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[thecandywrites]

Kihro and Brie- Last Ditch Effort

Because Borug is stupid and stupid is as stupid does.

Kihro and Brie

Last Ditch Effort

Kihro and yourself began to prioritize what needed to get changed first when he would move in and you were happy when Kihro made the master bathroom the top priority after the sub-pump, because that had been your biggest complaint, but one that he could change in a weekend with his dad and your dad or even a friend or two. 

Both of you had giddily went to your favorite plumbing place that had bathroom showrooms and having already having the room’s measurements, got exactly what you wanted from the jacuzzi tub, to the very powerful toilet that should powerflush even the largest of dumps which Kihro being an orc- could be quite sizable in itself. You got the perfect his and hers sinks for the large counter in the bathroom and picked the perfect cabinets and the perfect tile for the floors and the backsplashes and for the shower of your dreams that both you and Kihro could fit in quite comfortably with a bench which you were sure was going to see a lot of action. 

And once the keys were handed over, soon supplies were being loaded up into the house by the truck load, practically daily. Kihro and yourself found some amazing deals on items on clearance and closeouts so you got the deals of a lifetime on some of the supplies so that your budget could stretch even further and that you actually liked more than your previous choices had been. And of course, with your dad being a builder, had quite a few friends in carpentry, windows and roofers and before you knew it, the house was practically a new construction site. Between a brand new master bathroom, new carpet in the bedrooms, new windows, a new roof and some chimney work to make sure both were up to snuff to build fires in and use properly when the weather would change. Kihro even built a greenhouse- thanks to that woodshop which suddenly got filled thanks to several estate sales with your father and his and their friends and your grandfather filling it with all manner of tools and supplies so that if Kihro wanted to do more in carpentry- he could and most likely would. 

And he even built a chicken coop immediately after he built the greenhouse. And you were brooding chicks! You had even named them. You even got the patio furniture you wanted and even the patio cushions you wanted. Which was perfect as a mini dining room while he weather was nice since the kitchen was still being renovated. 

And he had already gotten the garden plot prepared while you and your mother focused on the flowerbeds and landscaping in front of the house, thanks to a truck bed full of dirt and another full of mulch and a few hundred dollars worth of plants, shrubs and even trees- fruit ones. Practically a mini orchard’s worth. You had fig trees, apple trees of a few varieties that had overlapping seasons so you’d get fresh apples from August to October. You got pear trees and peach trees and even a couple of plumb trees. 

Thanks to your cousin Sasha doing the same with her future house with Tristan Leduc, you even got your own blueberry grove with your all time favorite varieties that would have you harvesting them from late June to late September since you looked forward to going blueberry picking every year since you were a kid at Leduc’s too. Plus berry patches of all kinds and an herb garden to die for. And a big but very thoughtful and mindful vegetable garden. All of which was just so much fun to plan and then plant now that it was spring and the weather was fair. Because you were finding you could really dig this homesteading thing. Kihro made the basement a root cellar to finish all root cellars to store all the produce that would be coming from the garden so that your refrigerator and your normal kitchen and pantry wouldn’t be overrun as you got a mini kitchen in the basement so that you could can down here and prepare the fruits and veggies as you would need to. You had gotten crates worth of mason jars to can the produce that you and Kihro  had a “mason jar” washing party between your sisters and your mom and his mom and his sisters- all of you- washing and then re-storing the mason jars so that they would be ready to be filled and used in the root cellar. 

Your cousin Sasha’s boyfriend, had a family friend of his come with some of their goats to come and chow down on some of the overgrown parts of the yard before you tried to build anything instead of bush hogging it all which was super fun to play with the goats while they ate and it readied the soil itself too. 

You bought huge cans of lemonade mix and Tang and a sweet tea maker and often made huge batches of lemonade and Tang and sweet tea by the five gallon cooler so that the crews working on the house at least had some kind of refreshments and even took to baking all kinds of baked goods for them too so that for them to work on your project was an enjoyable one while you were sure to praise the crews on social media for their diligence and hard work ethic.

Kihro got to gain even more friends in the process so that if any of them ever needed, or had customers who needed plumbing work- it was Kihro with Wright Plumbing they were going to be recommending and come to you when they needed massage work so they could keep their bodies in full working order. Your parents brought a few huge coolers that always seemed to be full of fresh ice and pop and beer too for the crews which they got to enjoy on the job too. 

Khiro’s “house warming gift” from his parents was a mini kegerator. Especially since orcs did love their beer. And you were grateful that Kihro never over-drank or got drunk, at least in your presence or that you had heard about. Even from his closest friends when Grace had mentioned that he always seemed to drink beer whenever he went out and was worried he was going to become an alcoholic or would be a mean drunk. Which, you knew wasn’t true, but for Grace and especially your parents, was a concern that Kihro was quick and ready to assure and reassure would never be a problem with him or anyone else who would ever be on his property either. His parents and the clan in general, because they just happened to metabolize beer very easily for nutritional value over enjoyment of alcohol. 

The antique stove was actually worth quite a bit of money to an antique collector, who spotted the stove in a picture of one of the crews and came and made an offer for it- that you found you couldn’t refuse. And while you had felt like you had just gotten used to cooking with it. The sale of that one appliance, meant you could use the sale of that to fund the purchases of all brand new kitchen appliances in matching black, even a restaurant sized and strength stove with two ovens. But that sale also made purchasing industrial sized and strengthened washers and driers for your clothes, that much more attainable, and you got to have a proper laundry room. And thanks to the sale of that stove, meant that the house was now fully functional and Kihro could officially move in and stay here and live here full time that much faster and that when he wasn’t working secularly, he was doing home improvements for himself every evening and every weekend. 

And thankfully all of this happened just as you finished with your clinic hours so what time you weren’t using to work on your last semester of projects and studying for MBLEX licensing test, you were at this house, helping Kihro and his friends make it into your home and while you could “spend the night” more often now even though you weren’t “officially” moved in yourself yet, until “after” the wedding. You were just grateful and relieved for it because it meant that Kihro could work on the house while living in it, which made you spending your evenings and off days from school here, helping him make the work go even faster and more enjoyable as the two of you continued to enjoy working in tandem with each other, the same way you always had and would continue to do- far into the future. You were happy when so many people came en-force to help too. Your family and close friends and of course all of Kihro’s friends and most of which were coincidentally his co-workers came too to also help with some of the bigger projects that Kihro would be needing help with that were too much even for you to help with. 

However, when Borug came since his dad had “gifted” a home security system as an early wedding present, he felt he needed to put the very best security system they had- in himself. His dad was making sure the security interfaces by the doors were installed while his best employees were setting up exterior cameras. 

But that left Borug and yourself to set up the window sensors in the house on your own while Kihro handled the heavy lifting of the new tiles for the kitchen in- with his friends. 

“So you and Korryn broke up for good this time?” You asked Borug privately as you helped him put some sensors on the windows while you had to be on a step ladder to reach the upper corners while Borug took care of the adding the sensors to the system part of the installation on the special tablet they used while the app downloaded onto your phone. 

“Yeah, when I ran out of money, she ran out of interest.” Borug tried to play off. 

“Well, sadly I’m not surprised. Now you see why she and I aren’t friends, she’s a selfish bitch who cares more about how she looks on camera and how many likes she gets on her posts on social media than actually having any social skills or even how to have a functional relationship that’s built off of anything other than being picture perfect but only skin deep.” You muttered lowly which got Borug to bark a laugh. 

“Yeah, you can say that again.” Borug readily agreed. 

“Why did you get with her in the first place anyway? Were her gigantic tits too hypnotizing or what?” You teased good natured-ly, just trying to get through this amicably because otherwise, something about him put you on edge today and you couldn’t put your finger on it. But it sat like a sour stone. But also put you on edge.  

“Sadly, yes.” Borug guiltily confirmed because that was easier than telling you the truth at this exact moment. 

“Well, hopefully you’ve learned not to fall for that twice then.” You offered since you were up on a step ladder to get to the upper corners of the windows so that you were taller than Borug for once and that put Borug, coincidentally at chest level with you which you could occasionally feel his gaze settle on. But you didn’t want to make this any more awkward than you felt like it was. You were just hoping this would be friendly and casual because Grace’s previous warning was being called to mind about what Borug would do- if given half the chance. 

“Yeah, problem is, every girl that was friends with Korryn wants nothing to do with me.” Borug pouted. 

“That’s a blessing honestly. Because if she thought she kept you in a stranglehold, she keeps her friends in a similar state. You’re better off getting a girl who doesn’t even know her or have any mutual friends with her either.” You returned. 

“Isn’t Grace, Korryn’s friend though?” Borug questioned.  

“She is, at her own risk. No matter how much I try to warn her that it’s a matter of time before Korryn turns on her for daring to become prettier or more popular than Korryn is. But Grace, as much as she is my sister and I love her and I have her back- she is not immune to the consequences of her actions or the consequences of her choices either. And I can’t shield her from everything the way most big sisters like to do. Korryn has always been a selfish, backbiting, backstabbing, controlling, dramatic attention whore. Who keeps her friends in a stranglehold and is a mean girl through and through. Grace likes being popular, and Korryn keeps Grace on her toes and playing mind games and is one of those ‘if I don’t like this person, no one is allowed to be friends with them or else they’re not friends with me and everyone I’m friends with’. Because she never learned that people can be friends with each other outside of her, you know, like the rest of us learned in kindergarten. So yeah, she’s never going to be my friend because when Korryn says ‘jump’ Grace asks ‘how high’ right now.” You muttered in irritation. 

“And if she were to try to do that with me, I would just tell her ‘to fuck off and for her to jump off a bridge” and then she would trash talk me and try her darndest to turn everyone “on her side” against me. Although, I'm pretty sure they like and at least- respect me enough to not listen to her. In fact, there's an on going and on-growing “fuck Korryn fanclub”. She’s already pissed that I “snubbed” her by not having her in my wedding party. But she can’t do much to me in retaliation for it because I refuse to give her any power over me. And while some of our friend circles overlap. She can’t cause a big enough stink to get people to not attend my wedding like the way she’s been trying to- because I won’t her let be a bridesmaid, because she’d turn my wedding into hers in a heartbeat and she’s already a bridezilla without needing to be a bride. But it’s my wedding and I can’t stand her and she’s officially off the guest list for trying to talk my guests out of coming to it. So no, I’m not having someone I can’t stand in my own wedding party, she’s lucky she got invited in the first place by Grace. But with her throwing a fit, I rescinded it and instead put her ass on the ‘do not, under any circumstances let this person in’ list. Because with everything else I have going on, I have no patience for that shit. And I had already warned her that if she caused any drama, she's banned. And then she fucked around and found out. And the field in which I groweth my fucks for such nonsense is barren. Honestly, I’m relieved you’re not dating her anymore and instead can come to the wedding without her. You deserve a lot better than her honestly.” You tried to soothe as he beamed such a happy, relieved smile at you that you hated her as much as he did. 

But now, the temptation for Borug was too great as he looked at the entryway from the living room to the kitchen to make sure you two were still “alone” although Kihro’s friend was in your massage room, just off the livingroom- lowkey- keeping an eye and an ear on things at Kirho’s request because Kihro didn’t trust Borug on account of what Grace had said either. And when Borug insisted that you and only you should help him install the sensors on the windows, his gut threw a flag. And while he knew his own presence would deter Borug from either making a move or making a pass at you, he just wanted to make sure that you weren’t truly alone with someone he didn’t trust. And while he was polite and to a degree friendly and grateful and gracious to Borug’s dad for the system, Kihro would have preferred if Borug did anything other than do something that put you and himself alone in any part of the property. But this was about trust and professional courtesy and if Borug could be professionally courteous, so could he, so, he put his literal best man- in the next room over. And made himself useful so that it didn’t appear that he was hovering over you. 

And right now, Akhi was sitting against the wall but had his phone out and was at least recording your entire conversation- just in case- with the occasional peek around the corner to make sure Borug kept his distance physically but still caught Borug ogling your chest a few times himself and made a note of that himself too.  

“Thank you, do you have any suggestions on who might be better? Besides yourself, because obviously you’re perfect and the gold standard for every woman.” Borug praised. And as much as Akhi wanted to roll his eyes for how thick Borug had laid on that flattery, he couldn’t fault the comment. 

Because, for how you had been a girlfriend and then fiance to Kihro- had everyone else taking notes about how a real woman, neigh, the epitome of class, elegance and sophistication and well mannered- treated a real relationship. And he was one of the lucky ones that he himself had finally worked up the courage to ask Tysh out and thankfully Tysh had jumped at the chance to go out with him. And they had been going steady ever since your graduation party. And the way you were with Kihro was how Tysh was proving to be with Akhi. And she was right beside him as she listened too, since she didn’t want you to be alone with Borug either. Because of what she and Grace had both heard and seen from the way Korryn complained about how Borug compared her to you, and how much better of a girlfriend you were to Kihro than she was to him which was why they broke up for good in the first place. 

“Aww, has Kihro been singing my praises that loudly? No I’m not perfect, I’m far from it actually.” You tried to downplay it even though the thought did make you happy that Kihro was actually bragging about you. 

“Actually Kihro keeps things about you on lockdown, and surprisingly doesn’t say much of anything to anyone. Other than seeing you together, he doesn't say much of anything and most have no idea he's dating you, let alone- engaged. Which gives me pause and makes me worry about his intentions that he would keep that information so secret. And from what I’ve seen and heard, he doesn’t behave as if he’s courting you or engaged either.” Borug ventured and grinned when your smile fell to a serious frown. His plan of sewing seeds of doubt was working. 

“Which isn’t fair to you. And doesn’t do you justice because even a blind man could see what an excellent woman you are, no matter who you decide to grace your presence with.” Borug countered which made you knit your brows together even more, although that did sound more like Kihro who defended your privacy and his own quite fiercely. But you had heard the opposite from all of his other friends, Kihro could and would -  sing your praises from every rooftop. And show your pictures of you two together to anyone and everyone. 

But you were honestly rather tired of people questioning Kihro’s “intentions” with you, most of which was founded on the ‘he’s only trying to gain more of the company by courting and marrying the boss’ daughter’ line of reasoning. And if that’s what Borug was going to imply, you were going to give him an earful about it.

“Huh.” Was all you could answer with. Because you were not about to buy into it or ask him to explain- because surely, he would do nothing but throw Kihro under the bus and you would not tolerate any disrespect towards Kihro, especially behind his back.  

“Could I tell you something that can stay just between us?” Borug asked hopefully, softening his voice down to a low murmur that Tysh and Akhi both had to lean over and quietly change where they were to hear as Akhi immediately started texting Kihro to get his ass into the house because Borug was about to make his move as Tysh recorded the video on her phone from her vantage point. 

“Well that depends on what it is, but usually, yeah, you know I can be discreet and have been known to keep the confidence of a friend.” You slowly agreed as your gut threw a red flag about the tone and his choice of words in that request as he took another step closer to you. But with you being on the step ladder, you’d have no choice but to rub your chest against his face if you were to try to get down. And that’s when it hit you. He had you pinned without having to pin you to a wall or a corner. You were pinned by a wall of air. 

“I’ve had the biggest crush on you since the first time I saw you and it’s only grown into love ever since.” Borug confessed and you dropped your screwdriver onto your toe as it then clattered onto the floor as Tysh had to keep herself and Akhi from gasping but to keep recording as Akhi put his phone to record a video of this too as he laid on the floor and put the camera of his phone just out enough from the door frame to capture the scene.   

“Ow,” you grunted as you braced on the window frame above you to keep you from falling into his arms. From here though, Borug easily bent over and picked it up and handed it back to you and let his touch linger on your hands and arms and gave you a look you recognized as hopeful yearning in his eyes and your stomach sank, because Grace had called it. And you had hoped she had just been seeing things but now it seems, she saw this and was right about it. And you had tried not to see it and ignore it. Because you didn’t feel the same way about him. 

Shit. 

“Really? So...since elementary school?” You asked as you prayed that Kihro would come in any minute now and push him off of you because you were practically frozen at the top of this step ladder. 

“Yeah, you were one of the few girls who played soccer and could run just as fast as us and keep up with us on the soccer field and you were cool, a little quirky- but cool.” Borug confided. 

“Yeah, well the quirky was the unmedicated ADHD. But then puberty hit and it wasn’t fun to run anymore with these things flopping the breeze.” You returned with a pointed look at your breasts then back to what you were working on, trying to play this off as funny and sarcastic to help ease your uneasiness and discomfort about this subject as you did your best to turn out of his hold on you which only partially worked. As he then went to put his arm over the top of the step ladder so that you would have no choice but to hold onto him to get down.  

“Yeah, you could have easily used that to your advantage though and scored all you wanted to because all of us would have been too distracted by “those things flopping in the breeze”.” Borug gently tossed back at you with a chuckle but an appreciative look to your breasts all the same, granted they weren’t nearly as big as Korryn’s but they were plenty sizable, a good handful. Fun and functional. 

“Yeah but that wouldn’t have been fair to you guys and I’m not one to take advantage of the vulnerable.” You answered as you tried to ignore his leering gaze as your cheeks grew hot and you could feel yourself flush under his leering gazes and looks as you began to feel like a mouse about to be put into a trap. 

“I know, that’s what makes you so amazing.” Borug confessed. 

“Thanks.” You graciously accepted his compliment as you started to feel even more uncomfortable under his scrutiny.  

“You know you could have any guy you wanted, you didn’t have to settle for the first one to ask you out.” Borug pointed out which made you frown because that was also something you had heard way too often for your liking too. Ok, fuck being scared, you were pissed off now. And you were officially on the defensive. 

“I’m not settling for Kihro. We’ve liked each other for a long time. And my father had very firm rules about not dating until I was out of high school, which Kihro technically bended- but it was only because he had already proven his good intentions, genuine feelings, integrity and honor. Kihro has liked me and loved me from afar for years and he was simply counting down the days and waiting for the opportunity to make his feelings known. Plus, his feelings are obviously returned. And were returned before he even said anything to me to begin with- because I was crushing on him for a long time too.” You defended as you finished and had to put your hand on his shoulder and then used it to move him back while using the touch to get off the step ladder. And then you moved the step ladder to be between you as took a step back from him as you looked at him wearily but determinedly to defend your relationship with Kihro, especially to Borug. 

“Doesn’t mean he was the only one, I...I do too. I have loved you from afar for years now too. I’m sorry to finally have the chance to tell you this now, but it’s not too late. You can still back out. You don’t have to go through with this, just because a crush has spiraled out of control, and just because Kihro stands to gain a lot more from this union than you do and he is very intimidating to tell a guy like that- no. Especially if you fear for your safety if you do. It’s ok, if you’re not safe or happy in this relationship you can tell me and I can find a way to get you out of it. My dad’s truck is just outside, I could whisk you away to anywhere you wanted to go to escape. It’s not to late for us. Now that I’m free of that bitch Korryn, I can free you of Kihro and we can both make our escape.” Borug confessed as he took the step ladder and moved it aside to keep it from being a barrier any more- which made you frown deeper just as Kihro had gotten the text and purposefully walked by and overheard your last statement and Borug’s declaration. 

“Really?” You questioned, because instead of backing up as Borug advanced, you planted yourself like a tree and widened your stance to the strongest stance you could and put your hands on your hips and squared your shoulders as you puffed out your own chest. 

“Yes really. Anywhere you want to go. We’re only 10 minutes from the airport. Don’t worry about packing anything. I’ll buy you all new things. We could fly to Vegas, we could get real wild and crazy. We could get married by Elvis and then honeymoon in Cancun. I’ll take care of everything. You would never have to worry about a thing.” He offered as you blinked in surprise before frowning even harder in confusion at him. Did he really just think you were some paper doll he could tape you into any scene he wanted? 

Kihro glanced into the room and immediately stopped in his tracks and put his box down as quietly as he could, as did all of his other friends as he looked from his vantage point to Tysh who was putting a thumbs up and pointed to the fact that Akhi was recording and he could see the phone peeking out of the door frame along the floor and out of Borug’s field of vision. 

Kihro just stared in outrage as Borug took another step until he was practically toe to toe with you and well within kissing distance. 

However, just as he was about to intervene, you had put your hands on your hips, put your shoulders back, head held high and stared determinedly back up at Borug. Kihro recognized that body language, you were about to fight. Now he would step in if things ever got physical, but otherwise, he knew when you took that stance, that there was something of a hurricane of a fight in you and he knew better than to hinder it, it would just have to vent, let all the hell and fury that was burning it’s way in your heart and core- rage- at Borug. He knew you swallowed a lot down for everyone else’s sake. But now, you weren’t gonna hold back and Borug had it coming. Kihro had no doubts Borug didn’t earn the fight he was about to receive. You and him rarely, rarely ever fought, like he could count on one hand the number of times you had disagreements that he never allowed to escalate to a full blown fight. However, he knew the moment you would take up that stance, it was game over for whoever you were about to go up against. He had seen the hell and fury you could unleash on anyone who had earned your ire. And you fought dirty, viciously and ruthlessly. This was about to be a show. And he knew that Borug wasn’t paying any of your body language and posture any mind. So he simply stood there to see how this was going to play out but the moment Borug or yourself would make it physical, he was going to step in. 

“Absolutely not! There is no way in hell I’m going with you anywhere.” You spat at him angrily. 

“Damn it Brianna! Just shut up and listen!” He cursed before he punched a hole into the wall next to him which got you to take a half step back as Kihro was ready to kill him for threatening your safety as he took two steps towards you and finally got into your peripherals but you put your hand down but held your hand up in a stopping motion, which meant that you weren’t done with Borug. And it was that and only that- that kept him from advancing. 

“Ok, fine, say what you need to say then.” You invited. 

“Look, the day Kihro asked you out, he literally pushed past me as I was trying to go up to you and ask you out that day too! Kihro just beat me to it by only a few seconds! My Dad also told me that you were graduating early and I knew my window of opportunity was closing and I wanted to be respectful of your dad’s rules but also not miss out on finally saying something or doing something when I already had so many missed opportunities. And then when you said yes to him, I decided to bide my time and try to wait until he crashed and burned so I could…” Borug began as he got flustered. 

“So you could what Borug?” You asked as you folded your arms over your chest. 

“So I could come to your rescue and sweep you off your feet! All the spoiling and all the lavishing of gifts and stuff on Korryn, all of that was just an effort to try to show you that I could give you the same- if not better. You deserve a better quality of life than Kihro could ever give you. I could afford to treat you like the princess you are! With me you would never have to work. I make more in a month than I’m sure Kihro does in six months. I will make more in my lifetime than Kihro ever will. And Kihro will work himself to death and break his back just trying to provide the bare necessities for you. I mean you practically turned your little acre of land into a homestead to help ease the burden of him providing enough for you so you don’t have to spend so much money on groceries for fuck’s sake! Which is a lot of work! A lot of hard, back breaking work! Especially with your delicate health and limited stamina. You’d be exhausted all the time! You’re pushing yourself into a very physically demanding career that while it’s admirable, you have to worry about clients taking advantage of you or heaven forbid your clients pushing unwanted sexual advances on you, in your own home! Which is dangerous! That’s just asking for trouble. I can make your life comfortable, lavish even! You don’t have to settle for mediocre. I mean look at this house! It’s only half done and barely livable and so outdated, our parents marriages are younger than this house. Could he not afford to get you anything nicer that you didn’t have to dump all your money into making it at least livable? You’re buying just about everything when it’s on clearance and on sale because Kihro can’t even afford to pay full price for things which I’m sure you would have preferred.” Borug insisted. 

“I have a condo at The Glen that’s brand new and fully decked out. No work necessary. I mean Kihro had to build a greenhouse and a garden just to feed yourselves here. And have nasty chickens in the yard just for eggs. All while he blows all his money on slimy snakes which is a super expensive hobby that never has any good returns on and only if you dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into, all while you’re growing your own vegetables to feed yourself. I mean his truck is just one bump away from completely falling apart and has more rust on it’s body than anything else. Replacing that truck isn’t going to be cheap or easy.” Borug desperately contested. 

“I have a brand new sports car! That you can drive if you’d want to. Or hell I’ll buy you any car you want to drive. With me you wouldn’t even have to work! You could rest easy at home and focus on your health, which my company has better health insurance than Kihro does and you would never have to budget for anything. You could literally buy nothing but steak and shrimp or lobster for every meal, no sweat. You wouldn’t have to budget for your medications or worry if you have enough money in your bank account just to get the life saving medications you need! I could get you into specialists across the country and even across the world to cure you and find a way so that you’d never have to worry about losing any more of your colon or worry about getting a colostomy bag.” He insisted. 

“Why would you choose such a hard life with a guy who drinks his weight in beer on a daily basis? While you have to buy powdered lemonade and make it by the gallons for everyone else, including yourself? And he never sings your praises to anyone. Your own dad had to take pity on him and give him a raise and a promotion just so you could qualify for financing at a bank while I got to buy my condo outright. He can barely put a few little gold beads in your hair. And you can’t even wear the necklace you have the others on- for fear you’d break them because of how cheaply made and fragile they are. He has no friends outside of work. He has no social media presence. He has no way of helping your business. It’s you who has given him everything. Don’t you think he’s using you to get ahead in life? Don’t you think he’s using the fact that you’re the boss’ daughter to get himself and his friends raises and better work trucks and better uniforms? And don’t you think he’s influencing your own votes for his benefit? And for all you know he can “lay his pipe” in every job he does which is why and how he’s gotten such good reviews. I’ll bet you anything that he’s been fucking all those thirsty housewives who I heard it from you- that they make him hand squeezed lemonade and fresh cookies, just so that he could “clean out their own pipes” after he fills their water softeners with salt.” Borug accused. And for as angry as you were at his allegations, you couldn’t help yourself, you started laughing. 

“Wow. You are really scraping the bottom of the barrel on this one huh?” You replied with a condescending laugh as you just looked at him with pity and a shake of your head that he would stoop so low. 

“First of all, instead of also pulling me aside that day that he asked me to the dance and telling me your feelings then, you didn’t do that. Instead you literally asked out the most popular girl in school the very same day. If your feelings for me were true and actually genuine, you would have waited for me and you would have told me sooner and you would have recommended yourself as another viable option for my consideration like the others tried to do. But no, you went for the immediate gratification in Korryn- who has the subtlety of a brick, is as sharp as a marble, with the depth of a shot glass. And who is extremely shallow, petty and meaner than snot. Who pushed you to provide “a lifestyle” that you had no hope of maintaining long term who is as allergic to the word “no” as you are. So that’s red flag number one. And while you two looked great on camera, I know from mutual friends that between those camera flashes, you two fought constantly. And while I’m sure the whole ‘love-hate relationships’ are fun and built off of a lot of strong feelings and dangerous chemistry, when those feelings flip and switch- that’s terrifying for me and for most other people. I hate fighting, I hate confrontation period. And I could never handle the stress of fearing that my life partner’s feelings for me are going to flip from love to hate and change as quickly as yours did for Korryn. So that’s red flag number two.” You specified. 

“Red flag number three is that what I hate even more than fighting- is men with bad tempers. Which you just proved to me that I would absolutely be scared for my own personal safety if I were with you. Hell you just proved with that one punch that I’m not safe with you period. I know for a fact that you are just as spiteful and just as petty as Korryn is. You throw tantrums when you lose and don’t get your way, or when you feel that others are getting it better or more ahead in life than you are. Which is a sign of just how entitled you are. And it’s also a sign of just how incredibly immature you are. And how you’re a very jealous person and suffocatingly possessive. You fought with every guy who dared to criticize yourself or Korryn or heaven forbid flirt with her when they didn’t know any better or how she really is. You and Korryn both broke into each other’s phones repeatedly to make sure the other was being truthful and faithful and the fact that neither of you trusted the other as far as you could kick each other. So that’s red flag number 4 for your temper and red flag number 5 for me- is the lack of trust.” You added. 

“And just so you know- Kihro has never done any of that to me because he respects me and he respects my boundaries and privacy. He has never once doubted my fidelity and he trusts me with everything just as much as I trust him with everything. I have never doubted his fidelity either and how dare you imply otherwise. And yeah we keep our phones locked with a passcode because it’s the smart thing to do. But we both have told each other what those passcodes are and have welcomed each other to go through them. But we haven’t needed to because we have nothing to hide from each other. And usually the biggest reasons we get into each other’s phones is to answer phone calls or texts when the other is busy or usually driving or to get music playlists and stuff. And I would never betray that trust for anything. I have earned his trust as much as he has earned mine. And we have both earned our family’s trust and each other’s family’s trust. Which is a really big deal for both of us. And all you’ve done with your fall out of a break up with Korryn is proven that you can’t be trusted with anything. Especially anything sensitive or private in nature in any respect.” You challenged. 

“And the fact that you brought my career into this is a red flag for me too. What are we up to now? 6? Any client of mine who would ever cross that line from friendly professional to flirtation with me will never be a client of mine. And I’ve dismissed clients left and right for it- which is my own protective measure to protect myself from clients who would ever dream to dare cross that line with me. And it’s been a blessing so that I have room for better clients who respect me and my profession and who I trust will never cross that line with me and who actually need me and my skills and my professional services to relieve their pain and suffering. Which is why I’m pursuing medical massage as integrative healthcare so that I work with doctors and medical specialists and physical therapy. No one in their right mind flirts with their doctors and nurses at a hospital and that’s what I want for my business too.” You continued. 

“And the next red flag for me about you is that you hate getting your hands dirty with work. This is the first job that you’ve done hands-on work in a very long time. The fact that I had to overhear the other installers dumb down the installation process into baby steps for you to understand how to do even this much, to the point I could have done this by myself and been done by now shows at how inept you are even though you’ve technically been with the company for over a decade which- considering the number of home shows you’ve been to- to sell all of this should be embarrassing.” You reprimanded him. 

“Also, in case you haven’t figured it out. I don’t feel the same way about you that you feel about me. I never have and I never will. I barely tolerate you as an acquaintance out of respect for your parents, but it is obvious that the apple has fallen so far away from the tree it’s not even in the same orchard anymore. If your feelings for me were in fact genuine and not spur of the moment and not simply realizing that any girl is a better girl than Korryn to have as a girlfriend, that’s perfectly understandable. And while I’m flattered by your praise, you are way out of line to even presume that your feelings are returned. I hope and pray I have never given you any false hopes or given you any reason to believe that your feelings were ever returned by me. And to suggest that we run away together, is not only incredibly crass, heartless, disrespectful, inappropriate and presumptuous but extremely insulting. Not just to Kirho’s character but especially to mine! How dare you imply that I would fear for my safety from Kihro! How dare you imply that I’m being roped into a situation that I don’t want to be in and in all reality- have been fighting to be in this position for years! I have never been afraid of Kihro. I have never feared for my safety on his account. He has never once given me any reason to be. I am marrying him because in my heart of hearts, I love Kihro. Always have, always will. I have loved every moment I have had the pleasure to spend with him. He has been my friend first and foremost and it is that friendship that we’ve built a romantic relationship on. I have loved being his girlfriend and I have loved and been delighted to be his fiance and I will be honored to be his wife. If anyone needs to be saved from circumstances they didn’t want to be in- and who was the victim of a crush spiraling out of control- it’s always been you. Never me.” You insisted.

“And if you knew me at all, if you really knew me, and not your idea of me, you would have known that a getaway to Vegas would be the very last thing I would ever want. Am I just a paper doll that you can tape up in any circumstances where you think I should be? After everything I’ve done to build myself up to this point? You really think I would ever tear it down by running out on everyone and everything- for you?! Spoiled, selfish, shallow, hollow- you?! There is nothing that you are, there is nothing that you have, there is nothing you could ever gain- that I would ever want.” You insisted. 

“But…But…!” Borug sputtered as he was taken aback by this. 

“Borug, you had the same amount of time to tell me about your feelings as Kihro did. In fact you’ve had way more opportunities to tell me than he ever got! All those business owner association meetings that we both went to growing up? You could have said something then. Well, up until you were “old enough” to go in with your father to join and take part in yourself. But at the same time, leaving me in the entryway with all the other wives and mothers, daughters and sisters to arrange the snack tables and make coffee and arrange the brownies and cookies on the trays. You could have fought to include me since I am the eldest child period. But you didn’t. Instead you flaunted the fact that you were included to all your friends and thought you were being “the cool friend” to tell me what happened behind those closed doors instead of fighting for them to remain open for me.” You chastised him. 

“But my invitation came when my dad thought I was ready to join them. My dad was my champion and my hero long before Kihro ever was and you never were. Every part that Kihro has in Wright Plumbing, he has worked for and earned all by himself, I was never involved with any of it and he has never swayed my vote and I hope to all the gods and goddesses that I have not swayed his. Because each one votes according to their consciences.” You defended. 

“And from what I’ve heard about you and your professional life- is you voted for your employees to get an extra “opt out” bonus for their insurance in their paychecks. So that when your business employees- can have a little extra money today so your company doesn’t have to pay so many tens of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums in the first place and fattens up the bottom line for you to take home instead. Which leaves many of your employees exposed and at risk of having an accident and then having absolutely nothing shielding them from the price gouging that is our medical care in this country. All so that your pay bonus would be that much bigger.” You spat defiantly. 

“How…how did you know about that?” Borug asked, astonished and ashamed that you knew about it and obviously didn't approve. 

“Korryn! She made a whole post about it exposing “the evil big corp” who practice the opt out bonus for medical insurance. It’s gotten- I don’t know how many thousands of hits by now. But let’s get back to you and your feelings for me and your missed opportunities to tell me about them.” You redirected him. 

“If your feelings for me really did start all the way back in elementary school- what about all those school dances that you never asked me to because you always asked out the prettier and more popular girls in class? What about all those residential jobs that we did together where I was helping my dad install faucets and stuff and you and your dad were installing the security systems? You could have said something then at any of those times. And especially all those home shows every year where your dad’s booth was coincidentally right next to mine or across from mine or close enough that we were always within eyeshot and earshot of each other. We got to hang out and talk before during setup, during and after as we took our displays down. Why didn’t you use any of those opportunities then? You could have used any number of those to tell me that you liked me, that you had feelings for me. But you never did! You never said anything to me about this until right now. And what’s most damning is your behavior has never once even hinted at it either! You’ve never shown by your actions that you had any romantic interest in me. You never even hinted at anything, ever. No one did until after Kihro did. I’ve had more guys come out of the fucking woodwork to express interest in me- but only after Kihro did. And I hate it that I’m mentally having to add your name to that list. Is it just a guy thing that you only want the girls who are already taken and already spoken for and the whole- forbidden fruit and engaged to another thing?” You asked as Borug blushed guiltily and sheepishly at accusation. 

“Look- I realize my dad is intimidating. He has to be- to have four daughters. But Kihro at least got over his fear and intimidation of him and stepped up and said something and did something about his feelings when the time was right for it. So is that your excuse too? That you were too afraid of my dad?” You put to him, knowing full well that wasn’t the case but if he was gonna use this as an excuse, you were gonna crucify him. 

“Yeah.” Borug admitted. 

“Really?! Even when my dad could never retaliate against you the way he could have with Kihro? Kihro put his life and his honor and his clan and his livelihood on the line to tell me how he felt about me! It took tremendous courage for him just to even ask me to a dance! Not even ask me out, just to ask me to a dance. Which was the first and only time that has ever happened to me in all of my school days, which is why I never went to them before then. Even at the company picnics, no one would even ask me to dance at those before Kihro did, because again- I was usually working at those, grilling my body weight in steak several times over and was too busy to be asked, which is why I’m so good at cooking meat and meat dishes in the first place, I’ve had a lot of practice and experience. And while my dad has made Kihro jump through every hoop imaginable, Kihro has never once failed me or given any indication that his feelings for me were anything other than genuine and steadfast. He didn’t care if I was the boss’ daughter or not. He has told me and proved to me beyond the shadow of any doubt- repeatedly that- heaven forbid- Wright Plumbing could go out of business tomorrow and that would never change how he feels about me and that he would love me regardless, that he can work for any plumbing company and still provide for me, still care for me. Because all Kihro has cared about is me and has proven that with his actions. You never did any of that.” You accused him as you angrily pointed to his chest and even took a step forward once he took a step back.  

“Instead, with your actions, you’ve proven that you care more about instant gratification with whoever is closest to your “ideal” girl. You care more about that picture perfect lifestyle but it’s only ever been skin deep. You care more about your suits that you get to wear to the big corner office while you get to sit back and earn your “degree” online. So you get to actually get paid to get your education instead of having to pay to receive it like the rest of us. You’re more interested in keeping that super expensive sports car spotless and hanging out in the Ritsy cocktail lounges after work and “making connections” with the movers and the shakers in society and flirting with the pretty waitresses and clubbing in Vegas at expos and the perks of your job than you do about actually working at your job. Because from what I’ve seen and heard, is while you’re on salary, you do the bare minimum to keep it. And while you may work nine to five- you do about 20 minutes of real work in that whole 8 hour day when you’re not taking an hour and a half lunch. And you rely solely on the fact that you are your father’s eldest son and heir to keep that spot. You have been given every advantage to succeed and you take it all for granted and if anything, it’s made you entitled, selfish, self serving and haughty!” You ranted. Your voice getting so loud, it got everyone to stop and listen as all work in and immediately around the house stopped, except for your dad and Borug’s dad- who were at the end of the driveway putting cameras on the gate at the end of the driveway. 

“And while your family is richer than mine and your father’s company is bigger and earns more than mine does, you’ve squandered everything you’ve saved on the most self centered spoiled brat either of us has ever known! Who couldn’t keep her mouth or her legs closed to save her life! Did you think to do any homework about her to know what she was really like or did you just randomly pick her out of your Instagram feed? Or heaven forbid your Snapchat, or Tinder or whatever? I don’t give a fuck. And what did you get out of it?! Your bank accounts got drained trying to provide a lifestyle you had no hope of maintaining because that girl only cares about one thing and one thing only- herself. She cares more about her own pleasure and gratification, and her own comfortable and lavish lifestyle that she demands others provide for her because heaven forbid- she do any work herself or she might break a nail or smudge her makeup sweating a little bit! No matter how many dicks she has to suck to do it or how many pictures of her cleavage she has to post to do it. She might as well be a porn star for Pornhub at this point. She wants to be some sugar daddy’s sugar baby. That’s it. And I can’t imagine it was at all worth it, not for you and definitely not your family. Especially your father who probably had other ideas of how he wanted to spend the money he has used to set you up the way he has.” You challenged angrily because now that you could vent, you were going to use it. You were sick of swallowing all of this down for the sake of “peace”. 

“You got your reputation trashed by the breakup too. Which Korryn has done everything in her power to smear you on social media to all of her friends and followers because heaven forbid you keep your relationship and its details private. And all you’ve done is do the same right back to her and fought fire with fire. I’ve heard and seen that you “leaked” her nudes which is gross and something she has every right to sue you for because she never consented to the distribution of those private pictures. Which means that no girl can ever trust you with anything personal because she knows that if she pisses you off, you’ll retaliate by letting all the dirty laundry air out to the rest of the world. That’s why none of Korryn’s friends won’t have anything to do with you and why every other girl who isn’t Korryn’s friend isn’t touching you with a ten foot pole either. I get that it was a horrible relationship built off of I don’t know or care what. But even if she was a bitch about it, you could have handled it better and been a gentleman about it instead of going blow for blow with her which only proves your own mental and emotional immaturity!” You challenged which shocked Borug into silence as he just stared in shock and a bit of horror that you knew even that much. 

“So why on earth are you telling me that I’m your gold standard and ‘I’m your dream girl and that you “love me”’ and all of this nonsense now?! I’m literally engaged! My name is right next to Kihro’s on the mortgage of this house! My wedding date is firmly set, the venue is booked, the flower arrangements have already been picked out and paid for. The wedding invitations are ordered and are being printed as we speak. And the wedding cake is already ordered and paid for too! You’re standing there and you’re supposed to be helping Kihro and myself move into our house- that we are right in the middle of the process of making this house into our home. You’re literally helping installing security devices on the windows to keep the home I will have with Kihro - safe. Which I appreciate your efforts and I deeply appreciate your father’s generosity in gifting us the security system as an early wedding present. But to even think of running away with you would answer such generosity with deep disrespect.” You pointed out as you gestured to the windows and their sensors. 

“But if all it was- was in hopes of getting me alone with you- for you to tell me that you’ve secretly been in love with me for “years” even though you’ve never said it or shown it. And then, dared to have the audacity to suggest we run away together- like there would ever be anywhere in the world that I could go where’s Kihro’s love wouldn’t be felt and found by me, then that means I don’t feel comfortable being alone with you because I don’t trust you to keep your respectful distance from me. Or keep your mouth shut spouting your unreturned feelings at me. I’ve put up with the leering looks you’ve given my tits and I’ve swallowed down my arguments and my criticisms about your choices because it was never my place to say anything. I just wanted to get the damn things installed as quickly and correctly and efficiently as possible. But for you to do this and say this to me, now of all times, puts my own relationship, and its validity and it’s genuine nature into question, not to mention put into question my own character, and my own loyalty and fidelity to Kihro- I will never tolerate that. I will never tolerate any disrespect shown or implied to him since he doesn’t tolerate any towards me either. I will never tolerate anyone questioning his motives and his genuine feelings or his actions proving his genuine feelings towards me either. I have always been loyal to Kihro and to my family. And I’ve already committed all of myself to Kihro- heart, mind and soul. And there is nothing you could ever tempt me with that would ever lead me astray from that decision that I have already whole heartedly made. So why the fuck are you saying something now?! Of all the times you could have said something or shown something but didn’t. And why would you want me to keep any of this a secret from anyone? Especially since you know that Kihro and I have none between us.” You demanded angrily as Borug was taken aback by your reaction but he needed to defend himself. 

“You’re so spoiled that when your dad thought juggling work and sports was too much- he put you on a salary even though you didn’t do jack shit for the company. While my dad never paid me for my work when I worked for him during the summer, he bought me lunch. That was the only perk and freebie I got besides experience. But what he did do- is he added what he would have paid me to my college fund instead, so I wouldn’t blow that money on frivolous things like boy band CD’s and junk food. Because at the time- it was again- a toss up between what I’m doing now- and designing and engineering roller coasters. And he was preparing for the more expensive engineering option because I love going to Cedar Point to ride said roller coasters more than anything and they have always been the highlights of my summers as long as I can remember.” You justified. 

“But instead my father wanted to make sure that all of his other employees could pay their own apprentices, their own sons and daughters- and pay them well. Which meant more to me that they got paid for their time and their effort especially if this was going to be their summer jobs and their full time careers. Because they needed that money to help support themselves and their families way more than I did at the time because my father has provided very well for his large family. Because for most of the world- they live paycheck to paycheck, that’s the reality that the vast majority lives with.” You defended. 

“But it wasn’t like that for you. It wasn’t until after you graduated and those sports scholarships didn’t come through and sports teams didn’t come knocking that you got pulled back into the business and now you’re in sales. And you’re a very pushy sales guy, the kind of pushy that makes most people dread going car shopping because you’re chasing commission and not what’s best for the customer. And listening to you at the last two home shows try to chase and tackle sales and use gimmicks makes me cringe and shudder and do my best to avoid those tactics and approaches, which is why I earn as much in commission at home shows as I do because people aren’t pushed into something that’s not going to be good for them or improve their lives and situations or their home’s worth.” You honestly appraised. 

“Otherwise you wear suits and ties and sit in your office and oggle your very pretty but very inept secretary. Now I can’t comment or flag you on nepotism because we both have benefitted from our parent’s nepotism towards us. But I know that your father paid for the vast majority of your own car because you blew all your money that you had saved on Korryn- clubbing in Vegas. And I know your dad paid for the vast majority of your condo so don’t you dare say you bought those on your own and own them outright, because I’ll bet you anything it’s your dad’s name on the owner’s paperwork next to yours, either above or below because your dad isn’t an idiot.” You challenged. 

“All mine did was give half of my remaining college fund to me so I could put it down on this house because massage is a trade- with a license. Just like any other trade, but a lot cheaper than college and a degree that may or may not be worth it in the job market. But the other half of my college fund is being used to pay for my wedding so that it’s not more of a burden on my family than it needs to be. Which is something I can’t say for you. But let’s ignore all of that for now.” You said as you did a dismissive wiping motion with your hand. 

“Let’s go back to our school days. You saw how in middle school and especially highschool, no one sat at my table unless they wanted help with homework or coursework or tutoring, I was a loner. In middle school and highschool not once did you ever invite me to have lunch with you and your friends because you were friends with all the other preppy jocks and I was a loner. And it was already enough of a humiliation to go to the smart loner’s table to ask for academic help as it was. But hopefully all those that did- thought it was worth the risk to their social standing if it meant they could still be on the team and play their sports and get those scholarships and get those college scouts knocking on their door. And at least they had the graciousness to send me thank you cards for my help when that did happen to them.” You revealed. 

“But it wasn’t until after Kihro invited you to dance that he invited you to sit at his table!” Borug tried to counter. 

“And it was for a single but very good reason! Because they were afraid that whatever they spoke about in front of me, would be repeated to my dad because they and their dads worked for mine. They feared that their jobs and livelihood would be on the line if I ever heard word that they weren’t completely satisfied with their dad’s chosen profession and their dads hauling their asses into it with them, whether they liked it or not. They were worried that if they expressed any interest in any other profession, that they would never get the same support, let alone pay or opportunities or success than they already had. And they were all afraid that if they let go of the branch they were already on, that they were going to fall before they could ever grab onto another one. Which is a fear everyone has. But once they learned that I would never do that, and that I would keep their confidence if they weren’t happy with the fact that they got recruited into plumbing just because their fathers were- and that I wouldn’t betray them or their trust or confidence- they welcomed me into their fold with open arms the same way they always did on the job sites in the summer, or at the company picnics when everyone would just talk shop. And even after graduation, we are all still friends and closer now than we ever were in school and on those job sites because I’ve earned their trust and confidence too. Hell, most of them are in the wedding as Kihro’s groomsman for crying out loud!” You defended. 

“And I know for a certainty that your friends in highschool wouldn’t have done the same because most of the people you hung out with in school, had parents with white collar jobs of the CEO variety and usually looked down on blue collar ones and most, if not all of them are already gone and into college. You and I both know that both white collar work and blue collar work deserve respect and dignity. So again- another red flag because you cared more about your own popularity than you did about me and my feelings and any “damage” my smart loner reputation might have done to your preppy jock one.” You reprimanded him. 

“Look, I know if I had put forth a little more effort into my looks and appearances in highschool and invested more into the popular name brands of my clothes instead of going for quality clothing over something that was otherwise shitty but had a rich name plastered on it- and if I learned to dumb myself down so I didn’t outsmart anyone- I probably would have and could have been at least a little more popular. But honestly- I’ve never cared about any of that because I knew that my own peer’s opinion’s of me would only last as long as I was in school and that after graduation- none of it would have meant jack shit. So why invest time and money into something so meaningless?” You rhetorically asked him. 

“You yourself told me so at the home shows ‘of how good I can clean up’ at those. All while your dad made a point of saying to mine ‘that if I did- my dad would have to be beating guys off with a baseball bat and get bigger claws as the papa bear he is “to keep a fox like me safe from the poachers”,’. But I didn’t want that kind of attention. I didn’t want people to think that all I was- was a pretty face with expensive clothes and Daddy’s money to blow and too stupid to know when someone was pulling wool over my eyes and feeding me a line of bullshit. I didn’t want to worry my father or give him any reason to not trust me or fear for me while I got my required education. And I didn’t want to give any opportunistic assholes a chance to play me for a fool either. Some “innocent virgin” they could corrupt- right? I wasn’t blind, I saw all those posts of all those girls rating if other girls would put out or not. And I was ‘the smart loner who could spell sex but never have it or have a clue how to do any of it’ and ‘not worth trying to teach me either’.” Which you were always one of first to comment to either confirm or deny of it from your “network” of “friends”. Which told me that you didn’t hide anything from your ‘bros’. Which is a deterrent and a red flag in of itself too.” You recalled spitefully. 

“But those home shows where I put forth effort into my looks were special occasions and for the sake of my father’s business. Which was a full family effort. So I cleaned up, put on some makeup, some polish, did my hair and a bright friendly smile, brushed up on my p’s and q’s and played my part. Because I wanted my father and my grandfather’s business to continue to succeed and continue to thrive because of how many hundreds, possibly thousands of people depend on it to do so when you take into account not just our employees but their families and our customers who rely on us to continue to give them the service they need. So I did it for the greater good, not my own vanity.” You explained. 

“Because otherwise- frankly- my sleep is much more precious to me than my appearances. Because sleep is what I need to recover to try to give my body a fighting chance of healing itself. Because I have a chronic illness now. Turns out I’ve had it for years but it chose just recently to come to the surface and make itself known. I’ve already had so much of my colon taken out, that if I get much more- I get a colostomy bag. No amount of makeup can glamorize that and no amount of cropping can cut that out of the picture of my reality for me. And with my immune system being forever compromised having an autoimmune disease- it means that I get sick twice as easily and twice as quickly. I stay sick for twice as long and recover only half as fast and usually have to have two or three rounds of antibiotics to kick whatever is ravaging my system. There are days I don’t have the energy or stamina to make it past the bathroom, much less out of bed. My weight fluctuates wildly because of all the steroids I take and flares that I fight to survive and live through. I’ve spent more nights laying on a bed of towels and wrapped around a toilet vomiting my guts out than most frat guys do after a college party. Where I can barely lay in a bathtub to clean myself up, let alone cook or clean or heaven forbid even look at a bag of makeup. And Kihro has been right there with me through all of it. He has all my meds memorized and knows all the EMTs on all the ambulances and all the doctors and nurses at the ER and all the pharmacists by name for how often he gets to deal with them on my account when I've passed out and beyond dehydrated and in danger and has lost countless hours of sleep with me through all of that. And he doesn't say anything about any of it because it's no one else's business but mine. Does that sound like anything that should be part of a gold standard for anyone?” You leveled with him. 

“Besides before all this- before everything involved with my health went down, with school and work- I’m all business, I always have been. And in my profession now- I choose to wear minimal makeup- just to ride that line of “professionally attractive”, but nothing more. My makeup routine is 5- ten minutes tops. I’ve spent every summer since I was 7- except for the last three years- working with my dad on construction sites, digging ditches, cutting and sweating pipe and priming and gluing PVC pipe and working saws better than you can work a stapler. I’ve known how to read a tape measure and use it to do fractions and measurements long before I was ever taught it in school, and way before I ever knew algebra or geometry. And it’s something I still have to use in my profession because I have to be very specific in my reports to other doctors and even surgeons when my clients will need surgery.” You began. 

“But the biggest thing was- was that Kihro loved me just as much, was attracted to me just as much- seeing me covered in dirt and mud from head to toe in overalls and long sleeve cold shirts and muddy boots and a greasy ponytail because I was sweating profusely from the heat and hard work with not a hint of makeup in sight than he ever did seeing me dressed up and dolled up at the home shows. And it was because he respected the fact that I didn’t count on my father’s nepotism to get special treatment and do the lighter work on the jobs that we were on together. I worked just as hard on those sites as he did. Just as hard as all of them did. And I earned my place among them as an equal. Which for me- was a point of pride and a momentous feat for me, considering I’m just a weak human girl and they were all strong orc boys or halflings or dwarves or whatever. And it was that- that impressed him the most about me. Was that I wasn’t entitled and didn’t bank on the fact that I was the boss’ daughter at all. But that I was humble and unassuming and if anything, I was friendly, helpful and non-judgemental. And I was there to lend a helping hand and there to help explain to them what was being asked of them and why they were doing what they were doing if they didn’t understand without insulting their intelligence or dignity.” You expounded. 

“I didn’t care about my looks especially while working. And the only thing my dad cared about was that I was modest. Thus the overalls so I never had to deal with plumber’s crack and long sleeve cold shirts so I wouldn’t get overheated or sunburned and sports bras so my breasts didn’t get in the way and didn’t cause a distraction for anyone else. Kihro adored me for all of that but especially for earning every inch of his respect as much as he has earned mine. Because we both value honest hard work. And working smarter when we can but working harder when we need to, and discerning when to do either one. Shame on you for looking down on it. Because it’s jobs like ours- that make “civilized life” possible for everyone else. So that’s another red flag and I’m losing count and I don’t care.” You defended. 

“Plus Kihro has also seen me when I’m literally on death’s door at 3am in the hospital with Crohn’s flares. When I’m beyond dehydrated and my veins have collapsed and it takes four nurses to try and fail to get an IV and they have to call in the nurse who is used to getting veins on heroin junkies to get my veins to get an IV going when my hands and arms are covered in bruises from blown veins. My arms may not look like it now, but my veins have just as much scar tissue as any other intravenous drug user. Which makes me a hard stick and Kihro knows- by heart- and off the top of his head- that the nurses usually have to use needles usually reserved for NICU. He has literally seen me at my worst and still thought I was just as beautiful and precious then as any other time dressed up and dolled up. He has picked me up and helped me into the hospital showers when I’ve needed the help. He’s cooked bone broths for me when I can’t eat solid food. And especially when we’re not cooking together, and when I don’t have it in me to cook- he does. Even when he's already worked a 16 hour day and is already exhausted himself. And he takes delight and pride in every single bowl of broth. Even when I have to throw it all back up only a few minutes later. And he cleans up after me! And he cleans up himself and does the dishes after too without being asked or being told or begged or pleaded. He is truly self-sufficient in all and every aspect of life. My first official romantic dance with him was actually the night of the fall formal, only instead of the gown I wore to the winter formal, I was wearing a robe and a hospital gown and I barely had the energy to stand but he held me up and let me stand on his toes and just swayed with me, careful of all my IV tubes and sensors and stuff while our song played on his phone. And it was the most romantic moment of my life. Not at all glamorous. But it was something that they could make any Hallmark movie about.” You revealed. 

“You said that I could have any guy I wanted. You’re wrong. I need a man who doesn’t let toxic masculinity poison him against doing anything domestic. But whose own masculinity indulges my own femininity. Who can look at me and look at all the health needs I have, look at all the extra domestic chores and work he would have to do- in addition to earning an income and have a job with very good insurance to support me and earn enough to pay for all of my 16 medications that costs hundreds of dollars a month just to keep me alive and is still the first to ask what he can do and how he can help. He has to take into account- all the sleepless nights in the hospital he would need to spend as I barely hang on to life. And he has to be my health advocate when I can’t voice it myself. He has to take into account that if my Crohn’s doesn’t stop flaring, I may never get to be the one thing I’ve always wanted to be- and that is a mother. He would have to keep in mind that his family legacy would die with me as his wife if I have to become barren because my body can’t handle a pregnancy, at least right now. And for him, he is ready and willing to do all of that. Because he really and truly loves me for me and nothing else.” You proudly proclaimed. 

“While I know for a fact, that you can’t cook, you have to eat out all the time when you’re not coming home to have a home cooked meal. You can’t even do your own dishes or laundry. That you hire a maid service to do it for you. How pathetic is that?! You want a second mother is what you want. A woman who will greet you at 5pm with a cocktail in her hand, when you choose to come home instead of going out with the guys after work- and that she will keep your house spotlessly clean, raise your family on her own and rub your feet while you complain about your tedious board meetings and then fuck you to sleep all while she looks picture perfect and never needs you to do anything other than bring your pecker to impregnate her and your paycheck to pay for it all. And that’s not what I want, and that’s not something I could ever give either.” You spat. 

“But otherwise- I do know my worth, as intelligent and yet profoundly broken and sick as I am.” You confessed as tears came to your eyes. 

“But your biggest objection shouldn’t be that I could have any guy I wanted. It should be the fact that it’s Kihro - who could have had any girl he wanted, easily. And yet he still chose me. He still chooses me. Every day. He’s young, smart, handsome, has a great career. And a handsome income to boot and is more than you’re estimating it to be. He is the youngest assistant manager at Wright Plumbing and the only one who still does field work on top of it- but is just as capable and just as successful as men twice his age, if not more so because he’s more friendly and shows more aptitude with technology than the others. His sales are as high as they are because he’s straight and honest with his customers and doesn’t oversell anything but if anything he makes sure that whatever solution to their problem he’s offering is something that doesn’t hurt their bank accounts or bottom lines or wipe out their savings. That’s why he’s one of the most sought after sales reps Wright Plumbing has. He could have had any girl he wanted. He could actually ask and receive the life I just described. But instead he's ready and willing to offer so much more.” You boasted. 

“And with all of that, he chose me and he did so- going into this with both eyes open and knowing exactly what he was getting himself into, and how much I am going to cost both financially, mentally and emotionally and he still gives all of it for me. And gives in an over abundance so that I want for nothing from him. And in turn he has made sure I come into this with both eyes open too. We love each other, and accept all of each other as perfectly imperfect as we and the other is. Period. We chose each other- before all else. Each and every time we can make that choice. And every bead he has gotten me has had more meaning than you could ever comprehend. And I do wear them- very proudly, when I can, and when I know I won’t be doing anything that would endanger them because each of them is incredibly precious to me. As are all the beads I’ve gotten him. And you want to know the first bead I got him- when I wanted to court him? I got him the hidden hero bead. The hero who sees the diamond in the rough and does everything he can to save the stone and see it even when everyone else doesn’t and will do heroic acts to keep it and protect it. And he wept when I gave it to him.” You proudly proclaimed. 

“He has shed more tears on my behalf out of fear for my life when my life hangs in the balance and by a thread in the hospital, than anyone else. Probably just as much as my family has. He’s incredibly sensitive and intuitive and he’s spiritual. He has prayed to every god and goddess who would listen for me to pull through. When I collapsed on the work site a couple years ago- it was him who dropped everything and ran to me and he was the first one to get to me. He was the one to pick me up and I woke up in his arms and he refused to let me go until the paramedics came and put me on that gurney himself as he braced my neck to make sure I didn’t have a spinal injury. He visited me in the hospital along with his whole family, while yours only sent flowers and a get well soon card. He made his own flower arrangement for me when he brought me flowers, and each flower had a meaning and a hidden message that I didn’t know about until after I dried them to save them out of sentimental value. And he got me a teddy bear and a hand written card for crying out loud.” You continued. 

“He has sacrificed so much for me. He has sacrificed sleep for me. He has sacrificed income for me, because he gets paid by the hour and by the job and by commission too. And when he has to take days off of work to stay with me in the hospital. He never leaves my side except when I have to get procedures done and he can’t come with me into the room where the equipment is. Do you really think a man who is that dedicated and that committed would ever be tempted to cheat on me? Do you really think a man as excellent as Kihro would ever do me the disrespect and dishonor of being unfaithful to me?! Let alone, ever bring me any kind of harm? Especially when all he has ever done is give me more than my due honor and dignity and respect? And protected me from wolves in sheep’s clothing like you.” You rhetorically asked him. 

“The answer is of course “No.” a ‘Hell no’ even.” You immediately answered. 

“He values my opinion over his own. He talks to me about every single decision we make. He knows my favorite orders at every restaurant we’ve ever gone to. You say you can spoil me like a princess. But what you mean is shower me with physical gifts because you can’t bother yourself with anything else. Things do not make up for quality time, true and genuine affection and love and quality time and true and honest and open communication, or acts of service and words of affirmation.” You dictated. 

“But the most amazing thing about Kihro- is he has never had to put others down to build himself up like you just did. And neither do I. Yeah I may have my opinions about other people. But they are just that- opinions formed and based on observations and interactions. And the reason you don’t hear him talking about me more is because he knows I like my privacy as does he. And so far- the only ones who have ever known that we have had a disagreement- which we never escalate into anything that resembles a fight- we talk it out, we find a compromise, we find a solution together. And more often than not- we consult the holy books and pray about it. And it isn’t until way after the fact that the only ones who hear about it, are either of our parents when we mention it casually and ask for advice about how to handle it better and how to improve our relationship and make it more stable and each other communicate better so that misunderstandings and disagreements are rarer in the future.” You revealed. 

“So yeah, I can see, from your perspective- how I might seem rather perfect, especially compared to your ex. But maybe instead of looking for a girl with the perfect body or boobs as big as basketballs- and a pretty face, you look for one with a good heart and a good soul. Because that’s what Kihro was looking for and found in me. And that’s what I was looking for in turn too and that’s what I have also found in Kihro too. And that’s all that really matters. Not money, not a lifestyle, not an image. But a real life, a happy one, a fulfilling one and an enriching one that doesn’t have to mean monetary wealth. Whether there are picture flashes notating it or not. Which you and I both know that pictures can be the biggest liars of them all depending on how they’re presented and framed. But this real- happy life that I am building with Kihro is one that I’m not going to trade for anything. And is something I will fight to the death keeping protected and safe and sacred as it is, because it’s a source of peace and happiness too for us both. The reason you never hear Kihro talking about it- is because we are both very fiercely protective of our privacy. And from what I’ve learned from those who work in our IT department- is anything that you share and give to the internet- no longer belongs to you- but belongs to the internet. Which is why we don’t post much of anything on social media. And while it can be a tool used for good- it can also be the tool of anyone’s undoing.” You explained. 

“So take your condo and your fancy car and your fancy job and offer it to a girl who wants it. Because I sure as hell don’t. But just don’t be surprised, when- if that’s all you can offer her, that’s all she’s interested in. But please know that now that I know this about you and know that you feel this way about me- I will never allow myself to be alone with you- not because I don’t trust myself but because I don’t trust you to keep your respectful distance and you will never be a client of mine in the future. So find someone else to install these window sensors or have one of the actual installers- do this on their own and double check your work to make sure it’s done right so you never have a reason to come back here. But your father and the rest of your family is of course, always welcome.” You advised him before you turned to see Kihro leaning against entry way, with his arms folded against his chest, quietly listening and had a proud, adoring and beaming smile on his face when he looked at you as he watched the exchange between you and Borug closely but kept his distance to let you get it all out.  

“Amen.” Kihro practically boomed which made Borug jump in his skin a little to know that he wasn’t all alone with you after all as you turned from Borug just shaking your head. 

“Excuse me Love, I need some air.” You said to Kihro as you gave him a meaningful look as you passed him and left the room to find all of his friends who were taking up space in the kitchen to listen closely to the exchange and happily parted to let you pass as you passed them with flushed cheeks as you excused yourself to get some fresh air outside while Akhi still kept recording. 

Borug tried to turn and work as his cheeks burned in turn before Kihro and his friends entered the room that Borug was in. 

“What?!” Borug demanded as he found himself surrounded. 

“Borug, get whatever you have to do- done as quickly as you can, and then see yourself out of my house. And bill me if you need to be paid for your time. Otherwise, don’t you ever try to make a pass or a move on my fiance and soon to be wife again. You are never to come to my house unless I’m here too and I never want you to be alone with Brie either because I don’t trust you to keep your professional personal distance either. But I will be billing you for the hole in my wall.” Kihro urged Borug before he left to come after you as his friends stayed behind to make sure Borug finished his work and did so correctly so he didn’t need to come back to redo it while Akhi ended the recording and then hastily went to find your dad and Borug’s dad just in time to see you stomping back to the back of the property where there was an abandoned garden bed in the corner of the yard and when they had seen you storm out of the house with flushed cheeks and tears streaming down your cheeks. 

“Brie?! What’s wrong?” Your dad asked as he immediately left Draig’s side to come to you. 

“I can’t talk about it right now. Please, I just need a moment to regain my composure.” You pleaded before you could escape to the farthest corner of the house only to see Akhi coming out of the house. 

“Sweetie? What’s wrong?” Draig asked as he came over too. 

“Sir, please, I don’t mean any disrespect to you or your family, especially after all of your generous gifts and support which I can not begin to tell you how much Kihro and myself both appreciate- but can you please make sure your son Borug is never sent here to do any maintenance on the security system? I just…I don’t trust him because he just betrayed all the trust and faith I had in him…” You broke a sob. 

“But it’s not your fault and it’s not a reflection of you and your parenting or the rest of your family. But Borug had a severe lack of judgment, decency and decorum and said some horrible things and made some baseless accusations about me and my character and Kihro and his character that I refuse to stand for or tolerate it. Which is why I’m crying and so upset. So if you’ll both please excuse me, I just need some space to recollect myself and my thoughts and regain my composure before I lose my own temper and say things I can’t take back or won’t mean just because I’m upset right now.” You pleaded and didn’t wait for them to answer as Draig growled lowly. 

“I warned that boy. I’ll kill him if he dared to lay a hand on her.” Draig offered to your father. 

“George!” Akhi said as he flagged him over. 

“What’s going on?” Your dad asked worriedly. 

“This is why Brie’s upset. Draig, unfortunately, you should probably come over and see and hear this too.” Akhi urged before he hit play on the recording just as Kihro came out of the house and spotted you in the far corner and came over to you as you were aggressively weeding a particular flower bed in the farthest corner of the yard away from everyone else while Kelly was trying to lick your tears away and offer you comfort. 

“You ok?” Kihro asked as he kneeled in the grass with you to try to help. 

“Grace called it. I hate it that she saw this before I did. I should have seen this coming. I should have found any and every excuse to keep my distance from him but I thought he would and could be a professional about it. But no. Just another stupid infatuated idiot who thinks I’m perfect and a princess that needs to be pampered but kept locked in a tower. And I hate it.” You admitted as you pulled at the weeds barehanded with so much force, the dirt was flying all around you. 

“I’m angry and pissed off because Borug had the audacity to say something now of all times. At least all the other guys had the decency to say something after you asked me to the dance- in private. Several even hinted at it at school or even my graduation party but the moment you proposed and I very happily and enthusiastically said ‘yes’, I thought that would be the end of it. I thought I would get a break. But nope, we are literally moving you into our home and Borug tries this half ass, half cocked last ditch effort bullshit.” You snipped. 

“And what really pisses me off is he made the point of saying in his “offer” I didn’t have to work- twice, which means I wouldn’t be allowed to work. I wouldn’t have any control of finances, all he really wants is a second mother, a good wife to stay at home and keep the house clean and make dinner and have it on the table ready at 5 o’clock sharp and have a full face of makeup and listen to his day and rub his feet while he watches TV and then fucks him to sleep. All he expects to bring to a relationship is a penis and paycheck and that doesn’t cut it. And I realize that there are some women out there who are into that, and that’s fine, but that’s...just not for me.” You ranted as you used your shirt to wipe up your snot. 

“And I’m so happy and grateful I’m engaged to you and will be marrying you and living here and I can’t wait to make this place our home.” You professed. 

“I know. Me too.” Kihro offered. Because with your declarations to Borug, he had never been in more love with you than he was right now. 

“And what makes it especially awesome is you don’t let any of this toxic masculinity bullshit rule your life. You don’t expect me to be perfect. You never have and never will. You don’t expect me to do all the domestic chores. You know my stamina and energy changes by the day and sometimes by the hour. And that if you see something that needs to be done you just do it yourself. No prodding, no asking, no begging or pleading from me. You have never weaponized any incompetence. Instead you have done everything you can to be as competent as possible, in every aspect of your life. Which is really nice and wonderful and you can cook, and cook so well and clean up after yourself and we work so great in tandem and we work together so great and now that we have Financial Peace University- we don’t fight or argue about anything anymore. You give me better than what I feel I can give you most days.” You insisted as you simply slumped into his side and let him hold you as you held Kelly and pet her after you had pulled everything within reach. 

"And what really pisses me off is Borug isn't the only one who has said that bullshit to me. I don’t know how much you got to hear, but I’ve lost count of how many guys have said and done the exact same things, and they are all the brothers of Korryn and Grace’s friends. And I hate it. I hate it that you and your intentions get called into question as if theirs shouldn’t be. I hate it that according to all of them, I have this big grizzly bear for a dad that scares them all shitless, but the second you were brave enough to prove that he was just being a protective papa bear- they’ve all practically come out of the woodwork and all made these tales of how foolish I am to fall for the first guy to ask me out and marry the first boyfriend I’ve ever had just because I’ve been lucky enough to have the right one be the first one. And I’ve heard ‘you’re the gold standard for girlfriends and fiance’s’ more than I can count. But, while it’s nice to hear, it’s like they all put me on this super high pedestal of perfection, that I have enough from my father as it is. And then they’re disappointed when I’m not what they’ve built me up to be. And as much as I really can’t stand Korryn, I’m grateful she did all of us a service by showing the world just what kind of man-child Borug really was and how mean and spiteful he could really be. And now I’m no longer wondering why he never went out for too long with the other popular girls. Gods I hate self absorbed entitled pricks. And I’m so grateful and thankful that you’re not one of them.” You told Kihro as your anger and rage started to abate the more he held you and pet your head that he pulled to his chest after pulling you to sit across his lap and just gently rocked you to comfort you while you had Kelly in your lap too. 

“How come none of them can just see you as the amazing man I can?” You complained. 

“I don’t care if anyone else or no one else does. As long as you see that in me, I’ll do my best to live up to that. But your opinion is all I care about. Fuck everyone else.” Kihro grinned. 

“Shh, don’t say that too loud, not until everyone else is done doing their work. You can say that after they’ve all left.” You put your finger to his lips to keep him from saying that which only made him kiss the pad of your finger. 

“Ok.” Kihro agreed just as Draig finished watching the video and listened to the recording and thundered Borug’s full name which got Kihro to laugh. 

“Someone is about to get the beating of his life.” Kihro laughed. 

“But I didn’t…” You frowned. 

“I had Akhi and Tysh stay in your office and Akhi recorded the whole interaction you had with Borug and apparently, he just got done showing it to your Dad and Draig.” Kihro revealed with a proud smile. 

“Oh thank the gods, so it’s not my word against his.” You practically melted into him. 

“Nope, I took Grace’s advice to heart. There was no way I’d let that two faced fucker anywhere near you without another set of eyes and ears to bear witness. And now that you have Tysh, Akhi, that recording and me and all my real friends to back up your side of things of what really happened and what went down. Don’t worry about anything. Let Draig handle his own son from here. Hell his clan is about to practically kick him out for that stunt.” Kihro reassured you. 

“Gods I love you, thank you.” You cooed before you kissed him. 

“Love you too. Come on, I want you to tell me what else I can do to that chicken coop to make it perfect for you.” He offered as you managed to pull yourself together. before Draig came over. 

“Brie, I just want to formally…” Draig said before you left Kihro to hug him. 

“It’s ok. Like I said, his lapse in judgment is not a reflection of you and your family. This doesn’t change anything between you and the rest of your family and me and the rest of mine. It would still be a pleasure to have Lottie be a bridesmaid of mine since it was her that helped me learn about beads and their intricate history and traditions in the first place. And I would have been so lost without her help and guidance and helping me find the perfect beads for Kihro so that they could mean what I needed them to mean. And I really hope that this doesn’t cause a rift between our two families otherwise. Grace warned me that he may have had a crush on me because he would always compare Korryn with me. But I thought that seeing as how I’m engaged that he would have let it go and abandoned it or at least wouldn’t have brought it up or could have waited for any other more appropriate time to tell me about it, preferably before I was courting Kihro and definitely before I was engaged to him. Of course you and the rest of your family are still invited to the wedding and I can’t begin to tell you how grateful and appreciative we are for all of your generosity and your support. All I can think of to excuse his behavior is perhaps it was a reflection of his friends and most likely his ex. She may have had a very bad influence on him, as I’m sure you heard from my recording of what I personally think about her. But she is still my sister’s friend and I don’t wish to get between my sister and her friends, no matter what I may personally think about them.” You offered as you could feel Draig relax and breathe a sigh of relief as he hugged you back. 

“Well you were not wrong about Korryn at all. I too have the same opinion about her that you do. So we have that- at the very least- in common. And there was nothing inaccurate about anything you said about anyone, including my son Borug. Who still needs to learn a few more life lessons it seems. Thank you for handling this the way you did, with grace and with class and with discretion. Don’t worry about Borug because he’s about to find himself across the country into a college and you shouldn’t be seeing him for at least another four years. And hopefully by then, he will have grown up and into something other than what he is right now.” He offered. 

“Me too. Thank you for understanding.” You thanked him. 

“You’re welcome. But he was right about one thing. You are and always will be an excellent woman and at least to me, you do set an excellent example worthy of imitation. And I trust Kihro to always keep that in mind as he continues to share his life with you. I’m sure you’ll make this house into a wonderful home and I’m honored that you’ve entrusted me and my company to keep it safe.” He offered before he let go. 

“Kihro, always a pleasure to do business with you. We’ll finish up shortly and be out of your hair and I’ll make sure that hole is fixed to your satisfaction.” He reassured him as he shook Kihro’s hand as Kihro graciously smiled and shook his hand. 

“Thanks again.” Kihro offered before Draig excused himself to get his other installers to finish where Borug left off and triple checked to make sure everything was perfect before he drove his truck- which Borug was currently locked into- back home and was so angry- he was silent as he wanted to scream several thousand things at his son all at the same time. 

“I’m sorry Dad.” Borug finally said because his father refused to look at him and was currently speeding to their family home with his face set into an angry glare out of the windshield as Borug could feel his father’s fury roll off of him in waves as he cowered in his seat as far away as he could. 

“Me too. I’m sorry I fathered and raised such a dishonorable, disrespectful, good for nothing son who isn’t even worthy to breathe the same air as the woman he just deeply offended and disrespected.” Draig answered with a forced calm but felt worse than any physical strike he could to his son. 

“But I just couldn’t stand by while she…” Borug began to excuse as Draig growled dangerously. 

“Save your breath! I don’t care what reasons you have! Brianna is grown up enough to make her own decisions about her life and she chose to be engaged. She’s wearing the beads and the ring. She is beyond spoken for and promised and committed and trying to “tempt her away” and to even hint at eloping with you- is only a sign of your own dishonor and your own severe lack of moral character. You had absolutely no right to say anything to her about your feelings towards her- that you didn’t even share with me. Because if I had known sooner, I could have helped sooner before Kihro ever worked up the courage to say anything in the first place. But if I also would have known them this morning, I never would have brought you so you wouldn’t have been tempted beyond what you could bear by keeping your big mouth shut. There is a time to speak and a time to keep quiet and today was a time to keep quiet about this. But the fact of the matter is- is she’s made her choice. And we will respect it. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that you crossed the line and betrayed our trust in you to the point that she told you she no longer trusts you to be alone with her and had you truly been alone, I don’t want to think of the damage you could have caused if you had laid a hand on her when you had already punched a hole into her wall, which is something only the weak minded do, and the weak minded have no place in my family and in my clan. I’m just grateful that she didn’t give you a chance to do more. And the only other possible way this could have been worse is if you did this while she was in a temple in her wedding dress and about to walk down the aisle. But that is never going to happen because you will not be attending her wedding. You are coming home tonight and for the rest of the week. I’m going to send your siblings to pack everything up in your condo and you’re moving out of the condo and I’m selling it since I bought it and my name is on it and you will not be getting a single penny from it.” Draig firmly dictated in a tone Borug knew he would be gambling with his own life if he tried to argue with. 

“I’m sending you to the west coast. I don’t care if I have to enroll you into the worst community college in the country, but you will live on campus and you are not welcome home until you have graduated with your degree in hand and then if you can prove yourself, you can start to work for the company, but you are going to work from the bottom up and earn your way the same way Kihro has with absolutely no favoritism or nepotism to help you. What you currently have in your bank account is all the money you will get from me from now- until you graduate with a degree. Which means you are going to have to get a real job. And no- you can not use your experience with our company on your resume because if you do- I will not give you a good review or recommendation. You will not be taking the car I paid for either since I paid for it, that too will be sold off and you will not get a penny from that either. You’ll be lucky if you get to go into fast food to help you pay for college. You are never to contact either Brianna or Kihro or anyone else in either of their family or their friend circle. And I swear if you breathe a word of this to anyone- in any kind of effort to gain sympathy or empathy or heaven forbid- pity- you will feel the full force of my wrath with the full backing of the clan behind it because I will replay that recording to the entire clan if I need to as proof of your dishonor since it has already been sent to me. I will call the entire clan together tonight to play it and have you stripped of all clan ties if you resist this discipline. And you will be cast off from the clan and the family if need be.” Draig rumbled dangerously as Borug shuddered in terror at the thought as tears blurred his own vision. 

“I have made your life easy, way too easy. That was my mistake and one that I will never repeat. I swear Borug- if you push this or fight this, I will make your life harder than you can imagine. You will not step foot on Brianna’s property without both Mr. Kihro Soche’s permission and Mrs. Brianna Soche’s permission because she will be married and most likely be a mother by the time you get to see her again. Which- in all reality- you will probably never receive. I’ve assigned my best employee to their case. And they will be getting our premier everything for life. And they will not be paying me a penny for any of it over what you just did.” Draig snarled dangerously. 

“You brought shame to more than just yourself, but you brought shame to me and our family, to our company and our clan. When we get home, you will go to what used to be your room and pack up what you have there. I will pick out a college for you and enroll you into said college and you’ll be gone by the end of the week- if not sooner. I will buy you a one way ticket and I will ship your shit to you when you can tell me what dorm room you’re going to be moving into. And then the only communication I want from you- is how well you’re doing in school. You will never get another penny from either me or your mother or any other member of our family and definitely never another penny from my company.” Draig declared. 

“Also, I’m giving the office you used to inhabit to someone who has earned it. And I’m firing that shit secretary you hired. You don’t get to post anything about any of this on social media. In fact, you’re going to give me your phone and all your passwords to all your social media accounts and I’m shutting them down and turning them off. And you’re going to give me your wallet without taking a single thing out of it first. Because I’m taking and freezing your credit cards which you are still on the hook to pay off but can not use to buy anything or rack up any more debt and you will not be getting any more credit cards either because I can track that too. You will learn how to budget and live from paycheck to paycheck like everyone else. Don’t you dare try to make yourself out to be the victim here. You’re going to be learning invaluable life lessons and you will learn them the hardest way possible if you need to.” Draig demanded as he held out his hand as Borug handed over his phone and his wallet to his father before he put both of them into his own pocket. 

“Also I want every bead you’ve ever gotten to be left with me. I don’t want any other girl, orc or otherwise to look at them and see things that aren’t there. Or that they reflect a person that you are not.” Draig demanded as he held out his hand again before Borug- tearfully got the beads out of his hair and handed them over to his father as his father pocketed those too into his shirt pocket. 

“Words can not describe the depths of my shame and embarrassment. Neither can they describe the fury I feel that you would dishonor us by dishonoring Brie and to an extent her family and her fiance and his family. And all that money that will be coming from the sale of that condo and that car- will go towards Brie’s medical care so that Kihro’s burden of caring for Brie and her complicated and delicate health isn’t a burden for him either. Kihro is a hundred times the man I thought he was this morning- now that I know what he does for her and has been doing for her behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. And Brie could not have chosen a better man to call her husband as much as Kihro could not have chosen a better woman to call his wife. And I have no doubt that while their life may not be as lavish and luxurious as I’m sure I would have hoped it could be. If it’s one that they both happily choose, they will get my full support for it nonetheless. And I will hope and pray for their happiness and success. While I can only hope you can escape my vengeful wrath who is currently asking for your head on a spike.” Draig insisted before he drove into his own driveway and Borug bolted for the house and ran upstairs. 

“What happened?” Draig’s wife Odulla asked as she watched her son run up the stairs with tears running down his face and the single braid that usually kept his beads on- behind him unraveling with every step he took. 

“Come into the office with me. We need to discuss what to do with Borug.” Draig said which made Odella stand up straighter as the hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood up at his tone while her eyes got wide. 

“What did he do?” She asked worriedly. 

“That boy dishonored us today.” Draig began before he pulled his wife into the office and told her about what happened and how the whole thing was recorded and then played the recording for her, and then told her how you had reacted and handled it and reassured Draig that he and the rest of his family were still on good terms despite Borug’s lapse in judgment as Odella tearfully heard it and felt her own temper flare towards her son. 

“I agree with everything Draig. At least he didn’t put his hands on her. That would have been truly disastrous. We did make it too easy for him. That ungrateful leech deserves whatever hell you deem appropriate Dear. I’m going to go upstairs and get his passwords, even if I have to beat them out of him with my wooden spoon.” She insisted as she got up out of the chair and went to the kitchen to grab the spoon in question and marched upstairs to give her son a piece of her mind too. All while she ordered her other children to do as Draig had wanted- which was to clean out Borug’s condo and contacted the maid to clean it so they could sell it once her other children were done as they realized that if Borug had fucked up enough to get both of their parents on the warpath as Odulla let her anger vent as Borug had to lay over a chair and get spanked, like he was a little kid again before she wore herself out and Draig was relieved his other children had fled the house before he got to come in and use his own belt on Borug too. 

Meanwhile your father had gotten back to you and hugged you and asked you to give him that list of every other guy who had done what Borug just did which Kihro was happy to pull up on his phone since he had been keeping track of it himself. 

“Why do you want to know?” You asked your dad. 

“To make sure they don’t make it to your wedding guest list and never make it onto Wright Plumbing’s payroll.” Your father answered as he wrote them all down on and then folded the paper and put it into his pocket with a reassuring grin. 

“Please don’t un-invite Draig and Odella or the rest of their family. Borug wasn’t always like this. But it’s not like Korryn brought out the best in him either. Quite the opposite, actually.” You pleaded. 

“Oh of course not. This won’t put a wedge between us. I mean Borug’s sister is a bride’s maid of yours. All this does is mean is that Borug won’t get within five hundred feet of you without your full and free consent after he’s gotten your forgiveness which you are not owed to give out- especially any time soon since I doubt he’s allowed to make any contact with you from now until the next oh- four a five years or so.” Your dad estimated. 

“I just don’t understand how he could…now of all times.” You shook your head in confusion. 

“Guys will say really stupid things when they think no one else is listening.” Your dad readily excused. 

“But, I’m really proud of you for standing your ground and speaking your mind. You held your ground and you didn’t cower when he lost his temper. I’m glad he didn’t put his hands on you. But I’m really proud of you for using your words instead of your hands on him too.” Your father urged. 

“Yeah, like I can pack a punch.” You rolled your eyes. 

“No, but you and Zara have been learning massage together and that Vahva Kun technique. With only a few touches you could have reduced him to a pile of shit on the floor. And he would have been too heavy for all of us to pick up and put in his dad’s truck.” Your dad shrugged. 

“I’m not that good with it. Zara’s practically a professional with that technique. I’m better with trigger point.” You offered. 

“But still, you showed restraint. I’m proud of you for handling that the way you did. It was the right way to do it.” He praised as he gave you another hug. 

“Thanks.” You thanked him. 

“How about you head to Sam’s pick up some packs of steaks and grill em for everyone?” He suggested before he pressed his Sam’s card into your hand. 

“Get whatever you want hun. We got it from here.” He urged you. 

“Ok.” You nodded before you walked hand in hand with Kihro to his truck to drive to Sam’s and get what you wanted and needed.

[thecandywrites]

Kihro and Brie- Househunting

Enjoy.

Kihro and Brie

House Hunting

“So this one has a slightly more open floor plan,” the realtor, Cassie explained as she showed Kihro, yourself and Grace the tri-level house as you both looked with keen eyes at the place. Trying to see flaws and mentally noting what features you liked and compared them with the other properties you had seen so far. 

“Can we see the basement?” Kihro asked hopefully before she took all of you to the basement where Kihro inspected the foundations and of course the plumbing and heating as you looked for signs of any rodents or termites or any other pests along with mold and mildew. Each of you armed with small but powerful flashlights to further inspect things that the light in the basement couldn’t quite reach. 

You could tell there was some mold and mildew somewhere because your allergies were already kicking up on account of the presence of some but not too much like the last house did.

But while Khiro and yourself were looking for signs of the house’s soundness and possible imperfections, Grace fearfully looked for spiders to make sure she could point them out to you so you could kill them before they would ever endanger her personal space. Kihro thought it was hilarious and was actually very proud of you that you were “so brave” and thought it was entertaining to watch you squish them as he teased Grace about it as the two of them bantered back and forth. 

Grace was more high strung and much more vocal about her opinions and for you it was entertaining to see the two bicker. Grace, being a snotty preppy 16 year old, had used every date she got to play chaperone for- to make sure Kihro took you out to eat and always ordered the most expensive thing on the menu while you just ordered whatever looked good or sounded good. Until you got engaged that is. 

But for this, such a huge and monumental occasion of looking at houses- Grace insisted she be a third set of eyes. Everyone in Kihro’s family and especially everyone in your family saw how Kihro was trying so hard to make you happy and was courting you right and was upright and respectable and was impressed that Kihro was trying to buy you a house. Even though Grace would be loathed to admit it to his face. She was all about making sure Kihro earned every inch of respect and this was a big part of it.  

This house had an unfurnished and unfinished basement which was actually nice so you could actually see what was in the walls themselves as far as pipes and wires and have good views of the foundation itself as well as the floor joists for the upper levels. 

Kihro cleared his throat in such a way that was your secret cue to come to him as he kept the beam of his flashlight on what he wanted you to see. There was a bit of mold and mildew where the sub-pump was in the basement that looked like it was original to the house and would most likely need to be replaced as you sniffed pointedly twice with a meaningful look with a grin to convey that you had smelled it. But you were grateful that he had found the source before you looked over everything else with him, since once you had looked over the floor joists, then looked down to the concrete to look for cracks or even “repairs” to the foundation. Which was- to your mutual relief- solid. Nothing looked like it had been cracked or “repaired” at least in the last decade or so. And Khiro had already inspected the septic system and the drain field the moment he got on the property since he was also getting into septic work while being a plumber since it seemed he was eager to add “modalities” to his license the same way you were with massage since you already knew what modalities you would be pursuing once you would get your own massage license soon. 

Once you were satisfied with looking at the basement, you continued to look at the rest of the house. 

The house itself was a bit of a fixer upper but nothing crazy. It didn’t need to be bulldozed like one you had seen earlier did. With this particular one- the foundations were good, the structure was sound. It wasn’t fantastic or new but it was functional, it had charm and character, natural wood floors in a lot of the rooms and a benched bay window you fell in love with. Kihro himself, was head over heels for the amazing garage that was half a wood shop because the former owner had been a carpenter, just like your grandfather on your father’s side was. And while you and Khiro had both dabbled into carpentry in your childhoods, this would give you opportunities to dabble into it further which excited you both. 

This tri-level straight out of the 70’s or 80’s though, which you thought was fun in some respects. And it had real and fully functioning fireplaces in the lower level sitting area, and the main living room and in the bedroom. And you could tell the previous owners, the snowbirds who had got this house when they were newly weds, had taken really great care of it over the years. Your biggest clue to that was that the landscaping, while a bit abandoned and weeded, you were sure was breathtaking at one point, they had flowerbeds with various bulb flowers continuing to flower despite the abandonment recently. But it had a wrap around porch. And you already knew what porch furniture you wanted. What pattern of patio furniture cushions even. Give your mother and yourself an afternoon with a truck bed full of mulch, and another of good planting soil and about $200 or even $300 of plants from a greenhouse, some garden gloves and tools, some knee pads, sunhats and a pitcher of lemonade and you’d have it back to its former glory in no time. In fact, you had already mentally picked out where you wanted to plant hyacinths to accompany the huge and amazing lilac bushes that were becoming almost trees rather than large shrubs, a day, even an afternoon. Which you thought was amazing because you loved heavenly scented flowers in general. And this property had wild honeysuckle shrubbery in the back of the lot where there was a stretch of woodland between the back of the house and the woodland that was between this stretch of houses and the surrounding farmland. 

This house really just needed some rather minor but not necessarily inexpensive improvements. If you could exchange some linoleum for tile, update some cupboards and countertops and a few appliances from the classic avocado green to hopefully something white, perhaps black, but not stainless. But easy to clean none the less- since your parents had learned the hard way- stainless steel appliances had a habit of leaving smudgy fingerprints on the surface and needed to be meticulously cleaned with special wipes to get the smudges off. And while it was aesthetically pleasing, it was a pain to upkeep. And if you were going to turn any house into your home, you wanted the upkeep to be rather easy and simple once it was set to how you wanted it. Plus a fresh coat of paint could do wonders. 

But in all honesty- this house was showing more promise than everything you had seen so far. And, it was in a decently good neighborhood and relatively safe one too. There were kids actually riding their bikes up and down the road since this house was on a cul-de-sac section of a suburban neighborhood. You even saw a woman jogging her dogs down the sidewalk too and even an older couple on their afternoon trip in their golf cart to visit others a street over. So that was a big vote of confidence that if the woman felt safe to jog in normal athletic attire. You could be too. 

Plus the house had a huge fenced in yard all around it. It was sitting on two whole acres including the house. You could totally take a whole acre and have something of a homestead farm. Plus every neighbor had a garden of some kind. But the chainlink fence all around the house? It was perfect for your dog Kelly. 

And the house had space for a really nice sized massage room so you could run your own massage business from your house. And while it wasn’t as big as your parent’s house, it was still plenty big enough for the two of you and perhaps a third and maybe even a fourth and dare you hope- a fifth. 

But one look at Khiro had you stifling your giggle because you could tell by just the way Kihro was looking at it, he was already planning exactly what he was going to do with it. You could practically see how he wanted to go to Lowe’s tonight just to get the materials to get started as you gave each other discrete yet meaningful looks about how you both seemed to really like the house. 

“Is that a chicken coop?” You asked as you pointed to the structure in the backyard of a neighbor from the kitchen window once you had come back upstairs. 

“Yes, they have some backyard chickens, one of many backyard chicken coops in the area.” She confirmed as you gave Kihro an excited smile. 

“Oh no.” Kihro laughed because- while you were happy with your dog, and your cat. You also really wanted to get into backyard chickens since you had experience with birds since your mother loved her cockatiels almost as much as she loved her horses and her aquariums. But at this point, Kihro already knew he was going to build you a coop so you could have some too. Right after he fixed up that garage and possibly built a greenhouse. He was already planning exactly where he was going to put the plot for his garden in the yard. Because it even had a shed for a riding lawn mower and Kihro was already practically drooling. 

“Won’t that negatively impact the worth of the house? Having a stinky chicken coop right next to it?” Grace complained as you frowned at her. 

“I don’t think so. That coop isn’t an eye sore to me and as long as they don’t have a rooster crowing every 5 minutes, I don’t mind it at all. Especially if there’s a good chance I could get one of my own.” You countered with a scheming but bright smile to Khiro who mirrored your smile and a nod of acceptance and agreement as he was pretty sure the chickens would actually work out really great for pest control in the garden and depending on how he built the coop and what you did with the litter- you could have a composting in the far corner and have a great supply for fertile planting soil. 

“So let’s see- the upstairs.” The realtor suggested before you walked up the stairwell to the upstairs where five more bedrooms and three more bathrooms were. This house was actually listed as having 7 bedrooms since the other two bedrooms and two bathrooms were in the lower level in what was once a ‘mother in law suite’ which would be perfect for your massage business. You already knew which one your massage room would be and the other would be an office for said business. And the lowest part of the trilevel where the lowest level was half walk out patio and sitting room and half “basement”. 

But on the upper level- the master bedroom was a very good and decent size and had an amazing closet. The carpet though still showed where the previous occupants had put their bedroom furniture. But the master bathroom needed a lot of work, simply for aesthetic reasons because the color scheme wanted to make you hurl. But it was something you could overlook for now because the rest of the house was so far- practically fantastic in your opinion. 

The other four bedrooms were a bit on the small side but you were sure Kihro was going to turn one into an office/game room/ snake room. And while this house could use some work, it was, technically, move in ready. There wasn’t anything in dire need of fixing in order to achieve that, it had great potential to be a wonderful home in your opinion. 

You went back downstairs to hang out in the kitchen and talk numbers, which were actually really reasonable for such a big house in a decent neighborhood and it was it's lack of cosmetic updates that hurt its value which made it perfectly reasonable and well within the budget, so much so that Kihro could handle the house payment and all other bills all on his own with just his income, which of course he had gotten a raise and a promotion in title conveniently the week of your graduation party/ birthday party. And if need be, you could cover it too if he was down for some reason as you broke down the house payment into how many massages it would take to cover it. And it was doable for you too.  

But while Khiro was still asking questions about the house and the neighborhood and was taking notes in his own notebook, you looked out the kitchen window which overlooked a covered patio and wondered how you were going to improve that patio and where you’d put a grill and a table for an outdoor eating space. And where you could even put a hot tub as you added that to your notes too and even added stars to the address in your notebook that you had dictated was your ‘future house’ notebook. 

When you were done, you thanked Cassie and agreed to call her back with your decision, which she warned you that there were other couples that were also house hunting and also looking at the property and that there might be a bidding war for it. Which you weren’t quite sure if that was genuine or if it was Cassie simply trying to close the sale. 

But Kihro was firm in his stance that you both needed to think it over and talk it over later and insisted that you, Grace, and himself should go get something to eat since it was about dinner time.  

At the restaurant, you got your notebook from your purse and traded yours with Kihro’s so you could both see and literally compare notes while you waited for your food to come. 

“You and your doctor’s handwriting.” Kihro mock complained which made you laugh. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, my parents still think I should actually go into at least nursing so that only the other doctors would be able to see and read my writing.” You laughed off with a grin as you looked at his perfectly legible and practically perfect print. 

“So, what did you think about the first place? The townhouse?” You asked Kihro curiously as neither of you had really talked much in the presence of the realtor but your looks had said plenty. And the only thing thing he had written was P.P. B.S.D and N.N. which you knew the first one was an acronym for ‘Picture Perfect But Skin Deep’ which was not a compliment. But the N.N. had you wondering what he could mean by that. 

“Eh,” Kihro shrugged but you still caught the lip curl of subtle disgust.  

“I thought it was perfect.” Grace chimed in. 

“It was modern, in a great neighborhood and very stylish.” Grace listed off and you wanted to laugh at the subtle way Kihro was subtly rolling his eyes and subtly shaking his head no. 

“What did you think?” Kihro asked you because to him, your opinion outweighed his own and if you had fallen in love with a place, he would find a way to be content with it no matter what.  

“It was ok, I wish it had a garage for the work truck instead of two parking spots in front of the place and that means that having people over is an inconvenience for our neighbors. And the yard was super small and there was that homeowners association that dictated how you kept your whole three square feet of yard. And all gardening had to be in pots or raised beds. And it’s a fleece instead of owning. Wasn’t wild about that part.” You appraised. 

“What about you Babe?” You asked him. 

“Didn’t like it.” Kihro said simply. 

"How?! How could you find anything wrong with it?" Grace demanded with a deep frown. 

"Quite a few things," Kihro countered evenly and calmly.  

“What didn’t you like about it?” You asked Kihro and you couldn’t help but grin smugly because you were pretty sure you knew his answer. 

“Too small and too expensive for what it really was.” He shrugged again. 

“You didn’t like it because you couldn’t change it and if something went wrong you couldn’t fix it yourself. Picture perfect but only skin deep.” You discerned as you tapped on the acronym on his notebook with your pen which earned you a nod. 

“Yup.” Kihro confirmed with an appreciative smile. 

“So what’s N.N?” You asked. 

“Nosey Neighbors. That place shared walls on both sides and you could hear the neighbors next door.” He expounded as you ‘ah’-ed in understanding as you added that to the acronym that you’d most likely be seeing a bit more of in his notes.  

“Or that they might hear us.” He added with another scheming smile beginning to bloom on your lips. 

“And get jealous?” You teased with a waggle of your eyebrows as he blushed and ducked his head but his smile was just as dashing now as it ever was. 

“Exactly. I have enough competition for you as it is.” He nodded as he sucked down his beer but kept his arm comfortably around your shoulders, if not just a tad bit possessively. 

“Just because every male client I’ve worked on has mockingly proposed- does not mean you have competition.” You laughed as you swore he got even greener with envy as he rolled his eyes again but grinned knowingly just the same because he had no doubts about your own loyalty and fidelity towards him and he trusted you implicitly. But others? Not a chance. 

“Besides, what about me? Don’t I have to contend with every thirsty homemaker that suddenly makes hand squeezed lemonade and homemade cookies every time you come over to refill the water softener with salt?” You reminded him as he shook his head again and chuckled. 

“You say that like I would ever be tempted.” Kihro retorted with a shudder and a grimace which made you giggle. 

“So, townhouse is out. House number 2?” You went down the list. 

“It had a lot of potential.” He noted as you looked over his extensive notes on it and what he would and could do to it. 

“A little too much. At least in my opinion. That place would need a bare minimum of twenty five to fifty thousand dollars just to get it livable. And that's if we revive the structure, otherwise we would have to bulldoze it and start from scratch. Which would and could cost at least a hundred grand if not close to two. And granted it was out in the country and had lots of space, but the other components of the property were in extremely poor condition. The barn was falling down, the roof had a hole in it the size of a motorcycle and growing at least five kinds of mold. And the wood of the structure was eaten up with termites. And it had a huge mouse problem- which, I’m sure Speed Bump and Minion would love to help with, if the mice weren’t crawling with their own parasites and other diseases. But I swear I could feel the walls breathing because it’s an old farmhouse, with turn of the century insulation. It’s also forty five minutes from anywhere and everywhere and surrounded by fields and forests owned by other farmers- that we can’t hunt in. Or at least wouldn’t be able to even ask for permission for a long time because we would be too focused on the house, which was very disappointing to hear.” You listed off. 

“True, that was very disappointing. Yeah so house number two is out.” Kihro gathered. 

“What did you think of the third place?” Kihro asked. 

“Just the house by itself was ok from the looks of it at least, not wild about the neighborhood. I’m a little concerned as to why such a huge house with brand new interiors would be so cheap. It had no yard and no garage and street parking and securing the work truck would have been a nightmare.” You answered honestly. 

“It’s because those interiors were masking major flaws, the countertops weren’t put down right and I’ve worked in that neighborhood, the electrical work needs to be torn out and redone and the pipes need to be replaced and you could flood that basement with bleach, it ain’t gonna get the mold and mildew out, besides most of that bleach would leach out through all the cracks in the foundation, did you see all those patches? They’re hiding major cracks, that house is just one little straight wind or little tremor of an earthquake from collapsing in on itself.” Kihro added. 

“Yeah so house number three is out.” You decided and watched as Kihro nodded adamantly in agreement. 

“So, the fourth house? The tri-level?” You asked. 

“My favorite so far. It was big, spacious, had a really nice garage and workshop area. Had a good shed for a riding mower and a yard big enough for not just the animals but for a garden and a greenhouse and most likely a chicken coop because at this point, I’ve accepted my fate.” Kihro gently teased which made you giggle again as you smiled bashfully. 

“And it didn’t have any pest problems and the mold and mildew problem was minimal and that was only because it’s been sitting empty for a few years and easily taken care of and managed and you could replace that sub-pump in what- an hour or two?” You added. 

“Less than, easy.” Kihro assured you. 

“Uh, I don’t know about you, but I saw spiders big enough to eat birds, I would definitely call that a pest problem.” Grace piped up which got you and Kihro to snicker a laugh. 

“They weren’t that big.” You countered. 

“Besides, spiders can be killed and that problem can be resolved. A cracked foundation- less so, and that house’s foundation was pretty solid. And besides some minor updating, because the appliances were pretty dated, but they were functional and I had a hard time finding anything I didn’t like that wasn't cosmetic.” Kihro calmly argued. 

“The only things I wasn't wild about were the closets in all the other rooms except the master bedroom, they were on the small side and by small, I mean, tiny coffin size, like I don’t think all of your work uniforms would fit into one. And that master bathroom was- hideous. I’m sure that mauve pink color was all the rage in the eighties. But now it’s just...so ugly. Like I can put up with an avocado stove, because that was a kickass, gas stove. I’m pretty sure that thing was from like the thirties or forties and will outlive us all. But I draw the line at a pink bathtub with yellow sinks, and not just any yellow, but mustard yellow, browning, mustard yellow that would never look clean. Just..no, no, no, no. I know it’s cosmetic, and I know they can be changed out. But if we ever get the chance to move there, please let that be the first project.” You shuddered which caused Kihro to just grin fondly as he chuckled in amusement. You were still, just...too cute for words. And the idea of getting a house- with you- his Brie, was still almost too good to be true.

“But otherwise, everything else was fine. I agree, it didn’t have anything major wrong with it and instead, had a ton of potential and was really reasonably priced. It’s my favorite so far.” You professed. 

“Ugh, that house was too dated for my tastes. And not in a cool vintage kind of way- like the whole sunk in living room kind of way- but the ‘dear gods, the designer was doing mushrooms or LSD while they designed the color scheme. All the bathroom needed was a lava lamp and shag carpet and you could have had a 70’s swinger’s orgy in there.” Grace complained which made Kihro and yourself burst into laughter as you squirmed and shuddered at the thought of anyone but Kihro being intimate with you as you cleaved to his side just a bit more. 

“Yeah, don’t worry Grace, you’d never be invited.” Kihro teased which got her gasp and mockingly threatened to toss her drink into his face.

“Hey! Hey! I’m kidding! I’m kidding.” Kihro put his hand up in defeat since the other was around your shoulders. 

“As if I’d ever…” Kihro began. 

“Aren’t enough of your friends drooling over my sister as it is and waiting for you to muck up so they can play hero and swoop in and sweep her off her feet? You shouldn’t even joke about it. Because I know of at least a few who would do anything to be invited especially if Brie is involved.” Grace practically sneered mockingly. 

“Who?” Kihro demanded. 

“All of them. But some, more ardently and earnestly than others.” Grace insisted a bit more aloofly. 

“Wow, someone’s been watching Bridgerton. But seriously, who? Who of my friends do you think would even think about making a pass at Brie?” Kihro demanded. 

“Borug for starters.” Grace insisted. 

“That smug spoiled leech is not my friend. He is a friend of a friend at most, more like an acquaintance I tolerate because his Dad is a friend of your dad. Besides, isn’t he your best friend’s boyfriend anyway? Any friendliness on my part is solely because of those factors, no others. He's not even in the same clan as me.” Kihro challenged in a tone that bordered on vehement but you agreed with every word as you nodded along in agreement. 

“No, Korryn is dumping him. For good this time.” Grace insisted. 

“Borug and Korryn are like the weather, they change every 5 or 10 minutes and you never know from one minute to the next what their moods or choices will be because of how unpredictable they are. They’ve broken up and gotten back together more times than anyone else can count.” You calmly defended. 

“And while we are on the subject, can you please try to help me convince Korryn that my bridal party is already full and large enough as it is? I do not need or want her as a bridesmaid. And she is not subtle about dropping her hints and I don’t know how else I can tell her no without her retaliating against you for my refusal to her frankly childish demands. It’s my wedding, not hers. She’s the one acting like a bridezilla when she isn’t even dating according to you. She can be your bridesmaid if you want when you grow up some more and choose to get married. But I don’t want her drama at my wedding, let alone in- my bridal party. I put up with it for my graduation party as a favor to you but that’s as far as I’m extending it. Borug is as close to Kihro as I am to Korryn. We tolerate each other and try to keep peace- but at a distance. And that applies to both of them- from both of us.” You defended. 

“Amen.” Kihro gladly agreed before your food was brought out and served as Grace didn't feel the need to argue it any further. 

The next day Kihro thankfully had a job close to your school and knew you’d be getting a lunch in a little bit and even took time to get you and him lunch and drove into the parking lot, and parked in an inconspicuous spot and texted you that he had lunch for you and was in “the spot”. Not even five minutes later you came rushing out of there and practically jogged across the parking lot to climb into his truck.

“You’re a lifesaver.” You gushed as you greedily got your lunch from his hands. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I swear, one of these days I’ll surprise you for lunch.” You vowed. 

“How much time for lunch do you have today?” He asked curiously. 

“I get forty five minutes this time.”  You answered. 

“You?” You asked hopefully. 

“About the same.” He answered before you both quickly chowed down on lunch in companionable silence. 

Eight months ago there was no way Kihro would have believed that this was going to be his life. But here he was, in his big- boxy work truck- having lunch with his fiance- the love of his life and looking to move into a house together, and get married and that person being you. It would have been an ethereal and epic fantasy. But because he finally got the courage and spoke up and made his move and finally acted on his feelings, he reaped the great reward of finding out that they were returned instead of unrequited. 

And he never would have believed that he would have had the pleasure of having sex with you, especially as much as he had been getting since his engagement with you. He never thought his work truck would see so much action. Or that the love of his life was just...so horny. Oh sure, you looked and acted all sweet and innocent to everyone else. But behind closed doors and in private- you were still incredibly sweet, but not so innocent as he once imagined you were. And while you were outwardly discrete, in private, you were practically insatiable which he had to admit was mirrored by him and only fanned the flames even more and he was so grateful he could let passion consume you both as much as it could.  

Every day you were either in massage school or in the clinic and you both took lunch together- the usual chain of events was that you’d eat in his truck before walking into the back of it and fucking like rabbits. 

He had already kept his work truck practically spotless and meticulously cared for his tools and the truck which only impressed his father and yours. And for being so old- he had taken remarkably good care of it. And he turned down a newer, nicer truck that was actually smaller, and more compact, but only because this had it’s own work bench that he could stand in the truck, with air conditioning or heat, and have everything he needed either at his fingertips or at arm’s reach. And because he preferred the spaciousness of this one. He had room to keep a lot of extra supplies so he didn’t have to run to a hardware store for each and every single job. He often usually had what he needed before he even drove into the driveway. 

But now- he kept it for one more reason. This. 

He could sit you on that work bench and practically devour you whole by either fucking you practically senseless on that work bench or kneel and eat you out with your legs resting on his shoulders while you braced yourself on the bench. And because of the insulated nature of the box part of the truck- meant you could fuck in any weather and be comfortable and it would dampen the noise too. And having sex in the truck was something he found out, almost immediately after new years- you were into and liked and wanted and was kind of thrilling actually. It was an addiction he was powerless to fight against, but instead, indulged and did everything in his power to encourage. Because you both apparently had a few years of pent up sexual frustrations to release.  

Before your engagement but after new years, you would simply exchange oral sex because his hands were usually too dirty- in his opinion- for him to finger you properly. To hear you pant and whine and beg and plead for him while your legs rested on his shoulders and squeezed his head and then shake as you found your release was heaven yet torturous because that was as far as you could go. 

But to see you try to wrap your mouth around his manhood was always quite the sight. Especially since that first time you tried it and he was rather mortified by how quickly he had cum. You had barely sucked the head and stroked your hands down the length of him, but just the way your love drunk and determined gaze fixated on him and the glinting light from the beads in your hair and your warm cheeks in his palms and silken tresses between his fingers and the moan from your throat, he was done for. And just like that, he had emptied himself down your throat. And his body was a jittering, twitching mess. It had been the fastest time he had ever cum, he couldn’t even masterbate himself that fast. He had been so embarrassed but not exactly surprised. But once you had swallowed it all down and happily kissed your way back up to him, reassuring him that you had still enjoyed yourself and had had fun- he was ok. Still embarrassed but ok. 

And it was a start and you were proud of yourself for gaining more experience and skill in that department ever since, and he was still in awe every time you tried and succeeded. Because while you had both taken each other’s virginities, to learn you and your tastes had been his greatest delights, and on par for as much joy and delight you had taken in learning him and what he liked and what he wanted and needed from you. 

And today, was again, something akin to business as usual, but not in any sense that it was dull, mundane, boring or taken for granted or heaven forbid- dreaded. On the contrary- it was the best part of his day and something he wanted to repeat as much as possible. Because the moment you were done eating, you were taking his hand and walking him to the back of the truck and closing the small door between the two front seats of the truck and the back of the big, boxy truck as he laid down ‘the jacket’ for you to sit on on the cleaned off bench before he was eagerly taking your pants and panties off with one hand and hung them up on the hook he had designated for them as you hopped up on the bench and spread your legs and pulled him in and kissed him and impatiently pushed your chest into his and pulled him in towards you. All while he was trying to hastily- yet proficiently sheath his cock in a condom so he could bury himself into the hilt into you. Even though you were officially on birth control, he didn’t want to take the chance until after you were married.

He barely had his pants and underwear down his mid thighs and kissing you hungrily. And in one quick but powerful thrust, he had succeeded in stuffing you full of himself as the condom hung on for dear life. He grabbed your hips with almost a bruising grip and pistoned his hips into yours while your legs crossed behind his waist as your arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders as you kissed each other passionately before you moved one of his hands up your scrub top to grab at your breasts that were aching to be squeezed by him, which he was all too happy to oblige. He used both hands to unhook your bra and push up your top and bra so he could bend you back just enough so his mouth could have purchase on your breasts, which he was delighted had somehow grown and developed even more now than they were when you first started dating as your body kept morphing back into that of a woman every time you could afford to gain weight between flares. 

Your moans and keens were music to his ears and his scalp welcomed the sensation of your fingers scratching through his hair and against his scalp as he feasted on your breasts while his cock stroked into you with enough force to make the truck rock just slightly as the tools and supplies clattered just a little in their spots. 

Then the almost all too familiar but heavily anticipated and eagerly awaited chain of events as he felt your body start to tense and writhe as you canted your hips so that he rubbed ever so deliciously inside you as you gasped and whined as your voice reached a desperate pitch. Your canal clenched around him as his movements sped up and hurtled you over the finish line as you embraced your orgasm as much as you were embracing him as you clung to him. You pulled yourself up and off the bench so that all of you could be touching him as he held you up by your ass, both hands dimpling the soft flesh as he growled and snarled as he reached his own orgasm as he buried himself deep and let loose, his own body going tense as you playfully bit at his neck which got him to moan in your ear as he changed his hold around you to hold you more comfortably and securely so you could loosen your hold and relax against him which you happily did. You let your forehead rest at the crux of his neck and shoulder and nuzzled your face into his chest as you relaxed and enjoyed the afterglow. 

He still smelled amazing. You could still smell the bodywash he used, and the shampoo and conditioner he used. And his mom’s laundry detergent and fabric softener and the hint of the cologne you had gotten him, and just him in general. Not to mention his rather divine heady sweat from hard work. In addition to the other scents of copper and PVC pipe and their primers and glues and wood and just work in general.

You had previously always associated the “work” scents with your dad and uncles and grandfathers. And growing up in the business, they were the scents of your childhood. 

But when you started courting Kihro and especially once you started having sex in all it’s forms in his truck, suddenly these scents took on new meanings, new facets and your appreciation and adoration of them deepened. And now you couldn’t smell these scents without thinking of Kihro and without getting at least a little turned on. Because now these were the scents you were associating with Kihro and your deep love for him. And now that they were mixed with Kihro’s own personal scent the smell of sex with him, they were the epitome of comfort and sexy now.  

“You still alive?” Kihro asked as he could feel you relax completely as he happily still held you while he recovered and basked in the afterglow too and every day, no matter how shitty, both literally and figuratively his day would get, lunch, especially one that gets to have you as his dessert is the greatest reward for his work and why he refused to get rid of this truck any time soon. Hell, he would rip this box off of the frame if he ever got into an accident or rebuild it from scratch if he had to- just to keep getting this before he gingerly set you back down on the bench. 

“Yeah, don’t worry, your cock isn’t the death of me, this time.” You teased with a giggle as you lifted your head and kissed him sweetly again before you pulled your phone out of your pocket in your scrubs as they hung up nearby and made a face. You only had a few minutes left before you’d have to get ready for your next appointment. 

“I don’t want to go back.” You complained as Kihro slowly untangled himself from you so you could both get redressed and straightened up after he took off the very full condom and tied it off and wrapped it in work towels and tossed it in the garbage on his truck to be taken out at the end of the day.

“Me neither, but I have three more jobs today.” Kihro confessed. 

“Yeah I have three more massages too. Then I can call it a day, I’ll meet you at the shop after ok?” You offered to him. 

“Sure, wanna grab dinner after? The Realtor sent me five more listings she wants to show us this weekend, now that she knows that we like the tri level and suburbia best, she has a few more lined up for us that should be closer to that than just all over the place.” He confessed. 

“Yeah, I was looking at them earlier. The one off of Emerald looked promising.” You offered hopefully. 

“Yeah, we’ll just have to see.” He nodded before you hugged him tight one last time once you were both fully put back together. 

“I love you Kihro, drive safe, can’t let anything happen to our shaggin wagon.” You murmured into his chest as you just hugged and held each other until the very last moment before you had to go back as the comment made you both laugh before his work radio went off. 

“Yeah, heaven forbid. Love you too Brie, see you after work.” He kissed the crown of your head and then gave you one last kiss goodbye before you reluctantly parted and went back into work to get ready for your next massage client as Kihro answered the questions from the operator about his next jobs and set his GPS to his next job site location. 

“So? How was it?” Meadow asked with a knowing grin. 

“Great, he got me Jimmy Johns again.” You answered rather innocently. 

“Yeah, no, I was referring to him getting you lunch and then you having him for lunch and him blowing your back out in the process because you’re walking like it.” Meadow murmured with a giggle as you smiled brightly and blushed bashfully.

“Oh that’s always excellent.” You giggled mischievously. 

“But do I wreak?” You asked self- consciously. 

“You smell like a plumbing truck and some good orc sex.” She answered honestly. 

“Of course I do.” You sighed as you took the Febreeze out of your purse behind the front desk and sprayed a ‘cloud’ of it and walked through it a few times to help mask the scent a little before your next client came in and you got back to work and thankfully it was enough to mask it enough to keep you from getting any probing or embarrassing questions about it from anyone else. 

When you were done with the massages and got the room ready for the next student- you texted your parents the news that the realtor had sent you and Kihro more potential houses and that you were going to meet him at the downtown branch and have dinner and go over them with him so not to expect you home for dinner. Which your parents were grateful for - the heads up which only helped them put faith and trust in you that you would be honest and forthcoming with what you were doing and who you were doing it with, which was a lesson Grace was having a difficult time learning as of late. 

“Hey Brie, how was the clinic today?” Shelly, the head receptionist at the Wright Plumbing Downtown Branch asked as she saw you park in the parking lot and come in- in your scrubs from school which was a very common occurrence and nearly every receptionist in the business was a client of yours especially when you promised you would get a massage chair and wheel it in as soon as you got your license but didn’t mind one bit being “homework” for now. 

“Tiring, is Kihro back yet?” You asked curiously. 

“No, he won’t be for a little while, but his dad is in his office.” She answered. 

“Is he busy?” You asked. 

“Just the usual paperwork.” She answered. 

“Cool. I’ll pop in and say hi.” You offered before you went to do just that only to be met with Kihro’s dad, Kidron poking his head out of his office. 

“Hey Hun, how are you?” He asked as he met you half way and gave you a good bear hug as you returned it just as tightly as you could manage because your soon to be father in law gave really great hugs. And while he had been reluctant at first he warmed right up pretty quick and was surprisingly gentle and thoughtful with you the way he was with his own daughters which you appreciated and his insights on his son were invaluable. 

“Good, just got done with the clinic for the day, Kihro said to meet him here to go over the new listings the realtor sent us over dinner.” You answered cheerfully. 

“Oh yeah? Anything sticking out so far?” Kidron asked curiously. 

“Actually yeah, if you have a moment, I wanted to ask you about a few of these.” You proposed. 

“Absolutely, I’ll always make time for you Darlin’.” Kidron reassured you as he brought you into his office and you showed him the listings before he looked them up on his computer and gave you feedback on whether he or anyone else had ever worked in those neighborhoods and what the houses were like as you sat in Kidron’s other chair that usually was set on the other side of the desk but that he had happily moved so you could sit next to him, both of you looking at his computer screen as Kihro came back and suddenly took up the door frame. 

“So, what are we scheming?” Kihro teased you and his dad. 

“Looking at what that realtor sent you as potential houses. She got a couple of good ones, a few I wouldn’t bother looking at, but that’s my two cents, you two get to make your own decisions though.” Kidron reassured his son. 

“Which ones shouldn’t I bother looking at?” Kihro asked curiously. 

“Oh the ones…” Kidron began as he gave the addresses of the ones you and him and looked up together as Kidron could see potential issues just from the pictures as Kihro took mental notes of what his dad was saying as you had already taken notes in your ‘future house’ notebook in your more ‘legible’ handwriting for him to read later.  

“What did your dad say?” Kihro asked you. 

“Well, at first he insisted that you and I should form our own opinions when we go in person. But he also said that we may want to look into registered sex offenders and possible drug busts in a few of the locations, in fact they were the same exact locations your dad flagged.” You answered.

“Sadly those are things everyone has to carefully consider these days.” Kidron sighed tiredly. 

Once Kihro was done handing in his paperwork, and cleaned out his truck and restocked it since he had already gone to a store to restock his truck with supplies he had sold that the office didn’t have the space to carry before he came back in for the night before he finally clocked out for the day. 

Kihro took you to a place within walking distance of the shop that the two of you frequented a lot as you were happy to walk beside him to the place. 

“So are any of the other ones piquing your interest?” Kihro asked. 

“Actually, yes…” You began before you went over the different ones that had struck your fancy and interest as you cuddled into his side so he could look at the screen of your phone as you welcomed Kihro’s arm wrapping around your shoulders gratefully as his fingertips softly drew absentminded designs on your upper arm as he looked at your phone between sips of beer as his attention was torn between paying attention to you and how excited you were talking about these potential houses and the actual information you were conveying before your conversation went to wedding plans. 

“So which do you like better?” You asked him as you showed him the different styles of wedding invitations as it seemed your previous thoughts of having ‘a small private wedding’ and ceremony, had changed. Because both Kihro and yourself had become swayed by Kihro’s parent’s and his clan’s insistence that the whole clan be invited and of course your parents had wanted to invite everyone who had been invited to your birthday/graduation/surprise engagement party would also be invited to your wedding and the bigger it got, the further it got pushed back until Kihro insisted that- barring major medical complications, to put your foot down on a date, which was finally accepted. But you were delighted when neither you, nor Kihro lost any control of the event. So that it was still very much, your wedding. And no one else's. So now your wedding was going to be in what felt like a millenia, but would actually be in a year and a half, which felt like a small millenia right now. But for how much work there was to do with it, you were almost grateful for the time. 

Your parents were splitting what was left of your college fund, since massage school was much cheaper than a four year college would be, and using the vast majority of the rest of it to help with the downpayment for a house and a tiny fraction to help pay for the wedding itself. 

Kihro’s parents had no such college fund set up for Kihro since he had never expressed interest in being anything other than a plumber or any other kind of builder but they had started college funds for Kihro’s other siblings. But they were also donating a large chunk of money towards the downpayment and paying for ‘the clan side of things and other ‘groom’s side’ things for the wedding as the Clan was happy to also contribute to it as well since it was a huge point of pride for them as well to gain such a precious new Clan Member in you and your family. While your parents paid for ‘the bride’s side’ of things. All while both of you were encouraged to save all your money for your house and furnishing said house. 

Still the house to beat was the tri-level with all those bedrooms and bathrooms and room and space. Granted it needed updating and a face lift here and there. But it was the best and ‘biggest bang for your dollar’ so to speak and your gut told you that it was the one, which Kihro shared that feeling. And the potential to get it and really use the opportunity to give it cosmetic changes and updates gave you much more freedoms to make the house your home was getting to be the biggest temptation so far. 

That weekend, you and Kihro continued to look at the other houses, both of you comparing all of them to that trilevel you both loved so much and while you did find another with equal potential and another that was updated and had already gotten facelifts and was much more ‘move in ready’, but it was smaller, and in higher priced neighborhood that had a firm ‘no backyard chicken’ rule and you found that to be your deal breaker. 

So after meeting with Kihro’s parents, and yours and the realtor and the banker, you made an offer for the tri-level, the one that had all the potential and space and freedom to get a backyard chicken coop and a fenced in yard and space for a greenhouse and a good sized garden and the big garage that was half garage and half workshop. 

And that was the most stressful process because of all the other offers and bids for it too from four other couples. That you had to outbid over asking price. 

But thanks to your parent’s supplemental money and Kihro’s parent’s supplemental money as well as Kihro’s and your own- for the downpayment, you, by a miracle, managed to outbid the other five couples who also put in bids for the house and got it, by offering 15 thousand dollars over asking price. Which was the highest and most handsome bid that there was and the other four couples couldn’t top it. 

And thanks to having so much cash to put down for it, it meant that you only needed to finance less than half of it and immediately got a very handsome home equity loan for home improvements and set a closing date so that Kihro could move in first and begin home improvements before the wedding when you would ‘officially’ be moving in yourself. 

And, that day was one of the happiest days of your life so far. 

You happily signed on the dotted line next to Kihro’s name on all the paperwork. Granted, in your maiden name, and it could be changed to your married name once you did get married. Finally, you had a house, a home, and something that would sooner than later be your new home and something that was truly and wholly yours, that you could share with the love of your life, Kihro, who had always been your hero. A true Hearth and Home. You had never cried so many happy tears.

[thecandywrites]

god I fuckign love ocs. my characters. my friend's characters. the characters of mutuals ive never spoken to. the characters of artists ive followed and maybe spoken to a little more. the characters of complete strangers I see in passing and think "aw that's cool". if you have ten fans I am one if you have one fan it is me etc etc. I love you

[thecandywrites]

I need to be kidnapped by kind aliens who take me to the alien vet and they know exactly what's wrong with me and they cure me and feed me nutritious meals

[thecandywrites]

I will be 70 years old and I still will never have gotten over the time the Mythbusters used a rocket powered steel wall to - and I use this word as literally as possible - vaporize an entire car into red mist

[thecandywrites]

[thecandywrites]

You were the caretaker for the mythical beasts of the royal family. Yesterday they decided to replace you with some incompetent noble, before kicking you out of the castle. You then spent the night in a nearby forest. However today you were awakened by the beasts who chose to follow you.

[thecandywrites]

I love representation of monster fuckers in movies

[thecandywrites]

This is absolutely precious

[thecandywrites]

i keep seeing this cut off but the preceding “yessiree” is vital to it imo

[thecandywrites]

[thecandywrites]

[thecandywrites]

[thecandywrites]

me trying to convince myself that the whole spectrum of human emotions is a good and necessary thing to feel even if its not comfortable while im actively experiencing emotions that make me feel like my bones are being dissolved in acid