#wyatt would have treated you right

[rosepompadour]

anne boleyn and thomas wyatt, tarnish by katherine longshore He kisses me with the deep desperation of a drowning man. This kiss is a song of longing. "I love you," I whisper when he kisses my throat. I cannot say it loud enough for him to hear.

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[creedslove]

HEARTLESS 💔 - PART NINETEEN

Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels) x f!reader

Summary: Jack needs to go on a mission and leave you and Wyatt at home; it hurts him but he needs to get the job done, at the same time you and your son prepare yourselves for Halloween 🎃

(This is the nineteenth chapter of my HEARTLESS 💔 series)

• PART ONE TO EIGHTEEN ON MY MASTERLIST

Warnings: fluff, a little bit of angst and overall no other warnings to avoid spoilers so you are on your own here besties

A/N: I missed our cowboy so much, my besties! As this is almost the end of our lovely story, we need to let him and sugar go with their happy ending, but of course there's still some Halloween treats going on. Also, kind of obvious but this chapter takes place on Halloween

5.8k words

If someone asked Wyatt exactly what a marriage was, he wouldn't be able to explain it properly, he didn't understand much about grown up stuff, it was boring and his little life of playing with animals and with his toys and eating his mommy's delicious food while being a cowboy with his daddy was way more important to him; however, Wyatt had watched enough cartoons to know that mommies and daddies lived together with their babies and his dad had told him that if his mommy accepted his surprise, then that would happen to them and he was excited about that.

Wyatt was so willing to have you and his daddy together for good, he took all the instructions Jack had given him seriously, because he wanted everything to be perfect for you, he wanted his mommy to be happy with his daddy after all, and for that, he would help Jack do whatever he needed, but luckily, his daddy's first instruction, apart from being completely silent about the beautiful, glowing ring, Wyatt was asked to act as normal as possible, so he could surprise you when the moment was right, and so was it that the next few days went by completely normal, you and Jack were going strong in your recent relationship as Wyatt was enjoying farm life more and more, and the very few times you actually had to go back to the city in order to pick up more clothes, check on your apartment and make sure everything was in order, your son was each time sadder and sadder to leave the ranch. He had everything he ever loved in there, a life with his mommy and daddy, animals, Silver Pony and Silver Star and the mere prospect of having to go back to the city scared him to death. He loved his home and his family and he had made up his little mind he wouldn't leave without a fight. Luckily to him, you also had no plans of returning to the city, as the weeks passed and your relationship progressed with Jack, you didn't see the need of returning permanently to the city. Of course it was still necessary to do so, eventually for some doctor appointments, shopping for new clothes and stuff like that, but if you were going to be honest with yourself, you also didn't see you and your son going back to a small, cramped apartment once you got used to that gorgeous ranch. It was beautiful, spacious and it had everything you needed; not to mention you had re-encountered love once more. Saying you weren't madly in love with that stupid cowboy would be a huge lie, it's not that you had ever fallen out of love with him, you hadn't, even during the worst time of your life and how cruel he'd been to you; you should have done it though, however, you simply couldn't. Even during the hard moments in which you burned with anger at the mere thought of what he'd done to you, that intense love was just there, underneath all. You had both dreamed and dreaded the moment Whiskey would walk back into your life not knowing what to do, and even if it was hard at first, then you were thankful it happened in a way you are able to see Jack really meant his feelings and you both couldn't fight the passion any longer, even if you still felt a paralyzing fear of being hurt, you decided to trust your man in your own terms: he had a chance, the only and final one, and in case he did anything to ruin that, then you and him would be history.

Luckily to you and Wyatt, Jack was nothing but the best and most caring boyfriend and father; all he wanted was to make sure you and your son were happy and well. He would spoil the two of you and do anything in his power so you would be next to him. He loved you more than anything in the world and his son was the most precious little thing he could ever ask for. He was taking care of his family like he should have from the beginning and there was no stopping him this time. That's why he went over his plan with Wyatt for several days, talking to his son and using his help to form an alliance in order to make you the best proposal he could think of. Yeah, you two had been engaged before your son's birth, but you didn't want it to be like that, especially because you both had come to an agreement of having a new beginning. So Jack kept your former engagement in a box and locked it in his closet, it was a pretty ring, but he still remembers coming home still feeling hot headed after the argument you two had over the revelation of your pregnancy. One of, if not the biggest regret he'd ever had in his life was definitely his reaction towards the news that changed both of your lives. He didn't know what to say or what to do after you broke the news to him, it was in fact, as if he had stopped processing facts for a while. However, when he finally realized what had happened it was as if something had broken inside of him, he felt as if he had lost the ground under his feet and above all, he felt betrayed, as if it didn't matter to you the family he had previously lost. Of course Jack knew that wasn't it, he knew he was severely mentally ill at the time and that was a reflection of it, and yet, he also knew he should have been a decent man for you and your son. But instead, he'd told you unspeakable things, he'd made you the vilest proposition someone could ever think of - for you to choose between him and your son - and he left you crying, on your own and went to a bar to get wasted.

When he came back home, all he found was the silence and emptiness he felt surrounded him and also around him. Your clothes, belongings, accessories, everything that made that home a little more yours than just his were gone, and the only proof you'd ever been there was the engagement ring you left on his pillow. You'd made your choice; you'd chosen your son.

So that was the whole reason why he thought it would be a nice idea to get you a new engagement ring, he had a feeling the previous ring carried a lot more negative meaning than the two of you would like to admit. Besides, he got to choose a brand new jewelry for you, not sparing any money - one of the greatest advantages of being a high profile Statesman employee after all. After gathering his son's help, Jack waited for the perfect moment, he was anxious and nervous, as he hadn't really planned on a specific scenario, instead, he tried to find a suitable time and place, feel in his heart when it should happen, preferably when Wyatt was also around, as your son showed great interest in it, being a supporter of the idea since the beginning.

It happened in the late afternoon, just a regular day of the week that ended up becoming one of the most special days of your life. You and your family had gone for a horse ride, Jack deciding - with your agreement - that Wyatt was already old enough to learn how to ride a horse, you three stopped by at the stables but the little boy went with Silver Star, which didn't stop her from trying to running and that lead your cowboy to use his lasso to stop her and your son from going too fast. On one hand you were a little scared, your heart racing from seeing your baby boy looking so big and independent from his parents, but also a huge wave of pride to see him becoming a cowboy just like his dad.

You'd made a basket with treats and sandwiches in order to have a picnic and the moment you three settled by the willow trees - one of your favorite places at his ranch - and Jack realized the sun was setting, creating the perfect atmosphere of laughter, happiness and a beautiful landscape. He winked and nodded at his son showing him it was time to propose to his mommy. Wyatt clapped his small hands in excitement and watched intently while the cowboy got on his knees in front of you, taking your hand and professing you love words. You knew what was happening, but at the same time it felt like you didn't, as your heart was racing so much and the tears simply couldn't stop clouding your vision. You held your breath the moment he showed you a brand new engagement ring, it was one of the most beautiful jewelry you'd ever seen in your life and there was no way you could ever say no to that.

The moment Jack finally asked you the question, proposing to you and you said yes, it was as if time had stopped and there were only the three of you in the world, your happy little family, you, your son and your future husband. You had said yes and that was how you were officially engaged to Jack Daniels once more.

•••

"Sugar, listen to me…" Jack placed his hands on your waist and pulled you closer "it will be a short mission, in a few days I'll be back home, I ain't even looking towards any women, you know they don't compare to you. I've never been unfaithful to you and I ain't starting now sugar…"

You could see the honesty and pleading in his eyes and even if it was recomforting to be assured like that by him and acknowledge how dedicated he was to you, however, you would be over the moon if your concern was reduced to only a bunch of whores throwing themselves onto your man.

"Cowboy, it's not it, I mean, I know you're faithful and I'm also faithful to you, and I will always be… but I'm scared and worried. You remember what happened on your last mission… I don't want that to happen again, I mean, I don't even want to think of the slightest possibility of it, please. You have a family now, me and Wyatt, you are leaving us home, but we want you here with us" You used just about the same pleading eyes in order to convince your cowboy to stay, you couldn't place your finger exactly on why you were so anxious and needy, but if it were up to you, you'd use his lasso to keep him tied down to your bed, not letting him leave at all. You felt so vulnerable without even understanding why, but your biggest desire was to be held by him and assured he wouldn't move an inch away from you. He placed his hands on the side of your face and stroked your cheek so gently, affection and love pouring from him as he saw you looking so helpless at that moment. He leaned in for a kiss and smiled

"It will be fine, sugar. It will be just a few days as I said, I'll be alright, keep my ass safe… you know it's an emergency, that's why Champ called me, I will call you every day, and I'll make sure to keep you updated, I have a gorgeous family to come home to, and I ain't never let that go, now please, help me out because I can't have two sad puppy faces staring at me like that without breaking my heart" he pointed at Wyatt who pouted and looked at his daddy's bag. You felt emotional and didn't know exactly what to do, but you nodded, as your future husband needed help. He was the best damn agent that place had ever seen, of course he would come back home safely.

You wiped your tears and lowered yourself, picking up your son and snuggling him.

"Don't be upset my angel, daddy will be gone just for a little while, right daddy?!" You looked at him, who picked up the cue and nodded

"Yeah buddy, daddy will be away for a couple of days to work, but I need you to be a strong cowboy and take care of mama, can you do that for me?" Wyatt nodded reluctantly, his red eyes almost making the cowboy turn around and give up the idea of going to work. He couldn't though, otherwise he would've done it once for all. The cowboy couldn't resist the urge of wrapping his arms around his son, pulling him for a tight embrace.

"You know daddy loves you and mama more than anything in the world, right? It will be for a short while, and soon enough I'll be here for you, remember you wanted to go out trick or treating? Daddy promises he will be back before Halloween, okay?"

After Wyatt nodded, sighing but snuggling him and you also pulled him into a real needy and long hug, leaving home to go on a mission was definitely the hardest task that cowboy had done; he questioned himself if he was doing the right thing, after all, when he got suspended from Statesman, all he wanted to do was get back on the field and show them all he was still a top notch agent, the best they'd ever had and that he could handle any kind of situation, but once he saw how his family felt anxious and upset about him leaving, he felt tortured to go to work, he didn't have to, he had plenty of money and wouldn't need to work violent and dangerous job now he was settling down once more. Still, he felt like he owed that to Champ, even if he disappointed the older man with his bad conduct during the last mission, they still shared a very special bond - Jack was like the son Champ never had, and the younger cowboy envisioned the older one as a fatherly figure. No wonder why Jack ended up only in therapy after nearly sabotaging such a serious mission instead of going to prison. He hopped on his Bronco and drove to the headquarters, trying not to think much of his broken heart to be gone.

The first night was rough without your cowboy, even if Whiskey had called, and then he had video chatted and talked to both you and Wyatt, it was still so sad and lonely without him. Worse than the years you spent alone with your son, the absence of Jack now was depressing, after staying with him, living almost an endless honeymoon it was upsetting to say the least. That night, your sweet Wyatt snuggled closer to you in bed and you only fell asleep with your face buried deep into his curls.

What really changed your routine happened the morning after Jack left; it was as if you knew something was up but you couldn't actually get a hold of it, instead, you simply woke up with the worst wave of nausea you'd ever witnessed. It was odd, you hadn't had dinner the night before nor eaten anything suspicious, so the first thought that crossed your mind was immediately dismissed. You couldn't and you wouldn't.

As much as you tried to push aside those thoughts, they insisted on coming back whenever you got distracted, you tried your best keeping your mind busy, focusing on the son you actually had. So you and Wyatt spent most days together, playing, cooking and baking, even if the slightest food smell made you feel sick to your stomach and riding and petting the horses. You knew Halloween was approaching and Wyatt was excited to go trick-or-treating, as it was going to be the first ever Halloween his daddy would be a part of it and even if you two had actually to drive downtown to do it, as the ranches were too apart from each other, you still promised him you would carve the pumpkins with your son, and you sort of kept your promise, if it weren't for the fact the moment you began cutting open the pumpkins, the smell was enough to make your stomach twist and you had to rush to the bathroom, however, this time wasn't possible to hide it from your son, which caused Wyatt to run to you worriedly

"Are you okay mommy?" He asked you while placing his small hands on your back "can we call daddy please?"

You shook your head and smiled weakly at him

"No baby, mommy is fine, I just got a tummy bug, that's all" you assured him, even though you knew there was more to it and you simply just didn't want to admit it. You asked your son for a bottle of water from the fridge as you grabbed your phone and checked the app you used to keep your cycle in check and even if you knew the answer, a part of you was still so stubborn you couldn't bring yourself to believe it. Taking turns between checking your app and the calendar, you sighed and closed your eyes, letting yourself digest the information that your period was late.

There was a huge chance you were pregnant again.

You couldn't sleep at all that night, tossing and turning in bed and playing the most different scenarios in your head. Jack would be happy, wouldn't he? He was the one who was insisting on having a baby, but you also terrified yourself at the possibility that maybe, he was just trying to convince you to marry him. What if he changed his mind and panicked? What if he never came back from the mission? No, you shook your head and squinted your eyes, trying to physically keep your anxiety away from you. The very little you managed to doze off were filled with dreams about you and the cowboy getting into a huge fight and breaking up. That was something that couldn't happen, you knew your heart wouldn't take that kind of disappointment for a second time, and if he even threatened to walk away from you both, well, from you three, you would never see him again.

But a part of you desperately begged you to calm down and relax a little, maybe you weren't even pregnant, you couldn't say for sure without a test, and all of that could've been just a mind trick after panicking so much at the idea your body actually began reproducing that kind of symptoms. It wasn't the first time your period was that late and it could have been a stomach bug, after all you hadn't been eating well since your cowboy left you a week ago. There was still at least another one to come and the idea of actually buying yourself a pregnancy test was horrifying. However, since Wyatt started asking you to dress up as a zombie cowboy, you knew you would have to buy him some things such as fake bruises stickers and a costume hat, as you wouldn't risk ruining the beautiful and expensive stetson Jack had gifted your son. It would be the perfect excuse, you would do some Halloween shopping and also get yourself a test, everything would be just fine, you assured yourself, after all, you still had a small hope in your heart things were nothing but your mind playing tricks on you.

The next morning, while Wyatt went to get dressed as fast as he could so you both could go out and get him his costume, you watched yourself in the mirror. We're your breasts larger? You didn't know if they actually were or if you were under the wrong impression, if Whiskey had been there, he would be able to tell it immediately. In fact, he would probably be the first one to even notice it. Then you stared at your stomach, was it a little swollen or you were just getting paranoid? As you were lost in your thoughts with your blouse lifted you felt tiny hands on your tummy and looked down at Wyatt's smiley face staring at you

"You look so pretty, mommy!" He said happily and smiled big at you, his small arms wrapping around your waist as he rested his head against your womb and sighed deeply. He was an affectionate boy, but he had never done that before… Why start it now?

You stroked his curls very gently and lowered yourself to his level

"Do you think mommy looks different?" You asked

"No, just pretty" he shrugged happily and ran outside the bedroom.

•••

Another week had passed without any confirmation nor denial; you simply didn't have the guts to take that test and see for yourself if you were indeed pregnant or not. You talked to your cowboy every single night, and even if he thought it was odd you weren't up for some web sex with him, he didn't push it, as you simply lied by saying you were on your period. Whiskey could tell something was off, but he assumed it was just a combination of his absence and your tiredness. Besides, Wyatt was staying up later each night, so he could talk to his daddy which caused you both to behave yourselves.

You had taken Wyatt out for shopping, he'd bought as many Halloween things he wanted, you also bought some extra candy just in case some trick or treaters passes by the ranch, which you thought it wouldn't happen, but you didn't want to risk not having any and while your son was too distracted by the shampoo aisle - you'd asked him to pick the best shampoo to wash his hair - you grabbed your pregnancy tests. Tests. Because you wouldn't trust just one, so you decided three would be a decent enough number. It broke your heart to see how sweet Wyatt was the moment he spotted a mother shopping with her baby girl. The moment he saw her, he giggled and rushed to them "look mommy! A cute baby!!!" Wyatt had squealed just as you hid the tests under a bunch of other stuff you followed him, smiling at how sensitive your son was. You nodded and agreed with him, playing with his soft curls.

Not only that, after the episode, Wyatt spent the whole week asking you about babies. If you thought they were cute, if he was a nice baby, if you and his daddy had a baby would it be a normal baby or would it be a cowboy baby. In other circumstances, you would be very amused by his questions, but given what was going on, you felt extremely anxious about it. Perhaps that was the whole reason why you kept postponing the test for days; however, you knew Jack was about to come home any day now, and you needed to have an answer, it wasn't fair to you or him, not to mention he would see right through you and figure something was definitely wrong. So the day before Halloween, you made your son dinner - chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes and peas, his favorite - and played with him until he fell asleep. When you were sure you wouldn't be interrupted, you finally took courage, grabbed your tests and followed the instructions.

And the wait began.

And it felt like forever, until the whole three of them showed the lines indicating that indeed, you were pregnant.

You didn't react for several minutes, perhaps it was the shock, even if you deep down inside already knew you were expecting a baby. You were going to be a mom, again. You got pregnant by the man who abandoned you and your son once, would it go wrong this time? You didn't want to believe it, at the same time you were flooding with all kinds of anxious thoughts and feelings. You wish you could just curl up on the couch and fall asleep until you could come up with a solution to that situation, but Wyatt's fast steps drew your attention "mommy!!! Help me get dressed!!!" He giggled as he barged in his cowboy outfit, holding his fake blood and wound stickers. His excitement was so adorable, it made your heart warm at how cute he really was. You wrapped your arms tight around him, pulling him closer and snuggling your son. He was a little confused at your affection but giggled "help me mommy!" He asked as he couldn't wait to go out.

The moment you saw your son, your heart warmed and filled with love, he was so precious, the most important little thing in your life, and you'd just learned you were growing a new life inside of your womb, his baby brother or sister, you didn't know, but at that moment, only Wyatt mattered, the way he looked so excited, his little chocolate eyes glimmering you decided you would stop feeling sorry for yourself, you were a grown woman, you had been through a pregnancy once and you could do it a second time. No matter if your cowboy was going to step up or not, though you hoped really hard he would, you would focus on your son, making sure he had the Halloween he had waited for all along.

•••

Wyatt jumped excitedly, although he still held your hand and smiled big

"I got a lot of candies, mommy!!!" He giggled as you carried his bag which was indeed way heavier than what it could be considered healthy. His costume was adorable, a mix of zombie and a cowboy as he fit in perfectly with the other kids. You had driven downtown where all the people gathered and enjoyed the festive day, seeing how your life would be like for the following years. You knew Jack had no intentions of moving away, definitely not going to the city, which you also agreed. You liked that atmosphere, the small town kind of warmth, it was nice and you also remembered you would need to start looking for a new school for Wyatt. And not only that, you would need to care for a whole new baby, and Jack wasn't even there to calm you down. And that was when it hit you: he hadn't called you that night, even worse, he had promised you and Wyatt he would spend Halloween with you both, as a family, but instead, he had established no communication and a wave of anxiety and worry rushed through you as you began picturing the worst possible scenarios. The story of Jack nearly dying his last mission, the cruelty of the death he nearly faced still haunted you and you would be lying if you didn't wake up quite a few times at night after having a nightmare about losing your cowboy. You couldn't give into those horrible thoughts, not at that moment, your son was happy, you were spending a very nice time together and if it weren't for the fact a lasso wrapped around you and Wyatt, making you both stop dead in your tracks…

And a lasso?!

You and Wyatt exchanged confused looks before turning around and facing Whiskey's shit eating grin as he was in his fight position, lasso in hands and looking every bit of devilish handsome he always did. Damn, stupid pregnancy hormones.

"DADDY!!!" Wyatt's deafening squeal was enough for Whiskey to loosen the rope around you both as he opened his arms to receive his son's sweet hug. They had missed each other so much, he couldn't even believe he had actually had the guts to leave his family to go on a mission, but the important thing was that he was back, in time to spend one of his son's favorite holidays. He wrapped his arms around Wyatt and snuggled him, kissing the top of his head and ruffing his hair gently, loving his costume, and chuckling at the enthusiasm in which your son told his daddy every single little thing that happened the days he spent away. And then it was your turn to rush to your cowboy, being too emotional after everything that happened, including the mini internal meltdown you had at the mere fear he had died during the mission, you rushed to him, wrapping your arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. Your cowboy was finally back home, to you and your family, and you couldn't be happier as you needed him more than anything now.

Jack was so happy at the warm welcome he received from his family and he knew that was exactly what he wanted all along; he wanted to have a good reason to come back home to, and now he had it. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you for another kiss, he saw how beautiful you were, you were almost glowing and there was something different about you even if he couldn't actually tell what it was.

"I missed you sugar" he whispered against your lips and looked down as Wyatt kept tugging at his sleeve, wanting to spend some time with his daddy, after missing him desperately

"Come on daddy, let's trick or treat!" Wyatt begged with his cute puppy face, his energy restored to the fullest now he was surprised by the wave of excitement at the fact his father was there, for him and for his mommy.

•••

Jack had returned from his mission just about an hour before meeting his family, he thought of calling you and let you both know, but instead, he decided to surprise you and it couldn't have been better. He knew you two would be downtown, so it wasn't difficult to spot his family, but as much as he wanted to come closer, you were both walking fast at a reasonable distance from him, so the best idea that came to his mind was simply using his lasso on the two of you, which was both funny and cute, since you never saw it coming, but to him, the best part was when the two of you rushed to him, as if he'd been gone for months instead of just two weeks. It made his heart clench with love and affection, he was finally home, with his family and he cherished that like no other. The way they spent the rest of the evening walking around, getting Wyatt more candy, then they stopped by a small cute place to have some corn dogs and then the three of you headed home.

Wyatt only fell asleep after hours home, he had eaten some of his candy, while you figured what you'd do with the rest of it since it was way too much. Your cowboy had barely taken off his jacket and was already all over Wyatt, leaving you some time for yourself, in which you showered, and got ready for bed. You still didn't know how or when you'd break the news to him, but you felt your stomach twisting the moment you saw him walking towards you with a bottle of wine. You couldn't drink that, what were you supposed to say? Luckily to you, Jack hadn't insisted and even if he was a little suspicious, he didn't question you why you'd said you had a headache, though he seemed a little disappointed to miss you the opportunity to have a drink with you, he still kissed your lips gently and went to shower, needing the relaxation and the hot water pouring over his sore shoulders. He was so happy to be home, all he wanted was to finish his warm shower and get under the covers with his sugar, so he could relax and enjoy a moment of peace. Once he finished showering, he decided to shave, wanting his face to be smooth as possible in case his sugar decided to ride her cowboy. It didn't take him too long to finish, just a little trim on his mustache and he would be good to go. He didn't know exactly why he looked down, at the trash can, but for whatever reason he did it, and at first when he saw those boxes in it, he thought maybe they were antibiotic boxes, but that didn't make any sense, if either you or Wyatt got sick to the point of getting antibiotics you would've said something, so the cowboy squinted his eyes in order to take a better look at it and felt his heart skipping a beat the moment he realized it was indeed a pregnancy test.

In fact, it wasn't just a pregnancy test, there were quite a few boxes, which meant you really made sure to know whatever the result was. Now, it deeply saddened him to know why you hadn't said anything, you hadn't even mentioned the suspicions you had; and it also made sense why you were acting a little off. Jack shook his head and swallowed hard, he had desired to have a baby with you, another one, to give your son a baby brother and sister, and it hurt him to see you decided to be silent about it because he had hurt you way too many times. However, he couldn't simply shrug it off and pretend nothing had happened, he needed to talk things through and for that, he took the proof into his hands and went after you.

•••

When you heard Jack calling your name instead of 'sugar' you knew something was wrong. You swallowed hard, knowing something was up, just by the way he walked towards you. Your heart neatly dropped the moment you saw exactly what he was carrying. That was not how you wanted him to find out about things, you wish you had prepared him beforehand, talked to him or perhaps prepared him a cute surprise, you weren't sure, but you were so scared.

"Is this what I think it is? Are you really pregnant sugar?"

"I-I am so sorry Jack, I didn't mean to get pregnant, it was an accident, I didn't want to do that, please don't be mad and don't leave us, please" you begged but you were interrupted by the cowboy falling onto his knees in front of you. He wrapped his arms around your waist and with tears in his eyes, he lifted your shirt up only enough to see your belly. He placed an affectionate kiss to it and rested his head against it in complete silence. He didn't need to say anything else, he was hopelessly in love with the fact he was going to be a father again and this time he would do things right.

____

A/N: I hope you besties enjoyed this chapter, because the next one will be the end of this beautiful series 🥺❤️

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

And the other one is for Yandere cowboy Knoxx,inspired by the previous what if,

what if reader is an immigrant wanting to work a job with high salary that's why she was at Knoxx's town,and reader want to visit her family back at her hometown,will Knoxx come and how would he greet reader's family?will he be accepted?What would he do to achieve his rightful place beside reader without murdering reader's family?

Yandere! Cowboy x New in town! Teacher! Fem! Reader

WHAT IF: The reader goes back to the city, but this time with Knoxx?

Okay. For Knoxx not to go haywire by the prospect of darling going home, this meant that there will be an established relationship! So, the reader is still a teacher, and is actually together with Knoxx already. You're an immigrant from a foreign country. Guess which one?

This one will also be short!

Knoxx remembered the first time you got here in this town.

You, helping Red from getting washed away by the river, you in your teacher uniform, him staking his claim while putting a hat on you...

It felt so long ago.

Now, you're in a relationship with him.

He heard about your story from your own mouth.

An immigrant, you moved here in order to have a higher paying job. Especially that the country you came from had a weaker currency. So more money.

He admired your hardworking spirit, and vowed to help you as much as he can.

You're an amazing teacher. Despite being from a foreign country going to a small, tight knit town, everyone loved you. You're smart, kind, generous, and really good at teaching kids.

No wonder everyone was so on board with you dating Knoxx.

And, when you told Knoxx about your plans on going home AND introducing him, he was through the moon.

"Darlin! Are you sure? Then yes! I will gladly meet yer family!" He grinned, thinking of how it would be nice to meet the people who reared you to be such an amazing person.

The flight there was a bit scary, but Knoxx held you tight. Despite being rich, it was his first time flying. Because most of the time he was just in the town. The only time he left was for University.

You giggled, holding his hand and giving him the warmest smile with a squeeze on his hand.

"Calm down, okay?" You whispered, giving him a kiss on his temple that made him relax in your touch.

Touching down, he felt his heart pump wildly in nervousness.

He's a family man. The Wyatt's were known to be a tight knit family. So he's naturally eager to get the approval of yours too.

"Mama! I'm here!" You yelled.

Suddenly, footsteps raced towards the both of you and the gates opened.

"Iha! Come! Come!" Your mother, in her bestida, welcomed you back in her arms.

Your mother suddenly stilled, looking up at Knoxx who only flinched and bowed down.

"Hello missus! I am Knoxx, yer daughter's boyfriend." He said. His voice low and respectful. His cowboy hat perched on his chest.

"Ah! Knoxx! It's you, the cowboy! Ay, come in you too!" Your mother's thick accent comforted Knoxx, like a warm blanket covering him.

You both got inside the house, and the luggage were immediately taken by your siblings by the order of your mother.

"Is Papa here?" You asked.

"Ah, Papa's working. He's always busy you know." Your mother shooked her head. "Anyways, you both must be tired! Let's eat! I cooked sinigang."

Knoxx felt at home.

Your hometown is a province, filled with farmlands and ranches. It was the same as Knoxx's, and he knew he would have a great time spending time here.

"You have an amazing place 'ere, missus!" Knoxx said, looking around the knick knacks, medals, trophies, picture frames, and random memorabilia in your home. "It's very 'omely."

"Oh we try, cowboy." Your mother said. "Now come, let's eat."

Days passed by, and Knoxx integrated well with your family. Your dad likes him very much due to him being a rancher and also somebody well versed with farming. Your siblings treated him like a real brother, playing with him on the fields. Your mother spoiled him, cooking him your country's foods he never got to try.

Knoxx looked really happy.

And as you watched Knoxx help your father till the fields with a carabao and an old style tiller, you knew you found the man in your life.

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

Knoxx is sweet like that fr fr. He would never kill your family nor you. But, friends and acquaintances are not safe though LMAO

[39oa]

PLS as a new stars enjoyer i really wanna know whos who in this 🥹🥹 i kill for family dynamics 🤲🤲

https://www.tumblr.com/39oa/744137614807924736/the-stars-are-like-this-is-39-yo-joe-pavelski

hi anon!!! of course i would be MORE than happy to explain and in fact am about to egregiously overexplain so apologies in advance for that >__< welcome 2 starsblr pls enjoy your stay!!! 💚💚💚

"pavs and sons" → this is our top line that consists of jason robertson (21 / "robo"), roope hintz (24 / some call him "roop", his finnish nickname is "hine"), and joe pavelski (16 / "pavs"). pavs spent over a decade in san jose and was the sharks' captain during essentially their twilight years, and he came to dallas intending to retire (which is likely to happen at the end of this year tbh) but instead revitalized a distinct second phase of his career after being placed on a line with 2124 in 2020-21, unexpectedly becoming stalwart producers for a struggling dallas stars offense (2 words: rick bowness) — robo was only in his first year with the stars and roope's career was not that much older, hence the nickname pavs and sons; although pavs is only an alternate captain because the stars already have a very established, homegrown captain, he is basically treated as our second captain thanks to his age and the vast influence he has over both our young players & the locker room as a whole :') one of his nicknames is also captain america from representing team usa on the intl stage LOL.

rest below the cut:

raising johnny -> our team's ACTUAL baby is 2003-born wyatt johnston (53 / "johnny" but sometimes we use "wyjo" lol), who was in the ohl before the 2022-23 season but managed to impress during training camp and basically forced his way onto the roster (without getting too much into it, 18-19 y/o rookies can play 9 games with the big club before burning a year off their elc, so being from the ohl at his age his only options were basically Be In The NHL Permanently or go back to ontario.) because "HE (WAS) ONLY 19!!!" and there was some uncertainty about whether he'd stay up, pavelski invited him to live at his place with his wife and teenaged-son, and now a second year into his career wyatt is STILL with them because he loves it there so much lol. the stars frequently joke about pavs being his dad/landlord, and we've gotten a ton of fun content like these quest for the stanley cup clips and other interview moments like this, this, and this.

fostering stank(s) -> logan stankoven (11 / "stank" though you will also see "stanks") is our other baby and a very recent addition to our nhl roster; he's from the same draft class as johnny, but spent last season in the whl and therefore was eligible to go to the ahl this year, where he's been cooking up a storm for half the szn. it was pretty inevitable that he'd come up at SOME point, but the perfect opportunity arrived after one of our forwards got injured and he was slotted in on short notice. like johnny, he has basically forced his way onto the team permanently by immediately performing to (and well-beyond) standard :') the fun part is that he stayed with johnny at pavs's house when he first came to dallas, though he's since moved out and found his own place... nevertheless, this was still very sweet because logan & wyatt have GENUINE history from knowing each other half their lives & winning gold for u18 team canada in 2021, and have since picked their immediate chemistry right back up on the stars's 3rd line together. (more on this later!!!)

resident glueguy tydel + otter's son -> u know how every team needs its emotional support 4th liner who is at constant threat of being dumped at trade deadline? ty dellandrea (10 / "delly" but we like "tydel" as well) is our 13oa pick who never really panned out as expected, but he's still crucial to the overall health of the locker room and beloved by many. as a small piece of the Cycle Of Mentorship that the stars subscribe to, pavs is known for basically being a deflection master and a menace in front of the net and has passed on this propensity to a lot of younger stars by doing targeted practice sessions with them, including tydel. anyway delly's lore in general is just INSANEEE because he's at the center of the stars' social fabric in a lot of ways. happily third-wheels along with the wags, gets along with the 279195 canadian slagline who mostly exist outside of any family narratives, is Publicly Liked By Roope which is kind of weird because outside of cellys roop practices jane austen levels of finnish repression, imprinted on johnny hard last year (JOINED HIM ON PAVELSKI FAMILY NIGHTS) (from this devastating webweave), has SOOO much ahl history with otter to the point that otter's baby brother sees ty as part of the family — this is also where otter saying that he and his girlfriend saw ty as their son when he stayed at their apartment during training camp comes from. which is genuinely like Absurd Things to say because jake oettinger (29 / "otter") (as a completely random aside, please look at this gifset of harls wearing otter's shirt) is ONLY 2 YEARS OLDER THAN DELLY. LIKE THE FUCK D'YOU MEAN YOUR SON???

i'm normal. okay

jbenn / "daddy" line dads -> so the stars' real captain is jamie benn (14 / multiple nicknames but "chubbs" is a signature), whoooo is a quite the contentious figure amongst stars fans but as a 2007 draftee is very much a homegrown player and still quite important to the organization. i'm ngl, stars rpf is a VERY small space nowadays in hockey fandom, but ~back in the day~ he and tyler seguin were one of The Big Ships before slowly fading as both fandom figures & stars of the team thanks to age and injury and [waves hand vaguely]. anyway while the top line on the stars has remained *mostly* set since robo was called up, the 2nd & 3rd lines still experience a decent amount of reshuffling, so wyatt is kind of jamie's fixed line son atp but they also played with tydel before we 1:1 swapped some russians and evgenii dadonov (63 / the "DADDY" in question) came in and replaced delly. so now we've had multiple "benn and sons" lines (jamie + wyatt/delly, now jamie + wyatt/logan ❗️), plus essentially a "wyatt and dads" line (wyatt + jamie/daddy) lmfao.

wedge raising harls -> robo's emotional support backup goalie is scott wedgewood (41 / "wedge" or "wedgie"), who as far as backup goalies go is like shockingly well-integrated into the stars' locker room. the piece of lore that inspired this WHOLE post is that taylor dropped an article on how wedge claimed to basically be RAISING HARLS WITH HIS (recently-married!) WIFE...??? which is just. thomas harley (55 / "harls") is one of our resident baby d-men and was in and out of the ahl for a while but has been Officially with the stars since last years' playoffs... he's a very like, self-assured but kind of introverted, Beyond-His-Years type who literally has the voice of a 50 y/o, so it's both DEVASTATING and hilarious 2 me that wedge is like "oh, this 22 y/o kid likes to show up to my house every day and me and my wife are teaching him how to cook and he keeps facetiming me to ask random questions about his bills." LIKE OH... OKAY THEN ;___;

& last but not least: the ultimate Mini Family on this team that i didn't mention in my orig post is actually the finnish mafia — see robo constantly joking about them being brothers and loving each other lol. finnmaf currently includes four players (roope, miro, esa, jani... rip kivo 😔), and they kind of help split the stars' locker room into several groups including the finns, the ontario guys, robo's goaliefucker / Nerd_Collector ensemble, and... well honestly the cliques overlap a lot (which is why our locker room is so healthy!!!) but you get the idea.

there is soooo much other lore i could get into that isn't really related to dad/son/brother narratives but i feel like this is enough of an infodump so i'll stop here for now. in general the way the stars are constructed makes it really clear why they all see one another as family and why there is such a strong & positive & sustainable sense of personal leadership that permeates the locker room... benn handles Official captain duties while pavs uses his experience not to usurp him but simply to further support him in understated areas of mentorship/leadership, and our top line consists of 3 Very unassuming & responsible player archetypes which crucially trickles down to all the other lines. so while many teams have their Old Guys (who are often on a noticeable decline) and Kid Lines, the stars are cool because we've been successful at integrating young players with very established veterans and having them feed off of each other without sacrificing their development or "anchoring" any young talent unnecessarily; benn is really not the player he used to be but he's still been great with wyatt over the past 2 years. and pavs IS a total anomaly, so it's kind of insane & surreal that a guy in his late 30s can perform at such a high level while also taking it upon himself to prepare so many of our young guys to be the present & future of our team *__*

tl;dr: also i just remembered that the amazing @starscelly has a preexisting primer from last year so feel free to check that out too :') (the primary differences are basically that we replaced domi for duchene and recently picked up chris tanev haha)

[nonotnolan]

Gym Merchandise

Few experiences in life are as terrible as having to move to an entirely new town.  It was a hill that Wyatt was prepared to die on.  The move had allowed him to escape his overbearing parents, so regret wasn’t quite the right word, but... getting used to the new roads, having to meet new people, trying to figure out which stores could be trusted... it was exhausting in a way that was notably different from standing at a cash register for eight hours.

His coworkers were far too nice to help him make any sort of decisions.  “Oh, I use the dentist on 8th St, but I hear the office on 15th is also good.”  “No, I just take my car to the auto dealership for repairs, I’ve never had any reason to find a separate mechanic.”  “All of the doctors in town are pretty good, I would just pick one that’s close to you.”  If it wasn’t for Reddit, he probably would have never been able to find a good gym.

Wyatt still couldn’t believe how unanimous the advice had been.  His new city’s subreddit was a dumpster fire of angry yelp reviews and people complaining about their neighbors.  And yet, when he made a post asking people to recommend places for a new resident, everyone told him he needed to check out Friday’s Gym.  “Even if you’ve never made exercise a priority before, you should check this place out.”  To their credit, it did seem like a really nice gym-- there was an attached spa-like area with massage chairs and tanning beds, and free headphones for the regulars.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there,” Wyatt said, as he accidentally bumped into a guy wearing a red tank top.  The man said nothing in response.  “Hey, are you using this bench?  I don’t really feel comfortable using those machines yet.”  The man made no reply.  Wyatt walked around the loose weights at his feet to stand in front of him, but the man in the red tank top did not even blink.  He continued to stare at a point off in the distance, with no concern for anything around him.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.  Wyatt couldn’t help but blush as he did so-- the man’s shoulder was impressively firm, and yet his skin was so soft and well maintained.  It was the exact sort of body he would love to have, but had never wanted to devote the time it would take to earn it.  The man shifted in place, like a large tree rustling in the breeze, but he remained unmoved.  The hairs on the back of his neck started to stand on end.  Was the man braindead, somehow?

“Sir, please don’t jostle the merchandise.”

The staff member graciously allowed Wyatt a few moments to collect his breath, having managed to scare him half to death.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you like that,” he said, with what Wyatt assumed was a cheerful smirk.  “We don’t usually tip our hand until after the tenth visit or so.  But Derrick here went into trance a bit earlier than we expected, and we really don’t like moving the merchandise once the reprogramming starts.”

Wyatt’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two muscular men.  “You keep referring to him as merchandise.  Do you normally treat your customers like they’re objects and not people?” he said, crossing his arms in irritation.

“I do when they’re wearing our special headphones,” he said, with a hearty chuckle.  Whatever reaction Wyatt had been expecting from the bare-chested staff member, it certainly wasn’t that.  “It’s not your tenth visit yet, but we might as well give you the full tour,” he said, dropping the bands down on the nearest weight bench.  “Follow me into the back, if you would-- we’ll walk and talk.  Here at Friday’s, we pride ourselves in being the gym for the everyday people.  I’m sure you heard that during the initial orientation.  What you did not hear is that anytime we get a hulking beast like Derrick here-- not just someone who has a jock’s physique, mind you, but someone who is truly a massive asshole-- we take it upon ourselves to... intervene.  My current body, for instance-- Frank used to be a racist ass destined to work whatever manual labor job hadn’t fired him yet.  With me in control, he’s the daytime manager of a successful gym, and we’re working on getting a second location opened.”

“Or how about Mathias over there?  No one misses the old, homophobic version.  But the new one, who came out of the closet and owns the jewelry store downtown?  Now that’s a man who’s contributing to society.  Looks great in cardigans, too”  Frank opened the Employees Only door and gestured Wyatt inside.

Wyatt glanced around the break room, which was half consumed by wires, tubing, and a pair of helmets which presumably assisted with the body swap process.  “So, what happens your old bodies?  I feel like the police would notice pretty quickly if a bunch of missing person all happened to have memberships to the same gym.”

Frank gave him another hearty chuckle.  “I suspect you’re right, yes.  That’s what the headphones are used for-- it makes them pliable for reprogramming.  The old Frank is currently inside of my body, living my life... but he has no memory of his past life, and he has no memory of this gym’s existence.  If you decide to take over someone else’s body, it would be the same for you.  Assuming you want to go through with it,” he added.  “For all we know, you’re perfectly happy with your current life.”

It was Wyatt’s turn to laugh.  “I’m not.  If I’m gonna be stuck in a minimum wage rut, at least I can be stuck in a rut while I have some sick abs.  So... you’re not turning me into Derrick, are you?”

“I am not,” Frank said, shaking his head.  “Derrick’s already been spoken for by someone else.  That said, we will happily put you on the waiting list.  It would be two to six weeks, depending on how susceptible your new body is to our reprogramming.  What do you think about Peter, here?”

One look at the broad-shouldered beauty, and he was already starting to daydream about life in the man’s body.  Wyatt couldn’t help but to match Frank’s sincere smile.  “I think he’s the exact sort of high quality merchandise I would like to own for myself.”

[earthtoharlow]

Sunday Kind of Love

Urban Wyatt x SingleMom!Reader

AN: hey hey hey! :) i started writing a new fic and here it is! I have about 5 chapters written already! I’ll propbably update every other week but I hope you guys enjoy! Please feel free to give me feedback !

The weekend was slowly coming to an end and Y/N has made it a tradition to treat Brooklyn to some ice cream every Sunday. Holding Brooklyn’s hand as they took the short walk to their favorite ice cream shop. Y/N loved her baby girl, but boy did she love to talk.

“Mommy, do you think we could get a dog?” Brooklyn suddenly asked. Y/N looked down and saw Brooklyn looking up at her with her big brown eyes. “Well I don’t know sweetie, you know taking care of a dog is a big responsibility. They take a lot of work. I’m not even sure if our apartment allows dogs.”

Brooklyn gasped eyes wide. “Not allow dogs?! Momma that’s just ridiculous! Dogs are the bestest in the whole wide world!!” Y/N had to stop herself from laughing at the serious look on her daughter's face before replying “I know Lyn, that is ridiculous huh? I’ll look into it okay, but no promises. Like I said dogs are a big responsibility.”

Brooklyn started squealing so loud Y/N was so sure she scared away some birds. “OH mom I can’t wait! If we get a dog I’m gonna name it asparagus.” Y/N snapped her head not sure if she heard her correctly.

Asparagus?” Y/N questioned. Brooklyn nodded her head excitedly. “YUP! Asparagus, that’s my favorite vegetable AND I talked it over with Bear last night and he agreed that it’s the perfect name!! Bear always has the best ideas.” She said with a big smile as she skipped next to her mother. Bear was Brooklyn’s favorite stuffed sloth, who she ironically named Bear.

Y/N couldn’t hold her laughter any longer. “Bear is right, that is a perfect name.” She said while giggling before taking Brooklyn’s hand as they walked into the quiet ice cream shop. Luckily there were only a couple of people in there and they could find a seat next to the shop's big windows.

Guiding her to their favorite spot, she pulled out Brooklyn’s coloring book and crayons. “Ok sweetheart, I’ll be right back, I’m going to get our ice cream. Don’t move.” Brooklyn nodded her head, not bothering to look up as she had already started coloring.

After a few minutes, Brooklyn turned and looked around. She loved coming here to get ice cream on Sundays. As she looked around she noticed a man with long hair sitting at the table next to her holding a camera. She noticed he looked kinda upset. Brooklyn knew that when she was upset she loved coloring in her book.

Checking to see if her mom was watching her, Brooklyn quickly ripped a page out her coloring book and grabbed a couple crayons before sliding out the booth. Putting on her best and biggest smile she walked over to the sad man.

Urban cursed under his breath when he realized his film camera was indeed broken. It was his favorite camera to travel with, and he knew it would take weeks for a shop to fix it. Just as he was about to leave his spot by the window he heard tiny footsteps walking towards him.

He looked over and saw a little girl who couldn’t be older than five. She seemed so small, but she had the biggest smile on her face. She wore a sun dress, and her hair was in a puffball with a headband to match. Urban’s heart melted a little. The little girl was holding crayons and a coloring page. Before he could say anything she spoke.

“Hello mister, my mama said not to talk to strangers but I saw you looking sad so I thought I would bring you one of my favorite coloring pages and some crayons! Coloring always makes me feel better!” She said rather quickly before pushing it toward him and skipped back to her table across from him.

Urban let out a small chuckle, he was shocked that this little girl managed to say all that in one breath. Looking down he noticed it was a drawing of some random Disney princess he couldn’t remember the name of. When he looked over at the little girl she gave him a wide smile before putting a finger to lips to tell him not to say anything.

Before he knew it, Urban put a finger to his lips promising not to tell anyone.

Y/N walked back to the table and sighed as she saw Brooklyn run back to their seat. When she made it back to the table she placed Brooklyn’s ice cream in front of her. Brooklyn’s eyes grew wide as she licked her lips and grabbed her spoon to dig into her delicious treat. Before she could, Y/N stopped her.

“Hey missy, what did I say about leaving your seat and talking to strangers?” Y/N asked sternly. Brooklyn dropped her spoon and looked down quickly. She looked up at her mom and said “I’m sorry momma, he just looked so sad and I wanted to help him feel better.” Y/N could see tears threatening to fall from her daughter's face. She silently cussed to herself, she could never handle seeing Brooklyn upset.

Y/N face softened before saying “I know your heart was in the right place, but next time wait until i come back. Understand?” Brooklyn nodded her head. “I promise to never do it again!” She held her pinky up to Y/N. Y/N smiled before kissing their pinky’s joined together.

After taking Brooklyn to the bathroom to clean up her face, the girls made their way out the shop to make their way back home. Lost in her thoughts, Y/N looked up, startled to see a large white hand, from a very attractive man holding the door for her.

“Wow, um thank you.” She said with a nervous giggle and tucking her hair behind her ear. Y/N felt tiny standing next to the man.

“No problem, I’m happy i caught up with you guys actually.” He said with a small smile before handing her some crayons she recognized as Brooklyn’s. Y/N looked up at him confused for a second before she looked over and saw Brooklyn waving shyly at the tall man.

“Oh! I’m so sorry about that, I told her about talking to people she doesn’t know. Sorry if she bothered you in any kind of way.” She said as they walked to the sidewalk

“Don’t apologize, she didn’t bother me at all. She actually helped me. Believe it or not coloring helped me get my mind off my now broken camera. The man said with a slight chuckle and wave of his camera

“Well, I’m glad this little monster could help.” giving Brooklyn a smile. “I’m Y/N by the way, and this is--” before she could finish her daughter started to speak “I’m Brooklyn Rose!” holding out her hand. All Y/N could do was shake her head.

“My name is Urban.” He said before bending down slightly to shake Brooklyn’s hand.

Smiling ear to ear she replied sweetly “Nice to meet you Urban! Can I see the color page?” Oh I don’t know, It’s probably not as good as what yours looks like.” Urban says

“That’s ok, I still wanna see it. I won’t— won’t— mama what’s the word I’m looking for?” Brooklyn looks up at her mom and taps her chin as she thinks. “I think the word you’re looking for is judge?” Y/N replies.

“Oh yeah judge! I promise not to judge your coloring, Mr. Urban.” She says holding out her hand as she waits for him to hand over the drawing.

“You promise not to laugh?” Urban asks bashfully before pulling out the drawing from his back pocket and handing Brooklyn the drawing

Brooklyn promises as she and Y/N check out his coloring. Y/N looks down at the drawing and it’s surprisingly not bad, if you ignore that fact he colored the princesses hair and dresses the wrong color. But of course, Brooklyn who’s basically a walking Encyclopedia on all things Disney couldn’t ignore it.

“Mr. Urban! Why does Elsa have black hair! That’s not right at ALL?” Brooklyn questioned with wide eyes and a small pout Urban looks down at the drawing “Well, too be fair I didn’t have a yellow or white crayon to color her correctly, and I’ve never seen frozen so I wasn’t sure about her dress. Brooklyn gasps loudly, but before she could on a mini rant Y/N stops her.

“WELL, I think this is our que to go, say goodbye to the nice man, Brooklyn.” Y/N says. Brooklyn sighs and reluctantly says bye to Urban

“It was nice meeting you, and you owe me for just saving you from an hour long discussion on Disney.” Y/N jokes. It shocks Y/N to an extent how she just easily joked with a stranger. A very handsome stranger, with beautiful blue eyes. Y/N stops herself from thinking about him like that. She doesn’t even know him and she’s nowhere near ready to date anyone. Probably never will be ready.

Luckily Urban was okay with the thought of owing the beautiful woman. “Yeah I guess I do huh? Well I’ll tell you what, I’m going out of town for a few weeks but next time we run into each other I’ll treat you guys to some ice cream. How does that sound?”

“That sounds like a plan, again it was really nice meeting you. But we should get going.” Y/N says trying to hold on her smile, grabs Brooklyn’s hand and starts to turn and walk away.

“See you soon,” urban says with a smirk

As Y/N was listening to her daughter's babbles on the walk home she couldn’t help but think about the man with the nice blue eyes and long hair.

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Well - even though the camerawork made me quite dizzy at times and thus I couldn't totally keep up with what was going on in each story - I thought Casualty was rather good, if also incredibly sad.

Rash's storyline made me cry tonight. It wouldn't have even occurred to me when the ep started to think that Ashok would die. I'm not sure how to feel about this: on one hand, I sort of feel like the Rash, Rida, and Ashok story deserved more emphasis throughout if this was going to be the outcome.

But on the other hand, having the Ashok story as just one of several stories running through the ep was an excellent way of making the way it turned out shocking and upsetting and sudden to the audience just like it was to Rash. As I say, it made me cry, and it's not all that common for Casualty to do that.

Neet Mohan's performance was brilliant. The way Rash just started sobbing like a scared little boy - wow. And it's just so sad to think that Rash is only about 30 or so and he's already lost both of his parents. Poor Rash.

I hope the show handles Rash's grief well. And Rida's, for that matter - she may not have known Ashok very long, but she clearly cared a lot for him and wanted to look after him. I imagine she'll feel like all of this is her fault - it's just an accident no one could have seen coming, of course, but in such a situation it would be so easy to end up thinking you caused it. Sarah Seggari was fantastic at conveying Rida's reactions tonight.

Speaking of Rash, I love how Dylan's become a sort of mentor to him. It's very sweet. I hope it continues. And while I'm not much of a big Joe McGann fan - that's another story - there was still something quite entertaining about seeing John Gaskell's fourth-cousin Wyatt!

I just like pretending every other Holbyverse character played by one of the McGanns is a relative of John's in some way. Considering we knew nothing about John's family - John himself knew nothing about his family - it's entirely possible. So I will continue to tell myself Wyatt is John's distant cousin. Although, I'm fairly sure Joe McGann has played so many guest characters that this would mean John has a lot of distant cousins who look oddly alike to one another. (Stephen and Mark, meanwhile, I think have only been in Casualty once or twice each.) Maybe all his characters are more closely related to each other than they are to John? Hm.

The Stevie story was intense. I'm not sure at all how to feel about it, or where any of it seems to be going, on a narrative level. However, I think when it came to the characterisation for Stevie this was the best ep in a while. It did very well at showing her PTSD, and it felt less like it was treating her like Henrik - i.e. making her character defined by trauma in a way that doesn't do any good for trauma survivors - than some others have. Stevie is a complex morally ambiguous character and I think, with the right effort, the show can let her stay that way while also showing more sympathetic angles to her.

I like that Ngozi is finally getting more backstory now. I'm interested to see where her storyline goes, though I don't have lots to say about it yet because we still don't know much. But I've loved Ngozi this whole time, so I'm glad she's getting more to do.

I'm not interested in a Teddy-Jodie-Cam love triangle. What is it with all these love triangles recently? I'm also not that interested in Cam in general - I don't hate him or anything, I like him well enough, he's just a bit boring to me. So I'm bored by love triangles and I'm becoming bored by Cam. I can think of much more interesting stories Teddy and Jodie could have whether separately or as a couple, than this.

Where was Max this week? I thought his absence was odd after he was so strongly involved last week.

Can Jacob please, please get a meaningful story? I'm tired of him being used as Iain's sidekick. He can do so much more than that. And I hate any scene where he talks about Faith because it just makes me think about how Faith is basically just exactly the same character as Tina was except Faith isn't acknowledged as an awful person. Sigh, again.

So, all in all: the Rash storyline is great, I have mixed feelings on the rest.

[generic-whumperz]

The Aid: Chapter 4- One Step Closer

TW & CW: non-con nudity (nonsexual), dub-con/non-con touching (nonsexual), clothing dressing (nonsexual), mention of past non-con, pet/slave fic with general dehumanization that goes along with it (nothing severe), deliciously delirious drugged Whumee, Whumpee awakening from a coma, aftermath of torture and starvation, underweight and malnourished Whumpee, probably medical malpractice, med whumpy(?), Care-Whumper (this is the closest we are getting to a “Caretaker” for a LONG time, and Dr. Paul is no saint), asexual-spectrum Whumpee who doesn’t know he’s ace-spec yet and subsequently has negative self-talk and throws himself a pity-party because of it (this is part of the character journey, alright?), Caretaker turned Whumpee, general sad + angsty Whumpee energy, Wyatt Sullivan (Whumper) being a bully (expected), Whumpee being called "boy" when he's a grown ass man, bad jokes as a coping mechanism from Whumpee  

IDK if this needs to be a warning or not, but Whumpee is currently non-verbal from being drugged and having trauma (brain trauma from the coma mixed with general trauma-trauma), but there’s quite a bit of internal dialog, and we are in his POV!

Word count: 3645

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‘Maybe if I’m a good enough boy, I’ll get a treat after this,’ The Aid jokingly thought, desperate to find an ounce of humor to cling to. 

If he couldn’t laugh, he’d surely cry.

And he was tired of crying. 

With gloved hands, Dr. Paul carefully removed The Aid’s IV and feeding tubes, talking him through the process as he worked, intended to keep him as calm and present in the moment as possible. Wyatt Sullivan returned with a full glass of water—per Dr. Paul’s request—which the Doctor took from him before shooing him away, tasking him to warm The Aid a bowl of soup. 

“I saved the worst for last, but it’ll be quick, I promise,” Dr. Paul said in a chipper tone. He fondled and stuck a syringe into something at the foot of the bed for a minute before lifting the bottom of the comforter and sheet that covered The Aid.

“Full disclosure, you’re naked under here, but after I remove the catheter, I’ll make you decent so you don’t have to trot around bare-assed.”

The Aid felt his heart skip a beat and his body temperature quickly rise from utter humiliation. 

‘Great.’ A shiver of unease washed over him as the thought of another grown man dressing him filled him with inept self-consciousness. He felt foolish for feeling this way, as Dr. Paul had seen more parts of him than anyone else—all parts, in fact, many times. 

‘At least Dr. Paul offered; at least it isn’t Wyatt—not like that asshole ever would do anything remotely helpful.’

He glanced down to see Dr. Paul hoist up the covers to his right knee before he forced himself to look away, not trusting himself not to jerk away from perturbed anticipation. The Doctor stuck his arm under the blanket, placing his hand on The Aid’s inner mid-thigh, unclipping the catheter from the adhesive tubing holder, and gently peeling it off his leg. 

“This won’t hurt. I mean, even if it did, you wouldn’t feel it with the meds you’re on. Just take a deep breath and try to relax,” Dr. Paul directed, giving The Aid a moment to prepare. He sucked in a quick breath and held it in as he anxiously kneaded the blanket, fingernails digging into the soft filling of the comforter like small animals burrowing into freshly plowed Earth.  

The Doctor hoisted the bedding further and quickly peeked below as his arm completely disappeared between The Aid’s legs. 

‘I look like a mother about to give birth.’

Although he couldn’t feel much of what was happening and Dr. Paul worked diligently, his face turned bright pink from embarrassment. He fought his knee-jerk reaction of clamping his legs shut, knowing that would only prolong the process and demoralize him even further. He lightly felt the strange sensation of the tube pulled from his urethra, along with Dr. Paul’s index finger and thumb holding his sex steady as the catheter was fished out from inside him.

He wanted to fucking scream.

“You’re okay, almost there…Just a couple more seconds,” Dr. Paul hushed, observing The Aid’s legs shaking, stiffened body, and tightly-twisted red face. 

“All done!” The Doctor pulled the blanket back down over his feet while holding the catheter out in front of him, placing the tubing and foley bag that was secured to the foot of the bed in a small trash can.  

The Aid sharply exhaled the breath he held in between clenched teeth as a few tears escaped his eyes. He tried to force the memory of the experience out of his mind alongside his expulsion of breath before filling his lungs with a steadied, deep inhale. 

‘Deep breath in…deep breath out…Repeat. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.’

He couldn’t help but feel violated and further stripped of agency. Who was he kidding, what agency did he have left at this point? 

He knew the Doctor was only doing his job, and it was a simple medical device removal procedure; that wasn’t what bothered him, although he couldn't shake the feeling of being molested. What really ate at him was the fact that he viewed himself as a pathetic loser because, through his own avoidant tendencies, he inadvertently put himself in a situation where the only people who touched him were doing it out of a sadistic urge or in a medical setting—usually to fix damage from said sadistic urge. 

He felt stupid for being triggered by something as simple as a formal routine, but his distraught feelings overpowered his rationality, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for himself. He didn’t care if he was being overly emotional about it; he had to allow himself to grieve the life he lost on top of all the pain and torment he went through. If he still had an ego, he was sure it was just as broken and bruised as his body.

Fleeting parts of him wished he had succumbed to horny teenage sexcapades just so he could dig up a single good memory of an intimate connection that didn’t leave him a sobbing mess afterward. But looking back, even in his supposed “sexual peak” (that he never went through), he harbored no such desires—well, save the fragmented memories of a single budding spark with a male cheerleader that he quickly snuffed out and fled from in a last-ditch attempt to save them both from eventual embarrassment and hurt feelings. 

But that was a lifetime ago. 

He didn’t know why he had always avoided deeper romantic connections, but he found them off-putting and thought himself incapable of possessing any feelings beyond a familial or platonic bond. 

His disinterest in amorous relations didn’t use to bother him, but now it did. 

He would cry-laugh about the irony of his situation when left alone for long periods; he’d spent days reeling about it, stuck in a mental loop while secluded in the basement—an intimately incapable 24-year-old forced to be a punching bag and fuck puppet for a sick pervert who found pleasure from his immense suffering. 

He accepted that life wasn’t fair, but did it have to be so goddamn cruel? 

******

Dr. Paul’s latex gloves snapped as he peeled them off his fingers. He disposed of the gloves and applied a dab of sand sanitizer, working it vigorously into his palms- the pungent alcoholic stench burned The Aid’s nose and caused a stir of harrowing memories to resurface that came through in broken fragments. He closed his eyes, trying to block out the details and lock them back up in the recesses of his mind’s “Do Not Enter” section. 

‘How many things have this abominable fuckass Wyatt ruined and taken from me? Triggered by hand sanitizer? Embarrassing. Maybe it's best I stay here till I die.’

The Aid felt Dr. Paul’s hand tunnel between his lower back and the bed; the Doctor’s other hand securely grabbed his left forearm—the only side of his upper half that remained unmangled. 

“I know you’re high as a kite, and you’re out of it, but I’m going to sit you up, okay? We’ll take it nice and slow, up and at ‘em.” Dr. Paul pulled him up with expert caution to a sitting position, still holding him up as his damaged body adjusted to the movement and change of elevation. 

The Aid groaned, not from pain, but from the dizzying head rush that momentarily filled his vision with small, trailing stars that reminded him of tiny fireworks. Everything felt off and wrong. The world seemed surreal, as if an obnoxious bright tint was added to it, and he was looking through a high-contrast photo filter.

“Do you feel anything? Are you in any pain?”

The Aid perfunctorily shook his head, his eyes wandering around the room in a daze. 

Dr. Paul released the hand from his back, waiting a moment to ensure he could keep himself upright before grabbing the cup of water from the nightstand and holding it out in front of him. The water seemed to sparkle in the clear glass, and he reveled in the small, idyllic moment of his first drink from a cup—not a bowl—since his demotion from house pet to basement troll. 

He wrapped his fingers around the glass and carefully took it from Dr. Paul. He brought the rim to his mouth and took a sip.

‘This is the best goddamn water I’ve ever had.’ 

The liquid was cool and crisp; it didn’t taste dusty and metallic like the water he had grown accustomed to. He never realized how water could have such flavor to it. He took another magnificent sip. Realizing how thirsty he was, combined with the uncertainty of when he’d get fresh water again, he continued gulping it down, savoring every drop.

“Alright…Alright. Okay, that’s enough.” Dr. Paul took the cup from him—still halfway full. “Gotta take it easy, okay? Can’t go chugging water right now; you can have some more in a minute if you’re still thirsty.”

The Aid slumped in defeat, feeling like a small child being berated after being caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

Dr. Paul walked to the other side of the room to rummage through The Aid’s dresser, then disappeared into the small walk-in closet for a moment before returning to The Aid’s bedside with garments folded over his arm. He placed the clothes on the bed, leaving all but a pair of boxers in hand, and spun The Aid to the side so his legs were hanging off the mattress—still keeping his lower half covered under the blanket. 

Dr. Paul bent over, pulled the boxers over his ankles, worked them around the curve of his bent, scabbed knees, and shimmied them up around his bony hips, the elastic waistband snapping around his waist. 

‘This is what Madame Eleanor must have felt like…’ 

He reflected on his former Master’s last year of life when she needed the most assistance with things. He dressed and changed her multiple times a day without much thought, but never considered the mix of emotions of the person on the receiving end of help. Maybe she made peace with it; an elderly woman dying a slow death from cancer surely didn’t struggle with needing support as much as he did as a mid-20-something-year-old man who was supposed to be the pinnacle of health, right? 

Some strange part of him felt a pang of misplaced guilt for not being a better version of himself, although he knew it was out of his control—he didn’t shackle himself, starve himself, and maim himself for months; it was done to him.

Dr. Paul continued dressing The Aid, slipping a pair of socks on his feet as he informed him of his sprained, lightly wrapped left ankle, which he was to stay off of for the next couple of weeks. Dr. Paul assured him that he told Sullivan that he was on bed rest and that his Master wasn’t to lay anything but a helping hand on him. 

‘We’ll see how that goes. That creep can’t get his grubby ass hands off me.’ 

Next, Dr. Paul pulled on a pair of baggy sweats, tying the drawstring as tight as it would allow, then carefully fed his arms through a black zip-up hoodie, taking extra precaution with his right side. 

“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” Dr. Paul asked over the low whir of the zipper gliding up to his chest. 

‘Consider me your living Ken doll. I can even beg on my knees like Barbie.’

The Doctor retrieved an arm sling from his grab-bag of medical equipment, looped it around The Aid’s left shoulder, and adjusted it to securely hold his right arm. Then, without warning, Dr. Paul abruptly pulled him up by his left hand to stand. His body was stiff as a board, his knees locked, and muscles pulled tight. He stumbled, wobbling with all his weight on his right foot—which wasn’t much, but just enough to throw him off balance.

A distraught whine escaped him as he hopelessly felt another head rush come on and desperately clutched onto Dr. Paul for support.

Panting, he slouched into the taller man’s chest, trying to work up the strength to hold himself up on his own. He felt like a newborn fawn taking its first steps on frail legs minutes after birth. 

The hardwood oak floor beneath his socked feet was nice and smooth—he hoped he wouldn’t slip on it. Falling on it would guarantee more damage dealt…although that would mean more bed rest, which meant more time away from Sullivan’s beatings.   

“Here we go!” Dr. Paul shoved a walking crutch under his left armpit (‘Where the hell did this come from?’) as he wrapped an arm around him to bear some of his weight, allowing him to acquaint himself with his temporary walking device. 

‘An aide for The Aid—a match forged by the heavens and prophesied in the stars, or a cruel joke? You decide.’ 

“Perfect height! Alright, we’ll just take a stroll to the other side of the room and head back, then I’ll get outta your hair, alright? You’ve been doing so good—”

“That’s what I like to hear! My boy’s a champ; he always bounces back.” 

The Aid and Dr. Paul's necks craned simultaneously to the left, watching Wyatt stroll into the room and gesture at a bowl of steamy soup in hand, then placing it—and a spoon—on the dresser.

‘Looks like he’s trying to win points with the Doctor by pretending to be civilized by ‘allowing’ me to eat with silverware; what an occasion. If only I was allowed a camera to document this momentous event.’

“Don’t stop on my account,” Sullivan simpered, sitting on the corner of the bed, twisting around to watch them. He eyed The Aid excitedly, half expecting him to fail and become a blubbering, broken heap on the floor in mere seconds. 

‘Stop fucking looking at me with that shit-eating grin.’ 

“Com’mon,” Dr. Paul coaxed, loosening his grip around The Aid and slowly stepping backward, encouraging him to follow. He took a small, hesitant step forward, supporting himself with the crutch. He felt the woosh of his clothes sway with his jolted, ungraceful step, indicating how much weight he lost during his time in isolation. 

“Beautiful,” the Doctor encouraged, guiding him to take another step.

“Speaking of hair, he got a wash and a beard trim last week, then a sponge bath a couple days ago. But I’m sure he’d appreciate a warm shower.” Dr. Paul glanced over at Sullivan. 

“Think you can manage to keep an eye on him? I'm not saying you need to bathe him; just monitor him and make sure he doesn’t run the water too hot. I recommend sitting him in a chair so he isn’t standing the whole time; he’ll be woozy for a while. One of the side effects of these meds is heat sensitivity and an increased risk of heat stroke, so just make sure you don’t lock him in the car on a hot day with the windows rolled up. I’ll go over meds with you while he’s eating.” 

“Ow-wa Doc! Was that a dog joke you just threw in there?” Sullivan whooped amusedly. 

“Just making sure you’re paying attention,” Dr. Paul chuckled. 

‘Call me Scooby because I can’t fucking Doo this anymore.’

“Sure you don’t want me to scrub his back too? Scratch him behind the ears? Towel dry him and put a pretty bow on him?” Sullivan teased. 

‘Don’t threaten me with a good time. If only you would treat me like the show dog I was born to become.’

“Only if you feel so inclined to. But maybe you can pretty him up and get him a haircut and a shave? I’m sure he’d like that. Your mother always kept him groomed, and he looked happier that way. Plus, it brings out his boyish charm, don’t ya think?” Dr. Paul playfully tousled The Aid’s shaggy, grown-out chocolate brown hair that hung past his ears and covered the nape of his neck. 

They reached the opposing wall and began their trek back to the bed, the Doctor still guiding him, walking backward like a parent teaching their infant how to walk. From this vantage point, The Aid could see the heap of medical devices stationed on the right side of his bed that mimicked a hospital room.  

“Hm, I dunno, I think I like the shaggy dog look on him,” Sullivan said tongue-in-cheek, knowing damn well The Aid didn’t like looking unkempt. 

“Looks like a sad little stray puppy, doesn’t he? Well, minus the collar—oh wait—” Sullivan stood abruptly and pulled something from his back pocket. “Now we can complete the look!” He pinched the metal D-ring in between his fingers as The Aid’s dark green leather collar dramatically uncurled, springing out and forward. 

The Aid glared at Sullivan with daggers in his eyes, disgusted by the presence of the collar. Just because the physical assaults were off-limits momentarily, it didn’t mean that Sullivan would stop tormenting him in whatever other way he could. The man had the same energy as a brutish school bully who deliberately picked on smaller kids just because he was bigger than them.  

“Wyatt, play nice. Don’t tease him; put that thing away,” Dr. Paul chided, irritated by Sullivan’s blatant callousness. 

Sullivan challenged The Aid’s glare with a smug smile, placing the collar on the dresser, deliberately positioning it on the edge closest to him so he would see it clearly when lying in bed. This served as a warning, a constant reminder of The Aid’s place, how he was owned and thought of as nothing more than an exotic pet to be tamed and used.

Once they reached the bedside, Dr. Paul took the crutch from under The Aid’s armpit and eased him down on the bed, resting the crutch on the nightstand and grabbing the glass of water.

“Want to finish this?” 

‘Is water wet?’

The Aid eagerly seized the glass and greedily drank the rest like it was the last cup of water he would ever get to drink. 

“Your first urination after the catheter removal may sting a little, but it shouldn’t be more than a little. There may also be a small amount of blood in your urine, but again, it shouldn’t be more than a small amount. If you have any issues down there, tell Wya—Master Sullivan, okay?” Dr. Paul looked expectantly at Wyatt to confirm that he would be receptive to possible future conversations involving The Aid’s urinary health.  

“What am I supposed to do about it?” Sullivan asked dumbly. Dr. Paul eyed him confoundedly. 

“…You call me, and I come to check on him and make sure he doesn’t have a UTI. If he has any issues, call me, and I’ll check to ensure he isn’t developing more problems. He’s been okay so far despite everything, and I’d like to keep it that way. But, if you haven’t noticed, he’s rather fragile right now; a gust of wind could knock him over.”

“Could have just said that.” Sullivan threw his arms up in the air. Dr Paul sighed, taking the cup from The Aid and propping him up against the bed’s headboard. He brought forth a medium-sized metal tray, unfolded its tucked-in legs, and placed it over The Aid’s lap. This time, Sullivan was smart enough to take the hint of placing the bowl of soup on it. 

“You’re welcome.” Sullivan stood, waiting for a meek “Thank you, Master” from his slave.  

The Aid stared bleakly into the bowl of soup, unsure how much he’d be able to eat because, despite being starved, he didn’t feel ravenous—he didn’t feel hungry at all. Sullivan scoffed at The Aid’s silence—what he took as an act of defiance. 

He’d let it slide, just this once. 

He promptly joined Dr. Paul to discuss medication times and dosages. 

The older men’s voices faded to indistinctive background chatter in The Aid’s ears. He stared into the soup, fumbled the spoon, and stirred the contents around, trying to muster the strength to feed himself. Somehow, this felt like more of an impossible feat to overcome than hobbling around the room. 

He only managed a few spoonfuls of broth. He nibbled on a chopped carrot, but it felt foreign in his mouth, and he struggled to swallow it. 

He was suddenly hit with an unmistakable twinge of dread. His life felt bleak and meaningless; he had no hope for the future—the drugs seemed to only amplify his negative feelings. 

‘Hope I get some fast-acting anti-depressants, if there is such a thing…’

How many more times would he be beaten nearly to death, or to death, just to be nursed back to health for the process to repeat itself? He couldn’t do this again, not after the basement. He lost part of himself in that dungeon that he’d never get back, the remnants forever lost in the pitch shadows. He found his demons down there; they coalesced with a single mission of ripping him to shreds and flaying him open for his human monster to feed on. The demons and devil-man volleyed him back and forth until nothing was left but a shell of a young man who’d lost everything and abandoned his will to live. 

He knew no peace, no happiness; nothing but desperation and horror filled his mind and heart.

He stared helplessly into the bowl of soup as his mind dragged him down the hall of horrors, making him relive the torment. 

He couldn’t even enjoy his first hot meal in four months.

‘I survived death…But now what?’

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[dalekofchaos]

WWE never treated Sting like the Icon he is. AEW did.

One of the few nice things I can say about Tony Khan as a booker is he understands the value of Sting. WWE never treated Sting with value or reverence or understood what he did for the wrestling business.

They brought him in to be buried. The only reason why Sting even lost was because they wanted to build up to HHH & Stephanie vs Rock & Ronnie Lousey, a match that never even happened because of Dwayne's famous pull out game!

Then Sting breaks his neck in a stupid buckle bomb that never should've been a thing to begin with. Not saying it was Seth's fault, but that move never should have fucking happened.

Never once did it feel like WWE respected Sting.

Sting never should have went to WWE. He originally swore to never go to WWE, a few years after the buyout, Sting was in a documentary explaining why he never went to WWE.

Basically the way they handled The Invasion and how WCW was buried just showed Sting would never be used right. And Sting was right. He never should have went. He should have stuck to his guns and retired from Wrestling. Hell, Arn Anderson’s own podcast admitted that Vince instructed the announcers to bury him and he was buried. First by Vince, then by having the nWo come to his aide. What sense did it make for the nWo to side with Sting? They were enemies in WCW. And then Triple H buried him. Sting was right. When HHH is your main, no, your ONLY angle for everything, you will be buried under the mass of ego and pathetic brand of wrestling he provided. ANd to make matters worse, it wasn't about Sting being a vigilante standing up to The Authority, no they JUST HAD TO MAKE IT ABOUT LOL WWE VS WCW just to bury Sting and the promotion he held out for so long for.

Watch this tweet. It just shows how little respect WWE had for Sting. Fuck Vince. Fuck Triple H. Fuck JBL. Fuck their petty fragile egos and most importantly. Fuck Rock and Ronda Rousey for being the reason Sting lost his ONLY FUCKING WRESTLEMANIA MATCH FOR A MATCH THEY WERE SETTING UP THAT NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED. SO THANKS A FUCKING LOT, DWAYNE

Here are ways Sting could've been used better in WWE

If WWE actually made The Invasion actually feel like legit WWE vs WCW and treated WCW with respect enough to bring in the top stars. Sting could've been the ringleader. The man who leads WCW against WWE and we could've gotten Sting vs Rock. Sting vs Austin. Sting vs Undertaker(unfortunately ABA version) and so many great feuds. Sting could've been a multiple time WWE Champion and Intercontinental Champion and could've had a lengthy career in WWE if Vince wasn't so fucking petty in trying to bury WCW.

Sting could've fought The Undertaker and made it about Icon vs Icon. I even would've been content with a Undertaker vs Sting cinematic match. Just give Sting what he wanted, but Vince never thought he deserved it. And TO BE FAIR. Sting never got that Undertaker match because he kept taking the Dixie money for all those years. We might've got Undertaker vs Sting when it meant something at Wrestlemania 27, but because Sting went back to TNA, it never happened and Undertaker admitted that it wouldn't have been good at that late period in his career because of how broken his body became.

Sting could've been used as the ultimate babyface to bring justice to the heels. Whether it's The Authority, The Wyatt Family or The Bloodline, Sting could've been the one force that could

Sting could've been made WWE Champion. Why the fuck not? They shoved Goldberg down our fucking throats for 6 fucking years, I saw no reason whatsoever why Sting wasn't WWE Champion before that stupid buckle bomb nearly ended his career

Sting could've just been treated with one single semblance of respect and even that was too much to ask for with WWE.

Meanwhile for 4 years Sting has been treated like a legend. Like an icon. Like he deserved to be treated and he gave back. He helped put Darby Allin on the map. He took insane bumps that he didn't have to and he proved he can still fucking go. He is to AEW, like what Terry Funk was for ECW and he's getting the send off he deserves!

[softtcurse]

can u please write something where Josie(sorry if I spelled her name wrong😭) where she is in high school, pls and thank you.

Years like these

“Breakfast is ready!” You called out to your entire household. It had been a long morning of trying to get two teenage boys out of bed and ready for their first day of freshman year of high school. Both of them had soccer try out, and although you had no doubt in your mind they would make their selective teams it didn’t mean the stress of trying to even get them there didn’t weigh on you.

Josie was starting her first day of senior year. Your sweet little baby was now a -7 year old lady and she was gorgeous as ever. You were too much nervous for her, she was very responsible and made sure to wake up an hour early to get herself ready as well as make sure to help you pack her brother’s lunches. You were more that capable of doing it, but she didn’t want you stressing out as you had walked into Leo and Luca’s rooms to wake them up for the 2nd time.

“Thank you mama” Josie placed a kiss on your cheeks, small amount of makeup graced her natural features and her hair was done up in a loose ponytail that she manages to style perfectly. Her outfit of choose was a simple long sleeve green shirt with and some flared jeans. Jose grabbed her plate and sat at her seat. “Where’s dad?”

“I think he’s trying to get your brothers to come down with all their things, you know how they are” You winked at her and she giggled. Jose loved her brothers dearly, but even she could admit that they were a handful, just like you always told her Urban was in your younger years.

“You excited for your first day? Last year too”

“Yeah! I already have my classes memorized so I don’t have to run all over the school”

Loud foot steps followed her words.

“Mom! Leo is being annoying again!”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Leo!” Urban’s voiced boomed. There was silence from the bickering and then laughs followed for your twins. They came into view with their father behind them. Their duffel bags slung over their shoulders that held their cleats, and their soccer outfits to try out in.

“My babies” You cooed at them. A spitting image of their father right down to the eyes. “Look at you two being my freshmens!” They smiled at you and leaned down to place a kiss on your cheeks. They practically towered over you already and they were only 15.

“Mooom please don’t cry” Leo begged you, eyeing the food that you had made for them. They always loved your cooking. Often for sleep overs they would eat before they went to their friend’s house because they preferred your cooking.

Luca rubbed your arm and walked over to steal a piece of bacon from his plate,then grabbing it and taking his seat. Munching on the smoky apple wood treat. “I can’t help it, Urban look at all my babies” You sniffled. Urban laughed and shook his head.

“Eat up guys, moms going to want to take a picture after breakfast is over” Something you did every year, only this year it would be your last with Josie in the picture.

///

“Alright boys! Have a good day at school, I’ll pick you up a quarter to 5!” Urban yelled as his twins practically ran to the school. They shouted back their goodbyes to their dad and waved. Josie was still in the passenger seat. Urban had noticed she had been quiet on the car ride there. He didn’t pry too much in front of the boys.

“You okay Posie?” Urban watched as she toyed with the strap of her backpack. That was now on her lap.

“I’m scared daddy” She looked at him. Big glossy eyes that took Urban back to the time on her first day of Girl Scouts, and how scared she had been.

“I scared” She whimpered.

“I gonna be not so good” She sniffled. You wiped her eyes and shook your head. Urban raised his eyebrows and looked at her, not in anger but more so in confidence.

“Josephine Wyatt, look at me.” Urban said, moving his sunglasses up on his head.

Josie stared at him.

“You are the most smartest and hard working little girls I know, do you hear me? You worked so so hard to make sure to give all your love and attention to this little flower right here and look at it baby! It’s so pretty just like you and your mama” That earned him a smile from her. You smiled as well, he was such a good dad. You truly couldn’t ask for a better father for her.

Josie knew that if her daddy said it, then it must be true.

“I didn’t want to tell mom because she’s already so stressed with the twins but” She sniffled, and it only added to Urban’s crack in his heart. “It’s my last year and I go to college a few months after graduation, and I’m just so scared and overwhelmed.”

“Oh Josie”Urban wasted no time unbuckling his seatbelt and wrapping his arm around his daughter. Who held on to her dad like she would never see him again.

“It’s okay to be scared, there’s been so many times where I’ve been scared, where your moms been scared. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you’re the smartest girl I know. You’re so bright baby and you have a future ahead of you that everyone can see.” Urban rubbed her back. He’d breath stabilized and Urban’s eyes filled to the brim with tears of his own. She was not so much a little girl anymore.

“You’re turning 18 in a couple of months and that scares mom and I a lot” He confessed.

“Really?” Josie asked.

“Yes, because now the world is going to have its hands on you and even if we know you can take on its poison, that doesn’t mean we still don’t look at you and want to keep you in a bubble forever” Urban poked her side, earning a smile from her.

“Promise me you and mom will visit me when is go away?”

“We promise, you’ll see us in your dorm room more than your own roommate”

“Come on Josie!” Someone shouted form behind them. Mila Harlow waving her hands. Josie’s bestfriend had a wide smile on her face. Jack’s car in the back waiting for both girls to get in the school safety, much like Urban was going to do as well.

“Hi uncle Urban!”

Urban laughed and waved at her. “Hi Angel! You excited it!”

“Hell yeah!” Mila shouted back, Josie giggling and pressing a kiss to Urban’s cheek before gathering her stuff and getting out the car.

“Mila!” Urban heard Jack scold softly.

“Love you dad!” Josie yelled and blew him a kiss, Mila’s arm grabbing Josie’s.

“Love you too Posie”

Urban watched as they both disappeared through the school doors.

Watching Jack roll down his window a little bit further down. He saw the man’s equally tear stained eyes staring back at him.

“You too huh?” Urban commented.

“Oh you have no idea man”

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @loftylockjaw, @realmackross TIMING: Mid-February outside of Hallow Eats SUMMARY: When Wyatt decides to try and take care of a bug problem, with Mack offering him a helping hand, the two are caught in the crossfire of some very strong pollen. CONTENT WARNINGS: Drug manipulation tw (Bumblekára pollen), drool tw (very brief mention)

“Okay, seriously, how does no one else hear that?” His coworkers just looked at each other and shrugged, and Wyatt huffed. Obviously none of them had his fantastic sense of hearing, which was only working overtime right now because he was partially shifted. He worked among other supernatural townsfolk and a handful of humans that were quite aware, but cool about it. His golden eyes flashed as he moved away from his workstation in the kitchen, slitted pupils searching for the heat signature to accompany the buzzing, scratching sound he was hearing. Moving out of the kitchen and into the main dining room (they hadn’t yet opened), Wyatt felt a tiny vibration start to kick up. He moved along the interior walls of the building, but it was proving fruitless. Also it kind of sounded like it was coming from… higher up? 

Heading outside, Wyatt circled the building, his reptilian gaze turned toward the awning above him. Ah! There. A mass of warmth up higher on the structure, just beyond the fire escape that came down from the second floor. The lamia took a running jump at the ladder to grab it and drag it down, nearly losing his grip as it jerked to a sudden stop far sooner than it should’ve. 

Dangling there, the lamia squinted up at the ladder and growled, thrashing his body around to try and knock it loose. That’s when he heard footsteps and felt eyes on him—quickly blinking his eyes back to their more human blue and hoping that whatever scales had been peeking out from beneath his hairline weren’t noticed (probably not, from this distance), he twisted around to look at the person standing at the mouth of the alleyway. 

“Salutations,” he laughed. “Don’t, uh… don’t suppose you’d be willin’ to give the ol’ feet there a tug n’ help me get this ladder down, wouldja?”

—

There had been a lot running through Mackenzie’s mind lately. Situations that continued to replay over and over again haunting her, but also frustrating her. It had been around two months since she had lost control and raged through town, and it seemed like ever since, she had been living in a whirlwind of emotions. Her attempts to move forward and get on with her life was like an ebb and flow and some days were better than others. And of course, the best thing being her new relationship that was forming with Elora. But there were still moments when she felt as though she just wanted to let go. Let loose and not worry. And today was one of those days.

Venturing out earlier than normal, Mackenzie decided that maybe rising with the sun, would lift her spirits some, especially with the days getting shorter. It had been a while since she had made the choice to go eat at a restaurant for breakfast. Most mornings consisted of staying at home and having a smoothie of various body parts (unless it was brain day) followed by a few pancakes doused in cinnamon as a treat. But today, she had decided to go for something different.

As she made her way down the quiet sidewalks of the small town with the few early risers that were already out and about, she had almost made it to her destination when she heard a voice from…up above?

Mackenzie, with one half-raised eyebrow in confusion, cocked her head to the side as she looked up to see a man hanging from a ladder, “Uh…salutations? I’m sorry, the last time I heard that word was when I was like eight after watching Charlotte’s Web…” Blinking a few times, she sighed and walked towards him, “How did you get up there anyways? And what are you doing?” Reaching up, she grabbed onto his shoes and began to tug as hard as she could.

—

“Guess I’m old fashioned like that,” Wyatt mused, adjusting his grip on the ladder with a grunt. “Oh, well, I jumped! I was tryin’ to get the escape ladder down, so I can get up there and see what the heck is livin’ in our wall. But it uh, got stuck.” Feeling her pulling on his feet, he adjusted his grip again and squinted his eyes up at the ladder, willing it to release. Something started to grind, and he could have sworn he was moving very slowly. “Ah! Yeah! Just like that! C’mon, nearly there—” The ladder gave and they were suddenly falling very rapidly, and without much thought, Wyatt let go of the ladder with one arm to instead grab onto the stranger and stop her from cracking her head on the pavement from the sudden inertia of the not-so-little man dangling above her. They hung there for a moment before Wyatt heaved her up so she could regain her footing, then let her go and grabbed the ladder with both hands to start hauling himself up it to get his feet on the first rung. “Many thanks!” he called down to her, a bit out of breath by the time he got his feet on the ladder and could take a short break. 

He leaned back, staring up at the spot where the sound was coming from, blinking again and shifting his eyes back to their reptilian state. The heat signature was there, clear as day, and it looked… yeah, this was a bug problem. What kind of bugs was the question, but whatever they were, they had to go. Wyatt just wanted to know what to tell the exterminator. He was… going to have to get into the wall, probably. Something he’d not considered until now. Damnit. Shifting back to blue and looking down at the girl, his gaze then scanned the alley. Ah. 

“Uh… one more favor, if you don’t mind? Can you hand me that cinderblock over there by the dumpster, ma chérie?” He squatted back down and held a hand out toward her. “I’m Wyatt, by the by. So you know who to warn your friends away from,” he added with a chuckle.

—

Mackenzie listened as she continued to tug, until she felt a slight shift. Her mind had been on not getting squished by the man hanging just above her head, but when the ladder started to drop, the zombie realized she needed to move. However, down they went together — her, the ladder, and the man casually hanging from it. Luckily, like a true southern gentleman, she felt her fall being broken by him, before he was helping her back up. It had all happened so fast that Mackenzie didn’t have time to think, but once she had regained her composure, she was watching him attempt to move up the ladder once again, “You’re welcome…I think. But you said there was something living in your walls? Any idea what it might be?”

Stepping back, she looked upwards with a squint as the sun peered down into her eyes, “Is it even safe to be climbing up there? I mean you are going in without any ideas of what might be lurking.” And with this town, it could have been anything. “I’d just be cautious if I were you.” Letting her eyes fall from the brightness and the pain it was causing, Mackenzie heard him ask for the cinderblock. Now, what is this man up to?

“I don’t know what you’ve got in mind, but sure. Hold on.” Going over to the dumpster, she picked up the cement block and carried it back over to the man still standing on the ladder, “Mackenzie. And honestly, right now, it feels like friends are few and far between, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Raising the block up with both hands, she passed it off to him, “What do you plan on doing with that?”

—

“Pests, probably. As for what I’m gonna do with this…” he took it from her, grinning at it in his own hands for a beat. “Why, gonna put a hole in the wall with it, what else!” Wyatt answered Mack as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He approached the spot and, rearing his hand back, prepared to strike with the cinderblock, hoping to break through whatever cheap siding this place had been built with.

What the shifter couldn’t know was that these were no ordinary bugs. In fact, they weren’t bugs at all. They were bees, but not your average honeymakers. And they weren’t supposed to be here, of all places, noticed only thanks to the lamia’s heat vision, since they had been otherwise dormant. It was getting colder out, so that made sense. But dormant or not, the moment the wall came exploding inward right next to their hive, they were awake. And mad. 

The raucous buzzing could be heard even from where Mackenzie stood as the hive thrummed to life, slipping out of their hibernation to defend their home. Residual pollen from the springtime feeding still clung to the Bumblekára’s little fuzzy bodies, and as they flapped their tiny wings an an angry, threatening sort of way, a cloud of that pollen came billowing out of the hole Wyatt had made. The hole he was now pressing his face up to to try and see if it was wasps or what. (No one ever said he had a healthy sense of self-preservation—he was a ring fighter, after all.) 

He coughed, pulling back from the cloud, eyes wide. “What the fuck?” The coughing continued, the pollen irritating his lungs and making him feel dizzy as he stumbled back from the wall, grabbing onto the railing of the fire escape to steady himself.

The cloud sank low into the alley, engulfing the whole area in a thick, colorful, dizzying haze. 

—

“Right? So you’re gonna break a wall and anger whatever’s in there. This should be interesting.” Mackenzie wasn’t worried. She was dead after all. If anything had decided to come out of the hole she watched the man now busting into the siding of the older building, it wasn’t like it could hurt her right? So she stood by with her face aimed upwards watching as he made an effort to beat an opening. It was only then, when he was successful, that Mackenzie could hear what sounded like buzzing. Her ears hadn’t been the absolute best, but she knew bees buzzing, and it was only confirmed when she watched them zip out of the hole bringing a cloud of dust with them.

With the plume of pollen surrounding Wyatt, Mackenzie watched as he stumbled, reacting on instinct ready to catch him if he were to fall, but there was some relief when she noticed him catch the ledge and hang on. However, it wasn’t pleasant seeing the haze seeping downward soon to engulf her in it, only to leave her coughing and trying to fan it away. Great. Something that apparently could affect her. Pollen. But it didn’t take long for her to stumble forward looking for something to grip while the world started to spin around her, “What the fuck?”

Closing her eyes and trying to steady herself was proving to be unsuccessful, “Wyatt! What did you unleash!?! She had been waiting for the stings, but they never came. Instead her mind started to race as if she were under the influence of something unpleasant at first, but oddly turning into something more enjoyable. At least for the moment in time while she leaned up again the building the man had just knocked a hole into.

—

“I dunno…! Bees?!” The lamia tried to take a deep breath to settle the dizziness in his head, but breathing was hard in this damned cloud. He ought to get out, really, but… he was distracted by the way he realized his hands were changing. The fingers grew longer, the skin began to turn a sickly green, and… and… oh. Oh. 

Wyatt gave a small start as he realized he was slipping into an involuntary shift, alligator scales sprouting on his arms, neck, and face, his pupils thinning into slits while the irises turned a golden yellow. But even worse than that, there was something going on with the girl—something weird. Weirder than him? Hard to say. He leaned over the railing, his concern for dropping from such a height gone as the hallucinogenic rampaged through his system. The girl, Mackenzie, was growing horns. Or was it antlers? He didn’t know, didn’t care, except that it was fuckin’ wild and he wanted a closer look. 

Allowing the shift to continue, putting an unfortunate strain on his clothes, the lamia scampered down the steps to the landing where the ladder was connected, staring at her. 

“What’s with the head decorations?” he called, not realizing that he was fully imagining all of it. He climbed up onto the railing, heaving a sigh as the shift rapidly accelerated and left no trace of a human behind, just a reptilian monster that resembled a bipedal alligator, draped in what had once been Wyatt’s work attire. He dropped from the fire escape, landing in the alley with a thud that rattled the nearby windows before standing upright again and reaching for her imagined antlers that were sprouting higher and higher from her head. A quick glance down also revealed to him (or so he thought) that her face was… growing fur? Like his scales, but very much not like his scales.

Wait a minute. Was she like, a deer person? What the fuck?

It was then that the lamia felt his stomach growl.

—

Mackenzie closed her eyes trying to find balance, but the smells…Oh mylanta, the smells of fresh cooked meat had her mouth watering. And as she opened her eyes again, she let her gaze shift until she noticed the alligator plopping down to the ground with a hard thud. Mackenzie startled at first, but suddenly more curious than anything. And as he moved in closer to her, his large gatory arm extending out towards her, she couldn’t help but see it as something battered and deep fried, the tiniest bit of drool seeping from the side of her mouth, until he said something about head decorations, “What? I don’t have anything on my head. Do you always walk around looking like a snack?”

The young zombie had managed to push herself off of the wall as she inched closer, her eyes glazing over to pure white nothingness, but her brain and ability to talk still there. If she had caught sight of herself in a mirror, she would have seen nothing but rot and decay, but apparently her gator friend was seeing something else, “Hey! We should go get hot sauce. Like the hottest sauce known to man. Some of that Carolina Reaper shit that everyone talks about. That long, freshly battered tail you’re sportin’ right now isn’t going to marinate itself.” She wandered over to it and slowly leaned down to lift it up and observe it, “You know…this would totes make a super cute purse too and boots…You could make a lot of money, man.”

—

“I mean… nice of you to notice, but I think I’d count myself as a whole damn meal. Five courses n’ all,” Wyatt countered with a laugh. The deer-girl’s interest in his tail was, mm… hard to describe. Not threatening, because he was big and had lots of teeth, and she was small. And had… probably flat teeth, or whatever deer have. Not a threat. Not a problem. Kinda weird, though. She would make a decent meal…

Pulled from his thoughts as Mackenzie picked his tail up from the ground, the lamia let out a crocodilian hiss of breath, then followed it with a snort. “Yeah, well, I need that tail for things. Things that don’t involve purses, boots, or hot sauce. Ain’t you like a vegetarian, anyway? I know gator is the most scrumptious of the meats, but I never seen a deer eat meat before.” He turned to face her, pulling his tail free of her grip. “Me though… I eat lots of meat. Hell, I live on it. N’ you…” He dropped down onto all fours, ready to lunge at her with massive, gaping jaws. “You’re the one lookin’ mighty tasty right about now.” He recoiled and then sprang, far more agile than a real alligator would’ve been on land, and therefore, far more deadly. Not that he realized his chosen prey was already dead—might not have been interested, if he knew that.

— 

“I bet you would.” Mackenzie licked her lips. Forget the tail, there was a lot Mack could feed on. From his hind quarters to his cute little prehistoric looking arms and of course that funny little brain that kept telling him she was a deer. But her trance was broken, when he ripped his tail away from her and out of her grip. Instead of dwelling, she shook her head a little and looked back at the gator man as a whole, “Too bad, you’re a walking high end designer bag that could fetch a lot of money.” She shrugged.

Turning around, not paying any attention to him down and ready to lunge, Mackenzie started to walk forward and just in time too, because if she had stayed in the same spot, she surely would have been gator food. It was the Bumblekára pollen that had her so carefree and nonchalant about things. So much so that it almost gave her an air of coolness that she only turned on when she was acting for the camera, “And why do you keep calling me a deer?” She narrowed her eyes thinking about the question, before turning back around, “I guess if you like your meat dead and rotting. I mean, I would say I’m more roadkill than Bambi.” She started laughing at her own joke as she turned back around to face him.

—

His jaws snapped shut and caught nothing but air, and he grumbled. That should’ve been… a lot easier. He felt weird. Confused, almost. Obviously it was affecting his ability to hunt. “Because you are a deer—what you mean, dead and rotting? You don’t look dead to me.” Wyatt paused, narrowing his eyes at her and craning his neck forward to give her a good, long sniff. 

Okay, so she didn’t smell like the dead things he normally came across in the woods, but she definitely had some kind of… aura about her. The lamia stopped for a moment, thinking hard about what Owen had said. There were more than just vampires. And—duh! Caleb was dead, too! And he didn’t smell dead. Was this deer girl like—

Oh, wait. She wasn’t a deer. The fur and the antlers were suddenly gone, leaving in their place one very normal looking girl. The lamia huffed out a breath and lifted his head again, rising up onto two feet. “You’re… not a deer. And you’re dead, like my—like a guy I know. Okay. I’m—” God, stringing together a coherent sentence was hard. He glanced up at the hole in the wall where the bees had retreated, and the sky still glittered and sparkled with the haze of pollen they’d blasted out at him. “I think… maybe… we shouldn’t be in this cloud,” he thought aloud. “But… um. I can’t… someone might see.” And if he shifted back, he’d be naked. And he really didn’t want this random person seeing him naked.

—

“No, I am not a deer. And yes, I am dead.” Normally Mackenzie wasn’t so carefree with who she revealed her true identity with, but this guy was a huge humanoid alligator that looked like he came straight out of the Peter Pan cartoon that she had seen many, many years ago as a child. “And you’re a walking-talking alligator.” Mack looked him over once more, until he mentioned the pollen cloud. Letting her eyes glance up, she noticed it was still lingering.

Mackenzie had only ever been high once in her life, and it had been enough for her. Not something she had ever desired to feel again, but here she was, except this time, it was totally different, “I think you’re right.” With the realization of what was causing their hallucinations, life seemed to suddenly start to cut back through and… “Oh…uh. Yeah, I mean, I can offer you my hoodie, but that’s about it.” She looked over to see his other clothes in shreds on the ground. Man this guy must have had a closet full of clothes. And then some.

Quickly glancing around, she spotted a small souvenir shop across the street. Why anyone would want Wicked Rest souvenir’s she’d never know. It seemed like leaving with the scars of what this town could do to you was enough, “I have an idea! Go hide somewhere…like over there in the shadows. And don’t breathe.” Easier said than done, at least for a walking dead person. “I’ll be right back!”

—

“Don’t breathe? You—” But she was off, and Wyatt was left to mutter to himself, hunkering down and hoping he was low enough to keep his head clear before scurrying off to the darkest corner of the alley, side pressed against a smelly dumpster. Clawed hands reached out to cover his nostrils and he begged the woman to hurry, growing antsier by the second. 

His eyes were tightly clamped shut when she returned, afraid of what he might see and how he might react if he opened them. He felt something soft dumped onto his snout and he peeked with one yellow, slitted eye. 

This was far and away from his first choice when it came to fashion, but what other alternative was there? Ugh. The lamia lifted his head and gathered the clothing in his reptilian hands, offering Mack a nod in thanks. “Turn around,” he huffed, wasting no more time in reversing the shift and hurriedly pulling the clothes on—the sweatpants and sweatshirt were ugly as sin, but at least they were comfortable and fit okay. The sandals, while not right for the season, were probably the only footwear available in that place, so he tried not to complain too much about the horrific combination of Wicked’s Rest socks and sandals adorning his human feet as he slipped them on and stood up. As he moved past Mack, he urged her forward with a touch to her shoulder, and the pair quickly left the alley and rounded the front of the building. Along the way, he bent down to snatch up his phone that’d clattered to the pavement after his gator body had ripped through his clothes, annoyed but not surprised to see that the screen had cracked.

Calling up the coworkers he’d abandoned in the building to finish prep on their own, he informed them he was actually taking the day off as something unexpected had come up. Not really caring if that was about to cost him his job, he hung up and looked down at Mack again. 

“Well… thanks for the help, even though that all went to shit.” He paused, considering the girl’s undeadness. “Hey, you like spicy food? I hear that’s the closest folk like you can get to tastin’ anythin’. Got a few recipes I’ve tried out on my undead friend, n’ he seemed to enjoy ‘em. Can make you some, as proper thanks for the…” He glanced down at himself, letting out a laugh. “... incredible ensemble you threw together for me.”

—

Mackenzie had tried to pick out something resembling a decent outfit, but it was no avail, and the frustration that lingered with the options made her want to have a talk with the owner, but she didn’t have time. Besides, it’s not like she had to shop for a naked gator man on a regular basis. Well that was a thought I never imagined would pop into my head. Which led to “3 AM” by Eminem cycling through her brain and was stuck there until she returned to Wyatt, where she successfully dumped the clothes on him.

Doing as he requested, Mackenzie turned her back to him while he got dressed, and by the time she turned back around, what she saw made her burst out into a somewhat ugly laugh, “Oh shit…that’s worse than I thought it would be!” Stifling her continued laughter, she followed him quietly as he retrieved his phone and the pair left the cloud of pollen once and for all. She had felt bad he was going to miss a day's work over this, but it wasn’t often you were in the presence of hallucinogenic bee butt dust. Besides, Mack was also pretty sure he didn’t want to be caught coming back to work dressed like Wicked’s Rest’s biggest fan. How would that conversation go?

“Uh, yeah. No problem. And thanks for not eating me. I don’t think I’d taste very good.” She laughed softly, but her ears perked at the mention of spicy food. “You have spoken the magic words. I, unfortunately, love spicy food!” Mack looked up at him with a grin, “I would very much appreciate that, and uh, you can keep the clothes. Maybe use it as a Halloween costume sometime if the overgrown Alligator costume bit gets old.” She resumed walking, “You been in Wicked’s Rest long?”

—

“Wow, thanks, your generosity astounds,” he laughed in turn, always able to find the humor in a situation… he just hoped he didn’t run into anyone he knew looking like this. “But no… just a few months. Was in Boston for some years before that, though, so it’s not that different… just smaller. And with more… dead people.” He glanced at her. “No offense. Some of my favorite people are dead!” 

The trip to his waiting car wasn’t an especially long one, and once they’d reached it, Wyatt asked Mack to hold there for a second while he reached into his glove box and pulled out a scrap of paper.

“Here,” he said, writing down his name and phone number. “Hit me up when you got a hankerin’, girl. I’ll make sure you can taste your dinner. And… hey, I’ll even cook it up usin’ that offal I hear your kind needs to stay limber, eh? Wouldn’t want you goin’ hungry.” Leaning over the car door to hand it to her, Wyatt offered a charming smile. “Now I gotta get the fuck outta here before someone I know sees me. Thanks again for the assist. Be hearin’ from you soon!”

[fanficdumbchic]

Would you please do courting hcs for the tombstone boiz?

Courting The Boys of Tombstone

Headcanon - Tombstone Men x Reader - SFW

AN: Thank you Anon, hope you enjoy! :)

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt is intense as all holy hell. He seems to attract chaos wherever he goes.

He's a very caring partner, but he can get really caught up in his surroundings. If you feel neglected, he's sure to make up for it somehow.

He is very protective, knowing anyone he cares for is sure to get a target on their back.

He gave you a pistol to assure you handle trouble if it comes your way. And he made a point of teaching you how to shoot it and shoot it well.

He never lets you come with if he has to do something dangerous. He never wants to risk you getting hurt even in the slightest.

He is proud of having you on his arm at social events and nights out, constantly praising you and your accomplishments.

He has an almost supernatural sense of when your in danger and runs to you immediately to make sure everything is okay.

Anyone that dare try to hurt you better run and never show their face in town again, or he will end them.

Virgil Earp

Even though he is the quiet and reserved type, his love for you is unquestionable.

His love language is definitely physical affection, always holding your hand if you walk together, or draping an arm around your shoulders.

He is very supportive of anything you choose to do and stands by it 100%. He is your defender and never your critic.

If he feels that something you're doing is unwise, he offers his opinion but will back you 100% if you do it anyway.

This boy will take a shotgun blast to the arm and his first words are, "I still have one good arm to hold you with." (Lowkey, always swoon at that part.)

He is loyal to a fault and does the right thing even if it has steep consequences and will stand by your side when you do the same.

He's in it for the long haul and is deeply dedicated to whomever he loves.

Morgan Earp

100% sweet baby brother who is a little naive and would follow his brothers to the ends of the Earth.

You always worry about him, he assumes the good in people too much and lets his guard down.

But that naive element gives him such a wholesome innocence and sweetness that you are so in love with.

He loves taking you to the theater and is one of the few men you've known to read Shakespeare. He often reads A Midsummer Night's Dream to you while you lay your head in his lap on picnics.

Loves bringing you things: some fresh-picked daisies or just a cool rock he found and thinks you would like.

He legit asked you to marry him the first night you met. Granted, he was a bit sloshed but stands by it. He believes in love at first sight and that's how he has felt about you since.

He loves to run his fingers through your hair and gazes at you adoringly while you talk about your day.

Doc Holliday

He always makes jokes that you bewitched him and that's why he's so in love with you.

Doc treats you like his partner in crime and at the end of the day, you're the only one who truly knows his plans.

During a severe bout of his TB, he gave you the key to a safety deposit box at a bank in Sante Fe, so that when he passes, you will not have to worry.

He loves to play the piano for you while you lean your head on his shoulder.

While he often jokes about you being a siren that ensnared him, he makes clear in his actions that he loves you truly and deeply.

He has no plans of changing his insane lifestyle and often jokes that your next husband will be the one to settle down with.

Often compares you to Gods/Goddesses from legends of the ancient world and thinks the world of you. He remarks that you were the one thing in his life that seemed too good to be true and actually wasn't.

Curly Bill

NO. JUST, NO.

Just a giant red flag.

JUST NO.

Johnny Ringo

Johnny is a sexy red flag. He's devilish and charming. You know you shouldn't but that only makes you want to even more.

He is not the type you could ever settle down with. He tries to play being aloof until he gets jealous.

Pretends he isn't in love until you call his bluff and he scrambles.

He's usually cocky and likes to make your blood boil.

Incredible in bed, unhinged.

He's handsome and he knows it which is frustrating.

But that demeanor starts to wear off, the longer he courts you. He's not one to express his emotions in a healthy way but when he's faced with potentially losing you for good, he changes his tune.

He loves being the center of your attention and when he's not, he starts to get nervous.

[creedslove]

HEARTLESS 💔 - PART FIVE

Agent Whiskey (Jack Daniels) x f!reader

Summary: Jack regrets treating you so bad lately after he learned you cried because of him, but he doesn't know how to handle the situation at all

(This is the fifth part of the HEARTLESS 💔 series)

• PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE |

PART FOUR

Warnings: angst, hurt, fluff (because Wyatt is the cutest child in the whole world), asshole! jack, mom!reader

A/N: I don't know what to think... Jack is overall a dick, but he wasn't that bad in this one, i really don't know what you will all think of this chapter besties ❤️

2.8k words

Friday night came without warning and with that, it just dragged your heart around. You still hadn't wrapped your head around the fact Jack had managed to blackmail you into going to the ranch after pulling the extremely cowardly card of bringing lawyers into the games. 

You knew the court wouldn't side with Jack, not in a normal situation at least, but the expenses of having to hire a lawyer to defend your cause, plus the drama Wyatt would be brought into would be too traumatic for him. He was so little and so innocent, he didn't deserve to find out his dad had left him, and then suddenly decided to come back and now he was going to try to take him away from his mommy.  

And because he wasn't just a regular man with a regular job, he was an agent. He worked for one of the biggest agencies in the world, and you didn't know until what extent that went, but you figured it would be very easy for him to influence a judge for instance. There were too many possibilities and you were not willing to risk your son in a situation like that. He was your everything, the little one you loved the most in your life, you felt a kind of love you thought wasn't even possible to feel. Before your son was born, you thought the love you felt for Jack was the most intense feeling you'd ever experienced, which was, it was a romantic feeling, it swept you off your feet and you knew that even if you found love again, it wouldn't compare to what you felt for that asshole of a cowboy. But the love you felt for your son was almost blinding, you couldn't even imagine yourself losing the right to see him every day, it hurt you to even consider such a possibility, and that was why you would have to submit to Jack's will at least for the moment. 

You finished packing your bag for the weekend and placed it right next to your son's, which had been done with his help, two days earlier, because your boy couldn't control his excitement. As much as you were tense and scared of what would happen on the ranch, you were also glad to see your son's happiness. You were both incredibly happy and also broken to see he was indeed a little cowboy at heart, just like his dad. 

You sighed and began putting the things you didn't pack away, stopping as you found your memory box inside of your wardrobe, knowing exactly what it was inside of it. Your heart raced and it wasn't a good idea to take a look at it, but you couldn't fight your feelings any longer, so you dragged it over your bed and opened it. 

There were so many pictures in it, pictures of you as a kid, your family, your life and pictures of the ranch and the cowboy you loved once so much. Technically Jack should avoid being caught on cameras, as this could be harmful to his job as a secret agent, not that it mattered, you never really understood how he could work as an agent, there was nothing discreet about him, he was a cowboy for god's sake, he drew everyone's attention in the room, but still, rules were meant to be obeyed. However, Jack never said no to you, and that included pictures. He never resisted your cute polaroids, you just loved clinging to him and snapping your pics together. 

You had pictures of the ranch, the little animals and of course pictures of you Jack. You had a sad smile as you watched them, one by one, being taken by so many memories, so much happiness you had felt at those moments. 

You only realized you were crying when your sight got blurry and one tear fell onto the picture, you quickly wiped it, not wanting it to be ruined and when Wyatt walked into your bedroom for the third time that night. He just couldn't help himself and he was so excited he had to snuggle you. He quietly walked to your bed, his curious eyes scanning you, tilting his head "why awe you cwying, mommy?" He asked innocently and you sniffed, drying your tears and shaking your head. You lifted your son up, helping him in bed, next to you, and showed him the picture. He smiled sweetly as he saw you, his tiny finger stroking your image in the picture with affection. Wyatt loved his mommy with all his heart. 

But then something caught his attention, the man that stood next to you in the frame, even if he had the stetson and the sunglasses on, the little boy was able to recognize him anywhere 

"Cowboy, mama!!!" He said with a giggled and then frowned "whewe's Wyatt?" He pouted and you bit your lips "you were just a tiny little bean in mama's womb when I was friends with the cowboy" you said and saw as your son nodded. You didn't know if he was able to put the information together, but he didn't say anything at all, he just smiled "cowboy my fwiend too!" He giggled and you snuggled him closer. 

You felt you couldn't hold back the emotion in you and let out your tears, just as Wyatt got distracted with the other pictures of the ranch. He loved seeing the animals, and the flowers and it just made him happier and happier to know he was going to visit his cowboy friend. 

When he looked up at you, he saw your tears and widened his big brown eyes "don't cwy mommy, pwease" he said sweetly and snuggled into you.

You held him closer and you didn't even notice when he fell asleep, you were too far deep in your memories, knowing you would never be as happy as you were one day, because you would never have Jack with you. Not the Jack you loved at least, because the one you were going to meet in a few hours could never be the same man that stole your heart. 

       •••

Jack paced his kitchen nervously, he was anxious and eager to see his son. A part of him still doubted you would show up with Wyatt, as much as he persuaded you to come by not playing fair, he still worried in his heart that he wouldn't see his son. And he'd been looking forward to it the whole week, it was just so hard not to stop by your apartment every single day to see him, be welcomed by his sweet face, his adorable voice and giggles and his expressive eyes that would never deceive Jack's paternity. 

Helen sighed "Jack, I'm trying to finish these cupcakes for your boy and you are getting in the way, soon enough Y/N will be here and I can't wait to see my little boy" she said excitedly and earned herself a frown

"Your boy?" 

"Yeah, you know damn well he is like a grandson to me, just as you are like a son to me, when you aren't being unbearable" the older woman said. She'd been working for Jack as his housekeeper on the ranch ever since he bought it, being at least a good twenty years older than him, she immediately took a liking to him in a maternal way. After she learned about his loss, she made sure to dedicate him her time just as she would to her own kids, as if his own kids had done something horrible, she felt so disappointed when he kicked you out while pregnant and never went after his son. Helen didn't know what had changed, and if she had to guess, she thought Jack himself probably didn't know what had changed, but she was happy, because she was going to see you again and meet your little boy. 

He checked the table Helen had set for you and Wyatt and bit his lip, she could see he was tense and walked to him, placing her hand on his shoulder "they're gonna be here soon, don't worry about it" Helen reassured him and smiled as the two of them could hear the sound of a car approaching.

"Told you" she said excitedly and went outside. 

Wyatt was too excited and couldn't even control how his little heart raced as he was still trapped by the safety belt. 

"Huwy mommy!!! I wanna pway!" He whined and as soon as you helped him off, he ran to Jack, squealing excitedly and opening his arms to him. Jack's excitement was also visible, he lowered himself to welcome his boy, but Helen was faster, being so eager to meet him. She wrapped her arms around him and lifted him up, making your own heart flutter to see how much she cared about your son. 

Wyatt was a little confused at first, but he giggled and looked at the woman 

"Hi, I Wyatt!" He said sweetly and looked at her, but Jack was faster and picked him up 

"Let me talk to my beautiful boy!" He tickled his tummy as his son wrapped his arm around his neck 

"Hi cowboy!" He giggled adorably and stared at him with the same eyes Jack saw every day in the mirror.

Helen immediately wrapped her arms around you, excited to see you after the years and showering in compliments, you felt your heart warming, seeing her made you feel so glad, but then Jack walked to the two of you, only nodding his head at you. 

When everyone was back in the kitchen, Jack placed Wyatt comfortably on his lap, as he showed him all the food they could have for breakfast. The man cleared his throat and looked at you 

"Join us Y/N, you must be hungry too" he said coldly and you nodded, Helen could see the tension between the two of you was thick enough she could cut with it a knife, but Wyatt was innocent, he smiled big at you and pointed at the beautiful cake "chocolate cake, mommy! Can I have it pwease?" He gave you the puppy eyes and you nodded at him, Jack looked at the little boy and smiled "do you like this one, little man? It's my favorite too!" He tickled his tummy once more, loving his beautiful sweet little laugh. 

You only sipped your orange juice but didn't feel like eating anything at all, as being back at that house was causing you a big wave of emotion; it'd been your home once, you'd wake up everyday and have breakfast there with your boyfriend, or late at nights when you would have a quickie with him, pressing against the kitchen counter. 

You blushed softly as you thought of that and saw Jack was staring at you, he had asked you a question but you hadn't heard it as you were too deep in thought 

"I told you you can take the guest room down the hallway upstairs, you know where it is" he instructed and you nodded, excusing yourself as you didn't feel hungry at all, and thankfully, Jack gave you the perfect excuse to stay away from him. How convenient, you thought to yourself. 

You thanked Helen for the amazing breakfast though you hadn't eaten anything, but you could tell by the way your son chewed his food enthusiastically he was enjoying it for the both of you.

You quickly observed Jack handling Wyatt's food and thought it was quite interesting he wasn't so clueless about taking care of a child, maybe he was making an effort after all. 

You told your son you would organize the bedroom and he nodded, turning his attention back at the man. 

Jack made sure to pay attention to him, answer his silly questions and show Wyatt he was having a great time with him, until his son sipped his juice so he would wash down the food and place his small hand on his big one.

"Mommy was cwying last night" he said innocently, not understanding that maybe he shouldn't talk about personal things like those. Jack raised his eyebrow curiously at Wyatt and wanting to know more about it. 

"Was she? And why was that?" 

"Because of cowboy" he shrugged simply "cowboy and mommy wewe fwiends" he added and in his childish way told Jack about the pictures his mommy kept, about the animals he'd seen in them and how mommy had told him she used to be friends with the cowboy but they weren't anymore. 

Jack took a deep breath, he tried to seem unbothered by it, but he felt a pit of guilt in his stomach, he had no idea you'd keep your pictures together, he'd figure you would've erased every single trace of him from your life, but apparently you hadn't. Jack sighed as he thought that maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh on you, maybe he should have been loving, sweeter, he should have fallen to your feet and begged you for forgiveness, that would've been better than calling you a bitch. 

"Helen, can you stay with Wyatt and make sure he gets another slice of cake? I gotta check on Y/N really quick.." he asked the woman, who was more than happy to spend time with the adorable little boy. 

Jack assured him he'd be back soon and ran upstairs as fast as he could, walking through the hallway and finding you inside of the guest room. 

You were unpacking Wyatt's bag and placing his clothes inside the drawers, Jack wanted to tell you to stop, as he had prepared a surprise for you and Wyatt, Jack had turned one of the empty rooms into a beautiful bedroom for his son. He'd picked the decoration himself, everything full of farm animals and other things he thought his son might like it and he would keep it a surprise until it was bedtime, so he'd let his son decide if he wanted to sleep with his mom or by himself in his bedroom, like a baby boy, even if he wasn't sure Wyatt would sleep alone in a different house. 

But he stopped himself and only watched you. 

You looked so beautiful while doing something so simple such as folding some clothes, Jack felt his cold stone heart yearning for something he forced himself to pretend he didn't want anymore. 

He took off his hat and held it in his hand and walked inside

"Y/N?" He asked in a low voice, even if it wasn't his intention, he startled you and you jumped a little, turning to him and feeling anxious. You were mentally preparing yourself to spend the whole weekend next to the man that broke your heart, you knew eventually you'd have problems, you just didn't want it to be less than an hour after you arrived. 

"What do you need, Jack?" You asked him, as you saw him approaching you. His eyes scanned you shamelessly, he looked at your face, down your body and saw you hadn't aged a day, though you still managed to look more beautiful than before. Your body was looking gorgeous as ever and at that moment no matter how much he'd lied to himself over the years, he would give up everything to run his hands down your curves. He was at a loss of words at that moment, placing his hat on the bed and taking a step closer 

"I'm sorry… about how I treated you, sugar, I really regret it" he said and looked into your eyes, but it wasn't enough, you needed to know what he meant and how much he meant it, so Jack's hand got on hips quickly, pulling you to him and before you could react to anything, his lips met yours in a needy kiss. 

He was finally kissing those beautiful lips years later after making you go away, it felt to him he had returned home, at the same time it also felt not a day had passed after your last kiss. He was so glad in to be kissing you he barely noticed your hands pushing him away at the same time you managed to break the kiss.

You wiped your mouth as he took a step back and the next thing he felt was your hand on his cheek, a slap strong enough its sound echoed through the room. 

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Jack?" You raised your voice, furious to have been kissed by him, as he held the part of his face you'd slapped him as hard as you could, finally placing his hand down, you could see the redness and your handprint on his skin.

_____

A/N: idk besties, he deserved the slap, but the kiss 💋🔥🔥🔥🔥

[echosprompts]

daisy jones & the six : miscellaneous songs. 

daisy jones : nobody needs 

“i remember waving at the car.”

“doesn’t matter that we’ll never say goodbye.”

“nobody needs a family, just trust me.”

“nobody needs a family.”

“just trust me.”

“she’s a ship-wreck on a sea of self-loathing.”

“the question of what oughta matter cuts you deep.”

“thank you.”

“i’m sorry.”

“i love you.”

“goodbye.” 

daisy jones : by myself

“it’s alarming to see how far i can run.”

“i wind up the same as i always, crying in a heap in some hallway.”

“i gotta try something new.”

“i can do this with nobody else.”

“i can ruin this night by myself.”

“i can write down my miserable poem.”

“i can drink to my own bloody health.”

“i could tell by the waves you couldn’t see me.”

“you couldn’t see me.”

“people may try.”

“i’m gonna do ‘til i die to and give it hell.”

“give it hell.”

“i don’t need anybody’s help.”

daisy jones : type of guy

“you’re the type of guy who has a virgin mary leaning on his bed.”

“you’re the type of guy who has a hundred double meanings in his head.”

“a painting leaves you empty-eyed.”

“i’m that same type of guy.”

“you’re the type of guy who hangs on every word he stumbles for.”

“you’re the type of guy who doesn’t wanna talk about it anymore.”

“what can make you laugh, can make you cry.”

“all i do is listen and forget what you were just about to say.”

“all i do is listen.”

“it’s finally time to hit the hay.”

“they shaved my head and made me stand with both my arms stretched open wide.”

“you’re childlike and ignorant, or negligent, or both, i can’t decide.”

“you’re childlike and ignorant.” 

daisy jones : it was always you

“this is not a faith to awaken.”

“their love will never last.”

“to see the toll it would have taken.”

“i could forget my name.”

“swore i’d never darken your door.”

“you’ll say it was insane.”

“we never could go back to before.”

“i can’t control it.”

“it was always you.”

“don’t question what oughta be.”

“i’m a slave to attraction.”

“feelings never went away, we hid them under plastic.”

“feelings never went away.”

“i say i know my mind, but overlook the workings of my heart.” 

“i blew it bad this time.”

“i’m disappearing back to the start.”

“hide away what i’d die to say.”

“doesn’t take the rain for the ride to change.”

“i guess i better wake up.”

“i guess i didn’t know it.”

“i didn’t show it.”

“it was always true.”

wyatt stone daisy jones : stumbled on sublime 

“i’ll go have a coffee.”

“i stumbled on sublime.”

“getting through the day was always such a chore.”

“let yourself live a little more.”

“stumbled on sublime ‘til the signals weak.”

“stumbled on sublime ‘til i can’t speak.”

“she’s all around your head, she’s dancing on the edges of your mind.”

“she’ll all around your head.”

“she’s dancing on the edges of your mind.”

“i’ll listen again.”

“i wonder if i might see you around this way again.”

“out there somewhere wild off the night.”

“she’s out there where the storms don’t break.”

“she’s out there and it’s keeping me awake.”

simone jackson : up to you

“all that i can do is wait.”

“if i can’t understand maybe i can still relate.”

“someone has been in your shoes before.”

“most of the time, they just walk right out the door.”

“i’ll leave it up to you.”

simone jackson : a song for you

“i’ve been a lot of place in my life and time.”

“i’ve made some bad rhymes.”

“i’ve acted out my life on stages.”

“this world will know now.”

“i know your image of me is what i hope to be.”

“i’ve treated you unkindly.”

“there’s no one more important to me.”

“can’t you see through me?”

“you taught me precious secrets of a true love.”

“you taught me precious secrets.”

“you came by the front and i was hiding.”

“i was hiding.”

“i’m so much better.” 

“i’ll love you in a place where there’s no space or time.”

“i’ll love you for my life.”

“cause you’re a friend of mine.”

“when my life is over remember when we were together.”

simone jackson : ya love ain’t enough

“you know your love ain’t enough.”

“don’t tell me you’re in love.”

“the world was a dark place, but you showed my your light.”

“you swept me off my feet.”

“i know i am strong cause you wanna lend me your heart.”

“i gotta say, though i don’t want to, there’s nothing left for me to say.”

“there’s nothing left for me to say.”

“don’t let me fall in love.”

simone jackson : last night together 

“you think you can hold back, i don’t.”

“you think you can hold back.”

“i’ll make it go on like this forever.”

“you will find out you were wrong.”

“this is our last night together.”

“people say i’m free but they don’t know me.”

“i like it wild.”

“guess it’s time to let you go.”

“let me get the last round.”

“i’ll need no man to lead me to the promise land.”

“say what you want, calling me and my friends deviants.”

“say what you want.”

“i am a diamond under pressure.”

the dunne brothers : look me in the eye

“i put the man in the moon.”

“i put the grease on the wheel.”

“i put the sword in the stone.”

“i lit the southern stars.”

“i know you don’t mean it.”

“you can’t turn around and look me in the eye.”

“look me in the eye.” 

“turn around and say it to my face.”

“say it to my face.”

“i can feel the hole in your memory.”

“i’ll show you things you can’t unsee.”

the dunne brothers : flip the switch 

“come on, you can’t be serious.”

“you can’t even take a joke.”

“the sun is shining down on you.”

“come on and pull the trigger.”

“is that a version of an invitation?”

“you couldn’t say you never loved her, could you?”

“you couldn’t flip the switch.”

“you couldn’t pull the trigger.”

“i hear you taking to yourself, but do you ever really listen?”

“i hear you taking to yourself.”

“do you ever really listen?”

“is there some burden on your soul?”

“can you tell me what i’m missing?”

“it’s too late.”

“it’s too late now.”

the dunne brothers : silver nail

“when you feel like nothing’s real and you can’t sleep, that’s when you call me.”

“steady hands and joke amend are reliable.”

“it could’ve been you.”

“i couldn’t be sure.”

“isn’t that fair?”

“there’s a piece we never lost and we never found.”

“there’s a piece we never lost.”

“shaking that tree and still no fruit came down.”

“when good enough is just good enough.”

“my world that hangs on a wire, what will i do when it all catches fire?”

“you may call, but i won’t be around.”

“i can’t pick up, cause i just can’t put you down.”

“i just can’t put you down.”

the winters : over/under

“i will be an ordinary guy.”

“they just never know how to spot an angel in the snow.”

“i will show you something true if you really want me to.”

“i will show you something true.”

“if you really want me to.”

“it’s always nice with her.”

“it’s an over/under deal.”

“watch the over under, that calm that you fake.”

“watch me lose my ordinary regret.”

[lureofthegallowsgame]

❛   mark .   leave  a  mark  on  my  muse’s  body  [ thigh/neck ] . For leo

Leo beloved 🥺

“Hey, have you seen Leo around?”

The pair of shapeshifters shake their heads. I vaguely know them - they don’t work with the Council often, though, so I’m not confident enough to know their names - but it’s clear that they recognize me. It’s not surprising anymore, not really. Strange, maybe, but not surprising.

“You could try the sunroom,” one of them suggests, a mischievous spark in her pale irises. “I think I saw Wyatt disappear in there with a tray of cupcakes.”

Despite myself, I laugh. In all the years, Wyatt hasn’t changed in that way at all, and surely, Leo is right at his heels to conduct damage control. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Thanks.”

It’s tricky to maneuver the crowd, but I slip by with a few waves and excuses. Not very many people want to talk to me anyway. They’re usually searching for Leo, and they find it easy to corner me instead. This time, I’m the one to find Leo backed into a corner.

I can hear two familiar voices before I can even open the door to the sunroom.

“Just one?” Wyatt’s pleading voice drifts out, and I can hear Leo’s sigh, even muffled through the wood.

“You said that last time,” I hear Leo saying as I open the door, and they both jolt in surprise when I appear. Then twin expressions of relief cross their faces when they recognize that it’s me interrupting their little standoff. Wyatt is holding a tray of cupcakes and the smear of icing on the side of his mouth is a dead giveaway to his intentions.

Leo, on the other hand, simply looks exasperated. They offer me a smile, though, and it’s small but genuine.

“You’re stealing the desserts again, huh?” I say to Wyatt. He offers me an endearing grin in response, a reflection of his younger self when he could get away with anything. Ever since his growth spurt hit, he’s been eating more, and nothing filled with sugar was safe from his hunger.

“How about you have another burger?” Leo suggests. “And you can have all of the leftover cupcakes if Mom says it’s alright.”

Wyatt’s grin widened. “Deal.”

Satisfied, he slipped out of the sunroom, still carrying his plate of cupcakes as if it was a sacred idol. Leo merely shook their head after him, giving me a look that said: this kid is killing me.

“He’s not even a teenager yet,” I tease them, crossing the room. Leo pulls a face at the reminder but still opens their arms to wrap me in an embrace, squeezing me just tight enough for my breath to wheeze in response.

“I wasn’t like that even as a teenager,” Leo sighs, resting their temple against mine. “At some point, he must get full. How can one boy eat so much?”

“Maybe,” I drawl out, poking Leo’s side, “Wyatt does it because he knows his sibling won’t stop him from having extra treats.”

Leo laughs. “Fair enough. Luckily, Mom makes enough treats for a pride twice our size.”

I hum in agreement, tucking my face in the crook of their neck. “Thanks for abandoning me at our party, by the way. I had to fend for myself through the small talk.”

I could feel their chest rumble with their laugh. In response, I press a soft kiss to the underside of their jaw, reveling in the way their breath catches in a groan.

“Everyone was asking about you,” I add. I duck my head to press another kiss to the curve of their collar, gently scraping my front teeth against their skin just to feel Leo shiver in my arms. They pull me impossibly closer, their arms trapping me against their body. As if I would vanish into thin air if they weren’t there to harbor me.

“Everyone can wait,” Leo whispers. They nudge their nose against the side of mine, a brief affection, before pulling me into a searing kiss. I wrap my fists in the fabric of their flannel, savoring the rush and the warmth of them, distantly aware of the muffled sounds of the party happening beyond the sunroom door. It feels as if we’re in our own world, and I settle against Leo with a blissful sigh.

“How long do you think we have?” I ask them, sliding my fingers into the softness of their curls.

Leo smiles, their amber eyes swirling with wildfire. “As long as you want, darling.”

[keepswingin]

"I can't believe you've never had a s'more," Wynter says with a smile as she carefully cracks a fresh graham cracker in half and places the pieces side by side.

A-li watches from her side, absolutely enthralled by the idea of melting a snack in a burning fire. A-lan and A-spen would never let her do such a thing up on the ship, far too comfortable with their freeze-dried meals.

"I can't believe no other planet has thought of it," the alien replies as the werewolf places a stack of squared chocolate on either cracker. "Is there a particular order in which to make the s'more?"

Wynter turns to her with a laugh, shaking her head as she reaches for the chocolate bar again. "There isn't, technically, but I've always found that using extra chocolate is the way to go." She finishes the sweet snacks off by placing the final cracker on top. "Willa never does enough chocolate, and Wyatt uses too much marshmallow and always makes a mess."

"Seems fitting that he would," A-li says, well versed in the wolves' antics by now, and Wynter grins as she hands over one s'more and then begins to lead the way back to the firepit, weaving through the den's maze of caverns.

The firepit is already crackling as they approach, some werepups running around as a different wolf tends to the flames with a poker that's seen better days. Two pups chase each other right into A-li, who nearly drops her s'more, and she threatens them the whole way to the pit, Wynter stifling smiles from beside her as she reaches for sticks for them both.

"I'm still an alien you know! I could zap you brats to ashes before anyone even realized you were gone!"

"A-li," one of the pups whines, dragging out the syllable, causing her to roll her eyes and grumble under her breath.

"Fine!" she groans, leveling them both with a glare that means business. "But go away before I change my mind!"

They giggle and scamper away, disappearing into the thiner parts of the woods that surrounds them. A-li mutters some choice words under her breath as soon as they're out of earshot, and Wynter pokes her with a stick to stop her stewing.

"I wasn't actually going to zap them into ashes," she grouses, following Wynter as she takes a seat on one of the logs and places her awaiting s'more beside her.

"I know," she says as she grabs a bag from behind the log and moves it in front of them, popping it open. "But I promised A-lan I would keep an eye on your anger levels-"

"I'm in perfect harmony right now," she defends, watching in pure amazement as Wynter masterfully impales a marshmallow before holding it out over the flames.

She turns away from the fire and nods towards the stick waiting patiently at A-li's side. A-li looks between the werewolf and the stick, and then reaches down and picks it up, inspecting it, before lowering it carefully into the bag of marshmallows at their feet. She nabs one of the fluffy menaces with an excited grin before holding it up for Wynter to see and then lowering it into the fire.

"Now, we roast!"

They wait until the marshmallows toast, crisping under the flames, A-li finding more than enough excitement in watching the different colors of the fire twirl and waver, before Wynter tells her to pull her stick out of the fire.

Using her claws, she's able to pick the marshmallows off the sticks before placing them onto their awaiting stacks, A-li following her motions as she presses down until the chocolate is melting and the marshmallow is flat. "And there you have it," she says happily, holding up her finished treat, "s'mores!"

Wynter takes a massive bite, leaving A-li looking down at her own s'more in curiosity. The chocolate is seeping from the sides, cracker nearly crumbling, marshmallow already sticking to her fingers.

It looks way better than anything she's eaten on the ship.

She takes a tentative bite before she can question the bizarre idea of a dessert any further, chewing carefully.

Wynter is smiling when A-li looks over at her, eyes wide. "We can make as many as you want," she offers before A-li can say anything, and breaks off into laughter when she sees the marshmallow smudged across her chin already.

Maybe outsiders weren't so bad after all, Wynter thinks as she watches A-li eat a s'more for the first time in her life, happier than she's ever seen her.

Maybe showing someone the little things to enjoy was all anyone ever needed.