked around the car while Eddie was lost in thought. Buck's hand slips into his, tangling their fingers together.

"I'm fine, just thinking. C'mon, let's go."

He pulls Buck along to the school entrance, greeting some parents he vaguely recognizes along the way. Once inside, they follow the directions to the gym, and it's only when they're there that Eddie finally pauses. His hand is still wrapped tightly around Buck's, and he has no intention of letting go, but that also means that someone is going to notice.

"Eddie, hi!" someone says, and he turns around too quickly, pulling Buck along and making him stumble a bit. See, there's the awkwardness already. It's Katie's mom, Jennifer, who Eddie has talked to on multiple occasions. He's pretty sure she tried to flirt with him in the beginning, though he isn't sure why she stopped. "I see you've brought someone along this time?"

This is usually where it gets awkward, where Eddie stutters out an introduction and embarrasses himself and his partner in the process.

But this time he follows Jennifer's gaze to look at Buck, and he finds Buck smiling at him, soft and so damn happy, as if there's nowhere he'd rather be than here at this PTA meeting with Eddie, and it's not awkward at all.

"Yeah, this is my boyfriend, Buck," Eddie replies, only taking his eyes off Buck at the end of it, and he pulls Buck a little closer as he smiles at Jennifer. "Figured it wasn't fair that he's only been getting the fun parts of raising a kid now that we finally got our shit together."

He and Jennifer both laugh at the indignant squawk Buck lets out at that, and Eddie only grins wider when he stumbles because of the little shove Buck gives him with his shoulder. It's not as if he's in any danger of falling when they're still holding hands, and as soon as he's stabilized himself again, he's pressed right back along Buck's side.

Buck is grinning, too, when Eddie looks at him, and he allows himself a moment to get lost in his boyfriend's eyes. Turns out that didn't feel awkward at all, it simply felt right.

"Just kidding, we both know you've been helping with the less fun parts all this time, too." He pauses for a moment, then turns back to Jennifer. "Now, Jen, have you heard any good gossip lately?"

Next to him, Buck snorts, and Eddie is going to get teased later for caring about gossip in the first place, but he's pretty sure that his boyfriend listens just as attentively while Jennifer tells them of the rumor she heard about two of the teachers hooking up.

[charmwasjess]

Hi, for the fandom asks: 1 and 16 xx

1) list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

1- Saying "the people" is a vast understatement. My current community fills me with so much happiness - what kind, funny, incredibly clever people you all are! And if I go back in time, I sometimes feel like the people in the SW fandom half raised me at a time when I was a lonely, unhappy child stuck in a fucking terrible IRL community, and I'll always be grateful for that.

For example - I still remember in grade school, sneaking off during gym class to buy international phone cards at the gas station so I could call my Australian bestie (who I met when she EMAILED ME A FIC COMMENT because that was how we did it on some fic sites back then). I'd get up at 3 am (3pm her time, when she got out of school) and we'd talk on the phone about our crazy crack self-inserts and our love of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, respectively. DOOKU DIDN'T EVEN EXIST AT THIS POINT. We grew up, but she's still in my life - the suncatchers her mom made me are still hanging on my back window. She even came to visit me a few years back. She's a successful YA fiction writer and activist now. Sometimes I'm so proud of her that it makes me want to cry.

2- ahem, okay, I got kind of emotional on 1… this is controversial, and I'm sure I'll live to eat my words when they make rochenn's cursed stitched-back-together Dooku and somehow-survived Mace Windu live action buddy cop drama, but I actually like that Star Wars is continuing to get content. Okay, some of it is dogshit, and I wish there was some… changes at the top… looking at you, cowboy hat man… but overall, I feel lucky. Those Yoda comics were good and a couple of them were written by an actual guy who actually likes the character I love and cares about continuity? The last five years have had some really fascinating Star Wars content. Barriss is a healer again. Rael Averross is part of the family. We're about to get live action Acolyte. I don't know, I'm excited.

3- Ant said this a little bit in her reply to my ask, but I have to agree, I love how BIG Star Wars is. With my little pre-prequel Dooku fics, I'm writing in such a tiny corner of it, but the vastness around me is just wonderful and actually, very welcoming. It feels like there's always something new and interesting to read or see.

16) a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

It blows my mind that Cavan Scott made Dooku an animal guy.

The scene where he's simultaneously flying a (stolen, iirc) speeder and mindmelded with his fucking pet bird and Qui-Gon is like "MASTER, beast control combined with weaving in and out of Coruscant traffic, ARE YOU FUCKING GOOD TO DRIVE RIGHT NOW?" and Dooku just replies ":D It's ✨ animal kinship ✨not 'beast control' Qui-Gon!' Unhinged. Beautiful.

I just love it when canon does something fresh and surprising with Dooku instead of recycling the "stuffy stuck up rich guy" tropes, especially in his Jedi era, when he's a fucking penniless chaos monk raised by a goblin. Fanon loves to make Qui-Gon the guy sneaking weird animals into the Temple (and I love that) but you know Dooku would have smuggled that Tirra'taka home with him if he could have fit it in his bed. Dooku is the REASON Qui-Gon is like that!

[battlfofendorr]

Second

Christopher – Rio - is six foot one, so there’s never been any hiding in the crowd – no blending in – as if he ever would have had that chance, anyway with his jawline, his cheek bones?  He slinks low, hands in pockets, duck that head, minimizes himself with that trademark black-on-black-on-darkness wardrobe, the knit beanie – even as he makes sure it’s all pristine and brand name, the lot of it, because really, there isn’t any hiding.

As if the soccer moms in the neighborhood haven’t seen him often enough, haven’t already puzzled out their own reasons for him to be darkening their street corner.

And if there weren’t enough reasons for people to stare, there’s all that ink – a neck tattoo, and hands, arms, a roadmap on his body of all the places he never wanted to go. It enhances his looks – makes him not just good-looking, but slightly edgy. Slightly dangerous.

There’s scars, too, but isn’t that just a byproduct of life lived? Not that the old biddies peering around curtain panels can see the scars.

There’s something insubstantial to his attitude - the way he alternates between cocky and trying to fade into the background – as if he ever could? – that confuses them.  

It’s not the swagger of a fuck-buddy on his way to get some.

Maybe that’s what causes the old ladies to get the most gossipy – because he’s as good-looking as the mother-of-four he’s there to see, and everyone knows, beautiful people belong together.

It’s a silly notion – the kind you see on all that Hallmark crap that people pretend to buy in to.  

As if plans ever played in to it – as if he’d ever even planned to be exactly where he was: a former – and ongoing -  felon, part-time raising his kid, mostly not, and running – or at least managing – the better part of a crime empire, half his men on double payrolls, allegiances – loyalties – mutable as all hell?

His foundation’s rockier than a gravel pit, and the only part he’s absolutely sure on – besides Marcus, his boy – is her. The naïve little housewife with her foot sliding inch by inch into his world.   

Rio looks down – those cool brown eyes that make so many ladies giggle or back away, nervously skimming toward the ground, not avoiding eye contact exactly, or scrutiny, just moving out of the line of sight,  almost guilty as he cuts down the walkway to the back of the house in the too-nice neighborhood he’s spent far too much time in for his – or anyone’s – liking.

Maybe once that had been the dream. But if he’da known, then, what he knows now, how could he have even wanted it?  And maybe he wouldn’t have even gotten it, anyhow?

It’s the eternal question, though.  Would he have washed out as a boxer? Gotten his own gym, slipped into the role of coach?  Would he have his own proteges, and not just lackeys waiting to become statistics?  Would he have the house, the family?  Not just one kid, but the soccer team worth?  The naivety that let some people drift through life on a cloud of happiness?

Would it even have made him happy?

Doesn’t matter – he’s greedy as fuck, and he wants it – just for a moment – but then the bubble pops as his phone rings.

No point wanting what you ain’t got, right?

“Hey, Grams,” he says, answering the phone quickly, smoothly, prepared to dodge the many questions she’d bound to ask: how are you, where are you, are you being smart?  As if he’d ever had a choice.  “Wha’s up?”

But it’s not Grams on the phone – nah, his life ain’t that easy. It’s his best friend. Business associate. Right hand man.  Mick – because that’s who it is, Mick -  doesn’t have to say a word, because just the breathing – the quiet – tells him that much.

“Mick,” he says, and it’s a bullet to the gut. There’s only one reason for him to be calling on her phone. On her number. “Where’d they take ‘er?”

And for a minute, he’s so sure it’ll be a hospital, because crime life might be his inheritance, but Grams – the OG boss lady – is untouchable.

But that quiet – that stillness – it stretches on too long, then the phone goes dead, and just like that, his plans shift again. 

Maybe Mick hadn’t thought he’d be ID’s quickly. Maybe he’d ran out of words, or the strength to say them.

Didn’t matter, because the only other man that could pull Mick’s strings was incarcerated.

And if Nick was starting the old games up all over again – if he was putting Rio in the place he’d built for him, the cage he’d built on lies and slander – well, at least he had a second for the upcoming duel.

Rio glanced through Elizabeth’s window – just a glimpse of her moving canisters and bake wear in the kitchen, all done up like she's waiting for someone. Him, probably, because he really has made too much of a habit of dropping in.   It's like watching other moms do yoga. A zen space, all of her own. He could ruin it - pop her bubble like the phonecall popped his - but like a gift, he'll let her have that – let her have the night. If they're going to war with his brother-cousin, she’ll need the stored-up inner peace bullshit baking always gave her.

And really, he wasn’t a monster. Even he could admit she was damn good at it. In the morning, he’d need to rally all his troops. For better or worse, that means her – and her two little flunkies. Because really. If they can turn Mick, they can turn everyone else, too.  

Everyone but her. Might as well let her bring snacks to the war room. And maybe a juice box or two.

[lukeevangelista]

I feel as though Ryders gf would love seeing him with maks

Uncle Ryder - Ryder Donovan

I AGREE

I also got carried away writing this but you all get an imagine out of it soooo win win I guess?

****pretend that ryder is still at wisco in this****

*****

He loves his nephew so much that anytime that you see him with him, you fall over and over again for Ryder.

Adore is an understatement when you see them together.

When his sister and her boyfriend brought Maks to Wisco when he was a baby, you watched Ryder and Shay love all over him.

That was the first time you knew you had fallen for Ryder Donovan.

After that, when she’d come to visit at Wisco or you would go to Duluth with Ryder, he’d constantly have Maks with him. He always wanted to spend time with his nephew and who were you to stop him?

You loved the kid as much as him and honestly, seeing Ry with him filled your heart with so much joy.

“I’m going to go get Maks from moms today.” Ryder said as he walked into your shared bedroom in your apartment. Ryder had just gotten back from the gym.

“V has him with her while she takes care of some stuff before they head back to Alaska. Do you wanna go with me?” He asked as he tugged his shoes on, “I think I’m gonna take him ice skating. He’s been obsessed with that mini stick that Shay gave him so why not get him started a little early?”

You chuckled at his response and you got up out of bed, “Yeah Ill go.” You grabbed Ryders sweatshirt out of the closet before finding a pair of leggings, “Do I have time to shower or..?” You looked towards him.

“Yeah babe.” He said, “I’m gonna go down and make a protein shake.”

“Do you need to shower?” You asked as you walked over to him, your hands resting softly on his chest.

“I don’t, I showered at the gym, but who said two showers are bad for you?” He grinned as he followed you into the bathroom.

***

You quickly blow dried your hair before tossing on the clothes you had picked out.

“Well that was.. something.” Ryder grinned from above you, him standing behind you in front of the mirror, seeing the hickeys across his chest, “I think you left a little something.”

“Well good thing you won’t be shirtless huh?” You shrugged as you popped your contacts in, “You ready?”

He nodded before walking out of the bathroom, grabbing his shirt before tugging it on. He made his way to the kitchen, taking care of what he was going to do before he was easily persuaded into showering with you.

“You ready?” You asked as you saw him finishing up with his protein shake.

“Yes ma’am.” He grinned as he grabbed his keys and wallet, “Lets go.”

***

To say Maks being excited to see one of his uncles was an understatement.

“Ry ry!” He shouted, scrambling off of Ryder’s moms lap the moment he saw him.

“Maks!” Ryder squatted to allow Maks to run into his arms, “I missed you!”

“I missed you more!” He yelled.

“That’s not possible!” Ryder exclaimed animatedly as he stood up with his nephew in his arms, “Mom I’m gonna take Maks out for a little bit. I think we’re gonna go ice skating.”

She gave a nod before telling them to be careful as she handed you Maks mini stick

“Have fun you guys.”

***

Now granted, Maks was only two. There was no way Ryder was putting his nephew in skates without his sisters permission, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t take him to the backyard rink in his shoes.

Ryder tied his skates along with yours before standing up to find Maks holding his mini stick, “Play?”

“Yeah buddy.” Ryder hiked his nephew up on his hip before walking to the small pond, you following behind him. Your heart swelled as you both stepped on, him immediately skating with Maks on his hip, him slowly lowering to the ice.

Maks laugh rang through the air as he continued to lap you, “Down!” He squealed as he tried to walk over to the net, “Play!”

Maks basically forced Ryder into the goal that was on the ice, him trying to score on Ry.

“That’s literally the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” You heard a voice from behind you, you recognizing it as Vanessa’s, “I don’t know how that couldn’t make you not want one.”

“Oh it is.” You softly laughed, “One day though. He’s been loving all over Maks today and it’s make my heart swell. He’ll be such a good dad one day.” You finished her agreeing with you.

**

It wasn’t long after Vanessa arrived that she told Ryder that she needed to get Maks in the house to get him ready for dinner then bed.

“See you later V.” Ryder hugged his sister before telling his nephew the same thing.

You mimicked his actions before the two of you got into his car, heading back to your apartment.

“So one day?” He asked. He saw the confusion strike your features before explaining himself, “I heard you talking to Vanessa.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” He said as he grabbed your hand from over the console, “I honestly wouldn’t want kids with anyone else except you.” He said sweetly.

“Good because I wouldn’t want anyone else either.”

[mariesocuniverse]

Byeol’s Relationships: Hyung Line

ByeolChan

byeol’s soulmate

literally one of the only reasons byeol stayed in JYP 

chan said that he had this dark image as a trainee bc of how long he’s been at the company but byeol never saw that

even if he tried to hide it, byeol always saw the way he got her to get food or how he quietly tried to get her out of trouble

she wanted to return the favor and thus a friendship formed that it would take a very very very big event to happen to break them apart

she knows that she can depend on him for anything and vice versa

byeol tries her best to relieve the burden of him as a leader whenever she can so he can relax

and also force the man to sleep bc sir you need to get off your laptop and sleep

she can, will, and has dragged him to bed and cuddle him so he won’t leave chan knows that he could remove her but he doesn’t want to so he yields

basically the parents of skz

if chan isn’t there to get the members focused, byeol is there to corral everyone 

good comparison would be vice captain? like how in nct dream theres leader mark, captain jeno, and vice captain (?) renjun?

that but byeol and chan

MinByeol

Byeol’s dance teacher

Byeol is very slow when learning dance so she always asks Minho for help

said dance practices are 90% serious and 10% jokes bc someone says something stupid and they need to take a ten minute break to recover from laughter

he’s also very protective of her and making sure she’s eating by cooking her food

was actually the one who asked minho to join their group considering he was the last member who joined jyp

you don’t understand how much grief she went through when he got eliminated during the survival show

nor the relief when he got added back in the last episode

she didn’t say it out loud but byeol very much wanted to fight jyp in the moment even now but who doesnt really

the two of them are like really clingy so whenever they’re resting the two of them just gravitate towards each other

she just doesn’t want to leave him you guys 🥺

you know how some people say minho is the mom of skz? yeah byeol and minho are unintentionally fighting for that title amongst the fans

they just have a silly dynamic with each other considering how much banter they have

byeol has jokingly said she will take away minho’s cats and minho took that as a declaration of war /hj

they’re stupid but they’re stupid together yknow?

ChangByeol

same age friends!!!!!

they’re the only 99liners so they have to look out for each other yknow?

although he does make fun on byeol for being old even though she’s only five months older seo changbin

very protective of her

he always makes sure that she’s inside they’re little bubble surrounded by the members and staff whenever they go to airports or other schedules

gym buddies too!

whenever he goes to work out he tries to bring byeol along too for her to build muscle for her noodle arms

not for her to get built like him but enough to get toned yknow?

he also likes to run through lyrics with her whenever 3RACHA is producing new songs for the album

he always gets shy whenever he gets complimented with also a sense of pride

also another person she has to drag home bc music can wait i’ll fight you if you don’t go to bed

fans think the dynamic is funny bc at first glance they look like complete opposites

but then five minutes later byeol is smiling while changbin ends up doing aegyo for whatever reason

sometimes byeol wonders if changbin is really the same age as her or if he’s really just part of the maknae line

HyunByeol

you know how hyunjin and jisung said they used to fight? yeah byeol was the one who stopped them

he likes to think he’s her favorite of the 00liners and he’s right /hj

they take the time together and paint and have quiet time whenever they want to relax

they just have a sense of comfort for each other whenever they’re stressed

whenever hyunjin is feeling very overwhelmed or unconfident byeol always makes sure to stay by his side and cheer him up

she will literally square up to anyone who says bad things against him and no hyunjin you can’t stop me let me go-

she’s also very affectionate with him and loves clinging to him like she does with minho

there are a lot of clips of byeol looping her arm around hyunjin’s and leaning towards him

of course it doesn’t stop the teasing from him

as one of the taller, if not the tallest, he always clowns her for her height and pretends he can’t see her from his perspective

sometimes she threatens to hit his kneecaps, other times she sighs and accepts it

hyunjin likes to think of byeol as the sister he never knew he wanted

you know that look when people who are the only child find someone who they consider a sibling? yeah that

[jamiesfootball]

What is your favourite live action holiday movie?

I hope this question covers 'movies that happen to be on that holiday and not about it' because. Buddy. Are you ready for an answer so obscure that when I tried to crosscheck that it did take place on the holiday I thought it did, fucking Google couldn't confirm. I literally had to double check with my friend who's seen this movie more than me-

Warrior (2011) because the final fight takes place on the 4th of July and as it happens I first saw this movie on the 4th of July.

Now without further ado LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES

The synopsis from IMDB says:

The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison, Frank Grillo

But this movie- Y'ALL THIS MOVIE. Oh, it is a gut punch from start to finish. It is a beauty. The synopsis makes it seem like the oldest brother is estrange WHEN IN FACT it is the youngest (played by Tom-Fucking-Hardy) who has basically cut off contact with everyone after him and his mother left town to escape his abusive, alcoholic dad. He is sullen, moody, angry, doesn't talk much - AND HE FUCKING PUNCHES LIKE ELIOT GODDAMN SPENCER.

And this kid - and he is, there is such a young boyishness to his pain - has gone back to the same abusive, alcoholic dad (who is now sober) to ask him to train him how to box so that he can get into this amateur MMA fight for the prize money (THE REASONS WHY WILL MAKE YOU BAWL).

As for his relationship with his dad (Nick Nolte)? It's a resounding FUCK YOU, I'M NOT HERE FOR YOU.

Meanwhile. The older brother. The one who stayed behind when the mom and the youngest left. His response to his dad is also a big old FUCK YOU OLD MAN. He did not stay for his old man.

He stayed for his girlfriend (Allison Morrison), and guess what? They have a wonderful marriage, and two beautiful little kids together, and his only only fucking regret is that he doesn't know what happened to his brother.

But now he has a problem- see, one of his daughters is real sick. And they've got medical bills piling up. And he's got a mortgage they're falling behind on. And this guy, this wonderful soft-spoken caring guy, he's a teacher. He loves his job, but he doesn't make good money, and his wife is already working extra, and they need the money. So he's been doing underground boxing. But he got caught, and now he's been suspended from his job, so his only option is to enlist the help of his friend (Frank Grillo, aka Crossbones from Captain America) who is a zen-like, classical music loving gym owner to train this guy up for this amateur MMA fight for the prize money

The same one his little brother is aiming for. The same- do you get it? They are both entering a boxing match and they don't know the other one is going to be there.

And because the youngest son is going under his mother's surname no one else knows they're related either.

What's this got to do with 4th of July? It never fucking says, but if I were to read in too deep it would be something about independence. Something about how these two people, who separated from each other and built lives independent of each other, were ultimately never that far apart. Their separate paths led them right back home. Their shared history means they were always going to be together, even if they never never crossed paths again they would always be walking the same road. They were shaped alongside each other. Just. Love, man.

Anyways, by the end of the movie it's the 4th of July and I'm bawling my fucking eyes out. It's also just a really, really good fighting movie.

[onlytibki]

Straw Hat modern!AU v.1: Jobs and Random Bits of non-plot Headcanons

Yes I know Oda already gave a list and far be it from me to disagree with canon (/s) but hear me out

Jimbei - full-time activist, former soldier/bodyguard. Lorge. Still does work as a bouncer from time to time, this is how he meets Luffy.

(Does karate at the national level. Works out at Zoro's gym, teaches classes sometimes.)

Brook - musician, naturally. Classically trained, accidentally achieved popular fame after the band he was in with his old buddies for fun was scouted out. Lost his bandmates. :( Was depressed for years and just tuned pianos and guitars and other instruments until the Straw Hats brought joy to his life again.

Franky - freelance handyman. Is an engineer, has a engineering degree and certification, but no firm will hire him because he refuses to wear formal clothes (main client is the local university, they asked him only to work at night to avoid students and claims plausible deniability if he chooses not to wear shoes on his own job sites) but he doesn't mind his lot in life because fuck 'em anyway also because trauma and also he's in love with one of the profs

Robin - university professor, teaches history/linguistics/historical linguistics/archaeology. Has like four PhDs. Was wrapped up in some shadiness in Central America while a grad student, but does such high-quality work and is in love with her building's handyman that no one tries to get her in trouble for it

(Robin and Franky meet and bond over keeping the fucking ancient anthropology building both up to livable standards and eligible for the national heritage register. They talk A Lot about historical building materials and methods)

((Note I said 'up to livable standards' and not 'up to code'. Franky's nickname is short for 'Frankenstein' for what he's done to the building's wiring, though somehow it still works))

Chopper - third year med student at 15. Already accepted into the residency program Law is an attending at. Also, he has his driver's license now!! He's the DD for the Straw Hat crew when they go out to bars, and is also self-appointed booze coordinator and hits the brakes for people when he senses alcohol poisoning coming on. Not even Whitebeard Himself can argue when little Dr. Tony gives his super-serious little disapproving pout.

(No, a 15yo cannot legally drive at night, much less operate a car full of drunkards. No one tells him this because he takes the responsibility for the well-being of his friends so seriously, and also no one gives a shit, and also everyone else is drunk anyway.)

Sanji - sous-chef at Baratie (I know, I know, shocker) which is next door to Zoro's gym. He takes classes at the university so that he'll be able to run his own restaurant one day.

(If he finds the FUCKING SHITHEAD who's drawing that Sora, Warrior of the Sea-inspired comic in the school newspaper someone's gonna have to fake an alibi to get him out of murder charges. Even if he does approve of Germa 66's ugly designs and cries over Sora's successful escape and loving words to her lost son)

Usopp - physics major, art minor. Draws a weekly comic for the school newspaper called The Adventures of Sniper King. Picked up boxing due to high school requirements, works out at Zoro's gym.

(Yes it's him. He's got a yellow stripe painted down his back due to the vitriol Sanji spews at his pseudonym daily. He really didn't mean for it to take off! Sanji told them all his story once and Usopp was heartbroken because he lost his mom too and one day he got an itch and he drew a comic about what he thought Sora'd say to Sanji, or what he thought Banchina might say to him, or some weird combination--and then sent it instead of the next installment of Sniper King to his editor ON ACCIDENT and PEOPLE WANTED MORE and HE'S SO SORRY AND HE'S SO SCARED. SANJI'S GONNA KILL HIM AND USOPP WILL DESERVE IT)

((Sanji condemns him into being busboy at Baratie for a month and refuses to speak to him for three days. But he also gives him spicy ginger desserts every night for a week, because Usopp's Sora is truer to life than the original Sora in terms of the love she embodies, and because Stealth Black's rumored escape is shown in the light of triumph. Sanji could hear her in the monologue of Sora's thoughts to her son when she learned he'd escaped Germa 66's clutches. How proud she was that the circumstances of his birth and life hadn't chained him down forever. It was the first time since the age of 9 that he could clearly remember what she had sounded like because, whether through pure miracle or the shared sympathy of orphan-hood, Usopp had gotten her voice exactly right, and it soothed something old and hurting in Sanji to hear it.))

Nami - business/finance, computer science double major. She REALLY wanted to study geography and GIS systems but her family needs the money so she's tilted her dreams--she's going to build the most precise geographic information system in the WORLD and market it to rich assholes while "losing it" to low-income thieves in need.

Stole 50% of her college tuition and negotiated down the other half in a meeting the bursar's office can't actually quite remember fully? But it's their signatures on the papers.

Zoro - business major. Yes, it's as ridiculous as it sounds. No he is not passing any of his classes. But Kuina had been determined to inherit the dojo and keep it flourishing, even if her dad didn't think a woman could. Then she died; and Shimotsuki-sensei died when Zoro was in high school; and now Zoro has two dear friends' dreams on his shoulders, and damn his lack of an MBA or any common sense but he will succeed. Sanji, Nami, and Jimbe are helping.

He did rename the place, from just 'Shimotsuki Dojo' to Kuina's Asskickers, and opened it to all sports. All classes and all tournaments are co-ed, all ages. He tried to get "ASSKICKER" on the gym's competition uniforms/gi but some of his students are toddlers so that wouldn't fly, so he uses 2001 instead. People think it's the founding year and get very confused when the gym is technically 50+years old; 2001 = the number of fights Zoro lost to Kuina.

(Nami asks him why he didn't use "KUINA"; Zoro looks at her funny. "But that's not [male student example]'s name? Why would I put that on his back? Do you want people to get confused??")

((He does have Kuina's name stitched into his gi))

Luffy - biology major. HEAR ME OUT. Garp insisted he go to college for at least a semester and while still an undecided liberal arts major, Luffy discovered a whole BUILDING FILLED WITH COOL BUGS!!! AND PEOPLE GO OUT AND FIND THEM?? AND BRING THEM BACK!! THAT'S A JOB???? SO COOL!!!

So yeah. Technically he's on the road to become an entomologist, but is struggling due to his undiagnosed (but incredibly obvious) AuDHD and a lack of care for statistics (and math in general) and research writing (and reading/writing in general). Robin, Chopper, and Usopp are working HARD to get him to the general area of passing. Luffy also is getting a minor in Portuguese (which is his first language) because he plans on exploring the Amazon Rainforest looking for cool beetles when he graduates.

Ace - fire fighter with shady connections. (more later?)

Sabo - activist with much shadier connections. (more later?)

[nitewrighter]

How about some info about fankid relationships we dont see much? Like Gyo and the Amari twins please?

Ooh fun! Well again, a thing to keep in mind is that Guillaume is like, four years older than the twins, but since he was the Oldest Boy on the Watchpoint they did follow him around, and because they were, like everyone else, younger than him, he wasn't super fond of being followed around by 'babies.' They did grow on him, though. They were useful for basically distracting Rei from following him around because she would take it on herself to boss them around because she was slightly older than them, but also they would embarrass him in front of Annie because it was clear nothing ruffled his feathers faster and that was funny to them. So your basic young kid dynamics, with things kind of balancing out as they got older and Rei just ended up hanging out with Annie more. Guillaume did end up getting closer to Samir than he thought he would because they're both on similar wavelengths of being kind of reserved, serious kids, though Guillaume was definitely entering a more sullen phase when he left for boarding school.

Actually during Gyo's last year in boarding school Samir had been asking about the boarding school for years (Because even if Annie and Rei were frequently decrying it as a 'school for rich jerks' he saw a lot of mystery and romance in all the pamphlets). Samir finally convinced both his moms and Gyo's parents (and the Boarding school staff) to let him shadow Gyo at the school. And Gyo was finally coming out of his awkward phase at this point, so basically just imagine teenage, vampire prince, Baby John Wick-looking Guillaume being trailed around by this sober, staring, skinny little brown boy for a week. A lot of people asked him if Samir was his sidekick, and Samir was convinced that Guillaume's big, spooky, super-old school was full of mysteries to be solved and he was always either annoyingly right at Guillaume's side and asking his friends a lot of embarrassing questions, or wandering off getting into god-knows what kind of trouble. Guillaume had to retrieve Samir from the undercroft, from the attic, from the groundskeeper's equipment shed, from the girl's dorm (which he ended up in by complete accident), from a dumbwaiter shaft, and from an actual secret passage in the walls ("Samir, get out of the walls! You're freaking people out!"). The school staff told Satya and Pharah in no uncertain terms that Samir was not Académie du Sainte Alchoin material and both Satya and Pharah were like "oh noooo he had his heart set on it. :( :( :(" (there was no way in fuck they could have afforded actually sending Samir there anyway).

And now you're asking, "But Nite, why was there a secret passage in the school?" And the answer is "The passage was constructed by the school's founder, Etienne Beaufoy, pretty much exclusively to accommodate for secret gay sex trysts with Guillaume's ancestor, Sylvain Guillard." The passage was used by servants, spies, and assassins over the years before the estate was eventually turned into a school, but the original purpose was, as it turns out is the case with a surprising number of secret passages, gay sex. Guillaume was able to solve the mystery himself shortly before returning home to the Watchpoint, and he was like "Oh yeah, spies and assassins were definitely using that passage" to Samir, not mentioning the original purpose of the passage. The passage later got offhandedly mentioned while Widowmaker was in the room and she went, "Oh, Sylvain's passage is still there?." And Samir's like "What do you mean Sylvain's passage?"

Basically as a team dynamic when Gyo's finally on the team, though, he gets along pretty well with the twins. He's also warmed up significantly to Rajeev, who's always trying to get him to crack a smile, with dumb jokes during missions. Gyo and Rajeev are also definitely gym buddies, with Rajeev miraculously managing to convince Gyo to take a stupid amount of flexing photos. Rajeev's also not above ribbing him in front of Annie--old habits die hard like that--but it's more endearing now.

[sleepyeye17]

Good Day

Steddie oneshot. Fluff. Steve and Robin friendship. Eddie is alive obvs.

793 words

Warnings: not really, although I guess Steve getting mildly injured and having TBI. Some teenagers being dicks. They have a drink.

Robin had fallen asleep on the sofa by the time Steve came in. He didn’t turn on the light, and tried to tiptoe, but she woke up anyway.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

“No, it’s okay.” Robin sat up and turned on the light. They shared a two bedroom apartment above the laundromat, but usually at least one of them ended up falling asleep on the sofa. Robin pulled the blanket off from around her shoulders.

Steve looked terrible. He was walking without bending his knees, and favoring his left side. His posture was stiff and he rubbed his neck. She hadn’t seen him in nearly twenty hours. She’d known he’d been planning on going to the doctor to see about his headaches, and then he was going to Hawkins Lab to check on Eddie and Max. She hadn’t expected him to be gone so long.

“You want a drink, or are you going straight to bed?” she asked.

“I don’t want to keep you up.”

“Sit down.”

Steve collapsed on the sofa with a groan of pain, and Robin got up to make them both tea with whiskey. She didn’t like alcohol, but on bad nights it was all that could help her sleep. Steve preferred his whiskey neat, but he’d drink whatever Robin made for him.

“Tell me about your day,” she said, switching on the electric kettle.

“Went to the doctor. Blood tests. Lung tests. Brain tests. Apparently my brain looks like a punching bag in a gym dumpster.”

“Can they fix it?”

“Sure. I just need to wear a helmet everywhere I go.”

Robin grinned.

“We can cover it in stickers.”

“Yeah, yeah. Make my drink heavy on the whiskey, will you?”

“Not sure you should be drinking with that busted punching bag of yours, buddy.”

“They said all we can do is keep an eye on it.” Steve exhaled, puffing out his cheeks. “Anyways, then I checked on the kids at Hopper’s cabin. El is in shock or something. Struggling. Mike doesn’t know what to do. It was weird. Then as I was going to hawkins lab to visit Max and Eddie, I was going through downtown right? And I saw some kids hassling Wayne Munson. Yelling, following him, pushing him around.”

Robin put her hand over her mouth.

“No!”

“Yeah. So of course I got involved.”

“Steve…”

“What was I going to do, Robin? Walk away?”

“Your brain…”

“They didn’t get in any headshots. One of them got me in the stomach, one of them kneed me in the thigh. Thank God he had bad aim, or I’d probably be infertile. Anyways, the cops came and they took off. So I spent an hour at the station with Mister Munson, giving a statement.”

“Those assholes.” Robin put a spoonful of honey in Steve’s drink and handed it to him. “Haven’t they heard that Eddie was absolved?”

“They don’t give a shit.”

“Who was it?”

Steve downed half his mug in one go, sighing in relief as it burned him all the way down.

“The JV basketball kids,” he said. “You know, JJ, Ben, Ronald.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t Varsity, or you’d be laid up next to Eddie in the hospital right now.”

Steve laid his head back on the sofa and grinned at her.

“Ye of little faith.”

“It sounds like you had a pretty awful day.”

Steve drained the rest of his mug and closed his eyes.

“Nah…”

Robin raised her eyebrows.

“No?”

“No, it was a sort of a good day, actually.”

“Are you a masochist, Harrington? Does getting your ass kicked turn you on?”

“No, it’s not that. Well, after the police station I went to the hospital. Sat with Max. No change there. Read to her. Felt fucking useless. Doctors want to pull the plug, but her mom is holding out.”

“Still sounds like a bad day to me.”

Steve waved this off without opening his eyes.

“Yeah, that part sucked. So I went to visit Eddie. He just got skin grafts, you know?”

“Yeah. I visited him yesterday. He was too tired to say much though.”

“He was tired today too. But he asked about my day, and I lied ‘n told him it was fine.” Steve’s speech was slurring as the exhaustion and the alcohol started kicking in. “An’ I asked him bout his pain, and he lied and told me it was fine.”

Steve slid down on the sofa, holding a pillow to his chest.

“...And then?” Robin asked.

“And then… He smiled at me. Just… Like he does. He just… looked at me. And smiled…”

Steve was almost entirely asleep now. Robin pulled the throw blanket up around him.

“It was a good day,” Steve mumbled. “Cause of that.”

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Beyond the Blood Tie - Chapter Twelve.

Since I'm going to be working all weekend (BOOOO!) I'm updating now, besties! Enjoy! :)

Previous Chapters - One  Two, Part One Part Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten Eleven

Words - 5,877

Tag list - In the comments. Please DM to be added/removed

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

Edie's POV 

"Come here, big fella. You've got guacamole in your beard!" I tell Ahmed, leaning across the table and wiping the spot of green with a napkin, while we're sitting in the gorgeous late afternoon sunshine on Tuesday getting drunk. Technically, we should be at work today, but we've got a slight problem with a family of racoons who moved into one of the air conditioning vents, and half of the CD chambers have to be taken apart to get the little furry fellas out again. Aileen and I had to be forcibly removed from the building yesterday, being all womanly like and gushy as Max put it, because we wanted to see the racoon babies. They should be done tonight, meaning we can go back in tomorrow. 

"Appreciated, dude. I was saving it for later, but oh well," he jokes as we sit and demolish a huge plate of nachos. 

"So, how was your night after I left on Saturday, since I completely forgot to ask you yesterday," I inquire, taking a sip of my drink.  

"It was really great, yeah. Shame you left early really. I erm, I met a girl. One I plan on seeing again too.” Oh? He's very, very fussy with women, my boy here. Hence my surprise that he's finally found one it appears he'd like to begin dating. 

"Oh really? Do tell, buddy," I ask, swiping the last jalapeno covered nacho and shovelling it into my mouth. I adore spicy food. Anything that makes my tongue tingle and I'll eat it. I remember when Ahmed's mom came to visit him and she cooked a spicy potato tagine with olives when I came for dinner one night. I was in heaven. Damn, Mrs Khamir can cook! 

"Her name is Brooke, she's twenty-three and works on the reception of that new gym that's opened up just outside of Vegas, we're into all the same kinda stuff and she loves all of my scars with the kind of interest I've never really seen in a woman before. Oh, and if the way she kisses is anything to go by, well, I've got a damn good time coming to me, if you'll pardon the pun," he grins, making me laugh. He hasn't always had the best of luck with women, because he is quite formidable in appearance, his very good looks often get overshadowed by the six-inch scar to his face, the eye patch and all of the other many scars also littering his gorgeous body as well. But if you like your men to look like a barbarian warrior, Ahmed is the guy for you. 

"I'm really happy for you!" I begin excitedly, reaching out and rubbing his arm enthusiastically. "It's about time you met someone nice."  

"It is, I'll agree with you there. What did you do after you left us, just go home and go to bed?” It is here that I decide to let on a little piece of information that I've been keeping from my friends. 

"That was my original intention, but it got side tracked by the fact I had a visitor, or rather someone who was gentlemanly enough to walk me to a cab, so I invited him home. I didn't want to say at first because I wasn't sure, and also, I know your reaction to it might be a little, well, erm..." I begin, trying to find the words. 

"Edie, you know when you say either too much too little? Now is a time you're saying too much, just spit it out!" he interrupts me with. 

"The vampire, he's the one who came home with me. He came to see me last week, and on Saturday I just so happened to be walking past a bar he was in and he zoomed right out and told me he didn't want me walking unaccompanied past vampire bars the way I was dressed, because vampires like taking humans for themselves unless they belong to another vamp," I explain, watching his face twist into many expressions of disbelief as I talk. 

"For real? Edie, how can you trust him, really? I mean, I know you told me about what happened in the chamber, when he made you confess to the secret you've kept about your mom's suicide note and he comforted you and all that, but Jesus fucking Christ, girl! You've a damn short memory to how he was behaving before!" he announces with concern. And so, I sit and explain it all for him, the way Angel has proven himself to be trustworthy to me, how he actually truly does seek friendship with me and how I feel perfectly at ease around him now. 

"Okay, after hearing all that I feel a little better about the situation, and you know I'll never dictate to you who you should and shouldn't hang around with. One thing though, Edie. Are you definitely sure he just wants to be friends and he isn't trying to get between your legs, and that this is the whole reason he's being nice to you?" he then asks. 

"No, no he definitely isn't. He's confessed that he'd like to, but he respects my wishes when I say I'm not interested in vampires. Also, there's a specific reason he isn't interested, and it's the same for all human women. I can't tell you that though, because that's his business and he made me promise I wouldn't.” He nods after a few moments of silent contemplation, looking satisfied.  

"Alright, I can live with it. But I'd pack earplugs when you decide to mention this friendship to people like Vic and Aileen, who both look at you like you're their daughter," he warns, making a cord of memory strike within me. That's exactly what Angel said about Aileen, that he thought she viewed me as one of her own. 

"I'll bear that in mind." I feel the urge to discuss something else with my large friend here, I have to say, but think better on it, biting my tongue and filing it away into the realms of girl talk which I'll have tomorrow lunchtime when I meet up with Sasha and Miley. Ahmed isn't good with all that kind of stuff; he's a guy, after all.  

For the rest of the afternoon and evening, we keep on drinking, getting so wasted that we have to get a cab home, and then once I've slid out, I practically have to crawl up the drive. I stumble to the kitchen upon entrance, force myself to drink half a litre of water and then go straight to bed. Because of the water, I wake up feeling much less hungover than usual. Sometimes I just can't be bothered, my bed calls out to my drunken self much too loudly. 

After taking some painkillers, I keep on drinking water and eating fruit to try and cleanse myself of the slightly icky feeling I have, and then go and take a long bath. It's while I'm lying there reading a poetry book recommended to me by Miley, comprising of works by Edgar Allen Poe (and finding a lot of it hard to understand, actually) that my mind wanders to what I want to talk to her and Sasha about later at lunch, or rather who. Yes, you guessed right. The gorgeous Latino vampire who I can’t seem to shake from my mind.  

I was so surprised to see him at my door on Sunday, and to be honest with you, the first thing I thought, well, I shouldn't have thought it. Something automatic went off in my head and I instantly thought to myself that he must really like me, turning up like that just a day after I saw him, and then remembered that of course, I'm not dating him. This isn’t what it is. 

I really don't know what's come over me, why I'm starting to see him in a much different light. Vampires have never been attractive to me because of the simple fact that they're dead, but he is, and in a way that goes beyond me just noticing that attractiveness now. Now I'm beginning to think about what it would be like to act upon it, even though I know I can't. The tricky thing here is the fact that he's told me he's attracted to me in much the same way as well, and he alludes to it a lot, too. He's very flirtatious with me.  

But we can't. 

I don't want to die.  

How dramatic did that just sound? It's true, though. Perfectly true. Or maybe I'm only thinking this because I can't have him? Because of that exact reason of him being off limits indefinitely. When we're told we can't have something, human nature often dictates that we'll only crave it further. All this and more I voice to my girlfriends over lunch a couple of hours later, and they have some insightful thoughts. 

"Well, something told me to expect as much, that he'd get in touch with you again," Sasha begins, while spearing more salad leaves with her fork. "Everything else you followed with though, well I agree with what you're thinking. You can't have him, for whatever the reason is, and that makes you want him even more. He's got that forbidden fruit thing going for him. I wish you could tell us why, but I respect that you're being a good friend to him, because I've never known you to be anything less, and keeping a secret he's trusted you with shows that," she then finishes, taking another mouthful of the spinach and rocket leaves from her plate. Of course, I didn't reveal to either her or Miley the reason why I can't be interested in him, the secret he entrusted to me. 

"I think it'll get lesser the longer you know him, the attraction and sexual urges, you'll both just get used to each other more and it'll sink in that you can't go there. I mean look at you and Ahmed, you obviously find him attractive and you've actually had sex with him, and you two don't have anything like that lingering any longer. It's all just friendship," Miley then offers to the conversation. She then drifts off a little dreamily, looking up at the ceiling. “There’s a spider up there. Do you think she thinks we’re in her house, or she’s a visitor in ours?”  

Sasha smiles lovingly, stroking her arm. “Who can say?”  

“Hmm.” Miley nods, turning back to me. 

"It's a little different with Ahmed, sweetie. I'd known him a few years before we had sex, it was a onetime thing and not anything either of us planned on repeating, and I just don't feel the same pull to him as I do with Angel. It goes beyond just the physical attraction. I just, well... I feel really happy when he's around. I enjoy his company. I just hope those little feelings don't get in the way of us being friends. That is essentially what I'm worried about," I voice, both her and Sasha nodding in understanding. 

"Well, you know it'll never be, don't you? That's what you have to keep telling yourself. Miley was right with what she just said, that it'll probably calm down a little the longer you know him. I wouldn't worry too much, once it’s sunk in that you definitely can't have him no matter how much you want him, you'll just see him like any other friend and you'll be fine," Sasha assures me, while I go back to eating the rest of my by now cold fries, wondering if things will truly work out that way. 

"Yeah, yeah you're right. I'm twenty-eight years old now, and if I can't handle being adult like and being friends with someone who I want to have sex with but can't, then when the hell am I going to start? It's cool, I'll get over it." I say with a dismissive wave of my hand.  

Our conversation moves on to us all deciding upon places to go and shop for outfits for our usual night out this Saturday, heading to our favourite location of Hell's Gate once more. While browsing the stores, I manage to find myself a new skirt to wear with the little black leather corset I won on eBay for a steal recently (twenty-six dollars!) in record time, leaving me to keep my eyes peeled for my friends since their decision making wasn't as swift as mine. It's while my eyes are roaming around the women's section of the department store we're currently in that I see something that catches my eye, but for my own reasons. 

"Oh, oh hello perfect tattoo design for my cover up." I say to myself as I reach up to the peg that I see a t shirt with a very interesting design on the front of, taking it down for a closer look. Even though my original tattoo has colour in it (but very, very washed out in tone) I want the cover up to be black and grey. I hope that this is big enough to be able to do that. The print on the t shirt itself is of a few stems of lilies all wrapped around each other and spraying out in a cluster towards the top, with trails of ivy and little stars surrounding it.  

Taking my cell from my bag, I hang the t shirt on a lower peg, take the picture and then return it to its proper peg before typing out some accompanying text to go with the picture. 'I just saw this; I'd really like it or something close to it as my cover up. Can you work with this, or do I need to buy the t shirt and bring it to the shop?' I type before sending the message to Angel's cell, ready for him to see when he wakes up at sundown. 

When I do receive a reply from him much later that evening, when I'm taking my break at work, I read the message he sent me roughly an hour ago and see that Saturday isn't going to go how we've planned it. 'Hi Edie, sorry it's a no go for Saturday, I'm afraid. If you can make Sunday though, I can do it then? We're having the front counter refitted, and the only time the guy can come and do it this Saturday night, so we've had to move all our appointments to Sunday and open up then instead. No worries if you can't, just let me know ASAP. No problem with the photo you've sent me either, I'll start drawing something up for you tonight. How’s 10pm for you?' the message reads.  

‘Yep, that’s fine. See you then.’ Sending my reply, I can hardly wait. A new tattoo and getting to see Angel. What’s not to like? Okay, so I’m mostly looking forward to seeing him again, above all.  

I know, I know. I’m ridiculous. I need to extinguish this flame I have within myself for the vampire who is off limits. I really do. Easier said than done, though.  

Angel's POV 

"Oh my word, that's absolutely beautiful," Ursula tells me as I sit at my desk in my room, drawing the design Edie sent me a picture of earlier today. 

"It's just a starting sketch to see how she likes it. I'll need to alter it a little to go with the contours of her body, so I’ll have to adjust once I've measured this to fit her back and such like, and then form the proper line drawing. Unless she trusts me to free hand it," I reply while my creator pulls up a chair next to me and takes a closer look. 

"She must be a special client, for you to be prepared to work on a design for her in your spare time," she observes, twirling a golden lock of hair around her finger as she watches me add shading to the sketch. 

"She is. It's for Edie," I confirm, and then swiftly wipe the big smile off my face that speaking her name often prompts. 

"You're becoming quite fond of this new friend of yours, aren't you, my boy? But yet I sense some unsettlement coming from you. Do you wish to discuss your thoughts? Are you struggling with feeling attracted to her, like you thought you would?" Oh yes, nothing much gets past Ursula. 

"Yeah, I do actually," I begin, putting down my pencil and turning to face her. "I'm becoming attracted to her, but more than just sexually, like we spoke of before. Don't get me wrong, the sexual side of it is prevailing most right now, the urges I have for her in that respect burn brightly, but I have noticed little things that I don't want to. Namely, it’s the fact there's something about her I can't quite put my finger on, something that draws me in closer to her. I don't want to notice it, because in my one hundred and thirty-six years on this planet, there has only ever been one other woman I've felt that with, that unfathomable thing about her that interests me."  

"Luisa?" Ursula asks. 

"Precisely," I huff. 

"Oh dear, please don't tell me you're considering acting upon this? You told me Edie is not attracted to us vampires either, so wouldn't this be massively disrespectful to her wishes if you did try to pursue her sexually? Actually, we need to take that out of the equation. You can't do this, Angel. Full stop," she states, telling me what I already know, and what I am beginning to loathe. 

"Of course, I'm not. She doesn't deserve to end up dead, even if she did change her mind about being attracted to me. I just don't want it hanging over me, I want to try and enjoy being her friend, and although I am, I have the way I felt when I first met Luisa hanging over me so much that it clouds that enjoyment and frustrates me. It's something I don't imagine will get better or more manageable either," I lament, watching Ursula frowning with concern. 

"It is something you must steel yourself to, my child. Give it some time as well, these feelings are likely to settle the more you get to know her, or perhaps go the other way and you find these feelings begin to deepen. If that happens though, you'll only be frustrated further. It is perfectly within your capabilities, to be staunch with yourself and continually remind yourself too that she is unquestionably off limits. Anyway, I just thought I'd come up and check on you before going to visit Sissy, enjoy the rest of your evening." Kissing my forehead, she leaves me to it, departing in a blink. Sissy is a vampire friend of ours, and every time Ursula mentions her, I get the biggest dick twitch ever. Sissy is one hell of an incredible fuck.  

Maybe I should have offered to go with her, but then again it would ruin Ursula's evening with her friend. Sissy and I only have to look at each other and we're halfway to sex. Getting on top of someone would take my mind off Edie, though, and just when I think of calling Natasha to make that happen, I have another visitor in the form of a naked EZ. 

"Fucking faucet is jammed, I'm using your shower," he announces as he walks through to my bathroom, leaving the door ajar. We vampires aren't quite as precious over certain things as you humans. Nudity is one of them. Then again, my brother was exactly the same when he was a human, he's very comfortable strolling around naked. "That's a good drawing you're working on, by the way. I thought you said to me you hated doing flower tattoos?" he then adds as I hear the shower being switched on. 

"I never said I hated them; I said I hated the regularity I was sticking the same flash sheet design upon the women coming in for them. I actually like doing the more intricate and feminine looking tattoos, they're more of a challenge," I reply, suddenly having an idea on how to make this design I'm working on a lot more detailed, beginning to sketch out that idea. Instead of regular stems, I'm going to shape them into filigree patterns to make it look prettier. A girl as pretty as Edie deserves a pretty tattoo, and not that mess Helena 'I can't draw to save my damn life' Smith etched upon her while she was still in business. 

"You're spending your own time doing a drawing for a client? Wow," EZ observes from the shower. I never usually let work encroach my private life, so hence the surprise from both him and Ursula. 

"No, for a friend," I tell him. 

"The girl who beat the shit out of you?" he laughs. 

"You know her name," I chide, laughing a little in reply. 

"Edie. Is it for Edie?" I've told him all about her, of course. He told me it was admirable, for me to seek friendship with a human, and even went as far to say he thinks he's noticed a difference in me since I have. 'You seem a little calmer since you've been visiting her, so that tells me she must be doing you some good, since your visits have only been a recent thing. Just don't mess it all up and stick your dick in her' is the advice he gave me. 

"It is, I'm doing it for her this Sunday," I reply. 

"And you're tattooing her when?" EZ then asks in joke, making me laugh more loudly. 

"Shut the fuck up!" I exclaim. 

"Never!" Exiting the shower wrapped in a towel, he takes a seat next to me, rubbing his hair with a smaller towel, looking closer at the design with a nod.  

"Speaking of humans, Eric wants to go to Hell's Gate this Saturday on a human hunt, and he's roped me into it too. Fancy joining us? There'll be a few of us there, I think," I ask him, deciding to see if I can get him interested in it, a rare evening out with me on a Saturday since I'm usually working. He agrees, and with that our conversation moves on swiftly. What is swiftest though is the passing of time between now and Saturday, with me entering Hell's Gate at 1am with a group of other vampires in what feels like a blink of an eye between then and Tuesday, when I asked EZ to join us. 

“Oh, man. Check that girl out at the bar. Wow,” Sal speaks, nudging my arm. I’m just about to speak of her good looks, when she promptly turns around and throws up all over the floor. As a human, that’s bad enough to smell, but imagine that when your senses are a thousand times sharper. 

"And with that, I’m outta here,” I exclaim. God damnit, that’s gross. 

"I think I'll join you, actually.” We both get up and seek out EZ, who said he was going for a walk around. The club is absolutely massive, on three floors with two rooms per floor, one of which we walk through without seeing much of interest until we head over to the room where they play the dance music, and we see a completely different breed of women, those who aren’t throwing back so much alcohol, they puke.  

Right now, we’re viewing the kind who like to dance all night long, in teeny tiny outfits. They're certainly very pleasing on both our sets of eyes as we stand on the top balcony and look down at the dance floor itself, Sal moving at speed over to a tall blonde who is all tiny waist, big hips and huge green eyes after picking up on her admiring look. He's currently kissing her hand, and she's giggling shyly.  

Turning back to the floor below, it's as I'm watching the many writhing bodies down there that I suddenly spy one I recognise, her violet hair all curled in loose ringlets and tumbling down to just past her shoulders, wearing a little grey and black plaid skirt that barely covers her ass, finishing it off with knee high boots and a black leather corset. Edie, you just took the breath I do not even need to breathe away from me with how you look tonight. Stunning doesn't even begin to cut it. What a body. God, she’s fucking stunning. And I’m stuck being just friends with her. Fucking hell!  

"What's caught you eye?" EZ asks at my side, trying to follow my line of vision. 

"See that girl in the plaid and leather? That's Edie," I point, watching his eyebrows rise significantly. 

"Now I see what all the fuss is about. She's certainly very sexy. Must be hard, knowing you can't go there," he replies, amusedly. 

"I'm managing with it, and I will have to continue to do so as well.” I have no other choice, do I? 

"Well, I couldn't do it, keep my hands to myself around her if I were you. I mean just look at her, look at those legs. Imagine feeling those legs tightening around you in the throes of ecstasy. I think I want to know what that feels like," EZ taunts me with, looking at Edie with the look he gives women five seconds before he advances on them. 

I glare immediately. "If you do, I won't speak to you for centuries. Besides, she's not into our kind, as I told you.” He simply returns a look of pure apathy. 

"She would be if I took her home, but the way you're looking at me, well, while the centuries of silence do sound appealing, I won't. You're annoying when you're pissed off." He then heads over to where Sal is sitting with the blonde and a group of her equally attractive female friends, his attentions now turned away from Edie. She still hasn't seen me, but enough other vampires have seen her, since it seems Eric invited just about everyone he damn well knows (and he's very popular) here tonight, and then they invited their friends, too. Hell's Gate is a human club, but the humans here are wilder, they're more approachable with the idea of vampires fucking or feeding on them, so hence why so many are here currently. 

This isn't good though, because if any of those vampires currently watching Edie (and there are a couple doing just that) know she's here alone, then they'll be all over her like a rash, wanting her to be theirs. Of course, they have to leave her alone if she belongs to another vampire, though. When I see a vampire in particular who Edie really doesn't want anything to do with in the slightest staring at her from the other side of the balcony, I know I have to act fast, so move from my side of it and down onto the floor where Edie is dancing within a blink.  

Latoria Jackson, the third eldest in Vegas after Charles and Ursula is the one with her eye on Edie. To say she's a bitch is putting it mildly. She's pure evil, feared as much as she is respected, and the way I've heard she keeps her humans… well I don't want that for Edie. I just have to hope she doesn't turn and punch me for what I'm about to do. I have to convey strongly to Latoria that Edie is mine (even though she isn't) so she won't try to take her against her will, because that is exactly what'll happen. I've seen her do it to humans before. 

"Do not react to this in a hostile way,” I begin, Edie turning to look at me a little confused. 

“And good evening to you too, Angel,” she says, laughing softly.  

“Seriously, Edie. Go along with it and everything I say and do, and trust me, I'm doing this for your own good.” My hands slide around her waist, moving her hair and beginning to kiss the side of her neck. Oh, god fucking damn, this feels too good. The way she smells, how soft her skin is against my lips, the fact I just felt her pulse quicken sharply. I want her, so fucking badly. This is absolute torture. Still, I wait a moment for her leg to come flying up between mine and hit me right in the dick, but incredibly, she trusts what I said just as Latoria arrives in front of us. 

"She's yours?" she asks, arching an elegantly groomed eyebrow as she stares at Edie, her eyes roaming all over her. 

"I am, very much so," she informs her before I can speak, reaching her hand up to stroke my hair, turning her head to kiss my cheek. That feeling, the warm pucker of lips so soft is beyond the realms of any kind of scintillation I've felt before, probably because I want her so much and I can't have her. But then when she stares at Latoria before slowly turning in my arms and planting her lips upon mine, I want her so much I can begin to feel it slipping, my resolve not to fuck her. It isn't a full-on kiss, but it makes Latoria leave again at speed, back up to her place at the balcony to keep an eye out for the next unattended human she likes the look of. 

"I take it she wanted me," Edie whispers in my ear, our arms still around each other. I don't like this. It feels too good to have her in my arms, which is the very place she can't be. 

"She did, but not half as much as I want you.” Yeah, shouldn’t have said that, should I? The words just fell out, though, continuing to state at her unflinchingly, our gaze heavy, full of what I now realise is entirely mutual longing. The energy grows, the air between us becoming heavy, the atmosphere between us denser, building all the time. As I hold her to me, I can feel her heart thundering in her chest, I can hear it too, beating away with such force I don't even hear the music any longer, the booming bass from a dance song I recognise from my human years, Barbers Adagio for Strings, people all around reaching for the lasers beaming overhead, dancing euphorically, without a care in the world to the beat of synths meeting strings.  

They’re not even here to me, it’s just me and the human I know I'm becoming obsessed with, the sound of her heartbeat like thunder in my ears, crashing against her chest so rapidly, it only tells me one thing. She feels the same, no matter what she said to me before; I know she feels it too. They have their euphoria through synthesised music, and I have mine. Her name is Edie. 

If I needed any further confirmation of that, I receive it when after our faces have begun to drift together again, we kiss once more. This time though, it isn't a kiss for appearances, it's a real kiss, an unbreakable, earth shaking, magmatic kiss of one hundred percent need and longing for one another. It’s everything that has been building between us, for probably a lot longer than either of us would wish to admit. It's a kiss so arousing, so blindingly passionate that immediately my fangs pop out (as they always do when I'm excited or annoyed by something) and it takes me all I have to retract them again so I can kiss her without piercing her tongue on my teeth.  

She clings to me, body pressed against mine as one hand curls around the back of my neck and the other rests on my chest, both of mine still locked around her waist, erotic energy coursing through me so strongly that if I could, I'd have sex with her right here on the damn dancefloor. I can feel myself beginning to draw breath through my nose without even thinking it, Edie suddenly jumping up into my arms, her legs locked around me as we continue to kiss each other hungrily. This girl, this fucking beautiful, amazing girl, she makes me feel like all the dead inside me came alive again. My death just bloomed. I’ve never felt that before. 

This moment we share does nothing but grow in intensity, especially for me, since I can smell very clearly how aroused she’s getting, and it’s like a fucking beacon, my arms tightening around her, tongue circling with hers, my hand moving to grip her thigh, her nails trailing my scalp making me shiver pleasantly, before suddenly, she pulls away from it, clambering down to her feet once more. 

"I thought you said you weren't attracted to my kind?" I ask, realising that this thing being mutual will make it a thousand times worse. That was one hell of an incredible kiss, so incredible I really couldn't think of anything else to come out with other than the stupid, dumbfounded words I just spoke. I also cannot believe I let my resolve completely melt like that, but it felt so good doing it, indulging in a little of what I want so very badly. 

"I'm not. It's you, it’s... it’s just you. Please, excuse me I need to go and be embarrassed by myself for a while, I'm sorry, but I... I just...I can't be around you right now," she cries, moving away from me while I try to hold onto her. 

"Edie you've nothing to feel embarrassed about, it’s okay!" I try and reassure her, hating the fact she's now starting to panic and get upset. 

"Yes, I do! I can't have you and I just went and kissed you! I'm out of my damned mind, acting like this around someone I know can only ever be a friend to me!" she exclaims, this time managing to wriggle out of my hold upon her wrist and fleeing.  

I let her go, but follow her from a distance to see where she's gone to, seeing her heading straight to a table where her friends are, talking to them briefly, watching the three of them then getting up to leave. After – and again from a distance - I've left the club and watched them get into a cab, I head back inside and suddenly really don't feel like partying any longer, for the only person interesting to me in this entire club just left it, and took that bloom she made me feel with her.  

I really hope I see her tomorrow when she's meant to come in for her tattoo, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if she didn't turn up. I think this is the point where being just friends is about to become difficult, now I know that she wants me just as much as I do her.  

Fuck.