#and all of them calling him bren

[meadowsofmay]

i will never stop thinking about caleb spending eleven years in vergesson sanatorium and five years on the run. he was a teenager when he broke, losing his most formative years to the tutelage of a madman, no community or sense of connection to the world, and then locked away for most of his fucking twenties in a state of catatonia. he didn't have any more proper social experience, not even talking about community anymore, he didn't have a chance to properly grow and mature like a person in his twenties would. he just... skipped from seventeen to twenty eight.

no proper maturing, no chance to process whatever trauma he was subjected to, all those eleven years he was just nothing, still shocked and paralyzed 'till a cleric woman cleared his mind. and then there was rage. this rage led him to kill, even if in order to run away. his stages of processing and dealing with trauma and guilt are rather emotional, seem to be not thought out enough and at the same time he thought about what happened too much. he understands everything and nothing at the same time.

his mourning for his parents is fresh.

his mourning for his, and astrid's and eadwulf's, childhood is still fresh.

he didn't have time to grieve before. and now he grieves constantly because five years is not enough to come to terms with the cruelty he was subjected to. because after sixteen years there are still volstruckers born and he searches for hope in them, hope for redemption and sees none and his process of reaching atonement begins all over again.

because all these sixteen years astrid and eadwulf lived, conscious and growing and maturing and yet, still those whom bren failed to become. and they had time, so much time to think, to wonder — to come to terms with, to become numb, to learn how to live with all this guilt and to convince themselves that it was for greater good. they had time to build walls and create masks, because they had to, because they might break like bren if they hadn't.

i know blumendrei two episodes and a comic book and they are already so special to me.

#may watches the mighty nein #ep 88 #ep 89 #i wasn't alright when eadwulf was introduced #i was squeaking when caleb went to astrid #and all of them calling him bren #my heart breaks #and genuinely astrid's speech is disturbing #this poor woman is still a victim of trent's and she is just waiting for him to perish to be free and it's sad #blumendrei are genuinely sad #caleb widogast #astrid becke #eadwulf grieve #blumendrei #blumentrio #liam o'brien #matt mercer #the mighty nein #critical role

[sassy-cass-16]

look man. look

essek saying "bren" out loud, claiming a position on caleb's side as the mouthpiece of his regards to astrid, did something to me. i can't tell if it opened a wound or punched me or gave me a hug. all i know is that i am feeling so many emotions right now

more under the cut because i'm about to get rambly:

"bren aldric ermendrud" is a separate character from caleb widogast. he's a young boy learning how to make magic. he's a deeply traumatized and indoctrinated teenager. he's the boy who curled up with astrid and eadwulf in a freezing tower for warmth all night.

essek never met bren. he met caleb and he's never known him as anyone else. if i'm remembering correctly, caleb never even said the name "bren" to him during the campaign, and neither did any of the nein.

essek knows caleb widogast. he knows the man who held up the object of his worst crime and then kissed him in the bowels of a ship and made a floor of infinite stars for them to walk through together. he knows the person who healed over bren's wounds—thinly, but enough. he knows the man that the boy has become.

astrid knows bren. she barely knows who caleb is. she still calls him bren after hearing him referred to as caleb repeatedly. she can't know him as the man he is, she only knows the boy. there's some of bren in caleb, but there is no caleb in bren.

essek saying "bren sends his regards" is him gauging astrid's reaction, on one level—if she freaks out, which she did, she's in opposition to caleb's cause and thus a threat. on another level, it's essek delivering a very different subtextual message from caleb: "the boy who loved you is giving you one final warning."

because essek is a threat to astrid. their last meaningful interaction was slinging spells at each other in the blooming grove. and that's funny in a "current boyfriend vs ex girlfriend exclusively fight each other" kind of way, but it's also deeply tied to caleb's recurring theme of transformation. "bren sends his regards" also means "i have healed enough to love enough for someone else to know this name and use it with my consent. and this someone else is your enemy. what does that make you think i've become?"

it also does a fantastic job of communicating subtle offscreen discussions that have happened over the years since the end of c2. we don't have the details of when or how caleb told essek his birth name, but we know that he did, and we know from all of c2 that the name bren occupies a place of immense emotional weight for caleb. it functions similarly to a deadname in terms of who uses it and for what purpose. trent exclusively calls caleb bren to wound him and place himself in a position of power. astrid calls him bren to remind both him and herself of who they used to be—same with eadwulf, though obviously he's not here.

the first time we hear essek say "bren" is on caleb's behalf and confronting one of the narrative representations of caleb's trauma. it's four words that manage to communicate "i, your enemy on a hundred levels, can speak for both the man i love and the boy who loved you, because i know him in his entirety."

astrid knows bren and essek knows caleb, but only essek can speak for both. because at some point, caleb gave bren to essek. and we know this from four words. four IMPROVISED words.

god. this moment is just so fucking good

#critical role #cr spoilers #critical role spoilers #campaign 3 #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #astrid becke #mighty nein #campaign 2 #shadowgast

[aestheticaltcow]

What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Always Stay in Vegas

A four-part series about a drunken mistake and realizations starring our favorite neurotic chef.

Part 1 - Those are legal?

“I’m sorry, what do you mean ‘I’m married’?” Ellie questioned the FBI agent in front of her. “Well, with Jack’s security clearance, we took his marriage license application very seriously. Elanor Marks, you’ve been married to a man named Carmen Berzatto for the past eight years.”. Ellie turned to look at Jack, who was just as dumbfounded as her, “You two got married in 2016 at Quickie Vows in Las Vegas.” the agent handed Jack a folder. “Here’s all the information, sir.” Jack nodded without saying anything. 

“How did you not know you were married?” Jack laughed as he got into bed that night, “I didn’t think those Vegas weddings were like real marriages.” Ellie sighed, sinking deeper into their mattress. Jack frowned, realizing just how upset his fiance was, “Hey, get over here.” he opened his arms. Ellie sighed and scooted closer to him in bed, “This is one of the things I love about you, Ellie. You’re spontaneous and eclectic. You love life and have never said no to anything.” he kissed her head making Ellie sink deeper into his chest. “When I met you in Germany, I knew you were goin’ be my wife one day. This whole Vegas marriage thing is just a hiccup. I’ll call Bren, and we’ll get all of this figured out… you’ll get your spooky October wedding, I promise.” 

Ellie opened her locker the next morning and shoved her backpack in before sitting on a free chair to change into her non-slip shoes. “There she is, the blushing bride.” Ellie rolled her eyes at her friend’s greeting. “Hey, Maddie.” “You good?” “I’ve been better…”

Maddie shot her a quizzical look. “Wanna talk about it?” Ellie sighed “Do you remember Carmy Berztto?” “Wow, that’s a blast from the past…” “Yeah, that’s what I said… we’ve been married since that Vegas trip.” Maddie was lost for words, “You know what I have to feed my sourdough…” she awkwardly laughed, scratching at the back of her neck. “Lunch break?” Ellie laughed, knowing Maddie wanted to know what had happened that trip “Yes. I have so many questions.”

“CAB, you’re like the best.” “I don’t know ‘bout that, El.” Carmy laughed, taking another swig from his bottle of tequila. Ellie snaked her arm around his waist as the two walked down the Vegas strip. The two found themselves separated from the main group of friends they’d come to Vegas with; it wasn’t something unheard of for the two of them. “You’re a kid but got the fuckin’ James Beard! You’re the best.”Ellie hiccuped. Carmy rolled his eyes, “You’re only like a year older than me, babe.” Ellie giggled and playfully hit his chest. 

The two ended up sitting on the edge of a fountain, exchanging stories of childhood trauma and fears of the future between kisses. “My mom used to call me a whore back in high school-” “You’re my whore…” Carmy whispered as he kissed down Ellie’s jawline, making her giggle and hit his shoulder “You’re so stupid.” “Fuck I love you.” Carmy laughed, burying his head in her shoulder nipping at her collarbone. Ellie giggled and gently tugged at his hair “I fuckin’ love you too.”

In New York, this evening would end in sex on the kitchen floor or the ratty old couch in Carmy’s bare apartment. In Vegas, it was a different story. Neither Carmy nor Ellie realized who’d suggested it, but they found themselves at Quickie Vows. They both went through the motions, thinking it was the funniest joke in the world. The two returned to the group’s Airbnb and went to the backyard to get into the hot tub. The next day, Ellie got the call she’d been waiting for.  She was going to Europe to be a commis chef. After a quick stop in New York, Ellie was off and thought she’d never be back in the States, at least until she met Special Agent Jack Aubrey.

The two met in Germany five years ago; it was love at first sight for Jack. Ellie took a couple of months to warm up. He was everything Carmy lacked; he actively made time to be with her. They weren’t together out of convenience; Jack was proud to be seen with her. He encouraged her to be herself and grow as a person. But of course, Carmy needed to make one last appearance before Ellie could live happily ever after.

#carmen berzatto #the bear #carmen berzatto one shot #carmen berzatto imagine #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto x reader #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto #the bear fan fiction #the bear fan fic #the bear imagine

[callsign-rogueone]

intimacy alphabet - b.s.

Brennan Sorrengail x reader words: 1.4k-ish 🏷: NSFW. all of it. I tried to keep this gender neutral again and I think I succeeded? mentions of penetrative sex, oral, fingering, soft d/s dynamics, the usual stuff. It took me a while to figure him out, but I think I'm onto something here. lemme know -- always down to discuss my main man. some more spicy bren coming soon, hehe

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

he's a very responsible and caring guy -- he’s making sure you’re okay, mending any bruises or soreness he might have caused and cleaning the both of you up, giving you soft affirmations and I-love-you’s all the while, especially if he was rough with you. helps get you dressed in clean clothes and then it’s cuddle time. 

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

his hands — because you like them so much, and because you make the prettiest sounds when he touches you.

your hips — he loves grabbing them to pull you closer, digging his fingers into the softness there when he’s fucking you, kissing them before he goes down on you…

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

he likes to cum inside of you a little more than he should. he’s still in denial about what that means, though. 

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

he’s thought about messing around with you in the assembly room, and he really likes that idea, but he has a reputation to maintain, and it would probably make his work a lot more difficult— he already has a hard enough time getting work done in his office, his mind often wandering to the things you’ve done in there.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

you’ve had plenty of practice with each other over the years. he absolutely knows what he’s doing. he’s not a naive college kid anymore, he’s a man, and he fucks like it. 

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

bending you over the desk in his office and giving it to you nice and deep and a little rough, your cheek smushed into the tabletop and your nails digging into the wood — if you mess up the papers or scratch the desk, he can just mend it back, anyway. and of course he’s putting up a sound shield, so you don’t need to muffle those cute little whimpers while he uses you.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

he’s pretty serious but he loves to tease. likes watching you squirm and drawing things out until you beg.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

very clean guy. he’s doing some routine maintenance. and yes, it does.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

he’s a very caring and giving person, and that definitely extends into the bedroom. he can be incredibly tender and romantic with you if the mood is right, but sometimes you both want things to be a little rougher, and he’s very good at that too. 

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

I don’t see him handling things himself very often. if he feels the need, he’s finding you for help — or calling you into his office, where you’re going to take care of it together. 

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

re: the above,,, he has a mild free-use kink… he loves the idea of either one of you dropping everything to please the other whenever they ask. it’s usually him asking, but it goes both ways — if you walk into his office and tell him you need him, he’s putting down the paperwork and strategy plans and getting on his knees for you without hesitation.

mild authority kink (more on that later). 

dare I say a tiny bit of an innocence kink? especially if you’re younger than him… I wanna write an age gap fic for him so bad ughhh 😩

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

we’ve established that the office is at the top of the list along with your bedroom, and the attached bathroom (over the counter in front of the mirror, in the shower…) not really anywhere else.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

bat your eyelashes at him and call him Lieutenant Colonel in that sweet, innocent  voice and there’s a very good chance that you’re going to be face-down, ass-up in the next ten minutes.

also, if either of you had to be away from the other for more than two days, the moment you’re reunited + the revolution business is handled and you’re behind closed doors, you’re fucking.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

he doesn’t want to seriously hurt you or cause you pain. he knows that he can mend any injury, but he’d really rather not have to in the first place.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

he will never ever refuse head from you. he fucking loves it. it’s the ultimate stress reliever for him. holds your hair back for you and tells you what a good girl/boy you are, how pretty you look on your knees for him.

happy to return the favor, and really good at it, too. he purposely keeps his hair just long enough for you to tug on when he’s making you feel good.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

he can do both, and does them well. fast and rough when he’s mad / jealous or if you’re being a brat, slow and deep and loving when you’re reunited after being apart, after a near-death experience, or whenever either of you needs a little extra TLC. 

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

they happen quite often, but they’re never quick enough — you always end up late to whatever you have to do afterward. the other assembly members know not to go to his office to find him if he’s late for a meeting. he’ll get there when he gets there; right now he has very important things to handle.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

there was more experimenting when you were younger, and still figuring things out. you know what you like now, but you still manage to surprise each other every now and then. he’s learned a lot from your romance novels, especially the pages you’ve bookmarked and the things you’ve highlighted etc etc.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

his stamina is pretty high. he fucks. he can go an easy 2-3 rounds every time, but you don’t feel the need to go all night anymore. however, if you make a joke about him getting old, etc., he’s going to have to prove to you that he still has it, and fuck you until you cry / apologize.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

I could see modern!Bren liking to use a vibe / etc on you, but I don’t think such a thing exists in FW. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

he loves to tease, namely pretending to not understand your vague pleas for him to touch you, etc. or making you repeat yourself when you’re struggling to form words because he’s making you feel good. 

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

he’s usually not too loud, mostly just some soft panting / groaning / praise. cannot shut the fuck up when you go down on him though. sounds really pretty when he cums. 

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

loves loves loves making out with you. he could do it for hours, if you both weren’t so needy / constantly under time pressure being revolution leaders. it’s just so nice to sit in his lap and kiss him, holding each other close and letting your worries and stress disappear for a while. 

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

he’s built so nicely. he’s strong and muscular, but still a little soft and perfect to cuddle with. has a fair few scars on his body, including one over his heart from the arrow that nearly killed him in the battle of Aretia. you kiss it every time you see it, as a reminder of how glad you are that he’s still here with you. 

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

pretty high, but you certainly aren’t complaining.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

if you’re in bed, then pretty quickly after cleanup etc. if you’re anywhere else, he’ll usually have it in him to either make the hike upstairs to your room, or to go about your day after a few minutes of cuddles. 

#brennan sorrengail #brennan and duchess #fourth wing #fourth wing x reader #brennan sorrengail x reader #18+ #smut #mine

[hyunpic]

list of songs hyunjin has played on his lives/recommended:

note: im probably missing some & i couldn’t put links to all of them cause apparently tumblr has a link limit 🤨

lauv: julia, lonely eyes, invisible things, paris in the rain, never not, im so tired, the story never ends, i like me better

offonff: photograph, cigarette (ft. miso & tablo), dance, bath

beyoncé: crazy in love (remix)

billie eilish: i love you, &burn, idontwannabeyouanymore, ocean eyes, before i go, tv

honne: day1, la la la that’s how it goes

christina perri: a thousand years

shawn mendes: mercy, treat you better, in my blood

dvwn: phobia

dpr live: jam & butterfly

jehwi: dear moon

leehi: rose

bts: dna, waste it on me, make it right

colde: where love begins, string (ft. sunwoojunga), the museum, wa-r-r, your dog loves you (ft. crush), control me, a song nobody knows, im in love

got7: miracle, hard carry

justin bieber: lonely

josef salvat: call on me

taemin: criminal

night off: sleep

sam kim: make up (ft. crush), like a fool, sunny days summer nights

niki: lowkey

iu: the visitor, lullaby, knees, love poem, give you my heart, my sea

cha ni: starlight

sia: snowman

akmu: happening

sunwoojunga: run with me

the black skirts: everything

korea cracker: ocean (ft. hoyeon kim)

cosmic boy: can i love?

penomeco: no.5 (ft. crush)

yerin baek: blooming memories, limit

10cm: so…., however

day6: i’ll try, love me or leave me, when you love someone, you were beautiful, congratulations, zombie, days gone by, afraid

dean: d (half moon), instagram, what 2 do, bonnie & clyde

exo: first snow, the eve, love shot

sam fischer: this city

jukjae: do you want to walk with me?, lullaby

ph-1: nerdy love (ft. yerin baek), as i told you

baekhyun: love again, un village

amine: blackjack

young k: come as you are, guard you

flume: say it (ft. tove lo)

twice: dance the night away, fancy

ariana grande: thank u, next

hajin: we all lie

about: it has to be you

caroline says: winter is cold

h.e.r: u, wait for it

bol4: to my youth

monday kiz: winter is as i wished

paul kim: the road, additional

sweden laundry: the winter

jung seung hwan: in that winter

chungha: gotta go

zion.t: no make up, snow

airman: gloomy star, i’ll be your spring (ft. j_ust)

motte: dont run away

seventeen: a-teen, super

khalid: location

lukas graham: 7 years

imagine dragons: believer

bo kyung kim: dont think you are alone

jung ilhoon: spoiler (ft. babylon)

davichi: falling in love, 이 사랑

coldplay: everglow, viva la vida

lyn: my destiny

jus2: focus on me, long black, senses (jpn version)

crush: beautiful, you and i

ed sheeran: lego house, perfect, photograph, beautiful people

croosh: why

20 years of age: x

tori kelly: paper hearts

seulgi: always

luna: do you love me? (ft. george)

wisue: someone’s shining

epik high: eternal sunshine

jp saxe: if the world was ending

seori: fairy tale

bruno mars: marry you

the weeknd: earned it, die for you

jung seunghwan: its raining, an ordinary day, dear

sam tinnesz: play with fire

post malone: motley crew

jihyo: stardust love song

kim feel: your voice

sung sikyung: solar system, heejae

younha: stardust

wonpil: a journey

taeyeon: invu, some nights, toddler, drawing our moments

nct dream: boom

ha hyunsang: 3108

huhgak: memory of your scent

se so neon: nan chun, a long dream, midnight train, stranger

umi: remember me

tvxq!: mirotic

johnny balik: honey

red velvet: psycho

new jeans: hype boy

christian kuria: losing you

cigarettes after sex: k.

dpr ian: nerves, no blueberries, 1 shot

samm henshaw: broke

woodz: drowning

kelly clarkson: underneath the tree

kimmuseum: to you who cant sleep

taylor swift: betty

lana del rey: young and beautiful

harry styles: watermelon sugar, she

pink sweat$: honesty

masego: tadow

olivia rodrigo: vampire

troye sivan: youth, for him

kai: mmmh

2pm: my house

oasis - wonderwall

oasis - hey now

mac miller - that’s on me

mac miller - everybody

nothing but thieves - amsterdam

bren joy - sweet

back number - i love you

puma blue - already falling

mac ayres - roses

mac ayres - next to you

bruno major - old soul

#hyunjin song recommendations #<- so i can find it later for updates #i spent like 3 hours writing this and putting the links shdjdndb #maybe anon from yesterday finds this helpful!

[specialagentlokitty]

Booth x reader - I need you

Walking into the Jeffersonian, you squinted a little as the harsh lights making your way to your office and you tossed your bag underneath, sitting down in your chair.

Seeing a file neatly laid on your desk, you picked it up and flicked through some of the things that were on it.

Pushing yourself up, you took it with you a few offices down, tossing it on the other desk.

“Stop leaving files on my desk to try catch my interest Mr FBI.”

He took the file from the desk and held it back out to you again with a little grin on his face.

“Come on, I know you want to.”

“Sorry Booth, but I’m not feeling too great.”

Brennan glanced at you, and she gestured for you to follow her so you did, giving an apologetic look towards Booth.

Brennan took you back to your office and she closed the door.

“You said you had the all clear from your doctor.”

“I do, come on Brennan, you’ve known me since we both started here, my doctor gave me the whole clean bill of health a few months ago.”

You sat down in your chair, kicking your feet up on your desk and Brennan walked over.

She took your leg, rolling up your trousers so she could have a look and you laughed a little at her.

“Come on Brennan, Booth doesn’t call you Bones for no reason, you’re the bone lady and my leg has a little too much skin.”

“I’m making sure that your surgical scars haven’t gotten infected, did you care for them properly afterwards?”

“You were there Bren, you know I did.”

She nodded her head, rolling your trouser leg back down, placing it back in the table.

“I want you to go back for a check up.”

“Even if I did I would be looking at a few months waiting time at least Brennan, you know that.”

“What if I make a few calls, get you seen sooner, will you go?”

“Yeah, yeah I’ll go if you want me too Bren.”

“Alright, I’ll make the calls, but I don’t know how much longer you can keep hiding this from everybody else. Especially if you relapse.”

“If I relapse we’ll tell them.”

“Okay, thank you. You know, Booth really wants to work cases with you again.”

You smiled, laughing as you nodded your head.

“Yeah, I know.”

Brennan smiled a little at you, gesturing to the door.

“Maybe you can come join just this one case? I know you love being in the field.”

She held her hand out to you, and you grinned, taking it so she could help you up.

And one case turned into one, and two, and three and so on.

A few weeks had passed, and you were in the middle of a case.

“We need to go (Y/N), we’ll be late.” Brennan said.

She scanned her card, walking over to you she held out your jacket to you.

Pulling your gloves off, you took your lab coat of and draped it over a chair, making your way to your best friend to put your jacket on.

You did it up, and you looked at Brennan.

“I’m scared…” you whispered.

“Well, it’s understandable that you’re scared, but you need to do this.”

“What’re we doing? Where you going?” Hodgins asked.

“We have an appointment.” Brennan said.

“Oh a field trip, where’re we going?” Booth asked.

He walked over to you and Brennan, grinned happily from ear to ear and you shared a look with the other woman.

“You can’t come.” Brennan said.

“Sorry FBI.”

You made your way back down the stairs, and towards the door with Brennan in front of you and Booth jogging over to catch up to you.

He gently grabbed your arm.

“Hey, what’s going on? You always let me come with you.”

“It’s nothing Booth, Brennan and I just have an errand to run that’s all, okay?”

“Related to the case?”

“No, so don’t worry you won’t be missing anything.”

Booth narrowed his eyes a little bit at you, and he slid his hand down to yours, frowning at you.

“What’s going on? I know you, I know it’s something.”

“Booth, it’s nothing, alright? Don’t worry about it, okay?”

He carried on staring at you and you sighed.

“Don’t give me those sad puppy eyes, I don’t like it.”

“Well talk to me then.”

Walking over, you hugged him lightly and he hugged you back before you pulled away.

“I’ll tell you after if it’s anything to worry about.”

You smiled at him, and you left to go to your appointment.

Sitting on the bed, you swung your leg back and forth and Brennan stared at you in the hospital gown.

“You’ve lost weight, a lot.”

You nodded your head, gesturing to your leg.

“See anything familiar?”

Brennan walked over, kneeling down she inspected the leg you had mentioned.

She stood up, and looked at the door as the doctor walked back in with the results from your tests.

Brennan walked over to look at them while the doctor tried to get her away so he could talk to you about what he had found.

“Brennan, stop.”

She stopped, looking over at you.

“It’s back… isn’t it..?” You whispered.

“I’m sorry to say, yes. And it’s much more aggressive than last time, it’s progressed a lot quicker, but so far you do still have some time to weigh up your options, and of course we’ll give you all the information you need to make the best choice.”

“Thank you, can you just email me everything? I know you’ll need to do another appointment so you can arrange thag for whenever I can attend at any time.”

You grabbed you stuff and went behind the curtain to change and headed back to Brennans car, staring out the window.

“There are many procedures that can help, surgery doesn’t look like a necessary option right now, so, you’re left with Chemotherapy as you best course of action.”

You said nothing, and Brennan glanced over at you.

“What will you tell the others?” She asked.

“Nothing.”

“(Y/N), you need to to tell them.”

You shook your head, looking at her and you looked at the road in front of you.

“I don’t want the treatment…”

“You need it. You.. you’re not thinking rationally right now that’s okay.”

“No, Brennan, I don’t want the treatment anymore, okay? Just… just drop it…”

Brennan parked in the parking lot and you got out of the car, making your way back to the building.

Brennan jogged after you.

“Just think about it over the next few days, then we’ll talk after your next appointment, okay?”

“Yeah.”

You walked back to your office, sitting down in your chair, running a hand down your face and you leant back with a deep breath.

You knew she wouldn’t tell anybody, not if you didn’t want them to know, but you also knew that she wasn’t going to drop the subject.

And you were right, over the next few weeks she kept bringing up treatment options and how to tell everybody.

Sitting in your office, you had your head buried in your arms.

“You didn’t go to your appointment, you know how important it is to discuss progression and treatment.”

You slowly sat up.

“Brennan, I told you, I’m not getting the treatment.”

“If you don’t you’ll die.”

You nodded.

“If I’ve relapsed then I’ll probably die either way Brennan.”

She walked over, sitting down on the corner of your desk.

“You don’t know that, the outcome is very promising at this moment in time.”

“Brennan just drop it!”

Getting up, you grabbed your jacket, throwing it on and you made your way towards the door and Brennan followed you.

“Just hear out the options (Y/N).” Brennan called.

“I know my options!”

“Then you know treatment is your best option!”

You spun around, glaring at her.

“Brennan this is my life! My choice!”

“And you’re throwing it away! Just go see the doctor again!”

You spun around, crashing into somebody and you stumbled back a few steps, mumbling an apology.

“Treatment? For what?” Booth asked.

You looked at him, and the others who had just gathered around at the commotion and you looked at them.

“I’m sorry.”

You pushed past them all, pulling your car keys from your pocket and you left the building all together.

You went back to your apartment, and you made your way straight to bed, turning your phone off so you wouldn’t have to listen to the questions people would be trying to ask.

What woke you up was the banging on your door and you stumbled over to it, opening it to see the FBI agent standing in front of you.

“Hey Mr FBI.”

“I’m not in the mood for joking around, what the hell happened today?”

You stepped aside, letting him in and made your way to the couch, dropping yourself down.

“Nothing Booth, it’s fine. We just had a disagreement that’s all.”

“No, no you don’t get to brush me off anymore. Bones said treatment and doctor, what the hell is going on?”

You looked at him.

“Damnit booth, why the sad eyes.”

He walked over, crouching in front of you.

“What’s going on (Y/N)…?”

You took a deep breath, and you gave him a sad smile, placing your hand on the side of his face.

“I’m sick Booth…”

“Like cold sick? Because we can get you things for that.”

You laughed a little bit, shaking your head.

“No… no I uh.. I have Cancer Seeley… I was first diagnosed years ago when I first started working at the Jeffersonian, I went through all the treatment, got the all clear. I go for check ups every year, and had the all clear up until a couple of months ago…”

“Why didn’t you say anything? What are the treatment options?”

“I… I’m not seeking treatment…”

He furrowed his brows a little bit.

“I’ve done it all before… I don’t want to go through that again Booth, it’s unbearable, the pain, the sickness after, the weakness? I don’t think I can do that again..”

Booth gave your hands a small squeeze.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ll go get all the options and we’ll… we’ll weigh up the best ones and you won’t be alone. I’m going to be there okay? Every single step, treatments, scans, appointments, everything.”

“Booth in not seeking treatment.”

“Please… get the treatment..”

“Without it I can have a few good years, with it I’ll be in pain possibly for nothing…”

Booth looked at you, and he could see he wasn’t going to change your mind on the subject.

He rested his head against your hands, then moved to kiss the back of your knuckles.

“Will you just think about it for me…?” He whispered.

You looked at him.

“Please?”

You sighed and nodded your head.

Booth stood up, and he pulled you up with him, wrapping you up in a tight but gentle hug and balled your hands into the fabric of his blazer.

“Please think about it..” he begged.

He moved from side to side and you laughed a little bit, stepping on his feet while he carried on moving around with you in his arms.

“But, we are going to spend as much time together as we can, we’re going to go to that crappy amusement park you love so much, and go see all your favourite bands and you’ll be able to jump on any case when you’re feeling up to it.”

You laughed a little, looking up at him.

“Does the big, bad, scary FBI have a soft side?” You taunted.

“For you? Always.” He smiled.

You smiled at him, pressing a gentle kiss to his jaw and you rested your head on his shoulder again.

Booth closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, burning the memory of you in his arms into his mind because if he couldn’t talk you into treatment he knew there was nothing stopping him from loosing you.

“I need you (Y/N)….”

You said nothing, but you held him a little tighter, tears burning your eyes, heart breaking at the sadness in his voice

#bones #bones x reader #bones x you #bones imagine #seeley booth #seeley booth x reader #seeley booth x you #seeley booth imagine

[slafkovskys]

we haven’t mentioned brendan brisson in forever but he’s still heavily on my mind. if his gf is wearing one of those string bikinis sometimes he unties them when she’s tanning. then he’ll call her name so she sit up. and then the rest is history

if there is any hill i will die on, it’s brendan james lorenzo (lorenzo james??? i can’t fckn remember) brisson is a tits man. loves them to bits. he’ll come home from training during the summer and find you in your usual spot, on the back patio by the pool.

he can tell you’re wearing his favorite bikini, the one with the barely there cups and thin strings that leave little to the imagination (“and, like, no tan lines, bren!”) and god, he wants to combust. he makes his way down the stares, “hey, babe.”

you pop your head up, planting a kiss to his lips, “how was training?”

“good,” his hand rubs at your back, carefully undoing the string. he’d done it so much, he was a pro, but don’t you dare ask him to unhook a bra. those were terrifying. “i’m gonna make some lunch, want something?”

“oh, a sandwich? i’ll be out here for a little bit longer.”

“i’ll bring it to you. don’t worry,” with a kiss to your forehead, he’s all but running back inside. he waist a minute before poking his head out of the back door again, “hey, which one do you want?”

you sit up without thinking, rolling your eyes when you feel a breeze wash over your suddenly exposed chest. you were glad the brisson’s had a wall around this area of the yard and you were in a blind spot from the security cameras. you don’t even bother to fix your top, glaring at your boyfriend who looks elated by the sight, “seriously?”

“i’m sorry. i just missed them is all.”

“like you weren’t attached to them for half an hour this morning.”

#brendan brisson #sos celly x after hours version

[mattybraps10]

I Can See You | Brendan Brisson x Hughes!OC

Summary: Brendan and Phoebe reflect on their relationship as Matty joins them at the house, reigniting Brendan's feelings for Phoebe.

Word Count: 1093

By: M

Parts: part one | part two | part four | part five

PART THREE:

Brendan threw the sheets into the washing machine, turning it on and wandering onto the deck to finish his beer. It’d been a while since he’d seen Phoebe, and her presence was overwhelming. 

The door opened and Phoebe sat beside him, looking out onto the water. For Brendan it felt like he’d traveled back in time to before he’d gone to college, before he’d messed up what they’d had between them. 

“You really didn’t have to give up your room for Luke’s friend, I would’ve been fine with him on the couch.” Phoebe said, breaking the comfortable silence.

“I know, I just… I feel like I should protect you. I know you can handle yourself and Matty’s a great guy and all but… I guess I’m jealous? I don’t know.” 

“It’s not your place to be jealous anymore Bren, I mean you lost me.” She said, tucking her hair behind her ear and facing Brendan.

Bren.

Phoebe hadn’t called him that since they’d been together all those years ago, butterflies swarmed in his stomach as he looked into her blue eyes.

“I know Bea, I know.” He sighed, looking down into his almost empty drink, the moment shattered.

She rested her head on his shoulder as he finished his drink. Brendan imagined their lives hadn’t changed, that Phoebe was still his. He wished they were still sneaking around once her brothers were asleep, driving to Walmart and running through the isles at midnight, oblivious to the world around them. He wished he’d kept the photos of them she’d taken on her old camera when she’d been obsessed with documenting every aspect of her life. He wished he’d never left that night, that he’d turned down Michigan and promised to stay with her forever. But he hadn’t, he’d left and here they were. 

Definitely not nothing but also not something. 

An almost, a wish and a memory.

The next morning came, Brendan having slept on Phoebe’s couch as the sheets were in the dryer. He woke up, surrounded by her. Her clothing spread along the floor, perfume wafting through the brightly painted room. When Phoebe was younger she’d taken her paint set to the walls and painted intricate murals of everything and everyone she loved. Brendan wished he could still see where they had hidden their names within a heart, a new mural having taken its place. Intricate vines surrounded a large sunflower, the faintest lines of their names still peaking through. Brendan stood up, walking towards the flower, another reminder of all he’d lost. He slowly traced his finger over the remnants of his name, a smile on his face.

“What are you doing?” Phoebe said, stepping out of the adjoining bathroom in nothing but a towel. 

Brendan turned, startled as he quickly realized her lack of clothing. Despite the pure want clouding Brendan’s mind, he resisted the urge to grab her by the waist and remove the towel. 

“I- uh- well- I was admiring this flower. It wasn’t here before.” He said, a blush radiating up his neck and onto his cheeks.

“Yeah okay Bren, sure. Now turn back around so I can get dressed.” 

He turned around resisting the urge, once again, to see her without her towel. Her beauty hadn’t been lost on him as she’d walked through the door the day before. 

Once Phoebe was dressed, the two of them headed to the kitchen to get coffee and find out the plans for the day. Since Brendan had been in Vegas, he still hadn’t acclimated to the time zone which meant he’d woken up much later than everyone else.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” Jack said as Brendan walked through the door, still clad in pajamas. 

“Here, I made you a coffee, it’s kinda cold now though…” Quinn smiled, handing him the drink.

Brendan had forgotten how great it felt to be around people who truly loved and appreciated him. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his dad, but his dad had been away a lot growing up and the Hughes’ were the closest things he had to a functioning family.

“Where’s Moosey?” Phoebe asked, sitting at a barstool and picking up the tea she’d left earlier in the day. 

“Picking up Matty, he should be back soon though.” Jack replied, taking the seat next to her. 

Just as Brendan finished his coffee, the door opened and Matty bounded down the stairs. 

“Hugheseys, Brissy, I’m hoooome!!” Matty had never been one for shy introductions as he quickly scooped Jack, Quinn, and Brendan into a hug.

“Hey buddy, it’s been a while. How’s Seattle?” Brendan asked, a genuine smile painting his face. 

“It’s been good man, rainy, but good. How ‘bout Vegas?” Matty smiled, genuinely happy to be back at the lake. 

“Good, really hot, but also fun.” Brendan laughed, as he tried to mimic what Matty had said.

“Oh, hey. You must be Phoebe, rude of me not to introduce myself. I’m Matty.” He said, offering a hand to shake as Phoebe wrapped him into a hug.

“No need for pleasantries, if Lukey likes you so do I. How was your flight?” 

Brendan tried not to acknowledge the pang of jealousy he’d felt when Phoebe had so easily offered his friend a hug. She hadn’t hugged him when she’d seen him again, and Luke liked him more than Matty! He knew it wasn’t fair, knew their relationship was different, but it still hurt. 

“It wasn’t that bad actually, I got to watch some movies I wanted to see and catch up on my sleep.” Matty said, a charming smile plastered onto his face.

Brendan frowned.

“Ooh. What movies did you see? I watched Spiderman in the car yesterday. Tobey Maguire, obviously.” Phoebe said, clearly lapping up Matty’s unwavering charm.

“Oh well obviously Maguire was the best Spider-man, but Garfield was the better Peter Parker. And don’t get me started on Holland. His Spider-man had it so easy. As for the movies I watched, I saw the new hockey romance movie, Odd Time Rush, and I also started the Elvis movie but I fell asleep like halfway through.” He smirked, looking at Phoebe.

“Didn’t peg you as a romance guy, but I guess the hockey part makes sense. All work all the time.” She said, rolling her eyes.

“What did you peg me as, huh? You just met me, there’s so much to get to know.” Matty winked, as Phoebe chuckled.

“Alright guys that’s enough. Get a room.” Brendan said, finally having enough of their banter and skulking away to Phoebe’s room.

#brendan brisson #brendan brisson x oc #hockey fanfiction #jack hughes #luke hughes #quinn hughes #umich hockey #matty beniers

[bbrissonn]

𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 | ᴛʜᴏᴍᴀꜱ ʙᴏʀᴅᴇʟᴇᴀᴜ & ʙʀᴇɴᴅᴀɴ ʙʀɪꜱꜱᴏɴ

disclaimer: english is not my first language and this is not proofread so please excuse any errors and if any words are missing add them in your head :) also this is a work of fiction, this doesn’t reflect how these boys act in real life, and it isn’t how i imagine them acting

warnings: nsfw, read at your own risk, the whole fic is pretty much just smut, swearing, not proofread

pairing: brendan brisson x reader x thomas bordeleau

wc: 3k 

hey u free rn 

a smile creeped up on your face once you had noticed who the notification was from, brendan. the two of you had been messing around for about a month and a half now, the first being when you had woken up in his bed being the day after his 19th birthday. it was now late december, everyone would be heading home soon for the winter break, meaning you and briss were trying to see each as often as possible between your classes and his practices. 

 yeah 

you answered and he saw straight away, his gray typing bubble popped up, making your smile even bigger than before. 

home alone

come over 

he answered, making you bite your bottom lip a bit. your fingers flew over your keyboard to answer him. 

ill be there in 5 

him living right down the street from you was also a very big advantage to the two of you being able to see each whenever you wanted. he sent you a thumbs up back and a ‘be quick’ before you closed your phone and quickly changed into something a little more appropriate. changing your cotton underwear for a pair of lace one, and putting on a matching bra under your hoodie. you pulled out a pair of sweatpants you had stole from him a week ago, put socks and shoes out and quickly left your house. 

when you arrived at brendan’s house, no cars were in the driveway, and no lights were turned on beside the one in his room, meaning he was really home alone. you pushed open the door, which you were sure was gonna be unlocked because locking doors is something you quickly learned these boys don’t know how to do. you quickly took your shoes off and rushed up to his room, only to see him lying on his bed shirtless, phone in hand. his covers were on him, resting right below his waist, exposing all of his upper body, including his abs. 

you closed the door behind yourself and turned back around to face him, as he tossed his phone aside. you then made your way over to him, moving the blanket off of him and straddling him, you rubbed your hands up and down his chest, pulling on his chain a bit, before leaning down and connecting your lips. 

“fuck i missed you.” he whispered against your lips, his hands going up your thighs all the way to your ass, giving it a small squeeze. and that’s when he realized you were wearing his sweatpants, making him let out a groan as you felt his hard slowly grow under you. 

“you saw me like 3 hours ago.” you whispered back, pulling away a bit before connecting your lips again, your tongue slipping into his mouth. 

“yeah, but not like this.” he mumbled as his hands pressed your hips down hard on him, making him groan in your mouth. his hands then slipped in your hoodie, another groan leaving his mouth when he felt the lace bra you were wearing. 

“god, you drive me insane.” he spoke before pulling your hoodie off and throwing it on the ground. you pushed yourself back up a bit, resting your hands on his lower stomach, running them up and down his abs a bit first. he rubbed both of your nipples through the lace before undoing the clasp and throwing it in the same direction as your hoodie. 

“my little stress balls.” he whispered, making you let out gasp and slap his hand lightly. 

“don’t call them that, bren.” you said, as both of his hands cupped both of your boobs, making you let out a sigh of pleasure.

“don’t worry, babe. they’re not little.” he said with a smirk, and you decided to just drop the subject, watching him as he stared at your boobs like a middle school boy. after about a minute or so, you started grinding your hips against his, needing to feel something more. 

“so impatient.” he mumbled as you started undoing the string of his sweatpants. you then pulled them down, along with his boxer, making his cock fling upwards, landing on his pelvis. the tip was already leaking with pre cum, all red and tweaking. you placed yourself between his thighs, placing your hands right next to his dick as a support while you moved.

when you looked back up at him, his head was thrown back, eyes closed, mouth opened as he tried to control his breathing, making you smile to yourself. you slowly moved your thumb so it was resting right against the head of his cock, making him gasp a bit. 

“y/n/n, fuck, babe, i need more. please.” he begged, making you smirk as you slowly started moving one of your hands up and down his length, a couple of moans leaving his mouth as you did so. you added a second hand after a couple of seconds, making his hips thrust in your grip.

“fucking hell. i’m so close, baby. don’t stop, god yes!” he mumbled, making you pull away. his eyes quickly flew open as a whine left his mouth and his hips stopped moving. he looked at you, clearly confused as you straddled him once again, his cock rubbing against the fabric of his sweatpants. you ran your hands up and down his chest a bit before moving one of them to his face. you pushed his hair back, your hand sliding down his face and playing with his lip a bit. 

“i want you to fuck me, bren.” you whispered, your eyes staring into his. you felt him twitch under you as you lowered yourself, pressing your boobs against his bare chest. 

“fuck.” he whispered before flipping the two of you over so you were laying on your back. his hands quickly attacked the strings of his sweatpants before pulling them off your legs and throwing them in another corner than your bra and hoodie. he let out yet another groan seeing the small lace underwear you were wearing, before pulling them off of you and throwing them where the sweatpants were. he then waist no time connecting his mouth with your clit, making you moan out his name. 

“brendan, fuck!” you moaned out, as your hands landed on his head, pulling on his hair a bit. you let him have his fun for a couple of minutes, before pushing him away from you. 

“fuck me. now.” you said and he was quick to listen, getting up and grabbing a condom along with the lube bottle that were in his nightstand drawer. he tossed you the packet and you quickly ripped it open and rolled it down on him as he opened the lube bottle and let some fall directly on your pussy. he used the tip of his cock to spread it all over your slit, small moans leaving your mouth. 

“you ready?” he asked as his tip stopped right over your opening, making you whine a bit. 

“mm-hm.” you hummed and he was quick to push himself into, exactly the way he knew you liked. a moan slipped past both of your lips as he reached the deepest point he could go. he waited for your signal and then slowly started moving back and forth until he was fully thrusting into you.

“oh god, bren!” you moaned out as he hit that spot inside of you over and over again, small groans leaving his mouth every time. his left forearm landed right next to your hand as he let himself fall on top of you, his right hand grabbing your right thigh and bringing it up, changing the angle a bit. you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him closer to you as your eyes rolled back. 

“g-god! you feel so fucking good, baby.” he whispered before leaning down and connecting your lips together. you wrapped your legs around his lower back, keeping him as close to you as possible, when he realized what you were doing, his thrusts went from slow and long to fast and short. you were about to answer him, when his door flew open, making both of your heads look over at the door, but briss showed no signs of wanting to stop his movements.

“what the fuck!” bordy’s voice echoed in the room, making briss throw his blanket over both of your naked bodies. 

“dude, what the fuck!” briss yelled back, his hip still snapping into yours, something that clearly didn’t go unnoticed by thomas. you bit down into briss’ shoulder, trying to stop your moans from coming out of your mouth, but had no success. 

“bro, stay if you want or leave, i don’t give a shit but close that fucking door.” briss told thom, after he didn’t answer him or move. bordy blinked a couple of times before closing the door behind him, but he stood in the same place as before. you and briss had talked a bit about potentially having a threesome with bords, and the two boys had talked about it between themselves, after bordy had let it slip at a party that he’d down the fuck you if he ever had the chance to do so. 

“c’mon, baby, don’t go all shy on me just because he’s here.” brendan whispered in your ear, sending a shiver down your spine as you stopped biting down on his shoulder and let a couple of moans slip past your mouth. you saw from the corner of your eye bordy sitting down on briss’ desk chair, his eyes glued on the two of you, clearly a little excited by what he was seeing and hearing. 

“eyes on me, pretty girl.” briss whispered again once he realized your eyes were fully looking at thom instead of him. your eyes quickly moved back to him as his hips snapped into yours even faster than before. 

“g-gonna cum!” you struggled to say, making both boys smirk as briss looked over to bordy. 

“whatcha think bords, does she get to cum or not?” he asked, making you let out a whine, as bordy got up from the chair and walked over to the side of the bed. he smirked a bit at his best friend before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your lips. 

“i think we make her wait.” he whispered after pulling away from you, another whine leaving your mouth. the two boys smirked at one another before briss focused back on you, and bordy started undressing himself. brendan moans started getting louder and louder as he felt himself coming closer and closer to his high. meanwhile, thom had found himself sitting back on briss’ desk chair, slowly stroking his hard. 

“f-fuck! holy shi–” brendan started, but he cut himself off with a bunch of groans and moans leaving his mouth as his hips stopped moving, his dick buried deep inside your pussy as he came undone in the condom. you let out a whine as he stopped moving, before trying to move your own hips up to get some sort of pleasure, but brendan was quick to push them back down with his hips. 

“so fucking needy.” he mumbled before pushing himself up and slowly pulling out of you, making yet another whine slip past your lips. Brendan scoffed a bit before removing the condom and throwing it in his trash, before looking over at bordy. thom was still slowly stroking himself, the head of his cock red and throbbing as pre cum leaked from it. 

“she’s all yours, man.” brendan said before sitting down next to you, rubbing himself a bit. a smirk grew on bords’ face as he got up from the chair and walked over to the bed, grabbing a condom on the way.

“turn around for me, pretty girl.” the bordeleau boy whispered as he opened the packet and slipped the condom on himself. Once you were laying on your stomach, thom grabbed both of your hips and lifted your ass up the air, exposing your pussy for him. he let out a groan as he pushed your cheeks aside, fully displaying your holes. at the same time, briss moved over a bit, so he was sitting right on front of you, scoffing a bit when he saw the look on your face. 

“fuck.” bordy sighed as he slowly slid into you, making you let out a loud moan as your eyes grew big. thom was much thicker than brendan, meaning this whole a different experience, and he was a lot smaller than him, making the angle totally different as well. the two boys smirked at each other before brendan grabbed your chin and aligned your mouth with his cock. 

“think you can take me in that pretty little mouth of yours while he fucks you, baby?” he mumbled as he let go of your chin and took his dick into his hand, rubbing it against your lips. you nodded eagerly before opening your mouth and slowly taking him into your mouth. 

the two best friends both let out loud moans and groans as bordy pounded into you from behind, making your mouth move further down briss’ length every time. eventually, one of brendan’s hands found its way to the back of your head, pushing it down everytime thom hit that one spot inside of you, making your eyes roll backwards. 

“you’re doing so fucking good, baby. so fucking good for us.” thom whispered as he bent down, placing his hands right next to bren’s hips, changing the angle of his dick, making you let out a scream of pleasure. 

“don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop!” you moaned as you pulled your mouth off of brendan’s cock. 

“like the way he fucks you, huh? such a fucking slut for us.” brendan whispered as he grabbed your chin once again, this time only making you look into his. you nodded eagerly once more before a moan slipped past your lips. you felt your high building up inside of you, until thom pulled out of you, pulling the condom off and flipping you over so you your back was against briss’ chest. 

“where do you want me to cum, pretty girl?” he asked as brendan started rubbing your clit, making your breathing pick up. 

“m-mouth… cum inside my mouth!” you begged, and he was quick to listen. he moved himself forward so the tip of his cock was resting against your tongue that you had stuck out. he jerked himself off at a rapid past until he started leaking into your mouth, throwing his head back as loud moans slipped past his lips. 

“s-shit!” thom moaned as he slowly came down from his high. you were about to close your mouth, when brendan grabbed your chin once again and turned your face towards him with his free hand, connecting your lips together. thom’s cum getting mixed up with your saliva and his, meanwhile, brendan’s fingers slowly made its way inside of you, making you gasp in his mouth. one of your hands grabbed the back of his neck, keeping him close to you as you felt bordy’s lips attach to your neck. 

you let out a moan as brendan’s fingers moved faster and faster inside of you and bordy’s hands found both of your breast, messaging them and pinching your nipples a bit as his lips stayed connected with your neck. eventually, his lips moved down your body and connected with one of your nipple. 

“shit– ah!” you moaned as you pulled your lips away from briss’, grinding your hips onto his fingers, making him smirk at you. gasps left your mouth at a fast pace, feeling your high coming closer and closer, well that was until brendan’s finger slipped out of you, a whine slipped your lips, but it was quickly replaced with a moan from bordy’s lips and tongue connecting your clit. 

“fuck!” you yelled out, placing both of your hands in thom’s hair, keeping him close to your core. bren’s lips connected with the side of your neck as his hands slipped down to your breasts, repeating the same actions bordy’s hand had been doing barely seconds ago. you threw your head back on brendan’s shoulder as you let out a silent scream, your high taking over your body. 

thom’s fingers rubbed your clit rapidly as his tongue collected all of the cum coming out of your hole, groans of pleasure leaving his mouth when he swallowed all of it down his throat. 

“dude!” brendan whined, seeing as he wasn’t going to be able to taste you tonight. bordy let out a laugh as you rolled over brendan’s legs and placing the blanket over yourself and the boys. 

“my bad, bro.” thom said light heartedly as he settled down next to you, throwing an arm over your shoulder as brendan rested his head on your chest. heavy breaths left your mouth as you were still coming down from your high. 

“you okay?” brendan asked when he heard the sound of your fast heart beat in his ear. you slowly nodded your head as bords pressed a small kiss to your forehead. 

“i’ve been dreaming about this for so long. fucking you.” bordy whispered in your ear, making you giggle a bit. 

“who knows, maybe this could become a weekly thing. you and i.” you shrugged, sending the bordeleau boy a small smile. he was about to say something when a loud snore coming from brendan could be heard, making you scoff a bit. 

“he’s a baby.” you stated as you playing with briss’ hair, pressing a small kiss to the top of his head. 

“he’s always like this?” thom asked with a laugh, making you shake your head slightly, before letting out a yawn. 

“go to sleep, y/n/n.” thom whispered, pulling you closer into his chest. you snuggled your face in it before you eyes slowly started closing. 

“g’night."

taglist <3 @mack-samo @hugheshugs @studsccsnackavoybambi @blanksbae @doyouevenplayhockey @dracoswhore007 @bemybinarystar @ancient-remnants-of-love @power2myheart @emsully2002 @jamiedryssdale @jayda12 @marcoskasper @bowen-power @sidcrosbyspuck @arianabordeleau @bordeleau @alexturcs @dora-the-exploraah @sophia-bordeleau

#bri writes #brendan brisson #brendan brisson imagine #brendan brisson x reader #brendan brisson smut #thomas bordeleau #thomas bordeleau imagine #thomas bordeleau x reader #thomas bordeleau fic #thomas bordeleau smut

[peachesancreams]

Extended Wives

Sorry this took forever, lifes been kicking my butt and keeping me busy unfortunately so i havent ben able to have time to write, back to it tho!

Husk's Partner

To start with these two sour pusses they meet in a bar a year or two before WW2. (Husk gives me soldier vides and him enlisting to the Korean war didn't make sense, world war 2 however? made a bit more sense to me.)

The reason that they actually got married was because of their families actually. Brennan Feidlimid McKabe and Cian Aodhan O'Flaherty were both unmarried and seemed to have no plans to get with anyone anytime soon. What were their poor Irish immigrant families to do! Husk, once Cian, was raised by his immigrant grandfather and Brennans mother had been pregnant with her on the ride over to the states, basically giving birth once they'd touched American soil.

While it had been arranged Bren and Husk actually got along very well. She never really minded his heavy drinking, the most he did to her is make a pass at her and well that's more then most husbands. She didn't mind the drunken sex as Husk was a giving lover.

However she never fully put down her walls. Probably because of her parents relationship, but she never tried to get to know Husk. He was a decent man after all, but she just...was waiting for him to. Do something.

They never talked about it and though it wasn't spoken of, it was certainly the underling cause of many fights between them. The the whole world blew up in a war again, thing was they both were only teens when the first world war had broken out. They'd called it The Great War growing up thinking it'd be the only one. It was also the reason Bren's da had...changed.

Husk wanted to enlist, and while Bren could see why it was good or him to do so. She was afraid. She didn't want him to come back different like her dad did, she didn't want to finally see what kind of monster will emerge from this.

Brennan sat down with him and told him straight that if he comes home he can drink himself to oblivion but don’t become mean without cause. Don’t be cruel to her or anyone else.

Husk had kissed her hands and cheeks promising to not be terribly changed and to come home. She didn’t really expect him to keep either of those promises, war is a hard thing to come back from after all.

Bren let him make love to them on that couch after that conversation. Then they did it again because well, she didn’t really expect him to be loyal to her and her alone while deployed. Did tell him she’d take a lover herself to pass the time as well.

Of course a fat lie, she…liked him. It wasn’t long after he left for basic training and then off to a platoon or unit.

Brennan went to work of course, as many women did. Liked the hard work and building up a sweat, liked the camaraderie that comes from being around like minded women.

I see them having lived near Seattle, Washington, so Bren worked on Boeing B-17s!

Took having to leave the work force hard, but didn’t try to make them make her stay. Went home with her newly learned skill and don’t just mean drilling.

House broke down a few times so she rolled up her sleeves, went to the library to get a Plumbing for Dummies book (probably didn’t exist but whatever was the equivalent) and went to work fixing. Helped some of the wives in the neighborhood as well.

Then the war ended, ladies needed to hand back the jobs and go back to their lives with their husbands. Bren was looking forward to Husk being home, but she had liked working and was one of the many disappointed to have to leave it.

Husk had changed, many men had. Thankfully he didn't become violent but they both became poorer then they'd ever been their entire lives.

Drinking had always been Husk's vice but when money started going missing Brennan looked into where it could be going. Thinking at the time his infidelity had crossed the ocean back with him. That's when she learned of his newer vice, gambling.

Introduced to him while on leave overseas, Husk grew a taste for the highs of it. The money didn't hurt either when he was on a hot streak. But the lows hit hard when you don't have the consistent funds to keep that up. And they had both been raised poor, many men had fallen into similar habits so Brennan knew the signs.

They had ignored them however, a mistake on their part really. They should have talked with him. Done something before it got real bad! But they didn't. And then that night happened....

On a foggy spring night in the 1950's Husk had went out gambling.

He had come in like a hurricane, sweeping through the house grabbing some clothes and packing frantically. She remember waking up due to the noise and groggily asking whats wrong.

He hadn't said anything back, that is what got her attention. Sitting up she'd asked all kinds of questions, but he didn't say anything. Asked him why, what she did, where is he going, and more she can't recall.

Followed him out of their room down the hall and to the front door. It's there he finally spoke, but it wasn't a answer to any of her questions.

"I wish I had more time to love you better. You deserve that but all you got was my love. I'll probably lose that too when I leave..." Then he had kissed them as they had been too confused to think of anything to say. They'd cried like they were some teenager, snot and tears with those heavy sobs.

It was the last the saw of him, but they heard what happened years later....

#hazbin hotel #x reader #husk x reader #hazbin husk

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Happy Wednesday, friends! Hope you're all well. This week, we have seven recommendations for fics that are still being published! As always, you can find them below the cut and if you check any of them out, I encourage you to leave kudoes and comments to spread the rarepair love 💕

Three Card Spread by NephriteKnight (13,298 words, Explicit) Pairings: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss (Shadowmauk), Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Accidental Voyeurism

Caleb is in romantic relationships with both Molly and Essek, though the two of *them* aren’t together. Essek is certainly interested, but tries to keep his distance, unsure of if Molly feels the same. That is, until one night while Caleb’s away…

Reccer Says: It’s very sweet!!! Domestic Shadowidomauk is so cute and so is Essek pining over Molly!

Cut Her Out in Little Stars by EchoingArias (7,956 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Vexleth) Warnings: Anti Half-Elf Racism

While the twins are still living in Syngorn, a summit for leaders from across Tal’Dorei is held. Among the guests is the leader of the Air Ashari and his daughter, Keyleth. Vex is immediately smitten.

Reccer Says: The balance between the sweetness of the twins interactions and Vex’s crush on Keyleth and how awful Syldor and the other elves are is so good and perfectly heartaching.

between earth and sky by floralprintshark (2,536 words, Teen) Pairing: Ashton Greymoore/Dorian Storm (Greystorm) Warnings: None

An AU in which Ashton is earth genasi royalty and is arranged to marry Dorian, the youngest son of the Wyvernwind Clan.

Reccer Says: This fic just started but I’m already very sold on it. The worldbuilding has intrigued me, the character voices for Ashton and the Krook House folks are super on point, and I’m very excited to see Dorian’s POV on the whole situation.

The Peacock’s Palace by WhoGroovesOn (59,145 words, Explicit) Pairings: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss (Shadowmauk), Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Discussions of Caleb’s backstory

Essek owns a burlesque club in Nicodranas, which Molly performs at. They’re perfectly happy and in love, though one night they want to try something a little different. Enter one Bren Aldric Ermendrud.

Reccer Says: It’s very very hot and very fun. The angst is a delicious side dish to the rest and the plot that’s been building is intriguing!

against all my sins and the candlelight by Solanaceae (13,813 words, Teen) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Jenna Iresor Warnings: None

Jenna Iresor (the Cerberus Assembly member who is secretly a doppelganger) takes an interest in Astrid. Scheming and wizard-speak ensue.

Reccer Says: Probably the definition of a rarepair, and SO good! Astrid’s characterization is on point and the political intrigue is so well thought out and interesting.

Can I See You Again? by lespetitesmorts (5,796 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Vex'ahlia (Vexleth) Warnings: None

Scanlan drags Keyleth with him to go see a show. Before it starts, Keyleth meets Vex, who happens to be the lead singer and bassist for the band in question. And they both may just fall a little bit in love in that moment.

Reccer Says: It is so cute! Keyleth is perfectly awkward and you can really feel just how hot Vex is lol. And Vex's strategy for finding Keyleth again is fun!

Something Happened On The Way To Heaven by SweetSilentSteps (24,014 words, Explicit) Pairing: Orym/Dorian Storm/Will (Dorymwill) Warnings: Kidnapping

A Dorymwill Ladyhawke AU! Dorian is captured by the Paragon's Call, escapes, and meets a mysterious (and handsome) half-elf with an odd raven companion on the road to Jrusar.

Reccer Says: I've never personally watched Ladyhawke but I am very familiar with the concept and love an AU based on it and this does not disappoint. The drama, the intrigue, the dynamics!!! It's so good. Updates monthly and its 4th chapter just went up so now's as good a time as any to catch up to follow along!

Thank you for joining us this week’s recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 💕 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 💕

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Angst. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Spring and the weeks after that we’re taking recommendations for Jester Rarepairs and Alternate Universes! Submissions for all of these themes are currently open.

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 💕

#critter rarepair recc lists #shadowmauk #shadowidomauk #vexleth #greystorm #astrid x jenna #dorymwill #critical role #cr fanfic

[aeor-is-for-reccing]

Shadowgast Recs: Based on A Movie/Book/TV Series

This week, we have fourteen shadowgast fics that were based on a TV, movie, or book series. Check under the cut for fics based on This is How You Lose the Time War, The Witcher, Ghostbusters, and more! As ever, don't forget to kudos or comment if you like them!

Lucidian Rim by literalfuckinggarbage (60266, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Graphic Depictions of Violence

A Pacific Rim AU with Caleb as the burned out Jager Pilot and Essek as the one who has never been drift compatible

Reccer says: Drift Compatibility is a great way to explain Caleb and Essek's connection, and I love the other little bits of worldbuilding, too

To be Defeated and Victorious by basically_npr_trash (6394, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

While on a mission for Master Ikithon, Bren receives a letter from a mysterious Dynasty stranger offering a tenuous olive branch. Bren's rational side tells him to burn it immediately, but something pulls on him to follow through. Based on This is How You Lose the Time War

Reccer says: I love all of the clever and strange places that they hide the letters and absolutely amazing love confessions

Another Time, Another Place by Operafloozy (9780, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek and Bren travel through time attempting to assassinate each other before falling into a collaboration (and in love.) Based off of This Is How You Lose the Time War.

Reccer says: Nothing says Shadowgast like rewriting reality to be with each other.

More Things in Heaven and Earth by kaeda (76998, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Magic in aeor goes VERY wrong. Essek and Caleb end up in Tusk love as Oskar and Guinevere.

Reccer says: This started out as a riot but then it actually gave me some major feels (I totally cried and reading this and that is the highest of compliments) I did not anticipate. I enjoyed every second of this ride it's the parallel universe Tusk Love fic I didn't know I needed.

some things time can't fix by Chrome (25930, Mature) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Essek is arrested for treason and gets his daemon severed. The Nein try to find a way to save them.

Reccer says: This is such good hurt/comfort

into the desert of your pitiless faith by burningdarkfire (24913, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: Choose Not to Warn

A Memory Called Empire Fusion. Essek is a newly-arrived ambassador in Rexxentrum, Beauregard is his assigned cultural liaison, and Caleb is the consecuted soul at the back of his mind. Empires and Dynasties do not serve: they consume.

Reccer says: An amazing take on the source material, with plenty of twists and turns

Breaking Inertia by futureshieldmaiden (31096, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Caleb and Essek get stuck in a time loop, and have to work together to get out of it. Based on Palm Springs

Reccer says: I loved Palm Springs, and I love the dynamic and secrets and forced intimacy of being stuck in the time loop together.

Cat's Paw by mllekurtz (TheKnittingJedi) (20628, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

A Shadowgast Witcher AU with Caleb as a Witcher and Essek as a sorcerer

Reccer says: I liked it!

you must first invent the universe by renquise (3466, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: No Content Notes

Imperial Radch AU. AKA, what if they were spaceship AIs?

Reccer says: I liked it!

little annihilation by 06151126 (6605, Explicit) Reccer's Content Notes: power difference, manipulation (minor)

Only one chapter so far - Greys anatomy but the m9 are interns at the hospital. Caleb wants to be the first to operate with Dr. Thelyss

Reccer says: This chapter was so brilliant! The author has medical field knowledge, and it shows. It also stuck fairly close to the first episodes of Greys which was lovely.

a guilty thing, a fearful summons by Anonymous (8593, Teen) Reccer's Content Notes: canon typical body horror

A very loose ghostbusters AU, where Caleb and Essek are rival ghostbusters

Reccer says: The first chapter was just published, but I already love the characterization and the premise!

Aeor is for Lovers is an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. The above fanfic recommendations were pulled from our community for this weekly event. All fics, unless otherwise specified, will primarily feature Shadowgast. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week, we’ll be back with a recurring theme: Works in Progress!

#critical role #shadowgast #caleb widogast #essek thelyss #cr fic recs #fan fiction rec list #aeor is for lovers #fusions

[possummking]

Been thinking about parts of the song The 30th by Billie Eilish in comparison to Astrid and Bren (and yes i talk about them as astrid/bren vs astrid/caleb for reasons i can explain if anyone is interested).

"Sometimes you look the same, just like you did before accident. When youre staring into space its hard to believe you dont remember it"

"If you changed anything would you not have survived? Youre alive, youre alive, youre alive."

So obviously my mind goes to Astrid visiting Bren after that fateful night. I always assumed Astrid and Wulf visited when they could (aka when Trent allowed). Even she meets Caleb after all those years, she still loves and holds so much love for Bren. This is shown in her not calling him Caleb/slipping back into calling him Bren. He is still very much the boy she fell in love with years ago until she realizes he isnt and he will never be again.

#critical role #the mighty nein #astrid beck #astrid becke #caleb widogast #bren aldric ermendrud

[lemoncrushh]

Wild Horses - Two

Summary: Amber Crosby didn’t end up with the life she’d expected, but that didn’t keep her from following her dream. A young, up and coming country recording artist, she and her band set out to do just that. Trying to leave her past behind, it wasn’t until meeting Harry Styles that she realized just how her life could take a turn and alter her future forever.

A/N: Please note all portions in italics are meant to be flashbacks :).

STORY PAGE

Chapter Two Word Count: 4.6k+

“Same hurt in every heart, same trailer, different park…” - Kacey Musgraves; Merry Go ‘Round

“You’re joking, right?” asked Brendan. “We just drove all the way to Nashville for nothing?”

“Not for nothing,” Amber shook her head. “We played a festival. That’s huge, Bren.”

Amber knew it had been a mistake not to tell them they weren’t getting paid for the gig. Her bassist scoffed just as her guitarist interjected.

“She’s right, bro,” said Johnny. “At this point, exposure is more important than how much money we made.”

“But we didn’t make any money!” exclaimed Brendan.

“Enough!” shouted Carter, banging his fists on the table. The entire band stared at him, wide-eyed. “It’s already over and done. We got to play a major gig. You got your own fucking hotel room. Now let’s move on and shut the fuck up about it!”

Amber cleared her throat, nervous to say anything else.

“Um...yeah. Let’s just...move on.”

The band was just outside of St. Louis, on their way to Kansas City. It was roughly an eight hour drive from Nashville, and they probably could have made it in one day. But with having a gig the next evening, they’d decided to break up the trip, leaving the festival after they’d played and spending the night along the way.

Grateful for a little silence, Amber finished her BLT and fruit bowl while the boys all scrolled through their phones, an occasional snort or grunt coming from each of them. She thought briefly about Harry Styles and how he’d been so kind to her earlier that day, rooting her on before she’d stepped out onto the stage, and staying for their entire set. Just before their last song, she’d turned, grabbing her guitar for the acoustic number and catching his eye as he watched from behind the equipment. He was clapping, his arms raised above his head, a huge grin on his face. She couldn’t help but feel the spark of electricity jolt through her veins as he lowered his arms and gave her a thumbs up. She felt like she played the final song the best she ever had, whether or not her bandmates noticed.

She really wished she could have stayed and seen his set. She was a fan of his, always had been, the music lover she was. She credited Faith for the One Direction introduction in her early teens as they’d argued over who was the cutest, but eventually it was more about the music for Amber, even after Faith had moved on to new obsessions.

She wondered how Faith was. It had been a while since she’d heard from her. She made a quick mental note to text her later before she wiped her hands on her napkin and rose from the table.

“You guys can stay if you like,” she announced to the boys. “I’m heading back to my room.”

Brendan and Johnny each gave nods and waves, but Carter watched her with questioning eyes as she made her way to the exit. Then dropping a couple ones on the table, he stood up so quickly, he knocked it with his knee, nearly making the drinks spill.

“Hey, watch it!” yelped Brendan.

“Sorry,” Carter breathed. “I’m gonna turn in, too.”

“Turn in?” Brendan looked at his watch. “It’s 8:30.”

“I know, but...I need a shower and...I could use a good night’s sleep.”

Running a hand through his hair, Carter turned for the door, stopping when he heard Brendan mutter under his breath.

“Could use some pussy is what you mean. Good luck with that.”

With a huff, Carter pushed open the door hard, making it rattle. He didn’t feel like taking any more of Brendan’s shit. Crossing the parking lot with a jog, he called out to Amber just before she reached her room. Looking over her shoulder, she slowed her pace before stopping. Carter caught up with her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Amber made a face, lifting her hand to show her room key. “Um...going inside.”

“Mind if I join you?”

Her shoulders dropping, Amber let out a loud sigh. “Yes.”

Carter raised his brow, hopeful. “Yes?”

“I mean, yes, I mind,” Amber said firmly. “I’m going to bed.”

“Sounds good to me,” he smirked, stepping closer to her.

Amber held out her hand to stop him, pressing it against his chest. “Carter...no. I told you, we’re not going there anymore.”

“C’mon, Ambs, we used to have such a good time. It was fun. Why can’t we have that again?”

“It was fun when I drank so much, I woke up puking? It was fun passing out so hard you had to pour water on my face to wake me up at all? Sounds like a fucking blast.”

Amber turned towards her motel room door, slipping the key inside.

“That’s not what I mean,” Carter said softly. “I’m talking about the other stuff.”

Pushing the door open, Amber stood just over the threshold, leaning against the frame.

“That’s just sex Carter,” she said before closing the door in his face.

Amber wouldn’t really call Faith her best friend. Her mother said she was a cousin, but Amber figured she was so far removed that she barely even counted as one. She’d grown up with Faith, however, her family’s trailer next door to hers. She was two years older and knew more about Amber than anyone, so that probably made her as good a friend as any, if not her only friend.

“Hurry up,” groaned Amber as she kicked her cowboy boot against the trailer steps.

“I’m coming, I can’t find my...oh, thank God, there it is.”

“What?” asked Amber as Faith shut the door behind her.

“Huh?”

“What couldn’t you find?”

“Oh...nothing,” Faith answered sheepishly, her dark hair blowing in the breeze. She wore far too much makeup as far as Amber was concerned, but otherwise she thought she looked pretty in her floral sundress. She had the kind of body Amber envied, and she was always quickly surrounded by boys at any social event. She knew tonight would be no exception.

“You’re sure it’s okay that I tag along?” asked Faith as they made their way to her truck.

“I told you, it’s just a party,” replied Amber, climbing into the passenger seat. “Some guy at school I barely even know. Nobody’s gonna care if you tag along. Besides, you’re my ride.”

Faith gave her younger cousin a smirk and shifted the truck into reverse, backing out of the gravel parking space.

“So you don’t really know this boy, but is anyone else you know gonna be there?” asked Faith once they were down the road.

Amber shrugged. “I’m not sure. Some girls in my English class mentioned it. And Lisa Durham said she’ll probably go.”

Faith scoffed. “That’s not what I mean, Amber. Who cares about them? I mean cute boys.”

Amber made a face, rolling her eyes. “Is that all you care about?”

“When it comes to a party, yes.”

“I don’t even know if it’s that kind of party,” muttered Amber. “I mean, there will be guys there, but...I’m not sure about alcohol. We are a bunch of sophomores, you know.”

“Oh sweetie,” Faith shook her head. “Where there’s guys...there’s alcohol.”

Amber folded her arms across her chest. She hated when Faith called her sweetie. She may have only been fifteen, but she wasn’t stupid. Faith liked to take advantage of her two years a little too much, and it irked Amber to the core.

“Well, if you decide you’re bored with no Senior boys there, let me know. I’ll be by the lemonade.”

Faith side-eyed Amber, knowing a dig when she heard one.

“Is this where I turn?” she asked a mile up the road.

“Uh, yeah.”

As they turned onto the street that lead them into a subdivision, Amber gasped. The entire street was filled with cars parked along the curb. She could already hear music before they even found the house.

“Looks like a party to me!” exclaimed Faith when she found a spot to park. Then she looked at Amber with a toothy grin. “Text me if we get separated and you need me.”

“As if you’ll even reply,” Amber mumbled as she climbed out of the truck.

Harry sat cross-legged at the long table, leaning back in his chair. He watched the faces of the men across from him, knowing their reactions were bound to be less than pleased.

“She’s a country artist, Harry,” argued Tommy. “How does that fit in with you and your fans?”

Harry shrugged. “She’s good. She’s young, but she’s solid. She’s got a fantastic band.”

“There’s no doubt she’s got talent, H,” Jeffrey agreed. “But I thought we were going with someone a little more well-known.”

“I changed my mind,” Harry remarked. “I like this girl. I think she’s got something. And I’d like to be the one to help her get the exposure she deserves. Besides...I don’t think my fans are interested in just one type of music. I like to think they’re more open-minded than that.”

“Good point,” Jeff nodded. He leaned back in his chair, looking between Harry and Tommy who let out a reluctant sigh. “Alright, H. We trust your judgment. Let’s give her a shot.”

The gig in Kansas City had been a decent one. It was in a dive bar, something the band was all too familiar with, but the crowd had seemed to grow since the last one. Radio had been playing their single more, and Amber figured the festival in Nashville had helped as well. One guy in a cowboy hat had been buying Amber drinks all night, and by the end, she was feeling pretty good.

“Thank y’all,” she beamed as the audience cheered.

Taking a long swig from her water bottle, she stepped off the stage. The cowboy made a beeline towards her, stopping her before she reached the backstage door.

“One more drink, darlin’?” he offered, his eyes gazing down her body.

She smiled at him, knowing he had other things in mind than just one more drink. “I think I’ve had enough but thank you.”

“Aw, c’mon, just one. For the road.”

“You heard her, bro, she said she’d had enough.”

Amber turned to see Carter standing behind her, his eyes blazing as he glared at the cowboy.

“What the heck do you know about it, bro?” he mocked, getting into Carter’s personal space. “You her daddy?”

Carter moved slightly, barely making the cowboy flinch. Amber stopped him with her hand on his arm.

“Carter,” she muttered, shaking her head. “It’s okay.”

He stared at her blankly as she grinned back at the other guy. “Maybe one more drink would be nice.”

The cowboy smiled triumphantly as he turned for the bar and Amber followed, leaving Carter dumbfounded and cursing under his breath.

“What was that about?” asked Johnny as he stepped off the stage, his guitar slung over his shoulder.

“Did you see that shit?” Carter turned. “Fucker’s trying to get into her pants.”

“Dude…” Brendan shook his head with exasperation. “Let it go.”

Walking past the other two boys, he opened the backstage door. Dropping onto the worn-out couch, he ran his hand through his hair.

“What’s with you?” asked Carter as he followed, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Nothing, man. It’s just some guy buying her drinks. You need to get used to it.”

“Why should I?”

Brendan chuckled. “Because...she’s a good looking girl. She’s twenty-one. She’s got the voice of an angel. She’s gonna have guys coming on to her.”

Johnny stepped around Carter, leaning his guitar against the wall before sitting down next to Brendan.

“He’s right, man. Whatever you guys had...it’s over.”

“She told you?” Carter glared.

“No. She told you. I just happened to hear it.”

Carter scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “She told me just last night she didn’t wanna get drunk anymore, but yet here she is getting drunk with that asshole.”

“Carter, man…” Brendan added with a sigh as he rose from the sofa. “You think you’re the only asshole who’s trying to get into her pants?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Carter shot at him. Crossing the room, he pushed the bass player in the chest, pinning him against the wall. Then with his fist in the air and quick breaths, he stared him down, ready to throw the first punch.

“Jesus, Carter, let him go, man!” shouted Johnny.

“Not until he tells me what he fucking means!”

“Carter, seriously dude, get a trip!” cried Brendan, trying his best to break free. “I’m on your side!”

“Doesn’t fucking sound like it!”

“Carter!” Johnny yelled again as he managed to grab the drummer’s fist.

“What the hell is going on?” another voice sounded. All three boys froze as their singer entered the room. “Carter!”

Carter slowly released his grip on Brendan’s shirt, stepping back. Johnny let go of his arm and cleared his throat.

“Sorry you had to see that, Amber,” he said sheepishly.

“See what exactly?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

“Nothing,” Carter shook his head. “Just...a little argument...got out of hand. It’s alright now.”

Amber eyed Brendan who was straightening his shirt. “You sure? Brendan?”

“Oh, um, yeah…” he nodded meekly, giving her a weak reassurance as he looked between her and Carter. “It’s...it’s fine.”

Dropping her shoulders, Amber rolled her eyes and turned back for the door. “We need to start loading up. That is, if you guys can handle it without clawing at each other and acting like babies.”

“Yeah, sure,” muttered Brendan, following her back out to the stage, but not before he gave Carter a serious go-to-hell look.

The band made it back to Amber’s hometown of Perry, Georgia three days later, stopping for one more gig on the way in Alabama. Amber and the boys had been a little perturbed with their road manager, Joel Burkus, before they’d left, wondering why in Sam hell they had several shows in Georgia and the Carolinas, another in Kansas City and finally in Mobile, with nothing in between. At least their last short road tour had been consistent, the stops after only a few hours of travel time.

“We’re trying to make it here, Joel,” remarked Brendan. “Not spending our lives driving here, there and yonder!”

Mr. Burkus had assured them he was trying their best to book them more gigs, but insisted that he wasn’t going to waste time with people who said they’d never heard of them. The band called bullshit, though at that point, there wasn’t much they could do about their manager, and they would just need to settle it after their shows.

It had actually been Amber who’d gotten them a spot at the Nashville festival. Though it had only been one gig, and they’d played for room and board only, she hoped she could continue to book them for more shows that would get them the same kind of exposure, and eventually say goodbye to Mr. Burkus.

“Home sweet home,” Carter announced as he pulled into the gravel driveway next to Amber’s trailer, having already dropped off Brendan and Johnny.

“Hmm,” Amber sounded, gazing out of the window. “Hardly much of a home anymore.”

“Why do you say that?”

Amber turned to look at Carter with a shrug. “I guess I just feel like...since I left, this isn’t really my home anymore. It’s my mom’s and Laci’s. I just come to visit.”

“But isn’t that what you wanted?” asked Carter. “I mean...you still want to make it, right?”

“Yes, of course. I’m not really sad. Just...nostalgic.”

“If you say so,” Carter said with a smirk.

Amber knew he wasn’t being facetious. He just didn’t get it. He grew up with money, his parents had a big house in Macon. He had his own place in another nearby town and up until the band decided to go on the road for the first time, he’d had a good job. The van was even his, though Amber had a feeling his parents had helped him out.

“Well, see ya later,” she said, reaching for the door handle.

“Amber,” Carter muttered, stopping her with his hand on her arm. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for before.”

Amber blinked. “For what exactly?”

“For being an asshole. I kept hoping you’d change your mind about us. And when you didn’t...when you let that guy buy you drinks...I guess I was jealous.”

“Is that why you looked like you were about to punch Brendan’s lights out when I walked in?”

“Yeah.”

“And why you huffed and puffed the entire time we were loading up the van?”

“Yeah.”

“And why you basically gave me the silent treatment all the next day?”

“Yes, Amber, I’m sorry, okay?”

“Carter…” she sighed, looking down at her lap. She thought for a moment, gathering her next words. Then lifting her head, she looked him in the eye. “If you want to be in a band with me...if you still want to be my drummer, I would absolutely love that. You’re amazingly talented, and I truly believe you’re a good person. But you need to let go of these feelings you have for me.”

“Amb-”

“No,” she shook her head, holding her hand up. “Get one thing straight, Carter. What we had...or, what we used to do together...that’s over. I didn’t like the person I was then. I’m trying to get better. I’m not even close yet, I know. But I can’t ever get there if I keep turning back and going down that road.”

“But you said you didn’t wanna drink anymore, and you were drinking with…”

“Stop, Carter. This isn’t about you anymore. Yeah, I had a few drinks, but I didn’t get so wasted, I passed out. I knew my limits. Maybe I shouldn’t have let the guy buy me any drinks, but that’s not for you to decide. Do you get that? I have to make my own decisions. And my decision right now is that you’re my drummer...and my friend...but nothing else. Okay?”

With his jaw set, Carter licked his lips. “Fine.”

“Fine,” Amber nodded curtly before sliding out of the van. Carter jumped out as well, rounding the bumper to open the back. He grabbed Amber’s guitar while she slung her bag over her shoulder.

“I’ll call you if something comes up,” she said.

“Sure.”

As soon as he slammed the door shut, Carter returned behind the wheel and peeled out of the driveway, his tires spinning and leaving dust behind. With a sigh, Amber turned and climbed the steps to her mother’s trailer, knocking on the screen door.

“You silly goose, why’d you knock?” called Pauline as soon as she opened the door. When Amber set down her things inside, mother pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, rocking her side to side. “Oh, I missed you.”

“I wasn’t gone that long,” Amber remarked with a grin.

“Longer than last time, and not as long as the next, so let me get used to saying it.”

The sound of little feet made Amber turn around, and with her arms open wide, she lifted Laci onto her hip.

“What have you been doing, little ballerina?” she asked her, her eyes already welling up with tears.

“Playing!”

“Playing what?”

“Pony and princess!”

“Of course you were,” Amber beamed before placing a tiny kiss on Laci’s tiny nose.

“Her teacher says she’s gotten really good at her A-B-C’s,” conveyed Pauline.

“Really? Let’s hear it! Will you sing with me?”

Laci began her alphabet song, both Amber and Pauline helping when needed. When they reached the end, “next time won’t you sing with me”, Amber twirled Laci around, dropping her onto her back on the sofa and tickling her sides.

“I hear Faith’s coming to town this weekend,” said Pauline when the girls had taken a breath.

“Really? I tried texting her the other day, but she didn’t reply.”

“Maybe she’s busy. She’s gotten a new job in Savannah.”

“Oh, she’s not at the salon anymore?” asked Amber, recalling Faith’s long-time job since she moved away two years ago.

“No she’s still at a salon, just a different one. Margaret said she likes it much better. It’s downtown.”

“Good for her,” Amber remarked.

Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket. Pulling it out, Amber noticed an unknown number on the screen, one that had phoned a few times in the last couple days. Curious, and ready to give whomever was on the other line a piece of her mind, she decided to answer this time.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Amber Crosby?” the voice asked. A male voice.

“Maybe. Who’s asking?”

“Hi, Ms. Crosby. This is Jeffrey Azoff from Full Stop Management. How are you today?”

“Um...I’m fine,” she answered hesitantly. Giving Pauline a gesture, she took the phone to her bedroom down the hall. “How are you?”

“I’m great. But I must say, you’re a difficult woman to get a hold of.” Jeffrey let out a low chuckle, though Amber noted a slight tone of annoyance. Though the name sounded familiar, she couldn’t quite pinpoint where she’d heard it before.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Azoff,” she said. “I’ve been...out of town and I don’t always answer my phone...especially to a number I don’t recognize.”

“I understand. I also tried contacting your manager...a Mr. Joel Burkus?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Unfortunately he’s not answering any of my calls. But because this is your private number, I felt it best not to discuss business with your voicemail.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Azoff?” Amber questioned.

“Jeff, please.”

“Jeff. What exactly is this regarding?”

“Oh, pardon me. I suppose I should get to the point. I represent Harry Styles. I understand you and your band performed at the Nashville Summertime Festival?”

Jeffrey Azoff. Of course, Amber thought. He was Harry’s manager.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, Harry told me he liked what he heard from you,” said Jeff. “We sat together and he played me some of your music, and I can see why he said that.”

“Oh,” Amber sounded, already feeling her cheeks getting warm. “Thank you. I’m flattered.”

“I know it’s a bit unorthodox, and a little last minute, but Harry has made it his mission to get you to be his opening act for the American leg of his tour.”

“Are you serious?” Amber blurted, unable to control the word vomit.

Jeffrey chuckled. “Dead serious, Ms. Crosby. In fact, Harry would like to speak with you about it on the phone as well. That is, after you’ve accepted, of course.”

“Oh my God!”

“I will give you some time to think about it,” offered Jeffrey. “And discuss it with your band. But Harry wishes to talk to you personally before the end of the weekend.”

“Okay,” Amber managed to breathe.

“Would you mind if I pass your number on to him?”

“Oh! Oh, of course, yes, that’s fine. I’d love to talk to him, too.”

“Good,” Jeff said with a smile in his voice. “I really hope we can work something out between us. Which reminds me. Ms. Crosby, how satisfied are you with your current management?”

Amber sat down on her bed for the first time since entering her room.

“To tell you the truth, Mr….um Jeff, things are...rocky to put it mildly.”

“I see. Well, after you speak with Harry, I’d be happy to have another chat with you. How does that sound?”

“Yes, sir, that sounds great.”

“Please, Amber, call me Jeff,” he insisted.

“Amber!” Pauline called from the living room. “We have company!”

Amber laid her guitar she’d been playing on the bed and combed her fingers through her hair. “Company” usually meant family or one of Pauline’s friends. The only other people who ever came by were her bandmates, and she’d just met with them the day before at Johnny’s apartment. She’d told them about her phone conversation with Jeffrey Azoff, and though they were a bit apprehensive about performing in front of a large crowd of mostly young women who were only there for a certain ex-boybander, they were ecstatic to have a legitimate gig, a touring gig. She had yet to hear from Harry himself, but Jeff had said he’d call before Sunday night, and it was only Saturday.

Making her way down the hall, she heard an all-too familiar voice, and as she rounded the corner she caught sight of the dark hair.

“Faith!”

Setting down Laci whom she’d been holding, her cousin stepped forward and gave her a hug.

“Oh, sweetie, I’ve missed you,” she declared in her ear.

“Me too,” said Amber, letting the sweetie remark slide this once. “How’s Savannah?”

“Ah-ma-zing!” exclaimed Faith. “You should totally move there, Ambs.”

“Um...can’t,” she shoved her hands in her pockets. “I sort of live on the road now?”

“Oh right. The music thing. How’s that going?” Faith sat down on the couch next to Pauline, pushing her long hair off her shoulders.

“Pretty good, actually?” she wasn’t sure why all her points were coming out as questions, but she’d forgotten how obtuse Faith could be. “I have a song on the radio. It just made the top twenty.”

“No shit? How about that. Sorry, I hardly ever listen to the radio anymore.”

Unable to hide her disgust, Amber crossed her arms and turned for the kitchen, rolling her eyes.

“Aren’t you going to tell her?” asked Pauline.

“Tell me what?” urged Faith.

Amber grabbed a banana from the counter and eyed her mother with a piercing glare. But she seemed oblivious.

“She might be going on tour with Harry Styles!” cheered Pauline.

“Mom!”

“What?”

“Oh my God, are you serious?” Faith gasped.

“It’s not set in stone yet,” explained Amber. “But I’ve been talking to him and his manager.” She figured Faith didn’t need to know all the details.

“But I thought you sang country music. He was in a pop band.”

“Apparently he likes my style,” Amber couldn’t help but jab with a wink before she took a bite from her banana.

“Well shit!” said Faith, throwing her hands up. “Who knew?”

She’d missed his call. She wanted to kick herself. It was another unknown number displayed on her phone, but Amber knew it was him.

Not wanting to spend the rest of the evening making herself sick over it, she tried her best to focus on her music, on a new song she’d been writing. After an hour or so, it wasn’t working, so she put down her guitar and went into Laci’s room. She sat on the floor coloring in a book.

“That’s so pretty!” she exclaimed, pointing at the picture.

“Butterfly!” declared Laci.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful butterfly.”

Laci rose from the floor and began flapping her arms, pretending to fly. Once she decided she was tuckered out, she plopped herself back down next to Amber. Then she handed her a crayon.

“You color, too!”

“Okay, don’t mind if I do. What should I color, Lace?”

Laci hummed to herself for a moment, turning pages in her book. Settling on two pictures side by side that hadn’t been colored yet, she looked up at Amber.

“I color the bird, you color the bear.”

“Hmm, but bears are brown or black,” said Amber. “You gave me an orange crayon.”

Laci shrugged. “Him a orange bear.”

Giggling, Amber nodded and got to work. “Alright then. Orange bear it is.”

Halfway through coloring Mr. Orange Bear, Amber’s phone rang. Nearly jumping, she looked at her phone to see the unknown caller again.

“Lace, I have to take this call, but I’ll be right back, okay?”

“‘kay.”

Slipping out of Laci’s room, Amber quickly swiped the screen so the call wouldn’t go to voicemail.

“Hello?” she greeted just as she made it to her bedroom and shut the door.

“Hello, Amber,” said the deep voice with a British accent. “This is Harry Styles.”

tagging: @freedomfireflies

If you'd like to be tagged, please let me know :)

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles x oc #harry styles series #harry fanfiction #harry fan fiction #harry fic #harry fanfic #harry fan fic #harry x oc #harry series #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry smut #harry angst #real harry fic

[starry-hughes]

carson having a nightmare and bren not being around or answering his phone to help her and her siblings can’t get her to calm down.

one of the boys remembering who brendan went to hang out with and calling them instead

and brendan, who’s phone died hours ago, being so confused when a phone is frantically shoved into his hands by his friend

only for his heart to drop when he hears carson’s ragged breaths on the other side as she stutters out a “you weren’t answering” and he feels his heart break

she’s got uneven breaths and tears covering her face. jack is sitting beside her rubbing her back and quinn is standing there with a glass of water, luke is holding the phone on speaker for her.

“what’s wrong?” brendan’s heart drops. “nightmare, i’m sorry,” she stutters. “no baby, it’s okay. are you in bed?”

she sniffles and wipes her face, “yeah.” “okay, so lay back, get all cozy, pretend i’m there with you.” she’s still struggling to breathe right. “ready? inhale, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. hold it,” he directs her. “and exhale. ready to go again.”

he stays on the phone until one of the boys tells him she’s fallen back asleep.

#carson and briss

[sjsmith56]

Coming Home - Chapter 41, Lord Buchanan

Summary: Quin leads the army back home, riding on Magnus. Sky alerts them to the white wolf and they search the forest for Buchanan.

Length: 5 K

Characters: Quin, Ileana, Rhodes, Bruce

Warnings: supernatural visions

<<Chapter 40

🏰 👩🏻‍⚕️

The journey back to the Oklahoma wilderness was taken in a more leisurely manner. Although most of the eastern complements were eager to return, a significant number of men took the opportunity to court members of the Queen's Guard, having fallen for the strong women who could defend themselves. Even a couple of Archer's bow-women were being wooed. When Archer asked if they wanted him to intervene as a surrogate protector most of them said they could handle it. Bren did announce that those who were coupling to resist doing it out in the open as the sounds often reverberated throughout the open wilderness and there was concern they would attract predators.

When they reached the Cherokee Nation the force were treated to a rodeo, which none had ever witnessed before. They found it exhilarating and exciting to watch. Waya promised that someday when he visited the Broken Lands to begin formal diplomatic relations he would bring the rodeo performers with him. Once again the force were fed well, and although they bivouacked out in the open Waya set guards around them so they didn't have to worry about guarding themselves. One of their medicine men told Waya of the friendly white wolf that approached him when he was on a spirit quest, several days earlier. It was limping and whimpering. He made it a poultice of cat's claw and dandelion, applying it liberally to a bullet wound in its shoulder. Although the medicine man was fasting he went and snared a rabbit for it, offering it raw which it wouldn't eat so he skinned and gutted it, roasting it over a fire. The wolf accepted the offering and before leaving in the morning gazed with its blue eyes into his for a minute before leaving for the east. When Waya told Quin and the other commanders they had hope that their general had a chance to make it.

On their journey through the mountainous bandit lands they heard similar stories from people who acted as healers of a blue-eyed white wolf that watched them before approaching. Having heard the stories of the man who had the ability to transform into the white wolf, they had all fed it, and tended to it as best they could but it wouldn't let them try to get the bullet out, growling at them if they attempted it. By the time they reached the borders of the Kingdom of the Green Lands the sightings suddenly stopped and Quin, most of all, began to worry that Buchanan had perished. At the crossroads to King Thorn's castle Heimdall and his 150 remaining men separated from the main group. Several stopped to kiss their beloved in either the Queen's Guard or one of the bow-women promising to fetch them for their wedding soon. Quin and the other commanders offered Heimdall their forearms in thanks and the two forces split apart.

By evening the remaining force of 1050 soldiers arrived at King Stephen's palace where they were given a hero's welcome. Tents had already been erected for the soldiers, along with washing facilities so they could bathe the grime of the road off their bodies. Quin, offered a room in the palace, declined saying he wouldn't rest inside a castle until he returned to Isabella's. He did accept an invitation for dinner with King Steven and Queen Peg. After dinner he returned to his tent and fell asleep.

"Quin," said the voice. "Open your eyes."

The young king did as he was told and found himself in a forest. He turned to see Ileana beside him.

"Lady Buchanan?" he asked. "I thought you were ill, confined to your bed."

"I am," she said. "But I heard James call to me and tell me to open my eyes." She looked past Quin and nodded at another person standing on the other side of the young man, Rhodes.

"Rhodes," said Quin. "Were you called as well?"

"I heard Lord Buchanan call to me," he said. "We must be in a dream world."

A glow appeared in front of them, containing the presence of the Sorceress with the white wolf.

"My time is coming to a close soon," she said quietly. "You must listen to Lord Buchanan."

The creature faced them but didn't open its mouth, yet they heard Buchanan's voice in their minds.

"Soon, I will be in the forest, where you found my clothes," said the wolf. "Sky will alert you at the right moment.  Take me back to the castle so the veterinarian can save me. Then lay me in my bed with my beloved and Sky. It must be the three of you that find me. Bruce must carry me to my bed after the veterinarian operates on me. I must stay as the wolf throughout this."

"But James," protested Ileana. "How can she save you?"

"Trust me, my love," said the wolf. "It will be alright. I am almost home."

Quin woke up with a start. It was almost morning. He had planned to ride to Isabella's estate but now he knew he had to go to Buchanan's estate first. Quickly he dressed and ran into the castle, to the radio room. He radioed Isabella and when he heard her voice he hesitated for a moment.

"I was planning to come to you and my mother first but I've had the strangest dream," he said. "It was the white wolf, Lord Buchanan."

"I saw it," she said. "As if I were watching from a distance. You go there, we will ride and greet you at Buchanan's estate. Quin? I love you."

He smiled a glad smile that he felt deep inside. "I love you, too, Isabella," he said. "We have much to discuss."

They spoke for a few more minutes then signed off and Quin ran to King Steven's reception room to tell him he had to leave immediately to see to a matter involving the white wolf. The King almost went with him but Quin said to wait for word from him.

Sir Archer had already released his archers to return to their homes so he joined Quin, Liam, Coulson, Isabella's soldiers and Buchanan's soldiers for the trip to Buchanan's estate. The rest were given leave to return to their lords.  After they took their leave of Bren, the King and Queen, they set out for Archer's lands where he rode off with a wave. Then they rode single file through the ravine and up the other side. By this time Magnus became harder to control, so anxious was he to return. Quin finally let the magnificent horse have its head. They flew like the wind, with the horse's mane hitting Quin in the face as the great beast thundered the final distance to its home. When the horse finally pulled up in the courtyard Quin had to tell the groom to take extra care of him as he had galloped for a long while. He pulled the saddle bags off and ran into the garrison calling for Rhodes. The man came out of his quarters and looked beyond Quin for the others.

"Where is everyone else?" he asked.

"Magnus ran like the wind," said Quin. "I couldn't control him. It was amazing but we left everyone else behind. I would bunk here but Isabella is on her way and I can't see her wanting to share a narrow bed so I'm going into the castle. Oh, I've asked Liam to return with me. He makes me laugh."

"Of course he does," said Rhodes. "Quin? Thank you for taking care of Edward and burying him with your family. I appreciate it."

Quin smiled a sad smile at Rhodes then turned to go into the castle. As he entered Mary came bustling forward.

"Your Majesty, I should have been out there for you," she said, curtsying.

"Please, don't," he said. "I don't feel very royal. Call me Quin, like you always did, please. I have Lord Buchanan's saddle bags, half with his battle leathers which will need repair and half with my clothes, although I could also wear what I left behind here. I just need to get something out."

He reached inside Buchanan's side and got out the piece of black lace wrapped around the jewelled crucifix. Mary called for help and a young man appeared to take the saddle bags. She instructed him to take the items from the right side and put them in Quin Torres room, then added King Arthur for good measure, the remainder to go to Lord Buchanan's dressing room. She also told him to go out and get Quin's clothes from his garrison quarters.

"Tom, did he return?" she asked, a little sternly.

"Yes, and he will make an honest woman out of Beth, I promise you," said Quin. "He has talked of nothing else on the trip back. Is she ...?"

"That's for her to tell him, first," scolded Mary.

Quin kissed her cheek bringing a little shriek from her then he asked where Ileana was. Mary told him and he ran to her quarters, bounding two stairs at a time until he came to her door and knocked.  Entering, he found her sitting in front of the fire with a blanket on her lap and Livia on the floor playing with Sky.

"Quin," she said, pleased. "Come, sit with us."

"I've brought you these," he said, handing the bundle to her. "I saw the lace once and asked about it. He said you gave him that on the first day you met."

"I did," she replied, smiling with the memory. "To use as a drying cloth. We had to bed down in a mountain hut with nothing but our clothes and Magnus' saddle cloth. The pump put out such cold water and we had nothing to dry ourselves with so I ripped the bottom off my skirt and gave him a piece. He kept it as a talisman. I traded the skirt to Laura Barton for a riding skirt that would stand up better than the lace one."

"And the crucifix?" asked Quin.

"It was after we became lovers but I was faced with a decision to stay or go back to my world," said Ileana. "He thought he would make it easy for me and told me it was over, that he released me from our love. He had already had it made, along with a beautiful dress for Lord Falcon's investiture. They fit perfectly. His taste was exquisite. I chose to stay and when he returned from battle we married, had one night together and he went off to the next battle. It was weeks before he could bring me here but here is home now. I have no regrets about staying."

"The baby is alright?" asked Quin.

"Yes, the baby will be alright and so will I," said Ileana. "I let myself get consumed by grief when he left with you. Although I am a Queen's Guard I lost myself for a time as I love him so deeply. It took the intervention of dear friends here to get me through. Now with the dream, I have hope again."

For the next hour Quin told her of the plan to end the monarchy. She listened intently and smiled at him when he referred to himself as the last King of the Western Plains.

"You really weren't comfortable with being an absolute ruler, were you?" she asked.

"Responsible for everyone and everything? No," he replied. "But shared, with a council or cabinet, yes, I could be involved. That doesn't mean I think they should change here or in the Green Lands. King Steven and King Thorn are much more involved in day to day things than my father was. He relied on the wrong people and they just kept power for themselves instead of trying to help others. We had to change and in a major way."

"I'm glad you found a way," said Ileana. "Just make sure the people that run for office run for the right reasons. Don't let them buy votes or promise outlandish things to get votes. Make sure they are truthful."

Mary appeared. "Your Maj... sorry, Quin, your wife, mother and sisters have arrived," she said. "My Lady, will you be dining with everyone tonight?"

"Yes, I think I will," said Ileana. "Quin, go to her, before anything else."

He kissed Ileana on the cheek and ran out to the smiles of her and Mary. He practically flew down the stairs to the main reception room, bursting through the doors. Running to Isabella he picked her up and twirled her around before letting her down gently and kissing her. Then he touched her hair gently and looked into her eyes.

"I so missed you," he said softly. "You look so beautiful and different. Why do you look different?"

Isabella looked to Queen Camila. "They say pregnancy does that to a woman," she replied. "I carry our child."

Quin whooped and picked her up again then let her down and kissed her once more. His mother and sisters, all except the baby who stayed back at Isabella's estate with the nursemaid, watched with amusement. Then he turned his attention to them and kissed his mother, then hugged his sisters, commenting on how tanned and healthy they looked.

The youngest princess older than the baby piped up. "We've been riding every day, just like the soldiers do, and wearing breeches as well," said Vivienne. "Sophia and Marianne have begun training for the Queen's Guard and Isabella said they're naturals at it."

"I'm glad to hear it!" exclaimed Quin. "One of the Queen's Guards that came with us has stayed in our kingdom and together with Isabella will really be able to teach you all to fight. It is so good to see you all again. Mother, there is so much I need to tell you but it is best we do it alone, perhaps with Isabella. Father left a letter for you, his last letter. I have brought that with me."

"His death, was it noble?" she asked.

"It was during battle," answered Quin. "I'm sorry but your two uncles were treacherous. I punched one of them in the nose for insulting you."

A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "I would have liked to have seen that," she noted. "I never liked either one of them and neither did my brothers. I'm glad they stayed with David."

Later that evening, after a pleasant dinner, Quin told his mother and Isabella the circumstances of King David's death and Buchanan's poisoning. He also spoke of the depth of John Walker's depravity and how he had taken responsibility for the family when they requested asylum.

"Those poor girls," said Queen Camila, in sympathy, "and Katherine. They must have lived in terror of him. Thank God he had no sons to follow his example."

Quin then reached inside his jacket and pulled out the letter and the locket. He looked at them solemnly then handed them to her. "Isabella and I will retire now," he said. "His last words were that he loved you and my sisters. He was proud of me at the end and I will always remember that."

He kissed his mother tenderly and left her there, alone in her room. Hesitantly she opened the letter and read it then began to cry. David wrote of the first time he saw her picture in the locket, thinking she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. It had been reinforced when he finally met her in person. Then his father, noticing the look on his face had admonished him.

"No royal ever truly loves their wife," the old king said. "She is just there to bear you an heir."

"How much I didn't want to believe him," wrote King David. "Then your own uncles said you were indifferent to me but that you would do your duty. I admit I hardened my heart to you, just on the words of my father and your uncles. Not until I sent my mistresses away and begged your forgiveness did I realize the years wasted believing you hated me. That is my biggest failure, bigger even than not being a good father to Quin, for at least he found a worthy substitute in Buchanan. Forgive me, dearest Camila. When I die it will be your face in my thoughts. I will wait for you for all of eternity to prove myself when you join me in the afterlife.

Your loving husband, finally at the end.

David

Camila wept bitter tears for an hour after reading her husband's letter. Bitter at his father and her uncles for making him believe she was indifferent to him. Then a sense of profound sadness came over her that he had suffered so much in the final month of his life due to the treachery of those same uncles. She thought of Quin, finding Isabella and the love they displayed joyfully when they reunited in front of her. With determination she vowed that her daughters would all marry for love, whether it be a soldier, a common born or a noble born didn't matter. The love did and that would be one of her objectives in her remaining life.

Quin and Isabella took the luxury of staying late in their quarters the following morning and found it necessary to make their way to the kitchen for a late breakfast. Cook, who had been prepared to scold them, found she couldn't do it when she saw how happy they were and made a special breakfast, just for them. While they were eating she asked about Edward, whether he had suffered. Quin jumped up and hugged her hard, assuring her it had been quick. He told her of interring him in his family chapel and recited the engraving that had been ordered for the stone slab. Cook dabbed her eyes with the edge of her apron and kissed Quin on his cheek, calling him dear boy afterwards.

On a horseback ride together, the couple were accompanied by his mother, sisters, and Ileana, riding Luna. She took it easy and Camila eventually slowed down so Ileana wouldn't be alone. They talked about the princesses and how much they had loved living an unstructured life compared to the rigid protocols of King David's court. On their return they were surprised to see Bruce at the castle, as he had been at the port looking at the latest data from the super computer. Although he smiled at Ileana she could see he had something on his mind and she promised to speak with him later.

Their chance for conversation never came as during dinner Sky, who normally sat below Ileana's feet, became agitated. His whining alerted her and she looked at him below the table. He actually pawed her lap and attempted to get up on her.

"Sky, what is wrong?" asked Ileana, as the others became aware of the change in the black wolf's behaviour. "Down, Sky, down."

The animal then began pawing at Quin, trying to get onto his lap. Pulling away from the table Quin looked at the wolf, who kept nudging him. It took a moment but Quin looked at Iliana sharply.

"We have to let him out," he said to her. "Now."

Both of them stood up from the table while Sky ran towards the entrance to the dining hall, looking back at both of them, before he gave out a short, sharp bark. Ileana opened the door and the wolf bolted, running towards the main door to the castle, his barks increasing in frequency. Quin and Ileana followed and opened the door to the courtyard where Sky ran to the garrison, straight to the door of Rhodes. He came out, alerted to the strange behaviour of the wolf and saw Quin and Ileana coming through the courtyard.

"Saddle three horses!" he yelled to the stable groom who had come out to see what the fuss was all about.

"I should change into riding gear," said Ileana, but Quin grabbed her arm.

"There is no time," he said. "Ride as you are."

Luna was saddled first and Ileana mounted her, with Rhodes and Quin arranging her skirts so she could sit comfortably. Rhodes ran back into his quarters and returned with three lanterns, giving one to Ileana that could clip to her saddle. Both he and Quin had removed their scabbards for dinner and  looked at each other wondering if they should get them.

"You weren't wearing them in the dream," said Ileana, anxious to begin riding.

That settled it and they each mounted their horse, clipping the lantern to their saddles. The three looked to the black wolf which was anxiously pacing in front of the closed gate.

"Open the gate!" ordered Rhodes. "Send for the veterinarian!"

The three rode out into the twilight as both Rhodes and Quin tried desperately to remember the way they had gone when they looked for Buchanan before. Meanwhile Sky ran ahead barking furiously at them to keep up. Finally they caught up with the black wolf but couldn't see him in the dark, only hear his howls and barks. All three turned their battery lights on and tried to locate Sky in the dark.

"Please, Sky, come here," called Ileana. "Sky!"

A short sharp bark startled Luna and Ileana raised her lantern to see the blue eyes of the black wolf as he backed away from her.

"This way," she called to the others, following the blue eyes as they reflected the light of the lantern back at her.

Then Sky stopped and both Rhodes and Quin jumped off their horses, holding their lanterns in front of them. Ahead on the path another set of wolf eyes appeared and both men ran forward to where the white wolf lay, exhausted, still injured and in pain. Sky excitedly licked the white wolf's face, all while making an unearthly whine.

"Lift him onto me," said Ileana. "He won't hurt me."

Gently, Rhodes and Quin supported the injured animal as best they could and lifted him onto Ileana's lap. The white wolf raised its head and gazed at her then licked her hand before lowering its head. Holding him with one hand Ileana waited for the other two men to mount their horses and they rode back as quickly as they could without further injuring the white wolf. As they pulled into the courtyard the veterinarian came forward, seeing the white wolf across Ileana's lap.

"Is that ...?" she asked.

Ileana nodded. "You have to operate on him," she said. "He has a bullet wound in his shoulder and the bone was likely broken in the process. Please, you have to save the wolf first to save the man. Do you understand?"

Bruce and Mary both came out to the courtyard. Carefully he pulled the wolf off of Ileana and looked at the vet, while holding the creature in his arms.

"I'll help you," he said grimly. "Where do you want to set up?"

"My office," said Rhodes. "I have a high table there and can string several lanterns above you for better light."

"I'll need clean hot water," said the vet, opening her bag and pulling out a bundle of instruments, handing them to Mary. "Boil these for ten minutes. Rhodes do you have some fine wire? It has to be pliable enough to bend but strong enough not to break. Boil it, too. Don't handle it after. We want them to stay sterile. If the shoulder bone is broken it will have to do to bind it together to heal. Fine silk thread for the sutures. I'll go wash up while Dr. Banner lays the wolf on the table and prepares him. Cut away the fur from around the wound. What I wouldn't give for an electric razor right now."

Bruce grinned at her and carried the white wolf into Rhodes office. He had cleared his table and covered it with a clean cloth. Above them were a dozen battery lights were all turned on, satisfying Bruce that they had enough light. He started to cut away the fur but his fingers were too big for the clippers and Ileana took them instead, carefully cutting the fur away from around the wound. She made eye contact with the white wolf as it seemed to look at her in a trusting way. Bruce instructed her to clip further away from the wound as the vet would have to open it further to repair the damaged shoulder. When the vet returned Bruce went to wash his hands and the vet told Ileana to look inside her bag for a device that looked like a muzzle but had a fine cloth covering over it. Ileana placed it over the wolf's nose area and then pulled out a bottle as the vet instructed her.

"We'll wait for Dr. Banner," said the vet. "He's likely used ether before."

Soon Bruce came out and when he saw the bottle of ether rolled his eyes at the vet. "That's all you have?" he asked. "Well, better than nothing, I guess. James, I'm going to put a series of drops onto the cloth. Breathe deeply and I'll stop when you are under. Trust me, friend."

The white wolf seemed to understand and relaxed its whole body, as if it were committing itself to the care of the giant and the modern vet working in medieval conditions. Mary brought out the boiled instruments in a flat pan, along with a set of tongs that had been boiled. A servant brought out the wire in a pot. All of the instruments were still in the hot water they had been boiled in. The vet smiled then gestured to another table that Rhodes had brought out for them. The instruments were set on it and Mary left as it was too crowded for her to stay. Then Bruce turned to Ileana.

"Wait outside," he said. "It's going to be messy and I don't want you getting upset if you see the blood. Trust me, Ileana. We'll take good care of him."

Reluctantly she turned away and left as Rhodes accompanied her and closed the door behind them. Outside the three of them, Ileana, Rhodes and Quin, stood in the darkness.

"What now?" asked Quin. "We just wait?"

"We just wait," repeated Ileana.

Rhodes went into the stable and brought out a bench for them to sit on along with a couple of battery lights. Mary came out with coffee and they sat for what seemed like hours waiting for the door to Rhodes' office to open. Sky, calmer now, sat in front of Ileana but even he kept his eyes on the door. Finally the door opened and Bruce came out. He stretched his arms and rolled his head then looked at all of them.

"He's lost blood and the only source of wolf blood is Sky," he said. "We're going to do a direct transfusion, just long enough to replace some of what he lost."

"Won't that make him a wolf forever to have real wolf blood in him?" asked Ileana, her fear evident.

Bruce sighed. "I honestly don't know," he replied. "We're dealing with things beyond my comprehension. But he stands a better chance of recovery with Sky's blood in him than without. That shoulder was shattered. How he ever made it home is beyond me. The bullet was empty of whatever poison was in it."

"Tom said the wolf was immune to it," said Quin. "That by the time he returned here it would have passed from his system."

Bruce shrugged then he called to Sky and the black wolf meekly followed him as if it knew its part was still to come. A short time later Bruce, the vet and Sky, his neck bound in a bandage, came out.

"I'll come in the morning to check on him," said his the vet. "I honestly don't know if we saved him."

Then she called for her horse and rode off into the night with one of the garrison soldiers to accompany her. Bruce looked at the three again in the darkened courtyard.

"What does your vision say now?" he asked. "I know you all shared one. That's how you knew he was out there."

"You have to take him to my bed," said Ileana. "I will stay with him. So will Sky. He said that is how it has to be."

Bruce and Rhodes returned to the office. Coming out with the white wolf in his arms, Bruce waited for Ileana to precede him leaving Rhodes and Quin in the courtyard. Wordlessly Quin went into the castle while Rhodes returned to his quarters. He would clean up in the morning.

Ileana opened the door to their rooms and Bruce strode in laying the white wolf on top of the bedding. He stepped back as Sky laid at the foot of the bed as if he knew where he was to be. Then he looked at Ileana and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, good luck," he said simply and left the room.

She went into her dressing room and changed into her night chemise, leaving her other clothes draped on the chairs. Then she went around the room and doused the candles. The white wolf watched her with drowsy eyes. Finally, she got under the covers and doused the final candle then slid closer to the animal.

"Remember me, I remember you, love me, I love you," she whispered, then she put her hand on it so that it laid across the white wolf's chest.

Both of them sighed and she closed her eyes thinking for a moment that she heard the Sorceress' voice whisper in her mind.

"Trust the love, Ileana," she said.

Chapter 42>>

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