#watching the wild flowers come up in the backyard

[inniave]

after surgery i'm buying myself pentiment goddamnit

[hunnylagoon]

Right Where You Left Me

Pt1: Coming Down With Me

Ellie Williams x reader

I once met a girl with skin like kiwi. Even the butterflies were drawn to her, landing on the top of her nose, the dip in her palm. But the kiwi stung my tongue, scarred my lips and made me bleed. I do not care. Cover me in your kiwi kisses, burn my mouth and scar my flesh. Bleach my eyes and dip my heart in lemon juice. Sing your sickly sweet words until my ears bleed.

Premise: You and Ellie were childhood best friends until you grew up. Funny thing about soulmates is that they tend to find their way back to each other.

Warnings: Angst / reader has religious issues / people are mean lol / best friends to enemies to lovers / roommate! Ellie

Part two here!

Part three here!

Part four here!

I know everything about you,

You know everything about me.

I had always been bound to the earth while Ellie danced with the stars in the night sky among delusion and dreams. Though, more so than anything, we were bound to one another.

Our parents were friends, even before we were born. They met at summer camp when they were teenagers, the same camp that Ellie and I were eventually shipped off to every summer. Of course, I have no recollection of when I was an infant, only stories that my parents shared with me; My dad told me that I learned to crawl backwards before I learned to crawl forwards. Joel kept a photo album of his girl.

I can't remember days of crawling around and babbling incoherently, but I can tell you what I remember.

Five years old- Kindergarten

Despite the air being unbearable hot, it was infused with excitement as Ellie and me set foot in the petting zoo. I had never seen so many animals in one place, my little brain was going nuts. Accompanied by the gentle hum of content animals, the aroma of straw, and the distant melody of joyful chatter, the petting zoo rang true to its rustic charm.

Ellie, with her auburn curls bouncing in the breeze, led the way, her eyes widened at the sight of a fluffy alpaca lazily grazing in the sunshine. I giggled as we approached a pen filled with adorable piglets, their tiny snouts sniffing the pure air far away from the dirty stench of the city.

Our parents, watching with affectionate smiles, guided us to the lamb enclosure where soft, woolly creatures nuzzled against tiny palms. Ellie's fingers gently traced the contours of a lamb's ear, and she couldn't resist a delighted squeal as she felt the velvety nose of a goat.

As the afternoon sun cast a warm glow on the scene, the families strolled through the meandering paths, passing by a pond where ducks quacked merrily. Ellie and I, hand in loveable hand, marvelled at the wonders of the animal kingdom, our hearts brimming with the pure joy of discovery and a blooming friendship.

Seven years old- Grade Two

On this particular day, Ellie and I had been messing around in her backyard; that's all we did on the weekends at that age, you couldn't get us to go inside. We spent the morning entwined in daffodils and hyacinth that Joel has so tenderly nurtured, careful not to crush the dainty flowers beneath our wild flailing bodies. 

We had the brilliant idea to paint rocks so we had been searching her yard for the perfect flat stones we had in mind. Ellie picked up a rock and immediately threw it back down, jumping away with a shriek.

This had piqued my curiosity (As well as Joels who sat on the back porch, watching us), I went over to where she stood petrified and found nothing more than a little snake staring up at her. I dropped the stones I had been carrying and bent over to get a better look at it, it was brown and had a few white vertical stripes cascading up its thin body. 

I slowly moved my hand outwards to touch but was swiftly interrupted by Joel scooping me up "That's enough of that kiddo." 

Nine years old- Grade Four

Joel's house garnered an expansive backyard and just past the old fence that Ellie and I had thrown one too many softballs at was a lush forest. I would always clamour up the wood fence and poke my little head over it to try and gather a glimpse of wildlife, Ellie usually had to give me a little boost. "Hold still!" She hissed with her arms wrapped around my torso to help lift me, my scrawny arms shook as I tried to pull myself up even further.

The wood rot of the ancient fence finally set in and with the both of us pressing our mighty weight against it collapsed with the fence. We heard the splitting of wood, I got the worst end of the stick, toppling over and putting my hands out to protect myself. I could've sworn that I heard my wrist break like a crunch.

While I did what felt like a three-sixty frontflip over the fence just for my small head to come down on the end of it with a solid smack, Ellie had just flopped on top of it, green eyes widening in shock when she saw my once straight arm now had an abnormal bump coming out from my wrist. "What's wrong with your hand?"

"I don't know I'm probably dying!" I screamed as loud as my voice could carry, that was the first time I had felt adrenaline run through my veins. "You killed me!"

"No, I didn't!" She retorted, scrambling off the fence and back up to her feet. She was clad in a Jurassic Park T-shirt that she practically was swimming in and those pink and orange plaid Bermuda shorts that any kid in the 2000s owned. "Dad!" Ellie yelled, calling for Joel.

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes and finally, I released the sob that had been building up in my throat. She was almost dumbstruck and just ended up kneeling and wrapping her arms around me in a hug.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She muttered.

10 years old- Grade Five

Ellie had been practicing guitar the entire time I was at her house, Joel had gifted her his old guitar and she was so set on perfecting every cord, every half-hour she would ask for a song recommendation and then flip through the songbook she got to find it.

I was curled up in her bed reading The Hunger Games over again "Els, are you team Peeta or Gale?" I was always at Ellie's house, mine was too busy all the time; I had three siblings, Naomi and Aaron who were twins and two years younger than me and my brother Elijah who was three years older than me. I loved going to her house on Saturdays so I could sleep in and wriggle my way out of going to church. Even though her house was right across the street from mine and my parents would bang on Joel's door, he always covered for me.

"Uh," She was distracted by something in her songbook "Team Katniss?"

I nod in approval to myself as she isn't paying attention "You know who Gale reminds me of?" I ask and without Ellie giving me a response I answer anyway "Luke, I think I kind of like him."

Those are the words that get her to look at me "Ew, he's so weird."

"He's nice to me."

She wrinkles her nose in distaste then shrugs, returning to her guitar which sits awardly in her scrawny frame.

12 years old- Grade Seven

"Fuck!" I yell, kicking the grimy green dumpster in the graffiti-covered ally out of anger, though I kicked it a little too hard now my foot hurts I refuse to admit it "Fuck I hate them!"

Ellie leans against the brick wall on the opposite side of the alley, our bikes discarded on the ground while I hopelessly rant to my friend about my parents. She doesn't say much, just little nods of agreement. My parents had caught me skipping church and they laid into me, saying that I had no respect for them or god and whether that was true or not didn't matter, I was full of pre-teen angst and needed to call my friend to go for a bike ride around town.

"She fucking tore my room apart, I never see them get mad at Aaron or Naomi!" I drag my hands down my face before I look back at the dumpster and kick it again "Ow, cunt!" I'm now hopping on one foot while my knee bends my other leg and I hold my beaten red Converse, covered in doodles, to soothe the pain of my poor toes. It's moments like this that remind me why I love Ellie, because as stupid as I look hobbling around and cussing, she doesn't laugh at me even though I know she wants to.

After a little bit of me aimlessly yelling I finally wind down. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to remember those breathing exercises that we were taught at school assemblies. "Thanks for listening to me talk shit, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," She shrugs "I've seen you do worse."

This cracks a smile on my face, I turn my head and am met with the Jackson skyline, a beautiful pink sunset on the horizon "Sun's setting," I say.

"Sleepover?" Ellie asks.

"Sleepover," I confirm.

13 years old- Grade Eight

We were thirteen when our parents shoved cash into our hands and dropped us at the mall to go back to school shopping by ourselves for the first time. Every parent's nightmare was a busy mall so when they figured us old enough to venture into the dreaded foodcourt on our own, believed they were taking that opportunity. 

Ellie had bought a couple of T-shirts and hoodies here and there, not too particular about what she was buying, though I was very nit-picky over what I wore so I forced Ellie to judge every single outfit that I wore and rate it, she gave the same answer every single time "It looks fine."

"Cool but I don't wanna look fine, I wanna look pretty," I say in frustration, walking back into the dressing room to try on another outfit. Ellie is sitting in the fitting room on a pink velvet couch, arms crossed and waiting for me to finish. "How's this?" I ask, walking out of the changing stall and giving her a little twirl.

"It looks fine- I mean good, everything looks good on you." She sounds almost exasperated. Ellie's hair was still that vibrant auburn colour that my mother was obsessed with, it had yet to fade out into a duller brown with age.

"Really?" I perk up just the slightest.

"Yeah, you look really pretty." She gives me a little nod of confirmation. I know that she's only saying that because she wants to go to the food court and get a cinnamon bun but I believe her anyway.

14 years old- Grade Nine

We were just nearing the end of the second half of our soccer game. It was the tournament and we were only a point away from placing first in the league, the thought of it had kept me up all week I was running off of Subway sandwiches and Gatorade. 

Riley (the midfielder) swiftly passed the ball to me before she was surrounded by the other team's defence, I looked up to the clock and there were only seconds left in the match. I let my instincts take over, my parents forcing me into soccer since elementary school was not going to wind up useless. My footwork took me up the right wing just before the penalty box. 

I wasn't paying enough attention to notice the tall blonde girl in a slick back ponytail closing in on me. I hear Ellie shout my name and that's all I need to make this last pass, I barely even looked up before power-driving the ball to Ellie who was merely six metres away from me. I slipped onto the muddied field with that kick, watching Ellie waste no time to score our final goal the second her cleat touched the ball. 

The clock deadlocks and I drag myself off the ground running towards my best friend, I jump on her almost taking her down with me though she manages to steady herself. "I fucking love you!" I scream hugging her with all of the force I can muster. She hugs me in return, unable to get any words out between her laughs. The team is quick to swarm us, everyone is shouting about our well-deserved victory but not one person is louder than Joel in the stands.

15 years old- Grade Ten

Snow was falling as I stood in the foyer of the high school, still waiting for my date for the winter formal to arrive. Conner had asked me out weeks ago, we hadn't talked much since though I just figured that was because he was shy. I even left school early to get ready and spent hours meticulously pinning every hair into place and adjusting my navy blue satin dress so it would drape across my body in just the right way.

My sister, Naomi was an aspiring makeup artist so I let her dust my eyelids in silver glitter, I forced Warren to drive me. All of that was just for me to get stood up. Conner hadn't texted me all day, I knew he wasn't coming that didn't stop me from forcing denial on myself. "Hey," I heard a soft voice sound behind me, I wasn't surprised to see Ellie. Even though our parents were no longer friends, we were close as ever.

"Hi," My voice was hushed and feeble.

"The dance started an hour ago," She said, that night she had been wearing a white button-up with a pair of jeans and her hair half up. It was clear the dance wasn't as big a deal to her as it was to me. All she had done was ask Riley to go with her and call it a day. Despite her lack of effort, she looks beautiful as ever "I don't think he's coming," She said bluntly.

That's the exact moment I felt myself crack, tears welled up in my eyes and I lurched forward to hug her, flailing my arms helplessly to search for comfort "Then why did he ask me to go with him?" My sobs were drowned out by the sound of Kesha blasting in the overcrowded gym.

"I don't know, but he's an idiot for standing you up," Ellie holds me close and I never want her to let go "I wouldn't have ever done that to you."

16 years old- Grade Eleven

This is where things begin to fall apart. I found Ellie on the back porch of some random guy's house at a party. "I figured I would find you out here," I say, taking a seat next to her on the wooden steps, I hug my knees close to my chest.

"What's up?" Beside me, Ellie is unnervingly calm, she nurses a joint, taking a long hit and letting the smoke turn to clouds. 

"Conner kissed me," I say cutting to the chase

I can tell she doesn't like the thought, she hated Conner, ever since he stood me up at the winter formal but she bites her tongue "You guys gonna date?"

"I think so."

"Good for you."

"I don't know if I liked it," My eyebrows are furrowed, and I pull my knees in even further, inhaling the crisp autumn air and the smell of Ellie, she smells like cannabis, firewood and bar soap. 

"What do you mean?" Ellie puts out the end of her joint and tucks what remains of it into an empty Altoids container.

"Nothing," I dismiss it, "It doesn't matter, I just wanted to talk to you," Ellie had softened every burden for me since we were girls. "Um, so, my parents are sending me to boarding school next year."

"No, they're not-

"They are."

Ellie doesn't seem so calm anymore, she adjusts her body to face mine and she's so close I swear to god I could've counted every freckle on her face. "Why, what did you do?" The way she looks at me makes me wish that she was a boy.

"Nothing!" I retort "They think I'm straying from god, it's a Christian school." That was my code for 'they think I have a crush on you and I rather not get disowned by my super religious parents!'

"come stay with me and Joel-

"Ellie, please," I place a hand on her thigh "I don't think I can get away from this one."

That was at the end of September, it only got worse from there. I partially wished that I didn't tell Ellie that I had to leave, every time we hung out it just felt like words were hanging between us like birds on a wire and neither of us could say what we wanted. I forced myself to distance myself from her, I didn't know how else to handle my feelings. 

She would blow up my phone and come by my house even visit my work but I just told her that I was busy. I could tell that she didn't believe my excuses for a second, she had English with my new boyfriend, Conner and would get him to relay messages and notes to me.

It didn't get easier to ignore her, my family prying about where she had been. I never told my parents that Ellie was gay, though I know they had always had a suspicion and that's why they could never love her all the way completely, the way Joel loved me and looked out for me. My mom and dad liked that I swapped out Ellie for Conner, by February, my dad even started to call him son. 

In March Ellie and I had stopped talking completely, she gave up on texting me and coming by my house just for my siblings to lie about my whereabouts. It hurt to see the resentment gleam in her eye every time she passed me in the hallway. 

She didn't speak a word to me until the start of the summer bonfire which was custom in our town. If I had known she would be there I never even would have thought about going. I rather not rehash this awful night, not right now just know that it ended with some alcohol, a bit of blood in the sand and me telling Ellie 'I would pick him over you every single time.' Yikes, that's not a good look for me. I spent the rest of my summer burying her in the back of my mind until boarding school finally came upon me and I graduated with friends I didn't like in a place that didn't feel like home. 

I was sixteen then now I'm nineteen, no longer a girl but not yet a woman. Those were some key moments of our friendship. I'm not so sure why I felt so mature at the age of sixteen. I had taken a gap year and loved every minute of it, I backpacked in Australia, worked as a camp counsellor in the summer then left to work at a turtle conservatory in Bali, I was making pennies but the experience was worth it. 

I arrived at my new home sunkissed with Ellie far in the back of my mind. I didn't know much about who I would be rooming with, I had only spoken to Dina over a Zoom call who was a friendly girl with warm eyes and ink-black hair spilling over her shoulders. I just prayed that none of them were Craigslist killers.

It took me entirely too long to find parking, when I finally did, I grabbed two of my suitcases, unable to hold anything else, the rest of the boxes jammed into my car would have to wait. I read over the text that Dina sent me what seemed to be a million times to make sure I had the right address. It was a small-ish one-story flat with brown walls that had white accents along corners and the doorway with a wood-panelled gable roof. As far as college housing went, I was happy. It looked like something I would've made in the Sims when I was a teenager. 

I walk to the front door, the entrance is framed by intricately carved moulding, its details telling a story of craftsmanship and tradition. The wood, polished to a warm, inviting glow, exudes a sense of richness and history. I knocked on the door and heard a voice shouting that she would get it.

The door swings open and I'm met face to face with Dina "Hey!" She smiled "It's nice to meet you, I think you'll like it here," She held the door wide open, motioning for me to go in, and I obliged. "Let me give you a tour." Dina is clad in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt and her hair has been pulled back into a messy ponytail.

The layout of the house seemed somewhat odd to me, there was a corridor straight ahead when you walked in, the first room was the laundry room and contained the washer and dryer with some hampers and shelves of detergent and laundry freshener. "This is the laundry room, we have a wash schedule along with a chore schedule so we will put you on that tonight," Dina told me, I just nodded politely in response feeling a little too awkward and out of place to say anything. 

"Alright so this is the kitchen, there's a half bathroom beside it," She says, swinging her arms wide open for exaggeration I can see the chore chart hanging on the walls, it's written in chalk, and it is the laundry schedule. There are little laminated tags with each person's name on them, though I can't quite make out the names from where I am standing. The fridge is covered in postcards, magazine cutouts, polaroids, and bright magnets of papayas and flowers, I automatically assumed this was Dina despite not knowing the other roommates. The kitchen is open with no walls to hide it, the oven and dishwasher are built into counters against the walls as well as the sink which i spotless at the moment, there isn't a dining table but a kitchen island with stools. Past the island you can see the living room, there are two grey couches with decorative pillows and fuzzy throw blankets, a coffee table that looked handcrafted with care and of course a TV. 

Have I mentioned there are plants everywhere? Like everywhere. "Okay, so," Dina keeps on moving and I trail behind with my suitcases, over there is my room and Cat's and Abby's," She points to the left of the living room where there is a short hallway with three doors, one on each wall of it. "There's Cat now," She waves at her roommate.

Cat is relatively tall, she has black hair that's tied into a bun, and she's wearing plaid pyjama pants and a black tank top, I can see her abundance of tattoos. She has one sleeve of laurel cascading up her arm and the other is patchwork done right, each separate piece blends almost seamlessly into the next. "I like your tattoos," I say, not wanting to sit in any more silence.

She grins at me "Thanks, love," I nod in response to her, Cat looks down at the suitcases that I'm lugging around "Dina, take this poor girl to her room already."

"I was just getting there," Dina teases and motions for me to follow her "So over here is the bathroom and of course your room, I left your copy of the house key on your mattress," She opens it up. The bedroom is completely blank aside from the boxed bedframe, shelf, vanity and mattress that I had to send over prior. There's a built-in closet in the wall. 

I put my suitcases on the ground "I'm gonna grab the rest of my stuff from my car," I offer up a tight-lipped smile.

"Wait a second," She takes my hand and then knocks on the bedroom door parallel to mine. "I'm coming in!" Dina announces pushing the door open, there's a brunette girl hunched over her desk. My breath hitches in my throat when she turns around "This is Ellie."

I can see the panic that momentarily takes over Ellie when she spots me before it's replaced by a false coolness, "Hey," She says before turning back to her laptop and putting her headphones back on. It felt like my heart had shut down, why the fuck did I sign the lease?

"Sorry," Dina shuts Ellie's door "She's not the friendliest of the bunch but she'll warm up to you eventually," Dina walks to the front door with you Abby should be around here somewhere."

I had gotten so frustrated trying to set up my bed frame that I sheepishly left my room and asked for help, god bless Abby. She was putting everything together so easily, I watched her in awe as she finished adding the final screw to my bedframe. "Want help setting up the mattress?"

"Yes, please," I say, I grab one end of the mattress while Abby gets the other, she tells me to lift on three and I listen, she carries the majority of the weight but it still feels like an accomplishment on my part. "So does everyone here go to Northridge?"

"Yeah, except for Cat, she's a tattoo apprentice."

"Cool, cool," I search for words, "What are you majoring in?"

"Kinesiology," It makes sense, I could've called that by looking at the fit gym rat who was now sitting on my bed. "You?"

"Wildlife biology,"

"So you like animals and conservation and stuff?"

"Mhm," I nod "It's honestly kind of hard to not have any animals in my life." I was missing all my pets back home, when I wasn't with them I was working at a conservatory or at a summer camp where I took care of all of the horses, and Ellie's dog, Achilles.

"You'll get used to it, living with Dina is the same thing as living with an animal," She smiles and for the first time, I feel comfortable. Abby watching me with her blue eyes as I begin to unpack my abundance of boxes, I kind of just dump everything onto the ground because I can't remember which box has what, the first thing I search for are my coat hangers. I dump out a box with a bible, wall cross, and rosery and golden cross necklace from a box of random knickknacks. "You religious?"

"Kind of?" I question it myself "Not really, it's just my family, I packed that stuff to make my mom happy."

Abby nods "I get it."

"You do?"

She backtracks "No, but I can try to."

I shake my head, "I wouldn't try if I were you, I spent nineteen years trying to get away from it." I was sure other Christian homes were healthy but mine wasn't one of them, the way my parents obsessed over Jesus was honestly frightening.

"Hey, do you wanna come watch a movie when your done unpacking?" Abby asked, "Get to know your new roommates a little better."

I don't entirely want to, I wasn't ready to talk to Ellie. I still hadn't wrapped my head around the fact that I was living with her and that she was pretending she didn't know me, despite this, my words betrayed me "For sure."

I sat on one of the couches beside Abby, I made myself as small as I could, thinking that maybe I could make myself disappear. Cat and Ellie crammed themselves on the other while Dina took the plush armchair. I felt so out of place everyone here had relationships, I had one with Ellie before I severed it 'Grown Ups' was playing on the flatscreen though it seemed I was the only one paying attention.

The four girls all laughed and talked their way through the movie, Abby, Cat, and Dina would ask me a question here and there but I didn't know them well enough to pitch in. I kept telling myself that I needed to push through, if Spiderman could do it, so could I.

I didn't even finish the movie, halfway through I excused myself saying I was tired which wasn't necessarily a lie. It was difficult to fathom how well Ellie was playing it off, acting like she never met me. I walk into the bathroom, clean towel in hand, ready to scrub off the stress of today. Beside the mirror, I see a cardstock poster decorated with bright markers and doodles.

HOUSE RULES

#1 No underwear left in the bathroom

#2 Wash your dishes

#3 Break it? Tell Abby

#4 No smoking inside

#5 Privates are private!

#6 Pls don't drink and drive (We have a couch)

#7 Give your beloved roommates a heads up before having someone over

#8 This is a residence of women so the seat goes down!!!

#9 Respect the bedrooms

#10 Having sex? Keep it quiet

#11 NO DRAMA!!!!!!!!

#12 Follow chore and wash chart

#13 Don't eat what's not yours! (Without asking)

I finish reading the last bit and mutter to myself  "Wasn't planning on it." I run the water so hot that it feels cold and I'm quick to not use all of the hot water and have my roommates hate me on my first night here. Everyone has their little drawers in the bathroom, mine is empty aside from some floss and cotton pads that the girl before me left behind. I make a mental note to make use of my bathroom drawer tomorrow and fill it with makeup remover or conditioner, or something like that.

Brushing my teeth and wrapping myself in a strawberry towel that I had purchased at a craft fair, I open the bathroom door, I can see the light of the TV and the sound of chatter from the living room. However, I ignore it and make a B-line to my bedroom. Even though I had spent hours unpacking and pinning up posters it still didn't seem homey.

I slip into shorts and a t-shirt, leaving my hair as is and throw myself onto my bed. My towel is discarded onto my bathroom floor. When I turn on my phone I am bombarded my messages from my parents, my mother has probably sent me twelve Google pins to the closest churches, I answer her with a thumb-up emoji and settle into my bed to scroll through social media and see how much fun all of my friends are having. 

Fucking Ellie. She's plaguing my thoughts, I think of what I said to her and it makes me cringe, I want to smother myself with my satin pillow. I don't even have food to eat, grocery shopping wasn't something that I put on my priority list and right about now I was but Ellie, god, why was I such a dick? Because I didn't know what else to do- whatever, I was a scared teenager. What would you have done? Probably kiss her you lesbo.

Lord, it makes me sick to think about what could've been.

15 years old- Grade Ten

Ellie and I were sitting at a fire pit at her uncle Tommy's lake house. It was a Fourth of July party except we were the only teenagers there; everyone else was friends of Tommy and Maria or some distant relatives of Ellie's or children of said people.

After five years of practicing day and night, Ellie had just about mastered the acoustic guitar, she played and I sang, wrapped up in her flannel, I was tucked close next to her. 

She struck every cord perfectly and I began to sing absentmindedly, the song that had been carved into my brain. Ellie looked so insanely beautiful illuminated only by fire and the stars that hung in the sky, if it hadn't been a sin I would've kissed her.

Talking to her felt as holy as praying to god but I knew it was as sinful as worshipping the devil. 

If it was so wrong why was I born in God's image?

Her gentle hand strummed on the chords of the guitar, the same calloused hand that had once turned water into wine. Her laughter was the sound of a church choir 

I wish I told her how much I liked her but what would've happened if I did? What would my parents think, they would kill me. 

Part of me didn't care how my parents would react, if I spoke up, I could say goodbye to my inheritance and having college paid for. Maybe that was an unfair assumption to make on my part. Ugh. FUCK, I don't know, let's get to the next part of the story.

I couldn't sleep that night, I thought maybe a glass of water would soothe me, well I didn't really think that but I was hungry and thirsty and water was the only thing in that house I had the right to ingest. I figured that I could fill myself with water and zip to Denny's in the morning then grab some groceries.

Poking my head out of my door, I checked to see if anyone was still awake before gingerly taking hushed steps towards the kitchen, I was trying to be as light as Thumbelina. I hadn't noticed Ellie bumming on the couch, scrolling through her phone. 

"You cooking all of that non-existent food you brought?" She jeered. Oh, now she wanted to talk to me.

"I was gonna have some warm water soup for dinner and chew on pistachio shells from the cup holder in my car for dessert," I answer "I'm treating myself tonight." She didn't think it was funny at all, a few years ago she would've been cackling at my subpar joke, but now she just seemed unamused. "Sheesh, tough crowd."

She stays silent.

"You used to think I was funny," I say.

"I also used to think the tooth fairy was real."

"Harsh," I mutter. Turning the tap on and sticking a finger underneath it to test the temperature. I put my hummingbird mug underneath it and let it fill. "Hey, Ellie," She doesn't answer "Have you told them any bad things about me?"

She nearly scoffs "No, believe it or not, I don't talk about you, I don't even think about you," There's venom in her voice "You haven't crossed my mind since you walked through that door."

"Why are you pretending you don't know me-

"Because I don't fucking like you," She says it like it's so obvious and it honestly is in this moment "Just because you're pretty and you act like a sweet little Christain girl, that doesn't mean shit."

"I'm not trying to act like anything-

"Yeah, well it seems pretty insincere to me," Ellie seethed and I could feel a sting in my heart, I would do some pretty horrendous things for a time machine right about now.  I can tell that there won't be any salvaging for this, she hates me to death and rightfully so. 

This is where I give up "Okay, sorry," I grab my hummingbird mug and retreat to my room.

I endured four months of that.

Ellie was pushed to the back of my mind while I ran through classes and got a job as a waitress at a stake house. I did everything in my power to keep myself busy, to keep her out of my head but she was always there, she hung around like a song I can't shake, like I'm haunted by the melody. 

Some nights when the city decides to quiet down I can hear her play guitar, and I'll quietly hum along to it. Songs she used to sing for me, she now sings for another woman, another soul. I knew that she had girls over, but I never got to meet them as Ellie did everything in her power to pretend I didn't exist.

The only communication I got with her was in the roommate's group chat, and it was always brief.

Ellie: Having a friend over tomorrow night

D-manz: Friend? With benefits??????????

Kit-Cat: Nah they're hardly even friends, just benefits

Abs: Don't get her pregnant

Me: 👍

As long as I was with the girls, Ellie was not. She avoided me like the plague, it was like she despised my existence. If we go clubbing, she takes a separate taxi, petty if you ask me. The girls knew something happened between us but they couldn't pinpoint what it was. It was Dina's conspiracy that Ellie used to date one of my friends and broke her heart. While I bonded with Cat, Dina, and Abby, Ellie would pretend to like me. She would occasionally laugh at my jokes or ask how my shift was when Dina was in the room. 

Trust me when I say I would rather forget than dwell on it but it was impossible. I know that I'm nothing more than an obstacle to her, a stain on her bedsheets, a sore in her mouth, but she was still my diamond in the rough. I will willingly ignore all of her cutthroat words and her jagged edges. 

Because I know everything about us.

[clangenrising]

Month 12 - Leafbare

Time was hard to hold onto these days. Scorch blinked and suddenly spring had arrived, cautiously thawing out the gardens and poking its flowers up through the soil. If she thought back, she could remember that she had spent the time studying to become an interpreter in between visits from Razor but the actual experiences of those moments tended to feel fuzzy and loose. She was grateful that she somehow managed to hold onto the knowledge of interpreting.

The act fascinated her. Each Name Charm was marked with symbols that the Folk used to convey meaning and slowly, she was learning to interpret it. Confined in her house as she was, Portia wasn’t able to do much teaching so she had put a young molly named Marmalade in charge of teaching Scorch how to understand the symbols. 

Marmalade took Scorch through the neighborhood, usually with another cat along to ‘escort’, and showed her the symbols in different places. Now that they were pointed out to her, Scorch couldn’t stop seeing them. They were on the corner poles and the fronts of houses and the sides of cars and nearly every wall in the downtown area had some cluster of them somewhere. Marmalade would teach her what they said and then teach her how each symbol made up a piece of the meaning. She learned how to recognize the individual symbols wherever they appeared in the clusters and how there were two versions of each symbol for some reason. 

It was honestly exciting. She couldn’t believe that all her life there had been meaning spread across the surface of the world and she hadn’t even known. When she was at home, when time was the most solid, she would wander around, discovering all of the different symbols in her home and trying to interpret them. They were everywhere, on the food boxes and her dish and flashing across the magic window that her Folk would watch and the pages in the kits’ rooms and the warm thing the adult human pawed at on her lap and even though Scorch didn’t know what some of the words meant, she knew their pieces and that felt like power. 

It wasn’t power that helped her much, though. Being an Interpreter did come with a certain amount of prestige. She and Marmalade were sometimes sent to deliver blessings from the Folk. They would go to cats who were ill in their homes or to new mothers and their kittens and bestow gifts upon them. Cats always thanked them and looked up at them with worshipful gazes. They parted to allow them through. Chaff asked them for blessings as they passed and thanked them profusely when Marmalade bid them “be well.” Yes, there was definitely power there, but it never did anything to get rid of the babysitters that followed her everywhere she went.

And it never stopped Razor from calling on her. 

Today, after an Interpreters’ meeting in Portia’s garden, he had arrived to collect her, all toothy smiles and pet names and suffocating touches. She purred and fell in beside him and let go of her grasp on time. He’d invited her to accompany him to another meeting, this one about the warfront, and she had agreed. 

Now she found herself draped against his side as he lounged in the grass of his own backyard. Several toms sat around in a circle, discussing strategy. All of them, except for Ghost, were Exalted. 

“Hunting operations are continuing as planned,” Oreo was saying. “We’ll have to increase our presence, though, if we want to account for spring prey numbers.” 

“Do you think we’ll still be able to starve them out?” Razor asked thoughtfully. 

“I do,” Oreo nodded. “The Chaff are hungry enough, the only problem is the risk of getting attacked by wild cats. We need to find a way to make it seem like the threat is minimal if we want them hunting in droves.” 

Ghost cleared his throat and said, “From what my cats have been saying, most encounters can end without bloodshed as long as we don’t antagonize the Clans. If a cat apologizes and leaves they’ll get a torn ear at most. If you’d like, I can spread the word about-”

“No,” Razor rumbled darkly and Scorch felt her throat tighten. “No, we’re not going to teach the Chaff that they should run from these savages. We won’t show weakness like that when that territory is our right.” 

“But, sir,” Ghost shifted uncomfortably, “most of my cats aren’t fighters.”

“Then pair them with fighters,” Razor said as if it were obvious. “If they need protection, give it to them.” 

Ghost’s throat labored for a moment before he said, “Yes, sir.” 

“I think it might also be a good idea to take a more proactive approach,” said Sardine, a younger tom who had only recently been allowed into these kinds of meetings. “You know what they say: the best defense is a good offense.” 

Razor smiled and nodded in his direction. “I’m listening.” Scorch listened too, with bated breath.

Sardine continued. “Part of the reason the Slaughter of Sycamore was such a decisive loss was because our position wasn’t easily defensible. The wild cats had the home turf advantage and, given their surprisingly large numbers, I reason they must have had somewhere to organize themselves before the attack. If we could take that location for ourselves, we would have a much stronger foothold from which to orchestrate our campaign. We could even move a number of chaff to the front full time.”

Scorch repressed a shiver as the image of Razor and his followers carving their way through RisingClan’s camp flashed through her mind. The calm, detached manner in which Sardine said it rubbed her fur the wrong way. It was almost like he didn’t care that he was toying with the lives of cats on both sides.

“And how would you propose we do that?” frowned Tiger, his muscles rippling under his pelt as he shifted forward. “We have no idea how far that location might be and clearly inching our way bit by bit doesn’t work.”

“It could,” Oreo countered. “Another big reason we lost that battle was because of the snow storm and we’ll have all summer to retake that ground.” 

“We’ll still be out in the open,” Tiger growled. “I don’t like it.” 

“Please,” Razor said, his chest rumbling smoothly against Scorch’s side, “I’m sure Sardine has a plan. Don’t you?” He tilted his head to regard the young cat and Scorch heard the familiar undertone in his voice that said ‘this is a test.’ 

Sardine smiled and said, “I do. I propose we form strike teams of three to six cats and wait for the ‘border patrols’ to come by then kill as many cats as we can.” Scorch swallowed. “Soon enough, their numbers will weaken and falter and we will be able to find and clear out one of their bases and take it for our own, thus acquiring a proper encampment from which to stage our own assault.” 

“Not a bad strategy,” Razor complimented and one of Sardine’s ears twitched in satisfaction. “What do we think, boys?” He looked around the circle, one brow raised. Scorch did likewise, trying to keep her expression passive as she judged their reactions. 

“It could work…” Oreo hummed skeptically. 

Ghost shifted, a grimace on his face, and said, “This all assumes that they have a fortified location we could use. There’s no way to know if that's the case. They could live in scattered nests or isolated burrows.”

“Who cares,” Tiger brushed him off. “Even if there isn’t some central location we can take over, I think the effort put into the strike teams would be worth it.” He smirked and looked at Razor. “I wouldn’t mind the opportunity for a bit of extermination.” Scorch’s blood ran cold. Tiger seemed to notice and his eyes twitched over to meet hers. She quickly ducked her gaze and leaned away to nestle her cheek into Razor’s fur demurely. 

“We would need to be careful,” Ghost said. “The wild cats are a lot stronger than we first thought. I’m not sure many of my cats could go blow for blow with them for long.” 

“They don’t need to,” Oreo said simply. “If we get enough of them in a group they’ll be able to wear the wild cats down even if they take losses.” Scorch spared a glance at Ghost to see his jaw working. He was furious. Still, he was hiding it well, she thought. It was only her experience with him that let her recognize the subtle tensing of the muscles in his neck and the way his tail tip was poised to start twitching if he let it. 

Razor seemed to notice too and said, “True, but there’s no need to be so wasteful if we can afford not to be. It’s our job to look out for the Chaff, is it not?” 

Oreo’s whiskers twitched and he looked down. Tiger huffed softly through his nose. 

Sardine nodded and said, “Indeed. Perhaps combat training could be provided?” 

Razor smiled. “Good idea,” he said. “Why don’t you and Ghost organize training for the most promising candidates. Once you both feel satisfied with their progress, we can start implementing these strike teams, yeah?”

“Sounds good,” Sardine said, glancing at Ghost. Ghost grunted affirmatively, his jaw still clenched. 

“Good,” Razor said, moving to stand. Scorch stood as well, pressing close to him and keeping her head low to avoid too much attention. “Is there anything else we needed to discuss?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” Oreo said, standing as well. Tiger and Ghost both shook their heads. 

Sardine took a step forward. “Actually, Razor, I was wondering if I could have a private word?” 

“Of course,” Razor said, jerking his head towards the rose bush in the corner of the yard. Tail brushing across Scorch’s belly, he leaned into her ear and said, “Wait here for me, would you, dear?” 

Scorch chuckled to hide the shudder of disgust that went through her. “Always.” His smile widened and he ran his tongue over her cheek and up her brow before gesturing to Sardine and padding off to the rose bush. She was tempted to try and eavesdrop but knew that she wouldn’t be able to get close enough without being seen. 

In addition, she had a more important task to see to. She looked over at the others. Oreo and Tiger had started off across the lawn together, talking amongst themselves. Ghost sat still, his eyes closed as he breathed slowly in and out. Scorch cast one glance over her shoulder to make sure Razor was occupied then slipped over to stand next to Ghost. His whiskers twitched as she drew near and he opened his newly scarred eye to look at her.

“What do you want?” he grumbled. His eyes also darted over her shoulder to where Razor and Sardine were talking. 

“I wanted to apologize,” she said softly, offering a smile. “I was under quite a lot of stress last time we talked and I did a lot of things that I am not proud of.” She held her breath, hoping he bought it. This part was integral if she was going to accomplish what she needed to.

He scowled at her. “You nearly got me in serious trouble, you know that?” 

“I do,” she winced, hoping she looked sufficiently remorseful. “I’m sorry, Ghost. Really.” He stared at her for another long moment before sighing, his gaze softening a touch. 

“I appreciate it,” he said, looking her over. She smiled and sat down. Good. He had never been able to stay mad at her for long.

“I did mean what I said about looking out for Smokyrose,” she whispered. “If you helped me escape, I could bring them a warning.”

Ghost shook his head. “And then what? My cats get killed instead? No, I can’t do that.” Scorch felt anger rising in her again. There was always an excuse with him, wasn’t there, some reason why he couldn’t do what she needed him to. She focused on keeping calm, though. Trying to threaten him hadn’t worked at all. She needed to use a softer touch. 

She shifted closer, her eyes big and sincere, and said, “Then I’ll tell the Clans not to kill the Chaff. Goldenstar would listen. She took in Scrap despite my warnings. If she can spare a life, she will, I promise.” 

“So Scrap is safe then,” he said as if he’d caught her in a lie. Scorch tried not to let her irritation get the better of her. Like he cared about Scrap at all. 

“Yes,” she said, smiling. “And I can make sure that she stays that way. Both her and Smokyrose.” Instinctively, she brushed her tail tenderly over his, satisfied by the way he tensed and then relaxed under her touch. “Please, Ghost. Won’t you help me?” She tried to make her eyes water as she held his gaze. Hopefully he would prove as predictable as always and be unable to resist the pleadings of a woman who needed him. 

She watched him thinking. His eyes darted down to her paws like he wanted to place one of his own on top of them. He leaned forward almost imperceptibly, their whiskers almost close enough to touch. His mouth opened, a hesitant word on his tongue, and she felt her spirits soar. Yes! She had won! She had-

His eyes flickered over her shoulder and a scowl returned. “Razor is watching,” he said. Bile swelled to overtake her lifted spirits and drag them back down to the pit of her stomach. She knew better than to look over her shoulder or quickly fix her posture. She licked her lips and very carefully sat back. 

“Think about it,” she said. “You know where to find me.” At this point, she could hear Razor coming her way. She let one ear twitch back, then stood and turned to face him, hiding all evidence that she had been touching Ghost. She smiled fondly at Razor and moved to meet him, butting her head against his chest. 

“Ghost,” Sardine said, a dubious tilt to his voice, ��Shall we talk logistics?” 

Ghost cleared his throat and nodded, standing. “Yes. Let’s.” Stiffly, he turned and followed the younger tom and Scorch cursed him in her head. He was being too obvious! 

Razor curled around her, his brows furrowed, and asked, “What was that all about?” As he did, he nosed the fur on the back of her neck and she went rigid at the touch, heart suddenly hammering. 

“I was urging Ghost to have faith in your leadership,” she lied, trying to turn her head to look at him, but he opened his mouth and gently placed his teeth against her scruff and she immediately froze again. A purr rumbled through him and he removed his teeth. This time, she stayed exactly where she was.

“Is that all?” he murmured warmly against her skin. “It seemed like there was more to it than that.” He padded slowly around her, always keeping some part of him in contact with her. 

Scorch fixed her eyes on the rose bush as she spoke. “Maybe for him,” she said. “You know he never really got over me.” 

“Mm,” Razor hummed, unsatisfied. 

Scorch swallowed. “But I promise, things were strictly professional. I have no interest in any other kind of relationship with someone like him.”  

Razor came back around to look at her face again and she dared to turn her head to meet his gaze. “Not even a little?” he asked, “for old times’ sake?” 

“No, of course not!” She promised with a worried expression. “Razor, I’m yours now. That’s all I could ever want.” 

Razor looked her over and then sighed with a dejected glance downward. “I know. I just… after you went missing and everything…” He shifted his weight and sat down. “It feels like you sometimes don’t think about how your actions affect me. I do so much to make sure you’re taken care of and it’s like you don’t even care.” 

“No, Razor,” she swallowed and stepped in to wrap herself around him instead, “of course I care! I’m so sorry I’ve made you feel that way.” She knew his game. This trick was the oldest in the book. But she had no choice but to play along. “How can I prove how much I love you, honey?” 

Razor leaned into her touch with another sigh. “Just… promise you won’t talk to Ghost anymore?” he asked tiredly. “It would make me feel so much better if I didn’t have to worry about him and you.” 

“Of course,” Scorch promised, pressing her forehead against his. “If that’s what you want, I’ll try and avoid him.” 

“It is,” he purred. “Thank you, Gingersnap.” 

“Anything for you,” she swallowed. 

“Why don’t I walk you home,” he offered, pulling back to meet her gaze again. 

“Oh, that’s alright,” she shook her head. “I can get back just fine on my own.” 

“No, no, I insist,” he said, standing up. “I’ll feel a lot better if I know you got home safe.” 

Scorch sighed. It had been worth a try. Smiling, she tried to play her reaction off as fondness and said, “Alright then. Whatever you want, dear.”

[steddieas-shegoes]

'til the grave and when we're ghosts

| This is a birthday ficlet for my flower, Dio (@flowercrowngods), who deserves all the happiness and love that he can possibly get, especially on his birthday. I hope the love between Steve and Eddie is sweet enough for you today ❤️ - Mickala

--------------------

“The moon’s hiding tonight,” Steve whispered.

He’d come outside with Eddie to help him relax after a hard day at physical therapy. The air around them was thick with a tension Steve wasn’t used to.

Even on his bad days, Eddie was usually still light enough to float around the space they shared, bringing happiness to Steve that he hadn’t been prepared for.

“Yeah. Maybe she’s having a bad day too,” Eddie whispered, his voice sounding choked, wet.

Close to tears.

Steve turned onto his side, watched as Eddie closed his eyes, a tear slipping down the side of his face.

Steve reached his fingers out slowly, wiping away the moisture and waiting for Eddie to open his eyes again.

“What’s wrong, Eds?”

Eddie finally turned his face, another tear escaping from his eye.

“Do you ever wonder if it’s worth the trouble?”

“If what’s worth the trouble?”

“The work of getting better. The fact that I’m six months into recovery and barely closer to being cleared for take off than I was when I started is annoying. What’s worse is that this may be all I ever get to be again. I might always have a limp, and pain, and lose feeling in my leg and arm randomly, and phantom pain in my stomach. I could spend years at physical therapy and brain therapy and taking medications and it could all mean nothing.”

Steve cupped Eddie’s jaw, shaking his head as he spoke.

“It’s all for something. It’s to show yourself that you are alive. It’s to show the kids that you aren’t gonna give up on being the best you can be. It’s to show Wayne that you are the same Eddie you’ve always been.”

“But it’s hard. It’s so hard.”

Steve leaned in and kissed a tear on his cheek, biting back his own sob when Eddie pulled him on top of him.

Sometimes Eddie liked to feel small. He liked having Steve surround him, liked having Steve’s face right above him so he couldn’t see anything, feel anything, but Steve.

And Steve always knew when he needed it, always made himself bigger, shielded him from the world.

He did it now, curled himself around Eddie so that none of the barely-there moonlight could break through. Shared breaths against lips kept them both warm, kept them safe.

“I am so proud of you, baby. Even when it’s hard, you try. Even when it’s hard, you don’t run. You could have given up every single day since you woke up, but you didn’t. You kept going, kept trying, kept showing up for yourself. You make me so proud just to know you, let alone get to love you.”

Eddie’s leaking eyes watched Steve’s, his gaze turning softer as Steve spoke, his body relaxing more with every word.

It’s not the way Steve was going to tell him he loved him, not even close to his original plan.

His original plan was a romantic dinner, all of Eddie’s favorites, even the cookies that were kind of a pain in the ass to make but made Eddie light up. Watching the stars like this, but in the privacy of Steve’s backyard instead of the semi-privacy of the backyard of the new trailer. Going for a midnight swim, clothes abandoned on the pool chairs, skin against skin underwater and above it.

He’d wrap his arms around Eddie’s waist, the cool water lapping at their skin as Eddie pulled him against his chest, humming a song or whispering a story of just breathing slowly.

He’d tell him. He’d say he loved him. Make sure he knew how every moment with him is a moment Steve couldn’t have dreamed up if he tried.

That was the plan.

Plans can change, but his feelings don’t.

He loved Eddie when he was in a coma in the hospital, he loved Eddie when he woke up begging to see Dustin to make sure he really was okay, he loved Eddie every time he laughed and sang and made wild gestures for the people he loved.

He’ll keep loving Eddie through every moment of pain, through every day like today and night like this, he’ll love Eddie because it’s easy.

“I love you, Eddie. More than you can possibly imagine or know, more than I can say. And every day it gets bigger and better and I wonder what I could have possibly done to deserve this chance. I didn’t know it was possible to love a person as much as I love you, but I’ll keep doing it, every single day, for as long as you let me and beyond that. ‘Til the grave and when we’re ghosts, baby.”

Steve was shaking, both with the effort of staying above Eddie for so long and with the emotions spilling out of him.

He cupped Eddie’s jaw, his thumb wiping away a set of fresh tears.

He rested his forehead against Eddie’s, felt Eddie’s hands reach up and hold his hips, tug his waist down so they were touching at nearly every point they physically could be.

“I didn’t think I’d have this, I still don’t.”

“But you do, Eds. You do. You have me, you have the love I have for you. It’s all yours for as long as you want it.”

“‘Til the grave and when we’re ghosts?” Eddie smirked up at him, his cheeks flush from crying.

“Exactly.”

Steve nudged his nose against Eddie’s, silently asking for a kiss if he was ready for one. Not pushing, just suggesting.

Eddie leaned his head back so their lips could meet in a messy kiss, the tears staining Eddie’s face now becoming a part of Steve’s.

But that was it, wasn’t it?

Steve wanted every part of Eddie.

He wanted the sunshine and the moon and the stars. He wanted the laughter and fun and love. He wanted the touch and the looks and the excitement.

But he also wanted the tears and the snot. He wanted the bad days and the pain. He wanted the nightmares and the trauma.

He wanted it all with Eddie because Eddie was worth having it all with.

“I’ll take any bad day with you over any good day without you,” Eddie whispered as they pulled apart. “I love you too.”

Steve shivered at the words, felt the way they carved a permanent place in his chest.

Love didn’t fix the bad days, not for Eddie or for Steve, but it made them bearable, made them feel like they had something to hold onto when everything seemed hard to grasp.

[lovelyrots]

Pretty Girl

Hawks x Fem!Reader x Miruko

Your new masters were oh so affectionate with you, nothing at all like your previous owners. They reward you when you present without a fuss, they ensure you’re fed only the best food and cream, and you get taken out to the massive backyard for some outdoor exercise. What more could a good pet ask for?

Content Warnings - hybrid au, outdoor sex, pet play? (I guess), sex toys, heat cycle (no A/B/O though), threesome

You tremble in excitement as you spy your masters walking to the door, your breath fogging the glass in front of you before you take off to sit at the door.

“Welcome home!” You belt out as soon as the door opens with a big grin on your face. “Hey sweet girl.” Keigo, the sweeter one of your owners, rubs your head as he walks past you. “Aw, did you miss us?” Rumi knelt down to your level and started to pet your head, her hand moving down your body with light touches while you nod and push your body closer to her.

“Were you a good girl today? Kept Daddy’s cum in?” She asks and you vigorously nod and tremble as her hand slides down to toy with the plug she’d put in before they left you this morning. You let out a whine and attempt to lean on her before you catch yourself and sit up straight again.

“Such a good girl. Let Mommy go clean up and we’ll all go in the backyard.” She stands and you can’t help but let your ears flatten as you watch her walk away.

You pad over to wait by the huge glass door to the backyard, they’ll be a while.

This was by far, your favorite home with your favorite owners so you didn’t want to do something to upset them. They had saved you from your last home, a place that was so cold and cramped that just your cage here looked massive in comparison.

You sometimes have nightmares of your previous owners. Their cold hands pinching and prodding you, forcing you to mate with their other pets, some kicking you until you wake up gasping for air and scaring Rumi and Keigo awake.

That’s why you didn’t put up a fuss whenever they wanted you to do something, why you waited with baited breath until they came home from wherever it is they go, why you listen to and hang onto their every word and praise.

They were the warmest and most loving of all your previous owners.

“Where’s my sweet girl?” Keigo calls from down the hall and you perk up, your tail wags behind you and unintentionally whacks into the glass behind you. “There she is! Are you ready to go out? Have some fun with us?” He asks as his hands stroke your ears, sending tingles up and down your body.

You nod and lean into his touch, your thighs clenching together in anticipation. “Let’s go!” He stands and throws the door open, watching you hurry out and to the chairs the two always lounge on when you all come outside.

“C’mere girl! We’ve got something else planned!” Keigo calls to you as Rumi strolls pat him with a large blanket tucked under her arm, only stopping at a patch of grass where the wild flowers aren’t growing and conveniently in perfect view of the security camera above the glass door.

You trot over just as the blanket is spread out and Rumi sighs as she lays down and stretches out. “You’ve been such a good girl for us, haven’t you?” Keigo comes up behind you and lavishes you in praise and gentle head pats. “You deserve a treat for being such a good girl.” Your head swivels from looking up at Keigo to stare at Rumi as she bunches her skirt up and calls you over, a manicured finger curling in your direction.

Obediently, you move closer and let her soft hands guide you until your nose was pressed against her covered slit. “Beg for your treat.” She presses your face into her, her scent and something just as familiar flooding your brain, before letting go and watching you take a few deep breaths in and then laughs as you whine and look up at her.

“Please, may I?” You pant and lean forward, your tongue lulling out the side of your mouth and your skin warming at the prospect of enjoying her. “Good girl.” You keen at her praise and wait with baited breath as she peels her panties off, that sweet yet musky scent hitting you in full force and your tail wags even more when you notice the small globs of cream leaking from her lower lips.

A sound between a whine and a bark leaves you as you all but dive face first into her glistening snatch. Your tongue deftly licks up the mixed juices from both of your owners while your nose bumps into her clit each time you fruitlessly try to bury more of your face into her.

“Easy girl, I’m not going anywhere.” Nails trail across the back of your head and a shiver rolls through you while you whine and try to slow down. “Present.” At Keigo’s command you raise your ass and spread your legs, giving him clear access to your plugged hole, just as you’ve been taught to when that order is given.

“Ru, you kept her plugged up? My poor baby is probably all pent up.” Keigo whines at Rumi and you can’t help but look back at him when you hear his belt buckle chingling. “Finish your treat, princess.” She gets your attention and you manage to tear your eyes away from Keigo’s hands working at freeing his cock to go back to licking and slurping at her cunt. “Of course I did, how could I not when she didn’t want off of you this morning? If I didn’t shove that plug in her then we would’ve been late to the shoot. If we left the house at all.”

“Nope, you could’ve left and I could’ve stayed with her. It’s a sensitive time for her after all.” Finally you feel his hand tugging at that infernal toy until it pops free and your hole clenches around each inch as it’s pulled free from you. A sigh leaves you at the relieved pressure from having that thing in for so long, constantly pressing against your sensitive walls with each movement.

“Look at my pretty girl, so wet and ready for me. You’re not even letting a single drop run out, such a good girl for us.” Keigo’s hands stroke along your back as he rains praises upon you, spurring you to more energetically tongue Rumi’s pussy. You had been so diligent that not a single drop of his cum was visible, just your saliva and her delicious honey.

“Yeah, she’s such a goood girl.” Rumi moans and grips your hair before letting go and soothingly rubbing your head. You whimper and try to push back when you feel something prodding at your hole, but the hands on your hips keep you still. Rumi groans at the vibrations of your moaning and whining as Keigo’s cock slowly works it’s way in.

“Keep going, princess, just focus on me.” Rumi’s hands move up to your furred ears and runs her thumbs over the soft fur as you start to lick and suck on her clit, giving your tongue a small reprieve.

You can’t help but go lax as Keigo finally sheathes himself fully, filling you more than any toy ever could. You pull your face from Rumi’s pussy, your chin coated in her juices, to lightly rest your head on her upper thigh as you pant and whine at Keigo’s inactivity.

“Ah, bad girl, finish your treat.” Keigo tuts and carefully grabs your tail as he gives a light thrust into your warmth. You yelp and let out a low whine before doing as told, your reward for listening being Keigo’s cock being dragged out and thrusted back in faster while he keeps your tail gripped in his hand-practically yanking you back to meet him with each thrust.

“Quit, hah, yankin on her tail Keigo!” Rumi snaps at him between her own moans and Keigo lets out a groan before you feel him let go of your tail and instead feel his hand groping your ass. “You’re no fucking fun Ru. She likes the pain, don’t you girl?” You moan and look up at Rumi while trying to nod, if only to appease Keigo more.

“See? Our pup is a bit of a pain princess.” You whine as he rolls into you a bit harder, enough to bump your nose into Rumi’s clit and have her moan even louder. “S-still, I don’t want you pulling on her tail when she has a s-show coming, oh fuuck, coming up.” You hear him sigh and the subject seems to be dropped, however your attention is caught by that magic word and you perk up. “Show?” You mumble from between her legs while your tail is wagging and brushing against Keigo’s stomach.

“Uh oh, you said the word.” He chuckles and Rumi lets out a groan before petting your head and directs you back to licking at her lips. “Later, and only if you keep being a good girl.” Your ears droop and you let out a huff as you suck at her clit, reveling in her shudder.

Moments later she’s arching her back and unintentionally clamping her thighs around your head as your tongue darts in and out of her spasming hole, thoroughly soaking your face while Keigo’s frantic humping has your nose bumping into her clit again.

Your own clit is being toyed with by one of Keigo’s hands and is driving you closer to your own release. You can almost taste it, that sweet rush of bliss that tells your body you’ve been thoroughly bred and calms the heat sitting under your skin.

Rumi unclenches her thighs and cradles your head onto her thigh as your body is rocked back and forth from Keigo. “You did such a good job for me princess. Now let Daddy breed you like the pretty puppy you are.” You nod and whimper as she praises you with her words and touch, her nails scratching that spot behind your ears before moving down your neck and down to your breasts to tease your hardened nips.

“Yeah, you’re being such a good puppy. So tight and hot, such a good puppy cunt, best girl ever.” Keigo rambles and pushes you down until your chest is pressed flat against the blanketed ground. A whine bubbles up in your throat, both from pleasure from the new angle that lets him reach you so much deeper and from the smacking of his hips against your ass.

Your eyes roll back into your head and your mouth drops open as you finally climax, the world turning into a dull buzz while your body tightens up and then goes lax while Keigo uses you like a fleshlight to chase his own end.

“Oh fuck, Daddy’s gonna cum. Gonna cum in his puppy girl’s cunt, fill it with more puppies, all for his good girl.” He rambles on and whines before stuttering to a stop and you can feel his cum fill you like a fucked out cream puff. He all but collapses on top of you, Rumi being the only reason he doesn’t squash you as she holds him from behind.

“I think it’s time for our pretty puppy to nap, why don’t you join her while I go get lunch ready?” Rumi presses a kiss to Keigo’s cheek and lowers him onto you and helps him roll you two onto your sides. “M’kay, can you get me one of my coffees?” She sighs but you can just barely see her nodding before walking off and leaving you two to nap in the warm sunshine.

[daddyhausen]

• kinktober day three : sundress — cash wheeler •

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{ masterlists } | { kinktober 2023 }

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{ commission info } | { like my work? buy me a coffee — kofi — dxddyhxusen }

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{ summary } — daniel could not keep his hands off you at your family get together upon noticing you wearing his favourite dress of yours

{ warnings } — 18 + { minors do not interact }, semi public sex, breeding, praise, body worship, groping, quickies, male + female orgasm, squirting, vaginal creampie, internal cumshots

{ word count } — 1k

{ pairing } — fem!reader x cash wheeler

{ genre } — smut

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{ taglist } — @cosmoholic13 @thewrestlingbitch @omg-im-such-a-masochist @adamjf @wardlow @alexisquinnlee-bc @sammiejane22 @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @omegasluvbot @melissahausen @writtingrose @drummergrl1310 @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin @bonehead-playz @cherrytheeredheadmamaclaymore @crowleysqueenofhell @romanreigns-supreme @janetreader @thenerdybaker523 @sunshinevirus @nicoleveno14 @rubyred1980 @elsteenerico @igncrxntripley @ripleyswhore @embermdk @thepalaceofmelanie @violetmacher @seeingstarks

{ beta readers } — @allelitesmut + @legit9thlunaticwarrior

{ comment if you want to be added to the taglist }

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he could not keep his eyes off of you

admiring the gorgeous yellow sundress you wore it was his favourite

the dress long and flowy, decorated with little pastel pink flowers throughout, the sleeves short and ruched same as the bust,

a slit down the side, not enough to expose anything but enough to get his imagination to run wild

a gulp grew thick in his throat, trying to not seem as intoxicated by your beauty as he would have liked to have shown.

he saw you with your niece across the yard, that natural maternal instinct running through you as she came crying to you

unknown as to why, he watched on as you consoled the little girl, planting a gentle kiss to her forehead, followed by a warm embrace

the act made daniel’s heart swell with adoration, a small smile forming across his lips

“you look so damn good in that dress, you know that” his voice deep and sultry, his arm wrapping around your waist, pulling you close, subtly grinding against your hip

his lips gently grazed the skin of your neck peppering small kisses to the flesh

“i know” you respond back in a flirty tone, it only fuels daniel’s desire

“y’know…” he began trailing off in thought for a moment.

“you look even better with it off, darlin’”

he moaned softly against your neck, his kisses more feverish than the last

“god…” he groaned, feeling himself grow hard against your hip “if i could take you right here, i would…”

as much as you enjoyed that sentiment. you would happily obliged if you were not surround by relatives

“daniel…we can’t…not now…”

you tried desperately to hold back a moan, his lips trailing down to your collarbone

he could tell you were enjoying yourself.

“come with me” he whispered, taking you by the wrist, dragging you back inside

the backyard had grown pretty crowded for his liking.

he dragged you to the bathroom, being the nearest room

quickly locking the door behind you. your back now pressed against it.

he did not hesitate to attack you with a flurry of kisses once more

his movements feverish, prying up the skirt of your dress until your panties were in view

“d-daniel…” you stuttered through a moan, the pads of his fingers tracing delicate shapes against your clit through the fabric

“shhh baby…don’t want to get caught now do we?”

you shook your head in response, shuddering as his fingers pressed harder against your clit

“gonna be a good girl for me and keep quiet?”

“y-yes daddy…” you stammered

he hummed softly with contentment, planting a sweet kiss to your lips.

“you look so fuckin’ good…makes me wanna put a baby in you”

daniel’s hand smoothed across your stomach, caressing it.

“you pulled him close, arms wrapping around his neck

“well what are you waiting for?” you retorted playfully, leaning in to plaster chaste kisses to his jawline

he tugged your panties to the side, without warning, flipping you around.

your head pressed against the bathroom door, pretty ass sticking out for him to gain some leverage

he slipped into you with ease, your cunt drenched from his constant pursuit of you

“oh god…you feel so good princess”

your hips bucked against his even before he started moving, just letting you grind against his cock as he gathered his baring.

he wrapped a hand around your mouth to dampen your moans, the reverb of the bathroom created a heavenly sound.

he delivered a particularly harsh thrust to begin with, a small squeak of pleasure left your lips

“be quiet, princess…” he reminded, to which you made futile attempts to silence yourself.

“gonna fuck a baby into you darlin’” he began, trailing off into his own thoughts, proclaiming them out loud

“you’d look even more beautiful with you belly full of my seed…fuck-“ he grunted, pausing stern the sentence to catch his breath

*you’d be the perfect mother, sweetheart…our kids will be lucky to have you”

he pulled you back against his chest, kissing you with such an intensity and passion that was not uncommon in your little endeavours

but this…it felt so much more intimate

“i love you…” you muttered against his lips

“i want nothing more…”

he increased the speed of his thrusts, enjoying the sounds of your muffled moans against his palm

how they grew increasingly louder and more desperate

“shhh princess…” he reminded, hearing the chatter of your relatives from outside

he could feel his pace faltering, his end nearing

he held you close by the waist, filling you up without warning

continuing to fuck you through his orgasm until you spilled over.

“god…i love you…” he panted, admiring the way you gushed around him. how his cum was dripping out of your void

you merely hummed contently. mind far too fucked out to even create a response.

he pulled out of you, fixing your panties, much to your dismay,

smoothing down the stray strings of hair that cling to your face with perspiration

“we should probably get back out there before your family gets suspicious” he chuckled nervously

“yeah we should…” you replied with the same on edge tone, quickly fixing the skirt of your dress to seem more presentable

“hey daniel…?” you questioned. he merely peered up at you with a gentle gaze

“round two in the car when we leave?”

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[shares-a-vest]

@flufftober Spring Edition Day 9: Daisies

wc: 612 | Rated: T for Alcohol Consumption (Not Excessive - Wayne is sipping on a beer) | cw: Alcohol Consumption, Food Consumption

Tags: Claudia Henderson, Wayne Munson, Grandparents, Backyard, Found Family, Family Lunch, Steddie Being Silly in the Background

'Daisy Chains'

“Pa!” Joanie shrieks, waving wild and big.

Wayne chuckles at the sight of his granddaughter, sitting barely a few paces beyond the back porch, gesturing as if they are miles apart. He remains on the deck, watching over the backyard as he quietly sips from a chilled afternoon beer. Beside Joanie is Claudia Henderson, concentrating on the daisy chain in her hands that cascades off her lap in a long line off to the side.

They have been working on it for a good while now, ever since Wayne roused them outside so he could do the dishes. But Joanie appears as if she is growing distracted. A four-year-old’s attention span only goes so far, he thinks.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, setting his beer down on the glass patio table, hurried along when Joanie sits back on her haunches and frowns.

“Come here!” she whines, allowing herself to fall against Claudia’s shoulder with an oomph and a startled “ah!” despite him very clearly making his way over.

“I’m here,” he says, lowering to the ground not a few moments later.

He only just manages to stretch out his left leg (and his bad knee) when Joanie plops onto his lap.

She haphazardly brushes her hair off her face, revealing sun-kissed flushed cheeks as grins up at him, all toothy and excitable.

“Ganma is making me a daisy chain,” she nods.

Wayne had watched the pair from the kitchen window as they gathered the flowers, all scattered around the backyard where they grow wild.

“That so?” he asks, humouring Joanie as he looks past her to Claudia’s handiwork.

She picks up another daisy and makes an incision with her bare thumbnail, splitting apart the stem enough to loop the next flower through.

“Thought you were helping me, Missy?” Claudia jokes, threading and splitting another flower like she has worked up a practised rhythm.

“You do this,” Joanie begins to instruct, breezing past her Ganma’s quip entirely as she picks up another flower.

She is rough, pinching her index finger and thumb together to rip a hole in the flower’s stem rather than Claudia’s delicate tearing motion. It reminds Wayne of Eddie at that age, sitting on the patchy grass of the Forest Hills trailer park all those years ago – looking a lot more lonely but nonetheless doing the exact same thing.

His heart pains at the memory of that kid, uncomfortable in himself, quiet and secluded.

Eddie, now older and happier, is sitting under a tree on the far side of the yard with Steve sitting impossibly close by. He looks a sight under the tree, shaded and wearing all black despite the springtime sunshine.

Meanwhile, Steve looks to be devouring another admittedly, delicious sandwich courtesy of Claudia’s elaborate Family Lunch. A smorgasbord of choices. Deli meats and breads, salads and dressings. All of which she insists on preparing and bringing over herself.

Something falls out the bottom of the thing and the sandwich collapses completely. Eddie throws his head back and cackles before offering to help with the cleanup. A task that somehow involves licking his partner’s face. Steve splutters, leaning away as he attempts to pick at the mess that has spilled down his yellow polo shirt.

“Stevie…” Eddie whines through giggles when the other boy leans away with a frown.

Wayne rolls his eyes, knowing full well that at any moment, those two are going to say or do something a little too inappropriate for a family afternoon out in the sun.

But he will leave them be he thinks as he turns his attention back to his beaming granddaughter who is holding out a daisy ready for him.

More of my Flufftober Spring Edition posts here

[dark-elf-writes]

I have no clue anything about ff but where is the ‘Harry gets adopted by FF7 characters and finds out what a family should be” au

No one is more surprised than me that I haven’t written this yet tbh like who am I????

ANYWAY

Little Harry who has heard a woman’s voice from a young age telling him that he is not alone, that he is not a freak, that he will be loved and cared for more than he could ever know. He always hears her more when he is working in his Aunt Petunia’s garden. Can practically feel her in the way the plants bloom more beautifully than anywhere else on their street. His invisible friend that helps him find what little beauty he can in his world.

And sometimes she talks about her friends. About a woman who is as strong as she is kind, who loves freely but took no shit, who welcomed those with good intentions with open arms and threw anyone without them out on their arse. About a ninja with sticky fingers and the blood of a princess who would give anything for her people and have fun every step of the way. About a father who demanded the world to change for his little girl and decided to be the push that set it all in motion. About an inventor trapped in the place he should have been able to do good but unable to make anyone listen so he sent his inventions out to make change for him. About a pilot who was grounded against his will and decided to make those that would clip his wings choke on that decision. About a man who was only doing his job and was hurt over and over again for doing the right thing and who learned slowly that the things done to him did not make him a monster.

About a hero that led them all, each of them broken and shattered in their own ways, into a better world.

Harry liked the stories of the hero the best.

Then one day things get bad and Uncle Vernon gets far more angry than he normally is. Harry runs to the garden, hoping somehow that his friend, his only friend, could save him, and she does.

In a space that is more light and glowing green energy than any “world” should be, he sees her for the first time, softly smiling and reaching out to rub her fingers through his hair. She is the prettiest lady he has ever seen. Another voice laughs when he tells her so and a big man with kind eyes, a scar on his face, and hair just as wild as Harry’s grins at him as he announces that “this kid knows what he’s talking about.”

She smiles though there is something sad in her eyes when she speaks.“I can send you somewhere that will help for a time, but eventually you will have to come back. This planet is quite certain that it needs you in the future.”

Harry wants to cry, wants to scream. How does he have to go back! He doesn’t want to.

But something else sticks with him, something that makes him hurt before he even realizes what it was.

“Send me somewhere. Not us?” Not his friend who had told him so many stories and helped him grow flowers? Not this pretty lady and the man with such a kind smile? After everything he would still be alone?

It’s the man’s hand that lands in his hair this time, a comforting weight as he ruffles the tangled locks. “Spike and the others will be waiting for you on the other side. They’ll take good care of you. SOLDIER’s honor.”

Harry doesn’t understand, can’t understand really but “You’re my friend,” he tells the woman, frustrated tears gathering in his eyes. He doesn’t have the words to say anything more. To name the swirling mass of hurt and yearning in his stomach.

She seems to understand smiling sadly at him again before she leans down to press a kiss to his forehead. “You’ll still be able to hear me. More clearly than most I think. I will not leave you Harry Potter.”

Harry Potter is seven years old when he goes missing from the backyard of his Aunt’s house in a swirl of green light. He is seven years old when he wakes up in a shallow pool of water in a church that has seen better days with a man with wild blond hair and shining blue eyes watching him in stunned silence. He is seven years old when his first friend sends him to his hero for safety.

[shithowdy]

Hi I saw your post about having 12 species of birds in your backyard so now I’m genuinely asking: what’s your advice for bird watching? And getting those birds into my backyard?

so i'm not what anyone would call a comprehensive resource but i can offer a few tips, yeah!

for making your yard attractive to birds:

birds do not like open space, as it makes them vulnerable to predators. they need lots of foliage to hide, so place any feeders or other features in places that aren't wide open. if you do not have a lot of plants in your yard, change that if you can!

diverse plants will also attract nectar-feeding birds and insect-eating birds, and are sort of your "natural" feeder setup. you can check if your area offers grants for pollinator gardens.

a non-stagnant or regularly-changed water feature (fountain, bird bath) is also very attractive to birds. in hotter climates, i would say it's an essential addition.

different types of feeders and food attract different types of birds. you can draw hummingbirds with nectar and bright flowers (they love fuchsia), most songbirds with black oil sunflower and safflower seeds, a whole variety with different suet, corvids with peanuts; doves and juncos and corvids prefer tray or ground feeding, little songbirds like something they can cling to, etc. research what kind attracts what you want to see, or make a diverse setup if you have the space. you can usually avoid feed that has millet, most birds will just hurl it everywhere.

don't feed birds bread; it's empty fluff and just fills them up. seed is boring but fine, they don't really have a concept of food being "boring"

clean your feeders every time you refill them (and change hummingbird feeders every few days regardless); there are several contagious avian diseases and you want to avoid outbreaks. your feeders will become known as foul and the uninfected will move on.

if you live in an area that has them, figure out a way to rodent-proof your feeders, like squirrel baffles. they'll destroy your whole setup and scare away all the birds (you can try to set up a special squirrel feeder, but they do not respect borders).

consider nest boxes! make sure they can be opened for cleaning, and don't have any harmful materials in their construction.

check if your town has a backyard birding store, like wild birds unlimited or a locally-owned equivalent. there will almost always be an old woman who may or may not work there willing to dispense advice about your local birds.

keep your cats indoors

for watchin them birds:

get the merlin app on your phone; it's kind of like Bird Shazam and can help you ID based on its song

if you want to get more serious, you can also get eBird and report your findings/keep a checklist

if you don't have a fancy zoom lens camera, get a pair of binoculars! they're good to have even if you do. you can even take pics through them with your phone.

the best time to watch birds is from about sunrise to late morning

don't interact with the birds, save for outlier circumstances (rescue, one lands on you, etc)

yard-watching and trail-watching are pretty different when it comes to ethics and how much humans and birds should be interacting. in general it's frowned upon to feed birds in wilderness areas to attract them, whereas urban birds are already accustomed to human presence. it's also frowned upon to play mating songs to attract birds.

don't go off-trail trying to find birds you can hear. it's dangerous for you and upsetting to them.

your area might have local birding meetups, or online groups where people report sightings and good spots.

there's uhhh probably a lot more i'm forgetting to add but i think this covers the basics!

[stray-kaz]

Sugar & Spice : a Theodore Laurence x reader FF : two

A/N: The gif is from one of my favourite moments in film ever, and if that makes me a little bit crazy, I do not care, I love it.

18 and up, y’all.

“Marry me.”

The words came one month later, and Laurie pleaded his case with stormy sea eyes, insisting that he had loved you for years already, so why make you both wait any longer? Your yes came in the form of a hasty kiss, your fingers in his hair, stuck fast. He wrapped his arms tightly around you and your nose bumped gently against his.

He propped his chin on top of your head, oblivious to the people passing you by in the park, watching the young lovers with curious eyes.

The sun was high and warm, the sky perfect and blue, the scent of late summer flowers sweeping lightly on the air as the floral arch was being set up in the Laurence family’s backyard.

Inside the March house, the four sisters, Marmie and Hannah were fussing around you like hens, tugging at your dress, straightening the lace detail below your collarbones and adjusting the pale blue ribbon at the back of your head, the rest of your hair flowing down away from it to your shoulders.

Suddenly, Jo hugged you from behind, careless of the wrinkling fabric of your wedding dress.

“I still can hardly believe it” she mumbled in your ear. “One of my best sisters and my best friend. It’s like a dream!”

Meg rolled her eyes but smiled as she gently ushered Jo away from you.

“Come now” she said over her shoulder, winking at you. “Your beau awaits, lovely.”

You nodded and followed them, the others falling into position behind you, your small bouquet of wild purple flowers shaking slightly in your trembling hands.

As you approached the waiting group of your friends and Laurie’s family, your breath caught; your fiance was standing in front of the arch, which now had sunflowers woven through the tiny purple blooms it had boasted the last time you saw it.

Laurie saw you looking and grinned, holding his arm out to you when you finally reached him. You tucked your hand into the crook of his elbow and leaned your head on his shoulder.

“My favourite colour and your favourite flowers” he said quietly. “I’m glad you like it.”

You didn’t have words to reply, and you didn’t think you would be able to verbalise your enthusiastic consent to marry him, but you told him you loved him in no uncertain terms and said I do, and he did the same, eyes fixed on you the entire time.

And when he leaned in to kiss you, all you could see was the colour of his eyes as everyone and everything around you faded away, leaving the two of you alone in the backyard in front of an arch of flowers.

You were dancing contentedly with Robert March when your young husband approached to steal you away, high colour flushing his cheeks and his gaze a little feverish. Your breath hitched in your throat; you knew that expression, it was the look he wore when he wanted to ditch the chaperone and kiss you breathless against a wall or a handy piece of furniture.

“May I steal my wife, sir?” Laurie asked politely, ever the gentleman in spite of his true desire. “I really must speak with her.”

Robert nodded and smiled, passing you over to him.

“Of course, Laurie” he said. “By all means.”

Laurie jerked his head in a quick nod, snatched at your hand and all but dragged you away towards the house, crowding you up against a wall out of sight of the wedding guests. His hands bracketed your head, pressing hard on the wall, his lower body pressing the front of your skirts. He leaned his forehead against yours, his stormy eyes piercing and hungry as he let his mouth skim over yours.

“Right now?” you murmured, a little higher pitched than you meant.

“Uh, please” Laurie groaned, shifting his hips even closer. “This day is too long, my love.”

You couldn’t prevent the laugh that escaped you, followed by a hapless moan as the tip of his tongue grazed yours, having taken advantage of your suddenly open mouth. You were embarrassed by your reaction to him, to him begging you for more, to the unrestrained want in this day is too long, my love.

You moved just a little and you brushed against the firmness below his trousers, causing both of you to jump a little and groan, his mouth still dangerously hot on yours, his hands now gripping your waist, fisting the creamy material of your dress and tugging it up ever so slightly.

You put a hand over his to stop him. He stopped kissing you to gaze instead, and you swallowed hard at the sight of his blown out pupils, black as an eclipse.

“Theodore Laurence, everyone is still here!” you hissed, wide eyed.

He didn’t say anything else, but he did reach down to haul your skirt up high enough to enable him to slip his right hand underneath, searching, finding the top of your expensive wedding underwear and delving past the fine fabric. You gasped at the same time as his lips parted on a sigh as two slender fingers found evidence of your excitement at his actions, in spite of your cautionary reprimand.

“Laurie...” you whimpered, your breath soft and panting.

He raised his head to meet your eyes again, a faint smirk skewing his mouth to one side.

“Yes, my love?”

“If you stop, I shall never wear purple again.”

Laurie grinned and sank those same two fingers inside you, smothering your loud exclamation with his own mouth. When you had stopped making such a lewd sound, he kissed you gently and eased his fingers into a steady rhythm.

He murmured softly against your lips, still parted under his.

“I want to see what my pretty wife looks like under all these layers.”

[izvmimi]

cw: fluff, again a repost from my old blog

It’s only once Shoei has his first child that your friends and family start to see what you’ve seen in him all these years.

The living room is decked in hues of pink, cream, white and gold - balloon arches and overfilled bouquets of flowers fill the corners and spill out into the open backyard, and for some ungodly reason, an ice sculpture that shares the likeness of your family of three sits in the center of a banquet table, already suffering under the weight of far too many elaborate dishes.

You’d agreed to a barbecue for your six month old’s half-birthday, and he should be happy you even allowed for a half-birthday celebration at all, but there are suit and tie-clad waiters offering cocktails to slightly overdressed guests, and the only word you can think of is excess. 

Nonetheless, clustered with a mixed group of your friends from high school and college, you accept a mojito and watch him from afar. Barou is not the smiling type, unless it’s a grin meant to taunt, but today he actually seems to beam, holding his daughter (who you keep worrying will drown in the weight of her frilly dress) close. 

His princess.

“Let me guess, you didn’t plan any of this,” the friend closest to you says laughing, as she looks in the direction you’ve been staring, watching Barou, who is undoubtedly bragging about every one of your daughter’s milestones and probably making grandiose statements about the type of person she’ll become. You can only imagine how bad it will be as she grows older and he has more things to be proud of. 

“Not any of it,” you say, sipping your drink. “I let him go wild.”

You smile however, and she rests her chin on your shoulder. Another one of your friends leans in, keeping her voice low, as if your husband could hear her over the violinist trio he hired for the occasion.

“I kind of get it now though,” she says.

You raise an eyebrow, waiting for the quip. This friend in particular has always had a sharp mouth.

“I mean, he’s a little bit of a dick-” you frown and she chuckles softly, “but if he loves you even a fraction as much as he loves your little girl, I understand.”

“Was it the mic speech talking about how perfect his family is or the open bar that convinced you?” 

The three of you laugh, and the fourth of you finally comes back to reality from clearly calculating the sticker price in her head and scratches her head.

“Like, I don’t get it. This child won’t remember any of it???”

You were prepared for this, then point to the photographer in the corner who’s been surreptitiously recording literally every second.

“Yeah, I told him this too and this was his response.”

She gives you a dumbfounded look, which then dissipates as her attention shifts to the sudden commotion behind you.

You turn in the direction as well and your lips press together as you realize your husband is throwing a hissy fit.

“Did I say you could touch her?!”

You sigh as you watch Nagi narrowly miss a slice of cake to the face and your money-sensitive friend rushes over to dispel the situation. Whatever bad blood has existed between those two will never change, you accept. 

“Take her so I can remind him of his place,” Barou immediately says once you make it to his side, and you accept your daughter who is now nearly half asleep in a bundle but before he can roll up his sleeves, you’ve pulled his ear gently down towards you.

“Calm down or I’m sending everyone home including you.”

He groans, but agrees, and pleased, you kiss his cheek. 

“I’ll go put her to bed, okay? You deserve a break from her to enjoy the party, love,” you offer. He gives you another look, and this one is a little more gentle, as though he’s forgotten where he is despite all the bells and whistles he’s put into this party. He kisses you suddenly on the lips, and you can almost hear a few of his friends snicker.

“I love you,” he says, ignoring the watching eyes.

You smile, “I know.”

He narrows his eyes and you laugh.

“I love you too.”

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

BDOR Prologue: A Haircut—Preparation (2/4)

Summary:

Twilight sets up a homemade salon and washes Wild's hair--they don't get much further than that.

TW: light swearing

And so, that was how Twilight ended up in their backyard not an hour later, dragged away from the last bites of his pie by an all-too-excited Wild. Behind their new house in Hateno, weathered wooden posts loosely fenced in a large, shallow pond and a sturdy stable for their horses when they had them. Strong, flourishing forests harboring every kind of resource lined one side of the yard, and their small, growing grove of adolescent apple trees—just planted earlier that week—flourished in the sun to the other side of the house. The ancient tree looming over it all had already flowered and begun to produce apples, and Wild plucked squirming worms out of the fallen, still-green fruits littering the ground as Twilight frowned thoughtfully at the scenery, his hands on his hips. 

Back in Ordon, Uli had always made them trim their hair outside. It cut down on the mess, she claimed, and kept her from having to chase hair across the house, since the birds snatched up any flyaway strands as material to build their nests. When he was younger, she’d take him by the hand, walk him outside herself, and lovingly trim his locks into the right shape; once he and the other village children got older, whenever one of them complained about their hair, she would send a few of them out with a pair of scissors and the command to “Get ‘er done, then.” It never ended up too badly, surprisingly enough, so Twilight had to concede there was some sort of method to that madness. Hair grew back eventually, after all. She would still step in for important events—dances, festivals, coming-of-age ceremonies—and he treasured the memory of those quiet afternoons with her.

Twilight wondered, watching as Wild dangled a particularly long worm in front of his face, if she’d ever faced an undertaking such as this one. He let out a sigh—he had some work to do.

Read the rest here!

BDOR Prologue: A Haircut - Chapter 2

Or, read the main fic here!

[happyinjection]

♠️♥️High Card Short Story 6 “An Afternoon with Finn and Chris” (1/3)♦️♣️

What do car dealers do on their lunch break? Finn, for one, took Chris out to the backyard of the store...

Original: https://twitter.com/highcard_pj/status/1540170704884072448

Author: https://twitter.com/poipheno

Artist: https://twitter.com/ebimoji3

Lunch break. I stuffed a sandwich into my mouth and dragged Chris out through the backdoor by his arm. 

“Finn~ I was planning to eat dessert after my lunch, you know~”

“You’ve promised to do it today, remember? Come on, let’s go.”

The backyard was bathed in soft sunlight, and purple flowers were blooming from the plants tended by Bernard-ojiichan and Vijay.

“What a pushy kid. Fine, just give a moment.”

Chris, who appeared reluctant, didn’t move from his spot as he shoved a spoonful of pudding from the jar into his mouth.

“Hurry up. We don’t have much time.”

“Okay, okay. I got it.”

Previously, I had gotten Chris to promise that he would teach me martial arts. Long story short, we had been busy with our job as car dealers, and thus our plan had been postponed several times, but today both of us could finally make it.

“I’m not a fan of getting all sweaty with men, though.”

“Stop saying disgusting stuff so often. Come on, hurry up and teach me already!”

“I don’t think it’s anything worth teaching.”

I took off my suit jacket, pulled my necktie off, then draped them over a garden bench. I also took off my watch and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt.

“I mean, Finn, you’re already pretty good at fighting. Surely you have no need for extra training?”

“No problem, just teach me what you know!”

Before I joined High Card, I used to do boxing casually with my friends. However, after going on several missions with Chris, I learned that people who have been through intense training are on an entirely different level compared to those who don’t.

According to what he told me, it seemed that Chris had been trained in martial arts by his father when he was young. His basic skills laid in muay thai and MMA—mixed martial arts. In short, he could do anything in terms of full body combat.

“Very well, for the sake of my cute junior, I guess I can afford to take off a layer or two. One thrust at a time, maybe something more would come out of this, yeah?[*]”

I had no idea what he meant by that, but Chris simply chuckled at me.

“Show me what you’ve got.”

“’Kay.”

I took a shoulder-width stance by putting my left foot forward, then held up both of my fists to the height of my cheeks.

“My style is kind of like boxing. Here it comes, shadow.”

Shadow is a term for when one attacks or dodges while imagining their opponent in their head.

One-two, hook, uppercut, body-ducking, and swayback, I alternated between hitting and dodging.

The cobblestones on the ground rubbed against my leather soles, producing a crisp sound.

“So, how was it? What should I change to improve?”

I panted heavily through my nose.

“Isn’t that already good enough the way it is?”

“What the hell, there’s no way that’s true! Tell me your actual thoughts!”

“No, no, I’m serious. You did good enough. To be fair, on our missions, we don’t usually get into situations where we must go wild in a fistfight, anyway.”

“It did happen last time, though.”

“Finn has sharp eyesight, so you’ll be just fine. Besides, this place is not ideal for training to begin with. MMA especially requires us to work as a pair and involves a lot of getting thrown down. If you’ll follow me to my bed, perhaps then I would reconsider.”

Ignoring his joke, I turned on my heels.

“Alright then! I’m just gonna ask Wendy to teach me.”

In an instant Chris was grabbing on my arm.

“Stop right there! Wendy doesn’t know how to take it easy when giving a lesson, she will definitely break you!”

“So hurry up and teach me instead.”

“Okay, okay. So eager to get back together after breaking up with me, huh.”

Chris took off his suit jacket and threw it over the garden bench. Following that he pulled his necktie off and undid his first button. He took off his dark green watch, then finally rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Due to his tall height, he might seem slender at a glance, but his arms were strong with visible blue veins running all the way down to his wrists.

“Here we go, let’s get into position one more time.”

As I was getting ready, Chris walked around behind me. He put his hands on my shoulders, rubbing on them.

“Hmm, nice frame.”

“Don’t get too handsy with me.”

“No, I’m just stating the truth? Not only you have good eyesight, but you also have a strong body, and you’re surprisingly flexible. Alright, go ahead and start with another one-two.”

I gave him a one-two.

“There’s an opening on your side. Also, your left side isn’t extended wide enough. Since Finn is ambidextrous, if closely observed, your balance when throwing a hit is better than most people.”

While saying that, Chris kept his hands on my hip bones the entire time. It bugged me, but I held on.

“Leave yourself to me, and relax.”

“No need to say unnecessary stuff.”

“Now, pay attention on how you rotate your left hip.”

“Like this?”

“Pull your shoulders in a bit more. Don’t tuck your chin.”

“So, like this?”

“Don’t let your body get carried away. Plant your feet firmly on the ground.”

“Then how about this—!”

Suddenly, whoosh, a faint sound of my fist cutting through the air could be heard.

“Woah! That sound just now, did you catch that?!?! That’s one hell of a punch!”

“Well, you pretty much got it. However, sports and an actual combat are two different things. If you stick to your own rules you will lose, such is the theory of fighting. Thankfully Finn is already good at making things up on the spot, so why not trust your own eyes and intuition?”

“If you say so..... but first, get your hands off my waist.”

With a grin tugging on his lips, Chris held up both of his hands comically.

♠️♥️♦️♣️

TL notes: Chris “sexual innuendo” Redgrave, everyone. [*] This is not exactly what he says but you get the idea. Also, this is the best pun I can come up with at the moment. Once again I’m not posting this one in the correct order but I feel like this must be done before episode 9! As usual, let’s enjoy High Card together~

[adoptedmadrigal2]

Modern au headcannons for upcoming stories

These head cannons are for my modern au that is set in the early 90's and extends through to present day. Ocs will come later for right now Isa and Dolores are only smol

Pepa owns a small business where she makes custom jewelry with crystals she tumbles herself. She also makes photo frames and nerdy home decor to sell.

Julieta runs a catering business out of the home. She has plenty of room and is excellent at time management. Her clients always leave astonishingly large tips for her because the quality of her work is so high.

Agustin is a carpenter, he works from 6am to 8 pm on weekdays and has weekends off unless there is an important deadline. He usually brings home the biggest weekly pay unless it's the holidays, then Pepa brings in big bucks for her commissions.

Felix works with his brothers at their pool and outdoor refurbishment company, depending on the day he could install a pool, mow lawns, pressure wash sidewalks, etc. He goes in at 7am after dropping the kids at school and is often home either by or before 6 the next evening. Rare occasions have him working later especially if complications arise with a pool

Isa and Dolores are extremely crafty and responsible. There's always some type of craft or project in progress between them. In their spare time they like to do all sorts of things as far as sports or creativity goes.

Luisa is often roped into the eldest two's shenanigans and she loves it because sometimes she feels left out because she's two years younger than them.

Mirabel and Camilo love to run and play while Pepa and Julieta keep watch. When they're playing their favorite game to play is pretend, Camilo has such a big imagination and Mirabel feeds off of him. They can come up with some wild stories

Dolores and mariano are high school sweethearts

Casita keeps magically growing and each kid has a subdued gift (ex Pepa only controls the weather of the room she's in or has a small cloud above her head only, Isabela can only make flowers bloom or form flowers in her hands)

Bruno is a truck driver and is seldom home, he comes home only for holidays or if he's in the area.

The house is on a half acre property and is completely fenced in.

All kids have bicycles and roller skates. The five of them like to take the evening and go around the block. The eldest can go by themselves to most places in town. Luisa is usually accompanied but can go on her own if she pleases, Mir and Milo must be accompanied if they leave the property.

There is a large backyard swing set and play house for the children to play on.

The eldest girls have flip phones. Though they hardly ever use them unless it's an emergency. They all love playing games on the family Nintendo (GameCube, then Wii after Christmas 2003)

To prevent arguments each family member has their own Gamecube and Wii remote to use.

Hope you enjoy ❤️

[journey-to-balance]

This Might Be Controversial But...

Over the past 25 years we've removed 90% of our lawn and here's what happened. Chaos. Beautiful chaos.

Why did we do it?

For us it was simple. Most gardeners try to maintain these clean and sterile environments that are the exact opposite of what wildlife wants. The more we can stop being tidy, the more wilderness we can bring into our gardens and landscapes, the better habitat we provide.

We are changing the planet so quickly that plants and animals can’t keep up. I'm sharing all this with you today with the hope to spread the word about the importance of rewilding!

The majority of lawns and yards these days are causing ecological damage turning once biodiverse spaces into "green graveyards."

Did you know grass is the most irrigated "crop" in America? Yup. Lawns, not food. The majority of non native grass lawns support little to no life and require an immense amount of water and what's it all for?

Lawns originated in 17th century England and France whereby landowners would cultivate lawns around their estates as a symbol of wealth and status. Later, a boom in the United States made it to where manicured lawns became a symbol of the American Dream.

Doused with toxic chemicals to keep up with appearances, these lawns and the products used in them are displacing and eroding life all the way down to the microscopic organisms in the soil.

Today, we pay to see botanical gardens yet there's that potential in our own backyards.

Well, I'm not a 17th century aristocrat trying to show off the status of my estate.

Personally, I don't care what anyone thinks of my status. I have too much real work to do to create pointless chores for myself.

But, I'm grateful to show you what we have, in fact, created.

The insect population has skyrocketed. Birds, spiders, garden snakes and other species have moved in signaling a growing, thriving ecosystem.

Improvement in the soil quality and organic matter as well as cooled areas from canopy and mindful planting continue to be a priority.

Today we're surrounded by the constant melody sounds of the thousands of beings that call my garden home.

It's been a long 25 years, an ever evolving learning curve, but this long observation period has revived an understanding of Earth's language and how we speak it, too.

Earth said: “Let me breathe, allow me flourish, watch me grow, see my flowers in unexpected places, measure the success in hums of buzzing life, tend to my wild nature - carefully….remember the language that exists beyond words….the intuitive flow between all that exists. Remember your place within it all. "

And so we did, and we are.

We no longer have a sterile manicured lawn, we have a flourishing perennial pollinator ecological garden and we are not gardeners but stewards.

In many ways, the letting go of grass and allowing nature to go wild - is reflected in our own lives. Wanting to see what is real, what wants to come through, allowing for authentic-true expression to SHINE. And from that, beautiful things grow.

What are us humans here to do? What’s our purpose? And what does all of this mean?

Oh, and by the way, this isn’t a share demonizing the cutting of grass all together, or putting shade (no pun intended) on short grass lawns. Rather, posing the question ‘what is a lawn for’ & ‘can we find ways to create spaces that elevate our lives and the life around, simultaneously’?

As always, thank you for reading. I truly appreciate your time.

Maritza

Our Journey to Balance

[piers-wifey]

Thanksgiving is around the corner..... So 👀... Stars Thanksgiving. Who's bringing what dishes? Where's it being held? Would you help them cook? Lots of potential chaos or family moments 🥺

I'm really sorry if this isn't good. I don't celebrate Thanksgiving where I live, so, I'm not sure if it's done accurately or not. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Also, I want to thank you and @aroseybearinlove for the inspiration and ideas. I wish y'all a happy Thanksgiving! <3

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• Since Barry has the biggest house and lots of space to accommodate so many people, the decision quickly fell on him

• Joseph, Chris and Forest are the first to show up at Barry's house, wearing matching sweaters and turkey hats. They refer to each other as Turkey#1, Turkey#2 and Turkey#3

• Moira and Polly love their silly hats and especially Forest's hilariously accurate impression of a turkey

• Chris claims that his impression is much more accurate than Forest's, resulting in them competing with each other for the best turkey impression

• Edward and Claire are helping Kathy in the kitchen with preparing the turkey and the desserts, as well as with cleaning up the dirty dishes afterwards

• Ed, being the softie he is, gives Moira and Polly some mini slices of Kenneth's homemade pumpkin pie and even lets them clean out the bowls

• Meanwhile Joseph, Forest and Chris try to sneak some bites, but Edward always catches them red handed and threatens to knock them out while swinging a spatula. Truly a terrifying sight, especially since that bear of a man is dressed in a pink apron with frills and flowers on it (He rocks the look tho)

• Because of that, Joseph calls him "The pink threat", a name that'll stick with him for the rest of eternity

• Kevin is put in charge of guarding the kitchen and keep the three out. At some point; however, Joseph almost managed to get him join him, Chris and Forest

• Unfortunately for them, Wesker caught wind of that and made them do a hundred push-ups, followed by fifty jumping jacks and another hundred sit-ups to teach them some self-control (And yes, they wore those turkey hats the entire time. Enjoy the mental picture)

• In the meantime Barry and Enrico set up the second table Enrico brought, while Kenneth and Richard set up the fireplace in the backyard to roast marshmallows and make s'mores later; something Richard is particularly looking forward to, hence why he and Bridgette brought all the needed ingredients

• You, Jill, Bridgette and Rebecca decorate the house and table and occasionally check on Edward, Claire and Kathy

• Brad, being one of the more responsible S.T.A.R.S. members and also surprisingly good with children, offered to take the girls to the playground for an hour or two, while the others get everything ready

• After everything's set and settled, everyone gathers at the dinner table, waiting for the turkey to be served. And while they're waiting, Chris, Joseph and Forest sing a little song they composed themselves, which the others gradually join in with

• Except for Wesker. But hey, at least he's not commenting on the improved lyrics that don't really make any sense, or the fact that none of them can actually sing

• When Kathy finally brings in the turkey, she is greeted by joyful cheers

• After dinner, everyone's sitting in the living room, either chatting with each other or playing board/card games. Moira and Polly will play some Mario Kart on Brad's SNES, or watch the little magic show Joseph has prepared for them, with Forest and Chris as his trusty assistants

• Those who don't have to drive will enjoy a glass or two or more of the whiskey Forest has brought, while the others either stick to coffee or lemonade

• Tipsy due to the alcohol and thanks to Claire's excellent taste in music - which comes in the form of music cassettes - the living room and kitchen soon become a dance floor. If you can even call Chris and Brad's wild jumping around "dancing"

• Edward and Claire show them how it's done right, and even Forest, who isn't sober himself, shows more talent at dancing than those two. Even though his dance partner Kevin is quite a klutz

• Wesker watches both teams with raised eyebrows, wondering how he ended up with such a chaotic bunch as subordinates and why he actually finds watching them go about their business so carelessly amusing and almost endearing

• Barry notices Wesker's slight smile and even manages to preserve it in a picture along with many other wonderful memories he will fondly remember

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

Tag list: @mirandawesker @albertweskerxchrisredfield @ravenrune @dagrans @eviltothecore13 @silvevia @redcloversinaflowerfield @aurorapink10 @sassiest-captain @sevythebeanqueen