#very cranky when I’m hungry

[salty-icecream]

18 years old and I’m gonna cry over leaving my stuffed narwhal at home

I need him to sleep

[ennabear]

I'm begging you to write about mean!abby and reader finding a kitten in one of the buildings, Abby not letting her save the kitten but reader cries all night so Abby HAS to go back and get the kitten...

a/n: plsss this is so cute 😭 thanks for the request baby ilysm and i may or may not have written too much about this 🤗💗💗

daily click / boycott tlou / help these families evacuate / free palestine

abby wasn’t mean necessarily, just very strict. she knew you even better than the back of her hand, and she liked that you depended on her for everything.

hungry? ask abby to make something for you. tired? good, it’s almost your bedtime, don’t want you being cranky in the morning. can’t reach something? better go get abby to grab it for you.

so when you saw that poor kitten while walking back to your apartment, you knew you had to ask her for it. it started with you just hearing a few pleading mewls before turning around and seeing it toddling toward you.

“aww, abs, look! it’s a little kitten!” your smile growing. you were met with a cold “hmm.” from abby. “can we take it home?” you asked. “absolutely not. we don’t have room for an animal.” it was partially true. your apartment wasn’t huge, but it was a comfortable size, and you were moving soon anyways.

ignoring her, you picked it up and continued strolling beside her, cooing at it’s small size and adorable face. “did you not hear me? i said put it back.” she snapped. “don’t call it an ‘it’, abs. i think it’s a girl.”

she glared at you, unamused. “now.” you walked over to a small corner and placed her down, giving her a final pet as your eyes welled up. even if you couldn’t keep her, you at least hoped you’d see her again. maybe it would become a neighborhood cat that everybody mutually loved, everyone except abby.

you didn’t talk to her the rest of the walk home, which was short, or even meet her gaze. although you understood that she only ever tried to look out for you, sometimes she was too strict. you went to bed that night without even returning a kiss, too angry at her, too worried about the poor kitten all alone outside. scared, cold, hungry.

these thoughts continued to plague your mind, eventually causing tears to collect. you hid your face in abby’s chest and sniffled, trying not to start sobbing. “baby?” she asked, “are you alright?”

“abs… that poor kitty. it doesn’t even have a family.” you were crying now. “w-what if it gets too cold, or it gets h-hit by a car.”

abby frowned at your words. “it won’t, honey. it’s already survived this long, it can go a few more nights before someone else picks it up.”

“but it’s n-not supposed to survive on its own. someone probably left it there to die.” you were sobbing, too.

“well, we’re not taking it home. i’m sorry, hate me all you want but we don’t have time or space for a pet.” you didn’t understand how she could be so mean. you cried even harder at this, hoping, praying the cute little guy survives. you cried into her chest until eventually, sleep took you.

abby had other plans. she didn’t know you’d instantly get so attached to that cat, and she hated that now you were crying because of her. she only wanted to do what was best for you, but there was no winning this battle.

once she was sure you were asleep, she slid her shoes back on and headed outside, hoping it was stills there, even more that there was only one. to her luck, the kitten was still there, instantly jumping up and waddling toward her. it’s meows seeming louder than earlier, like it recognized her or something.

she picked it up with two hands, trying not to hold it too close in case she changes her mind about wanting to keep it. slowly, she tiptoed back inside, trying her hardest not to wake you.

her fingers raced to ask google every question she had about caring for it. things like what to feed a baby kitten or where to get kitten milk replacer or how do baby cats stay warm at night? after finding what she needed, she put the kitten in an old shoebox and carried it out to the car.

surprisingly, the kitten didn’t seem to hate the drive, it was mostly just excited to be out of a big, scary parking lot. she put the car in park, and swore to herself that she would take no longer than 10 minutes in the store.

12 minutes later, she’s back with a syringe, a tin of kitten milk replacer, a heating pad, a litter box, and a water bowl. the kitten peeks up at her after she opens it just to check in. it meows and tries to grab her hand, but she closes it too quickly and drives back home.

when you wake up, you’re surprised to see that abby is still in bed with you. usually she’s at the gym, or if not, she’s definitely started her day by this time. with hands on her sides, you roll her over to cuddle with you. “abs,” you whisper into her neck, “why are you still here?”

“i had a long night.” she responded. “and i’m sorry i made you cry, i promise the cat will be fine.”

you completely ignored the second part, “long night? no you didn’t.” how could she have had a long night? she was in bed with you the whole time, right?

“go look on the kitchen table, silly girl.” so you did. you yawned and put on your slippers, making your way out of the bedroom.

on the kitchen counter you found an old shoebox, a heating pad with a temperature remote attached to it, a soft hand towel, and a sleeping gray kitten.

tears threatened to spill again as you felt abby’s arms wrap around you, her head snuggling into your neck and whispering “surprise.”

[lingering-42-long]

141 + extra when they get home from war

Y’all be too much lol. This is my third head cannon and the Mother’s Day one is still on the top of the likes list and I don’t know why like that one was my trash one and everything else I like put time and effort into. It’s like offering people a gourmet meal or Ramen noodles with chicken nuggets, lol I’m glad everybody does enjoy my Content though, and I hope that you all enjoy this one as well!

COD x Female Character

Warnings: PG-13, mentioning of sex, fluff, suggestion of angst

Captain John Prince

• when he gets home, he’s usually pretty tired.

• Don’t be alarmed if he just wants to sleep when he gets home.

• Usually you pick him up from the airport and he will load in his bags with a grunt and say that he could really use some good sleep.

• He smells like gun powder and dirt, even though he just took a shower.

• When he gets home, he will give you a kiss, then head off to bed no matter what time of day it is.

• He’s just that tired.

• When he wakes up the first thing he does is go back over to you and give you a proper kiss and a proper greeting.

• Make sure that you have some food for him. He’s going to be hungry, and he really needs some thing that’s more sustainable than MREs.

• He wants to hear about your life and what you’ve been up to while he’s been at work.

• Listening to you talk is one of his favorite past times and it helps him relax. Sitting in front of the couch while watching some TV show while you’re rambling on about the past months and about what you’ve been up to really brings a smile to his face.

• He likes to catch up on his reading.

• This man enjoys reading with a cigar in his mouth and a glass of bourbon.

• If you’ve picked out a new book for him to read, he will be gladly appreciate of of it.

• But most importantly, he would want you to be in his lap while he’s reading, but if you don’t like the smell of cigar smoke near your face, he will make sure not to smoke near you.

Lieutenant Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley

• Simon comes home as Ghost.

• The persona of a vengeful wraith and the shell of a once human is what your are graced with.

• He is very quiet, very solemn, and very cold.

• This is because he’s just dealing with his PTSD.

• He needs time to heal from recent encounters. This can take as little as one week to as long as three months.

• After badgering him enough times, to go see a therapist, he obliges.

• Though he’s pretty cranky about it.

• Give him space. He doesn’t want to hurt you, but right now, he doesn’t trust himself, especially with the nightmares raging through his mind.

• His nightmares are so vivid that it can be hard to distinguish Friend or foe.

• This is due to the fact that he needs to be working or else those vile thoughts come hunting him.

• He will never tell you about what goes on while he’s away.

• Once Ghost disappears, Simon takes his place.

• The poor broken man is just tired, and he just wants to lay next to you and hear about your day or months.

• Once you become stable enough, he begins to be more active around the house instead of just brooding in the bedroom.

• He hast to keep himself busy at all times.

• No rest for the wicked.

• Hast to sleep with a lamp on.

• Even though he seems harsh around the outside, he loves you deeply, and that’s why he separates himself from you for a certain time.

Sergeant Johnny ‘Soap’ MacTavish

• Opposite of Ghost, Johnny is so excited to see you!

• As soon as he gets off the airplane, he runs over to you!

• This man is all over you before you even see him!

• He starts asking you 1 million questions about how your months have been and what’s been going on with his family and any news on the recent football (soccer) matches.

• You actually have to calm him down because he’s all over the place.

• When you get into the car, he is kissing you all over your face.

• This man has enough energy to run to the moon and back, and it shows.

• He’ll try to take you right there if only he wasn’t in a car confined by a seatbelt

• Johnny is quick to help around the house and do whatever task you need to do.

• He says he’s making up for lost time.

• If you’ve decorated the house in a new way, he will always compliment what you’ve done to it.

• Johnny wakes up early in the morning and practically begged you to join him on a hike.

• It could be down pouring for all he cares about but he really wants to be with you while he’s working out.

• He will bring you back a souvenir probably something stupid like a rock or a jar of sand.

• If he gets any scars, he shows you and starts pointing them out and tells you the story about each and everyone of them.

• He won’t go into great detail about how gruesome the battling was.

• He wants you to be in his life every step of the way, even if you’re at home.

Sargent Kyle "Gaz" Garrick

• Kyle is grinning from ear to ear when he sees you!

• He’s not as hyper as Johnny, nor is he a stoic as his captain.

• He has the perfect mix between excited and tired

• When you to get home, he says that you two should just order pizza and he’s dying to play a video game with you even if he’s a little tired.

• Kyle doesn’t go into a lot of detail about his work. He’ll just make an occasional gesture about what he saw what he did.

• Like soap, he’ll bring you back a souvenir.

• He actually takes time with his souvenir shopping though, and we’ll go to local markets installs to actually pick you out some thing that you might like.

• Happy to be with you and glad to be away from the fighting.

Commander Alejandro Vargas

• When he comes home, his first instinct is to drop his bags by the door, and bring you into a warm and passionate kiss and hug.

• As much as he loves his job and all of his soldiers and team, some thing about being at home with you makes him feel truly loved.

• He may be tired, but he still going to serenade you like it’s his last day on earth.

• If you haven’t started making dinner yet, he will help and participate with whatever you’re doing. He may be tired, but he’s never tired for you.

• He loves watching you move around the house.

• He’s not going to deny it, but you wearing his clothes and cooking dinner with him really turns him on.

• After dinner, he may propose a night in bed to you.

• This man serenades you in sex especially after he’s been away for a long time

• Physical touch is his love language, and he loves being with you.

Sergeant Major Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra

• Like his commander, when he comes home, all he wants to do is drop his bags and immediately embrace you and a warm hug while rubbing your head and whispering how much he’s missed you.

• He also wants to help you cook dinner, or do some thing, but if you go, tell him to take a shower and to relax, he won’t deny that he needs it.

• Rudy loves reading a book with you so after dinner he will want to skip the washing dishes and ask if you would like to read with him before going to bed. No matter what time it is in the day. If he’s tired enough, he will once to at least read a little bit before falling asleep.

• Once he’s asleep, the bags underneath his eyes seem to disappear. He knows you’re close and he knows that you’re safe and that’s all that he could ever ask for to make him happy.

König

• As soon as he gets off the airplane and sees you amongst the crowd of people, his anxiety stops, and he immediately makes his way to you.

• He can’t sleep on an airplane, but as soon as he’s in the car, he’s about ready to doze off. You have to remind him not to though, because waking him up or trying to drag him out of the car is near impossible.

• He is really trying hard not to pass out in the car.

• Once he gets home, he stumbles into the kitchen looking for a nice tall glass of water to drink, and a sandwich or two to eat.

• Make sure that you keep the sandwiches stocked.

• This man will then make his way to the bedroom, take a cold shower, get into some warm PJs, and then slip into bed.

• Once he’s asleep, he will stay in his hybernation for roughly 3 days.

• He will only wake up to use the restroom, get a drink of water, or to eat some thing.

• When his mind is on the battlefield, he rarely puts himself into a sleep state, but when he’s at home, it’s like all of the hours that he missed, sleeping or suddenly compiled in a single week.

• Just let him rest, and sooner or later, he’ll wake up from his hibernation, and will seek you out so that he can give you kisses and hugs and ask how your time has been away from him.

Alex Keller

• When Alex gets back, like everybody on this list, he is tired.

• His leg is very sore from the prosthetic. Prosthetics are not comfortable and cause I’m serious leg and back pain.

• He will ask very nicely if you could massage his leg for him when he gets home.

• Once he’s in the car, Alex is taking off that damn prosthetic leg and rubbing his stump.

• You can tell he’s in a lot of pain just by the way, his eyes crease, and a frown forms.

• In order to get him off of the pain, you talk to him about his time.

• This usually makes him perk up since he enjoys talking to you about his adventures.

• His personality is like a mix between Johnny and Kyle, but leans more towards Kyle.

• When you get home you’ll have to help him walk because he really does not want to put on his prosthetic.

• You just leave the bag in the car to get later.

• When Alex gets into bed, it’s like a huge sigh of relief washes over him.

• You can see how red and agitated his amputated limb is.

• You do what you can to make him feel better by applying some numbing cream and giving him some pain relieving medicine.

• He always feels better once you start massaging his leg and even more so if you give them a back rub.

• This man is a simple man and enjoys a simple massage after months of no rest.

Philip Graves

• Like a soldier from World War II coming home to meet his best girl.

• He always surprises you when he comes home and has one of his shadow men drive him to the house.

• He always buys you a huge bouquet of flowers and some pretty jewelry as well.

• When he walks through the door, he asks where his baby girl is.

• And of course you come running and giving him a huge hug and crying, which he immediately envelops you into a hug.

• He’s whispering in your ear with that southern drawl about how much she misses you.

• He gets a little into himself when he’s talking about how his mission is or how he was able to handle such a dangerous and daunting task.

• As egotistical, as this may seem, it is his way of expressing his love for you in a slightly weird way.

• In the evening, he’ll probably swoop you up into a dance, with both of you, smiling and laughing.

• He tells you how much he misses you and how much he loves you.

• In bed, he shows you how much he means both of those things.

[xoprincess-elsie]

I think NOT providing some pictures in that would be criminal and an injustice. I’d rather not be deprived of seeing the soft, adorable piggy shoved in that Onesie! I’d agree though, from what I have seen thus far - you are absolutely glowing when you are glutted. It makes me feel very proud for you. You can be such a good baby, can’t you?

Barely fit but I made it work 😛 another custom done 😍🥰💕

I am such a good baby 😇 unless I’m hungry then I’m cranky!

[scoonsalicious]

3.3 Bucky

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Lily McIntyre, trainer for new SHIELD recruits at the Avengers Tower, has been in love with her best friend, Bucky Barnes, from the moment she met him. She's been content with her role of the #1 girl in Bucky's life, even if it means she has to sabotage a romantic relationship or two. It'll be worth it when he realizes that they're meant for each other, right? There's just one small problem: Lily McIntire never expected Bucky Barnes to fall for You.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, brunch, toxic plants.

Word Count: 1.5k

Previously On...: Your coworkers warned you about the history of the Winter Soldier.

A/N: Time for Brunch!

NOTE! The tag list is a fickle bitch, so I'm not really going to be dealing with it anymore. If you want to be notified when new story parts drop, please follow @scoonsaliciousupdates

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Bucky held the diner door open, allowing Lily to walk in first. It was a sort of tradition of theirs– brunch every other Saturday at Melinda’s, a cute little cafe about a twenty minute drive from the Compound– that they’d been doing for years now.

“I’m so glad to finally be spending some time together,” Lily said as she slid into their usual booth by the window. “I feel like it’s been ages.”

Bucky chuckled as he picked up his menu– not like he didn’t already know exactly what he was going to get: a black coffee, scrambled eggs with sausage and bacon, a plate of home fries, and a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes. “Lil, we hung out last night,” he told her.

“Last night doesn’t count,” she pouted, picking up a sugar packet from the little ceramic container on the table and beginning to play with it. 

Bucky put down the menu. “Why not?” he asked.

Before she could answer him, the waitress came to take their order. Bucky liked her– Mya; she was always friendly and put an extra pancake on the pile for him, free of charge.

“Hey there, Buck,” she greeted warmly, “Lily. Good to see you two again.”

“Hey, Mya,” Bucky replied with a dazzling smile. “How are you this morning? How’s Frankie?” Mya was a single mother, working two jobs, so Bucky always made sure to tip well and inquire about her son.

“He’s good, Buck; thanks for asking. He really appreciates the autographed Avengers picture you got for him; brought it to school for Show & Tell and everything.”

Bucky laughed good naturedly. “My pleasure,” he said. “They always make us take those dumb publicity photos; figured something good should come outta them.”

“Well, he’s very grateful, all the same,” she said with a grin. “How are–”

“I’ll take a Cobb salad, no bacon, dressing on the side, and a Diet Sprite. Thank you,” Lily interjected, smile tight.

Mya blinked a few times before replying “Yeah, sure, absolutely,” as if she hadn’t just been interrupted. She turned to Bucky. “The usual for you, Buck?” she asked.

“Yeah, please. Thanks, Mya.” Mya took their menus and, promising their food would be right out, walked away. Bucky followed her with his eyes to make sure she was well out of earshot before he turned back to Lily. “What the hell, Lil?” he asked her.

“What?” she asked, seemingly nonchalantly. “I’m hungry.”

“So, you couldn’t wait five seconds for her to finish speaking?” he asked accusingly. 

“Hey, she gets paid to serve, not to flirt,” Lily snapped. 

Bucky rolled his eyes as he leaned back. “You always think everyone’s flirting with me. We were just talking about her kid. What is with you today?”

Lily sighed and looked up at him, blue eyes turning sad. “I’m sorry– I’m just tired. I told you, I didn’t sleep well last night, and it’s making me cranky. Don’t be too mad at me, okay, Jamie?” She smiled and reached her hand across the table to grab his. “It’s your fault, after all.” She winked at him.

Bucky smiled and squeezed her hand. “I told you I was sorry,” he said. “And now I’m making it up to you by buying you brunch. Gotta take care of my best girl, right?” Lily beamed at him. 

“Right,” she agreed with a nod. “Hey, just out of curiosity, where did you end up staying last night? Did you go back to the Tower?” Though Tony Stark had moved the Avengers operation to the Compound Upstate, he still utilized the Tower for Stark Industries, and kept apartments available there for the team to use if they found themselves in the city overnight.

Bucky pulled his hand back from hers and scratched the back of his neck. Lily squinted her eyes at him, and he knew he’d just revealed a sure tell that he’d done something she’d not be pleased with. 

“Oh my god, Bucky,” Lily said angrily. “Do not tell me you stayed the night with Nat’s friend.” The way she said ‘friend,’ with her voice getting incredibly shrill at the end, had Bucky inwardly cringing. 

“Well, by the time I got her back to her place,” Bucky defended, “it was already pouring. Wouldn’t’ve been safe for me to head back in those conditions.”

Lily seemed to be mulling over his words. “I guess,” she said, after a moment. “So, what? You sleep on the couch?”

For some reason, Bucky couldn’t get the words out to tell his best friend the truth– that, no, he hadn’t slept on Major’s couch. In fact, he’d slept on her bed, but it didn’t really count, because the two of them had hardly done any sleeping at all. Instead, he just brought his coffee cup to his lips, took a long sip, and nodded.

“Good,” said Lily, seeming satisfied with his answer. “I don’t like the idea of you hanging out with her. She was a total bitch.”

Bucky frowned. He realized that the interaction between Major and Lily last night had been… tense, but he fully hadn’t expected that she would call Major a bitch and tell him she didn’t want him to spend time with her. “She was just defending herself, Lil,” he said cautiously. “You were kinda out of line with that anti-girly stuff.”

Lily gave him a wounded look. “I cannot believe you would take the side of a complete stranger over your own best friend,” she said, looking affronted. “She was incredibly rude to me.”

Mya returned then with their meals, and Bucky waited until she had walked away before continuing: “I’m not siding with anyone. I just think you should take into consideration that you were rude to her, first, Lil. She was acting defensive because you put her on the defensive.” 

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Lily crossed her arms, pouting.

“Lil, doesn’t it bother you that you don’t have any female friends?” he asked carefully.

She scoffed. “What do I need female friends for?” she asked. “They just wanna talk about stupid girl shit and it’s dull and boring. Besides, I have you. I don’t need other friends.”

It struck Bucky then how very sad that seemed. Sure, he didn’t have many friends, himself; just Steve, Lily, Sam, and the team, but he was a 100-plus year old, formerly brainwashed, ex-assassin with PTSD and a list of issues a mile long, so it was to be expected. But Lily? Surely a young, vibrant person like her should be hanging with more people than just him?

“This was what Major was talking about,” Bucky said gently, choosing to ignore his observation for the time being. “You can think feminine things are dull, and boring, but it’s not fair of you to consider them stupid just because you don’t enjoy them. And it’s definitely not cool of you to look down on people who do.”

To Bucky’s dismay, Lily’s bottom lip began to tremble, and he feared she was going to start crying. “Why are you mad at me?” she pouted. 

Bucky felt his facial features soften as he looked at her. “I’m not mad at you, Lil. I just think that, maybe, you should reconsider your stance on some things, that’s all.”

Lily seemed to consider his words for a moment, before she broke out into a giant grin. “Okay, Jamie,” she said, digging back into her Cobb salad. “If it’ll make you happy, I’ll do better.”

Well, Bucky thought, that went better than expected.

They ate companionably for a while after that, sharing small talk and enjoying each other’s company. When it came time to leave, Bucky paid the bill, making sure to leave a little extra for Mya to make up for Lily’s earlier rudeness. 

As they were walking out, Lily interlocked her arm with his. “Do you want to do a movie night at my place tonight?” she asked. Since Lily was a member of SHIELD, and not an Avenger proper, she didn’t have an apartment at the Compound. Instead, like most of the other agents who were based there, she had a place of her own in town. Usually, Bucky relished spending time at her place, where it was quiet and far less crowded. 

But then Bucky remembered he’d asked Major out to dinner for this evening. “Shit, Lil,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his vibranium hand. “I can’t tonight; I’m sorry.”

“What, you abandoning me for a hot date or something?” The words were phrased as a joke, but there was an edge to her voice that told Bucky she was genuinely afraid that was why he was saying no.

He let out a forced laugh. “Of course not,” he said, immediately wondering why he was lying to her. “I just, uh, promised Sam we’d do a guys’ night. You know how he gets if he thinks people aren’t paying enough attention to him.”

Lily scoffed. “He’s such a fucking drama queen,” she said.

“Heh, yeah.” Bucky sent out a silent apology to both Major and Sam for the lie, and hoped he could get Sam to back him up on it. He had told Bucky he’d be his wingman when it came to Major, after all.

<- Previous Part / Next Part ->

[thefearedashantis]

Garlic Toast and Bloody Noses

Pairing: Sirius Black x SAHM! Reader (stay at home mom)

Summary: Your eldest daughter got in trouble at school and Sirius is livid.

Word count: 3.1K

Warning: None (if you think it needs one lmk)

Emmerson is cranky, per usual. You weren’t sure how long a two-year-old could cry before tiring themselves out, but he was surely going for the record.

Nothing you did soothed him. Rocking, singing, a stroll around the block. He didn’t want to eat. He didn’t want to play. He didn’t want to sleep. The reasoning for his upset was simple enough. One you’d figured out shortly after he was born.

He hated you. Detested. Loathed. Abhorred. As much as the very idea broke your heart.

From the moment he took his first breathe he despised your very presence. Would absolutely scream his little head off until Sirius, or anyone really, rescued him from your grasp. Only then from the comfort of his fathers’ arms would he calm, then turn back to stare at you accusingly with watery eyes.

Well, his father wasn’t home at the moment, and you stare at the clock praying for the minutes to go by quicker. School and extracurricular activities having ended, Sirius and your other two children should be walking through the front door any second.

Your husband would enter your home silently, tuckered out from a long day. He’d take off his shoes and hang up his coat. Round the couch and lean down to peck you gently at the corner of your lips before prying your son from your arms. Wrestling his fat hands loose of your hair which he never failed to get an ironclad grip on. Then you’d stow away in the bathroom for a few quiet minutes after saying hello to your girls. Just to give yourself a little pep talk and allow the headache pulsing behind your eyes to recede. Give yourself some much-needed reassurance that this behaviour couldn’t last forever. At some point he’d warm up to you.

He had to, right?

You’re wretched from your thoughts at the slam of the front door. Followed by a gust of air whisking by you where you were slumped in the living room, thunderous footsteps banging up the stairs. Another door slams in the distance.

From the brief glimpse at the back of a muddy soccer uniform you know it must be Amelia, and that fact has you up on your feet in a panic. Because just as your youngest scorned your existence your eldest adored you. If she wasn’t at school she was virtually glued to your hip. She would never come home without stopping to throw herself at you like you’d been apart for an eternity.

Something was wrong.

You’ve barely placed Emmy into his playpen, a rigorous tussle, and taken a step into the hall when a small body crashes into your middle. Your kindergartner. Backpack, coat and shoes still on.

“Mom!”

“Claire!” you try to match her enthusiasm.

“I’m hungry” she mumbles against your stomach, arms squeezing you tight.

“I made your favourite snack. It’s on the counter for you.”

Sirius appears in the archway just as Claire scurries away. He’s in a flurry, making long strides in the direction of the stairs without so much as acknowledging you. “You get back down here right now young lady!” His voice all but shakes the house, sending your heart scuttling into your throat. Sirius never raises his voice, especially not when angry. Sirius was hardly ever angry to begin with.

Your hand shoots out to grab at him before he can get too far, pulling him to a harsh stop. “Whoa, whoa whoa! What’s going on?”

“Lia got in a fight at school!” Claire calls from the kitchen.

And he’s teetering on you, trying to get you to let him go.

“What? Why didn’t you call me? What’s happened, is she alright?”

“I’d say she’s doing better than Isaac!” Now he’s moving, circling to the other end of the room, dragging you along with him. “I mean parents trust me to look after and teach their children! How does it seem when I can’t even discipline my own? She’s old enough to know not to hit others!”

Sirius was the music teacher at the local elementary school. The one both of your daughters attended. That being the case he usually handled anything pertaining to the girls while on the premises.  Didn’t mean you were out of the loop however. If one got so much as a scratch on the playground you were sent a text about it. For the entire day to have elapsed without him informing you on what had happened was odd.

“Sirius” you release his arm in favour of his face, rubbing at the space between his nape and ear in a manner you knew he found soothing “Honey, I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

But your attempts to pacify him prove worthless when his roaming eyes finally snap to yours with a steely coldness that has a chill running up your spine. You see none of the sticky affection you’re accustomed to within them. Nothing but distaste. There was no questioning Emmy’ parentage with that gaze.

“I told you the haircut wasn’t a good idea.”

Haircut? Was he still upset about that all these weeks later?

“What’s her hair have to do with anything?”

His eyes roll so hard you fear they’ll be lost in the back of his head. He shakes out of your hold. “Because you undermine me with every little thing when it comes to her! I try to put my foot down and you immediately slag it off!”

“It’s her hair Sirius. She wanted it short and you couldn’t give a good enough reason why she shouldn’t be allowed to have it that way.”

Emmy has finally gone quiet in his play pen. Standing and peeking over the edges at the two of you, gaze flitting back and forth like a ping pong ball whenever someone speaks. Probably wondering why his beloved father hasn’t come to pick him up yet.

“Because she looks like a boy!” Sirius throws his hands up, looking to the sky for some sort of backup he would not be receiving. “She already dresses like a boy, you’ve let her chop all her hair off and now she’s running around getting into trouble like some little delinquent!” With every word his face gets more and more red, voice trembling with raging effort.

You can’t seem to find anything to say for a long moment, just watching him breathe in and out in desperate rags. A minute passes, then two. When he manages to catch his breath and stumble over to the couch you follow closely behind. Leaning down near his ear so you won’t have to speak above a whisper.

“First of all Black, I don’t know who you’re speaking to in that tone but I suggest you check it, right now. Her hair and the way she dresses are nobody’s business but her own and they don’t make her a boy.” The fact those words could even leave his mouth after the childhood he had baffled you “And second I think you should stop and reevaluate the way you talk about your daughter, especially while she’s right upstairs to hear you.”

He turns his head. You’re so far into his space that your noses almost brush but you don’t back away. You would always stand firm when it came to your children. The one’s you two created and set out to raise together in the loving and supporting environment neither of you had gotten growing up.

 “Are you guys arguing?”

You straighten up at the squeak of Claire’s question. She stands behind the couch with a slight frown on her round face. Her snack of garlic toast held between two hands.

“No darling of course not,” a smile splits your expression for good measure “why don’t you come with me to check on Lia while Daddy says hello to Emmy hm?”

Claire is not convinced “sounded like arguing.”

You’re at the base of the stairs, swatting the girl up them, when Sirius calls back in a very small manner “I’m sorry.”

He appears more like himself now, the love of your life. Thin, long limbed, warm eyes with a hint of melancholy. Deflated of his anger and replenished with his token skittish composure.

“When I come back there will be no more yelling.”

He nods, and you’re off to discover the root of this grand affair.

Claire stands outside of Lia’ closed door when you arrive. Shifting from foot to foot as if nervous to go in. You reach over her and rap on the sticker covered wood with a firm knuckle. There’s no answer but you turn the knob and enter anyway.

The room is dark, lights off and curtains drawn. The only illumination comes from the device set up on the bedside table that projects stars and planets onto the ceiling. A balled-up form rests in the very corner of the bed, back to you, arms slung over the head.

“Is she crying?” Claire whispers. Well, her version of whispering. Which was just her regular speaking volume but slower.

“No.” Lia grinds out. She twists herself around so you can see her face. She wasn’t crying but she surely had been if the red of her eyes were evidence enough.

You make your way over to the bed, posting yourself up against the headboard. Claire opts to sit at the bottom, gazing up at the light show.

“Want to tell me what happened at school today?”

“Can I sit in your lap?”

Despite the circumstances a warm fuzzy feeling seeps throughout your chest, always happy to indulge in some physical affection. Lia is still quite small for her age. She crawls over your legs and slots her body against yours, burrowing as close as she can manage, sticking her nose into the material of your shirt and inhaling deeply. Her dark hair tickles your face. Not long enough for a scrunchy and too short for much other styling. It sticks up in amusing ends from sweat.

Claire must feel left out because she wraps a crummy hand around your socked foot.

“Daddy’s disappointed in me,” her voice is hoarse and wobbly. She keeps her eyes shut tight while speaking, nose scrunched.

“He’s not, he’s just…unsettled, stressed maybe.”

“Is there a difference?”

To an eight-year-old there might not be.

“Daddy was yelling” comes a whisper snaking up from the end of the bed.

“Be quiet Claire!” Lia tries to shoo the younger girl out of her room but she refuses to go.

“Loudly.” She continues “His face was all red.”

You fight a giggle “Eat your bread Claire bear.”

“Furious” she finishes around the last mouthful of her treat. She’s always been your chatty baby, forever excited for new vocabulary words.

You return your full attention to Amelia “Tell mom what happened bug.”

She doesn’t start immediately, instead relishing in the feeling of your fingers combing through her damp hair for a while. When she does start speaking the story is much worse than you thought it would be.

The boys in class have been bothering her for the last few months.

One in particular who sits directly behind her by the name of Isaac. He is the reason, she confesses, for originally wanting to cut her hair short despite loving the lack of inches now. It was in hopes of deterring him from yanking it by handfuls.

They apparently dislike her always trying to hang around with them and not the girls. Girls belonged with girls and boys belonged with boys as it went. Not allowed to mix. Cooties too easily spread. 

They took to stuffing things down the back of her shirt. Swiping her glasses off her face. Shoving her in the lunch line. Ripping the pages out of her notebooks. Pouring glue in her chair. Scratching mean names into her desk. Cornering her during recess while the teachers were distracted and pulling her pants down in front of everyone. Because if she wouldn’t play with the girls then she must be a boy but if she was a boy then they'd need proof. 

She tried to tell her homeroom teacher when it first started but the woman didn’t believe her because Isaac is a top student and his family name stood proud on the sign outside of the new gym complex. She must have done something to him to earn such treatment.

“Did you go to your father?”

Lia shakes her head “I started to once but he just told me to try sticking with the girls more.”

“What about me? I thought we didn’t keep secrets between us.”

“You always tell me to be brave and stick up for myself if someone bothers me. I was trying to build up the courage but—” she dissolves into a low whine, struggling to finish around her tears. “I don’t think Daddy likes me.”

Claires eyebrows furrow. Up until then you didn’t think the girl had even been listening “Why would you say that!” she shouts, looking seconds away from bursting into tears herself.

You’re quick to intervene “She doesn’t mean it. Your big sister is just really sad right now.”

“No, I mean it!” Lia insists, sitting up to rub at her eyes “He doesn’t like me! He complains about everything I do!” her head bobbles from side to side as she lists “Sit more lady like. Why don’t you wear any of the dresses grandma bought you. Why don’t you do ballet instead of soccer. Why don’t you grow your hair out like the other girls. Why don’t you have any girl friends”

You take her hands into yours, they’re cold. You feel unprepared to deal with her emotions, she’s so young to even be ruminating over such things. All you want to do is ease her heartache, as her mother. An adult in her life who should have all the answers, but has no clue where to start. What would be saying too much and what would be too little. “Oh, my love, your father had a really hard time growing up with his own dad. He was really strict with him. That’s no excuse for him to take it out on you, but I know he loves you very much”

She deflates back onto your chest “Yeah, but he doesn’t like me.”

She finishes the story. 

It was recess. She was climbing up onto the monkey bars and about to go across when Isaac caught her pant leg and tried to yank them down. On instinct she went to kick him off and accidentally struck him in the face.

“I didn’t mean to break his nose. Swear.”

Never in a million years would you think her capable of intentionally hurting some. You placate her with a kiss on the forehead anyway “how about you and mom go out for a treat? Huh? Just the two of us?”

She sniffles in contemplation “Ice cream?”

“Anything you want.”

“Can I come?” Claire crawls her way up to the headboard.

“I’ll bring you back some, but Lia’s had a very bad day and that means what?”

“She needs mommy time?”

“Exactly.”

You ease said girl out of your lap gently, laying her out on the pillows, and promising to be back in five minutes. Then you’d go for her treat.

On your way out of the room you notice Claire scooting closer. She sticks her pointer finger right in her sisters’ face. “Your eyes are puffy.”

The aggravated “Claire!” follows you down the stairs.

In the living room Sirius and Emmy sit in comfortable silence, your husband bouncing the now cheerful baby on his knee. His neck nearly snaps at your approach. Eyes already glassy with regret.

“Is she terribly upset?”

“Heartbroken more like” you say, not bothering to sugarcoat it for him “she thinks you don’t like her.”

He lowers his head in shameful anguish when you sit beside him. “I just, she’s so much like me when I was young.” No friends his own gender. Only interested in things typically deemed non-conforming “the things I went through in school, at home, it pains me to imagine that happening to her.”

How much had she told him of the bullying you wonder and why had he kept it from you. You'd been there for so much of his own struggle that it honestly hurts your feelings that he’d allowed himself to spiral so much without seeking you out. The number of times he showed up on your doorstep in the wee hours of the morning. The cuts and bruises you’d tended, caused over simplicities like nail polish, the length of his hair, the music he listened to. The way he dressed, acted, spoke. 

 “Ok, but you can’t just force her to change who she is in the name of protecting her. Just because she isn’t the girliest girl out there doesn’t give anyone the right to bully her, not even you. All you’re doing is teaching her that being herself is not ok. Then to go and blow up on her like that. It’s confusing Sirius. You know better.”

You don't say it, wouldn’t ever go that low, but you know he’s thinking it. He’s acting like his father.

Sirius sits with your words.

“Why did she hit him then?”

“She didn’t really. He tried to pull her pants down on the playset so she kicked out. It was an accident.”

“Pull her pants down?”

A fresh wave of anger rolls over his shoulders. You snatch Emmy from his grasp before planting a kiss onto his temple.

“No more of that. Go upstairs and talk to her before we leave.”

You’d get on him later for keeping secrets from you.

Sirius returns the kiss, lingering for a few seconds too long, pressing his nose into the fat of your cheek. He smells like peppermint.

“I love you.” Her murmurs. And you’re suddenly transported back to your childhood bedroom. The sun just creeping over the horizon and spilling through your window right onto his sleeping face. The lips so like Claires��, ears and brows so like Emersons’, freckles like Amelias’.  Hovering your finger over the bridge of his nose, skimming along his throat. Blowing gently at his thick lashes. Poking at the sliver of skin peeking out at his tummy where his shirt had risen up. When you’d fall asleep with him on the floor and always wake up to his breath on the back of your neck, legs tangled in bed with you. The fit of giggles sneaking him out the house before your parents woke up. 

“Love you too. Now go!”

You’re once again left with Emmy in the exact same place you’d started. He watches Sirius take the stairs two at a time before turning back to you, frown already forming. 

“And you my little man, i love you so much.”

[noturlondonboy]

No More Excuses//Katelena

Chapter 2: Déjà Vu is a Funny Thing, Funny Thing

Pairing: Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova

Chapter summary: Yelena makes Kate mac-n-cheese and tells her to go to bed.

A/N: enjoy :))

Chapter warnings: medications

“You still haven’t answered my question, Yelena. Why the hell are you in my house?”

Yelena Belova just waved a hand in Kate’s direction as she stirred a boiling pot of Kraft mac-n-cheese on the stove, humming a tune under her breath and tapping the toes of her Doc Martens. “Oh, Kate Bishop. You really must learn to relax now and again.”

Kate could only continue to stare, her poor brain doing everything in its power to get a grasp on the current situation. She had only slept a whopping total of three hours before this whole thing began, and now that her body seemed to realize she wasn’t in any immediate danger, the exhaustion had punched her in the face and left her unable to properly respond by going back to bed.

And now, suddenly, there was another person in her apartment with her- and it wasn’t just anybody, it was Yelena. Yelena who was Natasha Romanoff’s little sister, Yelena who could kill Kate at the flick of her wrist, Yelena who liked mac-n-cheese and giggled at small things and had an accent like a cool blanket of snow.

“You’re staring, Kate Bishop.”

“Hard not to when I’m sleep deprived and someone broke into my house.”

Yelena sighs so deeply Kate’s sure she’s about to pass out, but the woman just shakes her head and continues to monitor her noodles. “Once again, Kate Bishop, you’re being so hostile. Also, again, I still didn’t break anything. Lighten up, hm?”

“I’m not being hostile!” Kate sputtered, feeling oddly riled up.

A cutting glance from the blonde had her almost pouting, a headache forming behind her eyes as she scowled.

“Kate Bishop. Please. Stooop talking. I am making macaroni and it is going to be very tasty, but you will eat and not talk, and then you will go back to sleep with your doggy. Yes?”

Kate thinks the dumbfounded expression is going to get stuck on her face with how much she’s used it in the past 15 minutes, but she can’t seem to wipe it off as she tries to process Yelena’s words.

“Wait, I’m sorry- what? You just show up in the middle of the night completely unannounced and with no explanation, and I’m supposed to brush it off and go to sleep?”

“Pretty much,” Yelena replies simply, rolling her shoulders out as she drains the noodles and begins to add the rest of the ingredients. “We could have a conversation right now, but you are cranky. I would rather experience you rested and fed.”

Kate did not respond to the ‘cranky’ quip, opting to just tap her fingers and rub at her face until Yelena placed a bowl of macaroni in front of her, along with a fork, a glass of water, and one of Kate’s sleeping pills.

“How did you-?” Kate startled, blinking at both the cutlery and the medication once she noticed that Yelena also had a fork of her own.

“In the morning, Kate Bishop, we will talk. Eat. I made it special just for you.”

Feeling dizzy and perhaps a bit too content to obey, Kate scooped up a bite of the noodles. She hadn’t realized how hungry she truly was until the melted cheese hit her tongue, but once her stomach woke up at that, she scarfed the bowl down like it was oxygen.

Yelena laughed deeply, watching Kate as she turned ravenous over boxed macaroni. To be fair, it was delicious.

Once they had both finished eating, Yelena took the dishes (and the suspiciously new fork) to Kate’s sink before turning to lean against the counter and level a stare at her.

“What?”

“Sleepy time.”

“You promise you’ll explain all of this in the morning?” Kate asks wearily, a little too calm with the situation at hand.

“Yes, Kate Bishop, I promise.” Yelena watched her intently, and Kate felt chills go down her spine as she slowly stood and walked towards the couch to get Lucky. He blinked up at her, sprawled out over the cushions.

“Some guard dog you are,” Kate grumbled, patting his head until he got up and followed her to her bed. Lucky just flopped back down on the blankets, giving a sigh of contentment, and ignored her.

Kate stared at him, vision going blank and head swirling dizzily as the exhaustion caught up to her. She sat on the edge of her bed, feeling the sleeping meds drip down her spine and swirl deeply in her lungs.

She eventually laid down on her back, the ceiling melting away.

Yelena. Huh.

Translations: none

Kate Bishop counter: 6

This chapter's meme:

Comments/reblogs/notes make my day :)

[fruitcoops]

If you wanted to write grumpy logan and finn/leo lovingly making fun of him until logan is no longer grumpy, you would do it so well and I would love it

Fic O'Ween Day 7: Pumpkin Spice, for the Cubs :) Kudos and thanks to @noots-fic-fests and @lumosinlove for fest details and characters!

“You’re so cute when you’re grumpy,” Leo hummed, nuzzling into the soft fluff of curls above Logan’s ear. A wordless grumble answered him and he smiled. “Like a kitten, getting all puffed up.”

“—fucking—taxes, mon dieu—”

Cranky French interspersed the muttered undercurrent. Leo wasn’t worried; Logan got loud and direct when he was angry. This was nothing more than the usual fussiness. “I made muffins.”

“—witchcraft fuckery—”

“With cranberries,” he coaxed.

Logan aggressively scribbled out a line on his notepad, but Leo felt him lean closer.

“You’ve been here for two hours, cher.”

He pressed a flat palm between Logan’s shoulders, rubbing gently over the tight muscle and warm skin beneath his shirt. It was one of Finn’s, he thought—a faded thing from the Strand in the pretty red that made his eyes pop. It might have been a gift from some point in their college years, but that was unlikely. Logan had always preferred petty theft from their closets to actually owning anything he liked.

Logan groaned under his breath and pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I’m going to commit felonies against the IRS.”

“Very American of you.”

“Get out of my apartment.”

“It was my apartment first,” Leo smiled into his temple, and sealed it with a kiss. “C’mon. Muffin time. You’re hangry.”

“It’s not my fault you can’t do your own taxes.”

“I can. It’s just that I have a boyfriend who offers to do them for me.”

Logan snorted. “Do you?”

“Mhmm.” He wrapped his arms around Logan from behind, bending slightly. “He’s real smart, too. Capable. Knows how to do math.”

“What a dreamboat,” Logan deadpanned.

“Yeah, you got it.” He was still tense in Leo’s hold, but it softened when Leo pulled his hat off and kissed the top of his head. “I have a thing for nerds.”

“Boo. Go away, I need to finish this.”

“You’re sure you don’t want a muffin? They’re still warm.”

“Not hungry.”

Liar, liar. “Alright. More for me, then.” He nipped the shell of Logan’s ear. “I’ll tell Harzy he’s got free reign.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Leo rolled his eyes and hoped Logan felt it. “Taxes aren’t due until April, baby.”

Logan’s pen gave a prompt clack. “Ouais, and if I put it off until then, you won’t see me for four days. Let me drown in my spreadsheets, please.”

“Whatever makes you happy.”

Logan grumbled something like never makes me happy, but if he wanted to continue making himself miserable, Leo couldn’t really stop him. He had already offered muffins; what more could he do?

He had only partially been telling the truth, anyway. One batch of the muffins was done. It was just that he tended to get excited when fall hit, and ravenous when hockey season started, and every recipe spontaneously doubled in his hands like a cornucopian miracle. Some people kept special daylight lamps around. Leo had a five-pound bag of Craisins and a free afternoon to go absolutely ham with the last bit of sunlight energy he could throttle from October. They all had their own methods of dealing with it.

He only burnt his fingertips a little while prying a muffin from the tin and popping it into his mouth in one bite, and considered that a win.

An hour passed without much change. Leo measured, Logan worked. Leo mixed, Logan groused. Leo doled out batter to (perfectly-lined) muffin tins, Logan scribbled away at his notepad and beat Google Calendar into submission. Finally, as the third tray went in, Leo watched him stand with a groan worthy of an octogenarian and wander stiffly down their short hallway. He smiled to himself and set the oven timer. The work would be done soon enough. If he popped a show on and got comfortable on the couch, he might even be able to tempt Logan away from his numbers into a pre-dinner snuggle.

Whistling echoed from the hall outside, followed by the jingle of keys. Finn was already kicking his shoes off when the door opened, clicking his tongue to the rhythm of whatever played in his earbuds. His face brightened when he saw Leo. “Sup, Butter?”

“Heads up.” A muffin sailed through the air and Finn caught it, barely. “Tremzy’s cheating on me.”

“Wh—” Finn gave a hard blink and glanced over his shoulder. “Is this—I’m going to walk out and come back in again. Wrong apartment. Sorry, cheating? Logan Tremblay? Are we talking about the same person? If you’re talking about me, I’ve made sure that joke is overdone.”

“Her name is Microsoft Excel, and she’s got to be stopped.”

“Oh.” Finn’s bafflement became a regretful nod as he joined Leo by the sink. “His first love. I see the problem.”

“He turned down muffins.”

“Damn, this guy sounds lame. Need a new boyfriend?”

Leo kissed his sideways grin and flipped the water on. “Not currently looking to fill that position, but I’ll keep you at the top of my list.”

Finn’s arms folded around his waist and gave a gentle squish. “You should let me do that, babe.”

“Just rinsing.”

“Hmm.” He felt a kiss through his shirt. “Been cooking all day?”

“Mostly. Reg called this morning and I’m going out with Bliz and Cole at five.”

“What, I’m not invited?” Finn asked with false offense.

“Goalies only,” Leo said with even falser sympathy.

“Reyes isn’t a goalie.”

“Well, we like him better.”

Finn’s indignant noise was stifled by a mouthful of muffin and Leo laughed, jumping at the light pinch to his hip where his shirt rode up. He let Finn shoo him away from the sink with a dishtowel and waited by the counter instead to admire the way he shoved his sweater sleeves up to his elbows.

The bathroom door opened and Leo watched Logan make his way back to the table, all grimaces and stretches, with a final jaw-cracking yawn as he fell into his chair again. The neckline of his shirt was damp, like he had washed his face. He took no notice of the sneakers by the door or Finn at the sink.

“Hey, Lo,” Leo called. “Gotcha something.”

“An accountant?”

Like you’d let anyone else handle this. “A treat.”

“Thought you made muffins.”

Leo caught Finn’s smile out of the corner of his eye and shut the faucet off, passing him the towel. “Nope, different treat.”

“What is it?”

“Guess.”

“Uh…” Logan trailed off, tapping his pen against the notepad. “I don’t know, what?”

“C’mon, humor me.”

“Give me a hint.”

Leo bit his lip against a smile and hooked his finger in Finn’s waistband, guiding him away from the sink. “Pumpkin spice.”

Finn had to turn his face into his shoulder to muffle a snort. Leo pressed three fingers over Finn’s lips, not that it would do much. Ahead of them, Logan’s shoulders relaxed. “You got me coffee? That’s nice of you.”

“Try again.”

“What—uh, bread. Pumpkin bread.”

“Sweeter.”

“Cake?”

“Sweeter.”

“…doughnuts?”

“You like it more than doughnuts.”

“Is it…like, Halloween candy, or something?” Logan sat back from the table and lifted his arms to adjust his hat; Leo caught Finn around the waist and hefted him off his feet, then plopped him with great ceremony into Logan’s waiting lap.

“Oh, hi there,” Finn laughed.

“Coucou.” Logan’s eyes crinkled with the force of his smile and he ducked his laughter into Finn’s neck. “Pumpkin spice, eh?”

“Apparently.” Finn shuffled into a more upright position and slung his arm across Logan’s shoulders, toying lightly with his mussed curls. “A little birdie told me you’ve been up to no good. Taxes, scowling, refusal of muffins.”

Logan’s cheeks darkened with a blush. He cast Leo a guilty look. “Sorry.”

“There’s a heavy punishment for neglecting baked goods,” Finn informed him. “We have to take you into custard-y.”

“Get off me.”

“And you have to pay a fine of a hundred kisses before five o’clock.”

Logan’s eyebrows rose with interest—his loose hold around Finn’s waist tightened. “Stay on me. Quoi?”

“This is serious business, Mr. Tremblay.”

“Who gets this payment?”

“Well, it’s a half-and-half deal.” Leo didn’t know how Finn kept his face so solemn. “Half to the lawyer—me, obviously—and half to the baker who was so cruelly slighted in this afternoon’s incident.”

“Do I have to pony up all at once, or can I make…” Logan nudged up against Finn’s cheek, a dimple just barely forming. “…a down payment?”

“I’m sure something can be arranged.”

“Hmm.” Their kiss was soft enough to make Leo’s breath stutter in his chest—just a whisper over Finn’s bottom lip that had him chasing more. Logan bumped their noses together. “Spicy.”

Finn all but melted into his chest. “You know it.”

Jade eyes darted over and fixed Leo in place. Logan cast a quick up-and-down look over him, then propped his chin on Finn’s shoulder and gave a small, close-lipped smile. “That baker better get over here so I can give him a piece of my mind.”

The countertop was oven-warm when Leo leaned back. “How much are we giving to charity?”

Logan blinked. “Seventeen percent.”

“What’s seventeen percent of fifty?”

“Eight and a half.”

Leo stepped forward and braced his hands on the back of the chair, bracketing Logan’s head. “Tip your local bakeries, Tremblay. You owe me fifty-eight and a half kisses.”

Confusion blossomed into the kind of smile Leo lived for. “Let’s call it an even twenty percent. I’m feeling generous.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

[theluckywizard]

In the Shattering of Things, Ch: 77: Confessions

Chapter Summary:

Rose and Garrett share a last morning together before he leaves to search for Carver in the Approach and the Inquisition turns its attention toward southern Orlais.

Fic Summary:

Lady Rose Trevelyan's idle, aristocratic life blinks out in a haze of irrelevance when the breach destroys the Conclave. She may be soft and coddled when she joins the Inquisition, but there's a fierceness inside her she's yet to fully recognize. Armed with only a few relevant skills and the mark that makes her a legend, she is thrust onto a path delivering hope where it’s long been scorched away and finds comfort in the grumpy, handsome stick in the mud charged with her protection and training. As she stumbles her way across southern Thedas, she begins to realize she's tangled at the center of machinations she barely understands, and she's not alone in that. Enter Hawke.

Rating: Explicit

WC: 418,000

Excerpt and art below the cut 👇

Upstairs again, Hawke wiggles his toes out the bottom of my blankets, stretching his arms long along the pillows crammed up against the headboard. The whole look is a gorgeous invitation. I toss my robe over a chair and crawl over the blankets to perch on top of him. 

“Best eighteen hours in ages,” he declares, tracing a finger along the pale streaks up my left arm. “Maybe ever.”

“I’m not often visited by cheese deities, so at a bare minimum it was— very memorable,” I tease him, drifting my hand over his obvious enthusiasm beneath the bed linens. “One more time for the road?” He hums a hungry grumble as he pulls me close, inhaling deeply of my skin as if cataloging it in his mind for the long journey.

“You’d think after last night I’d still be soup,” he remarks, welcoming me back under the blankets.

“We have to be quick,” I murmur against his neck.

“Who says?” he asks.

“The kitchen boy,” I answer. Garrett grins as he shakes his head, then smolders at me as he finds the exact spot to knock away my smirk.

We laugh our way through a raucous, breakneck tumble, testing the joinery of this fancy new bed of mine as we scramble to see who can climax first. Then we squeeze into my tub for a quick bath before breakfast, him scrunched up with his legs bent and me wedged between his thighs. The tub is far too tight to be everything my favorite smutty romances promise, but I rather like being squashed up with him.

“I think I’m going to send for Bethany,” he says behind me as I mop his arms with a soapy cloth. 

I pause, warmed by the thought. “To join us here?”

“You could use another a healer, couldn’t you?” he asks, hunching down to set his chin on my shoulder.

“We’d be delighted to have her. Ellendra is desperate for competent help.”

“I meant— in your escort. With the rest of us. We could use another battle medic besides Solas. You never know when we could lose him. And Bethany has the chops.”

“Oh. Oh.” 

We. 

A tiny rush scurries through me.

He closes his slippery arms around me. “She’d thrive here, I know she would,” he says. “And with the rest of the team. She knows Varric of course. And I think she’d be grateful to reunite with some of her circle friends. And— I’d like to think you two would hit it off.”

“I’d love that. I’d love to meet her,” I answer. “What about Carver? Do you think we’ll get along?”

Garrett lets out a gravelly sigh. “Hard to say. But I hope so. But— well. Don’t be surprised if he’s a cranky bugger.” He snorts softly. “I suppose I’ve got this fantasy of getting Carver and Beth and I together one more time. Like if I can just pull it off maybe it will make everything better.”

I lean down to kiss his arm. “I hope so.”

Read the rest here Start the fic here

And I can finally share this commission by @crunchyncrumbly I got like nine months ago. I've finally arrived at this part of the fic 🤩 (and this is the other commission from crunchy I got of these two)

DAFF Tag List:

@warpedlegacy | @rakshadow | @rosella-writes | @effelants | @bluewren

@breninarthur | @plisuu | @dreadfutures | @inquisimer | @ar-lath-ma-cully

@ir0n-angel | @blarrghe | @crackinglamb | @oxygenforthewicked | @about2dance

@delicatefade | @leggywillow | @exalted-dawn-drabbles |

[idontplaytrack]

Care

Jos Cleary-Lopez x fem! reader

Warnings: fluff, coarse language, anxiety mentions/descriptions

In which reader is stressed out about a major exam— way too stressed out. Jos sees it all, worried that reader might break.

Requested? Yes / No

(Pictures used above are from Tumblr & Pinterest)

Jos was up as the sun rose, quickly freshening up then going for a morning jog. You were still soundly asleep in her bed, face nearly buried in the pillow. Jos chuckles to herself as she left her room, closing the door so you could have the privacy.

“Oh, Jos!” Margot saw her, “Good morning. You’re up early.”

“Hi, Mom. Couldn’t fall back asleep, thought I’d go for a jog.” Jos shrugs.

“y/n’s still asleep?” Margot asks, holding her mug in both hands to take a sip of her coffee.

“Yeah, if she’s up before then— I doubt it, but let her know I’m just jogging.”

Margot chuckles, “Yeah, of course, sweetie. Have a good run.”

“Thanks.”

Jos leaves with that, turning right to head for the park nearby. Putting her earphones in, she put on her favourite playlist and just relaxed. Back at home, you were still in dreamland. But only because you stayed up till nearly one in the morning trying to study. You got out of bed to do that after Jos fell asleep around eleven. The fact that you had a major, life-altering exam coming up in no more than two months was constant weighing on your mind. You couldn’t forget about it even briefly, to catch a break. Lately, every waking moment was spent stressing over that exam. You thought you were playing it off very well, but Jos knew how to read you like a book by now. She knew something was off— she just didn’t want to pry and upset you just yet, hoping that you’d talk to her about it yourself.

Jos was aware that you had that exam, and she’s already told you— remember to take breaks from studying to do something else. Anything at all. But did you listen? No. Somehow you just couldn’t do anything but focus on studying.

And honestly, you didn’t exactly go to bed willingly last night. Jos dragged you into bed after seeing you still awake at her desk doing practice papers when you got up to pee.

“Babe!” She gasped, startled to see someone sitting at her desk. “Oh, thank God it’s just you. Why are you still up?”

“I need to study.” You sigh, hand still holding onto the pen and writing down answers to the questions on the sheet on paper.

“No. What you need, is to sleep. We need enough sleep, so we’re not tired and cranky and anxious. You need to get in bed, right now.” Jos looks at you.

“Just go pee.” You told her dismissively.

Jos huffs, going to the bathroom to do her business but quickly returned. “y/n. Sleep. Now.” She ordered. Sighing exasperatedly, you dropped your pen onto the desk and stood up unwillingly. You turned around and flopped onto bed like an annoyed child, arms crossed on your chest.

“Are we feeling cranky?” She teased. You knew she was right, but your mind just wasn’t…right. After hours and hours of practice exam papers. You huffed, turning away from her. Jos remains unfazed, spooning you next. You didn’t say anything, but you relaxed under her touch. Soon, you drifted off to sleep in her embrace, arguably the calmest you’ve felt all weekend.

Jos returns home in just under an hour later, got showered and refreshed. You, were still out. Jos was glad though, you were finally resting. She sat back in bed, reading her storybook for the week to finish it up. Her eyes glance at you every now and then, feeling herself smile as she watched you sleep.

————

When you started to stir in your sleep, Jos put her book down. She watches you closes, hoping you wouldn’t immediately get back to studying. That really was all you were doing other than using the bathroom when needed. You wouldn’t even eat unless someone brought it up and you were hit with the realisation that you were actually hungry.

“What time is it?” You slurred, arms stretched out and you yawned.

“It’s not even six.” Jos answered.

“Why are you up?” You asked while turning onto your back and eventually to face her on your side.

“I went for a jog because I couldn’t fall back asleep.” She explains.

“Oh.” You sat up.

“Okay.” Jos began before you got even move another time, “I’ll make you a deal. We chill from now till breakfast, we have breakfast, then after that you can continue studying if you want to. But you have to get up and stretch, or just take a break every hour or so. Sound good?”

You give her offer some thought, ultimately nodding, “Okay.”

“Good.” She smiles, relieved, pressing a kiss to your cheek, “Do you want to talk about anything?”

You exhaled harshly, debating internally whether or not you wanted to tell her how you were feeling. She locked eyes with you, and somehow you just felt compelled to let her know. Maybe because at the back of your mind, you knew that she’d been so worried about you, but yet still so supportive— she knew you just wanted to do your best on the exam and achieve the best results possible, but hated that you couldn’t seem to take a break for your own sanity. Once you got sucked in, it was hard to have you stop. Once you started studying it was after you’d be sitting and worrying about your future, your family’s future— should you not get into the course you wanted to at university. You’ve experienced an influx of anxiety attacks over the last few weeks, because of the uncertainty you have been feeling about your life in university and beyond. All thanks to this exam coming up So she was glad you weren’t rushing over to her desk right now, and just…sitting by her.

“With the exam coming up, it got me thinking about a lot of things that I never even focused on before, ‘how will life be like at uni?’, ‘will I be able to cope?’, ‘will the course be the right one for me? what if it’s not?’, ‘what if— people are not…nice? especially after they find out i’m not straight’, ‘will i be able to maintain my grades?’, ‘what do i work as after i graduate?’, ‘will my salary be enough to pay for bills and things and saving up?’.” You started.

Jos just listens to you.

“I know I’ve been studying a lot, I know I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I don’t realise why I do that, I don’t realise I’ve been sucked into this downward spiral where the more I study, though- yes I retain the information — most of it, but my mind is still racing with those thoughts, those questions and I feel like if I stop thinking about those questions on the papers I will have to hear my own thoughts and that just…terrifies me.”

She was quiet for awhile once you stopped talking and started fiddling with your thumbs. “Okay, we will go make breakfast. Then I’ll study with you— we’ll make flashcards for each topic and I’ll quiz you, make it a little game. After forty-five minutes, we get up: to stretch, to walk, grab some candy or a drink. Anything. Just get away from the desk, let your mind recalibrate. Then we’ll go for a drive and get some lunch and just spend some time outside. Okay? Shake things up a little. We all have to do things we enjoy that aren’t just needs. Studying can be paused for a couple hours, it’s not gonna make you any less smart. Baby, you are the hardest worker I’ve ever known…aside from my Mom, maybe. But…” Jos chuckles over her words at the end, “If you keep forcing hour after hour of endless cramming, you will drive yourself insane and I don’t want you to experience that. I want you to take care of yourself. You’re more than your grades. Slow down, breathe and let your heart relax for awhile. I’ll be so proud of you no matter what the results are, you hear me?”

You nodded solemnly, but appreciative of what she’s just told you, “Yeah, I hear you. Thanks, Jos.” A smile creeps onto your face when she moves closer to you and caresses your cheek, “No matter what, I’ll be in your corner cheering you on. But you need to take care of yourself before you go tire yourself out just for a small part of your life. I’ll be here to take care of you, to do whatever you wanna do. I’m down, but you need to prioritise yourself. Alright?”

You pulled her into a hug, tears falling down your cheeks in eventual relief. You felt a heavy weight lifting off your shoulders after this. Your mind was as clear as ever. Free of all that previously weighed on your mind and body. “Thank you. I’m sorry for not spending more time with you lately.”

“It’s okay, baby. We’re okay.” Jos assured. “Don’t worry, you’ll do just fine. Everything will be fine. Let’s go make something to eat, ‘kay?”

“‘kay.” You agreed, letting her take you by the hand to go to the kitchen downstairs. Margot was starting to make breakfast, so Jos asks if you two could join in and help her.

“Oh, absolutely, girls. That’d be so fun.” Margot agreed, “Good to see you smile, y/n.”

————

🏷️ Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @reneeswif3 @ludoesartnstuffs @pda128

💭A/N: I’m so sorry your request took this long babes. It’s finally yours:’)

[xcaptain-winterx]

Hey, I’m very excited for your Kinktober 2023 celebration!

Here’s my ask:

Character - Lloyd Hansen

Kink - Praise/Cuddling/Aftercare

Bonus - Werebear!Lloyd

Okay, so the idea is that Lloyd wasn’t always a werebear, but he got turned into one, just like how the witch in Beauty and the Beast turned the prince into a monster.

Werebear!Lloyd has found his mate and dragged her home. But even after she calmed down from being kidnapped, and then finding herself in a weirdly intense relationship with this creature/man… Lloyd is struggling with the bear’s instincts. They’re so different from his own. He liked rough, dirty sex that ended with him slipping out the door fifteen minutes after the deed was done. The bear wants to cuddle, and if he doesn’t get the appropriate amount of cuddling in, he’s on edge and cranky. Really cranky - and he takes it out on Lloyd.

Nowadays, Lloyd craves cuddling. He used to hate it. The bear inside of him demands he spend hours cuddling with his mate, multiple times per day. Lloyd finds that he needs to praise his mate. He has to gain her approval - the bear demands it. All of a sudden the selfish, rude, and vicious Lloyd Hansen has developed a teddy bear streak, thanks to finding his mate and he doesn’t know how to handle it.

How does he reconcile the werebear’s powerful instincts with the human side of his personality, especially when the bear’s need for softness with its mate refuses to be denied?

Little Cub

softdark werebear!Lloyd Hansen x reader

summary: above

warnings: small amount of fluff, monster kink, big dick, smut, rape, Lloyd being himself, humiliation, dark stuff, kidnapping, blood

a/n: English is not my first language, meaning you will probably find a lot of misspelling etc. I think I did a lot of mistakes in this fic. This is kinda a dark fic….just so you know. Will do another part if you request it

Main Masterlist Kinktober 2023 Masterlist

Lloyd Hansen Masterlist

Lloyd is planning how he’s going to torture the fucking cunt who cursed him into this beast. He perhaps was a monster, but still didn’t deserve that. His words. It’s not his fault that he didn’t want to kiss her. That bitch looked ugly as fuck.

He can still feel how his bones cracked and muscles twisted as he transformed. The painful screams he let out as he became the thing she cursed him to be in all eternity.

A bear. A giant light brown bear with sharp claws and teeth.

There’s not a moment he isn’t reminded of what he is now, even when he isn’t in his other form. From his now sharper and longer finger nails to how his body is now covered in more hair, though, he must say, he likes the mustache.

Not only is his normal physical form now different. Lloyd is so hungry all the time and mostly for meat. Problem is that he’s alone in his castle with no staff or anyone to bring him food. Well, there once were people, but his hunger got the best of him. Now, he’s all alone. He’s forced to go into the woods and hunt for whatever living creature he sees. On lucky days, he finds humans in the forest, hunting or just taking a walk, but most days he just finds deers, bunnies or wolfs.

The hunger isn’t his biggest problem though, no, it’s how fucking hard he gets for no reason at all 24/7. He could be sitting down in one of many lounge areas and suddenly get a boner without thinking of anything slightly dirty. It’s not like he doesn’t have needs and jacks himself off a lot, but this is way different. It’s painful. When he tries to ignore it, he feels how the beast is making him feel like a thousand bullets are piercing through his skin. Like needles are boring through his bones and muscles. His muscles tense, his nails getting longer, veins popping until he transforms into what he hates most. Once transformed, the need to breed is so strong he humps everything which is near him, trying to get rid of the pain. In his other form, he doesn’t feel like him. It’s like he’s only half himself. The bear is a constant voice in his head, making him insane.

Over time, Lloyd got better at controlling it, but the smallest things could set the beast in him free. He only leaves his castle to hunt for food. He can’t even drink his sorrows away because he already drank every bottle in the castle….in just three months.

Oh, but Lloyd would’ve never guessed how lucky he would get today when he goes to hunt in the woods.

Today, you are on a walk in the forest. The sky is covered in thick grey clouds. It’s getting grayer by every passing second. You just wanted to go on a quick walk to clear your head, but got lost, though you are not panicking. You would be, if you knew what was going to happen because not so far away you caught the attention of the hungry eyes of Lloyd. His pupils are dilated that there is no white anymore. Your sweet smell making his dick painfully hard. Lloyd already smelled you miles away, running immediately into the forest when he first caught the smell of your scent.

You walk down an old path, asking yourself how you get out of the forest, until you hear something. You turn around, but see nothing. A breath leaves your lungs you didn’t know you held in. Just as you are about to continue down the path, you come face to face, well, more like face to chest, with the chest of a big man. Hair is covering his entire chest and as you move your eyes upwards, you can see his dark eyes staring right into your soul.

You don’t move, you can’t move. You’re too scared to make a move.

“Run, rabbit” he says, flashing you his sharp teeth in a cocky manner. Fear finally crosses your face, and a scream leaves your mouth as the man slowly starts to get bigger. You take off and run away, his laugh fallowing you. You run through the woods, like your life depends on it because it probably does. There’s no explanation that you can think of as to what he is. You just know that he’s not good.

It starts to rain, first, only small drops before a full on shower. The once dry ground is now muddy and slippery, making you almost slip. The falling raindrops are hitting your cheeks and making it sting like needles. You almost don’t hear a loud growl behind you due to the rain. It’s getting closer and closer.

In your panic you don’t see the wet mud line before you and the next thing you know, you slipped out and fell into the mud, but at least not face first.

You turn around in the mud to see a giant bear in-front of you, looking at you with his cold dead eyes. The color of his fur, the sharp teeth and the look he is giving you makes you realize that this monster in front of you is the man.

You somehow can’t scream, even as the beast jumps at you and presses you deeper into the mud and before you know it, this monster raises his claw and rips your clothes off in one swift move. You try to get out from under him with no luck.

He’s too big.

The beast sniffs you before grazing his teeth over your collarbone to your stomach. Silent tears start to run down your face.

It suddenly puts a claw on your left shoulder and presses your right leg up, putting you in an uncomfortable position. You feel something hard touch your pussy and it’s then when it dawns on you what is going to happen.

The monster doesn’t give you a chance before slamming his dick into your pussy, giving you no time to adjust. This time you scream. You scream like you are getting torn apart because you literally are. It feels like someone is cutting you open.

Lloyd doesn’t care about your screaming or your tears, he’s desperate for this, no matter how fucked up it is. He’s diving into your pussy over and over again. As Lloyd thrusts into you, his furry hips slapping against yours in a primal rhythm. He growls low in his throat as he takes you, his thrusts deep and powerful.

You feel pain with only a little bit of pleasure. Even if you know your climax is approaching, you are begging him to stop. The begging coming out as screams for mercy.

Lloyd’s thrusts are growing deeper and more powerful, his groans echoing through the woods. He doesn’t care that you come around his dick and neither that you start coating his dick in your blood. He thrusts faster into you before shooting his sperms into your pussy with a loud roar.

Your eyes widen a last time as his cum fills you up before the black around your vision takes over. This doesn’t stop Lloyd though, from rutting into your passed out form again and again, needing to release.

Once Lloyd is done, he pulls out of you, automatically growling, well, more like the beast in him, as his sperm spills out of your abused pussy. Still in his beast form, he turns to make his way back to the castle, but something pulls him back.

The beast.

It’s making his body feel like it’s on fire, burning down with no way of putting it out. He falls to the ground, feeling like he’s going to die until he smells you. Lloyd looks over at you, not understanding why you stopped the monster’s torture on him. He slowly manages to get up and goes over to you, grunting before biting into your leg and pulling you with him to his castle.

As he arrives, he drags down to the cells. Lloyd grunts as his body becomes smaller again once he lets go of your leg. The hair falling down, the ears vanishing and his teeth and claws shrinking. He stands up, getting used to his body again, feeling exhausted now that he feels all the orgasms he had. Having an orgasm as a bear is like having three orgasms and he had five bear orgasms. He is ready to go to sleep.

His eyes move to you before he walks out of the room, not staring at your naked body, but your soft face framed by your beautiful hair. He shakes his head as he realizes what he’s doing and walks out, slamming the cell behind him and locking it.

Your body is in pain is the first thing you realize as you come back from what felt like the dead. You open your eyes, blinking a few times before you start to realize where you are. Curses leave your mouth as you try to move your body, deciding to just stay in the position for a while as the pain grows bigger every time you try to move. You look at the room from the ground, gray stone walls, no windows, cold hard stone ground and prison bars as a door.

“No no no no no” you say over and over again, panicking at the fact of where you are. You manage to move in an upward position, letting your back rest against the cold stones. A deep pain interrupts from your leg as you move it and as you look down at it, you see a deep bite mark. It’s still red and bloody, looking like out of a true horror movie. Not only that, but you can also see the dried blood on your body at your pussy. The rest of your body, including your hair, is covered in now dry mud.

You cry as you remember what happened, the beast catching you and fucking you in the mud. You don’t know how you got here, but looking at the bite mark, you can imagine that wherever you are, the monster is here too.

“Stop crying so fucking loud” a voice whispers aggressively from behind the bars.

You lift your head to look at the voice and see the man from the woods, the man who transformed into a monster.

“Go away!” you scream at him.

The man sighs and throws his head back, annoyed. He pushes himself off the wall and leans with his head pressed on the bars. A mocking pout spreads on his face.

“Aww, is the girl scared of the bad big bear?”

You wipe your tears away, looking at him with pure rage. “Fuck you”.

Lloyd laughs, his sharp teeth shining brightly in the moonlight from the small window. “Again? You truly are a freaky hell of a woman” he says, winking at you.

The veins in your neck are about to pop as you charge at him. Well, try to charge at him, but your legs give midway out, falling right onto your knees.

“Cute” he says, looking unimpressed.

You lay defeated on the floor, feeling dirty and gross. You wished you never would have entered the woods.

He looks at you, feeling weird, like he feels a deep pain in his heart. Pity? Sadness? Regret? God knows what it is, but Lloyd doesn’t like it. He can feel the beast inside him starting to get hectic, needing to be pet out.

His gaze wanders to you once again. Normally, he would have killed his victims by now or eaten them, but the beast won’t let him eat you, even though you taste so delicious.

Lloyd thinks for a moment, before asking, “what’s your name?”.

“Why should I tell you my name?”

Lloyd opens the door. “Because I’m hungry and your blood smells delicious”.

You gulp and say “My name is y/n”.

He steps closer and crouches down in front of you, grabbing your face and pulling it harshly as you try to move your head away from his soft touch.

“Such a pretty name to such a pretty face and pussy” Lloyd says smelling your dirty hair.

Not only can he smell you but also you him. You smell a dark woody smell mixed with sweet apple. Two opposite smells, one sweet and the other a strong manly smell, but they still fit together like two sides of the same coin. Now that he’s so close, you can analyze his face, from his thick mustache to his light freckles and beautiful eyes that aren’t as dark as you remembered them to be.

“Are you going to kill me?” you ask, trying not to shake out of fear.

Lloyd’s eyes move to meet yours, his eyes boring into you. He thinks for a minute, trying to ignore the beast before making a decision.

“No”

“N-No?” you look at him slightly confused. You truly thought he would kill you.

Lloyd lets go of your face and stands up and then simply walks out of the cell, not locking it. You think for a second of escaping. It’s a now or never situation, but you know you wouldn’t make it far in your condition and you are not that keen on seeing the monster in his form again, so you wait and are happy with your decision because not a second later he walks back in the cell with a bucket in his hand.

As he comes closer, you see that he is carrying a bucket filled with water and a wet cloth hanging on the side. Once in front of you, he puts the bucket down, making water splash down from the side.

“Clean up” Lloyd says, looking down at you. You nod, waiting for him to walk away, but he doesn’t, he just continues to stare at you.

You don’t know what to do; you don’t want him to watch your naked form even more. He looks like he’s waiting patiently for you to do something.

Just as you are about to grab the cloth and clean yourself, thinking he wants to watch you, he kicks your arm away from the bucket, making you wince.

“Oh, thank you, Lloyd, for being so nice and giving me something to clean up. How kind of you” Lloyd says sarcastically. He got you something to clean up with and you don’t even bother to thank you. Typical women.

You can’t believe what you are hearing. This man, monster, who kidnapped you, raped you and hurt you wants a thank you. Not only are you confused as to his demands, but you also just learned that his name is Lloyd.

“Are you deaf!”

Lloyd’s screaming brings you back and you quickly shake your head. “Thank yo-“

“Is that what I told you to say!” he screams again.

“You told me to thank you and that’s what I-“ you can’t finish your sentence because Lloyd splashes some of the water on you.

“Say ‘thank you, Lloyd, for being so nice and giving me something to clean up. How kind of you’. Now!”

“But-“ he sprinkles with his fingers some water on you again.

“Say. It”. You wipe your face before finally saying what Lloyd wants you to say. He grins as he stands straight again, but the grin doesn’t seem evil this time. It looks like a happy grin and if you look closely, you could see a small blush. Lloyd walks after soon after you said at, leaving you alone in the locked. Just as he’s about to walk around the corner, he turns back to you.

“Maybe you last longer than the last ones”

With that, he fully leaves, leaving your scared form alone.

The sky is pitch black and the air of the night cold as you are woken from your slumber by footsteps. You know there is only one other person in this place and you don’t want to see him. You act like you are still asleep, facing the wall, trying not to move, which is hard because you are freezing.

After you washed yourself with the bucket of water, you forgot you don’t have something to dry yourself with it or even to sit your ass on. The cold floor and the air are making you shake like crazy. You won’t be surprised if you catch a cold.

The footsteps come closer and closer. The closer they get, the more you notice those footsteps are heavy and sound like more than two feet.

A shiver runs down your spine as you realize who-or what, it is.

You lay your face more into the floor, trying to sink into it, scared of what will happen soon. You can still feel his seeds inside you.

The footsteps stop in front of the cell and put a hand over your mouth. With some luck, the beast will just walk away if it sees you asleep. All hope is lost though, as the lock rattles. It rattles for some seconds before it stops.

Maybe it can’t open it in this form. Maybe it will walk away.

A scream almost leaves your lips as the beast suddenly trashes against the cell, trying to get in. It doesn’t take long before the cell door slams open. A tear slips down your cheek as the monster walks into the cell. Everything comes flashing back from when the beast was on top of you, slamming into you repeatedly. You hear it come closer and just beg god to let it be over fast. The claws of the beast turn you onto your back, but he doesn’t get on top of you. Instead of getting on top of you, the bear lays his head on your stomach, snuggling into you.

You are shocked at that action, not understanding what’s going on. You hold your breath, waiting for something to happen, but nothing does.

You open your eyes and see the bear with closed eyes on your stomach, looking like a big puppy. As confused and freaked out as you are, you don’t complain.

He’s so warm.

After a while, when you are sure he’s 100% sure he’s asleep, you dare to put your hand on his head. He stops snoring as you do it, before continuing letting out soft snores.

You smile, seeing this huge bear be soft, even though he’s a monster-well, you don’t really know what he is.

This doesn’t mean you like him, though.

No.

[aurumacadicus]

My kingdom for a fic where alpha Steve and omega Tony are on the run (basically just long enough until the rest of the Avengers can come rescue them) and they’re hitchhiking but (understandably) no one wants to stop and pick them up when Steve looks so pissed off. In Steve’s defense, Tony has been very annoying about this because he apparently doesn’t carry cash (“Rich people carry little black credit cards to go with their little black suits and their little black dresses, Steve,” Tony had snapped testily) and he ran out halfway back to New York and all Tony has done is complained even though Steve has explained a dozen times why staying off the grid is important especially when it comes to Hydra. They’ve been walking for hours, they’re tired, dirty, hungry, and cranky, and finally Steve snaps, “Isn’t there anything you can do?!”

And Tony’s like, “What? Thumbs all look the same, Steve, and if you haven’t noticed, even if they do stop for an omega they hope will pay for a ride with sexual favors, your big pissed off face is gonna make them hit the gas again.”

“I mean, isn’t there a way for you to like--I dunno, like pull up your pant leg or something?!” Steve exclaims.

Tony gawks at him for what feels like ten minutes but is probably more like ten seconds before he shouts, “What the fuck do you think this is, the forties?! You think this is the plot of It Happened One Night and I’m Claudette Colbert?!”

“I was sorry I said it as soon as it cleared my mouth,” Steve grumbles.

But Tony is so tired and hungry and insulted that he doesn’t hear him and continues to complain, “This is the new century, you asshole, no one is going to pull over just because I show off a little bit of ankle--” and he pulls his pant leg up, showing off his leg up to the knee, sock held up by garters around his calf. “You think someone would pull over for this?!”

A car pulls over beside them before Steve can answer, and then they both gawk at the fact it worked.

[aspiringnexu]

LOTR but it works like Undertale in that when you die everything resets. But like a hardcore version of Undertale where you die and have to start at the very beginning.

Everyone in the Fellowship is aware of it and it first comes about because Gandalf dies and they all end up back in Imaldris and very confused (it happens in Lothlorien for them because Gandalf takes a few days to kill the Balrog and then die and it takes a bit for Manwe to kick him back). So they set out again with the weirdest sense of Deja Vu and this time they make it through Moria without even meeting the Balrog because Pippin remembers not to touch the arrow. Then Boromir dies and back to square one.

And this keeps repeating over and over and over as their actions to keep one from dying accidentally cause someone else to die until they have all of the steps down pat and no longer give a shit except managing to move on from the fucking Anduin. They’ve been stuck there for days (not counting the time it took to march there from Imladris, through Moria, and through Lothlorien, over and over and over and over again).

Rinse and repeat as Sam accidentally falls to his death via One Slippery Rock, Legolas gets nailed by a very lucky Orc in Moria, it turns out Gimli can’t swim and neither can Legolas or Aragorn when trying to pull a fully armoured dwarf to the surface, Aragorn gets run over by Eomer, Merry and Pippin take turns getting skewered by hungry orcs, and Frodo gets murdered by Gollum (who is the only other one to know about the resets and is pretty cranky by the time he catches up).

And without fail, every single time one of them dies they get sent back to Imladris. At first its terrifying, then just plain confusing, then terribly depressing, and then... well they get used to it. Death no longer has meaning. The Quest suddenly seems a lot more cheerful. The end of the world is a lot less daunting when you know you can perpetually keep it from ending until you make sure you can fix it.

Though it is a bit confusing for everyone else during the Battle of Helm’s Deep when Gimli and Legolas are having their competition.

“Legolas! Two already!”

“I’m on seventeen!”

“Eh! I’ll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!”

Later

“Final count fifty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-two.”

“Well that’s not bad for a pointy-eared elvish princeling! I myself am sitting pretty on fifty-one thousand two hundred and eighty-three.”

[redlinereblogs]

I was talking with the incredibly kind and wonderful @towez. She wanted a story about 1988 doing laundry and talking about Little Leagues for their kiddo and then I wrote this

It's 2am and their flight back into Chicago was delayed because of the rain. They were stuck on the tarmac for HOURS and Adam ate through all his plane snacks before they even took off. 

Jonny had ended up giving Adam his snacks too, which was good for soothing a fussing four-year-old but bad when it turned out the airline had messed up and given his gluten-free meal to someone else. So instead of a cranky hungry four-year-old, Pat had to deal with a cranky hungry almost 40-year-old the rest of the flight. 

At least Adam had fallen asleep on the drive home from the airport and had stayed mostly asleep while Jon unbuckled him from the carseat and carried him inside. 

Pat agreed to handle the luggage while Jon handled the kid. He’d pulled out their toiletry kits and put them in the bath. He’d plugged Jon’s dead iPad in and ran a baby wipe over it (cleaning off Adam’s sticky finger prints) and dug his kindle out to plug it in too. He found the souvenirs they’d gotten and set those aside. All that’s really left to deal with at this time of night is the laundry. 

Pat drags the bags into the laundry room and starts sorting the clothes out. He loves his husband more than life but Jon does not understand how to sort clothes. He still washes reds and whites together and sees no issue at all in that.

The soft, “You could’ve left it” startles Pat. He looks up with a start and Jon smiles. “Keep that head up, Kaner.” 

Pat rolls his eyes. “Fuck off, Cap,” he mutters and he unballs up a pair of Paw Patrol socks and tosses them in the basket. “How’d it go

“Out like a light.” Jon digs into one of the bags and starts to help. “Honestly, you could have left it Pat. I’ll get it tomorrow.” 

“I know. I got it.” He reaches for Jon’s bag and brushes him away. “I’m just sorting it. Don’t worry. You got the kid. I’ll get the clothes."

“Okay.” Jon smiles to himself as he watches Pat sort their dirty clothes into piles. He hops onto the counter to settle in and watch. The silence between them is comfortable and Jon wonders if this is the moment. He decides that it is.

“So, I was talking to Adam about the fall,” Jon carefully starts. 

Pat’s head whips up and his eyes catch Jon’s. They hold for a moment then, very deliberately, he looks back down to zip up his bag and grab Adam’s. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” Jon waits a beat. “He wants to try baseball this year.” 

Jon watches Pat’s face as he scowls. “Baseball?” Pat echoes. “I thought he wanted to try gymnastics?” 

“He did. Does,” Jon concedes. “But then Ryan said he was doing baseball so now Adam wants to do baseball.”

Pat’s scowl deepens. Ryan is fine. Ryan’s parents are not. But, it’s not Pat’s call; it’s Adam’s. “Okay. That’s fine.” But then, “Is it…Will it…” He’s not sure how to phrase it and echoes of his own father stop his tongue.

“It’s a shortened season because of the weather,” Jon answers, understanding immediately.  “It’ll be over before hockey starts.”

Pat nods and zips up Adam’s now empty bag. “Good. That’s—does he still…?”

Jon waits a beat but when there’s no more from Pat, “He said he still wants to try hockey too. He just wants to play with Ryan first.”

Pat nods again and then clenches his hands. He doesn’t have any more sorting to occupy himself. He knows Jon already knows, and Adam too, but he still feels the need to add, “I don’t want to push him. Not if he—if he doesn’t want to play hockey, or if he wants to stop or—I just don’t want to push him.”

Jon hops down from the counter. “You aren’t, Pat.” He puts a hand on Pat’s shoulder and looks him in the eye. “You aren’t pushing him at all.”

Glancing away from his husband, “Then why did he tell you he wanted to play baseball,” Pat counters. “Why didn’t he tell me?’’

“Because I was the one who picked him up from Ryan’s before we left and he told me then,” Jon answers. “That’s all it was. He asked me as we were almost out the door and Jen told me she’d send the info. That’s all.” Jon waits from Pat’s gaze to land on him again. “I was just the one who picked him up, Pat. He would have asked you too. He just got to me first.”

Pat nods. He supposes that makes sense. But still, “Okay. But if I ever…”

“I know, Pat.” 

“You have to tell me.”

“I will.”

“Promise me.” 

“I promise.”

“I meant it,” Pat counters fiercely, his eyes bright. 

Jon brings up his hand, spits into it, and holds it out, “Promise.”

Pat recoils. “That’s disgusting.”

Jon’s smirk is quick, “We didn’t all grow up with sisters and pinky promises, Kaner.”

Pat grabs Jon’s wrist and shoves his husband’s hand into his own shirt to wipe off the spit. “At least our promises were sanitary.”

Jon chuckles and pulls Pat in, smiling a kiss into Pat’s temple and bringing a hand up to the nape of his neck. Jon soothes a thumb over the softly curling hair at Pat’s hairline and says softly, “I promise to let you know if you’re ever acting like him.”

Pat lets out a sign and wraps his arms around Jon’s middle. “Thank you.” And then, “Ditto.” 

Jon snorts a laugh and pulls Pat in tighter.

The night sinks in around them as they hold each other. The quiet of the house is a soft lullaby, beckoning them to rest. Pat pulls away and reaches for Jon’s hand. “So, tell me about this league,” he says as he pulls Jon out of the room and flicks off the light. 

“Jen actually just sent me the link the other day. It seems pretty legit.”

Pat listens intently as he leads Jon through the dark house and up the stairs to their bedroom. He smiles as Jon continues with his research into the team and the league as they dress for bed. 

“And Jen said she wasn’t sure which team Ryan was on yet but I really think that we should push to get the boys on Miller’s team. I think that guy’s got the coaching philosophy we need.”

Pat snorts as he pulls down the coverlet and gets into bed. “Coaching philosophy. Really Jon?”

Jon pauses getting into bed himself and stands up straight. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means they’re four, Jon. I don’t know how much coaching philosophy matters at four.”

“What’s that—Pat. You of all people know that these are foundational years in athletic development ad—”

Pat gets up on his knees and quickly moves to cup Jon’s face. He does not want to have this fight with his AHL coach of a husband at 2am after a stupidly long travel day. “I know. I’m sorry”

“—Having the wrong coach in a position like this could impact Adam’s attitude towards sports for—”

“I know,” Pat kisses Jon, fast and hard on the mouth. “I know. I’m sorry. You’re right, I know.”

“I just don’t think that this is something we should take lightly. I mean, we care which teachers he’s getting. This is just as import—”

Pat kisses him again, deeper this time, longer. “It is,” Pat says against Jon’s lips. “It is important. It’s very important. You’re right.” He pulls back to meet Jon’s eyes. “His coach is important. I shouldn't have joked.”

“No,” Jon looks down, he nudges Pat to scoot back so he can get into bed. “You shouldn’t have.”

Pat watches as his husband settles into bed and feels a weight drop in his stomach when Jon turns his back. He settles in close and puts an arm around Jon to pull his back close to Pat’s front. “What’s Miller’s approach?” he asks. 

Jon readjusts his pillow. “You don’t want to hear about it.”

“I do.” Pat presses a kiss to Jon’s neck. “Tell me.” He dots the words over Jon’s skin. “Tell me. Please tell me. Jon. I’m sorry. Tell me."

“Fine!” Jon turns over. “I’ll tell you.”

“Good. I want to hear.” Pat settles into his husband’s chest and falls asleep to Jon’s deep voice telling him all about all the research (aka: borderline Facebook stalking) Jon did on all the coaches in the league.

“It’s not stalking, Pat. It’s research. The website wasn't detailed enough. I want to know what other parents were saying.”

[aidensteddybear]

Regressor Yul having a stomach ache but he doesn’t tell cg Alec that, like Alec will make him breakfast and Yul just throws a tantrum because why would his cg give him food when his stomach hurts, but again Alec has no idea that Yul gas a stomach ache, eventually Alec learns that Yul has a stomach ache and tries to feed him medicine only for Yul to refuse any and all medicine

Regressor! Yul w/ Caregiver! Alec

When Yul had woken up this morning, he was extremely fussy and upset. Alec was used to Yul waking up a bit cranky, regressed or not, but today he was just really upset.

Since he’d been up, Yul wouldn’t stop crying. Alec figured he was either hungry or hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, so he was currently Yul breakfast to see if that would help with his fussiness.

While Alec was cooking, he could hear Yul crying in the living room. He had laid him down on the couch with his blanket, pacifier, and a couple of stuffed animals. Alec had also given him a bottle of milk, though as soon as it was handed to him, Yul threw it across the room. It was obvious he didn’t want it, but Alec still put the bottle next to him, in case he changed his mind.

Alec was in the middle of putting Yul’s breakfast in a bowl, when he heard a loud cry of pain. Alec was quick to go out into the living room, where Yul was now curled up in a ball and sobbing.

Alec gently picked up Yul and held him close, which seemed to calm him down a little. Yul laid his head down on Alec’s shoulder and whimpered as he was carried out into the kitchen.

“What’s with you today, Yul? You seem very upset, more than usual.” Alec questioned. Yul didn’t answer, he just whined a lot. Alec was concerned about Yul’s behavior, but he decided to try and feed him to see if that would help.

He set Yul down at the table, which caused him to fuss even more as he squirmed around in his seat. Alec went over and grabbed the bowl of oatmeal he had made, along with a bottle of juice.

Alec placed the meal in front of Yul, who immediately whined and pushed the bowl away from him.

“Yul, can you please try and eat something?” Alec grabbed a spoonful of oatmeal and held it up to Yul’s mouth. Yul let out a very upset squeal as he turned his head.

Alec sighed and placed the spoon in the bowl. If Yul didn’t want it, then he didn’t want it. Alec wasn’t going to make him eat it, even though he’d much rather have Yul eat something than refuse it.

“Do you think you can at least try and drink some of your juice?” Yul looked at the bottle, before slowly taking it. He took a few small sips, then put the bottle back on the table.

Alec grabbed the bottle and bowl, stood up, and walked over to the fridge and placed the items in there. He went back over to Yul, and picked him up.

“Did you not sleep well last night? Do you need an early nap today?” Alec questioned as he carried Yul to the living room.

Loud, frustrated whines came from Yul as he aggressively kicked his legs. He didn’t feel good, how did Alec not know that already? Alec should’ve known immediately, but he didn’t.

“Relax, you’re alright. It was only a question.” Alec spoke softly as he sat down on the couch with Yul in his lap. He began to rub his back, while Yul laid his head down on Alec’s shoulder.

Alec still wasn’t sure what was wrong with Yul, until he did a certain motion. An uncomfortable and pained expression appeared on Yul’s face as he held his stomach. Alec immediately realized what was wrong, and felt a bit dumb for not realizing it sooner.

“Oh. Does your stomach hurt? Is that why you’ve been so upset?” Alec knew the answer and Yul only confirmed it. He nodded a little, whining and whimpering as he squirmed a little in Alec’s lap. He was very clearly uncomfortable.

“Alright, it’s alright.” Alec told him. “I’m going to go get something. I will be right back.” Alec set Yul on the couch, making him whine even more as he reached for him.

Instead of picking him up, Alec placed a stuffed animal in Yul’s lap to keep him company and gave him his pacifier to hopefully calm him down some. He then left the room to go get Yul some medicine.

Alec soon came back with a thing of liquid medicine, a spoon, and bottle filled with water so Yul could wash the taste out of his mouth. Alec was hoping that Yul wasn’t going to be difficult and would just take his medicine, but he knew that was highly unlikely.

When Alec sat back on the couch, Yul immediately crawled right back on his lap and clung to him. Alec wrapped an arm around him and used his other arm to take Yul’s pacifier out of his mouth, which caused him to start crying in an instant.

“Shh, shh. I’ll give you your pacifier back in a moment. You need to take some medicine first.” Alec told him. Yul whined and shook his head.

“If you want to feel better, you have to take your medicine.” Yul shook his head again, watching as Alec poured some medicine on the spoon.

Alec put the spoon to his mouth, but Yul only turned his head.

“Mm-mm.” Yul whined. “If you don’t want your stomach to keep hurting, you need to take your medicine.” Alec said, though the only response he got was more whining.

Alec kept trying to get Yul to take his medicine, but it was practically impossible. He refused to take it.

Yul squirmed off of Alec’s lap and scooted to the opposite side of the couch. He glared at Alec with an angry pout and crossed his arms.

“If you don’t want to take it, that’s fine. Your stomach will keep hurting though.” Alec spoke, but Yul didn’t seem to care at all. Alec simply shrugged, pouring the spoonful of medicine back into its bottle and went to put everything back.

When Alec came back, Yul was still glaring at him. Alec grabbed the bottle of water he’d gotten for him and tried to hand it to him, but Yul didn’t take it. He just angrily stared.

“Look, if you really don’t want to take any medicine, then you don’t have to. Even though I think it’s ridiculous you won’t take something that’ll make you feel better.” Alec said. Yul only huffed in return.

“But could you at least drink some water. It should help your stomach a little.” Alec tried to hand it to him again, but Yul pushed it away. He whined a bit, before holding his arms out for Alec.

“I’ll hold you, but I need you to drink some water.” Alec told him as he placed him on his lap. He tried to give Yul the bottle once more, but again, Yul pushed it away.

“Yul-”

Alec was interrupted by a soft whine from Yul, who pointed at him, then shyly looked away. Alec knew what he wanted.

“Alright, Yul. It’s okay.” Alec gently got Yul into a comfortable, cradled position and began to feed Yul the bottle.

With his other hand, Alec placed it on Yul’s stomach and softly rubbed it up and down, hoping it would help settle his stomach.

Yul ended up calming down a lot, he was completely quiet at that point. Alec doubted that his stomach ache was gone for the rest of the day and was hoping that, if it did come back, Yul would take his medicine. Though, Alec knew that was very unlikely.

[kingofsummer93]

Prompts 9 and/or 64 for Elucien pls!

also, I think 10 would definitely a tired, over it, exasperated Lucien would say 😂

Chaotic Writing Prompts

9- Get in the fucking blanket fort / 64-Pay attention to me, I’m cute and needy.

For @sjmromanceweek Day 2 : Love Language

Elain and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Rating: T

Word Count: 1.7K

read it on Ao3

As far as Valentine's Day celebrations went, this one was on its way to becoming the worst in Elain’s entire life. She would have gladly relived her awkward first kiss at the 9th grade winter formal over this hellish day.

She was tired, she was hungry, she was more than a little cranky, and she was driving home through the worst blizzard of the year. And to top it all off, her husband was currently out of town on a business trip, during what should have been their first Valentines Day as a married couple.

It wasn’t his fault, of course. Lucien had seriously suggested feigning an illness to get out of it, and had only gone after Elain had practically shoved him into the Uber.

Still, she knew it was just a silly holiday, but she couldn’t help it- she loved Valentine’s Day. She loved the heart-shaped candies, and the decorations, and dinners in candle-lit restaurants. Or maybe she simply loved love, and any excuse to celebrate it. Lucien had promised they would celebrate when he got back, but she couldn’t help her disappointment.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do Galentine’s Day?” Vassa’s voice was barely discernible over the sound of the heat blasting in her car. “I can cancel our dinner reservation. You know how much Jurian hates Valentine’s Day anyway.”

Elain sighed, for perhaps the thousandth time that day. “I love you for suggesting it but no. I had a bad day and I’m just being dramatic.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, hun, but I’m going to stab my coworker to death and eat her heart for lunch sounds like a little more than a bad day.”

“That bitch probably doesn’t even have a heart anyway,” Elain mumbled darkly.

Vassa cackled, her laughter punctuated by the unmistakable sound of a bottle of wine opening in the background.

Wine. That was what she needed. Wine and a bubble bath, followed by a big bowl of popcorn and more wine.

“I”m fine,” she said again, as much to convince herself as Vassa. “I’m just going to put on some sweats, watch a movie and drown my sorrows in wine. Lucien said he’d facetime me if his meetings ended early, anyway.”

She didn’t add that Lucien hadn’t sounded convinced that he could make this happen, considering he was currently in a different time zone and his work days had been ending at 10 pm.

“Throw in a gin and tonic for good measure. And maybe a green vegetable.”

“Yes mom!”

“And Elain- please don’t stab anyone tonight! Although, Valentine’s Day Stabber does have a ring to it…”

Elain let out a puff of laughter, some of the day’s tension easing from her shoulders. “I promise no stabbing. Although I make no promises on strangulation.”

“That’s my girl. Love you.”

“Love you too. Go torture Jurian with lots of lovey-dovey stuff.”

“Hey! I heard-”

Vassa’s cackles were cut off as her friend promptly disconnected, and Elain could only laugh again as she pictured the look of exaggerated affront that would currently be on Jurian’s face.

Her briefly heightened spirits quickly fell, however, as she turned into her driveway and her little Honda skidded over the snow already accumulated there. She needed a new car. And a house with a garage.

Or maybe she just wanted her husband to be waiting for her inside, ready to wrap her in a bear hug and listen patiently to her whine about her shitty day.

No mopping. It’s just a stupid holiday, it doesn’t mean anything.

Her phone pinged, as if mocking her.

Heading into the afternoon conference. It’s BOILING hot here. Hope you’re not getting buried in snow! Shovel is in the shed if you need it.

Elain grumbled all the way to her front door, cursing both her husband and the snow sinking into her boots and soaking through her socks. She peeled her off her wet parka and boots and walked upstairs to her bedroom, deciding her priority number one was putting on her oldest, comfiest sweats. Her bedroom door was half open, and once glance inside made her stop dead in her tracks.

Somebody was in her house.

Not only was somebody in her house, but somebody had turned her bedroom into a giant blanket fort. Sheets and blankets were draped over the bed, looping over the ceiling fan to create a makeshift tent. String lights were strung over the headboard, illuminating the inside of the blanket fort.

Enough so that she could see the outline of someone lying on her bed.

Elain gasped and froze in shock, her heart jumping into her throat. She stood there for another beat, heart racing, as she mentally went through the list of people with a key to her house.

Lucien, who had just gone into a conference in California, thousands of miles away.

Vassa, who she had just spoken to on the phone.

And her sisters, who she knew for a fact were both occupied with their respective boyfriends tonight.

Elain turned and ran, practically tripping down the stairs as she went. Just as she was diving for her cell phone loud footsteps sounded overhead.

For one wild, hysterical moment she considered running to the kitchen and grabbing her biggest chef’s knife.

Valentine’s Day Stabber; Woman Stabs Intruder with Kitchen Knife!

The footsteps had started down the stairs. Elain clutched her cell phone in her hand, fingers poised over the emergency call button, and yanked her front door open.

“Love? Where are you going?”

The male voice trickling down the staircase was deep and rumbling, tinged with humor.

It was also very, very familiar.

Elain whirled on the spot, her heart still racing with adrenaline, and came face to face with the sight of her husband grinning at her. His white shirt was rumpled, his long red hair falling out of a messy bun, his lips curved into an infuriatingly playful grin.

“Lucien!” Elain clapped a hand to her chest, willing her racing pulse to slow down. “God! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Sorry!” He held up his palms, grin widening, not even looking a little bit sorry. The little shit.

“It’s not funny! I thought you were an intruder! I almost went to the kitchen to grab a knife!”

Lucien was trying not to laugh now, his chest heaving as he suppressed his chuckles. Elain had a sudden urge to throttle him. Maybe she hadn’t been wrong about the strangulation thing.

“Not the Imarku! That was a wedding gift!” He was full-on laughing now, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Elain growled in frustration and ran up the stairs, unsure if she wanted to tackle him and kiss him or tackle him and punch him. Before she could make up her mind Lucien laughed again and bounded up the stairs two at a time, disappearing into their bedroom.

“Come back here you little shit!”

“I can’t believe you thought an intruder had made you a blanket fort!”

“I will murder you!”

Elain reached the top of the stairs just in time to see Lucien dive-bomb into the mass of sheets and blankets over their bed.

“Get in the blanket fort!”

“No. I’m mad at you.” She crossed her arms over her chest for emphasis, even though he couldn’t see her.

“Get in the fucking blanket fort!”

“No!”

“Come pay attention to me, I’m cute and needy.” Lucien stuck his head out of the fort, pouting at her. His hair was even more mussed, his eyes still shining with delight. Damn him. Damn him and his stupidly beautiful face.

In three rapid steps Elain had crossed the room and launched herself into his arms, tackling him backwards onto the bed.

“I’m cute and needy,” she whined, face pressed against his chest. His familiar spicy, musky scent filled her nostrils. “And I had a shit day and I missed you.”

Lucien’s arms tightened around her as he buried his face in her face. “I missed you too, my love. So much.”

There was nothing but sincerity in his voice now, and all of Elain’s anger melted away. She lifted her hair and peered around the blanket fort, giggling as she took in the sight. The bed was piled high with pillows and cushions, forming a little nest underneath the canopy of sheets and blankets. The string lights draped over the headboard gave the space a cozy, warm glow. A laptop was plugged in and opened to the Netflix romantic comedy section, and next to it sat a bottle of wine, a box of chocolates, and a large bowl of buttered popcorn.

Lucien smiled sheepishly. “The conference ended a day early and I thought it would be fun to surprise you. I’m sorry I scared you.”

Elain squeezed him tighter, burying her face against him again. “I’m sorry I almost stabbed you with our Imarku.”

Lucien’s laugh vibrated against her cheek. He dipped a finger under her chin and Elain angled her face up for a kiss, sighing at the familiar feel of his lips against hers.

“Hi,” he whispered, his breath ghosting against her lips.

“Hi.” She giggled again as he nuzzled her nose. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

“Me too. Tell me all about your shitty day.”

“It’s not a shitty day anymore. Now it’s a great day.”

“Indeed. The day you almost stabbed an intruder for making you a blanket fort.”

Elain punched him in the shoulder, shaking her head at him.

“We can go out for dinner, if you’d rather,” Lucien added. “But the weather is so bad I thought it’d be fun to have a cozy night in.”

“No!” Elain exclaimed, reaching for a handful of popcorn. “I love my blanket fort. We should leave it like this. Although…”

“Yes?” Lucien asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Elain glanced at his rumpled dress shirt, then at her own wrinkled top, feeling her strapless bra digging into her skin.

“Can we change into sweats?”

Lucien grinned again, wickedly this time. “Yes, after.”

Elain bit her lip. She knew that grin. “After what?” she asked, blinking up at him innocently.

She yelped as Lucien smoothly flipped them so he hovered over her. “After you pay attention to me. I’m cute and needy, remember?”

“You’re also an idiot.”

“Ahh, yes, but you love me.”

Elain hummed noncommittally.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” Lucien whispered.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, you big dummy.”