#we were just picking lemons from the lemon tree

[celestegambit]

i will jot it down here so as to not forgot my adventure of today. went to pick up omd at his house in palo alto to go to pincushion. drove up playing cumbias & the drive to pincushion was so scenic i almost pulled over & told him to drive bc i wanted to just enjoy the view. but anyways once we made it to the cattle chute, he showed me a little tunnel where there’s a bunch of graffiti & there we found a dead cow. he said that isn’t the first time he’s seen that & that it’s quite sad the cows go there to die. so he reached out his hand to help me back up & we went through the regular trail. there was a random pair of jeans left at the entrance. there was a lot of incline. thankfully there were some spots where it was flat for like 20 ft so i would stop there & take pictures as an excuse to catch a break but omd told me i handled the incline well. i asked him if he knew any jokes so he tried to think of dad jokes but the only one he knew was smth like “why was the pterodactyl quiet when he went to the bathroom,” & i said smth bc of the P & he’s like yeah the P[ee] is silent. at the top, there were 3 women w a speaker blasting music. i was kinda upset at that. i just wanted peace & quiet at the top. so i hurried up to get to the highest point where they weren’t. omd stopped to talk to them so i was alone for a bit at the top js sitting there. then he came up & we just hung out for maybe 10 minutes but the little bugs kept flying at me so i got up & he took that as his cue to get going too. so we took down a different trail so we could do a loop. i wish i could remember the turns we made but all i remember is a right after the pincushion peak. he was telling me about how i gotta make college friends bc those are the people that will be good to have around 30 years from now. then we talked about the 1800s & videogames & mexican culture. i was skipping & jumping about when we were going downhill, uphill, & on flat land. i was having so much fun hiking! ok then we made it back to the car & dude told me about pizza factory & i was like ok so we went down there. omd said we could split a sandwich & he’d pay for it but in my mind i was like nah i need more than half a sandwich so the only logical thing to do was tell him “nah i got us this time” bc he had paid last time & i secretly had the plan to order myself a whole sandwhich. so then he just paid for his beer & he got a salad which i noticed was cheaper than the sandwhich so i wonder if he got that bc it was cheaper but anyways. then we were outside & that’s when he started talking about religion & politics & eugenics & DNA & yellowjackets & so much other stuff. he also asked if i knew something about DNA (the topic escapes me now) but at the time i did so i said yes & he’s like yeah you went to edison you’re a smart girl LIKE PEOPLE THINK THAT JUST BC I WENT TO EDISON IM SMART NO YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT I SUCK AS A STUDENT but thank you for thinking so highly of me. then on the drive back we listened to doors & he was asking about my music choices & that’s when i showed him that i put his playlist on spotify. the whole ride back he talked about music. then we arrive to his house & invited me in & i step into some sort of office that is not an office actually but a room full of antique stuff. & the living room & entrance were the same way. but he was so excited to show me everything & i noticed that. he showed me some art he made w sticks & branches he found. he polished & glued rocks on top of them. thinking back about it now it reminds me of ben making his stop motion animation film from parks&rec. oh & i met seth & he’s jokingly telling me to buy omd’s stuff bc he has so much stuff & wants it gone & he’s like [omd] likes you he can give you a discount & i was like oh my goodness ive been accepted as a person 😭. & when omd had introduced me to seth he said it like he had already talked about me to seth so PEOPLE ARE PERCEIVING ME NOOO. dude has a huge house. an office, 4 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, laundry room, 2 bathrooms, & a big ass backyard W A POOL & JACUZZI

[bbrissonn]

𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 - 𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

summary: in which you spend tow beautiful christmas morning with jack and luke warnings: not proofread, couple of swear words pairing: luke hughes x zegras!reader (lemon au) wc: 2.1k a/n: happy holidays to all of you, hope you enjoy yourselves💗

- December 25, 2023 -

"morning, j."

"hi." the boy mumbled back as he sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island, hand reaching for the cup of coffee you sat in front of him.

"i see your excited." you joked, making the boy send you a death glare. he was about to say something when Luke walked back in from the bathroom.

"morning, rowdy." he said, ruffling his brother's hair as he walked over to you and grabbed the coffee you had just finished making him. all he got in response from jack was a groan as he started adjusting his hair.

"gross." he then added once he saw the two of you engaged in a soft kiss. "don't make me ship you back to your brother, y/n/n."

"you're so funny, jack." you told him, faking a small laugh. finally, the older boy finally smiled this morning, making you roll your eyes with a smile on your face as well.

"can we just get this over with so i can go back to sleep." jack said as he stood up from the stool and made his way over to the living room, where a rather questionably decorated christmas tree sat, a handful of gifts under.

"he's in a joyful mood this morning." luke mumbled before pressing a kiss to your temple and joining his brother on the couch, you following closely behind. Instead of joining the boys on the couch, you went straight for the tree and picked up the gift you had wrapped from jack, handing it to him with a soft smile.

"start us off, big boy." you laughed before taking a place between the two boys, luke throwing one of his arm around your shoulder and pulling you close to him. Your gift was something very small, just a puck with a picture of the three brothers taken before their first game all three together, and on the other side was your favourite picture of jack falling on the ice midair.

jack's tongue poked out of his lips lightly as he struggled to open the wrapped box. f there was one thing you were gonna do, it was make the process of opening gifts as complicated as you could. ou had always done it to your brothers, and recently to your sister as well, always giggling as you watched them struggle.

"y/n/n, i swear-"

"you're almost there!" you cheered as luke chuckled next to you, somehow pulling you even closer. finally, the older boy was able to get to the box, pulling out the puck as a smile quickly took over his face instead of the frown that had been present since he had walked into the kitchen.

"y/n/n... this is surprisingly sweet of- oh my god, of course!" the boy started, but cut himself off as he flipped the puck over, seeing the other picture of him, which sent you into a fit of giggle at his reaction. luke was quick to take a peak at the puck, laughing along with you. "y/n!"

"it was just too hard to resist, j. but, hey, i could've used a way worse picture for the front." you said with a teasing smile. jack rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help the smile that formed on his face. he wrapped his arms around you, bring you into a hug as he kept admiring the puck in his hand.

it still felt surreal to him that all three of them had made it this far, feeling like just yesterday their mother was teaching them how to skate on an outdoor rink in toronto. and here they all were, luke and jack in new jersey, while quinn was captain of the canucks across the continent. all of them so far away from each other and their parents, but all connected by their shared love for each other and the sport.

"thank you, really."

"your welcomed, jacky." you answered with a smile as luke pulled you out of his brother's grip, and back into his arm. jack scoffed at the move, but his smile still present as he got up and grabbed the gift he had for luke.

the three of you then engaged in a two hour long exchange of gifts between yourselves. the puck was the only real gift you had gotten jack, the other five being gags that always sent you and your boyfriend into a fit of giggle. it was hard to shop for someone who could already buy whatever they wanted.

but it was safe to say that luke had gone all out on you, buying you almost everything you had mentioned either being cute, or simply just saying you wanted it, in the last couple of months. of course, you pressed a passionate kiss to his lips, to which jack always answered with a gag. as for yourself, you had gotten luke a couple items that he had mentioned over the time of your relationship, but that he had never gotten himself because he didn't feel the need to. but there as one gift that you had opted to keep tucked away in the drawer luke had given you in his dresser, deciding that was not something jack needed to see.

later that evening, you found yourself cuddled on the couch with luke, while jack was currently in the bathroom, the movie paused. you were wearing one of trevors usa hockey sweatpants that you had claimed as your years ago, and one of luke's devils hoodie.

"i'm really happy your here, babe." luke whispered, making you lift your head from his chest and look up at him with a smile.

"'m happy to be here, lu." you mumbled, playing with the strings of his hoodie. you hadn't seen each other since thanksgiving weekend, where you had decided to come visit him in new jersey. of course, you two had face time every day, maybe missing two or three days where either of you were just too busy, tired, or your schedules just didn't lineup. either way, you had talked at least once every day since he left michigan in september.

"i've really missed you."

"i missed you, too, lemon." you smiled before leaning all the way up to met his lips. the two of you soon found yourselves in a passionate make out sessions, tongues dancing together as luke pulled you as close as he possibly could, his hands all over your body.

"you have a room for a reason, luke." jack groaned as he threw himself down on the couch, making the two of you pull apart. you smiled shyly as you hid yourself in luke's hold, no one saying anything else as jack pressed play on the remote.

a couple of hours later, you and luke were laying in his bed half asleep, your face snuggled in his naked chest as you listened to his heart beat. one of his hands was on your head, playing softly with your hair.

"you liked your gifts?"

"mm-hm. loved them." you mumbled, shifting slightly as you tried to shoved yourself closer to him, your chest pressed against his. "but, you know, i don't need all that stuff, babe."

"i know, but i promise your brothers i'd take care of you, and treat you like you deserve. and you deserve this, baby." he explained softly, his eyes slowly closing.

"and i appreciate it, luke, i really do. but i truly do not need all these things. i got you, and that's enough for me."

"you better tell that to your brothers if i ever get an angry visit from them." he joked, making the two of you chuckle before slowly falling asleep in each others arms.

⊹₊ ˚‧︵‿₊୨୧₊‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

- December 25, 2024 -

"alright lovebirds, i'm not going through what i went last year again." jack said strictly has he sat down on the couch next to you, setting his cup of hot chocolate down on the coffee table. "kiss each other all you want, but keep your tongues in your own mouths. or go in your room if you really need to get all freak with each other." he continued, making luke roll his eyes at his brother's attitude.

this year was a little different though, with trevor being injured, he had decided to come back home during his small little break, and after jack begged him to come over this morning, you guys were now four on the couch.

"or maybe just don't." trevor added, siding with his best friend. trevor almost flew out of his seat as he looked over at the two of you, only to see both of you rolling your eyes.

"whatever, let's jus get started."

as you started exchanging gifts between yourselves, it only then that the two hughes brother realized how similar you and trevor were, both opting for gag gifts, laughing hysterically each time someone opened their gifts.

"two gifts only, luke?" your brother asked as jack finished opening the last gift that was under the tree, his eyes staring into luke's. your boyfriend was quick to look over at you with wide eyes, making you place a hand on trevor's shoulder.

"trev, it's fine, i asked him not to." you said softly, making trevor's eyes go wide.

"why?"

"'cause i don't need anything else, i've already got everything i want." you explained.

"that's corny." jack chuckled, making luke roll his eyes a bit.

"i mean it though, i don't need a hundred pair of pants, or twenty curling irons." you said, looking more at your brother than your boyfriend. since trevor had sign his first contract, he had made a couple of unnecessary spendings for you, which you were truly thankful for, but you would rather him keep his money than buy you all the stanley cups he could find.

"whatever. i'm gonna go to the bathroom." trevor sassed, standing up and making his way to the bathroom.

"i'm gonna go get water, you guys want anything?" jack then said, standing up as well, but waiting for your answers before leaving.

"i'm okay, thank you." you declined with a smile while luke just shook his head.

"told you he'd hate me." luke was quick to mumbled once jack was gone.

"and i told you, i don't care what he thinks. i know this is gonna sound cringy or whatever, but i have you, lu, and that's good enough for me. just being with you is better than any gifts you could ever give me."

"very corny." luke smiled, looking down at you before attaching your lips together. you let out a soft giggle as luke's hand slipped into your shirt, his fingers gently touching your waist.

"one rule! we give you guys one simple rules, and you can't even follow it?" jack exclaimed as he walked back into the living room, making the two of you pull apart from each other. at the same time, trevor walked out of the bathroom, his eyebrows raised at his best friend's words.

"jack, grow up."

"actually, that's reminding me, trev and i have one last gift for you guys." the middle hughes sibling said before he and trevor disappeared into his room. they came out about a minute later, during which you and luke had exchanged as many kisses as you could, holding a large box. you could tell trevor had wrapped it just from the looks of it.

"open it." trevor said as he placed the box on your lap. you shared a questionable look with luke before unwrapping the box and opening it, only to be met with the sight of 6 boxes of condoms looking back at you. your jaw dropped right away, sending a glare to your brother, while luke threw his head back with a groan.

"trevor!"

"i'm too young to be an uncle, y/n. and by the way you guys are acting with each other in front of us, i don't even want to begin to imagine what you do all alone." he said sternly, both his hands resting on hips like a dad giving his kid a lecture.

"we're not stupid, you know." luke said, closing the box and putting it on the ground. "but thank you for saving me some money, appreciate it." he added with a smile, making your brother gagged while jack slightly hit him on the back of the head.

the rest of the day was filled with chaos, from luke and jack arguing about who's turn it was to do the dishes, figuring out what to eat, trevor and luke getting into a play fight in the middle of one of the movies as your brother saw luke's hand slipped a little too low for his liking. as well as finishing the night with two facetime calls between your families, your parents having the longest discussion about time flying by so quickly until you all told them to just call separately and hanging up the phones.

it was by far the most action-packed christmas you had ever experienced, but you wouldn't of had traded it for the world.

[foxtrology]

thank fuck you're not complete done with that harry castillo universe because I've barely finished the last chapter and I already miss them 🥹 could you write prompt 31, pretty please? 🥺

dad! harry castillo

prompt 31: harry takes adella to the bookstore and ends up reading four picture books aloud on the floor. two people recognize him. he doesn’t care.

prompt list

⸻

The plan had been simple.

In and out.

One quick stop at the bookstore for the new release Adella’s preschool teacher had mentioned—the one about a grumpy squirrel and a weather balloon or something equally ridiculous—and then back home before lunch.

That had been the plan.

But Harry Castillo had long since learned that plans—especially ones involving six-year-olds with untamable curls and big, curious eyes—meant absolutely nothing.

It was drizzling when they left the house, the kind of late spring rain that didn’t quite warrant umbrellas but still managed to soak through clothes if you stayed outside too long.

Adella had insisted on wearing her yellow rain boots even though the bookstore was only a few blocks away, and Harry—who had once made men cry in negotiation rooms—simply nodded and grabbed the matching coat from the peg by the door.

She splashed in every puddle along the sidewalk.

He didn’t rush her.

The bell above the bookstore door chimed softly as they stepped inside. It was warm and dry, the kind of cozy space that smelled like cinnamon and paper and the faintest trace of whatever candle the owner kept burning on the front counter. The lights were low and golden, and the jazz playing through the speakers was gentle enough to feel like background breathing.

Adella gasped.

Not dramatically—just that quiet, delighted sound she always made when entering places she loved. Her mitten-sized hand tightened around his, and Harry looked down just in time to see her eyes go wide at the sight of the children’s section.

“Can we stay a little bit?” she asked, already tugging at his arm.

He didn’t hesitate.

“Of course.”

She led him there like she’d been born in that bookstore. Past the poetry wall, through the shelves of new fiction, around a table stacked with cookbooks where she paused to point at a pie and whisper, “You should make that for mommy.” Harry grunted in agreement, mentally adding lemon meringue to the next grocery list.

By the time they reached the children’s nook, her raincoat had been unzipped and her curls had started to frizz from the weather. She didn’t care. She had spotted the beanbag chairs. And the bookshelf shaped like a tree.

Harry didn’t bother with the adult-sized reading bench. He was on the floor in seconds, long legs folding awkwardly beneath him, back pressed against the soft cushion of a floor pillow that clearly hadn’t been designed with six-foot men in mind.

Adella dropped to his side with the dramatic flair of a child in her own kingdom.

“Okay,” she said, breathless with excitement. “Pick four.”

“Four?”

“Four books, daddy.” She grinned, one front tooth missing, the other slightly wiggly. “That’s how many we can read before snack.”

He gave a mock sigh. “Only four?”

“For now.”

He let her choose.

Of course he did.

The first one was about a cow who wanted to be a ballerina.

Harry read every word. In a very bad French accent.

Adella giggled so hard she snorted, and he grinned so wide it made the edges of his eyes crinkle.

The second was about a brave girl pirate with a pink eyepatch and a sidekick parrot who only spoke in riddles. Adella leaned against him the whole time, warm and heavy, her head on his shoulder, legs kicked up like she didn’t have a care in the world.

By the third, a quiet story about a raccoon who built a treehouse for all his friends, she had started mouthing some of the words along with him.

And by the fourth—a ridiculous tale about a dragon who was afraid of the dark—Harry had stopped noticing the faint ache in his back or the way his foot had fallen asleep.

He was fully in it. All of it.

Reading in the corner of a bookstore with his daughter in his lap, surrounded by pillows and the soft rustle of pages and the occasional squeal of a toddler from the other aisle.

People stared.

Of course they did.

Two women near the café section exchanged hushed whispers behind travel mugs. One of them snapped a quick photo with her phone, trying to be subtle. Another man, standing by the nonfiction shelf, did a double-take.

Harry Castillo. That Harry Castillo. On the floor of a bookstore with his knees poking out awkwardly from a child-sized nook, his voice animated, his tone ridiculous, his daughter giggling so hard she nearly fell over.

Harry didn’t notice.

Or maybe he did.

And he just didn’t give a damn.

Because this—this was what mattered now.

Not the company he’d once obsessed over. Not the Forbes headlines or the nameplate on the door of an office he hadn’t stepped inside in almost three years. Not the whispers about his age or the commentary about becoming a father so late in life.

He was late. Sure.

But he wasn’t too late.

And she—his daughter, his firecracker, his reason—was worth every second of that delay.

At one point, Adella looked up at him, curls slightly sweaty from leaning against his chest, eyes heavy with the kind of soft, satisfied glow only good mornings bring.

“Mommy would like this one,” she whispered, pointing to the ballerina cow book again.

“She would,” Harry agreed, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“We should bring it home.”

He nodded. “Done.”

“And we should tell her about the dragon.”

“We’ll act it out at dinner.”

“And maybe next time—”

“There will be a next time,” he interrupted gently, squeezing her hand. “There’s always a next time with you.”

She beamed.

Eventually, they did head home.

With five books in a paper bag—Adella had added one last-minute “for Frances”—and two hot chocolates from the corner café that Harry said were overpriced but bought anyway.

By the time they walked back through the front door, her boots were soaked, and her cheeks were flushed pink, and Harry’s shirt had a faint smear of whipped cream down the front where she’d hugged him too quickly with sticky fingers.

His wife was in the kitchen, apron dusted with flour, humming to a song playing low from her phone speaker.

She looked up as they entered, eyes warm.

“Good time?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Harry nodded.

“She made me read four books on the floor,” he said, setting the bag down with a mock groan.

Adella grinned. “He did voices.”

She laughed, crossing the room to kiss his cheek. “Of course he did.”

Later, after lunch and a bath and a half-hour of chasing Frances out of the pantry, Adella was curled up in bed for her nap, and Harry stood at the foot of her mattress, just… watching.

Not hovering.

Just being.

“She’s getting so big,” he murmured.

His wife came up beside him, slipping an arm around his waist. “She’s still your little girl.”

He didn’t say anything.

Just nodded.

And when he slipped his hand into his back pocket later that night, emptying the day’s contents onto his dresser, he found one of the bookstore receipts folded neatly around a crayon drawing Adella had made while sipping her hot chocolate.

It was a picture of them. Him on the floor, book in hand. Her curled up in his lap. Frances, inexplicably wearing a crown.

He tucked it into the drawer next to the watch he rarely wore anymore.

And smiled.

Because even in his sixties, even after everything, Harry Castillo had never been happier to be recognized as just a dad.

And he knew, deep in his bones, he’d read her another book tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next.

Forever, if she’d let him.

[auroracalisto]

day #22: "i'll be home for christmas"

tangerine x gn!reader, 1k words a/n: i mention that you like cheese ball and when i say that, i mean this thing (this thing also says msg but i think the recipe we use has something else... idk). i hope it's not just a southern west virginia thing. it's my favorite thing at holidays. i know it looks freaky and child me used to REFUSE but these and tollhouse butter crackers... cheese ball hates to see me comin', y'all. also, did you know that "i'll be home for christmas" was initially written in regards to soldiers overseas who wouldn't be home to celebrate christmas with their loved ones? crazyy.

I'll be home for Christmas You can plan on me Please have snow and mistletoe And presents on the tree Christmas Eve'll find me Where the love light gleams I'll be home for Christmas If only in my dreams

Before you, he never truly cared for Christmas, or any holiday for that matter. It just didn't strike him as anything special. But then he met you, and it was like something within him changed. You seemed so... excited for simple things like gifts and merry-making, and by God, he'd make sure he'd make you the happiest person in the world if he could help it.

But work was work. He couldn't just avoid it, and he especially couldn't turn down suck an incredible paycheck. Hell, this job may have been difficult, but who the hell would've thought it would have lasted this long?

Typically, his jobs lasted a few days. Maybe a week or two, tops. This one was going on three weeks, and nearing Christmas. It was as if whoever this damned man had wanted him to miss Christmas—wanted him to miss the morning lying in bed with you, kissing you, making you feel like you were the only person in the world.

He didn't often hate his job, but right now? He wished he would have some cozy office job where he'd be home no matter what. Every holiday, he'd be by your side, decorating and drinking and participating in whatever merry making you wanted. Damn, he'd even try baking cookies and creating that weird cheese ball thing you'd mentioned from your childhood. It looked more like a thing that could grow legs and walk away, but he'd give anything just to be home with you. To be with you instead of sitting here growing restless with his brother grumbling on about how he wished he was home as well—not that he could blame him.

Tangerine patted his thigh with his hand and reached for his phone. He dialed your number, a frown on his lips. He sat on the edge of his hotel bed, knowing that he wouldn't be home. There'd be no way, regardless of how much he wanted to be. But he'd lie. A little white lie never hurt anyone, right?

"Hey, love," he said as soon as the receiver picked up.

"Hi, Tan," he heard your voice come through.

He smiled a bit to himself. "You, uh, doin' alright?" he asked. "Takin' care of yourself, yeah?"

Lemon glanced over at him, raising a curious eyebrow. Tangerine just waved him off with a pursed lip."

"Yeah," you said. "Tan, how's the job coming? Are you almost done?"

Your voice is soft on the receiver—must be poor service from his end.

"I miss you."

The words strike him silent for a moment. He sighed softly and closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know you do, love," he said. "I'm sorry. I'll be home soon, I promise."

"How soon?" you asked.

"I'm aimin' for Christmas Eve," he said, a small smile playing on his lips. He could hear Lemon protesting the little lie, but Tangerine simply waved him off and then proceeded to flip him off.

"Christmas Eve. You don't sound too sure," you replied.

He breathed through his nose and closed his eyes. Why were you always so good at seeing through his words? It was almost like you were a psychic. Either that or Lemon was fucking texting you that he was lying.

Tangerine cursed at his brother, throwing one of the hard hotel pillows at his face. It hit him and Lemon let out a shout in protest.

"Tangerine," you said, his code name drawing his attention back to the phone.

"Right. Sorry, love. I, uh, it's not lookin' too good, sweetheart. I'm going to try and make it back as soon as I can, but I can't make any promises right now."

"Really?" you sadly said.

"Yeah, really," he said. "You know, maybe I can dream about being home for the holidays."

You scoffed softly. "What, like the Bing Crosby song?"

"What song?" he asked.

"Um," you paused. "'I'll Be Home for Christmas.'"

"Bing Crosby?"

"The singer, you dipshit," Lemon quipped from his side of the hotel room.

Tangerine rolled his eyes. "How's it go, love? Remind me."

"I'm not singing it to you," you said, "but I'll send it to you."

He snorted softly. "Yeah, you do that," he said.

Tangerine glanced toward the clock on the wall—it was nearly two in the morning. He sighed softly. He knew you were a couple hours behind him, so he wasn't keeping you awake, but he knew you still needed to go. You had a life beyond him (or at least, he hoped you did—jokes, jokes).

"Look, love, if things change, I'll be the first to message you," he said.

You sighed softly on the phone. "Do that," you said. "I miss you, Tan."

"I miss you more, love. Honest."

"I know," you said. "Just... be safe. Come home soon. We can always celebrate when you get back."

His brows furrowed. "How would we celebrate Christmas after the holiday?"

You snorted softly. "I don't think Christmas is just a day," you said. "I feel like as long as you have the people you want to celebrate with, it can be a holiday. The number doesn't truly matter."

He hummed softly at your words. "Want to invite Lemon?"

"If you want Lemon, sure."

He grinned. "Sounds like a plan, love. I'll save a day of Christmas just for you, though."

You scoffed over the phone, but he just knew you were smiling.

"I love you," Tangerine softly said. He knew Lemon heard it, and he'd say something later, but all he wanted was for you to say it back.

Perhaps it was his only wish of the night as he heard the words "I love you" over the phone, and a wish for him to have a good night.

When you hung up, he dropped his phone and looked toward Lemon.

"If we don't finish this fuckin' job in the next two days, someone is gonna bloody die, and it isn't me."

Lemon rolled his eyes. "Stop bein' so fuckin' dramatic. We'll finish the job and you can be back home playing house with your little beau."

Tangerine grumbled under his breath and laid back in his hotel bed, looking up at the popcorn ceiling.

"Damn. Remind me in the future to take all of December off."

Lemon raised an eyebrow. "You plan on taking all of December off just for a holiday?"

"Nah, mate, not just a holiday. For them."

[mashiraostail]

"i got you something" with Astarion please!! maybe fluffy ??

I luv writing fluffy Astarion hes the best

You were poking a stick through the pile of dirt you’d made in front of you, you threw some rocks at it. You started to build it up again, not caring about the dirt under your nails, you lean to sit against a tree to be more comfortable as you dig and drag the twig through the exposed Earth. 

“Why the long face?” You hear Astarions voice behind you.

“Who said I have a long face? You can't even see me."

“You’re playing with a stick in the dirt.”

“Fair enough..” You drop the stick and sit up, “I'm just bored.” 

“Ah.” He winds his path around the tree and stands beside you. 

“We’ll be in the city proper in a few days.” He nudges your shoulder with his leg, “are you…excited?”

“Making small talk?” You look up at him, “are you about to sprout tentacles?”

“I asked a question.” He deadpans, “shoot me.”

“I am excited.” You snort and lean a bit of weight on him, “I’m sure once we get there I won’t be excited anymore. But the thought is nice. Are you excited to see it in the daytime?” 

“You know,” Astarion elects to sit beside you, “I think I am.”

“That’s good. It’s good to be excited. I remember when I was younger I would steal these lemon tarts from this sweet shop near the lower city. They were like my favorite thing in the world. The idea of even seeing that place now excites me. It's a good memory, and I don't have many of those." You pick some dirt from under your nail, "honestly it's been a long time since I was in the city." You turn your head to look at him, "it was simpler back then."

"I can imagine." Astarion looks at you too, "no world ending problems to solve."

The way you sigh at that, how deeply your shoulders sag, actually leaves him feeling a bit....guilty? Sad? He's not sure.

"No, the only big decision I had to make was dinner, where to sleep." You turn your face from him and rest the crown of your head on the tree behind you. He can feel your hair tickling his ear. "Sublime uneventfulness."

He swears he can see tears welling up in your eyes. He doesn't say anything, he can tell you wouldn't want him to.

"It must be harder for you." You say it softly, "with how many bad memories you have in the city."

"I feel more comfortable there." He confesses, "it's familiar, no giant monsters or goblins...well not usually. I know my way around there." He shrugs, "it feels..safe almost."

"I know the feeling." You nod, then you stand up.

"Good night Astarion." You look...forlorn. "Thanks for checking on me."

He looks up you, surprise rarely graced his features but it did now. "Of course darling."

"You're much sweeter than you let on you know." You drop a hand into his hair, he feels your thumb drag a short line over his forehead right above his eyebrow. You can feel his forehead scrunch up under your thumb.

"Eh," He shakes his head, "not to most."

"That's what makes you so great." You thumb at the shell of his ear as you pull away, "coming?" You hold your hand out to him, and offer to hoist him up.

"No I....want to sit a while I think."

"Suit yourself." You kneel and press a long kiss to his temple, "Sorry I got all..glum...there's a lot on my mind."

"You don't need to apologize." He looks up at you, "This isn't easy, you're more cheerful than most would be...given our circumstance."

"You're right." You give him a half hearted smile, "thanks Astarion, you always know what to say."

He sputters at that, "you'll make me sick. Stop." He swats your hand away from his face, he's just glad to hear you laugh.

"Right." You sit back on your haunches as your laughter fizzles out, "sorry." He puts a hand on your wrist and you grin at him, "I leave you to it, little star."

He scoffs at that but doesn't push you away, actually he holds onto your wrist until you're too far for him to reach anymore.

"Goodnight darling." He's just barely grinning at you.

*

"Hey Astarion," You're walking over to his tent, welcoming yourself in, and sitting in rapid succession.

"How can I help you darling?" He was toying around with a dagger, balancing it on the ball of his hand, shredding a small sheet of parchment with its sharp edge.

"I was thinking about today, and I wanted to ask a favor."

"I'm a terrible person to be indebted to." He waves the dagger at you, "you never know what I'll ask for in return."

"I'm not worried about it. I was thinking you could go skulk around the lower city, try to get some information on the Gondians and the steel watch? You're the best at skulking."

"Why, thank you." He puts a mocking hand on his chest, "you're so sweet to me."

"I figured you would like that option better than what I'm doing today." You shove his arm as you chuckle at his theatrics.

"Well what are you doing today? Would I find it so terrible I'd want to be parted from you?"

"Going down to the guildhall, trying to make some friends."

"Oh....Skulking does sound better." He nods, "alright, I'll do that then."

"Perfect," You laugh, "you can head out whenever you like. Thanks in advance, I owe you."

"I'll need that in writing." Astarion stands up, "I'll leave soon and see you back here tonight?"

You nod at him, "try to write some stuff down, get as much information as you can." You also stand, "feel free to take a buddy. Wyll, Jaheria and Karlach are coming with me. The others are up for grabs."

"Oh wow, such a wonderful select." Astarion rolls his eyes, "I'll do well on my own. Thank you."

*

Truthfully, when he can see everyone else is already back at camp before him he feels a bit sour.

Then he sees you all patching up.

"Astarion!" You seem happy to see him, "I was starting to worry."

"Oh yeah? Well I am worrying, currently."

"Dont worry!" You wave, "you should see the other guy." Your lip cracks and begins to bleed as you say it. "I'm going to go patch up at my tent, then I'll find you? You can tell me what you found out today."

"Alright do you....need help?" He offers, he isn't used to being this way, but the way your face brightens at the offer makes him feel like the adjustment will be worth it.

"No, no don't worry!" You're grinning, 'you must be tired too, rest up and then we can find each other. Alright?"

He watches some blood trickle down your chin, "I hope it's not as bad as it looks." He smudges the small stream of blood with his thumb, "find me later."

Karlach snickers as he walks away and you shove her off the log she was perched on.

You're mostly cleaned off when Astarion appears outside your tent, calling your name.

"Astarion?" You poke your head out, "it's good to see you."

He kisses his teeth and turns his head away from you, "it's hardly been ten hours."

"So? What did you find?" You elect to ignore his comment and move over to make room for him.

"Well..how are you feeling?" He scuffs his boots off the ground, "what even happened? I thought you were going to make friends?"

"We were...ugh...we always run into trouble." You lament, rubbing your forehead, "such a headache."

He sits beside you, "Did you get ambushed?"

"Aways in the most irritating places." You sigh, using a cloth to wipe some of the dirt off your face.

"Did you kill someone?" He sounds affronted, "what happened?"

"Gith."

"You killed someones!" He gasps, "I should have gone with you!"

"I know, I'm sorry." You laugh a bit, "I wish you'd been there."

"Well I.." He seems to trail off, "you had it handled I'm sure..and besides I..."

"You?" Your head tilts at him, "what's the matter? Did you find anything?"

"Yes actually I did and so I was thinking it actually was good I went my own way today." He rummages through his pack, which you only noticed he'd kept on him at this moment.

"I brought you something, from the city. I saw it and I thought of you. I figured it wouldn't hurt."

"You got me a gift?" You perk up, "careful, I might start to think you like me."

"It's certainly more than that." He procures a bundle of something, wrapped in a cheese cloth, "here, open it."

You pull the waxy twine holding the cloth shut and it falls open around his hand, reveling a few small lemon tarts, decorated with red berries.

"I don't think they're from the same shop but..I figured you'd like them either way." He can hardly look at you.

"Astarion..." You reposition to sit on your knees, "how did you remember? I barely talked about this once.." You pick one up, a grin splitting your face in half.

"I don't know I just...saw them in the shop window and remembered." He certainly wouldn't say he spent the better part of the day hunting for them.

"You're so sweet." You take the bundled cloth from his hands and set it down, "thank you for always thinking of me. Now I really do owe you." You clasp your hands around his.

"Oh no.." He kisses his teeth, "this one is..on me...but don't get used to it." He glances at you, "do they look okay?"

"Astarion they are sooo cute and little, they're perfect. Thank you. Honestly thank you, this is like the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I'm pretty sure I've saved your life before." Astarion raises his eyebrow at you, "but I appreciate the praise."

"This is different than that. This is different than anything. You listened to me, and you remembered, and you went out of your way to do something kind for me. Thank you Astarion, really thank you."

"I'll get a big head." He warns you, but you can tell the attention is embarrassing him. "I...like listening to you any way."

"You're sweet." You let his hand go and break one of the tarts in half, "here, try it with me."

"No, I got them for you-"

"I want to share, honest. It's like giving you one of my favorite memories."

"Only if you insist." He takes the smaller half anyway, "I never ate much around the city after Cazador... I don't remember the last time I had something like this."

"I know you'll like it, they're the best." You promise, "here, cheers me." You hold your half up and he scoffs, but taps your tarts together anyway before trying one with you.

"Oh my god it tastes just like how I remember," You groan, covering your mouth with three fingers as you talk, "this is the best. What do you think?"

He actually finishes chewing before he speaks, with much more tact than you, "that is very good, I can see why you liked them so much back then."

He watches you take a bite of another one, you see him smile, but his eyebrows scrunch up a bit too.

"What?" You ask, around a mouthful of tart, "something on my face-"

"No, no," He waves, "I just...I've never seen you so happy."

"Ever since I started fighting, adventuring and all..." You set the bitten tart down on the cloth, "I realized that sometimes the little things are the best things you can get, and that you should seize every little crumb of happiness because who knows when you'll get another? But this...this was like the best thing ever..I think I could have lived like Gale, in a big tower with everything I've ever wanted, and one of these would still put me over the moon."

"Really?" Astarion moves to sit closer to you, your knees touch.

"Really. Thank you Astarion."

"Don't thank me." He looks at the wall of your tent, "just enjoy them."

"I definitely will." You smile at him, and lean over the gap between the pair of you. The kiss is chaste and fast but the taste of it lingers on Astarion's lips.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Astarion isn't sure why he asks, he's never asked before, "you can have your tarts and we we can fill each other in."

"I'd love to." You grin, "you like me wayyy more than you let on." You finish the abandoned tart and he scoffs.

"I don't know where you get the idea to pretend I don't like you. I've done nothing but sing you praises since we met! I think your wonderful, and you're the first person I've ever done something nice for on purpose and-" His mouth snaps shut, "I don't know what's come over me. I think I'm ill."

You snort at that, "yeah, love sick." You lean over and kiss him again, and it lingers in a way that makes Astarion feel warm, warmer than he ever has since dying.

"It's okay Astarion, I think you're wonderful too."

[lazy4honey]

How about a shark man with a fish woman and fem reader? Both of them have been trying to get her to notice that they love her but the reader's not too good with social cues. They bring her to a cove and decide to be more direct and sandwich her between them. Would like some mild teasing, mild smothering/suffocation, and overstimulation.

Ooh, an ocean sandwich! Okay, let’s see…

Love In Paradise

Contains: polycule, lemon shark man with two p x fem!reader x hawaiian cleaner wrasse woman (all of them have legs, kinda like that Luca movie?, not set on Hawaii tho more a fantasy approximation, also no sex in the sand because it’s coarse, rough, and gets everywhere), threesome, mild air deprivation, face sitting, overstimulation, NSFW & MDNI

After a holiday on the island, you fell in love with it. You returned for a few business trips, and finally made the decision to quit your old job and moved over.

What made you especially happy was that you quickly made friends on the island. Both were ocean dwellers, residents of a nearby reef town, though they also worked on the island. One was your landlord, a good-looking lemon shark man known as Zola, and the other liked hanging out at the same bar as you, a pretty cleaner wrasse woman with blonde hair, black scales and purple fins called Nelli.

Knowing that you had just moved to the island and were still getting used to some stuff, Zola and Nelli helped you a lot. They gave you furniture, clothes, tool tips, books, neat nicknacks, little tours of the island whenever you felt like moving... You also went out for drinks, watched the sunset, danced till sunrise, chatted the night away, and had sleepovers! Things couldn’t be better.

But where you didn’t see and didn’t hear, the two ocean dwellers weren’t in the best of moods. Both of them had been attracted to you on first sight, falling deeper as they interacted more with you. When they started courting you and realized that they were both interested in the same human, their fragile friendship built through chats at the reef town’s cleaning station quickly showed cracks. They blamed each other for their unsuccessful pursuit, until they discovered that you never picked up on flirts.

Gifts and compliments were returned in kind, physical intimacy confused you, listening to people passionately blather about their interests was a given, and generally anything nice you did that attracted others to you was a result of your upbringing, something you naturally did without much thinking.

At that time, Zola and Nelli exchanged a helpless look. Could it be that you were just being polite with them? What if they confessed their feelings and you told them that you just thought of them as friends, maybe even as brother and sister?? Or, what if you thought they were dating?! No no no, they couldn’t have that!

So to eradicate any chance of a misunderstanding, they invited you on another island tour and brought you to a secluded cove. There, bright sunlight shone onto the turquoise water lapping at the sandy beach, lush leaves rustled pleasantly in the wind, and old trees framed a picturesque stilt-house.

Zola gentlemanly held the door open for you and Nelli, and the moment you entered all you saw was hearts. Literally. The entire house was decorated with hearts. What wasn’t already heart-shaped had been arranged into the shape of hearts or at least decorated with them, making every room look like the love nest some filthy rich person had arranged for their sugar baby.

“This is...?"

Zola and Nelli exchanged a look, and then each took one of your hands as they gazed at you.

“We just wanted to tell you that we love you."

“Huh?"

Nelli stepped forward and hugged you. Being a good bit shorter than you, her face was almost buried in your bosom. She squeezed your waist, and one hand slid down to your ass, “Do you not understand what we mean?"

You were still locking eyes with her when Zola embraced you from behind and bent down to put his chin on your shoulder, his breath tickling against your skin and his erect claspers pressing into your soft flesh. “Nelli loves you and wants to have an intimate relationship with you, and I love you and want to have an intimate relationship with you, too."

You looked between them, “Intimate in what way?"

“Romantically and sexually.” Zola said, and Nelli nodded.

“So a polycule?"

“Yes."

“...Me dating both of you?"

“Yeah."

“If you want to."

After thinking about it for a moment, you smiled and nodded, “Okay."

“...Huh?"

You looked at their stupid expressions and laughed. “Dating both of you sounds great. I like both of you, I find the idea of being with both of you very interesting."

The two exchanged a look, “Are you sure?"

Nodding and smiling, you twisted a little to hug both of them. “Yeah. Though I might not be able to return your affection with the same intensity..."

“Oh, that’s fine!"

Nelli grinned from one finned ear to the other, and Zola nuzzled your neck. Their cool temperatures felt pleasant in the heat, scales and fins feeling novel against your skin.

“Hey, now that we’re already here in this... love nest, how about we do something exciting?” You suggested with a wink and playfully rubbed against your freshly minted partners.

In response, Zola’s claspers twitched and Nelli bit her lower lip. In unspoken agreement, they brought you to the bedroom, the smell of scented candles filling your nose. From there, things got chaotic.

You exchanged deep kisses with both of them. Whenever one kisses you, the other would lick and bite and grope you, all the while getting rid of your clothes piece by piece. Hands caressed your shoulders and back, breasts and waist, thighs and crotch, pinching and tugging here and there.

By the time you lay down on the bed, you were fully naked and aroused. Your nipples and clit were erect and your pussy wet, and you could barely wait to experience the combined love of the two ocean dwellers.

They hastily took off their clothes, Nelli almost tearing hers apart, and then they joined you on the bed.

Zola was tall and slender, with streamlined muscles and two long claspers whose erection resembled that of a human more closely. The gills on his ribs flared as he breathed heavily and his claspers bobbed with his movements, making you swallow.

Nelli on the other hand was short and stocky, with wide hips, strong thighs and big breasts. Apart from her head hair, her body was completely bare and smooth, dark skin adorned by shimmering black scales and light purple fins that seemed pink in the light.

You almost couldn’t believe that both of these attractive beings had fallen for you.

They lay down next to you and turned you onto your side so that you faced Nelli. Her breasts pressed against yours, nipple against nipple, and Zola’s claspers squeezed between your thighs in teasingly close proximity to your pussy. As they arranged themselves around you, they rubbed and ground and made your breathing quicken with their inadvertent touches.

Finally, Zola’s hips pressed close to your ass, erect claspers pulsing against your pussy, and your face was almost submerged in Nelli’s ample bosom. Then Zola began to thrust, his shark cocks brushing past your lips and clit. Meanwhile, Nelli hugged your head, repeatedly smothering you with her breasts. Their actions made your abdomen pulse, arousal building higher and higher until you felt close to coming.

It was then that they let up, letting you breathe for a bit before informing you of their next idea.

Flushed and lightheaded and needy, you agreed without thinking much.

Nelli shimmied down and rubbed her lips against your breasts, complimenting you for their softness, and pushed her leg between yours so you would put your thigh over her waist, while her own rested over your ass. With a little effort, she pushed closer, skin against skin, and her clit nudged yours, sending a shiver up your spine.

In this position, both your pussies were fully presented to Zola. He needed some time to align his claspers, and then he pushed in. His shark cocks sank into you and Nelli, and you meant to feel his other clasper in her belly because of how close you were.

With the first thrust, you were already clamping down on Nelli. The cock in your pussy and the clit against yours were heavenly, every rut into you bringing with it a pleasure that made your mouth hang open as you gasped.

After only five thrusts, you came. You squirted all over Zola’s clasper, your fluttering pussy bringing him over the edge and spilling his seed into you and Nelli, who ground her clit against yours and managed to extend your orgasm for a few minutes.

By the time you recovered, they had already turned you onto your back. Milky white cum dripped from Nelli’s pussy as she knelt next to your head, stroking your head, and Zola’s once more erect claspers were resting on your belly, leaking some cum. You hooked your legs around his waist and and arm around hers, pulling them, inviting them to ravish you.

Nelli smiled and gave you a deep, lingering kiss before sitting on your face. Her lips were against yours, your nose prodding at her clit as you started to lick and suck the cum from her.

By your crotch, Zola held your legs and carefully inserted his claspers. Individually, his claspers weren’t that girthy, but put together they were a lot to take in. Their length meant that they took some time to fully enter you, and then the tips grazed your cervix with each thrust and made you loudly moan into Nelli’s pussy.

Nelli trembled as the sound traveled through her. It led to her rolling her hips on your face, the motion smothering you a little every now and then. You extended your tongue and dove into her pussy, curling your tongue within and lapping at the cum still trickling out.

Zola’s thrusts also helped you with that. Each pound rocked your body, and as he grew closer to another release he even managed to make the bed shake. The stretch, the friction, the pressure, all of it brought you to your peak and exhilaration washed over you in crashing waves.

Nelli’s moans and Zola’s groans filled your ears, passionate praises for your flexible tongue and wonderful pussy and beautiful lips and soul-stirring voice amplifying your orgasm. Then Nelli squirted on your face and two shots of cum hit your cervix, throbbing genitals pressed flush against your lips immediately triggering your next orgasm and making you also squirt.

The bed was wet with cum and slick and sweat. A salty taste filled your mouth, almost like drinking ocean water, and your throat felt even drier than before. Slick overflowed from your mouth and gushed from your twitching pussy, yet they just continued fucking you.

Your clit throbbed, your belly gradually bulged, and the lack of air turned pleasure into ecstasy. It felt like the orgasms weren’t stopping anymore, turning you cock and pussy drunk in no time. And following the satiated desire came overstimulation. Hoarse moans and cries were muffled by Nelli’s pussy and struggling to move your hips only made Zola more frenzied, pounding his claspers into you like he would only stop once you’d milked him dry.

And yet you loved it.

Covered in cum inside and out, fucked raw and overstimulation fraying your body and senses, you felt like you were in paradise.

Moving to this island was definitely your best decision ever.

[bfdiredux]

flesh out pie pleas i need more content

some hcs as an offering - pie has eaten whole peppers raw and is undefeated in spice contests - she actually likes hanging out with book outside of the competition, and wishes they could hang out more - if she had a deal made between her and one, it'd probably be something like 'returning everything to the way it was' (like having all of her friends back or something along the lines)

PIE PIE PIE PIE!!!!!! I swear she doesn't get enough love. Canon!Pie is so chill il love her!!!

Pie vs Pi isn't canon but I can draw inspiration from that to hammer down her Pre-BFDI life!

Faithful, mellow, and relaxed. She's got a "whatever happens happens" mindset. She's not the best at advice but she is a good listening ear.

Pie has that "whatever" mindset with foods too. She'll try most anything you put in front of her. Whole raw peppers? Sure, she'll have it and then some.

Her favorite food is tacos with an excessive amount of lemon juice.

Lower-middle working class individual. She has bills to pay and is working a 9 to 5. She likes to feel AWAKE before going to work so you can trust she's in bed by 11 and up by 7-- she'll take a cup of coffee and a jog after getting up and stretching.

I like the idea of her and Book being pals! Perhaps they were highschool friends who stayed in contact. When Book applied and got into BFDIA, Pie cheered her on.

She was surprised when a third season was announced(IDFB isn't an in-universe season), including a return of all S1 veterans, S2 contestants, and applications being open.

Applying for BFB was a for fun choice. She wasn't expecting to get in but when she saw the ad for it but she tried anyways!!

A shady bus picked her up and brought her to the playing field. I think starting BFB with her getting up and going would be a fun change.

This bus has other new contestants, some introduced in BFDIA as spectators promised to be let into another season and others who applied through the same as Pie did.

She knew the cast would be big, but...

SIXTY-FOUR PEOPLE!! Announcer must have big plans for this season---

She has a WTF moment when a blue and yellow figure comes crashing into Earth with a robot and something in their hand. Upon landing, the impact destroys the recovery center. They blow on their palm and Black Hole appears.

Black Hole stammers but collects himself and Pie checks up on him!

The blue and yellow creatures are BFB's hosts. Announcer had nothing to do with this and Pie realized that upon seeing how... destructive... their entrance is.

Side character material but I will compensate. There's a large cast in BFB and TPOT. She could use a shorr episode like Cake. That would be cool!

Still figuring out how I want to handle death in the Redux. There's not really consequences to killing? But murder is also frowned on. It's controversial.

She meets Remote!! Remote's very happy to be there and wants to get to know Pie. They stick together as the first two of Death PACT.

Black Hole kinda. Trails after them before asking to join. Pie respects him as a leader-- in BFB, he is the glue of Death PACT.

Bottle is one of the more expressive team members. Pie likes that she knows how to make everyone smile when they're feeling down.

Pen's hardworking and handy. He comes up with good ideas and bounces them off of the team every time.

Pillow... Pie isn't a huge fan. She's running around getting into trouble and takes a lot of focus away from Death PACT's duties. She's on the team about preventing death yet she's trying to cause it. Just because???

Tree is reasonable and works in tandem with Black Hole as the team's leaders. He's stern but it comes from good intentions.

I found this AMV by Lecrogea on YT. It's so fucking good I,, got inspired by it and was left feeling so many emotions . Liy and Pie FTW

They also have a Tumblr!

Most contestants look at Liy and see someone who's irritable and cranky. But we all have our bad days, yeah? Pie and Liy are great friends by BFB 4.

I mean . Look at them

When Liy is eliminated, she's furious. She gives her speech and Pie walks up to her, ready to offer comfort, and Liy pulls away. Liy then turns her switch over to the dark orange side, takes a deep breath, and switches it back.

She seems like she's about to say something else when Four sucks her up. Wow.

Pie is just befuddled. Wow.

Pie is down to move to TPOT when Two offers everyone a spot. Four's hurt a lot of people and Pie would like to not be apart of that.

Death PACT Again forms. Pie isn't around long enough to get to know the newer members too well. Opinions are formed though !

Pen, Pillow, and Bottle switch teams. Pie is sad to see them go(...save for Pillow. Less of a concern now.)

Pie gets to know Lightning the least. He doesn't think before he acts but he's got passion.

Marker is an optimistic goofball. Pie is glad to still have one on the team with Bottle leaving.

FANNY! Spiteful as she is, Pie managed to get to know her better. Pie is a good listener, after all!! Maybe Fanny just needs to blow off some steam. They're chill.

Pie is eliminated in TPOT 2. It's whatever, honest!! She'll be fine, she doesn't make a big deal of it.

Two is nice enough to actually let her get some last words out. Pie gives her team some encouragement, then she's sent away.

[blue-jisungs]

after watching soobin's ig post i want someone to write a soobin hogwarts au

and I'd be so glad if that someone was you 😋

vanilla&citrus / coffe&lavender

author's note. OKAAY SLAY?? thank u sm hehe it means a lot !! i feel honoured 😌😌

au. hogwarts, duh + idiot best friends to lovers, mutual pinning🫡 + i wrote it with intention of ravenclaw reader but it’s never really mentioned so it can be read as any house reader ^_^

summary. you’re friends with soobin, a friendly but a bit confused hufflepuff ever since you stepped a foot in hogwarts. while trying to figure out what did he smell in an amortentia potion, he discovers he likes someone.

word count. +- 2127

you were sitting on the bench, next to taehyun, deep in your lecture. munching on some bertie bott’s flavour beans. the sound of beomgyu and yeonjun’s screams and screeches filling the peaceful silence.

“don’t eat this one” taehyun murmured when you grabbed a random bean. you shot him a curious look “we’ll leave it to soobin”

“how do you know it’s a bad taste?” you scoffed and looked up, looking at the gryffindor boy screaming and chasing after yeonjun for no reason.

“a gut feeling” he shrugged and his big eyes sparkled “kai and soobin are coming”

you looked down from the stands and noticed your friends entering the quidditch field. they looked so tiny from up here, like bowtruckles.

you managed to finish a chapter before they arrived to the top, where you were sitting. soobin was panting, cheeks flushed.

“why do you always have to pick the seat at the very top? there’s so much stairs” he grunted and sat next to you. you looked up and noticed his black and yellow tie was all over the place, loosened up and mere moments from untangling. you sighed and leaned forwards him, swiftly fixing it.

kai grinned, whereas your ravenclaw friend just rolled his eyes with annoyance.

“thanks. oh, beans! which lesson do we have next?” soobin smiled softly and leaned over, his head brushing against your shoulder as he picked a bunch of beans.

“potions” you hummed and exchanged amused looks with taehyun. bad flavour incoming in 3… 2…

“ugh i hate potions” soobin sighed and popped a couple of sweets into his mouth. you looked into his eyes as he leaned away. he chewed on them, nose scrunching up.

beomgyu and yeonjun flew up to you when suddenly soobin spat out the beans.

“ew!”

you all started laughing, the hufflepuff trying to get rid of the awful taste in his mouth. you patted his back in a comforting manner.

“poor soobin” you hummed and leaned your head on soobin’s, trying to hold your laugh. taehyun snickered, whispering something to kai.

being this close was nothing new, you and soobin constantly hugged and physical contact was common in your friendship. you could smell his hair, vanilla overtaking your nostrils. it sounded weird but you liked soobin’s smell – his hair usually smelled like vanilla but his skin was citrusy. maybe it was because of all the lemon tarts he loved so much or maybe because of the amount of citrus trees and plants in hufflepuff dorm.

“don’t tell me you plotted this! y/n!” he whined and smacked your arm.

“sorry!” you giggled and soobin scoffed. he didn’t mind, as long as he got to hear your cute laugh.

kai cleared his throat and stood up.

“can we go?”

“oh. sure!” soobin smiled, standing up gently too not to hurt you accidentally.

“need a ride, ma’am?” beomgyu offered you in a dramatically deep voice, chivalric manner.

soobin pouted and reached his hand out, to help you stand up.

“uh, no… i think i’ll pass” you smiled politely and grabbed soobin’s hand. not letting it go, you started walking down from the stands as yeonjun and beomgyu raced on their brooms.

you stared at the cauldron, heart thumping in your chest like crazy. snape gestured to come closer.

“so, um. what is it? i kinda spaced out” soobin nudged your arm, causing you to jerk in surprise.

“amortentia, mr choi” snape grunted, his gaze shifting to you and piercing your soul. it’s almost as if he knew “miss l/n, could you care to repeat to your friend what i just said?”

“well it’s a love potion, basically. the most powerful in the world. it causes a obsession in the drinker, for example for the first person they see after drinking it. and um… its smell is different for each person because it will have a scent like a thing… or a person you like” you mumbled shyly. the potions professor nodded.

“correct. we won’t be learning how to brew it yet but i want you all to take a whiff. what do you smell?”

the rest of the lesson passed with people sniffing the pearly-shining potion. when it was your turn, you weren’t surprised to find out it was citrusy, with a scent of vanilla. maybe a bit of caramel too? but it left no doubt that it was soobin.

beomgyu whined when you wouldn’t tell them and carried on about smelling chocolate and cologne – something that apparently smelled like himself. it did not, in fact. the closest beomgyu smelled like is grass and rain from all those days spent on a quidditch pitch. and smoke from setting things on fire.

“what about you, soobin?”

the hufflepuff boy shook his head.

“i don’t… i don’t know” he whined, adorable pout forming on his lips.

“what do you mean you don’t know?” yeonjun laughed, patting his back.

“it smells familiar but somehow i don’t recall it? i can smell coffee for sure but other than that… i don’t know” he huffed, crossing his arms.

your lips parted. is there someone soobin likes?

you send him a soft smile, trying to look amused. only taehyun could read the sadness glinting in your eyes.

soobin was miserable. all he could think of is why the scent of amortentia was so similar? the only smell he recognised was coffee because, hello, it’s coffee. everyone drinks it!

it’s not like he didn’t know the other fragrances. he knew he knew what are those but just couldn’t recognise them and separate from the strong coffee smell. it was almost like a word that you have on the tip of your tongue.

he sighed and entered the library, hoping to find you. he had enough of the boys’ loud chatter and awful jokes, he needed some peace and quiet. which you were. and with you, he could always allow himself to loosen up and be himself – even without speaking a word.

he noticed you’ve been acting weird too; you also didn’t tell them what you smelled. he brushed it off, guessing you just probably didn’t smell a thing and didn’t want to admit it.

walking further into the quiet room, already spotting you at one of the tables, he took a deep breath. he liked this smell, of books and leathers.

“hi” he mumbled, plopping down next to you. you hummed in acknowledgment he’s here.

“smelled anything similar today?” you asked, a bit tauntingly. ever since that potions lesson, he’d go and sniff around everything and everyone like a dog.

“no…” soobin’s voice died in his throat when you placed a book next to him. he sniffed it and his eyes went wide. that’s it.

you looked at him, amused. he opened the book and took a whiff of the old pages.

“that’s… this! this is the–“ the hufflepuff boy yelped in excitement, causing you to move a hand to cover his mouth. blush dusted his cheeks in embarrassment (and maybe because of the prolixity).

“that’s a nice smell, i have to agree. one of the reasons why i like spending time in the library” you hummed, taking your hand back. he liked it too.

“there is still something missing, though” he sighed, watching you use the dried lavender flower as a bookmark.

“so coffee, books and something else?” taehyun asks, playful smile dancing on his lips. obviously it’s you. anyone would have known that – not even because of the ridiculously well known fact you are addicted to coffee and spend half of your life in library. but also because you and soobin are so painfully blind to the fact that you have crushes on each other. the way your hands brush, the way you blush when soobin compliments you, the way he stutters when you fix his tie… so on, so on.

anybody, apparently, except soobin.

“it’s driving me insane” the hufflepuff boy whined and smacked his books against his forehead. taehyun was curious what’s the smell, though. something connected to your shampoo? or perfume? or something completely different?

“where’s y/n, by the way?” soobin asked, blinking slowly.

“she went to pick some flowers and give them to hagrid” taehyun hummed, recalling your excitement this morning. “should we go find her? maybe the rest is there”

soobin nodded eagerly and they went into the direction of hagrid’s hut. they could spot you, rummaging through purple flowers. taehyun said he’ll go straight to the keeper, to ask him for some tea. soobin called you and started going your way.

as he got closer, a pleasant smell filled his nostrils. the purple flowers tickled his legs, he placed his steps careful not to destroy them.

“oh, soobin! hi” you breathed out and turned around, a full bouquet of hand picked lavenders in your hands. your smile was so bright that it outshined the sun behind you and that’s when it hit him.

lavender. that was the smell.

“–because it smells horribly in his hut, seriously. so it’s kind of a cover to sneak some flowers, especially those since their scent–“ you babbled, reassuming to pick the flowers.

so coffee, books and lavender. it’s funny, now that he thought about it.

you like coffee. he remembered the time when he visited you during summer and since your family enjoys the warm liquid too, you had some coffee beans in the kitchen. you popped one or two into your mouth and laughed at his disgusted face. while offering him to do the same and handing him the beans, all he could remember was the delicious smell lingering in the kitchen.

and the books too! he realised it when he was in the library… with you.

and now lavender. which you also said is your favourite flower. duh, you even use a dried one that he picked for you as a bookmark–

oh.

oh.

“–bin?” you asked, the hufflepuff boy’s eyes going wide almost as if he saw an acromantula.

“you” he breathed out, blinking slowly

“yeah?” you frowned, tilting your head. he definitely didn’t listen.

“it’s you!” soobin gasped, leaving you flabbergasted.

“soob, is it about the beans thing? i’m sorry i left you all the bad flavoured ones but taehyun just has this seventh sense when it comes to the bad ones and we thought–“ you started and soobin suddenly stepped closer, taking a sharp and deep inhale “huh?”

“it’s definitely you. i smelled vanilla and coffee in amortentia. and books too but it wasn’t that strong so… i didn’t figure it out at first” he said, pink dusting his cheeks. you almost dropped all the flowers.

“you smelled me in amortentia?” you asked, throat going dry. if he smelled you then that means… he likes you?

“yeah, i guess! weird, huh?” he giggled, scratching his neck. slowly his smile dropped, almost audible gears turning in his head

“wha… soobin” you stepped closer, heart thumping so hard against your ribcage you thought it may jump out any second.

“y/n” he said goofily, eyes pacing around nervously. everywhere but your eyes.

“soobin, does that mean you like me?” you asked, noticing taehyun and hagrid in the distance.

“well, i like you so…” he shrugged.

“soobin”

it was more stern this time so he looked up, noticing your flustered cheeks and anxious gaze.

“i think? maybe? i never knew! i always prefer to be with you than with the guys, you’re so sweet and funny. and so smart it’s driving me crazy… and beautiful too but… it would be kinda awkward, wouldn’t it?” he started rambling when you suddenly grabbed his hand.

“soob, you dork. i smelled you in amortentia too. but the difference is that i have a crush on you for a while now. and you are driving me crazy too! with your stupid dimples and how clueless you are… and with your pretty eyes and…” you stopped, looking how his eyes widened even more “soobin?”

“you. you have a crush on me?” he stuttered, pointing at himself. as if there was another choi soobin.

“yes” you laughed, letting go of his hand. “if you don’t want anything happening between us, i’ll understand”

“are you crazy?!” he yelled out, causing you to frown “i could never ever dream of even going out with you and you think i’d deny it?”

“well…” you chuckled nervously. soobin stepped closer and placed a quick, shy peck on your lips. freezing in shock, you tightened the grip on the lavenders. the aroma of citrus and vanilla filled your nostrils pleasantly.

he pulled away, blinking in awe. he just did that.

“i… i wanna be yours. but please for the love of merlin, don’t feed me the bad flavoured beans” the hufflepuff boy mumbled, causing you to laugh out loud. oh, soobin.

masterlist <3

taglist.  @geniejunn ,, @luvhyun3 ,, @starlostseungmin ,, @elviransworld ,, @jnks6r ,, @sieunsgf ,, @ethereallino ,, @laylasbunbunny ,, @duolingofanaccount ,, @slytherinshua ,, @stxrseungs ,, @ka-ni-ma ,, @iliveforlixie ,, @ameliesaysshoo ,, @dazzlingligth ,, @mark-geolli ,, @l3visbby ,, @w3bqrl ,, @ddeonudepressions ,, @yourfavoritefreakyhan ,, @mirxzii ,, @kazmura ,, @primoppang ,, @vnsux ,, @weird-bookworm

[hubworld23-blog]

Elsa & Anna Royal Contest 2

Author's Note!: The Sequel To The Orginal was Made by my Good Friend Powerpup As A Birthday Gift Thanks for The Awsome Present Dude I Love It And Hope You All Will Enjoy The Story Too Anyway Happy Holidays & Enjoy The Sequel!

Anna and Elsa decided to continue their royal contest at the park.  They proceeded to the park together with their big bottles of soda.

"Are you ready to continue this, Elsa?" asked Anna.

"I'm ready when you are, Anna!" replied Elsa.

Anna opened up a bottle of root beer and chugged it down.  "BUUUUUURRRRRRRRP!" she went.

"That was a pretty good one," said Elsa.

"Let's see you try to top that!" said Anna.

Elsa opened up a bottle of cola.  She chugged it down.  "BUUUURRRRRRRRRRRP!" she went.

"How was that?" asked Elsa.

"Not bad," said Anna.

Just then, Elsa's stomach made a very loud gurgle.  This caught her by surprise.

Elsa laughed, "That was my stomach!  Did you hear that?"

"Are you kidding?" Anna blinked.  "That was louder than a freight train!"

"Guess I'm not used to drinking sodas that much," said Elsa.  "Though we really shouldn't be drinking sodas in weather this hot."

"Oh, it's fine, Elsa," Anna assured.  She then picked up another bottle of soda.  This one was lemon-lime flavored.  She noticed how warm it got due to the heat.  "Huh.  This soda may not taste as good since it lost it's chill."

"Allow me to fix that," said Elsa.  She wrapped her hands around the bottle icing it up.  "There.  That better?"

The bottle was now at perfect refrigerated temperature.

"Thanks, Elsa," said Anna before she chugged down the whole bottle.  Her stomach started to rumble up a bit resulting in her letting out a monstrous belch: "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!"

Anna's burp blew Elsa's hair back and almost knocked her off her feet.

"I don't know how you do that, Anna," said Elsa.

"Let's face it, Elsa," said Anna.  "You'll never burp as good as me!  I'm the master at burping!"

"We'll see about that," said Elsa.

Before she could try again, Elsa noticed the sun was getting much hotter than it ever was before.  She thought maybe she could use her ice powers to form a big snow cloud over her and Anna so that it could block out the sun.  She tried to do just that, but all that came out of her hands was just water.

"Wow," said Elsa.  "This must be record-breaking heat!  It's melted my ice powers!"

"That might still feel good in this hot weather though," said Anna.  "But for now, let's see if you can match that burp I just made."

Elsa noticed there were three bottles of soda still left.  There was a cola, a root beer and a lemon-lime soda.  She decided in order to top her sister, she had to do the unthinkable: She was going to chug down all three sodas!  She picked up the bottles and chugged them all down as best as she could.  This caught Anna by surprise.

"Now, we wait..." said Elsa.

It wasn't long until something started happening down inside Elsa's stomach.  Elsa looked down with a shocked look as her stomach began to rumble like an earthquake.

"It's coming!" Elsa gasped.

Anna took cover as the rumbling inside Elsa's stomach got more and more intense.  Elsa had become a brewing volcano about to erupt!  Soon, the bubbles inside Elsa's stomach crawled up her esophagus and into her throat, and then, she let out the big one!: "BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Elsa's burp was so powerful that it knocked over trees, broke windows, made snow fall off of mountains, and could be heard all across Europe!  Not only that, but she also belched out a massive snow cloud that shot up into the sky and covered up the sun.  This caused the temperature all around Aerendale to drop significantly, and snowflakes began to fall from the cloud.

Anna stared and blinked at Elsa in an awkward silence.  Elsa froze in place.  She didn't know what to say.  She just blushed.

"Elsa..." Anna said followed by a pause.  "That...was...SO EPIC!!!!!"

Elsa was pleasently surprised at what her little sister said to her.

"I take back what I said," said Anna.  "You're really the burping master of Aerendale!"

"Why thank you, Anna," said Elsa.  "Now that all that intense heat is gone, we can now play more actively."

"Sounds great," said Anna.  "Let's have some fun!"  She hopped onto Elsa's back.  Elsa just laughed and gave Anna a piggyback ride with Anna laughing with her.

The End

[prettypinkporkchop]

Can you do Jared X reader where the boys get Claire to ask reader to marry him. You can choose the other details

You hand Claire the last sugar cookie you have on your plate. "Here, baby girl. You take this." You smile. She giggles and runs off with it to tell the pack. She's OBSESSED WITH JARED! She thinks he's so handsome. She loves you just as much and thinks you're so beautiful.

You keep your eyes on your plate of food that Emily and you whipped up. You sit on the lawn chair next to Emily and Rachel. "You were right about adding lemon to this! It added that perfect kick." You look at Emily. "Yes ma'am!!!" She pipes up.

Jared smiles at you from the distance. He walks over to you and bends down in front of you. "Hey, my honey bunches of sweet oats." He chuckles. You roll your eyes with a smile. "You're so dumb." You giggle. He takes something off of your plate and shoves it in his mouth. "Cameron! You're grounded." You yell. "You'll change your mind when we get to bed tonight." He winks. "Fucking kill me!" You hear Rachel laugh next to you. "I'm so sorry, girls. My man has no filter or care!" You glare at him. "I'm telling Sam." Emily playfully threatens. He looks at her with a scared expression. "No! Not my alpha!" He laughs.

Claire comes back up to you and stands behind your chair, playing with your hair. Jared stands up and walks back to the guys. They're all laughing. What the hell are they up to now?

"Hey, my Claire!" You giggle. "Marry Jared!" She exclaims. You froze and then Emily laughs. "Why do you say that?" You ask. "You both love. Can you marry together?" She asks with her toddler accent. You look up to see the guys laughing and Jared has his arms crossed. "I'll marry him, Claire. How about you go tell him to ask me and I'll say yes." You turn back at her. She giggles and runs over to Jared. She pokes his stomach to grab his attention. He bends down. She speaks and you see him look up toward you with an expression of love. You can sense the intensity of his stare.

Later that night, you two lay in bed. Your back is against him and his playing with your hair. You feel his breath hitting your neck. "I love you." He whispers. "I love you so much." You gush while tired. "Do you really want to marry me?" He asks. You nod and adjust yourself a bit. "I'd say yes as soon as you ask." You hum. Next thing he knows, you start snoring lightly.

2 days later oh yeah you know what's happening:

Jared's pov:

"Just pick the damn ring!" Paul rushes me. "Shh! I'm trying to find something special." I swat him away. "Jared. I found something!" Quil stares through the glass in awe. I hurry my way over to him. Oh my god, I know she will love this!

Your pov:

Birthday. Birthday. Birthday. Your birthday! Ever since you became part of this family, your birthday is a fun celebration!

You straighten out your outfit and then step out of your room. Jared stands at the door putting on his shoes. He smiles up at you and then grabs you fast. You giggle as his lips attack your face. He stops and then presses a kiss on your lips. You two kiss for a few minutes, getting lost in the feeling. He pulls away and taps your butt. "C'mon. We don't want to be late!"

Sam and Paul are mixing the drinks as everyone else is huddled around on a pile of blankets. There's a table of candy and popcorn. There's a white sheet put up between two trees and a projector shining on it, waiting to play a movie.

"Wow! This is absolutely amazing!" You say to Jared. He kisses the top of your head and walks off to join Paul and Sam. You make your way to everyone else on the blankets. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Y/N!" They all yell in unison. "Thank you guys so much! I love this!" You hug the guys, Emily and Rachel. "Today is a big deal, sweet girl." Emily smiles.

You are laying in between Jared's legs, engrossed in the movie. The end credits roll through, and you sit up. Everyone moves around and starts chatting about the movie. Quil has a birthday tradition for everyone. For you, it's to fuck with any food of yours. He grabs popcorn out of your bowl and shoves it up your nose. "Happy birthday, punk." He laughs. You groan and get it out of your nose and slap his arm.

Jared gets up probably to go get a drink or something. "Hang on. Y/n! Look at the screen!" Sam calls out. Your turn back to the white sheet to see. "Will you marry me, y/n?" Your heart stops. You turn around to find Jared, but he is only a couple feet away, holding out a box. You cover your mouth in shock. "I love you." He tears up. "Go get' em' cheetah." Embry shoves your back so you'd stand up and go to him.

"I promise to love you until the end of time. You are my world, y/n. Will you be my wife?" You nod your head, and he smiles with tears. He opens the box, and you see the most beautiful ring that has your heart jumping. He grabs your left hand and puts it on your finger. Loud cheers abrupt the Uley household.

You two ended the night with celebration and love making in the bed! (;

[redquackredemption]

Hello cat! I have a request!! This is silly omg.. but could you write something with Hosea Matthews comforting reader? (So im thinking a kinda angsty but then comfort and fluff?? Reader is male teen, and Hosea is like "oh no poor kid, father figure mode on" (I hope this aint cringe, but ive been having a rough week and Hosea is nr 1 comfort caracter)

My main idea for how the story goes is pretty much, at campfire, Hosea realized kid is gone, oh no, looks for kid, finds them hidden somewhere very upset, talks, " its going to be okay"

(its 1899 what is a panic attack?? also overstimulation never heard of that)

something like that!! but you have the reins on this one!

[Anyways thank you, hope you have a great day!!] ‼️‼️

A/N: This one was really awesome to write actually TT it was super sweet and i hope u enjoy it <3

Hosea Comforts You (m!reader)

•◌•◌•★•◌•◌•

Spare thyme, a sprinkle of salt—Hosea lays down the fillet of bluegill, a satisfying sizzle and smell of fish wafting from where it cooks. He promised you a good dinner for your birthday, and he's gonna give it to you.

He flips the fish, squeezes some lemon. More sizzling, and a side of canned green beans, sweetened with sugar, are laid down on a clean dish. There's a fine dinner for a fine lad. Now's to find him—

Hosea stands, calling your name. By your tent, crickets. Certainly not by the campfires. You're not even at your usual spot under one of the shady trees overlooking camp. It's too late to have gone out of camp, especially for that kid. "Abigail," he calls, strolling over with the fish in hand. "You seen the boy?"

She glances up from her sewing, clear-sky gaze zeroing in on him and the plate in his hands. "That for him? Sure, he was out by the horses last I saw."

"Thank you, Miss Roberts."

That's that. If you're by the horses, chances are you're grooming Lucky. Maybe feeding him another one of those apples you can't help but sneak into your pockets every time you tag along to Valentine. That's how they found you, after all. Huddled under the gallows, clutching a bag close while the shopkeeper in Blackwater searched high and low for a street rat and his prize of a measly two apples. Dutch ended up paying for those while Hosea talked you down and searched for Lucky with you.

Those were good days. Still are good days, despite it all. Hosea calls your name again once he reaches the outskirts of the camp. Nothing—save for the babbling of a creek nearby, and a gasping whimper. "Hh....ah....ghh—"

Hosea pauses. He knows what a nervous fit sounds like from miles away. And there you are, huddled behind a tree, palms digging into your eyes as you exchange quick breaths with the frigid night air. "Hey, kid," Hosea calls. "You—"

You shake your head. At what, you don't know. At everything, perhaps. Trying to patch yourself together by clutching at your own hair, one hand reaching for your chest—God, why can't you breathe?

"Breathe, son," Hosea murmurs beside you, as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do. "Look, do it with me. Son?"

He demonstrates. In, out, and in, and then out again—and as much as you try to force your body to obey, it panics like a feral animal, scrambling and scratching for the air it doesn't realize it already has.

And then it fades. You're alive again, only just.

"Hos—Hosea," You whimper, tears hitching your voice. God, a goddamn kid again, helpless and sniveling, so easy to burn like the trash you are. Those words, those fateful words press against your lips, the ultimate treason. "I'm—I'm s-scared."

Hosea, maybe he remembers what that's like. "That's it," he croons. "You're doing just fine, son. Gotta let it pass." The flat of his palm presses to your back, and you shudder, the tears sinking into the roots beneath your feet. 'Round Hosea, you reckon anything could be made alright.

"Good lad," He murmurs once your face has dried, your breathing evened. "Ain't nothing gonna hurt you. None of us are fixin' to kick you out, now, we picked you up and brought you 'long for a reason. You're a good kid. We're gonna make it out of here, go west...West of this mess. We'll be alright."

You cling to him like a babe to his mother, no shame befalling you. Nor should there be. Hosea's hand pats the back of your head, a warm embrace to remind you that you will forever fall back into someone's welcome arms. Then, the smell of food pervades your senses. "Good. Now, how ‘bout we get you somethin’ warm in that belly of yours?" Hosea nudges the plate toward you. "Made you a fine dinner. Can’t let it go cold, now. Happy birthday, son." The fish is crisp, the green beans lightly sweet, and a perfect contrast to the salt of fish. It's a good birthday meal, in addition to that bound journal Arthur got you, and the crown of flowers Jack made you. This will pass, as everything does, you realize. Things will be okay.

•◌•◌•★•◌•◌•

Request Archive

[wammypilled]

Sssooooo, there's this abomination I've been trying to write since last spring, that I really wanted to post for Mello’s birthday but honestly I think it needs some more time to marinate, just a wee bit, so I thought I'd at least post a little snippet today...

It's Wammy’s era and kinda wholesome, kinda fcked up, very silly and chaotic— so much so that I had a really hard time picking an ~excerpt. In the end I just chose this one bc I felt like it summarized the (insufferable) vibe at least somewhat decently.

Had to wait and wait and wait until I got so tired I wouldn't gaf anymore, bc this is my first time posting writing (or trying to really "write" at all) and it's so ☆nerve wracking☆ and I'm still trying so hard not to self-deprecate but honest to go— ahem, here it goes!

The city was a tragedy in three acts. Opening with the first victim: that poor van, dying on them some twenty times minimum. Second, enter the blondes’ paranoia about there being cops everywhere. And the grand finale: parking. So hard, apparently, that after two bumps, a glaze and countless reverses, Mello just made a brusque left, stopped by a tree in the middle of the bloody parking lot, pulled the handbrake and twisted the key out.

Linda relaxed so much she practically collapsed, “It’s over…”

“For you, yeah, it is…” He got out.

Without having to think about what Mello meant, Matt followed suit and hopped off. 

The asphalt was so still under his soles… solid… he almost bent down to touch it with his hand…

“Holy hell, it’s sunny!” Mello stretched, then closed the door in Near and Linda’s faces, “See you never, wankers!”

“What? Let us out! Matt, let us out!”

He also closed the door, making sure to talk loud enough for them to hear as he reasoned with his best friend, “It’s Folkestone and then on to Calais, no?”

“Ferry from Portsmouth. ‘S quicker.” Mello corrected, locking the van and then taking two fags and the zippo out of his coat pocket.

Like a moth to the light, Matt circled around the muzzle to light them on the same flame, while Linda yelped from the cabin.

“What the fuck else do you think I stole a bloody van for?” Mello’s upper lip twisted in question of her logic (as if there was anything sound about his), and Matt had to bite on the cardboard of the filter not to laugh.

“It’s nice and cosy in there, isn’t it? You’ve your snacks… Stay put.”

With the sweet, sweet buzz of bitter nicotine starting to wash over him, he found it in himself to gaze sympathetically at his girlfriend, “they’ll find you…” he assured, “eventually…”

She stared between the two of them (trying to see through the smoke?) while Near, unused to their modus operandi, twirled a white curl, gleefully interested in further developments, even though he’d very much be involved in them.

“Sorry guys, but you didn’t really think we’d tell you where we were headed, did you?”

“Matt, I swear to God!”

He quirked an eyebrow, “Babe, we’re both agnostic…”

Near actually chuckled. He was so weird, jeez…

Mello, in the meanwhile, had finally had it and turned his back on them.

Without another word, they made their merry way to the nearest entrance, their louche fairytale having them leave ashes in their wake…

For some reason he’d imagined the shopping centre would be a lot bigger, the architecture more geometric and satisfying, but now he realised that that had been a memory of a mall in Karachi, the one auntie used to take him to… which gave him a pretty clear idea of how Mello knew about that place, and also hurt to think about too hard— so, anyway, this mall here looked like a mess, straight lines and curves clashing instead of harmonising with each other. The sight didn’t make him feel cheery in the least, if anything it kind of looked like a gigantic pirate hat.

“Really, though, we could go anywhere we want, the world’s our oyster...”

“Mhm… with the lemons life gave us? Slurp!”

He could feel his fucking gums shrinking… “What is it with you and lemons today?”

“What? I love lemons!” He smirked, giving him a half-lidded, x-ray once over, “All kinds of lemons…” 

The images of Wammy x Ruvie old man smut that flooded his mind had Matt shuddering so hard he had to turn away and his ears filled with static—

“Aw, he’s just so sensitive!” Mello gave him a shove, which was promptly returned. 

A grin reflected off of Matt, easy, automatic, whole, and all the time he’d been deprived of those moments, of the pranks, their telepathy, his best friend’s touch, it hadn’t been at all.

Sunshine had never looked so pretty: squinty-eyed and toothy, the top layers of his bob flitting in the sea breeze like gold threads.

Matt inevitably felt his face warm, but didn’t look away. Mello did, slowing his pace. He’d change the subject now, Matt knew, no matter how he pleaded and yearned.

“What do we do with those cunts?”

Oh, right. 

“Linda’s probably breaking the window as we speak…”

Mello took one long last drag, and the time to smirk scornfully at his enjoyably-paced cigarette, and blew out the smoke to one side, “You shouldn’t have said that.”

Neither dared look back, but Matt tilted his head, smiling helplessly at his best friend until he rolled his eyes and pivoted on his tippy toes. 

He wondered how Mello felt, consciously falling for such a basic form of manipulation, but not for long, because that walk drove Matt fucking crazy; the moment that twat put some shoes on, one foot fell in front of the other just like a model's. Impossible not to see why he wanted to go shopping. He hoped he got to buy something cool to strut in…

[motsimages]

Here is the thing. My village is full of orange and lemon trees and they are SO FULL this year. You cannot imagine the amount of oranges and lemons we have all around the village. Last Spring, the whole village smelled of orange blossom, it was great.

So I refuse to buy oranges or lemons, because I can just either ask for them or steal them. I usually steal them because it's much more fun.

And I was in this "oh nice, a full orange tree that nobody is paying attention to, time to get me some oranges" mood this morning and a woman came by and was all like "ah yes, there is this man who picks them up from time to time, but he says they are not good, they are sour".

Now, I had just eaten one to make sure they were good (because I have learnt not all taste the way I like them, not because they are sour, we don't have those here). I knew the man in question. I was like "they're fine" and she kind of insisted that she liked them sweet and that they were no good.

Now kids of tumblr: if you see someone who frequently picks fruit from a tree or who is actively filling up a whole bag of said fruit and they tell you "oh this fruit is no good, it's too [undesireable flavour in said fruit]". They are lying. The fruit is good or even excellent. They just don't want people to know so they can have more fruit for themselves.

Also: at least in Spain, if the branches of a tree are falling into a public space (street, a park), you can get fruit from them and nobody can tell you you are stealing. And if a whole ass tree is in the middle of somewhere public, with fruit, and you want it, just get that fruit.

[64yrsold]

ACHES 3. bitten

18+ (please see masterlist for cw) aches masterlist previous (2)

I did have his number, my phone opening to the contact page of “Matthew (HOT)” when I unlocked it. I cringed, realizing he probably watched me type that in there. 

I had one unread message from Jenna, letting me know that Matty had forgotten his credit card at the bar. I texted her to let her know that I would pick it up this afternoon, and sighed. This was incredibly embarrassing. From his bitten and scratched chest, I could assume what we had been up to last night.

I grumbled, hopping into my jeans and putting on my coat. I brushed through my hair with my fingers, swinging my purse over my shoulder and exiting the hotel room. I walked to the elevator, humming to myself as I opened my phone to find the nearest coffee shop.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, realizing the hotel I was in was nearly a two-hour walk from the bar I had met Matty. Did we walk here? God, I hope he didn’t drive me here.

‘I want to show you another bar,’ he had said last night. A flash of a memory, a silver flask and an orange streetlamp. A dark park, spruce trees towering towards the white circle of the moon.

I sighed, the elevator doors opening into the lobby. I called a cab.

I realized I was nauseous when I inhaled the driver’s eye-watering cologne, and popped a mint to distract myself. I watched the lazy city roll past, everything brown and tired. I looked back at my shoes, swallowing hard as the driver attempted to hit every pothole he saw. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to conjure some sort of memory from yesterday. I could only see that orange streetlamp, burning blue in the center of my vision when I closed my eyes.

‘Cold?’ his voice echoed, and the corner of his jaw came to me. A shuffling sound, his jacket slipping off his shoulders. Warmth, heaviness.

I chewed my bottom lip, hoping he was sweet.

“Hi Jenna,” I smiled, and she gave me a nod. 

“How was he?” she raised an eyebrow, turning his credit card in her hands. I grabbed it from between her fingers, frowning.

“What do you mean?” I shoved the card in my purse, sitting on a sticky barstool.

“So this is the one you shut up about,” she rolled her eyes, grabbing a few lemons.

“You hate it when I tell you about my boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends?” she snorted, cutting a lemon into perfect wedges. The citrus smell stung in the back of my throat.

“Alright,” I grumbled, really meaning shut up, “He was nice.”

“Mm,” she hummed, eyes down.

“That’s it.”

She set her knife down, holding her hands in front of her chest. She slowly drew them away from each other, waiting for me to tell her to stop. To say how big.

I just squinted at her.

“Did I start too big?” she dropped her hands, now looking at me with her all-seeing eyes. She rarely made eye contact, but when she did, I suspected she could see into every corner of my mind. If you can hear this, blink twice, I would often think. 

“Sorry,” I shrugged, dropping my chin into my palm. I looked at the lemon she stroked with her thumb.

“You can’t remember,” she gasped, a smile creeping onto her face.

I mustered the energy to look surprised, but ended up sighing.

“Oh God, did he drug you?” she blinked, then shook her head, “No, honestly, you were wasted before you had that whiskey.”

“If I was wasted,” I whispered, “Why did you serve me?”

“I like to let you experience the consequences of your actions,” Jenna smirked, passing me a bundle of limes, a knife, and a cutting board, “Can you be useful here?”

“Yes boss,” I sliced a lime in half, “And I don’t think he drugged me.”

“Good,” she wiggled her knife in front of my face, “This has cut more than citrus fruit, you know.”

“He was sweet, I think,” I thought back to his rough hands tucking me in, to him carrying me into bed. “Fuck, I wish I could remember.”

“You guys were heading to another bar, weren’t you?” 

“I thought so too,” I nodded, “But I keep seeing this park, and I can’t remember a second bar.”

“A park?” Jenna frowned, concerned, “Where did you wake up?”

“A hotel,” I said, shaking my head.

“Not your place?” Jenna didn’t seem surprised, going back to slicing lemons. “You live five minutes from here.”

I just shrugged, sighing. “I guess I’ll have to ask him what happened.”

“What if he can’t remember either?”

“What if he remembers everything?”

We both stared at our hands, stumped. 

“You kiss him?” Jenna broke the silence, grabbing my pile of sliced limes.

“I woke up in a hotel with him,” I stated, then bit my cheek, “But we did wake up in a chair.”

“Both of you?”

“Yeah, I was on his lap. It was actually sort of comfortable.”

Jenna just grunted, wiping her hands on a towel.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” I stood, one hand on the bar, “We’re going on a date tonight.”

“Really?” Jenna gave me her icy stare again.

“He planned it. I just said okay.”

“Well,” Jenna put a hand on her hip, “He’s rich.”

“You think?”

She nodded, “Maybe hold on to that credit card.”

-> next (4)

[gloomysoup]

when the world stops turning (my heart stops beating) - pt. 2

so i decided not to be TOO mean and keep writing this... there will be at least one more part, maybe more, i haven't decided yet. honestly i'm just playing it by ear and seeing how far my brain chooses to take it. so here we go!!

ao3 pt. 1 pt. 2 pt. 3 pt. 4

cw: drugs, drug abuse, illusions to overdose, minor character death, dissociation, hospitals, illusions to child neglect (i think that's it but please let me know if i missed anything)

Eddie hated hospitals.

He sat in the waiting room with his bandmates and their tour manager, thinking about the first time he ever had to go to the hospital.

He was seven years old. His mom had been self-medicating really badly again, floating through their house like a ghost. Pale and lifeless in a way she often was those days. His dad was always out of the house, claiming he was working. Eddie had always been suspicious of that, never sure exactly what kind of work he was doing. His dad never said what his job was, but Eddie knew he had a long history with criminal activity. Wayne had taken him out to the park that day for a couple hours in an effort to get him out of the house.

The nearby park had this line of trees by the pond, set off several feet from the playground itself. Eddie liked to climb those trees when he was a kid. He liked the way the bark felt, digging sharply into his palms. He liked feeling the wind blow, the leaves brushing against his face. It made him feel free. The scary parts of the world couldn't reach him in the treetops. Earthly fears stayed near the ground, tethered to the dirt while he put as much distance between them as he could. Wayne had warned Eddie not to climb too high. Eddie should've listened.

He climbed a few branches up on the tallest tree. His favorite tree to climb. He sat on one of the thicker branches, back against the trunk. He watched the leaves waving in the wind above him. His brain still itched with ground thoughts, so he climbed higher. He kept going until he wasn't worried about his mom anymore. He kept going until his head was blissfully empty of those stupid anxieties. He was finally free.

And then he was falling.

Eddie doesn't remember much of what happened. Wayne says a branch broke unexpectedly, giving way beneath his weight with a loud snap. He hit the ground and passed out. Wayne took him to the hospital, where the doctors said he was lucky. A fall like that and all he had was a broken arm. They put his left arm in a cast and kept him for a few hours of observation, just to be safe. They were worried about a brain injury, or internal bleeding. Wayne called his mom, to let her know what happened, but Eddie always assumed she was too drugged out to understand. She never showed up. Wayne stayed with him the whole time, trying to keep him entertained and distracted. The doctor had given Eddie something to help with the pain, but it didn't help with his dislike of hospitals. He hated sitting in a sterile, white hospital room. His nose burned with the smell of bleach and lemon-scented floor cleaner. He didn't know why they used that stuff. It was overwhelming. He couldn't escape the ground thoughts if he was tethered to the ground.

Once he was finally released, Wayne took him to the pharmacy to pick up his new prescription. Pain meds; take one as needed while the break heals— those mysteriously went missing only three days later, and Eddie suffered in silence from then on. Then Wayne took him home, where his mom was asleep on the couch and his dad was fuming. Eddie vaguely remembers laying in his bed while Wayne and his dad argued in the living room. He isn't sure what they argued about; Wayne never told him and always changed the subject if Eddie asked. He assumed it was about the hospital. Hospital bills aren't cheap.

He wasn't allowed to visit his mom when she was in the hospital. Wayne said she needed space to get better. He knows Wayne just didn't want him around all of that. The hospital always kept him from his mom in one way or another. And then there was the spring of ‘86. It only further solidified his hatred of hospitals. Confined to the lumpy, scratchy hospital bed for weeks. Beeping machines and lemon-scented floor cleaner. Sticky patches and wires that always tangled. Itchy IVs and sharp needles and drugs that made him float just on the edge of too far. He didn't like those. Reminded him too much of his mom.

And now here he was, sitting in the dull waiting room of a hospital in New York. He felt numb. Tears still rolled silently down his cheeks, though he wasn't sure how he had any left. He was completely unaware of the passage of time. It could've been minutes or days, and he wouldn't have noticed. He couldn't stop thinking about his mom. He hadn't thought about her this much in years.

“Eddie?” He looked up at Gareth, but he was barely seeing him. “I'm going to go call Wayne, let him know what's happening. Do you want to come talk to him?”

Eddie blinked slowly a few times, his eyes still glassy. He didn't answer. All he did was stare, unseeing and silent. Gareth sighed, shooting Jeff and Grant a look.

Jeff frowned, also standing. “I should call Robin. She should know too.”

“Go,” Grant said, nodding toward the phones. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Their tour manager was talking to a nurse a few feet away. Eddie couldn't hear what they were saying. He didn't know how this could've happened. He didn't understand how he missed this.

His thoughts wandered back to the day Wayne found out he was selling.

Eddie sat on the front step, watching Wayne and Hopper talking in the yard. Wayne was frowning, nodding along to whatever Hopper said. Eddie knew he was mad. Why wouldn't he be? Eddie was illegally selling drugs, and just got caught by the chief for it. Luckily, Hopper was in a good enough mood just to give him a warning and a ride home. Made him promise he wasn't going to do it anymore. They both knew that was a lie.

When Hopper got back in his cruiser and drove away, Eddie watched Wayne take a breath before he turned around. Eddie shrank back at the look his uncle gave him.

“Wayne, I-”

“Hush up.” Eddie shut up instantly. “You're gonna listen close, understood?” Eddie nodded. “Jim was kind enough to let you off this time, but he won't be next time. There better not be a next time.”

“But, Wayne, I-”

“No buts.” Wayne gave him another look. Eddie knew he was disappointed. He hated disappointing Wayne. Hated it even more than he hated making Wayne mad. His uncle had always done so much for him. The least he could've done was not cause trouble. “Drugs are a dangerous thing, Ed. I know you know that.”

He did know, is the thing. He knew better than most people just how dangerous drugs were. Drugs tore his family apart. Drugs killed his mother. Drugs were the main reason Eddie lived with Wayne at all.

Eddie looked down at his hands, fiddling with one of his rings. He didn't have all that many yet. “I just wanted to help with the bills,” he said softly.

Wayne sighed and sat next to him on the rickety steps. Eddie slid over to make room. “You ain't gotta worry ‘bout no damn bills, Ed. That's for me to take care of. You just gotta be a kid.”

Eddie frowned. “I just thought that, maybe, if I could help, you wouldn't have to work so hard. I know taking care of me is a lot of extra money.” He paused. “I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment.”

Burden. That's what he wants to say. Disappointment is what comes out. Maybe that's for the better.

“You're not a disappointment, Ed. I just don't want you endin' up like your mama, that's all. And while I do appreciate you wantin’ to help, I don't need ya to. I'm perfectly capable of takin’ care of us. You're fifteen, Ed. Be a kid, for Christ’s sake. Don't worry ‘bout anythin’ else yet.”

From that day on, Eddie stayed away from anything harder than weed or the occasional shrooms. He made a promise to himself that he'd stay away from it. For Wayne. For his mom. Wayne knew he kept selling, but they didn't talk about it. The K he intended on selling Chrissy that fateful night was a fluke. A one-off. It was something extra Rick had given him before he got locked away. Eddie hadn't even intended on selling it at all; he was just going to keep it hidden away until Rick got out, and then he'd give it back.

After Chrissy, Eddie didn't touch anything for a long time. When the band got themselves a record deal, when they started going out to parties to network with more of the industry, Eddie started smoking weed again. He never touched anything more than that. He knew better. He worried about his bandmates falling to the same vices that killed his mom, even though they also stayed away from it. Her ghost still haunted him. It kept him hypervigilant. He was always watching for addictive behaviors.

So how did he not see it?

How long had Steve been falling down that path without Eddie even knowing?

He should've known.

Eddie blinked, and Gareth was standing in front of him with a bottle of water. When had he come back?

“Eddie, you gotta drink something,” Gareth said gently, holding the open bottle toward him. Eddie pulled his knees tightly to his chest and shook his head. Gareth sighed and sat next to him in the uncomfortable hospital chairs.

That was another thing Eddie hated about hospitals. Everything was uncomfortable. The chairs, the beds, the wires and tubes. IVs itched and the gowns crinkled weirdly. It was a sensory hellscape, truthfully. How did anyone handle it?

“Eddie.” He blinked again, looking beside him. Gareth was still holding the bottle toward him. “Come on, man. At least a little bit. We're worried about you.”

Eddie took the bottle, but his hands were shaking so much he could barely keep a grasp on it. He forced it toward his mouth, his throat burning as the cool water slipped past his lips. He gave it back to Gareth. He looked like he wanted Eddie to drink more, but took the bottle anyway.

“Are you…” Gareth started, but his sentence fell off as he seemed to search for the correct word. “Obviously not okay. That'd be stupid. Of course you aren't okay. I don't know what I was even thinking.” He looked over at Eddie, his rambling cut off.

Gareth always rambled when he was anxious. Worried. It didn't happen all that often. Gareth was pretty laid back, never worked up about much. The exact opposite of Steve. Steve worried about everything. Steve rambled a lot, like Robin. God, Robin. Eddie should talk to her. They hadn't had time lately to call. She was probably worried. Eddie could easily bet she'd been rambling a lot lately. Then again, Robin always rambled. She wasn't like Gareth, who only rambled when he was worried about something or someone. Speaking of Gareth, he was sitting there staring at Eddie with that worried little pinch in his brows. Eddie should answer. He should, but he can't. His tongue feels like lead in his mouth. It won't form shapes or push air through his lips. It won't do anything it's supposed to do. It just sits there, heavy, making it impossible for Eddie to say something, anything.

“Eddie?” Gareth waved a hand in front of him. Eddie blinked. “Did you hear anything I just said?”

Eddie thought hard. Gareth’s mouth had definitely been moving just a few moments before, but anything after the ramble was lost on him. He had no clue what he had said. He shook his head. Gareth sighed.

“I talked to Wayne.”

Oh. Wayne.

God, Eddie didn't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, he needed Wayne. The man was a solid figure in the storm of Eddie’s life. He had always been there. He never walked away like Eddie’s dad. Eddie wanted little more than to curl up on the lumpy couch with Wayne like he had after his mom died. On the other hand, Eddie didn't want Wayne to know about any of this. He didn't want Wayne to have to live through this again. He didn't want Wayne to feel like he had to deal with Eddie again.

“He said he’ll try to catch the next flight out.”

Eddie’s head snapped up, eyes wide. He quickly shook his head back and forth, so hard that his neck popped and his hair flung across his face. Wayne couldn't come. He shouldn't have to. He would have to call out of work. Wayne never calls out of work. Eddie didn't want to be the reason he started. He opened his mouth to protest, but nothing came out. He couldn't force his tongue to move. His lips failed to form the letters and syllables required to speak.

It was then that their tour manager approached, looking somber. Like he had bad news. Eddie wanted to be anywhere else. He wanted to go back; back to when things were simple and Steve wasn't dying. He wanted to go back to being a kid and stop his mom. He just wanted this to stop.

“Eddie, he's alive.”

Eddie hated that instead of being relieved, his heart crumbled.

Steve was alive, but at what cost?

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

tag list: @acowardinmordor @mugloversonly @djohawke @hallucinatedjosten @geekyfifi @current-steddie-brainrot

i tagged people who either asked to be tagged or showed interest in wanting more but lemme know if you wanna be added! like i said, there will be at least one more part, but probably more than that tbh

hope you've enjoyed !!

[cooliofango]

Shedding Some Light

Pairing: Nikolai x Cameron

Word Count: 1044

A/N: IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK AO LONG BBYYYY 😭😭😭 It’s be an incredibly hectic holiday at my mother’s and I’m only just getting the time to write this short little gift for you. I hope you enjoy it regardless but!!! Surprise!! I was your Secret Santa! Happy Yuletide @ohworm-writes !!!!

CW: Pagan holiday, exclusive to Cam and Cam only!!!!!, possible tradition inaccuracies ;-;

The spoon clinks with each turn it makes in the rich and warm chocolatey liquid. The smell brings a smile to their face. They’re already looking forward to diving into the treat alongside their lover as they stand here making it. The spoon drips hot cocoa as it is lifted out of the mug and is set inside the sink. The soft and fluffy marshmallows are easily plucked from the bowl that was set aside just before starting the creation of the hot drink. The marshmallows are large, squishing pleasantly in their fingers as they drop three into each mug. The creamy fluff immediately melts on the surface, covering the entirety of the beverage.

“That should be enough marshmallows.” Cameron mutters to themself, lifting one of the two mugs into each of their hands before turning to walk out the kitchen.

But they pause and observe.

The home is beautifully decorated for the solstice. Garland made of evergreen and fresh pine cones topped with a thin layer of fake snow lace the entryways of the home- including the one to the kitchen Cam stood under currently- as well as across the fireplace and a bookshelf that stood in the entryway hall. On those shelves, however, are also a few candles that are placed carefully in the middle of the garland. They gave a warm, dim glow into the comfort of the home the two shared.

A Yule tree is decorated with garland that Cameron and Nikolai spent hours putting together, as well as dried slices of orange and lemon that Cam had put hooks though to hang on the tree’s branches. Nikolai had brought miniature fake candles and sun shaped ornaments to put on the tree too.

A special gift that Nikolai had created by hand was the metal tree topper that was also sunshapped. It was something that the both of them were surprised that it was kept quiet about until the surprise was revealed to Cameron just earlier this week. It did explain a lot to them, though. Why Nikolai was suddenly spending an incredible amount of time in the shop- which, in itself, is saying something, as we all know that Nikolai would gladly spend hours upon hours working on his helicopter- was a big question that occured often. Turns out he had even used scrap metal from his precious helicopter to make it, cutting, bending, engraving, and heating the metal to give it the yellow, shiny appearance it has now. A light shone behind it to make its silhouette glow against the walls around it.

The smell of warm cinnamon lingers in the air and Cameron turns their attention to its source.

Nikolai is sitting at the coffee table putting together the dried sticks of the spice around a glass dish meant to catch the wax of melting candles. His tongue is pressed against the inside of his cheek and his brows are furrowed with concentration. One stick of cinnamon is held in one hand while the other carefully applies the hot glue against the side of the glass with a steady hold on the hot glue gun. The glue gun is set back down on a piece of cardboard- it being used to keep the hot glue from dripping on the glass table and ruining it- and the cinnamon stick he held is pressed carefully on top of the hot glue and beside the already glued down cinnamon. It was gently pushed up with a large finger to make sure it was even before Nikolai picks up another stick from the package to his left and the hot glue gun to his right.

Cameron felt their heart soar a moment more for the man who stole their heart almost a year ago. The effort Nikolai was putting into enjoying the holiday lined with their belief made them feel so much more grateful to have Nikolai in their life once more. They should’ve known that once Nikolai set his heart on celebrating Yuletide, there was no stopping him. He truly went above and beyond, and is still doing so, just for them.

Nikolai sits in jeans and a fluffy, white sweater that matches his love’s, as well as some fluffy socks they just insisted that he wore too. He doesn’t notice Cameron yet, too busy focusing on the mini project he was determined to finish. That was until they placed his mug on the coffee table in front of him, causing him to pause and look up at them.

A large and loving smile easily pulls at his lips, setting both items back into their respective places. “Спасибо, дорогой!” His eyes lit up at them, almost hesitating to look away as he reaches for the hot ceramic mug. Cameron sits beside him, carefully blowing the steam from her own drink.

“Thank you,” Cameron emphasizes, “You didn’t have to do all of this.” A hand gestures to the flurry of decorations around the house as Nikolai takes a sip.

A hum of satisfaction slips past closed lips, visibly relaxing at the warmth the hot cocoa provided for him. The mug is rested carefully against his thigh, one hand holding the cup up. His other hand rests on their thigh, each of them holding a soft and grateful look in their eyes.

“Do not thank me, дорогая. I’m more than happy to celebrate your traditions with you,” Nikolai says firmly and confidently, “I’ve had a great time enjoying this holiday with you, Cameron.”

They smile back lovingly up at him, eyes moving from his own to his lips. A sudden snort of amusement follows, biting onto their bottom lip as they look back up at him. Nikolai raises a brow at the evolving giggles falling from their lips. “What’s so funny, дорогая?”

Cameron clears their throat, smile still present. Their hand raises and points at the area above their own lip, “You’ve got a little something…” Their voice trails off as Nikolai carefully raises his own hand and wipes the fluffy marshmallow from above his lip with his thumb. There was a moment of silence as he stared at the sugary substance before he too laughed at the sight, Cam’s laughter joining in as they enjoyed the serenity of the moment together.

Taglist 🏷️

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