#staring longingly at the listing on her store

[literaila]

three things

gojo satoru x fem!reader

summary: a fun trip to the grocery store (how do you raise children?)

warnings: a bit of anxiety, a bit too much of gojo

last part | next part

*

year one.

"no, satoru." 

how many times have you said that today? 

how many times has satoru pouted--like he's doing right now--and put back whatever he'd plucked off the shelf, grumbling something about how you hated him or you weren't his mom or how he was the one buying everything? 

oh, too many times to count. you stopped after five. 

megumi rolls his eyes with you, already familiar with this routine, looking at everything in the cart again with the same analytical eye he's had since you all walked into the store. you're pretty sure he's counting the total cost.

it might be cute--the way his frown deepens just a little bit after each new item is added--if it didn't worry you completely. 

because it's the first time you've taken the two of them to the store, and the first time you're trying to recall everything their eyes trail over, the things they want but neither of them will say.

you're trying to remember yourself as a kid--if you begged your parents for anything you could possibly want, or if you stood there and stared longingly. but your childhood has always been a dull memory you keep hidden in the attic of your mind. 

so you're not sure what to expect. 

because neither of them has asked for much, since the first night. tsumiki requested a notebook she could draw in, and megumi asked if you could get gojo to stop talking to him. 

the first which you did immediately, even letting gojo get her some expensive pencils to draw with, the second which you... tried. 

it hasn't been easy, the past few days. settling two kids into a dysfunctional house didn't exactly fit into your schedule for the week. 

"why not?" satoru demands, walking right along slide you, pushing the cart because you'd forced him to. "we need dessert." 

"there are seven different types of dessert already in there. i'm hiding at least three of those, by the way." 

"i'll find them," satoru grins mischievously, but waves a hand. "we've got two extra people in the house now. i'm not just shopping for me. do you want them to starve?" 

you roll your eyes, again. then pull on his hair, which he squeaks at. "you're only shopping for you. i've seen your pantries, you know. and i lived with you for three years. we all saw your grocery lists." 

satoru is about to say something, but tsumiki giggles. maybe at the stupid way his face looks. 

the way he's almost smiling, even in denial. how his eyes show from just behind his glasses, his brows moving like a separate entity on his face. 

you haven't really talked to him, the past couple of days. nothing beyond a question about megumi's technique, or where the two of them went to school. 

how long will it take before you finally ask him--

you look over to tsumiki, shaking your head at satoru and smiling back. 

"megumi doesn't like sweets much," she adds to you, easily.

you add it to the mental list of things you know about them.

you look at the little boy, and he nods, looking straight ahead. his shoes catch on the ground every couple of steps like they don't fit right. 

satoru gasps like this is an outrage. because not drinking straight sugar is offensive to him. 

"what?" he asks, stopping all three of you so he can grab megumi by the shoulders. "were you cursed?" he inspects the boy carefully, peering over the glasses on his face.

megumi seems to sink back with each glance of his eyes, his face turning red. 

"cursed to deal with you, maybe," you tell him, pushing him away from megumi. the boy fixes his hair--which had been pushed over his eyes--and glares at satoru.

"he doesn't like sweets?" the man repeats, mouth open, glancing at all three of you like he's not sure that any of you are sane.

"you say that as if you don't eat enough for all four of us." 

"i need the calories," satoru whines, fluttering his eyelashes at you. you ignore him--and the funny way you feel about the gesture.

you look at both of the kids, observing the two of you closely, and give them a look. a look as in, he's crazy. 

megumi swallows. "i like dango." 

"great!" you nudge satoru to keep walking. "we'll get some." 

"that's it?" satoru prods. "what about--" 

you pinch his hip and shake your head, glaring at him when he pouts at you again. 

you step on his heels as you walk through the aisles, still watching the kids with sharp eyes, trying to figure out anything they might want. 

tsumiki murmurs something to megumi every once and a while, but beyond that, they only walk alongside you and satoru, stepping out of the way of any other adults that pass by. 

honestly, you might as well have taken them to the park. they don't even glance at any of the shelves--except when satoru pushes one of them away to grab something. at least at the park, they'd be getting some fresh air. 

after you sigh in--what? frustration? disappointment?--for the fourth time, satoru gives you a look, raising his brows. you shake your head. 

he nudges you with his shoulder but doesn't say anything. whistling while he sneaks more sugar into the cart. 

after the fifteenth minute of this, megumi falls in stride beside you and you look down at him. his eyes evade yours, focusing on the necklace you're wearing instead.

"um, i have to use the restroom," he says to you, soft and embarrassed. 

"okay," you place a hand on his back, gently turning him around, "i think it's just over here," you say, listening as satoru follows along idly. 

"me too," tsumiki says, trailing on your other side. 

the store is almost completely empty, so you tell the two of them that you'll wait right outside the door, and lean against the wall, watching the both of them disappear. 

satoru is already looking at you. 

"what?" you groan, glaring at the doors. 

"what what?" 

you sigh. his voice is annoying. "why are you looking at me?" 

satoru is too close for comfort, his arm brushing against yours--uncomfortably of course because he is the worst--without a care in the world. "what's up?" 

"what do you mean?" 

"why are you acting weird?" 

"i'm not acting weird," you look at him, frowning. 

he's wiping his glasses on his shirt--like he can actually see out of them--and looking at you quizzically. "oh, so you staring at tsumiki and megumi like they're a science experiment isn't weird?" 

you ignore him and his stupid blue eyes. 

"if i was doing that you'd push me down a flight of stairs, but okay..." 

you sigh again, rolling your eyes. and then again. and then you relent because satoru's silence will inevitably break you. "they haven't asked for anything," you say, almost whining to him. "you told them they could pick out whatever they want." 

satoru shrugs. "so they don't want anything." 

"everyone wants something, satoru. especially kids." 

"everyone?" 

"yes. i'd expect you to know better than anyone," he laughs but you frown. "it's a human trait." 

he smirks, leaning down towards you. "what do you want, then?" 

you scoff, flicking his forehead. "i want them to feel comfortable. and i want you to stop bugging megumi." 

"but he makes it so easy," satoru says, pretending to be innocent.

"you're the adult, here," you say, even though you don't really believe it--nor should you. "act like it." 

"all the kid does is scowl," satoru complains. "i'm just trying to make him comfortable." 

"by invading his space?" 

"you stare from far away, i stare from up close." 

"you antagonize." 

satoru grins, crossing his arms, very pleased with himself. he's silent again. 

the past year has almost made you forget that satoru knows you like this. he's always known how to keep you talking, how to read your face and your hesitant glances. 

it's not like time could make him forget. it's not like you've forgotten anything about him. 

"you aren't worried?" you ask, after a second. 

"about the kids?" 

"yes," you say, obviously, "that we're already messing something up." 

he gives you a dubious look. "it's been four days." 

and he's right. you can't expect to understand either one of them after seventy-two hours of merely knowing about their existence. but you don't know how to treat kids like these, because any mistake you make--anything you say--will inevitably come back to haunt you. 

"it's--" you shake your head. satoru doesn't worry about anything, so you don't even know why you're bringing it up. "it's like when you play with someone else's kid and feel like you're breaking some unspoken rule. except this time we're the ones making the rules. there's no one to tell us if we mess up." 

"i think megumi would tell us," satoru answers, almost sarcastically. 

"he's the kid, idiot," you groan. "he doesn't know." 

"rude," satoru is still grinning. "what could you have messed up, at this point? all you've been doing is asking them questions. that's pretty straightforward." 

"maybe it's too much, too fast." 

satoru snorts, shaking his head at you. "grocery shopping?" 

"everything." 

satoru raises a brow at you, watching as you deflate. you feel like each move you make takes a little more air out of you, and who's to say when you'll finally run out? 

how many mistakes do you have to make to finally get it right? 

and you know--and you know that he knows--that it's not just about them, but about you. is this too fast? is this too much?

satoru rests a hand on your head. "you're too in your head about this." 

"well, i have to do it for the both of us." 

he ignores that. "if they need something, they'll ask," the words are soft, genuine. he's completely sure like he always is. "you made it clear that we're just here to help. it's been four days." 

you sigh, nodding reluctantly. 

"we'll figure it out," he says, simply. "you don't need to worry about anything. i mean, i'm here, so..." 

you push his hand away, glaring. "megumi doesn't even talk to you." 

"hey, yes he does." 

"to call you a freak, maybe. or tell you to shut up." 

"don't be jealous of my relationship with megumi. we're bonding." 

you roll your eyes but find a laugh making its way out of you. 

he's always been good at this, too. making everything seem easy. 

when tsumiki comes out of the bathroom door, she smiles at the sight of the two of you still there--both talking animatedly, with similar glares in your eyes. she settles in beside satoru, copying him as she leans against the wall. 

"you think i'm great, don't you tsumiki?" satoru asks her, goading. 

she nods immediately. 

you snort and look away while tsumiki giggles when satoru leans down to smack a kiss on her cheek. 

something inside of you warms, just briefly. 

and then megumi comes out, rubbing his hands together. unlike tsumiki, he glares at satoru and chooses to stand beside you. 

"okay," satoru clasps his hands together. "are you both ready to go?" 

"um," you turn to him. "satoru we haven't--" 

megumi nods immediately, looking a bit brighter at the prospect, and tsumiki furrows her brows, questioning. 

"great! both of you pick out three things that you want and then we'll leave." 

megumi glowers. 

"three things?" you clear your throat. "they need more--" 

"three things," satoru repeats, looking right at megumi while he says it. some words pass non-verbally between the two of them. you might have to tell satoru not to talk to megumi about anything without you. "we'll get everything else we need." 

tsumiki runs alongside megumi and grabs his arm, which he allows, though you watch his eyes roll. 

"go on," satoru shoos them away, smiling all proudly. when they're gone, he turns to you again. "there. now you don't have to worry about picking something they like." 

and he reaches his hand to grab yours, as a simple habit. 

satoru has never tip-toed around the line of physical contact. even with shoko, even when she would push him off.

something passes between the two of you. holding his hand is familiar; egged on by four years of standing alongside him. 

you try not to flinch away from the contact. 

and, sure, satoru probably just lost both of them in the store, and you don't actually have everything else you need, or know what those things are, but he's smiling at you. 

he's trying to be reassuring. 

so you smile back and let him hold your hand. 

"we'll figure it out," he whispers to you, and you push the cart this time while the two of you try to find the children he just lost.

*

later that night--after forcing satoru to put away the groceries with the rest of you--megumi lets you sneak into his room with a (third) bag of candy that satoru grabbed last second, acting like you wouldn't notice. 

"where's the best hiding spot for this?" you ask him, looking around.

it's pretty doubtful that satoru would risk going into megumi's room just to look for it. and, you're sure, that megumi probably wouldn't let satoru open the door, nonetheless go through his things.

the boy points at his dresser and moves some clothes so you can hide it at the bottom of one of the drawers. he doesn't even question your motivations.

as you back out of the room again, you make him promise not to tell, and, for a single second, megumi smiles back at you, crossing his heart. 

*

next part

[seenoversundown]

Masterpost

₊⊹ The Caravel Tavern Series ⊹₊

The opening of Caravel Tavern was a dream come true for Jake. With the help of his best friends and brothers, naturally. In a small city in New England, it's rare to come across new faces. (or even run into some from the past) Follow along through the series to discover what this piratical themed bar has in store for these boys.

WARNING: This series would be considered an AU ROM-COM, with romantic themes, wholesome friendship vibes, found family, and silly goofy behavior throughout.

Trigger Warnings will be listed at the beginning of chapters if applicable. (Please reach out if you feel anything was missed and I will make sure to add it in quickly!)

Please be advised that this series will include slow burn, open-door romances, meaning there will be on-page sexual content. Mature readers only (18+)

• All of these can be read as stand alone books, but do read better as a series! They are interconnected, so you will get more details if read in order 🫶🏻 •

💜 🩵 💛 ❤️

Sam Kiszka x Willa (Fem OC) - Temporary Hiatus

Enemies to Lovers | Forced Proximity | Workplace Romance

Masterpost

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Josh Kiszka x Quinn (Non Binary OC) New posts every Monday!

Love At First Sight | Secret Dating | Friends to Lovers

Masterpost

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• Book 3 - TBA

Daniel Wagner x Melody (Fem OC)

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Jake Kiszka x Charlotte (Fem OC) New posts every Thursday!

Workplace Romance | Friends With Benefits to Lovers | He Falls First

Masterpost

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Anything extra that is within the world of Caravel Tavern:

Prologue ⁂ - (Jake POV) : Opening night of the bar and all the festivities that come with that.

Dueling Cameras ⁂ - Sam x Willa (Fem OC) decide to make getting pumpkins into a little competition (per usual) (One Shot)

Chiaroscuro ⁂ - Josh x Quinn (Non Binary OC) attend a local film festival where Josh gets to present a short film he's directed. (One Shot)

Spooks & Cider ⁂ - Daniel x Melody (Fem OC) Back in high school, go to a Fall Festival where Melody faces her fear of the Haunted House. (One Shot)

Affirmation ⁂ - Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC) find themselves in an oddities shop where Charlotte has her tarot cards read, whether she believes in it or not. (One Shot)

Be Naughty, Save Santa The Trip ☠ - Sam x Willa (Fem OC) Sam runs late after a shoot and Willa leaves him a little surprise for when he gets back home to her. (One Shot)

Merry Everything & A Happy Always ⁂ - Josh x Quinn (Non Binary OC) have always had the tradition of baking cookies together, but Josh sets up a scavenger hunt for Quinn to bake some this time for a very special reason. (One Shot)

It's The Most Wonderful Time of Year ⁂ - Daniel x Melody (Fem OC) took on hosting Christmas dinner with everybody but unfortunately for Daniel, nothing is going smoothly. (One Shot)

White Christmas ☠ - Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC) have a million and one things to do on Christmas Day and Charlotte is already stressed by 6 am. Thankfully, Jake knows exactly how to calm her down. (One Shot)

Succulent ☠️ - Sam x Willa (Fem OC) take a little trip to Vermont for Valentine’s Day where Sam cooks up a nice dinner with a great idea for dessert. (One Shot)

Satiate ☠ - Josh x Quinn (Non Binary OC) - Quinn is sweet enough to make breakfast in bed, but also has a devious little plan for their favorite person. (One Shot)

Saccharine ⁂ ☠ - Daniel x Melody (Fem OC) spend a sweet Valentine's Day making cinnamon rolls together and then have a cozy evening away. (One Shot)

Siren ⁂ ☠️ - Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC) get stuck at the bar on Valentine’s Day, but Jake makes sure to make it up to her after the bar closes. (One Shot)

Allure ⁂ - Jake x Charlotte (Fem OC) it's Family Lake day and that means getting to longingly stare at Jake while he takes care of everything he can. (there is a part 2 that's linked at the end <3)

TagList | Jukebox Playlist | Master List (for other one shots / fics)

Wattpad | AO3

[fandom-junk-drawer]

The Witcher Headcanon (Modern Au) - Error 404 Brain Not Found: Bonus Scene - Part 10

Jaskier wandered the aisles of the grocery store, his third of the grocery list in hand. He had managed to convince Yennefer that the supply run would go faster if they split up.

Yennefer hadn't been too thrilled about the idea of Jaskier running around loose by himself, but they were trying to get to Kaer Morhen to visit Vesemir and Peepers, and Jaskier's suggestion had actually been logical.

Plus, she just couldn't say no. Not when he had looked at her with those puppy eyes, and turned up the charm level. And it didn't help that he'd gotten his hair cut and had gone from the Sexy Long Hair, back to the short style Yennefer called his Babygirl Hair.

They joined the line for the register, adding a few drinks and snacks to their basket while they waited.

Geralt was standing in line, hiding in his ratty Emotional Support hoodie, when he felt Jaskier nudge him. He turned to see the bard holding up two plastic packages and smiling mischieviously.

Giant Stickly Hands

Geralt gave him a slight smile in return, and turned around to distract Yennefer so Jaskier could slip them in amongst the other items.

Several minutes later, and they were back on the road.

Jaskier sat in the front passenger's seat and opened the Giant Sticky Hand. He swung it around, slapping it on random surfaces as he got a feel for it. He slapped it against the inside of the windshield a few times, giggling at the sound it made.

He saw Geralt glancing longingly at the novelty toy while trying to keep his attention on the road.

Jaskier handed him his sticky hand, and opened the other one. Yennefer felt the van start swerving slightly and looked up to see the two idiots swinging giant sticky hands at each other.

"Jaskier, stop distracting him! Geralt, keep your d*mn eyes on the road! Melitele, you two tw*ts are going to cause an accident!"

The sticky hands disappeared. Until they stopped for lunch and a chance to stretch their legs.

Yennefer almost had a coniption when she found out Jaskier and Geralt had brought their giant sticky hands into the restauraunt. Geralt had come back to their booth after getting his drink, and Jaskier hand swung his arm and snapped the sticky hand right on Geralt's a**.

Geralt had pulled out his sticky hand and swung it at Jaskier. He missed, and it splatted on the acrylic booth divider next to Jaskier's head.

"You brought those d*mned thing in here? " Yennefer had whispered fiercely to them. "Put them away!" Gods, why did they always have to embarrass her in public? People were already staring!

Jaskier responded to her demand by being the menace that he was, and using the sticky hand to steal her paper napkin.

He and Geralt had started snuffling and snorting quietly, trying to hold back the laughter as Yennefer sat across from them, fuming in silent embarassment. The sticky hands yo-yo'ed in random directions as Geralt and Jaskier completely disregarded the death glare Yennefer was giving them.

Yennefer tried to ignore them and find her happy place so she could at least eat. She contemplated getting up and leaving both their a**es here; just walking out and using her magic to start the van and drive away. It would serve them right.

Geralt's sticky hand slapped right over Jaskier's mouth as he opened it to spoon his food into it. He made a humorous sound and pulled the sticky hand off, whisper laughing, "You f**ker!"

Geralt grinned smugly, then snuffled and almost spat out his onion rings when Jaskier's sticky hand landed in his lap. "B**stard!"

Yennefer almost laughed when, completely by accident, they slapped each other in the face at the same time.

Geralt looked at Jaskier

Jaskier looked at Geralt

The hands started rapidly flying in random directions, accompanied by a symphony of whispered noises.

Yennefer finally had to put her foot down after a sticky hand landed in her food.

She used their mental link and her Mom Voice. "Put those d*mned things away right f***ing now!"

Jaskier and Geralt both jumped at the sharp mental tone. It was pure wrath and the promise of swift and instant consequences if it was not obeyed.

But Jaskier, emboldened by the fact that they were in public, decided to F**k Around and Find Out.

"Make me!" he replied playfully, only to double over seconds later as Yennefer shoved the toe of her dress shoe into his crotch.

"F**k, my baws!" he whisper wheezed breathlessly.

Geralt immediately put his sticky hand away and focused on what was left of his meal. He did not want a foot to the balls too.

The rest of the meal was uneventful aside from Jaskier blowing his straw papers and throwing wadded up paper napkins at her.

Yennefer, unfortunately, had to stand in line, waiting to pay, while Geralt and Jaskier continued their Giant Sticky Hand fight.

Yennefer did her best to pretend like the two grown men behind her weren't acting like two feral 5 year olds. She was impressed with the register attendant's ability to keep a straight face and stay focused.

Once the bill had been settled, Yennefer quickly herded Geralt and Jaskier outside, where she immediately took each of them by an ear and strode determinedly to the van.

Geralt and Jaskier shuffled along beside her, bent over awkwardly and making various noises of discomfort.

"You embarrass me," she growled darkly, "And I will embarrass the ever living h*ll out of you!"

The few children in the parking lot moved closer to their parents and were suddenly very well behaved. They knew an angry Mum when they saw one. And they didn't want their Mum to get any ideas.

There were more than a few whispered questions of "Mum, why's that lady got those men by the ear?" And the simple reply of, "Because they weren't behaving, love".

Geralt and Jaskier did the Awkward Walk of Shame all the way to Roach.

Never had Geralt regretted his habit of parking far away from everyone more in his life.

Yennefer let them go when they reached the van, and Geralt immediately dug his keys out of his pocket and rushed to get out of the public eye.

Jaskier immediately opened his mouth because he had zero sense of self-preservation.

"What the hell, Yen, I-!" Jaskier began in righteous indignation, only to choke back the rest of what he was going to say when he saw the look on Yennefer's face as she snarled, biting out each word.

"Get. In. The. F***ing. Van. Julian."

"Yesma'am!"

They drove in silence for a while to give ruffled feathers time to settle.

Yennefer was sitting on the bed in the back, reading that book Madeleine had recommended when something smacked her on the side of the face. She yelped in surprise and dropped her book , swiping at her face.

Giant Sticky Hand.

Unbelievable.

"You kn*b head!" she snarled.

"That's for kicking me in the fork!" Jaskier laughed, then squealed, dropped the stickly hand, and started trying to get away from Yennefer.

"Hey, sit down back there!" Geralt snapped. He had to reduce his speed and do some counter steering when the van started rocking as Yennefer chased Jaskier around the inside of the van.

"Come here, you little sh*t!" Yennefer hollered, grabbing at the bard.

Jaskier was alternately laughing and gibbering as he dodged and jinked, weaved and twisted, trying to stay away from the angry witch.

Yennefer tripped him, and he fell face first in the gap betwixt the front seats. She was on him in a flash, smacking the back of his head, then ruthlessly pinching the first a**cheek she could reach.

Jaskier gave a muffled yelp and twisted onto his back, hands holding his nose. Yennefer's tone went from incensed, to worried.

"Oh, f**k! Are you alright?"

Jaskier didn't answer, he just kept groaning and holding his nose.

"Jaskier!"

"Is he alright?" Geralt inquired, trying to watch the road.

Jaskier got to his feet and started stumbling towards the bed, Yennefer following behind him.

"Jaskier! Julek! Julek, let me see!"

Jaskier turned around and slowly started moving his hands. Yennefer held her breath, guilt coiling in her chest as he moved his hands and revealed...

...his extended middle finger.

"You jacka**!" Yennefer hollered.

Geralt had to pull the van over and go save Jaskier as hands started flying.

[sparkles-and-trash]

Bookstore AU (dabihawks, tddk, spinneraki, togachako)

note: this is an old au, I'm just re-writing it into a drabble in stead of the list format!

Touya is the owner of Clandestine Books and Beverages, a small bookstore and coffeeshop that lies on a street corner on an ordinary street corner in a medium sized city.

On the outside, it doesn't really look like anything too special, merely your standard cozy store with dark mahogany shelves and too many plants and nice big windows that lets in the sunlight of the few days it doesn't rain around there.

That, and the owner is pretty damn grumpy.

To be fair, Touya got really tired of people trying to flirt with him when he first opened the store, when he just wanted to sell some goddamn books.

But having that snow white hair, turquoise eyes and being a member of the Todoroki family, mixed with the fact that he has this dark and mysterious aura going with the whole bookstore owner thing made people kinda forget about common curtesy it seemed.

Luckily, rumor got out pretty fast that flirting with him got you nothing but an uncomfortable stare of death, and things slowed down after that.

At first, he mainly built his clientele on having a lot of rare books, and if he didn't have what you were looking for, he would find a way to get it for you.

When Tenko, his friend from college approached him about the idea of starting off a small coffeeshop in the store, however, the customers really started pouring in.

Tenko might be a bit awkward and strange, but he makes the best coffee in town, hell, maybe in all of Japan.

Pretty soon after that, Touya had to accept his fate and hire a few other employees.

...he hired two of his friends, but hey, he still did it, so it counts.

Spinner was kinda hesitant, he was nervous that having a animorph working for him would set Touya and Tenko back, but they wouldn't hear a word of it.

Spinner actually knows a lot about literature, and while he's a little shy, he's also great with the customers.

He also gets to stare longingly at Tenko all day, which is worth more than the paycheck for him, lol.

Toga, on the other hand, didn't really care about books if they weren't overdramatic romance novels, but her sunny disposition did wonders with the customers, and she loved working like there.

One of Touya's favorite things about the stores location was how close it was to UA High, where his youngest brother was enrolled in the hero program.

Shouto is 18 now, and he has a hero license and all that jazz, and he's taller than Touya, whatever, he's still his little brother and Touya enjoys the chance to judge all of his brothers friends when he brings them there for coffee.

Sadly for Touya, most of his brothers friends are pretty cool.

However, because of the close proximity to UA, another hero have started hanging around the shop lately and it's annoying Touya to no end.

Touya obviously knows who Hawks is, he's a pretty popular and successful hero, and the big, red wings are a dead big giveaway.

At first, Keigo had just gone to the bookstore and coffeehouse because Tokoyami insisted they had the best coffee in town, but his eyes met the owners eyes once, and that was that.

It frankly feels like some form of cosmic joke, that Keigo had spent his whole life without having crushes on people, and the one time he gets one, it's on the most unapproachable and grumpy guy ever.

Normally Keigo is pretty good at talking to people, and he gets along just fine with the other employees, but just one steely game from Touya and he freezes like a statue.

So naturally, he hangs around the store constantly now Spinner and Toga is secretly telling him about all of Touya's favorite books etc to give him an edge, but it doesn't help much when Keigo is too busy looking at Touya over the books to actually read them.

Once Touya actually caught him looking over at him while holding a book upside-down.

Touya will never admit it, but he's starting to get used to having the big bird there, and might even get a little bit sad on the days he doesn't stop by.

When Shouto mentions that he wants to find a weekend job to make some of his own money while still in school, Touya tries to make him come work for him, but Shouto declines, saying that it's too easy to just work for his brother.

Touya damn near loses his mind when Shouto shows up at Tenko's coffee bar in an apron, ready to get to work.

According to Shouto, that's more than far enough removed from his brother for it to count as a real job.

It doesn't help when Shouto's green haired friend starts hanging out there every day Shouto works, mooning over his brother very obviously.

...well, obvious to everyone but Shouto, who is obviously feeling the same way, but has no idea.

When Izuku starts bringing his friend with the brown hair and rosy cheeks whom Toga has a huge crush on, there's almost too much crushes around him for Touya to be able to stand being at work.

...including his own stupid crush on the stupid bird.

masterlist - wip list - ao3 - ko-fi - wishlist

[fridaythe13ththeseries]

Reflecting - Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Micki made her way down the stairs into the store, a mug of coffee in each hand. Walking over to the paper- and book-covered desk Jack sat at, she placed his mug down on one of the few bare spots. “Anything new?” she asked, looking at the newspaper Jack was scanning intently.

“Hmm? Oh, nothing jumping out at me, no.” Jack answered, laying the paper down and picking up the steaming mug. “Thank you for this.” he said to Micki.

“What about last night? Any mention of Garth’s death?” Micki asked, leaning back against the bookshelf, holding her warm cup with both hands. The chill from the pouring rain and the terrible events of last night lingered with them both, and the coffee offered some solace.

“No, nothing. It was probably too late to make the morning edition.” Jack responded, picking up the paper once more. “None of the obituaries listed seem particularly odd. At least, not in the cursed antique sense.”

The bells over the door jingled just then, as Johnny entered the store. He made his way quickly through the display portion of the storefront and up the small staircase that led to the desk, the cash register and the small sofa, their makeshift office. He tossed a bundle of mail onto the desk, right on top of Jack’s newspaper.

“Mail was already here.” he said, dropping down on the sofa. He looked longingly at the mug in Micki’s hands, but said nothing.

“Thanks, Johnny.” Jack said, breaking the band that bound the mail and looking through the letters. “Any news on Garth?” he asked.

Johnny sighed before speaking. “Yeah, I listened to my police scanner after I got home. They are treating it as a suicide, and linking it to the deaths from the art gallery. The cops seem to believe he killed those people, they just have no idea how.”

Micki chimed in. “Well, good. He did kill those people. The method shouldn’t matter as much as the fact that he can’t kill anymore.”

“Oh, I agree, Micki.” Jack said, looking at them both. “But we can’t begrudge the police their curiosity. However, they would never accept our explanation, that Garth killed them with a cursed paint brush and used their blood to create masterpiece paintings. Best if they are left to wonder.”

Micki shook her head before saying, “Is there anyone these damn antiques can’t corrupt? Garth was such a peaceful man before he got a hold of that brush.” She looked off into the store, where a few of Garth’s old paintings were on display for sale. He had been trying to sell his work for years, with little success. Micki liked his style, however, and paid him what she could afford to add his latest work to the store’s inventory. She had always wished they could offer him what he deserved, but they never sold more than a couple of his works. Now, she wanted to throw them into the trash and never see anything he had painted again.

Jack and Johnny didn’t answer her question. The truth was, they didn’t have an answer. The items that Micki’s Uncle Lewis had cursed and sold to the world had an innate ability to find the weakest spots in their owners’ psyche, then adapt and exploit these flaws. Normal people became cold-blooded killers. And the number of antiques left to recover seemed endless. The horror kept going and going.

Micki stood up now, trying to shake off the thoughts racing through all three of them. “Anything good in the mail, Jack?” she asked before taking a big gulp of the hot coffee.

Jack turned his attention back to the letters. Scanning them, he threw the junk mail in the trash immediately. “Bills, mostly. Some invoices. There don’t appear to be any responses to our mailers today. Oh, here is a letter from Mrs. Dallion.” he said, holding the letter up for Micki.

She stared at it, then shook her head. “Just leave it on the desk, Jack. I’ll read it later.” Truth was, she couldn’t right now read another letter from Ryan’s mother. She didn’t want to hear that Ryan was having even more bad dreams. He had left here, transformed back into his ten-year-old self, and they had believed he was free of all the terrible things he had seen and experienced. But over the past few weeks, he had been having vivid nightmares, nightmares he couldn’t make sense of. When Micki had spoken with him, he had related a few of them to her. She was chilled to her core at his words. The dreams were of things the adult Ryan had gone through, with her and Jack, in their attempts to retrieve the cursed antiques. The memories, obviously, were still buried somewhere in Ryan’s mind. Even his fresh start, away from all this chaos and terror, wasn’t free from this place, from Uncle Lewis and his damned curse.

Jack placed the letter down on the desk near the Manifest, the book Uncle Lewis used to catalog all his sales. They now used this old book to track and recover the antiques, through any means necessary, so they could lock them away in the vault, keeping the horror buried in the basement of the store where it could do no further damage.

“C’mon, let’s get some more coffee.” Micki said, heading up the staircase to where the kitchen was, where her bedroom was, where Ryan’s now-empty room was. Jack and Johnny followed her, silently. None of them was eager to get back to searching for another lost item. At least not for a little while.

After the trio had disappeared upstairs, the face that had been watching them through the shop window moved quickly to the door. Opening it very slowly, very carefully, so that the bells above didn’t signal his presence, the man entered the store. With precious little time available to him, he began the search his master had sent him here for.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

* * * *

A Cart Full of Hope

Close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine yourself going shopping, grocery shopping, Today you will have a cart of hope. Today is the day you will eat better feel better look better. You will buy from the perimeter of the store, not shop on an empty stomach, have a list and coupons and buy organic. With your reusable shopping bags in hand and a cart with wheels that don’t wobble, you enter the store. The lights are bright and B1G1 Free neon signs assault your senses and it smells like cake, you are home. Grocery day is the best day You pass the floral department and gaze longingly at the fresh flowers that are not in your budget. When you win the lottery, you will treat yourself to fresh begonias every week. The produce section beckons to you, you place organic spinach in your cart. You smile. Maybe you will get some radicchio too, whatever that is, and some broccolini, because that sounds like cute broccoli. The veggies are getting a fresh mist, just like you are getting a fresh start on life. Your doctor would be proud of you. After you debate Russet, Sweet and Yukon Gold potatoes, you move onto the meat department. Bacon is on sale. Mmmmm bacon. No bacon you say. Maybe low sodium? Maybe turkey bacon? No, that is just not the same, you decide on chicken breasts instead. You will make stir fry, oh but you forgot baby corn. Instead you will look in your 101 Ways to Cook Chicken Cookbook and find a suitable low fat, high fiber meal. You pick up a pack of organic grass fed ground beef. $9/lb., ouch. You will make really small meatballs to make it last longer. You reach into your purse to get your list and realize you left it in your pantry. You see a stack of coupons in your purse, no coupons for organic. You shove them back in your purse. Sigh. You remember you needed milk so you head to the dairy department. Soy milk, Almond milk, Rice milk Low fat, Whole, What milk are the experts recommending this week? Your head starts to hurt. What would Jillian Michaels do? She would not pick up the carton of low fat pumpkin flavored coffee creamer. No, she would not but you are not her. Pumpkin, mmmmm. You ignore the fact that it is chemical pumpkins. You grab a small carton of 2% milk because you don’t want to carry a jug and make sure it doesn’t leak. Milk mission over. Now you are standing in front of the yogurt. Get Greek yogurt they say, it has protein. What kind did you buy last time? You liked it. Was it the kind with granola on top? Fruit on the bottom? Fruit blended? You grab and assortment of brands and flavors and leave the yogurt section. Dairy is stressful. You begin wheeling your cart but a slow person is in front of you, A slow person that does not care that you are trying to get by A slow person that does not hear you say, “Excuse me.” So you say it again but it comes loud and angry. The slow person jumps. Good job on scaring a sweet old lady you tell yourself. Somewhere in the store there is a kid screaming. You want to scream. You approach the soda aisle, Diet Coke calls to you but you see a girl you went to high school with and you don’t feel like making small talk, and you didn’t shower this morning. You will pick up Diet Coke somewhere tomorrow. You go to the bread aisle No High Fructose Corn Syrup in your bread you remind yourself. Wheat or white? Honey wheat? High Fiber? 12 grain is on sale but it is messy, and gets stuck in your teeth. You grab the new sandwich thins and move on with your life. The aroma of the bakery section tempts you. Donuts are on sale, and fresh bread and Little Debbies. Oh Little Debbies, you put some in your cart. Shhhh…. A little treat now and then is good. You remember you need ice cream but the freezer section always makes you cold. You brave the chill and grab your favorite Ben and Jerry’s and don’t make eye contact with the frozen vegetables staring at you. Throughout the store you grab a few random items, broth for the soup you will never make, beans for the chili you might make if it cools down and tomato sauce in a jar that makes you feel guilty because you can’t even make your own damn tomato sauce. You want to go and pay before your ice cream melts but the speakers are playing a good song. You decide to go to the deli to get a few slices for the sandwich you may or may not make. Honey turkey? Mesquite turkey? Smoked turkey? The deli girl is all smiles with her hairnet waiting for your order. You remember a pastrami sandwich recipe you saw on Pinterest. She is annoyed that she has to drag out the pastrami for three measly slices. She slams your meat on the counter and moves on to the next customer. Leaving the deli you see prepackaged salads. They are for busy families. You are busy. The salads expire tomorrow. You grab a few, you will eat them because they are premade. You head to the checkout, people are in the express line with more than 20 items. Tsk tsk. As you wait in line, you read the tabloids. Some star you never heard of had a baby, the Kardashians are still around and you can have a beach body in 5 weeks. You have salads, your beach body is on the way. There is an inch of room on the belt, you begin to unload your groceries. A hot guy stands in line behind you, you hide the Little Debbies under the spinach. Paper or plastic they ask. Proudly you wave your reusable bags in the air. You get 5 cents off for bringing your own bags. The cashier asks if you have coupons, “Oh they never have coupons for organic.” you say. She rolls her eyes. The total is approaching, close your eyes, breathe, $146.08 ouch. That is the price of being healthy. They ask if you need help out to your car. You say, “No thanks, but for that price they should come home and unpack the food for you.” The teenage bagging boy does not appreciate your wit. You put the bags in the trunk but the bag with the Little Debbies gets to sit beside you. Your doctor would not approve. Soon you will go home and unpack your eco-friendly bags of hope, but right now, you will have a Little Debbie. Sometimes, you have to enjoy the moment, even if those moments are in grocery store parking lots. Beauty is everywhere.

[[from "Misguided Meditations" :: Guided meditation gone wrong] 

[katsaguri-kase-rp]

💀🧸💖🥰🎲

💀 - How do they feel about horror movies? Kase LOVES horror movies. She's very much an adrenaline junkie, so she loves it all, from jump scares to psychological horror, to gore fests. She enjoys it because she knows it isn't real, knows there are no real world consequences so there is no reason for her to worry. Especially around Halloween, Kase loves hosting scary movie nights.

🧸 - Do they have any stuffed animals? If so, are they decorative or do they sleep with them?

Kase doesn't have any stuffed animals. She didn't get to bring anything with her when she was found by the Leaf Shinobi as a child and after she was taken in, she didn't ask for toys or gifts. She didn't want to be a burden on her new family so instead she only asked for practical things (even if she often found herself staring longingly at a particular stuffed rabbit in the window of a toy store fairly often.) Instead she'd ask for books to study jutsu theory and tactics, she'd ask for new gear to train, and then when she gets older, she just buys what she needs with money from her missions. She's not one to spend money frivolously on herself (although she'll spend that money on others without a second thought.) She does still occasionally find herself looking at that stuffed rabbit in the window, though.

💖 - How and how often do they try to impress their partner(s)? How and how often do their partner(s) impress them?

lol Daily. Kase wants to make the people around her proud. Which in turn results in a her showing off. New jutsu, new skills, new recipies, New *Ahem* techniques in the bedroom, its daily. Not all of these attempts turn out well, but if she fails then she just laughs it off and lets her partner gush over her while she's flustered. But it does mean that Kase needs a partner who can keep up with her and is willing to put up with her antics as well as help her reel it in when she goes overboard.

🥰 - What pet names do their partner(s) use for them? How flustered do they get by them?

Hrmmmm I think it depends on the partner. Kase isn't so much a fan of generic pet names. She'd rather have a special, teasing nickname that is unique to her. Ino calls her dragonfly because shes always a blur of color, bouncing from one place to the next. Regardless of the pet name, its usually enough to make Kase blush and shoot back with some kind of deflecting, teasing remark. The more creative the petname, the more flustered Kase is likely to get. If she truly gets flustered enough she can't come up with a comeback, then she usually just stutters out "Shut up and kiss me, stupid" in the most loving way possible.

🎲 - Pick a random question to answer from this list.

And random it shall be. The dice decided...

❣️ - What are their love languages?

Kase's primary love language is physical touch with a secondary love language of acts of service.

[magicbystarlight]

Before I Knew You - Part Four

Masterlist, Part One

Summary: You’ve spent years training under Madam Pomfrey in the hopes that you would join the Healers at St. Mungo’s at graduation. But in the aftermath of the death of Albus Dumbledore, you chose to join the Order instead. When you're forced into hiding, you find yourself alone with Bill Weasley and his new wolfish tendencies.

Word Count: 3173

Warnings: 18+, Drinking, brief mentions of past sexual experiences, major injury, blood, mentions of death. Minors DNI.

Before I Knew You Tag List: @believinghurts @frozenwisteria @maralisa124

HP Tag List: @bamboozledflamplant @charmingandfantasticfics

Bill was gone by the time you got back downstairs, as were Mr. Weasley and the twins. Work. They got to live in the real world, clock in and out to jobs, walk freely down Diagon Alley. You were stuck hiding, a price probably on your head already. But at least you weren't alone anymore.

For the first time in weeks you didn't have to spend your days working a field of crops that would ultimately become useless. You got to sit and talk with Charlie, catching up on all the things you'd missed over the last year when your letters had been few and far between. Ron and Ginny weren't bad company either, though Ron tended to disappear at odd times throughout the day. Mrs. Weasley had chastised you at least half a dozen times about calling her Molly before the sun had even started to set. It took your mind off the thought of Bill.

Until he came home and avoided even looking at you the entire evening. You wanted to confront him. Did he think you were to incompetent to do your job? Did he not trust you? You wanted to know. It wasn’t fair that he got to go out and do things to aid in the war effort and help the Order while he denied you the right to do the one thing you could. You were a Healer and a damn good one considering your age. But he slipped out of the room while you weren't paying attention and didn’t come down the rest of the night.

It continued like that for another three days. Your days being filled at the Burrow with helping to prep the home for the wedding that would take place there in nearly a week while your evenings were spent being given the cold shoulder by the eldest Weasley child. You wanted to scream in frustration.

The fourth day, the day before the Order would retrieve Harry Potter, brought another guest to the Weasley home. Hermione Granger arrived with much fanfare from Ron and Molly midday Friday. It gave you a reprieve the rest of the day from cleaning and organizing and creating decorations. You didn't even notice Bill hadn't returned home with the other men, too engrossed in conversation with Hermione about healing spells and the best way to store Dittany throughout dinner. It wasn't until you and Hermione sat outside with the other Weasley children around a small fire pit did he appear, two bottles of Gigglewater in hand.

"'Bout time you got here," George joked, he and his twin already conjuring sticks and stones and Transfiguring them into shot glasses. "Thought we were gonna have to try and sneak into Mum's cabinet or something. What are we playing tonight?"

"Whatever it is," Hermione said, staring distastefully at the alcohol in Bill's hands, "You can count me out. I had a rather long day and I think I ought to go to bed. Ron?"

Ron looked longingly at the bottles for a moment before Hermione cleared her throat. "Uh, yeah, yeah. 'Mione's right. Long day and all, I should, uh, should go to bed too." You and Charlie shared an amused glance with each other as the two walked away, the twins's and Ginny's wolf whistles turning Ron's ears bright pink.

"So, what game?"

"How about Never Have I Ever?" Ginny offered.

Fred clapped his hands loudly. "Yes, Gin, excellent idea! Any objections?"

You thought about objecting, a sour taste still left on your tongue from his lack of tact earlier in the week. He'd never apologized to you and you doubted he even realized he'd hurt Bill. But you figured Fred would just find another way to antagonize you if chose a different game. "I'm in."

A chorus of agreement rang out and soon you each had a full shot glass in front of you ready to play. Ginny had slipped into the void left by her brother and his friend next to you, Bill on her other side and Charlie at yours while the twins were opposite you. The questions started innocently enough.

"Never have I ever cheated on a test," Bill said. You drank to that.

"Never have I ever fallen off a broom," Ginny laughed. You drank to that too.

"Never have I ever ridden a dragon," you said, mouth dropping in amazement when Charlie didn't drink. "You've never ridden a dragon?" He shook his head, claiming his job was to take care of them not ride them.

The twins surprised you that round, their own "Never have I ever" being tame. Ginny's turn came up again. "Never have I ever kissed a woman." All the boys drank. So did you.

“Bloody hell, who? When? Can it happen again?” Fred asked, leaning in.

You could already feel the buzz of the Gigglewater. “Cho Chang, Fourth Year. Dated a couple weeks. And definitely not.”

“Cho? Wow, you and Harry have–

“Fred,” Bill warned, “leave it alone.”

Fred opened his mouth to say something anyways, but seemed to decide better of it when his eyes drifted to his sister. “Fine, your turn, Y/N.”

“Never have I ever set off fireworks in the Great Hall.” Both twins drank to that.

“Never have I ever kissed a man.” You, Ginny, George, and Bill drank.

“Never have I ever had sex with a man,” George said, his tone not as enthusiastic as it had been. You and Bill downed your glasses.

Ginny brought her glass up to her lips, her brothers tensing. A smirk pulled at her lips as she sat the glass back down, untouched. “Gotcha.”

The laughter that followed was cut short as Fred said, “Never have I ever had sex with a Death Eater.” The fire crackled loudly in the silence as Fred stared at you expectantly. But you didn’t budge. “Come on, you’ve got to drink at that.”

“He didn’t have the Mark.” It was Bill who spoke. “And that’s way too fucking far.”

You swirled the drink in your glass. “It’s fine. He’s curious. Which one’s caught your eye, Fred? Dolohov? Lestrange? One of the Malfoys perhaps?”

A barking laugh came from Fred. “Nice to see someone’s got a sense of humor around here.”

“Game’s over,” Bill said, already Vanishing the glasses and bottles. “Got an important day tomorrow and, unless you want me to have Mad Eye replace you, you better get to bed.”

Fred was the only one to protest, his siblings all standing already. “Come on,” George said to him, taking his arm to drag him to his feet and back into the Burrow. Ginny followed behind them. You didn’t look at either of the men left with you as you continued to sit in front of the fire.

Charlie spoke to you softly, “I’m, I’m gonna go inside, alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you in the morning.”

As the sounds of Charlie’s footsteps faded, Bill took over the space next you his brother had vacated. Neither of you said anything for a long time. It was…comforting. You hated that.

“He shouldn’t have brought that up.”

You continued to watch the smoke of the flames twirl up into the dark. “It is what it is. He hounded me about Cillian before all this, I don’t see him dropping it now.” Fred’s idea of humor could be more malicious than funny at times. George too, though to a lesser extent.

“I’ll have a talk with him. It won’t happen again.” Bill’s voice was confident and edged with finality. It sounded like a kind notion, Bill Weasley taking on his role of the Gryffindor Protector for a meek little Hufflepuff. But you weren’t meek.

“This isn’t some sibling spat you need to referee, Bill. Cillian is going to be brought up. Again and again. By Fred, the Order, and who knows who else. I’m perfectly capable of handling it.”

You finally looked over at him, trying not to focus on the fact that his hair was the same colors as the flames or that the firelight danced in his blue eyes.

“You shouldn’t have to handle it. I’ll talk to whoever I have to talk to about it, but it’s not fair for you to have to keep reliving it.”

An annoyed huff came through your teeth. “No,” you said. “No it’s not fair. But nothing in my life right now is fair. Even if I didn’t have Corbin on my ass, wanting me dead, how long do you think it would take for someone like me to need to go into hiding? If I would even get the chance? I’m a Mudblood. We’ve already started disappearing, our families too. Until this war is over or I’m dead, uncomfortable conversations and bad jokes are the least of my concern.”

“I–

“No. You don’t get to sit there and act like some protective big brother,” he flinched at the words, “when you’ve spent nearly a week ignoring me entirely. You won’t even let me do my job, the only thing I have left of my life that is mine.”

His mouth opened and shut a few times, floundering under your gaze. “It’s complicated.”

“No shit it’s complicated! That’s why I’m here. Because of the danger the Order puts themselves in when most of you could go on and live comfortably otherwise. Because of you.” Days of pent up frustration and confusion cracked your voice. “I want to do my part for this war even if it means going head first into a fight. But I especially want to do what I’m good at and trained for. Maybe I can barely hold my own in a duel, but I can identify a spell’s signature on skin hours after it hit. I can heal broken bones, regrow limbs, and reverse the effects of a potion with absolutely no information about the potion itself. And if given the chance, I could probably find a remedy or at least placate the symptoms for whatever you’re going through.”

His jaw went rigged, his back straightening. "I'm not going through anything. I had some anxiety, that's it."

You had to restrain yourself from rolling your eyes. His reaction was that of a patient hiding information. You knew it well. "That's a load of shit," you said standing. "Good night, Bill."

“Please stay,” he said, his voice on the edge of pleading.

You didn’t look at him as you said, “Like you told the others, tomorrow’s an important day. Better get to bed.”

Not long after you shut yourself in your room, you heard the floor creak outside your door. It was silent for several moments before whoever was there walked away.

The rising sun brought reality with it. The Burrow was unusually quiet throughout the day, despite the arrival of several Order members. Remus and Tonks were the first to show shortly after breakfast, Hagrid before lunch in a roaring, flying motorcycle accompanied by two Thestrals, not that you could see if he actually was or not, and Kingsley not long after. Alastor was the last to show, tugging along a man you'd never seen before. He was short, with baggy brown eyes and a terrible odour of tobacco. He was the unreliable Mundungus they'd spoken about your first night.

It was seven thirty, an hour after dinner had finished, when you watched the thirteen people disappear into the sky. "No one outside the Order knows the plan. Even if they've got lookouts, having seven Potters will throw them off," Remus had assured you. It had done little to squash your fears that some of them may not make it back. The Death Eaters had proven themselves ruthless.

You stood staring into the sky long after they'd already disappeared, as did Ginny and Molly. When the sky began to darken, Molly ushered you both inside saying, "It'll take them a couple hours, we should finish getting everything prepared."

Prepared. You wanted to laugh at the word. The Order's stock of potions wasn't horrible but it lacked in some key areas. Dark Magic was your biggest concern and most of what you had would do very little to help those kinds of injuries. Besides setting up the makeshift first aid area in the living room, the only thing left was to wait. You'd only spent thirty minutes inside before both you and Ginny were watching the sky again.

"Everyone will be alright," she said after some time. "They'll be back soon."

They weren't. Minutes dragged into hours. They should have been back already. A rusty oil can appeared from a blue light, no occupants holding it. Ron and Tonks had missed their portkey. An old sneaker appeared five minutes later. Arthur and Fred. By time the third blue light illuminated the sky, you expected it to be empty.

But Hargid's unmistakable figure crashed onto the ground along with who you assumed was Harry. That was the plan. But after four people had gone missing, you weren't sure what was left of the plan. Molly ran to them first, asking questions. Death Eaters had been waiting for them. Voldemort had been waiting for them. Hagrid asked for some brandy and Molly hurried back into the home to retrieve as Ginny explained to Harry the now more worrisome information about those who had yet to come back.

As Ginny had predicted, a blue light appeared a minute after Molly reappeared with the brandy. Remus and George appeared spinning and falling. Your feet moved automatically towards them. George was covered in blood. Harry was right behind you, grabbing onto George's legs to help Remus carry him in while you performed any and every spell off the top of your head to staunch the bleeding. You didn't need Remus's hurried words to know that his ear had been cursed off.

As George was laid on the couch, you could see Remus dragging Harry away. For what, you couldn't say, too focused on the wound in front of you. It was one you recognized, the same spell had been used on Draco Malfoy a year earlier by Harry. It made staunching the bleeding easier. Molly hovered over you, quiet tears splattering on your ankles as you knelt beside the couch.

"He'll be alright. His hearing will be impacted, but he won't lose it entirely," you said as you finished cleaning the wound. There was little else you could do for the gaping hole. He was alive, at least. "He's going to need some water and something to eat when he wakes up. After that, we can give him a vial of Blood Restore Potion to help."

She just nodded silently at you, taking up your vacated spot in front of George. You left outside not long after Arthur and Fred made their way in. During your time tending to George, Kingsley, Tonks, Hermione, and Ron had also arrived. You half listened as they recounted their own stories of the night, your eyes on the sky. Kingsley left at some point and Arthur and Molly came out of the Burrow now that their injured son was awake.

Bill and Charlie finally appeared, seeming to float on air. A tension in your chest loosened as your eyes fell over them. Safe. Molly slammed into her sons, hugging them tightly. "Bill! Charlie! Thank Godric, thank Go—"

Bill and Charlie's expressions didn't change. Bill looked directly at his father and said, "Mad Eye's dead."

Impossible. Alastor was the most experienced, had fought dozens of Death Eaters in his life. If anyone would have survived that kind of ambush, it would have been the ever prepared Mad Eye.

“We saw it,” Charlie said, his face tear stained. “It happened just after we broke out of the circle: Mad Eye and Dung were close by us, they were heading north too. Voldemort—he can fly—went straight for them.”

Bill continued, “Dung panicked. I heard him cry out, Mad Eye tried to stop him, but he Disapparated. Voldemort’s curse hit Mad Eye full in the face, he fell backward off his broom and—there was nothing we could do, nothing, we had half a dozen of them on our own tail—”

Bill’s voice broke. You wanted to comfort him, but you doubted he'd want that. He'd witnessed death, barely escaping it himself. Besides, you doubted you could say much before you broke down. Alastor had been your friend in the short time you'd known him. He couldn't be gone. Not Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody.

“Of course there was nothing you could have done,” Remus said. Neither Weasley looked comforted by that.

The group shuffled back inside the Burrow as there was no one left to wait for. Fred and George were laughing until they heard the news, their demeanors falling into shock. Tonks was crying, Remus’s arm around her. Molly and Arthur held each other’s hands. Hermione leaned against Ron. Ginny had crowded herself between Harry and Charlie. Hagrid sat off by himself, the empty bottle of brandy still in his hands. Bill went straight to the cupboard, pulling out a bottle of Firewhiskey and glasses.

With a wave of his wand, he sent thirteen full glasses soaring through the air. One for each of you. He held his up. "Mad Eye."

"Mad Eye," everyone echoed, downing their drinks.

The burn was welcome. It shoved the nausea down. Talk of Mundungus and betrayal filled the room, but, like the rest of the night, you couldn't focus on the conversation. Your eyes roamed the room, silently appraising each inhabitant. They all seemed fine and there were none of the tell tell signs of being struck by a curse, but shock was still a possibility. Imperius was too. They'd each get a quick diagnostic before bed, Kingsley too when you saw him again.

"No, I'll do it. I'll come," Bill said. No.

Charlie added, "Me too."

"Where are you going?" Tonks asked, wide eyes flicking between the men. "Mad Eye's body. We need to recover it," Remus answered.

Molly's voice was full of concern as she spoke, "Can't it—"

"Wait?" Bill asked rhetorically. "Not unless you'd prefer the Death Eaters got it first."

"Him," you said. Bill's eyes met yours, his blue eyes bloodshot. "Him, not it. He's still Mad Eye."

He nodded. "Him." The three men said their goodbyes, Charlie promising his mum he'd be back before dawn. You slipped out with them, saying you were just going to walk them out. Even if you didn't have evaluations to do and a Weasley to look after overnight, it was doubtful Bill and Remus would allow you to go.

Just before the boundary, you checked the three men for any signs of being under the Imperious, unsurprised but relieved when the results were all negative. "Be careful," you said as they stepped over the invisible border. Charlie gave a nod, Remus too.

"We'll be back," Bill promised. Your stomach twisted knowing it was empty.

Then they were gone.

Bonus Part: Him, Not It

Next

[sh0rt-cak3]

A Little Help From A Friend

Tommyinnit x reader featuring Wilbur and Phil

Warnings: slight swearing, fluff

Y/n's pronouns are she/her

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why do we have to go to the store again?" Tommy complained, frowning at Phil as he nabbed a cart. "You're just upset because he won't let you get anything you want," Wilbur said with a smirk, sticking his tongue out at the younger. Tommy grumbled, reluctantly following Phil and Wilbur into the grocery store. The trio walked around for awhile, Phil grabbing what they came for and putting back any unneeded items the mysteriously made their way into the cart. Then, Tommy saw her. He didn't know her name or anything about her, all he knew was she absolutely gorgeous. Wilbur looked over and smirked at Tommy's expression, putting together the pieces immediately. "See someone you like Toms~" Wilbur said teasingly, a smile gracing his lips. Tommy blushed furiously and looked away. "N-No," he said, "Besides, it's not like she'd like me anyway." Wilbur rolled his eyes, grabbing Tommy's arm so he wouldn't get left behind. Tommy frowned and looked back, trying to catch another glimpse of her. "There you two are," Phil said, looking at their list, "Do you think you boys could go grab pasta sauce for me? I forgot to pick it up when we were in the isle." Tommy perked up, immediately nodding. "Yeah, of course we can do that for you Phil," Tommy said excitedly, trying suppress his happy smile. "Thanks boys," Phil said, going to find the next item on the list. Tommy pulled Wilbur to the isle, looking down it as soon as they got there. Nothing. The smile that was plastered on Tommy's face dropped. Frowning, he went to go find the pasta sauce Phil asked for. Right as he looked away, Wilbur saw her round the corner and walk into the isle they were in. He briskly walk ed over to Tommy and tapped on his shoulder. "Hey Toms, look who's here~" Wilbur said with a smirk. Tommy looked up, eyes widening when he saw her. "Well go on then!" Wilbur whispered excitedly, "Go talk to her, this might be your last chance!" Tommy blushed and shook his head. "No, I can't. I'd just make a fool of myself Wil," Tommy said, staring longingly at her. "Well then I guess that means I need to help you," Wilbur said with a smirk. "Hey! Gorgeous girl down the isle!" Wilbur yelled, "My friend here thinks you're absolutely stunning!" With those last words he pointed to a thoroughly embarrassed Tommy. Tommy blushed furiously, giving a small wave and shy smile. She smiled at the two, walking over to them. "Hello to you too," She laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Tommy smiled, blush still very visible. "H-Hi, my name is Tommy. This embarrassing asshole is Wilbur," Tommy said, smiling when she laughed at his remark. "It's nice to meet you both, I'm Y/n," She said, holding a hand out for them to shake. After talking for awhile,Tommy managed to get her number. "Well I have to go, my mom is waiting for me. It was great to meet you Tommy," Y/n smiled, waving at them as she walked backwards away. "It was great to meet you too Y/n!" Tommy said, a dopey smile plastered on his face. He sighed happily as she disappeared, wondering how that encounter was even real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bit of fluff requested by the lovely p3r-fum3 <33

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

Can you do a imagine where Harry wants a baby again 😭😭

im sorry if this is bad, i wrote two other pieces today and im on 4(?) hours of sleep 😭 hope you like it though!

only if you want to

warnings: none

word count: 1.2k

Harry had been dropping not so subtle hints for a few weeks now. 

He spent most of his free time on Pinterest, looking at various baby items. He would close the app when he heard you approaching, but he always made sure you “accidentally” saw a flash of the screen. You thought it was weird that he was looking at cribs, but you figured he would talk to you if he wanted to. He didn’t initiate any conversations, so you left it alone.

When this tactic didn’t work in his favor, he knew he had to be a little more forward.

Every time you sat next to him, he pulled up Stevie’s baby pictures on his phone.

“Remember how little she was?” He said, tilting his phone so you could see.

You nodded, only looking at the picture for a few moments before going back to making your shopping list.

“I wish we could get our tiny baby back,” he said, sighing.

“Yeah, but if I’m being honest, I prefer a Stevie who sleeps through the night,” you laughed, not catching on to what he was saying.

Then he had stepped up his game a bit. He went into Stevie’s room, going through her entire closet and taking out all of her baby clothes. When you came home, he was surrounded by several mountains of pink and purple and lace and glitter and unicorns and tiny socks.

“Um... what are you doing?” You asked, barely able to see him through all the clothing.

His head popped up, flashing you his dimpled smile as he held up a onesie.

“Sorting!”

“Why?”

“Um- just in case,” he said, blushing.

“Just in case what?” You asked, narrowing your eyes.

“No- just, uh, in case we ever need any of these again.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but just then your phone rang.

“Sorry, it’s my mom,” you said, smiling apologetically as you answered the call, walking out of the room.

Harry was ready to continue the conversation after you hung up, but Stevie was in a mood and tensions were high through the whole house, so he decided it could wait. You didn’t say anything the next day, so he figured you had either forgotten or just didn’t want to talk about it. Either way, he didn’t want to push you. It was your body, after all. You had a bigger say in what happened and when.

After a few more weeks of almost asking and half conversations and tiptoeing around the subject, Harry decided enough was enough. He stood in front of the bathroom mirror, giving himself a pep talk.

“You are going to walk into the kitchen, and you are going to go up to your wife, and you are going to tell her- no, definitely not tell her- you are going to ask her if she would be willing to have another baby with you. No, that sounds dumb. You’re going to- well, maybe it’s not dumb. No, it’s not dumb. This is the best way to go about this. Ask nicely, because it’s her call, because she’s the one who has to actually have the baby. Ok,” he took a deep breath, stepping away from the sink. “You can do this.”

He walked tentatively into the kitchen, trying to feel out the energy in the room. Stevie had been particularly moody lately, and he didn’t want to give you any extra stress if you were already having a bad day.

He sighed in relief, smiling when he saw his girls singing and twirling around to the Frozen soundtrack. He immediately joined in, pulling your arm above your head to spin you. You laughed, collapsing against him when you got dizzy.

“Me too!” Stevie yelled, reaching her small hand up to Harry. He beamed, grabbing onto her and helping her spin around. She squealed in delight, hugging his legs tightly when she had enough twirling.

“Stevie, it’s almost bedtime,” you said. “Can you go pick which pajamas you want to wear?”

“Ok mommy!” She said, running up the stairs.

“She really is amazing,” Harry said, smiling as he watched her.

“She is,” you agreed, laying your head against his chest.

“Which is- which is why, I, um,” he cleared his throat before continuing. “I was just thinking, maybe... only if you want to, of course, definitely only if you think it’s a good idea, but maybe-“

He didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, so you put your hand on his arm to stop his rambling.

“Harry, what are you trying to say?” You asked, even though you already had a pretty good idea. You had been suspicious for a while now, since he started going through Stevie’s old clothes and staring longingly at the baby sections of stores.

He took a deep breath, pulling away from you and leaning against the countertop with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I- I want to have another baby. But only if you want to,” he added the last part quickly. “It’s obviously something you get the final say on, but if- if you were thinking about it, I just want you to know that I would really like that,” he said, almost shyly.

“I would also really like that,” You said, feeling the smile creeping up your face as you looked at him.

“Yeah?” He said, grinning.

“Yeah. As nice as it is to get to sleep through the night, I kind of miss having a tiny baby to hold.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!” He exclaimed. “Look at us, our brains are synced.”

You smiled before you had another thought.

“Oh, no,” you groaned, putting your hands over your face. Harry looked at you, confused.

“Stevie’s going to ask questions. Like, “where did the baby come from” and “how did it get there”.”

“Oh, uh... about that,” he said, blushing furiously. “She... I already kind of-“

“Harry, if you let her listen to Watermelon Sugar and she started asking questions, I swear-”

“No, I didn’t!” He said, starting to laugh. “Come on, Y/N, do you really think I’m that bad of a father? No, we were at the mall and she saw a big poster of a baby and she just asked where they came from.”

“And you told her...”

“Oh, yeah, that conversation didn’t go so well.”

“Harry,” you sighed. “What did you tell her?”

“Um... he frowned, pretending to try and remember, while in reality he knew exactly what he had said. “I think... it was something about how when two people love each other, they get a house and live together, and decide to have a baby, and then... have a baby.”

“That’s all you said? And she didn’t ask any more questions?” You said, confused. Stevie normally had and endless supply of inquires. She usually wanted to know everything. 

“Well, no, she tried, but I distracted her.”

“A+ parenting there, really,” you said, shaking your head. “Well, at least you didn’t say anything inappropriate.”

“Right, honestly I thought it could have been a lot worse. I was flustered,” he explained, smiling.

“I’m sure,” you laughed. “I think maybe I should talk to her if she asks again?”

“I think that’s the best plan, yeah.”

[angryschnauzer]

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 3

Summary: There’s a little town high in the mountains where everyone has a secret, and every family has something that makes them unique. In Blackwater Lake those that are outcast by nature come together.

Characters/Pairing:  August Walker x OFC Freya (Forest Nymph) Original Female Character is described as white/pale, short and of small build, hazel eyes, long dark hair.

Warnings (for this chapter); Talk of past abusive relationships, on the run, alcohol consumption, Daddy Kink, DD/LG, Pet names, fingering, oral sex (male receiving), unprotected sex, hyperspermia, cum play, cum feeding, unplanned pregnancy, pregnancy test.

Previous Parts: 

Werewolf!Sy: Moonlight on the Sand  Castle Under The Stars. Werewolf!Sy, Vampire!Walter: Chapter 1 Vampire Walter: Chapter 2

This will be a series of stand alone stories/2 parters, which will revolve around the residents of the town, with some recurring characters. The ‘reader’ for each story will be a ‘new’ reader, so its not the same woman being with all the male characters.

I do not run a tag list, but please follow @angryschnauzerwrites​ and put that blog onto notifications. You’ll then get an alert every time i post something new.

Blackwater Lake - Chapter 3

The blood slowly trickled across the board and off the table, coating the floor before running into the drain. August raised the heavy cleaver, and with one thunderous swipe severed the femur clean in two. The cleaver made a metallic clang that echoed around the stark tile lined room, and wiping his hands on his apron he lifted the product of his work and inspected his efforts closely. A smile spread over his lips as he looked up;

“There we go Mrs Mackenzie, a nice juicy bone for your dog”

The old woman smiled, her purple tinted grey hair in tight curls that barely moved as she nodded;

“Oh yes, that’ll be perfect! My Clarence will love it!”

At that very moment Clarence started yapping outside where he was tied to the specials chalkboard that sat on the sidewalk outside Walkers Meats, 10lbs of teeth, fur and anger wrapped into the body of a small West Highland Terrier;

“I’m sure he will. I’ll wrap it up for you and Freya will finish ringing up your order for you. We’ll get it delivered this afternoon…”

August walked around the counter and set the wrapped bone into the box, nodding to his assistant to finish up the order. She knew that the bone would be free of charge, but that Mrs Mackenzie would insist on tipping and sliding her $10 which August was more than happy for Freya to keep. The slight girl turned and a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, before she quietly nodded and continued with her duties.

Returning to the butchery area August glanced up and caught sight of his reflection in the painted mirror, the design obscuring the scarring on the side of his face, giving him that moment of relief from those memories of a past long ago, a life he had left behind when he had sought out quiet solitude in the peaceful mountain town of Blackwater Lake. People minded their own business there and didn’t ask questions. If you had a skill that could help others you were welcomed into the community. How August got into the meat business is a story for another day, but as his gaze travelled across the mirror to where Freya was measuring out the wild herb mixes into small mason jars he smiled and remembered instead how she came into his life.

-

Pulling the sign in from the sidewalk August was exhausted. Running a business completely on his own had seemed like a good idea when he’d started, he enjoyed his own company and he distrusted anyone else to do the job to a standard he would approve of. What he hadn’t counted on was the residents of this sleepy little town not only accepting him, but joyous that he was there and wanting to talk endlessly every time they visited his store. Although he was always polite and did his best to end conversations quickly, after eight hours of it he had jaw ache and knew he would need to work well into the night on the new sides of beef that had been delivered that morning if he were to have any stock to sell the next day. He glanced longingly at the small sign that sat propped up in the window; ‘Help Needed - Enquire Within’, yet he hadn’t had any takers in the month the sign had been up. 

The icy winter wind curled at his neck, sending a shiver down his spine as he let out a sigh, heaving the heavy sign into the building so it didn’t blow away in the night as a icy squall blew in from the mountains. As the door slammed shut behind him it echoed a knock around the store, but when it came again he turned and let out a far from masculine yelp; the face of a pale young woman stared back at him like a ghoul in the darkness. Clearing his throat and smoothing down his blue and white striped apron, he approached the door and opened it;

“May I help you Miss?”

She nodded down to the sign;

“Do you still need someone?”

Her teeth were chattering, and it was hardly surprising as she was barely dressed for the weather, the knitted cardigan doing little to ward off the cold wind. August opened the door to allow her to enter, looking down at the top of her head as she slunk past him.

“Let me get a pot of coffee on, you must be freezing”

As he disappeared into the back office he set the pot of coffee on to heat before grabbing an old jacket that was hanging on the back of the door, returning to where his visitor stood in the store a few moments later, handing her the jacket;

“Its cold in here, we can’t have the heat on because of the meat”

Nodding she took the jacket, her teeth still chattering;

“T-t-thanks… its still warmer than outside”

He handed her a mug of steaming coffee;

“Sorry, i don’t have any creamer or sugar…” She wrapped her delicate fingers around the mug using it more for heat than sustenance as he leant back against the counter on the other side of the store; “So… you’re wanting a job? What experience have you got? You worked in retail?”

She shook her head and muttered a quiet no, keeping her eyes averted from him as she spoke;

“But i will try anything… just looking for a new start”

“Are you running from something?” A gentle nod of her head and the way she clutched the mug tighter told August it was a someone not a something; “Look, if you’re willing to learn, work hard and pay attention, i’ll give you a trial. I’ve gotta level with you, you’re the only person who’s shown any interest in the sign, and i’m getting desperate, so if you want you can start tomorrow”

Her head snapped up and for the first time he saw her eyes, deep hazel peering out from behind long strands of dark brown hair;

“Really?”

“Yes. Really” he stated in a matter of fact way; “I’ll need to get your address and details for the wages…”

“Oh… i’m not… i’ve not got anywhere. I guess i’ll find a cheap motel…”

August paused;

“Kid, there’s no motel in town… at least not this time of year. But i might have a solution for you”

Her eyes widened in fear and August realised whatever she was running from had done more damage than she showed;

“No no, not that” he assured her; “There’s a small apartment above the shop - two in fact, i’ve got one and the other i’ve never rented out, never got round to it… its small but completely self contained, your own entrance and everything, completely secure”

Once a few forms had been filled out August had gotten the girl settled in the small studio apartment. He’d shown her how the fold out bed worked, explained that the hot water fed off the furnace for the whole building so she could use as much as she wanted. A couple of minutes after he’d left her in the apartment he knocked at her door, surprised to hear the locks sliding across at first, but then realising she needed to feel safe. When she peered around the door she almost looked surprised to see him there, as if it would be anyone else;

“Umm yeah?”

August handed her a box of things he’d scavenged from his own kitchen;

“Here’s just a few things to see you through the night… I haven’t been grocery shopping in a while, but the bread was in the freezer and it’ll defrost pretty quickly if you put it in the toaster”

He handed the box to Freya, surprised at how smooth but also small her hands were as she took it from him as they brushed against his own. She nodded and smiled;

“Thank you Mr Walker”

“Night. See you bright and early tomorrow morning” 

-

The next morning August woke to an insistent knocking on his door. Grumbling to himself he pulled on his robe and stalked across his small apartment, pulling the door open with a thunderous look on his face, ready to give whatever maniac that was knocking on his door at 5am a piece of his mind;

“WHAT THE… oh… hi…”

Freya was standing on his doormat, a look of shock on her face;

“Hi… i’m ready to start”

“To… start?”

“Work. You said bright and early”

August ran his palm over his face;

“I… When i said…” he let out a long slow breath; “I meant 8am”

“Oh.”

That was a long day, but by lunchtime Freya had mastered the cash desk and had already started to come out of her shell, the locals more than welcoming for the tiny girl with the woodland eyes, and with her help August was able to catch up on his work.

Over the following month her input had helped August expand his products, suggesting a range of seasonings in reusable jars, where if the customer returned the mason jar they’d get a discount off the next one they purchased. He discovered she had this unfathomable knowledge of herbs and plants, but also had this connection with nature he couldn’t quite understand. He’d sometimes catch her staring out of the window at the trees blowing in the wind, as if listening to their songs that were beyond his own ears.

One thing was for sure, there was a sense of magic to her and August thanked the stars above that she walked into his store on that cold winter night.

-

Back in the present August was busy cleaning the cutting table as Freya busied herself with her jars - it was her own little enterprise now and one she was absolutely proud of. He could see that she kept glancing outside, gnawing on her lip;

“Freya, everything ok?”

“Yes Mr Walker. I was just thinking, the next batch wild garlic is ready to be picked, if i collect some this afternoon i can have more chimichurri mixed ready for tomorrow, and that’s when the beef delivery is coming in”

August let out a chuckle;

“How many times do I have to say to call me August…” he met her gaze with a smile; “And yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea. The store’s quiet and i’ll be doing deliveries in a while, so sure, go exploring”

“Thank you Mr Walker”

August rolled his eyes and let out a laugh, watching as she hung up her apron and grabbed her foraging basket, skipping out of the door and towards the creek that fed into the lake a couple of miles away.

-

Three hours later August was driving back along the gravel road that led into town, having made his deliveries. The spring air was damp but warm, rain threatening to spill but the clouds unwilling to release their bounty just yet. Rounding the bend he looked out over the soft marshland, the grass knee high already and he saw a familiar figure stepping through the green undergrowth. With a smile he pulled his SUV to a stop at the side of the road, stepping out of the vehicle he leaned against the door as he watched Freya as she slowly made her way through the field, before she stopped as her attention moved to the treeline. Following her gaze he watched as a bear emerged from the woods and his heart sank. The native wildlife would be coming out of hibernation, and would be grumpy and hungry. He went to shout but a sudden rush of wind silenced his voice, watching as she held her arm out and the grass flattened in front of her as if a wind devil had made its way through. Glancing back to the bear it had stopped in its tracks but was still staring at her, but then started to circle around on the spot before settling down as if for a nap.

August anxiously watched, knowing if Freya ran she could make it to the car as long as the bear was weak, but he didn’t want to risk that it hadn’t had a belly full of salmon yet, so he quickly reached into the vehicle and pulled his unregistered handgun from beneath his seat. Back at the side of the road he raised the firearm at the bear, glancing at Freya who had now spotted him waiting for her. She started to quicken her pace through the grasses, eventually breaking into a run as she neared the embankment of the road. August glanced to where the bear had been and let out a yell as he saw it was starting to approach them;

“Freya, RUN!”

Doing as he instructed she broke into a sprint, her legs carrying her through the grass and up the embankment. Flinging his door open he motioned for her to dive in, her basket being launched into the passenger footwell as she tumbled across the centre console and into the passenger seat, August launching himself into the driver's seat and gunning the engine as he slammed the door shut, the urgent crunch of tyres on loose gravel dulling the sound of the grizzly’s roar as it had caught up, but was now rapidly disappearing into the distance of the rear view mirror.

August only slowed down as he reached the urban centre of Blackwater Lake, Freya’s breathing having finally levelled out as she turned to him;

“So… there’s bears here?”

He slowed the vehicle and pulled to a stop in a parking lot before turning to her;

“Yes. And moose and cougars and mountain lions… hell sometimes I even hear howls in the night so there’s probably something wolfy up in those mountains too… We need to get you better prepared for nature” August paused; “And what was that thing you did with your hand? That made the grass flatten and the bear sit down…”

Freya shrugged;

“I’m not sure… it's just this thing i’ve always been able to do, calm animals down”

“Huh. Didn’t seem to work this time…”

She glanced at him, her eyes wide;

“I think that was because you were there…”

August let out a laugh, before sitting back in his seat;

“Okay, point taken. I need a drink. We’re at Big-G’s, I'll buy you dinner…”

-

August regretted his decision. He hadn’t factored in how slight Freya was in comparison to her ability to consume alcohol, so three drinks later where all he’d had was lite beer, Freya was completely wasted. The giveaway was when she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder whilst he’d been talking to Geralt - the bar owner - and she’d started to drool on his shirt. Geralt had told him to ‘get his girl home’ with a wry laugh, telling August his meal was on the house. Something had stopped August from correcting the ashen haired man, looking down at the imp of the girl leaning on him. 

He’d managed to carry her to his car fairly easily but the journey up the steps at their building had been more of a challenge. He’d managed to get her to wrap her arms around his shoulders, but had been surprised when she’d also wrapped her legs around his waist. Although it meant he could use one arm to hold her up, the feel of her warm body clinging to his sent a rush of heat through his stomach straight to his groin, he was just thankful she was so out of it she didn’t notice the tent in his pants. 

As he juggled his keys he found the spare for her apartment but then thought better of it, unsure how she was when she’d had alcohol, and instead opened his own apartment. Crossing the almost dark room he reached the couch and slowly lowered her down to the cushions, her whimpers of loss as he started to pull away making him pause;

“Mmmm Daddy, you’re so warm…” 

Holding her still a low rumble slowly bubbled through his throat when she nuzzled against his neck;

“Daddy smells so good…” and she pressed a kiss to the stubble on his chin.

August knew she was drunk, probably didn’t even realise it was him, after all who would want someone as broken and scarred as he was, but for that briefest of moment’s he relished her touch and what was going on in her tequila addled mind. He couldn’t help himself and pressed the briefest of kiss to her cheek;

“Time to sleep now little Kitten” he muttered before reluctantly uncoupling himself from her grasp, pulling a blanket over her as she dozed on his couch. Raking his hand down his face he let out a sigh, before grabbing a glass of water and setting it onto the coffee table in front of her. A scribbled note on the back of a flyer explained that she was drunk and he wasn’t sure if she would need his help, and he didn’t want to invade her privacy of her own apartment.

Having poured himself a generous glass of vodka, August withdrew to his own bedroom, silently closing the door before stripping for bed. It was an early night but without the TV to entertain him and no desire to get lost in a book, he settled on top of the covers in just his underwear, sipping at the ice cold liquor as he willed the swelling of his loins to subside. However every time he tried to clear his mind, all he could imagine was Freya. The thought of her small body beneath his, their bodies sweaty and writhing as one. Finally with a curse he gave in to his desires, pulling his underwear down and taking his hard length into his hand, pumping dry to increase the friction as his mind descended further into taboo territory. He imagined it was her hand, calling him Daddy as she asked if she was doing it right, that her perfect lips would duck down and take his bulbous tip into her mouth, her tongue lapping at his slit as her hazel eyes would stare back up at him, wide with innocence. With a strangled cry he came in violent spurts, covering his hand and stomach in ropes of his cum, thoughts of the delicate woman in his lounge lapping at his spent seed prolonging his orgasm until he was aching and empty. With a curse he looked down at the mess he’d made, realising he needed to clean himself up.

-

The quiet click of his front door woke August the next morning, pushing himself up off the pillow as he heard small footsteps down the outside of the building and the quiet beep of his car being unlocked. Wondering what the hell was happening he leapt out of bed and peered out of the window, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw a dishevelled Freya gathering the wild garlic that had been scattered around his inside of his vehicle the day before.

A few minutes later the thud of his keys falling onto his doormat where she’d posted them through the letterbox sounded through his apartment, and when he went to collect them he found a small note with them;

‘Mr Walker, thank you for your help, I hope I didn't make a fool of myself last night. Your car stinks of garlic now, i’m going to walk up the creek and collect some herbs that will help reduce the odour, Freya x’

-

An hour later when she hadn’t returned, August set off towards the creek through the pleasant woodland, the sunlight leaving dappled patches of gold on the forest floor. Coming to the wide bend in the creek where the water was shallow, he saw the swing over the water that someone had put there years ago, mismatched ropes and a wooden seat, and how someone had now woven wildflowers into the ropes, and as he glanced upstream he saw Freya knee deep in the water, a butterfly dancing on her hand.

Something overcame him and he pulled off his boots and socks, rolling up his pants as he stepped out into the water and sat on the swing, silently watching as she charmed nature beyond a simple human’s comprehension, having control of the elements like a forest nymph. August had seen a lot of unusual things in the time he’d lived in Blackwater Lake, he knew those that had something a little special about them gravitated towards the sleepy little mountain town, so as he watched Freya make her way upstream towards him he realised there was magic in the air. Small water spouts rose from the water as she took each step, as if chasing after her touch as she stepped from rock to rock submerged under the water. 

As she approached the shallow bend in the creek she finally looked up and saw August, a smile spreading over her lips;

“Hi”

“Hi”

“Its so pretty here, isn’t it?” she asked wistfully

“Beautiful from where i’m sitting”

She approached where he sat, stopped at arms reach, a hint of blush warming her cheeks;

“I’m sorry if I was inappropriate last night… thank you for taking care of me, i’m not a big drinker”

“You weren’t inappropriate…” he reassured her; “But it's been a while since a beautiful woman called me Daddy… since before… since before i was broken...”

Her gaze moved to the scar on the side of his face, and without a word she stepped forward and pressed her hand to the spidery scarring. In that moment August felt the magic in her touch, prickling at his skin before she nimbly climbed onto his lap, her legs wrapping around his waist and she lowered her lips to his, softly brushing against his as she spoke;

“You’re not broken, no more than I am…”

The kiss was soft and slow, and as her tongue started to gently tease at the seam of his lips she eased her weight completely onto his lap, her core pressing to his, the heat of their growing lust growing like an ember between them. 

Her small tongue licked into his mouth, tasting him as she pressed her body flush to his chest, small whimpers coming from her as his hands splayed over her back and pulled her firmly down onto his growing arousal. When the need for oxygen finally took precedence August’s lips traced a path of kisses down her jaw and neck, her fingers winding through his dark curls as her head fell back to give him better access to the pale expanse of her collarbone;

“Oh Daddy…”

“That’s it my little one, i’m going to treat you so well, my little Kitten…” August’s mustache brushed against her heated skin as he spoke, the gentle sway of the swing letting their bodies move against each other.

Just at that moment an ominous creak sounded above them, drawing their attention up into the tree’s canopy, just in time to see the rope that held the swing up snap, plunging them down into the shallow creekwater below.

With shouts and screams the moment of passion was lost, taken over by the shock of the water hitting their heated skin. August helped Freya up, her dress plastered to her skin in much the same way his shirt was, soaked head to toe he shook the water from his hair;

“Home?”

“Yes Daddy” Freya purred, pulling into his touch as he wrapped an arm around her to help her out of the water.

-

Pushing in the door to his apartment, clothes were being pulled from each other's bodies even as the door was still ajar. As he pulled his shirt off, Freya’s hands were curling into the hair on his chest, an almost feral growl bubbling from her lips as she ran her hands down to his stomach and rested on the buckle of his belt. Catching her hands in his he held them gently, only speaking when she looked up and met his gaze;

“Kitten, I want to be sure you want this… You’re in total control here, you set the boundaries, you say when you need to stop. But if you do want this, i’ll be your Daddy and take care of you like a Princess”

Freya voice shook as she spoke;

“I want this… my last… he wanted to be my Daddy but didn’t treat me right. He took more than I could give…”

August lifted her small hands to his mouth, kissing each fingertip with such great care and tenderness her heart almost melted before she finally spoke again;

“We should really check for leeches”

“WHAT?!”

Freya had never seen anyone strip their clothing off quite as fast as August just had. For a big man - and a pretty tough one at that - the mere thought of little blood suckers had him stripping completely naked in a matter of seconds, Freya pulling her dress off a little slower until she stood in just her simple underwear. August was still patting himself down, turning to look at his behind;

“Am I ok?”

Freya couldn’t help herself, stepping forwards and taking two handfuls of August’s pert asscheeks, giving them a squeeze before running her palms over the perfectly rounded globes of his buttocks;

“More than ok”

In the following moments August carried her to his small bathroom, turning the shower on before he stepped under the warm jets of water, pulling her with him so he could soap her down. The scent of sandalwood of his soap as he carefully washed every inch of her body was overwhelming, taking care of her to wash any last traces of creek water from her body. He paused as he reached the apex of her thighs, waiting for her agreement which she quickly nodded for him to continue, his large hand sliding between her legs and caressing her lips. His skilled fingers soon sought out her pearl, teasing it gently from its hood before he slid a finger into her waiting heat, a cry falling from her lips which he quickly swallowed with a kiss. His work calloused hands quickly drove her to an orgasm - a first of many - and as she came she called his name, like a prayer on her lips. 

Shutting the water off, August carefully lifted her out of the bath, wrapping a large towel around her before scooping her into his arms and carrying her to his bed. On the messy covers her hair clung to her skin, before he carefully lifted the long tendrils from her chest and was able to take in the sight of her petite naked body laying fresh and prone on his bed. Her hand reached out for him, pulling him close;

“Daddy, I want to feel you…”

August smiled;

“Will you be a good girl for me Kitten? Do you think you can take me? You’re awfully small, and I'm pretty big…”

She sat up, pressing a hand to his chest;

“Can I try? Can I go on top?”

Nodding August lay on the bed, propped up against the pillows, lifting her petite frame on top of him. He watched with pleasure as she wriggled down the bed, her hands gripping his thighs as she settled between his legs. Wrapping her small hands around his generous length she looked up at him as she started to give small licks to his hot flesh, her fingers struggling to encircle his meaty girth. Opening her mouth she took a good three inches between her lips straight away, a litany of curses falling from August’s lips as he felt the hot wet heat of her mouth engulf him. It was better than he could ever had imagined, and he had to grip at the bedsheets to stop himself from cumming at that very moment. Steadying his breathing he let out a low sigh before he reluctantly pulled her off, a trail of spittle hanging between his dick and her mouth;

“But Daddy, I want to taste your cum…”

“I know Kitten, but it's going to be a lot the first time, and I want to see your cunt dripping with me, knowing your tight little pussy is going to overflow with the amount I'm going to pump into you. Now be a good girl and see what you can do, let's make it fit…”

Straddling his thick thighs she positioned herself over his hard shaft, her hand holding him steady as she swiped him through her folds to douse his gnarled girth with her juices, before settling with the tip at her entrance. August ran his hands up and down her arms, comforting her and hoping to get her to relax. He was a patient man but the feel of her soaked flesh pressing against his crown was becoming a struggle not to grab her hips and pull her down until he was balls deep in one swift thrust.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, Freya slowly lowered herself onto August’s shaft, going at a pace she could cope with, but the strain of holding back caused perspiration to bead on August’s forehead;

“Doing so well Kitten… I know its a lot, but you can do it… you’re so fucking tight…. Fuck…”

Taking a deep breath Freya finally let herself fall the rest of the way, feeling him part her silken walls until she was settled on his lap. Tears fell from her eyes, tiny diamonds adorning her cheeks at the overwhelming sense of fullness she was experiencing. Seeing these August kissed them away, his praises made her swell with pride as he admitted to her he was struggling not to cum from just the feeling of her tight walls engulfing him. He pushed a hand between their bodies, resting his palm on her stomach;

“Put your hand here… you’re so tiny I can feel myself deep inside you, your little tummy blown out with my dick…”

His thumb crept down and grazed at her pearl, making her cry out before yearning for more. With his ministrations she was soon relaxed enough to start to ride him, her nimble thighs bouncing on his meaty counterparts, feeling the slick push and pull as he filled her whilst she drove them towards their peak. 

Unsurprisingly Freya came first, the overwhelming pleasure that was coursing through her body was all too much to hold back, and she came with a silent scream, her body gripping August so tight it set him off, pushing in so deep he was sure his dick had kissed her cervix, before flooding her with endless ropes of his thick seed, soothing her inner core with his milky gift. Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her to his chest, holding her tight as the floods of emotions surged through her, stroking her back tenderly.

Eventually he carefully lifted her onto the bed, peppering her bare skin with bristly kisses, before parting her thighs and leaning back to admire his handiwork, a thick sheen of white covering her swollen petals. With a single finger he carefully swiped through his mess, before holding it to her mouth;

“Taste Kitten… taste our passion…”

Holding onto his wrist she sucked the digit into her mouth, her tongue tasting their combined essence. When his finger finally dropped from her lips his gaze fell down and hers followed, her eyes going wide when she saw he was hard and ready for more. Laying back she hooked her hands behind her knees and spread herself open for him;

“Daddy, will you fill me up again, please?”

Positioning himself at her cum soaked hole August smiled, a dark hint of lust glinting in his eyes;

“It would be my pleasure Kitten”

-

Three weeks later

Freya chewed nervously on her lip, having circled the isles of the drug store too many times to count now, waiting for a time when there was no-one near what she needed. Finally it was the right moment and she slunk into the isle, grabbing the thin rectangular box before stepping back and bumping into someone, her item tumbling to the floor as a third set of feet appeared;

“Freya! Mrs Syverson! Good Morning!”

It was Sue from the coffee shop, having appeared seemingly out of nowhere just as Mrs Syverson had backed away from the opposite shelf to keep little baby Luna from grabbing the glass bottles of antacid medicine. Mrs Syverson immediately clocked what Freya had been holding;

“Oh Freya, could you just reach those things for me? I can’t reach down with Luna here…”

With shaking hands Freya handed the bag of cotton wool balls and the pregnancy test to the woman only a couple of years her senior, who in turn smiled at Sue as she laughed;

“Sy’s always keeping me on my toes… in more ways than one” She winked before tugging on Freya’s arm; “Sweetie, I need to place an order for a big cookout we have coming up for Sy’s birthday…”

Steering her away from town gossip Sue, Mrs Syverson lowered her voice;

“I’ll meet you outside sweetie, don’t worry about it, i saw you circling the shop”

A few minutes later Mrs Syverson appeared at the door, two drugstore bags in her hand before handing one to Freya;

“My advice, tell August now, do the test together”

“Are you sure? Do you think he’ll be angry?”

“Angry? Hell no, i think it’ll be what he wants, and no matter what the result he’s always had puppy dog eyes for you, we could all tell from the moment you walked into his life”

Peering into the bag Freya saw there was also a bag of Hershey’s kisses;

“You’ll need the sugar, to calm your nerves afterwards”

“Thanks Mrs S… i appreciate it”

“No problem Freya… and i’ll see you tomorrow, i really do need to place that order, but get today over and done with first”

That afternoon Freya and August took the test, then feasted on kisses of every kind.

[sunnyoldbear]

I’m no artist but all I think about is Luca so here are my headcanons for them when they’re older!

Luca:

As I said in a previous post, he gets a bit thicker as he grows since his whole family is on the thicker side and he’s very skinny.

His tail gets longer as he gets older and he’s like a little kitty with it. When he’s in the water, he sleeps on his stomach with it curled completely around him. He also wraps his tail around Alberto and Giulia at times if there’s ever a time where it’s raining or something when they’re in the surface.

He’s the shortest of the trio and he hates that with every fiber of his being. Neither of them let him forget it.

He loves space more than the movie lets on, and that’s saying something. He has read almost every book he can find on it and he rambles about it every day.

He is still pretty clumsy and his arms always have a few bruises or scrapes on them. He likes putting colorful bandaids on his cuts because he likes the colors.

He loves helping Giulia’s mom with painting! Not just modeling for her, but just painting with her or learning. It reminds him of Alberto. He’s not… good at it, but he loves it.

Oh he loves dogs. He’s still a little scared of cats after Machiavelli, but Nerone is his baby and he would do anything for that little pup.

Has a massive sweet tooth!

As expected, he loves learning about Vespas and how they work and everything. He does his research and writes letters to Alberto about the best books to read about Vespas to ensure they buy or make the very best one.

He’s always moving, just can’t sit still. He’s always bouncing his knee or kicking his legs or drumming his fingers. He just can’t help it. (He’s neurodivergent yes, but this is the 50s so…)

Still has very fishy sayings that no one but him, his family, and Alberto understand.

Can ramble for hours about the sea and how he can relate it to space. He still loves water and tends to list the names of his goatfish under his breath when he’s stressed to calm himself down. He still misses wrangling them, but he is so happy that he’s free.

Spends hours working on his handwriting because he doesn’t like how messy it is. He wants it to be perfect.

He’s very self conscious about most human things he does. The only thing he isn’t self conscious about is his swimming abilities, but he hides it pretty well. He’s most self conscious about his intelligence, or lack thereof. He’s meant to be at Giulia’s level of intelligence but since he was raised in the ocean, he knows next to nothing and so he has to work extra hard to get good grades. He stresses a lot about it and sobs if he gets a bad grade.

He’s a surprisingly good cook. It just relaxes him.

He loves flowers and learned how to make flower crowns.

He also loves collecting seashells he finds because it reminds him of home.

Like many agree, he is terrified of bugs, but he could never hurt one.

He’s very emotional, but that’s canon so.

His letters to Alberto are typically very long and full of emotions and things about his day, as well as random things. He doesn’t mind Alberto’s shorter letters, and he saves them in a box under his bed.

Every time he sees Alberto again he practically tackles him in a hug. The first time, both of them fell straight to the floor and were bruised for days.

He loves stuffed animals. Since it’s not “manly” to keep them, he gets them “for Giulia” and then puts them on his bed. (Modern day, he wouldn’t give a damn and just get them for himself)

Gets flustered super easily, as we see in canon. Be it an innocent romantic comment or a nice compliment, he goes super red and embarrassed, stumbling over his words.

Still says “silenzio Bruno” before he does anything he’s nervous to. Some kids at school are confused about it but he’s more confused at their confusion. How do they not know what a Bruno is? Isn’t it a human thing?

Loves to annotate his books. Associates certain books/book quotes with the people he loves and will give them those books or repeat the quote to them.

Though Genova is much more accepting than Portorosso, he is still bullied pretty badly when Giulia isn’t around, and sometimes even when she is. He pretends nothing happens or that it doesn’t bother him, but it does. It bothers him so, so much. Alberto can see right through him with ease and is there to remind him that everything is okay and he’s still loved. It helps, but not as much as Alberto thinks it does.

Even with the bullying, Luca loves school so, so much. That being said, he loves summer and being in Portorosso more.

Does that “look me in the eyes. You know I love you right?” thing he and his mother do to everyone he loves.

Alberto:

There is nothing he loves more than harassing Giulia. Being her brother, he loves to tease her, but will fight anyone who does the same.

Once decked Ercole. Got in trouble but Massimo secretly gave him a high five.

Cleaned up the island and erased the tallies he made for his father. He put some of Giulia’s fairy lights in there and has a few extra pillows, books in every corner and drawings all across the tower. He still has a lot of his human artifacts, but most of them are gone since he needs money for a Vespa.

His new tally board has “Reunion” scrawled at the top and its for waiting for his sister and best friend to return home.

Loves being a lifeguard.

Is super close to Machiavelli now and even adopted a stray to be his friend. Or uh… more than a friend, considering the big litter the cat soon fathered.

Alberto named all the kittens after fish.

He always draws things for Luca and eagerly waits his arrival.

Also has a massive sweet tooth, bigger than Luca’s.

Stores Luca’s letters away under his bed.

He and Massimo made Giulia’s hideout a proper treehouse and it’s now a study spot.

Has tons of books about Vespas. Massimo taught him to read and write.

He’s more self confident about his “human expertise” since he does it his own way.

One of the messiest eaters I swear to god-

Doesn’t care much about space, but he’ll listen to Luca ramble about it for hours without complaint.

Doesn’t really have anything he’s super interested in other than Vespas like how Luca likes space, but I might change my mind about that.

Loves watermelon!

His recklessness causes him to have as many bruises and scrapes as Luca’s clumsiness does, but he doesn’t care about putting bandaids on.

Alberto’s letters are pretty short but great!

Definitely bottles things up until he can’t anymore but he’s trying to get better.

Part of him feels guilty about catching and eating fish, but it’s hinted seamonsters eat fish so I’m accepting that as canon and saying he feels slightly less guilty about it. Definitely enjoys pasta more.

Loves the snow, especially when it means snowball fights. (Definitely throws them as hard as he can at Ercole. Son of a bitch deserves it.)

Oh yeah, he swears now. He’s heard a few swears around while making deliveries around the year and catches on. He makes a few of his own, too.

He just makes up words of his own as well as phrases. He doesn’t just convince Luca to say them. He convinces Massimo & Giulia as well as Luca’s fam. It’s a big, fun inside joke.

Loves turning into a sea monster and acting silly to make the kids around town smile.

Honestly he just loves being a sea monster. It’s great to be him. He feels free. It’s not as good a feeling as being on a Vespa, but it’s something.

He stares longingly at every Vespa he sees.

He probably named that girl cat Vespa or some variation of now that I think of it.

Giulia:

I see a lot of headcanons of her with glasses and I gotta say I love it! So, glasses Giulia!!!

Tallest of the three! Alberto hates her for it but she loves it.

She actually takes after her father more than she does her mother, contrary to popular belief.

Though she loves space, after her meeting with the boys, she’s thinking of marine biology. She stays up late every night researching everything aquatic. She constantly asks the boys about sea things and visits in that diver suit whenever she can.

She bullies Alberto as often as he bullies her. Their play fights look so aggressive that people think they’re actually trying to kill each other.

She’s constantly torn between chopping off all her hair or letting it grow out. She settles on leaving it medium length and tie it up.

A very yellow person! It’s everywhere. She loves it so much! The color of happiness, baby.

She’s the first to call Alberto part of the family, saying in a letter that her school wants to meet her brother. She got a letter from Massimo saying Alberto sobbed upon reading it.

Loves to paint with her mom but thinks bike riding is better. She loves that bike.

Harasses Alberto to put a sidecar on his Vespa for her. (Inspired by a drawing by aishimation on Instagram!)

Though she adore her mother, she’s a daddy’s girl and loves him so much.

Can and will punch anyone who calls her brother and her best friend a monster straight in the jaw

Hates her school uniform

Will also pour water all over Alberto just to piss him off

Summertime? I think you mean “training for the Portorosso Cup and also attack Alberto and Luca with a hose for a few months”

She loves to dance

Wants to get tattoos when she’s older

Very much a feminist and doesn’t care how much trouble she gets in for voicing what she knows is right

---

More on the way probably. These dumb gay Italian fish and their ginger friend is all I think about dhdhjdhdvdh

[misslilli]

Thank you guys, for your feedback <3 This turned out differently than I had planned 😅 hope you still like it!

Felix Felicis

MSR. AU. M. | tagging @today-in-fic | read on AO3

Chapter 56 - A Change In Perspective

[ DS ]

On the drive up to the mall, the girls are so wrapped in an animated discussion about shapes and fabrics and colors they want me to try on, they don't take notice of the fact that I’m not partaking in the conversation. Staring out the window, I’m starting to overthink this whole thing. Absolutely mortified at the thought about parading their choices of naughty underwear in front of them and a whole store full of people.

Sometimes, I wish I were as confident as Holly is in her body, instead of being riddled with self-consciousness and body image issues - the list of attributes I hate about myself is long and very detailed, too short, too flat, too pale, too many scars and freckles, too silly, too clumsy, too many imperfections to count.

I'm neither sexy nor suave enough to pull off the garments the girls are talking about - I'll just try on a few for their sake, try not to make a face or die of embarrassment while doing so and maybe get a piece or two to get them off my back.

Then, I'll stuff them all the way into the back of my closet and pray to God they'll never ask me about them ever again.

"Alright, first we'll tackle the basics and then we'll move on to the more fun things, yes?" Once we’ve arrived at the mall, Holly is out of her mind with glee, rubbing her hands together before placing them on my shoulder, pushing me through the sliding double doors, into the strange new world of Agent Provocateur.

Greeted by their a bit too loud ambient music and the strong scent of what must be one of their fragrances, I'm shocked and overwhelmed by the vast selection of garments on display, bras and panties. A myriad of see-through lace and silk and criss-crossing straps that send a blush up my neck and into my cheeks. Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

Drawn in by the familiar, I drift away from the girls towards the basic section, comforting beige and black and white, no lace or frills or see-through anything. I'm stopped by Holly's fingers curling around my arm with an admonishing glare in her eyes. "Immediately no! I-mmediately no! Wrong section, D, come on."

She tugs me away from the safety of basic colors I longingly gaze back at and towards the back of the store, into the sea of more seductive colors, ravishing red, exhilarating emerald and dazzling dark navy.

Stomach twisting and mouth suddenly dry, I nervously hold onto the selection the girls push into my hands from all sides, wishing I could crawl underneath one of the tables to die from the shame of wondering what my dad would say if he knew what I was doing in peace.

"Mhkay, I think we've covered all the basics, D, let's go try 'em on! I can't wait to see what it looks like on, especially this one!"

To my surprise, and immense relief, the changing rooms are not as public as the ones I'm used to, they're each curtained off from the rest of the store and the other shoppers. The only thing that worries me more than being seen in my underwear is having to see it myself, in the well-lit full-length mirrors on every side. Oh Jesus, no.

——

[ Sarah ]

"This is taking forever, how long can it take to change into underwear… at least at La Perla we get champagne while we wait…," Holly complains, lounging in a velvet armchair with a bored look on her face. It's been a while, indeed, what is she doing in there? I step up close to the curtain to see what's going on, maybe she can't decide on what to try on first.

"D, are you okay in there? Did you get it on alright?"

As an answer, I get a reluctantly drawn out "Yeeees." from behind the curtain.

"Well, get out here, we're dying to see!"

"Nooo…" At her small, whiny voice, the thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea crosses my mind. Our plan was to make her feel sexy, not ashamed.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus, if you're not out here by the count of three, I'm coming in there to get you!" Holly is at the end of her patience, apparently, ready on the edge of her seat to make good on her promise.

After a moment, the curtain is pulled back slowly, and out comes our friend wearing the most gorgeous black lace two-piece and the most uncomfortable expression on her pained face I have ever seen. The ensemble looks so perfect on her creamy white skin, even with her arms crossed in front of her and the embarrassed blush, that even Holly, who is never short of things to say, is stunned into silence with the rest of us.

"Is it that bad?," she mistakes our silence to mean we keep our mouths shut so we don't have to say something unkind, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Bad? What are you talking about? You're a fucking knock-out, woman!" Of course, Holly is the first one to regain her ability to speak, incredulously jumping out of her seat and across the room in a flash.

"Really?" The shy, hopeful look that appears on our friend's face is so adorable, I can't help but smile and adjust her twisted strap, making sure it fits her alright.

"Yes, really. Does it fit alright? When you move? Or does it pinch in places?" Arms still wrapped tightly around her middle, she shakes her head at my questions, shifting from one foot to the other, avoiding to look in the mirrors at all costs.

Holly senses her discomfort and with a gentleness that's quite uncharacteristic for our blunt friend, she unwraps the protective arms and turns a horrified D towards the mirror. "Tell me what you see, D. Positive things only. What do you like about it?" Lip drawn between her teeth and a crease between her brows, it takes a few minutes of consideration for the reluctant answers to come.

"I hmm… I like how it feels, it's surprisingly comfortable and soft… I like the contrast of the black on my skin… and that it's sheer but not too revealing… the lace trim across looks amazing…" With a tiny sliver of a grin, she twists just a little, and adds "I also love how good my ass looks in these!" Alex, our quiet observer, only slowly nods her agreement, probably thankful that she's not in D's shoes right now.

It's such a wonderful experience, to witness D's confidence growing a smidge with each new ensemble she tries on to our praises, cheers and eventually, cat-calls that don't make her uncomfortable anymore but puts a bashful little upturn of her lips on her face. An upturn that falters a bit once we're at the cash register, confidence does come at a hefty price in boutiques like these.

———

[ Holly ]

Holy smokes, I had no idea that my innocent, grain of rice-sized duckling friend would actually turn out to look this smoking in the right pieces of lingerie. Who knew it only takes I was a bit worried at first, that this might end up a disaster of a shopping trip but as the day progresses, it becomes clear that it was the right thing to do, to help her start to overcome her absolutely unfounded self-confidence issues.

With an inward giggle, I have to admit to myself that if I were so inclined, I'd hit that in a heartbeat, no questions asked. And if this doesn't get a handwritten thank you note addressed to us from a certain gentleman, I'll eat my imaginary hat!

We're already a bit tipsy from the champagne in the private changing room at La Perla, waiting for the showing of the last item I personally picked out, the piece de resistance, the cherry on the sundae, the sinful red ensemble that will be the secret underneath of her Valentine's Day dress. It's a complicated number with various clasps and snaps but we're happily occupied toasting our successful outing.

"Helloo, girls!" I have to do no one, but two double takes to make sure I'm not mistaking the silky-voiced goddess with her arm raised to rest on the doorpost of the changing room she's leaning against, for someone else. What happened to the one who was too shy to look at herself in a mirror a few hours ago? For fuck's sakes, and she's still wearing her heels! Lord have mercy on the heart of the one who gets to unveil that on Valentine's Day.

———

[ FM ]

"… and this, I need this, and that one too… Ooh a book about dolphins, I literally know nothing about dolphins yet!" I fancy myself a reasonably strong guy but even I buckle under the weight of the books Felix piles into my arms at Barnes&Nobles. He's making good use of the gift card he received for Christmas from a secret Santa I strongly suspect wears rainbow skirts and t-shirts with silly sayings on them, like Thou shalt not try me ~ Teachers 24:7 or Don't make me use my teacher voice on the occasions she's not handing out presents. Slipping them into little boys's backpacks when they're not looking.

"I'm hungryyy Dad!," my son whines for the thousandth time, nudging me repeatedly at the cash register to get me to cave and take him to the food court for greasy fries and even greasier burgers, his absolute favorite.

Taking the bag from the shop girl, who, after a quick glance at my left hand, comments how very sweet it is for a Dad to take his son shopping on a Sunday afternoon, I force a smile onto my face. At times, the flirty attention a single Dad receives in the most mundane places like the grocery store or in this case, a bookstore, is quite the ego-boost.

In the past, I actually would have responded in kind, to see if I could get this girl's number in under five minutes, but these days, there's only one number I really need in my phone. The one that belongs to the shorty that has me wrapped tightly around her little finger and so smitten, in fact, that I find myself baking and decorating cupcakes, in an apron, on a Sunday, like Martha fucking Steward.

Felix, in his impatience to get to the foodcourt as fast as humanly possible, races up the staircase while I take my sweet time heading for the escalator - I'm not carrying his books up the stairs. Besides, him and I have spotted the group of friends, hands full of shopping bags and so engrossed in their conversation, who happen to step onto the escalator right in front of me.

Momentarily distracted by the only pair of shapely legs I'm allowed to stare at and appreciate for more than a passing glance, my ears perk up at the sound of my girlfriend's giggle. "You're absolutely right, Mulder will absolutely lose all his marbles!" Ooh this is going to be fun.

I step up the one escalator step that separates us, leaning in very close. "What exactly am I going to lose my marbles over?"

My amusement at her freezing in front of me and the slow pivot that brings me face-to-face with the picture of mortification, knows no bounds and I lean onto the handrail, tilting my head sideways to await her explanation, giving her my very best smirk.

"Uuuh… the… uhm…" Watching the usually so eloquent Miss Scully struggling for the right words is delightful, her friends sharing the same unveiled amusement until Holly finally has mercy on her floundering friend, holding out the bag in her hand smiling a little too sweetly.

"I think this is yours, D!"

The bag dangling from her finger sends my mind into a fun little merry-go-round of flashing images that almost have me stumble and fall over backwards, right down the escalator to an early demise. Jesus Christ, I'm losing my marbles already, and I haven't even snuck a glance at what's hiding underneath Agent Provocateur's pink tissues that peek out the top.

———

[ DS ]

Oh this is awkward alright, but Mulder's smirk disappearing the second he set eyes on that bag, replaced by an open-mouthed "O" and how he's stunned into speechlessness is worth the blush that I've been wearing the entire day darkening a few shades.

"Thanks Holly." I put on a show of rearranging the bags in my hands so La Perla is featured front and center and now I'm a tad afraid I'll give my poor boyfriend a heart-attack, his glazed-over eyes glued to the newest revelation of what we've been buying here today. He almost stumbles once we've reached the top and step off the elevator and I see Felix waiting for us, his annoyed expression transforming into a toothy grin once he sees who his dad is with.

"We're just heading up to the food court. Are you boys hungry?"

"Uh… huh," Mulder's still distracted, trying to sneakily get a look into my bags and I yank them away at his sneaky finger's attempt at pushing aside the tissue.

"Nuh huh, don't even try, that's a secret!"

"Mhh I love uncovering… secrets!" A slow grin takes over his sheepish face, accompanied by suggestively wriggling eyebrows, baffling me with his ability to turn anything I say into an innuendo. "Will you girls do us the honor of joining us for the mall's finest dining?"

For the first time since I've known the little guy, Felix looks up at his dad impressed and incredibly proud at his clever idea.

——

[ Alex ]

For a quiet observer like me, this scenario should be fun to witness, from the moment Mr. Mulder invites us to join them for fries and burgers, interrupted from putting his arm around his girlfriend by his overly-enthusiastic son squeezing himself between them, tugging both of them towards the food court. The exasperated look he shoots at Felix quite literally flying over the little ones head.

I'm amused to catch the warning glare Mr. Mulder gives his son once we reach an empty table, that clearly states "If you think of sitting between us too, think again little man!". He's old-school, I also notice, pulling out chairs for D and Felix as well, getting food for the whole table, awarding him a few brownie points in my assessment of character.

Felix digs into his food the second the tray is placed in front of him, distracting him enough not to witness the affectionate little kiss that's exchanged as a greeting between the two lovebirds. As usual, I don't partake in the conversation much, not because I don't have anything to contribute, but because I love to people watch in peace. You learn a lot of things just sitting back and paying attention.

They're an attractive couple, these two, their interactions more interesting to observe curiously and notice the little things going on during their easily flowing conversation.

Little things like his arm draped casually across the back of her chair to toy with a strand of hair absent-mindedly, twirling it around his finger or her hand resting possessively low on his thigh, reaching up to brush off crumbs or pick a piece of lint off his sweater, or the little occasional sideways glances that results in a small quirk of their lips when they catch the other gazing back.

And then there’s little Felix to observe, who wastes absolutely no time, once he’s finished eating, in placing himself smack into the center of attention, pulling out all the books he got with D’s gift card to show us proudly, confessing with a frown that he’s so sad he can’t thank his secret Santa because he doesn’t know who he is.

His dad seems to have guessed who, drawing Santa close to place a kiss into her hair and the look of sheer adoration he’s rewarded with is definitely not missed by the silent observer.

The calmness that radiates from their connection is a welcome change for all of us, from the superficial, frantic, red-flag-ignoring, tear-filled situationships we’ve had to pick up the broken pieces after. And I couldn't be happier she has found herself not only one, but two boys who absolutely adore her and appreciate how wonderful my friend really is.

———

[ DS ]

It's mind-boggling how much can happen in one weekend, two days packed with events that change almost everything coming to a surprisingly calm end. Felix is skipping along with the girls, talking Holly and Alex's ear off, taking his chance to charm the sweet Beejezus out of the two friends he doesn't know that well yet.

Which gives his dad and I a chance to hang back a few steps, bags dangling from his free arm that's not wrapped around my shoulders.

"You're a cruel woman, you know that? The anticipation is killing me and you're not helping, with that!" Chuckling as he holds up the bag to emphasize his point, I give his waist a little placating squeeze, to tell him the anticipation is killing me too.

Strolling through the mall, fitted perfectly underneath his arm is the first time I don't feel too short at all, or too imperfect or too anything. From the looks he gives me, to him, I'm perfectly fine just the way I am.

[q-gorgeous]

Am I a Ghost? Fear Me

fanfiction

ao3

Valerie, hoping to improve her skills and learn more about anti-ghost tech, interns at Fenton Works for @kinglazrus

word count: 1069

yo hi laz

“Hi there, Valerie!”

Seconds after knocking on the door, Valerie was greeted by a very energetic Jack Fenton who looked like he was trying very hard to contain his excitement.

“Hi, Mr. Fenton.” She said, smiling up at him.

“Come in, come in.” He stepped out of the way. “Maddie’s upstairs but she should be down shortly. I can’t wait to get started! We’ve never had an intern before!”

Valerie smiled and bit her tongue. She knew why no one wanted to intern here. Everyone was getting more and more interested in learning about ghosts but no one wanted to listen to the Fenton’s ramble on about them everyday. But Valerie needed to learn more about ghosts to help with her ghost hunting and the Fenton Works internship was paid anyways. It was a good option all around.

“I can’t wait to see what you guys all do downstairs. I’ve been down there a handful of times but I don’t think you guys were ever actually working when I was there.”

Jack laughed. “Amazing stuff we do in the lab. We engineer stuff, study ectoplasmic samples, research the behavior of ghosts. All sorts of neat things that we’ll get into soon!”

Valerie nodded and was about to respond when she was interrupted.

“Hi Valerie!” Maddie said from the top of the stairs. “You’re here! I think it’s about time we head down to the lab and get started for today.”

“You betcha, come on Valerie!” Jack ran out of the living room and into the kitchen, already disappearing by the time Maddie and Valerie made it into the kitchen.

“Okay.” Maddie said as they walked down the stairs into the basement. “The first thing we’re going to do today is get your measurements so we can make you a jumpsuit. It’s very important to wear it when in the lab for safety, no matter what our children and their friends think. Do you have any particular colors you’d like your suit to be in?”

Valerie pondered it for a few moments. “What about red and black?”

“Excellent. Now just stand here while I take a few measurements.”

Valerie stood still and moved as Maddie directed while she took note of Valerie’s measurements. Jack was on the other side of the lab listing off the name of each invention that he picked up and telling her what each one did. 

“And this one is the ghost gabber! It translates the wails of the ghost language into something we can understand! It also still registers when a ghost is speaking in a human language which is good for confirming if someone is a ghost or not.” Jack turned on the invention.

“Wow, that’s cool. I didn’t know that ghosts had their own language.”

“Wow, that’s cool. I didn’t know that ghosts had their own language. Fear me.”

Valerie frowned at the invention and her gaze flicked back up to Jack’s face when he laughed. 

“We finally got this thing to stop picking up on Danny and now it’s registering you too! I guess we never actually fixed it.” Jack said, turning it over in his hands.

Her brows furrowed. “Danny?”

“Ever since our portal started working all of our inventions started picking Danny up and trying to tell us he was a ghost.” Maddie said as she laughed. “Which is ludicrous because we know our son and we know he’s not a ghost.”

“But why does he set off the inventions?”

Maddie paused for a moment. “He was involved in an accident with the ghost portal, the day it started working, which is why lab safety is so important.”

Jack nodded. “Ever since Vlad had his accident in college, we upped our safety protocol as high as we could but that doesn’t really stop stubborn teenagers.”

Valerie’s blood ran cold. “Vlad? As in Vlad Masters?” 

“Oh yeah, he was our buddy back in college. It was the three of us against the world!” Jack stared off into space longingly. “But he was hospitalized for a long time after his accident and he never wanted to see us.”

Valerie’s brain was starting to turn as Mr. Fenton kept talking. 

She knew half ghosts existed and that both Vlad and Dani were halfas but-

Oh god she was so dumb. She knew about Dani and Phantom’s relationship to one another, but she never stopped to consider how much she looked like Danny when she found her in her human form. Or stopped to think what Dani being both human and ghost meant for Phantom, especially after seeing Vlad transform. 

But what did that mean for her?

She showed up on the ghost gabber just like Danny did, but she never had a lab accident where ectoplasm or ghosts were involved. The only thing-

Her suit.

She could feel her suit tingling just under her skin, available to her with the command of a simple thought. She didn’t have to store it anywhere on her anymore, not like how her old one was in her backpack. This one was just there all the time. She never stopped to actually consider the implications of that ghost melding her suit with her beyond having easy access to her equipment that her dad couldn’t take away. 

Was she a half ghost too? Was she just severely ecto-contaminated? Was-

“Alright, I’m all done, Valerie!”

She started as Maddie cheerily announced the end of her measurement gathering. The woman had stood back and moved to a cabinet and was looking at different pieces of fabric.

“The earliest I can get this done by will be two days from now, but for today we’ll just continue going over what each of our inventions do and seeing if there are any others that we need to tweak like we did for Danny!” Jack said.

“Okay, yeah. What does that one do?” Valerie pointed at one that she didn’t recognize. 

“That’s the Fenton Ghost Weasel! It…”

Jack’s voice slowly faded from Valerie’s hearing as the implication that all of these weapons could hurt her arose in her mind. If she set off the ghost gabber, who knew what could happen with the other ones. 

“I caught Phantom with this bad boy once! Had him trapped inside here real good! Until he, uh, escaped! Yeah.”

The more Valerie learned, the more and more it really did seem like a good option all around.

[afeb]

Draco Malfoy - Intentions

Ain’t smut @smutsonian but she’s fluffyyyy

I smiled warmly at Draco from across the hall, Luna shoving my shoulder and laughing as I did so. Dracos forehead set in a deep frown as he looked away.

“I don’t know why you try!” Luna giggled. “He’s never dated anyone.”

“I heard he was with Pan.” I said as I longingly gazed at him. “He’s just so handsome.”

Luna rolled her eyes, looking over at Cho. “Will you tell her?”

Cho shrugged and shoved more desert into her mouth. “I’ve tried, a lot.”

“Come on let’s go,” I sighed. “If I look at him any longer I might get pregnant.”

“You’re evil!” Cho cackled as we walked out the Great Hall, I stole another glance at Draco and my stomach flipped when I saw he was watching me leave.

I’d had a crush on him forever, everyone knew. I was always teased for it but I ignored them, something seemed different with him, like he wasn’t who everyone thought he was. The next few weeks I continued to smile and wave at Draco around the castle, always being met with a confused stare.

Cho and I were sat in the astronomy tower on a Saturday night, a cheap bottle of wine between us we’d managed to trick a store owner in Hogsmead to sell us.

“I just don’t get why you like him!” She said as she grasped the bottle out of my hand.

“Have you seen him?” I sighed. “He’s so handsome! His hair, his eyes, how tall he is.” I listed off.

“But he’s a Malfoy.” She handed the bottle back. “They’re stuck up and nasty, and you’ve heard the rumours.”

I took a large mouthful of wine. “What rumours?”

“You haven’t heard?” Cho turned to face me. “He’s a Death Eater, Y/N.”

I scoffed and waved her off. “Is not.”

“He is! Some of the Slytherin boys have said they’ve seen the Dark Mark on him.” She told honestly.

I frowned deeply. “He can’t be...he’s too young.”

She shrugged and stood. “I’m just saying, if you’re going to chase him, you better know what you’re chasing.”

I shrugged again. “I’ll think about it.”

“You coming?” She asked as she scooped up her bag.

I shook my head. “No, I’m going to watch the moon for a bit.” I smiled. “Give the rest of the wine to Luna will you?”

Cho nodded and shoved the bottle deep in her bag, bidding me goodnight. I stood from the step I was sat on, moving towards the railing and gazing up the moon.

I soft smile spread on my lips. “Hello, old friend.” The moon shone down on me. “It’s been a while since we spoke, how have you been?”

Silence.

“I’m glad,” I giggled. “Well I’ve met a boy. He’s a Malfoy. I know I know, before you say anything he’s different. I know he is.”

I jumped as something fell from behind me. I grabbed my wand and pointed it in the direction of the noise. “Who’s there?” I snapped.

Out of the darkness came Draco, and my cheeks immediately heated. “It’s just me.” He grumbled. “Who were you talking to?”

“The moon.” I turned back around. “What did you hear?”

He came to stand beside me. “My name.” He said. “What were you saying?”

I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.” I looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Nothing,” he snapped back. “I could ask the same of you.”

I giggled at his bad temper. “Don’t tell anyone, but the girls and I come here on Saturdays to drink whatever alcohol we can find.”

He rolled his eyes. “Charming.” I giggled again. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Laugh at me.” He said.

I frowned. “I don’t laugh at you,” I said. “I find you funny.”

“I didn’t say a joke.” He quipped, obviously puzzled.

“It’s the way you said it.” I explained. “Do you not like it when I laugh?”

“I find it irritating.” I laughed again at his words, and I could’ve sworn I saw a faint smile on his lips.

“Well I’m glad.”

“Why?”

“Because that way you’ll remember me.” I sighed. “Are you dating Pan?”

He scoffed. “No, I don’t date anyone.”

“Why?” I asked, walking over the steps and sitting down. Draco came to stand in front of me, blocking the moonlight from my face.

“Because everyone here is an idiot.” He grumbled.

“Even me?”

He paused for a moment. “Well...you’re smarter than others.” He half-complimented.

I giggled once again. “Thank you, I’ll make an effort to be as smart as you.”

His hands were shoved deep in his pockets. “Why are you...being so nice to me?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know...I think, deep down, you’re sweet and kind. I think people judged you before you had any say in who you were.”

He stared at me for a moment. “I’m not sweet,” Draco mocked. “I’ve done things that would shock you.”

“I’m sure you have, everyone’s done things that shock others.” I smiled warmly. “But that doesn’t mean you are what you do.”

He opened his mouth to argue back before closing it quickly, rolling his eyes and taking a seat next to me.

“What do you want from me?” He asked coldly.

I scoffed. “Why do I have to want something from you? Can I not just want to be friends?”

“You don’t want to be friends.” He quipped.

“You’re right, but you’d never date me, you don’t date anybody.” I sighed sadly, gazing up at the moon.

“Why wouldn’t I date you?” He whispered after a moment.

“Because I’m half-blood, and I’m in Ravenclaw, and there are far prettier girls in Slytherin than me.” I listed off quietly.

He didn’t say anything for a while. “I don’t care that you’re a half-blood, my father is the one who cares.” He said. “And Ravenclaws aren’t all bad, and you’re definitely prettier than any Slytherin I know.”

I turned and smiled brightly. “Really?”

He smiled a little and nodded. “Really.” My eyes flicked down to his lips, my head slowly leaning in. He panicked and stood, my cheeks burning with rejection. “You don’t want to get involved with me.” He ran his hands through his hair.

I stood quickly. “Why?”

“Because I’m bad! I’m the bad guy!” He dramatically said. “And you...you’re so...you...” he stumbled over his words.

“I’m what?” I pried.

“You’re so good.” He sighed heavily.

“Then why don’t you want me?”

“I’d ruin you.”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind.” I said.

His head snapped to me. “But I would, I would mind.” He quickly said. “My intentions aren’t good.”

I stepped warily closer to him. “What are you intentions?”

He gazed down at me. “I’m not sure yet.”

We stood looking at each other for a moment before I slowly leant up and planted an inccocent kiss against his cheek. His hands rested on my hips for a second before retracting.

“Well, when you know, find me.” I smiled before hurrying away, leaving the one and only Draco Malfoy blushing.

[thetaoofzoe]

Fic: Sy vs The Kitten 1/1

Title: Sy vs the Kitten (tm) - Round One

Pairing: There is an established coupledom between Sy and The Wife (that’s You! 💕💕) and it is mentioned, but the main showdown is between the Beard and the Claws. Captain Syverson x You

Rating: Fluff fluff fluffity fluff. You want it, I got it for you. 💖💖

Summary: A kitten, a frosty morning, and a gruff green beret with a heart of gold.

Word count: 1975

@angreav​ and @angelicwolf98​  as promised :)

also @thelastsock​ and @wolvesandhoundshowltogether​  I JUST saw your exchange regarding a feral reader/Sy. This isn’t it, but it’s close ;)

Want to read more? Click for my Masterlist

In Mid-November, it was expected to be cold in the mountains of northern Montana, but, when he awoke to a murky Friday morning, it wasn't just cold, it was down right freezing. With his eyes closed, he lay in warmth and security of his bed thinking how easy it would be to merely turn over and go back to sleep.

But, there was work to be done and with a sigh he sat up, pushed aside the heavy quilts and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Scrubbing both hands through his closely cropped hair and feeling his sleep warmed skin prickling in the chill, Sy stayed there a moment longer and mentally ticked over his to-do list.

Behind him, hidden under the mound of quilts, his wife groaned, clenched into a tight ball and he received an ear full of muffled complaining telling him to either get back into bed and put that furnace he called a body to good use or get up, but damn him for letting out the heat!

Chuckling, he nearly lay down again, desperate to do the former, but as he had to start his day, he reluctantly chose the latter. He got up, spread the rest of the bed clothes about his wife's already buried form and then fondly whacked her bum with an open hand, earning an incomprehensible string of words that may or may not have been  a promise of bodily harm.

Specifically /his/ body coming to harm.

Amused by her idle threat, he left her to sleep and quietly went into the adjoining bathroom.

Sy showered and dressed and followed by his rescue dog, Aika,  who met him on the stairway landing, he descended to the lower level where the scent of coffee greeted him.  The previous night, his ever thoughtful wife had programmed the coffee maker to ensure that hot coffee was waiting for him when he got up and even as he poured a cup for himself, he longed to go upstairs, get into bed and pull her back into his arms.

He grumbled to himself,  as the want of his sweet-smelling wife rose like a aching knot in his throat.  He was halfway between putting the cup back onto the counter when the big shaggy Alsatian bumped expectantly against his legs, distracting him.

'Right, right, Aika. I remember,' he laughed and he gave her, her morning snack.

No use wasting more time, he thought.

A stiff dark brown canvas jacket hung from a hook by the back door. Shrugging into it and pulling on a matching hand knitted beanie (one of many homecoming presents from his wife)  he opened the door and stepped out into the cold, crisp morning.

Cradling the steaming cup of coffee, Sy stood on the wide back porch surveying the stretch of land and the forest beyond. He  loved spending his downtime at the family ranch as it was so far and away from his normal chaotic hell. The air was clean and fresh and the only gunshot he heard was the occasional crack of a distant hunting rifle as someone took down their dinner. He found clarity and serenity at the ranch and the quality time he spent with his wife there was sufficient to keep him sated and strong enough to face going back into service.

His thoughts drifted to the woman in his bed again and a contented smile curved his lips. He was definitely going to finish up his chores quickly and spend the rest of the day worshipping her luscious body. That would certainly warm her up.

Sy really had only one job that morning before breakfast and it was  to ensure that the corn silos were all buttoned up and that the paperwork on their contents was properly filled out. That meant getting into the truck and driving the half mile of dirt road to the edge of the ranch where the trio of silver silos stood.

He put his now empty coffee mug on the the narrow table sat between two rocking chairs by the back door and whistling softly to the dog, he trotted down the stairs and walked towards his truck.

Aika, who had been curled on a soft handmade dog bed at his feet, busily smelling whatever Alsatians could smell between porch deck boards, snorted and pushed up and to her feet. She yawned, squeaked and shook her lanky body, but remained standing on the top step looking down at him.

Sy looked back at her and she regarded him placidly. He knew that Aika loved being in the mountains and was becoming very accustomed to the luxurious life he had been able to provide for her. But sometimes she just wanted to laze around and be spoiled.

'Aika,' he said gently, patting his thigh. 'C'mon, girl. We'll get this over with, ok? Then breakfast.'

The word 'breakfast' perked her up and her long tail shot into the air behind her. She wagged it furiously but instead of following Sy down the stairs, she turned and went to sniff around the back door. She pawed it a little and barked to be let in, for breakfast was only served inside.

'Aika!' he laughed. 'Come on now, girl. C'mon.'

She whipped into a circle and looked longingly at the door before sighing and bouncing down the stairs.

Sy fished his truck keys out of his jacket pocket and walked up the gravel path to where he'd parked the truck. Aika followed and then alerted by something,  stopped suddenly, and frantically sniffed the air. She hunched to snuffle at the front grill of the truck before dropping flat to wedge herself beneath the chassis.

'Aika!' Sy snapped going  to see what had captivated the dog so much. 

He crouched, reaching for her collar to try to drag her out from beneath the truck. 'What's goin' on with you.'

Aika didn't give up.

She continued to bark and bark until he relented and popped the hood. He used a small Maglite to quickly scan the top of engine for the thing that had whipped his dog into a frenzy. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary and about to slam shut the hood again, a small noise caused him to pause.

Aika heard it too and barked once, inquisitively. Sy glanced down at the dog who tilted her head up to meet his gaze.

Sy stepped up on the chrome front bumper, ducked under the raised hood and leaned in for a closer look. He wove the torch's beam in and around the engine parts and he huffed out a noise of surprise when the stark white circle of light fell upon a small grey furry lump.

Said furry lump promptly lifted big watery eyes, squinted in the bright light and meowed.

This barely audible sound sent Aika into another frenzy of barking and she attempted to clamber up onto the bumper and into the engine.

'Stop it! Sit!' Sy chided her glancing back at the house and hoping the noise hadn't disturbed his sleeping wife. With a huff Aika obediently plopped her rump onto the gravel and waited.

'Damn,' he muttered, thinking that if Aika hasn't alerted him to their stowaway, he would have had a mess on his hands later.

Sy reached into the engine and tried to curve his big hand about the tiny kitten body but his heroics were immediately rewarded with the violent wrath of teeth and claws. With a startled yelp of pain, he snatched his hand back and involuntarily jerked up and banged the back of his head against the underside of the hood.

He bit down hard on another swear and rubbed the back of his throbbing head. Sy glanced down at Aika who whined with apparent sympathy. But, it was probably more amusement than sympathy.

'Yeah, thanks,' he grumbled in response. 'Aw right.'

Clearing his throat, Sy trained the light on the kitten again who now glared up at him with as much kitteny menace as it could muster.

He tried again to fish the fuzzball from its hiding place but unable to get a good grip, he drew back again.

Need two hands, he thought.

He slid the tail end of the Maglight into his mouth and using one hand, he corralled the kitten into his other and managed to squish it gently into a hissing ball between his lightly cupped hands. Sy held the kitten against his side, stored the torch in his back pocket and then rearranged the kitten to get a better hold on it.  Nose up in the air, Aika tore circles around him, wanting to get closer to the dew wet and shivering kitten.

'Now, where's yer mama?' Sy asked the sad, big-eyed face.

The kitten meowed pitifully, made an attempt to escape but decided instead to nestle into the heat of the man's comforting hands. And, with a sigh, he tucked the ball of fur and claws into the breast pocket of his over-shirt to help keep the kitten warm with his body.

'Anybody else?' Sy asked Aika and nodded to the truck.

The dog stared up at him, much too interested in the pocket hitch hiker to answer.  Sy stepped back up onto the bumper and not only finished his investigation of the engine from the top, but also from the bottom.

Nothing. All clear of sheltering fur balls.

'Right,' he said to both animals now in his protection. 'Let's go.'

He helped Aika jump up into the tall cab and slamming the door, he walked around the truck to the driver's side and climbed in. Rescuing kittens aside, there were still chores to be done.

**

There was a woman in the kitchen when he returned with the kitten and Aika in tow.

She looked up from from her coffee and circular needles and when he finished hanging up his jacket and stuffing the beanie into the jacket's pocket, she put aside her unfinished work.

'I promised you a beating,' she teased with a bright sunny smile.

Sy looked at her a moment, hand protectively cupped about the lump in his plaid shirt's breast pocket.

'What?'

He'd forgotten about her sleepy threats.

'For this morning.'

He thought a moment and then laughed a dirty little confident laugh.

'Oh,' he replied and supressed a grin.

He approached her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. When she lifted her face, he kissed her lips.  'Whenever you want to throw down,' he said, grabbing her chin between his fingers to keep her head up. 'I'm ready.'

She smiled with interest before she was distracted.

'What's that?' she asked, tapping the back of his hand still cupped against his shirt.

Sy drew back, gently extracted the sleepy kitten and presented it to her.

'It was hiding in the engine of my truck,' he explained and smiled a little when she reached both hands out to accept the kitten with a soft coo.

Sy poured another cup of coffee and leaned against the counter to watch his wife walk around the kitchen to find appropriate materials to clean and swaddle the kitten. She opened a can of tuna and they both watched the animal eat its fill.  

Once the kitten had fallen asleep in its new warm cocoon, she handed the bundle to Sy. Kissing his bearded cheek, she smiled.

'Once you save a life...' she said and left him alone in the kitchen with his new fluffy responsibility.

Aika sat before him and watched the exchange intently. Sy leaned down and presented the bundle to the dog who sniffed it excitedly and then immediately began licking the tiny head.

'Aw right, aw right. Take it easy.'

Sy straightened and continued to drink his coffee as he studied the little pointy face.

'I'm responsible for you now. I'll take care of ya, don't worry.'

-end :)