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obx-paradise · 3 months

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What Happened To You?

Summary: You and Rafe have always been close but when you both get involved in the chase for the gold on opposing teams, some things change

Pairing: Rafe x Adopted sibling!reader; JJ x Cameron!reader (if you squint)

Warnings: Violence, Manipulation, Basically all of the shows warnings

Word Count: 2.7k

—

Growing up as a Cameron was easy. You got everything handed to you on a silver platter, as did all the other Cameron siblings.

Your mom and dad weren’t sure if they were going to be able to have any more children after Sarah came along so they decided to adopt since they always wanted a minimum of 3 children.

It came as a shock when they found out that she was pregnant with another baby, Wheezie.

That’s how they ended up with you as a part of their family.

Growing up, you had a strong bond with Rafe. Your mom would tell you that he had always loved you, from the first time he saw you at 3 years old he wanted to help his mom take care of you. She said it was the same way with Sarah but as you got older you saw that it wasn’t.

Rafe never treated you and Sarah the same. He was gentle with you, not to say he wasn't with Sarah, he just wasn’t as kind. It was a different kind of relationship.

Although being a Cameron had its benefits, you didn’t want your last name to define you. You weren’t some rich stuck-up asshole who uses their money to gain power. You were a kind-spirited, humble person.

Over the years, you had been taught that the people who had less than you were less than you. You grew out of that once you met the one person who would change that whole perspective.

—

You had been assigned an experiment in school that day and you had to pick a location and do a good deed.

What better place to go than the cut.

You were walking from house to house, knocking on doors, asking if anyone needed help with anything. Most people, knowing who you were, said yes but unfortunately the jobs were too big for a 13-year-old so you weren't able to do them.

Finally, you came up to a house that didn’t look to be in the best condition. The door opened and standing there was a boy. You had seen him around Figure Eight doing odd jobs here and there. His name was JJ. He was cute. He looked like he was as old as you, 13 maybe 14 years old. No older than that.

You began to recite the same speech you had given to everyone who opened their door for you. It’s engraved in your brain at this point. You were tired and if he refused then you would probably go home and try again another day.

“Hi! My name is Y/n. I’m doing an experiment for a school project where I find someone who needs help with anything around their home, and I do it for them. Is there anything I can help you with today?”

Rather than accepting your offer, he said, “Do I look like I need help?”

As confused as you were you answered with, “Um… yeah kinda. It could be anything like washing your car, cutting your grass or cleaning your porch. Anything like that.”

You were desperate for him to say yes to anything you had just suggested. You needed an A on this project considering you were close to failing the class.

It was the only class you had a C in and you needed to pass, or your dad would sit you down and talk about how doing the best you can is all he could ever want but you know that he wants you to be the best.

“You’re a kook?” he asked you as he stepped out on the porch and closed the door behind him

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t see how that matters though”

“It matters because we don’t take charity” He seemed very set on his answer

“Well, it’s not –” You were cut off by the sound of glass breaking coming from inside his house, then by the door flying open. You immediately saw JJ freeze and tense up at the sound of the man's voice.

“JJ! Boy, what are you doing out here!? Get your ass inside!”

JJ looked at you with what looked like fear in his eyes. “You need to get out of here. Now.”

You went to question why but before you could, the man, who you assumed was his dad, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him inside. Looking back at you he yelled one last “Go!” before the door was shut behind him. Leaving you standing on his porch, worried, thinking about him.

—

Ever since then, you visited him almost every day because you were worried about him. Over time you both became good friends then, eventually, best friends.

When he introduced you to the rest of the pogues you felt a sense of comfort that you had never felt while you were around your other friends.

You knew that this was going to be your new normal. Hanging out on the cut with your best friends, with not a care in the world.

You have been shielded your whole life and although you like the safety of it all, you wanted some excitement.

So when you got involved in everything with the Royal Merchant and the gold you realized that you had gotten what you wished for. Later on, you found out that Sarah had also gotten involved along with the shock of her dating John B.

You and Sarah had a good but complicated relationship. She’s your sister and you love her but you couldn’t help but be jealous of her at times. But not always.

She had all the attention on her at all times, she was the “kook princess” as many people put it. Everyone loved her, including Ward. It was no secret that she was his favorite and always will be.

That was probably why you have always been closer to Rafe. Something was holding you back from having a full relationship with your sister.

But standing here in front of Rafe, you have a feeling that some things are about to change.

—

“You jumped him, Rafe!” You just found out that Rafe and Topper, but mostly Rafe, had jumped Pope on the golf course earlier that day.

You couldn’t believe him. You knew he hated pogues but you could’ve never imagined your brother would beat up your friend.

“Yeah, I jumped him, Y/n. They pulled a gun on Top!” You could tell that he was angry. Maybe not at you, but at the situation.

“Pope didn’t do anything. Topper was drowning John B! What else would’ve made him stop?!”

“Why are you defending them? Why is it okay for them to pull out guns on us?” He was definitely using up all of his patience on you. However much he had.

You let out a sigh “It’s not okay, Rafe. But it’s also not okay for you to do what you did. Can you please, just, not do it again? For me?”

You were really hoping he’d agree to stop hurting your friends. With everything going on you didn't need him hurting anyone.

“Fine, but if they cross me, I won’t hesitate to beat their asses.” With that, he walked away.

—

As time went on, things kept getting worse and worse with the chase for the gold. Turns out all the gold was on land, in Parcel 9. Finding it was surprisingly easy and once you guys had a couple of pieces you decided to melt it and pawn it off.

The lady at the counter had told JJ that she would give him the money but she didn’t have that much cash in the shop so she had to send you all to the “warehouse” that was practically in the middle of nowhere.

After a couple minutes of driving, a cop pulled you guys over.

“Cops? Out here?” Kie had said

“God! Are you kidding me? What did we do?”

As the cop got out of the car you quickly realized that the “cop” was not a cop at all. The man had walked up to John B’s window and shoved a gun in his face, yelling at him to get out of the car.

When you were walking out of the Twinkie, the guy pointed the gun at your face and yelled at you to lie in the ditch, threatening to shoot you. JJ came to your defense and started yelling back at the man, but you knew if you didn’t stop him, he would get shot.

“JJ, stop it!” You yelled in hopes that it would get him to stop provoking the only person with a gun.

Eventually, he found what he wanted and went back to his car, ready to drive off, when John B attacked him from the inside. Once he was down, you took off his mask and recognized him as Barry. The local drug dealer.

“I know this piece of shit! He sells coke to my dad.” JJ said glaring at Barry on the ground

“Probably knows my brother,” Sarah said with disgust

It was no secret that Rafe took drugs. You had never seen him doing them but everyone knew.

JJ bent down, grabbed Barry’s ID, and checked his address. He decided that you all would go to Barry’s house.

Unfortunately, JJ’s “plan” had gotten you in trouble with your brother.

—

You were walking through town, minding your business, when you heard a motorbike coming up behind you. You turned around to find Rafe on his bike, stopping beside you.

“Hey,” You said as you stopped walking

“So you’re going around robbing drug dealers now?!” He sounded angry at you, which was unusual because of the relationship you both have with each other. Although, recently you have been drifting apart.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t rob anyone.” You played it off as if you had no clue what he was talking about.

“Oh no, you’re right, it was your pouge boyfriend! That asshole is dragging you into shit you don't need to be in!”

“Don’t talk about my friend that way. JJ is not my boyfriend, and he didn’t steal anything from anyone.”

You didn’t know what Rafe would do if you admitted the truth. If he would go after your friend. You didn't want anything to happen to JJ if Rafe decided to go through with anything.

“You’re the good one, Y/n! Sarah can go off the rails, your “friends” can rob people and shit like that but you…you’re supposed to be the sane one.” He said as he walked toward you, getting in your face.

“I don’t know what you want from me, Rafe.” Once again you were trying to push the issue aside. You didn’t want him to get aggressive with you as he tends to get with others.

“I…I want you to stop hanging around them. I want you to be my sister again” He spoke softer, having calmed down a bit.

“I’m still your sister, it’s just that the stuff you do doesn’t help the situation we’re in and it hurts to know that you would willingly do something to hurt me or the people I care about.”

“I would never do anything to hurt you” You would later come to find out that his statement wasn’t true but in the moment you believed him.

—

When Sarah walked into your room one night and told you that Rafe shot Peterkin, you refused to believe her. You didn’t want it to be true.

“What’s happening, Sarah?” You said while pacing the room “This shit is crazy, I don’t know if I can do this anymore”

“I know, but I’ve told you, he’s psychotic. He’s going crazy and Dad is defending him. Can you believe that?”

You knew Ward would protect Rafe no matter what.

“I can actually. He would protect any of us if we did something like that.”

—

All of these events led up to where you are right now. You were with JJ getting the Phantom for John B so he could get off the island.

While JJ was going on and on about the boat, you heard a motorbike pull up. Assuming it was Pope, you both ran over to the other side of the boat hanger only to find Rafe and Barry walking towards you.

You haven’t seen Rafe in a few days but you could tell that he did not look good.

“Rafe, what are you doing here? You need to get out of here. Please” You were panicking. Especially with Barry also being there, it made it worse.

“See, don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road,” Barry said, more like yelled, while pulling out a gun and pointing it at JJ “I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money”

As Barry started swinging at JJ you pleaded with Rafe, asking him to stop them

“Rafe, please get him to stop. I’m begging you. Please”

“This isn’t about you, Y/n.” He said walking toward you “Where’s John B?”

“I don't know!”

“Hey! Don’t fucking lie to me! Where is he?” He was now completely in your space. Walking towards you while you’re walking backward until he has cornered you.

Instead of answering his question, you said, “Sarah told me what you did,”

“What? What did I do?”

“You murdered Peterkin” you muttered considering his closeness.

As soon as you uttered those words, Rafe did something you never thought he would do. He wrapped his hands around your neck strangling you while doing so.

“Don't you ever say those fucking words again”

“Rafe!”

“Understand?”

You had begun crying at this point, hyperventilating, trying to take in as much air as you could before you were cut off completely.

“Rafe…it’s me, it’s your sister, please…”

You looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but anger. It was like he wasn’t conscious of his actions.

As soon as you felt like you were about to faint, you heard a muffled voice yell “Don't touch her!” from behind Rafe, then a second later, Rafe’s hands let go of your neck, causing you to start coughing, and gasping for air immediately.

You looked up and saw Pope punching and kicking Rafe and while Rafe did fight back, Pope’s anger made him stronger.

Within the same minute, JJ had managed to overpower Barry and the gun slipped out of his hand.

“Y/n! Kick it!” and so you did but when you turned around you saw Pope strangling Rafe with some type of hose that had been lying in a pile of equipment.

“Pope. Okay, Pope.” You weren’t freaking out as much as you should be, considering Pope could, very well, kill your brother right now.

“Pope, that's good! Stop!” He still wouldn’t stop

“Pope, that's too much!” You yelled out while JJ followed with, “Dude, come on! Stop! Stop, dude!”

You were starting to wonder if Pope would ever go that far but after you and JJ yelling a bit longer, Pope finally let go. Letting Rafe fall to the ground, face bloodied, and hyperventilating.

The same position you were in a couple of minutes ago, minus the blood. With him on the floor and Barry knocked out you were able to get a good look at him. You could still see the anger in his eyes as he looked up at you.

You couldn’t help but wonder where it all went wrong. Was it the drugs, the gold, or has it been this way for a while and you were just noticing it now?

“What happened to you?” You whispered with tears in your eyes as he lay there saying nothing back, so you continued “What happened to my brother who said he would never hurt me or put me in danger?”

With that you walked away, joining JJ and Pope who had already hooked up the boat to the back of the truck.

“You good?” JJ asked when you entered the car, “Yeah, let’s go”

With that, you both drove off without looking back.

Knowing that you would never let yourself wonder “What happened?” ever again.

—

A/n: First post is done! I really hope you all like it. Please let me know if i could improve anything.

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron x sister!reader #jj maybank x reader angst #jj maybank #outer banks #obx pogues #obx #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron angst #rafe cameron blurb #rafe cameron x female reader #angst

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holylulusworld · 7 months

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One Summer Night - Kinktober 13

Summary: You meet a charismatic man at the farmer’s market.

Pairing: Cult!Leader Thor Odinson x fem!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: seduction, desire, smut, unprotected sex, needy reader, public sex/kinda public claiming, voyeurism

Square 3 filled for @anyfandomangstbingo: Square 3: Cult AU

Kink: Sex Cult

Kinktober vs Flufftober 2023

The first time you saw him he walked through a field of yellow wildflowers. He looked like he was out of this world. Chest bare, barefoot and his shaggy hair blowing freely in the wind.

He looked up at the blue sky, and let the sun kiss his skin.

For a moment you watched the man until more people joined him.

Mostly women who looked like they were hypnotized by his beauty, or something else. You didn’t know.

Eyes glued to the man you watched him run one hand over his naked chest while the other gently touched the flowers.

You dropped your gaze the moment his eyes found yours. He smiled and plugged a flower to tug it behind his ear.

It looked like he was watching you and your heart thundered in your chest. He walked toward you, as your feet felt like you were frozen to the ground.

The spell he held over you was broken when your aunt called your name and grabbed your arm.

“Y/N, don’t you ever get involved with that…hippie. He’s no good and means trouble. Everyone knows he’s the leader of a sex cult or shit.”

“Sex cult?” you glanced at the beautiful man standing only a few feet away from you. He smirked and studied your face as your aunt tried to drag you away. “Stay away from my niece. You won’t get her too!”

He raised his hands in surrender, making things worse for you. Your eyes dropped to his abs, leading you down to the prominent erection he didn’t even try to hide.

“Little wildflower, if you are ever free of that woman, come see me,” he spoke to you. You shuddered and clutched your hands to your sides.

It felt like his words went straight to your heart, running through your body to reach a much lower region…

“Y/A/N, it’s the farmer’s market, not an enemy base,” you rolled your eyes as your aunt scrunched up her nose. Unlike you, she never liked spending time at the farmer’s market. “How about I get everything we will need for the pie festival, and you can go home and rest?”

“My bench in the garden is waiting for me,” she considered your suggestion. Your aunt feels responsible for you, even though, you are an adult, and a grown woman.

“Alright,” you clapped your hands. “I didn’t come here to spend my vacation with you to sit around and do nothing. Let me handle this.”

“Don’t stay here too long,” your aunt said. “Uh-and don’t talk to strangers. If that bastard shows up, ignore him. Do not get too close to him. He comes here every summer, looking for God knows what.”

“Auntie,” you sighed but smiled at her. “I’m a grown woman, you know.”

“You’re still the little girl I raised,” she tutted and patted your cheek. “Stay out of trouble, young lady.”

You grinned. She won’t ever change, and you love her for it.

“Wildflower,” you felt his presence before you heard his voice call for you. The man in the wildflower field suddenly stood right in front of you.

That day, he was wearing an unbuttoned button-up shirt. He was still barefoot and looked like the hippie your aunt called him, but you’d call the shirt progress.

“Mr.,” frowning you realized you didn’t know his name. “Sorry, I don’t know your name,” feeling your cheeks heat up you let him take your hand to press a soft kiss to your knuckles.

That feeling overwhelmed you once again. This time it went straight to your lower half, making you soak your panties.

“Names are only...,” he cupped your chin to tilt your head, humming as your eyes fluttered shut, “for the people with no fantasy. You can call me anything you want to.”

“I prefer a name,” you murmured but allowed him to stroke your cheek with his knuckles. “Please…”

“Thor, little wildflower. That’s the name the immortals gave me when they created me to bring sun, love, and new life to this world.”

You giggled at his words. Your aunt was right. Thor did sound like the leader of some cult. But this didn’t stop you from dreaming of offering your body and soul to this man.

“My name is Y/N.”

“No. Your name is Sif, my Goddess and future mother of my children. We will bring love and hope to this rotten world, my little wildflower.”

“No…I’m Y/N.” You tried to open your eyes, but it was so hard to fight the warmth on your cheek from his hand.

“You are my fate,” he murmured as he dipped his head to press his lips to yours. Your eyes snapped open, and you wrapped your arms around his neck, almost pouncing on Thor to taste more of him. “Come with me and meet my companions. They can hardly wait to get to know you.”

“I can’t,” you whispered. “My aunt is waiting for me.” You looked up to Thor, the personalized sin. “She warned me to get involved with you.”

“Of course, she did,” he purred against your lips. “You’ll come to me, sooner than later. I’ve chosen you to become my mate for the coming eons…”

“Y/N, what’s wrong with you today?” Your aunt watched you poke the pie on your plate. “Are you not hungry? Do you want to go home?”

“Did you ever feel deeply for a person you just met?” You glanced at your aunt before dropping your eyes to your hands. “With your heart, body, and soul?”

“What did that man do to you?” She shook her head. “Please don’t tell me you fell for him too. He ruined so many girls. Every summer he comes over to our little town like a force of nature. He seduces women here and there only to disappear until the next summer.”

“He didn’t do a thing. We didn’t do a thing,” you spluttered. “I was wondering if you felt like this too when you were younger. He means trouble, so much I know. But I can’t help it. I’m drawn to him.”

You met Thor again only a few days later. This time he came to your aunt’s garden and talked you into following him to the wildflower field.

Walking next to him, fingertips touching the yellow wildflowers you tried not to think too much.

“Come with me. The moon is right,” he said, grabbing your hand to guide you toward a secret place. A spot you never set foot in before.

Thor led you toward a wild of pink orchids, protected by large oaks.

In the middle of the field stood a statue. It looked like a God. Its right arm stretched towards heaven, the other one holding a large hammer.

“Where are we?” you whispered as his companions stepped toward the statue. They all kneeled and placed a pink orchid to the statue’s feet, mumbling words you didn’t understand. “Thor, what are they doing?”

Your eyes grew wide when the women and men stripped each other bare. “Just watch my little wildflower. And if you are ready, we will join them.”

Gasping you had to watch them all gather around the statue. This time they didn’t pray. This time they start to chant a name and move their body to music only they seem to hear. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time how they chanted themselves into a trance-like status.

For a moment, it seemed like the statue smiled down at you. You blinked a few times to be sure you didn’t imagine things but its face remained stoic.

“What are they doing?”

“They call for me, my wildflower. They want us to unite to bring eternal summer, love, and fertility back to this town,” he wrapped his arms around you. “Give yourself to me.”

“Give myself to you.”

He started to sway to music you couldn’t hear, but your body moved on its own. You let him slide the straps of your dress down. It fell to the ground, but you didn’t care.

“You’re meant to be mine,” he whispered in your ear while guiding your body, making you dance with him. “You’re going to be mine forever.”

The people turned their attention toward you and Thor. They cheered him on as he slid your panties down and ripped your bra off of your chest.

“Look at my bride,” he shouted out a victory cry. “She’s going to be my mate.”

You felt like you were lost in limbo, his arms the only anchor keeping you in this world. He picked you up, carrying you toward the statue.

You’re not sure it happened, but the flowers seemed to form a bed. Thor placed you on the flowers and spread your legs.

You heard gasps and chants but all you could focus on was Thor taking off his clothes. He looked down at you, nodding in approval when you spread your legs.

His blue eyes seemed to sparkle when he laid with you. He took his rightful place between your thighs, claiming what he told you was his all along.

Thor sank into you, inch per glorious inch. He whispered gentle words, but his hands roughly pinned your wrist down, keeping you immobile as he started to move inside of you.

“All-father, watch me claim my bride,” he chanted while his hips mercilessly crashed into yours. You were writhing underneath him, crying at the intense pleasure he forced you to endure. “She’s my goddess. Give me your blessings.”

Lightning hit the ground right next to your head, but you didn’t care. Your body craved something more than survival.

“Thor,” you began to meet his thrusts, encouraging him to take you harder. “More…deeper…I’m yours.”

“Thor, our god.” The crowd began to chant. They kneeled next to you, watching you and Thor unite. “Give her your seed.”

Thor gripped your thighs, spreading you wider to watch his cock slide in and out of your dripping cunt. He growled like a feral animal.

“Have my seed, my little wildflower,” his features softened, and he released your wrist, allowing you to touch him. “Cum for me. I want to feel your pleasure.”

“Oh…I’m gonna cum,” your hands move to his back to hold tight onto Thor.

His warmth filled you, but he didn’t let up. Thor pushed into you, over and over again until you tightened around him.

Your eyes sparkled, and your skin began to glow. It felt like your body wasn’t yours any longer. Thor now owned it, but you didn’t mind.

“Watch my goddess transform into her true form.”

He slipped out of you, smiling down at your trembling body.

“All-father, give her your blessing,” he chanted as another lightning hit the ground next to you. You felt like you began to float, and maybe you did.

You still don’t know.

Blinding light covered your whole body and wrapped you in its warmth until you felt nothing but love.

You sank back down on the bed of pink orchids, eyes fluttering shut.

“Yes. All-father.” Thor chanted even harder. “Please allow me to make her mine completely...”

That’s how you became the goddess of fertility, ruling this world alongside your lover. Thor, God of love, thunder, and summer.

From that night on, you walked this world with your mate, bringing summer, love, and fertility to the people.

Tags in reblog.

#thor odinson #thor odinson au #anyfandomangstbingo #thor odinson x reader #thor odinson x you #sex cult au #smut #thor odinson smut #thor odinson x y/n #thor x reader #thor x you #kinktober vs flufftober 2023 #One Summer Night - Kinktober 13

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eddiemunsons80sbaby · 25 days

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Never Say Never

Chapter 18

Pairing: SingleDad!StevexReader

Summary: You are a 32 year old single mother, raising your seven year old son on your own. After being widowed at 30 and going out on awful dates with disgusting men for the past month, you have decided that you're giving up. You already had your great love. One person can't possibly get lucky enough to have two in their lifetime. But then your son starts playing baseball and the coach might just change your mind about that.

No posting schedule.

18+ only for eventual smut

Word Count: 7K

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Steve stood frozen as he took in the tears running down your cheeks, your knees sunk into the grass, your hand pressed next to the name carved into the stone.

Justin Keith Randall

Beloved Son, Husband, and Father

1963-1994

What in the hell was he doing? He’d intruded on your conversation with your dead husband. He’d cut right into what was obviously an emotional moment for you. He’d shattered this very private heartbreak for you, coming in like a baseball bat colliding with a window. Had he really thought that following you to the cemetery was a good idea?

“Steve? What…what are you doing here?” you asked, your brows meeting in the middle in confusion.

Good question. What was he doing here? After his chat with Nancy, he’d been so desperate to talk to you, to make things right, to apologize for being the jerk who’d walked away from you at the hospital and then hadn’t even bothered to check on you. When you weren't home and Lucas told him where you'd gone, he hadn’t even stopped to think through what he was about to do. Hadn’t even considered why following you there was a bad idea. He hadn’t even contemplated why you might be in a cemetery, whose grave you might be visiting. He’d just gotten in his car.

“I wanted to talk to you. I mean…” He gritted his teeth, hands coming to his hips, wincing at his own stupidity. Now he had to backpedal, get himself out of this, not appear to be the heartless jerk who hadn’t considered your feelings again. “I showed up at your house first but you weren’t there. Max was out with Eli practicing the skateboard and Lucas told me they were watching him because you’d gone to the cemetery. And so I came here…to talk to you…but now I’m thinking that was a really stupid idea. Obviously, this is not the place or the time. Clearly you wouldn’t want me to be here. I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry. Jesus, I’ll just…”

He turned to go but your voice, quavering and soft, saying his name, stopped him. You rose to your feet as he turned back to you, brushing your knees off of the dirt and grass that was clinging to your jeans.

Pushing your hair back off your shoulders, you faced him, and even in this state, broken and grieving, you were beautiful. The red, swollen eyes, the grass stained knees, the sadness etched into every facet of your face did not take away from how absolutely stunning this woman was. It took every ounce of self control he had not to pull you into his arms, to hold you until he could take all of that hurt away.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt. I should have known…when Lucas said you were at the cemetery…obviously you were here to see your husband. I feel like such a dick right now. I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry.”

“No. No. It’s okay,” you insisted, shaking your head.

Your arms wrapped around your stomach, that familiar gesture he’d seen both you and Eli use, as if you could hold all your broken parts in, as if you could keep them from spilling out into a messy pile on the floor. It gutted him to know you'd both known such devastation that you'd had to learn to compartmentalize it. You looked so fragile, as if the smallest pressure would shatter you, and he couldn’t stop himself this time. Steve stepped into you, not touching, terrified you would rebuff him, but feeling the ache in his chest ease a bit at just being close enough to do so if you wanted that.

“Are you alright?” he asked, worried that he was the cause of your tears and sadness. Had he ruined any shot he had with you? What kind of guy just disappeared on the girl he loved for four days after she’d been in the hospital? What kind of guy disappeared on the girl he loved for four days, period? What kind of guy didn’t even call to check in on you, knowing the struggles you dealt with on a daily basis?

Those pretty pink lips pressed together as you nodded, “Yeah. I’m alright. I was actually going to try to come talk to you when I was done here so I guess you saved me the ride.”

“Oh. You were?” Did that mean you'd been planning to come to fix things or end things? He wasn’t sure he wanted the answer but it was too late now. He would find out where he stood one way or the other.

“Yeah. Steve, I’m so sorry,” you cried, the tears falling from your eyes once again and all he wanted to do was stop them. He couldn’t bear to watch you shed another tear because of him.

“No, no…I’m the one who should be sorry.” His hands wrapped around your arms, giving in to the gnawing need to feel you, leaning down to catch your gaze. “I was such a jerk, honey, and I am so sorry. I just…I got scared. I got scared because I thought you didn’t want me. I thought you didn’t see a future with me.”

That little furrow appeared between your eyebrows again. “But I told you I did. I said forever. I used those exact words.”

“I know you did but when you had an attack after I talked about moving in together…well, I thought maybe you were rethinking everything. Maybe you weren’t seeing a future with me. Maybe being slapped in the face with the reality of what that meant, you didn’t want it anymore. I thought maybe you were going to end things and I…I was a coward. I didn’t want to give you the chance to do it so I didn’t give it to you. And I felt like I was the reason you wound up in the hospital in the first place. I swore I wouldn’t push you to do anything you weren’t ready for but there I was, pushing, just like I always do, and I didn’t want to cause you to have another attack. I don’t know. My brain was in a million places at once and I just took the coward’s way out and avoided you. Hell, I even sent Nancy to pick up Jeremiah so I wouldn’t run into you at the school.”

“Yeah, I noticed that.”

Steve’s arms pulled back, fingers running through his hair in agitation. This conversation was not going at all the way he’d planned. He’d thought it all out in the car, all the things he wanted to say to you, how to get you to understand. But now, standing in front of you, none of it was going the way he’d planned. His words were coming out a jumbled mess as his nerves took over, his fear that this wouldn’t work and you would simply walk away from him.

“Look…I have never felt like this before, okay? I’m thirty-two years old. I’ve dated a lot of women in my life.”

“Thanks for that reminder,” you muttered, crossing your arms, kicking the grass with the toe of your shoe, your eyes downward.

“No. That’s not…my point is, I’ve never had a woman make me feel the way I do when I’m with you. I wish I could explain it but I don’t even have words for it. You make me crazy, but like, in the best way possible. You make me want to be the best version of myself. It’s something I’ve been working on for a long time but I’ve never wanted to work harder than I do for you. You’re everything and when you…when the thought of us living together caused you to have anxiety, I was afraid that I was about to lose everything I’ve wanted my whole life. And I was afraid because I thought I had caused it. King Steve royally fucking everything up again because I got too attached too fast. And I know I do that. I know I do but this isn’t like that. I’m not too attached or pushing or wanting to be close to you because of my fucked up childhood. It’s because with you I see everything I want. With you I see the future I want and I just want to start it as soon as possible. I don’t want to miss out on any time with you because I love you. I am completely in love with you and it scares the shit out of me because I don’t really think I’ve ever really been in love before you.”

Your eyes were wide, soaking him in, your mouth parted as if the words were there but just not coming out. You looked back at the headstone behind you and then at him, a subtle reminder that you had been in love before. You had your great love and his hands trembled at the thought that you might not have any more room for another one.

“Steve, you didn’t cause anything. None of it was your fault. I wasn’t…my anxiety sometimes has no rhyme or reason. I hate it. I hate that even a serious conversation could mean me having a complete meltdown. I don’t want you to be scared to talk to me about stuff. I hate that when you mentioned us moving in together it sent me to the hospital. I hate that it caused you to avoid me. It’s so damn frustrating and I wish I could handle things like other people do.”

“No. It’s okay. You just said that you hadn’t had attacks that bad for a long time. Well, until you met me. And I assumed that maybe I was doing something wrong. Maybe I was causing you stress.”

“You do but not like you think you do,” you groaned, your hands flying through the air before covering your face. “I wish I could give you one solid reason for why it happens but I can’t. The oddest things can bring it on. And it’s not everything. Sometimes I’m fine but sometimes I’m not and I don’t know. You asked about staying over and all your reasons made sense but it’s something that worries me because of Eli…”

“Hey, hey.” Steve stepped into you, his hands cradling your face. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I won’t bring any of it up again. I won’t push. You tell me when you’re ready. You can make all of the decisions going forward.”

“No Steve,” you sighed, your hands wrapping around his forearms and his heart sunk. Here it came. This was the moment where you told him no, you didn’t want this, didn’t want him. This was the moment you told him it was over, leaving him broken like the box of old toys in the garage. “I don’t want to make all of the decisions. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t share how you feel or ask me questions.” You gently pulled his hands away from your face, stepping to the side, pressing your fingers against your forehead.

“I just want to do what you need, honey. I don’t want to ever cause you anxiety.”

“But that’s just it. You will. You will cause me anxiety, Steve,” you huffed, tossing your hands in the air in frustration. “There’s no way of avoiding that in a relationship.”

“I can try. I mean, I know you probably came here to talk to Justin because I made you feel awful. You probably needed to feel close to the guy who didn’t do that to you and I get it. I just disappeared and I’m a shit for it. I should have talked to you, checked on you. I’m a shit for pushing you into something you’re not ready for. I’m a…”

“Steve! Stop,” you pleaded, your hands held in front of you before covering your eyes. Dropping them to your sides, you looked skyward and inhaled, releasing it slowly before looking at him. “Please. Just stop and listen. I didn’t come here to talk to Justin because you were a shit. I didn’t come here because he never made me awful. Christ, Steve, of course he did and I did it to him. We’re human. Humans tend to do that to each other from time to time. I didn’t come for any of those reasons. I came to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” he asked, wondering how you could say goodbye to someone who’d already been gone for two years. Hadn’t you already done that? But he didn’t voice it, not wanting to be insensitive to whatever reason had brought you to your husband’s grave.

“Yes. I had a long talk with Janice at the hospital while you were downstairs, before you even came up. She helped me realize some things, to see things that I was doing without even knowing I was doing them. And then I called my therapist on Monday and she squeezed me in because of the severity of my attack.”

“That’s…I mean, that’s good, right?”

“Yeah. It was. We talked about a lot of stuff, stuff I didn’t realize I was doing. Losing Justin was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. It completely destroyed me. It felt like the floor had been ripped out beneath me and I was just swallowed into this dark pit of anger and despair. I never thought I would claw my way out of it. The attacks started soon after that. They would come on for no reason…or at least that’s what it seemed like. My therapist helped me see that they came on when anything reminding me of Justin popped up. It would be the smallest things. The neighbors would have pizza delivered, his favorite food, and I would be curled into a ball on the floor. I would catch a whiff of the cologne he used and I would be hyperventilating in the middle of the store. Our song would play on the radio and I would have to pull over because I thought I was having a heart attack. Once we realized why it was happening, she started to give me tools to help in the moments when it did. She started me on meds. After a year, I thought I was doing okay. I thought I was letting it all go and moving forward with my life.”

“You are doing okay,” Steve assured you. “You’re doing amazing. I am in constant awe of your strength and perseverance. You went through something devastating, something that would have shattered someone else, and you’re still standing.”

“I am. And I am not going to dismiss that fact. I’m really proud of how far I’ve come. Eli is the one thing that really kept me upright because I knew I had to be his mom. I had to be there for him even when I couldn’t be there for myself. But what I didn’t realize was that I hadn’t really let go. I was still holding onto Justin because…because I was scared that if I didn’t, that I was saying that what we had meant nothing. And it meant something. It meant everything. I didn’t want to just forget him. I didn’t want to just move on. I felt like he deserved so much more than that but in doing that, I wasn’t allowing myself to live.”

You lifted your left hand, turning it to face him, a pale line where your wedding ring used to be. Steve had noticed that you still wore it. Of course he had. How wouldn’t he notice that the woman he was falling for was wearing another guy’s ring? But the circumstances were complicated. You weren't wearing some guy’s ring that you'd left, that was still out there on the fringes, a threat looming that he could just swoop back in and you'd be gone. You were wearing a ring of a man you'd loved and had taken from you, a man who wouldn’t have left, wouldn’t have walked away. How could he say anything? So he hadn’t. He’d never shared that it bothered him a bit every time that glint of gold and gems caught his eye.

“I was still wearing my ring. It never even occurred to me to take it off, not even after we started dating and I knew it was something serious. I think because I still felt like I was married. I didn’t choose this. He didn’t choose this. We didn’t sign papers and hire lawyers and decide to part ways. It was forced upon us. I think the anxiety attack came on because next week is going to be the two year anniversary of when we lost him. And I…I don’t know if forgot is the right word but it wasn’t in the forefront of my mind like it was last year. My therapist…well, and Janice,” you snorted, rolling your eyes, “think my subconscious, that guilt I’ve never really let go of, took over in that moment because you make me so happy. And you making me happy makes me feel guilty because I feel like I am somehow betraying him. And I know that’s silly. He’s not here. I’m not cheating. I’m not doing anything wrong. But there’s also Eli and I am so scared for him to get his little heart broken again. He already loves you so much and he wants you to be his dad so much and I don’t think he could handle losing another one.”

Steve’s synapses were firing with your confession of everything that had been tormenting you since all of this began. It was a lot to take in and he was struggling to focus on more than just the part where you said you were happy, the part where you were considering him to be a potential father figure to your son. Because that part let him know that you weren't walking away, that you were as deeply entrenched in this as he was. He searched for the right words, feeling like it had never been more important to get this right, to say the right thing.

“Honey, I understand all of that. But I have to believe that your husband, knowing you and how amazing you are, and knowing the little bit that you’ve told me about him, would want you to be happy. And as for Eli, I have no intentions of going anywhere. I want this. I’ve told you. I am completely in.”

“I know that. I know you are. And so am I. I wanted to stay the night with you, Steve. I want to spend every night with you. I wasn’t even looking for anything when you came along. I’d gone on a few bad dates with guys from a dating site only because Janice pushed me to, and I wanted to get her off my back, but I wasn’t really looking. I’d resigned myself to being alone because I never thought I would find something like I had with Justin again. But then here you came and you made me question everything. You made me question if I was ready. You made me question my belief that no person can get lucky enough to find happily ever after twice. You made my son so happy. You made me so happy. You made me smile again. You made me laugh again. You made me feel alive again and I mean…how is that not worth the risk? I want to be with you, Steve. I want it all with you. I want to spend my nights and my mornings with you. I want to move in together someday. I want to be a family with our boys together. And yeah, you’re right. It is soon but we’re not fifteen year old kids who are blinded by our hormones. I know it’s you that I want in my life. In such a short time, it just feels right. It just feels like it’s the way it’s supposed to be. You make so much sense. You just fit in my life. But if that’s all too much for you right now, I understand. I know you don’t want your space invaded. I understand if you need some distance to breathe in this relationship but I just needed you to know how I feel. Because I don’t want you to ever have to doubt it again.”

“But…I didn’t mean any of that shit.”

“What?”

“Honey, I want you to invade my space, all of my space. Go ahead and take it all up. I only said that because I thought it’s what you wanted. I thought you were freaking out that I’d even mentioned you spending the night with me, let alone moving in together. I panicked and I said it and it was stupid but I never meant it.”

“You…you didn’t?”

You sounded so hopeful and it just made him want to flog himself. These last four days could have been avoided if he hadn’t been such a dingus, as Robin liked to call him. If he’d hung around just long enough for you to explain then neither of you would have had to go through all this uncertainty. What was Nancy always telling him? Communication was key. Obviously, because this miscommunication had almost cost him the best thing that had come into his life since Jeremiah.

“No. God no. I would lock you in my house and never let you go if I could.” He stepped into you, his arms wrapping around you, folding you against him, relishing the way you just melted into his embrace. His lips brushed against your forehead. “Honey, I love you. I don’t want distance. I don’t need to breathe.”

You laughed, “Actually, you kind of do.”

“Okay, yeah, I do, but being with you makes me feel like I can breathe. I want this too. I want it all. And we don’t have to rush anything. But maybe we could start with staying together tonight? Jeremiah’s already at your place. I left him with Lucas and Max so I could talk to you alone. We can talk to the boys first and see how they feel about it.”

You tilted your head back, smiling up at him, “Yeah. I think that sounds like a great idea.”

“Good.” His lips found yours, the moment they touched was a sigh of relief, his body relaxing into the kiss, having you right back where you belonged.

____________________________________________________________

Four weeks came and went in what felt like the blink of an eye. May had been there and gone, with so many activities to fill up the spaces on your calendar in the kitchen. From baseball games to the end of year picnic to field day, you felt like you'd barely turned the page on your calendar and you were already turning it again. Already you were in the middle of June and the boys were taking advantage of every moment of their summer break.

You and Steve had settled into a pleasant rhythm. The boys had been more than okay with the idea of sleeping at each other’s houses. They had been more than okay, giddy even, at the idea of you and Steve sleeping in the same bed. Those devious little grins shared between the two of them, marking their pride in their own role in the current situation. You were sure they were already plotting the next step, feeling this was just the beginning of everything they’d been working toward since that night at the ice rink.

On nights when Steve had Jeremiah, you stayed over at Steve’s house so Jere could have all of his things. On nights that he didn’t, Steve had been staying over at your place. You'd thought Eli may find it strange to have Steve there without Jeremiah but he didn’t seem to mind at all. He still had a playmate, just in adult form, as Steve would challenge him to video games and endless rounds of Uno, hours playing catch in the yard, and he loved helping Steve with anything around the house.

Every fear and uncertainty you'd had about moving forward, about getting your son’s hopes up, your own hopes up, had been completely unfounded. Because taking the next step, being a part of each other’s days and nights, had only made everything infinitely better. On the rare nights you didn’t spend together, you found yourself tossing and turning, reaching for the warmth of a body that wasn’t there.

It didn’t happen often but Steve had to travel a couple times for work. This new development was taking up a lot of his time and he’d had meetings with companies for supplies they needed that took him out of town. Last week he’d been gone for three days and you had been pacing the floor, anxious for him to appear on the doorstep, missing him more than you’d miss your own arm if it went missing. You pounced, almost knocking him to the ground as you leapt into his arms, the moment the front door opened, that familiar shape appearing in the doorway.

Now you were pacing around the house, anxious for an entirely different reason. You'd already cleaned the house from top to bottom, weeded the garden, done laundry, and no longer had anything to keep your nervous hands busy. Fluffing the pillow you’d already fluffed four times, your eyes looked up at the clock. Your parents were going to be arriving at any moment and they were going to be meeting Steve for the first time.

It really shouldn’t make you anxious. Your parents loved everybody. Justin had a far easier time with his in-laws than you’d had with yours. They’d adored him from the minute they’d laid eyes on him, probably before, because their version had always been as long as you were happy, they were happy. But your mom and dad, while they were two of the best parents anyone could ask for, could be a bit overwhelming when you didn’t know them. You just hoped Steve knew what he was in for.

A hand came up, wrapping around your arm gently, “Put the pillow down.”

You sighed, dropping it to the couch. That hand spun you, strong arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you into a firm chest. All the tension oozed right out of you now that you were in your favorite place, your safe space. Steve pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, those hazel eyes twinkling amusedly.

“You have got to relax. This is going to be fine. I told you. Parents absolutely love me. I’m not worried so you shouldn’t be worried, okay?” His hands locked at the small of your back, a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose. “The house looks great. I’ve got the spare ribs marinating in the fridge. The potatoes are baking in the oven. The boys are all showered and primped with strict instructions to stay inside until after the grandparents have seen how nice they look. You look amazing…” He growled playfully, head dipping into the curve of your neck, inhaling deeply. “You smell amazing.” A playful nip to your ear that had you squealing. “We’re totally ready.”

“I know. I know.” Your head fell back, a soft gasp escaping your lips as his mouth explored the column of your throat. “I just hope you’re ready for this. My parents…” Your fingers speared past the nape of his neck into his hair as those lips found their way between your breasts, exploring the skin your top didn’t conceal. “My parents will love you. They just love a little…aggressively.”

“Mmm…aggressive love can be fun, you know,” he murmured. You could feel the smile against your skin before his fingers pulled the v-neck of your top to the side and his teeth sunk into the curve of your breast that spilled out from the cup of your bra. His other hand cupped your ass, pressing you against his very obvious erection.

“Jesus Steve.” His tongue traced your bottom lip, heat pooling between your thighs, leaving you to wonder if you had time, if you could manage to hide from the boys. You could be quick. You could…the sound of the doorbell quickly dashed any hopes of that plan. “Shit. They’re here.”

Steve moved to the bottom of the stairs to call the boys down while you made your way to the door, adjusting your top. You opened it to instantly be swept up in a group hug, your dad on one side and your mom on the other, your head smashed between theirs. The sound of footsteps barreling down the stairs let you know the boys had arrived.

Your mom pulled back, eyes wide, grinning at the sight of the two kids standing in front of her. Opening her arms wide, she rushed at them both, pulling them into her sides as she exclaimed, “Oh, look at my beautiful boys!”

Steve’s eyebrows lifted toward you and you just shrugged back. But he didn’t have long to ponder your mother referring to his son as one of her boys before she was on him as well, enveloping him in a hug before taking his face in her hands.

“Oh my goodness. You are quite beautiful yourself, aren’t you? No wonder my girl is so smitten. Who wouldn’t be with that hair and those eyes and…would you look at those eyelashes! Frank, have you ever seen such long eyelashes before? Good lord. What I wouldn’t give for a set of eyelashes like that. You must have had all the girls swaying on their feet in high school. Bet you still do.”

“Now Sally, give the boy some space to breathe,” Frank grumbled, dropping their bags onto the floor. “You haven’t even introduced yourself and you’re already fawning over his eyelashes.”

He shared a knowing smile with you, neither of you surprised. Your mom had absolutely zero filter and no sense of personal space. The moment she met you, you were her best friend in the world. Your friends had all adored your mom when you were younger. Sally always felt like a friend instead of a parent, joining in the gossip, painting nails, taking you all shopping and to the movies.

“It…it’s nice to meet you Mrs. Madden,” Steve stammered and you couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. You had tried to warn him and he’d insisted it was fine. But your mom could be suffocating, a blanket of warmth and love that would smother you until you couldn’t find any air.

“Oh, none of that Mrs. nonsense,” she insisted, swatting at his arm. “You just call me mom. I mean…” She turned to you. “You are all a family now, aren’t you? So that makes you my family too. Oh, this is so exciting. I got another grandson and a son in one go.”

“I’m not your grandson, though.” Jeremiah’s statement wasn’t rude, just confused, wondering how this was all working.

“Well, you are now.” Sally walked over, dropping down to her knees in front of the boys. “I’m Eli’s grandma so now I’m your grandma too. I mean, if you’re okay with that, of course. You don’t have to call me grandma if you don’t want to. I know you already have a couple of those. You can just call me Sally if you’d prefer.”

Jeremiah looked at her and then at his dad. Steve smiled and that seemed to be the only confirmation he needed. With a shrug he said, “You can be my grandma too. I mean, most kids only get two but now I have three!”

Steve leaned down, his mouth at your ear as he whispered, “He means Joyce and Karen. He doesn’t really know my mom and honestly, that’s for the best.”

“Well, then I guess that makes me your Grandpa Frank,” your dad said, stepping forward, offering his hand to Jeremiah. The boy took it, shaking. “Wow. Strong grip there, kid, but that’s no surprise since my daughter’s told me what an amazing baseball player you are.”

Jeremiah beamed at you, “You told them I’m amazing?”

“Of course I did,” you replied with a smile. “Because you are. You and Eli both have done so well this season.”

“Yeah. We can’t wait to see you play on Saturday. Specially planned this trip just so we could catch a game,” Frank said.

“Well, why don’t you all head into the living room and relax? I’m gonna grab the ribs from the fridge and get them on the grill,” Steve announced.

“Well, I can help you out with that,” Frank offered, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know if my daughter told you, but I’m a master griller. Won the rib-off three years in a row.”

Steve’s eyes widened, “Really? She failed to mention that. I guess the pressure’s on then for my ribs to be good enough.”

“Oh, no pressure son. I just like grilling.”

“I’ll get the salad going and pop the macaroni and cheese into the oven,” you told them.

“Well, looks like we are not needed,” Sally smirked, one arm coming around each boy. “Now, tell me everything. I want to hear about school, baseball, girls.” When both boys ewwed, she laughed. “Oh, we’re not there yet, I see. Just give it some time.”

____________________________________________________________

Will and Nolan had not been exaggerating when they said they would pull out all the stops for your parents. Your pants were digging into your stomach uncomfortably after enjoying course after course of delicious dishes. They were all Nolan’s specialties but someone else was preparing them tonight as he and Will were sitting at the long table with everyone else.

This was your parent’s third night staying with you and it was not the first time they had met everyone that was currently sitting at this table. That had been yesterday at the baseball game when they’d been inundated with new faces. Luckily you had the kind of parents who were absolutely delighted, hugging every single person, excited to meet new people, wanting to know absolutely everything about their lives.

Janice had even taken the opportunity after the game, while they were all enjoying ice cream cones at the park, to announce her pregnancy to the whole clan. Nancy had squealed as if her own sister had just shared the good news. Robin had hopped on her feet while El beamed, exclaiming how she loved babies, much to Mike’s apparent unease and everyone else’s amusement.

“Oh Janice, we’re going to have to throw you the biggest shower,” Sally gushed and then winced. “Sorry. I’m probably overstepping. I am sure your own mom is handling everything, right?”

Your friend laughed, “Yeah. But she would love the help. My sister is driving her insane with all the phone calls and ideas. You know Krista, she just can’t help trying to run the show.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” snorted Steve, his eyes rolling pointedly toward Nancy.

“Oh, haha,” she snorted, rolling up her straw wrapper and tossing it at him. “There’s nothing wrong with being organized. Someone in this group has to be responsible.”

“I’m responsible!” Lucas protested. “I’m an accountant. I mean, how much more responsible can you get?”

“You still think it’s funny to make fart noises with your armpit,” Max pointed out, her nose wrinkling in disgust. “You’re basically a man-shaped child.”

“Oh, because it’s so adult to skateboard,” Lucas snapped back.

Eli straightened up in his chair, “I think skateboarding is cool.”

“That’s right.” Max nodded, putting out her fist for the kid to bump. “You tell him, Eli.”

Sally looked absolutely delighted at the chaos around her, grinning as her head turned this way and that, following each conversation as it happened. You knew your mom had always wanted a big family but that had been dashed when she suffered complications after having you. Complications that wouldn’t allow her to have anymore kids.

“And how long have you two been seeing each other?” your mom asked, turning to Robin and June, her chin resting in her palm, eyebrows bouncing with interest.

“Oh…us…it’s really new. Only forty-three days.”

Your lips pressed together, your hand grabbing onto your glass of wine and taking a drink so you didn’t comment on Robin knowing the exact number of days. You didn’t want to embarrass your friend but damn, girl must be really far gone if she was counting out exactly how many days. You were far gone too but you couldn’t have told them days. Weeks? Yes but not down to the days.

June smiled at Robin, a look full of so much adoration that it even warmed your heart watching it. Maybe they were both in deep. That thought made you happy because Robin deserved this and so did June. June’s hand covered Robin’s on top of the table.

“Aww, babe, you know how many days?” Robin flushed. “Best forty-three days of my life.” With a small laugh, she turned back to Sally. “Of course it took her friends asking me out for her. I was waiting, hoping that I wasn’t reading into things. I thought she might be interested but it was hard to tell when she wouldn’t even speak to me.”

“It was hard to speak to you! You’re so pretty,” Robin gushed. “You intimidated me. And to be fair, I didn’t know if you were into women. I mean, imagine if I would have asked you out and you wouldn’t have been. You would have been disgusted by me.”

“Oh please!” Sally exclaimed, her hands coming to her chest. “Do you know how flattered I would be if a woman hit on me? I mean, come on. Men will hit on anything with boobs. But if a woman hits on you, she genuinely thinks you’re attractive.”

“Do I need to be worried here, dear?” Frank teased, leaning in. Sally swatted him with her napkin, laughing.

“So, now I have three grandmas!” Jeremiah exclaimed from where he sat down the table between Eli and Dustin. “I mean, how cool is that? How many kids can say they have three grandmas?”

“That is pretty cool,” Dustin agreed. “I only have one.” He shrugged. “I mean, I have two but since I don’t know my dad, I don’t know that grandma. So she had to exist for me to be sitting here but…”

“Does that mean I have three grandmas, too?” interrupted Eli, his face turning to you.

Before you could answer, Karen leaned over the table, winking at him, “You are even luckier because you have four grandmas, kiddo. You have your Grandma Judith and your Grandma Sally. And now you have Grandma Karen and Grandma Joyce.”

“That’s right, kid,” Joyce agreed, tossing him a wink. “I’m afraid if you’re going to have Steve around, then we all come along with the package.”

“I hope you’re okay with having a Grandpa Hop, too,” Hopper added, raising his beer.

“So…so I have four grandmas and three grandpas!” Eli’s eyes were wide, a smile stretching from ear to ear. “That’s more than like any kid has ever had, ever!”

“Not to mention a bunch of aunts and uncles,” Lucas told him.

“Yeah, Eli. You just inherited a whole family,” Dustin said, gesturing around the very full table.

“Wow! That’s a lot of birthday presents!” Eli declared, causing a round of laughter from the table.

“Yeah, and we don’t play when it comes to presents,” Will stated.

Nolan snorted, “Seriously. Your Uncle Will has no self control when it comes to shopping. He would bankrupt us if I didn’t control him.”

Jeremiah’s face crinkled, his brow furrowing as he considered all the words being spoken at the table. He appeared to be in serious thought and then he looked down at you.

“So…so are you like my mom now, too? Do I have two moms?”

Your stomach clenched, your hand gripping the edge of the table as your eyes darted over to Nancy, hoping the woman was not offended by his question. You had never been trying to replace her, ever. Jeremiah had a mom and you were fine just being you to him. Besides, you and Steve weren’t even living together. You weren’t married. This was all just…you didn’t know what this was but it seemed a bit soon for this discussion. Even though the boys had talked about marriage, it felt different doing it in front of everyone.

Nancy smiled at her son, “If someday you would like to call her mom too, that’s okay with me. She’s going to be a big part of your life now.”

“But you don’t have to,” you assured him. “I can just be Y/N.”

“Yeah, like I’m just Jonathan,” his stepdad told him. “You don’t call me dad because Steve is your dad and that’s okay. You still love me, right?”

“Yeah. I do, a lot.”

“So…I just call you Steve?” asked Eli.

Steve looked at you for help but you had none to give. You weren't sure what to say or where this was going. This was really up to Steve and without you even living together, it seemed an insane question. But Eli was seven and he’d been wanting this for a while. It didn’t surprise you that he was asking. He’d been trying really hard to make Steve his dad for months.

“Well, you also have a dad,” Steve finally answered. “But if someday, you think you would like to call me dad, I would be honored, kid. Really, I would. Nothing would make me happier, Eli. But I don’t ever want you to feel like you have to. I can just be Steve too. It can be whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Damn honey, you snagged yourself a good one,” your mom whispered in your ear. “Don’t let that one go.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

Steve’s hand found your knee, squeezing gently and you laid your head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of your head and you sat, content and happy, watching everyone you loved laugh and talk and eat together.

“I love you.” It was the softest whisper, caressing the shell of your ear.

A soft smile tilted the corners of your mouth, “I love you too.”

Yeah. This was happiness. This was love. This was your second chance at happily ever after, not just with Steve, but with every single person sitting around this table. They’d given you and your son a sense of belonging, a sense of peace, and a sense of safety. You were absolutely at peace with the idea of this being her forever.

Chapter 19

Taglist: @katethetank@roxiehorrorshow@sapphire4082@bakugouswh0r3@frostandflamesfanfic @mix-matchsocks @mushy-mushroom04 @palmtreesx3 @littlebookworm86 @eddies-trailer-babe @cheesewritings @emilyj444 @daisyhollyxox @angelbabyivy @the-fairy-anon @loritate7311 @k-k0129 @antiquecultist

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my little story! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist. If you want to be added please make sure your age is stated on your page somewhere. 😊 And replies and reblogs are always appreciated if you enjoy it. I love to hear what you think! ❤️❤️❤️

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meowsgirldrawing · 1 year

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Pact Marks- Obey Me Thoughts/Headcannons

So in one of my recent posts, I showed where I imagine My MC- or Mackenzie's pacts marks are.

For those who are new or just unfamiliar with this topic somehow, Pact marks are what the fandom of Obey Me! Shall We Date?! has basically agreed all on being on each MC when they/he/she makes a pact with one of the demons. I dunno if the creators confirmed that as I am only in lesson 13-14 in the game itself.

Here are my headcannons/thoughts to just have on here✨

Lucifer

(Spoiler, hes the last one to get a pact mark from but not in the least undermining)

Where I imagine his pact mark would be on MC's chest.

Kinda like the phrase, 'Huffing up chest in pride', it shows his shamless pride in allowing the human to make a pact with him.

Considering how possessive Lucifer tends to be towards MC, in a "This is my human" way, his mark is the biggest, maybe even boldest as its even able to peak over MC's collar bones, making any non-turtle neck like shirt unable to cover it all.

It glows his signiture blue when activated, bright and unable to be unnoticed either.

And in the dark, a lingering lighter shade trails around the stars, giving a nice ring to the MorningStar name

With my MC, I imagine they aren't afraid to show it, most of their outfits being tank tops, low collar shirts, or even just a sports bra on some nights.

Lucifer sometimes catches MC trailing their finger along its edges, only to shirk their hand down as soon as he notices.

Of course...he smirks, raising a curious brow.

MC just ignores his glances and moves on.

Mammon

He was a an easy one, Ngl.

Look, I adore This little Greed demon with all my heart but he does tend to steal, and gamble, and basically do any money grubbing.

All with swift and talentful hands in his own craft.

His pact mark is on the hand, preferably dominant hand of MC.

Its not too big or too small, just fitting across the back of MC's hand.

When activated, it gives of a nice yellow hue, gold lining the mark's edges in a shifting manner.

My MC tried drawing weird symbols on top of it, human symbols that kids draw on their skin everyday y'know, just to see if anything changed.

It didn't. Just erased whatever they did and glowed like normal.

Mammon called her weird then proceeded to try his turn at it.

Now they needed new pens.

Mammon hated the mark at first, finding it stupid given how it even came to be in the first place.

Now he traces it every night with a curled up MC beside him, clutching onto him as if he isnt holding them tight enough.

Leviathan

He is tricky tricky boy, lemme tell ya.

Either his pact mark worked in spots his brothers' worked better in or it just didnt seem like Levi's spot.

So I figured, under bicep.

The guy is shy, right? So I believe his would ultimately end up somewhere where it's covered the majority of the time, that or just hard to see at most angles.

I did think of thigh, but i suppose the thought it ending up there would have this okaku blushing for days on end.

Which bicep also depends on which arm is MC's dominant one.

My MC, like all her other marks, is proud to have them, so they dont get why it was somewhere mostly hidden.

Hence why it gives them further reason to show it off during their shared movie nights, wearing more sleeveless shirts or tops.

Leviathan is her Lord of Shadows just as much as they are his Henry and they are proud to say it. (Enough without embarrassing the Envy demon of course)

Leviathan turned as flustered as a peach at first anytime he saw it fully, but now...

Now he laughs as MC 'proves' their muscles to him after an off comment he made, flexing off that mark of Envy without even realizing. He just snorts and shoves them lightly, a domino effect taking hold as they do it right back.

Beelzebub

Did I even need to think on this guy?

The tongue is wear his mark resides.

Not only for the obvious, Ahem Gluttony, but because the tongue is known to be the strongest muscle in the body.

It tends to blend in with the color of their tongue but mostly when its activated.

Oo, imagine MC eating a cherry flavored treat, the glow would just light the whole thing up. Light bulp idea if MC is ever in the dark and lost.

Ahem, anyway, as mentioned, it glows a fiery red, making MC's mouth looking like light up city when even just a little bit opened.

My MC had at one point thought her mouth was bleeding when she saw in it the mirror, had to have Beel explain they were indeed fine, if anything, looked cool.

Both her and Beel test out how bright it can get depeding on cherry flavored treats when gorging in food one night.

Beel cant help but blush at the sight of his unactivated mark as MC sucks their tongue out at him, having just won a victorious round. A game Levi lended them for a bit.

He hms, pats their head lightly, and mutters 'cute'. MC is left confused, their tongue still poking out in a blep.

Asmodeus

So...HAHA- So many people thought my MC's mark from Asmo was on their bottom.

While I would not be surprised, given this man, I headcannon their mark being a tramp stamp.

Right above their bottom.

Its not big, barely taking all over their lower back. But enough to give off a big enough glow when activated.

When activated, the pact will glow a saturated pink, a tease of purple easing into the 'ink.'

Ngl, I got this idea after reading another headcannon list of Obey Me Pact Marks and thought it was too good to not keep.

Its somewhat easy to hide, depending on the type of clothing MC wears, but it quickly becomes hard to cover ehen activated, the pink being too bright.

Asmo calls them his little firefly at some point

As for my MC, she gets flustered, never thinking a pact mark would be that low. But after catching a wink from Asmo, they turn gears and smirk instead, thankful for their wild and long hair hiding the pink in their ears as they clap back quick with some remark.

Asmo just chuckles at whatever she said.

Teasing hands, always playful but never pushing, linger down at the edge of MC's shirt only for it to turn into a tickle over his mark. MC squeaks out, laughter pulling over as they skirt away, clutching their lower back.

Asmo takes their playing shoves with a smug grin, gleaming with absolute delight as he catches one at last, landing a sweet kiss at their knuckles.

Satan

Similar to Lucifer

Satan would hate me I know it

But yes, dreadfully similar to Lucifer, Satan's mark is big and bold, appearing right under where Lucifer's(At the time he never knew that of course).

It lays across the lower ribs, that tip of it? Its lined up to go straight in between both, mark and center.

It is easy to hide, but if MC is one to wear short crop tops, or anyhting that shows close to the lower ribs as mentioned, it wouldnt be hard to miss.

Yet, the mark is impossible to miss when activated, unless you stacked like piles and piles on MC's torso, yeah..that green glow would be seen a mile away.

Its a bright, fiery green, almost oozing into their clothes like Wrath itself would.

Why is it on the ribs? Well, you know that feeling you get when you are angry. That fire in the pit of your chest? The only reason its on the ribs instead is because of how calculating Satan is.

"Imagine how an aggressor would feel if they suddenly saw its glow? They would've turned to rigor themselves without my help"

Are you sure you aint like Lucifer-

My MC played a game of, 'What Can Hide The Mark??' With their closet one day, just curiosity at best.

Yeah, they thought better of it when Satan came a-knocking very confused and very weirded out by the dark light green light game on his side.

Theres a weird, fizzy feeling Satan gets anytime he saw the mark in a more direct manner. Their shirt riding up as they slanted on the couch, at the beach, anywhere were he got less of a tease of it and more of a frontal view.

It wasnt made out of hate for his brother, it wasnt even a half-assed one either, it actually meant something, to both him and MC.

Hmm....Satan's eyes fliker back down, escaping MC's sudden gaze, a little heat on his cheeks going ignored in favor for catching up with this novel's protagonist.

Belphegor

So......I may or may not have accidentally put Belphie's mark on Mc's neck.....

Chapter 16 anyone?

BUT- BUT Then it gave me an idea!

So while we arent exactly sure the marks would be chosen by the brother's preference, or MC's preference, I think its just up to what the fans think-

What if it was kinda an accident itself?

Like obviously, at the time of the pact between the youngest brother and Mc was made, the events of Mc/not Mc's death was still fresh to everyone. Hence the whole, making a pact to protect Mc from Belphie.

And since it was still in everyones minds for a while, the mark accidentally formed in the one place everyone, including MC had a hard time looking at without getting chills.

It could be many possibilities from this, but it also can give MC enough motivation to work it out with Belphie, wanting to make the mark not one to look at in digust but instead at least a gentle fondness like the others. Obviously the last part might take a long while to come, but they would at least be able to ease the pain of it.

Anyhow- the mark is pretty dang small compared to the others. Small and barely noticable depending on how MC's hair style is.

When activated, it glows a nice lilac hue, the edges dipped in a very light, almost white color. It can almost be mistaken for a night light, like those ones for children, if it wasn't on MC's body.

If covered with a turtle neck for instance, its dimmed but not completely, still vying for attention.

I do believe MC would have at least some sort of trauma towards it, like cant have people touching around their neck for awhile. Even if Lucifer were to cup their chin, their nerves start a-ringing.

I like to imagine my MC doesn't necessarily get over it, but is able to move past it. Shes one to not let things affect them, but obviously with seeing yourself and feeling youself die is extremely hard to do for a human, so its more or less them just wanting to stop feeling so weak at the idea. So she asks Lucifer or Satan (the two most likely to understand it) in private to help her by gently edging their hands around her neck area sometimes so she can at the very least, emotionally move past it.

Exposure therapy( But this is for my MC, I definitely believe people have a right to decide how they/their characters wpuod respond to the whole thing as everyone seems to either forgive Belphie, take a long time to do so, or just want their character to avoid him)

It takes him a loose second to realize, but when he does, Belphie is quick to snatch away his hand from MC's upper torso. Hes hesitant to even toss it back around their waist. But MC, despite their sleepy and craving for warmth state, takes note of his sudden distance and tightens their grip around his shoulders, effectively dragging him snug against their body.

They murmer reassurances before he can even breathe a single word, and hes burrying his face in their shoulder, the one beside his own mark. Tears sting his closed gaze and their wading soft fingers their his hair. A kiss to the side of his head is all he needs and he wrapps his arms back around, agreeing like aways.

Gentle forgiven but never forgotten...

#oc x canon #oc inserts #obey me mc #obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me satan #obey me belphegor #Obey Me Chapter 16 mentions #obey me pact marks #Pact mark headcannons #Obey Me Pacts #obey me x reader #my thougts

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karalynlovescake · 2 months

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THE CENTENNIAL HUSBANDS 2024 BIG BANG IS LIVE!

You can read my fic on Ao3 - Entropy and Optimism, rated T, 56k words, complete at 13 chapters.

Hob Gadling is offered immortality by Death in 1389 and he meets with her every 100 years. In his dreams, he befriends and grows close with a man who he knows is Death's brother, but who never gave Hob his name. After a disaster in the late 1700's ties him even closer to Death, Hob sees his Stranger less and less, and believes his choices are to blame. Meanwhile, exhausted by seeing Death everywhere he goes and heartsick over losing his relationship with her brother, in 1889 he tells her that while he still wishes to live, he does not want to see her again.

Hob goes over a hundred years with no word from either of them, until one day two women with two talking ravens show up and tell him that his friend desperately needs his help. He embarks on the quest, hoping to once again see his mysterious Stranger, who he learns must be the King of Dreams. But when he arrives in the Dreaming he finds two people he has never met ruling, his friend asleep as if under a spell, and the kingdom falling apart around them, with the legions of Hell trying to invade.

And check out the art from my amazing artist Koresephone !!!

@koresephone66

The plot for this story started out as the plot of the novel Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold, which is one of my favorite novels ever written. I consider it to be an absolute masterpiece of writing and plot weaving. It won a Hugo, a Nebula AND a Locus award for a REASON, and Ms Bujold is a far better writer than I am.

I had to change a lot of stuff to make the plot fit the setting and characters. So much stuff that I debated is it really even the same story anymore? Apparently very few people in the active fandom are familiar with the Bujold novel, which meant no one would see exactly what I was trying to do.

But it also meant that there was no one out there who was going to write this story if I didn't write it! This is the first novel-length story I've ever completed, and my first big bang, and honestly if you're going to borrow, borrow from the best of the best, right? I was already using Neil's characters, and I think I did a pretty good job!

I'd love to hear if you enjoy it!

#sandman fanfic #Centennial husbands big bang #CHBB 2024 #my fanfic #dreamling fanfic #novel length !#dreamling #Paladin of Souls

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yonpote · 3 months

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as someone who wasnt here at the time (was a fan from about 2011-2013) what exactly defines the "softlaunch era" pre-coming out that i hear you and others refer to?

you've come to the right place cuz this is the era when i truly became a Phannie... "gay softlaunch" is generally considered 2017-18, but to be more specific it was october 31, 2016-june 13, 2019!

before they came out this was also referred to as "post-baking universe" referencing the halloween 2016 monster pops video that had an (at the time) abnormal amount of raunchy humor and just general derangedness. nothing like it is today, but that point felt very significant and dan even brought it up in liveshows like yeah idk what happened there and when phil called a peach an ass in a gaming video dan said "we live in a post-baking universe" (i believe fans coined the term tho).

people have also called it the "glass closet era" which is a divisive name for a lot of people cuz "glass closet" can be seen as kind of a mean term and it implies like, stereotyping or speculating or the "we been knew" behavior dan had talked about in BIG. which i understand that feeling, but i don't think that's what was happening, because the way i see it was queer flagging. ways they could show a little bit who they really were without saying it just yet. they weren't Out out, but they were just like. openly talking about attraction to men and finding men hot and not calling it a Man Crush or anything. dan would bring up queerness more often in liveshows, which hes mentioned queer artists and stuff before but now it was also making jokes about like.. being in a gas leak man porn fantasy in his first livestream of 2017 LMAO. phil would make a lot more innuendos, which hes always done, but now he wasnt pretending like he didnt know what he was saying. dan started wearing a single hoop earring on his right ear. this is an old school form of queer flagging, in The Olden Days (im too lazy to look up when but like my 70-something year old history teacher knew about this) if a man had an earring on his left ear, he's straight, and if he had one on his right, he's gay. that one's pretty subtle if you don't know much about queer history and there were Great Debates over whether or not we should take it to mean he is gay, but personally i saw it as like. he was letting us know without needing to say the G word out loud just yet!

i think a really important part of this era was even outside of directly discussing queerness, they were both trying to become more authentic online and figuring out how to do that without compromising their own privacy. dan stopped straightening his hair and rebranded and opened up about his mental health. phil's authenticity journey seemed a bit slower and wasn't as overt or seemingly drastic as dan's was, but it was happening! he changed up his hair!!! which yes its kinda silly to talk abt dnp's hair but the emo fringe was Their Brand. phil in particular said that, the emo fringe was a comfort place but he was feeling like he was trapped in having it forever because it was Who He Was, so it was a huge deal for him! he opened up a little bit about his physical health, both of them were a bit more honest about all the stress and anxiety they were dealing with (the mukbang is a pretty good video where they talk about that and an interesting one to watch in retrospect) and their whole 2018 tour was themed around whether they should Give The People What They Want or do what they wanted to do.

god i talk too much ANYWAY then dan disappeared in 2019 and phil was manning the helm for a good five and a half months and then the Big Gay hit! the Hard Launch Era if you will :) and now i would say 2023-present is the Unhinged Era so i have no clue what the hell their next move is gonna be...

#ofc there were also signs before 2016 'wtf even is your sexuality'#but at that point there was still a veil over everything ykwim?#myrambles #also sorry im such a phillie i like barely mention dans authenticity journey BUT I JUST FEEL LIKE #IVE TALKED ABT IT A LOT BEFORE SO IDK WHAT MORE I COULD SAY #softlaunch

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thegurlwhoisntthere · 5 months

Text

Okay, so I can’t believe I’m writing this, the Maribat/Daminette fandom has me by the throat so, here we are

There are a lot of fics where Damian comes to Paris and they click and he gets the Black cat miraculous for various reasons, and also a lot where Marinette goes to Gotham with generally the same outcomes, but what about a fic where Damian and his class go on a trip to Paris before Hawkmoth first attacks.

Like, he’s 13 and forced into this trip because the fam wants him to experience more than just being a vigilante and he hates it. His school has a program with Marinette’s, so at the beginning of the year they pack up and plan to spend two weeks in Paris.

This trip just so happens to coincide with when Master Fu is looking for his new Ladybug and Black Cat (y’all see where I’m going with this?)

In this Au, Adrien makes it to the school sooner and misses Master Fu because he’s testing Marinette. Adrien still gets to go to school, because he deserves happiness, but he’s able to get there the first day, and so avoids the whole gum thing that make Marinette hate him, but also sees what Chloe does to Marinette which really changes his initial perspective of school. He would definitely be a temp hero later, but he gets to enjoy being a normal rebellious teen.

Anyway, so Adrien Misses Fu, so who’s going to be the Cat? Well, Damian’s school pulls up at the same time Adrien would have.

The class stops to do a head count and give the general speech of why they’re there in front of the school and Damian’s planning on slipping away because he’s 13 and thinks this is all a waste of his time. He thinks that if he can make it back to the hotel without anyone noticing he’ll be able to make an argument that they forgot him and that he should be allowed to go home (can you see where I’m taking my inspiration from?). Unfortunately for him, Fu sees this and does his test (the fall). All his classmates don’t do anything because they’re from Gotham and are suspicious of everything (and also it’s Paris and they don’t want to be scammed) and the teachers don’t notice. Damian, however, does notice. He considers leaving anyway because it’s not his problem, but he’s been Robin for almost 3 or 4 years at this point and, contrary to what some people might say, has grown a lot. He would feel guilty and maybe even a little unworthy of Robin if he didn’t stop for 2 seconds to help this old man up.

It goes quite similarly to how it did with Adrien, he helps Fu up, but gets caught and can no longer run away from the class.

Basically, this au is a “what if Damian was The Black Cat from the start?”

I have a lot more ideas, but here’s just a few:

Damian isn’t Chat Noir, but I haven’t looked up any cat related names that he could be yet.

As the cat, Damian acts a lot more fun than he normally would allow himself. He’s not Chat Noir level, but this is the first time in his life where literally no one knows who he is and is monitoring his behavior, nor does he have anyone’s expectations on him for who he should be.

He’s initially annoyed with Ladybug, because she’s so clearly untrained, unconfident, and unprepared, but then she comes up with the plan that shows what she could be capable of, and the speech and he might have a crush, but brushes it off as grudgingly respecting her

He 100% plans on training her and their partnership is more equal than what the show portrays it as, because one of my main problems with the actual show is that chat noir, despite being her partner is often shoved aside and given the sidekick role

Damian doesn’t tell his family what’s happening. As far as they’re aware, Paris is fine. Normally he would have, but he had no time until after the fight and he really enjoyed being the cat that he’s like “I’ll tell them later” which keeps being pushed back.

At the end of the trip he somehow talks his family into letting him actually transfer to Paris so he can stay as the cat

He is baffled that this works, but they are all so happy that he’s taking an interest in something other than Robin and Superheroing that they jump on letting him before realizing that it means he’s gonna be in Paris for months.

Dick is sad about this later, so is Bruce and Alfred and the others, but he’s the most vocal about it.

Damian is also baffled that they haven’t figured out what’s going on by now and as everyday passes he gets more and more annoyed by the fact that his so called family of detectives have realized that he’s decided if they can’t figure it out, he’s not telling them.

He has not figured out that magic is preventing knowledge of this from leaving Paris and even if it didn’t, Magic is protecting his identity.

He acts annoyed by Plagg, but he actually loves him so much

His cat outfit is still fun with the ears and tail, but it’s a lot more elaborate and has a utility belt and a lot of hidden things

In fact, because it’s so elaborate, Marinette’s boring suit only stays for the first time she transforms. Once the fight finishes her little fashion designer brain can’t stop thinking about it and comes up with a new design after consulting Tikki.

Of course, she only has the idea of the costume down, because by the time they finalize it, she sees the news and has her depression moment, so the first time she wears it is when she saves Alya.

Due to this first change, her outfit would constantly be changing throughout her time as Ladybug, as she learns more about fighting and what she’s comfortable with, as well as what’s actually possible with magic and the miraculous.

By the end of the year her firs are going to be crazy (wait till she finds out she can change her actual eyes (both color and the pupils and-) hair colors and length)

She will eventually bully Damian into making some changes but he’s generally happy with the first design.

They also know each others identities a lot sooner because Damian actually knows the benefits and his cold logic is able to cut through a lot of her anxiety.

It still doesn’t happen until at least the second season tho.

Y’all I have so much more, but this is getting long and I’ve got things to do so tell me if u want more or feel free to add your own ideas!!!

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kommandonuovidiavoli · 7 days

Note

Okay-

It’s Been On My Mind For a LONG While and I’m Finally Gonna Ask!

Apologies If It Sounds Like a Request Or Anything To You (;u;).

But aside From That-

How are The Interesting Twins Doing Now?

Do They Still Try To Take Down Nigel and His Friends?

Has Anything Changed From Those Years Ago Or Still Kept The Same?

I WAS WAITING FOR YOU AND THIS QUESTION TBH LMAO!!! I AM READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

---

Basic bits:

I named them Tsukiko (月子, meaning Moon Child) and Haruto (陽人, meaning Sun Person), family name being Yamashita (山下, under the mountain).

They were the second children Father used to test if his delightfulization machine still worked, and it was a partial success; the two were under his influence but they seemed to have more of their original personalities showing. However, they were captured when they were 13 and, per KND protocol at the time, they were decommissioned. Somehow, they didn't revert to their initial personalities but completely lost any memory, arriving to not recognize each other as brother and sister. It was unknown if that was a side-effect of the broken delightfulization process.

Teen AU:

They're currently attending High School in Japan and their personalities are REALLY different. Tsukiko is the leader if a girl gang terrorizing their school, no one can seem to keep them under control.

On the other side, Haruto is the school student committee president and takes his job seriously. Think of Kyoya Hibari from KHR.

The two have a agreement that makes sure they don't interfere with each other's tasks. They feel like they used to be closer as kids but just... Can't remember how or why...

Adult AU:

They were recommissioned to fight in the Nightmare War. Somehow, this process gave them back ALL their memories, but the delightfulization was not there. They didn't care too much since now they could finally remember about each other! They then decided to join the KND side after someone, a certain Mamoru Sanban, took an interest in them.

When the war was over, Mamoru decided to take care of them, even if they technically were already adults, but looked like they never had a stable guide to help them achieve their full potential. They trained with him and decided to stay and help him for a bit.

Years later, they are still helpers at the Kid's Temple, who swore to protect that place from any other attack from evil adults.

NOTE: while Mamoru is a KND member and considered one of the "founders of the 7th generation", Tsukiko and Haruto are not part of the organization. They can, however, be called to help in some missions thanks to their abilities.

#teen au #adult au #knd #kids next door #interesting twins from beneath the mountain #tsukiko yamashita #haruto yamashita #mamoru sanban

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beautifulpersonpeach · 8 months

Note

HYBE stocks are down so that means investors didn't believe HYBE's payola mediaplay of Jimin renewing his contracts. ONLY RM SIGNED HIS CONTRACT. It's shameful how you ot7s try to force people to doubt Jimin. Forcing people to think staying with the company after all the sabotages is good for him are we in upside down land? Well no and the stocks show it. Armys swallowed the purple koolaid but the investors live in the real world.

***

Please stop sending me asks like this.

Your ask is a very good example of something my friends and I were just talking about. This is the thread (linked here) that prompted our conversation.

Please read it.

HYBE is down ~5% in the hours following the contract renewal news.

Anon, I don't know how old you are or if you have your own bank account, but nobody who knows what they're doing looks at stock movements in isolation. It's a relative metric, by definition. And here's a few things that have happened in the last 48 hours that explain what stocks moved relative to:

The Market - All major Korean stock indices are down on the mixed resolution by the US Fed this week. It's a trend consistent with market movements in every country that does significant trade with the US and/or denominates trade in USD.

The Index - The index for entertainment companies (ex gaming) on the KRX is down ~3.5% over the same period.

The Peers - HYBE's closest peers for our purposes, i.e. JYP, SME, YG, Kakao, etc, are down on average ~6.5%. YG is the outlier here down ~13%. Excluding YG, the average return over the same period is HYBE's peers being down ~4.5%.

At market open following HYBE's contract renewal news there was a massive options call with a volume of about 8K at depressed prices relative to yesterday's closing. By its characteristics it's likely an event-triggered options call made for profit-taking. This is normal for retail and institutional investors who trade in liquid names. Excluding the options volume, HYBE's actual stock performance over the same period, is that they're down ~2.5%.

Meaning, HYBE actually outperformed their peers and the index (ex gaming) following the contract renewal news. The total entertainment index (including gaming) was only down ~1.9%, and so HYBE underperformed that index when you include gaming companies. But that's not a peer group that's usually considered for k-pop companies anyway.

So the stock movements you're referring to, are in effect showing the opposite of what you think.

This might be hard to believe, but I'm actually very neutral on HYBE. I have my own opinions about how they run their business, how the sub-labels are managed, etc. But when I see things I don't like, I don't go looking for any sliver of disjointed information to uphold my previously held belief. It's a sign that you're a living, breathing, thinking being, when the introduction of new information challenges a perception you have, you're able to meaningfully deduce the implications, and arrive at a more informed conclusion.

The new piece of information we received in the last 24 hours, is that HYBE's board has approved the resolution to renew BTS's exclusive contracts. Given the size of the payout to BTS, this is a customary requirement to finalize the renewals process. For the nature of company disclosures like this, there's the expectation of a time lag between when a deal is announced and when it closes, but the fundamentals of the deal do not change. The time lag is typically to hash out technicalities and to allow for other considerations (which we know in this case involves limitations due to 2seok's military service), but the fundamentals of the announcement do not change else HYBE will be charged for misrepresentation in their disclosures and for market manipulation at the Board level.

Basically, if HYBE was not at least 100% sure these renewals would be completed, that press release would literally be corporate suicide.

The quality of conversations here would be so much higher, whether in akgae or ARMY circles, if people actually knew what they were talking about.

Please don't spam asks like this in my inbox again. Take those ramblings to a blog that can tolerate it. I have extremely little patience for akgaes in general.

#Nearly every time I see k-pop stans talk about 'stocks' or stock movements I feel a migraine start to develop in my left temple.

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saninthebuilding · 1 year

Text

"it's your golden hour"

❤️‍🩹 pairing: kim taehyung x reader

❤️‍🩹 summary: being in a relationship with an idol can be a bit busy, especially when it's one of the members of bts. however, despite all taehyung's idol activities, you're there to show him- both to his face and behind his back -just how much you love him, even when he doubts his worth.

❤️‍🩹 word count: 2.8k (edited!)

❤️‍🩹 genre: idol!taehyung au, art major!reader au, university student!reader au, fluff, slight angst, hurt/comfort

❤️‍🩹 trope: pre-established relationship

❤️‍🩹 warnings: self-doubt, crying, mentions of sleep, taehyung is unsure of reader's love for him, reader is completely in love with taehyung, they're really soft, fluffy-haired taehyung (because i consider this a warning, he's so fine-)

❤️‍🩹 a/n: changing up my theme! to be honest i like this a lot more, it's so organized and clear, but anyways. i really liked how this turned out, even though i had a completely different idea when i started this, but i've been so in love with taehyung's hair in his recent lives and i just had to write something for him because he's been bias-wrecking me really hard lately. i hope you enjoy!

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leaning back into the couch, i stretch my arms high above my head, basking in the evening sun currently streaming through the large french windows in the living room.

taehyung lay sprawled out beside me, head in my lap and feet hanging off the side of the sofa as he taps away at his phone, playing some game he'd downloaded recently.

he cheers, pumping his fist into the air as a celebratory tune rings out from his phone, and i shake my head, smiling down at him as i brush his hair out of his eyes. he looks up at me, excited, before turning back to his screen.

it was a lazy sunday for taehyung and i, the two of us having cleared up our weekend to make time for each other. although he was currently on break from his idol activities to work on his solo career, he was still busy. having secured several deals, he was bomboarded with photoshoots and modelling by major companies like celine and elle korea- just to name a few.

however, my schedule wasn't any better. as a current art major in my fourth year of university, culminating week was just around the corner as my last semester rounded to a close. it was a stressful time, but i was lucky enough to have submitted my portfolio assignment early, so i had the rest of the week free before my final evaluation.

sighing, i look down, staring at taehyung playing his game. he seemed so focused, the reflection of the colourful lights from his screen painting his determined expression in hues of reds and blues.

looking at the time, i see the clock on the opposing wall reads 6:13 pm.

i pouted, glaring at his phone that had held his undivided attention for the past hour. i had thought he would put it away after a while, but it seemed like he had been waiting all week to try the app out, so i'd taken the opportunity to just enjoy his company.

still, i did miss actually interacting with him.

we'd barely gotten free time until now, and until his final photoshoots finished and my semester ended it was unlikely we'd get to spend some proper time together like this again.

not gonna lie, i feel like i'm third-wheeling here.

"taehyung, why won't you hang out with me?" i whined, taking him by surprise as i drum my hands on his chest. he lets out a startled yelp, quickly pressing something on his phone before looking up at me.

"yah, i almost lost!" he protests, looking at me in absolute horror- "you can't scare me like that!"

"yea, well maybe you should lose" i say, cheeks puffing up as i spoke. "all you've been doing is playing that game for the past hour. it's like i freed the weekend up just to watch you-"

realizing this wasn't what i had intended to say, i backtracked, waving my hands around frantically in panic, "which i love, don't get me wrong! uh- watching you, i mean. but, i just..."

i trail off, hands coming up to cover my face in embarrassment, before i peek down through my fingers. taehyung is gazing up at me, a soft look on his face, phone forgotten on his stomach.

i sigh, taking his silence as an encouragement to keep going.

"i've just missed you so much" i mumble, turning away from him to look out the window. the sun was setting lower now, rays turning golden as they hit the glass and splintered in the air.

it was magical.

"this is the only weekend we both have off until all our work is finished, and that isn't for another week or so. and i've barely seen at all except for when i'm leaving early morning for a class and you're there to drive me, or when you come drained after a day of work and slip into bed next to me, so it's a little..."

i pause, confused as i see taehyung's mouth falls open in shock. but before i can ask him what's wrong, he quickly sits up, shifting the two of us on the couch so we're facing each other.

"shit, do i wake you up every night?" he asks as his hands glide up and down my sides in what seems to be apology, "i swear i try to be quiet-"

i laugh, realizing he thinks he disturbs my sleep, before shaking my head, "no, no, don't worry. you don't wake me up." i let my hands rest on his knees, tracing small patterns with my fingers to calm him down.

"but then how do you-" he stops talking, confused, "it's always really late when i get home. and you're always asleep when i lie down..."

"well, no, not really. i just..." i feel heat start to creep into my ears, and i look down, focusing on the soft white material of his t-shirt.

"i wait for you. i know how tired you are when you get home, you barely even wash up or change before coming to bed. so i just, you know..."

i don't see it, but taehyung's eyes go wide, as if something clicked in his head. "that's why my clothes are always changed, and why my face and hair aren't full of all the products the staff use when i wake up."

suddenly taehyung tilts his head down, and as he looks at me, i see his expression has turned gentle, loving, adoring, as though i were the most precious thing in the world. his hands have stopped on my waist, and when he speaks his voice is heavy with emotion.

"no wonder on some nights i'd feel you moving around. and others i'd wake up with memories of hands cupping my face, guiding a glass of water to my lips, brushing the hair out of my eyes. you take care of me every night after i fall asleep, don't you?"

i bite my bottom lip, feeling a little embarrassed, but i nod anyway.

it was true. each night i'd wait for taehyung to get home, and after he had knocked himself out among the sheets, i would get up and start with his clothes. sometimes he'd wake up halfway, helping me swap his dress pants for a pair of soft pajama bottoms. other times i'd gently peel off his leather jacket or button-up while he slept, leaving him more comfortable in a t-shirt.

next i'd wet a towel with warm water and wipe the beauty products off his face (even though he doesn't need any). but it was never too much since the stylists try their best to use as little as possible when shooting, so it was always the easiest thing to do.

then i'd get another wet towel and start on his hair, working out the gel and hair spray that was occasionally still there on days where taehyung didn't have the energy to wash it out before coming home.

and if i was lucky, he would sometimes wake up just as i was getting back into bed, drunk on sleep and exhaustion, and i'd use the opportunity to coax a glass of water into his hands, encouraging him to finish it.

it was nights like these i cherished most, the stolen moments i was sometimes blessed with when i helped him drink some water and he would mumble how his day had been, eyes bleary and hands reaching for my warmth. the days where he trusted me enough to let me take care of him, even in his most vulnerable state, before pulling me into his chest and falling back to sleep with me in his arms.

and as i felt his fingers under my chin, guiding my head to meet his gaze, i stared into his soft, brown eyes, taking in the way the sun hit his tan skin just right, bathing him in a golden glow so breathtaking that he looked unreal, seeing the way his eyes shined and his face was so full of love, for me, all for me, and i realize that, no, those moments were not what i cherished most.

it was him that i cherished most.

"y/n?" taehyung breathes, and as i saw his eyes begin to turn wet, i understood that he felt the same way.

even though we barely got any time together, even though we barely saw each other, even though our lives were so busy, at the end of the day these things would never change the way we felt for each other.

because i loved him, and he loved me, and regardless of all our photoshoots and assignments and mismatched schedules, that love was never going anywhere.

it would never waver, because the bond the two of us had created over the years was deeper than scenic dates and bouqets of flowers and fancy gifts.

it was trust and comfort and support and understanding- but above all else, it was unconditional love.

and that is the kind that lasts forever.

"yes?" i whisper, and my voice comes out breathless, dazed, as i am completely transfixed by the man before me.

"don't i burden you? don't you think i rely on you this much, even unknowingly? doesn't it bother you that i'm barely around, showing up late at night only to fall straight asleep and wake up early only to leave you again?"

my lips part as a gasp comes out of my mouth, his unexpectedly serious words spearing my chest- "of course not taehyung, how could you say that?"

he shakes his head, teeth nipping at the corner of his mouth. "i mean, i know i'm an idol, and that this relationship is probably already something that puts strain on your shoulders due to the possibility of fans finding you and harming you. but i'm also your boyfriend. and boyfriends are supposed to be here, supposed to be present, supposed to show you how much you mean to them."

taehyung leans closer, tentative, wary, almost scared as he reaches out to me, only to pull his hand away. he swallows hard, before looking up to meet my gaze, eyes glistening.

"don't you get tired of being with me?"

my heart drops at his words, at how ashamed and anxious he sounds. he clenches his jaw, a nervous habit of his, and i let my eyes linger on the movement, watching how the veins in his neck make a quick appearance. i see the muscles in his arms flex as he lifts his hand to my face again, seeming unsure. i admire the ethereal glow the sun casts upon his skin as he raises my head to his. the mole on his lower lip, on his nose, on his cheek. the way he pulls the skin of his bottom lip between his teeth, sinking them into the soft flesh before letting go. the way the salt water in his eyes threatens to spill over his lashline.

i lift my hands up to his cheeks just as he rests his own on mine, gently brushing my thumbs over his eyes, preventing the tears from finding their way down his face.

he opens his mouth to continue, but i'm faster, the words tumbling out of me before i can stop myself.

"i love you so much taehyung" i breathe, voice catching in my throat as i feel my own eyes starting to sting. "so, so, so much- more than you can ever know. but you have to know. you need to know. i need you to know."

taehyung lets out a shaky breath, something halfway between a hiccup and a sob, and i move closer, climbing into his lap.

"we're both busy, and that's unavoidable. you have your life and i have mine, and even though we are so closely part of each others' lives, there are some things i cannot be included in, just as there are some things you cannot be included in."

his hands have come to rest on my hips, and letting one hand rest on his cheek, i maintain eye contact as i carefully run the other under his eye. over his cheekbone. his cheek. along his jawline. down his neck. he swallows under my touch, and i feel his adam's apple bob beneath my fingers. his eyes stay on mine, and when my hand reaches his chest, i flatten my palm directly over his heart, feeling his heartbeat thumping against my skin.

"but even though i may not be everywhere with you physically, i will always be in here."

i gaze at him, feeling my own heart beginning to speed up as i feel his fingers creep under my shirt, tracing circles with his thumbs on the skin of my waist.

"it doesn't matter how much time we spend together, it doesn't matter how much time we don't spend together. i need you to know that my love for you is not going anywhere."

my voice cracks a bit, a tear escaping down my cheek, and this causes taehyung to sniffle, eyes watering again.

"it doesn't matter how late you come home, it doesn't matter how early you have to leave. i will be there" i say, pressing my hand into his chest, "both in here..." i take my hand away from his face and gently grip his wrist, before placing his hand on my cheek, "and out here."

he bites his lip, visibly struggling to keep his tears at bay as he lets out a shuddering breath. he's clutching my sides now, as though trying to ground himself, to control the sobs threatening to take over.

"i will always be there to wipe your face down when you're too tired, to make sure you eat or drink something after a long day, to tuck you into bed so you can get a good night's sleep- to do whatever it is you want me to do for you."

i let go of his hand, reaching over to cup his face again, before pressing my lips to his forehead. and it is this action that seems to be too much for him, that breaks the dam he was so desperately trying to maintain, and he lets out a sob, arms wrapping around my body as he pulls me close, burying his face into my shoulder.

"because i love you, taehyung" i choke out, my own tears spilling down my cheeks upon hearing him break in my arms, "and i will always love you. so don't you ever doubt that."

he's crying in earnest now, his hands fisting the cloth of my shirt as his body shakes from the force of his tears. he inhales shakily, before forcing himself to say something.

"y/n" taehyung sputters, and i'm instantly hugging him closer as my own tears fall, rubbing his back and planting soft kisses into his fluffy hair.

"i'm right here, taehyung. i'm not going anywhere, i promise," i whisper into his ear, gently rocking us side to side. "it's okay, you're okay. we're okay."

i let him cry for a while longer, holding him up even as his body gives out under the weight of his tears. i feel him pulling away, and as i wipe my tears away to glance at him, his hands are suddenly cupping my cheeks, looking me straight in the eyes before he presses his lips to mine.

the tears streaming down his face mix with my own on our lips, the salt water a stark contrast to the sweetness of the kiss. he goes slow, as though trying to engrain the moment into his heart, into his mind, convincing himself that i did actually, truly love him despite the burden he considered himself to be.

i tangle my fingers into his hair, and as i marvel at the softeness of his brown locks under my hands, i pull him closer, wanting him to feel all the affection and adoration and sheer love i had for him.

taehyung leans back after a bit, panting softly, his glossy eyes blown wide as he studies my face. he lifts a hand to caress my cheek, absentmindedly brushing at the wetness on my skin before pressing his forehead to mine.

"i love you" he whispers, "i love you so much, y/n, and i can't tell you how grateful and lucky i feel just to be able to call you mine."

he pulls away, grabbing my hand and slips his fingers between my own, before lifting our intertwined hands to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to the back of my hand, keeping his eyes on mine the entire time.

despite my current drowsiness due to all the tears i just cried, i let out a surprised giggle. taehyung's gaze is gentle as he watches me, wiping the tears from my face, and i lean into his touch before throwing myself into his arms. he catches me easily, arms supporting my weight as i kiss his cheek, smiling softly.

"i love you taehyung."

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❤️‍🩹 i hope you enjoyed! likes, comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated! thank you for reading!

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butchsophiewalten · 4 months

Text

FindJackWalten update and More! 1/13/24

Some of you may be familiar with the twitter thread Martin made a few days ago, talking mostly about stress and burnout and how he was planning to take some days away to relax, but that he was starting to feel like his current approach to the series was unsustainable and that he was probably going to have to re-evaluate things.

Cue last light! Or this morning, really, when two FindJackWalten pages updated. First we have the main page:

Findjackwalten.com

This page has updated to, seemingly, just show the title of The Walten Files: 4? (Or, if your screen brightness is configured specifically, a little bit more...)

This is really all a single image, which appears like This if i copy/paste it from the website:

But if taken into a photo editing program and color-adjusted appears like this:

Hi Bon! And the titles of... the next three Walten Files episodes?

We get a better understanding of this when we take a look at Findjackwalten.com/name-me:

The first short part of this page is about the same, except the top text has changed to read "THE WALTEN FILES SEASON ONE (2020-2024)". Then the first three episodes are listed as they were, and then we see the new stuff

The three new episodes we'd seen before, subtitled as "CyberFun Tech's Collection"? It seems to me like The Walten Files 4 has been split up between three smaller, more manageably-sized videos. Considering TWF4 was estimated to be about an hour and 20 minutes long, I'm envisioning these new episodes to be within the 20-30 minute range, much more like TWF2 was.

Also importantly, it looks like the end of TWF4, now TWF6, is going to be the Season 1 Finale. This leaves the numbers the same, but the actual plot is different. Originally Season 1 was going to have a two-part finale revisiting Sophie and Jenny's narrative where we left off in BunnyFarm.

Speaking of, if you highlight all the text on the page, (ctrl+A is a help,) something new appears:

That all said, it looks like these next 3 episodes are all slated to release sometime in February? Which is exciting.

We also have some new tweets from Martin:

As well as some replies he left on some other people's tweets that give a little more context and explanation for everything:

I'm like, ridiculously excited, honestly? I think this was a really good decision for him to make. Pivoting to smaller episodes rather than really big theatrical ones is a really good move for him, I think. I also think this is going to be better for a lot of fans who were starting to feel like the ever-increasing scope and standard of the series was starting to feel kind of... cumbersome? I've seen more than a few people worried than an almost feature-length episode was going to feel really overwhelming.

So yeah. I think this was a good decision both to make The Walten Files more accessible for new and returning fans and to make it less of an incredible burden on its creator. And that's just a win-win to me. I'm so pleased.

#the walten files

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lightlycareless · 8 months

Note

Au where y/n takes her daughter to go see the barbie movie 🥺🥺🥺

Heya anon!

I'm sorry I took a while to respond, but I never forgot about this ask!

I gotta say, I was happy when I got it; I was in the middle of a trip I didn't enjoy very much, so it gave me something to look forward to when I got back home! So thank you so much for this and your patience!! 🥺❤️❤️❤️

As always, here is thy chapter warnings: pure fluff, a bit of... innuendos but like slightly, almost invisible, it's Y/N and Naoya being gross with one another, like a true couple lol. And some of the topics that the Barbie movie talks about.

Without any further ado, happy reading!

It took me a while to decide whether Y/N would take her daughter to watch the Barbie movie or not, considering its PG-13 (I’m going with the idea that she’s not a teenager yet, maybe around 7-8?) and it has some topics that someone that young might not understand or become frightened by them you know? At least that’s what I thought when trying to put myself in the situation if I had a kid that would want to see the movie.

But after going through that dilemma, I’ve finally decided that Y/N would definitely take her daughter to see it, but only once she checked some things first of course!!

Let’s set a bit of context first.

I’m assuming you must know what my fixation, or major one at least, is so imma say Y/N and Naoya met during college, fell in love, got married, and after a while (not so much, they wanted a family ASAP) and had a lovely daughter named Naomi 😊

Naoya is the “breadwinner” per se, the one that works most of the time to provide his family with a good lifestyle, and that he certainly did. He initially bought a small apartment when it was still just the two of you, because in your own words, “with him at the office, and yours in your, there’s no need for that many rooms.”

That immediately changed when your pregnancy was announced. If anything, it seemed there were not enough rooms now.

“Our baby needs a room to play with her toys. But what if she wants to draw, or paint?”

“We’ll set up a room for that, that way she won’t dirty her toys.”

“And if she wants to play with her plushies? I’m afraid she’ll get hurt by the soft-hard contrast of each other!”

“We can’t take any risks; I’ll order a plush upholstered room just for that—”

“No, all the rooms! What if she accidentally trips and hits herself?!”

Of course, they didn’t follow through with that, because after sharing their plans with fellow relatives, they were quickly talked out of it. Saying that it wasn’t for the good of the baby to grow up so sheltered, and their wallets. Something that Naoya didn’t really pay attention to, eventually convinced otherwise when suggested that instead of spending money on that, it could be saved in literally anything else.

Cue the expensive, never-ending gifts from Naoya. Whatever his girls wanted, they would get—he’s the next CEO to his family’s company, it would be stupid to act like he wasn’t!

Because he’s so doting in one aspect, he’s a bit reserved in the other, at least outwardly… and a bit inwardly too since this is all new territory for him—He didn’t grow up in a loving household where words and displays of affection would be done, but Naoya is really trying his best.

He still cares for you and Naomi, of course, he just lets money do the talking for him.

But worry not, where he lacks, that’s where you step in!

Taking the role of “stay at home mom” once announced your pregnancy, you’re the one that ends up all the time with Naomi, showering her affection, reminding her how much she’s loved by the two, as well as keeping Naoya up to date when he’s away.

Wherever Naomi went, pictures needed to be taken: either posing near the ducks of her favorite garden, showing off her new acquisition (you always bought something for her, whether she asked for it or not) or just enjoying a scoop of ice cream in a hot day, or when picking her up when school—didn’t matter, it had to be shared, and Naoya appreciated all of those pictures, keeping them in a dedicated album for him to look back on to when he’s feeling particularly down, although he always ends up a bit regretful because he wishes he could be there in person.

Because of your closeness to her, you’re the first person she runs to tell of her day, or whatever crosses her mind, thus Barbie comes into your life.

Outside of the craze that seemed to taint every living thing with pink, your closeness with her is what led you to learn that Naomi wants to see the Barbie movie, which you were more than happy to oblige to as you usually did, until of course, this became the first exception.

You always liked going to the movies with her because it usually meant an amazing day out altogether. It was either going to the park first, getting something to eat later, and watching a movie at the end of the day; or anything else really, whatever Naomi felt like doing—it didn’t really matter, because going out with her was enough for you.

In fact, as soon as Naomi came to you, with her big adorable golden eyes and her even cuter smile to tell you how she wanted to see Barbie —which you were waiting for, really, it’s what everyone has been talking about after all— you immediately pulled out your phone to buy tickets… but upon seeing the rating, you stopped.

It was the first time you’d have to tell her a maybe, instead of the decisive yes she was accustomed to, making her frown and pout out of confusion.

“Oh, it’s nothing! It’s just that I remembered I had some things already planned with my friends, but I’ll let you know when we can go, ok?” you smile, gently ruffling her hair before pulling her into a tight hug and peppering her cheeks with endless kisses, only ceasing when she whined you to stop.

You’d let her be soon after, while you… well, continued to debate whether to take her to the movie or not.

After all, the whole world seemed to be in on it: the dressing in pink, greeting each other Barbie, or Ken, blasting the classic song from Aqua and singing along to it… it was only natural that your cute daughter wanted to be on it too, hell, you even the parents of her classmates being on it too!!

As days went on, and you still had to make a decision, guilt began to settle inside you for having unwittingly made Naomi feel excluded.

You attempted to mend this by changing her school supplies to all pink, decorating her hair with pink accessories—clips, ribbons, diadems, you call it, she has it— or styling her uniform with whatever was allowed to be pink. Her school actually bent the rules to comply to the children’s wants, after being… “persuaded” by the parents to do so—talk about the privileges of being in a private institution!

It didn’t take long after that before Naoya was deeply intrigued by her daughter’s newest obsession; first it was some show she watched when she was younger, then it was zebras, and now, the color pink.

Ever the one to ignore things he considered mainstream, more so when they extended beyond his realm of interest, this caught him completely off guard; even getting the point of believing he was going mad because once he saw his daughter obsess with the color, he began to see it everywhere.

It was in Naomi’s school supplies, her clothes, even bedroom, everywhere he glanced, pink was in. Sure, by that point he was really intrigued to know the reason behind this craze, but it still wasn’t enough for him to ask.

If that’s what his baby wanted to be happy, then he’ll oblige. He wasn’t like those parents that didn’t have money to subsidy their children’s interests, so he was for sure not going to act like one.

His curiosity would only get the best of him one night when laying beside you in bed.

Naoya had other plans in mind for the night, which were quickly foiled upon seeing you hyper focused on nothing but your phone, scrolling through endless and endless pages of stores, social media, and articles, all relating to the cause behind his wonder: Barbie.

“What are you doing, Y/N?” he’d finally relent after minutes and minutes of being ignored, resting his head over your shoulder and draping an arm over your waist. “Surely your phone can’t be much more interesting that me.”

“No, of course not” You smirk, getting into a more comfortable position so he could see what you were looking at. “But I have to this first, or I won’t be able to sleep!”

“Is that what’s keeping you up at night?” you sigh.

“It’s Naomi—she wants to see the movie, but I don’t know if it’s the right thing.”

“What’s this?” he smirks “You? Telling her no? That’s a first.”

“And it hurts me to do it!” You pout, he kisses your cheek.

“Then what’s stopping you?”

“Because the movie is actually much deeper than I thought, and I don’t know if our pumpkin is ready for that.”

“What the hell can a movie about dolls talk about?” he scoffs, voicing the same thought you had when seeing the rating.

“Very interesting topics, actually.” you explain, and he raises his eyebrows. “Social topics”

“Oh”

“Yeah, and I don’t know if she’s ready for them yet” you sigh again, before turning off your phone and putting it to the side, finally allowing you to snuggle against Naoya, who didn’t hesitate to move in a way that allowed your head to rest on his chest.

“I don’t recall ever worrying about those things when I was her age, but I guess it can only go two ways” you say.

“Which are…?”

“She either learns from this or is horrified by it!” you shrill “And I don’t want to scare her! If only could know what kind of reaction she’ll have beforehand!!”

“Why don’t you watch the movie first before deciding whether to take her or not?” he suggests, and at that moment, like the sun breaking the horizon, a new opportunity opens before you.

“That’s it! That’s exactly what I could do! And once I see it with my own eyes, I can debate whether it’s suitable for her or not” you look up to him, eyes glistening with excitement. “How about it, hm? Shall we go to the movies, like we used to back in the day?”

Naoya hesitates, for he doesn’t want to be seen watching that movie, but your pleading eyes, the same one Naomi uses when she wants something, as well as the cause behind it, gets through him, and soon finds himself complying to your demands—not like he didn’t do so anyways, but truly, you and his daughter have him wrapped around their finger.

“Alright” he murmurs with a pout. “I Guess I could clear up my schedule and go.”

You giggle, admiring how he loves to play hard to get, as if he wouldn’t drop everything for his family.

It’s quite charming, cute even, and you feel so lucky that only you can see that side of him. Although you wished he’d be a bit more open with Naomi…

“I knew I could trust you to clear up my mind” you smile, snuggling further against him. “My dear husband.”

“I’m glad I was of help, but…” he begins slowly, one of his hands sliding further and further down your body. “I know another way to clear up your mind, I can show you if you’d like.”

You bite your lower lip, face flustered as you around, wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

“Well, we can’t be too sure.”

You end up buying tickets for a showing two the days after, the day Naoya took off to go with you—it’s one of the perks of being so high up the chain in his job, he doesn’t need to give explanations or why he’s not going to work, he can just do it and that’s it.

Doesn’t mean his co-workers won’t inquire about it, more so when his day off was in the most random of dates.

Knowing this, the two end up going to a theater of his choosing, far away from the ones he considered busy, but still up to his standards, and of course, with extra cautionary steps to avoid being followed by his pesky relatives, and subsequently recognized.

“Naoya, honey, this is too much.” You’d say when walking towards the entrance, hand-in-hand with your husband. “Don’t you think we’re… attracting too much attention like this?”

Naoya wanted to go undercover, discreetly as possible so as to avoid suspicions, although his definition of discreet greatly varied from one another.

While you decided to wear a pair of jeans, and a comfortable pink hoodie (gotta follow the trend)… Naoya decided to go full on… well, he looked good, that’s all you’re going to say.

“What? Just because we’re going undercover doesn’t mean we’re going to do it… like that” he says, referring to an unsuspecting movie-goer and their… seemingly underdressed appearance. You gently elbowed him. He groans.

“Don’t be rude” you scold. “Besides, we’re standing out too much.”

You tried to be solidary to his appearance by wearing a pair of black shades, but now that you compare yourself to literally everyone else, it looks like you’re both part of the Men in Black.

“Then what do you suggest?” he asks, rubbing his arm where it still hurts.

“Lose the glasses” you suggest with a pout. “We look like total weirdos going into a building with them…”

“Hey, you agreed to it.”

“I mean, that was before we got here. It’s not my fault I just realized how silly we look” you say, swiftly taking off your glasses and placing them on their respective case before putting them away. “There, much better—besides, you’re too handsome to be hiding behind them!”

“That’s what it was, eh?” Naoya smirks, taking off his glasses; you grab them. “You just wanted to see me.”

You blush.

“And what about it?” you look away. “It’s been a while since we’ve gone out on a date just the two of us… not that I mind going out with Naomi, but… you know… it’s not the same.”

He sighs, giving you a smile before pulling your hand to his lips and kissing it. “I promise to go out more with you—just the two of us.”

Your heart flutters.

“I’d like that.”

After promises were made, you and Naoya go ahead to check in, deciding to buy popcorn and a drink—at first your husband said he didn’t want anything, saying something about a diet or so, but after getting a taste he succumbed to them immediately.

Once finding your seats and getting comfortable, the movie finally begins.

There isn’t much commentary to give at the beginning, outside of laughing at some of the silly scenes (mainly on your part, Naoya just scoffs) and how suddenly dark it gets from time to time. But outside of that, you and Naoya seem to think of the movie as… well, adequate for their daughter, nothing extraordinary, it certainly has the silliness she enjoys, making them wonder why it even got that PG-13 rating…

Until, of course, “real world” part; that’s when you and Naoya understand why many people thought this movie might be inappropriate for younger children.

There’s a lot of topics most kids don’t even fathom yet, ones that need the appropriate guidance of a caring adult, so they know how to handle them when they reach certain maturity.

It doesn’t take long before you and Naoya began to envision how confused Naomi was going to be upon seeing Barbie getting catcalled, kicked out of her house, the sudden change of behavior from the rest of the Barbie’s, and overall, the dilemma Ken has regarding his relationship with her.

But most importantly, the main point of the movie: existential crisis.

While Naomi would most definitely not understand that, or any of the past points, you and Naoya would feel the movie to be hitting “a bit too close to home” having been forced to reflect on these issues in the past as the young adults they were, either for their own individualism, careers, or their future as a couple…

Soon, they no longer worried how this would affect Naomi, but rather, how it spoke to them.

And by the time screening ended, lights turned on abruptly and revealing your and Naoya’s response to it: teary eyed, soaked cheeks, and speechless.

Your husband was quick to cover his face, putting his glasses on before anyone else got to see him in that state, whilst cursing how “there’s no respect nowadays” as he dried the tears on his cheek. You, on the other hand, simply wiped the tears out of your face, careless if anyone else saw you like that because first, it was a darn good movie, so yeah, you cried because of it. And secondly, you weren’t the only one crying in that room so who cares…

It's only until they get into the car that they realize one of the messages of the movie, at least the one they could relate to the most: their baby girl was growing.

In a few years, she’d be a teenager, bringing along all the struggles that come with such age, and then, a woman. One that will have to face the world on her own—because even if they will always be there to support her, there are some battles only she could take.

No one ever said raising a child was easy, less in a society as harsh as the one they lived in, but even with all their fears, it was something both still looked forward to. To create memories together, guide her through this difficult thing called life, and see Naomi grow into the wonderful person she was bound to become.

Getting the overwhelming need to see their daughter, you and Naoya skipped the rest of their plans and headed straight back home, where Naomi was eagerly waiting for them alongside her nanny.

The child was undeniably happy to see her parents back home, always did, but at this moment she couldn’t be anything but surprised when Naoya was the first one to rush to her, picking her up in her arms and giving her the tightest hug he could without hurting her.

“What’s wrong, papa?” Naomi would eventually ask upon feeling his hug go uncharacteristically longer than it usually does, as if him hugging her wasn’t weird on its own.

“Uh—nothing.” Naoya would say, doing his best to hide the tears in his eyes and the tremble in his voice. “Can’t I hug my princess?”

And while she’s never one to deny affection, Naomi can’t stop herself from looking at you perplexedly, as if seeking the answers of her confusion from you.

But you only reassure her with a smile, walking towards them and joining their hug. It’s then that Naomi concedes to simply accept her parent’s doting, nuzzling against Naoya as she reciprocates the hug, as much as her small arms could.

“How about we go out to eat?” Naoya suggests, looking at her with a smile. “We can go anywhere you want, pumpkin.”

Her eyes twinkle, for it’s no secret she’d been waiting for the perfect moment to suggest this place—not like she needed to, but she likes to organize her dates. You and Naoya chuckle, kissing her on the cheek, each on one side, a gesture that makes her blush out of embarrassment.

It’s safe to say that after careful consideration, both decided to take Naomi to watch Barbie, dressed up in the cutest, pinkest, most adorable outfit you could put together—with you and Naoya to match along, although more discreetly in your husband’s part, he still doesn’t get the pink trend, less when he was suddenly called Ken.

And as expected, the movie was a total success to Naomi, although there were moments where she’d look confused, but those were nothing compared to the ones where she’d laugh out loud.

Overall, it was a movie she greatly enjoyed, even with the confusions that came along: ones that both you and Naoya were prepared for, having long understood this could be the perfect opportunity to introduce to her.

She’ll understand half of it, perhaps even less than that, but it didn’t matter, for both were ready to support and guide her through every step, like the good parents they swore to be the moment her existence was announced—and that’ll never change. Even after the Barbie craze ends, when Naomi grows and no longer lives with them, they’ll never stop loving and supporting her.

Extra:

“How was your week—” Ranta freezes mid-greeting when something… peculiar catches his sight.

“What?” Naoya asks, not bothering to glance up from the paperwork he’s supposed to finish before the day ends.

“Is that—is that a pink tie?” he says, taking a closer look at the pastel pink garment contrasting against his black suit.

“Got a problem with it?” Naoya sternly responds. One subtle gesture is sufficient to have Ranta immediately retract.

“No, of course not!” he shrieks, nervously waving his hands. “It’s just— it’s just different. It looks good on you though!”

“I know” your husband groans, eyes still intently looking onto his desk… before eventually lifting his gaze towards Ranta, cheeks slightly flustered. “…I just got it; do you think Naomi will like it?”

“Huh?” Ranta blinks, Naoya frowns. “Oh, I mean, yes! I’m sure she’ll appreciate it!”

It’s a sentence that makes a smile break through Naoya’s lips as he glances back down to his work, satisfied.

“I’m glad” He match to see the look on his baby’s face once back home, after all, he just bought a bunch of clothes to match with her.

A/N: not me making Naoya cry and cover it up with his shades lol. Ah, he's truly devoted to his family.

#prompt series: jujutsu kaisen #ask #naoya zenin #naoya zen'in #naoya x reader #naoya zenin x reader #naoya zenin x your #jjk naoya #naoya zen'in x reader

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