#i also drank 4 cans of energy drink after a bit over two weeks of not having one and i have way to much energy

[hangovercurse]

Last Night

After another long night of drinking, you wake up with a raging hangover and a tattooed asshole.

Request: “After seeing you hungover I have a request.

From enemies to lovers where Kells and the reader have a drinking competition every time they go out and take it too personal and one day afterwards they share a horrible hangover and wake up in the same bed”

Colson X Reader

Warnings: Drinking, slight sexism, mentions of sex, cursing

A/N: I’m glad my pain could inspire you :(

Word Count: 2133

You and Colson hated each other, with a passion. You couldn’t explain it, it was almost fucking cliché. He had invited your band to open for him on tour, which was great, until he realized that there was a girl in the band; you.

You had dealt with assholes like him for most of your life. People couldn’t understand why your bandmates would want a girl bassist with them, and so said people decided you weren’t good enough before you’d even played anything.

But this was different. Colson knew you were good. You didn’t know why he didn’t like you, but if he was going to be a child about you being on tour, you could stoop to his level a little bit.

And thus began your nightly drinking competitions. It was stupid, really, but you were determined to prove to him that you were more than your gender. So, you made sure to try and drink more than him as often as possible.

It was unspoken competition, but you both knew. Anytime either of you ordered a drink, the other was right behind. Most of the time, he won, as he had much more experience holding his alcohol than you. But every so often you would out drink him, and boy was it a sight to behold.

Tonight though, you were more determined to beat him than ever. You had overheard the boys talking about you at the venue before the show, which piqued your interest.

“What are you guys talking about?” You walked over to them; an eyebrow raised in challenge.

Colson’s face was a bit more red than usual, but you just chalked it up to the heat. “Just about how I totally out drank you last night. And the night before.”

You squinted at him, anger settling over you. “It’s not a competition, but if you wanna brag about being an alcoholic, be my guest.” You sneered, even though you knew it was a competition and he did, in fact, beat you.

Really that’s not what the boys had been talking about at all, but Colson couldn’t admit that they were talking about how much he liked you. He denied the accusations of course, saying that he actually couldn’t stand you, but all the guys argued with him.

He figured he knew his own feelings better than his friends, but he was wrong.

“Fine, then let’s make it one.” He said, pushing you.

You rolled your eyes, “and what would the winner get?”

“I’ll stop making fun of you if you win.” He smirked at you. “But if I win, I get one free crack at you a day and you aren’t allowed to get mad.”

You scoffed, “that’s bullshit, Baker. You already do that. You just want to show off to everyone how much better you are than them.”

“Fine, then what would you wager?”

You thought about it. “If I win, you leave me alone, completely, and you buy my drinks for a week. If you win, I’ll stop complaining about how egotistical you are.”

He nodded, “Buy my drinks for a week and you have yourself a deal.”

 And that’s how the two of you ended up 4 shots and 3 beers deep in a random bar in Colorado. You were stumbling all over the dance floor and each other.

“I really have to win tonight.” Colson mumbled into your ear. You hummed in question, asking him to continue. “I don’t think I can leave you alone.”

You pushed him backwards, but really ended up stumbling backwards. He reached out and grabbed your hips, keeping you upright even though he was just as gone as you. “I don’t know why you’re so mean to me.” You mumbled, a pout on your face. “I didn’t do anything to you.”

He chuckled, pulling you closer to him as the crowd got denser around you. “The guys think it’s because I like you. But I definitely don’t like you like that.”

His words were slurred, but so were yours. “Good. I definitely don’t like you like that either.”

Anyone who overheard your conversation could hear the blatant lies in your voices, and anyone who could see you would see that your feelings were evident as his head leaned closer to yours.

And that’s the last thing you can really remember.

 You woke up in a hotel room, head pounding as your eyes struggled to adjust to the light. You closed them when you realized that they wouldn’t and it was just making your headache more intense. As you came more to your senses you recognized the feeling of an arm around your waist, your bare waist.

Fuck.

You opened your eyes again, looking down to find your naked body underneath the sheets. Did you want to look behind you to the poor guy that you’d have to kick out? Not really. But you did so anyways, only to find the annoyingly familiar mop of bleached blond hair.

FUCK.

You turned your head away from him, burying your face into the pillow. How did you end up naked in bed next to the guy you’ve hated for literal months? Who, by the way, has also hated you.

You wanted to get up, put your clothes on, and escape before he woke up. But the feeling in your stomach told you that that would not work out in your favor.

The grunting next to you also alerted you to this fact. And the fact that your head hurt. A lot.

“Fuck.” Colson mumbled; his voice breathy.

“Shut the fuck up. My head hurts.” You mumbled into the pillow.

Colson moved his arm off of you, rubbing his hands over his face. You both laid there in silence, trying to remember what the hell happened last night. Until there was a knock at the door.

“Kells, get up. We gotta be on the road in 30.”  Baze yelled through the door, and you fought the urge to scream into the pillow. Why were people so loud all the time?

However, you heeded his warning and lifted yourself from the bed, sitting on the edge with your back facing Colson. Your body did not like sitting up, and you had to take a few moments to let your stomach settle before moving again. You scanned the room for your clothes, your head spinning.

You found your shirt and jeans near the door but couldn’t spot your underwear or bra anywhere. “Colson.” You mumbled, the words feeling like cardboard coming out of your mouth. He groaned behind you, alerting you that he was awake “Where’s my underwear?”

“I dunno. I don’t even remember us coming in here.” He groaned again, finally sitting up. He leaned down to the floor, picking up fabric and tossing it to you. “There’s one.”

You sighed and pulled the panties up your legs before moving to throw your shirt over your head, skipping the bra for now. You stumbled as you tried to pull your jeans over your legs, turning to find Colson mimicking your actions.

He had gotten his pants up to his stomach before he stumbled into the bathroom. “Fuck.” He mumbled before vomiting into the toilet. As much as you didn’t want to, you followed him in. You knew if you were this fucked up, you’d want someone to take are of you. Hell, you wanted someone to take care of you right now.

So, you sat down next to him, rubbing his bare back as he threw up into the hotel toilet. Your head began to spin even more as you sat there, so you rested your forehead against the nearest surface, said bare back. Your nose brushed the bottom of the G in his MGK tattoo.

Neither of you said anything, just sitting there in silence. After a few moments, Colson turned his entire body to you. Instead of saying anything or telling you off, he pulled you into his lap, your legs curling up against his stomach. You rested your head in the crook of his neck and closed your eyes.

It felt like the world was spinning around you. “I’m never drinking again.” You mumbled into his skin.

He let out a dry laugh, “do you even remember anything?”

“I remember outdrinking your ass and then I woke up in your fucking hotel room.”

“You did not out drink me, missy.” He mumbled, head falling down to rest his cheek against yours. “I remember you almost fell in the middle of the bar and then everything goes black. But I could make some assumptions about what followed.”

You would’ve rolled your eyes if you had the energy, but you couldn’t even lift your head off his shoulder. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

He shrugged, “do you?”

You shoved him to the best of your abilities while still resting against him. “That’s not an answer, dumbass. Why would drunk you wanna sleep with me?”

“Why does drunk me wanna do anything?” He asked. You mumbled in response and he continued, “do you regret it?”

You shrugged, “think I’d have to remember it to regret it.” He was quiet for a while, and you sighed, “but I don’t think I would’ve even if I could.” You hated to admit it, but you didn’t hate Colson as much as you tried to convince yourself you did. Truthfully, his teasing was both annoying but also the slightest bit attractive.

Colson pulled back from you slowly, a small groan falling from your lips as you had to hold yourself up again. “I thought you would’ve hated waking up next to me.” He mumbled.

“You’re one to talk.” You quipped, lazily.

He gave you a confused face, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

You shrugged, placing a hand on the counter near you to try to lift yourself up but not having the energy. “Just that you hate me. I don’t know why you’d even wanna sleep with me drunk.”

“I don’t hate you, Y/N.”

“You sure don’t seem to like me very much.” You were finally able to pull yourself up just a little bit, but his strong hands pulled you back down to the floor before you were even halfway up.

His hands were settled firmly on your hips, holding you in place, “I never hated you. I was… intimidated, at first.” You let out a dry laugh at his statement. “Seriously, I was. But then I realized that you’re actually really cool. I treated you like shit before that though and I guess you just got it in your head that I didn’t like you so every time I tried to get to know you, you brushed me off. Eventually I just gave up.”

You sighed, “I guess I’m just used to guys thinking I’m less than them, I figured you were the same as everyone else.” You shoved your face back into his chest, the light getting a bit too bright again.

He scoffed, “Seriously? I think you kick ass. That’s why I was so intimidated.”

You groaned into his skin, “I think you’re still drunk.”

He let out another low chuckle, “maybe, but I know what I’m saying.” You looked up at him, your eyes meeting his blue ones. “I’ve actually really liked you for a while now, but after I was an asshole, I knew you’d never go for me.”

You smiled, “Aww, does Kells have a crush on me?” You giggled.

“Shut up,” he mumbled.

You pulled him back towards you, “lucky for you, assholes are just my type.”

He cocked an eyebrow, “really?”

You nodded, “Yep. Blonde, tattooed assholes who rap for a living.”

He smirked at you, leaning closer to you and connecting his lips to yours. You pulled away pretty quickly. “As much as I’d like to kiss you right now, we both just woke up and you were just puking like 2 minutes ago. Brush your teeth and try again.”

He pouted, “yes ma’am.”

“Next time, you wanna try this sober?” You asked slyly.

“I never want to do anything sober, Y/N. But maybe I’ll try it out just for you.”

“Shut up, Baker. You’re such a fucking cheeseball when you’re hungover.”

He hummed in agreement, tightening his grip on you. Your head fell back against his shoulder, eyes closing. You don’t know how, but you ended up falling asleep in his arms. His chin rested on top of your head, and eventually he was lulled into sleep as well.

You didn’t wake up until you heard Baze and Slim’s laughter from behind you and the quiet click of a camera. You groaned, sitting up and wriggling out of Colson’s grasp. He woke up at your movements.

“Looks like you two had a fun night.” Slim laughed.

#mgk #mgk imagine #mgk angst #machine gun kelly #machine gun kelly imagine #Colson baker #colson x reader #colson baker imagine #colson baker fluff #colson baker angst

[meltwonu]

| 🍒 CH-CH-CHERRY BOMB! 🍒 |     [CHAPTER 4]

pairing; dom!seungcheol x camgirl!reader

this chapter’s notes; masturbation, usage of toys, dirty talkin’, a bit of a filler chapter after last weeks hehe🍒 as always, thank you again for your continued support for cherry bomb 🥺💕 I'm actually not sure if next week’s chapter will go up on time due to my work schedule for next week but I'll be sure to keep y’all updated! if anything it’ll probably go up on saturday instead of friday... 😭😭 But anyway, have a good weekend yall! 💕💕💕 stay hydrated!! 

chapters; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - ?

The weekend ends quicker than Seungcheol even notices and while he wakes up Monday morning already thinking about you and your show later in the evening; his face falters when he reads the message on your cam homepage.

‘Sorry everyone :( I think I caught a cold so I won’t be doing a show tonight… I promise I’ll make it up to you on Friday! In the meantime, I’ve uploaded some new pics in our members only room~ I hope it’ll tide you all over ‘til then! xx Cherry 🍒 ’

His first reaction is to immediately panic; reaching for his phone and texting you to get as much rest and sleep as possible. He makes a mental note to check in with you again later, finding that he’s already running late to get to work when he gets out of bed.

“Hey! Seungcheol-hyung!”

The said male turns around, placing the set of roller skates on the ground. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Jeongguk sits next to him on the wooden bench, legs stretched out as he passes Seungcheol an energy drink. “Nothin’, just wanted to say thanks for coming over on Saturday! We should try to do that again, except maybe we can go out for drinks or something? We can give it the good ‘ol college try, maybe bring home a girl, if you know what I mean~” Jeongguk wiggles his eyebrows at Seungcheol who rolls his eyes.

“Uh, I’m down for the drinking part but I think I’ll have to pass on the hookups.”

“Really? Why? Are you dating someone and you haven’t told me?”

Seungcheol thanks the gods that the roller rink is dimmed; neon lights and disco balls the only things keeping the entire place dimly lit when he blushes a deep crimson, face hot as he avoids the younger male’s gaze. “Nah, it’s just, I--I don’t think that’s really for me. I’m more of a, uh, relationship type of guy, y’know?” Also, I’m devoting my time and energy to someone already who isn’t really my girlfriend.

“Mm, makes sense!”

Jeongguk keeps Seungcheol company even on his break, the two chatting about various topics before he lets Seungcheol know his break is almost over.

“Hey, wait! Before you go…” Seungcheol is nervous for some reason, fingers gripping the suede of the rollerskate’s boot as he avoids eye contact again. “Um, this is gonna sound really weird but… Who’s ‘j__min’? I feel like I’ve seen that username before and it’s, uh, I’m just curious how you know them? Sorry if that’s weird, I just--I’ve been seeing them around pretty often.”

“Oh, that’s Jimin-hyung. He’s a friend of mine that games with me sometimes! I’ve never really met the dude in person before, but he seems nice.” Jeongguk nods, staring off into space. “He seems really busy all the time too. And he’s super active on social media, that’s probably where you’ve seen him.”

Seungcheol nods; the guy didn’t seem like any sort of immediate threat so he logs the information mentally for now. He’d just have to do some internet sleuthing himself when he got home.

“Oh, cool, okay! Thanks ‘Guk!” 

Seungcheol groans after the seventh pair of skates he’s cleaned, standing up to stretch and reach for his phone in his pocket. He checks the notifications, noting that you hadn’t texted back or read his messages yet.

A frown paints his features knowing that you were sick, but he makes another mental note to finally buy you that sybian now that his most recent paycheck had come in with it’s overtime bonuses. There were only a few more days until Namjoon came back which meant his extra pays would be over, a sad sigh escaping his lips at the thought. 

The day gruels on; Mondays were always the slowest days for the roller rink which meant Seungcheol spent most of the time cleaning skates and bumming snacks from the concession stand usually. He tries to not pry deeper into Jeongguk’s friends but the curiosity eats him alive so he makes an effort to stay away from the younger male for the rest of the day, this time.

Instead, he spends the day hiding in the employee break room any time he gets; only leaving when Yoongi decides to hide in there himself.

Your head feels like it’s going to spin off of your shoulders once you sit up in bed. The sun sits low in the horizon from what you can see through your bedroom window; noting that it must’ve been the late afternoon already.

You’d woken up with chills, head fuzzy when you’d sat up earlier in the morning. Knowing that you were at least somewhat sick, you quickly wrote up a little memo on your homepage letting your viewers know that there wouldn’t be a show later in the evening. Afterwards, you had quickly downed medicine before curling up under your sheets and going back to sleep. You’d vaguely been aware of your phone ringing on the nightstand next to your bed, but you prioritized sleeping instead, knowing that you had to get better before the weekend came.

You groan once you ease yourself off of your bed, dragging your feet as you make your way to the bathroom in hopes of a warm bath to make yourself feel better.

It’s almost 5PM which means it’s almost time for Seungcheol to finally go home. He checks his phone one more time before he pockets the device, putting away the last few pairs of rollerskates before he starts making his way towards the backroom. 

“Hey! ‘Cheol-hyung, can you come over here!?” Jeongguk yells over the music, arms waving him down frantically before he clocks out.

Seungcheol walks over, noting an unknown male standing with him. “Yes? Did you need help?”

“This guy, sorry I forgot your name?” The male laughs, eyes forming crescents when he smiles brightly at Jeongguk. “It’s Seokmin.”

“Right, right. Seokmin is asking if we’re hiring?” Jeongguk ends with a head tilt, unsure of the answer himself.

Seungcheol bites the inside of his cheek. Technically yes, they were understaffed even with Namjoon around. But Namjoon was also technically the one in charge of overseeing hiring positions. And while they technically should’ve hired more staff, that also meant Seungcheol’s overtime bonuses would be cut anytime they actually had the appropriate amount of staff.

“Uhhhh… I--I don’t think so? I’m not the one in charge. Our manager that decides staff and hiring positions is out of town indefinitely so…” Seungcheol trails off, hoping Seokmin gets the hint.

“Ahh… Should I come back another time then?” Seungcheol nods, frowning slightly. “Sorry ‘bout that man. But hey, why don’t you leave your contact info so we can call you? So you don’t have to keep coming back.”

Seokmin nods, beaming at the older male.

“Sure, that’d be great! Thanks!”

Seungcheol only feels slightly bad when he gets home that night, praying karma doesn’t kick his ass later for lying.

On days when you cancel your show are the days Seungcheol realizes he needs more hobbies than watching your cam shows and gaming all night.

Not that it’s a bad thing, he thinks, just that he could supplement his life with more.

He places an order for a few cookbooks alongside the order for the sybian, soft chuckles spilling from his lips when he realizes what an odd array of things he’s ordered.

Seungcheol manages to fill his night with meaningless tasks; finally cleaning his PC and settling in to watch a movie while he polishes off an entire pizza. He checks his phone a few more times, noting no new messages and he wonders if you’re really okay. A lightbulb goes off in his head, power walking back to his PC as he opens a new browser.

He bites his lip, typing in ‘j__min’ in the search bar to see what comes up. By nature, the username is unfortunately a lot more common than he anticipates and he ends up rifling through a lot of dead ends before he comes upon the profile on the same camming website you used and an instagram that seemed to be updated fairly regularly.

“Let’s see…”

Your body feels hot all over. Pin pricks on your fingertips as a bead of sweat trickles down your temple.

Now, you didn’t feel sick, you just felt incredibly insatiable. Again.

You weren’t sure if it was because your body had adjusted to a certain schedule, but you can’t help the way you toss and turn in bed; thighs rubbing together in hopes of alleviating the growing wetness between them.

Checking the clock, you note it’s already 10PM, close to when you’d normally be doing your show. You sigh, pushing your sweaty hair out of your face as you reach for your phone on the nightstand. You immediately notice a few text messages from Seungcheol; frowning when you notice the text messages were from the morning.

cheollie ✨: hey, baby :( saw your note, i hope you’re okay.

cheollie ✨: make sure to drink a lot of water and take medicine!

cheollie ✨: don’t push yourself too hard either okay?

The messages end there and you pout, unsure what to even say now that it had been hours since he’d texted.

babygirl 🍒 : cheollie… i only saw ur msgs now 🥺

babygirl 🍒 : im sorryyyyy i was sleeping so long but i feel better now!!

Seungcheol closes all his browser tabs before he realizes it, a smile on his face when he sees you’ve responded.

‘That’s okay, I’m just glad you’re okay and feeling better. Promise me you drank tons of water?’

He feels giddy, palms sweaty as he grips his phone.

babygirl: mmhmm! i did… i don’t even feel sick anymore 🥺 but…

babygirl: dunno… i’m feeling needy again… i think my body is used to my usual schedule...

Seungcheol’s body thrums with newfound energy and arousal at your leading comments. He’s unsure of what to say next, fearing he was going to say too much. But his phone pings again, eyes quickly flitting over your messages.

babygirl 🍒 : if ur busy its okay but

babygirl 🍒 : do u think we could cam? just u and me?

babygirl 🍒 : only if ur free tho!!

His fingers are tingling when he sends his reply, making it short and sweet before he places his phone down and makes sure his PC is running smoothly.

‘Of course, you know I’m always here when you need me. :)’

It takes a few minutes for you and Seungcheol to set up your respective spaces and in the meantime, you grab your laptop, propping it open on the bed next to you as you lay in front of it. You had debated on using your better camera which you used for camming, but you didn’t want it to be set up like a cam show.

Instead, you wanted a more intimate and casual video call with Seungcheol, so you made sure your webcam worked fine as you placed it on the sheets.

‘Video Call Incoming…’

You can’t help the blush that coats your skin nor the lust that fills your body as soon as you accept his call; his somewhat blurry figure coming into view.

“Hey, sweetheart!” Seungcheol beams at you through the grainy camera and you already feel yourself clenching around emptiness, words caught in your throat at how handsome he was and how truly enticing his voice was. “H-hi!” Rubbing your thighs together, you peer at the camera shyly. “I--wow, the pictures really… You’re so much more handsome on v-video.” You giggle slightly, leaning in closer to your laptop to get a better view of the silvery-blue haired male.

Seungcheol’s deep laugh filters through the speakers and your toes curl against the sheets.

“You should see me in person, maybe I’ll look even better then.”

You don’t deny that one bit; your own hands already itching to touch yourself. “Oh? Is that an invitation~?”

Seungcheol’s eyes pierce the camera, licking his own lips as you watch him  snake a hand down into his sweats.

“If you want it to be, sweetheart. But tell me about you, how are you feeling? Have you eaten already?”

Gulping, you watch as his hand seems to work slowly and out of view. “I--um, I feel b-better just… Dunno, guess my body’s just used to, um, y’know… A-and I haven’t really had much of an appetite...” You trail off, head still fuzzy from the cold medicines and now, Seungcheol.

In a roundabout way, it almost feels like you’re watching him do a show for you as you watch him slowly get off.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better, baby. But you know you should try to eat, okay? I don’t want you to get even sicker.” You nod, fingertips already at the edge of your sleep shorts. 

“I--c-can I touch myself too?” Seungcheol laughs lightly, nodding as he tilts his head back. “Of course, you don’t need to ask me for permission, baby.”

You grin at him, sitting up as you reposition the laptop. Your hand slides underneath a pillow, grabbing the small bullet vibrator you kept there. “Do you always keep a toy handy?” His voice is airy, teasing in the way he asks.

“Mmhmm~ You never know when you’ll need it~” You sing-song, shimmying your sleep shorts and panties off before you spread your legs in front of the camera.

The air gets knocked out of Seungcheol the second you spread your legs for him and him alone and he can’t help but imagine all the things he wanted to do with you. He watches as you tease yourself, fingertips only grazing across the areas he knew you wanted to be touched the most. 

“I can’t wait for us to finally fuckin’ meet.” He grits out.

A moan floats through the speakers of Seungcheol’s gaming PC, your saccharine voice music to his ears. “M-me too, wanna know what you’d do to me~” You giggle afterwards, pressing the vibrator to your clit as you spread your legs wider for him to see. Seungcheol’s hand around his cock tightens as he watches, an appreciative smirk on his face.

“Oh sweetheart, what wouldn’t I do to you.” You can’t help but slide your fingers through your wet folds listening to Seungcheol’s voice, whimpering when you finally slide a finger in. “Yeah? What would be the first thing? Tell me, ‘Cheollie~”

Even through the webcam quality, you can see the way Seungcheol’s eyes glaze over in complete pleasure. He licks his lips once, leaning in close so that you can hear him clearly.

“I know you probably think I’d get straight to the filthy shit, huh? Pin you to your bed and fuck you until you forget your own name or tie you up to the bedposts and make you beg for me to fuck you. But I wouldn’t. Because I wanna worship your fuckin’ body. I’d take it nice and slow with you, give you as many orgasms as you want.”

“F-fuck, Seungcheol, I–”

“You could use me for your pleasure, y’know? You deserve it. You’re such a good girl. I’d give you anything you fuckin’ want if you’d let me.”

Your choked moans have Seungcheol working his cock faster; nothing on his mind except for you and his impending orgasm. “Oh g-god, Seungcheol, I--fuck, yes, I want that~ I want you to--to make me cum as many times as I w-want!” You mewl, easily working in another finger as you pump the digits inside your pussy.

He smirks when he sees your grip on the vibrator loosening, knowing that you were already too lost in the pleasure to keep the toy on. “And I’d let you. Maybe I’d make you cum on my tongue first. Or would you want my fingers?”

“B-both! Puh--please…” You whine, legs threatening to clamp shut. You curl and scissor your fingers, thrusting them knuckle deep inside yourself as you chase the pleasure that overtakes your senses. “Please, ‘Cheol, tell me more~”

You watch through the camera as Seungcheol pushes his sweats down enough to get his cock into view; mouth watering as you watch it curve up to his lower abdomen.

“I know how much you love being doted on and being taken care of… So after I make you cum all fuckin’ night, you know I’d take care of you. Make sure you’re comfortable and cuddle with you when you’re tired.” His hips cant up into his closed palm, a soft groan on his lips. “And then when we wake up, I’ll eat you out. Nice and slow so you know it’d be worth it.” 

Seungcheol smirks, smearing the precum all over his shaft. “But I also know you like it rough and you like being punished like a bad girl. You like the idea of being tied up and teased and being fucked nice and hard too. I could take it nice and slow, build up the pleasure for you. Or I can take it nice and slow and tease you, I’d make you sit on my cock ‘n make you wait for it ‘til you’re begging me. Or maybe you would want an audience? Let them see you fall apart on my cock when you’re desperate to cum.” 

You press the vibrator against your clit again, Seungcheol’s name falling out of your mouth in a blubbering mess. “Oh--I--!!”

Your legs clamp shut, fingers halting their movements as you cum hard around your fingers. Seungcheol watches as your legs shake, his own hand running up and down his cock in quick motions as he chases his high too. You vaguely hear him groaning your name; the ringing in your ears overbearing as your orgasm continues to wash over you.

The sound of your quick and shallow breaths mix with Seungcheol’s over the speakers as the two of you catch your breath. You slip your fingers from inside of you, wincing when you turn off the toy and toss it to the side.

“Fuck, baby, I--”

“Y-yeah…” You quietly lick your fingers clean, knowing that Seungcheol’s watching. “I… that was the first time I… did that with s-someone…” You giggle tiredly, wiping the rest of your sticky fingers on your shirt.

“Really? Never?” Seungcheol’s surprised expression makes you giggle; his eyes round and mouth wide open as he leans closer to his webcam.

“Mmhmm! Just, y’know, it’s--it’s hard to get close to people sometimes…”

You had mentioned it off-handedly once while the two of you had been texting, that most of the dates you’d been on hated the fact that you cammed. There was always a possessive aura that was present and while Seungcheol would sometimes get a little jealous himself, he also knew it was your livelihood and how you supported yourself.

“Ah, yeah, I can understand.”

The two of you sit in a content silence, Seungcheol reaching for a few tissues to clean off the drying cum on his abdomen.

“Hey, ‘Cheol?”

“Yeah?” He peers up at the camera through his lashes, blinking rapidly as he watches you lay back down in front of your laptop.

“About what you said… earlier…” You pause, shyness overtaking once again. “I--Would you want to meet up? Like, for real? I mean--not--not like tomorrow or something but... Y’know, we can start planning?” 

Any words that come after that turn into radio static in Seungcheol’s head and he can feel his pupils shaking, nervousness already bubbling up inside of him at the prospect of actually finally maybe getting to meet you. 

“Seungcheol? ‘Cheollie? You okay?” 

Fuck.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah! I’m cool, I’m good, sorry, that--that caught me off guard.”

He watches as you talk animatedly, mind already going a mile a minute as he thinks over everything that needed to be done before then. 

“I’m really excited to meet you, ‘Cheollie!” 

#cherrybomb!cheol #seungcheol smut #scoups smut #seventeen smut #svt smut #svt scenarios #svt imagines #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #scoups imagines #seungcheol imagines #scoups scenarios #seungcheol scenarios #scoups #seungcheol

[levis-hazelnut]

Summary: when you and your best friend, Hanji, were younger, you had made up stories about your dream guys - what they would look like and how you would meet. What happens when the one you had made up appears to be real?

Warning(s): I don’t think there are any in this chapter. But, please do tell me if there are any.

Taglist (closed!): @castellandiangelo

Status: completed!

part 2 > part 3 > part 4

series masterlist

With every step he took, I slowly felt the tension rise and awkwardly stood there, slurping on my iced drink. "Eren, you know Levi. And, these two are Isabel and Farlan," I announced and gestured to introduce themselves. "Hi, Eren!" the hyper girl smiled. "Nice to meet you," the more composed, blonde male replied. As those three spoke, I stood opposite Levi. "Looks like we ended up going bowling after all," I smiled, easing the tension. "Is your argument with Eren over?" "I guess, yeah... Anyway, it's my turn now. What lane are you on?" "We're a few lanes apart. Make sure you don't cry if you miss me too much, darlin'."

I playfully rolled my eyes and said a small 'bye' to all of them as they went to play as well. I approached Eren to see him smiling, which made me frown. "Why are you smiling?" "Because those two people are nice. Now, I get why you're so comfortable with them." "Does that mean you don't have any problems now?" "No. Isabel and Farlan weren't made up, correct?" he asked and I nodded. "So, I don't care if you hang out with them because there isn't anything fishy about them like there is about Levi." "Tch. Fine. I don't want to argue again and I understand what you're saying, so let's carry on. We still have a few more turns." Now, it was me who was throwing a ball and Eren who slurped the slushie, making his tongue blue, which he was yet to find out. I squealed when I knocked down all ten of the pins and did a little victory dance, no matter how embarrassing it was. I looked at Eren to get his praise; I got a grin and messy hair since he decided to ruffle it. An inaudible huff left my lips as I fixed my hair, using my phone's black screen. "... I'm getting kind of hungry," I stated as I stood behind the brunette, watching the bowling ball roll towards the pins. "Let's finish this game then go and eat. What are you feeling?" "Hmm... I don't mind. You choose." "I don't mind either." "I don't understand how we've made any decisions together. We’re so indecisive" I joked and I heard a small puff of air leave his nose as he smiled. "Anyway, let's go somewhere close by." I picked up my phone and began to look for food places near us. "(Y/N), it's your turn." "Okay. Here, look for a place to eat." I shoved my phone into his hands and picked up a ball, getting ready to throw it. "Hi, darlin'," a voice whispered, very close to my ear which made me jump and accidentally drop the ball, with a bang, and it decided to make its journey down the lane. "Levi!" I pouted. "Don't do that, you prick, you ruined my chances of getting a strike. What are you even doing here?" "I'm getting drinks, and to do that, I have to go past here. Also, you might want to look at how many pins are left,” he told me, so I looked towards where he was motioning and a grin planted on my lips. I got another strike! "Bye." "I still hate you for scaring me." "I know you don't," he smirked and walked away. "Hey, are you up for some pizza?" Eren questioned, causing Levi's smirk to dissipate in my mind and I faced him, strolling towards him and sipping on the beverage that he held. "Yeah, sure. It's your last turn, by the way," I told him, taking the drink and my phone from his hands. "Oh, okay. Aw, you have so many more points than me." "Do you know why?" "Because you're/I'm amazing," we both said at the same time, causing a laugh to erupt from my mouth before a smirk settled onto my lips. Eren was able to knock down nine which he cursed at. One pin was always almost impossible to hit. "Good luck~" I sang teasingly. Soon, nothing was in his hold as we both watched the ball roll on the floor, making its way in the correct direction towards the last pin. The ball brushed it. It wobbled. And it slowly fell. I playfully punched his bicep with a smile. "Well done." "Thanks." "I'm going to go say bye to them." He nodded and followed me towards the trio. Isabel was the first to spot us and she grinned and waved. I love her energy; she's somehow always able to be enthusiastic, I seriously wonder how. "Hey, we're going to go." "Aw, okay. Hope you had fun with your boyfriend." "Uh, no, he's not my boyfriend. He's my friend." "But why does he have his arm around you?" I didn't even realise since he does that most of the time, it became a norm to me. "... Don't know. It's just a thing he does." "Her shoulders are the right height for me to rest my arm on," Eren spoke. "Wow, so you're just using me as an armrest?" "Yeah." I gave his chest a light push and he chuckled quietly, coming back to my side. "Anyway, I'll see you guys next week." "Bye, (Y/N)! Bye, Eren!" "Bye," the male beside me smiled. "See you later," Farlan said. "And, I'll see your annoying ass on Monday, Ackerman." "The same goes to you, darlin'." "Are you going to wear that same unicorn shirt?" I smirked as his glare burned into my very soul. "Don't bring that up again." Eren and I left with a wave and his arm came back on my shoulders. "... Why does he call you darling?" "Eren, don't. I'm not in the mood to talk about anything negative. I just want to enjoy this day without any conflict." "Fine." ~/~ "Nope." "Aw, (Y/N), please," Hanji begged as I ignored her and stepped into my room, closing the door behind me and locking it so she can't come in. "It was a party you planned so don't bring me into this. You clean up after your guests." "Why're you being so mean? You'd normally help me out." "Yeah, I'm just not in the mood today. I thought we already established that if it's your guests then you clean up. I wasn't even home so don't drag me into this." I heard a sigh of defeat from Hanji and some footsteps padding away from my room. Finally, I could just rest without interacting with humans. Yeah, I had fun with Eren today, but ever since I walked into my university in the morning, I wanted to be home. Once I changed into my pyjamas, I turned off the lights and nestled under the covers, staring at the ceiling for a while before getting interrupted by my phone since someone decided to call me. "Hello?" "Hey, (Y/N)~" Jean’s voice sounded. "Idiot," I whispered to myself. "Are you drunk?" "Yes... But not that much. I'm not going to have a mad hangover or forget everything once I wake up." "Okay. So, why did you call me?" "I wanted to hear your voice," he muttered. "Also, we only spoke at lunch today. That's not enough time to talk." "Are you at home?" "Yeah, I took the bus." "What do you want to talk about, then?" "I don't know. Even if you don't talk, it's fine. I just want your company..." he mumbled. "I missed you over the month I was gone, you know." "Mhm. I missed you, too." "And I miss having you near me all the time like I did when we were dating. Do you miss it as well?" "... You still have me and you aren't going to lose me." "Do you miss it?" he repeated. "I don't know what you want me to say, Jean." "I want you to say the truth." "... No, I don't," I admitted. "But that's only because I can still talk to you and act normal around you. The only thing that's different from our relationship is that we don't give each other affection. I mean, you still flirt with me, but I know you only do it as a joke." "Thank you for being honest with me, (Y/N)," he murmured, giving me a hint that he was falling asleep. "Jean, I think you should sleep. It's late," I told him in a quiet voice and I heard him hum. "Yeah, okay. Night, (Y/N)." "Goodnight, Jean." And with that, I hung up, letting out a huff. Starting to feel bad, I called Hanji (since I wasn't bothered to get out of bed) and she answered five seconds later. "Hey, Hanji, do you still need help?" "It's fine. I'm nearly done," she spoke in a hushed voice, which is something I rarely hear. "Are you sure?" "I mean, it would be helpful, but I'm guessing you're already in bed." "Yeah, well, now I'm standing up. I'll come and help you." "Thank you." "You can cut the phone now, I'm right next to you," I smiled and she softly laughed. We both did the last few things like brooming, which I did, as she put dishes in the dishwasher. Few words were exchanged but we were both tired so it was understandable. I wiped down any surfaces and put things back in their places, like cushions or any kind of furniture. "Hanji, did you see how much Jean drank?" "Not much. He was a bit tipsy but I'm sure he got home fine. Why?" "He called me, sounding drunk but he said he didn't drink that much. And then, he started to tell me that he misses our relationship before asking me if I did." "Did you say yeah?" "No. He wanted the truth so I wasn't going to lie. I doubt he heard what I said, though, because he sounded like he was going to knock out." "... I think he still has feelings for you. He hasn't dated anyone else and he persistently flirts with you. Maybe he wasn't happy with the breakup, but decided to go along with it to make you happy." "I was thinking that as well. I don't want him to stop himself from moving on but I don't know what to do." "Talk to him about it. Most things are solved by words." "But what do I say? 'Get over me and go date some bitch'?" "Along the lines of that. Just not rudely and don't call a girl 'some bitch'." "Anyway, are you done? I'm going to go to bed now." "Yeah, go. Thanks for helping me." "No problem." I walked inside my room, quietly closing the door and plopping down onto my bed, once again snuggling under my covers and eventually falling into a deep sleep. ~/~ "I'm so glad we get to go out since we barely hang out. I only see you around but we never have time to speak," the strawberry-blonde female piped beside me and I smiled at her, thinking the same. "I know. How's everything going for you?" "Great. Though, I have a project to work on. Thankfully, they're giving us two weeks to do it. What about you?" "Nothing important. Just going to lectures as usual." "... I've been wanting to ask for a while now... You know that guy, Levi, you've been hanging out with...?" "Go on." "I was wondering if he was single." I nodded slowly, forcing a smile onto my lips as we strolled around, going no place in particular. "Yeah, he is." Oh, Petra was so much more beautiful than me. So much smarter than me. So much more pleasant to hang out with than me. And, she also happened to have her eyes on the same man as me. "Well, I was kind of thinking of asking him out. Could you help me out since you seem close to him?" Another thing, it's been two months since I met him and Eren had given me permission to be all over him (not really, but you know what I mean) and he gave me Levi's number. This was such great timing, I could just squeal in excitement... Yeah, right *eye roll* But I can't stop others from asking him out since I don't want to. "Of course. He deserves someone like you." Oh, how much I wanted to rip my lips off my face so I didn't have to fake smile. "Aw, thank you so much." But Petra was a wonderful girl who also deserves Levi. They'd make such a perfect couple, it makes me want to cry just by thinking of it. However, I'm still going to stick by my promise and help her. Even if they end up getting married, I'll carry on smiling because I'll be happy for them as I slowly die internally. A hand was placed on my shoulder, knocking me out of my daze. Instinctively, I twisted around and thrust my fist into the gut of the jerk who decided to put their nasty hands on me. I heard a groan, I saw his face, and I bit back a smile and apologised. "Sorry," I snorted. "Are you secretly part of some gang or something?" he managed to speak with a strained voice as he clutched his stomach. I giggled at his response as we moved to the side to get out of people's way. "No. I thought you were some pervert." "I'm the pervert? Think before you speak, darlin'--" "Yes, yes, I know. You're going to say I'm a perv. Anyway, once you recover, I'll introduce you to Petra," I said, giving a knowing look to the female. "He's not this weak, he's just being a drama queen." "Tch. Sorry I don't have abs of steel." How are you going to lie like that? You clearly have the most perfect abs, I thought. "Are you about done complaining?" I arched an eyebrow and he sighed before nodding as we started walking again. "So, this is Petra, a lovely person that isn't weird like my other friends who you prefer not to hang out with." "It's not that I don't want to hang out with them, it's just I have no idea what you're talking about because all I hear is laughing and incoherent words that you somehow understand." "Yeah, well, with Petra, you can have a civilised conversation." "Well, then, it's nice to meet you, Petra." "The same goes to you," she beamed. "Where were you guys going?" "Nowhere. (Y/N) and I were just walking around," I let her respond so they could talk some more. "What about you?" "I was going to get tea since I've run out." "Oh, okay," she paused, thinking of what to say next, so I lightly nudged her and mouthed some words. "Um, do you want company?" "No, it's fine. It'll be quicker if I go by myself." "Yeah, but the more, the merrier," I blurted out to which Levi lifted a brow to. "Well, since you're basically on your knees, begging to come, let's go." Petra mouthed a quick 'thank you' and I grinned in return, saying that I was going to quickly grab a coffee and then join them at the store. Both of them nodded and I went to the cafe Eren worked at. Oh, looks like he isn't here. I ordered a coffee and waited by the side, looking down at my phone. "Why are you so upset, princess? Missing your favourite waiter?" a voice teased, causing me to look up at the grinning Eren. I mirrored him with a grin of my own. "Yeah, but only because he gives my broke ass a discount," I retorted as he softly chuckled. "I'm surprised I don't see you with Levi." "I actually was, but he went to get tea from the shop down the road with Petra." "Petra?" "Yes... You've met her a couple of times." I bit down on my lip. "And I may have promised her that I'll help her get together with Levi," I told him as he took a customer's order. Once they paid, he started to prepare their order. "Why would you do that?" he questioned with furrowed brows. "Because I couldn't just say no. And I shouldn't stop girls from asking him out just because I don't have the guts to." "You're too nice. You have to learn to say no. And, if I were you, I would punch every girl that talks to him." "Yeah, but I'm not violent like that. Even though I just punched Levi." "Why?" "I thought he was some random dude who put their hand on my shoulder, so of course, I would punch any idiot who thought it would be a good idea to touch me." "He got what he deserves," Eren mumbled as he faced away from me to give the customer their order, but I vaguely heard him, crossing my arms over my chest. "Leave him alone," I childishly pouted. "He's done nothing to deserve your hatred. He doesn't have anything against you, so I don't know why you're still bothered." The teal-eyed male sighed. "I don't know either. I'm just being bitchy." "I'll prove to you that he's a decent person that you don't have to be worried about anymore." "Sure." "Excuse me, miss? Here's your coffee," the young man smiled and passed it to me. "Thank you," I replied and he went to serve some other person. "Anyway, I've got my coffee and I'm distracting you from your work, so I'll see you later." "Wait, give me a sip." I gave him my coffee and he smiled as he passed it back to me. "Bye, princess." I playfully rolled my eyes before leaving the cafe and making my way towards the store Levi and Petra would be at as I mentally prepared myself for whatever was to come. I entered the building and saw them at the till, paying for Levi's tea and some other things as they held a conversation.

I waited by the exit, leaning against a wall and taking small sips from my coffee as to not burn my tongue. They approached me and I pushed myself off of the wall, walking beside Petra, who was in the middle of us. And I mean that metaphorically and literally since she's stopping me from forming a relationship with Levi (it's my fault so I can't really blame her) and she's also walking in between us. After Levi had gotten his tea, he went home since he said he 'didn't feel like going anywhere'. That left me and Petra as she thanked me for helping her and introducing her to Levi. We ended up going to the library and whispered to each other about whatever we had missed, forgetting the books that we were reading. We then got some food that I decided to eat at home since I wasn't hungry when we got it. That's when our day together ended and we parted ways. Now, here I am, at home, cocooned in some blankets with a bowl of popcorn as I watched a show Hanji's been telling me to watch with all the lights off. About halfway through an episode, I heard the front door open and in came Hanji and her boyfriend. I paused it, knowing I would miss an important part when they come into the living room. Oh, just a heads up, by the way: Hanji's boyfriend is also one of my professors at our university. "Hi, (Y/N)," Hanji beamed as Erwin gave me a nod as a greeting. "Hey--" "Oh my gosh!! You're finally watching it!" "Yeah, but I'm only on the third episode." "I don't care. I'm so happy you decided to watch it," she squealed. "Anyway, I don't want to disturb you, so bye." She doesn't want to disturb me, huh? More like she doesn't want to waste time on this conversation when she could be doing other things with her boyfriend. And I'm so glad that the doors and walls are all thick, almost as if they're soundproof. I resumed it before having to pause it again due to my phone ringing. Doesn't my phone ring at the perfect times, like when I just want to relax? I answered the call after reading the name. "Hello?" "Yeah, hi." "What do you need?" "Why were you acting weird today?" "What do you mean?" "You know exactly what I mean. You may have seemed happy, but you didn't look it at all." "And what is that supposed to mean, Mr Moody?" "Yeah, you were smiling but it was forced. And you spoke with a happy tone, but your eyes didn't match it." "Why the hell are you staring at my eyes?" "(Y/N), just tell me what's going on." "... Why do you even care?" I muttered. "Because you almost never act like you did today." "Well, it's something I prefer not to share. I'm flattered that you care so much about me, but don't worry about how I'm acting," I responded, throwing some popcorn in my mouth and grinding it with my teeth. "Fine. If you don't want to tell me, you don't have to. Sorry for caring." I sighed and held my phone to my right ear now, instead of my left. "No, I'm sorry. I am being a bitch." "You're always one, darlin'. You're being a grumpy bitch today." As he said that, I could imagine a smirk etching onto his lips as his hues shimmered with amusement. Oh, how much I wished to see his face and I wished I hadn't told Petra to basically 'Go ahead and marry the love of my life'. "Oi, are you okay?" "Hm. Oh, sorry, I just zoned out. You should know I do that a lot by now." I loved his soft voice that sounded like a purr. I could imagine that he was either lying in bed or on the sofa because there was no sound of movement. Maybe just staring up at the ceiling as he spoke. Isabel and Farlan were probably in their rooms because it sounded like he was alone. I bet there was a hint of Earl Grey tea on his breath. Oh, imagine if he was lying down shirtless, exposing his sexy abs that I have yet to see. Yeah, I sound like a complete weirdo and perv but we've gone over that already, so it shouldn't be a surprise. "Anyway, you should probably go to sleep now since we've got uni tomorrow." "Yeah... Wait, when's our first lecture?" "Ten o'clock." "Okay, thanks. Looks like I can finish off this episode before going to bed." I couldn't see him, but I could almost sense that he rolled his eyes. "Make sure you get some sleep. Goodnight, darlin'." "Yeah, night, Ackerman." I locked my phone once he cut the phone and I was finally able to watch the damn episode. ~/~ "What did I tell you?" was the first thing someone said to me the next morning. "Hush. I don't feel like getting a scolding right now," I murmured and massaged my temples as I felt a headache arising. Not only did I lose precious hours of sleep, but I also happened to start my period this morning, so on top of my headache, I had cramps. Aren't I just the luckiest person alive? Even though his mouth never opened, I could just tell by the way Levi was looking at me that he was mentally cursing at me for not sleeping well so I rolled my eyes. "At least you don't look like a corpse, though." "Why, thank you," I replied sarcastically. "Hey, do any of you have painkillers?" I asked both males - Jean shook his head and Levi fished something out of his bag. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much." I took a water bottle out of my bag and gulped it down, along with two pills. I'm not overdosing, don't worry, it's just how many I take since one doesn't work on me. "Thank you," I said once again and he simply nodded as Professor Erwin (aka Hanji's boyfriend) walked in. Of course, he would be smiling more than usual (if you know what I'm implying). As the lecture went on, I forced my eyes to stay open and made sure that I wouldn't nod off. At one point, I had no idea how or when, but my head ended up on Levi's shoulder. I don't how long it was there for, but he gently nudged my head with his shoulder which woke me up. I found out that it was the end of my lecture and let out a huff as I packed my stuff away and followed other people out of the hall. As I did that, I spoke a few words with Historia, another civilised human that I often talk to. "I'll talk to you later, (Y/N)," she beamed with her glistening blue eyes and walked away as I waved at her. "Hey, sorry for falling asleep on your shoulder." "I don't care. But you're taking your ass home and having a nap. Our next lecture is at one so you can have a two-hour nap. Just make sure you aren't late." "Yeah, yeah. I need a human alarm, though. Do any of you want to hang out at my place?" "Sure," both males replied and shrugged as I smiled at them and we all proceeded to mine and Hanji's apartment. Once reaching our destination, I slipped my shoes off, dropped my bag to the floor and plopped down onto the sofa on my stomach, closing my eyes. Before I could fully relax, I felt a weight settle on top of me. "Ugh, I hate you, Jean," I groaned once turning my head to see that he was sitting on my back. "Love you, too," he teased. "Okay, shhh. Let me sleep."

#levi ackerman #levi x reader #levi ackerman x reader #aot #aot fanfiction #aot imagines #snk #snk fanfiction #snk imagines #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #x reader #reader insert #anime #dream guy #modern au #series #ofc i had to add my jeanboy #but he's a lil simp #and we love that #also i love levi calling me darlin' #in that deep voice of his? yes pls

[flightsoffandom]

Co-Conspirators Part 6

Pairs: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Words: 9316

Summary: The BAU team takes notice of your day off and worries about you. You accidentally get the team a week off. Aaron helps get you to and from surgery.

Warnings: Talking and details about surgery. Group drinking. Friendly dating peer pressure from the BAU family.

Notes: Kinda just some slice-of-life nonsense with some decent banter thrown in there. Sorry, this took so long, a lot of stuff happened which I won't get into so I won't bore you all to death. Hopefully, everyone sees this as worth the wait, feel free to let me know either way. Thanks for being patient with me.

Continuation of Co-Conspirators –Part 1–Part 2–Part 3–Part 4–Part 5-Part 6*

You woke up in the morning to the smell of breakfast and the sound of Jack happily rambling about something. Letting yourself lay in bed for a moment so you could gain your bearings. You heard Jack talking about all the fun stuff you did with him yesterday. You smiled to yourself and quickly rolled out of bed. You immediately regretted it. Your head started to spin because you got up too fast. You wobble for a moment. When everything stops moving, that's when you start walking again. Checking the time, you see that Aaron had let you sleep in, and you both would need to go to work in about an hour. So you had to start getting ready. You grab some work clothes and towels before heading into the shower.

As soon as you got out of the shower, you started getting dressed and getting ready for work. With everything taken care of for a bit, the smell of breakfast hit you again. Your stomach growled, revealing just how hungry you were. You headed out to the kitchen. Jack was still happily rambling, and Aaron was attentively listening as he drank his coffee. You saw a plate sitting out on the table waiting for you. You hummed happily as you sat down. Jack looked at you with wide happy eyes, halting mid-sentence to address you, “[Y/N]!! Morning!!” Jack was so full of energy. You smile at him, “Good Morning to you too.” Jack looks at you, “I’m telling daddy about yesterday.” You lean over and quickly kiss Aaron on the cheek, “Thanks for making me food.” Aaron smiled and nodded. You look back over to Jack, “Feel free to continue telling him. I’m sure he wants to hear all about it.” Jack nods happily and starts talking again. You lazily eat as you listen to Jack go on.

You slept so well last night, and for so much longer than usual, you felt a tad groggy. That sluggish half-asleep feeling stayed with you as you continued to eat. Between being tired and how fast Jack was talking, you were only half able to keep up with the current topic. You started drinking coffee, hoping the caffeine would help get you back to normal. Luckily by the time you finished eating, you could feel your energy level rising slowly. Enough time had passed that it was time for everyone to get up from the table and rush around again. You take all the dishes and rinse them off before putting them in the dishwasher. Helping Jack and Aaron get everything together for school and work. When all three of you were set, you met at the door for a moment. You opened the door before giving Aaron a quick kiss. Jack bolted out the door excitedly, ready to start his day. You break the kiss, “See you at work.” Aaron offers a smile before nodding. Jack screeches to a halt, turning around and running back towards you and his father. Jack tackles your legs with a hug, “Bye [Y/N].” You chuckle and kneel, “Bye, buddy. Have a good day at school.” You return Jack’s hug, giving him a soft squeeze. When Jack lets go, the three of you split off separately on your different routines.

It had been a few weeks since the Monte incident. No one on the team had brought it up with you. But you knew everyone would take a mental note of your day off. While you all had a rule to ‘not profile each other’, it was also the team's biggest lie. Since you arrived earlier than everyone, it was easier to come back to work after taking a day off. Hotch showed up thirty minutes after you, and you both exchanged a smile before he strides into his office. Easily you were able to get back to work. However, as soon as the team started showing up, you knew that Hotch had told Rossi more about what happened than you thought. Which in turn meant Rossi, of course, had told the team about it. You appreciated their concern. You were just dreading what was about to happen.

One by one, each member of the team showed up for work that day. As soon as the elevator door opened, their eyes were on you. You did your best to ignore it, but it was hard when you could see in your peripheral vision that they were trying to ‘casually’ group together in the kitchen. When you finally couldn't take it anymore, you turned in your chair to look at them. You clear your throat very loudly to make sure you get all of their attention, “You guys having an interesting conversation?” All five of them go wide-eyed and stare at you for a moment. Emily is the first to speak, “I tried to tell them we shouldn’t talk behind your back.” Penelope scoffs loudly, glaring at Emily. Derek quickly steps in, “Hey now, it was all of our ideas.” Derek takes a few steps toward you, “We are worried about you.” You glared at everyone, “I appreciate the thought, but there is no need for it.” You decide to add, ”Am I not allowed to take a day off of work just cause?” Spencer quickly states, “One thousand four.” You give him a confused look. Spencer quickly noticed your confusion and went on to elaborate, “You've worked at the BAU for approximately one thousand and four days. Yesterday was the first day you took a voluntary day off.” You were taken aback and even scoff, “That doesn't sound right.”

You knew they meant well. Maybe you were getting a bit defensive, but all five of them confronting you about taking one day off seemed a bit dramatic on their part. You sigh and smile at them, “Thank you for caring so much. I appreciate it. I do.” You grab some paperwork off your desk, “I love you all…” You pause for dramatic effect, “Even though you each can be obnoxiously caring at times.” You chuckle to yourself as you get some groans and eye-rolls from the team. JJ gives you a matter-of-fact look, “That’s what family is for.” Everyone, including yourself, nods in agreement. You stand up, getting ready to go file away your paperwork. The group starts breaking off and going back to work. Derek gives you a loving clap on the back as he walks by. You make sure to tussle Spencer's hair as he passes you. After a few minutes, the only person left is Penelope, who had one hand behind her back. She speaks up, “I know you said you're fine and that it's not a big deal… but it is kind of a big deal. It was icky…” Penelope's whole body shivers. She makes a disgusted noise before finding her train of thought again, “So so icky. I mean with the…” She motions to your scar, “And then him…” Penelope makes slow stabbing motions with her hand towards her own side. If anyone else had brought this up, you might have been mad, but with Penelope, it was always hard to be genuinely mad at her about anything. You chuckle and then correct her, “Monte didn't stab himself. A real stickler for the details, he managed to get a hold of a gun.” You mime a gun with your hand before pointing it at your side. Penelope almost gasps. In one motion, she pulls the hand from behind her back and thrusts a box of treats at you, “I know you don't want me to make a fuss… and I’m totally not… I just happened to make like two dozen too many… And they coincidentally are your favorite.” You let out a happy sigh and hug Penelope. She hugs you back, “Hugs, these are what I’m good at.” You laugh and squeeze her. You may not have been big on hugging, but Penelope was the best hugger. So you waited until she was ready to pull away first. She hands the box to you again. You take the container and open the lid, inhaling the delicious scent, “Thank you. You're the best.” Penelope scoffs as she turns around, “Yes. Yes, I am.” You chuckle and get back to work.

Luckily today was more of a paperwork kind of day, so everything was on the relaxed side of things. You were able to text Aaron a few times, though he was busy tackling the mountain of paperwork that always lingered on his desk. Partway through the day, when you all are working on your own, your attention gets pulled to someone walking into the BAU. You would recognize that stern, authoritative walk anywhere, Strauss. She was on a mission, and it didn't seem to be a happy one.

When you see Strauss heading up to see Hotch, you know it's probably worse than you thought. Strauss even looked over at you before entering Hotch’s office and closing the door behind her. You lean back in your chair, “Shit.” The rest of the team had also noticed Strauss. Once you finish having a mini burst of anxiety, you join the team in trying to watch your two bosses talk through Hotch’s window casually. You bite the inside of your check and watch for a minute or two. There was a chance that she was only here for something boring and routine. But when you saw Hotch’s body language turn defensive, you knew this wasn't good.

You slightly get up from your chair, “Prentiss? Reid? Either of you able to lip-read their conversation?” Both Emily and Spencer give a half-hearted nod as their eyes don't look away from the situation. Emily speaks up first, “It’s about you…” Derek looks over at you from his desk, “Why would they be having a conversation like that without you.” You sigh, “Hotch wasn't thrilled after we were dragged in for that interview with Monte.” Derek nods very matter-of-factly, “Bossman never likes anyone messing with his agents.” Derek looks back up to the office. This time JJ looks over to you, “But Strauss already knows Hotch didn’t like the situation, so what is THIS conversation about?” You're about to respond, but Spencer beats you to it, “Hotch refused anymore visits with Monte.”

Derek intakes a sharp breath through his teeth, “Strauss never likes it when Hotch goes over her head…” You sigh and push your face into the palm of your hand, “Great… now Strauss is gonna have more reasons to hate me.” ‘Hate’ May have been a strong word, but Strauss, at the very least, disliked you quite a bit. It was primarily because of the whole issue with your verbal filter and not particularly caring about the chain of command if it came down to doing the right thing. Strauss was probably going to see it as a fault on your part. She might even think your ability to do your job was affected. Prentiss speaking drew your face out of your hand, “I think she said something about ‘time off’, but I didn't catch the whole context.” You furrow your eyebrows together and look back up at Hotch’s office window. It looked as though the conversation was wrapping up. Everyone else took this as a queue to sit back at their desks. You, however, wanted to be stubborn and choose to stay standing. Strauss finally stepped out of the office, leaving the door open behind her. With a scowl on her face, she made eye contact with you, but you made sure to defiantly hold her gaze the whole time until she was out of sight.

With Strauss gone, you started to weave around the desks to get to Hotch’s office. Before you could even make it to the bottom of the small flight of stairs, Hotch was in the doorway about to call you in. Hotch looked annoyed, but there was something under that. You almost thought it looked like excitement, but that didn’t make sense at the moment. He motioned for you to come into the room with him, confirming it was indeed you that both your bosses had just been talking about, “[Your Last Name].” You give a curt nod and walk through the door, going and closing the blinds. You probably wouldn’t have, but you did just have a refresher on how well your coworkers could read lips. You didn't feel like letting them read yours at the moment. Hotch closed the door behind you and made his way back over to his desk. You casually slid into the chair in front of him, “How mad is she?”

Hotch sighs, “Pretty pissed, to be honest, but nothing that won't blow over once all the official reports and requests make it to her desk.” You nod softly, putting your elbow on the arm of the chair and resting your chin in your hand, “What else did she talk about?” Hotch sighs and leans back in his chair, watching you, “Good or bad part first?” You scrunch up your face a bit, even shooting a glare at Hotch, “Bad first…” You stretch out the word, unsure if that's really what you wanted. Hotch makes a face, already knowing you wouldn't be happy with his reply, “You have to undergo another psych eval.” Your glare intensifies, and your groan, “I already went through one right after the whole Monte thing… They cleared me.” Your voice came out a bit whiny, but you couldn't help it. It had only been maybe two weeks since your last evaluation, so taking another one seems pointless. Hotch nods, “I told her that, but she seems to think you needing to take an impromptu day off is cause for concern. I tried to explain it wasn't, but…” You grumble and nod slowly. You weren't happy at all, but Hotch would just get into trouble if you didn't listen. So you wouldn't fight it, just deciding to suck it up and deal with it.

You let out a half-hearted huff, “I’ll do it… if only to keep Strauss off your ass.” Hotch smiles at you, “Thank you.” He sits up and puts his hands together on top of his desk, “Now for the good news.” Hotch almost looked like he was up to something, so you narrowed your eyes at him and waited for him to speak, “The whole team gets a week off.” You straighten up quickly, excited, “Really? I knew I asked you to figure something out. I didn't really expect it to work out.” Hotch takes mock offense, “Hey!” You chuckle and roll your eyes, “You know it's our job I don’t trust for days off, not you.” Hotch smiles and nods, “I know.” Your excitement was temporarily suspended when you came to a realization.

You look at Hotch suspiciously, “Why was that in the same conversation as the rest of that stuff…” Hotch’s face turns slightly guilty, “I may have countered that if Strauss is so concerned about one of my team’s mental wellbeing, then maybe she should make sure the whole team had some time to rest.” You glare at him, “You used me taking a day off as an excuse.” Hotch’s face quickly started to look concerned that you were mad at him. You think about it for a minute and then laugh, “Honestly, there are worse ways to earn some time off. I’ll take it.” Hotch looked relieved as he relaxed back into his chair, “I was hoping you’d be okay with that.” You think for a moment before asking, “What week?” Hotch frowns again, and you knew what he was about to say. You close your eyes and let out a soft sigh. You weren't mad. You understood the position Hotch was in and why it had to be added to the report.

When you told him you would call your doctor, you actually did. You even surprised yourself with actually following through with it. Half the time, your philosophy was that it wasn't a problem if you didn’t think about it. With how worried Aaron was, your stubbornness had quickly yielded. You had set up an appointment to have your scar fixed. It would either be removed or corrected depending on the doctor's official examination on the surgery date, which was about two weeks away. You had told Hotch, of course, mainly as your boyfriend, but you knew as your boss it was an essential piece of information that had to be added to the reports and your psychological evaluation. You didn’t plan to tell the team about it, but with it being in official paperwork somewhere, maybe you should. So with that information in play, you knew the answer to your own question just by the look on Hotch’s face. Strauss used that date as the starting point for the whole week off for the team.

You apparently had been silent for longer than you thought because you felt Hotch’s eyes on you as he spoke, “You know I had to put it into the report…” With a soft smile, you open your eyes, “I know. I’m not upset about it. It will give me the proper time to heal out of the field.” Hotch narrows his eyes at you, “I wouldn't have been letting you into the field that week anyway.” You laugh and scoff, “Like you could have really stopped me.” Hotch gets his stern boss face on, “It would have been an order. One that I would have to write you up for disobeying.” Though Hotch was making sure, you knew the rules, even with him being your boyfriend. He was very serious, and you couldn't help but smirk. Hotch glares at you, deeply setting a stern look onto his face. You grin at him, “And I would have put it in the special folder in my desk, with all the other write-ups you have given me.” Hotch’s sternness seems to be cracking, so you decided to add, “You have to admit, that's pretty much how we flirted before either of us knew it was flirting.” You could see the furrow in Hotch’s brow relaxing. You give him an innocent look, “You’d write me up. I’d be in trouble for a little bit, but after a week or so, it was like it never happened.” Hotch finally cracked and started chuckling. He plants his face into the palm of his hand, “Are there really a whole folder worth?” You laugh and nod, “Mhm.” His chuckle dies down, and he rolls his eyes as he sits back up, “I could fire you for all of those.” Hotch closes his eyes, and you can tell he is contemplating whether he actually needs to worry about this and its effect on his job in general. You want to interrupt his overthinking, so you laugh, “If it makes you feel better, it's not favoritism. You're this soft with the rest of the team being in trouble too. I just tend to get into trouble a tad bit more. I am the only one who saves them.” This seems to work for the time being. Hotch just opens his eyes with a halfhearted groan as he watches you. You stand up and walk around to his side of the desk.

Usually, you would have been more careful at work, but the blinds were closed. So was the door. You smirk at Hotch and shrug, “You’ll just have to make it up to me somehow.” He watches you and smirks back, “Is that so?” You give him a few small nods before leaning down and kissing him. Hotch kisses you back, even going as far as to grab your hips and pulls you down to him. You chuckle into the kiss as you end up half straddling him. You were a bit surprised that Hotch was the one who progressed the interaction further because he was the one always scolding you about sneaking around at work. Breaking the kiss slowly with a few small pecks. You only pull back a few inches away before whispering, “There are rules about this. We could get caught.” You mimic the stern tone he normally uses. Hotch rolls his eyes, even smirking as he groans at you, “I do not sound like that.” You grin at him, “You totally do. That was a perfect impersonation of you.” This earns you another eye roll from Hotch, followed by a chuckle. You kiss him one last time before starting to pull away.

Hotch’s hold on your hips tightens, trying to keep you in place. You playfully huff, “You're supposed to be the responsible one, remember?” Hotch has an extremely ornery look on his face. You feel yourself wanting to cave in. You have to physically shake your head to clear your thoughts, “If I thought we could get away with it right now. I would jump your bones.” This causes Hotch’s hands to tighten on you, “ And why wouldn't we get away with it?” Your willpower was wavering, but you knew right now this would get you caught, “Because the whole team is currently watching your office like a hawk trying to figure out what is going on.” Hotch lets out an annoyed growl. You lean down, giving him one last kiss before officially pulling away. Hotch lets go of you this time, just watching you as he leans back in his chair. You start readjusting your appearance, so it doesn't look like you were just making out with someone as you add, “If they so much as see a shadow of us fooling around, we are screwed and not in the fun way we want.” Hotch laughs and shakes his head at your joke. He starts fixing his composure as well. You offer Hotch one last smile before leaving his office.

While walking down the stairs, you look to your coworkers, “Guess who’s emotionally traumatizing situation earned us all a week off. I will be accepting ‘thank you’s’ in the form of treats or drinks the next time we go to a bar together.” Sure the event had taken a mental toll on you. It was serious but making light of the whole situation was how you would cope with it. Plus, all things considered, everyone on the team could use some time off. It had been a while. They needed it. So you were more than happy being the one who was the ‘excuse’ to get it for them. If their attention wasn’t already on you leaving Hotch’s office, it was now after that announcement.

Morgan and Prentiss are the first two to officially perk up. Prentiss tilts her head, “Was that the ‘time off’ that Strauss was talking about with Hotch.” You give a quick nod before adding, “Apparently, Strauss is worried that me taking a day off might mean I’m becoming mentally unstable or something.” You shrug, not exactly sure of her logic behind it. Morgan walks up to you, “Well, we all knew you were mentally unstable…” He playfully jabs as he claps you on the back. “And that was before the whole incident.” You roll your eyes, “Har… har… you're so funny. We can all see how hard you're trying to show you have both brawn and brains.” You tease Morgan back, he glares down at you, and you stick your tongue out at him in response. This causes Morgan to laugh loudly, “Just remember I can beat you up.” You nod your head in agreement, “I never said you couldn't.”

Prentiss slides over, “So what party plans do we have set up?” You look at her a bit confused, “We all literally just found out about getting a week off. How could we already have plans?” Prentiss and Morgan both scoff. Prentiss shakes her head at you, “We always have parties and fun times planned.” Morgan nods to back her up. It made sense that it was those two who would always have plans and be down to party. You sigh and roll your eyes, “Well, I, for one, am just glad for getting a week off in general.” Morgan and Prentiss were busy making plans, and you think even JJ walked away to call Will and tell him. But that left Reid, who you could feel watching you.

You whip around quickly, “May I help you, good doctor?” Reid studies you carefully, and you settle on staring right back at him until he answers. Reid finally speaks up, “First, you take a day off willingly. How you're excited about getting a week off… It’s very odd.” You walk up to Reid’s desk, “Don’t profile me. Not about this, at least. I just think a week off sounds nice for once.” Reid watches you, “You once complained for a whole plane ride because we were forced to take a week off.” You scoff, “You're exaggerating again.” Reid opens his mouth. You know that look on his face. He was about to regurgitate everything that you said during that plane ride, word for word. You make the gesture of covering his mouth without physically doing so, wanting to still respect his thing with germs.

Spencer takes the hint and doesn't say anything. You sigh, “Okay, I get it. It’s strange… but people are conundrums, myself included.” You hoped that would be the end of it, but Spencer just watches you again. You tilt your head curiously, “Yes?” Spencer looks at you, “A…” Spencer clears his throat and speaks quieter, “Are you okay?” You thought about lying, but just like Penelope, Spencer fell into a category of slightly softer team members. So you decide to answer him truthfully for the most part. You smile softly and give his hair a light tussle, “I am about as fine as one could be… given the situation.”

Spencer takes a moment before accepting this answer. You sigh and add, “I’m getting corrective surgery, and it just happened to line up with the days off that Strauss gave us. So that's why I am okay with this time off.” It wasn't the whole truth, but it was enough of the truth that you weren't technically lying. You could see Spencer’s brain working already. He speaks up, “Do you know what kind of procedure they will be performing? If it's the injections depending on the substance used, there have been adverse effects reported in about 63% to 75% of patients.” While you found the information interesting, you got worried about knowing the statistics for this kind of stuff. You could feel some of the anxiety starting already, but you didn’t want to interrupt Spencer. You weren't in a rush. He was constantly being interrupted by time constraints or by people who didn't want to listen at the time. So you were preparing yourself for any additional anxiety-inducing facts Spencer was about to tell you. He wasn't so wrapped up in his information dump yet that he actually noticed the change in your body language. Spencer immediately stops speaking and gives you a slight nod. He follows up with a soft smile, “If you need to talk to anyone…” He pauses. You were extremely grateful that Spencer refrained from continuing. Your mind was already giving you enough trouble about the whole situation without additional facts. Giving Spencer a thankful smile before you chuckle, finishing his sentence for him, “And I’ll kick down your door and come bother you with my problems.” Spencer's smile widens, and he nods at you. You give him one last hair tussle before walking away.

The rest of the day passes by fairly quickly. With you and the rest of the team making some semi-solid plans to have a party at Rossi’s during the week off. You couldn't help but nibble at the snack Penelope made for you. You wanted to talk about the week off with Hotch some more, but you had to wait until everyone left. You tried not to look too suspicious as you kept track of everyone as they started going for the day. You waited until you were 100% sure that no one else was left in the office, and you quickly trot up the stairs. Bursting into Hotch’s office without even knocking. He doesn’t even seem surprised. He was used to you entering like this. You dramatically flop down in the chair across from him, “What are we going to do during our days off? I wanna do something fun.” Hotch looks up at you from his papers, “You will be recovering from surgery. So we’ll be taking it easy.” You huff loudly, “But… We could do something fun instead of being boring.” Hotch just glares at you, staying firm on his point. You sigh and pull your own paperwork on top of his desk. You give one last attempt, “Aaron…” You make sure to pout overdramatically and stare him down. Hotch starts chuckling, “I think you picked the wrong partner if you wanted a ‘fun relationship’” You roll your eyes, “You’re plenty fun… most of the time… when your not making me follow stupid rules.” Hotch groans, “You could literally split something open if you overexert yourself.”

You scoff, “That’s if they do the thing with the cutting and stuff. It’s an outpatient procedure. I’ll be fine going right back to normal activity.” Hotch glares at you, “I overheard the phone call the other day. It could be outpatient, or you might have to stay for a few days. Either way, I’ll have to drive you home, or they legally will not let you leave the building.” You sigh and get a bit more serious, “That’s true… I didn’t put your name on the official paperwork, but you can still pick me up, right?” Hotch narrows his eyes at you, “...Yes.” You roll your eyes, “I’m not doing anything sneaky… I just worry about how good Penelope is… If we wanna keep this little affair a secret, then you gotta make sure the team doesn't have any way of finding out.” Hotch shakes his head at you, holding back a chuckle, “Don’t call it an affair… It makes it sound so much worse than it is.” You smile at him, “Fine, dating.” Hotch finally lets himself chuck as he nods, “Thank you.” You both go back to doing paperwork until you both eventually get too tired, and you end up going back to Hotch’s apartment with him.

You had only asked Aaron to pick you up from your minor surgery, but he insisted on driving you there as well. Part of you wondered if he thought you were going to chicken out and end up not going. You thought he was being a bit dramatic by driving you there, but as soon as you sat in the car's passenger side, you were glad that he was the one driving. Your hands were shaking, and you only noticed because you had looked down at your lap. You balled your hands into fists in order to stop it. You didn't understand why you were so nervous. It was just a simple procedure. You didn't even feel like it was that big of a deal. Aaron looked over at you while he drove, “Are you alright?” You scoff and nod dramatically, “Of Course. Why wouldn’t I be?” That little bit of attitude earned you a glare from Aaron. Which makes you feel a bit guilty, so you correct your reply with a sigh, “I’ll be fine… Just ready for it to be over.” Aaron doesn’t say anything. He just reached one hand over and held one of your still balled-up fists. You smile softly and start to feel yourself relax.

It was a quick drive to the surgery center. With an easy enough check-in, you and Aaron went to find a seat. The problem was waiting to be called back. All the sitting still and waiting put you on edge. You couldn't help but bounce your leg. Aaron placed his hand on your knee in an attempt to calm your nerves. It didn’t help that you still weren't sure why you were this nervous. You had surgeries before, so that wasn't the issue. After your most recent psychological evaluation, you understood how much the Monte situation affected you, but at the same time, it still didn't make sense to you.

The only thing that pulled you out of your own head was Aaron gently squeezing your knee. You give him a curious look. Seeing the scowl on Aaron’s face confuses you further, but then you hear the reason. A nurse calls out again, “[Y/N]?” They pause before looking at the chart in their hands. Between the nurse’s tone and Aaron’s scowl, you could tell that wasn't the first time the nurse had called for you. The nurse adds your last name in an attempt to clear up any shared name confusion, “[Y/N] [Y/L/N]?” You stand up quickly, “I’m here, sorry.” You make your way to the nurse. About to apologize again for your delayed response, you're stopped by Aaron speaking up right behind you, “One second, please.” He addressed the nurse. You turned around to look at him, confused. Aaron looked worried, “Do I need to go back with you?” You scrunch your face up at him, “I’m not a child.” Aaron sighs, “I never said you were.” He still looked worried. It's not like you hadn't seen each other in compromising situations before, so that wasn't the problem. It was just the thought of Aaron going back with you both comforted you and made you nervous at the same time. You quickly think about it, not wanting to take up more of the nurse’s time. You offer Aaron a smile, “I think I’ll be fine. Just be here when I get done.” His worried look on his face softens but doesn't go entirely away as he nods, “Of course.” You give him a quick kiss before finally going back with the nurse.

The nurse takes you back into the exam room. You have to take off your shirt so they can do a quick look over it before the actual surgeon gets in. Your odd nerves linger even after the nurse leaves. Luckily the surgeon doesn't take long to come into the room. Considering you don't care about scars in general, the conversation is relatively quick before deciding how to proceed. You just wanted the spot changed. You didn't so much care about how the scar looked after, as long as it no longer reminded you of that incident. The surgeon decides that the best course of action is to basically cut out your scar and pull the skin back together to make a straight scar instead of the more prominent, more bullet-shaped scar you have now. You readily agree to the surgery, and off you went. They put the anesthesia mask on you in the surgery room, and you were out like a light.

The next thing you remember is waking up slowly. Everything was so bright, and you had to cover your eyes a bit. You started groggily waking up. You were expecting to be alone or at least only with medical staff, but you heard a very familiar noise. The extremely annoyed but trying to hide it, noise Aaron made. While Aaron was annoyed most of the time at work and made all sorts of noises. You didn't even have to look over at him to know what he was doing. Aaron was reading a newspaper and groaning to himself about the errors. Inaccuracies in the crime section of the newspaper, to be exact. You couldn't help but chuckle as you turned to look at him. Which came out as a weird noise between the grogginess and your dry throat. Aaron immediately closes the paper, completely forgetting about whatever it was he was annoyed about mere seconds ago. He looks worried again, moving to the edge of his chair to be ready to help if need be, “Are you alright? Do you need anything?” A large smile spreads across your face, “It aggravates you every time you try to read those. So why do you keep doing it?” Aaron takes your first sentence as a sign that you're doing just fine. He smiles at you and rolls his eyes, “I have to stay on top of cases.” You chuckle again and start moving a bit, wincing when you move your side just right. The pain was tolerable, which was a good thing. You begin sitting up, “I thought you said you would be in the waiting room.” Aaron sits back in his chair and gives you an ornery look, “Well, you said you didn’t want me back there for the exam, but nothing about coming back here while you were recovering.” You let out a playful groan and roll your eyes, “I’ll allow it just this once.” You tease and decide to look at your side. It was bandaged up, so there wasn't much to see. You try to start trying to peel up a corner of the bandage, trying to see something. Aaron quickly speaks up, “They said to leave it alone.” You shoot him a quick glare, “I am leaving it alone. I just want to look at it.” You knew you needed to be careful, and you probably would have listened. However, part of you was nervous it wasn't going to look different enough, so you persisted. Aaron must have seen the worry on your face because he let you continue. You gingerly pull up the bandage until you can see your stitches. Your previous scar was now almost perfectly straight. It looked nothing like it did before. You let out a sigh of relief, deciding now you can relax and leave it alone. Aaron watches you, “Better?” You hum softly, “Much better.” He reaches over and lets his hand find yours. You return the gesture but start trying to work your way out of the medical bed.

Aaron glares at you, “You need to wait until the doctor takes a look at you.” You scoff, “We both know I’m definitely not going to just sit around and wait.” He narrows his eyes at you. To which you just smile innocently before continuing to stubbornly stand off the bed. Aaron halfheartedly groans and caves, helping you. He lets you use one of his arms for balance while he hands you your clothes with his other hand. You chuckle as you start steadily pulling on your underwear, “You gave up really easily.” Aaron shakes his head, but you can hear the smile in his voice, “I’m picking my battles.” Next, you pull on your pants, having to sit on the edge of the bed to get them all the way up your legs. Aaron helps you when need be, so you don't hurt yourself. You smile as you start sliding out of the medical gown, “I’m lucky to have such a sweet boyfriend to take care of me while I heal.” Aaron chuckles and teases you, “Very lucky” You use Aaron’s shirt to pull him down closer to you and kiss him. He gently kisses you back before helping you get your shirt on. Aaron makes sure you don’t overexert yourself, “Once the doctor clears you, we can go home.” You hum and sit back down on the bed, ready to wait.

It was the night of Rossi’s party. You had been healing well, and besides being a little slower than usual, you were functioning pretty well. Penelope agreed to drive you to Rossi’s, even though Aaron had to drop you off at your own apartment. Keeping your relationship a secret could be tiring, but it was worth it. Penelope picked you up and talked about how much fun the party tonight would be and how she was only going to drink a ‘reasonable’ amount tonight and not get too crazy. You didn't really believe her, and you're sure she would be staying the night at Rossi’s. You'd have to get a ride home with someone else. Hopefully, you could sneak home with Aaron without anyone noticing. Normally you would be drinking with everyone, but you were supposed to wait until a few weeks after surgery before having alcohol again. Since you haven't told anyone but Spencer about your surgery, hopefully, you'll be able to hide your lack of drinking tonight as well. You did bring a bottle of alcohol as a gift for everyone and as a potential distraction from the fact you weren't actually drinking.

When Penelope pulled up, and you both got out of the car. You could see that a few people were already there. You saw Aaron’s car and JJ’s, but Derek’s car was missing. He was probably running late so he could pick up Emily and Spencer. You let Penelope lead the way. She knocked a cheerful tune on the door. A moment later, Rossi answers the door, “Benvenuti!” Penelope tackles Rossi with a hug, “Hello!” Penelope just as quickly let's go and trots happily into the house. Rossi looks to you, and you chuckle, “Don’t expect me to hug you.” Rossi laughs and motions for you to come in, “Wouldn't dream of it.” You offer him the bottle, which he happily accepts. You nod to him before slipping into his house and joining the others. Penelope already has a fruity-looking drink in her hand with a colorful reusable umbrella in it, which she must have brought from home, or Rossi could have had them stashed away somewhere.

As you were looking around the room, you did everything in your power not to linger on Aaron too long. Everyone was far too sober for you to start slipping up already. You head over to the bar and make sure to mess with the right combination of bottles and containers before pouring yourself a non-alcoholic beverage. Penelope was already messing with whatever music Rossi had on with the help of JJ. Rossi scoffed loudly enough you all could hear him from the entryway, “That was a classic.” Without hesitation, Penelope retorts, “Classically boring.” Penelope was only satisfied when she found something that she could sing and dance to. Penelope was already thoroughly enjoying herself like she always did. You knew JJ would join in soon like always. You were waiting to have two or three ‘drinks’ because that's what it usually took to get you out on the dance floor with everyone else.

Moments later, you hear Derek barge into the area everyone was gathered in, “Sorry we are running late, pretty boy was fixing his hair or something.” Derek chuckles, and Spencer automatically glares at Derek, “Actually, it was because you refused to listen to the directions I gave you and got stuck in traffic just like I said you would.” Derek wipes around, “That's not at all what happened… right, Prentiss?” Emily just shakes her head and dodges around both men who stopped in front of her, “I just came here to have fun with my friends. Not get dragged into your bickering.” You chuckle as both Derek and Spencer now turn their halfhearted glares to Emily. The play fight is quickly interrupted by Derek noticing Penelope already dancing. Derek fakes offense, “Baby girl, you started without me?” Penelope doesn't stop dancing for even a second, “Beauty waits for no one.” Penelope giggled before adding, “Just think of it as me keeping the dance floor warmed up for you.” Derek grabs himself a drink before joining Penelope, “Well, I am truly sorry for making you wait.” Emily shortly joins the group, using JJ as her main dancing partner. Rossi had joined Aaron off to the side. Which left you and Spencer off in your own group.

Spencer had water in his hand and glanced at the drink in yours, “You shouldn't be drinking for the next two weeks.” The party was already loud enough it was easy for the two of you to have a private conversation of sorts. You chuckle, “The doctor said a week to two weeks, your rounding up. And shh…” You bring your finger to your lips as you shush him. Spencer gets very serious, “I can list off all the statistics-” You laugh and playfully roll your eyes, “You’re a great friend Reid, but I meant shush, I’m faking it.” Spencer softens up, “Ohh, good.” You were about to say something else to Spencer, but the song changes to something slow, and Penelope and Derek catch your attention. They are both partially grinding against each other. As soon as the slow song ends, you shout at them both, ”Get a room.” You immediately regret it as Penelope glares right at you and stares you down. She starts heading towards you with a determined look on her face. You sigh and chuckle, “Shit.” You automatically grab Spencer’s wrist, knowing that if Penelope was going to drag you onto the dance floor, you were taking Spencer down with you. Reid protests, “I can’t dance.” You shake your head, “Neither can I, but we are all going to look like idiots together." Spencer doesn't fight anymore, and soon enough, Penelope grabs you by the hem of your shirt and pulls you into the group to dance with Spencer trailing behind you.

It was always a good time with the team, not worrying about anything. You were having a lot of fun, but it was hard not to over-exert yourself, especially when Penelope was almost always at max energy level. You manage not to hurt yourself too badly, but you knew you would need a break soon. Luckily you found your chance when everyone who was dancing and drinking got too hot and decided to move the party outside where it was nice and cool. You stayed out there just long enough before downing your drink and using your empty glass as an excuse to break away from the group and take a short break. You stood at the mini-bar inside, which was luckily entirely out of view of anyone else, so you didn't have to fake what you were doing. You got yourself some more water and sat down on a bar stool for a minute. Suddenly you hear Aaron’s voice, “Are you alright?” You jump a little and then wince a bit before slowly rotating your seat around. You smile, “I’m fine.” Aaron furrows his brow, “Are you sure you did pop some stitches or anything?” You tilt your head and smile, “If I did, everyone would have noticed.” You motion down to your grey shirt, the bandages themselves were not visible, but blood would have very easily stained the fabric. He was worried, which was cute. Aaron narrows his eyes at you before suddenly leaning down and kissing you. You kiss him back for a bit, glad that no one else was around. You break the kiss first and chuckle, “Aaron… we are at a work party.” You playfully scold him. Aaron rolls his eyes but then smirks, “You kissed me at the last work party we all went to. So I think it's about time I paid you back for that.” You laugh and shrug, “Fair enough.” You offer him a playful look, “Think we could get away with more than a kiss? I mean, Rossi has more than enough extra rooms.” Aaron gives you another soft kiss before shaking his head, “Not with your stitches still in, and if we are both gone much longer, Spencer will notice.” You nod, chuckling as you slowly stand up, “True, harder to sneak around when not everyone is inebriated.” Aaron nods and follows you with his eyes as you start walking away, “Be careful.” You turn and smile at him, “Of course, Sir.” This earns you a glare with no real annoyance behind it as you smile back before leaving to go back outside to the party.

You could already feel yourself getting tired, and you just knew you would only really want to stay for a few more hours, so you don't overdo it. When you get back to the group, you walk in on the middle of a conversation. Emily comments, “I have Sergio. That is more than enough for me.” Penelope whines, “But come onnnnn… I have a friend who would be perfect for you.” Emily stands her ground and shakes her head, “Nope. No way.” You walked up just in time for Penelope to turn her efforts right at you, “What about you? I know this guy, and he would be perfect for you.” You laugh, “You literally just said the same thing about Emily. Penelope pouts, “All my friends are perfect in their own way, and all of my friends would be perfect for each other.” You shake your head, “I’m going to pass as well, thanks, though.” Penelope gets a drunkenly stern look on her face, “Just one date… when is the last time you went out with someone who isn't us?” You try to ignore the question, but the discussion about your love life gets Derek’s attention. He chimes in, “Yeah… The last time we heard you even going out with someone was like two years ago.” You glare at Derek, “And?” Derek narrowed his eyes at you. He wasn't quite drunk, but he was at least buzzed, so you weren't too worried as he stared you down, “Are you secretly dating someone then? Why wouldn't you want to go out with someone as cool as Penelope's friend.” You can't help but laugh, “Do you know the person too then?” Derek shakes his head, “Nah… but like the baby girl said, all her friends are cool.” You roll your eyes and shake your head. Emily decides to chime in as well, “I know some people you might like.” You facepalm as you laugh.

You know it was them drunkenly trying to help you out, so you weren't mad, but you didn't expect this. You lift your head back up, “That's it, you all are too interested in my love life. I am going to become a nun or something.” Apparently, it was time for almost everyone else to start picking on you as well. JJ chuckles, “You swear like a sailor.” You scoff, but before you can defend yourself, Spencer adds, “You're also too aggressive.” You glare at Spencer, which honestly just kind of proves his point. Emily smiles and shrugs, “You like the danger too much, just like me.” Derek grins, “You like your job way too much to ever leave us.” You chuckle and shake your head. Penelope finishes up by adding, “More importantly, you love us wayyyy too much to ever ever leave us, right?” Penelope looks at you with big, borderline tearful eyes. She clearly had too much to drink because, with the look on her face, you could have sworn you just told her you were quitting or something. You nod and give Penelope a loving pat on the head, “I love you all, and I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.” This cheers Penelope up right away and tackles you in a hug. It takes every ounce of your self-control not to wince as you hugged her back. Luckily since Spencer knew your secret, he quickly helped you out. Spencer almost shouted out, “I thought this was supposed to be a party.” Penelope very quickly lets go of you and collects herself. Before immediately getting distracted by a song that starts playing and dragging you all back into dancing with her. You have just enough time to mouth a ‘Thank you’ to Spencer before you all get pulled away.

After a few more hours, everyone else starts to break off, getting too tired to continue. JJ is the first to go so she could get back to Will and Henry. Next is Penelope, who passes out right on the couch in the living room. Which is unsurprising when she partied this hard. You were pretty sure Emily and Derek would be up all night challenging each other to stupid things. Rossi was utterly unaffected by whatever alcohol he had consumed. Rossi also seemed unphased by whatever mess was now scattered around his house. Spencer was very ready to go home and relax. Since Derek was currently busy having a shot contest with Emily, Spencer didn't have a ride. Luckily Aaron hadn’t drank that much so he was safe to drive. Spencer asked Aaron first, “Hotch, Would you mind giving me a ride?” You were grateful for this because now you could ask Aaron for a ride as well, and it just looked like a coworker carpool instead of your way to sneak over to Aaron’s apartment. Aaron nods, “Of course.” Aaron pauses for a second before turning and asking you a question he already knows the answer to, “Are you staying at Rossi’s, or would you like a ride home as well?” You offer a smile and nod, “If you wouldn't mind. Home sounds great right about now.” Aaron nod’s and the three of you say goodbye to Rossi before heading out.

You sit in the back seat with Spencer just to further express the whole ‘coworker’ thing. Luckily Spencer didn’t live too far away, so it made sense to drop him off first, and then you and Aaron could just head back to his place. The car ride was pretty quiet, with Spencer casually back seat driving and giving directions even though Aaron knew where he was going. When Aaron stops outside of Spencer's apartment, Spencer lets out a big yawn before thanking Aaron and hopping out of the car. With that, you can relax a bit more. You decide to wait until Aaron stops at the next red light to jump into the front seat, which you choose to do by staying in the car and just squeezing through the middle console area between the two front seats before taking your place in the passenger seat. Aaron glares at you, “Careful.”

You sleepily roll your eyes, “I’m fine. You worry too much.” Aaron starts driving again and shakes his head, “You seem to forget you had surgery.” You chuckle, “I promise I didn't forget. I just am choosing not to let it affect how I do things.” He looks over at you, “Do you have that much of an issue just taking it easy?” Aaron sounded serious. You slowly turn to face him, tilting your head before raising your eyebrow. He turns to look back at you. You decide to respond and can't help but start to chuckle, “I’m going to go ahead and assume that you said that cause you're a sweet boyfriend and worried.” You pause and let your chuckle turn into a laugh, “Because I sure as hell don't think my unit chief Aaron Hotchner can look me dead in the face and say that like he has not literally ignored hospital and doctors orders to get back into the field.” Aaron opens his mouth to protest but realizes the point you're making. He sighs, and you see a slight ornery look on his face when he finally responds, “I am allowed to do that because I am your boss.” You laugh and scoff, “Sure… sure.” Aaron parks in front of his apartment, and he turns off the car. He turns to you and gets a bit more serious again, “Just try to be more careful... for me?” You start to blush and decide just to kiss Aaron instead. Once you pull away, you answer him, “I’ll try. Now let's get inside, and into bed I’m exhausted.” Aaron smiles and nods before you both get out of the car, ready to call it a night.

Continuation of Co-Conspirators –Part 1–Part 2–Part 3–Part 4–Part 5-Part 6*

Tags: @less-intelligent-spencerreid​ @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25​ @winterparkers @thosesteelblueeyesaremysafeplace @christycreature @labyrinthlibrarian @thebivirgin @cornishkat

#criminal minds #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #hotch x reader #reader insert #series #aaron hotchner #fanfiction #fanfic #Co-conspirators

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Skyline Manor by GleefullyCaptainSwan Chapter 10/13

Read on AO3: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Or on FF

Stacy's Tortured Crew: @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @itsfabianadocarmo @mariakov81 @qualitycoffeethings @zaharadessert @jrob64 @jonesfandomfanatic @natascha-ronin @tiganasummertree @xarandomdreamx @therooksshiningknight @batana54 @superchocovian @onceratheart18 @ultraluckycatnd @snowbellewells @karlyfr13s @the-darkdragonfly @xsajx @deckerstarblanche

Chapter 10: Attention Please

The Captain watched the woman in the red cloak sniffing the air as she moved through the forest. He knew of her kind, had heard of their abilities, but had avoided interaction with her species. His First Mate warily followed behind him, refusing to allow him to continue his quest unless she accompanied him after finding out about the inclusion of the aid of the Huntress.

“Are we sure she isn’t leading us into a trap, waiting until we are all separated before turning and hunting us all?”

Killian turned toward her, “Such positive affirmations, French.”

“Besides the ability to track, I also have excellent hearing.” The woman in the cloak remarked loudly from the front of the group.

“Great job, now you’ve offended her.” He chuckled, continuing his path.

Suddenly the woman stopped, holding her hand in the air. She whispered to the Princess, “I caught the scent of Master Henry. That way.”

Killian rushed to the Princess, grabbing her by the arm. “Stay here. I’ll go ahead.”

“I’m going with you.” She said defiantly.

“I believe the King, and might I say the Duke, were told that you would not venture into danger on this quest. So, I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that you stay here with the woman.”

“If you think I give a damn about what you told my brother, much less the Duke, you are very mistaken.” She held her chin high, yanking her arm away from the Captain and marching in the direction that Ruby had pointed.

Killian grumbled and followed the woman down the path. “One of these days, I’m going to stop chasing this woman.”

~*~

“So, she’s just dating Will now?” Ruby asked after Emma explained what had happened with Killian, Belle, and William.

“I guess. Apparently they’ve been chatting for two weeks.” Emma held her hand in air quotes because she wasn’t exactly sure what chatting meant. “But Will just asked her out the other day. Apparently that was their first real date when I caught them sucking face outside his door.”

“How’s Killian holding up?”

“How should I know?” Emma deflected.

“The two of you seem pretty close lately, I saw you both at the diner the other day eating lunch together. Just saying, you seemed pretty cozy.” Ruby teased.

“There’s nothing going on, if that is what you are implying Rubes.”

“So, then you wouldn’t mind if I asked him out? You know now that he’s single and all.”

“I uh…” Emma frowned, trying to calm her sudden anxiety. “I don’t know if he’s going to want to date right after getting dumped by Belle and all.” Emma took a drink of her water. “But sure, I mean if you want to ask him out.”

“What better way to get over a broken heart than by getting back up on the horse.” Ruby grinned. “I’d ride that stallion bareback.”

Emma choked on her water. “Um, yeah I guess.”

“Oh relax, I’m not going to ask him out. I don’t date men who aren’t emotionally available anyway.”

“Well, you do whatever you want. I’m not his keeper.” Emma said dryly.

“Are you sure about that?” She smirked, but Emma only nodded quietly, her mind swirling around thoughts of her neighbor.

Later that evening, she sat on the roof, surrounded by her family and friends at an impromptu get together, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the man sitting with her son, drinking his beer, telling stories that made her son laugh until he was doubled over, a smile across his entire face.

Besides David and Will, Henry had never taken an interest in a man the way he had with Killian. Emma had to admit there was something about him that had captivated her as well. He looked up and her eyes locked with his. She smiled softly, the corner of his lips turning upward in return.

A noise knocked her from her trance as she looked up to see her brother clanging his glass with a fork. “Excuse me, if I could have your attention please.” He jumped up on one of the tables and pointed toward her as Graham stood up next to her. “My best friend, Graham has a few words he would like to say.”

Emma looked up, watching with apprehension as Graham turned toward her. For some reason it made her stomach wretch with anxious energy. “Emma…” He started to speak, and Emma felt her entire body tense. “I know we haven’t dated a full year yet, but these have been the best nine months of my life.”

No, no, no, no, no, this can’t be happening.

Emma could barely see Graham’s face with the way her vision was starting to blur, not from tears of joy but from panic.

“And there is nothing I want more than for you and Henry to be a part of my life permanently.” He bent down on his knee and Emma felt like vomiting. She looked around the room at the happy faces staring at her, and she turned desperately trying to find her son. Henry was standing alone at the table he was previously enjoying time with Killian at.

His face was solemn, ghastly almost as he watched the scene in front of him in solitude. Killian was nowhere to be seen.

“Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” Her attention turned back to Graham, kneeling in front of her, holding out a shimmering ring toward her.

She didn’t know how to speak. Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth, but Emma knew that the sick feeling in the bottom of her stomach should not be there in the middle of something that was supposed to be a happy moment.

“Emma?” Her eyes jerked up to meet Grahams.

She wanted to say yes and embrace him with joy. She wanted to let him know that she would be happy and taken care of for the rest of her life with Graham by her side. She wished more than anything that his question made her the happiest woman on the planet. Graham was good to her. He would be a good husband; he would love Henry as his own. He was a good man.

Emma knew the words she needed to say, she rehearsed them in her head. She was lucky, she was blessed to have someone like Graham want to marry her and take care of her son, yet when she opened her mouth, the words would not come out.

“Graham…” She said softly. “I…” She reached out and cupped her hands around his outstretched palm, closing his fingers around the ring. “I can’t.”

~*~

Killian stopped in the stairwell, leaning against the wall to calm his breathing. He knew he shouldn’t be so affected by the proposal taking place on the rooftop. Emma had been with Graham since he met her, it was the natural order of things for normal people. People unlike himself. People who deserved to find everlasting love.

Emma deserved to be happy. Yet he couldn’t stop the aching pain in his chest the moment he watched the man drop down to one knee in front of her.

It was bad enough that the evening began with Will and Belle attending the festivities together. He was happy for Belle, and Will honestly, but it stung a bit to see her laughing and enjoying her time with the man. Had it not been for Henry, Killian would have felt completely alone tonight. Instead, Henry stayed by his side, asking him questions about his day, telling him stories about the latest movie he had watched.

But as soon as Graham dropped to his knee, Killian slipped into the shadows, retreating to the stairwell to make his exit. He didn’t belong up there, with her friends and family, celebrating the good news. He would allow her the moment in private.

As soon as he reached his apartment, he crossed the kitchen, opening his cupboard to pull the bottle of rum from its place. Instead of pouring the liquid into the glass, he titled the bottle into his mouth, the warm liquid burning its way to his stomach.

He dropped down onto his couch, the bottle tucked into his side, another night alone. He drank until sleep took him, golden blonde hair blowing on the bow of his ship, shimmering flecks of green dancing in the sunlight. She turned toward him, his name falling off her lips like a secret blowing in the wind.

Killian.

He sat up, a knock on his door pulling him from his dream. The empty bottle fell from his side, hitting the ground and rolling under the couch. He groaned, pulling himself up from his prone position and stumbling toward the door. Turning the handle, he cracked the door open, peering into the hall. His vision dropped down to see Henry staring up at him.

“Hey Killian, can we take Smee to the park?”

“Morning, lad, you’re up early!” He moaned, grabbing his head.

“It’s after one.” He laughed. “Did you just wake up?”

“A bit too much partying last night.” He opened the door, letting the boy in as he fished the dog’s leash from its spot on the counter. “A bit of sunshine might do me good.”

“Did you hear that Smee, we’re going to the park.” The dog jumped excitedly around the boy and Killian felt another ache in his chest. Surely the boy would still want to spend time with him after his mother married. He didn’t realize how much he enjoyed the boy’s presence until the thought of losing it presented itself.

“Are you ready?” Killian smiled and opened the door, letting the boy take the leash and following him out the door.

They walked to the park, Henry talking rapidly about a game he wanted to play later, as Killian realized he had just placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder as they walked. It was a gesture so simple and pure, yet he had never had such a kinship with a young kid before.

“So maybe we could play on Wednesday night now. You know because mom won’t be doing that anymore.”

Killian realized he hadn’t heard a word the boy had said. “Sorry lad, what is it your mom won’t be doing on Wednesday?”

“Date night with Graham.”

“Henry, just because your mom is getting married, doesn’t mean that date night stops, it just means they happen more frequently, at home.” He chuckled.

“But my mom isn’t getting married.” He stopped walking and looked up at him.

“What are you talking about, Henry. I was there for the news last night.”

“You mean when she broke it off with Graham?”

“She did what?”

Henry shrugged, “Yeah after she turned down his proposal, they had a long talk and mom came to my room and told me that she and Graham had decided to stop seeing each other. She was afraid I was going to be upset about it, but honestly, she made the right choice. Graham isn’t her true love anyway.”

Killian just stared at the boy; Emma turned down Graham’s proposal. He shouldn’t care, it shouldn’t make him as happy as he’s feeling right now, yet it was the only thing he could say for certain. Nothing made him happier than knowing that Emma had rejected Graham’s proposal.

It was ridiculous, it meant that Emma was alone, just as he was. Technically he was free to pursue her, free to finish what had been started twice before with their kiss. There was nothing standing in the way of him having her, tasting her, taking her the way he had dreamed so many nights before.

But Emma was different than other women he had bedded. She wasn’t a one-time thing. And just as with Belle, Emma deserved better than one night in bed with him. She deserved love, a home, a relationship. Things he couldn’t offer her.

“Do you like my mom?”

Killian’s eyes grew wide. “Of course, I like your mom, she’s my friend.”

He laughed. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, do you like her, like her. You know, as a girl.”

“I think your mom is a lovely woman, lad.”

The boy smiled up at him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “So, you like her.”

Killian chuckled, “Alright lad, let’s get you home before your mom starts wondering where you are.”

“I’m going to take your answer as a yes, because you didn’t actually say no.”

“Let’s go.” Killian turned the boy back toward the apartment, unable to keep the smile off his face.

~*~

The path led to a small cottage, smoke billowing from the fireplace. Killian grabbed the Princess by the hand, pulling her back and pointing to the back of the home. “Shh, let’s go to the back.” He whispered into her ear.

They snuck around the back, peering into the small window. The Princess put her hand to her mouth as she saw her son sitting on a small bed in the middle of the room. She felt the Captain put an arm around her shoulder. “Stay here.” He whispered, his breath hot against her ear. She silently protested, grabbing his arm as he turned to leave, breathless groaning as he turned back to her. “What?” He almost pouted.

She grabbed him by the arm, yanking him down under the window as Baelfire walked toward the glass pane. His body pressed into her, her face in his chest as she cowered to the ground. She could feel the heat radiating from his body as he looked down into her eyes. A slight nod to address her quick action that had saved them from being spotted.

“Go around front, I’ll stay back here in case they try and leave through the back.” She whispered.

“Take this.” He handed her a small dagger, pressing it into her hand. “Be careful, love. I do not wish to see you harmed.”

He crawled to the side of the wall, standing, and making his way to the front of the cottage. She peered through the window just in time to see the wooden boards burst to pieces and Captain Jones appear in the wake of their destruction.

“I have come to take you in, by order of the King.” She heard him announce, she stood, making her way to the back door.

“You will not take my son from me; his mother will pay for keeping him from me.”

She pushed through the door, startling everyone in the cottage. Baelfire turned quickly, grabbing Henry, and pressing his dagger to his throat. “Was expecting you, Princess.”

“Let him go, he’s innocent.”

“Did he know about me?”

“No, I told him you were dead. It was the same as being abandoned, thrown away.”

“You had no right. He’s mine, together he and I can make twice as much as I do now.”

“Unhand the lad.” The Captain’s voice boomed over the Princess and the Swan Thief’s argument.

“Moved on, did you?” Baelfire taunted. “You can’t replace me, Princess.”

The Princess watched as Captain Jones crept closer to her son. The dagger was piercing his skin and Emma felt desperate to get to him. Just as Emma was about to press her blade to Baelfire’s back, Captain Jones nodded to her boy, lunging forward as Henry ducked and knocking the man onto his back.

“I had it under control.” Emma complained.

“I told you to wait outside.” The Captain argued.

Henry watched in amusement as his mother stood arguing with the man who had just saved his life. His father knocked out cold at their feet.

Henry bounded into his apartment to find his mother sitting on the couch, staring at the television which was currently turned off.

“Hey mom.”

She jumped from her spot and turned toward him. “Henry, did you enjoy your walk?”

“Yup, we took Smee to the park.”

“That’s great.” She said turning back toward the television with a frown on her face.

“Are you ok mom?” He sat down next to her on the couch.

“I’m fine, it’s just been a long week.”

“Are you sad about Graham?”

“I’m sad that I don’t feel sad about Graham. Does that make sense?” She said with a laugh.

“Yeah. I mean, I liked Graham, but he wasn’t right for you. He’s not your true love.” He said wistfully.

“Oh Henry, real life isn’t like your fairytales.” She ran a hand through his hair.

“Not if you don’t believe.” He replied.

Henry paced in his room that evening, everything seemed to be working out perfectly. Belle was with Will now; Graham and his mother were finished. Killian and Emma were free to be together. He knew they liked each other, it wasn’t hard to see the way they looked at each other or how calm and free his mother was when he was around.

But now they were both free to admit their feelings, and yet neither of them seemed prepared to do so. If only he could get them to be honest with each other. If they just had a moment alone where neither one of them could deny how they felt.

Henry paused in his pacing, a smile coming to his face. Slipping from his room he snuck into the hallway, he could hear the shower water in the bathroom, his mother singing quietly in the shower. Pushing his mother’s door open, he crept into her room, her cellphone charging on her nightstand. He picked it up and quickly searched her contacts until he found what he needed.

E: I need to talk to you. Please meet me on the roof at 7pm tomorrow night.

After the message sent, he clicked the delete button, removing it from her phone and setting it back on her table.

Moving quickly, he slipped out of the apartment and knocked on Killian’s door. It opened and Killian stood in front of him in his bathrobe. “Lad, is everything alright?”

“Yeah I think I left my phone over here earlier. Can you help me look for it?”

“Aye, do you remember where you might have left it?”

“Maybe the bathroom, or the kitchen.” Henry looked around the room, scanning it for the phone when he saw it on the kitchen counter. “Yeah maybe you can check the bathroom and I’ll look around here.”

“Alright lad, be right back.”

Henry ran to the counter, picking up the phone and seeing the message from his mom. Typing quickly, he sent a reply.

K: I need to talk to you. 7pm, rooftop tomorrow. Please come.

He deleted the message and marked the one from his mother as unread. Putting the phone back on the counter, he yelled to the back of the apartment. “Found it.” He yelled down the hallway, holding up the phone he pulled from his pocket. “Sorry to bother you, it was on the counter.”

“Alright, well, glad you found it.”

“Thanks again.” He ran out the door and quickly snuck back into his apartment. Pausing in front of the bathroom to listen to the shower still running. He smiled as his mother sang.

Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?

I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.

A smile formed on his face. “Don’t worry mom, I’m going to make sure all your wishes come true.”

#skyline manor #stacy's fics #killian jones #emma swan #captain swan #captain swan modern au #captain swan fics #captain swan au

[whitecrowapothecary]

Bottled Delights (4)

This is the final chapters folks! In this, Jaskier makes good on a promise, and Geralt explores something new. 

Tag list: @love-more-today-than-yesterday

Read it on AO3 here!

Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Geralt had a fascination with Jaskier’s mouth. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were together now or because he knew what Jaskier was, but he stared. He also didn’t know which would be worse. His lips were always moving, talking or smiling or singing, and Geralt got to see first hand how he did not hide those sharp teeth of his. Not in a way that affected Geralt anymore. Jaskier had dropped his glamour after Geralt had caught him a week ago and apologized. Jaskier was not amused when Geralt had called it an illusion, because he ‘wasn’t a mage’, and so Geralt had asked what he should call it. 

Geralt found himself watching Jaskier far more than was necessary, but he found Jaskier watching him nearly as much, eyes dark with hunger. The look made Geralt intimately aware of the blood rushing through him every time, as if it called to Jaskier as much as Jaskier called to him with a sly smile or crook of the finger. Geralt had just about had enough of it too- so that afternoon, Geralt told B.B. that under no circumstances was anyone to come into the house after lunch. B.B. had been a bit confused by the request, but did as he was instructed. Workers were cleared out quickly, and Geralt and Jaskier were the only ones around for dinner that night. 

Jaskier had quirked a brow when people had begun to clear out, but Geralt merely sipped his drink and shrugged. He was the one to take care of the dishes that night, and he was drying his hands, trying to figure out how to broach the subject when arms wrapped around his waist and a slim body pressed against his back. Lips press against the skin right behind his ear, and Jaskier’s voice is velvet. 

“Someone has plans.” Geralt hums, leaning back into Jaskier’s arms and delighting in the easy way that Jaskier’s arms tighten around him. “Are you that eager, darling? It’s hardly been a week.”

“I’ve been patient this long.” Geralt’s voice is scratchy, rough in his ears compared to Jaskier’s, but Jaskier chuckles, and his voice takes on a husky tone. 

“I would say so.” Jaskier grazes his teeth over Geralt’s neck, sending shivers down his spine, and he wordlessly takes Geralt's hand to lead him from the kitchen. Geralt hardly registers going through the main room to get to his bedroom, but he hears when the lock clicks, shutting the two of them in. Jaskier leans back against the door, eyes half lidded, and he nods toward the bed. “Undress.” 

This- isn’t quite how he was expecting things to start, but Jaskier’s voice is firm and Geralt does as he asks. He feigns calm indifference the best he can, tugging his shirt up and over his head and slipping out of his boots. He pauses for a moment when he gets to his pants, glancing up at Jaskier, and he smirks when he sees Jaskier watching, enraptured. The ties come undone easily, and Geralt lets them drop, stepping out and trying not to feel self conscious. Jaskier’s eyes roam over him, taking in the sight of Geralt undressed, and his brows raise.

“You aren’t done.” Warmth pools in Geralt’s stomach at Jaskier’s tone, and he hooks a thumb on either side of his smallclothes. They drop to the floor to join his other clothes, and now he’s truly bare. Jaskier huffs out a small breath, coming forward to smooth hands over Geralt’s chest. His fingers trace each scar, large or small, and something warm and flimsy takes residence in his chest. “On the bed, love.”

Geralt pushes the blankets down to the end of the bed, crawling into the middle and laying down on his back. He should feel vulnerable, exposed and on display like he is, but Jaskier stares at him like he’s been given a gift, shrugging off his doublet. It’s Geralt's turn to admire Jaskier as he strips, taking the time to pick his own clothes off the floor and tuck them somewhere safe. Jaskier digs through his things for a moment, looking for something, and comes back to Geralt quickly. He crowds into Geralt’s space, settling between his legs and humming when Geralt squeezes his thighs around Jaskier’s hips affectionately. Geralt props himself up on an elbow, admiring Jaskier between his legs and wondering aloud. “Have you done this before?”

“I’ve done many things in my life, love.” Jaskier leans down, kissing a trail from Geralt’s stomach up his chest, scraping his teeth over Geralt’s collarbone. His skin stings with the sharpness of Jaskier’s teeth, but he hasn’t drawn blood yet. “But never this.”

That pleases Geralt immensely for some reason. For Jaskier to trust him enough to even suggest, let alone go along with it? It makes heat boil through him, and he can feel his cock twitch against his hip. Jaskier notices immediately, and he brings a hand down to pet over the new scar on Geralt’s thigh. Shocks shoot through Geralt at the touch, and he gasps, thigh twitching madly the longer that Jaskier traces gentle fingers over it. None of his other scars are quite so sensitive, so new, and he reaches a hand up to draw Jaskier down. He kisses Jaskier to hide the noise he makes, and Jaskier laps greedily into his mouth, tasting them for himself and shuffling a bit closer. Geralt hears the soft pop of a cork, and he strains, listening closer. He doesn't smell anything out of the ordinary, but Jaskier has learned quickly that unless he wanted Geralt to have a sneezing fit their oil had to be relatively scentless. 

Still, he jumps at the first slick finger sliding over his hole, and he moans against Jaskier’s mouth. This is another thing they haven’t done yet- Jaskier was content to take, to rock in Geralt’s lap, but Jaskier had told him that wouldn’t happen if he drank. The thought had gotten Geralt half hard in an instant, and now as one warm finger circles his hole anticipation builds in his gut. Jaskier kisses him as he teases, pressing a finger in just to the first knuckle before slipping back out. Geralt groans against his mouth, disappointed, and his back arches against the bed when Jaskier slides a finger into him and crooks. He’s merciless immediately, and Geralt’s hips jerk when Jaskier’s finger rubs over that spot inside of him.

“Fuck, Jask-” Jaskier chuckles quietly, his other hand resting on the bed beside Geralt’s ribs. He keeps himself propped up, and the only point of contact they have is Geralt’s thighs around Jaskier and Jaskier’s finger working in and out of him slowly. Pleasure trickles through him in easy waves, washing over him and making his muscles relax. He tilts his head back, panting and groaning when a second finger prods at his rim. The second finger goes in as slowly as the first, and Geralt focuses on the feeling of being slowly and thoroughly stretched out. Jaskier spends his time trailing kisses across Geralt’s chest and collarbones, particularly taken by the juts of bone and fond of scraping his teeth over them. Geralt feels the moment that Jaskier finally breaks skin at the same time that a third finger presses up and into him, and Jaskier inhales sharply. 

He goes still over Geralt, fingers pressed deep as he inhales, breath hot against Geralt’s skin. Geralt’s hand comes up before he realizes what he’s doing, and he touches the back of Jaskier’s head lightly. “It’s okay.” 

Jaskier’s tongue flicks out, and he shudders at just the small taste, thrusting his fingers in and out roughly. Geralt moans, shifting his hips down and hand idly petting at the back of Jaskier’s head. Jaskier seems to tire of the teasing, and he pulls his fingers out, sitting back on his haunches and reaching for the oil. His cheeks are flushed, eyes bright, and he still seems with it as far as Geralt can tell. Geralt watches as Jaskier slicks himself up, and Jaskier has Geralt scoot further up the bed. He’s close to the headboard now as opposed to in the middle, but that seems to be what Jaskier wants. He searches Geralt’s face for a moment, and his lips twitch in a private smile. 

“You’re sure about this? I’ll be near insatiable.”

“I can handle it.” Geralt promises, spreading his legs a bit wider and smirking at the way Jaskier’s breath catches in his throat. Jaskier crowds into his space, cock pressing insistently at Geralt’s hole while he tucks his face against Geralt’s neck.

“Let’s pray you can. Sing for me, love.” Geralt opens his mouth so say something cheeky, but Jaskier presses into him slowly and Geralt’s hips shift down of their own accord. He almost loses himself in that sensation alone, but teeth prick at his neck, razor sharp, and Geralt is caught between the instant of pain as Jaskier’s teeth sink in and the pleasure of Jaskier’s cock sliding deep inside him. Jaskier’s hips roll slowly as he takes his first mouthful of blood, and Geralt hears himself moan faintly over the sound of wood splintering. The drag of Jaskier’s mouth against his neck is an odd sensation, but he can’t feel Jaskier’s teeth anymore and sparks shoot over his neck and down his chest as Jaskier takes another long drink. Geralt hears wood crack again, but Jaskier’s hips pull back and snap forward and Geralt quickly stops caring about the sound. 

Geralt shifts in Jaskier’s grip, whining when Jaskier snarls against his neck and gathers him up. His head spins at the sudden change of position, and he’s seated firmly in Jaskier’s lap as Jaskier thrusts up into him. Geralt wraps an arm around Jaskier’s neck, fingers sliding into the bard’s hair to hold him close. Jaskier makes a pleased, throaty sound against Geralt’s neck, pulling back to lap lazily at the wound. Geralt can feel his flesh knitting back together faintly, but Jaskier’s cock is pressing against his sweet spot and he’s quickly losing any semblance of formal thought. Jaskier keeps himself seated deep, grinding his hips up, and he’s so, so hard inside of Geralt, body thrumming with energy. Geralt blinks his eyes open, panting and taking in the sight of Jaskier in all his glory. 

His pupils are blown wide, overtaking the blue of his iris’ entirely, and there’s blood on his lips and smeared on his chin. Geralt dips to kiss him automatically, and the metallic copper taste of his own blood shouldn’t be nearly as attractive as it is. Jaskier seems to like Geralt lapping into his mouth for more of a taste, and he rocks up harder into Geralt. Geralt lifts and drops his hips in time with Jaskier’s thrusts, coming back together hard, and he gasps when a hand wraps firmly around his cock. He arches up into the touch immediately, grinding forward and moaning against Jaskier’s lips. His release builds rapidly as Jaskier strokes him in time with his thrusts and Geralt rocks between the two sensations, breathing raggedly. He doesn't think he could ever tire of the way Jaskier feels under him, muscles shifting with each strong, smooth thrust up into him.

“I’m- fuck, m’close, Jask.” He finds it difficult to talk, especially when Jaskier’s other hand grips his hip tight and he can imagine the bruise it'll leave. Jaskier growls softly, his hand speeding up just a bit as he thumbs the head of Geralt's cock, making the other man groan. He wants to give another warning, say something, but heat boils in his gut as Jaskier's hips stutter, a faint whine coming from Jaskier. He's close, just as desperate, and Geralt works his hips in time with Jaskier, kissing him as his release hits him. Jaskier follows a heartbeat after, snarling softly and burying himself deep, lapping into Geralt's mouth as Geralt pants, moaning and sagging in his lap.  His heartbeat thunders in his ears as he tucks his face into Jaskier’s neck, panting and moaning as Jaskier works him through his orgasm. His hand stills sooner than it usually would, and Geralt makes a soft little noise in his throat. 

“Sorry I-” Jaskier’s voice is muffled, and despite having just come he’s still achingly hard inside of Geralt. 

“Oh.” Geralt breathes, pulling back and looking closely at Jaskier. He looks- high for lack of a better word, cheeks flushed darkly and eyes half lidded. Geralt shifts in his lap, grinding down, and Jaskier moans, shuddering. “I don't want you to stop.”

Jaskier’s eyes meet his, and Geralt squeezes around Jaskier to goad him on. Jaskier snarls a warning, words scrambled in his throat, but Geralt is lifting up out of Jaskier’s lap and turning. He doesn’t get very far before Jaskier is crowding up against his back, a hand gripping the back of Geralt’s neck and pressing his chest down into the bed. Geralt goes without any resistance, trusting wholeheartedly in the man who’s got him pinned. The hand lingers for a moment, brushing Geralt’s hair out of the way before Jaskier kisses the spot. A hand guides Geralt’s hips a bit higher, and Geralt groans as Jaskier quickly seats himself back inside, teeth digging into the back of his neck without drawing blood. Geralt can feel his chest vibrate with the moan that falls from his lips, and Jaskier rumbles against his back, pleased. Jaskier’s hands are bruising on Geralt’s hips as he thrusts, fucking into Geralt with hardly a thought for anything else. The bed frame creaks perilously, protesting at Jaskier's strength, but Geralt pays it no mind, moaning as Jaskier angles his hips and slams very pointedly against his prostate. 

Geralt can feel Jaskier’s come on his thighs when Jaskier pulls back, and he has a very sudden thought that Jaskier is going to keep stuffing him fuller and fuller. One of Jaskier’s hands slides down, tracing over Geralt’s scar and tickling at the soft skin of Geralt’s inner thigh. Geralt isn’t sure what he’s doing until Jaskier’s fingers dig in a bit, spreading him a bit wider, and Geralt whines as Jaskier presses just a bit deeper. Geralt can feel himself growing closer and closer, and he’s floating pleasantly on the edge when Jaskier’s hips still and warmth floods him. He moans, tightening around Jaskier and squeaking rather unbecomingly when Jaskier snatches at his hips. 

“Sorry, you haven’t- I need-” Jaskier’s voice is deeper than Geralt has ever heard it, and Geralt shifts, arching his neck to the side. Jaskier’s nails dig into his skin, and his whole body goes still. He has the stillness of a predator, watching, waiting, and Geralt goes up onto his hands despite the way that Jaskier tries to press him back into the bed. It’s considerably harder to do now that Jaskier isn’t trying to hold back his own strength, but Geralt sits himself back in Jaskier’s lap and grinds down. His neck is still arched, and he eyes Jaskier, raising a brow as if to say what are you waiting for? “Geralt, you could-”

“Please.” Jaskier groans, the sound vibrating against Geralt’s back, and Jaskier doesn’t say anything else as he latches back onto Geralt’s neck. The witcher moans at the flash of pain that comes with the first draw, and he melts back against Jaskier as he drinks, hips grinding lazily up into Geralt. 

He doesn’t seem as frenzied, though with each mouthful he takes Geralt’s head spins more and more and Jaskier throbs inside him. He can feel himself faintly getting sore, but Jaskier is so gentle, sipping from him slowly and rolling his hips up softly. Jaskier doesn’t do much more than that, but Geralt tenses in his lap and comes, untouched. Geralt feels Jaskier huff out a hot breath, and he twitches as Jaskier drags his fingers through the mess Geralt has made of his stomach. Geralt's eyelids flutter as he leans heavily back against Jaskier, and Jaskier pulls back, licking the wounds closed and humming into Geralt’s ear. 

“You’re so good for me, love. You’ve taken me so well. Can you be good, just a little bit longer?” Geralt nods, but he’s drifting, head swimming, and Jaskier guides the both of them into a comfortable lying position on their sides. Geralt’s eyes close once his head hits the pillow, and he relaxes back into Jaskier’s chest when the man rolls his hips. Geralt’s cock gives a twitch, but he’s exhausted already from the blood loss and he isn’t going to get anywhere. Jaskier presses his face into Geralt’s shoulder, panting raggedly against his skin and whining when Geralt squeezes down around him. “So good, can you keep that up, darling?”

Geralt gives a tired little hum but does as Jaskier asks, tightening around Jaskier and moaning softly when Jaskier shudders. Jaskier drapes an arm around Geralt, tugging him so they’re flush together, and Geralt very nearly falls asleep then and there. He feels Jaskiers teeth in his skin, little dots of pain, but he isn’t drinking, merely leaving marks that heal quickly without Jaskier needing to do anything. The backs of his shoulders are quickly covered in the marks, and each tiny taste of blood has Jaskier’s hips rutting into him a little bit harder. Geralt slides a leg forward  just a bit and Jaskier cries out against his back, hips snapping up at the way Geralt squeezes around him from the movement. Geralt smiles when Jaskier whimpers his name, hips rolling up and stuttering messily as he comes, filling Geralt up even more. 

Jaskier pulls out of him slowly, as if unwilling to do so, but Geralt sighs at the reprieve, relaxing into the mattress as Jaskier pets his stomach. Geralt falls asleep to Jaskier murmuring sweet nothings against his shoulder, drifting in and out of consciousness. Jaskier slips away from him at some point in the night, and he’s woken briefly to drink a tea that frankly, tastes awful. He feels much better after drinking it, and Jaskier smiles, telling him it helps with blood loss. His pupils are still blown wide and his hands shake when he takes the cup, but he’s gentle and refuses to let Geralt do anything when he smells Jaskier’s arousal. Geralt falls back asleep and doesn’t wake until he hears a soft growl and senses Jaskier leave the bed. 

He sits up in bed quickly at the noise, a hand shooting out to keep himself from falling over again when his head goes fuzzy at the sudden motion. The candles have burnt low, but Geralt sees Jaskier immediately, standing by the window and letting an early morning breeze blow across his skin. Geralt slips from bed, ignoring the way his hips twinge as he pads up behind Jaskier and wraps his arms around him. Jaskier freezes for an instant before he relaxes, sighing softly. “Can’t sleep?”

“Still coming down.” Geralt hums in surprise at that, and he holds Jaskier close with one hand, wrapping the other around Jaskier’s still-hard cock. Jaskier jerks in his arms, swearing, and Geralt strokes him slowly, nuzzling against Jaskier’s neck as he shudders. “Geralt…”

“Hmm?”

“If you don’t go back to sleep, you aren’t going to.” Jaskier warns, voice rough, and Geralt laughs softly. Jaskier’s hips jerk again as Geralt’s hand disappears briefly, coming back much slicker than before. Jaskier growls at the sensation and Geralt nips at his neck, smiling when Jaskier snarls dangerously. Geralt does it again, twisting his wrist at the same time, and Jaskier dissipates into smoke. It disorients Geralt for a second, but Jaskier reappears and grabs roughly at Geralt’s thighs. Geralt goes up into Jaskier’s arms easily, ankles locking behind Jaskier’s back as Jaskier lines up and lowers Geralt down onto his cock. Geralt gasps at the instant fullness, moaning when Jaskier’s teeth dig into his neck, anchoring him. 

Jaskier takes him twice up against the wall, not actively drinking but driven by the taste of Geralt in his mouth. Geralt’s thighs cramp at holding his own weight, but Jaskier keeps him up when Geralt’s own strength fails, hips pinning him back against the wall and dragging moan after moan out of him. He’s sore in ways he’s never been before, but the pain lets him drift, mind hazy, and an orgasm rocks through him when Jaskier presses up into him and bites down harder, making Geralt’s hand tighten in his hair. Jaskier’s got him back in bed when he finally begins to come down, and Geralt watches the process with sleepy eyes. Jaskier sways, pupils constricting to pinpoints and something human coming back to his eyes slowly. His hands tremble when he gets a towel to wipe Geralt up, and Geralt draws him in to kiss him gently. His mouth tastes like blood, new and old, but Geralt has quickly grown used to the taste and he holds his love close until his body finally slows. Jaskier goes boneless in his arms all at once, exhausted, and Geralt hugs him close as the two of them drift off. 

-*- 

Geralt hears a crow cawing outside when he wakes up, the sun low in the sky. They’ve been locked away for more than a day, based upon the sunlight rapidly leaving them, and Geralt twitches his fingers to light the candles in the room. They’re practically nubs by now, but they’ll do as Geralt rises from bed. His knees give out briefly when he first stands, back protesting, but he gives himself a moment and then rises again. Jaskier is curled up on the bed, a hand idly searching for Geralt. He doesn’t find him, but he does grab a pillow and clutch it close, appeased by the scent Geralt has left on it. Geralt peers out the window at the crows lining the stone wall outside his house, and as soon as the first crow spots him the rest of them alight, flying off into the night. Regis must be checking in on them. 

Geralt goes about drawing a bath, needing one desperately. He’s sticky from at least three different substances, and Jaskier is no better. There’s blood crusted around the corners of his mouth and smeared down the left side of his jaw and Geralt shakes his head fondly. Leave it to Jaskier to clean him up but not himself. Geralt’s back tries to protest any kind of movement, but the warm water will do wonders, and he shakes Jaskier’s shoulder gently. Jaskier blinks sleepily, and his eyes are bloodshot when he looks up at Geralt. He groans softly, burying his face back in the pillow, and Geralt coaxes his face back out. Geralt kisses him gently, and when he pulls away Jaskier chases him, not done with the kiss. Geralt uses this to get him up and out of bed, and the two of them climb into the tub, Jaskier settling in Geralt’s lap. He’s still half asleep, swaying back and forth with his eyes closed, but that’s fine with Geralt. 

Geralt takes this time to wash Jaskier up, gently scrubbing the blood from Jaskier’s cheek and laughing when Jaskier grumbles. “Lemme help….”

Jaskier tries his best to wake up, but between Geralt’s scent and the warmth of the water Jaskier drifts off again. Geralt keeps him awake enough not to drown while he washes himself up, and he’s got Jaskier bundled against his chest, fast asleep when he smells a familiar mix of herbs and cologne. 

“There is something known as knocking.” Geralt says in greeting, Regis laughing softly and padding over. His gaze is polite as he looks the two of them over, and he raises his brows at the state Jaskier is in. 

“If it worked my friend, I think we would both do it much more often.” Regis’ gaze sweeps over the room, taking in the scene before him. There’s old blood on the sheets and the bed frame itself is in pieces. Hand sized chunks have been gouged into the wood of the headboard, and Geralt is rather proud of the destruction. Regis seems less so, but he shakes his head fondly. “You let him imbibe rather heartily.”

“That I did.”

“You two seem no worse for wear thankfully, though you’ve driven your majordomo half to worry. He knocked twice on the door before Jaskier scared him off.”

“How so?” Geralt has no doubt that Jaskier had a crow watching them for Regis when they began, not trusting himself fully. Regis perches on the chest against the far wall, resting his hands in his lap. 

“A rather spectacular growl, I was told. Rumors have spread that you took the poor lad hostage, brute that you are.” 

Geralt laughs- it should worry him more, but this is his home, and they can make whatever rumors they’d like. ��So long as no one tries to burn me at the stake, I think I can live with it.” 

“If that’s Regis, tell him to fuck off.” Jaskier mumbles suddenly, shifting in Geralt’s lap and sinking a bit deeper into the warm water. “My head is killing me.” 

“With how much you drank, I’ve no doubt of that. Here.” Regis tosses a flask over to them, Geralt catching it nimbly and twisting the cap off. Whatever is inside is pungent and sharp, but Jaskier perks up and downs the flask quickly. He seems much, much better having drank whatever concoction Regis brewed up, and though his eyes are still bloodshot they’re clear and happy. 

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” Jaskier turns to look at Regis over his shoulder, and the older man laughs, standing to take the flask back and tuck it into his belt. 

“It would serve you well to be nice to me before I bring you gifts, Jaskier.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Geralt rolls his eyes at Jaskier's cheeky grin, but Regis shakes his head, ruffling Jaskier’s hair fondly and heading for the door. The lock clicks open easily, and he pauses in the doorway. 

“I shall have to come back another night, when your staff has not been run off.”

“Tomorrow night, then.” Regis nods, ducking out of the room as Jaskier turns back to Geralt. His eyes linger on the bed for a moment, brows twitching into a momentary frown, but Geralt’s hands pet over Jaskier’s back, drawing his attention back. Jaskier’s gaze softens, and he tips forward, kissing Geralt softly and pressing their foreheads together. “You’re okay?”

“Sore. But good.” Jaskier leans back, tracing the small rings of teeth marks that trail down Geralt’s chest. There are identical ones on his back, but they aren’t bad enough to scar, and they’ll fade in time. Geralt’s neck is another matter in itself. There are at least four new scars on his neck alone, deep bites that overlap, but Geralt is moving his head just fine and he shivers when Jaskier traces each of them. Jaskier opens his mouth to apologize, but Geralt leans up and kisses him firmly on the lips, only pulling back when Jaskier keeps his mouth shut. “I like them.”

“Are you sure you didn’t lose too much blood? You aren’t hallucinating?”

“Fuck off.” Geralt’s tone is affectionate, and Jaskier laughs. He pulls the two of them from the rapidly cooling bathwater, steadying Geralt as they dry off. Geralt gets rid of the bathwater while Jaskier tidies their things, and Geralt’s brows go up when Jaskier comes out of the room carrying their clothes. Jaskier’s smile is sheepish, and he waves for Geralt to head up to the guest bedroom. Geralt does so with minimal protest, and only once Jaskier has deposited their clothes does he explain. Neither of them has bothered to get dressed, intent to spend the evening in bed.

“I- broke the bed, rather wonderfully. We’ll want to stay up here until they can deliver another one.” 

“When was that again?”

“The first time I bit you. And the second. And the third.” Geralt laughs as Jaskier scowls, cheeks pink. “I told you it was hard to control myself like that!”

“You did fine. You didn’t break me at all.” 

“Not for lack of trying.” Jaskier’s fingers trace over the dark hand shaped bruises running over Geralt’s hips and thighs, but Geralt shrugs, tugging Jaskier closer and kissing him softly. He recoils when he tastes the bitter, acrid tang of whatever hangover cure Jaskier was given, and it’s Jaskier’s turn to laugh. 

“No kissing until you rinse your mouth out.” Jaskier pouts, leaning closer, but Geralt places a finger on Jaskier’s lips, pushing him back. “Go, and bring back something to snack on.”

“Pushy pushy.” Jaskier chides, disappearing down the stairs again. Geralt gets himself comfortable on the bed, idly tracing at the scars on his neck and shivering at the memory. He hears Jaskier coming up the stairs, footsteps intentionally heavy, and turns onto his side to watch him come in, carrying a tray laden with food. Geralt watches, humming as Jaskier comes over and rather elegantly crawls into bed, holding the tray in one hand and slipping under the covers to settle down beside Geralt. “Figured you might be hungry after not eating for a day.”

Geralt's stomach grumbles loudly in reply, and Jaskier laughs. Geralt tries to take something from the tray, but Jaskier tuts and seems intent to feed him. Geralt allows it after a moment, and Jaskier relaxes once Geralt’s gotten something of substance in him. Geralt’s voice is amused when he lays back among the pillows, Jaskier disposing of the tray and coming back to lay against Geralt’s side. “You like to take care of me.” 

“Geralt, I drained you nearly dry and fucked you half to death.”

“At my insistence.” Jaskier rolls his eyes, but it’s obvious he would no matter what, and Geralt feels safer and happier than he has in a while. “Would you do it again?”

“You really don’t like your blood in your body, do you?”

#geraskier #geralt x jaskier #jaskier x geralt #higher vampire jaskier #major sluttiness #this is all smut guys #please be forewarned #blood drinking

[reddogf13]

Scarlet marks ch5

Pennywise x Beverly

summery: who knew she would end up here? Beverly, having started her work in fashion as a young bright secretary under the older tom Rogan. now forced to sexually serve slimy old politicians under toms vicious grip for power and money. forced into following toms political flock to Derry. she runs into a familiar face, wearing a silver clown suit, out on a special hunt. (mainly smut

status: In progress

rated: M - fowl language, gore, and sex scenes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

previous chap: Scarlet marks ch 4

next chap:  TBA

_____________________________________

~ch:5 Twisted confession~

“Grey! Grey put him down! Stop!” Beverly repeated as she pulled on his arm, unable to budge his tall figure.

He let out a deep growling snarl before dropping Tom to the floor. Beverly taking the chance to separate the two. Leaving grey standing on the porch as she half dragged the coughing Tom into the living room.

“tom, let me go with him for tonight.” she whispered to him, getting in all she could before he would regain his breath and tell her to shut up. “we need the money right? I can get enough from him to last us a while. We can also use it for another business party. Let me go for tonight.”

his breath having been caught up, he glared at her before speaking roughly. “fine. Drain the bastard for all you can. Tomorrow I am calling in a favor to get him out of my town!”

she nodded with a sigh of relief. Rushing off to meet grey on the porch to close the front door and rush him down the steps away from the house. “you shouldn't have done that!” scolding him along the way.

“why not?!” he questioned. “you shouldn't have even stopped me. Why have him stay alive?”

“because I need him to take care of me!”

“HA! He hardly does that!”

“better then nothing and being left for dead on the street. I don't have anyone else in my life!” she heard him huff behind her on their way to his car. She assumed it was from out of annoyance that she didn't let him eat tom. Their talk going silent to heavy rain fall having them rush into the car. Beverly brushing her hair out of her face and straightening the wet locks the best she could to look somewhat nice after being drenched.

The drive was short to a lovely restaurant where they sat at a table warmed by a nearby fireplace. Their night starting with a nice wine and simple starter a large charcuterie board to share. She took most the fruit and cheeses while he ate the meats.

“why wont you leave Tom?” he interrupted the relaxed mood between them.

She closed her eyes to gain some mental energy for the argument ahead. Swallowing the current bite of food she had chewed through. “like I said, he takes care of me. I cant just up an leave either.” wanting the conversation to end there.

“why?”

“what do you mean why?”

“i can take care of you.”

his statement had her letting out a awkward chuckle. Dropping the smile on her face at seeing how serious his was. Staring at her unblinking in an expression of confusion mixed agitation. “... what about when you get bored?”

“what?”

“what happens when you get bored of me?” repeating her question. “What if I get too tired to do what you want? what happens if you find another girl you like more?” she continued. “When what you want changes, what will happen to me?” taking a sip of wine. “this is all thrilling … for now, but what about when a month passes? Or three? This isn't the first time I've had promise's of “being taken care of” by someone other then tom. You'll move on to do something else and I'll still have Tom. That's how my work goes, that's my life and nothing changes.” shrugging it all off to continue eating.

He didn't say much else after that, however his actions were speaking louder. Flooding the table with fancy orders that Beverly wasn't sure to do with. She ate from a few of the dishes as he kept up that locked on stare with a wide smile. Her eating slowed as her discomfort grew. She thought on why he was doing it. “hoping I'll runaway with him or showing off?” not thinking too long on it.

Full of good food they left together with another bottle of wine. Rushing back to the car through the lightly pouring rain. Beverly taking time to straighten out her hair again in the car. He turned to her with a smile “love the dinner? Want to go relax somewhere else before returning to the wagon?”

“sure, but where?”

“the peak, park up there and enjoy the view with our other bottle of wine.”

“heh, sure, clown.” chuckling in doubt that they were going there to enjoy the view. Relaxing the whole drive up to the lonely parking lot topping a steep hill. Looking out to the lights of Derry shining through the falling rain tapping along the car. The ferris wheel still spinning brightly as it wasn't yet time for the fair to close. Grey giving her a glass to pour the freshly opened bottle of wine into. Sipping their glasses in relaxing in the car. Both deciding to sit closer in the back seat wrapped closely together in greys jacket for warmth.

“so why was Tom in such a snippity mood today? If I offer high enough he just accepts my offer.” sipping on some wine. “Someone cancel today?”

“the political hunting trip took a nose dive when a bear came along.”

“oooh, sucks for them.” he snickered.

She thought to herself. “what extreme bad luck.” all those men taken out by one bear. “left food around and didn't see the bear coming?” she wondered. “they don't tend to walk without younger help though. They must get tired hoisting their guns and ammo around the forest.” taking a sip of wine. “my costumers seem to always have the worst bad luck. All disappeared over time after I arrived. Pennywise killed that one group a week ago. Now this group was eaten by-” her mind linking together that these events may not have such different circumstances.

Peeking at grey pouring the last bit of wine in his glass down into his wide open mouth. “no, couldn't be him the whole time.” she thought. “he started visiting me a while after my flow of customers slowed.” but his words from when they first started meeting came forth. “he'd been scanning the streets for a while. And only seriously as of recent.” but why? Her mind brought up. “because I arrived?” sipping some wine in thought.

“grey.” she spoke his name to catch his attention. “how long did you know I was working the streets?”

he swallowed down his mouthful of wine. “about as long as you've been here. I see practically everything, including all the ones you've served.” he gloated with mild aggression at the mention of past men being with her.

“you watched me work and got interested yourself?”

“oh yes, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.”

“must have been hard with how full my schedule was.”

“ah, wasn't too hard. Your schedule opens up … eventually. … they'll stop coming. … eventually.” his words starting strong then turning to a dying mumble. Turning his attention away from her to pouring another glass.

“that's not entirely true. Tom will always have friends to schedule at the house for me.”

“like who?” pausing his glass of Chardonnay at his lips.

Beverly didn't say immediately any names. “he has a huge book of contacts somewhere. Probably endless.” she tossed out. Going over how earlier today he subtly asked who was vising. She gave the groups specific names and what they were doing that day. Right before he left and the group died shortly after.

He laughed. “oh, with how old all his buddy's are they'll pass soon enough. Accidents happen all the time.” resuming his drinking from the glass.

“i guess.” she replied. Thinking over how it all seemed too strange to be just accidents. Had he been killing since she first got into Derry? Why? To have her 24/7? did he really want her that much? To pluck everyone off to make it so he was the only one? “surely that wouldn't work. He wouldn't make a plan like that. Too much work for me to be available for a few hours.” she thought as she drank her lovely wine. Glancing at him drinking his every now and again.

Looking between the lights and high above highlighted rainclouds from their seats. The quiet time again bringing to mind the circumstances between her, Pennywise, and her dwindling customers.

“you remember those men you ate a week ago? Were they the first you killed to keep away from me?”

“yes, why?”

“did you kill those hunters? It wasn't a bear, was it?”

“what, no?!” denying the accusation.

“a bear couldn't kill ALL of them. They each probably had a gun to shoot it. At least the bear would have been found dead to.”

“they're scrawny old men who need canes. They would have been a free meal to anything in the woods.”

“awfully convenient for them to be eaten. Same as that one business meeting being canceled when one suddenly crashed their car. Or all the ones before who went missing eventually.”

he huffed. “your overthinking it all. They're old and dying. As for everyone else, maybe they just ran out of money.”

“i don't think your being honest. You killed them all to free up time with me? Don't tell me I am overthinking it. Why do all of it?! I don't need you brushing me off, acting like Tom.”

something inside of him snapped at the accusation of treating her like Tom. He pinned her to the back seat and loomed over. Disguise shedding to reveal his silver suit and clown looks. Getting extremely close to speak at the side of her face, into her neck. “fine, you want to know why?” he began.

“You had all those males coming for you, getting in my way. Yes, I got rid of them all. Those when you first came, that crashed car, those dumb partyers and hunters. One by one so that only I could have you. And I'll keep doing it, even if I have to kill every male in Derry if I have to.”  his confession freezing Beverly in place. Grin stretching full of sharp teeth. “I stopped hunting children because, for a while I've been doing a different kind of chase. I've been looking for a mate and I chose you.” her Skin chilling as her face warmed from a strong blush. Speechless as she felt like she was floating in air.

“me?” was all her mind could bring forth. His hands squeezing her shoulders grounding her again to keep listening to his confession.

“the only one getting in my way is that thorn in my side, Tom.” the growl he let out vibrating through her chest. “you keep choosing that male over me when I've been giving so much more. You say you want to stay with him, but I know better.” taking a deep inhale at her neck, he continued speaking. “All those rounds together to break you away from that spineless fool to become mine. your body's accepted me already, I can always smell it on you, The heated lust for me to bed you.  I can even smell it on you now.” he growled deeply.

Flustering her to heavily swallow from nerves. Burning a bright red that had her face feel on fire until the cool touch of his hands brushed her face. “does my female want me to knot her down right here?”  he breathed hotly at her neck. That sweet smell flowing off him to intoxicate her body. Heightening her want of him to take over already.

She shifted her hips against his with a quick nod. “yes.” she quietly spoke out. Permanently quieted with a deep kiss backing her into the seat. Giving into him stripping them both down in seconds. His hips pinning hers back with each firm thrust. His arms crossing past her head to claw into the leather. Growling and drooling excitedly over the pleasure coming over them. Slipping out for a moment to change positions. Flipping her down into the seat before thrusting back into her. Her legs already quivering under the pleasuring thrusts he wildly gave her. Biting into her neck and shoulders to leave more reddening marks.

She whimpered and moaned out as the towering male above thrusted her down. Clawed hands gripping her shoulders to press his weight down. His thumbs rubbing deeply into her shoulder blades for minor relief from what little pain he was causing. Holding her steady for each firm thrust sliding himself deeper. She could feel his length twitching and squirming the whole way to its goal. Beverly could hardly open her eyes under it all. Submitting to his domination of fully claiming her again like he did not long ago.

He didn't take long to ensure his knot was locked deep down into her. Not lessening his pace between the loads he spilled. Her hand gripping into the seat they were spread out upon. Not wanting him to ever stop, to keep going as long as he wanted until he filled every part of her. Struggling underneath his grip to rile him up further. His hands gliding down to wrap his arms around her waist. She rose up to shiver in her new position on hands and knees. Legs feeling like jello as her body threatened to collapse under the reoccurring waves stunning her body.

She kept wanting to say something, but the words could never escape her. Breathing in his sweet scent or moaning out in shivers. Almost collapsing again by him filling her with his hot seed. She wanted more from him with the words finally able to come out. “m-more, I want more.” skin prickling at the base of her neck from his hot breath.

“I'll give you a lot more.” letting out that deep guttural purr that had her collapsing back down off the heavy vibration. Losing her voice below him to non stop moaning through the hours he kept up the joyful ride. When he stopped she tiredly looked up to him, exhausted after so many hours but wanting far more.

He grinned down to her and helped her up. “lets get back to the wagon. Lot more comfortable there then in a back seat.” causing her confusion on how exactly he was going to drive with them stuck together. He got most their upper ware on to move them both to the front seat. Buckling them together with her stuck on his lap for the drive. He needed to wipe the window clear the steam they caused was so thick.

Beverly thought it was both hilarious and thrilling to drive this way. Hopefully a cop wouldn't pull them over before reaching the wagon. Getting in and out of the car was a small mission in itself. Soon as the door closed behind them it was right back to what they were doing earlier. Across every furniture he could steady her on before making it to where the bed was.

Biting to marking across her in his wild claiming of her on the bed. Him taking full control as Beverly relaxed for him to do so. When she felt his cum spilling over to flow down her thighs did she feel satisfied in gaining enough. Knowing her body was ready for sleep he lessened his motions to nest them both down into the bed. Resting over her to lick at the scratches he caused. Calming Beverly into a blissful sleep for the night.

The next morning she woke without him sleeping over her. Gazing around she found him not too far, standing naked cooking something at the stove. “morning.” she yawned with a stretch, hissing at her sore muscles protesting.

“morning. I am making us a nice hearty soup.” he smiled.

“sounds nice.” she smiled back. Blushing at feeling the apparent sticky slickness coating her legs.

“he-heh, want a bath before breakfast to get all that off you?” teasing her.

“yeah, but I'll need help to the bathroom.” holding out her arms as he came over to help.

Carrying her to a nice hot bath covered by rose petals. “I'll come back after I fix up the bed.” leaving her to relax in the bath.

Alone she lathered up with some flowery scented soaps. Thinking back to all that happened last night. His confession of killing every male that planned to be with her. Destroying all of toms connections and that the only reason tom's really alive is because shes been choosing him. Somewhat glad, but also disappointed that pen was holding back on toppling Tom because of her. “do I want him to?” she thought in questioning herself. He was leaving the choice, to join him, to her but would she rather he just kill Tom despite her protests?

“does he really want me?” was her next thought. “tom started the same. All the gifts, fancy dates, then when he finally had me-” sickened at the thought. “maybe its best I stick to Tom.” thought process broken when Pennywise entered to help her from the tub. Getting her dried and wrapped into a towel.

“muscles feel any better?” giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

Joking with a return kiss. “yeah, I can probably pick up a spoon without an arm cramp.” hugging his shoulders as he carried her to bed. Settling back on the fresh clean bedding he changed. Watching the lovely view of his shifting muscles from him walking back to the cooking food on the stove. Shifting in stirring the hot food on the nearby stove. A tempting idea filling her mind to call him over. “pen, come here for a sec.”

#It (2017) #pennywise #beverly marsh #pennywise x beverly marsh

[nishinoya-is-baby]

🌸Restoration🌸

🌹Hi!!! This is dedicated to @yamagucji and our shared love of plants and nature! Go check their blog out and give them some love!🌹

🌺(Yamaguchi x GenderNeutral!reader) {TW: Mentions the death of reader’s cousin} Angst (this is my first angst, please be nice)->fluff (The italicized word/words after a flower are what the flower symbolizes, and the reader isn’t saying it!)🌺

🌼**Please be aware of the fact that flowers have different meanings based on your sources! My source is from a book where the author did research on the flowers and chose either the most common definition or the definition that made most sense to her!**🌼

Everyone knew of the garden. The massive 3-acre garden. The garden that had flowers, succulents, and various other plants. The garden that was open to all visitors on Saturdays. The garden who’s owner memorized the meanings and history of the flowers that graced it. The garden that held various activities for families and the elderly. The garden that gave so much, but took nothing. Everyone knew of the garden. The garden that closed it’s gate four months ago. The garden that was filled with dead plants. The garden that no longer had visitors. The garden that stopped holding events. The garden that had cracks in the once moist and rich soil. The garden who’s owner’s heart felt the pain of every fallen petal and every bug-ridden leaf.

The owner, Y/n, hadn’t had the mental or physical energy to tend to the large garden. Not after their cousin had passed away four months ago. Their cousin had been the co-owner of the garden, tending to the look of the garden. Had Y/n had it their way, the garden would be unruly, the pathways non-existent as the plants took over the land. Their cousin, however, knew that couldn’t happen. How would they hold all their activities if there was no place to sit or walk? Y/n’s cousin had died without warning, crushing them. After the news had reached Y/n, the garden was immediately closed, a sign taped to the gate saying, “Closed until further notice”. As Y/n’s mental health declined, so did the wellbeing of the garden. Before Y/n could even think about the garden, it had already died. Their beloved plants nothing but dried up scraps that blew around in the gated area. This broke their heart even more.

The garden incident happened two months ago. Four months had passed in total, and they knew they couldn’t live the way they were anymore. They knew their family was running out of excess money to give them. They knew the garden was calling to them louder and louder every day. They knew the innocent plants didn’t deserve the neglect they received. However, when they had tried to walk through the barren garden, they were hit with a wave of nausea. Memories flooding down from their brain into their throat, pushing into their lungs, forcing their way into their stomach. Y/n laid on a random path, shaking and gasping for air until they eventually fell asleep. They woke up two days later, the sour taste of stomach acid on their tongue, a pounding migraine, and an ache in their bones that would last for at least two weeks. After that, they stayed in their house, sleeping during the day and crying at night.

One thing did bring them joy, though. That thing, or rather person, was Yamaguchi Tadashi. They called him Dashi, per his request. He brought them groceries once a week and read to them every 3 days. He was also the one to convince their boss to not fire them and to just give them time. They met a couple of years ago when he came to the garden with a tall blonde boy. He soon became a regular at the garden, often following Y/n around, asking them questions about the flowers they memorized. They became friends quickly, hanging outside of the garden. Y/n remembered the time their cousin told them to ask Dashi out every time he came to read to them. Every day when they woke up to a text from him, they felt their heart heal just a little bit. He gave them the inspiration to keep going. The way he showed them soft and tender care, made them feel like the chills in their bones was slowly going away. They knew he loved them. The only issue was that they didn’t know how long it would take for them to get back on track and know that they truly loved him back. That was why Y/n was currently at a floral shop, about to design a personalized bouquet meant for the sweet and quiet boy. They had already practiced their speech in the morning and texted him to meet them at their local coffee shop.

“What would you like to be in your bouquet?” the nice florist asked. “May I have White Jasmine amiability, Hibiscus delicate beauty, Angelica inspiration, Aster patience, Bellflower gratitude, White Carnation sweet and lovely, Flax I feel your kindness, and Lily of the valley return of happiness, please?” they asked. After the florist gave them their bouquet, Y/n made their way towards the coffee shop. When they got there it was 12 in the afternoon. “Right on time,” Y/n thought. They saw Dashi sitting at a two-person table in a pretty empty corner. When he saw them walking towards him, he quickly got up and gave them a firm hug. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you inviting me places again!” he exclaimed. “Yea, it’s nice to be out again,” Y/n said. When they both sat down was when Y/n noticed a cup of (favorite hot drink) sitting on their side of the table. Yamaguchi noticed their gaze at the cup and let out a quiet, “I thought I’d order it early. I know this place makes their drinks too hot for you.” “Thank you, Dashi,” they said. “Of course! Who’s that bouquet for? You haven’t talked about flowers for a while now? Is everything okay?” Y/n smiled at the way his words were laced with both care and concern. “Well, this bouquet is for you, Dashi,” they said, handing the delicate flowers to him. “Oh! That’s really sweet of you, Y/n. Do you want to explain the flowers to me?” he asked, a blush gracing the soft skin on his cheeks. “The Jasmine means amiability, and it’s there because you’re so friendly to not only me but others, too. The Hibiscus means delicate beauty because you’re beautiful inside and out. The Angelica means inspiration because you inspire me to wake up and at least try to make things better. Aster means patience because you’ve stuck with me throughout this whole ordeal. Bellflower means gratitude because I’m grateful for you. White Carnation means sweet and lovely because that’s exactly what you are. Flax means I feel your kindness because anyone and everyone can feel your kind and loving heart from a mile away. Finally, Lily of the valley means return of happiness, because every time you talk to me, I feel the cracks in my heart feel a little less deep. Listen, I know you like me romantically. I would have to be blind to not see it. As much as I want to say I like you too, I can’t. My brain and heart are still feeling so many things, and I think I should focus on myself before I focus on if I have feelings for anyone in general. Thank you for being there for me. Maybe, when I’m better, we can go out on a date and see how things go. I guess I did all this just to ask you this question. Will you restore the garden with me?” Y/n asked. There was a silence between them for a few moments, but Y/n knew it was needed for him to process everything and arrange his thoughts. They both drank their drinks for a few minutes before Yamaguchi spoke up, saying “Thank you for the bouquet. It’s probably the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. As far as my feelings go, I respect your decision and maybe we can talk more about it when you’re ready. Hell yeah about the garden. I wouldn’t want to do anything else than to restore that place with you!” “Sounds great!”

After that interaction, the two immediately got to work. To say it was hard work would be an understatement. The first step was to get rid of all the dead plants and weeds that were still in the garden. It took about two weeks to get a majority of the junk out. He held them every time they started to break down. Whether it be sadness about their plants or memories of their cousin. When they were in a happier mood, they would chase Yamaguchi with a rake, both laughing their asses off. The second step was to remove the old and nutrient-deficient soil in the planters. this was probably the hardest step. Digging 3 inches into the soil of all the places designated for plants was a hard job. As the days went on, Y/n’s mental health improved. They knew that if their cousin was there, they would’ve been happy, and that made Y/n happy. Not only that, but as the restoration went on, Y/n and Yamaguchi became more flirty and comfortable with each other. He started staying the night at their house. His excuse being that he wanted to be there so he could jump straight into work in the morning. It took about 3 weeks of daily work to get all the soil out. Word had gotten out that there was something going on at the town’s beloved garden. People started a donation page for the garden, wanting to help out Y/n with the finances. The third step was to get new soil in the places where plants were going to be planted. This was the easiest step, as all they had to do what pour soil into the planters. This took about 4 days to do. Some might say that’s a long time to just pour dirt in certain places, but the whole garden was 3 acres with a majority of it being planters filled with flora. The fourth and final step was to choose the plants that would be put into the planters. This was Y/n’s favorite step. When choosing the plants, Y/n let Yamaguchi choose the succulents, vines, and other plants. Anything that wasn’t flowers. Y/n went on their own to get the flowers, knowing they had to get meaningful flowers. They ended up choosing the same flowers that were in the bouquet she made for Yamaguchi, Allium prosperity, Alyssum worth beyond beauty, Baby’s breath everlasting love, Pink carnation I will never forget you, Chervil sincerity, Coreopsis always cheerful, Cosmos joy in love and life, Everlasting pea lasting pleasure, Fennel strength, Feverfew warmth, Freesia lasting friendship, Hawthorn hope, Wisteria welcome, and a bunch of other flowers that had lovely meanings.

When they were putting in the last flower, their hands patting down the soil, getting closer and closer until their fingers interlocked. The earthly smell of the soil contrasted the sweetness of all the flowers. Bees had already found the gorgeous once more. Once they had both showered up, Y/n walked Yamaguchi toward the gate of the garden. Y/n delicately placed Yamaguchi’s hand on one side of the “Closed until further notice” sign and then placed theirs on the other side. All it took was a nod and smile from the two, and the sign fell to the ground. With the extra funding they received, they were able to advertise the reopening of the garden.

Both Y/n and Yamaguchi were ecstatic, beaming as people passed by them at the front gate. The day went perfectly, families were bonding, kids admired the beauty of the flowers while their parents simply basked in the calming aura of the garden, and elderly people enjoyed watching the insects and birds from the comfort of various benches. That night was when Y/n decided to have a serious talk with Yamaguchi. They had him sat down on their couch, sitting on the other side themselves. “So, you wanted to talk?” he asked, concerned that they weren’t happy with how the day went. “Yes. Let me go get your gift,” they said. When they returned, they held a bouquet in their hands. “Another bouquet? What’s the occasion?” asked Yamaguchi. “Well...I believe I’ve taught you enough for you to know the meanings of these flowers,” they said. It was true. Throughout their friendship and the time restoring the garden, Y/n taught Yamaguchi all they knew about plants. Specifically flowers. Yamaguchi stared at the bouquet before saying, “Agapanthus means love letter, Baby’s breath means everlasting love, Clove means I have loved you and you have not known it, Heliotrope means devoted affection, Jonquil means desire, Lilac means the first emotions of love, and Myrtle means love. If you’re trying to say what I think you’re saying, I’d love to hear you say it.” Y/n let out a deep sigh before saying, “Dashi, I love you. I realized it slowly as we rebuilt the garden. I feel as though the garden represents my heart, somehow. When my cousin died, the garden died too, along with my heart. When you helped restore it, though, you also helped restore my heart. All while finding your way into it. I’ve never been happier. Seeing the garden in full swing again is what my cousin would’ve wanted.” “Y/n, will you go out on a date with me?”

~Time skip 4 years~

“Y/n, do you take Tadashi Yamaguchi as your lawfully wedded husband?” “I do!” “And Tadashi, do you take Y/n L/n as your lawfully wedded spouse?” “I do!” They stood in the middle of their garden. Flowers representing love and devotion surrounded them. Family and friends applauded as the two kissed, sealing their marriage. When they stopped, Y/n saw butterflies flying around everyone. Somehow, they knew it was their cousin.

🍄Thank you for reading!🍄

(2.2k words)

#haikyuu!! #hq #hq imagines #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #yamaguchi x y/n #yamaguchi imagine #tadashi yamaguchi x reader #hq tadashi #tadashi fluff #haikyuu tadashi #yamaguchi tadashi #hq yamaguchi

[paulvibe]

The Assistant (Paul McCartney x Reader) Pt. 4

Words: 3.9k

Warnings: Drug use, Sexual themes, Smut!!

A/N: hi! enjoy ;)

September 1968

After last weeks fiasco with Klein, you’d avoided Paul almost entirely. He could tell something was wrong, but never made a conscious effort to ask. In the meantime, he’d started to bring Linda to the studio almost everyday. She was like a little sliver caught under your skin you just couldn’t pick out. The sad thing is, you used to like Linda. You, her and Pattie would often get lunch together. Was this Paul’s fault? Yeah, maybe... it seemed that way. 

Everybody was already at the studio. However, you guys were in a small conference room waiting for more people to arrive. All the boys were dressed nice, in blazers, suits, and vests. Today was the day they were revising their contracts. Lawyers, managers, the whole big thing. You could feel their nerves, and no one dared to speak. You were standing near the door, John sat at the opposite end of the table, Ringo next to him. George was standing next to the windows and Paul was on the other side of the table away from the rest. 

“How’re we feeling?” You asked, surveying each of their faces. John scoffed and rolled his eyes. You were a little hurt by it, but brushed it off looking at the others.

“As good as we can be, darling.” Ringo spoke, his tone was a little dreary. You began to feel worse; they truly looked miserable… and to think only two years ago they were on top of the world. Rain started to patter against the windows, covering the silence with some white noise. You sighed, taking a seat against the wall away from the table. 

--

The meeting lasted nearly two and a half hours. You took notes when told to, as well as made tea and food runs. When the boys would get too heated over some negotiations Klein had to whistle loudly to interrupt any voices. You also helped the boys calm down and focus on the course of action. With all the people yelling, throwing fits, and causing trouble, by the end of it you were nearly exhausted. But, glad they had finally come to an agreement. Paul was going to leave a day after the last concert they had scheduled on the 30th of January; John around the same time. Both Ringo and George were also to leave, officially disbanding the Beatles. Though, that was still four months into the future. 

As everyone was leaving, Paul and you stayed behind cleaning up the conference room. He was quiet, gathering papers and pushing in chairs. Since you’d been ignoring him all week-- due to Kleins orders-- it felt weird to finally have a moment alone. Once he’d finished assembling his things, he walked passed you to the door. His hand, however, in passing, lingered on your lower back. You wanted so badly to speak to him, but when you opened your mouth, you couldn’t find the words. Just before the man opened the door to exit, he turned to face you. You could tell the meeting not only wore you, but Paul as well. 

“I’m throwing a party tonight, just for fun. I'd like for you to be there.” He focused on your face, a gentle innocent glance. You could feel your cheeks heating up as you stuttered out an answer. 

“I-I’d love to.” 

“I'll-” The man paused, his eyes looking you up and down as though you were a piece of candy, “See you there.” His gaze lingered on your body before he exited the conference room.

‘Now hold up,’ Your conscious spoke before you could gather yourself. ‘You just agreed to go to a party, which Paul will be at… and possibly Linda as well... Fool.’ ‘Well, it could be fun anyway.’ The otherside of your brain argued back. You let out a huff and quickly left the conference room.

--

You showed to Paul's home shortly after 8 P.M.-- of course, after battling your mind for hours whether or not to attend. The man had a valet service set up so they took your car to spare parking behind the lot. The home was already bursting with life and music as you passed through his garden to the front door. You entered the home, not bothering to knock, and immediately greeted packs of people mingling. Pushing passed the hot bodies, you kept scanning every open space you could to find the man. You’d ended up seeing a few of the crew, and even Mick Jagger with Keith Richards and Jim Morrison. You knew Paul was friends with them, but certainly wasn’t expecting that. 

You kept pushing forward, and did a loop around the home before the host finally appeared. He had a cigarette in hand-- though you weren’t sure if it was tobacco or another substance-- and a drink in the other while socializing with a few people you didn’t know. He must’ve heard you footsteps because he turned just as you got up to the group.

“Ah, love, I’m so glad you came.” Paul smiled. He leaned down, kissing your cheeks before quickly excusing himself from the group. The man was tispy; you could tell by how touchy he was. One of his arms snaked it’s way over your shoulder, and began guiding the two of you away from the crowds. He opened a door which led to his small study, and then followed in behind you, firmly closing it. To your surprise, nobody had taken the room for sex or drugs yet. 

“I just wanted to get somewhere quiet.” He commented, sitting on the tufted couch. You couldn’t help but notice his eyes as he scanned you up and down, and the subtle lip bite as well. You’d chosen a more revealing outfit tonight, wearing a pair of yellow pants with a collared, black crop top, tied in the front, as well as a large faux fur coat. He had changed from earlier also, now donning more casual clothes. He wore black slacks, with a pair of loafers and on top, a long sleeved red shirt. His hair was comb slicked back, and his beard was neat as well. 

“You’ve got quite the company out there.” You spoke with a snort as you shucked off your large coat, and started to walk around the room. Your fingers grazed the books he had on built in shelves. Paul’s study was your favorite room in his house. On one wall, there was a fireplace with two built in bookshelves on the sides of it; and a large dark oak desk was to the left against the wall. In the middle of the room, in front of the fireplace, was the seating area with one couch, a armchair, and coffee table. Paintings hung on the walls added a bit of life, and Paul’d even had a few guitars hung next to them as well. Two lamps lit the room just enough, as well as the fire which had been turned on to combat the cold air outside.

“Yes, well, it’s out of my control now.” He took another swig from the beer bottle, then relit the cigarette in his grasp and took a drag. You circled the room before sitting on a small tufted chair to the right of Paul. He reached out his hand, giving you the cigarette. Upon closer inspection, you saw it wasn’t a cigarette, but a joint rolled with papers that mimicked cigarette wrapping. 

“Clever,” You commented, then took a long puff from it. Paul watched you as you did so; he always liked the way your lips looked wrapped around things. His eyes, dark in the dim lighting of lamps, gazed at you; nearly burning a hole in the side of your face. You looked back at him, feeling butterflies erupt as you passed the marijuana cigarette back. His fingers grazing yours caused even more nerves to light up.

“I didn’t think you were going to show.” He added, taking a drag. You began to feel the affects of the marijuana, making the world seem in slow motion. 

“Yeah, well…” You started but trailed off.

“You’ve seemed distant this week, darling.” Paul sat up, and leaned towards your figure a little more as he passed you the joint. A sigh escaped your lips before you took a puff and answered him.

“It’s Klein. After the press conference, he told me to leave you alone. Except if you need me to do assistant work.”

“That dirty man. He’s always been skeevy.” Venom laced Paul’s tone as he drank from the bottle, then wiped his mouth. You nodded in agreement and glanced around the room once more before asking.

“Where’s Linda?” 

“She has business in New York.” He responded. You felt your heart-rate pick up and bit the inside of your cheek as a response. So, you were alone? 

“Ah,” You spoke, hiding your excitement.

 The two of you continued to chat, as well as pass the joint. Paul even left at one point to go gather some more marijuana and rolling papers. It was getting more and more hot in the room, but you didn’t mind. It gave you an excuse to wear your skimpy outfit. You hadn’t even known how much time had passed, but occasionally the two of you would hear the party rage on. 

Once you felt sufficiently stoned, you two sat in silence. By now, you’d moved so you were both sitting on the couch, instead of opposite chairs. With each movement, you two had scooted closer until your legs were touching from knee to hip. You looked into his eyes, the firelight causing them to shine brighter.

Paul looked at you through his black lashes. His doe like eyes seemed more intense in the dim lighting. The two of you sat cross legged on the floor, facing the other. Smoke swirled in and out of your vision and around Paul as well. Music could be heard, but was distant as you two were in a private section of the home. You took a puff off of a half smoked marijuana cigarette and made eye contact with the man as you performed a simple French inhale trick. His eyes focused on your lips, causing his to gently part in return. You could feel his energy in your hazy state. He wanted you, he wanted you so bad. 

Your sitting bodies felt electric together causing your heart to beat faster. Paul leaned towards your figure, a sensual expression across his face. You shifted your weight, leaning closer to him as well. His eyes glanced down at your chest gazing delightfully at your cleavage. It only gave you confidence as you rest your hand on the man's leg. His eyes came back up to meet yours as he finally connected your lips. You put your hands on the sides of his face, holding him there as you switched your position; as Paul sat cross-legged on the floor you straddled his lap still keeping the kiss going. You eventually broke the kiss, grabbing the Joint from a random ashtray you set it on. Still sitting in Paul’s lap, you relit it and took a large drag before handing it  over to the man in front of you. He too took a long puff before setting it back onto the ashtray.

His hands then moved and melded firm on your bum, as he didn’t want you to get away. You two began to kiss again, though it ended up morphing itself into a heated makeout. Your hands found their way to Paul’s jeans; slyly unbuckling his belt and with one motion undoing his button as well.  Your hand began to explore, finding his member semi hard and still tucked away behind his underwear.

In the meantime, Paul’s hands found their way to the zipper of your dress, he’d managed to unzip it entirely and then unclasp your bra as well. You broke the kiss while he pulled the apparel and undergarment off, freeing your breasts and leaving you in panties and socks. You’d skipped stockings tonight, having a knowing feeling about the events that were occurring. Paul’s mouth was swift to latch onto your breast. His tongue swirled your nipple, occasionally flicking it with the muscle.  The sensation only fueled the fire down south, and you began to grind against the man; underwearing being the only thing separating skin. You grabbed the Marijuana cigarette again, finding it still burning, you placed it between your lips and took another pull, blowing smoke around the man between your breasts. 

Paul adjusted your position shortly after, moving you from sitting on his lap to laying you on your back as he sat between your legs; basically putting you in the missionary position. The joint still sat between your lips and you kept puffing on it. By now you were extremely stoned; every little movement and pleasure Paul caused you was experienced tenfold by your senses.

 You two still lingered on the floor, however the bass player had placed your discarded dress under your head to act as a pillow. He gently took the Joint from your mouth and placed it into his own, now smoking it himself. You sat up on your elbows, palming his member through underwear as he carefully maneuvered his shirt off his body- not having to take the little weed cigarette from his mouth. You admired his body; he was slightly toned on his chest, however his shoulders and arms were more defined. He donned a small patch of chest hair, and a dark happy trail that led to a nice patch of dark pubic hair. His hair was messy, and he combed his fingers through, desperate to remove the strands from his eyes. 

Paul now stood on his knees, quickly shucking off his pants and underwear leaving the man completely nude. After that, he set the joint onto the ashtray so he could get to work with nothing in the way. You took the moment to ogle him in the warm lighting. He was already glistening from sweat, adding fire to the fantasy. He linked his fingers into the sides of your panties, gliding them down and off your legs all while staring at you through his lashes. Afterwords, he spread them, eyes gazing you up and down. He bit his lip, his doe-y eyes admiring your pussy. One of his hands left the grip on your leg and single digit ran up your slit, hitting your clit at the end of it’s journey. You squirmed and gasped at the sudden sensation, earning a head-cock from Paul. He redid the motion, this time with two fingers. You reacted the same, a squeal and squirm, gripping your hand onto his thigh. 

“Darling, so wet for me already.” He commented, voice heavy. “How would you feel if I have a little snack?” Seductive undertones laced every word.

 He leaned down and scoot back until his head came level with your stomach. With the last word escaping his lips, he kissed around your navel, working his way further and further down until a light kiss peppered your clit. Your hands flew to the man's head immediately tangling themselves within his hair. He took this as an eager invitation, and began to suck your clit. One of his free hands worked its way up and began to twist your nipple gently. The sensitivity of your body caused you to moan and tighten your grip on Paul’s hair. Paul’s free hand left your nipple and moved down to your vagina. He continued to lick and flick your clit with his tongue as he slowly inserted a single digit. You tightened around his finger, enjoying the feeling of it all as he began to finger you carefully. 

“Oh, Paul,” A breathy moan left your lips. Paul’s reaction was to finger you faster while he sucked your clit harder. His beard rubbing against your inner thigh felt so wonderful, and you nearly suffocated the man between your legs. The bass player began to move his fingers as though he was plucking guitar strings. He kept tapping your g-spot as he did so, earning even louder cries of pleasure from you. Paul could tell you were getting close, as you kept tightening around his fingers. He gently pulled them out, and gave one last sweet kiss to your clit before sitting up on his knees again. His dick was now fully hard and he nonchalantly jerked himself, scooting closer to your position. 

You sat up a little, reaching out to grab his member. Your hand replaced his and you switched positions once again, landing you on top. He now lay his head on your discarded dress. However, before he fully laid down, he grabbed an additional joint you’d rolled earlier and lit it. He knew what you were about to do, and he was going to enjoy it. You moved your hair from your face and leaned your head down so your lips were just above his cock. You gently licked the tip, earning a shudder from Paul. You were on your hands and knees now, basically switching the man positions entirely. One of your hands gently rubbed your clit, and the other held you up as you sucked the bass player off. Your tongue swirled around and you bobbed your head, making sure to keep your mouth as airtight as possible. Paul kept letting out delightful moans, occasionally letting his hand hold your head or fix your hair. He even used it to guide your bobs, keeping you on beat.

“Oh, love,” The man breathed. You cast your gaze up to his face, making sure to stay within rhythm. His usually hazel eyes were turned a dark brown from lust as he watched your pretty mouth circle his cock. You then stopped playing with yourself and used that hand to rub him while sucking. His moans only increased and became more frequent with each nod. You finally popped off, finishing with a few kisses around his navel. You wiped the corners of your mouth with a slight grin, sitting back on your knees. Paul was only harder now, periodically causing his member to twitch from need. You lazily jerked him with one of your hands as you straddled his lap again, placing you into the cowgirl position. You lined yourself up with him, your entrance just barely touching his tip. 

He passed you the fresh marijuana cigarette and rested both his hands on your hips afterwards. As you began to inhale, Paul guided you down onto his cock. You quickly grabbed the joint from your lips as you moaned, not wanting to drop it. His hard member filled you so perfectly as you sat down on him, giving you that warm feeling deep in your stomach. The room was still smokey, adding to the heat and charged environment. Paul’s hand stayed firm on your hips as he began to help you bounce up and down on his dick. He even began to thrust up, only resulting in his member going deeper and harder in you.

Each ram seemed to make his hard cock find your g-spot perfectly. Your stomach kept twisting with every thrust, getting closer and closer to your orgasm. Paul kept averting his gaze between your face and breasts while you fucked him. When you were able to, you would look into his eyes showing you how much you were enjoying him. He removed one hand from your hips and took the joint from between your fingers, swiftly putting it between his lips. You could tell how erratic his breaths were by his exhales of smoke. It gave you confidence seeing him so pleasured by you, prompting you to only go faster. 

Paul surprised you by wrapping his arms tightly around your bum, trapping his cock in your pussy, as he lifted and laid you on your back again. He then began to thrust more rapid than he’d done before. Slaps of sweaty skin echoed around the room but you didn’t care at all in the throes of pleasure. He grabbed the joint from his mouth while still fucking you and put it between your lips, allowing you the enjoyment of the marijuana. You moaned loudly, Paul as well, only fueling both of your satisfaction. One of his hands found their way to your clit and he began to rub with his thumb. Swirling sensations began to fill your tummy, prompting louder moans from both you and Paul. 

“Oh, baby, I’m going to cum.” You moaned, opening your eyes long enough to see Paul’s reaction. 

“Darling, cum for me.” He raised his eyebrows in bliss, immediately rubbing your clit faster and harder. In response you tightened around his cock as he thrust, causing the man to close his eyes. The pressure was building fast and before you knew it, an orgasm overtook your entire body. You wrapped your legs around the mans back, trapping him deep within you. He let out a loud moan as his thrusts became staggard. You could feel his cock throbbing deep in you as he collapsed and lay with his head snuggled in your neck. You both lay still, but breathed heavily trying to recover from the incredible orgasm you both just experienced.

Paul slowly sat up and pulled himself out of you, wincing from how sensitive he was. You felt his hot cum slowly drip out of your pussy, but you didn’t care. Your mind was so clouded it didn’t even cross your thoughts that he just came inside you with no protection. The man groaned as he laid down next to you, now both of you on your backs. You’d calmed down, but he was still breathing a little heavy.

“That was everything I imagined it to be.” Paul commented after a few moments of silence. You couldn’t help but let a giggle escape as your turned on your side to face the black haired man. Both of you were still stoned out of your minds, but didn’t even care. Right now, your worlds revolved around the other. 

You two laid there naked for what seemed like an hour before you actually had the energy to get dressed again. First Paul got dressed, then helped you get put together as well. His touch was so gentle when it came to you, he acted as though you were made from glass. Well except when it came to fucking. None of your ex’s had sex like that, it was a nice change from the typical bloke from the bar. 

In the tired bliss of after sex glow Paul’d managed to find a blanket and two pillows in the closet of the room you were in. He then made the makeshift bed and you two climbed in, snuggling up to the other. His hand gently rubbed your back as you cuddled into his chest. ‘You just had sex with Paul.’ Your subconscious screamed in your ear. You tried to push the thoughts away, but they refused. Reminiscing about the last hour and a half made you want to squeal and cheer. 

“Goodnight, love.” Paul spoke. You could see he was dozing in and out. Even though the room was lit up like a Christmas tree, you too were starting to fall asleep. You closed your eyes and lay your head on Paul’s chest before answering.

“Goodnight, Paul.”

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

A/N: i’ve never written smut before, so like pls tell me how i did <3 more graphic, less graphic? idk. Also!!!! my wifi got turned off for three months, i cant afford to pay it rn, So i may not be as active! 

Pt. 5

Taglist: @vixenstail​ 

#paul mccartney fanfic #paul mccartney fanfiction #paul mccartney x reader #the beatles fanfic #the beatles fanfiction #the beatles x reader

[cloverhighfivewritestoo]

An Angel Cake for an Ex-Angel

👉 Read it on Ao3

Warning – Destiel tooth-rotting fluff / domestic fluff / human!Cas / established Destiel / Sam makes an appearance for plot’s sake.

Summary – Cas is depressed and Dean is looking to make him feel better by baking him an angel food cake (yeah he fails a few times).

w/c – 2.4k

A/N – Sometimes you sit to work on your wip and something pops up on tumblr and the muse hits you and you write a whole ‘nother fic instead. You’re welcome.

When Castiel first found himself to be a human, things were OK. But too soon, Castiel seemed to lose his interest in things. He stayed quietly in his room in the bunker and mostly stopped doing the human things he’d just picked up on, like eating, showering, and not wearing the same clothes every day.

Castiel had been under the weather for almost two weeks now. Dean couldn’t take it. Since Castiel was human, he wanted him to experience all the fun stuff. Food, beer, but mostly food. He wanted to take him to his favourite burger places, and he had even planned a road trip for the best pie in each State.

But Castiel wasn’t feeling it. He was sleeping all the time and his energy was all the way down. Dean had bunker fever – he wouldn’t dare leave on a hunt with Castiel like this at home – and he felt powerless. He had started to drink pretty early after breakfast now.

Sam couldn’t take the whole scene anymore so he’d gone to help some hunters with a vampire nest. Dean was drinking alone in the kitchen, starting to feel depressed himself. He hated it.

Castiel showed up around 11 a.m., a robe thrown over his sleeping apparel, which was boxers and an old zep t-shirt of Dean’s. Castiel’s hair was intensely ruffled and flattened in places, his eyes were more sunken than Dean remembered, and his beard was 4 days old. In spite of all that, Dean thought he was a sight. He wished he could make him feel the way he felt about him.

“Dude, you need coffee. I’m gonna make you some coffee.” Castiel sat at the table. “Thanks.” He saw the beer. “What time is it?” Dean answered while measuring grounds. “11. Why?” “Nothing. I thought it was later, because of the beer.” Dean stopped mid-air with the spoon. He closed his eyes. “Dean, it’s not your fault I’m like this.” Dean finished preparing the coffee. “Yeah but it seems there’s nothing I can do to help.” “Dean, the contrast between the amount of energy with my grace and the amount of energy in a human body is too immense. I’ll be fine. I just need to adapt.” Dean took a mug from the shelf. “You need to let me help you, that’s what. Man, please let me help you.” Castiel looked Dean in the eye. Dean’s knees went a bit weak from the intensity of the blue in Castiel’s eyes. That never changed. Cas is still Cas. “Alright, Dean. I’ll let you.” Dean flashed a big smile. Castiel smiled softly.

He brought Castiel his coffee. “I know what I’m gonna do.” Castiel took a cautious sip. “Yes?” Dean downed the rest of his beer before answering, “I’m gonna bake you a cake.” “A cake.” “Yes! Not any cake. An angel food cake.” He wiggled his eyebrows, grinning like a kid at his fantastic idea. Castiel squinted. “That is very bizarre. Angels don’t eat.” Dean’s heart swelled each time Castiel made that kind of matter-of-factly beside the point comment. He crossed the kitchen in three paces, took Castiel’s face in his hands and gave him a big kiss on the forehead. “Man, I love you so much.” Castiel still squinted. “I love you too, but you don’t make sense.” “Dude! That cake is so light, fluffy and good, you’ll feel like an angel again. That’s how good it is. Get it?” He wiggled his eyebrows again. Castiel’s expression softened. “I highly doubt it, knowing exactly what it feels like to be an angel.” He saw Dean pout. “But OK. I’m willing to try it.” Dean pumped his fist in the air. “YES!” Castiel became serious again. “Dean, are you drunk?” Dean straightened up a bit too wobblily. “No. I’m cocktail.”

Castiel drank his coffee slowly while watching Dean open another beer – to celebrate – get the recipe on his phone and get the cake going. Soon enough, the cake was in the oven. “Are you done with your coffee, Cas? I’ll wash the mug with the rest.” Castiel brought his mug to Dean, who was already filling the sink. He hugged Dean from behind, his arms around him, his forehead on his shoulder. “Hey buddy, what’s up.” “I’m snoozy,” came the answer, muffled in Dean’s shoulder. “Come on, now. I wash, you dry.” “Mh.” Castiel reluctantly let go of Dean – which earned him a fluttery kiss on the cheek – and dried the dishes.

After they were done, Castiel took a peek in the oven. “Looks good.” Dean joined him. “No it doesn’t. Why doesn’t it rise? Dammit. I fudged something.” Castiel rested his cheek on Dean’s shoulder. I’m sure it’ll taste good anyway.” Dean shook his head. “I don’t care. It has to be fluffy. It’s part of the experience. No half-ass cake for my angel.” “Dean, I’m not…” Dean cut him. “Cas, you’ll always be my angel.” Castiel smiled softly against Dean’s shoulder.

Dean threw everything out and Castiel made him promise to sober up before going out for more eggs and other ingredients, which happened later that afternoon. Castiel threw some clothes on and went with him, but wanted to stay in the car. “Man, I don’t care that you look like a hurricane. Come in with me.” “I don’t care either. It’s just going to be faster if I stay here and keep an eye on Baby.” “Nonsense. Come on! You love grocery stores. You’re always fascinated by something.” Castiel thought about it a few seconds. “It’s true. OK. I’ll go with you.”

Attempt #2 was right after dinner. Castiel wasn’t hungry, so he barely touched his plate. Dean got busy – again, with a celebratory beer – baking the cake. Castiel watched closely, trying to follow the recipe. Dean put the timer and they set out some board game to pass the time. They were almost through the cooking time that Castiel said, “Smells like burning.” Dean hurried to the oven. “SHIT.” He quickly turned the oven off, opened the door and tried to vent the smoke. “The hell I did now?” Everything went into the trash again. Dean switched to whiskey.

The morning after, Castiel got to the kitchen a little before 10 a.m. His eyes were better than yesterday but the rest was still a mess. The beard was growing in nicely. Dean welcomed him with a smile and a coffee mug. “Hello sunshine!” He kissed Castiel on the top of his cheek, close to his eye. “Here’s your coffee.” “Thank you Dean.” Castiel sat with his coffee and eyed Dean’s glass in his hand. “That’s not coffee.” Dean smiled. “Nope. I’m changing the parameters. Beer is good for making burgers. Whiskey is better for baking.” Castiel couldn’t help but smile. “I hope it helps.” “This will also help,” Dean said, as he handed his phone to Castiel. “Here, read the recipe out loud to me. Maybe it’ll stick better if I hear it in your voice.” Castiel shook his head, amused. “You’re a strange man, Dean.” Dean winked at Castiel. “Hey. There has to be something to balance out against all the handsome.” Castiel laughed. “OK. Here’s the recipe.”

The third attempt went well and Dean stood proud looking at his cake cooling on the rack. “You’re sure the cake stays in the pan? Read again, Cas.” Castiel checked the phone. “Yes. And it says 3 hours to cool.” Dean took a swig from his whiskey. “That means we have plenty of time to get you looking decent.” Castiel squinted. “Decent?” “Man, I haven’t kissed you properly in days because you stink and you haven’t brushed your teeth. You need serious grooming. And you can’t have angel food cake if you don’t at least look the part.” Castiel seemed surprised. Dean added, “Come on, man. I worked super hard on this. Let’s get you decent.” Castiel seemed to search Dean’s eyes. “I think you’re looking for an excuse to come in the shower with me.” Dean flashed a soft smile. “You bet I do.” “You’ve already shown me how to shower, Dean.” “That’s not what I mean,” Dean answered, as he coaxed a perplex Castiel to the bathroom.

Dean had Castiel brush his teeth first. Then, Castiel and Dean stripped and stepped into the shower. Dean was easily overwhelmed by the soft, sad, tired eyes of Castiel. He kissed his lips softly. “Let’s get you clean, man.” “I know how to do it, Dean.” Dean stroke Castiel’s jaw with his thumb. “Then show me. Lather me.” Castiel, much to Dean’s not-surprise, went pretty methodically. He lathered Dean up with the soap and his hands, and then put him under the shower head and made sure it was all rinsed out. “And my hair?” Castiel shampooed and rinsed Dean’s hair. Dean chuckled. “Good execution. Congrats.” “I’m glad my method is appropriate.” Dean full-on laughed. “Appropriate is the right word, alright!” He took the soap in his hand. “Now, this is another way to do it.”

Dean lathered up his hands real good, all the while holding Castiel’s gaze. He got closer and lathered him slowly, softly, with his hands. It was not particularly sexual, but all his fondness for Castiel went into his movements, conveying how he cared about him. He rinsed him out and kissed his shoulders, and reached for the shampoo. He took his time to massage Castiel’s scalp, with his fingertips and his full hands, again showing his ever-angel he’s cared for. Castiel closed his eyes and put his hands on Dean’s waist. “This is so relaxing…” “So you like it.” “I might get used to that.” Dean smiled a kiss against Castiel’s cheek and rinsed him out.

Dressed in boxers, both men stood in front of the bathroom mirror. “Do you want to keep the beard?” “Do you like it?” Dean smiled. “Cas, you’re handsome as hell either way. So it’s your call. If you want to keep it, we can trim it a bit, so it looks clean and sharp.” Castiel scratched his beard and grimaced a bit. “I think I want it off. I’ll feel more like myself I think.” Dean gave Castiel the clipper and the razor, and Castiel proceeded and cleaned up.

Castiel finished toweling off his face and looked at Dean in the mirror. “Better?” Dean looked in Castiel’s eyes. “Do you feel better?” “Yes.” “Then yes, it’s better.” Dean hugged Castiel from behind, his arms wrapped around him, his chin rested on his shoulder, his eyes closed. He squeezed Castiel a little. Castiel wrapped his arms over Dean’s and rested his cheek on Dean’s head. “You worry about me.” For only answer, Dean squeezed him again a little. “I’m sorry to cause you such worry, Dean.” “It’s alright Cas, as long as you don’t shut me out. Just let me help.” Castiel gave Dean’s embrace a squeeze as well. “OK. I promise.” Dean let go, planted a quick kiss on Castiel’s neck and declared, “OK, now, we can’t spend the rest of the day in boxers, so let’s get dressed.”

The showers didn’t take 3 hours so there was still time to spare. Dean couldn’t take his hands off his human angel, giving him a squeeze here, a pat there, and it seemed to work. Castiel was smiling more, and he was starting to hug Dean back and give him little kisses. Dean beamed each time. He even managed to get Castiel to pin him against the wall and kiss him breathless.

They decided to go out for a late lunch and stopped to eat it by the river. They then sat on a big rock and watched the stream. Castiel saw a fish. Dean wrapped himself around Castiel, who gave him little kisses. Dean looked at his watch. “We have a good half hour of sitting here and look for fish before heading back. Is that good with you?” Castiel tucked his nose under Dean’s jaw line. “Yes, Dean.”

Back at the bunker, Dean and Castiel saw Sam was back, his car being parked outside. Dean got in the kitchen first. “Hey Sammy! How were the vamps?” “Heads rolled.” Sam pointed to the upside-down cake pan on the cooling tray. “Who’s baking?” Dean answered as he reached for a knife and plates. “Me! It’s angel food cake. Get it?” He wiggled his eyebrows at Sam. Sam shook his head. “So that’s what you do when I’m out doing our job? You play in the kitchen?” Dean repeated, annoyed, “Angel food cake! Get it??” Sam got it, but was not going to give Dean the satisfaction. He turned to Castiel. “What’s his prob – whoa. You look better, man. What happened?” “Dean happened. He asked me to let him take care of me and I accepted his offer.” “Seems to be working.” Dean chimed in, “Yeah. And now, we’re having angel food cake.” Sam finally smiled. “Alright, alright. I’ll go put this away – he shouldered his bag – and I’ll be right with you.”

Dean gave everyone a big piece of cake with whipped cream and berries. Sam was impressed. Castiel didn’t know he was supposed to be impressed, but since he witnessed the failed attempts, he had a feeling success was not easy with this cake. He took a bite, under Dean’s watchful eye. Castiel’s eyes widened and he turned to Dean, chewing. He started to say something with his mouth full when suddenly he just shut his eyes and kept chewing slowly. He licked his lips. Finally, he opened his eyes and turned to Dean. “This. This is the best cake. Granted, I haven’t had other cakes, but I’m sure this is the best cake in the whole world.” He took another bite. “Mmm…” Sam had an amused smile. “If you two need to be alone…” Dean turned to Sam. “Me and Cas or Cas and the cake?” Sam forked a piece of cake. “Moron.”

After cleaning up, Castiel announced he needed a nap, probably because he’d had too much cake. When he said that, he’d given Dean’s thigh a little squeeze under the table. Dean announced he needed a nap too. Before Sam could even roll his eyes, he was up and following Castiel to his room. As Dean closed the door behind them, he heard Sam shouting, the voice clearly coming from the fridge: “What the hell are we going to do with 3 dozens of egg yolks? DEAN!!!”

    I’d love to hear from you!

    Back to the Masterlist

The prompt itself. So I wrote this and my day was gone lol I know, it’s not drawing, and Dean isn’t super drunk either. But hey, a prompt’s a prompt and what happens happens. :)

#destiel #destiel fanfic #destiel fluff #destiel domestic fluff #destiel tooth-rotting fluff #angel cake #angel food cake

[patriciahaefeli]

A Cautionary Tale? A Love Story? You Decide

It's been one of those rollercoaster weeks, one that began with a great deal of pain, which I tried to ignore at first, so as not to ruin my 17- year old’s already Corona-compromised birthday party. At some point during our 5 p.m. family Zoom celebration, I quietly left the room and went upstairs to lie down, writhe in pain, get back up, bend over, moan, repeat. This continued through the night Monday – and at one point, I remember thinking that labor wasn’t this bad and that I should probably go to the emergency room. In this new world we’re in, that thought was quickly dismissed by one word: COVID. I paced the floor at 3 a.m., alternately moaning and then bopping my head and sort of softly singing what kept running through my head, which was the chorus of The Knack’s 1979 hit song, “My Sharona.” Only my version went “My Corona.” Yes, even while suffering, I’m clever that way. 

By Tuesday morning the pain had subsided. I was exhausted however, and slept throughout the day. “Tricia! Drink this! Jesus, she’s burning up.” It was the alarm in my husband’s voice that I responded to more than the command. I sat up, drank the water he was holding out to me, and when I caught my reflection in the mirror over the dresser I had the brief, feverously detached impression of someone who’d sat under a sun lamp for too long. Sun lamp, the words made me almost giggle out loud. Sun-lamp, sun-lamp, sun-lamp…Does anyone even know what that is anymore? A few hours later I had a virtual appointment with my regular GP, during which the decision was made for me to go to the office first thing Wednesday for a full exam. My instructions (my fever-addled brain again added the words “should I choose to accept them” - hehehe), for entering the building would come in the form a text. 

My office exam was efficient and thorough. Upon arrival, I called the office and someone met me at a side door. As we were both masked and gloved, we nodded and murmured muffled greetings. Two PAs and an MD palpated my tender abdomen while I stifled screams. They decided that I should have a C-T scan that day, with the expectation that the offending culprit was a kidney stone. As many radiology facilities are currently closed, it took a few hours for them to locate one that would take me. My scan took place at 4:30. I was the last patient of their day. 

 Fast forward to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. I picked up the call, which was remarkable in itself because anyone who knows me knows how irritating it is that, a) my phone is always on silent mode, and, b) I rarely answer numbers I don’t recognize. It was another doctor from Vanguard, calling to let me know that my C-T scan showed no evidence of kidney stones – “Yay!” BUT, he cut in, it did show acute appendicitis. What I needed to do, he said, was to go directly to the nearest ER. 

So here’s where this story really begins, because I was about to get a reality check regarding the difference between the inconveniences of “social distancing” and quite literally, matters of life and death. For those of us who are shuffling around at home in our sweatpants, eating too much, complaining about the buffoonery of our President, laughing at all the funny memes, and who are, to one degree or another, COMPLETELY OBLIVIOUS to the fact that health care workers do not have the luxury of ANY of that, here’s the newsflash: The Corona virus has virtually SHUT down normal operations for hospitals and surgical facilities, so if you’re also laughing in the face of social-distancing guidelines, and just can’t wrap your head around the possibility of contracting this deadly disease, know this too: If you break your arm, or your spouse has a heart attack, or your child’s strange rash won’t go away and you’re just really concerned, good luck. We are NOT in Kansas anymore, peeps. 

 I considered doing a bit of a negative a rant on the first hospital that I went to here, but perhaps that wouldn’t be fair. “The nearest ER” for me would have been another hospital, but due to their somewhat dubious reputation, we opted to go just a bit farther away. The best thing I can say about that experience was that the safety protocols to enter the ER were impressive. Picture the scene in E.T. where the Hazmat-suited guys from the space program find out about him and “invade” the house in a tunnel of white - then picture the people standing six feet apart outside of say, ShopRite, only these people don’t look so great. They’re kind of bent over, or swaying, or leaning on someone else. Then count your blessings that your gut hurts and you’re not bleeding out…or struggling to breathe. 

Three hours later, after they’d reviewed my scans and completed all of the necessary pre-op tests (blood work, EKG, urine analysis), I got the word that most of the ORs were being used as ICUs for COVID patients, and they were only doing “emergent” surgeries. They sent me home with massive doses of antibiotics, and a referral to see their staff general surgeon - outpatient. 

I figured they were right, too. Must not be very serious. I was doing well with that notion until the following morning, when I heard the barely concealed shock in the voice of my regular MD.  

“Did they see your scans?” his tone serving only to increase my anxiety. 

 “Yeah. But my appendix hasn’t exploded yet.” I said. 

 “Ah,” he sighed, “I know things are being handled differently in the ‘current environment,’ but last time I checked, acute appendicitis was emergent.” 

Okay, pay attention now, because here’s where it gets really interesting: See if you can answer his parting questions: 

 “Do you have a general surgeon? Preferably one with their own facility?” 

 So, do you? And if you do, are you sure they’re even open right now? I sure as hell didn’t (and the name they gave me at the hospital turned out to be for a doctor whose answering machine told me he was not seeing new patients). And the idea that it was now pretty much my problem to solve was a little intimidating – especially for someone who generally needs to be told that they’re sick (enough) or in (enough) pain to seek help—but that’s another story. Now that doctor, who I respect and like a lot, said he’d be trying to find me one, but that I should do my research as well. 

 My husband and I made a fairly long list of people/places to call, and split it. Those we were able to reach at all offered possible solutions to my dilemma, but each dead-ended pretty quickly. I focused on the task now, trying to ignore what it might mean that the ache in my belly seemed to be spreading down my right leg. 

As of this writing, I have yet to hear back from my regular GP and yet, here I sit, post-op, able to get this down mostly because of a Facebook message I sent to one of the nurses in the Belleville Public School district. The only real help I got came from her, a nurse, who responded immediately to an “in-boxed” message, and kept responding for the next hour, sending me the names and phone numbers of doctors (sometimes with their credentials!), links to possible facilities, and words of encouragement. She gave me her personal cell phone number and encouraged me to call it if I had questions and/or to let her know how it was going. I felt like she meant it, too. I also think she was responsible for the first in a series of serendipitous events that just may have saved my life. One of the names she gave me turned out to be the dad of one of my kid’s friends. 

 At that point, things happened pretty quickly. I called him (at home) and told him my situation. In a matter of 20 minutes, he had my scans and had booked  a time slot for me for same-day surgery at Clara Maass. He’s a high-energy, outgoing kind of guy, and although I’d stood on sidelines with him and his lovely wife at many a sports event, I don’t know him well enough, nor did I think it was appropriate to laugh out loud when he laid out the plan: “With everything going on, I just really want to do you – and get you the hell out of there!” 

So here I am, more grateful to him than I can possibly express and having some time to consider just how random and crazy and dangerous that whole situation was (turns out, my appendix had begun to perforate after all, and the real fun was just beginning) and how fortunate I am. 

 But the real heroes here - Oh, and God, aren’t we all a little sick of the “hero” thing? – well get over it, and listen up! From the minute I walked through the door of Clara Maass yesterday, my experience was the best it could possibly have been. The nurses! OMG the nurses - I was in pre-op for hours. Lucky as I was to have been squeezed in to an already crowded surgical schedule, the truth of the matter was that my presence had required a quick shifting of resources—stretchers and space and - nurses. My sudden appearance in the queue was inconvenient, possibly even annoying. And yet all of them, including the nurse who ran the OR, came by to check on me, to give me extra blankets, to chat with me, and laugh with me. A friend’s daughter-in-law, who is a nurse there, got a text from him and even she came from three floors below just to say hello and charm me with her Australian accent and tired-but-twinkling blue eyes. I swear, for me? The whole experience was a cross between a weirdly sterile spa stay, and – as mine all happened to be women - a girls’ sleepover with your best girlfriends—only these were women I'd just met (but they’d also pretty much seen me naked, so, there’s that…). 

Most of them were nearing the end of a 12-hour shift. As I lay there, relaxed and warm, reading and texting, they race-walked back and forth among those of us who waited, or were recovering. I lost count of how many times one of them asked me if I was okay, or if I needed something. They ate their dinners on the move, taking bites and then sprinting off, tearing off one set of gloves, putting on another. These people Do. Not. Sit. The sink was right near my bed, so I saw a lot of hand-washing traffic too, and a lot of red, chapped, over-sanitized hands. They spoke in soothing voices to those who were waiting, and possibly scared, and loud-enough voices for those emerging from the cloud of anesthesia to understand. Sometimes they shouted good-natured complaints to one another, or teased one another – and me, as when one started repacking those bags they give you for your clothes, amusement in her voice as she yelled, “What the hell did you do here, shove it all in like a little kid? Your purse is open – Maria, come over here and see this – she’s a mess!” Hahahaha! One came by and pointed to the cover of the book I was reading entitled “The Silent Patient”, and joked “That’s the kind we like!” 

I even began to wonder if what I was getting was “special treatment” reserved for those whose surgeries were personally called-in by the surgeon. Once he arrived, however, it was clear that not only did they not know he was the one who got me in, but they chided him in the same affectionate way. At a point, I said to one of them, “Doctors think they’re all that, but nurses really run the show don’t they?” She winked at me and elbowed me a little, “Like husbands, honey – they just think they’re in charge!” 

I lounged, for over four hours while they stood on what had to be tired feet, hands on hips as they talked to me, telling me which part of the hospital they’d spent the morning in, or where they were headed next in this crazy, all-hands-on-deck environment. We chatted about jobs and kids, and only when the topic of this deadly disease came up did the lack of words become conspicuous. Then it was all a mime of sad shakes of the head and downward glances. 

It occurs to me today that after all of this, I'm not sure I would recognize any of them tomorrow if I saw them on street – nor they me. Of course, we were all masked. But maybe I would – if I could see their eyes again. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of all, those eyes conveyed a profound kindness. And laughter, and concern, and compassion, and dedication—and a toughness that allows them to do it all. 

I'll tell you a secret: I am a person who often has a weird response to unexpected kindness - it makes me cry. I welled up more than once yesterday afternoon. I may have been just one of many for them – this is just what they do - but for me, a bond was made. I will always remember them. 

Make no mistake: it’s no hardship to be home in your sweatpants with your gel manicure looking a little ratchet, and your spouse and kids seeming more like houseguests who have overstayed their welcome. Today, I want you to feel really, really blessed and grateful, and if you’re like me, a generally healthy person who never really gave too much thought to the job that these people do, I hope I was able to convey just a little of it. 

That school nurse who rescued me put it this way: “I took an oath when I graduated just as physicians do. I have followed it for 28 years and it has never let me or my patients down.” That whole oath thing is good and important and all, but the heart behind it gives it grace. 

So, if you get an invitation to do one of those car processions where you beep your horn and cheer for the local health care workers as they go in to, or leave, work– get in your car and go. Or, just mail them each a check for a million dollars. Either way.

[elijahpollich85-blog]

Greatest Meal Delivery Programs for Weight Loss

For those who're making an attempt to drop a number of kilos fast, these skilled tips will make it easy so that you can lose the weight quickly. Whereas it'd sound counterintuitive to eat one thing before you head out to a restaurant or party, exhibiting up famished to the event will probably make it all the more durable to stay to your weight loss goals. Eating something small (about a hundred energy) with fiber (two to 4 grams) is an effective way to readjust your appetite so you can present up and mingle a bit before diving into the cheese dip. Choose a complete food to take the edge off, like an apple or handful of nuts. For instance, 30 pistachios are just one hundred energy and supply two grams of fiber, along with protein and healthy fats, to actually take the edge off your appetite while providing a satisfying pre-celebration crunch. Get pleasure from your mini snack with a tall glass of water before the festivities to cut back your possibilities of publish-social gathering weight acquire.

Understand that our BMR (Basal Metabolic Price) and your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) are completely different when it comes down to the numbers. Your BMR is actually your metabolic charge if you just slept all day. Your RMR is your metabolic fee when you laid in mattress, but ate meals, and had small activities like transferring round your private home. Calculating your RMR might be a more lifelike base platform while you're attempting to have a look at calories burned. After getting this info, you can better calculate your total caloric loss when including in exercise and meal plan data.

10. Drink lots and plenty of water. Drink not less than eight glasses or two quarts a day. Nothing makes you lose excess fluid like ingesting a lot of water, so its good for losing water weight. By lowering carbs and lowering insulin levels, you alter the hormonal environment and make your body and brain "want" to reduce weight. Fruit and veg are low in energy and fats, and high in fibre - three essential ingredients for successful weight reduction. They also comprise loads of nutritional vitamins and minerals.

If you're new to weight-reduction plan, then issues will probably happen shortly. The extra weight you need to lose, the quicker you will lose it. Including muscle, through actions resembling weight training, increases your metabolism and fights fat. Lifting weights additionally helps to strengthen your bones, improve steadiness, and regulate your blood sugar. Many diets are self defeating as a result of they repeat meals to which dieters are sensitive or allergic. This can cause water retention and weight acquire. Frequent repetition of allergenic foods additionally aggravates sensitivities and allergies.

Water helps you're feeling full, so that you eat much less. Consuming eight to 10 cups of plain water day by day can increase weight loss because analysis shows that thirst can be confused with hunger,” says Misti Gueron, MS, RDN, nutritionist at the Khalili Middle. Many people attain for meals because of cravings, low energy or boredom, and these habits can lead to unnecessary weight achieve,” she added. Actually, it's so highly effective that one research found that individuals who drank two cups of water half-hour earlier than meals for 3 months dropped almost three extra pounds than people who did not pre-hydrate earlier than mealtime. To help achieve your weight reduction goal, attempt drinking eight ounces of water once you first get up, carrying a BPA-free water bottle or monitoring your water intake on your telephone.

I used WW first, after which tried Noom, and it was a bit of a jarring experience to go from having zero-point foods to counting calories once more. It is necessary to remember that you may't live on zero-point foods alone, however not all energy are bad. Noom also wished me to weigh myself on a regular basis, while WW solely prompts you to weigh in as soon as per week. I understood on some level that this was to establish weight loss meal plan delivery habits and so you may see how weight naturally fluctuates, however as somebody who has had an unhealthy relationship with a scale prior to now, it wasn't the most effective apply for me personally. It is easy to obsess over the slightest weight change that really does not imply anything besides water or the truth that you are wearing denims.

Sometimes, simply the act of writing down your targets helps you keep them. Be sure to put your targets in a place where you possibly can see them every single day. It can enable you keep dedicated in the course of the weight-loss journey. You'll achieve some weight throughout your refeed day, however most of it is going to be water weight and you will lose it once more within the subsequent 1-2 days.

#health

[ariwilder]

Crazy, Stupid, Potions (3/?)

Pairing: Penny Haywood x Jacob’s Sibling (MC)

1- 2 -3 -4

Summary: Penny is practicing for the upcoming Wizarding Schools Potions Championship and she needs test subjects. One would say, that’s what friends are for, right? Right?!

It became difficult for you to sleep after your meeting with Penny in the dungeon. Starting from that day the recurrent nightmare of your suddenly balding head terrorized you. Same nightmare that woke you up in the middle of the night in cold sweat speaking gibberish.  Vision, you could manage but recurrent nightmares are unmarked territory. Nevertheless, days went by with no clue from Penny of when the whole trial period would start, which only made your already sleep deprived self highly anxious.

“Merlin, you look like dragon dung.”

“Thanks Jae, does the sincere praise come with a price tag as well?” you don’t have enough energy to frown at your friend’s remark. It is probably not far from the truth, anyway.

“Nah, it’s free of charge, friendship bonus.” He tips his butterbeer filled cup on your direction before taking a sip. You make a bemused face.

You had asked Jae to meet you in Hog’s Head. You had asked Professor Flitwick about this place before. He advised you to bring your own cup with you. He claimed its insalubrity is common knowledge in Hogsmade’s community. Notion you confirmed the moment you stepped a foot inside. Its owner, an old man with a long beard, cleaning a cup with a dirty rag, only making it dirtier.

“I’m not very sure you should be drinking that, Jae.” You warn as you sit on the chair in front of your friend. Your trip to the inn had you winded.

“It’s just butterbeer, mate.” He answers good-naturally before taking another generous sip. You shake your head and hope he does not end in the hospital wing. You feel too tired to attempt an explanation.

After the third night in a row with very little sleep, you are desperate for help. Your Hogwart’s Quidditch Derby match is around the corner and you looked worse than a dragon dung. Usually, you would not hesitate to ask Penny as well, but considering the state of affairs, you could not risk having Penny think you weren’t more than willing to be part of her schemes. After everything she had done for you, after the Beatrice ordeal…you will not back out.  Which brings you here, negotiating for highly questionable goods outside of Hogwart’s jurisdiction, inside a highly questionable establishment.

“Did you bring it then?” you look to your side and behind you.

You had decided to wear a black cloak over your clothes and face. Nobody would think much of Jae talking to a weird cloaked stranger on Hogsmade but all kinds of gossip could flourish from you and Jae meeting on Hogsmade by yourselves. Gossip you would rather avoid.

“Ah,” he sighs, “that depends.”  Jae put both of his elbows over the table, intertwining his fingers before positioning his head over them.

“Jae, cut the crap.”

If Jae wants to negotiate it is fine by you. He doesn’t have to use his newspeak with you.

”An extra galleon for the info.” He is smiling at you as you hand him the extra galleon. His slanted eyes are difficult to decipher whenever he smiles. It irks you. This is precious time you could be using sleeping.

“Penny Haywood paid me not to sell you stuff, she sounded quite distressed so I had to comply,” he shrugs before taking another sip of his now half-finished flask.

You give Jae a dumbstruck look. Why? Why would Penny do something like that? Wasn’t she taking it too seriously? How would she know that you would go straight to Jae if anything came up? What if she had spiked your pumpkin juice earlier on the week and had you drink a nightmare-inducing potion?

“Are you alright? You are suddenly looking worse than a dragon dung, mate.”

You feel like puking for sure. You try to take a couple of calming breaths. You are on board with this. Maybe if you relaxed a little, it wouldn’t be so bad. Didn’t you trust Penny? But, what about your Quidditch game! Cold sweat run down your forehead.

“Hey, relax, I’ve got it with me, okay? Whatever Penny doesn’t know, doesn’t hurt her. Everyone is betting on you performance. And by everyone I also mean, me.” The wave of relief that sweeps you is so powerful you end up hugging Jae across the table.

“Thank you, Jae! I knew I could count on you mate,” you let go rapidly to adjust your excuse of robe to cover your face again. It had fallen out of place with the sudden movement.

“Here,” he hands you a miniscule translucent bottle into your sweating palm, “just drink a couple of drops of these before bed with water and you’ll sleep like a baby.”

You take the bottle between your index and thumb fingers.

“What is this anyway?” You want to trust Jae, but the small bottle is not bigger than a galleon and probably accounted for a barely a couple of drops.

“A muggle concoction, I believe they call it medicine.” Jae rubs his chin.

You have heard of that word before from Ben. Maybe, he drank some of this too before sleeping; maybe you could ask him about it as well.

“It should be safe for wizards if they drink it, probably.”

You don’t really listen to what Jae says next as you make your way towards the exit. You are so excited you even forget to bid Jae goodbye.

“What are you doing here, hero of nothing?” you stumble upon Merula on your way out of the pub.

On any normal day you would question the annoying with yourself but right now, you feel way too eager for a deep round of sleep that you decide to ignore her taunting.

“Sod off, Merula.” You whisper peacefully before continuing your merry way towards the castle.

“Hey, stop smiling like that!” you hear in the distance.

.

.

.

Inside the pub, two figures.

“Just remember to use a couple of drops!” Jae shouts to a skipping figure before the loud sound of the closing door interrupts him.

“Did they hear?” asked a cloaked figure that had suddenly stood up from its place a couple of stools from theirs.

“I’m not too sure, should I be worried? Maybe I should check on them?”

Jae doesn’t know what to do of this situation. Today had been quite a profitable day, despite all the cajoling and lies involved, even for someone like him.

He feels a warm hand over his shoulder, “don’t worry Jae, they’ll be alright. Do you trust me?”

Jae lets out a sigh he did not know he had been holding and relaxes instantly, of course, how could he not trust the one and only, Penny Haywood?

“You are right, Penny. My bad. I hope your dad doesn’t miss muggle medicine, though.”

When Penny had come to ask him for information, as she usually did, he had made the offhanded comment that a certain Quidditch Captain had been having trouble sleeping and came to him for a non-wizard remedy.  Penny, being the nice person she is, promised to find him a muggle medicine but only if he promised to tell them she had paid him not to give them stuff. Jae thought it was a weird request, but decided to go along. Jae had a made a bet with Diego Caplan about the Quidditch Derby that he was not willing to lose.

“My dad? Oh, right, his medicine. He was glad for being of help!”

Jae supposes being helpful is a Haywood gene.

“You said they’ll sleep like a baby, right?”

“More like a baby dragon.”

Penny giggles at her joke and Jae smiles. He had that bet in the bag.

A clean set of pajamas. Set.

A glass of water. Set.

A deserted dormitory, characteristic of a Saturday afternoon. Set.

How many drops did Jae say again? How much drops could a couple be? You stare at the small bottle again. You just wanted a good and long night of sleep, for Merlin’s sake. You pour most of the bottle into the glass of water. It is muggle, what could go wrong with it? You shrug before drinking it down in one chug.  It had no distinctive taste whatsoever, which is always good.

You do not feel any different. How long could the medicine take to work? Sure, your eyelids felt heavy but you had been feeling that day since the morning…

A particularly loud thud sound distracted Rowan Khanna from their afternoon reading in the common room. Knowing their roommates it was probably a game of exploding snap, even if it is a tad bit too early for such games. Rowan was under the impression that they had gone to Hogsmade that day, unlike them who had decided to stay back and finish the aforementioned parchment for their DADA class. Now, not only had they not told Rowan they had skipped Hogsmade altogether, they also decided not to ask them to join their game. They would have refused kindly, of course, but they should have asked them out of courtesy. Feeling a bit hurt, Rowan returned to their lecture. They will finish the parchment today, and not allow a single peek.

“Everyone return, they are waking up!”

You hear a distant voice in the horizon. Your eyelids feel like lead, as you feel all of your extremities start to tingle.

“Thank Merlin! Tomorrow is the Quidditch Derby, do you think they’ll be able to play?”

“Is Quidditch the only thing your thick heads can think about?”

“I also think about dragons.”

“And bowtruckle, don’t forget bowtruckles, and hippogriffs, and nifflers, and phoenixes—“

“Shhhh, everyone, they are trying to speak!”

“Whegarme…” you do not understand what you said as you move your mouth slowly.

“The hospital wing, I found you flat on your face three days ago, with a broken nose over a puddle of blood.” Rowan answers straight-faced as they push their glasses up the bridge of their nose.

You can see their figure swarmed around you over your blurry vision. One of your hands shots up to your nose instinctively. It feels intact. The last thing you remember is drinking that muggle medicine. Wait…three days ago?!

“Good news: Despite breaking your nose, Madam Pompfrey gave you skele-grow and it looks like new! Bad news: You did not hand your DADA parchment and you have detention.” You recognize Charlie’s voice next. You finally manage to sit upright and see the crowd around you for the first time since waking up.

Around you, Rowan, Ben, Charlie and Barnaby.

“We all thought it was the vaults all over again, we are very glad you are awake. No one could figure out why you wouldn’t wake up. Madam Pomfrey was very hesitant to try anything on you without knowing what had caused this.” Ben said with genuine concern.

“Penny and Jae have been visiting you every day as well. They’ve been both very worried about what happened to you. Penny we can all understand. But Jae beats me.” Rowan adds while looking at you with a hint of suspicion on their eyes, which you avoid masterfully.

“Jae bet we’d win the Quidditch Derby, he was probably worried about his money.” You say with a chuckle with quickly turns into a coughing fit. Your throat felt unusually dry.

“Jae might be a shady reputation but he is a good bloke,” Barnaby defended.

“That explains it, I guess.” Rowan does not look convinced but drops the meddling, surely postponing your interrogation.

“Should we tell them?” Ben throws the question to the air and you see your four friends exchange looks between them.

“Tell me what?” You ask after taking a sip from a glass of water on your bedside. You do feel rested, but blacking out for three days had its drawbacks.

“About how you woke up!” Barnaby hoots beside you, Charlie shares a snicker to his side.

“It is probably best if Penny tells them.” Rowan prods, always the voice of reason.

“To be honest, I was very skeptical about reproducing the Sleeping Beauty.” Ben chips in.

“Sleeping what?” Barnaby, Charlie and you ask in unison.

“Enough of you children, this is way too much noise, out of here! Now!” Madam Pomfrey reprimands your friends and walks them out of the infirmary, not before hearing one of them shout.

“Ask Penny about it, mate!”

Probably Charlie or Barnaby. There was way too much noise for you to recognize. Were they making weird noises with their mouths? You rest against your pillow again, this is also your favorite bed in the infirmary, what luck.

“And you, what scare! You and Miss Haywood!” She shakes her head at you before giving you her back. She looks grumpier than usual for some reason. And why mention Penny?

She stops mid retreat to pat your head.

“Now, if only you win the Quidditch Derby, tomorrow. I might forgive you. I can’t lose a bet!” She says before closing the curtains to your resting spot.

You stare into the white ceiling of the hospital wing feeling quite wore out still. What had happened to you. You have no idea. One thing is certain; however, Penny Haywood true to her word had something to do with it.  But, it is all good in your book. You feel rested enough for your Quidditch match and that is all that matters to you. Perhaps, being a test subject wasn’t so bad if you leave your life in the hands of the one and only Penny Haywood. With that thought in mind you drift again into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

.

.

.

Outside the hospital wing.

“Boys!” (1)

A group of friends drops dead on their tracks from their merry walk towards the Great Hall. The voice that had called them made a shudder run down their spine.

A loud gulp.

“Yes, Penny?” Ben answers first.

“Did you tell them anything?” Hearing Penny Haywood speak so menacingly could make even the biggest and loudest of men shudder.

A round of gulps.

“We didn’t.” Rowan tries to cover up but is interrupted.

“Ben mentioned the Sleeping Bowtruckle!” Barnaby points to the sandy haired male. Ben blanches instantly at the mention.

“Bowtruckle? Didn’t he say—

A red, cauldron faced, Penny Haywood interrupts the red head, “Not a single word about what happened today in the hospital wing will exit any of your mouths, capicchi?”

“You know I can make it happen even if you don’t agree.”

“No, no, Penny, we all agree. Don’t we, mates?” Rowan puts themselves between their friends and a ominous looking Penny.

All three boys nod in unison.

“Perfect, I’m glad we all agree. You are marvelous. Have a nice day. I’ll see you tomorrow in the Quidditch Derby, okay?”

She waves goodbye good naturally, as usual, making them doubt if what they had just witnessed could be part of an illusion or not.

“I have not felt this scared since the time we saw that You-Know-Who’s boggart.” Said Ben.

“I didn’t know she could speak Spanish.” Said Barnaby.

“Barnaby, it’s not Spanish and you did not even see You-Know-Who’s boggart Ben, ah nevermind, I’m even starting to doubt my sanity.”

“Do you think Penny might like Jacob’s Sibling?” asked Charlie to which Rowan simply face-palmed.

“Why do I even bother?” They said before following the faraway looking figure of Penny Haywood into the Great Hall.

next chapter 

(1) Little note on Rowan I wanted to mention.  Rowan doesn't necessarily identify as a boy. This is Penny using the term boy cause of the people involved (and made a ruckus) were dudes. Just wanted to clarify, that this author supports choose your gender Rowan.

This also my attempt at humor. This is the only humor I can write, hopefully it brews a couple of smiles. I’m still playing with the Penny is a Slytherpuff troupe tho. More info on how it all happened on next chapter. And you can go ahead and guess if Penny used certain potions or not. 

Thank you for reading everyone! You can also check it out on Ao3. Link on my fanfic masterlist (or just look it up). 

#penny haywood #penny haywood x mc #hogwarts mystery #hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #jacob's sibling #jacob's sibling x penny haywood

[hitominyo]

Talent Show

I had to wait for a computer to finally post this in here since I still don’t know how to use the app well. Anywho, this is my first work and I’m reaaally anxious and insecure but I’m still pulling it out here. Comments are well recieved and if there is something that it’s spelled wrong or it just looks wrong, please tell me? English is not my first language. Enjoy!

The song I used as inspiration and as part of the story is ’Let it be me’ of Ava Max. Especially the acoustic version. Here is the link from youtube: https://youtu.be/CPpBDxhx-ws

**************

Marco sighs. He is looking through a small gap between the curtains from behind the stage. There was a lot more people than he initially thought it would be. To say that he was nervous was an understatement. He was terrified . Why would he do this to himself? Oh, right. One of his best friends asked him to do it.

Her friend Star Butterfly is the creative manager of this establishment and when she came to his house a month ago carrying a large bowl of his favorite freshly handmade cookies of that bakery from the other side of the city his soul was sold. He had learned a long time ago that trying to say no to the blonde was just delaying the inevitable, but that didn’t mean he didn’t put on a fight. Her friend asked him to play and sing for the Talent Show she was organizing since she needed a at least 4 interested people on performing to make it credible for her bosses and she only needed one more.

Marco has been playing his guitar since he was a little boy, but didn’t have much experience at playing in front of audiences. He didn’t have stage fright, but it still made him nervous and self-conscious when others aside from his close friends and family watched him perform. Overall it made him uneasy play the song he decided on, since the lyrics were made with someone very specific in mind.

*******

Tom stared at the door in front of him thinking for the last time if this was a good idea. He has been locked up in his apartment for the last three weeks since his last break up. Just remembering it made him feel that horrible pain in his chest.  Like a big and dark space that made him feel hollow. The embarrassment, the treason, the rejection, the feeling of not being enough to deserve love.

He sighed. But. There was someone who needed his support that night. Someone who has been helping him each and every day after his most recent heartbreak. Marco was the first to know about the break up with her now ex-girlfriend. He remembered how he found her with another man on THEIR bed that fateful day when he left his work early to surprise her for their 2nd year anniversary. The fight has been quick but none the less hurtful. Some screaming, objects being thrown to the floor and tears. Mostly from Tom. The first thing he thought to do after he kicked her ex out from his apartment was to call the boy he's been friends with since they were 15. It took the other to listen to his quavery tone to know he needed to be there as soon as possible.

It took the Latino not even 20 minutes to arrive to his front door. Impressive considering it's almost impossible to get that fast to anywhere with the traffic at that hour. Not even that, he was carrying a few bags full of food and beverages that he knew were the homeowner’s favorites. Tom, who had been crying the whole time, wasted no time to hug him with all his might making his friend lose some of his balance but avoiding by little to drop the things he was carrying. After a minute of convincing from the brunette who had managed to pass all the things to one of his hands, he used the other to awkwardly hug his friend, they made it to the couch closing the door behind them.

Marco had listened all the taller one had to say and took the responsibility to take care of him since he knew he could do so much to make the other feel better. They drank and they ate so much ice cream it was hard for the smaller one to take his friend to bed, taking the couch for himself. The following days were no better for Tom, the pain still fresh and the inevitable reunion with the woman who broke his heart to come back for her stuff accompanied with no other but the one he was cheated with. Marco kept on visiting every night sometimes bringing food for his friend to eat since he knew the other wouldn't make for himself, sometimes to clean the place and others to practically wash the filth from the guy that couldn't even begin to care about his own self been. He even stayed some night by the taller one’s request, sometimes sharing the bed.

For his best friend to take care of him in such a pathetic time in his life, the less he could do was to support him in this night that he knew the other was incredibly nervous about. Even when the brunette didn't asked him to go, (because he is an angel and would never ask for something in return for his actions) he was invited by their blond and enthusiastic friend to support him as a favor for her. It wasn't a hard decision.

With a jacket on one of his hands and his keys on the other, he exited the warm and safety that his home provided to enter the dreaded outside world.

*******

Star went from place to place around the coffee shop with an energy everybody who didn't know her enough would assume was the result of an unlimited supply of energy drinks and pure coffee. The girl was ecstatic to see the great attendance for her first event, hoping there would be a lot more in the future. But it wasn't a surprise, she used every bit of her energy to share her Talent Show around the city and social network until an hour before it started. Even now she was broadcasting with the help of her girlfriend, Janna. Who was also in charge of the music between presentations and lights.

Marco's was the opening act, but she was trying to delay it as much as possible to give his second best friend the opportunity to watch him from the start. Star was done watching their relationship as a mere spectator, she was taking matters on her own hands. While she was talking with one of the contestants she felt a slight vibration on her right pocket and after a second of confusion looked around for her girlfriend at the other side of the room who was showing her two thumbs up.

”That's the signal!” the blond one exclaimed. ”Ok, everyone! You know where to go, just like in the rehearsal!” Screamed the girl running from people to people until she was in front of her best friend. After a very tight hug to the sick looking 22-year-old boy, she shared a big excited smile with him. ”Come on, Marco! You've been practicing since forever! You are going to do awesome!!”

”Star… I don't know if I can do this…” Said the terrified boy trying to look through the curtains for the 50th time that night. Her friend rapidly blocked his way to try not to spoil her very well planned surprise.

”Marco Ubaldo Diaz!” Started the blond with a severe tone on her voice. ”You are the most talented person I've ever met. And I went to art school!” Remarked Star raising both her eyebrows. She put an accusatory finger on the other's chest. ”You have a gift worth sharing and you've been keeping it to yourself long enough” Changing her expression to a sweeter one she lifted her hand to pat the other on his shoulder. ”I’m always going to be with you and all of your family is here to support you as well.”

This made the male smile. He was aware his parents were coming and were probably standing on the first row with their cameras to try to record every second of his presentation. ”Thank you, Star…” He was about to give her a hug when something clicked on his head. His family wasn’t just the ones related to blood for the both of them. ”Wait. Everyone?” Not waiting another second he opened a small gap between the curtains looking for somebody he didn't take too long to sight talking with the blonde’s girlfriend. ”Star! What did you DO?” Asked the taller one with desperation taking the other by the shoulders to shake her.

”Oh, stop that!” Star said removing herself from the other's grip wearing an amused smile. ”This is the perfect time. He actually got out from his actual comfort zone to be here FOR you!” The accusatory finger made it reappearance again with a vengeance. ”You know this is what you have to do, Marco. Or you will regret it for the rest of your life.”

The pep talk from her friend did little for that dreadful feeling in his guts, but he knew she was right. It's been too long keeping his feeling inside of him. They were completely obvious and had put him in various awkward talks with every person he cares about. With the exception of the one he love, who seems to be completely oblivious to them. Seriously, how could be someone so dense?

Marco hasn't been subtle, he even had planned a lot of confessions. But as the perfectionist he is, he needed the perfect time to do it. And everytime he spends with Tom are either so distracting he forget about his plans or trying to be the best comforter he could be. His friend has a point, even if it wasn't planned by him, this was it.

Breathing deeply and closing his eyes tightly he made his decision. With only a nod from the taller one, the girl left him to enter the stage greeting everybody in the audience enthusiastically.

*******

Tom had arrived at the packed place 5 minutes ago looking for any person he could recognize. Instead, he heard his name being shouted from his left. Janna was behind a table brimming to the top with all kinds of electronics and wires waving one of her hands lazily over her head for the boy to see her. With a little difficulty, he approached his friend asking for the people on his way to move politely. ”Hey, you!” Says the taller one once he was by her side.

The girl with the beanie, putting away her mobile on her back pocket looked to her front to the stage making a thumbs up gesture over her head. ”Sorry. Hey, man! You came just in time for the show!” Greets Janna directing her attention to the other before going back to the console in the table in front of her. ”How have you been?” Asked while dimming the lights of the coffee shop and the music at the time she was directing a white light to the middle of the stage controlling everything from a computer connected to all the other gadgets.

”Well, you know.” Paused the 23-year-old to his friend. ”Going.” He watched to the stage as her other friend, Star, walked to the front of the stage greeting the audience with her cheerful tone.

”That’s enthusiastic.” Said sarcastically the girl by his side looking at him sideways. ”But I'm sure you will feel better soon, don't worry.” She says with a strange smile now looking at the other turning her head completely to him before going back to her job as the first contestant was announced. ”Well, look at that.” The room now quieter than before stared at the front as a boy with his guitar took his place in front of the microphone. She could see how the expression from the other changed drastically to a happier one as he saw his best friend.

”Hey, ummm… I'm Marco Diaz.” The brunette presented himself looking a little flustered and searching for something or someone in the audience. After hearing a loud cheer from the back of the room and others followed from it his eyes found the ones of his most precious friend. He took a deep breath and continued. ”And this song is called ’Let it be me’, I hope you like it.” The blue haired girl smiled broadly as the last part seemed to be directed at the confused man on her right. This was going to be great, she thought.

*******

When you're faded and alone

And need somebody on the phone

Let it be me, let it be me

As the melodious voice of his best friend starts the song, the sound of his guitar came next in a slow tempo. Marco started to play when they were in school and he almost didn't need to look where his finger have to be on the guitar’s strings. Tom couldn't ignore the intense look the brunette was directed to him as the other performs as it was just the two of them in the room. Something inside of the taller one that he thought he had been buried inside of him was starting to emerge.

When she leaves you in the rain

You need a high to kill the pain

Let it be me, let it be me

The memories from the past weeks flooded his mind only remembering the moments the singer was there for him. Giving him his undivided attention. Only to make him feel better. To show him how much he cares.

And I'll show you love the way it's supposed to be

Tom felt how his heart stopped beating at the moment that sentence was said. Watching how sincere the performer's eyes were against his own. ’It couldn't be…’ though the pink haired man.

Summer days, winter nights

Ride or die, right by you side

Killing time 'till you're ready to see I'm all you need

The beat of his guitar started to pick up making the people in the audience to start clapping trying to follow the rhythm. This made the performer smile a little breaking their eye contact to look around the room and give them a little love too. But it didn't last long since by the second part they were there to find the ones of the one he loves the most.

You're a drunk, you're a fool

I'm insane, so right for you

When the ship goes down

Look in your dreams, that's where I'll be

Tom could sense the playful tone on his friend's voice as the lyrics progressed and it made him smile stupidly. Making him feel so many things at the same time it seems impossible for a person.

And I ne-ne-ne-need you

Breath in. Breath out

And I la-la-la-la-love ya

A gasp. This time his heart definitely stopped and he knew the way that phrase was said was different from the times it has been pronounced before.

But I wanna-wanna-wanna-wanna

Just stay the night

He remembered all the times they spent on sleepovers since they met each other. All the sleepless nights just talking about anything and everything. How easy it has been to share with the brunette those things he wouldn't say to anybody else. How sometimes they would share the same bed to stay as close as possible because it felt right...

When you're faded and alone

And need somebody on the phone

Let it be me, let it be me

How could it be that even as he could see how nervous his best friend was he could still sing about something so intimate as these feelings? Tom couldn't believe the person on stage was actually the same one he saw blushing and stuttering when too much attention was on him.

When she leaves you in the rain

You need a high to kill the pain

Let it be me, let it be me

There was no doubt the taller one's face was brighter than the lights facing the stage at the other side of the room. It seemed as his whole body was on fire, feeling how he was producing more heat than he needed.

And I'll show you love the way it supposed to be

Tom felt like he was drowning. Drowning in something so rare he believed he could never deserve. The heat on his chest was pleasant and suffocating at the same time.

Ta-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-ta-da-da-da

Ta-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-ta-da-da-da

The listeners around the room that have been swaying and raising their phones to create their own lights were starting to clap to the beat again making some encouraging sounds to the performer's passion on every bit of his song. Tom couldn't notice any of this as he was completely enthralled by the one on the stage.

Ta-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-ta-da-da-da

Ta-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-ta-da-da-da

The pink haired man looked how the one stealing his attention enjoyed the way others were responding to him, even how his flushed face shows that anxiousness he couldn't hide completely. The singers focus fluctuating between his friend and the rest of the room.

And I ne-ne-ne-need you

Hearing again that phrase made the taller one sigh feeling how he was falling completely to the one on stage’s feet. He just couldn't care to keep any of his walls up when this moment was happening in front of his eyes.

And I la-la-la-la-love you

A stupid smile and an even brighter face made him lift up his hands to his cheeks to try to hide a little his expression. But he knew he wasn't changing the fact that his best friend could see every one of his emotions as clear as they were his own. Even if they were so far from each other.

But I wanna-wanna-wanna-wanna

Just stay the night

He just couldn't imagine wanting to ever be apart from the one that was serenading him with such emotion and sincerity. He just wanted to go to him and intoxicate in his eyes. To hug him as close as it was possible and even tighter than that.

When you're faded and alone

And need somebody on the phone

Let it be me, let it be me

Oh, how he wants to kiss him. How he NEEDS to kiss him.

When she leaves you in the rain

You need a high to kill the pain

Let it be me, let it be me

He just couldn't remember a time where it was anybody else but Marco. He is his past, present and future. There couldn't be anyone else. It has always been him, Tom realized as he saw how the last chords of the guitar where strummed.

And I'll show you love the way it supposed to be

It was said as a promise and he just knew it was something both of them were very excited to experience.

*******

Their thoughts were interrupted by the deafening noise from all the one's present in the room that seems even more packed than before. Marco felt as if pulled out from a trance as the cheering made him realize where he actually was. And flushing a bright red made a small reverence to the excited listeners that seemed to be more vocal by every second. He saw how the louder ones, that were throwing him flowers, were his own parents. The hostess entered the stage again to stand beside his best friend hugging him sideways to evade knocking the other’s guitar. Star took the microphone to encourage the audience to be even louder for him. It passed almost a whole minute until she had to call for the people to settle down a little so they could go on with the night.

*******

”Hey.” Tom jumped as he remembered he was in the company of one of his friends. Just the one that would never let him forget how silly he most look in that moment. With a smug smile on her face, she seemed to enjoy the surprise and self-consciousness the boy was sharing unwillingly with her. ”So, what are you doing here?”

”Uh?” Says eloquently the taller one receiving a loud laugh from the other.

”Shouldn't you be looking for your man to tell him how much you want to suck his face?” Tom felt how his face erupted again in a furious blush. ”Take that door and walk until the end of the hallway. You can't miss it.” Says the girl winking at him and giving him a push to the door she was referring behind the coffee bar at her left.

*******

As they exited the stage letting the next performer take their place, the two friends took a little turn to arrive at the deserted small staff room that only had a table, a couple of chairs and a pantry with a coffee machine on top. The male had to sit down. He didn't notice until that moment that his legs felt like noodles. ”Oh, my lord! You were so cool, Marco! I knew you could do it!” Said the hyper girl now standing in front of him to take the guitar from the other and place it on an adjacent wall by their side. ”Did you see how everybody loved you?! I told you you were going to be a hit!” Squealed the blonde girl giving him another big hug now that there was nothing preventing her to do it properly. He heard his friend laughing while returning the gesture but got worried when she felt something wet on her shoulder. ”Marco?! What is it?!” Asked the shorter one using her scarf to try to dry his friend's tears.

”Star… I can't believe I did it…” His voice small and the adrenaline he felt before was draining quickly from his body. Her friend smiled at him again, this time softer and full of pride for the brunette. ”What's going to happen now? I can't just go back to how things were before now…” Everything seems so uncertain for him. The fear starting to settle inside of him like wildfire. They heard the other entrance of the room opening behind Marco’s back. By the smile rapidly forming in his friend’s face in front of him, he knew exactly who it was.

”Well, pretty boys! I have to go back out there to keep the party going.” Singsonged the cheery girl taking her scarf back and started to walk to the door where they previously entered the room before. She opened it and sent kisses to their direction before exiting the place closing it behind her. She gave herself a pat on her back and continued her journey to the place where her attention was needed.

*******

Tom felt breathless and had to stay a moment just looking at the door in front of him. Taking a well-needed breath, he opened it finding two figures on the center of the small room. One of them being the person he was looking for. He watched that the other was saying something to them but couldn't focus on her. His brain not processing anything anymore. As the blonde left the room he took another step and closed the door behind him directing his attention to the other men in the room.

They could hear the noise of the audience applauding another performer muffled by the thick walls. Marco felt as his body was suddenly made of stone and his heart was dangerously trying to escape from his chest. He heard slow but intent steps getting closer to him and a new set of tears left his treacherous eyes. Marco closes his eyes tightly lifting one of his hands to try to get rid of them.

”Marco, why are you crying?” His best friend asked kneeling in his front giving him a worried gaze. He felt the other take his lifted hand preventing it for the brunette to hide. Sighing he opened his eyes founding the taller one looking at him as he was afraid he might break at any moment. This made him let out a short laugh, feeling silly.

”Sorry.” The worry in the other features turned into something akin to annoyance which in turn frightened him. He was opening his mouth again when he saw how the other straightened his bac to match their heights so their faces were in front of each other and placing his free hand on the shorter one’s cheek. He let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding and looked something in the other’s eyes that surprised him.

”I'm the one that should be saying that, Marco...” Tom’s gaze traveled around his friend entire face like he was looking at him for the first time. ”You already said what you had to say. Now it's my turn.” The pink-haired men connected their sights once more. ”I'm sorry.” He paused. ”I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner that I've been in love with you since we met.” At the surprised look in the other’s face, he traced his jawline feeling the roughness of the beginning of a stubble. ”And I don't mean… When we first met. That was… Unfriendly, to say the least.” Tom letting out an awkward laugh and Marco smiling softly. ”But, when I actually met you. When we started to talk and share and spend time together… I just knew I never wanted to be apart from you ever again.” This was said with such conviction and sincerity the brunette felt like crying again. Like he was in a dream. ”At the time I was too stupid to understand what that feeling was and I just associated it to friendship, since I never really had one before.”

”Marco, you definitely are my best friend. But you are also the one that stole my heart.” He could see how new tears were emerging from the one in front of him and move closer to kiss just above his eyebrow. ”I was so afraid you might found out about it. I had to keep as much distance from you as you would let me.” He intertwined their finger and moved his other hand to the back of Marco’s head feeling his soft hair between his fingers while leaning his chin on the others shoulder. ”I started dating people trying to find a connection. Frightened that if I showed you too much I might lose you.”

The shorter one squeezed their grasp and used his free hand to the others shoulder to make a little bit of distance between them to look into his partner eyes. After sharing a watery smile he spoke. ”You are so dumb.” The playful tone clear in this voice, but also a bit of exasperation. They laughed shortly but with contentment.

”I know.” Says the older standing up since his legs were starting to feel numb. He pulled the other to do the same placing his now free hand on the small of his back. ”May I kiss you?” Asked the taller one moving closer to join their foreheads together with an intense look that almost looked hungry.

The other laughed quietly. ”I'm going to be really mad if you don't.” He says unlocking their hands to hug him around his neck and raising himself a little to make it easier for them to join. He didn't wait much longer as the pink-haired one made a small humming noise before pushing their lips together softly. Tilting his head to the side to fit better against each other.

They moved slowly enjoying the moment both of them have been waiting for. Tom felt electricity and fire at the first touch of their lips. His legs wanting to give up. Luckily he had the grip on the other's body to steady himself. His free hand traveling up the brunette’s back to keep him close. Almost afraid he might lose him or wake up from a dream suddenly.

The shorter one was the first to pull back after a minute to look at the other enjoying the confusion in his best friend’s face. He took a moment to appreciate his flushed skin. His brown eyes that look almost red under the sun. The freckles like constellation on his cheeks, nose, forehead, and neck that he knew made him feel self-conscious when they were younger. The makeup that he wears so confident every day even when he doesn't need to leave the house. His pink hair that is starting to show his natural ginger color at the roots. ”Hey.” Those rosy lips said to him, making him smile a little broader. ”What is it?” The curiosity present on his smooth voice.

”Just thinking.” Was his response starting to play with the short hair on the other’s nape. At the arched brow and the small quirk on the corners of his lips, he decided end his suffering for a real answer. ”How lucky I am.” He heard the instant laugh noticing a little embarrassment in it and observed how that blush grew a little more reaching the top of his pierced ears.

”That's so cheesy!” His laugh getting louder and louder by the second.

”I know you are a sucker for that.” Came back the younger one, infected by the other and letting out his own guffaw.

”Oh, my God! Why did I have to fall in love with my best friend?!” The taller one couldn't stop, almost doubling over by the amusing banter between them. Taking a few steps against the other to push him to the table behind him. ”What was I thinking?” Asked a little breathless trying to calm down with little success.

”You weren't. Sorry.” He sat down on the edge of the furniture pulling the other by the neck starting to kiss his face in a random pattern, trying to reach every spot in it.

Putting a hand in the middle of the younger’s back the other pushed him a little more to also kiss him were his lips landed still laughing, but a little calmer.

They definitely looked like a pair of mad men.

”I love you, Marco Diaz.” Was whispered against the shorter one’s ear, making him let a pleased whimper out.

”I love you, Tom Lucitor.” Was his response before kissing the tip of his nose connecting their gazes again.

[Later that night they were found making out in that table by a pair of amused girls and the parents of the younger. One of the first ones with a cellphone on her hand.]

#tomco #tomarco #marco diaz #tom lucitor #fanfiction #fluff #some angst #like just a little #love confessions #janstar #matchmaker star butterfly #send help #please

[crazy-rich-sorceresses]

𝕸𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖈 𝕷𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖘

𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝓁𝒶𝒷 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 @𝒶𝓎𝓏𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 @𝓅𝓊𝓃𝓀𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝟣𝟤𝟥

It was barely two weeks into the semester, and Jessie already wanted to drop out and go back to computer science.

Because like, really. She was a frickin’ programmer, not a magical sorceress person. Jessie had barely understood what the headmistress had told her that night she randomly appeared in her apartment, and now she was just. At the lady’s school. And probably failing every single one of her classes????

Well, besides the mandatory Chinese class. And the only reason she wasn’t failing that was because her parents forced her to go to weekend Chinese school until she was like fifteen.

After her last class of the day, Jessie found the cute little cafe that was already her favorite, bought herself an overpriced bubble tea, and set up camp outside, because it was nice out. The one good thing about this entire thing, Jessie thought, was the weather. It would be practically balmy in December.

Jessie skimmed over the passage in her Intro to Elemental Magic textbook for the twentieth time. Stuff about elemental energies, directing magic with the force of her will, whatever. Holy fuck. Jessie wasn’t usually the most hands-on of people, but all this reading and trying to understand the conceptual basis and everything-this was worse than that theoretical physics class she’d taken as a sophomore, when she still thought she was going to be a physics double major (and thank God she’d dropped that shit before her junior year).

Nope. This just didn’t make any damn sense. Coding, Jessie could do. Math, Jessie could do. Anything that was freaking logical, Jessie could do. But she couldn’t seem to find any of the logic in this stuff. She still wasn’t even convinced that she had magic herself, truth be told. Sure, she’d sensed it and whatnot before, but she’d never actually done anything with it. Directed it, made it bend to her instructions, whatever you wanted to call it. None of that.

Sighing, Jessie leaned back in her chair and drank some bubble tea. I wonder what the headmistress would say if I tried to leave? She mused to herself, idly. Would she put a curse on my family or something? Jesus fucking Christ.

Achara didn’t need more plants. But sometimes Ophelia liked a change of scenery. And Sasha needed help coming out of her shell. A new pot could do that for her. Also, the shop-keeper had Achara’s number and sent her photos every time there was a new collection put on the shelves.

She needed new planters like she needed another coffee mug.

But, Achara had the money. Nobody would notice if the majority of her spending in a month went to little bits and bobs.

I’m only buying two things today. Who was she trying to kid? There was no way she was putting back the new elephant planter. It was too cute to put down. But the porcupine already had a name and Achara really really wanted the new Cherry Blossom themed mug to.

By the time the cute little cuckoo clock struck 4 P.M. Achara was exiting the little shop with three new planters, a new amethyst crystal, and a cherry blossom mug. She could feel Bella laughing at her back but every time she turned to look at her bodyguard, Bella’s face was a stoic mask, well practiced in scaring danger away with merely a glare.

“Can we get a coffee Bella? I know you like the Snickerdoodle Coffee they make here?” the woman in question sighed but nodded silently. The only reason she ever put up with all the coffee trips was because her addiction was just as bad as her charge. “But none of that extra large business. You’re having dinner with an uncle tonight and you can’t be buzzed and needing to pee every five minutes.” Achara pouted slightly but knew when to pick and choose her battles. “Fabulous. Can you just get me a black coffee? I don’t have the patience to look through the flavour book.”

Achara very rarely went into small shops like the cafe if she wasn’t planning on staying for a while. To little space and not enough patience for Bella to do a security check lead to Achara typically sitting at the corner most table to await her drink.

It was just what she was planning to do when she glanced down at the table she was passing on the way to the corner and spotted the Intro Elemental magic textbook. She followed the hands all the way up to the face attached to the body that owned the book. “Jessie, right?”

Jessie was still stuck on the same page when she heard someone call her name. She looked up to find one of Lyra’s friends glancing down at her.

Pushing her textbook aside for a moment, Jessie nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re Chara, right?”

Jessie definitely remembered her. Lyra had invited Jessie to a party last Saturday, and then introduced her to Chara. She and Chara had been forced to help an extremely drunk Lyra back to her dorm room. Good times.

She nodded her head slightly, not wanting the headband she had paired with her outfit for the day to slide. “Achara actually but most people call me Chara. You can to! I take it you’re in Intro Elemental? Is it a hard class?”

At Chara’s question, Jessie let out a soft chuckle, running a hand through her hair and giving her a rueful smile. “Well, I dunno. The other people in the class seem like they’re doing fine, and I’ve heard that they don’t do weed-out classes here. But I’m pretty new to this whole magic thing, so…” Jessie trailed off and shrugged. “I’m pretty sure I should be in, like, magical elementary school or something,” she said, a wry grin on her face.

Achara let out a small laugh. “I wouldn’t know what they teach in Magical Elementary school, if one exists. Most people I’ve talked to had private tutors. But then again, if what I’ve heard is true, you never really had that opportunity right?” Without asking, Achara pulled out the seat across from Jessie and delicately sat down, Birkin safely placed on her lap.

What she’s ‘heard’ about me? Does that mean...are there rumors about me? That’s weird, thought Jessie. She had always been a pretty lowkey kind of person, and to be perfectly honest, she really didn’t care about stupid drama. So, yeah-being gossiped about behind her back was a bit of a new experience, to say the least.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Jessie was super boring by non-magical standards, but she guessed that being a 22-year-old first year at magical college was pretty different. And there was also the fact that she hadn’t even known that magic existed until like five months ago???

And oh yeah-private tutors? Private fucking tutors? Jesus Christ. Sometimes, Jessie forgot that these people probably spent more on a weekend getaway than Jessie had spent during her four years at UMBC as an undergraduate student.

Jessie nodded in response to Chara’s question. “Uh, yeah. I didn’t even know that magic was a thing until like, five months ago. Last April.” She ran a hand through her hair, laughing. “I’ve never done any of this before.”

“Oh Elemental Magic is one of my favorites. I can help if you want! I learned at one point so I’m definitely qualified to teach it to you. And don’t worry about where you were when you started. No one has time for that. In case you couldn’t tell, a lot of the girls here have their lives oriented toward the future.” Myself included. “What’s the part you’re struggling with?” Achara could help with most areas of elemental magic, just not Fire. Please don’t say Fire.

Jessie glanced at the other sorceresses. “That would be...that would actually be awesome,” she replied. “And I guess, just everything in general. This textbook is telling me that I need to like, feel the magical energy in each of the elements or something. But I literally have nothing.” She made a vague gesture. “I’ve tried, and I can’t get anything out of water or earth itself or whatever. Only when an object already has spells on it. But like, when I run my hand under plain old water or something-nothing.”

Achara glanced away from her new companion as Bella made her way outside with her desired coffee. “Bella you goddess. Jessie this is one of my security guards, Bella. Bella this is my new friend Jessie. I’m going to work with her on some classwork for a little bit. Just let me know when we have to leave.”

Bella’s eyebrows shot up in question but, Achara’s bag stayed firmly in her left hand. The signal remained all clear and with a silent nod, Bella sat herself at the table next to her protectee.

“Anyways, the first thing to remember is that it’s not all about feelings. The professors like to focus on getting in touch with that aspect and if you’ve had some magical experience then that usually works. It’s about what you want out of what you’re trying to control. Yin and Yang have an application in all areas of magic. If you’re taking the molecules of the water and changing their pattern…” a small ball rose from Achara’s coffee cup, “you have to picture yourself moving them into that desired form. It’s not going to happen from just feeling the magical energy. You have to be active to.”

Huh. Jessie listened intently to Chara’s explanation, watching her manipulate the coffee. Picture myself moving the molecules into the desired form? I can...try, I guess?

Jessie set her own drink on the table and tentatively stretched her hand out towards it, flexing her fingers slightly before concentrating. Okay, so she had to picture the water molecules. Easy enough, right? She’d taken chem before. Her high school teachers and college professors all loved those little sculpture thingies that showed the bonds between the atoms. She knew what water was; two molecules of hydrogen, one molecule of oxygen.

Right. Simple enough. She could do this.

Jessie focused on the elemental energies that she was supposed to be able to feel. She did as Chara had said, pictured the molecules in the drink. She wasn’t sure if she was doing it correctly, since she couldn’t sense the magical energy, the way she had done so before with charmed objects, but nevertheless she directed all her thoughts to creating a small ball of milk tea, the way Chara had done with her coffee.

On the first try, there was nothing. The second and third weren’t great, either. But on the fourth try, Jessie saw the tea ripple, slightly, and on the fifth, she managed to push some of it to the side of the cup. She tried it again-yes, there it was, all those molecules of hydrogen and oxygen and whatnot (there was a ton of glucose and/or fructose in there, Jessie imagined) shifting and rippling, bending to her will.

“Holy shit,” Jessie said out loud, breathless. “I just did that.”

Achara clapped delightedly. “You did that! I was going to suggest you maybe use my coffee as their are a lot less different aspects to black coffee than bubble tea but you did it! The thing is, with all of the other aspects of your drink you don’t have enough practice to hold it for long.” Achara laid out two cloth napkins over her bag, and one over her blouse. She leaned over and spread one out on Jessie before continuing. “So in order to avoid making it splash you have to picture multiple little balls separating…”

Achara didn’t have enough time to finish explaining. Slowly but surely she could see the ball sinking.

Jessie watched as Chara demonstrated, doing her best to imitate the technique. She was pretty sure that everything she was doing was sloppy and definitely not super clean, but after an entire summer of grappling with this stuff (thanks to the headmistress’ insistence that she at least try to familiarize herself with the basics before classes started), Jessie was grateful for what she could get.

Jessie found that visualizing the chemistry behind it all was very helpful. “How did you learn this stuff?” she asked during a lull in the action. “I mean, I dunno, is it just intuitive to magical people or something? Because I’m definitely going to be staying up all night Googling molecular structures and stuff.” She paused, grimacing. “And I thought that I was done with that stuff after I passed two semesters of chem lab in college,” she said dryly.

Achara smiled slightly. “Magic has its own signature for everything. Everyone can read and interpret that signature in different ways. I learned to read the signatures as the fact that the relationship between a sorceress and magic is a partnership. I think about how I’m pushing the elements or the magic itself to do the job or to change shape. But the magic needs the push. I guess in less fancy words I view the relationship as give and take, push and pull. It’s very western but it’s how my mother learned and she’s very talented.” Achara paused to take a sip of her coffee only to look down at the empty cup in disappointment.

Jessie rolled Chara’s words over in her head, contemplating what she had said. It sort of made sense, she guessed, but these kinds of things were always harder in practice. “Hmm. That’s interesting,” Jessie mused out loud. “Thanks for helping me with this, by the way. I’ve been trying to figure this stuff out all summer.”

“It’s going to take more than a summer to learn all different types of magic. Plus water is considered to be the most malleable of the elements.” Bella cleared her throat from her spot at the table next to the two students. When Achara glanced in her direction, Bella tapped her wrist slightly. “I believe that I have to get going but please feel free to ask for help. I’m almost always around. I’m in one of the suites near Lyra so she can point you in my direction.” With that, Achara removed the napkins from her bag and stood up. “It was so nice to see you again Jessie!” And then Achara turned around and headed over to the waiting SUV. Bella’s counterpart, Fei, opened the door for her and she slid in elegantly. Within moments, the vehicle had pulled away from the curb and Achara was gone.

After Chara left, Jessie went back to her reading, though she could have sworn that she could still feel the magic tingling inside her.

#art #writing #achara #chara #jessie #lyra

[talievegasvip]

I went back to Vegas!!!

So it's been 2 weeks since my return to Vegas and it was a blast. I learned that sometimes I just like playing things by ear.  I also learned that I just don't have the energy I used to have in terms of rushing to VIP reservations, and that’s okay. 

We arrived after 4 hours on the road and decided to delay our strip club adventure for the next night.  We checked into the Silver Sevens Hotel and Casino which is located just off the strip behind Bally’s Hotel.  We check into our room and make a mad dash toward the ice machine and fill up the bucket and the four plastic cups that came with the room.  We placed the bottles and mixers in the sink and poured the ice in over them to chill.  We pre-gamed in our room then decide to make our way to The Cromwell which was up at the corner to see what was left of the night.  Two of us were on a desperate search for Fat Tuesday!  So we make our way through The Cromwell, through The Linq, through Harrah’s and Casino Royale and finally we spot the sign that points us to Fat Tuesday and we bolted!  Only to find that we were an hour late. We learned the hard way that the Fat Tuesdays locations on the strip typically close between 1 am and 3 am.

So if you are Fat Tuesdays fanatics as well, to spare you any disappointment here are the Las Vegas Fat Tuesday locations and their hours of operation per Google as follows:   

The Miracle Mile Shops @ Planet Hollywood | 10 AM - 3 AM   

MGM Grand | 10 AM - 1 AM   

The Shoppes @ Mandalay Place | 10 AM - 1 AM   

The Grand Canal Shoppes @ Casino Royale | 10 AM - 2 AM   

The Stratosphere | 10 AM - 2 AM   

The Forum Shops @ Caesars | 10 AM - 11:30 PM

After that, we were pretty hungry and we wandered the strip for a bit and enjoyed some slots and delicious Bloody Mary's at The Linq!  I highly recommend you sit down at the slots for a while at The Linq and order yourself a Bloody Mary and your taste buds will thank you. So savory! Do make sure you tip the fabulous waitress as well!

Another discovery I made was how nice it is to get done up just a bit, and enjoy some slot machines after a long road trip into Vegas.  There's music playing, you're winning money and you're being served drinks at the slots.  I felt very happy to be away from reality and back at my second home.  My girlfriends had smiles on their faces while they drank their cares away and enjoyed the present moment to the fullest.  That's where Vegas can take you if you let it. You just have to break your Vegas hiatus like I did and fucking get there!  You deserve to have a break from the grind and in fact, that kind of self-care is so necessary to your overall mental health and happiness. 

It was 5 am and we decide to head back to our hotel at Silver Sevens Casino so we could rest for our day club reservations in several hours.  However, we didn't wake up in time and felt like we didn't want to rush to get there by 2pm. It was 1pm by the time we all woke up and we wanted to take our time with our day.  We decided to take it easy this trip and just book all of our reservations directly with the venues in the future. We can go hard next time we come back (and save up even more to get it done the right way).  It might also be best to stay at the hotel where activity reservations take place to save time and energy. Pool parties typically go on through the evening so we weren’t in the mood to follow the rules and get in our guest list line by 2pm so we decided to go with the flow and ditch our plans. 

You don't have to stress about time if you are open to partying off the beaten path. Silver Sevens has a pool with cabanas on a first come first serve basis. So VIP status is still possible.  We mostly enjoyed ourselves by taking in what our hotel had to offer and I think I’m going to make that a new habit when I visit Vegas.  Every hotel offers their own version of escape so why not book all my activities within the hotel of my stay.  Which brings me to the buffet! 

Years ago I heard that the buffet at Silver Sevens Casino is under-rated.  I doubted it but through a luck of the draw we got to experience it and the buffet was SO FUCKING GOOD! Talk about home cooked meals that stuffed our bellies up beautifully and excited our taste buds! I'm talking some fire mac and cheese that I'm still drooling about in my dreams; fried ravioli; fried chicken, seafood and the whole shebang!  Never underestimate off-strip hotels and what they have to offer even down to customer service.  A huge shout out to the wonderful staff including hotel security for taking care of us.  This past trip bonded me and my friends and I look back on it fondly. More thoughts to come including enjoying Vegas in the fall.

*

PS - I noticed something else as well.  The group of people I went with this time, were a different breed.  For me, that's a good thing. It really matters who you go to Vegas with.  Make sure your gut is telling you it’s a go when it comes to who you travel with.  The company you keep can really affect your experience. There's more to life than VIP experiences in Vegas.  With my friends it was a different kind of VIP state of mind.  It was very spiritual and I was reminded that this journey on life just might be more magical than it appears to be.  In Vegas we had some deep heart to heart moments while the sun came up.  Which is why we decided to stay up so early in our rooms the first night after walking the strip briefly to return to our rooms and enjoy deep introspective conversations. I gave a tarot reading to one of my friends for the first time.  Not only did it touch her, but part of the message was intended for me.  The reminder: keep living. While you're here, do what you can. Soak up what life has to offer and create your own path while here.  Get back in the driver's seat of your life.  Don't just work hard on yourself internally but play hard and let that stress fly free!  We need places like Vegas to remind us of our own simplistic nature as well as our ability to transform our own lives.  A road trip is not just a good time but a soul time too.  Especially in Vegas. I think we all left feeling like a VIP. 

#returntovegas #roadtrip #soultrip #silversevenscasino #silversevenscasinobuffet #thelinqlasvegas #thecromwelllasvegas #casinoroyale #bloodymarys #fattuesdayslasvegas #vegasenthusiastblog #talievegasvip #tarotreadinginvegas #waking up in vegas #wakingupinvegas