#she was letting him basically sit on her and take a bath earlier it was so sweet 😭😭😭

[treshmind]

F!Tav having a postpartum depression

…and Astarion is dealing with this.

To say the least, you and Astarion were terrified of this pregnancy from the very beginning. For many - many - obvious reasons.

But overall you both were excited and even came up with some names (and kept them secret as an elven tradition). One of your studies in the house was quickly turned into the nursery with the painted night sky on the ceiling (it was Astarion’s idea).

Jaheira kept an eye on you since she found out you’re pregnant and her help was unmatched. Astarion wrote down everything she’s ever said about babies and how to take care of them. You couldn’t help but smile at that.

And when The Day came you felt absolutely ready for the new life ahead of you. Sleepless nights, cute pointy ears of your child, diapers, their first steps and so on. You couldn’t wait to meet them - dhampir or not.

Astarion was restless during labour and Jaheira even sent him off - a handful of times - to which he protested. He wanted to stay by your side no matter what, even though the amount of your blood suddenly made him dizzy.

…and then your child was born.

Oh did they took everything after their father? Hell yeah. White curls, his natural eye color, nose and ears shapes. They were perfect.

The first few days were hard but Astarion (who only needs like 4 hours of sleep/trance) helped a lot. You were endlessly thankful for having him in your life.

…until you started feeling quite useless compared to him.

You fed the child, sang to them and still they cried in your arms however Astarion’s cold embrace seemed to soothe them.

You started questioning whether you should have become mother in the first place.

You were crying all the time if something went wrong in your opinion. Baby bit you while feeding? You’re a horrible mother. Astarion went to the nursery before you even realized baby was restless? You’re a horrible mother.

You spent most of your day in bed, staring at the wall, crying or sleeping.

Astarion was worried sick. He remembered Jaheira saying the first few days were going to be tough, but it’s been weeks.

“My love, is something the matter?” - he would ask at every given occasion.

“I’m just tired” - you would whisper and hide your face (“So puffy and ugly” - you would think to yourself) in the pillow.

Then it gone worse. You were barely touching baby, even during the feeding. And your child felt this abandonment. They would cry until Astarion held them closer to your scrawny chest.

You’ve lost a lot of weight too. No matter how Astarion begged for you to eat, it always took a few bites before you pushed the plate from the table.

Astarion’s on edge. He can’t take care of two helpless creatures at the same time and it’s been weeks since he hunted properly.

The baby is clearly malnourished even with the complementary feeding. He talks about it with you… or tries to.

It makes things worse. You’ve thrown a tantrum, screaming how terrible you are as a mother because your baby is basically starving.

Luckily Jaheira visits your house when your baby is a month old, as she promised.

She’s speechless for a while, seeing both you and baby in this state.

She helps Astarion with a baby and lets him go for a quick hunt (“Some might consider your inability to see yourself in the mirror right now as a mercy, little vampire”). He agrees hesitantly.

When he comes back he finds you taking a bath, while baby is asleep and Jaheira untangling your hair. She notices Astarion in the doorway and leaves you two alone.

He sits down behind you and starts untangling your hair. He asks for permission before helping you wash your whole body. You simply nod and this only makes him feel as like his undead heart skipped a beat.

After that, you two end up in bed, cuddling and talking about your feelings.

Astarion feels horrible for not asking Jaheira’s help earlier - but shuts it down. It’s not about him.

“It’s alright to struggle with something new. Remember? That’s what you told me all this years ago” he whispers gently in your ear.

“What if I shouldn’t have been a mother at all? That’s why it took so long for me to get pregnant”

“It’s not like we tried to achieve that specifically” he chuckles.

“And it doesn’t matter. You will be a great mother. You already are. No one is as kind and caring as you. You see only good in people and help them even they are doomed. I’m a living proof of that” he continues, caressing your cheek. “And I want to help you now”.

[starlitmark]

Summary: The moment Mingyu saw you on the beach in that skimpy bikini, it was over for him. Pairing: Mingyu x fem!reader Rating: R18+ Genre: smut Tropes: spring break au Word Count: 1,525 Warnings: language Smut Warnings: public sex, body worship, breast play, unprotected sex, creampie

Chapter 1: Honey Flavored Lips ៚ WITT Masterlist ៚ Chapter 3: Patience is Key

The last thing Mingyu wants to do right now is sit in the bungalow. He slept on the couch last night and will be for the whole week; he’s not the most pleased with the arrangement, but at least it’s a comfy sectional. He weighs his options and ultimately decides another day on the beach couldn’t hurt at all. If anything, that’ll be the most fun option without getting absolutely drunk at 2 pm in a club. The club is a half-hour drive away into the city anyway. It’s not very easy to do without a rental car. He doesn’t even bother to ask the others if they want to join him. Changmin and Hyunguu are off exploring the town and the jungle that lies just behind it. San and Jaehyun went to the nearby city earlier, and Youngkyun is likely still a recluse despite them being in a tropical location.

He leaves the house after preparing, and, of course, he lacks a shirt. Why should he wear one when he is on the beach anyway? His hair is up and out of his face, and he still wears a silver chain despite his lack of clothing on his upper half.

Luckily, the beach isn’t too busy despite the nice day. He sets up his spot and stays sat on the sand for a while. There are a few other people in his surrounding area but not too close that he feels like he’s on top of them. It’s not too hot that he feels the need to be in the water, and the wind isn’t too strong to make him feel the need to bake in the sun, either. It’s just all around a really nice day.

He notices a gorgeous girl walking up the beach and toward the beach blanket set up nearby his. Her bathing suit leaves just enough to the imagination that Mingyu wants to know more. It couldn’t hurt to at least try, right? The moment she’s settled and laying belly down on her place, Mingyu glances over. His glance must’ve been more of a look because she looks over at him and giggled quietly.

“Enjoying the view?” you ask flirtatiously.

“Is it so bad if I am?” he flirts back.

You chuckle, flipping your hair over one shoulder, “You trying to do something about it?”

Mingyu smirks, leaning back on his hands behind him. He looks up in the sky for a second, then drops his gaze back down to you. You’re giving him a rather suggestive look. It conveys very clearly to him. He returns your gaze, and it tells you all you need to know.

“There’s a private bathhouse over by those palms.” you jerk your head in the direction of the trees.

“I do need to learn the beaches a little better. Care to show me where you mean?”

You stand up, brushing a bit of dry sand off your chest and stomach. You can feel his eyes on you, and you absolutely love how easily you can get a reaction out of him. You walk over to him, swinging your hips a little extra, and stop right in front of him. You squat down, resting your butt on your heels. His eyes are transfixed on your chest, which is now basically at his eye level. You reach out a hand in his direction.

“Let me show you around then.” you ask with undertones of flirting.

He takes your hand, “Show me the way, beautiful.”

You’re pinned to the wall of the bathhouse the moment you step inside with the tall man. His lips are immediately on your throat, pulling sweet sounds from you. He has one hand holding your hip while the other is playing with your chest. Your hands find their way around his neck and up into his hair. You gently tug at the locks soliciting a quiet groan from the man. His hand travels around to your back from your chest. He pulls the string that’s holding your bikini top shut, and then you feel the release of the fabric.

“So fucking beautiful.” he sighs, “If we weren’t stuck in this stupid building, I’d spend so much time making you feel good. We don’t have a whole lot of time, though, do we?”

“We could go to yours or-”

Before you can finish your thought, he takes one of your nipples into his mouth a swirls his tongue around it. His hand that had previously been untying your top returns to your chest, playing with the breast not occupying his mouth. Your breath is stolen from your lungs, and you grip his hair just a bit tighter so as to hold onto a bit of sanity. You start to grind against him, hoping that he catches your drift and fucks you soon.

“God damn,” he moans slightly, “you okay if I fuck you raw? I didn’t bring anything with me.”

“If you don’t fuck me in the next thirty seconds, I’ll leave and find someone who will.” you threaten, though there’s no intent behind it.

Mingyu chuckles slightly, knowing there’s no true threat to your words. His lips continue to kiss paths across your body in any way he can. You snake your hands down his muscular form and into the front of his bathing suit. You feel a shot of arousal run through your body and center itself in your core, just thinking about how well he’ll fill you up. He lets out a shaky breath as you start to move your hand around his member. His hand moves away from your chest and glides across your side to tug at the strings holding the lower half of your bathing suit together. The moment one side falls loose, his fingers quickly find your clit and rub circles on it. It takes everything in you not to crumble against his body.

“You’re so wet. Bet this pretty pussy would take me so well.” he muses between a few kisses to your collarbones, “Let’s see if I’m right.”

You can’t think of anything to say. Your brain is practically mush hearing and feeling how he worships your body. You simply shove his bathing suit down as best you can to finally release him from the fabric. Within moments he’s fully inside you, and if you thought you couldn’t think straight before, now is even worse. He waits a few moments to allow you to adjust to his size. Still, he kisses any skin he can reach on your body, whispering praise between each one.

“Y-you can move; please move.” you practically moan.

“So fucking pretty, and you take me so well. Fuck, ‘m gonna start moving now, pretty girl.”

When he starts moving his hips, you swear that you see heaven. He’s hardly started, but you already have a continuous stream of moans and whimpers escaping your lips. Your back is pressed against this wall rather uncomfortably, and your hair is definitely a mess, but right now, all you can think about is how good he’s making you feel. He’s an expert with his hips, rocking them at a pace that isn’t too fast or slow. His fingers never stop drawing circles against your clit. You clench around him slightly, making him groan against the junction of your neck and shoulder.

“If you squeeze me like that, I don’t know how long I’ll last, beautiful.” he warns you.

“Can’t help it,” you breathe out, “you feel so good inside me.”

Soon enough, Mingyu’s pace becomes rougher and slightly uneven. You couldn’t care less since your high was quickly approaching. You feel like you’re on cloud nine, high off of the adrenaline of fucking a stranger in a public place. Just as you’re about to topple over the edge of an orgasm, you hear someone outside the small bathhouse. The man fucking you couldn’t seem to care less, though. You moan loudly but try your best to muffle the sound against his neck.

“Don’t hide those pretty sounds,” he tells you, “those guys out there are just my housemates; they won’t mind one bit.”

Normally, something like that would make panic swell in your belly. This time though, it makes you feel more of a rush of arousal bolt through you. Tossing your head back against the wall of the building, you let your moans fly free. The tall man warns you that he’s about to cum, and you let him know he’s more than welcome to cum inside you. When he does, it triggers your own orgasm, and he carries you through it with the continued stimulation to your clit, now combined with him toying with your nipples again. His hips slow to a stop. Both of you pant, trying to catch your breath. He chuckles slightly and rests his forehead on the wall beside yours.

“I, um, I never caught your name.” you admit.

“Mingyu,” he informs you, “that was one hell of an adventure for being strangers, huh?”

“Mmh,” you hum in agreement, “You gonna be around the rest of the week?”

“Name a time and place, gorgeous. I’ll be there.”

COPYRIGHT STARLITMARK 2023© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — reposting/modifying any fic, or piece of original writing posted on this blog is not allowed. Translations are not permitted.

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[sevcasejay1chicago]

Well in that case.... I’m gonna send you this idea... if it sparks inspo... sweet. If not or you don’t want to take such requests at the moment that’s totally cool too.

What about something where the reader is working a couple jobs like waitressing and bar tending or something while also going to college. During finals she’s working and studying and neglecting sleep and self care. Buck and Eddie start to get worried. So they convince her to come hang out at the station. She ends up collapsing (maybe on the stairs? And gets a minor concussion) due to exhaustion and dehydration. Once she gets home they both insist she just relax and nothing else. Lots of cuddles and bringing her food and water and basically only letting her up to pee. Ooh and maybe they give her a bubble bath... very spa like with candles and they do all the work and wash her hair for her and everything...

Over worked and under paid- Eddie Diaz and Evan Buckley

Authors note: A few things.

1. I’m sorry this took so long. I’ve been so busy and I’ve only been able to write in short periods.

2. I know this isn’t my normal One Chicago content, but I love these boys too and you asked, so I (very lately) delivered.

Warnings: possible wrong medical jargon, passing out, over working, vomiting, concussion, FLUFF

———————————

The boys are nothing short of proud and amazed by you. You are working part time as a barista at the coffee shop down the street from the station and frequently bartend for a friend at the bar that the 118 goes to every now and then. On top of your busy work schedule, you are also going to school online full time, helping take care of Christopher when Buck and Eddie are at the station, and trying to make sure you do your part around the house. If you asked Buck and Eddie, they would say you do too much in the first place and the house is something they can take care of, but you feel obligated to do your part.

Finals week has always been tough for you, but this is the first year that you are working two jobs and going to school full time. Buck and Eddie have been trying to help you as much as they can, including making sure you eat and drink, but they have been having a hard time getting you to slow down and sleep. Your mind just goes and thinks through all the stuff you need to be studying, so you are often sneaking out of bed to do so, much to Buck and Eddie’s dislike.

One day, Chris calls Eddie while he is at the station to express his worry. You had picked Chris up from school and brought him home like normal, but you didn’t get him a snack and sit down to help with his homework like you always do. He always tells you that you don’t have to, but you always do it anyways. With you forgetting this, the parlor of your face, and the bags under your eyes, Chris is worried something is seriously wrong with you.

Eddie has Buck call you as he calls Carla to come hang out with Chris. Buck calls you an Uber, saying you’ll be staying at the station and they want to help with everything, so you’ll just ride home with them. You cave, thinking that they are all gonna help you study, but not knowing their plan to get you to sleep or rest at the very least.

You arrive with your book bag on your back, still in your jeans and black tee from work earlier. Buck and Eddie hear Hen greet you and go to meet you at the top of the stairs. They both go running down as they watch your eyes roll into the back of your head as you drop with a loud thud, your forehead smacking against the railing as you go down.

“Y/n!!” Buck, Eddie, Hen, and Bobby yell. Buck and Eddie run down to get to you as Hen grabs the kit from the ambo and Cap runs up the stairs, having just come in the side door after getting something out of his personal truck.

Bobby is the first to make it to you and carefully holds your head in one hand while checking your pulse with the other. “She’s tacky and has labored breathing.” Bobby announces to the room. “Hen, give me the collar and then go get the rig ready.” Bobby instructs, passing you off to Eddie to steady you as he calls for Chim. “Chim. I need you on the floor. Y/n’s down. We need to go to the hospital.” He says, then after hearing a quick copy, he switches the radio to the dispatch frequency. “Dispatch, this is Captain Nash with the 118. Do you copy?” Bobby says, waiting for the copy from Maddie at dispatch before continuing. “Maddie, Y/n just collapsed at the 118. We are loading her and taking her to the er. Take the house out of commission.” Bobby says, standing as Buck finishes putting the collar on you and Eddie helps him hoist you into Evan’s arms.

“Copy you. Keep me posted. Dispatch out.” Maddie says.

Buck gently lays you down on the stretcher as Eddie takes a towel from Hen to gently wipe the blood from your face. Your eyes flutter as you groan, trying to swat his hand away. Hen chuckles as Bobby shuts the doors and Chim takes off with sirens blaring.

“Baby. Baby. Shhh. Stop mi amor.” Eddie murmurs, cupping your cheek in his hand as Hen places a pulse ox on your right hand. “It’s okay. We gotcha. You passed out baby.” Eddie explains as Buck clutches your hand and tries to keep his cool next to Eddie.

“Mmmm. Ed-ddie.” You moan, leaning into his touch. “D-don’t f-feel well.” You murmur, trying to push yourself into a sitting position. You don’t even have to express the way your feeling as your face turns ashen and your eyes widen.

Buck immediately pulls a puke bag from the dispenser and puts it around your mouth. “Alright baby. I gotcha. Just do what you gotta do.” Buck says, taking your hand again as you reach for him. It pains him to see you in so much discomfort.

Your breathing gets faster as the nausea builds. You vaguely hear Hen talking to Eddie about you possibly having a concussion as you begin heaving, crying out in pain when you can catch your breath. Your hearing is equivalent to being under water, but you can tell that both Eddie and Buck are trying to sooth you as tears stream down your face. Once you push the bag away, Eddie gets onto the stretcher with you and puts a towel on his neck, allowing you to press your forehead into his neck as much as possible with the collar still on.

Once at the hospital, Eddie ends up having to ride with you into the ER since you won’t let him go. They basically force you to untangle as nurses and a doctor want you moving into a bed to begin assessing you. Buck and Eddie stand at the top of the bed, both lightly touching you somewhere to let you know they are still there, while the doctor examines your head and does a spinal test. After many tests are done, fluids are given, and you get well educated on concussion protocol and the importance of taking care of yourself, you are finally released into the care of Eddie and Buck again.

Bobby was thoughtful enough to grab the guys go bags and drive Buck’s jeep to the hospital. Once you are cleared, the 118 is back in service, but Buck and Eddie are relieved of duty for the time being so that you can be taken care of. Buck drives back home with you curled around Eddie in the back seat. They gave you a sedative in the er and something for the pain, so you are practically knocked out. That is, until you get home.

You sleepily clutch onto Buck as he takes you from Eddie’s arms when you arrive home. You immediately bury your face into his neck to hide from the street lights now that it’s pretty late into the night. Eddie opens the door and disappears into the kitchen as Buck sits down with you on the couch.

“Chris?” You murmur, wondering where your son is.

“Carla has him at her house. Just relax sweet girl.” Buck whispers, kissing you on the forehead.

“Mmm.” You hum, snuggling back into his embrace.

“Alright you.” Eddie says, coming in with a tray of food and drinks. “Toast for you ma’am. I put butter on both, just to help settle your stomach. I also got you your favorite flavored water.” He says, handing you the water first. “Drink.” He says gently, before turning back to the tray. “A sandwich and water for both of us too.” Eddie says, handing Buck his sandwich when his boyfriend makes to grab for it, but you whine at the shift, so Buck settles back down.

You lay on Buck’s chest, nibbling at your toast and drinking your water when prompted. He could care less that you are getting crumbs on him as long as your comfortable and eating. Once everyone is finished, Eddie goes to clean up, leaving you and Buck back on the couch. You yawn, rubbing your face into Evan’s shoulder, causing him to chuckle.

“Alright baby. Bath and bed for you.” Buck says, standing up with you once again. “Eddie! Gonna go get her cleaned up.” Buck calls, nodding as Eddie replies with an okay.

You started to protest, but Buck is quit to shut you down.

“No ma'am. You just chill out. You need to relax and let us take care of you for once.” Buck says, sitting you on the bathroom counter in the master .

“But I-“ you begin to say, but you are cut off by Eddie as he saunters into the bathroom.

“You will relax and let us take care of you.” Eddie says, coming to stand between your legs. “What happened today could have been avoided if we put our foot down. Now, you will allow us to pamper you and give yourself time to rest. Okay?” Eddie says, lightly connecting his forehead with yours.

You close your eyes and sigh gently. “Okay. I’m sorry.” You murmur, bottom lip trembling as you fight back tears.

“Shhh mi amor. It’s okay. We are just worried, that’s all.” Eddie whispered, gently capturing your lips in his.

“Just let us take care of you. Okay?” Buck adds, coming to your side and kissing the side of your head. “Now, let’s get you in the bath while it’s still hot and I’ll even light your favorite candle. Okay love?” Evan says, trying to get you in bed as quickly as possible given that your eyes are having trouble staying open.

You nod and allow Eddie to undress you. It’s definitely not easy to let yourself get taken care of. You’ve grown used to fighting through this rough patch and hiding it the best you can from your boys, but you love them and they love you. Luckily, that just might save your life.

That night, the boys gently wash your hair. Eddie sitting on the edge of the tub behind you, caging you in with his legs as he gently massages your scalp. Buck washes your body, gently rubbing your sore muscles as he goes. They don’t stop until you are practically asleep against Eddie’s knee. Buck scoops you out of the tub while Eddie goes to throw your pjs in the dryer to warm them up. They then both help dry you off, gently brushing and blow drying your hair. Once you are all dry, they put you in your pjs, which consist of one of their fire shirts and your undies. Then, they get dressed themselves before getting in bed with you and settling in for the night, knowing that you are safe and sound in their arms.

————————

Tag list:

@treehouse-mouse

@shadowmeadowsworld

@sorry-i-spaced

@zephyrmonkey

@allisonargent144

@amie134

@lane-rodgers-barnes

@pensfan5871

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@daggersquadphantom

@stellakiddsblog

@100yroldteenagers

@senjoritanana

@celtic-shadow-wolf

@starset21

@mrspeacem1nusone

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter twenty four

close to home | chapter twenty four

plot: Daryl finds out that the reader set off, while the reader regrets her decision while she finds disaster on the road at every turn

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,116 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!!

Daryl sighed with relief when he saw Michonne through the bushes and made his way toward her. Noah was on his trail, seeing all the unasked questions on her face. She led him and Noah into the church, where everyone was asking questions at once. 

Daryl explained what happened and how Noah knew Beth. He explained what happened to Carol and how the hospital worked. That both Carol and Beth were now slaves there and that they needed to help them. 

He didn’t notice you weren’t there in the chaos of explaining everything to Rick, and when he looked around, Rick noticed. 

“I gotta talk to you,” Rick said, “About (Y/N).”

Daryl looked around the room again as his heart sped up. He didn’t see the damn cat, either. “What about her?”

“She’s gone,”

His mouth went dry, and his head swooned. “Whatta ya mean she gone?” He yelled. 

Rick rubbed his head and took a step back, “Abraham. They wanted to leave. I needed their help. Glenn made a deal. They’re on their way to D.C.”

“What?” Daryl asked. 

“She went with them. She couldn’t part from Maggie. She told me… she asked me to tell you she was sorry and knew you would understand.”

“I don’t!” Daryl yelled, grabbing his crossbow and heading towards the door. 

“Where are you going?”

“To find her! Bring ‘em back,” Daryl said. 

“Daryl…” Rick caught up with the archer and grabbed his arm. “They left this morning. I have a map of what route they’re taking. Once we figure out Beth and Carol, we’re going after them.”

***

thirteen hours earlier

You were sitting on the bus by yourself, your arms crossed and your legs propped up on the backrest of the seat in front of you. Tora was lying next to you, sleeping soundly, and your bag kept bumping into your feet. 

Your side was hurting, but it was better this morning. With all the pain meds getting you through the worst, you were sure it would get better now. It still ached, but you’d managed to perfectly fine this morning. And Rick made sure you took enough of the medkit to see yourself through. You cried when you said goodbye to him and Carl, and thanked them endlessly for letting you be a part of the family. 

It was hot in the bus, and being locked in here with people who hadn’t bathed in who knows how long didn’t help. And being so heartbroken over leaving the rest of your family only made things worse. You didn’t know what happened to Daryl and Carol. They could be dead for all you knew; you had to live with it now. You could only hope and pray that they’re okay and will be leaving to follow you soon. 

As much as you hated leaving everyone and how much you longed for your best friend already, you didn’t regret it. Being with Maggie, with Glenn, they were your family in a way that nobody else was. She was your blood, and he was basically a brother now. You couldn’t have let them go. So you didn’t regret your decision. It just really sucked that it was basically made for you. 

You ignored the group as they talked. You weren’t interested in hearing Eugene ramble on about how he will save the world. What he said didn’t make sense anyway. And you certainly didn’t care about listening to Rosita talk about haircuts. 

You just wanted to sulk in the back of the bus and wish that things were different. 

You rolled your eyes when you heard Eugene ramble on about the Human Genome Project and then closed them to hopefully get some sleep. 

Some sort of explosion up front made you jump, and the bus shifted dramatically as Abraham tried to get control of the vehicle. You grabbed the seat tightly and looked ahead, just in time to watch Abraham hit a car, and then you were airborne. 

Your head smacked against the side of the bus as it landed, and you yelled in pain. Your vision was blurry as you tried to sit up. There was broken glass and smoke filling the air, and you stumbled as you tried to get up.

Tora was meowing in anger, and you looked for her, wincing, and finally found her. The bag landed on her, and she was all tangled up but seemed okay for the most part. You heard Abraham calling for Eugene, and Glenn came to check on you. Once he saw you were okay, he gave your arm a squeeze and then went to help Abraham. 

You quickly knelt down and put Tora in the bag. You could hear the walkers assembling outside; the last thing you needed was for her to bolt. Slinging the bag on your back, you grabbed your scattered weapons and walked towards the door. Eugene and Tara had already made their way out. 

Maggie yelled at you to stand back and let them handle it that you were still healing, but you ignored her and worked to kill a walker and then some. 

When they finally dropped, you knelt on the ground and breathed heavily. Tora was meowing in the bag, and you let her out. 

“Are you okay?” Maggie asked. 

You nodded and looked over when Abraham started yelling--again. You rolled your eyes and grabbed the water Maggie offered you. 

There was nothing you wanted more than to sit down, but the group wanted to keep moving, so you didn’t complain. 

***

You reached a small town a few hours after sunset and found a library to hold up in for the night. You were more than happy to see where you would be staying and couldn’t wait to lie down and sleep for the night. 

But there were things to do first, and you all worked together to get the place in tip-top shape. Before long, the place was decent enough, and you sat down to drink toilet water and eat the little rations you had left. 

Tora curled up near your legs and stared up at you with her big eyes, and you felt a wide range of emotions. You would miss seeing Carl give her love and attention and then watch her offer affection to anyone who would give her food. 

You reached down and gave her pets behind the ear and then her belly. Then you finally laid down and slept.

[ssahotchnerr]

hiii there. I hope you’re doing okay. may I request something with hotch? like reader is still v. self-conscious of her body, and maybe she was sad because of something she saw/read/heard and he comes home to her crying and runs a hot bath for her and basically worships her? idk. I’m feeling it today. 🥺 thank you!

insecurities

aw i know the feeling well and i'm so so sorry it's awful :( i hope this makes your day better and you wake up tomorrow feeling more positive!! <3

cw; body image, small alcohol mention, i think that's it? and ofc fluffy fluff fluff <333

-

aaron can instantly tell something is off from the moment he opens the door.

you almost always beat him home; your work day ends much before his does. as a result, he was used to seeing your smiling face upon his entry, providing the usual 'welcome home kiss' he looked forward to from the second he left the apartment in the morning. maybe you would have dinner started, or you were relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine.

but this time, it's silent.

actually, no. it's silent except for the soft sound of you weeping coming from down the hall.

it's not hard to miss, and aaron almost feels guilty he didn't hear it immediately. worries instantly consumes him, worse case scenarios already flooding his head. so he doesn't waste another second to drop his things and hurry in your direction.

"sweetheart?" he asks with a sense of urgency, finding you sitting on the bed. "what's wrong?"

you nearly jump in surprise at his words; your cries had covered up the sounds of his arrival home so until now, you had thought you were alone. "nothing," you manage with a shake of your head, turning away so he wouldn't witness you wiping at your tears. "i'm fine."

you hadn't done a very good job of pleading your case, and well, because aaron knows you better than anyone, he knew there was more to the story. he knelt in front of you, taking your hands into his, making your own look minuscule in comparison.

"it must to be something if it has you this upset." he said solemnly, his thumbs brushing the palms of your hands gently.

you hesitate, considering not even voicing your thoughts, but from the look in his eyes, your heart pinches at the idea that you wouldn't confide in him. he's your aaron; he's been there during your good and bad days. there's no safer place than with him.

"sweetheart?"

"i just," you said, "i feel disgusting." you finally share, even more tears welling up in your eyes at your confession.

"what?" he asks softly, his eyebrows raising in slight surprise.

"someone..." you swallow the lump in your throat, his hands tightening their hold on yours. " someone said some things at work earlier."

aaron's face falls as you recall the negative statements you had overheard a colleague say in your regard. halfway through, you're leaning forward into him; your head his shoulder, your tears soaking through his dress shirt, just sobbing.

aaaron lets you cry, giving you the opportunity to let it all out. he doesn't mind in the slightest that you've wet his shirt, and he himself holds back tears at your anguish. not only that, he's angry. not at you, of course, but at the person who's put these incorrect thoughts into your head. he nearly scoffs at the audacity, how someone can believe you're anything less than extraordinary, in all aspects, is beyond him.

once you've calmed down a bit, he speaks up.

"you know that's all not true, don't you?" as he speaks, you pull back to look at him. "i mean it, you're absolutely perfect."

you shake your head. "but i-"

"no, no," aaron interrupts, shushing you. "you are perfect. there isn't an ounce of you that i don't love." he brings your hands to his lips, kissing them softly. "i love how your hands fit into mine. a perfect match, don't you think?"

aaron's hands let go of yours, and they find the way to the hem of your shirt. his eyes go to yours for permission, and once granted, his fingers are slipping underneath your shirt.

"and don't get me started on your body. how soft your skin is, your curves that make me weak in the knees." his fingers lightly trail along your sides, giving you instant goosebumps. "you have no idea what you do to me."

you let out a soft breath as his eyes reconnect with yours, heavy with desire. he reaches up a bit, brushing his lips against yours.

"you have zero imperfections. none."

you loop your arms loosely around his shoulders, eager to be closer, and he finally presses his lips to yours in a searing kiss.

"i love you, i love every piece of you. darling, believe me when i tell you, you're stunning." he mumbles softly into your lips.

after a few seconds, he pulls away and wipes at your few remaining tears. "feeling any better?"

"a bit, yeah." you nodded, offering him a tiny smile which causes one to pull on his face as well.

"c'mon then," he gets up, his knees cracking softly as he does so. his hands find your shoulders, massaging them gently for a few moments. "i'm going to run you a bath, it'll help relieve the tension in your shoulders, alright?"

you nod and he kisses the top of your head, reaching again for one of your hands to pull you to your feet.

"and if that doesn't help, i have a few other ideas to wash away any remaining doubts you may still have."

[blackholemojis]

(not a request)

Hai! As someone trying to experiment with AACs, I can't find an optimal and conveniently organized word list, can you please share any tips for that?

Unfortunately I've had the same problem when trying to make my own AAC boards, as well as with running this blog. There are some general essentials though, I've made some of them and tagged them with #blackholemojis basics, if you want to look through those.

Other than that, I can really only share the types of words I put into my own AAC boards first. I haven't found a convenient and well organized word list anywhere :(

Under the cut though I'll put a lot more words you could include in your AAC, if you want to check that out! I'll update it as I think of more

Basic words

Yes, no, maybe, I don't know, something else, probably, stop, go, I consent, I don't consent

What, when, who, where, why, how

Good, bad, better, worse, best, worst, same, different, alright

Basic activities of daily living

Hygiene: bathe, clean teeth, style hair, wash face, etc

Dressing: get dressed, get undressed, clothing, tops, bottoms

Eating: eat, drink, swallow, chew, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack

Bathroom: use the bathroom, pee, poop, wipe off, wash hands

Transferring/mobility: walk, stand up, sit down, lay down, transfer to mobility aid, transfer out of mobility aid

Instrumental activities of daily living

Communication: speak, text/message, computer, phone, email, video call, write, call

Transportation: picked up, dropped off, drive, ride, bike, walk, take the bus, take the train, carpool

Meal prep: cook, bake, heat up, prepare food, plan meals, clean up kitchen, put away food

Shopping/finances: shop, buy, sell, donate, pay, write a check, manage balance, wallet, bank account, make a deposit, budget, pay bills, pay insurance, pay mortgage

Housework: do laundry, do dishes, dust, vacuum, sweep, mop, clean, fold, organize, take out the garbage

Medication: take meds, refill meds, order meds refill

Short words

Hello, goodbye, please, thank you, you're welcome, sorry, I forgive you

Do, don't, done, did, will, won't, could, can, can't, should, shouldn't, is, isn't, was, wasn't, were, weren't, want, like, dislike,

Now, later, soon, earlier, today, tomorrow, yesterday

And, a, an, the, or, which, if, so, then, because

Leave, come, walk, run, give, take, throw, catch, move, stay, find, lose, say, mean, think, let, need, want, help, belong, start, finish

I/me/myself, mine, you/yours/yourself, this person, she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, it/its/itself

Essential activities

Eat, sleep, wake up, use the bathroom, drink

Major senses

See, touch, taste, smell, hear, sense, feel

Places

Home, work, school, house, apartment, trailer, park, grocery store, clothing store, daycare, college, religious center

Health

Sick/ill, fever, nauseous, stuffy nose, runny nose

Scratch, burn, cut, bruise, broken bone, concussion

Hospital, doctor's office, dentist's office

Any other specific conditions or symptoms you have, physically or mentally

Any mobility aids you use

Other descriptor groups

Colors, temperature, size, amount, directions/location, time, body parts, family/friend names, relations (grandma, neighbor), emotions, pets, objects/belongings, weather

[themultifandomgal]

Hi lovely, love reading your work!!!! Could you do one either Connor Rhodes x reader or Will Halstead x reader where she gets really sick with the flu or something and basically gets wiped out for the week, just her boyfriend/ husband (whatever works better) fussing over her doing all kinds of checks on her, just overall caring?

Connor Rhodes- Full Of Flu

Connor and I have been dating now for quite some years. We met through my sister April since she works at the same hospital as Connor and of course dating a doctor means that if I’m ever ill, he knows best.

I wake up early in the morning to Connor’s alarm going off, but the first thing I notice is how sore my throat is and how bad my head hurts. Groaning I throw the bed sheet over my head

“Not going to give me a morning kiss?” I hear my boyfriend says from next to me. I shake my head in reply, but quickly realise that’s a huge mistake. Groaning again I push my face into my pillow “what’s wrong?” Connor asks removing the bedsheet from my head

“Head hurts, throat sore”

“Hmmm you do feel warm” Connor places his hand on my forehead “let me take your temp” he says leaving the bedroom before quickly returning with a thermometer, painkillers and a bottle of water. Connor takes my temperature and sighs “102. I’ve got a 12 hour shift today, but if you start to feel worse message me”

“Ok” i hum to Connor placing a gentle kiss on my head before getting dressed then leaving the bedroom.

I must have fallen back asleep for some time because when I wake up again the sun is shining and next to me on the bedside table is a bottle of water, painkillers and a little note. However I feel worse that I had earlier. My body is now aching, my nose is stuffy, I also feel a little nauseous too. Still feeling extremely tired, I decided what’s best is to just have a bed day today.

12 hours later Connor returns home and I’ve got progressively worse, having to go to the bathroom a few times to throw up

“How are you feeling?”

“Like crap” I reply shivering in bed

“Have you eaten anything?” Connor asks sitting on the edge of the bed

“No. Been sick”

“Just drink the water slowly, little sips. Can I take your temp again?”

“Yeah” I sigh

“103.3 Jesus baby it’s going up”

“M’cold” I say wrapping the bedsheet round me more

“I know, but you can’t get to warm. Let me go and get some more Tylenol and water”

As the days go by Connor is amazing and thankfully with his help I start to feel better, however this flu does take it out of me. After 2 days I start to eat a little more, connors homemade soup has been a life saver, but I’ve been so tired. Connor has got me out of bed and in clean pyjamas

“Can you try and eat a bit more?” Connor asks looking at the soup in my bowl

“Not hungry”

“I know but you’ve got to eat. Just have 3 more mouthfuls”

“Fine” I give in knowing there’s no point in arguing with him

“Good. Once you’ve eaten then I’ll run you a bath and wash your hair for you. Then we can go to bed”

“And cuddle”

“Yes and cuddle”

“Thank you for looking after me”

“Always. April said she will come over tomorrow on her day off while I do my shift”

“I’ll be fine on my own”

“I know you, you’ll stay in bed all day, won’t eat and will probably forget to drink anything. Aprils coming over, end of story”

For the rest of the week Connor takes care of me, and I start to feel better, however I must of passed the flu to Connor because he’s now the one having to have someone check his temp. Nothing worse than a doctor getting sick because they won’t ask for help or let someone else take care of them. Connor may be stubborn, but so am I. It’s my turn now to look after my boyfriend and I can honestly say I don’t mind one bit.

[missywritesfor7]

❤️‍🩹Lifeline | MYG❤️‍🩹

Synopsis: It’s long been controversial for idols to date, but idols dating each other can be really beautiful or a complete nightmare. When Yoongi's relationship with another idol is discovered, he decides maybe it’s time to break the taboo and show people it’s ok for idols to date. Instead, they find themselves caught in the midst of one media frenzy after another and struggle to keep their relationship as strong as it had been the past 2 years. Yoongi finds a self destructive way to cope, and it causes even more problems than it solves. As they fight for their relationship and their careers, they discover that sometimes, the only way to truly be free is to let go.

Pairing: idol!Yoongi x idol!OC

Warnings: nsfw, alcoholism, cheating, depression, anxiety, Yoongi goes through a bisexy ho phase, Yoongi is also in his alcoholic phase, post-military BTS

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Ch. 11: Out of Sight

After making breakfast and unconvincingly telling Hyeri that he’s ok, Yoongi slept through most of the day. Any time there was a noise, Hyeri was sure he’d wake up, but he stayed knocked out sprawled across the bed.

In the meantime, Hyeri had been monitoring the chatter surrounding her unauthorized statement that, even after her meeting earlier, she refuses to take down. It’s out there now and it wouldn’t make a difference at this point if she took it down. Everyone deserves to know the truth, and she should be free from living a lie that she didn’t agree to in the first place.

Yet still, she lies to herself that she’s ok. She lies to herself that after a little time things between her and Yoongi will be just as before. That maybe he’ll sweep her off of her feet with the grandest apology and make it alright. She truly wishes everything would be alright.

There’s no denying that Yoongi has done everything he can think of to cater to Hyeri’s every need even when she hasn’t expressed needing or wanting anything at all. He makes her meals, addresses any pain or wounds she has, and massages her from head to toe to keep her relaxed and loose.

Though she still struggles to trust him, she also does everything she can for him. She broke him and regardless of what he’s done, she still feels partially responsible. The guilt she carries is strong every time she thinks of his rapid downward spiral he went through on tour. She can’t even bring herself to look at pictures of him from during the tour. She can hardly look at him now, and that’s why she’s been taking care of him as best she can.

If he makes breakfast, she makes dinner. If he tells her she should get some sleep, she drags him to bed as well telling him he needs the same. If he runs her a bubble bath, she’ll take care of his skin routine since he doesn’t actually have one aside from simple face wash and water. He saves her the last bottle of juice and she saves him the last bit of meat from whatever dinner they have that night.

For an entire week they go back and forth taking care of each other out of guilt, but not talking. No one asks how their day was because neither of them have gone anywhere all week. Hyeri hasn’t tried taking any new work yet, and the guys basically threatened Yoongi to stay away from the office completely or they would have no choice but to reveal everything to management. They want him to stay home and away from possible temptations. They want him to get clean and stay that way for a bit.

Neither of them know what to say to each other. Other than small talk during meals, it’s mostly silent. It’s killing Hyeri so much that she finally decides she’s going to simply try to act as if nothing happened. Yoongi isn’t going to do it first because he still feels it’s what he deserves. He still feels he doesn’t even deserve her to be there caring for him each day. He wasn’t lying when he said her love is torturous.

It’s an uneventful Monday evening. Yoongi made breakfast, Hyeri bought lunch. Now they sit at the table having dinner made by Yoongi. A simple stir fried chicken dish he made up while experimenting in the kitchen one day. Something Hyeri has always loved since the day he concocted it.

“Thank you,” Hyeri says after they’ve spent 10 minutes in painful silence at the table.

“Hm?” Yoongi asks.

“For making dinner,” she says. She’s wanting to try to make things seem “normal” and she hopes it works. “Thank you.”

“Oh,” he says a little surprised by her sudden gratitude. “It’s no problem. You don’t have to thank me.”

“Yes I do,” she says. “You’re always cooking for me and taking care of me. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re always taking care of me too, so thanks for that.”

“I’ll always take care of you,” she smiles. “In other news…I got asked to play a part in another drama.”

“Really?” He asks perking up.

“Yeah, I guess my career isn’t over after all,” she jokes. “I’m going to go discuss it with JJS tomorrow. My manager offered to drive me, but I don’t know. I think I may just ride the bus instead.”

“What? Why?” He asks not liking the idea of her on public transportation without any protection.

“It would be easier,” she shrugs. “No one has to inconvenience themselves to take me there.”

“You wouldn’t be inconveniencing me,” he says a little hurt but fully understanding of why she didn’t ask him first. “I can take you so you won’t be on the bus alone.”

“The bus isn’t bad-“

“It’s not safe for you. There’s no telling who could be on the bus waiting for the chance to attack you.”

“Babe, it’s fine. Who would be trying to attack me?”

Yoongi is frozen in silence. It’s been a while since she’s called him “babe” like that. Hearing it now as it leaves her tongue so casually has him struggling to keep it together. Once again he feels tortured. Even though he’s told her everything, she still cares enough to call him babe. The way she smiles at him is a smile he hasn’t seen her crack since before he went on tour. So he tries to force one back at her.

“Last I checked,” he says putting his chopsticks down. “You’re still the talk of the town for more reasons than one. Taking the bus is a gamble. I’ll drive you there tomorrow. I’m not doing anything anyways.”

“You sure it won’t be a problem?” She asks.

“Of course not,” he says almost smiling for real now. “It’s the least I can do for you until I buy you a new car.”

“What?” She asks surprised. “Yoongi, no. You’re not going to buy me a new car.”

“You need one don’t you? I owe it to you.”

“You don’t owe me a car, Yoongi. You’re not the one who crashed it.”

“But I’m the reason you were out at that time, right?” Buying her a car is nothing. He’d buy her Mars and it still wouldn’t feel like enough to make up for everything he’s done.

“I’m the reason I was out at that time. I knew I had no business driving but I did it anyway. Don’t blame yourself.”

“You keep telling me not to blame myself for things when I know I’m at fault for a lot.”

“Stop.”

“No,” he shakes his head. “I mean it. I know I hurt you much more than you hurt me. I have a lot of making up to do, but you can’t tell me I shouldn’t blame myself for anything when I’m the reason for everything.”

“You’re not the reason for everything and I want you to stop thinking that.”

“Then what will you let me blame myself for?”

“Being stupid.”

“That’s it?” He asks feeling so much more guilty.

“Yeah,” she nods. “You’re at fault for being very fucking stupid.”

Of course that’s not all, but she’s so tired of this standoff of guilt that they’ve been in that she’d rather not get into the many ways that he’s at fault for a lot and simply try to move forward and rebuild the bond they had before. Honestly she misses it. She misses it so much that she cries in the shower every night wishing things would get better. She’s sick of crying.

“Come on, Hyeri,” he says knowing she’s lying.

“I mean it,” she says quickly.

“You think I believe that? You think I believe that that’s the only thing that bothers you? That I’m stupid?”

“Very fucking stupid,” she reiterates.

“Wow….Na Hyeri you are…unbelievable.”

“What?” She tilts her head.

“You are incredible,” he chuckles shaking his head. “The most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. You’re full of shit, but still so amazing.”

“Is that a compliment?” She asks faking confusion. She knows what he means. She knows he can see through her, but she knows he knows she’s going to continue playing until he plays along.

“I’m just in awe at how someone as stupid as me gets to be in the presence of someone as wonderful as you,” he smiles. He’ll play along. He always does. He’s weak to the face she makes when she desperately wants to move to another subject.

“Now you’re just talking nonsense,” she laughs.

That laugh fills him with a bright glow that he hasn’t felt in so long. The way her eyes pinch closed in amusement makes him feel so warm. He doesn’t think he deserves her at all, but dammit, he loves her so much.

“How about this,” he says taking her hand from across the table. “I’ll get you a rental car. Keep it however long you want, and I’ll take care of everything. Let me at least do this for being so fucking stupid.”

“I’ll allow it,” she smiles.

She allowed him to take her to the JJS building the next morning so she can discuss the terms of her new drama offer. He tells her he’ll be out and about until she’s done, then he’ll pick her up and take her to choose a rental since she still declined having him buy her a car when he brought it up again that morning.

He takes a drive around the city with no destination in mind. He hasn’t been out much since the tour ended, so it feels nice to see the sunlight. Actually, this is the first time he’s felt like he wasn’t being held in some sort of prison. Once the members started to catch wind of his drinking during the tour, he’s been under a microscope. Even now, they still won’t allow him to return to the office or his studio until he proves that he’s stopped drinking and won’t get into trouble.

He gets it, but at the same time it seems like too much to him. He’s been wanting to work on some music, and though he has some equipment at home, he wants to use everything in his studio that helps make his music come out the way he wants. Right now, the guys agreed that he has to wait until Friday to prove sobriety. As much as he wanted to argue with those terms, he couldn’t. They got Hyeri in on it and truthfully, he can’t deny that his drinking got out of control. It literally fucked everything up, so he’s not mad at all. But he really wants to work on his music. He needs his creative release.

Hyeri accepted a supporting role in a 3 part miniseries as her first job since her accident and unauthorized admission to not being in a relationship with Kihyun. They made it seem as if she was on some sort of probation which is why she’s getting a supporting role instead of a lead role. Her drama had high viewership and great ratings. She knows they’re only trying to punish her for making a statement without consulting them first. They had an entire plot planned out and her impromptu confession threw it all off the rails. It has nothing to do with the truth and everything to do with pumping lies out for views. She’s trying to give them a chance to prove that they’re not as terrible as they’ve made themselves out to be so far, but they’re making it hard.

Still, she takes the role and receives the shooting schedule that starts in two weeks and carries on for a little over a month. She agrees to not cause any more trouble, though she feels what she did wasn’t the troublesome thing of the whole situation.

When she’s done, Yoongi comes back around to pick her up. She gets in the car and she can immediately tell something is off. Yoongi seems nervous for some reason, though he tells her he’s fine. Hyeri starts to worry that he may have gotten a drink or something while he was waiting for her.

She asks him what he was doing that whole time and he simply says he was just driving around. She can’t smell alcohol on him which is a relief, so she lets it go for now.

Yoongi wasn’t lying, but he found something in the center console of his car that he had forgotten all about. A small bottle of whisky he had placed in there some time ago. It was a gift and he only put it in the center console when he went out somewhere else before going home that same day. He meant to take it out when he got home but he had forgotten all about it.

He rediscovered the bottle while waiting for Hyeri and so many emotions came flooding through his mind. Resistance was easy at first. He hadn’t drank anything since that disastrous night at the restaurant so there wasn’t an urge for him to indulge. That night was horrible.

Then he started thinking about everything he had done while drunk out of his mind. Everything he could and couldn’t remember came flashing by. Everything that hurt Hyeri was sitting in the front of his mind urging him to ease the burn with just a little sip. The guilt of how she’s still so good to him makes him want to drink the feeling away. He can’t understand why she hasn’t knocked his head off by now. He told her to hate him but she won’t. The torturous guilt is strong and all he wants is just a little sip. However, Hyeri messaged him letting him know she was done. That saved him from caving, but the bottle remains in his car hidden and sealed.

Yoongi carries on taking Hyeri to choose a rental car until she buys a new one. She wanted something similar to her simple navy blue 4-door sedan, but Yoongi insisted on something with more safety features. If he ever has to hear that she was in an accident again he wants to be confident that the car she’s in will keep her as safe as possible.

After compromising and choosing a small black suv, Hyeri offered to pick up lunch and meet Yoongi back home. He tried to take on the task himself, but she insisted. Told him to go home and she’ll be there soon. She’s sweet.

She’s so sweet that Yoongi’s guilt is growing each second as he’s on his way home. He parks his car and sits for a moment. One sip can’t hurt. Just enough to keep his guilt from taking him over completely. One small sip.

He opens the center console and stares at the unopened bottle. It’s like he’s in a standoff with the smoky beverage that’s staring back up at him. It would certainly help ease his mind, but at the same time it’s the reason why he’s in the shit he’s in now. He can’t do this again. If she didn’t leave before, he’s not going to give her another reason to leave. He doesn’t feel he deserves her love, but he still loves her more than anything and he would be devastated if he woke up one day and she was gone.

He shuts the center console and quickly exits his car as if the bottle would suddenly grow legs and chase him. He swiftly heads up to his apartment and breathes a sigh of relief. That was much harder than it should have been. He gets himself a drink of water and sighs. He wishes he’d never found that bottle.

Hyeri returns with lunch and Yoongi feels proud that he was able to resist temptation. Having a meal with her without it being painfully silent is worth it. Being able to do so without guilt is even better.

Yoongi gets through the remainder of the week without thinking of the bottle in his car. He doesn’t think of drinking anything. He and Hyeri have gotten closer again so he sees no need to have a drink. Once the guys see that he’s remained alcohol free they allow him to return to the studio.

The first day he was in the studio he spent the entire time perfecting a few things he had written at home. Mostly songs that explore everything he’s gone through with Hyeri. Those are the only songs he could bring himself to write lately. It’s the only thing that’s been on his mind.

Of course he couldn’t resist checking every square inch of his studio to see if Namjoon really threw everything away. Yoongi doesn’t know how, but Namjoon found everything. He found the small bottles in his desk drawer, the one next to his keyboards, the one on his shelf that was mostly hidden by books. Namjoon even took the bottles Yoongi had no intention of ever drinking. The ones in beautifully crafted bottles that are one of a kind. They served as more of decoration and Namjoon knew that, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Being back in the studio seemed fine at first. He works hard as he always does, but as the days pass he starts to miss that one little thing that he would normally have to boost his creativity and fuel him. A small glass of whiskey he’d pour himself and sip while working. He doesn’t have that. All of his drinks are gone.

Except the one in his car.

[amplifyme]

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Fight the Future. A little post-movie feel-good fic. Thanks again to @lilydalexf for scouring her personal fanfic vault and presenting me with a copy of something I'd written 25 years ago that I'd thought was forever lost. You are a treasure, m'dear! 😘

Shift (aka The Lost Fanfic). Read on AO3. PG-13. UST. Slow burn.

"Let me see if I'm understanding you, Mulder." Scully silently offered to swap her container of shrimp fried rice for his Mongolian beef. "You're saying that our work on the X-Files should be considered the norm, as opposed to the typical white-collar worker with the house in the suburbs and the two point five kids?'

"And the Range Rover," Mulder added as they traded off. He took a bite of the rice and talked around it, his typical enthusiasm overriding any need for manners. "What I'm saying is that we're hardwired to seek out new experiences, blaze new trails. The human intellect demands new and different challenges, and if we ignore that basic need we run the risk of becoming complacent; the perfect target for any organization with enough power to literally take over our lives."

He set the container on the coffee table and tore open a packet of hot mustard with his teeth, liberally dousing an egg roll with the runny yellow substance before inhaling half of it in one bite. Scully watched with bemusement. A grazing Mulder was a sight to behold.

"So, if everyone was hunting down fat sucking vampires instead of sitting behind a desk or flipping burgers, the world would be a better place?" She waited as he furiously waved a hand in front of his open mouth and grabbed his beer, draining the last couple inches from the bottle. Pushing forty and he still hadn't figured out how much hot mustard was enough.

"That's kind of simplistic," he declared when he could talk again, "but yeah. Just think about it, Scully. What if the majority of the population could see just a fraction of the things we have? Think of how much more open-minded people would be to extreme possibilities. The idea of a race of aliens bent on colonizing the planet with not so benign intentions would be much more easily accepted."

Mulder held his hand out for the beef, giving her some time to consider what he'd said. Night had fallen and his living room was bathed in shadows. Light spilled from the kitchen doorway. Aside from the cool blue cast by the muted and ignored TV and the soft glow from the newly stocked fish tank, it was the only illumination in the apartment.

"But, Mulder, you're assuming that the majority of the world's population would even want to know the things we know. Contrary to what you might think, most people are perfectly happy living a life of order and routine. I dare say most of them would go out of their way to avoid the changes that kind of knowledge would inevitably bring."

"Ignorance is bliss?"

"That's kind of simplistic," she remarked, catching his faint smile as she echoed his earlier jab, "but yes. Most people just want to be left alone to live their lives as they see fit. Change isn't always a good thing, Mulder."

"But it's inevitable," he argued. "Chaos is the norm. I can't believe I'm the only one who realizes that." He chewed and swallowed another bite, staring off into space. And then he looked in her direction, aiming the full force of his gaze squarely at her. His eyes were suddenly darker and more soulful. More aware. In a split second his entire focus had changed, and now everything in him was intent on nothing but her. It was a look she'd seen in his hallway just a few weeks ago, and one not easily forgotten.

"What about you, Scully? Is ignorance bliss?"

It was a question fraught with many different meanings - and they both knew it. That he felt comfortable enough to ask anyway was a sign of how much things had changed. It wasn't just one event out of all the events of the last month: it was the sum total of them that had led to this new and still tentative honesty; the constant awareness that they were standing on the brink of something brand new and yet older than time.

It was an electrifying feeling that had her thoughts careening wildly. She was smart enough to realize that what was blossoming between them was a strange and beautiful thing, but it was also a double-edged sword, and she wasn't entirely certain she was emotionally prepared to deal with the risks it entailed.

She held his eye, determined not to flinch, and chose to answer the easier version of his question. "No, of course not. It would be foolish of me to try to pretend that none of these things have happened." She glanced away and then back at him. The fact that his attention had shifted to the food and off of her allowed her to elaborate more than she might've otherwise.

"I guess I'm uneasy with the inherent changes that certain kinds of knowledge bring. I've always been a creature of habit, Mulder. I like routine. I like knowing what to expect. And despite the rather bizarre lifestyle I seem to have established, I've been able to adapt fairly well. It's just that sometimes it gets a little overwhelming."

"There's nothing wrong with routine, Scully. You're taking me too literally." Apparently, her deflection had worked. At least for the time being. He went on in his slightly professorial monotone. "The daily grind is a natural outgrowth of living in a civilized society. All I'm saying is that it tends to make us lazy and stupid. And that leaves us vulnerable to anyone or anything who cares to take advantage of the situation."

Mulder scrubbed his newly cropped hair and slouched back against the couch, one hand unconsciously and contentedly rubbing his stomach. "I probably don't have to tell you this," he continued, "but I thrive on change. I like chaos. It keeps me sharp. The best thing about not knowing what might happen next is that you're prepared for anything."

She pushed away from the food and settled back next to him, their shoulders barely brushing. "But, Mulder, we all need some kind of stability, a constant we can depend on. Otherwise, we'd spend our lives wandering aimlessly from one experience to another, without any kind of cohesiveness. I hear what you're saying, but there's nothing that prevents us from living an ordered life except our own inability to make sense of the very chaos you seem to cherish."

He rewarded her with a low chuckle. "Is this a kinder, gentler way of telling me I'm crazy?"

She shot him a dismissive look. "No. I'm just baffled by your attitude. Don't you ever find yourself wishing for a simpler life; one where you knew what to expect from day to day?"

"You make it sound like I don't have that already."

She gaped at him and then recovered. "Okay, now you've completely lost me. You wanna explain to me how you can possibly describe your life as simple?"

"Well, using the criteria you've established, it is simple. I have the stability you spoke of. I have that constant."

She snorted softly. "And that would be… what? That your stability is the fact that you have none? That your only constant is change?"

He turned his head and pinned her with a look, his words echoing the gentle rebuke she saw in the mossy green of his eyes. "You haven't been paying attention, Scully."

Still sprawled on the couch, his face bland, the only clue to Mulder's anxiety was the almost imperceptible bouncing of one leg. "I realize that the aftermath might be a little foggy to you, but I find it hard to believe you don't remember what was said just outside that door." He tilted his head toward the front of his apartment. He made no attempt to elaborate. His words lay solid and heavy between them, offered up like a gift she couldn't refuse, even if she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to accept it just then.

She'd been anticipating this. She'd thought about it enough that she'd even come to think of it as The Moment of Truth because of its potential to shift a large portion of her life in an unknown direction. Formulating possible responses to Mulder's probable remarks about what had happened and what'd been said had been uppermost in her mind lately. When he’d jokingly accused her of daydreaming just the day before, she hadn't been able to argue the point. He'd been right: she'd been far too distracted the last few weeks. Maybe it was best just to get things out in the open - for her continued sanity, if nothing else.

But before she could say anything he beat her to it, apparently misconstruing her long silence as refusal to take his bait. "Well," he rasped, sitting up and pulling a hand down his face, "this is an awkward moment. Look, Scully, forget I said anything."

"No," she quickly assured him, laying her hand on his back. "No, it's okay. I was just… I'm just not sure what to say, Mulder."   

He glanced back over his shoulder at her. "Well, I think I made my feelings pretty clear."

She certainly wouldn't argue with that. While she couldn't claim to remember much after she'd been stung in the hallway outside his apartment, the memory of Mulder's strangled words and the thrill of realization as he'd moved in to kiss her were etched into her brain. And now it was obvious that he was expecting her to come clean about her feelings. Yet another version of their well-established “I showed you mine, now you show me yours” game. Only this time it wasn't theories they were trading.

If Scully'd had a list, she could've checked off the symptoms of reticence she was experiencing, one by one. First came the dry mouth, followed closely by the leaden feeling in her stomach. Then the reeling in her head as she began to contemplate all she could say wrong despite her best efforts to put the correct spin on things. If discussing emotions were as simple as analyzing facts and figures, debating hypothetical situations, she'd be in the clear. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

She'd never been very big on flowery declarations; the words had always stuck in her throat every time she'd attempted it. She was a woman of action, and if forced to 'fess up, would much rather show than tell. And so that's what she did: sitting up and perching on the edge of the couch next to him, she gently turned his face toward hers and leaned in to kiss him. She was aware as her lips brushed his that he had gone completely still. She didn't linger, choosing instead to make it a chaste but tender kiss, pulling away after just a few seconds. Her hand stayed at his jaw a little longer though, as her fingers memorized the slight abrasiveness of his evening stubble. His eyes, when she raised hers to meet them, were both amused and a little shocked.

"There," she whispered. "I hate leaving things unfinished."

Mulder's eyebrows crept up and he gave an infinitesimal shake of his head. "That's it?" he asked. "You mean we're done?"

Now it was her turn to be taken aback. "What were you expecting?"

As his hands lifted to cup her cheeks he murmured, "C'mere and I'll show you."

Chaste was clearly not what Mulder had in mind. Not that she was complaining. She was too busy admiring the way his bottom lip was expertly nudging hers apart, opening her mouth to admit just the tip of his tongue. He briefly touched it to hers before sweeping it across her upper lip and withdrawing, pulling back just enough to be able to look her in the eye. Permission was asked and granted in the few moments it took her to curl a hand around the nape of his neck and bring his mouth back to hers.

Scully decided that his idea of what constituted finishing business was much more comprehensive than hers. She also decided that kissing him was something she really enjoyed doing and vaguely wondered what had taken them so long.

Good little investigator that he was, Mulder was busy making a thorough exploration of her mouth. It occurred to her, in some distant, foggy place in the back of her mind, that the shift she'd predicted was indeed inevitable. Funny thing was that the reality of it didn't scare her nearly as much as she'd thought it would. She allowed herself to completely relax into their kiss, with Mulder sensing her acquiescence and slowly easing her down onto the couch, his arms cradling her. They ended up with Scully lying against one of the throw pillows, his upper body draped across hers, their legs tangled.

It took her a few seconds to force her eyes open after Mulder finally broke for air. She found him looking down at her, his expression a wickedly potent mixture of affection and good old-fashioned lust. One corner of his mouth drew up just the tiniest bit.

"That was more what I had in mind," he informed her. And then he dipped his head and began to plant small, wet kisses down the line of her jaw. His hand slid up her back and gathered a fistful of hair, gently but determinedly drawing her head back and exposing the tender skin of her neck to his mouth. The soft cotton of his dress shirt rubbed against her stiffening nipples through the silk of her blouse and bra, setting off sparks of heat traveling swiftly through her body.

Hoo-boy.

It'd been a very long time since she'd felt the weight of a man's body on hers, the delicious friction it created. Forever since her hands had roamed over corded muscle and curve of spine. Too long since she'd felt the heat pooling deep within her and someone there to share it, add to it, eventually douse it. What made the cottony thickness of her arousal even more enjoyable was that it was the real thing this time - not some fantasy Mulder who came to her only in the relative safety of her dreams. And there was only a little part of her that wondered if perhaps they should slow down and think about this some more.

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Mulder muttered against her neck, "You're gonna have to tell me when to stop, Scully, 'cause if you leave it up to me, I won't."

God bless his considerate, gentlemanly little heart.

Damn it.

"Then maybe," she managed to utter even while threading her fingers through his hair and urging his mouth to points south, "we should stop and think about this."

Deft fingers began working the buttons on her blouse. "Okay. Just say the word and I'll stop."

Oh, she didn't want to do this. She didn't want to stop him. She had a sudden urge to strangle the life out of the sensible little voice in her head. If such a thing were possible, that is.

"Mulder."

"Hmm?"

"Stop."

He groaned in noisy protest but did as she asked. Resting his chin between her breasts, he peered up at her. Hair askew, eyes warm but a little wary, he was the most gorgeous man she'd ever had the pleasure of lying beneath. He was content to wait quietly while she pronounced sentence on him, trusting her to do what was best for both of them. That particular trust was a heavy burden he'd placed on her long ago, and one she'd struggled to throw off more than once. But here and now, she was beginning to realize that it was also a precious gift. And it gave her far more power over him than she even dared contemplate. 

"Is this what you had in mind in the hallway?" Her voice was intentionally rich with humor. It was important that he know she wasn't upset by his attempted seduction. Getting their wires crossed about this was the last thing they needed.

She watched as his eyes lost their wariness. The hint of a boyish grin crossed his face before disappearing behind his trademark deadpan expression. "Actually," he quipped, "I was kind of hoping to make it to second base." And with that, he deliberately began to refasten the buttons he'd managed to undo. His knuckles unintentionally brushed fire along her breasts.

"Don't give up, Slugger," she told him as he finished, her voice gone slow and husky. "You haven't struck out yet."

The look on his face was priceless. She couldn't help but grin at him. His answering smile was enough to light up the room. He sat up and pulled her along with him, waiting until she was settled before he twisted around and sat down on the coffee table across from her, his long legs caging hers. Mulder reached out and caught one of her hands in his. He took in a breath and let it out slowly. "The truth is, Scully, I accomplished everything I set out to do that night. The rest of it… just icing on the cake." There was a beat of silence. "Well, except for the bee sting. That kind of put a damper on things."

"Mulder…"

"No, let me finish. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I want you to know I meant every word I said."

"I know." She squeezed his hand and ducked her head, not wanting him to see the sudden tears that threatened to spill over.

"Do you? Because that's all that really matters to me. I don't ever want you to think that I don't value you, or that you're not the most important thing in my -"

She cut him off with her fingers pressed against his mouth. If he kept it up, she'd lose her struggle to hold off her tears. She didn't want to turn into a blubbering idiot, not now. Not when smiling had felt so good.

"I know," she repeated.

His eyes flicked over her face, reading it like a map only he could decipher. Long seconds passed before he nodded slowly, satisfied by what he'd seen.

"Good," he said. "That's good."

She took a few moments to study his familiar features, softened by emotions he rarely let show. She took in the relaxed line of his jaw, the warmth of his eyes, the hair that stood up in tiny spikes on the top of his head. And the seductive fullness of his mouth, still moist from their kisses. She could drown there, she realized, and not give two hoots about anything else. It was a dangerous and compelling prospect.

She reached up and smoothed her hand over his unruly hair. "I guess this begs the question of what we do now."

He looked aside for a minute and then back at her, shrugging. "We keep on keepin' on. We see where this thing takes us. We fight the good fight. We start scheduling regular make-out sessions."

"Just thought you'd sneak that last one in there, huh?"

"Nothing gets past you, Scully."

She was trying to focus on the issue at hand. He wasn't going to make it easy. She knew this Mulder well. And she could tell he wanted to play, revert to his habit of joking about the most serious of subjects. All the nervous energy he'd suppressed just minutes ago had broken free. Both legs had taken up a gentle bouncing, his hands moving like moths around a flame: glancing off her knees, her hands, her arms, before flying away, only to return again.

Sometimes it was a pain in the ass always being the grown-up.

She grabbed one of his hands and held it tightly in both of hers. He went still almost at once, his keen sense of her innate composure helping to ground him. She vaguely wondered what would become of him if something happened to her. She could picture him floating off into space like an errant helium balloon, with no one to pull him back. She was his safety line; a fragile string that was nonetheless durable enough to keep them both anchored to the ground - even if Mulder was always looking up into the sky, wondering what he might be missing. 

"This is going to have an impact on everything," she told him as she caught his eye. "It's going to change everything."

He pursed his lips and jerked an eyebrow. "Maybe. But it's impossible that you'll ever be more important to me than you are right now, so that won't change."

"What if it does, Mulder?"

"That's not gonna happen." She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off, grasping her shoulders and gazing at her with single-minded intensity. "I won't let it. I'm one relentless sonofabitch, Scully. It's gonna take a nuclear explosion to pry me away from you now. And I won't risk the only thing that matters to me unless I'm absolutely certain it's the right thing. How could it, how could we, be anything short of incredible?"

Five years with Mulder had programmed her to automatically begin formulating an argument to counteract his latest bizarre theory, and this time was no different. While her brain shifted into overdrive, spitting out a dozen reasons why they couldn't afford to be so blasé about the whole situation, her heart was busy tugging her in a different direction. One that whispered to her that he might have a point. Not every decision had to be based in logic - she'd slowly begun to realize that. Sometimes you just had to go with your gut.

"And besides," Mulder suddenly blurted into the silence, "who else would put up with my sorry ass?"

Strange how the simplest phrase could be the deciding factor in such a life-altering decision. He wasn't being facetious, despite the joking tone of his voice. He honestly believed that she was the only one who'd ever understand him, who'd willingly accept him for all that he was. Who'd see that what he did made a difference. And though there were times when she'd wondered if someone more open to extreme possibilities might be better for him, she knew in her heart that no one could ever feel about him the way she did. And no one could ever challenge, respect, trust, and complete her the way Mulder did.

“You made me a whole person.”

Isn't that what it came down to in the end? Wasn't that all that really mattered? Suddenly, nothing was more important to her than that he know what was in her heart.

"I want you to know something," she told him. "And I want you to listen to me very carefully." Mulder gazed at her with cautious chameleon eyes. "I want you to know that no matter what happens now, one thing will never change. What you do makes a difference. I know it doesn't seem like it most of the time, but it does. You have to believe that. And I want you to know how proud I am to be a part of that. You're an honorable man, Mulder, and you lead an honorable life. And I want you to know I'd be proud to be a part of that, too. In whatever form it takes."

She watched his face carefully as she spoke, cataloguing every emotion that passed over it. There were many things to see there, as he nervously chewed his lip and took in her words. But what she was left with was a mixture of tenderness and pride that nearly made her dizzy.

Mulder opened his mouth a few times before he finally got anything to come out. "Can I…" His brow furrowed and he cleared his throat and tried again. "Can I just hold you, Scully? For a minute?"

She reached for him, and they both stood, knowing that the limited contact they'd have otherwise wouldn't satisfy either of them. She went easily into his embrace, her head tucked under his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist. He held her loosely for a moment before tightening his arms and drawing her even closer. They stood toe to toe, touching everywhere it was possible to touch, the contact sweet and heavy with the promise of things to come.

Mulder dipped his head until it rested against hers. His chest expanded as he took in a deep breath and then released it with a ragged sigh. "God, you feel so good. So good."

She tightened her arms around him, wanting nothing more than to be enveloped by him, held in his warm and welcoming embrace for as long as he'd let her. Judging by his remark, that could end up being a good long while.

And that was okay. It was better than okay.

"You know what, Scully?" he murmured against her hair.

"What’s that, Mulder?"

"Someday soon we're gonna have really phenomenal sex."

Maybe even sooner than he thought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

[snacksizedgates]

Mike's Gay Triangle Shirt and How It Indicates Byler

*posting another theory cus i feel like tumblr bylers would eat this one up. its a visual theory about the triangle on Mike's shirt always pointing towards Will in vol2.*

so you see Mike's shirt? You see that triangle shape? You see how it's pointing towards Will? Yeah.

Now you can call me delusional but I went through 95% of the scenes in full where he is wearing this shirt and well sweetie... 8/10x it's pointing at Will and if it's not, it rarely points towards El. Like seriously almost never.

even when he's consoling El, it's pointing towards Mike, who's standing suspiciously close. Now people would say I'm putting to much thought into it and that's a real possibility but if not intentional why does it never point to El?

Even in this extremely chaotic scene that they did in one take, Will manages to stay on the (your) right side of Mike, where the triangle points to him. At some points he's trailing behind him but from the moment the shots are heard until they get into the van not once does Will go on the other side of Mike so that the triangle would no longer be facing him.

Now I'm not say every single scene is like this, because they're not, but A LOT of them are, and it never truly happens with El, especially not how blatant it is with Will.

These ones have more of an explanation behind them. In the first screenshot at first glance you'd think it was pointing towards El. But they're in a triangle formation (another symbol that comes up for them a lot throughout the season that I won't be getting into here) Essentially though, Mike and Will are the bottom points while El is the top point, by herself. She's in the fg, they're behind her, allowing the triangle to, again, point towards Will. Even in a scene with Mileven.

Which brings me to the next shot. I wouldn't have included this one if not for the other symbolization. In the back of him you can see a vibrant pink and yellow pizza complimented by his vibrant teal/blue sweater. Hm. What does that sound like? The pan flag! The direction that the triangle on his shirt is pointing in is where Will is preparing the bath with Jonathan. During that same scene, Will is in the other room. And why does that matter, you ask?

Boom. Right beside him, WHILE HIM AND JONATHAN ARE BASICALLY HAVING A COMING OUT SCENE, and while Mike is sitting in the other room with the same color scheme around him. You can say I'm over-reading but set design isn't just thrown together. Clothes aren't just thrown together. These people have their jobs for a reason. If it wasn't intentional, someone along the lines would have likely noticed and they would have fixed it. Easily by having Mileven switch seats. This proves to me it was intentional. If it were just Will with the pan colors it would prove nothing about Byler, and there's no way those pan colors aren't representative of something with the context of Will/Jonathans scene. So if they mean something here why wouldn't they mean something in the scene that's happening 10 ft from this one simultaneously? Crickets.

Sorry that one gets me riled up.

Plus, people write off the fruity pineapple pizza theory and so did I at first but when I saw the other symbols in it... It was kinda adding up let's be honest.

Here are more. Typically they're prolonged shots where the triangle will be pointing towards will the entire time.

Not to mention it's a triangle, not any other shape that could point towards Will, a triangle (love triangle). From the triangle formation shots I describe earlier, the two bottom points are Byler and the top point is El. So why is El pointing towards Will? Because that's the position Mike want Will to be in. He wants Will and El to switch roles in his life, because he essentially already feels like they play those roles unofficially (El bestfriend, Will boyfriend). That last sentence is obviously speculation, but the symbols are there whether or not it was intentional.

Now let's see where we find it pointing towards El.

These are seriously the only shots I could find where it's pointing towards El. There's one shot where they are at SBP and it's pointing in her direction but Argyles in between them and Will is behind Mike.

In the top shot she immediately starts walking forward, and in the top right we can see that Will was standing directly next to El. So the triangle is pointing to her for a few seconds until she starts walking forward and is replaced by Will. Lol. I can't with the parallels.

Let's also not forget that Papa's nearly dead body is in between them, Papa and Mike have already have a comparison this season and she's about to say her final goodbye to Papa. It really does not get more symbolic than that.

The bottom shot is essentially the same exact thing. They're hugging at first so the triangle isn't pointing towards her. Then Mike begins to turn as El moves away and we see the triangle pointing towards nothing because she's walking forward over to Will. So it never even points to her in this scene really.

If anyone wants to scrub through the scenes meticulously to check again I would suggest it. I could have missed a shot or two but I've watched these scenes like 10x each so I really did try to find it directly pointing at El.

And my last piece of evidence.

There are a few instances where it doesn't point towards Will. In the beginning of the finale, where they're standing outside under the stars. But it's still not pointing towards Eleven. When they go to order pizza, its pointing the other way. There's a couple others too I think. But here's the one that stood out.

Out of all scenes, why not have it pointing towards Will in the van scene? When I asked myself this I thought my theory was bones (it may still be but I choose to believe otherwise) but then I thought a little more. It makes sense that in this scene Mike would have it pointing away from Will. Because Will's about to confess his love (in a sense) to Mike and Mike is absolutely not ready to admit or act on those feelings. Another thing I noticed was in the under the stars scene, where the triangle is not pointing towards Will, Mike is standing next to an ice machine, indicating he's being standoffish/cold towards Will again. We don't see any of this and I don't think it would be like the beginning of the season but I think it indicates that El's back and there's a tension in their relationship again. The first scene after El's back and it's not pointing towards Will? And as I was writing this it made me think to when he even put the shirt on in the first place. After El already left/got arrested and right before Will and Mike go on a "journey" together. How is this NOT proof?

Here's one last shot.

Not only is the triangle pointing towards Will, they're in triangle formation once again, and once again El is the focal point, by herself. They're together. ITS TOO OBVIOUS I'M SORRY HOW CAN YOU DENY IT?

One last thing to mention is this shirt is obviously symbolizing the yellow/blue color thing.

So yeah that's my theory on the gay triangle shirt 😭 I could definitely be reading into things with this one but I find it so odd that it just so coincidentally never pointed to El. Like wouldn't it if there were no intentions behind it? Directly? At some point? But nope. Lol.

[the-letter-horror-lover]

His Master, Apprehensive

Ciel removed the scarf as he went inside a room.

It was all white and silver, the sheets and pillows, the rug. The floorboards were a light wood.

The few bits of color were the blue rose wallpaper on the walls and the blue on the pillowcases.

Although he hated to admit, the room was rather pretty.

Quite a few of them were redesigned when Alois became the head of the household.

Ciel laid down and simply thought to himself.

There was a knock at the door.

"...What."

"I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Phantomhive, but is there anything you require?" The Trancy maid stood in the doorway, looking almost scared.

Scared of him...? "No...I'm alright.." He spoke more calmly.

"Please let me know if I can assist." She curtsied and left promptly.

The bluenette messed with the segment of fabric that was previously around his neck. Ugh, how he missed Sebastian so.

Honestly, He could've called to go back home but...Phantomhive couldn't bring himself to do it.

The poor demon was terribly injured....that's all what he cared about at the moment.

The servants carried about their business until it was time for bed, knowing better than to irritate Ciel.

Hannah had knocked once more on the door around nine o' clock.

"...Yes?"

"Nightclothes, my lord." She was holding a neatly folded baby blue nightgown. "Would you prefer a bath before bed?"

"I honestly don't care..." The noble replied, sitting up.

"It would be me preparing it. I know I'm no replacement for your butler..." Oddly, she smiled. A soft, small smile that barely curved her purple lips upwards.

Of course he caught that, even finding himself returning it. "It's alright.." But then, it fell.

"I'll have it ready at once, my lord." She left the room with nightgown in hand.

Did he always come off as "scary" to his servants? Well, Maybe not to Sebastian but, the others? Perhaps they didn't need their master for one day.

He wanted to give them time to recover from that event earlier.

The maid soon came back to fetch him.

Ciel followed after her.

She led him to the bathroom, where a hot bath was running. She gestured for him to sit at the edge.

"...I can undress myself."

"Of course, my lord."

This was awkward..

She turned and messed with towels to give him time to undress.

"...Would it be alright if I bathed myself?"

She glanced at him strangely, but soon wiped the look from her face. "...Certainly."

He just wasn't comfortable with the idea of someone else seeing his body.

"Your clothes will be right here, lord." She bowed and walked to the door.

"Alright."

"Your Sebastian will be returned to you very soon." She said before leaving.

"I hope."

The door was shut and the curtains drawn for Phantomhive. He undressed and proceeded to take a bath.

There were many luxurious soaps, bath salts, lotions, moisturizers, and cleansers near the tub.

And he stuck to the most basic ones.

The linen towels were soft and fluffy.

"Honestly.."

Claude was changing the sheets in every room, while Hannah swept.

Soon he changed into the new clothes.

They were a baby blue color, ironed straight. Long pants and black shoes, a white shirt and blue bow for around his neck.

Ciel felt like a doll doing Alois' bidding and he despised it.

Claude came to check on him. "Are you doing alright, my lord?" He called from outside the door.

"I'm okay.."

"Let me know if I can be of any assistance." He said before walking away.

Ciel soon came out and went back to the room.

He really did look like a little doll, it was just adorable.

There was a visible frown upon his lips.

Alois came to visit him after a little while, sitting on the bed.

The earl was just laying down, making great use of time.

"Hi, Ciel." He smiled at him. "You look very cute."

Dual orbs glanced at him before looking elsewhere. "I don't need compliments from you."

"Surely not."

He went silent.

He slid up to lay beside him, his small hands reaching up to touch and play with his blue-silver locks. "Be good and let me touch you for just a moment, Phantomhive."

"If you don't refrain from giving me orders.." He slightly moved his head.

"Well, that's what you're supposed to do with a dog, isn't it? Pet them, feed them, and tell them what to do, right?" He gave an annoying grin.

"I'm not a dog. Preferably, Not your dog."

"Well, you're here aren't you?" He toyed with the bow around Ciel's neck.

"My plaything, my pet. It's just wonderful. You do look rather adorable in those clothes, Claude did a good job picking them out. Blue really is your color."

He moved his hand away and turned from the blonde.

Alois took his chance to cuddle up against the back of the smaller Earl. He wrapped his arms around him happily, purring.

Ciel was angry, desperately trying to get away. "Let go of me!"

"No, let me love you!" He held on to him tightly.

"I do not want your love."

"Yes you do~." He decided to end his struggling and promptly pinned him down to the bed, on top of him.

"Get. Off."

He just nuzzled his face into his neck. "Noo, Ciel..."

He huffed.

"You're very warm." He enjoyed the feeling of his arms around the small frame of the boy.

"Unhand me." he tried to push him away.

"So stubborn. I'll let go in a little while, just accept it right now."

"Never!"

"Or not..." he snuggled him.

Ciel kept moving.

"You absolutely must find a better way to cover these hickeys." He poked a few of them.

"Leave me alone!" He smacked his hand away.

"So stubborn...fine, if you must be kept in solitude, then I'll leave..."

He had a hint of disappointment in his voice, but moved off of him and out the door without another word.

He placed a hand over his neck.

The next person to check on him was Claude, to prepare him for bed. A sharp knock on the door requested his entrance.

"Who is it now."

"Claude Faustus. I have nightclothes for you, my lord."

He didn't answer.

"Apologies for the bother. If you prefer, I'll just leave them with you."

"I prefer so.."

He opened the door and set the clothes on the edge of the bed, smoothing the sheets and blankets of any wrinkles while he was in there.

The whole time, his eyes refused to even glance at the spider.

The tall demon glanced at the marks on his neck once, but decided not to say anything about it.

"What.."

"It's none of my business. Just that you're so young to have such marks."

He was sitting up with his legs to his chest. Ciel folded his arms and lowered his head.

"It's only a matter of time." He sighed as he placed a white rose in a vase on the bedside table.

"What do you mean..?"

"It's only a matter of time until he convinces you that he is entitled to the very last thing that makes you pure." As he spoke, his voice darkened.

The white, pure color of the rose changed to a dead and withered black.

The golden irises of the spider demon glanced sideways at the boy. "And only at thirteen. Such a shame."

"Don't speak of such foolish things to me, Claude Faustus.

Despite my age, I know a lot of things a thirteen year old should never witness. So stop talking to me as if I'm some child."

"I certainly didn't mean it that way, Lord Phantomhive. I know you're no mere child. I'm aware that my master and yourself are different.

There is still some purity in you, whether you wish to acknowledge it or not. Don't let it be stolen away so easily.

I know that too well. I could go on, but it is not my place to speak of such things, especially not to my superior.

Good night, please place your discarded clothing in this basket and leave it outside the door, since you insist on dressing yourself."

He set a large basket on the floor beside the bed and gave a low bow. "I bid you a well rest, my lord."

"Even if so....you should know by now that isn't an important thing to me."

"Good night, Lord Phantomhive." He walked out, shutting the door behind him.

He sighed and changed his clothes.

Claude sighed and carried on with his business. Fucking Michaelis... He always ruins everything.

After doing the task, the earl laid back down.

The spider yawned. He hoped Ciel would leave soon. He just just another noble to take care of.

He didn't ask for his care.

The next morning, Alois woke him up. He shook his shoulder. "Ciel, wake up."

He was hoping this was a terrible dream. But when he woke up and saw the blonde, his eyebrows narrowed.

He smiled down at the bluenette. "Rise and shine."

"Go away."

"No, we have things to do."

"No we do not."

"If you do not get up, I'm going to lay on top of you again."

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Such a dirty mouth on such a little boy...It's Valentine's Day. Come on, please?"

"Don't call me little either."

"Ciellllllll." He whined quietly.

"Hmpf."

He laid in bed next to him.

Valentine's day was it? How he wished he woke up to his lover..

"Come on, Ciel...Why do you hate me so much?"

"Don't ask a question you know the answer to." He gave a baleful glare.

"Please...can't you just do this one thing for me? You...you already have your love...you don't know how it is..."

His face bared confusion for a moment and went neutral.

"You've always had someone to love you...Whether it's your parents, your cousin, your servants...

You've always been respected and cared for...I...don't even remember my own parents...all I remember is being hated...I lost the only person who ever loved me...

And then when I sell my soul, he doesn't even love me...he doesn't care, I see the way he looks at me.

I could die in a ditch tomorrow and he wouldn't bat an eye, just move on to the next person who needs someone. I'm not stupid...I know he's just hungry..."

"Then why would you make a deal.."

He laughed quietly. "The same reason as you. Revenge."

The mixed matched eyes glanced at icy blue ones. "Pitiful." It was hard to tell if the statement was suppose to be an insult but his mouth turned into an amused smile.

"Whatever...Its clear that I despise you... I don't even know why I bother."

"Hmpf. You say that now but all the stuff you've performed? Oh please, go tell that to a tree."

"At least I'll be able to make eye contact without looking down. I do hate you. You're all I need to get my revenge. I'm so close now."

He frowned at the insult thrown at him. "At least you'll simply adore it, since you have such hatred for little me."

"Hmpf...but right now, I need you to to do this for me. I just have to know."

"Whatever, the sooner I go home the better."

"That's the spirit. Get up and dressed. Quickly and quietly. I'll be outside." He got up and left the room silently.

"Hope you trip, Sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart, save that for your butler."

"Mhm."

He was silent while waiting outside the door.

Ciel got dressed for the time being, soon opening the door.

He had his arms crossed. "Good, now follow me." He took his hand and led him down various hallways.

"Why are you holding my hand."

"I'm leading, shut up,"

"Make me."

"Patience, I will."

"Oh no."

Alois giggled softly while taking him to library, shutting the door after him. "Claude can't know about this, so we're taking an alternate route."

"Alright."

He checked under the rug and pulled up on a metal handle, struggling to get it open. "After you."

The blue earl slowly went inside, avoiding spider webs.

"Careful, there's spiders down there."

"Of course.."

"Claude doesn't like killing them." He shrugged, climbing down after him and restoring the rug and trapdoor. "Plus, it's my symbol, so I keep them around."

"Well now."

"You're not scared, are you?" He chuckled.

"No."

"Lead the way. You should just follow this corridor out." It was narrow and dark, with webs and arachnids all around.

Alois would occasionally pick up one of the eight legged creatures and play with it. He placed a little one in Ciel's hair. "Aww."

"Alois...remove it. Now." The earl froze.

"But it's so cute. Look, it likes you."

The little spider had crawled to the back of his neck.

His muscles tightened and he had an expression of fear.

"Oh calm down, you big baby. It's just a little spider." He held his hand out to the creature and it wandered into his palm. "I'm sorry Ciel is so mean to you, little one."

Ciel rolled his eyes at him and started to walk again.

He placed the spider back on the wall and followed. He would occasionally mess with him, drag fingers across his back like they were spiders.

Due to that, Phantomhive's foot missed a step as he flinched, proceeding to fall.

He reached out for him and barely caught the bluenette by the waist. "...You should be more careful." He held him for a few moments.

The nobleman looked alarmed at the blonde's touch, staring at the other.

He just looked into his darker blue eyes, arms around his waist.

"It wasn't my fault.."

"I apologize."

"Oh really."

"Yes."

He made a small unexplained expression, developing a tiny smile.

"Oh look...there's the door." He slowly let go of his waist.

Ciel gave him a small push back before finishing down the steps.

The blonde couldn't help but chuckle, stepping forward to pull a key from inside his vest to unlock the door with.

Phantomhive's arms were crossed loosely.

He pushed open the heavy door with a grunt.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"A place."

He frowned.

"You'll find out when we get there, silly." He led the way quickly.

Ciel followed in a more normal pace.

He walked through the brush surrounding the manor, having to slow down because of it.

While Ciel struggled, moving branches out of the way.

"Do you need some help?"

"No."

"Are you sure."

"....No."

He chuckled and held his arms out to him.

After pausing for a brief second, Ciel went over to him.

"How rude of me to drag you into this and not even provide the courtesy of transportation." He picked up the smaller boy with a considerable amount of effort.

Of course, Phantomhive was taken off guard by that. "Honestly, Trancy."

"Shush. Oh heavens, lay off the cake, Phantomhive."

"I'm not that heavy." He chuckled, folding his arms around Alois' neck.

"Yes you are, you weigh a ton!" He struggled to walk even a few steps with him.

Ciel stuck his tongue out.

He shook his head and trudged forward.

"It's fine. I can walk on my own."

"Too late."

"You sure? Since you complain about my weight."

"Too lateee." He repeated.

"Hmpf."

He carried him to a little clearing surrounded by trees. There was a small pond in the middle.

Here? Why?

He sat him down on a rock near the pond, taking a moment before joining him.

"What's so special about this place?"

"I like it here." He answered, looking at him. "It's peaceful."

"It is.." Ciel agreed.

He touched his hand. "Hey, Ciel?"

"Yeah?" The first thought was to move his hand back but....he didn't.

He held it gently. "I really hate your guts, you know." The words were hateful, but paired with a sweet voice.

The blonde got a little closer and leaned his head on his shoulder.

"Is that so."

"Mhm...a lot...I only did all those things because I wanted you. After I got you, I'd probably feed you to Claude or something."

"Wow."

"Yeah...I just don't understand why he doesn't love me already."

"I don't know."

"Whatever..." he sighed and hugged him.

"Oh...how are you going to hug someone you hate?"

"Hmmm~. I crave affection."

"Wow."

He nuzzled the bluenette.

"I don't understand you."

"It's not often that I make much sense."

"I know that."

It was a few minutes before he spoke again. "Hey, Ciel...?"

"Yes?"

"I might hate you, but I like your company...." he looked up at him.

"Oh."

"You make me feel less lonely."

"Hm."

"I guess I like that."

"Well now."

He reached up and cupped his face.

Ciel looked at him calmly.

"You're not mine yet...not all mine. He knows he's going to get you back..." he sighed. "That demon, what do you see in him?"

"Why are you asking such a question.." As if that was a signal, his hand almost went to cover marks upon the pale neck. But what was the point?

"Because it's not fair." He crossed his arms. "It's bad enough he's entitled to your soul. Now it's your body too. I don't get anything."

"It's not my 'body'."

"Yes it is. Your heart, your skin. Look at this!" He pulled the scarf down with one finger, indicating to the dark marks on his neck. "It's clear that your his...I'm envious."

Ciel went silent as he exhaled, moving the scarf back.

"I just want you to be mine..." Alois covered his face with his hands.

Now he almost had a feeling of remorse.

"Is that too much to ask? Then, you know...Claude can eat me...and it can be over with..."

"Alois..."

"I want it to end. I don't like living like this, Ciel...I feel like I'm on the verge of death every day. I'm not stupid, I know I'm just another meal.

He doesn't care about me, he's just hungry..."

The bluenette moved his hair out of his eyes, not sure how to respond.

"Maybe I'm alone...I guess I'll die that way, too."

"Stop being depressing. Isn't it Valentine's Day?"

"Yes..."

"Lighten up.."

He hugged him again.

Ciel returned the gesture hesitantly.

Then he cupped his face, "I will have you..."

"Love to see you try."

"Or I'll die trying."

"Don't do that.."

He just gazed at him, looking slightly sad.

Phantomhive made the same expression.

He tucked a strand of blue hair behind his ear, not sure what to say.

"Cheer up."

"How can I?"

"I don't know."

"Ciel..." he started.

"Yeah?"

"I hate you." He said affectionately, taking his face in both hands and kissing him.

The nobleman was flabbergasted at the kiss, unsure what to do.

He let go and buried his face in his hands. "...I hate you so much..."

"Alois.." He sounded, reaching up to touch his own lips.

He didn't reply.

"Well, isn't this interesting." Sounded a voice from behind them.

The earl turned at the new speaker.

There was a figure standing there, with no distinct shape. It just looked like a shadow of a person, with no clear outline. "Hello, boys."

"Who the blazes are you??" Alois reached for Ciel's arm.

It had to be a sort of supernatural being. Ciel only looked at the silhouette with little concern.

"Only your best-est friend in the whole wide world. Now relax and tell dear Cupid all your problems."

Alois glanced between Ciel and the figure.

Cupid..? It was hard to believe if that was true but if so, Now there was a God into play.

"Oh come now, don't look so surprised. You did summon me." They smiled.

"Summon you? What the...?"

"Oh, you know. A spontaneous act of passion just at the crack of dawn."

Oh no..

"Well...go away. I don't want you."

"Ouch. That hurts. I sense pain in your heart." The so-called 'God' showed a set of white teeth when he smiled at him sadly.

Phantomhive remained silent.

"Allow me to help." He stepped towards him.

"No! Stay away." He held on to Ciel. "I don't trust him, Ciel..."

"I don't either..."

He muttered something under his breath.

"Well, alright... if you insist that I'm not to be trusted, I have other business to attend to." The God sighed.

"Actually....Hmm, I wonder..." He snapped his fingers and the figure shifted.

Alois looked in shock, but eventually it turned to sadness, tears building in his eyes. "H-How..."

"What's wrong, Alois?"

"I...Luka..." he sobbed into the smaller boy's shirt.

"Ah, so after nine years, it still stings. What about you, Phantomhive? What do you see?"

If Alois could see Luka, then this figure had some sort of glamour illusion... When his eyes was upon the figure all he could see was a silhouette.

What on earth did that mean? Was this an affection test of sorts? "Nothing..."

"Interesting. I would've thought your parents would be a possibility. Or that demon of yours, because let's face it, he's the only one you trust anymore, isn't he?"

Ciel narrowed his dual eyes.

"Such a shame. You see what you want to see instead of the truth, as humans often do. I guess you don't want to see anything.

Possibly because you're afraid, and possibly because you're angry." The figure showed his teeth again.

Alois still wasn't looking at him.

"Tch.."

Claude appeared behind the God, looking angry, and then confused.

"I guess that's my cue to leave, if you're not interested in my services." He said, and then turned to greet the demon. "Oh, hello."

"Phantomhive, do you care to explain what's going on here?"

"...Some figure, claiming to be Cupid.."

He looked between Alois and Cupid. "...Forgive me, but which one? There's two..." he said slowly, sounding confused.

Alois looked up at the demon with tears. "Oh, Claude..."

Cupid chuckled.

Hmm..

The blonde got up and hugged him lovingly.

"I don't understand. What did I do." The butler glanced down at his master, and then Ciel looking troubled.

"Come on, lets go back..."

Ciel moved his gaze to "Cupid", wondering if he'll answer.

"You know, for a demon, you're rather oblivious. It's a simple glamour spell, I'm surprised you didn't catch it." The God sighed.

"I...don't possess any magic." He glanced away, slightly embarrassed.

"I was under the impression that all demons do."

"Then you were mistaken."

"Well."

The figure peered his pure white eyes at him, and then Alois.

"You really are Cupid, then...what business do you have here?"

"Well, these two here summoned me. Very passionate they are."

Claude glared at Ciel. "....Come. We are going back to the manor."

Phantomhive looked back at the demon before moving his gaze somewhere else, rather ashamed of what happened.

Faustus removed Alois. "I said, come. You're both in trouble." His usually calm demeanor switched to annoyance.

The icy eyed boy looked ashamed too, and maybe a little embarrassed.

Phantomhive got down and crossed his arms.

Trancy looked down at his shoes. "I'm sorry." He apologized to either Claude or Ciel.

The demon started walking back to the manor. Alois followed.

The earl tagged behind.

Cupid followed behind the nobleman.

The bluenette didn't notice on bit.

Once they reached the manor, Cupid kind of hung around outside. Claude had regained his composure halfway through and allowed Alois to ride on his shoulders.

Ciel didn't enter the manor this time, at least not just yet.

"That one is different... but then again, I haven't seen too many demons in my time. They just usually aren't capable of love."

He glanced around to find the figure before sighing, going back to his room.

Cupid frowned, "Hey, that's rude."

"What am I to say to that?"

"Well, I'm saying your case is rare. In love with a demon? Ciel Phantomhive? What a shocker."

"Tch.."

"And Sebastian Michaelis, at that. He's kinda famous."

Ciel didn't know where Alois, nor his butler went but stayed by himself.

The God sighed and left him by alone for now.

Claude came in and didn't look at Ciel as he dusted.

Nor did he speak to the butler, messing with his hands.

"Your butler will be here to fetch you by tonight." He said simply, lifting a vase to clean under it.

Ciel might've been slightly relieved to hear that.

"His highness is releasing you. For what reason, I couldn't tell you."

"Well now."

He sighed. Why couldn't the bitch just let him eat his soul already.

Phantomhive missed his butler dearly....the day was nearly over.

Claude opened the door to leave the room.

At least it felt that way to him. Stress threatened to raise due to the earlier event.

The demon left him alone, and so did everyone else.

Ciel laid down to further pass time

-There was a knock on the door at about six in the evening.-

"Yes?"

A certain red eyed demon peered in with a smile. "I hope you've been taken care of, master."

He knew that voice from anywhere, shooting upright in bed. "Sebastian!"

"I'm glad you're excited to see me." He smiled and stepped inside.

"Of course." He held his arms out.

The taller picked him up. "You're becoming spoiled. I shouldn't be picking you up so much."

"I've been spoiled."

"That is true."

Something felt a bit wrong to him.

Sebastian sensed his discomfort and cupped his face. "Is something the matter?"

"..It's nothing."

He smiled and kissed him, but almost immediately pulled back. "Ciel..."

"Yes.."

The demon stared at him. "Why do I taste someone else on your lips."

"Something happened today.."

"Explain."

The tone of his remark suddenly brought nervousness to Ciel. "Don't get mad.."

He just set him down on the bed and waited for an explanation.

"Alois wanted me to tag along to a place. Once there, he kept saying how he hated me and.."

Michaelis crossed his arms.

"He kissed me..."

Sebastian looked away. He knew it was coming. He didn't say anything, just sat there.

"And I didn't know what to do.."

He glanced at him with fiery red eyes.

Ciel was looking at the ground, admittedly afraid to even meet the other's gaze. He felt like crying for a moment.

His butler took his wrists and pinned him to the bed, the kisses he gave to his lips very possessive and passionate.

Phantomhive's eyes widen at the actions, returning the smooches the best he was capable of.

He was gripping him rather tightly and bared his fangs when he pulled away.

"I should undress you right here, right now, and have my way with you...I should make him hear you scream my name. You are mine." He looked genuinely angry.

Ciel's features were sad. "I know....I apologize..It happened quickly so I was taken back.."

Despite the anger and sorrow being projected, The demon's words made his pale cheeks turn a dusty pink.

He kissed him again. "Mine. All mine. Not anyone else gets to kiss you like this. No one else gets to touch you like I do."

"Understood.."

Sebastian eventually calmed down and released his wrists, anger fizzing away. He gave him a gentle smooch and got off of him.

Never has the male witnessed the demon like that before.

A sigh came from him. "I'm sorry... Did I hurt you?"

"A little bit.."

He took his hands and kissed each of his wrists. "Forgive me...I forget how fragile you can be."

"It's alright.."

The demon stood and lifted him once more. "Let us return to the manor. It is Valentines Day, after all."

Ciel gave him a warm smile.

He carried him out of the room. Hannah was sweeping, and Claude was currently washing laundry. Who knew where Alois was.

Phantomhive was glad to be back in his butler's arms.

Cupid was sitting on the railway of the steps. Sebastian didn't glance twice at him.

The bluenette's head was upon the other's broad shoulder.

"Oh, you managed to summon a god...yay..." he muttered to himself and walked out.

"It wasn't intentional.."

"You're very good at accidentally summoning things."

"Oh hush."

"Take me for example."

"Even though it was accidental, It was a great one."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Of course."

He walked him out to a carriage. "At least they dressed you decently."

He made a slight chuckle.

"Where Trancy lacks in sanity, he makes up for with fashion sense."

"Pfftt."

"Since it is Valentine's Day, I have events planned. It'll be just the two of us. Is that alright, master?"

"Yes, that's fine."

He smiled and offered him his hand as they rode back towards the manor.

Ciel gladly took the demon's hand.

Sebastian enclosed the much smaller one with both of his. A smile graced his lips.

The corners of Phantomhive's mouth curved up as well.

When they reached the manor, he pulled him into his arms. He carried Ciel to the door.

The bluenette pecked the demon's cheek.

When he opened the door, he revealed extravagant decorations of white roses and pearls all around. "Dinner is ready."

How beautiful it was. It was sweet how he took everything into consideration. "Oh really?"

He nodded and carried him to the dining room. The servants were no where to be found.

But, the demon always did that. Perhaps it was the event of Valentine's day that made it feel special. Maybe even got rid of the others too. So far, Ciel was enjoying it.

The crimson-eyed butler placed him at the head chair and kissed his forehead gently. Then he went to retrieve his food.

My, how have they both developed.

Notes:

Tbh, Sebs scared me when he did that suddenly. omg.

So possessive.

Chapter 8: Swan Arc

Summary:

The young master and his butler share a glancéd night together. Soon the close contact is interrupted by a letter from her Majesty. What on earth happened this time?

Notes:

Helllooo! I am so sorry for the long wait. School is drawing to a close and to celebrate, here is a new chapter that should fill 90% of your satisfaction.

Enjoy! :)

Do any of you have any ideas as if to what this Arc has in store?? Leave a comment to chat about it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

His Butler, Striking

Sebastian held his hand over his eyes and set a plate of food down in front of him. "Just try to guess what it is."

"Um....I don't know..." He chuckled.

"Open your mouth." He smiled, holding a piece to his mouth.

Ciel did so.

He fed him a piece. "What do you think?" He tried to make something both sweet and savory for dinner, because he knew Ciel was fond of sweet things.

"Give me a hint?"

"Fish."

"Tell me."

He shook his head with a smile. "Maple salmon paired with black rice." Sebastian removed his hand from his eyes.

"It tastes wonderfully." He gave him a smile.

"Thank you, sir." He handed him the fork.

Phantomhive lightly took it from him before quietly eating.

He ran his gloved fingers through his hair before removing his hand.

It was indeedly sweet and savory, Ciel loved it.

The centerpiece of the table was a bouquet of white and cream roses. Sebastian smiled and watched him eat, pleased that he enjoyed the meal.

He loved how his favorite hue of roses were nearly everywhere. The simplest things the demon did made him happy.

The servant stood next to his master. It really was good to see him smile. Once he was done, he took the plate from him and wiped the remains from the corners of his

mouth with a napkin. Before he left to take the plate to the kitchen, he placed a kiss on his cheek.

The dual eyed boy smiled before messing with his fingers.

He brought him out dessert. Or rather, desserts. In each arm, he carried at least three plates. Chocolate cake, eclairs, fluffy, light pastries and dense chocolates adorned

with beautiful garnishes. He laid all of the plates out in front of the earl, smiling proudly.

He was shocked at the arrange of delights. "Sebastian...Here I thought you didn't want me to consume sweets like this.

"Oh, but it's an occasion. Just once won't hurt." He grinned and kissed his cheek. "Go on and enjoy yourself."

Phantomhive grinned back at him happily.

How he loved to see that smile.

"Thank you."

"Of course, my darling master."

Darling? His cheeks tinted pink at the pet name.

He chuckled at the color and kissed each blushing cheek. Adorable. "Go on." He gestured to the sweets.

The blue haired boy looked back at the display before dipping straight into the chocolate cake.

He chuckled. "Of course..."

"Shush." He joked.

"Yes sir."

"I didn't mean it."

He smiled and kissed his cheek.

Ciel took one bite out of it with delight, moving on to the other treats.

The servant kneeled and fed him a bite of vanilla pudding.

Phantomhive made a smile at him as he happily ate it.

"Do you remember my first attempt at making you food?" He chuckled.

"Yes." He laughed as well.

"Utter failure."

"Shame."

"I knew little about human food back then."

"Yes."

[instantarmageddon]

Peace and love on planet earth 💕

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 325: Deku VS the Outside of U.A. ~Conclusion~

Previously on BnHA: Ochako was all “dear bloodthirsty mob, this kid you see standing before you has fought harder than anyone and put his life on the line to protect you all, so please chill the fuck out, jesus christ. like, putting aside that he’s humanity’s best hope and so it’s very much in your best interests to let him rest and recover someplace safe so that he can keep fighting for us, are y’all seriously going to turn away an injured and exhausted child in front of his sobbing mother?? seriously?? come on now.” I’m paraphrasing here but that’s basically how it went down. Anyway so then the mob was all, “...” and Deku collapsed to his knees in tears, and Gigantic Fox Lady and Kouta ran over to give him a hug but then the chapter ended.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “FINE, YOU CAN HUG HIM”, which, was that so hard?? The U.A. Clown Mob is all “come to think of it, we’ve kind of been taking the heroes for granted this entire time, maybe we should be less passive in the future. anyway so Deku if it’s not too much to ask, can you please save everyone and fix everything.” Deku is all “I sure can, and by the way I forgive you for swarming around all menacingly two minutes ago and trying to deny me basic shelter and stuff.” Ectoplasm is all, “hey Todogang get a load of this. [walks in a circle].” Hawks is all, “that’s literally the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.” Rat Principal is all, “anyway so that’s what your students did today, hope you’re enjoying your new *~*ROBOT LEG*~*, Aizawa.” Aizawa is all “[lots of exposition about Kurogiri and for some reason, Toga, while being all brooding and sexy].” All Might is all “[standing here right outside of U.A. doing absolutely nothing and being foreboding AF]” and that immediately sucked away all of the warm fuzzy feelings from the hugs, goddammit.

each new week has become a waiting game of “when will Deku finally get to take a bath so people will actually be willing to go near him and give him the hugs he deserves.” the stakes have never been so compelling. I’ve almost forgotten about AFO entirely

lmaoooooo

me: for the love of god will someone please give Deku a hug before I die of old age

Mineta: YOU GOT IT!! --

Iida: [SWIFTLY CUTS HIM OFF] NOT YOU

fucking losing it at Mineta’s crying face. he really wanted to hug him. I legit feel bad but this is also the funniest thing I have seen all week, omg

somehow Kouta, who last week was only a hand’s breadth away from touching Deku’s head, is now twenty miles away from him in this new chapter

can I make a Loki reference here. is this recap a good place to insert a joke about someone using a TVA time-rewinding device to fuck with my poor boy Kouta over here. well anyway there it is

AND NOW HE’S BACK ALL OF A SUDDEN OMG

(ETA: since when is he “niichan” omg?? can’t handle this cuteness.)

BUT THEY’RE STILL NOT HUGGING HIM FFFFKFFFFF. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO. WHO DO I HAVE TO BRIBE AND/OR BLACKMAIL

OH NO KOUTA IS CRYING THAT’S IT I’M DONE FOR

“when I heard that lady I knew that I had to go, but then stop again within inches of actually touching you because you smell like week-old rotten onions.” listen Kouta, I’m not saying I don’t get it, but you all can’t keep doing this to me. it’s the way you guys keep teasing it. like, if you’re gonna hug him, hug him. don’t just stand there with your arms held rigidly out in front of you like a molded action figure

OH MY GOSH BUT HE SAID THE THING

KOUTA SWOOPING IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR FIXING DEKU LIKE THAT ONE KID IN THE GROUP PROJECT WHO DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING BUT STILL TAGS HIS NAME ONTO THE REPORT ANYWAY, WHAT A KNAVE

GASP

(  ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )

SHE PICKED HIM UP LIKE A LITTLE BABY OMG?? she just leaned right over and lifted this child like he was a small animal. like a lil baby futon that she was about to hang up to dry. oh my god

-- HEY WHAT

(: well that’s extremely fucked up. though sadly not too surprising given what we just saw these past couple chapters

incidentally, I hope that anyone who was legitimately defending the civilians’ perspective earlier takes note here of how quickly that line of thinking -- “we’re just trying to keep our families safe” and all that-- can lead to straight up bigotry. if you’re willing to deny a child shelter and protection simply because he’s not YOUR child, and because you’ve decided based on Internet rumors (no real-world parallels there, I’m sure) that he might present a threat, it’s really not that much further of a leap to discriminating against entire groups of people simply because you perceive those groups as being dangerous. I’m sure the people who turned Gigantic Fox Lady away also told themselves afterwards that they did it to protect their families. “better safe than sorry.” “she’ll be fine, someone will take her in, but as for us, we can’t afford to take that risk.” people can come up with all kinds of justifications for treating other people as less than human, and the really scary thing about it is how fucking easy it is

one last quick side note, which is that Horikoshi does a great job here of showing how scapegoating works, given that AFO is the one who’s really to blame and who presents the actual threat, and yet Deku is the one who ultimately winds up being the target of the mob’s fear and outrage despite him being as much of a victim as they are. gotta love that irony, which unfortunately plays out far too often in the real world as well.

anyway I’ll get off my soapbox now, sorry about that. let us continue

YES, FINALLY OH MY GOD!!!!

AND THAT’S THE STORY OF HOW GIGANTIC FOX LADY BECAME THE GREATEST HERO. PACK IT ALL UP, WE’RE DONE HERE KIDS

holy shit. the real MVP right there. thanks for getting it done champ

jesus christ I have had it up to here with these people

literally the bar is set so low at this point that I’ll go ahead and take it. helping him because it offers them a tactical advantage is at least one step up from not helping him at all

“WHY NOT SHIKETSU” MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR TO GOD

-- thank you!!

okay this one guy with the antennae hair is having himself a character development speedrun here

-- okay, but this part?? fucking this part, right here??

can we repeat that again?? the part where this guy acknowledges that the problems of hero society were caused not just by said heroes, but also by said society?? the part where he acknowledges that they treated the heroes like celebrities who were putting on a show for them?? the part where he acknowledges that when push came to shove, the vast majority of those heroes, when faced with a situation that offered no reward, were nonetheless willing to put their lives on the line to protect the very same people who then turned around and blamed them rather than thanking them?? are the civilians of BnHA even allowed to have actual deep thoughts about this stuff. holy shit

bro!!

ANTENNAE HAIR GUY SHOVING KOUTA AND GIGANTIC FOX LADY OUT OF THE WAY TO SLAP HIS NAME ONTO THE END CREDITS AS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER. CONGRATULATIONS SON YOU FIGURED OUT THE CORE PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION AT THE VERY HEART OF THE MANGA. WAY TO GO BUD

meanwhile, on today’s episode of “one more chapter to go till the big volume cliffhanger, how else can I drag things out let’s see”

it’s a panel. of people’s feet. just a bunch of normal feet. with sneakers and shit

this All Might shirt guy is getting more screentime in this arc than 90% of the class 1-A kids

I guess I’m supposed to feel sorry for this dude now that he’s all “if we let you stay here do you promise to somehow magically fix every single problem that we are now currently facing?” those are some ridiculously exacting standards my dude. come on now

KACCHAN SIGHTING

thank fuck I’m not the only one who’s thoroughly unimpressed by absolutely all of this lol. I feel better now. meanwhile Iida and Kouda and Kiri are ready to run over there and hug them all. you guys are way too forgiving. damn you and your pure hearts

anyway so Deku’s like “yeah, definitely”

(ETA: almost forgot to comment on the “I’m no longer alone” part – he basically corrects the guy and says “sorry, but you’ll need to direct that question towards all of us, not just me, because moving forward we’re a team.” good stuff.)

you know what though, all joking aside... fuck yeah. because perfect victory, right. the strongest guys don’t settle for anything less. so I guess Deku has pretty exacting standards himself

also can you all just take a look at this fucking kid who’s got so much light in his eyes now that I’m gonna need eclipse goggles. hot damn. “you’re welcome” says All Might Shirt Guy as he is frantically interviewed by several local news networks asking him how he daringly managed to save Deku all by himself. “well I guess I’ve just never been the kind of guy who can sit back and let a bunch of rabble-rousers blame a little kid for all of humanity’s problems. someone had to step in and take action, you know?”

oH MY GOD THE SCENE IS FINALLY ENDING

don’t let the door hit you on your way out All Might Shirt Guy

but meanwhile, sudden Tododrama action??

oh shit

there are honestly so many ways in which Ochako’s very moving speech could have wildly backfired that I genuinely have no clue where this is headed lol. how exciting!!

so now Horikoshi is once again stalling for time with random filler panels, but this one is 10x better than the shoes lol omg

(1) was Ectoplasm’s jacket always this oversized. (2) did you guys know that if you go back to chapter 319 you can see that Horikoshi gave us a sneak peak at Enji’s Sad Detective disguise and I in fact made a joke about it in the 319 recap not realizing it was actually the stone cold truth. (3) did Shouto deliberately speed up out of impatience because Hawks was walking so fucking slow and he couldn’t take it any longer. (4) and what, I ask you, is up with these dramatic speedlines. so many mysteries here. what a masterpiece

everyone is acting all shocked about something ahh what’s going on

wait what

what the heck. did they just loop around behind everyone. what was the point of that lol. “anyway, so this is what they look like from the back” well okay, thanks for that Ectoplasm

(ETA: so it seems like they were actually hanging out someplace else away from the crowd this whole time, I guess? here I thought they had more faith in Enji’s disguise. I guess Shouto and Hawks don’t particularly want to attract this crowd’s attention themselves right now either, though.)

I am so fucking confused lmao

speaking of All Might WHERE THE FUCK IS HE lol. but yes, good, OFA brings everyone together, and Hawks is very deeply moved about this out of the blue all of a sudden. you know how it is

aw heck yeah now this is another filler panel I can get behind

Mineta really wants that hug, good lord. I genuinely love this actually. Mineta if you could just stay little and cute and keep crying about how much you love your classmates in a non-gross way for the rest of the series I would be so appreciative. you’re doing great

IIDA IS HOLDING DEKU’S HAND THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ONE TIME WASN’T ENOUGH FOR MY MAN HE’S ADDICTED NOW

what did I tell you. Kiri wants to get all of the mob’s autographs now. Kiri you’re a peach

Shouji having a conversation with another mutant type is a very nice touch! we really need to get to his backstory soon. I feel like that casual remark from GFL earlier was kind of hinting at more to come

is this the first time we’ve ever seen the Yaoyorictionary in action?? never forget that Viz tried to call it the “Yaoyorozu Reference Book” because they hate fun

last but not least, KAMIBAKU IS BACK ON THE MENU, FUCK YEAH. Kaminari trying to spice things up and introduce a little bit of controversy by smacking Kacchan on the back of the head for god knows what. I will be deeply disappointed after this if I can’t find at least one person unironically declaring that KamiBaku is now toxic and abusive

lfkdlWLWK TODODRAMA??

oh my god. Shouto’s face. Enji’s face. the back to “oyaji” again. the blunt, not-taking-no-for-an-answer, “I don’t know how much louder the universe can scream at you that doing things alone is not it, so hopefully you got the point” directness of it. fffdlkslj I’m so ready for this Horikoshi please don’t fuck it up my expectations are so high

HOLY FUCK

I SCROLLED DOWN AND HE WAS ALL “( ❛‿❛)” AND I JUST WASN’T FUCKING EXPECTING THAT OKAY. JESUS CHRIST. GIVE ME A SEC

lol okay moment over and now Enji’s pulling his hat down all dramatically like a world-weary Cowboy

OH MY GOD WERE YOU FACETIMING??

AHHHHHHHHH

(ETA: not to put Iida down or anything, but it’s kind of strange that Aizawa is all “the class rep sure did great” when Ochako is the one that was giving that whole big speech for like twenty minutes just now lol.)

(ETA 2: “thank god Iida stepped in just in the nick of time to keep Mineta from hugging Deku.” sorry Mineta I really do like you lately but it’s still low-hanging fruit lol.)

HE LOOKS SO SAD??! HE LOOKS LIKE HEARTBREAK ITSELF??! I AM BESOUGHT WITH THE URGE TO REACH INTO MY SCREEN AND PULL HIM INTO THE SAFETY OF MY ARMS??? MY GOD, AND I THOUGHT DEKU NEEDED HUGS

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH okay I was gonna just hold down the letter H for a full minute and count it out loud but within about ten seconds I realized I needed to chill lol

-- but then again NO, I DON’T NEED TO CHILL, I HAVE ZERO CHILL, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE IT’S AIZAWA WITH A ROBOT LEG AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

COMPLETE WITH ROBOT TOES FOR THAT EXTRA TOUCH OF AUTHENTICITY!! I LIKE HOW HORIKOSHI PUT ALL THIS EXTRA “!!!” EMPHASIS AROUND IT IN CASE WE COULD SOMEHOW POSSIBLY FAIL TO TAKE NOTICE. “REMEMBER, EVERYONE?” SAYS HORIKOSHI HELPFULLY. “REMEMBER THAT TIME AIZAWA CHOPPED OFF HIS OWN LEG?” oh wow now that you mention it we somehow forgot all about that. like who do you take us for

OH NO NOT THE SAD BOYFRIEND ANGST THAT I WAS SECRETLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH GLEE

well at least he’s not M.I.A. or back with the villains again like I thought he might be. still, that’s gotta be brutal to know your friend is in there somewhere, but to not be able to reach him again no matter how hard you try. that’s the kind of angst that pays off in final battles just when you most expect it. such is my hope, at any rate

what’s this now??

trying to decide if this is Horikoshi’s way of saying don’t worry about that, or his way of saying definitely worry about that lol

anyway so Aizawa is out here being all irresponsibly handsome once again. when is someone going to do something about him

here for Sexy Robot Leg Eyepatch Aizawa clenching his fists and making speeches about revenge. pretty sure we’re all here for that

WELL, WELL, WELL

IT’S ABOUT FUCKING TIME

I’M VERY GLAD YOU’RE ALIVE AND SEEMINGLY WELL, THOUGH!

BUT WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THOUGH, ALL MIGHT

ffff. bracing myself for that cliffhanger next week. you’d better not touch one hair on this man’s head Horikoshi. I’m watching you 

[bitches-who-write]

Bower's Gang Babysitting Readers Siblings Overnight

Warnings: Only swearing, nothing else.

You really..really didn’t want to ask the guys to babysit.

But none of your other friends were available and this was an emergency and you couldn’t bring your 2 siblings.

As soon as the guys arrived at your house to hangout, you sprung the news on them and bolted out the door yelling, “Thank You!!” Leaving no room for debate.

They turned around to see a little 5 year old girl sitting on the couch, staring at them in awe.

You would think a little kid would cling onto the friendlier of the guys- Vic or Belch (Reggie).

But instead, she decided to cling onto Henry fucking Bowers~ Who would’ve thought with that warm welcoming face of his??

The little girl slides off the couch and runs over to Henry, trying to give him a big hug

She hugs at his legs tightly while Henry tense up.

Henry then shakes his leg trying to get her off of him.

You can literally feel the room go silent, the tenison so high you can cut it with a knife.

The silence was only broken due to the 1 year old baby crying upstairs.

Patrick’s face immediately lights up but not in a good way. More like he’s up to something sinister~ “There's a baby!?” He exclaims, *slow scary smirk*

Belch and Vic stop him before he can head for the stairs. “Uh Patrick, maybe we should handle the baby. You two handle the little girl.”

They both head up the stairs leaving Henry and Patrick with the little girl downstairs.

Henry & Patrick:

After a few minutes of the little girl begging to be picked up. Henry caves and picks her up. Holding her from under the arms and further away from him, Henry holds her out towards Patrick.

Patrick is literally staring her down. Examining her face  tentatively. “You look so fucking young and innocent..I fucking hate it kid.”

Cue Belch yelling from upstairs for Patrick to “watch his language”.

The little girl turns her attention back to Henry once again. “Can we play a game?”

He looks at her dead in the eyes and responds with a very cold, “NO”

She goes nose to nose with him and repeatedly says “Let's play a game!!” while trying to hop up and down.

Patrick smirks at Henry, laughing as he watches the ordeal. 

Henry sits her down on the couch and grab her shoulders to keep her still in place. “You want to play a game? Let’s play a fucking game then!”

He tells her to go hide and they’ll come looking for her. As soon as she hides. They both sit back down on the couch and put on the TV.

Not even 5 minutes later she walks out of her hiding spot and approaches them, crossing her arms while pouting.

“You guys fucking suck at this game!”

Henry’s eyes widen in shock while Patrick starts laughing.

Patrick picks her up and sits her between them. Still laughing but puts his arm around her shoulder.

She looks up at the TV confused then towards Patrick, “What are you guys watching?”

Patrick doesn’t look at her, still infatuated with the TV. He responds plainly, “tits”

Henry responds “Don’t worry about it” dryly.

Patrick looks down at her and begins to laugh slightly, adding “You have a few years to go.”

Henry sighs, pinches the bridge of his nose “Jesus Christ.”

She lays her back against Patrick and props her feet up on Henry’s lap.

Henry glares at her while pushing her feet off of him. This starts a vicious cycle of her putting her feet back up, while he pushes them off.

After the fourth time of him shoving her feet off, she looks him dead in the eyes as she puts her feet back on him one last time just out of spite.

Annoyed, Henry picks her up abruptly and takes her to the bathroom “Okay, bath time. Let's get this over with so you can go to bed.”

Henry yells for Patrick to come help.

Patrick shakes his head no. “Nah man, I’m not tryin’ to catch a case.” He says seriously, not even joking around (for once)

Henry rolls his eyes. “Get your fucking ass in here and help me.”

Henry shoves a bottle of shampoo into Patrick’s chest and tells him to wash her hair.

As Patrick is washing her hair, she begins to get antsy, moving around too much.

“Owww, you got soap in my eye!!”. She begins to cry now. Her cries getting louder by the second.

Patrick splashes her in the face and say “If you quit fuckin moving that wouldn’t happen.”

Patrick finishes washing her hair and mumbles under his breath “Ya little fuckin shit.”

Patrick roughly dries her off and shoves her towards Henry. She stumbles forward, grabbing onto his legs for balance.

“You’re putting her to bed. I’m done for the night.” Patrick says as he walks out of the bathroom and back to the living room to return to the TV.

Henry gets her in bed and begins to walk out.

She stops him and asks if he can read her a bedtime story.

He sighs and come up with a very dark/fucked up story to tell her.

She looks up at him, eyes full of fear. Even little tears begin to form.

Henry looks down at her and smiles,  satisfied seeing her scared now.

“Goodnight” he responds condescendingly as  he shuts the door behind him. Not leaving a night light on for her.

Belch & Vic

They both look at each other trying to figure out why the baby is crying.

Belch looks at Vic, “Ever done this before?”

“Nope” Vic responds looking extremely overwhelmed and slightly irritated..

Belch goes to pick up the baby, actually being sure to support the neck/ head

Since Reggie has no experience holding a baby, he’s extremely careful. Basically treating this baby like an egg as if she would break any second.

The baby continues to cry but both guys still haven’t quite figured out why.

“Uhhh maybe she wants food?” Belch suggest

Vic shrugs, “yeah man, good call. So what does she eat..?

Belch looks just as confused as Vic before suggesting, “What if I put a burger in a blender?”

Vic lightens up a bit, “yeah, good source of protein. Ya know, this babysitting shit isn’t so hard after all!”

Belch passes the baby to Vic so he can go blend up that burger, but as they’re passing her, Vic forgets about supporting the head.

Her head just flops (not harmed) but startled so she begins to cry once again.

Belch runs out of the room and to the kitchen, leaving an overwhelmed Vic alone.

Vic starts out with gentle “shhhhs” but gets annoyed when she doesn’t calm down.

“Okay, can’t you just shut the fuck up already” He exclaims as he’s bouncing her.

The repetitive motion of the bouncing makes her puke all over Vic’s arm and shirt.

The moment Belch walks back in, Vic holds her out looking disgusted. “Take it, take it, take it now, Belch.

Belch takes the baby back and attempts to put her down for bed.

Thankfully all the crying earlier tired her out, so she fell right to sleep.

The Next Day -

Y/N calls the Bower’s Gang the next morning to thank them all again for saving your ass but you are slightly irritated at the fact that your 5 year old siblings new favorite word is now “fuck” and “fucking”

[watchmegetobsessed]

TO LOVE AND BE LOVED - Part Two (Harry Styles)

a/n: you guys thank you so much for all the love you’ve showed part one!! 🥺 im so happy you like the story! i wanted to post part two a little later, in the weekend but i got so happy for all the reactions that i decided to move it earlier so here it is! i’ll try to update soon, the longest it will take is one week probably. im working on my thesis and have a lot of school work so please be patient with me! feedback is very much welcomed, as always, your reactions and comments mean so much to me!!

pairing: CEO!Dad!Harry X Reader

warning: mentions of death, cheating and divorce

word count: 10.4k

SERIES MASTERPOST masterlist

Pulling Izzy out of daycare dramatically lessened the amount of time she could spend with her friends, so the situation needs extra attention on her socializing. You’ve been trying to take her to the park as much as possible so she could meet with kids her age and Harry has been arranging a lot of playdates for her with her friends from daycare.

When you come back from meeting your brother for lunch on a Sunday, you are greeted with not two, but eight little feet running around the living room, many of Izzy’s toys have been brought downstairs and the coffee table is filled with fruits, snacks and drinks for the kids. You know the two little guests, it’s Yara and Zac, the three of them were like a little gang back when Izzy was attending daycare. Yara’s moms and Zac’s mom are sitting on the terrace, letting the kids roam around freely, Harry is in the kitchen preparing some sandwiches for the guests when you arrive back.

“Hi, do you need help with anything?” you ask, catching his attention.

“Oh, hi! No I’m fine, thank you. How was lunch with your brother?”

“Great,” you smile at him before leaving him to do whatever he has to do.

“Miss Y/N!” Yara greets you, waving in your way while munching on an apple slice.

“Hello Yara, Zac,” you smile at them before walking out to the terrace to greet the parents. “Hi! Ava, Saige, it’s nice to see you again. And Linda, hello!”

“Y/N, hi! Harry told us you might return soon, so good to see you!” Ava greets you as you join them at the table. They’ve been the nicest parents while you were working at the daycare, though you weren’t the only victim of the closed-minded cowards that got you fired. Ava and Saige have faced quite a lot of backlash for basically daring to be a same-sex couple out in the open. You’ve heard many complaints from other parents about how they don’t want them to pick up their daughter together. Apparently, it’s confusing for the kids to see two women to be the mothers of the same child. Ridiculous.

“I was out having lunch with my brother. How have you been?”

“Things are the same, you know,” Saige shrugs with a scowl. “But your firing has got us thinking about pulling Yara out as well.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, it’s starting to get really ridiculous. I mean it’s one thing that we get weird looks, but firing you was kind of the last straw,” Ava nods.

“And how have you been here, Y/N? How is working for Harry?” Linda asks.

“Oh, it’s amazing, really. I love taking care of Izzy, she is so easy to handle and I love seeing her learn and grow. And Harry is a great boss, I got really lucky.”

“Lucky indeed!” Ava smirks, making them all laugh as you feel yourself blushing. “Even I sometimes dream about the man,” she adds, keeping her tone down.

“How do you keep your cool?” Linda sighs. “If I had to live with this man, I would go nuts.”

“Well, Izzy keeps me pretty busy, and he is my boss, so…”

“It’s not like HR would be up your ass if you got involved,” Saige shrugs, taking a sip from her iced tea.

You don’t get to react, the kids run out, taking over the playground, Harry arriving right behind them with a plate filled with sandwiches for the guests.

“Ladies, sorry for the wait,” he smiles, placing the food to the table as he joins your little circle.

“Oh Harry, thank you so much!” Ava sighs, grabbing one already. “We were just talking to Y/N about how big of an upgrade it is for her to work here.”

“Is it?” he asks, slightly surprised as he glances over at you.

“I mean, the paycheck is better and it’s clearly a better environment,” you chuckle shrugging.

“I just don’t know why Claire lets those assholes control the place. She is the boss there, she should stand up against them,” Linda scowls.

“She is just trying to avoid confrontation.”

“No, she is afraid they would stop paying the daycare the money, so she is an ass-kisser,” Saige scoffs, making you laugh.

“Well, at least I have Y/N now to take good care of Izzy,” Harry smiles, his eyes meeting yours and you swear your heart skips a beat when he says that he has you.

“Lucky bastard!” Ava throws her hands into the air, making everyone laugh.

Enjoying the company, you stay outside instead of locking yourself up in your room. It’s nice to see the moms occasionally pick on Harry, they surely like to joke about him being a hot single dad, but he usually just blushes and smiles at the compliments. Linda and Zac leave first, then Ava, Saige and Yara head home as well when it’s nearing five in the afternoon. Though Harry tells you to just leave the cleanup for him, you insist on helping.

“Now I feel bad you are working on your day off,” he huffs as you help him around in the kitchen.

“It’s not working,” you roll your eyes. “I live here too, of course I’m gonna help keeping it clean.”

“You know, if your brother ever wants to come over, feel free to invite him.”

“Might take your word, because he is very curious about the place,” you chuckle. Harry smiles as he starts washing the dishes.

“He is welcomed anytime.”

“Thank you.” Putting away the snacks that was left you start drying the dishes while he is washing them, working next to each other in silence. Unlike his usual attire, he is now wearing just a plain white t-shirt with light-washed jeans. “You’re quite the moms’ favorite,” you tease him, earning a soft chuckle from him.

“Saige and Ava like to pull my leg, but I know they mean well.”

“They are great people, I always liked them,” you smile glancing at him.

“I remember when I first met them at a parents’ meeting, they spotted how lost I was among all the moms and asked if I wanted to sit with them. Then Izzy became friends with Yara so we met quite a few times.”

“I find it a little funny we never met while I was working at the daycare. Izzy was in my group for almost a year and we just never ran into each other.”

Harry licks his lips before turning his gaze to you, finishing up the dishes and turning the water off.

“I saw you.” Your eyebrows shoot up. How did you not see him?

“Really?”

“Yeah, just a few times. Mostly it was Ruth who picked up Izzy these past few months. I had a huge project that ended just before you started here, so I didn’t have the chance to pick her up that much. But I saw you a few times. You were just always busy with the kids, I guess… you didn’t notice me,” he shrugs, holding his arms on his chest as he leans against the counter.

“It could get pretty intense sometimes even though it was just a daycare,” you chuckle, remembering to all the tantrums and fussy dramas that happened between the kids. Sometimes it felt more like a high school than a daycare, especially when friends were taken and lovestories happened through lunchtimes.

“Daddy! What are we having for dinner?” Izzy runs into the kitchen, tippy-tapping her hands on the counter that she can barely reach.

“Macaroni and cheese.”

“Yes! Maccy cheese!” Izzy cheers throwing her hands into the air. Harry smiles down at her, ruffling her hair and you can’t push down a smile at what she just called mac and cheese.

Harry starts prepping for dinner, he puts on some music that Izzy dances to and though you try to leave them be and enjoy their alone time, Izzy insists you stay and help as well.

“Izzy, let Y/N do what she wants, this is her day off,” Harry warns her, making her pout her lips at you. Not that you would have said no to her, but now you definitely can’t leave.

“It’s alright. I’m happy to help.”

Izzy sits on the counter in a safe distance from the stove, her duty is to watch the pasta cook while Harry takes care of the sauce and you set the table, knowing it won’t take long for the food to be ready.

“Daddy?” Izzy speaks up, tilting her head to the side.

“Yes, baby?”

“I love Maccy cheese. Does mom like it too?”

Harry’s eyes flicker over to you, as if he is embarrassed you caught a moment that shouldn’t have been revealed and you can tell he is still kind of torn how to handle the mentioning of his late wife. You keep a straight face, making yourself busy with cleaning off the counter top. You wouldn’t want to make him think he can’t talk about Maggie in your presence.

“Um, yeah. Mommy loves mac and cheese,” he nods, giving her knees a little squeeze before moving her off the counter to take care of the pasta.

Your eyes meet Harry’s gaze when you bring some water to the table and you can tell he is still thinking about the slip you just heard, but you give him a soft smile, trying your best to assure him nothing bad happened.

Izzy babbles through dinner about everything she did with Yara and Zac today, excited to see them as soon as possible and Harry promises her to arrange a meeting for them in the park sometime next week. You try to help with cleaning up, but Harry doesn’t let you, so pouring yourself a nice glass of wine you sit in the living room to watch some TV before going to bed. After dinner, Harry takes Izzy upstairs to give her a bath and once that’s done she is allowed to play some more in her room.

Harry joins you soon on the couch with a glass of wine as well, seemingly tired from all the socializing he did. Peeking at him while the evening news is playing on the screen, you notice that he is not even paying attention, deep in his thoughts he is pulling on his bottom lip like he always does whenever he is deep in focus. You have a guess what he is thinking about, but you want to give him the time and space to figure out if he is ready to share or not.

“I, uhh—I never really told you why it’s just Izzy and I,” he speaks up and you turn to him with patience, knowing the importance of him bringing it up. “My wife… Maggie, she… We got married about six years ago and then two years later we had Izzy. She was six months old when Maggie…”

He is struggling to find the words, or to just even think about it and you don’t want him to feel like he has to tell you about any of it.

“Harry, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to. I always feel bad that I don’t talk about her, makes it look like I’m trying to forget about her, but that’s not at all the case, it’s just… hard to think about how long it’s been and I still feel like it was just… last week.”

Harry sniffles and you’re not sure if it’s because he is getting emotional to the point where he is going to start crying or it’s nothing significant, but you feel the urge to assure him about your support. Reaching over you put your hand to his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. His eyes first fall to your hand and then to you, a sense of softness shining back from his green irises as he lets out a shaky breath.

“It was a car accident. She was driving home late night from her sister’s and a drunk driver ran the red light, crashed right into her car. They both were rushed into hospital, but Maggie’s lungs collapsed and she… they couldn’t help her. The guy had surgery and though he broke quite a few bones and had a serious concussion, he survived.”

You have to bite into your bottom lip, already feeling the tears welling in your eyes, but you quickly blink them away. You can only imagine what it’s like to be called and find out your wife was killed because of the dumb mistake of someone else. And to think that Izzy was still so small, Harry was left with a baby and the immense grief so suddenly, it must have been the toughest time he had to go through.

“I’m really sorry, Harry,” you quietly tell him, his eyes flickering up to meet yours and they are glistening from the tears. He just nods, blinking a few times before drinking up his wine.

Before anything else could be said, you hear Izzy running down the stairs, soon throwing herself to the couch, cuddling to Harry’s side.

“Hey baby, want to go to sleep already?” he asks, softly brushing through her hair with his fingers. Izzy nods, blinking sleepily. Harry scoops her into his arms standing up from the couch and he is reaching for his empty glass, but you take it before he could.

“I’ll wash it, don’t worry about it,” you smile at him.

“Thank you,” he breathes out, holding Izzy tight before the two of them disappear upstairs.

You don’t stay out too long yourself either, washing the glasses you let a single tear run down your cheek before quickly wiping it away and heading up to your room.

The past two years you’ve been taking gigs as a photographer more and more, going to weddings, birthday parties, baby showers or anniversaries to snap photos of others’ most precious moments. You are not a professional, nor do you treat yourself as one, but the more events you attended and the more work you put out, the more popular you started to get. Now you have about two bookings every month and you are able to ask for a quite impressive amount of money for a session that people are willing to pay for your pictures.

You’ve been putting off your gigs since you moved into the Styles mansion, wanting to focus on all the changes in your lives, but now that you’ve gotten quite used to your new life one month into it, you are getting back to your usual. This Saturday you’re doing a photoshoot of a soon-to-be-wedded pair who also booked you for their upcoming wedding in a few weeks. It’s kind of an engagement photoshoot since they couldn’t do one when they got engaged months ago, but they didn’t want to miss out on the chance to do one before they official tie the knot.

Harry and Izzy are planning to go to the zoo today, something she’s been begging to do for weeks now and Harry finally gave in, so all three of you are going to be quite busy today. The photoshoot takes place at this fancy, mid-century styled café the couple chose, so you decide to dress up yourself a little too. Putting on a maroon colored pencil skirt that hugs your hips and waist tight, you tuck into it a white silky blouse, making you appear like some kind of eyecandy assistant straight out of a Hollywood movie, especially with your low bun, which is less for the look but more for practicality, since you don’t like it when your hair gets caught in the straps of your camera.

Swinging your camera bag to one shoulder and your handbag to the other one, your camera hanging from your neck, you head downstairs, rushing a little because you’re short on time already. Izzy is sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island while Harry is packing them some lunch and snacks for the day.

“Oh! Y/N, you look so pretty!” Izzy beams at you when you near the corner. She is dangling her legs playfully, her piggy tails curling adorably on each sides of her head. Harry’s head snaps up and his lips part upon spotting you.

“Thank you, Sunshine,” you smile at her, caressing her cheek, tickling her a little that makes her giggle.

“Where are you going?” she asks curiously.

“Izzy, don’t question her all the time, that’s not too nice,” Harry warns her, but you just shake your head.

“It’s alright. I have a photoshoot today. I have to take pictures of a couple that’s going to get married soon,” you explain to her and Harry’s ears perk up, eyeing the camera that’s hanging from your neck.

“I didn’t know you are a photographer,” Harry hums, closing the cooler.

“Well, I’m not a professional, but I’ve been doing photoshoots here and there.”

“That’s amazing!” he smiles warmly.

“Thanks. Well, I gotta go because I’m running a little late. Have fun at the zoo!” you smile, at them before walking out. You reach the front door but stop for a moment to read the text the bride has sent you letting you know they are running a little late as well. That’s when you hear the conversation between Harry and Izzy coming from the kitchen.

“She looked so pretty!” Izzy sighs. You expect Harry to just hum or ignore her words, but for your surprise, he answers her.

“Yeah, she really does.”

You blush like a teenage girl, feeling your heart fluttering in your chest as you smile, walking out of the house.

The father-daughter duo is still out when you get home later. You make yourself a tea and sit out to the terrace with your computer, starting to edit the photos right away so you can send then over to the couple as soon as possible. They turned out pretty good, you love the colorful vibe the café had and it went well with the pair’s outfits.

You get so into editing that you don’t even notice Harry and Izzy arriving home, just when the sliding door opens and Izzy runs up to you, holding a stuffed animal that appears to be an otter.

“Y/N, look what daddy got me!” she cheers holding up the toy.

“Oh my god, it’s really cute!” You pull her to sit on your lap as she hugs the toy, clearly happy to have a new addition to her already existing army. Harry walks out with a bottle of water and a glass. Joining the two of you at the table, he pours some water for Izzy and makes her drink it.

“We spent an entire hour watching the otters,” he chuckles, brushing Izzy’s hair out of her face as she chugs the water down.

“Can’t blame you, they are really cute,” you chuckle. Izzy puts the empty glass down and hops off your lap before announcing that she is gonna show her new toy around in the backyard before running away from you.

“Are those… the pictures from today?” Harry shyly asks, eyeing your laptop’s screen.

“Oh, yeah. Wanted to get a headstart on editing,” you nod turning it so he can have a better look. “Want to see what I got so far?”

“Of course!” he nods smiling.

You click through the photos you’ve already edited, there are about ten in total and you’re quite satisfied with how they turned out to be.

“Wow, they look… really good, Y/N.”

“Thank you,” you smile blushing a little.

“What events do you usually do?”

“Mostly weddings and engagement shoots, birthdays, these kinds of stuff.”

“It’s really amazing,” he nods smiling.

“I… Hope you won’t be mad but I’ve shot a few pictures of Izzy too these past weeks,” you admit, hoping he won’t get upset for you, doing it without his permission. “I didn’t use them anywhere, I wasn’t planning to, I just thought they were nice moments.”

“Oh, can I see them?”

“Of course!”

Opening up the folder you put her pictures into, you start clicking through the few photos you took of her. There’s one of her during her swimming lesson, laughing happily as she holds onto the edge of the pool, her wet locks sticking to her head. Then there’s one when the two of you were baking cupcakes and she got icing all over her face and tried to lick it off, her tongue sticking out on the picture. There are some of her just roaming around the backyard, exploring the bugs hiding in the grass, some of her napping with her favorite stuffed animals on the couch and then the last one was taken when she was jumping in her bed, you caught her up in the air, the widest smile on her face as she was laughing straight into the camera.

“Y/N, these are… wow. They are all so good, I love them!”

“Really?” Your smile grows wide, happy that he likes them.

“Yeah! Do you think… do you think you can send them to me?”

“Of course! I can get them printed for you, if you’d like. There’s a place where I go to get my photos printed, they make them look like they were taken on an analog, old school camera, I love that little extra touch on the pictures.”

“That would be fantastic,” he smiles, clearly in awe of your work.

You spend the rest of the afternoon editing while Harry and Izzy take over the kitchen as usual. When you’re on your way up to your room with your laptop after you decided to call it a day, you catch them in there, Izzy making Harry dance around with her while they are chopping the veggies. Harry is swaying his lips to the rhythm, humming to the song as Izzy is jumping and twirling around, singing from the top of her lungs. Despite the terrible loss of her mother, there’s no doubt Izzy is having the best possible childhood, getting all the love she deserves from her dad and you feel happy you are here to witness them grow together.

You did not see your parents’ divorce coming, probably because it’s been over six years since you’ve moved out and you only saw them every other week at best. You always tried to come around as often as possible, wanting to spend time with Trevor and of course, them as well, but you had to focus on building your own life. You had to worry about your work, your own living space and not much later you started dating Keith so you were pretty busy to say the least. You weren’t there when things started to go downhill, but Trevor was. He had to suffer through every fight and screaming match they had without any support and you’ve always felt guilty about it, but you couldn’t just move back home. However you’ve always tried to do everything you could to support him through these hard times. He knew he could call you anytime he had enough of the spiteful atmosphere at home and you were quick to come to his rescue.

You were mad at your parents, there’s no need to lie about it. But not because of getting a divorce, you knew better than to expect them to suffer in a marriage they weren’t happy in, but the way they handled has always been just… unacceptable. Especially because in the midst of their anger and hatred towards each other they started to forget that they still had a kid living home who had to listen to everything they threw at each other, things no son should ever hear about his parents, no matter if they were true or not.

Being a teenager in high school is stressful enough as it is, but having to deal with your parents’ nasty divorce is just something no teenager should have to go through. Trevor has been dealing with it for a while now and he is trying his best to just shut them out whenever they are going at it, but sometimes it’s not that easy. That’s when he seeks comfort at you.

It’s a Thursday evening when your parents decide to drive Trevor up the wall with their screaming and fighting again. You’re watching a movie with Izzy and Harry in the entertainment room, working on your laptop simultaneously, confirming some photoshoots for the upcoming weekends. Harry has let Izzy play with his hair while watching the movie, so now she is all over her daddy, decorating his hair with little hairclips and hair ties while the man is just sitting there without a complaint.

Your phone starts buzzing on the couch and Trevor’s photo is flashing on the screen. Putting the laptop aside, you grab your phone and walk out of the room not to disturb them with your call.

“Hey!” you greet him happily, but your stomach immediately drops when you hear him draw a shaky breath on the other end of the line. “Trev? What’s wrong?”

“Can I please spend the night at yours?” he pleads weakly.

“What happened, are you alright?” you perk up right away.

“It’s just… dad came over this afternoon and they went at it again and now they are doing it over the phone, mom is like really out of her mind right now. I have a math test tomorrow and I don’t think I can sleep here like this. She is still screaming at him over the phone.”

“I’m leaving right now, pack a bag, alright?”

“Thanks,” he breathes out and ends the call. Rushing back into the entertainment room Harry turns to you while Izzy is still busy with his hair.

“Uh, I know it’s really sudden and all, but my brother just called, would it be fine if he spent the night over here?” Even though Harry himself told you it’s fine to have people over, you still feel like you need to ask for his permission, especially if your guest is planning to stay the night.

“Is he alright? Of course he can come over.” Sitting straight up he asks Izzy to sit down a little which she gladly does, turning her attention towards the movie.

“It’s just, um, our parents are having another scream match. They are… They are in the middle of getting a divorce and they are not handling it right,” you let out a bitter chuckle.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. Do you need me to come with you? You seem very upset, you sure you can drive?”

“No, it’s alright, but thanks. I’m fine. I’ll be back soon with him and thank you so much for letting him stay,” you breathe out. He just nods with a sympathetic smile before you turn around and leave.

Through the drive over to the house where you grew up your anger just grows with each turn you take. You love your parents to death, they raised you in a quite unusual and hard situation, they had to grow up with you when they had you so young, but they always made sure to give you everything you needed. And you know they have the same kind of love towards Trevor, but their hatred for each other is blinding them and they probably don’t even realize how much it affects him, but you are not letting them ruin everything because they fell out of love. Trevor deserves the same kind of supportive and loving environment to grow up in just like the one you had and there’s nothing that could change that.

Pulling up to the driveway you take a deep breath as you march up to the front porch and use your keys to let yourself in. The shouting hits your ears right away, it’s coming from the kitchen, but Trevor is the first one you spot on the top of the stairs. His hood is on and he has a backpack in his hands as he comes down the stairs with a pained and tired face.

“Hey! Left the car open, go get in there, I’ll be out in a minute,” you softly tell him as you give him a quick hug.

“Thanks,” he mumbles before walking out.

Following your mother’s voice to the kitchen you find her with a half empty bottle of wine, cussing your father out through the phone.

“Go and fuck that bitch you went out to have dinner with last weekend! Yes I know about that!” she spats and you wince at her words.

“Mom!” you call out, but she doesn’t even register your voice.

“Fuck you, Fred! Fuck you!” she continues, so you raise your voice a little more.

“Mom!” This time she finally hears it and turning around she looks at you with wide eyes.

“Y/N! What are you doing here? You didn’t say you were coming,” she adds, her voice soft and weak this time, the anger long gone from it.

“I’m here to pick Trevor up. Put dad on speaker, I want to have a word with you two,” you tell her firmly and she gulps hard, nodding as she sets the phone to the counter, putting your dad on speaker.

“Y/N? What’s going on?” you hear him question from the other end of the line.

“I could ask the same thing!” you snap back, fed up with the way they have been acting. They might have lost a good chunk of their youth because they were busy taking care of you after having at just nineteen, but that doesn’t give them the right to act like literal cavemen in front of your brother.

“Trevor called me all upset, begging me to come and get him. What is wrong with you two? You have been at each other’s throats all the damn time, it is not healthy not just for Trevor but to either of you!”

“Y/N, sweetie, there’s just a lot going on—“ your mother tries to explain, but you cut her off.

“I don’t fucking care! Whatever is going on between the two of you, Trevor should be first! No matter what! He needs you both, he needs the support and love, but he is only getting the screaming and fighting. This is not right!”

“It’s a hard situation, you have to be patient with us, Y/N,” your father sighs over the phone and you can’t hold your ironic laughter back.

“Patient? I’ve been patient with you these past about five months since you’ve been literally tearing each other to pieces. Do yourselves and everyone else a favor and just get it over with. Dad, pick up all your stuff and don’t come here for mom’s sake. Mom, don’t snoop around dad’s life, because it’s not your business anymore. Stop being ignorant and maybe start to think about the kid you still have living near you.”

Your words might have been harsh, but it needed to be said. You can tell by your mother’s shocked expression and from the way your dad is dead silent in the call that your message finally hit them in the head and you hope they are willing to get their shit together so Trevor doesn’t lose his mind.

“Trevor is staying with me tonight, we’ll see when he wants to come back, but you better think about what I just told you,” you warn them before walking out and leaving them to think about their actions finally.

Trevor stays silent on the road back to Harry’s and you don’t try to force him to talk, it’s clear he has had enough for today. Arriving back home you park your car next to Harry’s Range Rover and the two of you walk inside in silence.

It’s past Izzy’s bedtime so you’re not surprised to find only Harry in the kitchen when you walk into the house. Harry seems cautious, almost worried as he spots you and Trevor in the hallway.

“Trevor, this is my boss, Harry. Harry, this is my brother, Trevor,” you introduce them to each other quickly. They shake hands with a manly nod.

“Thanks for letting me stay here tonight,” Trevor clears his throat, feeling a little out of place.

“No worries. Feel free to use any of the guest bedrooms,” Harry smiles softly.

“Oh, we’ll be fine sleeping in my room,” you assure him but Harry shakes his head at your words.

“We have plenty of space. Please, use them!”

“Thank you,” Trevor mumbles and you shoot Harry a thankful look before walking your brother upstairs.

You opt for the room next to yours, Help Trevor get comfortable, making sure he has everything he needs for the night.

“Did you get into a fight with mom and dad?” he asks, when you are sitting on the edge of his bed, about to leave him alone.

“I just told them to get their shit together,” you chuckle, giving his leg a squeeze under the covers. He cracks a smile at you, but it’s not as genuine as it should be. “I’ll drive you to school in the morning. My room is right next to this one, come over if you need anything, alright?”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, pulling the covers up to his chin.

“Good night, Trev,”you tell him switching the lights off and walking towards the door.

“Good night, Y/N,” he calls after you before you close the door, letting out a long breath.

As you make your way down to the kitchen you see that Harry is still there, his eyes snap up to you, filled with concern and worry.

“Everything alright?” he asks as you make yourself a tea.

“Yeah, he was just fed up with the constant screaming. I can’t blame him, my mother didn’t even realize I was there until I raised my voice at her.”

“I’m sorry about that. Must be hard dealing with high school and a nasty divorce.”

“It is,” you sigh. “But thank you for letting him stay, really.” “I meant it when I said it’s just as much your home as it is ours. He can come over anytime, don’t worry about that,” he shrugs.

“Thank you. I’ll drive him to school in the morning, but I’ll be back by the time you leave, is that alright?”

“Of course,” he smiles warmly. “You two look a lot alike.”

“We get that a lot,” you chuckle. “It’s the eyes and nose shape, I think. We got those from our mother.”

“People say I look like my sister too, but I don’t really see it, if I’m being honest,” he chuckles lightly.

“Yeah? Why?”

“No idea,” he shakes his head laughing. “I just don’t see it, but I couldn’t tell you really.”

Sipping on your tea you stay in the kitchen with Harry, the light conversation about his sister and eventually his mother eases the stress that has been gripping on your chest from the encounter you had with your parents earlier. You’re not sure if he tried to talk you through it because he saw how much you needed the distraction or if it’s just how he is, but either way, he really helped you to relax.

Cleaning after yourself the two of you head to bed, saying good night to each other before disappearing in your rooms.

“This place is like… really huge,” Trevor sighs in awe when the two of you are eating breakfast together the next morning.

“I told you, it’s a mansion,” you chuckle, digging into your oatmeal. “I’ll show you around next time you’re here.”

“T’was nice of Harry to let me stay,” he hums.

“Mhm, he is a cool boss,” you smile at him.

“And kinda handsome…” Glancing at Trevor you see the sly smirk on his lips and you give him a stern look.

“Stop right there, alright? No funny thoughts!”

“Funny thoughts?” he laughs leaning back in his seat. “I just made a statement that he is a nice looking man, that’s it. Do you not agree?”

“I’m not commenting on the topic,” you diplomatically answer.

“On what topic?” Harry appears from the stairs, making you both turn his way. “Good morning,” he smiles warmly.

“Morning!” Trevor nods his way before he turns back to you, still smirking. You narrow your eyes at him before answering Harry.

“The topic doesn’t matter. Morning, Harry!”

He pours himself some coffee that you brew earlier before joining the two of you at the dining table. He strikes up a conversation with Trevor, asking him about school and his future plans once he graduates and luckily, Trevor is on his best behavior despite the comment he made earlier, he is not trying to put you into an uncomfortable situation. He knows better, because if he upsets you now, he will not be returning to the mansion, that’s for sure.

“Alright, get your stuff, we are leaving in five,” you tell him when both of you are done eating. Nodding he disappears upstairs as you take care of the dishes quickly.

“Is he staying tonight as well?” Harry asks, following you into the kitchen.

“Oh, no. I’m sure mom wants to talk to him after last night, so it’s better if he goes home.”

“Hope things will get easier for him,” he smiles and you return it, thankful that he let him stay here when he really needed a place for himself.

“Thanks for everything, Harry” Trevor smiles at him when he arrives with his backpack.

“Of course, come back soon, but under more peaceful conditions,” he chuckles nodding in his way.

“I’ll be back soon!” you call out before walking out of the house with your brother.

“So how long have you been crushing on your boss?” Trevor asks in the car and your eyes widen as you try to keep the car straight in the lane.

“Excuse you?”

“Come on, Y/N. It’s kinda obvious, you swoon at everything the man says, haven’t seen you this soft since your high school graduation,” he chuckles, finding your reaction quite entertaining, but you’re not enjoying the situation that much.

“I do not have a crush on Harry,” you shake your head laughing, but you can’t ignore the knot in your stomach at your own words. Was this that big of a lie?

“That’s too bad because I think he has a thing for you too,” he shrugs, carelessly staring out the window, like it’s that casual to discuss you and your boss having possible feelings for each other.

“When did you become an expert on these stuff?” you huff, glancing at him shortly before turning back to face the road.

“I’m not an expert, but I’m not blind either. And I saw the way he looked at you.”

“What way?” you scoff.

“Like he is thankful you are walking this Earth.”

“Did you take this from a rom-com on Netflix?” you tease him, but he just shrugs. “Of course he is thankful, I’m helping him with his daughter. It’s not easy being a single parent and I’m helping him immensely. But there’s nothing else behind that.”

“Sure, good luck convincing yourself,” he sighs when you park the car down at his school. “Thanks for the ride and the night too. I’ll call you later.”

Leaning over the console he gives you a quick hug before hopping out of the car and walking towards the main building.

Arriving back home you find Izzy sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal on her lap, watching her favorite morning cartoon, but no sign of Harry and for a moment you get scared you got back too late, but then you realize he wouldn’t leave Izzy home alone.

“Hey Sunshine, did you sleep well?” you ask, caressing her rosy cheek as you join her on the couch.

“Mhm, what are we doing today?” she asks, showing a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

“You have French class today with Lyon and in the afternoon I thought we could learn about otters. You seemed to like them a lot at the zoo.”

“Yes! They are so cute!” she cheers happily just when you hear footsteps coming from the stairs. Turning around you spot Harry walking towards the living room, but your lips part immediately when you see that he is putting on another shirt, his naked chest on display since he hasn’t buttoned it fully. What you saw not long ago from your balcony is now so much closer, the swallows peeking out from under the shirt and you see the little cross pendant hanging between his pecs, something you’ve only seen if he pulled it out of his shirts which didn’t happen that often.

Harry stops in his tracks when he sees you on the couch with Izzy and a blush paints his cheeks.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t know you were back,” he breathes out, his fingers working fast on the buttons to get himself presentable again though you wish he would just get rid of the whole thing… “Izzy spilled some juice on me so I had to change quickly,” he explains, finishing with the buttons and he quickly fixes it so he looks just as spotless as always.

“You poured too much into my cup!” Izzy defends herself furrowing her eyebrows at her dad.

“Of course it was my fault, who else’s would have it been?” Harry huffs as he presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Y/N, I have something to ask you.”

“Go ahead.”

“I know it’s pretty sudden and on a very short notice but could you maybe look after Izzy tonight? Niall called me and begged to meet up with him for a few drinks. I would call Ruth, but she is out of town this week.”

“Oh sure! No problem,” you smile at him.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything to do? Don’t feel pressured to say yes, I should have asked in advance, it’s just—“ “Harry, it’s fine. I’m okay looking after her tonight,” you assure him before he talks himself down from letting you do it. “Go have fun, you barely get out of the house without Izzy.” If you’re being honest the only place he goes to without his daughter is work and it’s a little saddening, he deserves some time out from his daddy duties.

“Thank you,” he smiles at you with gratitude. “I won’t be out too long, I promise.”

“No worries, have fun with Niall,” you wave in dismiss.

“Thanks. Have a great day. Be good, baby. I’ll see you in the afternoon.” Harry kisses Izzy’s forehead before grabbing his suit jacket, wallet, keys and phone and heads out to start his day.

“Alright, daddy is off to work and we also have a day ahead of us. Come on, let’s get started,” you smile at Izzy who nods in agreement.

Harry swears he didn’t come home earlier than his usual because he feels bad for asking you to cover the evening, but you know that’s a blatant lie. He is home by three and frees you for the rest of the afternoon, leaving you with about two extra hours. He informs you that he would be leaving around seven, so dinner time will still be his duty, but you’ll have to put Izzy to bed at her usual time, which works perfectly for you.

A little before seven Harry disappears to take a quick shower and get changed before heading out, while you sit out in the living room with Izzy, reading her from a book she chose after dinner.

When Harry returns, he is dressed more casually than he usually does for work, wearing a pair of beige slacks and a black shirt tucked into it, the first three buttons left undone, showing just a hint of his tattooed chest for the viewers.

“Okay, I just called a car, it’ll be here any minute. Please call me if anything happens, I could come home anytime.”

“Harry, I take care of her all day, I’m sure we’ll be fine for one evening as well,” you chuckle, trying to ease his nervousness about leaving his daughter home at a time he is not used to.

“Right,” he lets out a soft chuckle. “Thank you again. And Izzy, be good. Y/N will put you to bed tonight, but I’ll be here in the morning, okay?”

“Okay!” she sings, completely fine with the new arrangement.

“Alright, see you soon, good night!” he calls out on his way out of the house.

Sitting at the rooftop bar, Harry and Niall take up a small table for two near the railing so they have a nice view of the city below them. The waitress brings their order, tequila on the rocks for Harry and a good pint for Niall, and the latter man can’t ignore the fact how pretty she is in her tight white shirt and short black skirt, smiling coyly at the men as she asks if they want anything else.

“We’re good for now, Darling. Thank yeh,” Niall smirks and even winks at the woman, who is seemingly enjoying the attention from him, but deep down she would be happier if it was Harry who was trying to flirt with him. However he is busy on his phone, typing out an email even at this ungodly hour, which pisses his friend off.

“Would you stop being a workaholic prick and maybe glance at the woman that wants to fuck the shit out of you?” Niall snaps at him, grabbing his attention, but he just rolls his eyes.

“That would require my interest as well, which is not there.”

“That’s fucking sad. Really, mate. How long are you going to act like a crybaby? I’m getting tired of your long face. I get it, shit happened, but you eventually have to move on.”

Harry tries to ignore his words, eyes glued to the screen of his phone hoping his friend would just drop it, but that’s not what Niall is like. So instead of leaving him to be, he grabs his phone, snaps it right out of his hands and then shoves it into his pocket.

“Hey! What the fuck?!” he growls at his friend who just gives him a hard look.

“Harry, I’m worried about you. You do nothing, just work and be with Izzy.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t spend time with my daughter?” he asks twisting his words.

“You know that’s not what I mean. Spend as much time with her as possible, but don’t forget to take care of yourself.”

“I’m taking care of myself. I sleep and eat well and I workout regularly. I don’t see what else I might need.” “Fuck. You need to fuck,” he points out, making Harry roll his eyes again.

“You know, sometimes I question why we are even friends…” Harry grumbles under his breath as he takes a sip from his drink, feeling like he definitely needs the alcohol if Niall is gonna pick on him all night.

“Because I’m the one who pushes you out of your pit of sorrow, m’friend. And right now I feel like I need to step in, because you are turning into a bitter old man.”

“I’m not bitter,” Harry narrows his eyes at him.

“And neither are you old, so why are you acting like you are?”

“Look, I know that you are a fan of the bachelor life, going to parties, sleeping around with any woman you can get, but that’s just not for me, it never was, not even a long time ago.”

“I’m not trying to get you to act like a frat boy, Har. I know you are too soft for that, but I think it might be time for you to, I don’t know, open up a bit.”

“Open up?”

“Yeah! Go out, meet new people, preferably women,” he adds with a knowing look. “It’s been more than three years, Harry. You can’t stay at home and mope around forever.”

“I really don’t think we should be having this conversation right now.”

“If not now, then when? I tried to talk to you about it many times, but you always just dodged it, so I gave you more time to adjust to the situation, but I think we are over that,” Niall sighs, leaning onto the table. “We both know time flies by. Soon Izzy will go to school, she’ll have her own little life and before you could even blink twice, she is gonna be a teenager, barely talking to you, only caring about some boyband, her friends and shows. The time will come when you’ll have to step back a little and I don’t want you to stay alone.”

“First of all, Izzy is 4 and she won’t be allowed to even think about being independent until she is twenty,” Harry starts off as Niall rolls his eyes at him.

“Yeah, sure. You’ll have an amazing time when she becomes a teenager.”

“Don’t even talk about her being a teenager.”

“It’s going to happen!” Niall snaps and Harry narrows his eyes at him. “Okay, let’s just calm down.” He takes a deep breath even though he is the only one getting mad right now. Harry might feel uncomfortable, but he is not one to lose his temper that easily. Niall on the other hand is known to be a little too passionate at times.

“Alright. Please know that I’m just trying to be a good friend. What happened is tragic and I can’t even imagine what you went through, though I was here all along so I have a slight guess. I’m happy that you are doing vehemently better now, it’s amazing, but I know that you’ll be miserable if you stay single forever.”

“I’m not gonna start dating, Niall. It’s just… too soon. I can’t get into a relationship now.” Harry shakes his head, gulping from his drink again, the alcohol burns down his throat as he grimaces shortly.

“I get it that you don’t want a relationship, but dating might not be that bad. I’m pretty sure there are some hot single moms you know who would love to go out with you for dinner or some shit.”

“I’m not interested in any of them,” he shrugs.

“Then what about Y/N?” Harry’s eyes snap up at his friend, flexing his jaw out of instinct.

“What about her?”

“She is pretty, nice and funny, completely your type. Why don’t you try it with her?”

“She works for me,” Harry replies right away.

“No one fucking cares,” Niall scoffs. “And because you didn’t say that you don’t like her, I assume you are into her.”

Harry lets out a heavy sighs shaking his head. You’ve not been the only one who’s been noticing the other. Ever since he has caught you watching him while doing his morning yoga, he couldn’t shake the thought of you and he took a special notice about a lot of things about you. Like the way you scrunch your nose every time you smile when Izzy says a word wrong, or the way you like to put up your hair into a ponytail when you’re playing with her in the backyard and there’s always a tiny strand that hangs lose at the back of your neck because it’s too short to reach up to the ponytail, but his favorite thing is how your voice is a little hoarse in the morning when you come down for the first time from upstairs. The thought that he is always the first person you talk to in the morning just brings this pleasant feeling into the pit of his stomach, something he hasn’t felt in a long time.

He can’t deny that he finds you beautiful either, how could he not? You’re just a wonderful person inside and out and he is thankful his daughter is in such good hands when he is away at work. But he hasn’t dared to think further than this, his mind just doesn’t let him, however Niall’s words are now poking at the sleeping giant.

“Stop assuming things,” Harry mumbles, looking away from his friend, feeling like he is being grilled.

“Stop denying things,” Niall retorts, earning a huff from Harry. “Okay, don’t ask her out just yet, but try to get closer to her. Become friends, try to open up and get to know her a little more!”

“I don’t want to get closer to her!” he replies, but he can easily point out how big of a lie that is, even though he is trying his best to make himself believe that it’s not.

“So you don’t have a crush on her?” Niall raises his eyebrows at him.

“Where are we, in middle school? I’m 31, I don’t have crushes,” Harry scoffs.

“Okay so then you don’t mind it if I ask her out?”

“You are not asking her out, Niall,” he sternly replies, reaching for his drink once again, that’s nearing its end very closely. He needs to order another one if Niall decides to be an asshole all night.

“Why not? He seemed to like me when we met, I think we both would have a nice evening, might even take her home—“

“Shut up, Niall. You are not going out with her!”

“Really? What’s stopping me?” he smirks, knowing well what he is doing and where this is heading. Harry opens his mouth, but then no words come out, because he realizes what he wanted to say should not be said out loud.

Because I like her, a tiny voice tells him in his mind. Niall’s smirk grows even bigger, because even though Harry didn’t answer, his face tells it all, confirming what he has been trying to force out of him all evening.

“Yeah, just as I thought,” he laughs, taking a few gulps from his beer. “I’m not telling you to fuck her brains out immediately, but it might be nice if you just got to know her a bit more. And if things seem to take, like… a turn, if you know what I mean, don’t chicken out, just go with it.”

“You know, Niall, you should worry about your own love life the way you worry about mine.”

“There’s nothing to worry about!” He beams, clearly without a worry. “I’m too good of a catch to be tied down, so I’m enjoying life to the fullest right now.”

“Aren’t you tired of waking up next to a different woman every morning?” Harry sighs, feeling exhausted just to think about the way his friend lives.

“Don’t judge for something you never tried. I like it, it fulfills all my needs, why should I change?”

“Because you worry about me ending up alone when it’s most likely gonna be you.” Harry gives him a look, but it doesn’t seem to affect him. He shrugs it off easily.

“Difference is that I like being alone, but you don’t. You are wired to have a partner in the long run while I’m perfectly fine with my adventures. So do me a favor, and be less of a little hermit. You’ll thank me later.”

Niall’s words stick to Harry’s head more than he would have liked it. The two friends stay at the bar until about midnight and while Harry leaves to go straight home, Niall heads to another direction with the pretty waitress on his arm, who served their drinks relentlessly all night.

Arriving back home Harry tips the driver generously before heading inside, seeing that you’re still up, the lights in the living room and the TV illuminating the area. Walking further inside he spots you cozied up on the couch, a thick blanket thrown over yourself as you watch some kind of detective documentary, chewing on your bottom lip in focus. He can’t help the smile that tugs on his lips at the sight of you, taking just a split second to savor the moment and wrap it up in his mind.

“Hey, why are you still up?” he questions walking inside. Your eyes tear away from the screen, blinking up at him as you smile slightly, pushing yourself up into a sitting position. Rounding the couch Harry joins you, sitting down as he runs a hand through his hair.

“Got caught up a little,” you chuckle, nodding your head towards the TV. “Did you have a good time?”

“As much as it’s possible to have a good time with Niall around,” he chuckles, making you smile.

“He is not that bad, is he?”

“He can be a little asshole sometimes,” he admits. “But it was fine, we had a nice… talk.”

“I’m glad,” you smile sheepishly, before turning back to the TV.

Harry’s eyes snap to the screen as well, but he is not following the case at all, his mind is busy thinking about everything Niall has told him.

It really has been three long and torturous years without his beloved wife and just as Niall said, the beginning of this time was almost lethal. He never thought there would be a day when he would wake up and not feel like curling up into a ball and just cry all day. Those times are now gone, because with a lot of help from his friends, family and even a therapist, he was able to find his purpose in life again: his daughter.

Harry knows that his friend is right, he can’t live his life on his own, that’s just not how he is built, but it’s not as easy as it seems. Especially with the haunting thoughts he has been harboring, kept away from everyone in his life, because he has always been too afraid to say them out loud. That would make them become even realer than they already feel to him.

Sitting on the couch next to Harry you glance at him for a second and can almost see the gears turning in his head.

“Everything alright?” you softly ask. His green eyes flicker over to you, as if he is debating whether he should talk or not.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” you nod.

“But it’s kind of personal.”

“Okay, then ask and I’ll decide if I want to answer or not,” you chuckle softly, pushing yourself up a little so you can focus on him better.

“After things ended with your… ex, when you found out that he was cheating on you… How long did it take you to get back out to the field, if you know what I mean.”

His question surprises you, it really is a personal matter and you’re not sure why he felt the need to ask you about it especially now, but you have a guess why it’s relatable for him. You lost someone you loved and though the situation is a very different nature, somehow it’s still similar in a way.

“Well, I told you earlier that it was the kind of situation where I blamed myself for what he did,” you start off and Harry nods, patiently and curiously listening to what you are saying. “I was convinced that he cheated because I wasn’t enough, because I didn’t give him everything he wanted and that it was all my fault. It took me weeks to see clearly and realize that even if I wasn’t giving him everything, it wouldn’t have given him the right to cheat on me. Sometimes it’s really hard to lift the blame off yourself, especially when you were the one putting it there.”

Harry’s lips part at your words and because he is not speaking, you’re not sure if it’s the good or bad kind. You really wish you could just read his honest thoughts, but it seems like he is keeping them to himself so you continue.

“I think it took me a good, like… four months to actually move on. I went on a date for the first time about six months after Keith and I broke up. I’m not saying I’m over the fact that I was cheated on, but it’s not stopping me anymore to live my life. I had to accept that just because of what happened, I still deserve happiness and to be loved.”

Love is a beautiful thing, but it’s very powerful and you learned it the hard way. To love and be loved is essential, love makes life so much better and more special, but it can also scar you terribly and leave you dried out and in pain. You have to learn to accept the love you get and remember it whenever you are not getting enough. It’s a rollercoaster, but the highs make the whole ride worth it.

Harry stays silent as you turn your attention back at the TV, seeing that he is busy chewing on your words. Whatever his reason was to ask you, he is clearly processing the answer he got, making his own conclusions and you wouldn’t want to bother him while he does that.

The documentary soon ends and you realize how late it really is. Saturday is your day off, but you don’t want to sleep through the whole thing, you have a few errands to run. So switching the TV off you fold the blanket and drop it into the basket next to the couch. Harry snaps out of his thoughts when you stand up from the couch, realizing that you’ve shut the TV off already.

“I’m going to bed, you should too,” you smile at him softly as he nods, standing up as well.

You’re already on the stairs when Harry calls out after you. Turning around you keep one foot on the next step, glancing over at him, still standing by the couch.

“I’m… I’m really sorry he couldn’t appreciate you.”

You smile at him warmly, because it says so much about him as a person. Apologizing for something he had absolutely no control over, something someone else did, someone he doesn’t even know. Yet he still felt the need to say sorry.

“It’s alright. I’ll find the person who’ll give me the love I deserve,” you tell him before turning back around and walking away.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed it!

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[arrowflier]

Prompt: Mickey apologizes to one of their neighbours for something that clearly wasn't his fault just to make Ian(who's in his people pleaser mode) happy. Later, Ian realises how Mickey was right all along and feels bad about the whole thing and they talk. Basically them having a mature convo at the end

Ian heard the shouting as soon as he stepped out into the courtyard. Mickey had come down earlier to take a quick dip, and Ian was hoping to join him and relax together for a while.

But based on the way his husband and one of their neighbors were yelling right then, that clearly wasn't in the cards.

Ian sighed, and closed his eyes briefly. Was it really too much to ask that Mickey get along with the people in their building? He didn't even have to make friends, he just had to not be an asshole to everyone he met.

A particularly loud shout--something about children, and language, and have some common decency--forced Ian out of his reflections and toward the apparent catastrophe that was Mickey in public.

“Dammit, Mickey,” he muttered under his breath as he rounded the last corner and brought the pool into view.

Sure enough, Mickey was there.  He stood at the edge of the shallow end of the pool, like he had just hoisted himself out, water droplets still lingering on his sculpted arms and chest.  His arms were raised and held out to the side in challenge as he blustered on about public space, and freedom of speech, and I’ll do you one worse lady, just you watch just inches away from a middle-aged woman that looked like she had stepped out of a lululemon ad.

Ian was pretty sure it was the same woman who had stopped him at the elevators last week to ask him to “keep it down up there”.  They really didn’t need to cause more trouble with her; Mickey had them on thin ice already when his response to Ian relaying that request was to play loud, bass-thumping music while riding Ian into the floor for effect.

She hadn't met his eyes since.

"What's going on here?" Ian interrupted, coming up behind Mickey and settling a hand on the back of his husband's neck.

"This lady was tryin to--" Mickey cut off when Ian squeezed and released that hand in warning. Mickey glowered at him, but shut his mouth.

"Your husband," the woman said with a glare at Mickey, "was setting a bad example for my nephew."

Looking around for the aforementioned child, Ian sighed when he saw a little boy staring at them all from a pool lounger with wide eyes.

"We're sorry, Mrs...," he trailed off, but she didn't bother to fill in the blank for him, instead just raising her eyebrows and tapping her sandaled foot expectantly.

"Uh, anyway, it won't happen again," Ian finished awkwardly. "Right, Mick?"

"Are you kidding me, Gallagher?" Mickey asked, incredulous.

"I expect a direct apology from your husband," the woman demanded at the same time.

Ian raised his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, and gave Mickey a little shake when the other man didn't speak up.

"Come on, Mick, just do it," Ian muttered.

After a tense moment, Mickey did.

"Fucking fine," he hissed at Ian, ignoring their neighbor's sharp intake of breath at the curse. "I'm fucking sorry, alright?," he directed at her, before pulling out of Ian's hold to face him.

"You happy now?" he asked, before turning and stomping off to go inside.

The effect was dampened by the soft slapping sound of his bare feet hitting the pavement, leaving behind wet marks on the concrete. Ian and the woman watched him go with drastically different expressions: one with disgust, and one with concern.

"I do hope you'll keep your man in line better in the future," the woman groused at Ian, but he wasn't really listening.

"Yeah, sure," he answered absently. "Excuse me, I just gotta..."

And then he was scooping up the towel and shoes Mickey had left behind, and hurrying after his husband.

---

"Mickey?" Ian called out hesitantly as he entered their apartment. Other than a couple of damp patches on the floor, there was no sign of Mickey anywhere.

Then Ian heard the shower start, and set Mickey's things down next the door to follow the sound.

Mickey's wet trunks were pooled on the cold tile floor, the shower curtain pulled tight from wall to wall. The splash of water bouncing from flesh to the acrylic tub echoed through the room.

"Mickey?" Ian asked softly, taking a step past the open door. "Mick, you in here?"

He heard a snort over the sound of the water, the curtain moving as Mickey's arm jostled it from inside.

"No, it's your other husband, Sherlock," Mickey answered, an odd tone in his voice. "You know, the one you listen to before you take some random bitch's side."

Ian winced. Okay, Mickey was mad, then.

Moving further into the room, Ian closed the lid of the toilet and turned to sit on it, elbows on knees.

"Sorry," he offered briefly. "But she had a point Mick, there are kids here--"

The water stopped abruptly, and the curtain pulled back to reveal Mickey’s face.  His hair flopped wetly over his forehead, water still sluicing down the middle of his face, and he scowled as he brushed it away with the back of a dripping hand.

“Kid, huh?” he questioned  “So I need to go get my fucking tattoos removed because some random kid might see ‘em?”

Ian blinked.

“Wait,” he said slowly, mind trying to figure out what he was missing.  “What?” then scoffed when Ian just watched him.

Mickey just scoffed.  

“You don’t even know what she was yellin’ about, do you?” he asked rhetorically. “I didn’t say a damn word to her or that sniveling brat she brought with her,” he revealed.  “They took one fucking look at me, saw the words on my knuckles, and off she went on her little fucking tirade.”

“Shit, Mickey,” Ian started, but Mickey wasn’t done.

“Don’t you act like it matters,” he growled.  “You care more about playing nice than payin’ attention, and don’t pretend that after all these years you don’t still assume I’m always the fuckin’ problem.”

Fuck.  Ian had really screwed this one up.

“Mickey,” he repeated, more firmly, standing and stepping closer to the shower.  Ian took the shower curtain in one hand and tugged it further to the side.  Mickey shivered in the influx of cool air, looking more like a disgruntled cat mid-bath than an angry man.

“Mickey,” Ian said again, softer, and stepped over the lip of the tub so that nothing was between them.  He took Mickey into his arms, his husband putting up a token resistance before settling against him with a sigh.

“I’m sorry,” Ian whispered into his wet hair, ignoring the patches of water soaking through his clothes.  “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

Mickey hummed into his chest, not looking up.  “You kind of did, though,” he mutters.  “Every time somebody’s got a problem with me, you act like it’s my fault.”

Silence, for just a moment.

“Yeah,” Ian finally agreed, stroking a hand down Mickey’s bare back.  “Yeah, I need to work on that.”

He pulled back, made Mickey meet his eyes.  Mickey was no longer glaring, and his eyes were dry, but there was still something off about the way he met Ian’s gaze.

“You know I don’t really think that, though, right?” Ian asked, disheartened when Mickey didn’t offer a response.

“I don’t, Mickey,” he said earnestly.  “I love you, and you’ve been trying so hard--”

“Shouldn’t fuckin’ have to try,” Mickey murmured, and oh.

“No, you shouldn’t,” Ian rephrased.  “And I’m sorry I’m always making you feel like you do, too.”

Mickey moved back farther, and Ian’s arms dropped loosely back to his sides.  His fingers itched to reach out again, but he got the feeling Mickey needed some space.

“Okay,” Mickey said.  “Get outa here so I can finish.”

Ina obeyed, stepping out of the tub and moving toward the door, but he turned back before he left the room.

“When you’re done, come into the bedroom, alright?” he asked quietly.  “I’ve got an idea to get back at that asshole woman.”

“Apology or not,” Mickey said wryly, “I don’t think I’m on the mood to fuck you right now, Ian.”

Ian just smirked. 

“Not what I had in mind,” he said.  “Now hurry it up, I think you’re gonna like my plan.”

---

About twenty minutes later, after the shower had started and stopped again and Mickey had had a moment to gather himself and get dressed, Mickey walked into the bedroom and stopped still.

Ian was sitting on their bed, fully dressed, but that wasn’t what had Mickey startled.  No, it was the fact that right in front of him was a huge stereo with old school speakers, the ones that used to be downstairs in the communal lounge area, with Ian’s phone sitting right on top.

“What’s all this?” Mickey asked, and Ian grinned.

“So she doesn’t like profanity, huh?” he said.  “Well I found a favorite new song.”

Mickey started to grin himself as he caught on to the plan.  Ian stood and pushed one of the speakers a little closer to the vents in their floor, angling it so the sound would bounce right down into the apartment below.  Then he tapped a few things on his phone, cranked the volume, and let harsh base and more expletives than Mickey had ever heard in a piece of music fill the room.

Mickey laughed.  Ian held out a hand, like he was asking for a dance, and turned the music up even louder.

Shaking his head at his husband’s antics, Mickey took the proffered hand, and let Ian spin him to the sound of their bitchy neighbor losing her mind below them.