#both claim that they told mom weeks and months ago

[roosterforme]

The Younger Kind Part 14 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Despite his best efforts, Bradley's mind is flooded with thoughts of you. After receiving a lecture from his best friend and making Noah cry, Bradley makes the decision to reach out to you. But perhaps it's already too late.

Warnings: Angst, swearing, and age gap (18+)

Length: 3800 words

Pairing: Single dad!Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x babysitter!female reader

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As soon as Bradley woke to the soft sunlight filtering in through his bedroom windows, his eyes settled on your purple crown. He tilted his head and examined it with a frown. He hadn't moved it since the night you wore it while he fucked you on the couch during your anatomy lesson. And now it seemed too precious to touch. 

He had been hoping to spend some time in here with you yesterday, but instead he had shut things down with you completely. He stared at the ceiling trying to convince himself he'd done the right thing by trying to protect you. But all he could think about was how he made you cry.

And then Bradley spent the entirety of Sunday wallowing around in his underwear. He meant to do something productive. He planned on taking Noah grocery shopping. But as soon as Noah woke up and walked into the kitchen, Bradley lost the energy to do anything else at all.

"Is she here?" Noah asked, holding up some coloring books and a bag of Skittles. Bradley's heart sank. You must have left those on Noah's dresser last night.

"No, bub. She's not here."

He watched Noah's face fall as he sat at the kitchen table with the coloring books. "Can I eat them?" he asked, shaking the candy.

Bradley swallowed hard. "Yeah," he croaked, tearing the bag open for his child to eat Skittles for breakfast. Maybe Meredith had a point about his lack of stability.

"Share?" Noah asked, holding out the bag, but Bradley shook his head.

"I never deserved them."

The next day, Bradley started a week of work during which he promised himself he would get into a normal routine. But it was hard to make plans that didn't involve you when all he could do was think about you. 

When he got to the coffee shop, the barista made him his coffee along with yours as soon as she saw him. "Thanks," he muttered, accepting both cups and a sharpie. He scrawled peasant across both cups and forced the drinks down on his drive to work.

To make matters worse, Noah asked for you constantly, and Bradley didn't know how to tell him that his beloved babysitter wouldn't be coming around anymore because his dad lied to her. So he didn't really say anything at all. Instead he watched his son look as dejected as he felt.

Tuesday after work, Bradley picked Noah up and they both headed over to meet with Tracy, his lawyer.

Once Bradley was seated across a small conference table from her while Noah colored on copy paper, Tracy sighed and shook her head.

"Bradley. I told you months ago that you needed to work on getting a custody agreement into place with Noah's mom." She was flipping through the papers in the manila folder that Meredith had left with him. 

"Yeah," Bradley grunted. "Well, am I too late?"

She didn't answer him for a long time. Rather she added notes and marked things up with a purple highlighter. He thought of your purple crown hanging from his bed. He thought of your purple Skittles and nail polish and all the purple crayons. Who the fuck used a purple highlighter anyway?

"There's no way to prove she abandoned Noah," Tracy told him firmly, and Bradley already felt defeated. 

"But she did!" he growled, already feeling bad for getting snippy with his lawyer, but at least he was paying someone to deal with his shitty attitude right now.

Tracy looked him calmly in the eye. "It doesn't matter if she did, Bradley. She would have access to the same phone records you do. She would be able to show that she tried to contact you fairly regularly. Furthermore, she lives in Oceanside, so she could claim she stayed nearby in an effort to be more involved. I can almost guarantee her lawyer will to try to push this back on you."

Bradley scoffed. "Can they do that?"

"Absolutely," Tracy confirmed. "They will try, and they will probably succeed. Judges usually like to side with mothers. And Meredith will be able to play the victim in this scenario pretty easily, I would imagine. How is a mother expected to help provide for her son if the child's horrible father won't let her spend time with him? How is Meredith expected to do anything for him when you have been keeping Noah from her?"

"He's almost four!" Bradley said, gesturing toward Noah as he colored quietly. "She's just acting on this now. Doesn't that look bad?"

Tracy shook her head sadly at him and listed off so many plausible sounding excuses that Bradley's stomach churned. "She tried to work it out with you, but you snubbed her. She didn't have the monetary resources until recently. You made her feel uncomfortable. She got bad legal advice previously which set her back. She wanted to make sure she was in a good place mentally to be a parent. The list of excuses could go on and on. She and her lawyer will find one that fits her nicely."

Bradley felt sick. "I can't lose him, Tracy. And you know as well as I do that none of that is true."

She nodded, reached across the table and patted his hand, and then said, "This is why I advised you to fix this before."

Bradley took some deep breaths while she shuffled the papers in front of her. "What can I do now?"

Then Tracy was looking at him with sharp eyes. "Did you tie up your loose ends?"

Bradley was uncomfortable. He undid the top two buttons of his khaki uniform shirt and took a deep breath. "If you're asking me if I broke my own heart and Noah's by telling the first girl I've had feelings for in years that I can't see her anymore, then yes, Tracy, I tied up my loose ends."

"Bradley. You're the one who asked me to advise you. From this point on, you need to look flawless. Do you understand me? You can see her again after we complete litigation."

He ran his hands over his face, suddenly exhausted even though he'd gone to bed at eight last night. "This is all going to be very confusing for him," Bradley said, nodding toward his son who had already used up half of Tracy's stack of paper. "And I can't ask someone to wait for me when we don't even know how long this is going to take. When I don't even know why this is happening."

Tracy handed some papers to him. "Since I believe you can't win the argument that Meredith abandoned Noah, we need to look at custody options. If you don't want to ask for any child support from Meredith, and you're willing to work with her for visitation rights, I'm nearly certain you can win full custody."

Win. Bradley didn't like thinking about Noah as an object. One that could be shared, passed from one parent to the other, and awarded ownership of. But he had to in this case. 

He grunted, "No. No visitation. I want her out of the picture completely. I don't want her money. I don't want anything from her. I want full, sole custody. Do you think we can settle out of court?"

"With that list of demands? Doubtful. I don't think she will settle."

-----------------------

You only left your bed on Sunday to go to the bathroom. You were sad, about Bradley and what you thought you meant to him, but you were especially distraught about how much you were going to miss Noah. And you were so upset with yourself, too. You were angry. You had grown so attached to that little boy and his father. Bradley was a walking, talking red flag, but you just couldn't seem to help yourself. 

He didn't want you. He was more than willing to mess around with you, sure. But you were beginning to see that Bradley only saw you as an easy piece of ass. One that would melt when he pretended to beg. One that he could butter up with vanilla lattes. One that would let him have a quickie before work. All while going out with other women. All while planning to sort things out with Meredith. 

You wondered how much of what he'd told you that night on his living room floor was actually accurate. If she really left them, why was he willing to discuss getting back together with her now? Why was Bradley going to let her have a chance to be a real mom to Noah?

Every time you thought about how you ran away from Meredith at the park, you rolled over and buried your head under your pillow. She had more rights to be around her son than you did, and you ran away from her. Mortifying. And your arm still hurt and would take weeks to heal.

Thursday was Noah's birthday. You really wanted to see him. You already had birthday presents for him. You had been planning on baking him a dinosaur cake for the past week. It was all you could think about.

You needed a distraction. That's how you ended up drunk at Greyson's place on Wednesday night. It was a stupid decision. You had class in the morning. You had interviews for jobs coming up, and you needed to get good recommendation letters from your instructors. But Greyson had cheap vodka, and he was paying attention to you.

"I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks," he said, refilling your drink with a huge pour of alcohol. 

"I've been busy," you replied, laying down on his couch as his living room started to spin. "Babysitting. But not anymore."

Somehow you felt a little less sad now as the music playing from Greyson's phone made everything sound fuzzy. And when he set the drink down and climbed on top of you, there was no initial hesitation in your body as he kissed you. He didn't have a mustache, and he wasn't as big and substantial as Bradley, but his kisses felt okay. You knew him. You were used to this.

You arched your back for him to remove your shirt and your bra. He was hard and rubbing you through his jeans as he sucked on your breasts. You moaned softly. He lacked the same finesse that Bradley had, but it still felt good. You could do this.

Greyson unzipped his jeans and guided your hand inside his underwear. You opened your eyes and looked up at his handsome face as you stroked him. "Will you go down on me?" you asked before you really processed your words. 

"What?" he grunted, thrusting into your palm. "How drunk are you?"

Your hand paused on his length. What the fuck were you doing? You didn't even want this. "It was just a question, Grey," you mumbled, shifting underneath him.

"Come on, babe. Guys don't like doing that."

But that wasn't true. You closed your eyes, and you could still hear Bradley desperately asking to taste you there. I want to know if you taste sweet all over, Princess. Will you let me find out?

You sat up, startled by the thought, and now the room was really spinning. Bradley liked going down on you. Maybe he was a liar and a manipulator, but he had really enjoyed that. He had made you feel so good. And he hadn't expected anything in return from you afterwards.

"Let's just fuck," Greyson said, reaching for your leggings and yanking them down your thighs. "That's what you need. I'll get a condom."

You watched him stand up and walk away. You were going to cry, you could already tell. And when he returned, you must have had tears in your eyes, because he tossed the condom onto the couch next to you and said, "I knew I shouldn't have given you that much to drink. You probably can't even give me head now."

"I just want to go home," you replied, hating the angry look on his face as he stood above you. 

"Fine," he agreed, and he called you a ride. You went to his bathroom, wishing you could go to Bradley's house instead of your empty little rental. And then you cried more. Even splashing cold water on your face seemed to do nothing. 

Ten minutes later, Greyson was closing his door behind you as you stumbled outside to find your Uber. The cool night air cleared your head a little bit, and when you got home, you went to your couch with a bag of Skittles. 

It was midnight now. It was Noah's birthday. You sucked on a green Skittle and typed up a text to Bradley. Just this one. You'd let yourself send this one text, and then that would be it.

Will you tell Noah I hope he has a wonderful fourth birthday? And tell him I hope he keeps singing the dinosaur song. Please let me know if I can drop off his birthday presents. 

You hit send after rereading the message at least ten times. Bradley probably wouldn't respond, and that was fine. You could always just leave the birthday gifts on their front porch. And then you'd never see them again.

Next thing you knew, you were waking up the next morning thirty minutes before your first class started, and you had a handful of Skittles stuck to your palm along with a raging hangover. And you had worn Greyson's hoodie home again even though you meant to leave it at his place last night. 

-----------------------------

When Bradley woke up on Noah's birthday to a text from you, he sat up to read it immediately. He couldn't believe you texted him nearly seven hours ago and he was just seeing it now. 

You had birthday presents for his son. Bradley cradled his face in his hand and read the message a second time. You were so sweet. So good to Noah. And Bradley had insinuated that you were everything but that when you had been here on Saturday night. Yet you still wanted to give Noah something for his birthday. 

And then he let his imagination run away. He was getting hard as he pictured you in his kitchen, wearing your crown. But he couldn't let himself get off to the thought of you. He didn't even deserve that much. So he just got dressed and started getting some cereal ready for Noah. 

Once again, he had no groceries, so he made himself coffee and ate a carrot for breakfast before waking up Noah.

"Happy birthday, bub! You're four now!" he said, scooping Noah up into his arms and holding him tight. 

He couldn't lose this feeling. He just couldn't. His lawyer had all but assured him Meredith wouldn't be able to win full custody without visitation. So no matter what, Bradley would still get to feel this, at least on occasion. But as Noah rubbed his sleepy eyes and smiled at him, Bradley knew that he wouldn't be happy with anything except full, sole custody of his kid. He wanted to keep doing exactly what he had been doing for the past four years. "Let's have some cereal, and then I'll take you to daycare."

"Okay," he replied, wrapping his arms around Bradley's neck on the way to the kitchen.

"Aunt Nat is gonna bring you cupcakes later, and then we can have a big party on Saturday."

"Can my babysitter come to my party?"

Bradley set him down and knelt next to the chair. He brushed Noah's hair back from his face and watched him eat Cheerios. "I don't know," he muttered. "I don't think so." 

Would you even want to come? Would it be a good idea? Bradley had already lied to you about so many things to get you away from the two of them. But now Noah was crying. Fat tears rolled down his rosy cheeks as his face scrunched up. Great. He made his son cry on his own birthday.

"I miss her, too," Bradley promised, wiping away each tear as it fell.

"You said she was your favorite." Noah looked at him accusingly, as if he knew Bradley had already broken your trust in him. 

"She is," Bradley whispered, kissing Noah's forehead. "Eat your cereal."

Bradley stood and picked up his phone, reading your message one more time. He had been blaming Meredith for everything in his mind. But really, he was the villain here in so many ways. Just as he was about to respond to you, he got a call from his lawyer.

"Tracy. Please, give me some good news."

"Sorry it's so early. But I just got off the phone with Meredith's lawyer. She did not agree to our terms, and now we have a preliminary hearing scheduled for next week, just as long as the judge approves it for his docket."

Bradley's heart was pounding as he asked, "Is that good?" His eyes were on Noah as Tracy responded. 

"I think it's very good. You asked for sole custody. You tried to offer her visitation rights, at my urging. She rejected the offer. Now we can really dig in and fight. Because we aren't going to backpedal to this offer again when I think you can get exactly what you want."

Exactly what he wanted. Bradley pictured you and Noah napping on the couch with a movie on while he stroked your soft skin. He pictured the three of you eating pizza while you dumped dressing all over your salad. He pictured you underneath him on the living room floor feeding him Skittles while you laughed. He pictured himself eventually picking out a new car for you, as long as it wasn't burgundy. 

"Great. Thank you, Tracy. Just let me know when and where. I'm ready to fight."

-----------------------------

After work, Nat went ahead to his house with dinosaur balloons and some cupcakes while Bradley picked Noah up from daycare. He came out wearing a birthday crown that did not look as adorable on him as the construction paper crowns you and he made. 

"Let's go eat cupcakes and have a great night with Aunt Natasha," he said, kissing Noah all over his face while he laughed. 

When he carried Noah inside the house, Nat grabbed him up and said, "Happy birthday, sweetheart!" Then she turned to look back at Bradley and leaned to look past him, confused. "It's just the three of us?" 

"Yeah," he confirmed, wishing she would end the conversation there. But of course, Bradley wasn't getting anything to go his way right now.

"Is she coming later? Is she still in class?"

"No."

Nat eyed him up and down. "What did you do?"

"Can we talk about this later?"

"No."

Bradley sighed and led them into the kitchen, which Nat had decorated, and Noah climbed down from her arms trying to catch a balloon on his way.

"She's not coming," Bradley told her softly as she messed with his coffee maker.

"So she's coming to the party on Saturday instead?"

"I didn't invite her."

She turned to glare at him. "You've been about an inch away from telling me you're in love with her, and now you're telling me you didn't invite her to Noah's party? Oh," she gasped. "Does this have to do with Merebitch and the custody threat?"

Bradley grunted, not loving having this conversation in front of Noah. "I broke things off. Last Saturday night."

"What?" Nat gasped, getting in his face. "Why am I just hearing about it now? You liked her. You didn't like any of the women from the app, but you liked her. You were actually happy when you came to work after you saw her. What is wrong with you?"

Bradley leaned in closer. "Meredith threatened her. Threatened me and Noah through her. And she already got her arm all banged up trying to keep Noah safe. She's better off without me." His eyes drifted toward Noah who was poking his finger into the icing on one of the cupcakes. 

Nat grabbed him by his shirt and shook him. "Invite her right now. Invite her to come on Saturday. Meredith doesn't get to control everything you do just because she decided to show up and start a bunch of shit- I mean crap," she said apologetically as she winced toward Noah. 

"I can't, Nat... I was... not kind to her the other night. I told her she was too young and immature for me. I called her a kid. I told her it wouldn't work between us."

Nat looked disgusted. "Fix it. And while you're at it, give her a little credit, Bradley!"

He shook his head. "Meredith already has me by the balls, Nat," he whispered harshly. "I'm not going to let that happen to her, too."

"Look at your son. Does he love his babysitter?"

Bradley narrowed his eyes and glowered at Nat. Then he looked at Noah, and his irritation melted. "Yeah. He's very attached to her." Bradley knew you were attached to Noah as well. And he himself was aching inside without you around. 

"Then let him have everyone he loves at his birthday party this weekend. Or you will regret it." 

---------------------------

You were in bed on Thursday night, trying to tire yourself out with a book so you could fall asleep. Greyson was texting you nonstop, trying to see if you were "feeling better" and "wanted to come over and try again". As if wanting a guy to make you feel good while hooking up was some sort of wild idea you came up with. Like asking him to go down on you was the most outlandish request he had ever heard. 

Your phone vibrated again. "Oh my god, Grey. I am not in the fucking mood!" You ripped the charger out of your phone and contemplated throwing it across the room. You were so angry and hurt, and you didn't feel like this was going to get better anytime soon. 

Then you saw that it was Bradley who had texted you, and you thought about taking your phone outside and running it over with your car instead. "Not interested in you, either," you muttered.

Like a dumbass, you had texted Bradley last night when you were drunk and sad that it was Noah's birthday and you wouldn't get to see them. And apparently now he was finally writing back. You wished you had the willpower to just delete his message, but that wasn't going to happen. 

Bradley Bradshaw: I'm having a small party for Noah on Saturday afternoon. I'm sure he would be thrilled if you could make it. Hopefully you can. 

-------------------------------

He invited Princess! Will she come? Did he only invite her for Noah? Or is he just as miserable as his child is without Princess? Hope you enjoy your fic, @beyondthesefourwalls And thank you @mak-32 !

PART 15

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[brodieland]

.˚ 𓈒 ࣪.𝝑𝝔 he's not just a man, mom.. ´ˎ˗

Luke Castellan x Fem!Athena!Reader Synopsis: Reader has a special bond with both Luke and her godly mother, so when Luke joins Kronos, her head starts spinning in confusion on what to do anymore Warning(s): angst. and uh swears ig Word Count: 4314 A/N: I was inspired from a Tumblr post that was inspired from that one Gilmore girls scene😛😛 the post, I mixed in some show and book moments, sometimes just can't decide what hit harder. love them both💔 ugh why did I yap?? Part 2

You and Luke were perfect for one another. Like two pieces to the same puzzles. You were childhood sweethearts and everyone knew it. If you told yourself a couple months ago what had happened, you would've laughed so hard your lungs might've collapsed. This was not a happy ending, though it could've been.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥౨ৎ

It was an average summer evening at camp half-blood. Normally you'd be busy helping Annabeth prepare for capture the flag, but she insisted on doing it herself. She always thought it would help prove herself more and more to your mother, Athena. You and your mom are quite close, you both talk a lot. You make sure to tell Annabeth that she already has faith in her, but she still feels the need to do this, maybe it'll help her get the quest she's been dreaming of.

Since you're close with your mother, Athena also knows of your long-lasting relationship with Luke, the Hermes head counselor. At first she didn't approve, she thought her daughter could do better than a son of the god of thieves, but she knew she couldn't change it so she let it go. Well sorta, she always gives a slight diss about it every now and then.

Now it was the day of capture the flag, and you had the newcomer Percy Jackson on your team. Annabeth whisked him away as part of her plan while you and Luke fended off the rest of red team. And for the fourth year in a row, your team won at capture the flag. You and Luke were celebrating with the rest of Athena and Hermes cabin, when you heard yelling from behind you.

"What is wrong with you?!" You turned around to see that a cut up and bleeding Percy was yelling at Annabeth for pushing him into the water. As he stood up, you and everyone around you noticed that his cuts began to heal, but before you could question it a symbol appeared above his head. A trident.

"Poseidon," announced Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

All the campers in the surrounding area stood in shock, but congratulated Percy non the less. You stood there with a big smile, happy he was claimed after spending the entire day before being somewhat of a, well, failure at all camp activities.

"Luke! Percy got claimed isn't that amazing-" You turned to look at your boyfriend, but didn't see him smiling the way everyone else was. His expression seemed different. It was a look of curiosity beyond him being a child of the big three, more as if Luke seemed.. upset? He had a grudging smile hanging off his lips, you were confused but shrugged it off.

The next day at around 10AM you were sitting with Annabeth as she raves to you about how she's finally found the one. And by the one, she means that Percy ended up picking her to go on the quest with him. Annabeth goes on telling you about the quest, about how she has to recover Zeus' lightning bolt before the solstice in a week, she sounds excited but you can tell she's nervous.

Your conversation was interrupted by a knock at your door. You turned and saw your handsome boyfriend, Luke, coming to pick you up.

"Mind if I steal her away for a little?" Luke asked as he smiled at your little sister. She just sighed.

"Fine, bring her back at a reasonable time though. Last time you brought her home at 2AM half the cabin woke up." You and Luke started laughing.

"Annie you were the only one awake," you leaned forward and kissed the top of her head, "I'll be back soon to say goodbye." And the two of you were off.

Whenever the both of you had free time like this you two would head off to the strawberry fields. There aren't always many campers by the fields at once, so you and Luke would just grab and bunch and walk around through the forest before they noticed the missing strawberries. Most campers don't go there for the fear of monsters, but with Luke being the best sword fighter this camp has ever seen in years, you liked your odds. You guys decided to sit by where Percy had gotten claimed the day before, the sound of the ocean is just so calming.

"The Demeter kids really know what there doing with these strawberries," Luke groaned as he took a bite out of one of them.

"I think its in there job description," you both just chuckled and continued enjoying not just the strawberries but each others company. Not many opportunities for being alone lately. Then you remembered the look on Luke's face when Percy got claimed. Why wasn't he happy for him after all the time he spent helping him get claimed just the day before?

"Hey Luke, can I ask you something?" You yourself weren't sure if you should bring it up, but something in your gut was telling you too.

"Of course, you can ask me anything."

"Well, yesterday when Percy got claimed, how did you feel about it?"

"Hmm? I was happy for him, sucks he's gonna have to stay in that cabin all alone though. Why do you ask?"

"Yeah.. well I don't know when I turned to you, you just seemed kind of upset?"

"What? Why would I be upset?" Luke started smiling like you were crazy. Hey, maybe you were just seeing things.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just going crazy. Oh what would my mother think of her legacy losing her marbles," you giggled to yourself and turned to Luke, he was laughing but it felt like the mention of your mom hit a nerve. He knows she isn't his biggest fan so that's probably it. You both moved on and continued like normally till the lunch bell went off, which was your sign to start heading back. You both split up and sat at your cabins table with this rest of your siblings.

"Hey Annie," you greeted as you sat in the seat next Annabeth.

"Hey your back," she smiled. "I'm leaving after lunch."

"Better make this lunch count, you're probably not gonna have so many good ones out on the road," you joked. You're not really joking though. You remember back on the times when you and Luke were on the road with barely enough to eat, not fun times. You stopped thinking about it and continued to send your last moments with your dear sister before she goes off her on her dangerous quest. Please gods, mom, let her come back safe. You both finished up and walked over to your cabin and helped her finish packing up.

"I gotta go pick up Percy now."

"I'm coming with you? I'm spending all the time I can with you before Percy and Grover take you away from meee." Annabeth just rolled her eyes at you (you could still see her smile though) as you both walked over to the Poseidon cabin. When you walked in you saw Luke talking with Percy. He was giving him something.

"Hey Percy, watchu got there?" You asked as you leaned on the door frame.

"Some.. converse? Pretty cool.." He looked to Luke to see if he got it right, you just smiled knowing what the shoes really were.

"Maia," Luke said, and the shoes grew some wings.

"Yup, pretty cool shoes." Luke smirked and the two boys stood up and started walking toward the door. Percy stood next to Annabeth and you leaned in and gave them both a hug.

"Come back safe you two," you looked Percy up and down, "no funny business either."

"Haha very funny, we're not like you and Luke," Annabeth rolled her eyes, AGAIN.

"Roll your eyes at me again and they'll get stuck like that." Percy decided to stay silent, which you thought was funny. And just like that, they were off.

You pretended to wipe a tear from your eye, "They grow up so fast," You turned to Luke who was smiling down at you. You couldn't help yourself and just threw your arms around him and kissed him.

As you days went on, you still had that nagging feeling in your gut that something was off. But this time you just decided to ignore it. Questioning Luke got you no where so maybe you were just overthinking it.

The night before the trio was supposed to return, you were instantly pulled into a dream. You were standing back in the spot that you and Luke went to regularly by the water. Except it wasn't any normal dream, it was a demigod dream. And how did you know? You were currently standing next to your mother, Athena.

"Hey mom." You waved, she just nodded back.

"Hello Y/N."

"Soo.. what's up?" Normally you wouldn't be shocked of her appearing in a dream, but this time she had an extra amount of seriousness clouding her features as she continued to stare at the ocean.

"That Luke of yours, he seems off doesn't he?" You wanted to deny it, but you knew she was right. You couldn't help but just nod. "You get your instincts from me you know. I'd take it as disrespect for you to not trust them."

"But mom, I don't even know what it is that's bothering me. What am I supposed to do? Question him from a look I'm not even sure was on his face?"

"If you're not sure, why's it still bothering you?" You went silent, she was right. Mother knows best.

"You've never liked him, is that it?" You accused.

"Excuse me but this isn't a matter of me liking your little boyfriend, it's a matter of whats at stake right now. You saw the look on his face when that forbidden kid was revealed. And what was with that gift, hmm?" Athena was saying so much yet so little at the same time. This is one of the few times you've felt so useless, and it just had to be in front of your mother.

"I-" You looked down at your feet, ".. mom can't you just give me a clue, just once can you help me out here."

"You know us gods can't interfere," she stared daggers at you, and you started getting nervous, more than you already were at least. "I know you're smarter than this" It suddenly dawned on you what she was accusing Luke of, but you know he wouldn't do that, right?

You looked back at her, "He wouldn't."

"You really believe that?" You faltered for a moment.

"Of.. of course I do." Your mom just closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I thought you were smarted than this. I can't believe this boy has left you so blind." And with that, Athena and the setting around you started to disappear. You tried reaching out, trying to say that you are smart, but everything went black.

You shot up from your bed in a cold sweat, you were panting heavily. You turned over to check your alarm.

[6AM]

You looked around to see everyone still asleep. You knew you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep so you just went to go take a shower, wash off all the sweat and think. When you hopped in you just stood there under the water. You couldn't shake the conversation you had with your mother. Luke hadn't left you blind. You've known him for years, you knew him better than anyone. Especially better than Athena.

You got out and got ready for the day. This was the day Annabeth, Percy, and Grover were supposed to return. You tried to think on that instead, the positive. You hoped it was positive at least. It was now around 7:30AM, yes you took that long getting ready, what about it? You had a lot of thinking to do in the shower, and cool enough this was also the time Luke wakes up. You made your way to the Hermes cabin, watching the early birds, or Apollo cabin, sit around making haikus (every now and then they'd make a good one).

You snuck your way into the Hermes cabin, seeing everyone was still asleep. You tip-toed over to your boyfriends bed and kneeled down beside his bed, faces leveled together.

"Hey," you started to softly shake him awake, "Luke wake up." You made sure to whisper so no one around would also wake up. Luke started to stir awake. He softly groaned and rubbed his eyes before opening then. "Hey there gorgeous," you winked.

He chuckled and whispered back, "Hey beautiful." Morning voice is actually so hot. Luke sat up and pulled you up and into bed with him. You tried not giggle too loud as you snuggled closer to him. You were so close you were breathing in his scent. And there it was again, your gut feeling telling you something was wrong. After that conversation with your mom the feeling just got even worse.

"Luke," you laid on you stomach directly next to Luke, who was laying on his back, "aren't you excited? Percy, Annabeth and Grover come back today." You smiled, and so did Luke, but his smile didn't reach his eyes the way they normally do. What's up with him?

"Yup, excited to see them again." Morning voice didn't sound as hot when he didn't sound that happy to see them as he said he was.

"You don't sound that excited."

"What?"

"Luke are you hiding something?" He shifted for a split second, like he wasn't expecting such a question.

"From you? No, never." You felt uneasy, but what could you even do at this point. You can't go ballistic over an instinct.

"Fine, but you should really brush your teeth."

"You woke me up?"

You just laughed and got up from Luke's bed as he left to go get ready, and brush his teeth from that deadly breathe of his. When he walked out the bathroom in his classic orange camp Half-Blood t-shirt, you knew it was time to head out for breakfast.

As the day went on, you were anticipating the arrival of your fellow campers, mostly your sister. You loved her dearly and missed having her around. Despite her being a few years younger, she was one of your best friends. And finally she was back, and without hesitation you ran up to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Annie, you're safe!" You hugged her tightly as you both swung side to side.

"You crushing me," She groaned and you pulled away holding by the shoulders.

"You survived the underworld, you can survive my hugs." You looked around then noticed something. "Wait, where's Percy?" Annabeth looked a little worried.

"We found the master bolt despite it being past deadline. Percy went to give it back alone."

"Kids ballsy," you scoffed. "Or he has a massive death wish." Annabeth laughed softly but you could tell she was nervous. "Hey you guys made it this far, he'll be fine." She just nodded and looked up and you.

"So, wanna hear about the quest?"

"Uh, duh? And don't think mom didn't tell me about the tunnel of love." Annabeth tried looking at you with her intimidating face that read 'shut up or else' but it doesn't work out very well when she's blushing. "She said and I quote 'get your sister away from that reckless water boy'," you quoted while waving around your finger, Annabeth just groaned loudly and walked off with you laughing as you followed behind her.

Annabeth started explaining the story. Clarisse was the lightning thief? Ares covering for her would make sense but you don't know, something didn't add up.

"Yeah we called Chiron but Luke answered, he said he'd tell Chiron about it." Why didn't you know about this? And you knew Chiron definitely didn't either, so what the hell? You were cut from your thoughts when you heard cheering outside. You and Annabeth ran outside and saw Percy walking back to camp. You turned and saw Annabeth eyes go wide and run up to Percy, you saw her whisper something but didn't think much of it and went over to Luke, who was also watching the scene.

"Isn't it cool he made it back" You asked Luke.

"Amazing." Percy and Annabeth were now walking by you two, gesturing for you to follow them, which you did. As you looked over to Luke.

"Why didn't you tell me the Lightning thief was Clarisse." He swallowed.

"Oh, just slipped my mind." And he flashed you that smile of his, it doesn't looked as genuine any more. And now you four were standing in an empty Hermes cabin conspiring. You just zoned out of the conversation. Mom, please, this is the first time I wished you were wrong. Don't hold it against me.

Luke disappeared for a little bit, and to our understanding it was to inform Chiron of who the thief really was. Then, he disappeared with Percy into the woods. You were a little nervous, Luke made a new sword, Backbiter, made of both celestial bronze and steel. Hopefully there sparring would be fine.

Oh how wrong you were.

While alone in your cabin, you were organizing the mess of books when you saw Luke rushing through the doors.

"Luke are you okay, why the rush?"

"We need to talk." You were confused, but weirdly felt sweat a single drop of sweat fall from the back of your neck.

"Of course, whats up?" You said as you slid the last book onto the bookshelf and turned toward Luke.

"Remember our quest together, all that darkness and the monsters growing stronger. Don't you think all this is useless. How we're just pawns for the gods in this silly game they should've been over thrown from years ago-" Luke was rambling.

"Luke.. slow down. What are you saying? What do you mean over thrown?"

"I mean, the only reason their still around is for us, and even then they still don't treat us with the respect we deserve."

"Luke, that's our parents you're talking about. They're trying their best."

“That’s supposed to make me love them? They're killing the world and don't even seem to care. We need to start over, that's what he's been telling me in my dreams."

"Luke, what the hell are you talking about, whose 'he?'"

"Kronos." Your eyes widened, you couldn't believe what you were hearing. this couldn't be true.

"Luke, he's brainwashing you."

"No he's not. He's opening my eyes to the truth. In all the time I've been here, my dad sent me on one quest, a quest that's already been done. And I come back with this!" He angrily pointed at the scar on his face. "And all I got was pity. That's when he started speaking to me. That's where I got the ideas."

Your mouth went dry and your knees started to wobble, you couldn't believe what you were hearing. "You.. you stole the master bolt and Hades' helm, didn't you."

"And it was so easy, the gods are so full of themselves they wouldn't ever believe that someone would steal from them. And ares wouldn't have been easier to turn on my side." You didn't even recognize the man standing in front of you anymore.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Well, I can't continue keeping secrets from my dear girlfriend. I'm here to take you with me. Your beautiful brain is the last piece I need."

You wanted to cry. The thought was tempting. You saw how kids got ignored, how the unclaimed flooded the Hermes cabin, how most kids never hear from their parents, and how kids of minor gods don't even have cabins. You loved Luke with all your heart, you didn't want to leave him. You knew your choice.

"Luke, this is wrong. You have to know you can't just over throw the gods. They are your family."

"You're the brainwashed one here Y/N, you have to be if you can't see I'm right." He turned for the door, but you caught his wrist.

"You can't start a war like this. So many people will lose their lives." You were pleading with him. He turned to face you.

"It's the only way the gods notice, I have to go now. Last chance, are you coming with me or not." Tears were threatening to escape your eyes.

"You know I can't. I can't betray my mother." Tears were falling from your eyes, and you saw one fall from Luke's as well. He leaned and kissed you deeply and pulled away.

"Then this is goodbye." He rushed out your cabin and left you in tears. That was the last kiss you'd ever have with him. He was so gone and you didn't think you could bring him back. And that's when Annabeth came running and yelling.

"Percy's in the infirmary close to death, hurry!"

And so you wiped your tears and hurried. And there he was, a greenish grayish color with a lump on his hand.

"What the hell happened to him?" You asked worriedly.

"Looks like a pit scorpion bite, we won't know more till he wakes up." Chiron said.

Annabeth turned over to Chiron, "So did you interrogate Clarisse?"

"And why would I do that?" Chiron asked.

"What are you talking about, didn't Luke tell you she's the lightning thief?" Annabeth said.

"No he didn't," they both turned to you, looking more confused than ever. "He didn't snitch on Clarisse because it wasn't her. Luke's working for Kronos." You voice was cracking and Annabeth and Chiron both exchanged looks of worry.

"Here we are again." Percy said. Annabeth turned around and called him an idiot, ah. Young love. You feel bitter now but whatever.

"Percy. Explain everything now." And he did. He explained Luke's plan, the same one he explained to you, and how he said Percy couldn't be there and had the pit scorpion sting him. You then explained how he tried to recruit you and was now gone to who knows where. It went silent.

"I need to be alone." You excused yourself and went running to your cabin. The second you made it to your ned you collapsed and you immediately sobbing. This was Luke, your Luke, and now suddenly he was working with Kronos?? You just couldn't believe it.

As weeks went on, you became worse. You can never bring yourself to leave your bed unless absolutely necessary. Your friends and family around you started getting worried, they tried so much but nothing seems to work. At camp, you were the sweet older sister people came to for advice, now you were the girl who could barely say three or more words at a time. It got harder when Annabeth left, normally when she's gone the head counselor job would be handed to you. Of course, now that can't happen in your state. You're losing sleep and couldn't be bothered to make your self look presentable.

After about three months, you put yourself to sleep and you were pulled right back into a dream. You were standing in your special spot with Luke, and how bad you wanted to wake up but you couldn't. It was your mother who brought you back here.

"He's never coming back you know." You could barely cry, your eyes were dry. You stood there without saying anything. "I knew I never trusted him."

"Yeah because you always have to be right about everything don't you?"

"You better watch how you speak to me." Athena glared down at you, normally you'd be scared but you couldn't care less right now.

"Why, whats the point? Why are you even here? To what, rub it in my face that you were right about Luke?"

"I'm here to talk some sense into you. You're a daughter of Athena, you should be thinking with your brain, not your emotions. Yet that's the problem, you're not thinking clearly. Your ruining yourself over some guy."

"Mom," your voice was cracking. "please."

"Please what? You're grown enough to know right from wrong. Luke was just a man, nothing more nothing less." And somehow, some tears started to flow.

"No he wasn't," your voice was barely higher than a whisper.

"Speak up, you know how I feel about mumbling."

"He was more than just a man, mother," you were just barely yelling.

"Oh really, what are you saying to me? That a man who can so easily betray the gods and everything you stand for is the man for you? The love of your life? The man you would've married and had a family with?" Athena's words dripped with condescension, and it made your blood boil.

"You know what, yeah. He is, or was, or whatever. And I don't care what you have to say about it. Any future advice you have? Keep it." You were now yelling.

"Watch yourself, you might regret this. No daughter of mine will speak to me like this."

"No mother treats her daughter like her emotions don't matter, you just see me as another pawn to do your bidding. Get me out of this stupid fucking dream. NOW!" You demanded.

Athena looked at you with a face you couldn't decipher, before letting you go. The dream went black and you shot up awake just like the last time. Athena opened your eyes, just not in the way she hoped. What you knew? She didn't care about your emotions, just your ability to carry out her duties. Luke was right, and it pained you. You didn't know what to do, or who to stand with anymore.

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #percy jackson pjo #percy pjo #percy series #annabeth chase #luke castellan #luke castellan pjo #luke pjo #luke castellan angst #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x y/n

[zepskies]

Strong as Blood - Part 2

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x F. Reader

Summary: After you accidentally break through a solid wood table, you know there’s something wrong with you. You begin to have your suspicions, but can you keep it from Ben long enough to find out? 

(In other words: This is the story of how you and Ben discover that you’re pregnant.)

AN: Did you like Part 1? Well, here's Part 2! This two-part fic can be read as stand-alone, but it’s really a bonus sequel to Break Me Down!

(Also, for those of you in the medical field…try to suspend your disbelief on this one. 😅)

Word Count: 6,200

Tags/Warnings: Angst, hurt/comfort, fluff overload.

To find the chronological reading order for the series, check out the series masterlist. ⤵️

💚 Break Me Down

Part 2: “One Year, Forty, and a Hundred”

About a week later, you and Ben told your family the good news.

Your mom, Marie, took Ben’s face in her hands and pressed a delighted motherly kiss on his cheek, and then his forehead.

He very narrowly tolerated it with his usual gruffness, but you knew better. You saw the fond glint well hidden in his eyes, even after Marie released him.

It hadn’t taken her long after meeting Ben to start treating him like a son; always asking about his missions with Supe Affairs, praising a job well done when he had a successful report, and offering a supportive word even when they didn’t quite go his way.

Ben maintained his usual stoic bravado, but you knew he secretly ate up the praise, along with Marie’s genuine, nurturing nature.

Every time you saw your mother, she would give you baked goods in tupperware—for both of you, she claimed. But you noticed they were most often his favorites. You had a feeling she’d won him over early on with her macadamia nut brownies. (She still couldn’t cook worth a damn either, but she’d been taking a baking class.)

So Ben continued to help her do the dishes, even though she insisted he was a guest in her home. He claimed he was doing it so you wouldn’t jump in yourself.

And now we’re family, you had pointed out. Then Ben gifted you with one of those smiles, subtle and pleased, just for you.

You felt somewhat lazy, just sitting at the kitchen table with your sister Luisa. She sat close to you with her arm looped around yours, and she rubbed your lower back, which you now realized had been aching more often. For God’s sake, you hadn’t even realized you were late on your period.

I need to take some time off work, even before this kid gets here, you mused.

Realistically though, you should’ve expected this might happen. You hadn’t ever gotten around to replacing your IUD after you’d gotten it removed a few months ago. And God knew, Ben didn’t know how to pull out. (And he certainly didn’t buy condoms.)

“What’re you hoping for, a boy or a girl?” Louisa asked you and Ben, disrupting the path of your thoughts. You turned to your sister thoughtfully.

She still had her reservations about him, but she seemed to be warming up to your boyfriend a bit more after you told her the news. Especially after Ben had explained one of his plans over dinner.

His first thought was to hire Frank and Loco back as your personal security throughout your pregnancy, and likely even afterwards.

It was a rare time when you didn’t argue with him; the idea made sense, especially if you were going to continue working in Surveillance at Supe Affairs until you went on maternity leave. And, it would just be great to see them again. Frank had already agreed to start on Monday, after giving his polite congratulations.

(You and Ben each got a package in the mail yesterday: a box of bonafide Cuban cigars for him, a maternity body pillow for you, and a hand-crafted toy box for the baby. Inside had been a white noise sound machine to help the baby sleep.)

But now, Ben brightened at Louisa’s question. He crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter.

“A son,” he replied. How brow rose, as if the answer was obvious. “I’ll be able to bring him up right. Strong. Not like these beanie-wearing pantywaists running the fucking Starbucks.”

“Ben,” you warned. He crossed his arms at you, quite literally standing firm on his stance. But your mother just smiled and pat his arm.

“It’s okay, honey,” she said. “I understand what you mean.”

You raised an incredulous brow.

Oh sure, you thought. She didn’t mind salty language when it was Ben, but God forbid you or Luisa bang a toe in your mother’s presence. Nor did it surprise you that she was agreeing with him.

But then Marie turned to him more earnestly.

“The way you take care of my daughter, I have no doubt you’ll make an excellent father,” she told him.

Ben treated her with a charming smile that showed touches of warmth.

Damn, you thought, as you felt the telltale burn of tears in your eyes. But it wasn’t just about what Marie had said. You had hoped for this one day, but it seemed he was finally making room for your family in his heart too.

“Football. A man’s game,” Ben continued. “I’ll teach him, take him fishing. Everything my old man didn’t bother with, I’ll do it all. Bring him up right…”

As your boyfriend chatted away with your mom, you hid a tendril of worry. You wondered what would happen if the baby turned out to be a girl.

With a glance at your sister, her subtle, raised brows told you she was thinking along the same lines. You sighed and got up; once again, it was time to pee.

Louisa followed you into the hall and laid a hand on your back.

“Hey,” she said. “You know how much I care about you, right?”

“And where’s this going?” you quipped. But you turned around and gave your little sister a half-smile. You knew what she was about to say.

“So what are you going to do about that?” she asked, gesturing to your man in the kitchen. “Mr. Macho wants his prized stud. What happens if he doesn’t get him?”

You sighed. “Ben’s wanted this for a long time. He’s got an idea in his head of what it’s going to be like, and…we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Louisa’s lips pursed, like she wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer.

“And what about you?” she asked. “How do you feel about this?”

You blinked back at her in slight surprise, but then your expression melted into a soft smile.

“I’m happy, Lou,” you said. Tears welled up in your eyes, yet again. “I’m really happy.” 

Louisa relented then, squeezing your hand. “Good…then good. I’m happy for you too.”

And that was really all you wanted.

“What? You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Ben said, peering harder at the ultrasound. The kind OBGYN faltered, though she again tried to point out that what he was looking at was actually a small foot.

“Congratulations,” she told you both. “She’s the right size for twelve weeks of development. And look there, you can even see the umbilical cord—”

“You sure this thing isn’t on the fritz?” Ben asked, bumping the ultrasound monitor with his hand.

“Ben.” You looked over at him with a glare. “Are you serious right now?”

He looked back over at you, and you saw his stubbornness in his frown and knitted brows.

“I’m just saying—” he started, but you didn’t let him get that far.

“You heard the freakin’ doctor. We’re having a girl,” you snapped. “I’m the one who has the transvaginal probe shoved up inside me, so shut the fuck up!”

Ben’s jaw worked as he barely held himself from barking back at you. It wouldn’t be the first time you levied your smart mouth at him, but it wasn’t often that you disrespected him.

“Excuse me?” he still groused.

His anger got waylaid though. He watched you heave a sigh and blink quickly, so you wouldn’t release the well of frustrated tears building behind your eyes.

The doctor looked between you both warily. You turned to her with watery eyes, and you sniffed to keep your emotions at bay.

“Continue, please.”

When the appointment with the OBGYN was done, you didn’t let Ben help you down from the examining table. Nor did you let him touch you, all the way to the car.

An hour later, you both made it back to the apartment you shared in Scarsdale. You stomped up the stairs ahead of him and beelined into the bedroom. You had half a mind to slam the door in his face, but you didn’t have the energy to be that petty.

Frankly, you were exhausted with a tinge of nausea. But you didn’t know if that was pregnancy sickness, or if you were just that anxious.

You sat down on your side of the bed, and you sighed when you heard Ben’s heavy footsteps enter in behind you.

“All right, that could’ve gone better,” he said. “But look at it from my point of view—”

That nearly unhinged you. Your stomach roiled, but you got to your feet and turned around to face him where he stood by the foot of the bed, arms crossed.

“It’s not all about you,” you shot back. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m the one carrying this baby. I’m not just a human incubator.”

“I fucking know that,” he retorted, but you raised a hand to silence him.

“And you’re not the only one who’s wanted this,” you said. Against your will, your eyes once again burned with tears as you held yourself. “You know very well what I’ve…that I didn’t have a normal family growing up.”

Ben quieted. His irritation softened around the edges, especially as your voice trembled.

“Don’t you know what it’s going to mean to me to give our child what I didn’t have?” you asked. “Stability, support, and…and love, from both parents?”

Tears slipped down your cheeks. And when he didn’t seem to have anything to say to you, you shook your head and walked away.

Ben let out a heavy breath. He followed you and stopped you in the living room. “Listen—”

“No, you listen,” you snapped, whirling around on him. “I would’ve been content no matter if it was a boy or a girl, and you ruined that today. You really did.”

His gaze briefly fell to the floor, before it met yours again.

“But even with that, I’m still happy,” you said, as your vision became blurry and wet. “I’m so damn happy…and so scared.”

When you finally broke down crying, Ben got a full picture of just how badly he’d fucked this up. He collected you in his arms and guided you to sit with him on the couch. There he held you as you clung to him and wept into his neck.

The longer it went on, the more he felt like an asshole—with the kind of uncomfortable, gut-churning remorse that only you tended to draw from him.

Ben hesitated, but he knew you deserved to hear him say it. (And you probably wouldn’t let this go until he did.)

“Okay, sweetheart, calm down,” he rumbled in your ear. Along with, "…I’m sorry."

The weight of that fell between you for a moment. You nodded, with a sniff, and he slowly rubbed your back.

“You don’t need to be scared,” he said. “My blood’s making you nice and strong.”

Well, technically it was the baby’s blood, and the super genes they held. You shook your head against his neck.

“That’s not it,” you said. “I mean, that’s part of it, I guess. Dr. Baker didn’t do a great job of reassuring me, but she did say that if the strength lasts throughout the birth, she didn’t expect serious complications.”

Fuck. Ben’s hand tightened in your hair. That...was a thought he hadn't considered. It now made his stomach clench, though he remained silent.

He wished you would’ve taken him with you to see Dr. Baker, but he guessed he couldn’t begrudge you for your worries. He knew he'd be having his own talk with the good doctor soon enough.

“I love my mom. She did her best, you know? But I…I’ve had to take care of myself for most of my life,” you explained, with a hand fisted tight in his shirt. “What the hell do I know about being a mom?”

Ben considered that with a frown. He pulled back enough to see your face, tucking his curled fingers beneath your chin so you’d look at him.

“You looked after your sister, didn’t you?” he reminded. “Made sure she was safe, and grew up right. Now you take care of me, like I take care of you… And you got no problem calling me out on my bullshit.”

That got a slight smile out of you. He brushed away another one of your tears with his thumb.

“You’re gonna be great, sweetheart. I never had any doubts about that,” he said, “The truth is, I couldn’t wait to fuck you raw to make this happen.”

You spluttered a laugh then, even though you were still weeping.

“Yeah, I know,” you said with a wry smile, stroking his bearded cheek. You leaned up and kissed the other cheek. He turned his head and went for your lips. The kiss was slow and tender while he held you where you always felt safe.

Ben grasped the hand on his cheek…and an idea flickered through his mind.

He parted from you, only to say, “Wait here.”

Your brows furrowed, and you blinked through wet lashes. “What?”

“Just stay put for me,” he said.

But he didn’t tell you what he was up to as he left you on the couch to duck into the bedroom. You took the time to wipe at your eyes and take some deep, calming breaths.

Ben came back soon after, seemingly empty-handed as he sat down next to you. You gave him a curious look.

He slipped a hand into his pocket. “Just for the record, I’ve had this for a while.”

And he pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket. You let out a shaky breath of surprise. The ring he pulled out wasn’t a flashy, gaudy thing like you half-expected. It actually looked delicate, and vintage, pale gold with filigree around the hexagonal stone. It glittered, even in the dim lamplight. 

“Where’d you find that?” you asked. But somehow, looking into his eyes, you knew what this was. 

“Besides those old pictures, the only thing I’ve got left of my mother is right here,” he said, holding up the ring for you. More burgeoning tears fell down your cheeks as your heart constricted. 

“Marry me,” he said, rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand. 

Despite yourself, a smile raised the corner of your mouth. “Hmm, I don’t know. Is that a question?”

Ben released a breath. Reluctantly, he smirked.

“Fucking figures that you’d make this difficult,” he said.

“You’re the one who fumbled at the goal line, Romeo,” you replied cheekily.

You then gestured at the ground in front of you. He raised a brow.

But, he obliged your demands, making a show of sliding from the couch, down to the ground. He parted your jean-clad knees so he could move in between them. He knelt one knee on the hard wood, and once again took your hand.

Ben somehow hesitated on the question, even though you both were hanging on his words. With your free hand, you smoothed his hair away from his eyes, subtly encouraging him. 

“If I had to go back, do it all over again,” he said, “I wouldn’t have done a damn thing different.”

You frowned at him. “Really?”

“That’s right,” he said. “Because I’m right where I want to be.”

You teared up all over again when you realized what he was really saying. You laid a hand on his chest, where his fiercest power resided. He squeezed the hand he held. 

“So what’s it gonna be, sweetheart. Will you marry me?” Ben asked. His smirk was almost boyish, despite his age. And yet, it was so very him.

You reached out with your free hand and slid your fingers through his hair, resting it at the back of his neck.  

“Yeah,” you agreed, with a beaming smile. “Let’s do it.”

He slipped the ring on your finger, where it fit well. And it was now the most beautiful thing you owned, not only for its shining beauty.

You pulled him in for a kiss. His hands burned up your thighs, squeezing your hips. But again, he hesitated. His lips pulled away from yours as his hand moved to brush your belly. It was already brimming with life. He’d seen the images, heard the heartbeat.  

“Thank you,” Ben said. His voice was deep and gruff.

You smiled. With a nod, you held him to you, laying a sweet path of kisses from his cheek, down to his neck.

“I love you,” you said.

He just nodded in response. His throat was tight at the moment. But you wouldn’t let him get off that easy.

“Say it,” you jostled him in your arms. “I’m only growing a super melon for you.” 

It earned you an amused look from him. 

“I love you too,” he said. His voice was a bit coarse, and laden with rare emotion. You pulled him into a stronger hug, which soon became him dragging you into his lap when he raised himself up onto to the couch. You took his face in your hands. 

“See? We made it here,” you teased. You knew he remembered the conversation you two had a few months ago, about waiting a little while to take this next step in your relationship. To have a family.  

“Soon. Not someday,” he’d told you. And you’d agreed.

You reminded him of it now while you stroked his face. “I promised you, didn’t I?”

He snorted at that. “You sure took your fucking time with that one, huh?”

“Excuse me?” you retorted.

Ben pulled you into a kiss before you could truly get going. Arguing with him was one of the things you did best.

But what you two ended up doing on the couch was second to none.  

A few months later…

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ben said. His tone was edged, his brows crunching. “What kind of development?”

You curled a hand around his wrist, shooting him a calming look before you returned your attention to Dr. Baker.

“What do you mean, Tonya?” you asked. Your other hand continued to rest over your belly.

At the seven-month mark of your pregnancy, you felt like you were beginning to resemble a parade float as you sat on the medical examining table in the doctor’s office. But you were grateful for Ben’s warm hand spanning the small of your back. It gave you stability as a coil of anxiety began to bloom in your chest.

Dr. Baker reviewed her charts once more. You didn’t like that gleam of scientific interest in her eye while she perused the data, then looked up at you and Ben from her narrow-framed glasses.

“Not with the baby. She’s doing very well,” she said.

That gave you a measure of immense relief.

“The development concerns you,” she clarified, meeting your gaze. “As you know, we’ve been monitoring you very closely.”

You nodded. The weekly checkups and monthly blood panels served to both soothe and increase your anxiety, but you knew that it made Ben feel better, that you were being taken care of in this aspect of your pregnancy.

To government knowledge, no one other than Becca Butcher had ever gone through a pregnancy of this nature. And Homelander had been created in a lab. This was breaking somewhat new ground (which was only in the top five of “things that made you nervous.”)

“I found something…interesting in your bloodwork,” said Dr. Baker. She pulled out two charts from her files and clipped them onto her whiteboard for you and Ben to see. They looked virtually the same, with one graph’s red bars slightly lower than the first.

“What’s that?” Ben asked.

“It’s your wife’s cell regeneration levels,” the doctor replied, pointing to the second graph. “Hers have become almost as high as yours.”

She pointed to the first graph for comparison. You leaned in closer to see as your eyes widened. With the weight of your belly making you off balance, you nearly slid off the examining table. Ben noticed and caught you quick. His arms came around you, though as the news donned on him, his face slid into shock.

“What?” he uttered.

“That’s got to be because of the baby,” you reasoned. “Is it…just temporary? Like the super strength.”

Even that was somewhat intermittent. Some days, you felt your aches and pains and experienced morning sickness and food aversions, like any other pregnant woman. On others, you were able to lift one side of the couch one-handed and vacuum up the dust bunnies underneath it.

“I believe that blood transfusion, as well as your pregnancy greatly accelerated the effects, but no, this isn’t an isolated incident.” Dr. Baker shook her head. “Your DNA has mutated.”

“Are you serious?” you nearly choked out. She nodded. Dr. Baker never joked.

“By my calculations, this process started before you conceived. Over the course of the past year, or more,” she explained. “Do you understand what this means?”

“Y-Yes, I think so,” you said. Your hand squeezed over Ben’s; it was the hand that carried the weight of your gold wedding bands. A lump of emotion rose in your throat. “It means…I’m going to heal from injuries quicker than normal. And…I’m not going to age like a normal person.”

“That’s likely correct,” she replied.  

That news fell in the room like a stone. You shared a wide-eyed look with Ben. Neither of you knew quite what to think just yet. Even though he was trying to maintain an even-keel expression, you could see his eyes were beginning to brighten with hope. Yours were too…though you were still confused.

“How the hell is this possible?” you asked. “I mean, Ben gave me his blood for a transfusion. But like you said, that was one time, two years ago now. And you said the pregnancy accelerated this, but that’s not how it started…”

Dr. Baker actually smiled. You didn’t like the wry turn of her lips. She crossed her legs where she sat at her desk and tapped her clipboard with her pen.

“How often would you say you two have sex?” she asked.

That was certainly not where you thought this conversation was going. You couldn’t help but blush.

“How is that even remotely relevant?” you asked.

You glanced at your husband, who merely gave you one of his smug smirks, while his thumb stroked your side. Fucking typical. 

“Once a week?” the doctor prompted.

Your face heated up further, and you had to cover your mouth with a hand. Your sex life wasn’t quite as…vivacious as it had been since before you’d gotten pregnant, but it was still a good one, even with your growing size. Ben was nothing if not creative.  

And you were still newlyweds, after all.

“Assume we’re doing a healthy amount of fucking, doc,” Ben remarked.

You gasped and hit his thigh, and finally covered your whole face in thorough embarrassment. He just smirked and took your hand so you couldn’t hide. It amused him that you still got like this.

He then pressed a kiss to the back of your fingers.

You sighed and held his hand back. I chose this man. Remember that.

“Again, what does that have to with this?” you asked, your voice a bit higher.

Dr. Baker’s lips flickered at another one of those smiles. “Well, how often did you use condoms over the past two years?”

You and Ben both snorted in response.

“He’s morally opposed to them, doctor,” you said dryly.

She nodded. “I assumed as much.”

Once again, Ben smirked, but Dr. Baker plowed ahead.

“Let me explain it this way,” she said. “Think of how HIV spreads sexually. The infected DNA is transmitted, and it eventually hits the partner’s bloodstream, affecting the entire body. What we have here is a similar case…if for the fact that this was a gradual effect, over the course of several months.”

Ben blinked, and a frown also tugged down his brows.

“Are you saying that I gave her my superpowers…like an STD?” he asked.

Your eyes became as wide as saucers.

Holy shit! you thought, and another one occurred to you. If this all started from the first time you and Ben ever had sex…then that was over two years of being dosed with literal super sperm.

“Not quite,” Dr. Baker said to him. “Just the essence of what sets your DNA apart, even from other supes.”

“Right. Because how the hell hasn’t this happened to anyone else who’s normal?” you asked. “What makes Ben different?”

Dr. Baker finally set down her pen. She folded her hands in her lap to address you with a patience that you didn’t often see from her.

“Remember, the serum he received was still a prototype,” she said. “Vought continued to refine the recipe after the ‘Soldier Boy’ project was successful. For example, the way his cells regenerate is one of those factors that needed to be weeded out, if Compound V was to be a successful product in the long-term.”

You nodded slowly, as that made sense to you. If every supe suddenly lived over a hundred years, it would make it pretty hard to secretly inject that shit into newborns. They had to package it in a more insidious way.

“This is an unpredictable outcome of your exposure to his unique genetic makeup,” Dr. Baker continued, “and there may very well be more to come in the future.”

You weren’t sure how to take that potentially foreboding news, but on the other hand…

“Oh my God! I’m going to live to be a hundred,” you said, holding tighter onto Ben as shock began to make you tremble. His grip was firm and steadying in response. And yet, his face betrayed how he was trying to process this as well.

“Likely much longer than that,” Dr. Baker said, shocking you even further. And she reminded, “Your cells aren’t regenerating at quite the same rate as his…but it is close.”

Again, holy fucking shit.

You let out a halting breath, and you looked up at Ben, a smile growing across your face. You reached up a hand for his bearded cheek. He looked down on you with his usual stoicism, but it was merely a front. You saw through to the true emotions shining in his eyes.

“Well, looks like you’re stuck with me, baby,” you said, even as your own eyes stung with tears. Your heart felt full to the brim, and even overflowing. If this was what it took to be with your husband, then altering your genetics was a price you were willing to pay…at least in this way.

Though you gave him a more teasing smile. “You’re not gonna be able to welch out of that ‘til death do us part thing. So cancel the caravan of blow and strippers.”

Ben chuckled deeply. He held your hand and stroked the inside of your wrist. For a moment, he just looked down at your face. It had become a bit more rounded with your pregnancy—thighs and arms (and ass) thicker too. And to him, you were still perfectly his.  

“Fine by me. You’ve got something they don’t, anyway,” he said. He remembered the same words he’d said to you just a year ago, in the bed he still shared with you.

Your eyes gleamed with amusement, and so much more. You played along.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” you asked.

He smirked. “You’ve got a supe STD.”

Your eyes widened at his audacity, but you burst out laughing and hit his shoulder.

“Yeah, from you,” you quipped back. “I should’ve known you were carrying something.”

The two of you didn’t know it, but that was when Dr. Baker smiled to herself. She decided then to leave the room, giving you some privacy as Ben laughed and framed your face with his hands.

His thumbs brushed against your cheeks, catching stray tears as they fell. You bit your lip as your glassy eyes met his once more. Ben became more serious as he let out a sigh.

“It’s not gonna be easy,” he reminded you. “Your family, your friends…they’re going to change, and you’re going to stay the same.”

Your excitement dimmed as that realization hit you. Your hands clenched in his shirt, over his chest. You thought about your mom, your sister, Yvette and Devon, Annie and Hughie and the rest of the team (even Butcher, you would miss).

“Yeah…that part’s not gonna be fun,” you said with a heavy, tremulous sigh. Your heart clenched at the very thought of them growing old, leaving you behind.

But your gaze eventually drew back up to him. You wondered then, not for the first time, how it must’ve been for him. For his parents to grow old and pass on long before him. For childhood friends, old lovers…

“Do you know what I worried about when we got married?” you asked.

Ben’s hands traveled down from your face, down your arms, to finally rest at your waist and thigh. He stared back at you expectantly.

“When you first told me you loved me, you said you were holding back the truth. Because you thought that one day, you’d be alone again,” you said, stroking his chest. “That honestly broke my heart. And it made me wonder if I was selfish to be with you anyway.”

Ben frowned, but you shook your head before he could respond.

“I told myself that after the baby was born, I’d go to Dr. Baker and ask her to find a way to make this happen,” you said. Another smile grew across your face. “But guess what? We figured it out all on our own, super stud.”

Ben smiled then, huffing in amusement as he thumbed at your cheek. You couldn’t really understand the full force of his relief. It might’ve threatened to buckle him into a seat, if he had been standing.

But now, he struggled with the warmth in his chest that for once, had nothing to do with his powers. He moved in to tug you into his arms, and he let out a long breath through his nose.

You couldn’t see how his eyes closed, but you felt his lips press against your forehead. You held him close. Or as closely as you could with your belly getting in between.

You rubbed his back and rested against his chest, hearing the calming, steady sound of his heart beating under your ear.  

“And at this rate, I might even live longer than you,” you teased. “After all, you got a head start. Compared to you, I’m still a hot young thing.”

Ben snorted and shook his head. “All right. Now you’re pushing it.”

You smirked into his chest.

“I’ll have to figure out where you rent those caravans.”

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered. At the sound of your giggle, he couldn’t help but smile.

He still swatted you on the ass though.

A couple more months later…

He smelled like cigar smoke. For which you had no doubt, Ben had been puffing away with Frank and M.M. outside the hospital. 

The team of doctors (led by Dr. Baker) had finally left you alone with your husband, allowing you to take your first relaxed breath of the day.

“Your mom and your sister are waiting. Blondie and the others are out there too,” he said quietly, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “My girl’s got a whole possy of bitches.” 

You assumed he meant Annie and the rest of the team.

You shot him a look, but you were careful not to disturb the sleeping newborn resting on your chest, in the crook of your arm.  

“They’re my friends, babe,” you whispered. “And they’re your friends now too, you just don’t want to admit it.”

Ben didn’t acknowledge that, but he laid a hand on your shoulder as he sat down on the edge of your hospital bed.

“How’re you doin’, sweetheart?” he asked. “Got everything you need?”

He’d become even more protective, but also very sweet to you in these past several months. More so than you’d thought him capable of, but it warmed you every time, when you considered how rough, how stoic, and how damn-near emotionally repressed he was not so very long ago.

It seemed that fatherhood was beginning to soften him, even before he began. You quirked a smile at the thought, and at his question.

“Imagine pushing a super melon out of your dick. That’s how I’m doing,” you said, tired but still cheeky as ever.

He snorted a bit loudly at that, and you shushed him, as if it wasn’t your fault he was laughing. He expected nothing less from you.

“But I’m okay,” you answered his second question. “All I need right now is you.”

Ben considered you for a moment, a slightly softer smile curving his lips, and he nodded.

“All right,” he said.

Your daughter woke and began to squirm in your arms, prompting Ben to look down at the bundle wrapped in a soft pink blanket. Gently as possible, he brushed the tuft of downy brown hair on her head. His hand shook ever so slightly, touching her small cheek. 

How can this little thing be mine? he wondered. His lips pressed into a firm line.

There was a thought, deep and thrumming inside him, that he didn’t deserve this. That just a couple of years ago, he had nothing to lose.

And now, his entire world was in this room. He’d never admit it, but it was a terrifying thought, for a man who’d had everything and nothing.

You unknowingly stopped the path of his thoughts when you raised a warm hand to his cheek. It earned his attention, and he grabbed your hand to keep it there.

You smiled up at Ben with weariness in your eyes. The super strength had drained out of you a few moments after the umbilical cord was cut, which had made for a less painful labor than you anticipated. But it had also been a long and uncomfortable eighteen hours.

“Wanna hold her for a while?” you asked.

The offer caught him off guard. His brows drew together, but he very carefully took his daughter from you, into his arms. Despite your temporary abilities throughout your pregnancy, he didn’t know if she already had his strength, or if it was something she’d grow into. Ben didn’t want to take any chances.

As he looked down at a small face that already had some of his features, he inhaled a faltering breath.

It was the first time you ever saw true tears in his eyes, as one managed to draw a path down his cheek. You smiled, and the pair of rings on your left hand caught the lamplight as you rested your hand on your chest.   

Ben held the bundle close in the crook of his arm. One of the baby’s hands was free, and he tickled his finger in her palm. She grasped it on reflex, opening her mouth on a yawn. Despite his red and shining eyes, he smiled, especially when she reached up for a strand of his hair with small, grabby fingers.

He let her get a hold of it, smirking when she gave it a little tug. Just hours old, and his girl was already demanding his attention. He didn’t know if newborns were able to do that this early, or if it was her blood that made her special.

Either way, he knew then that she was going to be a handful. Just like you. 

Ben glanced over and found you watching him with soft amusement. He looked back down at his daughter and told her the obvious.

“You know, you’re blessed to have my genes, baby girl,” he said. It elicited a knowing scoff out of you. However, his smirk softened. “But you’re also lucky as hell to have your mom.”

Ben looked back at you, and there was the predictable well of tears forming in your eyes.

“She’s the best damn woman you’re ever gonna meet,” he said.

He knew then that what he said to you before was right. If he had to go back to 1984, or even 1944, he’d do it all exactly the same.

It all worked out pretty damn well, from where he was standing.

AN: I’m not crying, you’re crying. 🥹😭

I sincerely hope you enjoyed Strong as Blood. I know I said I was going to be done with these two for a hot minute while I concentrate on Smoke Eater (Firefighter!Dean Winchester x Reader).

But now that we’re here, I have another one-shot idea I’d like to sketch out in the near future…

Would you guys want to read about their family dynamic? Maybe fast-forward a couple years to the “terrible twos” stage with their first child.

Along with some cameos from the Annie, Hughie, M.M. and the rest of the team. Maybe even Marie and Louisa, Grandpa George, and the insufferable Aunt Trina?

Let me know in the comments, or just what you thought of Part 2! 😘

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#Strong as Blood #Part 2 #soldier boy #soldier boy/ben x reader #soldier boy x reader #soldier boy x female reader #the boys #soldier boy/ben #soldier boy x you #fluff #BMD verse #Break me down verse #zepskies writes

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for getting my childhood best friend a new friendship bracelet even though he has a girlfriend?

Basically my mom and her best friend got pregnant within a year of each other. As a result me and Dylan were raised as siblings. Our families are super close, spend holidays together, we've gone on vacations together, and Dylan and I have always called each other brother and sister.

Dylan's been dating Maya for the better part of a year. Maya is nice, but clearly has some feelings on me and Dylan being as close as we are. We've both explicitly stated there have never been romantic or sexual vibes between us, and I have made the hard choice to pull away from Dylan quite a bit to give Maya more room.

(For example I stopped our weekly hang outs, only really hang out with Dylan in a group setting, we don't hang out on FT anymore, ect.)

Maya is generally polite, but there's been tension and a few pointed remarks over the months. I know the girl best friend is pretty much a pariah in boy/girl friendships, so I've tried to just be as unobtrusive and respectful as I can.

Onto the current problem: Dylan and I have always had friendship bracelets and a few matching items. For example we have matching photos and photo frames from the holiday to Greece when we were little, we both have matching hoodies from a concert we went to, and one or two other bits. Its not a lot, but I guess it would all fill a small box if you put it together.

Dylan's friendship bracelet broke last month and couldn't be fixed. He put it away in a keepsake box but was pretty bummed about no longer being able to wear it. It took the whole month of scouring secondhand sites and ebay but last week I actually found one and was able to get it for him as a replacement. I gave it to him when our families met for dinner on Tuesday and he was super happy. He put it on immediately and hasn't taken it off.

We all met as a group to hang out today and Maya seemed a little...Vaguely annoyed toward me? When you can just tell someone's got an issue with you, even if they're not outwardly acting any different.

But she came with me when I went to the bathroom (as girls do) and as we were washing our hands she told me she was really 'surprised' I got Dylan another bracelet. I wasn't really sure if she meant in general or that I was able to find the exact same one, so I asked what she meant and she said she didn't want to be 'that girlfriend' but when the bracelet broke she was internally relieved, because she thinks its kind of inappropriate that we wear matching bracelets and have a 'claim' over each other like that.

She said she's been thinking about the future a lot more recently and she doesn't want anything 'held back' or 'obstructed' by my obsession with Dylan and the 'premade family' we have.

I'll admit I got annoyed by that, and immediately asked if she'd have an issue with me if I was a guy. She said I know that's different, and then one of the other girls from the group came in to look for us because we'd been gone so long and we kind of had to put it on a shelf for the rest of the day.

She text me a bit ago saying 'think about what I said.' Internally, I want to tell her to get a grip on herself, but I also know that I'm the girl best friend, and pretty much anything I do from here on out is critical and could make me the asshole. I also didn't want to hurt her or cause problems for Dylan, I was just trying to replace part of our friendship that's always been there.

AITA for replacing it? I can't exactly stop wearing mine (he'll ask why) or tell him to stop wearing his (again, he'll ask why) but honestly I'm also unsure of what to do now. Maya's the only one who thinks us being best friends is a problem, even our families know we've always had a sibling relationship and not one that might change to romantic.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[mangoisms]

circle k (back to you)

summary: in which you're just the graveyard shift employee at circle k bombarded by vigilantes.

━ chapter seven: just get me through the night | read chapter six

━ pairing: tim drake x f!reader

━ word count: 4.8k

━ warnings: none

━ masterlist

Steph believes you when you tell her you tripped and hurt your wrist.

After all, it’s not exactly a lie. That is what happened. It just… happened to occur while you were being advanced upon by, you know, the Batman.

You don’t tell her that last part. It’ll just worry her, you think, and she was worried enough about you that following day, when you told her about how your shift was cut short and how you hurt yourself. She fretted about you coming back to your shitty apartment in Coventry on your own but you made up a lie about catching a taxi. 

(Technically, in a way, you suppose it could’ve been the truth but you don’t imagine Red would appreciate Redbird being referred to as a taxi service; though, at the same time, he drives like a literal maniac, so, it doesn’t fit.

And yes, he did name his car.

And yes, it is actually named Redbird.

He claims he gets around by motorcycle more these days but that obviously wasn’t conducive with the weather, so he used the car instead. A very high-tech, ultra-expensive car that you had to wonder how the hell he managed to get. He’s your age, after all. But you refrained from asking. It’s impolite, considering everything he did for you.)

After Steph’s shift, you both head to her mom’s house, where Crystal Brown, a nurse at West Mercy, generously takes a look at your wrist, as equally as concerned as her daughter when she hears the story. 

“It’s just a sprain,” she says, frowning. “I can’t be entirely certain without an X-ray but I don’t think anything is broken or fractured. No need for a brace, either, but if it keeps bothering you…”

“I’ll get it checked out,” you agree easily. “Thank you, Ms. Brown.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Crystal.” 

“You know how she is, Mom,” Steph sighs, folding her arms over the back of the chair you’re in, dropping her chin to your head. 

“As hard-headed as you? Oh, I know.”

You smile bashfully as Steph snickers. Crystal rises from the table, stepping back to the stove, where she has dinner cooking. At their insistence, you agreed to spend the night. 

Crystal has always been kind to you. Both this summer and the previous one did she tell you you were welcome to live with her and Steph here at their shared home, since neither of you could live in the dorms unless you took classes during the summer. Steph abstained from them to get more experience and you abstained because your financial aid wouldn’t cover it, which left you grappling with a three-month lease at the shitty student apartments near GU. 

“No Tim?” Crystal asks, covering the pan, turning to look at you two.

Steph clicks her tongue, pulling away from you to flop into the chair beside yours; underneath the table, her ankle curls beneath yours, shin pressed to your calf. 

“Busy as usual.”

“He doesn’t know?”

“It’s not that big of a deal—” at the looks you get from both of them, you quickly backtrack “—I mean, I’ll tell him later… That new Mission Impossible movie came out a few weeks ago, so I was gonna see if we could watch it together…”

Crystal frowns. “But you don’t like those movies. Does Tim like those ridiculous movies?”

She probably wouldn’t be displeased if he did. Crystal isn’t overly fond of Tim. Steph says it’s because of their relationship when they were kids but sometimes, it feels far too deep for it to be just that. 

Still, she’s civil to him and he rarely says no when Steph invites him (and you) for dinner. If anything, you think Crystal doesn’t mind the opportunity to make him squirm. Steph probably doesn’t mind it, either. 

Steph stretches her arms above her head. “It would be on par with him but no. These two just like watching them and making fun of them. I’m good, though.” 

“I’ll tell him, then. He’d notice it, anyway, since my mobility is still limited, but yeah…”

“Well, be careful,” she says, mouth pursed. For some reason, it doesn’t feel like she’s talking about your wrist but about something else. 

Steph coughs. Crystal looks back to the stove. 

“Well, hopefully you two will see him soon. From what I’ve heard, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah,” you say heavily. “A while.”

Crystal doesn’t pay more attention as she focuses on the sizzle of the chicken breast but Steph does, giving you a lingering look that makes you look away. 

You… try not to give away too much to her. 

You feel horrible enough to be in love with her ex-boyfriend; pining after him in her presence is just the icing on the World’s Worst Best Friend cake. 

That’s why you avoided him, after realizing the culmination of your feelings in May. 

To see if you could shake the feelings, if you could get rid of them.

Considering how hung up you are on him still, it hasn’t worked. 

But you still want to see him again. It’s selfish, probably, to be okay with avoiding him for your own gain and then when he does it on purpose, you want to put an end to it. 

But you know now it wasn’t okay. 

You want to see Tim, want to hear his bad science puns, you just want him around. 

Your feelings won’t go away for a while but avoiding him was the wrong decision. You just have to handle it on your own like an adult. 

You would if you could see him more.

You hope you can. Even if it kills you to act normally, to be okay with being friends. By this point, you’ve started to realize having him in any capacity is more than enough.

It has to be.

newest mission impossible movie came out… i can’t believe they’ve managed five of them and this one is only part one of the fifth one. they need to put that series down already

anyway :D in that case, was wondering if we could see it together? on sunday? i’ll get the tix and you get the snacks? we can get ice cream after and talk shit about it

i can’t, sorry! family dinner on sunday, then some other stuff before then and on sat too. see it and let me know about it, alright? :)

You cry when the end credits start rolling.

Not because the movie is good or moving or even so bad that it makes you cry, you’re just…

So tired. 

Tired of him never having time for you, for you and Steph. 

One part of you wants to give up. What’s the point, right? 

His continued lack of time means you can’t even apologize to him, can’t even ask if your initial avoidance was what led to his in the first place. 

Mostly because it feels like it doesn’t even matter at this point. 

Maybe this is what you deserve and there should be nothing else to say on the matter. 

But that hurts even more. 

You sit far at the back—shitty seats, he would say—but it gives you the privacy to shed a few tears. 

You leave only when the end credits are almost done rolling and the theater is empty. You don’t care about the looks people give you, coming out red-eyed and sniffling from the Mission Impossible movie. You just want to go back to your apartment and hide away for the rest of the summer. 

You emerge from the cinema; it’s only eight, so the sun is still out, warming you up from the chilly theater. Sighing, you start for the nearest station to take the subway back to Coventry.

You only get a couple blocks before your eyes catch the storefront of an ice cream parlor. Wallowing deep in self-pity by now, you easily take the detour. The patio in front of it is busy with people and through the large glass window, you see the line inside is long, too. But since you have nothing else to do, you head for it, anyway.

You’re halfway across the patio when you see it.

Through the window, in line for ice cream, is Tim. 

Your eyes found him immediately, without intention or purpose. Poetic, almost, were it not for the fact of seeing him here breaks your heart.

Here, not just by himself but with friends. Friends you’ve never met but know of from pictures at his place. 

You try to rationalize it initially, still standing there in the middle of the patio, staring into the parlor. Maybe the dinner was canceled. Maybe they dragged him out. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe. 

But then it makes you feel second best. Second choice. That he didn’t think of you when his schedule freed up. 

That’s presumptuous, though, right? What gives you priority? Nothing, especially after what you pulled before. 

But the ache in your chest hardly allows for that much introspection or self-awareness.

Mostly… Mostly, you’re just hurt. 

Seeing him now, separated from you by thin glass, the yawning monster inside you that longs desperately for him is unleashed, because he is so close but he’s not here with you, for you. And that hurts. A physical thing, your chest tight, throat thick with growing emotion.

But then, he sees you. 

His head turns and you go rigid as your eyes meet his, which widen as he recognizes you.

It’s been long, so terribly long, since you’ve seen him. See the soft blue of his eyes, this lovely shade, like cornflowers. 

It makes this so much worse because you don’t think anything will change, even with this, so it’s like a taunt to see him, knowing this might be the last for a while. A long while. 

Another moment between you two, the surprise on his face morphing into something else and you look away before you can see what it is, turning on your heel.

You have to get out of here. 

The subway is across the street but the light just turned green. Too long.

The hiss of hydraulics snatches your attention. A bus, several feet away. One last person climbing on. You take off for it, scrambling for your wallet, ignoring how the rough motions make your wrist throb in protest.

You think you hear your name. You hope you don’t.

You barely wedge yourself in just as the doors close.

The bus driver eyes you with thinly-veiled suspicion but you pay the fare and take a seat at the far back, away from the windows.

You don’t even know where this bus is going. 

You don’t care.

You just have to get away. 

You bury your face in your hands, your tears flowing again as the bus pulls away from the curb.

The worst part about it, you think, is that he doesn’t reach out to you.

Neither does Steph, but you reason expecting that is irrational. Why would he talk to her? Why would he tell her what happened? 

You can’t do it, either. It’s for the best, maybe, that you don’t say anything about it at all. 

Instead, as soon as you get back into your apartment, you collapse onto your threadbare couch and take a nap. Only dragging yourself off it when you have to get up and get ready for your shift, accompanied with the headache throbbing in the center of your forehead. 

You trade off with the evening shift and things are quiet for the most part. To distract yourself (mostly to stop yourself from bursting into tears if you think too hard about what happened), you take on your night shift tasks with renewed vigor. Cleaning the floors, the machines, adjusting displays, doing inventory. 

Your wrist protests throughout it but you ignore it. 

Steph would scold you for it. 

So would Tim.

You pause in the middle of cleaning the counter near the Slurpee machine. Your wrist throbs at your side.

The sharp gust of wind and the sound of your name surprises you.

Shocks you, really, since you’re still a bit on edge from Batman’s visit last week and you yelp, turning around, throwing the wet cloth on instinct. 

Your visitor dodges it easily. It lands on the floor with a wet splat.

“Flash? What are you—what—?”

He tilts his head, grass-green eyes narrowing slightly, mouth pursing, and you get the unmistakable feeling of being scrutinized very closely.

“What are you doing here, Flash?” you question. 

He keeps making that face. “I wanted to see you.”

That surprises you. You blink. 

“Batman won’t like that.”

“Don’t care. I’m not here to cause trouble. Just here to see you. He can’t say anything.”

You don’t think that’ll stop him but you don’t say anything. Flash probably knows. He just doesn’t care. He’ll complain about it sometimes, go to lengths to avoid it, but other times, he just—doesn’t care. 

Flash continues to look at you. Scrutinizing you. 

You don’t bother trying to stop him from doing it. You’re too tired and the way your eyes are still red and swollen is telling, as well as the circles under your eyes. 

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks, Flash.”

His frown deepens and one of his hands comes to your shoulders. 

“Seriously… are you okay, kid?”

For some reason, that does it.

The smallest of splinters to your resolve first, your breath hitching, then it breaks entirely, emotion swelling inside you with tidal wave force, your vision blurring with tears.

Flash reels back in surprise at first, then softens, muttering, “Aw, kid,” and pulling you into a hug. 

It doesn’t feel perfunctory. Like he is doing this out of obligation at seeing you cry, like this is just another one of his duties as a superhero. It feels genuine, the way he holds you tightly against his chest, like you’re a child being comforted. 

That just makes you cry harder.

It takes a while for you to calm down. Then you get embarrassed, sniffling out an apology. 

He hands you a napkin, then pokes you affectionately on the forehead. 

“Geez, what do you take me for? I don’t mind. Besides, worse bodily fluids have ended up on me. Way worse. This is nothing.”

You laugh wetly. 

He squeezes your shoulder. “Seriously, though. Seems like you’ve got some stuff to talk about. What’s going on?”

You squeeze your eyes shut as a fresh wave of tears briefly takes hold of you. You take a deep breath, working through it, blowing your nose. 

Flash grabs two Slurpees, one cherry and one blue raspberry, and hops up on the counter, patting the spot beside him. You manage to wriggle up using just your right hand, your left still throbbing.

With plenty of breaks in between to cry a little bit more, you tell him everything that has gone on for the past month. Including the stuff with Red and the others, then your impromptu visit from Batman last week. 

“That how you hurt your wrist?” he asks, thoroughly displeased as he reaches for it with gentle fingers. It’s more swollen than before, irritated from you ignoring your body’s warnings, warm to the touch. 

“It wasn’t him,” you mumble. “Just me. I tripped and fell.”

He purses his lips but nods for you to continue, which you do, telling him about everything that happened today. 

“It just sucks,” you whisper. “I mean, what I’m doing to Steph, first of all, by feeling like that and then with the stuff going on with Tim. I know I shouldn’t have avoided him earlier because of my own feelings and maybe this is what I deserve for it but…”

He shakes his head, seemingly bothered by all of this. Really bothered. You expected some, along with the concern, but all of that seems tripled for a reason you do not know.

He says your name, solemn. “You don’t deserve any of that. Sure, it was stupid but… you still don’t deserve that.”

“I can’t change it,” you sigh, setting your cup down. Your fingers are numb from the cold of it. “I just… I dunno. Had to get it out, I guess, so thanks. Why did you really come here, though?”

He sips his Slurpee. “I really came here for you. I just had this feeling… I don’t know. But it paid off, didn’t it?”

“True,” you admit.

“You want me to talk some sense into this kid?”

“Absolutely not.”

“I don’t know,” he muses, his thoughtful tone bellying the tension that seems to permanently reside in his body now; he’s really annoyed by it. You’re touched, if not a bit confused at the depth of his feelings. “I think I should. Might be good.”

“It’s not totally Tim’s fault—”

“His reaction is his own entirely. You shouldn’t have done what you did but anyone with any amount of common sense would talk to you about it instead of turning around and avoiding you, too. It’s dumb. Don’t let him off the hook.”

“Don’t let me off the hook.”

“I’m not. But from where I’m standing, his offenses greatly outweigh yours, especially with what seemed to happen today and… everything else.”

“Flash…”

“I’m just saying. I am, admittedly, a bit biased but… still. I’m not wrong, am I?”

You sigh. “I guess not.”

“Exactly. And for that stuff with your other friend… she hasn’t said anything about it, has she? I mean, I told you what it’s like for me and Pipes. We don’t feel like that for each other anymore. If I had some friend who turned out to like him, I wouldn’t care. So, what makes you think Stephanie does?”

You throw up your hands. “Most people would! Flash, not everyone takes that approach to their exes.”

“True,” he concedes. “But they’re clearly still friends and just friends.”

“But that doesn’t mean she’s okay with that. That doesn’t mean it’s okay. I shouldn’t… it never should have happened.”

Flash sighs, watching you for a minute. “This is a mess, isn’t it?”

You laugh humorlessly. “You’re just now getting that?”

“I knew before but this is… a mess of epic proportions. Seriously…” he mutters the last part, shaking his head slightly. 

Before you can respond, the door opens. You can’t see it, the aisle hiding it, but Flash can; since he remains calm, you assume it isn’t anyone bad.

Then you hear your name, from a very familiar voice and—

“Steph?”

She appears around the aisle, her jean shorts and lilac purple t-shirt wrinkled and in a state of disarray, her hair equally as messy, frizzed from the humidity outside; a light sheen of sweat shines on her face. It’s like she rushed all the way over here. 

You hop down from the counter, concerned. “Steph, what are you doing here? Is everything okay? What happened?”

She lifts a hand, cobalt blue eyes on Flash, saying, distractedly, “No, it’s… it’s alright, nothing’s wrong, I just… had to talk to you… Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope,” Flash says breezily, hoping from the counter. “You can talk to her. I was just visiting.”

“Wait—” you don’t want him to leave quite yet but you don’t know how to say that.

“I’ll hang around,” he assures you, tossing your empty Slurpee cups in your next blink; the only indication he did anything is the way they disappear and the breeze that hits you and Steph.

“Batman—”

“Don’t care. If anything, I might like to talk to him.”

“Flash,” you say, nervous, not willing to reveal what happened to Steph but also trying to tell him to very much not do that.

“I’m still thinking about it,” he says, lifting a shoulder. “But I’ll be around. I’ll come back in a few.”

He lifts a hand, then he is gone, the breeze following him much stronger this time.

“I guess you two really are friends,” Steph says when it calms, sending you a small smile, making you relax.

“Yeah…” Though friends didn’t quite cut it for you. Silly, probably, considering you don’t even know who he is under the cowl, but you can’t deny it to yourself. It’s hard to quantify exactly what he means to you—a friend, a big brother, some kind of weird uncle. If anything, it feels like an odd amalgamation of all those things. You wonder if that’s how he feels, too. You won’t ask. You can only handle so much disappointment in one night.

“I’m sorry to come by so suddenly,” she says next, her words oddly formal in a way that puts you on edge. “But I just had to talk to you.”

“About…?”

“About Tim.”

You go stiff. You try your best to school your expression, to not give anything away. After all, concerning him, it could be anything. What happened today, maybe. What’s been happening. 

Or your feelings.

You really hope it’s not that. 

You’ve only just started to realize you might be losing Tim. You can’t lose her. 

You can’t.

“What about him?”

She says your name. Everything inside you tightens. 

“I know. I know how you feel about him—”

Your throat aches when you swallow. Everything seems to come bursting out of you in the next second. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Steph, I didn’t mean—I didn’t want—I wouldn’t do anything—” you take a step back, your heart squeezing painfully in your chest.

Her eyes widen and she steps forward, quickly closing the space between you, her hands coming to cradle your face.

“No, no, no, it’s okay, it’s okay—”

“No, it’s not, I never should’ve—god, I’m so sorry, Steph—” your vision blurs with tears. 

She says your name again, keeping you in her grasp. 

“I’ve known for a long time,” she quickly says. “Okay? I knew, but it’s okay. I was never mad at you, never, it’s okay, I promise.”

“But—but—”

She shushes you gently. “It’s okay. Deep breaths, alright?”

A couple tears trace down your cheeks. She wipes them away, a small smile forming on her lips—for you, entirely for you, the warmth there reflected in her eyes. 

“Do you want to know a secret?” she asks, rubbing her thumb over your cheek. “It’s really easy to fall in love with Tim Drake. And this isn’t my roundabout way of telling you I have feelings for him. Those are long gone. I love him and he’ll always be my first love but that time has passed—for the both of us. But for you guys?”

“Stephie…”

“I don’t care that you have feelings for him. I really truly don’t. I just want you to be happy. I want you both to be happy. I think you two can do that for each other.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. I think… you’re good for him. He’s good for you. That’s all there is to it, okay? If you really want my blessing, you have it, but… it doesn’t matter to me that you like him. And I’ve known for a while but I just… I assumed you knew I was okay with it. Like it was the thing that was there but we never talked about. Stupid, I know. But… I just need you to know that. Alright?”

She hugs you. You bury your face in her shoulder, hugging her back just as tightly, unable to stop your tears from flowing. 

“I’m not just saying this to try and be the bigger person, either,” she murmurs. “Go for it. It’s been long enough.”

“I don’t know…”

“Why?”

“I mean, he doesn’t… and today…”

Steph pulls away, frowning now. “He likes you, too.”

“No—”

“He does. I know.”

“Then why has he…” You can’t keep going, biting your lip.

“‘Cause he’s an idiot,” she mutters. “In more ways than one. But… I’m going to fix it, okay?”

“No, no, don’t—”

“It’s okay. There’s… there’s other stuff going on right now and we need to take care of that first, then you can talk about your feelings. But I’m going to fix it, okay? I’m going to try.”

“You don’t have to, this is our mess, my mess, I was the one who started avoiding him in May after finally realizing my feelings and then he…” you trail off, sniffling. 

“There’s something else,” she says cryptically. “That’s… just take my word for it. But I’m going to fix it. He’s been an idiot long enough and I’m not going to keep tolerating it, not if he’s going to keep hurting you.”

You shake your head, confused. Is she talking about today? Did he tell her? You have no idea…

“He only did it because I did.”

“No, no, it’s… it’s complicated, okay?”

You snort despite yourself. “You think?”

She smiles finally. “I know. It’s… a lot. But don’t worry. I’m going to get him to see the light. Not literally, though I wouldn’t mind roughing him up a bit just for how idiotically he’s been acting but… another time.”

You’re still confused. Terribly, terribly confused. But Steph is so impassioned, so sure, you let it go.

“Let me help,” you say. “I should be the one doing this but—but let me help. I need to. It’s my mess, too.” 

“It’s all of us,” she sighs. “And right now, I’m in a unique position. So… let me, okay? Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you more later, but hopefully, I can get something together soon. Just sit tight, alright?”

“You do too much for me,” you whisper.

“I’m doing what I should be doing,” she says, looking… guilty almost before the look is gone. “This has gone on long enough.”

She leans forward to kiss your forehead. “But it’s gonna be okay. We’ll make it better.”

You just nod, going along with it for now. 

You scrape yourself together after a few minutes, wiping your tears away and blowing your nose. Steph hangs around long enough for Flash to return, at which point she bids you a regretful goodbye, telling you she’ll talk to you tomorrow. You worry about her getting home but she brought her car, or so she tells you, and Flash generously sees her out.

After a couple minutes, he returns. 

“So?” he asks expectantly.

“You were right,” you mutter. “She’s fine with it. I’m not entirely sure why she had to rush out to tell me or what she’s planning to fix but… I don’t think I can stop her.”

“No, I don’t think so, either,” he agrees lightly. “I don’t think you should, either. It’s probably important.”

“I guess,” you sigh. “I still don’t think she should be doing it but…”

“There might be more pieces in play than you think.”

You send him a look. “I got enough cryptic talk from her. I don’t want any more from you.”

He holds up his hands, smiling. “No more cryptic talk. Got it. I do, however, come bearing gifts.”

“Where on earth—?”

“Well, I already had them when I came here. I wanted to check on you and give you this stuff, but we got interrupted,” he says. “Give me a second.”

You give him a second. 

He leaves and comes back in that time. You raise an eyebrow. 

“Check it out,” he says, holding out a box.

You take it from him. It’s a small thing, easily held in your hand. You pull off the top. 

And promptly blink as the shiny display of a phone greets you.

“Flash, what—”

He can’t wait for you to finish asking your question, apparently too eager to tell you.

“It’s a phone, for you. But it’s programmed with my contact info, that way you can talk to me, and you can move all the stuff on your old phone over, too. It really is just a regular phone. Well, it does have League-level encryptions on it, but you know.”

“Flash… this is too much.”

“Not really,” he says. “I couldn’t give you that info without making sure your phone was secure and it would’ve been a lot more work to get yours secured, too. Besides, let’s be real, your phone has seen much better days. I think it deserves to finally be able to rest.”

“Jerk,” you laugh.

He shrugs. “Not wrong, though. Anyway, it’s not just for emergencies. You can talk to me. Text me. You know.”

“Flash,” you say, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, pressing a hand to your face. 

He looks like he wants to say something else but stops himself last minute and just gives you a small smile. 

“Come on. Let’s set it up.”

You agree, not wanting to continue to refuse since it would be rude and… you do want to have a way to talk to him. Not just for emergencies but other stuff, too. This stuff.

So much is still up in the air. 

But you can focus on the here and now, with Flash here to ease your burdens.

reblogs are appreciated!

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[daysofyellowroses]

red rose

kerry von erich x afab!reader | 10.9k | 18+ minors dni | tw: mentions of death, language, some smutty implications

It wasn't exactly something you had planned for, certainly not at this stage of your life. Then again, life never did seem to work out the way you had expected. After a very happy and loving childhood and slightly turbulent but overall great teenage years, your world got turned upside down when you turned eighteen. 

so i finally finished this, i did not expect it to be over 10k 🫢 i am already thinking i want to write a little part two for this, but i got a whole lot more to write before that! i hope you enjoy this, and if you perservere the whole way through i love you! 🫶🏻💗

🌼

The drive took hours, the immense heat didn't help the feeling of exhaustion that settled over you. It was a rare occasion that you drove back home to Denton from Austin, particularly in the last few years. Now you wouldn't just be visiting, you would be staying. 

Your mom had been driving home from work when she got into a car accident, one which ultimately claimed her life. It left an empty space in your heart, one you felt could never be filled. Her death felt impossible to process, you couldn't do anything but feel totally numb. You hadn't cried when you were told by the doctors that she had passed away from her injuries. You hadn't cried when you went to her funeral. You couldn't, the tears wouldn't come. There was just a hollow void in you, you couldn't focus on anything. 

After the funeral, you received an acceptance letter from college, which you ignored. You weren't in the right headspace for it, and despite your dad trying to convince you to go, you refused. That was when the guilt sunk in. Why should you get to go on with your life, have new experiences when your mom would never have that opportunity again? 

Your dad withdrew into himself too, the two of you didn't talk and when you did it was to fight and argue, both unable to handle your grief.

You needed to get away, and planned to go to Dallas for a new start. That didn't pan out, so you headed to Austin instead, with a renewed determination to start over. And you did, you got yourself a place to stay, a job in a bar, and started getting back on your feet. Over time you got your own apartment and started working in a hair salon, doing basic jobs at first before deciding to professionally train.

After about six months you had gotten in contact with your dad again. It started slow, occasional phone calls or letters, then you visited one Christmas. You weren't super close, but he was the only other person in the world who loved your mom as much as you did, your tether to her. Then, a year or so ago, just when you had thought you were starting to really build a solid bond with your dad, he went quiet. Barely any calls, wouldn't let you visit. 

You feared the worst when two months went by with no contact. The neighbors would have contacted you, you knew, but you still worried. Then you got a call from a stranger, who turned out to be your dad's nurse. She explained that he hadn't wanted you to worry, sympathizing when you said you only worried more if he was silent. There was a knot in your stomach when you asked what was wrong, trying not to imagine your dad slowly wasting away in front of you or losing his memories of your mother and you. 

When the nurse informed you that your father had rheumatoid arthritis, the knot in your stomach loosened, but only slightly. You learned that the nurse could only visit your father three times a week, and his insurance didn't cover more care. So, you took the decision to give up your life in Austin and head back home to look after your dad. 

The sun was just beginning to set when you drove down the familiar road, passing the few neighbors' houses. You turned eventually, heading down the long driveway. Your heart thudded as you spotted the large garage, dozens of cars dotted about in the yard. None of them had been worked on for a long while, you suspected, the owners no doubt not pushing for a quick return.

You drove up to the house, taking a deep breath as you parked your truck. You only took one suitcase up to the door with you, deciding to get the rest of your stuff later. Pushing the doorbell, you took a step back and glanced at the light blue bird feeder hanging by the door. Your mom would sit on the porch for hours and watch birds come and go, she always looked so peaceful when she did.

A few moments later, the door opened and revealed your father on the other side. Neither of you said anything, neither of you moved for a moment before you both stepped forward and wrapped your arms around each other. 

“You didn't have to come,” Your father murmured, holding you close. “I'm fine.”

“I know you are,” You nodded, gently rubbing his back. “I wanted to come. Now let me get my things inside, I want this unpacking out of the way.”

Once you had taken your things up to your old bedroom and unpacked, you sat on the end of the bed for a moment. It had been a while since you'd visited, but you got the same feeling you did every time. The memories came back full force, from playing with barbies with your best friend to sneaking a boy in through your window late at night. The teddy bears, posters of bands and trophies had been put into storage but the bedsheets were the same ones you'd had as a teenager. There was still a cork board above the desk with faded concert tickets, photos and birthday cards pinned to it.

You made your way downstairs, finding your dad in the living room and letting him know you'd make dinner. It was easy, moving through the kitchen again. Every time you'd visited the muscle memory came back. It always stung a little that your mom wasn't there, singing along to the radio as she chopped vegetables, the knife moving in rhythm. She always made up her own lyrics when she couldn't remember the real ones, her version always stuck in your head when you heard the songs again.

Once dinner was ready, you brought the plate to your dad on a tray in the living room. You watched him out of the corner of your eye, the way he struggled with his knife. He didn't ask for help and you waited until he set his cutlery down in frustration before you quietly got up and cut up his dinner for him.

It was only when you were laying in bed later that night that you realized that things like that would be your life from now on. Parents look after their children, then children look after their parents years and years later. It felt too soon to be looking after your dad. He wasn't even retired yet, you weren't even thirty yet. But, life doesn't always go to plan.

In the morning, you thought you were dreaming when you woke up. It took a minute to adjust, to remind yourself you weren't just visiting. There was nowhere else to call home anymore. You took a shower and got dressed before making breakfast, having more small talk with your father. You noticed his shirt wasn't quite buttoned right but elected to ignore it. 

“I'm gonna take a walk,” Your father informed you after breakfast. “the air is fre-”

“Freshest this time of day,” You smiled, giving him a nod. “I remember. I'm gonna clean up, is Carla coming today?”

“Tomorrow,” Your father replied, clearing his throat. “She comes on different days each week. She covers a big area.”

“I see,” You nodded, watching your father for a moment before clearing the plates. “Well I got this under control. Enjoy your walk.”

Once you'd cleaned the kitchen, you decided to do the rest of the house too. It wasn't bad, just needed a little sprucing up. When you got to your dad's bedroom you took a breath before walking in. Your mom's things weren't there anymore, they had been put away into storage, but her presence was still there.  As you made the bed you thought about all the times you'd climbed into your parents bed after a nightmare, the birthdays and mother's days you'd take your mom a tray, feeling so proud when she told you she loved it.

When you were vacuuming, you glanced out the window and spotted a figure heading into the garage, unable to make them out clearly. You made your way out of the house and over to the garage, the air already feeling hot. 

“Hello?” You called, holding your hand over your forehead to shield your eyes as you turned into the garage. “Can I..”

You let out a sigh as you spotted your father leaning over the hood of a truck, lowering your arm.

“Dad, what are you doing?” You asked, walking over and folding your arms. “You told me you were taking a walk.”

“I was,” Your dad nodded, looking over to you as he gestured to the truck. “Then I remembered I had this sitting in here. I gotta get it back by tomorrow, Ed’s gonna need it.”

You took a deep breath, slowly lowering your arms and stepping closer to the truck. 

“If it really needs to be fixed by tomorrow, then let me do it.”

“Let you do it?” Your father repeated, a concerned look on his face. “I couldn't ask you to do that.”

“Then good thing you're not asking,” You smiled. I'm a little rusty but you can just give some guidance if I'm going wrong. I didn't spend half my teen years here for nothing.”

“Well, if you're up for it,” Your father nodded, taking a step back. “Give it a whack.”

An hour or so later, you popped the key in the ignition and let out a cheer when the truck started. Your dad stood up from where he'd been sitting, walking over to the window.

“Well look at that,” He smiled, opening the car door for you. “You never lost it.”

“Apparently not,” You grinned, turning off the ignition. “I can drop this over to Ed, if you want?”

“If you want,” Your dad nodded, looking down at his shirt and frowning slightly before looking back to you. “You'd be doing me a favor really. He said he wasn't in a rush but..I don't want to delay him.”

“Okay, I'll drop it over,” You nodded. “I'll pick something up for dinner, too. Do you need anything else?”

Your dad thought for a moment before shaking his head and gently patting the door of the truck. 

“I'm all good. I'll let you get off.”

“Alright, I'll see you later.” You smiled, closing the door and starting up the truck. You presumed Ed lived exactly where he always had, and honestly you were a little amazed he was still alive. When you were a child he was about a hundred years old, god only knew what miracle was keeping his heart ticking.

When you were out on the road, you lowered the windows and turned on the radio, enjoying the fresh air as you sang along to the music.

‘So smile for a while and let's be jolly, love shouldn't so melancholy, come along and share the good times while we can..’

When you arrived in town, you drove to Eds's first, parking up outside and looking up at his house. The place hadn't changed in probably 50 years, not so much as a paint job. You took the keys and headed to the front door, pushing the door bell before taking a step back.

After a few minutes, a woman you didn't recognise opened the door and you wondered if you'd somehow gotten the wrong house. She certainly didn't resemble Ed, with her kind eyes, warm smile and curly brown hair. Ed looked like Mr. Magoo on a bad day.

“Hi,” You smiled, gesturing over your shoulder to Eds's truck. “I'm looking for Ed Hicks, I'm dropping off his truck.”

“That thing,” The woman rolled her eyes with a smile. “He shouldn't even be driving it, yet he still gets it dropped for repairs. Come on in darling, he's here.”

You followed the woman inside, heading into a living room that looked like it should have been in a shack in the woods. In the corner, Ed was sitting on an armchair watching the TV, looking exactly as you'd remembered him.

“You got a visitor Ed,” The woman told Ed, raising her voice. “This young lady has come to drop your truck back. Don't tell me you've been driving again?”

“Nope, cross my heart,” Ed patted his chest before looking over to you. His eyes were so pale you were amazed he could see you but he recognised you right away.

“You back at your daddy's then?” Ed asked once you'd walked over and shaken his hand, giving him a nod.

“Yes, I am,” You told him. “He was busy so I thought I'd drop your truck back, needed to head into town anyway. How have you been, Mr. Hicks?”

“Oh you know me,” Ed shrugged, looking back to the TV. “I get by. Still waiting for this one to marry me though,” He gestured to the woman. “any day now.”

The woman laughed affectionately as she shook her head. 

“Stop it you, you old charmer. Now I need to get going, you need anything else?”

“I'm all good, you get yourself gone,” Ed waved his hand. “I got my stories.”

You said your goodbyes and left the house with the woman, turning to her as she closed the door.

“I know this sounds a little strange, but your voice is really familiar,” You raised a brow. “Have we met?”

The woman looked at you for a moment before nodding and smiling, folding her arms.

“I was thinking the same thing, we most certainly talked recently. I'm Carla, I'm a nurse, I do a lot of home visits around here.”

“Carla..of course,” You smiled. “I think you look after my dad?” You gave her the details and noticed her face lit up a little as she nodded.

“I certainly do,” She smiled. “So you must be the daughter he's so proud of,” She grinned. “You know I gotta say, it is really admirable what you're doing. If I could, I'd be out at your dad's more but..I can just about manage to hold onto the days I do have.”

The two of you walked down the porch steps and towards the curb, stopping by a little red car.

“You need a ride somewhere?” Carla asked, opening her purse and taking our her keys. “I've got another visit but I can take you somewhere if you need.”

“I just need to go to the supermarket, if that's okay?” You asked, deciding to worry about getting home later. 

“Of course,” Carla nodded, unlocking her car. “Hop on in.”

You got in the car and put on your seat belt, looking over to Carla as she started the engine.

“Can I ask you something, if you don't mind?”

“Of course you can honey,” Carla smiled, looking over to you before looking back and pulling away from the curb. “What's on your mind?”

You looked out the window, taking a deep breath. 

“My dad..it's bad, isn't it? His condition? Like..I know a lot of people function just fine with arthritis but I've noticed little things he can't do anymore.”

Carla let out a soft sigh, her hand gently touching your arm.

“I won't lie to you darling, your dad's arthritis is severe, in fact..the hospital wants to run more tests just in case he might be developing Parkinson's. You came at a good time, he's going to need the extra help.”

“Yeah,” You nodded, keeping your eyes on the world outside the window. “I think I did. It just feels..strange. How do you do it every day? Look after people, see them become frail in front of you?”

“Well I love my work,” Carla replied, gently squeezing your arm before letting go. “It feels like I'm making a difference. You'll get that feeling, it just takes time. And your dad isn't so frail, he just needs more time to accept his limitations. It hasn't been easy on him.”

“I know,” You nodded, looking over to Carla. “I'm sorry I haven't been around much, but I'm glad you've been looking after him. He can be a little stubborn about accepting help but I hope he hasn't been too difficult.”

“He's been a dream,” Carla smiled. “I know that he's frustrated that he can't do all the things he used to, but he's getting a little better at accepting it every day. The hardest part seems to be work. He keeps telling me he's gonna get back out to the yard and fix up all the trucks but..it's just not possible.”

You nodded before looking back out the window, the familiar sights flashing by. 

“I found him by Eds's truck this morning, I told him I'd do it and let him tell me what to do but..I could tell he wanted to be doing it himself.”

“Well that's not a bad thing,” Carla looked over to you. “He may not be able to work himself but if he feels like he's contributing then that might ease the disappointment. Are you a mechanic yourself?”

You smiled to yourself as you shook your head, glancing over to Carla.

“No, I'm a hairdresser. I used to help my dad out in the yard when I was a teenager, picked up some things. I never really thought of it as a job, more just a hobby.”

“Hobby or not,” Carla raised a brow, gently touching your arm. “Might be something to think about. Is here okay to drop you off hun?”

“Perfect,” You nodded, glancing at the window. “Thank you so much.”

“Anytime,” Carla smiled. “I'll be out at yours tomorrow, see you then.”

The afternoon passed by quick enough, you got a coffee in the diner, made small talk with people you knew in another life,  went to the supermarket, bumped into one of the neighbors who offered you a ride home. It was like you'd never left, the familiarity sinking into your bones.

Your dad was watching TV when you got home, a sight you never thought you'd see on a warm afternoon. You made your way to the kitchen, trying to ignore the knot in your stomach as you unpacked the groceries and started preparing dinner. You turned the radio on, humming along to the music as you moved about the kitchen with ease. When you were plating up dinner, you felt the knot in your stomach tighten as you got a knife and fork to cut up your dad's food. It was spaghetti, which made it easier to disguise that it had been cut, but you knew you'd have to keep doing it.

You took the plates into the living room, placing a tray on your dad's lap before sitting down yourself. 

“How was town?” Your dad asked, picking up his fork and glancing over to you. “Anybody about?”

“A couple,” You nodded, dipping your fork into your pasta and pushing it around a little. “Nobody too exciting.”

“Ah, never is,” Your dad shrugged, looking back to the TV. “Oh turn up the volume, the match is coming on.”

You reached for the remote, raising the volume and glancing over to your dad.

“What match?”

“Wrestling,” Your dad explained, pointing to the TV. “David's making his debut tonight. Should be a good one.”

“Oh,” You raised a brow, looking back to the TV. “I didn't know he was getting into wrestling..does Kevin still do it?”

“Sure does,” Your dad nodded. “He's good too. Reckon he'll be even better now with his brother on side.”

You sat back a little, your eyes watching the screen as the presenter explained the upcoming bout. When it cut to a reporter standing with Kevin and David Von Erich, you couldn't help but smile. They looked so different from when you had last seen them, but they still had that familiarity, a boyish charm. 

When David looked down the camera lens and gave a warning to the opponent, you bit your lip slightly, smiling to yourself as your Dad praised him. The match was fun to watch, your dad's enthusiasm made you think of how he was when you were a child, his passion and support for the things he loved shining through. The last thing you wanted was for him to lose that joy, to have things in his life that brought him happiness.

The actual wrestling didn't interest you all that much, but it was entertaining and fun to see Kevin and David show off their skills, raise their arms triumphantly when they won.

“What did I tell you? They got something special there,” Your dad looked over to you. “You know, you should pop over and visit them one of these days. They'd love to see you.”

“Maybe,” You nodded, getting up and placing your tray on the coffee table. “I have things to do so..I'll have to see when I got some time.”

You gathered up your dad's tray, taking the dishes out to the kitchen and resting them on the counter. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and tried to clear your mind, not wanting to give certain memories an outing.

You focused on cleaning the kitchen, taking your dad a beer when you went back to the living room.

“Just the one,” You smiled, sitting down on the couch. “So don't get too excited.”

“I won't,” Your dad laughed, shaking his head. Hell, even if I wanted another one I couldn't. Carla..the nurse,” He corrected himself, clearing his throat. “She can always tell. Scolds me something terrible.”

“Well she's just doing her job,” You shrugged, sitting back against the couch and smiling as you looked at your dad and noticed the slight smile on his face.

 “She means well.”

“Mm, she does.” Your dad nodded, picking up his newspaper from the arm of his chair and slowly opening it, his face particularly obscured but not enough to hide his smile. 

“Just gotta remember that sometimes.”

“I met her today, actually,” You glanced to your dad as you said it, watching as he didn't look away from the paper but didn't turn the page either. “She said she was coming by tomorrow.”

“Yeah, she will be,” Your dad nodded. “I saw it on the calendar.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile, sitting back and reaching for the remote to find something new.

The next morning, you woke up naturally and stretched slowly in your bed as you glanced to the window. You had left the curtains half open, the warm sunlight filtering into the room. After taking some time to get up, you made your way downstairs and paused in the doorway of the kitchen as you spotted your father sitting at the table reading the paper. It wasn't so much what he was doing but how he looked, with his carefully gelled hair and good brown suit. His shirt was buttoned properly and you felt guilty for wondering how long it would have taken him, if you should have knocked on his door and offered help.

“Morning dad,” You raised a brow, walking over to him and placing a kiss on his cheek. “You're looking snappy. Don't tell me I forgot your birthday?”

“Nah course not,” Your dad laughed softly, shaking his head. “It's just polite to dress for company.”

“Of course,” You nodded, smiling as you put on some coffee. “I'm sure company always appreciates it.” 

You watched the machine brew for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking over to your dad.

“I was thinking..maybe today I could take a look at more of those trucks in the yard.”

“Hm? Why would you want to do that?” Your dad asked, and the knot in your stomach returned as you went to put on some toast. 

“Because,” You began, popping two slices of bread in the toaster. “I enjoyed it. And-” You stopped yourself from speaking the words you knew your dad didn't want to hear.

‘Because you can't anymore.’

“I need something to keep me occupied,” You continued, looking over to your dad. I'll probably only get started on one truck but I want to dust off my old skills. You didn't teach me to waste them right?

“Right,” Your dad nodded after a moment, lowering his paper. “You're right..if you want to take a look I won't stop you.” 

After breakfast you took a shower and got dressed in a simple blue sundress, glancing out the window as you heard a car approach. You smiled as you saw it was Carla's, heading out of your room and down the stairs. Your dad was in the living room, pacing back and forth a little until the doorbell rang and he rushed to answer it. 

“Morning sweetheart,” Carla smiled at your dad after he greeted her, the smile on his face wider than you'd seen for a long while. “Don't tell me I forgot your birthday?”

As Carla was running through some medical checks with your dad, you went out to the yard and made your way to the garage. You took a set of keys and found the truck it belonged to before getting into the garage. The radio was turned on, there was some shelter from the already immense heat, and you soon found yourself getting back into the swing of mechanics. A little while later you were under the hood when you heard a truck coming up the drive. You figured it would be a drop off, possibly just a courtesy one. No doubt the whole town knew about your father's condition.

When the truck door opened and closed and you heard multiple voices, you ducked out from under the hood and grabbed a cloth to wipe your hands, immediately dropping it in shock when you saw who was walking towards the garage.

“Oh my god!” You shrieked excitedly, rushing forward and wrapping your arms around Kevin Von Erich when you got close enough. He laughed and gave you a tight hug back, each of you holding each other's arms as you pulled apart.

“I can't believe it,” You grinned. “It's been..well a long time.”

“Too long,” Kevin smiled, his eyes shining. “We were so sorry not to be here for your last visit.”

You waved your hand, smiling as you looked up at Kevin. 

“Don't be silly. You big shot wrestlers have busy schedules, I get it. Caught you on the TV last night, almost couldn't believe my eyes.”

“You wouldn't be the only one!”

You laughed as Kevin turned around with a playful frown, your smile growing as you spotted Mike. You gently squeezed Kevin's arm before rushing over to Mike, his arms wrapping around you and swaying with you as you hugged him back. 

“You are not Michael Von Erich,” You teased as you pulled back, raising a brow. “you're way too grown up. Look at you!”

“Aw come on I ain't changed that much,” Mike grinned, the tips of his ears growing pink. “It's just been a minute. It's so good to see you.”

“Don't I get a hug?”

You rolled your eyes playfully, giving Mike a wink as you stepped aside and folded your arms.

“I don't know,” You shrugged, raising a brow. “You're a real big mouth hot shot wrestler now, you really need the girl next door hugging you?”

“Yes, right this second.”

“Oh yeah?” You smiled widely as you rushed forward, David's arms immediately wrapping around you and lifting you up as you wrapped your arms around his neck. 

When he set you down carefully, he gave you a wink and you gave him one back, stepping back and turning to Kevin and Mike.

“What brings you all over? I know it ain't that truck.” 

The Von Erichs looked at each other for a moment before looking back at you, Kevin clearing his throat.

“Well we heard you were back in town, and..that it's more permanent this time. We were sorry to hear about your dad, hopefully he's doing okay.”

You looked at the three men in front of you for a moment, smiling as you folded your arms.

“Damn, word travels fast. Was it Ed?”

“Ed.” They chorused, making you laugh.

“Of course,” You nodded, dropping your arms. “Well I am back, and thank you,  my dad's doing well. He's got his nurse with him today so..all good.”

“Hope it's not rude to ask if you want to come over for dinner some time?” Mike asked, resting his hands in his back pockets. “and your dad, of course. Mom keeps insisting.”

“So I really can't say no then,” You smiled. “That would be great, really.”

“Perfect,” David grinned, walking over to you and slinging his arm around your shoulder. “Knew you couldn't resist.”

“How could I,” You grinned, resting your hand on David's back. “I've had your mom's cooking before.”

“Amen to that,” David grinned. “Listen, what are you up to later?”

“You tell me,” You raised a brow, looking up at David with a grin. “Do I need to cancel my plans?”

“Absolutely,” David nodded, looking serious for a moment before grinning. “I'm taking you out for a burger, we're catching up properly.”

So, a few hours and one fixed up transmission later, you took another quick shower before changing into a clean t-shirt and jeans. Your dad was in an extremely chipper mood after Carla's visit, and you promised him you would be back in time to make dinner.

When David pulled up outside the house in his truck you felt like a teenager again, skipping down the porch steps and getting in beside him.

“Right on time,” You grinned, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “That a new habit?”

“Not the only one,” David grinned, turning the truck around and heading down the driveway. “You hungry?”

“Starving,” You nodded, sitting back and turning up the radio a little, singing along under your breath.

‘Go lightly from the ledge, babe, go lightly on the ground, I'm not the one you want, babe, I'll only let you down..’

You smiled as David turned up the radio, the two of you singing together as he drove towards town.

‘You say you're looking for someone, who'll promise never to part, someone to close his eyes to you, someone to close his heart, someone to die for you and more, but it ain't me, babe, no, no, no, it ain't me, babe, it ain't me you're looking for, babe..’

When David parked up in town, you were laughing at some silly joke he'd made, wondering if there would be any moment where you didn't feel seventeen again. You both headed into the diner, sliding into a red leather booth you'd sat in countless times in your life.

“I don't need to look at this, but it feels polite.” You plucked the menu from its metal stand and opened it, smiling as the wave of nostalgia hit you. Your mom taking you for a milkshake after school, hanging out with friends, one order of fries between six of you, and of course being there with the boys next door. 

“I don't think you can beat a cheeseburger,” David grinned, sitting back and tilting his head slightly as he watched you read the menu. “I mean why would you not want a classic?”

“To be adventurous,” You teased, putting your menu back. “Try something other than a cheeseburger, chili fries and a coke. Unless you updated your order since we were last here?”

“Hey I know what I like,” David grinned, giving you a wink. “And like you ain't gonna order a chili dog and a strawberry shake.”

“Why would you not want a classic?” You grinned, laughing as David rolled his eyes playfully.

“Fair enough,” He nodded, glancing around the diner and sitting up a little. You were about to say something when two girls appeared at your table, probably just about twenty one. They blushed as they asked David for an autograph, giggling when he winked at them, handing back the flowery notebook. 

“You're really famous now,” You grinned, gesturing to where the girls had stood. “you'll have a fan club next.”

“You could be the president of it,” David smiled, resting his arm along the back of his seat. “Give out all the buttons with my face on them.”

“Wow, you haven't thought about this at all, huh?” You teased, sitting up a little as the waitress came over. You both ordered your classics, choosing to let it slide.

“Oh you know who I met yesterday?” You raised a brow, looking over to David. “Nancy Moss, who apparently still hates my guts even though I ain't seen her since high school.”

“She hates you?” David raised a brow. “Nah, she never hated you.”

You shook your head, sitting back and holding your hands up. “She did, and still does.”

“I don't get it,” David frowned. “Why would she hate you?”

"Because of you," You grinned, pointing over to him. "I think she was jealous."

David looked surprised, glancing around for a moment before leaning on the table and meeting your eyes. 

"Jealous? Of what? It's not like you and I ever dated. Not.." He cleared his throat, looking a little embarrassed in an endearing way. “not technically, anyway.."

"I think that annoyed her more," You shrugged, resting your arms on the table. "We weren't a couple but I got to ride around in your truck, I was always at your house, you were sneaking into my bedroom at night.."

"You were the one sneaking me in," David held up his hand with a grin. "how would she even know about that anyway?"

You shrugged with a smile, resting your hand on your cheek. "I may have said some things that she overheard, not my fault if she was eavesdropping."

“Oh I see,” David grinned, sitting back and gesturing to himself. “Bragging about me huh? Can't say I blame you.”

“In your dreams,” You rolled your eyes with a grin, sitting up as the waitress brought your drinks. You thanked her before sliding your glass closer, lightly swirling the straw in the thick pink liquid.

“How are your parents by the way?” You asked, taking a sip of your milkshake.

“They're good,” David nodded, clearing his throat and sliding his glass closer. “Thanks. We're all good. You should definitely come by, they'd love to see you.”

“Yeah,” You nodded, lifting your straw and slowly dropping it, taking a deep breath. “I'll definitely try and drop by.”

“Good,” David nodded, taking a sip of his drink before leaning a little closer and reaching out to touch your arm. “Oh you know what? You should come to the Sportatorium on Saturday night, bring your dad. We got a big match coming up.”

“That I can't object to,” You smiled, meeting David's eyes. “My dad will be beside himself with excitement.”

“That's great,” David. “So will you be when you see me do my thing.”

“Oh I've seen your thing many times,” You raised a brow with a smile. “Hope it's as good as I remember.”

When you arrived back home, you felt like you were riding on a high. The afternoon had been easy and fun, you couldn't remember when you had laughed so much. You said goodbye to David and went inside the house, finding your dad in the living room reading the evening paper.

“Hey,” You smiled, walking in and sitting down on the couch. “How was your day?”

“Hey darlin’,” Your dad smiled, setting the paper down in his lap. “It was alright, Carla left that for you,” He gestured to a white envelope on the coffee table. “tried to sweet talk her into letting me read it myself but my charms need some polishing I guess.”

“I'll get you a cloth,” You laughed softly, leaning forward to pick up the envelope. “I don't know why she'd leave me something.”

“I don't either,” Your dad sighed, looking down at his paper. “Anyway, how was your date?”

“Date? It wasn't a date,” You grinned, opening the envelope. “Just two old friends catching up.”

You peeled open the envelope and took out the letter inside, your heart sinking a little when you heard your dad mutter ‘that's right, it was the other one.’

“Oh this is nothing, just her contact details in case of an emergency,” You smiled, folding the paper back up. “I'm gonna freshen up then start dinner.”

“Alright sweetheart, take your time.” Your dad nodded, picking his paper back up as you left the room, holding the envelope to your chest.

You made your way upstairs, heading into your bedroom and sitting on the end of your bed. Taking a moment, you let out a breath before taking the letter back out from the envelope. Technically you hadn't lied, Carla's details were indeed on the letter, just written above the rest of it. As it turned out, your father would have to be taken into hospital the following week for some tests, and Carla felt (accurately) it would be better to tell him closer to the time, but didn't want you to be surprised. 

Once you had carefully folded the letter back up and hidden it in your room, you went to the bathroom and splashed some water on your face, trying to push the thought of hospitals from your mind.

A couple of hours later, you placed a tray on your father's lap and sat down on the couch, looking over to the TV. 

“Oh I forgot to say, I got some invites for you,” You smiled. “David invited us next door for dinner, and he's gonna get us tickets for the match next Saturday.”

“You're kidding?” Your dad held the remote in mid air as he looked over to you. “In the Sportatorium? Well, I'll be damned. You thank that boy for me won't you? I can't believe it. Oh just wait til I tell Earl.”

You laughed softly, picking up your own tray from the coffee table and setting it on your lap.

“I wasn't sure about dinner at theirs,” You began, taking a breath. “We don't have to go if you don't want.”

“Don't be silly,” Your dad looked over to you, setting the remote on the arm of his armchair. “Of course we can go. Fritz and Doris are old friends, and good neighbors. Why wouldn't we..” He stopped himself, looking back to the TV and letting out a sigh, his hand moving to his neck. 

“I uh..I believe not all the boys still live at home. Some of ‘em went off, training..”

“I see,” You nodded, keeping your eyes on the TV and trying to keep your heartbeat steady. “In that case I'll tell David we'd be delighted.”

The week seemed to pass slowly, not that you objected. You spent most days out in the garage working on the various cars and trucks, finding yourself enjoying it more and more. Sometimes your dad would come out and give you instructions you didn't need, but followed anyway. You cooked, cleaned, made sure your dad had his good clothes for when Carla visited. You watched his eyes light up when she laughed at his corny jokes. She called you sweetheart and thanked you at least three times for a cup of coffee. You went into town, you noticed people stopped asking how long you were visiting for. Everyone sent their regards to your father.

One evening you and your dad visited the Von Erichs for dinner. It felt like old times instantly, your dad and Fritz putting the world to rights while Doris insisted you didn't need to help with the dishes but gave you all the gossip when you did. Kevin told you about a girl he was seeing, and you already couldn't wait to meet her. Mike invited you to a gig, and you promised you'd go. David constantly took the seat next you and made you laugh so much you ached. 

The evening after, you had gone into town with Kevin and David to meet Pam, Kevin's girlfriend. You adored her instantly, the two of you clicking right away. You hadn't intended to get drunk, but you were having a good time and the drinks kept appearing and you didn't object. When one of the bars you visited was having a karaoke night, you and Pam were up on the stage before the alcohol-induced confidence could fade.

‘Look into his angel eyes, one look and you're hypnotized, he'll take your heart and you must pay the price, look into his angel eyes, you'll think you're in paradise, and one day you'll find out he wears a disguise, don't look too deep into those angel eyes’

By the time Mike came to pick you all up, you were wrapped around David to steady yourself, the world spinning on a loop. You struggled not to fall asleep on the ride home, resting your head on David's shoulder and focusing on the feeling of his hand on your shoulder.

When you got home, David took you inside to make sure you got to bed safely, your eyes closing the second your head hit the pillow.

“I had fun tonight,” You murmured softly, turning onto your side and letting out a sigh. “tell me ‘m fun.”

David laughed softly beside you, his hand gently touching your hair. “You're very fun. And a heck of a lot more.”

“Yeah?” You sighed softly, pulling the blanket up a little. “Then..then why wasn't I enough for him?”

“Hey,” David’s voice was soft and made you want to sleep. “don't be worrying about all that, you hear me? That's all over now. It was all just..a misunderstanding. You need to get some sleep, I'll see you tomorrow.”

By the time Saturday came around, you were feeling pretty good, greeting your dad when you went into the kitchen for breakfast. You could have sworn he hid some of his paper but couldn't be sure, there was no reason for him to. You moved about the kitchen getting breakfast ready, unable to shake the feeling your dad was hiding something. 

You waited until he went to get dressed, looking under the table and finding a slightly scrunched up piece of newspaper on the floor. You picked it up and smoothed it out, trying to see what would be so offensive. Heatwave incoming, American athletes to withdraw from the Olympics, Cowboys win game, nothing to write home about. You left the paper back where you found it before cleaning up the kitchen, your suspicions melting away.

The evening came around quick, and you were looking forward to seeing the match. Your dad seemed a little quiet, to your surprise. He'd been so excited all week, now when it was time to go he didn't seem as enthusiastic. You didn't push it, especially when he didn't say anything about it. 

The Sportatorium was already bustling with activity when you got there and parked up, feeling excited for the night ahead. You went in with your dad, finding your seats and smiling when he seemed to relax more.

It was halfway through the match when you saw him.

At first you thought you were just seeing things, imagining it. Imagining him.

But he was there, sitting in the front row with Mike, cheering on his brothers.

You felt your heart sink into your stomach, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath. You could hear your dad cheer beside you, the crowd going wild as a body slammed down on the mat. 

You watched the rest of the match and refused to look anywhere else but the ring, wanting to run away more than anything. 

When the match ended, you told your dad you weren't feeling well, needing to get out of the arena as quickly as possible. You felt like you couldn't breathe until you got into your truck, wanting to crawl into your bed and forget the world. 

Your dad gave an enthusiastic debrief on the way back home, and you felt guilty for not sharing his excitement. When you got home you went up to your room and leaned against the door for a moment. You felt sick, your heart pounding in your chest. After getting ready for bed, you opened up the wooden chest at the end of your bed, rooting through it and eventually pulling out your last high school yearbook. 

Taking it into bed, you opened the book and looked through the photos of your old classmates, smiling at some of the quotes, laughing at the others. You flipped to the back of the book, where your friends had written messages on the white pages. You traced your finger over them, smiling to yourself until you found it.

There it was, in black and white. 

‘I love you now & always, can't wait to spend forever with you ❤️ KVE’

“Fucking liar.” You muttered, slamming the book shut and flinging it down to the end of your bed. 

The following morning you didn't want to leave your bed, a restless night leaving you exhausted. You reluctantly got up and got ready, already dreading what was to come. You went downstairs and met your dad in the kitchen, the two of you heading out to your truck.

“I know you hid something from me,” You told your dad as you started your truck. “I wasn't sure why at first but now I know. And I'm grateful, but I can't avoid him forever. He's back, I saw him last night. He's going to be there today, and we will talk to him because we are good neighbors, and I don't want to embarrass you by causing a scene.”

Your dad was quiet for a moment, and you could feel your heart racing. Eventually, he silently reached out and took your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I'm proud of you sweetheart, always will be,” He murmured softly. “You can do this.”

When you got to church, you wanted to be anywhere else, especially when you spotted David's truck. You walked into the building with your dad, putting on a smile and making your way up the aisle. You spotted the Von Erichs right away, giving them a polite nod as you walked by, feeling your stomach drop as you realized the only free seats were in front of them. Your dad walked down the pew first, your heart racing as you felt eyes on you. You sat down, almost anticipating a hand on your shoulder, blue eyes burning into yours. 

The service seemed to last forever, you wanted desperately to just turn and run, feeling trapped like a deer in headlights. When the reverend finally ended his sermon, you followed your dad outside and made polite conversation after polite conversation. Eventually you couldn't put it off anymore, and you found yourself with the Von Erichs. You felt like they were all looking at you like you were about to attack, electing to put on your brightest smile and stepping closer to Kerry.

“Well hey stranger,” You gave him a hug, feeling him hesitate for a moment before he hugged you back and the familiarity could have killed you. “It's so good to see you again.”

You pulled away, taking a step back as your dad greeted Kerry, your hand hammering in your chest. David gave you a reassuring smile and Kevin subtly squeezed your arm. After some small talk, you made your way to your truck with your dad. Neither of you said a word until you were back home and in the kitchen. You'd gone to put on some coffee and burst into tears.

Your dad immediately wrapped his arms around you, stroking your back and holding you close. 

“It's okay darlin’,” He murmured, letting out a sigh. “Your mama wasn't shy with the truth, and you know how she knew things about us we didn't even know? She knew all about you. She told me, and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you.”

“It's okay,” You whispered, pulling back and wiping away your tears. “It was a long time ago. I just..I just want to forget about it.”

“Alright darlin’,” Your dad nodded, letting out a sigh. “Come on, you need some rest.” 

He refused to listen to your protests, taking you to the living room and draping a blanket over you as you got on the couch. You wanted to insist you were fine but all you could do was wrap the blanket around yourself and close your eyes. 

You were dimly aware of noises around you, your dad reading the paper, the radio playing in the background. A dog barking in the distance. At one point, just as you were drifting between sleep and wakefulness, you could have sworn you heard voices in the hallway. 

‘Please sir, I just need to talk to her.”

‘It's not a good time right now.’

The next day, you went out to the garage after breakfast and focused on fixing things you could salvage. Your dad hadn't confirmed your suspicions there had been a visitor the day before, and you didn't ask. Part of you wanted it to be true, and you hated yourself for that desire.

The sun was high in the sky when you heard footsteps approaching, reaching for a clean rag to clean your hands.

“Almost done, I'll be in to make lunch in a second.”

“Hi.”

You took a deep breath as you heard the voice, clutching the rag in your hands before turning and seeing Kerry standing at the entrance to the garage.

“Why didn't you just drive over?” You asked, tossing the rag aside and walking back to the truck in the middle of the garage. 

“I wanted some fresh air.”

“Well now that you've had it you can go home,” You sighed, feeling your hands tremble slightly. “Sorry to make you waste a trip.”

“I'm not going anywhere,” Kerry told you, walking closer. “I need to talk to you.”

“Who says I want to talk to you?” You sighed, keeping your eyes on the engine. 

“Please just let me explain,” Kerry sighed. “You see, I-”

“Explain what?” You interrupted, stepping back and looking over to Kerry. “That you're sorry? You never meant to hurt me, you wish you could take it back, you've lived in regret, blah blah blah. Bullshit. Save your breath.”

Kerry was silent for a moment, keeping his eyes on you before he looked away and nodded.

“I understand that you're upset, but-”

“Oh, you understand,” You scoffed, placing your hands over your heart. “That makes me feel so much better, you understand. If you understood then you wouldn't have done what you did. You never even gave me an answer, you know that? One minute we're planning our future, you're telling me you love me, we're forever, we're going to start a new life. The next minute I'm standing right here waiting for you and you never show. Then I hear you're gone. You're with her and you're heading off to start a future with her. How the fuck could you possibly understand how I feel?”

“David,” Kerry replied. His tone was soft but there was a hardness in his eyes. “That is how I understand. I thought that was all over between you, then I heard you two got back together after our graduation. I took it as you choosing him over me, I had to protect myself.”

“Am I seriously hearing this?” You laughed, shaking your head. “Some idiot told you I was with David and you just believed it?”

“Can you blame me?” Kerry muttered. “Not like you didn't have previous. I wasn't gonna sit around waiting for you again.”

You felt something inside you snapped, and you stormed over to Kerry with a fire in your eyes.

“How dare you say that to me?!” You snapped. “As if you ever sat around waiting for me, don't make me laugh. I was the one sitting around waiting for you to open your eyes.”

“Oh yeah?” Kerry frowned, his voice raising slightly as he stepped forward, his tone growing harsh. “Was this before or after you fucked my brother?”

You took a deep breath, holding Kerry's gaze. 

“Don't you dare, Kerry Von Erich, throw that in my face. You never fucked anyone? Not my best friend, not every girl that was throwing herself at you? And not that it's any of your fucking business,” You held your hand up. “But the only reason David and I started doing anything was because you had stood me up again and he was consoling me. I have been in love with you since I was thirteen years old, and I thought I was destined to be your friend forever. If I couldn't have you then David was the next best thing. But I couldn't officially date him because I knew you'd never want me then. Then I did get you, I finally fucking got you and you saw me, and I..” 

You stopped yourself as you felt tears welling up, trying to push them away. 

“I couldn't believe my luck, I wanted to believe that we could be together forever, you made me feel so loved and so safe and happy then you just ripped it all away. I..I can't deal with this,”

You stormed past Kerry, the tears fully flowing. He called after you, tried to grab your arm but you pulled it away. You could hear him following you, trying to talk to you. You blocked it out, heading up the porch and into the house. Heading into the kitchen, you got yourself a glass of water and tried to calm yourself down.

“Please just let me explain,” Kerry pleaded behind you, fresh tears welling up in your eyes. “I swear I never meant to hurt you.”

You set your glass down, turning around and taking a deep breath. 

“I don't believe that. If you didn't want to hurt me you would have just left, but you left with someone else. You left with my best fucking friend, so don't tell me you didn't want to hurt me.”

You walked past him, heading to the living room and freezing on the spot when you got there. 

“It's not what you think,” Kerry sighed as he approached. “I can explain if you-”

He looked at you before following your gaze.

You felt like time stood still as you ran across the living room and dropped to your knees, your dad lying unconscious on the floor.

“Dad,” You gently shook his shoulder. “Dad it's me, wake up. Come on, wake up now..”

You felt panic set in as he didn't respond, holding your hand to his hot forehead. 

“Dad..please wake up, you're not leaving me. Come on..”

A few minutes later, Kerry appeared by your side, dropping to his knees beside you.

“I called an ambulance, they're on the way,” He explained, gently touching your back. “He's going to be okay, don't you worry.”

“How can you know that,” You murmured, closing your eyes as more tears filled your eyes. “What if I've lost him too?”

“Hey, don't say that,” Kerry wrapped his arms around you and you didn't object, sobbing into his chest. “He's going to be fine,” Kerry whispered, stroking your back. “It's not his time yet, you got him for a whole while longer.”

“I'm still mad at you, you know,” You muttered, taking a shaky breath. “But thank you.”

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. You only remembered clinging to Kerry as paramedics came into the house and got your dad into the ambulance. You held his hand on the ride to the hospital, your head buried in Kerry's shoulder. 

Being back in the hospital waiting room felt like a nightmare. You wanted to be anywhere else, wanted to run away from it all. When Kerry went to get some coffee you wanted to beg him not to leave, but couldn't. When he came back you accepted the coffee with a grateful nod.

“I think we should talk,” You sighed softly, looking over to him. “I don't need another thing hanging over my head. So..just tell me why you left?”

Kerry looked down at his cup for a moment before looking back at you and giving you a nod.

“Alright  let's get this out there. I know that I wasn't perfect, far from it. I swear to you that I had no idea how you felt about me, if I had even suspected you saw me as something other than a friend then..”

He shook his head, laughing softly.

“I wouldn't have been such an idiot. I was crazy about you but I thought you saw me as more like a brother. So I thought I should just date anyone else, try and get over you. Then you and David started hanging out more and I really thought you weren't interested in me. So I just wanted anyone else as a distraction, I was so angry at David for stealing you even though you weren't mine to steal. I would hear you laughing in his room and it would kill me, I just wanted to know why you chose him over me.”

You took a sip of coffee, your heart aching in your chest. After a moment of silence you took a deep breath and looked over to Kerry.

“Why didn't you just come to me when you heard that stupid rumor that me and David were together again?”

Kerry looked up for a moment, letting out a sigh before looking back at you.

“Honestly? I didn't want to hear you confirm it. It would have killed me. I shouldn't have believed it, but I did. I thought you had realized I wasn't good enough for you and I just wanted to get away. So when the opportunity came up I took it.”

You wrapped your hands around your cup, letting out a soft sigh.

“And my best friend?”

Kerry shook his head, clearing his throat. 

“That wasn't anything. We fooled around a little at a party. I was just desperate to get the thought of you being with David out of my mind. She asked if she could come with me when I was leaving but we went our separate ways when we got there.”

You went to reply but stopped when a doctor walked towards you. You reached your hand out to touch Kerry's, hesitating for a moment before he took your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

As it turned out, your dad was indeed going to be fine. He had suffered a minor heart attack, and while he was to be kept overnight for observation, he would make a full recovery.

“Don't say I told you so.” You looked over to Kerry when the doctor left. 

“Never would,” Kerry held his hand over his heart. “I promise.”

You took a deep breath, looking up for a moment.

“I should go see him. I was so scared I wouldn't be able to.”

“Go on,” Kerry smiled softly. “I'll be here.”

You made your way to your dad's ward, finding his bed and letting out a shaky breath when you saw him. He was still with you, still breathing. You sat down beside the bed, touching his hand.

“Thought you were gonna leave me too,” You murmured softly, watching his chest rise and fall slowly. “I would have brought you back to life and killed you again for doing that to me. I should've known you'd pull through, you're too stubborn to go this soon, right? And you got a lot more to pack into this life. Asking Carla out, for one. You think she's going to be won over by the jokes? You need to woo her, she'd be good for you.”

You stood up, stepping closer to the bed.

“I'm gonna be right back here in the morning, okay? You're in safe hands. I love you so much.”

You leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead before pulling back with a smile and heading back to the waiting room. Kerry was still waiting for you, and you tried not to feel too pleased about it. 

“I think I'm gonna head home,” You sighed softly, sitting back down beside Kerry. “I'll come back in the morning, I don't really want to spend the night trying to sleep in one of these chairs.”

“Fair enough,” Kerry nodded. “I can call Kev, get him to give you a ride home.”

“Okay,” You nodded. “Thank you.”

“And by home I mean our home,” Kerry took your hand. “You think I'm gonna let you spend the night alone in your place then you got another thing coming.”

Any urge to protest faded away, you nodded and watched Kerry go to phone Kevin to pick you up. You let out a breath, looking up for a moment before smiling to yourself. 

As it turned out, it was exactly what you needed. Kevin came to pick you up, and very kindly agreed not to tell anyone about your dad. He brought you back to the Von Erich household and any fear you had about things being awkward melted away when Kerry and David seemed to be on perfectly normal terms with each other. 

The boys played football and you cheered them on, feeling a lightness settle over you. When Kerry and Mike won they grabbed you and lifted you up like a trophy, your laughter filling the air as the sun dipped lower in the sky. 

You ate dinner and helped Doris with the dishes and sat half on Kerry's lap when you all watched TV, his arm around your waist. You felt as if the last few years hadn't happened, you were back where you'd always felt happiest.

When the time came to go to bed, you insisted Mike didn't need to give up his bed for you, feeling guilty when he insisted he would. You wouldn't sleep anyway, knowing Kerry was in the bed across the room. You stared up at the ceiling for a while for a while before throwing the blanket off and getting up.

You padded across the room before you found yourself standing by Kerry's bed. He was awake too, looking up at the ceiling before he turned and his eyes met yours, the light of the moon making them seem even more blue.

“Can I get in?” You asked, smiling a little as Kerry immediately moved over and pulled the blanket back for you.

“Couldn't sleep either?”

“No,” You sighed softly, getting into the bed and laying down with your back to Kerry. He moved the blanket over you and kept his hand by your shoulder for a moment before pulling it back.

“Today was..a lot. Just feel like I need to come back down to earth.”

“I get you,” Kerry murmured softly. “Sometimes you just need something familiar.” 

“Well this certainly is,” You raised a brow, smiling as you felt Kerry's hand near your waist. You reached down and pulled his arm around you, relaxing into his touch.

“I can't remember how many nights I slept in this bed.”

“Enough to make us experts at keeping quiet,” Kerry laughed softly.

“I know,” You smiled with a groan. “Oh poor Mike..did he ever find out I was sneaking in here?”

“Nah,” Kerry murmured softly, wrapping his arm around you a little tighter. “Sometimes in the morning he'd ask if I got up in the night or he'd tell me I talk in my sleep. I never corrected him.”

“Well I'm glad we really could keep quiet then,” You murmured softly, turning over and meeting Kerry’s eyes.

“I never said but..thank you for being there with me today. I know I didn't say the nicest things to you, and I stand by them, but..I really appreciate what you did.”

Kerry smiled and gently stroked your waist, giving you a slight shrug.

“Don't mention it, honestly. You would have done the same for me, and..no matter what happened between us I still love you, I'll always love you.”

“I'll always love you too,” You smiled softly. “We both did stupid things, we both ended up right back here. I'm sure that means something but I don't want to think about it too much right now.”

“That's okay,” Kerry smiled, letting out a breath. “It's been a long day, why don't you get some sleep.”

“I will,” You murmured softly, glancing down for a moment and taking a deep breath. “But I need to do one thing first.”

You leaned in closer, closing your eyes as your lips pressed against Kerry's. For a moment you worried he wasn't going to kiss you back, but your heart soared when he did, his arm pulling you closer.

In the morning there would be a chat about the future, you would have to bring your dad home from the hospital, carry on with normal life.

But, the night was young enough to not worry about all that, and you planned to make the most of it.

#the iron claw #the iron claw fanfiction #the iron claw fic #kerry von erich x reader #jeremy allen white

[glittter-vamp]

Ohio Is For Lovers | J.B

CHAPTER 15

Joe Burrow x Reader.

Warnings:18+ MDNI. Mention of Pregnancy. Angsty. Mention of Miscarriage. Alcohol. Raunchy jokes.

Word count: 4.7k

6 Months Later:

Getting your luggage at baggage claim in the sea of people at this busy airport, you make your way outside. The freezing cold winter weather smacks you in the face waking you up and sending shivers down your body. You had just flown into Cincinnati from Providence for the holidays. After what happened 6 months ago you got your shit together as quick as you could, stayed at your parents for a few weeks before you left to Providence and left your old life behind. You never found out who set fire to your apartment because the apartments surveillance system wasn't functioning properly and you also never found out who was behind the hit and run but you wanted to move on from that and you did, focusing on your new life in Rhode Island. Things had been going really well for, you loved your new Job, loved the new city and have met some pretty cool and nice people along the way.

You wait for a bit outside in the freezing cold weather, the crazy traffic and honking overstimulating you a bit but you finally spot the familiar car. "Hey bitch!!" Peyton yells and honks not caring about being annoying to those around you as he pulls up with Sasha riding shotgun. They both hop out of the car and hug you tight. "Oh I've missed you so much!!" Sasha says. "Me too bitch! Spending thanksgiving alone this year fucking sucked, I missed out wine and Chinese take out." Peyton says. "I missed you guys too and I told your ass I'd send you a ticket to come to me for that weekend!" You say to Peyton as you guys hop into the warm car, Peyton taking your luggage and putting it in the trunk. "Here, we got you some hot cocoa!" Sasha says passing it to you in the back. "You guys are the best, thanks." You smile taking a sip of the delicious chocolate and milk. "So, how was the plane ride?" Peyton asks as he gets us out of the crazy airport. "It was fine, lots of crying kids on board but thankfully I had my headphones." You nod.

"I hope your mom and dad aren't too upset you didn't go with them to Paris and decided to spend the holidays with us." Sasha says sipping on her own hot beverage. "Nah, my sister and her little family went, so they're enjoying that and have forgotten all about me by now." You shake your head. Your parents were yet another trip for the holidays, this time they invited you but you really didn't feel like traveling far for the holidays and skipped out on it, plus you were spending a lot of money on your new place. "Are you hungry? There's this new Mexican place in downtown where that Thai place was." Peyton asks. "I'm so down for some food, I haven't ate anything since last night." You agree. You guys talk about what you had been up to the last few days and end up at the Mexican restaurant sooner than you'd thought you'd be, which you knew was courtesy of Peyton's speeding. Walking into the restaurant it wasn't too busy, few people every other table. 

After you guys get seated and given menu's Sasha speaks up. "So...meet anyone new?" She wiggles her eyebrows at you. "No, you know I told you I don't want to date anyone for a while." You sigh. "Okay well maybe not date but have you hooked up with anyone? What are the guys like over there?" Peyton grins. "I haven't hooked up with anyone but I have gone to a few gay bars over there and the guys are cute! You're going to have a great time when you go." You smile nodding. "You're hanging out with other gays out there!? Oh, I should of let your ass walk here, how dare you replace me." Peyton scoffs making you and Sasha laugh.

"What about you guys? Anyone you guys are hiding from me?" You ask looking at your two best friends, Peyton shaking is head no. "I've been out with this guy a few times from work...his name is Jason." Sasha smiles. "Oh yeah you mentioned him to me a couple weeks ago, you guys hooked up yet?" You ask and she blushes. "Yeahhhh!" You and Peyton laugh making her blush even more. "Okay... okay! Hush there's people around!" Sasha says getting embarrassed. You guys enjoy your dinner and then head over to their apartment. Sasha and Peyton had moved in together since the whole weird note situation and my place getting burned down. They thought it would be safer for the both of them since they both lived alone. The place was super cute, spacious and just outside of the downtown area with good security.

"So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?" Sasha asks Peyton and I after we all shower and change into our pajamas. "Wellll, I kind of promised Tee and Ja'Marr I'd hang out with them before they leave for the holidays." You bite your lip. "Wait...you still talk to them?!" Peyton asks as he makes us some drinks from the bar they had near a window. "Yeah...they text me all the time before games and keep tabs on me. We have a group chat & they are always asking when I'm coming to a home game so I thought we can go to one tomorrow if that's okay with you guys."  You say, your friends looking at you weird.

"You're not scared that they're telling Joe about what you're up to and how you're doing?" Peyton asks. "I don't... really care, What are they gonna tell him? That I'm doing good and I'm happy?" You shrug. "What about running into him tomorrow or having to see him?" Sasha asks. "I watch him every week on my tv and I have no issue ignoring him if I have too." You shrug. "Does he know his friends and teammates still talk to you?" Peyton asks. "Probably, Tee posted us on his story, it was a picture from when we volunteered last year, I don't really think they care much for Joe's opinion on this. After I basically told Joe to get out my life...the guys reached out and we had drinks one night before I left Ohio and they heard my point of view of things. They supported my decision, they knew Joe and I weren't compatible no matter how much we all wanted . " You shake you head taking the drink Peyton was making for you out of his hands.

"Do you... like either of them or something? Did you hook up with his teammates?" Sasha asks and you snort rolling your eyes. " Oh bitch, please tell me you did!" Peyton grins. "No! First off, one of them literally dated Mariana... no fucking thanks. Second, I am never ever getting involved with another professional athlete much less another football player that still plays with Joe and are really good friends with him. That's weird." You shake your head. "I mean, you could do the funniest thing ever and hook up with his teammates and kick Joe while he's been down, you know I like supporting women's rights but I also loveeeee supporting women's wrongs." Peyton smirks making Sasha laugh and you roll your eyes at him.

"Like I said, I'm not putting myself through that shit again. Once is enough." You shake your head taking a sip of the drink. "Can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer but I'm pretty intrigued to know." Sasha speaks up and you nod. "Do you miss Joe at all?" Sasha asks and Peyton rolls his eyes as her question. "Oh girl c'mon on, let's not ruin Y/N's night here." Peyton scoffs. "What?! It's a valid question! She almost had a baby with the guy! ad everything happened so quick!" Sasha defends herself making you laugh as you sit on their couch.

"I'll be honest, even though he did bring unnecessary drama in my life for a while and things were never perfect between, he was still a very comforting person for me so I miss that, I think that's why I stuck it out so long with him, things felt at ease when  was around him...and maybe I miss the sex." You bite your lip making your friends chuckle. "That makes me sad that you guys ended the way you did and felt like this about him." Sasha pouts. "It is what it is, I'm sure he's moved on plenty since us." You shrug. "I heard he was dating a swimsuit model now, seems like he can't fathom being alone." Sasha snorts. "Can straight men ever?" Peyton laughs. "Good luck to her." You breathe shaking your head. You guys talk a bit more and enjoy your drinks while watching a Christmas movie before you all go to bed, you sleeping in their guest bedroom which was super cute and cozy.

************************

In the morning Peyton made you guys a delicious breakfast with French toast, eggs & bacon and you texted the group chat with the guys letting them know you were in town and if it was possible to get three tickets for tonight's game. Tee almost immediately texting back that he would get back to you as as he could about them.

"I say we go ice skating tomorrow." Sasha says as we sit around enjoying our breakfast. "I'm not that type of gay." Peyton says making you and Sasha laugh. "Oh come on! It'll be fun, maybe you can fall into the arms of a big strong guy." Sasha wiggles her eyebrows. "Girl, I'm 6 foot 5, I am the strong the guy?!" Peyton shakes his head making us laugh. We finish our food and as Sasha and I cleaned up since Peyton made breakfast, your phone dings. Drying your hands quickly on a towel nearby, you pick up the phone and see it was the guys, they had gotten tickets for you and your friends for tonight's game.

"The guys got the tickets." You say to your friends as you respond to the guys and thanking them for pulling some strings so last minute. "You know its supposed to be cold as shit tonight right guys?" Peyton says. "That's why whiskey exists!" You smile and he rolls his eyes. "Hey, you don't have to come if you don't want grandpa." Sasha says to Peyton. "Oh, I'm going!  You bitches aren't leaving me behind." Peyton says leaving us in the kitchen in the sassiest manner making you laugh. "You need to have your revenge dress moment tonight." Sasha says to you as you start the dish washer. "What are you talking about?" You chuckle looking at her weird. "In case you run into Joe! Which I'm sure might happen, you need to look good to see what he could of had if he wasn't such a dumbass ad respected you." Sasha nods. "Girl, it's going to be like 15 degree's tonight. I'm gonna be warm, I really don't care about making Joe feel some type of way." You shake your head. "Ugh, have some fun will you!" Sasha scoffs making you laugh.

************************

It was afternoon now and you guys had just finished getting ready for the game. As always, you just wore whatever you wanted not really caring too much about team colors. You just wore mostly black layers, cozy boots and some thermal blue jeans wanting to stay as warm as you could tonight. "The uber is here!" Sasha says walking into the living room from her room. We all head out into the cold air and make our way to the car the SUV that was waiting for us. "Do you know who they're playing today?" Sasha asks me as we ride in the back of the car. "Not a damn clue." You shake your head. "Go sports!" Peyton says making you guys laugh. You guys make it to the stadium, happy that you guys left when you did because the place was super packed with people making it hard to find your seats after you got through security.

"I'm getting us drinks!" Peyton says to Sasha and I. You guys not and Peyton leaves to the concession stand which wasn't that far away. "This is exciting!" Sasha smiles. "Last time I was here, it was with Mariana and then Joe and I had fight in the locker room." You snort shaking your head. "Crazy how time flies." Sasha shakes her head. Soon Peyton returns with some strong drinks for everyone and you take a picture of you three posting it on your story. After a bit, the game eventually starts and pretty much you three just cheer when everyone else cheered. It was a bit a weird for you to see Joe playing on the field right now, you guys hadn't talked since the day at the hospital when you lost the baby. 

You remember going out for those drinks with Ja'Marr and Tee and them trying to convince you to at least talk to Joe but you knew if you did in that moment, you probably wouldn't have left to Rhode Island and be where you are now. Part of you felt guilty for a bit after that, but it was really the only way for you to get out of every situation that had you unhappy plus, getting threatening notes and your apartment set on fire just wasn't something you wanted to stick around and play with to just attempt to be with Joe.

"I really... don't understand this fucking game, I'mmmm getting us more drinks." Peyton says making you laugh. "Get me vodka this time please!" Sasha says to him before he leaves us. "I don't know much about football but it seems like no one is having a good time out there, people keep getting hurt and they look so cold." Sasha says. "We are so undeserving of these tickets." You laugh shaking your head. All of a sudden you guys then spot Tee and Ja'Marr getting into it with some players of the opposing team on the field after a dirty hit on the field.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Peyton asks handing us drinks. " The other team is playing dirty and the guys aren't having it." You shrug. Taking a sip of the new drink, the game continues until half time. "We should get sushi after this!" Peyton says over the loud music that was playing, Sasha and I nodding in agreement.

You guys talk amongst yourselves and take plenty of pictures during halftime and before you knew it the guys were back on the field. They were pretty much neck in neck with the other team so this game could really still go either way. You spot Joe running on the field getting into position and instead of throwing the ball to one of his teammates he makes a run for it with the ball. "He's really... not that fast. Reminds me the rat from Ice Age with the acorn" Peyton says making your snort. "That's a squirrel not a rat!" You laugh as Joe runs with the ball almost making it to the end zone but out of no where this huge player from the other team tackles him, hard. The hit looked painful and it wasn't long before everyone spotted Joe holding his elbow in pain. "Oh fuck." You stand up feeling your heart sinking in your chest. "That doesn't look good." Sasha shakes her head standing next to you. "Are you fucking kidding me?! That was a baby hit!" You hear some guy behind you angrily yell to which you rolled your eyes at, as did many other fans around him.

Soon you heard the sea of people becoming disappointed and worried over Joe, the medics soon were on the field checking him out and every time they attempted to move his arm Joe would immediately wince in pain. "Oh baby... he's out. There's no way he's gonna keep playing." Peyton shakes his head. They get Joe up from the ground and he walks towards the tunnel looking extremely upset and in pain. The crowd cheers for him but even behind the cheers you could tell they were as upset as he was.

The energy in the stadium after that had did a complete 180. Luckily Joe's injury didn't cost them the game but people were still sad over what happened. As we were leaving two security guards approach us and you already knew the drill. " Y/N Y/L/N?" One of them asks me, Peyton already looking at them weird and getting defensive. "Yeah, let me guess. I gotta follow you." You raise an eyebrow at the man and he nods. "C'mon guys." You tell Sasha and Peyton who look at you weird. "It's the guys sending for us, we're not in trouble." You tell them and they nod still suspicious of this but still following you guys to the golf carts.

"This makes me feel like Beyoncé when she's backstage." Sasha says making you and Peyton look at each other and start laughing. "Humble yourself honey." Peyton snorts, Sasha flicking him off. You guys get taken the room you haven't seen since you had basically hated Joes guts. You all thank the guys and they let you know the drill with snacks and drinks. There was a few women in there probably waiting on their husband or boyfriend but you guys find a spot somewhere and sit down. "This is pretty cool." Sasha looks around. "They said anything was for grabs right?" Peyton says eyeing the snacks. "Go crazy." You chuckle as he gets up and heads over to the snack table.

"You think Joe is okay?" Sasha asks you. "Probably not." You shake your head. After a little while you hear two familiar voices call your name. Smiling you get up from your seat turning around seeing Tee and Ja'Marr. "Hey guys!!" You smile at them giving them each a hug. Sasha and Peyton greet them as well and you guys sit down at an empty table. "So how have you guys been?" Ja'Marr asks us. "Pretty good... Thanks for the tickets, that was quite the game." Sasha smiles. "No problem and yeah, this one's a tough one. Critical timing too since the play offs start very soon." Tee shakes his head. "At least you guys won though! Something good came out of it." You smile trying to lighten their mood. "Yeah but Joes out the rest of the season, he tore his UCL so if we were to make it to the Super Bowl... he can't even play. That's gonna fuck us up so much." Ja'Marr shakes his head. You couldn't help but to feel horrible for everyone especially Joe.

You all catch up for a bit, them asking you a billion questions about Rhode Island and asking if you'd ever return here to Ohio. Ja'Marr had asked you about Mariana, specifically if you've heard anything from her and you'd tell him no which was the truth. You didn't know exactly why he was asking but you didn't really want to ask. That was his business and you weren't getting into anything that had to do with her ever again. "I need to pee." Sasha says to you, Peyton nodding in agreement. "Bathrooms are over there to your right." Tee points. They thank him and they walk off leaving just you, Ja'Marr and Tee.

"So... have you talked to Joe at all?" Ja'Marr asks, both men looking at you for an answer. "No, I debated on reaching out a few times but I heard he was dating someone and I'm not getting into that type of drama again like that. Hell no." You shake your head. The guys look at each other for a moment and then bust out laughing which had you confused. "Dating who?! Dudes only focus has been football and stalking you on social media all these months." Tee laughs. "It was all over social media that he was dating some model & why or how would he be stalking my social media?" You ask confused since it was private. "That was just a stupid rumor started by some dumb gossip website and we've caught him on your Instagram a bunch of times. I think he has a fake profile which we've told him how weird that shit was by the way and his excuse was that he just wanted to make sure you were happy and safe." Ja'Marr shakes his head rolling his eyes.

"Did he leave already?" You ask. "Nah, he's in a medical room dealing with his emotions and shit. He doesn't wanna see anyone, he's going through it." Tee shakes his head with a disappointed look on his face. "Although... maybe he wouldn't mind seeing you." Ja'Marr smirks and your eyes open wide. "Hell no, no way." You shake your head. "No way what?" Sasha asks coming back to us, Peyton following her. "They want me to go talk to Joe." You shake your head. "Oh?" Peyton looks at you and you shake your head no. "He's down this hall to your left. C'mon guys, let's get some snacks and talk about how much Rhode Island sucks." Tee says to your friends and you scoff. "What? Guys! No—assholes." You mutter annoyed at them as they all ignore you and leave you standing out in the hall like an idiot.

Sighing you make your way to the door where Joe was behind, taking a deep breath before knocking and opening the door. Immediately you heard his voice. "Get out." He says in a very monotone way. You peek your head in and see he was laying down on a stretcher facing up in a dimly lit room with his good arm draped over his face. "I guess I deserve that attitude." You nod closing the door behind you. Your stomach flip flopping from nervousness. Joe freezes and peeks under his arm towards you.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Joe asks slowly sitting up. His injured arm in a sling. "I'm in town for the holidays and the guys gave me tickets to the game tonight." You awkwardly say stuffing you hands in your back pockets. He looked like he had been crying. "Of course they did." Joe scoffs. "I know I'm the last person you wanna see right now or ever but I just wanted to check up on you." You bite your lip awkwardly. "Yeah right, like you give a shit about what happens to me." He scoffs, it sucked hearing those words come from his mouth but you couldn't blame him, you weren't the nicest to him the last time you saw him. Plus, he was upset cause of his injury which is understandable.

 "I know I shouldn't have bothered you but I just wanted to apologize on how I left things... and your injury tonight...but I'll uh, leave you be." You nod reaching for the door again awkwardly. "Wait!" You hear Joe say before you could even touch the door. "I...shouldn't have snapped at you like that, I'm sorry. I'm...I'm not even mad at you." He shakes his head as he sits looking down at his dangling feet. He was still in half of his uniform and even though he was a grown ass man well over 6 foot, he looked so small to you in this moment. "You don't have to lie, I know the way I handled things was beyond fucked up." You sigh leaning against the door. "Honestly, you had every right. I was being a stupid jackass, my parents knocked some sense into me after I came clean with everything. You put up with too much shit with me and I was worried too much about myself and not enough about you. I'm surprised you didn't come fined me and ran me over with your car" Joe admits. "Well...to be fair I didn't have one at the time so, maybe that worked in your favor." You tease making him chuckle. 

"Maybe it was just a classic case of right people, wrong time." You shrug. "You really think we could of been right for each other if things weren't so fucked up around us and I wouldn't have fucked up most of it?" Joe asks. "I'd like to think so, we pretty much ignored every red flag between and around us Joe... I think that ultimately fucked everything up because we choose to ignore and ignore." You say, Joe nodding. "How's Rhode Island?" Joe asks and you snort. "You should know...the guys told me about your Instagram stalking." You tease seeing Joe's freeze and his face turn a light shade of pink. "Fucking assholes." Joe mutters shaking his head making you chuckle. "I didn't mean to be weird, I just still feel paranoid about your safety with everything that happened. M=Ja'marr thinks Mariana was behind everything, he found some weird folder with information about us two...I think she was going to try and blackmail us if news hit about the affair she was having on Ja'Marr. She's disappeared. We think she left Ohio." Joe fills you in and you scoff. "That fucking crazy bitch." You shake your head. 

"Things are pretty good, I like the city, co workers are pretty cool." You nod changing the subject. "I'm really happy to hear that." Joe says giving you a small smile. Before you could reply there was a knock on the door followed by the voice of a man you didn't recognize. "Burrow, your parents are looking for you dude, pack it up, get some rest." The guy says. "I should... get back to everyone, I'm sure they're hungry and waiting on me." You say to Joe and he nods looking sad. "I'm really sorry I couldn't be the man you deserved Y/N, I kill myself over it everyday." Joe says somberly. "People aren't perfect Joe, don't beat yourself up over it, but I really do hope you recover as quickly and good as possible. I would tell you to not be too hard on yourself while you recover but I might as well talk to a brick wall for that." You joke making Joe chuckle. "Take care of yourself and you should come to more games, helps motivate the guys." Joe says glossy eyes which almost triggered your own emotions that you were pushing down. " I will take it under consideration, take care of yourself." You smile at him before leaving the room and letting out a deep breath trying to control your emotions before you meet everyone up again. 

**************************************************

A month later:

The holidays came and went. You spent time with your best friends and you were now back in Rhode Island in your home. Winter had officially struck the north east as it was snowing today. Cuddled up on your couch with the fire place on and a glass of wine in your hand you were on facetime with your friends. "So, when are you coming back?" Peyton asks you. "Uh! no Sir, it's time you guys come to me. We can do something this summer...I just finished the guest bedrooms and we can hit all the bars out here, maybe even drive to Boston for a weekend." You suggest. "I'm down for some Boston cheeks." Peyton smirks making Sasha roll her eyes and you laugh. "Did you spend the homegoods gift card we got you for Christmas?" Sasha asks changing the subject. "I did! I got stuff for the guest bathroom and a few holiday clearance stuff for next Christmas." You nod. You talk more with your friends about what you guys had planned for the next few weeks until your doorbell rang. It was 7PM on a snowy Friday night and you weren't expecting anyone over. "Uh oh booty call! We'll let you go so you can have your fun." Peyton winks. "It's probably my neighbors stupid doordash again, she keeps putting my door number for some reason, but I'll talk to you guys later." You sigh getting up. You hang up your phone tossing it on the couch and setting down your wine glass on your side table. You go to your door opening just a bit expecting some poor delivery driver in this snow but you almost choke on your own spit when you saw who it was. "Wh-what are you doing here?" You stand there frozen in place. 

"I'm... done ignoring." Joe responds. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know I said this last chapter was coming Sunday but I couldn't wait that long lol Ohio Is For Lovers has officially wrapped up and I just want to thank you guys sosososososo much for reading and supporting this series. I haven't written a series in years and the love and support you guys have shown me has meant soooo much! If you haven't checked it out already I have been working on a new Joe Burrow series called Cherry Waves, so check that out if you'd like and if it's not for you I plan on doing a small holiday series in November. Thanks again for the support 🖤🖤🖤

#joe burrow imagine #joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow fanfiction #joe burrow fic #joe burrow fan fic #joe burrow x you #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow series

[grazeroveralls]

It’s Been a While

Bradley Bradshaw x OC

Summary - Kelsey is a single mom who has been seeing Bradley for a few months now. It’s been years since she’s been with someone, and after a few months of dating Bradley, they finally have a special (much needed) time together.

warnings - 18+ minors dni, swearing, fingering, unprotected sex, mentions of body appearance (stretchmarks, mom belly), anything else PLEASE let me know!

—

It had been years since she was touched like this. Years since she had been touched period. Being a single mom who’s sole purpose was working and taking care of her daughter, she didn’t have much time for anything else - much less dating.

That’s why she was hesitant to respond to her cousin, Natasha’s text message a few months back, claiming she had the perfect bachelor for her. One who was dedicated to work, and if it didn’t work out, often got shipped off for months at a time. She had pushed off her cousin’s persistence to “get back out there” for years after the bad split with her daughter’s father, but it was near impossible to ignore the urge when Nat was sending pictures of said bachelor every single day since they had been stationed back at Top Gun together.

She couldn’t deny how good he looked, even with the dumb pornstache and his goofy grin. She especially couldn’t deny it when Nat sent pictures of them all at the beach one day, slick with sweat and defined muscles. The Navy had done him good, and she couldn’t help her mind from sinking into the loop of just how good his large hands would feel on her body later that night.

If you told her three years ago that she would be where she is now, pushed against the back of her front door with those very hands on her, she would laugh in your face. If you told her three months ago she would be moaning into the very mouth of Bradley Bradshaw.. that she might have believed.

She missed being with someone. She missed that companionship, that intimacy. Natasha had nearly fell out of her chair in the middle of a class when she had text back and finally agreed to at least meet the guy. Natasha was ecstatic, all but knocking Bradley down after class to tell him her cousin wanted to meet. She may or may not have been putting the idea into Bradley’s head for a few weeks longer than she had been bugging her cousin. Sure Bradley had been with his fair share of women, but once his promotion came through, he spent all the time at Top Gun that he could, learning and soaking up any and every new thing he could learn. He didn’t have time to date anymore, not even long enough for a sleazy lay. It had been a while though, and he was in desperate need of it. Thus Natasha’s brilliant idea to hook up two people she held dear to her heart.

She would never set out to hurt either one of them, not intentionally. She knew they would take care of each other no matter which way anything went with them. They were both kind spirited, heart of gold. Both raised mostly the same, surrounded by love and respect. Who better for each other than Bradley Bradshaw and Kelsey Trace.

Bradley and Kelsey had been seeing each other for three months now. Three months of constant texting between work, three months of sweet kisses and soft whispers. Bradley was slow with her, not wanting to spook her away too soon or put off the wrong impression. He knew late nights didn’t get to happen much between her work and his work and her having a kindergartener - that she had yet to let him meet, but he didn’t push her.

He knew the pain his mom went through when they lost his dad, he couldn’t begin to imagine the pain that Kelsey felt with her ex being alive but no distant from his child it was as if he had died altogether.

He didn’t expect to fall for her like he did, so far, so fast. It all just happened, for the both of them. Things just clicked and suddenly felt right once the two had went out that first night. Nothing was the same since. And neither would change that for anything, not now, not ever.

Bradley pushes his body flush against hers, knocking her smaller frame into the wood door of her house. Hands holding her face tilted up towards him to deepen the kiss more while he hands fisted the material of his black fleece shirt. They had made out plenty, but never this heated, never in her empty house. Hell, he had never even been in her house yet. She kept her home-life shut off from him for now, until she completely could trust he wouldn’t end up hurting her or her daughter.

Tonight, was different. He had walked her to the door just like every time they went out, pressed a soft kiss to her lips, promising to let her know when he got home. Usually that was the end. Tonight, however, Kelsey had been the one to kiss him first, waltzing in her house, leaving the door wide open without a word. She hadn’t made it off the large rug on the inside of the door mantel before he was grabbing her arm and pushing her against the door, lips attacking her in such a desire she thought she would melt right through the floorboards.

She all but mewls when his hand gropes her breast, the light squeeze sending her head back against the wall.

Bradley chuckles lightly, moving to kiss along her jawline, nipping at the soft skin wherever he felt needed it. “Look at you, you’re so touch deprived.”

A gasp falls from her parted lips, feeling his hips buck against hers, earning a groan from him. He was right, she was entirely touch deprived. The first few years after her break up she opted to a vibrator and if needed, a dildo. But nothing really satisfied her, nothing like she truly needed. So instead she stopped altogether, brushing away any sexual tendencies that came over her.

“Bradley,” it comes out as whine, his teeth sinking into the skin where her neck and shoulder met. Her fingernails scrape against his scalp, tugging his brown locks as he sucks and licks at the mark he just made.

Yeah they were thirty and he just gave her a hickey, sue him. He wanted everyone to see that she was someone’s - that she was his.

“Bradley,” she tries again, heaving out a breath as hands roam around her chest, down on her ribs.

“What is it, honey? Is this okay?” his trails sloppy open mouthed kisses back to her mouth, pulling away from her to look at her face. He didn’t want to go too fast, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

Her head nods, eyes fluttering open to hazily look at him. “The bedroom,” she breathes out, snaking her shaky hands under the hem of his shirt. “The bedroom in down the hall on the left.”

Then she’s pushing up on her toes, reconnecting their lips as her tails drag along the skin of his lower back. He groans, moving his hands to her ass, giving it a good squeeze.

She can feel the thin material of her underwear clinging to her, a weird feeling she had never felt before. Being this wet for someone but just a little touching. But Bradley wasn’t just someone to her. He hadn’t been for a while now.

Fingers sneak down, curling under the curve of her ass barely brushing her denim covered core. She moves her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer to her, to her height. Bradley slides his hands the rest of the way down, easily picking her up by the back of her thighs. He maneuvers through the room and down the hall, seeking her bedroom, huffing out moans from her kissing and licking over his scarred neck.

It takes seconds for his long strides to bring him to the place they both wanted to be. Kicking his shoes off as fast as he can, he trips, barely catching their bodies on the edge of the bed as the room fills with her heavenly giggles.

“Slow down there, hotrod.” she grins, sinking teeth into her bottom lip, clinging to his larger built like a monkey as he crawls them both up to the pillows.

“You want slow, sweetheart?” his breath fans against her throat, moving his lower half swiftly against her in the slowest grind he can muster.

“Bradley,” she gasps, feeling his hardening dick through both of their jeans.

Much to her dismay, he leans back on his knees, discarding his shirt. Kelsey moans at the sight of his muscles rippling as he moves, his dog tags falling perfectly between his pecs. She reaches out, wrapping her fingers in the chain and pulling him back down to her. Their lips fight against each other, savoring the taste of the different dessert they had just moments prior at a restaurant.

His fingers dig into her love handles, hard enough she’s sure there will be bruises tomorrow, but the pressure is anything but painful. She digs the heels of her shoes into the mattress, bucking her hips against his. Bradley groans, sucking her bottom lip between his teeth.

“Shirt.”

Cold fingers dance up her sides, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind them. She shivers under his touch helping him rid her body of the blouse. His eyes scan over every inch of her now exposed skin, taking in the beauty in front of him.

If only she had the same outlook as him. Until now, with his eyes roaming all over her, she had forgotten about her appearance and the hold it had on her. She never went back to the weight she was before getting pregnant, still sported the small “mom” pouch and stretch marks along her waistline. And here Bradley was, tan, lean, and fit. She wanted to cry.

“Kels?” he notices the shift in the atmosphere as quickly as it came, always hyperaware of how others were feeling.

“Can we turn the light off?” she doesn’t look at him, instead she finds purchase on a random seam that had come loose on the comforter. She can’t look at him.

“Kels, are you okay?”

Fingers grasp her chin, making her look at him. His face is soft, concerned, not knowing what caused the tears to glisten her eyes.

She nods, pleading with her eyes. “Can we please just turn the lights off?”

He almost agrees, he would agree to anything if it meant she would smile again. But then he notices. He notices her arm is now across her stomach, fingers digging into her side. “Honey,” he breathes out, running his calloused thumb along her cheekbone. “You are beautiful and you are perfect.”

Fingers dig deeper into her skin when she feels his free hand wrap around her wrist. It’s no use in fighting against him, they both knew he was stronger than her. His eyes travel to her stomach, long fingers outlining a few of the pink stretchmarks etched in her skin.

“It’s disgusting.” her voice is barely above a whisper, eyes trained to his moving fingers not daring to look at him.

“No.” It comes out more stern than he meant it too, but he would be damned before he let her talk about herself like that. “These - these tiger stripes, are the result of you doing the most selfless act. You carried a child within you, you gave a child your own body to house, to hold, to protect while they grew.”

He leans down, pressing his lips over and over along her marked skin. “Don’t ever talk down about yourself, honey. You are beautiful.”

Her fingers run through his brown curls, down to cup his cheek. She pulls his face back up to her, smiling sweetly. “Thank you, Bradley.”

He presses their lips together, resting his forehead against her. “Besides, do you really think my dick would be this hard if you were ‘disgusting’?”

She giggles, throwing her head back in laughter giving Bradley the perfect opportunity to kiss her exposed neck. Hungry lips saunter against her neck, throaty moans vibrating against his work. He kisses across her clavicle, down her chest and along the material of her black bra. Dark eyes find hers, hooking a finger under the middle, begging for the go ahead. She nods softly, hissing out at the sudden temperature change that hits her perk nipples.

Bradley groans, wasting no time in popping the bud in his mouth, gently massaging the other one. Her back arches and she swears she could come undone at the small act alone. It had been so, so long.

“Feels so good,” she mutters out, tugging at his soft curls when teeth graze her nipples.

He pulls off with a pop, moving to give the same attention to her other nipple. Her eyes roll, hips pushing against his crotch, pulling him up back up to his lips by his hair.

They kiss again, tongue fighting tongue, teeth clinking against each other. His fingers go to her pants, popping the button open and dragging the zipper down.

“Wanna feel you, honey.” he pants out against her lips, earning a moan from her.

His hand dips in her pants and underwear, letting out his own groan. “So wet for me already, baby.” Lips crash to hers, a long finger slipping in her wet core. She lets out a low mewl, gasping at the foreign sensation.

“Fuck,” she throws her head back, soaking in the slow rhythm of his finger, bringing her hips down to meet his hand.

“Hang on, baby.” he pecks her lips once more, sitting back on his knees to rid her of the rest of her clothes. He parts her legs, using his own thighs to hold her open. Fingers run up her slit, coating in her wetness, slipping two fingers in this time.

“Oh my God,” she moans out, lips parting in a small ‘o’ as he pumps in and out of her, knuckles hitting her sensitive clit.

“Fuck, you look so good.” his lips are back on hers, swallowing every moan and pant that falls from her mouth, moving his thumb in sharp circles on her clit.

“Bra-bradley,” she pants out, head falling back against the soft pillow, the tingling in her stomach growing.

“I got you, honey.” he crooks his fingers, hitting a new spot that makes her eyes squeeze shut, the first orgasm over taking her body. “Did so good, baby. So, soon.” Bradley presses kisses around her face, slowing his fingers to help ride out her high. “Been a while, huh?”

She nods softly, swallowing dryly, rocking her hips to meet his hands a few times before she shudders. He takes that as his cue, retreating his hand and absentmindedly wiping them on his pants. He pushes blonde locks off her sweaty forehead, kissing the tip of her nose. Her eyes flutter open, looking at him in a drunken haze.

“Bradley?”

“Hm.”

“I want you to make love to me.”

He stands from the bed, slipping off his pants and underwear, finally freeing his aching cock. It slaps against his stomach, long and veiny. She moans at the sight alone, taking in the pure sculpture in front of her.

His makes his way back to the bed, crawling between her still open legs, using his thighs to spread her farther. He sits on his knees, rubbing the heavy head up and down her still soaking core. She wiggles at the action, anticipation consuming her.

“I didn’t bring a condom.”

“I don’t care.” she sits up long enough to grab his face, pulling him back down on the bed with her. He slips his tongue in her mouth, reaching between them to line his cock up to her hole.

Pushing in slow, their moans mix together like a melody being perfected. It burns, the sudden stretch after years, but she loves the feeling, being so full of him.

“Doing so good, honey.” he encourages her, kissing away the tears at the corner of her eyes. “Taking me so well.”

“‘s been a while.” her body wiggles under his, stretching and pulsing around him.

“I know, baby.” he kisses her again. “Are you good for me to move?”

“Yeah.”

He bottoms out, pulling out painfully slow, taking his time with the rhythm. “So tight, so good.” his head falls against her shoulder, grunting out. Legs wrap around his waist, heels digging in the dimples of his back, pulling him closer. He picks up the speed, loving the sound of her sharp gasp under him. “Fuck.”

Sitting up, he hooks a hand under one of her thighs, pushing the leg back to go deeper, to hit a deeper spot.

“Fuck, Bradley.” she shrieks, nails digging into his biceps, his free hand digging into her hip bones pushing her down into the mattress.

“Feel so good, baby. Taking my dick so good.”

The headboard beats against the peach colored walls, falling in sync with each time their hips slap together.

“Bradley, fuck, I’m gonna cum again.” she whines under him, tears gathering in her eyes as the second orgasm builds even quicker.

“Come on, honey. Let go, I’m here, I’m right behind you.”

She looks in his eyes, seeing the trust, seeing the care, seeing the love. And she lets go, the second climax overtaking her body in a heap, leaving her shaking.

Bradley is right behind her, walls clenching around his dick, filling her completely before he even has time to think about pulling out. He’s panting against her clammy skin, nails releasing their death grip from his arms, leaving bloody crescents in their make. The sting doesn’t even effect him, all he can think about is how hot her mark on him looks, how perfect she looked coming apart under him. Fuck, he could go again if she wanted.

Then he pulls out, reality crashing around him as his cum strings them together. “I’m so sorry, Kels. I couldn’t stop.”

Her chest is still heaving up and down but she shakes her head lightly. “No, no it’s okay.” she breathes out, eyes dancing over his face. “I’m on the pill.”

He nods, collapsing on the bed beside her, neither caring about the mess on their lower halves.

“Nat is keeping Emma for the night. If you want to stay.” she speaks softly beside him, cuddling his chest after he pats the spot for her.

He wraps his arms around her, rubbing his fingers along her bare side. “I’d love to stay.”

#bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw blurb #bradley bradshaw smut #top gun smut #bradley rooster bradshaw #top gun maverick smut

[lesbiansgoal]

Broke up with my girlfriend last night and I wanted to see if y'all think I'm being unreasonable here

Okay so we had been officially dating for 10 months but had been together for almost a year. Things started off really great, we quickly fell for each other, she met my family and we had made plans for me to meet hers. She talked all the time about how important her family was to her and how much she values being home (she lives with them,) she would occasionally say "they aren't the most supportive but they are getting better" but wouldn't expand much past giving the example of her mom saying "I don't know why you can't just marry a man." We never spent time at her house because she claimed that her apartment was too small to really spend time there.

We started trying to make plans in November for me to meet her family and the plans kept falling through, but I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt that it was just bad timing. Our relationship started feeling so much more distant and the spark definitely didn't feel nearly as bright as the months went on. The plans never ended up happening and I chalked it up to her having a super hectic year.

Fast forward to 3 weeks ago, she told me "I need to delay you meeting my mom, I can't handle having a breakdown right now if she treats you poorly." I was pretty bummed but I wanted to respect her, so I told her that it was okay to delay it a bit till she felt better.

I brought the situation up last week and this time she told me that she wanted to wait till her family was more accepting to bring me into her life. I really didn't feel comfortable with the goalpost shifting so quickly, so I told her how I felt. Feeling hidden from her family was really painful for me and we agreed that we needed to have a serious talk about things.

Welp, yesterday was serious talk day and she finally told me the whole truth. She's been out for three years and her family has been calling her a unholy freak and telling her that she's disgusting and that her relationships are an abomination for that entire time. She thought they were getting better because they had been saying it less often (I'd imagine because she had been single,) so she made the plans for me to meet her mom, but as the plans approached and her mom started making comments again, she quickly decided she didn't want to mix those two worlds and started delaying the plans. She lost her relationship with her brother entirely when she came out and it destroyed her, and she said that she can't have that happen again. This was also apparently the reason that I couldn't visit her house, the size iasue was just an excuse. She tried to tell me that they are getting better and that the parts of her life don't have to stay separate forever, but it's been 3 years and they are still saying all the terrible things to her. She thinks that showing them pictures of us and telling them about our dates will someday make them come around, but they are conservative Catholics, and honestly that sounds wildly unlikely. She gave me the option to stay with her and wait for them to be better, or to end it. And I decided to end it.

I genuinely feel for her, I can't imagine what she's going through. At the same time, I think that constantly talking about how important these people are to you and simultaneously asking your partner to be okay with not meeting them or even coming over to your house is absurd. I hate that our community has to face this kind of bigotry, but sadly that's part of the package. I fought so hard to accept myself, and I feel like asking me to willingly go back to being tucked away until I'm more palatable isn't a fair ask. It would be different if she had cut them out of her life, honestly if that was the case I'd be happy to never meet them, but she wants to live in both worlds and that doesn't feel fair to ask of me, and it especially doesn't feel fair to keep that request from me for 7 months.

I just want to have a partner thats proud to be with me, I want to be a part of my partners life, I want to spend time with them at their home, and she really painted the whole situation like I was asking way too much of her.

Sorry this got so long and rambly, what do y'all think?

#breakup #wlw #glg #w4w

[buckysimp101]

Love at First Grade (18+) - 9

Single Dad!Bucky Barnes x Single Mom!Reader; Teacher!Bucky x CEO!Reader

chapter warning: smut

a/n: shout out to my bestie @youlightmeupfinn​ for the inspo behind the scene with Steve and Bex in this chapter!

Series Masterlist

The last week of the semester before Winter break flew by. The kids had a Holiday party in Bucky’s class and you had even brought cupcakes for everyone in celebration of Avery’s birthday. The whole class had sang Happy Birthday and you had watched on happily as your typically shy daughter introduced you to her other friends. Bucky swore that every time he saw you interact with Becca and Avery his heart grew two sizes.

Speaking of Becca, she had been begging you and Bucky all week at pickup to let Avery spend the night with her at Bucky’s mom’s house Friday night so the two of them could have a “best friend birthday sleepover.” The two of you had finally given in after making sure with Winnie that she was up to watching two rambunctious six year olds. She had assured you that she could do it, claiming her experience watching Steve and Bucky in their childhood, and she had let you know that Becca would be coming home for Christmas Friday night so you would have the opportunity to meet her on Saturday when you picked Avery up, a suspiciously knowing and pointed look on her face. But you and Bucky could care less. With Avery and Becca spending the night with his ma, it meant that Bucky could have you all to himself tonight.

The two of you tried to find at least one night a week for date night but it really was getting more and more difficult to hide it from increasingly suspicious mothers. You helped him finish cleaning up his classroom as the girls played with the dry erase markers at the white board, drawing up all the toys and presents they had asked their parents for. Even though the situationship that the two of you were in had been going on for a little over three months now, you still had not told your parents or the girls the truth, and so the two of you had made the decision not to get each other anything for Christmas as that would definitely out you to your families.

Every now and then Bucky would look up and catch your eye, a secretive grin appearing on your lips. You had informed him a few weeks ago that there was something thrilling about keeping your relationship a secret from your parents and Bucky had joked, “you must’ve been a goody two shoes, huh?” Bucky could see the truth in your eyes and it just made him laugh, you had nudged him in the ribs and told him it wasn’t funny which only spurred him on. You had brought Avery’s overnight bag when you came to the holiday party so that Winnie could pick the girls up from school and Bucky was itching to get his hands on you. Good thing he didn’t have to wait much longer because his mother showed up in her large winter coat, wide blue eyes scanning his classroom for her granddaughter and her practically adopted granddaughter. Both girls squealed as they noticed Winnie and screams of “Nana!” and “Mrs. Winnie!” echoed throughout the classroom causing you and Bucky to wince at the shrillness. You nodded a hello to Bucky’s mom and he headed to give her a hug. Wrapping his arms around her she gave Bucky her signature red lipsticked kiss on the cheek causing him to groan and you to laugh.

“Now what are your plans tonight, sweetheart? Are you sure there’s no way I can convince you to help me corral these two hoodlums?” Winnie questioned jokingly causing Bucky to chuckle in response.

“Sorry Ma, no can do. I’m going out tonight,” the words slipped past Bucky’s lips too easily and it wasn’t until he looked at you, standing behind his mom with eyes the size of sand dollars, that he realized what he’d said. Bucky held his breath as he waited for his mom to respond.

“Oh? With who?” Winnie questioned, eyes narrowing slightly as if to read Bucky’s mind.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck….

“Oh with Steve. Yeah, good ole Steve. The punk and I go out to Nat’s place at the end of every semester. So. Just the two of us, couple of drinks. And then I’ll be there to see Bex bright and early,” Bucky barely stumbled his way through the lie. He chanced a look at you over his mom’s shoulder and saw you rubbing your eyes exasperatedly with your hand, but he also thought he saw a breath of relief leave you as his mom backs down from the Spanish Inquisition with a small hmph. She re-centered attention on Becca and Avery and told them to pack up their backpacks so they could both have fun at Nana’s house. Next thing Bucky knew the girls were giving you and him hugs and racing to see who could make it down the hall faster. Winnie called out a goodbye to you and told you to just pick Avery up whenever tomorrow, she’d be more than happy to watch the two girls for however long you wanted. Bucky watched you interact with his mom as she gave you a hug, his heart beating faster at the affection and attention you gave his family.

When the coast was clear and Winnie had slipped out the door with the girls Bucky snuck up behind you, slipping a hand around your waist and pulling you close to him as he kissed up your neck to your ear. You leaned into the feeling and whispered, “that was close, Barnes.” Bucky cringed internally at the way he’d tried to cover his slip up to his mom but he heard you chuckle. Obviously you weren’t upset with him so he let out a deep breath.

What you said next had his eyebrows shooting up, “it’s okay, I had to tell my mom I was seeing someone named James.” Bucky used the hand on your waist to turn you around to face him, his eyes wide and he watched you nervously pull your bottom lip between your teeth. You were just as nervous as he was. “Relax, sweets. My mother is relentless and she was getting suspicious that I was having her watch Avery so often all of a sudden and she guessed. I might have a good poker face with other businessmen but she raised me. She’s the one who taught me the key components of a good poker face. She’d have sniffed a lie out in a heartbeat like a bloodhound on a scent!”

Bucky laughed at that. You sure had a way with words. He didn’t say anything, just resumed the trail of kisses up your ear so you finished, “besides, I said James. Not Bucky. So it wasn’t technically a lie. And I introduce you as either Bucky or Mr. Barnes so she won’t know it’s you on Sunday.” Sunday. A reminder that he’d be meeting your parents for the first time. Not in an official capacity, the two of you hadn’t had that conversation yet, but the thought of meeting your parents had Bucky’s palms sweaty and his heart beating faster. He wondered if this was how you felt when you met his mom. You moaned as Bucky added a little pressure to the kisses, sucking lightly and you laid your hands on his chest and pushed him away with a giggle. “Alright, Mr. Barnes. Enough fooling around, we have a dinner date to attend courtesy of our favorite Chinese restaurant and their number one delivery driver,” you added with a wink. The two of you liked going out on your dates but you loved to have dinner at home. Especially since it meant the two of you didn’t have very far to go if you wanted to…extend the date. Bucky groaned but acquiesced and offered your ass a swat as the two of you finished cleaning up his classroom.

After loads of food and a few drinks you and Bucky were snuggled up on the couch watching a movie. The way you two were laying gave you the perfect opportunity to play with Bucky’s hair. Bucky loved it when you played with his hair, he swore if he could purr like a cat he’d do so every time you messed with it. When Bucky had cut his hair a few days ago he’d been nervous that you would be put off by the length change but you had ensured him you’d be able to grab on still, the statement followed with a wink. Bucky paused the movie and stretched, causing you to tumble into him. “Wanna drink?” he asked as he moved to your kitchen, the two of you had been getting used to each other’s spaces and had an open fridge policy. You nodded and headed to sit at the counter as Bucky poured you a drink.

“So anything else I should know about meeting your the famous L/N’s?” Bucky questioned as he took a sip of his wine. You answered with a long sip of your own glass, brows furrowed together in thought.

“Well, my dad is a grumpy retiree, part of the reason he got his nickname Grumps is because Avery heard us calling him grumpy all the time and it must have stuck out,” Bucky huffed out a laugh at the statement and so you continued, “my mom is pretty blunt but she loves me and she loves Avery so she’s always got our best interests at heart. Even if she appears to go about it in the wrong way sometimes.”

Bucky raised his eyebrow in question there and you just waved off his concern, that’s a story for another time then, Bucky thought to himself. Bucky took the moment of silence that followed to study you. The way your tongue poked out to clean the wine off your lips, the way your breasts moved up and down with every breath. The way your face and eyes softened as you talked about your family. So Bucky did what come to mind next. He leaned in, bringing his hands to cup your face, and slotted his lips over yours. His tongue tangling with your own and tasting the wine and you. Oh Bucky loved the way you tasted on his tongue and if he could go everyday of his life with that reminder of what you taste like in this moment he would. Okay brain, that’s new, Bucky cut off the train of thought his brain was heading towards and deepened the kiss. You responded in kind and pressed your body as close to him as possible. The kiss heating up until Bucky’s next reaction was to pick you up, your legs wrapping around his waist, and take you to the couch, it was the closest possible location, and lay you down while not breaking the kiss once. You ground your hips into him and all Bucky could do was try not to moan into your mouth. Try being the key word. He could feel your lips turning up into a smile at the way he was mere putty in your hands.

When the two of you broke for air Bucky leaned his head against your forehead, trying to catch his breath, when that breath turned into a loud moan as you cupped him through his pants. You giggled, fucking giggled, at the moaning mess of a man in front of you and that’s when Bucky started to rid you of your clothes. Your shirt, then your pants, and when you were left bare before him all Bucky could do was marvel at you, his pants growing tighter as he grew harder. You seemed to bask in the attention and so Bucky did what any sane man would do. He knelt down in front of you and pressed soft kisses from your ankle up your thighs, pushing one leg open while he draped the other over his shoulder, his head level with your wet heat. And for a brief second he looked up at you. Your eyes were on fire. He could tell you were seconds away from digging your heel into his shoulder and moving him to where you needed him most, so he leaned forward and flattened his tongue over your entrance up to your clit, and closing his lips around the delicate bud.

A breathy moan fell from your lips as your head fell back, Bucky’s lips quirking up at the sound, satisfied, he began to eat you out with a fervor. As if you were his last meal on earth he lapped at your entrance, switching between your pussy and your clit, changing the pressure up and eventually adding two fingers when you were nice and ready. Bucky could feel your leg over his shoulder shaking and he knew you were close so he picked up the pace, licking at your clit while his fingers scissored into and out of your tight channel until you were cumming on his tongue. The taste of you, sweet and tangy, filling his senses as he worked you through your orgasm, finally your body shivered and your hand wrapped in his hair, pulling him to your mouth in a hot kiss. Your tongues battled for dominance and Bucky must have been paying more attention to that because the next thing he knew, he was on his back on the couch and you were on your knees, unbuckling his jeans and pulling down his underwear.

Bucky could’ve cum then and there at the mere sight of you on your knees for him. You took in the sight of his erection and next thing Bucky knew he was willing every god he could think of to keep him from cumming too fast. This obviously wasn’t the first time you had given him a blowjob but Bucky swore it was magical every time. When you adjusted to take him into your throat he bucked his hips uncontrollably before coming back to his senses. He looked at you with wide eyes, worried he’d taken it too far, but you just kept going, head moving up and down as you circled your tongue around his cock and used your hand to massage his balls. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fu Bucky let out a growl and he pulled you off with a pop and into his lap to kiss you senseless. You let out a breathy moan that Bucky swallowed as the kiss got hotter and hotter until all of a sudden you stopped.

Bucky whined at the loss and you just smirked, “meet me in my bedroom?” You bolted off Bucky’s lap down the hall to your bedroom and Bucky gave chance, scrambling over his downed pants as he ran to the sound of your laughter.

Bucky thought himself a generous lover and made sure over the course of the night that you were never left hanging. In the bed, in the shower, in the bed again. He’d make you cum every minute of the day if he could. Finally the two of you were falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Bucky woke up to filtered light, opening one eye he checked the alarm clock next to your bed. It read 9:30. That’s the latest I’ve slept in years, Bucky thought as he readjusted to get closer to your warmth. His movement must have jostled you because Bucky could feel the change in your body as you began to wake up. You rolled over sleepily and opened your eyes slowly to look in his, a small smile growing on his face at the sight of you. A mirrored sleepy version appearing on your own.

“Hmmm g’morning,” you mumbled as you snuggled into his chest. Bucky chuckled and pressed a kiss on your head with his reply, “good morning, honey.”

The two of you laid there for a moment until Bucky moved his hand to cup your face and give you a kiss. As usual, the kiss got more and more heated until you were pinned under Bucky’s strong arms, one hand playing with your clit with his thumb and fingering you with his two fingers. You were gonna cum, Bucky could feel your walls tightening around his fingers when you reached out to still his wrist. Bucky took in your face and was about to ask if you were okay when you said, “I wanna cum on your cock, sweets. Not your fingers.”

The magic words had Bucky nodding his head and practically slamming into you in seconds. You both moaned loudly, Bucky at the feeling of you gripping him tight and sucking him back in every time. Your legs wrapped around his waist, heels digging into his ass spurring him to go faster and so Bucky willingly obliged. Moving faster and harder until you were cumming hard around his cock, Bucky pulling out at the last second to see your breasts painted in his cum. You were both breathing hard, trying to catch your breath, and Bucky rolled off to get a washcloth from the bathroom and clean you up. To his surprise, you rolled off the bed and followed him to the shower.

“Hmmm we should both probably get cleaned up,” you purred in his ear.

Bucky smirked and kissed you, as he pulled away he whispered, “you’re a little minx, you know that?” To which you just responded with a smirk and a wink as you turned on the shower.

After another round in the shower and finally actually showering, the two of you were changing clothes, more like playing a game to see who could prevent the other from getting dressed first, his lips on yours, your hand dipping into his waistband, when you let out a sound like a cross between a squeal and a giggle.

“Bucky! We have to go get the girls!! It’s 11:30!” You exclaimed, hurriedly throwing on your shoes as Bucky sprang into action. The two of you hopped into your cars, to prevent any lingering suspicions from an already suspicious mother.

You pulled up at Winnie’s house at the same time and just as Bucky’s hand reached the door to knock it was flung open by none other than Steve, looking at the two of you with a knowing look on his face. Bex was right behind him with Avery and Becca holding each hand and talking excitedly. Neither of the girls had even noticed their parents were back. Bex stared at Bucky and when her eyes flitted to you she just had a knowing smirk on her face. Steve cleared his throat and announced, “oh hey, Buck! There you are. Winnie called this morning, asked if I had seen you since last night because you weren’t here yet,” he emphasized pointedly before adding, “so I told her you had slept in and that I’d come help her and Bex with these two hoodlums, so we’re going to get ice cream, good luck with your mom!”

Avery and Becca spared a moment to say hi to their parents before they were chattering with each other again, their parents not knowing what to do with the lack of attention from the girls. But it wasn’t the girls that was eyeing them. It was Bex. She looked you and Bucky up and down before a wicked gleam crossed her eyes. As the trio passed, Bex leaned in and whispered to Bucky “might wanna check your fly before you go and see mom. And maybe fix your hair it’s looking a little…mussed,” before winking in your direction and walking to Steve’s car with the girls. All you and Bucky could do was stand there and laugh. You two laughed so hard you almost fell over. But Bucky zipped his pants and you did a quick fix of his hair before joining Winnie in the house as you waited for your girls to come back.

taglist (to be added just let me know! also if there is a * next to a username it’s because tumblr wouldnt let me tag!):

@youlightmeupfinn

@la-undercover-latina

@jackiehollanderr

@fab-notfat

@galaxy-dusk

@asoftie4bucky

@fangirlvoice

@queenbeecandi

@babyevansblog

@stevihj

@sherlockstrangewolf

@notavintagecliche

@justsomebodyweird*

@katiecg

@wintasssoldier

@snufflet

@buckrecs

@missvelvetsstuff

@selluequestrian

@dhoruwolfie

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x yn #james bucky barnes #teacher!bucky x ceo!reader #single dad bucky x single mom reader #bucky as a teacher and a single dad? all i ever wanted #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes smut #buckysimp101 #love at first grade fic

[iamthenerdqueen]

The Red String of Faith - Chapter VII

Idol!AteezXOCs Soulmates!ot8AteezXOCs OCXOC Slight Social Media AU!

slight twigger warnings: SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER!!! Polyamory, group of 10, two OC's -feel free to replace one OC with yourself if you'd like- , listen this is an idea me and my best friend had and is something for fun read at own risk, not edited as always, also we are starting to explore themes such as bxb and gxg if thats not for you, this story may not be for you.

Chapter V, Chapter VI, Next

Time moves so slowly when there is something or someone waiting for you. It’s even worse when soul sickness hangs over your head like a constant gray rain cloud.  

Those two months dragged on for Lia and Lyra. They talked to the boys as much as possible, calling them at any chance and texting any moment they were awake at the same time. Ateez was gearing up for the next leg of the tour, their next major comeback in a couple months, and doing all kinds of promotions, filming, etc. 

Some days they talked nonstop through all hours, other days, they could barely talk at all. A 13-hour time difference took its toll on all of them. But Lia had always been sensitive to the tether, for the most part. It was only a matter of time in Lia’s mind before that looming soul sickness laid claim on her. 

Five weeks out

Packing was a hassle and the one thing that Lyra hated more than anything else was packing up a house. The girls had decided that they would start packing early, and send some things little by little beforehand so that they would be waiting for them at the new apartment they had secured just after the boys had returned to Korea. 

With the help of Hajoon, they had gotten it arranged that they would all live together in the new apartment the girls had purchased outright, well kinda. There were some renovations Lia had decided on and thank god for Eunsook as she had been the one giving them all the updates on how the renovations were going. 

They hadn’t fully explained to the boys the situation, in an attempt to make it a surprise. That’s one of the things they were working on right now in a way. Taking a break from packing some of their random crap and what they considered nonessential kitchen supplies, (to be read as all but two of each piece of dinnerware and utensils. They refused to be without kitchen things because Ateez sure as hell wouldn’t have any) to ship Yunho’s birthday present. If their calculations were right, and the postal system didn’t screw them over, it would get to him at KQ on his birthday in a couple of days. 

Listen, paying a pretty penny for the fastest shipping they could be worth it to get the gift to him. The small Build-a-bear clad in Gryffindor robes was sprayed with both of the girls' perfumes and had a special recorded message from the girls in his left paw. They had even written him a long joint note, parts in Korean and parts in English. 

They were incredibly sad that the first two birthdays between all of them would happen when they weren’t with each other, they just didn’t expect it to feel this awful being apart like this. 

Three weeks out

Lia, if nothing else in this life, is stubborn. She was used to feeling sick, soul sickness was even familiar to her as she had gotten some form of it often while Lyra was an hour away at college. She hadn’t even told Lyra how often she had been sick for the first year she was in school, but it had been a bit of a blowout argument when it came to light. 

Still, Lia was unwilling to voice the major discomfort she felt to anyone but her mom. It started with that same migraine from the first week they had spent away from the boys rearing its ugly head once again about 24 hours after they got home from LA. 

Advil had become Lia’s best friend for the past couple of weeks, then the major mood shift hit about a week ago. Depression was one of the most common symptoms of worsening soul sickness, part of the body's way of trying to get the soulmates to reunite. To feel happy again. 

In the past 48 hours the fatigue, soreness, fever, and nausea had set in. Lia couldn’t swallow anything, not even water, without wanting to vomit as it traveled down her throat. Her hands were shaking constantly and she couldn’t really feel her knees. 

Lia had told her mom earlier in the week that she was feeling the separation a bit more now but tried to not really go into detail about what was going on. Just saying she really didn’t feel so good. 

Lyra had no idea that she was this bad, having only picked up on the fact that the migraine had returned. Well, she had no idea until she walked into their apartment that afternoon to find Lia passed out on the kitchen floor. 

There are very few things that compare to the fear of seeing your soulmate laid out, still on the floor. But, in that moment Lyra couldn’t think of anything worse than the scene she had come home to. 

“I fucking hate you sometimes. How could you not tell me you were feeling this sick?Why?” Lyra was speaking into the void at the moment. Maybe if she talked enough Lia would wake up.

They had made it to the hospital a few hours ago, and the doctors pumped Lia full of fluids and some medications to help suppress the soul sickness. Now it was just a waiting game, she would wake up soon, but patience was something Lyra didn’t have at the moment. 

Lyra was openly crying and softly holding Lia’s still hand, waiting for some sort of change. “You gotta wake up, and let me take care of you, okay? It’s you and me forever right? We’re supposed to go out like the old people in The Notebook. You made me promise that, no take backs, asshole.”

Humor to some extent helped Lyra get through the night until Lia finally woke up in the early hours of the morning. 

Two weeks out

“You have to tell them. It’s only fair that they know,” Lyra was still in full-blown ‘caretaker’ mode after Lia’s fun little overnight stay in the hospital a week ago. 

“It’s fine now, why should I have to worry them with something that doesn’t even matter anymore.” Lia didn’t see the point in telling the boys that she had been sick. She was fine now as the doctors had given her a prescription for medication that would help until they left for Madrid in a couple of weeks. 

In her opinion they had more important things to do, finishing up their packing for both the household stuff and what would go with them on the tour. Ordering all of the furniture for their Korean apartment. Hajoon had already gotten the boys to order stuff for their rooms, feeding them a little white lie that they would be getting three separate dorms now that the girls were coming. It didn’t go over great, but they seemed to accept the white lie. 

“FINE? LIA!” Lyra was flabbergasted at the fact she had just said it was fine, “You’re taking horse pills twice a day everyday for the next TWO WEEKS.” 

Lia had to move a little out of the way as Lyra aggressively tossed said bottle of horse pills or soul sickness meds as a normal human would call them. Lyra was a bit sensitive to things like this, having taken care of her father from such a young age. She couldn’t imagine losing another person to something she couldn’t fix. 

She had to bury the most important man that would ever be in her life if she had to do the same with the most important girl. That’s something she couldn’t survive, her weak heart could never take it. 

Things had been tense between the two of them since the hospital stay, the separation was taking its toll on Lyra too. She wasn’t sick like Lia was, but her mood had soured and stayed that way since the hospital. 

The boys were no better, each of them suffering in their own way. Hongjoong was crabby and had been a bit of a tyrant with recording, Yunho was abnormally quiet, and Mingi was sleeping more than normal. The others were experiencing some pretty drastic mood swings here and there, with extreme highs followed by extreme lows. 

Everyone goes on and on about how bad soul sickness is on the body, but no one talks about just how bad the mental portion is. Depression is a standard symptom but it’s a constant loop of desperately needing someone who can’t be there. Or in their case multiple people who can't be there. 

Lia refused to listen to her body, if she ignored the issues they weren’t there. Even after the hospital visit, her work came first. She was streaming nearly every day for at least 4 hours if not more. On top of that, she had been recording a series to post on youtube once a week while they were on tour with the boys and while they were getting settled in Korea. 

Twilight in the Sims was already nine episodes long, each episode was roughly an hour long after editing and she had just started on making Jacob’s house. She was also determined to make the wolf pack’s house aka Sam and Emily’s house. 

Plus to top everything off with the series she was going to make the castle the Volturi lived in as the final episode. It was a little excessive, Lia was aware of that, but she hadn’t really ever taken a break since starting Twitch. A part of her had a real fear that she would be gone and then she would come back to every one of her fans having left her. She just wanted to make everyone else happy, to give them the space she had always wanted to find. 

48 hours out

Packing the last of their stuff was surprisingly emotional for both of the girls. Neither of them was significantly attached to Columbia, SC but something hurt about the fact that this place that was home, had always been home, wasn’t anymore. They would be on the other side of the world for the foreseeable future, no more calling their moms to be with them at the drop of the hat. 

There was no going home anymore. One day you’re suddenly grown up and the choices you make can change everything. 

Lyra was feeling the worst about being so far away from everything, from what she knew and it was the first time in her life she wouldn’t be in driving distance from her Dad. Saying goodbye to him was the hardest for her. 

A gravestone couldn’t say goodbye back, it couldn’t tell her she was making the right choice, or anything else she was desperate to hear. Nothing like that would happen for her, all she could do was clean off the gravestone and keep talking as if someone would hear her. 

She couldn’t see her father, not in person, but moving to the other side of the world really meant all she would have left of him were the voicemails saved on her phone. It all seemed so final. 

Lia could only watch Lyra struggle with this, it was always something she had processed internally. Grieving in solitude. Besides, she was having a hard time with the major change.

Her mom was her whole world, not being able to see her whenever she wanted or being unable to call her was a weight on her heart. She would never go back to her Granny and Papa’s house, and she would be away from every comfort she had ever known.

As sad as it was for the girls and as hard as the last two months had been on them, it was like watching the sun crest over the horizon turning the darkest of nights into the brightest of dawns. A new and beautiful life was starting for all of them, with each other. 

“Who would’ve thought that the two of us would have ended up with this life,huh?” Lia said from her spot on the floor next to Lyra. They had set up in front of the TV for their final dinner in their apartment, forgoing the couch and pretending that they were younger. 

“Not me, I thought that soulmates were something that happened to other people. Not me,” Lyra stopped to finish eating the egg roll in her hand, thinking back to all the things they had done together.

“I would like to believe that Davis knew exactly what he was doing when he sat us together, like what if there was a small little elf on his shoulder, telling him ‘those two! Put those two together!’” The girls broke down into laughs at Lia's assumption of a small elf whispering into their old high school choir teacher's ear. 

“If that's the case he spent every day for the next two years regretting that, we were simultaneously the favorites in that class and the ones with the mischievous streak.” Lyra recalled all of their antics and how they could get away with anything. 

Every moment had happened for a reason, in one way or another it was fate bringing them together and pushing them toward the boys who were waiting on the other side of the world for them. 

They sat like that for a few hours, talking about everything and nothing. Soaking in their final hours in the apartment that had become home, in the city that had always been home. The real truth of it: their home had stopped being a place a long time ago, now their home was eight men whose dreams depended on them being in South Korea. 

The choice was easy, they would follow them anywhere.

At least their new tattoos had healed, and they wouldn’t have to deal with some of the more annoying parts of living in the same place your whole life. Like being stopped in the grocery store by your first-grade teacher and somehow getting trapped in a conversation for an hour in the cereal aisle. 

 Nine hours until the reunion

The theme of having to go to an airport to see the boys was in all honesty becoming Lyra’s least favorite part of this whole shabang. International travel was considerably worse as they had to navigate even longer lines and fight larger crowds to just get to the TSA check. 

“I swear if that woman and her yelling spawn get on our flight, I think my head might explode.” Lyra was having the worst day, her period had started, TSA had decided to harass her just a little bit about the surgical steel in her leg, and to top it all off the boys - who had arrived in Madrid the day before - hadn’t sent their normal good morning texts and it really was the highlight of both girls day. 

“Normally I would defend the child because honestly same. I want to scream into the abyss at all hours of the day, but until I get my good morning text, screw everyone. They all suck.” Lia was pissy about the texts too. They were serious when they said it was the highlight of their day because each day the boys would try and outdo each other with awful pickup lines or cheesy puns that brought a smile without fail to each of the girls' faces. 

Not to mention, as Lia had been making the effort to learn the basics of Korean and Lyra was working on the speaking and listening portion of the language, they had taken to sending some cute Korean puns every so often to help the girls. 

They didn’t really help, it just caused the boys to clown each other and the girls to cringe. But still, they sent their good morning texts like clockwork. Yet, today there was nothing. 

“Do you think they will text us while we’re in the air?” Lyra asked counting down the minutes until they boarded the plane. International flights were nerve-wracking, but an almost seven-hour flight across the open ocean had Lyra almost shitting herself. 

She had seen one too many videos about the multiple planes that just disappeared throughout the years and knowing her luck, this would be one of them. 

Lia wasn’t as on edge over the flight as Lyra, she knew she would fall asleep and sleep through the whole thing. Plus, if they did disappear over the open ocean how cool would it be to time-jump and show up five years in the future without realizing it. 

The boys had learned the hard way not to ask them about conspiracy theories because all they got out of it was that water is indeed wet, the megalodon is still out there, and that Hellen Keller had to be lying about something. There is just no way that she flew a plane, Lia refused to believe it. 

The flight was rather painless actually, with no screaming baby and no plunging into the ocean never to be seen again. They made it to Madrid safe and sound.

When they reached the terminal they finally got the chance to take their phones off of airplane mode, both of them seeing a flood of texts from the boys. And one from Hajoon, letting them know that an assistant manager would be meeting them, and getting them from the airport to yet another hotel. 

Lia texted the boys back, letting them know that they had made it just fine while Lyra texted Hajoon back also letting him know they had landed and that they were heading out to the luggage claim to meet the other manager. 

Finding their luggage was easy enough, they had made sure to buy brightly colored luggage so that it would be easier to find them when going through baggage claim. 

The real problem they had run into was the fact that the manager they were supposed to meet was nowhere to be seen, despite the confirmation from Hajoon that she should be there already. 

“Do you see Yerim? She was supposed to meet us here, but I didn't see her,” Lyra had looked through the three baggage claims near them and still had yet to see the assistant manager. 

The girls hadn’t really gotten to know her yet, she didn’t speak to them often unless asked to and the boys tended to communicate directly with Hajoon. Yerim was also relatively new to the company according to Eunsook, and didn’t have much responsibility within her position yet. 

“I don’t see her either, could we call her? Do you have her number?” Lia was a bit worried that they had gotten turned around somewhere or that something had happened to the Assistant Manager causing her to not be there. 

None of them were in a place they were super familiar with and with Yerim being close in age with them, they worried for a girl on her own in an unfamiliar place. 

“I don’t have her number, but let me see if I can get Hajoon on the phone and see what's going on or if he knows anything,” Lyra moved off to the side of the room they were in so that she could hear the call. 

Standing by their luggage, Lia decided to take a peek at Twitter to see what her fans were chatting about and maybe give them a bit of a travel update. 

When she looked back up, Lyra was on her way back over to her with an unpleasant look on her face. 

“Did you get a hold of him?” Lia was confused as to why Lyra didn’t look happy with the phone conversation

“Yep. He said that he had just heard from her actually, and that she's actually on the other side of the airport at a different airline's baggage claim. She wants us to come to her and apparently she wasn’t very pleasant according to Hajoon. She thinks we went to the wrong baggage claim to make her look stupid.”  Lyra usually wasn’t one to care about things like this she would just suck it up and make their way over there, but all things considered. Today just wasn’t the fucking day. 

Lyra grabbed her luggage a little aggressively and began to make her way toward the other baggage claim with Lia following behind her. As always between these two, Lyra extended her hand to the small of her back for Lia to grab as they navigated the crowded area. 

It also let Lia know that Lyra’s annoyance wasn’t with her, just with the situation at hand. They hadn’t asked for any of the staff to meet them here, actually. But KQ insisted, seeing the girls as part of their company family now and wanting to ensure their safety. Hajoon had a soft spot for their soulmates and now for the girls too, so he was very adamant about helping in any way they could. 

They reached Yerim without much fuss, and what surprised them the most was the girl acting as if nothing was wrong. Both of them were annoyed with the situation, just smiled, and were as polite as possible to make the interaction go faster. Their focus was on getting to the hotel to see the boys and being together with them again. 

The boys were trying to settle into the hotel suite they were in, much like the first night they had spent with the girls they were in a hotel suite made of up two rooms each with two beds, common space, and kitchenette. They did not expect Lia and Lyra to bust into the room, not even telling them that they had made it from the airport. 

The slam of the hotel room door caused most of the boys to try and go see what was happening. Before he could register what was happening Yunho was nearly tackled by Lyra, while Lia made a beeline for Yeosang who was with him in the kitchen. 

The girls spent the next five minutes finding each boy and squeezing them into a tight hug. There really was no question, regardless of the travel, drastic change, and complicated staff situation these people were home to each other. The relief everyone felt being together again was almost euphoric and they had no intention of being away from each other for that long ever again.

A/N: Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, this one is definetly a filler in my eyes. My goal is to give maybe two chapters throught the Europe tour and then we get to the good stuff and life in Korea. I feel like that will be the most fun to write and the most fun to read, lol. This next week may be a little harder for me to update, as I will be watching my brothers house on top of my usual working shedule. So, we may not have an update this next week im not sure yet.

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez imagines #ateez soulmate au #ateez x oc #ateez x reader #ateez x y/n #ateez san #ateez smut #ateez social media au #soulmate au #ateez scenarios #atz #ateez smau #ot8 ateez x reader #ot8 x reader #ateez ot8 #ateez headcanons #ateez soft hours #ateez song mingi #ateez kim hongjoong #ateez jeong yunho #ateez poly #ateez park seonghwa #ateez kang yeosang #ateez kpop #ateez kq #ateez choi jongho #ateez choi san

[roosterforme]

Batting Practice Part 18 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Tee ball season is almost over, and the Tiny Eagles are still undefeated. You are starting to feel bolder in your personal life, like you are ready to claim everything you are entitled to. And Bradley is subtly letting you know he's along for more than just the ride.

Warnings: Smut, fluff, angst and swearing

Length: 3800 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female single!mom Reader

Check my masterlist for more Top Gun fun! Batting Practice masterlist.

"Only two more weeks of tee ball left," Molly murmured as she sipped her coffee next to you on the bleachers. 

You paused to think about that. It was only two months ago that you met Bradley, and a lot had changed since you caught yourself stuttering in his presence that first day. After he brought you flowers and lunch to work on Wednesday, he'd met you at your house that night. One thing led to another, and now you knew Bradley loved being called Lieutenant Bradshaw in bed. 

"Two more weeks," you agreed. You'd be sad when tee ball ended, but Bradley had been telling you for the past week since the Phillies game that he'd work on some skills with Everett during the summer. 

"Go Ev!" Molly shouted when he hit the ball really hard and scored a run against the Tiny Robins. It was Crazy Socks day, and Everett had talked you into ordering him a pair from the Phillies website. You had a second pair stashed away for Bradley's birthday, which you found out from Bob was a week after Everett's.

You clapped along with your sister as you watched Everett run the bases in his red and white striped socks, but your mind was wandering elsewhere. 

"You know what you said about Danny last time we talked about him?" you asked, and Molly scoffed. 

"You mean how I called him an incompetent man-child? Or how I told you he doesn't deserve to lick the bottoms of your shoes?"

"Neither," you replied, smiling as both Bradley and Bob waved in your direction at the same time. You waved your fingers at Bradley and smiled. "I'm actually talking about child support. And the fact that he never pays it."

"Ohhhh, you wanna have that conversation now?" Molly asked, giving you a bland look. "Ev is almost seven years old."

"Yeah," you replied softly. 

You could see the fire in Molly's eyes, but she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You've paid for everything. Take him to court. Seriously. Please, take him to court. I would love nothing more than to help you pay for it. Who's your lawyer? I'll send them a check today."

"I don't need your money," you told her firmly for the hundredth time. But now you were finally feeling like you wanted to do something about this. Why had you been okay with letting Danny get away with so much shit before? Everett deserved the whole world, and you were going to try to give it to him. "I'm going to give him one more chance to either be more involved with Ev or start paying for support."

Molly set her empty cup down and said, "Look at me." You met her eyes, and she looked much more serious than she usually did, which gave you a chill. "What are you going to do when Danny won't do either of those things?"

You pressed your lips together to keep the tingling sensation of tears out of your eyes and nose. "I'm going to stop being a doormat."

Molly kissed your cheek and pulled you against her side just as the game was ending. 

------------------------------

"Still undefeated!" Everett cheered as Bradley carried him on his shoulders up to the parking lot after the game against the Tiny Robins ended in a victory for the Tiny Eagles.

"Hey, Coach Bob," Bradley called, and Bob turned around, still holding Molly's hand. "You better start writing your speech for when you win Coach of the Year. The team is undefeated with two games left!"

"You'll have to give a speech, too," Bob said as he adjusted his glasses. "The award goes to both coaches, not just one."

"Undefeated! Undefeated!" Everett chanted. You were walking next to Bradley shaking your head and smiling. 

Bradley looked at you as he said, "Ev is the best on the team, Kitten. He's really good." Everett continued to chant as Bradley added, "I'm going to plan out the whole summer with visits to the batting cages, pitching in the park, and learning more about all of the different positions. He'll be ready for baseball next spring. No more tee ball." Bradley couldn't remember being this excited about baseball since he was a kid trying out for his first team. 

"He's really that good at it?" you asked. "Thank goodness I signed him up for tee ball."

"Yeah," Bradley agreed, "for more than one reason."

You opened the back door to your car, and Bradley deposited Everett into his booster seat at the same time that Molly climbed in through the other door and tried to buckle herself into the seat. Bradley chuckled while Everett practically screeched with laughter, and then you wrapped your arms around his waist.

"I'm going to buy tickets for the Pittsburgh Pirates game on Everett's birthday," you told him. "Molly and Bob are coming, too."

Bob perked up when he heard his name. "No, Molly and I are going to buy all the tickets. For his birthday present."

"I thought I'd get them for everyone," Bradley said with a frown. "My treat, again."

"I already bought them!" Molly shouted from inside the car as Everett tickled her until she was wheezing. 

"She's so annoying," you said, resting your head against Bradley's chest. "She wants me to save my money for my lawyer."

Bradley jerked his head back and coaxed you to look up at him. "A lawyer for what?"

"Don't worry about it," you whispered before you returned to snuggling against him. 

But he wanted to know what was wrong. "Are you okay? Is Ev? Is this about Danny? What can I do?"

"We're okay, Bradley."

"Kitten. You can talk to me about it."

"I know," you replied, squeezing him tighter. "We're okay for now."

"Well, that's settled then," Molly said as she climbed out of the car with her clothes all dishevelled. "Everett defeated me in the tickle fight, so I owe him a movie. I'll pick him up tomorrow after lunch."

You looked up at Bradley with a smirk on your face. "Any chance you're free for a little bit tomorrow after lunch?"

----------------------------------

Later that night, you called Danny after sending him texts throughout the day telling him you needed to talk to him.

You were happy you had waited until Everett was in bed to make the call, because as soon as Danny answered with a bark of, "Yes?" you felt anxious. 

"Danny," you replied, gripping the edge of the counter so you wouldn't lose your resolve. "Hi."

"What do you need? I'm trying to work."

You squeezed the counter harder and took a deep breath. "Let me know when you have time to spend a day with Everett. I think you need to make that more of a priority."

You were met with silence. 

"Danny?"

"I'm here. You know I don't have time for this."

You pressed your lips together and held back your tears. "He is your son, Danny. You need to make time for him."

More silence spread out before you. Honestly, you wanted to start screaming into the phone, but you knew you shouldn't. Nobody could upset you with just a small handful of words the way your ex husband could.

When you got no response, you took a deep breath and said, "If you're not going to give him some of your time, then you need to start making up for it by paying us child support."

"Child support?" he asked with a laugh. "You know I don't have a steady income like you do." 

You took a deep breath. "I understand that, but providing for Everett shouldn't solely land on my shoulders here, Danny."

"Listen," he replied smoothly. "I have a huge gallery event coming up next month. I'll probably have some more spending money then."

He was trying to manipulate you the way he always had. You'd spent years listening to him try to validate his excuses, and somehow he always got you to agree with him. You didn't need to fall into these traps any longer. Not when you had Molly in your corner. Not when you knew Bradley cared about Everett's happiness.

"Taking care of your son doesn't fall under the same category as extraspending money." You said it before you gave yourself a chance to process your words, and somehow you felt a little stronger. "So then I guess he can come spend a day with you instead?"

"Fine," Danny snapped immediately. "But I'll probably be working, so he's going to have to play on his iPad or something."

His iPad that you paid for. "Sure," you agreed, knowing this was probably too good to be true. "He's going to love to see you no matter what. So how does next Sunday sound?"

And then you ended the call feeling better than you ever had after a conversation with Danny. You poured yourself a glass of wine and carried it up to your bathroom. You filled your tub while you removed your makeup, and then you sank down into a delicious bubble bath. 

You texted Molly about your conversation, and she wrote back saying SLAY YOU QUEEEEEN BITCH. DO NOT FUCK WITH MY SISTER. 

You were still laughing when Bradley texted to ask what you were up to. He had gone out to that aviator hangout bar with his friends, so of course it made you feel even giddier that he was texting you while he was there. 

When you told him you were in the bath he wrote back while you sipped your wine.

Bradley Bradshaw: Pics or it didn't happen

You snorted into your wine glass and took some strategically posed selfies. Finally you took a good one where the swell of your breasts was pronounced above the bubbles, and your knee was peeking above the water next to your glass. You sent it to him, and you did not have to wait long for a response. 

Bradley Bradshaw: Kitten, please baby, you're teasing me. I can only take so much.

You laughed and sent him a second photo where he could see your nipples.

Bradley Bradshaw: You are so fucking hot. And now my dick is hard. In the middle of a game of pool. 

You sent teasing texts back and forth while you finished your wine, and he reminded you that he'd be there tomorrow afternoon. And then he sent you a list of all the dirty little things he wanted to do to you. You dreamed about his mouth and his mustache all night long.

And the next day, as soon as Molly picked Everett up to take him to see the movie, you ran up the stairs, two at a time and dashed into your room. You dug around in the bottom drawer of your dresser and pulled out everything you needed. Bradley would be here in just a few minutes, and you'd been wet and worked up for him since last night.

You shimmied into the tight black bodysuit and fastened the choker around your neck before securing the ear headband in place as well. Then you found some sheer black socks that went up over your knees and added them to your Kitten outfit. When you looked in the mirror, you squealed with delight. You turned and checked yourself from different angles. Not bad. Not bad at all. 

You were thinking about how Bradley barely even got a chance to touch you the last time you wore this kitten costume that day at tee ball. You were thinking about how you bought this outfit just for him in the first place. When you heard the Bronco pull into your driveway, you were practically squeezing your legs together to keep from moaning. 

When you made it to the bottom step, you heard Bradley's key in the door, and somehow that made you even hotter. You were afraid you were going to jump on him, so you kept your hand wrapped around the bannister as he opened your front door. 

"Hi, Coach," you said, your voice laced with need as you waved your fingers at him. 

"Oh, god." His groan was so deep and loud, you clenched around nothing as he blindly slammed and locked the door. He let his keys, wallet and hat fall right to the floor as you whimpered. 

"Coach." Your voice quivered as he approached you slowly. "Bradley."

You almost matched up to his height as you were still standing on the bottom step. He was close to you now, licking his lips and breathing faster. He let his knuckles trail slowly up and down over your bodysuit between your breasts, and soon you were panting for him. 

His grin was smug as he asked you, "Did you wear this for me?"

You nodded your head as he stroked your hard nipples through the thin fabric. "Just for you, Lieutenant Bradshaw."

And then his head tipped back as he groaned, and you felt so powerful. You guided his hand down your belly and between your legs, and he met your eyes again. "You're already wet."

"I've been wet since we were texting last night," you admitted. And then you were draped over his shoulder with his big hand on your butt while he hauled you back upstairs. 

-----------------------------

Bradley had been thinking about you in your Kitten costume for weeks, but he hadn't been expecting you to be wearing it today. It was even filthier looking this time, as you paired it with black socks that hugged your thighs instead of your jeans. You skipped the whiskers, but you were wearing your choker. Your collar.

As he took you up to your bed, you were whimpering his name as he stroked his fingers along your ass and your thighs. You were soaking wet. He could feel it when he dug his hand between your legs to tease you as he reached your bedroom.

When he set you down, you crawled across the bed, showing off your ass for him before you settled with your back against the pillows. Bradley was tearing his shoes off followed by his clothing as he watched you run your hands over your bodysuit, squeezing your tits. 

"Do you have any idea what you look like right now?" he asked, crawling across the bed to get to you.

"A Kitten?" you asked softly, fingers skimming over your taut nipples. 

"My Kitten," he growled. "You look like you're mine. My own personal Kitten with a wet pussy and filthy red lips." He kissed you hard, pushing your head back against the pillow while he ran his fingers along the strip of fabric that was barely covering your slit. 

When you moaned into his mouth, he released your lips in favor of running his nose and tongue along that sinful red choker on your neck.

"Lieutenant Bradshaw, sir," you whined, and his cock ached with need. "Please."

He was sucking on all of your exposed skin, tasting every inch. You were grinding up against his hand as he palmed your core through your bodysuit. "I'll take care of you," he promised, kissing your choker and your necklace chain at the same time. "You keep your claws tucked away like a good girl, and I'll take such good care of you."

Then he released the snaps between your legs that were keeping you concealed, and the bodysuit was open. You rubbed yourself against his knuckles, and his fingers slid right through your slick slit. You shook your head against the pillow, and your headband with the ears went a little crooked. 

"I am so turned on," you gasped. "I don't think I have ever been this turned on before."

You were whining for him and rubbing your stocking covered leg along his cock. But your eyes were still alert, and he wanted them glazed and fucked out. 

"I'm gonna eat your pussy," he told you, nibbling your nipples through the fabric as you gasped in agreement. "But I'm not going to stop until I'm ready to. Does that sound okay?"

"Yes sir, Coach Bradley, sir!"

"Kitten, look at me," he said, still stroking your clit softly with his knuckle. "That means I decide when you're done."

"Yes!"

And then he put his mouth on your pussy, and it was exquisite. Just like last time. But maybe even better, because he was going to make you lose your mind for him. He wrapped his arms around your thighs and spread you open wide, kissing your hole as he buried his nose in your wetness.

He started off slow, teasing and licking, and then your fingers were in his hair. Your little gasps and words of encouragement made him smile, but as soon as he took your clit between his lips, you got loud. Really loud. Bradley was delighted that you could be as loud as you wanted to, because he was addicted to the feel of your smooth pearl, your perfect clit under his tongue.

"Bradley!"

You were thrusting up against his face, and he dipped his tongue inside you as your wetness coated his chin. He loved this. He loved eating pussy. He knew he was good at it. But you were too perfect. Everything he liked. Everything he wanted. He needed you. He released your left leg and shoved two rough fingers inside you as he eased himself up your body to kiss those pretty red lips. 

"You taste so fucking good. Like a damn kitten in heat," he told you as you ran your tongue along his chin. You kitten licked his face and whimpered while he finger fucked you harder. Your hands wound tight up in his hair were a little painful, but it just made him go harder. 

Your eyes were already starting to drift closed and he kissed you, smiling against your mouth. "Remember. You're done when I say you're done."

His words made you keen, and he could feel you starting to squeeze his fingers as he put his mouth back on your clit and sucked gently. That first orgasm came screaming out of you as your hips bucked and shook against the mattress. But Bradley was already working on the next one as you gasped his name over and over again.

With his tongue moving in languid strokes as you started to calm down, Bradley managed to coax you close to the edge again. This time you released his hair in favor of wrapping your hands in your pillowcase. 

"What the fuck," you gasped, gaping at him and meeting his eyes as you rode his tongue to another orgasm. Your forehead was scrunched up in disbelief as you gasped, sounding scandalized that he did it twice.

But he wasn't done yet. He ground his cock down into your bedding, bucking for some relief against the delicious show that all of his senses were being treated to. Because now you looked truly exhausted, and your fingers were unable to get purchase in his hair. He kissed and nibbled on your inner thigh as he ran his calloused fingertips over your sensitive, overworked clit until you were whining softly. 

"It's okay, Kitten. I love you," Bradley promised, and you nodded wordlessly. And sure enough, after several more minutes, you hiccuped a few times as you came again for him. Your pussy softly pulsing around his middle finger as you gasped had him palming his cock. 

He was about to cum. Quickly, he positioned himself so he was on his knees with your left thigh between his legs. He never removed his middle finger from inside you while he stroked himself a half a dozen times. And then he was spurting his cum all over your pussy and your belly and your bodysuit. 

You didn't even seem to know what was going on as you shook your head against the pillow and wiped at your tears. 

"You okay?" he asked softly, and he smiled. Because your eyes were glazed, your face looked fucked out, and your body was limp, connected to his by his one finger inside you. "God, you're fucking glorious."

A soft laugh escaped your lips while Bradley stroked your cheek with his thumb, and you nuzzled against him like a kitten.

---------------------------

You had your arms draped lazily around Bradley's neck as he showered with you. For a split second, he had been nervous that he might have ruined your bodysuit when he came, but you assured him you could always buy another one. Honestly, you thought the splashes of his white cum on your skin and the dark fabric looked sinfully good. 

"You gonna wear that outfit again for me?" he asked, running his fingers along the little paw print charm he got you where it rested next to your collarbone. 

"Do you really need me to?" you challenged. "You just took a bunch of photos of me half wearing it with your cum all over me. Shouldn't that be enough?"

He kissed you, gently pulling your bottom lip between his before he said, "No way. Those are for when I'm deployed. I'm gonna want the real thing again and again."

You felt a jolt of reality. "Do you know when you're getting deployed again? Do I need to start preparing myself to miss you?"

"No," he murmured, kissing along your neck as the spray from the shower calmed you. "When I find out, you'll be the first to know, Kitten. And I must admit," he added, pausing on a deep inhale that left you with bated breath, "I do love the idea of being missed. By you. And Ev."

You didn't know what to say as you snuggled up against him for a few minutes before you eventually turned off the water. You'd been in a relationship with him for a week. One week. And you already daydreamed about when he'd move in with you. You were already thinking about where all of his stuff would fit in your house. But it was too soon. And you didn't know if he'd want to permanently be here at all. 

But you did say, "Everett and I already miss you when we're not with you," and he smiled. 

"Speaking of Ev," he said, drying off his legs. "It's getting late. Do you want me to be here when they get back?"

You only had to consider that for a beat. "Yeah."

Bradley met your eyes as he pulled his underwear on. "Can I help him with his homework? Or do something else to make things easier for you?"

In that moment, you wanted to tell him everything that had happened on the phone with Danny. You wanted to tell him that you and Molly had talked about a lawyer. But all you said was, "I love you."

------------------------- 

Kitten dressing as the kitten again. Kitten making demands of Danny. Kitten getting what she deserves from Coach! Love to see it. Thanks to @beyondthesefourwalls and @mak-32!

PART 19

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[jennay]

Misery

Request: reader struggles with depression and Jamie wants to help.

Master List

No one noticed you were falling apart until the pieces fell before them and caught fire. How were they supposed to see when the warning signs came with excuses and white lies?

You weren't proud that it took them this long to start catching on. You were disappointed that you'd become such a good liar.

The guilt ate at you every day, making you want to hide your aching heart from everyone. You could band-aid the pain with a smile and continue to laugh through the dread and worry.

You found yourself isolated and ignoring texts or phone calls. Every time Jamie tried to get ahold of you, you sent it to voicemail or blatantly ignored his text message, leaving the word read under his texts.

Jamie noticed the change in your behavior almost immediately. He sadly watched as his girlfriend lost her bright glow, and that spark he loved began to fade.

He received a call from your coworker and dear friend that you'd called off three days in a row, and both of them knew you rarely called off of work, even when you were sick.

The big red flag floated in his eyes. What were you doing? All that Jamie knew was that he needed to check on you even if you yelled through the door and told him to go home again.

Before Jamie decided to go to your house, he called your mom and met her for lunch. He expressed his worries, claiming he could help if you opened the door.

When your mom heard this, she became concerned; something was wrong if you weren't speaking to Jamie. Growing up, he was the only person you trusted. While Jamie was traveling, your mom would joke that you didn't talk for a month. She weakly smiles at Jamie and hands him her spare key to your apartment. "Let me know if I can help." She tells him.

Jamie pulls into the parking lot of your apartment. He feels excitement as he runs up the first flight of stairs.

Jamie saw you nearly every day until you slipped into this funk. You wouldn't explain to him what caused this mood because you weren't sure what caused it either.

Jamie knocks on the door, and though you hear the knock, you don't move from the nest you've made in your bed. You turn on your fan as loud as it will go and pull the blankets over your head. The blackout curtains on your windows made it nearly impossible for you to guess the time.

You snuggle into your comforter and pray whoever is at the door will leave. You weren't in any mood to socialize.

When he gets the door unlocked, he wants to race straight to you; but when he enters, he stands in shock. All of your belongings are packed in boxes.

Pictures that filled Your shelves were taken down, and floor rugs rolled up.

Jamie fears what kind of thoughts you're having; he's never seen you pull away quite like this, and if you did, you went to him for comfort, or you figured a solution.

Jamie quietly opens your bedroom door. He frowns, catching a glimpse of you under your blankets hidden in the dark, the same place he left you over a week ago.

"Oh, Love." He whispers.

He pulls out his cell phone and uses the light to guide him through the darkness. He sits on the side of your bed next to where you lay.

"Love." He rests his hand on your shoulder, and gently shakes you. “Baby wake up.”

Your eyes flutter open, and though it's impossible to see through the blackened room, you can sense that it's Jamie.

Sighing you sit up. "Jamie?"

He holds your hand, "Can I open the blinds?"

"How did you get in here? I locked the door.”

He leans over your body and pushes the drapes back, allowing a small amount of light to leak into the room. You squint your eyes; you can't remember the last time you opened them.

"Your mom gave me her key." His eyes scan your face; you look ill, tired, and unhappy.

"You talked to my mom? What is it that you think your doing?" You watch his eyebrow raise.

"I'm checking on my girlfriend. You haven't answered my calls or texts and ignore me whenever I ring the doorbell." His shoulders slump, and he stares at the ground. "What's going on with you? Why is everything packed up like your leaving?" He bites his lip, feeling confused and not fully knowing what to say. "Did I do something to upset you?"

You nervously chew the inside of your cheek. You didn't know how to explain what you were feeling. You only know it hurts a lot, and you don't want to be here anymore.

You hate the look on his face. The one that looks like he's been overthinking and beating himself up. "I need to know if I did something wrong so I can fix it."

You shake your head, "You didn't do anything."

"Then why are you avoiding me?" He cautiously asks.

"I don't know." You sit against the backboard of your bed. Your hands weakly fall into your lap when you shrug. "I feel bad, that's all I know, and I can't do this anymore."

He holds one of your hands and rubs his thumb up and down your wrist. "How can I help?"

"You can't." Your lips press together; you don't want to say anything else. You didn't want to tell him that you would sell your stuff and maybe disappear. "I don't want help." You quietly say.

Jamie stands, and you wonder what he's doing until he gestures for you to scoot over. He squeezes next to you and wraps his arm around your shoulder to pull you close to him. "You can't keep pushing me away. I won't let you." He moves your legs over his lap with his free arm and holds you like a small child. "I'll stay with you until we can figure this out." He leans to the side and grabs the remote for your TV.

You try to get angry and tell him to get out of your apartment, but you give in the moment your head falls to his chest. "I don't want to feel this way." Your eyes fill with salty tears, and you take a shaky breath. "It's not fun anymore. I don't want to do this." You admit.

Jamie feels his heart shatter into pieces. "Love," He wraps his arms tighter around you, almost afraid you will be gone if he lets go. "It's okay." He tries, "We need to get you to a doctor."

"No."

"Darling, your sick..." He kisses your temple. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I'll be with you every second of it. Please." He begs.

"I'm scared." You pull your legs off his lap and turn on your side. "I, I don't...Jamie, I'm sorry. I feel awful, and I don't recognize myself. It would be better if I disappeared. I didn't want to hurt you. I tried to kill the pain."

"I know, Love."

He takes this opportunity to snuggle up to you, taking his place as the big spoon. He kisses your neck, "It's going to get better. I promise." He runs his fingertips up and down your arm in a gentle manner. "This world needs you; I need you... I want to grow old with you and take care of you." He quietly tells you.

Jamie would not lose you to depression; he'd almost lost himself to the battle and would not allow depression to take you. Not now, not ever.

Turning on your other side to face him, you curl into Jamie's body and bury your face in his chest. Eyes are slowly closing while Jamie plays with your hair. You feel safe and calm for the first time in months. Who knew the one you tried to push away greatly was the one you needed the most?

#jamie campbell bower #jamie bower #jamie campbell x reader #jamie fanfic #jamie bower x reader #jamie bower x you #jcbower #jamie bower x y/n #jamie campbell bower x you #jcb #jamie bower angst

[sagau-my-beloved]

You’re probably swamped with asks and I’m so sorry to add another but your writing of Venti and the SAGAU real-world AU is so good! If you’re still accepting can we have a drabble of Venti meeting creators parents? Thank you so much and please make sure you’re getting plenty of rest ❤️

Something of a Family Reunion

Thank you very much, but it's only one 1 am, so I think I'll probably be fine for now—

I've actually been trying really hard to avoid using gendered pronouns along with the phrase (Y/n), but I really physically don't think I can get around it this time without making my dialogue choppy, so I apologize for that, reader is also explicitly female here

Warnings: general sagau, mentions of readers parents, mild cussing

-

He had been with you for over a year now.

You knew this was coming.

Things were getting more serious, well it's not as if they weren't serious from day one when he barged into your house and claimed you were a God, but this was a completely different kind of serious.

"My love, I'm almost packed." Venti practically sung, carrying a rather large suitcase as he rushed past you to put it in the car.

Ever since the beginning he had wanted to know everything about you, including all the people you were either related to or chose to hang out with.

You had managed to put it off this long, but you should have known he would have set something up behind your back.

Then again, it was kind of more right in front of your face.

You happened to get a call from your mother, and he happened to answer first, despite the amount of times you told him not to pick up the phone.

Cheerful and smooth as always, never making anything but a good first impression.

You did manage to get the phone back about five minutes later, but the damage had already been done.

You and him were now taking a rather long road trip to get to your parents, no ifs ands or buts about it.

You had felt a strong desire to yell at him after that, stronger than usual at least, but the way that he looked at you, apologetic but beaming.

You knew that he wanted this, and you knew that it was partly your fault for putting it off so long.

As much as you wanted to, you couldn't bring yourself to blame him for it.

You were pulled immediately out of your thoughts as he boomeranged back around, giving you a quick peck before going to grab the last bit of luggage.

You hadn't seen him this excited since he found that sale on wine a few months ago—

The car was finally packed, both of you in your respective seats.

You were obviously driving, leaving Venti to take up the responsibilities that come with the passenger seat.

He was insistent not to turn on the radio, claiming that he was perfectly capable of simply providing music himself for the four hour ride.

You had to give him credit, he did go a solid hour.

When he seemed relatively tired out you decided to just talk instead.

"So, same rules as when we're in public, no 'your grace', none of that 'creator' business, and absolutely no mentions of 'God' when referring to either me or you. And I shouldn't have to say don't mention Teyvat at all."

You two had already gone over this before you left, and after it was decided that you were going to come over about a week ago, but you really couldn't afford any mistakes on this.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing."

Venti laughed at how you practically rolled your eyes, he really should have been taking this more seriously.

"Well, we're only staying there for a few days, I really should have just booked a hotel." The last part you said more to yourself than him.

Booking a hotel was your original plan before your mom just had to emphasize that they had a spare room, and it would be such a shame not to use it in an opportunity like this.

The idle chitchat between the two of you made the time go by quicker, and before you knew it, you were driving into the same driveway you remembered from all those years ago.

Venti was basically bouncing in his seat, you could see metaphorical stars in his eyes as he practically jumped out of the car.

You got out yourself and physically grabbed him by the shirt to pull him back, he almost fell into you and gave you a confused look.

"Remember what I said." There was warning behind those words, and a promise of something if he didn't heed it.

"Of course my love, I won't mess up, I promise." He gave you a small smile of reassurance, one that satisfied you enough to let him go.

You walked to the door, your nerves climbing higher and higher at every step until they were practically in your throat.

You hesitated for a moment before knocking, giving very serious consideration to just turning around and immediately going back.

It wasn't as if you didn't like your parents, of course you loved them, but this just had 'bad situation' written all over it.

Your hesitation was in vain because the door quickly opened before you even had the opportunity to let out a single knock.

"(Y/n)!" your mother quickly embraced you in a hug before pulling back at arm's length to look you over, "It's been too long, you really should call me more, I've been so worried about you recently you know."

You only managed to let out a nervous laugh. She looked at the same as ever, sometimes you wondered if she would ever look any different.

"Right sorry, things have just been a bit hectic lately." You weren't lying, you just couldn't tell her exactly how much you were telling the truth.

Her eyes drifted over to Venti who stood straight, you assumed to make himself look a bit taller.

She seemed to be taken by slight surprise, her eyes widened ever so slightly before returning to their same inviting look.

You mentally cursed at yourself for only just now realizing that it would be kind of surprising how young Venti looked, could you even manage to convince them that he was over twenty-one when he had quite literally nothing to prove it?

"This much be Venti right? The one I've heard so little about?"

That, of course, was a direct jab at you. You could feel guilt seeping at how secretive you'd been about this whole thing, but it wasn't as though you really had a choice.

"Yes ma'am, it's very nice to meet you, I love your daughter greatly." The sincerity in the way he said it almost caused you to blush.

Your mom just laughed at that, "Well come in, both of you, me and your dad can help you unpack a bit later."

Oh right, your dad...

Venti took your arm in his as you both went into the modest house, although even while being modest it beat the place you were currently living at.

Your dad, who was previously sitting on the living room couch, rose to meet you at the door.

"Well it's about time, and here I thought we might never see you again."

You smiled slightly as you gave him a hug, it had been a while, and you would be lying to yourself if you said you hadn't missed them both.

When you both had pulled away he looked over to see Venti at your side, a brief flicker of a similar expression your mom held crossed his face for a moment, causing your stomach to drop slightly.

"This is Venti, he was the one who set this up to begin with."

Your dad gave him a quick once over, but Venti's smile didn't faulter even slightly.

Instead, he simply extended his hand, one which your dad accepted after a moment of hesitation.

"Nice to meet you sir, I've heard a lot about you."

That was a pretty blatant lie, you never really talked about your parents to him, but you had to stop yourself from laughing at the formal way Venti said it.

'Ma'am'? 'Sir'?? You almost felt the need to compare him to Zhongli.

"Hey," you turned at your mothers voice to find that she was beckoning you to the kitchen, "Come give me a hand won't you?"

You let out a quick "Be right there" before grabbing Venti's arm and physically pulling him with you.

You received no protest from him.

Your mother looked over towards you when you entered, putting down the knife she was using to chop vegetables.

She looked over at Venti, giving him a small smile before hurting you out of the kitchen rather quickly.

"What are you—"

"So, that's your boyfriend then?"

You didn't quite like the way she phrased it, a tone that was on the borderline between accusing and worried.

"And uh, how did you two meet? How much younger than you is he exactly?"

You knew this would be brought up eventually, so you made sure to study your voice before calmly speaking, "He's twenty-one." That number was missing a few zeroes, but you had a feeling they would have an even harder time believing you on that one.

Your mom just pursed her lips, stuck between the option of believing and not believing your statement. It's not as if she had any reason not to believe it, other than his general appearance looking a bit younger than that.

She chose to drop it, walking back to the kitchen as you followed suit.

You both walked in to find Venti meticulously cutting vegetables.

"Oh! God I'm sorry, there's no need for you to do that. I can take care of it."

Your mother quickly rushed in to take the knife, her instincts not to let guest do any work kicking in at high speeds.

"I'm going to go start unpacking while you finish that."

Your mom barely had time to register what you said before you had grabbed Venti and left the kitchen.

You both went out to the car before he stopped you, putting his hands on both sides of your face as he gave you a worried look, "What's wrong? You seem nervous."

You practically laughed at that, "Nervous? Now what possible reason do I have to be nervous?"

His frown deepened at your sarcasm.

Venti pressed a gentle kiss on your nose and gave you a smile, "Don't stress yourself out so much, nothing bad is going to happen."

You wanted to believe him, really, you did. But your outlook on this entire situation was getting dimmer by the second.

"It didn't even occur to me before we got here how young you looked, I told my mom you were twenty-one, what a lie that was."

Venti giggled at that, "That is just slightly off."

You let out of breath as you tried to clear your mind for a moment, to let yourself believe that this would all work out. He stood there looking at you the entire time, eye's filled with such profound feeling.

Venti almost regretted making you come here, putting this stress on you, being the direct cause of it in a way. All he could do to make it up to you was give back to you in this way, to reassure you that he would do everything in his power to make this go well.

After you had calmed down slightly, you both grabbed a few suitcases and moved them inside, you directing him to the spare room.

It was your old room, though it looked nothing like it had when you lived in it.

Once you had finished explaining that this was the room you had spent the majority of your time living here in, Venti's excitement pretty much shot through the roof.

He jumped onto the bed immediately, sprawling out, barely able to restrain his mind from thinking about all times you had laid in this exact spot.

You plopped down next to him and he immediately gravitated towards you, clinging to your waist.

You couldn't help but laugh slightly as you patted his head, allowing him to rest on your lap.

After about five minutes you pushed him off, despite his protests, choosing to open a suitcase and start unpacking instead.

You weren't able to get very far before your mom called you both for dinner.

Another bundle of nerves decided the best resting spot would be directly on top of your chest, because it was getting harder and harder to breathe at the thought of sitting at a table together for roughly an hour with nothing but small talk.

Venti could tell by your facial expressions exactly what you were feeling and pulled you into a hug, giving you a kiss as he whispered how he wasn't going to mess up and remembered everything you told him.

The beginning of dinner wasn't quite awkward as much as it was quiet, nobody seemingly wanting to be the first person who spoke.

Your mother did eventually break the silence, looking straight at Venti while doing so, "So, you've been together for a year right? I don't believe (y/n) ever told me how you two met."

Venti sat for a moment, looking almost as if he was recalling the memory fondly, "Well we met through a mutual friend actually, he introduced me, and I knew as soon as I saw her that I very much wanted to get to know her."

You guessed that some of that was partly true, at the very least your mother seemed to believe it.

"So your name," your dad spoke next, "is it Italian?"

"Yes actually, although I'm not."

You wondered for a second how he knew that, before resigning yourself to the fact he probably wouldn't tell you.

"We're just so glad (y/n) has found someone they like." Your mother cut in, giving that all too familiar patient smile, "We were worried for a while she wasn't ever going to date anyone."

"Mom."

Your mother simply responded by laughing, "It's true, you never really made connections with people easy."

The more that came out of her mouth the more embarrassed you were starting to feel.

"Well, I would never have guessed that, your daughter is actually a very popular person, I know quite a few people that care for her greatly." Venti spoke in a way that was practically laced with praise and good intentions, wanting so strongly to announce you as the most important person in his world.

You simply responded by clearing your throat and taking another bite of the food in front of you.

"So where are you from then?"

You mentally cringed at that question from your dad, you were hoping to avoid it at least a bit longer.

Before Venti had the opportunity to fumble for an answer you 'accidentally' knocked over your glass of water, startling them all.

"Oh shit sorry, complete accident—"

You darted off in the kitchen to grab a towel as your mom followed you.

It took a moment for you to get yourself dried off, and by the time you got back, both your dad and Venti were debating about alcohol.

You rolled your eyes and use the towel to wipe off the remaining water on the table, "Well, this has been pleasant, thank you very much for the meal, but I think I'm going to go ahead and retired to the room, tired from the long drive and all."

There were general murmurs of disappointment amongst your parents before they both wished you good night, adamant on the fact you would all do something together tomorrow.

You simply replied with a nod and walked away as Venti followed you quickly.

You practically buried your face into the pile of pillows when you finally found yourself comfortably laying on the bed.

"Well, it wasn't that bad now, was it?"

You had to admit that could have gone a lot worse, you couldn't even imagine what answer he would have given for where he was from.

You hummed in acknowledgement as he crawled into bed with you, quickly situating himself on your side.

"Just four more days." You mumbled to yourself.

"I think we'll pull it off just fine." Venti responded, pressing a kiss to your shoulder before you rolled over to face him.

This was a long shot, but maybe you could actually get an answer out of him.

"Hey, how did you know your name was Italian?"

He responded with a very sheepish looking smile, "I didn't."

You couldn't help but laugh at that, pulling him into your embrace.

"Well, at least you're a good bullshitter."

He only gave you an affectionate kiss on the cheek in response.

You hadn't really intended on falling asleep so soon, but all the stress just seemed to melt away when you were lying there with him.

You would get out of this week alive.

As long as your mom decided to keep the family photo album with all of your younger pictures to herself that is...

#genshin impact #sagau #genshin venti #genshin x reader #yandere genshin au #yandere genshin x reader #venti x reader #you're so sweet anon thank you for the kindness

[andiv3r]

So, I'm gonna talk about some trans things, periods, body hair & PCOS below the cut, because it's on the brain and I needed to get it out there. So scroll if you don't wanna read.

It's very likely that I'll be diagnosed with PCOS soon. I've already brought it up with my doctor, and she finds it very likely, given all the signs I'm displaying, that I have PCOS. The signs she focuses on especially are surrounding my menstruation¹, body hair², and voice³. This does not surprise me, given how much research I've done on PCOS in the past few months, and how with each new sentence I read, it was like a new piece of a puzzle clicking into place. Of course my mind never felt like a woman's mind, but my body never felt like it fit everyone else's definition of womanhood either, and until now, I didn't know why. I wasn't unhappy about it, but it was hard connecting with other afab people when I would describe things I experienced, and they would tell me that wasn't normal.

When my mom heard this, her initial reaction was not to believe it. She was reluctant to listen to even more information about my gender that didn't fit the idea she had of me when I was a child of a normal cisgender female. Now, her reaction is to think that maybe, if this is true, then the doctors can "fix" it, and "fix" me. She appears to be under the impression that if the doctors change the hormonal makeup of my physical body, it will somehow also change my mind about my being a trans man. This worried me.

I know that forcing me into hormone treatment is not something she can legally do, especially not while both I and my father would vehemently oppose it, given that it would be detrimental to my mental health to force to, essentially, transition opposite the way I want to. While thinking this over, though, and after assuaging my fears about my mother with the knowledge that she can't force me to transition that way, it hit me.

That would be a transition. Making my body into society's idea of a woman body would be a physical transition for me, because I do not currently present that way. My current hormonal makeup does not match that. So, what would that make me? Surely I'm not allowed to call myself intersex, right? More Googling occured. I had been told by multiple people that it wasn't okay to refer to PCOS as intersexism, or claim that it fell under the same umbrella, or for people with PCOS to claim the term 'intersex' for themselves, which is the only reason I hadn't been using it despite the fact that this term, I feel, accurately describes my experience trying to relate to the gender binary and how my body always felt like it fell outside of that.

So I think what I'm trying to say... or ask, rather... is, is it appropriation of intersexism to call having PCOS a variation of being intersex? Most articles I've read as of this point say no, and that if my relationship to my body surrounding this condition feels most accurately described by that term, then it's fine, but for some reason I crave the validation of the Tumblr people.

¹My periods are extremely irregular, both in length and in rate of occurence, and it could be anywhere between two weeks to five months between periods, and they can last anywhere between two days and a month.

²I have a mustache, sideburns, a hairy chest and abdomen, hair on my hands and feet, hair on my chin, and anywhere else hair grows, you can assume I have it there, and a lot of it.

³I have a natural voice, without training, that is more reminiscent of a boy who has just hit puberty than an afab person who hit puberty six years ago.

#pcos #intersex #transgender #transmasc #andiv3r rambles

[bitchinbarzal]

hi my love! I’m glad to see you back writing more! Definitely missed seeing you grace my dash! 🤍

Can you do 16. "i need you to pretend to be my partner for the family christmas party." And 19. "you broke my heart last christmas, but i'm still not over you." With Quinn? 🤍 if not both, do 19! Thank you dear!

hi lovey, I missed u 🫶🏼🎄

-

When Quinn called you, you were skeptical.

“Hello, Quintin what can I do for you?” He flinched at the use of his full name.

“I have a favour to ask and I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important and the last resort” he rushed out.

You rolled your eyes “What is it Quinn?”

“I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend for my family Christmas party”

There was silence.

“Hello?” “Im still here, just contemplating what the fuck you just asked me”

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, I swear-“

“Why me?”

Another silence.

“I never told my mom we broke up”

“You what?!” “I’m sorry I know it was stupid-“

You screeched “It was not stupid Quinn it’s fucking insane! What is wrong with you we broke up almost a year ago!”

“My mom liked you too much she would like disown me”

“Fine”

“Fine?” “Yes, I’ll come to the stupid thing. Is it in Michigan?”

He gave you all the details, he’d be paying for your flight obviously.

You played the role of doting girlfriend well, playing into his mom and grandmothers wishes. They talked about marriage and kids, you just smiled and laughed it off with

“Maybe he’ll pop the question soon!”

Quinn admired you, after everything he put you through last year and you were still able to do this for his family.

When Luke and Jack arrived in from Jersey they were more than confused to find you in the kitchen. They knew you’d broken up. They actually let you stay with them in Jersey for the few months following the break up you claimed you needed out of Vancouver.

The breakup wasn’t amicable in any sense of the word, you hated Quinn. He had broken your heart.

Before Christmas last year with a looming trade deadline you asked Quinn the simple question of would he want you move with him if he went somewhere else.

There was talk of Quinn going to the islanders, minnesota and even Detroit so it was a fair question. They weren’t just a train journey away.

Quinn had brushed it off with a no not really.

That sent you spiralling.

While you weren’t old and time wasn’t coming to get you, you didn’t want to be wasting your life in a relationship that didn’t have a future. It created a huge argument between you both that stretched over days and ended in Quinn yelling that he didn’t even want to be with you anymore.

You left and never came back.

Elias told him he was an idiot. Brock actually hit him at practice. Jack called him every name under the sun. Luke was just sad. Brady told him that he and Emma would choose you if it came to picking sides.

Bo called him in after practice, asking what happened. That you’d been in his house crying to Holly. Bo was confused because only three weeks before he had accompanied Quinn to a jeweller to purchase your engagement ring.

Quinn was scared. It was all a lot at once and he got overwhelmed and he regretted it ever since.

When Christmas Eve rolled around the entire family gathered in the living room for a movie, it was tradition.

Luke had picked the movie, the polar express. A movie about a couple of kids on a train shouldn’t have set you off but it did. It was the movie you’d been watching last year when everything happened.

Quinn noticed how you uncomfortably shifted under his arm for a while before excusing yourself out the room. He followed you, out to the patio where you stood in the freezing snow.

“What are you doing?! It’s freezing!”

“Leave me alone, Quinn!” You had tears running down your face.

“W-what is going on?” “I can’t - I can’t do this anymore Quinn it’s all too much. The lies and the pretending to be happy!”

He sighed, ripping off his hoodie and throwing it over you before he said anything else.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I asked you to do this, I’m sorry I lied to them, I’m sorry for what I did, i’m sorry y/n!”

You continued to sob “you broke my heart last christmas, but I’m still not over you Quinn! I want so badly to be over you!”

His breath caught in his throat “You what?”

“God, Quinn this is so fucked up! You don’t even want me! You said it yourself you didn’t want me to go with you I just look desperate right now-“

“- no, no you don’t because I still love you too and I’ve been regretting everything that happened last December since the moment you left”

At this point you’re both standing in the snow, freezing, lips slightly blue with heaving chests.

“Quinn… I can’t let you break my heart again” your voice cracked “I don’t think I’ll survive”

It physically pained him to see what he had put you through.

Closing in the space between you, you were chest and chest with him hanging over you. His thumb reached up and brushed away your tear “Don’t cry pretty girl”

“I’m so sorry, I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to you but I love you so much and I was scared. I’m tired of being scared because I’d rather live life a little bit scared than without you. I’m begging you to please, please tell me we can work this out”

You sucked in your bottom lip, your breathing still shaky.

“please” It was almost painful, he was begging.

“You get one shot Hughes, no more” You mumbled, a weight lifted off your shoulders.

He smiled, hand moving from your cheek to the back of your head to pull you in for a kiss never breaking apart until you desperately needed air.

Before either of you could speak the door opened and Jack appeared “Hey lovebirds, you coming? It’s after midnight grandma wants to light the candle”

You nodded, asking for a couple minutes from the boy.

You turned back to Quinn and smiled “Merry Christmas, my love”

“Best Christmas ever”

#lulu’s christmas party