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#come ! come to the fair! we will go to my uncle's honey stand in home show building two. and taste test honey
july-19th-club · 8 months
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WHO! will go to crawford county fair with me either friday night or saturday . none of you live here so obviously nobody but if you did you'd go to the crawford county fair . right?
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Honey-Bunny
Winter Prompts Masterlist | Winter Prompts List
Pairing: Harvey Specter x Reader
Prompts: Mistletoe/ Hands/ Fake Dating
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“Cut it out,” You grumble.
“Cut what out?” 
“You’re being too smug. My family’s not gonna buy that I’m dating a smug asshole. Hell, they’re probably barely buying that I’m dating anyone.” 
“I’m not being smug,” Harvey insists, curling his arm around your middle. You try not to overthink the way your body warms with the press of his palm, and the sweep of his fingers against the fabric of your dress. “I’m just so happy to be here with my honey-bunny.” 
“Oh, my god." You reach out, snagging a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. You draw in a deep gulp, tipping your head back and letting it slide down your throat, joining the two that you’ve already downed. 
“Careful, sweetie. Your family’ll think we’re not happy.” 
“One of us isn’t right now.” 
“Really? I’m ecstatic.” 
You cast an unamused sidelong glance at Harvey and find him smiling brightly at you. 
“C’mon, admit it,” He adds, leaning into you, his breath brushing your temple. “I’m a better stand-in at your family reunion than Mike is. I’m better dressed, I’m more interesting, I’m more attractive—” 
“I am so telling Mike that you have such a low opinion of him the next time you see him.” 
“Now that's not fair. It’s just, you know. Mike is like this,” Harvey raises his hand, waving around his shoulder, “And I’m like this,” He raises his hand, waving it around his brow. “Besides, I’m taller.” 
“You’re the same height. The only thing edging you out is your Johnny-Bravo-like hair.” 
Harvey’s jaw drops, a stunned laugh leaving his mouth. 
“Johnny-Bravo-like?” 
Your mom calls, “Get over here, you two!” Before your argument can continue. You wince at the sight of your family lining up for a picture. 
“Oh—Mom, I don’t know—” 
“This is not negotiable! Get over here!” She orders, “Both of you!” 
“It’ll be fun,” Harvey insists, his hand resting on your lower back as he leads you over to the familial tangle. 
“I don’t think I want you in our Christmas photos for time immemorial. I’m gonna have to explain who you were every few years.” 
“Maybe you ought to just invite me back every year.” 
“Doubtful.” 
“Maybe your mother will—” 
“Do not drag my mother into this—” 
The two of you shut up as your mom waves the two of you into line with the rest of the family. 
“You gonna quibble with me about standing one place or another? Making sure they get your good side?” You mumble.
“Please, sweetheart. Every side is my good side.” 
You roll your eyes openly, winding up for another argument—and then Harvey curls his arm around you again. Your stomach swoops at the feeling, your face going warm. It’s absurd—you can’t stand Harvey, but he’s making you feel all…Gooey. You push a smile on your face for a few pictures, and are determined to hurry away and drown your gooey feelings in champagne—but as the others begin to disperse, your mother warns:
“Ah-ah-ah, don’t get far, you two. You know the tradition, honey.” 
Your eyes go wide, stomach twisting with embarrassment. 
“Oh—Mom, no,” You plead. “We do it every year—Oh, Harvey, you’re gonna love this,” Your mom swears, gripping both of you by your hands and tugging you to a different spot in the room. “Whenever a new significant other is brought home for the holidays, they take a picture under the mistletoe.” 
“Really.” Harvey’s smug amusement is back, spreading his smile wide.
“It’s an old tradition—It’s—Mom, we really don’t have to do this,” You stumble over your words. 
“Oh, come on now! You’ve always been a little shy, never bringing anyone home before, so we can’t pass this opportunity up!” 
She looks up, positioning the two of you under the mistletoe that’s been hung in the event space by the staff (probably at your mother’s request). You glance up at Harvey as your uncle waves you closer together, holding up his camera. Harvey leans in, giving your cheek an obliging peck as you give the camera a weak smile. 
“Oh, please,” Your mom complains, “A real one!” 
Your smile goes tight as you look up at Harvey. 
“This wasn’t part of our agreement,” You whisper, “You don’t have to do this.” 
Harvey’s gaze skates your expression before he gives a small shrug. 
“It’s a couple of seconds to make your mom happy,” He murmurs, “I don’t mind. But I’ll push back if you need me to.” 
You can’t help it—you go a little gooey again at the offer. You’d expected Harvey to brush it off, or to be a dick about it—but his expression is sincere, and his eyes are searching yours for any hint of hesitation. So you give a small nod, and try not to think about the way your heart leaps into your throat as Harvey draws you closer. You sway into him just a touch, chest brushing against his. The two of you lean in, and your lips meet in a stunningly warm, soft kiss. You try to fight it, but your eyes slip closed. Harvey raises a hand to cup your cheek, his thumb sweeping tenderly over your cheekbone as your heads tip slightly, deepening your kiss. You vaguely register the coos and clapping from your family just a few feet away, and that finally snaps you out of it. 
You lean back, nose brushing Harvey’s slightly. You blink at him in slight surprise, tongue sweeping across your lips. As Harvey’s eyes open, he seems just as stunned as you are. His slick, smug look is gone. His eyes are searching yours again, then dip, and catch on your lips before steadying there. Your chest flutters as he seems set to go in again, but you hear your mother shooing, “Alright, you two can canoodle in the corner! We need to get your cousin and her girlfriend in here. Go on.”
You clear your throat, pressing your hand to Harvey’s chest and guiding him away from the mistletoe. The two of you come to a stop in a quiet corner. Harvey’s arm is still curled around your middle; your hand is still on his chest. You raise your hand a little, absently straightening his tie, just to do something with yourself that isn't fumbling an apology, or drawing him back in.
“Thanks for the, um…” You trail off, waving toward your family. “I’m sorry, I didn’t remember that—stupid tradition.”
“Doesn’t seem that stupid to me,” Harvey offers. 
“That stupid implies that you think it’s at least a little stupid.” 
“It was unexpected.” 
“I’ll give you that.” 
“Wasn’t bad, though.” 
“Sealed the deal. I mean—” You hurry to correct, eyes darting to Harvey’s face nervously. “In terms of being…Believable. I never pegged you as such a good sport.” 
“No one’s ever managed to peg—” 
“Oh my—I don't need to know that," You groan, turning and hiding your face in his shoulder. He chuckles, arm tightening around you. 
“Still think I’m a smug asshole?” He murmurs against your temple. 
“I know you are,” You grumble. “Just because you’re an alright kisser doesn’t mean you’re not.” 
“An alright kisser? Oh, that just won't do."
"What do you mean that won't—"
You go quiet as Harvey cradles your jaw, drawing you in for another kiss. You let yourself lean into him, your hand slipping from his tie, up into his hair. He hums softly against your lips, nudging you back against the wall. Your breath leaves you in a soft huff as feel yourself pressed into the hard surface. You can't imagine what your family is thinking, or if they've noticed that the two of you have, in fact, taken then chance to canoodle.
Harvey just smiles, smoothing his hand over your hip.
"Better than alright?" He murmurs. You pretend to consider before shrugging a little.
"Nearly."
Harvey's expression darkens, and he chuckles softly, shaking his head.
"You're asking for it," He warns. You smooth his hair down, a wicked thrill shooting down your spine.
"Why honey-bunny," You coo, sweeping a fingertip along his plush lower lip, "I don't know what you mean."
Tag list: @amneris21 ; @elen-aranel ; @brandyllyn ; @massivecolorspygiant ; @blueeyesatnight
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letsgetrowdy43 · 1 year
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Chapter one— guilt-ridden
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Au Masterlist!!
"Your father and uncles are gonna come in here a ruin my peace and quiet" she mumbled to the six-month-old that rested against her chest. The loud slamming of car doors could be heard from inside the house, the baby quietly murmured to herself as she looked up longingly at the door. Anyone within a five-mile radius could feel the excitement radiating off of the boys, the adrenaline of winning was apparent, and very clearly displayed by the sound of their loud chatting from behind the front door.
"Honey we're home" Jay yelled out as he swung the door open, a wide smile on Philippe's face as pushed in front of the rest of the group, rushing to get his hands on his daughter before anyone else stole her from him. He reached the couch with a wide grin plastered on his lips as he ushered for his best friend to finally pass her over, taking the smiley baby from her mother's hands to hold her against his chest.
“My little lucky charm,” he said bouncing her lightly as she buried her face in his neck, drool covering his t-shirt as her little hands grasped the fabric. "Congrats on the win,” said the woman sitting on the couch, followed by a warm smile as he sat down on the couch next to her, a smile on his face as he lifted the baby up to place a kiss on her cheeks. “Thanks.”
Luca stood in front of the pair with his arms folded over his chest, "this is such bullshit, you always hog her" he pouted and made grabbing hands towards Phil who hugged Flo tighter against his chest. A scoff left Luca's mouth as he turned to the girl sitting to Phil’s left, a longing look on his face as the freshman silently prayed she would step-in in favour of him and make Phil hand the boy over. “It's almost like she's my daughter" Philippe sassed, looking over to the women who un-amusingly looked at him, ushering for him to give the baby to Luca.
Philippe finally passed the baby over to Luca who grinned and walked out of the living room and into the kitchen with her. “You guys played really good,” she smiled and fixed the damp curls falling in his face, “Flo and I watched the entire broadcast, I kinda miss going to the actual games though” She smiled and stood up from the couch to start decluttering the living room of baby essentials
“Is Nolan or the sophomores throwing a party tonight?” She questioned as she threw baby shoes and socks in his direction. “Yeah, but I’m not gonna go.” She frowned as he turned his head to finally look at her instead of the ceiling, “why not?” “I’m not gonna leave her and you alone all night while I’m out partying, I have responsibilities,” he grinned and picked up the teething ring from beside his thigh and shook it before placing it on the coffee table in the bin of other miscellaneous toys.
“You’re also a young adult in university, go have fun” she smiled, “I know you miss it, I know when you force me to go out and do things that I did before Flo I feel better,” she said, stopping her cleaning to sit on the edge of the coffee table to be face to face with him. “I don’t want to put everything on you all the time,” he looked over as she rolled her eyes at his very stupid response, “I already leave enough for hockey it’s not really fair to you” “When we decided to have her, we knew that you already had the team and the responsibilities that came with it, I don’t mind, what I mind is when all you do is play hockey, go to school, and be a dad. In order for you to be your best, you need a little social life” She poked him in the knee as he shook his head.
“I just don’t want you to resent being a father, so please for my sanity and my peace of mind go and be irresponsible” She frowned and pointed toward the group of boys who were goofing around with the baby. “I could never resent you, but I will go and drink enough for the both of us,” he said standing up off of the couch and placing a chaste kiss on her temple before heading to the group of men in the kitchen. “You bet your ass you will” She grinned and followed behind him.
“Now all of you out of my house, you all smell like hockey and it’s Little Miss' bedtime,” she said taking Florence from Grano who smiled and passed the child over, bidding his goodbyes and heading out of the kitchen to collect his things. The rest of them were still laughing along with the squealing baby, her hands clapping as she watched the grown men giggle along with her. “You heard the woman, out,” Philippe said clapping his hands and ushering the other guys out of the kitchen, childlike groans leaving their mouths as they were herded out of the kitchen.
“But I live here?” Eric said stopping in his tracks and going back into the kitchen with his arms crossed and a pout on his face. “You three are the exception babes,” the woman said looking at Steve, Jacob, and Eric who grinned and headed up to their rooms to get ready for their upcoming night out. “You heard the woman! Out!” Eric grinned and started bossing the other boys out of the house along with Philippe.
-❀-
“Why are you washing the baby in the sink?” Steve asked as he rummaged through the fridge for a beer. “She’s not in the sink, her baby tub is in the sink,” the woman said in a duh tone, as she motioned to the six-month-old with sudds in her hair making it look like she had a mohawk, “did your parents never wash you in the sink when you were little?” Steve just blinked at her for a sec while opening his beer before shaking his head. “Plus it hurts my back to bend over the actual tub, so unless you want to wash her you can stop with those judgemental eyes Steven” She bit back as the man stared at her with an amused smile.
Steve left the kitchen not wanting to hear any more mom rants from the girl, “Wait! Steve, can you grab me a towel for Flo?” She called out but was met with a freshly out of the shower Philippe holding up a towel. “You know me too well” She grinned and took the towel with little ducks littered all over it and wrapped their daughter in it. “You forget to grab one literally every time you wash her” he pokes as he takes the clean baby from her mom, a grin on his face as he looks at the baby who yawns into his neck.
She stood there for a second, watching as he bounced her and placed a kiss on his daughter's cheek, grinning at her tired expression. It was no secret that Philippe had become the greatest dad, he was so attentive and so careful with her, he was a dream. He’d been like that since the moment she was born, he never complained, never started arguments. If anyone handled the transition into parenthood in a less perfect way it was her. But something about their dynamic felt like it was on this ice, like any second, any wrong choice of words, any single small action and they would fall right through.
“I'm going to go and change her,” he said softly as she nodded back at him, draining the tub and starting to prepare her last bottle before she went to sleep.
Steve stood in the doorway with the towel she had called out for, “sorry I meant to yell out that I didn’t need it anymore” “You know he’s in love with you right?” She tensed and stared at him “I do” she shook her head and continued to portion out the formula for the bottle, “I just don't love him in that way” She shrugged and cringed as Steve shook his head and left the kitchen.
"You're a cruel woman" he joked as he yelled out at the bottom of the staircase.
A frown was plastered on her face as she finished the bottle and made her way upstairs to her and Florence’s room, Phil sitting on the edge of the bed with his daughter sprawled out on his chest, a new set of fuzzy pyjamas on her as she held his finger in her tiny hand. A soft smile worked its way onto his face as he felt the bed dip next to him, the weight of the baby being lifted off of his chest as she slipped Flo into her arms, the bottle pushed past her lips as she looked down to Phil.
“You look upset,” he said poking her in the thigh. She shook her head, “I'm just tired, ready to get this one into bed so I can get in bed as well” She shrugged and yawned, her free hand holding his as he continued to poke her thigh. “I don't have to go tonight, there will be plenty of parties for me to go to if you're not feeling okay,” he said softly, sitting up more so he could look over her shoulder at the baby’s whose eyes gently fluttered shut.
“I have a feeling she’s gonna be easy tonight, don't worry about me" She leaned up against his arm, cringing as she remember the conversation down in the kitchen, maybe she was really stringing him along, “I've got it under control”
He placed a gentle kiss on the crown of her head as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, fingers gently drawing lines against her skin, “You’ve always got it,” she hummed a small word of appreciation before finally getting up to burp the baby.
-❀-
It didn’t take long to get Flo to bed or to wrestle Philippe out of the house and into the cab, but finally, she was left to her thoughts. Sat comfortably on the couch, some Adam Sandler movie that Jacob had been watching was still on the tv as she buried herself in throw blankets. She had sat down for barely ten minutes before she could hear crying once again, loud wails that made her heart clench as she retrieved her daughter and brought her to the couch to snuggle her as she watched movies.
Her pointer finger traced her daughter's facial features as little Flo blinked at the sensation, big blue eyes just like her father. The resemblance between Florence and her father was very minimal but was something that her mother couldn’t get over. A tiny little nose, and a soft smile that looked just like her dad's.
Her phone began to buzz, a picture of Blanks popping up on the screen as she reached the coffee table for it. “How’re my favourite girls doing?” Nick's voice could be heard on the other end, followed by a hello from Kent and Owen who were all together in Buffalo for a game the next day. “She’s a little fussy, and I'm doing okay,” the woman shrugged as she readjusted the baby on her chest so she could comfortably put the phone up to her ear. “You don't sound very okay,” Owen said taking the phone from Nick and walking over to the other side of the room, he loved a good therapy session. “I'm fine, just tired” He rolled his eyes a the obvious lie, sometimes it's like she forgot that they had spent two years of their lives practically living together.
“Where’s Phil?” “I made him go to a party,” she said nonchalantly, her hands now busying themselves with drawing circles on her daughter's back. Florence drooled all over her chest as she drifted off to sleep, the gentle drumming of her mother's heartbeat lulling her to sleep “You need to stop pushing him away when you need a break” Owen's voice grew concerned making her wince. “I just needed an empty house to clear my thoughts” she mumbled as she pressed pause of the tv show she had started.
“I’m just feeling very all over the place right now” Her words got caught in her throat, a dry laugh leaving her lips as she shook her head at the nonsense she was trying to spew. “How so?” He asked, his voice chillingly calm, her eyes grew teary as she heard Owen telling her to take her time. “I'm just wondering if I made a mistake by letting him be involved, he lost everything when I roped him in,” Owen scoffed and went to speak before she cut him off.
“Steve said something to me, something about Philippe being in love with me and I don't know I just feel guilty all the time about everything.” “Steve should mind his own business,” he said, pausing to push both Kent and Nick away from him so he could continue the conversation without their butting-in conversations.
“I mean we have a kid together, we act like a couple because he’s the father of my kid” she sniffled as Florence's little hands made fists and rested them upon her mom’s collarbone, “Pow I love him, like so much, but I don't think I will ever love him the way that he wants me too” “You don't have to,” you could hear his voice start to grow agitated, not at her, but at the guys, all of them knowing that this situation was fragile. They all knew better than to involve themselves in the new parent's relationship. “But everyone makes me feel like I have to, I love him, and I love that he gave me my daughter and that he’s here for us, but the idea of us being together isn’t something that I ever picture,” she choked out, a short groaned leaving her lips as her hand raked through her hair. “That's okay, fuck Steve and the rest of them, who you love and how you love them is up to you,” Owen said regaining his calm voice, a little reassurance that maybe she wants at fault for everything.
“I just feel bad cause I'm giving him mixed signals, and like I took his young adult life away from him so like I’ve fucked everything for him” She let out a sigh and clung Florence to her chest as she got up to grab a face cloth for her to rid her chin and neck of her drool. “No, you didn’t, and if anyone is saying that they are lying, Phil knows exactly what he’s gotten himself into, you gave him plenty of chances to leave and he didn’t,” It was true Philippe had multiple chances to get out before it was too late, even after she was born but he was still around, “Flo is his responsibility as well, and if anything this fatherhood thing has made him a much better person”
A tear slipped down her cheek as she readjusted herself on the couch, her baby cradled in her arms, “thanks, Owen” “Any time, next time one of the fuckers gives you a hard time or makes you upset let me know” he promised, semi-jokingly as he handed the phone back to Nick.
“Those fuckers should know better, I mean you’re a better person than most of those guys will ever be,” Nick said in a harsh tone, annoyance filling his senses, those boys had promised to make her life easier, to help and create peace, not complicate everything. “Don't say shit like that Blanks” she mumbled. “I'm serious, you are such a strong person, those dumbasses need to stop giving you a hard time” he sighed, knowing that they had no ill intent, they always mean well, they were just stupid at knowing when the time to intervene was.
“They’re just looking out for Philippe” she reasoned, she also knew that Steve’s and other comments that have been made in the past weren’t comments that were supposed to negatively affect her, they just wanted everyone happy. “Lapointe is a big boy, the can make his own decisions and handle his shit, and if he knew that the guys were helping him at your expense I don't think he’d appreciate it very much.”
A gentle knock on the front door startled her out of the conversation, “I’m gonna have to call you back Blanks someone is at the door,” she said warmly, drying the tears on her face as she readjusted the baby in her chest. “Sounds good, we are probably going to head out for drinks so we'll talk in a few days” he promised, as Bothe Kent and Owen in unison yelled out their goodbyes. “Okay, love you guys bye”
She quickly ran over to the door, hoping she didn’t keep the person on the otherwise waiting too long, she swung it opened it to see the very smiley sophomore clad in pyjamas and a smile, “oh, hey Mark” she whispered with a grin as she ushered for him to follow her into the house. “I promised I'd stop by after the game, but I got a little strung up with the trainers and coaches,” He shrugged with a smile before motioning for the woman to pass him over the baby.
“I heard that you're the most penalized player in the league now, Mr. Eighty-seven minutes,” she said giving him the baby and the drool-covered rag before collapsing down on the couch. “Yeah I'm a superstar” he shrugged. “You played well though, minus the penalties” She grinned and nodded at the baby who was now knocked out in his arms.
Flo always had such an easy time with Mark, he claimed it was because he was the first of the guys to hold her and the fact that he and Flo were best friends. The topic of him being the first beside her mother to ever hold her pissed off all the guys, especially Philippe, it was like twisting the knife in the already tender wound, the fact that he couldn’t make it to the birth, and then he wasn’t even the first to hold his baby.
“You made the cutest baby did you know that” Mark’s thumb ran over the fat on her cheeks, a sleepy smile on Flo’s face as she buried her face into his arm. “Why aren’t you at the party?” “wasn’t in the mood,” he said like the answer was obvious as if he wasn’t one of the biggest party personalities in the entire Umich student body.
“Who are you and what have you done with my Mark Estapa?” “Your Mark Estapa, that’s a bold term” he joked, watching as she rolled her eyes. “You know what I meant,” she jabbed him in the thigh with her foot, making a quiet gasp leave his lips, not wanting to wake up the sleeping baby.
“If you wondering why I'm not at the party it's because the prettiest girl that I've been waiting all day to see wasn’t there so there was no point in showing up” He smiled, looking from the baby up to her, a look of amusement on her face as she raised her brows “You’re such a flirt” “I never said I was talking about you, could have been talking about my littlest love right here” He motioned to the baby in his arms, his free hand pulling her pyjama top down to cover her stomach, his little heart pained to see that she was almost too big for her six-month-old clothes.
“I love that nickname” she mumbled, her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for another smart-mouthed response from Mark. “Yeah? You want a similar one?” He shamelessly flirted, looking over at the red spread across both of the woman’s cheeks, “you’re blushing” he said leaning over her legs to run his thumb over the hot and flushed skin of her cheeks “That's true Mark, I am turning red, you’re flirting with me, it's expected,” she deadpanned.
“When are you gonna let me take you out?” He questioned, feigning for the moment that the girl would let her guard down and finally accept his advances. “When pigs fly” She grinned as his face dropped. “I could arrange for that to happen” he murmured to her, his hand raking through his hair and across his face to tame the lush on his cheeks, “you underestimate me”
“Mark I have a baby, and her father is your teammate.” “I'm fully aware of those two facts,” he said smartly pointing down aye the baby sitting in his arms, a grin on his face as she rolled her eyes at his statement.
“It wouldn’t work” She shook her hand and looked away from him, her facial muscles trying hard to not let a smile pull at her lips. “I'm gonna prove you wrong one of these days,” he says confidently, a toothy smile on his face as she watches her look back at him. “I’d like to see you try” she added before pressing unpause on her tv show, ignoring the stare and smile that came from the man
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this is poorly edited so please don't mind the spelling errors, I will get to the serious editing later
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rayslittlekitten · 2 years
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Like Father, Like Daughter
"Dad Will" Masterlist
A/N: So I had this weird urge to write an overprotective Dad! Will fic this morning and well, this is the result. Also thank you @spanishmossmagnolia and @musings-of-a-rose for beta reading!
Rating: T
Word Count: ~1.4k+
Pairing: Dad!Will x Wife F!Reader; Dad!Will & Teenage Daughter OC
Plot: Will gets a little overprotective when your daughter is dressed inappropriately and you have to step in to sort it out.
Contains: stubborn Will, teenage daughter being just as stubborn as her father, Uncle Benny makes a cameo, some humor
Prompt: "Do as I say, not as I do."
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"BYEDADLOVEYOU!"
As you're coming down the stairs, you hear your teenage daughter quickly kissing her father on the cheek before sprinting towards the front door as he's loading the dishwasher.
"Have fun, sweetheart. Love you-- whoa! Hold up!" Will yells out.
You walk into the kitchen and see your daughter slowly backtracking.
"What's that you're wearing, young lady?" Will asks, abandoning the dirty dishes as he walks closer to his daughter.
"It's... a dress," she replies shyly.
"That..." Will waves his finger around her. "No." He shakes his head.
"Daaaad!" She huffs and crosses her arms.
"What's going on?" You step in to break up the tension.
"Did you see how she's walking out of the house?" Will asks you.
"She asked to borrow a dress and I told her to look in my closet but I didn't know she picked that one," you admit.
"Lucy, baby. That's cute on you, but--" you start.
"I wouldn't use the term 'cute'," Will grimaces.
"Will!" You eye him.
"I don't care. You're not going out in that-- by the way, where are you going and with who?" Will furrows his brows and props his hands on his lower waist, standing taller. "Did you tell your mother? Because you sure as hell didn't tell me."
"Dad! Stop being so dramatic!" Lucy scoffs.
"Honey, where are you going and who are you going with?" You ask her, gently putting your hands on her shoulders.
"I'm going to the drive-in movie with my friends."
"Which friends?"
"Liz, Sunny, Abigail, Katie, you know the usual," she shrugs.
"And?" you shoot her a knowing look.
Lucy glances at Will who has not budged nor has he stopped boring a hole in her, and then turns back to you.
"And some boys from school..." She looks down at her combat boots.
You put your hand up to Will when he's about to say something.
"Which boys?" You ask her.
"Charlie, Pedro, Oscar and… and Jax," she answers.
"That little shit Jax is going to be there?" Will growls.
"Honey, please," you sigh.
"Oh, Gary will be there too!" Lucy perks up.
"Your cousin Gary?"
Lucy nods enthusiastically. Gary is just as tall and lean as his father. Both him and Lucy have learned Brazilian Jiu Jitsu from Benny since they were kids.
"What movie are you watching?" Will grills some more after a moment of silence.
"The new horror movie that just came out," Lucy answers.
"What time is the movie?" Will quickly follows up.
"Dad!" she groans. You are now the one boring holes into Will with your eyes.
"How are you getting there?" you ask her.
"Liz is picking me up."
"What time will you be home?"
"I don't know. After the movies we were thinking of getting something to eat," she shrugs.
"Home by 10 or you're grounded," Will jumps in.
"That’s not fair! It's Saturday! Besides, the movie doesn't even start until 8!" Lucy shouts. “You’re ruining my social life!”
“Right now, you’re lucky you have one,” Will shoots back. “I can ground you right now, Luciana.”
You know Will is serious when he uses her government name.
“I’ll just sneak out through my bedroom window. Uncle Benny told me you used to do that to meet up with your girlfriend to smoke weed,” she crosses her arms and stands up a bit taller with her chin higher. She doesn’t quite meet her father’s height, but she might have a few more inches on her the next few years. She does have the stubbornness of her father though.
“Okay, I’m going to have to have a talk with your uncle. Also, do as I say, not as I do,” Will points his finger at her. “As long as you’re still living under my roof, you are not allowed to wear things like that, are we clear?”
You point your finger at Will, give him a stern look and shush him.
"Okay. Luce, sweetheart, this isn't something both your father and I are comfortable with you wearing," you tell her.
"Mom--"
"Why don't we maybe find something that we can all agree on?" you suggest.
"But--"
"This dress isn't completely out of the question yet. We can accessorize--"
"With sweatpants and a hoodie," Will jumps in.
You glare at Will and then shift your attention back to Lucy.
"Come on." You take Lucy's hand and guide her back upstairs.
*********
After finding a cute outfit you all can agree on, Lucy goes on her merry way. You all also agreed the curfew would be flexible as long as she checks in with you and Will on her whereabouts. You and Will are cuddling on the couch watching TV while sipping on some adult beverages. You can sense Will is still upset about what happened earlier.
“Babe, you need to let it go,” you tell him.
“Did you actually see what she was wearing? One wrong move and everyone can see everything!” Will huffs and shakes his head. “All those teenage boys, especially that troublemaker Jax is going to be eye-fucking her. And she was going to get away with not telling us.”
“Oh, please, like you didn’t eye-fuck girls and lie to your parents in high school?” you ask with a raised brow.
“You know what? I did. And that’s exactly why I am not a fan of what she was wearing,” Will says as a matter of factly.
“You didn’t have a problem when I wore that dress to our anniversary dinner a few years ago,” you mumble and then take a sip of your drink.
“Was that when you wore it?” he asks, genuinely not remembering.
“Yeah. You loved it so much you took it off of me so quickly,” you chuckle.
“If I wanted to rip that off you, I know what those other boys would think if they saw her in it.”
“Cut her some slack, okay? It’s not easy for girls, especially teenagers. She’s learning and figuring herself out. Her body is changing and then these hormones–”
“The hormones are exactly what’s the problem here,” Will says. “Teenagers don’t know what to do with them.”
“We have to learn to trust her. You can’t always be there to protect her. She’s not a little girl anymore. She’s turning eighteen next year,” you remind him. “The only thing we can do is do the best we can to prepare her for the world.”
Will grunts. You’re not sure if that was a grunt of agreement, but that’s what you’re going with.
“Besides, sometimes you don’t know what to do with your hormones either and you’re a grown ass man.” Your hand snakes down to his lap as you lean in to kiss him.
Suddenly, the front door opens and the two of you separate. You both look over and see Lucy walking in looking a bit defeated and surprisingly with Benny following behind her.
“What happened?” You ask with concern as you get up from the couch.
“Mom… I–” Lucy starts.
“Who hurt my little girl?” Will instantly stands up and puffs his chest out, getting in Captain mode.
Benny laughs.
“What’s so fucking funny? I also have a bone to pick with you,” Will points to Benny.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” you walk over to Lucy to embrace her.
“I’m fine, mom,” she sighs. “But I did something bad.”
You don’t even need to see or hear your husband. You can feel him seething from the other side of the room, expecting the worst.
“What happened?”
Benny laughs again, but even harder. Both you and Will eye Benny like he’s a lunatic.
Lucy takes a deep breath.
“There’s this boy I like–”
“It’s Jax, isn’t it?” Will interjects.
A simple glance at Will makes his jaw tick, but he reels it in.
“There’s this boy I like and I was just showing him this new jiu jitsu move Uncle Benny taught me but my skirt was too tight and I ended up slipping and kicking him in the balls really hard.” Lucy hangs her head in shame. “I think he hates me now.”
You try to hold back your laugh. Benny is belly-laughing at this point. He’s hunched over trying to catch his breath. Will simply smiles.
“It’s, it’s okay, sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll be alright,” you chuckle and then hold her. “But what’s Uncle Benny doing here?”
“I had called Uncle Benny to pick me up at the hospital because I didn’t want dad to cause a scene,” Lucy says into your shoulder. “I think I hurt him really bad.”
“Kid’s gonna learn what it’s like to get kicked in the balls eventually,” Benny adds.
Will is now laughing as he walks over to you and Lucy.
“My girl.” Will leans in to kiss the top of her head and then gently rubs it.
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shemarmooresfedora · 3 years
Text
Rebuilding Family
Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem! Reader
A/N: hi lovely people! i hope you are all having a great day! drink some water! love you all!
Masterlist
Chapter 13
Spencer got a call from you one morning when he was leaving his apartment to pick Jo up for school.
“Spencer,” your voice sounded deeper than normal.
“I’m sick,” you groaned.
“Aw, I’m sorry. What are your symptoms?” he asked.
“Stuffy nose, fever, headache, and a sore throat,” you sniffled.
“Could you take Jo for the weekend after you pick her up today? I don’t want her getting infected too.”
“Of course, do you need me to get you anything?” he asked.
“No thanks, you’re sweet but I’m fine. Stay away from my room, germaphobe,” you giggled slightly.
“You’re going to have to get Jo all ready for school. I just knocked on her door to wake her up. I didn’t want to take any chances,” you informed him.
“Okay, feel better, sweetheart,” Spencer said.
You made a kissing sound through the phone before hanging up, presumably to go back to bed.
-
Spencer walked inside to find Jo sitting in front of the TV.
“Mommy isn’t coming out of her room,” she stated.
“I know, she’s sick so she is protecting us from all the icky germs. You are going to spend the weekend at Daddy’s place,” he picked Jo up, bringing her into the kitchen and pouring her a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.
“Eat up,” he said, pushing the bowl in front of her after adding milk and a spoon, “then Daddy is going to do your hair before we go.”
While Jo ate, Spencer packed her lunch and wrote a little note:
The word ‘dinosaur’ means ‘terrible lizard’ in Greek. See you later, Princess! Eat all of your cucumber slices!
Love,
Daddy
He sketched a little heart doodle to finish off the note, folding it and slipping it into Jo’s lunch box.
Spencer called Hotch as he was carrying Jo out to the car.
“Hey, Hotch. Can I have the day off?” he asked.
“Sure, Reid. You have plenty of sick days saved up. Is everything alright?”
“Y/N is sick so I’ve got Jo for the weekend and I want to clean up my apartment and do some grocery shopping beforehand,” Spencer explained, the phone pressed between his shoulder and ear as he buckled Jo in.
“Alright, see you Monday, Reid. Tell Jo I say hi,” he said.
“Will do,” Spencer hung up the phone.
“Uncle Aaron says hi,” he said to Jo.
“Hi Uncle Aaron!” Jo exclaimed even though the phone call had already ended.
-
After dropping Jo off, Spencer drove to the grocery store.
He picked up some snacks and food to replenish his empty cabinets so Jo wouldn’t starve at his apartment. He was going to attempt to make them spaghetti and meatballs for dinner but he picked up a bag of dino nuggets as a backup.
On the way home to his apartment, he stopped back at your house and walked inside, calling your phone as he set grocery bags down on the kitchen counter.
“Hey, I’m back. I know you said to stay away but I wanted to drop off a few things,” Spencer put the phone on speaker as he began to put away the groceries, “I got you some oranges because their vitamin C will help your immune system. I got you popsicles and ice cream to help with your fever and sore throat. I also got you some more tea and soup. And, I picked up some spring rolls for you that you can reheat whenever you are hungry.”
“You are the best. Thank you, Spence,” you sleepily replied.
“I don’t know what medicine you have been taking so far but after examining the ingredients of different over-the counter medicines in the pharmacy aisle, I found two that I think will work best to fend off your symptoms if taken together,” Spencer said, walking upstairs.
“I’m leaving them both outside your door with a glass of water,” he knelt down to place the pill bottles and water on the ground.
“If I’m up for it later, can I facetime you and Jo?” you asked hopefully.
“I will figure out how to use that just for you,” Spencer smiled.
“Just swipe to accept it like a normal phone call except then I will be able to see both of your beautiful little faces,” you giggled.
“Okay, try to get some rest, drink lots of water, and try to eat something if you can,” Spencer encouraged.
“See you later, Spence.”
-
After spending the rest of the day cleaning his apartment and putting away stacks of books that were on the floor so Jo wouldn’t trip, Spencer went to go pick her up.
“Here, Daddy,” she handed him a purple piece of paper with lots of glitter glue on it as she came running out of the classroom into his awaiting arms.
“Another Jo original?” he beamed, “Is this me, you, and Mommy again?”
Jo nodded, “We need one for your fridge too.”
“How thoughtful,” Spencer lifted the girl up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“I went back home to check on Mommy and I packed you a bag of clothes and your favorite toys so you should be all set for the weekend but we can go back if we need to,” he explained to Jo as he carried her out to the car.
-
Spencer had managed to make him and Jo spaghetti even though it was just from a box. He even asked Rossi for his meatball recipe and made those from scratch. Jo cleared her plate so she seemed to enjoy the meal or she was just sparing her Daddy’s feelings.
They were watching a National Geographic dinosaur documentary when your contact photo came up on Spencer’s phone screen. It was a picture of you that he had insisted on taking on your date because you “looked too beautiful to not admire forever in photo form”. His phone lockscreen had also been changed from just a generic scenic landscape photo to a picture that Penelope had taken of you, Spencer, and Jo at Rossi’s party.
Spencer held the phone up and swiped accept.
“Hi!” you smiled, waving through the phone, you were still laying in bed.
“Mommy!” Jo exclaimed, standing up on the couch and sitting in Spencer’s lap to see better.
“Hi, Baby J! How is Daddy’s place?” you asked.
“Good! We had spaghetti and meatballs and now we are watching a dinosaur show and Daddy bought oreos,” Jo giggled, holding up a half-eaten cookie with crumbs on her face.
“Wow he’s really spoiling you,” you laughed, “Daddy brought me spring rolls and they are helping me get all better,” you smiled, taking a bite of one of them.
“Glad you are feeling better, sweetheart,” Spencer grinned.
“I’ll give it another day but you and Jo may be able to come back on Sunday after I disinfect everything,” you replied.
“Jo, say bye bye to Mommy so she can finish her dinner and go to bed,” Spencer prompted her.
“Night night, Mommy. Love you,” she waved at the camera, blowing a kiss.
“Bye Jo. Love you too! Be good for Daddy!” you waved back, “Night, Spence.”
“Good night, Y/N,” Spencer smiled, ending the call.
Twenty minutes later, Jo was out cold in Spencer’s lap, cuddled into his chest. Spencer smiled softly, picking her up and bringing her to his bed.
“Sweet dreams, Jo,” he whispered, giving her his usual goodnight kiss on the forehead.
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nataliedanovelist · 3 years
Text
GF - Stars Aren’t the Only Things That Glitter
A Drifting Stars AU short, collaborating with @clownwry.
2nd, 3rd, 4th.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Grunkle Ford, look out!”
“Mabel, stay back!”
BANG!
“Mabel… MABEL! HOLD ON! I’M COMING! MABEL!”
~~~~~~~~~~
Mabel looked at the blazing fire, trying to pretend to ignore her great-uncles muttering so she might pick up a swear word, be it alien or English was perfectly fine by her. Mabel didn’t pick up any swears, but she did hear the words “reckless” and “irresponsible” and “inconceivable”. The Listening Game did a fair job of distracting her from the pain on her arm and shoulder. Except when Grunkle Ford’s bandages were a little too tight and she would wince at the friction on her burn.
Still muttering through his teeth, his eye glued to the injury through his single-cracked glasses, he did it again, pulling on the bandage a little too hard, this time making Mabel accidentally let am “ouch!” slip past her lips. Ford looked up at her and his expression grew softer and more nurturing. “I’m sorry, my dear, but really, you shouldn’t have done that.”
“They were gonna shoot you…”
“I don’t care.” Ford said firmly. “If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide. If I tell you to save yourself and leave me behind, you do so.”
“No.”
The nomadic scientist blinked, slightly surprised by her stubbornness. Only slightly surprised, because she is a Pines, after all. But she is a good kid and in the month they had been traveling the Multiverse, she had never outright defied him like this. “Excuse me?” He wasn’t even stern or angry; he was too surprised (and maybe even a little proud) to properly scold her anymore.
“No. That’s stupid.” Mabel answered, her little cheeks puffed up in determination, her eyes sparkling with the reflection of the fire, a flame of her own in the windows to her soul. “I’ll never leave you behind. We’re a family, we gotta stick together if we’re gonna survive and get home. We need each other. Besides, if the tables were turned, would you leave me behind?”
“That’s an entirely different matter.” Ford said with a small smile on his ruffed-up face; he resumed his work on the burn more gently now and finished wrapping it up, securing the bandage. “I’m old, I’ve lived my life. You take priority.”
“I don’t care.” Mabel said, copying Ford’s exact tone and voice from earlier. The grown man snorted with amusement.
Ford decided to put this little argument on hold, seeing how there was no changing Mabel’s mind right now. And he didn’t want to spend the entire evening rebuking her. “You did do a very good job disarming those hunters. I’m very proud of you.”
Mabel sat up a little straighter and smiled up at Ford. “Thank you.”
Ford smiled at her and stood, moving to his large backpack to fish out the things for tea and dinner, though it would probably only be dried meat and oats. “I’m just glad you’re okay, pumpkin.”
Mabel’s eyes widened as her world was put on pause. She felt like she was being sucked into a time vortex, transported into a memory.
Grunkle Stan was dusting some zombie parts off of his armchair when Mabel was walking by, leaving the kitchen after giving Soos his cure for zombification. Stan noticed that Mabel looked very tired. He smiled at her from her seat, and Mabel ran up to him and climbed into his lap for a big hug.
“Hey, you alright?” Stan asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m just glad you’re okay, pumpkin.” And he gave her a secure squeeze and Mabel happily hugged him back.
Mabel was shoved back into reality, accompanied by a sinking feeling of loss. She missed Grunkle Stan. She missed Dipper. She missed Waddles, and Soos, and Wendy, and the Shack, and Oregon, and California, and Mom and Dad…
Ford turned back to the fire with a kettle and wire-spider in hand, ready to ask Mabel to fetch some water (she always enjoyed being of assistance), but he stopped when he saw her crying with her eyes shut and wiping her cheeks dry with her wrists. Ford was immediately halted and his priorities shifted drastically. Nothing mattered at this moment but making her feel better.
He was swift. Ford scooped up some water from the clean stream into the kettle, then used the wire-spider to hold the kettle over the fire. Giving the water plenty of time to heat up and steam, Ford gently picked Mabel up from her seat on the log, only to hold her close and let her wrap her arms around his neck. He didn’t say a word, being a social-cripple and having no idea what he could say that would make her feel better, so he stayed silent and was simply there for her.
And really, that was all Mabel needed.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning the two humans were lucky to come across a small rustic town in the woods, reminding Ford of the small Tennessee-town Fiddleford grew up in. Except of course there were no humans, but blue-skinned elves with pointy years and the occasional centaur.
Ford had stolen a bit of money from a hunter yesterday, which meant they got to restock on supplies and even buy a cheap breakfast at an outside cafe. Sitting at a table under an umbrella, Ford was going over his plan with Mabel while she munched on her sweetly-cooked purple apples tossed in spices and sugar.
“... so once we reach this cavern here, we’ll reach a very interesting town called Flush Valley. I’ve heard it specializes in building mechanical limbs and prosthetics, but it’s surrounded by rich minerals perfect for building, so we can find what we need easily here. There may even be a day-by-day job I can get to earn a bit of money for food and shelter.”
“I can work, too! Daddy always said I was like a French horse!” Mabel added in excitedly.
Ford chuckled. “We’ll see. I would feel more comfortable if you were working so I could keep an eye on you. Moving on,” The old scientist sipped his strange alien coffee, but it contained caffeine and somewhat resembled his home dimension’s coffee taste, so he drank it. “The way there could be crawling with scavengers. A lot of people come to Flush Valley just barely hanging on by a thread, easy targets for hunting and stealing food and supplies. So we need to keep our guard up for the next two days.”
“Okay.” Mabel said, as nonchalantly as if Ford told her to remember to add milk to a grocery list.
Ford gave her a firmer look and added, “So, if we think we’re being followed, what do we do?”
“We pretend we don’t know and we keep walking calmly.” Mabel replied. “We keep our eyes open for a way to lose them, and where the sneaky-peaky spies are.”
“Very good.” Ford smiled at her. “If we decide to try to lose them, what do we do?”
“Run as fast as we can. If I can’t catch up I get on your shoulders and focus on making them go away, while you get us away.”
“Yes, excellent. What do we do if we decide to confront them?”
“I grab by sling-shot and exploding rocks and hit as many guys as I can. I aim for the knees or feet so they fall and can’t shoot us. Oh, and we stand with our backs to each other so we see everything, together.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now, if we are surrounded and I find a way to escape, what do you do?”
“Make sure you go in so you can lead the way!” Mabel answered with a grin.
“N-No, honey.” Ford said gently with a smile, as if informing a kindergartner that 1+1=2, not 11. “If I find a way to escape, you go first…”
“No,” Mabel said, still smiling as she shook her head. “You go first so I can make sure you’re coming.”
Ford sighed and took another sip of his drink. “Okay, if I tell you to run, you…”
“I grab your hand and run with you, making sure no one gets lost.”
“Mabel, no.”
“Mabel YES!” The girl grinned with determination. “You’re stuck with me, old man! You can’t get rid of me!”
Ford was getting annoyed at this point. He pinched the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses up slightly, and growled, “I’m not trying to get rid of you, I’m trying to save you!”
Mabel gave him a very serious look and questioned, “By leaving me alone out here?”
“No! I-...” But Ford stopped and bit his lip. His niece did have an excellent point. As much as Ford was willing to do anything to keep her safe, as much as Ford was willing to sacrifice his own life for her’s, that really wasn’t a good idea.
There was a good chance Mabel could survive without him, at least until she found a nice family to take her in (or, somehow, miraculously, Stanley opened the portal and brought her home, but Ford didn’t dare to hope for that). But she was so young and inexperienced in the Multiverse. At least when Ford was first thrown into the chaos he was an adult and was accustomed to weirdness thanks to his six years of researching Gravity Falls. Mabel was extremely resourceful, imaginative, intelligent, and clever. She was also stronger and faster than many would assume. But she was too trusting. Too innocent. So, not to belittle Mabel or underestimate her, but she was right; she needed Ford, and as noble as it would be to exchange his life for her’s if it came down to it, that would also be incredibly stupid and only buy Mabel a little more time until she was captured or enslaved or killed or even worse.
And of course, only someone as people-smart and clever as Mabel could make Ford see that.
He sighed tiredly. “O-... Okay.” Mabel smiled proudly at him. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll try to be more careful.” Ford promised. “I… I just need you to be safe.”
“Don’t worry, I think we do a pretty good job of keeping each other safe.” Mabel complimented, holding out a bite of her fruit on a fork for Ford.
The old man held up a polite hand and declined, but his stomach turned against him and growled, and Mabel frowned at him, giving Ford a deja vu feeling of his mother forcing him and his brothers to eat their vegetables. So Ford smiled and accepted the sweetly cooked fruit. “Yes, I think so, too.”
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dadsbongos · 3 years
Text
late night for a sinner
Movie/Game/Show: The Devil All The Time Dynamic: Arvin Russell/Reader Warnings: religious overtones cuz it’s this movie, described and enacted violence (against teagardin), preston teagardin (and all his sexual assault-y/manipulative bs) Notes: uhm people got married at like 20 in the 50s and i assume arvin is about 20 so no i will not apologize for making you his wife, my country-accent writing is bad(?) idk Summary: Arvin’s a protective man, especially when it comes to those he loves. ~~~
“Somethin’ ‘bout that preacher don’t feel right,” (Y/n) murmured to her husband as they stood outside the doors of the church, “Gives me a shiver right up my spine.”
Arvin nodded along to her words, watching as his grandmother and sister shook hands with Preston Teagardin - fancy name for a guy like him. A guy who gave women chills. He reached into his dress pants pocket and plucked out a cigarette before placing it between his lips, “Watch yourself around him, darlin’.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for Lenora, too,” (Y/n) crossed over the creaky boards of the church's stoop as people began exiting, her hands coming out for the man’s tie, “Did you loosen this durin' the sermon?”
“Too tight,” he let the woman adjust his tie, “You know how I feel ‘bout comin’ to these things.”
“I know, I know - hey, I don’t like comin’ either, but it means a lot to Ms. Emma and Lenora,” pulling back from the tie, (Y/n) placed her hands on Arvin’s shoulders, “‘Sides, someone’s gotta watch for that blasted preacher, and I think we’re the only ones who will.”
Removing the cigarette from between his lips, Arvin leaned over to kiss his wife’s forehead, pulling away to ask, “You take my light outta my pocket when you pressed my pants this morning?”
“Maybe I did,” she shrugged, grinning, “Maybe even I think you shouldn’t be smokin’ outside a church.”
“Maybe,” Arvin nodded, “Maybe.”
Emma and Lenora finally came out of the church and started towards the family’s truck, the two women got into the back with Arvin and (Y/n) getting into the front to finally head home. Lenora leaned forward as her brother started the truck, “You shoulda been in there for the goodbyes.”
“Oh?” turning her head and leaving her cheek pressed to the headrest, (Y/n) quirked a brow at the teenager, “What happened?”
“Reverend Teagardin said he’s interested in meeting you,” Lenora beamed at her sister-in-law.
“Just her?” Arvin pulled out of the church parking lot, “Seatbelt, Lenora.”
“I got it, I got it,” the girl waved off before returning to her previous conversation, “But yeah, just (Y/n). He was talkin’ about putting together a church choir. Thinks (Y/n) would have a pretty voice.”
“She’s got a pretty voice but she ain’t singin’ for no church choir,” Arvin’s brows furrowed, white-knuckling the steering wheel at the mere idea of that damned preacher trying to get close to his wife, “Not in that man’s church choir.”
“Let the girl speak for herself,” Emma cut in, “Thought I raised you better than that.”
Pursing his lips, Arvin turned to (Y/n) for a split second before returning his stare to the road, “Sorry, love.”
“It’s okay, baby,” she looked back to her sister-in-law, “You singin’ in the choir, Lenora?”
“I’d love to try.”
Clenching her jaw, (Y/n) thought over her choices. Leave Lenora to sing in that choir - leave her sweet, naive little sister-in-law in that preacher’s hands for far longer than was typical or wanted… Or, suck it up and sing for the bastard.
“I’ll sing with ya, sweetheart.”
Arvin sighed quietly, glad none of the women in the car heard him over the rumbling of the truck’s old engine. To distract himself, and by proxy the women in the car, he suddenly changed the topic, “This damn old truck. Gonna hafta fix it up or take it in.”
“You’re gonna take it in?” (Y/n) tilted her head.
“Thing’s old; I’ll do as much as I can, darlin', but sometimes there’s only so much I can do. You know that.”
“I’ll need to go with you,” the truck jumbled with the rocky bumps of their home’s pull-in, “Pick up a few things for dinner.”
Lenora felt her heart warm and lips quirk into a smile at her brother and sister-in-law. They weren’t so into the church as her and Grandma, in fact - Lenora’s certain they only played along to please her and Grandma, but watching them was nice. Nothing to play along to, just a simple, pure expression of adoration between the couple. Arvin was never a man known for something as soft and tender as love but (Y/n), since the two were in grade school, was easily able to pull it out of him.
From high school sweethearts into married lovers. It was overjoying to know someone else was looking after Arvin.
“I’ll check up on Mr. Earskell and be right out.”
“No, no, (Y/n),” Emma shook her head, taking the woman’s hand as she was assisted out of the truck, “I’ll handle things. You and Arvin go on and stay out here.”
She didn’t bother fighting against the older woman, she was the matriarch of the family - she was just the rule maker. It was only fair.
“You don’t hafta keep callin’ em Miss and Mister,” Arvin came out and around to the hood of the truck, “They’re part a’ your family now.”
“Feels improper,” (Y/n) rebuffed, standing beside her husband, “I’m just thankful they’re lettin’ me stay here.”
“And why wouldn’t they?” he knew why she felt that way - her own family was insufferable and he could barely stand being around them for a dinner - he couldn’t imagine having to live with them.
“Let’s not open that can of worms today, huh, love?” (Y/n) placed her hands on her hips as she watched her husband look over the truck’s interior and drag over his tools and oil.
“Don’t joke ‘bout that, love,” despite his words, Arvin was smiling slightly, “Poor fishermen work hard to get those worm cans.”
“You’re right, you’re right,” she sarcastically relented, peeking over the man’s shoulder, “Wish I knew anything to help you.”
“I could teach you a thing or two.”
“Maybe not now, baby.”
Which, of course, was code for ‘I’d rather not. Ever.’ but politely.
There was silence between the married couple as Arvin worked until he sighed and planted his hands on each side of the open hood, head hanging low as he murmured, “You’re really goin’ to that choir?”
“We both know I gotta be there for Lenora.”
“I appreciate that, but I’ll still be worried to hell ‘bout you,” he turned to face his wife, restraining himself cupping her cheeks and smearing grime over her, “Both a' you,” then he finally admitted as to why he was so apprehensive, “I’ve been watchin’ him.”
“You what…?!” she whisper-screamed, coming in closer to her husband, “Arvin Eugene Russell, you been what?”
“Watchin’ him,” Arvin almost regrets the admission at the sight of his wife’s shock, “He’s a no-good-sonofabitch, (Y/n). Messin’ around with a young girl behind his wife’s back. She’s good to him, (Y/n), she cooks him dinner and she does her best to keep him happy. He’s no good to her. He’s no good, at all.”
(Y/n)’s brows furrow, “Cheatin’ on his wife?”
“A girl from Lenora’s class. He’s worse than a cheater,” he turned back to the hood of the truck and quickly said, “We’re takin’ it in.”
“Why haven’t you said anything yet?”
“Nobody will ever believe me, (Y/n), you know that. Everybody here loves that damn radio bullshitter.”
Nodding quietly, (Y/n) fisted a hand in her skirt before turning towards the home’s door, “I’ll tell Lenora we’re goin’.”
The topic is ultimately dropped as they leave into town. As they take the truck in for the shop and as they pick out items for dinner that night and even on the walk home. Reverend Preston Teagardin didn’t come up again, neither did his affairs or his disgustingly, sickeningly low age preference for said affairs.
They weren’t the only people in town on watch of their new preacher in town, they were just another young couple walking home.
Even as dinner passed and time for rest came - as they pressed into bed and huddled together in the cold night. Teagardin was temporarily forgotten, pushed to the backs of their minds as they slipped into slumber.
And when Arvin darts up from bed after another nightmare over finding his father’s body that fateful night, (Y/n)’s thoughts are solely on her husband. Bringing him back into the present, where he’s not in the woods finding his father knelt down in front of their makeshift church but instead in bed with his loving wife. With his sister down the hall. His grandmother at the end of the corridor and his great-uncle's own room across from theirs. He’s in a home that isn’t going anywhere - he’s with people who won’t leave him, not any time soon anyway.
It’s not until the next day, after Lenora’s first day back at school for the week had finished and her daily visit to Hellen Hatton-Laferty was over, that Teagardin even peeked back into the couple’s brains.
“If that sonofabitch touches you or Lenora, tell me,” Arvin whispered to his wife, hands holding hers tightly before she went into the church for choir practice, “I’ll make sure ain't got no hands to touch you, or Lenora, or any other unlucky woman.”
“I’ll come right to you, honey,” (Y/n) was quick to confirm for her husband, “Promise.”
“Good,” he cups his wife’s cheeks and pulls her into a tender forehead kiss before going to his sister and giving her a tight hug, “Be the loudest one there, got it?”
Lenora chuckled quietly, patting her brother’s shoulder, “You know I can’t do that.”
“You can.”
Shaking her head, (Y/n) goes up the stairs and pulls one of the double doors open, “You just shouldn’t, ain’t that right, Arvin?”
A teasing shrug and he’s walking off towards the car while Lenora follows her sister-in-law up and into the church.
Teagardin is sitting in one of the pews with his back turned towards the two women.
There’s nobody else in the church despite having been told this was the meeting time. It’s silent. Preston still hasn’t turned to the two.
Lenora is fidgeting beside (Y/n) the longer the man stays quiet. The younger girl nervously bunching the skirt of her dress in her fists. Her brows drawn tight in confusion and lips pressed into a thin line.
(Y/n) steps forward, ignoring the nerves urging her to run and encouraging her knees to buckle underneath the weight of her body, “We’re here, preacher.”
His head lifted, a smile coming over his lips, an unnatural smile - one she’d imagined on the devil when he tricked another soul into his claws. Preston comes to a full stand and approaches the women, “I didn’t expect both of you to come.”
“I wanted to support Lenora.”
“How wonderful.”
~~
“Preacher’s dirty.”
“What?”
(Y/n) sighed, sitting up in bed and looking down at her husband and whispering into the night air, “Teagardin. He’s just as dirty as you said.”
Immediately, Arvin was also sat up, no longer tired and now entirely focused on his wife, “What happened?”
“Tried touchin’ Lenora ‘til I stopped him. Grabbed me. I got us out of there and now Lenora’s tryin' to figure out how to tell Ms. Emma.”
Arvin stood out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants over his boxers, slipping on a shirt and his hat before heading to the bedroom door and slipping out of the room. (Y/n) followed after, eyes wide and brain springing into panic as she watched him tug on his shoes. Hurriedly, the woman put her shoes on as well while Arvin snuck out of the home, her continuing to follow after him.
Once they were in the car, (Y/n) turned to Arvin as he pulled out of the driveway, “What the hell are you doin’? It’s late, you can settle this tomorrow, can't ya?”
“No. It don’t matter if he’s with his wife or at the church, I’m puttin’ that bastard in his place. I hope that woman leaves his ass,” he shook his head, “Rotten fuckin’ bastard.”
“What’re you gonna do?”
The man was silent as he drove towards where he knew the Teagardin residence was. Every few minutes he would take off his cap and run a hand through his matted hair - if he could force himself to do so, he could almost pretend this was a nice drive with his wife. A simple late-night cruise through town with the love of his life, but then he would remember exactly why they were on a late-night cruise. A peek at (Y/n) would remind him, she must be frightened to all hell - it must’ve been awful to be in that church. Be near that rotten man.
And Arvin’s rage was freshly re-lit.
“Is this the right time?” she remembered each time her husband had repeated the phrase from his father, it was usually enough to sway him from acting out at that moment.
“Best time there is. He’s asleep - won’t be expectin’ us.”
(Y/n) settled into her passenger side seat, turning her head to stare out the window, “How’re you gonna get him out?”
Arvin was silent once again, fingers tight against the steering wheel as they pulled up to the bend at the end of the preacher’s street. He got out of the car and stormed towards the Teagardin home with (Y/n) trailing after.
It wasn’t long until Preston came stumbling out of his home with Arvin banging on the front door. Cynthia was out soon after her husband, clinging to the door frame.
“Late night for a sinner, kids,” Preston rubbed at his eyes, “Can this wait ‘til the mornin’?”
“You try touchin’ Lenora?” Arvin was blunt, he didn’t like sugar coating and he didn’t like the people who did it. Turning, he gestured to (Y/n), “Tried touchin’ my (Y/n)?”
Immediately, Preston’s eyes widened, “Now, now, I- I didn’t do nothin’ to those two.”
“Callin’ my wife a liar?”
Cynthia looked between her husband and the younger couple on her lawn, “What’s this about, Preston?”
“You just go inside now, Cynthia!” the preacher called back to his wife, “These two are full of delusions!”
“Arvin, let’s just head home now - you can take care of this tomorrow…”
Shaking his head, Arvin only approached the older man further, “My wife ain’t no liar. And those hands ain’t free of sin.”
“Go inside, Cynthia!” Preston shouted at his wife once again before turning back to the other man, “You won’t say nothing. I will have your lives ruined. Who will the town trust? Me, or two scruffy children who married straight outta high school?” he gives a forced chuckle, shaking his head and pointing at (Y/n) with a shaky hand, “Your wife… she- she… your wife is delusional. She’s crazy.”
Arvin Russell had been fighting nearly his entire life - he learned from his father and he continued on far after his father passed. Preston Teagardin had never been an athletic boy nor had he been confrontational by any means, preferring to hide in the shadows and smile his way out of trouble.
It wasn’t a mystery as to how Arvin managed to land Preston on the hard ground, chest pressing into the dirt and hands tightly wound behind his back in Arvin’s hold.
He didn’t know what he was looking for in the man. He didn’t know what he wanted from the preacher. He couldn’t kill the bastard - he still had a sister and wife to look after when his grandmother and uncle could no longer. Was it admission? Was it a promise to not even look at the women of Knockemstiff? It wasn’t an apology, he knew that - because there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d be giving out forgiveness.
“You take back what you said,” Arvin grunted out, pushing his body harshly into Preston’s back and hoping it’d hurt as much as when boys did it to him on the playground, “You take back what you said about my wife, you hear me?”
“She’s crazy!”
Arvin took a hand into the preacher's hair and smushed his face deep into the dirt, “If I- “ when Teagardin’s whining got too loud, Arvin let his head up before roughly smashing it back into the ground, “Fuckin’ listen when I talk. You listenin’?” he waited for a nod of confirmation before continuing, “If I even hear your name in the same sentence as my wife’s or my sister’s, I’ll bash your fuckin’ brains in, hear me?”
“Arvin!” (Y/n) finally screamed out to her husband, hands landing on one of his arms and pulling, “Arvin, you let him go!”
“He deserves this, (Y/n)!”
“I know, but dammit Arvin, you’re gonna get the sheriff on you, let’s go home!”
Giving one last thunk of Preston’s skull into the ground, Arvin stood and kicked the man’s ribs before nodding at Cynthia with a brief ‘goodnight ma’am’ and returning to the car.
“That was a dumb thing you just did, Arvin Russell,” (Y/n) scolded, rather lightly, as her husband drove.
“I don’t regret a damn thing about it, (Y/n) Russell.”
“I didn’t ask you to,” she reached over and snatched his cap before fixing it over her own head, “I’m proud my husband cares so much.”
“Least I could do for the woman of my dreams.”
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2-cute-4-school · 4 years
Text
NCT Dream reaction to you getting your wisdom teeth removed
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Mark
babysitting the dreamies is part of his daily job so he thinks ‘how hard can it be to take care of you for a few hours pffft’
he’s never regretted underestimating you so bad in his entire life ◑.◑
you’re not just a nightmare
you’re THE ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE
he was so embarrassed when he had to gently drag you out of the dentist’s office while you were crying cuz
“mY TOOTH!! mark, i lost my tooth, what am i gonna do?!?! i should have put a leash on it, i knew it!!!! now it’s gone and it’s all my fault!!!!” (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )
*ugly sobbing* *mark awkwardly patting your back while pulling you away from the scrutinizing glares of a few karens in the waiting room*
“mark. i didn’t even get to name it!!!”
poor bby cheetah mark is SO lost
“baby, hey, don’t cry! we’ll uh…. i’ll get you a new one!” ヾ(゚Д゚;ヾ)
you look up with your glassy eyes and your right cheek chubbier than your left from the cotton lodged where your tooth used to be, your bottom lip trembling oh so cutely 
and mark just…stops functioning for a moment because
‘HOW CAN ANYONE BE SO CUTE BUT SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS AT THE SAME TIME IT’S NOT FAIR !!??!?!?’
“ rweally? would you really do that for me, markie?” (◞‸◟;)
“ASFKSFRDACGCS YES LOML ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING JUST SAY THE WORD AND I’LL BRING THE MOON TO YOUR FEET YOU PRECIOUS LIL BABY” ⊂(♡⌂♡)⊃
 and he still insists he’s not 120% whipped for you can you believe it
he ends up piggybacking you all the way back home because your giggles were just too cute for him to resist so he can’t even get tired with how happy he is to witness you so carefree and joyful
and his heart just melts when you leave a huuuge kith with the loudest *MWAH* ever on his cheek and you nuzzle your nose in the crook of his neck that’s like the fatal combination of cute acts ʚ♡⃛ɞ(ू•ᴗ•ू❁)
in conclusion : this man just adores you with every bit of his heart :((((
Renjun
probably asked kun to pick you both up from the dentist 
you’re just too much for him smh
you’re cute and all but renjun is a tired uncle
so you’re both in the backseat with kun as your driver and it’s silent
renjun just knows something is wrong there’s no way you’re so calm 
but you’re just staring at him like ◎_◎
“uh..babe, you alright?”
silence and then *GASP*
renjun just knows he’s about to facepalm himself into another dimension when you grip his cheeks in both hands
“you’re a fAIRY!!!!!!!” (*゚ロ゚)
*sigh* *muffled words* “y/n let’s calm down and just-”
he doesn’t get another word out before you shove his face in your lap and literally raise his shirt up to the nape of his neck
damn beach you know what you want huh go off
“where are they???!!?!?! where are you hiding them you impostor??!!!?”
and then you start slapping his back
“ow ow OW, Y/N WTF ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?? STOP !!”
“YOUR WINGS!!! WHERE ARE YOUR FRICKIN’ WINGS ?!?!?” (╬ Ò ‸ Ó)
renjun is this 👌 close to knocking you out for good with a karate chop
so he just pushes you off and straps you to your seat with a second safety belt as he huffs under his breath
“i can’t guarantee you’ll live to see next week” (⊙_◎)
kun watching in the rear mirror like (͡°͜ʖ͡°)
“you know what? i’d really eat some chicken wings right now!! jun, let’s go get chicken wings!!!” ⊂((・▽・))⊃
he’s surprised you even remember his name
but you eventually exhaust yourself and pass out in the backseat of the car so renjun and kun drag you to bed 
and renjun just tucks you in like the soft loving boyfriend that he is
and he just stares at you fondly and smooches you all over your face cuz
“how tf can you be so cute, you lil overexcited evil? you’re like the cutest thing in the world and it just!!!not!!!fair!!!!!” (♡ ‸ ♡ )
so even though he complains about you a lot, he’d sell his kidney just to see his lil cute bub happy i’m so soft :((((
Lee Jeno
“let’s go to the playground!!”
“y/n, no, let’s go home and put some ice on that cheek”
“but baaaabe i wanna go one the swing” ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )
“then we’ll have to ice both cheeks”
“what did ya say???!!?!”
so jeno’s headache only worsened once you both arrived home with no prior stop to the playground
and as much as he loves you he also wants to bang his head against a wall and end his suffering yay o((*^▽^*))o
“just stay still for a second please, i’m really trying to tie this thing properly around your head”
you’re just so restless and jeno is just so done
“does it hurt?”
“ywes, my heart hurts because my own boyfriend doesn’t love me!!!”
“y/n, we already had this conversation, now just-”
“i just wanted a swing!!!” *bursts into tears* *jeno sighs half of his soul out* ଽ (৺ੋ ௦ ৺ੋ )৴
so jeno sits down beside you and pulls you into his lap gently, rocking you back and forth in an attempt to soothe your sobs jeno best boyfriend no cap
“there there, baby, we can’t go out-” *sobs intensify* “BUT i promise i’ll get you a swing right here if you let me take care of you first”
you leech yourself onto jeno’s sleeve and wipe your tears on his shirt but he doesn’t seem to mind the wet patch left on the material as he watches you with that soft look of his (´-ω-`)
so you let him patch you up after his reassurance and after he just pats your head affectionately and motions for you to stand up
and this man just flexes his arms and nudges you to latch on
that’s how jeno ends up with a squealing you as you swing back and forth with your fingers gripping his arm ╰(✧∇✧╰)
Lee Haechan
you want to pretty him up
because “since my left cheek looks like it’s stuffed with a tennis ball, i can’t carry the visuals in this relationship for a while, so i need to hand the responsibility over to you”
“who even said you’re the one carrying the visuals” ℃ↂ_ↂ
“oh honey you’re only now realizing?”
(╬☉д⊙)⊰⊹ฺ
he blames the anesthesia for your severe accusations
but the only way to shut you up is give in to your wishes
so that’s how he found himself seated down on the carpet of your home with your legs draped over his and your totally professional make up applied over his face
“i look like a clown”
“not even make up can cover your true identity, hyuck”
deep breaths, donghyuck, in and out, take it easy (◎ω◎*)
“any preferences for the nail polish color?”
“to match my soul”
“so hot pink” o(≧∇≦o)
*poker face* “you know i could obliviate you if i wanted to clown you”
*pout that hurts hyuck’s lil heart* “but you wouldn’t do that to your hurting baby, would you” *blinks rapidly with puppy eyes*
“you bet i would” (no he wouldn’t you’re just too cute and he loves you too much) *totally not whipped (♥ω♥*)*
painting his nails is the hugest struggle in your entire life
“WHY TF ARE THEY SO SHORT, ARE THEY TAKING AFTER YOU”
on second thought, mercy is no longer available for you
“hyuck, you should tape your fingers so you won’t bite your nails like a preschooler anymore”
“i’ll tape your mouth shut, that’s what i’ll tape” *_*
“hUH???!?!!?”  (*゚ロ゚)
Na Jaemin
“okay jisung is an easy task compared to you right now”
even though this man is used to being the mom of the group
he’s still most likely in disbelief watching his otherwise angel flap around like a headless chicken 
but you’re even cutter with your swollen cheek so he forgives you (︶▽︶)
“hey, jaem, did you know i’m closely related to snails??”
“entertain me” (∩_∩)
“they can sleep for years at once. that’s like my main talent.”
“it would be great for me if you’d put this talent of yours to work now”
jaemin ends up sprawled over the couch and watching dramas like a tired mom of 3 hyperactive children with you curled up at his side playing games on his phone
*hiccup*
jaemin’s brain before he even registered the sound : something’s wrong
“y/n baby?” (。•́︿•̀。)
*hiccup* *sniffle* *hiccup* 
jaemin’s overprotective instincts kicked in ಠ╭╮ಠ
he knocks the phone out of the way and swings your legs over his lap to cradle you against his chest and hush you with the gentlest coos while rubbing your back up and down softly
“what happened, my love? does it hurt? tell nana what’s wrong and he’ll get rid in a second of what dared hurt his precious baby” just imagine this man this would be like the peak of my life  🥺
so in between your boyfriend’s comforting whispers and your harsh breaths of air you managed to let out a few words
“e-elephants, nana”
he already knows the biggest facepalm is coming his way -_-
“tHEy CAn’T jUmP, tHE poOR ELephANTs”
(ノ-_-)ノ~┻━┻
he just sighs and continues rocking you in his arms until you doze off, slumped on his chest, your head cushioned by his shoulder
he softly shakes his head at you and lays a butterfly kiss on your forehead
“i would make elephants jump just for you, my cute big baby” ♡♡(→ε←*)
Zhong Chenle
he halfway panics at the way you act
you’re usually the one who takes care of him so your childish act that surfaced because of the anesthesia took him by surprise
“dude they brainwashed y/n” (ノ`□´)ノ
once you start babbling to him about the end of the rainbow and the elf that awaits there with a pot full of golden coins he knew you lost it
calls renjun
“hyung i’m sorry for saying you’re batshit crazy with your conspiracies, but aliens kidnapped y/n”
*muffled voices on the other side*
“NO, I’M NOT DRUNK!! they brainwashed y/n or even worse… returned a cheap copy of them”
renjun probably just tells him to put you to sleep and advises chenle to do the same with himself -_-
so chenle just approaches you very carefully, his voice barely above a whisper
“hey, babe, aren’t you tired?”
“actually no, how about a walk in the park???”
“idk y/n, it doesn’t seem like the best idea”
“PLEASE”  🥺
“THIS IS THE BEST IDEA OF THE YEAR BABY!!!11!!”
this man is royally whipped for you so he takes you to the nearest park and keeps a careful watch on you as you bend down to pet every dog that passes by ⊂((・▽・))⊃
while he would do anything for you, he’s very panicky about your safety so he has to hold your hand the entire time and you’re not allowed to leave his side for even a second overprotective boyfriend check
mid walk you take a break on a bench and you lean your head on cheble’s shoulder before muttering sleepily
“lele, i’m tired, imma take a nap”
“are you serious rn” (ಠ_ಠ)
but you’re already a goner and chenle is left fuming by himself
despite his annoyance he still adjusts you so he can piggyback you home and hums songs softly every time you stir (灬♥ω♥灬)
you’ll have to baby him an entire week to pay him back
Park Jisung
this boy is actually quite pleased
because for once he can take care of you and not the other way around without any complaints coming from you
so you both end up curled into each other under a blanket while watching the Frozen movies :((((((((
and for once he ends up watching you more than he watches the movie because you’re so cute reciting all of Olaf’s lines ꒰˘̩̩̩⌣˘̩̩̩๑꒱
but the fun can only last for so long
and when your mouth starts feeling ‘funny’ jisung’s mind goes haywire
“sung, i’m gonna die”
panic panic PANIC (シ;゚Д゚)シ
“they poisoned you didn’t they??? i knew it!! i knew dentists are evil, how am i gonna explain i let crazy doctors perform dark magic on you???!!?!?” no offense to dentists y’all are life savers
so you have at least 2 ice packs and a bag of frozen peas clutched against your cheek and you swear you’re about to die from frostbite rather than the weird feeling coming from your teeth 
and then jisung wraps you in a mountain of blankets cuz ‘we can’t have you catching a cold now too’ as if sweating your ass off is gonna fight off the numbing cold on your face  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
but babie is confused a tad lot bit scared for both his and your life
and you’re kinda very dazed so comforting him isn’t really in your agenda
he probably worries within an inch of his life ヾ( ๑´д`๑)ツ
too afraid to let you fall asleep just in case
so every time you doz off sweet cutie jisung just kithes you (๑°꒵°๑)・*♡
and you wake up just to kiss back your cute boyfriend
and he just chuckles and blows raspberries on your neck man jisung would be such a cute whipped boyfriend
but he ends up asleep next to you with his face buried in your hair and arms tightly wrapped around you cocooning you close to himself ah i’m getting soft again ♡(㋭ ਊ ㋲)♡
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sylvie-writes · 3 years
Text
𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐳𝐚
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pairing: dad steve rogers x wife reader x sarah rogers
request: So, Steve, reader and Sarah doing an Easter egg hunt, with Buckaroo and Sam dressed up as Easter bunnies! 😂
word count: 1266
a/n: thank youuu @aubreeskailynn for always giving me the best ideas!!
please excuse any mistakes as i wrote this on mobile.
happy easter to those who celebrate! ✝️💕🐣
It was Easter and out of tradition, you, Steve and Sarah went over to your parents house for an early dinner.
Ever since your daughter came along, Easter tradition had changed up a bit and your parents now hid Easter eggs around their backyard for the little girl.
She absolutely loved running around in the sun, her poofy dress bouncing around as she’s skipped through the yard.
This year, Steve had managed to convince Sam and Bucky to dress up as bunnies claiming they owed him a favor.
“Rogers, are you insane? My ass will be dead before I’m in a costume. Those things are freaky. Still have nightmares from my own childhood.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest, going to pick at the appetizer before him.
Steve had invited both of his friends out for lunch and little did they know he had a small proposition for them.
“Yeah, punk. Rarely do I ever agree with him,” Bucky threw his thumb in Sam’s direction, “but those suits are ridiculous. Why again?”
Huffing, Steve leaned his folded arms against the table now going to reach for a fry.
“Well if you won’t do it for me, will you do it for your niece?”
Sam looked across the table at Bucky, the two of them coming to a silent agreement.
“You should’ve just said it was for Sarah. We would have agreed and that could’ve saved you from having to pay for lunch!” The two men laughed and Steve shook his head, a smile on his lips.
“I was gonna pay anyway, you jerks.”
Now it was just a matter of time before the boys showed up on your parents doorstep.
Both you and Steve were eating the remainders of the Watergate salad to pass time while Sarah played Go Fish with her Papa and GG.
Once they arrived in all the glory of their bunny costumes, everyone would relocate outback so Sarah could participate in her Easter egg hunt.
Just as you were in the middle of devouring another slice of ham and Steve trying to steal it from you, the doorbell rang.
While you scrambled to finish the ham, Steve fumbled with his cell phone, both of you wanting to get this on film for Sarah and to hold over the guys’ heads.
To be fair, Steve still struggled with his cell phone so you stood on your tippy toes, reaching over his shoulder and grabbing the phone to dash to the door.
Luckily, you both made it to the front before Sarah even noticed.
Her eyes were widened with shock when two Easter bunnies showed up on her doorstep.
Sarah being such a sweetheart, her first reaction was to hug them both.
You could hear Sam laughing and had to hold back your own laugh.
Sarah excitedly led them to the back, all of you following behind.
Your mom trailed behind with Steve as you and your dad hadn’t even noticed their disappearance. The two of you were too busy talking with Sarah.
“Steve, honey, your friends are amazing. Remind them to stay behind so I can actually meet them!”
Your mom was giggling at the two grown men in costumes and how devoted they were to Sarah.
He placed a hand on her own that was wrapped on his forearm.
“You may regret that, Mom. They are worse than (y/n) and I.”
She smiled, “Oh trust me. You two are like children of your own sometimes. I’m sure I will be fine.”
They both shared a short chuckle before catching up when you waved them over.
Sarah was scouring the yard with a basket in one hand while the other pulled one of the men around with her.
Steve had to take the phone to film for you because you were absolutely dying at the voices Sam and Bucky were using.
Sarah was smart so of course they had to disguise their voices a bit.
You could see your husband cracking a smile while your parents looked at you not understanding what was so funny.
In between laughs, you put a hand on your dad’s shoulder to collect yourself then whispering to them what was happening.
There were only a dozen fake eggs out back and so far Sarah had only found half.
Egg number eight was in a tree so she ran to Steve to lift her.
“Daddyyyy!! You’re tall!! Can you help me please?”
Her identical blue eyes peered up at her father, and her adorable bunny ear headband started to slide off.
Steve crouched down to adjust the headband then holding out arms so his daughter could climb and sit on his shoulders.
Your husband always seemed so happy with his daughter that there was never a time the two failed to make you smile.
By egg number ten, Sarah came running back to the standing adults, this time asking for you to come help her.
“Momma, I can find any eggs!” She wore a tiny pout and you bent down to kiss it away.
When you agreed to help, she happily jumped in the air and even gave you an Easter headband that she mysteriously had in her basket.
You had no clue where that came from but when (who you assumed was Bucky) shrugged, you had a hunch.
Sarah had finally found all twelve eggs and she proudly showed them off to you, Steve and your parents.
The four of you had been sitting on the patio watching her.
Bucky and Sam, still in costume, approached you all, coming up to say that it was time for them (the Easter bunnies) to return home and that they would be back next year.
Surprisingly, Sarah wasn’t heartbroken and she instead nodded her head furiously and hugged them each tightly.
Steve had texted both of the guys earlier that they could stay so even if Sarah was upset her favorite uncles were about to show up even though she had unknowingly been with them this whole time.
About ten minutes later, Sam and Bucky rounded the corner of the house and showed up in the backyard, arms open as Sarah sprinted to both of them.
Immediately, you introduced your parents to the men and within seconds your mom insisted that they come inside for leftovers.
Despite their efforts to resist, Sarah put on the puppy eyes and soon it was just you and Steve left on the patio.
(A/N: the story technically can end here, but i know some wanted another baby rogers so here’s a sneak peek of that!)
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Steve turned to you, pulling your sunglasses off of your eyes and onto the top of your head.
He kissed your nose before placing his hands on your hips.
“Can you imagine what it will be like when this one gets here?”
The man crouched down before you and kissed your nonexistent bump. He quickly stood back up before anyone was able to see the act of affection.
You both had just found out not too long ago and didn’t want to say anything to anyone yet.
Nodding in agreement, you cupped the blonde’s freshly shaven face and pulled him close for a sweet kiss.
“Be careful Mrs. Rogers, there’s little eyes here.”
Steve pulled back and pointed to your daughter who was at the glass door, a disgusted look on her face along with Sam and Bucky who were jokingly making that same expression as their niece.
Giggling, you waved them off, grabbing Steve’s hand and making your way for the door to join the party. 
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atlafan · 4 years
Text
Office Neighbors - Part Ten
a/n: okay A LOT happens in this part, lots of tension, please don’t be mad at me (reblogs and feedback are super helpful!)
warnings: angst, fluff, and smut
words: 17K
masterpost
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“They’re gonna know.” You say as you frantically try to fix your smudged makeup on the car ride back to the cabin.
“They’re not gonna know.” Harry chuckles.
“They’re gonna know!”
“How would they know?”
You make a scoffing noise at him.
“Let’s see, my mascara has run down my cheeks, and my hair looks awfully fucked up. We’re also later than we said we’d be.” You look at him and reach your hand out to smooth out some of his hair.
“We’ll just tell them we got a bite to eat. Just go straight to our room. The lights will probably be dimmed when we get in anyways.” He takes your hand and kisses it. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s embarrassing, I don’t want them to know.”
“What’s embarrassing about having a quickie in the car?”
“It’s like we were teenagers with no self-control.” You mutter.
“Was kind of nice to do something so spontaneous. Suppose it was my fault for making things difficult in the gondola. If Mum and Dad scold us, I’ll take the blame.” He smirks.
“But if you do that, they’ll never let me see you again! You’ll have to start sneaking in through the window.”
“It’ll be worth if it means I get to see you.” He winks and you start laughing. “Oh! Just say you laughed so hard you cried if they ask.”
“They’ll never believe that! You really are a narcissist if you think you’re that funny.” You smirk. Harry glares at you and it makes you laugh harder.
“Yeah, I’m not funny at all.” He says facetiously.
You take a deep breath once you’re back at the house. The lights were definitely dimmed, so maybe no one would really notice how fucked up you looked.
“Hey, you two.” Paige smiles. She was all snuggled up with Noah on the couch. “The kids are in bed already, they were exhausted. You should have seen it, Harry.” She pouts. “Noah had to carry both of them off to bed, and Andy even let me tuck him in, it was so sweet.”
“He sure is cute when he’s drowsy.” Harry agrees. “Well, we’re gonna go to sleep to, so-“
“How was the gondola ride?” Noah asks.
“It was great, I would highly recommend it.”
“Maybe we should take everyone tomorrow night since it’s our last night.” Noah says to Paige.
“Yeah!” She squints over at you. “Are you feeling alright, Y/N?”
“You know,” Harry puts his arm around you, “she got a little nauseous on the way down, it’s why we’re a little late coming back, I had to drive slower. So we’re gonna head to bed now.” He smiles and starts walking with you to your room.
“Hmm.” Paige says. “She goes to bed early a lot and now she’s nauseous.”
“You think she’s pregnant?”
“Maybe.” She shrugs. “We’re all going out for dinner tomorrow, we could see if she orders a drink or something.”
You and Harry scurry into your room, and you feel like you can breathe again.
“Nice save.” You say to him as you start to get undressed. “Mind if I use the bathroom first? I have to pee so bad.”
“Go for it.” He chuckles.
Once you’re both settled in bed you lay your head on Harry’s chest with a sigh. He rubs your back as you both slowly drift off.
//
After getting some skiing in, and taking the kids tubing, you all get ready for a nice dinner in the small resort town. It was a Chinese food place that offered buffet, so it was perfect for everyone. The kids loved piling up their plates. You did order a cocktail, so that squashed any thoughts Paige and Noah had of you being pregnant.
The kids talk about what they liked most about their week away, as do all of the adults. The food is excellent, and everyone has a good time.
“Andy, did you wanna come back with us tomorrow, or go with Dad and Y/N?” Paige asks as Harry and Noah quietly squabble over the check.
“Um, well, I think Brandon wanted to hang out tomorrow night, so I’ll go with Dad.”
“Alright, honey. What did Brandon do over break?”
“His family goes skiing at Loon.”
“What about Caroline?”
“Mum, why is this turning into twenty questions?”
“It’s not, baby, I was just-“
“Well, stop.” He picks around at the peas on his fork.
“Andy…” You put your hand on his shoulder. “She was just asking you a question.”
“She doesn’t need to know every little thing.” You give him a look, and he rolls his eyes before he looks at Paige again. “She stayed home, went sledding a few times, and her sisters drove her down to the mall, okay?”
“There’s a boy at Hebrew school that thinks I’m cute.” Rachel says. This catches Noah’s attention, which means Harry wins the bill, just like he wanted.
“What?”
“Yeah, you know David? He told me so.”
“Rachel, you’re way too young for boys to be telling you that you’re cute.” Noah frowns.
“But it’s okay for Andy to have a girlfriend? He’s only a year older than I am.” She huffs.
“Okay, what do you say we head out, yeah?” Harry says. “Everything’s all set.” You and Harry stand up as does everyone else.
“You get everything you want.” Rachel mumbles to Andy as they leave the restaurant.
“What are you talking about?”
“Everyone’s extra nice to you, and then when it comes to me I have a ton of rules to follow. It’s not fair.”
“Sorry your dad is more strict than mine, that’s not my fault.”
“No, it’s because I’m a girl and you’re a boy, and boys get whatever they want.”
“Rach, I-“
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes.
Everyone gets in their cars to head back to the cabin, and Andy follows Rachel into the bunk room.
“Do you really think I get whatever I want?”
“What does it matter what I think?” She sits down on her bed and looks at him. “You know, I’m glad you’re going back with your dad for the rest of the weekend. It’s better when you’re not around.”
“Do you really mean that?” He sits down next to her.
“You don’t care.” She looks away. “You don’t even like me, Andy.”
“That’s not true…I like you.” She looks at him and gives him an unconvinced face. “I do! Look, I know when you and your dad first moved into my mum’s house, I wasn’t-“
“You literally asked to move out a month later. I was excited to not be the only kid around because my dad works so much, and you just left! You’re not the only one that feels sad sometimes, you know? And I hate it when you say ‘my mum’, guess what? She’s mine too.” She crosses her arms and Andy’s eyebrows raise. “You can be such a brat sometimes.”
“You sure are just letting it all out…”
“Yeah, I’m gonna keep letting it all out. You’re not even nice to my dad half the time, do you know how much that bothers me? He tries so hard to make sure you’re happy, and you don’t even care.”
“Maybe he should try less then. I don’t need him trying to impress me.”
“No, but it makes Mom happy to see you happy, so that’s why he does it. Y/N does the same exact thing.”
“No she doesn’t.” Andy scoffs. “Y/N’s my friend, she understands me.”
“You just like her because you like your dad better.”
“That’s not true!”
“Yes it is! It’s so obvious, and you don’t even care how much it kills Mom!” Rachel stands up and so does Andy.
“Stop calling her that! She’s not your mum and she never will be!”
“Newsflash, this summer she officially will be and there’s nothing you can do about it!”
The two of them stare at each other angrily. Rachel had never really spoken up to Andy like this before. Guess she was sick of his shit.
“You’re a spoiled brat.” She spits. “You never speak to Mom nicely, or it’s rare if you do.” She starts tearing up. “You have no idea how lucky you are to have a mom that loves you as much as she does, and now you have Y/N. I may have been little when my mom died, but I miss her every single day, and your mom…well…she takes a lot of that way.”
“Shit…it was around this time of year…wasn’t it? When your mum-“
“I don’t wanna talk about.” She wipes a few tears away. “You know what’s really annoying? I still feel like that you’re basically my brother. I just wish you felt the same way about me.”
She goes into her dresser, grabs her things for bed, and goes into the bathroom to do her thing.
“Kids! We have ice cream for you!” Paige shouts.
Rachel comes out in her pj’s and looks at Andy.
“Well? Are we having ice cream?” She says.
“Wait…” He puts his hand on her shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”
“No you’re not.”
“I am…I…guess I don’t always realize when I’m being rude. I’ve been coming around to things a lot more. I’m happy that Mum is marrying your dad because he makes her happy. That’s all I want for her, for both my parents. I know how lucky I am…and…maybe I didn’t want a sister at first. When you both started coming around more, I felt like I was being replaced. Like Mum liked you better because she finally had a daughter or something, and then when you moved in…I took the easy way out and ran to my dad instead of dealing with everything. But…it’s the best thing I could have done. I’m a lot happier with him.” He smiles at her. “Isn’t this what brothers and sister do? They fight sometimes…”
“You don’t see me as a sister…”
“Sure I do.” He shrugs. “You’re my annoying little sister, and I’m your bratty older brother. It’s perfect.” He throws an arm around her. “Come on, let’s go get some ice cream.”
“Okay.” She smiles and walks with him. “Sometimes you need to remember that we’re on the same side.”
“Yeah…we are, aren’t we?”
“Was everything okay in there?” Harry asks. “Thought I heard shouting…” He sizes the both of them up.
“Oh! We were just fighting over who could use the bathroom first, Uncle Harry.” Rachel giggles. “I won, though.”
The kids smile at each other and sit down at the table to make up their bowls of ice cream. After everyone’s done, Andy helps Paige clean up in the kitchen.
“Mum?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I’m sorry for being rude at the table earlier…”
“Oh…well, I’m not going to say it’s alright because I really don’t like it when you speak to me that way. You do it your father too, and I really don’t like that.”
“I know…I don’t know why I do it, it just happens. I feel really bad about it…” He looks up at her, and she smiles at his sweet face. “I…I love you, Mum.”
“Oh, baby, I love you too.” They throw their arms around each other. “I hate that you’re getting older. Your attitude is only going to get worse.” She chuckles.
“And you’ll still love me?”
“Of course I will, do you promise to still love me?”
“Yeah.” He smiles up at her. “I promise.”
//
It was a great week away, and you enjoyed bonding with everyone, but you were happy to be heading home.
“Har, just drop me off at my place, yeah?” You say as he takes the exit for your town.
“Oh…really?”
“Yeah, I wanna do laundry, and I need to go grocery shopping, and then I need to get some work done.”
“You can literally do all of that back at my place.”
“Harry, I’d like to go back to my place.”
“Okay.”
Harry gets out of the car to help you with your things once he’s pulled up to your complex. He walks you up to the door.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“What?! No, babe, I just, you know, it was a really social week. I’m tired and I have things to do. It’s nothing personal.”
“Alright.”
“I love you.” You smile. “I had such a good time. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” He nods and lets you kiss him goodbye, but you knew he wasn’t thrilled you weren’t coming back over. “Please don’t be upset.”
“I’m not.” He kicks some rocks on the ground. “Was just sort of hoping to be alone since Andy’s going to the movies with Brandon later.”
“Come over later then.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” You smile. “We can, uh, finally use that candle.” You wink at him and go into your building, leaving him completely flustered.
Harry smiles and gets back in the car.
“Dad, I’m gonna need some extra money tonight…”
“Oh? Gonna load up on snacks at the movies?” He chuckles.
“No…we’re going on a double date, and I’d like to offer to pay for Caroline like how you do for Y/N.”
“A double date at the movies?! You can have the money, but there better not be any funny business. I want a full synopsis from start to finish, and-“
“I’m not going to make out with her, no worries there.”
“Good…it’s not nice to swap spit like that in such a public space.”
“So, you’ve never made out at the movies?”
“Uhh, well, I was a little older than you so-“
“Enough said, I don’t need to know.”
Harry and Andy get into the house and put some of their things away. Harry ends up laying down on his bed for a bit to read and relax, and Andy comes in lay down next to him, twiddling his thumbs.
“What’s up, buddy?”
“Nothing…does something have to be up?”
“No, but you don’t exactly come in to snuggle with me anymore.” He smirks.
“You can read me like a book, Dad.” Andy sighs. “I’m nervous for my date…”
“Why?”
“What if Brandon and Molly start kissing, and then Caroline expects me to kiss her?”
“You could tell B beforehand to maybe cool it with that stuff. Kids your age really shouldn’t be doing that as it is. Do you want me to talk with his parents?”
“No, that would be so embarrassing!”
“What movie are you even seeing?”
“The newest Pixar movie…”
“Alright, I bet it’ll be fine. If it gets weird at all, just call me, and I’ll come get you.”
“Thanks.” Andy says with relief. “I’ll probably sleepover at B’s after the movie, is that okay?”
“Sure.” Harry shrugs. “Just text me and let me know for sure. I’m gonna go to Y/N’s after I drop you off.”
“How come she didn’t just come here?”
“She just needed a little alone time. She gets tired when she’s been really social.”
“Have you talked with her about moving in at all?”
“I have, yeah…we talked about a lot of things a couple of weeks ago. She was thinking maybe July when her lease is up, how would you feel about that?”
“Yeah…why would she wanna wait that long?”
“She has a lot of work to do on her PhD. You may not remember when I was working on mine, but it’s a lot of hard work, and sometimes she needs her own space to get that work done. She’ll be done next May, though. We’re gonna paint together during our spring break, and we’re gonna go furniture shopping soon. Oh! She even wants to take you on a little day trip to Boston sometime soon.”
“Really? That would be so much fun! We haven’t been to Boston in forever.”
“I know! See, it’s all working out. She just needs some time and I wanna make sure I don’t put too pressure on her.”
“I’m really glad she came with us this week. She was so much fun when we went tubing.”
“Yeah, thought she was nearly gonna bounce outta that thing.” He laughs.
“Were you just reading in here?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Do you mind if I just lay in here for a bit? Forgot how comfy your bed is.” Andy yawns and pulls one of the quilts up over himself.
“Course.” Harry smiles and smooths some hair away from Andy’s face.
//
“Andy, thank you so much for paying for my ticket, that was so sweet of you.” Caroline tells him. “At least let me pay for the popcorn.”
“No worries, I got it.” He smiles. “Do you want to, um, share a slushie?”
“Sure.” She blushes. “I like getting the blue and red mixed.”
“Me too! It tastes like grape.”
“Yeah!”
They both giggle as they get into the snack line. Brandon and Molly were just getting their snacks. Brandon’s parents were off seeing a movie that was for adults. They all go in and grab their seats. The boys sit next to each other, and the girls sit on their other sides. Brandon almost immediately puts his arm around Molly and she giggles. Andy rolls his eyes and tries to get comfortable. Caroline reaches for his hand and he smiles as he takes it.
“You have a little tan from skiing.” Caroline points out. “It’s cute.”
“Oh, uh, thanks. The goggles will do that.” He leans forward to take a sip of the slushie. “I…missed you while I was gone. I’m sorry I didn’t get to call you much.”
“Oh! That’s okay. I know you were busy. I missed you too.” She smiles and leans in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “How were things with your…do you call her your step-sister?”
“Yeah, and her name’s Rachel.”
“Since when do you refer to her as your step-sister?” Brandon butts in.
“We had a heart to heart.” Andy shrugs. “She’s not a baby to me anymore, she’s pretty cool, actually.”
“Oh, well, that’s good, I guess.” Brandon says. “I’m glad you guys are doing better.”
“Me too.”
The theater gets darker as the previews come on, and they all pay attention to the screen. Andy felt at peace, he wasn’t sure why he was so worked up before. This was totally chill.
//
Harry shows up to your place with a bottle of wine and pizza. He lets himself in, and is very confused when he sees all the lights off.
“Y/N?!” He flips the lights on and sets everything down in the kitchen. “Baby?!” He goes down the hall and sees the light on in your office. “Babe?” You were passed out with your face in a book and a highlighter in your hand. Harry sighs and comes over to lift you up.
“Huh?!”
“It’s just me!”
“You nearly made me shit myself, Harry, Christ. You can just so easily pick me up?”
“You’re not that heavy.” He chuckles and sets you down. “I was just gonna tuck you in.”
“Well, I’m awake now. Sorry, I was working and I must have fallen asleep.”
“I brought pizza…and wine, but we don’t have to-mph!”
You tugged Harry close to you by his collar, and slotted your mouth over his.
“Pizza and wine sounds incredible.” You grin. “You always know exactly what I need.” You walk out of the office and he follows you. “Oh, and you got the white, you must really wanna get busy.”
“Why do you always think I have an ulterior motive?” He grabs two plates and two glasses.
“Because all men do. Sex is always on your minds?”
“And it’s not on yours?”
“Well, it wasn’t until I started dating you. Now I just always feel absolutely feral.” You smirk as you bite into a slice of pizza.
“Feral, huh?”
“Mhm, although, as a woman I can hide it much easier. I don’t have to worry about an appendage getting excited.” You take a sip of wine and so does Harry.
“No, but…” He comes over to stand behind you to speak into your ear. “You do have to worry about your panties getting wet.” His fingers trail down your body and up under your shirt. They skim the waistline of your sweatpants.
“That would involve me having to wear panties.”
“How do you feel about cold pizza?”
“Love it.”
“Fantastic.” Harry takes the pizza box and shoves it in the fridge, and then grabs you to throw you over his shoulder.
“Harry!” You squeal.
“You know me, I get a little excited.” He chuckles as he carries you into your room. “Babe…” He puts you down. Your room was a fucking mess.
“Okay, before you say anything, it looks like this because I’ve been going through my stuff.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t wanna do it last minute when we eventually move in together. Plus, I have a ton of clothes I don’t wear anymore that I can donate…I’m sorry, you must think I’m so messy.”
“I don’t.” He tucks some hair behind your ear. “I just hate that you’re basically staying here for your home office. You have no problem using mine at the house.”
“But what if we both need to work at the same time?”
“Plenty of room for your desk up there, baby.”
“I feel like we’re rushing and it kind of scares me a little.”
“There’s still no rush…move when you’re ready.”
“You say that, but I know you hate it when I’m here…and I sort of hate it too. I prefer sleeping next to you.” You bite your bottom lip.
“So do I.” He sighs. “What about…over spring break?”
“We’re supposed to paint, moving will take so much work. I don’t know what I wanna do with all my furniture yet…I was thinking of bringing some of it to the consignment shop.”
“What if we put your living room furniture up in the loft? It could look really nice up there, and the TV could go into the basement.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I want you there, and so does Andy. I know it’s stressful and scary, I’m a little scared too, but I want this. I just want you around.”
You pout up at him and wrap your arms around his neck. You hug him close to you.
“I’ll think about it, okay?”
“Sounds good to me.” He kisses you. “Now, I think we came in here for a reason.”
“We sure did.” You peck his lips and let him go. “Take your clothes off.” You go over to your side table and take out a candle and a lighter. “Feel like getting a little freaky?”
“Will it hurt?” He asks, already taking his shirt off.
“Harry, you have a fuck ton of tattoos and you’re scared of a little wax?”
“What kind of wax is it?”
“It’s, like, rose oil. It doesn’t hurt, it’ll just feel warm. You can use it for massages and stuff too.”
“Are you telling me you’re offering to rub my back?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I’m in.” He smiles and strips down to his boxers. He gets on the bed and lays on his stomach. He puts his glasses on the night table.
You sit on top of his bum and let the candle burn while you get some lotion on your hands. You knead Harry’s shoulders and work your hands down his back.
“Feels so good, baby.”
“Are you ready for the wax?”
“Yeah, go for it.”
“Okay.” You feel giddy. You get off him and take your clothes off. “Flip onto your back, and get your underwear off. If I’m naked, you’re naked.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He smirks and does as you say.
You straddle him and grab the candle. His hands grip your hips, and he squeezes you in anticipation. Your pour the wax, carefully, onto your chest and let it drip down onto his. His mouth hangs open as he watches. It sort of mimicked his come dripping down your body, and that pleased him very much.
“Do it again.” He says.
“You liked it?”
“Yeah…it’s really sexy.”
You smile and pour a little more over your chest and watch it drip onto his. You stick your hand in the wax and let the droplets fall from your fingertips onto his torso. You watch as his stomach tightens.
“Not too hot?”
“No it just feels like warm water…I thought the point of these were for them to hurt a little.”
“That’s what some people use them for. I just like how warm it feels on my skin.”
“Yeah, it does feel kind of good. Do a little more.”
You pour just a little more onto him and set the candle down. You lean down and kiss him, and his hands slide up your back. You suck on his bottom lip and grind yourself against him, making him groan.
“Gotta get a condom.” He mumbles against your mouth.
“Yeah, we probably should.” You say into his ear as you kiss on his neck. “Or…you could pull out and come on back.”
He smiles and nods at you. You get off him and lay on your side, looking over your shoulder. He gets on his side behind you, and lines himself up with you so he can slide in.
“You wanted it like this, huh?” He asks as he grips your hip and rocks in and out of you.
“Yes, Harry.” You hook arm around his head so you can grip his hair.
His hand on your hip slides to your clit, and he rubs slow circles on you. You moan out from the feeling. He sponges his lips on your neck, biting and sucking on your tender skin. You both were grunting and panting. Feel Harry raw was like nothing else, and this angle was sending you.
“Fuck, oh my god.” You moan and your head rolls back against his shoulder. “Say it, Harry, please.”
“You’re such a good girl, Y/N.” He says right into your ear.
“Whose good girl am I?”
“Mine, you’re my good girl.”
“Fuck, yes, I’m yours, I’m all yours.” You start panting more as he rubs your clit faster. “Fuck, I’m gonna!” You arch into him as you release around him.
“Y/N, I need to pull out, I can’t hold it much longer, baby.”
“Okay.” You breathe.
He pulls out and you roll onto your stomach for him. You hear him grunt and groan and you gasp when you feel his warm come shoot onto your back. You look over your shoulder and smile at him.
“Better than the candle?”
“Way better.”
“Let me go get a rag, be right back.”
“I have a better idea.” You say as you get up. “Let’s go take a bath together.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” You peck his lips. “Let’s just enjoy each other tonight.”
//
The movie was great, and Brandon’s parents let Andy and Brandon wait with Molly and Caroline to be picked up from the theater before driving them home. Once they’re at Brandon’s, they get settled into their pj’s and with some video games.
“That was a good movie.” Andy says.
“Yeah, it was really funny. We’ll have to all do it again.”
“Definitely. Would you ever wanna go to the pottery painting place? Y/N said she would take Caroline and I there.”
“You know, not everything needs to be a double date, Andy.” Brandon rolls his eyes.
“I thought you liked double dates.”
“I do, but…I don’t know, I don’t always need to hang out with Molly. I like when just you and I hang out.”
“Me too, I feel like we haven’t done anything just the two of us in a while.”
Brandon pauses the game and looks at Andy.
“Yeah, it’s like…girls have taken over.”
“I don’t even wanna hear it.” Andy laughs. “When you first dated Molly she was all you talked about, and you wanted me to go out with Alexis!”
“I just wanted you to feel included, and I missed you.” He shrugs.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“How come you guys broke up in the first place? Couldn’t have been that bad if she wanted to go back out with you.”
“She…she thought I liked spending time with you better, and she wanted me to basically not be friends with you anymore, and I chose to be friends with you instead of being her boyfriend. When I asked her to the dance I didn’t think we’d be full on back together, but I guess we are.”
“And does she still have a problem with me?”
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“I can’t believe you chose me over her.”
“I always will, Andy. You’re my best friend.” Andy blushes at that. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Why haven’t you and Caroline kissed yet? I know you said you didn’t want it to be public, but…”
“Y/N said it was okay not to rush into things.” He shrugs. “I just don’t feel ready for that.”
“You two act like you’re just friends…”
“Friends don’t hold hands and kiss on the cheek. I wanna kiss her, it just hasn’t felt right. Like…I feel like I wouldn’t even know what I was doing.”
“It’s not difficult.” Brandon laughs. “You just sort of smoosh your lips to hers, stay there for a few seconds and then pull away.”
“No way, I’ve seen enough movies to at least know you have to move your lips a little. What if she wants to open mouth kiss or something?”
“Like with tongue? It’s not that gross.”
“You tongue kiss with Molly?!”
“Sometimes.” Brandon shrugs. “It’s nice.”
“I feel like you know everything.” Andy rolls his eyes.
“Well, Andy, when you’re twelve you sort of just figure it all out.” He smirks.
“You’ve been twelve for a month, get over yourself.” Andy laughs.
“Seriously, though, kissing isn’t that scary.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“You know…if you ever wanna, like, know how to do it so it’s good for her, I could show you how.”
“Like…practice?”
“Sure.” Brandon shrugs. “Only if you wanted.”
“Wouldn’t it be like cheating on her, though?”
“Not really, it’s not like it would count.”
“So…you’d show me how to kiss?”
“Yeah, what else are friends for?”
Andy’s heart was racing. Deep down he sort of knew he shouldn’t be doing this behind Caroline’s back, but Brandon was offering something he really wanted on a silver platter and he wasn’t sure he wanted to pass it up.
“Okay, show me what to do.” Brandon scoots closer to him, and furrows his brows. “What?”
“Your hair is just kinda in the way, here.” Brandon reaches forward and pushes Andy’s hair back. “There.” He was blushing and so was Andy.
“Thanks.” He swallows.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Yeah, I wanna know how to do this right.”
“Okay…so…basically, you just sort of…” Brandon cups Andy’s cheeks and leans in closer. “You’re okay?”
“Yeah.”
Brandon nods.
“So, you close your eyes and pucker your lips, but not too tight.”
Andy closes his eyes.
“Like this?”
“Yeah.” Brandon smile, but Andy obviously doesn’t see it. “I’m gonna do it now.”
“Okay.”
Just as Brandon’s about to press his lips to Andy’s, there’s a knock on the door, they both scoot away immediately.
“Boys, it’s getting late.” Mrs. Stewart comes in. “Time for bed.” She smiles and closes the door.
Both boys start laughing.
“I think we should go to sleep like your mum said.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah…I mean…I guess Caroline and I will just figure it out together when it happens, but thanks anyways.” Andy rolls out his sleeping bag.
“You know you can sleep on the bed with me…”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because…one morning when I slept over I woke up, like, ugh, see I do this thing when I sleep where I hold onto something. Like, I have a body pillow at home, you’ve seen it. The same thing happens to my dad, I don’t know why. So one time when I was here I woke up holding onto you and I don’t wanna do it and make you uncomfortable.”
“It didn’t.”
“Wait, you…you knew that happened?”
“Yeah, I just didn’t say anything because I didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”
“It didn’t weird you out?”
“No…should it have?”
“I don’t know.”
“Girls do that and share beds all the time. Molly told me that her and Alexis do it all the time.”
“Oh.”
“Sleep on the floor if you want, but you can share my bed with me.”
“Well…I guess if you really don’t care if it happens…”
“Andy I was willing to kiss you, I don’t really care if you accidentally hold me in your sleep.”
“Okay, then, uh, I’ll sleep on the bed then, but I’m gonna use my sleeping bag still.”
“Whatever works.” He shrugs. The boys both get into bed, and lay there staring at the ceiling. “What we did, well, what we almost did…that should probably stay between us…”
“I agree.”
“Pinky promise?” Brandon raises his pinky.
“Pinky promise.” Andy locks his pinky with Brandon’s and they rest their hands together on the bed, neither of them letting go.
//
You and Harry enjoyed a nice, long bath together, and then went to bed. You felt unbelievably cozy in his arms. Yeah, you were definitely going to be moving in sooner rather than later. This is what you wanted every single night, and he felt the same way.
The next morning you wake up with Harry’s hard-on pressing into your ass. You know he’s awake when he starts grinding into you, and groping at your breast. You smile as he kisses on your shoulder.
“Someone’s awake.” You giggle and he hums his response.
“Very much so. Is this alright?”
“Very much so.” You say his words back at him.
“What do you say we-“ Harry’s cut off by the sound of his phone going off. He groans and grabs it. “What’s up, Andy?”
“Dad…you were supposed to pick me up, like, fifteen minutes ago.”
“Oh, shit!” Harry sits up immediately. “I’m so sorry, I’ll be there soon, just hang tight.”
“Where are you?”
“I had a sleepover of my own…I’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Fuck, I’m late picking Andy up. I never set an alarm, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, baby, go get him.”
“Are you staying here today?”
“Yeah, but I’ll come over to sleep tonight. I wanna finish up the work I was doing last night.”
“Okay.” He smiles and kisses you quick before throwing some clothes on. “Text me later, I can have dinner made.”
“Sounds good.” You smile and watch him walk out.
Harry picks Andy up, and Andy gets into the car.
“I’m so sorry I was late, you know that never happens.”
“It’s okay, where’s Y/N?”
“She’s at her place, she’ll be over later though. She said she may move in during spring break instead of waiting until July.”
“Really? That’s great! Um…do you think if I called Mum…like would you care if I go to her place?”
“Not at all, I’m sure she’d love to have you home. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just feel like being with her, I guess.”
When they get inside, Andy goes to his room to call Paige.
“Hi, honey, how was Brandon’s?”
“Good…are you busy today?”
“Not really, why?”
“Could you come get me? I wanna stay with you tonight.”
“Yeah! Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, I just feel like I miss you, Mum.” Andy had spent an entire week with his mother, and he really didn’t want to wait another week to see her again. “Got used to being around you and now you’re not here, so-“
“I can be over in a few hours, does that work?”
“Yeah.” Andy sighs. “That’s fine.”
“And you’re sure everything’s fine?”
“Yeah, I just wanna come hang out with you…”
“Okay, baby.”
Andy hangs up and gets up to close his door. There was one more call he needed to make before going out to the living room with his father.
“Andy?”
“Hi, Y/N.”
“Is everything alright?”
“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”
“Well…it’s a bit odd for you to call me…oh my god, is your dad okay?!”
“He’s fine, chill! I just needed to talk to you about something and I’m going to Mum’s later.”
“Oh, you are? I’m coming over for dinner…”
“I know, I just feel like being with her.”
“Alright, well, I’m glad you’ll see her then…so, what’s up?”
“Something happened last night.”
“At the movies?”
“No, after, at Brandon’s…”
“What happened?”
“We almost kissed.” Andy groans.
“What?!”
“Yeah! We were talking about kissing, and I told him I was nervous about kissing Caroline because I don’t know what I’m doing, and he…he offered to show me how.”
That sly son of a bitch. You think to yourself.
“Andy…you’re dating Caroline.”
“I know! We didn’t kiss, his mom knocked on the door and told us to go to bed. And when we went to bed we fell asleep holding hands.”
“How do you think Caroline would feel if she knew about that?”
“She’d probably feel bad.”
“Right.”
“I really like her, Y/N…but maybe I just like her as a friend, and Brandon as more than a friend. I like having Caroline around, we have a lot in common, and we have fun together.”
“Maybe now just isn’t a good time for you to be dating anyone. It’s not fair to anyone involved, you know?”
“I guess so…but I don’t wanna hurt her feelings.”
“You’ll hurt her more if you do something behind her back with Brandon.” You sigh. “Think things over at Mum’s…maybe you could even talk to her about it. She may have better advice than me, your dad could too.”
“No, they won’t understand.”
“They could if you tried talking to them.”
“But I like just talking to you about this stuff.”
“And I feel so honored that you feel comfortable with me, Andy, I really do…I just think this is starting to get heavy, and you have so many people that love you and care about you that just want to help. I’m one of those people, but so are your parents.”
“It’s just awkward to talk about…”
“I know, sweetheart. None of this is easy. Could you just try? For me?”
“Yeah…I’ll try…thanks Y/N.”
“You’re welcome.”
Andy hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath. Harry was up in his loft, and Andy goes up to join him.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Mum said she could be here in a few hours.”
“Okay.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Harry turns around and gives Andy his full attention while Andy sits down on the loveseat, pressing a pillow to his chest.
“How do you breakup with someone?”
“Oh no, you don’t like Caroline anymore?”
“It’s not that I don’t…I just think I…Dad, Brandon and I almost kissed last night, and I don’t wanna do anything behind her back because I like her and I don’t wanna hurt her feelings.”
Harry gets up and sits down next to Andy. He puts his arm around his and rubs his shoulder. He wasn’t entirely sure what to say.
“Have you and Brandon talked at all about how you both might feel about each other?”
“Not really.”
“I know it can be awkward, but it seems like he may like you the way you like him.”
“The times Caroline and I have almost kissed I’ve felt really scared, but I didn’t feel scared with him.”
“I think you’re right to end things with her, I’d hate for your first kiss to be a dishonest one.”
“So…you don’t care that it was almost with Brandon?”
“Of course not! We’ve talked about this, Andy. No matter who you are or who you wanna be with, I’ll still love you. I just want you to be happy.”
“What does it mean when you like boys and girls?”
“Um, well, the term is called bi-sexual.”
“Is it normal? I feel like such a freak.”
“It’s very normal! A lot of people like boys and girls. You’re not a freak, Andy. You also don’t have to have it all figured out right now.”
“Everyone keeps saying that, but it doesn’t make me feel better.” He sighs and leans into Harry more.
“I know…but I promise, at some point, it will get better.” Harry smooths some hair away from Andy’s face.
“It will?”
“Yeah.” Harry smiles. “You know when I was younger, I used to be afraid to paint my nails, or wear things that were seen as girly, and then when I got to uni I just stopped caring. I grew my hair out really long, and just did what made me comfortable, and it helped me really realize who I was. Now I don’t care what people think when they look at me. I do what makes me happy and comfortable, and I want the same for you. I don’t know if you kids have easier or worse nowadays. Things are more accepted, but you also have all that social media and cyber-bullying.”
“There are plenty of other kids in the school that know who they are already. There’s even a trans kid in my class. No one cares, she’s really nice. I guess I just wish I could have it figured out like them.”
“These things take time. I know it’s not exactly the answer you wanna hear, but…”
“No, I get it.” Andy sighs. “I’m sorry I haven’t really been talking to you about all of this, it’s just so awkward to tell my dad I like boys…”
“I suppose.” Harry chuckles. “But just know I’m never gonna judge you, and neither will your mother. She’s just as understanding and accepting as I am. If she wasn’t we never would’ve gotten together.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she needed help with her nails one night and I helped her. Next day she kissed me.”
“Wow…Mum made the first move?”
“Technically, yeah, but I used to flirt with her all the time. She knew I liked her, but she had just broken up with someone else so she was taking some time before jumping into something else. I know it seems like Mum sort of stands in the shadows, but she’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”
“And what about Y/N?”
“She’s very brave and strong too. It take a lot of courage to move somewhere new and start over just to get another degree. I tell her all the time how proud I am of her.”
“Is she your person?”
“Have you been watching Grey’s with Mum again?” Harry groans.
“No! Okay, sometimes we watch it together when I’m home, but I wasn’t thinking of that when I asked the question.”
“Yeah, Y/N’s my person.” Harry nods. “I think we complement each other nicely, and she’s great with you. That’s the most important thing to me.”
“I like her a lot. Sometimes I wish I could have the relationship I have with her that I have with Noah…”
“You can, you just have to work at it. Meet him halfway a little more.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Andy, I’m always gonna be your father, your dad, Noah’s not going to replace me in any way, but I think it would be good to let him in a little more. He’s not going anywhere, you know?”
“Right. Maybe I could ask him to watch a movie with me this weekend.”
“I bet he’d really like that.”
//
Paige picks Andy up, and he’s quiet in the car at first. He was drained from all the talking, but he knew he needed to fill her in on things.
“Mum?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I don’t really wanna talk about it anymore, but I like boys and girls, and I think I like Brandon more than Caroline, so I need to break up with her, and I’m scared, but I know it’s the right things to do, so I’ll do it.”
“Oh…oh my, um, okay.”
“Do you…do you still love me?” Andy’s voice cracks just as Paige pulls into her driveway. She turns around to look at him.
“Of course I still love you! You never have to worry about that.”
Andy nods and gets out of the car. Paige hugs him immediately before going inside. Once Andy’s put his things away in his room he comes down to the kitchen and smells something delicious.
“What’s for dinner?” He asks.
“Well, since we knew you were coming we decided to get some of those spinach raviolis you like, and Rachel requested garlic bread.” Noah says.
“You did that for me?”
“Course, buddy.” Noah smiles.
“Thanks, Noah, that was really nice of you.” Andy sits down at the table next to Rachel. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “I thought you wanted to stay with your dad this weekend.”
“I did, but…I sort of missed Mum, so…”
“Must be nice to do that when you can.” She mumbles.
“I was gonna ask your dad if he wanted to watch a movie together tonight, would you wanna join?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, sure, but why?”
“I’m trying to make more of effort. I’ve been acting like a baby.”
“I believe I said spoiled brat, but baby works too.” She smiles. “I think a movie is a great idea.”
“Hi, precious.” Lydia comes to the table and gives Andy a kiss on the top of his head.
“Hi, Gram.”
“Alright.” Paige says as she puts everything on the table. “Everybody dig in.”
“This looks really good.” Andy says. “Thank you.”
“More than welcome.” Noah says.
“Would everyone be up for watching a movie tonight?” Andy asks.
“Sure, honey, what do you feel like watching?” Paige says.
“It doesn’t matter.” He shrugs.
“How about Ratatouille?” Rachel says.
“Oh, I like that one.” Andy says.
“Ratatouille it is then.” Noah smiles.
“Andy, after dinner, there’s something I wanna talk to you about. Noah can set up the movie.”
“Okay.”
“What is Ratatouille about?” Lydia asks.
“It’s about this rat named Remy who’s really good at cooking, and then he hides under the hat of this guy who isn’t good at cooking, and he helps him cook in this fancy restaurant.” Rachel explains.
“Perhaps I’ll read something instead.” Lydia chuckles.
After dinner Paige goes into Andy’s room with him, and sits on his bed.
“So, what’s up?” He asks her.
“Well, the wedding’s going to be in July, as you know.” Andy nods. “And I’ve been fleshing out some of the details. There’s something I’d like you to do.”
“What, Mum?”
“If you felt comfortable with it, I’d like you to walk me down the aisle and give me away.”
“I…I thought you wanted me to walk Gram down the aisle.”
“I did at first, but Uncle Ned is gonna do it.”
“You really want me to do it?”
“I can’t think of anyone else I would want to give me away at my wedding, baby.” She smiles at him.
Andy’s eyes well up. This was the breakthrough he had been needing. He knows his mother loves him, but for a while he felt like she was moving on without him.
“Okay, Mummy.” He says and they throw their arms around each other. “I’d be happy to.” He snuggles into her and she holds him close, rocking him gently.
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.” She kisses his cheek. “I love you so much, Andy.”
“I love you too.” He looks up at her. “I’m really sorry Gramp won’t be there to do it, but he’ll sort of be with us, right?”
“Right, baby.” She blinks a few tears away. “Well, I think Noah said something about ice cream sandwiches, so we better get down there.”
Everyone gets comfortable on the couch to watch the movie.
Paige: I asked Andy to walk me down the aisle, and he said yes! Thanks for sharing him this weekend
Harry was knuckle deep fingering you when Paige texted him, so it took him a bit to respond.
“Oh! Andy’s gonna walk Paige down the aisle at her wedding.” Harry shows you his phone as you both get settled into bed.
“That’s great! I’m glad he went over there.”
“Me too. Let me just text her back.”
Harry: Amazing! And no worries, he really wanted to hang out with you
Paige: I can bring him back to you tomorrow so you don’t have to
Harry: you sure?
Paige: yeah, it’s no trouble :)
Harry: alright, thanks
“Okay, putting this on do not disturb.” Harry sighs.
“Are we, um, going to the wedding?”
“Slow down, we?” Your face drops and he starts laughing. You smack his shoulder and he laughs harder. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. We’ve been invited, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. It’s going to be a little tough for me. Maybe we’ll just go to the reception, skip the ceremony.”
“Whatever you wanna do is fine with me.” You give his hand a squeeze. “It would be cute to see Andy walk her down the aisle.”
“You know I was nervous Paige was gonna ask me to do it when she was still a little vulnerable after Nathan died. I’m really glad she didn’t.”
“I feel like that would be crossing a line.”
“Just a wee bit.” He takes your hand to kiss it. “I think she forgets where the line is sometimes, but it’s hard to correct her.”
“If she had asked you to do it, would you?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I would have told her to ask Andy. I’m glad she thought of it on her own.” You both slide down in the bed and you rest your head on his chest while he cards his fingers through your hair. “So, you wanna get married at some point.”
“Correct.” You giggle.
“What kind of wedding do you think you’d want?”
“Something small, honestly. Just close friends and family.”
“I like the sound of that. No sense in blowing an arm and a leg on it.”
“Exactly! I’d love for it be in the fall so it’s not too hot, like, at a nice gazeebo in a park. Oh! And I could really see myself in, like, a white pair of slacks and a blouse.”
“You wouldn’t wanna wear a dress?”
“Not really.” You shrug. “I mean, I could change my mind, but I like the idea of doing something a little different. I’d do the veil and all that.”
“You’d look lovely no matter what you’d wear, baby.”
“Thanks.” You kiss his chest. “What would you want?”
“Pretty much everything you described, something simple with close friends and family. I love the idea of having it in a park. We probably wouldn’t be able to do it in the fall because of school, but maybe in the late spring when the weather feels the same? We could have a nice reception at a local hall so people could dance, or we could rent a tent or something? Lots of really good food, buffet style so people can just take what they want.”
“And we could get assorted cupcakes, I like when weddings have those.”
“Me too, it’s just enough dessert.” He looks down at you and tilts your chin up, pressing his lips to yours. “When do you want to get married, Y/N?”
“Oh, god, I don’t know, baby. Probably after I get my doctorate. As simple as things would be, it would still be a lot to plan along with my work, you know?”
“Mm, definitely. Although, you wouldn’t be planning it on your own. It would be our wedding, so we’d both plan it.”
“You’d really wanna help with all that?”
“Sure! Seems like it could be fun.” He smiles. “And then…I mean, when do you think you’d wanna start having kids? I know I’m still young, but I wanna be too old that I can’t even play with them. That was the most fun part about being young with Andy. I had all the energy in the world when we’d go to the playground and stuff.”
“I’d say by the time I’m thirty would be good, but I mean, if it happens sooner I wouldn’t be mad.”
“Even if we weren’t married yet?”
“Yeah, I mean, ideally I’d at least like to be engaged, but if I got pregnant before we got married it would be fine. Is it weird that I’m not really worried about it?”
“So if you missed your period you wouldn’t freak out?”
“I mean right now I would, I’m way too busy for a baby, but once I’m done with my work I could definitely handle it.”
“I love hearing you talk about wanting to have a baby with me.” He kisses your forehead.
“It’ll be so nice to feel you come inside me.” You bite your bottom lip as you look up at him.
“I’m sorry, did I not make you come enough times earlier? Are you still in the mood?” He smirks.
“Mmm, maybe?” You slide your leg over his and lightly grind against it. “I wouldn’t mind if we went another round…we need all the practice we can get if we’re gonna make a baby at some point.”
“I like the way you think, darling.”
//
During the beginning of March, you and Harry work to get the living room ready for painting. Andy was a big help, and it was fun to watch how serious he took painting. You played music and had a pretty good time getting it all done. Many hands make light work.
Noah came over to help move some of the furniture. The couch and love seat needed to be moved to the basement to make room for the new furniture you had ordered. That was a fun day too, Andy had a ball flopping down onto the different couches. You found a set that had recliners. You also went a curtain and blind store to update some other things.
Then came yours and Harry’s spring break, it was time for you to officially move. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to your apartment. It had been an excellent place to live, but Harry’s house was home now. You set up the loft to have both of your desks and you both loved that no matter what you’d be office neighbors. Andy was a huge help with moving too. He honestly needed the distraction. Things with Caroline…weren’t great.
“Andy, it’s sweet you wanted to go for a walk after school, but it’s a little chilly.” She laughed.
“Sorry, I just wanted to talk privately. Wanna go sit on the swings?”
“Sure.” She shrugged and they walked over to the school playground. “So, what’s up?”
“Caroline, I’m really glad you’re here, and I’m happy we’ve gotten so close, but I don’t think I can be your boyfriend anymore…”
“Wh-what?” Her eyes welled up and her bottom lip quivered.
“Please, don’t cry.” He reached for her hand, and she let him hold it.
“I thought we were having fun…”
“We were! I…I’m really confused about things right now, and it wouldn’t be fair to keep dating when I’m not one-hundred percent sure.”
“What are you confused about? Do you like someone else?”
“I really like you, a lot, Caroline, but there is someone else I also really like, and I liked them before you came here, and I thought that feeling went away, but it didn’t. I’m really sorry.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t wanna say…I haven’t talked to them yet.”
“Well, this isn’t what I thought we’d be talking about at all…”
“I…don’t wanna stop hanging out with you, though. I like when we do stuff together, you’re so much fun, and-“
“So you just wanna be friends?”
“If you’re okay with that.”
“Um…I think it’s gonna take me some time to wanna be friends, Andy. I feel…really blindsided.”
“I didn’t want to hurt you, I feel terrible.” She nodded at him and stood up, so did he. “Will you think about it? Being friends?”
“Yeah…I mean, I don’t wanna lose you. You were the first person that talked to me here and made me feel welcome.”
“I don’t wanna lose you either.”
She threw her arms around him and they hugged.
“I hope things work out with the other person.” She whispered.
“Me too.”
Things were awkward at school for a bit, especially since people wanted to know why, but Caroline was coming back around slowly to Andy. Anyways, he was just thankful for the creative distractions of painting and rearranging furniture. It made him happy to see his dad so happy too. He could tell Harry was trying to contain his excitement of you moving in.
Things with Brandon were…a tad strained too. It was a little awkward after the almost kissing thing, and even though Brandon was there for Andy after breaking things off with Caroline, he still seemed to be with Molly, and Andy was more confused and annoyed than ever.
The topic of Andy’s April vacation had come up, and Harry and Paige agreed to split the week so that both of them would only have to take a few days off from work. That’s when you and Harry decide it would be good to take Andy to Boston for a little trip. You could spend a few days at Julian’s hotel for next to nothing, and Andy could meet your parents. Harry could meet your friends too, maybe not in the bar atmosphere you were hoping for, but they could meet him nonetheless.
Things were going really well. You were able to get more work done than you thought at the house, and your classes were going incredibly well. Living with Harry was a breeze. He was such a chill and easy going person. You never had a relationship where you could communicate with someone so easily. You rarely fought, and it made for a really happy and healthy environment for everyone.
You were having a peaceful Saturday morning, working away up in the loft while Harry was downstairs reading on your new couch. He loved the recliners.
“Hey, Dad.” Andy plops down next to him.
“What’s up?” Harry closes his book to give his son his full attention.
“So, um, my birthday is a month away, as you know.” Harry hums his response. “My grades have been really good again this year, don’t you think?”
“They’ve been exceptional, I’m really proud of you.”
“Thanks…so…you know how you and Mum usually get me something?” Harry nods at him. “Well, there’s really only thing I want this year.”
“Oh? And what might that be?” Harry sits his chair up straight so he can turn to face Andy.
“A smart phone.” Andy mumbles.
“Hmm, are you turning thirteen this year?”
“No…I’m turning twelve.”
“Right, that’s what I thought. So, no smart phone, Andy.”
“Dad, please?”
“We had an agreement. Your mum feels the same way, I’m sorry, my hands are tied.”
“What’s the difference between now and one more year?”
“If a year doesn’t make a difference, then you can continue to wait.”
“Ugh, you’re being so unfair!”
“Don’t raise your voice at me, I’m being perfectly reasonable. There must be something else you want?”
“No, that’s literally all I want.” Andy huffs. “All of my friends have them, why can’t I?!”
“First of all, smart phones are very expensive, your phone now only costs thirty dollars a month. I’d have to add your line to mine, and that could be over one hundred extra a month. Second of all, I don’t care what your friends have, it’s not happening.”
“You get paid like ninety grand a year!” Andy stands up. “No way money is the issue. I’ll get a paper route or something to help pay for it.”
“That’s really not a lot of money to make when you own a home and have a child. You can wait another year. What do you even need one for right now? You have your own laptop, you have all the internet you could need.”
“I wanna be able to go on Instagram like my friends can!”
“Instagram?!” Now Harry’ standing up, and you can’t concentrate on your work anymore, so you stand up and lean against the banister to see what’s going on. “Who said you’d even be allowed to download all of those apps when you get a smart phone?!”
“Are you kidding me?! That’s the whole point!”
“You won’t be allowed to have any of that until you go to high school!”
“You’re living under a rock, Dad! Everyone my age uses this stuff! I wanna be able to see what my friends are posting, I’m always left out of the loop! I can’t even group text properly!”
“Who do you need to group text with?!”
“My fucking friends!”
Harry was fuming now. You had never seen him like this. You creep down the stairs to maybe see how you could help. You had never seen them fight like this before. Usually it was playful. This was very serious.
“Give me your phone, now.”
“What, why?”
“Because I said so.” Harry holds out his hand for it, and Andy reluctantly gives it to him. “You want a phone so badly for your birthday? You can have this back next month.”
“What?!”
“You heard me.” Harry puts the phone in his pocket and crosses his arms. “You can use the landline if you need make calls.”
“What if Mum needs to text me or-“
“I’ll tell her what’s going on, and she’ll either call me or she’ll call the landline if she needs to speak with you.”
“I can’t believe you’re getting upset over a simple question! I just asked for a phone!”
“We’ve been over this a million times! You’ll get one when you’re thirteen, and that’s final.”
“And you’re really going to take my other phone away until my birthday next month.”
“That’s right.”
Andy was fuming now. He looks at you, almost pleading to say something to his father, but you bite your inner cheek and look away.
“You’re being unfair!”
“I think I’m being plenty fair! This phone isn’t even yours, it’s mine! I pay for it, don’t I?”
“Harry.” You finally step in. “That’s enough.” He turns to look at you with raised eyebrows. “Andy, you shouldn’t talk to your father like that…I don’t like hearing you use cuss words. Also, the rules have been pretty clear, you need to wait another year for a smart phone. Try to think of something else you may like for your birthday, yeah?”
“But-“
“I think you should go cool off in your room for a bit.” You nod in that direction.
“You can’t tell me to go to my room, Y/N.” He scoffs.
“Actually, she can, so go.” Harry says.
“Everyone’s against me! Jesus Christ.” He grumbles and storms off to his room, slamming the door shut.
“I wish you had stayed upstairs, I was handling it.” Harry says to you.
“Were you? Because it seemed like you were throwing daggers at him. You can’t say that to a kid.”
“What?”
“That his property isn’t really his because you pay for it. That’s like saying his room isn’t really his because this is your house. My dad used to say shit like that when he’d get really mad at Phil and I. It doesn’t exactly make for a safe environment when you don’t think anything is yours.” You bite your bottom lip. “Did you really need to take his phone away?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he was acting like a spoiled brat, and I can’t stand it when he does that. Maybe that’s on Paige and I for rarely saying no, but I’m saying no now and he needs to respect that.”
“And you’re really not going to give it back to him until his birthday?”
“That’s right. It won’t kill him to be a little unplugged. If I need to get in touch with him at school I’ll just call the office, and he knows he can do the same. The secretary has a community phone for the kids to use.”
“You didn’t flip out until he mentioned Instagram, why?”
“Because he’s too young for all that. If he gets one then I’ll need to get one.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ll need to monitor what he’s posting.”
“Oh my god.” You shake your head. “You know what that leads to? Him just making a finsta that’s private and all his friends will follow him on there, and he’ll post whatever he wants and have the real fun, and then he’ll post what he thinks won’t get him in trouble on whatever account you follow him on. Come on, Harry, only helicopter parents do shit like that.”
“What in the fuck is a finsta…?”
“It’s a fake Instagram. Look, instead of doing that, we could just talk to him about the importance of privacy settings, and what’s appropriate to post. Instagram can be a lot of fun for kids, you can post aesthetically pleasing photos, although it’s not as fun as it used to be. I remember when I got mine, like, god almost ten years ago, people just used to post cool pictures of food, now it’s a place for influencers and models, which is really annoying, but-“
“Y/N, please, you’re giving me a headache.” Harry sighs. “I’m his dad, so what I say goes.”
“Right, and I’m just the woman who lives here that fucks you, is that it?”
“Don’t twist this into an argument between the two of us, it’s not necessary.”
“You picked a fight with him for no fucking reason, Harry.”
“He started getting-“
“I don’t care! You’re the parent, like you said, act like the adult you are. You could have handled that ten times better, but instead you chose to be petty, and for what? I know it’s scary that he’s growing up, and maybe right now you can protect him by not getting him the phone, but you can’t protect him from every little thing. What you should do is teach him how to properly use all of that stuff so he doesn’t get hurt. Don’t talk to strangers applies in the real world as it does virtually, stuff like that.”
“Wow, been living here a month and you’re an expert on parenting, that’s incredible. You should really write a book on it.”
You narrow your eyes at him. Harry had never, not once, spoke to you like that. Something had really crawled up his ass today, and you clearly hit a trigger for him. This had to be about Andy growing up, and Harry being sad about it. You look him up and down and smirk before going back upstairs to your work. If he didn’t want you to be involved, then you wouldn’t be involved.
After a couple of hours, Harry knocks on Andy’s door.
“Come in…” He mutters as Harry enters.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Can we chat?”
“Are you gonna yell at me again?”
“Are you gonna yell at me?”
“No.” He mumbles, and Harry nods. He sits down with Andy on his bed.
“I know I was harsh earlier, and I know it seems unfair that I’m being so firm about this, but I’d appreciate a little trust here. You do not need a smart phone yet, trust me. All of those apps and stuff just rot your brain. Right now you read before you go to bed, and you’re able to relax. Smart phones are really tempting and can keep you up for hours if you’re not careful. I just think you could handle it better a little later on.”
“My friends are able to take pictures and post them, and then someone always has to show them to me. It’s embarrassing.”
“I’m sure you’re not the only one in your grade that doesn’t have one.”
“You’re probably right, but it’s still annoying.”
“I know.” Harry sighs. “Here.” Harry gives Andy back his little phone. It was the kind that slides open to have a keyboard to text. “You have no reason to really be punished, you didn’t do anything that would warrant not having your phone.”
“Thanks.” Andy sets it down on his bed.
“Social media can be really scary, and I know you think it’s fun, but it can turn to not so fun fast, and my biggest fear is that something could happen to you because of it.”
“Dad, I’m not gonna talk to anyone I don’t know…”
“Well, I should hope not.”
“Is Y/N mad at me? I shouldn’t have said that to her…”
“No, she’s mad at me actually for how I handled things. I’m sorry I said that too about the phone being mine. It’s not, it’s yours…and I don’t mind footing the bill.”
“It’s okay…is she still working, can I go see her?”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind the visit from you.” Harry smiles. “Can we agree that you’ll get the phone next May? Please, I don’t want to keep having this same fight.”
“Okay.” Andy nods. “But there’s something else I want then.”
“Name it.”
“Ariana Grande is touring again soon, and I’d like to go to her concert.”
“Do you wanna bring a friend?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” Harry sighs. “I’ll see what I can do, alright?”
“Really?!”
“Yeah.”
“Oh my god!” Andy squeals and lunges himself onto Harry for a hug. Harry chuckles and hugs his son back. “And don’t worry about having to chaperone, Y/N told me if Ari ever toured here again she’d take me.”
“Thank god, I really don’t think I could sit through it.”
Andy rolls his eyes to get up and go see you.
“Y/N?”
“Hey.” You smile at him.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
“Oh, please.” You scoff. “It’s fine, I would have said the same thing. Did you and Dad figure things out?”
“Mhm.” Andy grins. “He’s gonna try to get tickets to see Ariana Grande for us!”
“That’s great! Better than a phone, huh?”
“Way better.” He comes over to you to hug you, and then he heads back downstairs. The Styles men, you were starting to notice, are a special breed.
You don’t’ say much to Harry for the rest of the day, although you could tell he trying to butter you up. He made lasagna for dinner, one of your favorites. You mostly spoke with Andy at the table. You wanted a formal apology for what he said to you, that was it. When you had still barely spoken to him by the time you both got into bed, he sighs heavily and looks at you. You raise an eyebrow at him.
“What do you want to hear, that you were right?”
“No, I want to hear you say you’re sorry for being a facetious little shit when I was just trying to help. I’m fully aware that I don’t have as much experience parenting as you do, but don’t discount me like that. I’ve been in that kid’s life long enough now, also I’ve read a few parenting books since we started dating so-“
“You have?”
“Of course I have! I went into this blind, I had to do some research, Harry.”
“I’m sorry I said what I said to you, I was frustrated that you…that you just read the situation to a T. I’m petrified of him growing up, it sucks. I hate it and there’s nothing I can do to stop it, and I have control of the phone thing, so I flipped out when he challenged me on it.”
“I didn’t like hearing you yell. You never get that mad.”
“I have my moments, you’re just more privy to them now.” He sighs. “It’s hard for to stay calm sometimes when he starts yelling at me. It’s only going to get worse, so I know it need work on keeping my cool.” You nod your head. “I gave him his phone back.”
“You did?” You features soften.
“Yeah, it was stupid of me to have taken it in the first place. He didn’t really do anything wrong.”
“I’ll always respect your decisions, I mean, you’ve been doing this alone, sort of. But I want you to remember I’m your partner in this, we’re a team, babe.”
“Yeah, we are.” He smiles. “I really am sorry for speaking to you like that.”
“It’s okay.” You shrug. “You backed me up while he was still in the room.”
“I’m glad you butted in, who knows what else I would have said if you hadn’t. I feel like for so long, like, because he wanted to be with me, and I got used to it, I didn’t really discipline him as much. I wanted to keep him happy so he’d want to stay. It was so hard for years only seeing him for small chunks of time. I’ve been trying to form better habits.”
“And you’re doing a great job, I think you’re doing as best as you can. I just want you to know it’s not all on your shoulders anymore.”
“Thanks, baby.” He kisses your cheek. “So…we’re good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Good, I couldn’t stand the silent treatment.”
“I just didn’t really know what to say to you, honestly. Upside is I got a fuck ton of work done.” You chuckle.
“Oh, well, thank god for that.” He laughs. “So, you’re not gonna deprive me of the booty tonight, then?”
“No, you can still have some booty.” You giggle and shift down in the bed, and turn over so he can wrap himself around you. The sound of his sigh makes me you smile. “I feel like even if I was so mad at you that I didn’t want you to hold me, you would in your sleep anyways.”
“My plan is to never make you that mad, so we don’t have to worry about that.”
“Oh good, I’m glad you have a plan.”
“Goodnight, Y/N.” He kisses your cheek again before really getting cozy with you.
“Goodnight, Harry.”
//
Since you were going for a few days, you decide to drive down to Boston. You were a little worried that it might be awkward sharing a room with both Harry and Andy, but neither of them seemed all that concerned. Julian said he’d hook you up with a good size room, so that put you at ease.
“What are we doing first, Y/N?” Andy asks excitedly from the back seat.
“Well, first we’re going to check in to the hotel to drop all of our things off, and then I was thinking we could go to the aquarium, would you like that?”
“Yeah! I haven’t been there in forever. Can we do the touch tank?”
“Of course.”
Harry puts his hand on your thigh as you drive. He was over the moon about doing something just the three of you. Even though you all lived together now, a trip would be a good bonding experience.
“Holy shit.” You say to yourself when you go inside the room. “He gave us a full suite! Look, there’s two bedrooms.”
“Sick!” Andy says as he runs in, and claims one of the rooms.
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.” Harry says. “We’ll have to make sure to say thank you.”
“Definitely.” You text Julian immediately to tell him how amazing he is. “Okay, bathroom break and then we’ll head to the train?”
Andy didn’t get to go on the train very often, so hopping on and off was really exciting. He got to use the tube in London, but this was still fun for him. His eyes light up when you get the aquarium. He waits for you and Harry to get your tickets before going up to the touch tank that was on the outside of the building.
“They brought us here for a class trip when I was in the fourth grade, I think this and the penguins were my favorite part.” He tells you as he gently touches the various animals in the tanks. “It’s so cool.”
Once Andy’s had his fill, you all head inside. He nearly squeals when he sees the penguins, and Harry takes his phone out to take some pictures, chuckling to himself.
“What?” You smile at him.
“Nothing, he’s just gonna sleep so well tonight.” He kisses your cheek. “I’m really glad we’re doing this.”
“Me too. I thought this trip could be sort of educational for him, so I got us tickets for the museum of science tomorrow.”
“I thought your friends were meeting us tomorrow?”
“They are.” You grin. “It’s going to be fantastic.”
You and Harry hold hands as you walk through the aquarium with an enthralled Andy. You stop off for a quick snack in the small food court, and keep going.
“What are we doing for dinner tonight?” Andy asks.
“Bud, you just had a bag of chips and a candy bar…” Harry says. “Why didn’t you tell me you were hungry for more?”
“I’m not, it just got me thinking about food later.”
“Happens to the best of us.” You chuckle. “We’re going to have dinner at my brother’s place so you can meet my family, how does that sound?”
“Wow, really?” Andy asks with wide eyes.
“Mhm, and brother is a really good cook, so you’re gonna eat well tonight.”
“Are your parents gonna be there too?” He asks.
“Yup.” You smile and so does he.
After the aquarium, you all go back to the hotel to freshen up before hopping in the car to go to Phil and Julian’s. You were happy it was a Sunday evening so Phil didn’t have to physically be at the restaurant. Andy gets a little shy as you walk into the complex, sticking to Harry’s side.
“Hello?” You say as you key in.
“Hey!” Julian says as he greets you. “Come on in, hi, Harry.” He smiles. “And oh my goodness, you must be Andy! Hi, I’m Julian.”
“Hello.” Andy says, politely shaking Julian’s hand.
“Phil’s made so much food, you’d think it was Thanksgiving all over again. A little birdy told us you like pasta, Andy.”
Andy’s smile grows as you all come into the kitchen. Phil had made homemade raviolis and bolognaise, along with a meatless option for you and Harry.
“Hey, everyone.” Phil smiles as he strains the raviolis. “Mum and Dad should be here any minute, think they got stuck in traffic.” He looks at Andy. “Hi, I’m Phil, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Hello.” Andy shakes his hand as well. “So…you’re Y/N’s big brother.”
“That’s right.” He throws an arm around you. “She drove me nuts growing up, but now I don’t know what I would do without her.” He kisses your temple and lets you go. “You’re on April vacation, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Must be nice to just have an entire week off, enjoy it while you can.” Phil chuckles.
“Babe, do you want me to get the table set?” Julian asks.
“Please, that would be great. Garlic bread’s almost done and then we can put it in that nice basket you got.”
Julian nods and gets to work. A knock on the door signals that your parents have arrived, and you go to open it for them. It’s hugs and kisses all around, and then they say hello to Harry.
“Good to see you both again.” Harry says to them.
“Same to you.” Your dad says.
“Andy, c’mere, I want you to meet my parents.” You say to him and he stands in front of you. “Mum, Dad, this is Harry’s son, Andy.”
“Well are you’re you just the most precious thing!” Your mom says. “Y/N’s sent us some pictures of you, but they don’t do you justice. Look at those curls!”
“Oh, thanks…I use a special mousse for them.” Andy says shyly. It makes both of your parents laugh.
“Andy, we heard you enjoy painting.” Your dad says to him and Andy nods. “Well, we couldn’t help ourselves, especially since we also heard your birthday was coming up soon.” He takes a bag from behind his back and hands it to Andy. “Go ahead and open it if you like.”
Andy looks up at you and you nod. He opens the bag and gasps.
“Whoa! It’s that washable paint stuff! Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” Your mom says. “We saw it and just had to get it.”
“Okay, dinner’s ready, let’s sit.” Phil says.
Everyone sits down at the table, and the conversation stays around Andy. He answers questions about school, friends, what his favorite subject is, what he does for fun (other than painting), and he talks about how much he likes living with Harry.
“Sometimes I miss my mum, but I like living with Dad more. It’s just calmer.” Andy shrugs. He was thoroughly enjoying the food as well.
“Can’t be much calmer with Y/N there now.” Your dad chuckles. “With the way she’s always running around like a chicken with their head cut off.”
“I do not do that…” You mumble.
“Sure you do honey, you always used to run around the house never able to find anything, and we’d tell you not to run because you always had socks on too, and one time you completely wiped out!”
“Wow, I didn’t realize we’d be telling embarrassing stories about me tonight.” You roll your eyes.
Andy thought it was interesting seeing you interact with your parents. You sort of did what Harry did, in that you acted like a kid again. He also liked observing Phil and Julian. Maybe things would get better.
//
The next day, after enjoying a nice breakfast at the hotel, you all head to the Museum of Science. Claudia, Nora, Darcy, and Mark would all be meeting you there. The three of you wait inside for them.
“Y/N!” Nora squeals and runs over to you. You open your arms and you hug each other. Everyone else comes following from behind.
“I swear she turns into a cheetah when she sees you.” Claudia says.
“Oh, shut up.” Nora says, letting go of you. She looks at Harry grins. “Well, well, well, look who have here.”
“It’s so nice to meet you all.” Harry says.
“Oo, boy, that accent.” Mark giggles to Darcy.
“This is my son, Andy. We’re both excited to spend the day with you.”
“Hello.” Andy says. He was feeling a little shy, but less so than last night.
“He’s so handsome!” Nora says to Harry. “Not surprised though.” She looks Harry up and down.
“Okay, enough flirting with my boyfriend.” You say. “Harry, Andy, this is Nora, Darcy, Claudia, and Mark, my best friends in the world.”
Everyone gets properly introduced, and you all head inside to the main area. Nora and Mark loop arms with Harry, and it makes you giggle as they walk with him, and talk his ears off. Claudia and Darcy do the same with Andy, and he loves it. Everyone helped make all of the science and exhibits extra fun for Andy. His favorite part was the lightning show.
You all were pooped by the time you got to the planetarium. Andy sits in the middle of you and Harry, and Nora sits on your other side. You two giggle and she makes you laugh so hard you cry while trying to be quiet during the show, which makes your other friends laugh too. Harry enjoys all of it.
“Okay, we were thinking Mexican for dinner, does that work for everyone?” Mark says.
“I love tacos.” Andy says. “Sounds good to me.”
“Yeah, we eat Mexican all the time.” Harry says.
“Great! You’ll love this place. They have the best margaritas.” Claudia says.
Andy was eating good this weekend. He wondered if you did this a lot when you used to live here. All of the adults order drinks, and Harry lets Andy get a virgin pina colada for his drink. Everyone got all different types of food. Luckily the restaurant had a kids menu with more traditional Tex-Mex that he was used to.
“So, Harry, talk to us about this cabin. Is it used in the summer?” Darcy asks.
“Yeah, it’s great for all seasons.” The friends all look at each other. “You all will have to come up some time this summer.”
“Oh, well, we wouldn’t want to impose.” Nora scoffs. “But I have to say, we’re incredible house guests.”
“Good to know.” Harry smiles. “So, what do you all do for work?”
“I’m a preschool teacher.” Claudia says.
“I’m an executive assistant to this CEO downtown.” Mark says. “At a marketing firm.”
“I’m an insurance agent.” Darcy says.
“And I also work in higher ed, but I work in Alumni Relations.” Nora says.
“Did you all go to school together?” Andy asks.
“Nora and I became friends in high school, and went to the same undergrad, that’s where we met Darcy and Mark, and then Claudia and I met in grad school, and she and Darcy, um, saw each other for bit…”
“But we realized friendship was the way to go.” Claudia says.
“That’s right.” Darcy says. “And we’ve all just been a little group ever since.”
“That’s kind of how my friend group is. My best friend is Brandon, and we have this other friend Tyler. And then Caroline became friends with us because she and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, but now we’re just friends.” Andy explains. “It was awkward at first, but everything’s normal again.”
“It can definitely be awkward.” Mark agrees. “You’re in sixth grade, right?”
“Mhm.”
“My god, the drama.” Claudia snickers to Darcy.
The group asks Harry questions about how he got into academia and how he ended up in New England. It was a great conversation all around. The food was excellent and everyone seemed to be meshing well. You and Nora had got up to go to the bathroom together, it was a chance to consult.
“Well?” You say to her as you both wash your hands.
“I can’t find a single flaw, Y/N.” She says. “I mean, on the outside, ten out of ten, that man is gorgeous, but he can also carry a conversation. He’s not one of those condescending know-it-alls, you can tell he’s really listening. God, and that Andy…so adorable.”
“Right? Sweetest kid ever.”
“You can tell how comfortable he is with you too by how comfortable he already is with us. He was shy at first, but he opened up. Living together has been going well so far?”
“Yeah, for the most part it was seamless. I’ve never felt this sure in a relationship before.”
“Clearly! I don’t think you’ve ever lasted this long in one.” She jokes and you roll your eyes. “I like them both a lot, well done.”
“Thanks.” You smile and walk back to the table with her.
“Well, this has been fun, but every night as to come to an end at some point.” Darcy says.
“Yeah, not all of us have a week off.” Mark says.
“Hey, I’m using vacation time same as you.” You say. “But I appreciate you all coming out today.”
“It was so nice to finally meet all of you.” Harry says.
“You both better come back down soon. We can show you a really good time nightlife wise.” Nora says.
Harry nods, and Andy says goodbye to everyone before you all go to your separate trains. Andy can barely keep his eyes open as he sits on the train between you and Harry. His head falls to Harry’s shoulder, and Harry pouts down at him.
“M’gonna have to carry him.” He says to you. “What a treat.” He puts his arm around Andy to keep him comfortable.
“I didn’t realize just how much walking we did today.” You chuckle and run your fingers through Andy’s hair.
“Think that big meal we just had did him in. It’s alright, he’s having a great time.”
“Are you going to be able to carry him?”
“Oh, sure. He’s not that heavy.”
“I know…he’s just getting lanky.”
“He’s due for a growth spurt, that’s for sure.”
Once you reach your stop, Harry’s able to pick Andy up bridal style and carry him out cuddled to his chest. It was one of the sweetest things you had ever seen. You weren’t always pricy to the more tender moments between them, and you were living for this one.
“I’m just gonna get him settled into his bed.” Harry whispers to you once you’re in the hotel room. You nod and go start your nightly routine.
Harry’s able to get Andy changed, and tucked into bed. Just as Harry kisses his forehead, Andy fidgets.
“Dad?” He mumbles.
“Shh, go back to sleep, buddy.” Harry coos.
“M’having a lot of fun with you and Mum.” He yawns and rolls over. “Goodnight.” He mumbles again before passing out.
Harry’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open. Did Andy mean to say that? Why were people always making confessions to him while they were half asleep? He slowly leaves the room and heads into yours. You were just sliding into bed.
“He all set?”
“Yeah, I’m just gonna go do my thing.” He points to the bathroom and you nod. You had gotten your period yesterday, and you were sort of thankful so that there would be minimal funny business. It wasn’t necessary on a family trip.
“Are you alright?” You ask as Harry gets into bed.
“Yeah…he just…he mumbled something in his sleep, that’s all.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he was having a lot of fun with us, um, just made me happy to hear.”
“Aw, he’s so sweet.” You peck Harry’s lips and settle down into bed. “Love you, baby.” You yawn.
“Love you too.” He says as he spoons you.
On your last day in the city, you and Harry decide it would be fun to bring Andy to the Quincy Market Place so he could do a little shopping. He nearly sprinted when he saw the Newbury Comics. You spent quite a bit of time in there, and Harry let Andy pick out a couple of things he wanted.
“Do you guys mind if I go into The Loft?”
“I thought you didn’t really shop for clothes.” Harry says to you.
“I don’t, but they’re having a sale, and I’d like to go check it out.”
“We can go with you, Y/N.” Andy says.
“So, I’m really annoying to shop with.” You laugh. “Go on to another store. I can meet you in, like, fifteen minutes?”
“Sure, let’s meet outside The Loft.” Harry says and you nod.
You really did hate to shop for clothes, especially with other people around. You were extremely picky and indecisive.
“Alright, where should we go? Need a bathroom break?” Harry asks Andy.
“No, I think we should go into one of these jewelry stores.”
“Why?”
“So you can look at rings, duh.” Andy scoffs.
“Oh, Andy…I…”
“Rip the band aid, Dad, come on, let’s just go look.” He tugs on Harry’s arms towards a jewelry store and they start looking around. “She only has, like, two rings she always wears, so this one definitely needs to be good.”
“Are you telling me you want me to propose to her already?”
“She’s living with us, why not?”
“It’s a big deal to marry someone.”
“But you both want to, right?”
“Well, yeah, we talk about it enough.”
“Okay, then. No harm in looking.” Andy shrugs. “She likes wearing silver…”
“I know.” Harry nudges him. “I have no idea what style she even would want…”
“She wears that necklace you got her every day, I don’t think she’ll care that much.”
“True, I got lucky with that one.”
Harry’s eyes scan over the various rings as the women behind the counter watch him. Nothing was really catching his eye until he saw a silver band with small diamonds studded in it, and large square diamond in the middle.
“Hey, what about this?” Harry asks Andy. “It’s…elegant, like her.” Andy tugs Harry’s shirt down so he can whisper in his ear.
“Take a sneaky picture of it so you can just order a similar one online.” Harry nods and does so swiftly before leaving the store. They both walk over to The Loft where you were standing already.
“No luck?” Harry asks when he doesn’t see any bags.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” You shake your head. “Trying clothes on while bloated was not a good idea, let’s just leave it at that.”
After a bit more walking, and a quick lunch, you all decide it’s time to hit the road. Just like last time, you drive through the city, and pull over at the rest area to let Harry drive the rest of the way. Andy was conked out in the back seat. You hold Harry’s hand as both of your arms rest on the console.
“This was a great few days.” Harry says.
“I know, I almost wish we just took the whole week off from work.” Harry chuckles at that and nods his head. “Is Paige coming to get him tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna let him sleep in, and then she’ll come grab him while we’re at school.”
“Alright, sounds good. My family loved meeting him by the way, so did my friends. I got a ton of text messages saying so.”
“Ah, so you have all the official approval you could need then?”
“I’d say so.” You nod. “I think my parents are still a little uneasy about it, but they’ll get used to it.”
“It was really nice of them to get him that paint.”
“They’ve been dying to become grand-parents, so I’m not surprised that they jumped on the schmooze train.”
“Still, they didn’t have to do that.” He squeezes your hand. “It’s not easy to just treat someone as your own right away.”
“He doesn’t make it difficult, trust me.” You bring Harry’s hand up to your lip to press a kiss to his knuckles and he sighs.
//
With Andy at Paige’s for a few days that guaranteed no one just walking in, as soon as your period was over, it was like Harry went feral. It reminded you of that first weekend you actually slept over where he just wouldn’t let you leave the bedroom. He tried to be subtle about it, but he wasn’t very good at it.
“Feel like taking a break?” He says to you one night as you’re working.
“Do to what?” You say to him without looking.
“Me.” Your hands freeze over your keyboard, and you slowly turn to look at him. “You looked so pretty today, and I barely had time to tell you with all my advisees coming in and out.” He tils your chin up so you can look at him easier. “What do you say?”
You look at your computer quickly to save whatever you’re working and then you reach for the button on his jeans, but he backs away.
“Let’s get comfortable, darling.”
“You know, a break implies that this will be quick.”
“I meant break as in you’re done for the night, was I not clear?”
“Harry…”
“You’re going to burn out if you keep coming home and working until an ungodly hour.”
“I can’t help it.” You pout up at him.
“Come on, come down to the bedroom with me. We don’t have to worry about being quiet tonight…”
“Alright.” You sigh and get up to go downstairs with him.
Once you’re in the bedroom he cups your jaw and starts kissing you. It’s slow at first; soft. Your hands splay on his chest as he licks into your mouth. Before you can meet his tongue with yours he pulls away and nuzzles his nose to yours.
“Baby.” He whispers with a smile, and that all about melts you into a puddle.
He kisses from your cheek to your jaw to your neck, feather light, causing goosebumps to grow on your covered skin. You tug at the hem of his shirt, and he steps back so he can take it off. He reaches for yours and you lift your arms up. He cups your bare breasts (who wears a bra at home?), and kneads them as his lips find yours again. He gets you on the bed, and kisses down your chest. He tugs at your leggings and wriggles them down your legs along with your panties.
“Yours too.” You toe at his jeans and he smirks at you. He does as you say and gets rid of his jeans, leaving him in his boxers.
“Happy?”
“Yes.”
He goes back to kissing on your body, nipping where he feels like before sucking a bruise into your inner thigh. You grit your teeth and try not to buck your hips towards him. You gasp when you feel his tongue on you, sucking and swirling around your folds before he makes his way to your clit. He moans into you and your hands grasp at his hair. You bite your bottom lip as two fingers slide inside you, and you grind against them.
“Feels so good, don’t stop.” You say to him as he sucks on your clit and curls his fingers inside you. Your legs were starting to shake around him. “H-Harry.” You groan as your head rolls back. He keeps his pace steady, not changing a thing so you can get there. “Oh, fuck!” Your chest heaves as you release around his fingers.
He sucks his fingers into his mouth and looks at you with a smirk.
“What?” You breathe.
“Can I put the handcuffs on your for a change?”
Your eyes widen as you look at him. You really didn’t like being the one restrained, and it just looked better on Harry the times he’d let you cuff him.
“Um…maybe use one of the scarves, I don’t like the handcuffs on me.”
“But you’re okay with the scarf, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He nods and goes into the drawer to get it.
“I’m not even gonna tie to you to bed, I’m just gonna put your wrists together.”
“Alright.”
“Sit up for me so I can tie them behind your back.”
“Oh?” Your eyebrows raise as you do as he says. He ties your wrists together and sits on the edge of the bed. “What do you want me to do, ride you?”
“Please.” He puts his arms out for you to help you. “Can I just come on your stomach?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
He helps get you lined up, and you sink down on him. You use your knees on either side of his thighs to help you move up and down. You could feel yourself trying to reach for him, but you couldn’t. He sits back with the palms of his hands flat behind him on the bed as you bounce up and down on him. He watches how the features on your face change as you basically use him.
“Harry, please put your hands on me.” You groan.
“Only because you asked so nicely.” He reaches for you but stops when you speak.
“Don’t be cute with me.” You smirk at him. “Or next time I’ll just have to tie you to each bed post again and ride you like this. Remember how much fun that was for you?” Your lean forward and ghost your lips over his, making him shudder.
“Okay, sorry, I’ll touch you.” He pouts slightly. His hands slide down to your ass and he helps you move on him.
You slot your mouth over his and lick into him. He moves you so you’re grinding back and forth on him and you moan into his mouth.
“Like that, baby?” He says to you as he sponges kisses to your collar bone.
“Yes, fuck, keep going.”
He looks up at you as you squeeze your eyes shut and bite your bottom lip. Your head rolls back, and you squeeze around him.
“That’s it, baby, be a good girl and come for me.”
Your mouth falls open, and you cry out as you reach your high. Those were the magic words, and they worked every single time. Harry pecks your lips before lifting you off of him and settling you on your back. He has you place your arms comfortably above your head, your wrists still tied together. He throws both of your legs over his shoulders, and thrusts back into you. He looks down to make sure you’re alright, and you nod at him to let him know he can keep going. Both of your moans and groans fill the room, along with the sound of his skin slapping against yours. Your clit was throbbing, and you need to give it some friction, but you knew Harry wanted your hands to stay put.
“H-Harry, please, could you, ah!” His tip your g-spot. “Fuck, please, rub my clit.” You groan.
He drops one of your legs so he can do so properly, and you moan out with relief. He thrusts were fast and deep, and it was going to send you over the edge any second with him rubbing you as well. Your eyes roll into back of your head when your orgasm reaches.
“Harry.” You whimper as you come down from your high.
He lets your other leg drop, and he comes down to you, chest to chest. He sucks on your bottom lip as he rocks in and out of you, and you wrap your legs around his waist. His hands come to yours, and he pushes down on your wrists as he continues to fuck you. You were breathing heavily underneath him, and you couldn’t help but look up at him and just watch. He looks down at you too, and it’s insanely intense, but neither of you can think to look anywhere else.
Harry keeps one hand on your wrists as the other snakes between the two of you. He rubs circles into your clit, and moves his hips in the same motion. Your mouth falls open and the whiniest moan comes out. He smirks at you.
“Harry, fuck, I’m gonna come again.” You groan.
“Yeah? Just feels that good, huh?”
“So good, baby, so good.” You start panting. “You treat me so well, Harry. I love you so much.”
“Fuck, I love you too.” He kisses you sloppily, teeth clanking and everything.
You moan into each other’s mouths as you come to your fourth release. You squeeze him a little too tightly, and he nearly loses control.
“Shit, shit, shit, shit.” He says as he pulls out, coming immediately onto your stomach. You were in such a daze you almost told him he could just come inside you, but that was the orgasm talking. “Fuck, baby.” He breathes and kisses your forehead. “Let me go get a rag.” Harry comes back with a warm washcloth to clean you up. “Feel like watching a movie, darling?”
“Sure.” You giggle as he cleans between your legs. “I can do that you know?”
“I know, I just feel like it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. I made a mess, I should clean it up.”
“Remind me to thank your mother some time for raising your right.”
Harry chuckles at that and tosses you one of his shirts before putting on a pair of boxers. He opens up his armoire and grabs the remote for the TV, and gets into bed while you go properly clean yourself up.
“What do you feel like watching?” He asks as you get back into bed.
“Something funny. Hmm, how about Step Brothers?” He scrunches his face at you. “Come on! It’s funny.”
“It’s mind numbingly stupid…”
“That’s the point.” You rolls your eyes at him. “I’m not watching another documentary, Harry, I’m just not.”
“But you learn so much from them, and they’re fascinating.”
“Maybe to you, I find them to be boring as all hell.”
“You can’t tell me the documentary we watched about prohibition was boring!”
“The only interesting part was when they got into the speak-easies.”
“You said you enjoyed the whole thing, you even laughed at certain parts.”
“Faked it.” You smirk and he gasps.
“You didn’t.”
“I did. Faked the whole thing.”
“Why would do that?”
“To keep you happy of course.” Your grin grows as he glares at you.
“Better be the only thing you’ve faked.” He says as he puts Netflix on to watch Step Brothers.
“Harry, you’re nuts if you think I would fake an orgasm with you. I’m not in the business of doing that anymore.”
“Anymore?” He raises an eyebrow at you.
“Did it a lot when I was younger, it’s the fastest way to get someone else to finish when you’re not super into it. I used to not be as vocal as I am now. Sometimes it takes a girl a while to feel comfortable enough to find her voice in the bedroom.”
“Fair enough.” He says as he puts his arm around you, pressing his lips to your hair line for a few kisses. “I love how vocal you are.”
“I know you do because you like hearing how good of a job you’re doing.” You look up at him and start laughing.
“What?”
“Do you get a stiffy when you read your good course evaluations?”
“No, I do not!” He starts laughing. “Why would you even ask me that?”
“Because it just seems like something that would happen to you. All of that praise must go right to that big head of yours.”
“Do you wanna watch this fucking movie or not?”
You burst out laughing as he holds you closer to him, pressing play on the movie. You kiss his cheek and settle down.
“And by the way”, he starts, “I enjoy American documentaries because there’s a lot I didn’t learn in school growing up, and it helps me know what some of the students are talking about. I get a few history majors now and then and I can happily say I can carry on a conversation with them.”
“Harry, it’s okay to be a nerd all on your own, you don’t to blame it on your students.” You give his chest a little pat, and gives your hip a pinch. “Aw, I’m just teasing, sweetheart.”
“Teasing is my thing, get your own.”
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Growing Pains
Nala Arc: *Jaune’s sixteen year old daughter with thick blonde hair pulled back in a low pony, blonde cat ears atop her head with her grandfather Ghira’s yellow eyes* --Yes Daddy.
Jaune: *Very seriously* And you’ve got your scroll.
Nala: *Shows it off* Yup.
Jaune: Your purse?
Nala: *Rolls eyes* Duh.
Jaune: And your pepper spray, mace, rape whistle and extra ammo?
Nala: *Sighs* Yes, yes, of course and even if I tried to leave the dust out you’d find a way to smuggle it in anyways, Daddy.
Jaune: *Ignores the sass* Okay, good. Good.  And you have--
Nala: *Growing impatient* --Yes, Dad, I have Pride. *Shows off twin automatic pistols in black and gold, connected by a thin gold chain and shifts it into weighted chain form before reshifting and holstering it*
Jaune: Okay, Dormiens Leo?
Nala: *Stomps foot* Dad, c’mon! I’m not taking my freaking sword on my first date!
Jaune: *Hands up, backtracking* Right, yeah, of course sweetpea! *Pauses*
Nala: *Stares at her father cautiously*
Jaune: Are you sure you don’t wanna wear the belt I bought you?
Nala: *Explodes* No! It looks nice, it looks normal, it’s super flippin’ cute but I know you had it custom made, I know it’s a high tech chastity belt that locks as soon as you put it on and only you have the code to it! Besides, I’m not even t-thinking about having that, about having s-sex with Dutch! *Blushing*
Jaune: *Gapes* W-who told you--
Nala: *Grumbling, not looking him in the eye* Mom.
Blake: *Entering the room, wiping her hands with a towel and tossing it on the table* And I’d do it again. Because, Jaune, you are overreacting.
Jaune: B-but she’s going on a date! With a boy!
Blake: *Cocks eyebrow* Mmm. So if it was a girl then it’d be okay?
Jaune: What? No! Boy or girl, doesn’t matter! *Hugs an irritated Nala fiercely* She’s my baby girl! She’s d-d-- *whispers* dating, Blake!
Blake: *Smiling* Uh-huh. And she’ll continue to date. One day - when she’s ready - she’ll even have sex. *Jaune whines and Nala turns into a tomato* But right now, you big baby, our little girl is going on her first date. She is being very safe, especially when you take into consideration that our daughter is highly trained, has two weapons and her King’s Flare semblance makes every fire semblance we’ve ever come across look like matchsticks. *Peels Jaune off of Nala*
Nala: *Embarrassed* Mooom!
Blake: *Fixes her daughters top, smoothes out her hair* She has her guns, she has common sense and honestly honey, she has my brains.
Jaune: *Long pause* I kinda think that last one mighta been an insult, but I do have to agree with you there.
Blake: Besides, Dutch is an athlete, not a Huntsman. No aura. You need to calm down.
*Jaune mutters mutinously, crossing his arms and Nala sighs and hugs her mother*
Nala: Thanks Mom. *Stands in front of Jaune, fidgets* Daddy?
Jaune: *Dramatic sigh* Ugghhh, I hate it when your mom makes sense. *Hugs Nala who squeezes him and puts her head on his shoulder* Just...have fun, okay? Don’t stay out too late, don’t do anything you don’t want to and you’re, uh...
Nala: *Rolls her eyes* It’s that neo-Valean restaurant near Auntie Nora and Uncle Lie’s neighborhood. If Dutch turns out to be a jerk, Auntie Nora will probably wind up leveling the place.
Jaune: *To Blake* Maybe we should give Ren the heads up instead of miss ‘Goddess of Boom’.
Blake: *To Jaune* Already called him. He has Nora busy with the twins tonight. *Smiles as Jaune kisses her cheek*
*The parents watch their daughter fuss over her hair, reapply lip gloss and fidget with her top, her ears twitching all the while and the door opens to an athletic young man with brown hair and dark green eyes*
Nala: *A few minutes later* --good that you all met, but we’re gonna miss the movie if we don’t go to dinner now. *Smiles brightly* C’mon, Dutch!
Dutch: *Grins, blushing a bit* Right, Nala. *To Blake* Bye Mrs. Arc. *To Jaune, winces* M-Mr. Arc. It was really nice to meet you. *Jaune just nods with a smile* I’llhaveherbackbytenbye!
Blake:
Jaune:
Blake: You just had to pull the whole ‘I am Paladin, Slayer of Salem’ thing, didn’t you.
Jaune: *Crosses arms petulantly* I have no idea what you mean, Blake.
Blake: *Rolls her eyes* Oh sure. Because you’re usually stern, terrifying and pushing your aura out to create killing intent.
Jaune: *Annoyed* If I was it must’ve just been instinct since he was checking of my sweet little girls behind.
Blake: *Snorts*
Jaune: *Whining* Blaaake! It’s not funny! She doesn’t even have your ass--
Blake: Oh she does. Just not my hips. Plus she’s more petite like your sister, Celeste.
Jaune: Nope, stop. But even still, that little fucker--
Blake: Is a teenage boy who thought he was being subtle. Who probably hasn’t asked out a future Huntress before, let alone the daughter of two veterans, even less two of the most talented swordspeople alive. *Takes Jaune’s hand and rubs a circle into his palm with her thumb* I know Nala growing up like this is making you a little crazy because of all your sisters and the fact that you were once a teenage boy, but have a little faith in our daughter.
Jaune: *Rubs face with free hand* Yeah, yeah, I know. I don’t like it though.
Blake: *Flippantly* And neither do I, Jaune, but it’s a part of being parents. We’re lucky Nala’s so even tempered and just skipped right over the teenage rebellion phase and isn’t just embarrassed by us. She’s a good girl. *Pauses, starts leading Jaune into the house* Or would you rather her be more Neptune and Dew’s girl?
Jaune: *Winces* No! *Grouchily* I just never thought letting her grow up would be so...
Blake: *Squeezes his hand* I know. But you got your licks in. And when Dutch brings our baby home, it’ll be his turn to worry about me. *Cuts off Jaune’s dumb grin* But until then...
Jaune: *Slumps* Blake, I don’t wanna do yard work. *Blinks as Blake sits on his lap* Oh. Ohhhhh. No, I’m definitely up for this task, ma’am. *Squeezes Blake’s ass*
Blake: *Smirking, leans in for a kiss* I figured.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I figured that if anybody would be both the cool parent and the responsible, easy to reason with but still every bit as protective one, it’d be Blake. And Knightshade’s a fun couple to explore although I like reading it better than writing it. Since other people do it better.
But I did have fun coming up with Nala Arc as a character. Named after the female lion from The Lion King that has a fair bit of meaning behind said name in the first place (I believe it’s Swahili for ‘Gift’). A weighted chain/pair of automatic pistols called Pride, plus a Nimcha sword named ‘Sleeping Lion’ in Latin (the name of the Lion King Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts II) and a semblance named after the Link Summon for Simba from Kingdom Hearts III (which works the same way: Nala becomes engulfed in fire, exudes fire and can cause loads of damage while active).
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hottestthingalive · 3 years
Text
Changes, Tricks, and Trust
He does what he can. And sometimes, doing what he can means that, when he opens the door for trick-or-treaters while his dad is wrangling Remus into his pirate costume and finds a man holding hands with a kid younger than even Roman and Remus (wearing a scientist costume and a cat costume, respectively,) who introduces himself as “Logan Abbott, and this is Patton. You must be Janus,” he just glares, and slams the door in their faces.
In which the Carroll siblings conspire against their father’s new boyfriend, Logan makes a promise, and Janus has a grudge against omelets. 
Notes: Look, okay, we’re all very aware this is two hours past Halloween, and an hour into No-Content November, but I wrote this in a day and am operating under the logic that it is both Halloween and not November somewhere, so let’s pretend we’re all okay with this and move on. Virgil also calls Roman and Remus peanut butter and jelly, which makes up for all my sins.
Roman also knows lots of words he shouldn’t at his age, because I am, in fact, projecting myself at six onto him. Let him have a big vocabulary! 
(He also mispronounces most of the words. This is still projecting. I apologize in advance.)
Many thanks to @smileyzs​, who stayed up far too late to help me edit, and the rest of @waffle-gang-incorrect-quotes​, who had to listen to me ranting about this as I wrote it. Y’all deserve the world. Thank you for putting up with me, and this fic. 
Warnings: Implied gore (but not really), food mentions (mostly candy), a fair bit of angst, Janus manipulating his brothers but not in an intentionally cruel way.
Relationships: Romantic Analogical, familial logicality, familial virgil, janus, roman and remus, platonic loceit, intrulogical, and logince. 
Words: 5328
Ao3
Enjoy!
“Roman, Remus,” Virgil says calmly, holding up a knife, stained with guts and gore, the key piece of evidence to the brutal mutilations of two innocents, “who decided to carve ‘Logan is a butt’ into our pumpkins?”
They point at each other, faces the picture of wide-eyed innocence. Virgil is not fooled. 
“Janus, do you know anything about this?” he asks, turning away from the twins to look at his nine year old, who is currently pretending to be very occupied with the book he is reading at the dinner table. Virgil wonders if Janus knows that he hasn’t turned a page in the last five minutes. Probably not. 
“Oh, why would I ever do that?” Janus wonders, looking up from the book, his puppy-eyes matching those of the twins. “It really is too bad though. Clearly, you can’t have Logan over for Halloween anymore. Tragic.” 
Virgil pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Janus, you’re the only one tall enough to reach the knife block, and I found the knife hidden under Remus’ bed. I know it was you three.” He puts the knife down on the table, really hoping the pumpkin guts won’t stain the wood, and says “Kids, remember what we said about playing with knives without adult supervision?”
“Not to do it,” the twins mumble in unison. Janus says “Do it only when we’re in trouble, like defending ourselves from a vicious intruder about to invade our home?” instead, which was not the answer Virgil was looking for, and he’s very sure Janus knows it. 
“Look,” Virgil says, sitting down in one of the chairs that his kids have covered in fake cobwebs and pumpkin stickers, “I’ve already invited Logan and Patton over. And I… I really, really like him. A lot.” He turns a bit red, at that, and ignores Janus rolling his eyes. “But if you guys really think he’s that bad after you meet him tonight, I’ll break up with him, okay? You three are always going to be my top priority. Just promise me you’ll keep an open mind, yeah?” 
“Okay,” Roman agrees, and runs to jump up into Virgil’s lap, burying his head in Virgil’s shoulder. “I’m sorry we messed up the pumpkins and were mean to Mr. Logan, Dad.”
“It’s okay, peanut butter,” Virgil tells him. He expected Roman to be the apologetic one — for a six year old, his son has  developed quite the sense of right and wrong. He’s a bit more surprised when Remus does the same, squirming into the hug and saying “I’m sorry we called him a butt.” He snickers, a bit, which makes Virgil think he’s not all that sorry, but he lets it go. 
“Thank you, jelly,” he says, and looks expectantly at Janus. 
“Sure, whatever,” Janus says, snapping the book closed. “I’m sorry we messed up your decorations, Dad.”
“I don’t care about the decorations, hon,” Virgil reminds him. “I’m just glad you guys didn’t get hurt, okay? No more knives. Now c’mere, Jan.”
Janus begrudgingly joins the hug, wrapping his arms around Virgil and the twins both, and they just sit like that, Virgil and his children, in the quiet of the kitchen. 
“Okay,” he says finally, “let's get you into your costumes, yeah?”
Janus just wants his dad to be happy. 
He saw what happened the last times his dad went on dates. He got all excited. Dressed up. Kissed his sons goodbye, smiling and happy and practically dancing on clouds. 
And then, one day, he’d come home a bit off. He’d put on a smile, he’d act like everything was fine, but then he’d make them omelets for dinner. 
Janus hates omelets, because Dad only makes omelets when he’s sad. 
He’s heard his dad talking about it on the phone late at night with Uncle Remy, who isn’t really their uncle, but who calls himself their uncle every time he comes over anyways. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Dad will say, with his voice choked up like he’s crying, and Janus will stand with his back against the door and hear Remy’s voice murmur something soothing, always including curse words about his dad’s ex which Janus isn’t supposed to know the meanings of.
Janus isn’t supposed to be up, on those nights. But he is, usually, staying up after they’re put to bed every time Dad makes omelets for dinner, because he knows that once he hangs up, he can wander into his dad’s room with some mumbled excuse about nightmares and do his best to comfort him without mentioning the breakup at all. 
He does what he can. And sometimes, doing what he can means that, when he opens the door for trick-or-treaters while his dad is wrangling Remus into his pirate costume and finds a man holding hands with a kid younger than even Roman and Remus (wearing a scientist costume and a cat costume, respectively,) who introduces himself as “Logan Abbott, and this is Patton. You must be Janus,” he just glares, and slams the door in their faces. 
“Who was that?” his dad asks as he enters the room, holding Remus in his arms, who is finally in his costume, and not running around naked, as he has been for the last eight minutes. 
“No one,” Janus says, the picture of innocence, and then the doorbell rings again. “I’ll get it!”
“No, it’s fine,” his dad says, already crossing the room towards the door. “I’ve got it, honey. Thank you, though!”
He opens the door, and his face transforms, going from Regular-Dad-Face to his Sappy-Dumb-Blushy-Face. Janus hates the Sappy-Dumb-Blushy-Face.
“Logan!” Dad says, all high-pitched and pink cheeks, and Janus braces himself to be ratted out by stupid, stupid Logan Abbott. Which is a stupid name, too.
“Hello, Virgil,” says dumb, stupid, Dad-stealing Logan, whose voice is all soft, which just gets Janus angrier, because he’s making an effort to sound genuine about it. “And you must be one of the twins. What’s your name?”
Janus feels rather gratified when Remus just sticks out his tongue, though less so when his dad says “Remus, be nice,” in his Please, Kids, We Talked About This voice. “Come in! This is Janus, and Roman should be right down.”
Logan looks over at Janus as the door closes behind him, and Janus crosses his arms over his chest. He waits for him to say “Ah, yes, we met earlier,” or “Right, I remember,” or even “He slammed the door in our faces earlier,” but all that Logan says is “It’s nice to meet you, Janus,” with the kind of smile that sappy people in movies wear. He thinks, reluctantly, that it’s a nice smile, and that the kid, at least, doesn’t seem so bad.
“Octopus!” says the boy beside him, pointing at Janus, with pure glee in his big brown eyes. “Octopus!”
“I’m a kraken,” he grumbles, all kind thoughts towards his dad’s stupid boyfriend and his dumb kid gone. 
This Halloween is gonna suck. 
“You’re a dumb scientist,” Remus says to Mr. Logan, arms crossed across his chest, as Roman and Janus mutter together behind them, his dad walking with the little kid who had introduced himself as ‘Patpat!’ and whom the adults call ‘Patton’. His dad has managed to fix the pumpkins, despite all odds, and they look rather nice as they walk away, off into the wilds of the neighborhood for some trick-or-treating. 
Remus has been designated the distraction while his brothers figure out a way to get Logan Abbott to go home and leave their dad alone. “You’re good at being a distraction!” Roman chirps, and Janus mutters “And you won’t betray us like Roman would.” 
He is good at being a distraction. And he loves his dad more than anything (except maybe his brothers) and Janus is very smart, and if he says getting Mr. Logan to go away will make their dad happy, Remus will believe him. 
Plus, it is a dumb costume. 
“Why am I a dumb scientist?” asks Mr. Logan, who doesn’t seem very insulted by this, merely curious. 
“Your lab coat is covered in green and blue and red,” Remus tells him, using his sword to point at the splotches. “Everyone knows potions are green and blue and purple. And you’re a butt.”
“Well,” Mr. Logan says, and though his eyes curl up like he’s smiling, his expression is still neutral, “I had my assistant deal with all the purple ones, because purple potions smell bad.” (Remus wants to laugh at that, just a little bit.) “And the red isn’t from potions.”
“What’s the red, then?” asks Remus, despite himself. 
“The blood of my enemies,” says Mr. Logan matter-of-factly. 
“Cool,” he breathes, looking at Logan with newfound respect. “Why’d you murder them?”
“I am an evil scientist,” he answers, adjusting his glasses. “It is in the job description.”
“Cool!”
“Also a butt as well, apparently,” Mr. Logan adds thoughtfully. “I wonder if I can add that to my official scientist business cards. ‘Dr. Logan Abbott, Mad Scientist and Butt Extraordinaire.’”
“Bad guys get business cards?” Remus asks, having forgotten altogether about being a distraction. “I’m a pirate. Do I get a business card?”
“Are you a good pirate or a bad pirate?”
“I’m a bad pirate,” he declares, waving his sword in the air. “Roro is a prince-sailor-man, like Prince Eric from Disney, and Janny is an evil kraken we have to team up against! And Dad is a wicked witch who sent the kraken.” 
“A wicked witch, huh?” Mr. Logan says, glancing behind him at where Dad and Patton are. Remus follows his gaze. Dad certainly doesn’t look very wicked, even though he’s wearing a cloak and a hat and scary makeup, but maybe that’s just because he’s smiling, holding hands with Mr. Logan’s kid as Patton babbles on about something. 
It’s hard for his dad to look evil in general, to Remus at least, but especially when he smiles. He’s never found Dad to be very scary, not like he’d been able to spook Roman and Janus every so often, but when he’s smiling, when he’s happy, he just looks like home. 
And Mr. Logan looks so happy, too, looking at his dad, and, well, Roman is the romantic of the house, but Remus has been forced to sit through every one of his brother’s Disney movie watchings, and his favorite movie had always been the Princess Bride (which Dad thinks is too old for Remus and Roman, but lets them watch with him and Janus anyways.) Mr. Logan looks like all the movies, all the descriptions in books, all the stories of love Remus has ever heard. Love-struck, his mind supplies. 
“Yes,” Mr. Logan says, looking back at Remus, that lovey-dovey gaze gone but his eyes still so, so happy, “I think you’d get a business card. What would you put on it?”
He grins, and starts describing his Evil Pirate Captain Remus Caroll cards. Privately, he thinks that, no matter what Janus says, anyone who looks at his dad like that can’t be so bad. 
Plus, Logan’s evil, like him. And he’s okay with being called a butt, which means maybe he’ll teach Remus more, even better insults. 
“Aw, beans,” Roman says when he sees Remus happily chatting with the enemy. Janus has stronger language in mind, the kind of words that would get him grounded. 
Sure enough, when Remus returns to them, carrying his candy basket in one hand and his sword in the other, he scuffs his sneaker-clad foot against the ground in a way that Janus knows to mean I’m about to say something you really won’t like. 
“He’s nice,” Remus says defiantly, and Janus scoffs. 
Fine. He has to do everything himself, huh?
If it’s up to him to protect their dad from Logan Abbott, that’s fine. He just has to keep Roman on his side for as long as possible, right?
“So you’re abandoning us?!” he snaps anyways, because despite everything, he’s hurt. He didn’t think Remus, of all people, would turn so quickly. “What about Dad?”
“I think he likes Dad!” Remus protests. “A lot! It’s like all those Disney movies!” 
Roman looks between them, clearly conflicted. Uh-oh, Janus thinks. 
“Hans seemed like he liked Anna a lot!” he answers, hands on his hips. “We’ve got to be Dad’s heroes, right, Roman?”
Roman’s expression solidifies into righteous anger. “We gotta keep Dad safe,” he agrees, reaching out to hold Janus’ hand. Janus, meanwhile, tries to ignore Remus’ hurt expression the best he can.
“Here,” he says, reaching into his bag and digging out a pack of gummy worms. “I know they’re your favorite.” 
Remus’ expression brightens as Janus drops them into his candy basket. “Thanks, Janjan!” he says, beaming.
“Just don’t get in our way,” he says, and turns towards Logan.
“Okay, Roman,” he says. “You know what to do.”
His brother trots forwards, successfully swapping places with Remus, who drops back to go walk with Dad and Patton. Janus comes up on Logan’s other side, pointedly looking at the ground.
“Hello, Roman, Janus,” Logan says. “How is trick-or-treating going?”
“Good!” Roman says, cheery as always, though Janus can see his hands trembling. Janus doesn’t respond. 
“I like your costume,” Logan tells his brother, and sounds almost sincere about it. “You’re a prince, right?”
“A sea-prince!” Roman declares, puffing out his chest. “Thank you, Mr. Logan!” Janus shoots him a glare, and Roman just winks. He blinks, taming his expression slightly. 
Huh. Seems Roman is being much smarter about this than he had thought. 
“Y’know,” Roman says, cheery as ever, “Dad’s told us so much about you, Mr. Logan!”
“Does he?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “What does he tell you, then?” 
“Wellllll,” Roman hums, turning on the puppy-eyes. “I’m not sure you want to know, Mr. Logan.”
“If you don’t want to tell me, that is perfectly fine,” Logan answers, which is both completely against the plan and infuriatingly heartfelt. 
“He says you’re, uh, stupid,” Janus mutters, taking matters into his own hands. 
“Yes!” Roman exclaims. “Very stupid. And, and a big ol’ butt! And a meanie. And insuff-bly rude to your co-workers.”
Janus barely resists to smack a hand to his face — that last bit is stolen word for word from Uncle Remy’s rants to Dad about his boss when he comes over for dinner, and mispronounced at that! — but it seems to have worked, as Logan looks rather shocked.
“Oh, did he?” he asks, seemingly distressed. Yes! “Oh dear. That’s not very kind of him, was it?”
“Nope!” Janus answers, suddenly cheerful. Yes, yes! Now stupid Logan would go away, and Dad would be safe, and there would be no omelets for dinner or anything-
“I’d better go talk to him about it,” Logan says decisively. No, no, NO!
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Roman says, experiencing the same panic, but Logan is already dropping back to walk beside Dad, picking up Patton, who giggles and throws his arms around Logan to hug him. 
“Damn it!” Janus exclaims, stomping in his anger. 
“You cursed!” Roman says in shock, pointing at him. 
“Yes, Roman, I cursed,” he snaps. “That didn’t work at all!” 
Roman looks on the verge of crying, and he instantly regrets it. “Sorry, Ro,” he says, reaching out to take his brother’s hand again. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was my dumb plan.”
“It wasn’t dumb,” Roman says, sniffling. “Mr. Logan’s the dumb one.”
“Yeah,” Janus agrees, and glances back at his dad and Logan. Dad looks all smitten again, and Logan, disgustingly, looks equally sappy. “We’re not gonna get anything done with them like that. Let’s… let’s just trick or treat with Remus for now, okay? We’ve got this.”
“Okay,” Roman agrees, and pulls Janus back to where their brother is happily munching on a Snickers bar. 
They do end up having fun. And with Patton there, for all the dumb, costume-mistaking kid’s faults, adults are too busy cooing over him to care that Janus and Roman and Remus take a few pieces of candy from the bowls. 
Okay, Janus thinks as they return to the house, time for Plan B. 
Roman glares at the villainous intruder seated beside his father on the couch, as he and Remus and Janus trade candy on the floor. He’ll thwart this Logan Abbott’s evil plans! He’s a prince, after all!
“I’m gonna start making dinner,” Dad says, standing up. “I know it’s late, sorry. How does grilled cheese sound?”
“That sounds amazing,” the villain says, smiling like Hans at Anna in the beginning of the movie. “Do you want any help?”
“Just watch the kids for me, please?” Dad asks, and Roman nearly gags as he kisses the Hans-ome Villain on the cheek. Hadn’t Dad learned anything from Frozen?!
“Yeah, of course,” agrees Roman’s nefarious nemesis. Roman narrows his eyes, and checks again to make sure the fireplace is off, and that Mr. Logan — no, Dr. Logan, he’s too evil to be a mister, just look at his lab coat! — is sufficiently blocked off from it. He’s not a snowman, and neither are his brothers, but one could never be too careful! Princes always made sure to have all of their weaknesses defended against!
Janus follows their dad into the kitchen, but not before he glances at Roman and mouths Keep him busy, as he points at their vile adversary. It also could have been Reap the city, but Roman is pretty sure that doesn’t make any sense. 
Remus, the traitor, is playing with Patton. “I’m the tickle zombie!” he declares loudly, sticking out his tongue and making groaning noises, wiggling his fingers at Patton, who squeals in excitement and darts away. “Twickle zomvie!” he yells to his father, who nods gravely. 
“You had best run, Patton,” Mr. Logan tells him. “I hear tickle zombies are ruthless creatures.”
“Tickle zombie,” Remus groans in agreement, and Patton screams again, running towards the kitchen. 
There is silence in the living room for a few minutes after that, until Logan finally says “What’s your favorite kind of candy, Roman?” 
“Like I’d tell you that, you mal-volent maley-factor!” he exclaims, drawing his sword and pointing it at him. “You’d probably poison all the Starbursts!” He quickly realizes his mistake, and does his best to look even fiercer.
“Why would I do that? I like them too, I’ll have you know,” Mr. Logan says, though he looks rather surprised. “How old are you, Roman?”
“...Six,” he says grudgingly, when he can’t figure out how this bad-natured boyfriend of Dad’s would use his age against him. 
“You have a very impressive vocabulary for six, Roman,” the execrable evil-doer tells him, raising an eyebrow.
“Janus and Dad and kindergarten taught me to read,” he says proudly. “And we ran out of books for me, so I’ve been reading the dictionary when we can’t go to the library!”
“That is very impressive,” Mr. Logan repeats. “What’s your favorite book?”
“It’s-” he starts, but then remembers Mr. Logan is the enemy. “None of your beeswax!”
Mr. Logan doesn’t seem as hurt by that as Roman would have expected, and silence reigns over the living room for a few minutes (save for when Patton and Remus come sprinting in and out of it). Roman finally lowers his sword, putting it beside him. 
“I can teach you to use that,” the atrocious antagonist says finally, gesturing to the sword. 
“What?” Roman asks, immediately on the defense. “I can use it fine, Padre’s poisonous partner!” 
“I’m sure you can,” Mr. Logan says, adjusting his glasses, “and a very good insult, by the way, but I took fencing for many years. I can at least give you a few tips, hm?”
“...Fine,” Roman agrees, intrigued despite his best efforts.
Besides, how bad can loathsome Mr. Logan be if he likes Starbursts, anyways?
Janus knows he has lost Roman when he comes bounding into the room when Dad says “Dinner!” exclaiming “Dad, can I take fencing?” 
“Logan Abbott,” Dad says, far too affectionate, “have you been teaching my son sword-fighting?”
“Maybe just a bit,” Logan says, not-so-subtly returning the broom to its place near the back door. “Is that… Is that alright?”
“Of course it’s alright,” Dad replies, handing him a plate of grilled cheese, complete with tomato soup. “It’s very sweet of you. This is all he’ll be talking about for months, though, I hope you know that.”
“It’s so cool, Dad!” Roman exclaims, proving his point. Remus is already sitting besides Patton, tearing into his grilled cheese, and Janus feels something cold settle into his stomach. 
“Brothers conference, now,” he declares, standing up and marching towards the living room. He’s gratified to see that the twins still follow him, at least, even if they have been swayed to the side of Logan Abbott. 
“I like him, Jan!” Roman says immediately, eyes wide and pleading. “He’s nice! And Dad likes him, and Remus does too!” 
“And Patton’s great too,” Remus adds, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t wanna be mean to them!”
“What about Dad?” Janus exclaims, desperate. “Remember the last time we liked one of Dad’s dates?” 
He’s referring to She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named, who had looked so nice in photos, who Dad had spoken of like an angel, but who had met them with a fixed smile and broken up with Dad only a few weeks later. Remus’ face falls, but Roman’s expression only hardens. 
“Logan’s not like that,” he insists. “We won’t help you anymore, Jan.” 
His brothers leave him alone in the living room, and Janus scowls at the ground. Fine. If they won’t help him, he’ll do it himself. He doesn’t need them anyways!
He ignores the choking feeling in his chest and the burning at the corners of his eyes as he returns to the table. 
Fine. 
Patton likes Virgil and his family. 
Remus is funny, and Roman knows all about all the princesses, and Janus, for all his grumpy-wumpies, has the best costume. And Virgil is so nice, and makes the best jokes, too!
Patton is all of four years old, and he, quite honestly, finds himself liking everything and everyone. But he especially likes his Papa’s boyfriend’s family. 
They’re nice. And they make his papa happy, too, and he doesn’t feel scared around them at all. He’s pretty sure Janus could beat up any monsters in his octopus — no, kraken — costume anyways. 
Janus looks sad when he comes back to the table, face all red and angry, and Patton reaches across to pat him on one of his tentacles. “You’re a very good kwaken,” he says.
Janus just stares at him. “...Sure, whatever,” he answers, turning away and taking a huge bite out of his grilled cheese. Patton is impressed, frankly. 
Papa has told him that Virgil being his boyfriend means that he and Virgil are like Nate-from-daycare’s parents, romantic partners. Patton asked if that means if he and Virgil are gonna get married someday, like Nate’s, and his dad’s face turned all red. “Maybe,” he said. 
Patton hopes so. He’d like to have Virgil as his other dad, he thinks. Virgil is nice. And Patton has begged for siblings so many times that getting Janus and Remus and Roman in the bargain is like what his dad says about cool things — bee’s knees. They’re like the bee’s knees!
So, Patton is hopeful. 
He pats Janus’ tentacles once more. Hopefully, his maybe-future-big-brother will feel better soon. 
“I just want to stay up for an extra hour, Dad,” Janus says, nearly pleading. “It’s Halloween! Just until Mr. Logan goes home.” 
His dad looks desperately between him and Logan, who is sitting in the living room with Patton in his lap, snoozing against his chest. The twins had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, and Dad is holding Roman in his arms, Remus already tucked in upstairs. 
“It’s alright, Virgil,” Logan says. “It is Halloween, and I’m trapped here anyways.” He gestures to Patton on his lap, and Dad laughs at that. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“Thank you so much, L,” Janus’ dad says, obviously relieved. “I’ll be right down, okay?”
“Okay,” Logan nods, returning Dad’s smile with one of his own. 
“You should just go now,” Janus says once his dad is upstairs. “You ruined Halloween. And Dad hates you, and we hate you, so you should just go home!”
“I am aware that you don’t like me, Janus,” Logan tells him softly, far too nice. He’s the kind of wonderful guy that would have Dad making omelets for days afterwards, unbearably sad. “And… I must confess, I do not understand why. Do I truly make you that uncomfortable?” 
“I don’t care about you,” he snaps, sinking back into the couch cushions, refusing to look at Logan, eyes on the credits rolling across the TV screen instead. “But I won’t let you hurt my dad.” 
“Hurt your father?” Logan repeats, eyes wide. “Why on Earth would I do that?”
It is late, and Janus is tired, and he still feels like crying. And so he finds himself spilling it all, from the omelets to She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named to his dad’s calls with Uncle Remy. He’s crying, he finds, partway through, and Logan doesn’t reach out to hug him or anything like that, but he listens. He nods, and he asks questions at all the right times, and passes Janus the tissues from the coffee table whenever he needs them. 
“Janus,” Logan Abbott says when he is done, and he looks like he wants to cry, too, “may I promise you something, now?”
Janus nods, too tired to do anything else, and he gets the feeling that if he had shaken his head, Logan would have respected that, would have remained silent. 
“I swear,” Logan says, fiercely passionate, “I have no intention of hurting your father, or your brothers, or you, in any shape or form. If I should do so, I would be a person who does not deserve you, your father, or your brothers in any shape or form anyways, as family or friends or even acquaintances.” He takes a deep breath, and Janus realizes his eyes are glittering with tears when he lifts his hand to wipe them away. “I did not mean to intrude on your family, and if you fear for your father around me, or dislike me that much, it is not my place to remain here. You will always be Virgil’s priority, as you should be, and I would never keep myself in his life if I made his son that unhappy.” 
“Okay,” Janus says, voice small. 
There is silence, after that, and much sniffling, and Janus thinks. 
He thinks about his brothers, who have taken to the Abbotts so quickly. He thinks about Patton who, in the end, isn’t such a bad kid. He thinks about his dad, who seems so happy around Logan, who had asked them to keep an open mind that afternoon, who would be so sad if he had to break up with Logan, even for Janus’ sake, though he’d never say it.
He thinks about Logan, who seems so sincere, and who isn’t really anything like She-Who-Will-Not-Be-Named, or any of the others who had made his dad cry, who Janus thinks he could like one day, who could maybe be his dad too. 
“I guess you can stay,” Janus says, watching the TV carefully, and in the reflection, he can just barely see Logan relax. “For now.”
“Thank you, Janus,” he says. 
“If you hurt my dad, though, I’ll kill you myself,” Janus tells him, and means it. 
“I’d deserve it,” Logan answers simply, and for that, more than anything else, Janus starts to like Logan. He doesn’t laugh at the threat, or threaten him back, or even ignore it. 
He takes it seriously. He considers it. And he finds it justified. 
Yes, Janus thinks. With enough time, and maybe a little candy-related bribery (it is Halloween, after all) he could like Logan Abbott. 
“I had a lovely time tonight,” Logan says. Patton is in the car, strapped into his carseat with the driver’s door open just in case, still sleeping away, and Virgil has long since put Janus to bed, too. 
It is late. The moon is full overhead, a watchful eye on a quiet world, and it shines down on Logan and Virgil, who linger still in the doorway. 
“I’m glad,” Virgil smiles, though the expression falters quickly. He reaches up to Logan’s cheek, finger brushing at a stray tear track. “Have you been crying?”
“Janus and I had a bit of a heart-to-heart,” he explains, intertwining his own fingers with those of Virgil’s free hand. 
“The boys seemed to like you,” Virgil says, and though he looks no less concerned, he smiles anyways. 
“I liked them too,” Logan laughs, a shy, soft thing. “And Patton adores you, of course. I knew he would.” 
“I’d say I’m amazed they warmed up to you so quickly, but I’m not,” his boyfriend tells him, and grins, truly grins, mischievous and light and so full of love that it makes Logan feel dizzy. “You’re so wonderful, I’m surprised it took even that long.” 
“Flirt,” Logan accuses, but he steps closer anyways. The night is chilly, but he hardly notices next to Virgil Carroll, who seems to exist to provide warmth and light to the universe. “They were very protective of you.”
“Perhaps they have reason to be,” Virgil says thoughtfully, smile widening. “What with you around, standing on my doorstep in the dead of night, not kissing your boyfriend goodbye. That ought to be a crime, I think. Look at me, associating with criminals. You’ve turned me bad already!” 
Logan rolls his eyes but leans down to kiss Virgil anyways, a chaste, sweet thing that still manages to take his breath away. “You are incorrigible.” 
“You love me and you know it,” Virgil tells him. 
“I do,” Logan agrees. “Very much.”
They hug goodbye, and steal one or three or eight more goodbye kisses, and before he knows it Logan is driving away, off into the quiet of the moonlight. 
There is something magical about Halloween, he has always thought. A magic of change, and of tricks, and of trust, too. 
Virgil’s sons like me. A change. 
They attempted to drive me away, but Virgil had warned me ahead of time that might be the case, so I did, admittedly, have the upper hand. A trick. 
Janus, as of now, will let me stay. A trust, the trust of a boy who will do anything to protect his father. 
Above all else, Logan decides, he will not betray that. 
There are other Halloweens, of course, and there are other holidays, too. There are presents, and laughter, and the occasional argument, but one that is always resolved by the next day, and Janus receives that candy bribe, as well.
There are still omelet nights. There might always be. But now, instead of calling Uncle Remy, Virgil starts to call Logan, on these nights, seeking comfort when work goes badly or one of his sons is hurt or in the midst of just a truly bad day. And eventually, there will be no need for calls at all, for Logan is there to make toast and offer cuddles and tuck the boys in bed on those rough days, and, after he is supposed to be asleep, Janus will see his dad and a man who is almost, maybe, very close to being his father too, curled up together, offering support and comfort and love. 
Logan has his bad days, too. And so do Janus, and Roman, and Remus, and Patton. But none of them have to face them alone. 
One day, many Halloweens later, Janus will call Logan ‘Papa’ for the first time, sleepily, halfway through Hocus Pocus, and they will both cry, just a little bit. 
251 notes · View notes
chemicallady · 3 years
Text
Daddy is home
Greg Sanders x Reader
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A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this. If you want some fluff with just a little sadness, you're in the right place.
Couple: Greg Sanders/Female!Reader
Category: Mostly fluff with a little piece of angst. Family slice of life for Greggo.
Content Warning: none
Summary:  Reader is use to feel Greg absence.... but what about is own children? And Greg? What's more important? His job or his family?
*****
You are use to feel Greg absence, almost every night and, sometimes, even for days. It wasn't a big deal when you two started to see each other. You were a grad student, looking for a PhD out of town - searching for a new experience- and he was a lab tech at the crime lab in Vegas. Your relationship had worked for 5 years while you were in Salt Lake City, even if you constantly missed him so much and viceversa. He spent a lot of utahns weekends at your apartment and you came back in Nevada for every break.
After your PhD graduation you came back to Vegas and he proposed to you. It was an hard time, Warrick was dead, he had printed is first book on Vegas history and you just settled down at UNLV. You had lived togheter two months and then he proposed. Of course you said yes and the two of you had a small cerimony at the Eclipse, Catherine's casinó. It was an intimate cerimony, with your friends and co workes and relatives from Norway and (your hometown/country.)
You had worked hard on your post doc as a teaching assistant and a researcher and he has continued his job as a csi. You have always prefered working at night the days you didnt have any class, in order to be awake when he came back home in the morning.
It worked since you discovered that you were pregnant. Both of you were so excited to become parents, it has always been something that you desire, having your own kids. Start a family.
After Bjorn birth, by the way, everything changed. You have started to work in the morning and sleeping at night in order to provide the best standard of living for your son. And, after two years and half, Jodie came to the world, complicating thing but coloring your life even more.
You constantly miss Greg, of course. You miss your youth with him, the mornings spent in making love with jazz music in the background before a lazy afternoons sleeping in his arms. The days he came to the University after job to pick you up.
But both of you love your family.
It's stil working.
Because you love him and Greg loves you more than anything.
More than that, he is born to be a dad. He was scared as hell, but he perfect fits that role.
Even more, he is methodical.
He is really good in keeping job separating from his personal life, even if his coworkers are his family. And yours as well.
...But is hard for kids to understand why dad is never home. Especially for Bjorn, who is the eldest. He has started to notice this situation in the last weeks and you have been scared of this moment since you gave birth to him.
《 Why daddy can't come today?》
You look at your baby boy, feeling really sorry for the whole situation. It is his first baseball match with the pre school team as a player in the field from the first minute and it means a lot to him.
Bjorn's really smart for his age, he understand that his parents jobs are important because is a duty... But is natural that he feels so betrayed. He is still too young to even imagine how demanding is Greg's job.
《Because daddy has a case》, you try to explain with a soft voce, caressing his blonde hair with two fingers. He seems totaly like his father in this moment. 《He has to catch this big bad guy and-》
《Why uncle Nick is not catching him for daddy? Just for today! 》
《Because they work togheter, sweetheart... you know that. We already talk about daddy's job...》
Not in a specific way, of course. Greg is more like a super hero to Bjorn.... he is too innocent and young to know how cruel and horrible could be the world sometimes.
《It's not fair. He never came to see me play》
《That's not fair... you know that daddy is so sad for this... he ask me to shot everything so he can see it as long as he will be home!》
That doesn't help.
《And I'll be already in bed》 he snuffles, before running in his room, nearly cry.
You don't know how to manage this. Both of Greg and you are really indipendent.... that's why your wedding is so strong, because you don't need the other around one all the time.
But for Bjorn is different. He needs his daddy as he needs you. Most of that, he wants to make Greg proud of him, shows him how he has improved thanks also to their weekend practices on Sundays.
You are still thinking about a solution, but Jo start to cry from her playbox.
You have to speak with your husband and decide what tell to Bjorn, togheter.
He deserves a good explanation.
It's late when Greg comes home.
He is surprised when he notice that the kitchen lights are still turned on. You are sitting at the table, looking at your laptop as you can't really see it.
《 y/n, baby?》, he calls you, waking you up from your thoughts. 《Are you ok? It's like 3 in the morning, sweetie.》
《Yeah, I was looking over some notes from next week semenary when I realised how late it was, I decided to wait for you to come back.》
《Thanks, after a couple of double shifts, I really need to speak with my wife》, he says with a smile, before kisses your lips and take a sits next to you. 《I've missed home in those last two days.》
《Have you slept a little?》, you ask worried. When a case is so demanding, the team works till they are exhausted. 《Did you have a propel meal?》
《...I ate two sandwiches Dr Robbins' wife made for us.》
《....there is some roast left. I'm gonna warm it for you and then I'll put you in the bed at least for nine hours, bright man》
He laughts a little. 《Yes ma'am.》
You stand up, caressing his hair, after place a kiss on his head. 《Tell me about the cause. Was that bad?》
《More like a nightmare....》
He starts talking about the brutal abductions he was working on those last days. In the meanwhile you are cooking for him. You open a good bottle of wine your father sent to you last week and prepare a couple of fine glasses. Is not a problem for you when Greg talks about his job. For some unknown reasons, it grows on you during the years togheter. You also have helped the team sometimes with you competences. It's quite normal for the two of you speaking about your day. It helps to split away the stress and find always your connection. And is always reliving for you see that even if the job is so demanding physically and emotionally, Greg can totaly handle it. Not only. He loves is job. Even in dark days like this one.
《Poor girls....》, is the only thing you can say, while you're watching your husband eat like he was starving. 《No one deserve this kind of fate...》
《Think at the parents 》, he observes, moving his elbows quickly. 《If someone would have done something like that on Jodie, I'd went mad.》
You stop thinking about the case immediately.
《Sorry for the unhappy connection.... but if you are not too tired, we need to speak about our boy.》
Greg looks at you surprised. 《What about him? Bad day?》
《Yes》, you answer, surprising him even more. Bjorn is really talented in sports, unlike his father. 《He played 10 minutes than he had an argument with the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon warming the bench.》
This is unusual. Bjorn is a good lad. Always smiley and obedient at preschool. Teachers love him because he is so good and he knows a lot about science and stuff even if he is four. Mom is an academic, a college professor and daddy is a scientist. How could be different? He is also responsible and he always take serious the baseball trainings. That's the first time he disobey this much.
《What happened y/n? Oh, no. Let me guess.》 You look him cover his own face with a hand. 《He is mad at me, isn't he?》
《Yep babe, he is really mad at you. And at me as well. By now, I think he is mad at the world because you didn't come today.... I explained him that's not your fault, but...》
Greg sighs 《But it is my fault. When he born I swore to God that I'd be a good father even if my job is.... the 70% of my life.》
《But you are》, you say with a stubborn tone in your voice. 《You are a good father. It was just and unfortunate Saturday. He have never missed a game before. You'd be there if it wasn't for the case. 》
《I know but he deserves more than all those 'if' statements. 》 You look at him, feeling the heaviness of this thoughts. 《I should stay in the lab.》 He finally says and you realise a long sigh. This is not going to be an happy conversation, not with your regretting husband weak moment. 《The moment I met you, I knew you were the one. I wanted to start a family before changing job, work on field. It was a stupid decision. If I continued to work as DNA tech we would have more money and more time to spend all togheter.》
《.... I throught we were out with 'if' statements.》
《Y/n, honey-》
《Don't you dare 'honey' me, Greg Sanders.》 You stop him. You keep his hand in yours and smile. 《You are an amazing father. One day, when he will be older and wiser, he will understand. Now is easy to handle the situation. If you spend a day with him, he'll forget about it. Is just a kid, G.》
Greg seems not satisfied. He feels like an idiot, not thing about how mad is son would be noticed his absence. But he also trust your judgement. He always says that you are an amazing mom and even more, the best of wives.
So he smiles back.
《Maybe you are right.》
《Maybe?》, you ask with an ironical tone. He stand up and comes near to you. He offers his hand and you keep it, staning on your feet.
《Sorry Dr Sanders》, he replies, while you are wrapping your arm on his neck. 《You're completely right y/n. I'm already planning an afternoon, just for boys.》
《He'll love it》, you reassure him, before asking for another kiss, with more passion. You both find a good arrangement so you can clean the kitchen and try to sleep at least three hours.
.....or maybe do something more interesting with you husband, who seems to have plans, looking the way he is lifting the t-shirt of your pijama....
You are use to feel Greg absence, that's true.
But when he comes back, well.... that's the moment you realise how much you actually have missed him. And how much you love him and be loved in return.
○Fin○
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amor-immortalem · 3 years
Text
My Adoring Fan Chapter 8
chapter 7
Arella was busying herself with housework that needed to be done. From picking up scattered toys that their youngest hadn’t put away before his brother had taken him out for the day to finishing up laundry from the previous night- she needed something to do to distract herself from worrying too much about her husband. It was just one of his bad days where he couldn’t focus on things very well and the world just didn’t feel real to him. He had moved past the incident that brought their oldest child into their life but the effects of the trauma he endured still plagued him from time to time. It was rare for an episode to be this bad however. He hadn’t had one on this scale since their twins were four. He would get better in a few days; all he needed was rest.
As she turned to pull the clothes out of the dryer, she could hear her phone ringing. Reading the caller id, she sighed as she picked up.
“Azalea, you had better be ringing me for a nonsense reason and not because you’re in Lord Diavolo’s office and I need to come down to get you.” Arella said in a whisper. With the condition he was in today, the last thing she wanted was Mammon hearing her and getting himself worked up.
“Well... at least I’m not in the office this time... but I did get kicked outta homeroom.” The girl said. “Can ya come pick us up... please?”
“Who is ‘us’, darling?”
“Me, ’Relius, Max, and Zulima. We had a good reason this time, Mum, I promise.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Let me see if Dad needs anything and then I’ll be on my way.” After they said goodbye and hung up, Arella stared at her phone. “My stars, I wonder what happened for Aurelius, Max, and Zulima to get kicked out of class as well.” She went into the bedroom to check on her husband. “I have to go get the twins, Zulima, and Max from RAD. Do you need anything before I leave?” She asks as she rubs his shoulder.
Mammon only shakes his head as he looks at the clock. “It’s 8:30 in the morning. What the hell happened?” He starts to sit up but Arella just places a hand on his chest.
“Just stay in bed and rest, Dear. I don’t know what happened exactly, but I’ll handle it when I find out, okay?”
“Fine.” He lets out a sigh. “Let me know when you find out, please.”
“I will. I’ll see you in a bit. I love you.”
“Love ya too, Treasure. Drive safely.”
After that brief exchange, Arella grabbed the keys and left for RAD.
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“So, I want you to tell me exactly what got the four of you kicked out.” Arella asks as she drives them back to their home. “And no lies, please.”
“Well,” Azalea started wondering where exactly she should start, “It all started when I came into class a half-hour late... apparently the old hag took exception ta that. She called me out on bein’ late ‘n I mouthed back ‘n next thing ya know she’s calling me a brat ‘n stupid ‘n forgetful ‘n a delinquent ‘n spoiled- which ta be fair, she’s not wrong ‘bout some of that stuff... but then she took it a step further by callin’ me a half-breed ‘n tryin’ ta take my cane claimin’ it was a weapon so I couldn’t have it on my person ‘cuz -ya know- all the fights ‘n shit I get inta.”
“And then when we tried to stand up for ‘Zay,” Zulima began, “She turned her sights on us.”
“She called us trash and abominations on top of calling us that stupid slur too.” Aurelius leans his head against the passenger side window.
“She said she’s going to write all four of us up saying it was her word against ours so it’s probably going to be wildly fabricated.” Max says as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I have most of the exchange recorded, if you want to listen to it Mrs. Morningstar.”
“I would love to hear it, Max, thank you.” Arella stopped the car, having arrived at home. “We’ll listen to it now.” Max pulled out her D.D.D. and played back the audio. About half way through, Arella’s jaw dropped in surprise. “And she speaks to the three of you this way on a regular basis?” The three half-demons nodded. “And what about you, Max?”
“This is the first time she’s ever said anything like this to me.” The human frowned.
“And it’ll be the last time too if I have anything to do with it. Azalea, is this why you were always late to your homeroom hour last term, honey?”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I’m tired of bein’ berated ‘n called slurs and insults for an hour... I bet if she was the teacher in any of m’classes, I would have flunked them...”
“We all are,” Zulima says as she hugged herself tighter. “And whenever we try to defend ourselves or each other, she takes it out on us in the one other class we have with her. She almost failed me in world language claiming an airhead like me couldn’t have written such a high-level thesis in Latin of all languages, Auntie. I worked so hard with Uncle Satan on that thesis too! I felt so horrible.”
“And me in potions as well,” Max sighed. “And she gave me the wrong ingredients so I would be assured to fail.”
“I was this close,” Aurelius pinches his fingers together as he talks, “to flunking her Curses and Hexes course last term. I’m telling you, Mum, she’s an absolute witch of a demon. I think if Lord Diavolo hadn’t looked into it himself after I talked with Uncle Lucifer that I would have failed. Her excuse was that when it came to the end of term exam, mine was the last that she graded and she ‘accidentally’ used the wrong key.”
Arella had a look of realization on her face. “I know exactly who this teacher is. She absolutely hated me and your father. She was our curses and hexes teacher too.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “She never did anything too extreme because we shared a class with three of your uncles and if word ever got back to Uncle Lucifer, she knew there would be hell to pay.”
“So she takes it out on us because of you and Dad?” Aurelius looks over at his mother. “That’s pretty shitty.”
“Not to mention, she’s a racist and a xenophobe on top of it all,” Zulima growled in disgust. “How ugly.”
“Let’s go in now. Please be quiet when you walk in. Dad’s having one of his episodes and it's really bad this time so let him rest. I’ll make lunch in a bit.”
All of the kids nodded as they got out and headed into the house. Immediately Azalea pulled max around giving her a tour of the house while Zulima went up to Azalea’s room to make herself comfortable and wait for Aurelius to stop by his room to grab some spell books so the three of them could work on their magical studies together since there wasn’t really anything else to do.
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As the house tour came to a close Max and Azalea climbed the stairs headed up to the second level where the bedrooms were located.
“You’re having a much better time with the stairs now; I’m starting to notice.” Max says quietly.
“Yeah, I still have trouble with the ones in my room though. With these, the steps are more closed off where the ones in my room have that opening between each step, ya know? With these types of stairs, I can jus’ slide my foot forward until it hits the base of the next step and that way, I can know how far my foot is out and whether it's safe ta step up without bein’ afraid I might slip.”
The human nodded. “Yeah, I get it. Makes sense.”
As they passed through the hall and by Azalea’s parents’ room, Mammon called out to her. “’Zalea come in here please. I wanna talk to ya ‘bout what happened at school.”
“Are ya sure? I know yer havin’ one of them bad days...”
“It’s fine. C’mere please.” Mammon says as he sits up on the bed and runs a hand through his hair.
Max hands Azalea her D.D.D. figuring Mammon might want to hear what was said before heading straight down the to her girlfriend’s room where the other two teens were waiting on them.
“Please tell me you didn’t get yourself and the others kicked out of class because of a fight.” The demon asks as his daughter climbs up next to him on the bed.
“I didn’t. Not this time. The teacher just had a stick up her ass ‘cuz I was late for homeroom... And then things escalated from there. Ta be fair, I kinda had some fault in it ‘cuz I got mouthy with ‘er but still she said somethings... And she then told me ta get outta her class... The others stood up for me ‘n that’s why they got kicked out too.”
“What kinda things?”
“It’s easier if I jus’ play the audio Max took of the exchange.” The half-demon unlocks the phone and plays the audio for her father. She watches him carefully just to see his reaction. It’s not any different from her mother’s except she can feel anger rising within him.
“I can’t believe she’s still workin’ for the school... If I’m rememberin’ her voice correctly, I know exactly who that is and she was decrepit when yer uncles and I were students there. There wasn’t nothin’ I could do right with ‘er. And this has been every day since ya entered this year?” Azalea only nods at his question. “I’m sorry ya gotta go through that, kiddo. We’ll take care of this for ya. Ya know none of that horrible stuff she said ‘bout y’all is true, right?”
“Yeah... but it still bites when people say it.” Azalea leans her head on Mammon’s chest, tucking herself up under his arm as he pulls her into a side hug. “Like all we’ve ever done is just exist and both demons and humans won’t even let us do that! There’s always somethin’ they got a problem with! It's unfair. We’re not demon enough to live here in the Devildom and not human enough to live in the human world. It’s like we don’t belong in either realm. Like we don’t get to be.... happy.”
Mammon would only hug his daughter tighter as he tucked her head under her chin. He wanted things to be different. It always broke his heart to hear his own children- even his nieces and nephews- talk like this. It all stemmed from the oldest generation of demons too- the ones that had existed even before he and his brothers had lost the war, fell from grace, and became demons. The ones that remembered what it was like long before Diavolo started pushing for peace between the three realms, long before the exchange program. Just like the humans they looked down upon, they were just as resistant to change, passing down their ideology to their offspring and so on and so forth as time went on. And the Devildom was doing just that- changing in many ways. From the exchange program that started over 20 years ago that was still going to this day to the advances in technology that put them on par with the human world... as much as the elderly demons might protest it, they couldn’t stop it. Once they all had kicked the bucket, the Avatar of Greed hoped things would get better. They had to.
And the youngest generation was proof of this- unpoisoned by their great grandparents’ and grandparents’ beliefs, Mammon could see how eager they were to accept the changes and the fact that half demons were becoming more frequent among the Devildom's elite- even if his kids themselves couldn’t see it themselves just yet.
As they sat in silence, the demon began purring- not in a way that showed contentment, but rather a deep rumbling purr that resonated through his chest that was often used when a demon was comforting themselves or their young when they were hurt or scared or ill or just upset in anyway shape or form. For his children, it often calmed them enough to put them to sleep for at least a few hours- more if they were sick and needed the rest. It always worked most for Azalea even back when she a baby, especially when she was this worked up and upset about something. He misses those days. The days when the twins and even Cyrus weren’t yet aware of things like racism or discrimination or hatred. Part of Mammon wishes all three of them could have just stayed that age forever.
As the half-demon was falling asleep, she tucked herself closer to her father mumbling a soft “Love you, Papa...” before she was out completely.
“Love ya too, my little Magpie.” He smiles softly before yawning and settling back down for a nap himself.
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sokkascroptop · 4 years
Text
traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 3
A/N: Finally we get to see Azula’s true nature! Also, the first time we get to see Zuko!! To be clear, Azula is in this fic a lot, but this is far from a redemption fic. 
part 1 | part 2 | part 4
Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 
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Y/N found herself outside in the palace gardens. She was running from something, but it wasn’t scary. She was laughing and she heard other girls laughing around her. She began to climb a tree, stifling her giggles the entire time. For some reason, she had to be quiet.
“You’re going to get in trouble for being up there,” Someone said from below. 
Y/N looked down between the branches to see a boy her age. He was wearing a high ponytail held with a small fire pin. 
“Why?” she asked. She jumped down to the lowest branch and sat there hanging her legs over the side. She didn’t want to get down just yet. 
He arched one eyebrow. “Just ‘cause. If the palace gardener sees you climbing the trees, he’ll yell at you.”
“Well I’ll just tell him that my new friend is Princess Azula and that’ll shut him up.” Y/N laughed again and made a start to go back up the tree.
“Well, I’m her older brother Prince Zuko and I’m telling you, you’re gonna get in trouble.” He looked like he wanted to emphasize his sentence by sticking his tongue out at her. 
“Why aren’t you playing hide-and-explode with us?” Y/N asked. She jumped down and landed lightly in front of Zuko. They were the same height, which made her feel oddly proud. 
“I don’t like playing games with Azula,” Zuko said. “I’m ten–”
“–well I’m nine and a half and I can still have fun,” Y/N interrupted. 
“You’re almost my age and you’re friends with Azula? What happened? Did you get held back?” Zuko taunted.
“No!” Y/N made a face. Suddenly she felt very self conscious. She didn’t know what ‘held back’ meant but it didn’t sound good, not when he was laughing at her. “This is the first time I’ve ever gone to real school. I just got put in her grade.” 
Suddenly a fireball landed at Y/N’s feet; sparks flew up and singed her pants and burnt her legs. She squealed, a mix between surprise and pain. 
“Azula!” Zuko snarled. He half stepped in front of Y/N, all hints of the earlier teasing gone. Zuko produced a similar fireball and threw it at Azula’s feet but she kicked it away, making it land in a nearby bush. 
“You’re it, Y/N,” Azula ordered. 
“It’s not fair, Azula. She’s not a bender,” Zuko argued. 
“Neither are Mai and Ty Lee. And they don’t whine like babies.” The last part she directed at Y/N with a sneer. 
“I’m not whining!” Y/N protested. She pushed Zuko out of the way and covered her eyes, beginning to count to twenty. She peeked at Zuko at fifteen. All the girls had already scattered but he just stood there watching her. “I’m faster than Azula anyways. I can catch her.” 
She paused and looked at Zuko who stood there awkwardly. “Are you going to hide or what?” She asked. When she covered her eyes again she heard him run away, looking for a hiding place. She waited a beat before counting again, “–SIXTEEN, SEVENTEEN..”
Y/N woke to darkness. But it was always dark below deck. The only light came from candles and lanterns hung in the hallways. Her own candle was only an inch high and fading fast from the accumulation of wax. She could feel the familiar rock of the ship lulling her back to sleep… Y/N sat up quickly. She could tell that it was morning, possibly very early but she couldn’t risk going back to sleep. She tucked the covers under her neck and over her shoulders to snuggle down to ask the important questions. Why was she dreaming of Zuko? 
The day they met was probably one of their most innocent and least notable moments. At least that’s what she thought. Or it was possible her brain was trying to make her feel guilty about what she and Azula were going to do today. That day wasn’t the last that Zuko had tried to protect her from his sister, it actually set the stage for years of him standing up to Azula in her place. Not that she needed it, she could hold her own plenty, but it felt nice to be protected. 
Sometimes she wondered if they had more time together, if they’d have become better friends than her and Azula. Even though he was a fire-bender too, he spent a lot of training with his dual swords. Time that was spent with her on the training grounds. They sparred daily until his banishment; spirits, Y/N was sure they’d even sparred the day of the war meeting that started everything. Now she was going to find him, and lie to him, knowing that what awaited him at home was not a crown but a prison cell. Y/N shook her head to clear it and slid out of the bed and into her clothes. No use in thinking of the past when her future was all that was necessary. Honor and glory and all. 
Y/N could hear Iroh and Zuko arguing a mile away. Azula and her had gotten there an hour before and broke inside the little cabin they were living in. They’d not so inconspicuously gone through all their stuff and upon not finding anything worth while, sat around just waiting. 
“We don’t need any more useless things. You forget we have to carry everything for ourselves now!” Zuko lamented as Iroh dumped a bag of seashells on the table by the door, that looked suspiciously like the same seashells next to Azula on their dining table. Neither one had looked up to see them inside. 
“Hello, brother,” Azula said. “Uncle.” Both of the men jumped. 
“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked as he stepped his body in front of Iroh’s. He looked from Azula to where Y/N was sitting in the window sill behind Azula. Her stomach dropped. This was the first time she’d seen his scarred face. Pink and red scars circled his left eye and wrapped far back enough to cover his ear. His hair was no longer long, but shaved around his ponytail. He looked so much older even though it had only been three years. Y/N wasn’t sure what made him look so different, whether it was a scar that marred his face or the anger that seeped deep beneath his pores. 
“In my country we exchange a pleasant hello before asking questions.” Azula picked up a seashell and inspected it. She glided across the room to stand in front of him. She was so much shorter than Zuko and Y/N but she carried so much power. “Have you become uncivilized so soon, Zuzu?”
“Don’t call me that!”
“To what do we owe this honor?” Iroh spoke up, breaking up the fight between the siblings before it started. Y/N moved to stand behind Azula. 
“Hmm, must be a family trait. Both of you are so quick to get to the point.” Azula was still playing with the men like they were rabbit-mice. She snapped the shell she was holding in her hands. “I’ve come with a message from home. Father has changed his mind. Family is suddenly very important to him. He’s heard rumors of plans to overthrow him–treacherous plots.” Y/N looked to Zuko to gauge his reaction. His face had softened at hearing the news from his Father.
“Family are the only ones you can really trust,” Azula told him earnestly. “Father regrets your banishment. He wants you home.” Azula paused to look out the window. 
Zuko caught Y/N’s eyes like he wanted to ask her a million questions. But she was too embarrassed about everything to hold his gaze. She looked away hoping she didn’t look too guilty or shameful. She joined Azula in staring out the window. The cherry blossom trees were in bloom. They covered every square inch of sky as she looked out. It filled the room with a sweet scent that Y/N knew was going to permeate their clothes when they left. If she let her eyes go unfocused it looked like there was a raging fire in front of her. 
When no one said anything, Azula whipped her head back around to stare at her brother. “Did you hear me? You should be happy, excited, grateful. I just gave you great news.”
“I’m sure your brother simply needs a moment–”
“Don’t interrupt, Uncle!” Her voice changed from sickeningly sweet as she plied Zuko with the words he wanted to hear to savage as she screamed at Iroh. Azula had never learned to be patient, and she wanted them on the ship now. “I still haven’t heard my thank you,” She growled at Zuko. “I’m not a messenger. I didn’t have to come all this way. I could have sent Y/N for this.”
Y/N tensed at her words. She bit her tongue so hard that she tasted blood. How dare Azula think she was her messenger hawk?
“Father regrets? He wants me back?” Zuko muttered. Y/N felt like this was a conversation with himself that they were all intruding on. Y/N had to admit that the words that Azula used to trick them were sweet as honey, but also not very believable. 
Y/N touched the back of Azula’s arm. “I think that he needs time to take this in. It’s all very sudden for him.” She sent a smile in Zuko’s direction that he did not return. 
“I’ll send Y/N to call on you tomorrow.” Azula concluded and she and Y/N took their leave. 
“Why are you sending me tomorrow?” Y/N asked once they were out of range of the house. 
“Zuko trusts you more than he does me,” Azula admitted. “I figure even if he decided he doesn’t want to come, you’ll be able to sweet talk him down the hill to our little ship.”
“Zuko and I were–” 
“Oh shut up, Y/N. You two always had an eye for one another.”
Y/N felt her cheeks heat up. “I–”
“Besides that’s the reason my Father wanted you to come anyways.” They had reached the wooden dock that the ramp to their ship rested on. 
Y/N stopped dead in her tracks. “What?” 
Azula cocked her head. “Well, I figured you’d caught on to that already the way you were making moony eyes at my brother up there.”
“I wasn’t–How was I supposed to know I was only brought here to flirt Zuko’s ass all the way back to the Fire Nation?!” 
“Just back to the ship. Once he gets here we’ll put him in a jail cell.”
“AZULA!”
“Look,” she snarled. “You’re good with a sword but what the hell is that going to do against a fire bender? It’s a fact that you being a non bender means you’re a liability in a fight.” Azula turned and marched up the ramp. That was the end of the discussion even if Y/N had more to say. 
She looked down at her toes at the blue-green water between the slats. She could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears. She blinked them away and followed Azula onto the ship. 
Y/N fisted her hands in her tunic and stalked to her room. Control your anger, control your anger she repeated over and over in her head. She wasn’t like Azula or Zuko, she couldn’t make something with the anger that grew and festered in her chest. She couldn’t throw a fireball at the nearest wall and hope that her anger dissipated like the sparks that fell to the floor. She shut her door and immediately balled up her fist and let it slam home against the wall. The thin metal crumpled easily under her hand. It stung, but that was good. Y/N let out a breath she thought she’d been holding since the dock. She collapsed onto her bed and pulled her knees to her chest. 
It wasn’t a secret that she was a non-bender. But it’s not like it didn’t hurt to be reminded that she wasn’t as worthy because she was one. 
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megastarstriker · 3 years
Text
✯𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒴𝑜𝓊✯
✮*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✧*˚  ˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮
NIKKI SIXX  X  READER
˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮       ˚*✧˚*•̩̩͙✧•̩̩͙*˚✮
Requested:
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Contains: FLUFF 
𝙋𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: Nikki Sixx  x Female Reader
𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩:
𝙏𝙖𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩: @metalheartofgold, @ginny-rose-sixx, @xxqueencolourxx​, @littlemisscare-all​,
💕MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! LOVE YOU GUYS AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA GET TAGGED TOO💕
Keys:
(Y/N) - Your Name
(L/N) - Last Name
(D/N) - Daughter’s Name
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“Dada.....”, The little 3 year old baby girl that I held in my arms babbled as she looked at her father over my shoulder with her cute curious eyes who was already walking towards me with a small smile on his face, looking at the small child as he looked at her excited (E/C) eyes with his warm hazel ones. 
“I’m here, sweetie....”, He murmured softly as he kissed the girl sweetly on the forehead making her giggle and coo happily at her father,” Good morning.”
“Good morning,...Nik...”, I said as I leaned into Nikki’s touch as he wrapped his arm with security and warmth around me and the little bundle of joy that was right next to us.
“Morning, beautiful.....”, He whispered in my ear kissing my forehead and then my cheek, only then to plant his warm and slightly chapped lips unto mine. The kiss was short but despite that it had a burning taste of passion in it that I couldn’t describe but either way... I loved it. 
The embrace was then interrupted by a small barking sound from the floor, as I felt a tug on my nightgown. I then departed my eyes from Nikki to see two small set of brown eyes looking at me energetically as the small pup wagged its tail with joy as he looked at the baby with wonderment. 
“And you too, bud....”, He said with a laugh as he picked up the dog from the ground, making the dog yap at him and his tail wag with speed. I giggled at how cute the two of them were as I then looked at (D/N) tiny form as she leaned gently into my shoulder giggling at the pup that was in Nikki’s hands. 
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‘Buddy was new to the family once (D/N) was born. It wasn’t just an early Christmas present but it was also something that Nikki and I talked about when she was born. I thought about what it would be like if we did have a pet and if it would be nice that our daughter got to play with it. Nikki of course agreed same going for me as we both had our fair share of love for animals especially dogs. And he couldn’t say not to his newborn daughter too. We wanted to buy and get a pup especially for her, but I then heard about an option for adopting one from one of my closest friends. I overhead from her that these pups were homeless or abandoned and needed homes, as well as it would be an amazing idea to have one. It wouldn’t just be a good decision but rather an amazing way to spread awareness about these animals who need love and attention. Thinking about that made me think of Nikki and his past. It always left me thinking that Nikki deserved better. A better family to have raised him, a better childhood, and a better life. Nikki of course was happy now and would always remind me that I was always there for him and that things have changed now because of me and the people that supported him aka the crue as well as other people and to not worry about the things that happened to him in the past, because he already has his two most greatest things: His Band and His Family. But those exact same thoughts made me wonder. 
“Those animals deserve the exact same thing.
Love, attention, and a Family.”
Not Hatred, Loneliness, and Abandonment.
Just Like Nikki needed it and has it now.
As I rethought the decision in my mind, I smiled as I then went and talked it over with Nikki about adopting a pet. He of course was shocked to see me talk about my reasons for it especially since he was mainly the reason for it. Of course after finishing he gave me a strong embrace and a kiss, and accepted on a adoption for a pet. Afterwards, He told me that I had such a heart of gold and teased me about it for the rest of the day......
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‘Ughh’, I thought in my head as I groaned at Nikki’s teasing remarks that day, as I saw him play with ‘Buddy’, as well as (D/N) joining him in the floor of the living room. ‘What a dork.’ I smiled with a blush as I looked at them as I went to the kitchen to start on breakfast, as a few moments later my two devilish angels a.k.a Nikki and (D/N) decided on wanting to join in and help me with it.  
  But at least he’s my dork.
8 hours later
“Mommy.”, (D/N) asked me as she tugged on my party dress I picked out for the dinner party  looking at me with cute baby doll eyes.
“Yes sweetie”, I said softly as I picked her up gently looking at her as I awaited for her response.
“When are my aunties and uncles going to come.”, She said her eyes a bit sad as she looked down, as she already had her clothes ready for the Christmas dinner party we were holding at our place. 
“Oh, honey...”, I started to say my heart breaking at her expression she gave me, “Your aunts and uncles will come....Even some of the kids too so you can all play....There are just running a bit late....But don’t worry....Okay.”
“Really?”, She said as she had hopeful eyes gleaming, rubbing her eyes.
“Yeah, princess.”, Nikki said as he appeared next to me, wearing his formal wear, looking as handsome as always, taking (D/N) in his arms and hugged her, “Everything will be ok.”
Then as soon as he said that a door ringing was hear from the front door.
“Speaking of the devil.”, I muttered jokingly to Nikki as he chuckled rolling his eyes a bit playfully as he patted my shoulder as he gently put (D/N) on the floor next to Buddy who was now wagging his tail in excitement. 
“I’ll get it.”, He told me as he went over to the door opening to reveal...
You guessed it.
The breathing, living, and rocking crue....
Standing at our door...
My Parents , my friends along with their husbands and daughters , and.....
My brother!
Looking at him standing there I was shocked.
“Surprise!”, He said as he had his arms out ready to hug me and a huge smile on his face.
“(B/N)!”, I said with wide eyes open as I hugged him tightly a happy smile reaching its way on my face, deep down believing this was all a dream. 
“ In the flesh.”, He said with a chuckle as he broke free from the heartwarming embrace. 
“But- How.....”, I asked him still amazed at him standing here in front of me, “I thought you couldn’t come because of your job.”
“Well..., let’s just say a little someone gave me a nice talk through the phone and told me to come here and meet you as a surprise.”, He said as he looked at me trailing off a bit.
“When I mean a ‘little someone’ I mean Nikki.”, He then said as he gestured towards him who was busy welcoming Tommy, Vince, and Mick, “And when I mean a nice talk, I mean he was going to beat and murder my ass if I didn’t come here.”
“Oh no....”, I said as I felt a bit guilty thinking that he came here because of Nikki’s threat., “Didn’t Nikki really force you to come here-”
“No no no, He didn’t....”, He said as he understood what I was trying to say, “I mean a bit but, no. Don’t blame him for anything though, I only came here because of you and about what Nikki said when he called me up.”
“What did he say?”, I asked him as I quirked an eyebrow.
“Well, He told me about how much you missed having me visit for the holidays and well that he wanted to change that by bringing me here....”, He started to say as he stood in front of me, “.......And then he told me about how you were incredibly special to him and lovey dovey stuff as he liked to put it.”
I gasped hearing this..
Did Nikki really just..?...
“But that’s all I can say for now......”, He finished as he then gave a smile, “Other than that I am happy to see you and mom and dad again here together. I know I haven’t been the best bro for not coming for the holidays, but I guess I feel happy now that  I’m here. Huh? Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel like with Nikki being around with you its a miracle for him.... He really cares about you, I can tell......”
Still a bit taken aback by all of this information, I saw as I small girl and a woman came walking beside my brother.
“Oh yeah, I didn’t came here alone of course.”, He said as she then said a small ‘hello’, sending me a welcoming smile holding her daughter in her arms.
“I guess I already told you about them in a few occasions over the phone, but this is my wife Donna, and this little munchkin over here is my daughter Annie.”, He introduced as they both said hi, Donna shaking my hand as she said it was nice to meet me, her daughter giving me a shy wave as to say hello to me.
“Its Nice to meet you too,” I said with a warm welcome as I told them to go ahead and make themselves comfortable at home. 
I then said hello to my parents and my friends who brought over their husbands and daughters...
And of course couldn’t forget about the jolly ol’ crue....
“Hey Tommy, Vince!”, I greeted as I then walked over to them both as they enveloped me in a warm friendly hug.
They both said hello to me before releasing me from the hug, I was about to greet Mick only to find he wasn’t there. 
“Where’s Mick?”, I asked as I tried looking for him around where I stood.
“Mick is with Nikki in the kitchen talking about something... code word ‘ private’....”, Tommy said as he held out the quotation marks in the air whispering the word to me. 
“And He doesn’t want us in on listening to their small chat, thinking we are gonna gossip about it to the fellas around here......so yeah here we are.... trying but also not trying to ‘eavesdrop’ on them.....”, Vince continued as he rolled his eyes a bit. 
I giggled at them both as I shook my head, “Well good luck with that. ”
After a couple of minutes of introduction with everyone including Mick who came out with Nikki after their so called ‘private conversation’ , we all went to the dining room, Me and Nikki being the last ones as he looked to me.
“So your brother came.”, Nikki commented as he stood beside me. 
“Yeah, I noticed.” I said as I tried to play along with his game although already knowing it was his idea all along for him to come here,” I’m really happy he came.”
“Um, I sort of called him to come here. I know how much he means to you as family.”, Nikki said nervously as he looked at me coughing a bit.
Damn it why did he have to be so cute!
“So yeah....”, He said with a chuckle ,” I’m gonna go and head over-”
I cut off his sentence with a warm kiss as I gripped his coat.
He was shocked but slowly kissed me back.
I then pulled away with a sigh.
“I know you called him over and why. He told me everything”, I said with a smile as I noticed him look a bit surprised to hear me say this.
“What you did was really sweet and the best gift I could have from you, I love you.”, I said as I hugged him tightly, not wanting to ever let go from him.
Before long he hugged me back, saying those same words.
“I love you too, Merry Christmas baby.....”
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{AUTHORS NOTE}:
Hey Guys and Merry Christmas to everyone who is reading this or not!!!!
Hope you guys have an amazing holiday whether it is with your family or friends or whoever you celebrate and however you do it!!
🖤I HOPE ANYONE THAT’S READING LIKED IT AS WEll AND LOVE YOU.🖤
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