#she felt bad because i already drove her to and from class twice last week and that was supposed to be it

[lil-goddess]

i don't take nearly as many photos as i used to thx to my body dysmorphia and self image issues. one day ill look at myself and think im a bad bitch, and then ill look at myself again and think, "wow im so ugly. im gonna kms"

i felt like the latter for almost 2 years now bc i was on abilify. i was literally a zombie, a husk of my former self. friends and family of mine were concerned and constantly told me i needed to change meds thru my psychiatrist, but i refused because i was afraid of going into my manic and psychotic episodes bc i hurt so many people that way in 2020 during the holidays. my own brother and my ex said they'd rather see my going off the rails than act be a meek, timid, quiet person, bc it wasnt me. the one thing i miss about that personality tho was that my thoughts were quiet. i didn't have the racing thoughts like before, which drove me into insanity and having outbursts to those around me.

well, i stopped taking abilify a while ago and my psychiatrist got me on effexor instead. after 2 months, i started getting manic and bc my dumbass forgot to take my doses and was taking 2 at a time (like I'd do with my birth control) and i got yelled at by my mom and my psychiatrist after informing them bc that's what caused my lack of sleep, night sweats, and manic episodes.

so she explained that im going to get off the effexor slowly so i don't get any severe side effects from stopping cold turkey and prescribed me to lamotragine (i call it lamos for short because they're fucking lame. i have to take it twice a day jfc)

and it's been about a month since ive been on them. i took them in the past, but i can't recall how well it worked thx to my depression suppressing my memories. not to mention i was smoking a fuck ton of weed. my psychiatrist mentioned that in order for my meds to work properly, i would need to stop smoking weed (thc specifically) and switch to cbd to help calm myself. i didn't start taking her advice until about a week before my next appointment with her.

so i guess it's been like a monthish since ive smoked my pen and flower. i can already see an improvement in how well i retain information and remembering things i knew from when i was a kid. im still an airhead, but i always was tho. i was definitely booksmart, i always loved to read and enjoyed English class when i was in school.

now that im 25 and i live in one of the most highly sex trafficked cities in the world. im more street smart now. i check under my car if anyone is waiting to slash my ankles, i check my backseat of my car, i look behind and around me if im walking by myself (day or night).

i live on the east side of my town and it's mainly known for the suburban life, but it's very close to the north and southeast side, where the crime rate is so high. gun shots are always heard, rape, murder, etc is constantly happening.

ive never felt safe in this city. especially as a kid, almost everyday when i would walk to my bus or walk home from my bus stop, there were fucking creeps (well within their late 20s sometimes even in their 40s) that would honk their horn at me and whistle.

well as an adult now, it doesn't happen nearly as much anymore since i mainly drive for my main source of transportation.

but it still hasn't stopped. i still get cat called while im doing my errands and i remember the night after i got home on my very first date with a GIRL (i knew her from 6th grade and she was probably the first girl ive ever had a crush on and i didn't see her after that bc she got expelled and i saw her again most recently after like 10+ yrs) there were 2 men in a white truck and they saw me get out of my car in my driveway. the driver made a complete stop and i saw them staring at me with my brother by my side. i clearly told them from across the street to "take a fucking picture, it'll last longer" and they drove off and i went inside. i felt so uncomfortable after that. i had the realization that those creeps know where i live and can break into my home and do what they want. i should've gotten their license plate but i didn't think to at that moment.

every year goes by with the hopes that it gets better, but it doesn't. it gets worse. and i think to myself, "wow that was the worst year of my life." and then the next year comes and im proven wrong. it gets even more worse.

im going back to school to get a license in cosmetology and it's literally high school all over again. ive gotten into arguments with multiple girls in my class room due to their pettiness, cattiness, racism, or homophobia.

all the girls in my class either hate me, ignore me, or keep their distance bc of my manic episodes.

so bc i dont really get along with them, ive managed to make new friends with the girls in the more advanced class. it's like me, a freshman, befriending the juniors/seniors. they're all due to graduate in about a month so i will be left by myself again. this is literally history repeating itself and im doomed unless if i break the cycle.

tl;dr

im a depressed bitch that's bipolar and have bpd. im going to school to have purpose in life in hopes that i will become successful and move out of my abusive childhood home. i don't feel safe in the city i live. i don't feel like i belong anywhere.

[regular-lord-reckoner]

so, my 10 year high school reunion was this past weekend.

i did not attend. instead i went to a weekend retreat to pigeon forge with people from work.

had a pretty decent time. the second night got a little ehhhh after everyone had been drinking a lot, but all in all it wasn’t too bad.

had a really nice conversation with a lady i hadn’t properly met since she works at a different office than one i’m usually at on the rare occasions i’m called in.

we started talking about the paranormal and somehow we ended up talking about her kids and stuff they’d been going through as a whole family and she really confided in me and i opened up some to her, too and it was just a nice moment. she gave me a big hug before we left and said she really enjoyed talking so that made me feel pretty good.

i’d really been struggling with this feeling of like...what the fuck do i have to be proud of at this point in my life?

like...as of next month i’ll be 29. i turn fucking 30 next year and i realize that’s by no means old, but when you’ve been over life as a concept since you were a child it’s a very, very, VERY long time to be alive and it’s VERY exhausting.

i feel like in part because of that i’ve just kind of...wasted the last ten years of my life. and i dunno, maybe this is just how my journey’s supposed to go and for whatever reason it’s only now that i finally feel capable of getting a handle on my shit, but it’s hard when i’m seeing groups of friends i used to hang out with and be kinda close to all over social media talking about how great it was to catch up and i know they’re all doing amazing shit and yeah, none of them are probably 100% satisfied with their lives either, but by comparison i feel like i fall so short.

even if i’d gone just a few months ago i could have at least shared that i was doing something that was important with the work i was doing even if i had nothing else to show for my life and where i’m at by this point, but now it’s like.......ohh, i couldn’t hack it at that because my anxiety was eating me alive so now i’m back at a job i swore i’d never be doing, something that before i can finish explaining to people i can see the interest leave their eyes so......yeah, cool.

i guess it sounds shitty to say, but after being the weird kid my whole academic career in small town fuckville deep south usa i’d always kind of fantasized about one day purposefully blowing off my reunion because i had better shit to do or because i’d have moved far, far away and couldn’t be bothered but instead i’m....one of the few who never left and i live with my parents and i’ve got nothing going on for me nor did i even get to fucking glow up but i’m......here, i guess.

idk. i’m really trying here not to let it get to me because i know this is one of my worst habits and one of the easiest ways to ensure i’ll spiral into a month’s long depressive episode but i’m just a little sad about it nevertheless. i know this entire time hasn’t been a complete waste and there have been a lot of really cool things i’ve gotten to do and experience so i’m grateful for that, i guess right now it’s just hard not to be disappointed in myself and wish i’d done more.

idk. i think i’m happier being where i was this weekend and i feel like i needed that conversation more than i needed to see a bunch of people i haven’t seen since the time they came to my house right after my sister’s funeral, so i think i’m good.

the good news is, i finally got the stuff for my insurance today which means pretty soon i get to make good on my promise to myself to start therapy for real this time so........oh boy!!!! can’t wait.......for that!!!!!!!

[ssa-daddyhotchner]

The Struggle of Loving You - Chapter 5

Chapter Selection

It was radio silent for the next few weeks. Hotch barely reached out which honestly I expected. He had other things to worry about like his son and how the situation was going to play out. Based on the last time I spoke to him, Hayley wanted to try and work things out.

If Hotch had texted me I would've gone wherever he wanted me to. I wanted to help him but I guess everything happens for a reason. I had to think about school, what classes I was going to take and now that I was a senior starting October I needed to think about the FBI. 

I was sitting on the couch watching tv when Chloe came inside the room. 

"Look who I found", I glanced over my shoulder and Chloe held out her phone. 

It was Hayley and she was with her boy toy, "She's still seeing him? Hotch told me she wanted to work things out." 

Chloe shrugged her shoulders, "Guess not." What was Hayley expecting, that he was gonna let her back in and she was just going to hurt him again. 

The thought brought a bad taste to my mouth, not in the mood to watch tv anymore I turned it off. I stood up and went into my room, grabbing my keys and walking out the front door. I just needed to drive, try and turn my brain off for a moment. 

Again why I cared so much about a problem that's not even mine, I don't know. I wasn't with Hayley, she didn't cheat on me; it was Hotch. But for some reason I took it personally, maybe it was because of Jack? That now she didn't have time for him?

How she dropped her son off at her sisters so she can fuck someone else. 

Maybe it was just the fact that I clearly cared for Hotch and Hayley hurt him? I was driving for one reason only, to turn my brain off and I was doing the exact opposite. I needed something to keep my mind busy, I called Andrew. 

"You want to get some food?", I said to Andrew. "Alright, let me get ready.", I ended the call.

What we would even talk about I'm not sure, we weren't the closest. He was probably just going because I offered. I drove down the road and turned into Andrews apartment. I honked the horn twice.  Then I saw Andrew shuffle down the stairs. 

He opened the car door and climbed in, "Hey." I lifted some of my fingers off the steering wheel, like a wave. He caught notice of how quiet I was being halfway through the drive. "You okay?", I snapped my head to the side looking at him. 

"What? Yeah I'm fine, I just feel like my mind is in overdrive right now." He clicked his tongue and leaned his head back against the seat. "You know there's a few ways to fix that problem." He looked at me. 

I swear this man is so fucking dumb. "I'm not having sex with you", he cracked a smile and put up his hands, defending himself. "I didn't say that." 

"It's what you meant." Putting his hands down and unbuckling his seat belt he got out of the car. "You're not wrong", we both started laughing at the thought. Andrew has had a crush on me since freshman year and it's something he still hasn't gotten over. 

We walked up to the restaurant, going inside. We walked over to a table close to the window. Picking up the menus we started looking at the options although I already knew what I wanted. "What're you getting?", Andrew said setting down his menu. 

"I'm like a five year old remember", he opened his mouth and signed. "Forgot about that, so the chicken tenders." I nodded enthusiastically, smiling. 

The waiter came over and took our orders. "Why'd you really ask me here?", I furrowed my brows. "What do you mean?" 

"Y/n I've known you for a few years and let's just say... you don't hang out with people unless they ask you first. Honestly I think this is the first time you've invited me out in 3 years. So tell me what's going on." I let out a sigh, dipping my head down a bit. 

"Remember Hayley?", he nodded. "Yeah so I caught her having sex with another guy and I called Hotch to his house so he could see it for himself and I don't know I feel guilty." 

"Why?", I shrugged my shoulders. I truly didn't know the reason. 

"Because h- he didn't deserve it. How would you feel if your fucking kids babysitter told you that your wife was having an affair. Not just that but then called you to the house and you saw first hand your wife kissing another man. He probably feels like utter shit and-."

His full attention was on me, he was listening to every word; letting me rant and get the feeling out there. He knew that I didn't do it often. I would usually just bury it down and hope it never came back out.

The food was brought out and we ate it quickly now just in the mood to knock out again. We didn't during the car ride. I dropped Andrew off at home and he thanked me for the food. I pulled away from his apartment wanting to get home. 

My phone was connected to the aux, and I got a call. I take a second to look at my phone and answer the call. I sat there for a moment, waiting for the other person to start. 

"Hey", I said hesitantly. He didn't say anything, Hotch was thinking how it was stupid to call and that I didn't really care. "How are you?", he still hadn't said anything so I tried to steer the conversation. 

"I'm good, I know I haven't really been in touch, I didn't wanna rely on you to help me get over this. Lately It's just been difficult. I feel like I need things to be somewhat normal for once." 

I understood where he was coming from. Things were just falling apart for him, he used to keep in touch now he seems more detached. Like he was keeping things at arms length. 

 "Okay... how can I help." 

He waited some time to answer, I was still trying to process what he told me just a few seconds ago. "Can you come over, I just need someone here I can actually trust." I turned the car around and headed for Hotch's house. 

"Okay", I said probably quicker than I should have but I tried to make it seem like I wasn't too eager. He said okay then ended the call. I was stuck in my head yet again thinking about what he was expecting us to do when I got there. 

Did he want sex? Was just going to use me... why the hell am I thinking this, he isn't like that. 

I pulled up in his driveway and walked up to his door. Knocking a few times and he opened the door. I was slightly awkward, the thoughts from the car followed me in the house. 

We both walked over to the couch, "What'd you need?" We sat on opposite ends, I think he just needed comfort but I wasn't sure. "I don't know honestly", I didn't know what to do, hug him? He was like me in that aspect. I know he has other people to go to for this, like Rossi.

 Hotch didn't know what to do with his feelings, he's so used to hiding them away that when he can't anymore he doesn't know what to do with them. "Where's Jack?" 

"With Jessica", he replied almost instantly. "It's getting late", I said standing up. Again I don't even know why I actually came over here. 

"Don't leave. I'm sorry I don-." I sat back down and went closer to him almost right next to him. 

"I haven't personally experienced this so I'm not going to lie, I have zero clue how you feel right now. Obviously this is taking a toll on you." Hotch let out a quiet 'yeah' and put his head down. I wrapped my arm around his back putting my head on his shoulder. 

I felt him glance down at me and he moved his arm, it rested on my hip. He leaned back and I picked up my legs, curling up next to him. Sleep started to tug at me and while I drifted off I was in my thoughts. 

What am I doing? Why the hell did I put myself in this situation? Nothing's going to happen... not that I'd oppose if anything did. 

This is what he needs. Knowing him he didn't tell anyone about the separation. If he didn't I was the only person to really know about it. 

[jaehyunspeachparty]

daddy jaehyun

iv.xliv. (m)

When you came home from Johanna it was already quite late. You were with her all day to comfort her. Johanna was not doing well and she missed her children. But she wanted to put her thoughts in order first before doing anything she would regret later. You found that she responded really well and you promise her that you will take good care of her children in the meantime. Of course you were always there for her. She should never feel alone. When you got home, it was already very quiet. The children seemed to be asleep and Johnny should already be in the room. "Hey." Jaehyun then came towards you and kissed you gently in greeting. "Everyone in bed already?" You ask with a smile and Jaehyun nodded. "Yes. Jaina sleeps happily with Sunoh. Jasper is with Johnny. Miga wanted to wait for you, but she was so tired that she fell asleep straight away. And the twins fell asleep right after their milk." "It sounds pretty wild with six kids in the house." You had to laugh and you were glad the kids had a good time. "How is Johanna?" Jaehyun then asked carefully. "Well, probably not well. But she's trying to organize and settle everything right now." You look sadly at the floor because this whole separation did something in you too. "Are you still thinking about last night's dream?" Jaehyun hugged you and hugged you tightly to his chest. He stroked your hair briefly and then kissed it. "Yes. I know I shouldn't ..." "Come on ..." Jaehyun cut you off and took your hand. You look at him in surprise, but follow him. He went into the bedroom with you and when he opened the door you were quite amazed. The room was full of candles and your favorite flowers were standing by your bed. "Jaehyun ... I ..." The words were missing. Jaehyun had made your room so wonderfully romantic. "I know how bad it feels to be jealous. I still feel so bad about the drama. But it always helped me when I was jealous if you were just there for me. That way I got through many periods well." He kissed you gently and slowly sat down in bed with you. "Jaehyun ... I trust you", you say quietly and Jaehyun just nodded. "I know that, but I also know that there can be difficult moments." He smiled and gently stroked your stomach. "Most of the time I'm just insecure about myself. Just look at my stomach and after four kids and I can't feel so great down there either." You sigh and run your fingers over the growth lines of your past pregnancies. Especially with the twins, your stomach was stretched and you have some scars from it. "Firstly, I think your stomach is beautiful. You gave me four children with it. And secondly, you still feel extremely good." Jaehyun continued to stroke your stomach and kiss your neck gently. Jaehyun gave himself completely to your body. His hands have been all over the place and it all feels good. "I found something the other day." Jaehyun stopped for a moment and grinned dirty. You look at him in surprise and see how he pulled something out. And when he had a certain part in his hand, your eyes widened. He had your vibrator in his hand, which you actually only use for lonely hours. "Where did you get it from?" You ask him, shocked. "You forgot it in the bathroom the other day." Jaehyun laughed and thought it was sweet that you were so embarrassed. "Ohhh ..." You press your lips together and look uncertainly at Jaehyun, who just had to laugh. "I think ..." He looks at the vibrator and suddenly switches it on. "... we could also use it together." He slowly pushed your panties down and placed the vibrator in your middle, right on your mound. Your body twitched immediately when you felt the vibration. "Ah - that's ..." You moan softly and Jaehyun was watching you. "Is that good?" He asked, his eyes staring into yours. "Yes ..." Your body leaned and you tilt your head back. Jaehyun stroked with the vibrator up and down between your legs. With the tip he played with your entrance again and again and you were ready for anything in that moment. "So that's the thing that makes you happy instead of me," Jaehyun said and laughed. "Only your cock can make me happy," you breath, because you didn't have the strength to do more. "Is that so?" He asked and put the vibrator next to you and switched it off. "Yes!" You were ready for everything, you wanted to feel his heaviness on you, his length inside you. Jaehyun pushed his pants down and his length was already so hard that his member immediately jumped towards you. It was all swollen, red, and the veins were sticking out. His dick was beautiful, he was perfect. He didn't look strange, it didn't have a strange curvature. Like Jaehyun himself, he was perfect. And then he leaned down to you and all you could feel was his breath and soon the pressure inside you. "Ahhh God, that's good," Jaehyun groaned when he was completely inside you. But you also got louder. Now that the twins are no longer sleeping in your room, you dare to get louder again. "God, did I miss your moan." Jaehyun looked at you and his hips moved up and down. "I missed this," you say and smile. The sex had become a lot less since the twins were born and since then Jaehyun worked again anyway. But now you enjoy the fact that you can enjoy this activity together again without any little observer and only the two of you can feel your body. And that feeling was so intense that you came to orgasm intensely pretty quickly. Maybe it was the preliminary work of the vibrator, but you had the feeling that Jaehyun fucked you particularly well that day. But Jaehyun cum much louder than usual and with a loud grunt he fell on your body.

The next day was Sunday and the last day before Jaehyun would start filming the drama. He won't be home much for the next few weeks and just spend the weekends with you. At least he manages to get Miga to school in the morning. "Do you like a coffee?", Jaehyun asked and looked at you as you were putting Kiwoo in the child seat. "Yes, but a light one, please." You smile and then kiss your son. "Is Johnny not here?" You ask when Jaehyun sat down to the table with the coffee. "He's with Sunbin. Jasper and Jaina are getting to know their new little sister today," Jaehyun said and smiled. "So we have the day to ourselves," he said with a wink and suddenly Miga raised her arms. "YESSS!" The girl laughed loudly and Sunoh did the same. "Are we going to the bakery?", Miga then asked and giggled. "Hmm ... we could really go for a walk," you suggest, thinking that it is good for the twins if they get some fresh air too. You love it when they get such red cheeks from the cold air. They look so cute then.  And you liked the idea of ​​an excursion so much that you set off straight away after breakfast. It took forever until all the children were dressed. Since it was colder, it became more and more difficult to dress the children. It was especially difficult with the twins. No sooner had you dressed one of the boys when the diaper of the other boy were full. But at some point you all made it. The twins now had an empty stomach and the children were all in jackets, hats and shoes. On the way through the park to your favorite bakery, Jaehyun drove the stroller and Sunoh walked by your hand. Miga walked between you and helped Jaehuyn with the strollers from time to time. "Mummy! Daddy! Geon and Kiwoo are sleeping." Miga excitedly pointed into the stroller and you had to laugh. "Yes, they had an exciting morning," you say and grin. "I think so too, after we put on the diaper twice in a row." Jaehyun sighed and looked at the two little babies. He hated changing diapers and he hoped that the day would come soon when all children could go to the toilet on their own.  After you have taken a short walk, you sit down in your favorite coffee. Miga and Sunoh drank a cocoa and ate muffin and cookies, Jaehyun drank coffee and you had tea. The twins were still sleeping and it was a good fit because that way you could concentrate on Sunoh and Miga. Sometimes you worried that they would feel neglected. "Do you like it?" Asked Jaehyun, looking full of love at his children who were just biting into their muffin. "YES!" Sunoh started to giggle and Miga nodded while she was still chewing. But at that moment Jaehyun's phone rang. "Is it important?" You ask as you watch Jaehyun frown. "It's the producer of the drama. I wonder why he's calling me and not my manager. We never really talked to each other." Jaehyun was really surprised and wondered why he was calling. "Answer it. It may be important," you say with a smile and Jaehyun got up immediately. Meanwhile you stay behind with the children and notice that Kiwoo is just opening his eyes. "Hello my sweetheart. Have you had a nice dream?" You lift the boy out of the stroller and put him in your arms. It was very peaceful and calm while Jaehyun was gone. Almost so calm that you overhear a conversation at the next table. There were two young girls, maybe just 20 years old. "Did you see? Jaehyun from NCT is here," said one girl. "Yes, he is here often with his children," replied the other girl. "It's a shame he's taken. He's so beautiful." "Yeah, but his kids are so cute, look at them." "Right, but did you hear that from Sunbin?" "No. You went to class with her, didn't you? There was a rumor that she is pregnant." "Was pregnant. My mum is friends with her mum and Sunbin got a child at Halloween." "What really? So was she really pregnant?" "Yes, but you don't know the best part yet. The father is an idol." "What? OMG! Who?" "Well, Sunbin was babysitting Jaehyun and his family for a long time." "Do you think Jaehyun is the father?" "No, no, supposedly Johnny is the father. He had lived with the Jungs for a while when he had a fight with his wife and supposedly he comforted himself with Sunbin." "WHAT REALLY?" "Yes, and supposedly he has left his wife to be with Sunbin. Today he even introduced her to his children." You couldn't follow the conversation any longer, because Jaehyun was standing suddenly in front of you and looked at you in surprise. "Are you okay?" You ask him as he sat down rigidly on the chair again. "One of the child actors in the drama canceled spontaneously and they asked if Miga would like to take on the role. She would fit perfectly. Actually, they would have preferred her, but because Miga is not doing auditions, they thought she wouldn't do any more drama either. But now they urgently need someone. " Jaehyun looked at you and you don't know what to think. "But she has just started school." "The recordings would not be until after school. They take things into account," explains Jaehyun and you had the feeling that he wanted that too. He didn't spend enough time with his children anyway and since his dearest daughter has an offer to work with him, it would be like a dream for him. "You want it right?" You ask him and he looked at you with big eyes. "It's a decision that the two of us have to make." "I know. I'm just scared that it's too much for Miga." You always have to consider something like that. "We could ask them," said Jaehyun then. You nod and you both turn to your daughter. "Miga?" Jaehyun looked at his daughter and her dark eyes met his. "Hmm?" She quickly stuffed a biscuit into her mouth. "Would you like to film with Daddy again? You know that you've made a drama once. You would do something like that again. But only if you like." You ask her and look at her seriously. You really want her to want this alone. "YES! That was fun." She was immediately enthusiastic about the idea and Jaehyun had to grin. "That’s my girl," he said and laughed.

daddy jaehyun masterlist 

[smol-and-grumpy]

EUPHORIA - Chapter 18

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: He’s Dean Winchester, owner of a shady night club. She’s a journalist who has been asked to write an article to expose the indecency and debauchery that’s going on behind closed doors. But he’s also Dean Winchester, the boy who sat next to her in class. The boy who was too cocky for his own good.

Chapter Warning: NSFW, flangst

WC: 4626

A/N: This chapter fills my ‘mutual masturbation’ square for @spnkinkbingo​​​​​Please share your thoughts with me, I’d love to hear your feedback.

Beta’d by @deanwanddamons​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ <3

This series is more than two weeks ahead on patreon!

Series Masterlist ~ SPN Masterlist

Become a Patron ~ Buy me a coffee

Y/N wakes before her alarm goes off. Her hand finds her phone on the nightstand. She switches off the alarm, because she actually hates the sound of its ring. It’s penetrating and shrill, but she needs that to be able to get up at all.

Her eyes widen when she feels movement next to her in bed and she holds in her breathing for a moment. Her mind races as she tries to remember and piece the events of last night together.

She blinks a couple of times before she turns around, and breathes a sigh of relief when she notices that it’s Dean next to her. His face is buried in the pillow, mouth slightly parted. She smiles when she sees him, how can she not? She’s stunned that he stayed the whole night. Is actually really surprised he stayed at all after he drove her back home. 

Propping herself onto her elbow, she watches him sleep. Watch the creases around his eyes. They run deep when he smiles and it’s actually really frustrating that they make him more attractive. His face is sprayed with freckles. Some are bigger, some smaller. She tries to memorize them. Back at school, when he would look at her and turn his head right so that the sunlight would catch his face, they would stand out more and he’d look so goddamn pretty. And that, she thinks, is not fair. 

She remembers falling asleep in his arms. Remembers him whispering something to her. Something about keeping... something , she doesn’t really know because she was too far gone already. 

Dean stirs and she’s holding her breath. How embarrassing would it be if he woke up and she would be the first thing he saw? Like, she’s not really easy on the eye in the mornings, she knows that. And also, he would notice that she’s probably been watching him as he slept and nobody likes to be watched while they’re sleeping. 

Gently, she pushes herself out of the bed and up into a standing position. She has to squint her eyes a little because yeah, she feels sore. Especially around her arms, thighs and between her legs. 

The blood rises to her face when she thinks about yesterday. Thinks about how Dean fucked her with a butt plug inside of her ass. How she felt so fucking full and yet still, she wanted more. Wanted it harder, wanted it faster. She’s getting light headed just thinking about it and her pussy tingles, it gets wetter and she knows that it’s definitely not only his cum that’s wetting her panties right now. 

It’s weird, because she’s never been this sexual and needy before. And god, if she wouldn’t have to be at work in the next hour, she would wake Dean up and get on his dick again. That’s bad, isn’t it? She should definitely learn to control herself better. 

Carefully she walks out into her bathroom and takes a warm shower that should ease the tense out of her body. She takes her time brushing her teeth and making up her face a little before she walks out on her tip toes, trying to get dressed without waking Dean up. 

It’s not even 7.30am yet and she knows that usually, he won’t be up until noon. So, instead of waking him up, she prepares a key for him and tapes it to the door on the inside with a note that says that he has to lock up when he leaves. She doesn’t really know his schedule, they’re not really anything yet and she doesn't really keep track of what he’s doing. Burned once, twice shy , or what’s that saying again? Either way, she doesn’t want for anyone to keep close track of her like Cole did and she has learned that she should treat people like she wants to be treated in return.

On her way to work she types a message for Dean.

  Y/N: I didn’t want to wake you up because you looked so peaceful in your sleep. The key is taped to the door. Please lock the door when you leave.

Dean wakes to his phone vibrating on the nightstand. In his daze, he reaches out for it but his hand meets an empty mattress. He cranes his neck, blinks before looking around. He’s not in his loft and not on his usual side of the bed, hence the reaching out for a phantom nightstand that’s not fucking there. 

He takes a moment to nuzzle his face back into the pillow, smells her skin that lingers there, and he’s breathing in her scent, filling his lungs. As if it’s keeping him alive. Maybe it is, he doesn’t really know. 

Realizing that he almost drifts off again while he breathes in her smell, Dean yanks his eyes open. He wonders if she’s still here? She said that she had an early meeting but Dean has no idea what time it is. Turning around in bed, he reaches out for his phone, sees that Balthazar, one of his investigators has called him. But what catches his eyes is a text from her. 

  Please lock the door when you leave. 

  Well, he doesn’t really want to leave, if he’s honest. He wonders when the meeting will be ending, wonders if she’s going to come back home or not. And then he realizes that he’s a fucking idiot for not asking. But again, he doesn’t want for her to think that he’s clingy, when that’s maybe what he is deep inside. 

He quickly types in a reply, sees that it’s already 11.23am. Surely her meeting must be finished by now.

  D: I just woke up and a little sad that you’re not here. When will you be back?

  Next, Dean thumbs over the contact of his investigator, calling Balth back. 

“Boss,” The man on the other end greets him.

Dean clears his throat before he speaks, his mouth feels dry, his voice is raspy, “What do you have for me?”

“Yeah,” Balthazar says, “Uh, the Cole Trenton guy, I found him.”

Dean’s heart races but he tries to keep his cool. Good news would be if Balthazar told him that he’s in fucking jail but again, that would have been too good to be true, wouldn’t it? “Good. Where?”

“He still lives in the city. I followed him around and saw him lurking around the place where she works but he mostly stays in the coffee shop around the corner and goes back home. He has a new girlfriend, though. Maybe he just needs to check if she’s alright?”

Dean snorts, the dude can check in with Dean’s fist if he wants, “Was he ever around the club?”

“Not since I’ve had my eyes on him, sir,”

Fuck, it’s most likely not Cole who damaged the wall of his club, then. 

When Dean doesn’t say anything Balth continues, “There’s the thing, he was arrested for domestic violence about six months back, lost his job in the process, but the woman took him back and decided not to testify. Said that she reacted out of frustration and her injuries were caused because she fell down the stairs. The case has been dismissed.”

“Fuck,” Dean mutters under his breath. He’s fucking angry. What if the women would have been Y/N? What if he laid a hand on her? Did he? She’s told him that he didn’t and Dean believes her, but there’s still that weird feeling in his gut. Dean clears his throat, swallows down his anger, “What’s he doing now?”

“Probably lounging on his girlfriend’s couch and stalking your girl every now and then. His girlfriend has taken on two jobs to keep them somewhat afloat,”

Dean’s so fucking relieved that she’s not with that fucking son of a bitch anymore. 

“Right,” Dean says, “Thanks Balth, can you get someone to cover him?”

“Yeah, I can get someone on board for that,”

Dean hears a ping while Balthazar is talking, he guesses that it’s maybe a text from her, “Good, okay. Balth, I need to go. I’ll see you, bye.”

He quickly hangs up, and thumbs over his messages, smiles when he sees that he’s right. 

  Y/N: I’m on the way back, are you still there?

D: Yeah, I haven’t even got out of bed yet. 

Y/N: Okay, please wait for me?

  Dean grins. He’d wait a lifetime if he has to. He thought that he made that very clear already, but apparently, not. But he also knows that he can’t write that, so instead, he types something else.

  D: I’ll be here. Take your time.

  He places the phone back on the nightstand before he gets up, deciding to take a shower before she gets back.

  *

He’s back in bed when he hears the front door, hears a heavy bag being dropped onto the floor and she walks into the room in a flowery dress that’s not too short but it makes his dick stir nonetheless. It’s really weird, because he usually has better self control.

There’s a hint of coffee aroma in the air. It makes his mouth water. Dean’s been up to her kitchen, looking for coffee but all he found was water. He thinks that she should definitely stock up her fridge and pantries but he realizes that between work and being with him, she’s not really at home much. Which leads him to his other thinking. That she’s wasting her money by renting out this apartment when she could easily move back in with him. But he gets it, gets her way of thinking, because for her it’s too soon.

She frowns when she sees him staring. His heart is racing, though, can’t hide the grin on his face, “You’re still in bed?”

“It’s too comfy,” He mumbles and to emphasize his words, he digs the back of his head deeper into the pillow.

Chuckling, Y/N walks around, and Dean’s happy to see a smile on her face. She takes the scent of coffee with her and now he sees her producing a cup from her back where she was hiding it. She holds out the cup for him to which Dean sits up straight in bed, takes it from her and takes a sip of liquid gold. 

He grins before quickly taking a couple more sips and sets the half empty cup back on the nightstand before he grabs at her wrist, and thumbs over the back of her hand. Dean looks up at her, still grinning, “You know, this seems like a dream of mine,”

“A dream?” 

He nods his head, “Yeah, you bringing me coffee in bed,” His hand tugs at her dress, “It’s just... you wore a little less clothing in my dream,” 

She’s full on laughing, “You dreamed about me bringing you coffee naked?” 

“Hey, no kink shaming here,” He lifts up her dress, bites back a groan when he sees her lace panties, feels jealous of all the men who might look at her and wonder what’s underneath, also feels pride that he’s the only one who knows that now, “Come on, loose the dress and come in,” He pats his lap and he’s sure that she can’t miss the bulge beneath the sheets. He didn’t get back into his underwear after the shower.

Even though his cock is straining visibly, he has to keep himself in check because he’s not going to fuck her today. He wants to give her time to recover and he can usually control himself pretty well. It’s just.. it’s really hard to do it around her.

She tucks her bottom lip between her teeth and grins before she undresses. Dean watches her pull the dress over her head, watches her standing there in her bra and panties set and his tongue darts out to lick his lips. 

As soon as the fabric drops to the floor, Dean grabs her wrist, tugs her down and she falls into his lap with a squeal of laughter. He chuckles as he turns her around so she was half lying on top of him. His one hand caresses her face, thumb painting along her eyebrow, down her nose, and he kisses her, soft and tender, tastes coffee on her tongue as well.

He cranes his neck, their noses are still connected. Pecking her lips once more, Dean lets himself fall on his side, draws her close and lets her rest her head on his upper arm. 

She rakes her nails along his body, circles his nipple and Dean shudders. She giggles and looks up at him. 

“How was the meeting?” He asks with a kiss to her forehead. 

“Good,” She replies and nuzzles her face into the crook of his neck, “I have to attend a workshop in Washington.”

Dean raises an eyebrow, “When?”

“Ugh,” She sighs, “I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, and I’m staying for two nights.”

Dean can’t say that he’s happy about that, but it’s her work and Dean can’t possibly tell her that she should ditch that and live with him. At least not yet. Because that’s his dream? He really wants to provide for her and maybe instead of working, she can fucking write her novels or whatever her heart desires. Yeah, maybe one day he can convince her but it’s certainly not today, and he knows that too. So instead of being grumpy about it, he’s going to be supportive. 

“You don’t want to go?” He asks, because she pulls a grimace.

“I was daydreaming in the meeting and when Naomi asked who will represent us at the workshop, nobody raised their hands and then I was probably looking really zoned out, so she asked me and of course I jumped at the mention of my name and the next thing I knew, I said yes and now I have to go,”

Dean throws his head back and laughs heartily because he can just imagine it. It happened a couple of times in class as well and she always picked up the most boring and annoying tasks like that. One time he wanted to help her by nudging against her ribs with his elbow, but that just made it worse because she raised her hand right away and Dean couldn’t roll his eyes back into his head fast enough. 

Y/N punches his chest and he bites on his lips to stop laughing. 

He surges forward, tilts her chin up and kisses her quickly to not laugh more and avert the subject to something less funny, “What were you daydreaming about, huh?”

Pulling her lips between her teeth, she trains her gaze downwards and Dean smirks because he thinks he knows the answer to his own question.

“I’m so horny,” She breathes out. Sulks a little as pouts her lips, “Like, I woke up really horny and it’s your fault,”

Dean gasps playfully, “My fault?”

“Yeah,” She mumbles and he has to grin some more, kisses her harder, a little rougher. 

He bites down on her bottom lip, making her moan into his mouth and she actually starts to wiggle her hips, pushing her clothed cunt into his hard cock. Dean’s hand goes to her hips, holding her still and she whines.

“‘M not gonna fuck you today, baby,” Dean mumbles, doesn’t really actually believe his own words because his restraint is hanging by a fucking thin thread.

“Why not?”

There’s that pout again that he quickly kisses away. 

“Because you’re sore and the last thing I want is hurting you,”

“Gah!” She lets out a frustrating groan that makes Dean smirk.

“Come on,” He releases her hips and pulls his arm out from under her, and she’s still pouting, “If I wasn’t here what would you do when you’re horny?”

“Uh,” She parts her lips, her brows arch in a curious manner.

“Show me,” Dean says, and honestly, he thinks that he’s going to regret asking but maybe he’s also just a fucking masochist.

He sits up on the bed, leaning his head against the wall behind it, one eyebrow raised as he watches her teeth biting down on her lips. Her gaze is trained down, as if she’s still debating about it. 

There’s an audible exhale and then she whispers, “‘K,” before she crawls over to her nightstand on all fours and Dean groans at the sight of her lace panties, the fabric at her crotch a shade darker. She’s fucking wet and he has a hard time not giving in. Her ass is on full display too, round and so smackable. He couldn’t resist reaching out and smacking down on one of the cheeks, hard. He leaves his hand there and squeezes her flesh, jiggling it around. Y/N looks back at him over her shoulder, a playful glint in her eyes.

Dean watches her opening a drawer by her nightstand, taking something out before closing, and she hides something behind her back. 

She sits back next to him and it’s then that he sees it. 

It’s a vibrator. 

Dean’s grinning like an idiot. He’s pleasantly surprised, actually. 

Sitting up, they’re now shoulder to shoulder and he watches her getting into position and taking off her panties. He helps her by unclasping her bra and takes it off as well, tossing it across the room in his eagerness. Before she can turn it on, he snatches the toy from her fingers and she looks at him perplexed. Dean just grins, kisses her, sucks in her tongue and makes her moan into his mouth. He drinks up her breath, swallows down her cries. 

By now his dick is leaking pre-cum and it’s fucking throbbing. He has to remind himself that it’s not about him. 

Dean turns it on and it vibrates to life. He looks over, sees her tugging her bottom lips between her teeth. He places one hand on her knee to spread her and holds the vibrator to her clit with the other, and immediately, she squirms when the vibrating hits her. He watches her face, tries to find the right place, smiles when he hits it because she’s throwing her head back, closing her eyes. God, she looks absolutely beautiful like this. Completely debauched and blissful.

He tilts his head, nuzzles his nose against her temple, whispering to her, “Tell me how you like it,” 

Y/N swallows, “No, like that, it’s… it’s good,” 

Pulling the vibrator off her, Dean threads through her folds with his hand that he used to spread her, figuring he doesn’t need it anymore since she opens up so sweetly on her own. He groans when he meets her wetness. She got wet so fucking fast. There’s a small puddle just below her pussy. 

“Jesus,” Dean hisses low, places the slick fingers to his lips and sucks off her juice, groaning as he does it.

He goes in again, scoops up a little more and this time, he places his fingers to her mouth, and puts the vibrator back to the place where she needs it most. She has her mouth slightly parted and Dean paints along her lips with his wet fingers, “Taste yourself, you’ll see why I can not get fucking enough of you,”

She sucks in his finger, twirls her tongue around it and Dean groans because he can’t not imagine her tongue around his cock. It’s bad, really bad, his walls are crumbling.

Dean quickly pulls his finger away, cups her chin and titls her face, crashing his mouth to hers and slides his tongue in, tasting the last remaining scent of her on the tip of her tongue, drinks it in. Her hands are both on his arm, fingernails digging into his skin. She moves them, tries to get a better grip, leaving little crescent moons in their wake. 

She’s so responsive, it blows his mind. 

“Touch me,” He whispers into the kiss and licks up the side of her face when she looks down to where his cock is leaking but is still covered by the sheet. 

Nodding her head, Y/N moves the cover away. 

“Spit in your hand, baby,”

He grins when she does, accumulates enough spit in her mouth to wet her hand. What a fucking good girl. He absolutely loves how she follows his directions, not that she needs much guiding, though.

She lays her slick hand around his shaft, index finger and thumb toying around the sensitive and leaking head of his cock, and Dean fucking groans loudly at the touch but he’s too far gone in the moment to actually care. He drops his forehead to her shoulder, feels her kissing his hair at the top of his head. 

Dean presses the vibrator a little harder against her nub and she jumps up a little, which makes him look up at her again, claiming her mouth once more while she pumps his shaft with both her hands. 

They probably look completely weird angled but it just feels fucking right. 

Moving his hips he begins to fuck up into her hand. Her fist twists when she reaches his cockhead.

“That’s good, just like that,” He whispers against her cheek, his nose pressed into the side of her face. Dean swallows hard because he sees her face grimacing. She’s close. “How many times have you used your toys since we’ve met?”

“Thr— Ah— Three times,” She manages to say. 

He kisses her cheek, leaves his mouth there, “What were you thinking about, huh? Were you imagining me?”

“Uh-huh,” Her nods are frantic.

“Uh-huh?” He smirks, “Imagining me rubbing you? Imagining my tongue on you? God, you’re so fucking sweet, I could eat you out for fucking days, baby,” He tilts her head to kiss her, his teeth biting down on her bottom lip before he parts, and she moans out in pained pleasure, “Did you imagine my cock? Imagining me fucking you? Fuck—,” He pauses to let out a grunt because she grips around his ball with one of her hands, squeezing on just the right side of painful. 

“You want me to fuck you, baby?” He growls, by now, the string that holds his willpower together is fucking gone. Cut through by her soft whimpers and by her hand fondling is balls and Dean’s such a goner for that. 

“Uh-huh,” Y/N manages to say, nods her head and turns to kiss his cheek, tongue skidding over his scruff, “Please,”

Jesus, her voice when she says please just pulls at all the right strings inside of him and that’s not fucking fair. He should have better control, he should fucking not give in— 

—but of course he does. He’s such a goner for her. Whatever she wants, she gets it.

“‘K, here’s the thing,” Dean’s voice cracks a little, “I want you to come for me, and when you do, hop straight on my cock, alright? Can you do that, baby?”

“Y-yes,” She says and her face contorts, “I’m close,” 

“I know, baby, I know,” He smirks, his hand around her goes a little further down, twisting her nipple, “Come now, I can’t wait to fuck you,”

It’s maybe another minute, and he doesn’t think it’s a full minute either, but she comes with a twisted face as her legs shake. She quickly buries her face against his shoulder, her grip around his cock tightens and Dean has to bite back a pained groan. She’s quick to remember what he asked her to do and gets up to straddle him. Dean helps by positioning his cock to her entrance. 

He abandons the vibrator, turning it off and tosses it don’t know where, can’t possibly concentrate on that when she sits down on him, her pussy still convulsing, making it a fucking tight fit, and Dean has to fucking hold himself back as he tries not to come right away.

Dean feels every ridge of her inner walls, feels every bump and it’s hot inside and so fucking wet, “Jesus, you’re still throbbing,” He grits his teeth, swings both his arms around her and holds her tight to his chest. He then moves down with her, laying himself on his back, “Prop yourself up on your knees, baby,” Dean feels her shifting her weight, “Yeah, just like that, good girl,”

There’s another squeeze of her cunt when he praises her and Dean has to grin. She absolutely loves when he praises her, and god, he’s not going to stop doing it. 

His arms are tight around her, fingertips digging into her flesh and she buries her face in the crook of his neck as Dean starts to fuck up into her. The wet sound of his dick moving inside of her, of his balls slapping against her ass, is lewd and loud in the room. It echoes off the fucking walls and it is a huge turn on. 

Y/N mumbles something into his neck that he can’t quite catch. His eyes widen because he thought she uses the safe word, thought that he’s being too rough and that he hurt her so he stills for a moment, fucking up slow and easy but then he hears her again.

“Dean, harder, please,” 

Fuck.

He holds her down, starts to fuck up harder. 

“Faster, I’m— oh god, so close,” She whimpers into his skin and who is Dean to deny her this really. 

While he fucks her harder, fucks her faster, he tilts his head to be able to whisper into her ear, “Jesus, baby, look at you, begging for me to fuck you rough. Fuck,” He swallows audibly and he feels his balls draw up, “Just fucked you rough yesterday but you’re fucking insatiable. Fucking love it,” 

“Oh my god, don’t stop, don’t stop,” Her pleas are coming out in stutters, short whimpers.

“Oh, baby, I won’t,” He’s panting now, “Won’t ever stop fucking you in every which way you want me to,” 

Her moans are getting louder.

“Come with me, fuck— baby, I’m going to come,” 

“I’m—,” 

She comes hard, her whole body shaking above him and her walls hugging him tight, squeezing at his throbbing dick, milking out every fucking drop he has in him. 

Dean bucks his hips a couple more times, emptying his balls with every push forward. He releases his tight grip around her body, begins to stroke her lazily soft, and she tilts her head into the skin of his neck, kisses him with featherlight touches of her lips. 

“Jesus,” He breathes out as he manages to catch a breath, “You’re wearing me out,” 

Y/N has to chuckle at that, and he thinks it’s the most beautiful sound. 

*

 They stay connected a while longer until Dean really has to go and check into work. He hates to leave her but she said that she has to prepare some things for the workshop with a couple of more meetings lining up the next days, and he really doesn’t want to monopolize her time. Well, honestly, monopolizing her time is all he wants, but he doesn’t have a say in this. 

She says goodbye to him in his shirt that he made her wear yesterday and it does something to him. Seeing her in it and paired with that absolutely beautiful smile — it’s a fucking lethal combination for his fucking heart (and cock). 

Dean kisses her once more, bruisingly hard at first but he softens the kiss, wanting to show her that it doesn’t always have to be rough, that he has other sides to him as well. A side that’s caring, a side that shows how fucking in love he is with her.

Chapter 19

[heyheshi]

The Lucky Car

2.3k words

written and uploaded: July 16, 2020

🦋 - fluff...? Kinda

🌙 - angst...? I think it's a cute angst

Please like and reblog! Also please don’t post my writings anywhere!

I dreamt about this a long long time ago and so I thought, why not write it? So here it is!

Masterlist

Part 2

Part 3

_________

Y/N

"Are you sure you're okay for me to use your car while you're gone?", you asked Nina, your cousin as you two are on your way to the airport to drop her off.

It's not like you're afraid to use it, it's quite the opposite actually, you're feeling so giddy to have your own ride for the upcoming months, it's just that it's a bloody RANGE ROVER, a black and shiny one at that!

You can afford your own car, with having your own bakery at that but you recently bought a house and not planning on spending a lot of money anytime soon.

"Babes, I don't really want my car to be stuck for the next three months, plus I know you can drive. I have faith that you won't crash Bella!", your cousin replied, talking about her beloved car, "and you have a license, you're an excellent driver, and single!", Nina continued to tease you. You don't really mind, it's one of your favorite personalities of her and she's not wrong either!

"Shut up! But if you're really sure then hell yeah! Thank you!", you couldn't hide your excitement as you dance on your seat while holding the steering wheel, "but what the hell does this car have to do with me bein' single?!"

"Stop dancing and drive safely! And this car has a name! She's Bella!", Nina reached across the console to steady you to your seat and sigh, "Bella is a lucky car!"

"Yep! Sure!", you scoffed not looking at your cousin.

"She is! You know this is the car I used when I went to the bar where I met my now fiancé! And this is also the car we were in when he proposed to me!", she sounds happy talking about her love life yet annoyed at the same time, but who could really blame her, you haven't been in a serious relationship since after college!

You just chose not to reply to her. You're not bitter, you believe in love - it's just isn't for you and now that it's said, there's no reason to believe how this is a "lucky car".

See, you've only been into two serious relationships, one in high school that ended because of college, and one in college that ended because he needs to move across the world to be able to do his dream job.

You're happy for your exes though, none of it ended on bad terms. You understand it. The timing of both relationships was just wrong. Both ended up leaving to move away.

While your cousin, however, is the exact opposite, she's never been into a serious relationship until almost two years ago when she met her now soon - to - be - husband at her graduation party. Jacob, her fiancé is three years older than her but nobody minded, he's an architect and can support your cousin if he ever knocked her up.

You approved of Jacob, you can tell that his intentions are well and really loves your cousin. He also tried to set you up with his brother but it didn't work out - all is well though - it's was more of a friendly relationship type.

On that note, you love your cousin, she's like the sister you've never had and would hate it if Jacob ever hurt her. You two are really close, both at the same age, that's why sometimes you feel pressured to get in a relationship and get married at just the age of 23.

With that, you continue driving to the airport, the air not thick as you both listen to the playlist you share with your cousin.

---

Harry

It was really hot out when he left off the plane, quickly putting his sunglasses and hood up making him feel suffocated and hot but needing to do it in order not to get noticed.

He loves his fans, he really does but the main purpose of this trip is to relax and he wants it to be as peaceful as possible, not wanting anybody to know where he is so he would not be disturbed.

It's not like he wants to make it seems like he dropped off the face of the earth, he's just really conflicted and tired with his recent breakup and wants his privacy as much as possible. No one knew where he was aside from Jeff and his mum and sister.

He got a text from Jeff when the plane was landing. It was a forwarded email from the company where he booked his rented car for the next few weeks. Of course, being a celebrity has its perks as the forwarded message said that the car with the driver for the day is already waiting outside.

Harry didn't think twice before collecting his items of baggage and taking an exit from the airport, he couldn't wait to get his butt on a Range Rover, it's much more comfortable than his 1st class seat of the flight.

But of course, leaving a crowded airport is not easy especially if you're Harry Styles and can be noticed by anyone even with a disguise on.

He was already near the exit when someone shouted "IS THAT HARRY STYLES??!". His plan to get some privacy for the upcoming weeks seemed to have vanished in that exact second.

Harry didn't look back as he scrambled into his feet holding his multiple luggage with both hands and running outside the airport while people crammed near the exit to take a glance at him.

---

"Take care, Nina. I'll miss you!", you hugged your cousin one last time before she had to leave.

"Hush it! You won't! You know I'll be calling you every night asking for your opinion on the wedding!", your cousin just hugged you tighter either way, "take care of my car and put yourself out there please!"

"I'll try. Love you, see you in 3 months! Say hi to Jacob for me!", you kissed your cousin's cheek as she does with yours.

You helped her with her bags - she's not bringing much since she practically have a whole wardrobe at her fiancé's anyway!

With that she went inside the airport, leaving you with Bella.

"Well I guess I'm your mommy for the next few months while your mommy and future daddy plans for their wedding huh?", you asked the car, talking to it like it's a real person, you chuckled at the thought, you're really picking up on Nina's antics.

You rounded the car and went inside, buckling your seatbelt, getting ready to leave.

You just finished starting the car when someone opened the passenger seat, practically slamming the door shut.

You stared at the anonymous person on your cousin's car - bewildered.

"Drive!", the person said.

"Drive away!", the person repeated, not looking at you as he still scrambles to buckle his seatbelt with bags on his legs.

"I sai-"

"Y-yes, okay!", you drove off the airport shakily. You're scared, yes! You don't know who this man is and what he is doing in your cousin's car!

Nina told you not even 15 minutes ago to take care of her car but you think that the idea of it is absurd now! You're in a car with a complete stranger commanding you! Then you remembered that you were at the airport, the security cameras will know where you are when you ended up being missing and dead by tonight.

Then the color of your face drained, you just realized that there's a lot of security guards in there! You could have left the car and run for your life! But it's too late now!

"Oh my God, thank you!", you heard the man sigh as you felt him relax on the seat while you, on the other hand, is still as stiff as ever driving to somewhere you don't know! You're just driving straight with no intentions to stop, thinking that the police can find you easier and better this way!

"You okay? You look pale, Ma'am?", you heard the guy talk again and you can see from your peripheral vision that he's putting his bags on the backseat of the car.

"Miss...?", the guy asked again but you never dared to make a sound. Yes, he sounds normal but he's still a stranger and you couldn't risk anything!

He's removing his hoodie now and you can feel yourself become paler - if that's possible. He's gonna strangle you with his hoodie or something! You might be over-exaggerating but still! You felt that you needed to do something.

"Who the hell are you?!", you shouted at the man beside you while pulling on the side of the road.

"Wha-"

"Who are you and what are you doing to this car?", you finally faced the man with a scowl on your face.

"That's not the right way to g-"

"I don't care! I asked who are you and what are your intentions?!", you're fuming now. The man beside you put his hands in the air in a surrendering manner.

"Miss, please calm do-"

"Goddamn it! Don't tell me to calm down! I'm minutes away from being killed by you and I'm not go-"

"Killing you?!", he nameless man asked with an amused, voice hands still in the air.

"Yes! That's wh-"

"No! No no no!", the man is completely laughing now, hands covering his face while your mind is all over the place and the only thing you can think of is that if he's laughing then you got spare more minutes to live.

"I'm Harry, Ma'am.", the man finally introduced himself putting his right hand in front of you, "and I'm not going to kill you. I'm your customer. I'm sorry for busting in here that way and I'm really sorry for scaring you off. I was just running away from being mobbed."

You looked at the guy - Harry - confused. "Customer? I'm- I don't... what are you talking about?!"

"Miss I rented a car on yo-", Harry's voice got cut off by the loud ringing of a phone, his phone. He took his phone from his pocket, then looked at you signing one second.

You relaxed to your seat, finally. He looks decent - and familiar too! You couldn't help but eavesdrop on his conversation. He's practically sitting beside you! You can basically hear everything even though you could only hear his side and a few murmurs from his phone.

"What do you mean, Jeff?"

"What? No, I'm already here at the car..."

"Wait, so this is - yes, okay okay, I understand, I'll call you when I made it to the hotel."

"Just call the company and give the driver extra tips, please. Yes, okay. Bye!"

You heard Harry sigh so you looked at him. He was racking his hand to his hair then bringing both hands to rub his face, looking so tired.

"I'm so sorry about that - for everything I mean. I really thought that this was the car I rented for my stay. I didn't even think about how this might not be the car since I was running an-", he was rumbling and you felt bad. As much as you hated him the first time, you can tell he's really sorry for bothering you.

"It's alright, you're good.", you smiled at him then remembered you haven't introduced yourself yet. "I'm Y/N, I'm sorry for judging you and raising my voice at you earlier", you looked down feeling ashamed of your actions.

"Don't be, it was my fault", he chuckled. "I'm really sorry for bothering you and scaring you", he said smiling sheepishly.

"You didn't scare me!", you defended yourself - well at least you tried.

"You looked pale!"

"Don't think about it.", you dismissed him then laughed, "so where to, Harry?"

"You're not asking me to leave this car?", he asked stunned. If it were someone else, they would have probably made him leave the second he stepped into the car, but not with her.

"I'm not", you blushed as he's staring at you, "I'm not doing anything at all, might as well drop you off, you seemed pretty tired and stressed. And you don't look like a killer to me so...", you shrugged your shoulders trying so hard to hide your blush, he really is attractive. Everything you said is true but he's still a stranger.

"Um- oh well, didn't expect that", Harry laughed, "can you recommend a place to eat?", you smiled and nodded at his question.

"Of course! Uh, there's this small shop that sells bomb milkshakes and burgers! They also have lunches on their menu so if you haven't had lunch yet then it's a good place to eat!", you explained talking about one of your favorite places to eat in the area.

"Okay, there, please! We're going to eat there an-"

"We?", you asked.

"Yes, we... if you don't mind. I mean you told me you're not really doing anything today and I need to pay you back somehow for bothering you", he tried to woo you but you're not giving up easily.

"Oh, you don't have to, Harry, I'm fine! You're alright!", but it seems like your stomach isn't cooperating as you both heard it grumble. Thinking about your favorite resto makes you hungry!

"Well, your stomach disagrees!", Harry pointed out laughing silently.

"Fine!", you put your head on the steering wheel as Harry continued to laugh, there’s really no point in fighting with him.

"My treat!", he said and you just nodded making him cheer.

With that, you drive to the road again - to the resto - this time much more comfortable knowing deep inside that Harry means no harm, and he's really cute, you haven't been attracted to anyone in a long time!

Then you realized that damn, this car might be lucky, indeed.

_____

[recollins]

Jealousy 101 (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Request: Do you mind doing professor!Reid and reader that are dating and she’s in her class and all the other girls are trying to hit on him and ofc Spencer is oblivious to it but reader is getting jealous and spencer has to reassure her that he doesnt care for them and only her 🥺 make it as long as you want, honestly longer the better hahah thanks so much I love your work! Pairing: Professor!Spencer x Female Reader Words: 4,668 Content: Smut Warnings: Jealousy, fingering, penetrative sex, unprotected sex (wrap it before ya tap it, y'all)  Masterlist

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Large, gentle hands slid around your waist from behind, tugging you back into a gentle hold. Spencer propped his chin on your shoulder, studying your reflection in the mirror with you as you smoothed down your skirt.

“Are you going for naughty schoolgirl today?” your boyfriend murmured, lips brushing your ear before moving to kiss the base of your jaw. You tipped your head back onto his shoulder, smile tugging at the corner of your lips.

“Well I am one, aren’t I, Professor Reid?” you said slowly, meeting his eyes in the mirror. Pressed against his chest, you could feel the hitch of his breath at the name you used. Before answering, he trailed hungry kisses down your neck, tugging your blouse aside to nip at your shoulder.

A moan slipped out of you and on instinct you leaned back into his hold; his arms tightened around your waist and you felt him smile against your skin. “Don’t start something you can’t finish, (Y/N).”

Turning in his arms, you tipped your head back to peek up at him through your lashes, coy smile curling over your lips. Spencer slowly lifted a brow at you, knowing exactly the kind of trouble this look held for him.

“Who says I can’t finish?”

You didn’t miss the tightening of his jaw or the hard swallow he gave as his eyes flicked over your shoulder, studying your body in the mirror. Those large hands of his slid down your back, taking handfuls of your ass through your skirt. “I say. We have class in twenty minutes, and neither of us can afford to be late again. You know better than to tease me.”

Biting back the smirk that threatened to break free, you pressed your hands against his chest to push him back, stepping out of the hold he tried to pull you back into. You cocked your head to the side, tapping a finger thoughtfully against your chin as you hmm’d and sauntered back.

“Do I? Huh. Must’ve slipped my mind. You’ll just have to remind me, Professor.”

“(Y/N),” he growled in warning, hand falling to palm at the growing bulge in his slacks. His normally honey-brown eyes had darkened to a dangerous, hungry shadowed amber, sending a shiver of desire through you that you knew he saw.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go. You’ll have to remind me later,” you teased, snagging your bag and then scampering out of Spencer’s apartment before he could come after you. Thankfully, your boyfriend had off-campus housing this year. When you’d started dating last fall, it’d been a pain trying to sneak in and out of his place when he lived in the faculty housing.

It was hard to believe that you’d been with Spencer for almost eighteen months now. Truth be told, you hadn’t been looking for a relationship when you’d started college last year. Quite the opposite, actually. You’d just gone through a pretty rough breakup with your high school sweetheart, and the thought of dating anyone was the last thing on your mind.

And then lo and behold, your very first day, Dr. Spencer Reid had walked into your criminal psychology class and you’d been totally and helplessly lost to the illegally handsome man at the front of the class. To be fair, you really tried to resist him, but how could you when you had to stare at that painfully attractive man for ninety minutes every Tuesday and Thursday for months on end?

It wasn’t your fault you’d spent more time focusing on his deliciously long fingers than you did on what he was presenting. And don’t even get started on his tongue. He just couldn’t keep it in his mouth for more than a few minutes at a time, and that just did things to you, okay? You never stood a chance resisting him.

So, like the smooth flirt you were, you started making excuses to see him. It’d started simple enough: staying a few minutes past to have him explain a scenario you already fully understood, asking him to go over the requirements for your essay that you’d already finished… When that didn’t satisfy your craving for the delicious doctor, you’d starting stopping by during his office hours to ask him any question you could possibly think of.

Hell, one week you’d purposely not taken any notes you’d needed for the test next class, and Spencer had kept you in his office for over an hour as he ran through the slides again – one on one – making sure you had everything you needed.

Really, you’d been playing your hand pretty well. Or so you thought.

Just a few months into the semester, when you’d stopped by for the third time that week, Spencer had invited you to sit as he always did, but when you asked him for a recap on what to do for the midterm coming up, he folded his hands on his desk and leveled you with a sharp gaze that rooted you to the seat beneath you.

“Miss (Y/L/N), I know you’re not here about the midterm.” You’d blinked in alarm, stunned he’d instantly call you out like he had, but unable to say anything because, y’know, he had a point. “Would you care to tell me why you’ve been by to visit me more than any other student in any of my classes?”

Huh, more than anyone else? Well, you gave yourself a mental pat on the back for that little achievement. Not that it was really a help to you right now, but still.

“I’m, uh, I just – I wanted you to –“

“Wanted me to what, Miss (Y/L/N)?” he’d cut in, that sinfully distracting tongue flicking out over his lower lip. Your eyes shamelessly followed the movement, and only when you saw the smirk on his face did your eyes snap back to his.

“I… wanted you to myself,” you practically whispered, eyes instantly falling to your lap when you’d realized what you’d said. It was completely inappropriate, you knew that. Crushing on your professor was one thing, but sitting here admitting that after you’d practically been borderline harassing him for the better part of two months?

So when his hand reached out and those tantalizing fingers tipped your chin up so he could meet your eyes again, you were stunned to see the hungry look in his eyes. The hungry look he fixed you with did nothing to slow your beating heart, your racing mind that was spinning out of control with the thoughts you’d been trying to hold back all semester.

One moment you’d been staring each other down, daring one another to make the first move, and the next minute Spencer had practically dragged you onto his desk and had his way with you. Not that you’d minded one bit – the bruises on your hips from his eager hands had stayed deliciously dark against your skin for almost a week, and he’d made sure to leave plenty more in their place after that.

Keeping things secret hadn’t been too bad at first. It was a fun little secret between the two of you. It had been fun and exciting to spend all class eye-fucking each other across the room and then letting Spencer bend you over his desk almost immediately afterwards.

The summer had been even better, because you and Spencer had all the time in the world to yourselves. You’d told your parents you had to stay at school for summer classes, and once Spencer had moved off-campus, you practically lived at his apartment.

The memories of hot, sleepless nights beneath the sheets with Spencer kept you occupied on your walk to class, but the moment you entered the lecture hall the smile fell off your face. Half the seats were filled with women you knew weren’t even in this class. Believe it, you’d checked. Twice.

The only reason they flocked here was to ogle Spencer, and it drove you absolutely crazy. Not only did they only want to spend ninety minutes flirting with your boyfriend, they didn’t even care about what he was teaching. It was disruptive, disrespectful, and downright rude. And it wasn’t just because they were all trying to seduce your boyfriend. Mostly.

Instead of taking your normal seat at the front, you settled a few rows back to plant yourself in the middle of the scattered girls. You normally weren’t one to get jealous, but they’d been playing this game for over a month now and it was pushing you closer and closer to an edge you didn’t know you’d had.

“Like, I’ve never seen anyone look as hot as he did yesterday wearing a sweater vest,” one of the girls behind you gushed; you tensed immediately. Of course they were talking about Spencer. He was the only one who could get sexy and sweater vest in a sentence together. “I missed my test in Biology but it was so worth it to see him yesterday.”

The pencil in your hand nearly snapped in two. They were skipping classes now to see him when you weren’t there?! It was one thing showing up during free period, but this was getting ridiculous. And having them here without you to keep an eye on their inappropriate behavior?

Deep breaths, (Y/N), you growled to yourself, focusing on pulling out your notebook and getting ready to, you know, actually learn in the class. If you weren’t careful your pencil was gonna end up through someone’s neck today.

Not moments later though, you heard excited whispering spark through the seats and a few girls in front of you had the audacity to whine, “oh my god he looks so fuckable today!”

Instantly your gaze snapped up; Spencer had just walked in.

Trust me, I know. That’s what I almost got to do with him, you muttered, your eyes following your boyfriend as he stepped up onto the stage. His eyes fell instantly to the front row and you saw his brow furrow just a hint.

His gaze swept over the seats in concern until his gaze locked onto you. A small, almost imperceptible smile flickered over his lips as soon as he saw you were there, and it helped to settle the burning jealousy raging inside of you. Out of all the other women there, he was only worried about you.

Of course, that feeling died out pretty damn fast as soon as class began. From every side of you all you caught were the girls dirty whispering. You couldn’t even focus on Spencer’s lecture because every two seconds there was another giggle or another not-so-hushed whisper of, “look at how long his fingers are!... His tongue is driving me wild oh my god!... look at how big his feet are. Can you imagine how big his –“

Your pencil actually did snap. The noise startled both yourself and a few of the girls scattered around you, enough to draw Spencer’s attention. When he caught sight of your expression, concern flitted over his ridiculously attractive features. You tried to push the scowl aside but at this point it was a permanent look. Spencer’s eyes narrow just a hint, tongue poking out over his lower lip briefly. You knew that face; he was profiling you.

Not wanting him to be too concerned, you gave him a small smile. He returned the favor before returning to the lecture, wandering back across the stage. Taking as deep a breath you could, you really tried to tune them out. After all, you were one of the few in attendance that actually had to worry about what Spencer was teaching.

Of course, if you asked him to, he’d gladly give you a one-on-one tutoring session. This time you lost focus thinking about the last tutoring session your boyfriend had given you. One that had quickly morphed into Professor Reid teaching you exactly how to take his cock all the way down your throat like the good girl you were –

No. Focus. You need to know this stuff! You snapped to yourself, pulling out of your extremely distracting fantasies. For the next half hour, you managed to force yourself to block out the whispers around you as you fought to listen. You’d almost fully forgotten there were dozens of girls all around you vying for your boyfriend until a girl behind you said excitedly,

“After class I’m so making a move on him.”

You almost lost another fucking pencil.

Breathing hard, trying to keep from whipping around and punching her square in the face, you listened to the plan she concocted to seduce Spencer the moment the lecture was over. Now you completely understood the phrase seeing red.

To be completely honest, you weren’t sure if it was just because she was making moves on your boyfriend, or if it was because it’s exactly what you’d done last year. What if it worked on him? What if he was hit on by a younger, prettier girl this time and you were pushed aside? Normally your insecurities didn’t come out with Spencer. Even with an almost fifteen-year age gap, he’d never made you feel unwanted or like he was out of your league – though you’d told him several times you certainly felt that way. He was amazing at reassuring you just how much you meant to him, just how attracted he was to you, reminding you just how gorgeous you were…  

Your self-conscious thoughts floated to the front of your mind, and you felt tears actually starting to prick your eyes. She just kept going, talking about all she had in mind with Spencer… If you didn’t pull yourself out of this soon you’d either be leaving here in tears or in handcuffs, and you weren’t one to cry in public.

It was as if Spencer was tuned to your thoughts. Like he knew you needed a distraction, needed just a little reassurance from him to get you through the last fifteen minutes of class. Finally done with his presentation, he clicked off the projector (taking a little longer than necessary because he and technology didn’t see eye to eye) and turned to the class and asked,

“Can anyone tell me a few of the differences between male and female arsonists?”

Normally you didn’t like speaking up in class, but you needed him focusing on you now. Though you hadn’t really focused through most of the class, this was thankfully something you were familiar enough with. Spencer caught the movement of your arm going up, and though he was clearly surprised he turned and smiled.

“Yes, Miss (Y/L/N)?”

“Female arsonists are typically older than males, and are more likely to have a psychiatric diagnoses. Women also more frequently have a history of sexual abuse, while men have a tendency towards substance abuse problems.”

There it was, the flicker of pride in his gaze that instantly set your body burning with desire. He gave you an impressed nod, holding your gaze without blinking as he said  slowly, “that’s very good, Miss (Y/L/N). Well done.”

His praise warmed you through, pushing out the ache of jealousy. You smiled back at him, pointedly drawing the end of your pencil between your lips to nibble lightly as you slowly crossed one of your legs over the other.

You caught the tensing of his jaw but, ever the professional, he stamped out the hungry smirk he’d normally give you as he turned to address the rest of the class instead. As the minutes ticked by, though, you noticed his gaze kept coming back to you. Every few minutes, his eyes would flick back, sweeping over your body for the briefest moment before he had to look away.

Every look made you squirm, your panties dangerously damp by the time he finally said, “I think that’s all for today. Be sure to read chapter seven before Thursday.”

Most of the class filed out of the lecture hall immediately. You took your time packing your things away, pointedly keeping an eye on the group of girls that approached Spencer at the front of the room.

“Excuse me, Professor Reid?” the girl up front cooed sweetly, twirling a lock of hair as she stared up at him. Your blood boiled instantly and now you couldn’t even pretend you were doing anything other than eavesdropping.

Spencer, ever polite, looked up at her with a friendly smile as he gathered his journals into his satchel. “Can I help you?”

“Well, I hope so. I was really interested in what you were saying about arsonists but it kind of went over my head,” she giggled, shrugging her shoulders bashfully. “Do you think you and I could meet later so you could help me… get a better grasp?”

Spencer’s eyes studied her for a heartbeat, and then they flicked to you. The instant understanding that settled in his gaze told you he realized exactly what had been bothering you all class. As he looked back at the girl, he slipped his bag onto his shoulder and stepped off the stage, pushing his hands into his pockets.

“I’m sorry, but I only offer study sessions with students who are actually enrolled in my class,” he dismissed. Her giggle died out, and you saw a frown come over her face as Spencer added, “actually, if you’d excuse me, I’m late for one right now. Miss (Y/L/N)?”

Surprised to hear your name, you met his eyes as he turned towards you, waiting patiently at the bottom of the seats. Quickly scooping up your bag, you all but scampered down the steps and fell into step beside him as he led the way out of the lecture hall.

The two of you were silent as he unlocked his office, stepping aside to let you in. You heard the door shut behind you, and then the lock clicked into place. The sound send a rush of desire straight to your core.

“Come here.” It wasn’t a demand, his voice was too gentle for that, but you knew he left no room for argument. You dropped your bag beside one of the chairs and turned to him, instantly tucking yourself to his chest. His arms went tight around you and he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. “You had no reason to be jealous, you know. You’re so beautiful I couldn’t see anything else.”

“I wasn’t jealous,” you mumbled, and instantly Spencer pulled back. He took your chin between his fingers and tipped your head back to fix you with a stern stare.

“You know I don’t like being lied to, (Y/N).”

You couldn’t hold back the whine at the tone of his voice and it didn’t go unnoticed. “I wasn’t jealous. I was protective. Jealous means wanting something I can’t have, and I already have you. You’re mine, not theirs. I don’t like hearing them talk about you like you belong to them –“

Spencer’s lips crashed onto yours, cutting off your angry rant before it could even get going. Spencer’s arms tightened around you as he walked you back towards his desk. Your legs hit the edge of the desk and instantly he spun you in his arms, pulling your back flush against his chest.

His already-hard cock pressed against your ass and on instinct you rolled your hips back towards him. He let out a low growl, lips falling to your jaw like they had just a few hours ago. This time, his kisses didn’t stop. He slowly moved down your neck, pausing briefly to nip at the skin before running his tongue across to soothe the sting. You whimpered at every pinch of his teeth, writhing in his arms.

He kept one arm tight around your waist to pin you against him as the other hand came up to palm roughly at your breasts. He deftly undid the buttons of your blouse with one hand – which was a lot hotter than it should’ve been – and in moments he was pushing it off your shoulders as he tugged your bra down.

His large hands enveloped one of your breasts, finger gently pinching and tugging at your nipples until he had you moaning softly beneath his touch.

“They don’t mean a thing to me,” he murmured, lips coming up to brush against your ear, nipping softly at the base of your jaw. “They can say what they want to say, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re the only one for me, (Y/N).”

“Spencer,” you moaned as the arm around your waist finally let up so he could slide his hand under your skirt. His hips rocked subtly against your ass as he cupped your core, his palm pressing down and grinding slowly over your clothed clit.

Your hand wrapped over his wrist and gently you tugged him up just enough to guide those long, slim fingers into your panties. Spencer let out a low, eager grown as he ran his hand over your folds, biting down into your shoulder just this side of painful as you began to rock yourself against his touch. Normally you’d go slower, enjoy the buildup, but Spencer only had fifteen minutes before your next class and this time you weren’t walking away without fucking your boyfriend.

Slowly, he pressed a single finger into you and you gasped in pleasure, dropping your head back against his shoulder. He set a slow, tantalizing pace that had you rolling your hips down against his hand, desperate for more.

“Tell me what you want,” he murmured, slipping a second finger inside of you. With a gasp, you rocked down hard and said desperately,

“You, Spence. I want you. I need you.”

“Who do you need?”

“I – I need you, Professor,” you whined softly, not wanting to be too loud just in case one of his overeager fangirls came by his office for some alone time. The thought of them doing so – and then stumbling onto you getting pounded over Spencer’s desk – had you quivering around his fingers.

As you’d hoped, Spencer pulled his hand away, purposefully dragging over your clit and getting another desperate gasp from you. When you looked back to pout up at him, you froze in surprise. Spencer held your gaze with his lust-darkened eyes as he slipped his soaked fingers into his mouth, sucking them off slowly.

“Bend over,” he ordered, voice rough with need. You did as you were told, laying yourself over his desk and pressing back against his aching cock. With a growl, he pushed your skirt up over your hips and ripping down your panties. Both of you were too worked up for any more teasing.

He slid the head of his cock through your folds, coating himself in your slick before grabbing your hips to slowly ease himself into you. Both of you let out low, aching groans as he buried himself completely inside you. He kept one hand on your hip and the other splayed out over your lower back, holding you in place as he slowly began to move.

With each thrust he pushed you harder and harder into the desk until it was shaking beneath you, papers beginning to spill off. You were fighting to stay quiet but Spencer knew exactly how to fuck you in order to bring out the whimpers you couldn’t help.

“You take my cock so well,” he grunted, the fingers around your hip digging in so hard you knew there’d be bruises by tonight. “So perfect for me – fuck. You’re all I need.”

“You’re mine,” you moaned, arching back against him, desperate to take him as deep as you could.  “Only mine – oh god, Spencer!”

He’d stealthily pulled his hand off your back and slid it around to run his thumb over your swollen clit. He grunted as your walls clenched around him; you weren’t gonna last much longer.

“Only yours,” he promised, voice rough as he pounded into you, swirling his thumb over your aching bud. “Come for me. Come on my cock, (Y/N). Show me who I belong to.”

His words shoved you over the edge unexpectedly fast and you gave a choked moan as your body writhed over the desk, lost to your orgasm. Spencer pulled his thumb back as he felt you come down but his pace didn’t slow. You could feel his cock throbbing against you, he was so close.

“You belong to me,” you rasped, clinging to the desk as you looked back over your shoulder to stare up at him. There was no other word for Spencer at that moment besides beautiful. His curls were wild, mouth hanging open, chest heaving beneath his ridiculously attractive sweater vest.

His dark eyes met yours and as soon as they did you felt his rhythym slip. His hips stuttered, and with a low groan he fully buried into you once more, filling you up as he came hard inside of you. Fully spent, he collapsed over your back, barely catching himself on his forearm, head dropping to your shoulder.

The two of you stayed still, tangled with each other, until your breathing finally slowed. Pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder, Spencer pulled out of you. As you went to stand, he gently pressed you back against the desk.

“Stay right there, sweetheart.”

You heard him grabbing a few tissues, and gently he cleaned you up, careful not to brush too hard over your sensitive core. Once clean, he knelt and slid your panties back up, kissing up your legs slowly before he stood. You finally pushed up from his desk with a groan and instantly his arms went around your waist to help you stand and get your balance.

Now that it was all said and done, you couldn’t help but feel a little ridiculous for getting so jealous over the other girls. Spencer’s arms came around you again, and you could feel the question in his hold.

“Thank you for that,” you said softly, tipping your head to look up at him. “I know… I mean, I don’t doubt you love me. It’s just nice to be reminded after listening to them all class.”

“I’m glad you don’t doubt my love for you. I never want you to forget how much you mean to me,” he said honestly, dipping to give you a soft kiss. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. After this class, I’ll be speaking with the head of the department to make sure only students enrolled in the class can sit in on my lectures.”

A slow, surprised grin took over your face. “You’d really do that? I thought it looked better for you to have the lecture hall full –“

“I don’t care how it looks. I care how you feel and I don’t want to do anything that makes you feel like this.”

Your arms wrapped around Spencer’s neck and his went around your waist, kissing sweetly as you smiled against each other’s lips. Though you broke apart, Spencer tucked you tight to his chest and you buried your face against his shoulder.

“I actually am gonna need one of Professor Reid’s study sessions before Thursday, though,” you mumbled into his jacket. “I… didn’t catch most of what you said today.”

Spencer stifled a sigh as he stepped back, giving you a mildly chastising frown. You caught the smile in his eyes as the two of you grabbed your bags and he unlocked the door. He started down one hall and you down the other, but he paused to call out pointedly,

“Come see me after class then, Miss (Y/L/N). I’ll make sure you pay attention this time.”

With a smirk, you looked back at him over your shoulder, enjoying the way his eyes were already starting to dark again as he watched you walk away, calling back to him teasingly,

“Yes, Professor.”

The smile he left you with promised you’d be paying for that comment later.

[percywinchester27]

A lot like ‘Us’ (Part-6)

Word count: 3.5K

Pairing: Sam X Reader AU

Warnings: fluff, feels

Series Summary: Y/N Y/L/N is eager and honestly, still in awe that she managed to get herself an acceptance from Stanford Law School. On the face of it, her life seems as put together, mysterious and independent as one might hope for. On the insides, she carries the burden of past that haunts her till date. Seemingly, she’d left it all behind; that is until she sets foot in the class of the Law School’s youngest, most promising professor.

A/N: The story employs two different timelines. The present timeline for the story takes place in 2014. Please let me know what you guys think :)

Beta: @deanssweetheart23​​​​ I love you, babe <3

A lot like ‘Us’ masterlist

“This is fun!” You rolled the ball along the lane. It didn’t even reach halfway before sliding to the side.

“You actually suck!” Jack exclaimed somewhat surprised. “You weren’t lying about that.”

Sticking your tongue out at him, you let him pass to the aisle, carrying another bowling ball. He knocked out 2 pins in the first strike.

You cheered for him as he drew another and in his second turn knocked down four more.

He triumphantly pumped his fists in the air and you high fived him. “That’s more than either of us have accomplished this evening.”

Jack threw a wry look at the girl he had been eyeing all evening. “I don’t think I’ve impressed her.”

The girl in question was a pretty blonde and you had definitely seen her check Jack out at least once. Jack was actually quite good-looking with his soft brown hair and a guileless smile.

“You know what I think?” You winked. “You should go talk to her.”

“Noooooo,” he backed off real quick. “She’s never going to want to talk to me.”

“I’ll bake you those cookies I gave Cas if you do it!”

He made a face. “Aw Y/N! You’re not playing fair.”

You shrugged. “It’s a one time deal. Take it or leave it.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” He glanced at the girl once. “I get the cookies even if she doesn’t agree?”

“Sure do. You just gotta ask her out!”

He gave you one accusing look, then walked over to the girl at the counter. You watched as she smiled sweetly and he nervously scratched his neck. After a few minutes, he came back waving a chit and a huge, disbelieving grin on his face. “She gave me her number. Can you believe that?”

“Whoever would have guessed.” You feigned disinterest. 

“This is such a win-win. I got a date on Sunday and I get the cookies,” he sighed happily.

You wanted to reach out and shuffle his hair, so you did and Jack wrinkled his nose at you.

The two of you grabbed a quick bite at a fast food trolley and walked home teasing each other about how sucky the bowling was.

“I thought the ball was going to drag you with it that one time,” Jack said as you opened the door to your apartment. 

“Know what?” You said conspiratorially. “I did, too.”

You waved a goodbye and then locked the door behind you, exhausted in the good way. The moment your head hit the pillow you were fast asleep.

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

14th August 2008

“C’mon, Y/N, you can do better than that,” Jo encouraged and you threw the ball hard. It still landed at her feet.

“I can’t do this,” you gave up, going to sit under the tree in the park. “I’m tired.” 

Jo sighed as she sat down beside you. “It’s been almost a month since your Gran… you know… You can talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” you muttered, plucking the grass at your feet.

She laid back on the grass, staring into the bright blue sky. “It’s just that I know you’re hurting- I know it, but if you don’t tell me what to do, I can’t help you!”

No one could help you. Help could only be given in times of a disaster or a problem. There was no help for the last person left alive in the world. No one was coming for that person… just like no help was coming for you who were the last one left in your world.

“There you are!” Dean Winchester was walking up the small hillock, a wicker basket in his hand. He looked damn good in that leather jacket, the sunlight making his hair glint golden.

You gave Jo a questioning look and she smiled guilty. “I uhhh… arranged for a surprise picnic for us. Dean offered to get us sandwiches.”

You wanted to feel annoyed with her. The last thing you needed was to pretend to smile for company. Dean had been exceptionally kind to you, but you didn’t want to make him a victim of your isolation driven lethargy.

“Hey,” Dean said, his eyes softening when he saw you. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” you said automatically.

He pushed the wicker basket towards you. “Jo said you liked muffins. Now, we tried baking some, but they come with health warnings.”

“We?”

“Sammy and I,” he said, jerking his head sideways. You saw Sam coming up the hillock with a thermos in his hand. 

You sat up straight. 

You hadn’t seen Sam since your return to Lawrence for good and felt a bit ashamed about how you had behaved at the funeral, clinging to him the way that you had throughout the night. The brothers had walked you to the house and stayed over along with Ellen and Jo. They had left with Jo before you were up the following morning.

Ellen had stayed with you for the better part of that week, helping you tie the loose ends. She absolutely refused to leave till you agreed to come with. After a while of resisting her, you had given in. Who was left here for you anyway?

After returning to Lawrence, you mostly locked yourself in the room, rereading the books you had bought with you. It was immature and highly inappropriate to be this unhelpful in someone else's house, but you couldn’t bear the pitying looks in everyone’s eyes. Sam had come by once or twice. You had pretended to be asleep each time after hearing his voice downstairs. 

Now, you didn’t have a choice but to talk to him.

“We’ve already pulled out the death by muffins, I see,” he said, sitting down next to his brother. He looked up and your heart almost leapt out of your chest. You had forgotten just how good-looking he was… and then when he was looking at you like that...

“We tried, Y/N,” Sam said apologetically. “We really did. Asked the recipe from Karen and all, but they just taste weirdly bitter.”

“It’s too much chocolate,” Jo said, wrinkling her nose as she took a small bite out of one innocent looking muffin.

“Here, you wanna try some?” Sam offered, looking so hopeful that you automatically took it from him. When your fingers touched his, it felt electric. 

It was awful. The bitterness wasn’t the rich bitterness of chocolate. It was excess baking soda. It left the insides of your mouth feeling desiccated.

“Well, you’re officially the bravest person I’ve ever met,” Dean declared, his face twisted in absolute disgust. “What did you eat the full thing for?”

“It’s not that -”

“Bad?” Dean asked, revolted. “It’s disgusting. Satan’s rear end tastes like that. We only brought them with us to see we could feed them to the ducks! Sammy and I bet money on that.”

He looked so horrified that you laughed with a mouthful of the muffin, the crumbs sputtering out of your mouth, in all their caustic horribleness. Once the laughter broke out, a fit overtook you and you fell back into the soft grass laughing till tears rolled down the sides of your eyes.

“You guys suck at baking,” you coughed in between the chortles.

“Yeah, Y/N is our resident baker. Her cakes and cookies are to die for!” Jo lauded. You punched her in the arm lightly to stop her from praising you.

“Maybe you can teach us,” Sam said, and there was an undercurrent to his voice, warm and inviting. 

“Alright you crazy kids hang around here with the basket,” Jo said. “We’re heading out for a while to the diner. There’s a couple of things we have to pick up for mom. Don’t hog the muffins.”

You sat up straight, realising that laying around like that wasn’t displaying any sense of propriety.

“Will you be alright?” Jo asked, worry lining her forehead.

“Yes, don’t worry about me.”

Jo still looked concerned as she walked down the hillock and disappeared from view.

You closed your eyes, and before Sam could utter a word, said, “Listen, I’m really sorry about how I behaved at the- the funeral. It was anything but appropriate to put you through that. I’m really sorry.”

When Sam didn’t say anything, you opened your eyes, albeit reluctantly. 

He was staring into the distance, not at you. When he finally spoke, you couldn’t place the tone of his voice. “Is that really how you feel?”

“What do you mean?”

He regarded you closely, the wind ruffling his hair. “I was under the impression that me being there helped you- even if just a bit. But if all it did was make you feel sorry, then maybe I shouldn’t have come.” 

“It did help me,” you said quickly. “Really. The mere thought that there was someone who wasn’t there because they had to be there was more help that I can even begin to explain. I mean Aunt Ellen and Jo are family, and though they didn’t know Gran too well, they still had at least some level of obligation to be there. And it was so thoughtful of Dean to drive Jo. But not a single person was there only and only for me, except you. Trust me, you got me through that evening.”

“Then why are you sorry?” He asked, perplexed. Though he appeared relieved at the same time.

“Because,” you said, resigning to finally saying it out loud. “It doesn’t justify clinging to you like that. It was really kind of you to come, but I think I overstepped my boundary.”

“Y/N,” Sam said, placing his hand on top of yours. “I didn’t come there from the kindness of my heart. I came because I was worried about you. It was driving me crazy thinking about how you were. I had to make sure with my own two eyes that you were okay. I’ve known you for what, a week? And even then, drove all the way across Kansas to just see you! And you think you overstepped boundaries?”

“As wrong as it sounds, I was really glad to see you. I don’t regret a minute of having you next to me. I think it kept me standing throughout the dinner,” you said in a low voice, not meeting his eyes. “The next day a few women brought casseroles over and they asked about you. I didn’t know what to tell them.”

“Not that you needed to tell them anything, because it was none of their business,” Sam said through gritted teeth, “But aren’t we, at least, friends?”

At least. 

People didn’t want to kiss their friends, and you wanted to kiss Sam. Very Much.

“Thank you for being there, Sam,” you said, instead of replying to the question. “It meant a lot to me. It still means a lot to me.”

“What’re you going to do now?”

You shrugged. “Hope for an acceptance and then apply for a student loan. Then I can get out of Ellen’s hair.”

Sam braced himself against the smooth grass with his other hand- the one not laying over yours- resting it behind his back. This way, his torso stretched out, his t-shirt hitching up just a bit to reveal his belt. You tried your best not to look. 

“You know Ellen and Jo don’t think like that,” Sam reasoned. “Jo was so worried about you. She still is.”

You sighed. “I know she is. This isn’t them. I’m just not comfortable. I just miss Gran so much, and I hate that I wasn’t there for her. I know I couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. It was a stroke and it was instantaneous, but I just can’t help feeling guilty… like if I had been there, I could have stopped it somehow. “

Sam didn’t say anything to contradict your words, didn’t try to oppose you in any way or tell you how you shouldn’t be feeling this way. He knew that one couldn’t control the way they felt. He simply put his hand on your shoulder, something he had done a lot that other evening. It was comforting and more familiar than it should have been. Your body simply accepted his touch now. 

“She left the house to my name, or so a lawyer told me. He said I should sell it and use the money for college. I don’t want to sell it like it was a shack that didn’t mean anything to anyone. I want to keep it and turn it into a bakery one day, so someone who loves baking as much as Gran did can run it one day.”

You didn’t understand why you were telling him any of this. Maybe because you knew Sam wouldn’t preach or discredit any of your words. He simply listened. Listened and understood, not just what was spoken but also that which was left unsaid. He stroked the back of your hand with his thumb, the feel of his skin on yours felt calming.

“So what did you bet on?” You said after several moments of silence, raising the muffin from hell and waving it in front of him.

“That the ducks would eat it.” His mouth quirked up. “I don’t have high hopes, though.”

“We should at least try,” you suggested. “Ducks are vicious creatures. They just might eat it.”

The ducks did not eat it.

You tried throwing small pieces into the little pond in the park, and Sam tried chasing them much to your entertainment, but the ducks were smarter than you gave them the credit for.

“Blood fiends,” you glared as a couple of them flew off. 

“You don’t like ducks?” He asked, amused.

“I was 6 when a duck attacked me. They are monsters.”

Sam laughed as the two of you made your way to the bench in the park. It was the same bench where he had taken you the first time you had met him. You could see the bar across the shrubbery in the distance. 

When you looked back at Sam, his cheeks were slightly pink and so were the tips of his ears.

“Hey,” he said, his hand tucking his hair behind his ear. “Do you want to go out for dinner sometime?”

“Like a date?” You asked, surprised.

He licked his lips. “Yeah. Like a date.”

Sam was clearly nervous about this, absurdly more than you were. “That sounds nice,” you said.

“How about Saturday?” He asked, then laughed a short laugh. “I mean. I would have wanted to go sooner but I’m flying out of town.”

“It sounds great.”

Then he said those words that made your heart melt. “Y/N, I can’t wait for Saturday.”

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

“Damn, woman! You can bake.” Meg came hovering out of her room still in her pajamas. “This is what heaven smells like.”

You smiled at her over the fresh batch of cookies you had pulled out of the oven.

“Y/N! It smells like a Bakery in there. What are you doing?” 

It was Kevin, shouting from the balcony. 

“Come out here!” He yelled, and Meg opened the glass doors of the balcony wide.

“In a minute!” You shouted back, replacing the tray with a new one in the oven and adjusting the dials. 

Both Jack and Kevin were in the window, looking like they had just woken up. Even the undergrads seemed to be out on their balconies downstairs. You could hear the muttering.

“I’m baking cookies for everyone,” you announced, leaning against the railing.

“And by everyone, you mean...?” Asked Meg.

“Just everyone,” you waved your hand vaguely. “So far there’s 138 and counting. I’ve been up since six.”

“You’re mental,” said Meg. 

“Those cookies were just for me!” Said Jack at the same time as her.

Pam, who was just entering the apartment from what must have been a night shift at the bar looked up at the assembled crowd. 

“What the hell?” She shouted. “Y’all are really this jobless first thing in the morning, huh?” Then she paused to sniff. “What’s that wonderful smell?”

“Y/N’s baking cookies for everyone.” Kevin was kind enough to provide her with an answer.

“Don’t you have better things to do than feed these idiots?” 

You grinned down at her. “There’s a whole batch for you.”

“Well, God bless your soul, you sweet child,” she said and disappeared under the awning.

You were sure to pack some cookies with you while leaving for the first day of your job. 

The Robert Crown Law library was starting to feel homely enough by this point, thanks to having spent so much of last week there for the Civil Procedure assignment. The Librarian on duty was supposed to overlap her shift with you for today and tomorrow, so you could be trained. Molly was sweet and really helpful. The library was fairly empty today. It was easier for her to run you through the bookshelves and their arrangement, the basics of handling the data centre and the ultra-systematic cataloging. Molly insisted that she take the desk duty for the day while you familiarized yourself with everything. Back when you had worked as the library assistant in TU, you had always considered yourself to be lucky to get paid for spending time amidst so many books. That hadn’t changed.

“We’re really lucky with the Law library,” said Molly. “The other libraries are a mess, especially the big ones. People keep calling there all the time, and even visitors are allowed without appointments. Law library only gets our usual crowd and very few people are a particular pain in the ass.”

Molly was a final year student. She had taken a break after her second year to backpack across Europe. Apparently she really didn’t have any anxiety whatsoever about her career. Whatever the case was, she was super chill.

“These cookies kick ass, by the way,” she hummed after taking a bite out of the one that you had offered. You smiled and bent down to retrieve the tags.

“How’s it going, Molly?” 

You stilled. 

“Sam!” You heard Molly squeal. “You’re back again? Spending an awful lot of time here these days, aren’t you?”

“Oh, it’s the loneliness,” he said in a mocking voice.

“Y/N, What’re you doing down there. Get up,” Molly called.

Slowly you got to your feet. 

Sam straightened like a rod at the sight of you. He was wearing flannel today over a pair of jeans, which shocked you because you were so not used to seeing him in anything except suits. It made him look so young. Not like your Sam, or the professor you distanced yourself from, but painfully somewhere in between.

“Sam, this is Y/N. She’s the new odd-shifts librarian,” Molly introduced cheerfully. “Y/N, this is Sam Winchester. Does he teach you?”

She turned to Sam. “Do you teach her?”

“Uhh-”

“Oh, of course you don’t remember her name, even if you do teach her. It’s been like two weeks,” she prattled on. “Do you take a class for the first year?”

“Civil procedure,” he said curtly, not sparing you a single glance. Then he spoke to Molly. “Can you grab that book I was reading yesterday? I think I asked you to keep that one aside.”

“Sure. Here,” She handed him a Code violation handbook from under the table. He promptly turned away from the table, heading straight for a bench that did not have a view of the Librarian’s desk.

It hurt. It hurt like a whiplash each time he ignored you. Pretended that you didn’t exist. And it sucked that you couldn’t even blame him for it.

“Isn’t he amazing?” Molly sighed after Sam.

“Sure,” you muttered, going back to retrieving the cards.

“It’s not unusual for professors to be here, but Sam’s been spending an awful lot of time in the library since the past few weeks. I wonder what’s up.”

You avoided the whole section of the library where Sam sat, sticking to the computers and going through the database cataloging. It wasn’t long before Sam was back at the table. 

“Actually, can I take this book to go?” He asked.

“Leaving already?” You heard the thrumming of keys as Molly entered the book’s name in the directory of issued books.

You did not turn around to peep, and the desk was almost out of earshot anyway.

“That’s it, then?”

“Thanks, Molly.”

“Hey, you want to grab a cookie before you leave?”

“Sure!” 

You heard the crumbling sound of the wrappers and then a crunch.

There was a pause. In an almost imperceptible voice, so low that you had to strain your ears to hear it, Sam said, “Tell her these are lovely.”

Blood rushed to your ears, and you did not hear the rest of the interaction. You didn’t even go back to the desk again till the end of the shift. By the time you returned, all the cookies were gone and Molly was humming to herself softly, completely having forgotten about passing on the compliment. She waved at you as you left for the day and you waved back absentmindedly.

Tell her these are lovely.

He knew. He just knew.

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

A/N 2: Last slow chapter!!! Yay. Things start escalating pretty quickly after the next chapter. No playing footsie. ;) 

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[makomori]

SIX | CONSIDERATIONS

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI x OC

Nishimura Yua has to take her nephew to his first rep practice with the Tohoku Tigers at Shiratorizawa Academy. Ushijima Wakatoshi is filling in for the assistant coach on said team.

She’s recovering from a nasty breakup and he’s reeling from a stunning finals loss against the Jackals.

Yua’s drawn to his composure and honesty.

Wakatoshi finds her warmth and tenacity intriguing.

It’s the start of a Brand New Story; can they heal from past hurts and endure new challenges in order to help each other trust and love again?

CHAPTERS

ONE | NEW TERRITORY

TWO | FAMILIARITY

THREE | INTRODUCTIONS

FOUR | OBSERVATIONS

FIVE | THE OFFER

Length: 4.1k words

Wakatoshi finally has dinner with his mom after ignoring her for almost a month. Will he make it through the appetizers without getting lectured?

That's the problem with being the strong one. No one offers you a hand.

Wakatoshi knew he was in trouble.

When he called his mom to ask if he could take her out to Fuki Sushi, she answered with a suspiciously cheerful, "Absolutely; I'll meet you at 8 PM on Wednesday."

He hadn't spoken to her in almost a month— not since the day the Adlers lost to the Jackals. The nervousness he felt made the 15-minute drive feel three times longer. When he arrived, she was already comfortably seated in one of the booths. He hesitated. Her dark gray eyes narrowed when she spotted him.

Yeah, he was in trouble.

She sipped on her water while he settled into the booth. Most places weren't built to accommodate someone as tall as he was, but this was one of the few restaurants that wasn't too bad. He could sit without having to fold himself completely in half. His knees didn't bang into the table either. When he finally looked at his mom, her expression was unreadable.

Ushijima Izanami's dark brown hair was set it its usual immaculate bob. The sharp angles of her hair were reflected in her cheekbones, brows, and eyes. Wakatoshi felt like he was in one of her business meetings. She was the current head of the prominent Ushijima household, and a formidable negotiator. He swallowed. There was no use in prolonging the unavoidable.

"Okaa-san," he began cautiously. "It's good to see you."

Her expression remained inscrutable, and he fought the urge to fidget.

She then folded her hands on top of the glossy menu. When she spoke, her tone was clipped. "Is that all you have to say? 'It's good to see you?'"

He opened his mouth to apologize, but she didn't give him a chance to speak. "Mom—"

"You haven't called in a month."

(He thought about telling her that it's been more like three weeks but thought better of it when he saw the warning look in her eyes.)

She lifted one elegant finger and wagged it in his face. "And you've been ignoring my texts." Another finger joined the guilt trip. "Your dad called, too," she huffed. "He was worried."

Guilt wormed its way into his gut. He had spoken to his dad after the finals. However, the disappointment of his performance still weighed heavily on his mind, so their conversation was brief.

"Oto-san called you. Really?"

"Twice last week." She flipped the menu up and scanned over the appetizers. At least she was still talking to him. It would've been worse if she were giving him the Ushijima silent treatment, which started with a hard stare and ended with a demoralizing statement. He had often been accused of dividing people with his honesty, but he learned from the best.

"How is he?"

"He sounded tired. But he did say that his team is one win away from making the playoffs, so I'm sure he's been busy." Her eyes softened as she tried to hide her smile, but Wakatoshi saw it even in the dimmed atmosphere. It seemed like she had enjoyed speaking to her ex-husband. He made sure to file that away for future use.

"I promise to call him." He missed his dad. Looking back on it now, he's one of the few people who would've understood what he was going through. He'd apologize for his selfishness tomorrow. Right now, he had to put his mom at ease.

"Mom?" He pulled the menu away and gripped her hands gently. "I'm sorry."

She returned his gesture with an assuring squeeze. "I know," she sighed. "I was just worried. Both of us were."

Wakatoshi smiled gently. She had a soft heart beneath that tough exterior. "Moms worry a lot."

She quirked a brow at him. "Because they have stubborn sons."

"Where do you think they learn that from?" He pretended to duck when she swiped at him playfully.

"Don't push it, Toshi."

Okaa-san and obaasan were the only ones who called him that, and it was only when they were truly irritated with him. He felt like he was 10 years-old again and being scolded for taking too many candies from the jar, but he didn't mind. He puffed his bottom lip out and looked at her earnestly.

"Oh, stop it," she sniffed. "I can't stay mad when you do that."

Wakatoshi chuckled. At least he knew he could pull that out as a last resort against her. "I still can't believe that works."

"It won't next time," she threatened. The laughter in her voice told them both that wouldn't be the case. After looking over the menu, they called the waiter over and ordered three servings of the assorted sashimi platter. His mom initially fussed and said that it was too much food, but he assured her that he'd eat what she couldn't finish.

"Will you be home until the season starts?" She sounded hopeful; he didn't get to spend much time in Sendai during last year's off season.

"Yes. I won't be moving back to Oita until the end of September." He was on the road often for away games, but even then— Oita was nine hours south by train. When he wanted to visit, he opted to fly since it was only a three-hour trip. "And Saitou-sensei asked me to help coach a local rep team."

Izanami looked at him in surprise. "Coach?" She echoed.

He nodded. The timing worked out almost perfectly. The V.League season started in October and the rep season would be well into the playoff bracket. The schedules would overlap at some point, and the other assistant coach would be able to take care of things if he were away, but he would do his best to accommodate both. The Tigers had the talent to win, so he hoped they'd make it to the end.

"I've always liked Saitou-san," his mom praised. "He complimented Washijou-sensei's style."

"He was certainly the voice of reason among the two of them." Saitou-sensei tempered the Demon Coach's hardline way of teaching. Their combination of tough love and positive reinforcement was proven to produce championship teams.

"I thought you weren't going to think about coaching until the end of your career."

"I thought so as well," he murmured. "But I couldn't say no to sensei." Indeed, many people found it hard to say no to sensei simply because he was so earnest and passionate about whatever task he set his mind to.

Izanami smiled. "You'll be in your thirties before you know it. Thinking about the future is never a bad thing."

Wakatoshi rubbed the back of his neck. Mom was right; he'd be turning twenty-six in August. He'd always known that playing at this level wasn't something he could do indefinitely. Anyone who played professionally only had a small window to maximize their youth and talents before their bodies eventually started to slow down.

"Losing the finals made me consider a few things." His mom didn't force an answer from him when he paused, as she understood that it wasn't always easy for him to express how he was feeling. "I took the loss harder than I had anticipated. I let my team down." He frowned; embarrassment and remorse laced his tone. "That's why I haven't visited. Or answered your messages. I was disappointed in myself. I needed time to understand how I was feeling."

Izanami's heart ached for her son. Even now, expression was contemplative as he rubbed the pad of his right thumb back and forth along the table's polished surface. The Ushijimas were one of the oldest families in Sendai, having been a part of the ruling class during the Edo period. Along with their reputation for philanthropy, they were heavily involved with many businesses within the city.

For better or worse, they were in the public eye.

Over the years, excellence became synonymous with their name. The pressure could be unbearable at times. That's what drew her to Utsui when they first met; he was free from expectations and it showed in the ease with which he carried himself. She hoped that sense of freedom would rub off on herself and their son, but life had different paths in mind for their family.

Neither of them was faultless in the events that led to their eventual divorce, but she regretted that Utsui didn't have the chance to have a say in how his son was raised. Izanami lived with that regret for years, but she slowly began to grasp that the future didn't have to be like the past. When she placed her hand over her son's, and he looked up at her curiously.

"Wakatoshi— any person would be disappointed after a loss like that. You're human. But our family has always been in the public eye. You've had to deal with pressure and expectations from a young age. And eyes are still on you in that career that you've chosen. You've never complained once. You've worked hard and excelled at everything you decided to try. I couldn't have asked for a better son."

A soft smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She had little trouble raising Wakatoshi; most of his time was spent studying or playing volleyball. When he first started playing, she often wondered what drove him to practice and play so diligently. But she realized that it was his way of staying connected to Utsui. Despite not being present physically, he was still an influential part of their son's life.

Izanami shook her head. "In hindsight, there was no room at home for you to express any frustration; I should have done a better job at providing a space for that. I'm sorry you felt like you had to go through this loss alone."

Wakatoshi couldn't help his bewildered expression. The last thing he expected from his mom was an apology. If anything, he was the one who needed to apologize for his selfish conduct. He couldn't remember the last time mom had spoken with him like this. Her unwavering work ethic and loyalty were things he always admired about her. She was frightening to everyone outside their family. But he had always been aware of her softer side; she loved deeper than anyone he knew.

Another gentle squeeze from her pulled him out of his thoughts. "I'm getting older, too," she teased. "I've had time to consider some things as well. Please, come to me if you feel like that again. I might not be able to fix all your problems, but I'll do what I can to help."

Wakatoshi was silent as he tried to process what she was offering. He needed people like his mom and sensei in his life to help him understand that he wasn't meant to do everything on his own. He learned confidence and discipline from observing and listening to her throughout the years.

When he searched her face, he suddenly saw the fine lines around her eyes and mouth, along with the strength that still shone vibrantly in her eyes. They were a testament to the life she had led. Being a single mom was difficult. People either looked at you with pity or loathing. She shouldered that negativity and protected him from it so he could live his life without having to worry about what everyone else thought. He owed her everything.

"I will mom— thank you."

She gripped his hand firmly and nodded. Those two words were genuine. They had never needed to say too much to each other to come to an understanding. The reality was that they wouldn't get to spend as much time together as they used to. That was part of the reason why she was upset with him not communicating or visiting. He was living his own life and making something of himself in this world, and she couldn't be happier for him. They would just have to be more mindful about making time for each other in the future.

"So, are you enjoying coaching?"

Wakatoshi grinned and nodded. "I wasn't sure if I would be good at it, but the first practice went well. The team is incredibly talented."

"Excellent," she stated. "You sound excited about them. I've always thought that you'd be able to use your instinct when you started coaching."

He tilted his head. That was interesting. "Why do you think that?"

Izanami folded her arms. "You have a unique perspective as a top player. Yes, most coaches are former players, but not all of them played at the level you're at now. You'll be able to connect with your students personally because you've been in their position. But I think you'll also find a way to explain the thought process behind your talent."

Wakatoshi mirrored her and folded his arms. The reasoning behind her explanation was solid. "I've always been told that I'm unnaturally talented at volleyball."

His mom laughed. "That would be an understatement, my dear."

"I think it's a combination of dad's talent and your discipline." He said after a few moments. His eyes warmed and his voice was gentle. "I wouldn't where I am now if it wasn't for the two of you."

Izanami's breath caught in her throat. She felt guilty for so long about the way her marriage ended with Utsui. He loved her enough to marry into a family that was the opposite of who he was as an individual. But in the end, she couldn't protect him from her family's expectations and strictness. She knew Wakatoshi wasn't resentful about not having Utsui in his life, but she still carried that responsibility with her. Hearing him say that they were able to accomplish something positive in his life despite their divorce— that was enough for her to let go of that weight.

"Wakatoshi that's— I've never thought of it that way. You were so happy every time you played with your dad. I knew that you'd do well in volleyball from the start." She rubbed at the corners of her eyes to stop herself from getting too emotional. "And I didn't understand it at the time, but he was correct in protecting your left hand. You were able to stand out and excel because of his decision."

Wakatoshi agreed. Being different had always been his best weapon. "I'm grateful. Not everyone is able to choose a career they love."

"That's very true." She gave him a pointed look before she spoke again. "But please do everything you can to stay healthy. You're not getting any younger."

He was fortunate that he hadn't suffered any serious injuries since he start playing in elementary school. He couldn't bear the thought of sitting on the sidelines. "Always. Injuries mean that I won't be able to play, and that's unacceptable."

"Good. I'm glad we're on the same page. Otherwise I'll start worrying again."

"Worrying is a part of your job," he joked. "But I should've spoken with you sooner. I truly am sorry."

Izanami shook her head and waved him off. "I am, too. We'll be learning more about each other as we go along. But it's good to have you home."

They were starving when the sashimi arrived. Mom helped negotiate a better lease with Fukase-san's landlord, so he always wanted to give her free food whenever she ate there. But she was stubborn and insisted on paying because she wanted to support his restaurant in whatever way she could. It was good he wasn't working tonight because the two of them usually got into an argument over comping her meal.

When Izanami updated him on what was happening with obaasan, he remembered the Boswellia supplements sensei gave to him at the end of practice on Saturday. "Could you give these to obaasan? Sensei said it might help with her arthritis."

She took the pills and stashed them away in her purse. "You need to come to the house and convince her to take her medication consistently." He tried not to laugh at her exasperated tone. "She barely listens to me anymore. And then she complains that everything hurts too much. But I'm sure she'll do anything for her grandson."

Wakatoshi smiled at the image of mom and obaasan clashing over this. She was even more stubborn than her daughter. "In that case, I think these might help." He pulled out two bags of sweet and sour Hi-Chews from his coat pocket. "Tell her it's from me. Maybe then she'll feel better about taking her medicine."

"You have a good heart, Wakatoshi," she said with affection. "That's one of the first things I noticed about your dad. He was always helping people in some way."

During the few times they went out as a family, dad usually ended up helping people carry their groceries or helping older ladies across the street; there was something universally appealing about his kindness.

"He said he never understood how people think you're intimidating or unapproachable," his mom continued. Then she sighed. "But that's an Ushijima trait."

"Yua-san said something similar." The back of his neck warmed when he remembered how shocked he felt when she described him as sweet.

"Yua-san?"

"Our team manager," he clarified. "When I met her last week, she said I was sweet."

Izanami's eyes flickered with curiosity. Any mention of a woman in her son's life was always interesting, especially now that he was older. She hadn't been impressed with his last two girlfriends, and she didn't say that out of spite. They were only interested in Wakatoshi's looks, not who he was as a man.

"Her nephew is one of my students. I helped him understand that losing isn't always a bad thing." Wakatoshi continued, unaware of his mom's protective thoughts. "I've never seen anyone react so positively to something I had to say."

Izanami leaned back against the booth. She liked what she heard so far. "Yua-san is a wise woman. There's always more to a person than what they present on the surface. But not everyone is willing or able to take the time to know someone on that level."

Wakatoshi nodded. "Still— she surprised me. No one has ever described me as sweet."

"Like I said, she sounds wise," Izanami mused. "Unlike that last woman you dated. What was her name again? Aoi-san?"

He nearly groaned. He hoped his ex-girlfriend wouldn't come up during their dinner. Or at all. "I'm surprised you remembered her name. You and obaasan took an instant dislike to her."

His mom rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Well, we weren't wrong. She was only interested in your looks. No wonder you two lasted only lasted three months."

"Okaa-san." He admonished. She was unfazed by his warning and gave a look that dared him to oppose her. "The season was grueling last year. I couldn't give her the attention she deserved."

Izanami leaned forward. He did not just try to justify her actions. "You mean the attention she thought she deserved. You said to me several times you felt that you were the only one contributing to the relationship. I heard you say never heard you say once that she reciprocated your actions."

Wakatoshi stared at her. His mouth gaped slightly when the truth of her words finally hit him. In the end, Aoi only wanted to talk about him when it was beneficial for her. She was only interested in flaunting that he was superstar player in the V.League. The fact that they were constantly travelling for work didn't help either. She was a rising model and had an even more hectic schedule than he did. And when they did finally get together, he was usually tired from training or playing games. She was always rearing to go out while he just wanted to rest.

When he looked back his mom, fury was written on her face, but it dissipated after a few seconds. "Forgive me," she said on an exhale. "You're a grown man now, but you're also my son. It's hard not to get emotional about your relationships."

"I understand," he soothed. "You worry because you love me. You're right. Our relationship was shallow. And it was bound to end with how frantic our schedules were."

"Well," Izanami huffed. "I'm hardly qualified to give you relationship advice considering how things ended up with your dad. But I can sniff out a shameless social climber from a mile away."

"I'll keep that in mind." It was his turn to sigh. "But my schedule doesn't seem to be compatible with dating since I'm on the road often." That was something he was concerned about as well. Depending on how his career went, he could end up playing for volleyball leagues in different countries. His family would have to relocate with him when the time came. Being married to a professional athlete wasn't going to be easy.

"That's not true," his mom said declared. "If you're interested in someone, you'll make time for them. You just haven't found the right woman yet."

Wakatoshi shook his head. "There's also that to consider. I don't know what the right woman looks like." That's not true, either. An image of Yua-san and her bright smile flashed in his mind while the intense feeling of their connection snaked up his arm. He could say with certainty that he hadn't felt this way with Aoi or anyone else.

"All you need to do is look out for one thing."

A knowing smile graced her lips. That usually didn't bode well for him. He was hesitant to ask, but he was also willing to take any advice when it came to this area of his life.

"And what is that?"

"Look out for the woman who becomes more important than volleyball."

Wakatoshi blinked. More important than volleyball? It was a part of who he was. Could it be that easy to find such a woman? He rubbed the back of his neck again. "With the way my life is going right now, I don't think she'll show up anytime soon."

Izanami laughed. Now that the challenge was out in the open, it would be interesting to see how things would turn out. "Be careful what you say, Wakatoshi. The universe just might take you up on that."

An hour later they pulled into the Ushijima ancestral manor's expansive driveway. Nothing had changed since his last visit, and he doubted that anything would. This was his childhood home, but he wasn't sure he wanted to raise his own children here. Anyway, he was getting ahead of himself. He opened the car door for his mom and helped her out.

They chatted comfortably until they reached the front door. Wakatoshi wasn't prepared for the warm, giant hug his mom gave him. She was shorter than Yua-san, so he took care not to crush her when he hugged her back. After pulling away, she straightened the patted down the non-existent wrinkles in his overcoat. He grinned. She would always see him as her little boy in some way.

"Please don't be a stranger to your own mother," she scolded lightly.

He tapped his chin. "I can't make any promises now that I'm a coach. The season is going to be terribly busy."

Izanami raised her brows. "I'm sure Saitou-san would agree that your family takes priority," she said dryly. "And you're lucky obaasan sleeps early now. Otherwise I'd make you come in and say hello. You know she loves telling stories."

Wakatoshi grimaced. "Then I'd be obligated to sleepover."

"You can do that next time," she promised. She slid the front door open and moved to go in but paused and turned to face him again. "You're always welcome to come home. Thank you for dinner. It was lovely."

"It was the least I could do. Oyasumi."

Wakatoshi walked back to his car after he made sure she was inside. The drive this time was peaceful. Okaa-san was right.

It was good to be home.

[imaginingsoftly]

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time Pt. 9 - Morgan Rielly

Type: roommates to lovers, Y/N insert shorts, bed sharing (my favorite trope ever)

Requested: No

Warnings: arguing, minor meltdown, kissing(finally)

(Y/N = Your name, Y/N’s POV to Morgan’s, POV changes marked with a line)

A/N: Surprise, I managed to get another chapter out. My classes are coming to an end this week, so I should be able to write more frequently. Also, a few of you wanted some actual relationship action, so I’m thinking maybe two or three more parts?

“He kissed you? Twice?” Kat’s exclamations had Y/N shushing her quickly, looking over Kat’s shoulder to make sure Morgan hadn’t heard her from where he stood across the room. “Why am I just now hearing about this?” If Y/N hadn’t known her friend better, she’d think Kat was about to hit her.

Actually, knowing Kat she would. “Keep your voice down!” Kat rolled her eyes, unsatisfied. “He kissed my forehead, not a real kiss. We had played a drinking game, we were drunk and being friendly.” Y/N whispered her response and sent another anxious look at Morgan, though he caught her looking this time. He smiled gently at her, and Y/N smiled back. 

“You’re so into him it’s stupid, Y/N just fucking admit it and be happy for once.” It wasn’t like Kat to get angry like this, except maybe with her family. “You spend so much time worrying about your students and all of us that you forget to take care of yourself. When’s the last time you slept?” Y/N opened her mouth to protest Kat’s statements, but Kat cut her off. “No. I know for a fact you haven’t been sleeping, because Mo mentioned you were up when they got back from their roadie the other day. He notices you, Y/N, and he cares about you on a personal level.” Her tone softened slightly when she saw Y/N’s face. “I just want you to be happy, hun. I know you love your job and taking care of people is just who you are, but you deserve to have someone taking care of you too.”

She was right, and that was the worst part, but Y/N wasn’t going to go down that road. Mo enjoyed her company, he wasn’t into her like that. “We’re friends, Kat. Andrei kisses my forehead sometimes too, you know that.” 

Kat punched Y/N’s shoulder and gestured at Andrei dismissively. “Yeah, but he’s not into you like that. It’s like kissing his sister.” Y/N opened her mouth to speak, but Kat cut her off. “And no, clueless, Mo doesn’t mean it like that. He wants in your pants.” The latter statement had Y/N spitting the sip of beer she’d taken onto Kat in surprise. 

“Shit, Kat, I’m sorry!” Kat looked at her friend in disbelief, and Andrei was at Kat’s side before Y/N could do anything, pulling her gently towards their room to change. Y/N sighed and leaned back against the wall, taking a gulp of beer rather than just a sip. 

Thankfully, Morgan and the others were oblivious to what had happened. Teuvo had them all engaged in a debate about something, and none of them would have noticed if she’d stripped naked right there, let alone a minor disagreement between her and Kat. “She’s right, you know.” Y/N jumped as a hand came to rest on her hip and Dougie’s voice sounded from behind her. “He wants you bad. Not just into your pants, though,” he corrected quickly, “like for real. Mo’s got it bad.” She twisted to look up at the defenseman, ready to argue, but he held up a hand. “Don’t. I’ve known you for a couple of years now, and he’s my D partner. You’re so into each other it’s stupid.” 

Dougie looked past you and laughed. “He’s on his way over here right now. Tell me, would a guy that isn’t into you care that I’m standing this close?” He stepped to the side and around you, heading towards the guys without another word. Morgan did look kind of mad, she would give him that. Dougie smirked at Morgan as they passed each other, and he twisted his head to wink at you from behind Morgan’s back once he was past his partner. 

“You okay?” Morgan’s hands came up to rest on your shoulders as he looked at you with concern.

What? Y/N looked at him confusedly. “It’s just Dougie, Morgan, he’s fine.” 

Now it was Morgan’s turn to be confused. “What? No. I meant with Kat. It looked like you guys were fighting.” Of course he had noticed. Y/N nodded, and Morgan seemed to get the message she didn’t want to elaborate, because he smiled. “You want to get out of here? I know you have that meeting tomorrow, do you want to try and go to bed early?” He killed her when he was that thoughtful. Morgan somehow seemed to remember her schedule better than she could, and his knack for remembering her meetings meant he almost never failed to make sure she was in a good mental state. He’d come home late from a road trip on more than one occasion to find her still awake, and sometimes his reminders to go to sleep were the only thing that kept her from dropping from exhaustion. 

“The meeting got cancelled and rescheduled to Monday because they’d rather we do it in person,” she said, “but I would love to go to sleep.” Morgan smiled at her again. “Okay. Let’s say goodnight to everyone, and then we can go.” The guys were reluctant for the two to leave, minus Dougie, who gave Y/N a wink when she looked in his direction. She sent an unimpressed look back, and he pulled her in for a hug.

“Tell him, Y/N,” he whispered into her ear. Y/N pulled back and gave Dougie another glare. He ruffled her hair, completely unbothered. Kat and Andrei had yet to return, so Morgan and Y/N yelled their goodbye up the stairs. She would talk to Kat in the morning and explain. 

Morgan led her out of the house and held out his hand for her keys. “Can I drive?” Y/N nodded and handed them over wordlessly. Kat and Dougie’s words were still flying through her head as she settled into the passenger seat, and Morgan seemed to get the message that she didn’t want to talk. He drove them back into the city silently, the only sound in the car from the radio. It was hard to believe that he was interested in her as well. He was such a carefree guy, and here she was this bundle of nervous energy and caffeine. Their friendship worked, but she wasn’t sure that they could actually be together. Sooner or later he was going to get tired of her neediness and then she’d lose one of her best friends. 

“You okay, Red Sox?” Morgan’s hand settled onto her knee with a gentle squeeze. Y/N snapped back into the present, and she looked over at Morgan to find the car had stopped and he was twisted in his seat to face her. He looked concerned, like maybe they had been parked for a while. 

Y/N stared out into the parking garage for a beat before responding. “Do you ever get tired of reminding me to take care of myself?” She was afraid to look at Morgan’s face, but she didn’t have a choice when he gently gripped her chin and turned her face to look at him. Morgan looked shell-shocked as he responded. “Why would you ever think that?” Y/N shrugged, and she was struggling not to cry as she continued to meet his eyes. “I was just thinking about all the times you’ve reminded me that I need to sleep, or eat something, or reassured me that I’m a good teacher, and I figured you’re probably tired of it by now.”

Morgan was staring at her like she was crazy, and that was it. Y/N jumped out of the car, hurrying to the stairs like she could pretend the conversation had never happened. “Red Sox!” She heard Morgan swear, jumping out of the car and hurrying after her. “Y/N, wait!” She ignored him, and began running up the stairs as quickly as she could, taking them two at a time. She was fast enough to beat him to the apartment, but swore when she realized Morgan had the keys. He appeared in the hallway right as she slumped back against the door to the apartment. Morgan was breathing heavily, and he approached her like he was afraid she’d run away again. Y/N dropped her head to avoid looking into his eyes, and slid into the apartment as soon as Morgan had the door unlocked. 

Y/N was already heading towards her room when Morgan caught her wrist, spinning her around to face him. He didn’t look mad when she finally met his eyes, and she was startled to find that she was crying as he gently swiped a thumb over her cheek. “What happened, sweetheart?” Y/N shook her head. This was exactly what she was worried about. She’d lose it, and he was always there to listen. Morgan sighed and pulled her tight into his chest. “I don’t mind reminding you to eat, or to sleep, or to make sure you know how amazing you are. You’re my favorite superhero, Y/N, and I try my best to tell you whenever I can.” Y/N choked out a laugh, and she felt Morgan’s chest move as he chuckled as well. “You’re my friend, Red Sox, and I’m here for you no matter what. That’s what friends do.” He kissed the top of her head gently, and Y/N pulled back to look up at him. Morgan reached out and tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear. “Is that what you and Kat were arguing about?” Y/N shook her head. 

“No,” she said, her voice raw from crying, “it was something else. What she said just got me thinking about other stuff, and then I spiraled. I’m sorry for freaking out on you.” Morgan cupped her face gently, and Y/N went a little weak in the knees at his expression. “So I’m your favorite superhero, huh,” she teased to change the subject. 

Morgan laughed and let go of her face to pull out his phone. “I forgot you don’t know about that yet.” He settled on the couch and patted the spot next to him. “We had these kids ask us interview questions the other day after practice,” Morgan began once Y/N sat next to him, “and one of them asked who our favorite superhero was. You were the first person that popped into my head.” Y/N began to protest, and he put an arm around her shoulders to tug her closer. “No, Red Sox, seriously. You’re a superhero, and you’re my favorite. Hell, even Svech and a couple of the other guys agreed with me.” Y/N leaned her head onto Morgan’s shoulder and slid an arm across his stomach to give him a hug. 

They sat like that in silence to watch the video. It really was cute. The kid who had asked the question was only 4 or 5 years old, and Morgan was just as good with him as he was every other kid Y/N had watched him interact with. The kid had laughed when Morgan said she was his favorite superhero, but he seemed to like the answer more when Morgan said every teacher was a superhero. It was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said about her, and she was having trouble putting that appreciation into words. Y/N only spoke when the Canes logo showed on the screen. “I don’t tell you enough that I appreciate you, Mo. Thank you.” 

“Please don’t call me that.” Y/N lifted her head to look at Morgan in confusion. He continued before she could speak anymore, a small apologetic smile on his lips. “You’re the only person I know who calls me Morgan. I like that. I always know when you’re the one calling my name.” 

Y/N burst into laughter, and Morgan followed along with her. “That is quite possibly the cheesiest thing you’ve ever said to me, and you have some of the cheesiest one-liners I’ve ever heard.” She settled deeper into Morgan’s side. “I need to go to sleep, but you’re really comfy.” 

The world tilted suddenly as Morgan swept her into his arms and stood all in the same breath. “We’ll cuddle then. You need your sleep.” He carried her into her room, settling her gently onto the bed, though he leaned down to look into her eyes. “Are you okay with this?” Y/N nodded, and Morgan’s smile gave her enough serotonin to last her the week. “I’ll go get ready for bed, and I’ll be right back.” Y/N stared into the hallway he’d just disappeared into for a second, collecting herself before she even tried to stand. This was either going to be a great night's sleep, or totally suck because the guy she was into was going to share her bed completely platonically.

By the time Morgan came back, Y/N was plugging in her phone to charge. It was a good thing she was already sitting, because a shirtless Morgan in loose pajama pants was going to do her in. It wasn’t like she’d never seen him like this before; the guy had a tendency to walk around the apartment half-dressed, but he’d never done it in the context they were in right now. Y/N lifted the covers slightly, and Morgan slid in next to her. It was awkward for a second, when Morgan went in like he was going to spoon her and Y/N turned to face him like they were going to talk, but she ended up tucked neatly into his chest with their faces inches apart. 

Some hair had fallen over Y/N’s eyes during the shuffle, and Morgan reached up to sweep it off her face. His hand settled onto her cheek for a second before his arm slid back around her middle and pressed them closer together. The eye contact became too much when paired with how close their bodies were, so Y/N tucked her head into his neck, breaking their eye contact. Morgan shifted the arm trapped underneath her to wrap it around her shoulders, and he pressed another gentle kiss to the side of her head. “This is nice,” he whispered into her hair. Y/N nodded in agreement, though it wasn’t necessarily easy to move her head. “You matter a lot to me, Y/N, and I’m here for anything you need no matter what, even if it’s just to cuddle.” 

Y/N smiled into Morgan’s neck and hugged him a little tighter. “Thanks, Morgan. I needed this.” They settled in after that, and Y/N fell asleep faster than she had in years. It was the first time in a long time she’d fallen asleep sober without overthinking her way into stress, and the weight of Morgan’s arm across her middle was more comforting than any weighted blanket could ever be. 

____________________________________________

Morgan woke the next morning in unfamiliar surroundings. It took him a second to register where he was and to remember how he got there, though he relaxed when he looked down and saw Y/N still cuddled into his chest. They were in the same position they’d fallen asleep in. Y/N must have felt him move, because she cuddled deeper into his chest with a sigh. He froze when she kissed his neck, and realized he was totally screwed. Holding her was becoming his favorite thing, and getting to see her totally relaxed was a treat. Their lazy Saturdays together were rare, and he planned to take full advantage of this one, at least until he had to go to morning skate.

Y/N must have sensed him staring, because she opened her eyes slowly and stiffened when she felt someone else in the bed. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” he whispered softly, and she relaxed when she recognized his voice. Y/N smiled up at him sleepily, and she might as well have punched him in the stomach. 

“What time is it?” Y/N’s groan was muffled as she pressed her face back into his neck. “I’m just gonna stay here all day.” Morgan chuckled and squeezed her gently. “It’s about 8am,” he said through laughter, “and I don’t think staying here all day is an option.” Y/N groaned, and he laughed even harder. “Believe me, sweetheart, I’d stay here all day if I could, but I’ve got a game to play tonight.” 

She sighed and flopped onto her back. “Fine,” she grumbled, “but I’m getting up under protest.” Morgan struggled to fight the urge to lean over and kiss her. “How long do you have before you have to leave?” Y/N sat up slowly, not waiting for a response, and Morgan reached over to pulled her back into him. He cuddled her into his lap as he leaned on the headboard, and Y/N fell back into him like her body was made of jello. “You know, Morgan,” she said teasingly, “if you don’t stop being such a good cuddler I’m going to have to sleep with you every night.” Y/N froze after she spoke, like she realized what she’d said, and Morgan kissed her cheek. 

“At least let me take you out on a date first.” Y/N’s eyes widened after he spoke, and Morgan felt a little panicked. That was not at all how he’d intended for this conversation to go. Yeah, Hamilton had finally convinced him they needed to talk about their feelings, but maybe she wasn’t ready to. “Sorry, that came out wrong, I,” Y/N stopped him with a hand over his mouth. 

She looked at his face searchingly, and he tried not to panic too much the longer the silence continued. “You like me,” she stated. He nodded from under her hand, and she gave a small smile. “I like you.” Now it was Morgan’s turn to smile. So Hamilton was right, she was interested. “I’m going to kiss you now.” Y/N leaned forward slowly, giving him time to back up if he wanted to, so he surged forward and met her halfway. 

It was electric. It was also a little gross because they hadn’t gotten around to the whole tooth-brushing part of the morning, but Morgan barely noticed because finally he was kissing her. Y/N began to smile, and Morgan leaned back to look into her eyes. “So you like me, huh?” She laughed at Morgan’s statement, and pressed another kiss to his lips. He would never get tired of that feeling. 

“I do. But I need to brush my teeth before I kiss you again.” Morgan tried to catch her before she slipped out of the bed, but she was too fast. He groaned before standing as well, shuffling towards his own room. “Meet me in the kitchen,” Y/N yelled from her bathroom, and Morgan yelled back a response. Finally. He was having trouble relaxing his face enough to brush his teeth, smiling apparently the new permanent expression on his face. He had wanted to tell her last night, when he saw Dougie standing so closely and his hand settled on her hip, but then she had been so upset and it seemed like the wrong time to have a conversation like that. 

Y/N was already in the kitchen by the time he made it out of his room, and Morgan had a feeling she was making pancakes. She relaxed into him as he stepped in behind her, and a quick look at the ingredients she’d pulled out confirmed they were indeed eating pancakes for breakfast. Morgan pulled out his phone to play some music, settling on Y/N’s cooking playlist, the only one of her playlists he’d saved onto his own Spotify. It was a mix of old songs, ranging from Fleetwood Mac to Elton John to Louis Armstrong, and it was perfect music for dancing in the kitchen. 

My Girl began playing over the speakers, and Morgan tugged on Y/N’s hand. “Dance with me.” Y/N raised an eyebrow at Morgan, but she settled her other hand onto his shoulder. He spun her around the tiny kitchen, twirling her out and back in again, anything to make her laugh. She sang along to the song softly, and Morgan began loudly singing as well, exaggerating the words with twirls and tugs. He ended the song with a dip, and Y/N laughed out loud when he kissed her as he pulled her back up. “This is our song, you know.” Morgan brushed a bit of hair out of Y/N’s face as he spoke. “Remember back before Christmas when we had all the guys over for Taco Tuesday and we danced to this song? About halfway through I realized I was in love with you.”

Y/N reached up to cup Morgan’s cheek, and her eyes held so much love he could barely breathe. “I realized that same night,” she said, and his heart swelled. “Although I realized it later, when we were cleaning up together after everybody had left. It felt so domestic, and I realized I wanted more with you.” Morgan turned his head to kiss the palm of Y/N’s hand, and then slid his arms around her waist.

“We’ve really been on the same page since the beginning, eh?” He chuckled, and Y/N nodded slowly. 

“I’m really glad you didn’t turn out to be a weirdo,” Y/N responded. “I was really worried about having some asshole professional athlete living with me.” Morgan raised his eyebrows at her, and she hurriedly added, “not that anybody gave me the impression you would be, but I was a little worried anyway.” She pulled out of Morgan’s arms to finish making the pancake batter, and Morgan perched onto the kitchen counter to watch her cook. 

She seemed more relaxed, like their relationship was something that had been weighing on her. “Can I take you out on a real date tomorrow? Before we leave for the roadie?” Y/N poured the pancake batter into the pans before responding, and he started to sweat a little waiting for a response. 

Finally Y/N responded, looking up at him with a smile. “I’d really like that. Your commute to come get me won’t be too bad either,” she joked, and Morgan laughed. Before he could respond there was a knock at the door, and he hopped off the counter to open it. Kat stood on the other side looking a little nervous, which was highly unlike her. Morgan gestured for her to enter, and she shot him a grateful smile. Y/N bit her lip, and Morgan took that as a cue to leave. 

“It’s fine, Morgan,” Y/N called after him. “You don’t need to go anywhere.” He stopped, and Y/N turned back to Kat. “You were right, K, and we talked. Everything’s worked out, and I’m sorry for freaking out on you last night.” Kat looked between Morgan and Y/N intensely, and he could see her brain putting the pieces together.

Her face changed when it all finally clicked, and she surged forward to hug Y/N. “Fucking finally! We can double-date now! I’ve gotta go tell Andrei!” She hugged Y/N again quickly, and stopped to punch Morgan’s shoulder on the way out. “I’m expecting a lot from you tonight, you’ve gotta impress your girl.” She surged out of the apartment without another word, and Hurricane Kat was over as quickly as it had arrived. Y/N was still standing there looking mildly shell-shocked, and Morgan felt the same way.

“Well,” Y/N finally managed, “at least we won’t have to tell your team? Kat will take care of that for us.” Morgan met her eyes from across the room, and they both burst into laughter. 

“So your argument was about us, I’m assuming?” Y/N slowly got her laughter under control as she nodded. “She figured out I was into you,” Y/N said, “and we were arguing about me telling you. We’ve made her entire spring, just so you’re aware.” 

Of course the entire team had figured out they were into each other. The guys were probably taking bets on who would tell whom and when it would happen. It was going to be one hell of a morning skate. 

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

Photographs (August 2168)

.....

Characters: Balthazar Cavendish, Vinnie Dakota, Savannah (mentioned)

Rating: G

Words: 2302

Genre: Friendship

Summary: On their first day (officially) working together, Cavendish starts to realize there’s more to Dakota than meets the eye...

.....

Balthazar Cavendish had only met Vinnie Dakota twice so far: first when he rudely barged into his student time vehicle and then the next day when fate twisted again and assigned them as partners.

It had been a week since that whole incident and today they were to receive their first (official) assignment. Vinnie suggested they carpool and drive over to the Bureau together; still nursing the bruises from the last time he was relegated to the passenger seat, Balthazar insisted he would drive.

Vinnie lived clear on the other side of the city—a 20 minute drive from Balthazar’s apartment near the east hills (well, 20 minutes by airway, but closer to 30 if traffic forced him to travel by road, as it did today). Although the prospect of a lengthy commute annoyed him, he supposed the distance could be a good thing as it lessened the likelihood of them running into each other outside of work.

As he drove, he found his spirits caught in a strange mix of both burning optimism and ice-cold dread. While he couldn’t deny that saving the day and working with a partner had been extremely exciting, that element of unpredictability still bothered him.

He didn’t like things he couldn’t control; he never had. The high regard he held for order and precision had enabled him to play piano with astounding technical accuracy and to learn and practise law with a keen certainty. When he had first shifted his attention to studying time travel, he was sure his eye for detail and reverence for rules would make him a fine agent; now, in light of recent events, he couldn’t help but wonder if it would be enough...

He reached the address Vinnie had described over the phone and decided it would be best to pack his niggling doubts away in a proverbial box and leave it on a very high shelf for the time being.

He parked on the street, got out the car, straightened his attire, and paused for a moment to take in the scene. This part of town was built well over a century ago and the majority of its inhabitants occupied that odd but plentiful bracket of the lower end of middle class. Vinnie’s apartment building stood in a row of similar, blockish structures, all of which boasted bare bricks and wrought iron fire escapes and stood somewhere between eight and twelve storeys high. Altogether, it seemed a pleasant neighbourhood but Balthazar thought it better suited to struggling artists or the blue-collar crowd rather than a Time Agent.

He found and rang the bell for the apartment listed under Vinnie Dakota. Enough time passed that he considered ringing again when the intercom crackled on and a tired voice greeted him.

“What’s up, chicken butt?”

“I beg your pardon?!”

“Oh, hey!” Vinnie exclaimed. “Mr Banana! How ya doin’?”

“It’s Cavendish,” Balthazar corrected, icily.

“Oh, right. Cavendish, banana—eh, that’s just how my mind works. Sorry. Hang on, I’ll buzz you in.”

“I can just wait out h—” he began but the intercom clicked off and the door unlocked before he could finish. With a resigned sigh, he entered the building.

He took the elevator to the seventh floor, then it was “just down the hall, take the first left, and it’s the third door to your right. Ya can’t miss it.” Well, Vinnie had been right about that: it was the only door covered in stickers.

“My friend went to Hawaii and all he got me was this lousy sticker,” lamented a disproportionate pineapple wearing sunglasses and surfing a wave. Another portrayed the Eiffel Tower with a moustache and a beret bidding “Bon voyage!” A variety of stickers brought greetings from Italy, Tokyo, Cape Town, Sydney, and other capital cities around the world (most with their old names no one used anymore, Balthazar noted). Dotted about the place were depictions of random objects like a ukulele and some kind of car, some were types of food like pizza and kebabs, but he couldn’t miss the fact that most were cartoonish caricatures of extinct creatures he had only seen pictures of in textbooks.

Distracted by the odd collage, Balthazar jumped back when the door opened without warning.

“C’mon in, Stretch,” Vinnie beckoned, bringing his hand up to just barely cover a loud yawn as he stepped aside to allow his guest in. “Make yourself at home; I’ll be with you as soon as I find my jacket.”

Balthazar glanced over his new partner’s attire and pointedly cleared his throat.

Vinnie closed the door behind them and turned around, frowning in confusion when he caught sight of the other man’s disapproving expression. He looked down and only then seemed to register that he was only wearing a faded T-shirt and boxers. “Oh. And my pants. Probably need those, too.”

Balthazar crossed his arms. “You should be dressed by now. This is highly unprofessional.”

“Hey! I am dressed!” Vinnie protested. “Just not for work. And, in the future, if you’re gonna get all high and mighty, the least you could do is warn a guy when you’re gonna be a whole hour early!”

“I am not—!” Balthazar began but cut himself off when he caught sight of an analog clock on a bookshelf. In preparing to travel to the past, he had had to learn to read those: both hands pointing down meant 6:30.

He consulted his own watch and his face went red. “Oh, blast it!” he muttered, hotly, as he started fiddling with the settings. “I forgot I had this infernal contraption set an hour ahead!”

“What? You on daylight savings time or something?”

“Pardon?”

“Daylight sa—never mind. It was a thing over a century ago.”

“I set it an hour ahead last week because of my driving test,” Balthazar explained, trying not to sound too sheepish.

Vinnie raised an eyebrow, his expression suddenly turning as serious as it had been when he saw those kids in danger. “Are you that bad at keeping time?”

He quickly shook his head. “Hardly ever; I just really didn’t want to chance being even the slightest bit late for my final exam.”

“You know there’s such a thing as too early, right?”

“I don’t believe so; no.”

There was a moment wherein he thought Vinnie was going to argue the point, but he just shrugged and waved a dismissive hand. “Like I said: make yourself at home, I’ll just be a few minutes,” he said and peeled away.

Balthazar intended to remain in the one spot; he had finished resetting his watch but still felt like a complete idiot and didn’t want to risk any further gaffes. But his curiosity got the better of him and he soon found himself wandering (well, he did have permission...)

He had to admit he held a few preconceived ideas of what the home of Vinnie Dakota might look like. He’d only met the man briefly, but he seemed rather committed to his reckless, blasé attitude and he could only imagine such a person living in a slovenly, malodorous nest.

That was not the case.

The apartment was small and cramped and cluttered, but it wasn’t dirty. There was a strong, unusual smell hanging in the air; although Balthazar couldn’t identify it, it wasn’t all that unpleasant—actually, it reminded him of those old-fashioned restaurants he used to play piano in.

The bookshelf he noticed earlier caught his eye again; this time, he took note of the colourful array of books stacked and lined on the shelves as well as the diverse collection of trinkets, souvenirs, and gadgets. The objects were displayed with little rhyme or reason regarding their order: snow-globes of all kinds and shapes mingled amongst Chinese fans and Russian nesting dolls and defunct devices such as a camcorder, a dial telephone, and a zoetrope. Balthazar didn’t fail to notice that, although most of those things would be considered antiques, they were all in fairly new condition.

After a few minutes, he took a step back and his attention quickly shifted from the bookshelf to the hundreds of photographs in mismatched frames covering the walls, so much so that one could barely glimpse the bright yellow wallpaper beneath. The quality of the photographs varied from grainy, black and white to slightly washed-out, sepia tone to clear and vibrantly coloured.

Balthazar knew his new partner had been a Time Agent for a while already; it was the Bureau’s policy to pair new recruits with full-fledged agents. But knowing this man had already been on missions throughout time and actually seeing snapshots of that career were two very different things.

Quite a few of the photographs showcased places and buildings in different time periods, positioned side by side to highlight the changes through the years; a number featured archaic machines and devices, and more of those extinct creatures (except this time they were real, not just cartoonish representations); but, most notably, the majority of the photographs were candid shots of people.

After casually examining the photos for a few minutes, Balthazar began to register a few recurrent faces. The most notable subject was a young man with olive skin, dark hair, and a short but lean frame; always wearing tinted shades of some sort, always caught in the middle of a laugh or striking a silly pose—without the wild shock of curls, it took him quite a while to identify him as a younger Vinnie. Often pictured alongside him either mirroring the silly pose or with his hand on his shoulder was a much taller, older man with dark blue hair and weathered skin; if it weren’t for the fact they lacked any physical similarity, Balthazar would’ve assumed the man was Vinnie’s father. Wherever the older man was absent, a young woman with a dark, flawless complexion and glossy, violet hair took his place—there were hardly any instances of her smiling and she didn’t seem to care for Vinnie’s antics at all but she must not have completely disliked him as there was one photo of her curled up and asleep in the backseat of a Time Vehicle with her head resting on his shoulder.

There was only one photograph with all three of them. It seemed to be after a mission of some sort. They all looked dog-tired, covered in bruises and dirt, but they still managed smiles for the camera, holding their heads up even as they leaned on each other for support. The muted colouring of the photograph suggested it had been taken somewhere around the mid-1900’s but Balthazar hadn’t honed his skills enough to pinpoint precisely when. Most of interest was a small note accompanying the photograph in the frame; it was just a scrap of paper, presumably torn from a cheap notebook and not at all remarkable save for the short message scrawled on it:

To Vinnie and Silvia,

Count every moment and make every moment count,

Emit Relevart

The Hot War Mission (1964 / 2164)

“‘Hot War’?” Balthazar read aloud, his face crumpling in confusion. “What the deuce is—?”

“It’s everything the Cold War wasn’t.”

Balthazar gasped and jumped backwards, a hand flying up to clutch his chest. “Kidney pie and chips!” he exclaimed. “Don’t do that!”

A now more appropriately dressed Vinnie gave him a sideways glance. “Well, that’s one way to keep it PG,” he remarked with an utterly infuriating bemused smirk. He let out a soft huff of a laugh and gave a small shake of his head as he returned his gaze to the photograph.

Balthazar opened his mouth, ready to say quite a few things—such as “What does ‘PG’ mean?” and “Don’t sneak up on people!”—but the words stopped in his throat.

Something flashed across Vinnie’s expression, something even the bulky sunglasses with their vibrant tint couldn’t hide; it was only there for the briefest of moments but Balthazar didn’t miss it. He’d seen it before, on the faces of complete strangers who gathered whenever he played an old, slow melody on the piano in the middle of the city square.

He turned his attention back to the picture one last time. He couldn’t quite determine if it was the people or the referenced occasion, but he got the sense this was an important piece of Vinnie. He made it a point to commit the little message to memory—what it would accomplish, well, he wasn’t so sure in that regard, but it felt too significant to miss.

Vinnie cleared his throat; the sound was abrupt but Balthazar was aware of his surroundings enough this time around not to jump again. “So,” he said, his smile and easy demeanour returning in a flash, “seeing as we have a whole hour to kill, how’s about we get some breakfast?”

Balthazar crossed his arms and put on a glare that was only half-strength. “I hope you’re not planning to kidnap me and drag me to the early 2000’s just for omelettes.”

He seemed to consider that for a second before shaking his head. “I can’t think of any good places for omelettes... not in the 2000’s, anyway. Nah, I was just gonna make something.” He whirled around and headed for the kitchen. “You like pancakes?”

“You actually know how to cook?”

Vinnie shrugged. “Eh, I picked up a few things here and there. It comes in handy when you travel to time periods that don’t have auto-preppers.”

“And yet you still felt it necessary to hijack my Time Vehicle and travel back over a century just to get lunch?” Balthazar raised an eyebrow.

Vinnie shot his new partner a lopsided smirk. “You’re not gonna let that one go, are you, Stretch?”

[certain-as-the-sun]

Desire

Desire: Companion piece to Hey Jealousy and Love Me Anyway. Inspired by “Desire” by Ryan Adams 

Two hearts fading, like a flower And all this waiting, for the power For some answer, to this fire Sinking slowly, the waters higher Mmm, Desire Desire

So much had changed. Adam was back. Adam was sober. And she was happy. Belle was excited about the future for the first time in nearly six years. They had agreed that for the first three months of their newly reformed relationship they would not spend the night together. When they said goodnight at the end of their night they would go to their respective homes. Even Dr. Porter, their therapist, agreed that making intimacy boundaries would be in their best interests. She recommended that they treat their new relationship as if they were back in the Regency period. Belle giggled at the thought of dating at their age with a chaperone. Lumiere was more than happy to act in that role.

“Pop, you don’t have to sit directly behind us like we’re sixteen,” Adam said when they went to a movie. “You can sit a few rows back.”

Another time they were snuggled on the sofa watching TV and Cogsworth tapped Adam on the head with a flyswatter. “Break it up. Leave room for Jesus.”

Their antics annoyed Adam, but to Belle it was sweet. It also made her sad to know that her own father wasn’t there to give them grief. Maurice hadn’t always liked Adam but he did believe that the boy would one day get his head on straight. It took some time but it seemed like he had finally gotten his shit together. Maurice would be so proud of him.

Belle decided that morning that tonight was the night. Three months had passed since he came back into her life. Three months of twice a week sessions with Dr. Porter, one with Adam and one without. With Dr. Porter's help, she was able to let go of some of the deeply ingrained anger she felt towards Adam. She loved him. That was an undeniable fact. But letting him back in all the way didn't come as naturally as it had the first time. He'd left scars behind, and as much as she wanted to pretend they weren't there, she had to work through them before opening the door again. Talking with Dr. Porter had been so healing. She was ready.

There was a giddy excitement about tonight, and she had a few things to do to get ready for it.

Her first stop was to the mall. She stood in front of the small lingerie shop. Belle wore modest and practical undergarments most of the time. Nothing too flashy or fancy. The only person she wanted to see her in her skivvies hadn’t been a factor for years. Now he was back. Now she needed something that was so unlike her it would make his heart stop. Swallowing hard and taking a deep breath she stepped inside.

Unlike Victoria’s Secret and the other “trashy” lingerie shops Belle was familiar with, Madame Garderobe’s shop was filled with soft colors and vanilla. Belle browsed the racks unsure of where to start. An older woman stepped out from behind the curtain and smiled at her new customer.

“Ah cherie, welcome,” she said. “How can I help?”

“Well, um, it’s my—it’s a long story,” Belle stammered. “It’s the first time my boyfriend and I are going to be together after a long separation.”

The older woman looked Belle up and down. “I see. And what look are we going for? Seductive temptress? No. Smoldering sin? No that’s not right either.” She fussed around a display and came back with several items that Belle couldn’t name or figure out how they went on.

“Since this is your first time in a long time,” she said, a delightful French accent giving her voice a delightful air of sophistication. “He must work for his prize. Come, come.”

Without a second to process what was happening, Madame had Belle in the large dressing room. “We want to mimic the first time he saw you in this way,” Madame said, helping Belle out of her dress.

“It was a perfect moment in time,” Belle said. “Adam, he was my first. My only.”

With no secrets, no obsession This time I'm speeding, with no direction Without a reason, what is this fire? Burning slowly, my one and only Mmm, Desire Desire Desire Desire

They had been dating exclusively for nearly three months. Signs for the spring formal had been popping up for the last week. Parties and school dances had never been something on Belle’s radar. But now that she was with Adam, she thought it might not be so bad. She didn’t want to come straight out and tell him she wanted them to go to the dance. She wanted him to figure it out on his own.

It took a bit. Subtle hints from his dads. Walking past signs in the hallway she made casual conversation about the dance. About two weeks before the dance was to happen, it finally clicked.

“Hey Pop?” Adam asked Lumiere. “What’s the best way to ask Belle to the spring formal?”

“Looks like Hatter wins the pool,” Cogsworth laughed from behind his newspaper. “We have been nudging you to ask Belle for weeks.”

“Am I too late?” Adam asked.

“No, but you need to ask her soon,” Lumiere said. Then he brought Adam under his arm and whispered, “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

Adam met Belle outside the library where she spent most of her morning before classes started. He had cut six roses from Cogsworth’s garden and made them into a small bouquet with Lumiere’s help. Two red, two pink and two yellow wrapped in green florist tape and accented with a yellow ribbon.

“What are these for?” Belle asked, putting them to her nose.

“Because I’m an idiot,” he said, taking her hand. “Belle, would you do me the great honor of allowing me to escort you to the spring formal?”

Belle smiled and burst into giggles at his formal request. “It would be my pleasure, sir.”

Most girls at their school had been planning their spring formal looks since Christmas. So there wasn’t a lot to choose from at the various dress shops in town. She drove to the next town over and in a small bridal shop she found her dress. It was made of soft yellow gold silk. The bodice had a deep plunge, the modesty protected by a lace of off yellow that sat off the shoulders and down to elbow length sleeves. The skirt was full and had two layers; one to form a base and the other flounced and fluttered when she spun. A belt of hand embroidered flowers sat at her waist. It was far too grand a dress for a high school formal. But Belle loved it. It fit perfectly and wasn’t out of her price range.

The dance was held at the local country club, where several of the upper class students’ families held memberships. For an extra fee, students could arrive early to the dance and enjoy a sit down dinner and dessert before the party got started. Never a fan of fancy food like what would be served, Belle and Adam chose to eat at a local place they loved. It was owned by a friend of Hatter’s who only hired people who needed a fresh start in their lives. It wasn’t a fancy place but it was theirs.

“You look absolutely stunning,” Adam said, kissing Belle’s hand. “I’m so glad I can call you mine.”

Belle shyly smiled and looked away. No one had ever called her stunning before. People said she was very pretty, beautiful even. Before she and her father had moved to Molyneaux she had been approached by several people claiming to be talent agents and wanted to sign her to modeling contracts. She never took them up on them because one, they were likely scams and two she couldn’t bear to be away from her father.

Because of Adam’s issues, as his dads called it, they didn’t like him driving. It had taken a great deal of convincing, promising, and reassurance from Adam that he would never endanger Belle like that. For Adam, Belle meant more to him than his addiction. Cogsworth trusted his son to behave himself for the night, and allowed Adam to drive to the dance. Producing all the gentlemanly qualities that Belle’s literary romantic heroes possessed, Adam offered his arm to her when they stood up from the table. When she shivered slightly stepping out into the night air, he shrugged out of his coat and draped it over her shoulders. He opened the car door for her, assisted in making sure all of her dress was free of the door before closing it.

The Spring Formal was already in full swing by the time Adam and Belle arrived. The ballroom of the country club was decked out in blue and golds, the school colors, tables surrounded the dance floor centerpieces of yellow and white roses. The lights were low and the live band made it seem all the more magical. Adam and Belle claimed spots at a table and made their way around the room to take in everything. The Spring Formal was the last big event for the seniors before graduation. Teachers guarded the punch bowl like it was holy water. Given his reputation, Adam never went up to the bowl alone. Not that he would spike the punch. He may be an alcoholic, that didn’t mean he wanted to ruin the night for everyone else. That didn’t stop people from coming up to him asking if he brought anything.

A slow song began and Adam took Belle’s hand and they took a spot on the dance floor. Having gay dads, one who was literally a cabaret owner and professional ballroom dancer at one point in his life, Adam had learned to dance and dance well. While he was content to just stand with Belle in his arms, her head on his chest as the rose in her hair tickling his nose, he did have some moves.

Belle, a lover of old movies, was more than willing to try something more than their peers were doing. Sweeping her across the floor, careful to not collide with other members of their class, they danced. He loved the way she felt in his arms. He didn’t know when he fell in love with her but he knew he had. He loved her.

Belle kept waiting to hear her alarm go off. That this night with Adam was nothing more than a wonderful dream. He held her close to him, not wanting to let her go. He was so sure of himself, so unlike him. Adam was dear and unsure of himself most of the time. She knew what a struggle it was for him to maintain his sobriety. As they got annoyed with bumping into people, he held her close. She rested her head on his chest, easy to do as he was so tall and broad. How right this all felt.

They retreated back to their table for water and to just be with each other. Belle had never been one to venture out for school activities. She was studious and serious. Adam was her first serious relationship. She loved being with him. She knew he had a past, who didn’t. But his past was darker than any she had known. They spent hours cuddled together just talking. Adam loved having someone to talk to that wasn’t at a meeting, a therapist, his sponsor Hatter or his dads. Belle was so kind and gentle while she listened to the horror stories he had in his life. Her life was a walk in the clouds compared to his.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Adam asked, taking her hands. “I know you’d rather it just be us. We can go to the park or back to my house. The dads are at some function. We’d have the place to ourselves.”

“I’d like that,” Belle said, smiling. “Let me freshen up and I’ll be right back. Then we can go.”

Adam sat at their table watching the others when Gaston slid into the seat next to him, taking a silver flask out of his jacket pocket.

“You look like you could use a pick me up, buddy,” Gaston said, holding out the flask. “Can’t be easy with that stuck up bitch.”

“Belle’s not a bitch,” Adam said. “Don’t call her that.”

“Touchy,” Gaston laughed, taking a drink on his own. “It’s Stoli.”

“Not tonight,” Adam said watching for Belle.

“Don’t tell me you’ve gone dry again. Man, that bitch has her claws in deep.”

“I’m not going to tell you again, Gaston. Don’t talk about her like that. Belle is my girlfriend now and I won’t sit by and listen to you call her names.”

“There was a time when you were calling her all sorts of things. Talking about how you’d do it once you got her where you wanted her.” Gaston was baiting Adam now. He knew how his former friend ticked. It wouldn’t take long. “You were quite vivid.”

“That was before,” Adam said. He knew what Gaston was doing. He wouldn’t fall into it. “Belle’s different. She’s not like the other sluts we used to fuck.”

“You certainly have taken your time with this one. By now you’d have loved and left them. What are you waiting for?”

“Don’t you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?”

“Come on man,” Gaston continued to prod. “What’s the scam?”

“There’s no scam, you dick.”

“With you, there’s always a scam. Seriously, though. You have fucked her right? A girl like that must be a nasty little freak between the sheets.” Gaston looked up and saw the golden goddess walking towards Adam.

“Oh totally,” Adam said, his voice deadpan, thick with sarcasm. “You should hear how she screams my name with every thrust. Can’t wait to hear it tonight.”

Gaston’s face fell and he started to hold back a laugh. “What is so goddamn…?” Fuck. “She’s standing right behind me?”

“This is going down as one of your best fuck ups,” Gaston exploded in laughter. Too bad there weren't more people around to hear it.

“The only thing you’ll be hearing tonight, Adam Benson is the sound of your right hand arguing with your left!” she cried, tears streaming down her face. She had never been so humiliated by anyone like that in her life. Lifting the hem of her gown she started to run, sort of, out of the ballroom.

“You asshole,” Adam scowled at his former friend. “Belle! Belle, wait!” He ran after her and caught up with her in the corridor between the ballroom and foyer. He took her elbow trying to get her to stop. “Belle, please. That wasn’t what it sounded like.”

“Don’t touch me!” she yanked her arm back, wrapping herself in a hug. “How dare you talk about me like that? What is wrong with you?”

“Belle, please. He was being an ass. I only said that to shut him up,” he stood in front of her and ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean a word of that.”

“Certainly sounded like you meant it!”

“Belle, baby, no. I can still feel the sting of the slap you rewarded me with when I got fresh.” He needed to close the gap between them. Make this right. “I would never treat you like that. You mean more to me than anything. I...I love you.”

Wiping the tears from her face. What did he just say? “You love me?”

“This wasn’t the way I planned on saying it,” Adam said, reaching for her hand. “But yes, Belle. I love you.”

The sincerity in his voice, the hope in his eyes. He really means it. He loves me. Unsure of her own feelings, she stepped closer and pressed her lips to his. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, and she felt like she was home.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he whispered in her ear.

He kept his arm around her waist as they walked out to the car. This wasn’t how he wanted their night to go. Why had he let Gaston get his goat like that?

“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked once they were in the car.

Belle looked out the window before answering. “No. I’m sorry I overreacted. I know you. You and Gaston used to be friends, he was trying to get to you and chose me as bait.”

He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Gaston’s an idiot. I’m just sorry you got dragged into it.”

Belle held his hand the entire drive from the country club. Is that what Adam is expecting tonight? “Adam?”

“What is it?” he answered.

“What do you expect to happen tonight? Once we reach your house?”

“Nothing that you don’t want,” Adam answered. “I love you, Belle. I would never do anything that you don’t explicitly ask for. It’s not how I roll.”

Belle wasn’t convinced. He seemed all too at ease talking the way he had with Gaston. But then her mind went to his actions. He never put his hands on her unless he asked first and she agreed. They had their boundaries and he never crossed them. She could trust him with this. She couldn’t always trust other choices he would make but being intimate with her, it felt right.

Cogsworth and Lumiere were still out when they got back to his house. He parked the car in its spot and helped Belle out of the car, making sure not to step on her dress. They came into the sitting room, as Cogsworth called it. Adam took off his suit jacket and laid it across the top of the antique Queen Anne chair. He squatted down in front of the fireplace and flipped the switch that ignited the flames, adjusting them so they were just right. With nothing more than the firelight to cast a glow on Belle in her golden gown, Adam felt his breath hitch at the sight.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered. “I still can’t believe you’re mine.”

There was a time when being called “mine” by a boy would have sent a shiver down Belle’s spine. She wasn’t raised to believe all she was worth was to belong to some man. With Adam, the way he claimed her as his, made her feel safe, protected. She could take care of herself and she could trust he’d know just when to step in.

You know me, you know my way You just can't show me, but God I'm praying That you'll find me, and that you'll see me That you'll run and never tire

She laid on the chaise lounge looking so much like the cover of a cheesy romance novel. He sat on the edge like a knight in shining armor and bent over her. “A kiss for you, milady?”

“But of course,” she smiled, playing along. She lifted her head to meet his kiss. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and deepened the kiss. Pulling him down on top of her, drinking him in. Wrapping him in her arms, they closed the gap between them. Adam rested on his elbows on either side of her, his body covering hers.

He pulled the rose from her hair when it poked him in the eye. He then disentagled the headband from her perfectly curled hair. He drew his hands down her arms, the lace tickling his palms.

“Help me out of this dress,” Belle said, breathlessly. “I want you, Adam.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He lifted her up into his arms and with a practiced ease he found the zipper of her dress and gently pulled it down. Kissing down her neck and collarbone he eased her arms out of the sleeves. They stood together and he gathered the layers of the skirt in his hands and eased it over her head to not mess up her hair too much. He laid the gown over the Queen Anne chair so it wouldn’t wrinkle.

Belle shivered, standing in front of Adam in nothing more than a long line bra, panties and her shoes. Shyly she used her arms to cover herself, stepping out of her heels and pushing them away. “Would it help, if I took off some layers too, ma cherie?”

“Immensely,” Belle answered, licking her lips. She stepped closer to him, her fingers undoing each button of his vest and then to his shirt. Each muscle of his chest stood out. Running her hands over him, she couldn’t believe he was real. Pushing his shirt off his shoulders she pressed kisses to his chest. She loved the feel of him under her fingers and the shivers he gave when she kissed him. She traced her fingers over his stomach and down to the distinct V of his hips. Her hands settled on his belt and paused.

“Baby, we don’t have to do this,” he whispered into her hair. “You can wear my shirt and we can just lie together.”

She silenced him with another kiss, undid his belt and opened his pants. “I want all of you Adam Benson.”

Their touches ignited a passion in them that has only simmered and licked at them before. He shrugged out of his shirt and vest letting them hit the floor. Then he gathered Belle into his arms, holding her close as their mouths explored each other. She drew back and moved his hands, placing them on her chest. “Touch me.”

It took some fiddling but he managed to unhook her bra and let it slip off into the pile of clothing on the floor of the sitting room. Guiding her back to the chaise lounge, he laid her down and covered her with his body, shielding her from the world. Her knees instinctively parted for him. He still had too much on. She pushed at the top of his pants. She needed him to be as bare as she was. His pants and the simple, plain black boxers came down with them, freeing his growing hardness.

He’d been with other girls before but none filled him with such passion as Belle did. The others had sparked a lust that burned out as soon as they had finished. Belle had a beauty to her that shone through. The golden gown had only enhanced that in her. But bare beneath him, her gasps of pleasure as he touched her, only intensified the feeling.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his hands on her hips. “Belle?”

“Make love to me Adam,” she whispered, guiding his hands to remove the last article of clothing she had on. “Love me.”

He slipped the underwear off. His hand traced her folds, how he loved her. Belle spread her legs more, to allow Adam to explore her at his leisure. She let a soft moan escape her lips as his fingers traced the soft skin of her most secret place. He knew he was going to be her first and he would take it nice and slow for her. Kissing her and slowly inserting a single digit inside her, he captured her small gasp with a kiss.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes. “Do you want me to stop?”

She stared up at him. “I’m okay,” her small voice said.

He played with her center for a time, loving how she clung to him, her pants and moans driving him to near madness. But it wasn’t about him. It was about her and making her feel like she was the most important person in his life, because she was.

She kissed him, his hand between her thighs bringing her to a place she had never imagined going. Her mind swam with emotion and desire. She raised her hips to meet his hand. She could happily live like this for the rest of her life. Her vision went white and she cried out with a shake and shiver she’d never been able to reach on her own.

“Oh Belle,” his voice reached her ear as she came back down. “Was that for me?”

She took a moment to recover, breathing heavily as the wave of sexual energy left her. She kissed him hard, stroking his cheek. “That was -- fantastic.”

“Are you ready for more?” Adam asked, adjusting himself over her. “We don’t have to.”

“I want to,” Belle said, her hands on his hips. “I want you.”

He entered her slowly, listening to every sound she made. He was slow and gentle, tracing the curve of her face as she stared into his eyes. Gathering her into his arms he sat back and held her in his lap as he moved inside her. It didn’t take long after the change for his face to contort as the need to release overtook him. Holding her tight to him, he came inside her. They laid together in bliss for a moment. She was the first to move. She gathered up his shirt and pulled it around herself. She padded through the house to the bathroom. Adam put his boxers back on and found a blanket for them. He laid back on the chaise lounge waiting for her to come back to him.

She splashed water on her face after cleaning herself up. The trace amount of makeup she wore washed away with the post-coital sweat. She took the rest of her hair down, letting it fall around her shoulders. His shirt, smelling so deeply of him, was three times her size. She came back into the living room and they laid together, covered in the blanket, the firelight dancing on the walls. Their breathing evened out, matching the other and they slowly fell into a rapturous sleep. And that’s how Cogsworth and Lumiere found them when they came home.

Snapping back to the present, the words of Madame brought Belle's attention to that matter at hand.

“We’ll just have to find you something as fantastic as that gown,” Madame said after Belle showed her the gown from the Spring Formal. “Gold is such a perfect color for you.”

They settled on a white satin and lace overbust corset that Madame laced for her that all Belle had to do was use the hooks in the front to put it on. A matching set of garter belt and panties, silk stockings and a gold silk robe from the 1940’s.

“When he sees this, the past will be the past,” Madame Garderobe said, boxing everything up in tissue paper.

Mmm, Desire Desire Desire Desire

[ironwoman18]

The Worst Third Date Ever final part.

Chapter 32: A Clean Sweep for Team Reid.

Mount Pleasant Women's Correctional Facility.

"Hello Dr. Reid, it's been a while since I saw you" said the prison guard as he and Max walked in.

"Hello Officer Grey, it's good to see you, of course I would prefer it could be in better conditions" the man nodded.

"I'm agree. Please put your weapon here and everything that could be use as one for the prisoners" Spencer does it "who is she?"

"My wife" said Spencer.

"Oh congratulations doc. I didn't know you got married"

"We just got married so it's still something new" he smiled and the couple walked thru the metal detector and the officer lead them to the room where Catherine Adams will die "officer I would like to talk to her before you take her to her execution"

"You sure? I know she did some bad things to you"

"Yes sir, I'm sure" the guard nodded.

"Ok, ma'am the room you must go is at the end of the aisle then turn to the left" he pointed where she had to go.

Max nodded and kissed Spencer before said "be careful, she will try to get under your skin one more time before she left this world"

He looked in her eyes and nodded "I know but you will be in my mind" he smiled and left with the guard as Max walked where the office said so.

Spencer took of his wedding ring for the first time in a month. He wanted Cat to know that he got married while the needle was under her skin.

The officer left him in an interrogation room. The feeling of being in a prison again was terrible but he knew he would never return there.

Some mini later the guards sat Catherine in front of him "Spencie you came!" She said in an exciting tone and he rolled his eyes "you're one of the few men who fullfil their promises"

"Yeah, after everything we had been thru, it's the less I could do" he said with his poker face on "sadly I can't be the one who do the honor of stick that needle in your arm"

"Don't be mean Spencie, I know you will miss our little games" she said in a little girl tone "it's a shame... Maxie didn't end up here, huh? I guess you didn't send her to prison" he clenched his fist and Cat did a noise with her tongue "Spencie, a good FBI agent never pick sides" she smirked.

"I'm not here to talk about Max, I'm here to make sure they say you are gone for good and won't ruin another relationship I might have"

"I will be always in your mind Spencie, as you told me skating" she winked at him as some officer walked in to get her ready for the execution "bye bye Spencie... I had fun with you" she left smirking, thinking their score was 2-1, she lost against him twice in her mind but at the end she felt like she took away his chance to date someone.

Spencer took a deep breath, relaxing his muscles, he felt tense with her, he put back on his wedding ring and kissed it gently like if he was remembering that everything was fine and Max was his forever.

He stood up and walked back to Max. When he arrived she was there with some other members of the team. They wanted to see Cat finally gone for good.

Spencer walked straight to her and kissed her, it was needed, like he was a dying man and her lips were the water he needed to survive.

After it Max asked against his lips "How was it?"

"As annoying as you can imagine" he rubbed her cheeks gently and then they sat with their friends.

Spencer held Max's hand when the officers walked in with Catherine Adams and a priest to gave her some final words to see if she will change.

Max was annoyed to see her again but she decided to go there and witness her dead and to rub on her face that she outsmarted her.

After some words from the priest the execution started. An officer put the tourniquet around her arm, the doctor cleaned the area with a cotton with alcohol and then stick the needle after finding a vein.

They released the tourniquet and Max decided to make her move. She stood up and walked to be in front of the window. Cat's eyes showed the surprise of seeing her there.

Max put her wedding picture with Spencer against the glass with one hand and with the other a message.

"3-0. Perfect score, bitch. The Reid Family"

Cat's eyes were full of hatred and anger that everyone thought the killing liquid flowed faster.

"NOOOO.... I WON... YOU KILLED YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!" Cat screamed out at her.

Max smirked and shook her head. Cat's eyes realized what happened months ago and her face calmed down. You could read in her face that, a woman, a sister in this men's world betrayed her.

Then after several minutes Catherine Adams was declare dead. Spencer and the team hugged with Max. Finally the most dangerous hit woman they ever faced was dead.

After that Spencer felt like he could finally rest, he will stop looking his surrounding because everyone could be working for Cat, he was free and not only him but his wife and their children.

Some weeks later, they have an appointment to know the gender of their babies. They were excited about this. Max already ordered to paint the room. They painted it white and she decided to paint something on the wall.

If they have a boy and a girl, she will paint a train on a wall and a beautiful princess with some flowers on the other wall.

The doctor checked her blood pressure, weight and ran some blood test then they were to the ultrasound room where the doctor checked the babies.

"Ok Max and Spencer. I confirm that you will have twins. I can see them now. And I can tell you the gender of your babies. Do you want to know?" She asked. The couple nodded "ok, baby number one is a boy!" The couple had some tears of joy "and baby number two is a girl!" More tears of joy "congratulations, I will print the result for you. Do you want some copies" the nodded "ok I will get you some of them. You can clean the gel and walked back to my office" the doctor stood up leaving the couple alone.

"I still can't believe we will be parents" said Spencer helping Max sat down and kissed her forehead hugging her.

"Me neither but we are and it's the best feeling ever" she hugged him tight.

The rest of her pregnancy was calm. Her students cried the final day of classes and they gave her some toys they don't use for her kids, something they planned with their teachers.

Her co-workers at the school organized an early baby shower and each gave her a little present for the kids and for her. Max was hormonal all day and cried a lot.

She was thankful for that job and will miss them. They all hug and Spencer picked her up.

They decided to sell Spencer's old car and with that money and some more they saved, buy a bigger and more modern one for the babies.

As promised, Penelope hosted the official baby shower with all the BAU people and Max's family.

Dave and his wife gave them the cribs, one blue and the other pink; the Simmons gave them two baby bags and a first edition copy, signed by all of them plus David, of the "Simmons' Stories for Children"; Luke, Tara and Penelope joined to give them a set of feeding bottle with the engraving "genius babies" on each, three pink and three blue.

Derek and Savannah gave them Hank's first car seat and bought one for the extra baby; Max's family gave them a double baby stroller; Diana promised them some days ago knitted blankets for her grandchildren; Jack and Aaron gave them his collection of favorite books.

"My mom used to read me those" he said with some tears in his eyes "please read it to them" they nodded with tears in their eyes too.

JJ and her family gave them two changing tables for the kids. Ashley, the new team member, gave them some onesies, with different designs that matched Spencer and Max's personalities.

Last but not least, Emily and Andree gave them a rocking chair, Emily told them it was her mother's favorite when she was a child and she wanted to give to her BAU little brother. Spencer hugged her tight with tears in his eyes.

After that, the men helped Spencer moved everything to the babies rooms. The following week Max asked Penelope, her sisters and JJ to help her paint the train and princess with the flowers.

Spencer was teaching that day, they were having a good time with music and some ice tea. It was the third week of November and the babies were expected that week.

When they finished they decided to go to the living room and talk some more when Max showed a painful face. The women panicked but them JJ and Michelle recognized it... "My/Her water just broke" the three women said at the same time.

"Ok Max breath" said JJ with her 'unsub with a gun pointing at her' voice "Penelope go upstairs to get her bag with clothes and Eloise turn on the car" both women nodded and ran to do what she ordered "let's go Michelle, help me" they walked with Max, who was struggling to keep calm and breathing, to the car.

Penelope ran downstairs with the bag and she was calling Spencer but his phone was turned off.

"Damn it... Boy wonder must be in class" she said as they got in the car.

"It's ok. Leave him a message and he will go to the hospital" said JJ as she started to drive.

She drove fast to the hospital. Meanwhile Penelope sent a text to the team 'Houston we have a baby delivery x2' and hit sent.

They arrived to the hospital and immediately took Max to a room where she asked for her husband.

He arrived some minutes later. JJ decided to pick Diana up, her son was about to be a father, she needed to be there.

Michelle called her father to drive to the hospital with her son.

After some more hours waiting, Spencer finally walked out the delivery room with a big but tired smile.

"They are both perfectly fine. A handsome prince and a beautiful princess" he said and each of his friends and family hugged him "it's a small room so first my mom, Max's dad and sisters, JJ and Derek" they all nodded and follow Spencer.

In there were Max holding on of them, and the other was held by a nurse.

The nurse handed the baby to him "hi everyone" he said as if the baby talked "this is Jason Alexander Reid" the BAU members recognized the name of their former friend and co-founder of the unit and Max's family recognized the name of their uncle/ brother.

Spencer passed him to his mother, then Max said "and this is Rachel..." She held a sobb saying her mom's name, and so did her sisters and father "...Diana Reid, mommy's princess" she handed her to her father.

The two babies were sleeping and quiet, Diana had some tears in her eyes "I never thought I would see this day coming... My boy had two children and I couldn't be prouder" she kissed Spencer's cheek and then Jason's forehead.

She handed the boy to JJ and Don did the same to Michelle, each held the babies and left the room except JJ and Derek.

"JJ and Derek, you are like a brother and a sister to me and Max and I thought it could be fair to make you godparents of Jason and Rachel"

"Really?" Said JJ with tears, she held Jason in her arms and whispered "maybe I can call Caltech or Yale but I'm sure will take you to the zoo" she laughed and kissed her new godson and did the same with Rachel.

"Thank you little brother and I promise to spoil them with lot of sports" he laughed and hugged him.

Then the rest of the people walked in to meet the babies. Dave even cried when Spencer said the name of his son. He know Gideon would be proud of his boy.

"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone; we find it with another." — Thomas Merton.

Fin?

OOooOOooOO

The final chapter! What a journey! Thank you for reading, thank you for commented it, thank you for recommending it. I enjoyed this experience, my first long story in a long time and in English!

I learned so much and made some friends with this. Hope you all read my new story Double Dates (mostly Garvez but with some other couples)

Again, thank you, gracias, danke! To @nerys2 @andiebeaword @dreatine @aperrywilliams @moviequeen51

[jaehyunspeachparty]

The tour - part 1

"And that's Natalie and Y/N they're in charge of organizing the concerts. If you need anything, then please contact them."

You look around and try to remember a few faces. But then you recognize a familiar one. It was dimple boy and he smiled slightly when he noticed your look. A bit embarrassed you watch quickly down to the floor and concentrate on what else was said. The meeting took place in the hotel and in four days the first concert would take place in New York. Actually, you had a small apartment here, but your company still wanted you to sleep in the hotel so you could always be there if there was something wrong. Natalie was your co-worker whom you least liked, but she was the best next to you and you two are fighting for the next promotion. In the beginning you should have had to share a room, but you persuade your boss that each of you got a single room. Otherwise you would argue the whole tour. For weeks you would be on the road and you were glad that you had room only for you.

Once all are instructed, you had nothing to do. Natalie went annoyed to her room and you stay in your room also for a while. You turn on the TV, but somehow you couldn’t concentrate on a show. You decide to just release some pressure and put on your sports clothes. You read that the hotel had a small gym and you just wanted to free your mind a little bit.

When you opened the gym with the chip card, nobody was inside. You were glad about it, so you could just run out. After you picked the perfect playlist, you were ready to go. You try to run faster and faster, you want to push your limits. The music was perfect, you had the power, but then the treadmill started to make strange noises. The display started flashing until the whole device turned off.  You were annoyed, because it was the only pastime that could satisfy you at the moment. You pack your things again and wanted to leave, but there where someone behind you.

"Sorry, I didn’t wanted to scare you." It was the charismatic dimple boy. He smiled and also had a towel and a water bottle.

"No, I’m fine. I just didn’t expect anyone here." You also smile and throw your towel over your shoulder. There was an unpleasant silence for a moment, until you decide to keep going.

"How is it going with your boyfriend?" He turned around quickly before leaving the gym. You look astonished to him. You didn’t think that he would remembers the conversation. You shake your head. Two weeks ago, you end the relationship with Harvey. Jaehyun had somehow made you think. You couldn’t stop deliberate how unhappy you were, and so you ended the relationship. Things felt different, but still not good.

"You don’t look really relieved." He noticed and you had to agree with him.

"Well, my ex-boyfriend and I have known each other for a long time. We were friends first, and with the end of our relationship, our friendship has come to an end too." You didn’t love your ex-boyfriend anymore, but somehow you just want to talk to someone without any restrictions.

"I understand." Jaehyun smiled and put his towel on the bench. It was, in your opinion, a awkward reaction and you finally decide to leave him alone.

"Ok, I'll go then." You look back at him and he nods with a big grin.

"See you."

You didn’t think that this would happen so soon that you will see him again. You decide to continue your work at the bar. So you took a few files and sit with your Martini Dry on the stool and try to overcome the loneliness with alcohol.

"Another one." You raise your glass and point to it. With a big grin the bartender came to you and filled it for you.

"Slow baby, or I'll have to lead you later into the room." He winked and pushed the drink to you.

"Thanks, I know when it's enough." you snippet back and the bartender raised his eyebrows and let you work again. You sigh as you devote yourself to your documents and as you pause shortly to take a sip, the charismatic dimple boy stood in front of you again.

"So we meet again." He said and smiled as he leaned against the bar. He tried to order a drink, but the bartender ignored him, as he was already with another woman, who paid him far more attention.

"Wow, twice in one day, today is my lucky day." You were ironic and empty your martini glass with one sip.

"Sorry I didn’t want to disturb you." Jaehyun noticed your tension and you feel bad. He was the least reason of all for your bad mood.

“Sorry, I'm just a little annoyed." You close the folder with the documents and lean back in the armchair. Jaehyun took this as an opportunity to sit down on the bar stool next to you.

"Don’t you have to go to your coworkers?" You watch him make himself comfortable and still try to make eye contact with the bartender.

"Oh no, I have them 24/7 on my side anyway." He leaned with one arm on the wooden plate and you now turn to the bartender.

"Hey," you called to the other side of the bar and the bartender finally turned around.

"Another Martini Dry and for my friend ..." You turn to him and Jaehyun ordered a glass of red wine.

"Are we friends now?" He laughed and his dimples appeared. You didn’t know why, but they somehow fascinated you.

"Well you already know something about me." You shrug and nibble on the olive attached to a toothpick.

"Okay then we are friends." He grinned and at that moment the bartender pushed your drinks to you, and he was almost disappointed that you were not alone anymore.

You never thought that this evening would be so nice. Hours pass and you always found a new topic that you could talk about. Everything felt so easy with Jaehyun, so carefree.

"You really like cigarettes after sex? Would you be jealous if you knew I met them?" Jaehyun's eyes widened.

"What are you serious about?" You drink the last sip of your Martini and nod.

"We also did their tour and they have been our customers for a long time." Jaehyun wanted to asked so many questions and wanted to hear so much more, but at that moment the bartender came to you.

"I'm sorry people, I have to close the bar now." Jaehyun looked at the clock and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Wow it's already 4am. We should really go to bed." You were surprised about the time, but also about his watch. His wrist was overlaid by an expensive piece.

"A Rolex? A man of class." You wink and get up from the seat. Jaehyun smiled modestly and then hid his watch under his sleeve again.

"Where is your room?" He asked you this when you just took your things from the bar.

"Do you want to write the drinks on my room bill?" You're laughing and you just wanted to take your credit card to pay everything, then Jaehyun waved.

"Is on me." He didn’t even look at you and took his jacket.

“No, that's not necessary, I ... "You were just speechless. You didn’t expect that.

"I already paid and it was a nice evening, let's just leave it there." He smiled and you make your way to the elevator.

"Which floor?" He asked when you were inside.

"14th and yours?" You look curiously at him and see how he just pushed one button.

"Also." He smiled and you realize that there was a tension between you. Not a bad one, it was different than before. He stood close to you and you could see his chest move up and down. It was suddenly so quiet between you and the tension drove you crazy. If he didn’t still have his girlfriend, you would think that there was something erotic between you two. Maybe it was the alcohol, but you got very hot and you start to look at his body. He was muscular but thin. You could see his veins protruding through his skin. And somehow you found it attractive. You bite your lower lip and try not to stare. That's why you decide to stare at the ceiling.

When you arrived at the 14th floor, you stopped at the second door.

"This is my room." You lean your back against the door and pull out your hotel card. Jaehyun stood near to you, almost too close.

"I live three rooms further, room 147." He smiled and he looked at you. You look up at him with wide eyes and you would like to invite him to your room and have fun with him until dawn. But that was the alcohol that spoke out of you. You were single and horny. There was an idol who was in a relationship not a good choice for you. His face was suddenly so close to yours and your breath was getting heavier. He had a girlfriend, but somehow you wanted to know how his mouth tasted and how his lips felt. You didn’t care that he was in a relationship, he didn’t love his girlfriend anyway. In those seconds, you had no inhibitions. But just before Jaehyun touched your face, he smiled and his dimples appeared.

"Good night." He didn’t move away from you, so he was still close to you. After defusing the situation, you could breathe again. It was better that way, before one of you made another mistake. You turn around and Jaehyun took a step back.

"Good night." You smile, go to your room and close the door.

About us masterlist

daddy jaehyun masterlist

[purplesurveys]

1057

survey by lets-make-surveys

1 - When was the last time you had a roast dinner? What kind of meat or vegetarian option did you have with it? That’s not really a thing we do here, but for our noche buena dinner we did have roast chicken with rosemary as one of our dishes. It was surrounded with bangus (milkfish), lumpia with cheese, callos, baked macaroni with cheese, and mashed potatoes with gravy. My family has never been traditional when it comes to Christmas food and I’ve never tried hamon or queso de bola.

2 - When was the last time you drove or travelled for over an hour? Where did you go? It is for sure going to be today because we’ll be driving to Laguna to visit my dad’s family wearing our face masks, face shields, equipped with alcohol and hand sanitizer, and ready to follow social distancing.

3 - What’s your favourite kind of coffee to order (eg. cappuccino, latte etc.)? I’ve been ordering caramel macchiato in the last...6–7 years. If a coffee shop doesn’t serve it, the next thing I go for is whatever sounds like the sweetest drink on their menu, like a chocolate chip truffle frappe or something like that.

4 - When you get old, are you going to let your hair go grey or dye it instead? I will probably dye it for a bit, like what my grandma used to do. But I guess it’ll also depend; I might end up liking grey hair and not feel the need to change how it looks.

5 - What genre was the last book you read? Was it any good? I can’t remember which one it was but it was definitely a wrestler’s memoir; I must’ve read around four this year. The best ones I read are always of Chris Jericho since he has fantastic stories but he also knows how to write well. A lot of wrestlers have great stories, but are so-so in writing.

6 - Did you ever wear braces on your teeth? Yeah, briefly from the end of middle school to freshman year of high school. I need to get braces again, though.

7 - When was the last time you were relieved about something? What caused you to feel that way? Continued from earlier today. We brought both dogs to my dad’s family’s place today and I was glad that they were fast asleep on our drive back home and that neither felt bad and puked.

8 - Where was the last place you went that required you to wear a mask? Are you used to having to wear one now? Everyone is required to wear masks as long as they find themselves outdoors, period. I wear one even if I’m just walking one of my dogs in our backyard. I’m definitely more used to it now, compared to months ago when I had just started going out again and would be forgetful when it came to masks.

9 - How often do you receive calls from unknown numbers? Do you ever answer them? I get them a lot more often now that I’m working and have to coordinate with third-party people...I get unknown numbers once or twice a week. As much as it irritates me, I have no choice but to answer all of them now.

10 - What’s your favourite condiment to have with sausages or hot dogs (or the vegetarian equivalent)? Whenever I have a sausage/hotdog in a bun, I’d be glad to simply have mayonnaise on it.

11 - Which fictional character can you relate to the most? Is this a character from film, TV or a book? Monica Geller from Friends.

12 - Do you groom your eyebrows? If so, how? Nah, haven’t in a long time. It’s just not something I’ve ever particularly cared about. Whenever I have to, I just shave them. I also haven’t had a trichotillomania episode with my eyebrows, which is a relieving thing to realize.

13 - Did you get “told off” for anything the last time you went to the dentist or was everything okay? My last trip went smoothly. I just had a tooth extracted and there wasn’t really anything to reprimand me for since the tooth was already damaged.

14 - Would you rather get a starter or dessert? Have always been more of a savory girl than sweet, so I’ll go with the starter.

15 - Have you ever been involved with the police? Did you find them to be helpful? I mean...I guess? Kind of? I wasn’t arrested by any means, but I was a journalism student, so *shrug* pretty self-explanatory lol. There was one time in one class where we were all required to write a story covering the police beat, so I had to stay at a police station in Manila and wait for any tips or leads to come in. I was in freshman year and was absolutely scared, but I did have a classmate/friend with me ‘cause we were in the same class and she needed a lead as well.

16 - Are you tired at the moment? Is there a specific reason you feel that way? I am extremely tired and would pass out in a second if I let myself. But I had been out all day and didn’t have the chance to do anything I wanted to do whether it was doing embroidery, watching 2 Days 1 Night, or taking a survey, so I’m making up for all the lost time and powering through this survey.

17 - Are you big on colour coordination? Does that just apply to your outfits or to the rest of your life as well? It rarely comes to mind. It’s not something I feel the need to maintain, precisely because I’m very inconsistent with maintenance. Even though I know I possess the necessary effort and patience to organize a group of items by color, I also know it would be disorganized in less than a week.

18 - What shoes did you last wear? How long have you had them? Puma sneakers. Yep, I’ve had them for the past two years.

19 - When was the last time you wore make-up? What kind of make-up was it? September, for my first job interview. My items were simple; just an eyeliner pencil and some lip gloss.

20 - Have you ever slipped or skidded on the ice? Did you end up getting hurt? Continued from last night because I’ve been so sloppy at taking surveys lately, loooool. I’ve slipped a few times on ice skating rinks before. I don’t know if it’s the same experience, but whenever it happened to me I usually felt more embarrassed than hurt. It only hurt quite a bit when the cause of my fall was crashing into someone on the rink.

21 - Do you wear glasses or contacts? I wear glasses, but I already need to change mine since my eyesight has gotten worse and the lens that are on my current pair aren’t for me anymore.

22 - Do you own any photo albums? Are they dedicated to special occasions or just a random selection of photos? My mom made several photo albums for her kids from our childhood days so each of us have lots of photos from age 0 to about 7 or 8. I haven’t made a photo album just for myself, though I really should. Making memories with a film camera and having them developed still sounds very appealing to me.

23 - What was the last reason for you using a spoon? I was mixing my coffee to make sure all the granules are mixed into the water.

24 - Did your state/region go into lockdown or similar back when Covid hit in March? What did you do to pass the time while you were stuck at home? Of course. I would be more surprised to hear of a city or region anywhere in the world that did not go into lockdown. March was a livelier, more optimistic time, so I tried out lots of new things while the lockdown was still fresh and no one had any clue for how long it would actually pan out, and continue to pan out until the literal end of the year. I played the Switch for longer hours, tried making dalgona coffee, watched Descendants of the Sun, pulled more all-nighters, revisited computer games from my childhood, and did my thesis chapter by chapter with Andi.

25 - What’s your favourite meal of the day - breakfast, lunch or dinner? In my family, lunch and dinner are very identical so I’d go with either of them.

26 - Who was the last person you texted? How do you know that person? I have not touched my phone in a while, believe it or not...I haven’t needed it much during the holiday break. I think it was my cousin? He’s a relative, so I’ve known him since birth.

27 - What was the last thing you put in a sandwich? A hotdog.

28 - What was the reason behind the last time you shouted or raised your voice? I was at my dad’s family’s last night and I had ordered four boxes of empanadas from their business, and I was trying to hand over the P500 bill to my aunt (the total was like P300, but I gave them bonus to serve as my treat and my gift). I kept trying to give it and she kept rejecting it and putting it back in my pocket hahaha, so it became like a game for me to see which tiny space in the house I can squeeze the bill in so she can stop retorting. It turned into a funny cat and mouse situation and I ended up raising my voice a few times.

29 - Are you a citizen of more than one country? Would you ever use that advantage to move abroad? No.

30 - Do you know how to change a tyre? Could you do it without help? HAH, no. I am fucked if it ever happens and when it does, I really hope luck would be on my side that day and have a kind stranger that knows how to change tyres walk or drive by.

[incorrect-strq-quotes]

Rosebird Week 2019

Day 3: Mother AU

@rose-bird-week Day 3 takes place in a sort of modern AU where Raven and Summer are both single mothers, and Raven and Yang move in next door to Summer and Ruby (feel free to ask for some more details about this AU, I’ve been sitting on it for a little while). This is pretty much 100% fluff, don’t worry.

Enjoy :)

—

Ruby ran over the short, patchy dirt path that connected her front door to the next house over. She was only five years old, and her short legs could only carry her so fast, but she was familiar with the route; one of the pairs of feet responsible for wearing it into the grass belonged to her, after all.

The smallest porch chair was sitting where it always sat, up against the house and right under the doorbell. Ruby was still short, shortest in all her class, and needed the extra step. She scrambled on top of it like she had done a hundred times before and pressed the doorbell with all the eagerness she could possibly fit in her tiny body.

It was a deceivingly large amount.

The lock clicked and the door swung open. Ruby spread her arms and cheered, “it’s Friday!”

Yang’s Momma didn't really look anything like Yang, but Ruby still liked her a lot. She didn’t smile very much, and couldn’t make cookies anything like Mommy did, but she was good at telling stories, and let her stay up way past her bedtime when she spent the night. “Yang’s in her room,” Raven said with an almost-smile that was as familiar to Ruby as the path to Yang’s bedroom.

“Thank you!” Ruby squealed, right now ‘loud’ and ‘excited’ her only two settings. There wasn't much of a difference between the two, really. She jumped off of the porch chair and darted inside past Raven’s legs.

Through the living room, past the kitchen, Ruby burst through the second door on the left. “Sleepover night!” she said as loud as she could, barreling into Yang and throwing them both on the floor.

Yang and her Momma had moved in next door just before Ruby started kindergarten. Yang was a whole two years older than her and the coolest person that Ruby knew. She was in second grade.

“I already have my bag packed!” Yang laughed, squeezing Ruby in a tight hug like they hadn’t seen each other just that morning when Mommy drove them to school. “You have to let me up to get it though.”

Ruby scrambled off of her and bounced in place as patiently as she could. “Hurry!”

Yang darted over to her closet and pulled out a bright yellow backpack, zippers almost bursting. “Your house isn’t going anywhere, silly,” she laughed.

“It’s a sleepover,” Ruby emphasized, because obviously Yang wasn’t getting it.

Yang laughed again as she looped her bag’s straps over her shoulders. ‘Okay, okay! I’m ready!”

They barreled through the house towards the front door, and were not expecting their parents to be standing right in the middle of the entrance way.

“Mommy!” Ruby said in surprise, though it was Raven she skidded into. She wrapped her arms around one of Raven’s legs and stuck her tongue out at Yang. “I win!”

Yang had a bit more time to stop herself. “I didn’t know we were having a race,” she said back, though she didn't look too put out; Ruby always won their races.

Summer laughed and hugged Yang to her side. “Are you girls ready for your sleepover?”

“Yeah!” Yang cheered, while Ruby bounced up and down, still hugging Raven’s leg.

“You’re coming too, right?” she asked, staring up at her.

“Oh. Uh-” Raven looked away from Ruby, up at Summer.

“I made more than enough for dinner,” Summer supplied.

This was one of those moments when Ruby could see exactly how much alike Yang’s Momma and Yang really were. Her happy smile completely changed her face, and Ruby knew Mommy always brought out Raven’s happy smile.

“Well in that case, how can I resist?”

The truth was, there was no way in hell Raven could resist. Summer’s smile turned dazzling at her words, and there was nothing that Raven wouldn’t do to have that look directed at her for as long as possible.

She was in so much trouble.

Ruby, who finally let go of her leg, and Yang bounced ahead and led the way nextdoor. The smell of spaghetti and garlic bread hit them like a wall as soon as they entered the house. Summer’s cooking was definitely up there on the list of Raven’s favorite things. “It smells delicious,” she breathed, “now I’m really glad I said yes.”

Summer shot her a smirk that Raven would have described as flirty if she didn’t know any better. Except the lines around them were getting so blurred lately that she didn’t actually know if she did know any better at this point. “Oh I see, you only like me for my cooking.”

“There’s a lot of reasons I like you,” Raven purred in response.

And that was usually where their banter ended, with the flush that colored Summer’s cheeks and made Raven’s heart skip. Except for tonight -except, except, except.

Tonight, with a red-face and brilliant smile, Summer winked at her. An honest to god wink, playful and teasing. Raven wasn’t one to exaggerate, but she swore she was going to die.

“Alright, girls,” Summer turned around like Raven wasn’t having an internal crisis right in front of her, “the pillows and blankets should already be set up in the living room. Why don’t we wash our hands and set the table for dinner?”

Raven had to give herself a minute to control her pounding heart before she joined them, because something was different. She wasn’t used to not being in the know, but if anyone could throw her off her game it would definitely be Summer. Since day one, almost a year ago, she had never been able to get a read on the other woman. She had surprised herself when she decided that she wanted to get close enough to try.

Now they were close. Getting closer. Raven was at a loss about where to go from here.

Dinner with both Yang and Ruby at the table was always an ordeal. Especially with something as messy as spaghetti. Raven was glad they only lived next door because Yang needed new clothes twice. And luckily Ruby lived here because she needed to change clothes three times.

“I don’t know how you always end up so messy,” Summer was laughing as she led her daughter back out to the living room. “Now you girls pick a movie to play while Momma and I clean up the table.”

Raven paused in picking up the dishes from the table, chewing on Summer’s words. She supposed that it wasn’t that odd for Summer to refer to her as Momma. It’s what Yang called her, after all. She heard that more times in a day than her real name. So why did it feel different?

“You okay?”

Raven picked up the last of the plates, spurred into motion at Summer’s words. “Yeah. I'm pretty sure we’re going to have to take the table out back and hose it down.”

Summer laughed, which was Raven’s goal. “That bad?”

Raven set the dirty plates in the sink. “Apocalyptic,” she replied flatly.

Summer wiped the table down -without the use of the garden hose -while Raven grabbed the last of the utensils. They met back at the sink, like they’ve done so many times before this.

“I’m really glad you decided to come over,” Summer told her as she started running the water. She said it like this one night was different than any of the other nights she’s been over since they met.

Raven was flooded with a sense of relief that she wasn’t just imagining things. “And miss your cooking?” she teased, sure that that relief was seeping into her tone, pouring out through her words, “un-fucking-likely.”

Summer handed her a now-clean plate to dry, directing the full effect of the smirk that danced on her lips at Raven. “And here I thought you just enjoyed my company.”

Raven knew she was being teased, knew that her words were meant to be taken as a joke, but she had accepted a while ago that she was weak when it came to anything that had to do with Summer. “I do,” she said, staring down at the plate she was drying like it needed all her attention. “You-” she started, stopped, started again. “I like spending time with you.”

Summer bumped her with her hip, drawing Raven’s attention back to her face. Not really a difficult feat. “Well that’s good.” She handed her another plate as soon as she set down the first. “I like spending time with you, too. You and Yang have become such a big part of our lives, I-” It was Summer’s turn to turn away, drop her gaze to whatever her hands were doing. “I really like you, Raven,” she said. “And Ruby really likes you, and-” Summer looked back up at her, and Raven wasn’t sure if she could handle the full force of her eyes staring into her soul. Wanted nothing more than to drown in the feeling. “I’m just really glad you decided to come over.”

Raven really, really hoped she wasn't reading the situation wrong. She didn’t want to mess anything up, but she had always been one to take exactly what she wanted and worry about the consequences later. “Sum,” she murmured, setting down her towel and turning fully towards Summer.

“Hm?” Summer hummed, and Raven waited until she looked up. Waited until whatever Sumer saw in her eyes caused her hands to freeze on the plate she was scrubbing.

Not wasting any time with theatrics, she kissed her.

It was nothing like any other kiss Raven’s given, because Summer was nothing like any other person she’s known. Soft, tender, warm. All the feelings Raven never could see herself on the receiving end of in this life.

Summer dropped the plate she had been holding in the sink, and the resulting plop splashed flecks of soapy water onto Raven’s face. She’s never smiled this much all at once, never ruined a kiss with one, and the gentle laugh that Summer gave as she used her thumb to wipe away the soap suds made her chest ache in a wonderfully unfamiliar way.

Raven caught Summer’s lips with her own again, chasing that feeling. All of them. She’s never felt so much. Summer leaned into her chest, hands still wet. Raven couldn’t care any less at this moment.

The second kiss lasted a little longer than the first, but it was just as chaste. Their daughters were only in the next room over, and were masters of sneaking up on you when you’d rather they didn’t.

“I, um,” Summer stammered when they broke apart, faces still very close together.

‘I’m really glad I decided to come over,” Raven offered breathlessly.

“Yeah. That.”

They stared at each other in silence for far longer than necessary. Raven knew that she had to have some kind of dumb smile on her face, but she found that she didn't care. Let her see what I’m thinking, she said to herself, let her see everything I have.

“Mommy!” one of the girls called from the living room, Raven wasn’t paying attention to who it was. “The DVD won't work.”

Summer took a deep breath, smile shifting to something impossibly softer. “I’m coming, sweetheart,” she called back.

“I’ll take care of the rest of the dishes,” Raven told her.

“You sure?”

I’d do anything for you. “Yeah. You go relax.”

Raven’s words earned her a peck on the lips, the action so automatic and natural it felt like something they choreographed years ago instead of seconds. It still sent a thrill of excitement through her core, and it was probably good that the feeling had her rooted to the spot or Summer may not have been able to escape the kitchen after all.

When the dishes were finally clean, Raven joined Summer and the girls in the living room. She didn't pay much attention to whatever was on the tv -some animated movie with an excess of musical numbers that seemed to be Ruby’s favorite genre at the moment. She was far too preoccupied with replaying everything that had happened in the kitchen over and over in her head.

Too distracted by Summer moving to sit as close to her as possible on the couch, not leaving a single breath of space between them.

Is this okay, silver eyes asked silently as they stared up at her.

Raven carefully wrapped an arm over Summer’s shoulders so she could settle more comfortably against her side. This was more than okay, more than she ever thought to ask for, but she didn't trust her mouth to be able to convey any of that. Not with Summer snuggling against her side like she was, with one arm thrown easily across her stomach and her breath warm against Raven’s skin even through her night shirt.

Ruby and Yang both burst into a fit of giggles at whatever was just said in the movie. Raven smiled.

“I’d climb a mountain for you if you ever went crazy,” Ruby said matter of factly to Yang.

Yang gave her a push onto the cushions next to her. “You’re the crazy one,” she giggled.

Raven looked at the TV. They were watching Frozen. Again. Of course.

Ruby rolled over until she was laying on top of Yang. “I’d do anything for my crazy sister,” she sighed, full of her usual dramatics.

“Looks like I’ll have to teach my crazy sister a lesson.” Yang dug her fingers against Ruby’s sides, causing her to jump off of her with a shriek of laughter.

Against Raven’s side, Summer started a bit at the noise. She had been drifting off to sleep and hadn’t even heard the words that made Raven’s heart race.

Sister, huh?

“They’re just playing,” she murmured against the top of Summer’s head.

Summer hummed in acknowledgement, an adorably sleepy look on her face as she looked up at her.

It was purely uncontrollable impulse that led to Raven placing a careful kiss on Summer’s forehead.

“Waiting until I’m half asleep to be affectionate is so unfair,” Summer complained quietly, either too tired or too content to move.

The warm atmosphere was making them both bold. Raven realized -let herself entertain the thought -that everything she could possibly want was in the room with her right now. Oh how quickly everything can change. “Not my fault you’re falling asleep at eight o’clock.”

Summer frowned, pouted. Closed her eyes and snuggled tighter against Raven’s side. She didn't think she could get any closer. “You’re comfy,” she sighed quietly. “I can’t help it.”

Whatever this was, Raven didn’t want it to end. “Well lucky for you, I’m not going anywhere.”

Summer smiled. “Good.”

Summer woke up slowly, languidly. She didn’t remember falling asleep. Didn’t remember a time when she was ever this content. Warm. She idly entertained the idea of just not moving for the rest of the day, but knew before the notion had even fully formed that it couldn’t last very long.

“Mommy,” a small voice whispered, right on cue.

Summer opened her eyes to find Ruby’s chubby face mere inches from hers. “Morning monkey,” she murmured blearily. It’s been a while since she’s slept this hard. “What’s up?”

Awareness trickled back to her mind slowly. They were still in the living room, she realized, but her couch wasn’t usually so comfortable.

“It’s breakfast time!” Yang piped up from behind Ruby, not doing quite as good of a job at keeping her voice down.

Summer looked at the clock by the TV, blinking the morning grogginess out of her eyes. 7:47. A bit later than she normally started her day. “Yes, breakfast. Of course.” She tried to sit up, and a soft smile overtook her face when the arms around her waist tightened their hold. It wasn’t her couch that was comfortable at all. “Why don’t you two go sit at the table? I’ll make pancakes.”

Yang and Ruby cheered and raced off towards the kitchen, leaving Summer to relax back down against Raven, melt against her, and wish that she didn’t have to move ever again.

She was laying completely on top of Raven, head resting on her chest, legs settled between hers. Raven didn’t seem to mind, judging by the death grip she had around her waist, the leg bent at the knee caging her against the back of the couch. Summer didn’t remember laying down. The last thing she did remember was curling up against Raven's side, soft lips pressed against her face. But, well… it’s not like she was going to complain about it.

Gently, Summer brushed Raven’s hair off of her forehead, ran her fingers through the soft strands until crimson eyes opened in tired slits. “Rae, baby,” the endearment slipped easily off her tongue, sending a thrill to the pit of her stomach. “The kids are up.”

The displeased noise that Raven made only widened Summer’s smile. Still, the arms holding her captive loosened their grip, legs stretched and untangled, allowing Summer to get up. Even if it was the last thing she wanted to do. “Go back to sleep,” she told Raven quietly. “I can handle breakfast.” The look on Raven’s face was warmer than her usual mask, open and vulnerable. Summer’s heart clenched with a longing to start all her mornings like this.

“M’sure?” Raven rasped, the hold that sleep still had on her evident in her voice.

Summer leaned down to kiss her on the corner of her mouth. “I got them. You need the sleep.”

Raven smiled, even half asleep managing to make it look like an alluring smirk. But her eyes were already closing again, her breathing evening out.

“Alright,” Summer said to Ruby and Yang as she stood up and made her way to the kitchen. “What kind of pancakes do we want?”

“Chocolate chip!” Ruby cheered immediately.

Summer dropped a kiss on the top of both their heads. “Chocolate chip pancakes sound good, Yang?” she asked as she turned on the coffee maker.

Yang beamed up at her. “Yeah!”

Summer gathered the ingredients as Yang started telling them all about her new friends in her class.

“I already made a ton of friends.” Ruby was a rapt audience, hanging on her every word. “But Blake’s my best friend. She was super quiet when I first said hi to her, but yesterday she picked me to be her partner in gym!”

“I don’t have friends in school,” Ruby supplied matter-of-factly. Summer frowned, but Ruby kept going. “Except- except I got a sister now and that’s better!”

There was so much excitement in her voice, so much innocent joy that Summer let it go. Didn’t comment on anything her daughter said as the girls continued talking and she mixed the batter and heated up the skillet.

She thought about it, though. Thought about it longer and deeper than she probably should. Ruby was too young to understand the implications of what she had said, but the thought of her and Ruby with Raven and Yang… a family. The idea of it filled Summer with a tender joy that she wasn’t sure she could stop herself from embracing.

The first two pancakes were finished and put on plates for the girls. Ruby’s cut up and drenched in syrup, Yang’s still whole because she was a big girl now and claimed weeks ago that she was old enough to cut her own food. “Eat up,” Summer said when she put their plates on the table, “I put extra chocolate chips in them this time.”

Yang and Ruby dug in, appreciative “thank you”s given through full mouths.

Summer finished up the pancakes, left them under a towel to keep them warm, and poured herself a cup of coffee before joining Yang and Ruby at the table. She was more than content to soak in the lazy morning atmosphere, watch Ruby get syrup all over her face, Yang insist on trying to cut her pancakes with the side of her fork like she’s seen the grown ups do. It was nice, and Summer found herself already used to it.

Used to all of it.

“You could have slept more,” she said quietly when a familiar pair of arms wrapped themselves over her shoulders. She couldn’t have prevented the soft smile that spread across her face if her life depended on it.

Raven’s breath ghosted across her neck and cheek, nose brushing her ear. “I smelled coffee.” Soft lips pressed the shapes of the words against her skin.

It was all innocent enough, but Summer still glanced over at the two pairs of wide eyes watching their every move. “Rae,” she murmured. A temporary warning, not a rejection. A what are we going to tell them? kind of thing. She cared for Raven, alot, but what the girls thought mattered too. Ruby’s words earlier weren’t exactly a confirmation that she would be okay with- …whatever they were going to call this.

Raven lifted her head to look across the table, her thumb slowly stroking over the soft skin left exposed by the loose neckline of Summer’s worn nightshirt. Like she couldn’t stop herself from touching some part of her. Goosebumps erupted down Summer’s spine but she wasn’t ready to tell her to stop.

She couldn’t see Raven’s face, but the lazy smile was clear in her voice. “Do you care if I kiss Mommy?”

Summer knew Raven had intended the question for Ruby, just by the way she froze when the choroused giggles of “nope!” from both girls answered her. Summer tried not to laugh, but she was too full of happiness to hold anything back.

Raven shifted a bit stiffly at the sound of her laughter. Leaned down, thrown entirely off her game now, to probably place a kiss against Summer’s cheek.

Raven being so unbalanced by something as simple as Yang thinking of Summer as her mom -her other mom -was endearing. Tough, confident Raven stumbling through her actions was not something Summer was used to, so she figured that no one could really blame her for turning her head and catching Raven’s lips with her own.

The kiss was clumsy, off center, broken by grins and too much emotion. Raven relaxed into it, whatever storm that had entered her heart calmed back down to gentle waves. Ruby and Yang laughed through complaints of “eww” and “yuck!” that weren’t meant at all.

“Are you always this affectionate in the morning?” Summer asked, hoping for a yes. Hoping for an always.

Raven caught her gaze, something flashing in her eyes too elusive to name. “I guess you’ll just have to find out,” she answered, her words sounding a lot like a promise.