#hey id take hid sweeties

[preqvelle]

Deer caught in headlights or child catcher from chitty chitty bang bang 😂

#my gifs #queue #ghost band #papa emeritus iv #copia #ghost #popia #the band ghost #cardinal copia #papa iv #i was creasing making these gifs cos he does look like that vibe #hey id take hid sweeties #But the hat details are immaculate #the leather for me #dont tske the caption seriously i am joking

[lavenderwhore444]

God Im pretty sure I’m going to hell ANYWAYS ok so this is a hybrid cat shigaraki, u end up adopting shigaraki from a very abuses owner so our little kitten is traumatized and terrified of everything, it took u a bit of time until he was comfortable with u , he doesn’t trust u in the beginning and thinks ur gonna do the same as his previous owner did but ur different u were so patient, sweet and soft not to mention he LOVED getting head pets from u ( he would never admit it tho) once shigaraki found out that he was in love with u he was stuck to ur hip ( he was super clingy) shigaraki’s heat was closer then expected, shigaraki didn’t want to ruin his chances with u but he couldn’t stop himself from humping everything so he hid in his room , you absolutely loved shigaraki since the day u saw him u knew u wanted him, when u first met him he scratched and hissed at u he was terrified, it honestly made u sick knowing the person who did this to him is still alive, u both got much closer he even started cuddling with u!!!! U soon fell in love with shiggy but u didn’t want to ruin what u guys have so u kept it to ur self , u noticed shigaraki was acting weird and hid in his room for two days at first u thought u might give him some space but u started getting worried u wanted to check on him before u came in u heard some little moans and whines, it just hit u that ur little kitten has there heat, u decided to help out 👀

Kinks pet-play of course dom reader and sub shigaraki maybe some pegging that’s all I can think of so feel free to add any kinks. I was listening to hello kitty by Avril Lavigne there was part where she says “ come come kitty kitty your so pretty pretty” that was inspired me to write this lmaooo 

-🤡

HELLO KITTY

If you want to use interactive fics, it's easy and makes reading fics SO much better. First, you download the Google Chrome extension. You'll see it in the top right corner of your screen. Next, you enter your name in the first box. If you want to change something other than y/n, please click on the text that says “want to change something other than y/n?” here, you can change any word you want to a different word. When I talk about your quirk I will use y/q.

InteractiveFics

Master List

Samesies, but it's ok, we’ll go to hell together 😫

Now you might be wondering, Claire, why did this take you literal MONTHS? Well, I wanted to perfect it. I love this concept so much that I just HAD to spend so much time on it to make it perfect. And let me just say, it's pretty good 😏

Warnings: vaginal sex, overstimulation (male), anal sex with strapon, heat, pillow humping, marking mating, whatever you want to call it.

I've decided I'm obsessed with making cat shiggy meow ☺️

‘Where the fuck am I?’ Is shigaraki’s first thought of the day.

He’s never been on a bed this soft or a house this warm. Where is he? The blankets are all fuzz. The bed is littered with stuffed animals and pillows, and sweet-smelling candles, are burning somewhere. Is he being sacrificed?

“Hey, you're awake, ” a soft voice says, coming from the end of the bed.

He recoils in fear but, upon second glance, he sees that you aren't who he thinks you are. A girl replaces the scary form of his “master.” he looks you up and down. He has to admit you are quite pretty. The sight of someone other than the large man who used to own him excites him. Maybe this is a fresh start? But perhaps you're just like him...

“Get the fuck away from me, ” he snaps, scrambling into a corner.

“It's okay, sweetie, ” you say, “I'm not gonna hurt you, ”

“Everyone says that, meow ” Shigaraki retorts, “get the fuck away before I scratch your eyes out, ”

You bite your lip, “ok, Tomura, I'm gonna sit with you for a while, though. I'll be right across the room if you need anything, ”

“I don't need shit from you, ” he says, hissing making a show of his claws.

You laughed a little, more than a bit sad at his fear, “alright, but I’ll still be here, ”

He sits in silence for a moment, surveying his surroundings. He notices fresh clothes in the dresser, and there are some game consoles set up for him. How do you know he likes video games? Fucking creep. There aren't really any escape routes but escaping is complicated when he doesn't know where he is.

“Where am I meow?” he asks, sounding meeker than intended.

“I guess I kind of adopted you, ” you explain, “we’re at our house, ”

“Why did you do that?” he asks, the edge coming back to his voice.

“You just seemed so sweet, and the man who owned you was so mean. I couldn't just leave you there; he was hurting you, ” you say, frowning a little at the thought of Tomura getting hurt.

"Why do you care?" he snaps.

You sit closer to him, making him tense.

"I already told you, I think you're sweet Tomura," you repeat, "I just can't explain it. I'd really like it if we could become friends,"

'Or maybe more,' you think to yourself.

You can't deny he is very attractive.

"How do I know you're not lying meow?" He asks.

"I think you'll just have to trust me. Do you want to play some games with me?" you ask.

"Fine," he says, "only cause I'm bored,"

You grin, "awesome. What should we play?"

Shigaraki stands up and walks over to the games, tail swaying.

"This," he says, holding up animal crossing, "you probably like it cause it's dumb. What's your name anyway?" he asks.

"I'm y/n," you answer.

"I guess your names not awful, meow”, he mutters.

Truthfully, he already thinks you're beautiful, and you seem so kind. Shigaraki sits unusually close to you on the bed as the two of you play. You play late into the night; he makes a good bit of progress. Eventually, you feel his head rest on your shoulder, and he falls asleep on you.

You ease Tomura into your lap.

"There we go," you whisper, "you're safe now,"

Little did you know he's wide awake, smiling to himself and nuzzling his head closer to you. The sound of soft purring fills your ears as he drifts off into the most peaceful sleep.

He's pretty disgruntled when he wakes up alone. Where have you gone? Shigaraki doesn't have to wonder for long when you come back with a plate of food.

"Hey, are you hungry?" you ask, setting a plate of food on the table next to him.

He nods, digging in right away. You watch him eat like a man starved. Honestly, he might have been. He puts the plate down and moves closer to you. He's beginning to trust you more and more.

"Tomura, ” you say, “I have to put a collar on you now, just in case you get lost, ok?” you push some hair out of his face, “id be so sad if I lost you, ”

“fine, meow” he mumbles.

Truthfully his heart is melting at the thought. That you aren’t embarrassed by him, that you want to keep him safe and close to you. When you click the collar into place he hugs you, tugging at your shirt.

It’s shocking how fast he’s becoming comfortable with you but definitely pleasing. The next few days are calm, spent lounging around the house. He‘s getting so trusting with you. He occasionally pushes his head beneath your hand so you scratch his head. He always denies it, though; he has a tough-guy exterior to keep up.

However, something changes within him. He feels a strange warmth, not a necessarily bad feeling, around you. Tomura knows what cats were supposed to do. They are supposed to cuddle and play with their owners. Should he be doing that? Should he act like a “normal cat”? He concludes that you don’t want that at all. The lack of cat toys, a cat tree, and you allowing him to eat at the table solidify that.

However, he does want to cuddle. He tries to cuddle like all the time. But you have work, and you get tired, and you run errands, and he becomes sad. Tomura knows you have a life outside of him, but you really shouldn't. He should be your only priority. When Christmas break finally rolls around, and you start spending more time at the house, he's elated.

He has internet access, of course. He needs it to play his video games! But it was restricted. You don’t want your little kitty to see things he’s not supposed to. He starts to like watching movies too. At first, they‘re action movies with lots of blood and fighting, which you don’t necessarily agree with, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He slowly gets bored with them and stumbles across a romance movie.

Tomura becomes engrossed in them. He loves watching the couple fall in love and be happy. One movie, in particular, weirds him out. It looks like they were taking off their clothes. They start kissing and making strange noises. He doesn't like it one bit, it makes his cheeks feel hot, and his cock gets semi-hard. He turns it off immediately.

It doesn’t take long for him to forget about it and keep watching different ones. Soon he finds some similarities between him and the main character. The way they feels around their love interest is the same way he feels around you. Is he in love with you?! It seems so and you have just recently come to the same conclusion as him.

Soon he’s all over you, following you everywhere. Tomura pushes open your door every night and snuggling up to you. He’ll purr and nuzzle into you, happy sighs escaping him. Whenever he “accidentally” wakes you up, you never get mad at him. You just cuddle him and talk all night, giggling and talking until you both fall asleep.

Oddly enough, you‘re oblivious to his feelings for you. Whenever he cuddles with you, you hold back the urge to kiss him on the lips. You don’t want him to feel awkward around you. Soon he starts acting strange without any change in behavior from you. He stops coming in your room at night and wont come out of his room.

You don't want to be overbearing, so you give him space...for a while. Meanwhile, in his room, Tomura is lying naked on the bed, panting and sweating. He feels strange, just like he did when he was watching that movie. He doesn't understand what‘s happening to his body but when he humps his pillow it feels like an itch is being scratched. The first time he cums he‘s terrified and lets out a scared “meow!”

But it feels so good. The feeling doesn't go away, so he decides the only solution is to keep humping. Soon he‘s limp but still grinding his hips on the poor pillow. He takes deep whiffs of your sweater, huffing it like a drug. His tongue is lolling out of his mouth and his eyes are rolling back in his head. He‘s starting to hurt down there but he just can't stop cumming.

Oh, why can't he reach the phone you left in his room? Why is his voice too hoarse to call out to you? Tomura is scared. He can’t eat or sleep. Sweat has soaked into the mattress and his poor little cock is starting to hurt. You‘re getting worried too so you wander up to his room and callout to him, pressing your ear to the door.

“y/n meow,” he calls out hoarsely, almost a whisper.

All you can hear are desperate whines and moans. Is Tomura...in heat? Oh, your poor kitty is probably in so much pain! You have to help him, so you open the door and see him. It is a pathetic (yet erotic) sight. He looks so desperate. He‘s crying and looks so scared. Tomura just whines and reaches out to you even though he‘s far away.

“Oh, sweetheart,” you whisper.

You walk over to him and scoop him up, sitting him on your lap. He continues to try and hump you, but you can tell how much his poor dick hurts. You hug him tightly, feeling guilty that you took so long to check on him.

Tomura tugs at your shirt, he can't figure out why he wants you to take off your clothes, but he does. You oblige, ready to do anything your sweet kitten wants. When he sees your top half naked, he feels his cock beg for you. He starts to tug aimlessly at your pants, and you take them off, once again, all too eager to please.

He doesn't have any sexual knowledge, but he has instincts, pure carnal instincts that tell him just how to breed his mate’s tight pussy. Tomura grabs your hips, his claws accidentally puncturing the skin. You yelp as he pulls you on top of him. When he slams you down onto his long fat cock he doesn't get the rush of pleasure he expected.

He's hit with an extreme amount of pain and lets out a panicked meow. You lift yourself off of him quickly, and Tomura misses the feeling of your cunt even though it caused him so much pain. He paws at you, but you keep him from shoving himself in you again.

“Tomura,” you say softly, “you need to calm down; you're hurting yourself,”

“Meow! need!” he cries.

“So needy,” you mutter, “youre just gonna hurt yourself,”

“Don’t care! Need!” he begs.

“Hold on,” you say, getting up and ignoring the insistent pawing at your shirt as he whines.

You rifle through your drawers until you find the dildo you got and the free strap-on attachment that came with it. You smile and gran some lube; this is exactly what you need for your pretty kitty. He watches with curious eyes and blown out pupils due to pure lust.

“Let's give your poor cock a break,” you say.

He nods, but where are you going to put that? You climb onto the bed with him, and he hugs you, sucking on your tit. He feels so at peace. Your boobs are so soft and pretty. He wants to stay like this forever. But when Tomura feels those nimble fingers of yours start to trail across his lower back just above his ass he shivers.

He leaves open-mouthed kisses across your chest; he lets them get sloppy and wet as you rub his back.

“Need,” he whispers again, eyes half-lidded.

You tilt Tomura’s head up and give him his first proper kiss. He's seen this in movies and knows you're supposed to say “I love you” after...right? He doesn't know the full meaning of the three little words he's about to say.

“I love you y/n,” he says when you pull away.

“I love you too,” you say, taken aback just a bit.

He gives you a love-drunk smile and tries to rut against your thigh but yelps again, remembering how sensitive he is.

“C’mere pretty kitty,” you coo, “lay on your back for me,”

He nods and lays on his back, painfully aware of how exposed he is to your careful, calculating eyes. He starts purring when you muzzle your head into his neck. Are you going to mark him?! Do you really want him to be your mate?! Oh, he hopes so! He smiles, and his breathing picks up, but his ears flatten on his head when you pull away.

“No mate meow?” Tomura asks, face falling.

For the first time all day, he feels his cock soften sadly. He doesn't understand the look of confusion on your face and tears up a bit.

“I'm not sure I understand,” you say, brushing some hair out of his face and feeling guilty when you see his teary eyes.

“I want you to mark me,” he says, bottom lip quivering, “please meow?”

Your eyes widen, “oh,” maybe you did learn something useful in school, “of course honey,”

You lean down again, unsure of how hard to bite his neck. You can tell exactly where you're supposed to bite. A strong musky smell radiates from the side of his neck and you decide to sink your teeth in until you break skin. When you do, he sighs happily at the feeling of your admittedly dull teeth (in comparison to his) in his neck.

“Mate,” he purrs.

You pull away when you can tell he's satisfied. He pulls you in for another kiss, tasting some of his blood on your tongue. He doesn't notice your fingers traveling to the bottle of lube on the bed and pumping some onto your fingers. He does notice when you start to rub around where you're not supposed to.

“Hey! What are you doing, meow?!” Tomura says, squirming at the strange new sensation.

When you find your mark and circle his asshole, any objections he just made the in the past. When he feels your finger begin to sink into his tight hole, he sighs happily. He isn't supposed to be the one getting penetrated, but he can't help how much he loves the feeling of your finger wiggling around inside of him.

When you add in another finger, he meows happily, grinding on your fingers. All this pleasure without the pain, what has he done to deserve this? To deserve you? Tomura’s back arches as he moves his hips; he can feel himself coming to a different kind of climax, but you pull away right when he's on the edge.

He looks up at you with pleading eyes and trembling thighs. He sees you putting that strange liquid on something much larger and gulps. He feels his asshole gape around nothing, waiting for something to fill it up.

“Is that going inside me, meow?” he asks nervously.

“It won't hurt,” you say, cupping his face, “i promise,”

Tomura gulps but nods. He trusts you. When the head of the dildo pushes into him he's tense and panting already.

“You have to relax,” you whisper in his ear, “be a good boy and relax,”

He tries, letting the nervous knot in his stomach untangle. His breathing slows as you push in more of the dildo. It starts to feel good, having you in some of him, and it's even better when the head of the dildo hits a spot that makes him mewl. He wraps his arms around your neck and pulls you down to him, causing you to poke his prostate again.

He moans and buries his face in your neck, purring loudly. You start to move your hips at an agonizingly slow pace. You worm your arms under him and hold him close while you help him adjust. He's planting and mewling happily.

“Love you,” he moans, “I love you so much y/n,”

“I love you too, Tomura,” you whisper, kissing the shell of his ear.

“It's so good,” he groans, “you're amazing meow. The perfect mate,”

“Yeah?” you say, too focused to respond.

He nods, “the best ever,”

You keep thrusting, speeding up just a bit. That makes Tomura yelp happily. His tongue lolls out as he smiles. There's not one thought behind those beautiful red eyes—just pure pleasure. It's taking over his entire body and he can't help but meow happily.

He likes to think of himself as more refined than most hybrids. More human, but all he can think of now is how wonderful being your little kitty is.

“I'm gonna cum,” he whimpers, “gonna cum, meow”

His dick quivers, and his asshole clenches as cum spurts out of him, but it's still not enough. To satiate his desires, he needs to be inside of you when he cums. When you pull out of him slowly and remove the strap on, he bites the bullet and plunges into you, ignoring the pain that makes him sob and absolutely hammers into you.

You're helpless underneath him as he has his way with you. You can't deny how good he feels inside of you. Tomura hates how long he's lasting. He needs to get this over with, although having you cum on his cock would be pretty nice. When he feels you worm your fingers down to your clit he starts to be thankful he hasn't lost his mind and cum yet.

That look on your face makes him so happy. He wants you to be happy. He wants you to cum, so he holds out until you milk his cock with your cunt. And when he lets go it's heavenly. The itch has been scratched, and he collapses on top of you, purring as his tail twitches. You scratch behind his ears to help him get some much-needed rest.

It works nearly immediately, and your sweet kitty is asleep in mere minutes. You love Tomura more than you can put into words, and he loves his pretty little mate. His adorable little y/n.

#fluff #mha shigaraki #mha tomura #tomura x y/n #tomura imagine #tomurashigaraki #tomura fluff #tomura smut #tomura x reader #tomura shiragaki #shigaraki tomura #bnha tomura #tomura x you #boku no hero academia tomura #tenko smut #shigaraki tenko #tenko x reader #shigaraki fluff #shigaraki smut #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki x y/n #boku no hero academia shigaraki #bnha shigaraki

[peterparkers-bad-youtube-apology]

27 and 28 with college!Peter please? 🥺🥺

Here you are darling I hope you enjoy! Reminder that I am accepting requests until the end of summer so please keep sending them in!

On the Run

27 - Running from the police after a party gets busted

28 - Falling asleep during a long drive home

Pairing: College! Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: You and Peter run from the cops

Summer of Love

Masterlist

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

Music thudded through the house, vibrating the walls and drowning out almost all other sound.. They’d had to drive nearly an hour out of the city for someone’s birthday, and had to park nearly a mile away from the actual house. Had it not been for (y/n)’s enthusiasm about the event he never would have gone. The same could be said about nearly any party the couple attended though. Peter was always much happier to spend the night at home, cuddled up on the couch together. But his girlfriend was much more of a social butterfly than him, and really he was happy to attend anything at her side.

“Let’s dance,” she tugged his arm towards the middle of the large living room.

Peter chuckled, setting his hands on her hips as she walked him to the floor, “You know I can’t dance.”

“I’ll teach you,” she wrapped her arms around his neck, “Just sway a little P, it’s not that hard.”

“I’m not that coordinated.”

She burst into a fit of laughter instantly, “Shut up you are by far the most coordinated person here, Spiderman.”

“That’s different,” he rolled his eyes, “I can’t dance.”

“Not really,” she agreed, “That’s okay, you’ve got plenty of other athletic abilities,” she poked his chest, giving him a wink before she spun back around.

Peter laughed, holding her waist while she danced against him, smiling at the happy look on her face. It was easy for them to get caught up in each other, forget that they were at a party, that the rest of the world even existed. Lucky for them, Peter had a sixth sense to pull him back to the real world.

“Hey, I think maybe we should get going,” he squeezed her waist.

She frowned at him, “Why? We don’t have anything to do tomorrow.”

“I know, but I’ve just got a feeling we should go,” he insisted, just as red and blue lights became visible in the windows.

“Shit,” she groaned, “We can sneak out the back.”

He nodded, pushing her in front of him as they weaved through the crowd. The backyard was emptying out quickly as most people had begun to crowd the front door.

“Nobody leave!” a voice shouted from the front door, causing both of them to turn and see who it was.

“Come on,” (y/n) tugged Peter along, “We’re gonna get held up for hours, let’s just hop the fence.”

“Yeah, you’re right, come on,” Peter continued to wiggle them through the crowd, finally entering the backyard, “Here, I’ll help you over.”

“Such a gentleman,” she giggled as he grabbed her waist, helping lift her over the fence, “Oh shit,” she swore as she hit the ground.

“What happened? Are you okay?” he lifted himself up over the fence as quickly as he could, only to be met with the same problem, “Shit.”

“What are you kids up to?” one of the officers smirked.

“We were just trying to get home,” (y/n) tried to explain, “We didn’t want to get held up in there all night.”

“Alright,” the second officer sighed, “Let me see your ID’s.”

Peter handed his over but (y/n) could only blushed, “I left mine in our car.”

The officer hummed, “I can’t let you go without ID.”

She groaned, “Fine, fine, we can go run and get it or-”

“No, I need to see it now,” the officer insisted, “Otherwise I’ll have to take you in until I can verify your identity.”

“Take her in?” Peter went wide eyed, “Like to jail?”

“To the police station,” he corrected, “So if you don’t have your idea I’ll have to ju-”

“Run!” (y/n) had grabbed Peter’s hand and started running, causing Peter to go wide eyed and stumble over his feet.

“Are you insane?!” Peter snapped, looking over his shoulder to see if they were being followed.

“You’re a superhero, you should be able to outrun the police!” she snapped back.

“I can, but...” he glanced over his shoulder again before rolling his eyes, “Oh just come on!”

He pulled her towards a park, hoping it’d make it easier to lose them. The cops yelled at them to stop, (y/n) erupted into a fit of giggles while Peter prayed that neither of them got tazed. They stumbled around some bushes and Peter led them towards the playground, where he hid them both behind one of the slides. They peaked around the corner, the cops were still heading there way.

“We should keep running,” (y/n) whispered.

“Just give it a second,” Peter insisted, “I’m sure they don’t want to chase us all around when they have a whole party to bust.”

“I don’t know they kind of seem like dicks,” she mumbled.

“They’re cops, what did you expect?”

“Did you see where they went?” one of the cops asked.

The other shook his head, “No, I saw them running into the playground but that’s it.”

“Do you really wanna spend all this time looking for them?” the first questioned, “We’re gonna be in trouble if we don’t help them bust the party.”

“Yeah yeah,” he sighed, “Let’s head back, this is a waste of time.”

“Thank god,” (y/n) sighed.

“I think we should take a break from parties for a while,” Peter stood, offering her his hand, “Come on, we can cut through the park to get back to the car.”

“Good idea,” her head fell onto his shoulder while they walked, “I don’t know about you but I’m definitely ready for bed.”

“Yeah, me too,” he hummed, pressing a kiss to her head just as a whirring sound overtook the park, “What the...”

(y/n) squealed and clung to Peter, attempting to shield herself from the sprinklers, “Peter!”

“I didn’t turn on the sprinklers!” he laughed and took her hands in his, “Come on, it’s just a little water.”

“It’s freezing,” she shivered, scooting closer to him in an attempt to shield herself from the water.

“I think it feels nice,” he kissed her forehead, a smirk came to his lips as he mocked her words from earlier that night, “Run!”

She burst into laughter again as he pulled her through the park, stumbling as she tried to keep up with him. He didn’t stop until they reached the sidewalk, safely out of reach from the sprinklers. She stopped to catch her breath while he started laughing again, flicking his wet hair out of his face.

“We’ve still got a bit of a walk,” he hummed, “You want my jacket?”

“Thanks, but I don’t think your wet jacket is gonna do much for me.”

“No, but I thought I’d offer,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Well come on, we gotta get you to that nice warm car.”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　 ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“Finally,” (y/n) groaned when she spotted the car, running up to the passenger door excitedly, “Hurry up!”

Peter rolled his eyes as he unlocked the car, “It’s gonna take a minute to get it warmed up.”

“That’s okay,” she hummed as he turned on the car, letting her eyes fall closed as she settled into her seat, “I can’t wait to get home and take a nice warm shower.”

“I doubt you will be awake when we get home.”

“I will be,” she assured, placing her hands against the rapidly warming vents.

“We’ll see,” he hummed, “My money’s on you falling asleep though.”

“I’m staying awake,” she insisted, “So we can take a nice warm shower and cuddle up in bed together.”

“That sounds nice,” Peter squeezed her hand before he pulled into the street, “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too,” she hummed, “Nothing better than snuggling up with my Peter.”

He blushed as he nodded in agreement, “Yeah, nothing better than that.”

Sure enough, fifteen minutes into the ride, she was half asleep, head against the windows and her eyes half closed. Peter chuckled at the sight and set a hand on her leg, causing her eyes to dart to him. She smiled and set her hand over his, squeezing it before returning her eyes to a window. He squeezed her leg and looked back to the road.

Another five minutes passed and it was clear she had fallen asleep. Peter turned down the music and the heater, hoping to keep it quiet so she could sleep for the rest of the drive. She was a light sleeper so he tried to make the drive as smooth as he could, and by some miracle he managed to pull into their parking garage with her still asleep. He picked her up from the passenger seat as gently as he could, but she still began to stir.

“Peter,” she mumbled, only half awake at that point.

“It’s alright, we just got home,” he kissed her forehead with a smile, “You just sleep, I’ll carry you to bed.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, letting her head fall against his chest.

He smiled as he carried her through the halls towards their apartment, kicking open the door as gently as he could, “Do you wanna change for bed?”

She nodded, curling up into a ball as he set her on the bed, “Yeah, let’s just lay down first.”

“Alright sweety,” he chuckled and laid down beside her, wrapping his arms around her middle, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she mumbled with a yawn, “Thanks for carrying me in Peter.”

“I’d do anything for you,” he kissed her forehead, “Now get some sleep, we might have to run from the cops again tomorrow.”

A tired laugh left her lips, followed by another yawn, “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be ready.”

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒ 

Taglist:

@niallberry @namoreno @spideyssunshine @zspideyy @roseke @andreagf956 @thevery-firstpage @emistrash @tomsirishgirlx @peachyafshawn @agbspidey @spideyspeaches

#peter parker #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker x reader #Peter Parker x you #Peter Parker x y/n #Peter Parker Imagine #Peter Parker x reader fluff #Peter Parker au #college!peter parker #spiderman #spiderman fanfiction #spiderman x reader #spiderman x y/n #spiderman x you #Peter Parker x reader angst #tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tom holland au #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #peter parker spiderman #marvel #marvel fanfiction #MCU #MCU fanfiction #mcu peter parker #summer of love

[chefdoeuvre]

Instinct

Jay Halstead

Pairing: Jay Halstead x Fem!Reader

Description: No matter how hard you try to hide it Jay can read you like an open book.

Words: 1,479

Requested: yes by anonymous; So I thought it would be cute if Jay and reader have just started seeing each other secretly and she's acting off and quiet at work and he notices before everyone else please?? Thank you x

Warnings: angst (if you can even call it that), mentions of cancer, fluff as usual.

A/N: I just want my own Jay Halstead. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.

—

After leaving Jay's place early that morning you made your way back home. You hadn't initially planned on staying the night, but there was something about being in his arms that made you not want to get up. You pulled up to your building and ran up to your apartment. Hurriedly heading inside you made a beeline for the bathroom and took a quick shower. Once you finished up your shower you pulled on your normal work clothes, which consisted of a plain shirt and jeans. Grabbing your holster and your badge you clipped them onto your jeans. You headed to the kitchen and scrounged for some form of quick breakfast before you would head off to your usual coffee shop.

Just as you began quickly munching on a granola bar your phone began ringing from the couch where you had tossed it when you walked in. The caller ID was your mom, so with furrowed brows, you answered the phone.

"Mom?" You asked.

A sniffle was heard on the other end before she spoke, "hi, sweetie."

"Mom, what's wrong?" At this point, you had started pacing and racked your brain for what possibly could have gone wrong.

"It's your father..." Your mother began, but she trailed off.

"Is he?" You couldn't even say the words out loud.

"No! It's not that, he went to the doctor the other day." She took a deep breath before continuing. "They said he has lung cancer." Your mom quickly explained after realizing where your mind had gone.

"What else?" You questioned in a whisper, holding your tears back to be strong for your mother.

"They caught it early, he's starting chemotherapy soon. Hopefully, he'll beat it since it's in the early stage still." Your mom continued.

"Can I talk to him?" You asked as you chewed on your lip, a bad habit you did whenever you became nervous.

The shuffling from the other end was heard and then your father spoke, "hi, honey." Even with his recent diagnosis, you could hear the smile in his voice, that's how he always was, happy no matter what.

"Hi, daddy." You whispered with a small smile from hearing your father's voice.

"I heard you finally got into Intelligence, I hope Hank is treating my best daughter well." He laughed, even if you had been in the unit for quite a while every time you talked he would tease Voight about treating you well, they had been best friends since they were young.

"Dad, I'm your only daughter and I've already told you, it's going great." You laughed, shaking your head.

"That's good to hear. Now, I don't know what your mother told you but don't worry about me, I'll be back to the same old me soon enough." Your father reassured you, "and shouldn't you be heading to work now?" Your father asked in a teasing tone.

"Alright, dad. And yeah I should, but it's fine one late won't kill my career. I'll just bribe Voight with his favorite coffee order." You joked.

"Bye, sweetheart." Your parents both said before ending the call.

Wiping the stray tears off your face you decided to skip out on going to the coffee shop and would just drink the burnt one they had at work. Taking a deep breath you set off to work, pulling on a coat and pocketing your phone.

Walking into the district you greeted Trudy with a small smile and headed up the stairs to Intelligence. Making your way to your desk Jay looked over to you and sent you a wide smile. In response, you gave him a tight-lipped one back. He furrowed his brows at your behavior, but decided he wouldn't push it and chalked it up to the early morning you had after leaving his apartment to make it on time to work.

The day got off to a quick start with you guys getting a case within an hour of arriving to work. Throughout the entire time, you had been silent and only spoke up to provide important points that the others missed. After uncovering more information Voight began setting up a sting. You were paired up with your usual partner, which just so happened to be Jay. This also was the reason why you had kept your relationship a secret, so much so that not one soul knew besides the two of you.

You were off in a corner pulling on your vest when Jay came up behind you to help.

"Hey, you alright?" Jay whispered, sweeping your hair to one side.

"Yeah, I'm good." You answered shortly, Jay caught on to this because whenever he would ask you a question of some sort you'd always babble on about the little things that made you happy that day.

This was the second thing today that set him off which made him furrow his brows in confusion. You were all smiles when you left this morning and he was racking his brain for anything he might have said to upset you, but came up with nothing.

After strapping on your thigh holster and checking your gun you hopped into Jay's truck and waiting for him. You looked down at your jeans and picked at the hole by your knee from when you tackled a perp. The sound of a door opening made you lift your head and you were met with concerned blue eyes. You did your best to give the man a small reassuring smile before directing your attention back to your lap.

Tilting his head like a confused puppy Jay eyed your movements carefully. Whatever was wrong had bothered you so much that it made you find your shoes the most interesting things in the world at the moment. Giving you one last glance Jay turned the key and started the car.

You guys quickly headed in and were out within minutes. Apparently, the offenders were in way over their heads and dropped everything after Intelligence busted into the warehouse. Dragging the last person out you handed him off to an officer and beelined to Jay's truck. Hopping in you let out a deep breath and pulled your hair out of the tight ponytail it was in. You leaned your head back before shutting your eyes. You didn't hear Jay get in and he examined your expression before announcing his presence.

"Y/N?" Jay spoke up.

Your eyes shot open and you spun around in your seat to face your boyfriend. Your eyes were wide at the sudden sound, you hadn't even realized he entered the car.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jay asked, placing a gentle hand on your arm.

You closed your eyes and leaned forward, letting your head fall onto Jay's shoulder. Instinctively his hand went to your hair and raked through it. In this moment you were thankful for the tinted windows that hid the two of you from plain sight and the fact Jay had parked farther away.

"No, I'm not." You murmured quietly that Jay barely heard it.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jay asked pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

"I'll tell you about it later." You shook your head.

Later had come and now you sat on Jay's couch bundled up in a blanket while a Blackhawks game played on the television. Jay was in his room pulling out your favorite hoodie of his. Walking out he handed you the article of clothing.

"What's this?" You asked sitting up.

"Your favorite hoodie of mine." Jay shrugged nonchalantly as he took a seat beside you.

You thanked him with a small smile and he gave you a soft one in return. Once you had pulled on his hoodie, which was big and baggy on you, he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. He pulled you into his side and rubbed up and down your arms.

"My ears are open for whenever you're ready." Jay reassured you.

He had his fair share of communication problems when it came to sharing his feelings so he understood if you didn't want to talk about it just yet.

"It's my dad." You began with a whisper. Jay only nodded for you to continue.

"He got diagnosed with cancer, they called me this morning." Jay squeezed your shoulders as he hugged you tightly.

"Thanks." You said after a few moments of silence.

"For what?" Jay questioned.

"I don't know, for noticing?" You said, but it was phrased more like a question.

"I know you better than you think." Jay mused placing a kiss on the top of your head.

You let out a small laugh and wrapped your arms around Jay's waist tightly. The two of you stayed in that position the majority of the night until he had to practically carry to bed once you dozed off after the game ended.

#request #fanfiction #imagine #one shot #one chicago #chicago pd #chicago pd fanfiction #chicago pd imagine #one chicago imagine #one chicago fanfiction #jay halstead x you #jay halstead x y/n #jay halstead fanfiction #jay halstead x reader #jay halstead imagine #jay halstead

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Pink Chains (cont.)

Kyotani owns a grunge /punk apparel shop after leaving the Sendai Frogs after a incident with the Black Jackals. He designs his own clothes and hires Oikawa & Iwaizumi as his employees. Everything goes smoothly for awhile, till you walk in; pink dress, big smile , and bubbly personality. His whole life stops in that moment. 

Punk! Kyotani x Bubbly F! reader. Aka my favorite cliche trope. It lives in my head every second of the day.

Brief Violence

The rest of the first half and all ive got so far ! / first half at the bottom !!

Your home was a cheap studio apartment not far from the college; a small studio with a cute bed by the window , a table with a bunch of markers with a big sketchbook sitting in the middle . You had the basic needs and a little couch in the corner but no tv , but there was a little pink cat bed next to the couch.

Kyo stuffed his hands in his pockets looking around the studio , it was weird being in a small studio for him since he has a home . Everything seemed shoved into one or two spots. He sat down on the couch and you were looking a little embarrassed, fussing with your dress .

“I know its not much but ! Its my little space heh, Mocha is probably in her little house sleeping. She will wake up soon though now that im home !!!” You picked up some clothes out of a basket. “Ill be right back , make yourself at home!”

“Okay sweetie.” He leaned forward dipping his head down to look in the cat hut . He could see a tiny kitten sleeping in it and smirked leaning back into the couch getting comfortable, well as much as he could in tight jeans. Kyo peeled his jacket off and pulled his phone out to check it .

Group Chat

Mattsun/ picture

Oikawa/ OOOOOO

Iwaizumi/ i knew pink was your color

Kyotonai/ guess where i am

Iwaizumi/well i dont see you so not at home

Oikawa/ are you at her house ?!?

Kyotani/yep, invited me to stay the night

Mattsun/ oh my , how adult

Kyotani/ shut up Mattsun

Oikawa/ hope you brought condoms

Iwaizumi/ be gentle with her

Kyotani/we aint gonna fuck i just didint want to leave yet

Oikawa/ 😙😙😙😗😙😙😙

Mattsun/ 😳😳😳😳😳

Iwaizumi/ 😒

Kyotani / i hate all of you

Iwa,Kawa, Mattsun/ 💕💞♥️

Kyo put his phone on the table when he saw you come out of the restroom, you were wearing a red panda shirt and matching shorts . Mocha emerged from her home too and meowed for attention . Kyo could not stop looking at you, so cute, so , so cute..

“Mocha! “ you bent down and picked up the brown kitten taking a seat next to Kyo to show him. “Shes a rescue ! I saw her all alone and i just had to help her.”

Kyo took the kitten from you and set it on his lap to pet her. “Shes cute” he leaned back tugging at his jeans trying to relax.

“Whats wrong?” You asked, Kyos lap to pet the happy kitten.

“Had these jeans on all day, i dont want to.. make you uncomfortable.”

Mocha nuzzled into Kyos stomach getting comfy and looked like she was not movin for any reason.

“I dont mine but.. you better do it fast because Mocha is not gonna care that you wanna take em off.”

Gently he lifted to kitten to fuss with his belt , you giggled getting up and grabbing your sketchbook. “Can i show you.. heh my drawings.”

“Of course sweetie, you draw?” He asked , pulling his jeans down with one hand and Mocha in the other. Kyo had on black and pink boxers . “Ugn finally..” he set Mocha back on his lap and placed the jeans on his jacket feeling a little unsure if he should have taken em off.

You hid behind your sketchbook when you saw him on the couch in his boxers. Kyo had tone legs from volleyball and a few tattoos on his legs along with some bruises and knicks.

Kyo looked down at Mocha feeling a little embarrassed. Why were skinny jeans so damn uncomfortable after a while? He asked as he pet the little kitten.

You sat down with him criss cross with the sketchbook on your lap. “Yep! I'm in college for art and design. I want to one day get picked up by a clothing store and have my drawings on shirts”

Kyo leaned towards you looking over the sketches with wide eyes. They might have been all cute things; like kittens, red pandas, hearts, patterns and space but they were so damn good. “You have a real talent these are awesome.”

“Really?!?”

“Yes sweetie. Id put these on my shirts. Oh that reminds me..”

“Oh my gosh!! Kyo that would be so cool!” Gently you placed the sketchbook on the table and looked at Kyo, he was a looking a little unsure of himself. “Whats wrong..?”

“Why exactly did you come into my store ? Ive never seen you in it before”

“ uhm Kyo.. you have a shirt in the window with kittens on it.. so.. “

He laughed wrapping his arm around you making you laugh too. “My ‘Sad Day’ shirt? With all the grumpy cats?”

“Its so cute, how could I not!!!” You hit his chest lightly not liking his tone.

“Okay okay.” Lightly he grabbed one of your hands holding it close. “Happy you did, really.” His eyes drifted off you and around the room.

“Kyo?” You inched closer, picking Mocha up leaning down to place her in her hut.

Kyo picked you up and sat you down on his lap facing him, placing his hands at your hips. He leaned back spreading his legs. “Yes? Sweetie..?” You could feel he was a little hard, it was really hot between your legs..

“Im happy i did too.. i really like you.”

His heart thumped a few times. “First girl to say that to me…” he rested his elbow on the arm of the couch to support his head. “I wasn't the nicest guy in highschool, i'll never forget the day Yahaba slammed me into that wall and told me to get my shit together.”

You looked a little sad at his words, Kyo only mentioned his aggression one other time but even then he sounded upset and full of regret.

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked him , cupping his cheeks so he would look at you. His eyes told you ‘yes, yes please.’ But.. “No, i just want to hold you if that's okay.”

“Okay. If we fall asleep my alarm is going to go off at 8 so sorry in advance.” You got comfortable on his lap and Kyo tipped your chin up so you were looking at him.

“Would you be more comfortable on the bed?”

“Yes i think so. I dont think i can sleep like this. Hehe.”

Kyo gripped your hips picking you up, he stepped over Mochas hut and brought you to the bed to lay down with you, his face a little red. You latched onto his sleeve closing your eyes and drifting off. “Night Kyo..”

“G’night sweetie..”

Fuck what was he doing ? Talking about it will help.. right? Kyo had to wait a bit before you were fully asleep to get up and grab his phone.

Kyotani/ Iwaizumi

Iwaizumi/ Yes

Kytotani/ keep this between us

Iwaizumi/ you didn't hit it and ditch did you?

Kyotani/ what? No.

Iwaizumi/ are you scared to make it official Kyo

Kyo stared at the text for a few minutes reading it over and over .

Iwaizumi/ is it the anger issues

He squeezed his phone and sat down on the couch dialing his phone.

“Im scared ill lash out or something”

“Mm.. when was the last time that happened again?”

“The Tourney against the Black Jackals.”

“Ah yes, think Kei had to pry you off Bokuto or something right?”

“Yes… Iwaizumi i can't lash out at her. I just can't, i mentioned Yahaba and that day and she asked if i wanted to talk about it”

“You said ’no’, didn't you” Sigh “Kyotani she's not a threat, she's not an enemy . She's literally just a girl who likes you. Open up to her”

“How.”

“Uuhhmmmm, tell her you want to talk about it. I'm going to bed. You can do this Kyotani”

He hung up .

Kyo rubbed his face for a minute and glanced at you for a minute then back to his phone opening up Messages.

Kyotani/ Mattsun i know your asleep but invite Yahaba to the beach volleyball.

He set his phone down and very slowly made his way back to you. He wrapped his arms around your sleeping body and shut his eyes tight trying to sleep.

**

In the morning Kyo was awake early browsing on his phone, he stared at the screen for a minute before pressing Play on the video.

-flash back-

‘Another score for the Black Jackals!!! It is Match Point !!! ‘

The Sendai frogs were tired, sweaty and losing this Tournament. The Black Jackals were still full of energy and ready to go . It was a very hard game for both sides and Bokuto kept testing Kyotani, this was the first time he met the loud grey haired boy and he just did not like him. He knew Hinata but he did not like him too much.

Kyotani was doing better at keeping his temper under control and his team figured out how to hype him up without making him angry. Kei was not too fond of him but then again he did not really need to be, they just needed to be on the same page on the court.

That owl boy though, he was loud, annoying , and just testing him. Kyotani knew it, every serve, block, and spike was for him to clear or get rid of . Kyotani got hit with the ball a couple times and thats when he lost it.

‘Kyotani has taken another hit from the ball!!!’ Yelled the annoucer .

“Hey hey hey?!! Eye on the ball yea!??”

“Dont let it get to you” Kei told him .

“.........”

“..Kyot-“

He was on the other side of the net ontop of Bokuto punching him .The whole building was dead silent.

The last thing Kyotani remembered was hearing the announcer describe what was happening and Kei pulling him off of Bokuto.

He quit the Sendai Frogs that day, took his last check and left not looking back. He opened an apparel shop he called The Dog House and got in touch with his old highschool teammates starting over.

-end flashback-

You woke up to see Kyos hand on your head , you were not fully awake so you just laid there enjoying the nice feeling on your head. Mocha had also joined you in bed and was between you both sleeping. Kyo smelled like leather… an old leather that was renewed, it made your nose crinkle a bit. Looking up you saw he had a collar tattoo with spikes on it on his wrist . It was kinda silly but kinda cute too , although you wondered what it meant.

A minute later your alarm went off and you whimpered letting Kyo know you were awake. He let go of your head to slam your alarm clock off. He looked upset or angry in the face, and he was still staring at his phone.

Slowly you got up and gently placed Mocha on your pillow so you could scoot closer to him. “Kyo? Did you get any sleep?”

“I have to show you something.” He said as he turned his phone to you pressing Play again.

You were holding the phone now, it was alot heavier than yours . You had watched the video a couple times and everytime Kyo punched Bokuto you flinched. After the second time you placed the phone down to sit facing him.

“Kyo..”

He looked the other way running his hand through his hair.

“Kyo?”

He wanted to run away so bad. Start over again. Someplace without people like -

“Kyo.”

You were between his legs now , he had his knees up and was resting his elbows on them and still did not look at you. Dammit Mad Dog just say something to her, she's right there, dont shut her out.. dont shut..

You grabbed his face turning his head, kissing him, catching him very off guard. Kyo fell back taking you with him . You had no intention of stopping and just kissed him more and more even though he cursed between breaths. Kyo grabbed you lifting you up off his face and chest. You frowned at him and sat down on his lap once he let you go, cheeks flushed and very embarrassed.

“S..swee..sweetie”

“You aren't like that anymore!” You told him while you rubbed your eyes.

“Sweetie no don't cry please..” he sat up taking you in his arms rubbing your back in circles. “Sshh..”

“Please.. talk to me..” You sniffled into his neck squeezing him tight.

Kyo was shaking .. you were shaking . He laid his head on your neck starting from the beginning.. the very beginning. Every few minutes he would stop to check if you were still crying. He would cup your face and wipe under your eyes and ask ‘Are you Afraid of Me’ and you shook your head saying ‘No’ every single time. You were both tearing up by the end of it, Kyotani told you about Yahaba, Highschool after Iwa & Kawa graduated , how he became a Pro and Bokuto. The look on his face just made you so sad and seeing you sad was something he never wanted to see.

“Sweetie.. how , how can.”

“I like you Kyo, a lot. I'm not scared, never will be.”

“I'm so scared ill lash out at you sweetie.”

You grabbed his hand holding it and running a hand up and down his sleeve while you talked. “Kyo.. you let me touch your wolves. When we first met in your shop i noticed you were rubbing it a lot , like you were worried or you thought id just out right touch it”

“I..”

You kissed him again and wiped your eyes free of stray tears. “I want to be with you Kyo, i wanna.. see red pandas with you”

He laughed at that and so did you.

“I already said i'd take you didint i?” He asked cupping your face .

“Just making sure you know i really wanna go heh..”

“I know sweetie, believe me i know.” Kyo kissed you and you blushed wrapping your arms around him.

The alarm went off again too.

••

@zoppzoop @mocha-babes @haikyuu-but-low-iq @milkbreadcat @kozushiki

••

#PinkChains #kyotani x reader #kyotani kentaro #kentarou x reader #kyotani 💕

[autty0314]

If it’s meant to be - Bucky x Reader Ch.5

Summary: You and Bucky are at the restaurant; things get a little heated when you get back to your apartment to say goodbye; Steve and Sam found some more evidence on Rumlow with Natasha’s help.

 Warnings: Swearing, implied smut, kissing, mention of an assassin

 Word Count: 2033

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 We finally get to the restaurant, I forgot how stupid crazy the traffic is in New York, Bucky opens the door for me.

“Thanks Bucky.” I said smiling as we walk into the restaurant, he smiles and goes up to inform the waitress about our reservations.

“Right this way.” She said walking us to a table excluded by the wall. We thank her while we start to sit, Bucky pulls out my seat and then sits me down.

“I heard this place as the best food. Get what you want love.” Bucky said smiling at me. I look over the menu and find INSALATA Invernale, which is Winter Harvest Salad of Sunchoke, Sweet Potato, Caramelized Pear & Spiced Nuts. Very good, it’s three course meal. So that will be my first course of the three. My second course would  have to be LASAGNE all'Amatriciana, which is Baked Pasta Layers with Guanciale, Tomato & Peperoncino, and my three courses would have to be TORTINO alla Gianduja con Gelato al Latte di Nocciola Piemontese, which is Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Piemonte Hazelnut Milk Gelato.

“Good evening Mr. Barnes, what can I get for you started with.?” The waiter asked looking at Bucky,

“Let the miss first, I’m still decided.” Bucky said while smiling at me, I look up at the and smile

“I’d like to do Insalata Invernale, then the second would be Lasagne all’Amatriciana, and lastly Tortino alla Gianduja con Gelato al latte di Nocciola Piemontese.” I put my menu down and look over at Bucky, his face and the waiters face are so surprised that I have said all of that in one breathe without messing up any of the words. Bucky tells the waiter to make it the same, the waiter grabs the menus and walks away.

“When did you learn to speak Italian?” Bucky asked looking at me

“I took a few classes in my college years, I’m getting my masters right now in Literature. I just love the language in other counties and Italian always stuck out to me. I love the culture and the language.” I smile back. We talked for a good hour or so over our dinner, Bucky seems to be really interested in everything we were talking about, when I brought up my family history he seemed to be a bit sad since I never had a good role model since my parents worked all the time.

“So, are you ready to head back?” Bucky asked paying the bill. I smile and nod, we grab our coats from our chairs and start to head out. We get back to my apartment and we are talking outside before we part ways.

“Thank you so much for tonight, I am glad I know a little bit more about you. Your mother and sister sound like a delight. I hope to see you more, I know it’ll be hard before of your job.” I said putting some hair behind my ear. He smiles at me,

“Pleasure was all mine doll, hopefully you can some more of my friends and my family when the time comes.” Bucky says bring my hand up to kiss my hand, I blush at his gesture.

“Well, thank you. I must get ready for bed I have an AM class tomorrow. Good night Bucky.” I said smiling while unlocking my apartment door. I look back one more time to see him smiling at me and walking away after I closed my door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky gets back to his house to see Sam leaning against his door frame.

“Hey man, Steve and I got more entail about Rumlow. He’s a regular at The Rum House. We got to get to the safehouse, we have more planning to do.” Sam says leaning up to stand up straight looking forward toward Bucky. Bucky nods and unlocks his apartment to grab a few items for the meeting, the poison they bought off on of their allies, a Glock 19, and his black leather gloves.

“Let’s go, I got everything I need.” Bucky says locking his apartment back up. Sam and Bucky get into their tinted black SUV. They started on their way there when Sam sparks up a conversation.  

“So, how was your date with Y/N. Is she anything like Natasha?” Sam asked looking at the road still.

“No, she is way different, in a good way. She does have a feisty attitude like Nat, but god damn her personality is so innocent and sweet. I am definity going to corrupt her, she going to be mine for good.” Bucky says with a slight smirk on his face. He can see it now, that he’ll have her on knee begging for him to face fuck her. Her begging him to show her what a mod hitman can do to make her feel good.

“Damn, hopefully she doesn’t run away from you like Dot did. The bitch was terrified when you brought her home and she found out what you do for a living.” Sam says parking the car in the driveway.

“Sam, she knows what I am doing for a living. She said if I don’t bring her into the line of fire to get her involved then she doesn’t care. I found my soul mate and she doesn’t care about how I make my money. She also supports me for what I do.” Bucky says looking at Sam while they exit the car. Same snorts at the reply.

“It’s funny, because you are bring her in the line of work. Remember plan A dumbass.” Sam said snickering as they enter the house. Bucky was soon to see how far he can stretch her trust with this one. He doesn’t want to lose her right away because of this incident. He needs to tell her asap and make sure he can do it. He won’t let anyone touch his girl.

---

“Alright, do we know what we are doing?” Tony says looking at his people.

“Yes sir.” All his man agreed, Tony smirks looking at all them with a nod.

“Okay, we attack tomorrow. Barnes, make sure your girlfriend is working so we can assignat him that way, or you’ll be the one killing him later, on your own.” Tony says looking in his direction. Bucky nods and Tony dismisses everyone to get prepared for tomorrow events.

“So, when do  you plan on telling Y/N about needing her assistant in this.” Sam said while walking about to SUV with Bucky.

“I’ll have to send her a text, she’s asleep right now. She has class tomorrow morning.” Bucky says pulling out his phone.

‘Hey doll, I am going to pick you up tomorrow after school. I need to discuss a few things with you. Had fun tonight, sleep well love.’ Bucky sends and puts his phone on his pocket getting into SUV. A few minutes later he feels his phone vibrating rapidly in hid jean pocket. He gets his phone out and looks at the caller ID.

Y/N

“Hello?” Bucky answered.

“Hey sweetie, is everything okay? I just woke up to potty.” Y/N answered with a yawn.

“Oh, well yes everything is okay. I just have a huge  yet tiny favor to ask you.”

“Okay, what is it? “

“I’d rather ask you in person, instead of over the phone doll.”

“Okay, if you want, you can come over now. My AM class got canceled so I am free until I have to go to work at 5 tomorrow.”

“You want me to. . . Stay the night?”

“If you want, we can watch Netflix or Hulu and hangout. I have some food here if you’re still hungry after we dinner that we have 5 hours ago.”

“Sure, I’ll come. Let me go home first and grab a few things.”

“Alrighty handsome, I’ll see you when you get here.” Y/N said as she hung up the phone. Bucky smiles lightly at his phone, his smiled fades when he hears Sam chuckle beside him.

“What are you laughing at punk?” Bucky asked

“You, dumbass, you are so pussy whipped it’s funny. But hey, I am glad you found your soulmate.” Sam said nonchalantly. Bucky grumbles and looks out the window till they get to his apartment.

“Alright bub, we are here. Stay sharp tomorrow and you may have to convince Y/N a little. If you know what I am.” Sam said wiggling his eyebrows. Bucky rolls his eyes and gets out of the SUV

“Be safe Sam, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Bucky said walking inside the apartment complex he lives in. He gets into his apartment and packs a bag to stay the night and his Glock. He wants to be safe then  sorry if something happens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I start getting everything set up for my little sleep over with Bucky. I decide to get a little dressed up for him. I slip on my silky shorts and a loose silky tank top to match, I put my hair in a nice top knot bun. I slipped on my troll pink socks. I try to look halfway decent before he came.

Knock. . . knock. . . knock. . .

I smile and walk to my door and open to see Bucky smiling back, I just met the guy and he is giving hella butterflies. I gesture him to walk in my apartment, I lock it behind him and grab his hand lead him back into my room, he looked surprised to see popcorn, and Hulu on the screen.

“If this is too much, I can do something else.” I said looking up at him. He smiles down at me,

“Doll, this is fine. It’s perfect, what are we watching?” Bucky asked taking in my outfit I was wearing,

“Safe Heaven, my favorite chick flick. It reminds me of my past relationship I had with a guy.” I said going over to my bed and patting a spot for him to sit next to her. They start the movie, and getting comfortable cuddling when it starts, Bucky noticed in 30 minutes after the movie started that I start get sleepy.

“Hey love, can I ask you that favor for tomorrow?” Bucky asked

“Whatcha need handsome?” I asked brushing some hair out of Bucky’s face.

“It will help me out in the long run. . . I have been ordered to assassinate Brock Rumlow. He is Hydra, one of the leaders. I was wondering since he comes to your bar every Friday and Saturday if I come sneak a poison into his drink to kill him. It’ll be slow kill him, he will on the streets when it fully kills him. Can you do that for me, I’ll be at your bar with you. I can sneak it to you, I won’t be asking if I didn’t have any other way doll.” Bucky asked boring into my eyes. I stare at him a moment, not sure if he’s serious or kidding.

“Wait. . .  Are you serious Buck? What if I get caught with it? I don’t want to be fired or put in jail. . .  How would you do it.” I asked Bucky takes my hand and kisses my knuckles.

“You won’t get hurt or go to jail. I’ll be in a small bottle that can be hidden easily. You just pour it in and stir it in. it’ll be flavorless, so he won’t taste it. Please Y/N, I hate to ask but there is no other way.” Bucky says looking deeply in my eyes about it. I thought for a minute.

“Fine.”

Fine? You’ll do it?”

“Yes, just one condition.”

“Anything doll.”

“I want you to take out someone for me. Simple, and your reward can be me.” I said seductively in his ear. He smirks and kisses me gently.

“Anything for you babe.” Bucky says smiling looking back on the TV.

#Bucky Barnes #steve x bucky #bucky barns imagine #bucky barnes smut #bucky barns x reader #Sebastian Stan #sebastian stan smut #steve rodgers imagine #tony stark #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #wanda x reader #wanda #peter parker #peter x reader

[art-finds-a-way]

Wary sat on a short rock fence not far from his brothers who waited for him ready to leave. He felt something in his boots and before it could drive him crazy he had to get it out. Ah there it was, a tiny but sharp gravel ready to torture his feet all day long... As he got rid of the little intruder and put his boots back on he heard a faint voice from his right.

"H-hello."

Looking up he glanced a little girl standing beside him. She was short and scrawny, wearing a funny shirt with a creature's drawing on it, her flaming red hair cut in a cute style. Her face showed clearly that she was embarrassed as her green eyes glistened uncertainly.

"Ehm... Can I help you little one?" asked Wary confused.

It seemed that the little girl's face reddened a bit more as her eyes darted to the ground, she then turned her head back looking behind herself. Wary saw that there stood a tall woman smiling warmly, surely her mother, who nodded encouragingly. Then the little girl turned back towards Wary pressing her lips together, it was obvious she had just as tough a battle inside her than the one they just fought a few days ago. She didn't manage to say a word, but she extended her little arms holding a box out for him. Wary blinked behind his helmet.

"What is this?" he asked but he didn't get an answer so he just took the box and once it was safely in his hand the little girl turned and ran back to her mom, precisely hid behind her long skirt and peeked out from there. Wary utterly confusedly lifted the lid of the box and his mouth opened in surprise. The box was filled with homemade cookies, each a real piece of art, the basic shape of them was a clone helmet but the details were drawn with cream on each, different colors, patterns and markings, the uneven lines definitely the handy works of the little shy girl. On top of the cookies sit a little note with uncertain child writing saying only a few words. "You are awesome." Wary couldn't help on the huge smile spreading across his face. He looked up at the little girl and wanted to wave at her or something, just to say thank you but his brothers stepped to him.

"Hey bro, what's that?" asked Rag.

"It's a gift apparently." answered Wary showing the box to his brothers.

"Woaah, really? My, that's cute!" exulted Jolt.

Wary turned back to the little girl and gestured to her to come closer. She looked up at her mom uncertainly who nodded at her encouragingly. "Go on sweetie, you wanted to ask them for something right?"

The little redhead walked up to them.

"What's your name little one?" asked Wary.

"Tora." she answered quietly then burst out on her little shaky voice like being afraid that she will lose her courage to finish her sentence. "C-can I have your names please??"

Wary blinked at her in surprise.

"Our names?"

The little girl, Tora swallowed and pulled out a notebook and held it out for him. Wary took it and seeing the cover he felt something odd, something he didn't feel before. A weird warm feeling in his chest. On the cover there was a child drawing of a clone trooper, with the title above it "Book of Heroes".

"This is beautiful." he said sincerely. Tora seemed to beam hearing it and gaining courage from the praise she stepped closer and extended her hand for the book.

"Look, you can take off the helmet." she explained happily, removing the drawing's helmet which was attached with some sort of velcro also playing the role of the black hair framing a dark skinned face. Wary and his brothers laughed.

"Oh that's awesome!" exclaimed Jolt and took off his own helmet showing his face, and the others followed his example. The little girl seemed to shake in happiness as she looked up at them with a shining grin.

"Can you please write your names in it?" she asked. "You will be the first ones!"

"Yeah, sure!" answered Rag with a grin enjoying the little girl's attention.

Wary opened the book, and as ridiculous as it sounded he felt a bit nervous, as if this was some serious or sacred task. He took the pen resting on the book's spine and thinking over the process wrote the few letters carefully, then after hesitating a moment he put there his ID number too. He then gave it to Rag who put his signature down with more ease, his letters more confident than his brother's and he put there their battalion's number and name too, finally Jolt took over the book and he went even further putting his own artistic skills into it drawing a little clone helmet beside his name with all the patterns on it before handing it back to Tora. The little girl seeing the names became all bouncy from happiness. She earned a pat on her head from Rag before her mom called for her.

"Come now sugar, the soldiers are surely busy."

Tora nodded, then holding her little notebook like a treasure she said bye with sparkling eyes.

"Thank you! Take care, bye-bye!" she waived joyfully then ran back to her mom.

"It's really yummy!" yelled after her Jolt with one of the cookies still in his mouth and the little girl chuckled excitedly. Wary saw her mom smiling at her adoringly then turned back and nodded her thanks towards them warmly as she walked away with the little redhead. Wary still had a smile on his face when they already arrived at the base. He never thought about himself or any of his brothers as heroes... They simply did what they had to do, but the thought that someone looked up to them like this warmed his heart and assured him that it is worthy to continue the fight. They were heroes to someone after all, even if it's only a little girl...

#tora ge'per #backstory #see where she got the idea of becoming a stormie #after she loses everything her family and her home she thinks to become like her 'heroes' and fight for peace and order in the white armor #rayn44 art

[carolina-bleus]

Change of Heart: Carolina-Bleus

“Lisa, Mr. Johnson just received his right-to-sue letter and has decided to go forward with his Title VII claim. I need you to get a courier over to his home today and pick up the letter and some other documents he forgot to bring to our last meeting. I want to start working on his complaint today.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Richardson. Do you need anything else?”

“No, I-“ Michonne was interrupted by buzzing coming from her desk. She smiled at the caller id. “Lisa, could you hold all of my calls until further notice?”

“Absolutely.”

Michonne disconnected from Lisa and picked up her cell. “Hey, sweetie. How was your day?”

“Hey, Mama! It was good. I got an ‘A’ on my math test.”

“That’s excellent, Andre! We’ll have to celebrate with a scoop of Big Cat ice cream when we get home.”

“When are you coming home?”

Michonne sighed, knowing that her son wouldn’t be happy with her answer. “I have something I really need to work on for a client, so it will probably be after dinner.”

“So I have to stay with Aunt Jacqui and Uncle Tyreese until then?”

“I thought you liked spending time there with your cousins?”

“I do, but it’s not the same as being home with you.”

“I know, Peanut, and I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you this weekend. We can spend Saturday doing whatever you like.”

“That’s fine, Mama. I know you can’t help it. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay, sweetie. Bye. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mama. Bye.”

Michonne waited for Andre to end the call and then sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. Opening my own firm was supposed to give me more time with Andre, not less.

A light tapping on her office door interrupted Michonne’s thoughts. She opened her eyes and sat up. “Come in, Lisa.”

“Guess again.” Sasha popped her head in with a big smile before walking into Michonne’s office.

“Oh, hey. Sorry, I thought you were Lisa bringing me something.”

“She just stepped away from her desk as I was walking up so that’s the only reason I could get in here unannounced. She guards this place like Fort Knox.”

“Yeah, Lisa doesn’t play,” Michonne said with a laugh. “So what brings you by?”

“I was in the area and thought I’d stop in to see my sister-friend. How are you doing?”

Michonne’s older sister, Jacqui, was married to Sasha’s older brother, Tyreese. The couple had been married for years and dated many years before that. Sasha and Michonne had become like sisters themselves as a result.

“I’m fine.”

Sasha squinted at her friend before taking a seat in front of Michonne’s desk. “That wasn’t very convincing. What’s going on Chonnie?”

“It’s Dre.”

“Is he okay?” Sasha asked in concern.

“He’s fine. I just talked to him and had to tell him I’d be home late...again. He doesn’t like always having to go to Jacqui and Tyreese’s after school.”

“I can understand that. There’s nothing like your own home.”

“Rub salt in the wound there, friend.”

“I’m not trying to do that. I’m just saying I get it.”

“I’d love to be able to pick him up and be home with him after school but I can’t do that. Hell, I can’t even have dinner with him some days.” Michonne shook her head in frustration. “I left my other firm and started this one so I would have more say over my schedule and the cases I took so that I could have more time with Dre.”

“And that’s not happening.”

“I definitely have more say over my cases but I’m getting so many that they are cutting into my time with Dre. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful because I wanted and needed the firm to be a success, but it’s growing faster than I’d ever hoped or expected.”

“Why don’t you hire on more people here?” Sasha suggested.

“I plan to but I don’t want to expand too quickly. More people means more salaries, more office supplies, more computers, more office space...more everything. The firm is still fairly new. I have to be smart about the moves I make. I am going start with hiring a new associate and maybe get an intern to do some basic research and document drafting. That should help ease things some at work. But---”

“That doesn’t solve the issue with Dre.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, there is one more person you could hire.”

“Sasha, I already told you—”

“Not for your firm...for your home.”

“What are you talking about? A babysitter?”

“I was thinking someone a little more permanent like a nanny.”

“A nanny?”

“Yeah. They can pick Dre up from school, take him to his different activities, make him dinner when you can’t and just be there with him at home.”

“I don’t know, Sasha,” Michonne said warily. “It feels like hiring someone to raise my child.”

“They wouldn’t be taking your place or raising your child, Michonne. It’s just someone to help out. And Dre will get to spend more time in his own home.”

Michonne thought it over. “I guess it’s not a bad idea, but I’d have to vet the hell out of this person. Not just anyone is going to be around my little peanut.”

“I didn’t expect anything less, Mama Bear. And since it was my suggestion, I want to help. I know you have your resources, but I can also get Abe to run a background check on any candidates down at the police station.”

“That would be great. Well, I’ll start looking at agencies and go from there.” 

Feeling a little better now that she had a plan in place, Michonne decided to tease her friend some. “Abe, huh? I noticed his name has been coming up a lot more lately. Are you two...?”

Sasha sighed and rolled her eyes. “No. We are just friends. I’m not dating any more guys with civil service jobs.”

“So I shouldn’t try to hook you up with Shaun the mailman? He fills those walking shorts out like nobody’s business.”

Sasha picked up a paper clip from the desk and threw it at Michonne. “You got jokes I see. You know what I mean.”

Michonne sobered. “I do. I was just trying to keep your mind from going there. You can’t shut yourself off because of what happened to Bob.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Michonne.”

“Okay. I’ll let it go for now.”

“Thank you.” Sasha stood up to leave.” I have to get to work. When you get some names together, just give them to me and I’ll pass them along to Abe. I’ll talk to you later.”

Michonne watched Sasha make her way to the door. “Sasha.”

Sasha paused without turning around. “Yeah?”

“Thanks for the suggestion and looking out for Dre.”

“No problem. And Michonne?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for looking out for me.”

“No problem.”

Sasha turned and shared a smile with Michonne before heading out of the office.

Michonne buzzed Lisa at her desk. She hoped she was back. “Lisa?”

“Yes, Ms. Richardson?”

“Could you look up some staffing agencies that specialize in nannies?”

“Sure. How soon do you need the list?”

“As soon as possible. Oh and you can resume my calls. Thanks.” 

Michonne turned her seat to face the city view. A nanny...I hope I’m making the right decision.

“NERD ALERT! NERD ALERT! Fellas, we got a Poindexter on the premises!” Shane shouted out to the table full of police officers, firefighters, and EMTs.

Rick smiled good-naturedly as his friends laughed at Shane’s antics. He took a seat and waited for them to quiet down.

“I’m glad I can be a source of amusement for y’all.”

Shane clapped his best friend on the back. “And I certainly do appreciate it, Rick. You’ve been providing me with solid material since kindergarten.”

“Don’t act like we don’t have dirt on you, Shane. I seem to remember a certain incident where they brought in that lady in a witch costume for Halloween when we were in first grade and you got so scared that you hid behind Miss Pierson’s skirts and peed all over the floor.”

“Shut up, T-Dog. My mama said I had a condition back then that I had to grow out of,” Shane defended.

“Yeah, it was called Pissy-itis. Didn’t you have a flare-up at summer camp when we were in the sixth grade?”

While the others turned their laughter on Shane, Teddy shot Rick a quick wink. Rick nodded his thanks for Teddy setting Shane straight.

Teddy “T-Dog” Douglas, Rick Grimes, and Shane Walsh had been best friends since childhood. While Shane thought himself the group leader, it was Teddy who kept their group together and served as the balance between boisterous Shane and the more laid-back Rick.

“Whatever, man.” Shane dismissed Teddy and turned to Rick. “I’m surprised you could make it. Lately, you’ve either been too busy studying or working to hang out with us. What’s the special occasion?”

“I needed a drink tonight. I just found out that I’m out of a job.”

Shane immediately turned serious. While he had his obnoxious moments, he genuinely cared about his friends. “That’s messed up, man. What happened?”

“Well, since it’s a nonprofit, they rely a lot on grants and donations. They told me today that they were shifting the focus of the program and the grant for my position won’t be renewed. I have six weeks to find another job.”

“Can’t you just live off of the money your grandmama left you?” Shane asked.

“She left me good money and it’s helping me pay for school without taking out loans, but I don’t want to just rely on that. I still need to supplement my other expenses. Working part-time with the foundation helped with that.”

Rick was a former police officer, turned graduate student. He was pursuing his master’s degree in psychology. He eventually wanted to get his doctorate in clinical psychology and counsel children, particularly those whose lives had been disrupted by crime...be they crimes perpetrated against them or crimes committed by a parent against others. His years as a cop had left him keenly aware of the fact that the impact of crime on children was long-lasting and not always given the attention it deserved. He wanted to do what he could to help the smallest voices be heard.

Going back to school wouldn’t have been fathomable if not for Rick’s late maternal grandmother. Before she passed, she had encouraged Rick to pursue his career passion and left him with the means to do so in her will.

“So what are you going to do, Rick? We’d always be glad to have you back at the station. You say the word and I’ll get things moving for you,” Abe Ford offered.

“Thanks, but there’s no way I could do that and go to school full-time. I’m really looking for something like I’m doing now that offers me experience working with kids and has flexible hours that allow me to get my schoolwork and studying done.”

“We’ll all keep an ear out for you, Rick.”

“I appreciate that, Abe.”

Shane clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, now if we are done with the career counseling, can we take advantage of the fact that Rick has decided to rejoin the living tonight? I say we celebrate. And to show what a good friend I am, I will buy the first round of drinks—”

A shout of approval went up over the table.

“Y’all’s cheap asses didn’t let me finish. I’m buying the first round for Rick’s soon-to-be unemployed ass. The rest of y’all have jobs so buy your own damn drinks,” Shane said as he walked off to the bar.

“Here you go.”

Rick looked up from scrolling through a job site and grabbed the Jack and Coke from Shane. He immediately took a sip. “Thanks, Shane.”

“No problem, man,” Shane said as he plopped back into his seat. “I just want you to know that everything is going to work out...with your job and everything. You’ve worked too hard for it not to.”

“Shane Walsh being supportive? I’m pleasantly surprised.”

“Shut up and finish your drink. I know you have to drink away your sorrows since your no game having ass doesn’t have a woman to suck them away.”

“And regular Shane is back,” Rick added with a laugh.

“Look, I know I give you a lot of shit, but I’m proud of you and what you’re doing.”

Rick nodded his thanks before asking, “Why do you give me so much shit about school and pretty much everything else?”

“Hey, man, what can I say? I’m an asshole, but my heart’s in the right place.”

“I’ll make sure they put that on your tombstone because that is Shane Walsh in a nutshell.”

“Fuck you, man.”

Rick laughed. “I love you, too, brother.”

“Wow, Michonne, you actually beat me to dinner for once? Let me look outside and make sure there aren’t any pigs flying around.” Sasha pretended to peer through one of the restaurant’s large windows facing the water.

“Sasha, you act as if I’m always late.”

“Eh, not always but your track record of tardiness is pretty good.”

“I’m a busy woman. Now sit down so we can order. I’m starving.”

“That’s because you don’t eat like you should at work.”

“Sasha, I’ll leave your love life alone if you’ll let me handle my work life.”

“Fine...let’s talk about your love life...or lack thereof.”

“My love life is fine. I don’t have time for much else besides taking care of Dre and making sure my firm is a success.”

“And you’re doing great on both counts, Michonne,” Sasha assured her friend.

“I’m doing great with work. But if I was doing a great job with Dre, I wouldn’t be handing you this list right now.” Michonne reached into her bag and pulled out a large manila envelope. “Here are the names and information of the final candidates for the nanny position.”

Sasha took the envelope and secured it in her bag before continuing. “Those must be some A plus candidates you settled on because it’s taken three weeks to get my hands on those names.”

“I just wanted to make sure I have the best options. I’m not just going to have any and everyone around my son for hours on end.”

“Oh, I’m totally with you on that. I’ll get these down to Abe before my shift starts at the firehouse tomorrow.”

“I still don’t see how you do those twenty-four hour shifts.”

Sasha shrugged. “I’ve been doing them for a while now, so I’ve gotten used to it. And I’ll have the next two days off after that so I can’t complain too much. Plus, I just really love what I do.” She smiled sadly. “My job has brought a lot of good things and good people into my life.”

Michonne knew Sasha was thinking about her fiancé, Bob Stookes. Bob was an EMT that Sasha met while responding to call. Bob’s quick wit and positive outlook on all things quickly won Sasha over and the two began dating soon after they met. They’d been engaged to be married when Bob was killed while aiding a victim during a domestic disturbance call. It had been nearly two years and Sasha hadn’t been able to move forward. She’d tried. She’d even moved closer to family and started work at a new fire department after Bob’s death, but she hadn’t been able to leave behind those emotions from the night she received that life changing phone call.

Michonne placed a hand over Sasha’s. “Sasha when I talk to you about moving on with your life, being happy and dating again, I hope you know that I’m not trying to tell you to forget Bob and all that he means to you. I’m just saying that he wouldn’t want you to spend the rest of your life mourning him. That’s not how Bob lived and he wouldn’t want you to do that either. He’d want you to be happy.”

Sasha moved her hand to wipe at a stray tear. “I know you mean well, Michonne. But it’s a little hard for me to take advice from you when you don’t even follow it yourself. Mike walked out years ago and you still haven’t moved on. Are you waiting for him to walk back into your and Dre’s life?”

Michonne sat back angrily. “If he wants to be part of his son’s life, then that could perhaps be arranged...if he’s changed. But our life together as a couple and a family is over. I could forgive and forget if he had just walked out on me. But he left our son and has never looked back. I can’t forgive that.”

“Mike was the one who did wrong, so why are you punishing yourself?”

“What are you talking about?”

“He left because his fragile ego couldn’t handle that your career was progressing faster than his. He couldn’t handle that you were the breadwinner and he was the stay-at-home dad. That was all on him. But you’ve locked yourself off from pursuing anything that doesn’t directly benefit Dre or your career because of Mike’s shortcomings. How is that fair to you?”

“I think a part of Mike thought I would fail if he left me trying to juggle my career and a toddler, but I made it. My career flourished. Andre has flourished. And---”

“And you have made yourself your last priority. Your happiness counts for something, too, Michonne. And I think Dre cares more about having a happy mother than a successful one.”

“I can be both.”

“But are you both?”

“Sasha, I don’t need a man to be happy.”  

“Michonne I never said anything about a man. You just did. All I’m saying is that you need to focus on yourself more and find some happiness outside of being a successful lawyer and amazing mother. You need to stop neglecting yourself, Michonne.”

That threw Michonne for a loop. She was extremely happy with how her career was going. And aside from not being able to spend as much time as she would like with Andre, she was happy with the young man her son was becoming. But, personally, she did miss having someone to share everything with...the triumphs and the tragedies. She thought she’d had that with Mike and had been sorely mistaken.

Michonne mentally shook off the conversation because she just wasn’t ready to deal with any of it yet and grabbed her menu. “I don’t think either of us came here for a therapy session. How about we save this for another day, get some good food, gossip about Andrea’s scandalous love life and call it a night?”

“That’s the best idea you’ve had in a while,” Sasha agreed as she picked up her own menu.

“All of my ideas are amazing, Sasha.”

Sasha scoffed. “Uh, what about your idea to do our own eyebrows when we were in high school?”

Michonne laughed at the memory. “I did a great job on mine. I didn’t tell you to go ham on your brows with the tweezers.”

“I ended up looking like a Vulcan!”

“But you were a cute Vulcan. All the guys in Science Club wanted to date you.”

Sasha flipped Michonne the bird before looking at her menu.

Bright and early the next day, Sasha walked into the police station hoping to catch Abe before his shift ended. She spotted him standing at the front desk.

“Abe!”

Abe turned and greeted Sasha with a big, tired smile on his face. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence this early in the morning?”

“What? No inappropriate comment?”

“It’s too early and I’m too tired. But I promise to give it to you good the next time I see you to make up for lost time.” Abe winked.

Sasha shook her head with a smile. “Before you head out, I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything for you, darlin’.”

Sasha handed Abe the envelope full of candidate info. “My best friend is looking for a nanny for her son. He’s very special to me and I was hoping you could run a deep background check on the candidates for the job. I have to make sure he’s in good hands.”

“Of course.” Abe opened the envelope and began flipping through the pages. “Well, not a looker to be found. They certainly won’t inspire any good source material when I get home.”

“Abe.”

“Just a little joke,” Abe murmured before closing the envelope and looking at Sasha. “How soon does your friend need it?”

“As soon as possible would be great. Michonne wants a nanny in place sooner rather than later.”

“Mee-shawn? That sounds exotic.”

“Say that to her and it won’t end well.”

“She sounds feisty. I like that in a woman.” Abe looked at Sasha pointedly before continuing. “Why is she looking for a nanny? What is she, some rich woman who needs more time to improve her tennis strokes?”

“Hardly. She’s a single mother and successful lawyer. It’s getting harder to do everything on her own so she’s looking for someone to pick Dre up from school and be at home with him until she can get there.”

That got Abe thinking. “Hmmm. How old is Dre?”

“He turns eight in a few months? Why?”

“I thought you were talking about a baby, but I think Rick can handle a soon-to-be eight-year-old.”

“Abe, what are you talking about?”

“I have a friend, a former cop, named Rick Grimes. He left the force about a year ago to go back to school full-time and get a graduate degree in psychology. He was working with kids at a nonprofit, but his position is up in a couple of weeks. If the nanny would just be needed in the afternoons and evenings, I think this would be right up Rick’s ally.”

Sasha thought for a moment. “Rick Grimes? I remember running into him a couple of times during calls my first year at the firehouse here. He was always nice and helpful. You know him pretty well?”

“He’s a real good friend of mine and one of the best guys I know. This would be a win-win for him and your friend. I mean she doesn’t have to worry about anybody messing with Dre with Rick around.”

“I’d have to talk to Michonne. I don’t know if male nannies were even on her radar.”

“Well, that’s mighty sexist of her.”

Sasha eyed Abe. “You would know.”

“I think you’re confusing sexist with sexy.”

“Yeah, Abe, that’s exactly it,” Sasha said dryly.  “Look, could you get Rick’s information for me and have it ready ASAP? I’m going to try and smooth the way for him with Michonne.”

“Will do.” Abe offered Sasha an arm. “Now, let me walk you down to the firehouse and show those guys what a real specimen looks like.”

Sasha ignored Abe’s arm and started walking out of the station. “Your body might be tired but your mouth is working overtime. Bye, Abe. And thanks.”

“You are mighty welcome, Miss Sasha Williams.”

Before heading home, Abe decided to stop over at Rick’s apartment.

“Hey, Abe. What’s going on?”

“I’m just gonna cut to the chase because I’m more worn out than a mattress at a swingers’ club. I think I found you a job.”

“Come on in.” Rick stepped back to let Abe enter. “You want anything to drink?”

“No, I’m good.” Abe took a seat on the couch while Rick sat in his recliner. “Do you remember Sasha Williams? She’s a firefighter over at the Libby Street Station. She said she met you a couple of years ago?”

“Yeah. We worked a few of the same calls.”

“Well her best friend is looking for a nanny.”

“A nanny!” Rick started shaking his head. “Abe, I don’t think—”

“Just hear me out. This isn’t for a little baby. The kid is eight years old. His mother is a single parent looking for someone to pick him up after school and stay with him until she gets home in the evenings. She’s a lawyer so she’ll probably pay pretty good. And you can’t beat the schedule.”

“When I said I wanted to work with kids, being a babysitter wasn’t on the list of jobs.”

“I’m sure she’ll have you doing other stuff, I’m just giving you a rough rundown. It’s perfect, Rick. And it starts soon. All I need you to do is give me your information so I can pass it on along.”

“Well, I am running out of options and maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Let me print out a copy of my resume.”

Abe leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. “Alright. Put that printer on lightning speed so I can get out of here before I fall asleep or else you’ll have a redheaded roommate for the next few hours.”  

Rick stood in his office waiting for his resume to finishing printing. I hope this is the right move.

“Good job, Peanut!” Michonne turned to Andrea in the stands. “Did you see that? Dre just scored a goal!”

Andrea looked up from her phone. “Oh shit! I missed it? He didn’t even have the ball when I glanced down to check a message. These kids move fast.”

“If you put your phone away and paid attention, you wouldn’t miss anything.”

“Michonne, I am here for Dre and Dre only. If he’s not kicking the ball, I’m not paying attention.”

“I’m surprised you even made it. You and Saturday mornings don’t usually mix.”

“Dre begged me to come and you know how hard it is to say ‘no’ to him. I’d do anything for that little guy.”

“I definitely know the feeling. That’s the only reason why I agreed to this whole nanny thing.”

“How is that going?”

“Sasha is supposed to bring me the information on the finalists today. Then I’ll start setting up interviews for next week.”

“Have you told Dre about this yet?”

“Yeah. I want him to be there for part of the interviews. I need to see who Dre feels most comfortable with and how they interact with him.”

“That makes sense. Because I’d really hate to have to hurt somebody for not treating him right.”

Michonne laughed. “You sound like Jacqui. She said she’d catch a case if somebody laid hands on Dre.”

“For once, Jacqui and I agree on something.”

After the game, Michonne pulled into her driveway to find Sasha sitting in the swing on her front porch.

“Hey, Sasha,” Michonne greeted while getting out the car. “Why didn’t you use your key?”

“I just got here a little while ago. I decided to enjoy the nice morning while I wait. Hey Andrea.”

“Hey Sasha.”

Dre jumped out of the car and ran up to Sasha. “Hey Aunt Sasha! Guess what?”

“What?”

“We won and I scored a goal!”

“Great job, Dre! Gimme a hug.”

“I’m kind of sweaty though.”

“I don’t mind.” Sasha grabbed her nephew up in a big hug that had him giggling before she set him back on the ground. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there this morning.”

“That’s okay. I know you can’t be there when you have to save people.”

Michonne opened the front door and motioned everyone in. “Dre, sweetie. Go on and wash up and then we’ll go out to lunch.”

“Okay, Mama. See ya in a little bit.” Dre yelled as he ran up the stairs.

“Sasha, do you have the information for me?”

“I do. Let’s go into the kitchen. I need some coffee this morning.”

Once they were seated around the island, Sasha slid the packet over to Michonne. “Everyone checked out so you should be good to go with setting up interviews. But there is one additional candidate I think you should look at.”

Michonne looked up from the papers. “Who is that?”

“A man named Rick Grimes. He used to be a cop. He’s going to grad school now to become a child psychologist. I worked with him a few times and he’s nice. His resume is at the end in the pile.”

Michonne took a moment to read over the document. “He looks great on paper, but why would he want to work as a nanny?”

“I don’t know all of the details but apparently his other job is ending soon and he’s looking for something similar that allows him to work with kids and has hours that work with his school schedule.”

Andrea reached over and grabbed the paper from Michonne. “Where is his picture? All the other applicants provided a photo. I need to see if this dude passes the weirdo test and to see if he’s worth putting in my dating pool.”

“It doesn’t matter what he looks like, Andrea.” Michonne took the resume back. “I’m not sure if I even want a male nanny. It’s just not something I’m used to.”

Sasha scoffed. “Are you serious right now, Michonne?”

“I’m completely serious.”

“You make a living out of helping people fight against employment discrimination and you are going to discriminate against someone because of their sex. That’s very hypocritical of you.”

“She’s got you there, Michonne.” Andrea chimed in. “Besides, maybe Dre would prefer to have a male nanny as opposed to some of those Mrs. Doubtfire stand-ins the agency suggested. You should at least let the man interview.”

“Fine, I’ll have Lisa set up an interview. But it will probably be a waste of both of our time. I doubt he’ll even want the job.”

Three interviews down and Michonne was ready to throw in the towel. Thus far, none of the candidates had lived up to their resumes.

Michonne sighed and rubbed her temples. “I feel like we are being catfished nanny style.”

“You seriously need to call the Better Business Bureau on that agency. Those nannies they recommended have been horrible. Did they even read your requirements? I thought the first lady was going to explode when she found out this wasn’t a live-in position. Why was she so upset about not being able to live here? That’s a thief in the making right there. You’d have to break out the nanny cam on her ass.”

“Jacqui, this agency was supposed to be the best one in the area. I told them exactly what I needed. I don’t know how it got so screwed up.”

“Well, screwed up is putting it mildly. The blonde chick gave me Single White Female vibes. She was just a little too attentive to you and Dre. If you’d hired her, it would only be a matter of time before she came in here wearing a dreadlock wig, too much bronzer, and asking Dre to call her ‘mama.’”

“She wasn’t that bad, Jacqui. But Dre didn’t seem to like her so she’s out anyway. What about Mrs. Addams that just left? What did you think of her?”

“I think the last kids she probably cared for are collecting social security checks as we speak. Mrs. Addams was 82 if she was a day. That crooked jet-black wig wasn’t fooling anybody. Coming in here looking like a black Betty Boop with them drawn on eyebrows. There is no way she can keep up with Dre. He’d end up taking care of her and that wig.”

“Calm down, Jacqui.”

“Michonne, you know I can’t abide by messiness, especially when it comes to my family.”

“We have two last interviews. One more person from the agency and that Grimes man Sasha recommended. Hopefully, one of them will be the right fit.”

“They better be the right fit. If not, I’m going to make sure my size six shoe fits right upside somebody’s head down at that agency.”

Michonne stared at her sister in amusement. “Why did I ever ask you to join me for these interviews?”

“Cause you know I don’t play.”

“Could you just go get the next candidate please?”

“Sarah, I see you have an undergraduate degree in child development.”

“Yes, I graduated with honors. The course of study was interdisciplinary and focused on child development from birth through adolescence. We delved into child psychology, education, sociology and so much more. I have great insight as to not only how children develop physiologically but also the psychological and sociological influences that impact their development along the way.”

“Are you planning on furthering your education or is being a nanny a lifelong career path for you?”

“I plan to keep up with the latest developments in the field and eventually have my own agency full of well-qualified and educated nannies such as myself. But, at this point in my life, I’m focused on providing the best care to the children under my charge.”

“You’re aware that this position is not live-in?”

“Yes, that’s one of the things that drew me to the position. I just got married, so I kind of want to live with my husband,” Sarah said with a laugh.

“There may be some evenings where you have to stay quite late if I have a business engagement or even some overnights, if I have a trial or seminar out of town. Will that be a problem?”

“Absolutely not. That is all expected when one chooses to become a nanny.”

“Are you fine with the rate of pay for this position?”

“Yes. It is in line with the other positions I’ve held.”

“Okay. Well, do you have any questions for me?”

“Well, I was wondering if I would be able to meet Andre? It’s great if the parents like me, but if the child doesn’t, then this will not work. He is the client in a very large sense.”

Michonne smiled at Sarah’s words. “Actually, that was the next part of the interview. Come on, Andre is in his playroom.”

 After showing Sarah out, Michonne turned to Jacqui. “Well, what do you think?”

“I don’t have anything bad to say. She was pretty damn good. She has the background and experience. Plus, and most importantly, Dre seemed to really like her. She might be it.”

“I think so, too.” Michonne looked at her watch. “Rick Grimes should be here in thirty minutes. He’s going to have to be just about perfect to beat out Sarah.”

Michonne was on her way to freshen up when the doorbell rang. “Jacqui, I need to run to the bathroom. That’s probably Mr. Grimes. Could you answer that for me?”

“No problem, Chonnie.”

Jacqui walked into the foyer and opened the door. What she saw standing on the other side left her in a rare condition...speechless.

“Hi, Miss Richardson? I’m Rick Grimes. I’m here for the nanny interview.”

“...”

“Miss Richardson, are you okay? Did something happen?” Rick’s cop instincts kicked in and he started surveying the area for any issues.

Jacqui finally found her voice. “Uh...everything is fine...very fine. I’m Jacqueline Renee Williams but you can call me Jacqui.” Miss Jacqui if you nasty. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”. 

Rick held out his hand to Jacqui. “I’m Richard Sutton Grimes and it’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Miss Jacqui.”

Oooh, he nasty! 

Jacqui shook Rick’s hand while giving him a discrete once-over. Lawd, Tyreese better be glad I love his wonderful and cuddly thick ass. 

“You’ll be interviewing with my sister, Michonne. Come on in and I’ll take you to her.” Jacqui watched Rick walk past her before she closed the door. Oooh, and he’s bowlegged, too.

“Right this way, Mr. Grimes.”

“You can call me Rick.”

If I were single, I’d call you Daddy. 

“Okay...Rick.”

Walking down the hallway, Rick wondered if Miss Richardson was anything like her sister, Jacqui. If so, he was in for a handful.

Michonne glanced at her watch once again, wondering what was taking Jacqui so long to bring Mr. Grimes back. She looked up when she heard them finally enter the room and immediately knew what the holdup was. It was Rick Grimes.

From the top of his curly head to the bottom of his cowboy boot clad feet, Rick Grimes was the most handsome man Michonne had ever seen. He looked like he belonged on a television or movie screen, not applying to be her son’s nanny.

When he walked into a study and Michonne Richardson looked up, Rick knew he was in trouble. He was staring at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Rick and Michonne locked eyes and neither could tear themselves away. Jacqui sat back and looked between the two with a knowing smirk on her face.

“Michonne? Rick? Are y’all ready to start the interview or do you need more time to memorize each other’s faces?”

Michonne was the first to snap out of it. “What did you say, Jacqui?”

“I asked if y’all were ready to start the interview?”

“Oh, yes. Mr. Grimes, I’m Michonne Richardson. Thank you for coming in today.” Michonne smiled, reached for Rick Grimes’ hand and tried to ignore the feeling that ran through her at the contact. Michonne released Rick’s hand and motioned to a chair. “If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Grimes, we can begin.”

Rick reluctantly released Michonne’s hand and had a seat. “Please, call me Rick.”

“Sure. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself, Rick.”

Rick chuckled. “Well, I’m afraid I’m not much more interesting than what you see on paper. But, here we go. I’m a small-town guy...Georgia born and bred. I guess I always had a desire to help those most in need from the time I was little. My family has a farm and I would always adopt the smallest little guy in any litter. I hated seeing anyone or anything being taken advantage of or mistreated. That’s a big reason why I became a police officer and why I want to become a psychologist and work with children impacted by crime. Everyone should have a person in their corner that makes them feel cared about and protected. I imagine that’s what drew you to the law.”

“How did you know I was an attorney?”

“My friend, Abe, mentioned it to me when he told me about the job.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, that’s exactly why I went into law. Most people assume lawyers go into law strictly for the money. But, that was never my motivation. Now, I mostly represent individuals who have suffered discrimination in employment. Most of those cases don’t even go to court and those that do rarely get a huge payout. The big money is in what I used to do, which was defending employers, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that anymore. They have more than enough people willing to do their dirty work. But for plaintiffs, oftentimes, I’m their last hope. It’s a lot of pressure but-“

“But it’s worth it and means more than any dollar amount,” Rick finished.

“Exactly.”

Rick and Michonne shared a smile before Jacqui discretely cleared her throat.

“Um, Rick,” Michonne continued “Do you have a lot of experience working with children?”

“I was a counselor at the Boys and Girls Club throughout high school and college. I started an after-school program at the department for local kids while I was a policeman. I still volunteer with it. Most recently, I worked with a nonprofit that focuses on children who are direct and indirect victims of abuse.”

“That’s the position that’s being phased out?” At the question in Rick’s eyes, Michonne explained, “My best friend, Sasha, gave me a little background information on you.”

“We have some talkative friends.”

“So it would seem,” Michonne agreed with a chuckle.

“But, unfortunately, yes my position and several others are no longer going to be funded. But that’s my professional background. On the personal side, I have lots of experience with kids as well.”

Michonne braced herself.

“I come from a very large family and have nieces and nephews that are younger, older, and the same age as I am. That’s country living for you.”

Michonne heard Jacqui, who’d been uncharacteristically quiet, let out a breath at Rick’s words. She glanced at her sister who just shrugged.

“Rick, why exactly are you interested in this position?”

“Well, as you know, my current job is going to end soon. This job seemed like the perfect opportunity to step into. I get to continue working with kids but it’s not on a live-in basis, so I could craft my school schedule around your son’s.”

“Did you have any specific questions about the position?”

“Aside from picking Andre up from school and being with him at home in the evenings, what else would the job entail? I can help with homework. Shuttle him to after-school activities. And I’m a pretty good cook if you needed me to make him dinner sometimes.”

“That’s actually exactly what I had in mind except the cooking...that’s just an unexpected bonus. So how good are you at math? Like most attorneys, math is my nemesis.”

Rick laughed. “I’m great at math. Creative writing was my downfall in school.”

“Well, writing is obviously a strong suit of mine. I think between the two of us, Dre should be okay.”

“Yeah, I think we’d make a great team...if I get the job, of course.”

“Yes, if you get the job.” Michonne looked up and saw a small figure peeking into the study. “Andre Anthony, you can come in now.”

Rick watched as a four-foot ball of energy ran into the room and stopped right in front of him.

“Hi, my name is Andre.”

“Hello, Andre. My name is Rick. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Do you like comic books?”

“I do.”

“Candy?”

“Yep. Big Cats are my favorite.”

Andre’s eyes lit up. “That’s my favorite. Mama’s, too. We have the ice cream. Do you want some?”

Rick chuckled. “Maybe later. Tell me some other things that you like.”

“I like comics, and candy, and soccer, and baseball, and basketball, and trains, and books.”

“Well what do you know, I love all of those things as well. And I coach a kids’ baseball team in the spring.” Rick turned to Michonne. “I forgot to mention that but it’s on my resume.”

Michonne smiled. “No problem. I saw it.”

Rick turned back to Andre. “You ever been to the train museum downtown?”

“Yes, Mama took me last year for my birthday. Have you been?”

“Mmhmm. The model trains were my favorite.”

“Yeah, they were the best! I have a model train and track in my playroom. One of the tracks in messed up. Can you fix it for me?”

“How about we try to fix it together and that way you’ll know how to fix it if I’m not here.”

“Okay.” Andre tugged on Rick’s hand.  “Mama are you done talking to Mister Rick?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. We’re going to my playroom now.” Andre pulled Rick out of the door.

When Rick and Andre were settled in the playroom, Michonne and Jacqui stood outside the door observing.

“What do you think, Jacqui?” Michonne asked lowly.

“Do you really need me to answer that question? Look at the two of them laughing in there. They are fast friends. Plus, Rick has a great background.”

“Sarah was really good, too. And Andre liked her as well.”

“That’s true, but Andre didn’t take to her like this. Plus, Sarah doesn’t fill out a pair of jeans the way Rick does.”

“Jacqui! That is so wrong, not to mention discriminatory.” Michonne whispered harshly. “Besides, if I hire Rick, it will be so he can take care of Andre, not so you can ogle him.”

“Oh, I wasn’t the one ogling him when he first came in. That would be you, little sister.”

“I was not!”

“If y’all had stared at each other any harder, your clothes would have melted off. I saw something between you.”

“Jacqui, you are just mesmerized by a good-looking man. Keep it up and I’ll tell Tyreese.”

“Oh, Tyreese knows I only have eyes for his thick ass. This is about you and the cowboy in there.”

“Jacqui, if you keep talking that way, I won’t hire him. I’m not trying to have there be any messiness.”

“You’re going to hire him because that’s what’s best for Dre,” Jacqui said confidently. “Just don’t be surprised if it also works out pretty well for you.”

Michonne turned back to the door and watched as Rick and Andre laughed while working on the toy train tracks. It was the most animated Michonne had seen her son in a while. Jacqui was right that Michonne would hire Rick because it was best for Andre.

The way he makes me feel doesn’t matter.

Rick has just made it in from the interview when his cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Rick. This is Michonne Richardson.”

He knew exactly who it was. “Hey. I was going to email you when I got home, but I can just tell you now. Thanks again for the interview. It was the most enjoyable one I’ve ever had.”

“Well, thank you for applying. I spoke with Andre and weighed all the pros and cons of all of the applicants. And, if you’re still interested, I’d like to offer you the position.”

“I am very much interested! Thank you so much.”

Michonne smiled at the genuine happiness she could hear in Rick’s voice. “It was Andre who was the deciding factor. He said you were the one.”

“Well, I’ll have to thank the little guy next time I see him.”

“Speaking of, when would you be able to start?”

“I’m ready whenever you need me.”

“Umm,” Michonne cleared her throat. “Uh, I’ll email Dre’s schedule right now along with some other details and contact information and you can start on Monday. That will give me time to get you added to his official pickup list at school and his other activities.”

“Sounds like a plan. Thanks, again Miss Richardson.”

“Please, call me Michonne. And the number I’m calling you from now is my personal cell, so this will be the best way to get into direct contact with me.”

“Okay. I’ll see you on Monday. You have a nice evening, Michonne.

“You have a nice evening as well, Rick.”

Two Months Later

Michonne perused the restaurant menu. She was having a late lunch with Sasha and Jacqui.

“How is everything going with Rick?” Sasha asked.

“It’s going well.”

That wasn’t good enough for Jacqui. “Michonne, put your menu down and give us the dirt.”

Sighing, Michonne put her menu aside and looked at Jacqui and Sasha. “There is no dirt to give. It’s going really well. Dre is happy. He absolutely adores Rick.”

“And how do you feel about him?”

“Jacqui, we aren’t going to start that again. Despite what you think you saw at the interview, Rick and I are nothing more than employer and employee. He’s there for my son and that’s it.”

Sasha leaned forward in her seat. “Wait a minute? What did Jacqui see at Rick’s interview? Michonne, you only said it went well. Y’all been holding out on me?”

Jacqui was all too eager to share the details. “Girl, let me tell you. There was so much eye sex going between those two when they first met, a proper lady would have been embarrassed and looked away.”

“So that means you kept watching and got an eyeful.”

“You damn right.”

Jacqui and Sasha burst into laughter and gave each other a high five.

Michonne was not amused. “There was no eye sex at the interview.”

Jacqui raised a brow. “Come on now, Chonnie.”

“Okay, there was but nothing has come of it and nothing will. Again, we are employer and employee and that is all we will ever be. I—”

Michonne broke off when her phone rang. She smiled at the picture that popped up. “Hey. How is everything?”

“Hey yourself. Everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know Dre and I are home. He wanted to talk to you for a minute.” Rick handed his cell over to Andre.

“Hey, Mama.”

“Hey, Peanut. You glad school let out early?”

“Yep. Rick is going to help me with my homework and then take me to the park. He said we can make pizza for dinner. I can’t wait! Are you going to be able to eat with us tonight?”

Since hiring Rick, Michonne’s practice had gotten even busier. She was glad that he was there to be at home with Andre, but she still felt guilty about missing so much time with her son.

“I’ll try my best, Peanut. Your Aunt Jacqui and Aunt Sasha are here.”

“Tell them I said hey!”

“I will, sweetie.”

“I have to go start my homework, Mama. Rick said we can’t go to the park until I finish it. Bye!”

“Bye, Peanut.” Michonne waited for Rick to get back on the line.

“Hey. I promise neither Dre nor the kitchen will be a disaster when you get home.”

“Oh, I know. You always leave the kitchen cleaner than when you found it,” Michonne said with a laugh. She ignored Jacqui and Sasha focusing on her every word. “Thanks for picking Dre up early today. I hope it didn’t mess up your schedule.”

“No, it’s fine. I brought my stuff over so I can study after we get back from the park.”

“That’s good.”

“So how has your day been so far?”

“It’s been really good.”

“Glad to hear it. What time do you think you’ll be home? Hopefully, I can keep Dre from devouring all of the pizza.”

“I’m not sure. But I’ll try to get home a little earlier so you can get going.”

“Michonne, it’s really not a problem. Hanging with Dre is one of the best parts of my day.”

“Oh really? What are the others...studying?” Michonne joked.

“Hey, studying can be fun! But I was thinking about the talks we have before I go home. The adult conversation is nice.”

“Oh,” Michonne said softly. “I enjoy those, too.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. Have a good rest of the day.”

“You, too.” Michonne held the phone a moment after Rick ended the call. She was dreading looking up at her sisters.

“Girl, you might as well put that phone down and start talking. We heard every word. You should really turn your phone volume down so nosy asses can’t listen in,” Jacqui suggested.

Michonne put her phone away. “Nosy asses like you, Jacqui?”

“Anyway, what’s this about y’all having talks at night?”

“It’s nothing. We talk about what happened during our day and then Rick goes home. End of story. Now can we eat? I need to get back to the office.”

Sasha spoke up before Jacqui could. “We’ll let it go, Michonne. But, for what it’s worth, Dre isn’t the only one who’s been looking happier lately.”

Michonne thought about Sasha’s words on her drive home later that evening. Rick had only been in their lives for a couple of months but it felt like he’d always been there. Despite Jacqui’s insinuations, Michonne and Rick really were just friends. But it was nice to have someone to come home to and share her day with...even if only for a few moments.

“Hey, where are you guys?” Michonne called out as she entered her home.

“We’re in the kitchen!” Rick yelled back.

Michonne kicked off her heels and padded down the hallway to the kitchen. She walked in to find Rick, Andre, and the kitchen island and floor surrounding it covered in flour.

“Okay, this isn’t what you think.” Rick began to explain.

“I think you two started out making pizza and ended up in a flour fight.”

“Okay, it’s exactly what you think.”

Michonne chuckled. “Do I need to hire someone to look after Dre and you, Rick?”

“No, we got it. Right, Dre?”

“Yep. We got it, Mama.”

“Mmhmm. What y’all need to get is a broom and a mop. Let me go change. I’ll handle the counters while you two get the floors.”

“Michonne, you don’t have to do that,” Rick protested.

“Yeah, I do. I don’t trust you two alone with dry goods at the moment,” Michonne said as she walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll be back in a few.”

When she came back downstairs, Rick and Dre were both making fast work of cleaning the floors.

“Hey, look up you two.”

When they looked up, Michonne snapped a photo of the pair on her phone. She took a couple more of them posing before putting her phone away.

“I think those photos will be good blackmail material for Dre when he’s a teenager. I haven’t decided how I’m going to use them against you yet.”

“You’re a cold woman, Michonne,” Rick joked.

The easy smile Michonne had been wearing, faded. “So I’ve been told.”

“Michonne?” Rick was concerned at her sudden mood change.

“It’s nothing.” Michonne clapped her hands and smiled at her son. “Let’s finish cleaning so we can actually make pizza.”

When kitchen was once again spotless, Michonne sent Dre up to his bathroom to shower and change. “Rick you can shower in the guest bath upstairs and I’ll see if I can find something for you to wear.”

Rick eyed Michonne’s leggings and tank top. “I think that look works a whole lot better on you than it would on me,” he joked.

“I have some things to fit you. Let me show you where everything is.”

Rick followed Michonne out of the kitchen and up the stairs, appreciating the view from behind. Michonne stopped at the hallway linen closet upstairs.

“We don’t use loophas in this house.” Michonne stated when she handed Rick the towel and washcloth.

Rick noticed the glint in her eye and knew exactly what she was getting at. “Very funny. I use washcloths, too.”

Michonne tried to look innocent. “What?”

She could barely contain her laughter as Rick closed the bathroom door behind him. But the joke was about to be on her.

Twenty minutes later, Michonne had just sent a freshly showered and pajamas wearing Andre back downstairs when she heard the door to the guest bath open. Rick stood in the doorway holding his dirty clothes and wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

Michonne swallowed at the sight.

“Hey, Michonne, do you have something I can put these clothes in? I don’t want to get flour all over my car when I drive home.”

“Uh, y-yeah. I mean, don’t worry about it. I was going to throw your clothes in the wash with Dre’s. They’ll be dry before you leave. Um, I found some sweats and a t-shirt for you.” Michonne held her breath as Rick walked towards her to take the clothing.

“Thanks.” Rick offered her a smile before he turned and headed back to the bathroom.

Michonne didn’t blink or let her breath out until the bathroom door closed behind him. She rushed downstairs after Andre.

Rick walked into the kitchen wearing the borrowed clothes. “I put my clothes in the washing machine with Dre’s and started the load.”

“I was going to do that, Rick.”

“It was no problem.” Rick rubbed his hands together. “Now, are we going to make pizza or what?”

“Pizza!” Andre yelled.

“Okay, but we are going to take the easy route this time,” Michonne warned. “I got the pizza crust and sauce out of the pantry. All we have to do is decide on toppings. Andre, what do you want on the pizza?”

“I want ham.”

“Rick?”

“Pepperoni.”

Michonne gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. “I’m glad you didn’t say pineapple or I’d have to fire you.”

“If you’d wanted pineapple, I would have been forced to quit.”

“Funny. I’m adding mushrooms. Is that acceptable for your sensitive palate, Rick?”

“Extremely.”

The trio set about assembling and baking their pizzas. When they were ready, Michonne and Rick carried the pizzas and the rest of their meal outside so they could enjoy dinner by the pool.

“Mmm. I’m going to have to get a pizza stone. My pizza crusts never get this crispy when I use a baking sheet.”

“You make your own pizza dough and then use a baking sheet? That’s like taking the time to do your makeup flawlessly and then putting a mask on. It’s just wasted effort.”

“Calm down there, Chef Gordon. My pizza stone got lost when I moved and I just haven’t had time to replace it.”

“I take my food very seriously.”

“I’ll make sure to remember that.” Rick looked over to Andre. “You enjoying your pizza, Dre?”

“Yep. It’s so good. Can we do this every week?”

“Have pizza?” Michonne questioned.

“Yeah, you, me, and Rick.”

“Sweetie, I’m sure Rick has other things---”

“I actually think that’s a great idea, Dre.” Rick caught Michonne’s eye. “And maybe we could watch a movie after. I mean, if you think you’ll have time.”

“Will you have time, Mama?” a hopeful Andre asked.

“I’ll make the time.” Michonne promised.

Rick smiled. “Okay. But I’m making the crusts from scratch next week.”

The group ate and talked until Andre’s eyes started drooping at the table.  

“Okay, Dre. Time for bed.” Michonne pulled Andre’s chair back and tried to rouse the little boy so he could go upstairs but he was out. “Goodness, now I’m going to have to carry him upstairs.”

“That will be like carrying a load of bricks at this point. Why don’t you let me carry him up and get him tucked in bed?”

“Yes, please. My back thanks you,” Michonne said gratefully. “I’ll clear the table and put the food away.”

“Alright, I’ll meet you in the den.”

Rick was already in the den by the time Michonne finished putting away the food. He was stretched out on the couch with one arm covering his eyes and the other hanging down by his side.

Michonne walked over and bumped the arm that was hanging off of the couch. “Move.”

Rick uncovered his eyes and sat up. “Is that any way to treat a guest in your home?”

Michonne plopped down beside Rick. “No, but you aren’t a guest.”

“Really, what am I?” Rick stared at Michonne intently while waiting for her answer.

“Um, you’re tired and obviously had a really long day. You can head out now if you like.”

Rick let out a little laugh at Michonne’s avoidance. “I need to wait for my clothes to dry. I really don’t want to wear another man’s clothes home.” He pulled at the t-shirt. “Your ex?”

“Yeah. I was looking for something my little brother, Noah, left behind, but I found this and it looked like it would fit.” Michonne sighed. “I thought I’d thrown everything away after he left.”

“Bad breakup?”

“That’s putting it mildly. It was life altering.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No...yes. I’ve held it in for so long that I’m afraid if I start talking about it I’ll never stop talking...or crying.”

“Well, I’m here with a listening ear and a shoulder for you to cry on and an old shirt for you to blow your nose into.”

Michonne smiled. “Don’t you have work to do? You’ve spent just about all day here.”

“I got Dre to read while I studied when we came home from the park. That’s why we were trying to make pizza when you got home. I’m here if you want to talk.”

Michonne laid her head and Rick’s shoulder. “Where do I start?”

Rick wrapped an arm around Michonne and settled into the couch. “Start wherever you want.”

“I first met Mike when I was fifteen. His family moved down here from New York.  All the girls were in love with him from the start. He was tall, dark, handsome and his accent made everything sound so smooth coming out of his mouth.”

“Is that why you liked him?”

“Partly. I mean it didn’t hurt. I was curious about him because he was so unlike any of the guys I’d known.”

“What were those guys like?”

“Sweet country boys...like you.”

“Oh.”

“But I also liked that Mike was an artist,” Michonne continued. “And he was an artist in every way...extremely talented and extremely brooding. I found the combination heady when I was young. But...”

“But you got older and what you wanted in a partner changed.”

“Yeah...but Mike didn’t. But I let it slide when we were together. He was never one to be tied down, so we didn’t actually start dating until senior year of high school. We dated through college. I went to UGA while Mike attended art school back in New York.”

“You didn’t tell me you went to UGA, too.”

“Yeah, when I saw it on your resume, I realized we were there around the same time.”

“Small world.”

“Especially in Georgia.” Michonne laughed before sobering and continuing her story. “I think we made it in the early years because we went to separate schools and didn’t see each other much. Because of the time apart, whenever we did see each other, we didn’t spend too much time talking...if you know what I mean.”

Rick shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to hear this story.”

“Ignore me and continue.”

“It wasn’t until we started living together while I was in law school that I noticed Mike hadn’t changed, he’d only gotten worse. He was trying to make a go of it in art and success was slow coming for him. The longer it took, the more sullen and bitter he got. I tried to love him through it but there comes a point where love isn’t enough. I was just about to end it when I got a little surprise my final year of law school.”

“Andre?”

“Yep. In hindsight, I had enough family support to do it on my own, but I guess I took my pregnancy as a sign that I couldn’t give up on Mike or our relationship, so I stayed. And he ended up being the one who left.”

“While you were pregnant?”

“No, I had Andre in my third year and still graduated on time and got several offers from great firms. I chose one and started my career.”

“What was Mike doing?”

“He stayed home with Dre and worked on his art and kept trying to make it big. But nothing clicked for him and everything was falling into place for me career wise.”

“I’m sure that didn’t help your situation any.”

“No, it didn’t. Mike tried to make an effort in the beginning. He’d show up at firm functions and try to smile, but I knew he resented being there as my significant other. He hated when any of the wives of the other lawyers tried to commiserate with him over being a stay-at-home parent and tried to arrange play-dates. Soon, he just stopped going to the functions altogether and we stopped talking about our days and pretty much anything else.” Michonne wiped at her eyes. “One Friday when Andre was two, I got a call from my sister that Mike had dropped him off at her house along with a note. I picked up my son, came home, and read my ‘Dear Michonne’ letter. I allowed myself the weekend to cry and then I started making plans. I finally felt free. I didn’t have to hold myself back and smother my ambitions to make Mike feel better. I decided right then to work at my firm a few more years to save money and then I was going to do what I’d always wanted and open my own firm and focus on my son, my career, my family, and my friends.”

“What about you, Michonne?” Rick asked softly.

“What about me?”

“You didn’t name yourself on the list of things you decided to focus on. You’ve spent the last five years not only not focusing on yourself but not even making yourself a priority.”

“I had other things to take care of first.”

“But who was taking care of you?”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You can, but that doesn’t mean you should always have to. You don’t have to do everything by yourself.”

Michonne pulled out of Rick’s embrace. “If I don’t do it, who will?”

The couple stared at each other in silence before Rick glanced down at Michonne’s lips and started slowing moving forward. Right before their lips touched, Michonne pulled back and stood up.

“I think your clothes are dry by now. I’ll go get them for you.” She rushed out of the room.

“Michonne. Michonne!” Rick slumped back against the couch. “Shit.”

“She couldn’t even look at me as she handed me my clothes and some leftover pizza. Just told me to drive safely. We’ve barely talked since unless it’s about Dre.” Rick took a drink of beer after relaying what happened last week to his friends.

“Maybe you scared her off trying to read her mind and shit.”

“I wasn’t trying to read her mind, Shane. I was just trying to help.”

Shane scoffed. “Were you trying to help her or you?”

“What do mean?”

“I’m just saying. Ain’t no way you’d get with a woman who was still hung up on her ex. You’re too much of a gentleman and considerate and all that shit. If you helped her to get over her ex, then you could slide right on in there.”

“It wasn’t like that, Shane. I do like, Michonne. I’ve liked her since I met her. And getting to know her has only made my feelings stronger but I would never try to manipulate the situation.”

“You gonna stop working for her?” Abe asked.

“No, why would I do that?”

Abe shrugged. “It’s gonna get mighty awkward if y’all continue to ignore the elephant in the room.”

“I can’t force her to talk about it.  And I wouldn’t leave Dre just because things are awkward between me and his mom. That’s what her ex did and I’m not going to do that.”

“How deep are your feelings for her, man?”

Rick smiled at Teddy’s question. “I’ve never felt this way before. I can’t explain it, but having Michonne and Dre in my life just feels natural and like it’s supposed to be that way. I want to move forward to see where things go with Michonne, but I think she’s afraid to trust again.”

“Well, you are going to have to love her through it.”

Rick thought about Michonne’s words to him. “Michonne said that sometimes that isn’t enough.”

“If you aren’t with the right person or in the right situation, nothing is ever going to be enough. You just have to know when it’s right.” Teddy paused. “Do you think Michonne’s the right person for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think you’re the right person for her?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you be there for her in whatever way she needs until she’s ready.”

“Thanks, Teddy.” Rick chuckled at his friend. “I think you are in the wrong profession.”

“Damn straight he is,” Abe chimed in. “I think you just helped Rick...and me.”

“For real, man?”

“Yeah. I got a little lady that I’ve been wantin to get serious with--”

“You’re talking about Sasha, right?” Teddy asked.

Abe drew up his eyebrows. “How did you know?”

Shane laughed. “Everybody knows that. You look at her like she walks on cotton candy and shits out rainbows. You got it bad, man.”

“I thought I was playing it cool.”

“You play it cool around Sasha about as well as you play poker.”

“I played well enough to take your ass to the cleaners in the last round, Shane.”

“And I’m about to win my money and yours back. You’ll have to find some other way to pay for your hair dye. If Dr. T-Dog and his love lessons are over for the night, let’s get back to playing cards.”

“Maybe you should listen to T-Dog’s advice and let somebody love you through whatever the hell has got you so messed up,” Abe quipped.

Shane shuffled the cards. “If you would have suggested that I let somebody fuck me through it, then I might have listened.”

Rick kept Teddy’s advice in mind when he saw Michonne the next day. Dre was playing in his first basketball game and Rick had promised he’d be there. He pulled up to Michonne’s house right as she and Dre were walking to the car.

Dre ran over and gave Rick a hug. “You made it!”

“I wouldn’t miss this for anything, Dre.” Rick stood up and nodded to Michonne. “Hey. How are you.”

“I’m good, Rick. And you?”

“I’ve been better.”

Michonne looked away and cleared her throat. “Are you riding with us?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.”

The ride over would have been silent if not for Andre’s excited chatter from the backseat. Rick and Michonne spent the short trip responding to the little boy in between taking surreptitious glances at each other.

After Michonne walked Dre over to his team, she found Rick in the stands.

“I saved a seat for you.”

“Thanks.” Michonne took a deep breath. “Rick, I—”

“Rick Grimes! I thought that was you. What are you doing here?”

Rick and Michonne turned to see three women standing over them.

“Hey, Whitney. I’m here to watch Dre.”

“That is so sweet! Isn’t that sweet ladies?” Whitney’s backup crew nodded in agreement.

“Michonne, this is Whitney, Bailey, and Jenna.”

“Yeah, we are all good friends from carpool. You must be Andre’s mother. It’s nice to finally see you. The way Rick gushes over you, if I didn’t know he was the nanny, I would have thought he was your husband.”

Michonne glanced over to see Rick blushing.

"According to Rick, you’re a hardworking woman. I guess that’s why you hired him. And the carpool crew would like to thank you for that. He is just a sight for sore eyes.” Whitney turned her attention back to Rick. “I just hate the kids didn’t have school yesterday. We missed talking to you. We really have to arrange an after-school play-date for all of the kids.”

Michonne’s head snapped up at those words.

“I think Dre would enjoy it, but you’d have to clear that with Michonne first.”

“Oh, of course. Well, looks like the game is about to start. We need to get back to our seats. We’ll see you on Monday, Rick. And don’t forget to bring your dip recipe.”

After the ladies moved on, Michonne just stared at Rick.

“What?” he finally asked.

“Is that what you deal with every day?”

“The ladies? They mean well and they don’t hit on me near as much as they used to in the beginning. I really think they see me as one of the girls now.”

Michonne shot Rick a look.

“Okay, maybe the last part is a stretch.”

“No, I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about arranging play-dates and swapping recipes. That doesn’t bother you?”

“Not really. Now it took some getting used to, but I guess they are sort of my friends now. And we talk about other stuff like television shows and some of them are into sports. It’s just a nice way to pass the time while we’re waiting to pick up the kids.”

“That would have been Mike’s worst nightmare come true.”

“It really doesn’t bother me Michonne. It’s not a threat to who I am in the least.” Rick sighed. “I’m not Mike, Michonne.”

“I know that. I do. He’s all I knew for so long. I just have to let it go.”

“You will eventually.”

Michonne nodded. “Do you really gush over me and my career with your crew?”

“Yeah.”

That’s something Mike had never done. He’d seen her career as a hindrance. 

“Thank you.”

Rick clasped Michonne’s hand with a smile. They were taking baby steps, but they’d get to where they needed to be.

“I’m not Mike.”

Michonne thought back on Rick’s words as she waited for Sasha to arrive. Intellectually, she knew Mike and Rick were nothing alike, but, emotionally, it was hard to grasp that fact. Michonne’s thoughts were interrupted by Sasha walking into her den.

“Hey, girl.”

“Hey, Sasha.”

“I rang the doorbell but you didn’t answer, so I used my key.”

“Yeah, I’ve been distracted lately.”

“I’ve noticed.”

“It’s Rick. I told him about Mike and then we almost kissed and I freaked out and started being distant.”

“Oh, I need to be seated for this.” Sasha took a seat on the couch beside Michonne. “Did you not want him to kiss you?”

“I did want it. I still do. I’m just...I don’t know. It’s so hard for me to let go and trust my heart with someone else. I thought I’d dealt with everything but I guess not.”

“Michonne you can’t punish Rick for what Mike did. He’s not Mike.”

“That’s what he said.”

“He’s right. Mike is off somewhere living the life of his choosing and you are letting him choose how you live yours as well. You have to let it go. That doesn’t mean you have to forget what he did, but it does mean you have to come to terms with and resolve your feelings about what he did so you can start fresh with Rick.”

“How do I do that?”

Sasha laughed. “I don’t know. I’m trying to learn how to do that myself. But I’ve decided that I’m going to try. Bob is gone and I’m never going to forget him and he will always hold a piece of my heart, but I have to move on. You were right when you said he wouldn’t want me to stop living just because he had no choice but to. He always wanted me to be happy. And I’m going to do that for him and for myself.”

Michonne pulled Sasha into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, Sasha. And I’m glad you came to this in your own time and on your terms.”

Sasha smiled as she sat back. “I actually feel lighter. I didn’t realize how much I was letting grief weigh me down.”

“I understand about letting things weigh you down.”

“Michonne, you said it’s hard for you to trust your heart with Rick.”

“In a way, yeah.”

“What means more to you than anything in this world?”

Michonne answered without a moment’s thought. “Andre.”

“Do you trust Rick with him?”

“Without question.”

“So if you can trust him with the person you love most in this world, doesn’t that show you that you can trust him with your heart?”

At work the next morning, Michonne scrolled through the pictures on her phone until she found the one she was looking for. She smiled at Dre and Rick covered in flour and hamming it up for the camera. Her conversation with Sasha had given Michonne a lot to think about last night.

Michonne did trust Rick implicitly with Andre. She just wondered when she was going to be ready to move forward with him in all aspects of her life. What was it going to take?

The phone buzzed in Michonne’s hand. Her breath caught when she looked down and saw Dre’s school on the caller id.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Richardson?”

“Yes.”

“This is Principal Nelson from Richmond Country Day. Andre fell ill in class. He complained of severe stomach pains. We’ve called an ambulance. Hold on a minute, please...they just arrived.  Let me find out where they are taking him.”

Michonne was up and grabbing her purse and coat as fast as she could. She heard the principal talking to the paramedics.

“Ms. Richardson?”

“Yes.” Michonne had tears in her voice and eyes.

“They are taking Andre to Tompkins Memorial.”

“Thank you. I’m on my way.”

“We’ll keep Andre in our thoughts and prayers. Please let us know how he’s doing.”

“I will.” Michonne ended the call and rushed out of her office. “Lisa, I have an emergency with Dre. Reassign what meetings you can to my associates and cancel the rest.” Michonne ran to the elevators without a backwards glance at her shocked assistant.

By the time Michonne made it to the hospital, she was on the verge of a panic attack. She ran in and found the service desk.

“They just brought my son in! He’s seven-years old. His name is Andre Anthony.”

The front desk clerk checked her computer. “Yes, he’s in the children’s wing on the fifth floor. He doesn’t have a room yet. It looks like they are prepping him for emergency surgery.”

Michonne clutched the desk to stay upright. “Thank you.” She took the elevator to the fifth floor and spoke with a floor nurse.

“Miss Richardson, I’m glad you’re here. Let me page a doctor.”

An older gentleman with kind eyes came out to greet Michonne. “Miss Richardson? Hello. My name is Dr. Greene. Your son is stable. But his appendix was close to rupturing when he was brought in, so we had to prep him for surgery right away. Now that you’re here, are there any objections to the procedure?”

“Of course not. Just make my baby better.”

“We will. You just have a seat and Nurse Rhee will give you some forms to fill out. We’ll make sure to keep you updated.”

“Can I see him before he goes back?”

“I’m sorry but he’s already in the operating room. Time was of the essence. But we’ll take you back as soon as he’s in recovery.”

Michonne swallowed and tried to hold her tears at bay. “Okay.” She wandered over to the waiting area and sat, unsure of what else to do.

Nurse Rhee brought Michonne a stack of forms to fill out. “Dr. Greene is the best doctor around and he’ll take good care of your son.”

“You’ve worked with him a lot?”

Nurse Rhee smiled. “You could say that. He’s my father and he treats all the patients here like they’re his own.”

Michonne just nodded.

Seeing that the young mother was barely holding it together, Nurse Rhee asked, “Is there anyone you want me to call? You shouldn’t have to do this by yourself.”

“Yes, could you call this number, please? I don’t think I can get through the conversation without crying.” Michonne wrote down the name and number of the one person she needed.

Twenty-five minutes later, Rick raced through the door. Michonne jumped up and ran into his arms.

“I got here as fast as I could! What happened? Where’s Dre?” Rick rubbed him hands up and down Michonne’s back. “Michonne, I need you to talk to me. You’re scaring right now.”

Michonne pulled back and led Rick over the waiting room. “He’s in surgery. His appendix almost ruptured. He was fine last night, Rick. He didn’t have a fever. He didn’t complain about a stomach ache. How could this have happened? How could I not have realized he was sick?”

“Michonne, you can’t blame yourself. We just have to be thankful that the doctors caught it in time. How long has he been in surgery?”

“I’m not sure. I lost track of time. They were prepping him when I arrived.”

“I would have been here sooner, but I had a seminar in the city today. I don’t know how many traffic laws I broke speeding over here. My heart was in my throat the whole time.”

“Rick, I wouldn’t have called if I knew you were in class. I’m sorry.”

“What are you talking about? I could have been in the middle of an exam and I would have left. There is no way I wasn’t going to be here for you and Dre. You’re both too important to me.”

It was at that moment, that everything fell into place for Michonne. “I’m sorry.”

“Michonne, I told you it’s not a problem.”

“No, I’m sorry for dragging my feet about us. I’m sorry for not trusting you with my heart.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We can talk about this later.”

“But—”

“Really, we can do this later. I know your emotions are all over the place right now.”

“They are, but I need to say this. When they told me that Dre was being taken to the hospital, I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted was to see my son...and you. I wanted you with me. I needed you. And that’s how I’ve felt for a while. I realized it’s not that I didn’t trust you with my heart, I didn’t trust myself and what I was feeling. I didn’t trust myself with happiness...or love. Rick and I want you in my life as well as Dre’s.”

Rick smiled at Michonne’s words. “That’s what I want, too. It’s what I’ve wanted for a while now.”

“Miss Richardson?”

Michonne and Rick stood as the doctor approached.

“Yes.”

“Andre is out of surgery. Everything went well and he’s fine.”

“Thank God he’s okay. I was worried he’d be back there for a long time.”

“If there aren’t any complications, appendectomies are usually relatively quick surgeries. Andre’s procedure went very smoothly. We were able to remove his appendix before it ruptured. He’s on his way to recovery right now. He’ll be there for about an hour and then he’ll be moved to his room. You should be able to take him home in a couple of days.”

“Can we see him now?” Michonne was anxious to hold her son.

“You sure can. I’ll have Nurse Rhee come get you when he’s settled in recovery.”

“Thank you, Dr. Greene.”

“Not a problem, young lady.”

Rick embraced Michonne. “He’s going to be alright.”

“Excuse me.”  

Rick and Michonne pulled apart to find Nurse Rhee waiting.  

“Sorry to interrupt. I’m here to take you to your son. Are you ready?”

Michonne entwined her fingers with Rick's and looked into his eyes as she answered. “Yes, I’m ready.”

 Six weeks later

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Andre! Happy birthday to you!”

The song ended with loud cheers and applause for the birthday boy.

“Make a wish Dre and blow out your candles,” Michonne instructed.

Eight-year-old Andre closed his eyes hard and concentrated on his wish. After a few moments, his eyes popped opened and his blew out the candles on his train-shaped cake.

“Great job, Dre! Now, let’s cut the cake. Michonne, babe, can you hand me the knife?”

Michonne and Rick worked together to cut the cake and pass out slices to Andre’s party guests, which included classmates, family, and family friends.

When everyone was fed, Rick and Michonne grabbed a slice for themselves to share and headed over to sit with Jacqui and Tyreese.

“You two did a great job on this party. I think I want you to plan my next one,” Tyreese joked.

“Rick and Dre did most of the planning. I just reined them in when they started going overboard.”

Rick scoffed at Michonne’s words. “You didn’t go overboard, huh? So why I was up all night putting together the massive model train set that you bought Dre? It’s a nicer train than some of the ones at the train museum.”

“He wanted a new train so I bought him one,” Michonne stated innocently. “And you weren’t up all night just laying down train tracks.”

“I sure wasn’t, was I?” Rick pulled Michonne to him for a kiss.

“Oh, so you were laying down the tracks and the pipe? Get it!” Jacqui cackled.

Tyreese nudged his wife. “Jacqui!”

“Oh, Ty, unclench. Part of the reason you love me is for this mouth of mine. Try to deny it,” Jacqui challenged.

Tyreese smiled and didn’t say anything.

“Mmmhmm, that’s what I thought.” Jacqui winked at her husband before turning back to Rick and Michonne. “Y’all really did do a great job though.”

“Well, Michonne and I knew we wanted it to be something big. We wanted it to be a celebration of Dre’s birthday and him recovering from surgery.”

It had been six weeks since Andre’s emergency appendectomy. Just as Dr. Greene had promised, Andre was out of the hospital two days later.  He returned to school a week and a half after that. The little boy was back to his energetic and active self.

“I also think you could call it a celebration of you two finally getting your act together.”

“Jacqui, you mean a celebration of me finally getting my act together. Rick knew what he wanted, I just had to let some things go that were holding me back so I could catch up to where he was.”

Michonne and Rick had been inseparable since Andre’s surgery. Michonne let go of all of the baggage of the past on that day and hadn’t looked back since. Her relationship with Rick had flourished to the point that he’d essentially moved in considering how often he was at the house. And his nanny role with Andre had morphed into something of a surrogate father role. Michonne, Rick, and Andre were beyond happy with all the changes that had taken place in their lives.

Jacqui motioned to the other side of the yard. “It looks like you aren’t the only one who is ready to let the pain go and move forward.”

Across the way, Sasha and Abe sat talking and laughing by the pool. They weren’t dating, but they were growing closer every day. The light was back in Sasha’s eyes and her smile.

Sasha wasn’t the only one with happiness shining in their eyes. Andre was taking a small break from playing to enjoy his cake with some friends. His birthday was better than he ever imagined it would be.

One little boy, who was on his third slice of cake, smiled at Andre. “This is the best birthday party I’ve ever been to!”

“Thanks, Carter. My mom and da-...uh Rick...are the best.”

“What did you wish for, Dre?” Sheena, one of Dre’s classmates who had a crush on him, asked.

“Don’t tell her, Dre. You can’t tell anyone!” Carter exclaimed.

“Why can’t he tell me?”

“Because if he tells anyone, it won’t come true.”

“You think your wish is gonna come true, Dre?” Sheena asked.

Andre thought about what he’d wished for as he blew out his birthday candles and looked over to his mother and Rick. Andre smiled as he witnessed the couple feed each other pieces of cake before leaning in for a lingering kiss.

“I know it is.”

Andre’s wish came true when Michonne and Rick got married one year later. Rick officially adopted Andre on his tenth birthday. That was the same day Andre found out he was going to be a big brother.

 @richonnefics

#RichonneRomCom #richonne #richonnefics #this is a long one but I didn't want to break it up into two so...

[scientifically-strange]

In the Grave part 2

This is a continuation of the request where they don’t know Danny is half ghost, back by popular demand!

---------

Peter had quickly grown to learn that he Avenger's idea of a field trip wasn't really a field trip so much as it was a mission but with a little more sight seeing. Amity Park had been thought to be just one big tourist trap, but it was so much more than tat. Despite the small town, the buildings reached new heights and friendly faces everywhere they turned.

"Do you think any of these guys have ever actually seen Phantom?" Peter asked Steve, who was looking at some brochures with pictures of Phantom fighting some dragon. He handed it to Peter.

"Either that or it's photo shopped." He turned to the lady behind the desk, giving her that old Brooklyn smile. "Excuse me, Ma'am," he said, "But can you tell us where we can find this Phantom character?"

"Oh, nobody knows how to contact him," the lady said, swishing her red hair being her shoulder. "Buut, if you really want to know more about ghosts then you need to talk to the Fentons. They're the local experts around these parts."

"And how might we find them?"

"Oh, the Fentons? You can't miss them. They own a place called Fentonworks not to far from here."

Steve nodded and thanked her, taking the brochure with him as he pulled Peter along.

Thanks to them both being born and bred New Yorkers, the walking really didn't bother them. It was more than bitter October wind that nipped at their skin that caused the irritation. Peter pulled his jacket closer, and Steve zipped his up.

On the way to the Fenton's home they ran into a group of kids laying heroes and villains, smiling at how one boy called dibs on Phantom while another called on Widow. Oh, Natasha would get a kick out of that.

"What do you think she meant by we can't miss it?" Peter asked. Steve looked up from the kids and looked at Peter, then ahead.

"Probably that," he pointed ahead, and Peter looked at the building. Then looked at the top of it, and understood perfectly.

Is that a...UFO?"

"Maybe? Nowadays it feels like everything is."

It only took a couple of short minutes to walk the rest of the distance. Peter let Steve do the talking.

"Who are you?" A red headed girl with a blue head band asked.

"Oh, I'm Steve, and this is my cousin, Peter. We were just wondering if the Fentons are home?" The girl sighed and looked back into thw house.

"Mom! Dad! Some tourists are here to see you!" She let them in and led them to the couch, offering them something to drink. When they declined shw went to the kitchen anyway.

Peter had been in new houses plenty of times before, but this was something else. It was nice and the TV was cute, but he had a nagging sense in the back of his head that all is not what it seems to be here. However, before he could tell Steve the door burst open and then was quickly slammed again by the black haired kid that had run through. He pulled back the curtains just a tiny bit and sighed in relief before turning back around and coming to a dead stop, staring at them with wide eyes.

"Uh, who are you?" He asked, dropping his backpack down.

And I was wondering how him and the girl were related, Peter thought with a smile. Steve answered for him once again.

"I'm Steve, this is my cousin, Peter. We're tourists and had a couple of the questions about the ghosts in the twon and that other guy-Peter what's his name? Phantom?"

Peter couldn't tell if Steve was joking or not, but it certainly did the trick. The boy's face had scrunched up when they asked about the ghosts, but when they had mentioned Phantom that all seemed to change. He walked over and sat in the chair next to the couch.

"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked. "Oh, and the name's Danny, by the way." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, probably out of habit, Steve observed, and started bouncing his leg up and down like he couldn't sit still.

"Do you think Phantom is a good guy?" Peter asked. He had only met the ghost kid once, and yeah, he had helped them, but that doesn't mean he was on their side all the way. He’d seen enough horror movies t be suspicious.

"Totally. I mean, my parents don't really think so, but they're ghost hunters. You can't win them all if you're, you know, a ghost."

"But what about the thing with the mayor and the bank robberies?" Steve asked. Peter looked at him, trying to hide his shock. Why hadn't Steve told him about that on the way over?

"Well, with the mayor that' kind of weird. We were in the middle of a ghost invasion and one of them overshadowed-it's a fancy way to say possession-the mayor and made it look like Phantom was dragging him away. And with the bank robberies there was this circus freak who called himself Freakshow. He had this scepter thing that could control ghosts, no matter how powerful. He made Phantom and others steal for him and stuff."

"You seem to have a lot of experience with Phantom," Steve's voice was level, but Peter saw the way his fingers twitched, like he knew something else was going on. So Peter wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Danny, you're home early," a red headed woman in a blue jumpsuit said. Danny just shrugged.

"Tucker and Sam got paired on a science project together so they're off working on that."

"Well what about you, sweetie?"

"Ugh, I got paired with Dash."

"Hey, Mads, who are these guys?" A deep voice boomed, and a moment later there was a large man in an orange jumpsuit with his hand on his wife's shoulder. Behind the parents, the older child rolled her eyes.

"Steve and Peter, the guests who wanted to know about ghosts? Honestly dad, you need to start writing stuff down." It sounded rude but the comment was full of love as she pushed past her parents and went upstairs. Danny got up too.

"I, uh, have to start on that project," he said, not meeting anybody' eyes before heading up himself. Steve and Peter looked after them with curiosity.

"So, you wanted to know about ghosts?" Maddie asked sweetly.

Saying yes was probably the biggest mistake of their lives.

"Dude, we wasted a whole day with them," Peter said once he was sure they had walked far enough to not be heard by the Fentons.

"But we know more about what we may have to fight," Steve assured.

"I just want to see Phantom again," Peter said.

It was as if there was some higher power took pity on him and answered his calls, because if it weren't for Steve pulling Peter back at the last minute he would have collided with the black and white blur that was Phantom. The ghost boy groaned and stood up, brushing off his suit.

"Sorry about that," he told them. His voice was tinged with an echo, but Steve and Peter both though it was familiar. Phantom looked up at their faces, and something like recognition flashed in his eyes before he saluted and took off again, fighting some sort of giant green snake ghost.

"Should we help him?" Peter asked. Steve shook his head.

"No, let's see what he can really do."

They watched as the hero flew this way and that, the serpent following him, not realizing what Phantom was doing. Within a few short minutes the snake was tied up in a knot and sucked into the thermos Phantom had been carrying the night he had met the Avengers. Then he flew away.

"Hey, isn't that that way too..." Peter started.

"Come on, we better follow," Steve said, breaking out into a run. "Put the suit on."

They ran, Peter quickly ducking into an ally and taking off his civilian clothes, revealing his Spider-Man costume underneath. He quickly put on the mask and swung himself around the corner, watching as Phantom flew into the Fenton home.

"Cap, I'm going after him!" He called. Steve from below shouted something as he took off his jacket, His shield had been hiding underneath it. Spider-Man continued with the mission.

He was thankful that he had such a good memory, because there were a lot of windows. If he hadn't seen Phantom fly though he would have never found the right one. He stopped a few windows down and climbed up, only to see Phantom freaking out, shoving things under the bed and things in the closet before a bright light overtook the whole room and left...Danny?

Spider-Man easily opened the window and climbed through. Luckily Danny was too distracted to notice as Spidey slowly climbed onto the ceiling and watched as he hid his comic books and NASA ships and green bandages and weapons that kind of looked like they went with the thermos. Which he was hiding in his back pack.

"You should really make a system for this," Spidey said. Danny's head snapped up, surprised to see Spider-Man there.

"Spidey?" He asked in disbelief.

"And you're Phantom. Dude when were you going to tell us you were alive?"

"Shh, keep your voice down," he hissed. "My parents don't know, and if they id they would kill me! Again!"

"How about you give me some answers then?" Spider-Man dropped his voice to a harsh whisper as he lowered himself from the ceiling.

I'm only half ghost, dude. When the accident happened it fused ectoplasm with my DNA and I got these cool ghost powers."

"So you're just a kid? Not some immortal entity out to rule the world?" Spidey asked.

"Dude, seriously? No, I'm like, fifteen."

"Hey, me too!" Spidey said excitedly, momentarily forgetting that he was in costume. Danny narrowed his eyes, his head turning to the side.

"Peter?"

"Who's P-"

"-Then that makes Steve Captain America!" Danny's eyes grew big and his smile wide as he shoved his hed out the window, looking around before looking down, only to see Cap scaling his fucking wall. Oh, this was just too good.

"Dude!" He whispered to his childhood hero.

"Where's Phantom?" Steve asked. Spider-Man pointed to Danny, who actually looked a little sheepish.

"Hiya," he said. Steve gave Spider-Man a sort of look, silently asking for answers.

"He's only half ghost apparently," Spidey answered. "And fifteen. Not five hundred."

"You guys thought I was five hundred?"

"Well, if he's just a kid we don't need to be here anymore," Steve said, turning back to go through the window again.

"Wait-what?" Danny asked.

"You're just a kid, and you live all the way in Amity. We can't take you on missions," Steve said, half way out of the window.

"But if the world is in danger of another alien invasion you'll call me, right?"

"Goodbye, Danny," Steve said. He was -Man put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We'll totally call you, dude." Danny grinned.

"Sweet."

[a-smilethat-explodes]

Chapter 31-Little Monster

I lay still for a moment and then jolted, blurting out, "What do you mean? It's barely begun, we-"

"My dad hates you," she interrupted, sounding… final. Uh oh.

I felt… annoyance bubble up inside of me. Before I could really think about what I was saying, I snapped back, "Yeah well my dad hates me too. Come on, Christine, you're an adult, your dad can't tell you who you date."

"As long as I live under his roof, he can," she replied quietly, not even getting angry. She knew what I was doing even before I knew.

"Move out." I ordered immediately though I knew it was easier said then done.

"You say it like it's easy," she scoffed bitterly in reply. "I can't afford an apartment by myself and to pay for school on top of that."

What she was saying was true… I was working two jobs just to be able to pay ¼ of the rent and school in my own apartment. "So it's over." I finally stated angrily. "Over practically before it was started."

"I'm sorry," she whispered timidly.

I covered my eyes and rubbed both of my temples with my hand. I realized what she probably already knew: I wasn't mad at her, I was mad at her dad. "I'm sorry too." I said, calmer. "This isn't your fault. It's your dad's, I'm just… I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too," she answered, voice quiet. "It… just… can't happen."

I stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to answer her. "Well…" I finally stated and then grew alarmed at the finality of it. Oh shit. This was really ending.

"I'll call you," she told me. I realized I'd been sitting in silence for a while.

"Yeah." I replied blankly.

"Bye," her voice was small.

Don't go. "Bye." I shut my phone in my hand and stared at the ceiling, unable to do much else.

I heard voices in the other room. "Hang on; let me see if he's here." I heard Adam say before he opened my door. His expression turned to panic as he shut the door and ran over to me. "Jake's mom and the clan are all here!"

"So?" I asked expressionlessly, still in shock. She dumped me.

"So?" Adam practically squeaked in reply. "So you know how much she scares me! Go in there and deal with her!"

It was true, Adam usually hid out in his room when she came. He must have answered the door. "Fine." I threw back the covers, annoyed. "Wuss." I scoffed at him as I passed.

"Quit pulling Valerie's hair, Jared!" Mrs. Carlson scolded one of the clan.

Aidan, who'd been sitting quietly on his mom's hip, sucking on his fingers, lit up at the sight of me. "Ewik!" he squealed, reaching for me.

Mrs. C looked up and then smiled maternally at me. "Hi sweetie. Is Jake here?" she asked as she handed me Aidan.

"Nah, he's at work, Mrs. C." I replied, ducking out of harm's way as Aidan tried to stuff his fingers up my nose.

"You look tired. Are you sleeping enough?" she demanded.

"I got up early this morning," well that was the truth all right.

"What time did you go to bed?" she asked.

I thought back. "One… maybe two?"

She clucked her tongue in disproval. "A little hungover?" she asked knowingly.

"I don't drink, Mrs. C." I answered, as I patiently took Aidan's fingers out of my ear.

"Good boy," she replied then smiled a little at the sight of Aidan grinning up at me. "He really likes you, you know."

"Well I'm practically another brother to him." I replied, smiling back at Aidan.

"He likes Jake but he loves you," she commented.

"Yeah…" I agreed slowly, realizing she was trying to hint at something. "How come you stopped by?" I asked suspiciously.

"I need a favor," she smiled almost apologetically. "I've got to take the ids shopping and get them new clothes, Julia's meeting me there to help, but Aidan would be a bit of a hindrance with the stroller and the squirming and… I was going to leave him with Jake."

"He gets off at 3:30." I replied.

"Can you watch him until then?" she begged. "Please, I can't leave him with a sitter, there's no time."

"Okay, Mrs. C." I relented. I had work at 4:00 so Jake had better be on time.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, hugging me and Aidan both. "Bye sweetie!" she kissed Aidan on the head. He stared at her. "I'll be back soon, come on kids!" she said as she dropped a huge bag on the floor. "That's the diaper bag, I'll leave his car seat next to your car, bye!" they exited quickly.

I watched Aidan, expecting him to start wailing. He looked up at me as if to ask, "Hey, where did she go?"

"She'll be back." I answered him aloud.

He looked at the door and then looked back up at me then jammed his finger up my nose. I winced and removed it then said, "Come on, kid." I walked into my room.

Adam was flipping through my CD case. "She gone?" he asked and then raised an eyebrow at the sight of Aidan.

"Yeah, I got babysitting duty." I answered.

"Sucks to be you," he said as he left my room. I rolled my eyes and then checked my reflection in the mirror… I needed a shave. "Come on, buddy." I said as I walked down the hall into the bathroom. I set him down on the counter and then grabbed my shave gel out of the medicine cabinet. He watched me intently as I smeared shave gel over my face. I began to shave.

Suddenly, he leaned over and slapped his hand into my shave gel. I jumped as he pulled back, giggling, then smeared it all over his own face. "You going to shave too?" I asked him with a smirk, spreading it evenly again. He grinned at me and made another try at getting more but I pulled my face back just in time.

Having Aidan around for a distraction was good. We watched a little ESPN together and he actually sat quietly instead of trying to stuff his fingers in my nose, ear, or eye.

I started getting nervous at 3:50 when Jake still hadn't shown up. "Dude." I said as I knocked on Adam and Ben's door.

"Yeah." Adam answered.

I opened it and found him staring blankly at his computer screen. "When does Jake get off?"

"3:30," he grunted back and then started, turning around, looking apprehensive. "Wait, 5:00… he picked up some extra hours."

"I have work in 10 minutes!" I exclaimed.

"Shit, dude," he replied helpfully.

"Can you watch him?" I asked hopefully.

"Okay…" Adam replied slowly, holding out his hands. I handed Aidan over but, instead of cradling him, Adam just held him at arm's length as though afraid to let the toddler touch him. Aidan gnawed on his fingers as he stared apprehensively back at Adam.

"Okay, well… his diaper bag is in the kitchen." I said, starting to back out the door.

Aidan looked back at me, looked at Adam, and then seemed to realize that he had just been ditched. He opened his mouth and began to howl, face crumpling with his siren wail.

"Just hold him and pat him on the back!" I shouted quickly over the howling at Adam.

"You do it!" Adam shouted back, thrusting Aidan to me. I took the kid back and cradled him, soothing him. When he was quiet, Adam said in a terrified voice, "I can't do this."

"Yeah I gathered that." I shot back. "I guess I'm just going to have to take him with me to work."

"Good luck, dude," he replied, staring at Aidan like he was the devil reincarnated. I rolled my eyes as I left and hurried off to work.

I managed to get to work only 10 minutes late. I walked in, holding Aidan and the diaper bag. "You're…" Alexandra began to flatly tone but then she caught sight of Aidan in my arms. "…not alone," she finished, looking surprised.

"I got stuck with babysitting duty." I replied, sitting Aidan on the counter before dropping the diaper bag to the ground.

"You're lucky Paul went home early," she shook her head.

"He's my best friend's little brother." I told her as I reached over and clocked in.

"How old is your best friend? Four?" she asked dryly.

"19." I replied. "Seven kids."

"Six kids too many," she mumbled, shaking her head. I shot her a look.

Aidan grabbed onto my arm and stood on the counter, becoming eye level with me. He grinned at me and then tried to jab my eye out. "No, Aidan." I said patiently.

"He's a little monster, isn't he?" she asked.

"I'm surprised he hasn't tried to leap off the counter." I replied, picking him up and setting him down on the ground. We watched him leisurely toddle off.

"How old is he?" she asked.

"Two." I replied.

"My Caitlyn would like him," she said absent mindedly.

"Hmm." I grunted back then started. "Your-" I began, stunned.

"Yeah, my Caitlyn. No I don't want to talk about it," she replied in a monotone voice, staring straight ahead as a customer entered the store. "It's no big," she mumbled.

"Hi welcome to Video Warehouse." I automatically turned and smiled. The customer smiled back and then I caught sight of Aidan reaching with his hand toward the lowest shelf. "No Aidan!" I scooped him up.

"You're a little cutie!" the woman cooed at Aidan, who tried to jab his fingers in my ear in retaliation for stopping him from reeking havoc. "Ooh watch out!" she laughed.

"I'm lucky he hasn't taken my eye out yet." I replied dryly and then changed into smiling worker tactics with a friendly, "I'm Erik, go ahead and let me know if you need anything."

"Okay thanks," she disappeared into the stacks as I walked Aidan behind the counter.

I set Aidan on the ground again, baring his escape from out from behind the counter with a chair, and then looked at Alexandra. She was gently tapping her nails on the counter, looking out the window. "I said I don't want to talk about it," she said flatly, not looking at me.

I shrugged to myself, and then quickly grabbed Aidan by the overalls as he started to reach for the stacks, pulling him back. Naturally, being Aidan, he went right back at it, so I picked him up.

"He's so cute," the customer cooed as she walked up to the counter. "How old is he?" she asked Alexandra.

"Oh… he's not mine." Alexandra stuttered. It was one of the rare moments I'd seen her lose her cool.

"He's my best friend's little brother, he was supposed to watch him but he's working over time." I jumped in for her.

"Oh I see," she smiled politely as Alexandra rang her up. "Bye sweetie!" she waved at Aidan before exiting the store.

I looked at Alexandra, who went stiff, then reached below the cash register, and grabbed her purse. "I'm going on break," she mumbled before clocking out then walking out the back without one glance at me.

I sighed and picked up the cordless phone. I dialed Jake's cell phone, got voicemail of course, and then left a message, saying, "Once you get off work, come down here, and get your little monster of a brother. I got dumped with babysitting duty," and then hung up.

I prepared myself for Alexandra's return.