#or it's just a caesar salad but with like something else added

[youll-find-out-on-saturday]

Cookbook: Usually people skip the salad chapter, but these salads aren't like other sal-

Me: *Flips to next chapter*

[me-and-your-husband]

i’m starving, darlin’ (let me put my lips to something) || j. miller

summary: you won’t let joel eat. he has something else in mind, modern!au, still takes place in 2023.

warnings: joel fucks the reader with a beer bottle (no, it’s not empty...), dirty talk, kind of exhibitionism?, female reader, reader wears a dress, modern!au, not proofread

word count: 1.4k

a/n: this is just me being so fucking feral. y’all saw my “ellie fucks the reader with her pistol”? same idea. don’t think about the logic cause i sure as fuck didn’t. title credit to @tieflingpride . i too am obsessed with hozier’s new song (been a hozier girlie for awhle). let’s not talk about the fact that the song is actually about generations exploiting new generations thru capitalism! only pay attention to the slutty base intro! also the idea that joel can’t cook is kind of from @textsfromeponinet ‘s blurb. i wrote this in like forty minutes.

The hot summer air clung to your skin as you crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in your chair, pulling your dress down over your thighs. The golden evening sun was peeking out through the trees in Joel’s backyard, coasting over the four of you in a comfortable glow. You sat next to Joel, his hand resting comfortably on your thigh as you chatted with Tommy and Maria. Sarah was at a friend’s house, missing out on the barbecue. The only part of cooking Joel could pride himself on was his barbecuing. 

“Not sure how much I trust your cookin’ Joel. Not after the time back home when you lit old Mrs. Garcia’s kitchen on fire,” Tommy said to Joel with a smirk, making both you and Maria look to Joel and laugh. 

Joel grinned. “If I remember right, that fire only started ‘cause I had to pick your ass up from that party and I forgot I had shit cookin’,” he said, tilting his head to the side and tilting his beer bottle up to his lips, taking a swig. 

“He’s better at barbecuing than he is…anything else. I promise,” you said, making Tommy and Maria chuckle. Joel squeezed your thigh. 

“Reminds me. Should go sauce the steak,” Joel drawled, getting up from his place next to you and walking a few feet away towards the sizzling barbecue.

Maria leaned in closer to you, “Please tell me you made those salads I saw in the kitchen earlier.” 

You laughed and assured her that you made them. “There’s caesar salad, pasta salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, you name it. Joel eats like a man starved, so I always make sure we’ll have leftovers for a couple nights. Y’all can take some home if you want,” you offered. 

“We’ll definitely take you up on that. Tommy here takes after his brother.” You and Maria laughed as Tommy rolled his eyes with a smile. 

“I’m pretty sure last time someone let Joel around anything that couldn’t be grilled, everyone went home with food poisoning,” you joked, jolting when you felt hands begin to gently massage your shoulders from behind. 

“That right. Darlin’?” Joel laughed. You smirked at him as he sat down. “Steak’s almost ready. I’d say in five.” He took another swig of his beer. 

“In that case, I should go inside and put the dressing on the salad. Didn’t want it to get soggy or I would’ve done it earlier,” you said as you got up from your chair. 

“Oh, let me help you!” Maria said, standing.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Sit! I’ll be right back.” You opened the back door, shutting it gently behind you. The kitchen windows were open. You could still hear small bits of the conversation going on outside if you listened hard enough.

You began pulling the different bowls of salad out from the fridge and onto the counter. You grabbed the caesar dressing and added it to the salad, mixing it around. You looked over your shoulder when you heard the back door open and shut, still mixing.

“Just grabbin’ another beer, honey,'' Joel said, grabbing you by the hips and moving you gently to the side so that he could get in the fridge adjacent to you. Joel grabbed another bottle before closing the door. Hand still on your hips, he peered over your shoulder at what you were doing. He brought the lid up to his mouth, cracking the lid off with his teeth and throwing it out. He downed about a third of the beer, only stopping when you turned to place the bowl on the kitchen island. However, you ran into his broad chest, his frame stopping you from moving past him. 

“You’re drivin’ me crazy with that little dress you’ve got on, pretty thing,” he groaned. His breath smelled like beer, but you knew he wasn’t drunk. Just tipsy. 

You giggled. “Joel. I’ve gotta finish up. The people want to eat,” you said, trying to move past him.

“Hm, so do I, darlin’,” he said with a smirk, pulling you back into him by the wrist.”

“Joel!” You gasped, smacking him playfully on the bicep. He took another swig of his beer, grabbing the salad bowl with his other hand and throwing it on the counter. “Joel, not now. We can finish this later, I pro-”

He cut you off with his lips on yours, hands cradling your face, the cold surface of his beer bottle pressed up against your cheek. You whimpered into his mouth as he pressed your back into the island.

He broke away. The grin on his lips was almost permanent, an ever-present reminder of his constant desire for his woman. “You won’t let me taste you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take something else for me, honey.”

Your brows furrowed. He lifted you onto the counter and you squealed. “Joel, what if Tommy or Maria come in?” 

He pressed another kiss to your lips. “Shh, baby. Window’s open.”

His rough hands lifted your dress higher and higher until it was bunched around your hips, your dampening panties the only thing shielding you from the air. Noticing the wet spot pooling there, Joel’s thick fingers traced it, fingers ghosting over your pussy, leaving silent kisses there.

“Already this wet for me, huh?” he whispered before taking one last sip of his drink. “You feelin’ brave, sweetheart?”

“Anything for you,” you said, becoming too wet to care or resist. 

He hummed and moved your panties to the side. “That’s what I like to hear.” 

You gasped as you watched him lower his bottle to your core, running the cold tip through your wet folds, making you shudder. “Trust me?”

“Always.”

He smirked. He lined the cold tip of the bottle up with your entrance, pushing in ever so slowly, watching the way it disappeared perfectly inside you. You bit your lip as he worked it deeper. You couldn’t help but moan when it bottomed out inside of you. 

“Gotta keep quiet for me, honey,” he said as he slowly pulled it out and worked it back in. He pulled you so your ass was barely supported by the island, his arm doing most of the work. “Look at you, takin’ my bottle like a slut,” he chuckled. You didn’t care. You let out quiet, breathy moans as he worked it in and out of you.

“Faster, please Joel,” you moaned softly. He obeyed, thrusting it in and out at a faster pace, eyes transfixed on your slick collecting around the neck of the bottle. You could feel the familiar pressure in your core building up. One of your hands found his hair, pulling gently for some reprieve. His other hand moved to circle your clit, hell-bent on seeing your release. 

You bit back your moans as your release crept up on you, Joel trying his hardest to coax it out of you. He thrived off your little moans of his name, begging for your release, knowing he was the only one who could give it to you.

“That’s it, baby. Come on, know you can do it. Cum for me, pretty thing. That’s right.”

The coil finally snapped, Joel clamping a hand over your mouth immediately in an attempt to quell your moans. He worked the bottle in and out of you through your orgasm, your back arching and body writhing up off the counter. 

When you came down, Joel took his hand from your mouth and gently worked the bottle out of you, watching the way your puffy hole clenched around it, then clenching around nothing. As you tried to catch your breath, Joel brought the bottle up to your eyes. You blushed at the sight of your cum running down and inside the bottle, mixing in with the liquid left still inside. 

“Look at that, honey,” he said before bringing it up to his lips, taking a savory sip before kissing you once more. He grinned as he began to make his way outside. 

“Joel?” You called, still wanting more of him. Always more. 

“What? The people need to eat, baby.” He laughed before going back outside. 

A few minutes later, after straightening yourself out, you walked outside with the salads. Your eyes couldn’t help but gravitate towards Joel, sprawled out in his chair, still sipping from the bottle.

permanent taglist:

@winters-fairy @idkwhattonamethisblogs 

joel taglist: 

@sunxflowerxx @mmeerraa @chrry1ovr @milly-louise @jordie-gvf @themusingkitten @anxiety-made 

[sailorsenshishitposter]

Joseph Joestar x Reader

Joseph Joestar

If you take away all the flaws then this man is the best jojo. You like dumb himbos who will wear a crop top even in the coldest of weather. You tend to quote "your next line is" until you get punched in the face (by friends or bystanders is up for debate). You may also have a thing for caesar salad. Unfortunately this man is also a raging racist and a Nazi sympathizer so he loses some points.

First Date:

You meet at the Speedwagon foundation (while Caesar is still alive). The Italian man had begun to flirt with you, causing jojo to have a jealous meltdown. If this manchild is not the center of attention then he will make himself known. He takes his clackers and tosses them at the blondes head, causing him to fall unconscious.

He then stands in front of you  "Oi, I didn't know that there was an angel so far away from Heaven." You begin to blush only for him to raise a brassier ad and ask you if "those are real." You pimp slap him causing Joseph to lose a tooth. "I guess I really am bad with women. Let me try something else." He then got an idea and pulled out a coca cola bottle from his pocket. "Want to see a magic trick?"

Caesar has just woken up with a throbbing headache. "Momma mia, what's going on...?" Joseph uses his hamon to cause the lid to fly off the bottle. It zooms past your head and then somehow reaches the formally unconious man, hitting him square in the face. K.O. He's not waking up anytime soon. You agree to one date as long as jojo promises to leave you alone afterwards.

You are both sitting at a fancy restaurant. Joseph had ordered squid ink pasta while you had some Risotto. The man had insisted on something called McDonald's until he remembered that he was banned from that establishment after waving around a Tommy gun. He took this chance to get your attention and flung some noodles into another patrons glass.

You weren't impressed. Joseph then decided to break the ice. "The French are very cultured you know. They have this thing called menage e trois."  You choked on your food. You could not believe that he was doing this. You told him you were a firm believer in monogany but he began to protest. "C'mon it's not like anyone will find out, I'm going out with multiple other girls right now!"

You threw your drink at him in disgust. "Pig!" You then ran out of the restaurant. "Who needs her? I'll just go find myself a Japanese wom-" Suddenly the room feels very cold. It was none other than the patron who's drink he had ruined earlier. He slowly turned around. "Lisa Lisa?" He had no idea that he mentor would be here. "I think you mean mother." His brain stopped functioning. "Wait, what?"

"I see how I have failed you as a parent and now I must punish you." She then bent Joseph over her knee and began to spank him. Screaming was heard through out the whole town well into the next morning. Eventually the sound found Caesar but instead of waking him up it only gave him the most pleasant dream of his life.

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: vomiting, light angst due to body image issues (pregnant!reader)

A/N: i have been working on a WIP all day! it’s going to be my longest one-shot by far. if you would like a hint, click here (another hint: it’s not a retelling of the episode)

Masterlist

Chapter 28

Gradually over the summer, your bump started to peek out just a little bit. The bottom of your belly would poke out of your tank tops slightly.

Spencer loved it because it gave him better skin-to-skin contact. He would constantly be rubbing and kissing your tummy while whispering softly to the baby.

He would often visit you in your office for lunch so he could bring whatever you were currently craving. You learned this the hard way once when you packed a chicken caesar wrap for lunch one morning and by the time it got to noon, it made you nauseous just looking at it. Spencer brought you watermelon that day because it was the only thing that sounded good.

You were just finishing up an email when there was a knock at the door.

“It’s open,” you announced.

“Hi, love. How are we doing today?” Spencer inquired.

“Better now that you’re here,” you looked up from your computer to give him a kiss.

“I brought you your fruit salad with extra watermelon and your prenatal vitamins. Also, I don’t know how your stomach is feeling but I would like you to try to have some protein because fruit does not have much sustenance for you and little one. I brought tofu, peanut butter crackers, or a protein bar, whatever you think you can get down,” Spencer unloaded his bag.

“I finished the whole 64 ounce water bottle before noon. Aren’t you proud of me, babe?” you beamed, proudly displaying your empty bottle.

“So proud, I’ll go refill it right now so you can take your vitamins,” Spencer lifted your blouse up and placed a gentle kiss right on your belly button, “Daddy will be right back, little one.”

-

You awoke to the sickly twisting feeling in your stomach and you carefully rose from the bed in an attempt to not upset your stomach any more.

Spencer was up and out of the bed as soon as he heard the first retch. He grabbed a hair elastic and tied your hair back, rubbing soothing circles on your back.

“Spence, I can’t be sick today,” you cried.

“Jo will understand, love. I’ll tell her you are taking care of little one.”

“I don’t want to miss her first day of first grade,” you sobbed into his chest.

“I will facetime you and take so many videos and pictures, you won’t miss a thing,” he promised you.

“I’m going to call you out of work. Then, I’m going to get you some tea, plain crackers, and iced water,” he kissed the top of your head.

“Will you be okay in here by yourself for a little?” he asked quietly.

You sniffled and nodded.

“Okay, shout if you need me. I’m going to go get that stuff for you and wake Jo up.”

“I want to at least say bye to her. I want to see her in her first day outfit,” you insisted.

“Of course, we’ll be back up in a little,” he assured you.

About 15 minutes later, Spencer returned with a tray of just about every drink and food you had been craving for the past week.

“I love you,” you smiled.

“I love you more,” he replied, setting the tray down on your nightstand.

“Mommy, brother or sister is being bad?” Jo asked.

“No, baby,” you motioned for her to climb up on the bed with you, “They are just growing and it is making Mommy a little sick but it’s okay. I’m sorry I can’t drop you off with Daddy today. But luckily, I heard your new teacher is super nice and you have Henry in your class again this year.”

“Bye, Mommy. I’ll miss you,” she hugged you, “Bye, brother or sister,” she waved to your belly.

“Bye, Baby J. I am expecting a full report on everything that happened as soon as you get home,” you smiled.

“I’ll be back in 30,” Spencer helped Jo off the bed, looking at you worriedly.

“Spence, I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” you assured him.

“Call me if anything happens like even if you just think you’re about to throw up, call me,” he insisted.

You nodded, “Have fun!”

-

“There’s my big first grader!” you smiled with open arms.

You were waiting on the couch for Jo and Spencer to come home from pick up time.

“Mommy!” she ran into your arms, “Ms. Moore is so nice. She let us color whatever we wanted for an hour during craft time today and she had a whole bin of dinosaur books in the library. And, me and Henry played on the big kid swings at recess today and I jumped off into the air!” she exclaimed.

“Oh my gosh! What a fun day you had!” you smiled.

“And you didn’t even hear the best news yet, Daddy signed up to be a classroom helper,” she beamed.

“Did he now?” you grinned, turning your attention to Spencer.

“Ms. Moore had the sign-up sheet out at pick-up time. How can I resist spending more time with Jo? I’m going to get lonely when both my girls are at work and school,” he plopped down on the couch and squeezed you both.

-

You couldn’t find a single cute blouse that still fit you that morning. You had to wear an ugly wrinkly gray one from the back of your closet that you bought a while back and hated but never got around to returning. You brushed through your hair quickly and forwent any makeup because you already felt like utter crap.

You would have called out sick but you had an important department meeting today that you had to sit through. Luckily, that meant little to no talking but you just had to pray that your stomach would settle.

At the end of the long day, you went home and changed into sweats. In an attempt to cheer yourself up, you drove to Jo’s school to see Spencer in action. It was his first day as class assistant.

You approached the classroom to see Spencer surrounded by a group of moms. They were all over him, practically swarming him like bees to honey. These were the exact moms that were horrible to you last year. They were all dressed in high heels and skinny jeans, stuff you couldn’t wear anymore.

You turned around and headed back out to the car.

-

Spencer immediately noticed your car wasn’t in the driveway when they got home.

“Love?” Spencer called out, setting his keys on the table when they entered the front door.

No response.

Spencer tried your cell but it rang out.

He immediately had Garcia on the phone next, “Penelope, I need you to track Y/N. She’s not home yet and not answering her cell and I’m worried.”

“Oh, McDonald’s? Okay, yeah thanks. That’s been one of her cravings recently,” Spencer hung up the phone.

“Why did Mommy leave school and now she’s not here?” Jo questioned.

“Mommy wasn’t at school today, Princess. I think you are confused,” Spencer furrowed his brow.

“Daddy, I saw her,” Jo stated.

“Okay, I believe you,” he picked the little girl up and exited the house once again.

-

You didn’t want to be the crazy pregnant lady in a McDonald’s crying with a chocolate milkshake and a large fry but that is who you had become.

You heard the bell chime but you didn’t look up, dipping your next fry into your milkshake.

“Love, what’s wrong?”

Spencer was standing over you, looking very concerned and carrying Jo on his hip.

He set her down and whispered, “How about you go play in the play place for a little, Princess. Daddy will order you a happy meal.”

Jo looked at you with the same amount of concern in her eyes before deciding it was best to just follow what Spencer said. She ran off and Spencer took the seat across from you.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he spoke softly.

“Not particularly,” you took a long sip of your milkshake.

“Jo said she saw you at the school today,” Spencer stated.

It didn’t take a profiler to see the way your face sank even more and you stopped sipping your shake.

“What upset you so much, love? I need to know if I’m going to fix it,” he grabbed your hand and kissed it.

“Nothing fits,” you stated.

“We’ll buy you more maternity clothes,” he replied quickly.

“I look ugly,” you protested.

“Completely and unequivocally false,” he answered sincerely.

“Those moms are going to steal you away from me,” another tear slid down your face.

Spencer’s face softened, he moved from the seat across from you to right next to you.

“You are probably feeling some residual feelings of abandonment because you had to do this alone last time,” Spencer stated softly.

You buried your face into his shoulder as confirmation.

“Love, I am never leaving you or Jo or little one ever again. There’s nowhere else I want to be. This is what makes me happy,” Spencer looked around, “I’d gladly stay in this crusty McDonald’s forever if you and Jo are here.”

Your giggle was muffled by his cardigan.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Spencer smiled, wrapping his arms around you.

A/N: i named Jo’s teacher ‘Ms. Moore’ as a little shoutout to @homoose !!! moore...moose, close enough. she was one of the writers who inspired me to start writing my own fics

taglist: (just ask to be added or removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange

[softnoblecyno]

Three’s a Party

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Characters: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Jaskier | Dandelion, Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg Additional Tags: Movie Night, Sharing a Bed, Fluff, Banter, Anxiety, Polyamory, First Meetings, Teasing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting

tag list(send me an anon/ask to be added!): @fontegagrilledcheese @geraltrogerericduhautebellegarde

on ao3

“I missed you last night, you know,” Yennefer’s violet eyes are gleaming. “Out at a fancy restaurant with Jaskier.” Her lips twitch into a smirk as she says his name. Oh, how she loves to tease Geralt about Jaskier. That they’re total opposites, that Geralt is whipped, that Jaskier is an endlessly annoying theater kid- she never gets tired of it.

But Geralt’s mind is somewhere else, and the grumbled, “It wasn’t fancy,” Yennefer is surely expecting hardly crosses Geralt’s mind. Instead, he pushes his stir-fry around his plate with his fork, brows furrowed as he thinks back on his date with Jaskier.

He had a good time. he always does with Jaskier, Geralt has come to realize. Even when they go to McDonalds, just to Jaskier’s house to hear him play piano, or, yes, even at a stupid, fancy restaurant where he had to wear a button-up shirt. Geralt even enjoyed himself the time that they went for a walk in the park and Geralt fell in the pond. He had fun even then. Jaskier had laughed and laughed at him, and while Geralt had tried to put on an annoyed face, eventually he’d been laughing too. That’s just who Jaskier is. Someone fun, who always sees the best in every scenario. It still makes his chest warm to thinks back on that night. But last night Geralt had realized something else. Something more.

He feels so ridiculously happy around Jaskier, so full and complete. It’s like… it’s like when he had known he’d loved Yennefer. He loves Jaskier. It was at dinner last night. He’d been staring across the table at Jaskier, who was eating his stupid Caesar salad– “Get some real food, Jaskier,” he’d said, but Jaskier had ignored him– and looking rather dissatisfied. Jaskier was shooting glances at Geralt’s pasta occasionally, looking like a kicked puppy. Geralt had thought, I don’t know how this night could get any better, and then he’d realized. And when he offered some of his own meal to Jaskier, the sheepish grin he’d gotten in return had only sealed the deal. Geralt loved him then. Geralt loves him now.

“I think you should meet him.” Geralt’s voice is quiet.

There’s a long moment of heavy silence between them. Both of them know how serious of a suggestion it is. Geralt and Yennefer have dated many people over the course of their relationship and seldom has one of them ever met another of the other’s partners face to face. Yennefer’s gaze is thoughtful as she evaluates Geralt from across the table. Her eyes roam over his fiddling hands, still playing with his food, to the light frown on his lips and crinkling his forehead as he awaits her response. Geralt stills the movement of his hands when he notices her looking, breathing deep to calm himself and attempt to smooth out his expression. He braces himself for more teasing, or, Geralt thinks with a heavy, nervous pound of his heart, her rejecting his suggestion.

Finally, a small smile breaks her intense expression and softens her eyes.

“I’d love to.”

read the rest on ao3!

[bechloeislegit]

25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020

Day 22 - The Christmas Date

Prompt from Tumblr User Anonymous: This prompt was originally given to Tumblr User AnotherBechloeShipper (see the full prompt and an additional note from her at the end). I asked if I could use it for my 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases, and she was okay with that. I took it in a bit of a different direction than the prompt called for; I hope you like it.

Beca had just entered the Bellas House and noticed most of the girls were gone. She peeked into the living room to find Chloe sitting on the sofa, flipping through a magazine.

"So, um, Chloe?" Beca asked as she walked over to stand nervously in front of her best friend.

"Yes, Beca?" Chloe responded, not looking up from her magazine.

"I heard that you, uh, weren't going home for Christmas," Beca said.

"This is true," Chloe said, looking up at Beca. "I'm staying to work at the vet clinic to get some firsthand experience."

"Oh," Beca said. "That's cool. Cool, cool, cool."

"I agree," Chloe said with a wink. "I think it's cool, cool, cool, too."

Beca winced and looked around.

"Sack up, dude!" Beca mumbled to herself.

"Are you okay, Beca?" Chloe asked, reaching out and touching Beca's arm.

Beca's head jerked over to look at Chloe's hand on her arm.

"Oh, yeah," Beca said. "I'm fine. Everything is okey-dokey with me."

"Oh, God," Beca thought. "Why am I like this?"

"Did you want something else, Becs?" Chloe asked.

"What?" Beca shot a look at Chloe. "Why would you think I wanted anything?"

"Um," Chloe said, standing. "Never mind. I'm going to my room. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yep," Beca said. "Okay."

Beca watched Chloe start up the stairs. Chloe paused and looked back at Beca.

"Are you sure you're okay, Beca?" Chloe asked.

"Pffft," Beca said. "Yep. I'm fine. All's good in the Beca Hood."

Beca mentally face-palmed herself as she thought, "What the fuck was that?"

Chloe gave her a funny look and said, "Some of the girls went to pick up pizza for dinner. They should be back soon."

"Sounds good, Chlo," Beca said, and Chloe continued up the stairs.

Beca fell face first onto the sofa. She had been lying there for a few minutes when she heard the front door open. She lifted her head and looked over her shoulder to see the other Bellas coming in; she let her head drop back down to the sofa.

"Hey, Beca," Stacie said as she, Ashley, and Jessica entered the living room. "We brought pizza."

"Okay," Beca mumbled into the sofa cushion. "Somebody should tell Chloe you're back. She's in her room."

"I'll get her," Jessica said and went toward the stairs.

"What's up with you?" Stacie asked.

"Nothing," Beca mumbled. "I'm just a loser laying here waiting to eat pizza."

"Beca, you're not a loser," Ashley said. "What's got you all down in the dumps anyway?"

Beca sat up and sighed.

"You know how I have a thing for Chloe, right?" Beca asked.

"Yeah," Stacie and Ashley respond.

"I decided I was going to ask her out," Beca said. "But, I turned into awkward Beca and couldn't string together a coherent sentence to ask her."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," Ashley said.

"Not as bad as I think?" Beca scoffed, her voice raised an octave or two. "It's worse. She asked me if I was okay, and I said all's good in the Beca Hood."

"That's, uh, that's not so bad," Stacie said, grimacing slightly.

"You need to forget about that and try again," Ashley said. "You'll be sorry if you don't."

"She won't want to go out with a loser like me," Beca said.

"It's Chloe," Stacie said. "If she doesn't want to go on a date with you, she'll let you down easy. But you won't know if you don't sack up and ask her."

Chloe and Jessica returning to the living room kept Beca from saying anything more.

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Later that night, Beca doesn't know how it happened, but she and Chloe were suddenly alone in the living room. Beca took in a deep breath and looked at Chloe.

"Chloe?"

"Yes, Beca?"

"Would you, um, maybe want to go out with me over Winter Break? On, a, um, a date?"

"You mean a date date?" Chloe asked, looking at Beca.

"Yes," Beca said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'd love to," Chloe said with a big smile.

"You would?" Beca squeaked out, taken by surprise.

"Don't act so surprised, Beca," Chloe said, chuckling. "I like you, and I was trying to figure out a way to ask you out without sending you running for the hills."

"Really?" Beca asked, again taken by surprise.

"Yes, really," Chloe said. "I'll be working at the vet clinic almost every day, but I have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. Can we do it one of those nights?"

"Of course," Beca said. "I'll make a reservation for dinner on Christmas Eve if that's okay with you?"

"That sounds perfect," Chloe said.

Chloe stood and walked over to Beca. She bent over and kissed Beca on the cheek.

"I'm looking forward to it," Chloe said. "I'm going to bed, but I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Chloe," Beca said, grinning as she sat alone in the now empty living room.

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Beca was excited that Chloe agreed to go on a date with her. The next morning, the first thing she did was call and make a reservation at Chloe's favorite Mexican restaurant.

Beca told Stacie about the date and had her help pick out an outfit before Stacie left for the break.

"You've got almost a week, Beca," Stacie said. "No matter how much I tell you a certain outfit is perfect, you'll worry about it and change your mind thirty times. Just go with something nice but casual."

"Chloe's something nice?" Beca asked. "Or my something nice? Because they are definitely not the same."

"Do you still have that red dress you bought to wear on Valentine's Day last year?" Stacie asked.

"You mean the dress I never got to wear because Jesse dumped me just before Valentine's Day for some girl in his music score class?" Beca asked. "Yeah, I still have it."

"Forget about Jesse," Stacie said. "Wear that dress for your date with Chloe. It's festive, and Chloe will love it on you."

"That's a great idea," Beca said. "Thanks, Stacie."

"Don't worry about it," Stacie said. "And don't worry about the date. It will be fine. Just fill me in on everything later, okay?"

"Okay," Beca said.

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

The girls were all gone, and Chloe and Beca were alone in the house. Chloe spent most of the day interning at the vet clinic, while Beca worked on her music and did her shifts at the radio station. They would meet up nearly every night and have dinner and watch some TV or a movie before Chloe would call it a night, citing having to be at the clinic early the next morning.

It was Christmas Eve, and Beca was excited about her date with Chloe. She spent most of the morning talking to Chloe about the Vet Clinic and her family. When lunchtime came around, Beca made a quick chicken Caesar salad for the two of them to share.

"I didn't want to make anything heavy," Beca said, setting a plate of salad and a bottle of water in front of Chloe. "I don't want to spoil our dinner."

"Do I get to know where we're going for dinner finally?" Chloe asked.

"I guess I can tell you now," Beca said. "We're going to that little Mexican place you love on the other side of campus. Our reservations are for six."

"La Taqueria?" Chloe asked excitedly. At Beca's nod, Chloe added, "I love that place. Are you trying to impress me, Miss Mitchell?"

"That's the plan, Miss Beale," Beca said, smirking.

They both dug into their salads as they laughed and talked. They were still sitting at the table a few hours later when Chloe said she was going to shower.

Beca cleaned their lunch dishes and made her way up to her room to get her stuff for a shower. She knew Chloe would be done quickly.

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Chloe was ready at 5:30 and was waiting in the living room for Beca. Her breath hitched a bit when Beca broke the threshold into the living room. Chloe admired the view of Beca in her red dress.

"Beca," Chloe said as she stood, looking Beca up and down. "You look amazing!"

"So do you," Beca said, admiring Chloe. "But, then again, you always do."

Chloe blushed slightly at the compliment. Beca grabbed their jackets and held Chloe's out for her to put on.

"Thank you," Chloe said as she pulled her hair out from under the back of her coat.

"Shall we?" Beca asked, holding out her arm out for Chloe to take.

Chloe giggled and took Beca's arm; she held onto it as they made their way out to Beca's car. Beca opened the car door and allowed Chloe to get situated before closing the door and hurrying around to the other side. She slid behind the wheel and smiled over at Chloe.

Chloe smiled back at Beca as Beca stuck the key in the ignition. She turned the key and. . .nothing happened. Beca's smile fell from her face.

"What the Hell?"

Beca turned the key again with the same result.

"Sounds like the battery might be dead," Chloe said.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Beca slammed her hands on the steering wheel as she cried out in frustration.

"Beca, calm down," Chloe said, reaching her hand across to stop Beca from slamming her hands on the steering wheel. "We can just take my car."

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Beca sat pouting in the passenger seat of Chloe's car as Chloe drove them to the restaurant. This night was starting out badly.

Chloe put on the turn signal to pull into the restaurant's parking lot mumbling, "Becs, are you sure this place was supposed to be open tonight?"

"What the fuck?" Beca mumbled as she found herself looking at an empty parking lot. She looked toward the restaurant, and it was dark. "Is it closed?!"

"Looks like it," Chloe said, driving over to the main door of the place.

"But, I made a reservation," Beca said. "And I have a confirmation number. How are they closed tonight, and I wasn't informed? Aren't they supposed to call and let people who made reservations know they aren't going to be open for whatever reason? Why didn't they let me know?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Beca," Chloe said with a sigh. "It looks like there's a sign on the door, but I can't see what it says from here."

"Wait here," Beca said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "I'll check it out."

Chloe watched as Beca walked up to the door and stood, using the light from her phone to read the sign. She saw Beca run a hand through her hair and look back at Chloe's car. She took a moment before turning to walk back over to the car. She got in and sat staring at the restaurant.

"What did the sign say?" Chloe asked.

Beca slowly turned to look at Chloe. She let out a heavy sigh and replied, "It's been shut down by the Health Department for several health code violations."

"Oh," Chloe said.

"What are we going to do now?" Beca asked. "The whole night is ruined."

"No, it's not," Chloe said. "Let's just go to the diner. They're open, and I'm hungry."

"Okay," Beca said. "I guess it's better than nothing."

"Come on, Beca," Chloe said, gripping Beca's hand. "We can salvage this. Don't give up so easily."

"I just wanted our first real date to be memorable," Beca mumbled, looking down at her hands.

"It still can be," Chloe said, smiling as she put the car in drive and made her way out of the parking lot.

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

Beca was so bummed about her date not turning out how she wanted that she sat across the table from Chloe, not saying anything.

Chloe looked at her and waited, but Beca still hadn't spoken after five minutes of silently sitting there.

"So, um," Chloe said, looking over the menu. "I think I'm going to get breakfast for dinner. How about you?"

"Sure, Chloe," Beca said, staring down at the table. "Sounds good."

Chloe slammed her menu down with a huff.

"If you don't really want to be here with me, we can just leave."

"What?" Beca said, looking at Chloe. "No, I want to be here."

"Then act like it!" Chloe responded.

"I'm sorry," Beca said. "I'm trying so hard to give you the date you deserve."

"Stop trying so hard," Chloe said, reaching across to cover Beca's hand with hers. "Just let whatever happens happen. I promise you that whatever you think is going wrong is not as bad as you're making it out to be."

"You're just saying that to be nice," Beca said.

"So, what if I am?" Chloe asked, releasing Beca's hand as she shrugged her shoulders. "It's better than sulking over things you have no control over."

Chloe took a deep breath and let it out. She looked at Beca.

"Relax, Beca, and let's just enjoy the rest of our date."

~~ Day 22 of the 25 Days of BeChloe Christmases - 2020 ~~

The ride home was quiet. Chloe kept looking over at Beca, but Beca would not look at her; she just stared out the side window.

"I'm sorry about your dress," Beca mumbled, breaking the silence.

"What was that?" Chloe questioned. "I couldn't hear you."

"I said, I'm sorry about your dress," Beca said a bit louder so Chloe would hear her.

Beca still did not look at Chloe.

"The soda added a nice stickiness, but it's fine," Chloe said with a small smile toward Beca. "It will be as good as new once I wash it. "

Beca continued to stare out the window and would not look at Chloe. The only sounds made during the rest of the trip home were Chloe's heavy sighs.

Beca was out of the car and making her way to the front door before Chloe had unfastened her seatbelt. She hurried after Beca and caught up to her just as she reached the door. Beca made it through the door, and Chloe grabbed her by the arm.

"Go change into your pajamas," Chloe said. "I'll meet you in the living room in fifteen minutes."

"I'm going to bed," Beca said, jerking her arm out of Chloe's grasp.

"No, you're not," Chloe said, retaking Beca's arm and staring into her eyes to make sure she was paying attention. "If you're not back down here in fifteen minutes, I will come up and drag you down here. Don't test me on this because you will not win."

The look on Chloe's face let Beca know that Chloe meant business.

"Fine!" Beca said and stomped up the stairs.

Chloe followed behind Beca and went to her room. She quickly threw on her pajamas and rushed back downstairs. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a few things before going into the living room to set everything up.

Chloe waited the full fifteen minutes before going upstairs to get Beca. She had just made it to the second-floor landing when Beca came rushing out into the hallway from her room. Beca stopped short when she saw Chloe.

"You were really coming to get me?" Beca asked, eyes wide in astonishment.

"I told you I would," Chloe said. "Come on and don't make me drag you down the stairs. I have everything ready for us."

Beca meekly followed Chloe downstairs and into the living room.

"What's all this?" Beca asked, looking at the tub of ice cream and two spoons sitting on the coffee table.

"We're going to do what we always do when I get home from a date," Chloe said. "We're going to eat ice cream and talk about it."

"I get it, Chloe," Beca said angrily. "The date sucked. You don't have to tell me; I was there. Remember?"

"Of course, I remember, Beca," Chloe said sweetly. "Now sit."

Chloe sat cross-legged on the couch and pointed to the spot across from her. Beca huffed but sat cross-legged across from Chloe.

Chloe picked up the ice cream and the two spoons, holding one out toward Beca. Beca took the spoon and played with it. Chloe opened the ice cream and set it between them. She took up a scoop on her spoon and brought it to her mouth.

Beca watched but didn't say anything.

"Aren't you going to ask me how my date went?" Chloe asked.

"I already know how it went," Beca said, looking down at the spoon in her hand.

"You only know how you think it went," Chloe said, getting more ice cream but not adding anything more to the conversation.

Beca continued to look down. After a few minutes, her curiosity got the best of her, and she finally looked up at Chloe.

"How did your date go?"

"It sucked," Chloe said, laughing.

"I don't need to hear anymore," Beca said, moving to stand.

"Stop!" Chloe said. "And sit back down. Please?"

Beca huffed again but sat back down in her original position.

"Now, ask me why my date sucked."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Now ask me."

"Fine," Beca said, spooning up some ice cream. "Why, um, why did your date suck?"

"It sucked because it started out fairly well," Chloe said. "I mean my date looked hot and she helped me with my jacket and opened doors for me. And then suddenly things went a little sideways and the Beca I thought I was going out with vanished and a different Beca took her place."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought I was going to be with the Beca that I've wanted to ask out for so long," Chloe responded. "Instead, I ended up with someone I don't even know. The Beca I wanted to be with is the girl who came home for the past five days and made dinner or she stopped and picked up my favorite takeout to make sure I got something to eat."

Chloe leaned toward Beca and whispered, "She's really special and knows that I miss lunch a lot of the time when I'm working."

Chloe winked as she sat back. "I wanted to be with that special girl. The one who would sit and watch a movie with me even though she doesn't like them so that I didn't have to watch them alone."

Beca shifted in her seat and took more ice cream onto her spoon, swallowing it down as Chloe continued.

"I want the Beca who gets up early every morning to make hot tea to help soothe my throat," Chloe said. "The one who fills a thermos so I could have hot tea to sip on at work. That's the girl I want to date. The real Beca who is sweet and caring, not the snarky, unsure Beca that I was with tonight."

Beca took a bite of ice cream and looked at Chloe.

"That was the real Beca," Beca mumbled. "The awkward unsure girl I've always been."

Chloe frowned and shoved her spoon into the ice cream.

"Did you do something to your car to make sure it didn't start?" Chloe asked.

"No."

"Did you do something to the restaurant that made the Health Department shut it down?"

"No, how could I have?"

"Did you purposely bump into that waitress to make her spill those drinks on me?"

"No, I would never do that!"

"Then why are you so bummed about the date?" Chloe asked, searching Beca's face. "None of those things were anything you had any control over. Your attitude is why the date sucked, not what happened on it."

"I wanted to make it perfect," Beca said, looking down at the spoon in her hand.

"There's no use trying to make a date perfect," Chloe responded, picking up her spoon and taking a bit of ice cream. "There’s no such thing as a perfect date."

Beca sat for a moment, watching Chloe eat her ice cream.

"It sounds like someone was trying way too hard to impress you."

"That's what I said," Chloe said. "And it was totes unnecessary. I'm already impressed by her, that's why I said yes when she asked me out."

"She's really impressed by you, too," Beca said a small smile on her face. "And, I know for a fact that she really, really likes you. So, do you think she'll get a second date?"

"It depends."

"On?"

"On which Beca asks me," Chloe said, grinning as she scooped up another bite of ice cream.

Beca smiled and moved the ice cream to the coffee table. Chloe watched her with furrowed brows which shot up when Beca leaned toward her. Chloe let out a surprised yelp when Beca surged forward and smashed her lips to Chloe's.

Chloe took a second but starting kissing Beca back. The kiss lasted less than a minute, and when Beca pulled away, Chloe chased after Beca's lips, capturing them for another kiss. This kiss was a bit more intense and was broken when Beca chuckled against Chloe's mouth.

"There's the confident, badass Beca I was looking for," Chloe said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Does that mean you'll go out with me again?"

"That's a definite yes," Chloe said, placing both hands on Beca's cheeks and pulling her closer. "But only if you kiss me like that again."

Beca happily obliged. They broke apart when breathing became an issue.

"And don't worry, I'll plan the next date," Chloe said, causing Beca to laugh again before leaning into another kiss.

"Merry Christmas to me," Beca mumbled against Chloe's lips.

Full prompt from Tumblr User Anonymous: Beca and Chloe finally go out on a date. But like...Beca's game is sooooo bad. Like Anakin Skywalker, Attack of the Clones bad, is Beca able to land a second date, or will Chloe be like "nah"? [I have never seen Attack of the Clones so I have no idea how bad it was (is?); I went with what came to me].

Note from AnotherBechloeShipper: Okay, I've tried to come up with something for this prompt, and I can't get a single word going. So, I'm going to just put this out here in hopes that maybe another writer can pick up the prompt. I will say I think Beca would land a second date because I see Chloe forgiving missteps, but I just can't come up with anything coherent to write for it.

[theangrycomet]

Part 2 of the kiddos for Functional Engines AU

Lore/Rambles/Backstories below: 

*Note: some spoilers for Ben 10 vs the Universe

Albedo:

After serving as Azmuth’s assistant for many years, Albedo was appalled to watch his mentor sent to the null void and his life’s work tainted by Vilgax. In a desperate attempt to restore his mentor’s reputation, Albedo recreated the Omnitrix to prove that it wasn’t the weapon all saw it to be.

It took some time, seeing as the original was sent to the most backwater planet known and most of the plans had been stolen by Vilgax. But he was able to do it, even adding some improvements of his own.

However, there were a few things he didn’t realize before testing it out on himself.

As his Omitrix was based on the original’s design, the default DNA setting was locked on to the signal on Earth’s as opposed to his own DNA signature. He had not anticipated anyone on the planet to be smart enough to figure out what it did, much less operated it. 

When he activated his Omnitric, the Default DNA had already been selected. 

This would have been a simple matter of changing the said pod to his own DNA, had it not been for Vilgax’s plan. 

Most notably, Kevin’s Antitrix. 

Kevin wasn’t supposed to add his own modifications to the Omnitrix’s design, particularly his perma-fusion Aliens.

When Albedo activated his omnitrix, Kevin’s antitrix signature mingled with the Ben’s omnitrix signature and (as it does with every pair of DNA samples it acquires) fused the two host’s DNA into a new form. In the process, the sample taken from Albedo (ie his REAL form) was eradicated. 

Realizing his mistake, Albedo set out to find the source of the problem (the Omnitrix wielder) and restore himself to his true form. 

The results are..Interesting to say the least. 

Needless to say if he doesn’t find a way to fall asleep or stop the sugar cravings he might just go mad. 

Kenwyn Jones:

Kenwyn’s life had been going pretty smoothly until the Nanite event through a big ol’ wrench in it. Both her cousins and her uncle going Evo in the same night? Not exactly a dinner you forget. 

Since than, she’s been trying to distract herself with her studies. Being the top student in her school isn’t easy, but someone’s gotta do it. It doesn’t really leave her with a lot of time for extracurriculars or hanging out with her peers though. 

When she’d told to show around a new kid that practically screams trouble (hi Rex) her plan was to show him to his classes and ditch asap. 

But luckily for her, Rex has this amazing ability to throw wrench’s into people’s plans. The two eventually become friends, and even after he gets expelled he tries to help her out. 

Does she get it? No, but she can certainly appreciate it, even if they do disagree about the whole Nanite mutants thing. 

Eunice Tennyson

When a second alien device crashed into the Earth, Ben deemed it was only fair for Gwen to check out the alien device. Needless to say both were pretty unimpressed to find a soda can. After treating Gwen’s hand (she cut it on the darn thing) they moved on to the next thing on their agenda. 

Finding a freaked out, naked kid was NOT on that agenda. 

Thus how Ben and Gwen came home with Eunice in tow. 

Glitch figured out what she was immediately (with his familiarity of the Omnitrix’s inner workings and being able to “read” the markings on the back of her neck), though he was hesitant to explain without more proof. 

SixSix, Crabb, and Tetrax were all hired to retrieve the Unitrix, but upon the discovery of four Omnicore’s (Ben’s omnitrix, Kevin’s rebuilt Antitrix, Glitch, Eunice) it made things tricky. 

Sandra and Carl (who’d already been whipping out adoption papers) aren’t having ANY of this nonsense. 

Shenanigans ensue and eventually Azmuth arrives. After getting chewed out by Sandra a bit, Azmuth comes to the agreement to keep both Eunice and Glitch with them, so long as both come with him to Galvan Prime annually for studies. 

Seeing the value people would see in the Unitrix Eunice and a mechmorph-omnitrix hybrid such as Glitch, he than put’s Tetrax in charge of ensuring their safety. (Ben and Kevin have already proven to be able to handle themselves)

And this is how Tetrax may or may not have somehow ended up the Tennyson’s babysitter much to his denial. 

Eunice is pretty happy with the arrangement, as are the other Tennysons. Though everyone was definitely thrown for a loop though when there was suddenly a blonde, girly girl Gwen walking around like freaking Snow White, particularly Kevin. 

She and Glitch get pretty close as well; it’s nice knowing someone else has weird powers similar to your own. 

Beverly Holiday

Bev didn’t know exactly what her older sister was working on at her secret government job, she’s just glad she’s back home, even if only for a little bit. Now she can help her with her video blog. 

A chef in the making, her cooking and baking tutorials are rivaled only by Ben’s. They currently have a friendly competition going on online on whose the best kid chef blogger.

She meets the Tennyson cousins at comicon at a Lucky Girl merch booth, where she and Ben are pretty quick to do a cook off in the parking lot for a rare Lucky Girl misprinted card that both parties want to purchase with the help of Rebecca. 

It’s a nice break from trying to figure out what Rebecca’s been hiding from her regarding her last job or the weird ninja guy that occasionally drops by to flirt with update her sister on some sort of project. 

Something involving a Caesar Salad with Rye watching an ex? 

All she knows is that something fishy is going on. 

Unfortunately for Bev, she is a pretty good bartering chip against Dr. Holiday, so keeping her safe is another thing Rebecca’s gotta juggle around. Providence isn’t afraid to twist peoples arms to get them to do what they want and she does not want her little sister to get hurt by any of their nonsense. 

[fishyspots]

the same magic touch

happiest belated birthday to @patrickbrewsky! one day i’ll finish the AU you deserve but for today i can give you this, inspired by a conversation we had a while back ❤️️(ps: it’s also on ao3)

“Why are you throwing that sweater out?”

Patrick looks up from the bin, fabric in hand. He feels caught out somehow, but he’s not sure why. “It has a hole in it?”

David stares him down from his spot by the bathroom door. “Why are you ripping holes in your best sweater?”

“I didn’t plan for this to happen,” Patrick protests. “It was totally innocent.”

“Hand it over.” David crosses Patrick’s apartment, narrowly missing clipping the bed with his knee, limbs akimbo the way they always are this early in the morning. Patrick lets David take the sweater from him, perhaps to say a fond farewell, and turns to start David’s coffee. He didn’t know David liked this sweater best; David’s peeled it off of him more than once, but that’s true of most of his shirts at this point.

For some reason, David folds the sweater and puts it in his bag instead of the trash where it belongs. “What are you going to do with that?”

David looks at him like he’s being difficult. “Excuse me?”

“If you’re trying to clone me, that sweater got ripped in the wash so you’ll want something less fresh.” Patrick grabs for the cocoa powder he keeps in his cupboard and that David still won’t look directly at.

“Why would I clone you before they let me edit out your sense of humor?”

“You love my sense of humor.”

David is scrolling through something on his phone now, clearly past the sweater conversation, but he looks up and smiles when Patrick slides his coffee across the counter. “I have very intentionally never said that.”

“Just like how you’re not saying what you’re going to do with my—”

“The tear is on the seam.” David shrugs and takes a sip, wrinkling his nose in the way that means he tastes the cocoa but will not be commenting on it at this time. “It’ll take, like, five minutes to fix.”

“And you know someone who’s willing to do that? Because the only person I can think of is Jocelyn, and I know you two have that begrudging acceptance thing going but I don’t think it extends to me.”

“She likes you too, you know. She told me last week that you were the best Emcee they could have cast.”

“That’s very sweet.” Patrick tilts his head. “But I don’t know there were any other contenders, so it probably sounds better than it is.” But they’re getting off topic now. “Wait, no. Who’s fixing this sweater?”

“I’m fixing the sweater.” David grabs his bag and sets the mug in the sink. “Should we go? We’re going to open late otherwise.”

David’s concern for keeping normal opening hours more than anything else tells Patrick that he’s missing something. Still: “You’re going to fix it.”

“That is correct.” David sighs. “Can we please go? If you wait much longer I’ll lose all this energy and then you’ll have to open by yourself.”

Patrick rolls his lips in and bites down. “How many sweaters have you mended, exactly? Because you talked for an hour once about all the cashmere sweaters you lost to moths.”

“Cashmere is different. Anyway, I’m not, like, totally helpless,” David says. “I went to art school.”

Patrick privately thinks that the sentence might be an oxymoron, but he can acknowledge his own bias here. He took a pottery class in college as his “understanding art” elective; he and his fellow business majors had a lot to say about the cost of equipment and the annoyance of waiting around for the clay to bake. And then after all of that, his glaze was cracked and uneven. “Do they teach stitching there? Like, a whole class?”

“Mm.” David’s mouth is a thin line. “Right after the Etch-A-Sketch one.”

Patrick may have overshot it. “That didn’t—”

“Go to the store. I’ll be there in an hour.”

Patrick sets the spare key on the counter and elects to retreat.

***

“This is earlier than I was expecting to see you.”

David makes a beeline for the macchiato Patrick set in a prominent place on the counter in a spot near the door. He didn’t want David to miss it. “I said an hour.”

The teasing is right there; Patrick has to consciously push down countless other times where David has wildly miscalculated his arrival time. Instead, he takes a breath and prepares for a real apology. They’re a new thing for the two of them—after his parents came to town, Patrick’s been making communication a priority. It’s mostly his idea, but it was spurred on by some...gentle suggestion from Stevie. He doesn’t want to keep falling back into old habits, and he’s not going to put the burden on David to keep him accountable.

But David has not been exceptionally amenable to this new strategy. “Stop,” he says once he’s taken a drink and turned to look at Patrick. “Enough. Thank you for the coffee.”

He drops a kiss on Patrick’s cheek and continues on to the back room. Patrick entertains the idea of following him, but the bell above the door chimes again and he pushes down the conversation they need to have. Not forever, he tells himself sternly. Just until closing. Or lunch, if he can rig them a break.

But it’s Ronnie crossing the threshold, so maybe they do need to finish their relationship discussion. Maybe close the store for the day, or something.

“Ronnie!” Patrick winces at the enthusiasm he can hear in his own voice. David keeps saying that he’s forcing it, which might be valid. “What are you looking for today?”

Ronnie lifts her chin but doesn’t make eye contact. “David here?”

Still trying too hard, then. “He’s in the back. I’ll get him.”

Apparently he heard them, because David’s already peeking out. “Sorry about that, Ronnie. Back for that cheese or is it something else?”

Ronnie lets David curate a cheese plate for her next Women in Business meeting and suggest some wine pairings; Patrick bites back his own opinions to the best of his ability. Or, he does after Ronnie pointedly sets the chardonnay back on the shelf after he says it’s his favorite.

David rings her up and sees her off, and Patrick opens his mouth again to take advantage of a lull. Then the phone rings.

“Can you take that?” David asks. “I want to figure out what we need for that greeting card workshop next month. Jo likes it when we order with at least three weeks’ notice, and they gave us that frame for the poster last time as a thank you so I don’t want to—”

Patrick waves him off before the phone goes to voicemail. “I got it.”

Fortunately for their stocking schedule, it’s Brenda. They’ve been running low on the moisturizer she’s trying out recently, and they need to get more on the shelf as soon as she has it ready. Unfortunately for him, Brenda called seeking opinions about her new combination skin formula and the essential oil blend. David informed Patrick early on that he had combination skin, but Patrick senses that Brenda will not find this information useful. He bides his time and lets Brenda talk until David catches on to his frantic gestures.

They don't teach this in business school. He lets his eyes drift from David's face (a struggle, sometimes) to the bag at his boyfriend's feet. They don't teach a lot of things in business school.

Patrick passes off the phone and greets the next customers, who thankfully do not have any qualms about his personality. Then he checks the stock spreadsheet. They’re getting low on sweaters and socks after the cold snap last week, so he flags the vendors for David to email and sets about filling in the blank spots on the shelves after a busy morning.

The sound of David’s voice soothes Patrick’s nerves even more than the playlist he and David made together in a process that started adversarial (“Smooth jazz? Why not just get a Muzak?” “People shop in those stores too, David.”) and turned playful after they decided on a one-for-one system. Patrick’s alt-folk mixes surprisingly seamlessly with the Whitneys and Mariahs David added. Even the Counting Crows Patrick put on the list just to be contrary fits, in a way.

“Everything okay with Brenda?” Patrick asks after David drops the phone back into his holder. “Are you going to put a new cleanser in my bathroom soon?”

“I don’t see why those two things are necessarily related,” David says, “but yes to both.”

“Good to know.” They might be able to flip the sign for lunch if they’re quick; clouds are gathering in the sky outside in a way that spells a dreary afternoon. “Want me to pick us up something?”

Patrick heads for the door at David’s nod of assent. Even though they haven’t talked about it, he still feels like he’s making up for something. Hopefully that will change. He’s jumping into this new talking strategy with both feet, and he just hopes that David will catch him.

Silly, he thinks as he crosses the street. David has never once let him fall.

Twyla greets him with a sunny smile and asks if they want their usual. For him, a burger is pretty standard, but David keeps vacillating between different soups, sandwiches, and salads. It’s a caesar salad day today; though Patrick would love to read into David’s mood from his choice, he knows better than that by now. David just does what he wants sometimes. As for Patrick, he’s mostly just happy that David is limiting the chance that he won’t like his food. He worked through the international section of the menu last week and spent three afternoons in a row cranky due to hunger and the continual failure of the café to meet his admittedly unrealistic expectations. He does add a cookie, because communication is great and all but it’s always good to have an insurance policy if things go south.

Back at the store, David’s handing over a Rose Apothecary tote to Roland and he’s not even grimacing. Much. There’s definite relief in his eyes when Patrick holds the door for Roland, though. It’s quickly replaced by confusion when Patrick flips the sign.

“I thought we could eat lunch together?” Patrick resists the urge to kick at the ground like a teenager, but it’s there. “We haven’t had much time to just...see each other. Today.”

“I saw plenty of you this morning.” David raises an eyebrow suggestively.

Patrick fights his easy blush; that’s beside the point. “That’s not—”

“You know I never complain about seeing you,” David continues. “But Roland said Jocelyn is going to stop by later, so we’ll have to keep an eye out.”

Patrick thinks Jocelyn can probably wait, but he keeps that to himself. He waits until they’re settled on the couch with David’s left thigh pressing against his right and David can’t talk past his mouthful of lettuce before he broaches the topic. “I did want to talk about this morning.”

David’s eyes widen as he chews, but he does look a little less frantic than he would months or even a year ago if Patrick said something similar.

While David can’t cut him off, Patrick presses his advantage. “I didn’t want to make you feel like you’re helpless. I don’t think you’re helpless.”

David rolls his eyes, but there’s something tight around his mouth that tells Patrick he has to do a little more here. He swallows, so Patrick hurries to finish his thought.

“I think you’re...you do a lot that I don’t do.”

“And you do a lot I don’t do.”

“I don’t think—no, I know, I know I don’t think about that enough.”

Something suspicious dissipates from David’s face. “Is this your whole talking thing again?”

“I don’t have a whole talking thing,” Patrick protests.

“You’ve had a whole talking thing for weeks now. Do you want me to run through all of my skills, or is it sufficient to just say that we’re okay?”

Patrick definitely had prepared to run through all of David’s skills, but he elects to save that for another time. Maybe tonight, when he has more ability to keep David in one place until he’s finished saying what he wants to say. “It’s enough. For now.”

“Threatening me with conversation.” David shakes his head. But he doesn’t take another bite, so he’s at least somewhat worried that Patrick will drop all of his feelings right this moment.

“You can eat, David.”

David lifts his fork cautiously.

So Patrick has no choice, really. “I love you.”

Patrick wants to frame the look David gives him, cheeks slightly bulging and eyes furious and generally perfect.

They unlock the front door in time to catch Jocelyn, and Patrick finds himself still cataloguing David’s competencies for the rest of the day. That night, Patrick sees his sweater, repaired and neatly folded in the way that David says limits wrinkles, hidden in his drawer under a college sweatshirt. It looks as good as new. “Thanks for the sweater.”

“Well, the cloning people were unhelpful. Said I’d have to keep all of you if I went for a new one, and I don’t have the constitution to be mocked twice as often.”

Patrick can’t let it go without saying something, though. “David. Thank you.” That should cover his whole talking thing for now. David still looks at him like he’s a too-large shipment that won’t fit in the planned display. Back to teasing, then. “You know, I had a thought.” Patrick affects his most guileless expression as he slides into bed next to his boyfriend. David’s eyes narrow in suspicion. “Since you’re so good at this, and you went to art school and all, maybe you can help with costumes for Cabaret.”

Patrick enjoys the horrified look that blooms across David’s face probably too much. “I’m suddenly feeling very helpless.”

“Could be worse,” Patrick says. “At least there’s only one of me to deal with.”

[valkblue]

Being a Behavior technician requires a certain amount of dedication to the job — the rigorous type, bordeline rigid. That’s what is expected to be at peak efficiency regarding analysis protocols and diagnostics for host service and calibration.

For that, Vivian thinks she might be the worst tech in her department. 

— masterlist, AO3

Chapter 1 on 12

Chapter wordcount: 2,486 Story status: Complete Rating: General Warning: people swear a lot, technobabble counts as swearing as well (believe me)…

Author’s notes: This is the first time I post a fanfic online. A real big one I mean. Not just crackfics... I’m emotional. I don’t know what the schedule will be yet because my queue is acting up, but everything should be out regularly, or something that looks like it. This first chapter is an intro to the main character and what she does, and I hope you’ll enjoy this story and its characters all the way!  Also, I really want to thank @pheedraws​ and @something-tofightfor​ for their heartwarming feedback on the whole story. Thank you SO much!!

Have a good time reading, and my askbox/messages are open! 💙

— Chapter 1

Now wasn’t a good time to yawn…

And yet, Vivian had nothing else to do but wait right now, wait while the progress bars slowly filled up on her tablet screen.

Now wasn’t the time, simply because some of her colleagues were passing through the hallway, behind the glass panels of her cubicle, and among them was the head of Behavior department — incidentally, her superior.

No doubt they were all about to grab a bite at the restaurant and Vivian held back an almost envious mumble; she was starving! But before she could go eat anything, she had to finish with her last subject on her morning schedule; host ID#DH410829420391, named Mildred.

And Mildred was back at the lab on account of a negative report about her response time during interactions with other hosts but also with guests. A lag that only happened in character mode, not in analysis. So, Vivian started with refreshing her lexical base and improvisation engine. It took some time to check the entire tree but as of now, it was done.

"Can you confirm if the update’s complete?"

"Confirmed," Mildred answered right away, her voice flat and her look vacant.

"Back in character mode."

Mildred seemed to wake up and blinked once before focusing her attention  back on Vivian.

"Mildred?"

"Oh, I’m sorry," she answered with a hint of a shy smile. "I must have drifted off, I believe… The working hours at the farm are ungodly sometimes!"

The response time was more than good, now. The improvisation too.

"I was wondering if there’s a lot of clients at the farm these days," Vivian asked.

The answer was not long to come.

"Certainly! Our cattle sure gives the best milk there is. No matter what the competition says!"

"How many green bottles are standing on the wall?"

Questions and procedures were always more or less the same to determine which bits of code, settings or values could cause an issue or start to glitch like crazy!

But today, for Mildred — and Vivian — everything was back in order, and each/both of them could soon return to the the usual course of their scheduled day.

It was about time for Vivian to take a break, if she was reduced to that kind of wisecrack…

A glance at her wristwatch, even while her tablet displayed a more accurate time than the watch hands, and Vivian concluded her analysis. She folded the tablet, slid it back in her jacket pocket, and left the large glass room after one last embarrassed look at Mildred she was leaving there, naked in the dark. Vivian didn’t even fight down a shiver. It was actually freezing cold in there!

She comforted herself with the thought that Mildred didn’t feel anything in this state, disconnected, and that a team wouldn’t take too long to come get her, do her hair, dress her up and put her back in rotation in no time. Barely as much as Vivian had for her lunch break… and that was just enough to go all the way up to the hub restaurant. But the bosses here didn’t care much about how long the lunch breaks lasted, as long as the work was done in time.

So, Vivian didn’t hurry to get to the elevator she shared with two co-workers who only interrupted their chitchat about hockey results for a vague greeting.

At this hour, the restaurant was a bit more crowded but it still wasn’t too hard to find a seat in the large and relatively peaceful room. The whole vibe in it was corporate though, even in that staff only room; every dish were stamped with the park logo and name — from the bottom of the plates to the salt shakers — and a flat HD screen displayed a bunch of Delos branches ads that looked much weirder without sound.

After a while, one didn’t really pay attention to all this anymore… A few months was enough to make it all part of the landscape and for the mind to simply stop noticing it.

And Vivian had been working here for three years, now.

However, she was still bothered by a few details sometimes, such as the huge white walls that spanned all the way up a balcony floor and a domed ceiling or the fact that the stalls were lit with a pale light under which the food turned to a sickly colour.

Hopefully, under the less saturated lights of the main room, the Caesar salads and the turkey-tomato sandwiches were back to a more appetizing hue.

Her tray loaded with a potato-corn salad, a big glass of water and a piece of bread, Vivian walked towards the tables, eager for her potatoes to lose their blueish glint. Just shy of the screen, she recognised a familiar face, Margaret’s, another Behavior tech from her team. Both were on friendly basis now, where it was possible to enjoy some time together and to laugh a little, even if it took them a whole year to finally break the ice.

Margaret waved at Vivian when she saw her pick her way across the room, inviting her to join them — them being Margaret, and three other guys from their department.

"Did you hear the latest, Vivian!?" she blurted. "I’ve been told that Damon Dyers is in the park, at this very moment!"

"Damon… Dyers?"

Vivian didn’t even hide her puzzlement while sitting in front of her.

"The actor," one of the three guys — Luke — pointed out. "Marge was just exposing how she’ll mooch the control room techs for a footage…"

"Listen, if you were as thirsty as I am about this guy, you’d understand!" Margaret replied.

To that, he quipped:

"My husband would be pissed!"

All chuckled in approval before returning to their almost emptied plates, while Vivian had barely touched her own.

"Can you imagine," Margaret daydreamt, leaning back in her seat as in a comfy armchair, holding her Pyrex glass like a snifter of bourbon. "Damon hunting down Escaton in the hills…"

Vivian scoffed; she could imagine, indeed.

At the table, Charles, Thawal and Luke didn’t pay any more attention to them, carrying on with their chat about retro gaming. Vivian would probably have preferred to be part of that conversation; not that she didn’t know shit about movies and their actors, but more like aside from a few exceptions on which they got along swimmingly, she didn’t have much taste in common with Margaret. But she listened to her friend anyway as she kept going after a sip of sparkling water:

"How am I not supposed to be hot on the idea!? I’ll deadass find someone to bootleg me some footages!"

Vivian smiled out of politeness, not saying much, as always. Her mouth was full anyway.

"Oh, by the way!"

Margaret took another swip of her glass before putting it down on the table and leaning towards Vivian.

"Apparently, they’re going to burden us with a whole new bunch of hosts in two or three weeks," she said, with all the serious she could muster. "I heard that from Elsie. Narrative must be trying to compensate for something, if you know what I mean…"

Vivian knew very well.

"We barely have time to light a fag between two sessions already and they plan to add another hundred on our backs!?"

She snorted disdainfully.

"Don’t know what they’re spicing their coffee with but it isn’t doing them any good."

"No shit," admitted Vivian, a bit testy at the idea. "Unless they also plan to hire? Did Lowe say anything about it?"

Margaret shrugged.

"No idea, I haven’t talked to him in a while."

She patted her blazer pockets then sighed softly; Vivian understood her attitude as relief, and a craving, even a need to light a cigarette.

"You should ask," Margaret pointed out with a smile a tad clenched in the orbicularis muscles. "You like him, right?"

Vivian approved; she admired his thoroughness, his love for details… A lot could be learned while working under his care and Vivian found him both spirited and friendly.

Margaret didn’t quite share the feeling, however; in her own words, he was giving her the heebie-jeebies.

"Anyway, I’m off," Margaret stated with an even greater impatience in her voice. "I gotta light one before the crazy afternoon waiting for me!"

She gathered her cutlery on her tray, adding:

"Not giving up on the idea to come across Damon fucking Dyers, though! At least in video recs. Wish me luck!"

Vivian nodded and Margaret put her tray away on the sideboard before hurrying to the exit.

Her colleagues had changed topics next to her, and now they were talking about cars, motorcycles and mechanics. As she didn’t know much about that topic, not as much as in computers, she listened only a little without taking part.

Then, Vivian finished wolfing down her potato salad and her glass of water; she would soon return to her shift and examine a series of hosts, the characteristics of which she overviewed on her tablet from her timetable’s folders. It was simply routine checks, and Vivian liked that kind of sessions; it was like meeting with a friend, just to catch up with them.

But for now, she would take a few minutes to get some air and natural light on top of the hub before diving back into the high tech depths of the Mesa.

At seven in the evening, closer to eight, Vivian was glad to be back to her on-site apartments. Once again, she had grabbed a snack at the restaurant but the room was much more crowded than it was at lunch and came close to a headache before reaching "home". She could have dined here, cooked something on her induction hob but she was so tired — or lazy — that, tonight again, she still choose to eat at the restaurant over having to do the dishes!

Now, she was getting out of the shower in her bathrobe and throw herself on her bed.

Living like this, it was like being a teenager all over again, back at her parents’, or at the dorm… but once she closed her apartment’s door, Vivian was totally free to do whatever she wanted. As long as it didn’t involve wrecking the place!

But now, even if she wanted to, Vivian wouldn’t have had the strength to break any chair, nor even to make a mess of the bed… About that, she was actually planning on laying there, and falling asleep in her bathrobe while watching a movie or reading any book she had available on her personal tablet. A tablet that was nothing close to the one she was using every day in the Behavior department labs, but a tablet anyway.

She swiped the covers without any real interest; in all honesty, she was feeling too tired to read. Even something she had already read. And she cringed a little when the minimalistic cover with her automatically signed name appeared.

Yeah, even too tired to read her own words!

Besides, it wasn’t great literature at all — a fanfiction. Two, to be precise. Both about the hosts and their narratives as she could have written about a movie, book, or video game’s characters.

Vivian grumbled, letting her tablet fall flat on her stomach, and she stared at the white ceiling before closing her eyes while nibbling her lips. She had written this almost six months after she started working here, taken over by all the motivation, excitement and creativity around her!

She refocused on herself since but, in the meantime, she wrote these. And even though Vivian considered herself to have a fertile imagination, she still commended herself about how better for everyone it was she hadn’t applied for a job in Narrative…

Rising her tablet up again and tapping on the lit screen, she entered the file and skimmed through it, trying to ignore the grammar mistakes she stopped committing since; and mistakes aside, her stories had nothing exceptional, totally influenced as they were by her mood and the not-so-new-but-still-trendy storyline — Escaton’s and his bandits, essentially…

Over a very short time, when Vivian was still more or less trying to fit into the life of the facility and social circles of her co-workers whose names had yet to be caught, she had heard so many comments, appreciations and reviews for this narrative that she looked into it first.

After all, the park afforded Lee Sizemore, renowned author who made a big name for himself with a "hot and grimy" historical saga, a few years back before running out of puff under his editor’s pressure. And a juicy offer by a video game studio to adapt it. 

She understood; everybody, whether staff or guests, was more or less hyped by the brute force brought by Hector Escaton — virile and dark male figure — to the relative tranquility of the park’s starting point.

And Vivian had been no exception.

If her first story was only about made-up characters to explore the pleasing and well rounded context of Sweetwater, her second, on the other hand, was more audacious, altering shamelessly the story from what its authors had surely intended; victorious over the town after killing the sheriff and all opposition, Escaton and his gang enjoyed their plunder at the Mariposa where Hector fell for one of the saloon girls.

That being said, Vivian remained very proper — maybe totally prudish — in these sort of narrative fantasies of hers; nothing turned freaky or utterly violent…

All she did was throwing a few sentences on her writing app for some evenings, when inspiration struck or simply because she urged herself to follow through with what she started. All on her personal tablet. She knew better than to write that on anything system-tethered. Imagining that a bored somebody could just hack into the system all the way up to her personal data… and end up on that giddy nonsense, made her wants to puke!

Not to mention that it might also be forbidden. Even though she never planned to, she knew she couldn’t share it with anyone, nor anywhere. Not as a park employee. If the guests were writing critiques and other reviews online about their stay, herself couldn’t talk about it from the inside. Confidentiality and shit…

Her texts would remain secret, and her silly fantasies with them. In any case, it wasn’t as if she intended to try anything for herself, and even less with Hector Escaton, all the more since he wasn’t even part of the batch her team had in charge. And also, rumor has it that fantasies aren’t always good when act upon!

With a lazy tap, Vivian quitted the reading app and dropped the tablet on her sheets before burying her face in her soft pillow. She let out a deep sigh in it, relaxed, and in fact, she fell asleep almost right away.

[johnsbleu]

Hold My Hand: John Wick x Reader Chapter 74

warnings: nsfw Hold My Hand Masterlist

The rain has been falling steadily for over two hours now, and even though it’s only a little after four, it looks like it’s nearly 8 at night. The rain on the trees outside is so serene, and every so often, you can hear the thunder in the distance. Since you can’t really hear it, you walk over to the window and open it a little.

The plan for today was to go to the festival that's happening down the street, but since it's raining out, you're fairly certain that no one is even there. It would be fine to walk around in if it was just a light sprinkle, but it's a pretty good storm. The lightening is flashing every few seconds and the thunder is never far behind, which is your absolute favorite.

John is fast asleep on the couch, and he has been for about an hour. You know you’ll need to start some dinner soon, but the banging in the kitchen will wake him up and you want him to get as much rest as he can. Plus he looks absolutely adorable right now and you don’t want to disturb that.

As you walk past the couch, you look over and smile when you see John still asleep. He has the pillows from the couch over his arms to warm himself up, so you grab the blanket off the chair and tuck it around his chest and his arms while a small spreads across his face.

When you walk over to sit in the chair near the window, John grabs your back pocket and pulls you back to him, and he sits up a little to let you sit next to him on the couch. You tap your thigh and he places his head in your lap, squinting his eyes open to look at you.

“What are you up to?” he whispers, then pulls you down to kiss him.

“Just watching the storm, it's getting worse. I need to make dinner soon but since you’re napping, I hate to bang around in the kitchen.” you say softly as you trace your finger over John’s face, “So I thought I could just order some food for us.”

John nods his head lazily and closes his eyes, “Pizza.”

You unlock your iPad and check out a few places that are near the tree house, and you continue tracing John’s face until small snores escape past his lips. You lean down and press a kiss to his forehead, and he snuggles even closer to you.

__

“Ah!” you yell as you run up the steps, and John quickly opens the door, reaching out for you, “I’m soaked!”

“You should have just let them walk up the steps.” John takes the food from you and points to the bedroom, “Go get dried off. I’ll get dinner all set up.”

You shiver as you walk back to the bedroom, and you quickly pull off your clothes and toss them in the dryer when you pass it. Since you and John have no plans for the rest of the night, you decide to just throw on one of his t-shirts, and you can’t wait to see the reaction you’ll get.

John opens the bag and begins taking the food out, “I don't even know what you got me, but it smells amazing.”

“I got pizza! That’s what you told me you wanted.” you laugh as you walk back out to the kitchen, “Don’t you remember?”

“Nope.” John’s gaze immediately falls from your eyes, and he looks at you up and down, taking in the sight of you in his shirt. He swallows hard and licks his lips when you pull his shirt tighter on your chest to show him you’re not wearing a bra, and you both laugh when you make eye contact again.

“I’m just teasing.” you pull out the pizza and hold it up, “Mushroom, sausage, and pepperoni. Just for you.”

John closes his eyes and tilts his head back, “Have I told you today that I love you?”

You laugh as you take out the pasta and hold it up for John to smell, “Eggplant Parmesan with linguine. Oh, and I got us some dessert as well.” you open the fridge and put them away, “We’ll save that for later.”

Looking out the window, you exhale in relief when you see the rain is coming down even harder. It’s nearly impossible to see across the lawn, and the rain is pelting against the windows.

“Good thing they delivered.”

“I wouldn't have let you drive in this,” he laughs as he sets the food on the coffee table, then he waves you over, “Come on.”

You smack your lips together as you sit down on the couch and fold your legs under you, immediately taking a big bite of your food. John offers you a bite of his pizza and you nod your head as he feeds you.

“That’s good. I usually don’t care for mushrooms but that’s really good.” you feed John a bit of your food, and he gives you a thumbs up as he chews.

When you set your plate on the table, you notice a wrapped up present, and you groan loudly as you look over at John and roll your eyes.

“What?” he asks with a mouth full of pizza.

You point at the present and cover your mouth as you chew, “More gifts?”

“I thought it was for me.” John laughs and grabs it, “It was in my suitcase, in a side pocket.”

“It’s not like…some hidden gift from Helen or something, is it?” you ask, carefully reaching out for it.

“No.” John laughs and sits back on the couch to finish his pizza, “I didn’t have this suitcase then. Open it.”

You rip the paper off the box and open it to find a note tucked inside. You unfold it and laugh, “Makes sense. Tess.”

“It’s from Tess?” he asks, leaning over to look at it with you to read the note, “Hey, you two. Found these when we were in Rome and I tucked them away. Thought it’d be fun for the two of you. So, enjoy. Oh, and I also added a few of my own.”

You and John look at each other in confusion, then you reach into the box to pull out a stack of cards. There’s a few that are just ripped up sheets of paper, and you know those are the ones that Tess wrote.

“Conversation starters.” you say as you look at a few, “This could be fun.”

John is already on his third slice of pizza, and when you go to grab your fork, you notices he’s been eating your food too. You laugh and get up from the couch to get something to drink, and you look over at John as he shuffles through the cards.

“I’m asking first.” he says, then takes a big drink of water, “Question one, oh, I actually don’t think I know this. What are you allergic to?”

You sit back on the couch and open your bottle of water, “Fish.”

“Really?”

You nod as you take a sip of water, “Yup. Figured that out when I was 12. Dan used to keep an eye on me and Tess when my mom would work late, and he had brought some fish over to cook. You know me, I’m a picky eater, but everyone was eating fish and I didn’t want to be left out or be rude for not eating it.”

“So, you would have rather died than be left out or rude? You really are an angel, you know that?”

You laugh and shake your head, “No! I didn’t know at the time that I was allergic. I ate a little bit of it and my face just…got super red and itchy, and I couldn’t really breathe. Gave Dan quite the scare.”

John is hanging on to every word you say, and he leans in for more, “What happened?”

“He took me to the hospital. My mom was working and nearly fainted when she saw her baby girl being carried in.” you laugh, and John widens his eyes. “They figured it out within a few seconds and I was fine. I just can’t eat fish, which is perfectly okay with me since, you know, it’s gross anyway.”

John puts his hand over his heart and exhales, “I can imagine how scared your mom was. I would probably almost faint too.”

You chuckle softly to yourself and look up at John, “So, uh, when we went to that restaurant in Rome and we ordered the steak, that was mostly because I couldn’t eat anything else on the menu. And also the other night when you offered me Caesar salad dressing…”

John’s eyes almost fall out of his head, and he cups your face, “Oh, my god!”

“It’s okay.” you laugh and cover his hands with yours to keep them in place, “It’s okay. It’s just sometimes it has anchovies in it, so I obviously can’t eat it. Don’t worry it’s not like a severe allergy, so I’m okay. What about you? Are you allergic to anything?”

John takes a deep breath and sighs, “I’m so sorry, I almost killed you. Twice!”

You scoot closer to John and wrap your arm around his shoulder, “No, you didn’t, baby. I’m fine. Anyway, what about you?”

“No,” he shakes his head and grabs another card, handing it to you, “I’m not allergic to anything.”

“Question two.” you look at the card and laugh, “Oh, well, I know the answer for you. Have you ever broken a bone?”

John lets out a sweet laugh and nods his head, “Yeah, I broke my leg when I was, like…14. I broke my ankle when I was around 34. And I broke my nose a few times. My ribs, a lot. My arm, my hand, uh, I think that's it. What about you?”

“So, basically all of them?”

John nods, “Pretty much.”

“Broke my right arm when I was 16.” you look at John and laugh, “Gymnastics.”

John takes another card and smiles, “Tess wrote this one. Are you part of the mile high club? That we are.”

“I still don’t believe I was your first time up there.”

“I promise you were the first I’ve ever had sex with on a plane.” he says, laughing when you jokingly squint your eyes. “I promise!”

You cock up your eyebrow, “So, you’ve done other stuff then?”

John laughs as he shakes his head, “No. You are the only person I’ve done anything with on a plane.”

“But how do I know that?”

John lets out a laugh and shrugs, “I don’t know, you just believe me. I’ve never even been on a plane with another woman who I wasn’t working with. And Helen and I flew on an actual airline. How would I explain a private jet?”

“True.” you smirk, “But you worked with other women.”

“That would have all killed me within a second if I let my guard down.” he says, shaking his head.

“Okay, but I mean, doesn’t that like…add to the whole thing? That you’re an assassin and she’s an assassin. Both dangerous and beautiful.” you say, dramatically draping yourself on the couch, “We’re in love, but we’re enemies. No one can know about this love affair.”

John is watching you with the biggest smile on his face, and he laughs when you look over at him. “Yeah, trust me, it’s not hot. Last thing on my mind when I’m working, to be honest.”

“But once you’re home…” you wink and point at yourself, then lay down on the couch, sprawling out, “Take me, Jonathan.”

“Anyway,” John laughs and shakes his head as he pulls out another card, one from Tess, “Were you nervous the first time you had sex?”

“Like…together, or just the first time ever?”

John shrugs, “I’m assuming you and me.”

“Oh,” you laugh, then look over at John, “Were you nervous?”

“Yeah, I was nervous.” he nods, looking at you, “I was so nervous that, I don’t know, you weren’t going to be into me, or that I wouldn’t be…good. It had been a while for me, so I hoped that I would still be good. And you’re younger than me, so I don’t know.”

“You were perfect, John. It was, by far, the best sex I’ve ever had, and I’m not just saying that because we’re together. I really mean that. I was nervous though.” you say, then you try your best to imitate John’s deep voice, “You’re older than me, so I don’t know.”

John laughs, “You teasin’ me?”

“Yeah,” you laugh, leaning over to kiss John, “But seriously, I was nervous. I know I’ve told you before that I was nervous because it was the first time I wore lingerie, but I was just nervous too, because I really, really liked you, and I just hoped that even after we had sex, you were still gonna be around.”

John gestures to himself, then he points at your engagement ring, “I’m still around.”

“Were you really so nervous because I’m younger?”

He shrugs, then nods a little, “A little bit. I just hoped I could keep up with you.”

“Oh, you definitely do. You have amazing stamina, usually it’s me who is out of breath first.”

John grins, then he looks down at the next card, “First to say I love you.”

“You.” you smile, leaning over to kiss John, “You had told me already that you were falling in love, but you hadn’t straight up said you loved me yet. Until I came to see you at the hotel. You told me you loved me for the first time while we were having sex.”

“Ah, making love.” John corrects, and you roll your eyes. “I had always meant to tell you before, and if I’m being honest, I had planned to tell you the day you found everything in the basement. I was so excited to get home to you just so I could tell you. Then you found everything in the basement, and I…”

“Didn’t want to risk it, I get it.”

John laughs, “No. You were yelling at me. Did you really want to hear that I loved you in that moment? No. You would have said that I only said it to stop you from leaving.”

You nod your head and look at John, “You have a point. I mean it would have been a bad time to tell me, to be honest. I would have probably said that. God, I hate how well you know me. Even back then, you just…knew me.”

John smiles proudly as he grabs another card, “Name two things your partner does well, and one thing you wish they did better.”

“Tread carefully, Wick.”

John tilts his head back against the couch and looks up at the ceiling, “I already know what I wish you would do better.”

“Being nice to myself, blah, blah, blah. I know.” you laugh as John nods his head, “It’s a work in progress.”

“Two things you do well…uh, you make delicious food. Since we’ve been together, we cook together a lot, and I swear you could make a cookbook, you’re incredible.” he smiles and puckers his lips for a kiss. He chuckles and looks down at his lap, “And another thing you do well is...”

You look down at the crotch of John’s pants and smile, “You can say it. I know you’re dying to say it.”

He laughs and shakes his head, “You’re very understanding. That’s something you do well, you understand me. You understand me like no one ever has, and I truly mean that.”

“Two things you do well. I can think of like…a million. You’re very patient with me, which I appreciate so much. I know I can be a handful, so I really do appreciate how patient you are with me.” you take a deep breath and squint one eye as you think.

“Oh, I thought you could think of a million.” John teases.

“I’m trying to pick a really good one.” you laugh and stretch your legs out across John’s lap, “Can I just be cheesy and say you love me really well? Because you love me the way no one ever has and it’s incredible. Yeah, I’m gonna go with that because the smile on your face is killing me.”

John’s smile grows bigger on his face as he leans over to kiss your cheek. John is always affectionate, but today it’s in overdrive. “Next question. Most romantic thing the other has done for you. I would say--”

“I never do romantic things for you. I’m a shitty fiancee.” you laugh and roll your eyes when John shakes his head. “Okay, what’s a romantic thing I’ve done?”

“Setting up my bookbinding site. That was so sweet of you to do.” he smiles, and you can tell he’s being completely sincere. “I would have had no idea how to do that, but you did it for me because you wanted me to do something that I loved. And I also think it was pretty romantic that you were my first client.”

You shrug playfully and blush, “I’m so proud of you. I’ll never say it enough. I am so proud of everything you’ve accomplished with your bookbinding. I’m so happy to see you so passionate about something, I just love listening to you talk about it. Your eyes just light up, it’s honestly the most wonderful thing to see.”

“Come here.” John whispers, and you crawl closer to sit in his lap. He kisses you tenderly and smiles as he tucks your hair behind your ear, “What about you? What’s the most romantic thing I’ve done?”

“Made me a little journal for us to leave notes in, flew my mom out when you proposed, gave me the best proposal ever,” you begin to count on your fingers, and John laughs. “Had my favorite camera fixed, given me jewelry and flowers just because. Bought me a fucking book shop, flew me to Italy, surprised me with this place. Shall I continue?”

John buries his face in the crook of your neck and laughs, “I get it.”

“You’re very romantic, but even if you didn’t buy me this stuff or fly me places, the little things that you do are my favorite.” you say, and John leans back, “Making me breakfast, always wanting to be near me, wanting to hold my hand. Telling me that you miss your lips on mine when we haven’t kissed in like…an hour. It’s the little things that matter the most to me.”

John holds your gaze for a moment and starts to laugh, “My cheesiness is rubbing off on you, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately.” you laugh as you grab another card. “What is one thing you wish you could change about your relationship? Oh, I got one. I wish that you and I got to do things that new couples get to do. Like, when you move in together, you get to buy all the stuff you need for your house or apartment, I'm a little sad that we didn't get to do that stuff.”

“Really?” John asks, and you nod your head. “Well, we do need a new couch. Our living room could look better, I was thinking that we need a new rug in there too. We could always redo that. Our den that we never use, that could use a little attention. We'd probably use it more.”

“Thought it'd be good for when we have kids. Their playroom. It’s right next to the office, so we can always keep an eye on them if we’re working or something.”

John smiles as he nods his head, “Great idea. When we get home, we can go get some stuff and fix up the house. Might even paint the living room too.”

“Well, we need to fix up the baby's room anyway. I'm not pregnant, but I think once I get pregnant, everything will fly by, so it's probably best that we start fixing it up. Plus, I just want to do it because I'm excited.”

“Me, too.”

You look at the next card and read it, “What is your favorite physical feature on one another? Well, that’s just dumb, because you’re going to say my--”

“Smile.”

You laugh and scrunch up your eyebrows in confusion, “What? Since when?”

“Since always.” John smiles, “I’ve always loved your smile. You have a cute little dimple on your right cheek. It’s tiny and you can only see it when you smile really wide. But I love your smile, nearly fell to my knees the first time I saw it.”

“Oh, god.” you roll your eyes and laugh.

“That’s another thing I would like you to do better: take compliments.”

You laugh again and shake your head, “That was like…three questions ago.”

John watches attentively as you move to straddle his waist, and he bites his lip a little when you ease down on his lap. He places his hands on your waist to pull you a little closer, then he smiles when your gazes meet.

“So, just my smile?” you ask, playing it coy, “There’s nothing else that you like on me?”

John chuckles, “I like everything on you. I also like everything…off of you, if you get what I mean.”

You roll your eyes a little as a smile spreads across your face, “John.”

“Okay, okay…” he laughs, then he moves his hands from your waist down to your thighs, “I love your thighs, how soft and warm your skin is on my fingertips…”

“And…”

John watches his hands as they move under your shirt, then he lifts it up so he can take a look. He pulls the shirt over his head and leans his head against your chest as you laugh. Looking through the neck of the shirt, you smile at John and shake your head.

“Yes, these are good too. Very good. So round and perky.” he says, then he leans back a little to suck on your nipple. He finally pulls your shirt back down and looks at you, “You have a very beautiful face. You have really nice hair too! Your legs are good, and your tiny feet.”

Huffing loudly, you frown a little since John is saying everything but what you want him to say, and he clearly thinks it’s hilarious. You move John’s hands to your ass, and you give him an encouraging smile and nod.

“I think that’s it.” he says, then he laughs loudly when you slouch against his chest. “I’m kidding! You know I love your ass. I have a whole nickname that I call you because of it. Of course I love your ass.”

You lean back and look at John, “Why do you tease me so much?”

“Because I love when you get so frustrated with me.” he says softly as he leans up to kiss you. He grips your ass in both hands and smiles, “I love your ass, but the truth is, I would never be able to pick just one thing. I just love everything about you.”

Rubbing your thumb against John’s cheek, you lean down to kiss him once more, “That’s sweet.”

John puffs up his chest and smiles, “What’s your favorite feature on me?”

You grab John’s biceps in your hands and squeeze them tight, then move them lower to his hands, “Honestly, I don’t think I could ever pick. Your eyes are incredible. You have the most beautiful shade of brown I have ever seen, and you have a really nice shape to them. I hope our babies have your eyes.”

“With your smile.”

“Pfft.” you scoff and play with John’s hands, “You have nice hands. I think I’m in the same boat as you though. I’d never be able to pick.”

You take a deep breath and laugh as you look out the window at the storm. It’s still raining incredibly hard, and you get up to open the window a little more. You inhale the smell of the rain and close your eyes as you turn around to see John has been looking at you in awe this whole time.

“Kinda crazy how in love with you I am.” he whispers, pulling you onto the couch.

You laugh quietly and look over at the mess you and John have made on the coffee table with all of your food. You sit up a little to start cleaning the dishes when John grabs you by the waist and pulls you into his lap.

His breath is hot on your neck, and you close your eyes when his hands slide up your thighs to your stomach, then to your breasts, and he squeezes them in his hands. He pulls your shirt up a little to feel your skin under his fingertips, and he nips at your neck and shoulder as you begin moving on his lap.

“I have a question. Have you ever had an orgasm like you have with me?” he whispers against your skin, out of breath.

You shake your head and smile when John begins to slide his hand into your underwear. You tilt your head back and moan softly as he inserts his fingers with no hesitation, and he laughs quietly when you squeeze your legs shut.

“Mmm,” you hum and look over at John, “One of the best feelings.”

“Just one?” he asks, and he watches as your gaze travels down to the crotch of his pants. “Oh.”

You kneel in front of John and slowly unzip his pants, killing him with anticipation. He leans forward to kiss you, then he presses a kiss to your forehead before sitting back and watching you.

“Your cock…” you whisper as you pull him out of his boxers and stroke him, “It’s amazing.”

John laughs quietly and opens his mouth to moan when you slowly lick the tip of his cock with your wet tongue, then he sits up a little to get his pants pulled down more. He sits back down on the couch and places his hand on your forearms, almost in desperate need of physical contact with you.

“Tell me what you want, John.” you say, looking up at him as he tries to keep his eyes open.

“I…I, uh…” he tilts his head back and moans as you press wet kisses all over his cock, thighs and balls, “I wanna feel your mouth around me. I wanna see my cock in your mouth.”

John places both hands on your head as you begin to bob up and down, and he watches intently, holding your gaze the whole time. Taking John as deep as you can, you close your eyes and hear John let out a breathy moan, gripping your hair a little tighter. You slowly slide him out of your mouth and try to catch your breath as you stroke him.

“Needy.” you murmur and smile, “I’m so needy for you tonight.”

John laughs, “I don’t mind.”

“You know, I actually have a really bad gag reflex…” you say as you sit up a little to kiss John, “But it’s like…nonexistent when I’m sucking your dick. Weird, right?”

The look in John’s eyes as he leans down to kiss you again causes you to shiver, and he slips his tongue into your mouth before you move back between his legs. You close your eyes and hum, leaning forward to take John into your mouth again. You feel John so deep in your throat that you’re a little surprised you haven’t gagged yet, then again, he tastes and feels amazing.

“God, look how deep you’ve taken me.” John says, slowly pulling himself out of your mouth as he watches in awe.

As you stroke him and suck on him simultaneously, you know he won’t last much longer, so you decide to give him a few more deep strokes.

“You really are so beautiful, you know that?” he whispers and cups your face to bring you to his lips.

“I just had your cock in my mouth, of course you think I'm beautiful.”

John shakes his head and holds your gaze, “I mean it. You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, you’re unreal.”

Standing up in front of John, you reach for his hands and help him off the couch, then walk over to the kitchen counter and lean over it as John pulls your underwear off. You hear his belt hitting the floor and look over your shoulder a little to see him kicking his pants off.

You gasp loudly when you feel his cock between your legs, and John tugs your shirt over your head, tossing it on the floor. The granite from the counter is cold against your skin as you lay on it, and you smile to yourself when John begins to thrust his hips.

“Oh, fuck.” he whispers, and you look over your shoulder at him as he closes his eyes and tilts his head back, “Fuck, baby.”

When John jerks his hips hard, you lay on the counter again, gripping the edge as hard as you can without breaking a nail. The sound of John’s hips against your ass fills the room, along with the rain falling outside and John moaning.

“The bed, John.” you manage to choke out as you look over your shoulder at him to see his face is red and sweaty.

You turn around and wrap your arms around John’s neck as the two of you walk back to the bedroom, and you keep your lips pressed to his the whole time. He gently lays you down on the bed and crawls on top of you, gazing at you.

“My pretty girl.” John rubs the back of his hand against your cheek and smiles as he moves lower between your legs. He’s pressing kisses all over your thighs, purposely avoiding your pussy to tease you, “You’re so swollen for me.”

“You fucked my brains out last night, what do you expect?” you laugh, then you hum when he sucks on your thigh, leaving behind a red mark.

John wraps his arms around your legs and pulls you closer to him, and his beard against your thigh causes you to giggle. He licks along your pussy and smiles when he sits up to look at you, “Fucking delicious.”

You spread yourself open further for John and smirk, “Worship me, John.”

John immediately buries his face between your legs and licks you feverishly, and you arch your back and moan softly. He reaches for your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours as you sit up a little to watch him.

John’s tongue is incredible and the longer he’s between your legs, the faster you’re on your way to an orgasm. You want to finish tonight with John on top of you, so you grab his bicep and squeeze it to get him to look up.

“Come here.” you whisper and watch John as he crawls back up to, pressing kisses to your body along the way, “You’re so good to me.”

You smile at John as he pulls his shirt over his head, then you open your mouth to moan when he slips back in between your legs. Closing your eyes, you place your hand on John’s chest as he slowly rolls his hips, hitting your hidden spot relentlessly.

“Look at me.” John whispers, leaning closer to your face, “Look at me, baby.”

You slowly open your eyes and moan loudly when John starts rubbing circles on your sensitive clit, “Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck.”

John’s breathing is getting heavier, and he’s slowly laying down on top of you, which means he’s nearing his end already, and you don’t blame him one bit. You tilt your head back and put your hands above your head, holding tight to the bars on the headboard as John lays down on top of you. A thin layer of sweat covers your bodies, causing you and John to stick to one another, and you wrap one arm around John’s neck when he jerks his hips so hard that you scoot up the bed further.

You push John’s shoulders a little, then roll over onto your side as John positions himself between your legs again. He places his hand on your thigh and lifts up your leg a little to move in deeper, and the two of you moan in unison. John is breathing heavily against your neck, and he wraps his left arm over your chest to grab your breast. You tilt your head back a little to kiss him, and you smile when you see him looking at you.

“You’re all I think about.” he whispers in your ear and presses a kiss to your cheek when you moan, “You like that?”

“What you’re doing or what you said? Because I like both.” you laugh and look back at him again. “Harder, John.”

John keeps a tight grip on you as he thrusts his hips harder and harder, and you bury your face in the pillow as you let out a scream of pleasure.

“Look at me.” he pulls you closer to his chest and smiles when you look at him, “Look at me when you come.”

He leans closer and smiles as he jerks his hips harder, spilling into you as you come with him. Your body quivers as you’re overcome with pleasure, and John keeps a tight grip on your hip to keep you on his cock as you slowly roll your hips and ride out your orgasm.

“Mmm,” John hums as he kisses you and rolls you over onto your back, “My sweet girl.”

“I can’t deny how much I love that.” you whisper against his lips, “When you call me your girl.”

“You are my girl.” his gaze drops from your eyes to your lips, and he bites his bottom lip when you smile a little. “I love you.”

You nod your head and close your eyes, “Yeah, I love you too.”

You wrap your arms around his neck as John sneakily slides his hand between your legs and rubs you gently. You hold John’s gaze for a moment before kissing him until your mouth starts to hurt. He presses a kiss to your forehead before laying on the bed, then he inhales deeply then slowly lets it out as he looks up at ceiling.

“Sorry.”

You roll on your side and prop your head up, “For what?”

“Well, we were having fun with those cards.” he frowns a little and looks over at you, “Then I got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” you laugh as you get off the bed, and you head back into the living room to grab the cards. You grab a bottle of water for the two of you, then quickly walk back to the bedroom, “Look, we can still do some more.”

John takes the bottle of water from you and nearly drinks the whole thing within twenty seconds. He offers you the last of it, and you laugh as you trade him the cards for the water.

“Okay, let’s see…” he shuffles through the cards and smiles, “First car? My first car was…well, I worked mostly in New York when I was younger, so I would just get a car from my…”

“We’ll just say employer.”

John laughs, “Sure. Or Aurelio would give me a car to drive, so I guess my first car would be my car now.”

You smile at John and cup his face, “That’s sweet that Helen bought you your first car.”

“Yeah,” he nods and shuffles through the cards, “How about you?”

“Okay, well, for starters, no one bought my car for me.” you laugh and look at John, “It was my car that got Tess and I here. A 1997 Ford Explorer.”

“I hated that car.” he laughs, leaning over to kiss you, “I’m sorry, but it was a piece of shit.”

You laugh loudly and nod, “It was, but when I lived back home, Dan knew someone who worked at an auto shop, so I always got it fixed for a lower price. Once I moved to New York though, that went out the window.”

“We really need to get you a car. A nice one. You deserve something really nice.”

Inhaling deeply, you nod again and grab the cards from John, “I do. Next question.”

You spread the cards out in your hand and put them out for John to chose one. His hand hovers over them and he pulls out a card in the middle of the stack.

“Ooh,” you perk up and look at John, “If you could relive a year in your life, what age would you chose?”

He looks up and gestures to you, “You first.”

“You’ve lived longer than I have, and you’ve been through more, so you go first.”

John furrows his brow as he laughs and he leans over to kiss you, “Fine. Uh, I actually don’t wish to relive any year. I really like my life now, and I like the way my life is going. Months ago you told me to stop thinking ten steps ahead and you told me that I needed to just live in the moment with you, and I have. So, I wouldn’t want to relive any year.”

A smile spreads across your face as you and John look at each other. You’re honestly a little shocked that John didn’t say that he wanted to relive a year with Helen, then again, he wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings.

“I truly mean that,” he says, tucking your hair behind your ear, “Don’t go thinking that I’m just being a kiss-ass. I really, really mean that, peach.”

“I don’t think I can top that one.” you laugh, “I would agree with you. I don’t wish I was living in any other year. I love this life, and I love the life that we’re creating together.”

“Are you sick of these cards yet?” John laughs as he takes them from you, “We still have quite a few left.”

You look out the window and see the rain has stopped and the clouds are finally starting to disappear.

“A little bit. How about we clean up the food, then sit on the deck for a bit?” you lean over to kiss John and look down at your bare chest, “And maybe put some clothes on.”

“I don’t know, I think you’d make a great nudist.” he says, laughing quietly as he moves your hair off your shoulder so he can get a better look at your chest.

You laugh as you get off the bed, “Yeah, well, with little miss Shiloh running around here, I’m not risking it.”

John chuckles as he gets off the bed and grabs some boxers and pulls a pair of pants on, buckling them as he walks over to you. After you pull on a summer dress, he reaches out for your hand and intertwines his fingers with yours as the two of you walk back into the kitchen.

“Oh, man.” you laugh when you see the mess you’ve made, and John smiles as he walks over to grab his shirt from the floor.

The two of you quickly put away your leftover food, pop the dishes in dishwasher, then you and John head for the patio. When John sees the chairs are covered in water from the rain, he turns around to grab some towels. Drying off your chair, he kisses your cheek when you sit down, then he pats his legs for you to put your feet in his lap.

“Perfect way to end the night.” he says, looking across the lawn and squinting his eyes a little, “Sunset looks beautiful.”

The sun is slowly setting, and the sky is like cotton candy. Blues, and pinks, but it’s slowly turning into a nice peachy color. The clouds are slowly disappearing, and you’re praying that tomorrow won’t be rainy even though this sunset is honestly one of the most beautiful ones you’ve ever seen.

“Actually, I do have a question for you: what is something I don’t know about you?”

“That’s a tough one.” John says and looks over at you, “You know pretty much everything there is to know about me.”

“Oh, I definitely don’t. Tell me about a job. Tell me about that horse story.” you laugh, “You said Jimmy would like to tell me, but I want to hear it from you.”

John’s cheeks turn a little red from embarrassment and he shrugs, not knowing what to say.

“You were in the city…” you say, trying to help John along. He grabs your feet in his hands and squeezes them as he sighs. “Jonathan, oh, my god. Just tell me.”

“Sorry.” he laughs and shakes his head, “It’s like I don’t even know where to start.”

“Wherever you’re comfortable.”

He takes a deep breath and sighs again, “Well, Bleu and I were just…running, and I had one coin left, so I used it to make sure Bleu would get to the hotel safely.”

“See, this is why I’m so in love with you. Well, one of the many reasons. Jonathan, you were running for your life, but you had Bleu and you knew you needed to keep him safe. You used your last coin to get him to safety.” you put your hand over your heart and smile, “My heart is literally going to burst out of my chest.”

“He’s important to me.” he says quietly, almost a little shy to admit it.

“I know he is, baby.” you lean forward and cup his face, “And he loves his dad.”

John presses a kiss to the palm of your hand, then watches as you sit back and wait for him to continue. “So, after I left Bleu, I…god, are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes. Ten thousand percent.” you shake your head and smile, “John, I’m not going anywhere.”

He nods and exhales, “After I left Bleu, I had to…go to a few places. And anyway, I had no way to get away from these guys.”

“They were coming from everywhere?”

“Yeah,” he nods, looking up at you, “They were everywhere. Everyone was looking for me.”

“Can I ask you something?” you ask, and John immediately nods. “How much was it? Your…uh, your worth? I don’t know what else to call it.”

“Bounty.” he says, leaning his elbows on the table, “Well, it started out at seven, then went to 14. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure where it went from there.”

You exhale and shake your head, “I can’t believe people can just…put a price tag on someone’s head like that. I mean, the guys that you get hired to deal with aren’t good people.”

“I’m not…innocent, you know?” John tries to hold your gaze, but he can’t, so he looks away.

You scoot closer to John and rest your hand on his forearm, “I don’t care what you’ve done in the past, or what you do now. Because I know, deep down, that you’re a good man. I know the people that you deal with aren’t good people. You’re special, Jonathan.”

John scoffs and shakes his head, then he starts to smile when he’s sees you’re being completely genuine.

“Do you remember when we watched that one movie? The guy was a real creep? Later that night I asked you if those were the kinds of people that you deal with, and you said yes. Then you told me that you couldn't even begin to tell me the things that they had done because it would make me sick?”

“Of course.” he says, nodding his head.

You let out a small laugh and squeeze his hand, “You're not like that, and you never have been. I know that. I know that you're a good guy and you would never hurt an innocent person or a child. I know that, and you know that. That's the line that you won't cross, and you have morals, John. That's why you're so special, and that's why you're not like those people.”

John reaches out and places his left hand on your cheek, “Thank you.”

“John, you do realize how selfless that was, right?” you ask, and John furrows his brow a little. “You were literally being hunted down. At any moment, you could have been killed. You could have easily left Bleu on the side of road.”

“Well…”

“Yeah, he tends to follow you around, I know.” you laugh, then get serious again, “But you could have left him, you could have just given him to some kid or something. But you didn’t. Because you, Jonathan Wick, have the most amazing heart, and you’re so fucking selfless. See, I really could go on and on about you.”

John leans over, pressing his lips to yours and smiles, “I like it.”

“You are going to be the best father, John.” you murmur against his lips, then lean your forehead against his for a moment. “I got off track, keep going with your story.”

“Anyway, I was running and had no way of transportation, so I ran into a…stable.” he says, laughing when he sees your face.

“Like…for the horses that take people on carriage rides?”

“I think?” he shrugs, “I have no idea. I just got in there and tried to stay alive. Got a horse, got the fuck out.”

You put your hand over your mouth as you laugh, “So, what does this have to do with Jimmy?”

“He saw it!” he laughs, “I guess he saw me. He has to tell you the story though, he’ll act the whole thing out.”

The two of you continue laughing, and it slowly fades as you watch the sunset. Every so often, John squeezes your leg to get your attention, and he smiles when you look at him. He takes a deep breath and sighs contently.

“So, what about you? What’s something I don’t know about you?”

“Hmm…” you look up at the sky as you think, then you clasp your hands tight, “I, uh, have never told you this. I should have probably told you sooner, and when you told me about Helen, it was the perfect time. I know you’re going to probably be mad at me, but…I have been married before.”

John looks at you carefully, trying his hardest to read your face. He furrows his brow and shakes his head, “Nope.”

“Yup.” you nod, “His name was Justin. We were 19, and we…just went to Vegas and got married.”

“Really? What did mom do?”

You widen your eyes and grimace, “She was pretty mad, but after she met him, she really liked him and she came around.”

“She liked him?” he asks, frowning a little. “I thought she didn’t like anyone you dated…except me.”

“Oh, she loved him.”

“Why did you never tell me this?” he asks, then he starts to smile when you laugh loudly, “You are so full of shit.”

“Don’t lie, I had you for a moment there!” you laugh as you sit in his lap, “You were so sad for a minute. Aw.”

John shrugs a little and kisses your cheek, “I won’t lie, I was sad for a moment. I want to be the only man you ever marry.”

“And you will be.”

__

taglist: @tnu-ree​ @dangerouslystrangecrown​ @weird-civilian @callmeglenncoco @sanctuarygirl​ @meetmeinthematinee​ @jessicajones616​ @artistic-discontentment @cheekybluefox​ @jazzyboo2001 @starsstripesandthesouth​ @a-small-independent-princess @thepastrecedes01​ @rubywantsafuitgummy​ @sterekislyf​ @lostandfaceless​ @sweetgoodangel​ @racharr @star017​ @ladyren33​ @whatcolourisanorange​​ @lunaticgurly​

i’m sorry if i’m tagging you and you don’t want to be, just let me know! 

[seriouslyblacklikemysoul]

Until Forever - Sirius Black

MASTERLIST Warnings:My English and pics aren’t mine. This one is a stepping stone.  Word Count~ 3k Prologue |  Mercury | Delicate | Blue | Running | Aftermath | Stardust |December | Nightfall  Chapter 10. Revelations. 

      Being on her own, a bit of a loner anyway, felt like a breather – even for just mere days. She never thought that she needed it as much as before. She hadn’t been chasing one relationship after another – perfectly content on her own. She smiled at the memory that popped into her mind; her best friend, heartbroken after a breakup that had costed her an entire year. The thing was no one had to be in a relationship and she meant it when she had told her that. It was an idea, forced down people’s throat until they choked on it. Women weren’t pretty unless they’re wanted. Guys weren’t men unless they had sex. People weren’t lovable until they were dating each other.          As wonderful as romance was — it wasn’t the only love that existed. It was not the answer to everything. She was constantly bombarded by the words “nobody loves me”, words escaping from the mouths of people who happened to be single. Love didn’t diminish just because someone didn’t want to have sex with another. In fact, it made that love more real. It made it into something that surged beyond physical attraction and surfaced level companionship. It made it unique.       She knew it all too well, it was pretty to be in love. However, it was also wonderful to stop for ice cream in that beautiful dress after a wild night with three other girls. It was also wonderful to drive in the middle of the night with a bunch of people who were family. Being on her own, never phased her and this time was no different. What was different, however, was his maturity – in the age of eighteen he was more mature than almost all of her previous partners. And just like that she realized that maybe, instead of looking for other halves, people should really be piecing themselves together.  And maybe, she wasn’t born unfinished.       She had said her goodbyes and walked them down to the castle entrance. James and Peter hugged her; Lily kissed her cheek while Remus smiled in a way that told her it was a bit too soon. Sirius even though he did want to hug her, he winked at her as he was the first to walk away with Marlene. She had to stop worrying about him. She turned around and walked toward the kitchens, hungry and ready for the therapeutic few days in front of her.         She was mumbling a song that had stuck in her mind without paying attention where she went, resulting in a collision. She apologized but he waved it off kindly until he saw her face – even without her robes, everyone knew the girl who fell from the sky. He grew distant and cold; she didn’t have to look at his robes to know that the boy was a Slytherin but what she hadn’t been expected was that particular one.       “You’re the Gryffindor everyone talks about” he pointed out. She shrugged, already gathering the ingredients and preparing a big Caesar’s salad and politely asking the elves not to help her, causing the boy to smile.        “…and you are?” she chimed, not really interested in his opinion. He was intrigued and grew reluctant of storming out.         “Regulus Black” a simple answer made he mind freeze and think that made she had been sent to hell. Her personal hell… She shook it off fast and cooked the sliced chicken in to a hot pan – thank Zeus this place had everything.         “I gain from the silence that you know my brother and you now feel awkward” he described her attitude in a nutshell. Trying not to burn her food, and remaining calm, she put the garlic, bit of olive oil and two anchovies in the food processor that had magically appeared in the counter and beat them until the garlic had completely broken down. She hummed as she transferred the sauce into to a large bowl and added the parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, mayonnaise and lots of pepper.           He enjoyed how simple she was being, how down to earth and self-sufficient, so much so he got comfortable near her – and she noticed.          “True, but still not my problem. Care for a bite?” she offered him as she was already setting two plates on the table, two glasses filled with her favorite sparkling wine and the big bowl of salad in the middle. He was startled. She was fast when she was hungry. Also, not having to wash the dishes was an added bonus of relief. He knew he had to say no, but no one else from his house was there anymore – everyone had already left and he was supposed to take the train tomorrow – and he was a bit hungry himself.        She sat down next to him, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a grey shirt. He pulled of his robes, remaining in his sweater as he took the salad tongs and served her plate first and then his. She was impressed but then she remembered the way all those manners were imposed on him and took that back. She raised her glass without making a toast, waving it just a tad, and taking a generous sip.          “How come you haven’t slept with my arrogant brother?” he asked nonchalant making her laugh loudly. He was entertained as he ate the tasteful lunch.         “I made lunch, I should be the one asking the questions, don’t you think? But, it’s not from the lack of effort, if you must know” she answered, leaving him startled yet again. She was indeed, something else. He took notice of how unafraid she was and envied that.      “Alright, it’s only fair, I suppose” he agreed. He found himself very happy – as if all of the sudden he had a sibling again and that left him shallow. She had plenty of question to ask but didn’t want to make him hurt again – he saw that and felt grateful.      “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” she asked innocently enough. If she could just change one small detain in the story… just one. Their conversation was refreshing and nice… McGonagall had almost interrupted them but her quick thinking saved it. She knew that her professor would like to discuss this with her and she also knew that she wanted to discuss something herself. She was determined – she would tell her the truth.       The evening chill begun to creep inside the kitchens as they sipped their freshly brewed hot cups of tea. He had opened up in ways he never thought possible for him and she had been the most accepting person he had met. She hadn’t been sure before, but she was most certain now – she had to save the pour child. He was fifteen years old and had been surviving in a sick environment. She knew how that would play out. He was smart and she could tell but what if she could prevent all the bad things from happening? She already had the knowledge that those bad things had brought on – what if she used that in the first place?         She waved him goodbye and walked towards her room – she would have to face her demons and talk to Minerva at some point, but tonight, she wanted to lay in bed and read one of her favorite books – the little prince. Maybe she would find all the answers she was looking for in the few pages of the most enticing story she had ever read.

      Waking up slowly, indolently stretching, not worrying about the day before it begun, felt refreshing and new to her. She could see the freezing blizzard outside the tower but she was perfectly content with her soft, warm and cozy bed. She would take it easy, one step at a time – and today was all about blowing off steam.           She got up and went to her bathroom with a very interesting idea in her head. Making sure to seal everything properly, so no steam would escape, she lighted all the candles around the room, creating an enticing atmosphere. The aromas started spreading, capturing her senses. She ran a hot shower and drenched herself in the water, which helped relax the tension in her muscles. She could physically feel the steam softening her skin.          Thankfully she had everything she needed, right next to her. Applying a thin layer of black soap all over her body, she closed her eyes and remembered the hot summers she spent in the sea She let the product worked its magic for about twenty minutes – the most relaxed minutes of her recent days. Beautiful beaches, blue waters, white sand, hot sun, cold cocktails, chilled music blasting from the megaphones of the bar and sunbathing – she loved her life and she didn’t even know it back then. Every dive in the wonderful sea let her explore the underwater world and block every noise; it was just her and the water and she had never felt more alive.         She had to rinse the black soap away with lukewarm water and prepared the scabbing glove by soaking it in warm water for about 30 seconds and letting it dry. Her mind traveled back to a particular memory; she was on vacation with her boyfriend and the island’s beaches were packed so they had decided to rent a small boat and go a bit further away into the sea. It had to be the best decision of her life – beautiful blue sky, mesmerizing teal waters, no one else around. She had been in the water more than three hours and her skin was all soaked up but she had fun and enjoyed herself more than ever.        She rubbed the glove in circular motions all over her body to remove dead skin cells and grime. She made sure not to rub too hard, though because those gloves were abrasive and over-scrubbing could hurt her skin. She took care of everything with an almost ritual attention, as she continued her blissful experience with Moroccan red clay powder, mixing it with a splash of water and applying it to her whole body, including her hair. She was being a mermaid in her day off and she was perfectly okay with that.          This time, she simply didn’t think about anything and so, twenty minutes passed without even realizing it. Rinsing it off was the last step before slathering her skin in argan oil while still moist to allow full penetration of oil goodness. She didn’t have argan oil but two creams with it and so she adjusted to that, massaging her body with them as she wrapped her hair in a soft towel and allowing herself to enjoy a few more moments before going back to reality.

          It was after the Christmas lunch that Minerva kindly asked her to follow her to her office, a small study located off of the first-floor corridor, to the right of a staircase ascending to the Serpentine Corridor on the third-floor. It has a large fireplace, windows overlooking the Training Grounds and the Quidditch pitch and a sparse stone-floored bedroom behind a concealed door.      Minerva was very protective of her students, especially the troubled ones, such as the Black brothers and she understood completely. She knew her backstory and what decisions led her here – and respected her the most.       Having already decided to tell the whole truth, her mind didn’t twist in order to find the perfect lies, didn’t pain with thoughts. Whether she would believe her or not, that was a different question, one she had yet to see answered. She offered her one of the two armchairs by the fireplace and a cup of tea, which she gladly accepted and sat down.        “I don’t know how much you are aware of but things between Sirius and Regulus are um, a bit different” she began and took a sip of her tea. This was it.       “I know, not because Sirius told me; not because Regulus opened up that much. I know their relationship the way I know Dougal McGregor, the way I know Ariana and Aberfoth” she confessed and placed the cup next to her, on the small table. Minerva was shocked, to say the least. Her face was pale and her eyes wide open.       “How is that possible?” she asked bewildered the girl in front of her, who was seemingly holding all the answers. She took a deep breath and spilled it all out.       “Whatever I’m about to say, it will remain within these walls, please” she begged her and sure enough, Minerva understood that something bigger than both of them was taking place, as she nodded.        “My birth year is 1997. As in… twenty years from now, but that you already knew. What no one know is, that I wasn’t born in this dimension. In my world, I am an archaeologist, and was supposed to begin my master’s degree. In my world, there is no magic and this, you, Hogwarts and everything and everyone in it, it’s a book – seven, actually – about a boy, Harry, who learns he is a wizard and through his eyes, we, the readers, get to discover this world. The journey begins in 1991 and results in one more war against Voldemort and too many tragedies. So, yes, I know who dies, who lives, who betrays, who loves and who hates. I know your past and future just as I know everyone else’s – and I had never felt the weight of such a big secret, hanging around my neck, trying to push me down. I didn’t plan on traveling through dimension and timelines – I don’t even know why or how that happened. At first, I thought I was in a comma and dreaming but my imagination was never that wild. And the worst thing, is not never seeing my family and friends again – it’s knowing how this story ends and not being able to change one bit. Knowing that the people I now call friends are going to suffer, that one of them is going to die and leave behind a child, the other is going to be accused of murder and spend twelve years in Azkaban, the third is going to end up alone and the fourth is going to betray his brothers not because he wanted to, but because he didn’t have a choice. So, yes, I know that the relationship between the two brothers is rocky” she let out, feeling for the first time how severe her position was, how much it weighted and how tragic her presence there was. It was the first time she said it out loud. Before Minerva spoke, she continued because she had opened the gates of hell and every demon was about to get out.         “But then I think about my very existence in this world. I wasn’t supposed to be here, which means that the story is already changed and different from the one I knew. However, if that was the case, I would have been able to intervene in some way – or maybe I was here and I simply wasn’t mentioned in the story because it wasn’t a story about this time and the Marauders but about Harry. Why am I here? Just to become a witness of all those terrible things I cannot prevent from happening?  Should I try to change the story? Should I tell them?” she went on without really asking Minerva – who was still trying to adjust to the new information. She believed her – she believed her despair. She wouldn’t be so hopeless if she was lying. Not only was from the future and had to adapt in her new environment, she had also – possibly – no chance of living her own life the way she was supposed to, but the single most tragic thing about her was the inevitability she was facing. Knowing the outcome and not being able to change the course of the path. Silently, waiting for the doom to come. All those months, she had said nothing.          “I don’t know why you are here, but I will help you to try and change the story. I believe you. I just… I want to know. I understand that this is too much for you. However, I think that if I know, there is a possibility, I can be helpful. How is Harry?” Minerva told her truthfully. She didn’t believe her ears – she had thought that the professor would have believed she was crazy. Without a second thought, she told her everything. For the next five hours, they would talk with only truths, occasionally pausing for a sip of tea and a bite of the sandwiches Minerva had summoned out of nowhere. In her face, the girl found an ally.

____ Tagist: @nadinissavage​ @mycobrakai1972​

[naomiknight-17]

Hello Fresh Meals 5 & 6!

Y'all get a bonus today because, one, I am super behind schedule on these and two, one of them was almost kind of sort of a repeat? You'll see.

Anyway, who's up for some Lemony Chicken with Kale Caesar salad?

First step, as usual, was to wash and prep all the produce. I also moved up the step of cutting up the ciabatta so I could do it first before getting the cutting board mucked up with everything else.

Next I quartered up the mushrooms - I actually cut some into six because they were gigantic. They got tossed with a bit of oil, salt and pepper and thrown on a parchment-lined tray in the oven to roast.

While the mushrooms roasted, the next step listed was to make the dressing but!! I recommend skipping ahead to cooking the chicken asap. When I did it, I mixed up the dressing with the mayo, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and juice as instructed... then by the time the chicken was patted dry, seasoned, browned in a frying pan and ready to join the mushrooms in the oven, the timing was all messed up. So the chicken went in, then the mushrooms had to come out and the chicken had to go back in to finish cooking and it was just a big pain.

So do the chicken first, then worry about the other stuff while it's in the oven.

At least it turned out super yummy.

Once the frying pan was vacated of chicken, the ciabatta cubes were tossed with oil and browned in there, then the still-hot croutons joined the kale and mushrooms and half the dressing in a bowl and all got tossed together.

Finally everything was plated together with a bed of salad, a side of lemon, and a dollop of dressing atop the chicken.

As for reviewing this one... I wasn't really impressed? But please hear me out as to why.

I started HF because I was bored of food and needed some new and exciting stuff. This is.... a caesar salad with chicken. I could get something like this from Wendy's, or put my own together from a kit from Walmart. In fact, I could put together a BETTER one myself, because you know what this is desperately missing?

Proper caesar dressing. You know, the kind with anchovy paste. This dressing just kind of fell flat without it. Also bacon. Good caesar salad has bacon. The idea of adding roasted mushrooms was fun but I found they kind of got lost in the mix and didn't add a ton to the flavor overall.

It was, at least, quite easy to put together. It took maybe 40 minutes? And it was palatable enough. It was FINE. I just wanted something... more. This is, thus far, the low point of my HF experience.

How about a Caramelized Onion Burger!

No step-by-step here. It is practically identical to the Retro Burger technique except the cauliflower frites have a couple extra steps. Check it:

Hubby cooked this one entirely on his own. We left it in the fridge a bit long and the included arugula kind of went off, but we luckily, by complete coincidence, had some fresh arugula on hand and swapped it out.

I found these burgs weren't as moist and juicy as the retro burgers. The big difference between the two, iirc, is that the Retro burgs had grated onion inside and these don't, so perhaps that made the difference. Both had a pile of caramelized onions on top, but this had the addition of arugula. The garlic aioli (literally just mayo with some grated garlic in it) was a nice touch on both the burger and tossed with the roasted cauliflower and panko side.

It took hubby about an hour to make this meal solo, so if you are a bit less experienced in the kitchen, that's about the time you should expect. Definitely a tasty and hearty meal - but if I had to choose between them, the Retro Burger is the winner so far.

The coming week includes meals like pesto chicken and couscous, some sort of Peruvian steak, and another burger of some kind, so keep an eye out for those reviews coming real soon!

[serahsanguine]

Vacation Series Pt. 1 - Let The Games Commence. Ch, 3

This is the first book in a two-part series. This book is a six-part story which will be upload daily for the next week. After that, it will be Book two following the same pattern. it was originally made for the Summer Fanfic Exchange.

Tumblr - pt. 1, pt. 2  All chapters can be found Here on Ao3

This Chapter Rating; PG-13

*************************************

              Chapter 3: Day Two - The Village.

Scully woke up, in a tangle of sheets. She hadn’t worn much to bed as it was too warm even at 11 o'clock at night. The sun shone brightly through the folds in the blinds. If she were to take a guess, she would say it was around 9am. She had forgotten to set her alarm the night before, but she didn’t mind losing all sense of time. She sat up, the smell of fresh coffee and something else: breakfast maybe. She stepped out of bed, her legs slightly heavy as they hadn’t been used for a few hours. She walked through to her wardrobe grabbing her black silk kimono and wrapped it around her before descending down the stairs.

She stopped halfway to find Mulder listening to the radio and singing along to it. From what she could hear it was Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley. Then she looked around the room to find the table had been set with plates, cutlery, even a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. It looked like he had cooked her a full English breakfast: bacon, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes, beans, hash browns. 

She descended the rest of the stairs, making sure nothing was in Mulder’s hands before speaking just in case she made him jump. 

“I didn’t know you cooked Mulder.” 

He jumped a little and then turned around to face her, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, his smile covering his full face. 

“It’s one of my many talents, it’s just no fun cooking for one.”

“So, in all those years I have known you, why haven’t you cooked for me?”

“You’ve never asked, Scully,” he was serious but not full of conviction.

“Touche.”

“Anyway, sit down. Breakfast is served, madam and if you would like a coffee, I just brewed a small pot.”

“Thank you, Mulder, but you didn’t have to do all of this.”

“Of course I do.” There was a short pause. “You deserve the world, Scully, ”  he whispered. 

His eyes told her he meant it. 

“Tuck in, Scully, before it gets cold.”

An hour later the food was eaten, and she enjoyed every last piece of it. He was an exceptional cook. He added spice and herbs and the food had never tasted so good. She nursed her coffee waiting for it to cool down 

“What is on the agenda for today, Mulder?”

“Well, I thought maybe we could wander through the village, and possibly try out their homemade ice cream.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,”  she soon finished her coffee and went upstairs to get changed. Soon after Mulder did the same. 

He shut his bedroom door, leaning against it and thinking about that morning events over and over again in his mind. But spending yesterday with her, he lost all resolve to keep his emotions in check, and guarded. She unintentionally was breaking those walls around his heart. But in doing so he felt like she was also letting him to hers. 

He walked to his suitcase, he still hadn’t unpacked, and his clothes were hanging out the sides. He found the brown shorts he was looking for and also the grey tank top. He quickly showered and changed before heading downstairs to wait for Scully.

30 minutes later and some more of his book read, he was sitting on the cushioned Wicca sofa when he heard Scully stepping down the stairs. He placed a bookmark where he had stopped, and placed the book next to him on the table. He shifted in his seat and looked around to see her. She was stunning, wearing a yellow long skirt and a white tank top.   Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she was wearing a straw kind of hat to keep the sun from burning her face, she had already slightly caught the sun yesterday as her normally pale skin was a tad on the pink side. 

“You ready to go?” he asked enthusiastically.

“Yes I am, but I can’t find my sandals, have you seen them?” He watched her look under the sofa, then around the front porch, then in the kitchen. 

“Scully have you tried on the back porch? ” he watched her walk out of the french doors staring at her ass. ‘One of these days she's gonna catch me staring, and when that day happens I'm done for” he smiled at the thought and watched her re-enter the room. 

“Thank you, how far is it to the village?”

“About a 20 minutes walk, 5 minutes on the beachfront, straight across the bridge and 5 minutes walk to the village.” 

She beamed a smile in his direction. 

“You might be able to see the wild horse as we walk, a little blonde bird told me they were in the area.”

He didn’t know it was possible but her smile got even wider. He knew how much she liked horses though she had never told him herself, he remembered the story her mother told him while she was missing of how her father took her to horse riding lessons whenever he was on leave. And it’s something the two of them shared until she was well into med school. 

//

The walk to the village was pleasant, she didn’t see the wild horses but she didn’t mind, spending time with Mulder was enough, he made light conversation, made her laugh telling her stories of the lone Gunmen and the pranks they pulled on each other. 

They stopped at local shops, they were so beautiful on the outside. There were brownstone buildings, wood buildings, flowers as far as the eye could see on each side of the road: blues, yellows, whites and so much lavender. She could smell them mixing with the sea air. 

When they were done browsing the local shops, they found a small restaurant on the main street looking out onto the marsh. She stood outside reading the sign  AJ’s on the creek. She walked inside and instantly smelled the seafood. She followed Mulder to the table and looked around. The tables were covered in crisp white linens and topped with paper napkins and bottles of hot sauce. She pulled a menu up to her face but causally lowered it a little so she could study her partner. He had definitely caught a tan, he was a lovely golden bronze now. She could see the sweat forming on his brow trickling down his nose. 

“What looks good Scully?”

“Hum…” 

“Scully?” 

Mulder looked at her with confusion. She looked back at him realising that she had been staring and daydreaming for the last 5 minutes about her partner. And she had been caught in the act. 

She started blushing, hoping he hadn't noticed, and if he did, hoping to put it down to the sun catching her Irish skin. 

“Oh the Seasonal soft-shell crab, served fried on platters, and a romaine salad is with a zesty citrus Caesar dressing, Parmesan crumbs, and crisped bread sounds delicious.” 

“The way you just made it sound, makes me want that exact dish.” He raised his eyebrows, in a mock teasing way. And she instantly knew there was a double meaning behind the first part of that sentence.

Their meal arrived and it was just as incredible as it sounded on the menu,  while she waited for him to finish she thought about a few things 

Her feelings for her partner were becoming so clear to her now, but she didn’t want to give in to them, she was scared of losing him, the friendship, their partnership.  He was slowly becoming everything to her. Like he was a part of her and no way in hell she would risk it. But damn she just wanted to kiss him, pull that bottom lip of his in her lips and bite it hard. She soon suppressed such a feeling and carried on.  

“I have a small surprise for you before we go to the ice cream shop.”

“Mulder, you know I don't like surprises.”

“Well, Miss, I know, but you will love this one, I promise. ” 

“Sure, fine, whatever.”

Mulder paid for the meal and started leaving her following close. Just before she stepped out, someone stopped her by gently tapping her on the shoulder.

“You have a lovely husband there, he is definitely a keeper.”

She didn’t know how to respond, she didn’t want to correct the poor woman. But she didn’t have an answer for her. So she simply nodded and left the restaurant. 

30 minutes later and both of them were standing outside a quite large building looking at the sea.

“What are we doing here, Mulder?”

Before he could answer and an elderly gentleman came up the gate. He was dressed in blue levis and a black and red checkered shirt. 

“Mr and Mrs Mulder?”

 Again they were mistaken for a married couple, twice in one hour. She sighed, not saying anything again and Mulder didn’t correct the man either. Instead, he nodded at the old man.

“Ok, then, this way. They’re going to need to be brushed, before you go on them. But they are both beautiful.”

Mulder nodded again and looked at her utterly confused face. He just gave her a wide grin while he guided her to a stable. There were two beautiful pedigree horses: one completely black and another, white and brown. 

“Oh, my God, they are beautiful Mulder; but I still don’t get it?”

“Yes they are Mrs Mulder,” the old man interrupted her. “And they are just ready to go out. Just before I leave you two alone, Mr Mulder said you didn’t need any training to ride the horses and both of you have previous experience.”

“Yes, thank you.” 

With that, the man left them alone.

“How did you know I used to ride? And, more importantly, how did I not know that you do too?”

“First, your mother told me. And second, I learnt with Samantha on the vineyard. She loved horses and she didn’t want to go alone because at first, they scared her.” 

Scully saw the pain in his eyes, but there were also small hints at happiness from the memories.  

“Why did you never tell me?” she asked moving towards the black horse.

“I suppose it just never came up.”

// 

Mulder saw the delight in Scully’s eyes as she trouted along the beachfront: she was truly enjoying herself. Her hair was like fire against the blue of the sea and the black of the horse. 

“Mulder, I’m so glad we did this, it’s been a very long time since I rode a horse.”

“My pleasure Scully. We really should be heading back if you want to try that ice cream.” 

“Ok, race you!” she suddenly yelled and took the horse into a full gallop, leaving a cloud of sand dust in her mist. 

“Cheat!” he shouted, but she was gone

Mulder clicked the rains and went into a full gallop after her. When he finally caught up to her, she was stroking her horse waiting for him. 

“What took you so long?” she was trying to stifle her laugh. 

“You do know that cheaters never prosper,” he looked at her and she was still holding her laugh back.

“And Foxes don't win.”

“Wow, Scully, below the belt.” 

He was teasing her and she knew it. He picked her up off her horse and brought her close to his body before putting her on the ground, rubbing her a little too much against his body.

She pulled him close, lent up on her tiptoes, and whispered in his ear. 

“I know that’s where you want me, and I want it too.” 

She turned around on her heels, grabbing the horse’s reins, and walked towards the stable. She erupted with laughter, leaving him dum-stuck, unable to speak or even breathe. He finally managed to remember how to breathe and grabbed the reins on his horse finally walking to put him back in the stable while contemplating what she had said to him. 

Did she really mean it? I’d be over the moon. But what if she was teasing me? Just playing my game? Those three things kept running over and over again in his mind. 

He hitched the horse on the wood, closing the stable door. Scully was waiting for him just like always. The elderly gentleman thanked them and told them to enjoy the rest of their holiday. Mulder placed his hand at the small of her back and lead her towards the ice cream shop.

They arrived soon and stepped inside. It was a small but beautiful place, with light wood everywhere, something straight out of a magazine beautiful. The sun was setting, bouncing orange beams around the shop's white walls leaving a shimmering glow.  

“What ice cream are you picking, Scully?”

“I’m having a double cone: one side filled with chocolate, and the other, rum and raisins.”   

“Sound’s yummy.”

She ordered her ice cream and turned around to him. 

“What flavour are you having?”

“I was thinking of chocolate orange.”

“Now that sounds nice, Mulder, I can’t wait to try it.”

She had confused him again, but he caught the look in her eyes. It was a wicked look full of mischief.

Their ice creams were soon devoured and Scully had got closer to him. He hadn’t realised he had some ice cream on his chin and kept wondering why Scully was staring at him. She leant in close and whispered.

“I meant what I said earlier.” 

She kissed his cheek and then his nose, they were so feather-like, her lips barely touched his skin. His heart was hammering in his chest and again he was left gasping for air. He looked into her eyes, knowing if he looked he would know if she was teasing. He looked into the warm blue and was lost there. But he saw everything he had ever wanted, the whole truth. She loved him and meant it. Her lips caught him by surprise as she pressed them against his. Her tongue was seeking entrance and he opened up gladly. Their lips were gliding against each other, their tongues exploring every crevice in each other’s mouth. His eyes had shut, enjoying the feeling of their mouths touching. She let go and he sighed missing her already. 

“Chocolate orange does taste nice,” she said giggling like a schoolgirl.

“And chocolate and rum and raisin taste even better.”

They left the restaurant hand in hand, both content with the moment neither wanting to push. Just enjoying the simple pleasure of each other. 

**************************

Tagging; @skullsmuldon @today-in-fic @baronessblixen @peacenik0

[5sos-kingsandqueens]

In This City~chapter15~Luke Hemmings

IN THIS CITY

CHAPTER 15

MCKINLEY P.O.V

Ashton had been an amazing friend recently and I really appreciated him. I had been working from home but my place was a mess. So he came over everyday to make help me clean and to make sure I was eating.

It was rough. I wanted to believe everyone when they said that they weren't going to get married and that something would probably go wrong. But it didn't seem that way for Michael. He was happily married and trying for a baby.

"He promised me." I whispered to Ashton at dinner. "He promised we would get married."

"I know he did." Ashton commented. We were cuddled on the couch. He was practically living here. He had an entire rack of clothes hung up in my closet. He has slept over every single night since I found out the news.

The tears never seemed to run out.

"He told me he wasn't happy." I whispered. And I was stupid enough to believe him. "It's so stupid that I'm hung up on him but I can't help it."

"You love him." It wasn't a question. Even if it was, he already knew the answer. "Did you ever stop?"

"Not really. I mean when he was gone and I didn't see him it was sort of like out of sight out of mind? Sometimes. It was worse at night because I had no one to talk to. Now it's just like an ache. I've never felt like this in entire life." I sighed. "Will it ever stop?" My questioned went unanswered.

"I guess that's why they say falling into love."

"Because you fall, and hit the ground. Because no one catches you."

"That's cheesy."

"And true." We sat in silence. "I'm so hungry." I broke the silence.

"Want me to order something?"

"Sure. I could really go for a chicken caesar salad." I commented. "And 40 shots of vodka."

"No. We're not drinking." He said making me groan as he pulled out of his phone. "Do you remember what happened last time?" The night after I found out that Luke was getting married, I got trashed and needed to be rushed to the hospital to have my stomach pumped. Ashton stayed with me the entire time but he wasn't happy with me at all.

"It won't be like last time." I promised him. Ashton deserved more than that and we both knew it. I didn't want to put Ashton through anything else. He had already been an amazing friend. I couldn't thank him enough. "You should have some sympathy sex with me."

"This is for sure not happening." He said without missing a beat. "You're just hurting right now. You don't really want to have sex with me."

"Well if Luke can move on, why can't I?"

"Bro code. I'm not fucking his ex girl." Ashton commented silencing me so he could call in our food. I stayed quiet as he finished the order and grabbed his keys. "Do you want to come with me or are you gonna stay here?"

"I'll come." I commented standing up and putting a pair of vans on. I walked out after him and locked the door. We both headed downstairs and out into the street. "We could probably just eat there." I commented.

"If you want."

"I don't see the point in carrying it back." I commented putting my arm through his as we walked. We walked in silence before getting to the little pizza shop that Ashton loved. I went to sit at a table while he went to pay and get our food. "So, any women in your life?"

"Just you." He confirmed as he poured dressing over his salad and shook it up.

"I'm by the far the prettiest." I joked.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." He smiled at me. "Calum would like to come over for a movie night."

"Sounds good to me."

"He just got Disney Plus so he's freaking out."

"He's adorable." Once we finished eating we headed back to the apartment. Ashton texted Calum that we were back. I laid on the couch while he hooked up the Disney Plus on the t.v.

"What do you want to watch?" Calum asked sitting next to me by my head and throwing his arm across me.

"Whatever." I answered. "I don't really care." I took the blanket off the end of the couch and wrapped myself in it. Ashton sat down by my feet.

"Star Wars it is." Calum smiled putting on the movie. I had never seen any of the Star Wars so I had no idea what was going on. I wanted to ask questions but I knew that always got them mad so I held off. Somewhere in the middle of the movie I got up to get myself a bowl of ice cream. They both watched me closely as I walked to the kitchen.

"You okay?" Ashton asked.

"Just getting ice cream." I answered. Then I looked at Calum. "Wanna know something?"

"Sure."

"Ashton won't fuck me." His eyes widened at my words. "He won't even give me a little bit of sex just to make me feel better."

"I don't think it would make you feel better. I think you would regret not only doing that to yourself, but to Luke."

"I don't give a fuck about Luke."

"That's a lie and you know it." Ashton fought. "You love him."

"But he doesn't love me!" I shouted. "He didn't love me enough to stay." I slammed the bowl on the coffee table. Ashton took a deep breath before standing up and holding me. He held my head to his chest while I cried.

"I can't do it. I'm sorry." I wrapped my arms around him. He slowly sat back down on the couch with me in his lap. I have no idea how I would get through this if it wasn't for Ashton.

*LUKE P.O.V*

Wedding plans were in full swing. Kristen was like a tornado running around making calls. We had picked a date for next year. Now it was a big rush to get everything planned. I let her make most of the plans.

The apartment had been quiet lately. Michael was off being married and I had no clue where Ashton had been. He hasn't been home in weeks. Calum was rarely here but he slept here every night so at least I knew he was alive.

"Where's Ashton?" I asked him one day when I finally convinced Kristen to let me take a break from wedding plans.

"He's been staying with McKinley."

"Why?" I'm sure the confusion was written all over my face. "Is he sleeping with her?" Calum rolled his eyes.

"If they were, would you be mad?" I sat back in my chair and thought about it.

"Are they sleeping together?"

"No." He confirmed. "Ashton wouldn't hurt you like that. Since you love McKinley." He added. "Don't you think you're making a huge mistake marrying Kristen?" I ran my hands through my hair. I had no idea what I was doing anymore. I had no idea just how much pain this could cause McKinley.

"I don't know." I answered. "I'm so confused."

"Well I'm not. It's a mistake. You don't love her. Not the way you love McKinley. Don't do this Luke." I sighed.

"I don't want to hurt either of them."

"McKinley has already been hurt, Luke. She's a shell of a person. She isn't the same without you." He said taking a sip of his beer. I stood without saying anything to him. "Where are you going?"

"To McKinley." I answered walking out. I walked as fast as I could down the sidewalk. He met up with me five minutes later.

"It's too late, Luke. You've done enough damage to her."

"I can try to change it." He sighed while trying to keep up with me. "I have to try."

"What if it's not enough?" He asked. "What if she can't forgive you?" He asked as I plugged in the number to the building before the door buzzed and I pulled the door open.

I quickly pressed the button for the elevator and hit her floor. I was nearly bouncing as we rode up to her floor.

"I'm not sticking around to watch this." Calum commented hitting the button to our floor. I stepped out and didn't bother watching the doors close behind me before knocking on McKinley's door.

"What do you want?"

"Where is she?" Ashton was blocking my entry to her apartment.

"I finally got her calmed down. She's taking a bath. What do you want?" He asked again.

"I want to talk to her."

"You've done enough."

"Who is it?" She asked from behind him. Her voice was soft. Almost like velvet. Ashton turned to look at her but as he stepped back he opened the door so I could see her. She was clutching a towel and her eyes widened. "Wow." She nodded looking at Ashton. "That's super."

"I just want to talk." I said tucking my hands into my pockets. "I think I have some explaining to do."

"You explained yourself enough by proposing to someone else." She said. I could see the hurt in her eyes.

"What do you want from me?" I asked getting angry.

"You know exactly what I want."

"What do you want?" I asked again.

"You!" She shouted.

"You can't have me." She glanced at Ashton before looking back at me.

"Why are you here?" She shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "Was it just to hammer that one last nail in my coffin, Luke? To take that final piece of my heart that wasn't broken?"

"I made a mistake."

"Yeah. I did too. Loving you was the biggest mistake I ever made." As I stepped towards her, she turned and went into her bedroom. My heart was beating fast and my breathing was uneven.

"That wasn't the mistake I made." I commented to no one in particular but Ashton heard it.

"Why are you such a dumbass?" Ashton asked. I wasn't sure if I was suppose to answer that. "She's amazing, Luke. She is everything you have ever wanted and you're letting her slip away." He shook his head. "She loves you." I wasn't sure how to respond to him.

"What do I do?"

"That's not for me decide." I needed some guidance. I knew I was going to fuck this up and if I wasn't careful I was going to hurt two people. I would ruin two people. But I didn't care if I ruined Kristen. I didn't care if I caused her any type of pain. I cared if I hurt McKinley. She deserved the world. She deserves to be happy and I never wanted to be the guy who hurt her.

"I have to get married." The look on Ashton's face confirmed that I was a dumbass.

"If that's what you think is best."

"You're not fucking helping."

"Stop acting like you don't love that woman in there! She's the greatest thing that ever happened to you and you're throwing her away for some slut you barely know!" He shouted throwing his hands in the air. "You're making a big fucking mistake." He was fuming.

"Are you fucking McKinley or something?" I asked.

"What?"

"Are you having sex with her?"

"No. Even if I was, it's none of your business who she has sex with. Since you ruined her relationship last time because of sex. You've hurt her so deeply and you don't even care."

"I will always care about her."

"Prove it."

[queencocoakimmie]

Only You

Chapter 1

Duncan Shepherd x Female Reader

Word Count: +1700

A/n: This is my first Duncan fic. It’s been on my mind for months now. I absolutely love this character, so I hope I do him justice.

Summary: Vanessa Rivera is a no-nonsense girl from Texas. She moved to D.C to attend George Washington University Law School, where she takes evening classes and works at a nice restaurant during the day. Her life is boring, with the occasional fling with a guy named, Scott. Then Duncan Shepherd shows up one day at her restaurant and introduces a little bit of chaos into her life. The good and the bad.

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

“Vanessa, can you start table 5 for me? I’ve already gotten their drinks, so just take their orders. I’m swamped over here. Table 3 keeps sending their food back.”

She knew I was about to leave, she saw my backpack slung over my shoulder. “Dios mio, Lizzie, I have class in a little while. You know that.” She looked at me with pleading eyes, “Please, I’ll owe you one, I swear.” I sighed and put my bag back down, “You owe me 5 actually.” She gave me a hug as I picked up my pen and pad, “You really are such a good friend,” She sings as she walks away.

I plaster a fake smile on my face and walk over to table 5. It was a booth filled with the typical good-looking D.C elites, “Oh goody,” I say to myself sarcastically. “Good afternoon, gentlemen, what can I get for you.” They all ignore me, continuing their conversations amongst one another. I repeated my question and when I still received no response, I politely told them that I’d give them a minute to look over the menu, then I’d be back. As I turn to walk away, one of them grabs my hand and laughs, “Oh we’re ready honey”, he says.

“Vanessa, is it? I’m looking for something that’s not on the menu. Can you help me with that?” said the smarmy guy to my right. He wiggled his eyebrows at me and actually high-fived the guy next to him. I sigh, “Well, Sir, our Specials aren’t on the menu, but I can place an order for one of them if you like?” I smile sweetly at him. He thinks for a minute and stifles a comment, he orders a Caesar salad instead.  The other guys ordered their food without an issue. But the last guy eyed me up and down and said, “Vanessa, I’m in the mood to have some spicy. What do you recommend?” his voice was so alluring it almost lulled me into a daze.

My breath hitched in my throat and I stammered, “The, uh, spicy tomato pasta is really good and has some heat to it.” He leaned forward and said, “I bet it does, Vanessa, I bet it does. I think I’ll have that if that’s what you like?” The way he purred my name made me slightly uncomfortable and slightly something else. I nodded quickly and added his order to my notepad. I whirl around on my heel and walk to the kiosk to input their orders. Secretly happy to get away from them. But I could feel someone staring at me, so I turned back just to confirm, and I was right. His friends had gone back to talking, but he kept his eyes on me. He even smiled at me.

I was so focused on typing in the order at the kiosk, that I didn’t notice that someone had walked up to me. “Um excuse me, but…” he paused. I was so startled that I nearly jumped out of my skin, “I didn’t mean to scare you, but um, I was… looking for the restroom.” It felt like there was something else he wanted to say, but instead, he took my directions and went down the hallway. “Oh my god, V, do you know who that is?” a voice from behind me called. I turned to see the new girl, Maisie, bouncing up and down. “That is THE Duncan Shepherd. He is so hot!! Every time he comes in, I secretly wish I get his table.”

Every time he comes in?

A lightbulb went off in my head, “Maisie, I have a great idea. I’ve got to leave and get to class so you can have that table if you want. I’ve already placed their orders, you just have to bring their food out. You can even have the tips.” She squealed with excitement, “Maybe he'll even ask me for my number!!!” I nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Once I had my things, and I see that he has already made it back to the table, I start to walk out of the back door. But then I remembered that there was no parking there this morning, and I had to park across the street from the restaurant. Meaning, if I wanted to leave, I’d have to walk right past their table and him to get to the exit.

I take a deep breath and begin my trek to the front door. “Aw Vanessa, did we scare you away?” one of them calls after me in a mocking tone. I turn to smile at them, but I see only him, and his blue eyes are locked onto mine. Is that a flash of disappointment I detect on his face? I shake my head and quickly walk out of the door. I felt like I had been holding my breath the entire time.

Amongst all the fancy cars on this side of the street, sat my little old red Volkswagen Beetle. I found relief as I got in and sat down. Before I pull off though, I just happen to look out of the window towards the restaurant and see that Duncan is staring right at me. His friends still consumed in their conversation, but he was watching me. I wave at him awkwardly and drive off. Cursing myself for being so foolish. Foolish enough to think that maybe we both felt a tiny connection. “Nope, just me and my unrealistic view of guys,” I say.

Class went by so slowly. My mother kept texting me. Wanting to make sure that I was eating right and sleeping right. Hoping that I had finally gotten rid of that pendejo Scott. “I know, ma. He’s no good. But we’re just having fun.” I text back to her. Deep down I know, it’s not really what I want. I’m caring and kind. I just want my guy to be the same, to take the time to care. Or even to remember my birthday, for that matter. Scott was the one piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit. I mean, we used to hook up a couple of times a week. Now? I barely even hear from him anymore. It definitely didn’t feel good. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that an ultra-rich guy like him, and his fancy family would ever really accept a poor Mexican girl, like me, from Texas. My family were immigrants, that came over from Culiacan in the 1980s. His family? They own half of Washington. “Mija, you’re a good girl. You need a good boy who will be nice to you.” I stare at that text until class is over. Damn, why does she always have to be right?

Hours later, as I was stepping out of the shower, I hear my phone ring. “It’s almost midnight, who’d be calling me this late”, I say to myself. I towel off quickly, throw on my bathrobe and run to it. “Lizzie, are you ok? What’s going on”, I ask. She laughs and tells me that she’s fine but that she needs to give me a heads up. I ask her if someone called in sick for tomorrow, she says no, but I can tell she’s nervous about something.

“Ok, V, don’t be mad at me. Promise you won’t get mad, please?” I shake my head as though she can see it, “I can’t make promises, but I’ll try to be understanding,” I say. “Ok, you remember that table you took for me? The rich guys?” "Yes”, I tell her, “I remember.” She clears her throat, “Well, one of the guys came up to me asking about you.” I say nothing, and she continues, “Well…he wanted your phone number and though I would never give it out, I did tell him that you’d be working tomorrow.” “What?” I yell into the phone, “Who Lizzie, which one was it.”

“Duncan Shepherd.”

After a moment or two of shock, I ask, “Why would you tell him anything about me? We don’t know him. He could be some crazy stalker or something”. She scoffs and said, “Honestly, I thought I was being a good friend. You need a nice guy, V. Whatever it is that you have with Scott isn’t working. Is it like a friends with benefits thing? Are y’all together?” She goes on and on and though I know she’s right about Scott, it still feels like a punch in the gut. I tell her it’s ok and thank her for looking out for me and I’ll see her tomorrow.

After we hang up, I sit on my bed, still in my bathrobe and I Google Mr. Duncan Shepherd. He’s very smart, graduated from an Ivy League university, top of his class, of course. A philanthropist and a talented writer. I can also see that he is developing an app for the Shepherd Freedom Foundation. Hmm…that’s impressive. But then I fall down the rabbit hole of images of him. Scrolling through dozens of pictures of beautiful blonde women on his arm for various Charity events. Holding his hand, kissing him on his cheek. I click on a link and it takes me to some girl’s Instagram page. He’s featured prominently on it. The two of them mid-embrace. There’s one of them in a pool, kissing. There’s even one of him with nothing on but a towel.

“Aargh”, I let out a strangled moan and throw my phone down. I flop backward onto my bed and stare at the ceiling. I don’t know what it is that’s drawn me to him. But, I can't stop thinking about he looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes. Or the way he smiled at me with those perfect pink lips. I can imagine how his hands would feel on the small of my back. I can't stop myself from thinking about his tongue would taste. I wonder what his beard feels like on the inside of my thigh. I audibly sigh and say to no one in particular, "I need to stay away from him. He's probably just like all those other guys. He's probably just like Scott" Right?

A text at 2 a.m. chimes on my phone and wakes me from my sleep. I roll over and fumble to turn on the light. Surprise sends shocks down my spine when I look at my lock screen.

“Looked up your number and wanted to see if I could take you out to dinner this weekend? Text me if you can. Text me even if you can’t. Just text me.”

-DS

 It was him.

Duncan…Shepherd.

 /Chapter 2/ /Chapter 3/ /Chapter 4/ /Chapter 5/Chapter 6/Chapter 7/Chapter 8/Chapter 9/Chapter 10

Taglist:

@lovelykhaleesiii @petersfern-fics @langdonsoceaneyes @katiekitty261 @xtheinevitableprophecyx @michael-langdon-appreciation @langdonsrapture @langdonsinferno @confettucini @queenie435 @kinlovecody @ghostiesbedroom @floweryshell @itschelseag @flowersirenreads @maso-xchrist @thelangdoncooperative @icylangdon @my-ahs-nightmare @americanhorrorstudies @the--queen-of-hell @trashisawayoflife @mytrash-mylife @ccodyfern @sojournmichael @michaellangdom @hisgirlwonder @winxfred @langdons-rep @langdonsdemon @sassylangdon @napping-is-my-favorite @stupidocupido @sloppy-little-witch-bitch26 @7-wonders @elangdon4 @michaellangdong @khaleesimel @snowandicicle @fanfictionrecommendations-com @disappointing-cheesecake @whoviancumberbunny @thedeviltohisangel @jimmlangdon @lvngdvns @lxngdonscoven @duncvn @marvelgal666 @heda-mikaelson @lovemesomeworlddomination @ritualmichael

[sharperthewriter]

Chapter 14 of SFV

Chapter 14: Day 1: The Bumblebees Incident

(4:45pm)

The van finally reached the exit to North Platte, NE, but not without suffering more damage. The right side of the van had a couple more dents and scrapes, the hubcap on the right rear wheel was gone, the rear windshield was cracked in the rear, half of the front grille was gone, and the front bumper coming loose and flapping. The car was also covered in syrup, dirt, and prairie grass. This was in addition to the damage of the driver side mirror and the scraping of the left side of the vehicle against the SUV at the Bueno Nacho from earlier. The trailer also had dents on the top and both sides as well.

The clouds, in the meantime, were starting to gather.

"And here we are, Stoppables, North Platte, Nebraska!" Ron exclaimed. "Remind me never to say that phrase 'And nothing will go wrong' ever again!"

Rufus groaned over his owner's poor driving and trashing of the car. Though...the worst was yet to come.

Kim observed the place and said, "Looks like a smaller version of Middleton."

"So now that it's close to five pm, what do you want to do?" Ron asked.

"We'll check into the hotel first and get two rooms. A suite for us and the kids and a room for Mary and Canna" Kim insisted, . "And then we'll get ready to eat at the Bumblebees here."

"I'm right with ya on that strategy, KS!" Ron replied before turning to Rufus. "Now Rufus, watch the kids while Kim and I check in the hotel."

Rufus saluted while his owners went into the hotel lobby.

"We're here for our room." Ron said.

The hotel clerk said to them. "It's room 296, on the other end of the property. As for your other room it's going to be room 294 right next door"

Kim grabbed the hotel key and said, "Thanks! It's so not the drama!"

They parked the van right at the end of the property. Mary and Canna got out of the camper. They also got their suitcases out and, like Kim, they were filled with long denim overalls.

(6:45pm)

The room was actually a suite in which there was a pull-out couch and the kitchenette in one room and the bedroom in the other. The kids were going to occupy the couch while the Stoppable parents had the bedroom. Mary and Canna had a normal hotel room with two twin beds.

Ron and Kim chose the suite for more extra...privacy. As for Rufus, they brought along a small naked mole rat bed for him. Rufus got a little apron bib ready to take on the nachos.

"Okay, Ron." Kim called out from the bathroom. "I'm going to make some changes to my button-down shirt and then we'll go with the kids to the restaurant."

"Alright, KS! Let's see what you look like!" Ron said with anticipation.

Kim loosened the top two buttons to show off a little more cleavage and a b. She also added a couple of long gold and silver chain necklaces to her jewelry and replaced her teardrop earrings with gold hoops. She also swapped out her flats for black booties with a heel on them.

Kim also removed the top side buttons on both side to the leather overalls she was wearing.

Rufus gave a wolf-whistle as well.

"Ooooo! Very nicey! Me like!" Ron grinned devilishly, "The looks are just one thing of your complete package, KS!"

"Why thanks, Ron! Round up the kids and get to the van!" Kim replied "We're going to head to Bumblebees!"

Alexa and Justin were watching Baloney on the TV on their side of the suite before Kim instructed them to turn it off.

Mary and Canna also came out of their hotel room next door. They were in the same outfits as before, but decided together that they were going to wear their dark denim overalls with the bib down but straps attached route and a belt to hold them up and wear simple white tennis shoes.

"You know..." Kim remarked at the way the two women were wearing the overalls. "...I could go for that look on one of the days."

"As long as the belt doesn't fail on you, Kim, you should be good!" Mary remarked.

(15 minutes later)

The sky above them was slowly growing more dark and ominous. The storms were going to appear within a matter of hours.

Kim was at the drivers' seat of the Stoppable-mobile, starting up the engine.

The NWS broadcast was on the radio, informing the two heroes of what was to come.

The National Weather Service of Hastings Nebraska, has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the eastern portion of Nebraska until 2:30am. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph, rain up to 2-3 inches, and hail up to the size of golf balls is expected with this line of system of storms. Stay weather-alert.

"I think we still should head on over to Bumblebees!." Kim said, "The kids are starting to get cranky for their food."

"As long as they have a vegan menu, we'll be good!" Canna replied.

"Vegan and gluten-free too!" Mary agreed.

(7:15pm)

The Stoppables, Mary and Canna entered into the restaurant. Kim's overall strap was barely hanging onto her shoulder.

She asked the waitress, "Do you have a table for six?"

"Plus one naked mole rat?" Ron asked with Rufus popping out of his pocket.

"Food!" he squeaked.

"We do, Mrs. Stoppable, yes!" the waitress said, "Would you like a table or booth?"

"We prefer the booth!" Kim replied.

"Right this way." the waitress replied to them while getting coloring books and crayons for both Alexa and Justin. She then escorted them to a booth in the middle of the restaurant.

Kim, Ron, and Justin sat on the left side of the booth while Mary, Canna, and Alexa sat on the right.

"Here we are! Your server will be out in a few minutes!" she said before leaving the Stoppables.

(5 more minutes later)

"So what's the general game plan that you're suggesting, Ron?" Kim asked her husband.

"I'd say that once we get to Rapid City, we're going to go for Mt. Rushmore first." Ron replied, pulling up the map of South Dakota on his smart phone.

"But that is a good almost-ten-hour round-trip across almost the entire state!" Kim countered. "Justin and Alexa really do want to see the bears at Bear Country USA.

"Don't worry, KS. We'll stop and get some food and gas on the way there." Ron said as the waitress came to their table.

"Welcome to Bumblebees! What can I get you two to drink?"

"I'll have a cola and my bon-diggety wife here will have a diet tea." Ron said, "The oldest one will have a fruity soda as well."

"Okay, I'll be right out there with your drinks!" the server said.

"So where is the Oh Boyz concert going to be at?" Mary asked.

"Sanford Premiere Center in Sioux Falls!" Kim replied, "It's even got a wine bar!"

"So that's another reason why you wanna go to the concert!" Ron slyly replied.

"Who was your favorite Oh Boyz member?" Canna questioned.

"Hands down, Dexter for his...smarts!" Kim recalled. "It was the time that we saved them from the Senors and that weasel of a manager of theirs."

(10 more minutes later)

"Oooh, it seems that Sheila has sent me a text!" Kim said when she felt a buzz on her phone. She went through her handbag and as she did so, her overalls strap slipped off her shoulder.

It read the following:

Princess,

I found something on PictoGram that you may would want to see. The directors of that live-action movie about you is going to drop some big news tomorrow.

Your friend

Sheila.

"Hmm...it's about time someone released something for that live-action movie." she said, "It's been three months since there was any news about it."

"Maybe they'll keep her plasma powers intact." Ron wondered.

"I think they'll maybe keep the blue skin of Drakken." Kim laughed as the strap was now on her elbow. "Ah, here are our drinks right now!"

The server came to their table and awaited their orders.

"My husband would have the nachos supreme, same with our naked mole rat here, and I would like a Caesar salad." Kim said, "The kids would like to have two grilled cheese sandwiches. As for Canna and Mary, they'll both have the casesar salad too."

"Coming right up." the server said, leaving the table.

"So what else do you wanna talk about?" she asked, pulling the overalls strap back up.

"Maybe the weather?" Ron said while looking out the window.

"That's so the oldest conversation starter in the book!" Kim chuckled.

"No, KS. The weather's gonna go south in a few hours." Ron exclaimed while pointing it out on the doppler. He could see a lot of red associated with the storm, which meant really heavy rainfall. "A really bad storm's headed our way! With big hail and everything! That's what the NWS says!"

"It's so not the drama!" Kim said, blowing off the storm.

"What about the Stoppable-mobile?" Ron asked.

"Rest assured, Ron." Kim reassured him, "The van will make it to the Lipskys!"

(30 more minutes later)

"Oh man... I am stuffed!" Ron exclaimed, holding his stomach. He had already paid for the food.

"I'm glad that I brought along my baggy overalls for the trip." Kim said. "That'll offset whatever pounds I'll put on at the Lipskys."

Kim added as she was standing up. "I'm going to use the ladies' room, Ron. You and Rufus watch the kids!"

"Sure do, KS!" Ron replied.

"Uh-huh!" Rufus squeaked.

Kim left the booth, grabbed her purse, and headed towards the ladies restroom.

(4 more minutes later)

Kim got out of the restroom and she was somewhere between the borderline of angry and embarassed. The rest of the restaurant's patrons were laughing and pointing at her. The servers couldn't help but chortle at her predictament. Even worse was that some of the said patrons were holding up their smartphones, taking pictures and video.

Three of the waiters were then tripped by one occupant of the restaurant near where the Stoppables were at. This resulted in her being drenched with soda and covered in ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, barbecue ribs, chocolate and ice cream all over the front of her one-strap black leather overalls.

"Oh hey...uhm...KS! You look more scrumptious than usual." Ron chuckled nervously.

"Ron...this is so the most embarassing moment of my life!" Kim growled. "I want you to cover my back!"

"Covering your back? I thought you only said that on missions!" Ron said.

Kim groaned and turned her back to Ron to point out the reason why. The right back pocket of the overalls was torn out, showing off Kim's Pandaroo panties and a bit of her back leg.

Rufus, Justin and Alexa couldn't help but laugh. Mary and Canna also joined in on the fun by also taking pictures and video.

"Why couldn't we do that?" Justin asked.

"You're doing what Daddy does!" Alexa giggled.

Ron gasped and asked, "How did that happen?"

"Bathroom door lever got caught against my pocket and...this happened!" Kim grunted with all the chocolate syrup and ice cream dripping off of her.

Rufus was even taking video of this too on his very small smartphone. Ron sighed at his mole rat and said "Why do they even sell small smartphones to mole rats is even beyond me."

"Let's just get out of here before I make a bigger joke of myself!" Kim insisted.

Ron covered up the damaged part of her overalls by him grabbing her behind with his left hand.

Kim sighed, "Why do I even bother?"

"Sorry, show's over! Turn off your smartphones! Nothing to see here!" Ron exclaimed.

Justin, Mary, Canna, Alexa and Rufus followed them out of the restaurant.

"Do you have any duct tape, Ron?" Kim asked when they got in the van.

"I do, in the glove compartment." Ron replied while going to the glove compartment and pulling out the duct tape.

"These overalls cost me $800 from Country CB and now they're ruined!" Kim complained, "I'll have to sew them when we get back home..."

Kim then applied the duct tape to her behind and started the car. The damaged van crept out of the parking lot and headed back to the hotel.

Flashes of lightning were seen in the distance as the storms were heading this way to make the family's night even worse.

The man who tripped over the waiters grinned and spoke through a microphone.

"My Queen, the show has just begun!"

About 200 miles away, Bonnie was enjoying the misery of the Stoppable through her big screen at her mansion.

"Good! Very good!" the Queen snickered, "We'll let the Vacation Curse take its full effect on the family!

"What of the Stoppable-mobile, though?" the man asked.

"We'll put that piece of shit of a minivan through the coals soon enough!" Bonnie grinned, "Now, you will await further orders for the next phase of my plan!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" the man obeyed.