#he better have people babying him tonight and giving him hot soup and tea with honey and vitamin c and idk ginseng

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || Looking After You [TW] [Request]

A/N: I put this as [TW] as I know some of the themes of not eating can be trigger to some people so please be warned about that. I love you guys xx [BTS X GenderNeutral!Reader] 

Seokjin:

It didn't take Jin forever to catch on to the fact that you hadn’t been eating great again, he'd been busy with comeback season he hadn't been home to cook and you didn't want to cook if it was only going to be you eating everything. You were living off soup and crackers and that was the only meal you would have,

"What did you have for breakfast?" Jin questioned when he came home earlier than expected that night. You shrugged your shoulders not being able to remember the last time that you'd even had breakfast,

"I think I just had soup at dinner," You said before going back to folding up laundry, Jin stared at you. He really stared at you trying to tell if you were losing weight or if it was just him and he sighed,

"I'm cooking tonight." You watched him as he then began hunting around the kitchen for everything he would need to make dinner for you both. It wasn't that big a deal, you just didn't see the point in cooking yourself a huge meal for only you to eat it, if Jin was home more often you would have done it but hed hardly been home in weeks.

"I'll make your favourites okay?" He asked it wasn't a question though. He was telling you what he was going to make and you were going to have to accept it so you hummed and went into the kitchen to help him cook.

"No, no, you go and finish the laundry and find us something to watch. I will cook." He kissed your head and sent you out of his kitchen so that he could work peacefully. He loved looking after you and being able to cook for you he just wished it was under different circumstances, where he would just randomly cook for you instead of feeling like he was forcing you or reminding you to eat. He made a mental note to himself to start taking a homemade lunch to work so he could leave you something to eat during the day.

Yoongi:

Yoongi felt terrible that had hadn't even been the one to notice that you weren't sleeping, he'd been so busy with work that he'd been sleeping at the studio most nights while you were at home. He assumed you'd be sleeping, you had troubles with sleep in the past and he knew that he just thought you'd gotten over it and he'd been so busy he hadn't noticed but when Namjoon came to tell him that he'd gone to see you that morning and you were passed out asleep in the kitchen Yoongi knew there was a problem. He rushed home to go and see you forgetting everything at work because nothing was more important to him than you were.

"Baby? You okay?" He questioned when he walked into the living room, you were sitting on the sofa with your chin in your hand struggling to keep your eyes open as you stared at the TV. You wanted to sleep and you needed to sleep but it was as if when you finally got ready to sleep your body hit you with a burst of energy and you couldn't.

"Sleepy." You mumbled before getting up from the sofa and rushing into the living room when you heard the alarm going off, he watched you closely wondering what you were doing when he heard a scream and a pan clutter against the floor.

"Babe!" He yelled coming into the kitchen to see you holding your hand as you tried not to cry, he could already see that your hand was starting to bleed a little from the hot pan you'd touched without a towel,

"Tap," He yelled, he was panicking a little as you started to let out tears of pain, he turned the cold tap on rushing you over to hold your hand under the freezing cold water,

"What were you thinking?" He asked as he looked at the tray of food on the floor, it could be cleaned up later when your hand was taken care of.

"I- I had to cook so I was trying to make sure nothing got burnt." You let out a whine and he sighed, he hated seeing you like this. You hadn't been this bad in a long time,

"Why didn't you tell me you hadn't been sleeping well?" He questioned as he went over to the food and began cleaning it up, you shook your head telling him that it was no big deal and that you'd hardly noticed.

"Namjoon found you asleep with your head on the kitchen table, don't tell me you didn't notice." You had noticed but you didn't want to go to Yoongi, he was busy with his own problems and you didn't want to bother him with any more than you had to.

"Baby, you're not bothering me at all." He took a look at your hand, it would be fine once he applied some cream and wrapped it up,

"I'm going to wrap you up and then we're going to go upstairs and sleep, okay?" You nodded at him, he and you both knew you slept a thousand times better with him as your side.

Hoseok:

You could look after yourself but sometimes you would slip up, forget to eat sometimes because you were so busy with work or you wouldn't go to sleep because something was due in with your boss the next day. You didn't see it as a big deal since you'd lived your entire life like this but Hoseok saw it as a huge deal,  he saw it as you skipping your meals and not sleeping which could lead to bigger problems. You could start falling asleep at work, on the drive to work or even worse passing out due to the lack of food in your system. He wanted to talk to you about it before it got any worse,

"Babe?" You jumped when you heard his voice coming from behind you, you didn't even know he was home yet.

"Sorry, I thought you heard me." He chuckled seeing the shocked expression on your face, you were almost as jumpy as he was when it came to people sneaking up behind you like that.

"It's fine, do you want something to eat?" You questioned going back down to the papers you were holding and he shook his head, taking them from you slowly.

"I wanted to talk to you about something, this actually." He said as he gestured to the papers you were staring at in his hands.

"It's my report for this week's interns, my boss wants me to file them tonight so I have to-" You stopped when you saw the pained expression on his face,

"You've barely eaten and you haven't slept all week as far as I've seen," You scoffed at how he was overreacting,

"I've slept-"

"How much?" You knew it wasn't the average amount of sleep someone should be getting but you'd been busy, you were getting enough to keep yourself stable in the day but you knew that answer was only going to upset him more.

"Hobi-"

"How much sleep are you getting a day?" He was standing his ground, you looked at the floor not knowing what to say without upsetting him and he sighed bringing you into a hug.

"We talked about this before-"

"I know, I just...I've been overworked and trying to stay on top of everything," You whispered but he just continued to hold you while you softly cried into his chest.

Namjoon:

"This is Namjoon speaking yes," Namjoon said down the phone as an unknown number called him,

"They what? Yeah, I'll be right there." He locked his phone and frantically began looking around his studio for some car keys,

"Namjoon what's going on?" Jungkook asked the leader, he'd never seen him look so scared before and it was starting to worry him.

"Y/n got into an accident, I have to go and get them from the hospital." He didn't have time to explain anything he just rushed out of the studio dropping the song he was working on for a later time, there were too many things rushing through his head right now.

"Namjoon. I'm fine." You groaned as he looked at the cast that was on your arm, he stared at you like you were insane.

"You could have left me at home." You mumbled as you laid on the sofa of his studio. He'd gone to the hospital, got you and took you straight to the studio so he could keep an eye on you.

"So you could neglect sleep again? I don't think so, go to sleep now." You rolled your eyes at him, you hadn't slept in two days and everyone was treating you like it was a huge deal.

"You fell asleep at the wheel, you could have hurt yourself or someone else." What he was forgetting was that the car accident wasn't even your fault, you were in a parking lot and someone went into the back of you breaking your arm when the airbag went off. The man was doing 40 mph in a parking lot what did he think was going to happen, you were lucky your handbrake was on and you hadn't turned on the engine or it could have been worse.

"I wasn't even driving, the engine wasn't on-"

"No excuses, what if you had been driving?" You knew he was right and the cast on your arm was a painful reminder of that. You stared down at the cast and then over at Namjoon. You could tell that what had happened was stressing him out so you laid down on the sofa and pulled one of his blankets over your body.

"Just don't do it again, you scared me." He whispered coming over to you and giving you a kiss on the head.

Jimin:

Jimin walked into the house at 4 in the morning to see you sitting in the living room covered in paint and standing in front of a giant canvas in front of you. You were oblivious to the world as you painted away your feelings with your earphones in, he knew that you were behind in your class but he didn't come home and expect you to be painting at 4 in the morning when he'd left at 6 am the previous morning and you were in the same position.

"Baby?" He called out walking behind you and pulling the earphone out from you ear, you looked shocking and he meant it in the nicest way he could. You didn't look like you'd slept for two days, you were covered in paint, different types by the looks of it and you were staring at him.

"What's up?" You were completely blind to what time it was, you figured it would just be a late-night instead of early morning.

"What's up?! It's 4 am why are you awake?" You frowned looking down at the time before yelling that you were late, you'd spent all week working on this painting for it to be late anyway?!

"Shit Jimin, I'm going to fail! It was due four hours ago!" You cried out finally letting the exhaustion take over your body. Tears rushed down your face as you tried to call your professor and beg to be able to get it handed in late but there was no answer,

"Fuck!" You whimpered looking at the painting which wasn't even finished yet anyway, you still had to add some finishing touches to it and yet you were behind.

"Babe! Relax!" Jimin said holding you in place as you frantically tried to call your professor but it was going straight to voicemail, he took the phone from your hands and threw it onto the sofa.

"I need to call her Jimin if this is-"

"Relax, look at me and breath. When was the last time you went to sleep?" He was searching your eyes as you panicked looking around the room trying to remember,

"I...I can't remember." You stuttered out and he sighed sinking down onto the floor with you in his arms,

"We need to get you some sleep, we'll call your professor in the morning and explain everything but you have to sleep."

"I need a bath-"

"In the morning, I'll change the sheets okay. Bed. Now." His tone was laced with authority and you knew he meant what he was saying so you followed him towards the staircase.

Taehyung:

Taehyung had hardly seen you that week, whenever he was getting in from the studio you'd already left to go to work, then whenever you got home he was going to the studio. Two ships passing in the night, but you made it work. You'd text one another to let the other know what was going on in their day or night and were planning a date night but something was off. Whenever Taehyung would come home to sleep off his day at the studio it hadn't looked like you'd slept in the bed at all, at first he figured it was just because you made it but then he began to notice how stressed you were in your texts. He took the day off work that day to surprise you but when he expected you to come home that you didn't, you were late in.

"Taehyung? What are you doing here?" You asked sleepily as you dropped a stack of papers onto the coffee table in your living room, he stared at it and then at you. It only confirmed what he'd thought, you hadn't been sleeping much.

"I took the day off, you're late home." He was trying to make himself seem calm about the stacks of paperwork you had to do,

"I was trying to get through that, a cleaner came by and told me they were locking up. I'm going to get on with it before I go to sleep," You told Taehyung as you nodded at the papers,

"No. You're going to come up to bed and sleep," He frowned not wanting you to make yourself any more tired than you were.

"It's due tomorrow Tae-"

"That's insane, where are the other employees?"

"Fucking the boss so they don't get shunned with paperwork." You yawned sitting down on the floor to work when he came over and knelt down in front of you,

"You're not going to get all of this done tonight. Come to bed," You shook your head at him explaining that if it wasn't done he could fire you,

"Then we'll sue him for dumping all of the work on you when there are other people who are quite capable." You knew he was right and you sighed not having the energy in you to fight him on anything right now,

"Sleep." You whispered happily as he helped you up from the floor and carried you in the direction of the stairs.

Jungkook:

When Jungkook was away on tour you slipped a little, turning to live on Ramen noodles instead of proper meals because you didn't see the point in making a large meal for one person and the rest to go to waste. Plus, Ramen was great and it was quick and easy for you to do while you were on the move for work which had you rushed off your feet since they began letting people go. You told Jungkook everything was fine and he had nothing to worry about which was one of the biggest lies you'd ever told him in your relationship, everything was not fine. The apartment was a mess and you were starting to get sick due to the lack of vitamins, proteins and everything else you needed from food to keep you running properly. The front door to your apartment opened and Jungkook dropped his bag on the floor seeing clothes everywhere, he was shocked to see the apartment in worse shape than the dorms used to be in. He called out for you but realised you must have been at work, he started cleaning up the house as a nice surprise for you when he found the ramen packets in the bin he knew instantly you'd lied to him about being fine.

You hadn't even noticed Jungkook's car in the driveway, you were too tired from work and too sick to car. It wasn't until you walked into the house and smelt food cooking that it hit you that you weren't alone,

"Kookie?" You whispered seenig him in the kitchen, he took one look at you and you knew you were in trouble. He had the same look of disappointment that he got whenever you were in trouble with him.

"You told me everything was fine, that you were okay!" You sighed as he started yelling and he relaxed knowing it was the last thing you needed right now,

"I ran you a  bubble bath, add some more hot water. By the time you're done food will be ready," You thanked him for what he was doing and he took his head at you promising it was what boyfriends did.

"Go and get in the tub, please." You kissed him before heading in the direction of the bathroom wondering what you did to get such an amazing and caring boyfriend all to yourself.

Tagline:

 @writingdreamsnottragedies @snowy-meowl @jooniesdarlingdimples @lyoongx @mitzwinchester​ @fan-ati--c​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​  @innersooya​

#bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts reaction #bts reactions #seokjin #seokjin x reader #jin #kim seokjin #min yoongi #yoongi #yoongi x reader #suga #jhope #jung hoseok #hoseok #hoseok x reader #kim namjoon #namjoon #namjoon x reader #park jimin #jimin #jimin x reader #kim taehyung #taehyung #taehyung x reader #jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook x reader

[katefiction]

Revolution, Part 1

by katefiction (Maria) / 2014

It was a boiling hot day, the day before. I remember because George���s cheeks were bright red all day long. I’d had to resort to stripping him down to a vest and his nappy to keep him cool. It didn’t help that he’d recently discovered how to run. Every fourth step, he would lose his balance and fall to the floor, but he was so happy using his legs, chasing Lupo around the apartment and screeching as he went.

‘George, come here!’ I shouted, grabbing his arm as he ran past me.

I wiped his face and back down with a cold flannel, and made him sip on some water.

‘Ok, go’ I said, releasing him into the wild again.

The air conditioning had broken down a month back, or been switched off. We didn’t know which, but suspected the latter. We had been strongly advised not to open any windows, it would be “inviting trouble”, they had told us.

We’d had to make do with a few portable fans, but that wasn’t enough to cool down our twenty-room home. We decided instead to use only the rooms we needed and it was beginning to feel like a cage. Of course, I would never say that out loud.

With George occupied by Lupo, I sat myself down on the couch with a glass of iced tea. I never thought I’d be this kind of person. A housewife with nothing better to do than sit at home all day and watch daytime TV. But there I was expertly flicking through the channels, deciding between a DIY makeover show and a chat show. The news channels weren’t an option for me, I was sick to the teeth of the constant discussion; the repetition; the poring over of every detail hour after hour.

It was only when George commanded my attention that I snapped out of my zombie like state.

‘Da!’ he shouted, throwing his blue rhinoceros stuffed toy at my feet.

‘Georgie, don’t throw poor Ronald, that’s not nice’ I grabbed the toy and cuddled it to my chest, prompting George to reach out his little chubby arms.

I handed Ronald back to him and he smiled for a second or two before throwing him down again. ‘Da!?’

Ronald was a gift from William, and had quickly become George’s favourite toy. So much so, that he sat in George’s cot every night, standing guard over him.

‘Da? Da! Da?!’

‘Baby, he’s not home yet’, I scooped him up off the floor for a kiss and a cuddle, but he quickly wriggled out of my grasp.

Much to my annoyance, George had said ‘Da’ before he’d said ‘Mu’, which were his names for us. William had revelled in the fact that it was his first word, taunting me about it with the perseverance of a woodpecker.

Forcing myself off the couch, I decided to start on dinner. When I opened the fridge however, it was all but empty. A few vegetables sat limply in the bottom drawer and milk for George was lined up on the shelves. I sighed and slammed it shut. In the kitchen cupboard were a few cans of soup that we could eat with some bread. It riled me to see our kitchen so barren.

William came home at five, just as I was deciding between tomato and leek and potato for the third time that week.

‘Hey’ he said, leaving the door ajar for a few seconds to let some air in. His face was so tired, with dark patches under his eyes as if a storm cloud were shadowing his face.  

‘Hey, how was it?’

He rubbed his worn face with his hand. ‘They won’t budge’

I sighed and turned away from him, ‘did you ask when our food would be delivered?’

‘I forgot’

For days I regretted how I acted next, wondering if it was that which pushed him over the edge.

‘William, I asked you to do one thing!’

‘I had more important things to think about’, he said, too tired to argue.

‘More important than feeding your son?’

‘Not tonight Kate, please…’

I slammed the can of soup down on the counter and tried to pull the ring pull back, but it wouldn’t move.

‘For God’s sake!’ I muttered under my breath.

William came over to me, his body hot from the searing heat, ‘leave it, we’ll order pizza’

‘We can’t live on takeaway’ I said unreasonably.

‘George’s got puree in the freezer; we can cope with pizza tonight. I’ll sort the groceries tomorrow, I promise’

I leant back into his chest and closed my eyes, ‘I’m sorry’

‘So am I’ he said, pushing his mouth into the top of my head.

‘So, what did they say?’ I asked finally.

‘The decision was final, all my engagements are cancelled, and I’m not to be seen in public until they say so’

‘Didn’t Jamie try and convince them?’

‘He was out-numbered; there was nothing he could do’

Over the last two months, our court had been slowly transformed with letters of resignation coming in every couple of weeks, until there was only Jamie left of our original staff. He was supposed to have all but left, but loyally, he’d stayed on. In place of our trusted advisers had come strangers who were now advising us that we shouldn’t even leave our home.

‘We need to get rid of them, we can do with just Jamie for now’ I said.

‘That would be admitting defeat; we can’t do without a court’

‘Do you trust them?’

‘I don’t know’. He pulled the pizza menu from the letter rack and sat down at the breakfast bar.

That was when I knew we were in trouble. William had always been so sure of the people around him. Like a sniper, he would seek out anyone he couldn’t trust and cast them out. But that night, he was worried and he couldn’t do a thing about it.

*

The history books will tell you that the Revolution began on May 6 2014, when the general election was called a year early. Britain had gone to the dogs with riots flaring up around the country over benefit cuts, energy prices and unemployment to name just a few.

Those of us that lived through it will tell you that it had started years earlier. The recession hit the country hard, and May 6 was the eruption of all those years of struggle. When the Green Party came into power that day, with its promise of a new prosperous Britain, it bought with it republican ideals.

The Republic had campaigned against the monarchy for years, but it wasn’t until that May that the British public stood up and took notice. The first months of 2014 were harsh and aggressive with rains and storms hitting our little island with no mercy. People were being forced out of their homes as the rain water crept in, ominously seeping under the doors and destroying everything it touched. Every penny was being whittled away by fuel and food, and the country had had enough of the government that had failed to protect them. By May, it was at breaking point, and the Republic seized their chance to use it against our family, so warm and dry in our fortified homes.

WE ARE PAYING FOR THE MONARCHY TO FEAST WHILE WE STARVE! They shouted, mounted on the lions of Trafalgar Square.

The protests intensified, with echoes of the 2011 summer riots rising once again. Outside all the palaces in London, masses stood, placards in hand, calling for the abolition of the institution that had served their country almost a thousand years. Little children who had once been so excited to meet us, now chanted along with their mothers and fathers. My little family of three hid behind our four walls, watching from the window as the police attempted to turn them away. But this wasn’t a violent protest; it was controlled, thought out and passive aggressive.

‘What do they think will happen?!’ I appealed to William. ‘We’ll just throw money out of the windows, chuck in some priceless paintings and jewels, and that will solve this country’s problems?!’

‘They want us to disappear’ he said gravely, stepping back from the window. ‘We represent sickening wealth, it doesn’t’ matter that we’re trying to help. Come away from the window before you’re seen’

We continued our engagements as best we could, our police protection bumped up just in case. But this only angered them more. The two princes, once so loved for their ‘normal’ personas and giving natures were now brandished all over the papers as spoilt and useless. No amount of PR could turn them back.

In June the Queen left for her summer holiday early under the cover of darkness. No one, not even William, knew if she was truly in Scotland.

That was when the Revolution hit us. With Her Majesty gone, our staff left one by one. Our engagements were cancelled and we were told to stay inside for our “own safety”.

It was the beginning of the end.

*

Unlike our groceries, the pizzas arrived promptly, Americana for me and Margarita for William. As I laid out the food on the table, I listened to him over the baby monitor putting George to bed.

‘Ok GB, it’s way past your bedtime’, he said, as George drank down his milk. ‘You are a greedy guts, aren’t you? Look how fast you’ve drunk your milk’

George babbled in reply.

William couldn’t wait for the day that he and George could have full blown conversations, and neither could I. I hoped it would stop William giving him a new name every week. There was ‘GB’ or ‘Team GB’, an acronym ‘Giant Baby’ in reference to our baby’s 8lb, 6oz weight at birth and ‘Grumplestiltskin’ was for when he was tired and grumpy.

Then there were the names he gave me. ‘Mum-a-tron’ was his current favourite.

‘Just like Daddy aren’t you, big appetite…now where’s Ronald?’

I heard him stand up, the creak of the rocking chair audible in our state of the art monitors.

‘Ah ha, there he is. Ronald’s going to look after you, isn’t he? He’ll protect you no matter what, I promise’

I heard him kiss George and put him into his cot. He didn’t leave the room right away, and I knew he was standing over the cot looking at his son as he so often did when he had something on his mind.

‘Dinner’s up’ I said when he returned to the kitchen.

We took it over to the couch and William immediately put on the news as he had done most nights for the last couple of months. I sighed inwardly.

‘Shall we put something else on tonight?’ I asked hopefully.

‘I just want to watch this for a bit’, he replied, ignoring me.

‘Will, please, can we just have one night without thinking about all this?’ I pointed to the TV, where a member of the Republic was arguing with the presenter about taxation.

‘This is my only source of information, they aren’t telling me anything’ he said scornfully.

I sat back into the sofa, defeated by William’s stubbornness. He was right, though, because an hour later, a breaking news bulletin flashed up on the screen.

PRINCE CHARLES AND THE DUCHESS OF CORNWALL LEAVE BRITAIN

I jolted up from my slumped state as the presenter read from the auto cue that had evidently just popped up in front of her.

‘Aides to the Prince of Wales have confirmed he has left Britain for an undisclosed period. They have declined to reveal his location but confirm that the Duchess of Cornwall is with him. It comes after the Queen left for her annual holiday two months early allegedly due to increasing pressure from the public and the campaign group Republic. Royal sources this evening have revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Prince Harry remain in the UK’

The TV was the loudest sound in the room, but my ears were focussed on William’s breathing next to me. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and wordlessly called his father. I watched as his eyes darkened and his breathing intensified. After a few seconds, he ended the call.

‘What happened?’ I asked cautiously.

He didn’t answer me, and instead called Jamie.

‘Jamie, did you see the news? … I just tried, his phone has been disconnected … did you know? … Should we be worried? … OK, I will, bye’

‘What did he say?’

‘It’s the first he’s heard of it. He hasn’t heard from Papa’. His face was so full of worry, I just wanted to reach over and comfort him. But I knew when William was stressed, he needed time to himself.

‘What now?’

‘We stay inside until they tell us otherwise’

My phone buzzed on the sofa arm. It was my mum calling.

‘Tell her we’re ok, but nothing else’ William said, spotting the caller display, ‘we don’t know if our phones are being watched’

I reluctantly did as he said. I wanted more than anything to leave that place right then and go to stay with my parents. But something in William’s tone told me to leave my family in safety.

William, meanwhile paced around the apartment double checking every window and shutting all the curtains. He locked every door he could too.

 ‘Should we go to the panic room?’ I said anxiously when he returned.

The panic room was a high tech protected zone disguised as a normal room – in our case it was hidden behind our walk in wardrobe.

 Suddenly he softened, coming over to me and taking me in his arms, ‘don’t be silly, you’re perfectly safe’

‘Then why are you locking us in here?’

‘As a precaution. As long as I’m here, you’re protected. The only time you’ll need that room is if I’m not’

I knew he was trying to placate me, and I let him because I didn’t want him to know I was scared. Looking back, I know he was doing the same thing.

We went to bed that night anxious but comforted by each other’s presence. After touching base with Harry, I insisted we bring George into our room for the night and we placed his cot as close to the bed as possible.

‘I’m sure your father’s tried to get in touch’ I began.

‘Tomorrow…we’ll talk about it tomorrow’ he said quietly, consumed by his own thoughts.

Somehow, we managed to fall asleep. It was a sleep so deep that I didn’t hear a footstep or a whisper that night, let alone hear him leave.

*

I woke up to silence. It was 6am and my body clock told me that George would wake up and demand breakfast in half an hour. When I looked to my left and right, neither of my boys were there.

It wasn’t unusual for me to wake up and find William not there. He was a light sleeper, and often he would get up before George so he could be there as soon as he woke, allowing me half an hour extra in bed. Recently, he’d been waking up before the sunrise, unable to stay in bed a moment longer than necessary.

I told myself that they were probably in the living room in front of the TV, watching the news so I lay there for a peaceful fifteen minutes, letting my body get used to being awake.

Eventually, I got up and went straight to the living room, only to find it was empty. The kitchen merely had the empty pizza boxes and menu scattered on the counter. Lupo was asleep in his basket in the corner.

Confused and trying to push down a rising sense of panic, I headed to the bathroom, which was cold and lifeless.

George’s room, I thought resolutely, chastising myself for overreacting. I would sometimes find the two of them playing in there, toys scattered all over the carpet because George only had to point and William would get whatever he wanted down from the shelf. Never mind the twenty cuddly toys already on the floor.

The room was vacant.

It was then that my heart shot into my throat.

‘William?!’ I shouted to no reply. ‘George?!’

I rushed back into the bedroom, looking for a note, checking my phone, anything. William wouldn’t have taken George for a walk without telling me, not in the current situation and certainly not without Lupo.

I felt the bile start to rise to my throat, my body breaking out into a sweat with the panic. Stay calm, I willed myself, taking deep breaths and letting my heart slow down.

I closed my eyes, and organised my thoughts. I would go through every one of our twenty rooms methodically and then and only then would I allow myself to worry. Collecting the keys from the study, I went about unlocking every door that William had locked the night before, switching on the lights to make extra sure as William had drawn all the curtains.

When I finished without finding a thing, I went back to our bedroom and did what a panicked wife and mother would do. I tried ringing him.

His phone went off within seconds, still lying on his bedside table where he always left it. My face popped up on the screen as it rang, smiling brightly into the camera. I wanted to throw it against the wall.

What was I supposed to do next? Who was I supposed to call? My mind blurred with all the things I’d been told in my training for emergencies when I’d married William. He would know what to do, I thought, my frustration momentarily overtaking my fear. I had never felt as alone as I did in that moment, my child missing, and my husband not there to calm me down.  

We hadn’t planned what I’d do without him. ‘As long as I’m here, you’re protected’, he’d said the night before as if it was so simple.

Then, as if from nowhere, and in the most inappropriate of circumstances, a memory flashed through my mind. Every year we would join my family on holiday in the Caribbean. What I loved more than anything was standing in the crystal waters, the sun on my back, waiting for the warm waves to wash over my legs. No matter what was happening in my life – an imminent break up or a tough pregnancy – that moment was like hope rushing in.

Standing in my bedroom that day, sweat dripping down my face, the same sense of hope washed over my body, a force so strong it nearly pushed me backwards.

‘The only time you’ll need that room is if I’m not’

I hurled myself towards our walk in wardrobe. The door was closed and I knew immediately someone had been inside. We never closed that door.

Switching on the light, I hurried to the end of the long narrow room, which was lined top to bottom with shelves and rails of clothes, shoes and accessories. At the back end of the room, William’s suits hung immaculately in a row and I pushed them aside roughly to reveal a small, barely visible panel concealed within the wall.

There was a brass latch along the skirting board, and I struggled to remember where it was, fumbling my fingers along it until after what felt like an age, my finger landed on the piece of cold metal. Pulling it up, I heard the panel click and it jutted out, allowing me to slide it to one side.

Behind it hid a thick, heavy metal door. The last time I’d seen it was when we’d moved in. Security had shown us just how secure it was, the loud clunk of the four door latches filling the room. It did so again as I pushed down the handle, and breathed a sigh of relief as I found that it was unlocked. Pushing it open, I entered the room. The lights were cut out and the darkness engulfed me. My other senses strained to make up for the loss of my sight.

After a few seconds, I heard him, his tiny chest heaving in his slumber.

I stumbled around the tiny square room, running my hands clumsily along the wall until I found the light switch.

George was lying in the middle of the room. I hadn’t noticed when I rushed through the wardrobe, but the bottom draw from the large chest in the closet had been removed. It usually held my knitted jumpers, and now it held my baby.

I almost screamed with relief when I saw him lying there in his makeshift cot. Next to him was Ronald. I pulled him out as gently as I could but couldn’t help but squeeze him tightly.

‘Thank God, thank God’ I whispered, kneeling on the ground. ‘How did you get in here baby?’

George fussed in my arms, displeased to be woken up.

‘Where’s Daddy?’ I said trying to stay calm. ‘Where’s your silly daddy gone?’

Taking the room in, it revealed two phones, a radio transmitter, a box of emergency unperishable food, and a small portable toilet in the corner. But no William.

Taking George with me, I circled the apartment again, looking in every single room again for sign of him. I tried to convince myself that he’d just gone out for an emergency meeting or something, but the cold silence in our home told me different.

Returning to the panic room with a bottle of milk, some food and my phone, I decided we should stay in there until I decided what to do. After all, would it be overreacting to call the office, the protection officers even? He had only been gone a few hours at the most. I took Lupo with us too, who by that time, was just as awake as George, and I hoped that they would keep each other entertained while we waited for word from William.

George now fully alert and drinking his milk happily, climbed back into the drawer. If William were there, I knew he would’ve pushed George around in it, pretending it was a boat or a tank. I knelt beside him and noticed my hands trembling.

It was at that moment that I saw it, just as George joyfully threw Ronald from the drawer. Nestled between my knits; a note written haphazardly on a scrap piece of paper.

Don’t come looking. I’m sorry.

*

Jamie arrived within half an hour of my call; as if he was expecting it. With him were two of our new “advisers”. Steven, a tall lanky man in his early forties with sandy blonde hair and sharp features was calm and controlled. In comparison, the new press secretary, Alec, overweight and balding, had been loud and brash every time we’d had the misfortune to encounter him.

‘Ma’am’, they all said, Steven and Alec bowing their heads reluctantly.

‘What exactly happened Ma’am?’ Jamie said kindly, noticing my obvious distress to which the other two were oblivious.

I explained everything from start to finish, all the essential parts anyway. ‘There’s no reason that he would leave like this, something must’ve happened’ I said calmly as I could.

‘Let’s not go over the top here’ Alec said, his voice booming around the room, ‘there’s probably an explanation – have you tried calling him?’

‘Of course I have! He left his phone here’

‘With all due respect’ Steven said, chiming in, ‘it has only been a few hours, perhaps we should wait before jumping to conclusions’

‘I’m not jumping to anything; he would not leave us like this, not after yesterday’

‘And of course we’ll do our best to help’ Jamie said.

‘But we do have a lot on, you understand, we can’t go on a wild goose chase’ Alec looked pointedly at Jamie. ‘Tell me, where’s the little one?’

‘Asleep in the nursery’ I said cautiously. I didn’t like strangers getting too close to George, and as far as I was concerned, Steven and Alec were just that.

‘I believe the duke has been under a lot of pressure recently’ Steven said coldly, ‘perhaps his leaving has something to do with domestic matters?’

I grew hot with embarrassment and anger, ‘what are you insinuating?’

 ‘Did anything happen last night that might have encouraged him to leave?’

‘We had a tiny disagreement about not having any food in the house, but it was nothing’

‘Sometimes small arguments can cause people to re-evaluate things, especially with the big changes happening of late‘

‘My husband has not left me’ I said with a shaking confidence. ’Something has happened to him, besides he hasn’t taken a single thing with him’

Steven nodded patronisingly. ‘We’ll look into it’

‘Give it a few more days though’ Alec added.

I realised then that they were going to do nothing to help me find William. I looked to Jamie for back up.

‘I’ll be right behind you’ he said to the other two, who were making moves to leave.

‘We can wait’ Steven said, halting on the spot.

Jamie looked right at me, his eyes unwavering. It was as if he were trying to communicate something to me without words. ‘I’m sure he’s just fine, Ma’am’.

* 

The following days were filled with anxious waiting and little to no sleep. It had been seventy two hours since William had disappeared and I hadn’t heard a thing. I had tried countless times to convince Jamie that we should call the police. 

At first he told me that we had to wait twenty four hours before reporting a missing person. When those twenty four hours came and I rushed down to his office to make the call, he was apologetic, telling me we should wait a bit longer.

On the third day, I was back in his office yet again.

‘The problem is Ma’am, he left a note, so he’s not technically missing’ he said, wiping his brow, the heat still searing.

‘He’s been gone three days Jamie. You know as well as I do, something isn’t right’

‘I’m afraid the police won’t see it like that, they’ll agree that he left of his own accord’.

Stephen appeared from the adjoining office after hearing my voice. I had managed to avoid him and Alec for the past three days.

‘Is there anything I can help with?’ he said, his voice sending uncomfortable waves of nausea through me.

‘Nothing’ I said shortly.

I glanced in the direction of his office, finding something to focus on that wasn’t his sharp, sly face. He stepped to one side as if to block the doorway from my view. Our old staff kept their doors open for us, happy for us to know what they were doing and discussing.

‘Where’s the little’un today?’ he asked with an informality that was clearly against every bone in his body.

‘He’s being looked after’

‘By whom may I ask? I didn’t see your mother arrive’

Stephen and Alec had CCTV monitors installed in that office. Ever since the protests outside the palace, the security had been intensified. George’s nanny had been let go too, we couldn’t let her stay with us in potential danger no matter how much George loved her. I wondered whether Stephen and Alec’s concern was not really about who was coming in, but who was going out.

‘George is fine. Thank you’ I said.

‘If you insist. Ma’am’ He nodded curtly and slid back into his office.

I bolted up the stairs the minute I left the office. How could I be so stupid to leave George with someone outside the family?

‘Antonella!’ I yelled when I got into the apartment. ‘Antonella, where are you?’

The comforting smell of tomato and basil wafted from the kitchen, followed by the shuffling feet of our some-time cook and housekeeper. Jamie had finally convinced Steven and Alec to let her return after weeks of her not being allowed “for security reasons”.

‘Yes Ma’am’ she said, her tone one of constant worry nowadays.

‘Where’s George?’ I said irrationally and out of breath.

‘In his cot Ma’am, where you left him’

Clearly, Antonella was confused by my sudden change of attitude. Ten minutes previously, I’d asked her to watch George while he was napping so I could speak to Jamie.

I ran into the nursery to check on him, where he was splayed on his front like a starfish, gentle snores escaping his mouth.

‘You should probably go’, I said to Antonella when I returned to the kitchen.

‘But what about the din-‘

‘I said go!’ I shouted this time, my steady façade gone.

She didn’t hesitate, gathering up her things and scuttling out of the door.

It was only when the door clicked shut that I let myself crumple into a heap on the floor. I gathered my knees to my chest and sobbed into them, great wells of tears that had been bursting at the seams for three days. I had no idea where William was and no hope of finding him. I had been convincing myself that he wouldn’t leave us, but spanning my mind back, my bitchiness over the food and his stress that night made me doubt myself. Maybe he just wanted out.

I picked myself up and tuned off the stove, where Antonella’s pasta sauce was close to burning. I couldn’t bear to eat anything now.

*

That night, I sat on my bedroom window ledge, unable to sleep. Scrolling through William’s phone for the fiftieth time, I flicked through his picture album. Before George was born, I would tease him for only having six pictures stored in his phone, compared to my two hundred. But now, his was as full as mine, with shots of George from the day he was born to just last week when he was trying to climb on top of Lupo.

I looked out into the black night, wondering how he could have left all this. I thought about where he might go to escape.

Scotland, Windsor? Too close.

Kenya? That was his favourite place on earth, after all. But people knew him there now.

William had once told me, ‘I’d love to move somewhere where I could lose my identity, to be small fish in a big pond, a nobody’.

I had just laughed at him and told him he’d have a hard job finding such a place.  

I shook away the thought of him being far from me and focused back on the night he left.

Did he leave through the front entrance, the darkness of Kensington Gardens engulfing him so he wasn’t seen? Or perhaps through the back, scurrying into a car while we were all asleep?

As if knowing which exit he used would help me find him, I chided myself.

I stopped my thoughts in their tracks. There was a way I could know how he left, of course there was.

I wrapped George in a blanket, careful not to wake him and tip toed out of the apartment. It was almost midnight and all the staff had gone home, at least I hoped.

As I unlocked the office door, I silently thanked Jamie for giving me a key when William and I had married. Those days of transparency were long gone now, I knew that much. I headed straight to Steven and Alec’s annexed office, where this morning, Steven had been so unwilling to let me see inside. Mercifully, it was unlocked.

Suspended on the wall was a plasma screen split into twelve, each showing a different entrance of the palace. Now, there was no movement, but I knew if I looked for the tape from the night William left, I may just have something to see. Swopping George to my other arm, I pulled open the heavy drawer of the filing cabinet under the screen and found rows of cds all neatly labelled with dates. William disappeared on the 12th and my heart pace increased and I spotted the July section.

10th, 11th,   13th.

George whined in my arms as if sensing my distress.

‘Shhh baby, shh, Mummy’s here’

I knew there was no point looking for the missing cd, it was gone, most likely destroyed. It only confirmed my belief that I was swimming against the tide. Not only were these new advisers reluctant to help me, they were actively hiding information.

‘Yes it’s getting in the morning edition’ a voice said, coming from nowhere and startling me. ‘Ha! Runaway Prince, I like it’

It was Alec, and by the sound of it, he was out in the corridor.

I panicked, ducking down under Steven’s desk. George didn’t like the sudden movement and let out a cry.

‘Shhhh!’ I said holding his head close to my chest, my heart beating like a drum.

Alec continued. ‘What? Yeh I told them she’s frantic, prissy little bi-‘

George cried, louder this time.

I crouched lower, ‘please baby, be quiet for Mummy’ I whispered desperately.

I heard the outer office door creak and after a long pause, his breathing low and heavy, he finally spoke again.

‘Oh nothing…just a cat outside. Anyway, make sure you get the message to Redfern tomorrow, we don’t want him staging a comeback…’

Alec’s voice trailed off as he shut the door and left. I breathed a sigh of relief, planting kisses all over George’s face for keeping quiet when he really needed to.

*

Back in the apartment, I paced the lushly carpeted floor. Who was Redfern and what did he need to know? I’d never heard of that name, and desperately wanted to call Jamie to ask him. But I now realised the lengths Steven and Alec were prepared to go, and couldn’t risk using my phone.

My eyes were tired, deep bags forming under them, but I couldn’t sleep. Out of desperation and insomnia, I fired up the laptop and typed ‘Redfern’ into Google. The first couple of results were meaningless; a publishing house and a photographer with the name.

But the third caught my eye.

Redfern, Iowa

I clicked on the link.

Redfern is a town is Iowa, United States. The population in the 2010 census was 104.

I looked up from the screen, not daring to believe it, or to let myself hope.

‘I’d love to move somewhere where I could lose my identity, to be small fish in a big pond, a nobody’.

*

The sun had broken by the time I had worked out a way to contact Jamie without using my phone, which William warned me could have been bugged. A niggling feeling warned me to be careful. Maybe I couldn’t trust him either. But he was my only hope of finding William.

I hunted around in my underwear drawer and eventually found what I was looking for. Tucked into one of my socks was my old mobile phone, a Nokia to be exact. It was the very same that had been hacked all those years back. William would’ve been mortified if he knew I still had it, with all those messages still stored on there. But I couldn’t let it go, it was a potent memory of the days when our communication consisted of love yous and miss yous, unlike the last text I sent to him, which simply said Don’t forget to ask about the food.

I prayed that after all these years the old thing would be able to switch on, let alone make a call. By the time the phone had woken up, I had finished packing mine and George’s bags. I had started as soon as I’d decided that Redfern was the place I needed to go. Our bags consisted of a few clothes, as much cash as I could find, toys – Ronald of course – but mainly were filled with food and water.

It was only 5am, and feeling bad for Jamie, I delayed calling him for fifteen minutes by looking at some old text messages from William.

09/05/2006 : I can’t wait to see you baby  

How true that was now. I felt a tinge of fear that maybe I was wrong, maybe Redfern was something totally unrelated to where William had gone. I pushed the doubt aside, it was all I had left to cling on to.

*

The car pulled up quietly at eight am. Jamie had been furtive on the phone, worried about my state of mind. But I insisted and pleaded with him, and something told me he didn’t think my idea was as crazy as he made out.

‘Ok Georgie, time to go’ I said to him as he sat on the kitchen floor rolling a ball into Lupo and then shouting as if he expected him to roll it back.

Distracting myself from the fact that I was leaving my home seemed so easy when I had packing and last minute calls to make. It seemed ironic that the same phone that was infiltrated was now being used to avoid that very situation. I had explained to my family what was happening but declined to tell them where I was going. My mother was frantic.

‘Catherine, you can’t just disappear! How will we know you’re safe?!’

‘I’ll get in touch as soon as I can, I promise mummy’

It broke my heart to hear her so worried and upset, but I reasoned that if would be safer for them to not know where we were. I still didn’t know what I was up against. Harry hadn’t answered his phone but Jamie had promised to let him know where his brother was once we knew for sure.

Lupo sat solemnly on the kitchen floor as if he had heard me ask my mother to take him in. 

‘Ok boy, time to say goodbye’ I nuzzled my face into his fur but he didn’t respond. ‘Say bye bye to Lupo, George’

George waddled over and imitated me by patting him on the head. I forced back the lump in my throat. 

Carrying all three bags and George on my hip, I opened the door and looked around our home for one last time. Lupo trotted up to us and started scratching at my legs.

‘No boy, it’s just me and Georgie this time’ I pushed him down and said goodbye to him and to the life we once lived.

 *

After creeping through the servant’s corridors and out of a side door, George and I bundled into the car that was waiting for us. On the seat next to me was not Jamie as I expected, however.

‘Susannah, what are you doing here? Where’s Jamie?’ I asked, strapping George into his seat.

‘We thought it’d be safer if I came, I pretended I was going out for a morning jog and met the car on a side street’ she said.

Jamie’s wife sat next to me, a worried expression on her face.

‘You think you’re being watched?’ I asked.

‘Jamie thinks so, these ex-military types are suspicious of everyone though’, she let out a wry laugh.

‘I know the feeling’ I said, thinking of William and his intense dislike of Steven and Alec. That time he was right. 

As we set off, I tried to make conversation, ‘how did Jamie organise all this? I thought the whole palace was being watched’

‘Let’s just say there’s still some loyal people working for your family’ she smiled.

We made our way through the streets of London, I had no idea where the plane was that I’d be taking to Iowa or how Jamie managed to get it, but I didn’t ask. I was relieved enough to be away from Kensington. 

Driving around Green Park, Susannah handed me a newspaper she’d been clutching.

‘I don’t know if you’ve seen this Ma’am’

I unfolded the paper and read the headline. Exclusive! Runaway Prince! Prince William walks out on Kate.

I shut it with haste. So this was what Alec was talking about last night.

I said nothing and focused instead on our journey. The drive seemed to be taking us down the Mall and towards Buckingham Palace. As we got closer, a strange noise caught our attention. It was a mass cheering of some sort, but not the type I was used to when standing from that famous balcony. It was more like jeering. 

Getting closer to the palace, my eyes connected to the sound. 

Up on that balcony, which had been used for so many scenes of celebration was a large group of people waving their arms in victory.

Replacing the red and gold trimmed banner so often used on big occasions was something very different hanging from the the balustrade.

Blue, with a shocking pink cross struck through the middle. The Republic.

‘Good God, they’ve taken the palace’ Susannah gasped. 

From the windows of the palace, Republic flags were dotted around, flying proudly. 

On the ground, gone were the uniformed guards in their famous bearskin hats. People stood behind the golden gates cheering and shouting, and on the other side, members of the Republic pulled at the chains to let the masses in. News vans were just arriving to the scene.

We watched as the flag rose from the top of the building, where the royal standard used to fly, signifying their final victory.

‘We have to turn around, go a different route’ I heard Susannah say to the driver in panic ‘if they spot Their Royal Hignesses…’

‘Don’t call us that’ I said blankly.

Susannah looked at me but said nothing.

I kept my eves on the palace even as the driver turned the car around. Although I had only been royal for three years, the pain of watching the palace being seized throbbed through me. It was where we’d spent our first day and night as a married couple, where we’d danced all night on the wave of love and affection of the country. And now they celebrated, and no-one; no police, not even Her Majesty’s Armed Forces were there to stop them. 

‘It’s over, isn’t it?’ I whispered to no-one in particular.

George let out a long yawn, snapping me out of my daze. I turned to smile at him, he was looking out of the window, with not a care in the world. He was the spitting image of his father. It was then that I finally allowed to let myself think the unthinkable – what if we never found William, what if he was gone.

I held George’s hand, enclosing his chubby fingers in my palm as we escaped from the city.

It was just the two of us now, we were going to have to do this alone. 

‘Come on then’ I said, leaning in to him, ‘let’s go find your daddy’.

#katefiction #royal fanfiction #cambridge fanfiction #kate middleton

[deans-baby-momma]

Love Knows No Bounds

A/N: Okay guys. Here it is…..the new story I mentioned last night. After getting interest in it, I decided to go ahead and post it. First off, I want to tell you that this is a CONTINUATION to A Mother’s Love, which was written by @winecatsandpizza. Please read it first or you will be totally baffled. Also check out the rest of her Masterlist. Secondly, please do not judge or send hate. If this isn’t your cup of tea, then scroll on by. Third, as of right now this will be a 6 part series.  Thank you!!!

BUT PLEASE READ A MOTHER’S LOVE FIRST. The same warnings she lists go for this whole series. 

Part 1: A Mother’s Love

Part 2: Mother/Son Bonding

After his very eventful 18th birthday, Dean became addicted. Addicted to sex. With his mother. He relished the days that Sam was in school and his father was at work.  At least three times a week he would be buried balls deep inside his own mother’s hot pussy. He filled her over and over again. Mary was as hooked on fucking her son as he was. Some days they would be connected for hours. Orgasm after orgasm.

Dean became a master at making his mother explode on his tongue too. He knew all her sweet spots and would suck and nibble until she was trembling and begging to let her come. He drank her essence like it was his lifeline. And when Mary sucked him off and swallowed his juices he was in Heaven.

On the weekends when the house was inhabited by the other two oblivious Winchester men, Mary would make store runs with her oldest son. Bonding time, she would call it. Neither John nor Sam realized just how bonded Mary and Dean were. Drives to the store consisted of mind-altering blowjobs if Dean was behind the wheel. And if it was Mary, she’d pull her pants and panties to her ankles where Dean could be knuckles deep in her sweet cunt. This went on for years.

Now here Dean was preparing to turn 25; almost 7 years since he woke up to his mother giving him the best gift ever. John had rented a fishing cabin in the hills of Minnesota for the week. The lake there was packed full of every type of fish known to man. He had been excited to be able to have this family vacation; get out in the open air away from the haze and pollution of city dwelling. No, Lawrence wasn't a big city like, say New York or San Francisco but since Pratt Energy had built the chemical plant right outside city limits, the air wasn't as raw and natural as it was here. The morning of January 24th was crisp with a hint of possible snow but John could not wait to bundle up and be out on that lake, lines in the water. He woke his sons up at daybreak.

Dean, though, had other plans. He was reminiscent of that fateful day in 1997 and was dreaming on recreating it and what better way to go through with his plans than in a cozy, slightly romantic cabin in the woods; miles and miles away from other people. When his father came in just as the morning light shown through the curtains, Dean had already put his scheme in motion; sleeping in layers with a heating pad on high, just to feign a fever.

“Rise and shine Dean-o!” John said as he entered the room. “Time for some father-son bonding. The lake is providing our dinner tonight.”

Dean squinted his eyes against the onslaught of natural light. “Dad,” he rasped. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to go-” he faked a cough. “-my whole body aches and-”another cough. “-this. I think I should just stay here. Maybe mom can make me some of her tomato rice soup.”

John placed his hand on his son’s forehead and felt the heat emanating from his skin.

“Jesus kid. You’re burning up,” John exclaimed. “Yea, you stay here. Don’t need you keeling over in the boat and scaring supper away. I’ll let your mom know. She’ll be happy that she can still take care of you. Oh, happy birthday Dean. 25, right?”

“Yea dad. Thanks. Didn’t expect to spend my 25th in bed,” Dean lied. That is exactly what he had planned to do. Only he hoped to not be alone.

An hour later, John and Sam were gone and Mary was in the kitchen, heating up the soup. Dean hurriedly rid himself of all his extra layers and turned the heating pad off, tossing it in the floor. When Mary came in, carrying the tray with a bowl on it, she frowned. “Is my boy sick?” she asked worried. Dean smiled and watched her put the tray on the nightstand. She reached out to touch his head and in a flash Dean grabbed her wrist and pulled her down into his bed. “Not sick,” he said. “Just wanted some loving,” he smirked. Mary’s surprise quickly turned to a knowing smile and she wrapped her arms around her son’s neck.

“Well, what exactly kind of loving does the birthday boy want?”

Dean didn’t answer. Instead he captured her lips and molded his to hers. He lightly licked along the seam and Mary willingly opened her mouth, taking her son’s tongue in. Dean kissed his mother with fervor as his hands traveled down her body. He palmed the perfect orbs on her chest and smiled when she moaned.

Lifting away from her mouth, he looked down at the angel beneath him. “I want to make love to the most beautiful, sexiest woman on the planet,” he whispered, earning a whimper from her. He kissed her again and let his hands travel to the hem of her nightshirt. He pushed it up until the fabric was bunched over her breasts. He kissed a trail down her jaw to her neck and across her collarbone. When he came face to face with the pink nipples he grinned before sucking one into his mouth. The bud hardened under his ministrations.Mary carded her fingers through his hair and moaned as he kissed the puckered nub and moved to give the other one the same attention.

His dick was rock hard and straining against his boxers so he began rutting against her thigh. “Oh baby,” Mary whimpered. “I can’t wait to feel that big cock filling me up.” Her words caused Dean to shiver and his mouth left her breasts so he could maneuver to between her legs.

Mary opened her legs to allow him to slot hisself between them. “Oh I’m going to fill you full. Over and over. And over,” he said, expressing each word with a thrust to her core.

They quickly disrobed and Dean easily crawled back between his mother’s legs. The head of his cock was nestled against her wet folds. “God Mom, you’re soaked. Did I do this to you?” he asked, looking down to see his tip glistening with her wetness.

“Yes baby,” she answered him shyly.

Dean reached down and ran his fingertips along her slit up to her clit and flicked the button gently. Mary’s hips came off the bed and he did it again. “Baby, don’t tease. I need it. I need you,” Mary begged. Dean grabbed the base of his dick and lined it up with her entrance. He looked up with lust filled eyes; Mary’s mirroring his. “Ready?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, Dean baby. Fuck me,” Mary said, ending in a moan as Dean pushed into her body, quickly bottoming out.

“Fuuuuck, MOM!” Dean yelled. “How the fuck are you always so tight?” He slowly began moving, feeling his mother’s walls squeezing him. “God damn, you feel so good.”

Mary pulled him down to her and slotted her lips against his. In no time at all, Dean was pounding into her body with force to make the bed move and the headboard hit the wall. Mary had wrapped her legs around his waist and was meeting him thrust for thrust. After her third of fourth orgasm, she’d lost count, she began begging again.

“Pump me full of your spunk,” she pleaded. “I want to fill it deep inside me. I want to feel it leaking out of me. Please baby. Put it all in me. Give me every fucking drop.” Dean pistoned his hips even harder chasing his release.

“Mom! Fuck mom! I’m going to come all in that tight pussy. Fill it full and push it all up in you.”

He felt his balls tighten and knew his climax was imminent. He slowed his movements for just a minute as he gazed into his mother’s brilliant blue eyes. “I love you Mom.”

“I love you too Dean.” Mary placed a palm against her son’s cheek and they looked lovingly into each other’s eyes before Dean picked up the pace again, pushing into her body until their pelvic bones met. He stilled as his dick jumped and spilled into her. “Fuck!” he grunted as he finished loading her up. “Damn, it gets better every time.”

Mary smiled and nodded her head in agreement. “You sure have come along way since you were 18, Dean.”

“I had a fucking great teacher,” he smirked as he rolled to lay beside his mother. He pulled her close and she laid her head on his chest. “Who knew that it wouldn’t be just a one time thing?”

“Definitely not me,” Mary chuckled. “But damn am I glad it wasn’t.”

They lay there in euphoria, reminiscing the last seven years. Mary, wondering how she was ever going to tell her husband and two grown sons, one of whom she was fucking,  that she was pregnant.  

@natura1phenomenon @squirrelnotsam @kricketc27 @pretty-fortune @winecatsandpizza

#supernatural #SPN AU #wincest #spn #supernatural fanfic #spn fanfic #dean #dean winchester #mary #mary winchester #dean x mary #mary x dean #son x mother #mother x son #john winchester #a mother's love #mother/son bonding #love knows no bounds #lknb

[danyka-fendyr]

As the Raven Flies: Part 4

I can’t even believe I made it to a part 4 of this story. I owe most of it to everyone who comments, to be honest. I’m an absolute slut for literally any kind of reaction. Like, oh? I made you laugh? Here have an entire novel have a great day thanks. Anyway, I only did lazy editing on this, but that’s because I forgot to write it throughout the week since I’m newly back to school and so I wrote this in like an hour and it’s 2:22 AM at the time I am queuing this and i’M TIRED OKAY

Taglist: @dreamwritesimagines @rhabakoli @disengagefrmreality

Word count: 2186

“See you tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, exactly what conversation went down while I was getting an education?” Vivien stood in Matt’s living room, shocked.

Matt, for his part, was sitting at the kitchen counter looking like he was physically in pain. Well, he probably was, Vivien figured, but he also looked like there was considerable emotional pain.

“Frank made the…” Matt paused, gritting his teeth, “unfortunately good point that I may not be totally fit for childcare.”

“And so you’re kicking me out?” Vivien fought the tears coming to her eyes, fueled by her outrage.

“It’s not like that, Vivien.”

“Oh like heck it isn’t,” she spat.

“Listen, I’m not just putting you out on the streets, it’s-”

“I decide where I go,” Vivien interrupted. “If that’s the streets than it’s the streets.”

“Listen, Frank knows some very nice people,” Matt tried.

“Yeah, I’m sure he does. I don’t want to get to know them. I certainly don’t want to bust down their door demanding they give me food and shelter.”

“It wouldn’t be like that.”

“I’m no one’s charity case, Matthew!”

Matt flinched at her volume, and maybe at her words as well. He stood slowly, sighing as he crossed the room to put a hand on her shoulder. His eyes tried to focus on her, drifting over her shoulder and swimming in the flames that illuminated his world. Sometimes Vivien wondered if the fire he saw outside lit him up on the inside as well, burned through him like it burned through her, bright hot and slicing its way up and out.

“I know you’re not. I know...I know you’re not a charity case. Not mine. Not anybody else’s. But Vivien, I’m trying to protect you.”

“How is this protecting me?” A hot tear rolled down her face as she whispered the words, and she dashed it away with her sleeve.

“You and I both know this isn’t working. You survive on take out and Ramen noodles, you don’t get enough sleep, you’re permanently exhausted and you’re hurting and I...I don’t know how to fix that, Vivien.”

For the first time, Vivien saw how much the blind man could actually see. He looked so helpless like this, hands grabbing at fistfuls of his hair, scrambling for something to hold onto. And for a moment, she saw how bad she really was at hiding how much everything hurt. She had always known he caught glimpses, but now…

“I don’t know how to make this better,” he whispered, eyes dull as they watched the floor, as he felt the vibrations of the city moving around them and heard its song.

Vivien wasn’t sure when it happened, but she was crying. Gosh, she was crying like a baby, fat tears falling down her face faster than she could wipe them away, mouth twisting into some twisted version of the fake smiles she had trained herself to wear and couldn’t even escape when she cried. He was right, and she was crying about it.

She had sunk to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest, and Matt joined her, arms wrapping around her softly like he could protect her. They both knew he couldn’t, but it was so much easier to just pretend.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, rocking with her sobs. “I’m so sorry. I promise, I promise you Vivien, I am not abandoning you. We’re going to figure this out. We’re going to find you a home.”

“I don’t want a home.” Her voice came out as a high keening sound. “I want here. I want to stay here.”

“I know. I know.”

And that was all they said. For a long time, they stayed like that, crying on the floor in an ugly apartment right in the thick of Hell’s Kitchen. Vivien knew from experience though that she could only cry for so long.

She sniffled, wiping at her face again, and Matt handed her another tissue. At some point, he had grabbed a box of them.

“Does Karen know?”

Matt looked at her. “What?”

“Does Karen know?” Vivien repeated.

“Oh. We forgot to tell Karen. Huh.”

“Matt!” Vivien punched him in the arm, not bothering to go light.

“Ow! Okay, okay, we can tell her. She’s supposed to be coming over anyway. Any minute now.”

Speak of the Devil.

“Matt?” Karen’s muffled voice could be heard from the other side of the door as she knocked.

“Come in!”

Vivien scrambled to make herself look presentable, trying to hide the very obvious fact that she had been crying. Matt stood up, helping her to her feet and kindly not mentioning her bloodshot eyes that probably made it look like she’d started a marijuana garden in Ms. Simmons’ biology lab.

“Hey, you said-” Karen dropped her bag on the floor, taking her coat off in a rush so she could cross the room to get a better look at Vivien.  “Oh my gosh. Is everything okay?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Karen glanced between the two, raising an eyebrow.

Vivien sighed. “Also yes.”

“What happened?” Karen gave her a concerned look.

“Frank Castle happened. He’s the worst, K. You don’t have my permission to date him.”

“I am not dating Frank.”

“Good. He’s a jerk and I hope he accumulates an absolutely massive amount of cabbage and then has it all destroyed in a series of unfortunate events.”

“Oh no. She’s swearing. Seriously Matt, what happened?”

“Frank pointed out that I might not be the fittest caretaker for Vivien,” Matt said, reluctant to look anywhere near where he could hear Karen.

“Well, I can see that. Poor thing. Has he even fed you yet? Do you want me to make something? You look like you need some soup sweetheart.” Karen gently wiped at some stray tears Vivien had missed.

She shook her head, sniffling again. “I can eat in a minute, Karen. It’s not important.”

“And that’s why you’re a terrible influence on her.” Karen glared at Matt, forgetting he couldn’t really see it.

 “Which is why she won’t be staying with me anymore.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“That’s what I said,” Vivien spoke up.

“Matt, as bad as you are at this whole childcare thing, I’m not sure leaving her on the streets is your next best option.”

“I am not leaving her on the streets!” Matt exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Well, then what is happening here?”

“Frank suggested he could find Vivien a better home. She could quit being a vigilante and start being a normal teenager. Frank knows a guy who knows some really nice veterans.”

“First of all, I’m not quitting vigilantism. I just got a name! Secondly, I would rather be on the streets than with some random stranger.”

“You’ve made that very clear,” Matt grumbled.

“You can’t tell me what to do Matt. Technically, I’m an adult.”

“Your legal status absolutely does not make you an adult.”

“According to Uncle Sam it does.” Vivien stuck her chin out defiantly.

Karen had been watching this whole exchange with a fascinating look on her face. If the two had bothered to glance her way they would have seen that she was clearly deep in thought. It almost looked like the face she made when she was trying to sort through all the details of a new story.

“You guys,” she said.

“Well then you can go join the army if you want to be treated like a real grown up.”

“Guys-”

“Maybe I just want to have some input in decisions that will drastically impact my life, Matthew.”

“You guys!”

Both of them turned to her, blinking like a couple of deer in the headlights.

“Why doesn’t Vivien just stay with me?”

“I feel like I’ve said this a lot today, mostly in math class, but what?” Vivien stared at her like she had grown another head.

“I mean, think about it. I’m clearly more fit to be your caretaker than Matt -not that that’s difficult-” Karen paused to roll her eyes. “I have the space in my apartment, I did the math and I make enough money for the extra cost. It would be perfect.”

“Karen, no,” Vivien said. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Why not? Sleepovers every night.”

“I know, but the money, Karen. I can’t.”

“You can. End of discussion.”

Well there was really no arguing when Karen said end of discussion.

“I guess I’m moving in.”

It was no cup of tea moving all of Vivien’s stuff to Karen’s place. She hadn’t thought she owned that much stuff, but apparently, she had been wrong. She had a habit of keeping silly things for nostalgic value. Or, in Matt’s words, “You’re a hoarder! You need help.”

Vivien yawned. It was officially way too late for any normal teen to be up, and after this day she didn’t feel so keen on stopping any crime. She just wanted to curl up in her new bed and go to sleep.

They could have moved her in another day, but Vivien had wanted to do it tonight. She reasoned that if she didn’t do it now, she would lose her nerve. She had also incorrectly presumed she owned fewer things, as previously stated. Mistakes were made.

“I am in physical pain,” Vivien groaned, slumping down on Karen’s couch. “And if I have to put one more thing in a box, I’m going to just start screaming.”

“No more boxing things. Now we just have unboxing. The good news is, we can take our time with the non-essentials. Potentially put them in a storage unit and never let them see the light of day ever again.”

“Oh. That sounds delightful.”

“How does sleep sound?” Karen sat down beside her, long reddish blonde hair spilling over the back of the sofa slightly.

“It sounds good. I love sleeping here because I get to sleep on an actual bed instead of Matt’s couch. But don’t tell him I said that.”

“You know I’m still here, right?”

Vivien cracked an eye open. “I did not know that. Thank you for all of your help Matty. Your couch was very comfortable. I will see you next week for bridge.”

“I don’t even know how to play that game.”

“Neither do I, so we’re on even ground.”

Matt just sighed, holding his arms out for her. Half-reluctant to move, Vivien dragged herself off the couch and ended up in a tight hug from Matt. His arms wrapped around her like an octopus, and she realized he was really going to miss her a second before he said it.

“It won’t be the same without you.”

“Well you’ll still see me on weekends. The only difference will be that we’re in costume. And also fighting for our lives.”

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to quit, could I?” Matt let her go, taking a few steps back.

“Not a chance.”

“That’s kind of what I thought you would say. Be good. Don’t do anything extra stupid.”

“No promises, Murdock.”

“Goodbye, Vivien.”

“Goodbye, Matty.” She smiled softly, waving him off.

Matt headed out the door, and Vivien heaved a sigh.

“I hate goodbyes.”

“Everyone does, I think,” Karen mumbled sleepily.

“K, you can’t sleep on the couch. You’ll mess up your back.”

“I can live with that.”

“Come on.” Vivien tugged at her arm, and Karen whined. “What will get you to move?”

“Tell me about your day at school,” she demanded.

“My day at school?”

“Yes. Responsible guardians generally ask that sort of thing.”

Vivien rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m aware. It was extremely unremarkable. I did make a friend though so you can be proud of me for that.”

“Oh yeah?” That seemed to catch Karen’s interest, and she opened her eyes, sitting up straight. “Who?”

“You have to get up and go to bed first. Then I’ll tell you. Like a bedtime story.”

“Who’s the guardian here anyway?” Karen complained. Nevertheless, she stood, padding her way into her bedroom and her bed. “Spill.”

“Just some guy on the bus. His name is Hunter. James Hunter.”

“Wait, James Hunter like, almost beat you for top of the class last year James Hunter?” Karen asked.

Vivien’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I still haven’t forgiven him for that.”

“I know. You still talk about it. You guys are friends now?”

“Well, it’s more like I’m his project. He said he would help me get Brannigan off my back. It’s a friendship of convenience.”

Karen giggled. “So you could say you’re friends with benefits?”

Vivien stared. “You need to go to sleep.”

“Maybe. But I’m not wrong.”

“The benefit is health insurance, Karen. And a 401K.”

“If you say so,” she sing-songed.

Vivien responded by throwing a pillow at her.

“Hey!”

“I’m going to bed. I’ll see you when you’re willing to be reasonable.” Vivien started her walk out to the hallway, heading to her own bed.

“Tell me more about your boyfriend tomorrow!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” The frustrated face plant she did into her pillow might have said otherwise though.

Moving in with Karen was quite possibly a terrible mistake.

#as the raven flies #frank castle #frank #castle #punisher #oc #queue #karen page #karen #page #matt murdock #matt #murdock #daredevil #mcu #marvel #defenders

[legojacques]

Bitty gets snowed in and trapped in a small town on his way to a wedding, AU, 4.5 K, Zimbits, feat. the fictional town of Falconer where everyone is a low-key meddler.

---

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“I’m really sorry, but every room is full,” the man said sadly as he shook his head.

Bitty sucked in a deep breath to remind himself that getting angry wasn’t going to fix anything. He was already late and behind schedule when his flight had gotten cancelled. He checked the time on his phone and saw there were two voicemails that he’d missed, probably when he was dealing with the mechanic earlier.

He went and sat down woodenly on the bench that was in front hallway of the bed and breakfast, and listened to the first message from Lardo.

“...don’t know if most of the guests are going to make it in for the rehearsal dinner tonight. All the planes have been grounded and some of the roads are closed. I know you’re trying to drive in, Bits, but don’t risk your life for it either. Even better, if no one shows up, Shitty and I can get married in Thailand like we’d originally wanted…”

The second voicemail, which was from Shitty, went on for ten minutes, mostly about how Shitty’s mother couldn’t make up her mind about the colour of the tablecloths and how Ransom and Holster had been arguing over the playlist. If finally ended when Lardo found Shitty in whatever closet he’d been hiding in and dragging him out because she could not deal with both sets of parents by herself.

Bitty stared at his phone screen, trying to figure out what he was going to do. The wedding was tomorrow, and unless some miracle happened where his rental car got fixed in the next hour and the storm in the north east stopped, there was no way Bitty was going to make it in time. To make things even worse, he couldn’t even get a room for the night in this town that he was stranded in. He tried to stifle the small sniffle, but it escaped anyways.

A hand landed gently on his shoulder and Bitty looked up to see the proprietor of the B&B hovering over him. “I am sorry, really.”

“It’s, uh, not your fault,” Bitty said, quickly wiping his face.

The man smiled. “You hungry? Food usually makes me feel better. Thirdy’s the best cook in town. You should go down to his restaurant and tell him Marty sent you.”

“Oh,” Bitty said in surprise, “That’s kind of you, but I’m not really--”

“Thirdy’s the best cook” Marty repeated enthusiastically as he herded Bitty out the door without even giving him a chance to brace for the cold. Bitty stood shivering on the front step, and after a moment, pulled out the handle to his luggage, and started down the snowy street in search of this restaurant.

It really didn’t take him long to find it. Falconer was a small town, and there was only one main street. The blast of warm air as Bitty stepped through the door of the restaurant was a welcome relief. He hadn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, and his thin coat did little to stop the wind from penetrating every layer he wore.

The restaurant was small but cozy and welcoming in a sense that Bitty did not expect. It was moderately busy with what Bitty assumed to be mostly the locals. He wheeled his suitcase between the tables and chairs towards one of the booth seats in the corner, away from the drafty windows.

At the counter, a man laughed loudly into the phone. “...Yeah, he just walked in. Don’t worry about it. Thanks, Marty.” He hung up and came straight over to Bitty’s table with a menu.

“You must be Thirdy,” Bitty said tiredly.

He grinned. “Sure am! What can I get for you?”

“Whatever you have for today’s special would be great, and tea or coffee, something hot.”

Thirdy took the order back to the kitchen, and after his tea came, Bitty wrapped his hands around the hot ceramic of the mug and tried to formulate his next step. He wondered if there was some way he could get a ride to the next town to see if he could get a room there.

There was a thud and a groan of frustration from the next table that interrupted Bitty’s thoughts. He looked over to see a guy desperately trying to mop up the coffee he’d spilled with his paper napkin. Instinctively, Bitty grabbed his own napkin and tried to help the the other guy before the liquid ran over the side of the table.

“Oh no,” the guy said, moving the wet mess to one side.

“Making a mess again?” Thirdy asked, appearing with a wet towel to clean up the rest of the spill.

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry, but cup fall over by self this time.”

Thirdy laughed before refilling the coffee cup. “Shut up, Tater,” he said affectionately.

Turning to Bitty, Tater said, “Thank you for help me,” he said with a bright smile.

“You’re welcome,” Bitty said before retreating back to his own table. He unlocked his phone to go back to searching for hotel with vacancy, but the clink of a cup on his table had him looking up to see Tater sliding into the seat across from him.

“You look sad,” Tater said as he reached for the sugar to put in his coffee. “Why you come to town anyway?”

“GPS told me to take a wrong turn and then my car broke down,” Bitty sighed.

Tater nodded thoughtfully, as if he knew problems with navigational technology. “Is too bad. So, now you waiting?”

“More like trapped, but yeah, waiting is part of it.”

“My mama always say--” He switched to rapid Russian which Bitty couldn’t keep track of. “Basically, it mean have to get to worse before get better. Maybe even best.”

“Let’s hope so,” Bitty said with a wry smile.

Their conversation was interrupted when the restaurant door slammed open dramatically, and a guy in a yellow, high-visibility coat walked in and up to the counter. “Coffee, Thirdy, please. I’m going to need your strongest stuff,” he said pushing his oversized, travel mug over.

“How are the roads out there?”

“Ehh, not too bad yet. It’s still snowing pretty steadily, but that storm’s supposed to hit tonight so we’re doing our check ups now.”

“Snowy!” Tater called. “You plow road by my house yet?”

“Not yet,” Snowy said back. “But I’ll get to it before dark, okay? We’re mostly focused on the highway right now so people can get through. Word is that pretty much every hotel, motel, B&B is full up between here and Providence.”

“Excuse me,” Bitty cut in. “Did you just say that all of the rooms are booked?”

“Yeah,” he said. “People don’t want to be caught on the road when the storm comes.” He peered at the suitcase beside Bitty. “Sorry, looks like you’re outta luck.” He grabbed his refilled mug and headed back out the door.

“Don’t worry. You not sleep in cold tonight,” Tater said reassuringly when he saw the panic on Bitty’s face. Thirdy brought out their food, a bowl of soup and chicken sandwich for Bitty and a cheeseburger with sizzling fries for Tater. “Motel full, Marty’s full, but we figure it out.”

“I have no place to stay. My rental is sitting in the mechanic’s garage. I don’t even have a car to sleep in overnight.” Bitty chewed his food mechanically.

“I have idea--” Tater started, but the door opened again, letting in a gust of cold wind that even Bitty felt. The newcomer brushed the snow off of his dark jacket before surveying the restaurant with sharp eyes.

“Oh, Jack!” Tater’s face lit up. “We just talking about you!”

“What are you up to, Tater?” Jack said as he walked over.

“Jack, you come just in time. This my new friend-- uh, I don’t remember name--”

“Bitty. Well, actually, it’s Eric Bittle,” Bitty stammered.

“--B! He is so nice, Jack, but he is so sad. He not have a place to stay for tonight. But I say it is okay! You have fold out couch for him.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Tater--” he started, but was cut off.

“My house is big mess, you know. And Gabby and Marty baby sick,” Tater continued counting down on his fingers. “Georgia have family, too crowded in her house. Guy break leg, no good to stay with. No one but you to stay with.”

“I can’t just--”

“You owe me favor,” Tater said slowly.

There was a brief staring contest between the two of them before Jack let out a slow, measured breath. “Fine.” He turned to look at Bitty. “You can stay one night.”

After Jack stormed out of the restaurant, Tater glanced over at Bitty with smirk that he couldn’t quite decipher. “He is nicer than seems. Promise.”

---

“...and the bathroom’s just down the hall. Call if you need anything,” Jack said as he handed the stack of towels before stalking away.

“Uh,” Bitty started.

“Yes?” he said, pausing to turn around.

“I just wanted to say thanks for everything,” Bitty said.

Jack seemed to be taken aback by this. “You’re welcome,” he finally said. “Good night.” He disappeared upstairs, leaving Bitty to collapse tiredly on the hastily made pull out bed. It had been a long day, but it was still early enough that Bitty couldn’t fall asleep yet.

Jack’s house was, for lack of a better word, minimalistic, but Bitty got the sense that it was only because it was so sparsely decorated rather than a deliberate design choice. Even though Bitty had only seen the downstairs area, the house felt barely lived in, a stark contrast from what Bitty was used to. At least, he reminded himself, that had a warm place to sleep tonight, even if Jack had been mostly silent since agreeing to letting Bitty stay.

Bitty tossed and turned for a while before he realized belatedly that he wasn’t even close to drifting off to sleep. The howling of the snowstorm was too loud, and it seemed to be gradually getting worse. He got up to pace around the living room before he got bored of that and began to peruse the selection of titles on Jack’s bookshelf. Most of them were in French and the ones that Bitty could understand were nonfiction, history books. Sighing, Bitty pulled one out about the Halifax explosion in hopes that it would bore him to sleep.

He’d barely gotten two pages in when the lights flickered for a second and then Bitty was suddenly plunged into darkness. Cursing, Bitty fumbled to find his phone which he had left charging on the coffee table. He went over to the window to yank open the blinds, only to find that all the street lights had gone out too and it was pitch black outside.

“Bittle?” came Jack’s voice. “You alright?”

“Yeah!” Bitty called back.

The dim beam of a flashlight appeared and Bitty was briefly blinded. “Sorry,” Jack said, lowering the flashlight. “Guess the power’s out.”

“Yeah,” Bitty said breathlessly with wide eyes. Jack, in his haste to get downstairs, had come in without his shirt on. Even in the weak light, Bitty could see Jack’s well-defined chest that made Bitty blush.

“I only have the one flashlight, but I’m not sure how long the batteries are going to last,” Jack said. He looked over at Bitty. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Bitty forced himself to snap out of it and meet Jack’s gaze. “Oh! It’s just, uh, well, it’s so dark.”

Jack blinked. “I might have some candles somewhere that aren’t birthday ones.” He went somewhere down the hall, and when he reappeared again, he had matches and a tall, vanilla candle in one hand. At Bitty’s raised eyebrow, he said, “It was in a gift basket for my mother.”

The candle cast a warm glow around the living room, and when Jack stepped back,  there was a moment where neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Jack spoke up. “That should do it, eh? Well, I guess I’ll go back to bed now. Good night, Bittle.”

---

It was another couple hours of sleeplessness before Bitty heard shuffling in the hallway. Turning on the flashlight on his phone and throwing a blanket over his shoulders, Bitty went to go investigate. Jack was getting a drink from the kitchen faucet, and winced when the bright light caught him by surprise. At least he had a shirt on this time.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“No,” Bitty admitted.

“That couch bed isn’t very comfortable, sorry.”

“Oh, no, the bed is fine. I just have a lot on my mind,” Bitty said, rubbing his eyes. “You couldn’t sleep either?”

“No, not with that storm.”

Bitty hummed in agreement and pulled his blanket cape closer to his body.

Jack noticed because he asked, “You’re cold?”

“A bit,” he said. The house had cooled down considerably since the power had gone out, and Bitty already had to dig his socks and a sweater out of his luggage.

“There’re more blankets upstairs,” Jack said as he put his empty glass into the sink.

Bitty went back to the living room where the candle was still lit and burning on a side shelf. Jack returned a moment later with an armful of blankets. He dumped them onto the fold out bed beside Bitty and took a step back to awkwardly fold his arms across his chest.

“Did you want to sit?” Bitty asked after he wrapped himself up in another blanket layer. “Seeing as neither can sleep anyways. I wouldn’t mind some company.”

“Uh, sure,” Jack said. He pulled out one of the blankets from the pile and curled up in the arm chair.

“Thanks again for letting me stay. I know Tater kind of sprung it on you back at the restaurant.

Jack snorted at the mention of Tater. “Yeah, no problem,” he said. “The alternative would have been Tater’s house, and he’s in the middle of a renovation.”

“Well, I still appreciate it anyways.”

“So,” he started, rubbing his hands up and down the arm rests. “What brings you to Falconer anyways?”

Bitty repeated the whole, unfortunate story about his flight being canceled and the subsequent failure of his car. “It just seems like my luck is getting worse and worse.”

“So, what if you don’t make it to the wedding in time?”

“Then, I guess I miss it,” Bitty sighed. “At least it’ll save me from having to stand up and give the Best Man speech to everyone.”

“You don’t want to be Best Man?”

“Oh, well, I do, but I hate giving speeches. I even offered to cater dessert if it’ll get out of the speech part, but they weren’t convinced.”

“You’re a chef?” Jack asked, intrigued.

“Kind of, not really. I mean, I’ll take small, catering orders ahead of time for certain events, and I do have a regular booth at the farmer’s market, but it’s not, like, my career though. I run the front desk at the rec center. That’s my real job.”

Jack was quiet as he played with the edge of his blanket. “Would you like it to be your career though? The cooking?”

“Baking,” Bitty corrected. “And yeah, that’d be great, but…”

“But?”

“It’s not like I can open my own bakery, and no bakery is going to hire me. I have no experience or culinary schooling beyond what I learned in my Moomaw’s kitchen.”

Jack was quiet for a little while. “Falconer doesn’t have a bakery,” he said.

Bitty gave a shaky laugh. “Right, because I have the money to open up my business wherever and whenever I want.”

“You could get a loan from the bank.”

“Me and what collateral?”

“You could flash that charming smile at them and say please,” Jack said lightly with a grin.

Bitty was speechless for a full second before he started laughing. “Are you chirping me?” He stopped before explaining, “Chirping is when--”

“I know what chirping is,” Jack smoothly cut in. “I played hockey for years.”

“You did?” Bitty asked in delight.

It launched the conversation in a different direction, but Bitty didn’t mind the slightest. It wasn’t until some time around 3 a.m. that Bitty’s eyes began to droop and his words began to slur.

“We should probably get some sleep,” Jack said after a large yawn. He moved to stand up and stretch.. “I should go upstairs.”

“Or, you could stay,” Bitty mumbled, flicking open a corner of the blankets. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jack freeze.

“I--”

“I know I’m just a random stranger, but it’s too cold for me to fall asleep properly.” He eyed Jack. “I promise I’ll keep to my side of the bed.”

After another moment of deliberation, Jack silently blew out the candle and climbed under the covers with Bitty. In the dark, Bitty could hear the Jack’s breathing and the shriek of the wind outside. It didn’t take him long to slip into blissful unconsciousness.

---

When Bitty awoke, he had to peel back the multiple layers he was buried underneath. The power had come back on at some point in the early morning, and with the furnace running, Bitty was too hot. Twisting around, he realized he was the only one in the bed. Thankfully, Jack had already gotten up so he wouldn’t have to witness Bitty flush and groan in embarrassment as he replayed last night’s events in his head.

After getting dressed and brushing his teeth, Bitty headed down the hall to the kitchen. He stopped just outside when he heard Jack’s voice. “No, Poots, I’m not going all the way down to the library to open it so you can avoid paying late fees.” There was a pause and then a huff. “Yes, fine, I’ll waive the overdue charges, but not on the books from last week, Poots. You still owe me $0.75, no matter what.”

Bitty waited until Jack ended the call before walking in. The both looked at each other before trying to to speak at the same time.

“Good morning.”

“How did you sleep?”

They paused before Bitty said, “Sorry, you go first.”

“You sleep okay?” Jack repeated.

“Yeah,” Bitty said, nodding. “It was good, really good,” he added. Jack nodded, and Bitty suddenly felt self-conscious. “Well, anyways, thanks for letting me stay. I think I’m going to head over the mechanic’s, see if my car’s ready.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Even if it was ready, I don’t think you’re going to be able to get anywhere. Roads are snow covered and the highway headed west is still closed.”

Bitty frowned as he edged closer to the kitchen window. It was still snowing outside, but at least the wind seemed to have died down. “So, I’m stuck,” he said aloud.

“Think of it as a snow day,” Jack said as he got up from the kitchen table. “Feel free to stay. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Where are you going?” Bitty asked in alarm.

“Shoveling,” Jack called back.

---

After an hour of nervous back and forth pacing, Bitty felt like he was going to go stir crazy. He’d already called Lardo to tell her that he wasn’t going to be able to make it, but she’d reassured him that everything was going to be fine.

“Don’t worry,” she’d said. “Everything’s been postponed until tomorrow. It’s not going to cost us extra for the venue because no one’s renting it in this weather. The roads should be cleared by then, and hopefully more than ten percent of the guest list can make it in.”

Shitty had sent him a text message in all caps that had read, BITTY WHEN WILL YOU COME SAVE ME FROM MY RACIST COUSINS???

So, Bitty had one more day to make it in, but as he glanced out the windows again at the thick, white blanket, he was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to make it out of here. Not that he was ungrateful, but being alone in a strange, empty house was doing little to help calm him.

There was a sharp knock on the front door, and when Bitty opened it, he found someone holding a cardboard box full of groceries. “Hi,” the woman said. “You must be Bittle.”

“Yeah,” Bitty said slowly, wondering how she knew his name. “Jack’s not home at the moment.”

“I know,” she said. “Jack already talked to me this morning. He asked me to drop off some stuff for you. He knows his refrigerator shelves are a bit bare at the moment.”

“Oh, thanks,” Bitty said as he took the box.

“Not a problem. I’m Georgia. My card with my number is somewhere in this box. Just give me a call if you need anything else. Jack said just to charge it to his account.”

Bitty got the box to the kitchen and started putting away the perishables into the fridge. When he got to the butter sticks at the bottom of the box, and an idea struck Bitty.

After a bit of searching, he found the flour and sugar in the pantry, and then, realizing he lacked some fundamental pie ingredients, he found Georgia’s card and called to ask her about fresh apples.

---

Just before noon, the front door opened and Bitty could hear Jack stamping his feet in the front entrance way to get the snow off of his boots. “Smells good in here,” he said when he appeared in the kitchen.

His hair was completely disheveled from having been crushed by his hat, and Bitty’s heart did a weird jump when he imagined himself carding his fingers through Jack’s hair.

“I did some baking while you were out.”

Jack leaned over the two pies cooling on the counter. “What did you make?”

“Apple and chocolate.” He snuck a glance over at Jack. “I hope you don’t mind that I used your kitchen.”

“I hardly ever use it anyways. But hey, we can have that after we eat lunch. I got take out from Thirdy’s,” Jack said, holding up the plastic bag.

Whatever lingering awkwardness from last night that Bitty was afraid of was gone. Jack told him about his morning over sandwiches and soup, and Bitty told him about the time he’d tried to teach his college hockey team how to bake.

Jack laughed, and said, “Is it really that hard?”

“I didn’t think so, and I even simplified the recipe for them, but somehow, it still ended up as a disaster.”

“Well, maybe it wasn’t as easy as you thought, then.”

“They were chocolate chip cookies!”

Jack leaned in closer and Bitty could feel his breathing speed up. “I’ve never baked before,” Jack whispered conspiratorially.

Bitty reared back with a mock gasp. “No! Tell me it’s not true!”

“Yes! Not even cookies.”

Bitty turned to gaze wistfully at Jack’s beautiful double oven behind him. “You’ve honestly never used it?”

“I’ve used it to heat up chicken wings before,” Jack admitted. “And my mom used it when she came to visit me once. But other than that, not really.”

“That’s not possible,” Bitty said as he hopped down the stool. “Where are your aprons? We’re fixing this right now.”

“Right now?” Jack asked.

Bitty stopped. “Are you busy this afternoon?”

“No, the library’s closed today, and I really don’t have anything better to do,” Jack said as he cleaned up the empty takeout containers. He washed his hands and wiped them dry. “Alright,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Teach me to bake.”

A grin spread on Bitty’s face. “Okay,” he agreed.

---

“This definitely doesn’t look right,” Jack said much later. He looked over at Bitty’s neatly rolled cinnamon buns before grimacing at his own.

“It’s fine. Just roll them a little tighter next time,” Bitty said. Without thinking, he reached over to cup Jack’s hands. “Like this.” When he finally realized and drew his hands back, Bitty was fairly certain his cheeks had turned pink. “You’re doing great,” he said before turning back to his own buns.

“Thanks, Bittle, um, Eric.”

“You can call me Bitty. All my friends do.”

Jack gave a small laugh that came out more as a quiet huff of air. “Am I your friend, Bitty?”

Bitty looked up to see Jack smiling at him. There was a small smear of flour right under Jack’s chin, and Bitty had clench his hands to keep from reaching out to gently wipe it off. “We could be friends,” he said softly.

Jack seemed to sense Bitty’s hesitation at the end of his sentence. “But?” he prompted.

“But I want more,” Bitty said in a rushed and breathless confession. Snapping his gaze to Jack’s the counter, he apologized. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that.” He could feel a tightness welling up in chest that was a mixture of panic and anger at himself. “Ignore what I just said. I’m being ridiculous, you know. I’ve only know you for a day, and I--”He was cut off when Jack unexpectedly reached out to kiss him.

Several minutes later, Jack stepped back, but he kept a hand firmly against Bitty’s jaw. “I don’t want to be friends either,” he said, taking a shaky breath. “But I don’t want you to think you owe me anything.”

“Jack,” Bitty gasped. “I don’t-- you don’t--”

Apparently, it was enough for Jack because he surged forward to kiss him again. Bitty wasn’t sure how long they stood like that with him pressed between Jack and the counters. He’d lost track of time when Jack started grinding up against him, dirty and slow, and Bitty gave back as good as he got.

“Bed?” Jack gasped when they finally broke apart.

“As long as it’s not the fold out one,” Bitty said, letting Jack pick him up and carry out of the kitchen.

---

“That was a hell of a Best Man speech,” Jack murmured into Bitty’s ear.

“I wasn’t supposed to cry,” Bitty said.

“That was the best part.”

Bitty laughed and leaned his head on Jack’s chest. “Such a flatterer, Mr. Zimmermann.”

Jack wrapped his arms around Bitty in reply and squeezed him tighter against him. They were currently hiding in one of the side rooms while the rest of the wedding celebrations continued outside.  “We should probably go back out though. Someone’s going to come looking for us soon.”

“Or, we could just sneak out the back door and drive back to Falconer.”

“Tempting,” Bitty said, “But Lardo would murder me if I tried to leave.”

“Are you sure she’d even notice? Shitty seemed to be keeping her busy.”

“She would notice,” Bitty insisted. He closed his eyes to enjoy the last moment before he said, “Okay, only three more hours to go. We can survive this.”

“Three hours, but you meet me in the bathroom in ten minutes.”

“Two and a half hours, and I let you take me up to the hotel room I have booked.”

Jack pretended to think about it. “Deal,” he said before kissing Bitty soundly.

---

A very special thanks to the lovely people on my Discord chat group and to @makeshittyknightproud for proofreading/editing!

#zimbits #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #background shardo #falconers #alexei mashkov #they all make an appearance #lego writing #mine #au #ficlet #jack spends a lot of time at the gym for a librarian #by the way bitty opens up a bakery in falconer six months later #and jack always comes by during his breaks at the library #it's disgustingly cute #tater is a little matchmaking shit and he knows it

[deprough]

Lifeday Eve

12/23/2020 Dincember prompt: All I Want For Christmas (Is You)

My Dincember prompts are part of a serial story I’m telling. This is the eleventh part of the story. This post won’t make sense without reading the others.

Part 1: Snowballs and Saviors Part 2: Dreams and Dangers (nsfw) Part 3: Heat and Harassment Part 4:   Fire and Fatality (depictions of violence and death) Part 5: Wood and Worry Part 6: Searches and Scarves Part 7: Talks and Tricks Part 8: Exposure and Expectations (NSFW) Part 9: Deals and Disappointments (mild NSFW) Part 10: Tastes and Touches (NSFW, completel smut-fest)

Sorry about being late again, but there is something nice in posting the Lifeday Eve portion of the story on Christmas Eve. 

Something pulled on her hair, and Corrie jerked awake, peering up at the man leaning over her. Mando, encased in his full armor, sighed and said, “I’m sorry. I was trying to get the scarf off without waking you up.”

“Didn’t work,” Corrie mumbled sleepily, noting the gray quality to the sky through the window. “What time is it?”

“Five. I’m going to slip back to Brama’s and check on the kid.” He sat down on her bed as she sat up and curled her arms around her knees. “Since we’re going to be here on Lifeday, I was, uh, wondering what to get your mom and your kids.”

“Oh!” Corrie blinked, trying to wake up enough to think. “That’s not necessary. We understand you didn’t have a chance to go get anything.”

“I know, I just thought if there was something, I might be able to get it still.” He rose and said, “I’m gonna get over to Brama’s.” He hesitated and asked, “Is it okay to be seen leaving your house?”

“I’m a widow, I get to go what I want.” Corrie shrugged at his head tilt. “I mean, I’m kinda joking, but I’m not looking to get married again, so it’s not like I need to care what people think of me.”

“I’m fine to go out the window,” he said, waving vaguely at it. “I don’t want to mess up your life or anything.”

“I promise, the back door is fine.” Corrie watched as he left, then flopped back onto the bed. She felt good, relaxed and vibrant even. It’d been a long time since she’d had a night like that. Loren had been a good lover but marriage and children had reduced the heat of early exploration into sweet sensuality. Neither was better than the other, but it had been a while since she’d enjoyed the former.

Her alarm rang out, and Corrie shut it off. She showered and dressed, then started a hearty gravy for breakfast. It was a Lifeday Eve tradition for their family, and by the time Brama came over to start the mini-breads, Corrie felt like it was almost a normal LifeDay Eve. To her surprise, her mother had Mando’s son with her. 

“What are you doing with the baby?” Corrie asked as her mother shoved the soft loaves into her warm oven.

“Mando said he had to do something.” Brama frowned. “I thought he was working for you.”

“No.” Corrie wondered if he had run off to find gifts somewhere. She glanced out the back window, but his ship was still parked next to the barn. Then Raina came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and hungry, and there wasn’t time to discuss the situation any longer.

Lonneric showed up as soon as the bread came out of the oven and the warm smell filled the house. They ate together, with Mando’s alien kid sitting in Raina’s old highchair. He seemed to love being up high and at the table, and Corrie wondered again about the story there.

After, the kids ran off to play outside with the alien baby, and Corrie and Brama were able to resume their day’s plans. That included putting the finishing touches on a few gifts, and preparing most of tomorrow’s meal so that they’d be able to cook as little as possible. Then they turned to lunch and dinner preparation.

“I’m glad you were able to convince the bounty hunter to stay for Lifeday,” Brama said suddenly as they were braiding cinnamon loaves for breakfast. 

Caught off-guard, Corrie felt her cheeks warm as she said, “His job isn’t done, yet, Mom. That’s all.”

“He certainly seems more comfortable here now.” Brama had stopped working the dough, but Corrie knew her mother’s tones -- and what this particular one meant.

“Yes, he does,” Corrie said innocently, wishing her face wasn’t getting so hot. Her mother cast a knowing glance at her, and she added, “I’m sure you like having the company around.”

“I’m not the one who was recently widowed.” Her mother abandoned subtlety for a direct strike.

Guessing her mother had been heading to this point, Corrie just said, “Unless you want me to start going into embarrassing details about my personal matters, I’m going to ask you to drop this.”

“Of course, darling,” Brama said as if Corrie hadn’t just confirmed everything for her. 

Sighing, Corrie glanced at the chrono and said, “It’s about my shift for the day. Are you okay to finish this and watch the kids?”

“Of course, darling,” her mother replied, her smile and tone exactly the same as the last time she’d said it. 

“Thanks, Mom,” she replied and grabbed a bowl of soup for a quick lunch. She changed and walked to the Hall, the snow crunching under her boots. Koda waited inside the erstwhile jail, brightening when she pushed past the gurthide that was the front door.

“How’s it been?” she asked him as he rose from his chair and stretched.

“Quiet. Kend’s still gone to Port Citrun, and everyone else is enjoying Lifeday Eve.”

Nodding, Corrie said, “Go on. I’ve got it.” Koda wagged his communicator at her in a silent ‘call me’ gesture and she waved acknowledgement. Then he was gone, and she stood alone.

Corrie took a look around her new Jail. Even with the stove someone had set up, the Hall was still cold, and Corrie pulled her coat a little tighter around herself as she stirred up the fire. Koda liked it colder and Corrie had to throw a couple of logs into the pit before she started to feel warm. 

The kettle of water on the stove still held heat from the last time someone had warmed it, and Corrie brewed herself a cup of hot tea. Then she had nothing to do, really. Kend had taken the Zabrak woman to Port Citrun to send her off-world, and any other work that she could have done had burned in the Jail. Sighing, she angled a chair to see out the gap in the gurtskin door and stared down the sliver of main street visible. Her town was blissfully quiet, with the occasional shout from a kid or a bleat from a gurt. All the normal sounds of the day were diminished, as if tucked away under the snow. 

The day dragged on, and shadows lengthened steadily. Corrie did a couple of patrols around Libu, but nothing was amiss. In the twilight, the day had taken on an expectant quality, and the first villagers started to gather at the Hall. 

I wish I could have protected you better, she thought to them as the people she’d guarded her entire adult life appeared. If only she’d been able to get Maneater caught, so they’d be able to sleep in peace tonight. So all those killed could rest easy. 

They were still gathering when she heard shouts of alarm. “Sheriff! Sheriff!” The Auxley twins pushed through the crowd, and Corrie had her blaster out before they were in view. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“He-- the Wookie!” the boys panted as one, pointing behind them. Corrie ran, hearing others following. The twins had pointed down the main street, and she could, once she was clear of the crowd, just make out a tall dark form coming toward her town. Cursing under breath, she redoubled her efforts into a full-out sprint.

Only, the Wookie wasn’t carrying a weapon, and he was limping badly. Corrie slowed aand squinted, taking a longer look at the monstrous alien,and realizing it wore restraints. And behind it, a man walked, blaster trained on the monster. “He did it,” she murmured, breaking into a run again. 

Maneater snarled at her when she joined them. She ignored him to ask Mando, “Are you okay?” She couldn’t tell if the blood trail in the snow behind them was just coming from the Wookie.

“A little battered,” he admitted. “Wookies aren’t my favorite bounty. Uh, Happy Lifeday.” He waved at the Wookie. “It’s the only thing I could give your town.”

Corrie stared at him, wondering how one person could have done so much for her people. He hesitated and asked, “Is that okay? I remember you said that having them stand trial--”

“It’s the best gift,” she said, putting a hand on his arm. “It’s all I wanted, honestly.”

That year, the Lifeday songs and hot chocolate had to wait a bit. The trial was short, and the verdict reached quickly. The sentence had been known since they found Vinor’s bones, and Corrie carried it out immediately, after marching him to the hanging tree. 

Once the last prisoner died, there was truly peace on Zalzus. As the people of Libu stood in their Hall, they sang of joy and hope and life, putting the weeks of fear and death behind them. Corrie sang with tears of joy in her eyes, standing next to the silent bounty hunter, and counted it one of the best Lifeday Eves she’d had in many years.

[yvonnezoe]

Hello Thursday! This was the day we were a full day on the sea, cruising back to Singapore along Malacca Straits. The clock has been adjusted 1 hour forward too.

8:00 am Breakfast at Sapphire Dining Hall

We decided to try the breakfast at the Sapphire Dining Hall today as we got a bit sick of the food at Windjammer. It started later at 8am and there were two types – Ala Carte (Deck 4) and Buffet style (Deck 3). We chose the buffet option but we had to queue and got ushered to our seats where we shared with many other people on a long table. The food option is more Asian fusion, like those you can find in a Singapore hotel breakfast.

Here’s a recap of our sea-sick Day 3 and not-up-to-expectation Phuket experience: Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 4/5: Day 3

9:00 am Sunbathing in Jacuzzi

After breakfast, we went back to our room to change to swimsuit and headed to the Jacuzzi at Deck 11. We chose a big one outdoor as it is warmer but not as hot as the pools. There were some people in the jacuzzi when we arrived so we had to share with them. Do remember to put on sunblock before going into the water. Don’t stay in the water for too long! 

After about 30 mins, we get out from the jacuzzi to go for a quick shower in the bathroom. We had a culture shock literally when we opened the door. Now I understand why there were double doors. We found some Korean or Japan ajummas naked and chatting happily with each other while waiting for others to vacant the shower cubicle. :O Woah. *cover eyes* I guess that’s pretty normal for them to go to the hot spring or onsen. We quickly get changed and left the bathroom.

11:00 am Boogie Boarding

We went to the FlowRider again as I wanted to give it a try. No, not posting my unglam videos here. Hahaha. But do watch out because I got my finger injured as it got bruised by the drainage when I lost control. You will need to register at the side counter and sign an indemnity form to get a hand badge before you can be allowed to enter the FlowRider. You can reenter multiple times as long as you don’t tear it off.

Afterwards, we just strolled around and played some golf. There was a rock-climbing wall too! Do check the Cruise Compass for the Open Climbing timing. It is only available at specific timing when a safety instructor is available. 

12 noon Lunch at Windjammer with a huge cake

We had lunch at Windjammer Cafe again. It’s special today as there was a huge Thank You cake on display and it was being cut and distributed to everyone. We got a slice to share. We probably got bored with the food and we ate very lightly. There’s food at any time at the Cafe Promenade if you get hungry. 

After lunch, we had some soft serve, watched the waves, and enjoyed the sea breeze.

1:30 pm Ice Odyssey and Movie

My mom enjoyed the Ice Odyssey performance on Day 1 so we thought we would catch it again. But upon reaching, all the seats have been filled and we could only stand at far behind to catch a glimpse. But it was still worth it!

We proceeded to La Scala Theatre at 2pm to catch a 3D movie, Baby Boss. Thought my mom would enjoy it but she fell asleep! Haha!

        3:45 pm Tea Time, Performance and Passport Collection

The movie lasted for 1 hour 45 minutes. By the time we reached Windjammer Cafe, they were almost clearing the food. We only had a bowl of mushroom soup.

I realized that by this day, I have taken photos of most of the spots so I didn’t take many photos today. Probably we wanted to enjoy the experience and companionship more too.

This was the day the Casino got more popular too because people got bored of other activities but never with spending money with a little hope to earning more. Because it was a full day in the open water, the casino operated the whole day.

You may also go to the service counter at Deck 5 to look at Royal Caribbean other cruise lines too.

In the Cruise Compass, there was a leaflet about the passport distribution information. The collection timing was between 3:30pm to 5pm. Depending on our room Deck, the distribution area was different. Remember to bring your SeaPass card to collect your passport. You may collect the passports for all the family members provided that you have all the SeaPass cards.

5:15 pm International Flow Show

We went up to Deck 13 FlowRider area to catch the Flow Show. It was a nice performance by the crews, with lots of splashing, laughter and clappings. Bring along a towel or don’t stand too close at the side if you do not wish to get wet. Put your phone in the waterproof phone bag if you would like to take some videos. 

          5:50 pm Photo time with Gloria

As it was the last day on the ship, we wanted to make sure we treasure any good chance to take more photos. There was a Dreamworks Appearance with Gloria from Madagascar at Royal Promenade, Deck 5. Kids were so excited and parents accompanied them to queue up for photos, so did we. The crews were very nice to help us take some shots on my phone as well. There was an option to purchase the photos taken by the professional photographer as well.

If you are keen on shopping, there will be a lot of branded item “clearance sales” ongoing throughout the day.

6:15 pm Dinner at Sapphire Dining Hall, Pack your bags

We had a wonderful dinner again served by the friendly waiter and waitress. We even took a photo with them at the end. 🙂 There was a special performance by all of them after the main courses were served.

Later in the day, luggage tags were distributed to our stateroom. We had to pack our bags and place them outside of our stateroom by 10:00pm so that the crew can help us to transport them to the port when we arrived. Do prepare a piece of hand luggage to keep items that you need for the night and the next morning. Make sure your passport is with you.

        This slideshow requires JavaScript.

8:30 pm Showtime “Singers Showcase”

Tonight show started earlier, at either 6:30pm or 8:30pm, starring the Royal Caribbean singers Aurianna and Shaun. It started off with the cruise director, Jamie Fentiman, and his jokes. When he noticed me (and probably some others) taking photos of him, he paused and posed for us to take some good shots of him. He then also sang a song before passing the stage to Aurianna and Shaun.

Breathtaking voices and the one hour passes very quickly. To make the best of your time, refrain from taking too many photos/videos. Just enjoy the performance! 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

9:30 pm Photo time with Alex the Lion

Alex the Lion from Madagascar made an appearance at Studio B lobby, Deck 3 after the show. We were at the last of the queue for photos.

Then we walked around to enjoy some paintings on the wall.

10:00 pm 70’s Disco Inferno Street Party with the cruise director, Jamie

We went to Cafe Promenade for supper and also attended the disco party. As you can see from the video, everyone enjoyed themselves very much. 😀

    There was some lucky draw and Lotto draws afterwards until midnight which we didn’t bother to participate.

That’s all for the night!

Day 5: Back to Singapore!

We woke up to enjoy the beautiful sunrise in the sea. The ship had almost arrived in Singapore.

Breakfast started earlier at 6am for Windjammer and Sapphire Dining Room Deck 3. I can’t remember well whether it was this morning or the afternoon before that a waitress asked us for feedback. I told her about the cleanliness issue but to my surprise, she said this is nothing and very normal. She shrugged off my feedback and walked away. I was astonished by her response. Nevertheless, there was another survey sent to our emails afterwards and I have feedback the same. I hope the cleanliness of the utensils has been improved since then because I would love to go back again.

The casino had been closed in the morning as we have arrived in Singapore.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This is the pull-down bed which I had slept on for the past few nights. Quite comfy!

Then it’s time to depart from the ship. There was an instruction sheet for departure. The debark time and waiting lounges were according to the luggage tag number and it would be called.

Once our number was called, we proceeded to the gangway located at Deck 4, the same as when we board the ship. We had to show our SeaPass cards and got them punched so that they couldn’t be reused.

Then upon arrival, we had to go through immigration check and security check as usual.

It’s time to bid goodbye to this beautiful cruise ship and the memories of these 5 days 4 nights will stay on. 🙂

This concluded my full review of this cruise trip. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing. It took me almost 2 years to complete this! Sorry for the wait. Do share with me your experience in the comments below so that we can keep the review updated. If you are still thinking whether to go for a cruise experience or not, I hope this review gives you a better idea. There are more surprises await on board! Enjoy! 🙂

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas Full Review with Tips! Part 5/5: Day 4 & 5 Hello Thursday! This was the day we were a full day on the sea, cruising back to Singapore along Malacca Straits.

#Cruise #review #royal caribbean #travel #travel tips #voyager of the seas