#aidan waite fic

[generalkenobi22]

Fic: it's weird, but it's ours (Being Human US) - Chapter 1

SUMMARY: A ghost, a werewolf, and a vampire walk into a house, and—have you heard this one before? They walk into a house—well, no, technically, they walk into a very close, very enabling, borderline co-dependent, group dynamic. Otherwise known as a family. But you know what they say about family: can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em because there aren't any readily accessible iron pokers, silver bullets, or wooden stakes on hand. Which is a good thing because the last thing they need on their hands is suspicion of murder when the neighbors already think the werewolf and the vampire are a couple. But the werewolf and the ghost? They're not sure what their dynamic is. They just know that it absolutely, 100% does not involve Feelings of any kind. ... Probably.

In typical fashion, I finally got around to watching Being Human (US) only a decade-ish after it aired and loved it. My toxic trait, though, is that if a dynamic is contentious, with even a hint of perceivable flirt-to-roast ratio, I will ship it. Which is how this Josh/Sally monstrosity came to be. I am nothing if not Fake Dating/Enemies to Lovers/Found Family trope trash.

Can also be found on AO3.

—————

It only takes about a week after they've moved into their house (Sally's house? They really haven't landed on that one yet) before the full neighborhood welcoming committee arrives on their stoop.

Josh isn't actually home to witness this. No, he finds out when he walks in the door after pulling two doubles and sees their living room filled with people. He barely has a moment to stash his backpack, let alone change out of his scrubs, before an older woman with a perm and a bad dye job corners him and starts talking his ear off.

The extra guests come bearing food, which is the only reason Josh doesn't kill (stake?) Aidan for not texting him a heads up. He uses his height to his advantage to scan the room until he finds Aidan... talking with two attractive girls (because of course he is). Josh tries to subtly signal to him, but Aidan either doesn't see him or is straight up ignoring him—honestly, either option seems in character at this point.

"You know," Perm/Bad Dye Job says to him, her voice filled with pride, "my grandson is gay."

"Uh-huh." Josh, admittedly, isn't listening. He's too busy trying to figure out how to get past the throng of people blocking him from where all the food is. Subsisting on NutriGrain bars and Red Bulls for the last few days has him ravenously hungry.

He politely excuses himself and fights his way over to the table. Just as he finishes piling a plate high with buffalo chicken dip and some kind of vegan chocolate chip cookies (among other things), the older woman is back at his side.

"He's Jewish, too," she tells him. Off his confused look, she adds, "My grandson."

"Ah." Josh isn't really sure what to do with this information, so he shovels some food into his mouth.

"He brought home a nice boy for Seder last year," she continues, oblivious. "He's a third-year law student at BU. And so handsome!"

She winks at him after this proclamation, and now Josh really has no clue what to do with this incredibly weird info dump. Like, good for him—Josh is obviously supportive—but he (Josh, not the grandson) doesn't know why he's being looped in on any of it.

He settles for giving Perm/Bad Dye Job what he hopes is a normal smile (but is likely the one Emily has said makes him look completely unhinged) and a nervous laugh.

Thankfully, he's saved from further embarrassment when Aidan (finally) approaches them, a young but otherwise unremarkable man and woman in tow. He glances at Josh briefly before directing his attention (and full charm offensive) to Perm/Bad Dye Job. "Excuse me, Mrs. Rosenberg—"

She tsks at him playfully. "Now, Aidan, what did I tell you?"

Aidan looks at the ground bashfully, then flashes her a bright (not completely unhinged) smile. "Aw, gee. You're right," he says. Like, he actually says 'gee,' as if he's straight out of an episode of Lassie. "Martha. Sorry. I'll get it next time. Promise."

Perm/Bad Dye Job—sorry, Martha—giggles. Giggles. Josh thinks it demonstrates phenomenal self-restraint that he doesn't roll his eyes (so hard they fall out of his head) at both of them.

"Now, if you'll excuse me a moment, Martha—" He makes a point of emphasizing her name, which she predictably eats right up before he turns back to Josh. Aidan slings an arm around his shoulders, which is... well, it's a little out of left field because Aidan's not a super touchy guy to begin with.

Josh idly wonders if he's drunk—he once had a roommate in college who got kind of handsy with everyone when he drank too much—before it occurs to him that he doesn't actually know if Aidan can get drunk. He's seen him drink, but... has he ever been drunk? Can vampires get drunk?

"Josh," Aidan's decidedly not drunk voice pulls him back to the present, "I want you to meet the Hendersons. This is Nate and his wife, Amanda. They're in the brownstone at the end of the block."

They exchange greetings and make small talk. Josh learns that they're both originally from Pennsylvania, but met at BC (her sophomore, his junior year) before moving to Boston permanently just after their wedding.

After some time, Nate shakes Josh's hand. "It's nice meeting you, Josh. And good seeing you, Martha. So sorry to interrupt."

"Oh, you didn't," Josh insists at the same time Martha informs them, "I was just telling him about Elijah."

Elijah? It takes Josh a minute to realize Elijah must be her gay, Jewish grandson.

"Uh, yeah," he stutters, desperate to somehow convey he wants no part in getting roped into talking with her, "but we—"

"Oh, right!" Amanda reaches out and touches his arm in a familiar, almost intimate way. Panicked, Josh eyes Nate, but Nate doesn't seem to think anything is out of line. "I think you both will like it here. The neighborhood is very accepting. Of everyone."

Josh is about to—who knows? Puff his chest out, establish his dominance? Something to prove to Nate that he's definitely—well, n-not an actual, but at least a potential—romantic threat. Except that Aidan pulls him closer to his side and resolutely refuses to meet his gaze.

"Aidan, what—?"

"Plus, it's great having another young couple on the block," Nate adds, to enthusiastic nods from Amanda.

Josh freezes. Suddenly, everything clicks: Martha's grandson info dump, the neighborhood being "accepting," Aidan's arm around his shoulder.

"Will you—will you excuse us?" Josh blurts, contorting out from under Aidan's grasp. "I have to talk to my roo... my, uh—Aidan. I have to talk to Aidan. Alone. In the kitchen."

Aidan's smile falters only slightly. "Greg, Amanda. Martha. Nice talking with y—"

"Aidan."

The moment the three of them disperse to mingle elsewhere, Josh wastes no time making his escape, Aidan close on his (metaphorical) tail.

"Listen, Josh—"

Josh turns on him as soon as they both step into the kitchen. "Why do—" He stops short, aware of a few guests standing too close for comfort. He grabs Aidan's arm and yanks him over to the corner, near the microwave. "Why do they think we're a couple?"

For some reason, Aidan looks visibly relieved by Josh's reaction rather than literally any other emotion that should be there. "I didn't say anything. Everyone just... assumed? Danny must have talked to a few of 'em."

"And you didn't think to correct them?"

"I was going to," Aidan concedes, "but listen—Listen! This could be a good thing."

Josh wants to scream. "Good for who?" He pauses, angrily considering. "Whom—? Never mind, I don't give a shit—good for who exactly, Aidan?"

"Good for us," he insists. Off Josh's incredulous look, he presses, "Think about—Josh, just think about it for a second. Two straight, single guys who live together, spend a lot of time together? That begs a lotta questions. But if we're a couple? No one bats an eye."

Josh opens his mouth to respond, then shuts it. Aidan's... not wrong. God, he hates that Aidan's not wrong. Still— "You... have a point. But why not just tell them we're brothers?"

Sally materializes right next to them, making herself comfortable on what little counter space they have. Josh jumps, still not used to her living (dying-then-residing-in-another-plane-of-existence... ing?) in the house yet.

She snorts. "Please." She gestures at Aidan, Vanna White-ing him. "Look at him! His face is all chiseled, like Mount Rushmore, or... or Handsome Squidward—"

Aidan frowns. "Handsome... what?"

"—No one's gonna believe he's related to you."

You meaning Josh, who apparently is so hideously deformed, he couldn't possibly live up to the god-like, Edward Cullen plane of physical beauty on which Aidan exists. (Though he will—grudgingly— give her points for Handsome Squidward because... now he can't unsee it).

He fixes what he hopes is his most pissed off look at Sally. "Oh, but they'll believe we're dating?"

She shrugs. "Sure. People date down all the time."

Josh can feel his face flush, equal parts humiliated and angry. Aidan cuts him off before he can say anything and comes to stand between both of them. "Hey, c'mon now."

The same two attractive girls from earlier are glancing curiously in their direction. Aidan takes hold of his (Josh's) hand and waves with his other one. For good measure, he flashes the girls the kind of smile Josh is sure belongs to someone who never had a two-year sex drought in over two centuries.

"If-If anything, I would be dating up," Aidan assures Sally, absent any sarcasm but still tonally a mix between hostage negotiator and children's TV show host. "I mean, Josh is a doctor—"

"Didn't go to med school." Why is Josh correcting him?

"—Right, uh, Josh could have been a doctor—"

From over Aidan's shoulder, Josh sees the attractive girls exchange an 'awww!' before they waggle their fingers and head back into the living room.

"—He's great with his sister, he... owns more than one sweater vest, and—And!" Aidan continues, clearly scrambling toward the end. "He's seen every episode of Nova."

"Yeah, okay—" When the coast is clear, Josh wrenches his hand out of Aidan's. "Stop patronizing me. Let's say we do this. What happens when I want to bring a girl back to the house—" Even in his periphery, he can see Sally grin, a retort clearly at the ready. He jabs a finger in her direction. "Don't. Aidan, what happens when one of us wants to bring a girl back, huh? What then?"

Aidan thinks about that for a moment... then shrugs. Josh groans. "I—Look, I don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Aidan assures him. He looks over at Sally, who nods in agreement even though she's definitely not a part of this whole thing.

Josh takes a moment to think about it, to imagine any outlying repercussions they're not considering. Or, at least, to decide if the symptoms are worth taking the prescribed medication (so to speak). When he comes up blank, he blurts, "Fine. But I'm—we're not kissing."

"I—" Aidan breaks off, starts laughing. "I wasn't planning on it. Figured we'd stick to holding hands, or—Wait, were you?"

"No!" This is truly the weirdest conversation Josh has ever had. He pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, if anyone asks—"

"Eww," Sally contributes, completely ignoring him. "Why would they? Do you normally ask couples why they're not all over each other in public?"

"—If anyone gets suspicious," Josh amends, "we'll just..."

"Tell 'em we're not big into PDA," Aidan finishes.

Josh snaps his fingers. "Yes, exactly—that we, uh... we like to keep our private life private. At home."

"Hot." Sally fans herself. "Aidan and Josh sitting in a tree, keeping their private life private. K-I—"

"—L-L-I-N-G Sally again if she doesn't stop talking," Josh says through gritted teeth.

"Dude," Aidan bites out reproachfully at the same time Sally lets out a surprised gasp. 

Josh feels his neck grow warm, like he's ten-years-old, back in Ithaca at JDS, and the instructor just caught him copying somebody else's work. Only, a lot worse.

"Yup, heard it as soon as I said it. Sally, I'm sorry." To his surprise, he actually means it. Even more surprising, when she gives him a small nod in acknowledgment, he feels... relieved. 

Aidan considers both of them before looking out at the rest of the party. They've attracted a greater number of curious bystanders, none of whom are being very subtle."So," Aidan directs to Josh somewhat urgently, "what d'ya think? Are you in?"

"Yeah, seriously. You guys have been over here so long, everyone's going to think you're being super rude," Sally admonishes. She considers. "Or that you left to go hook up."

Josh can't take it anymore. He may regret this, but— "Okay, okay. Fine. Yes. I'm in."

Aidan claps him on the back and grins. He's a really good friend, Josh thinks. He's hard pressed to think of any other friend who would agree to move in with him and then fake date him in order to keep his werewolf transformations a secret. Before he can continue that train of thought, something occurs to him.

"Wait a minute," he protests as Aidan guides him back into the fray of the party. "Can we go back to the part where, apparently, one of my only three endearing qualities is that I own two sweater vests?"

Sally cackles behind them.

—

Three days exactly after Tony the sleazy 80s glam rock ghost—the one who taught Sally how to move from room to room just by thinking about it? Yeah, three days exactly after that guy (ghost?) walks through his door and disappears forever, there's an... incident.

Or, at least, that's what Aidan is calling it. But whatever. He wasn't there at the time of the... incident (ughhh), so he really shouldn't get to have a say. In Josh's completely unbiased opinion.

Anyway, it happens like this:

After three back-to-back Ripley's Believe It or Not reruns, Sally calls it. She's officially bored. Bored! With a capital "B."

Unwittingly, her thoughts drift to Danny (as they always do), and she feels—well, not really feels, since she can't feel anything anymore—the familiar ache in her chest. The one that spurs on desolate thoughts of what they had, what they could have been, and how her death was an unfairly finite end to all of it.

So, she tries (really, she does) to focus on something—literally anything—else. It works for a little while. She recalls almost turning the page in one of Aidan's massive, dusty books yesterday. (It was literally filled with old Red Sox rosters and various batting lineup statistics from the 1920s, as well as an excruciatingly dull analysis of how those were affected in 1912 when the team moved from the Huntington Avenue Grounds to Fenway).

Anyway, she knows for a fact that the book page fluttered. But maybe... she realizes it was probably the breeze coming in from the kitchen window. The one Josh forgot to close earlier.

Thinking about all of this reminds her that not only is she dead, but also that she's kind of sucking at this whole ghost thing. Two incredibly depressing thoughts to have, honestly. So, she switches gears and tries to recall how Tony taught her to move from room to room. It was supposed to work just like apparating in Harry Potter, right? Just visualize where you want to go, and poof, you're there?

She closes her eyes and pictures the kitchen, with the table and the sink full of dishes (seriously, only one of them eats—how are there so many?) and one of Aidan's used blood bags—wait, now she's just making a cleaning-to-do list. She starts at the beginning, clearing her mind, only thinking about Tony's instructions.

Let's see, he first appeared in their shower, and—ugh, she remembers thinking about how majestically gross his mullet was. Plus, with the way the light reflected off the porcelain tub, it looked like he had a halo, and—

"Oh, my God—Sally?!"

She startles, eyes flashing open, only to find herself practically face to face with Josh, who's standing under a torrent of shower spray, and, oh yeah—is completely naked.

"What are you doing in here?" he demands, horrified.

Sally is frozen to the spot. She tries to jam her eyes shut, just as he abruptly covers himself, but it's too late. She's literally seen too much. "I wasn't—I didn't come in here on purpose!"

"Well, could you get out of here on purpose?"

"Yeah. I-I mean, yes, I'm trying, but it's not—" She keeps trying to picture the wide, open space of the living room, but all she can think on repeat is Josh is naked, Josh is in the shower, and he is naked. So, naturally, she starts rambling. "—it's not an exact science! But, hey! On the plus side, I barely saw anything. I-I can't even fully verify that you're circumcised—"

"Oh, my God," Josh says again, accompanied by some kind of strangled noise. "Get. Out."

He reaches through her and shuts off the water. Or, so she assumes. Her eyes are still jammed shut. But when she hears the shower rings grate against the rod and the curtain whoosh, her suspicions are confirmed.

"Okay, but this—" She peeps to see if the coast is clear but is met by Josh's backside instead. He hastily wraps a towel around his waist just as she jams her eyes shut again. "It could be so much worse, Josh—"

"How?" he demands, voice cracking. He clears his throat. "How could this possibly be worse?"

She's not prepared for his response, especially because her efforts to physically remove herself from the room keep getting derailed by the thought that he's kind of shredded for a super nerd. So, naturally, she's absolutely not thinking when she blurts, "Well, that shower is not big, so good thing I'm transparent. 'Cuz otherwise... awkward—"

"ROOMMATE MEETING. NOW!" he bellows before she hears him storm down the hall.

—————

The living room is still blissfully empty when Sally arrives (the normal way, not telepathically because of course it wouldn't work on command when she really, really needed it to). She takes a moment to prepare herself, or to brace for whatever Josh will say to—well, let's be real here, yell at—them at this meeting.

Aidan comes down the stairs, yawning. He's mid-stomach scratch when she looks over at him, but her eyes are drawn to the sliver of skin above the waistband of his scrubs, now visible thanks to the whole scratching thing.

"Hey," he says when he sees her. He takes a seat on the couch next to her. "Any idea what this is about?"

Up close, she can see his scrubs are rumpled and his hair is sticking up at a lot of weird angles, like he just woke up from a nap. Which he probably did (she overheard him and Josh last week talking about there being a staff shortage at the hospital, probably because of all the vampire turnings, but whatever—they didn't ask her). Rather than looking disheveled, though, Aidan just looks hot... ter.

Before Danny came into the picture (she'll remember to feel guilty later for even considering such a scenario later), this would have been the ideal scenario: living with two hot guys—well, one hot guy and one passably good-looking guy—going out to bars, having parties, etc. But rather than being able to enjoy any of the possible benefits that could come from such an arrangement, here she was, stuck being dead.

Aidan is looking at her strangely until she realizes he's waiting for her to respond.

"Oh," she says, trying to shake off that line of thought (because she should absolutely clarify that in this scenario, she's not talking about benefits benefits, especially—God, no, especially not with Josh). "Uh—"

"I'll tell you what this is about," Josh says suddenly, almost as if she summoned him (she didn't... oh, God, did she?). He thunders down the stairs, two at a time, before coming to stand in front of both of them.

He's still not wearing anything—actually, super important correction: he still has his towel wrapped around his waist, he's just not wearing any clothing. But he's definitely avoiding looking at her directly. Which is fine with her because, honestly? Same.

"I believe it was John Locke who first coined the term 'social contract,'" Josh begins.

"Actually," Aidan chimes in, "it was Rousseau. I met the guy once. Such a pompous windbag, but—"

"Whatever. My point is that whenever people—individuals—agree to come together and form a society, they sacrifice certain... entitlements in order to coexist peacefully," Josh further explains. "This—our house—is a type of society. And we live under a social contract that entails respecting each other. Primarily, respecting each other's personal boundaries."

Aidan looks lost. "Um... Okay. Sure." He tries to hide a smirk. "You, uh, you think respecting boundaries might involve wearing pants in the common areas, bud?"

The light coming in from the bay window highlights some interesting contours on Josh's person, including the admittedly decent musculature on his otherwise lean frame. Once again, Sally finds herself involuntarily impressed.

(Seriously, though, she's witnessed him watch a TNG marathon on SyFy for fourteen episodes straight without getting up off the couch once. On multiple occasions. Sooo... how? Was it a werewolf thing? Like, was his metabolism just supernaturally fast? Or did he have a membership to a CrossFit gym that she and Aidan were just totally oblivious to?).

"Josh." Aidan's voice pulls her back to the present. "What the hell is—?"

"I accidentally transported into the shower while Josh was using it," Sally confesses at the same time Josh blurts, "Sally walked in on me while I was in the shower."

She rolls her eyes at him. "I did not walk in on you."

"No, you just materialized in on me," he insists. "Oh, thank—thank you, Sally! That distinction really helps with all—" He frantically gestures in a circle. "—this."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" she demands because honestly? He's being such a drama queen. "I didn't do it on purpose!"

If he wasn't awake before, Aidan is now. He opens his mouth, then snaps it shut before he leans forward and looks at Sally. "Wait, you did it?" he asks her, grinning in a way that makes him look much younger. "You traveled to another room?"

"Not the takeaway!" Josh fumes.

She ignores him and says to Aidan, "I'm still trying to figure it out fully—I couldn't materialize away from the bathroom—but yeah." His enthusiasm is infectious because she can feel a huge smile break out on her face. "I really did it."

"Sally, that's amazing!"

"No. Nuh-uh. Not amazing!"

She turns on Josh. "You're unbelievable! Wasn't the whole point of this—the whole reason you guys brought that sleemo over here—was so I could learn how to leave the house—?"

"—Aidan, this is not amazing!"

"God," Sally says, drawing out the syllable to three, "you are such a killjoy, Josh!"

"W-Wait—Hold on a second." Aidan hops off the couch and comes to stand between both of them. He faces her. "Didn't you tell me Tony said you had to focus on your destination—like really think about it—in order to make it work?"

All three of them fall silent, and it's only then that Sally realizes how close she's standing to Josh. She must have gravitated toward him while they were arguing. But they sure aren't arguing now. No, siree. They're just sort of... standing there, close enough that she swears she can feel his body heat (even though, she can't emphasize this enough: she can't actually feel anything), and looking at each other. But, like, in an intense, sort of charged kind of way? The really cheesy, mostly poorly written romance books Bridgette always swore she never read (but totally did) would have described it as heated. But that right there is exactly the problem.

They both seem to realize what's happening at the same time (more so the implication of Aidan's comment than the whole heated look thing, thank God) because Sally jumps back just as Josh shoves an accusatory finger in her direction.

"You were thinking about me in the shower?"

"What? No! I was thinking about the bathroom—"

"—which I was occupying—!"

"Yeah, but I wasn't—I didn't know you were in there." Then, because it suddenly feels important to defend herself beyond any reasonable doubt, she adds, "Obviously!"

From the corner of her eye, she can see Aidan's mouth gape uselessly as he pieces everything together. She does a double take—yes, an actual double take—when he tries to (poorly) cover the How the Grinch Stole Christmas-level, shit-eating grin that's regrettably taking up residence on his dumb, attractive face.

"Aidan, no."

He throws his hands up. "I didn't say anything," he insists innocently. "But... 'personal boundaries?' Y'know it—well, this all makes sense now."

"No, it doesn't!" Josh tears his gaze from Sally to look at Aidan pleadingly. "Aidan, this should make no sense. I think we should just throw a line of salt—as a precaution—at the entrance to the bathroom—"

Sally throws her hands on her hips. "Oh, real nice, Josh. Let's just imprison the ghost in her own home! Which it is, by the way. This is my home—"

"Was," he says, not exactly in a kind tone. "This was your home, Sally. But now it's ours." He gestures between Aidan and himself. "And we really need you to not be some, some... Peeping Tom, or—"

"Wow, okay, so—'Peeping Tom.' Really? I'm not some deviant! But even if I was—"

"If?"

"Yeah, if, Josh. Even if I was, why would I waste my time trying to catch a glimpse of you hanging dong, or whatever—"

"I—that's not—"

"Okay, okay!" Aidan once again steps in between them. "Look, we're all mature, rational adults—"

He's doing a terrible job of trying not to laugh, though, which is why Josh gives an exasperated, "Dude!" and proceeds to ball tap him. Aidan wheezes, suddenly hunching over against any additional attacks.

Sally rolls her eyes. "Way to be neither of those things, Josh."

"Sally, so help me—"

Aidan holds up his hand against Josh. "New plan," he croaks, voice cracking. Tentatively, he stands to full height, then clears his throat. "If we announce when we're about to take a shower—"

Josh frowns. "So, what? Just yell into the void 'I'm about to get in the shower, so please don't walk in on me—sorry, materialize—in on me?"

"I'd... probably fine tune that one, but yeah, that's the general idea," Aidan says before Sally can snap back at Josh. He addresses her directly when he asks, "If we give you some kind of heads up, can you promise to give the bathroom a wide berth?"

Sally sinks back onto the couch and huffs. "Yes—"

"See?" Aidan nudges Josh. "Look at that, problem solved."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," Josh grumbles. "Or, I guess don't see Sally—"

"—But I would like the record to show that I did not materialize into the shower while Josh was using it on purpose," Sally makes sure to add. "Somehow, I don't think that point is getting across as clearly as I would like."

"Oh, no," Aidan smirks. He yawns and purposefully makes his way around the couch and up the stairs. "It's very clear. I just... well, I just wonder how the neighbors would react to Josh showering with someone who is definitely not his loyal boyfriend of... two and a half months?"

"Aidan!"

Josh hurdles over the couch, losing his towel in the process, but Aidan is already at the top of the steps. Sally rushes to cover her eyes, but once again does so far too late.

"Oh, my God!" she screeches at the same time Aidan hollers, "Now, I've got a shift in a few hours. Next person who wakes me up, I will not hesitate to bleed dry."

His door resolutely slams shut, leaving Josh and her in its suddenly way too quiet wake. This time, Sally doesn't risk opening her eyes.

#don't get me wrong #I am absolutely here for aidan x sally #but josh x sally is just a lot of fun #as per usual it is up to me to write the rare pair fic I want to see in the world #being human us #being human us fic #josh x sally #josh levison #sally malik #aidan waite #back on my sam witwer nonsense tbh #my writing #my fic

[agentandreastark]

i saw your 18 fic with aidan and was wondering if you could do something where aidan just really likes the readers thighs, like not even in a sexual way, just 'omg so soft' and he like, traces her stretch marks when she wears shorts, really just fluff! you dont have to if you don't want to, thanks! :)

Oh yeah, sure! I'm sorry I wasn't able to reply before cause currently, school's been hectic. And I'm probably having the worst writers block ever. So this isn't my best work but u hope you like it!

My favourite part of you

Aidan gallagher X f!reader

Fluff

You are insecure about your thigh, but then Aidan finds out.

After a long day of school, music was your place to go. Normally, it would have been your 6-month boyfriend, Aidan, but he was away for work. And so here you were in the kitchen cooking Pasta for lunch as you swayed your body to the music, singing along with the artist and occasionally even acting as though you were in the music video.

'Thank god I'm home alone,' you thought as you drained the pasta and put it into a bowl to make the roux. Suddenly, arms wrapped around your waist, causing you to yelp and kick. Soon, you were set on the counter and face to face with the person you expected to see the least. "Aidan!" You smiled widely and put your arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "I missed you so much," you mumbled into his shoulder before pulling away and giving him a peck on the lips.

"So much for missing me cause, ouch." He remarked, rubbing his knee where you initially kicked him, causing you to sheepishly smile. "You could've warned me." You jumped off the counter. Aidan smiled. "I think the world's going to end! You? MY GIRLFRIEND? Wearing shorts?!" He gasped dramatically, putting a hand to his chest. Your smile immediately dropped as you looked down. This was terrible. Oh god, no.

You were always insecure about your thighs. They were so big and had stretch marks on them. Which was not something often seen as beautiful in this society.

'What if Aidan feels the same way?' And so you did the first thing that came to mind. You took your dad's apron -which itself was big enough to cover part of your thighs - and wrapped it around yourself.

"Hey, hey. What are you doing?" He looked at you wide eyed.

"Doing what?" You asked turning around to take the flour.

"That." He pointed to the apron and continued. "Covering yourself up? Are you uncomfortable with me? I totally understand, and I do respect-"

"No, Aidan, no, I'm not uncomfortable with you. Of course not, " you turned keeping the flour on the shelf.

"Then -" He sighed, realising what the issue was "Love please don't tell me you're insecure." You stayed silent for a while. Aidan then walked behind you and untied the knot of the apron and took it off you. He picked you up by the waist, setting you down on the counter, "What exactly are you insecure of darling? This?" He touched your thigh softly. "This is something you shouldn't be insecure of love. They are so soft." he smiles widely, looking at you with loving eyes." Besides, women have bigger thighs so that they can carry a life in them, and when they do, it might cause their legs to collapse. We dont want that, right? So instead, their tighs support them. " You nodded slowly, looking back at him." So you don't find my stretch marks disgusting?" You asked softly, waiting for his answer. In your previous relationship, your ex had always told you to cover up because he couldn't bear seeing your stretch marks. "Of course not, darling. Why would they? They remind me of the sea shore, so very pretty." He traced them, looking mesmerised. God, this boy was only making you fall for him even harder. He bent down and kissed every mark, making you laugh since it was ticklish. "You're thighs are my favourite part now," He picked up, causing you to squeal. "Put me down, Gallagher!" He laughed as he kissed your forehead. "Nope." "Why?" You said, kicking your legs in the air. "Cause I want the whole world to see just how beautiful you are." And with that, he walked out of the door with you in his arms.

#fyp #f!reader #angst #fluff #in love #aidan gallagher #thigh #insecure #you're perfect #five hargreaves fluff #aidan gallagher x reader #aidan gallagherX you

[gatheringfiki]

PSA: GatheringFiKi is back!

Hello, my favourite people!

If you've been with us for some time, following the mis-adventures of this little, but mighty fandom, or perhaps even taking part in them from time to time, you'll be delighted to hear that we are now in a position to resume normal service.

If you're joining us just now and wondering what on earth is going on - welcome! We are a small community focussed around the Fili/Kili pairing (and other fictional pairings fortrayed by Dean and Aidan), which has always traditionally ran frequent events to generate new content and encourage fan interactions.

Our activity was kinda suspended a year ago when our admin, @linane-art scampered off to travel the world for a year.

I have no idea why I'm writing this in 3rd person. Ahem, anyway - I'm back. And here's what I'd like to do with GatheringFiKi:

Firstly, I'd like to figure out how many content creators we actually have at the moment, since these folks are my audience. So if you are currently actively writing / creating artwork or edits in the Fili/Kili fandom, or plan on doing so in the near future, please REPLY TO THIS POST. Please also feel free to forward it to anyone who might want to respond.

Whatever else happens, there will be a 12 Days of Christmas event happening in 2023! I have no idea how many photosets I will actually be able to make before mid-November, but I'm aiming for at least a couple. It's such a highlight of every Christmas for me, I can't wait!

There may or may not also be some little prompts posted for Halloween this year. This would be about a week before the 31st, a very informal little event.

Whatever else happens, from now on, I would like to see GF becaome an amplifier for any and all new Fili/Kili content. Updates to your existing fics, new fics, artwork, edits, photosets, and not just the things 'worthy of recs'. ANY new Fili/Kili content - please submit or send us a link and we will re-blog, so it reaches more folks.

If we still have a decent number of creators, we will go back to running events. The plan would be to run a survery before the end of 2023 for you to pick your favourite events and run 3-4 of those accross 2024.

If we don't have creators, I will focus on delivering only the 12 Days of Christmas event annually and promoting any new FiKi content as above, based on the assumption that we're all reverting to focussing on our own works and posting them unprompted.

If you have any ideas, comments, or concerns about how this community could/should be ran - please let us know!

It's lovely to be back!

~linane-art

#GatheringFiKi #Fili/Kili #FiKi #Durincest #the Hobbit #Mitchers #Britchell #DarkHawk #PSA

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

2023 Writing Round-up

I wrote 33 fics this year.

JANUARY

Dancing Around His Feelings (Witcher, M, 1.5k)

Jaskier visits the Countess da Stael to help him get over his heartbreak. Implied Geraskier. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

One Special Night (Witcher, E, 1.5k)

Jaskier gives Elihal earrings for a night on the town. It leads to a special night of sex. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

FEBRUARY

A New Life (Midnight Mass, T, 1.5k)

Priley. John plans to ask Riley to run away with him, but it turns out he was too late to ask.

A Kiss Like No Other (Loki, T, 666)

Lokius. Alt S1E6 ending. Loki and Mobius meet again and share a passionate kiss.

The Real Treasure (Witcher, M, 3.7k)

Geraskier. Modern AU. Family fluff mainly. Jaskier sends Geralt on a treasure hunt, but it’s really a ruse to spend time with his family. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

MARCH

A Nice Afternoon (Witcher, E, 1.9k)

Geraskier. Modern AU. Smut. Jaskier and Geralt enjoy an afternoon performing a certain sex act. 69th Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

APRIL

Sure, Big Boy (Stranger Things, T, 100)

Steddie. Steve is caught staring at Eddie.

Impatience (Stranger Things, M, 100)

Steddie. Eddie has Steve all tied up and waiting.

One On The Way (Loki, T, 3.8k)

Lokius. Canon divergence. Loki discovers he’s pregnant and doesn’t know how to tell Mobius. Gift fic.

Jaskier Sandwich (Witcher, E, 2.5k)

Geraskier/Lambden. Smut. Jaskier enjoys an afternoon sandwiched between Lambert and Aidan while Geralt watches. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

The Temptation of Christ (Midnight Mass, E, 3.3k)

Priley. Smut. John celebrates Easter by stringing Riley up on a cross. For the Church of Priley Discord server's Easter event.

While The World Falls Apart (Loki, T, 1.3k)

Lokius. Pre S2. As Kang’s forces surround them with no hope of escape, Loki decides to kiss Mobius for the first time. Kiss prompt.

Lessons In Self Discovery (Witcher, M, 1.6k)

Geraskier/Lambden. Spanking. Geralt watches Aiden spank Jaskier and Lambert, and learns something about his own desires in the process. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

The Tears Of A Trickster (Loki, M, 855)

Lokius. Pre S2. Mobius tries to hide his arousal at Loki crying in front of him, but the trickster knows all too well how to use it to his advantage. Flash Fic Friday Challenge.

His Summer (Witcher, G, 888)

Geraskier. Fluff. Geralt realises he doesn’t want the summer to end because it means time alone from Jaskier. Flash Fic Friday challenge.

Afterwards (Loki, T, 978)

Lokius. Angst. Loki spirals after getting together with Mobius. They run, but Mobius follows them and provides much-needed comfort. Flash Fic Friday Challenge.

Fighting To Get To You (Witcher, T, 2.6k)

Geraskefer. Geralt and Yennefer fight tooth and nail to rescue a kidnapped Jaskier. Witcher Flash Fic Challenge.

MAY

All In A Day’s Work (Loki, M, 904)

Lokius. Smutty humour. HR manager Mobius is fed up with Loki being sent to see him every day for inappropriate comments, so he comes up with a creative solution. Flash Fic Friday Challenge.

The Start Of Something New (TLOU, M, 2.2k)

Bill x Frank. Smut. A deeper look at Bill and Frank’s first time together. Gift fic.

Watch It Burn (Loki, T, 3.4k)

Lokius. Hurt/comfort. Mobius doesn’t expect Loki to return after leaving him and Sylvie in the Void, but he does. Gift fic.

Keeping Hope Alive (Loki, T, 3.5k)

Mobius and Ravonna. Mobius is stuck on a mission going wrong when he bumps into Ravonna. They face the ruins of their friendship as well as the enemy. Gift fic.

Much Ado About Lokius (Loki, G, 1.9k)

Lokius. Humour. Loki and Mobius go on a mission involving a Shakespeare play, Loki in a dress and facing their inherent feelings for one another. Originally written for the Mischievous Scamp zine.

JUNE

Silky Heat (OFMD, E, 3.1k)

Stizzy. Omegaverse. Stede discovers Izzy’s secret and helps him through his heat (consensually). For Knot In My Name event.

A Barking Dog Seldom Bites (OFMD, E, 19.5k)

Stizzy/Steddyhands. Smut. Izzy finally loses the rag about Stede always touching him and it results in explosive sex. For the OFMD Reverse Big Bang.

SEPTEMBER

Drown Out All The Sound (Witcher, E, 2.7k)

Radskier. Smut/angst. Radovid has a special night planned for him and his lover, but heartache ensues in the end.

In Any Shape Or Form (Loki, E, 3k)

Lokius. Smut. Loki shifts form and now has a vagina. Mobius learns what to do with it. Gift fic.

What My Heart Just Yearns To Say (Witcher, G, 2k)

Geraskier. Geralt cares for Jaskier but can’t tell him how he feels until Jaskier forces the conversation. Kiss prompt.

OCTOBER

The Words I Could Not Say (Loki, T, 3.3k)

Lokius. MCD. Alt S2E1 ending. Loki fails to make it back to Mobius. (First chapter is sad, follow-up chapter in the works).

NOVEMBER

Let Time Pass (Loki, T, 1.6k)

Lokius. Post S2. Mobius tries to settle down after Loki frees the timeline from the loom. Years pass until one day, Loki appears.

Dream of Me (Loki, E, 2.8k)

Lokius. Post S2. Smut. Mobius thinks he’s dreaming of sleeping with Loki. Turns out he really is and he leaves behind a little something.

The Things You Do For Love (Loki, E, 2.8k)

Lokius. Smut. Set S1E4. Loki turns to desperate measures when they think Mobius no longer needs them.

DECEMBER

Need Your Discipline (Stranger Things, M, 15k)

Steddie. Spanking AU. Steve looks for discipline and finds it in the form of Eddie, but he also finds care and belonging. Prompt fill for Fandom Trumps Hate 2023.

Christmas Angel (Loki, G)

Lokius. Christmas family fluff, post S2. Loki is expecting his sixth child while also keeping the timelines alive and safe. Gift fic for All About Lokius discord server friend.

In My Arms (Stranger Things, T)

Steddie. College AU, enemies to lovers. Steve has nightmares and Eddie cuddles him to soothe them away. Prompt fill for Fandom Trumps Hate 2023.

Now I know why I wrote the most words in April because I was writing other fics at the same time as two big bang fics. Yikes.

Thanks for the tag @cha-melodius 💕

Tagging @underthebluerain @dancingwiththefae @rins-love-wins @mimisempai @pherryt @gleamingsilence @artaxlivs @definitely-not-iorveth @ialwayscomewhenyoucall @rauchendesgnu @flawney @buckybeardreams if you wanna do it.

#2023 writing round up #lokius #geraskier #radskier #steddie #priley #stizzy #steddyhands #bill x frank #my fics

[maegfen]

Hey all!

Am I back after a break? Yes.

Have I done much fandom wise in the last 9 months? Not really.

Have I rewatched all of Wynonna Earp in the last 3 weeks? Yes (bring on the film, can't wait!)

Have I got far too many other shows, fic and fandom stuff to catch up with and far too little time to do so? Quite possibly.

Am I currently quite obsessed with Argylle/ Aidan x Elly and planning many many stories after devouring the book in a day and watching the film several times? Abso-bloody-lutely!

#argylle #aidan x elly #aidelly #lucy rambles #lucy attempts to write #I might be going through a Sam Rockwell phase #I am not complaining...

[acquariusgb]

Billary Fic Drabble Advent Calendar: Day 25

Day 25: Christmas Morning

Hillary woke up with someone hugging her tight. She was confused. She was aware that her husband could be clingy but he knew to give her space in bed when she wasn't at her best. 

She slowly opened her eyes and soon noticed it wasn't her husband who had his arms around her but her youngest grandson.

“Good morning.” She heard someone grunting.

“ ‘morning” she said in a hoarse voice. “I see we have a guest in our bed.”

Bill chuckled. “Yeah, I saw him going around when I went to the bathroom. He said he was looking for Santa Claus.”

Hillary tried to stifle a laugh behind her hand.

“Oh… Jasper!” She kissed the top of his head.

“So I remind him that Santa doesn't come if the children aren't sleeping and of course then he didn't want to go back to his bed so here we are.” He got closer to the pair and leaned over the small boy so he could quickly kiss his wife. “Merry Christmas!”

She smiled. “Merry Christmas.” and caressed his cheek.

They heard a tainted knock at the door. “Mum, Dad,” Chelsea whispered at the other side of the door. “Is Jasper with you?”

Bill quickly got up and opened the door before his daughter started panicking. “Hi darling, don't worry he's here” he said with a smile.

She let out a sigh in relief. “That boy is going to be the death of me.” 

Jasper was her little trouble maker.

Her father laughed. “I know, honey.” He affectionately kissed her cheek. “He inherited all our rebellious traits.”

Jasper finally stirred awake and hid his face against Hillary’s body. 

“Hey, sleepyhead.” She ruffled his hair. “Merry Christmas.”

His head shot up. “Christmas!”

Chelsea approached the bed. “Yes, sweety. It’s Christmas. Time to have breakfast and see what Santa brought us.” 

He got up and jumped into his mother’s arms. 

“Gosh, you’re getting too big to be carried” She grunted. “Charlotte and Aidan are already up.” She turned around. “Mum, Dad are you coming.”

“We’ll be out in a moment.” Bill said as he sat down on the bed next to Hillary’s legs. 

“Okay.”

“Could you pass me my glasses, please?” Hillary asked her husband.

“Here you are, dear.” He leaned over and got them.

“We should be going. The grandkids will be waiting.” She started to get out of bed.

He patted her leg. “In a minute. I just wanted a moment alone before I have to share you with the rest of the family.” He opened his arms, wanting a hug.

She smiled and leaned in his body. Bill kissed the top of her head. “This is nice.” They enjoyed their closeness in silence. 

“Grandma! Pop Pop!” They heard shouting from the other room.

They both chuckled. “We’ve been summoned.”

They shared a brief kiss before joining the children. They couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas day.

#the clintons #hillary clinton #bill clinton #billary #bill and hillary #advent calendar fic

[ladymarycrawley]

Please please please can you write a John Stones one based on last nights match maybe involve your kids just fluffy please

I had in mind of writing sth about last night but, due to the little time I have and all the requests I have to write, I worked on this short but sweet fic. Hope you like it! 💞

Tag list: @masonxomount @chelsealover @stonesyy @johnstonesfc @prideofpd

Mr Man of the Match - John Stones

There was only one word to describe the way John played in that night game against Chelsea: perfection. He defended splendidly hence winning a well deserved Man of the Match award. You were literally buzzing at the sight of him so happy, hugging his teammates after the win.

Iris and Aidan, your babies, were really excited too and started jumping around the room the moment Riyadh scored the key goal for the result. Well, Iris would have liked to bounce around with her brother but she was still too little to be able to do that, so she just kept on babbling and looking around to see what was happening.

"Daddy's been amazing!" You encouraged them as he turned the volume of his joyful cheers even louder the moment their dad appeared in the screen to do the post march interview.

"Daddy!!" Aidan screamed pointing his finger at the tv.

You looked at the screen with a big grin plastered on your face as you were cradling baby Iris in your arms.

John himself had the biggest grin ever on his face, you were pretty sure he was on cloud nine after the amazing performance he just gave.

"When will dada come home?"

"Late baby, you can't wait for him awake"

"In an hour?"

"Nope, in 3 hours at least"

"Oh no!" He always said those two words holding the biggest grudgethat never failed to make you laugh. He really was such an adorable kid. "But I wanna see dad!"

"It's getting late, hun, and it's way past your bedtime" You said, glancing at the time the clock's hands were striking, past 11.

Aidan huffed as he wasn’t exactly happy with the decision you took for him but he still walked upstairs as you followed him to help get changed to go to bed.

John arrived a couple of hours later and of course he found you all asleep. He smiled when he saw you sleeping in Aidan’s tiny bed next to him with Iris breathing peacefully on your chest.

"Hi pretty lady" He cooed, brushing his forefinger against her blonde thin hair, her blue eyes fixed on him.

You stirred in your sleep and blurted your eyes put when your eyes recognised the tall figure before you.

"Hey"

He sat on the bed as you hugged him thighs, your lips pressed in his temple.

"Welcome home, Mr Man of the Match" You whispered before kissing him on the lips.

John got up, with Iris in his arms so you could get up too and go to your bigger bed.

"You played so brilliantly" You shared a quick chat about the game before going to bed as your eyes travelled on his movements as his was taking his clothes off.

"I'm so so proud of you" You whispered while snuggling against his chest, his arms wrapping around your body. "You deserve it"

"What do you want, Mrs Stones? You're being too nice for your own standards..."

"I can't say I'm proud of my man??"

"I know you want something in return..." John muttered, kissing your collarbone and following then in your neck.

"I want - Aidan?? Wh -"

"Daddy's here!" Your son screamed at the top of his lungs before throwing himself into your bed, making you and John laugh out loud.

"You were great!"

"Thanks buddy!" He ruffled his hair before kissing his head.

"You should be sleeping..."

He ignored you as he had already fallen asleep in his dad's arms, his own hero.

"Well, I guess I won't give you my reward tonight"

#john stones #john stones x reader #john stones x you #john stones x y/n #john stones fic #john stones imagines #mcfc #manchester city #england nt #england nt imagines #manchester city imagines #football imagines #football writing #football fics

[mariaofdoranelle]

Cowboy Like Me

Merry Yulemas, @morganofthewildfire!!

This fic stands somewhere between your answer to that post, an Evermore song (for obvious reasons), Arobynn being Arobynn (though mine isn’t near as bad as yours), and angst (as much as I could, probably not much)

I stepped out of my comfort zone a lot to write this one, but I’m excited about it! It was really fun to write, and I hope you have fun reading it too ❤️

Word count: 7,5k

Warnings: cursing, light smut, Arobynn, mentions of addiction, blackmailing, one punch

Disclaimer: this fic does not contain actual cowboys because I think it was a metaphor in the song and they’re not my area of expertise lol for actual cowboy content, please check @leiawritesstories’ fics

The tennis court was covered up with some tent-like thing, Aelin could finally pay attention now that her son was entertained by one of the games. They were in a Beltane celebration at his school, and she liked to keep a close eye on her little terror.

Most moms liked to sit a bit far and gossip while the school’s staff took care of their kids, but a mistake coming from Aelin wouldn’t be perceived the same, so she focused on watching Finn and kept it to herself, now that Enda wasn’t coming to these things anymore.

She knew she should at least try to have fun for her son’s sake, but she missed her friend. The gold-digger and the gay dad. Aelin and Enda made quite the outcast duo.

“Galathynius.”

Aelin glanced away, no need to look at the person to know who it was, since he was the only one who refused to call her by her husband’s name. She had no idea why, though. Aelin knew damn well what Enda’s cousin was after when he took over Aidan’s school responsibilities, and she was sure she wasn’t part of his plan.

“It’s Hamel,” she said in a stern voice and looked back at the kids. “No moms for you to seduce today?”

“I’m on it.”

Aelin sighed and finally looked him in the eye. “I’m not divorced, you know?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I’m not following.”

“Isn’t that your type?”

The corner of his lips twitched before he answered, “Married isn’t my usual option, but I don’t discriminate.”

Refusing to engage in whatever he was thinking, Aelin turned back to watch the kids. That was one of the reasons she missed Enda. Befriending him felt comfortable. Enda felt safe. Enda didn’t try to flirt with Aelin and make her remember she had a husband that definitely wasn’t waiting for her at home.

This wasn’t a recurrent issue, since Rowan preferred to give his attention to the single moms. Not that she cared about it. It just irked Aelin that while she was criticized for marrying into wealth, the same people would praise Rowan for caring so dearly about his little cousin — and trying to do pretty much the same as her in the meanwhile.

A clear of his throat. “You don’t seem to be enjoying the party.”

“I’m watching my son.”

“The email was very clear about not needing to.”

Aelin sighed. “So what? You want me to join the ladies at lunch?”

He offered a hand and gestured to the parents dancing. “We could join them.”

Aelin didn’t need to look around to know they were being watched. As they always were. She didn’t mind the gossip and people having a low opinion of her, but her husband did. And she needed him to stay safe, so she had to care about appearances too.

“Dancing is a dangerous game.”

The corner of his lips tugged up. “I can deal with the gossiping moms later.”

Aelin didn’t doubt that for a minute. And she was well aware of the many ways he dealt with them.

However, before she could think, she took his hand and let him lead her close to the band, where a few people were dancing already. She didn’t recognize the songs, but they didn’t sound too strange either.

“I’m not sure I can dance to this.”

“It’s very Doranellian.” When they were both in place, Rowan said, “Just follow my lead.”

She let him take her hand and tried to mirror him, and keeping up with his precise movements took enough of her attention to make her forget about all the people watching them. When Rowan brought her chest closer to his, she feared he might hear her heartbeat pounding. When he spun her around, she could feel a small, fluttering feeling in her stomach. When Aelin was laughing by being twirled around, she saw the smirk on his face and a million red flags quickly replaced her joy. This was just one of his moves, wasn’t it?

When the song ended, she said, “This was fun, but I’m not sure what you’re doing, since I’m not your... target audience.”

He frowned. “What are you implying?”

“I’m just saying that Enda never struggled to be present at school for Aidan, but suddenly his cousin is all over the place covering for him, and in the meantime flirting with the rich moms. I find it very convenient.”

“And what makes you think I’m interested in anything but their lovely personalities?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Seriously? After Remelle?”

Rowan grimaced before saying, “You have a point, but the question is still there.”

Aelin shrugged. “Takes one to know one.”

A small, heavy thing tumbled into Aelin’s leg, and she knew before looking down that it was her son.

“Mommy! Can I go to the jumpoline? Please, please, please, plea—“

Aelin wiped some sweat off his forehead with her hand while answered, “Okay, where’s—“

Finn and Aidan both took off in a full sprint before she finished the sentence. Rowan was on her side as she leisurely followed behind the kids, but it was still better than the two of them dancing and touching and being that close to each other.

Sighing, she refocused on her son. Thinking about Finn was always a good way to keep herself on track. His strawberry blonde hair was bouncing as he jumped with anticipation on the line for the jumpoline. Aelin had to be careful with the pronunciations around his dad, but this one was way too cute for her to correct. Besides, the likelihood of seeing Arobynn anywhere near a trampoline or listening to his son talk about his day was close to zero, so it was a safe one to keep.

“He’s a great kid, you know,” Rowan quietly said while they watched the kids play.

“Which one?” she teased.

He chuckled. “Both, but I meant Finn.” Rowan sighed. “We were all concerned about Aidan being too withdrawn, but his demeanor improved a lot later. I think it has to do with Finn.”

The only thing Rowan could see outside was a small smile on Aelin’s lips, but her chest was blooming with pride. Her son didn’t do anything other than being a little ball of energy he always were, but still. Aidan was still a shy kid, but he was an eager participant in all of Finn’s shenanigans, the two of them thick as thieves on making her hair turn gray. Not that this was a concern for the Whitethorns and their already silver hair, though.

The boys eventually came back to them, and Rowan crouched down and whispered something on Aidan’s ear that made his eyes go wide. Like cascading dominoes, the little boy approached Finn and muttered something that made her son’s eyes sparkle, and he didn’t spare a second before hugging her leg and doing his best attempt at puppy eyes.

“Mommy, can I go to Aidan’s house? Please, please, please...”

As Finn uttered his string of pleas, Aelin squinted her eyes at Rowan, trying to figure out what he was tricking her into. She was in a really tight spot, considering how big were the chances of her son throwing a major tantrum if she says no. And apart from a suspicion, she had no reason to say no. So she didn’t.

Everyone seemed satisfied by Aelin’s confirmation of their plans. The kids bounced and cheered while Rowan quietly smirked at her, knowing his trick had worked.

This is gonna be one of those things, it seems.

They let the boys go on a few other activities at the school before leaving, time enough for Aelin to be sure about what she was doing and let her chauffeur know about their change of plans.

“That’s a nice car,” she complimented with a hint of curiosity when the kids were out of earshot, running towards Aidan’s small backyard playground. Rowan’s car blended in easily with what they usually saw at the kids’ school, but it was the kind Aelin only started seeing in her twenties, after exchanging social circles.

He tensed. “What are you suggesting?”

Aelin raised both hands in surrender and entered the house without waiting for him. Rowan was making jokes about hitting on the school moms less than two hours ago, she didn’t expect him to get uncomfortable when she was about to tease him about his fancy car. There was no reason to, since getting expensive gifts was part of dating people with expensive lifestyles. It was all part of the game.

Inside the house, one of the housekeepers was preparing snacks for the kids while Aidan’s nanny watched them, and it didn’t take long for the ladies to tell Aelin that Enda and his husband were away for a few days on a holiday trip. She frowned, disappointed. It had been too long since their last Wine and Paw Patrol evening. Aelin missed her friends.

“Are you that upset to be alone with me?” a voice that had been haunting her all day whispered on the shell of her ear, making her shiver.

Aelin looked around, making sure they were really alone and took one step closer, looking him in the eye. “I spent the whole day trying to figure out what you’re doing, Rowan.”

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Me too.”

Well, at least he knew it made no sense. Aelin knew what his goal was, and she had nothing to offer him in that sense. In fact, from Enda’s stories, she knew very well that her upbringing was a lot worse than his.

“You haunt me,” Rowan finally blurted. “I’ve always seen you, because it’s impossible not to, but there’s these little things...” He scratched his forehead and sighed. “It started when I’d stop everything to listen to Finn when he was talking about you. And then I’d get a funny feeling before picking Aidan up, and...” He threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t know, okay? I know you’re married, as you keep reminding me, but I can’t focus on the women I should be focusing on when you’re around. It’s annoying, it’s ruining my plans, and I can’t stop.”

Aelin thought her heartbeat was too loud for her to hear anything, but she did. Loud and clear. As clear as her awareness of Rowan’s pine scent and his breath mingling against her. One thing she wasn’t aware of: how did they end up so close. Aelin was given a choice, and her answer would consist on that one step that was left between them.

Damn her for feeling like this after one spark of attention. Damn her for letting Rowan put her in a position like this. Damn her for needing to hold on to her marriage for safety.

Aelin rested her forehead on his and sighed. “I’m married.”

“Like I’ll ever forget.”

“I’m not reminding you, I’m reminding me,” she whispered.

Rowan chuckled, but it sounded a little too bitter. “I think that makes it even worse.”

“Yes, it does.” Aelin said while slowly running her shaky hands up Rowan’s chest, until they reached his neck.

“You don’t need to,” he rasped when she was closing the gap between their mouths.

“Yes, I do,” she breathed a millisecond before feeling Rowan’s soft lips on hers and his rough hands progressively holding onto her waist for dear life. It felt like each strong beat of her heart sent sparks through her whole body, and she knew damn well Rowan was the one to ignite her. He smelled like home and Aelin could say their bodies against each other was heaven, but he touched her like sin itself. She understood what he meant when he said she didn’t need this, but she did.

She needed his tongue against hers in a frenzied pace as he backed her against the wall.

She needed his hand pulling her hair to give him space to explore her neck, her small whimpers making him groan against the soft skin of her neck.

She needed their bodies stumbling together towards the spare bedroom.

She needed this.

She needed him.

˜˜

Five months later

No matter what Aelin told herself on that first day, it wasn’t a one-time thing. It wasn’t only one time a week, but she also couldn’t say it was one time a day either. There was no way to pretend that promise wasn’t complete bullshit.

Aelin blinked and snuggled further against Rowan, refusing to accept that she’d just waken up from the best nap of her life.

He kissed her forehead. “Did you get a good nap?”

She nodded and hugged him tighter. Rowan was the best human pillow. Remembering what they were there for, she rolled them over and stayed on top of him.

“I’m ready now,” she purred while sliding her hand through his naked chest.

“I don’t think we have enough time left, love.” He rubbed the wrinkle of disappointment in her forehead and pecked her lips. “We can still laze around a little, though.”

The gym Rowan worked at was closed today for renovations, so they had planned to spend some time together in bed. Having sex, not napping. Not that it was the only activity they did together, but their chances to see each other were a lot slimmer when Arobynn was in town, which was currently the case.

Aelin had found the perfect excuse to leave the house alone and had put some red lingerie on, but she was extra drowsy by the time she got at his apartment, and this had been harder to avoid in the past days. Rowan didn’t seem mad, though.

Looking at the watch on his nightstand, they had indeed lost a lot of time, but not all of it.

“Can I counteroffer with a quickie?”

Rowan snorted and laced their fingers together, a small, silly smile aimed at them. “We can’t be late to pick up the boys.”

Just like that, her heart began to ache because of what he’d just said. It felt too domestic, too close to what would be if Aelin could be free. They hadn’t talked about it or discussed what their relationship meant yet, but it wasn’t enough to make her stop wondering.

The need she felt for him on Beltane had only increased, and it was frustrating how much Aelin was ready to admit she wanted more.

The fluttering feeling inside her ribcage felt a lot like love, and it scared her because it wasn’t part of her plan, and it certainly wasn’t part of his either. If he felt the same, which Aelin had no idea.

She had never looked for love, neither before nor after she fled Terrasen. Aelin knew someone out there needed love as little as she did, wanting only a pretty wife to smile at investors and senators as much as she only wanted someone to provide for her.

In the end, the only thing love did was cloud your judgement and keep you off track of what matters. Her goal was keeping herself and Finn safe. There was nothing more important than that. Aelin had no idea what she was doing with Rowan, but she also didn’t have it in herself to stop.

“Come back to me,” he interrupted her thoughts, gently stroking her jaw with his thumb.

She shook her head, trying to focus back on their moment, and looked at his watch again.

“I have 23 minutes to blow your mind,” she purred before kissing down his body.

˜˜

The kids’ shrieks were quieter than usual from the huge playground where the pickup was, probably because most of them had left already. Rowan sat quietly on a bench alone, watching Finn and Aidan go wild on the merry-go-round.

The Whitethorns always waited with her son when she was late so Finn wouldn’t be alone, which always made her chest bloom with affection. She was never too late like today, but it happened often because Rowan always got there annoyingly early. She stood next to him, only stroking his shoulder for a second because it was the closest they could get in public.

“I’m sorry, Arobynn—“

“What about him?” Rowan interrupted her with a thick voice.

Aelin swallowed. “He was getting ready for a flight. That’s why I’m late.”

“Then you’ll have time to spare. Lucky me.”

She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to understand what changed since she left his apartment earlier today. The only explanation didn’t make sense, he knew that it got harder for her to—

“Darling, why are you taking so long?”

Holding her breath, her heartbeat skyrocketed the second Aelin felt her husband’s hand sneaking its way through her waist, gripping it firmly and making her spine go rigid. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.

“Why is he still playing?” Arobynn hissed through his teeth for only her to hear.

Aelin nodded and went to Finn. Sometimes she let him play a little more before going home, but he’d probably understand that this wasn’t an usual pickup.

As soon as she called her son’s name, he squealed and went running towards her, but his demeanor changed as soon as he saw his father there. Finn stood a little straighter and walked, rather than sprinted, towards Aelin. After he gently took her hand, the both of them went to meet Arobynn on the playground’s edge.

Rowan was still sitting with his jaw set as her husband carefully studied his sour expression. Aelin didn’t dare sending him any sort of silent message.

“Finlay.” He patted his son’s head the same way one would do to a dog and mentioned for them to leave.

“Bye, Uncle Ro.” Finn waved at him before leaving, Rowan’s face unreadable as he waved back at them.

Aelin wasn’t given enough time to read into this situation, though.

Arobynn tightened his grip around her waist. “I had no idea I have a brother. Care to explain?”

Her body was completely stiff when she answered, “He’s Aidan’s uncle, Finn must’ve copied how he’s called.”

Frowning, he turned his face to Aelin completely. “Who’s Aidan?” She didn’t get to answer him though, since Arobynn gazed at one old car and scoffed. “This school doesn’t seem near as exclusive as I was told it’d be.”

Following his gaze, Aelin hoped he didn’t notice her small, unavoidable smile. Rowan stopped using his fancy car not long after they started seeing each other. She didn’t know why, but her chest still swelled with triumph when she saw him driving something that wasn’t given by another woman. It was silly, she knew it, but Aelin was possessive enough to be jealous of women who could give him all the things she couldn’t.

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Finn murmured to her when they were inside the car. “Can we have pisspaghetti when we get home?”

“Of course, baby,” Aelin said while brushing his hair back with her fingers, trying not to chuckle.

Arobynn cleared his throat, his expression displeased.

“Finlay,” he got his son’s attention, not noticing how stiff his shoulders looked when he was called by his full name. “How’s your speech therapist?”

“What’s a speesh dewapist?”

Arobynn’s phone started ringing, one small blessing, but his stern look said everything he couldn’t while on the phone. Fix this.

She wouldn’t even bother telling him that mispronunciations were expected for a four-year-old.

Aelin’s shoulders sagged in relief when she saw her husband’s private jet from the window. Arobynn’s trips were a small blessing between all the monitoring and unfulfilled expectations. She was well aware she had the life of her dreams, but sometimes it felt like a curse.

His company was about to launch in Wendlyn, so he was needed a lot there. Aelin stayed in Doranelle for Finn, since leaving Rifthold had been distressing enough for him. If they moved to every country Arobynn was needed, they’d become nomads. There was also another reason she wanted to stay at Doranelle longer, but it wouldn’t please her husband in the slightest.

“It’s good to be with my family.” He raised an eyebrow at Aelin after loading his baggage. “I travel a lot, but I never forget that we need each other.”

“Good.” Aelin sent him a small smile, hoping that she didn’t look thrown off. She knew exactly what Arobynn was implying, and he knew that. He always made sure she did.

He scooted closer so Finn wouldn’t hear and placed a strand of Aelin’s hair behind her ear. “You family needs you right here with us. Do you think it would be fair to little Finley to grow up with his mommy in jail?”

Aelin immediately paled, and her reaction made her husband smile. It was what usually happened after Arobynn reminded of the chokehold he had on her, but he’d never stop reveling on her panic.

“Behave,” was the only thing he said after a soft kiss on her cheek and a pat on Finn’s shoulder.

Fiddling with her wedding ring, Aelin took deep breaths as she watched Arobynn’s plane fly away. She was safe. Finn was safe. She was free to care for him. They were both safe. The only thing that made her stop reassuring herself was her son not knowing how to read the room.

“Mommy.” He was poking at her leg incessantly. “Pisspaghetti?”

Well, it was very hard to say no to those puppy eyes.

On the drive to a themed restaurant Finn liked, he was babbling about his day at school, and it was hard to stay in a bad mood while hearing that squeaky voice filled with excitement.

Aelin was listening to him intently and asking questions when needed, but her attention shifted when her phone pinged. However, Aelin zoned out when she read what the notification was about, her heart dropping when she saw its content.

Your period is 50 days late

˜˜

Enda seemed surprised when Aelin came to his house, but his confused look turned to an amused one when Aidan came barreling in his dinosaur pajamas, rushing Finn inside.

“Tell me I didn’t forget today’s Wine and Paw Patrol day.”

Wine. Ha. It’d be a terrible joke if he had meant it as one. Aelin quickly apologized for showing up unannounced as she stepped inside, and her shoulders sagged in relief when she saw Arobynn’s car driving away.

Truth was, Aelin was panicking. Her fingers were shaking when she bought three pregnancy tests and sent to Enda’s address, and she hoped her voice and demeanor didn’t betray her when she asked to change routes.

Technically, she couldn’t be pregnant. Arobynn’s gossiping staff couldn’t dream she even suspected being pregnant, because her husband loved being a father so much he had a vasectomy less than a month after Finn was born.

She didn’t blame the house staff, they were paid to do that, but if they rattled on her even on eating too much carbs, finding a pregnancy test would be way too scandalous.

“Aelin, you’re pacing.”

She blinked and looked around, noticing that even the kids were looking confused at her. Forcing herself to take a seat in front of her friend, she took a deep breath, but even then couldn’t relax on the couch.

“Okay, what’s going on?” Enda’s eyebrows were squished together like he was trying to figure her out.

“I bought pharmacy stuff!” she blurted, trying to distract him until... well, Aelin had no plan, but she did know that telling Enda in front of the kids that she may or may not be pregnant of his cousin wasn’t a good idea.

“You do know I have pharmacy stuff here, right?”

Aelin’s phone pinged with the notification telling the delivery guy was almost there, so burst to the door while plastering a fake smile and saying, “It’s ladies’ pharmacy stuff, I doubt you have those!”

She heard a joke about Enda’s testosterone-filled house not having any ladies’ products indeed and got the bag with three little boxes inside, going to the bathroom as fast as she could go while still being polite.

Locked inside the bathroom, Aelin skimmed through the instructions and started the procedure. Her shaky hands and constant sweating weren’t helping, but she did it anyway.

Aelin had no idea what would happen to her, it could go anywhere between Arobynn suggesting an abortion — which she didn’t want to do — to kicking her out. And she was ready to face the consequences, as long as the two three of them were safe. But Finn… Arobynn had always been hard on him, and Aelin would never let her son pay for something she did. The same thing applied to the little one that could be on their way. Or not.

She considered waiting an extra minute when her timer went off, but it wasn’t necessary.

All tests were positive.

Holy rutting gods. Aelin was pregnant as fuck.

Fuck.

No, not fuck. This was good. Babies were good. Finn was the best thing that ever happened in her life, and she had no doubt this one would be too. But.

Her chest got too tight, Aelin’s numb fingers shaking as she threw it all away and remembered Arobynn’s not-so-subtle reminder.

Do you think it would be fair to little Finley to grow up with his mommy in jail?

Aelin backed herself against the wall, feeling dizzy. She couldn’t leave him. She couldn’t stay with him. She was a bad mom for letting her kid live with someone as heartless as Arobynn. She’d be a terrible mom for leaving him at his dad’s mercy.

A few knocks on the door didn’t ease much of her panic.

“Aelin, is everything alright?” Enda asked from the other side of the door, “You know, if you need help, I did marry a very hot doctor who’s—“

She startled him by quickly opening the door, wide-eyed.

“I need legal advice.”

After Aidan lent Finn one set of pajamas and the boys were tucked in because it was getting too late, Aelin was led by a still very confused Enda towards his office. Her heartbeat was pounding the whole time, and it didn’t help that it took a long time to calm down her little terror enough to make him sleep. The longer it took for her to discuss things with Enda, the more he sent her concerned glances, increasing her anxiety.

“I might be going to jail,” Aelin blurted when they were finally sitting face-to-face in his home office.

“Go on.” Enda’s brows were pinched together, his full attention on her.

Aelin took a deep breath. She had never talked to a lawyer about this, trusting when Arobynn said he’d take care of it, but it wasn’t working anymore.

“My mom started struggling with addiction when I was eight.”

She moved to adjust herself in her seat, but her knees were a little shaky. She scratched her head, trying to figure out how to explain everything. God, Aelin should’ve prepared what she was going to say.

After a deep breath, she continued, “Once, when I was fifteen, my dad let me help search the house for drugs after she went to rehab. He’d always spend days looking and flush them in the toilet, but I didn’t. I sold them all.”

Aelin averted her gaze to the wall, to embarrassed to look her friend in the eye now. Her cheeks were probably burning, but Enda’s gentle squeeze on her hand was reassuring enough for her to keep going.

“You see, my dad really loved my mom. I did too. But he loved her so much he’d rather get evicted than give up on her. He’d always pay for the best therapists, medications, rehab facilities, even when we couldn’t afford to. I don’t know if my dad ever found out, but I sold every drug I could find in the house to pay the bills, until I turned 18 and left to Rifthold.”

She didn’t notice she was crying until Enda handed her a box of tissues.

“Anyway,” Aelin continued, “I ended up known by some dealers, and one of them, Cairn, reached Arobynn after we got married and I started making public appearances. Probably recognized me from a magazine or something and decided to take advantage of it.”

Enda hummed. Scratching his jaw with pinched eyebrows, he asked, “What did you do?”

“Nothing.” Aelin leaned back on the couch and sighed. “Arobynn is keeping him quiet, as far as I know. He won’t ever let me forget about it, so I think it’s still going on.”

“You’re telling me you’re being blackmailed by two different people?” her friend asked with his elbows leaning on his knees now, his voice filled with concern.

Aelin swallowed, and the closest thing to a response she could give him was a shrug. It was too weird to say her own husband was blackmailing her, but Aelin couldn’t find another word for when he used her past to make her behave in a certain way.

“This is a lot to work on, but first…” Enda sighed. “Are you going back to Erilea?“

“I don’t know.” And she meant it. She wanted her family to be safe. As confused as she was, Aelin knew that. Apart from that, there was nothing holding her or Finn back in neither place.

“Aelin, we don’t have extradition treaties with Terrasen.”

She blinked. “What?”

“We can try to get you out of this of you want to go back there, but you can’t be arrested in Doranelle for something you did in Terrasen. If you stay, you’re free.”

Aelin blinked, her body completely frozen as she tried to process what he’d just say.

You’re free

You’re free

You’re free

These two words running around her mind over and over again. She’d never get tired of them.

Dear Mala.

She was free, wasn’t she?

˜˜

It was Aelin’s first day being poor after seven years, and she couldn’t be more excited about it. She even rode the bus. Thrice!

Well, Enda did offer his car, but it’d also be her first day behind a wheel in seven years, so she didn’t trust herself with it.

Last night, after talking with Enda, he offered his place until she had her things figured out, so Aelin packed her and Finn’s essentials as quickly as she could and came back. Arobynn probably knew she’d left his mansion with two suitcases by now, but thankfully he hadn’t reached out.

She decided to contribute by dropping the kids at school, and only then realized she had no driver, no valid drivers license, and no money to pay an uber to a school that far. But she did have enough money in her wallet to pay the bus, which reminded her she needed a job. Immediately.

And her lack of job made Aelin think of another thing she needed. Silver hair, green eyes, muscles for days, father of her unborn baby. Yes, him. Aelin had just started figuring things out on how to rebuild her life, but one thing she was certain of is that she wanted him with her. Restarting together.

Apart from a job, Rowan and her kids, Aelin didn’t have much plans. When she was younger, the only thing she dreamed of was what she liked to see in the movies — pretty gowns, elegant parties, shopping for days on end —, but now that she already knew what it was like and the price that came along with it, what she needed was a calm, comfortable life with her family. Preferably with Rowan on her side.

The school looked exactly the same as it did yesterday and every other day when she got there, but it felt completely different to Aelin. Probably because she felt completely different.

Her eyes quickly spotted Rowan leaning against a column with crossed arms while he watched the playground.

His greeting lacked enthusiasm, and she had just remembered they weren’t in the best terms yesterday. She hoped her news would change it, though.

“I made a decision, and I need you to make one too.”

He hummed while nodding. “What did you decide?”

“I left Arobynn.”

Rowan’s head took a sharp turn her way, his eyes wide. “You... what?”

And that’s when a fist slammed into his jaw, making him stagger backwards when she noticed Lyria Desrosiers’ husband, who was currently fuming.

Rowan didn’t fight back. He had his hands up in surrender as he dodged another punch when the school’s security pulled them apart. Aelin just stared at the scene, too stunned to think.

“Stay the hell away from my wife,” Mr. Desrosiers barked with a reddened face and eyes bulged. The security guards let him go a moment later after he seemed a little calmer, and the only thing he aimed at Rowan was a mocking, malicious grin. “You can keep the car, though.”

Her stomach dropped. The car. Was it the car Rowan drove her in on the day they got together? Aelin guessed it had been a gift, but to have it rubbed in her face felt different. And why was Lyria’s husband only calling him out now? Was he... no, he wouldn’t be with the two of them at the same time, would he? Aelin flinched just to think about it, and that was when Rowan seemed to understand what was going on.

“Aelin.” His mouth opened and closed as he collected his thoughts. “You know I wouldn’t.”

She looked around, the whole playground blatantly staring at them, and she felt small, rather than New Aelin from a few minutes ago. The kids were staring too, and it was then that she remembered that her main goal was always to keep Finn safe. Mainly from having an incarcerated mom and being at evil dad’s mercy, but it also included avoiding witnessing public displays of violence.

Aelin took both frozen, wide-eyed children by the hand and left the school.

The boys only asked her what happened once, and didn’t say anything after she told them she’d explain it at home. Truth is, she didn’t know what was going on herself. Yes, it was pretty clear that Rowan and Lyria were or used to be a thing and she gave him the car, but Aelin was still trying to figure out what it meant.

His words from earlier couldn’t leave her head. You know I wouldn’t. It was pretty clear that he did have the affair, so did it mean that he wouldn’t be with both women at the same time? Why did Rowan care about her opinion on this when Aelin was literally married while they were together?

It’s not that she didn’t care about this herself. The thought of “sharing” Rowan made her want to pull out Lyria’s chestnut curls out of her head. But if there was something Aelin couldn’t preach him about, it was fidelity.

At last but not least, when Aelin made plans about her new life today, she’d never considered that Rowan might not want to join her. Even if he was too shy to admit it out loud, his goal had been clear from the start: marry rich. A jobless single mom born in the slums of Orynth was a far cry from that, and Aelin felt silly to think he’d change her plans for her. They still had the pregnancy to go through, but the reality of her situation was hitting her like a brick to the face.

Rowan’s car — the old one — pulled up close to the bus stop she and the boys were at, but she didn’t enter when he invited them in.

Aelin was frowning. “I’m the one who’s supposed to pick them up today.”

“No, Enda told me you were dropping them.”

Yeah, he was probably right. Her conversation with Enda was pretty much about dropping the kids at school, but she thought picking them up too was implied.

Rowan looked up and sighed. “Can you please just get in the car?”

They silently complied. Rowan silently rode the car. The mood was so somber all of them did nothing but stay silent, until Aidan’s small voice interrupted whatever was going on.

“Uncle Ro, why did he hit you?”

“I did something that made Mr. Desrosiers upset.” He looked at the boys through the rearview mirror. “But you can’t hit people, okay? Even when you’re really upset.

Aidan hugged his backpack and nodded. “What did you do?”

Rowan swallowed, his shoulders slumped. “It’s a grown-up thing, but don’t worry.” He quickly glanced at Aelin. “It’s not important.”

“But why did you do it if it’s not important?” Aidan insisted.

Rowan bumped his head against the seat and sighed, but Aelin interrupted to save him from all the questioning.

“Boys, what do you want today for dinner?”

“Pisspaghetti!” Finn shouted, and Aidan nodded in confirmation. Good. Whatever happened with Rowan, it didn’t mean she’d like to see him go through The Toddler Inquisition.

˜˜

When they got there, Enda’s husband wasn’t pleased in the slightest to hear about how Rowan got a swollen jaw.

“I told you picking Aidan up to seduce the moms was a terrible idea.”

Rowan’s eyebrows went up. “How was I supposed to meet someone while working at a men’s-only gym?”

“I could do pretty well in a men’s-only gym,” Enda’s husband scoffed, “And you could’ve used fucking Tinder instead of the school, man.”

“Okay, I got it, now could you please help me out?” He gestured to his jaw.

“What do you want me to do? It’s a punch, not a stab.” The doctor handed Rowan an ice pack. “I’ll go check on the kids.”

It was just Aelin, Rowan and another huge stretch of silence at the kitchen after he left. She knew she had things to discuss with him still, but her vision was carefully set on the fridge’s blue outer lights, even if he was sat on the stool next to hers.

“Lyria and I ended things before we got together. I even sold the car. No idea why her husband approached me only today.”

Aelin nodded. “Very honorable of you to stay faithful to a married woman.”

“You left Arobynn.” Not a question.

“I did.”

She could see his small nod through her peripheral vision. “Why?”

Aelin sighed, too spent to throw all her teenage traumas on him. It wasn’t only that she needed to tell him. Aelin wanted to tell him. But not now. Just remembering how emotionally draining it was to do it yesterday made her go into mental fatigue.

“It’s a long conversation, but what matters is that I’m free now.”

“Did he do something to you?” Rowan snarled, his posture completely tense.

“No,” Aelin lied while rubbing the back of his hand, trying and succeeding to reassure him. Technically, he did do something. But by the look of it, Rowan would be in Wendlyn to do Mala knows what before Aelin could explain everything. “I’m safe, I promise.”

More relaxed, he inquired, “You wanted me to make a decision earlier.”

Aelin scratched the back of her neck. “You see, I’m going to do a lot of rebuilding. My life, I mean. And I’m going to get back on my feet, and it’ll probably be messy, but I was wondering if you wanted to be there with me. Officially.”

“Fireheart.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb, looking deep into her eyes. “Of course I want to be with you. Officially.”

She beamed. “Yeah?”

“Sure.” Rowan brought their lips together in a quick, passionate kiss. “I love you.”

Aelin had no idea how to describe how she was feeling inside. Butterflies. A horse race. An inner earthquake. She cradled his face and kissed the tip of his nose, his lips, chin, and trailed kisses until she reached his ear and said, “I love you too.”

Grinning, Rowan pulled her by the waist and kissed her lips against the counter. What started as a joyful kiss got each time hungrier until she was sitting at the countertop and they were grinding against each other, Aelin tugging at his hair while he sneaked his hands underneath her clothes.

“Bedroom,” she croaked when his mouth found that spot between her neck and her shoulder.

Rowan grabbed the back of her thighs to carry her there, but stopped. “Do you have a condom? I think I forgot mine.”

“Too late for that,” she murmured.

Rowan only noticed what she’d just said when she froze first with the same realization.

“Aelin...” He carefully placed her back on the countertop. “What do you mean?”

What a terrible way to announce a pregnancy, she thought. But they were already there, so she might as well go on with it. Aelin took his hand, fiddling with it.

“I may or may not be pregnant.”

His eyebrows rose up. “You may or may not?”

Aelin ran a hand through her hair. “Look, I peed on the stick three times and they were all positive. But I didn’t confirm at the doctor, so yes, I may or may not. But there’s a good chance the sticks are right.”

The more she spoke, the more Rowan’s smile grew. “So you may or may not be pregnant?”

Aelin slowly nodded, still studying his expression.

“And you want us to be together?”

Aelin nodded with more confidence this time, encouraged by his cheerful expression.

Instead of saying anything, Rowan gave her a bone-crushing hug and pecked wherever his mouth could reach from his position. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Aelin gently kissed his lips and wrapped her arms around his hips.

He just carried her and kept lightly twirling around the kitchen, Aelin wrapped around him like a koala while they exchanged kisses and I love you’s.

˜˜

It had been three weeks since Aelin had moved in with her official boyfriend of three weeks, and she was already sprawled on his bed like it had been hers for years.

When Rowan suggested she and Finn would move to his apartment instead of staying at Enda’s, Aelin felt smug, thinking it was because he couldn’t keep his hands off her. Wrong. Actually, it was true, but he had an ulterior motive.

Keeping an eye on Aelin and the baby. And be cool Uncle Ro to Finn, since three weeks wasn’t near enough time to become a father figure. But they’d get there.

The thing is, the moment she dropped her suitcase at his place, Rowan became a mother hen. A dadzilla. A Buzzard.

For instance, in the name of “respecting the hormones”, he refused to wake her up from her constant naps, which made her miss cute moments like Rowan taking Finn to the park. She had just waken up to a picture of her son in a swing showing off all his baby tooth at the camera, and her chest swelled with affection to see Finn adapting to his new life so well.

Well, only new house, actually. The divorce process was still in the beginning, but Arobynn was still paying for Finn’s school, and getting back at Aelin wasn’t enough reason for him to want his own son. They still had a lot ahead of them, but Enda’s friend was an insanely good lawyer.

Two very different footsteps sounded through the hall, and Aelin didn’t have much time to think before the bedroom’s door burst open, hitting the wall behind it and making her cringe a little.

“Mommy!” her little terror squealed, throwing himself on the bed she was at.

Aelin chuckled and kissed Finn’s forehead. “Did you have a good time at the park?”

“Good! Rowan gave me chocolate juice.”

Rowan was watching them from the doorstep, a smile on his face as he got closer with both hands on his pockets. “That one loves chocolate. No idea who he got it from.”

Aelin smiled back, until she noticed something.

“Finn...” her eyes narrowed at his feet. “What do we do before laying on the bed?”

Her son only giggled in response, absentmindedly mocking her authority. She took Finn’s shoes off while Rowan carefully placed his boots beneath her bed, then the three of them were just lazying in bed.

Aelin’s quivering pregnancy stomach was under control. Finn quickly fell asleep from being too worn out, but he mentioned wanting pisspaghetti for dinner at the park. She was starting a new job tomorrow, and Rowan needed to be sure for the umpteenth time that she wouldn’t overexert herself in her sedentary work.

This. This was the thing Aelin didn’t know she wanted her whole life. As they spent just another Sunday together, she knew she was never gonna love again.

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[brynnmclean]

twenty questions for fic writers

I was tagged by @stitchingatthecircuitboard! Thanks, friend! This was fun! :D

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

54! Though some of them are ficlet collections that I might separate out, if I could do it all over again.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

180,644

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, Rings of Power / the Tolkien Legendarium (including Silm, LotR, The Hobbit).

Previously, Rogue One, Star Wars sequel trilogy, broke ground writing fic for a m/m Viking romance novel Brothers of the Wild North Sea (it made me so happy), and the tiniest bit of Black Sails.

Before that, a LOT of Supernatural fic, some Being Human US, and LOST.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

cast some light & you'll be all right, 4.5k Explicit Rogue One Rebelcaptain fic where Cassian doesn't like one-sided sex and Jyn isn't used to having a partner who wants to make time for her. They figure it out!

waiting to step forward, 3k Explicit Rogue One Rebelcaptain fic, the direct sequel to cast some light featuring Cassian Andor: Cunnilingus Addict again

I waited for the crash to come, 17k Rogue One Rebelcaptain ficlet collection -- one of those ones that I suppose I could have separated out, but it feels way too late to do it now! There are a lot of ficlets that I love in there though.

beneath the stars, 4k Kíli/Tauriel Hobbit AU where Thranduil hosts a party and Kíli and Tauriel get to dance together and smooch :)

I wanna hurry home to you, 2k Explicit Rogue One Rebelcaptain fic, ALSO part of the cast some light 'verse, sex interrupted by a stand-up meeting, sex continued after the meeting, lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to respond to them as they come, but I have DEFINITELY run into the problem where I haven't responded to some of them and the more time passes, the worse I feel about not responding, and then it just-- anyway, if you've ever sent me a very nice comment that I haven't responded to, please know that I saw it, cried about how nice it was and how good it made me feel, got slammed by something in life, and now remember you with helpless, wordless gratitude.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't write a lot of angst! But an old old old episode-related fic called exercise in futility for Being Human US, featuring season 1 Aidan who was a MESS, might fit the bill.

Or out of storms comes strength for tomorrow which is a Tauriel-centric, grief processing fic...? but I feel like the ending for that one is more hopeful than not? That's a little more where I like to land. There's light in there somewhere, always.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Either sanctuary (Rogue One crew beach vacation for @eisoj5!) or I used to be a king alone (a May the Fourth Rebelcaptain Date-Shaped Mission or a Mission-Shaped Date).

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I got a couple unpleasant anons during the SPN days over some meta re: fandom reaction to a very large fic project, but otherwise my fandom experience has been kind. I can't remember ever getting hate on my fics in particular, but I have gotten some odd comments before, ranging from "why is [male character] randomly a girl" for a genderqueer / rule 63 fic to "when are [m/f couple] going to have Real Sex" for a smut series.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Not as much lately, but the majority of my Rebelcaptain fics were non-PIV (out of spite :D) explicit fics. The first smut fic I wrote was a SPN OT3 with Dean/Castiel/Lisa so... I have a little experience writing threesomes (looking at Galadriel/Celeborn/Halbrand eventually)!

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have written the beginnings of crossover AUs-- I was kicking around a Rogue One Black Sails AU (was going to be Saw Gerrera-centric, as he's the Flint analog), I have an outline for a Rebelcaptain Bourne Identity AU (Jyn as the GFFA Jason Bourne -- one day I SWEAR I'll give this one a fair shot because I actually do have the rare PLOT OUTLINE), and I wrote a ficlet for a Rogue One Grey Company LotR AU.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I did have a Rebelcaptain ficlet plagiarized once. Many thanks to the anon who alerted me to the situation so I could make a successful removal request.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not! I have had some fics podficced which were wonderful. :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't formally co-written a fic with anyone, but I am enjoying the hell out of playing around in the sandbox @rain-sleet-snow and I are hanging out in for the Uncorrupted Mairon AU.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

WOW, I absolutely cannot choose ONE out of ALL of them... If I have to choose... Right now I'm positively feral over Galadriel/Celeborn/Halbrand, but I wrote and will love Jyn/Cassian forever.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Alas... I am not good at finishing fics and I don't often have the discipline to write long-form fic. One of these days I would love to get back to safe house in the hurricane or out of grief joy.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Considering like, 95% of my fics are conversations / dialogue, I think we can consider that a strength!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

PLOT. I'm a pantser. I never know where I'm going next. Also action scenes are extremely difficult!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Thoughts? Cold-sweat terror. Thank you to much smarter people than I am for Elvish translations. Anyone who writes in multiple languages, whether real-world or conlangs, leaves me in awe.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

... LOST, maybe??? @ladytharen helped run a 108 word drabble challenge on LJ that I THINK got me into my first forays of writing fic that wasn't, uh, childhood handwritten scrawling in notebooks for LotR.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh!!!! I'm taking a leaf from @stitchingatthecircuitboard's book and going to list three:

I still think out of storms (the Tauriel grief fic) is one of my best

There's so much of my heart in blessed, the Éomer & Éowyn late night conversation fic that also features genderqueer / genderfluid!Éowyn fic-- though damn it, I wish I'd titled the fic better, but it feels too late to change it, lol

and honestly, as rusty as I felt writing it, I really love first flush of hope to carry the grey away, 1k Rebelcaptain not-a-kiss in an alley

tagging: @rain-sleet-snow, @ladytharen, @eisoj5, @heymacareyna, @ichabodjane, and whoever else is reading this and would like to. Consider yourself tagged!

#fic writer questions #tag games #this was fun #i have been writing a little bit lately! #i wish i had the stamina discipline etc. to write a lot #i am working on it. hopeful for a calm nano. #my fic

[queen-haq]

Fic: Alive, Part 23

Summary: Aidan traced the thin chain around his neck, rubbing the infinity pendant between his fingers. No longer a symbol of their everlasting love, it was something he touched in anger when he thought of Sage. It was the only thing of hers that still remained with him after eight years, the last possession which still connected them together. When he 4did find Sage again, and he would no matter how long it took, he planned to destroy the pendant - and her.

Taking place across two timelines, Alive tells the story of Aidan and Sage, high school sweethearts driven apart by who they are and where they come from. Once enemies then lovers, their relationship runs full circle when they meet again in the present, now prepared to destroy each other.

My Masterlist (contains links to previous parts)  

Now...

Later that evening after putting Ziyah to bed, Sage poured herself a glass of wine and headed into the den. Usually this was her time to relax but that was the farthest thing from her mind tonight. David was watching a movie and she took the seat beside him, offering a small smile when he reached for her glass. After an unsuccessful attempt at watching the movie, she finally gave up. "I don't think Aidan's leaving."

David took a sip of the wine. "What changed your mind? The other night you were so convinced he'd be jetting out of here."

"I was wrong."

"You mentioned he showed up at your office?"

"Yup. To tell me he bought the penthouse suite in this building. So now I have to worry about running into him everywhere."

"Jackass doesn't do things halfway, does he?"

"Nope."

"What exactly did he say?"

"That he's not going anywhere and he's willing to do things my way to make it easier on Ziyah. Blah, blah, blah."

"If I say something will you swear not to bite my head off?" David asked.

"No."

"I'm going to say it anyway."

"It's your head."

"Fighting with him is obviously taking a toll on you. You're stressed out, pissed off. Is it really worth it?"

"What should I do then? Just hand him my daughter?"

"That's not what I meant," David griped. "He said he's willing to do things your way, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then use that to your advantage! Give him a chance to get to know Ziyah but you be the one to dictate the terms."

"I don't want him near us."

"Yeah well, he's not going anywhere until he meets Ziyah. So you can either compromise with him and gain some control over the situation or let him ruin what you've worked so hard to protect. You have every reason to hate him and his family. I get that. After everything that happened, who can blame you for wanting to protect Ziyah from them?" David wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Maybe the key to getting what you want isn't to keep fighting but to give him just enough rope to hang himself. He wants to play daddy, right? Let him. Show him all the work that goes into it, how hard the whole thing is, and maybe that'll be enough for him to give up on that idea. Once he sees how difficult it is, he'll go back to L.A and do whatever the fuck he does, and you'll never have to worry about him again."

"And how do you think Ziyah will feel about that, huh? Do you think it's easy for a kid to be rejected by a parent?” Her mind raced, her heart pulsed. "Unless... I don't have to tell her he's her dad, I could just say he's a friend or something. And that way when he leaves, she won't be attached to him."

"There you go!" He squeezed her shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

She took back the wine glass from David's hand and chugged the rest of the drink. Although still hating the idea of Aidan being around Ziyah, she realised David was right. When things became too difficult or too much for Aidan to handle, he had a tendency to run back to the familiar – as proven by how easily he'd abandoned her and returned to Cat once Sage refused to bend to his will. So all she had to do was be patient, and wait for Aidan's destructive habits to kick in when parenting proved more difficult than whatever fantasy he had created in his head. And then, hopefully sooner than later, he would finally leave and she and Ziyah could return to their normal routine. 

Finding some semblance of peace now that she had a plan, Sage leaned back against the couch. "I'm going to miss you when you leave."

"I'm not gone yet."

"I wish you could stay longer."

"Me too."

"Have you talked to Patrick?" His hesitation didn't escape her notice. "David, what's going on?"

"Nothing."

"You sure? I'm here if you need to talk."

He replied with a half-hearted smile before falling back on the couch, snuggling against her. "Shut up and let me watch the movie."

"Fine," she muttered, resting her head on his shoulder. Tomorrow she would search for Aidan's contact information and set up a meeting, inviting the chaos that he always brought with him; tonight, however, when everything was still peaceful, she just wanted to cling to the comfortable life she had built for herself and Ziyah.

*****

Sage entered the Shangri-la hotel and headed towards the bar where she was supposed to meet Aidan. Spotting a bathroom along the way, she made a quick stop to check her reflection in the mirror. Her stomach was coiled into knots, she felt nervous and sweaty – but her reflection appeared normal, composed even. She smoothed down the fabric of her suit, checked to make sure the hem of her skirt was even. A little voice in her head pointed out she never worried this much about her appearance, not even when doing showings for prospective clients, but Sage ignored it.

The bar, conveniently named The Bar, was tucked away in the northwest corner of the lobby floor. Upon entering the premise, she scanned the area and found Aidan at the bar. Surprise, surprise, he was talking to the very attractive bartender and, from the looks of it, she was flirting back. Not that Sage could blame the woman. Wearing jeans, a teal blue sweater, and a charming smile on his face, he looked good. Really good. Asshole. Feeling more tense now, Sage approached him. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

He turned towards her, the easy smile on his face now replaced with something a lot less warm. His languid gaze swept down her body, cold and judgmental. "Aren't you always?"

"Says the man who barged into my life and now refuses to leave."

"Touché." He grinned, standing up. "Let's get a table."

"This isn't a fucking date," she snapped.

He quirked his eyebrow. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten in hours."

"Why? To maintain your girlish figure?"

"Ah, you noticed." Aidan smirked. "Been checking me out?"

She resisted the smile that was threatening to break out. "Now who's flattering themselves?"

"Someone has to. You obviously won't."

He gestured to the hostess to seat them and soon they were sitting at a booth, big enough so that it didn't feel intimate – which was the last thing she needed to worry about. After he ordered a steak, a bottle of wine and some appetizers, they were alone once again. Awkwardness set in like a thick fog over them. It occurred to her there was a time when she used to fantasize about going out to dinner with Aidan at a public place, like a normal couple, without having to worry about Cat or anyone else bullying or insulting them, but Sage told herself to stop being ridiculous and get over it.

"If you play nice, I may give you a small piece of my steak," he said, bringing her out of her reverie.

She met his gaze. Aidan's eyes were a darker shade tonight, contrasting against the colour of his sweater. His handsome face stared back at her, his lips curved into a small, flirtatious smile. It was so easy to be swept away by him when he played up the charm, and just as difficult to get over the heartbreak when he was done and no longer cared. Although it had been years it still felt like it was just yesterday he had rejected her, thrown her aside for her sister, and she remembered the deep anguish all too well. "I don't want you anywhere around my daughter."

His smile dissolved. "Our daughter. I know you like to think you conceived her all on your own but you didn't. Do I need to go over the birds and the bees thing with you?"

"Fuck you. I've raised her on my own, I've given her a safe and loving home-"

"No one fucking asked you to do it by yourself!" His voice was heavy with anger and fully directed at her. "I could have helped! I could have been a part of her life from the very beginning but you took me out of the equation. You had no right to do that!"

"So what is it that you want? Is this about ownership for you, about possession? She has your genes so now you feel like you have to claim her, maybe dominate over her?"

"No!" he griped, disgusted. "I want to..." He exhaled a resigned sigh, reaching for his glass of wine. "I want to get to know her. That's all. Why is that so hard to understand?"

His sincerity was almost enough to weaken her resolve – until she remembered the danger that surrounded him. "I don't trust you, and the thought of you being around Ziyah scares the crap out of me."

Pain flooded over his features, as if she had physically hurt him.

"But I also know how much of a stubborn jackass you are and you're not going to give up anytime soon."

"You're making me blush," he deadpanned.

"I don't want to spend my time arguing or worrying about you. It's not good for me and it's definitely not good for Ziyah. She might be a kid but she can sense when things aren't right."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I have conditions. And before you start bitching at me about them, you need to know this isn't for me as much as it is for Ziyah. I have to protect her no matter what. I'm her mom. That's my job."

He gave her a small smile. "Okay."

"She can't know you're her dad, at least not yet."

"Why?"

"Because how do I know you're not going to get bored and take off next week or next month? I don't. And when that happens, I'm going to be left with a daughter who'll be heartbroken. I can't bear that. I remembered what being rejected by a parent felt like. I don't want her to experience something that horrible."

Suddenly Aidan leaned in closer, his gaze boring into her. "I'm not going to leave. You have my word."

"Your word doesn't mean anything to me," she replied, hating that her voice trembled with emotion. "Until I can trust that you're in her life for good, she can't know you're her dad. It's as simple as that."

He watched her for a long time, almost daring her to break eye contact, but she refused to look weak in front of him and held his gaze.

"Fine," he finally relented. "How are you going to explain my being around all of a sudden?"

"I'll just tell her we're friends. She's a kid. She'll buy it."

"Friends, huh? Is that what we are now?"

"No, but we don't need to be. We just can't be at each other's throats in front of Ziyah. That's not a good environment for a child to be in."

The food arrived then, just in time to distract from the hostile energy that had taken over between them. Shortly after she was nibbling on some deep-fried spring rolls and watching him wolf down his steak. He wasn't kidding when he'd mentioned being hungry. By the looks of it, he was positively famished. "What were you so busy doing that you didn't even have time to eat today?"

"That's none of your business, is it?"

"Is this how you're planning to talk to me in front of Ziyah?"

"Do you really think I would do that?" he fired back. "You're not the only one with a shitty parent. I had one too, and I remember what it was like growing up in a house and being terrified of him. I hated how he spoke to my mother and me, like we were fucking things that he owned and not actual human beings." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and took a swig of his drink. "Whatever is happening between us, you and me, I'm not going to bitch you out or disrespect you in front of her. And before you list this as one of your conditions, I don't intend to go against any decisions you've made for her either. As far as Ziyah is concerned, you and I are a united front."

His words stunned her, mostly because she hadn't expected that level of understanding from him.

"What else? What other conditions do you have?"

She took a breath before speaking. "Ziyah can't have any contact with Cat, Theo. Any of them. And your mom."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

She braced herself for a fight. "I don't want my kid being called names, or being treated like shit. No one should have to live with being bullied, and your friends and family? They're bullies. They're horrible people, they're disgusting, and I won't let my daughter be exposed to them. I don't give a fuck that they matter to you or they're important to you. What I care about is Ziyah and I'll die before I let any of them near her."

"Don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel," he said flippantly.

"I'm not budging on this."

"They're not just my family, they're hers too. Sooner or later, she'll have to meet them."

"Not if I can help it."

"Is this really about Ziyah? Or you?"

Sage shook her head. "Of course you don't get it. I don't know why I expected any different from you." Taking out her wallet, she threw some bills on the table. "Forget this. Forget I even came here," she muttered, refusing to look at him as she gathered her things together.

"Yeah, keep running. That's what you do best, right?"

Not bothering to respond to his condescending tone, she stormed out.

*****

Then...

The morning had started off like any other: a sparring match with Cat at home and then dealing with the constant buzz of malicious gossip about herself at school. Although Sage had perfected the art of acting impervious, it was hard to keep up the charade when a nastier-than-usual rumor reached her ears. Yesterday's gossip blast was all about how she'd fucked three guys, one after the other, in the men's bathroom to get her hands on some molly; today, there was something new to fuel people's interests.

"What's going on?" David asked, joining her as they followed the crowd of people in the hallway.

"Locker check or something."

"Why are the cops here?"

"They received a tip someone was selling drugs in Belleville," someone replied from a few feet away.

"Why don't they just question Marcus? Everyone knows he's the one you call when you need a hit of something," David griped. "Wait a sec. If they find porn in our lockers they can't arrest us for that, can they?"

"They'd have to arrest all the guys in Belleville then," Sage replied. "I doubt that's going to happen."

"I hope so."

They watched as a police officer and his dog walked the hallway, occasionally stopping in front of lockers to check them. Soon they were near Sage's section when the dog started sniffing her locker. Even though there was nothing suspicious contained within, her stomach still turned with anxiety.

"Ms. Alvi, can you please open your locker for us?"

Sage shot a worried look at David before doing as requested. Nervousness turned into a sick feeling of dread as she stepped aside and allowed the officer to search through her things. A second later, he pulled out a variety of bags from the back of her locker.

"Those aren't mine!" Sage insisted.

"Ms. Alvi, I need you to come with us."

It didn't matter how much she protested; her pleas fell on deaf ears as they led her away from the gathering crowd.

*****

After spending the last few hours in the police station being interrogated by the cops and then lectured by Thomas and his lawyer, she was finally back in the poolhouse. The events of the past few hours flashed through her mind. Someone had put drugs in her locker, enough to make sure she would be charged with possession for sale. And with her recent bout of troubles at Belleville, they were all too eager to believe she was capable of that. The cynical part of her wondered if the authorities would be more lenient if she had been white. Unfortunately, despite having a father who was, she wasn't afforded the benefits of the privileged.

Closing the door behind her, she stared blankly at her surroundings. She was tired, of this place, her father and his family, of continuously fighting with everyone. Her mind was exhausted, her heart broken. For a while there she had been happy, deliriously so, when she and Aidan had been together but now the thought of him just filled her with shame. He'd used her and she had allowed herself to be used, letting herself believe he cared about her, even loved her. With everything falling apart, he'd been a lifeline she had desperately clung to – but it had been an illusion, nothing more than lies.

In the end, with Layal gone, she was alone. Always alone. And that was never going to change.

She walked to the bed, took a seat. College had been the light at the end of the tunnel, the one thing getting her through this hellhole, but now, because of these trumped up charges, even that dream was quickly dissipating. Everything was dark, her future bleak, and there was no escaping it.

*****

The knock on the door woke her up. She glanced at the clock. It was a little after 8am, only a few hours had passed since she'd returned from the police station. About to get up to answer the door, she stilled upon hearing the jiggle of keys. A second later, Cat stepped inside. Dressed impeccably like she always was, Cat greeted her with a smug smile on her face, positively preening.

"Damn. You're still here."

"What do you want, Cat?"

"You. Gone. For good."

Cat strutted across the room, stopping halfway between the door and the bed, carefully scrutinizing the area. "We're going to have to steam your stench out of this place when you finally leave."

Sage forced herself to remain calm. "It was you, wasn't it? You put the drugs in my locker."

Cat met her gaze, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Maybe. Then again, you've pissed off so many people it could be just about anybody. Tish. Marcus. Aidan."

Sage wondered if this level of despair would haunt her forever. There seemed to be no end in sight, no matter where she turned.

"Nothing to say?" Cat jeered.

Despite how she felt, Sage refused to break down in front of Cat. "Leave now, Cat, or you'll be needing a plastic surgeon to fix your face once I'm done with you."

"And you wonder why people hate you. You're trash, Sage. And instead of being grateful that we let someone like you around us, you act all superior. No wonder Madeline hates you so much."

From the slight inflection in Cat's voice, Sage knew right away who was responsible for setting her up. Madeline. Aidan's mom. And she obviously did it with Cat's help.

Swallowing an audible breath, Sage stood up. "I'm going to count to five, and you know what'll happen once I reach the end." Before she made it to three, Cat scurried out of the room. Taking a deep breath, she pondered the bombshell her sister had dropped. Madeline was the one responsible for these charges but Sage couldn't figure out why. It's not like she and Aidan were still together so why was his mother out to get her now?

As much as Sage hated the idea of contacting Aidan, she had no choice. He was the only one who could explain Madeline's motivations because, frankly, Sage had no clue. She picked up the phone, dialed his number, growing increasingly tense as the phone rang for several seconds. Finally, he picked up after the third ring.

"Sage?"

The way he whispered her name with such longing made her insides churn. It was hard for her to breathe, let alone speak.

"Sage?"

"Forget it. This was a mistake."

"No, don't hang up. Please."

Every instinct in her body told her to end the call but her heart... her heart leapt up in her chest, surging with emotions.

"I don't know why you called but I'm glad you did. I miss you, Sage."

She remained silent, unable to respond.

"I know you're pissed at me, you have every right to be. But I swear I'll change, I'll be better, I'll never hurt you again. Just please give me another chance."

"That's not why I'm calling!" she replied quickly, before his words were able to break through her barriers. "I'm in trouble."

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding panicked.

"I was arrested today. The cops searched my locker and found drugs in there."

"Marcus." Aidan's terse words were laced with anger. "He must have planted them there. When I get back-"

"It wasn't Marcus. Or at least he didn't work alone. It was your mom who set it up."

There were several beats of silence before he finally answered. "Sage, come on. Why would she do that?"

"That's what I'm calling you to find out. You and I are done; we're not together anymore and she doesn't need to worry about me. So why is she out to get me?"

"Don't you think you're being a little paranoid right now?"

Of course he didn't believe her. It was foolish of her to assume that he would. After all, Aidan was one of them. "I don't know why I thought you'd help me."

"And I don't know why you're so determined to blame my mom for this. What makes you think it wasn't Tish or Marcus that put that shit in there?" His voice softened, almost as if to lull her into a false sense of security. "I'm at my grandparent's right now. I'll be back in LA soon. Just hang tight for a few days until I'm home and then we can work through this together."

"Yeah, sure," she scoffed.

"Sage, I know things seem hopeless right now but you're not alone. I'll be there as soon as I can. Just wait for me. Please."

He sounded insincere, every word out of his mouth a ridiculous lie. How could she have trusted him in the past? Loved him? Cat's words from earlier rung in her ear. There was a very good possibility that it was Aidan who had planned this. She knew all too well what he was capable of when angry; thanks to his parents, he was an expert on manipulating people and doling out extreme punishment when he felt slighted – and yet there was a part of her that still refused to believe he would hurt her to that extent. Then again, it didn't matter. Even if Madeline was the one responsible, his refusal to believe the truth made him just as culpable in Sage's eyes.

"Say something," he urged, voice infused with fake desperation.

She hung up and turned off the phone.

With no one on her side she had to figure out a way out of this mess on her own – which meant she had to confront Madeline.

To be continued...

@tiki-tequila​ @bustlingcrowdsxorxsilentsleepers​ @idaofinfinity​

#alive #my fics #romance novels #romance #enemies to lovers #and then back to enemies

[jeanvaljeancheri]

Hey! thanks for the google doc link 😊

I was wondering if you could recommend aftg kid fics (of any kind could be them with or as kids) I've been looking for fics like those!

Your welcome <3

Here are some kid fics for you:

Kid! Andrew / Neil

get what you give

The Smallest Exy Player, Now Even Smaller

monster (under my bed)

Trusting Things Beyond Mistake and T-Shirt Weather

i will bring you rings of gold (i'll keep your laugh inside me).

When It All Feels So Big

Joseph

Andrew and Neil met as kids, got separated and meet again

ANDROMEDA

Lifeline

My (Baby) Shot Me Down

The Gaslights Burn Brightly

waiting up for better things

i think i know you

Andrew and Neil with kids

Aren’t you Andrew’s kid? (1st of the Son of a Exy! Series)

Aidan Minyard

Blame It on My Youth

Being So Normal

#andreil fic rec #andreil fanfic #aftg fic rec #childhood friends #kid fic #slow burn #childhood friends to lovers #friends to lovers #angst with fluff #angst with comfort #angst with a happy ending #the foxes #aftg fic #aftg #fanfic #ao3 #andreil #fic rec #all for the game #andrew x neil #aftg neil #aftg fanfic #fanfiction #all for the game fanfic #aftg fic recs #all for the gay

[bapydemonprincess]

Hi hii, big fan of you and grelleswife's fics and stuff. My favorite is The Butler, Big Brother, with Amy. I love Amy so much.❤️ So I want to know some things. Like would Amy count as an Aunt to any of Sebastian's kids you have made? Does she want to have a mate eventually too? Maybe get married? Can she make a contract and have a master or is that not possible being a President? Does she count in Hell as a child demon despite being a President? Like does she need looking after?? Does she know other demons seen like Claude and Hannah or do they not count because different universes? XD I remember she got really sick too going without eating a soul, so does she need to constantly eat souls? Also, I think, one more thing. I remember early chapters in the manga Sebastian said Hell has Xenomorph looking creatures not cats. Does Amy have those at all or any pets? And does she have a favorite animal like Sebastian?? ^^ Okay. I think that is all!! Thank you and I can't wait to see more stories from you! 😘😘 Hope Amy comes back especially!!! 😁❤️

Hello, Anon, and thank you so much for sending me this message and these interesting questions, and loving my and @grelleswife's writing!! It feels sooo good to get feedback, especially on my end when I'm only here on tumblr and not AO3 at the moment. So thank you overall so much for reaching out!! 💖

I'll try my best to answer all your questions!!

would Amy count as an Aunt to any of Sebastian's kids you have made?

I have definitely imagined some crossovers in some situations, like an older Amy in modern 21st century appearing to hunt down her sibling and popping up right at Seb's and Agni's place- wherever that may be -and meeting Aarushi and/or Ambrose. OR maybe at one point the meeting happened on purpose where Seb really WANTED their new, first heir Aarushi to be introduced to their family.. and then YEARS LATER.. Amy arrives to meet the SECOND one Seb popped out >:3 (*insert image of no-nonsense business wear pencil skirt Amy with heels and sunglasses and nails done looking all the world like a Wine Aunt, minus the wine*) Or of course her getting introduced to Wolfram and Seb and Wolf's babey Ulva, or Amy appearing in the sebagrellerin universe to meet the sweet babey Aidan.. OR... well... there are many verses, it seems, where Amy's big dumb sibling just can't resist a human mate and despite their differences.. 😏

2. Does she want to have a mate eventually too? Maybe get married?

Well, as I've established, in the uhh MAIN AMY UNIVERSE (*snort*) she's stumbled upon a teen reaper boi Adam Borders, under the mentorship of Grelle Sutcliff, and well... let's say she didn't stand a chance in the Tsundere Game >:3, though her veteran older sibling of said game is not too happy with this development! The Protect Family Urges growing STRONGER than EVER in Sebastian 🤭 Even against all common sense! And I've basically established that they are pretty much like mates at this point.. minus the mental bond connection.. Who knows, maybe they'll get there eventually! 😉 As for marriage, well... it's much more complicated to imagine overall because Amy is a demon. And yes, we've written SEBASTIAN getting married, but I'd say the difference is Seb is more... a "domesticated" demon. Because, in this fanon at least, Seb is way more into human concepts like marriage. Not to say maybe Amy ISN'T but.. she's also a young, teenage-like demon too, so.. gehstdjfuy that's the best way to put it, I think. 😅

3. Can she make a contract and have a master or is that not possible being a President?

I personally believe she COULD make a contract, and any demon has the ability in most cases. In this universe. In That Butler, Big Brother, in fact, she tried to make a contract- if VERY poorly -with Prince Soma. Basically if she'd had more experience and know-how, she likely could have done it. Although in that case, it also depends on the human being targeted, and despite if Amy WAS experienced, I doubt even then it would have worked, because well.. Soma. But there's a time and place for everything, so, if the scenario was different, like Amy was facing a human in perhaps a much more desperate situation, and the human needed to chose either a contract or.. y'know.. DEATH likely.. Then that definitely would be a more likely way for Amy to make a contract! And pull it off despite being a President! I think, personally, with her job at home much more better handled and stuff, she could definitely go off and make a contract or two somehow. 😌

4. Does she count in Hell as a child demon despite being a President? Like does she need looking after??

Well I do not see her as a "child" by demon standards anymore, but much more in the pre-teen/teen area of her immortal demonic like. Though there is most definitely a hierarchy in hell, a ranking system, where the higher in the ranks you are, the less you have to do for yourself, really, because you have servants yourself at that point. Though somehow, the rank of "President" counts as still a hard working sort of rank and not a "sit on your ass all day" rank. Somehow. 😜 And I definitely wanted to keep a lot of the "official lore" of Amy the demon from the actual real life Lesser Key of Solomon that includes the fact that they do influence humans in some way.. specifically teaching them things like astrology and liberal arts like the page says! Though my version of Amy is definitely a demon who has been coddled and stays put and, well, despite what they've described Amy as, She or He is much ... smaller and youthful.. (Though there is art of Amy the Demon in HUGE firey forms, and I think despite age, she CAN become like that 🔥 because as we've seen with Seb in the manga, size and shape certainly don't matter~)

5. Does she know other demons seen like Claude and Hannah or do they not count because different universes?

I do believe I've answered these questions before actually! Here about Hannah, and here about Claude!

6. I remember she got really sick too going without eating a soul, so does she need to constantly eat souls?

The main reason she got so weak in that case was from coming to Earth by her own means without all the typical summoning help of a human on this side, and offering up a sacrifice to her like we've seen in the manga done. And, for a younger demon like Amy to just go off and use what power she has to pop up on earth, it was pretty risky on her end! I wouldn't say she has to, normally, constantly eat souls, but compared to a much older demon like Sebastian, it's a very vital thing to keep up her energy if she wants to keep staying on earth and hanging around!

7. I remember early chapters in the manga Sebastian said Hell has Xenomorph looking creatures not cats. Does Amy have those at all or any pets? And does she have a favorite animal like Sebastian?

I definitely can imagine these Totally-Not-an-Aliens-Reference "pets" of hell are the type of animal that are like guard dog-like, and maybe many higher-up demons have them for security or pets.. But I also see Amy as the type to trust other demons for security over creatures that are more animal-like. I'm not sure if she has a favorite at the moment right now, really. I just see Amy as a jumpy little demon, who just can't exactly trust any of the four legged, furry, non-furry, or no legged creatures of earth just yet 😂 (She's still a babey in those types of situations you could say~🖤)

WELL, I hope I've answered all your questions to your liking, I've been busy and tired lately so it was a little bit of a struggle when to find the best time to answer these.. But I really wanted to, so here I am, while at walmart, doing my best fgrhdkyfug 💀

But again, thank you so so much for the questions and your message overall!! I love getting feedback, really I do!! And it was fun to think up answers for this!! So feel free to return and send me more at any time!! 🥰🥰🥰

#my oc #kuroshitsuji oc #amy michaelis #headcanons

[hobis-hope94]

UMBRELLA ACADEMY:

My umbrella academy masterlist!! Some might have tiny weeny spoilers for series 3, but I’ll wait to post those until I’m certain the fans of the show have seen it!!

MY WRITINGS FOR FIVE WILL MOSTLY BE PLATONIC READER AS AIDAN IS ONLY 18 ODD IT DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT TO WRITE ROMANTIC STORIES FOR HIS CHARACTER.

I WILL ONLY BE WRITING FOR VIKTOR HARGREEVES.

I WILL NOT BE WRITING FOR THE SPARROW ACADEMY AS I WASN’T KEEN ON ANY OF THEM OTHER THAN MARCUS.

ANY HATE ON LUTHER HARGREEVES WILL BE DELETED. I AM A LUTHER FAN AND THEREFOR, I WILL INCLUDE HIM IN MY WRITING. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THAT PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY OF MY STORIES FOR HIM.

ANY OF MY FICS FOR BEN WILL BE BEN FROM UMBRELLA ACADEMY, NOT SPARROW.

Most of my fics will involve a non binary reader, unless the gender is specified for the story.

❤️ -fluff

😖 -angst

#umbrella academy writing #umbrella academy master list #allison hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #diego hargreeves #luther hargreeves #non binary readers #non binary #female readers

[cinematicnomad]

Wait, what is this series from Mr. Darcy's POV? A fic?

i mean, basically lol, but it's a published series by pamela aidan. it's exactly as i described it—a re-telling of pride and prejudice from darcy's POV, though it's told in 3 books instead of one. the first, an assembly such as this, basically covers the time that the bingley's + darcy are at netherfield. the second book, duty and desire, follows darcy in the in-between time when he's away. it focuses a lot on his relationship with georgiana and his quest to find a wife like elizabeth but from society (it also...has like, an almost supernatural-esque mystery going on?? it's hard to explain). and then book three, these three remain, brings everything back to canon with darcy's arrival at rosings and carries on from there.

honestly, i like it—i think my mom was the one who recommended the series to me? but it's pretty entertaining to read and i figured i'd give the series a re-read since i've been on a bit of an austen kick lately.

#ask #anonymous #it is definitely just published fanfic #i can just imagine this series published on ao3 #with the tags 'canon compliant' and 'alternate POV' and 'slow burn' etc tossed on it

[acquariusgb]

Billary Fic drabble advent calendar: Day 21

Day 21: Game night

There was one thing that was fundamental in the Clinton household: gamenight!

Bill was a big fan of card games. He and Hillary had started playing against each other as soon as they started dating. Then he played cards with her family and it was a way for him to win them over. And once Chelsea was old enough, she was also introduced to game nights. On those nights the family would play Go Fish or the Game of Life or Candy lane, then as Chelsea learned to read and write, they moved to Scrabble or one of Bill’s favorite games, Upwords.

Playing games was their way to occupy the time if they couldn’t sleep or were waiting for news. It had been a safeguard when Bill, Hillary and Chelsea spent the night before Bill’s heart surgery playing cards. It had kept them distracted while they were worried about the outcome. 

One cold winter day it was Charlotte’s turn to be introduced to the family tradition. Bill, Hillary and Charlotte were wearing comfortable sweatshirts and pants. Bill had prepared a bowl of popcorn while Hillary was finishing making cocoa. 

Several board games and a deck of cards were piled up on the table. 

“Okay, sweetheart.” Hillary said while putting down two mugs of cocoa on the table and one of tea for Bill. “Are you ready? Did you decide which game to start with?”

“Hmmm…” Charlotte hummed and put a finger over her lips. “Go Fish?”

“Go Fish, it is!” Bill exclaimed, grabbing a handful of popcorn, before sitting down. 

Grandparents and granddaughter spent the next few hours going through most of the games, until Charlotte got tired and they moved to the sofa to watch a movie. Charlotte was curled against her Grandma as all three were under a cover. Soon the girl was fast asleep, slightly snoring.

“Tonight it was great. It reminded me of when Chelsea was little.”Bill ran a hand up and down her back and smiled at HIllary over her head.

Hillary smiled too.  “Yeah… and with Aidan growing up so fast and Chelsea pregnant again we’ll have a table full of players soon.”

Bill’s grin got even bigger. “Can’t wait for it.” He leaned over and pecked her lips.

#the clintons #hillary clinton #bill clinton #billary #advent calendar fic #grandparents

[jksprincess10]

Aidan hi! I wanted to say I kept passing on your fiction because the thought of Steve's death just broke my heart and I finally dove in and WOW. I love how clipped your prose is. It works really powerfully with the way you manage to describe characters and situations quite vividly.

It blows my mind to think you are 26. Your 'mise en scene' gives away someone quite a bit older than that.

Can't wait for more :)

Hi nonnie ! I wanted to take the time to write a proper response. I'm so happy you gave my fic a chance and that you ended up loving it! I'm a huge nerd and I just love when people analyze my writing haha.

Thank you so much for validating me as a writer !

Honestly, it's messages like this that keep me going. I hope you have an amazing day !

#jksprincess10 responds