#Death in the Afternoon Cocktail

[askwhatsforlunch]

Death in the Afternoon

As you'd expect from a cocktail created by Ernest Hemingway, --and I'd give a lot to get my hand on So Red The Nose, a 1935 little tome in which famous authors wrote the recipe of their favourite tipples-- Death in the Afternoon is a rather potent sip, although the effervescence of Champagne does balance the herbaceous vigour of absinthe rather well. The recipe is a simple one: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly," recommends the great author! Well, depending on what you wish to do this arvo, just the one may be fine! Happy Friday!

Ingredients (serves 1):

45 millilitres/ 1 1/2 fluid ounces (3 tablespoons) absinthe

well-chilled Champagne, to top

Pour absinthe into a Champagne coupe.

Top with well-chilled Champagne, "until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness" Hemingway mentions.

Enjoy Death in the Afternoon immediately, and preferably yes, "slowly"! Cheers!

#Recipe #Drink #Drink recipe #Death in the Afternoon #Death in the Afternoon recipe #Death in the Afternoon Cocktail #Absinthe #Champagne #Champagne Cocktail #Champagne Cocktail recipe #Absinthe Cocktail #Absinthe Cocktail recipe #Cocktail #Cocktail recipe #Cold Drink and Cocktail #Alcoholic #Alcoholic Drink #Alcoholic Beverage #Happy Hour #Happy Hour Friday #Ernest Hemingway #So Red The Nose or Breath in the Afternoon #Drink and Literature #Easy recipe #Quick recipe #5 Ingredients or Less

[crownedstoat]

Tonight’s libation is a Coma in the afternoon from Anders Erickson’s recipe.

1 oz Absinthe

3 oz Champagne

1/4 oz lemon juice

1/4 oz semi rich simple syrup

Put the lemon and simple syrup in a mixing pitcher with ice add the absinthe and admire the louche the stir until chilled. Pour into a coupe or champagne glass and add the champagne. Ernest Hemingway advised to drink 3 to 5 Death in the afternoons but I’m not a large, Nobel prize winning writer so I’ll start with one.

#cocktail #absinthe #champagne #Anders Erickson #Death in the afternoon #Coma in the afternoon

[wherefancytakesme]

Some old sketches of how I picture drunk Gyro. I also picture that past a certain point he can get miserable and turn into a crybaby, lol.

#dt17 #gyro #della #content warning for alcohol #and also #mild swears #again I wonder if the show would ever attempt some pg version of this but yeah cw #still too embarrassed for the common tags #Ever since the fan finale cocktail list I also hc he drinks champagne and absinthe #it's called a Death In The Afternoon #old crappy doodles #not woy #oh boy here I go drawing again #oh boy there I went drawing again

[drinkacefahz]

A Good Doctor’s Lagniappe 

 Sinner's Sazerac 

“Just a little somethin' we have here in Louisiana. Little parlor trick, don't worry.”

30.43% ABV | Yield: 3.08 fl oz | Themed Cocktail, Fandom Cocktail. Classic, Pre-Prohibition, New Orleans . Improved Cocktail, 19th Century 

2 oz or 60ml Brandy 

2 tsp or 10 ml demerara syrup 

3-5 dashes Peychaud's Aromatic Cocktail Bitters 

1 Lemon twist 

Express oils from lemon peel and regal stir*, strain into chilled neat glass that you have rinsed with or spritzed with absinthe verte. 

Drink your sins and follow with 

Retour de la Mort 

“-I HOPE you’re SATISFIED! But if you ain’t-- don’t blame me...” 

15.51% ABV | Yield: Approx 1.5 fl oz |  Themed Cocktail, Fandom Cocktail, Champagne Cocktail, Chaser/Back, Shooter

Soak sugar cube with absinthe verte in shot glass or pony glass; To boost color, 1-2 drops of Midori can be used as well. 

Pour brut-style sparkling wine in and serve on a tray next to Sinner’s Sazerac. 

 •Lagniappe[lan-yap] is "a little something extra". Usually, its meant like a little extra something good, a bonus, you know, something to sweeten the deal. What’s sweeter than a spoonful of absinthe and some sugar? 

•Facilier is clearly a Cognac Sazerac guy, I just don’t see the rye version in his hand. But, he's a fraudster. So we use can use American Brandy. Honestly, E&J is ubiquitous in America for barely $10 a bottle, so go with E&J Grand Blue for a sweeter drink, and E&J XO for a easier to sip, “smoother” drink. Alternatively, ignore me and use your favorite Cognac -- I like Ansac VS, the cheap Raynal VSOP blend is amazing, Martell VSOP, and honestly everything I’ve had from ABK6. Hennessy leans more on a bitter orange note than I prefer. Literally, this is a drink designed to feature the spirit and just give a little je ne sais quoi. Pick a brandy you’d like to drink, not just a bottle that had a huge marketing budget.

•The back is essentially Death In The Afternoon scaled down, hence the name, which most literally reads “Return of Death” i.e. -- A Death-Back. Remember, 'brut-style' -- no AOC Champagne required. An extra dry Cava is preferable to a Prosecco here.  Remember -- drink the spirits you like the way you like to drink them, but when it comes to champagne cocktails, you really don’t need to spend much. Its a vehicle, the things you modify with are the drivers. 

For a drink with a sidecar, honestly, it’s totally up to you if you shot the back or if you alternate between sips of the main drink and the shooter. Genuinely, give it a go however you like. I tend to do the latter, and its a great contrast here, but symbolically, shooting the champagne back is more accurate to symbolize how the song goes. 

This is dedicated in part to Doug Ankrah, who created the most defining champagne sidecar drink in the Pornstar Martini. RIP[REST IN PORN] my good dude.

*Regal stir or regal shake is to include a piece of zest in the stage of cocktail creation wherein you are introducing aeration, chilling and dilution to the cocktail. This is essentially lightly muddling it and releases the flavonoids stored in the lipid cells, just like when you twist a piece over a drink -- but this integrates them with more nuance on the tongue as opposed to primarly affecting aroma. 

Why the regal stir for this version? Why -- he’s a royal on his mother’s side, you know. 

#The Princess and the Frog #dr. facilier #cocktails #sazerac #death in the afternoon #fandom cocktails #disney cocktails #disney villain cocktails #shooters #improved cocktails #mixed drinks #brandy #peychaud's #absinthe

[opulusmellicula]

Absinthe has been fascinating me for quite some time. 

Your green muse

The apparatus

For soul mobility

A gateway to secrecy...

But the cocktail Death in the afternoon in particular.

Death in the Afternoon, also called the Hemingway or the Hemingway Champagne, is a cocktail made up of absinthe and champagne.

Recipe: 

1 oz of absinthe;

4 oz of very cold champagne.

Unlike more infamous drinks sporting his name, Ernest Hemingway actually might have created this drink. The absinthe and Champagne concoction shares its name with his 1932 fictional bullfighting tale Death in the Afternoon, and was published in So Red the Nose, or Breath in the Afternoon, a 1935 cocktail book with contributions from famous authors.

"Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly."

Decadent and strong, Death in the Afternoon hinges on an unlikely yet complementary pair. It hits the nose with absinthe and some underlying notes of grape, but anise dominates. First on the sip is more of the absinthe, and a strong finish of Champagne.

The painting used:  Still Life with Fruit (1675) by Jacob van Walscapelle. 

The first quote: Spirit by Ghost.

The main source: Tuxedo № 2.

#absinthe #death in the afternoon #ernest hemingway #ghost band #spirit #alcohol #cocktails #paintings #art #still life #Jacob van Walscapelle

[seumascowan]

Death in the afternoon + Ellington + All Blacks vs Boks footy. I struggle to think of a better, most random combo of whip ass.

East Street Records crate dig finds on West Seattle SummerFest. 10 albums for 5$.

#death in the afternoon #cocktail #west seattle #easy street records #duke ellington #jazz #all blacks #rugby #trc 2023 #springboks #footy #creedence clearwater revival #bob dylan #the doors #johnny cash #att tatum #iron butterfly

[oyvinja]

Hemingway says: “Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”

(yes, i know, wrong glass.)

#death in the afternoon #hemingway #drink #cocktail

[sardonic-the-writer]

𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

↳ warnings: alastor being a bit egotistical

↳ song: si j'étais blanche—joséphine baker

↳ notes: got any ideas for stuff i should do next? reblogs are appreciated

masterlist | commissions | carrd

• It wasn’t your fault you’ve always had a messed up sleep schedule

• Even while living, nighttime had never been able to tame you. It was just your luck that the habit carried on into hell. Figures that the world wouldn’t give you a break even in death

• You weren’t exactly an insomniac, per se. It was quite the opposite in fact. Just a simple case of falling victim to spontaneous naps in the most random of places. Yet never at night

• Narcoleptic & nocturnal were the terms that your friends used to use for you. With grins, they’d compared you to an owl; always up at night wandering aimlessly. Sometimes for days on end you’d carry on doing this and that, only to curl into a ball the next day and remain that way

• The habit never was anything more than a nuisance until you’d started living at the hotel. The place was just so big, with so many places for you to lie down before the thought of your bedroom even crossed your mind

• Angel Dust was the first person to find you passed out. He had been strolling into the kitchen, looking for something to consume that wasn’t drugs for once, when he spied you hunched over the counter snoring softly

• In your hand was a wooden spoon covered in a creamy batter of some sort, a bowl beneath it with the same concoction. Almost as if you had been making something before passing out

• Briefly checking his phone, the spider confirmed that it was only two in the afternoon, and approached you with a sly smile

• You were promptly startled awake by a loud shout directly next to your ear

• “I’m sorry—“ Angel laughed wildly as you fumed, not sounding sorry at all. “—but you should have seen your face.” He clutched his stomach as he fell into another laughing fit

• “Hey! Watch it!”

• He ducked with a frown as you sent the spoon flying at his head, just barely missing the porn star’s styled hair

• Everyone quickly made their own discovery about your weird sleeping habits soon after. Each in their own embarrassing ways

• Vaggie witnessed you lying on the stairs looking positively drained one morning, and Charlie even found you face first on the bar counter while Husk wiped away at a cocktail glass

• “Too much to drink?” She asked the cat, lifting up one of your arms between her thumb and forefinger carefully, almost as if you’d wake if she pressed to hard

• Husk laughed to himself at the question, remembering how he had turned to make you a shot before coming back to the sight before him now

• “Not exactly.” He huffed

• Perhaps best example of just how bad your timing was came in the form of an impromptu staff meeting

• Alastor had called everyone— more like demanded them —into the main parlor for an announcement one day. A mere week after the kitchen incident with Angel, in fact

• With a flourish of shadowy magic and a twirl of his hands, the overlord presented some sort of home made commercial on the age old TV the place had, looking very amused with himself as he did so

• You tried to pay attention, you really did. But at one point the actors and stray blood splatters started to look like the back of your eyelids

• By the time it was over, Alastor was tapping his fingers along the top of the picture box rhythmically while everyone looked at him with awkward smiles

• But you? Well—

• “So!” Alastor cheered with a cheesy grin as he spun on his heel. The rest of the members in the room watched him awkwardly, not noticing that your head had hit the back of the couch at a rough angle. “What do you all thi— are they asleep.”

• Static bled into the demons voice at an alarming rate as you let out a half jolt at the shift in mood, falling off the couch with a yelp in your wake

• You took a moment to swipe at your face wildly before blanching at Alastor towering over you nervously

• “Uh, my bad?”

• Alastor’s smile strained itself so thin, you thought it would split his face in half

• “Glad to know I’m keeping you entertained.” He all but laughed happily. But the white knuckled grip on his microphone told you otherwise

• You recall Charlie telling you something about ignorance being one of Alastor’s least favorite things. Especially when it came to his little spectacles

• “Maybe we’ve had enough peer feedback for today—“ Vaggie cut in cautiously

• “I concur.” Came your quick agreement

• You made sure to avoid Alastor for a few days after that

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n #alastor #alastor x reader #alastor x you #alastor x y/n #angel dust #angel dust x reader #angel dust x you #angel dust x y/n #husk #husk x reader #husk x you #husk x y/n #charlie #vaggie #x reader #headcanons

[onlyswan]

summary: in which alcohol plus k-drama is equals to your and jungkook’s tears.

> fluff / wc: 4k

> warnings: oc’s first attempt at becoming a pro bartender lmao they both drink alcohol!!, alchemy of souls spoilers!! (they watch the ending of part 2), mention of a stab and blood, they cry over character deaths together >:( (sike?) maybeee a little surprise bc jk is so in love y’all idk what else to say </3 💍

note: welcome to the result of my jungkook + aos brainrot. you can read more of inwhich!jk in glasses in this drabble. :D thank you anonie who sent this ask! + as always i’d appreciate it a lot if you lmk if you enjoyed mwamwa <3

—

“i miss my boyfriend.” you sigh dramatically as you slump over the dining table, popping a vodka-soaked cherry in your mouth.

despite being hopelessly in love, you and jungkook don’t necessarily feel obliged to spend every second of every day with each other. of course, it was different at the early stages of your relationship, when you had to cross oceans and move mountains to spend time together, even if it meant hugging for only ten minutes and parting ways again.

however, things changed when you started living under one roof. the burning passion of your love isn’t dying down, no. in fact, you would go as far as saying that it is growing more gracefully ardent. after all, there is no greater peace than knowing that at the end of the day, wherever the street signs and the unmarked paths may lead you to, you and jungkook choose to come home to each other’s arms. is this not the real honeymoon phase, as they like to call it?

he left early this sunday morning to attend a small reunion with his childhood friends in busan, while you spent the day reading a book and painting the numbers one to ten of the little paint by numbers kit you stumbled upon at the book store last week.

it’s a sunny day on an abundant island, with a lighthouse standing close to the edge. and maybe, just maybe, you regret ignoring the simple flower bouquet beside it because the details drawn on this canvas are the literal definition of tiny. you ended up feeling dizzy by afternoon because of the strain it caused to your fucked up vision.

to make matters worse, the doorbell rung at around 5pm, and a minute later you were already unboxing the basics cocktail set you ordered two days ago. it includes a 18- and 28-ounce shaker set, jigger that has a dual-side (ounce and two-ounce) pourers, strainer, muddler, and bar spoon.

to summarize what you’ve been doing with your life lately: you’re trying to explore the random things you’ve always been curious about, in hopes that they’ll help you find new hobbies and interests.

you thought about baking, but jungkook already does that, and quite frankly, you’re not at a place in your life where you have a high capacity for the patience it requires. mixing drinks, on the other hand, takes a relatively shorter time to do. and what makes it even more enticing is that you can take a shot whenever you mess up, as if you’re playing a drinking game.

there’s no better way to spend your sunday evening, right?

“baby, why the hell are all the alcohol outside of the cabinets?”

right… except you’re already intoxicated… and the world is spinning. you’re desperately yearning to hug jungkook, so he can make it stop, but you’re not even sure if he’s coming home or he’s staying over at his parent’s house for the night.

you react belatedly to the confused voice, lifting your head to squint at the man who grabbed a bottle of white wine from the cluttered countertop.

“hey, who are you? the bar is closed. put that down.”

he laughs lightheartedly when he realizes how drunk you’ve gotten. as he places it back down, the bottle clinks against the cold white stone. your heavy head collapses on top of your outstretched arm as he walks towards the opposite side of the dining table.

you open your eyes, one before the other, when you feel a presence hogging your space. a sheepish smile curves your lips as the beautiful face of your dear beloved greets you.

jungkook’s prescription glasses moves with his scrunched up nose as he grins at you playfully. “it’s the boyfriend you said you were missing.”

you reach out for him as soon as he finishes saying the sentence, silently asking to be embraced. slaves to your touch — his hands, which are resting on the sharp edge of the table and the top rail of your chair, eagerly slip down to encircle your waist.

you lazily lean your cheek on his shoulder, revelling in his welcoming body warmth. “why are you back early? aren’t you tired? you should’ve just rested at your house.”

“mhmm, i had to.” he hums, deep and raspy voice making his chest vibrate against yours. “we talked about marriage and all that jazz. i couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

with an airy huff, you pull away to glare up at him childishly. “i sure hope you’re not thinking about anybody else.”

he runs his tongue across his lips, unconsciously tugging at the silver lip ring with his teeth, but his loving smile stays. “you know that you’re the only one for me.”

“still! i like to hear it from you sometimes.” you giggle before taking a sip from a cold glass of cherry limeade, a refreshing treat you’ve been enjoying since before he arrived.

“vodka?”

“vodka.”

you swallow once more before handing him the glass, swaying your feet under the table as the delicious mixture of sweet and tart permeates your tongue.

“mhmm, wow!” he exclaims after taking a sip, tilting the glass a little bit to the side to look at the light red beverage with knitted eyebrows. “wait a minute- why is this so good?!”

you excitedly tug at the hem of his sweatshirt, begging for more pats on the head. “i had a lot of fun using the shaker.”

he lightly kicks out the chair to your right so he can take a seat, shrugging off the backpack full of clean clothes you packed for him last night incase he wanted to stay longer in busan.

“i did well with this one, right?”

he enthusiastically nods in response as he takes another gulp, chewing on the block of ice that also managed to slip inside his mouth. you melt into his affectionate touch when he cups your cheek with his delicate palm.

“maybe making drinks has been your specialty all along.”

you frown in disagreement. “i’m not sure. i made bloody mary before that one and i don’t know if i did something horribly wrong or it’s just supposed to taste that disgusting.”

amused laughter racks his body as he takes in the endearing sight of your genuinely downcast expression. you jut out your bottom lip in annoyance.

“it really tasted like poison! i got goosebumps!”

“shit, now i’m scared of you actually getting alcohol poisoning.” the back of your hand is rewarded with a sweet kiss by jungkook’s vodka-stained lips. the wide doe eyes behind his glasses meet yours curiously. “your hand smells like coffee.”

“oh- oh! the dalgona martini!” you rip your hand away from his to point at the martini glass standing at the very center of the dining table. “i just finished that. it should still be cold.”

he carefully slides the glass towards him to avoid spillage, fascinated lips forming a pout as he observes the thick portion of dalgona sitting on top of the mixed baileys and vodka. he didn’t even notice it at all because it’s almost the same color as the wood. has his vision gotten that bad?

“this looks yummy. you haven’t tried it yet?”

you shake your head, which you instantly regret because your vision blacks out momentarily. you swallow thickly as you attempt to blink away the shiny, swirly shapes dancing infront of your eyes.

“fuck, no. i already had classic martini, and mule. i’ll throw up.”

“jesus christ, baby. how many drinks did you try making?” jungkook finds himself so worried that he harshly takes off his glasses without reason, putting it aside on the table.

you giggle loudly at his reaction, using your folded arms as a pillow. “that’s all! i promise! besides, didn’t you drink with your friends, too?”

his face glows with uncontainable fondness at the mention of his friends.

“i was talking and laughing the whole time that i didn’t even finish half of my beer.”

your hazy eyes study his jovial and carefree features, and just like magic, they make your heart feel lighter inside your chest. heavens know that you wish for nothing more in the world than to see him this happy everyday.

“i’m so glad you had a great time, my love.”

“me too. i’ll tell you all about it when you’re sober and capable of memory retention.” he pokes fun at your drunken state as he picks up the glass of dalgona martini.

you roll your eyes before impatiently guiding the drink to his mouth. “just drink it already.”

“oing?” he blinks in disbelief, sipping on the glass again as if his tongue could’ve possibly fooled him the first time. ”i actually like this one more. i didn’t expect that.”

you abruptly perk up in your seat upon witnessing his candid review. “what? you’re joking!”

of course… you’re cursed. it had to be the one you hated making the most.

truth be told, you impulsively made the dalgona martini simply because it’s the only drink in the last online blog you found that you had the complete ingredients for.

you were obviously not prepared enough for this activity. but baileys, vodka, sugar, coffee, and water? yeah, any house would definitely have those.

then came your ridiculous dilemma: despite being intoxicated, you’re still terrified of using the electric whisker. and so, you had to do the whisking the hard way. to put it lightly, it was absolute hell. your arms and wrists are sore after shaking and whisking vigorously for the past three hours.

“it’s exactly what i needed after a long trip.” he moans. his shoulders spring up in delight as he licks off the foam around his lips, and you use your thumb to brush it away from the spots he missed.

jungkook grabs your hand before you could pull away, making you audibly gasp when he sucks at your thumb in his cold mouth. his insatiable tongue pokes the inside of his cheek after.

“uh- i think i tasted a hint of soap.”

“‘course you did. i just washed the dishes, you dummy.”

his pink lips part open as he processes your words, but he quickly brushes it off with a shrug. he noisily takes another sip from the glass.

“i can just clean it off my tongue with more martini.” he argues with a dimpled grin.

he grants you with a quick kiss, smudging the foam on his lips and transferring some of it to yours.

“ugh, you’re so sloppy!”

his laughter echoes in your home as he walks away. “i’m taking this with me to the bathtub!”

“don’t take an hour in there again.” you grumble out a complaint. “we need to watch alchemy of souls!”

—

“even if you decide to seal that door, i know how heartbreaking it will be for you, so it does not upset me so much.”

the flashback from four episodes ago confirms that it was foreshadowing this moment — park jin had sealed the door of jinyowon, a deep cave where relics are protected so they won’t unleash life-threatening dangers upon the world outside. lady jin and maidservant kim are stuck inside the collapsing sanctuary, holding back said relics from escaping… and the latter is none other than his wife-to-be.

jungkook anxiously bites the nails of his thumb and pinky finger, switching back and forth. the television screen reflects on the lens of his glasses as his eyes become shiny with tears.

“is this really the final episode? there’s no season three?”

“no, it ends tonight.” you reply in between embarrassing loud sobs, attention trained to the man mournfully calling out his lover’s name over and over again as he clutches her engagement ring to his chest.

the hot tears you fail to catch stream down to your temples, and then your boyfriend’s naked stomach. you’ve comfortably settled on the bed after finishing your nightly routines. your head is lying by the bottom of his ribcage, and that’s where the other edge of the cozy blanket enveloping the two of you rests. you grabbed a small portion of the cotton in a loose fist, and you’ve been keeping it close to wipe your tears with.

“oh my god, i can’t fucking do this. my head is being split open.”

you toss aside the remote control after pausing the episode, crawling to the nightstand to pop the painkiller in your mouth, which you prepared to be supposedly taken tomorrow morning. maybe you’ve sobered up a little, but the combination of the alcohol and the woeful crying have resulted to an agonizing migraine.

with his long and slender fingers, your boyfriend removes the hair that stuck to your tear-stained face before tenderly wiping your cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

“making my baby fucking cry, too. i need that son of a bitch jin mu to burn in hell.” he curses to release his pent-up anger from the past 29 episodes, referring to the main antagonist of the series. the harshness of his tone contrasts the gentle kiss that lingers at the corner of your lips.

after drinking water, you wipe away jungkook’s tears with tissue paper, gingerly dabbing at the sides of his nose as well. he has a very sensitive skin, and because tears do contain salt, they can cause slight irritation and stinging when he cries. it’s something he once quietly complained about in passing, but somehow, it stuck with you throughout the years.

“does it hurt a lot?” he worriedly caresses the back of your head.

you meekly nod in response.

“should we just watch the rest of it tomorrow then?”

“noooo.” you drag out the word, shifting on the bed to return to your previous position. “my pain is nothing to compared park jin’s pain. i must persevere.”

and just like that, your tired eyes begin to water again. jungkook chuckles, affectionately holding your face in his hands. he isn’t surprised to find your skin to be warmer than normal.

“aigoo, your eyes are so red. at least put your glasses back on.”

“fine.” you mumble in defeat as you pat around the mattress, looking for the glasses you haphazardly threw aside when your intense emotions started to take control over you.

his rosy cheeks rise like buns in an oven as he smiles. “i love it when we match.”

—

park jin stands before the greedy individuals who conspired to steal the foundation of jinyowon, the fire bird, which dries up the world when it is awakened. it will be used in a rain ritual to create another ice stone, a ball of energy similar to that of the sun or a star. and to point out the obvious, having it in your possession would mean becoming the most powerful being there is.

“evil always does what it wants without ever stopping. but why is it that virtue always needs to prove itself over and over again?”

“…yes. i do wish to save her. i would do anything to save her, even if it meant i would lose my sanity. but even so, i will stop you from getting what you want. not a single one of you has the right to laugh at me… and call me… a hypocrite.”

you feel jungkook shiver below you. he is immensely engrossed with the actor’s phenomenal performance, flawlessly depicting what ‘seething’ anger means. he puts his tattooed arm underneath his head to get a closer view of the subtitles. these have to be some of the best written lines he’s heard from this show so far, and he hopes to remember them by heart.

the two of you watched with bated breath when he starts fighting against several warriors, and then it happens… jin mu removes the barrier of the fire bird as a threat.

“oh, fuck you!” you kick your feet in annoyance.

park jin is forced to focus his energy on re-sealing the fire bird, leaving him vulnerable to the attacks of his merciless opponents.

“no, no, no.” jungkook chants under his breath, heart thundering with fear. “this can’t be happening.”

you know what is bound to happen. they did show three coffins at the end of episode nine. but denial denial denial is a stage of grief after all, and so, with a broken sob, you squeeze your eyes shut.

when your eyelids flutter open, a sword has already been driven through the center of his chest, and dark red blood uncontrollably spills from his mouth. jin mu spitefully pulls it out from behind before he weakly falls on the ground. jungkook stays quiet, it happens so fast but he feels suspended in time, while your horrified crying carries on.

you unwillingly remove your head from his chest before you can cry a river over his shirtless torso, opting to sit up beside him.

“bunch of cowards.” he couldn’t resist mocking as the group scrambles to leave the place before it completely burns down, jin mu taking re-sealed fire bird along with them.

park jin jolts awakes coughing up blood. he painfully forces himself to lie on his back, and the camera reveals that he’s been holding maidservant kim’s ring all along. with trembling hands, he puts the ring on himself. you cover your own mouth as you listen to his worn out sobs.

a look of love and admiration shines on his dull eyes, and you swear that he smiles softly, before his arms fall limp on the dusty ground.

is the moon watching? and the stars? have they ever witnessed something so gutwrenchingly tragic?

“he wore the ring on his pinky! and it didn’t even fit halfway!” your glasses is left abandoned beside you again as you finally allow yourself to weep freely.

seeing that you clearly need a break after that heartbreaking scene, jungkook pauses the episode.

“that’s so cute, but-” you hiccup. “this is so unfair. they were supposed to get married and have babies!”

“oh, baby. i know.” he coos softly, hugging your side and peppering your cheek with kisses. his own tears drip from his chin and he brushes them away with the back of his hand. “their souls will be together in after life though, don’t you think?”

you gradually grow quiet and calm at the thought he proposed, but- “i don’t think they can make babies there.”

“shit.” he chuckles as his forehead lands over your shoulder, glasses slightly sliding down his nosebridge. “you’re right.”

“this is too much. i can’t-” you blow your nose in sheets of tissue paper before throwing them in the bin you dragged next to the bed earlier. “it hurts so much. they just wanted a peaceful life together.”

the two of you grieve for the what if’s and what could’ve been’s. he can’t possibly think of anything more tragic than being forced in a position to choose between the love of your life and the humanity; only to end up perishing at the hands of the evil who made you do it.

and what did he have left? a lifetime’s worth of love to take with him to the grave, and whatever’s left of his pride and dignity? jungkook wouldn’t want any of those. he only wants you.

he lifts up his head, a small smile playing on his lips, swollen and cherry-colored from the nervous nibbles of his bunny teeth. “we’re crying like this and they’re not even the main characters.”

“need to sue the writers for emotional damages.” you groan, tense muscles slowly relaxing in your boyfriend’s embrace. “how many minutes left?”

“40 minutes.”

“i can’t even open my eyes anymore. sorry, babe. my head-”

it’s almost as if it’s been dunked underwater. the throbbing pain spreads numbing pressure from your temples to the back of your head.

“i told you we can finish it tomorrow. it’s fine.”

jungkook briefly leaves your side. the television screen turns black after he pulls out the plug. he throws away the crumpled tissue papers, and then he places your glasses on the safety of the nightstand.

“how cute… don’t fall asleep on me yet.” he fondly coos at your half-asleep figure. “you’re dehydrated. drink some water first.”

a straw pokes your lips. with your eyes shut closed, you hold onto his wrist to steady the tumbler as you take a long sip. by the time you let go, the water has reached the line indicating that there’s only three quarters of it left.

you softly fall back on your pillow with a ‘thump’, turning your back on him to face his empty side of the bed. he also drinks his share of the water before filling in the blank beside you.

he hums in acknowledgement when you pull at his arm to make it your personal pillow, leaving his own glasses on the nightstand as well before facing you.

you give him a small hazy smile, threading your fingers through his soft and luscious hair. “love your pretty and healthy hair.”

“i love you.” he whispers like a confession as he strokes the back of your head. “close your eyes now.”

“i love you, too.” with a peaceful sigh, you nuzzle your face against his chest. “jungkook?”

“hmmm?”

“were you happy today?”

a lump grows in his throat, bigger than the one he felt when he was browsing through engagement rings online. emerald cut, cushion cut, round cut. sapphire, ruby, diamond. size 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5… he was hanging on the thin line that separated excitement and anxiety. the two-hour train ride passed by like a radio song he didn’t pay attention to. but you don’t need to know about that. not right now.

he swallows it down, embracing you tighter. “i still am… happy. if i delete those scenes from my memory.”

“me too.” you mumble before succumbing to the void of darkness beneath your heavy eyelids.

—

between the alcohol and the coffee that he simultaneously drank, it looks like the latter won the upper hand. more than twenty minutes later, jungkook is still wide awake, overcome by his clamorous thoughts. the conversations he had with his friends echo in his mind, and he paces back and forth between your shared past and future. the future… there is no future if there is no you.

he closes his eyes, instructing himself to focus on the steady rise and fall of your chest instead of the things he cannot control.

he kisses the top of your head. “i love you so much.”

however, he won’t be able to sleep peacefully until he learns what happens next. he needs the closure because he would truly despise having a bad dream about them. after all, they didn’t show maidservant kim dying. there is a glowing firefly of hope he’s been enchanted to follow into the abyss of the night.

with careful movements, he wears his glasses and his wireless earbuds. he holds his phone using the arm you’re lying on, while his hand under the blanket absentmindedly rubs your back, palm smoothly running up and down the expanse of your skin.

his jaw slacks open only three minutes after he picked up where you left off. jang uk, the male lead of the show, reveals to those grieving infront of the three empty coffins that their loved ones did not pass away.

the following scene unveils park jin, alive yet unconscious on a bed, and maidservant kim who is holding his ring-clad hand, weeping for the traumatic night the two of them suffered.

jungkook chuckles in great relief, blinking away the tears from his glassy eyes.

“fuck, they’re alive.”

—

“fuck, they’re alive!” you almost choke on the haejangguk, a hangover soup, that you started to heartily eat not even two minutes ago. “i almost died crying last night and it turns out that they lied to me?!”

jungkook chooses to feign ignorance. he innocently watches the screen with his wide doe eyes, bunny teeth biting at the rim of his glass of white milk.

“wow, i’m speechless.“ he squeaks out. “how did they even get rescued?”

—

taglist! @alanniys @jjkeverlast @queenofdragonsandcats @yvesismywife @jeonqkooks-main @witchfqllen @virgogentlejk @rkie @jeonwiixard @monilyv @bermudaisy @takochelle @the1921-monsters @investedreader @seagulljk @yeow6n @yoonqkiss @hopeworldjimin @lllucere @unnatae @zqynmlk @bxbyyyjocelyn @zkdlllin @koostarcandy @tswisal1 @fragmentof-indifference @laylasbunbunny @jjk-jeongirl @cherishoshi @taexidriver @luaspersona @yn-lifeu @loveejkk @bloopkook @babyboo22 + send an ask / dm if you want to be added (or removed) :D

#jungkook #jungkook fluff #jungkook drabble #jungkook scenario #jungkook imagine #jungkook one shot #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook fic #jungkook fanfic #bts fluff #bts reaction #jungkook angst #jungkook smut

[acocktailmoment]

Death in the Afternoon !

Ingredients:

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) absinthe

1 teaspoon simple syrup

4 ounces (½ cup) Champagne or Prosecco

Instructions:

Pour the absinthe and simple syrup into a cocktail glass. Top it off with the sparkling wine.

Symple Syrup recipes:

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

½ cup water

Instructions:

Add the sugar and water to a saucepan and heat over medium heat.

Stir until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat before it simmers (or when the temperature reaches 140°F). Cool to room temperature before using. Store refrigerated in a sealed container for 1 month.

Courtesy: A Couple Cooks

This article was not sponsored or supported by a third-party. A Cocktail Moment is not affiliated with any individuals or companies depicted here.

#art #design #cocktails #drinks #cocktail #cocktail recipes #recipes #drink recipes #drink #absinthe #sugar #champagne

[captainofthetidesbreath]

I keep saying that Jonas Spahr needs a fucking drink, but I can never decide what drink because, let's be real, he'd benefit from quite a wide range of cocktails right now. So, I'm putting it to a poll.

This isn't about what drink you like best, this is about what drink you think Spahr should be having or most needs right now.

#Jonas Spahr #Midst #Midst podcast #Midst things

[wardenparker]

The King's Queen - chapter 5

Javi Gutierrez x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

Prince Javier of the Balearic Islands has always known that one day he would have to follow in his father's footsteps to be the caring and steadfast king that his people deserve. What he did not know is that he would be stepping into the next phase of his life alongside a woman he has never met before - and amidst a rocky sea of unusual circumstances of every kind.

Rating: Mature, but this blog is always 18+ Word Count: 10.1k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series: arranged marriage, age gap, classicism, cursing, food and alcohol, mentions of American politics, deceased parents* Fluff. It's just fluff. Absolute, pure fluff with fluff on top. Summary: Dinner is a much needed retreat for you and Javi after such a busy and harrying today. Notes: After the emotional weight of the last chapter, we had to do something a little lighter.

Ch 1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4

Wearily, Javier rubs his forehead and looks up at Julius. The afternoon had been spent with the council and he had ended up deciding that two of them needed to be replaced due to their obvious loyalty to Lucas. “Julius, will you see if the Princess is free to join me for a later dinner?”

His assistant nods, stepping away to pick up a discreet palace phone that will allow him to dial your suite - or any other room - directly. The line rings twice before it connects and he hears your voice on the other end. The fluid Spanish makes him nod approvingly and he relays the king's request accordingly. After a moment he murmurs a polite goodbye and hangs up, returning to the king's side with a smile. "The Princess has been waiting for your call," he reports with obvious enjoyment of that fact. "She is working in her suite and can meet you at any time, your Majesty."

He hums, a tired smile on his face. “Have the chef prepare the dinner that I had requested this morning, along with a red wine from the cellar. Champagne is perhaps too festive.”

Julius nods again, his go-to reaction for almost anything, but he hesitates slightly. "If I may, your Majesty?"

“Of course.” He has learned over the course of the afternoon that Julius has his finger on the pulse of the country and the palace. Invaluable in his contribution to his father’s reign.

"A case of pink gin found its way into the palace this morning, and I understand it is a favourite of the Princess's?" He tilts his head in amusement, as if the choice is endearingly whimsical. "If you intend to have the very same dinner for the very same purpose as you set down this morning, perhaps a cocktail could be arranged to accompany your dessert? As a treat for her Highness, but not one that would seem inappropriately...boisterous. Given the events of the day."

“That would be much appreciated.” Javier nods and sighs. “It’s been a long day and I think we could all use a drink. Whatever cocktail is created, give one to the staff as well, a toast to King Miguel.”

"Very gracious, your Majesty." The staff will appreciate the gesture, he knows that. The small things do not go unnoticed in a place like this. "And if I may be so bold..." When he receives a nod, Julius returns it with his own. "You did very well today, sire. Allowing yourself to enjoy some personal time is not inappropriate."

“Thank you.” He’s bone tired and sad, but looking forward to seeing you. Something about his father’s death is bothering him and he hasn’t figured out what it is. “Start putting together suitable replacements to Rodriguez and Estrada.” He shakes his head. “Tomorrow. You have also earned some personal time. Once dinner is served, instruct the staff to go home. Dishes can be washed tomorrow. It will not make the palace crumple.”

"Yes, your Majesty." He'll relay the message but has his doubts that it will be followed. The palace staff has a lot of work to do with an engagement, a funeral, a crowning, and plenty of other official events in the near future. "I will have suggestions for replacement cabinet members by morning."

"Thank you." He nods and motions for Julius to leave as he stands, groaning slightly at the ache in his back. "Have a good night." He will have dinner with you and then see if he can sleep. The last moments of his father are haunting him and he hates it.

******

It isn’t difficult to make sure that you’re ready for dinner at the right time and place, considering Javi’s rooms are still directly next door to yours for now. You had even located the door that connects your suites but decided that it might not be appropriate for you to appear in his rooms for dinner that way. Instead you had unlocked it, remembering what he said about the lock being on your side of the door, and gone over to the proper front door of Javi’s suite in the hallway to be announced.

By the time the knock on the door comes, Javi’s changed into something more casual, more him. Trousers and a short-sleeved button up, he feels the weight of the day drain away as he walks to the door to open it himself.

He’s really quite unfairly handsome, to the point that you can feel your cheeks burn when he so much as smiles at you, and tonight you can see the relief in his face when he opens the door to see you standing there. “How was the rest of your day, querido?”

“Margarita, it is good to see you.” He reaches for your hand to draw you into the room and leans in to kiss your cheek. “It was filled with headache inducing meetings. How was yours?”

“Far less stressful than yours, I think. But I will be happy to not be stuck with pins again for a long while.” Being in his arms has such a deep sense of security to it and you sigh without realizing. Whatever cologne he wears smells like the sea and you wonder if he made the choice consciously or not.

“Was it successful though?” He asks with a small chuckle as he leans back. “I heard that designer is good.”

“She was lovely. And very clever. I’ll have a few things quickly and more things over time.” When he laughs he smiles again and it makes you melt more than a little. “The things for the funeral and the state dinner will be done first, of course.”

“You will also have to choose a designer to make your wedding dress.” He reminds you. “As well as coronation gowns.”

With the door shut behind you, you don’t mind taking the moment of intimacy and leaning into his side. “How soon do you want to have the wedding?”

“I was going to ask if you wanted to be crowned as queen when I am crowned king, or if you wanted to wait.” Javi guides you over to the table that has been set for two in his dining area.

"It would be less of a to-do and less of an expense to have us both crowned together." With the responsibility of decision making falling to the two of you now rather than simply following orders, there is more to consider than just how soon you want to be married. "We could be married before the summer is over and have our coronation in fall or winter, if you want them close together?" The English king had waited almost a year for his coronation but you know from reading that Balearic tradition has coronations much more quickly.

“We could do a joint coronation and wedding?” Javi suggests, knowing the expense of either event will be large. “Have the wedding and the next day the coronation? Or would that be too much at once?”

“It would certainly be a big event.” The possibility is one that you had never considered, and you sit down at the table with him with an intense look of concentration. “The honeymoon tradition of touring the islands would be doubly useful, if we did that. It would be an extended celebration. Of course it would be a lot of work to put on the palace staff, but it would save a lot of trouble with planning. Overlapping guest lists and visitors, that sort of thing.”

“And in the end, instead of two separate, costly events, we essentially have one. It would end up saving the people money. We could also declare it a holiday week for them.” Javi suggests.

“We should give ourselves time to plan.” His enthusiasm for the idea is enough to convince you that it is worth pursuing, and you know you’ll be on board for whatever he ends up deciding. “How would you feel about waiting until autumn to have both events together?” While you may not have reservations about marrying him, you’re realistic about the fact that it will take quite a lot of work to get both things done. A few months is practically no time at all.

“That would work.” Javi nods. “There will be several coordinators that would work with you on it.” He promises. “Julius would have that information.”

“I’ll have my own assistant in a few days,” you tell him, sitting back at the table as a footman appears with a silver service cart bearing your dinner. “Julius is wonderful but I don’t want him to be overwhelmed or overworked.”

“Did you have someone in mind?” He smiles and nods at the footman as he bows. “Thank you, Juan.” He picks up the wine bottle and pulls the cork out. “We will not need anything else.”

The footman goes again without a word, and the comfortable quiet of a meal shared just between the two of you sounds perfect for tonight. “My brother,” you tell him honestly, watching as Javi pours you each a glass of wine. “He has been our father’s personal assistant for a few years now and knows me better than anyone. He’s also fluent in Spanish. And has a good eye for fashion, so I trust him with my clothing.” Looking up at Javi, you see the surprise on his face clear as day. “Is that alright?”

“That is perfectly okay, margarita.” He assures you quickly, smiling. “You will have your brother here with you, so I approve.” He is an only child, but from what you had told him, you and your brother get along very well.

“I think you’ll like him.” Sebastian was always the one who watched Nic Cage movies with you and encouraged you to pursue the things that made you happy, so you can’t see someone as kind as Javi not being endeared to him. “So,” you hum softly when he gets up to move to the cart. “What have you requested for our dinner tonight?”

“I requested your favorite meal.” He admits as he lifts the cloches and picks up the plates to bring over to the table. “Based off your social media.”

“Javi.” The china dishes are overflowing with penne coated in luxurious vodka sauce, heaped with piles of stunning shrimp, spinach, basil, and zucchini. Toasted bread lathered in garlic confit is even tucked into the side of the dish like a halo of culinary perfection. It looks even better than when you would get it from the Italian restaurant at the end of your block - and far better than when you tried to make it yourself. “This is absolutely sweet of you. And it smells incredible.”

“Good.” He’s relieved that he got it right and you seem delighted by the prospect of the meal. “Our chefs created this, so hopefully it is exactly what you would experience back home.”

“The company is better,” you venture, knowing that he’s probably far too tired and emotionally wrung out for anything close to flirting, but you are better honest.

You are kind, and lying, because he knows he is not good company for now. He smiles and motions towards the food. “Then let us see how it tastes.”

It’s heavenly. You would never say it to the faces of the family that own your favourite Italian restaurant, but the palace chef has outstripped their own recipe by a mile. The shrimp and zucchini are perfectly grilled and the sauce is like silk over everything. The hum that escapes your lips is as enthusiastic as your smile, and you’re glad to be indulging with him in private. This bowl of comfort food is not going to be eaten in a ladylike manner.

“This is delicious.” Javi moans as he swallows his first bite. Happy he had decided on a red wine to balance it out, it pairs perfectly and he takes a sip, relaxing even more. “We need to make private meals a regular thing.” He decides, looking at you to see what you think.

“Date night.” Is the first thing that comes out of your mouth, and you fluster slightly at how juvenile that sounds. “I—I mean…I agree. Time to ourselves is valued.”

“Date night.” Javi nods, perking up at your approval. “Perhaps I can show you some of my favorite places?” He asks. “It is important to me to show our people that we are interested in their businesses. My father would have me travel and eat local restaurants often.”

“I would love that.” It’s the furthest thing from what you expected from him, and that is sort of a delightful surprise. He wants to go out and be around his people instead of simply staying safe in the palace, which is utterly wonderful. As beautiful as these walls are, you can see already how they might feel like a gilded cage after a while.

“It is always nice to see how people are thriving.” Javi hums. “Or struggling. It is our duty to make sure that they do not struggle because of our decisions, although it is impossible to care for every individual.” They are his father’s words, carefully counseled time and time again. Once Javi had thought him simply not trying hard enough, but he now understands how much pressure he had been under. And this is just his first day as king.

“We will do everything we can.” From the position you’re in, that could be a whole lot. It could be enormous, the difference you could make. “A large or a small difference happens in many different ways.”

“Yes it does.” He’s glad you understand that, knowing that it would be difficult to explain if someone didn’t already know.

"We cannot expect the very beginning of things to be without a few bumps in the road." Whether you're talking about your relationship or his reign is up for debate, but you smile anyway. "But we will do everything we can."

“You are extraordinary.” He stops eating, just staring at you as if you are the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen in his life. “Truly.”

"What?" The comment takes you completely off guard and you look up from your plate to see him giving you every ounce of his concentration and focus. "I—how? Exactly?"

“You have withstood every obstacle that you have faced in such a short time here with grace and wisdom.” He reaches out and takes your hand. “I am lucky that you will be by my side.”

"I feel like I've hardly done anything," you admit, but when you look away from him bashfully you end up watching the way his thumb strokes methodically over the ring that he put on your finger just hours ago. "But I'm here to support you, querido. And if that ends up meaning this...these moments of quiet and encouragement? Then I have the easiest job in the world. Because I truly never want you to doubt yourself for even a moment."

“It has been a difficult day.” He admits quietly, “but being here with you is helping. You are a very calming presence. I appreciate you being there with me today, during the speech.”

"I would never have missed it." You squeeze his hand gently between your fingers and offer him a smile. "You really are much more charming and sweet than you could ever know. It is..." Cheeks burning all over again, your eyes hold on his and you can feel yourself soften even more. "It is impossible not to be drawn to you. I'm sure you won't have any problem winning the people over quickly."

“I am worried about that.” He sighs, looking down at your joined hands. “For a long time, I have been viewed as a wild child or a ‘playboy’.” He huffs. “It is my fault, I tried to ignore my obligations to my future. But I am afraid I have - how you say - ‘shot myself in the foot’?”

"Then I guess it's a good thing that you're about to be married, isn't it?" It will help in calming his image. There is no doubt about that. "A few months of being photographed with a princess who's crazy about you should pretty much do the trick."

“Where do I find such a creature?” His grin is small but he’s smiling. “Can you point me to her?”

This is exactly the charm that you're talking about, and you giggle slightly despite knowing how silly it is. "I have it on good authority that you've already found her."

“I have?” He looks surprised and then very pleased with himself. “Then I must confess that I have a slight crush on the Princess of Mallorca and the future queen.”

"Only slight?" Your lips twist up into a pleased grin and you can't resist the urge to tease him. Although is it teasing if it's the truth? "How disappointing. I have it on good authority that she would have called it love at first sight."

“A king must keep some secrets.” He teases. “Though I do confess that she stole my heart already.”

"I hope someday you feel comfortable letting me be your secret keeper, and that you might want to be mine as well." When privacy is so guarded, having a person to trust above everyone else means more than can be expressed. And you know that for all their problems, your parents were each other's vaults. You had always hoped for love as solid as that.

“I have already decided that you would be that person for me.” Javi admits, biting his lip and looking at you softly. “If that’s okay?”

"Of course it is." The two of you slowly start to eat again, keeping hold of your joined hands on one side of the table. "I, um...I unlocked the door, by the way. That goes between our rooms."

“You did?” His eyes dart towards the door and then back to you. “Do you— I mean— is it okay if—” he shakes his head. “Would you be comfortable if I came into your room tonight?” He asks, his voice low. “I don’t wish to be alone.”

"I didn't think you would," you admit gently. Grief is a remarkably lonesome bedfellow. "You can certainly come join me later if you like. Or...I could simply stay here? Whichever you prefer."

“You would be more comfortable in your room, sí?” He asks, frowning slightly. “Unless you would prefer to be here?”

"We're both so worried about the other person's comfort." It's sweet, actually. And it makes your heart beat just a little faster that his first thought is your comfort and not his own sadness. "I've only slept in my bed once, querido. I would not mind getting used to sharing it, however innocently."

“I fear I am not in the correct headspace to do much more than hold you.” Javi sighs. He would have loved to touch you under any other circumstance, but he can’t tonight.

"And that is in no way a disappointment," you assure him immediately. "I would be a remarkably insensitive kind of partner to expect anything of you today, Javi."

He exhales slowly, relieved that you don’t expect him to perform. “Thank you, margarita.”

"You have had a day from hell, querido." A fact with is surely an understatement, but you feel slightly reassured when he forks up another bite of his dinner. "There is no reason for you to be alone, but there is also no reason for anything to happen between us until we are ready."

“If my father had not collapsed, I would have been eager to touch you.” He admits. “I had hoped you had not wished to wait for marriage.”

"I really don't see the need." It's not as though either of you is going to be seeing anyone else - that idea sort of flew out the window with both the betrothal and the actual engagement. "Under other circumstances I might have come to see you for dinner wearing much more...creative things under my dress. But I have no doubt that time will come."

Javi swallows harshly, imagining you in something creative. He nods. “It does not have to be a race.” He sighs and decides it’s best to bring it up. “You will have to have a doctor’s examination before we can be together now.” He explains. “Since I am king. Just to make sure you are not pregnant.”

"Lovely." You don't roll your eyes despite feeling like you want to. It may be an antiquated tradition, but it does technically make sense. "They can ascertain that information with a blood test or an ultrasound if they want to be truly thorough. There is no reason for a doctor to examine anything else. It's not as if science believes the hymen is prove of virginity anymore."

“That’s what I meant.” He shakes his head quickly. “Just a test to prove you are not carrying another man’s child.”

"In that case, I don't have any objections." If you were marrying anyone beside a king, you probably would object loudly, but this is a fairly unique circumstance. "I'll arrange to see the royal physician soon. To get that obstacle out of our path."

“I am sorry.” He sighs quietly and shakes his head. “I know it is too much to deal with.”

"You're worth a little bit of trouble," you tell him matter-of-factly, putting down your fork so you can pick up your wine glass without letting go of his hand.

“I would not blame you if you ran for the hills.” He pokes at his dinner now, suddenly unhappy with the idea of doing this by himself. If you wished to go, he would not stop you. After all, his father is dead so he could break the betrothal if he wishes.

"But I won't." Putting a tiny bit more pressure on his fingers to get him to look up at you, your head tilts to the side as you take in his pout. "If you had looked at me today and said we needed to go make our vows immediately, I would have done it. I wouldn't have hesitated. This isn't just about the promise our parents made anymore." Your expression softens a little and you end up shrugging, like you have nothing to defend yourself with. "I might have been teasing you before, but...I meant it. It took a matter of hours for me to start falling in love with you. It's...it's as simple as that."

He closes his eyes and his own fingers squeeze yours. “I imagined putting you to bed in my bed.” He confesses with a soft smile. “Waking up with you in my arms and seeing how you like being kissed awake.”

"Next time I fall asleep stargazing, there won't be any reason to hesitate." It had been mildly embarrassing, realizing that you'd fallen asleep on that blanket with him on the cliff, but the way he took such tender care of you last night had wiped away any concern. "Kisses are one of my absolute favourite ways to wake up."

“I will keep that in mind.” He smiles and chuckles before he takes another bite of his meal. You really do seem to calm him and he’s grateful for it.

Conversation becomes idle while you finish your meals. It turns to stories from when you were both younger, small anecdotes to serve as a way to get to know each other better. You're about to migrate out to the balcony to watch the waves and gaze at the stars when he remembers that there is also dessert to be shared.

“There is tiramisu and cheesecake.” Javi murmurs. “It seems you love both of them.”

"I have a sweet tooth," you admit unapologetically. Apparently, it also extends to sweet men.

“Then we will always have a dessert to end the evening.” He smiles and brings the desserts over to the table on the balcony to share in the open air.

"And what is this?" The bottle of something pink in an ice bucket catches your attention on your way past the service cart and you pick it up. "Something special to drink, as well?"

“Your pink gin.” Javi admits, picking up the card that is by the bucket and reads. “It is called the clover club cocktail.” He tells you as he looks up. “It is supposed to be tart and sweet, with raspberries.”

"That sounds both delicious and terribly fancy," you decide, scooping up the two empty glasses on the cart along with the bottle. "Perfect for dessert."

“I wanted tonight to be perfect for you.” He admits, slightly sheepish. “I wanted you to be sure about your answer and I wanted to see how romance would play out between us.”

"This was your original dinner plan, wasn't it?" Remembering that he had said something about it earlier in the day, you set the bottle and the glasses down on the little table on his balcony and take up both of his hands in yours. "It's all been perfect. Just so you know."

“It was.” He flushes slightly and looks proud. “I had hoped that tonight would be far different than it has been, but I am glad I am still here with you.”

"You're a king, Javi, not a god. There are some things even you can't control." Opening your arms a little, you offer him a moment of comfort if he wants it.

Moving into your embrace with a chuckle, he can’t help but tease you. “If this was two hundred years ago, I would have been worshiped as a god.”

"Mm." You hum slightly and half-laugh along with him. "Tell me it's a kink and I'll make sure it still happens for you."

He stares at you for a moment in disbelief before he barks out a laugh. “You are not serious.” He pulls you closer to him and shakes his head.

"Nothing wrong with a worship or a praise kink." Still, you hug him back and don't press. It's enough to hear him laugh after such a long and stressful day.

“I have both.” He presses closer to you, feeling like himself completely now. “I just need to find out your own buttons.”

"They're not so difficult to figure out." Just standing with your arms around each other is infinitely relaxing, and you sigh quietly against his chest. "I've never really tried anything too adventurous."

"We have to make sure that those activities are not leaked." He snorts, halfway amused and slightly mortified at the idea of his sexual proclivities being talked about in great detail even more than they already are. "But we can try to experiment with almost anything you want."

“I’m not asking you to fuck me in public or to collar me or anything.” You promise him with a grin. “We should have no problem whatsoever keeping our private life private.”

"Or sharing." He shakes his head seriously. "I do not like to share. I was an only child."

A small, amused smile plays on your lips and you press a kiss to his cheek before leading him over to the little table to sit down together again. “I don’t like to share, either. And I have two siblings.”

He chuckles quietly and nods. "It must have been exciting, having siblings to share with. I had cousins, but it was not the same."

“I don’t know that I’d call it exciting.” At the table, you pour out two cocktails and set one down beside him. “Seb is the only boy, so he got unconscious favoritism from my dad. And my younger half-sister got the extremely conscious favoritism from my stepmother, since that’s her biological child.” You shrug slightly and take a sip of your drink, humming at the fruity, floral notes. “At least my brother and I have always gotten along.”

"And you have felt like the outcast." Javi guesses, aware of that feeling intimately. He has always felt like he was out of place himself. Born to the wrong parents, the wrong place. He had felt like he wasn't supposed to be a prince or a king one day. He had felt alone, even surrounded by his family.

“They didn’t mean to do it, but…yes.” Your family spent your entire life preparing to send you away. And aside from your brother, it seems like they mostly forgot that you were their family in the first place.

He sighs and picks up his glass to hold it up in a toast. "To feeling like an outcast and finding each other – perhaps because of it."

“Here, here.” Your glass clinks against his with a soft ringing sound and you half-laugh under your breath. “I suppose we’re proof that you can be surrounded by people and feel utterly alone. But…I haven’t felt that way since I met you.”

"I have felt nothing but peace since I have met you." Javi reveals. "Peace and finally a sense that I belong somewhere...with you."

“I’m sorry we couldn’t have known each other before this.” His words wash over you like summer sunrise, making you brighten and hum in his warmth all at once. To know that he feels exactly the same way you do is an unlooked for - though desperately wished for - gift. “I used to imagine I could be brave enough to write you letters. To become…pen pals or something. To know you before the day I was sent for. But clearly I was never brave enough.”

"My father had decided it was best that I not know until now." He understands why he had chosen that path, Javi had been a very defiant prince for a long time. However, once he had met you, he now knows he would have looked forward to the future with you if he had met you earlier. "Perhaps it was for the best, but I am grateful that I know he approves of our match."

“I meant what I said,” you tell him quietly, coaxing him to share the sweet ending of your meal by setting a fork in front of him. “I might not have known him well, but I know he would have been proud of you today.”

"For a long time, I tried to convince myself that his approval did not matter, but it does. I wish to make sure that he will be satisfied with the way I care for his people." Javi confesses.

“Then we will make sure that whatever steps we take, you are satisfied with them for yourself, and your father’s memory.” Being adult enough to admit to wishing for your parents’ approval is not something you’re going to downplay in the slightest, considering you go through nearly every day feeling a semblance of the same thing. “When I have trouble with a decision, I usually ask myself what my mother would have done. Or what I think she would have encouraged. I think it helps. To have that kind of moral compass.”

"I will have to remember that." He smiles at you softly and takes another drink of the cocktail. "This is very good. I see why you like your pink gin."

“It’s a little out of the ordinary. Unexpected.” You smile, taking in the sight of him beside you in the moonlight. “I’m finding that I like things that are a bit unexpected.”

"Is that so?" Javi smiles slightly and shakes his head. "There is a lot that will be unexpected in our lives, margarita."

“Then it will be an adventure.” Reaching across the small table, you squeeze his arm gently and find your smile broadening. “And I’m glad we’ll be doing it together.”

The desserts are shared, each one of you moaning over the taste and the rest of the bottle is split, leaving both of you stuff and slightly buzzed and feeling good. "This is what I needed tonight." Javi admits as he sets down his last glass, empty.

“I’m glad.” The idea that part of what has helping him feel better is bearing near you? It’s a comforting and grounding feeling that rolls through you to make you sigh. “Will you come to bed with me?” It’s an innocent question without sounding like it, and you feels your cheeks heat. “Just to find out what it is to sleep and wake up together?”

Javi smiles and nods. "Would it be alright if I sleep in my boxers?" He asks seriously. "I normally do not like to sleep in much."

“I don’t mind.” In fact, you welcome it. But saying so might seem like pressuring him and you won’t do that. “I don’t think Flores will be too scandalized.”

He nods and then he motions towards the tables. "You go get ready and I will clean this up to put on the cart." He tilts his head. "I dismissed the servants for the night, so it can stay until morning. It has been a trying day for everyone and I thought they could use some more personal time to deal with the loss of my father."

“You’re very sweet.” Standing stretching, you lend him a smile and point toward your shared door. “I’ll go change into my pajamas. Come in whenever you’re ready.”

"I will." He nods and watches you slip out through the door connecting your rooms and hums. He knows that he will be better off with you tonight. It will be better spending the night in your arms than chasing away demons and regrets by himself.

When it comes time to actually get ready for bed, Javi finds himself nervous. He's already changed into sleep attire that is appropriate, but he saves brushing his teeth. Carrying his toothbrush with him like a lost little boy as he knocks on your door to make sure that he does not walk in on you changing.

Instead of anything suggestive or overly decorative, you decided to change into a matching set of navy sleep shorts and short sleeved shirt. You had picked it out ages ago because you liked the little bronze-colored stars printed all over the set and it seemed like a very normal choice to make for tonight. Something ordinary that you might wear on any ordinary night. And not the very first thing you'll wear the very first night you share a bed with your future husband.

You go to the door to let him in, instead of just calling your permission, and you cannot help but smile when you see him standing on the other side with his toothbrush in hand. "Come in, querido." You step back to give him room and shut the hidden door behind him.

“I—” he looks down at his toothbrush and blushes slightly. “Have you brushed your teeth yet?” He asks, feeling slightly foolish. “I was hoping we could have a normal moment of domesticity together and I have watched so many movies where being in the bathroom together is comforting.”

CalamityConnie — 09/01/2023 11:12 PM

"I just finished washing my face, so brushing my teeth in next." Even as you nod toward your bathroom you feel like you could just squeeze him to bits in your arms. He is so unassumingly sweet sometimes.

“Thank you.” He murmurs quietly, following behind you and focusing on the pajamas you are wearing with a small smile. “For this, for being there.”

"Do you have a side of the bed you like to sleep on?" Not wanting to let him sink into worry or sadness, you keep the conversation light and reach for his hand to tuck it into yours.

“Not really.” He admits with a shrug and a small grin.

"Then I guess we'll have to see how comfortable we get. Because I don't have one, either." Your bathroom has been modernized beautifully - and probably many times over the lifetime of this palace - and right now that includes an immense clawfoot bathtub dominating the wall opposite your marble sink and an ornate mirror to complete the feeling of luxury. Your bottle of lotion is sitting on the counter next to your toothbrush and toothpaste - the last three pieces of your nighttime routine.

“Then it will be interesting to find out.” He chuckles quietly. “I think I’m used to having the bed to myself.”

"So am I." You offer him the toothpaste first, feeling surprisingly normal about the small moment of domesticity that he wanted so badly, it feels right. "My bed is almost always just me and a bunch of pillows."

"Do you sometimes line them up beside you so you do not feel alone?" He asks, squirting a pea sized amount on his toothbrush and then picking up your own to coat it for you. In the softer light of the bathroom, the make-up mirror is off, you look so beautiful. Nothing but clear skin and he likes the little silk thing you have on your hair. It must protect it while you sleep. "I do sometimes."

“I…had a body pillow.” You admit sheepishly, although the body pillow is less silly than the large llama stuffed animal you used to sleep with long ago. “I left it back in New York, so…there’s a chance I may end up cuddling you in my sleep instead.” Not that that would be a bad thing. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

"Would you?" Javi asks, looking at your beautiful reflection for a moment before having to look away bashfully. He's too old to ask for a cuddle but he desperately needs it, tonight of all nights. "I mean, I wouldn't mind it and sometimes these big, drafty rooms can get so cold." That’s a lie, the castle is just like the climate of the nation, temperate. It just sounds like a good reason to curl up together shamelessly.

“I’m a cuddly sleeper.” And if today hadn’t been full of so much tragedy and stress, you have no doubt that you would be pulling him into bed for more than cuddles. But as it is, you wouldn’t blame him if that was too much intimacy for tonight. The fact that it seems to be a comfort to him relaxes you a bit. “So I can all but guarantee it.”

“That is good.” If might be considered pathetic how comforting that is, but Javi manages a pleased smile as he brings the toothbrush up to his mouth. Happy that you have been such a comfort to him and have promised to continue to be.

You brush your teeth in silence and pick up your lotion bottle after rinsing, habitually dabbing the silky coconut oil scented cream on the drier parts of your skin. “That’s it…” you acknowledge awkwardly. “Unless you’re not ready to go to bed?” Not that you can think of anything else he would need to do, you’ve just found yourself suddenly nervous.

“I…am exhausted.” Javi confesses quietly. “But I can stay awake if you are not ready for sleep?” He understands your body might still be accustomed to New York time. For you, he would stay awake.

“It’s been an exhausting day.” Nodding back toward your bedroom, you take his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “Let’s go to bed.”

Walking towards the bed, hand in hand, is oddly innocent and cathartic at the same time. The attraction is there, if it hadn’t been for the events of the day, he would be very interested in peeling off your pajamas, but the tone of the night is perfect. Comfort and a much deeper connection emotionally.

The bed is plenty big enough for two, and you crawl under the plush duvet together into the mountain of pillows with a soft sigh of relief. It has been a long, trying, and exhausting day, but that just makes you glad to offer him a place to burrow into your side. After all — his day was much harder and safer than yours. It is the least you can do to offer him comfort.

The comfort of your arms is quickly accepted, curling against you and his head ends up on your shoulder. “The bed is comfortable.” He offers after a small sigh.

“It is.” You had thought so last night, but you have to admit that your heart is beating a little faster now than it had then. “The company doesn’t hurt, either.”

“Yeah?” He smiles against your shoulder and can’t help but snuggle into you a bit more. “Emotionally vulnerable men are a turn on for you?”

"Maybe." You can't help but laugh at that, and tighten your arms around him a little. "Or maybe it's just men who show any emotion at all."

“I cry during Pretty Woman.” Javi admits softly, as if that might prove his emotions. Hoping to hear you laugh again at his obvious attempt to curry favor.

"Because you're happy they end up together, or because that damn necklace is so pretty?" Smothering a little laugh, you nuzzle your nose into his hair and shrug unapologetically. "I never knew I was the kind of person to cry about jewelry, but it is very pretty."

“We have necklaces that are prettier.” He offers with a smile. “I’ll make sure to snap the box closed on your fingers.”

"I'll wear whatever you want me to, and make sure you catch me in the bath with headphones on at least once." Just to be able to hear him laugh a little, to release some of the tension from the day, is more than you could possibly ask for. The reality of losing his father will hit him slowly, it seems, and that is okay. It just means that you'll be here for the ups and the downs as they come.

“My mother loved baths.” Javi tells you quietly. “The king’s suite - my suite now - has the most magnificent tub.” His fingers start to play with the edge of your shirt as he talks. “They had a picture of me in the tub when I was younger, playing. But father said mother would soak every night after they retired for the evening. No matter how tired she was, she would spend at least twenty minutes in the tub. It was her unwinding.”

"Your mother sounds like an incredibly smart woman." His fingers toying with the fabric of your pajamas is welcome and far too alluring than you want to admit, but you would never presume to suggest that anything should or could happen tonight. You had promised him comfort and you won't betray that just because your body likes the way he touches it. "When I lived with my brother, he would go out on dates every weekend and sometimes I would spend the whole time he was at drinks in the tub. Just me and my candles and bubbles and wine with a good book."

“You should have the same type of tradition.” Javi decides. “There is so much stress and pressure with this role. A bath with wine and a book every evening before you sleep would do wonders.” Even though he has been so frazzled and heartbroken today, he feels safe, warm. If it wasn’t inappropriate, he would ask to kiss you again.

“And what will you do to unwind from your days?” Without realizing it, your fingers have found his curls and are toying with a few strands absently. “I know your days will be more stressful than mine, querido.”

“Perhaps, at times, you would allow me to join you?” He asks, “or I could watch a movie.”

“You may join me whenever you like.” It was what you wanted to suggest, but thought that it might be a little too forward for day two - and especially under the circumstances. But because he asked, you smile. “It sounds like a very sweet way to unwind from our days.”

“I wondered if father joined her.” He admits, wishing he had talked more to his parents when he had them. Learned to look beyond the stern facade.

“Would you like to think that he did?” It isn’t exactly hard to figure out that Javi is a romantic, and if it soothes him to think of his parents in love then you will encourage that fully.

"I think he probably did." Javi admits quietly, "when he wasn't working later or holding a meeting. My mother...she was my father's confidant." He might have told you this already, he couldn't remember, but it was helping the ache in his heart to remember the good things about the sometimes austere people who had tried their best to prepare him for a life of service to the peoples of the Balearic Isles. "He told me to choose one person to confide in. To give them my doubts and fears, to be vulnerable with."

“Do you…really want it to be me?” He had told his father that he did, and so far you know Javi to be an honest man. But to give comfort to a dying man is never a cruel lie even if it isn’t the whole truth. “It’s okay if you don’t, querido. If you have a best friend that already keeps all your secrets or something like that. I would not feel that you think less of me.”

“My entire life, all I have ever wanted was for someone to accept me as I am. To just…love me.” His voice catches slightly as he confesses this to you, the low light of the small bedside lamp not bright enough to chase away the shadows around the room, just illuminating one side of the bed where you both are curled together. “While you don’t love me, you do accept me. If we are lucky, love will come, as it did for my parents.”

“I do love you.” And you will say it as many times as you need to. As many times as he needs to believe it. “I didn’t know it could happen so quickly, but I meant what I said at dinner, querido. It began right away.”

His eyes close slightly. “I hope you stay in love.”

“We have known each other two days, Javi.” Carefully your hand tilts his chin up to make him look at you. “And I already can’t imagine being anywhere else, or with anyone else.”

He smiles softly, nodding as he listens to you. “You are amazing, you know this?” He asks.

“If you say so.” You certainly aren’t going to discourage him from thinking that if he wants to, and there’s a slight burn of warmth in your cheeks from the way he’s looking at you. “I’m just being honest.”

"I will have to tell you that you are good for me." He murmurs softly. "My parents were right."

"Sometimes they do know what is best for us." Although you would never admit it to your own father - there is no way you want to know what what 'I told you so' speech would be like. "And maybe we're both just enough like our mothers. They were best friends, after all."

“I wish that they had allowed us to know each other.” The age difference is the reason, but he would have liked to know what you were like as a younger woman.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know." A small grin cracks your lips and you press a kiss to his hair. "Or you can wait until my older brother gets here and ask him. I'm sure Seb will be more than happy to tell you all of my embarrassing stories."

“Did you have a favorite stuffed animal, when you were a child?” He asks, wanting to keep away from heavy topics, keeping the mood light.

"I did, but it's...a little weird," you admit with a small grin. "I had a stuffed llama that was made out of llama wool." When he quirks his head curiously you laugh and shrug in return. "My parents took us to a petting zoo when Seb and I were little. I think we were maybe five or six? But I could not get over the llamas. They were so big and soft and friendly and they were my favourite thing ever. So my mother bought me a stuffed animal from the gift shop before we left that day."

“Llamas.” He smiles as he imagines it. “That is cute. I used to have a panda bear.” His panda had been with him for year, it was probably still somewhere.

"I can see that." He's snuggly like you always imagined panda bears would be. "Bears are a classic choice, no matter what kind of bear it is. Perfect to cuddle."

“Yes.” He’s making a mental note of your favorite stuffed animal, thinking of it for the future. “I always felt safe holding my panda. His name was Pedro.”

"That's adorable." Now all you can think of is whether or not he still has that panda - or what he would think of having a similar stuffed bear on hand for one of your kids someday. Nope. Far too early for thoughts like that. "My llama was Lily. All the 'l' sounds would make me giggle."

“Lily the Llama.” He hums happily. “That is adorable.”

"Lily the Llama is pretty on par with Pedro the Panda," you point out, relishing the small smile on his face. Anything that makes him smile is exceptionally worthwhile.

“Perhaps.” He chuckles and shakes his head against your shoulder. “I was thinking that perhaps when we have kids we should have a stuffed llama for them.”

"I thought of having a panda for them." The fact that you both thought it independently makes you smile, and you hug him close in your arms. "I suppose we'll have to do both, then."

“I could see that.” Javi smiles. “Our children would have both stuffed animals. Their own petting zoo.”

“If we made them a little zoo, I’m certain they would choose favorites.” The image is sweet, making you wonder how much he’s even thought about his future children beyond the fact that he would have to have some. “I can imagine visiting dignitaries arriving with stuffed versions of their country’s most popular animals.”

"It is customary to give gifts to the prince and princess," he admits. "Especially when younger. The last time I was in London, I brought them some of our blown glass whistles. Very popular."

“I have one,” you admit quietly, rubbing your hand up and down his back in soothing strokes. “It was part of one of the birthday gifts your mother sent when I was little. It’s exceptionally beautiful.”

"That is good." He smiles softly at the idea of his mother sending you gifts. "They are precious to me. The craftsman work that goes into one is amazing. I have toured one of the factories. Did you know that they still handcraft every whistle?"

“Maybe we could include one in the favours for our wedding?” Knowing that a small set of items will be given to every single guest as a favour at your wedding reception, the idea to make them all local and lovingly crafted items sounds beautiful. “We could choose items made by artists rather than larger companies? As a way to celebrate the people.”

“That would be wonderful idea.” Javi thinks that it’s wonderful that you would include something so centric to the economy for his country. “We can find lots of local crafts to include.”

“I think that would be nice. Paying tribute to the people.” The urge to lean down and kiss him is nearly overwhelming, but you resist. The last thing you want to do is make him uncomfortable or feel pressured.

“It will be a wedding for the people.” He muses softly. “We will have to have dignitaries there, but I would like to hire as many of our people as possible to staff the wedding.”

“It will be an expensive day, and all of that money should go right back into our economy.” You could not agree more, and the fact that he is so determined about it makes you smile. “Local foods, local suppliers, local goods. All of it.”

“Yes!” His eyes light up and he beams at the idea. “Show the world what the Balearic Islands can give through trade.” It’s not exactly romantic, but he is king now.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” The urge is there again, especially with how he beams at you, but you resist just long enough to get your heartbeat under control and kiss his forehead instead. It’s a small gesture of affection but it does the trick. For now.

He needs to be close to you, he is, but it’s not enough. Turning his head up, Javi shuffles up onto his elbow and looks down at you. “Can I kiss you?” He asks quietly.

“I—of course.” It doesn’t surprise you that he would ask, but it surprises you that he would want to tonight. You won’t question it, though, both from wanting to offer him comfort and desperately wanting to kiss him again. “You don’t have to ask.”

“I don’t— I just want to kiss you.” He promises, leaning in and wanting to find comfort in the way that his emotions are already starting to grow even more. Despite the loss of his father; he isn’t alone.

"We don't have to do anything you're not ready for." You can promise him that wholeheartedly, although you know for damn sure that you'll be falling asleep with an aching cunt tonight. It doesn't matter. This is about his comfort and his feeling secure more than it is necessarily about desire. "But I don't think I'll ever say no to a kiss."

“I just— I didn’t want you to think I was using my father’s death as an— an excuse.” He tells you. “Some men would do that.”

“There is nothing wrong with seeking comfort, or even in giving yourself permission to forget for a few minutes to cope.” Having watched plenty of family and friends lose people closest to them, you have seen how pleasure can numb pain. It isn’t the worst coping mechanism in the world, even if some people look down on it. “I don’t think you’re being sneaky, querido.”

“I just— I wanted you to know.” He doesn’t know why it’s important for him to tell you that, but it is. Making him relax even more as he reaches up and caresses your cheek. “I never want to lose your trust.”

"Then let's keep being honest with each other." Your fingers brush his curls out of his eyes and you soften instantly. He really has the most beautiful eyes...

The kiss is gentle, slow. Nothing to indicate passion, it’s just a melding of your mouths. His hands stay put, not drifting as his mind blanks of everything but kissing you.

Deciding that the most respectful thing you can do is follow his lead, you have to repeatedly remind your hands to stay where they are, and keep the level of passion you're showing in check because what you're feeling is just so much more. There will be more time. This is only your second night together. You have the rest of your lives..

He relaxes into the kiss and sighs softly. Eyes closed and slowly taking the kiss for every small moment and absorbing it. It's natural. Languid and exploratory without pushing at any boundaries. His hand doesn't move from your waist and yours stays on his arm, like as long as you keep to those rules then you can keep yourselves in line. He doesn’t know how long he kisses you. Minutes, hours. It could be days that have passed while he breathes you in and gives you his own breath. Slowly and softly kissing you like nothing else exists.

Everything else has faded. The stress of the day is muted well into the background and the only thought making its way to the front of your mind is how sweet he tastes. How gentle he is. How desperately right it feels to be pulled tight against him in bed together. By the time the two of you separate you feel dizzy, and fuzzy around the edges in the very best way.

“Thank you.” The gratitude is whispered, a smile accompanying it as the first sense of peace really settles into his tired body. “For being here. For standing beside me.” He shuffles to settle down against you again. “With you here, I feel as if we are going to be an unstoppable team.”

******

The king is still wrapped in your arms the next morning, sleeping with his head on your shoulder and his own arm snuggly around your waist when Flores comes into the room to open your curtains and wake you to dress for breakfast. The sight of the king in your bed with you is not one she had expected for some time, but you both look so contented that she cannot help smiling. Quickly and quietly, Flores hustles over to the next room to let the king’s valet know where he spent the night, and to make a gentle suggestion — that perhaps after the trials of yesterday and the comforts of last night, you should be allowed breakfast on trays in bed together.

The door opening softly again this time stirs Javi. He had been dreaming of his father, sitting in the study while looking hale and whole, praising his son for the decisions he was making. Feeling so real that his heart is overjoyed, he opens his eyes to find Flores coming into the room again, a soft smile on her face.

“Good morning, your Majesty.” She curtsies deeply as she directs a small silver service cart into the room and parks it beside your nightstand. “We took the liberty of bringing your meal to you instead of laying it in the breakfast room,” she murmurs, noting the details of the room as she goes. You are still wearing your pajamas and the room has no scent beyond flowers, so she tucks that thought away entirely. “I will return in half an hour to dress the princess and your valet will have your schedule for you in your rooms.”

“Thank you, Flores.” You are still sleeping and he bites his lip before looking at her again. “Make it forty five minutes.” He decides, wanting to wake you up slowly.

“Yes, your Majesty.” With another nod and deep curtsy, Flores backs out of the room to slip off and attend to other business. There is plenty of it, after all.

Once alone again, he turns back towards you, struck again by how sweet you look. Sleep giving you an innocence that could not be described beyond beautiful and yet it takes his breath away. The back of his fingers brush your cheek gently and he caresses your neck. “Princess?” He coos softly, smiling when your mouth twitches slightly in sleep.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” you mumble sleepily, the title being still so foreign to you. Sleep has glued your eyes shut but you force them to open just for the view of Javi you know you will get. And when you do, you sigh audibly. “Morning, handsome.”

“Wait until the title is ‘Queen’.” He hums as he leans in to nuzzle his nose against yours. “I have a question to ask you.”

“Anything.” Even still half asleep, you know you’ll grant him anything, and he’s so warm and soft beside you that it still feels like you’re dreaming.

“I have dreamed of a Princess my entire life.” He admits softly. “Imagined the perfect woman to stand by my side and even then, I could never have imagined how perfect you would be.” Your eyes are soft, slightly watery as he speaks. “It is not the romantic dinner I had imagined, but I do not want to wait.” Your full name comes out softly. “Will you marry me and become the next queen of the Balearican Isles?”

“Querido…” Tears are unexpected this morning, but it’s such a sweet and gentle moment that you can’t help the few that escape the corners of your eyes as you nod eagerly and surge forward to kiss him. “I will.” The words swell in your chest and practically have you giggling against his lips. “Yes—I—I love you, Javi.”

“I love you.” He promises, unsure of how this happened so quickly, but it seems right, as if it was meant to be. “We will have a long and happy life together.”

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon   @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit

TKQ: @storiesofthefandomlovers @mimimarvelingmarvel @patti7dc

My Masterlist!

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Javi Gutierrez #Javi Gutierrez x reader #Javi Gutierrez x you #Javi Gutierrez x female reader #Javi Gutierrez x f!reader #Javi G #The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent #TUWOMT #royalty au #arranged marriage

[lavenoon]

Kindled Spirits AU

Soulmate AU revamped with a Y/N <3

Basics: Soulmate bonds are 1) not necessarily romantic, 2) not a given and not always between just 2 people, 3) not necessarily reciprocal (rare, but happens) Basically soulmates are bonded via dreams - meeting within dreams, or dreaming of each other’s memories, anything in dreams is fair game Plays a year after the pizzaplex fire and given that I had the idea a good while ago none of the dlc is included in the premise, also bc this is based on an old self insert fic Y/N is extremely audhd because that I refuse to take out

Y/N has spent most of their life assuming they don’t have a soulmate, which is a relief because they’re plagued by nightmares/ stress dreams a lot. They got used to those, and when some other hazy dreams crop up later in life they don’t think much of it.

Then one night they dream of burning. An indoor playground, they stand in the middle of it, filled with hopelessness and self hatred they cant explain (the irony of Sun burning to death). They don’t feel alone though, and though they can’t see anyone else, they know someone else is there. It's both a comfort as well as agonizing, and the care for that other person is evident, despite the whole emotional cocktail. They go through the entire dream incapable of changing anything, and then wake up still feeling hot but also cold and clammy, phantom flames still licking at their skin. All while they cope with the idea that maybe they did have a soulmate, and that is now past tense.

For an entire year they go around thinking they witnessed their soulmate(s?) burning to death via dream, not telling anyone about it but carrying that guilt.

They move, and find a new job - the Pizzaplex is hiring! No one wants to be a security guard anymore after all that weird shit a year ago, so even though Y/N lacks the qualifications, they get hired. Rotating shifts, day (morning/ afternoon) and night. The first time they walk past the daycare, it flashes into flame - but no, that’s just coincidence. It’s the first indoor playground they’ve seen since then, it’s hazy dream memories worsened by guilt, it’s not the same.

Y/N befriends the daycare attendant, and the naptime attendant - they talk to Sun sometimes through the slide, and Moon usually bothers them on their security rounds. They do meet Sun first, after trying to be helpful throwing down some stray ballpit balls down the slide, and a curious Sun crawls up just to get a ball to the face. Y/N feels very bad about that, and given their lack of scripts for how to interact with animatronics, they just fall back on the scripts they already have. Sun doesn't seem to mind, so it's all good! Then one night they shout a belated "Good night!" down the slide, after the lights in the daycare have turned off, and barely avoid falling when suddenly Moon stands behind them, asking them just what they're doing. He makes his dislike of their flashlight promptly known, and then they have a menace of a shadow for their rounds.

That goes on for a couple weeks, until Sun asks them inside of the daycare to address a few concerns they could please relay to management?

And then the perspective is just undeniable. Y/N gets caught in the flashback, seeing it all burn again, and Sun startles them out of it. They don’t tell him. They can’t. But they realize that he’s been forced to work in a direct replica of the place where he burned to (temporary) death.

After that they keep trying to broach the topic of soulmates in general, but Sun and Moon are very much convinced that as animatronics they are not people, and they can’t dream anyway, so how would they have a soulmate? So silly!

Dreams and personhood are very connected in this AU - with dreams linking souls society just assumes that anyone without dreams is not a person. (Is this a societal issue for other humans who don't dream? Sure! People are people and will exclude others for any reason!)

Meanwhile Y/N starts having more dreams - they assume because now they live closer, actually met their soulmates, there’s less of a barrier to only have the super traumatic stuff make it into their dreams. In fact, they are kind of relieved that their usual nightmares are exchanged for extremely mundane “watching kids play in the daycare” or watching themself being bothered by Moon from his POV.

It’s a struggle trying to convince their soulmates that they are in fact people, while wondering if the bond is reciprocated because how would they tell? Sun and Moon can’t dream, there’s no confirmation that Y/N is their soulmate too! Lots of fear of rejection that’s holding them back here

But also some shenanigans at this time, like Y/N knowing that Moon follows them on their routes, and calling him out on it when he tries to stay hidden. He asks how they knew, and they bluntly reply “it came to me in a dream”. Moon laughs, then asks for the truth that they don’t know how to give after he rejects it so easily. They end up deflecting and he goes back to being a menace.

Also Y/N being somewhat anxious once they realize that Sun uses "friend" for many people (whenever they do see him interact with adults, which isn't often) and awkwardly ask for confirmation because oh no what if he's just being polite and they read too much into it? They almost regret it when he proves that Moon isn't the only menace and makes sure they know he considers them their friend after! Moon continues being a cat in his affections, so when Y/N asks him the same he ends up positively surprised, somewhat guilty (due to the secrets he keeps, and the danger he still believes he poses), but mostly ramps up the friendly annoying to the max

And then Y/N ends up impulsively telling Moon. He wants them to be joking - asks them to, even, to take it all back. When they refuse he reacts more in anger and accuses them of deluding themself, suggesting they need medical attention. They get angry then, too, because is he really telling them to go to a doctor after they confess something like this? It ends badly, with Y/N fleeing the scene and then avoiding both Moon and Sun for a good while.

Until Sun requests their presence about a “security issue” in the closed daycare, and Y/N goes even knowing he’ll want to talk. He’s concerned more than angry, but disbelieving all the same. Y/N’s patience is running thin when Sun, desperately, asks them just what they were dreaming about to be so convinced - what made them think they're linked to an animatronic like that? - so they tell him about the fire. They also tell him that they were telling the truth that one time with Moon. Sun (and Moon) get their own flashback, and Y/N ends up frantic, apologizing for bringing it up like that, while the boys are just terrified that

1) Y/N had to see that, experience it via dream

and 2) just what else could they have seen?

Moon in particular is terrified - he approaches them a bit later, asking about other dreams they might’ve had. Even says “they would have been nightmares”. He assumes that Y/N must have witnessed the virus induced murders and has no idea how to assure them that he’s not that, after he reacted in so much anger at their initial confession. His concern doesn’t really lessen, and more shifts upon being told that “I wouldn’t know, all my dreams are nightmares anyway”.

Mostly themed around growing closer after that, and working around “we don’t need to dream of you to know we like you, and we do!” as well as uncovering the past trauma Sun and Moon have gone through (and are going through, still trapped in the same building in a replica of where they burned).

Also Sun and Moon struggling to accept their personhood because if they’re people, then they are traumatized and were (and are being) mistreated for a long time, and that’s also hard to come to terms with. Some thoughts towards animatronic emancipation though I never got that far in the fic, so mostly comfort and slice of life as they work around the little bump in the road of their soulmate bond. Y/N opening up about their own dreams, and why it's so difficult to say they had any nightmares based on Sun and Moon's experience before the literal death experience not just breaking the ice but rather melting it at record speed

Would remain platonic/ ambiguous because it was very important to me that soulmates aren't necessarily romantic, and they all have bigger fish to fry than whether or not they'd like to go on dates - given that that's hardly an option while Sun and Moon cannot leave the Plex. The reassurance and relationship beyond the bond actually is the most important part, with Y/N admitting to both Sun and Moon and also themself that they enjoy having them as soulmates, of course! But they'd be friends with or without those dreams, given that Y/N initially approached them both before they even realized. Which is also a relief, because Sun and Moon do feel bad over not being able to confirm that it's reciprocated - they feel like it is, they want it to be (and isn't that the most important part?)! But they don't know. And that's okay - because they found each other, dreams or not, and they won't lose that <3

This is as much as I have right now, and as much as it'll stay for the time being! Enjoy <3

#post let luce #dcamv #kindled spirits #lmao have fun reading this whole thing is 1.7K words #and i mean. the doodles #speaking of. #my art #you can see the aroace (?) jumped out when I tried to make a soulmate AU I could stomach #needed to doodle something yesterday and just. kept thinking abt my year old abandoned self insert fic hfjdks #from before i even joined the public fandom too #felt like it'd be fun though #soulmate aus *are* fun but I also like looking at complications in them #so I made them hurt (: #a little. bc its me. so we get comfort #anyways yes #new au! enjoy! <3

[ohtobeleah]

Congratulations on hitting 4K!

May I please request:

#PL1

Rooster, Smut - “Are you sure? Once we start, I might not be able to stop.”

Thank you so much!

Warnings: Mentions of possible breast cancer. No actual smut ahead. Roommate reader x Bradley Bradshaw ***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~**

You were supposed to meet Rooster at the Hard Deck after your appointment, but when you actually finished with the tests you had to get done–the shower back at your shared apartment seemed like a better place to break down than in the middle of the Hard Deck that would surely be teaming with Naval Aviators. 

“Y/n?” Bradley began to grow increasingly more impatient as he got no response from you. “Y/n, come on, open the door?” He groaned as he tried turning the handle. He knew it wouldn't work, that it wouldn't open the door that separated him from his housemate, colleague, friend and above all the love of his life. “You've been in there for over an hour, open the door?” 

Rooster could do all the knocking and all the begging he wanted but you were in too deep in the shower you were enjoying. Or just using it as a coping mechanism to ward off the impending doom you felt had been cast over you ever since you took those stupid tests. Whatever way you wanted to look at the situation unfolding–you still weren't going to unlock the bathroom door and allow Rooster to come on in and assert his unwanted opinion on the matter. 

“Cover up, I'm coming in!” Bradley announced as he picked the lock on the bathroom door, giving you approximately three point five seconds to do literally nothing as you stood in the shower under the stream of hot water and drank your version of a Gin Sour from one of your fancy cocktail glasses. To Bradleys surprise when he finally made his way into the bathroom you’d been in for the better half of probably an hour and a half, you had not done what he’d asked and covered up. “Holy shit–” He sighed as he brought a hand up to cover his eyes as they threatened to trail higher than up your very naked, very wet legs. “What the hell are you doing in here? Our fucking water bill is gonna be insane!” 

“I'm basking in the glory of my imminent death Bradshaw–” You mumbled as you took another sip of your cocktail. “Doctor Rodriguez told me to enjoy the little things, so here I am, enjoying what was a perfectly good shower until you started banging on the door.” 

“What do you mean imminent death Clov, I thought you were just going for a check up this afternoon?” Bradley questioned as he turned away to lean on the shower door, facing away from you so he could uncover his eyes from the palm of his hands. “You never showed at the Hard Deck and weren’t returning my calls so I came straight home–spill.” Bradley pressed. “What gives with the crazy ass water usage.” You took another sip of your drink and thought about if you really wanted to go into heavy detail with Rooster about your health, or the possibility of your not so good health. He was only your housemate. Your colleague, there was no commitment to care. He didn't owe you anything–but something in the way he so desperately needed to be in the same bathroom as you made you think he cared enough to want to know the truth. 

“You really wanna know?” 

“Absolutely–'' There was no hesitation in Rooster's voice, no regret in his tone or fear that you'd drown on for hours and hours. He just wanted to know if you were okay, if you were alright. Because unbeknownst to you, you were the love of Bradley Bradshaw's life. “Spill the beans Clover.” So that's exactly what you did as you placed your cocktail down on the little rack and reached out for your shampoo bottle. 

“I didn't just go in for a random check up–” Bradley could gather that much himself but you thought it may have been a good place to start. “I actually went to get a test done, with the oncologist that diagnosed my mum a few years ago.” Bradley also knew that much like himself, you had lost your mother too, but much more recently than he lost his. 

“Cancer?” 

“Brca.” You replied and Bradley remained silent as he turned slightly to watch your sudsy hair fall down your exposed back. He didn't dare look down to where your ass began to swell. “It's a gene, I went to find out if I inherited a genetic mutation from my mum that means I'm probably gonna die of breast cancer.” You scoffed. “Little gene might even throw in ovarian cancer, free or charge just to make sure I'm good and dead.” 

“And?” 

“I don't find out the results for a couple of days but I'm preparing myself for the worst, hoping for the best.” 

“I'm sorry–” All Bradley wanted to do in the moment was hold you, give you false hope and tell you everything was gonna be alright. He was pretty good at that. 

“Yeah, it's a tough break for me right.” You paused as you turned around, not caring enough about the fact you were standing before Bradley Bradshaw fully exposed with just the glass shower screen between you. “But you wanna know the real pisser though?” You asked as Bradley just stared at you like he was trying to process everything you were telling him. “There are two variations of the gene—if I have one, then eventually having children will reduce my chances of getting cancer, but if I have the other? Then well—it’s uh, it increases my chances.” 

There was no hiding the tears that had fallen freely down your cheeks as you washed the shampoo from your hair. As you closed your eyes and focused on the stream, Braldey started removing articles of clothing. His signature throw over hawaiian shirt, his actual T-shirt, jeans, boxer briefs and slowly opened the shower door. 

“My sister Casey got tested a few years ago, she has the ‘baby good’ kinda death gene, so she got her buddy Andre to knock her up pretty quickly.” It was then when you opened your eyes after rubbing away the tears that you saw Rooster now standing in the shower with you. Chest to chest, you didn’t dare look down. “My other sister Lauren, daddy’s little girl—is of course, clean as driven snow.

“You’ve never been tested before?” Bradley asked as he stepped a little closer, you handn’t asked what he was doing or told him to get the fuck out so he took it as his sign to persue on. Deciding to reach out and push some of the wet strands of your hair behind your ear before he settled in to cup your cheek. 

“Fuck no—why would I wanna know if I was gonna live or die?” You smiled softly and Rooster did the same, you couldn’t help but to look down at his chest, to his torso and quickly at his manscaped pubic hair. Fuck. 

“Can the doctors do anything? If you uh, have the ‘baby bad’ kinda gene?” Bradley asked softly as he rubbed the pad of his thumb across your cheek to grab your attention. “Because if they can, then know I’m gonna be there by your side every step of the way.” 

“Rooster, I don't need your sympathy.” You shook your head as Bradley brought his free hand up to cup your other cheek as he stepped you into the corner. “What are you doing?” 

“It’s not sympathy, it’s just the truth.” Bradley was quick to establish the fact before he leaned in to kiss you softly and ever so deeply. You couldn’t help but to melt into his warmth, his touch. “And I’m doing what I should’ve done alone time ago before you had the chance to scare the fuck out of me.” 

“Are you sure? Once we start, I might not be able to stop.” You bit Bradley’s bottom lip softly as he pulled away to look at you. Look at you real hard because you were everything he wanted and he needed you to know that before you eventually found out what Brca gene you had. 

“I’ve never seen so sure of something before in my life.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~**

Leah’s 4k Celebration 🎊

#Leah’s 4k celebration 🎊 #rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradleybradshaw #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #rooster fluff #rooster x reader #rooster angst

[acurlygirlamy1]

DIARY OF A SNOW SHOVELER:

Moved to North Dakota this fall. We heard that summers are fun and winter is beautiful. We think there is no more beautiful a place in the whole world!

December 8 - 6:00 PM It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print. So romantic, we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9 - We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the whole world? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had! Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks.

This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!

December 12 - The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment! My neighbor tells me not to worry- we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. I don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14 - Snow, lovely snow! 8 inches last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish I wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15 - 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16 - Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17 - Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God! I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20 - Electricity's back on, but had another 14 inches of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling! Took all day. The damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but. they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22 - Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white shit fell today, and it's so cold, it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob-who has a plow on his truck-for the rest of the winter, but he says he's too busy. I think the asshole is lying.

December 23 - Only 2 inches of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she, nuts?!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago. She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24 - 6 inches - Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snow plow, I'll drag him through the snow by his balls and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling, and then he comes down the street...at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents...but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25 - Merry f---ing Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn slop tonight - snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God, I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to feed her through a chipper shredder.

December 26 - Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27 - Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me $4,400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28 - Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. The BITCH is driving me crazy!!!

December 29 - 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30 - Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only for the beating I gave him, but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted.

December 31 - I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8 - Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed ???

-Author Unknown

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