#who am I kidding I will just tell you who they are with wild gesturing to my wip master list

[britneyshakespeare]

i have been working with kids for four years and i had to write my first ever note just now about a seventh grade boy being inappropriate towards me. i don't know what the hell this could possibly lead to or what. he was trying to feel my legs repeatedly to the point where i had to stop sitting next to him (and i was subbing for his one-to-one para!!!). he's got high support needs. in that kind of job, you're supposed to sit next to them all day and look over their work.

the teacher whose classroom this was happening in could also tell something was wrong. the whole class was acting kinda crazy because it was the day before school vacation week and there was another class coming in to share projects. so like, he was swamped with keeping order already. but we were sitting two feet away from his podium at the front of the room. the kid was giving him and me a hard time when he wouldn't take out his chromebook as he was instructed. and then when he did take out his chromebook, he immediately, for some reason, places it on my lap. he had been ogling my legs the whole time. he puts his computer ON MY LAP. and i'm just like, stunned, because what the hell? can you not keep it on your own lap, for some reason? i don't even know what to say, i just hold it a little above my lap while i'm thinking why on earth would this be happening? he would NOT do this to his regular para if she were here, would he? this can't be normal.

and the teacher sees this and within a minute places a stool in front of the kid for him to put his laptop on. and i'm like. oh ok. yeah. he notices exactly what's happening and that that's not appropriate. and then when the other class comes in to share projects he tells me "miss b——, you don't actually have to sit next to c—— this whole period if you don't want to." and he grabs me a chair for me to go sit with the other paras in the back opposite corner of the room. like he KNEW. and thank you mr. d—— for recognizing that because i was just kind of shocked and didn't know if i was overreacting in my head to all of this.

when there's a point in the class where the kids are discussing stuff, i privately mention what's happened to the para who's sitting closest to me. and she says that the thing about him calling me pretty is something he's been known to do, but the fact that he kept trying to touch my legs is new behavior. and that's a completely different class of behavior. i was telling him NO, don't do that, and he kept doing it. and the fact that he was calling me pretty repeatedly, even when i was giving him instructions that he wasn't taking. and this is the second to last class before the end of the day, so she says she'll take a walk with him before learning center and talk to him about it, and i'm grateful for that. she does. the kid apologizes to me as soon as i come into learning center. but like. WHAT the hell.

i'm STILL like what the hell. this is unfathomable to me. the other adults who i told about this or who witnessed it were supportive of me. but. what to do??? i wrote a long note to his regular para about this, because i knew she was going to hear about it at least from the first para i told. the second para i told about it after school had a kind of... i'm not gonna say enabling reaction, but i suppose since it had already been "taken care of" (or at least, he had been spoken to and apologized) she didn't really have much to add in the way of discipline. i told her what happened after school and she was just like... a little bit, laughing? like oh, yup, that dog. she at the very least confirmed he KNEW what he was doing, that that was not an accident. she said to me "i had a feeling he was going to develop a crush on you" (me and these other paras were together for most of the beginning of the day too). but it's like. it's not about that.

i have worked with children for FOUR years. children have had crushes on me before; i'm quite unfazed by it. boys from the ages of 5-to-15 have told me i'm so pretty before and asked me to marry them. i've never had them feeling up my legs before. i've never had them making me physically uncomfortable. it's NOT about this seventh grader having a crush on the pretty substitute. he is NOT unusual for that, at all. but i've never had a boy of any age or education level repeatedly touching my knees and thighs. THAT is problem behavior!!!

because what if i wasn't assertive enough with him to tell him to stop? what if i was a girl his age? worse, what if i was an adult who encouraged this behavior? i don't come to the middle school to be a seductress. i had no intention in putting on a pair of tights and a skirt this morning of being viewed as an attractive object, especially not by a pubescent boy. what if i did though? what if his interpretation of me wasn't so incorrect and offensive? what if i let him keep touching me inappropriately and saying flirtatious things to me? me, an adult in my mid-twenties, towards a middle school boy?

in no world would that be ok. if i had been feeling up and overly-complimenting a CHILD at my place of work, holy shit would there be reports about me. so a child acting that way could never be ok either. if it'd be firable for me to be reciprocating that action, then that action should not be happening to me. ever. and that child should never repeat that action again to any other adult again.

like i am simply not there to be treated as an attractive young woman. i put on a skirt that shows too much knee and get paired with a boy, though, and that's apparently just a natural consequence. hooo-ly shit. like i don't know what to do. first of all, the more time passes since this has happened, the more i am just unable to stop thinking about it. i wasn't "hurt" or too emotional in the moment but i'm just still processing it and it gets worse. i'm just more and more disgusted.

i don't know what i expect to come out of this, or the email i sent to his regular para. like, am i gonna have to attend a fucking meeting? what is the precedent that this sets for him? WHY do i feel BAD for him about this? well, because he's a child, of course. a child who has done wrong he may not be able to understand. but he knows WHAT he did. he just doesn't know WHY it was wrong.

and i couldn't even say something to him that was like, "well, how would you like it if i was touching you like this?" because young boys do not understand how inappropriate it'd be. i'm sure this kid thought he was gonna get away with what he was doing at the very least. but probably not unlikely he (being a child with no concept of how wrong it'd be) thought he could get some sort of "positive" attention for treating me like this. either way he was simply doing what he wanted to do, with no perspective of how it would make me feel or that it could be classified as harassment. teenage boys think it'd be awesome if the older attractive woman would reciprocate their affections. they're wrong. i, as the older attractive woman of his affection, cannot be the one to convince him of that, though.

i don't know. i don't know. like it's just so not ok. but if i didn't tell another adult about this, he would've gotten away with it. he would probably do it again. and him being in trouble for it is not the same as him understanding that it was wrong. unless someone has a REAL talk with him about inappropriate attention and consent, it's not unlikely that he'll just repeat the behavior in a setting where he thinks he won't be caught or told on. THAT'S the problem. me, i could just never have to be this boy's para again. in my email, i didn't say that i would never be ok working with or around him ever again. he already knows i didn't like it and i'm not afraid to tell on him; as far as that lesson applies to me, individually, i think he's become too ashamed to repeat that.

i don't know. i don't know. i very much expressed that i, i guess, "forgave" him in the email that i wrote. i clarified that i was writing it for the sake of having it on the record. i think that could potentially be very important for the purposes of preventing further similar or escalating behavior from him in the future. i don't want him to be in trouble. i don't think i will be blamed for this, especially not with how promptly i acted, although i don't know to what extent this will be framed as me thinking i'm a "victim." i'm not... i don't feel victimized. i feel disgusted. i feel afraid for the sake of what could happen to or with him in the future, if he thinks behavior like his towards me today is ok.

i feel like if i end up having to further respond to this, this will be made about me. in a way it kind of was. is? in the moment it was happening, it was certainly about me. because i was the one this boy was giving all this unwanted attention to. but to make the consequences of this about me and to involve me any further, i also don't want. because i said what i said already, i don't care if a student has a crush on me. this isn't about me being the pretty substitute. i'm the pretty substitute all the time, to tons of people. that's not really something i've been concerned about up until now.

but do i have to reexplain my personal embarrassment? that i was wearing a skirt? that he was ogling my legs? really? what more do i have to gain from sharing that, other than having the adults at my place of work confirm or deny me in their heads as the pretty substitute? i don't know. perhaps that's REALLY overthinking it. but i don't want to be the substitute that caused a problem for this special ed kid. i don't wanna be the reason that he can't be around me anymore, the person people think of when they're monitoring how he's acting around girls and young women. i DON'T want to be the one people think of when they think of his past misbehavior. i'm NOT here for that.

that's just fucking humiliating. and in this being a thing that could follow him, i have to be ogled and touched over and over again in people's minds for this to be taken seriously. but for this to be swept under the rug would be even worse, no? i don't know. i hate this. the principal is a nice guy; i wouldn't be surprised if he and/or people from the special ed department reached out to me sympathetically about this. but i don't wanna be reached out to. i don't wanna have ppl i work with tell me "sorry that kid was just so attracted to you he couldn't help himself" like come on. if the kid himself doesn't change then i don't really care to remember this incident. and no one reaching out to me and saying they've talked to this kid will actually prove to me he understands. this is the kind of inappropriate behavior it takes years for people to understand why it was wrong, especially a child who has no idea. i mean come on.

[void-botanist]

One Song for Every OC

@outpost51 how did you tag me for this only four days ago. I have made four new character playlists as a result of this assignment.

Rules: Assign a song that fits the vibe of your OC.

And we are not doing this for all of my OCs either because that is too many! So here's some TFA folks (and also I cheated and did more than one for some of them because I forgot it was one song and I am not letting this work go to waste).

If I get tagged again I'll do it for the Nicea folks.

Full Spotify playlist

Dez Fireflies by Owl City [youtube] If I Could Be Like You by Castlecomer [youtube]

Syndy Just a Girl by No Doubt [youtube] I Love It by Icona Pop and Charli XCX [youtube] Made to Last by Semisonic [youtube]

Mizzat DARE - Soulwax Remix by Gorillaz and Soulwax [youtube]

Imjen Mustache Man (Wasted) by CAKE [youtube] (lyrics aren't that related but idk this feels very Zir)

Anni Junk Of The Heart (Happy) by The Kooks [youtube] Connectivity by By Jove [youtube]

Zel Belfast by Orbital [youtube] Island In The Sun by Weezer [youtube]

Julian (literally the hardest to find a song for. I looked for so longgg) Check It Out by The Friends of Distinction [youtube]

Hoven Que Sera by Wax Tailor [youtube]

Bonus: Peter A Little Bit Like Magic by King Harvest [youtube]

I'll leave this an open tag for anyone who wants to share!

[triptuckers]

wild flowers - percy jackson

Request: yes! "Can I request a platonic Percy Jackson x Child of Demeter!Reader based off the new Disney series? Where Child of Demeter!Reader is significantly older than Percy (17/18 maybe?) and is the one to welcome him to camp instead of Luke. Reader is more gentle and understanding to Percy's questions and is in general sort of a parent figure in the camp?" Pairing:  percy jackson x demeter!reader (platonic) Summary:  you welcome the newest kid at camp half-blood Warnings:  none (omg??) Word count:  1.1K A/N: was excited when I saw the new episode will be out on Tuesday but then I looked at the time zone and it's 3 am for me so I'll still watch it on wednesday :') thanks for your request, enjoy!

you try not to look away as percy, the newest addition to camp half-blood, nearly shoots another camper. he falls to the ground due to the force of the bow.

'alright.' you say, walking over to see if percy's okay. 'so not archery.'

'I didn't mean to!' says percy, looking at the kids who had flattened themselves to the ground to avoid being shot.

'of course you didn't, they know that. can I have the bow?' you say.

percy quickly shoves the bow in your hands as well as the quiver of arrows. you hand them back to the apollo kid who was teaching him with a thanks and an apologetic smile.

'see, I suck at this.' says percy. 'I'm not good at anything.'

'hey, that's not true.' you say. 'everyone is good at something. c'mon, I'll take you to my favorite spot at camp.'

that gets his attention. 'your favorite spot?'

'yep. right this way.'

you lead him away from the archery field. you can tell he's curious. you take him to the strawberry field, where some of the satyrs and your siblings are tending to the plants.

you walk past the strawberries to a field of grass where wild flowers grow.

'it's pointless.' says percy as the two of you sit down.

you frown. 'what is?'

he gestures around. 'all of this. I'm not one of you. it's clear there's something wrong with me. none of this matters because my dad won't reveal himself, he doesn't care. my mom is gone. I suck at archery. and I can't work in the forge. I can't do anything.'

you look at him. most kids are tough on themselves when they arrive. percy isn't any different.

'at least you didn't suck as much at archery than I did.' you say. 'contrary to you, I actually did hit someone when trying out archery '

percy's eyes widen. 'you did?'

you nod. 'apollo kids had to patch them up. luckily it wasn't that bad. but still I haven't touched a bow since. and I'm also not good at sword fighting. I only carry one because it's the weapon I suck the least with.'

'what if you suck at everything?' asks percy softly.

you smile at him. 'this is all normal. we all felt like this when we came here, regardless if we could already fight or not. and look at me, I still can't fight that well. I'm a joke compared to luke and clarisse if it comes to fighting. gods, even annabeth is better than me and she's your age.'

you point ahead to the strawberry fields. 'my cabin doesn't bring forth the best fighters. and that's okay. we're good at other things.' you say.

percy looks at your siblings, sure enough, not a lot of them carry weapons. maybe you do because you're head counsellor of your cabin.

'when did you find out who your mom was?' asks percy.

you sense he's not just curious about your godly heritage. he wants to know how long it would take before his father claims him. and he already knows there are unclaimed kids.

'for me it was pretty clear. I've always loved plants. I've got an impressive garden back at home.' you say. 'demeter claimed me my second day at camp.'

'so pretty fast...'

'for some kids it's fast. for some it's slow. some kids are very certain about who their godly parent is and sometimes they're right and sometimes they're not. you can't predict it with 100% accuracy.'

'did someone guess it correctly?'

'most of the times it's the athena kids who are right about their hunches. but they're athena kids of course, very smart. also a lot of ares kids are right. and for others it's a 50/50 chance. for instance, milo. everyone was convinced he was a hephaestus kid because he really liked to blow stuff up. turns out he's an athena kid. he's just really smart about blowing stuff up.'

'I bet I'm a kid of the god or failure or something. I'm just a regular kid, I'm not special. I don't have any impressive powers. not like you.'

'you think my powers are impressive?' you chuckle. 'I'm good with plants percy. over the years I've learned how to master those. but at first all I did was accidentally make flower patches.'

percy looks at you, frowning. 'you what?'

you laugh, then point to your shoes. they look like you've worn them every day for the past five years. which you have, somehow they won't wear down.

'these were a gift from my mom. if I don't wear them, flowers grow where I walk.'

'really?'

you nod and take them off. you get up and walk a circle around percy. and indeed, flowers grow where you put your feet down on the grass. you pick one and give it to percy, then put your shoes back on.

'it's the only thing I still can't master. maybe it's not something to be mastered. I'd ask my mom but the only time I saw her was when I was out fighting for my life. wasn't really the time to ask about flowers. she didn't even give me my shoes in person, just sent them here.'

you and percy are silent as you look out over the valley. you remember your first days at camp, how scared you were. you didn't know anyone, you were told your mom was a goddess, and you could never have a moment alone because there would always be someone who could find you based on the flowers you left behind.

'everyone here has been through what you're going through now.' you say. 'maybe they didn't experience it in the same way. I mean, you did kill the minotaur. but all of them have been confused, wondered about wether they belong, if there's something wrong with them. we all found our way in the end.'

'did you feel like you didn't belong?'

'sure. but then chiron explained to me it's all because of the gods. we've got dyslexia because our brain is wired in greek. the adhd is from our need to fight. it's all in our dna. just give it time, you'll belong. any other questions?'

'what do you do when you're not at camp?'

you smile. 'try not to run into any monsters and wait for the time to go to camp again. you'll find your family here, percy, trust me. now let's see if the aphrodite can teach you anything.'

you get up and offer your hand to percy. after pulling him to his feet, you start to walk toward the aphrodite cabin.

'you know, regardless of what cabin you belong to, you can always come to me if you have any questions.' you say.

percy smiles at you. 'thanks.'

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rulesHere’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Marit/Max

[queenariesofnarnia]

finally found you

gif not mine!

tech x f! reader

wc: 910

warnings: faked death and hidden pregnancy, that should be it.

takes place after s2 e13

tech x f!reader

~after the sea surge~

Every citizen on Pabu was safe. Among those citizens was you and your twins. You helped out the best you could while carrying them. You heard Phee returned so you were looking for her while assisting everyone. You heard your name being called, turning to see Phee.

“I’ve been looking for you all night sugar” She says grabbing your face before kissing the twins on their heads. “Give me one and come meet my friends” she grabs your daughter Selene from you. As you walk with her chatting. Selene babbled along. You look up to see a face you’d never expect to see again.

“Tiny is that you? or am I going crazy?” Wrecker asks leaning down to hug you tightly. You had to stop him, so he didn’t crush Apollo.

“I would love a hug Wreck, but little guy back here isn’t ready for one of your hugs” you say showing him your son who was sleeping on your shoulder.

“You have a kid?!” He asked shocked. You point to Selene in Phee’s hands.

“I have two. It’s why I left actually” you admit sheepishly. He hollers for Hunter and Tech. Hunter immediately recognizes you as does Tech.

“Sarad? There’s no way, you’re supposed to be dead” Hunter gets ready to scold you lovingly before noticing Apollo. Phee hands Selene back to you, telling you she’s going to help Shep.

“Surprise” You say cradling Selene close to you.

“You have kids?” Tech asks raising his brows. Selene’s wild curls were the same color as Tech’s hair. Apollo’s curls matched your hair. Hunter quickly figured it out just waiting for his brother to figure it out.

“Yeah, I do. Well, it was lovely seeing you boys, but I must get going” You started to walk away until you heard your name again. Turning to see Omega. You hand Selene to Hunter quickly before pulling the blonde girl into your arms.

“I have missed you so much” her eyes begin to tear up. “I was so worried when you stopped showing up to the lab. Especially after the last time” She said before burying your face in your shirt.

“I have missed you too. Please meet Selene and Apollo” you say gesturing to your twins. As you let her go from the hug, her hand remained in yours. “Would you like to hold one of them?” you ask, and she nods. You let her grab Apollo who was now showing his brown eyes off to the world. Hunter seemed to be enjoying holding Selene as she giggles toying with his hair. Tech pulled you away for a moment, making sure you could still see the twins.

“How old are they?” he asked, not wanting his voice to betray him.

“They’ll be two next week” you answer not looking at him. His gloved hands reach for yours giving them a squeeze. It was what he used to do to get your attention.

“Is there a reason you did not tell me?” his voice cracking. Emotions were hard for him, this was the moment that he let them win.

“You were a soldier Tech. The Kaminoans would have taken them from me. Nala Se and Omega protected me by getting me off Kamino. I couldn’t say goodbye, I couldn’t let anyone know who the father was. You were not going to get decommissioned because of me.” you answer him finally meeting his eyes. “Master Plo was able to help me leave the order we told the council I was killed in action to make it easy” you added on.

“We mourned you. We hated ourselves because you ‘died’ in action without us by your side” he was expressing his anger, and you weren’t going to stop him. He deserved this moment. “You went through your pregnancy and motherhood alone during the last two years. I appreciate that you chose to consider my feelings. I would have done whatever to be there for you” he finished.

“I’m sorry Tech. I didn’t want to hurt you or the others. I sorry that I made this choice without talking to you. I’m not asking you to forgive me, at least let me introduce you to them properly. You can decide if you want to stay after” your voice was desperate. You had no right to ask him to do anything, but it would make you feel better if he met them properly.

“I would love nothing more” He took your hand leading you through the crowd back to his brothers and sister.

“Tech this is Apollo” you grab your son from Wrecker handing him to Tech. “And this is Selene” Omega hands her to you. The smile on Tech’s face made your heart swell. The way he held Apollo with care made you smile. He wrapped his free arm around you pulling you into his side.

“Dada” Apollo babbled touching Tech’s face. The others watched in awe as their normally logical brother melt into a puddle.

“Dada” Selene mimics her brother reaching for Tech also.

“Looks like were staying on Pabu” Hunter says cracking a smile.

“I have enough room in my home” you tell them. Omega’s arms went around your waist talking about her excitement that they get to stay. You place a kiss on Tech’s cheek causing him to get flustered.

“I believe I deserve a real kiss.” Tech says leaning down kissing your lips like it was the first time all over again.

[awkward-walking-potato]

Wolverine Masterlist

My requests are open - I am no longer accepting requests for headcannons

Main Masterlist

Multiple part Series

Bruised not Broken - Non mutant Cage fighter logan and reader who is a nurse and helps patch him up after his fight - Ongoing

Part 1 Part 2

Apple of his Eye - Biker!logan x Baker! reader. The tough Biker falls for the kind baker who always has a slice of apple pie for him - Ongoing

Part 1 Part 2

The Buddy and Scratch series

- Claws and whiskers - You come home with a cat Claws whiskers and paws - Sequel to claws and whiskers Logan's Soft Spot - Logan didn't notice you coming home cause he was busy playing with the dog

Logan X mother nature

- The hidden Sanctuary - Logan meets a dragon

Wild Interuptions - you try and escape wade for some private time with logan

Oneshots

Just keep trying - the reader is upset with themselves because everything they do or say, even in good fate, turns out wrong or the situation gets worse. Logan knows that they meant well so he tries his best to comfort them.

A Caring Gesture - reader who suffers from iron deficiency like one day reader just faint and it took some time for logan to notice makes him very panicked so since then he started putting more attention to you like reminding you to eat healthy stuffs

A wet mess - After a long trip out you decide to wash Logans bike for him

Laughter at 1 AM - Watching Jenna marble tik toks with Logan

Unspoken Understanding - Logan helping reader with anxiety

Domestic Bliss: A Wade Wilson Retrospective - Logan and readers relationship from wades perspective

Beneath the bruises - Meeting cage fighter logan for the first time

A Heart of Adamantium - Valentines day spent with logan

Purple Claws and Velvet Dreams - Logan catches you singing and dancing to Prince’s "Purple Rain" in your pajamas.

NSFW alphabet

SFW alphabet

The plan - Fake boyfriend trope

When the Sunshine Fades - Grumpy!logan x Sunshine!reader something has been bothering reader or something happened, and because of it, she’s just not acting like herself and Logan starts picking up on it

Dancing in the Kitchen - Dancing in the kitchen to 1950's music with logan

Jeff the land shark - The baby shark taking up all the reader’s attention and just being he’s cutie self while making Logan feel extremely jealous.

Something to keep you safe - When Logan has to leave he leaves you with a certain something to keep you company

A clumsy heart - Logan doesn’t take kindly to someone causing his girl Dumb

Surprises in the bedroom - Logan finds out you collect teddies

Between two worlds - Logan with a significant other that’s basically an oujia board? Like they can talk to dead people, maybe possess people or haunt their dreams

Randonauting with the X-Force - Reader, Logan, Wade, and Mary puppins went randonauting together

Casual Affections - It's hard being in love with a man when his heart is with another

Tipsy Affection - When you have a few too many drinks at the halloween party you can't help but want some attention

Costume Confusion - With not long to go till the halloween party you have to come up with a clear idea for a costume

Halloween Heroes - You get to see a different side to Logan once the kids come out trick or treating

Whispers between worlds - Logan Howlett x gn!reader that has the mutation to summon, speak and communicate with ghosts and the undead

Its in the stars - stargazing with Logan Howlett and GN!Reader

Close enough - Logan with a reader who loves physical touch but is kinda scared to initiate it

Five Times You Were Possessive of Logan, and the One Time He Was Possessive of You

Taking care of Logan

Logan helping you recover after ankle surgery

Logan helps werewolf reader with their first transition

My Kitty Cat - Logan hates his nickname, Well that is what he tells people

Missing Cat - Logan realises who you are after losing his memories

In the Shadows - Logan helps reader who has migraines

[puck-luck]

new beginnings | june 17 - june 23

note: this chapter contains NSFW content. it also contains references to (tw) nudes being leaked (spoiler alert), so if that bothers you or triggers you in any way, you may want to skip over that part. unfortunately, it is pivotal to the story. this chapter is 24.2k, so strap in. it will also be the last chapter for a little while (maybe two-three weeks) because i want to work on some requests and churn those out for my followers who aren't as passionate about this project as i am and some of you are. i need to feed everyone in our community, not just the STG Truthers!!

22:90 – HONEY

“So what happened while you were in the closet with Cole?” Honey asks, biting into a peach slice and gesturing with the remaining food. “We never had the time to discuss it.”

Bea blushes, the apples of her cheeks dusted in a sweet pink. She starts to giggle– the same reaction she has every time that Honey brings Cole up since the events of Seven Minutes in Heaven the day before. 

“Okay, it can’t have been that good,” Honey scoffs, rolling her eyes. “Quit your giggling and tell me what happened.”

“Okay, okay,” Bea says, taking a few deep breaths and calming down. She wipes under her eyes like she’s wiping away tears, but it’s an over exaggeration. Honey is unimpressed by the dramatics from her friend. “I’m only laughing because I severely underestimated him.”

“Severely,” Honey repeats, mouth wide open in surprise. “What happened?”

“So we go in the closet and I’m expecting to talk about Jack and his dick, like I told Cole I would if he spun and landed on me,” Bea says. She’s talking with her hands, waving her own peach slice at Honey. “But I get, like, two words out before Cole interrupts me and asks if I’m actually trying to sleep with everyone this summer.”

“Which you are,” Honey confirms. “So Jack told him?”

“I’m sure he did. I told Cole I was, and then he asked if I wanted him to make things easier for me.”

“What?”

“Then he kissed me and fingered me against the closet door and he made me come before our time was even up,” Bea reveals, counting off on her first three fingers and waving them in Honey’s face.

Honey gasps. “You’re kidding.”

“I am not. He just moved my panties to the side and fucked me with two fingers until I came. All the while, he was telling me about how badly he wanted to get his mouth on me,” Bea sighs, a faraway look in her eyes. “Then we went upstairs and he ate me out until I came three more times. Like, what the fuck?”

“Cole did all this?” Honey asks, barely able to believe it. 

“Dude, Cole,” Bea confirms, nodding vehemently. “I told you. I underestimated him.”

“Has Quinn even made you–”

“No.” Bea shakes her head, cutting Honey off. “Quinn has only made me come twice in a night. Cole made me come four times and we didn’t even fuck.”

Honey’s mouth forms an ‘o,’ but she doesn’t say anything.

Bea nods, holding eye contact with Honey.

“That’s wild,” Honey says.

“Dude, I know,” Bea replies. “I adore Quinn and he’s still my favorite of the guys, but, like… holy shit.”

“Well, you didn’t even fuck,” Honey points out. “Maybe he’s bad in bed and he gives head to make up for it.”

“I don’t give a fuck. If I want head, I’m going to Cole,” Bea states.

“That’s lofty,” Honey says. 

“I’m serious.” 

Honey feels a little stunned, blinking to clear her head. She can’t believe that Cole– Cole Caufield, the giddiest and goofiest man that Honey has met in years– is secretly a master munch.

“Rank them,” Honey suggests. “Of the three that you’ve hooked up with, who’s the best? What are their scores?”

Bea pops the rest of her piece of fruit into her mouth, chewing emphatically. “Great question,” she says. “But also, why do you want to know? Are you interested in joining me this summer? You can’t have Quinn, but I’ll share the other ones.”

“Well, I don’t really want to mess around with any of them, but especially not Jack,” Honey replies.

Bea hums, frowning. “You’re right. I think I’ve committed to the timer idea we had, but it might be too mean as is. I might have to sweeten the deal so I don't feel like a bitch. I have an idea about how, but I’m not sure about it yet.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you in a minute. Let me think about this ranking thing.” 

The girls fall into silence. Honey snacks on the rest of her peach slices, sucking the juice off of her fingertips. She cleans up her plate, walking into her kitchen and loading up the dishwasher. 

“Can you get me a pencil and paper?” Bea calls. “I’ll love you forever.”

“You already do,” Honey responds with a roll of her eyes. “Are you actually giving it this much thought?”

“There are a lot of factors!” Bea defends herself, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She cocoons herself in the blanket and seems to enter a conversation with herself in her mind.

Honey would laugh if she didn’t do the exact same thing in the car after her kiss with Jamie on the hike. She had actually spoken out loud to herself, weighing her options before eventually deciding that she needed to indulge Trevor at least once, just to see how she felt after.

The thing is, Honey was attracted to Jamie. She thought he was cute, she wanted to kiss him, and she enjoyed hanging out with him.

On the other hand: he wasn’t Trevor. Honey was drawn to Trevor inherently. That fact is still true after their rushed blowjob in the closet. It’s still true after Trevor’s desperate kiss. Honey hasn’t been able to shake the image of Trevor sinking to his knees and reaching for her. Honey knows she, like Cole, is good at giving head, but she hadn’t expected a reaction like that. 

Trevor was boneless and easy, agreeing not to tell the boys. He was eying her mouth almost constantly after she made him come, leaning into her space and putting his hands all over her. He whined when she stepped away, a sound that Honey can pull from her memory and replay over and over. It was a carnal sound, drawn from the depths of Trevor’s chest, and she swears he hadn’t even made the sound on purpose.

Truthfully, Honey wants to see how far she can go with this. Trevor is frustratingly annoying, filled with jealousy that’s boiling over each time Honey starts to bond with the other guys, and he’s hard to get through to. He’s a challenge.

Honey wanted something easy, she really did, but Trevor bore his soul to her in the closet and it won her over. She couldn’t deny that she wanted him any longer and what happened, happened.

She hasn’t told Bea. 

She really needs to tell Bea.

Honey’s just not sure how to broach the subject. 

As she opens her mouth to blurt out a quick “I sucked Trevor off in the closet while you were upstairs and no one knows but me and him and I don’t know what came over me!,” Bea claps her hands and announces that she’s ready to reveal her ranking.

Honey snaps her mouth shut and gives Bea her full attention.

“I need to seduce Luke if I want to make this a comprehensive list,” Bea clarifies. “So it’s incomplete until I get with him.”

“Okay,” Honey acknowledges, gesturing for Bea to get on with it.

“Jack is on the bottom, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Honey agrees. She and Bea had had an intense discussion the previous day before going to the boys’ house about Bea’s experience with Jack. They had meant to talk about the encounter briefly, but Bea and Honey had started laughing and making jokes about how quickly it was over, and they accidentally lost track of time. They were almost two hours late to the boys’ house last night, but at least Quinn cooked dinner for the girls.

“I’m giving him a five and a half because I feel bad going lower,” Bea decides. “He’s got room for improvement and it was fine. I didn’t come, but he was good at kissing and he made the prettiest little noises.”

“Hmm.” Honey nods her head, keeping silent about her own opinions about a boy making ‘the prettiest little noises.’ She hasn’t heard Jack’s moans, nor does she want to, but there’s no way that Jack sounded prettier than Trevor did while Honey blew him last night.

“Next is Cole,” Bea says. “I’m giving him an eight-point-eight.” 

Honey blinks in surprise. “Shit,” she says, impressed. “Without even fucking you, he’s almost at a nine?”

Bea reminds Honey that Cole made her come four times the previous night, dropping the detail that he never even took her dress off once they were upstairs. All he did was slide her panties down her legs and flip up the hem of her skirt, going down on her like it was the last night on Earth and he couldn’t be bothered to remove her clothes.

It’s appealing, to be honest. Honey might have to dig out one of her own sundresses and see if Trevor has a similar response.

Hmm. She hadn’t planned to hook up with Trevor again after that first time, but he was like a drug. Honey wants to see him be that soft and desperate for affection again. He’s sweet, so sweet, and Honey fears that she might like him a lot more than she wants to. She might even dare to hook up with him again.

She resents that fact. She can barely admit it to herself– nor will she admit it to Bea when she eventually tells her about Trevor. She sure as hell will not admit it to Trevor. He doesn’t need a bigger head.

“Quinn is number one, always,” Bea finishes. 

Honey nods. There was no question about it.

“I give him a nine point seven. He loses part of a point because Cole made me come more times in one night than Quinn has.”

“Are you going to tell him that’s why he’s not a perfect ten?” Honey asks.

Bea thinks about it, tapping her chin. “I’d say no, but he’s so competitive that I think he’d really try to beat Cole’s record. I know that would be such a good night for me, so… honestly? I might tell him.” Bea pauses, then she barks out a laugh. “Should I reveal the scores to them? We could do, like, a PowerPoint night.”

“That could be funny.” Honey drinks from her water bottle, then swallows quickly when an idea pops into her head. She snorts. “What about the chalkboard that they use for pool scores?”

“What, you want me to erase it? I think Luke’ll get mad at me,” Bea laughs.

“No, I want you to recreate it,” Honey replies. “Dude, you don’t even have to tell them what it means. We could see how long it takes for them to notice that you’re rating them based on sex.”

“That’s so funny,” Bea agrees. She raises a finger, tilting her head. “But do you think they’ll feel objectified?”

“Great question,” Honey replies in the same tone. “What if you give them a reward at the end? The winner gets… something. Sex tape for when they go home?”

Bea hums, intrigued by the idea. “We’ll workshop that. I could be down, but what if the boys aren’t?”

Honey shrugs. “We’ll think of something. Wanna go to the fruit stand and the grocery store and buy a board?”

“Yeah, sure,” Bea says. “Let me just text Quinn and tell him that I can meet up with him when we’re done. Do you want to drop me off after?” She’s already pulling her phone out and tapping out a message, a text that seems way longer than just an ‘I’ll see you when we’re done.’

She’s been texting a lot lately. Honey cannot believe that Quinn enjoys receiving all these messages.

“What do you guys even talk about?” Honey asks, grabbing a threadbare cardigan that Sacha knitted for her a few years back. 

“What do you mean?”

“You and Quinn,” Honey clarifies. “What do you guys talk about?”

They walk out of Honey’s house and to her car. Bea turns on the stereo, turning on her favorite music like she always does.

“We talk about a lot of things,” Bea says. “We talk a lot about hockey and his family. He told me about his ex-girlfriend the other day. It’s over between them, for good, but he misses her.”

Bea pauses, looking down at her lap. 

“He misses her?” Honey repeats, incredulous. “And he told you that?”

Bea sighs, rolling her neck back to stretch her muscles. She’s stalling. 

“Bea,” Honey insists.

“It’s not a big deal,” Bea says quietly, shaking her head. “We’re not exclusive, I’m not dating him.” She scoffs out a laugh. “I’m fucking his brothers and his friends. I think he’s allowed to miss his girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Honey corrects. 

“Ex-girlfriend,” Bea amends. She sighs again. “It’s fine, really. I want him to be open with me. I want to talk to him about everything. Unfortunately, that includes his exes.”

“You want to talk to him about everything?” Honey teases.

“He’s a great guy,” Bea says simply. She purses her lips and sucks her teeth before adding, “I think if I wasn’t having a Slut Summer, and I didn’t live in Litchton, I would want something more. But we’re having fun, and he’s leaving at the end of the summer, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Baby-Bea, you don’t actually believe that,” Honey says.

“I do. It’s just a summer.” Bea holds her hands up in surrender. “And he’s just a guy.”

Honey doesn’t reply. She just hums out a little tune along with Bea’s music, patting the steering wheel. They pull into the grocery parking lot and make their way across the parking lot. Bea is still singing the last song that played on their drive, and she and Honey are holding hands, swinging their interlocked fingers back and forth in big waves. Bea is skipping.

He’s there.

Honey stops dead in her tracks, right in front of powdery blue minivan. Her sudden stop yanks Bea’s arm back and she whirls to face Honey. 

“What?” She asks, her song dying out with a giggle that fades into a concerned frown.

“I blew Trevor in the closet last night,” Honey rushes out, entirely at a normal volume. 

A mother and her teenage daughter make a face when they pass Honey and Bea, certainly overhearing the sentence.

“What?” Bea repeats.

Honey clears her throat, borderline gagging on her breath. “He’s sitting at the fruit stand with a bouquet of flowers.”

“What?” Bea raises her voice, eyes widening as she twists. She squeezes Honey’s hand, clutching it tightly. When she spots the boy, she claps a hand over her mouth. 

“Oh my God,” Honey breathes out, feeling sick. She covers her own mouth. “I’m going to throw up.”

“Oh my God,” Bea repeats, a smile splitting her face. 

“You cannot talk to him,” Honey hisses. She holds Bea’s hand with a vice grip, keeping her from running towards him. “Bea, you can’t.”

“I have to,” Bea says, pulling Honey along. They struggle forward bit by bit until Trevor notices them and stands, smiling like a dope.

His eyes are on Honey’s. He doesn’t even look at Bea until she speaks.

“Trevor, those flowers are gorgeous!” Bea chirps, sounding extra bubbly. “What are they for?”

Trevor’s smile turns to a sharp glare when Bea snatches at them. He pulls them out of her reach and scowls. He keeps his mouth shut, but Honey knows there’s something crossing his mind.

“Go inside,” Honey growls, pushing Bea away. 

Bea practically goes limp, smug and gigging about having caused Honey’s struggle. Eventually, Honey tips her weight and she goes, stumbling into the store with a cackle. 

Then, Honey turns back to Trevor.

He thrusts the bouquet at her and bites his lip in a tiny smile. 

Honey brushes them away with the back of her hand. “What are you doing?”

“I didn’t know what time you were coming to the stand today, and I didn’t want to miss it like last week, so I showed up when they opened, and bought these flowers around lunchtime because I needed to do something… or else I’d go crazy…” He speeds through the lengthy sentence, trailing off at the end. “I already sound crazy.” He looks down, bouquet drooping.

Honey feels lightheaded. She’s burning up. She presses the back of her hand against her forehead, staring at the boy. “Yeah,” she agrees. She nods. “You sound fucking crazy.”

Joan clicks her tongue at Honey, but returns to her magazine when Honey’s eyes flicker over to her. 

“We are in public,” Honey says to Trevor, speaking through her teeth. “I told you that you couldn’t tell anyone.”

“I didn’t,” Trevor denies, tone combative. 

Honey almost bursts out in laughter. “What part of showing up in public with flowers for me is not telling anyone?”

“Well I didn’t– I didn’t say it,” Trevor stammers out, defending himself desperately. He shuffles back, waving the flowers between them.

Honey stomps over a few petals that fell from the bouquet when Trevor used it like a sword to keep her back. “I could strangle you.”

“Please don’t,” Trevor pleads. 

Honey takes a deep breath. She clenches and unclenches her fists at her sides. “What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t want to make you mad by not showing up,” Trevor explains. He nods, drops his gaze to the flowers in his hand and offers them again to Honey. “And the flowers are ‘cause I like you.”

Honey gasps, covering her face with her hands. “Trevor, we hooked up once,” Honey whimpers out, unable to believe it. “I don’t like you!” She chokes a little from the panic. 

Oh, my God, he assumed that Honey wanted more. 

“Trevor, I’m not looking for a relationship,” she whisper-shouts.

She sneaks a peek at him, and he’s blinking stupidly, back pressed against the wall of the building behind the stand. The flowers are pulled up against his chest, crushed beneath her own. She hadn’t realized they were so close. She steps away.

“You– you’re not?” Trevor asks, staying still. “But you said you were thinking about me–”

“Yes, I was thinking about you. I’m ovulating, Trevor!” Honey feels faint again and turns away from him, back to the edge of the road.

Trevor follows after her, reaching for her hand. “That’s fine,” he says. He catches her fingers and slides the bouquet into her hand, closing Honey’s fingers around the stems. “Honey, we can do whatever you want. I will take anything you give me.”

Honey lurches forward like he just slapped her on the back. She presses a hand to her chest. “Trevor, it was one blowjob. You know that, right?”

He pales a little, letting his fingers fall from her hand. Her fingers are slack around the stems. It’s a grouping of pink azaleas. The stems are a little stick-like against her skin. “You don’t want to go again?” Trevor asks. 

“I don’t know,” Honey drawls. She brings the bouquet to her other hand, holding her hands together like a prayer. “...maybe?”

“Scruffy’s has live music on Wednesdays, I looked it up,” Trevor says. 

The abrupt change of subject makes Honey blink in surprise. “I know,” she says. She loves Scruffy’s, but she usually only goes in the winter, when it gets dark early in the night. 

“I thought you would like it. Go with me.” Trevor ducks his head to capture Honey’s gaze. “All the boys can come, and Bea too.”

“Bea can do what?” The girl asks, returning with a large whiteboard in her hands. A bag with a pack of dry erase markers dangles from her wrist. 

“Come dancing with us at Scruffy’s,” Trevor explains in a rush to the deviant girl, just as Honey says, “Nothing, Bea, this doesn’t involve you.”

Bea’s eyes slide from Trevor to Honey. “I love Scruffy’s,” she says, nodding with a smug smile. “We’ll absolutely be there on Wednesday, Trevor. I will make sure of it.”

“Bea, I’m going to fucking kill you,” Honey hisses, her eyes narrow and full of fire. “I will not be driving you to see Quinn anymore.”

Bea snorts out a laugh, a look of delight on her face. “Trevor,” Bea calls, her eyes still glinting at Honey. “Will you drive me to your place right now so I can fuck Quinn in exchange for bringing Honey to Scruffy’s on Wednesday?”

“Absolutely I will,” Trevor agrees with a beam. 

“This is kidnapping,” Honey hisses at Bea. “I’ll have you arrested.”

Bea giggles, then leans into Honey’s face. Her nose nearly touches Honey’s, scrunching with pride. “Quinn will bail me out,” she brags, teasing Honey. 

She reaches up, taps Honey on the nose, then steps away. She loops her arm with Trevor’s and begins to walk off, taking the boy with her. 

Trevor waves a goodbye at Honey, grinning like a fool. “See you Wednesday, Honey,” he bids, his mouth wide in a laugh and eyes squinted shut.

She’s left standing there, bouquet in hand. She watches them retreat, blinking and unable to identify how she feels. 

There’s a tap on her shoulder. 

When Honey turns, Joan hands her a bag of peaches, filled to the brim. “Your friend bought you some peaches, too. He said you’d like them more than his silly flowers.”

23:90 – TREVOR

Trevor is taking a break. 

He just finished showering after a long training session outside with the boys. Before that, he and the guys had gone to Winston to find a tailor that could fit the Hughes boys for their NHL Awards suits. Ellen had been pestering the boys for a few days about the suits, wanting her sons to look sharp and handsome for the event. The excuse that the event was over a week away meant nothing to the boys’ mother, and Trevor decided a long time ago that he wasn’t going to disagree with Ellen. 

He deserves a break, and today, he wants to sit on his balcony and watch the sunset.

The sun has just sunk below the mountains, leaving the sky a dark orange. The clouds reflect the color, painted across the horizon in swirling strokes. The air is thick with the smell of impending rain and the sounds of cicadas in the trees. There’s a bullfrog in the distance, always croaking when Trevor least expects it, and it sounds a lot like Trevor’s father’s snores.

They’ve been in Litchton for almost a month. Bedford has always been Trevor’s home, and Anaheim is the place where Trevor really learned how to be on his own, but Litchton is special. It’s a fixed place, as silly as that sounds– Trevor feels like nothing from the outside world can affect him here. He feels free.

“Can I join you?” 

Jamie’s voice sounds from the balcony door behind Trevor. He’s soft-spoken, still treading lightly even though Trevor apologized for his behavior and tried to make things go back to normal.

Staying true to his promise, Trevor hasn’t told Jamie about the blowjob in the closet. 

It’s killing him. He needs to talk it out with someone– especially after what happened yesterday. Honey doesn’t want a relationship. Trevor doesn’t know what he wants, just that he wants her. Honey can’t seem to figure out how she really feels about Trevor. Trevor knows exactly what he feels. He doesn’t want to let her go when he leaves at the end of the summer.

“Yeah, come sit,” Trevor agrees. He pulls one of the rocking chairs on the balcony closer to his own.

Jamie takes a seat.

They rock together, staring out at the mountains and woods in front of them. Breaking the silence, Jamie speaks first.

“You know, Honey says if you can count ten rows of mountains back, you’re in Tennessee.”

Trevor finds himself counting the rows in his minds immediately. The clouds are heavy today. The orange is already fading and he can’t see that far. Five rows, maybe the shadow of a sixth if he squints. “That’s cool,” Trevor replies.

Another silence washes over the space between them, but it’s shorter than the previous one. Trevor breaks it this time.

“What happened on the hike?” He asks. Trevor’s been dying to know about the hike since Jamie left with Honey on Saturday, especially considering how close the two seemed after going on the hike together. He knows that something happened, as if driven by his gut, and Trevor knows that he’s not going to be happy about it.

“We hiked, ate lunch. She asked questions about me and I asked questions about her while we walked. She’s a really cool girl, Z.” Jamie stares straight forward, one foot up on the railing in front of them.

“What kind of questions?” Trevor presses.

Jamie snorts and shakes his head, looking down at his lap then up at Trevor. “You wanna know?”

“Obviously, or else I wouldn’t have asked,” Trevor sasses, narrowing his eyes at Jamie.

“I asked her how long you two had been fucking,” Jamie reveals without hesitation. He laughs when Trevor’s jaw drops, then continues. “Then I asked her why she wasn’t fucking you yet.”

“Oh,” Trevor says. It’s all he can think to say. There’s nothing else he could say.

“And then we conspired against you to make you jealous, so that you would make a fucking move. She was going to play Seven Minutes in Heaven until she got to go into that closet with you, even if it took all night.” Jamie nods when Trevor tilts his head at him, flabbergasted. “Z. Honey and I don’t want each other. Sure, we kissed, but she wants you. She wants you.”

“You kissed?” Trevor demands, all of his surprise turning to rage. “You kissed her?”

Jamie rolls his eyes. “Relax.”

“Relax? You kissed my fucking girl, dude,” Trevor snaps, shifting forward in his chair and facing Jamie. 

Jamie takes a deep breath and shakes his head, closing his eyes in annoyance. “Jesus-fuck, Trevor. It is a miracle that the other boys haven’t caught onto this thing that’s happening between you and Honey. You’re even luckier that Quinn’s keeping your secret.”

“Quinn knows?” Trevor asks, taken aback. He knows that he gets on the older boy’s nerves and, usually, Quinn uses any ammunition he has to take Trevor down. 

Jamie stares at Trevor for a minute, amused yet baffled by Trevor’s ignorance. “Bea knows,” Jamie tells Trevor. He runs a hand over the back of his neck, then gestures at Trevor. “And if Bea knows…”

Trevor feels stupid for assuming otherwise. “That makes sense,” he concedes, pressing his lips into a thin line out of frustration for not realizing that on his own sooner. He reverts to anger. “You still kissed my girl.”

“Okay,” Jamie says. “Let me put it like this: I show up here, you guys tell me that there’s a girl hooking up with everyone, then a beautiful girl shows up at our door and drops a book off for you. She checks me out, blushes when I talk, even stutters a little bit, so I assume she’s the one who’s having her Slut Summer. When she comes back the following night, I learn that she’s not the one who’s hooking up with everyone, but she’s still gorgeous and not tied down. You hadn’t told me that you wanted her yet. I take a body shot off of her, and it’s hot, and we hang for the rest of the night. Then, she invites me on a date the following morning. You wouldn’t kiss her?”

Trevor scowls, wanting to grow talons and sink them into Jamie’s neck. Part of it is that he’s still pissed Jamie touched Honey at all, but the other reason is that Jamie is being logical and reasonable. Trevor absolutely would have kissed Honey if he was in Jamie’s position. He resents it.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Trevor lies.

Jamie blinks at him, unimpressed. 

“Okay, yeah, I would’ve kissed her,” Trevor amends. He sighs. “I still hate it.”

“I expected no less,” Jamie says. “You never really learned how to share, did you? Puck hog, girl hog… someone needs to put you back in preschool, buddy.” 

“I’m not going to share her,” Trevor declares. “Honey is mine. I’ve never felt like this before, Jim.”

Jamie hums, acknowledging Trevor’s words. “Are you sick?”

“What? No.”

“This is new for you,” Jamie says. “You’ve never been the most… committed guy.”

“Okay, I’m not a fucking cheater, dude,” Trevor snaps, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, but you’re not exactly someone who wants to be with a girl long-term,” Jamie replies.

Trevor knows he’s right, but he doesn’t like the way Jamie says it. He refuses to respond, falling into silence with the boy next to him. The sky is turning navy and they can hear the boys yelling at the TV in the game room. They’re probably watching game five of the Cup final– Trevor hopes that it’s closer than the last game was. 

“How was the blowjob?” Jamie asks.

Trevor jolts to face him again. “You know about that?”

“She told me that you’ve gone crazy because of it,” Jamie replies, digging his phone out of his pocket and clicking around for a second before handing his phone to Trevor. “She also said you were freaking out and that you bought her flowers. What were you thinking?”

Trevor takes Jamie’s phone and scrolls through the messages. Jamie and Honey have been chatting consistently since Honey dropped the boy off on Saturday. The final message is from about an hour ago and it’s Honey telling Jamie to go talk to Trevor about ‘the blowjob in the closet that made him lose his fucking marbles.’

“So what happened?” Jamie asks, taking his phone back from Trevor.

Trevor thinks about what to say. There are so many explanations that he could give Jamie, but they all boil down to one thing. 

“She’s so beautiful,” Trevor sighs. He shakes his head, unable to believe the words that are about to come out of his mouth. “I need her like I need to breathe.”

Jamie is silent, speechless from the shock of Trevor’s statement. “What the fuck?” He asks, laughing nervously.

Trevor continues, explaining himself. “I know I just met her, J, but she’s so special. I need her in my life and I will take whatever she gives me.”

“What if she only wants to hook up?” 

“Then we’ll hook up.”

“What if she only wanted to do it this one time?”

“Then I’ll keep trying to convince her to give me another chance.”

“What if she refuses you and hooks up with Jack instead?”

“I’ll kill him.”

A smile breaks over Jamie’s face and he nods slowly. “You’ve got this all thought out.” He slaps his hands over his knees, then stands. The chair rocks behind him from the force of his movement. “I’ll report this exchange back to my boss.”

“Tell Honey that I’m excited to see her again tomorrow and that she needs to save me a dance,” Trevor says.

Jamie sucks in a breath between gritted teeth. “Oof,” he breathes out. “She already declared that I was her dance partner for the whole night.”

“Don’t make me pull your shoulder out of its socket,” Trevor threatens with a chilly smile.

Jamie just raises his eyebrows subtly and smirks, walking back inside the house and leaving Trevor alone.

The stars are starting to twinkle above Trevor’s head, and he tilts back in his rocking chair to search the sky. He’s nearing the end of his book and he’s been challenging himself to find the constellations he’s been reading about. 

He wishes Honey was sitting next to him and staring at the same stars. Although imaginary, he can almost feel her fingers intertwined with his.

24:90 – HONEY

Hiding from Bea was never actually an option. Honey knows that in her heart of hearts, but she’d be damned if she didn’t try. Her best bet was somewhere around The Reading Nook, since Scruffy’s is just down the road and they’re leaving directly from work. 

Bea actually brought clothes for Honey to change into when she showed up to work before lunch– a cute denim maxidress that has tiers of different washes on the skirt. It’s exactly something Honey would wear to Scruffy’s in the winter, with a little cardigan to keep her warm enough while dancing. This is the outfit that Honey’s wearing now, having been forced to change during her break by a watchful Bea. 

Honey is tucked between two of the stacks and a beanbag chair, hoping that her corner of refuge will be enough for Bea to leave the store without her. Then, Honey will sneak to her car and drive home, effectively avoiding Trevor for another day. She can’t avoid him forever, but she might be able to make it a little while longer before she’s forced to face him.

She decided that Trevor’s a lunatic who is looking too much into the relationship he and Honey share. She gave him one blowjob and he bought her flowers– a disproportionate response that left Honey reeling on Monday. She might’ve watered the flowers and thrown them in a vase on her bedside table, but that doesn’t mean she wanted to accept the bouquet. Accepting the bouquet is too real– it would give Trevor too much hope.

He forced it into her hand and offered her anything she wanted, so Honey thought about it. She wants him to not be so fucking obvious. 

Honey has lived in Litchton for a long time. In that time, she’s gone on two dates: one, with Gillian’s grandson while he was visiting for Christmas that went okay. The second was with some guy from a dating app that Bea made Honey download, and that date ended in tears because Honey was overwhelmed by the boy’s cologne– the same one that she used to know all too well when she and Bea were still living in Charlotte.

The townies know Honey as an independent girl. They know her as a person who won’t stand for nonsense, a person who isn’t interested in frivolous things. She likes what she likes and her routine stays the same. 

Trevor has completely overthrown her routine.

In a normal summer, Honey goes through book after book, reading and writing and having fun. She creates terrible art that never sells in the town-side yard sale in August. Bea drags her to Winston or Boone one or two weekends a month and they talk to guys their age until Bea finds someone to flirt with. Then, Honey heads back to Litchton to her own bed and usually has to wake up early to pick Bea up from her conquest’s house.

Now, they’re spending every weekend with the boys. Bea is even spending non-weekend days with the boys. Honey walked herself into a trap by declaring that the fruit stand was her and Trevor’s “thing,” whereas it’s supposed to just be hers. They’re going to the lake not to tan, but to boat with the guys. Bea is satiated and happy, giggling and glowing the way she does when she’s seeing a guy she really likes. 

This is Bea’s ideal summer and it’s quickly turning into Honey’s hell.

She’s not a relationship girl. She hasn’t been for years, opting to be independent and satisfied with herself, refusing to worry about being alone. That life, that stress, was left in Charlotte when she moved away. She’s determined to keep it that way.

Which means that she cannot, under any circumstances, hook up with Trevor again. She cannot give him a reason to believe that this was more than a one-night thing. It was just a moment of weakness and it can’t happen again.

Honey has taken some necessary precautions. She texted Jamie the previous day and begged him to dance with her all night, get drinks with her at the bar, sit at the table when she’s sitting at the table, and never leave her side. He swore he would, even pinky-promised over the thread of messages. 

It’s that fact that helps Honey remain calm when Bea finds her and rips the beanbag out of her clutches, pulling her up from where she’s curled up on the floor. 

“I can’t believe you tried to hide from me and made me close the entire store alone,” Bea complains, dragging Honey to the back room to grab their purses before heading out. She steals Honey’s keys rather than using her own to lock the bookstore, effectively taking away Honey’s only means of escape– her car. Had Honey bolted, like she considered, there would be no way to get into her vehicle and outrun Bea fast enough without her keys. 

Damn Bea. She thinks of everything.

They walk down the street, arm in arm. Bea’s brown cowboy boots click against the sidewalk with each step and the ruffled sleeves of her romper sway with the summer wind. The romper is a pastel yellow with white daisies dotting the fabric. It’s short, short enough that Jack will probably drool over her and Quinn will make sure his hand stays on Bea’s waist all night. 

The walk to Scruffy’s takes less than five minutes. They don’t even have to cross the street. Scruffy’s is the building on the corner of the main road, the last thing you see before you drive past the town of Litchton and head further up the mountain. Past Scruffy’s, there are only ranches, farm life, and Honey’s little abode. Scruffy’s is like the end of civilization.

It’s been in business for generations. Scruffy’s is where Earl and Vera met, funnily enough, more than half a century ago. Last year, their anniversary fell on a Tuesday, and Vera came into The Reading Nook gushing about how they’d been married for fifty-three years officially. Honey had asked and she had gotten the full story– that Vera and her girls (the same knitting group) went dancing in Scruffy’s after their senior prom ended and it was there that she was asked to dance by the most handsome man in the joint. That man was Earl, who won Vera over with just once dance, and they were dating by the end of the night. He was sent to Vietnam less than two months later, but they were married in a short ceremony the night before he was shipped off. Earl was 21. Vera was 17.

It’s a little gross to Honey, but she’s impressed that they stuck it out this long. She’s impressed that Vera and Earl still love each other, even after fifty years. They had multiple kids, lived in the same small town their whole life except for Earl’s stint in ‘Nam, and they’re still happy. Part of the reason why Honey came to Litchton after leaving Charlotte is because of relationships like Vera and Earl’s– they stand the test of time up in the mountains. Everybody finds their person.

Honey loves Scruffy’s because it represents the culture of Litchton. It’s one of the longest-running businesses in the area. It’s a place where people go to meet, dance, and have fun. There aren’t many places like it anymore. Honey would much rather go to Scruffy’s than join Bea on a night out in Winston-Salem– it’s where she first learned to play pool.

Selfishly, Honey wonders to herself about the odds of stealing Quinn away from Bea for a night of pool. It would frustrate Bea to no end– and it might be the perfect revenge.

“Before we get in there, I want you to know that you’re not playing pool tonight,” Bea says as if she can read Honey’s thoughts. “And if I see you by the pool table, I’m telling the boys that you blew Trevor in the closet.”

Honey’s jaw drops. “First kidnapping, now blackmail? Who are you? What have the boys turned you into, a villain?”

Bea laughs, a twinkling sound that has her whole body rolling. “Baby, I was always a villain,” Bea says with a wink. “The boys are just encouraging me to be the worst version of myself.”

“Yeah, at my expense,” Honey shoots back.

Bea just grins. “Exactly!”

With that, Bea swings open the door and the girls step into the bar. It’s shabby and dive bar-esque, but the music spilling from the speakers near the stage transforms the place. 

The band is made up of a group of local dads who have been playing in the area since they were teens, having abandoned their big dream of becoming rock stars to settle down in their hometown with their wives and families. Honey has hustled most of these guys before at the pool table, although she’s never been quite able to beat Andrew, who plays bass for the band. 

Whereas the wood floor seems creaky when there’s silence in the halls, now it seems to glimmer beneath the dancing feet that adorn it. The exposed brick walls echo the laughter of drinkers in the booths, reflecting the cheers of when a new round appears as if by a miracle.

Bea leads Honey to the back of the bar, where they find the boys in one of the bigger booths. Quinn is sat on the edge of the booth next to his brothers and he easily pulls Bea onto his lap, perching her on his thigh. Honey stands at the end of the booth, her palms flat against the table separating the groups of boys.

“You can sit right here, Honey.” Cole offers his own thigh, gesturing to the “seat” like Vanna White. 

Honey forces a smile onto her face. “I’ll stand.”

“No, you don’t have to stand,” Trevor jumps in, trapped between the wall and Jamie on Cole’s side of the booth. “We can find you a chair.”

“It doesn’t look like you’ll be escaping anytime soon to find me one,” Honey retorts. She’s pleased that he’s stuck in the booth, but she’s still itching to put some distance between them. “Jimmy-Jam, want to go dance?”

“Sure, Honey,” Jamie says with a smile, nudging Cole so the boy can let him out of the booth.

“Oh, that’s too cute,” Bea coos. “Honey and Jam. You’re like a little kindergartener’s lunchtime sandwich.”

Honey and Jamie, now standing next to each other, turn and make eye contact. They evaluate each other briefly, then Jamie shrugs. “I guess it is like that.”

Honey sees Trevor frown, but puts the image out of her mind. Focusing on Trevor leads to disaster (like in the closet), which leads to even more disasters (the bouquet of flowers and Trevor tripping over himself to date Honey), so Honey really ought to avoid him altogether. She drags Jamie off, across the bar and towards the dance floor, finding a place near the stage. They’re dancing with the music on one side and the old, 1950s pinball machine on the other.

Honey loses track of time, spinning with Jamie under the dim light of the bar. The spotlights are all trained on the lead singer of the band, a man named Arn who is still desperately clinging to the hair left on his head. 

She and Jamie laugh and talk as they dance, having the best time. It’s Jamie’s last night in town, he reveals during one of the slower songs of the set. He’s driving back to Charlotte tomorrow with Trevor, flying out of North Carolina and back to Toronto around two in the afternoon. The men are singing ‘Amarillo By Morning’ by George Strait and Honey is overcome with a brief feeling of sadness.

“You’re really leaving?” Honey asks. “So soon?”

Jamie smiles, sympathetic and sad. He nods gently, squeezing Honey’s hand in his own. “Z only booked me for a week.”

“Cancel your flight.” Honey pouts, resting her forehead on Jamie’s shoulder, pulling him closer with the hand on his shoulderblades. “You should stay.”

Jamie drops a kiss on the crown of her head, then rests his chin on top of where he laid his lips. “I’ll text you all the time.”

Honey wishes she could stomp her foot and put a petulant glare on her face until Jamie relents, but she knows it’s just not realistic. 

“I should warn you,” Jamie whispers into Honey’s hair. “Trevor’s coming over here and he’s not going to take no for an answer.”

Honey looks over her shoulder and catches Trevor’s eyes as he approaches. He’s determined, staring directly at Honey.

“May I?” Trevor asks when he makes it to the pair, nodding to Jamie in a dismissal. 

Honey feels betrayed the moment Jamie lifts her hand to his lips and plants a kiss on her knuckles. He’s got a hint of laughter glimmering in his eyes and if she weren’t so sad he’s leaving tomorrow, she would pop him on the noggin for abandoning her. 

Jamie hands her off to Trevor, placing her palm in his, and Honey suddenly feels shy.

Trevor pulls her close, reaching his arm around her waist and clutching at her opposing ribs. Her hand rests in his, just inches away from their bodies. Her other hand slides across his back and her fingertips brush the hair at the nape of his neck. She peeks over Trevor’s shoulder, watching Jamie walk away. 

The band is playing something more upbeat now, a modern country song that Honey vaguely recognizes. 

Jack and Bea are dancing off to their left, halfway across the dance floor in the direct middle, and Jack is trying to spin himself under Bea’s arm. She’s giggling and Jack tumbles against her, crowding her space. His hands find Bea’s hips and he sways against her, leaning in to touch his nose to Bea’s own. She throws her arms around his neck and allows him to dip her, pecking his lips on the way back up. 

Trevor’s not as energetic. He sways with Honey, but his touch is more like a grasp than a lead. Honey aches.

“Why didn’t you ask Jamie to stay longer?” Honey asks quietly. She’s embarrassed to ask the question at all, embarrassed to admit that she’d grown so fond of the boy. She knows that they’re all just visiting, but saying goodbye to Jamie is a daunting task that makes Honey think of why she left Charlotte. 

“I did,” Trevor replies, surprising her. “I asked him if he would stay for another week, but he’s anxious to get back to his buddies and training. He’s got his own summer routine.” Trevor’s temple presses against Honey’s own, his mouth hovering right next to her ear. “He only came because I was desperate.”

Honey fails to respond to his statement with anything more than a hum. She’s distracted, watching the remaining boys at the table polish off a pitcher of beer. Quinn stands to get more and brushes off Bea’s invitation to come dance with a good-natured wave. 

The band starts to play a cover of one of Bea’s favorite songs, a duet between a man and a woman that Honey only remembers because of how anguished the couple sounds. The lyrics of the song are something about begging for time to come back and Honey grimaces at how real the song feels.

“I wish he didn’t have to leave,” Honey admits, the pout on her face feeling permanent. 

“Me too,” Trevor says. It’s reassuring. “I’ll miss him.”

“Yeah.”

Trevor steps away, raising his hand and guiding Honey underneath it. He guides her through a series of steps, surprising Honey with his sureness and precision. She ends up facing the stage, her back pressed against Trevor’s chest. 

“How do you know how to dance?” Honey asks, a little laugh affecting her words.

“Cotillion and lots of weddings in the summers,” Trevor replies, spinning Honey away and then pulling her back into their original position. He smiles, inches from her face. “I know my way around the floor, just never really had a partner to dance with.”

Honey’s smile fades as he reaches the end of his sentence. She pulls away from him, dipping her head to avoid his eyes. Her hands fall to her sides, then she hugs herself, shaking her head. “We’re not partners, Trevor,” Honey says. “That isn’t what this is.”

Trevor’s own hands fall to his pockets. He’s got jeans on, and some creased white sneakers, and it’s the most dressed up Honey has ever seen him. He looks normal, like any other guy that she would dance with in another bar– in another life. 

“What is it, then?” Trevor asks. He’s not pushy. He doesn’t sound curious. He just sounds resigned. 

“A mistake,” Honey whispers, rubbing over the goosebumps on her arms to try and soothe them away. “We hooked up once, Trevor.”

“Honey.” Trevor’s face falls and it’s a sight that makes Honey want to run for the hills. “It wasn’t a mistake.”

Honey bites the inside of her cheek, thinking over her next words carefully. “You’re reading too much into it.”

“And you’re running away from it. Give me a chance, Honey,” Trevor implores, reaching for her hand again. “I promise, I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I just want you to give me a chance.”

Honey pulls away. “I can’t do this again, Trevor.”

“I need you,” Trevor says.

The words settle in Honey’s stomach like a cinderblock at the bottom of the lake. He’s telling the truth– Honey does not see an ounce of doubt in his eyes. 

“Honey, I have not been able to think about anything except you for weeks,” Trevor continues. “Please.”

Honey steps back, her throat tight. Her eyes are darting every which way, just trying to avoid Trevor. She can’t hold his eyes for longer than a second, but a second is long enough to shake her head. 

She leaves him on the dance floor, joining the boys at the booth. She squeezes herself between Jamie and Luke, leaning into her friend’s figure. Jamie wraps his arm around Honey’s shoulders and she buries her face in his chest, squeezing her eyes shut. 

She’s right. She can’t do this again. She left her hometown after her last real relationship soured and rotted. Honey cannot let the same thing happen to her life in Litchton, especially not when Trevor’s going to leave at the end of the summer anyway. She’ll never see him again once he’s gone and things will go back to normal. It’s better this way.

25:90 – TREVOR

“I can’t believe you have to go,” Trevor says. He and Jamie are parked in the daily garage outside of Charlotte’s airport. 

“You’re the one who booked the ticket,” Jamie replies, the same excuse he’s used every time Trevor has brought up the end of his stay in Litchton. He’s got half of a smile on his face as he looks at Trevor.

“You could’ve changed it,” Trevor argues.

Jamie scoffs, laughing. “Dude.” He opens the passenger door and starts to climb out of the car. “You’re never going to make any moves on Honey while I’m still here.” He slams the door shut and rounds the car, pressing the button so that the trunk starts to open.

Trevor gets out of the car and joins Jamie in the back. He hops up and sits on the edge of the trunk, letting his feet dangle. “Was she serious about what she said to me last night?”

Jamie furrows his eyebrows. “What did she say? She didn’t tell me anything.”

Now it’s Trevor’s turn to be confused. “She didn’t say anything when she went back to the table?”

“No,” Jamie says. “Should she have?”

“I mean…” Trevor trails off.

“What did you do?” Jamie groans, rubbing a hand over his face. He grabs his carry on and sets it on the ground next to him.

“I didn’t do anything, really,” Trevor replies. He looks at his nails, then brings his index finger to his mouth to bite off a hangnail. “She just… shut down.”

“What did Honey say?” Jamie repeats, voice hard. He’s staring at Trevor now, eyes full of disdain. 

“That hooking up with me was a mistake and she can’t do it again,” Trevor says begrudgingly, a sarcastic smile on his face. 

“That’s… weird. I’m going to call her when I get through security.” Jamie extends the handle of his carry on, then kicks the bag so it’s perched on two of its wheels, ready to roll out. “You should go to the store when you get back. You finished that book today, right?”

“Yeah, this morning,” Trevor confirms.

“Return it. Buy it, I don’t care. Just talk to her– you can win her over.” Jamie shrugs. “I know she’s got some baggage that she doesn’t really like to talk about, but you could always ask. That’s how I won her over.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you got to kiss her,” Trevor grumbles.

Jamie takes a deep breath. “On that note, I’m out.” He reaches out to pull Trevor onto his feet and into a hug, clapping him on the back. “Thanks for the week, Trev. Don’t let her push you away, really. She likes you, I can tell. She’s just not ready to admit it yet.”

Trevor pulls away, dapping Jamie up as he does so. “I’ll try.”

“Just be yourself,” Jamie corrects. “Don’t try too hard.”

“Yeah, you’re right, she’d hate that,” Trevor says, chuckling to himself a bit.

“She’d hate that,” Jamie confirms at the same time. 

They stand in the parking garage for a moment longer, chuckling until their laughter dies in the wind. Trevor clears his throat and smiles, pulling Jamie in for another hug.

“Have a safe flight, Jim,” Trevor says. 

“Have a safe drive, Z.” Jamie begins to walk away, raising his hand over his head in a wave. “See you when the Ducks play the Flyers.”

“Yeah, if neither of us gets traded– again– before that,” Trevor adds. He closes the trunk of the car and climbs back behind the steering wheel. 

“Get over it!” Jamie’s voice is distant, echoing off the cars. 

Trevor responds by slamming his door and laying on the horn. 

He pulls out of the garage, paying the toll, and finds his way to the highway. He’s heading north to Litchton and he’s got about an hour of interstate time before he pulls off and takes the winding mountain roads the rest of the way. 

Trevor spends all of that time trying to stop thinking about Honey. He plays his music and sings out loud. He rolls his windows down and lets the wind wash over his face, messing up his hair in every direction. He even tries out an audiobook, which he hates, and turns it off within five minutes of starting it. 

The drive goes by faster than he thinks it will, or maybe it’s just getting easier each time he does it. 

Trevor feels a little bit like he does every time he heads back to Anaheim after the summer now that Jamie’s gone. The feeling never changes, even though he’s gotten better at managing it. It’s pure melancholy– knowing that he won’t see Jamie again for so long. It’s like when he leaves the Hughes boys or Cole, or even worse, when he visits home for a while and has to leave his family behind.

Trevor pulls into the driveway of the rental house, leaving the car running while he heads inside to grab his book. 

He knows just the cure for this weird mood that he’s found himself in.

Honey.

From the kitchen, Luke asks Trevor what he’s doing, but Trevor pays him no mind. He’s busy. Once he’s got his book in his hand, he’s walking back out the door and taking off in the car. 

He plows past Quinn, who is pulling back into the driveway after spending the night with Bea. That’s the best news yet for Trevor– if Quinn is only just now getting home from Bea’s place, then Bea is still getting ready to go to The Reading Nook. There’s a good chance that Honey is alone. 

Trevor has to get there first– he has to talk to Honey without a crutch. He’s going to convince her that he’s worth it. He just has to be less… direct. The commitment to Trevor is what’s scaring Honey, he can tell, and her fear is the one thing that’s really holding them back.

After almost a month on the mountaintop, Trevor feels comfortable enough to take the curves up the mountain the same way Honey does, loose and fast. He makes it up the mountain in record time and pulls into the grocery store parking lot, but walks the opposite way. 

He approaches The Reading Nook and finds the front of the store mostly empty. There are a few adults wandering around, but he doesn’t see Honey. 

Trevor follows the echo of voices to the back of the store, through the stacks to the cozy children’s reading area, where Honey is perched on a stool with a short picture book in hand. There are about fifteen kids of different ages crowded around her, all giving her their rapt attention as she reads the story. 

The book is familiar to Trevor– he was about the same age as these kids when his teacher read this book to his class for the first time. He doesn’t remember the name of the book, or the message, but he remembers the image of the dark-haired girl’s skin turning into rainbow stripes. Trevor’s face twists at the mention of lima beans, but he quickly realizes that he just forgot about that very important (and absurd) detail.

Honey hasn’t noticed him yet– she’s making faces at the children and doing different voices for each character. She’s making the toddlers giggle and the school-aged kids howl. Her nose is almost constantly scrunched up, accompanying a smile, and it’s infectious.

Trevor crosses his arms against his chest and leans on the edge of one of the stacks, admiring Honey. He’s hidden among the parents, smiling a little at the anonymity. In his mind, he’s acting out a movie scene where he’s waiting to pick his girlfriend up for a date and she’s running late because she’s nurturing the youth of the town. Trevor imagines Honey’s face lighting up when she spots him. He imagines Honey wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss when he approaches.

The real thing is not quite as romantic. 

As Honey is closing the book, wiggling her eyebrows at the kids and laughing a little when they whine and beg for another story, she scans the faces of the parents around Trevor. When she spots him, he gives her a little wave, and her mouth straightens into a thin line. It’s the only indication that she’s seen him because she just keeps looking around the room.

There’s a little boy kneeling in front of her, pulling at her skirt and pouting when she waves him off. 

“Luca, I’m not Bea,” Honey teases. “I’m a one story kind of girl and you got a long one today.” She taps his nose with a smile, which causes the little boy to giggle and grab at her fingers.

“It’s a shame, you know,” the mom next to Trevor says. “He loves it when she reads.”

“She’s entertaining,” Trevor agrees, not sure why she’s talking to him.

“Is this your first time at Story Time? I don’t think I’ve met you before. I’m Jessie,” the woman says, sticking her hand out for Trevor to shake. “Luca is mine. Which one is yours?”

Trevor shakes her hand, but lets out a relieved breath. “Trevor. I’m not a dad. I’m just here to drop my book off and I didn’t see Honey up at the counter.”

Jessie laughs. “Is Bea still not here? She used to be so much better about being here on time. It’s not like her to miss Story Time.”

“I think something came up,” Trevor covers, knowing full well that Bea and Quinn were tied up in the sheets until the early hours of the morning. 

“I was 22 once,” Jessie says, a smile curving her lips. 

“Mmm, and I heard rumors that you and Tyler used to drink at the water tower when you were 16,” Honey interrupts, sidling up next to Jessie and Trevor. The little boy, Luca, is attached to her side, hugging her thigh with one arm and sucking his thumb with the other. “So I can’t imagine the trouble you got up to at 22, Jessie.”

“A lady never kisses and tells,” Jessie replies, leaning in to press a kiss on Honey’s cheek. “Thank you for the amazing performance, as always. Luca wishes you would read more often. He misses you.”

“He barely has time to miss me now that his Mommy stays at home with him,” Honey says fondly. She reaches down to ruffle Luca’s hair and puts her hands under his armpits to lift him up. She sets the boy on her hip and presses a kiss to his forehead before handing him off to Jessie. 

Jessie takes her son and sets him on her own hip. Luca wiggles in her grasp, reaching for Honey. He whines, lower lip wobbling when his mom won’t let him go back to Honey. “Maybe Honey can come hang out with you sometime soon,” Jessie soothes her son. She looks to Honey. “Mommy and Dad can go out to dinner.”

Honey giggles, cooing as she reaches to wipe the fat tears from the corners of Luca’s eyes. “I’d be happy to babysit my favorite little man. Just call me when you decide on a date night and I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Honey.” Jessie bounces Luca on her hip. “Say bye to Honey, baby.”

Still pouting, Luca raises his hand and waves. It’s less of a wave and more just the toddler flopping his wrist around so his hand moves, but Honey returns the wave nonetheless.

“Nice meeting you, Trevor,” Jessie calls as she walks away. Luca turns in her arms and his big eyes peer at Honey for as long as they can. She’s smiling at the boy until he and his mother are out of eyesight, then she turns to Trevor.

“What do you want?” Honey asks, crossing her arms over her chest. 

It never fails to impress Trevor how quickly she can turn on and turn off her charm. Not that he’s not charmed by this. He’s always charmed by Honey, even when she’s being mean.

“I’m here to return my book,” Trevor explains, lifting the item so she can see the cover. “Or buy it, I haven’t decided yet.”

“You can’t buy it,” Honey says in a monotone voice. 

“Why not?”

“Because I said so.” She walks off toward the counter and Trevor follows.

“That’s a stupid reason.”

“Well, it’s a stupid reason for a stupid person. Fitting.”

“Hey,” Trevor laments. 

Honey looks up at him, sliding onto her stool behind the counter. She holds her palm out, ready for Trevor to balance the book on the surface. “Give me the book.”

Trevor holds onto the book with both of his hands, frowning at Honey. “No,” he replies. “Ask nicely. You’re being mean.”

“I could be a lot meaner,” Honey says, pointedly glaring at Trevor as she snatches the book from his grasp. She types something on the computer, then slides the book onto a cart behind her. When she turns around, she folds her hands on the counter and stares at Trevor. “Do you want your receipt?”

Trevor makes a face. “No, I don’t want my receipt. What–”

“Good. Get out.”

Trevor’s mouth is agape. He’s staring at Honey in bewilderment. “I thought Jamie talked to you.”

“He did.”

Trevor flounders, trying to think of a response for her curt, two-word sentence. It’s barely even a sentence! It doesn’t even have a predicate! He fails to think of an answer and stands uselessly at the counter, unmoving in front of Honey. 

Honey waits. She watches him. They’re still for a good minute, just looking at each other until Honey pulls a book out from under the counter and opens it. She flips to a page about a quarter of the way through and begins to read.

Trevor is still standing in front of her.

The store has cleared out for the most part. A few children and parents are still in the kids section and an older woman is sitting at one of the tables near the back room, flipping through her own book. 

Trevor leans down, crossing his arms and leveling himself against the counter. He sets his chin on his hands and waits for Honey to look at him.

“What are you doing?” She asks, barely glancing at him before turning the page and cocking her head to the side, paying extra attention to the new words on the left side of her book. 

“I’m hanging out with you.”

“Why?” Honey’s lip curls in judgment and she scoffs. 

“Because you cheer me up, and the boys wouldn’t get it.”

“The boys wouldn’t get what?” Her eyes linger on him a little longer this time before returning to her book.

“They won’t be sad that Jamie left, but I know you are. We can be miserable together,” Trevor says, batting his eyelashes at Honey. 

She just looks him up and down, then pushes his arms off the counter.

Trevor straightens up. “C’mon, Honey. It’s hard to be apart from your friends, especially if they’re more like family. I was just hoping to see you.”

“Because seeing me makes you feel better,” Honey adds, unimpressed. She glares at Trevor for a moment, then turns to the next page of her book.

“I like hanging out with you. It’s easy to forget my problems when you’re around.”

“Good line.”

“It’s not a line, it’s actually how I feel.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize you were so in tune with your emotions.”

“You, of all people, should know that I’m a big fan of following the heart.”

“I couldn’t possibly care less about your heart, Trev–”

There’s a rustle of paper and a thud as the older lady sets her book down. “Honey,” she snaps.

Honey lights up at the interruption, looking over to the woman. “Yes, Ada?”

“Put the poor boy out of his misery,” Ada scolds, a tilted frown on her face. “You’re not helping him.”

“Ada–” Honey tries.

The woman raises her hand. “I don’t want to hear it. One of your friends is upset and you’re being rude to him.”

“I promise you, he’s not–” Honey says, but she’s interrupted again.

“I want you to take the day off tomorrow and spend it with him.” Ada nods at Trevor, then continues. “Because we spread kindness in this town. We do not perpetuate another person’s misery.”

Honey ducks her head. “Yes, ma’am,” she grumbles.

Ada picks her book back up and flips through the pages. “Now I’ve lost my page,” she complains. “Consider how Christ would view your actions, Honey, and how they affect others around you.”

Honey gawks at the woman, affronted and angry, shown by the tilt of her eyebrows. She snaps her jaw shut and looks up to the sky, thoughts racing behind her eyes and through her mind. 

Trevor’s got an amused little smile on his face, but he wipes it from his expression before Honey can spot it.

“Well, you got what you wanted,” Honey snaps. “Bea will text you the directions. We’re hiking up Stone Mountain. It’s an hour drive from here. I’ll meet you there at ten. Don’t be late, or else I’m starting the hike without you.”

“Do you want me to bring a sandwich for you?” Trevor asks, careful not to argue with Honey. He remembers Jamie packing a lunch for Honey and he wants to do the same– maybe if he recreates Jamie’s hike, then he’ll have the same success.

Honey looks at him with disdain. “I’ll pack my own. Thanks. Go away.”

Ada hums, but doesn’t look up. 

Honey cuts her eyes at the older woman, but plasters a smile on her face when her eyes return to Trevor’s. She turns her charm on, just for appearances. “Thank you for visiting The Reading Nook. Feel free to come back anytime.”

Her voice is sweet, customer service-y, but she’s glaring at Trevor and shaking her head ‘no’ as she says the words. She does not want him to return. 

Trevor most certainly will be back, if only to plant a smacker on Honey’s boss and thank her for the set-up. “See you tomorrow, Honey.”

“Yep.”

Trevor walks away, but he catches another scolding from Ada to Honey as he walks away. It sounds like Ada wants Honey to attend church this Sunday.

Maybe he can convince Bea to bring him and the other boys along.

26:90 – HONEY

She’s standing at the trailhead, next to the information board. Honey’s been here a thousand times, the view at the top of the mountain being one of her favorites in all of western North Carolina, and Trevor is late. It’s 10:11 and she told him to be on time or else she would start without him. It was an empty threat, but now she’s really considering it.

Honey’s phone rings in her bag and she has to scramble to dig it out.

“Hello?” She asks, not glancing at the screen. There are only a few people that have her number and would know that she’s off work today. Those people are Ada and Bea– and Honey is pretty sure Ada isn’t calling her.

“Trevor wants to know where you are.” Bea’s voice is choppy due to the service being so finicky in this area. 

“What? I’m at the trailhead. Right next to the sign. He doesn’t see me?” Honey asks, searching the parking lot. She raises a hand above her hand and waves. “I’m waving. Tell him to look for the girl who’s waving.”

“I don’t have two phones,” Bea snaps. “How am I meant to talk to you both at the same time?”

“Yes, you do,” Honey scoffs. Of course Bea has two phones– she’s at work right now. She can use the store phone to call Trevor and relay the message. “Use the phone at the Nook.”

Bea groans into the phone. “That’s so much work. Are you sure I can’t just give him your number?”

“Absolutely, I’m sure! What the fuck?” Honey exclaims, covering her eyes with her hand. “I told you no.”

“Okay, well, I didn’t listen. I already gave it to him, but he wanted me to call you first.”

Honey opens her mouth, a snarl rising up her throat.

“Have fun with your loverboy!” Bea laughs a little as she hangs up, the dial tone ringing in Honey’s ear. 

Honey pulls the phone away from her ear and scowls to herself, closing her eyes and looking up to the sky to calm herself. Bea has been on her nerves lately. Honey understands that the girl wants what’s best for Honey, but good God– does she have to meddle so much?

The phone starts to ring in her hand, a (914) number flashing across the screen. Honey stares at it, letting the phone ring a few times before she answers it.

“Hello?” She asks as she answers, annoyed.

“Honey? It’s Trevor.”

“I figured.”

“Where are you? I’m at the trailhead.”

Honey blinks, then looks around her. “No, you’re not. I’m at the trailhead.”

“No, you’re not? I don’t see you.”

Honey looks at the information sign next to her. She reads the location in her head, then it dawns on her. She winces, covering her eyes with her hand again. “Are you in the upper parking lot?” She wipes her face, then her hand drops to her hip. “Look at the sign next to you.”

Trevor is silent on the other end of the call. After a moment, his sheepish voice fills Honey’s ear. “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Honey sighs. “This is Bea’s fault. I’ll come to you.”

“No, I’ll come to you!” Trevor corrects, sounding like he’s already jogging back to his car. “Don’t move an inch. I’ll be there soon.”

He hangs up, leaving Honey standing next to the lower trailhead. She’s lucky that no one really wants to hike the five-mile loop that Honey chose, especially not in the summer, otherwise there would be a constant stream of people passing her while she waits for her date.

Not that it’s a date. She’s being forced.

Trevor is racing across the parking lot towards Honey before she knows it, catching her hand in his as he approaches and panting out an apology. “I didn’t know there were two different trailheads,” he says. 

Honey pulls her hand away. “It’s okay. Bea should’ve told you.”

Unable to take a hint, Trevor just grins. “Well, now you have my number. We can just talk directly.”

“I already had your number. I don’t want to talk to you directly. That’s why I made you go through Bea,” Honey tells him, turning her back and starting up the trail. 

Trevor follows after her, quickly falling into step next to Honey. “You already had my number?”

Honey hums, nodding. “Bea gave it to me.”

“Why didn’t you use it?” Trevor wonders.

“Because I didn’t want to.” Honey adjusts her bag on her shoulders. She keeps her fingers wrapped around the straps as she walks, just in case Trevor does something stupid like try to hold Honey’s hand. 

“Honey, I really think you should just give me a chance–”

“Do you run, Trevor?” Honey asks, cutting him off.

“Not really. I’ll do sprints and stuff on the ice, but I’m not really a runner,” Trevor replies, making a confused face at Honey. “I broke my–”

“Cool.” Honey tightens the straps of her bag and looks down to make sure her shoelaces are double-knotted. “Race you to the peak. Just follow the trail.”

She takes off, putting distance between herself and Trevor. Honey hasn’t run consistently in a while, but she’s able to manage her breath well enough to run the two miles to the stone top of the mountain. Trevor plods along after her, but she loses him about a mile into the run.

Honey catches her breath once she breaks through the trees and steps onto the clearing of the peak. The stone is ashy and dry, but the different shades of stone across the face of the mountain give off the appearance of a waterfall. 

Honey reaches into her bag and takes out her camera, looking through the viewfinder to capture the skyline. She takes a few pictures, even balances her camera on a rock to set up her own timer picture. Finally, she hears the pounding of feet against ground coming up the trail and she turns her camera on the entrance to the clearing.

She captures Trevor’s final moments in quick succession– the relief that the run is finally over, the way his breath continues to run away from him even as his feet slow, and the annoyance washing over his face at the sound of Honey’s laughter.

He stalks toward her, grimacing noticeably when he steps out with his left foot. Honey dances away from him, evading his grasp and snapping pictures as she goes, giggling at his annoyance. The more Honey steps away from Trevor, the harder he tries to catch her, and the harder it is for him to keep a smile from making its way onto his face. 

Honey documents the whole thing– the transformation of his gaze from irritated to playful, the growing curve of his lips into a fuckass smile and a laugh, and the final moment when he snatches the camera out of her hand. 

Trevor turns the lens on her, snapping away and getting all up in her face. She pushes him, and the camera, away when she notices him trying to zoom in up her nostrils. He’s so fucking weird. 

Honey takes the camera back from him and tucks it into her bag, swapping the item for her lunch. It’s a little crumpled up from the time in her bag, but the food is still good. She reaches for her peach, looking to snack on the sweet fruit. She pauses when her hand brushes against the second peach she packed– the peach that she packed for Trevor.

“You know, you were right the other day,” Trevor says. 

Honey can hear just how feigned his nonchalance is from the second he opens his mouth. He’s thought this moment out, probably reenacted an idealized version in the shower yesterday, but he’s still hesitant to say anything.

“I really haven’t spent enough time trying to get to know you.”

Honey’s head snaps up, eyes fixing on Trevor. That’s not what she expected him to say. She doesn’t know where she thought this was going, but it wasn’t here.

“I want to know you, you know?” Trevor continues with a shrug. “I don’t want to have you around just to have you around. I want to know everything about you.”

Bea’s voice echoes in Honey’s ears. “I want him to be open with me. I want to talk to him about everything.” The realization washes over Honey like a spill soaking into a paper towel. She feels sticky, a result of the understanding, and a little panicked. Trevor likes me the way Bea likes Quinn. 

Honey ducks her head and studies the peach in her hand. It’s fuzzy and prickly against her fingertips, grating against the grooves of her fingerprints. She turns it over, moving the fruit from one hand to the other. It’s mostly red, dark and ripe. It’s got a bruise near the bottom and the stem is still intact. Honey picks it, twisting until it comes free, and she flicks it away.

Trevor keeps talking. Honey is barely listening, but he captures her attention again with an apology.

“I’m sorry I haven’t put more time into getting to know you– I was caught up in how I felt about you. It’s kind of shallow, but I think I didn’t try hard enough to talk to you because I felt like I already knew you.”

Honey stares at him, lips parted. They’re growing dry with each ragged breath she draws in, but she can’t speak.

“I feel… tied to you. You’re special,” Trevor explains, finally floundering over himself. Honey expects that he didn’t think he would get this far. “I’ve never had to try to prove myself to someone before, and I probably should’ve given up by now, but I just… I like you so much, Honey. I feel like I can’t lose you, and I don’t even have you yet.”

“You don’t even know me,” Honey says, a weak defense.

“That’s my problem,” Trevor agrees. “I haven’t even tried.”

“No, you haven’t.” Honey’s voice is far away, indicative of the mess of flames and smoke swirling around in her head. 

“Will you let me get to know you?” Trevor asks. He has stepped forward, closing in on Honey, and the hem of her t-shirt has found its way between his thumb and index finger. He’s just feeling the fabric, unaware that he’s keeping her from stepping away with his featherlight touch. His mouth quirks at the edges and he gives her shirt a little tug. “I’m desperate,” he adds in the wake of Honey’s silence, looking a little amused at his own words.

Honey tears her eyes away from the pinched fabric between his fingers. She lets her bottom lip drop from between her teeth, an unconscious reaction to Trevor’s words that she finally recognized and corrected before she drew blood. Her hands are shaking, so Honey tightens her grip on her peach and clamps the fingers of her other hand on her wrist. 

Trevor notices, of course he does.

“I don’t want to push you if you’re not ready,” he says, dropping his hand to his side. Honey misses the weight of it already. “I really will take anything you want to give me, Honey.”

“I can’t date you,” Honey says. “I can’t do that.”

“If I asked why, would you tell me?” Trevor prods delicately.

Honey shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Is it because of me?” Trevor asks, some reluctance seeping onto his face. He looks down and scuffs his shoes against the stone face of the mountain. “Is it because I’m in the NHL?”

Honey shakes her head. 

Trevor barely catches the movement, only looking up at Honey when her silence stretches too long. “It’s not me?” He asks, his features softening.

Honey could cry. His concern, his relief, his overwhelming and obvious desire for her, and his ability to just come out and say it is too much. She lets out a breath, reaching out to pinch the hem of Trevor’s shirt the same way he held hers. She tugs him closer and Trevor comes easily, tilting his head and raking his eyes over her features in admiration. He brings a hand up to her jaw, thumbing over her cheek.

“It’s not you,” Honey tells him quietly. “I’m just… stuck.”

“What do you mean?” Trevor asks, matching her pitch. He traces the collar of her shirt.

“I moved to Litchton five years ago after some stuff happened in my hometown. It wasn’t pretty and I kind of, you know… swore off dating and everyone from Charlotte except Bea,” Honey explains, ducking her head to the side and sighing in the middle of her sentence. “So I can’t date you, Trevor. I’m not there.”

“We don’t need to date,” Trevor assures her. He pauses, then rolls his eyes and cringes. He forces his next words out, an edge cutting into his voice. “We can be friends if that’s what you want.”

“Oh my God, I hate you,” Honey sighs. “Obviously I don’t want to be your friend, Trevor.”

“Yeah, for a second I forgot that you hate me,” Trevor says. He twists his lips with an exaggerated “ugh,” then smiles at Honey. “I was thinking about the blowjob. It’s very hard to think you hate me when you’re swallowing my cum.”

Honey scoffs, clenching her jaw. “Fuck off.”

Trevor hums, pouting at her. “What do you want from me?”

She takes a deep breath, then glares at him through her eyelashes. She reaches into her bag and pulls out the second peach, dropping it in Trevor’s hand. “I want sex.”

“Now?” Trevor exclaims, looking around. There’s no one on the peak with them, but Honey shushes him anyway.

“Not now, you moron,” she chastises. “Why would we have sex now?”

“That’s a really good question,” Trevor says. He points at Honey, thinking for a moment. “I don’t know. I was just excited that you said that.”

Honey laughs and shakes her head. “Just sit down and eat your peach, Trevor.”

He nods, a big goofy smile on his face. Trevor plops down right where he stands, reaching for Honey’s hand and tugging her down to sit next to him. “Thank you for the peach.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So you were thinking about me,” Trevor teases. “Are you still ovulating?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Honey snaps, rubbing a hand over her face so that he can’t see the smile on her face. She only takes her hand away once her face smoothens itself out and she can look at him without blushing.

Trevor bites into his fruit and chews, watching Honey with an amused glint in his eyes. “Tell me more about you,” Trevor prompts through a mouthful.

“Well, for starters, I don’t like it when guys talk with food in their mouth,” Honey announces. 

“Mm, I guess I’m out of the running.” Trevor leans against Honey, taking another bite. 

Honey rolls her eyes, an unimpressed smirk taking over her mouth. “Just… shut up and I’ll tell you my favorite movie.”

Trevor lights up, then makes a show of zipping his lips, locking them, and throwing away the key. He bites his bottom lip and scoots closer, their knees touching. 

Honey doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t tell him anything substantive about her life either. Trevor doesn’t push her, although he does ask her a few questions that she has to shake her head at– the first: the names of all the people who made her want to leave Charlotte, the second: if he could lick the peach juice off her lips, just to name two examples. He’s frustrating and annoying and a loser, but Honey would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy herself. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t like Trevor’s company.

He tells her about his family on the way down the mountain. She tells him about how she doesn’t talk to her parents anymore. He tells her about his teammates and reveals a few embarrassing stories from the years he spent with the Hughes boys and Cole. Honey tells him about the times she and Bea would go out in the city and she’d hustle the pool players while Bea found a date. He tells her about how he broke his ankle this past year, and for a moment, Honey feels bad about making him run up the mountain after her. Then she remembers that he has her phone number now and he will certainly abuse that privilege, so she gets over her guilt quickly. Trevor talks about his life and Honey talks about hers– despite their differences, Honey likes hearing about his life as an athlete in California. It’s a side of life that she’s never heard about before. 

About halfway through the hike, Trevor’s hand brushes against Honey’s and she almost reaches to intertwine their fingers. She can barely hold back.

When they make it back to the parking lot, Trevor walks Honey to her car. He tries to open the door for her, but it’s locked, so Honey laughs at him a little bit. He pinches her hip for laughing, then swats her keys out of her hand to unlock the vehicle himself. He successfully opens the door for her and hands her keys back, then leans against the vehicle, blocking Honey from shutting the door. 

“Will you come over tomorrow?” Trevor asks.

“I think Bea already invited us over, so I’ll probably make an appearance.” Honey keeps her voice light, aloof. 

Trevor is unimpressed, frowning at her. “How can I get you to promise to come over?”

Honey mulls the question over, taking extra time before she responds just to make Trevor squirm a little. “Can you promise me something?” She asks as an answer to Trevor’s question.

“Anything,” Trevor vows, sincere in his words.

“I don’t want anyone to know about this. How am I supposed to maintain my street cred if I suddenly act like we’re friends?” 

Trevor chuckles a little, leaning down to press his lips to Honey’s cheek. They’re soft, but his skin is growing a tad bit scratchy. He must not have shaved this morning. “Whatever you want,” he says. “I promise to keep my mouth shut.”

“Then I promise to come over tomorrow,” Honey says with a smile. “Now, get away from my car before I run over your foot.”

“Yes ma’am,” Trevor drawls, raising his hands in surrender and stepping back. 

Honey reaches out and closes the driver’s side door, hitting the lock button out of instinct. Trevor hears the click and frowns at her, his eyebrows scrunched together. Honey rolls her eyes then waves goodbye, pulling out of her parking spot and heading home.

Trevor passes her on the highway ten minutes later and Honey can’t have that, so they race the rest of the way to Litchton.

She wins. Obviously.

27:90 – TREVOR

“Stop texting me!!! I’m at work!!!”

This morning, Trevor grinned at his phone. “I only texted you once and all I did was ask what you’ve got on today”

“& I’m not answering that! Stop being a creep! I can’t stand you”

“Ok, so sit down. Can’t a guy get to know a girl over text?”

“I am not telling you what I’m wearing. Do not sext me at work.”

“Whoa, whoa. I only asked what you’ve got on. Got GOING on. You’re a dirty girl, Honey.”

“Oh My God. What is your fucking problem?? Don’t make me block you, Trevor.”

“:(”

After the events of the hike yesterday, Trevor has been using and abusing Honey’s phone number. He texted her that he had gotten home safely last night, which she hadn’t replied to. He texted her a goodnight message, which she hadn’t replied to. He texted her a good morning, to which she gave a thumbs up. Taking that as a good sign, Trevor typed out a question of what Honey had going on today, but then giggled at the potential double entendre and sent “What have you got on today?” instead. 

He thought it would get him a reaction and the rewards he was reaping were so, so sweet. Talking to Honey, no matter how angry she was, was a joy. 

Trevor wants to do it all the time. He likes her so much. 

It feels impossible, but Trevor is even more connected to Honey than before. He’s on a high and has been since she told him that her hesitance is not his fault. 

The relief leaving his body was almost comparable with the feeling of Honey’s mouth around the head of his cock.

And once that image entered Trevor’s head, he was helpless. He couldn’t think of anything else all day. Honey is coming over tonight, and he’s been very, very hard since this morning.

It’s getting harder to hide from the boys, too. Trevor can only sit with a pillow halfway over his lap for so long before one of the four immature goons notices and starts to chirp. 

Trevor has reread his texts with Honey no less than six times since he sent his final sad face– now that Honey’s shift is just under an hour from ending, Trevor thinks it’s time to send her another message.

“When are you coming over? I miss you” Trevor types, not hesitating for a moment before he hits send. He grins at his phone like a goof, then tucks it into his pocket when Jack looks his way. Trevor pulls the edge of the pillow up to hide his erection from the boy. He’s really got to get his dick under control before the girls show up. He stands, drawing the eyes of the boys. 

“I’m going upstairs,” Trevor says. “Holler for me when the girls show up.”

Quinn snickers from the corner of the couch, his laughter breathy and quiet. Other than that, no one says anything, eyes glued on the television once again. Cole had turned on some reality show that Bea recommended, and all the boys are enraptured. 

Trevor pads upstairs, tugging his shirt off as he enters his bedroom. He collapses onto his bed, face down, and groans into his pillow. He stretches his limbs, feeling the joints in his shoulders pop. With a sigh, he rolls his hips once against the mattress before turning over and palming his cock. 

He scrolls on his phone for a while, mindlessly watching Instagram pictures load and clicking through stories. He fists his cock over his shorts, just holding the length. He glides his hand down to cup his balls and turns his phone off, shoving it under his pillow. 

Trevor feels himself out, squeezing and releasing his cock every so often. He’s not quite stroking, at least not until Honey’s face pops into his head again. 

“I want sex,” she had said the previous day. To say that Trevor was down for that was an understatement– sure, he wanted to be around Honey in more than a physical way, but he’d be an idiot if he pushed the topic. He’ll win Honey over eventually, but for now, he’ll just make her feel so good that she forgets she ever disliked him at all.

He can’t seem to decide which fantasy he wants to focus on while he takes care of his problem– it’s like every possible sexual encounter he could have with Honey is flashing through his mind at a rapid pace. He considers her hands, then her mouth, her tits, her pussy, over and over again, never deciding on one image as he starts to move his hand over his cock.

Trevor loses track of time and most of his clothes in the passing minutes. He’s only just wrapping his hand around his bare cock, imagining Honey’s soft lips against his own and her delicate fingers under his, when someone opens his bedroom door and gasps.

Trevor flinches, immediately scrambling to cover himself up with his blankets. “Dude!” Trevor exclaims, expecting to see one of the boys in his doorway. “Knock much?”

When he turns to face the intruder, Trevor pales when he sees that it’s Honey. Her eyes are wide and her mouth is open, one hand frozen on the doorknob and the other covering her heart like she’s a grandmother clutching at her pearls.

“I’m so sorry,” Honey rushes out. “I was just coming up here to yell at you for being fucking annoying, I didn’t realize you were… occupied. I’m just gonna–”

She starts to turn, pulling the door behind her, but Trevor calls out her name to stop her. 

“No, you should stay,” Trevor corrects. “After all, you’re here in my imagination. You might as well watch in real life.”

“Watch?” Honey snaps, incredulous. “Have you lost your mind?”

Trevor pushes the covers off his body, fisting his dick and stroking it back to full hardness after it had flagged a bit upon Honey’s original intrusion. It’s not difficult to get back to the point where Trevor was before she walked in, just the sight of her causing a chill to run up his spine. He bites his lip and groans when he swipes his thumb over his slit, spreading his precum over his tip. 

Honey is still frozen, but her eyes are drawn to Trevor’s cock and her bottom lip has found its way between her teeth. 

“Better yet,” Trevor continues, allowing his hand to stop moving and rest at his base. His cock jumps in his hand, seeking out more friction. “Why watch when you could help?”

Honey’s jaw drops again, blinking in surprise. “Help?” She repeats.

“You still want sex, don’t you?” Trevor asks. “You told me so.”

“I– well, yeah,” Honey says, stumbling over her words. She opens her mouth to say something else, but ends up shaking her head and shrugging. 

“So come here,” Trevor beckons. “I don’t bite, unless you want me to. I was just thinking about how your fingers would feel on my cock. Will you show me?”

He starts to move his hand over his cock again, slowly. His skin slides against his palm, the glide that was harsh at first becoming more and more effortless as he continues to leak precum from his tip. 

The shock of the moment has painted a pretty pink blush across Honey’s cheeks and her open mouth further exacerbates her dangerously attractive cheekbones, reminding Trevor of the way they looked when her lips were wrapped around his cock. Honey stays frozen, but Trevor can see that her nipples have grown hard and are pebbling against the fabric of her shirt. She’s not wearing a bra. Excellent.

“Honey,” Trevor says, waiting for her eyes to find his. “Please don’t make me ask again.”

Honey shakes her head. “No. Ask me again.” She takes a step forward, then another. 

Trevor relents, watching her approach the end of the bed. “C’mere,” he pleads. “Come help me.”

Honey climbs onto the bed and crawls toward Trevor, running her hands up his thighs and sitting back on her heels between his legs. She runs her hands up over his hips, deliberately avoiding his groin in favor of feeling over his stomach and sides. 

Trevor drops his cock, lacing his fingers behind his head. His member stands away from his hips, erect and twitching invitingly at Honey. 

“Take your shirt off,” Trevor requests.

“No. We’re not elongating this any more than we need to. I’m going to make you come and then we’re going to go downstairs and I’m going to kick Luke’s ass at pool and you’ll try not to get hard again when you watch me bend over the table,” Honey replies, reaching for Trevor’s dick. 

Trevor moans when Honey leans down and spits over the head of Trevor’s cock. He watches her saliva drip down his shaft and disappear between her fingers, acting as a sort of lube. She licks his tip like a kitten at a bowl of milk and moves her hand up and down, her grip on Trevor’s cock deliciously tight and practiced. Despite swearing off dating five years prior, it’s like Honey hasn’t lost any of her talent. 

Trevor’s hips buck up into Honey’s hand when she circles her lips around his tip and suckles lightly. The tip of her tongue flicks over his slit, then lathers the skin around his cockhead. In this position, Trevor has a great view of the curve of Honey’s lower back, the waistband of her jean shorts pulling away from her skin and revealing the lavender underwear she’s hiding beneath her clothes. Trevor lets out a low whistle when his eyes trail further up her body, fixing on the tattoo marking the small of her back. He’s surprised he hasn’t noticed it before. It’s a dragonfly, surrounded by two branches of flowers. The tattoo is made up of thin but sweeping black lines and it’s so perfectly Honey that Trevor makes a mental note to ask her about it later.

“C’mon, Trev,” Honey goads. “People are going to start wondering what we’re up to. Hurry up.” Her hand speeds up, twisting over his shaft. 

Trevor keens, pushing up into Honey’s grasp. 

“It’s embarrassing how badly you want me,” Honey teases. “You’re so easy.”

“You’re so pretty,” Trevor replies, voice strangled and caught in his throat.

The pleased little smile that crosses Honey’s face makes his heart jump. She shakes her head at him fondly, then takes him back in her mouth. She hollows her cheeks, creating a vacuum around Trevor’s cockhead. She hums a little against him, the vibrations causing Trevor’s thighs to spasm. Her left hand soothes his quad, kneading the muscle with a scratch of her fingernails, and Trevor spills over her tongue. 

Honey takes it all in her mouth like a champion, sitting back and swallowing, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. Trevor watches the line of her throat move with her swallow and he wishes that his refractory period was nonexistent so that he could fill her mouth again. 

“Now that that’s over,” Honey says, shifting on her heels. She crawls up, straddling Trevor’s waist and hovering above him. 

Trevor tilts his chin up and purses his lips.

Honey covers his mouth with her palm, effectively forcing him to kiss her palm, and glares at Trevor through narrowed eyes. She leans in close, making it almost impossible for Trevor to maintain eye contact. 

“Do not fucking text me while I’m at work,” Honey says. “I mean it.”

She swings her legs to one side of his body, clambering off the bed and returning to the door. With one last look, Honey slips through the little crack of the door and shuts it behind her. Trevor hears her walking down the hall, then down the stairs. 

He throws his head back against his pillow and covers his eyes with the bend of his elbow. 

It takes him a few more minutes to catch his breath and move again. He washes his hands and goes to take a leak, replacing his boxers and shorts. He pulls a sweatshirt over his head, his favorite pink hoodie. He ties the strings into a cute little bow and leaves the hood over his hair, covering the mess beneath it that is, quite frankly, none of his business. 

He just came in Honey’s mouth for a second time in a week– his hair is the least of his worries. It’s not even a worry at all. In fact, Trevor might never have another worry again.

When Trevor makes his way downstairs, he finds Honey in his line of vision immediately. She’s standing next to Luke as he lines up a shot, hoping to sink the maroon seven into the third pocket. Trevor only knows which pocket is which because Jack tried to show Quinn up last year with his technical billiards knowledge, considering he couldn’t beat Quinn until halfway through the summer.

Honey’s eyes are drawn to Trevor’s movement, away from Luke’s long fingers creating a good base for his shot. Almost unconsciously, her eyes are flooded with pride and the edge of a smile quirks her mouth before she looks away, focusing back on the pool game.

Luke takes his shot, but the ball bounces off the cushion next to the pocket. He groans, lifting the hem of his shirt to wipe under his eyes. Honey pats his arm as he paces past her, evidently frustrated by his game. 

Trevor looks to the table and finds that Honey only has a couple of striped targets left, while Luke has to sink four more shots if he wants to catch up to Honey. Having played against Honey before, Trevor is not confident in Luke’s ability. 

When he looks to the leaderboard, Honey’s name is starred. She hasn’t played as many games as the other boys, but she’s undefeated. She’s beaten everyone except Bea, but it’s a no-brainer about who would win that fight. 

Trevor spares one last glance at Honey before spilling across the loveseat. He lays for a minute, then turns over and gets comfortable. He pulls one hand up next to his head, using it as a pillow, and pulls his legs up toward his chest. He evaluates the room.

Quinn and Bea are sat in the plush recliner chair, sharing the small space. Bea has her legs thrown over Quinn’s lap, halfway seated on the arm of the chair. Quinn’s hand rests on Bea’s thigh, keeping her in place. She’s kissing over his neck and nuzzling into his side, letting her hands roam over his torso. Quinn catches Trevor watching them and fixes him with a hard stare, expression mostly unreadable. He’s mastered the art of the pokerface, but Trevor knows him well enough to know that his look is a warning. 

Jack and Cole are standing up from the couch, Wii controllers in hand and pushing each other over to try and get Player 1. Both younger siblings, Trevor snorts at their stubborn desire to be in charge for once. They found the Wii yesterday while Trevor was out, tucked away in the closet where he received his first blowjob from Honey, on one of the highest shelves.

Cole immediately dug it out and went searching for games. So far, he’s only found Wii Sports, but that’s all they really need. Last night, Cole and Jack had boxed, and things had gotten so heated that Quinn had to ban boxing from the house. He even hid the nunchucks that were necessary to play the sport– so the rest of the boys were straight out of luck.

They’re pulling up a game of golf right now, which causes Bea to roll her eyes. 

“You’re such boys,” she grumbles, lips pressed to Quinn’s cheek. “Golf is boring in real life. It’s even worse virtually. Can’t you play something good like bowling?”

Quinn chuckles a bit, pulling Bea closer. He wraps his arms around her waist and nips at her collarbone, causing the girl to shriek with a giggle. “I promise, if you come out on the course with me, I’ll teach you to like the game.”

Bea pushes him away, squirming on his lap until she finds a position where she’s comfortable. “You just want to get me in a little golf outfit so you can look at something pretty.”

“I will be looking at something pretty,” Quinn agrees. He leans in, pressing his forehead against hers and bumping their noses. He pecks her lips, brief and fleeting before he finishes his sentence. “The greens.”

Bea groans, tossing her head back. She goes to climb off of Quinn, but he holds her tightly on his lap and brings his mouth to her shoulder.

“Just imagine it,” he muses between kisses. “The smell of the freshly mown grass, the even blades, the sound of the club hitting the ball and the flag in the hole waving in the wind…”

“I can’t possibly think of a hole that you might be more interested in,” Bea deadpans, her bottom lip jutting out just a tad.

Quinn smiles, deciding to tug on Bea’s pouted lip with his teeth rather than deign her with an answer. 

Trevor watches the exchange in disgust. The disgust transforms when he hears Honey whoop and gloat from the back of the room, evidently still undefeated. His gaze on Bea and Quinn softens a little bit, tinged with envy. Oh, how sweet it would be if Honey was sitting on his lap the way Bea is sitting on Quinn’s. He’s so jealous that he has to look away.

“Update that board, Lukey,” Honey teases, her voice cutting through the rest of the chatter like the beacon of a lighthouse. 

Luke mimics her words, high-pitched and whiny the way only a younger sibling can sound, but reracks his cue and turns to the blackboard. He wipes Honey’s scores away with the dustrag that they repurposed into an eraser, then scrawls out a chicken-scratchy “6-0” next to her name. Next to his own, he erases the number of losses and replaces the number with one higher.

Honey beams at him, laying her stick along the table and walking around to gather all the balls from the pockets. She racks them up in a neat triangle, then leaves them immobile on the playing field. Honey joins the group, making herself comfortable on the corner cushion of the couch.

Luke plops down on the other end of the couch, closer to Trevor. Both pool players are studying the game on the screen with equal amounts of intensity, right thumbs pressed against their top lips and eyebrows drawn together in a tight pinch. 

Trevor pulls his phone out of his pocket, chuckling to himself and types out a message. 

“Look at Luke and Honey,” it reads.

Quinn pulls Bea’s phone out of his back pocket, glancing at the screen and making a face when he sees Trevor’s name flash across the screen. He eyes Trevor out of the side of his vision once Bea unlocks her phone and reads the message, tilting her screen so Quinn can see it. 

They both look over at Luke and Honey, eyes flickering between the two, and Bea giggles. She presses her hand to her mouth, but the damage is done. Quinn turns back to look at her, eyes shining as he admires the girl sitting on top of him. 

Trevor doesn’t know the details of his breakup, but he seems to be doing okay. Jack expected a whole lot worse, even briefed Trevor and Cole about the recent split during the drive down to Litchton, but none of them had expected to meet Bea and Honey.

It’s hard to be down in the dumps when there are people like them around.

Honey’s hand drops, dangling over the edge of the arm of the couch. “What?” She asks, apprehensive and skeptical. She glares at Bea, frown etched deeply on her face. There’s a little crease between her brows and Trevor itches to soothe it with a kiss. “What?” Honey repeats, looking around. 

Luke is unperturbed, sitting in the same position and watching Jack putt the virtual golf ball. He laughs out a breath when Jack misses, grinning against his thumb.

Honey seems to recognize the pose immediately, making a face at Bea when the girl giggles again. 

Quinn adjusts Bea on his lap, spreading his legs so there’s more room for her to sit in his arms. She’s practically cradled in his lap, legs no longer thrown over his lap but over the edge of the chair. 

Honey sticks her tongue out at Bea, then returns to the screen.

The sun has started to set by the time Jack and Cole’s game ends and they’re almost in complete darkness once Bea has beaten Honey in bowling. 

Trevor gets a kick out of seeing Honey lose– only because he’s never seen this side of her before. She’s competitive and she likes to win, so when she loses, she sulks the same way that Quinn does. Bea, to rub in her win, grabs Honey by her cheeks and plants a loud kiss on her nose. She overexaggerates a “mwah” and pinches Honey’s skin. Honey is blushing and pushing Bea away, wiping the kiss off of her nose. 

“You are such a sore winner,” Honey chastises, crossing her arms over her chest.

“At least I’m not a loo-hoo-za-her,” Bea replies, wiggling her finger in Honey’s face like Ace Ventura. She spins and beams at Quinn, crawling back onto his lap and pushing her fingers through his hair. 

Trevor isn’t sure that Quinn has told Bea that he’s getting a haircut before the Awards next week– or if he’s told her about the Awards at all. Trevor does know that Bea will be heartbroken when Quinn’s long hair is cropped back to a Catholic-school length and she can’t twirl the strands between her fingers as easily.

Honey blows a raspberry at Bea. She turns to walk toward the basement bathroom, evidently forgetting that it’s being occupied by Cole, and has to redirect upstairs.

Trevor misses her as soon as she disappears up the stairs and out of sight. 

Luke sets out to try and get a perfect score in bowling, but gets distracted making a Mii of himself. It takes far too long and Luke defends himself when Jack chirps him for trying to make his Mii’s body less like a stick than he actually is, which is when he rushes through the rest of his design to get to the game. He scores two strikes in a row, then restarts the game upon only hitting eight pins in his third frame.

He’s less successful the second time. And the third. On his fourth try, he gets a third strike in a row, but then loses momentum.

And Jack is getting antsy, itching to prove that he can do better.

He usurps the Wii, and Trevor realizes that Cole returned from the bathroom a few minutes ago, but Honey has not.

Trevor frowns. She can’t have gotten lost in the house since she’s been here enough times to know the layout and she’s certainly capable of going to the bathroom on her own. She should be back by now. He should go check on her.

“Anybody want a drink?” Trevor asks, rolling off the loveseat and catching himself before he hits the floor, straightening up. He stands still for only a moment before taking off towards the stairs, not allowing anyone to affirm or deny his request. He’s not bringing them drinks. He doesn’t care about that– all he wants is to go find Honey and see what’s taking her so long.

He scampers up the stairs, a baseball cap hitting him squarely in the back as he goes, probably a result of Cole wanting a drink and Trevor running away before he could say so. Trevor laughs a little as he goes and as soon as he makes it up to the kitchen, it’s evident where Honey has found herself.

The balcony door is cracked open and her back is to Trevor. She’s leaning over the rail, looking up towards the night sky. 

Trevor pauses, watching her.

Her hair falls freely over her shoulders, cascading down her back. It’s messy, windswept in a movie-star way. Her jean shorts are doing that gap thing again, showing off the dimples at the base of Honey’s spine and the tramp stamp– her mouth-watering tramp stamp– decorating her skin. Her hip is popped to one side and she looks good enough to eat.

She was right, too. Trevor has to make a very concentrated effort not to get hard while watching her bend over. 

He approaches the door and slides it open. “Hey,” Trevor says softly. “What are you doing out here?”

Honey jumps at the sound of him, but she calms down and returns to her original position in an instant. “You’ve got a lovely view out here.”

Trevor sidles up next to her, bumping her hip with his own before settling in. He looks up to the sky. 

Honey swallows, clearing her throat. “Do you get to see the stars like this in California?”

Trevor’s heart flutters with the question. She’s asking me about myself. She’s asking me about California. She cares. “I live outside of LA,” he explains. “So there’s a lot of light pollution. The stars are harder to come by.”

“Oh,” Honey says, sounding disappointed. 

“Which is why this is so nice,” Trevor adds. “Up here, you can see everything. I’ve been learning the constellations because of that book. It’s really cool.”

“What got you interested in space?” Honey asks.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of like hockey for me. I always loved it.” Trevor shrugs. “When I went to Boston for college, I was an astronomy major, but I went to the NHL before I got to take any of the really cool classes.”

“So that’s why you’ve been looking for books.” Honey looks at Trevor for a moment, locking eyes with him for a split second, then she turns back to the sky. 

It’s dark, but her face is lit up by the moon and the stars are reflecting in her eyes. They’re dimmer than normal due to the clouds rolling in from the west, dark and threatening. They seem far away. A strand of hair falls into her face, distracting Trevor, and his fingers twitch with the desire to sweep it back behind her ear, but Honey gets to it first. 

Trevor looks up. “I think some of it has to do with all the Greek myths attached to the constellations, too,” he murmurs. “I think it’s really cool that the Ancient Greeks were able to see all of their stories in the stars. Plus, I’m Greek, so I guess I feel connected.”

Honey hums, considering his words. 

They fall into an easy silence for a while, surveying the sky. Every so often, Trevor watches Honey from his peripheral. He catches her looking at him twice, and both times, they each blush and look away.

Trevor fixes on one of his favorite constellations– Cygnus, partially covered by a sprinkling of smaller rainclouds. It’s on his list of favorites because it took him so long to find and he’s proud that he was able to do so. Cygnus depicts a swan, who represents Zeus. He reaches his finger out and tries to point the constellation out to Honey.

“See there? That bright star separate from the others?” Trevor asks, pointing at the twinkle of light.

Honey furrows her brow and tilts her head, trying to line Trevor’s finger up with the star he’s pointing at. “No,” she replies. 

“Here.” Trevor stands behind Honey, bringing his hand up and pointing so that she can look down his arm like a scope. Honey leans against his arm, one of her eyes squeezed shut. “There’s Deneb, which is the tail. It’s so bright because it has the power of more than sixty thousand suns. Isn’t that cool?” He drags his finger across the sky to another two major stars in the constellation, spreading his fingers in a peace sign to point them both out at once. “And there’s Xi and Albireo. Albireo is the swan’s beak and if I had a telescope, I’d be able to show you that it’s actually a star that glows blue and yellow.” Trevor unfolds his palm and sweeps it across the sky, drawing the path of Cygnus’s wings. “And those little stars are the swan’s wings. He’s flying across the sky for all eternity. I think that’s really cool.”

Trevor stands, proud of himself, admiring the constellation and his explanation. It takes him a moment to realize that Honey has turned in front of him. 

When he does, he only has a second to take her in. That second of time suspends when his eyes meet hers. He can feel her breath puffing against his lips. Her back is pressed against the railing and Trevor is so close to her that he can feel her heat radiating outward and reaching for him. Honey’s eyes are big and wide, thoughtful.

Then she leans in and kisses Trevor.

Her lips are soft, just like they were when he kissed her in the closet. She tastes sweet, but not like any food Trevor has ever tasted before. He can’t pinpoint it– it’s just Honey.

Trevor barely registers Honey’s hands sliding into his hair, curling the strands around her fingers. He’s too busy reaching for her waist and pulling her close. Her skin is burning under his fingers and Trevor slides his right hand around to her back, resting his palm against the tattoo he discovered just earlier today. 

When Honey’s hips press against his, her torso brushing against his, Trevor allows his left hand to rise. He brushes over her collarbone, then up to her jaw. 

Honey’s fingers tug on his hair and Trevor groans, which is when she licks over his bottom lip and into his mouth.

And he thought he was giving his all to avoid a boner before. That effort is nothing compared to this one.

One of Honey’s hands leaves Trevor’s hair, finding his chest. She presses her palm against his shirt, between his pecs, and Trevor is sure that she can feel his heart pounding. All the while, she’s kissing him.

She’s kissing him.

Trevor crowds into her space more at that thought, taking charge of the kiss. His hand slips from her jaw, resting at the base of Honey’s neck.

And in a beautiful turn of events, she whimpers.

Trevor could bottle the sound up and put it in a safe for the rest of time. The breathy sigh only spurs him on and suddenly his teeth are clinking against hers with the ferocity of his movements. Like an electric shock, Honey breaks the kiss.

Trevor wishes he could take a picture of her.

Her cheeks are flushed and her gaze is a little foggy, focused on his lips until she blinks the confusion away. She sucks in a breath when she looks up at Trevor and her lips are plump, still parted like they’re seeking his own. 

Trevor stands still, not even daring to let out a breath lest it scares her away. He watches her expression go from dreamy to concentrated, and he’s ready to step away, but her fingers clench in his hair and she pulls him back in.

The kiss is not sweet by any means. Honey pulls Trevor’s hand back to her throat, then her hands pull at the fabric of his shirt. She tugs him close, making an indignant keen when he’s slow to move. Trevor is stunned, but the noise snaps him out of it. Her fingers are impatient, tapping against his sides, and Trevor springs forward. 

His hand caresses the column of her neck, feeling all of her little noises rise up and vibrate through her vocal chords. His other hand dips lower, under the gap her jean shorts created. His fingertips dip under the lavender band of her underwear, but they stop there, just teasing her. Honey rolls her hips against Trevor’s cock, totally not erect at all, obviously, and they break apart again.

Honey looks much more surprised this time, caught off guard by her own actions. She pushes Trevor away and he stumbles back, putting enough space between them that Honey can cover her lips with her hand. She feels over the pink skin, her hand shaking.

Trevor can still feel the ghost of the kiss and he expects Honey is feeling the same thing. 

He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t interrupt whatever is going through her head. He can’t– he won’t give her any more reason to run away. He knows that’s what’s coming next.

Honey’s mouth is wide open. Her chest is heaving and she’s staring at Trevor. 

Trevor starts to worry when her silence stretches a moment too long. “Do you want me to get Bea?” He asks.

Honey snaps her mouth shut, swallowing the lump in her throat and shaking her head vehemently. “I need to go home.” Like her hands, her voice is shaking.

“Okay,” Trevor says. He’s not sure what else he can say.

Honey steps toward the sliding door, then halts in her tracks. “Bea drove me,” she realizes aloud, eyes widening in panic.

“I’ll drive you,” Trevor says, the words falling from his lips like an avalanche. “I’ll say you got sick. I’ll drive you home right now and I promise I won’t try anything, I swear–”

Honey cuts him off with a nod, meeting Trevor’s eyes for just a second before she looks away and starting blinking more rapidly. She looks like she’s fighting something internally, lost but panicked but ashamed that she’s acting this way, and Trevor just grabs her hand. 

He leads her inside, closing the sliding door behind them and beelining for the front door. He grabs his keys and presses them against Honey’s palm. “Go start the car for me, okay?” He says, talking quietly. He holds Honey’s shoulders, pressing his forehead to hers. She closes her eyes and leans against him. “I’m gonna go tell everyone that you threw up, or something, and I’ll be right there.”

“Okay,” Honey agrees, whispering the word out. Trevor opens the front door for her, keeping a hand on her until she’s across the threshold. He leaves the door open and bounds downstairs.

“Hey,” Trevor calls, catching the attention of everyone in the basement. Jack gripes a bit, missing a strike because of Trevor’s call, but Trevor cuts him off. “Honey’s sick. I’m taking her home.”

Bea’s head pops up from where it was snuggled under Quinn’s chin. She bumps into his head by accident, petting over the point of contact as an apology while she turns to Trevor. “What? Is she okay?”

Trevor waves her off. “She’s fine. She doesn’t want to cause a big deal. She said it might be something she ate.”

Bea scowls. “I told her not to eat that turkey we found in the fridge at work,” she says. “I knew it had gone bad. Poor Honey.”

“She’ll be fine,” Trevor assures the girl, waving her off when she starts to stand up from Quinn’s chair. “I’ll make sure she gets home safe.”

Bea looks hesitant, but Quinn’s hand on her hip seems to convince her to stay. “Okay, fine,” Bea says eventually. “But be careful, okay? It’s supposed to storm tonight. You’re not used to the mountains in the rain. The roads get bad.”

“If it gets bad, I’ll convince Honey to let me borrow her couch,” Trevor says. “I’ll text you when we get there.”

Quinn pulls Bea back down onto his lap, kissing her temple and rubbing her waist comfortingly. “They’ll be fine, baby. Honey’s a big girl.”

“I’m more worried about Trevor,” Bea grumbles in reply, barely audible. “The curves are slippery.”

“He’ll be fine,” Quinn repeats. He looks at Trevor, glaring at the boy, before opening his mouth to boss him around yet again. “Don’t be fucking stupid on the roads.”

Trevor flashes a thumbs-up in Quinn’s direction, then hurries back up the stairs. It’s starting to drizzle already– he can see the sparse raindrops falling towards the ground. They’re lit up by the lights of his car, already up and running. 

Honey is curled up in the passenger seat, her fingers clutching the collar of her shirt and tucked under her chin. She’s looking out the window at the rain and doesn’t acknowledge Trevor when he joins her in the car. 

He drives home carefully, having to turn the windshield wipers up as the rain grows harder. Honey directs him in hushed tones, her voice monotone. Trevor wants to reach over and take her hand. He wants to distract her from whatever is going through her mind. He doesn’t– it’s not his place. 

“Pull in here,” Honey mutters, pointing toward an overgrown driveway marked by a painted-floral mailbox. It looks like a child had painted it and Trevor spots a flower made of little thumbprints on the front flap as he turns in. He creeps down the driveway, approaching the dark house.

He throws the car into park, then gets out of the car. He walks around in the rain, shrugging his sweatshirt off as he does so. He opens Honey’s door and unbuckles her seatbelt, putting the hood of his sweatshirt over her head to protect her hair from the drops. 

Trevor leads her by the hand to her front door, which Honey opens easily. She left it unlocked. Trevor feels taken aback for a moment, but then he remembers that she’s been living in Litchton for five years and there’s barely any crime in town. She’s fine. She probably knows better than Trevor does, anyway.

He stands awkwardly in her doorway, watching Honey navigate the space with memorized ease. Her footsteps are light. She disappears up into the lofted area above her living room, which is just as eclectic and unique as she is. He takes in the knick-knacks and the lived-in space. The blanket on her couch is thrown over the back haphazardly. He can see into her backyard, the big windows on the back side of her house taking up almost the whole wall. 

The house is dark, but it lights up with a flash of lightning. The house shakes with a crash of thunder. Trevor looks outside again and realizes he can barely see to his car, parked maybe twenty yards from Honey’s door. 

He sends a quick text to Bea, letting her know that he just got to Honey’s safely and that he’s going to hang out for a little while before the storm dies down. 

Trevor walks over to Honey’s kitchen, making sure he shut and locked the front door behind him. He finds a peach in a bowl on her counter and a knife in one of her drawers. Trevor washes the peach and cuts it into cubes, plating them. He searches for a glass and fills it with water, then takes both the plate and the cup in his hands.

Trevor climbs up to the loft, moving quietly and slowly so he doesn’t disturb Honey.

She’s curled up in her bed, just a little lump under the covers. It’s dark in her bedroom, but Trevor can see her eyes glinting. Her face lights up with another flash of lightning and he wants to break at the sight of the tears lining her face. 

“Honey,” Trevor breathes out, placing the plate and cup on her bedside table. He rounds the bed, kneeling on the other side and reaching out to touch her face. He wipes away one of the tears streaking her cheeks. 

Honey whines, squeezing her eyes shut and turning to hide her face in her pillow.

“I’m sorry I pushed you,” Trevor says. “I didn’t mean to.”

Honey groans, lifting her head to fix him with one big stink-eye. “You didn’t do anything,” she glowers. “I’m the one who kissed you.”

“Yeah, but I–”

“No, you didn’t.” Honey drags herself into a seated position, pulling her hair out of her face. She wipes her eyes and sniffs, looking miserable. “I’m just… working through everything.”

Trevor pauses, watching her. He feels absolutely helpless, unable to do or say anything that could make her feel better. “I brought you food and water,” Trevor says, feeling lame. “You should make sure you’re staying hydrated.”

Honey’s in the middle of wiping her eyes again as he says it, and Trevor panics when her shoulders start to shake again and a fresh batch of tears leak from her eyes. He moves back from the bed, eyes wide. Maybe it would’ve been better if he hadn’t said anything at all. Now Honey’s crying because of him.

“I’m sorry,” he says again. “I’m so sorry.”

“Shut up,” Honey tells him, her voice thick with tears, hiccuping. “You are so fucking insufferable,” she continues, and Trevor realizes that her shoulders are shaking with laughter even as she cries. 

His mouth forms an ‘o’ and Trevor looks around, afraid to look at Honey for too long lest she start bawling again.

“Just–” Honey cuts herself off. “Can you–”

“Anything,” Trevor agrees immediately, interrupting her.

Honey presses her lips together, letting the words form in her mouth. She seems to consider not saying them at all, but she eventually continues. She’s sheepish when she looks at Trevor, small and caved in on herself. “Can you lay with me?” The words are resigned when they leave her mouth, her eyes miserable.

Trevor scrambles onto the bed and has her in his arms before she can finish the sentence, all of the breath knocked out of his lungs with relief. He can do that easily– he wants to do that for Honey. He holds her against his chest, tucking her head into the curve of his neck. She’s sniffling again against his skin, marking his neck with wet tears. Thunder crashes outside again, and Trevor just holds her as tightly as he can.

She shakes for a little while, crying silently. Trevor coos at her and wipes her tears away, kissing her temple and rubbing her back in what he hopes are soothing motions. Eventually, her breath evens and her tears dry up, but she stays curled up in Trevor’s arms. 

When she calms down, Trevor starts to feel awkward again. She’s just laying there in his arms and he’s sitting on her bed, not really sure what he’s supposed to do. 

“You should sleep,” Trevor decides. He’s speaking softly, prompting Honey like the gentle nudge of a finger pointing her in the right direction. “The storm has died down, so I’ll head back–”

Honey frowns against his neck, pushing away from his chest to look up at him. “Stay with me,” she pouts. 

Trevor is helpless to say no.

They maneuver themselves down to lay on the bed, and Honey presses against Trevor. She bundles a hand in his t-shirt, throwing the other over his waist. She hides her face in his chest and Trevor hopes that she can’t hear his heart racing, punching against his ribs in harsh beats, even though he knows that she can hear that and more, like the rumbling of his stomach. 

She doesn’t seem to mind, though. She falls asleep, one last tear falling across her cheek as her face finally relaxes.

Trevor wipes it away and pulls her close, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. He doesn’t know what happened to Honey in Charlotte, what made her swear off dating, but he’s determined to find out. He’s going to do everything he can to reassure her and keep her safe. He never wants to see her like this again. 

Trevor’s last thought before he falls into his own restless sleep is, God, I hope I don’t ruin this by waking up hard in the morning.

28:90 – HONEY

It was inevitable. Honey should’ve expected it. Trevor’s dick is hard, nestled against her ass, and he’s holding her there. He’s still asleep, breathing evenly on Honey’s neck with his nose nuzzled behind her ear. 

He snores. It woke her up.

An hour ago.

She doesn’t have it in her to wake him up. Trevor was so sweet last night, trying so hard to do everything right. He cut her peaches up into cubes and poured her a glass of ice water while she expected him to walk right out the door and leave her alone. He held her while she cried and his stupid face, his dumbfounded and panicked expression, made her laugh through the tears.

He handled it well and Honey slept soundly in his arms. She was okay. She’s calmer now, more steady on her feet than she’s ever been after Bea talks her down from a freakout. 

Trevor’s arms are strong around her, affording her very little wiggle room. About twenty minutes ago, Trevor’s hand had shifted to graze her boob, tickling Honey with his movements. Unconsciously, when she leaned back against him, his hand found the curve of her breast and cupped the weight in his palm. 

Honey is surprised Trevor was able to sleep through her giggles. 

His hand is still holding her chest, occasionally squeezing the flesh through her shirt. It’s a comfortable weight now and Honey finds it too endearing to push him away. She also understands the comfort that comes with holding a boob– whenever she finds herself watching TV and lazing around on her sofa, she catches herself with one of her hands on the slope of her chest. It never fails to make her laugh at herself. She really is no better than a man.

Trevor’s finally stirring, though, so Honey has to push his hand away. His wrist ends up curving over her hip, leaving his hand to dangle near the hem of her shorts. His other hand is nice and snug against the curve of her waist, trapped between her body and the bed. Trevor sighs, his voice deep and thick with sleep, snuggling against Honey with a smack of his lips and a yawn before he realizes that he’s not alone, nor is he in his bed at the rental house.

He twitches, pulling himself away from the drowsiness that was threatening to overtake him again. He scrambles back, putting distance between himself and Honey. When Honey turns to face him, mourning the loss of the warm body against her back, Trevor’s eyes are wide and his lips are pulled back in a grimace. He’s watching Honey like he’s afraid of her next move.

She lays facing him and puts her arm under her head, using the curve of her elbow as an extra cushion. She tries to keep her expression neutral. She licks her lips, then reaches her other hand over and tugs Trevor’s shirt. 

He’s stupid, so he doesn’t get it. Trevor stays frozen, way too much distance between his body and Honey’s for what she wants to say. 

Persistently, Honey tugs again at the hem of his shirt. When he still doesn’t move, she rolls her eyes and sits up, scooting over. If Trevor moves any farther back, he’ll fall off the bed. Luckily, he seems to realize that and he stares up at Honey, lips parted. If she weren’t so sure he was freaking out about overstepping and staying in her bed after she calmed down, Honey would think that the look in his eyes might be something akin to awe.

With a huff, Honey lays back down and intertwines her legs with Trevor’s, keeping a hand on his waist. She drops his shirt, but rests her palm on the waistband of his shorts, thumbing over the bare skin above the fabric. 

Trevor shivers and his eyelids flutter a bit. 

Honey wants to laugh. She does, but now is not the time. He’s just so easy. 

“About six months before I moved to Litchton, my high school boyfriend and I broke up,” Honey says quietly. “We had been dating for almost two years and things were great until they weren’t.”

Trevor closes his mouth, watching Honey. His hand, hesitating in the air, comes to rest on her cheek. He pushes her hair over her shoulder and catches one of her waves between his fingers, feeling it out.

“He wanted to go to college. I didn’t. He wanted to make the most of the end of senior year and I wasn’t as into the party scene as he was. I had Bea, who gets invited everywhere by her adoring gaggle of fans, as you well know,” Honey continues, crinkling her nose and nudging it against Trevor’s in a teasing manner. “But there was still that distance growing between me and Thomas.”

“What happened?” Trevor asks, brows furrowed in concern. 

“He started doing drugs,” Honey explains with a shrug. “Speed, mostly, but a lot of acid in between trips. He liked the high of those things more than he liked me.” She looks down. “The first time he mentioned reaching into a pill bowl, I broke up with him.”

Trevor’s hand soothes Honey, running over her cheek. His thumb barely grazes her skin, just there enough that Honey can feel her peach fuzz moving with his fingerprint. He’s paying attention to her, staring at her like she’s the only person who has ever walked the face of the Earth. Honey wants to blush, wants to cover her face with an embarrassed hand, all too aware of the way Trevor is taking her in and admiring her. It’s scary, the way he’s looking at her. It’s the same way Thomas looked at her before everything turned to shit.

Honey looks away. She stares at the logo branded on Trevor’s t-shirt, tracing the line of the design with her fingernail. He draws a breath in when she scrapes over his nipple, making her smile.

“He didn’t take it well,” Honey continues. “Why would he, you know? He couldn’t handle losing all of this.” She gestures down at her body, watching Trevor’s eyes follow her hands. His eyes, unlike Thomas’s, make their way back up to her face. She starts to feel hot tears prickle in the corner of her eyes, but Honey shakes them away. “And I wouldn’t tolerate his behavior. He just wanted someone who would sit idly by as he ruined his life.”

Trevor hums, pulling her closer. He presses a kiss to her forehead, then closes his eyes as he leans against her. Honey brings her hand up between them and runs her finger down the curve of his nose.

“He thought that revenge was the best course of action,” Honey says delicately, smiling ruefully at the memory. It still affects her, even now, although Thomas hasn’t occupied her mind in a substantial way in years. She feels a little silly, gearing up to say what comes next, even though she knows it’s not her fault. She’s not to blame. It’s a shame it still affects her so much, five years later.

“He…” Honey clenches her teeth, cringing in a long pause. “Took things that I shared with him in confidence,” she decides on, her voice shaking not with sadness, but with anger. “And he sent them out to my entire class. They sent them out to other people in the city and they sent them to… explicit websites, not caring that I was underage at the time.” 

Trevor lets out a breath, his grip tightening around Honey’s body. He buries his face in her hair, squeezing her.

“So, I dropped it all. I dropped him, I dropped my other friends, I dropped the whole city of Charlotte and I left. My parents were great– they paid for a lawsuit and got all the pictures taken down from those websites. They finally accepted that I wanted to move here full time and my dad offered the house. I had to pay, yeah, but I had somewhere to live. Eventually, I stopped talking to them, but I wasn’t alone–”

“You had Bea,” Trevor completes the sentence for her, sounding equally as sad as Honey. Trevor tilts Honey’s chin up, capturing her lips in a sweet, chaste kiss. 

Honey needed that.

When he pulls away, Trevor takes a breath. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“It’s okay,” Honey replies. “I’ve had five years to process it. Sometimes it’s hard for me, and I'll freak out, but I want to keep doing the… things… that we’ve been doing. I just can't have everyone knowing– it makes me feel like there's pressure to be okay and have everything seem 'perfect' all the time.”

“You do?” Trevor asks, biting his bottom lip. His eyes rake over Honey’s features, then he brings his lips down in front of hers. Honey can feel the little puffs of breath leaving his mouth, his bottom lip sliding against hers in something less than a kiss when he lifts his chin. "You know I'll do whatever you want, Honey. Secret or not, we should absolutely keep doing the things we've been doing."

“Don’t get too excited,” Honey says, pushing against Trevor’s chest. She smiles, lips pulled tight over her teeth. “I let you sleep way too long. I have to go to church with Ada in thirty minutes and I still have to shower.”

Honey tears herself away from Trevor, dragging herself out of bed. 

Trevor leans up on the back of his elbows, his hair still messy with sleep. “Do you want me to join you?”

Honey scoffs out a laugh, rolling her eyes. “Absolutely not. I’ll take you home before the service. You can shower there.”

“Mmm,” Trevor hums. “Bea can bring me some church clothes.”

Honey lets out a little laugh, exasperated by his determination to see her naked. “You’re coming to church with me?” She asks, stepping through her conjoined bathroom door and reaching for the spout of her shower. She turns the knob, watching the water from the showerhead spurt to life and start to warm up. “I should warn you, I’m not a big believer. I kind of lost all that after… well. Now, you know.”

“I’m not a huge believer either,” Trevor says. “I only join Bea at church when I think I’ll see you. All one time so far.”

“Oh, aren’t you sweet?” Honey laughs, sarcasm twisting her tone. She realizes that it was the wrong response when Trevor lets out a cackle, still bundled up under her bedsheets. 

“You would know,” he teases. “After all, you’re the one who’s tasted me… twice.”

Honey stares at herself in her bathroom mirror, unimpressed. “What the fuck are we doing?” she mouths at her reflection, throwing her hands up. She smooths her hair back, pulling it into a ponytail before letting it loose and shaking her hair. A smile takes over her face until she ducks her head, burying her head in her hands. 

“I’m not going to give you the privilege of a response,” Honey calls, turning and reaching her hand under the water to check the temperature. Steam is starting to rise toward the ceiling, and the water is warming up by the second, so she sheds her shirt and shorts, leaving her in just her underwear. 

Not taking the chance, or the distraction, Honey closes her bathroom door and locks it. 

Trevor knocks soon after the lock clicks, calling for Honey to let him in. Honey just laughs, loud enough that he can hear it, and hops in the shower.

She takes all of fifteen minutes to shower and get ready, leaving them with plenty of time to make it to the church along the main road. Trevor has to wear the same clothes as the night before, while Honey has changed into a flowery skirt and a white bodysuit. She looks much more put together than Trevor, who insists on hiding out in the car once they park in the church parking lot until Bea smuggles some clothes through his driver’s side window. Trevor changes in the backseat, hoping that the tinted windows are enough to cover him up (they’re not– Cole looked through the back window and affirmed that he could see Trevor’s dick… “and balls”). 

Instead of hanging around with the group, Honey walks into the church and finds Ada. She stands in the pew next to her elderly boss, holding Ada’s hand in her right and the hymnal in the other. 

Just before the usher approaches the podium to greet the congregation, Ada whispers to Honey: “Did you help that young man feel better after your poor behavior on Thursday?”

Honey wishes she could throw her head back and laugh aloud. She smirks, throwing a look over her shoulder and catching Trevor fiddle with his tie. Bea notices him loosening it and reaches over to tighten the knot, causing Trevor to faux-gag in the girl’s face. Honey looks at his neat white button-up and his dark jeans, snug against his hips with a brown belt, and she bites her bottom lip. Trevor catches her eyes and grins.

Honey looks back at Ada. “Yes ma’am,” she says, a little smug. “I would say that he definitely feels better now.”

[seiya-starsniper]

Six Degrees of Separation - Ch 6 COMPLETED

(Sandman x Dead Boy Detectives)

Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling, Edwin Paine | Edwin Payne/Charles Rowland, Crystal Palace/Charles Rowland (DCU), Johanna Constantine/Jenny Green

Rating: Teen & Up | Chapters 6/6 | Words: 12K

Tags: POV Multiple, Hob Gadling gives live advice to a bunch of teenagers, while helping them solve cases, that's it that's the fic, also he maybe plays matchmaker for his hot mess bestie, fic starts out as crystal/charles and ends with charles/edwin, Mutual Pining, Slice of Life, Hob Gadling adopts the Dead Boy Detectives

Tumblr Posts: Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || Chapter 4 || Chapter 5

Read Chapter 6 below, or at the above link on AO3

A year after Hob’s adopted three teenagers and a full grown adult as his unintentional, supernatural crime-solving family, a small Japanese girl walks into his pub covered in glitter and blood.

And she's with Dream , of all people. Dream, who looks like someone had run him through a blender and spat him out the wrong way. He’s not covered in the same glittering blood as his mysterious companion, but his messy black hair is even more wild and unkempt than normal, and the exhausted look on his face tells Hob he’s just gotten himself out of one hell of a situation and needs to talk about it. 

Well, at least the pub was completely empty so that made things easy. Which, now that Hob thinks about it, was probably intentional intervention on Dream’s part.

“Hello old friend,” Hob greets Dream with a wave as they approach the bar, where he’s cleaning and drying off some pint glasses. Hob turns his gaze down towards the girl, who for all intents and purposes appears human, but somehow still looks like someone out of a cartoon with bubblegum pink hair that is definitely not wig, and wide, iridescent blue eyes a shade of blue he’s pretty sure does not exist in normal human eyes. “And you are—?”

“You don’t look like you’re over 600 years old,” the girl says bluntly, shocking Hob enough that he nearly drops the glass he’s holding. “You’re not feeding children to a giant snake to look young too, are you?” she asks him. 

“Niko,” Dream growls at the girl and Hob’s brain short-circuits even further as he processes the name. “That is not what I told you.”

Hob gapes for a solid minute looking back and forth between the two of them as Dream and Niko (Niko? Niko?!) start arguing about the semantics of immortality. 

“You said he was immortal, so I was expecting a wise old man!” Niko exclaims, gesturing a glittery blood-soaked mitten in Hob’s direction. “Not a guy who looks like a middle school teacher! Esther had to eat kids to look like that!”

“Hob is not eating children,” Dream replies with an exasperated sigh, resting a palm over his head. “For the last time Niko, my sister—”

“Niko? As in Niko Sasaki?” Hob blurts out, interrupting their conversation because otherwise his brain is going to explode. Both Dream and Niko whip their heads at him in surprise. 

“Niko Sasaki with the weirdly large manga collection?” Hob continues as his brain recounts every single thing he’s heard about the girl in the past year. “Niko who tried to set Jenny up with a serial killer and it didn’t quite go as planned? Niko with the parasite fairies that lived inside her for months?”

“You know who I am?” Niko gasps. She turns to Dream, who looks just as shocked as she does. “How does he know me?” she demands. “Wait!” she exclaims before Dream can even reply, turning back to face Hob. “Are you psychic too?”

“No, but I know one who will be very happy to see you,” Hob answers, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice. “Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re here I’ve heard so much about—oh shit wait! JENNY! GET OUT HERE!” Hob yells at the top of his lungs, remembering belatedly that there was someone in The New Inn right now that would be thrilled to see Niko.

“ Jenny ?” Niko practically shrieks, and both Hob and Dream wince at the high pitched sound. “Jenny’s in London? Wait, why is Jenny in London?”

“Moved over here with Crystal and the boys,” Hob says. “Oy, Jenny!” he calls out again, and this time, the American comes rushing out of the kitchen, looking extremely annoyed but also alarmed.

��What? What’s happening? Are we under attack aga—” she goes silent when she sees Niko. “Niko?” she whispers. 

“Oh my god, Jenny!” Niko cries out, which seems to break Jenny out of her trance. Suddenly, the two girls are rushing towards each other, collapsing into a pile on the floor as they hug and sob. 

“Oh my god is that blood and glitter on you?” Jenny says. “What the fuck? Are you alive? Am I dead? Oh God, I’m dead aren’t I? I can see the grim reaper right over there,” she adds, noticing Dream for the first time as she clutches Niko desperately to her.

Niko giggles. “No silly, that’s Dream. He just looks like that,” she says, gesturing to the Endless, and Hob can’t help but laugh at Dream's dour expression. He’d thought Dream was the embodiment of Death once upon a time because of that face too. “He’s the one who helped me get back to Earth!”

“Back to—where the hell have you been, Niko?” Jenny asks incredulously.

“No, not Hell silly, I was in the Dreaming!” Niko answers brightly. “Although Hell did try to take over, which is why it took so long for me to get back.”

“Hell did what now ?” Hob cuts in, suddenly feeling quite faint. He’s quite glad he’s still behind the bar, else he may have also collapsed on the floor himself. 

“It is,” Dream says with a deep and weary sigh, “quite the tale. It seems you have your own stories to share as well, my friend.”

“I—yeah I do. I’ll close the bar and call the boys and Crystal,” Hob replies. “Best if we get both stories out in one go, I think.”

“Agreed.”

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

There's a lot of screaming and crying that follows, and Hob is pretty certain he's going to be hard of hearing for the next few days while his eardrums recover. He doesn't mind though. Not when the kids all look so happy.

Niko's soul, it turns out, had been blasted to an entirely different dimension when she’d died, and that had been due to the cocktail of magical essences Niko had been carrying on her person unknowingly at the time. A lucky charm in the shape of a polar bear from someone named Tragic Mick had protected her from the magic that Esther the Witch had used to kill her, but then that magic had collided with the magic of the dandelion sprites. Apparently, when Litty and Kingham left Niko’s body without killing her, they had left some of their essence behind in her body, forging a connection that forced them to go wherever she went. And if all that wasn’t complicated enough, there was also apparently a cursed magic 8-ball! Hob’s really not sure how that played a part in anything, but according to Dream and Niko, the fact that she’d carried it with her at the time was vital to her transformation.

Which is to say, Niko Sasaki was no longer necessarily human. At least, not human by this dimension’s standards. Apparently her hair had once been black, then bleached blonde when the sprites had left her body, and now this newest brush with her own mortality had left her hair bright pink, and her eyes a glowing blue. Apparently it gave her the ability to see in the dark, and also sometimes see the future, amongst other abilities that she and Dream were still discovering.

In short, as she described it, Niko had become “a magical school girl! Without the weird uniform though. But all the cool magic!” 

Dream had come across her when she’d attempted to get back to the reality she knew. Her transformation had given her the ability to dimension walk, though she didn’t know that’s what she was doing when she’d been drawn to the gates of the Dreaming. She’d only walked towards something that felt like home to her, and the gates of the Dreaming, also recognizing Niko as one of its original inhabitants, had swung open easily to let her and the sprites inside. 

Dream himself had not been so welcoming at first. He’d taken Niko’s accidental wandering as intentional trespassing with an intent to invade. Niko and the sprites had tried to explain themselves, but they didn’t get very far before an actual threat to the Dreaming appeared in the form of Lucifer Morningstar and their generals from Hell. Although they were not obligated to, all three joined the battle against Hell, Niko because she felt it was the right thing to do, while Litty and Kingham claimed Hell was no place for faeries. 

In the end, however, the sprites had perished during the battle, giving up their lives and the last of their magic for Niko, which is why she was covered in glittering blood. Apparently, sprite blood doesn’t wash out, but would fade on its own over time. Since Litty and Kingham had died within the boundaries of the Dreaming, Dream had offered them a permanent place in his realm as residents, as gratitude for their sacrifice. They had chosen to become nightmares, which, according to Niko and the others, was entirely appropriate considering their personalities.

Hob’s head is spinning by the time Dream and Niko finish recounting the tale. Edwin and Charles immediately start asking dozens of questions about Niko’s time in another dimension, while Crystal and Jenny bracket the girl on each side, holding her tightly as if she may disappear again if they weren’t around to tether her to this dimension. Johanna shows up at some point to be moral support for her girlfriend too, and further breaks Hob’s brain by confirming she too had been blasted to another dimension due to magic spells gone wrong.

Hob should maybe update his wards to include prevention against interdimensional travel. He’ll figure out the how of that later, though. Right now, tonight was a night for celebrating, school night be damned. It does not escape his notice that he’s the only one of their group that even has to worry about that.

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

Hours later, Hob finds himself alone at the new Inn with Dream, cleaning up dishes and putting away the chairs for the night. The others had offered at first to help clean up, but Hob had insisted they all go home and rest, but Dream had insisted that he would stay behind to help clean up and well, Hob’s never been able to deny Dream anything. 

Hob hadn’t missed the pointed looks Crystal and Edwin had given him as she and the others had filed out of the pub, nor the curious look from Jenny, and most certainly not the look of abject horror from Johanna. Charles and Niko had been the worst offenders, both giving him two obnoxious thumbs up on their way out. Hob doesn’t even know Niko, this was just getting embarrassing at this point. Everyone seemed to have some sort of opinion on Hob’s relationship (no, not a situationship) with Dream.

Hob really only cares about one person’s opinion though, and he’s currently staring at Hob as he finishes wiping down the tables, the last activity left before he closes up for the night.

“You did a good thing, reuniting those kids,” Hob says to Dream as he tosses his rag on the counter and turns to face his friend. “I've never seen them so happy.”

Dream hums contemplatively. “I hardly did anything,” he replies, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It was Niko's determination alone that carried her as far as it did, and her bravery that kept my realm from falling. I simply delivered her back to the Waking World.”

“I’m glad she was here, to have your back,” Hob says. “And I’m glad you brought her here. I know you said earlier you didn’t know the kids were here, but did you really not notice?”

“I did not,” Dream admits. “I have been—preoccupied with many things as of late. I simply brought Niko to where I knew for certain that she would be safe. Cared for.” 

“I’m honored,” Hob replies, grinning from ear to ear. “That you’d consider me a good caretaker for her. I would hope you know I’d be happy to care for you too, should you ever need it.”

“I am—aware,” Dream says, his cheeks taking on the slightest hue of pink. Hob briefly wonders if Dream blushes everywhere on his body, or only just on his face. Then he feels his own face heat up as his mind goes off in other directions.  

“Would you like to come upstairs?” Hob asks, trying to distract himself from his wandering thoughts, but then he realizes just how suggestive his invitation sounds and blushes even more. “I mean, I uh, if you don’t have anywhere to be I’d uhm—I’d like to keep talking,” he adds quickly, trying and failing to banish thoughts of what they could be doing in Hob’s flat other than talking . Christ, this was his oldest friend, not some girl he was trying to take to bed for the night. Dream doesn’t respond right away to Hob’s question, only tilts his head at him as if assessing something that Hob cannot see. 

“Hob Gadling,” Dream finally says, his voice suddenly serious. “You are aware I can see into daydreams as well as sleeping ones?”

Shit. 

Well cat’s out of the bag then. Might as well own up to it. Crystal’s never going to let him live this down, Hob knows.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Hob says, before taking a deep breath to calm the rapid beating of his heart. “I really did want to just talk, I promise. I’m a grown man, Dream I know how to take a rejection. I’m happy for just your company, and friendship.” He means every single word of it too, and if Dream didn’t believe him, he could apparently just read his mind to find out. 

“Hmmm,” Dream replies, before he takes one, two, three wide steps into Hob’s personal space. Hob inhales sharply, tasting petrichor and stars and infinity in that single breath. 

“I have been made aware recently,” Dream continues after a moment, looking up at Hob from his eyelashes, “that I carry a lot of ‘baggage’, as Niko likes to put it.”

“We all have our burdens,” Hob replies, with a shrug. “I'd help you carry yours, if you'd let me. Or well, if I could.”

“No,” Dream says. “I asked another once, if she would be my queen, and share that burden with me. She told me the burden would be too great for her, or any mortal.”

“Dream,” Hob starts, more ready to make his case. “I could—”

“No,” Dream interrupts, shaking his head, his gaze suddenly faraway as he recalls what Hob assumes to be a painful memory. “She was right. I would not ask you to take such a responsibility. It would fundamentally change you and leave you unable to live your life as you have been accustomed to these past centuries.”

“But?” Hob asks knowing there is a but in Dream’s tone. Dream sighs, before he meets Hob’s eyes again, his gaze clearer and perhaps a bit…hopeful?

“But perhaps…maybe coffee?” Dream asks shyly. Hob laughs. 

“Did you learn that from Niko too?” Hob teases him.

“In a way,” Dream answers, cryptic as ever. “If you are willing to be patient with me, Hob, I would gladly cherish you as both a friend and… something more than that,” he adds, and Hob’s heart soars. “There are limitations, however, and I—”

“Dream,” Hob interrupts. “Remember how we started? A hundred years between each meeting? That was enough.” He takes Dream's hand into his and kisses it, then moves his lips across each individual knuckle. 

“I don't know how relationships with anthropomorphic personifications are supposed to work, but I know it won't be what I'm used to,” Hob confesses. “And it's okay, Dream. It's enough for me, just to know that you feel something for me too. We can figure the rest out later.”

“You are too free with your affections,” Dream tells him, but there’s no real reproach in his voice.

“Maybe,” Hob replies. “But I have a lot of love to give, what with living forever and all. Let me show you just how much?” he adds, this time unashamedly letting his daydreams unspool from his mind. The innocent and dirty alike. Dream’s eyes widen as he seems to physically taste Hob’s dreams, before his eyes darken and he squeezes Hob’s hand in turn.

“Lead the way then,” Dream says, his lips quirking just the slightest bit into a playful smile. Hob kisses Dream's hand once more and winks, before leading the Endless upstairs to end the night.

[blacklegsanjiii]

Ohhh!!! I hadn’t known about the vivre card.. that’s so good. Them slowly learning emotions is just as interesting.

I can only imagine 124ji get told to be careful around Sanji as early as possible because once they start roughhousing, it’s stuff that can break his bones no sweat, and they kind of need a framework to not crack their brother in half by accident. But they internalize it a little too hard. All they take away is that Sanji is FRAIL in general, and the idea that they are fundamentally different. Not in a negative way, but they start clinging to him and stopping him from doing things because they don’t have a gauge for what’s safe for him, just that they three are a lot tougher than him and thus they extrapolate They should be the ones doing things. When they’re very young it’s not for any particular reason, they haven’t really gotten there in terms of learning empathy. So it’s for some stupid reason, like them having come in a set of four and it being kind of awkward if they lost their third.

Sora and Mihawk have a hell of a time trying to correct that behavior because that wasn’t what they wanted the kids to take from it at all, but at least it’s better than the alternative, and eventually they get it to stop for a while… up until they start learning some emotions and identifying the ones they have, even if they’re muted.

They figure out they love their brother. They love the rest of their family, too, but they’ve never been presented to them as frail the way Sanji was. So they start doing the clinging again because they figured out that with this realization that they love him, the idea of ever losing him or having him be out of commission just becomes unsettling and uncomfortable. And this time Sanji is the one who gets them to stop— he wants to be independent, damnit!

By the time they’re adults it’s mostly gone away, but it’s an old habits die hard thing. There’s all these little movements and gestures they do when Sanji’s around that indicate they want to, but they’re holding themselves back. They get that their brother is now strong, maybe even as strong as them even if he doesn’t have an exoskeleton, and he’s competent and happy and does things on his own no issue, but the instinct remains.

(ALSO SORRY THIS ASK IS SO LONG!!! I’m a writer in my own right, and your stuff inspires me a bunch at times -v-)’’ )

NO PLEASE THAT MEANS SO MUCH DON"T APOLOGIZE!!! I AM SO FUCKING HONORED???

So 124ji, for as long as they can remember being corrected from climbing on Sanji or hitting him or kicking him. Sanji cries when they do it but they don't. They don't get it for the first few explanations that Sanji is softer than them, not as sturdy. So 124ji are confused because why is Sanji so frail? They're all the same! Except Sanji has a picture like Mama and Papa but his isn't colorful. It's pretty though! So they start internalizing Sanji being frail and fragile. So they start not letting Sanji do things. If they hear any chastisements from their parents they don't let Sanji do those things anymore. Cracking eggs with Papa? Nope! Climbing to sit on the back of the chair or whatever? Not allowed! They're a set and you can't break the set!

Sora and Mihawk are staring at them in amusement but also knowing they fucked up with the corrections because they won't let Sanji be independent. The little blond is suddenly at the back of the line the kids travel in. He's not allowed to be in the water because he might drown, despite the fact they can all drown-bath time is such a struggle now. It was only because Sanji had waded a tad to deep on the beach without him or Sora or Reiju and now the three of them are telling Sanji he can't take a bath and Sanji is getting upset and looking at Mihawk with teary eyes. So Mihawk bathes those three, drops them off with Sora and Reiju and then bathes Sanji because lord have mercy he has four boys and Reiju's just as bad.

They do eventually correct the corrections so Sanji can be wild and free and cook. It took a while but they're lovely kids, really. They swear. They have their challenges but it's good. Mihawk never thought he would have a family this big so it's nice and he has Sora, something else he never thought he would be able to say. The fact that some nights Mihawk and Sora are pulled into the library with all the blankets and pillows the kids can find and a fort made big enough for them all.

And when they're older and learning emotions? They learn they love their brother and fall back into old habits. Especially when they learn that Sanji is the only one of them with a soulmate. So they have to protect him if someone out there is going to love their brother as much as they do. They all doubt Sanji's soulmate will BUT the point remains! So they fall back into their old habits, if Sanji gets sick they're the ones taking care of him. Any knicks, or cuts or scrapes or anything they bandage. It's almost like they're developing anxiety over but Sanji keeps insisting he can take care of himself. He starts refusing their help and being coddled by them. So they start letting him and living with that unsettling feeling but as they get older it gets less and less, easier to deal with. Sanji knows they love him, even if he is different.

When Sanji goes to work and then joins the crew and it's nice to breathe and fight and have equal matches to him and Sanji loves his Nakama he does. Eventually though, probably post timeskip. The crew is astonished at Mihawk because he's so fundamentally different with five kids and a soulmark he doesn't hide. 124ji are all over their brother as Reiju watches softly and points it out to their mom. They're being good when Zoro and Sanji fight and Luffy flings himself into the blond. Half steps taken then back tracked, jolts of hands that can't decide where to be. The brothers have worked hard okay? They know he's capable and have read the news.

Then the tips of Sanji's soulmark peak above the collar of his shirt, and Niji, loving Niji, sees it's not just an outline but can't tell if it's greyed out or not demands Sanji to take his shirt off so they can see. They're back to being all over the cook as the crew watches.

[glitteringsunshine]

Pairing: Leroy Jethro Gibbs x Reader Wife.

Jethro's POV :

“ Ouch Ouch Ouch” I hear Y/N ‘s voice from the kitchen as I enter home.

“ What’s up” I ask, hurrying to the kitchen. “ Why on Earth did you touch those pans with your bare hands?” I ask as I took her hand put it under the cold water from the top.

“ Hey I didn’t realise that the pans were so hot. Not my fault. Well OK partly my fault” she scowled as I rolled my eyes.

“ Go sit down , I am cooking” I say.

“ No. I will cook.” She said stubbornly. “ The steak is done. Just making the mac and cheese to go with it.”

“ I will do it.” I said.

“ But”

“ Y/N” I said sternly.

“ Alright Alright” she pouted.

I chuckled gently kissing her fingers.

After freshening up , I came down to see that she already set the table. I took a couple of candles , lighting them on the table before turning off the lights.

“ ohh wow” she gasped. “ pretty romantic”.

“ Well the Kids are away for the chess tournament in Baltimore. I thought I can make fill use of this time” I chuckled.

“ So while our kids are getting pampered by my parents, you thought of a candlelight dinner. Nice” she laughed. “ Ohh Jackson drove to Baltimore to today to watch our kids play. Mum and Dad convinced him to stay in for the night.” She said warmly. “ Well it’s not much , steak,mac and cheese , bear and ice-cream .I hope you like it.” She blushed.

“ Yeah”. I said. “ But I think I love the company more.”

“ Jethro” she giggled. “ Okay truth be told , I actually cooked your favourite steak to make it up to you. I know you have been angry with me.”

“ I have been” I confessed. “ But everytime you looked at me with your puppy dog eyes, it melted away.” I sighed.

“ Jethro, I am sorry for stonewalling your case. You were investigating a missing navy captain for embezzlement and arms robbery. But the embezzlement was a deep cover created by state to get hold of foreign arms dealer. When you came too close to the case , we could not have his cover blown, hence the stonewalling and the wild goose chase. I was doing my Job Jethro. I am not really happy about the stonewalling I did, but a navy captain’s life was at risk. I did what you would have done , and I am not apologising for that Jethro. But I wanted to cook for you to say I love you.”

“ I love you too Mrs. Gibbs “ I smile kissing her forehead. “ I won’t deny I was angry with you, but that’s different. I was angry with you as a professional, not as my wife.”

“ Good” she giggles.

“ You know darling, if you look at me and giggle like that , we won’t complete dinner. You have no idea how much I have wanted to bend you down and fuck you this entire week” I chuckle.

“ Why don’t you” she says innocently. “ Take out your anger on me. Punish me . Fuck me into submission.” She said blushing.

“ I would love to take you up on your offer , but let’s have dinner now.” I said gently smacking her ass.

…..

Reader’s POV:

Jethro led me up the stairs to our bedroom . He sat on the chair.

“ Strip” he commanded me.

“ Now kneel”

“ You have been a bad girl sweetheart. Tell me what should I do?” he asked.

“ Punish me”

“ Punish me what Y/N”

“ Sir” I replied.

“ Aah you would love that won’t you , my good girl “ he chuckled.

“ You remember your safeword darling “ he asked and I nodded.

“ Now crawl” he said calling me with his fingers. “ Show me how much of a slut you are to me “

I leaned forward before unzipping his pants licking the tip of his cock. I then took him in my mouth. “ Remember Y/N you have a safeword, and a gesture too. Use either of them I will stop, okay?”

I nodded taking his cock deeper in my mouth. He held my head fucking my face shooting his load into me which I swallowed eagerly.

“ On your fours” he commanded.

As I bend on the bed he came up behind be , fingering my slit.

“ Ahh so wet. Who are you so wet for?”

“ You sir only you”.

He fingered my ass and spanked me .

“ Where do you want my cock bitch?” he chuckled.

“ Pussy ,Ass ,both” I gasped as he lingered me to an organization.

He put on a condom before entering my ass. As he moved inside me he lingered my clit and kneaded my breast.

“ Ahh fuck fuck fuck Y/N. Ohh wow,ahh”

I arched my hips to meet him. As I climaxed again he withdrew and taking out his condom he entered my pussy , hitting me at my sweet spot.

“ Aah yes Jethro yes just like that “ I screamed in pleasure. “ Jethro I am gonna cum again. “

“ Shh Babe take it like a good girl” he chuckled . “ You will cum only when I tell you to”

“ Jethro ohh fuck ohh please. Please” I begged.

“ Okay Y/N, let go now . Cum on my cock baby.”

I let go at the command squealing in pleasure as he held my hips to steady myself.

“ Y/N “ he said hoarsely. “ I want to look into your eyes when I finish.”

He then withdrew to lay me on my back before entering me.

“ Come on Y/N, wrap your legs around me”

“ Ohh fuck you are so tight. Wow . Ohh fuck yeah yes. Baby yes. “ I could hear his moans . It reflected mine .

He looked into my eyes before claiming my moans with a deep kiss. “ Jethro ,Oh Jethro. I can’t hold it anymore. Please. I am gonna cum”

He bit my neck and breasts, expert’s sucking my nipples and intensifying every pleasurable sensation in my body. P

“ Yes baby. Cum for me”.

As I climaxed clenching his cock and shuddering with pleasure, he went over the edge shooting his load into mine. He panted touching his forehead against mine.

“ Oh Y/N” I love you so much” he said gently kissing my forehead and brushing his lips against mine. As I ran my fingers through his hair he patted my head before lixking and kissing all the hickeys he had left. He went further down massaging my stomach and gently leaving a trail of kisses. He cupped my pussy before eating me out lapping up every bit of cum that was leaking up from me. As I climaxed on his tongue , he pulled me up for a kiss so that I can taste us.

He poured me a glass of water. “ Hydrate” he said as I sipped from the glass. He then put it on the bedside table before cupping my face and kissing my eyelids and nose.

“ You know maybe I should be a real bitch sometimes. I would love to be punished like this” I giggled.

“ Ahh love , you are my bitch. My sweet little bitch. You are all mine and I am all yours love.”

he whispers. “ I love you my dear. I love you so much “ he said pulling me closer cuddling me.

“ I love you too Jethro,my love” I said resting my heart against his chest feeling his heart beat with the rhythm of love for me.”

[khepiari]

Hyped Up Rambling: Spoilers for ONE PIECE Chapter 1104

There are many daddies in One Piece.

But there is only one person who deserves the title of FATHER!

And it’s you, sir Kuma.

As much as I have grievances with Odachii, this is an arc written by a father for his daughter.

Parental love hurts. But still, parents continue to love their children despite the pain, loss, fear, and hardship.

Again I am reminding you all. The series finale actually began exactly two years back when Luffy punched Saint Charlos.

Kuma just continued the fight that Luffy lit the fire for! As my best friend put it, “Kuma is following in Joy Boy’s footsteps. Bringing light to the world…”

Even a “slave”, stripped and robbed of all his rights, mental prowess, and dignity and abused to the point of being on the brink of death will FIGHT TO PROTECT! A slave who lost everything rose up on his two feet to protect his child and punched the man who sits on the highest seat of power, and Joyboy aka Luffy made it possible.

And do you know who the people in power fear the most?

The slave they robbed of autonomy.

The scholar they denied true knowledge.

The ethnic groups they massacred.

And the God Born Out Of People’s Despair who comes to seek vengeance.

AND KUMA IS ALL!

May I also remind you all, Borsalino is worse than Sakazuki, he is a scum without any hope in him or in anyone. He is scarier than a straight-cut villain like Sakazuki.

There is a reason idealists are easier to defeat than cynics. You can’t beat a deadbeat easily.

My favourite rascals! Franky and Sanji have no chill! They went after Saturn, without any fear or hesitation, just like they went after Saint Roswald, Doflamingo and Big Mum. Their brain operates on: we are Future Pirate King’s Crew, we will kick anyone who is a scum!

I still can’t believe so many people hate Franky! The dude has literally the least count of losses and the funniest battles! Because he doesn’t fight one one-on-one guy, and he shines in the fights when minions and their bosses are involved against lone him! In Dressrosa he ran wild; kissed a girl (yes without consent; thanks scum Odachii) to defeat her, had a hard-boiled match with Senor Pink, destroyed the SAD factory and went to support the fairies on his own! And In Wano he ran his monster bike right into Big Mom’s face and knocked her out! We need more Franky love!

And finally!

I don’t like to pit series against series, but this is how you utilize the most cliché theme in the entire world: LOVE. You have to show it with actions and gestures and not tell it to your readers. Yes, Gege, I mean you brat; do better.

Why do you think we the readers and viewers still crumble at the theme of love? It’s extremely simple.

Love is radical.

Love is unpredictable.

Love is powerful.

And time and again in One Piece—Love is an Anomaly.

Ace was born because of Rouge’s willpower born of love.

Sanji was able to retain his humanity because Sora did everything in her power to protect her kids.

Robin was saved because her teachers, mother, and Saul loved her so much that they chose to protect her.

Nojiko and Nami had a chance to live because Bellemere protected them.

Trafalgar Law made it through a life-threatening disease and nihilistic approach to living because Corazón bet his life on him.

Hiluluk’s love for Chopper pushed him to be the doctor who wanted to cure everyone.

Zoro’s love for Kuna is what pushes him to work hard.

Because Franky wants to protect his “Family” he becomes the face of criminal activities.

Shirahoshi never revealed her mother's death circumstances because she decided to protect her mom's dream.

Examples of love changing the course of history are endless in One Piece, hence we should remember: Love is the invariant.

[steddieas-shegoes]

'til the grave and when we're ghosts

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

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

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

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

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

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

Close to tears.

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

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

“What’s wrong, Eds?”

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

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

“If what’s worth the trouble?”

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

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

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

“But it’s hard. It’s so hard.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That was the plan.

Plans can change, but his feelings don’t.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Exactly.”

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

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

But that was it, wasn’t it?

Steve wanted every part of Eddie.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[fatteningmenstories2]

Coached

Chapter 1 

‘Davidson a word please !”

What was it this time, Axel was already raking his brain to see what mistake he had made this time, not being the sharpest tool in the shed always led him to situations like this. And as the bustle of the  changing rooms slowly died out, Axel knew he couldn’t leave Coach waiting

“Come on Davidson - finished putting on your makeup yet’ Howled Coach from his office 

‘No Coach.. I mean .. ’ ah Axel was always a mess when it came to speaking to Coach, sure he certainly fit the All American stereotype which his killer 6 pac and biceps for days  but Coach was on whole another level, towering over anyone who dared to stand up to him, the man stood at an imposing 6ft 5 and was  jammed tight with muscle earned from his old wrestling years Axel was basically putty in his hands and it  especially wasn’t helped  by the fact that he was harbouring a schoolboy’s crush on him, but not wanting to keep the man across campus for his bite being worse than his bark so Axel knew that he couldn’t run from this mountain of a man 

“Coming Coach’

“Right lets get started’

Sitting in Coach’s office Axel felt like he was straight back in high school, designed to the last detail to make its guest feel uneasy -  Coach’s office was no easy place to be. Shelves filled high with trophies and medals, and walls littered with pictures from Coach’s own wrestling days and the  varies teams he was in charge of over the college, one knew that Coach Creed was not one to mess around with

Axel could trace Coach’s entire life through those walls, from a young wrestler no bigger than he was, to his old college team and finally to a buff muscular man winning accolades easily late into his 40s. All resulting in the 50 year old man sporting silver hairs and bulging veiny muscles sat before him. 

“Now I hate to the bearer of bad news, but Axel those no other way to put this … you  simply are just not fast enough for track’

What !!!!,  the heavy weight of all the gym equipment couldn’t to compare to weight that was being onto dropped Axel’s shoulders, he was speechless 

“I’ve been looking over your times on the track, and its just not good enough’

“Butt..Bu…’ His defence couldn’t even leave his mouth before Coach’s hand signalled for his silence. And with the ferocity of a bull with its eyes set on its target Coach plowed straight through,  dismantling Axels dreams on the side 

“To be honest this colleges track team isn’t going anyway fast  enough .. ha ha’ he paused laughing at his own joke “ And the team we’ve got is just outside your body potential’ 

He gestured, pulling the noose tighter and tighter around’s Axels neck leaving Axel frozen in his seat

“But I hate to see such wasted potential So…’ he stalled,  eyeing up Axel sternly ‘ Axel isn’t ? consider this your lucky day cus theres an opening on my Wrestling team, sure its a bit different from running around in the same circle all day every day, but this is a sport for Men!!’

He let that last sentence ruminate, his powerful voice echoing around the room 

’Now Davidson ask yourself, when you tell your kids about you wild college days do you think they gonna to care about how daddy ran around chasing his tail all day or more likely how Dad wrestled with men and triumphed’

All Axel could do was feebly nod his head to scared to even make a peep 

‘Exactly Davidson you get  it, now to be honest you ate on the small side .. ain’t you ’ ( It was like the noose reappeared only tighter), “But I am happy to take you under my wing and make a worthwhile man out you”

What could he say, he certainly couldn’t see himself standing up to Coach but this was his live he had to put up a fight

“I..”

“And before you say anything just know that, that spot you might see yourself clinging onto on the track team is long gone , its Zero!  Nada!  we’ve got a faster kid already lined up for it’

Throwing a whimpering dog a bone Coach buckled down again 

'So its either wrestling or nothing, you can kiss the scholarship of yours goodbye and especially your social ‘credit’ on campus - what you say’

And with his cards already played for him  Axel knew he couldn’t run from this,  all he had left to do was nod his head as Coach happily showed him where to sign on the papers and then  showed him out, patting him on his firm buttocks as he slammed  the door behind him 

The walk back to his dorm seemed like it could go on forever, Axel felt like he had just finally settled in, his classes were going okay, his dorm mate was great and not to mention that the gay culture had easily let another good looking lad like himself into their ranks. This was the first real opposition he could even remember,  all his life he could coast by on track and his looks and now Coach Creed was ripping it away from him with the ease of a man stepping on a bug.

Sure he should have put up a fight but when he got back to his dorm and his RA informed him of his notice, telling him he had a day to pack and move he knew that there was probably very little he could have even done.

The weekend ahead was jammed back to front, first after moving out and saying his departure to Jake his now old new roommate, he had the task of moving into the wrestling dorm. Being the last to move in and by far the lowest member in the wrestling hierarchy he wasn’t given much say about his roommate - who had been given the non-imposing name of ‘The  Boulder’ Stepping into his new room it was easy to see why the rest of the team had  landed on this nickname, Tony ‘ aka the Boulder’ was easily the largest wrestler or even man properly on campus. Compared to Axel’s trim muscular frame Tony was a behemoth, standing at must have only been 5ft 9 what Tony lacked in height he made up for in size, he barely fit unto his double bed let alone their doorway. Wrestling had given Tony a strong muscular body with arms the size of tree trunks and thighs that could break bricks but his apparent gluttonous diet paved the way for his fat boy gut and rolls upon rolls of fat. Despite his impressive size and importance on the team even Axel could see why this was the least desirable roommate, from  the floor littered with candy packages, the smell of old takeout and Tony’s easily explained laziness leaving the room looking more like a pig sty, Axel’s  new roommate was definitely going to take some adjusting to

It wasn’t just to the ‘The boulder’ that Axel easily stood out too, it was the entire team, sure Axel certainly wasn’t a stick with his firm pecs and his muscles for days but the rest of the team was just in a  whole different arena. Most of them were Axels ages some a little older but they all looked like proper men, each one beefier than the next,  packed high with body hair and muscle. And they behaved just like proper men too, when they weren’t training they were sparring with other, playing the latest video games cracking beers and even watching pornos out in the open. Not to mention their limitless appetites fuelled by their wrestling led them to be constantly be grazing on takeout and various meats. Finishing  them all off with round stomachs and fuller frames all over.  But too Axels surpise it seemed that the boys had gladly  taken him in - even going as far to nickname him ‘Pretty boy’ already, it wasn’t till later as Tony plowed straight through a large dominoes pizzas he learnt their real intention. And as he struggled to fall asleep in his new room that was filled with  Tony’s  loud snoring or the greasy smell of the empty takeout boxes, Axel couldn’t help himself but be a bit giddy thinking about what the next year under Coach’s ‘wings’ would grow into

                                            ***********

“Now Davidson to put this simply there just isn’t enough of you is there’

Standing in his briefs as Coach took his necessary measurements, Axel couldn’t help but feel a tad  bit vulnerable sure he had a great muscular boy that people would line up to get with  but as Coach noted his findings 

'28 inch waist’

'160 lbs’

“90inch torso”

The sound of disappointment that followed each taking was enough to silence him 

‘If I played you in your current state, I’m pretty sure a middle scholar could snap you in halve you twig, now you wouldn’t want that would you’ he paused as if waiting for an answer, all Axel could do was nod sheepishly as Coach continued with his tangent 

“Exactly Davidson - not to mention the embarrassment you would probably face compared to the rest of my team they would spit you out for starters’ Coach went on “No we can’t have that now can we, So don’t your worry a pretty little hair on you head’

Coach  said  grabbing Axel’s chin and pushing his head side to side leaving a definite pause in the air 

“Coach won’t have that’  he said to himself breaking the silence in a hush tone 

“We’ll get some meat on those bones of yours in on time”

As the meeting continued and Axel found that Coach’s style of conversation was more like a series of instructions belted out to him, which he was expected to follow with no hesitation, this was something he was happy to do. He loved not having to use his own brain for anything and following Coach’s instructions left little room for error 

“Now dress up and sit down we’ve got some serious work to start Davidson’  

“Look this isn’t going to be easy - but its a good thing you’ve got the best coach this side of the Mississippi on you side’ Coach’s southern thang always found a way to jump out 

“First things first before I get you out there on the ring - I’m gonna to have to get you into fighting state - and from the looks of things I’ve got a lot of work to do - haven’t’

Axel thought it was best to just keep nodding his head in ever pause,  too clueless to really contribute anything 

“Right you get it Davidson, I’m going to have to put you on a little bulk - well not so little I guess’ laughed Coach 

“You’re gonna get Coach’s special Bulk up plan, the very same one that got me from looking like a pipsqueak like yourself into the man you see before yourself’ making a note to draw attention to his own impressive frame by flexing his giant arms 

Axel hated how turned on all this Man spreading was turning him on 

“I own you now, everything you do, say and eat MUST be exactly to  my orders even to  the last crumb - have made myself clear DAVIDSON  !!’ raising his voice to pin the point down 

All Axel could do was simply nod his square head up and down to scared and even more so turned on by Coach rage

“Exactly, now first thing out you gonna do is  throw out those little girls running shoes - ain’t going to be doing much of that anymore’ Pausing to let Axel quickly take off his shoes , and chucking  them in the bin behind his desk

‘I making a man not a feeble little mouse - ain’t I Davidson”

 Allowing time for Axel to nod as his wriggled his unhoused feet Coach went on 

 “No more training, no more cardio you can’t forgot all of that instead..” He said getting up and retrieving something 

“You’re going to be drinking these’

Handing Axel the largest shake he had ever seen

‘What you doing staring at it - I SAID DRINK UP - didn’t I’

Seeing Coach’s veins in his head, Axel quickly grabbed the shake and started gulping it down, and it wasn’t hard too -  it was delicious. Creamy and Chocolatey he gulped it down the fastest he could, even more turned than before. 

“Ah I see you like it - its Coach’s top secret recipe, Don’t go spreading it around will you now Davidson ?’

Too sacred to even nod Axel just kept drinking it the faster and faster only pausing to let out burps of the delicious concoction

“Attaboy you’re even sounding like a man already, there’s going to be a lot more of that now, 3 of those a day or everywhere you feel like putting those gay little running shoes on  - you hear  and  I BETTER not  see you wasting any of that ’

 Gulp, Axel made sure to finish the very last remnants, licking his lips free of the delicious substance in order to show Coach’s an empty cup

“That’s more like it, now here’s your amended timetable’

Handing it over, Axel was surprised to really see how much Coach power  really had at this college, apart from his main Business’s classes nothing remained all instead replaced with gym session and hours tabled sport, even his lunch had been  upgraded to 3 hours and he was happy to see even more free time 

“Like the changes huh Davidson’ Coach said spying Axels prying smile 

“Don’t get any ideas, each one of those gym sessions are mandatory , DON’T EVEN DARE  go skipping out on me now and in those free times you going to be under close eye - you hear !!” 

“Yes Coach” Axel let out, not knowing where it came from 

“Now with that all worked out’ Coach said putting on a smile himself ‘you’ll be pleased to know  you’ve joined us just in time for photos - now scram’

And with that Axel grabbed his bag, quickly fixed his boner and left, happy to know Coach’s orders for him. 

Returning to the changing team the rest of the team were eagerly  waiting to pounce  - “Look who it is ,Pretty boy’s back form his private session’ followed by the subsequent wooing and towel slaps as a blushing Axel made his way to Tony who was waiting with his  new wrestling singlet 

“Forgot them” Pausing to take chunks out of a giant chocolate bar “They grow out of’   Bite .. ‘your just fresh meat’ Tony said in-between bites, handing over his singlet

Trying it on, it was loose all over, Axel was practically swimming in it, asking Tony to read the label on the back in disbelief 

“XS, hey no pressure we just run a bit big here in wrestling’ Tony responded slapping his overflowing gut which wobbled and jiggled under his fat hand

But this didn't help Axel, when the words XS left his lips Axel couldn’t help but be shocked, Coach was right he was just a pipsqueak. Looking around all the other men filled their singlets nicely, showing off their round glutes  and filled pecs, he looked like a stick  in his, compared to them . His pecs barely  touched the straps not to mention the excess fabric around his thighs that piled up. Looking over at Tony he seemed  to be  having the opposite problem, all though his muscular arms and imposing gait  was clearly on display, the real star of the show was his fat gut that easily pushed the fabric to its limited, refusing to be contained and flowing over the singlet  hiding it from vision. Surrounded by all the other wrestlers Axel looked  borderline anorexic, nobody had ever made him feel so small all the guys he had go out always compliment his body but that was in the past, even Axel knew that if he was to survive on the team some change were going to have to made 

‘Ah don’t worry about them Axel, when Coach has his way with you will be filling out that singlet of yours in no time, not lets get moving’ Tony finished gobbling up the rest of the chocolate bar

When the photograph came out, it don’t take Axel long to see  he stood out like a sour thumb not being helped by being next to Tony’s giant self. Where he had abs the rest of them had thick muscle guts, his toned trim legs were their muscular beefy thighs, he looked like a boy next to men, even with his American good-looks and chiselled  jaw standing out to their double chin and rounded cheeks, Axel felt pathetic  but looking on the bright side as he guzzled down his shake, Coach had stepped in and he was happy to follow all of Coach’s orders to grow into a proper man.

[angelsanarchy]

Fever Dreams: Mike x Y/N One Shot Series PRT 18

Tagging: @icarus-star @chainsawgvtsfvck @romanroyapoligist @liquidsmoothdomme @madamemaximoff06 @drazenka @blacksoul-27 @444rockstargf @kappasbbgirl @luzclarita57 @tempt-ress @starry-eyed-wild-child

Sicky rubbed the back of his neck as Y/n looked at him sternly. He knew the jig was up and if he wanted to keep his balls, he would have to come clean.

"Look it's not the kids fault. Leff and I were messing with him-"

"Messing with him how?" She kept her arms crossed firmly against her chest trying to calm herself down.

"I was ribbing him a little because I saw you guys were chatting it up and Leff might have said a few...unsavory things." Sicky knew she was going to lose it.

"Sick...what did he say?" She pressed fuming.

"He said that you made your rounds with the lot of us. He may have also said you were an escort and not a stripper." Sicky watched her eyes turn dark.

Y/n felt her body vibrating with anger as she grabbed her coat from behind the bar and stormed out. Sicky chased after her.

"Come on love, it's not that bad. He was just messing with him." Sicky tried for defend.

"Yeah at my expense. I don't get you guys. I worked my ass off for him and this is how I'm treated? For fucks sake." Y/n hissed.

"It's not like that. He's just messing around-"

"What is the problem if I do like Mike? Why is that such a bad thing? Am I so horrible? What have I done to either of you that would warrant the disrespect I'm being met with, not even to my face like either of you have a set." She spat at him.

"Have you actually been messing around with him? I thought you were just teasing him." Sicky asked grabbing her arm to stop her.

"If I was, it's none of your business or Leff's. He's a grown ass man and I'm a grown ass woman. What we do with one another doesn't concern anyone!" She pressed and Sicky sighed.

"I'm sorry love. I didn't know you actually liked him." Sicky was sincere. She shook her head at him.

"You're still on my shitlist." She got in her car and headed towards Leff and Mike's place to find the front door was actually unlocked. She opened the door and found the girl from the bar straddling Mike's lap.

"Y/n...what...what are you-" Mike started to stutter but as her anger boiled over, she crossed the room quickly, watching as the girl rolled off of him. He put his hands up like he was trying to get her to calm down but she threw a punch into his right eye so hard, he fell to the floor next to the bed.

"SERIOUSLY?! You thought I fucked Leff and Sicky?! How could you possibly be so fucking stupid." Y/n yelled.

"I thought-" He groaned from the floor, holding his eye.

"You thought wrong! You should have just asked me instead of letting those assholes get into your head. I can't believe you would stoop this low." She gestured to the girl who had the sheet wrapped around her.

"I didn't know what to think! You keep turning me down when I ask you out for a real date! You only hook up with me so I figured maybe they were trying to tell me you didn't do relationships." Mike defended.

"So you hope into bed with the first bitch who eye fucks you into thinking she's not going to rob you blind." Y/n pointed at the girl who was clutching her purse.

"What? She's not-" Y/n snatched the girls purse and dumped it on the floor, Mike's cellphone, wallet, flask and a bag of his weed scattered out.

"BITCH!" The girl shoved Y/n and she glared like she had no problem punching a hole into the girls face.

"Get out!" She yelled at her and she grabbed her purse and ran out still clutching his sheets. Mike sat up against the cabinet and sighed.

"Y/n...I made a mistake." Mike kept a hand on his eye as it throbbed.

"Yeah you did. Hope it was worth it." She turned on her heel and ran into Sicky as he came to a halt at the door to see the scene that had unfolded.

"You didn't kill the boy did you?" He saw Mike on the floor holding his eye. Y/n put her hands up letting him know not to touch her. She was ready to implode which meant she needed to get away as soon as possible before she ended up arrested. Sicky looked down at Mike as he brought his knees up to his chest. He took his hand away from his face and Sicky made a face.

"Jesus fuck...that's gonna leave a mark." Sicky walked over to his fridge and tossed him a bag of frozen corn that Mike had gotten for this very purpose because of a fight he had gotten into with Leff when he first moved in. He slapped the bag of corn on his face and hissed in pain.

"It'll be okay. She'll work it out but you've got a lot of ass kissing to do." Sicky clapped a hand on his shoulder. Mike looked at him annoyed but appreciative that he wasn't alone to deal with this.

Sicky was right though. He was going to have to pull out all the stops just to get her to talk to him again. He felt like an idiot. Not only did he let Leff and Sicky get into his head but he let himself get distracted enough to almost get robbed. He needed to get his shit together.

[occasionallyprosie]

A Thousand Ways

Chapter 14: "Passing Through"

Linkle and Warriors would 100% rp royalty as kids and Legend and Hyrule are theatre kids... also, the ballad didn't work.

First | <<Previous | Next>>

Read On AO3

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"So, is she staying with us?" Wild asked after they took out the monster camp with Linkle's help. Her mere presence had set Warriors off and the two were constantly bantering, more than any of the others ever did with each other and that was saying something.

At first, some of them were concerned, then they collectively realized that Warriors was more relaxed than they almost had ever seen him. It really showed when the fight began, and Linkle and Wars basically handled the entire thing. They fought together incredibly well, Linkle using crossbows and Piyoko--Legend was surprised at how attached Piyoko was to Linkle, she adored the heroine who loved her in return--as weapons, Piyoko definitely had the time of her life, while Warriors used his sword and shield to control the entire camp with ease... with the exception of the couple black bloods that Legend and Hyrule, and Time and Wind handled 

Honestly, Legend saw half their group just hanging back and he joined them in time to see both siblings gang up on a giant, and bring it down in record time.

Both were grinning at the end of it all, high-fiving and throwing insults at the other's form and battle choices.

"If she wants to," Warriors said in response to Wild's question. He shrugged. "I can't stop her if she does."

Linkle scooped up Piyoko into her arms. "I'd love to, goddesses know I miss this kind of thing, but I have to pass." She turned to Warriors. "One of us needs to stay back home, and tell Ma about that pretty little lie of yours."

"I told you--"

"Yeah yeah." Linkle waved him off. "Whatever. I'll tell her that it's a new development and her baby boy didn't lie to her face."

"I am literally a grown adult--With children!"

"Kids you adopted during the war so they wouldn't be sent to an orphanage don’t count."

"Hey!" Wind exclaimed.

"Rude," Time grunted.

Warriors gestured at them. "Does it look like we care? Why does Mom trust you more than me when my kids are actual children and not animals?" 

"Because I have more than you, and they're better trained. Mask dyed Impa's hair green!"

Legend glanced at Hyrule, leaning over to whisper to him and Wild.

"Bets that Mask is the Old Man?"

"No way," Wild hissed back. "It's totally the sailor."

"Ma would side with me that actual kids are far harder to take care of than a flock of cuccos!" Warriors argued.

Linkle scowled. "You know what? Fine! I'll adopt two of my own!"

"Wha--You’re going to--"

Legend and Hyrule both broke when Linkle raised an eyebrow at them.

"Us?" Hyrule pointed at them.

Linkle nodded. "I like you two, besides, I bet you'd beat Mask and Tune."

"No way!" Wind piped up. "We'd kick their ass! Besides, you can't take the Vet, he's my baby brother."

Time snorted. "Wow, Sailor. I'm wounded."

"You’re my little brother, there's a difference," Wind huffed, "Apple's my baby brother and Aryll's my baby sister."

Legend staggered a bit as Hyrule hugged him and declared, "My little brother now!"

"Daaad!" Wind whined, pouting at Warriors.

Legend couldn't help but laugh. Warriors sighed and tried to barter with Linkle, who stood her ground about adopting him and Hyrule.

Wild leaned over. "Would you let her?"

Legend looked at Hyrule, they shrugged.

"Sure," Hyrule agreed.

"Only when we're in this era though," Legend added, thinking of Dusk. "I don’t want to deal with... having to explain that to anyone. If she really wants, then fine, but only legally binding here... I'll let her claim it whenever, if only so we can fight the Sailor and Old Man."

"Yeah," Hyrule smirked, arm still slung over his shoulders. "We'd totally win."

Linkle gestured at them while Warriors groaned.

"Ha! I win! Next time you guys show up here, I'll have the paperwork ready," she swore. "Okay?"

"I can't believe you three." Warriors threw his hands up, turning away.

"Okay," Hyrule told Linkle. "Are you our mom now? Or...?"

"Sure. Next time, I'll introduce you to my Ma as her better grandchildren."

"Rude! Link, why didn't you ever introduce us to your Mom?!" Wind demanded.

"I-I--" Warriors floundered.

Legend could honestly tell that Linkle had only actually offered to mess with Warriors, and if agreeing messed with the Captain and the Sailor? Well, he was all for that.

What kind of 'baby brother' would he be if he didn't take whatever opportunity he was presented with to mess with his apparent siblings?

The portal came during the walk back to town, which was less filled with Warriors and Linkle arguing, and more filled with Linkle questioning him and Hyrule about their lives 'as a good mother would.'

"Well!" Warriors said loudly, interrupting Hyrule and Legend explaining their era and how it was different from his era to Linkle. "As fun as it has been to see you again, my dear sister, we simply must be going now."

Legend snorted, he heard Wild and Four sharing giggles too. Twilight and Sky had taken up the rear of the group, and both seemed especially amused.

Linkle pouted. She wrapped her arms around Legend and Hyrule. "Oh must you, Captain?" She replied, losing every ounce of her country accent in replacement of a posh, castle town accent. "Oh Captain please, my sons are only children, you need not take them away to fight battles for a higher power. Please spare them. Look! They are no soldiers, nor squires training to be such, doest thou not see their fear at facing warfare?"

Oh she is amazing, Piyoko clucked, Link, your new mom is amazing and I love her.

Warriors' face hardened, but the mirth was clear and it was a conscious decision to help bolster Linkle's argument by pulling on every part of his self control and acting ability to play the part of a scared kid. Hyrule's shoulders stopped shaking from holding in laughter and a glance showed that his successor was an excellent actor too.

"The Queen's commands are clear, these boys are to march to battle and face against the dark horrors of time," Warriors declared.

"You monster!" Linkle cried dramatically, playing up her part of a scared mother despite not looking even barely old enough to be their mother. "Child stealer!"

"Okay, okay!" Twilight intervened, choking on laughter. "Even if this is entertainin', we really do needa go. So say bye t' yer Ma, Vet, Traveler, and let's go."

On one hand, he could just cut the act, on the other... Legend looked at Linkle, and he was definitely pouting and using everything he knew to appear scared. "Ma, I don’t want to go."

Hyrule couldn't hold it in anymore and he broke, grabbing his stomach and wheezing in his laughter. Warriors gaped at him, as if surprised he was a decent actor, while Linkle immediately hugged him.

"I know, I know," she held firm to her own act, "but you must." She pulled away and held his face, he grabbed her hands and could see how she was starting to struggle to keep character too. He really wanted to break. "Be strong, and filled with courage. You will find your way back home, I know it."

A beat passed before they both broke, and the entire area was filled with various forms of laughter, loud and boisterous, high and wheezy, contained and quiet, someone's sounded like a fairy's even and another's was carried by the wind itself it felt like.

Legend wiped a tear from his eye. For a moment, it felt like everything was actually okay. For a moment, he was just joking around with friends, pulling stupid jokes and teasing each other.

The next, he felt Piyoko brush his leg, and the reminder of why she was with him hit him. With that, came the reminder of everything that had happened in the last few months. He managed to not let his renewed realization show to strongly, the laughter slowly fizzled out and he lent down to pick up Piyoko.

Link? She sounded concerned. He'd seen her fight with Linkle, but also needed Linkle's aid at every moment. All Piyoko could truly do was distract, and blind if she was lucky. Unlike heroes who accidentally harm cuccoos, monsters had no qualms with smacking them from the sky and he had seen so many close calls in just one fight alone. Linkle was used to accounting for them and ensuring their safety, Legend wasn't and he didn't want to risk her safety to learn.

"Let's--"

"Linkle?" Legend looked at the older woman, she was Warriors' twin, wasn't she? 

"Yeah?"

"Would you be willing to keep Piyoko?"

He heard several people freeze and inhale sharply. He wasn't sure exactly why.

Linkle frowned, crossing her arms. "Why?"

Warriors spoke up, instructing the others to go ahead and file through, to make sure they had their supplies and everything.

Link? Piyoko sounded hurt, though also concerned.

"I... She's a good fighter," Legend said, looking down at her in his arms. "One of my oldest companions, but... I don’t know how to fight with her, and I can't risk her in order to learn. More than that... You've mentioned you have a whole flock of your own, she's friendly and can assimilate, and... and Piyoko, we both know you prefer life on the farm rather than on the road. You also have said you love Linkle, if you’re both okay with it, I think this would be the best option for you."

Piyoko stared up at him, completely silent. He could almost feel her hurt, but the way she wasn't immediately pecking him and telling him he was an idiot--like she had when he suggested she stay with one of the farmers in Kakariko with the other cuccoos--meant he was right and she actually was considering it.

A part of him wanted to take his words back, to keep Piyoko with him. She'd been there in Holodrum, had always been someone he could trust. Din, he'd called her his emotional support animal for all the times he'd vent and she'd offer insight. But he also knew that no matter how much he wanted to cling to before--before his grandparents, before that cell, those days where he could feel his body wasting in that cave--and how Piyoko was a reminder of that, of days between adventures at his grandparents farm, of the lightness in Holodrum, of safety and warmth and peace... she was still a farm animal, and he wouldn't choose his own mental security over her physical safety. Not in a million years. Not ever.

If she's okay with it, Piyoko conceded, almost surprisingly so.

Linkle held her arm out and Piyoko jumped to her, wings flapping to aid the transfer.

"I'll take good care of her, visit when you can," while he can, Linkle gave him a pointed look.

He nodded. "Of course... Later, Piyoko."

...bye Link. Be safe.

"When am I not?"

Warriors and Twilight were the only ones waiting left, as per usual, the local Link would be the last to enter the portal. Legend left with Twilight, and everyone waited a few minutes longer before Warriors came through and it shut behind them.

During his watch, Legend watched the sun rise against all odds, and sure, astronomers of his era had determined the world to be a sphere and to revolve around the sun, but did he particularly care for that detail? No. The sun rose, that's why they called it a sunrise.

There were a million things he could think about.

Raven, how his ancestor not only was the grandson of the Fallen Hero, but how the people seemed to regard the Fallen Hero and in turn how they treated Raven... and what he did in spite of it. Additionally, just the fact that he'd never see Raven again... again. That's the second time he's lost the one man he's considered a parental figure, his uncle had been great but he... there was something there, he was always his uncle, never quite a father figure.

The fact he can't seem to die. That cell, he didn't look over to see the blood but he knew that no person should've survived what he did, and he didn't know how. But maybe Dusk had some special method of saving his life. Then the cave... the island and storms... he had been sick, so sick he couldn't move and didn't eat for days, he knew now he shouldn't have survived that--learning how long they'd been in the Sailor's era and the Traveler's era right afterwards--and yet, he did. He didn't know what Marley and Raven did either, but they didn't have access to things that would've done anything special.

He knew he should've died in that cell, he was certain of that fact, but that portal had come at the perfect time... More than that, the portal had come to that cave and had to of dropped Legend right on Raven in order for him to have survived that too.

He knew the goddesses wasn't done with him, this was just further proof of that.

Or... he glanced at the back of his left hand. Maybe my ancestry plays a larger part in that survival.

Three people here were his ancestors. 

Sky was the easiest to place and yet the hardest to come to terms with. Sky was from before the timeline got chaotic, the line from him to Legend was straight and simple. He was the easiest to understand and yet... how was he, Legend, a descendant of the goddess, and by extension, royalty?

Time was probably the easiest to come to terms with, his was a bit weird with the timeline and parallel worlds, but it was comprehensible. Time was the Fallen Hero, Legend had figured that out, Twilight's Hero of Time was from the exact same time as the Fallen Hero, the history books claimed him to have done the same things as the Fallen Hero... only he succeeded in the end. It was weird, but Legend could understand it. He knew Raven was his ancestor, and he now knew Raven's grandfather was the Fallen Hero. So sure, Time wasn't his ancestor, but in a weird parallel timeline way, he was. That was simple.

What wasn't simple was Twilight, what wasn't easy to come to terms with was Twilight. Because if they were related, it was confusing.

Legend knew exactly four things about his father: one, he was younger than his uncle, two, he looked almost nothing like his uncle aside from the bare minimum sibling similarities, three, his name had been Link and Legend was named after him, and four, he died around the same time Legend had been born.

Now, that paired with the fact that his uncle Alphon was his uncle, would lead one to assume that Twilight--well his parallel self in Legend's timeline--was his father. Easy, simple, timeline shenanigans makes it confusing but only a little more than Time.

Except that Legend has met Dusk and her two children, the children that are the parallels to him and Fable. He knows who their father is, and the problem is that their father is Alphon and Legend knows his father isn't Uncle Alphon.

That's the confusing part. Legend genuinely doesn't know how to place Twilight, his best conclusion is that Dusk and Twilight had some other variable that kept them from falling in love or at least having two kids that Legend's parents didn't. And knowing that Fable's counterpart was born... roughly two years after Twilight's adventure, meant that variable was probably related to his adventure.

But, how did Dusk's daughter look so identical to Fable if she had a different father, who bared little resemblance to Twilight? 

"Honestly, couldn't some part of my life been simple?" He muttered. He wished Piyoko was here--she's safer with Linkle.

"Did you say something?" Wild looked up from the breakfast he was working on.

"No, just thinking. Need a hand with that?"

The moment Legend opened his eyes, he knew things were wrong.

He shot up and almost expected to see lapping waves and hear cawing seagulls, only to see a familiar forest.

"What the..." he breathed, pushing himself to stand as he looked around. He dug out his ocarina and tried to play the Ballad of the Wind Fish.

The song reverberated in the forest—which it shouldn't have, the notes should've just expanded further—and thrummed all around him.

Nothing changed though. He almost began again when he heard a bush rustle.

He moved quickly, drawing his sword only to see a man rush through the small clearing to kneel by a tree. He put something inside it before quickly shoving his cloak into some sling at his chest.

“Excuse me?” Legend called, wary. He reached for the man’s shoulder.

Yelling caught his attention, familiar yelling. He tensed as he shifted his stance, the man shot up quickly.

“This way!”

“Find him!”

A squad of knights burst from the same direction the man had come from. The man moved past Legend in a way that should have bumped his shoulder, but he just went through him.

The realization near smacked him in the face.

This was a vision, he had some of those when he was younger but ever since Koholint he couldn’t differentiate them from dreams. He was seeing some scene, past, present, or future, and he couldn’t intervene. So he observed.

The cloak had been hiding a forest green tunic lined in golds, a golden crown, though Legend couldn't quite see his face from his angle.

“Stand down,” the leading knight commanded, and Legend froze when he saw that familiar glaze in the equally familiar knight’s eyes. “We only wish to kill the boy.”

“Over my dead body,” the man snarled, Legend felt a flash of familiarity at the voice.

“So be it.”

He swallowed thickly. What being had dragged him into some hell where his main torturer, visibly decades younger, was facing a younger and more composed Twilight?

Time grabbed Twilight’s arm and pulled him back. “We’re only observers, Pup.”

“He can’t see us,” Twilight croaked.

Hyrule was waving a hand in front of Legend’s face, but their scholar didn't even notice. Time didn't know how exactly, but they were all sharing some kind of vision, except Legend was separate from them. He blamed the goddesses.

“There’s a baby here!” Wind exclaimed from where he and Four had investigated the tree the nobleman had been knelt by.

Wild suddenly yelped loudly, grabbing Twilight’s arm as he jumped back.

Time turned to look at what startled the Cub, and only due to his earned dark vision, could he see the nobleman's face. The darkness of the snowstorm overhead didn't help, but his face was very clear.

Though it lacked tattoos and scars, it was undoubtedly their rancher, or someone closely related to him. His jaw the same shape, his nose and eyes, the way Time could almost feel a connection to him...

Time tightened his grip on his pup as he felt him go rigid beside him. The man in front of them wasn’t much of a man, maybe Sky’s age, younger than Twilight at least.

“What in Hylia’s…” Sky breathed.

The lookalike cut down two of the knights before an arrow lodged into his bicep. He didn’t cry out and only barely switched his sword to his other hand to block another blade. Time didn’t know what they were meant to be seeing; between the alleged baby in the tree behind them, the young man fighting to save both their lives, and Legend’s exclusion from them.

Time felt his blood go cold as a blade sank through the bundle on the young man’s chest, and then through his chest too. He could see the sword protruding from the man's back.

“NO!” Wild screamed.

Twilight lunged to catch him and pull him back, Time pulled both back as he listened to Twilight promise Wild that it wasn’t him. Wind cried out too, and Warriors was quick to pull him and Hyrule to him as they watched the young man snarl, baring slight fangs. The young man swung his sword desperately, and it knocked the knight’s helmet off, but did little other damage.

“Agahnim will fail,” he swore, “you’ll fail.”

The knight laughed; Sky suddenly made a horrified noise upon seeing the knight’s face.

“With that brat dead, he will prevail,” the knight sneered. “With you out of the way, that wife of yours will be easy pickings, king.”

The knight shoved the noble off his sword, the man fell back and into the snow. 

In a reminder that Legend was completely separate from them, the veteran shot forward, dropping to his knees beside the nobleman.

“No, no, no—” Legend said as the knights all laughed. They boasted to one another, cheered how Agahnim would be pleased, and left the nobleman to die. “Don’t tell me—”

“No--Kit, it’s not him, it's not the Rancher,“ Sky tried as the young nobleman struggled to breathe, blood slipping from his mouth.

Time hated to see it, that was his pup—in look, at least—who was dying on the forest floor. It was that inn all over again.

A ripple of violet wrapped around their scholar for a moment, and just in time, Legend’s hand landed on the young man’s chest.

“He touched him!” Four gasped, voicing what Time knew they all were thinking. This was a vision, a dream, how could Legend interact with it like that?

“Who…” the man murmured, frowning and his brows knitting together in a way that Time could only see Twilight, could only see his descendent laying there.

“Wait—I have a fairy,” Legend shoved his hand into his pouch. “It’s going to be alright—You’ll be fine, you’ll get out of this—”

“Yer him,” the man slurred, and Great Forests, he even sounded like Twilight. “I… I got’ta see… ya grown up…”

Time held his pup a bit tighter as they all stared at the scene.

Legend made a strangled noise. “No, no, no—Where is that damn fairy?!” He suddenly froze as the man raised a bloodied hand to his cheek. “W-What--”

“If yer here…” the young man said, “s’means… yer not changin’ it… are ya?”

Time did not know their acclaimed Veteran Hero to be fragile, yet in that moment he looked like breaking glass.

“I can’t, can I?” He responded, voice breaking. He didn't sound his years either. “I’m sorry—I’ll fix it though! I—Agahnim doesn’t win! I stopped him, and-and I—I saved Zel—She’s—She’s okay too. You—You’re okay—You don’t have to worry.”

It hit him: Legend wasn’t seeing Twilight.

“I know… ya got the look of a hero… jus’ like y’r ancestors.” The young man smiled just as his hand slipped down from Legend’s face, leaving a line of blood down it. “I’m… ‘m proud.”

Legend caught his hand but otherwise didn’t move, his mouth moved as if to speak but no sound emerged.

“What the hell?” Warriors breathed.

“Is he okay?” Wind whispered, daring to try and touch Legend again while the veteran just stared at the dead man in front of him.

“I don’t—” Twilight choked out, “he’s not okay—Ordona, please.”

Wind’s hand went through Legend again.

A call caught their attention. Legend’s head jerked to the side toward the wider forest. He scrambled to his feet as that purple wisp wrapped around him again and the call grew clearer.

“Link!” All their heads turned toward the older woman. She was followed by an older man carrying a lantern, just outside the area. “Link! Baby, we came! Where are…”

“Leanne,” the man grabbed her arm, staring in their direction. “Is that…”

She pushed branches aside and entered the area, Twilight made a strangled noise while Legend, who saw them too, let out a pained cry as he dropped back to his knees.

The woman rushed to the body on the ground, her hand brushing through Legend’s shoulder and half of Sky’s body as he failed to get out of the way quick enough. 

She let out a horrid scream, one worse than any redead Time had ever heard, a cry of pain deeper than any injury, than any sword wound.

“LINK! NO! GODDESSES NO! NOT MY BABY!” She screamed, falling to the ground beside the dead man.

She screamed and sobbed and begged the goddesses not to take her child, her husband kneeling beside her and placing his hand on his son’s leg, eyes slipping shut.

Time couldn’t move, her cries froze him to his place, and it seemed all of them had the same reaction, except for their veteran.

Legend, with visible tears streaming down his cheeks, rushed over to the grieving couple and dropped beside the woman.

“Gran—Gran, please stop crying,” Legend begged, and Time felt the pieces click into place. At that same moment, Twilight fell to the ground just beside Time. Wild made a worried noise as he dropped beside the Rancher. “Gran, please, it’s okay, I’m so sorry—Look! Gran, look at him, he’s smiling. Gran please, don’t cry. I’ll fix it, I will.”

He sounded like a child, he sounded like Time when he had begged Navi not to leave, he sounded desperate and broken and like he just wanted to fix the one thing he had left.

“We shouldn’t be seeing this,” Four said, stepping back. “We’re not supposed to be seeing this.”

The woman faltered, her hand lowered to the man’s face and brushed his cheek, tugging the smile that had remained when his spirit moved on.

“My baby,” she sobbed, her cries quieting. “My baby boy.”

Another kind of cry caught all their attention, in the hollow of a tree came the sound of a crying infant.

“Oh,” Legend breathed. “That’s how…” He let out a pained laugh for seemingly no reason.

The old couple both went to the tree, and the woman cooed, it was strained and a bit painful, as she scooped an infant wrapped in royal blue from the hollow.

Time stumbled as the world suddenly jerked beneath their feet.

Next>>

[storiesbyjes2g]

3.52 Home

As soon as we settled at the table, I complimented her appearance immediately. I may have been a dating noob, but I grew up with two women in the house and learned a lot about what women liked. She blushed, playfully asking me to stop, saying I was doing too much. See? Simple and elegant. She picked up the menu to hide from me, and I told her to order whatever she wanted and not to be shy. But she placed the menu down and gave me a concerned face instead, and everything inside me tensed up. What have I done now? Am I too late??

"Luca... Why are you doing all of this? I mean, I appreciate it and everything... I'm just a little overwhelmed."

Drat! This gesture was too big, and the whole simple elegance thing was a common thread which weaved together her entire life. I took a deep breath, desperately trying to steady myself and find the right words to explain my intentions and fix this.

"I... I understand if it's too much," I stammered. "I just wanted you to know how special you are to me. We both know I haven't really done a good job of showing you, so I just thought... Sorry to overwhelm you. That is the opposite of what I wanted to do tonight."

Her eyes softened, and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips, making me hopeful my words had reassured her that my intentions were pure.

"Awww Luca! I don't know what to say!"

Thank the Watcher! I'm not sure what I would have done if I couldn't salvage the moment.

"You don't have to say anything. Just enjoy."

The server came and saved us from an awkward yet very tender moment and took our orders, and I was happy to hear she accepted the gesture despite being uncomfortable and ordered something interesting.

I asked about her day, and she began telling me a wild story about a man who had been rushed in for emergency surgery. They thought he had triple threat based on his symptoms and prepared to operate. But before they put him under, he began to yell and writhe in pain. They asked where it hurt, and he said his stomach. He kept yelling, "Get it out! Get it out!" The doctors didn't know what to think or what was happening. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream blared throughout the operating room, and an alien burst through the man's stomach!

She laughed so hard she couldn't sit up straight.

"Oh my Watcher, you should have seen your face!"

Her laughter was so infectious, I couldn't help but join in. It seemed we both had a dormant goofball trait hidden somewhere.

"Wow. You really had me on the hook," I said, still laughing.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I couldn't resist!"

"You're a really good storyteller, you know that?"

"Thanks. I love stories. I wanted to be an actor when I was a kid, and I wrote wild tales all the time and acted them out with my toys... Guess that's still in me."

"Sounds like you were quite a character."

"I was an only child. I kinda had to be."

I couldn't imagine being an only child, going through what I went through alone. My sister was my best and only friend, even though she annoyed the hell out of me.

The food arrived quickly, and Sophia squealed in excitement about whatever she had ordered. It looked good enough to snap a picture and hang it on the wall. My dish looked incredible too, but hers had a little extra something special.

As we ate, we continued our conversation, sharing laughter and stories. Despite the time we had already spent together, seeing her smile, observing the expressions on her face, and hearing her voice after only knowing her through words and a static image was an almost surreal experience. I could have watched and listened to her all night. Her presence had an intoxicating effect on me.

Once our bellies were full and our abs couldn't take anymore laughter, I paid for the meal and prepared to leave. I had two things I wanted to do, but one I refused to do at the restaurant.

I pulled out a rose and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry this date was such short notice, but I'm happy you could join me tonight. Uhhh...I'm glad you're in my life, and...I'm looking forward to spending more time with you."

Her twinkling eyes and wide smile were so rewarding.

"Luca!! You're so sweet! It's so funny you did this because," she too pulled out a rose, "I was gonna give you one!"

"No way!"

"I'm looking forward to spending more time with you too, and you are very special to me."

What were the chances two sims arrived at a date carrying not only gifts for each other but also the exact same gift? The feeling of being on the same page with someone was like finding a missing puzzle piece. Just imagine if this one-up behavior continued. A relationship would become a never-ending race to the top when both parties always tried to out-do each other. We'd never stop growing, and progress would never stall. I'd say we were positively laying the groundwork for a strong and stable future.

For the second thing I wanted to do, I asked if I could escort her home. And, no, it wasn't for that. I just wanted privacy. Plus, I wanted to make sure she got home safe.

"I haven't laughed so hard in ages," I said. "Thank you."

"I should be thanking you! That meal... It was fantastic."

"Sophia... Can I kiss you?"

"I was hoping you would."

Although I had already experienced my first kiss, this one felt like a genuine first because I mustered the courage to initiate it, and my nerves were unexpectedly jittery. As I approached her lips, my heart pounded in my chest. The same kind of hunger I experienced with Yasmine was there, but it wasn't as intense. Sophia was like a plate of warm comfort food, something you want to savor and enjoy. And I did.

"That was nice," she said with the prettiest smile.

We stood at her front door with our eyes locked in a silent exchange before I realized she might misinterpret my lingering. I mean, if she was down, I would not decline. But we didn't have to do everything in one night. Comfort food, remember? I could come back tomorrow and the next day and the day after that. We had all the time in the world.

"I think I've hi-jacked your night long enough, heh," I joked. "I know you have an early start."

She nodded, though it looked reluctant. I didn't want to go either, but I gave her hand one last squeeze and tried to say goodnight.

"Luca, wait..."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I held my breath as my ears eagerly awaited whatever she'd announce.

"Do you trust me?" she asked.

"Yes," I said much quicker than I imagined I would.

"Do you trust us?"

I froze for a second. This was it. This was the moment I leveled up in manhood. No more scared little boy. After some hesitation, internal pep talks, sweaty palms, and deep breaths, a yes stumbled out of my mouth, though weak and non-committal. My goal for the night was to convey my readiness to upgrade our friendship, and that poor excuse for a response did not come close to doing that. I had to try again and cleared my throat.

"I believe in us," I said in full confidence.

"Then stay."

YES!!

"Okay," I said calmly, trying to hide my excitement. "Yeah. Sure, I'll stay."

She held my hands.

"Not just tonight. I don't want us be apart anymore. Come home to me."

Home...

That word reverberated within me, echoing like a chamber. I was seriously taken aback, as if someone had thrust me into a time warp. It wasn't until I quieted my mind and relaxed my body that I understood why it affected me so deeply. That's what she felt like - home. Comfort food! I'd been confessing it all night, yet I was oblivious to what I actually meant. Moving in with her was sheer madness, and I had never been more terrified. But I took solace in knowing she would be there to face it alongside me.

It shouldn't have surprised me that the first step into the next chapter of my life would be a leap as big as the Strangerville crater. Earlier, I said I shouldn't pressure myself to enter into a relationship right away. We could remain friends until I felt comfortable pursuing something more, and living with her would accomplish the exact opposite of that. But to be honest, I didn't care anymore. All my dreams revolved around being with her, and now, that dream was within my grasp. Despite being consumed by fear, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for daring to take the leap. That's what a man does.

[weird-an]

Jim is out of whiskey and unfortunately he can't imagine a weekend without drinking a few glasses. His doctor disapproves, but Hopper's got the feeling fighting monsters from another dimension is more life threatening than that. Not that he tells him that.

Billy Hargrove buying a bottle of cheap liquor right in front of him is not good for his health, too. The cashier laughs, blushes and hands it to him without asking for ID. She's about Jim's age.

"Give that back," Hopper grunts. The cashier's face turns red and she tries to grab the bottle.

Billy turns around. "I've already paid-" He cuts himself off when he sees the Sheriff.

Hopper is speechless for a second, too. The boy has a dark bruise around his neck. Hopper can see the fingerprints.

Fuck. That's not what you get from a bar brawl or a fight at school.

"Come with me," Jim says and puts his finger on his badge.

Billy follows him with his jaw clenched and lips thin. Jim walks to his car.

"Am I… arrested?" he asks, a bit confused. "Sir," he adds after a heartbeat.

Jim shakes his head and gestures at the passenger's seat next to the driver's. "Did you get ice on your neck?"

"What?" Billy's voice is hoarse and Jim wants to get his gun. "It's nothing, just a stupid fight."

"I'm getting you home," Hopper says. "You have to tell me who did it. We'll talk to your parents and figure-"

"No," Billy says. "Please don't take me the-" He stops to cough.

Shit. Jim thinks the heart attack might happen sooner than he thought.

"Did your parents do it?" He asks, eyes lingering on the bruise. It's large. A man's hand.

"What? No," Billy tries to deny the obvious, but he stares at Hopper with wide eyes, like a wild rabbit being chased by a fox.

"Sit in the car. We're going to mine. Do you want me to call someone? A friend?" Jim is proud of himself of thinking of that. A few years ago he would have dragged the kid to the station without anyone.

"Harrington," Billy mumbles. "I… can you call Steve?"